Health

Citronella Oil: Uses in Aromatherapy

June 19, 2011 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

Aromatherapy utilizes airborne compounds and odors made by heating an oil or substance for a variety of purposes. Citronella oil is derived from plants of the genus Cymbopogan. There are two species that serve as a source of citronella oil, Cymbopogan nardus (Ceylon type) and Cymbopogan winterianus (Java type or maha pengri). They are cultivated in several countries including Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Africa, Vietnam, Central and parts of South America for use in aromatherapy. The oil is obtained via steam distillation from fresh to partly dry blades of the grass. The plant itself is known as a natural insect repellant and extracts were used as a natural spray for crops. It can repel mosquitoes, ants, moths, flies, and fleas.

Citronella oil is composed of different compounds depending on the species used. Cymbopogan nardus contains geraniol, limonene, citronellal, citronellol and methyl isoeugenol. Cympbopogan winterianus contains higher percentages of geraniol and citronellal.

Citronella oil can be applied topically to wound to hasten healing and prevent infections. It can be drunk diluted to water to cleanse the digestive system and can act as a diuretic to induce urination. Drinking it as a tonic could also help expel intestinal worms and other parasites. Application of the oil in the scalp and skin would get rid of body lice and fleas as well as repelling mosquitoes for up to an hour. Used on the face, it can help to tighten the pores and shield against bacteria. Applied to the underarms, it can be a refreshing alternative to commercial deodorants.The oil is used in aromatherapy to aid in the remedy of various illnesses as well as to prevent the onset of disease. It is similar in odor to citrus but less heavy. It is sometimes used to mask strong odors around the house or inside a particular room. Inhaling the fragrance made by citronella oil can improve resistance to common flu, cough and colds. It can clear a room of insects particularly mosquitoes and flies while imbuing the room with a pleasant odor. Smelling citronella oil can also boost the immune system as well as improving blood circulation. It produces a feeling of warmth and vigor to most users.

Experiencing aromatherapy using citronella oil would help against infections, both fungal and bacterial. It can also help improve the digestive process. The fragrance of citronella oil helps ease away stress and improve one’s mood. Inhaling the fragrance can also ease chest congestion.

For women with irregular periods or for those who experience menstrual cramps, citronella oil can ease the pain of severe menstruation while regulating the periodicity of the menstruation cycle (emmenagogue).

Citronella essential oil can be combined with other essential oils like lemon, Scotch pine and geranium to achieve the desired fragrance and to make a remedy for a particular illness. Cedar wood, rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils would also blend well with citronella oil.

The oil itself can be used to massage sore areas, like joints and muscles to relieve swelling and ease pain. It can protect against skin infections from both fungi and microbes.

Citronella oil has many health benefits, especially when used in aromatherapy. Cheap, easy to obtain and versatile, citronella oil is a very good choice when it comes to aromatherapy. Its various other uses make it a beneficial asset in any household. Having a handy bottle of citronella oil will clear your house of pesky insects, while imbuing it with a wholesome fragrance that will certainly uplift spirits. If you’re looking to star an aromatherapy experience, citronella oil is a good one to start since it can accommodate various other oils.

References

Falsetto, Sharon (2009) Citronella Essential Oil: The properties and use of Citronella Essential oil in aromatherapy; retrieved from http://www.suite101.com/content/citronella-essential-oil-a98528
Lawless, Julia (1995). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils UK. Thorsons
Mukherjee, Aparup. The health benefits of Citronella essential Oil. Retrieved from http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/health-benefits-of-citronella-essential-oil.html

Home Remedies For Thrush In Adults

June 19, 2011 by rfcamat 1 Comment

All of us at one point or the other come across thrush, a yeast infection which mostly causes white lesions in the inner cheek and tongue making it difficult to eat, drink and sometimes even swallow. They are painful and often bleed if accidentally hit while brushing teeth. However, sometimes the infection can also occur near and over the genitals creating itchy and sore spots.

Mostly children and elderly fall victim to thrush because of their weak immune systems but even seemingly healthy adults can experience the problem every now and then.

Weak immunity main cause

Thrush is caused by yeast called Candida, which is always present in our bodies but is controlled by our immune system. Candida is found in intestines, stomach, throat, mouth and genitals. Whenever the immunity goes weak, there is an increased chance of Candida multiplying and resulting in yeast infection.

The infection, though mostly confined to the cheeks and tongue, can spread to the back of your throat, gums and tonsils if not checked on time. In fact, the yeast infection can also originate on skin of the genitals resulting in itching, burning and soreness.

