Carpet is one of the main causes of indoor air pollution. A common health problem in a home is allergies. Carpets are a great environment for molds, mildew, and dust mites. In addition, the modern carpet in houses today are made of synthetic fibers dyed and treated with chemicals such as soil repellants, pesticides, and fungicides and fused to synthetic backing with chemical glues. These materials release hundreds of volatile organic compounds as it age in a process known as outgassing. Volatile organic compounds can be irritants, mutagens, and carcinogens. This is not the thing to have in your house.

Carpet retains what you and your family or guest has tracked into the house. It can be outside dirt from off the ground, lead dust found in flaking house exterior paint, bacteria, insects, garden and lawn chemicals, and other unhealthy debris. Also carpet can attract and retain hair, food crumbs, and dead skin.
Cleaning a wall to wall carpet to 100% clean is almost impossible. Have you ever tried one of those steam cleaners to clean your carpet and tried to clean the same spot over and over, only to see more dirt come out. Trying to clean the carpet can come with problems. Vacuuming carpets can cause mold spores and dust to stir up. Shampooing carpets can leave the carpet damp which can cause more mold growth. The shampoo may even have toxic or irritating chemicals added.

On the other hand you can you use ceramic tile to put on your floors instead of carpet. Ceramic tile is made of clay materials fired in a kiln. You can get tile sealed with non-leaded glaze, which is impermeable to mold and bacteria and is tolerated by chemically sensitive people. Ceramic tile is fused to the floor base with low toxicity thin set mortar and can be grouted with home-made free grout. 2/3 parts dry and clean sand mixed with 1/3 part Portland cement can be prepared and added to water to form a damp slow curing grout.
Ceramic tiles can be expensive due to the installation. They last long if maintained properly and can be affordable in the long run.

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In text photo credit: Carpet Stain That Looks Like A Dog? By justj0000lie

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Wonderful things will begin to happen to your body and mind when you begin to consume high quality food and nutrition for your body. When the nutrients you consume have a better nutritional value than the nutrients already in your body, then the body begins to eliminate the lesser quality materials and begin to rebuild cells and tissue with higher quality nutrients that’s now being consumed by the body.
Your body will naturally start a detoxification process when you start eating higher quality food. You may notice symptoms when the detoxification process begins. For example if you stop drinking caffeinated drinks you may experience headaches, which is a symptom indicating the body is eliminating caffeine from the body tissues and sending it through the blood stream. Eliminating toxins and detoxifying the body is a wonderful process that helps the body rejuvenate.

In since our environment is full of toxins, detoxification is good for the body. There are different ways to detox the body and rid it of toxins. Simple detoxification starts with your diet. When you change your diet to a healthier one you will notice the body detoxifying itself. Your body knows what to do to rejuvenate itself. Your body depends on your organs to detoxify the body. Organs such as the colon, kidneys, lungs, and liver are the main detoxification organs. The kidneys clean out waste from the blood and into urine, the lungs remove unstable gases as we breathe, and the liver cleans out wastes and foreign substances from the blood.

How long the detoxification process symptoms takes depends on how much toxins are in your body. Symptoms can be diarrhea, headaches, dizziness, nausea, constipation, and fatigue and can last for up to 3 weeks before slowing down. This is a natural process and it takes a lot of energy to detox the body. Once your body gets rid of the toxins, your energy levels will increase.
You can rejuvenate your health with a detoxification routine. When your body eliminates toxins your health and energy will be revitalized.

