Tuesday, November 8, 2011

HOW MUCH SALT IS SAFE


HOW MUCH SALT IS SAFE?

Salt is essential to human life and the functioning of the human body, which is why we could never live without it. This is also why in the days of antiquity, salt could be worth more than gold, since you can't preserve meats with gold, but could easily do so with salt. This was of extreme importance in the days when we lived without refrigeration and modern preservatives.

How Much Salt is Safe?
The word salt is thought to come from the Latin sal, meaning salt. The English word "salary", which is similar in several European languages, is linked to the fact that salt was once a currency (legal tender) in many parts of the world.
Salt's importance comes from much more than just making food taste good, however. Salt is essential to our good health. It's in our blood and all the other fluids in our bodies. Without it, our nerves and our muscles wouldn't work properly, our stomachs wouldn't be able to break down food to give us energy, and our blood would have trouble carrying carbon dioxide to our lungs to be exhaled.

Why should I have Salt?
Here are some of important functions of salt in the body:
·         Salt is a strong anti-stress element for the body.
·         Salt is used for extracting excess acidity from inside the cells, particularly brain cells.
·         Salt is vital for the kidneys to clear excess acidity, passing it into the urine. Without sufficient salt in the body, the body will become more and more acidic.
·         Salt is essential in the treatment of emotional and affective disorders.
·         Salt is a needed element in the treatment of diabetics. It helps balance the sugar levels in the blood and reduces the need for insulin in those who have to inject the chemical to regulate their blood sugar levels. Water and salt reduce the extent of secondary damage associated with diabetes
·         Salt aids in communication and information-processing of nerve cells the entire time that the brain cells work, from the moment of conception to death.
·         Salt is important for the absorption of food particles through the intestinal tract.
·         Salt is used for clearing the lungs of mucous plugs and sticky phlegm, particularly in asthma, emphysema and cystic fibrosis sufferers.
·         Salt on the tongue will stop persistent dry coughs; water will enhance this effect.
·         Salt is vital for clearing up catarrh and sinus congestion.
·         Salt is vital for the prevention of gout and gouty arthritis.
·         Salt is essential for the prevention of muscle cramps.
·         Salt is vital to preventing excess saliva production to the point that it flows out of the mouth during sleep. Needing to constantly mop up excess saliva indicates a salt shortage.

How much salt should I have?
Based on the requirements of a human body, an average adult requires an intake of 4.2g salt per day. The minimum requirement is 1.5g. The government recommends an intake of 6g salt per day for an adult and less for children. At the moment the average adult intake is 10-12g. Pro-salt campaigners argue that any healthy body will process just the right amount of salt it needs and the kidneys will dispose of any surplus.

What happens if I have excess salt?
Studies have indicated that too much salt consumption is linked to health problems, such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and osteoporosis. If you suffer from hypertension you would benefit from consuming less salt. Very young children, very elderly people, as well as people with kidney disease cannot excrete sodium and regulate body fluid efficiently.

What should I do to control salt?
·         Choose fresh foods, prepared without salt or salty seasonings most of the time.
·         Flavor foods with lemon, vinegar, garlic, onion (not garlic or onion salt), herbs and spices.
·         Try making your own soups and pasta sauces and cut out or limit the salt.
·         Omit the salt in baking and when cooking vegetables and pasta.
·         Compare food labels and choose products with the lower % Daily Value for sodium.
·         Look for unsalted nuts, popcorn and crackers, if you choose these for snacks.
·         Try the sodium-reduced alternative to your usual products when available.
·         Limit salty pickles, relishes, soy sauce, salsa, hot sauce, barbecue sauce, ketchup and other similar sauces.
·         Enjoy foods without adding salt at the table.
Many people feel that foods taste better with salt or large quantities of salt, but it is only because their taste buds have grown accustomed to this taste. Therefore, it is difficult to avoid the abuse of salt but it is important to control its consumption.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Prevent knee pain

