The Nation Newspaper

Category: Wellness/Living.

Wholesome, healthy lifestyle tips.

  • Beat Arthritis by checking your teeth

    Beat Arthritis by checking your teeth

    Gum/tooth disease is a common complaint that comes with aging, which is the reason many elderly people lose their natural teeth with age. One thing many physicians and their patients are yet to realize is that tooth/gum trouble is a symptom of a much more serious health challenge. Pain in the joints is a well known symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis, but a much less known fact is the relationship between arthritis and gum/tooth troubles. Physician/researcher Al Sears points this out when he says, “But one problem with modern medicine is that specialists often miss the bigger picture. Every part of your body is biologically connected. And what’s going on in your mouth can reveal a lot about your health.”

     

    New research studies published in the Nature Reviews Rheumatology journal provide evidence to corroborate Sear’s theory. Sears states, “In a study published just a few weeks ago in the journal Nature Reviews Rheumatology, researchers followed 6,616 people for more than 10 years. They found that those who had moderate to severe gum disease had more than twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.”

     

    Sears continues, “Other research suggests that clearing up gum disease could help prevent or treat Rheumatoid Arthritis. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine found that people who were treated for gum disease had significantly more improvement in their Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms than those who were only treated for their Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

     

    There are a lot of bacteria in your mouth, something like 100 billion bacteria. The bacteria form a sticky film called plaque that hardens into tartar. Plaque and tartar cause inflammation in your gums. If you have plaque and tartar buildup, your gums may bleed when you brush your teeth. But those bacteria can also travel around your body. And left unchecked, they can cause inflammation in other parts of your body, like in your joints.

     

    The good news is that treating gum troubles could treat or prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis. The Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine study found that people who were treated for gum disease had significantly more improvement in their RA symptoms than those who were only treated for their Rheumatoid Arthritis. Sears continues, “Scientists found that one of the bacteria involved in Periodontitis may trigger a process called citrullination. Researchers who study this process believe it’s what sparks the immune system and drives the cascade of events that lead to Rheumatoid Arthritis.” In other words, gum disease could be triggering RA.

     

    The secret of Healthy Teeth is therefore Healthy Joints. To prevent and treat your RA, simply take care of your teeth. Besides just brushing and flossing, do the following for healthy teeth AND joints:

    1. Coconut Oil Pulling. Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic detox practice. It pulls toxins out of teeth and gums. And the oil leaves a film on teeth to help prevent plaque and bacteria from sticking. It can reduce both plaque and gum disease in just seven days.

    To do this, in the morning before eating or drinking anything, gently swish one tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and between your teeth for 10 to 20 minutes. Don’t swallow. Spit the used oil into the trash or a jar, not the sink. It will clog your plumbing. Rinse your mouth and brush your teeth as normal.

     

    1. Rinse Your Mouth With Aloe. Aloe Vera has 23 polypeptides that stimulate the immune system and fight infections. In a study in India, 345 healthy people used aloe mouthwash twice a day. After just four days, aloe stamped out plaque and gingivitis. It also significantly lowered bleeding and inflammation.

    Use it just like regular mouthwash. Look for cold-processed aloe juice that uses the whole leaf. It should be at least 85% pure aloe Vera with no sugar or additives.

     

    1. Chew On Coenzyme Q10. People with gum disease have a deficiency of CoQ10. But replacing CoQ10 reserves can turn that around, and reverse gum disease.

    Look for a chewable form of CoQ10, and leave it in your mouth for a few minutes to coat your gums. Or gargle with a natural mouthwash containing CoQ10.You can also take 60 mg per day of a CoQ10 supplement. Just make sure it’s the “reduced” or ubiquinol form. If you already have gum disease or an infection, take 100 mg twice a day. I’ve seen it help repair visibly damaged gum tissue.

  • What exactly are blackheads?