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In text photo credit: Detox Tips by Livin’ Spoonful

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Swami Kuvalyanand mentioned that “Yoga is for the human body, mind and spirit.” This is a saying that a healthy body is the main requirement for a happy and successful life. More people now believe that not only does yoga cause good health, but it is one of the reasons for a happy and stress free life. It is not just an exercise routine.
We will talk about Anuloma-Viloma (alternate breathing) pranayama. Pranayama means the management of the vital force-prana. The principle remains the same, but however different types of pranayama have been created, with each having its own technique. Anuloma-Viloma or nadi shuddhi pranayama (nerve purifying pranayama) is one type and is considered one of the basic types.
Practicing Anuloma Viloma is just like the crew that regulates traffic on roads, looks after their cleanliness, and keeps traffic moving efficiently. The method consists of breathing in through one nostril and vice versa. This pranayama has the name anuloma viloma (alternate breathing). To perform this, you have to sit in a yogic sitting posture; to start, breathe normally while applying comfortable anal contraction. Breathe in and breathe out completely. Make sure the anal contraction is not loosened during the process. Pause for a moment between inhaling and exhaling. Inhale deeply through the left nostril and exhale through the right one; then breathe in through the right one and out through the left. Keep breathing this way for one to three minutes.

After reaching a comfort level, you can move on to the next stage. Put the right thumb over the right nostril to close it, while keeping the other four fingers away. Slowly inhale through the left nostril at an even speed. Repeat with other nostril. While inhaling lift the shoulders and expand the chest pushing the ribs up. The lower stomach area must be held in.
Benefits: a cleaned respiratory passage, which prepares you for other pranayamas. Breathing becomes more controlled and easy. The heartbeat is more rhythmic. It helps in enhancing memory, concentration, and other mental capabilities.
Contraindications: enlargement of liver, severe stomach pain, appendicitis, gentle intestines, lung disorders, growth in the nose, blockage of nasal passage due to cold, and severe throat infection, etc.
Caution: If you are reading this article follow all precautions before performing any of the asanas from this article. To avoid complications while performing the asanas, it is highly recommended that you consult with a yoga instructor and doctor. Responsibility lies only on the reader and not with the article, writer or this website.

Top photo credit: Moments of calm and inner peace by Bindaas Madhavi

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Great health is based on flexibility, strength, and fitness. All three are important. Any Aerobic exercise is good for a healthy heart. Usually it needs continued movement over a period of time that uses your arms and legs. This type of workout makes the heart work harder. Aerobics allows your body to burn fat for energy and use oxygen. Cycling is good aerobic activity.

Cycling is a great exercise for people with heart disease or high blood pressure. According to research cycling reduces blood pressure better than more intense activities such as jogging. Eventually cycling conditions and strengthens your heart. It is recommended by The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine that cycling should be used for low-risk cardiac people and healthy individuals.
The benefits of cycling are increased flexibility, reduce stiffness and ache, keeps you in shape, makes you feel good, increased confidence, increased endurance, reduce nervousness, stimulates sexual desire, strengthen the muscles that supports joints, improve sleep, reduce sleep disorders, improved memory and attentiveness, and increase the ability to perform daily tasks.

You can try biking when you are depressed. Go out biking and take a look at the beautiful world. Go into the fresh air and allow your body to experience happy hormones while cycling, which are natural pain killers. Remember the times when you were younger and you played a lot of sports and games and hang with other kids. Remember the times you ride your bike as a kid and fell off it a lot. Well don’t give up on it. Bicycling is a wonderful way to have fun while staying fit and healthy. There are no age restrictions on biking, you can still ride your bike just as much as you were younger, besides you might meet people along the way while riding your bike.

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In text photo credit: bike_pink by [dac~]

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Air is important to life. You may live for a few days without food or maybe even water, but it is impossible to survive a minute or two without air. Oxygen is essential and is needed for the process of combustion taking place in the different cells of the body. We obtain oxygen from the air. When we inhale, oxygen from the air dissolves in the blood and flow through the fine capillaries in the lungs and is then carried to every cell in the body. The end product of combustion and other processes taking place in the cells are carbon dioxide and other toxic substances that are made in the cells. Carbon dioxide breaks down in the blood. When this unfiltered blood carrying carbon dioxide gets to the lungs, carbon dioxide is released into the air in the lungs and exhaled.

