Good news for chocoholics-munching on the sweet treat regularly may stave off your risk of developing bowel cancer, a new study has claimed.

It has already been suggested that eating chocolate with a high cocoa content could help to control diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease.

Researchers at the Science and Technology Institute of Food and Nutrition in Spain found that eating a diet high in cocoa could reduce risk of the cancer which kills more than 655,000 people worldwide every year.

Past studies have found the seed is rich in particularly powerful natural antioxidants that destroy harmful molecules known as free radicals. The new findings are the latest to highlight the health benefits of the cocoa bean, most of which is harvested in West Africa.

“Foods like cocoa, which is rich in polyphenols, seems to play an important role in protecting against disease,” Dr Maria Arribas, who led the latest study, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. For the study, Dr Arribas and her team investigated if the food could stop rats from developing bowel cancer when exposed to tumour-causing chemicals.

One group of rats were fed a daily diet consisting of 12 per cent of cocoa for eight weeks, while another group were given a diet containing no cocoa. After a period of time, both groups were exposed to a carcinogen called azoxymethane, which is used to induce colon cancer. Within four weeks of the toxin exposure rats began to develop intestinal cancers.

However, the researchers discovered the rats on the cocoa diets had a reduced number of pre-cancerous lesions compared to the control group. It is believed that the study, published in Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, is the first to suggest that cocoa could help prevent bowel cancer.

However, further research is now needed to explore how the raw material could benefit humans, the researchers said.

Sarah Williams, a spokesperson from Cancer Research UK, meanwhile, warned that too much chocolate can also have a negative impact.

She said: “This study involved rats in the lab who were fed very large quantities of cocoa over a number of weeks, so it’s impossible to conclude that that eating chocolate or drinking cocoa protects people against bowel cancer.

“But we do know that chocolate is high in fat and calories, so eating too much of it could lead you to put on weight. And being obese has been shown to increase the risk of bowel cancer, so eating lots of chocolate is unlikely to be a good way to cut the risk.”

She highlighted that eating a healthy diet with “lots of fruit, veg and fibre and limiting red and processed meat, cutting down on alcohol, staying physically active and not smoking” are other ways to reduce the risk of cancer.

Adopted from an article, courtesy : http://indiatoday.intoday.in

In winter, nothing is more unpleasant than the feeling of being cold. To remedy this, you need to pamper your extremities, the most exposed to chilly weather. Using just a few minutes of targeted self-massage you can help you body better cope with the cold.

Faces are in the line of fire, and hands and feet will also suffer straight away from the sharp drop in temperature. Finally, you must keep your stomach warm, which can start to feel the strain when it gets cold. And don’t forget your kidneys too, at the risk of letting the cold into your body’s core.

Here’s a 7 step guide of self-massage techniques to get warming energy circulating around your whole body, so you can beat the winter cold.
Energise your face before hitting the cold

One of our body’s worst enemies? Variations in temperature. Massaging the face will stimulate micro circulation, giving your face a protective shield of warmth before going out into the brisk morning air.

Self-massage technique 1: Rub both hands together to start with, to warm them up. Put them on your cheeks, either side of your nose and gently rub them before moving upwards on your head. Move your hands behind your ears and then down the length your neck. Do this 5 times.

Self-massage technique 2: Massage the sides of your nose, rubbing slightly on each side, using your middle finger. Work from the bottom to the top. Then finish by following the line of your brow out to the extremities of your eyebrows. Repeat this 5 times.

Self-massage technique 3: Massage the ears between thumb and forefinger with 6 circular movements and then move down to the tip of your earlobe sliding with your thumb. Repeat 5 times.

Don’t forget: cover your head when you go outside, with a hat, beret or shawl! More than half of your body heat escapes from the top of your head.
Keep hands and feet warm during a cold day

The harsh change from hot to cold temperatures can upset micro-circulation. However, blood flows through your vital organs as a priority and will bypass the extremities… which get coldest first. To acclimatise to the cold and allow your body to move more easily between being uncovered to covered, pamper your hands and feet:

Self-massage technique 4: Warm up your feet with a fast self-massage as socks or tights don’t actually make much difference to the warmth of your feet. The heat generated through this energy boost will spread through your entire body. You should start with the ends of your toes ideally. Then massage the whole of your instep firmly with the help of both thumbs and your palms. Carry out a movement which starts from the tips of your toes and ends at the heel. You will improve the flow of blood through veins and relieve any tension resulting from the cold.

