Are You Getting Enough Vitamin O2?

The Human body operates on oxygen. Make sure yours gets enough by exercising, keeping your house well ventilated, and pausing frequently to take slow, deep breaths. 

Air Inventory
Right now, without changing anything about the way you are sitting or breathing, answer the following questions:


1. How are you sitting right now? Is your spine straight, or are you slouching? Are your shoulders        
    rolled forward?
2. Observe your breathing for a few moments. Is is shallow or deep?
3. Do the clothes you are wearing, or the chair you are sitting on, restrict your breathing?
4. Is the room you are in well ventilated, or is it closed and stuffy?
5. Have you (or will you) exercise today?

How to Treat Heat Exhaustion?

During the long, hot days of summer-- especially with little breeze and high humidity -- it is possible for the body's natural cooling mechanisms to be overwhelmed.

The signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion often begin suddenly and may include faintness, rapid-heartbeat, low blood pressure, cold and clammy skin, nausea, and in fair-skinned people, an ashen appearance. If you suspect someone is experiencing heat exhaustion, see to it that the person:

• gets out of the heat into a cool -- preferably air-conditioned -- location
• lies down with legs elevated slightly
• loosens or removes most clothing
• drinks cold water or sports drink to replenish fluids

Health Benefits of Queen Mangosteen

Mangosteen is an evergreen tree that has leathery leaves and a round, purple or reddish-brown fruit that is smaller than a tennis ball. The bitter rind is inedible, and the juicy pulp fruit has about four to eight segment. Some says mangosteen taste ranges from strawberry, peach, vanilla ice cream with a very slight sourness. Others say it is a mix between lychee and grapes or pear and strawberry. 

Scientists have found the juice from the thick and rough rind of mangosteen to contain xanthones -- biologically active, natural chemical substances that have extremely potent antioxidants that can fight inflammation, bacteria, fungus infection, allergies, and even cancer. The greatest discovery to date is that xanthones can inhibit the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). 

The Versatile Eggplant: Does it have Egg contents?

Does eggplant, or aubergine as it is known worldwide, have egg contents, hence the name eggplant? Of course not! It's just that eggplant used to be small, white, and egg-shaped, when it was first discovered.

Eggplant is a vegetable highly prized for its deep purple and glossy skin. It comes in small, medium, or large sizes, and in pear or banana shape. Its mild, subtle taste and soft, cream-colored, somewhat spongy texture is never missed out in the menu lists of both restaurants and sidewalk eateries. 

While eggplant cannot boast about its nutritional content as compared with green and yellow vegetables, it does have nutritional, culinary, and medicinal merits.

Orchid Growing Made Simple But Terrible!

Orchids fascinate people. Their extraordinary variety of sizes, shapes, hues, habitats, and fragrances add color to life. Their lovely, exotic flowers brighten the day. Growing orchids is quite a rage today. Orchid is one of the most popular potted plants marketed behind poinsettias. 

How do you care for your orchids? Though orchids have been labeled as delicate and sensitive, they can be successfully grown. Here's how:

Overwatering. When orchids are overwatered, they might die for lack of air. Water naturally displaces air, which is needed for healthy root growth, in the potting soil.

Underwatering. Lack of water leads to root damage due to dehydration. Orchid-potting materials drain much more rapidly than materials commonly used for other plants. Be sure to moisten the orchid-potting materials before you use them (this will make them                                                               more water-retentive)

High-Fiber Diet: A Body Detoxifier

Do you have difficulty moving your bowel? Are you suffering from atherosclerosis or hypercholesterolemia or diabetes? Something's wrong with your diet. One helpful dietary management is for you to go on a high-fiber diet!

A high-fiber diet is a modified balanced diet with higher fiber content. This is effected by including more fruits, nuts, vegetables, and whole grains in meal preparation. Fiber, the "forgotten nutrient,: is also called bulk or roughage. Its helpful effects never change. It helps reduce the amount of fats and sugar in the bloodstream. It makes the elimination of waste products faster thus preventing constipation.

Passionflower: Nature's Passionate Stress Solution

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnat) also goes by the name passion vine, apricot vine, or Corona de Cristo. It's a hardy, climbing vine that is noted for its beautiful flowers and tasty fruit. This perennial creeper is native to Central and South America, the West Indies, and the southeast region of the United States. The climbing tendrils can be trained so that the vine can easily grow on a trellis. The aerial parts are normally collected during the flowering and fruiting period and used either fresh or dried. The leaves and stems of the plant provide the mild sedative activity.

Passionflower was cultivated by Native Americans, both for its edible fruits and for its medicinal value. In the nineteenth century, it was a popular treatment for insomnia. Europeans learned about passionflower from the Aztecs of Mexico, who used it as a sedative to treat insomnia and nervousness. The plant was taken to Europe, where it is now widely cultivated and used in herbal medicine (as a tea or as capsules) in combination with valerian and lemon balm. There appears to be a synergism between the components in this mixture. This herbal preparation is a useful treatment for tenseness, restlessness, and irritability, and provides mild sedation without any addictive properties.

Cayenne: Spicing up your health!

What is Cayenne? It's a red hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes, and for medicinal purposes. Scientifically known as Capsicum frutuscens, cayenne prefers warm, moist, and nutrient-rich soil in a tropical climate.

Cayenne has healing powers. Its most active ingredient is capsaicin which has pain-relieving qualities. The capsaicin cream, when applied on the skin, can ease the discomfort of psoriasis, nerve pain, and arthritis. Be careful, however, not to apply topical capsaicin on cracked skin or open wound.

Resveratrol for Heart Health

" Red wine is good for the heart. " This tagline continues to intoxicate some people in the world since red wine merited attention as a health defender. This medical "breakthrough" has received different reactions from those who are directly associated with it. Drinkers groggily rejoice at the good news, health buffs defiantly question the issue, and the general population remains passively clueless at the real score of red wine.

What is the story behind the sudden promotion of red wine from health threat to "health protector"? Studies have shown that moderate red wine consumption lowers the risk of heart disease. The protective effect of red

wine is not due to its alcohol content, but rather to the presence of a simple non-alcoholic constituent now known as resveratrol.