Cancer Patient Survival Nutrition

Cancer slowly seems to be eating away at our population. It is as if everyone either knows someone who has passed from cancer or knows someone who currently has cancer.

The worst part about it is that cancer is very debilitating and those that do die from it pass slowly and often painfully. However, some others are able to beat cancer naturally without having to undergo painful radiation therapy.

Cancer and disease can only thrive in an acidic body, or a body full of harmful toxins.
Most of the patients who are able to beat cancer naturally are able to do so by eating the right organic, healthy diet, which brings their body back to a natural alkaline state. They also use the juice from fruits and vegetables to cleanse their bodies.

What is acidic and alkaline? Think of it this way, a swamp (which is home to bugs, reptiles, dirty, muggy water) is an acidic environment, while a field of flowers (hosting bees and butterflies) is an alkaline environment.

Your body can become acidic for many reasons, and actually most people's bodies are acidic because they don't live a healthy lifestyle. Chemicals, processed food, bad food choices, poor air quality, and your environment all play a role in making your body acidic.

You can test yourself with acid/alkaline ph strips you can find at your local health food store. They are inexpensive and easy to use. If you would like more information on this or have any question regarding the topic of this article consult a doctor who practices natural, or eastern medicine.

It is important to note, however, that some cancer patients, who are very sick, or are far along with their illness should consult their doctor about what they should eat for nutrition. Sometimes being extremely sick with cancer or other illnesses can cause your body to react poorly to certain foods, even if they are healthy for you normally.

How Do Fruits and Vegetables Fend Off Cancer?

Organic fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, which help fight off the cancer cells and make your body alkaline. Making fresh juice from organic fruit and vegetables can be even better because they are concentrated and your body can absorb them faster. Try watermelon juice, it is very cleansing and tastes great.

Fruits that are purple or dark colored are especially recommended for a cancer patient's nutrition. Dark colored fruits contain more antioxidants. To get the maximum nutrition, you may juice up different types of fruits and vegetables to create a single concoction. Some of these fruit and vegetable juices may taste good, others not so much, but you are drinking these juices to save your life, not make your taste buds happy.

Moreover, a fiber rich diet may also help the body fight off the free radicals in its system, therefore you may want to consider taking a fiber supplement if you are a cancer patient. Also you need to stay away from sugar. This is one of the most acidic things you can put into your body and will increase any amount of pain you are having as a result of the cancer. Obviously, don't drink alcohol or smoke if you are a cancer patient.

Aside from giving a cancer patient the right nutrition, you also need to give a cancer patient plenty of liquids. A well hydrated body is better able to cope with the stress of being sick so make sure a patient drinks plenty of water. I would suggest a gallon of water a day (but not all at once) because it will help flush out your body and keep you as hydrated as you need to be.

If you have cancer and are sick and tired of being sick and tired from chemotherapy hopefully you can try some of the above recommendations to make your body alkaline and hopefully rid your body of the cancer. Just make sure that you do this with the supervision and guidance of some type of natural health doctor or expert.

And finally, think positively about beating cancer. The mind is a very powerful tool, but it can make you or break you. There are patients who claim to have gotten rid of cancer only from truly believing that they were going to get better and staying in a joyous, positive frame of mind.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners / Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com

How Do I Know If I Have A Sinus Infection?

At first, you may think you have a common cold. Your nose is congested, your head hurts and that minor cough has now become a major problem. The symptoms seem to stick around for more than a week or two which is unlike the basic cold.

You try to go through the motions of your life feeling completely miserable but at some point you've had enough. Finally, you make a trip to your doctor's office in hopes that he/she will be able to provide some relief from these painful symptoms you've been having. Their diagnosis? You have acute sinusitis or in other words, a sinus infection.

Sinus infections may be the most common complaint doctor's see and treat because the symptoms of one of these infections can be painful enough to effectively disrupt your daily life.

A sinus infection can be defined as an inflammation of your nasal and sinus passages. This inflammation makes it extremely difficult for secretions and air to pass through the passages, resulting in pressure and pain.

Couple that pain with other symptoms like a sore throat, cough, fatigue and fever and you have the makings of an illness that's enough to keep you out of play for a few days. The good news is that there are plenty of remedies for a sinus infection that will help you get back on your feet in no time.

