Sleep apnea is a respiratory condition where a person stops breathing numerous times during sleep. It affects millions of people who haven’t been properly diagnosed. Read on to find out exactly what sleep apnea is all about so that you can tell if you or a loved one are suffering with it right now.

Sleep apnea is most noticeable at night or any time that you or a loved one lie down to go to sleep, due to the snoring sound.

What causes the snoring? The soft tissue at the back of the throat falls down over the opening to your airway so that air cannot pass. At this point you have stopped breathing. This process occurs as many as a hundred times a night, and can lead to oxygen deprivation, and thus to other health problems.

When breathing stops, you are jarred awake. You often reposition yourself and start sleeping again when breathing is restored. Sleep apnea sufferers often snore quite loudly, loud enough to keep another person awake, and loud enough to even awaken themselves! Snoring, although quite annoying to spouses and significant others, helps with continued breathing through the night, but make no mistake. It’s not JUST snoring. Sleep apnea can lead to serious health issues, so it is best to have it checked out through a sleep center.

Everyone that snores does not have sleep apnea, but it is a symptom of the condition. There are other symptoms of sleep apnea: obesity, age, dry and sore throat, insomnia and headaches.

If you are experiencing weight gain or find yourself having trouble getting motivated, and feel foggy a lot of the time. your sleep could be the problem, and sleep apnea more specifically.

Here is a colorful dip to serve at your Halloween party!

Ingredients:
1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or freshly cooked
1/2 medium red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup finely diced tomato
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt

Instructions:
In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Put into the refrigerated for at least an hour before serving with tortilla chips.

Complementary therapy is a term used to describe treatment options for medical conditions that are used with traditional medical treatment.  Before undertaking these complementary treatments, patients are encouraged to consult their physicians.  But, how effective are they as cancer treatments?

The answer depends on what you are looking for in the complementary cancer therapy.  Every day there are new breakthroughs in cancer treatment.  Actually being able to administer the new drugs is several years away and throughout the process of testing there are no guarantees that they will be found useful.

Besides legitimate researchers, there are those who have cut corners and advertise ìtoo good to be “true” treatments.  When sick patients are grasping at straws, they usually come in contact with these people and wind up penniless with their spirit broken.

The truth is that even traditional medical treatment had to be tested before it could be thought of as safe.  Even those that help such as radiation and chemotherapy have serious side effects that are hard to bear.

Remember as a kid, how you used to run and jump and play all day?  part of what you were doing involved Plyometric exercises.

Plyometric exercises involve using simple yet effective movements to build power and speed.  There are no weights used in plyometric exercises because of the intensity.  Only body weight is required.

Still a little foggy about what it is?  Think about playing tennis.  The movements needed to change direction in a second and hit a ball hard enough to return it across the net are both plyometric movements.  Other movements that fall into this category are jumping on one foot through a maze, jumping squats and jumping on and off of a box.

While they may seem like simple exercises, plyometrics are actually demanding.  Your body needs to be in good shape before attempting them.  To prepare your muscles for the impact, participate in regular weight training to build strength in muscles and bones.  Moving in so many unpredictable ways can cause injuries to joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles.

Before you begin any plyometric training, be sure to stretch properly.  A muscle that is not stretched is a disaster waiting to happen.  Get the body warmed up first so that muscles are easier to move without injury.

You can perform plyometrics for any muscle in the body that you want to improve.  The most common muscles that are targeted are the leg muscles.  Most sports and exercise classes use the legs considerably because they are the largest muscles in the body.  The goal is to teach your muscles to respond quickly without any problems.

Know that you can handle the training before participating.  If you have problems with your knees, jumping up and down on a box or winding through a maze of cones is not a good idea.  Plyometric movements are high impact.  Even for the conditioned body it is recommended that you start slow and simple and not at an advanced level right away.

Prepare your area for doing plyometrics.  Use a soft surface like a mat or cushioned floor to absorb most of the shock.  Also wear shoes that have sufficient support for all areas of your foot.  Hard surfaces can cause injuries to your body.

The everyday athlete can also benefit from using these techniques to better their performance.  Find a personal trainer who is familiar with plyometrics to show you the ropes and give you a good workout.

Ingredients:
1 acorn squash
2 to 3 apples, peeled and sliced
1/2cup brown sugar
1 tsp butter
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of salt

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degree F.

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and strings. Add 1/2 inch of water into a casserole pan and place the two halves face down. Bake in the oven for about 10 – 15 minutes.

In the meantime, place the apple slices in a bowl and add the brown sugar. Take the acorn squash out of the oven, turn the halves around and fill with the apple/sugar mixture. Top with a bit of butter and sprinkle with nutmeg. Cover with foil and put back into the oven until the squash and apples are cooked. This should take about another Ω hour.

Serve the stuffed acorn squash as a side dish.

Watching the cancer is another treatment option.  This sounds like waiting for the other shoe to drop but it is not.  The doctors closely monitor any changes in the size of the tumor.  This works for men who have early cancers.  For your part, any changes in symptoms need to be reported immediately to your doctor.

Another option that men are seeking is hormone therapy.  This term is most common when talking about conditions that affect women, such as menopause.  But, hormones are a part of the normal functioning of the human body, female or male.

For men, the hormone in question is testosterone.  What this hormone does is increase the growth of the tumor.  Using drugs to block testosterone from having an effect on the prostate cancer is one way to keep the tumor from growing.

When considering hormone therapy, be well informed.  For tumors that are contained within the prostate, changing the levels of testosterone may do more harm than good.  This therapy has been shown to help men with advanced and metastatic prostate cancer.

Before giving up hope, consider your treatment options.

So let’s see how Vitamin E can help our bodies overall, not just our skin.

