Everyone, including the smokers, knows that smoking is injurious to health. They are not ignorant about the dangers of having cigarettes, but still are not able to get over the addiction. This is because leaving an addictive substance is much easier said than done. But it is the fact that if you are determined, there is nothing in this world that you cannot achieve, including discarding the habit of smoking. After determination, the next thing that matters is following the right approach. In the following lines, there are some of the best aids for quitting smoking.

Healthy Ways to Quit Smoking

Do It Now
When you have finally decided to quit smoking, do it then and there. Promising yourself that you will quit smoking two days from now or from the 1st of next month is nothing, but procrastination. Remember that tomorrow never comes and anything that is worth doing tomorrow is worth doing today also. So, stop smoking cigarettes right now.

List the Reasons
List out all the reasons why you find it difficult to stop smoking. For example, it might be helping your relieve stress. Now, try to find another activity that can help you out with the reason. For instance, start indulging in some meditation to keep yourself stress-free. This way, find an alterative solution for each and every reason. Follow them and you will feel much less compelled to smoke.

Find Healthy Alternates for Craving
Find healthy alternatives that you can resort to, whenever the craving arises. You can drink herbal tea whenever you feel like smoking a cigarette. You can also divert your mind by indulging in any other activity. For instance, if you smoke a cigarette after your lunch, go for a five-minute walk instead. It will clear your mind and also make you feel energized.

Acupuncture
Studies have suggested that auricular acupuncture can help people get over the habit of smoking cigarettes. Though the smoking connection has not been completely proved till date, acupuncture has surely been linked to many other health benefits.

Change Your Routine
Change your routine from the one that you were following at the time of smoking cigarettes. If you usually smoke while drinking coffee, switch to tea or even juice. If you daily come back from work via a particular route, buying cigarettes on the way, try to find an alternate route.

Get Rid of Reminders
Get rid of everything that reminds you of your smoking habit. Things like leftover cigarettes, matches, lighters, ashtrays and cigarette holders should be thrown in the garbage bin right away. If you have friends who smoke, try to avoid them at the time they are attending to their addiction. Standing close to somebody who is smoking might weaken your resolve.

Be Determined
Finally, be determined. You can achieve anything and everything in this world as long as you are determined to do it.

There are ample of foods that can offer you a tasty and low-cholesterol diet. Everybody knows that ice cream, butter and meats increase cholesterol. Not eating such items is good. However, at times, because of wrong guidance, we stop eating even those food items that are beneficial for us. Some of the ‘functional foods’ have been proved to influence your cholesterol levels and they are found to be much better and quicker than those tablets, for reducing cholesterol. Here are given some foods that would help your cholesterol level.

Foods & Diets that Help Lower Cholesterol

• Have a breakfast rich in fiber like oatmeal, wholegrain muffins, fruit etc. Read the nutrition labels given on the cereal box to select one with five grams or more fiber per serving. Including Oat bran and rice bran in your diet would be effective too.
• Prefer taking whole grains such as wholegrain breads, muffins, waffles and pancakes.
• Incorporate garlic in your food, in whatever form. Both cooked and raw garlic have compounds which help in lowering production of cholesterol by your liver.
• Start eating legumes (beans), in any way, three times a week. You can bring variation by trying bean soup, cold bean salad, sandwiches and black bean dip in snacks.
• Include soy protein in your diet. You can take soya milk, tofu and textured soy protein too.
• Raw onion, salmon, olive oil, almonds, walnuts and avocados, are also good to lower cholesterol.
• On a daily basis, have five servings of fruits and vegetables. One could be at breakfast, other at lunch, one in the evening, one before dinner and one at dinner, in the form of a cooked vegetable.
• Instead of juice, prefer eating whole fruit (including skin). Juice is the fiber-less form of fruit.
• Have ample of foods which contain the natural antioxidants – Vitamins C and E, like red and green peppers, cantaloupe, sunflower seeds, strawberries, papaya, peanuts, oranges, grapefruit juice, wheat germ, soybeans, broccoli, brussel sprouts, wheat germ oil and soybean oil.
• If you want to eat non-veg, prefer taking lean meats and chicken (which provide you with Vitamin B6 and B12).
• Green leafy vegetables and green salads should make an essential part of your daily menu.

Here are some tasty options that will fuel you up and generate weight loss. Make these foods a part of your daily diet and watch the pounds come slipping off.