    Dermatologists explain that blackheads are really a specific type of acne, triggered by sebum (otherwise known as face oil) production. If a clogged pore “remains open to the air, the oils in the pores oxidize to a black color, which is why we called them ‘open’ comedones or blackheads.”Here are tips to deal with black heads. Before you can begin to start treating blackheads, it’s a good idea to actually know what you’re dealing with. As you can’t really fix a problem when you don’t know what’s causing it.

    Keep in mind that they aren’t composed of dirt stuck in your pores. It’s really just the natural oil from your skin, turned a darker color.

    Those May Not Be Blackheads

    Also not all large pores have blackheads. Also, not everything that comes up when you press your pimples are blackheads either. Grab a magnifying mirror and take a (much) closer look. You may just have microscopic hairs that look like blackheads. A visit to your dermatologist, to tell the difference between the two diagnoses, can make the difference in getting rid of these spots.

    Sebaceous Filaments

    Besides microscopic nose hairs, you could have sebaceous filaments. These, instead of turning black, are clear. Sebaceous filaments don’t oxidize like blackheads do, meaning they don’t have the telltale color change. Sebaceous filaments are like blackheads, in that they both have condensed oil and skin scales, but they aren’t totally congealed like blackheads. Sebaceous filament material may congeal into a true blackhead, and most blackheads have had former lives as sebaceous filaments. With proper cleansing and care, however, sebaceous filaments can be softened, dissolved, and/or lifted up and out of the oil gland ducts.

    Blackheads Can Show Up Anywhere

    Not all blackheads live on your nose. You can get blackheads anywhere you can get a pimple; they’re just more common near the oiliest parts of your skin. In fact, blackheads regularly show up on areas besides the nose and chin. To be honest, most people can have blackheads on the face, chest, and back. Blackheads are dependent on many different factors. A combination of the thickness of your sebum, the stickiness of skin scales, and how well both can move through the pore. Oil and scale production amounts, and qualities vary from place to place on the skin and, in the same person, vary over time due to developmental and hormonal factors.

    Topical Treatments To Bust Through Blackheads

    So by now, we know blackheads are made up of oil and skin scales getting stuck in a pore. When you’re a hormonal teen with an especially oily T-zone, it may seem like there is nothing you can do to quell the oil. And, for many, that may just be true unless they turn to hormonal regulation through something like the birth control pill.

    Even if you can’t stop your skin from being oily, you can help to keep that pore from getting clogged in the first place. Adding a retinol in your nightly regimen, exfoliation using an at-home peel to remove dead skin cells, and products with salicylic acid like cleansers, and spot treatments are your best bets for treating your blackheads at home.

    Search for these three specific skin-care ingredients:

    Salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and vitamin A. Salicylic and glycolic acids work well together to decrease oil production and vitamin A (found in retinols) is a great exfoliant. Prescription-strength varieties of vitamin A are sometimes necessary if the acne is severe, but during harmattan months, use over-the-counter versions of retinol.

    DIY Treatments For Blackheads

    But if you aren’t into buying lots of new products, you can also look to DIY treatments for acne. Here are a few concoctions for treating blackheads with ingredients you may find in your own kitchen.

    Turmeric mask

    Combine turmeric powder with chickpea flour, and plain yogurt to create an easy DIY mask. It’s what Indian brides bathe in the day before their big wedding day.  Apply the mask for 10 minutes, and then rinse it off to avoid staining towels with the bright yellow pigment of turmeric. You’ll notice the improvement in the blackhead acne, as well as the overall complexion of the skin within the first 48 hours. It works great and is pregnancy safe!

  • Beat Arthritis by checking your teeth

    Gum/tooth disease is a common complaint that comes with aging, which is the reason many elderly people lose their natural teeth with age. One thing many physicians and their patients are yet to realize is that tooth/gum trouble is a symptom of a much more serious health challenge. Pain in the joints is a well known symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis, but a much less known fact is the relationship between arthritis and gum/tooth troubles. Physician/researcher Al Sears points this out when he says, “But one problem with modern medicine is that specialists often miss the bigger picture. Every part of your body is biologically connected. And what’s going on in your mouth can reveal a lot about your health.”