When we inhale, oxygen in the air enters the lungs and dissolves in the blood. When we exhale, carbon dioxide formed in the body is expelled. The blood gets filtered in the lungs. This basic information shows the importance of deep breathing. The main source of oxygen on earth is vegetation such as trees, green plants, and shrubs. For their nutrition and growth plants take carbon dioxide from the air, and release oxygen into the air. The amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is somewhat greater in areas with a lot of greenery. On the other hand, highly populated and industrial areas are more deficient in oxygen and polluted. The destruction of vegetation going on now contributes to this deficiency and pollution.

Now that we know some facts, it is beneficial to walk in areas with a lot of greenery or vegetation, such as fields and gardens, especially when you do it with deep breathing to ventilate your lungs. The fresh air being rich in oxygen, purifies the blood and the body and fills the mind with happy thoughts.
Recommendations:
(1) Try to always breathe through your nose. The hair in your nose filters out fine dust particles in the air. Also the air warms up when it passes through the nose, which has a beneficial effect in the lungs.
(2) Try to always take deep breaths; So carbon dioxide is eliminated properly and toxins don’t build up in the body.
(3) While sleeping do not cover the face.
(4) During the winter time cover yourself with warm coverings to protect yourself from the cold, but let windows open.

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If you or someone you know had cancer before, then it’s important to know the potential health concerns from cancer and its treatment. Often people diagnosed with cancer do not remember consultations during the days after they were diagnose about problems such as depression, pain, infertility, and other physical and emotional changes. Whether the problems are permanent or temporary, most of them can be managed.
According to Pamela J. Haylock, MA, RN, “the late effects of the treatment of cancer and cancer itself for survivors diagnosed as adults remain inadequately documented. Up to 75 percent of survivors have some health discrepancies related to cancers and therapies. Being knowledgeable about the risks and learning and utilizing risk reducing strategies are crucial steps in survivor’s recovery.”

Below is some advice recommended by nurses:
*participate in stress management, regular exercise, a healthy diet, and weight management to live a healthy lifestyle.
* Schedule regular doctor appointments
*Ask your oncology specialist for a written report on your cancer diagnosis, tests, treatments, and recommendations for follow ups once treatment is done. Create a file or folder to organize and manage laboratory and diagnostic reports. You can give this folder to your doctor so they can make a copy for their records.
*Talk with your doctor about possible long term effects of your cancer therapy and ways to minimize or prevent them. Effects may differ from person to person, therefore make sure you educate yourself and find out more about your body.

*Tell your doctor about your previous cancer history, treatment, current medications and long term affects you may experience, including early menopause, infertility, dry mouth, indigestion, taste changes, diarrhea, constipation, fatigue, sleep issues, memory loss, dry skin, vision problems, hearing problems, depression, anxiety, sexuality/relationship issues, pain, confidence issues, or numbness or swelling in the fingers and toes.
*Search for information that will assist with emotional, physical, or financial issues that may come up.

Top photo credit: Treating Cancer with Nano-bio Technology by Argonne National Laboratory

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In text photo credit: Cancer Institute of Columbia. By PAHO/WHO

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Everybody knows that exercise and weight loss if needed, makes you feel and look better. In addition to that, it also helps you become healthy and maintain health. Also it is well known that if you exercise regularly, control your diet, and lose weight you will get a healthier heart and body. There are more benefits than the ones mentioned above when it comes to exercise and proper diet. There are other benefits from regular exercise and weight loss.

One of the additional benefits of exercise and weight loss is protection against osteoporosis, which is the disease that makes the bones brittle and weak with age. With osteoporosis bones become so brittle that they can break very easily. People with osteoporosis can break their bones simply by just falling to the ground. So people with osteoporosis should be very careful and consult with a doctor.
Different activities such as jogging, walking, and the use of the elliptical machine have been proven to strengthen the skeletal system and lower the risk of developing osteoporosis. The main reason for these different activities is that exercise that force the body to endure weight makes the bones denser over time in contrast to a sedentary lifestyle, in which the bones get brittle and weaker due to the simple fact that a lack of force is placed against them.

