http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/health/sleep/is-your-body-comfortable-when-you-sleep.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/sleep/is-your-body-comfortable-when-you-sleep.html Sat, 10 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The correct posture while standing is to keep your spine straight as comfortable as you can. Don't overdo it as it will put some stress in your spinal column and skeletal muscles. Your weight should be evenly distributed to your two legs.Your shoulders should be relaxed.

Lying down however does not only involve the relaxation of your muscles. The bed or whatever you are lying on to is a big factor in giving your body the rest it needs when sleeping.

Suppose you are lying on the floor or any hard surface like wood. When you are lying on your back the pressure points are on your buttocks, shoulders, head and your legs. Some parts of your back are subject to minute pressure like the small of your back and neck. Different parts of your back is subject to uneven pressure which means that those receiving less pressure will have the tendency to sag to the floor putting stress to your spine and skeletal muscles.The same is true when you are lying on your side.

A bed with a mattress can correct this situation but not all mattresses can give your body all the comfort it needs for a restful sleep. If the mattress is too soft, it will give way to the weight of your body. Since our weight is not evenly distributed to all parts of our body when lying down, some parts of your body will be lower than the other parts putting strain to your spinal column and skeletal muscles.

On the other hand if the mattress is too firm, it would near make it only a little better than a hard surface.

With the availability of materials and technology, mattress manufacturers have come up with the right mix of firmness and softness.

When choosing a mattress for your bed, choose the one which is firm enough and soft enough to support your weight. For example when your are lying on your back, the mattress should give way to the heavier parts of your body like the hip area.

Another good product to consider are the air mattress beds. They are designed to keep your body with an even pressure on different parts of your body as much as possible. They are inflatable using an electric air pump and the air pressure can be adjusted to your body weight and comfort.

Brands like Comfortaire and AeroBed are good to consider because the make quality air bed mattresses. Comfortaire products are designed for indoor use and as a replacement for your regular bed while AeroBed products are designed for both indoor and outdoor. They employ different technologies but they both give your body a nice comfortable and restful sleep.

A restful sleep is important for our body. Consider choosing a mattress that can give you the proper body support. A truly rested body can mean a productive life the next day.

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The author offers more information on air mattress bed and aero bed air mattress.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/weight-loss-five-points-to-keep-in-mind.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/weight-loss/weight-loss-five-points-to-keep-in-mind.html Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
1. Basal Metabolic Rate(BMR)

When you are at rest, your body still burns calories to maintain bodily functions such as pumping blood to the heart, breathing, liver functions, etc.. Basal metabolic rate is measured when you are not engaged in any physical activity. This rate is not the same for all people and what factors affect it can help you in your quest for losing weight. Take note of the following factors which affect basal metabolic rate.

a. genetics
b. age - the older you get, the lesser your BMR. Your BMR will start to decline when you reach the age of 20. It decreases about 2% every 10 years thereafter.
c. the more muscle your body has, the higher your BMR.
d. the more fat your body has, the lower your BMR.
e. starvation can make your decrease your BMR.

2. Exercise

One important thing to remember when you exercise is that you develop lean tissue and muscles. Which means that your basal metabolic rate will increase. Your metabolism not just increases during the exercise session but also increases your basal metabolic rate. Include weights in your exercise program as it develops muscles and lean tissue.

3. Diet

Many people go on a diet when they are trying to lose weight. Some go to the extent of starving themselves to get those fat out not knowing that it is working against them. The key here is moderation in the food intake. Not too much and not too little. Too much will only convert the excess food to fat. Refrain from eating junk foods as this gives little or no nourishment for your body.

Green tea and other herbal teas seems to be effective for weight loss for some people but not for others. Their antioxidants can work wonders for the body.

There's a couple I know that green tea is very effective for the husband. After two weeks of drinking green tea, he could be back to his normal weight. It doesn't work for his wife though. Now matter how much green tea she takes, her weight never drops.

4. Craving

This is one point that needs a lot of will power. Some people just can't do anything if their craving is not satisfied. Factors that cause these intense desires include imbalance of blood sugar, emotional as well as hormonal. Whatever the cause is, you can work it out with your will power.

