This blog is going to change it's focus. I'm going to be posting my Memoir/Novel called, Lost and Found, in a serialized fashion. I call it a 'Memoir/Novel' because it is the true story of my youth, but I've changed all names, including my own. There is a Table of Contents in the left sidebar. Just click the links to read from the beginning or to read any part you may have missed. I have added a New Chapter Notice Form on the right. Just leave your first name and email address and I'll let you know directly when there's a new chapter. I'd also love to hear your comments.

Be well -- Be in Peace!

30th December 2005

Low Blood Pressure

Low Blood Pressure
December 30, 2005

Okay! Now I’ll get back on track with our next Blood Pressure article. I hope you didn’t mind my including that last article – it was a factor of being on my mind and my thinking it was important enough to share.

So, here is some more information about Blood Pressure —

We talked about high blood pressure in our first article on this topic – so let’s talk about low blood pressure today.

Low blood pressure is a condition where a person’s blood pressure is much lower than usual. This can cause symptoms such as dizziness, lightheadedness or even collapse. When the blood pressure is too low, this means there is not enough blood flow to the heart, brain, and other vital organs of the body.

It’s actually quite difficult to judge a “normal” blood pressure, because something that is normal for one person may well be “abnormal” for another. Therefore it is important that if it is suspected that someone’s blood pressure may be causing them a problem it should be investigated very carefully. Even small changes in someone’s blood pressure may cause adverse medical problems.

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30th December 2005

The Gift That Truly Matters

The Gift That Truly Matters
December 30, 2005

Here I go — off topic again. But I needed to get this article written and on its way to you. I guess that happens with people who think too much — and who like to write about their thoughts.

I’ll be back later today with another article or two on our actual topics.

I was thinking about some personal things this morning. I don’t know what caused these thoughts to pop into my head — maybe it’s because I’m not having a particularly good day.

I started out this morning by having a tooth break off — and I was only eating a piece of toast! It was right in front too, which really made me upset. Then, a few minutes later I whacked my head on the car door as I was getting into it. I don’t have a lot of hair on top, so I now have a hunk of flesh missing right on the top of my head. I had also picked up a cold virus in the last day or so and didn’t have a good night’s sleep last night because of all the coughing.

I was on my way to being the all-time champion grouch of the year, when I thought about how ridiculous it is to let myself feel so awful. As I thought about that, my brain did sort of a “flip-flop” and I began to think about how we express ourselves and our feelings to others.

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29th December 2005

Top Five Fitness Myths

Top Five Fitness Myths
December 28, 2005

There are so many myths about exercise that focusing on these five seems like I’m short-changing you in some way. However, instead of belaboring a lot of what you may already know, I decided to concentrate on five of the most common, and most misunderstood myths.

I’m sure you’ve heard the comments like — weight training makes women look like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Or, how about this one – exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories.

Some of these might make sense on the surface, but when you do some research into them, you’ll see that they have little or no basis in reality.

Let’s look at these and then peek behind them to see what we find.

1. No pain, no gain – Perhaps the most common myth out there is the one that says, “If you don’t feel pain when you exercise, you’re not doing it right”. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re exercising correctly you should never feel pain. Good professional trainers will always tell you stop your workout at the first sign of pain. The so-called logic behind “no pain, no gain” says that you can’t expect good results without sacrificing something – that’s twisted at best, downright sadistic at worst. Exercise should be something you enjoy or else you will very quickly become disillusioned and drop it entirely. While an intense workout may create slight discomfort, it should never get to the point where you are in actual pain.

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28th December 2005

High Blood Pressure

High Blood Pressure
December 27, 2005

These articles will all relate to the subject of blood pressure. We’re tying these into the articles about exercise. It is our hope that we will write one article on exercise and one article on blood pressure each day.

The articles won’t be in any particular order. We’ll just post them as they come to us.

We hope that you find them interesting and that they will be of some use to you in your life.

Please keep in mind that I am not an expert on any of this. I’m just writing about things that interest me and that are based on my own research on the internet and in other books and periodicals. I have included a disclaimer at the end of the article which says that you should always consult your medical professional if you are not feeling well or you are having any symptoms talked about in these articles.

High blood pressure should be taken seriously. If you let it go without treatment, it can cause adverse effects to most of the organs in the body.

Even if you’ve never been told you have high blood pressure, it’s always a good idea to have it checked at least once a year. Early detection of high blood pressure and its subsequent control is the key to preventing damage and negative effects on organs such as the heart and kidneys. The kidneys play an important part in the control of blood pressure regulation.

If you are thinking about becoming pregnant you should have your blood pressure checked. It gives a good baseline to work with when you do become pregnant in order to track any changes. Blood pressure usually reduces slightly in pregnancy so any rise, gives cause for concern.

Any rise in blood pressure in pregnancy can be an indication of pre-eclampsia which is a serious life threatening problem which needs immediate medical attention. You will also want to avoid any excessive weight gain during pregnancy as this could lead to high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia.

Pre-eclampsia is a medical condition that can manifest after the 20th week of pregnancy. If your medical professional finds protein in the mother’s urine sample and sees high blood pressure at the same time, this needs to be thoroughly investigated. Pre-eclampsia affects the placenta as well as the mother’s vital organs and brain, and if it is left for long enough can cause seizures which can ultimately lead to death.

Those women who are predisposed to high blood pressure which could ultimately lead to pre-eclampsia include

• Women suffering with high blood pressure before they became pregnant
• Overweight or obese women
• Women who become pregnant after the age of 40
• Women who have a previous history of diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus
• Women who have suffered high blood pressure or pr-eclampsia in a previous pregnancy

It is thought that women who seem pre-disposed to high blood pressure while pregnant, could become very strong candidates for developing high blood pressure related diseases when they are older or in middle age.

Shanti.
_________________________________________________________________________
DISCLAIMER
These articles were written with great care. However, in spite of this, errors or omissions may occur. These articles are provided “as is” without any warranty whether expressed or implied. All readers of these articles agree to use the information provided in these articles entirely at their own risk and for their own information.

These articles should not be used as a basis for any form of diagnosis or treatment for any medical condition whatsoever – including Blood Pressure.

Always seek the advice of a professional medical doctor.
_________________________________________________________________________

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27th December 2005

Ten Best Ways to Maximize Your Workout Time

Ten Best Ways to Maximize Your Workout Time
December 27, 2005

I think I’ve decided on what to focus on as we approach the new year and for the next month or so thereafter. Rather than deal with just one topic each day, I have decided that I will try to write two articles every day – on completely different topics – but which both relate to health and wellness, and hopefully, to each other.

One of the two topics will be ways for busy people like you and me to get proper exercise.

We all have the same problem – and that is time. Time gets in our way – it is so easy to just put off some daily exercise because we just get too busy. So this and subsequent articles will deal with that subject.

The other somewhat related articles will be on the subject of blood pressure. There’s no question that getting enough exercise and having a healthy blood pressure do go hand-in-hand.

So, to get started, here is an article that discusses some ways to maximize your workout time so you do get that important exercise. Of course, this presumes that you are doing a workout, right?

If you’re not – then you need to get busy.

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