Natural Ways to Keep Your Pearly Whites Bright

One glance at the dental section in the grocery store and the drug store will yield a vast array of products to whiten your teeth. In fact you may be momentarily blinded by all of the options that you see in front of you!

How do you know which ones are right for you? How do you know that any of them work at all?

It can be overwhelming to choose just one. If you are on a tight budget then it can be even more frustrating because the last thing you want to do is to waste the money that you work so hard to earn on an item that won’t deliver what it promised. This is when it helps to know that there are natural ways for you to brighten your smile that don’t involve a trip to the store or the purchase of an item that you do not know will work well for you or not. What can you do then?

One thing you can do is whip up a paste and then get pasty with it! Baking soda paste that is. Baking soda is a very strong whitener for the teeth and is extremely beneficial when it comes to getting rid of stains on the teeth. While there are plenty of toothpastes that contain baking soda if you make your own it will be more concentrated and will probably work even better.

You can make your own paste by combining a tablespoon of baking soda with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide or if you prefer a teaspoon of salt. The hydrogen peroxide is good for chemical exfoliation while the salt is useful for manual exfoliation. Once you have made the paste rub it on your teeth with your finger or brush it on with your toothbrush. Leave it on a few seconds and then rinse it off. It is important to realize that baking soda and hydrogen peroxide can harm the gums as well as tooth enamel if they are used too much. For that reason you should only use this paste on occasion. Do not overdo it!

Eating fruits is good for the health of your teeth as well as for whitening your enamel.

This is because the acids in fruits oxidize the stains that find their way onto teeth. Some of the best choices for the purposes of whitening include apples, orange peels, pears and strawberries. By eating these foods regularly you should notice a difference in terms of the lack of stains on your teeth. To whiten your teeth just a little bit rub the peel of an orange on then but do not be too vigorous with this action. If you enjoy lemons then you must use them sparingly because the acid found in lemons can eat away at tooth enamel if they are overexposed to this fruit.

Electric toothbrushes help to keep teeth looking their brightest because they have the ability to break up stains that a regular manual toothbrush is not capable of doing. It is the rpm’s of the electric toothbrush that makes this happen!

Go natural and see how good natural looks on your teeth!

Becca

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Beating AMD the Natural Way – with Proper Nutrition!

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a health condition that can affect your eyes. You can do your part to prevent this disease from affecting you by protecting your eyes.

One way to do that is to make salads a regular part of your daily eating habits.

What is AMD?

AMD is an eye disease that mainly affects those over the age of 60. It is a progressive disease that develops in the retina and over time damages and destroys the vision that was once clear and sharp. But all is not lost when it comes to the health of your eyes.  Recent research studies suggest that nutrients found in an assortment of vegetables can do what is necessary to prevent AMD from destroying the clear vision that you enjoy and want to continue to enjoy.

Age-related macular degeneration is found in two types. There is dry AMD and there is wet AMD.

The former has the tendency to develop over a longer span of time and very often individuals who suffer from it do not notice the changes in their vision because it takes place on a gradual basis. On the hand the latter progresses in a speedier manner and may lead to central vision being lost in not just one eye but both. The development of wet AMD is often noticed by the sufferer fairly quickly as vision changes are rapid in nature.

Recently published studies point to the fact that consuming enough vitamin D, beta carotene, omega-3 fats, lutein, zeaxanthin and zinc has the ability to reduce the risk that AMD will set in. In particular making sure your diet contains enough of these nutrients is essential for those individuals who have inherited a tendency to develop this disease of the eyes.

Keep Your Eye on Nutrition – Think Salads! 

To keep your eyes in the best shape possible you need to increase your dietary intake of carotenoids. This means that you should consume plenty of carrots on a regular basis as well as leafy green vegetables.

These foods contain high quantities of beta carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin which are all connected to a lessened likelihood of developing macular degeneration.

Omega-3 fatty acids are important as well when it comes to the health of your eyes. Add tuna to your meals whenever possible and toss some nuts on top of your salads. Diets that are high in nuts and fish oils have been shown to dramatically reduce the risk of this serious eye problem. Other foods that can stop AMD in its tracks include coldwater fish such as salmon and sardines. These foods also contain adequate amounts of vitamin D3 which is also beneficial in this regard.

Zinc supplements have been demonstrated in studies to reduce the potential for this disease to occur. However you should speak with your physician before you start taking a zinc supplement. If you do decide to take a supplement of zinc then look for one that also contains the B vitamins including B6, B12 and folic acid. To get more zinc into your diet through the foods you eat consider including kidney beans and sunflower seeds to your green garden salads.

Becca

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Preventing PMS by Eating B1 and B2 Rich Foods

PMS or premenstrual syndrome affects as many as 85 percent of women.

