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Ingredients for a
Successful Diet
Your body runs on
energy supplied by food. Unless your body receives the nutrients
it needs to function properly, it will not perform to its full
potential. Whether eating a routine meal, preparing for an
athletic event, or dieting to lose weight you should eat a well
balanced diet. This should include the four basic food
groups. Diet is a life long process. When dieting to lose
weight, be careful of "fad" diets. Your caloric intake should be
adjusted to a comfortable degree that you can live with. When a
person cuts back their caloric intake too much, it resets their
metabolism resulting in an overall weight gain when they go back to
eating their regular diet.
Pearl: Scrutinize every
morsel you put in your mouth.
What is Exercise?
Many people feel they get
plenty of exercise at work, but is this really the kind of exercise
that will improve their health? Chances are, it probably is not.
To get beneficial exercise to maintain cardiovascular fitness, one
needs to do an aerobic type exercise at least 20 minutes three times a
week. This means getting your heart rate up to 60-80% of your
maximum heart rate and keeping it there for 20 minutes. Good
aerobic activities include walking, jogging, swimming, and
bicycling. Many people find that this increases their energy and
improves their sense of well being.
Pearl: Make time for exercise
and do some aerobic activity that you enjoy.
Fine Tuning Your Body With Drugs
Are there any "recreational
drugs" which can fine tune the body or increase performance.
Actually steroids have been shown to improve performance with high
intensity workouts. However, the side effects of liver toxicity,
diabetes, impotence, and acne counteract any physical gains attributed
to the steroids.
Alcohol is a depressant which decreases ones level of consciousness and
impairs judgement. Alcohol also acts as a toxin to the liver and
can cause direct damage to the liver. It can also cause breast
development in males, decreased testicular size and impotence.
Can cocaine make you high? Yes, it can make your blood pressure
high. High blood
pressure leads to strokes and heart attacks.
Pearl: Avoid drugs.
There are no "recreational drugs" which can safely fine tune your
body. See your physician if you feel your body needs medications
for "fine tuning".
Is Caffeine Bad for You?
Caffeine is found in coffee,
tea, sodas, and chocolate. Too much caffeine can cause
nervousness, anxiety, insomnia, palpitations, heart burn, caffeine
withdrawal headaches, and pain with fibrocystic breast disease.
Pearl: Avoid caffeine if you
are suffering from any of these problems.
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Tobacco
The Most Addictive
Substance
In the World
Tobacco is one of the
most addictive subatances in the world. More people are
addicted to tobacco than any other substance. The most common
cause of death among smokers is lung cancer. Smokers also suffer
from increased numbers of respiratory tract infections as well as
carrying around a smoky odor with them where ever they go.
Chewing tobacco is associated with increase risk of lip, mouth and
throat cancer.
Pearl:
Don't start smoking or
chewing tobacco. If you already have -- Good Luck! You will
need to stop or else risk developing cancer.
Health Risks of Sex
Pelvic inflammatory disease
is the leading cause of infertility among women. It is commonly
caused by chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease. Certain
strains of Human Papilloma Virus which causes genital warts have been
linked to cancer of the cervix and scrotum. It is another
sexually transmitted disease. HIV is also sexually transmitted
and causes AIDS. There is no cure for AIDS. The best
treatment for sexually transmitted diseases is prevention. Abstinence is 100% effective.
After abstinence, partner choice can help prevent coming down with
sexually transmitted diseases. If you pick a partner who has not
had sex with anyone, and you have not had sex with anyone, your
lifetime chance of coming down with a sexually transmitted disease is
practically "0" if you stay with this partner. If you have
several partners, or a single partner with several partners, your risk
becomes very great for coming down with a sexually transmitted
disease.. Condoms are also effective against spread of sexually
transmitted disease but are not 100% effective. One study shows
that the risk of coming down with HIV infection is 1 in 6 with the use
of condoms where one partner has HIV infection.
Pearl: The best treatment of
sexually transmitted diseases is prevention and abstinence is 100%
effective. For those who are sexually active, careful choice of
their partner and use of condoms decreases risk of infections. If
you are sexually active, see your physician regularly to screen for
sexually transmitted diseases and their complications.
Pregnancy can also be a health risk associated with sex. For
women at extremes of age (young or old), going through pregnancy and
delivery can be hazardous to their health or even result in
death. Any time you have sex it can result in pregnancy. In
fact, among adolescents, 22% become pregnant within one month from the
time they first have intercourse. One should not have sex until
they are ready to start a family and take care of a baby. One
should never have sex without birth control when pregnancy is not
wanted. One should remember that even with birth control,
pregnancy can occur.
Pearl: Wait until you are
ready to have kids before having sex.
Bottom Line
Good health is not just something that
comes naturally. It is developed through continual positive life
style adjustments.
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