Health Savings Accounts Motivate 2008 Health Goals

People who have a Health Savings Account (HSA) benefit from lower health insurance premiums and reduced income taxes. But the best long-term benefit for many will be the large amount of money they will have in their Health Savings Accounts as they enter their retirement years. The best way to build up a significant amount in your HSA is to fund it every year, get a good return on your money, and avoid making withdrawals. And the easiest way to avoid withdrawals from your HSA is to stay in healthy.

People have much more control over their health than most of them realize. If you want to take more personal responsibility for your health, forget your New Year’s “Resolutions” (if you’re like most, you probably already have!), and make some real goals to improve your health and prevent future degeneration.

You Have the Power

The first step in the journey towards optimum health is to realize that you, indeed, do have the power to influence your health as you age. While the genes you inherited from your parents do affect your risks, for most diseases this influence is tiny compared to the role your lifestyle plays.

Here’s the way it plays out for the average American: by the time they are in their 30′s or 40′s, most are on at least one regular prescription drug – typically cholesterol medication, blood pressure medication, and/or Viagra. By their 60′s, most people are falling apart, on multiple medications, and suffering from arthritis pain, obesity, depression, insulin resistance, and a host of other complaints. Within 10 years, many are dropping like flies.

But of course it doesn’t have to be this way.

Imagine the Future

How do you imagine your life playing out? Pour yourself a beer (do it now, before we get to the part where we actually write out lifestyle goals), kick back, relax, and dream. Imagine that you’re 70 years old. Are you still in vibrant health, playing tennis, running on the beach? Or are you old and fat, with just enough energy to get off the couch and make it to the refrigerator and back during the Wheel of Fortune commercial?

Then imagine checking your Health Savings Account balance. Does it have $325,000 in it, or $325? If you’re not in the best health, chances are your HSA won’t be either.

If that’s too far in the future, just imagine January 2009, and where you’d like to be. It’s mostly your choice.

How Are You Going To Get There?

Once you’ve imagined the perfect future, its time to get serious about getting there.

And the key is to focus on lifestyle habits, not end results.

Diet

Nothing is more important to your long-term health than eating a healthy diet. So your focus, as much as possible, should be the quality of your diet.

Base your diet on real, whole, unprocessed foods. Fruits, vegetables, fish, lean meat, nuts. Until 10,000 years ago, humans did not have access to bread and potatoes, and it is only in the past 100 years that we’ve begun eating high quantities of sugar, corn syrup, white flour, and other modern foods.

If losing weight is one of your objectives, going on a diet is NOT the answer. Chances are you’ve tried that before, and you know it doesn’t work. But what does work is permanently changing your eating habits, and where most people get stuck is they start out with a feeling of denial. Whether its wings and beer, or Twinkies and root beer, whatever you eat that’s gotten you to this point is probably what you feel like you “deserve” to eat, and you may feel that its not “fair” that you won’t get to eat this way anymore.

Get over it. The fact is that no one eats that way without consequences. Instead, choose to eat good food. Not temporarily, or just until you lose the weight. Don’t tell anyone that you are “on a diet”. Tell them that this is the way you eat, period.

Exercise

We are built to move, and anyone can improve their body’s functioning by moving more. The basics: muscle strength, cardiovascular fitness, and flexibility.

Here’s what your prescription should be:

1. Lift weights 3 times per week. Join a gym, or simply buy some 20 and 30 lb dumbbells. Each week make sure you work out your arms and shoulders, chest and back, and legs.

2. Do something aerobic 3 times per week, for 20 minutes or more. Don’t just go for a stroll, but actually do something that makes you breathe hard – whether it’s jogging, rollerblading, basketball, or whatever.

3. Stretch every night. 5 minutes or less ought to do it.

The Power of Written Goals

So at this point you should have two ideas in your head. One is a picture of you at some point in the future. How you look, how you feel, and how you function. The other is the permanent lifestyle changes you plan to implement to get you there.

Now is the time to put it on paper. This is a powerful exercise that will make your thoughts more “real,” and more likely to come to fruition.

First, write out a detailed description of your future, exactly as you would like it to be.

