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Gadgets and Devices Destroy Childhood

Children make use of modern technology. It is their new means of discovering things. But gadgets and devices destroy childhood, the kind of childhood we knew in our time. There is not a lot of kids that go out and play tag. Nor hide and seek nor cowboys and indians. It has been abandoned for the more sedate play of minecraft or watching youtube videos. This does not sit well for most parents. 

Some people use these gadgets as an alternative babysitter. This is often the start of children being hooked to these devices. Or when they see older people so entranced and dependent on their cell phones and never talking with each other. Even affection is shown in messages sent through their cell phones. 

We all know prolonged use of these devices are very harmful to children’s developing brains. Most studies present medical images and proof of the harmful effects of gadgets and devices. Serious physical and mental problems could arise from long time inactivity and screen exposure. The immediate complaints would be backache and headaches and dry eyes from staring intently. This could also lead to temporary myopia. Impaired learning and cognitive delays can result from non-interaction. Conversation and interaction are important for children to reach their milestones. Social development becomes sluggish and obesity becomes a problem due to inactivity.Gadgets-and-Devices-Destroy-Childhood1

Exercise, exploration and play, active play, should be the main focus of childhood. This is the time when most of their brain synapses are actively preparing their minds for future learning. It is up to us, the adults, to try and regulate their use for their own benefit. We must encourage other kids activities, play with them or develop other hobbies that interest them. Hobbies that can one day develop into something they can focus on. Encourage them to participate in sports or dance recitals. Be mindful. If they cannot use their gadgets often then you shouldn’t either. It reinforces the message and it is only fair. 

Let the memories you keep of your children growing up be one where he participates and is smiling. It is a thousand times better than where he is alone, in a corner and languid.

Holistic Dentistry

Is Holistic Dentistry Better Than Mainstream?

Holistic dentistry, also referred to as biologic or biocompatible, dentistry is a philosophy based study whose aim is to promote wellness and health instead of just treating diseases. The dentistry does consider not only teeth but also the whole body and mind.

This is a major contrary to the mainstream dentistry since this approach incorporates both modern science and the knowledge gotten from the traditions about natural healing. With these aspects in mind, holistic dentistry might be preferred since modern dentures are more biocompatible. Nevertheless, other reasons that are making people switch to holistic dentistry are given below:

Natural pain remedies

Holistic dentistry does not involve the prescription of synthetic and chemical based painkillers. Synthetic and chemical based painkillers contain materials that may be incompatible with the patients’ body. This, therefore, leaves the holistic dentists with only an option of using natural remedies as a way of taking away pain during the dentistry procedure. On the other hand, mainstream dentists use painkillers, which are full of chemicals and other components which may be of harm to the human body. This means that after the dentistry process, the patient’s body is likely to be full of harmful chemicals such as mercury, lead, fluoride, and sulphur, which result in other health disorders.

Apart from using non-chemical remedies, holistic dentists use physically assisting treatment schemes like massages.

Focus on the whole body rather than teeth

Most holistic dentists are more concerned about the overall well-being of the whole body rather than just the teeth. The dentists believe that health and dentistry should extend beyond essential oral health since oral health is a signal that the body is not working as required. With this concept in mind, holistic dentistry is a more comprehensive approach when it comes to dental care and hygiene.

Face to face consultations

Mainstream dentists are known for typically asking about the universal and general ways of oral health and hygiene, after which they will demand to know how well you observe these basic dental care methods. In holistic dentistry, dentists have shied away from the idea of “a single size fits all.” Holistic dentists are different and believe that your unique diet and lifestyle have an impact on you alone rather than being too general.

A holistic dentist puts into perspective what a patient is undertaking regarding diet before analyzing your oral health, after which the dentists breaks down what you should or should not eat, based on the present state of your oral health. A proper explanation is then issued on how to protect oneself or how you should be choosing your diet for a positive impact on your oral health.

