Stay Happy

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Stay Happy

Provided by ISL Consulting Co.


Exercise is good for your body, but did you know that exercise is also good for your mind?

Research has shown that regular exercise delivers a mental and emotional boost. It improves your mood, bolsters your self-esteem and gives you the confidence to handle whatever comes your way. Some studies hint that it also enhances the functioning of your brain.

Your Body's Medicine Cabinet
When you are physically active your body releases chemicals known as endorphins. These are your body's natural painkillers and stress reducers. They diminish anxiety and depression and produce a sense of well being known as the exercise "high."

Just one workout can release another cache of natural antidepressant chemicals from your body's medicine cabinet, such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine.

A study at Duke University found that intense bouts of exercise are every effective in reducing feelings of depression, tension, anger and confusion.

Meanwhile, a host of other studies have shown that even short spurts of moderate exercise can improve your outlook on life and make you less anxious. Whether you take a brisk ten-minute walk, do a few jumping jacks, or bicycle around the block, you will feel the benefit both physically and emotionally.

Stress Buster
Chronic stress releases a number of different chemicals and hormones into your body that raise blood pressure, weaken your immunity to colds and illness, impair your memory, increase fat cell storage, and lead to depression.

Regular physical activity has been shown to be an effective stress buster and successful weapon against its debilitating effects. The set of beneficial chemicals and hormones released during exercise are an important arsenal that can defeat the negative chemicals created by stress.

Canadian researchers discovered that depressed people experienced significantly less depression after exercising for anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, three times a week for five weeks. In some cases the benefits lasted up to one year. It is important to note however, that severe cases of depression require medical review and a combination of treatments.

In another study, a team of Australian researchers compared people who practiced progressive-relaxation techniques with a group who did 30 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week. It was the exercise group that had lower blood pressure and responded best to acute stress.

A Boost to Self-esteem
How we feel directly affects how we use our bodies and how we look. Feelings of distress or doubt can cause us to hunch our bodies in an effort at self-protection. As a result our spines are compressed and our breathing is shallow. We limit ourselves to small movements leading our muscles and joints to stiffen and weaken. It is no wonder that our spirits might sag and our sense of self-esteem drop through the floor.

Often just starting out on a new exercise program can boost your sense of self-worth. As you find yourself progressing, you'll also find your confidence growing. Choose physical activities that stretch and strengthen. They will help you to physically stand taller, feel better, and face the world with a positive outlook.

Yoga poses such as the Sun Breath, Mountain, and Warrior One, can help build confidence and self-esteem. They strengthen your legs, joints, and spine so that you can feel grounded and stable. The postures create good spinal alignment to help you stand tall and increase your range of movement. They open your chest for deep regular breathing that can calm your nerves and mind.


>>http://health.yahoo.com/centers/mens/135










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Nutrition

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Nutrition

Provided by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Good Nutrition

Make sure that your diet contains all the essential nutrients for good health. Using the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts Label that is found on most processed food products can help you choose a healthful diet. The Pyramid shows you the kinds and amounts of food that you need each day for good health. The Nutrition Facts Label will help you select foods that meet your daily nutritional needs. A healthful diet should include:

Vitamins and Minerals
Adequate vitamins and minerals. Eating a wide variety of foods from all the food groups on the Food Guide Pyramid will help you get the vitamins and minerals you need. If you eat less than 1,200 calories per day, you may benefit from taking a daily vitamin and mineral supplement.

Adequate Protein
The average woman 25 years of age and older should get 50 grams of protein each day, and the average man 25 years of age and older should get 63 grams of protein each day. Adequate protein is important because it prevents muscle tissue from breaking down and repairs all body tissues such as skin and teeth. To get adequate protein in your diet, make sure you eat 2-3 servings (see Figure 2) from the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group on the Food Guide Pyramid every day. These foods are all good sources of protein.



Adequate Carbohydrates

At least 100 grams of carbohydrates per day are needed to prevent fatigue and dangerous fluid imbalances. To make sure you get enough carbohydrates, eat 6-11 servings (see Figure 2) from the Bread, Cereal, Rice, and Pasta Group on the Food Guide Pyramid every day.

Fiber Intake
Adequate fiber helps with proper bowel function. If you were to eat 1 cup of bran cereal, 1/2 cup of carrots, 1/2 cup of kidney beans, a medium-sized pear, and a medium-sized apple together in 1 day, you would get about 30 grams of fiber.

Adequate Protein
The average woman 25 years of age and older should get 50 grams of protein each day, and the average man 25 years of age and older should get 63 grams of protein each day. Adequate protein is important because it prevents muscle tissue from breaking down and repairs all body tissues such as skin and teeth. To get adequate protein in your diet, make sure you eat 2-3 servings (see Figure 2) from the Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs, and Nuts Group on the Food Guide Pyramid every day. These foods are all good sources of protein.