    New research studies published in the Nature Reviews Rheumatology journal provide evidence to corroborate Sear’s theory. Sears states, “In a study published just a few weeks ago in the journal Nature Reviews Rheumatology, researchers followed 6,616 people for more than 10 years. They found that those who had moderate to severe gum disease had more than twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.”

    Sears continues, “Other research suggests that clearing up gum disease could help prevent or treat Rheumatoid Arthritis. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine found that people who were treated for gum disease had significantly more improvement in their Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms than those who were only treated for their Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

    There are a lot of bacteria in your mouth, something like 100 billion bacteria. The bacteria form a sticky film called plaque that hardens into tartar. Plaque and tartar cause inflammation in your gums. If you have plaque and tartar buildup, your gums may bleed when you brush your teeth. But those bacteria can also travel around your body. And left unchecked, they can cause inflammation in other parts of your body, like in your joints.

    The good news is that treating gum troubles could treat or prevent Rheumatoid Arthritis. The Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine study found that people who were treated for gum disease had significantly more improvement in their RA symptoms than those who were only treated for their Rheumatoid Arthritis. Sears continues, “Scientists found that one of the bacteria involved in Periodontitis may trigger a process called citrullination. Researchers who study this process believe it’s what sparks the immune system and drives the cascade of events that lead to Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

    The secret of Healthy Teeth is therefore Healthy Joints. To prevent and treat your RA, simply take care of your teeth. Besides just brushing and flossing, do the following for healthy teeth AND joints:

    1. Coconut Oil Pulling. Oil pulling is an ancient Ayurvedic detox practice. It pulls toxins out of teeth and gums. And the oil leaves a film on teeth to help prevent plaque and bacteria from sticking. It can reduce both plaque and gum disease in just seven days.

    To do this, in the morning before eating or drinking anything, gently swish one tablespoon of coconut oil in your mouth and between your teeth for 10 to 20 minutes. Don’t swallow. Spit the used oil into the trash or a jar, not the sink. It will clog your plumbing. Rinse your mouth and brush your teeth as normal.

    1. Rinse Your Mouth With Aloe. Aloe Vera has 23 polypeptides that stimulate the immune system and fight infections. In a study in India, 345 healthy people used aloe mouthwash twice a day. After just four days, aloe stamped out plaque and gingivitis. It also significantly lowered bleeding and inflammation.

  • Straighten velvet outfits with steam

    You intend to wear a lovely velvet outfit to an event, but it’s rumpled, and ironing can’t get out the wrinkles. What do you do?

    Simply hold the outfit over a pot of boiling water, or leave in your sauna for five minutes, and it will be as good as new. Why? The steam raises the pile of the fabric, making it look as smooth and lustrous as it was when you bought it.

  • The one packing mistake we all make

    The one packing mistake we all make

    My friend Eji recently contacted about helping her with her packing. She confesses to being “the worst suitcase packer of all time”. I am not a bad packer myself, but she also admits to being “the worst un-packer”. She confesses, “I will pack for a trip in 30 minutes only to return and leave the suitcase in its exact state for weeks after”. My friend is a busy professional, whose recent promotion means that she is doing more and more travelling, and is in desperate need of an expert to help sort out her packing challenges.

    See the packing mistake we are all guilty of, and tips to avoid it.
    The major mistake we most often make is aimlessly throwing everything in a suitcase without planning, organization, or any effort whatsoever. Ahead, prepare yourself to do some personal reflecting on your other packing mistakes as you take hold of tested solutions for a disheveled and over packed suitcase.

    THE #1 PACKING MISTAKE IS: AIMLESSLY THROWING EVERYTHING INTO A SUITCASE

    One big packing mistake that people make is not taking the time to make sense of their suitcases. They grab items that they want to bring on their trips and just fill up their bags with them. Over packing is an issue too (getting into that mindset of Oh, I’ll definitely want to wear this since I’ll be in the Bahamas—when you know very well that that romper never looks good on you and being in the Bahamas won’t change that).

