3 Drug-Free Ways to Protect Yourself from Disease and Live Longer

Stress impairs the immune system, increasing vulnerability to diseases such as cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis, according to the American Psychological Association. In addition, it states that stress can accelerate the aging process and that up to 90 percent of illness is stress-related.

In these stressful times, many health-conscious adults seek ways to build and maintain good health without drugs. Below are 3 drug-free options to consider as part of a regular health regimen. They are inexpensive (or free) and accessible to most adults.

Walking. According to an article published in the Harvard Health Letter, "Walking can strengthen bones, tune up the cardiovascular system, and clear a cluttered mind." The value of walking goes even deeper, as the article states "(Walking) has long been recognized as a proxy for overall health and has been measured in many studies. Researchers have found a remarkably consistent association between faster walking speed and longer life."

I certainly benefitted from walking, after having my second child about 8 years ago. Just before my son's birth, I weighed a sluggish 210 pounds --- my height is only 5 feet, 2 inches! After giving birth, I weighed a little less, 190 pounds, but I longed for my former slim 125-pound physique. I felt awful physically. I ran out of breath easily, and I couldn't walk as quickly as I was able to before the pregnancy. Luckily, I received some advice from a mom's club friend about how she lost her baby weight.

"Walk!" she exclaimed! "Just walk!"

At that time, I didn't believe that simply walking could remove the tens of pounds I had gained during pregnancy. However, I was determined to not spend the rest of my life 60 pounds overweight, so I hit the sidewalk and started walking.

I walked for 45 minutes every day for seven months and got down to 130 pounds. I believe walking has given me a longer life by allowing me to shed those unhealthy 60 extra pounds.

How much walking is enough? Six times a month for 30 minutes is very effective. This is the finding of a study conducted by Finnish researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Among pairs of twins, the twin who exercised regularly had a 56 percent reduced risk of death compared to the sedentary twin.

Meditation. Dr. Deepak Chopra, board-certified in internal medicine and a specialist in endocrinology, is a renowned writer and speaker on alternative medicine and spirituality. He states that meditation lowers blood pressure and strengthens immune function. In fact, people in ancient times knew that meditation has positive effects on the body.

I have found that 20 minutes each morning calms me and helps me keep the day's events in perspective. If I increase my session to 30 minutes, 45 minutes or even an hour, the calming effect can be extraordinary.

I recommend starting with shorter sessions in order to become accustomed to sitting still and quiet for a period of time. Set an alarm clock with a softer tone alarm (a loud buzz will startle you). Sit erect on a pillow or cusion, cross your legs and close your eyes. Rest your hands in your lap.

Breathe gently and naturally. Focus on the sensation of your breath entering and leaving through your nostrils. Let your thoughts settle down and fade out so that your mind is as still as possible.

Just 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness meditation per day has been found to lower blood pressure, according to an article in Consumer Reports on Health. Mindfulness meditation is one of many types of meditation. To learn more, explore books on the subject as well as recordings or classes, which are available in many communities or online.

Playing the piano. In a study which included researchers from Applied Biosystems, playing the piano keyboard was shown to reduce stress in individuals. A group of non-musicians was directed to play the piano keyboard in a simple way after doing a stressful task. Blood tests from this group showed 19 lower-stress indicators, compared to 6 indicators in another group, which relaxed by reading their choice of newspapers or magazines after the stressful task.

Another study, published in the Journal of Music Therapy, suggested that playing a musical instrument regularly is effective in preventing cardiac and cerebral diseases.

A passionate pianist since childhood, I naturally play piano for refuge, to reassure me when I am upset and calm me when I am stressed. I think of playing piano as "musical meditation." I always memorize a few favorite songs so I have them at my fingertips when I need them and can play them with ease.