Fat Per Day
No more than 30 percent of calories, on average, from fat per day, with less than 10 percent of calories from saturated fat (such as fat from meat, butter, and eggs). Limiting fat to these levels reduces your risk for heart disease and may help you lose weight. In addition, you should limit the amount of cholesterol in your diet. Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in animal products such as meat and eggs. Your diet should include no more than 300 milligrams of cholesterol per day (one egg contains about 215 milligrams of cholesterol, and 3.5 ounces of cooked hamburger contain 100 milligrams of cholesterol).

Last Reviewed: 2002
>>http://health.yahoo.com/centers/mens/131











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What Is Hair Loss?

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What Is Hair Loss?

Provided by ehealthMD.com

Most people routinely lose between 70 and 150 hairs from their scalp each day, mainly through washing, brushing, and combing.

Scalp hair starts to thin when more hairs are lost through normal shedding than the scalp is able to renew. About 40% of the density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning of the hair becomes noticeable.

Hair loss can be caused by:

Heredity. Most balding is caused by a genetic predisposition - in other words, it's part of a person's genetic makeup. This is called male pattern baldness, or hereditary balding or thinning. It is the most common cause of thinning hair.
Illness, certain physical conditions, or their treatments. This can include high fever, thyroid disease, childbirth, inadequate protein in the diet, iron deficiency, cancer treatments, the use of certain medications, and other causes.

Hair may be lost in two ways:

In patchy hair loss, well-defined areas of hair are lost while the remaining scalp retains a good covering of hair.
In generalized hair loss, there is a uniform thinning over the entire scalp with no areas of normal hair growth.

The medical term for hair loss is alopecia. There are different classifications of alopecia:

Alopecia areata is a disease in which well-defined bald patches occur. It usually clears completely within 6 to 12 months without treatment.
Alopecia totalis is an uncommon condition in which all hair on the scalp is lost. The cause is unknown, and the baldness is usually permanent.
Alopecia universalis is a total loss of hair on all parts of the body.
Androgenetic alopecia is balding caused by heredity. It can affect both men and women, although women with this inherited tendency do not become totally bald. The condition can start in a person's teens, twenties, or thirties.
Nice To Know:

The story of Samson and Delilah illustrates how, in the popular imagination, strength and virility have long been associated with an exuberant growth of hair - Samson's source of strength was his hair, which Delilah had shaved in betrayal of him. Indeed, many societies have shaved the scalp as a form of punishment.

Today, however, more men are feeling comfortable with baldness. More celebrities and athletes are sporting bald heads, helping to dispel the myth that youth or masculinity are linked to a full head of hair.



The Structure Of Hair

Every hair grows within a hair follicle, which is a tiny tube of cells close to the surface of the skin. Each hair has a root and a shaft within this follicle.




If you pluck a hair and hold it up to the light, the root will appear as a bulbous white swelling at the deep end. The root lies between 2 and 4 millimeters (about a tenth of an inch) under the skin surface. Its purpose is to produce the actual hair, which is known technically as the hair shaft.

The hair shaft contains no living tissue. It consists of protein material twisted into a very fine rope-like arrangement. It is this part of the structure that we think of in everyday terms as "hair."

Each hair has:

A sebaceous gland, which provides fats and greases to the hair
An erector muscle, which is responsible for lifting the hair off the surface of the skin at times of stress or to conserve warmth

The hair root does not grow continuously, but rather in a cycle of stops and starts.

There is an initial period of active growth that lasts about three years.
As the period of growth ends, the deepest part of the hair follicle wastes away.
The hair root then enters a resting period of about 90 days, during which no further hair is produced by the resting root.
At the end of this phase, the hair falls out and a new hair is produced.

Human hairs are randomly distributed all over the scalp in terms of their growth pattern, so that at any one time, some hairs will be actively growing while others are resting. Only those hairs ending their resting phase are lost each day.

There is tremendous variation in the number of hairs that people shed each day, depending on the number of scalp hairs and the length of the growth cycle. As people age, their rate of new hair growth slows down, resulting in a gradual thinning.

Need To Know:

Q: What should I do if I think I'm losing more hair than normal?

A: If you notice you are shedding hair excessively after combing or brushing, or if your hair is becoming thinner, you should consult with your primary care provider or a dermatologist (a physician who specializes in treating skin and hair problems). A doctor can determine if disease is present and whether or not the hair loss will respond to medical treatment.


Facts About Hair And Hair Loss

The average human scalp has about 100,000 hairs.
Nearly two out of every three men develop some form of balding, while a higher percentage of men and women have some form of hair loss during their lives.
About 90% of a person's scalp hair is in a continual growth phase that lasts two to six years.
The other 10% of scalp hair is in a resting phase that lasts between two and three months.
Between 70 and 150 hairs are regularly lost from the scalp each day.
People with blond hair typically have more hair (average 140,000 hairs) than the average brunette (105,000 hairs) or redhead (90,000).
About 40% of the density of scalp hair has to be lost before thinning of the hair becomes noticeable.
Shaving hair does not stimulate hair growth.
Hair plucking does not stop hair growth.
Hair grows faster in warm weather than in cold.
Hair grows at an average rate of 1 centimenter (around half an inch) per month.





Last Reviewed: 2002 by Guy Slowik, M.D.











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