Differences Between the Common Cold and A Sinus Infection

Even though the symptoms of a common cold and sinus infection are similar; such as nasal congestion, a cough and a sore throat, there are other sinus infection symptoms that are unique to just a sinus infection.

These signs will tell you whether or not you need to take a trip to the doctor's office for antibiotics, or if you simply need to nurse your virus from home until it passes.

For example, even though both illnesses include nasal congestion, a sinus infection will generally have nasal secretions that are thicker and are green or yellow in color.

Pain is another tell tale sign of an infection. Most sinus pain is felt in the forehead, around the eyebrows or on the cheekbones just under your eyes.

Sinus infections most often come on at the tail end of a cold rather than on their own. What happens is, most people will find that they're just beginning to recover from a common cold when they see a relapse in their symptoms along with some of the other signs listed above.

If you suspect you might have a sinus infection, there are a few ways to treat it. It might be a good idea to make an appointment with your doctor to get the necessary prescription medication necessary to kick the infection out of your system completely. (The last time I visited my doctor, I was charged $125 for 5 minutes of his time and still had to spend $20 on my prescription!)

I have nothing wrong with doctor's, but they're not your only choice. You could go the more natural way. I have found that whenever I feel a cold coming on, I reach for a natural supplement that boosts my immune system BEFORE I visit my doctor.

If you want to see what I use every single day to build my immune system just click here and check it out. It's worked wonders for me and because of it, I can tell you that I have not gotten sick in over 3 years.

The point is, there are plenty of choices in effectively relieving sinus infections as long as you don't wait until your cold turns into an infection.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners / Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com

Does Nutrition Play a Major Role In Creating A Healthy Lifestyle?

Some diet and nutrition plans might sound good on the surface but there are many things to consider when ensuring proper nutrition in your meal plan.

Some people try to reduce or eliminate their carbohydrate intake when dieting because by reducing carbohydrates you reduce the sugar in your system. The problem is that since carbohydrates provide glucose and glucose provides energy to the cells in the body, this may not be the best solution.

There are two types of carbohydrates you may be aware of; simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates metabolize quickly, increasing the amount of glucose in the blood and then storing some of the leftovers in fat cells throughout the body.

Complex carbohydrates on the other hand, are slower to turn into sugar in the bloodstream and the glucose is usually used before being stored in surrounding fat cells. Obviously everyone is different and each person's individual metabolism rate will ultimately determine how fast these carbohydrates will metabolize within the body.

By focusing on better food nutrition, taking nutritional supplements, eating nutrition bars, fruits, vegetables and the like, not only will you create a healthier lifestyle but you'll also be able to better control your weight day in and day out.

It's pretty much common knowledge that in order to lose weight a person has to consume less calories than their body burns off throughout the day.

The biggest myth people have fallen victim to is that they think the less they eat, the more weight they'll lose. This couldn't be further from the truth.

You see, when you don't feed your body in an effort to lose weight, what you're actually doing is starving your body and when your body is not receiving it's "fuel," it goes into starvation mode.

Now when this happens, your body begins to use the protein in the muscle as it's backup source of energy. Have you ever noticed people who go on diets, lose weight but still look flabby? That's because they're losing lean muscle through the starvation process and when they hit their goal weight and begin to eat "normally" again, they almost always gain back the weight they lost and MORE.

There really is no single diet plan that will offer the same benefits for everyone, but considering the purpose of the diet, nutrition information must be used when developing an individual plan. For the right plan with the right nutrition for each individual, it may be necessary to seek professional advice.

If you're like me, you'd rather figure out your own daily caloric intake numbers. If that's the case, here's an easy calculation you can use to figure out how many calories you should be consuming on a daily basis.

The calculation is as follows:

Your Weight x's 10 = ________ x's (Activity Level)______ = Your Daily Caloric Intake (to stay the same weight)

Activity Levels:

1.4 = Not very active
1.6 = Semi-Active
1.8 = Very Active

Example:

Let's take a 200 lb. male and figure out how many calories he would need to eat each day to stay at 200 lbs.

200lbs. x's 10 = 2,000 x's 1.6 = 3,200 calories/day to stay at 200 lbs.

Here's what you would do if you're trying to LOSE WEIGHT.

If you are trying to LOSE 1 lb./wk, you would subtract 500 calories from your diet each day.