No Fluoride

Many mainstream dentists regularly use fluoride as a part of their practice. This fluoride has been attested to be more toxic than lead when used in acute doses. This is the reason why holistic dentists do not use chemical drugs in their dental procedures. They believe that the use of fluoride involves too many unanswered questions and a lot of unproven statistical research.

After learning about these advantages, many people are stuck on how they can choose an excellent holistic dentist. A right dentist is committed to their patients’ education and their overall health. However, since modern dentures are much more biocompatible, holistic dentistry is the solution in regards to dental health and dental boutique Melbourne is your home of ultimate solutions when it comes to holistic dentistry.

Biltong, The Healthy Snack

If you have South African friends, then it is very likely that you have encountered Biltong. Perhaps even has some of it. Biltong is a delicacy one of the best known snacks in South Africa. It is dried and cured game meat with different spices. The meat could be that of beef, ostrich, kangaroo, lamb, wildebeest, impala or some other animals at hand. It doesn’t really matter what type of meat. It is in the process that makes it delicious. It is made differently from beef jerky. It has vinegar involved as well as salt, coriander, pepper and fennel seeds, although these can be optional and varied. The main difference is biltong is air dried, usually hanging from hooks instead of being smoked.

It is a surprisingly healthy snack despite its humble appearance. In fact, it is now being hailed as the post workout recovery snack of choice for carnivores. This South African treat is originally Dutch which when translated means round tongue. 

High in protein, low in sugar and fat, Biltong is naturally gluten-free. This makes it ideal for after workout snacks for people who are watching their diets or in a fitness regimen. Biltong has zinc, an important mineral for its properties in immune boosting that can help against infection and the common cold.

Cobalamin, or vitamin B12, is an essential vitamin that the body cannot produce. The body needs this for the normal function of nerve cells. It is crucial for DNA synthesis and red blood cell formation. Biltong has B12 that could support bone health and prevent osteoporosis. A good vitamin B12 levels may also improve mood and decrease the risk of severe depression.

Biltong-The-Healthy-Snack

Low energy and dizziness can sometimes be an indication of low iron or creatine. Biltong is a great source of iron especially for people with anaemia and athletes. Creatine helps the body produce energy. Enough iron in the body can fight off fatigue and help the immune system.

The best thing about it aside from being healthy? It is handy and easy to store. It’s delicious, too.

Check Out Your Herbal Supplement Before Buying It

Herbal supplements are not all made the same. You need to do a little research into what you might be taking before you commit to consuming it. The funny thing about human beings is that we find out about a remedy or new health solution and we assume that if we know the name of the herb or the medicine we are on the right track. However, not all herbal medicines are the same, as there are many different ways to prepare them. Check out your herbal supplement before buying it, is my sage advice on this important point.

Most Herbal Medicines Are Made from Extracts

Unfortunately, many herbal supplements mainly contain extracts not plants. When you examine the label of a herbal supplement in a store, look for the words, “Extract, Standardised Extract, or Extract Equivalent.” When you see that on a label, this means the product has been made in a factory, rather than from a plant. “Just eat the plant!”, this has been the catchcry of Pharma Botanica founders, Paul and Melissa Gribble, for more than 21 years. Pharma Botanica is the only Australian manufacturer that exclusively uses 100% plants in all of their health formulations. Even their capsules are made from healthy kale.

Do You Know What You Are Actually Getting?

Another issue pertaining to extracts, is that if particular chemicals or constituents in a botanical are the only items of interest, then, the botanical source might be immaterial. If all you want is the alkaloid caffeine, for example, it can be extracted from coffee, tea, Yerba mate, guarana, or, even, synthesised. With an extract, you cannot really know what you are actually consuming.

