5000 Year-Old Medical Secret Unearthed!

Edward S Bumgarner ©2010

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, 

prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and

hopefully, you get well. 

This is how the health profession goes on nowadays – a cycle of diagnosis 

and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say 

that that person was a quack.

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really 

is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and 

traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural

medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors 

of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that

followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among 

these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before 

the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, 

Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of 

herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are

based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in 

traditional medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it

has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better 

than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study 

the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies

are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been 

thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied 

herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such 

as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by 

health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. 

This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects. 

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of 

natural medicine – among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health 

agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive 

and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of 

accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to

be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the 

agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use 

or advocate are legitimate. 

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under

natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective.

You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other 

alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the

legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right 

now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be

used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of 

minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies

instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and 

prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it 

suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural 

medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These 

habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our 

vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. 

And this is the foundation of natural medicine – may it be massage, herbal 

medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the 

knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies

nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses 

in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these 

remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly 

helpful to our health and our society.

10 Things You Should Know About Stretching

Edward S Bumgarner ©2010


Before fitness training, one must give importance to doing warm-up or stretching exercises to prevent accidents or to enhance the output during the training.  There are also a number of precautionary measures and tips to serve as guidelines when doing fitness exercises.  Here are some of them.

1.  To increase your flexibility and to avoid injuries, stretch before and after workout.  Almost everyone knows that stretching before workout prevents injuries during the exercises, but only few people know that stretching after workout, when muscles are still warm, can increase flexibility.

2.  Hold your stretching position for more than 60 seconds to increase flexibility.  While holding your position for 20 seconds is enough for warm ups, holding each position for at least 60 seconds will develop the body's flexibility.

3.  Do not go into a stretching position then immediately return to the relaxed position, and do it repeatedly.  This is more appropriately termed as bouncing while in a position.  When stretching, hold that position for several seconds, and then slowly relax.  You may do this exercise repeatedly this way.  Bouncing or forcing yourself into a position during stretching can strain or damage some joints or muscles.

4.  Work slowly in increments instead of immediately proceeding to doing the hardest exercise or position.

5.  Make sure that you have stretched or warmed up all muscle groups.  For some people, even if they have strong bodies, they tend to neglect the neck when working out of stretching.  Stretching the neck muscles can be as simple as placing the palm of one's hand against the front of the head and pushing it.  Then, do the same to the sides and the back of the head.

6.  Stretch regularly to continually increase your range of movements and your level of flexibility and strength.

7.  Workout considering only your capabilities and not of others.  Do not force yourself to do exercises that you are not yet capable of just because there are people who can do it.  Increase your limits slowly.  Listen to your body.  There are days when your body may be too tired that you may have to consider reducing your range of motion.

8.  Learn to rest.  Rest in between sets and stations to make sure that the body has enough time to recover its energy.  Also, it is advisable that you don't work the same muscle groups consecutively for two days.  The muscles grow during the period when you rest and not when you are working out.

9.  Do aerobic exercises to strengthen your heart.  Aerobic exercises are those physical activities that much oxygen for fuel.  This includes cardiovascular exercises such as skipping rope, running or swimming.

10.  Music may help you when you want to train for longer periods or to increase your intensity.  You can use mp3 players, CD players or lightweight am radio receivers for this.  Just make sure that you brought your headset with you so you wouldn't disturb people who don't prefer music while exercising.

Apart from preventing injuries and increasing one's limit, it is also said that stretching is good for a tired body and also for a stressed mind and spirit.

Lifetime Fitness: On Your Way to a Healthier You

Edward S Bumgarner  ©2010


Many people end up abandoning perfectly good fitness programs and weight-loss regimens before they even lace up their sneakers.

Why? Because in a world filled with fast food, instant messaging, and a five-second disease-tracking device, anything without a quick payoff goes against the grain of the typical American instant gratification ethic. While it would be nice to actually drop inches in just a few days like what most miracle ads proclaim, managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.

