Category: Pain

Health Benefits of Yoga

4/11/2017

Have you tried yoga? With its increasing popularity, more and more people are trying yoga. Maybe you've tried it, but did you know that aside from the obvious benefits of increasing strength, yoga has many other health benefits? It creates awareness of your mind/body connection. It even taps into your body's ability to heal itself.

Did you know that aside from the obvious benefits of increasing strength, yoga has many other health benefits?

These are just a few of the benefits of yoga.

7 Health Benefits of Ginger

1/16/2017

Do you love the aromatic, spicy flavor of ginger? I have to admit that I didn’t used to love it, but it has grown on me and now I love it! Did you know that ginger’s amazing flavor comes along with a host of health benefits?

Ginger is wonderful for your digestion! It has been used for thousands of years to treat morning sickness, motion sickness, and nausea.

Ginger helps regulate your digestion

Ginger and Digestive Health

8 Health Benefits of Turmeric

9/8/2016

Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin that has LOTS of health benefits. It is found in delicous things like curry powder and mustard. Here are a few of the benefits:

Turmeric is good for your heart

It may keep you from having heart failure. Two studies done on rats found that those that consumed curcumin had more resistance to heart failure and inflammation than those who didn’t. Curcumin seems to inhibit the heart enlargement process.
It may reduce the fatty compounds that clog arteries. In another study done on rats, scientists found that rats that consumed curcumin had a 26% reduction in fatty deposits in their arteries after 16 weeks. It appeared that curcumin affected the genetic signaling that causes the buildup of plaque at the molecular level.

8 Health Benefits of Turmeric, including heart health, reducing inflammation, helping during cancer treatments, reducing fat storage, increased bone density, and helping with Alzheimer's.

Turmeric can help with heart disease, cancer and inflammation.

It can help with cancer and arthritis

It may stop breast cancer from spreading. A study done on mice found that combining a chemo drug and curcumin seemed to halt the spread of breast cancer to the lungs, which is often the case with advanced breast cancer. This combination seems to work well because Taxol, the chemo drug, stomps out the cancer, but can cause the inflammation that spreads cancer to other organs. Curcumin stops the inflammation, so the combination was very effective.
It can reduce the inflammation caused by radiation therapy. Radiation can cause the skin to burn and blister. A study done with mice found that those that consumed curcumin for five days before they were exposed to radiation had far fewer burns and blisters. More studies need to be done, but it is recommended that patients undergoing radiation enjoy plenty of curried foods.
It may reduce arthritis pain and joint inflammation. It acts similarly to ibuprofen, but to a lesser degree. Bonus: Turmeric doesn’t have side effects!

Turmeric may help keep you slim!

It may help with Alzheimer's and Osteoporosis

It may help keep you slim by slowing the growth of fat tissues, the journal Endocrinology reports.
It may increase bone density. Another study conducted on mice found that mice who were on turmeric had a higher mineral bone density than those who weren’t.
It may be used to treat Alzheimer’s. In preliminary lab tests it was found that curcumin helps dissolve the plaque in brain cells that leads to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Cinnamon for Weight Loss

9/1/2016

Fall is just around the corner and with it dreams of pumpkin spice lattes. While pumpkin spice lattes may not be the healthiest item on the menu, one of its ingredients is full of health benefits! Cinnamon is full of health benefits!

Just a quarter teaspoon of cinnamon sprinkled on your food can help prevent an insulin spike. This spike normally occurs after a meal and signals the body to store fat instead of burning it. It could help in your battle of the bulge! Because cinnamon helps regulate insulin, it may also be beneficial for diabetics.

Some other great benefits of cinnamon include:

Eating half a teaspoon of cinnamon a day may lower LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Cinnamon has been found in some studies to reduce the proliferation of cancer cells in both leukemia and lymphoma.
Cinnamon has an anti-clotting effect on blood.
Arthritis patients who consumed cinnamon mixed with honey daily had significantly reduced pain after a month.
It inhibits bacteria growth in food and drinks.
The smell of cinnamon may boost cognitive function and memory.
Cinnamon is a good source of fiber, manganese, iron and calcium.

Eat Your Reds!

1/4/2015

Red fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients such as ellagic acid, anthocyanins, lycopene and more. These phytonutrients may help regulate blood pressure levels, lower bad cholesterol, and reduce tumor growth. Anthocyanins are powerful antioxidants that help prevent cell damage, help keep your heart healthy, and reduce the pain from arthritis and gout. Lycopene may help reduce the risk of some kinds of cancer, such as prostate cancer, breast, colorectal, endometrial, lung and pancreatic. The best way to get your daily dose of lycopene is in cooked tomatoes with a small amount of fat, such as a marinara sauce with a little olive oil in it.

Raspberries have the most antioxidants of all fruits.

Cherries Aren't a Pain!

11/24/2014

Are you finding that you are really sore after a workout? Adding cherry juice to your diet could reduce soreness after exercise. Research from Oregon Health & Science University found that people who drank 2 cups of tart cherry juice two times a day for a week felt less muscle pain and soreness after a race than those who didn’t.

Adding cherry juice to your diet could reduce soreness after exercise. Research from Oregon Health & Science University found that people who drank 2 cups of tart cherry juice two times a day for a week felt less muscle pain and soreness after a race than those who didn’t.

Cherries are a great snack after a workout.

Cherries have a natural anti-inflammatory antioxidant, known as anthocyanin. It can be used to reduce the pain and inflammation from gout, arthritis, muscle pain and back pain. They may also offer some protection from colon cancer, heart attack and stroke. Everyone is different, so the amount you need to consume and the time it takes to see benefits may vary. To receive benefits you should drink at least one ounce of tart cherry juice concentrate, a quarter cup of dried tart cherries or 1 ½ cups of frozen tart cherries. All cherries contain anthocyanins, but tart cherries have twice the amount as sweet cherries. It could take a few days to several weeks to see results.

The Amazing Powerful Pineapple

8/21/2014

It is no secret that I love to travel. One of the places I have traveled several times is the Hawaiian Islands. One of the best things about the Hawaiian Islands is the amazing fruit they grow there - mangoes, bananas, pineapples, and more! Eating fruit directly off the tree, sun-ripened is amazing. On one visit, our little apartment had a mango tree in the yard, so each morning we would eat sun-ripened and warmed mangoes for breakfast! Soooo good… But back to the pineapples. We even went to the Dole Plantation on Oahu and took a tour to see the pineapple growing!

The health benefits of the pineapple include alleviating pain, reducing inflammation, inhibiingt tumor growth and speedy recovery after surgery.

The Dole Plantation pineapple fields.

Hawaii is known as the place pineapple comes from even though Christopher Columbus actually brought them back from South America. People in South America use pineapple to treat digestive problems and inflammation. One cup of pineapple contains only 82 calories, but a whopping 131% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C! It also contains vitamin A, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, manganese, potassium, antioxidants and polyphenols like beta-carotene.