Health and Fitness Make the Difference Between Living Well and Living

Quality of life is what we all want. Good health helps us achieve a high quality of life. Fitness makes us want to live it every day. If you agree with these three premises, keep reading.

The Purpose of Health and Fitness Tips
To inform you of new developments in the health and fitness fields is our aim. We'll do the research; we have the resources. You get the results. The name of the game is 'current' and 'relevant' for today. Forget all the excess baggage of the so-called fitness gurus.

Become Healthier and Fitter Faster
While we know you are interested in becoming healthier and fitter or maintaining the health and fitness you have, we also know you have limited time to devote to it. We therefore pledge to you a fast, simple method to hop aboard the fitness fast train. Get on track with the facts.

Health Professionals, Medical Doctors and Health and Fitness Writers and Editors Make Up Our Staff
Our staff experience in the booming Health and Fitness field adds up to more than 100 years. Not that anyone is age 100 or even close, but we all plan to live that long. We want to make sure we have company. So we invite you along for the ride. We'll spur you on and help you over the rough spots to your own fitness destination.

Diet and Exercise are Keys to Healthy Living
But you know all this. So our aim is to give you the shortcuts, the little-known tricks and proven methods to help prevent boredom and hopelessness in your quest for good health. Our high tech world has advanced in the fitness field also. In fact, so fast that we want to get the information out to you yesterday. That's what the Health and Fitness Tips Site is all about…the latest up-to-the-minute-in-the-zone information for your health and fitness.

The Health and Fitness Tips Newsletter
Is a free weekly newsletter that is delivered straight to your email box. It's short, to the point, and it's absolutely free. This newsletter contains one weekly health and fitness tip that will get you on the right track. Click here and become one step closer to your health and fitness goals for the year 2002!

Daily Exercise Suggestions

Walk 10 Minutes a Day and Increase Your Fitness Level Old thinking was to work out in a sweat-filled gym for hours a day. No pain, no gain. New studies show that even short bouts of activity can increase your fitness level, especially if you're new at working out.

Park and Walk
Whenever you have an errand, park your car as far away as you can handle and walk to the store. At the mall, park at the farthest end and walk the length of the mall. Use every opportunity to walk. At the end of the day, it all adds up to better fitness.

Crunch in Bed
Before you even get out of bed in the morning, do 10 stomach crunches while lying flat on your mattress. Increase daily by one until you get up to 100. Think you'll never get there? Try it. You may eventually have to set your clock to wake up 15 minutes earlier, a small price to pay for a flatter stomach.

10 every day Health Tips

1. Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that's great when you're up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!

2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or 'tough guy' stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.

4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It's a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: 'Smoke gets in your eyes'…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.

6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body's boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can't be unhappy when you're smiling or singing.

10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

Baby with Three Arms (Liu Junjie - China)

This 2-month-old baby named Liu Junjie from Anhui Province, China, was born with a third arm on 2006. Doctors successfully removed the extremely rare and well-developed third arm, but the baby required long-term physical therapy to gain function in his remaining hand, which has no palm and flexes in either direction. "We're hoping to exchange information with doctors who've dealt with similar cases anywhere in the world," said Chen, head of the orthopedics department at Shanghai Children's Medical Center. "This is so rare that we have virtually no information to go on."

World's Largest Hand (Lui Hua - China)

Lui Hua suffers from a rare condition known as macrodactyly. When he was hospitalized in Shanghai on July 2007, his left thumb measured 10.2 inches and his index finger measured close to 12. On July 20 surgeons undertook a seven-hour operation to reduce the size of Liu's fingers and thumb. Doctors removed 11 pounds of flesh and bone in the procedure. A second surgery is scheduled to take place. Enlarged limbs can be caused by a number of medical conditions. Lymphedema is perhaps the most common cause and results in some extraordinarily enlarged limbs.

Malaria - the disease

Published by Bupa's health information team, June 2008.

This factsheet is for people who have malaria, or who would like information about it. For information on how to prevent getting malaria, see Related topics.

Malaria is an infectious disease mainly found in tropical areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America, the Indian subcontinent, South East Asia and the Pacific islands (these are known as malarious regions). It's caused by being bitten by a mosquito carrying a type of parasite called Plasmodium.

About malaria

There are two categories of malaria.

• Malignant malaria causes symptoms straight away and can be mild or severe. It's caused by one type of malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.
• Benign malaria is mild but may have a dormant stage and can cause relapses. This is caused by the other types of malaria parasite (for more information, see Causes).

Around 2,000 people a year in the UK get infected with malaria when abroad.

Causes

Malaria is caused by infection with a parasite called Plasmodium that is transmitted by mosquitos.

Symptoms

The first symptoms of malaria are like having the flu. You may have:

• a headache
• aching muscles
• tummy ache
• weakness or lack of energy

A day or so later, your temperature may rise (up to 40°C) and you may have:

• a fever
• shivers
• mild chills
• a severe headache
• a loss of appetite
• vomiting
• diarrhoea

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