HEADACHE

The term headache encompasses all aches and pains associated in the head. Along with fatigue, hunger, and thirst, headache represents man’s most frequent discomfort. It must always be kept in mind that headache is a symptom, not a disease, and its cause should always be ascertained. Some types of headaches are quite easy to diagnose. Infection or blockage of sinuses is usually accompanied by pain over the sinus area and in the forehead. It is often associated with tenderness of the skin in the same area.
Sometimes the head seems to throb. Often headaches tend to return at the same hour of the day. Headache originating in the eye is usually located near the eye or in the forehead. It is of steady, aching type and tends to follow prolonged use of the eyes in close work. Muscle imbalance is often involved. A careful examination of the eyes by your doctor is recommended.
Headaches accompanying diseases of the ligaments, muscles, and joints in the upper spine are usually referred to the back of the head and nap of the neck. Later in life, these pains are seen frequently in arthritis and also tend to occur after whiplash injuries. Massage very deeply in the area and you may disclose the presence of tender nodules near the insertion of the neck muscles.
Moist heat, as well as skillfully performed massage is particularly helpful in relieving this type of pain.
The headache of irritation in the meninges or coverings of the brain, is usually of an acute onset and becomes severe, deep seated, and constant. Usually this occurs in conjunction with fever. Whenever the neck becomes stiff, immediate consultation with a physician is recommended. Both meningeal infections or brain hemorrhages can cause this type of pain. Lumbar puncture in about 20% of normal patients may produce a transient headache. Usually this is relieved in the lying position and subsides after a few days.

Develop Strength from the Inside Out, Not from the Outside In

Remember that from the day you were born into this world, to the day you die, your 640 muscles play an important role in everything you do. Think of it – more than half your body is sheer muscle!
It isn’t the muscles that you see that count as much as those you don’t see! Along the 30-foot gastrointestinal tract there are muscles to force food along this tube. The work of bringing adequate amounts of air into your powerful lungs also requires other strong muscles.
And above all, the greatest muscle in your body is your heart, your number one pump. It is the heart that pumps the blood supply into the body’s 640 muscles. And the more we bring these 640 muscles into play, the better our heart, circulation, physical condition and our entire state of health will be! You have four more extra pumps that can also help this whole process – they are your two arms and your two legs – use and exercise them!

Avoid or Decrease Loss of Bone Density and Muscle Mass , Do Exercise

Most people believe that a significant loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia) and bone density is inevitable as one ages, leading to decreased strength, mobility, and flexibility. This is not so. According to a recent article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, most age-related changes in muscle and bone can be reversed through an appropriate exercise program incorporating both aerobic and resistance/strength training (working with weights or objects one has to push against).
Individuals suffering from sarcopenia and bone loss experience a significant decrease in energy levels and strength. A special issue of Newsweek focusing on longevity reported how a seventy-six-year-old woman, Barbara, was finding it more and more difficult to do simple things such as getting up out of her favorite easy chair. Bending over to make her bed was so painful that she had to get down on her knees to do so. At 140 pounds, Barbara was not overweight, but her fat to lean muscle ratio was extremely high. She described herself as “mostly flab and mush.” This is not surprising, since people who lose muscle as they age also gain body fat—and most of us do. Remember, a greater body fat to lean muscle ratio also means a less efficient metabolism, since fat is not metabolically active. It just sits there on your body, pulling you down.
When her doctor told her that she was suffering from low bone density as well, Barbara knew she had to do something to help herself. She enrolled in a study at Oregon State University that was researching the effects of exercise on bone density in women over fifty. The study was exploring the hypothesis that gradually reintroducing women to exercise would increase bone density and muscle mass. The women began by wearing weighted vests and practicing everyday movements such as standing up, walking, and stepping from side to side. They gradually moved on to more strenuous activities, such as four-inch high jumps. Once Barbara began to gain back some of her lost bone and muscle mass, she started exercising regularly with her husband and now says she is more fit at eighty-one than she was at forty. “I can’t describe the feeling—it’s a sense of being stronger and more accomplished and less afraid. You can’t just give up and go downhill. Life is just too precious.”
It used to be that men and women past the age of fifty were expected to be flabby. For many, that attitude is changing as they discover that even a moderate amount of exercise makes muscles stronger and joints more flexible and arrests the loss of bone density (a problem in aging men as well as women). In fact, the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology reports that studies on sarcopenia unequivocally show that older muscle tissue has the same, if not an even greater capacity, to respond to a vigorous bout of resistance exercise than younger muscle does.
Women: Defeat Osteoporosis through Exercise
Of special interest to women is the fact that osteoporosis can be either prevented or slowed by the consistent practice of a good resistance exercise program. In fact, the older a woman gets, the more important exercise becomes to her musculoskeletal health and strength. Think how many women you know who can barely get around in their seventies, eighties, and nineties. Since women live longer than men, it is especially important for them to keep relatively fit so that their quality of life does not degrade in their later years.

