Everyone feels deep sadness from time to time – in response to a death in the family, for example, or an inexplicable tragedy, or losing a job. This is a common and normal reaction to a life situation, and is called reactive depression. With the passage of time, the depression lifts, the mood lightens, and life goes on. Clinical depression, on the other hand, is a persistent depression that is out of proportion to a person’s life situation or, in many cases, occurs for no apparent reason.
A person who is depressed is under enormous stress. He or she may experience extreme feelings of sadness, dejection, despair, worthlessness, hopelessness, and emptiness. Early signs of depression include a lack of motivation and an inability to concentrate. A person who is entering a depressed state may exhibit mood swings and may even have crying fits for no obvious reason. If the episode continues, symptoms can include loss of appetite, erratic sleeping patterns, and a complete loss of interest in normal daily activities, even ones that were previously a source of great pleasure. A seriously depressed person may become completely withdrawn from life and eventually may even refuse – or become unable – to get out of bed. Severely depressed people often have feelings of complete worthlessness and / or guilt over some imagined situation. Thoughts of death and suicide may be uppermost in their minds.
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· Filed under Natural Living
Vegetables are an important source of vitamins, minerals and all other good stuff important to a healthy, natural lifestyle. Nutritionally speaking, though, some greens are better for you than others. Here we will compare the nutritional value of several different types of green vegetables.
Nutrition Content of Salad Greens
Most salad greens are a good source of Vitamin C, beta carotene (the precursor of Vitamin A), Iron, Calcium, Folic Acid and dietary fiber. Generally, darker green means more nutrition. For example, the dark green leaves of the romaine lettuce have up to 6 times the Vitamin C content and 5 to 10 times the beta carotene of an equal amount of iceberg lettuce. And Arugula, an even greener green, has about 4 times the Vitamin C and 3 times the beta carotene of romaine. Compare the nutritional value of ten popular salad greens:
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· Filed under Natural & organic food
Pain is nature’s alarm system, a signal that something is hurt and needs to be attended to. Pain in the form of a headache can signal muscle tension. Other types of pain can alert you to a strained muscle (like back pain or neck pain), a broken bone, an infection, or an inflamed appendix.
Pain is a response that helps protect the body from harm. For example, it is the lightning fast transmission of a pain signal that causes you to snatch your hand away from a fire or hot stove. Even before the brain signals “danger” or the hurt fully registers consciously, the body knows what action to take. Similarly, if you have broken a bone, the pain will convince you to avoid moving it, which could worsen the injury.
Pain can also be a signal that something has gone wrong internally. It is a basic symptom of inflammation, and can be an important clue to many disorders. There are a variety of sensations that may be described as painful, including throbbing, stabbing and aching. Pain may be localized at the site of an injury, or “referred” to another part of the body. It may be acute and resolve after short time, or chronic, lasting for 6 months or more. Pain can also be anywhere from mild to severe in intensity.
Both the physical and emotional aspects of pain need to be addressed and respected. The physical component of pain is relatively straightforward; it is the result of information being transmitted from the site of injury or illness to the brain. At the same time, however, another impulse runs through the central nervous system to another part of the brain, the limbic system. This system transmits the perception of pain and generates an emotional reaction to it. For example, when you stub a toe, you feel the immediate pain of the injury. But you also have an emotional reaction that may cause you to feel angry, afraid, sick to your stomach, or even sad. Because both physical and emotional aspects are involved when you are in pain, recognizing and dealing with your emotional response may be as important as anything else you can do.
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· Filed under Natural Living
Influenza – better known as “the Flu” – is a viral infection of the respiratory tract. It can occur in epidemic proportions during the winter. Because the structure of the flu virus may change every 2 or 3 years, the population will periodically be confronted with a flu virus it has never been exposed to before. This creates the possibility of an epidemic outbreak of influenza every 2 to 3 years. Between epidemics, smaller flu outbreaks may occur as people not exposed in the previous round are infected.
Flu Symptoms
The flu is very contagious and is spread by contact with an infected person. A person is contagious from about 2 days before symptoms occur until about the 5th day of the illness. Symptoms often develop suddenly, in a matter of hours, and include chills, fever, headache, chest discomfort, sore throat, cough, body-wide aches and pains, fatigue and weakness progressing to exhaustion and lack of appetite.
The acute illness generally runs its course in 3 to 4 days, but weakness and fatigue can persist for up to 3 weeks. Treatment is generally directed at alleviating symptoms, which can make you truly miserable. However if you begin experiencing signs of respiratory distress, such as rapid breathing, shortness of breath, a feeling of tightness in the chest, or wheezing, call your doctor. Pneumonia is a relatively common complication of influenza and it can become quite serious, especially in the young, the old, and those with compromised immune systems.
Also, if your symptoms do not start to improve within 3 days, or if new symptoms appear, you should consult your doctor. Other possible complications include bronchitis and even in some cases, seizures or encephalitis. These conditions require immediate medical attention.
Herbal Treatments for Flu
At the first sign of the flu, begin taking the Traditional Chinese Medicine botanical formula “Yin Qiao”. This remedy usually is not helpful after the 3rd day of symptoms. Take 2 or 3 tablets 3 times a day, up to 12 tablets in a 24 hour period, during the acute phase of the flu. After the symptoms start to ease, reduce the dosage to 1 tablet 3 times daily for 1 week.
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· Filed under Natural Living
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