Whole Herbs Are Best

Whole herbs, which is the Pharma Botanica way, are pretty much what they sound like. The herb in natural form – leaves, stems and/or roots – is dried, then, cut and sifted, and, then, milled into a powder. Powders are, either, packed inside a capsule or sold loose, so, that you can add them easily to a juice or smoothie. “Since you are consuming the medicinal plant, you are getting its full spectrum of plant chemicals, called phytochemicals,” says Paul. “That’s a good thing, because the herb’s phytochemicals work in synergy together, and we don’t always know how a single plant chemical will perform on its own. We share DNA with the plants, so, your body recognises it and can absorb it effectively. Powdered extracts are made by soaking the herb in a solvent that is later evaporated. What’s left behind is a concentrated powder of one or some of the plant chemicals. Some companies use harsh chemicals in the soaking solvent, which can be found in residual amounts remaining in the extract.”

 

 

 

 

Developing Your Personal Style: The Beginning of Personal Development

Personal style used to be reserved for metrosexuals and celebrities. These days, however, we are all being encouraged to recognise our personal brand. Are you a designer label or, more, black and gold? Australians used to be famous for their bullshit detectors, but, now, many of us are as bad as the Yanks. Personal blogs and Facebook pages have made millions of Aussies, tacky diarists of the worst possible kind. Banality on display in a hundred thousand different, but taste the same, flavours. Neighbourhood pets have been launched to digital, Andy Warhol like 15 minutes of fame.

Developing Your Personal Style: The Beginning of Personal Development

So, what does it take to develop your own personal style? Is it as simple as stopping shopping at Target and K-Mart? Is it buying a new European made car or 4WD? Is it, finally, getting those snaggly teeth done by a cosmetic dentist? How about walking upright and posture correction? In the modern era, smiling a thousand times a day is par for the course. Every moment of your life is being digitally recorded by someone or something, somewhere.  To craft a winning smile is personal development 101 in 2017.

Tempering your inclination to drink until you pass out and/or vomit, can be a further step along the ladder to real personal development. Less becomes more, the older you get, as youthful members of the community. Inane chattering should be put to bed before you turn 19. Understanding personal space is another of those secret body language lores. Don’t get too close to me. Personal hygiene is another important factor, especially in urban settings. Buses and elevators are all places where fresh breath confidence is a plus. Refraining from violence and sexual abuse, is another principle worth adhering to in the twenty first century.

Asking yourself, whether you are a giver or a taker, is another useful orientation technique to employ. Be clear upon the basis of your life mission, and you will talk the talk and walk the walk. Discovering your own personal aesthetics, is an integral part of developing your personal style.  We are not all beautiful or ugly in the same way. We all have a different vibration; if you want to get all metaphysical about this. No two persons are completely alike, unless they are identical twins. Even then, there are slight, but distinctive differences.

 

How Correct Posture Affects Long Term Health

Correct Posture Affects Long Term HealthThere are literally thousands of things we can do to promote a healthy lifestyle. Examples are avoiding to stay up late, drinking plenty of water, eating nutritious foods, doing some exercises on a daily basis, and so much more! That said, most of these routines take a lot of time and effort. Fortunately, there is one thing you can do right now that demands zero effort at all! It is time that you practice proper posture day and night. Did you know that correct posture affects long term health? If there’s a problem with your posture, you should visit a chiropractic clinic. They offer services such as posture realignment for men and women.

How Correct Posture Affects Long Term Health

A good posture is known to be vital in reducing the strain on our muscles, joints, and bones. In addition, it can improve one’s confidence and mood. Standing up straight or sitting in correct posture will probably take some time before it becomes a habit of yours. However, the physical, mental and emotional benefits of a good posture are all worth it.

As per recent studies, there is more to how correct posture affects long term health of a person. As a matter of fact, our body language, which includes the way we present ourselves through posture, influences how others perceive us. Not to mention our moods and habits. In a 2003 research by scientists from the Ohio State University, our posture has an effect to our hormones. For instance, standing tall makes us powerful.

Posture and Combatting Stress and Depression

A research from the University of Francisco showed that practicing correct posture will keep us from depression and stress. In fact, the way we carry ourselves affects our mood and energy levels. Although there are other factors that helped combat depression, a correct posture can come to our aid in our fight against depression.