Then write out your lifestyle habits in positive wording. What kind of food are you going to eat? What kind of food are you going to have around the house? Where and when will you eat out, and what kind of food will you order?

Remember, it is very difficult to make changes if you have feelings of denial. Fighting hunger is virtually impossible. Instead of concentrating on what you won’t eat, concentrate on what you will eat, and on the end result. And if you want to splurge on some Ben and Jerry’s occasionally, go ahead.

How Much Will You Have In Your HSA When You Retire?

In 2008 the maximum annual HSA contribution is $5800 for families. If a family makes the maximum contribution each year, gets an 8% return on their money, and has $500/year in medical expenses, they’ll have $261,885 in their HSA after 20 years. If they have $3000/year in medical expenses, they’ll only have $138,354 after 20 years.

Stay healthy, get wealthy. They certainly go together. And with looming Medicare insolvency, you will certainly want to have as much of your own money available to pay future medical expenses when they do happen.

At one time it wasn’t uncommon for me to have wings and fries for dinner, washed down by a few beers. At other times it was beer for dinner, supplemented by a few wings. Amazingly, the human body is able to take these raw ingredients, and produce heart, lungs, eyes, and everything else that keeps us going. But if we were able to look more closely, we’d see poor ingredients produce a poorly functioning body.

If optimum health hasn’t been a focus in your past, make 2008 a year of change. You’ll be glad you did.

Lacto-fermented Foods Another Powerful Tool to Increase the Strength of Your Immune System

Lacto-fermented Foods another powerful tool to increase the strength of your immune system and your digestive system!

70% of your immune system is located in your digestive system.

Often we don’t pay attention to our intestinal health unless we develop an obvious gastrointestinal disease.

In most cases it has to do with ignorance. What can’t be seen, doesn’t matter!!

The intestinal world is a complex ecosystem. Some bacteria can ruin our health while others will be very protective of our intestinal world.

Bacterial secretions can directly affect the cytochrome 450 detoxification system by which the liver purifies the blood of harmful chemicals that are both inadvertently created by the body and ingested from the environment.

As we age, pathogenic bacteria become insidiously more prominent within us, perhaps due to a progressively weakening of the immune system, stress, years of poor diet, or a lifetime of antibiotics.

It is not just a matter of taking pro-biotics since we have a range of different strains available and they target different areas. That would be an article on itself!

Disorders of the intestines can lead to all kind of crippling diseases. For example arthritis is one of them.

Some people underestimate the importance of fermented foods and health benefits that you can experience include lower cholesterol, efficient digestive functioning and a stronger immune system.

It’s estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture that less than 9½ percent of the American adult population consumes five or more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily.

Yet, almost every major health organization, including the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, the American Dietetics Association, and the American Heart Association have advised that eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day is the public’s best protection against degenerative diseases.

With lacto-fermented foods,the

foods are pre-digested.

This is an ancient method of bio-fermentation which incorporates beneficial micro-organisms (pro-biotics) and their enzymes into the foods to gently break them down into their most basic elements; combination of organic and chemical free, enzyme-rich super-foods.

The energy boost which lacto-fermented power foods delivers is due to the fermentation process which gives better assimilation of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and micro nutrients including vitamins, minerals, flavanoids, carotenoids and hundreds of other newly discovered small protective molecules called antioxidants.

The fermentation process used to create this special food also destroys natural plant inhibitors such as goitrogens in soya beans which inhibits the thyroid gland and substances which inhibits mineral absorption such as phytates.

An unique blend of fermented beans, grains, sprouts, seeds and vegetables, which uses 2 strains of special symbiotic yeast and 12 strains of friendly lactobacilli bacteria which have been toughened to withstand changes in acidity, alkalinity and changes in temperature.

Nowadays, a good supply of robust friendly micro-organisms makes sense because there is an increasing incidence of bowel disorders, food poisoning and infections with multiple drug-resistant bacteria, such as golden staph, due to the overuse of antibiotics.

There is also a surge in the incidence of chronic inflammatory bowel disorders which also tend to be associated with the overgrowth of bad bacteria.

