Exercise at Home with Chronic Illness

When you’re living with any type of chronic illness, just getting out of bed can be difficult and the thought of exercise almost impossible. Those living with autoimmune disease and chronic pain can still get the health benefits of exercise by taking it slow and doing them at home. Exercise for those with chronic illness is designed to maintain muscular function, improve health and well-being, and minimize pain.

Here are the best at-home exercises for those with chronic illness:

• Walking

Walking is an easy, low-impact exercise for those living with chronic pain. This exercise can be enjoyed in the comfort and privacy of your own home on a treadmill or just around the neighborhood, weather permitting. Walking improves your circulation and encourages your body’s natural detoxification process, which is especially helpful if you live with autoimmune disease.

If it’s been a long time since you’ve exercised, start slowly. Walk for just a few minutes on the treadmill or in your neighborhood and then stop for the day. Gradually build up from there until you feel comfortable and know how your body will feel after the exercise.

• Yoga

Yoga is an ideal exercise for those living with chronic illness as it incorporates both mental relaxation techniques with gentle, flowing movements. Doing yoga in the privacy of your home is easy. All you need is a DVD player and some introductory yoga DVDs or a high-speed Internet connection with access to streaming instructional videos.

Yoga incorporates breathing, stretching, holding, and strengthening your muscles and limbs while improving your circulation and enhancing feelings of well-being. Start off slowly and gradually work up to daily practice.

• Weight Lifting

Certain autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune arthritis respond well to weight-bearing exercises that strengthen muscles and joints. This is why adding light weights can help round out stretching and cardiovascular exercises. Use 2-5 pound weights and 5-10 repetitions to start.

You can do this on the edge of a bed, chair, or couch; whatever is most comfortable for you. Remember to always pay attention to your body and how it feels as you gradually increase exercises.

• Isometric Chair Exercises

Isometric chair exercises are an ideal at-home exercise for those with chronic illness. It uses your own body to strengthen and tone your muscles while keeping you in a more stable and stationary position. One example of an isometric chair exercise: Sit in an armless chair and grip the bottom with both hands. Bending your knees, slowly lift your feet off the ground, toes pointing upward. Hold this position for 5-10 seconds, then release. This strengthens your core and legs.

• Progressive Relaxation Exercises

If you are largely limited to bed rest, you can still work to keep your muscles toned and fit using a technique called progressive relaxation. Originally designed by therapists in the 1980s to help tense patients understand the difference between tension and relaxation, progressive relaxation can be a good form of exercise. Starting with your neck muscles, tense and tighten them as much as is comfortable and then relax them. Do this down your entire body.

Exercise for people with chronic illness can be a challenge but it doesn’t have to be impossible. Each of these exercises is designed to increase your endurance and mobility while decreasing your pain. If you experience increased discomfort with these exercises, consult your physician for alternative recommendations.

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3 Disgusting Natural Remedies (That Actually Work)!

Would you use someone else’s poop as medicine? Could you imagine allowing or even wanting a leech or maggot to crawl around on your body? These 3 disgusting natural remedies may be cringe-worthy but they could just save your life!

1. Fecal Transplant Therapy

Fecal transplant therapy is exactly what it sounds like. It takes the stool from a healthy person and places it inside a patient with severe digestive disease for the purpose of a cure. The idea behind fecal transplant therapy is that digestive disease is caused by an imbalance in the microflora of the gut. The stool from a healthy person re-introduces this good bacteria, which immediately repopulates the gut and cures disease.

The procedure can be done in a medical setting via a colonoscopy, nasogastric tube, or capsules. Or it can be done at home via enema. The first successful fecal transplant was conducted in 1958. Once considered a “fringe” therapy, FMT recently caught the attention of the FDA and is now being tested as a patentable mainstream medical treatment. 