The knees are the most easily injured part of the body. The largest and most complicated joint, the knee is used for everything from standing up, sitting, to walking, running, etc. It's a weight-bearing joint that straightens, bends, twists and rotates. All this motion increases your risk of acute or overuse knee injuries.
Prevent knee pain by keeping the muscles that support your knees strong and flexible. Start out slowly. Walk before you run - before you engage in a strenuous high impact activity such as jogging or running, try walking for a week. If walking causes knee pain, you shouldn't be running. Warm up and stretch before working out. Give your body a chance to recover from exercise. If you do high impact activities take every other day off. Avoid running up and down stairs and full squats. Doing knee exercises to strengthen and stretch the muscles that support the knee are vital for knee pain and injury prevention. Proper footwear is also important, especially if walking or running on hard surfaces. Keep your weight under control. Reducing one's weight reduces stress upon the knee.
Most knee pain is treated conservatively, but there are situations in which surgery is required. Athletes are at an elevated risk for sudden injuries that may require surgery, such as torn ligaments in the center of the knee or certain types of fractures. People with advanced knee osteoarthritis may need knee replacement surgery if they are severely limited in day-to- day activities because of their condition. This is optional surgery and is a last resort.
Most knee conditions respond to a combination of non-invasive treatments such as applying heat or cold, temporarily restraining from activities that aggravate pain, and medications that target pain and inflammation. Exercises to strengthen the muscles that support the knee help reduce stress on the knee joint and prevent re-injury.
Wouldn't it be great if you can wake up the next day without any knee pain? It would be awesome if you no longer had to put up with knee pain right? Well guys, it's like the saying goes, "there are no overnight fixes" and this is true with almost everything. But fear not, there are ways, moreless uncommon, to relieve knee pain. Just listen in and follow these steps to relieve your pain. Write these down for future reference.
Strengthen The Knee
It's simple logic, to make anything in your body pain free, make it stronger. To relieve your leg pain you make it stronger, to relieve tension you stretch etc. A good way to strengthen your knee is to strengthen your quadriceps. The strength of your quadriceps directly relates to how stable your knees are, the more strength in the quads the better your knee will feel. To safely and painlessly strengthen your quads, do cycling, preferably in a stationary bike with resistance. Cycling has zero impact on your knees, which makes it the best way to make your knees stronger. Try cycling for about 15 minutes per day. You'll find it quite helpful.
Keep The Knee Relaxed
To keep your knee relaxed make sure it's fully extended but not forcefully extended, that would cause more knee pain. To reduce any swelling elevate and ice it for about 15 minutes. This helps relieve pain by restricting blood flow. When you sleep, be sure to place a pillow or two under the knee with pain.
Massage Your Knee
A very effective way to massage your knee is to slowly move your patella in a circular motion. Try to do it rather slowly, gently, but firm, this loosens unstable tissue within the knee and helps get rid of it. Sometimes pain is caused by scar tissue in the knee. This procedure helps with healing the scar tissue.
Wear A Knee Brace
For those who have knee pain during the day, and most people do, try wearing a brace. It helps with keeping your knee stabilized while walking. Keeping your knee stabilized is vital to reducing your pain because the reason the knee hurts is because some sort of motion or movement damaged the knee. Stabilizing it can help heal scar tissue as well.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Avoid placing the phone between your shoulder & ear while talking as it can put strain on your neck. If you use the phone frequently, use a headset.


Many people have a habit of talking in a phone while placing the phone between their shoulder and ear. This can add strain to your neck leading to neck pain.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Feeling pain in your joints due to arthritis or other inflammatory disorders? Consume flaxseed oil by adding 1-3 tablespoons of it in your diet daily.


Omega-3 fatty acids present in flaxseed are the healthiest of fats for people with arthritis or other inflammatory disorders. These fatty acids encourages the production of body chemicals that help control inflammation - in the joints, the bloodstream, and the tissues. According to a review of the research on omega-3 fatty acids and health in American Family Physician, omega-3 (in doses of 3 grams or more per day) has been found effective for those with rheumatoid arthritis, reducing morning stiffness and the number of joints that are tender or swollen.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Gift a Health: GAH's GUDI PADVA offer for Spiritual Tour

Gift a Health: GAH's GUDI PADVA offer for Spiritual Tour: "This GUDI PADVA avail the best offer on GAH's Spiritual Tour. For details contact info@giftahealth.com or log on tohttp://www.giftahealth.c..."

Monday, March 28, 2011

Postures for preventing headaches

Correct your posture to prevent headaches. Poor posture such as slouching at your desk, using shoulder & ear to hold the phone can trigger headache.

Other examples of poor posture include staring at a screen that is too low or too high, hunching your shoulders, and using a chair with poor support for lower back. All these can trigger tension headaches as a result of pressure build-up in the head and neck muscles.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Medical Tourism in India with us, why?

Medical Tourism India and Medical Tourism (a.k.a. Health Tourism India) is a developing concept whereby people from world over visit India for their medical and relaxation needs. Most common treatments are heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic surgery and dental care. The reason India is a favourable destination is because of it's infrastructure and technology in which is in par with those in USA, UK and Europe.