Specifically in women, low estrogen levels comes with menopause and or very irregular menstruation which can make the problem even worse as the bones weaken and lose a lot of their mineral content. The activities that people choose to participate in to lose weight or maintain health have also been shown to help prevent further development of osteoporosis, for those who have already been diagnose and received permission from their doctor.

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The urinary system is responsible for eliminating waste from the body. If the body does not eliminate the waste, it will turn against itself and be poisoned from the excess waste. The bladder, Kidneys, and urinary ducts are a part of the urinary system that helps the body eliminates waste. Your kidneys play a crucial role in how the system functions. You can improve your kidneys function and your overall health by cleansing your kidneys.

The kidneys serve as a filter that gets rid of the toxins from the blood. Also the kidneys help the body maintain an appropriate fluid balance and manage the amount of electrolytes in the body. These are substances such as salts that will dissolve into ions when mixed with water. For good health you have to have the right balance of water and electrolytes in the body. If the kidneys are unhealthy then the rest of the body will be as well.
Every cell in your body produces a waste that is a result of your metabolism in action. This waste is scattered into your blood and continues on to your kidneys to be filtered out. Drugs and alcohol you may consume is filtered through your kidneys. When your kidneys are not functioning properly you may experience a pain in your lower back. Other symptoms for problems with the kidneys may be nausea, side pain, strong urine odor, cloudy urine, frequent urination, burning sensation when you urinate, and blood in the urine, which is serious. If you experience these symptoms consult with your doctor for more information and possible treatment immediately.
Some people get kidney stones, when their kidneys are not working properly. Kidney stones develop when the body is not breaking down protein properly and crystallized mineral deposits develop in the kidneys. Kidney stones can be very painful if they are eliminated through the urine and if they are huge. Kidney stones can block the urine from being eliminated out the body. Cleansing the kidneys will help break down any crystallized mineral deposits that may have developed in the kidneys.
You should start a cleansing routine for your kidneys to improve your overall health and kidney functions. Some of the ingredients and herbs that are used in a kidney cleanse are hydrangea root tincture, ginger root, unfiltered organic apple juice, bearberry, parsley, and gravel root. These are organic and will help break down any kidney stones that may have developed. Vitamin B6 and magnesium oxide may prevent any more kidney stones from developing in the future.

Drink more water to help clean the toxins that may have built up out of your kidneys. Expect to urinate more when you drink more water. By drinking more water for a couple of weeks, you will notice a change in how you feel. When you do not drink enough water you feel nauseated and sluggish. The extra water is giving the body what it needs to cleanse the toxins and allow it to function more efficiently.
Kidney functioning is very important to your health. Try a kidney cleansing and make sure they function properly.

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When you normally talk or hear about hair loss and baldness, you think about an image of a man 40 years or older. This happens, but as we all know this problem is not only faced by men. There are many women who are facing this problem. 40 percent of the people facing baldness are women.
Here are a few reasons why baldness may take place in women.
• Hormonal problems can be one of the reasons for baldness in women.
• Stress is another reason why you face severe hair loss and baldness.
• After some kind of surgery or childbirth, hair loss becomes one of the common problems in women.
• Another common reason why women face severe hair loss is due to the cosmetics or chemical based hair products that are used. Even while trying different kinds of hair styles, you will have to face this sort of problem.
Severe hair loss can be really worrysome and embarrassing, especially for women because that is going to reduce the confidence levels in women to face the public.

The best option to keep your hair safe and healthy is trying some mild shampoos and conditioners. You should never go for strong shampoos. When it comes to hair styles, it is always better to try to have a normal hair style than trying something which needs application of chemicals or usage of straightening irons, etc. Always make sure that you are not going for any damaging hair treatments until you grow your hair back, unless they are suggested by your doctor. Hair transplantation is also a good idea for those who have already lost their hair. You should also make sure that your diet is just perfect when you are facing hair loss problems, like eating green leafy veggies, vitamins and proteins. This would ensure that the rate of hair loss would decrease to a minimum.

