Alternative medicine
Learning Center
Considering complementary therapy
Considering a complementary treatment? Follow these tips: 1. Gather information about the treatment. Look for websites that use qualified health professionals to create and review the information. 2. Find and evaluate treatment practitioners. Ask your doctor for a referral. 3. Discuss your choices with your doctor.
Need a reason to exercise? Here are 7!
Want to feel better, have more energy and perhaps even live longer? Exercise is the answer. Here are seven ways exercise improves your life: 1. Exercise improves your mood. 2. Exercise combats chronic diseases. 3. Exercise helps you manage your weight. 4. Exercise boosts your energy level. 5. Exercise helps keep your brain sharp. 6. Exercise can help you live longer. 7. Exercise can be fun. Find an activity you enjoy, and go for it.
Fitness tip: Include your friends
Exercise doesn't have to be drudgery. And you don't need to go it alone. Sign up for a group exercise class or join a softball, soccer or volleyball team. Work out with a friend at a health club or gym. Start a walking group with friends and neighbors.
Fitness barriers: Bust 'em
Sticking to a regular exercise schedule isn't easy. But you can do it. No time? Break exercise into short chunks, or count daily activities, such as walking the stairs, as part of your fitness program. Worried about getting injured? Take it slowly. Start by walking. Too expensive? Work out at home rather than at a health club. Discouraged? Recall your past successes. Bored? Work out with friends or family.
Posture check: Do you stand up straight?
Good posture minimizes strain on your joints and muscles, which can help prevent aches and pains. So what's good posture? When you're standing, keep your chest held high and your shoulders back and relaxed. Try not to tilt your head forward, backward or sideways. Pull in your abdomen and buttocks. Make sure your knees are relaxed, not locked. Keep your feet parallel and your weight balanced evenly on both feet.
Weight loss: Unhook yourself from food
Do thoughts and feelings about food stand in your way of learning healthy-eating habits? Try these five steps: 1. Know your habits. For a few weeks, jot down what, when and why you eat. See if any patterns emerge. 2. Take away temptation. Don't keep comfort foods in your home if they're hard for you to resist. 3. Enjoy an occasional treat to help curb cravings. 4. Don't give up on yourself. An occasional setback is to be expected. Get right back on the bandwagon.
Don't believe shaving myths
Contrary to popular belief, shaving hair doesn't make it grow back thicker. And shaving doesn't affect how dark your hair is or how fast it grows. Shaving facial or body hair gives the hair a blunt tip that can feel coarse as the hair grows out. During this phase, the hair might appear darker or thicker, but it's not.
Treat mosquito bites
Bitten by one of those pesky little bloodsuckers? Although mosquito bites are itchy, try to avoid scratching. They'll go away on their own. If you need relief in the meantime, apply calamine lotion or a nonprescription corticosteroid cream to the bite. Rubbing the bite with an ice cube for 30 seconds may help too.
Time your lotions right
Apply moisturizers immediately after bathing. After washing or bathing, gently pat or blot your skin dry with a towel so that some moisture remains on the skin. Immediately moisturize your skin with an oil or cream to help trap water in the surface cells.
Ward off dry skin
To keep skin moist and healthy: 1. Moisturize. Moisturizer seals skin to keep water from escaping. 2. Keep bath and shower time to 10 minutes or less. Turn the dial to warm, not hot. 3. Use cleansing creams or gentle skin cleansers and bath or show gels with added moisturizers.
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