1) GRAPEFRUIT

Scientific study proved the effect of grapefruit on weight loss and found that eating half a grapefruit before a meal can actually help people drop weight. The researchers studied the effect of grapefruit capsules, grapefruit juice and real grapefruit. All three seemed to help, but the folks eating the real grapefruit got the best results. The mechanism isn’t completely understood, but the results speak for themselves. As an added benefit, grapefruit contains cancer-fighting compounds. And half a grapefruit has only 39 calories.

2) PUMPKIN

You may know this vegetable for its central role in many festivals, but it’s also one of the greatest weight-loss foods ever. Plain old canned pumpkin is absolutely loaded with fiber and has a mere 40 calories. Dozens of studies confirm that high fiber intake is associated with a host of health benefits, including weight management. Pumpkin is also among the easiest food in the world to prepare.

3) GRASS-FED BEEF

Meat is a great diet food — if it doesn’t contain antibiotics, steroids and hormones. Eat grass-fed beef and avoid the health concerns that go along with eating meat while getting all the terrific benefits. Buffalo burgers are a good alternative if you can’t find grass-fed beef. High-protein diets are associated with weight loss for a variety of reasons: Protein stimulates metabolism, helps you feel full longer and helps decrease the desire to overeat. Grass-fed beef has a high omega-3 content, giving you multiple health benefits into the bargain.

4) SEA FISH

Sea fish might just be one of the greatest health bargains of all time, and they’re a boon to anyone wanting to lose weight. First of all, they are loaded with protein, which helps stabilize blood sugar, makes you feel full and helps stimulate metabolism. Second, they’re a great source of omega-3s, which not only strengthen the cardiovascular system but also are helpful in boosting mood.

5) GREEN TEA

This natural weight-loss stimulant might not be a food, but green tea is still a great slimming solution, not to mention that it’s rich in antioxidants, promotes heart health, aids digestion and regulates blood sugar and body temperature. It raises the metabolic rate and speeds up fat oxidation, thus helping people lose weight. Some research has shown that five cups a day is the magic number for fat loss.

About 90 minutes before you want to nod off, head for the kitchen and make yourself a sleepy-time snack. Keep it light (around 200 calories), so you don’t overload your digestive system. And include one or two foods from the list below. All help to relax tense muscles, quiet buzzing minds, and/or get calming, sleep-inducing hormones — serotonin and melatonin — flowing.

1. Bananas — They’re practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.

2. Chamomile tea — Chamomile is a staple of bedtime tea blends because of its mild sedating effect, which makes it the perfect natural antidote for restless minds and bodies.

3. Warm milk – It’s not a myth. Milk has some tryptophan, an amino acid that has a sedative-like effect, and calcium, which helps the brain use tryptophan. Plus, there’s the psychological throwback to infancy, when a warm bottle meant “relax, everything’s fine.”

4. Honey — Drizzle a little in your warm milk or herb tea. Lots of sugar is stimulating, but a little glucose tells your brain to turn off orexin, a recently discovered neurotransmitter that’s linked to alertness.

5. Potatoes — A small baked spud won’t overwhelm your gastrointestinal tract as it clears away acids that can interfere with yawn-inducing tryptophan. To up the soothing effect, mash the potato with warm milk.

6. Turkey — It’s the best-known source of tryptophan, credited with all those Thanksgiving naps. But that’s actually modern folklore. Tryptophan works when your stomach’s basically empty rather than overstuffed and when there are some carbs around rather than tons of protein. But put a lean slice or two on some whole-wheat bread midevening and you’ve got one of the best sleep-inducers in your kitchen.

7.  Oatmeal — Oats are a rich source of sleep-inviting melatonin, and a small bowl of warm cereal with a splash of maple syrup is cozy — and if you’ve got the munchies, it’s filling, too.

8. Almonds — A handful of these heart-healthy nuts can send you snoozing because they contain both tryptophan and a nice dose of muscle-relaxing magnesium.

9. Whole-wheat bread — A slice of toast with your tea and honey will release insulin, which helps tryptophan get to your brain, where it’s converted to serotonin and quietly murmurs “time to sleep.”

10. Flax seeds – When life goes awry, and feeling down is keeping you up, try sprinkling 2 tablespoons of these healthy little seeds on your bedtime oatmeal. They’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids, a natural mood lifter.

For employed people, stress means work overload, deadlines and pressures. For school going kids, it means having to cover too much syllabus, in too less time. Like this, each and every person has a different meaning, as far as stress is concerned, but nobody knows what it exactly is. Stress is nothing but, the mental and emotional strain a person undergoes because of some pressures present in the outside world. The usual responses or reactions to it are tension, anxiety, irritability, bad temper, lack of concentration, headache, insomnia, etc.