2. Modern Leeching

Leeching or “blood-letting via leeches” was a very popular medical therapy back in the 1800s. It may surprise you to know that it hasn’t completely fallen out of favor with the conventional medical community. Picture this: You’re chopping up some vegetables for a salad and all of a sudden the knife slips, chopping off the tip of your finger. You manage to keep your wits about you long enough to put the finger in a plastic bag filled with ice and get to the hospital. The doctor re-attaches the finger but a day later, the fingertip is blue.

When a finger is re-attached, it’s easy to affix the capillaries but much harder to reconnect the veins. This means your blood only has a one-way road that is soon be blocked off by clots. Without leeches, your nail bed would have to be ripped off to allow slow blood drainage. With modern leeching, a little critter is placed on your fingertip to slowly (and far less painfully) drain the blood.

3. Medical Maggots

You know those slimy, white, wriggling critters you’ve seen in horror movies and in garbage cans? Can you imagine putting them on your body? Plenty of people do. Medical maggots act as microsurgeons, repairing infected wounds that have been unresponsive to standard medical treatments. Burns, sores, and ulcers that refuse to heal after two or more conventional attempts are treated with medical maggots.

For each square centimeter of wound, 5-10 maggots are used. They are placed on the wound, dressed, and left on for 72 hours. The maggots secrete digestive juices that dissolve liquefied tissue and bacteria, cleaning out the wound and preventing the spread of infection.

Even in this modern medical age, conventional treatments can fall short. These natural remedies may be pretty unappetizing but they’ve been clinically-proven to work.

Click to Read "Top 10 Disgusting Ingredients in Food"

Home Remedies for Reducing Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections affect 1 in every 3 women. Women are more prone to UTI due to a shorter urethra and increased susceptibility to yeast infections. Prescription antibiotics are becoming less and less effective in treating urinary tract infections. These home remedies can help heal your UTI and keep it from coming back.

What Causes Urinary Tract Infections?

Urinary tract infections are caused by many types of bacteria, most often E. Coli. They can also be caused by chronic yeast infection, chronic dehydration, diabetes, contraceptives, allergic reaction to soaps and perfumes, and synthetic food additives. 

Symptoms of UTI

• Constant urge to urinate
• Pain and burning during urination
• Cloudy urine
• Lower back pain
• Low-grade fever

Why Prescription Antibiotics Might Not Be Effective in Treating Urinary Tract Infections

The first time you had a urinary tract infection, you may have gone to the doctor to get a prescription antibiotic. Unfortunately, more and more infections are becoming resistant to prescription antibiotic treatment. This is because many doctors prescribe antibiotics for viral infections like cold and flu, which the drugs can’t treat.

It also doesn’t help that conventionally-raised beef, poultry, and fish often contain high doses of antibiotics. Because of this, even simple ailments like common UTIs can become life-threatening.

Home Remedies for Urinary Tract Infections

Thankfully, urinary tract infections can be treated using home remedies.

• D-Mannose

This simple sugar is found in cranberries, blueberries, apples, and birch trees. It has been shown to reduce the pain, burning, and inflammation of UTI while flushing the body of E. coli bacteria. Though it has no known negative side effects, it’s important to note that couples trying to conceive should avoid its use as D-Mannose can bind to sperm and flush them from your body.

• Oregano Oil

Oregano oil is one of the most powerful natural antibiotics. Add a couple of drops of pure oregano oil to a four-ounce glass of water and drink it through a straw. (This volatile oil will burn your lips). Alternatively, you can take oregano oil in capsule form. Take the oregano oil twice a day for three days, even if you notice symptom relief.

• Cranberry Extract

Cranberry extract prevents E. coli from binding to the bladder wall. It also helps flush the body of harmful bacteria while reducing painful inflammation. Choose organic, concentrated cranberry extract for best results. Cranberry juice can be effective as well but only if it contains no added sugar.

• Probiotics

Adding a good-quality probiotic supplement to your diet can do wonders in preventing chronic UTI. Since many urinary tract infections are caused by recurrent yeast infections and bacterial build-up, probiotics can help prevent this excessive growth. Be sure to choose a probiotic supplement with at least 5 million CFUs (colony forming units) with no preservatives.