If you are one of them then you know all about the many symptoms that can add up to feeling just plain miserable. If you wish you could skip over that time of the month then you are not alone as many women wish for the same thing. What you need to know is that there are foods you can eat that can help to keep you as PMS-free as possible.

Researchers compared the diets of over 1,000 women who suffered from PMS regularly with those who did not. What they discovered was that high levels of vitamin B1 (thiamin) as well as vitamin B2 (riboflavin) reduced the potential for PMS symptoms by as much as 35 percent. One such food that contains high amounts of these two vitamins is spinach.

If you make spinach one of your regular foods and eat it like Popeye then you may be well on your way to not feeling so icky when the time for PMS rolls around. A cup of spinach will provide you with 15 percent of your recommended daily/dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin B1 and 25 percent of your RDA for vitamin B2. Spinach is also an excellent source of the mineral iron.

More research into the role of the B vitamins in terms of PMS relief is needed but the results obtained so far are very promising. It is believed that both vitamins B1 and B2 have the ability to increase two neurotransmitters in the brain. These neurotransmitters are known as dopamine and serotonin. It has been hypothesized that a lack of these neurotransmitters can contribute to the onset of PMS symptoms.

If you think that you can take a supplement and be done with it then that is not going to work. In studies conducted researchers noted a reduction in symptoms only when subjects consumed foods high in B1 and B2. It is also worth noting that those women who reduced their PMS symptoms by as much as 25 to 35 percent ate twice the RDA for what is currently required of these two nutrients.

Other B1 and B2 Rich Foods for PMS Sufferers:

To get more of these two B vitamins into your diet there are other foods that you should be consuming as well.

Yogurt is beneficial when it comes to supplying you with an adequate amount of vitamin B2. A serving of yogurt can give you 32 percent of the recommended daily allowance of this B vitamin. It is also high in vitamin D and calcium which are also believed to diminish PMS discomfort. Not to mention the fact that the friendly bacteria found in yogurt is good for the digestive tract.

Increasing your intake of legumes is smart if you suffer from PMS. This includes black beans, lentils, peas, navy beans and pinto beans. All of these foods contain a plentiful supply of vitamin B1. For examples, one cup of black beans will supply you with 28 percent of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin B1. Experiment with different menu ideas to incorporate more legumes into your meals.

Tuna is rich in vitamin B1. A serving of tuna will offer you 38 percent of the RDA of vitamin B1. Just make sure you do not over consume tuna as then you run the risk of taking in too much mercury.

Becca

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Getting Acquainted with the Truth Involved in Hypnosis – Part II

Hypnosis is an alternative health treatment that can help you in many areas of your life. It can help you to lose weight, quit smoking, cope with anxiety, get rid of phobias and increase your self-esteem.

In part one we defined hypnosis and we looked at how it feels to be hypnotized. Here in part two we continue with some other important truths about the practice of hypnosis.

Here is a common question asked by many people about hypnosis – is it dangerous?

When you take part in a guided hypnotic session you have what is known as an observer self. You have to expand your thinking to understand the observer self. It is “an actual part of you that is always aware and watching out for you.” While under hypnosis you can trust and be assured that your observer self is watching over you carefully and will not let anything happen to you that you would not permit in your waking state.

Hypnosis is capable of making us sharper and more focused mentally. Due to this it is actually able to make us safer (as opposed to less safe) because it allows us to become more aware of our surroundings as we go through our day. This is a good thing and an aspect of hypnosis that many people do not think about or are even aware of.

Hypnosis will not cause you to do anything against your will nor will it cause you to reveal any information about yourself that you would prefer to keep secret.

Basically, you’ll not say or do anything that you would not ordinarily do. Under hypnosis you continue to have a choice because your brain does not stop functioning properly nor is your ability to reason altered or diminished.

This is one of the most common misconceptions about hypnosis. You may see the things that stage hypnotists get audience members to do to entertain others and it might cause you concern. This is done for entertainment value only, and frankly has nothing to do with therapeutic hypnosis and is more about a subjects openness to suggestibility than anything else. It cannot be emphasized often enough – you will never ever do anything while under hypnosis, nor will you accept any suggestions while in this state that violate your moral code or any of your values.

Hypnosis is healthy and safe.

You will not get trapped in it and you do not have to worry about getting stuck in a terminal hypnosis state. It is something that can happen under any circumstances so it is not a reason to stay away from hypnosis treatments.

For instance if a tape you were listening to came to an end or if the hypnotherapist exited the room and you no longer heard a voice then one of two things would happen. Your subconscious mind would realize that there is no longer a voice guiding the session and you would be brought back to conscious awareness.  Or you might just fall asleep and then wake up as naturally as if you were asleep in your bed.

Now there may be other reasons why hypnosis may not work for your problem or goal, but a certified hypnotist is trained to recognize these conditions and suggest other alternatives for you.

Samantha

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