What is Stress Management?

Stress is an inherent part of the life of every individual, right from school going kids to retiring servicemen. It is impossible to live throughout your life without being introduced to stress, unless and until you have decided to renounce the world and become an ascetic. However, what we have to learn is coping with stress, through various stress reduction techniques, in other words stress management techniques. These techniques basically teach you how to be happy and enjoy life, even amidst tensions, and help you in relieving stress.

Some Stress Management Techniques:

The first and the foremost thing to do for relieving stress, is to know that you are under stress. Signs like muscle tension, sweaty palms, high blood pressure, constant headaches, insomnia, fidgeting, rapid breathing and forgetting things, all indicate that you are undergoing stress. The next step is to accept the fact and make some small changes in your life that will help you in coping with it. The stress management techniques provided below will help you in dealing with the problem, before it gets out of control.

Learn to Say No

You meet so many people in a day that demand your attention. You have to recognize the important from the unimportant ones and learn to say NO. It is not necessary to go at every party and accept every dinner invitation. Take out some time for yourself. Sit at home or go to any place that will help you relax.

Eat Properly

Remember the adage ‘Healthy Mind resides in a Healthy Body’. A good diet will help you in dealing with stress, in a much better way. However, don’t binge on high calorie food. Have more vegetables, fruits, cereals, etc in your diet. Don’t skip your breakfast. It keeps you energized throughout the day.

Take a Break

Your office or your home will not stop functioning if you take off a single day for yourself. You need to get away from all the things that give you stress and spend time on the things that give you happiness. For example – if you are a book lover, take an off from office, go to your nearest bookstore, buy a novel of your favorite author and spend the entire day lazing around the house, reading the book.

Exercise

One of the best ways to beat stress is to exercise. Not only does it reward you with a healthy and fit body, it also helps you let off the steam. Next time, if you are getting too much irritated over something or somebody, go for a jog. Even a 15 min run will help you feel much better.

Set a Worry Time

Keep a worry time for yourself. Set a day of the week and a particular time of that day (say 8 to 9 pm) when you will worry and till that day and time comes, don’t think about the problems that have been hogging you.

Differentiate Between Office and Home

Successful people and happy people are those who know how to differentiate between professional life and personal life. The problems of one should not affect the other. When you go to home from office, leave your worries behind. After you get back to home, spend time with family, watch TV, listen to music or do anything you like, but don’t think about office.

Other Techniques

Going for a body massage, indulging in your favorite hobby, talking about your problems to someone close to you, meditation, etc are some of the other ways through which you can beat the stress and stay healthy as well as happy.

These basic techniques of stress management are hopefully work on reducing stress.

Insomnia refers to sleeping disorder, which is characterized by irregularity in sleeping pattern of a person. People suffering from insomnia have difficulty in getting quality sleep and at times, they do not sleep in the night at all. There can be various reasons for its occurrence, such as fear, overworking, anxiety, suppression of anger, volatility, bitterness and resentment. However, the medical condition can be treated with the help of homemade remedy. There are many herbs, fruits and vegetables which can help in having a quality sleep. Given below are some home remedies for treating insomnia.
Natural Remedies for Insomnia.

• Lettuce is also helpful in insomnia, as it contains a substance called “lectucarium” that stimulates good sleep. Its juice also has a calming effect. Boil 1 tbsp lettuce seeds in ½ liter water. Wait until it reduced into 1/3 level and drink.
• Thiamine is a significant substance for maintaining strong and healthy nervous system, which assists in inducing sleep. Whole grain cereals and nuts are vital sources of thiamine.
• Drinking a glass of milk, mixed with honey, before going to bed every night can also prove helpful, as milk is an effective tonic and tranquilizer. Moreover, massaging foot soles with milk helps in reducing sleeping disorders.
• For a good quality sleep, you can also massage your head with curd.
• Rauwolfia is a sedative that has an efficient drowsiness effect for insomniac patients. Mix 0.25 – 0.50 gm of powdered rauwolfia root with cardamom to get a good night’s sleep. For chronic insomnia, take 0.25 gm of the powder in the morning as well as in the evening.
• Mix equal parts of bottle gourd juice and sesame oil. Massage the scalp with this mixture every night. Also, eating cooked bottle gourd leaves is an effective remedy for insomniac patients.
• Boil a teaspoon of aniseed in 375 ml water. Cover the container with a lid, allowing it to simmer for 15 min. Strain and drink while it is still warm. You can add honey or milk for taste. Take it after each meal or before bedtime.
• Honey also works well for insomniac patients. Take 2 tsp honey with a glass of water, before going to sleep.