Protein – Building Blocks of the Body

Protein foods are nuts, seeds (such as sunflower, sesame, pumpkin), nutritional yeast, wheat germ, soy beans, dairy products, whole grain cereals, meat, fish, poultry and protein supplements.

Protein is one of the most important food elements and is essential for keeping the heart fit. You must have protein for building every cell of your body. This fundamental demand of Mother Nature rules every creature living on the face of the Earth.

Protein is you – flesh, muscle, blood, heart, bones, skin and hair – all the components of the body are essentially composed of protein. You are literally “built” of protein. This basic function of your body – of converting food into living tissue – is one of life’s miracles. Your life processes and the factors that help you resist disease are all composed of protein (amino acids) components.

Every time you move a muscle, every time your heart beats, every time you breathe, you consume protein in the form of amino acids. The link between protein and body tissue is the amino acids – and the bloodstream carries them to every part of the body where they work to repair, rebuild and maintain body tissues. They enrich blood and condition the organs, including the heart.

Amino Acids – The Body’s Building Blocks

Human tissue is renewed daily. Scientists once believed that there were great masses of protein in the body in an inactive state – stores of protein built up in the muscles, tissues and organs which remain there until the body might need them. Now we know that the great builder protein is not stationary, but in motion. This activity requires a replenishment of essential protein for the rebuilding process, especially in older people.

What is the connection between Amino Acids and proteins? Amino Acids are the building blocks from which different food proteins are constructed. When we eat a protein food, such as meat or soybeans, the natural hydrochloric acid in the stomach digests the protein, releasing the Aminos Acids. They are the link between the food we eat and assimilate for our body’s tissues. Amino Acids are what makes our food turn into us!

Unlike vitamins, the activators in our nutrition, Amino Acids actually enter into the structure of the body tissue itself. They are the very foundation of all protein foods. They build muscles, tissues and organs and circulate freely in the blood – the body’s vital lifestream. Your blood is your precious river of life – protect it!

The phytochemicals found in soy are specifically known as isoflavins. These isoflavins have been shown to be strong antioxidents that help repair cellular damage in the body, and they have anti-tumor effects. Soy can contribute to optimal health and has remarkable health-promoting properties.

Amino Acids – Life-Givers & Life-Extenders

Famous Pioneer Endocrinologist and Biochemist, Dr. W. Donner Denckla, with the National Institute of Health, has been immersed in pathfinding research on longevity for years. Dr. Denckla has the opinion that ageing is not inevitable and that Amino Acids and their interaction with a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland seem to be the key to slowing down ageing.
If we could look within the body, we would see all the living cells that make up the tissues, organs and bloodstream are in a highly active state. Paul C. Bragg was the first to preach the gospel of Amino Acids, their relationship to ageing and how they can help keep you younger, longer! He stressed that when the protein supply – the Amino Acids – are replenished regularly, the new cells that are constantly growing and being born can then thrive and live with more positive intensity! Another important benefit of Amino Acids – they help form antibodies to fight germs, infections and disease!

The Function of Fat in the Body

Our nerves, muscles and organs must be cushioned by a normal amount of fat. If we did not have a certain amount of fat in our gluteus maximus (the buttocks), for example, we would never be able to sit down because we would have to sit directly on our muscles and bones. Those who wish to lose weight should reduce the bad, saturated fat content of their diet, and those who wish to gain should increase their good, unsaturated fat intake. But even when on a reducing diet, there should be some fat in your diet because it plays an important and essential role in your body’s chemistry. Stored in the body, fat provides a source of heat and energy, while the accumulation of a certain amount of fat around the vital organs (such as the kidneys) gives great protection against cold and injury. Fat also has a function to perform in the body’s cells, for which special fats known as unsaturated fatty acids are needed in small amounts. Without these a roughness or scaliness of the skin would result. Fats have another all-important function: they carry the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K through the body. As you can see, a certain amount of fat in the diet is necessary to a healthy functioning body. But it’s the kind of fat that is most important! Unsaturated fat is best. Caution – go light on clogging saturated fats!