Metabolic disorders like diabetes and diseases including AIDS and cancer as well as stress can compromise the immunity thus putting some individuals at greater risk of thrush than others. Use of irritants like some soaps and hormonal fluctuations can also result in spread of the infection. Moreover, indiscriminate use of antibiotics ends up killing the beneficial bacteria which can inhibit the growth of yeast infection.

However, quite contrary to popular perception, it’s easy to control thrush without the use of medications. Our body naturally controls thrush with the help of good bacteria and a healthy immune system so there’s a need to strengthen our defenses up and deal with thrush naturally.

Using medications like anti-fungal creams can treat thrush but can’t prevent its recurrence. For that, you need to support your immune system by having a healthy diet and lifestyle. There are also home remedies for thrush that you can use to deal with current infection. Thus don’t limit yourself on spending on medications which may cause side effects besides burning a hole in your pocket and head towards your kitchen for a soothing solution.

Treat the thrush with natural remedies

There are various home remedies for thrush which can be relied on to treat the infection. For the lesions in mouth, use apple cider vinegar with some salt in water. It can work as a great mouthwash. Garlic and onions can be added to your regular meals because they not only enhance the flavor but also have great anti-fungal properties. If you are in a hurry, just put some cloves in the mouth instead of waiting till the meal time.

Grapefruit is a great anti-fungal food item. The seed extract of grapefruit is very popular treatment for oral thrush. Using the mix of distilled water and grapefruit extract to swab the mouth can help deal with thrush.

Yogurt is considered a probiotic because it contains good bacterias for your tummy but the same bacteria can also help in dealing with thrush. The cool texture also provides relief in case of irritation in oral lesions. Salt water and baking soda solution are other very reliable home remedies.

Maintaining good oral hygiene including brushing of teeth twice and flossing once in a day can do wonders to your defenses against thrush.

If you or any elderly person in your family wears dentures, ensure daily cleaning of the mouth and dentures. Put the dentures in prescribed cleaner overnight and rinse them before putting them on. Putting off thrush is not difficult as you think provided you are determined to take the preventive steps.

Dangers of Vegan Diet

June 19, 2011 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

Dangers of a vegan diet can give way to deficiencies when the right regimen is not observed. There are many benefits of being a vegetarian. However, negative effects of an elevated vegan diet are not far from impossible.

Vegan diets, well most of them, are not created equally. Getting rid of animal products from the diet does not give any assurance to a health promoting diet. A little meat, fish, dairy products, poultry products, fruits and vegetables every now and then are the true ingredients of a healthy diet. So forget that notion that a strict vegan diet is healthy.

Dangers

Malnurtition– The primary repercussion of an unmonitored vegan diet is malnutrition, which denotes an inadequacy in a person’s nutrient intake. A vegan can put himself on the hazards of overlooking important vitamins and minerals the body needs to perform its functions normally.

Since vegan diet excludes animal products, it can rob you off substantial amounts of vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, calcium, fatty acids, and proteins. Right, some of them are found in vegetables, yet the fact cannot be denied that most of them are also acquired from a diet containing meat, milk, fish and everything else a vegan diet does not include.

Fiber Overload– In adequate amounts, fiber is beneficial to our health. However, too much of it can rip the body of the essential nutrients it needs for healthy function. Some vegan diets are overflowing with fiber but take note that fiber is not absorbed by our body and offers no nutritional value.

Excessive Salt Intake– Among all else, vegan diet can potentially put you at increased risk of stroke or hypertension from high sodium intake. Many meat substitute products catered to vegans contain alarmingly high amount of sodium. Salt can make you bloat, so observing a vegan is like eating tons of French fries and chips that are loaded with plenty of calories. High sodium intake can lead to fluid retention in the body, one of the most prominent causes of high blood pressure.

Sugar, Oil and Flour Splurge– Vegans often consume large quantities of highly processed foods containing large amounts of oil, sugar, and flour to substitute their no-meat diet. If they believe that their avoidance of animal products alone will give them enough dispensation from the harmful consequences of the dietary pleasure trap, they may be utterly disappointed. They say that some vegans get headaches — from their halos being too tight. Uhmmm, that is probably true!

Conclusion

Vegan diets can either be an important element in short-term healing of certain types of cancers, or useful in purging your body from harmful toxins. Yet a healthy long-term daily diet consists also of some animal-source nutrients – especially animal fats.