Mushrooms are a high quality health food. They are low in calories, high in chitin, vegetable proteins, iron, Fiber, Zinc, Vitamins, Minerals, and essential amino acids. Mushrooms have been used a lot in traditional Chinese medicine. They are known to have great effects on promoting health and vitality. They increase your body adaptive abilities according to recent studies. The studies suggest that mushrooms are probiotic. They help the body strengthen and fight off illness by maintaining physiological homeostasis, which is restoring the body balance and natural resistance to disease and illness.

Agaricus Mushroom: In many places the agaricus mushroom is considered a health food because of its medicinal qualities. The agaricus mushroom is the most widely used mushroom in a lot of countries that consider it healthy and medicinal. The agaricus has been traditionally known as “god mushroom” because of its healing benefits to a variety of disorders. People have used this mushroom to treat various diseases and disorders including ones that’s related to the cardiovascular system, immune system, weight management, digestion, diabetes, cataracts, stress syndrome, hearing difficulties, chronic and acute allergies, diarrhea, chronic fatigue, disorders of the liver, and constipation.

Cordyceps Mushroom: The Cordyceps mushroom can be a wonderful stimulant for macrophage activity and making your immune system stronger to fight against viral and bacterial infection. According to clinical studies cordyceps can be successful in the treatment of arrhythmia, lung cancer, high cholesterol, poor libido/impotence, and chronic kidney failure. Also cordyceps can cause smooth muscle relaxation, which in return can be helpful for asthma, chronic coughs, and bronchial conditions.

Maitake Mushroom: The maitake mushroom is known for its health benefits and taste. This mushroom is also known by the name dancing mushroom. It’s called “king of mushroom” in japan. The mycelium and the fruiting body of the mushroom are used medicinally. Maitake mushrooms have been eaten for 3000 years in japan and china. In Japans past the maitake mushroom have been used for monetary value and was worth its weight in silver. It’s also has been used as an adaptogen and tonic. It was used to help promote wellness and vitality. Traditionally consuming the mushroom was believed to prevent cancer and high blood pressure. More research is being done for that matter. Laboratory studies show that maitake mushroom extract can inhibit the growth of tumors and stimulate the immune system of cancerous mice.

Reishi Mushroom: Studies suggest that Reishi can have several effective abilities which include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgestic, lowers blood pressure, antiviral through inducing interferon production, expectorant and antitussive, cardiotonic action through lowering serum cholesterol, liver (hepatitis)-protecting and detoxifying, protection against ionizing radiation, antibacterial, and anti-HIV activity. Reishi contains Iron, Calcium, and phosphorus, Vitamins C, D, and B-including pantothenic acid, which is needed for the adrenal glands and nerve function.

Shiitake Mushroom: Shiitake was called the “elixir of life” for centuries. It has been licensed in japan as an anti-cancer drug by the Japanese FDA. Lentinan has showed some effects on liver cancer, ovarian cancer, bowel cancer, stomach cancer, and lung cancer. Lentinan stimulates the production of natural killer cells and T lymphocytes and can increase the effectiveness of AZT in the anti-viral treatment of A.I.D.S. Shiitake is high in several anti-oxidants including uric acid, selenium, and Vitamin A,E, C, and D. Shiitake mushrooms may also lower serum cholesterol levels, increase libido, lower blood pressure in those with hypertension, stimulate the creation of interferon which has anti-viral effects, and its effective against hepatitis in some circumstances.
Yun Zhi Mushroom: Yun Zhi also known as the cloud mushroom has been used to reduce phlegm, strengthen bones and tendons, treat pulmonary infections, support liver health, promotes good health and vitality, help with immune function, and its high in vegetable proteins.

Top photo credit: Edible Mushroom Gallery by Gary Soup

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In text photo: Edible Mushroom Gallery by Gary Soup

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