Most fermented foods purchased on the shelves have been pasteurised which destroys the good, as well as the bad bacteria

We need to continually replenish our intestines with friendly bacteria, which are thought to only live from 3 to 10 days.

The lactic acid-producing lactobacilli in this product can favourably alter the acidity of the intestine, helping prevent the overgrowth of the unfriendly putrefactive bacteria, moulds, and yeasts such as Candida Albicans, giving you a better chance of achieving optimal health and preventing many chronic disorders.

Last but not least a happy gut will support your sense of health and well being for years to come.

Health and Beauty Tips

HEALTH AND BEAUTY TIPS

If one is blessed with good health, praise God .It is next in value to a good conscience; for health is a blessing that money cannot buy. In a fast paced multi-tasking life we lead, it is all the more important to ensure good health free from stress and diseases.

LIFESTYLE CHANGES TO LIVE A HEALTHY AND NORMAL LIFE

• Lead an active life.

• Walk at least 4 to 5 Kilometers a day for healthy mind and body.

• Use stairs instead of elevators.

• Take breaks from your work to stretch. It makes one happy and tones up muscles.

• Sleep well and develop positive approach towards life.

• Keep changing your daily routine .A repetitive routine is monotonous and healthy.

• “Don’t Worry! Be happy” It affects heart, glands, blood circulation and the entire nervous system.

• Avoid overeating, smoking and drinking.

• Include yoga in your daily routine which gives you complete control over mind and body. It immunizes body against the devastating effects of the elements of aging.

• Be happy stay happy. Smiling eases facial muscles and boosts your morale.

• Develop the habit of deep breathing .This keeps nerves in control and deter depression.

• Include a little bit of physical exercise in daily routine to tone up the body and to get rid of muscle strains at work.

• Meditation is also a good method of relaxation. It helps to concentrate on inner self.

• Like fear, anger has a negative impact on one’s personality. Avoid sudden outbursts of anger.

• Eat balanced diet which includes all the nutrients .avoid junk food and rely more on natural food.

• Yoga experts advice to sleep on the left side of the body. It keeps one healthy.

BEAUTY TIPS

• Include super foods in your diet mostly available throughout the year, these natural foods provide antioxidants to protect cells and tissues.

1. Aloe Vera juice, citrus fruits: reduce blood pressure.

2. Papaya: is a digestive aid and combat constipation.

3. Carrot: improves skin hair, eyesight and immunity.

4. Bitter gourd: increases body’s resistance against infection and helps to combats respiratory disorders and diabetes.

5. Celery: strengthens joints and bones

and improves haemoglobin.

6. Milk should be included in the daily diet. It is one of the complete foods, containing a balanced range of nutrients.

7. Honey is next only to the Date fruit as a nourishing food and great source of energy. It prevents cold, cough and fever. It is also a blood purifier and makes food tastier.

8. Cow milk and honey are the secrets to health and beauty.

9. Mulberries, guavas and grapes are good laxatives. Eat them in plenty to clean your system.

• Drink lots of water to keep your skin hydrated and wrinkle free. It flushes out the system.

• Keep your head cool and feet warm to keep the doctor away.

• Sun rays help to make VITAMIN D in the body. Walk or sit in the morning sun for a while every day.

HOME REMEDIES FOR HEALTH AND BEAUTY

• Make a paste of gram flour (besan) milk, turmeric, honey; apply on the face wash it after 15-20 minutes.

• Apply fresh coconut water on the skin and wash after 15 minutes.

• Beat egg whites and apply on your face for half an hour .Wash with cold water and pat dry.

• Mix tomato pulp, yogurt, and cucumber juice and apply on the face, rinse after 15-20 minutes.

• Bitter gourd, neem leaves,jamun seeds are effective to control diabetes.

• Turmeric is best antiseptic and heals skin infections .It can be consumed with milk, for inflammations and internal wounds.

• Rosewater is used as coolant in home remedies as an eye pack and to wash the face with it.

• Soak fenugreek seeds overnight, make paste and apply on scalp then wash hair with some mild shampoo to remove dandruff.