Self-massage technique 5: Intertwine your fingers and rub your palms together, one against the other. When you feel a tingling sensation, this is an indication of better blood circulation. Unfold your fingers and move on to smoothing, between your thumb and your forefinger. For this movement begin at the bottom of the hand and work towards the nail.

Warming up the body after a cold day

Even if it is protected by clothing, the body still needs to be kept warm. There are two strategic points to concentrate on at the end of a cold day; the stomach and the kidneys, which can react strongly to low temperatures. The goal here is to prevent yourself from catching cold.

Self-massage technique 6: The stomach (the original cauldron of energy, in Chinese medicine) needs to be kept warm above all else, even more so as it dislikes the stress of the cold and this leads to various stomach complaints. It is very simple, over your jumper, put your hands one on top of the other, beneath the navel, and turn them clockwise. Do this 15 times.

Self-massage technique 7: To warm up your kidneys, where our vital energy comes from, you can drum them a little with closed fists on either side at the base of your back. Around 50 of these quick little ‘taps’ will do, you will feel heat invading your pelvis. Once this is done, the cold won’t have such an easy route into your body!

Courtesy: http://health.doctissimo.com

Pure jojoba oil has a bright, golden color whereas processed jojoba oil is clear and transparent. It has a high shelf life and can be stored for long periods as it is a relatively stable liquid. It does not oxidize easily and will not turn rancid compared to other oils because it does not contain triglycerides, unlike most other vegetable oils such as grape seed oil and coconut oil.

Jojoba oil is rarely sold in its pure form . The total area planted with jojoba plants in the United States is about 45,000 acres and it takes three years for the seed to grow into a plant. Ninety-five percent of them end up in personal care or health products, blended with other ingredients. The main bulk of jojoba oil is farmed in Israel and Argentina and exported.

In the 1960s, the sperm whale was becoming an endangered species because they were being hunted for their oil, which is comprised of ninety percent wax esters. Back then, they were widely used in thousands of health and cosmetic products. When importing whale oils into the United States was outlawed in 1971, jojoba oil was discovered. It was found that jojoba oil is far superior to whale oils, also known as squalene, in many ways and is more beneficial to human health. Today, it is prominent in a wide variety of products.

What makes it so unique compared to other seed oils is that jojoba oil is structurally and chemically very similar to the human sebum produced by the sebaceous glands in our skin because sebum is also largely comprised of wax mono esters. In most cases, it can act as a substitute while giving similar or added benefits compared to sebum.

It does not clog pores nor causes any allergic reactions. It does not cause any irritation to eyes or the skin. It does not cause any greasy feeling when used on the skin like other oils.

It has a high content of beneficial minerals and Vitamin E. Vitamin E is well known for promoting healthy and clear skin.

Jojoba oil is an antioxidant and protects you from the damaging effects of free radicals, which is believed to contribute or cause various chronic diseases like cancer.

You may buy Jojoba oil through the following link:
http://tinyurl.com/fitnessnectar

Adopted from an article, courtesy: http://thejojobaoil.com

Guided Breathing Meditation. Guided relaxing breathing exercise for meditation that helps you to relax. Breathing meditation exercise can be performed alone as a individual short meditation, but is also used as a warm up for meditation to get your body to relax and your mind to be still. This is just one of many breathing exercises.

Courtesy: http://www.chakrahealings.com

The uninitiated keep wondering how it feels, the more seasoned ones vow by its pleasures and no one can ever say NO to it—yes, I am talking about Sex.
Though it occupies the human mind unlike anything else, it seems that most people don’t realize that sex isn’t just about fulfilling your carnal desires. There is sufficient, unquestionable scientific proof that underlines the health benefit of sex. In fact, sex surfaces as one of the most comprehensive and effective activities you can indulge in from a health perspective. Some of the most documented and proven health benefits of sex have been listed below:

Sex Boosts Your Immunity
The principle of your mind and body’s health being interrelated is best exemplified by sex. For starters, the act raises the synthesis of immunoglobulins. These are antibodies or our immunity compounds that help us fight infections. People with a more-than-basic level of sexual activities, per week, tend to retain a higher immunoglobulin concentration, making them more immune to common infections.