                                   

• Water

If you’re a soda or fruit juice drinker, you’re much more likely to suffer from recurrent urinary tract infections. Sugar feeds yeast and encourages bacteria to grow. Drink at least 6-8 glasses of pure, filtered water each day to flush out toxins and keep your urinary system clean and healthy.

You can also prevent recurring urinary tract infections by eating less refined sugar and flour and dining more on whole and minimally-processed foods. A diet rich in organic vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds, legumes, meat, poultry, fish, and healthy fats (butter, coconut oil, avocado) will do wonders to heal your body from the inside out. 

If symptoms persist, your doctor will run a urinalysis, with the addition of a culture and sensitivity. The culture will identify the problem bacteria and the sensitivity will tell the doctor which antibiotic will be effective in killing the bacteria since many have become antibiotic-resistant. 

Prone to Yeast Infections as Well? Treat Them Naturally!

Health Problems Caused by Food

If you’re like most people, you don’t give much consideration to all the ingredients in the food you eat everyday. You’re busy, you’re stressed, and you have to get dinner on the table at a certain time. If it looks good and tastes good, what’s the big deal? A lifelong diet of unhealthy food can cause some serious health issues that sneak up on you when you least expect it.

10 Common Health Problems Caused by Food

1.     Obesity

Obesity is one of the primary health problems associated with unhealthy food. Each day you’re being influenced by the food industry who wants to make money by selling you certain products. Diet foods, for example, are anything but healthy and they do not promote weight loss. They are a scam designed to keep you hungry and dependent on their products.

High fructose corn syrup is a common additive in millions of processed food products and it’s guaranteed to pack on the pounds. HFCS tricks your body into thinking you’re always hungry by interfering with normal leptin and ghrelin levels. Also, the trans fats in chips and snacks cause obesity by tricking your taste buds into thinking you’re eating something nourishing.

2.     Autoimmune Disease

Millions of people suffer from some type of autoimmune disease that didn’t exist 100 years ago. The connection? Most of the foods you find in your grocery store didn’t exist 100 years ago. An autoimmune disease means the body has suddenly begun attacking its own healthy tissues because it no longer recognizes them.

The preservatives and additives in processed food don’t just get into the gut; they get into the entire body, causing the immune system to respond with an attack. Eventually, this essential system begins to break down and malfunction, resulting in autoimmune disease such as crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

3.     High Cholesterol

The issue of high cholesterol is a tricky one. For decades now, you’ve been lead to believe that saturated fat is terrible for your health and will contribute to high cholesterol. The truth is, saturated fat is actually good for your health. It’s the trans fats you need to avoid.

Cholesterol is actually essential for good health and cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could actually kill you. Surprised? Statin drugs keep your body from making any cholesterol at all, which can lead to dementia, slow wound healing, autoimmune disease, muscle problems, and cataracts.

Margarine, vegetable oil, diet foods, and fast foods are loaded with trans fats that do serious damage to your health. Try switching to coconut oil, butter, and olive oil. It will do wonders for you!

4.     Digestive Disorders

Have you ever really looked at the digestive aisle of a pharmacy? It’s incredible how many stomach remedies are out there for heartburn, diarrhea, constipation, and the like. It’s as though people actually believe they’re supposed to feel sick after they eat.

Processed food may taste good but it’s filled with chemicals, additives, and preservatives your digestive system cannot properly break down. Plus, it’s completely devoid of nutrients. This type of diet easily sets you up for the development of crohn’s disease, acid reflux disease, chronic constipation, and more.

To beat digestive disorders naturally, cut the junk food out of your diet and load up on plenty of fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

5.     Yeast Infections

So many women get chronic yeast infections and can’t figure out what’s causing them. Chances are, it’s the bad food you’re eating. Sugary snacks and drinks feed candida yeast and cause it to grow out of control. Oftentimes, intolerance to gluten can lead to chronic yeast infections due to malnutrition and low gut bacteria. Adding more garlic, cayenne, and onions to your diet can help reduce yeast infections naturally.