Knowledge of which foods to eat is a prerequisite to a healthy transition to a vegan diet. Selecting the food alternatives with vital vitamins and minerals, and which ones you have to avoid is equally crucial. It is true that many vitamins and nutrients can be generally found in a vegetarian diet, yet others can be severely deficient or inhibited from proper absorption. A large intake of other active nutrients may react in a different manner in a vegetarian diet as compared to a typical one. Therefore, if you have been contemplating of abruptly switching to a vegan diet, you might as well weigh its pros and cons properly beforehand. This is something that involves your over-all health and well-being, so do not just turn a blind eye on it. What you do not realize is that all you really need is a well-balanced diet, and not an exclusive and rigorous vegan diet.

Great Exercises for a Pear-Shaped Body

June 18, 2011 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

What is the fuss about having a pear-shaped figure? Pear-shaped, as the word conveys, refers to having a symmetrically smaller upper torso and getting gradually packed towards reaching the lower part of the body and needing some more toning in the arms and shoulders. The focal point of slimming a pear-shaped body is to get rid of excess body fat around the lower torso. Contrary to what you might have presumed, no single exercise either on the butt or thighs will help you do this in a snap of the finger.

You must basically have to watch what you eat to reduce body fat on specific areas. Keeping an eye on what you eat, when to eat it and counting how many calories are needed to trim down your weight is understandably painstaking. The sheer number of diet books making dieting like a walk in the park is the blatant proof to that. What you need to realize is if you have been dying to be a toned and healthy person, you must carve yourself to be like one. The time and effort you exert in doing so will reward you for many years, and you can pass on the lessons you have learned to your children and loved ones.

Exercises for a pear-shaped body:

In order to shed off a lot of calories, the exercises needed to be done are widely known as compound exercises. Compound exercises involve more than one muscle group and make use of more than one joint. Some examples of compound exercises are:

Squats– This type of exercise is considered as the “grandpa” of all exercise.
Bench Presses– Bench press works primarily to build the chest and focuses on the development of the pectoral muscles and triceps.
Romanian dead lifts – This has been by far the most taken for granted yet effective exercise of all. Learning how to execute this type of exercise properly helps you reach your goal.
Hamstring Raises- The simplest and most humbling exercise has the goal of lowering your torso from vertical to horizontal by bending at the knees.
Shoulder Presses- This is an exercise also meant for a pear-shaped body that involves pressing weight from the shoulders until it is locked out overhead. Granting you do not want to put too much focus on the legs, what you can do to place some equilibrium on the look of your body is to perform some shoulder press.
Sit-ups- This exercise has been preferred to strengthen and tone the hip and abdominal area. 200 sit-ups a day can help you improve your core strength and physical fitness and of course, modify your pear-shaped figure.

Bottomline:One assumption most people fall on is getting a bunch of inner thigh exercises and outer thigh exercises will help slim down their legs. Wrong! The truth is no single exercise can bust fat build-up from any point on your body. You need to perform the right ones so you can achieve an optimum effect. Combined with a balanced diet, hard work and devotion will result in the desired fat loss.

You do not need to be a rocket scientist to be able to come up with the perfect formula that suits you best. Bear in mind, getting an hour glass figure is merely an icing to the cake. You need not put up with the anxiety of having to live with all the dreaded diseases and awkwardness of picking an appropriate outfit anymore. It is all a matter of getting used to all these routines to be able to live a healthy lifestyle.

Side Effects of Magnesium Supplements

June 18, 2011 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

Nowadays, loads of supplements are found in the market. Most of them are over the counter so doctor’s prescription is not required This is not a good scenario since many supplements like magnesium supplements are not safe to take at all times because they can cause side effects to our body if we take them wrongly. Magnesium supplements can cause dangerous side effects to our body if we over dose in taking them. This is the reason why it is highly recommended that a doctor’s guidance is needed when we take mineral supplements like magnesium. In this article we are going to learn the functions of magnesium in the body and the possible side effects of taking magnesium supplements.

Magnesium is the 8th most abundant mineral on Earth and 4th in the human body. It is estimated that an average human body has 25 milligrams of magnesium and most of it are found in the bones. It is considered as a crucial mineral in the body for it plays a vital role in maintaining homeostasis or physiological balance. It participates in several chemical reactions needed for normal functioning of the body. It affects the musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and immune system of the body.

In the musculoskeletal system, magnesium helps in the contraction and relaxation of muscles and in the absorption of calcium used in bone development. When there is low amount of magnesium in the body, there will be muscle weakness because the muscles cannot contract properly. At the same time, there will be bone fragility for calcium cannot be absorbed properly in the absence of magnesium. On the other hand, if the body’s magnesium level shoot up abnormally, by taking magnesium supplements for example, there will be muscle cramps, muscle spasm, and too much bone deposition.

