7 Quick Tips to a Healthier, Happier You

Written by Jim M. Allen


Health and happiness are not that difficult to have in one's life. It just takes some attention and some action to insure that you have as much of both as you desire.

Far from being difficult, tiring exercises, getting healthy can be quite easy. A few simple acts or lifestyle changes can put you onrepparttar path to feeling happier and healthier faster than you can imagine...

1. Eat breakfast every day.

Your mom was right, it'srepparttar 115843 most important meal ofrepparttar 115844 day. Don't skip it.

2. Drink lots of water.

In these days of coffee, tea, sodas, seltzers, colas and coolers it's easy to think we're getting allrepparttar 115845 water we need, but nothing beats good ol' plain water. Eight glasses a day.

3. Get a good night's sleep.

As one who deals with sleep problems, I can tell you from experience, poor sleep patterns can quickly disrupt your life. Research shows that 6 to 8 hours of restful sleep is what most of us need to be happy and productive. If you're having problems sleeping, contact a doctor immediately.

4. Eat more fruit.

Using Herbs Effectively

Written by Neva Howell


My introduction into natural medicines and healing wasrepparttar same as many. It started with an exploration inrepparttar 115842 use of vitamins, minerals and herbs. I soon discovered that I really likedrepparttar 115843 effect of these natural approaches to healing far better than their prescription counterparts and eventually decided to work with them exclusively, to stay healthy. From this decision, and in conjunction with my work as a minister and spiritual healer, it soon came to be a way that I helped others who wanted to heal naturally, as well.

Some important things to remember about natural medicines as opposed to prescription drugs is that more time is typically required to see results. Healing,repparttar 115844 natural way, goes torepparttar 115845 core ofrepparttar 115846 problem where much of western medicine deals withrepparttar 115847 cessation of symptoms. Torepparttar 115848 Naturopath, symptoms are seen as clues torepparttar 115849 problem of origin, and not as something to be treated but to be monitored as treatment progresses. Of course, in some cases, temporary relief of symptoms is called for, if one has to work or cannot afford to take time off to letrepparttar 115850 body do it's job of naturally dealing with imbalances. The problem in our society is that we've begun to depend onrepparttar 115851 "quick fix" ofrepparttar 115852 antacid,repparttar 115853 headache remedy,repparttar 115854 sleeping pill, orrepparttar 115855 nerve pill, instead of dealing withrepparttar 115856 core imbalances.

One ofrepparttar 115857 more dangerous dependencies we've developed is a dependence on antibiotics. What has happened over time is that viruses and bacteria have developed ways to survive stronger and stronger antibiotics and some holistic healthcare providers (myself included) believe that it may not be long until evenrepparttar 115858 strongest available antibiotic will not be effective. We must learn to support our bodie's natural defense system, give itrepparttar 115859 nutrition it needs to stay healthy, and deal with our emotional, mental and spiritual lives in a more healthy way.

In this article, I will focus on ways to use herbs effectively for health and wellness, butrepparttar 115860 same guidelines could be used when choosing to work with other natural approaches, such as vitamins, minerals, etc.

Please remember that this information is given for educational purposes only. I do not diagnose or prescribe but only share holistic options for wellness that many are seeking in today's world. The tips I share below have come from my own personal experience inrepparttar 115861 use of herbal remedies for my own healing and are not to be construed as replacing any current medication or regimen suggested by your doctor. It is my hope that you've chosen a physician who is open to natural supplementation.

Tips for working with herbs:

1. Self-monitoring - Starting with low dosage

Whenever I decide to take a new substance into my body system, forrepparttar 115862 purpose of healing or correcting some condition, I understand that I have decided to self-medicate. This is my right, and it is also my responsibility. I have come to realize that any substance at all can cause an allergic reaction (many people are allergic to peanut butter, wheat, milk, and other common foods, for example), and thatrepparttar 115863 most important time for paying attention isrepparttar 115864 first three days I add something new.

Some things I have learned to notice are my physical energy level, any changes in breathing, temperature, skin color, itching or rash-like symptoms, dizziness, and my mental/emotional state.

Determining whether or not to continue taking a formula has sometimes been a little tricky for me because when a person begins taking a detox formula,repparttar 115865 symptoms of necessary internal cleansing can berepparttar 115866 same as allergic reactions. The skin is our largest eliminatory organ and can respond to a big release of toxins by temporarily developing rash-like symptoms. Also, detoxing often does temporarily taxrepparttar 115867 entire system (due to toxins being released and having to be flushed out throughrepparttar 115868 skin, liver, spleen, kidneys and colon and can create feelings of fatigue, depression, etc.

For me,repparttar 115869 way to know for sure that whatever reactions I have are not allergic in nature is to start with a very low dosage and work my way up torepparttar 115870 recommended dosage. By starting with a very low dosage -- too low for rapid detox to be a factor -- at least, for 2-3 days, I can eliminate allergic reaction and side effects as reasons for any symptoms. For example, if I were to take a tincture, andrepparttar 115871 dosage was 15 drops three times a day, I might start with five drops, once a day. Then, after a day or two, I increase to two times daily, then three. I only increase dosage after I have reached three doses per day. I do this becauserepparttar 115872 efficiency ofrepparttar 115873 medicine is in great part dependent onrepparttar 115874 medicine being inrepparttar 115875 system continually. Until I get up to three doses a day, that doesn't happen. After I'm surerepparttar 115876 continual dose is not causing a problem, then I feel it is safe to increase. This method is one I choose to employ mainly when taking those formulas containing many herbs or those designed for heavy detox. Single herbs have rarely posed a problem for me.

2. Adding one new thing at a time: I learned this onerepparttar 115877 hard way. I'm a little short on patience sometimes, and wanted to do a liver detox atrepparttar 115878 same time I was trying to lose a little weight and work with my low blood pressure. I added four different formulas at once, and started atrepparttar 115879 trial dosage, three times a day.

Within a few days, I had an irritation develop. I didn't know which formula was causingrepparttar 115880 reaction, so I cut them all out. The problem persisted. So I started taking my own anti-yeast formula. Things got instantly better but, as soon as I stopped takingrepparttar 115881 formula,repparttar 115882 problem was back and full-blown again. Finally, throughrepparttar 115883 process of elimination, I trackedrepparttar 115884 culprit down and it turned out to be a new enzyme formula I had not even considered that, because I've been taking enzymes for years (I don't eat enough raw foods, so my body requires some digestion assistance) but I had not been taking that particular formula until just beforerepparttar 115885 problem started(aboutrepparttar 115886 time I started withrepparttar 115887 herb tinctures). As soon as I switched back torepparttar 115888 enzymes I had been taking before, I got much better and soon, all symptoms were gone. If I had only added one thing at a time, it would have been very easy to determine what had causedrepparttar 115889 problem.

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