Sex Alleviates Common Infertility Problems
With stressful lifestyles, many men are prone to suffering from lowered sperm count or poor semen quality. These are serious barriers for couples trying to conceive. It has been researched that regular and enjoyable sex helps men to overcome these issues. Their semen improves in quality and quantity and the stress-relieving properties of sex ensure that their sperm is healthier, more motile and penetrable. The act of sex ensures that blood is properly circulated across the body, including the penile tissues, and absorption of nutrients is more uniform.

Sex Relieves Stress
Overall reduction of stress is perhaps the biggest, most widely-accepted benefit of sex. It is believed that higher anxiety and stress levels are responsible for initiating most health problems prevalent today. With regular sex, psychological health is improved, particularly problems related to mood swings, depression and sleep. The act of intercourse helps to stimulate production of hormones that are required for overcoming stress and ensuring healthier behavior.

Sex Keeps You Physically Fitter
Sex has an amazing calorie-burning and cardiovascular conditioning effect. It exercises nearly every muscle of the body, including areas like the abdomen, hips and thighs that are the common weight-gain areas for most people. Sex might not help you become muscular but it works-out the body in a beautiful manner. The increased supply of blood means that the body has a greater chance of eliminating waste products and providing nourishment in a more balanced manner to various organs. Increased levels of sexual harmones help to fortify the muscles and bones with critical nourishment. These hormones help to prevent onset of heart diseases. Working the pelvic muscles, intercourse helps to prevent conditions like incontinence and hernias.

Sex Gives Your Skin Unique Radiance
It is usually thought that only women have the after-glow that is essentially a result of their hormones being produced aplenty during sex. However, this is applicable to men too. Yes, sex behaves like a psychological and physical boost for the human body. The circulation of blood rises, more oxygen is pumped into the body and sexual hormones are released copiously. The result is a sort of radiance that the best of moisturizers and make-up kits cannot compete with. It seems to take off years from your face, making you appear refreshed and cheerful.

Sex is an Instant Pain-killer
The feeling of happiness that accompanies and follows intercourse is due to the rise in the secretion of endorphins. These hormones are required for establishing a relaxed state of mind. Sex also induces release of oxytocin, which along with endorphin, is one of nature’s most potent painkillers—everything from unexplained bodyache to serious conditions like arthritic or PMS pains can be relieved.

Courtesy: http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com

The Solar Plexus Chakra or Personal Power Chakra is the seat of our personal power and our will. Located above the navel and below the sternum, the energies expressed from this chakra denote the power of the mind, the ability to learn and to utilize information. Ego makes it’s home here, forming our identities and conversely, our hang-ups about ourselves as well. When we feel good about ourselves, this chakra is open and flowing smoothly. We have the energy to accomplish the things that we set out to do. Ruled by the Sun, this energy center emits the yellow light of optimism and renewal and infuses our lives with happiness when it is unbounded and clear.
When the Solar Plexus Chakra is blocked mistrust and deception can result.

Procrastination or the inability to live up to one’s responsibilities shows itself, as does a lack of enthusiasm for taking steps to improve or blaming other people for our pain. Most of these methods are attempts to alleviate sense of rejection that we ourselves are cultivating. The physical implications of a blocked solar Plexus Chakra manifest themselves in abdominal problems, stomach ulcers, digestion, parasites and diabetes. All of these conditions reflect an excess of some kind and can be supported by healing the Solar Plexus Chakra of imbalances and an excess of blocked energy.

Courtesy: http://www.chakrahealing.com

Grapes provide more antioxidant protection for the eyes and may help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a new study has found.

The researchers found that grapes proved to offer dramatic protection - the grape-enriched diet protected against oxidative damage of the retina and prevented blindness in those mice consuming grapes. While lutein was also effective, grapes were found to offer significantly more protection.