Another findings from Harvard University and Columbia University illustrated that a bad posture increases our stress levels. Sitting or standing in a slouched position increases the cortisol, which is the hormone associated with stress. In addition, bad posture has an effect on our breathing. A shallow chest breathing puts a strain to our lungs, which then results to overworking our heart.

Safe Sex In An Age Of Sexual Freedom

Safe Sex In An Age Of Sexual Freedom

We now live in a progressive time that allows us to freely express our sexual desires. Asserting our sexual freedom is basically wielding our fundamental right as humans. Having said that, there are still those who think the idea behind sexual freedom is morally wrong and revolting. This is because they do not grasp the point at issue. Sexual liberation is about feeling confident and at ease in expressing one’s self to others in their own accord. However, one should not forget that safe sex in an age of sexual freedom is still befitting.

Safe Sex in an Age of Sexual Freedom

Holding back any of your sexual penchants can be pernicious, especially to your growth as a person. This is why the stress on freely exploring your sexual freedom is of great import. That said, we tend to forget the gravity of safe sex in an age of sexual freedom. It is a good thing that the country’s education system includes sex education, and the practice of safe sex in general, on their learning outcomes. Even adult venues that protect the health of their sex workers promote the practice of safe sex.

Basically, safe sex pertains to any sexual activity that does not entail an exchange in bodily fluids. In this age of sexual freedom, adolescents and young adults should be the first ones to learn about these safe practices. But the problem with this is that adults are always reckoned that they know how to have safe sex. In reality, they need the same attention as much as their younger counterparts.

There’s an unwritten rule in our society that tells us that adults should know the ins and outs about sex. However, a lot of them are prone to making high-risk decisions. For instance, U.S. data shows that three-fourths of the pregnancies in single women aged 20 to 29 were unplanned; whereas, unintended pregnancies among teens have reduced over the years. Another instance is that sexually active, single, American adults don’t use condoms when having oral sex despite science backing that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can be passed on orally.

According to health experts, safe sex in an age of sexual freedom may not be possible because of cultural taboos that surround sex. As long as the sex remains as an off limits topic, there will be people who are reluctant in discussing or consulting what they don’t know about practicing safe sex, even in the age of sexual freedom.

Social Isolation

Maintaining Community Vital For Collective Health

“Our need to connect is as fundamental as our need for food and water.” -Gareth Cook

Do you have a good social life?

Do you have lots of friends and connections? I’m not talking about the number of friends you have on Facebook or the number of followers you have on Instagram or Twitter. I’m talking about real, honest to goodness connection which involves genuine emotional relationship and face-to-face interaction.

According to research keeping a good social life has a huge and significant effect on our mental, as well as physical health. It’s been established that less than good social life has the same negative impact as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It’s twice as harmful as obesity, even more dangerous than never exercising or being an alcoholic.

Studies suggest that being socially isolated may have a greater effect on the risk of early death. Yes, not having a social life can, in fact, shorten your life!

Social disconnection isn’t just lonely. It’s unhealthy, and it can kill you.

Dependency on Technology

Has the current technology and housing trends increased the risk of loneliness? The technology advancements we have today definitely made some major impacts into our lives. So much so that it has affected our way of social interaction.

Social media and texting has made it easier for people to avoid relationship building. People may be more connected now more than ever, but social media networks can deprive us of human interaction. Instead of interacting in person and in real time, it creates a virtual substitute for companionship.

Too often what counts for social media is in fact social isolation. People are digitally obsessed, staring at their screens when waiting for a train, or on public transport. And at home, it’s just as bad. At least watching TV was something people can do together.

Maintaining Community

Since social interactions play a critical role in health, make socialising one of your priorities – make connections. Go out and devote some time for social activities. Join different groups or local communities around your area, whether it’s a social group, a hobby group, a sports group or an Asian community in Sydney. Have fun, be active and be as social as you can.