What do you think, which is healthier – a peanut butter sandwich or a glass of whole milk? In terms of fat, the sandwich is actually better, according to an article published by American Heart Association. They recommend a daily fat intake limited to 30 percent of the day’s total calories, but the type of fat we eat may be just as important as the amount. People who eat a diet high in monounsaturated fat were found to have a lower risk of heart disease than those who eat more saturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats may help reduce harmful triglycerides in blood and increase good HDL cholesterol. So, how can someone change ones diet accordingly? Try to incorporate more foods that have more good (mono or polyunsaturated) fat and less bad (saturated) fat. Here are a few examples:

THE GOOD GUYS
* Peanut butter
* Olive oil
* Avocados
* Soybeans
* Nuts
* Canola oil
* Corn oil
* Sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds

THE BAD GUYS
* Marbled meats
* Organ meats (including sausage)
* Butter
* Ice cream
* Mayonnaise
* Milk
* Cream
* Cheese
* Palm oil

IN THE MIDDLE
* Lean red meat
* Chicken
* Fish

But remember hidden saturated fats also lurk in lots of snack foods such as cookies, chips, and candy. For example, anything with coconut or coconut oil even if it’s a vegan snack will be high in saturated fat.

And note that this isn’t, of course, an open invitation to start gorging on peanut butter. It’s still wise to keep your total fat intake to around 30 percent a day – just make them “better” fats.

A research indicates that drinking coffee lowers the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity or throat, at least in the general population of Japan.

The consumption of coffee in Japan is relatively high, as is the rate of cancer of the esophagus in men. To look into any protective effect of coffee drinking, Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University, Sendai, and colleagues, analysed data from the population-based Miyagi Cohort Study in Japan.

The study included information about diet, including coffee consumption. Among more than 38,000 study participants aged 40 to 64 years with no prior history of cancer, 157 cases of cancer of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus occurred during 13 years of follow up. Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who drank one or more cups per day had half the risk of developing these cancers, Naganuma’s group reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

They note that the reduction in risk included people who are at high risk for these cancers, namely, those who were current drinkers and/or smokers at the start of the study.

The researchers conclude in their article, “Although cessation of alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking is currently the best known way to help reduce the risk of developing these cancers, coffee could be a preventive factor in both low-risk and high-risk populations.”

Source: American Journal of Epidemiology

When it comes to the weight loss topic, there is no shortage of advice. Thousands of websites are there. Check any magazine rack or bookstore, search internet and you are bound to discover that latest and greatest cure for being overweight.

Some even work — for a while. Unfortunately, people often find diets hard to sustain, in part because they tire of avoiding certain foods, loading up on others, or feeling deprived and hungry. And their diet is often temporary, something to endure for a while before returning to former ways. As a result, any lost pounds come right back once the diet stops.

Here is a summary of six common weight-loss strategies, and the questions to ask yourself to determine if any of them will help you make the lifestyle changes required to maintain a healthy weight.

Low-fat diets

Cutting down on high-fat foods can help you cut down on your daily calories and thus help you lose weight. So why do not low-fat diets always work? Even a low-fat diet can lead to weight gain when people ignore the total amount of calories they are eating and regularly exceed their daily calorie goals. Too many calories from any source, low-fat foods included, can add pounds.

Low-carb diets

Followers of these eating plans believe that a decrease in carbs results in lower insulin levels, which causes the body to burn stored fat for energy. Initially, when you follow a low-carb diet you may lose more weight than if you followed a low-fat, low-calorie diet. However, this advantage slowly decreases after the first six months. After one year, the amount of weight loss is about the same between the two diets.

A low-carb diet does not appear to be any easier to maintain than are other diets. Studies comparing low-carb diets and low-fat diets have found that after a year, people drop out of both diets at similar rates. This suggests that the low-carb diet, like so many diets, is no easier to stick to long term. Well-known low-carb diets include the Atkins diet, Zone diet and Protein Power.

Glycemic-index diets

The glycemic index ranks carbohydrate-containing foods based on their effects on blood sugar. Similar to the theory behind low-carb diets, most low-glycemic-index diets claim that lowering blood sugar levels leads to weight loss. You may have difficulty following a diet that emphasises only foods with a low-glycemic-index ranking. Many factors other than food influence your blood sugar level, including your age and weight, the type of food preparation, and the portion size. The South Beach diet is an example of a low-glycemic-index diet.