By getting your daily recommended dose of Vitamin E you may prevent or help in the treatment of:

* Heart disease

* Asthma

* Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease

* Cataracts and other eye conditions

* Different types of cancer

* Metabolic conditions like diabetes

* Menstrual cramps

* Skin conditions

However, despite all these great health benefits, people, especially women, mostly take vitamin E for their skin.  

As an antioxidant, it helps to reduce the signs of aging such as dry skin (psoriasis), wrinkles, age spots and scars.  

Vitamin E can help the skin to retain a balanced moisture level that may become unbalanced from the use of harsh cleaning solutions.  With more water and oil in your skin, it appears plump and vibrant like a healthy organ should. It can also help against cold weather, salt water and wind, chlorine in swimming pools, and other things that can cause dry skin.

Many use vitamin E for scars because Vitamin E softens the skin and speeds healing.  These scars could be from burns, stretch marks (from childbirth or weight training), or surgery.    Over time, the appearance of these scars is reduced.

Vitamin E can also help dry, brittle hair, through conditioners and oils.

Vitamin E plays a major role in the health of your body.  Like anything else, getting your vitamins from food is best, and use supplements if your doctor recommends it.

… continued
Over time the person with anorexia nervosa changes in appearance.  They may wear big clothes to hide the weight loss but if you maintain physical contact with your child you will sense the changes.  Their bodies are frail and emaciated.  The natural puberty cycle is often stunted in their bodies.  For girls, menstrual periods stop or donít start at all.

Anorexics are headed for trouble.  With the lack of nutrition being given to their bodies, the cells get what they need wherever they can.  Bones become weak because cells are robbing calcium from the bones.  Lack of energy is a common symptom because there is no fat for fuel.  The organs will eventually begin to shut down.
… continued
All the while, the person suffering from anorexia nervosa is in denial.  They do not believe that they are doing anything wrong and are reluctant to talk about what is happening to them.  Depression sets in because no one understands them.

Anorexia nervosa is a serious condition.  The first step in curing it is to get help at the first sign that something is wrong.  In order to do that, communication between you and your child or other family member must be open and healthy.

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by excessive fear of gaining weight.  The fear drives the sufferer to do whatever they can, no matter how extreme, to keep the weight off.  The catch here is that their distorted view of their body prevents them from ever losing enough weight.

Doctors don’t know what causes anorexia nervosa.  Lately the increase in the prevalence of the condition has been blamed on society’s image of beauty.  When young girls (and boys), see the beautiful bodies of models gracing the covers of magazines and the movie screen, their own inadequacies about their body surface.
Family dynamics have also been seen as a cause.  In families where communication is poor and affection withheld, kids may seek to find control, the control is the food that they eat.  Having high expectations that put undue pressure on the child can also lead to eating disorders.

Anorexics may begin with a diet but it doesn’t end there.  The obsession with their weight spurs them on to eat fewer and fewer meals.  They stop their hunger by drinking water or exercising more.  Even when the numbers on the scale drop, their lack of self-esteem won’t let them stop.

Because of their perceived problem, they may shy away from social gatherings, especially those that involve food.  In school, they may separate from their friends as the condition takes over their lives.  Any excuse is used to keep them out of family functions.

Over time the person with anorexia nervosa changes in appearance.  They may wear big clothes to hide the weight loss but if you maintain physical contact with your child you will sense the changes.  Their bodies are frail and emaciated.  The natural puberty cycle is often stunted in their bodies.  For girls, menstrual periods stop or donít start at all.

Anorexics are headed for trouble.  With the lack of nutrition being given to their bodies, the cells get what they need wherever they can.  Bones become weak because cells are robbing calcium from the bones.  Lack of energy is a common symptom because there is no fat for fuel.  The organs will eventually begin to shut down.

All the while, the person suffering from anorexia nervosa is in denial.  They do not believe that they are doing anything wrong and are reluctant to talk about what is happening to them.  Depression sets in because no one understands them.

Anorexia nervosa is a serious condition.  The first step in curing it is to get help at the first sign that something is wrong.  In order to do that, communication between you and your child or other family member must be open and healthy.

Hello all!

We really hope you are enjoying our blog. We at Goddess strive to bring you the most full information about healthy living. Lately we have noticed trends and eating habits that are not healthy for anyone. It is a misconception to think only woman suffer from eating disorders. In today’s society the fight to stay on top comes from both the male and female counterparts. Bulimia, anorexia, depression these diseases do not pick the sexes they want to attack. Woman and men have different ways to deal with each situation, but please keep in mind we can all be affected!

For the next few articles we are going to talk about, Bulimia and Anorexia0 Nervosa and how they affect both female and males.

Bulimia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binging and purging of food.  Bulimics have a poor self-image and the disorder is an extension of that.  Women as well as men suffer from this type of eating disorder.

Bulimia nervosa can sometimes begin as a way to finally get off the roller coaster of dieting.  Many bulimics have dieted before but without sustained success.  They begin again, only this time, they take extreme measures to try to achieve their desired body image.

While bulimia affects mostly women in the United States, a fair percentage of men have also been identified as bulimic.  Bulimics are prone to compulsions.  When they eat, they do it in secret and are out of control.  They eat until they have stuffed as much food in themselves as they can.  The binging can be due to emotional stress within their peer group or at home.

After eating as much as they can, they will immediately vomit.  Vomiting may remove the evidence in their mind that they were ever out of control in the first place.  Even after normal meals they will excuse themselves and go to the bathroom where they force themselves to throw up.

You may notice that your son, daughter or friend is bulimic.  They may have been previously addicted to something else like drugs or alcohol.  Their weight will fluctuate but it doesn’t usually reach the low level of a person suffering from anorexia nervosa.