Setting weight management goals for yourself can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.

That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.

Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.

That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.

To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:

1. Lifetime fitness programs offers you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.

These fitness programs provide you the right method in maintaining health, build up and encourage your competence, and take care of your family’s physical fitness as well.

2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.

There are fitness equipments that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centers also provides nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.

Lifetime fitness centers and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.

Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right track of a healthier you.

Health and Fitness

Edward S Bumgarner 2010

Being active makes a person healthy and strong. It is not just for people who have a weight problem but for everyone who likes to stay fit.  

There is a lot a person can do such as jog or walk every morning, play basketball or any other sport with friends but if a person wants to have muscles and look lean, then one can sign up and workout in a gym.

People workout for 3 reasons;

The first is that the person is overweight and the only way to lose those extra pounds will be to reduce one's calorie intake and at the same time workout in the gym.

The second is that the person is underweight and the only way to add extra pounds is to have more calories in ones diet and workout.

The third is just for fun and to keep that person in shape.

The best exercise plan should have cardiovascular and weight training exercises. This helps burn calories and increase the muscle to fat ratio that will increase ones metabolism and gain or lose weight.

Just like taking any medicine, one should first consult the doctor before undergoing any form of exercise.

Here are some benefits of exercising;

1.    It is the easiest way to maintain and improve ones health from a variety of diseases and premature death.

2.    Studies have shown that it makes a person feels happier and increases ones self esteem preventing one from falling into depression or anxiety.

3.    An active lifestyle makes a person live longer than a person who doesn’t.

Working out for someone who has not done it before should be done gradually. Endurance will not be built in a day and doing it repeatedly will surely be beneficial to the person.

It is advisable to workout regularly with a reasonable diet.

A person can consult with a dietitian or a health professional to really help plan a good diet program. It starts by evaluating the lifestyle and the health of the patient before any program can be made.

Afterwards, this is thoroughly discussed and recommended to the person which usually consists of an eating plan and an exercise program that does not require the use of supplements or one to purchase any expensive fitness equipment.

A good diet should have food from all the food groups.

This is made up by 2 things. The first is carbohydrates. The food that a person consumes should have vitamins, minerals and fiber. A lot of this can come from oats, rice, potatoes and cereals. The best still come from vegetables and fruits since these have phytochemicals, enzymes and micronutrients that are essential for a healthy diet. 

The second is fat which can come from mono and poly saturated food sources rather than animal fats. Since fat contains more than double the number of calories in food, this should be taken in small quantities to gain or lose weight.

Another way to stay healthy is to give up some vices. Most people smoke and drink. Smoking has been proven to cause lung cancer and other diseases as well as complications for women giving birth. Excessive drinking has also shown to do the same.

For people who don’t smoke, it is best to stay away from people who do since studies have shown that nonsmokers are also at risk of developing cancer due to secondary smoke inhalation.

Eating Heart Healthy Foods....

taken from Dr David Williams Atlas

There are many delicious foods that actually help your heart; however, it is hard to fathom why anyone ever dreamed of creating the fake foods that line grocery shelves today. There are also dozens of healthful ways to prepare them. Choose organic, unprocessed foods whenever possible.

Onions:
contain the bioflavonoid quercetin, an extremely effective protector of the cardiovascular system.  Onions also contain many beneficial sulfur compounds. Sulfur compounds in raw onions inhibit the stickiness of blood platelets, lower blood pressure, and cholestrol levels, and inhibit the formation of fibrin, the substance responsible for blood clots that can cause strokes and blockages in arteries.

To be effective, the onion must be raw. Dr Williams recommends eating one half raw onion a day.

Walnuts:
contain a mix of both omega - 3 and omega - 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. When walnuts were added to the diets of 13 women and 5 men ranging in age from 52 to 68 years of age, there was a significiant lowering of both total cholestrol and the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) form of cholestrol.