Meal replacements

Some meals provide less calories, but are nutritionally complete. You replace one or two meals a day, such as breakfast and lunch, with a low-calorie shake or meal bar. Then you eat a healthy third meal, between 600 and 700 calories, of your own choosing. Meal replacements — if used as directed — can be as effective as other weight-loss diets.

Meal providers

Some people have a difficult time knowing what they are supposed to eat. Busy schedules leave little time for meal preparation. In such cases, relying on ready-made meals eaten at home may deserve consideration. These services can be expensive.

Group approaches

You do not have to lose weight alone. Group programmes can support your efforts, giving you eating plans, exercise recommendations and support from others on the same dietary path. After joining, expect regular weigh-ins, group meetings and activity sessions.

Does the plan fit your needs?

How do you know if a weight-loss plan fits your needs and lifestyle? Ask yourself these questions. Does the programme:

* Include various foods from the major food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains (particularly whole grains), low-fat dairy products, lean protein sources (meat, poultry, fish, beans and other legumes), nuts and seeds?

* Include foods you like and that you would enjoy eating for a lifetime — not just for several weeks or months?

* Feature foods you can easily find in your local grocery store?

* Allow you to eat your favorite foods, or better yet, all foods?

* Fit your lifestyle and budget?

* Include proper amounts of nutrients and calories to help you lose weight safely and effectively?

* Encourage regular physical activity?

If you answer no to any of these questions, the weight-loss programme is not right for you, as you probably will not stay with it. Successful weight loss requires permanent changes to your eating and physical activity habits. This means you need to find a weight-loss strategy that you can embrace for life. The key is to search for a path that gives you offers an opening to finding comfort in life.

Almost everyone sweats as a normal reaction to stress such as heat, exercise, emotional factors. However, some people sweat excessively at armpits, on the hands or feet, causing severe social and psychological embarrassment. These people suffer from a condition known as primary focal hyperhidrosis. It affects one in twenty people worldwide. Some people are so embarrassed by this condition that they never seek help from their medical doctors.

Hyperhidrosis can either be generalised or localised to specific parts of the body. Hands, feet, axillae and the groin area are among the most active regions of perspiration due to the relatively high concentration of sweat glands; however, any part of the body may be affected. Primary hyperhidrosis is found to start during adolescence or even before.

Excessive sweating impedes the performance of many routine activities. Things like driving, taking tests and simply grasping objects are severely hampered by sweaty hands.

Some hyperhidrosis sufferers feel they have to avoid situations where they will come into physical contact with others. Interviews, a common source of anxiety for many people, are particularly distressing for hyperhidrosis patients. Most often, it is the handshake before and after the interview that they will be stressing most about. Hiding embarrassing sweat spots under the armpits limits the sufferers arm movements and pretense. In severe cases, shirts must be changed several times during the day.

Many careers present challenges for hyperhidrosis sufferers; cooks and chefs, doctors and people working with computers can be affected by the social aspect of their condition. The risk of de-hydration can limit the ability of sufferers to function in extremely hot conditions without reasonable access to a source of hydration as well as cause a risk of mineral and salt imbalance from excessive sweating.

Many cases of excessive sweating can be controlled by applying products such as Drysol (20 percent aluminum chloride in alcohol) on your armpits and wrapping plastic wrap over them before you go to sleep If your armpits itch or burn, remove the plastic and wash the area with soap and water. This process reduces sweating for six to eight days. You can repeat the procedure when you start to sweat heavily again. Most antiperspirants contain aluminum, which is safe for external use.

In 1998, Dr Walter Shelley of the Medical College of Ohio developed a breakthrough treatment for severe hand sweating when he injected botulinum toxin (Botox) into patients’ palms. The patients stopped sweating on their palms for 4 to 12 months.

Another possible treatment for sweaty hands is a device called Drionic, where you place your hands on a special wet pad and have a weak current run through your hands. Scopolamine can also help to prevent sweating, but it can make you dizzy so you must take it in very low doses. Propanthelin 15 mg pills will reduce sweating for a few hours, but it can also make you feel dizzy.

Many people sweat profusely because they are nervous about appearing before an audience. A propanolol pill taken one half hour before public speaking or any other high-pressure event can prevent the sweating, shaking and other effects of stage fright. Propanolol is a beta blocker commonly used to control blood pressure; it is a safe and very effective way to get rid of even the worst stage fright. Check with your doctor.