If you're trying to LOSE 2 lbs./wk, you would subtract 1,000 calories from your diet each day.

Example:

3,200 - 500 = 2,700 Calories/day to LOSE 1 lb./wk
3,200 - 1,000 = 2,200 Calories/day to LOSE 2 lbs./wk

Now, if you're trying to GAIN WEIGHT, just do the exact opposite.

If you are trying to GAIN 1 lb./wk, you would ADD 500 calories to your diet each day.
If you're trying to GAIN 2 lbs./wk, you would ADD 1,000 calories to your diet each day.

Example:

3,200 + 500 = 3,700 Calories/day to GAIN 1 lb./wk
3,200 + 1,000 = 4,200 Calories/day to GAIN 2 lbs./wk

You might be wondering why we use 500 and 1,000 calories to figure out how we gain or lose weight.

It's actually because there are approximately 3,500 calories in a pound. If you divide 3,500 by 7 days in the week, you'll come up with + or - 500 calories a day. Pretty cool huh?!

These days when people are pushing for weight management, many people still seem to forget an important part of any diet plan; making sure your body gets the correct nutrition it needs.

While many people are exercising and counting calories, they still may be overlooking the correct amount of calories that their body needs to supply energy to the body.

Many people will cut out several foods in their diet not realizing that some of those foods provide the needed sources of nutrition and actually put their health at risk.

Up until 2005, the Department of Agriculture had a food pyramid that listed four major food groups and had recommendations of how much to eat from each food group. They listed their recommendations from each food group in order to have the proper nutrition in your diet and since then have expanded to the food pyramid to six groups.

We highly recommend taking a look at the newest food pyramid (below) as your guide to building and maintaining a health and nutrition regimen that works best for you.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners / Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com

Finding The Best Medically Tested Anti Aging Products

There are so many places available to easily find medically tested anti aging products, that there's really no reason why you can't find a product to suit your needs. Let's start with the basics, and hopefully you'll soon know where to look for your own medically tested anti aging products.

Go Straight To The Source

It would seem like the most obvious solution, but many are actually hesitant to talk to their doctors to find which medically tested anti aging products will be the best solution for them.

We recommend that your doctor be the first person you should ask about finding the best medically tested anti aging products for you. Most likely your doctor knows which products will work best for you and he or she will be able to point you in the direction. This is especially true if you suffer from any sort of allergies, as many medically tested anti aging products will still contain ingredients that may cause some to have an allergic reaction.

Doctors in general, and dermatologists in particular, are always the first to know when new products hit the market. The major manufacturers will give doctors and dermatologists a referral fee for providing their patients information about specific products - sort of like an affiliate program. Therefore they may have products which can and will work for you, you just need to ask.

On the other hand, there are also natural anti aging products that are scientifically advanced which do not contain certain ingredients that you may be allergic to. If you're into the more natural approach to anti aging, you should research your options online and look for a company that explains the science and research behind their products and not just the hype.

Head Uptown

Another solution to finding the best medically tested anti aging products available is to visit your local spa or specialty boutique. These places are also working in conjunction with companies that pay them to showcase certain products from that particular manufacturer.

Most spas and boutique shops are usually quite selective about the medically tested products they choose to offer their customers. This is because their clientele is fairly high-scale, so offering anything less than only the finest medically tested anti aging products could put them out of business.

The men and women who work in these upscale boutiques are typically trained in skin care, and are more often than not, trained cosmeticians and cosmetologists. They've been trained to recognize which medically tested anti aging products will work best for a particular client's skin type.

So if you're looking for only the highest quality skin care products available, you should utilize their expertise and see which products they have to offer as well.

As you can see, finding the best medically tested anti aging products doesn't have to be a difficult process. As long as you know where to start, you should have no difficulty finding the right anti aging products for your skin.

Talking to your doctor or dermatologist should be your first line of defense; but talking to one of the many highly qualified specialists found in your local spas and specialty boutiques can also provide you with a wealth of information.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners / Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com

Your Treatment Options for Sinusitis

In order to determine your treatment for sinusitis, you should have a basic understanding of what sinusitis is first.

Sinusitis is the swelling of your nasal sinuses that can be caused by a bacterial, fungal or viral infection or even other factors such as allergic reactions or environmental elements.