6.     Thyroid Problems

Thyroid problems are rampant in the United States and Canada. The most common autoimmune disease is Grave’s disease and can be caused by eating unhealthy processed food. Gluten intolerance is a common cause of secondary thyroid disease.

7.     Chronic Sinus Problems

If you sniffle and sneeze 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, it’s not hay fever. You’re allergic to something you’re eating or what’s in your environment. Chronic sinus problems are caused by inflammation, which can be exacerbated by processed foods and undiagnosed gluten or lactose intolerance.

8.     Headaches

So many people get headaches every day and they don’t know what’s causing them. Using NSAID pain relievers may stop the pain for now but they will do nothing to address the underlying cause of headaches. Plus, overuse of these pain relievers can lead to chronic yeast infections and stomach ulcers. Monosodium glutamate is a common food additive that contributes to migraine headaches.

9.     Anxiety

Anxiety attacks can be debilitating. It may surprise you to know that they can also be caused by food. Caffeine, for one, shouldn’t be consumed by people with anxiety disorder. However, it goes deeper than that. Studies have shown that mood disorders may be triggered by low gut bacteria and leaky gut syndrome.

10.    Sleep Disturbances

Another health problem caused by food is sleep disturbance. Certain food additives and dyes such as Yellow 5 can cause a heightened state of anxiety and make it difficult to sleep. Aspartame is a potent neurotoxin that interfere with the way your brain functions, which can lead to anxiety, agitation, and decreased quality of sleep.

Yes, many health problems are caused by food but they can also be healed by food. The first step to healing completely from any disorder is eating a healthy, preservative-free diet. Once you change your diet, you change your life.

Learn How to Spring Clean Your Body with a Fasting Juice Cleanse

Which Chocolate is Good for You?

Which chocolate is good for you? It’s a common question among health-conscious eaters who want to indulge in something tasty while improving their well-being. Chocolate is very healthy for you but only if you eat the right kind. Otherwise, you’re doing your health more harm than good.

What Chocolate is Good for You?

The health benefits include improved circulation, lowered blood pressure, improved cognitive function, decreased anxiety, and better overall mood. Dark chocolate is also rich in free-radical-fighting antioxidants that can help slow the aging process!

When selecting your chocolate, you’re going to have to invest a little bit of money. Those 99 cent dark chocolate bars you see at your grocery store checkout are too processed to be of any real benefit. Instead, select an organic dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao content.

Also, the least amount of preservatives in your chocolate, the better.

Types of Chocolate to Avoid

There are dozens of types of dark chocolate on the market and it’s just as important to know which ones to eat as which ones to avoid.

Be sure to avoid any dark chocolate with these ingredients:

• Soy Lecithin

Despite what you’ve been lead to believe, soy is anything but a health food. It comes from the sludge left over after crude soy oil goes through a type of “de-gumming” process. Plus, 80% of soy is genetically modified, which means every time you eat a food product containing it, you’re eating pesticides.

• High Fructose Corn Syrup

High fructose corn syrup is terrible for your health. It has been scientifically-proven that this common food additive causes obesity. HFCS also causes chronic inflammation and has been associated with the development of autoimmune disease, diabetes, and cancer.

• Partially Hydrogenated Oils

Partially hydrogenated oils are trans fats and they’re terrible for your health. They raise bad cholesterol levels while lowering good, which leaves you at risk for developing heart disease and suffering a stroke.

• Artificial Colors

Artificial colors such as Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue Lake have been linked to neurological disorders, behavioral problems, mood swings, and chronic inflammation.

• Dipotassium Phosphate

This common food additive has been shown to cause impaired kidney function when consumed over long periods of time.