5. Sedentary Lifestyle

When you are sitting for more than an hour, the enzymes responsible for metabolism just stops functioning. Standing or moving about can trigger these enzymes to get back to work again. When you are not sleeping, don't sit for more than an hour. Make use of your waking time by burning calories.

You can lose weight

Remember these 5 points and you will be on your way to losing weight successfully. Increase your basal metabolic rate by exercising, your will burn calories more even when you are asleep. Don't eat too much and never starve yourself. Control your craving and make use of your waking time by doing physical activities and not sitting for long periods of time.

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See more information on antioxidants in green tea and green tea for weight loss.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/internet/site-promotion/social-marketing-vs-search-engine-marketing.html http://www.articletrader.com/internet/site-promotion/social-marketing-vs-search-engine-marketing.html Mon, 05 May 2008 00:00:00 -0500
There are several ways of increasing the traffic to your website. We'll discuss only social marketing, which is getting popular, and search engine marketing.

Social Marketing

A lot of people are joining social communities and social bookmarkings these days. These sites allow you to interact with other people who are interested in different topics and many of them operates a blog.

Social Communities

These sites allow you to insert your profile for other members to see. Most of these sites allow you to insert your blog or website. You get traffic from these sites by participating in discussions and interacting with members. It's mostly about getting friendly and getting noticed.

If you get popular with these sites, you may get a lot of traffic and some search engine popularity through blogroll exchanges and link loves.

Social Bookmarking

These sites allow you to bookmark your favorite web pages, not just your own. However, bookmarking only your webpages can decrease your rank so you need to bookmark other web pages too.

You get traffic when others sees your bookmark and clicks on the link. Since your link are there, it may also gain some search engine popularity.

The Cons for Social Sites

Huge traffic comes if you actively participate in these sites. That would become too tedious in the long run. If your participation wanes, so is your traffic. One other thing, members of these sites also have a website to promote, so their interest to your website would not be so much.

Search Engine Marketing

Traffic which comes from search engines are people who are looking for information in the internet. When they find your site from the search results and click on the link, they are most probably interested on the subject. In all likelihood, they may be interested to what you are promoting.

To get your pages included in the search engine's results page, your pages need to be popular for them. Popularity means having many websites are linking to your site.

Several ways are available for you to get links. Submitting your site to link directories, buying links(not recommended), engaging in link exchanges with other websites etc.

Getting links from other sites is not enough, you need to get your links to sites which are related to your website. To the search engines, the link with a related subject must be important as it pertains to the content of the website.

The anchor text is also very important when other sites link to you. So when you are submitting to link directories or whatever, you need to place your keyword as the anchor text.

One very good way of acquiring links is to submit articles to article directories. You get to insert your website's url with an anchor text of your choice. Many webmasters search article directories to find content for their website so your article can be published to other websites together with your link.

Submit articles often and in no time, you'll get enough traffic from search engines. For sure traffic from search engines are people who are interested in what they are searching for which could be profitable for you.

What's Your Choice?

Whether you choose social marketing or search engine marketing, you have a chance of to increase your website traffic if you involve yourself diligently and put your heart to it.

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Visit the author's hub page on how to increase website traffic.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/nutrition/chamomile-a-natural-anti-inflammatory.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/nutrition/chamomile-a-natural-anti-inflammatory.html Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0500
A background on inflammation:

The onset of inflammations like arthritis, acne and rosacea constricts the blood vessels as the tissues become inflamed. This results to a less blood supply going to the cells in the area of inflammation.

Less Blood Supply Lesser Cell Functioning

Cells need ample amounts of blood for it to function properly. Lesser blood supply deteriorates the cell's performance until it becomes almost useless. Since it does not function normally anymore, our body treats it as a threat and attacks them.

Our Antibodies

Our antibodies attacks threats by encapsulating them and produces free radicals to kill the invaders. Free radicals can cause a chain reaction and eventually kill the cells inside the encapsulation. The term for this is respiratory or oxidative burst.

This process can cause some free radicals escaping the encapsulation and could trigger free radical chain reactions to healthy cells.