    PACKING SOLUTIONS:

    Separate items by type.
    Separate items by type (clothing together, accessories together, etc.) and either use the pockets or mesh/clear packing bags to separate them. For example, keep the big and bulky clothing in the main pocket and small clothing like socks and underwear in one of the small pockets.
    Pack exact outfits.
    Do your best to plan out exact outfits and think when you’ll wear what. Keep in mind that versatility is of utmost importance when you pack. Those trousers that you can dress up or down to a variety of places? Pack them!
    Store toiletries in clear bags.
    Store all toiletries in a clear plastic bag. This way you can see what’s inside and keep everything contained and away from your clothing.

  • One Simple Rule That Will Keep You Slim and long lived

    One Simple Rule That Will Keep You Slim and long lived

     

    The orient is home to the longest lived races, like the Japanese and Chinese, and diet has been adduced to be the secret to this. They practice a remarkably easy weight loss approach called the 80 percent rule. Conversely, ever since Nigerians have adopted sedentary western lifestyles, and food choices, the average Nigerian portion size has been growing, not to mention the average waist and dress size. Meanwhile, Nigerian life expectancy has dropped over the years. Nigerian women are now expected to live for 55.6 years and men for 53.4 years.
    It’s no coincidence that Nigerians are eating more, doing less exercise, and living shorter lives. When you take in more calories than you’re able to burn off through exercise, you gain weight. Obesity then puts you at risk for life-threatening conditions like Heart disease, Diabetes, High blood pressure, and a long list of cancers, including breast, colon and pancreatic cancer.
    If food choices play such a large role in deciding someone’s lifespan, what can Blue Zones—regions with the world’s longest living people—like Okinawa, Japan, teach us about diet and nutrition? Dietician nutritionists specializing in this critical care reveal one simple food principle that Okinawans live by, the 80 percent rule.

     

    What exactly is the 80 percent rule?

    The expression, hara hachi bu literally means ‘80 percent stomach’ in Japanese, It’s based on the belief that if you slow down your eating and stop when you’re 80 percent full, you’ll actually feel more satisfied. Why? When you eat slowly, you chew more carefully. It lets you savor the flavors and really enjoy your food—and it gives your stomach enough time to tell your brain that it’s full. Since it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for fullness signals to reach your brain, eating too fast can easily lead to overeating. The 80 percent rule can improve your quality of life.
    Unlike weight loss supplements and fad diets, this simple practice can help you lose weight safely and keep it off. It allows you to eat 20 percent fewer calories—minus the constant feeling of deprivation, or the binge eating that follows. By helping you keep excess weight off, the 80 percent rule also lowers your risk of illnesses like heart disease and diabetes and may improve your quality of life.
    That might be one reason why Okinawans have one-fifth the rate of heart disease, a quarter the rate of breast cancer and one-third the rate of dementia when compared to Africans. They also enjoy one of the world’s longest life expectancies and the most years of healthy, disability-free living. A growing number of studies support the link between eating smaller portions and living longer. One team of researchers followed a group of men and women on a calorie restricted diet for six months. Regardless of their exercise habits, all participants lost weight. They also experienced:
    Better blood sugar control
    More stable hormone levels
    Less of the DNA damage that happens with aging
    These anti-aging and disease-fighting effects mean the 80 percent rule is just one way to lower your age.

    How can you tell when you’re 80 percent full?

    The best way to stick to the 80 percent rule is to divide your plate in half before you start eating. Only eat the first 50 percent of your food to begin with; chew slowly and savor every single bite. Concentrate on the food—think about its color, flavor and texture. This is called mindful eating. After you eat the first half of your meal, put your fork down and let a few minutes pass. Then ask yourself, “Am I really still hungry?” If you’re satisfied, stop. If not, eat half of the remaining 50 percent—half of what’s left. If you are still hungry, divide the leftover food in half again.
    It’s especially important to remember this trick in restaurants, where tempting bowls of your favorite foods often come in extra-large portions. Ask for a to-go container at the start of the meal and divide the plate as soon as it arrives. Another option is to request the lunch portion.