Remaining socially active and keeping interpersonal relationships can help your well-being as it helps you maintain good physical, psychological and emotional health. Reach out to your loved ones. Being with friends and family can be one of the main sources of meaning and fulfillment in a person’s life.

Mindfulness and the power of the body to heal itself through physical excercise

Exercise is very good for the brain. As a personal trainer I am always emphasising the benefits of physical exercise to mood and brain functioning. People are used to balancing; standing on one leg, walking up steps, or even standing on a ladder we balance our bodies without even thinking. However, just balancing the body requires large amounts of brain power. One study suggested that balancing our bodies through complicated movements required as much brain power as learning a second language. It is the intensity of brain activity generated during exercise which seems to be so good for the brain, very similar to exercising the muscles. However, there are ways to gain even greater benefits for the brain from exercise.

A personal trainer has a responsibility to ensure that the client is doing the appropriate exercises correctly, but the personal trainer must also be aware that the client is fully engaged with the exercises. This means that the client is fully concentrating on the exercises, the client is not thinking about work, what they are going to do after training, in short they need to be mindful. Mindfulness is about being fully focussed on what you are doing now and, by implication, being aware to a level that is not usually obtained. An example helps. Often we can operate on automatic pilot, you might be driving a car and be completely oblivious of changing gears or changing lanes. As an exercise in mindfulness I will ask people to eat an apple and describe not only the taste, but the texture of the apple, the smell and the sound of biting into the apple, to fully focus on the eating of the apple.

When someone is exercising it is a little bit harder for them not to conscious of what they are doing, however extraneous thoughts can still intrude. So as a personal trainer I ask people to concentrate on all aspects of their experience, if they are running the feel of the wind on their skin, the rhythm of their breathing etc. This is mindfulness.

The final stage is called flow. In a state of the flow the person is completely oblivious of time and their surroundings; they are fully committed to the exercise and are performing at their maximum. Now it is difficult to obtain flow and remain in flow. However once a person has achieved flow it is a wonderful experience.

The advantage of mindfulness obtained through exercise is that once a person understands the concept of mindfulness it can be applied to many aspects of daily living.

Sex Workers & Sexual Diseases

Sex workers must maintain high levels of sexual health. In the same way, that taxi drivers, or owners of taxis, must keep their vehicles well maintained and on the road if they are to stay in business. If a call girl is carrying an infectious disease and she spreads the infection to her clients, then the chain of infections can damage the health of innocent parties like wives and girlfriends. The result of this would be calamitous for brothel owners, clients and the girls themselves.

Which is why all, well run, brothels have always had a strong relationship with a local doctor who can check the sexual health of their girls on a weekly basis. If an escort is an independent operator then she needs to establish a weekly check up protocol for herself with a medical centre or specialist doctor. I would confidently say that the sexual health of prostitutes in a professionally run establishment would be better than that of the general population of sexually active young women. Those in the business are kicking the tires every week; their business depends upon it.

Sex workers, also, regularly, visibly check the genitals of their potential clients for tell tale signs of sexual disease. Since the AIDS crisis there would still be a large number of sex workers insisting on the use of condoms, which obviously reduces the instance of the transference of sexual disease by some considerable margin. Of course, there are brothels and massage parlours at the lower end of the market, especially illegal establishment using sex slaves, who do not conform to these industry safety standards. As in any industry you get what you pay for and if you frequent dodgy joints you make take home some unwanted extras; in the form of a sexual disease.

There have been a number of arrests made by Australian police forces in Melbourne and Sydney of brothel owners, who have been found guilty of exploiting newly arrived migrants from countries like Korea and China. The sexual slavery market is, unfortunately, alive and well among certain sections of our multicultural society. If you are looking to maintain your sexual health and you partake of the services of the sex industry, do yourself a favour and steer clear of these types of establishments. As a consumer please feel free to ask the management about the sexual health protocols of their business; it hurts less to ask first.