The Right Drink for Chocolate

You may think that milk is the perfect drink to pair with chocolate but studies have shown that milk blocks the uptake of the beneficial calcium and magnesium in chocolate. Instead, pair your favorite organic dark chocolate with a cup of tea or a nice glass of red wine.

Chocolate is very good for your health. When you eat dark chocolate, you just have to know which chocolate is good for you and which to stay away from. Remember, the best kind is organic and preservative-free. Here’s to your health!

Click to Learn How to Lose Weight with Chocolate!

Improving Health and Wellness

In a world filled with quick fixes and promises, it can be difficult to know the best approach to improving your health and wellness. The health and well-being of millions of people is compromised each day by poor diet, stress, and toxins. The best way to improve your health is to go back to basics and live as naturally as possible, even in a toxic world.

1. Eat Well

The cornerstone of health and wellness is a nutritious, whole-food diet. If your diet consists mostly of junk food, you’re eating empty calories that fill your stomach but don’t nourish your body. Processed foods are laden with chemicals and preservatives that have been linked to the development of diabetes, autoimmune disease, and cancer.

First and foremost, to stay well, you must eat healthy. This means eating as much organic, unprocessed food as possible. Think dark, leafy greens, bright-colored fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, meat, poultry, and wild-caught non-GMO fish.

Your health absolutely depends on it.

Also, if you’re trying to lose weight, you don’t have to steer clear of all types of fat. Trans fats like margarine and vegetable oil are terrible for you and will not only guarantee you stay overweight but will increase your risk for heart disease as well. Saturated fats, however, are excellent for your health. Coconut oil, olive oil, and butter improve your digestion, decrease inflammation, and keep you feeling fuller longer.

2. Exercise

The next step to improving your health and wellness is exercise. There’s no need to do anything drastic but you have to get up and get moving at least three times per week. Even if all you do is take a nice long nature hike or a walk around the block, you’ll be improving your health.

When you get into a new exercise program, go easy on yourself. Overdoing it will guarantee muscle strain and soreness that will make it too easy to quit. Also, change it up so you won’t get bored. Dance, hike, do yoga, lift weights, and go swimming but just keep moving and you’ll live a better life.

3. De-Stress

Stress kills. Even if you burn the candle at both ends you still need to find time to rest and relax. At the end of the day try sitting in a quiet room for 20-30 minutes to do some deep-breathing exercises.

Something as simple as this can help cut down on chronic pain, mood swings, and episodes of insomnia. If stress becomes too much for you to handle on your own, join a support group or talk with a therapist.

Just knowing someone is there to listen to you can boost your sense of health and well-being.

4. Eliminate Toxins

You’d be amazed how many toxins you come in contact with in a single day. Everything from the cleaning products in your kitchen to the make-up in your bathroom is loaded with toxic poisons that can wreck havoc with your health. Each time you clean your home or take a shower, you’re exposed to neurotoxins such as bleach, formaldehyde, phenol, and kerosene.

The best way to eliminate these toxins is to get rid of them and start over with natural, organic substitutes. You can make your own cleaning products at home with baking soda, peroxide, castile soap, vinegar, and lemon juice.

Castile soap also doubles as a shampoo, laundry detergent, and dish soap and pure virgin coconut oil can be used as a toxin-free skin cream. Mineral make-up contains no parabens and is gentle on even the most sensitive skin.

5. Sleep

If you’re not getting enough sleep it won’t matter how healthy your diet or how toxin-free your home. Most people need at least 7 hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep each night for full muscle recovery and cellular repair. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, heart disease, erectile dysfunction, adrenal fatigue, and autoimmune disease.

The key to health and well-being is within your grasp. You just have to make the commitment to these lifestyle choices. Eventually, they will become a part of your routine, as natural as breathing, and you’ll be amazed at how much better you look and feel!

Click to Learn How to Get Better Sleep Naturally 

Why Women Develop Autoimmune Disease

Millions of women struggle with autoimmune disease and their doctors are shaking their heads, wondering what’s going on. If you’re a woman with an autoimmune disorder, you may be frustrated by the conventional medical community’s approach to your illness.