     

    How to overpower cravings and beat binge impulses

    Everybody has cravings, (for some of us its chocolates and pastry) but if you constantly remind yourself that you’re on a diet, you’re more likely to experience binge impulses. But when you follow the 80 percent principle, there’s no forbidden fruit. If you feel like you really need to eat something, measure out one serving and just have a small amount of the treat you love. You can actually have a bar of your favourite chocolate or pastry once a week, and not risk becoming overweight.

    Other ways to control your portions:

    Start with a salad: Eating a salad before your meal can decrease your calorie intake by 10 to 12 percent. Salads are high in fiber, which helps you feel full sooner and keeps you satisfied longer. Since you have to spend more time chewing a salad, it also gives your brain a chance to catch up with your stomach.
    Don’t eat in front of the television: If you eat in front of the TV, you won’t pay as much attention to your food. The distraction—not to mention all the restaurant adverts—may easily lead to food choices you’d regret.
    Step away from your desk: “Don’t eat in a high-stress atmosphere.” It causes your brain to release the stress hormone, corticotropin factor, which can trigger ‘stress eating.’ Increased stress levels lower your motivation to eat nutritious foods.”
    Another trick is to swap your breakfast and dinner portions. Okinawans eat their largest meal in the morning, their smallest meal in the evening, and then don’t eat anything else before bed.
    There are many benefits to early eating, including better weight control. One reason why people overeat at night is the tendency to wait until they’re starving and exhausted. Then their willpower is gone and they wind up bingeing on high calorie foods. If you are not really a breakfast person, take the time to plan healthy breakfast meals and love how healthy you feel when you start the day off with delicious, energizing breakfast treats.

  • What chores do for your kids

    What chores do for your kids

    Every parent wants their kids to be better than they (the parent)ever were; unfortunately we fail to equip our kids with the right tools to do so. A simple thing most parents did growing up in traditional African households is fast becoming a thing of the past, and that is chores. By this I mean assigning duties or tasks to children on a daily basis. As much as we tend to focus on academics and intellectual growth, we fail to realize the importance of having children helping out as home. It is the most effective way to teach children responsibility, a work ethic, excellence, a spirit of service, empathy and lots more.

    Developmental psychologist and writer Richard Mende in his book Raising Can Do Kids says “Parents want their kids spending times on things that can bring them success, but ironically we’ve stopped doing the one thing that is a proven indicator of success and that is doing household chores.” This assertion is proven right in traditional Nigerian homes where you find kids routinely cleaning the house, washing, or even following their parents to the farm or market as the case may be. Have you noticed that oftentimes many people who grew up in the rural areas often tend to do better when they come to the city? The simple reason is that with all the hard work that goes into running a household and providing for the family, children from an early age learn to fend for themselves, and help out at home.

    Here are some things making your children to do chores will do for your child;

    Assigning children chores from an early age teaches them self-reliance, mastery, and responsibility. A Harvard University study carried out years ago revealed that over 40% of CEOs in the US are first born children. Such children are often saddled with the responsibility of looking out for their younger siblings from an early age.
    Doing chores teaches empathy and responsiveness to the needs of others. When children are trained from an early age to ‘help out’ in the home, doing things like taking care of younger siblings, elderly relatives, sick or invalid members of the household they learn sensitivity to the needs of others, an important life skill.
    Allowing children avoid doing chores for homework teaches children that achievement and good grades are more important than helping people, which is definitely not so.

