Aging and Joint Problems
Time changes your joints and your entire body. Age modifies each of the structures that make up a joint, and over the span of your life, your joints sustain an enormous amount of wear and tear. You cannot prevent all the changes age brings to your joints, but you can slow the rate of deterioration and minimize the impact on your ability to live an independent and dynamic life.
As you age, the joints become stiffer and less flexible. That’s why, the older you get, the more common it is to encounter aching or mild soreness when you stand, exercise or climb stairs. The body does not recover as fast as it did in your youth.
Many of the age-related changes to joints are caused by absence of activity. Movement of the joint, and the related ‘stress’ of movement, helps keep the fluid moving. Being inactive makes the cartilage to shrink and stiffen, reducing joint mobility.
You cannot bring back cartilage that is already lost… But there are a few easy steps you can take to prevent the war or even reduce the pain associated with osteoarthritis.
Keep up a healthy weight
Maintaining a healthy weight to protect your joints. Keeping your weight down will help reduce the small tears that break down cartilage. A weight loss of 11 pounds can reduce arthritis pain by 50% for many women. Weight loss may also slow the progression of osteoarthritis.
Exercise
Keep your body active to reduce stiffness in the joints. Specialists recommend low- or no-impact aerobic exercises, such as walking, swimming, or cycling.
Add ice
Icing your joints after exercise can prevent swelling and help you manage pain. When you are active, you draw a lubricant called synovial fluid to your joints. Bear in mind that if the fluid sticks around too long after exercise, it can cause cracks in the cartilage. Specialists suggest icing the joints you use during exercise for 10 min after the activity.
Eat superfood
Research shows that the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish can help to reduce the symptoms that cause joint pain. They also change the levels of inflammation that may be causing some of the pain. Fish oil slows the generation of inflammation-signalling cells. The best sources are fish such as tuna and salmon. Studies prove that vitamin D may help protect your joints, too, via an anti-inflammatory effect. Ensure you get 400-800 International Units of vitamin D daily.
7 Easy Yoga Poses for Stress Relief
Yoga helps us to work towards becoming a calm and peaceful human beings. Even 10 minutes of yoga daily can have positive benefits on your physical and mental health. The poses combine physical controller breathing, relaxation and meditation. That is why yoga is a mind-body practice that is a proven to be calmness provider.
Yoga can give you relief from chronic back pain and lower your blood pressure. Be aware that not all asanas are particularly effective for promoting tension relief, relaxation and restfulness.
Practicing these 7 positions will give you the stress relief you deserve. So slow down for a second and take a deep breath. It is time for some asanas!
Pose #1: The Bridge
Pose #1: The BridgeNot to be mistaken for the full wheel, this asana flow gives delicate extend of the back and legs muscles while easing stress and pressure. The pose reduces fatigue, headache, anxiety and insomnia. It is also helpful to overcome high blood pressure.
Pose #2: The Child
Pose #2: The ChildA gentle stretch is felt in the back when practicing the popular child’s pose. This calming asana flow eases anxiety and stress, helps cool the mind and is also good for the nerve system. The child’s pose allows us to come inward to ourselves.
Pose #3: Standing Forward Bend
Pose #3: Standing Forward BendThis position naturally calms your muscles and nerves. It’s perfect for your legs and many other parts of your body. By reversing the blood flow you are relieving tension in the neck, spine and back. Thus, your mind is totally relaxed.
Pose #4: The Corpse
Pose #4: The CorpseThis yoga pose comforts the body completely and is considered as the most calming asana flow. Practicing “the corpse” gives you a state of deep relaxation that lowers the blood pressure and calms your nerves. The pose encourages the body to come to a restful state.
Pose #5: The Puppy
Pose #5: The PuppyThe variation of child’s pose has a heart-opening effect. Because of the mild inversion, the asana flow can help you counter your tendency to crouch and slouch the shoulders when stressed. By improving flexibility, especially in the spine, it relieves symptoms of chronic stress and insomnia.
Pose #6: The Legs-Up-The-Wall
Pose #6: The Legs-Up-The-WallThis asana flow helps renew blood and lymph drainage back into the heart area. It is one of the most approachable yoga poses because it doesn’t require much strength or flexibility. But even though it’s a passive pose, its benefits are amazing – it helps lower anxiety, stress and insomnia.
Pose #7: The Cat
Pose #7: The CatThe cat pose soothes perfectly by stretching the lower back and gently massages the spine. Since it’s a breath synchronized movement, the asana flow helps relieve stress from menstrual cramps, lower back pain and sciatica. The cat strengthens and improves flexibility of the spine, through utilization of the reciprocal relationship between the primary and secondary curves.
The Effects of Yo-Yo Dieting
The weight cycle is a repeated loss and gain/regain of body weight and is often called “yo-yo effect”. The term yo-yo reminds us of some child’s game, but actually the yo-yo dieting cycle is exhausting and it is not a game and fun at all.
There has been much research that links yo-yo dieting with certain health risks. Here are some facts about weight cycling and reasons why you should avoid the yo-yo dieting.
- You are never satisfied because the results are not consistent
Actually the yo-yo dieting is not a permanent solution. Generally, the regime is restrictive and eliminates many healthy foods that contribute vitamins and minerals that each organism needs in order to thrive.
- You are fixed on unrealistic scales and numbers
Sometimes the food regime becomes a desperate strategy. Especially when you have a certain number on the scale that you are desperate to hit. The specialists say there is a huge problem with that mentality. Most of the people don’t realize that even if they actually arrive at this weight, or at a lower number, they’ll never stay there. Everyone has at least between 5-10 pounds that they will naturally fluctuate within, even when the diet is balanced.
- Your health is in danger
According to a study presented to the American Heart Association, yo-yo dieting may increase the risk for coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death in post-menopausal women. The research shows that weight cycling can result in electrolyte changes and fluid shifts. Sometimes that can cause deadly heart arrhythmia in middle-aged women.
- Your body can become resistant to losing weight
Food regimes are supposed to help you improve your overall health, but yo-yo dieting actually causes your body to break down and resist those changes. During weight cycling, leptin increases, the adrenal glands become stimulated and hormones become imbalanced. Sometimes any form of exercise that incorporates an intensity will only further fatigue and damage the metabolic activity. The harder you push, the more the body will rebel.
- You may gain visceral fat
When we lose weight, our bodies tend to start at the top and bottom of our bodies, leaving visceral fat in the abdomen for last. Some bodies don’t ever get to the point of losing it there, and when we gain weight back, the abdomen is the first place we add fat. So, the effects of yo-yo dieting ultimately increase visceral fat in our midsection.
To stay away from potential problems, most specialists recommend that obese grown-ups adopt regular physical activity and healthy eating habits to achieve and maintain a healthier weight for life. Non-obese adults should try to keep up their weight through healthy diet and regular physical activity.