Healthy inside and out
Banish headaches
For hundreds of years, the Chinese have used Tai Chi to improve balance, blood pressure, and endocrine and immune functions. Now, it seems the rhythmic exercise can reduce headache pain, too. A recent study found that the slow-mo routines helped sufferers kick their tension headaches more often and more quickly than a control group that did no Tai Chi. And unlike standard over-the-counter pain-killers, there are no serious side effects.
Seeing is believing
IF U CN RD this sans lenses, bifocals, or LASIK, you’re doing well, visionwise. But if you need some small-type help and are 4O-plus, join the rush to get conductive keratoplasty (CK), a less-invasive option than LASIK surgery. CK uses radio-wave heat to slightly reshape the cornea, which brings close-up vision back into focus, knocking back age-related effects of presbyopia for up to three years.
Help for your heart
While our cholesterol numbers are lower than they’ve been in decades past, more than 480,000 women still die from heart disease each year. That may be because women have a harder time than men getting their cholesterol to recommended levels. How low should you go? Experts now preach “the lower the better,” even as low as 70 mg/dl. To get there, exercise, eat smart, and consider cholesterol-lowering statin drugs.
Save your back
If you’re one of the 10 million women whose back hurts, it’s time to take a stand. All that sitting may be causing back pain. Ergonomic desks that let you stand while you work-even for just 5 to 10 minutes an hour—or raise and lower the desktop may help de-stress the back. Another fix: Strengthen hip flexors and abs during workouts; both support the back and are often weak in women.
Stop the sugar blues
Almost 21 million Americans have diabetes or insulin deficiency, but only 15 million have been diagnosed. Untreated, diabetes can damage the pancreas, kidneys, eyes, nerves, blood vessels, and heart. How to fight back? Add muscle to your body (with weight-bearing exercise) and lose fat (aerobic exercise) to improve glucose-insulin balance. Eating fewer refined carbs (the white foods) helps, too: Americans now eat 60 more grams of carbs daily than they did 30 years ago.
Sleep better
There’s nothing like deep sleep to give your mind and body a boost. But how can you achieve restorative stage 3 and stage 4 sleep more often? Do aerobic exercise early in the day. Or consider cranioelectrical stimulation (CES), which is popular in Canada and Europe. The iPod-like device, worn before or during sleep, pipes in currents that hike serotonin (the anxiety-relieving, deep-sleep-promoting hormone) to help you sleep soundly.
Sweeten your feet
More than a pint a day. That’s how much sweat exits each of your tootsies. Sweating is healthy, but when it hangs around, it’s a welcome mat for bacteria and fungus. Try socks with silver fibers to wick away and neutralize moisture. Treat stinky feet with cornstarch and foot powders. And use a hair dryer to completely rid shoes and boots of moisture. There’s nothing wrong with that old bowling alley trick, either: Spray the insides of your shoes with Lysol!
More toe-curling sex
OK. Viagra is almost 10 years old, and it’s past time for fair play. A similar drug for women is being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. Meanwhile, why not try one of the available female sexual aids, such as HerGel Ultra Arousal Gel (available at CVS). Look for gels and creams that contain Larginine, an amino acid that increases blood flow and dilation of the blood vessels in, around, and beneath the labia and clitoris. They won’t guarantee orgasm, but they can pretty much guarantee increased pleasure.
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