The sinus cavities, predominantly above your eyes and behind your cheekbones, have mucus secretions that, if blocked from draining, can grow thicker and become inflamed.

Risk Factors for Sinusitis

Your treatment for sinusitis will depend on your risk factors for this inflammatory condition. Knowing how to develop sinusitis will help in finding the treatment for your sinusitis. That being said, since infection is usually the predominant cause, it usually follows on the tail of a bad cold or even the flu.

Allergies to pollen, dust, pet dander, cigarette smoke, smog and even excessive dryness due to central air or the heat in your home, can also cause sinusitis.

Some less common risk factors of sinusitis include immune system deficiencies and even structural abnormalities in the nasal passage. Polyps, a deviated septum, tumors or even bone spurs in the sinus cavity can also be part of the problem.

Treatment For Sinusitis

Often times when the cause is a bacterial infection, doctors will prescribe a course of antibiotics as the primary treatment for sinusitis. In the rare cases that a fungal infection occurs, the course of antibiotics will be prescribed with the addition of a decongestant to help with the swelling of the nasal tissues.

An expectorant may also be prescribed to help thin the mucus secretions and at times the expectorant will be paired with antihistamines which will help with the inflammation only. When a tougher treatment for sinusitis is needed, a doctor may prescribe a nasal steroid which will work harder to reduce the swelling in the sinus cavaties as well as promoting sinus drainage.

For non-medicated options for treating sinusitis, a salt water nasal spray can help keep the nasal passages moistened while rinsing out bacteria and other irritants that may be laying claim to create an infection. In addition, an air purifier is a great way to reduce indoor allergens which helps prevent irritation to the sinus membranes causing sinusitis.

Our best advice, is during days of particularly high pollen counts or when air pollution is bad, stay indoors as much as possible. As part of your treatment for sinusitis, sleep with your head elevated to promote healing and sinus drainage and look into an immune system supplement. Of course, it goes without saying that a healthy diet, exercise, nutrition and avoiding sick people is the ultimate preventative treatment for sinusitis.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners / Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com

How To Consume Food With Proper Food Nutrition Value

In recent times, there have been many changes to the four basic food groups that we know of: Dairy, Fruits, Vegetables and Meat.

The reason why these groupings have blurred, and some might even say disappeared from the food nutrition scene is that the healthy food diets we can choose from today have many more options than in the past.

Nowadays, you can choose to include legumes, whole grains, fish, seeds, nuts as well as plant oils that all add up to making for better food nutrition. In addition, the many different ethnic, cultural and even religious preferences give us more options than any other time in history.

Create A Healthy Food Plan

To stay healthy, you have to keep in mind the proper food nutrition when you're creating a healthy plan for your meals. A good idea is to create a pyramid plan, which will show you which foods are your best choices.

Since there's a lot of variety in even these food pyramids, you might wonder which one is most suitable for you even though they're more or less based on the same principles.

Good food nutrition, as outlined by the various food pyramids, will mean eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. You'll want to cut back on the foods heavy in saturated fats, cholesterol and trans fats in the process. Other than that, to benefit from proper food nutrition you need to also limit or eliminate sweets and excess salt.

As far as alcohol goes, discretion is certainly your best option and you should really moderate the amount of alcohol you consume.

In addition, you need to be careful about the size of the portions of your meals. Keeping a close eye on the number of calories you consume will only benefit you in the long run. And of course, working in some time throughout the day to exercise wouldn't hurt.

Another good option to help you maintain proper food nutrition is to make use of vegetables, not as side dishes; rather, they can be used as main meals which means there are a number of vegetables to consider.

Some choices to consider would be Portobello mushroom burgers, spring greens with butternut squash, asparagus and tomato as well as red pepper French bread pizza, grilled vegetable kebobs, asparagus with almonds, Italian vegetables with pasta and honey-glazed sweet potatoes as ideal vegetable dishes that are sure to be rich in terms of food nutrition value.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker

Owners/Founders

DietHealthandFitness.com

Welcome!

Thanks for taking the time to stop in and check out our blog.

This blog will be yet another resource for your diet, health and fitness needs.

We have a ton of great information to share with you and your family on all types of health topics and invite you to share your thoughts with us as well.

Let's make it 'Great in '08'.

To Your Health,

Michael Toscano & Brue Baker
Owners/Founders
DietHealthandFitness.com