“The protective effect of the grapes in this study was remarkable, offering a benefit for vision at old age even if grapes were consumed only at young age,” Silvia Finnemann, the principal investigator from Fordham University in New York, said.

Finnemann noted that results from her study suggest that age-related vision loss is a result of cumulative, oxidative damage over time.

“A lifelong diet enriched in natural antioxidants, such as those in grapes, appears to be directly beneficial for RPE and retinal health and function,” she said.
“Preserving eye health is a key concern as we age and this study shows that grapes may play a critical role in achieving this,” Kathleen Nave, president of the California Table Grape Commission, said.

“This is good news for consumers of all ages who enjoy grapes, and adds to the growing body of evidence that grapes offer an array of health benefits,” Nave added.

Adopted from an article, Courtesy: http://in.lifestyle.yahoo.com

Three most important exercises to train the vision and strengthen the muscles:

ROLLING – Rolling the weaker eye in a clock-wise circular motion and then anti clock-wise circular motion helps improve the strength of the eye muscles.

FOCUSING – Focusing not only strengthens the muscles but it also promotes the vision ability to connect to the brain. This lazy eye exercise requires the person to concentrate on an object held in front of the eye. Then the object is moved back and forth to change the distance from time to time. Doing this slowly, several times a day, helps the lazy eye to gradually focus better on the object.

TRACKING – Tracking is very similar to focusing except that instead of a change in distance, here the position of the object is changed. In this case, the person must focus the lazy eye on an object held in front of it. While keeping the object at the same distance, it is moved slowly from side to side, up and down and diagonally from both sides and the amblyopic eye is required to track the movement. This exercise helps speeding up the lazy eye’s ability of sending positional change signals to the brain.

Article adopted, courtesy: http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com

Want to beat breast cancer? All you need to do is to stay fit by doing daily workouts, ladies.

A new study, published in the ‘European Journal of Cancer Prevention’, has claimed that women who exercise regularly are nearly 40 per cent less likely to die from breast cancer even if they fall victim to the disease.

In fact, these are the findings of a group of researchers at University of North Carolina who found that women who made exercise a part of their lifestyle from their teens onwards had a much greater chance of surviving a tumour.

The study showed women with a healthy lifestyle who still develop the disease will have bolstered their chances of survival.

According to the researchers, a healthy lifestyle probably equips the immune system to fight off attempts by the cancerous cells to start dividing uncontrollably inside breast tissue.
Stay fit to beat breast cancer

For their study, the researchers recruited 1,508 women newly diagnosed with the disease in the late 90s and carried out detailed assessments of their lifetime exercise regimes.

They then tracked the women over a five-year period to see how many died or survived.

Their results revealed that women who engaged in regular vigorous exercise from puberty to the point where they were diagnosed, were 36 per cent per cent less likely to die from their cancer and 43 per cent less likely to die from any other cause, the ‘Daily Express’ reported.

The researchers added: “This study provides support that regular physical activity, prior to breast cancer diagnosis, improves survival.”

Courtesy: http://wonderwoman.intoday.in

It is important to observe basic health tips if you need to enjoy good shape and sustain longevity in life. It begins with a healthy diet wherein you get each of the nutrients you would like that may enable you to fight reasons for diseases. A particular brand of fruit you should consider including as part of your daily diet is avocado. If you wished find out more the benefits of avocado, then remember to read more below to learn more.

Research studies have shown that prostate cancer prevention is one of the health benefits of avocado. The fruit is known to have a natural health formula that may keep tumor more growing and in consequence prevent the possibility of having prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is not the sole method of cancer that avocado is known to fight. There is several health publications detailing healthy eating tips to naturally defend against oral cancer. Avocado is believed to contain certain compounds that search for pre-cancerous cells within the body and fight them before it fully develops into a cancer tumor. The best part is that it will not cause any trouble for the natural cells within your body.