As little as 5 ounces of walnuts a week can reduce your cardiovascular disease risk by 30-50 percent. A couple of walnuts a day is all it takes to keep your heart healthy.

Lecithin is a nutrient that breaks fats into small droplets and improves digestion. It also keeps cholesterol soluble, which keeps it moving in the bloodstream and helps prevent blockages or clots.

Pain in the Rotator Cuff

Drs. Steven A. Peterson and Edward G. McFarland The Johns Hopkins Arthritis Bulletin

Of all the joints of the body, your shoulder is capable of the widest range of motion. This amazing flexibility allows you do just about anything, from picking up a suitcase, brushing your teeth, and throwing a 90-mph fastball, to scratching your back, and hugging your spouse.

All of this can dramatically change, however, when shoulder pain develops, and freedom of movement is affected. An estimated 20% of Americans will suffer from shoulder pain during their lifetime, with many having their damaged shoulder joint replaced surgically to relieve the pain and restore motion. Others will require rotator cuff surgery.

Q. Can the rotator cuff be torn?

A. Rotator cuff tendons have a very low blood supply, which leaves them vulnerable to degeneration as one ages. Rotator cuff damage increases naturally with age, typically in the dominant arm.

Repeating the same type of shoulder actions can accelerate shoulder degeneration, whether it be swimming laps, washing windows, or carrying a heavy briefcase.

The interesting thing about rotator cuff tears is that while rotator cuff tears are a common shoulder pain source, as many as 5-40% of people without shoulder pain have a torn rotator cuff and never know it.

Ignoring existing chronic shoulder inflammation or sustaining a sharp blow or fall on an outstretched arm may cause the rotator cuff to tear partially or completely.

An initial symptom is sharp pain in the shoulder that may radiate down to the elbow. Even so, the arm can still be moved in a normal range of motion. However, when the rotator cuff completely tears, the arm often cannot move in its normal range, and sometimes the arm cannot be raised from the side without assistance.

Q. What are the options for someone with a torn rotator cuff?

A. Many people think that because their rotator cuff is torn, they need to have surgery to restore use of their arm and get back shoulder flexibility. However, all partial tears of the rotator cuff do not require surgery.

Even with a tear, some people will find that they still have reasonably good function and relatively little shoulder pain.

Good candidates for nonsurgical therapy for partial tears of the rotator cuff include those who:

• Are bothered by pain
• Are not concerned with regaining lost shoulder strength
• Will modify all activities that cause shoulder pain symptoms. When there is a complete tear of the rotator cuff tendon, the goal of rotator cuff surgery is to get the tendon to heal to the bone so that shoulder pain is reduced and strength and range of motion of the shoulder are increased

Good candidates for surgical therapy for a torn rotator cuff include those who have:

• Much shoulder pain or loss of function
• Failed nonsurgical management
• Tears that cause profound shoulder weakness
• Tears caused by acute trauma

Visit a Naturopathic Physician....

"Five Reasons Why You Need To Take Supplements" by Melissa Wood, N.D. HSI e-Alert:

"It happened again the other day…another new patient coming in with lots of health problems. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have when visiting a Natural Health Practitioner, is that they will only get one or two 'medicines'. The other misconception is that they might only need them for a month or two to 'get over' whatever serious symptoms they have that brought them to my door.

"First of all, generally by the time someone is sitting in front of me, they have allowed their body to get to such a state that they are now having uncomfortable symptoms. Generally, this has taken years to get to this point. It's important you understand it's going to take many months, if not years, to get you out of it.

"Natural and herbal supplements can restore the body to a place of balance. But it's probably going to take more than one thing; or even two. Generally, it might take between 5- 10 supplements to help restore your health. And if there is a 'serious' health issue on the table, it will take much more than that."

In her article, Dr. Wood offers details about these five reasons why she feels it's important for everyone to take some sort of natural, whole-food supplement:

1. Depleted soils
2. Long transit time for delivery
3. Overcooking of foods
4. Not eating regular meals
5. Normal aging = digestion issues