    How to encourage kids to do chores

    Use the proper language- Praise and thank kids for being helpers, and not just helping, as this encourages them to do more.
    Create a timetable- Having a time table placed in a prominent place in the house, like the fridge in the kitchen means that it is accessible, and will more likely be used.
    Make it a game- Young children love to play, doing things like setting the table, cleaning their rooms, helping with folding and taking in the laundry can be made into a game they will love playing.
    Separate pocket money from chores- Don’t make the mistake of ‘paying’ children to do chores around the house. Attaching money to doing their chores makes children see it as payment for work done, thereby turning an act of service to a business transaction.
    Make the chores neutral- There are no good or bad chores, all must be embraced with an open mind, and remember that if you hate cleaning the house, the children will pick that up from you, and hate doing it as well.
    Pay attention to the type- Chores are the usual things that keep a household running, and teaching children to do their part teach skills like empathy. Bear in mind that they have to be routine tasks that take care of the family like cleaning and dusting the living room, instead of just personal care tasks like cleaning their bedrooms or washing their clothes. Psychologists claim that involving kids in choosing chores encourages more buy in.

  • Dangerous manicures to avoid

    Dangerous manicures to avoid

    Getting a manicure should be an opportunity to pamper yourself as you beautify your digits; unfortunately many ladies fail to realize that they could actually be putting their lives in danger at the manicurist. How? Investigations reveal that quite a number of nail studios pose a health hazard to clients due to their insanitary conditions. Furthermore lovers of acrylic nails need to be wary of a dangerous substance some contain, Methyl Metacrylate; a banned substance in many states in the US. Here are some of the dangers of exposure to MMA.

    MMA (Methyl Methacrylate) is an ingredient that was commonly used in early nail enhancements. It was used by orthopedic surgeons during bone replacements surgeries as bone ‘cement or grout’ and it has also been used in flooring products. Unfortunately it was not designed to be in contact with human skin. In the 1970s, the US Food and Drug Administration received a number of injury complaints associated with the use of MMA. As such, the FDA stated that the substance is poisonous. MMA is banned in 30 states.

    It is said that MMA can cause cancer, nail infections, respiratory problems, eye, nose and throat irritation, permanent nail deformities and allergic reactions. How? In order for MMA to adhere to the natural nail, the nail has to be buffed and etched, significantly. This procedure thins and weakens the natural nail, and puts it at a higher risk of absorption. While the strength of MMA is effective as an adhesion for bone and teeth in the medical and dental industries, it is not suitable for soft tissue such as the nail plate.

    Furthermore, because MMA is an extremely durable, hard substance, if the nail enhancement gets caught on something and breaks, it could tear the entire natural nail off its bed, an experience not a few acrylic nail wearers have been through. MMA liquid also burns the skin when it comes into contact. So when next you have a manicure/pedicure, take the time to confirm that the products used on you don’t contain this ingredient.

  • How to stop puffy eyes

    How to stop puffy eyes

     

    Everyone has suffered from puffy eyes at one time or the other; either because you did not get enough sleep, drank too much alcohol, partied too hard or simply find that yours is hereditary. Here are a few tips to banish puffy eyes or under-eye bags to keep your skin looking young and healthy.
    There are three ways to get rid of puffy eyes or under eye bags. Number one, you need to get moisturizer to help your body to de-puff your under eye bugs and get rid of all the toxins that build up there. There are quite a lot of eye creams formulated with ingredients to remove eye bags. Also note, that sometimes your diet can cause a lot of extra fluid to actually collect under your eyes, so if you had a salty meal the night before, you are going to wake up the next morning with more fluid under your eyes, so try to correct your diet a little bit there.

    The second thing you can use is a little secret, nothing more than paper tape. So if you did have had that high salt meal and you know you are prone to these bags the next day, put a little paper tape under your eyes when you got to sleep, the night before, and when you wake up in the morning take away the tape, you will not have the same collection of fluid under your eyes. That’s a secret way to minimize the bags.
    And the third way to get rid of under eye bags after they appear. Anytime you wake up, and see bags under your eyes, and need a quick fix. You can take a very cold shower to constrict all the blood vessels and de-puff, and also do two sets of jumping jacks for 30 seconds each. That circulation is really going to help rev your body up and help drain away some of that extra fluid that collected there.