Those who have the ailment diagnosed for being at huge risk for having breast cancer can also relish advantage of avocado. Thus, you require to increase the number of avocado you eat everyday usually with the intention to be secured one of these ailment. Avocado, like olive oil, is rich in oleic acid that’s regarded as effective in fighting breast cancer or preventing it.

You need to also incorporate more of avocado into your daily dietary plan in a way that the it is possible to improve your cardiovascular health. A natural ingredient often known as beta-sitosterol is found by the fruit that help to cut back the rate of cholesterol found in your system. A scientific experiment was conducted to point out that there is scientific support to this particular claim wherein 45 volunteers were asked to have a diet avocado daily for a couple of days. By the end of many experiment, previously proven that every participants lost in so far as 17 percent of cholesterol.

The health benefits of avocado continue to be including and another one to add in to the list is the fact which it comes with a natural supplement for folate in your diet. It is essential to have enough degree of folate in your body given that can enhance your immunity to heart diseases. Moreover, additionally it may also provides your system with e vitamin, monosaturate fats, and gluthathione to get a healthy heart.

Aside from the center, the power to improve your eye health is an additional certainly one of major health benefits of avocado. Of most fruits, it s also the best supply of carotenoid lutein which could fight macular degeneration and cataract. That is why it is a great all natural solution if you wished improve general eye wellbeing and prevent diseases related to aging.

The sole method to maximize Health benefits of avocado will be to raise the degree of intake regularly. Aside from all the nutrients it possesses to offer the body, it can also help the body to assimilate all the nutrients that you can aquire that come from the food you eat.

Adopted from an article by Rhonda, courtesy: http://goarticles.com

The simple act of wearing the right bra can help you look slimmer—instantly.

Who doesn’t remember that awkward moment when your mom took you to the local department store to buy your first bra? You walked into a vast sea of nude and blush-colored brassieres and passed by shockingly large cup sizes that could hold watermelons—a far cry from your humble set.

And the person to help you find the right bra for your newly perky breasts? An elderly lady, peering down at you over the reading glasses perched on her nose, measuring tape in hand. Even though her attitude was one of “I’ve seen it all before, honey” you felt mortified, anxious and overwhelmed. And if you step into a department store today to pick up a new bra, chances are, not much has changed since then.

Sure, now that training bras are in your distant past, you probably pop into Victoria’s Secret instead and pick up a sexy bra or two, but the person helping you this time around is most likely about 20 years old and has no clue about how a good bra should fit. Without a bra fit specialist to guide you or knowing what to look for in a good bra when you’re flying solo, it’s no surprise that most women are wearing the wrong size bra, according to “the bra whisperer” Susan Nethero, owner of Intimacy intimate apparel stores.

Considering how many hours you log in a bra each day, that’s a lot of time to spend feeling downright uncomfortable. According to a survey of 60,000 women conducted by Intimacy, “we found that nearly two-thirds of women struggle with fit issues relative to comfort,” says Nethero. The survey also revealed that nearly 50 percent of women would like more support from their bras and that one in three women are concerned about bra straps and underwire digging into their skin, as well as straps that won’t stay put.

A bad bra can cause your breasts to sag.

But wearing an unsupportive bra isn’t merely annoying. It can make you look heavier than you are and more importantly, can cause your breasts to sag, especially if you have a large chest. “No question that the larger the breasts are—whether from your genes, pregnancy or obesity—the faster they will sag,” says Arthur Perry, M.D., YouBeauty Cosmetic Surgery Expert. “The benefit of wearing a good bra is that the sagging and stretching of the tissues is lessened. When breasts are allowed to droop, you get a pulling on the skin. This stimulates the fibroblasts, which are pressure-sensitive cells that make collagen, to make more skin and contributes to drooping of the breast. The advantage of wearing a bra is that you get less stretch and less droopy breasts over time.”

Rather than walking around with deflated balloons on your chest (although, as Bobby Brown once said, that’s your prerogative), why not kiss bad bras goodbye and start your own “bravolution”? Follow Nethero’s uplifting tips for finding the perfect fit—and maintaining your investment…

Look for the telltale signs of a proper fit. The best way to find the perfect bra is to have a one-on-one fitting with a bra specialist in a store that offers a wide range of bra sizes beyond DD (stores can only sell you what they have, even if it means recommending that you squeeze into a too-small bra). Your cup shouldn’t runneth over because it’s too small—or wrinkle or gap at the top because it’s too big. Instead, the right bra will cup most of your breast and keep your set firmly in place. It should also separate your breasts by about an inch. If you wear underwire bras, the wire should rest against your rib cage and not pull away from the body, according to Nethero.