Neurologically, magnesium affects the mental state of a person if the level of it is too high. It can cause seizure and personality changes if its level is low.

Magnesium also participates in excitation and contraction of the heart. It maintains the smooth regular heart beat by combating any systemic stress. Thus, if the level is too high it will cause decreased blood pressure and irregular heart beat. If the level is low, it may cause cardiac spasm.

Magnesium helps in the relaxation of the respiratory system. When magnesium is low, definitely a person will experience breathing difficulty.

Magnesium also boosts the immune system of a person. If there is magnesium deficiency, a person will have a weak immune system and will be at high risk of being infected.

If a person has kidney disease and taking diuretics, it is not recommended for him to take magnesium supplement because it will be difficult for him to excrete excess amount of magnesium leading to dangerous increased in magnesium concentration in the body.

Moreover, when a person is having heart problems, he must consult his physician first before taking magnesium supplement because it can cause irregular heart beat, cardiac weakness, and dangerous decrease in blood pressure.

Knowing the various side effects of taking magnesium supplements, we need to be cautious in taking them by following the right dosage prescribed by our doctor. Too much magnesium in our body may lead dizziness, flushing, muscle paralysis, troubled breathing, blurred vision, drowsiness and even coma or death. It is recommended to take not more than 350 mg of magnesium supplement per day. To avoid magnesium deficiency, we should eat foods reach in magnesium such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, fish and meat. If we eat these foods regularly, we may not need to take iron supplements to avoid side effects.[ad#afterpost]

Health Benefits of Jasmine Tea

June 17, 2011 by rfcamat Leave a Comment

Jasmine tea has long been a favorite of the Chinese due to its aroma, flavor and numerous health benefits. The tea made from tea leaves and jasmine flowers, exudes a very favorable scent. There are exceptional and numerous benefits in drinking jasmine tea.

Drinking jasmine tea, over time, could reduce the risk of developing some forms of cancer. The tea contains numerous antioxidants that prevent cancer. In fact, studies have shown that taking in jasmine tea reduces the risk of esophageal, breast, and prostate cancer.

Jasmine tea also has the capability of lowering blood cholesterol levels. It is an excellent supplement for an individual who follows low cholesterol diet. High cholesterol can lead to a variety of illnesses like high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke so drinking jasmine tea lowers you risk of these diseases.

Jasmine tea can also reduce body fat and maintain weight loss. A compound in jasmine green tea called catechin has been shown to lower fat content in animals. However, regular daily intake of jasmine tea is necessary to maintain this effect.

Jasmine tea can reduce the chance of blood clot formation as well as numerous diseases and disorders of the circulatory system. Blot clots is a risk factor for stroke and heart attack as it impedes the normal flow of blood in blood vessels.

The antioxidants in jasmine tea are helpful in preventing cancer and reducing the effects of aging. Skin problems like wrinkles, liver spots and fading can be reduced by regular intake of jasmine tea.[ad#728-90 after post]

Jasmine tea’s aroma, together with its compounds can relieve stress while promoting calmness and relaxation. It can be drunk before bedtime to prevent insomnia and ensure a fulfilling rest. It can be used to free one’s self from worries and troubles and helps maintain a positive outlook throughout the day.

Jasmine tea can also reduce the risk of infections because of its anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. This helps prevent influenza, cholera, ulcers, and diarrhea. It can also improve mouth odor while cleaning the teeth and strengthening the gums. It reduces the risk of cavity formation and tooth decay. As an anti-bacterial, it helps cleanse unwanted microbes from the digestive tract and also reduces instances of food poisoning by protecting against Listeria and Salmonella species.

Jasmine tea has been taken by diabetics to improve their condition. It lowers the body’s blood sugar levels while augmenting the production of insulin that enables blood sugar level regulation.

Jasmine tea can also help alleviate pain. Pain from muscle cramps, headaches and stomachaches can be eased by enjoying the aroma and taste of jasmine tea. Compounds in jasmine tea help enhance the feeling of calmness and relaxation. Also, it can relieve several symptoms of allergies, and can help clear nasal blockages.

Jasmine tea is enjoyed all over the world for its fragrant aroma yet there is more to jasmine tea than just a pleasant odor. The numerous health benefits of jasmine tea make regular consumption a healthy and positive effort towards a productive life. Drinking jasmine tea would reduce the risks of many diseases and conditions, making you live worry free and reducing medical costs. Drinking jasmine tea is a good way to enhance a low fat diet for those losing weight or maintaining it. These benefits and many more that may be discovered in the future makes jasmine tea one of the most viable means of attaining a long and happy life.[ad#afterpost]