What is Autoimmune Disease?

Under ordinary circumstances, the immune system only reacts when the body is threatened by injury or disease. An autoimmune disease is characterized by the body attacking its own healthy tissues.

Common Causes of Autoimmune Disorder

Conventional doctors often claim they have no idea what causes autoimmune disorders. Most naturopathic and osteopathic physicians have a different viewpoint.

They believe autoimmune disorders are caused by the following:

• Poor Diet

Poor diet is one of the leading causes of all health problems among women. Processed foods, fast food, donuts, cookies, candy, and soda are not only completely devoid of nutrients, they contain a bunch of chemicals that can really wreck havoc on your immune system.

Some of these chemicals include:

• Aspartame – Aspartame is a proven neurotoxin that can cause your immune system to malfunction.

• High Fructose Corn Syrup – Scientifically-proven to cause obesity, HFCS can also decrease your body’s ability to fight off disease.

• Food Dyes – Food dyes have been linked to the development of autoimmune disease, mental health problems, and cancer.

• Lead – Many brands of soda contain lead, which can lead to learning disorders and autoimmune disease.


• BPA – Bisphenol A (BPA) is a powerful endocrine disruptor commonly found in canned food.

• MSG – Monosodium glutamate has been known to cause allergic reaction, brain damage, headaches, obesity, and hormonal imbalances.

• Trans Fats – These are the worst. Not only do they cause extreme weight gain and heart disease, they also do serious damage to your immune system.

If you want to improve your immune system health, ditch the junk food and load up on organic produce, meat, fish, and dairy products. Become a label-reader and make it a rule that if you can’t pronounce it, you won’t eat it. Unless it’s organic yogurt containing lactobacillus acidophilus. You need more of that in your diet as it boosts your immune system in a serious way!

• Environmental Toxins

Autoimmune disease can also develop on account of constant exposure to environmental toxins. Conventional household cleaners, make-up, laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, and air fresheners all contain a potent cocktail of dangerous chemicals designed to do serious damage to your health.

Some of these chemicals include:

• Parabens – These dangerous chemicals have been linked to infertility, developmental disorders, autoimmune disease, and cancer.

• Propylene Glycol – These endocrine disruptors mimic the effect of estrogen on the body and can lead to cancer and decreased immune system function.

• Formaldehyde – This highly-toxic cancer-causing substance can do a serious number on your immune system, especially with chronic exposure.

• Phthalates – These chemicals have been proven to cause lupus.

To improve your health and decrease your chances of developing an autoimmune disorder, get rid of all of the toxic chemicals in your home. You can use pure castile soap in place of bar soap, shampoo, shaving cream, and laundry detergent as it contains no harmful chemicals. Switch your store-bought cosmetics for mineral make-up and you’re one step closer to leading a more natural, chemical-free life!

• Stress

When doctors tell you stress can kill you, they’re not making it up. Stress taxes the adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands are small glands that sit on top of your kidneys. When something stressful happens in your life, those glands release cortisol, testosterone, epinephrine, and  norepinephrine so you’re able to protect yourself or get out of the situation.

However, your adrenal glands were never meant to produce these chemicals on a daily basis. If they do, you can develop a condition called adrenal fatigue. Women with adrenal fatigue are often chronically tired, emotional, pale, and weak in their muscles.

Even if you’re the burn-the-candle at both ends type of woman, it’s important to make time for yourself. Even twenty minutes a day of quiet reflection in a darkened room can do wonders for your health. You can also take up a relaxing hobby such as hiking or yoga to get your stress levels down and your immune system up.

Autoimmune disease is not often successfully treated by conventional medicine. Because of this, many frustrated women turn to natural medicine to get the care they need. Beat your autoimmune disease by making healthy changes in your life and consulting a doctor who acts as a partner in your care. 

Click to Learn Inexpensive Ways to Treat Autoimmune Disease