Bra support should come from the band.

Think your bra support comes from the straps? Think again. “A good bra provides breast support from the band [across your ribs]—only 10 percent of the support should come from the bra straps,” she Nethero. In other words, if you slip off the bra straps, you shouldn’t notice a significant slump in your breasts; the bra should still be supportive even without the straps. Also, if you’re looking at yourself in a mirror from the side, the bra’s bottom band should form a straight line or the back can be an inch lower than the front of your bra. “When the bra angles up your back that will cause the cups to fall down,” she says.

Don’t sweat the sizing. If a bra fit specialist tells you that you’re actually a 32 E (yes, E), despite the fact that you’ve been wearing a 34 D for a decade, don’t sweat the sizing. It may come as a shock that you’re bigger (or in some cases, smaller) than you were led to believe, but it makes sense that there would be a range of cup sizes that go beyond the typical A, B, C, D. After all, clothing doesn’t just run in sizes 0 to 6, so why should your bra? As with clothing, don’t get hung up on numbers, just focus on the best fit.

Start out firm. Although you want your bras to feel good on, you don’t want a brand-new bra to be too comfortable from the get-go. “You want it firm around the body and on the first hook so you have two to three hooks to go as the bra stretches,” says Nethero. “You want a bra that hugs and holds you because you wear them 14 to 16 hours a day.” In other words, like your best friend, you want your bra to deliver continuous support and be able to grow with you over time.

Have a variety of bras. Nearly 70 percent of women wear four bras or fewer, according to the Intimacy survey, and 40 percent wear only two bras or fewer. But bras are like shoes (and we’re betting you have more than four pairs of those)—you need to rotate them every day to prevent your bras from wearing out too quickly and to let them breathe. So how many boulder-holders should you own? “Ideally, seven to ten, but that’s a large number,” says Nethero. “Women have too few bras that they actually wear—and a lot sitting in their drawers that are a waste of money because they are uncomfortable. If you have five working bras in your wardrobe that you actually wear, that’s good.”

Nethero recommends stocking your bra arsenal with two nude bras (one of which should be strapless), one black or dark t-shirt bra and two to three fashion bras—a plunging bra (to wear with cleavage-revealing clothes like deep v-necks and wrap dresses), a sexy date bra (such as a sheer or pretty lace bra for when you’re getting a little somethin’-somethin’) and if you need it, a push-up bra. It’s also important to have a supportive activewear bra for working out. Go for one that is sized by cup size and ditch the traditional compression-based sports bra that gives you a uniboob. “When you compress the tissue, it causes the breasts to move together as a solid block of tissue and is not supporting the breast,” says Nethero. “It damages the tissue at the base of the breast.”

Know when to say buh-bye to your bras. Be honest, do you have bras in your drawer that are older than your 10-year-old dog? If so, it’s probably time to toss them. Bras that are stretched out, torn, have broken elastic or feel loose or unsupportive on the tightest hook should be thrown out and replaced. It may be hard to part with a bra that’s become as comfy as slipping on a soft cotton t-shirt, but by nixing bras that don’t provide support, you’re doing yourself—and your breasts—a huge favor.

Keep ‘em clean. Tossing your bras in the washer and dryer can cause them to fall apart over time. Using a standard laundry detergent to wash them will degrade the material and cut the bra’s lifespan in half, according to Nethero. What’s more, the intense heat of the dryer will cause the elastic to break and lose resilience. Instead, take care of your investment by washing your bras by hand and using a mild fabric care wash such as Ivory Snow or Nethero’s favorite, Forever New. Dry bras on the dryer’s delicate cycle or let them hang dry. “You’ll double the life of a bra,” she says.

Adopted from an article, Courtesy: http://www.youbeauty.com