Therefore the cell's functions in inflamed tissues deteriorates which then triggers our own antibodies to attack them leading to exposure of free radicals to nearby healthy cells. The more the tissues are inflamed the more our cells are exposed to free radicals which could result to cell damage caused by oxidative stress.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants can neutralize or quench these free radicals escaping the encapsulation. Our bodies are equipped with its own antioxidants to neutralize free radicals but may become depleted as the demand rises.

The need for extra antioxidants become apparent. Chamomile is a source for antioxidants to protect the cells from oxidative damage and subdue the inflammation with its anti-inflammatory properties.

Chamomile can be taken internally or externally.

Dried leaves of chamomile can be used as an herbal tea. Drinking this tea can introduce the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties of chamomile inside your body. It is commercially available in tea bags.

Other Health Benefits of Chamomile - to name just a few.

-As an herbal home remedy for rosacea and acne.
-treatment for diarrhea, indigestion, irritable bowel movement, ulcers
-treatment for anxiety, insomnia
-treatment for eye irritations and conjunctivitis
-helps in healing wounds

As you can see, chamomile has many other medicinal uses. It maybe good to consider chamomile as a part of an anti-inflammatory diet but it is not advised for pregnant or breast feeding women. People allergic to ragweed are also not advised to use chamomile. If you are taking other medication, please consult a health professional before embarking on a chamomile diet.


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The author blogs about antioxidants and you can find a topic regarding Rosacea home remedies there. You can also find useful information at herbal green tea website.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/our-body-cannot-synthesize-the-powerful-vitamin-c.html http://www.articletrader.com/health/supplements/our-body-cannot-synthesize-the-powerful-vitamin-c.html Sat, 09 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0500
Some mammals like rats, have their own manufacturing plant for Vitamin C. No wonder they can live in dirty places because they have a ready supply of this potent vitamin. The immune system of humans will not be adequate for the exposure to harmful microorganisms that rats are subject to.

As an Antioxidant

Vitamin C is water soluble and it could stay in the body until it is excreted through the urine as waste. Unlike fat soluble vitamins like vitamin E which can be stored in the fats for future use.

The antioxidant properties of Vitamin C operate in the water regions of our body. Free radicals which come near Vitamin C are easily neutralized.

Depending on the antioxidant needs of an individual, a 500 mg intake of Vitamin C can be consumed from 3 to 5 hours or a bit more. That's why you hear nutritionists recommend that you eat fruits on several servings spread throughout the day.

As an immune booster

Our immune system is the first level of defense against harmful foreign invaders. With a weak immune system, our bodies would easily be attacked by harmful invaders.

A friend of mine was once diagnosed to have this thyroidism. Laboratory results showed that her immune system was attacking the T4 cells in her body. The doctor tried to correct the problem by prescribing a pill to lower the activity of her immune system. Less than 24 hours later, she contracted several diseases. Rashes, tonsillitis and high fever manifested.

This just goes to show how important our immune system is. This example demonstrates that harmful microorganisms are always attacking us and our immune system is constantly doing its job defending the attacks.

Vitamin C is required for the proper function of leukocytes as well as raising the production levels of our immune system. Boosting our immune system with Vitamin C can make their functions more efficient.

As a prevention for arthritis

Bodily structures such as bones and cartilages requires a protein called collagen to hold them together and keep them in optimum condition. Vitamin C is a requirement for the synthesis of collagen making it a preventive measure for degenerative diseases like arthritis.

Where can you get Vitamin C?

The best way to get Vitamin C into your body is to eat foods which contain Vitamin C, especially fruits and vegetables. Four to seven servings of fruits spread throughout the day can get you the antioxidants you need for the day.

Another way is to take supplements with Vitamin C. You'll achieve a more healthy life if you add this vitamin daily to your body.

Why humans cannot manufacture Vitamin C while other mammals can remains to be a mystery. Scientists have proven with extensive research that Vitamin C is vital to our well being.

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The author is a webmaster providing awareness on antioxidants for the physical well being of a person. He also offers a free gift for his visitors to provide mental well being as well. Visit his site at: Feel Good with Antioxidants

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>