References

1. Healthy Years, "Reduce stress to fight disease and slow aging: chronic stress really does wear down your immune system--but simple strategies can

help you manage it," High Beam Research

2. Harvard Health Letter, "Research Points to Even More Health Benefits of Walking," High Beam Research

3. Rocky Mountain News, "BRISK WALKS, BIG BENEFITS FINNISH STUDY FINDS RISK OF PREMATURE DEATH CUT BY 43% FOR PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW REGULAR REGIMEN.

(News/National/International)," High Beam Research

4. PRWeb Newswire, "Deepak Chopra Brings the Many Healing Benefits of Meditation to Stone Mountain, Georgia," High Beam Research

5. PR Newswire, "Consumer Reports Health News," HighBeam Research

6. PR Newswire, "Playing a Musical Instrument Reverses Stress on the Genomic Level," High Beam Research

7. Takiko Takahashi and Hiroko Matsushita, "Long-Term Effects of Music Therapy on Elderly with Moderate/Severe Dementia," High Beam Research

EFT for Methamphetamine Addiction - Yasmin, Third Session

In a continuing series of articles written just after the treatment, this is Yasmin's important third session of EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques. The session was only 16 minutes, as Yasmin only had a short break from work, but we achieved a start on a central issue causing stress, and so it was worth it.

We started tapping straight away, tapping on ourselves something as follows.

    "Even though I have this addiction, I deeply love and accept myself"; when Yasmin interrupted with "I am starting to accept myself", and so we changed it to that.
    "Even though I have this addiction, I allow healing to help me. I am making progress and choose to be proud of myself."
    "Even though on the road to recovery, sometimes we slip and fall, I don't need to concentrate on the bad days, it's not helpful. I release the guilt and shame, and I choose to concentrate on the good days. I choose to be proud of the good days."

And we carried on with: "Even though I have this addiction, I am willing to consider that I am an emotional person, just like everybody else. And I am open to the suggestion that I have negative emotions that the Tik drugs or distracts me from, and that by releasing these negative emotions, I will find peace. I choose to release the first emotion that comes to my head, on the count of three; 1, 2, 3"... And Yasmin immediately started a release with tears, so I started tapping on her as she continued releasing whilst telling me the story. Her child's father had walked out on them recently. I encouraged her to tell me about it as I tapped, and then wrapped it up as we were approaching the time she should leave to go back to work. By then she was a lot calmer. I instructed her to tap on all the points as she told herself the story, when she got back home.

We finished with a calming Reiki treatment for three minutes, and made another appointment. Yasmin contacted me later to say that she was feeling better and that she had a craving at one point sometime after our appointment but was able to let it pass. One step at a time, Yasmin is walking in the right direction on the road to recovery. If you are a user or help drug users in their recovery, I hope this gives you optimism in the way forward with the new tapping techniques such as EFT.

What is the Yasmin Birth Control Patch? Take a Look at Some Facts

Birth control pills tend to have many health benefits along with the fact that they help to prevent pregnancy. Make sure to discuss all concerns and benefits with your doctor before taking any type of birth control. He or she will need to take a look at your health history before prescribing the right type of medication. Choosing the best contraceptive method requires some research. Below you will find some information on the Yasmin Birth Control Patch.

What is Yasmin?

Yasmin is a low dosage method, which contains.03 mg mixture of estrogen and progestin. Yasmin is the over the counter name for drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol. When these two are combined, it creates an oral contraception. Yasmin must not be mixed with different drugs that are over-the-counter, such as pain medication, diuretics that are potassium sparing, any potassium supplements, or several different prescribed medications. It is always important to discuss this with your doctor. Yasmin does not prevent HIV.

Who Should Avoid Yasmin?

- Any woman that has had a heart attack, stroke, blood clots and/or various cancers.
- Whoever may be pregnant
- People who have adrenal, liver or kidney disease. Heart and health issues could potentially occur.
- Women over 35 years of age who smoke.

Benefits of Yasmin Patch

- It helps to relieve premenstrual symptom disorders. Blood flow during this time should be reduced.
- No extra weight gain. Many other prescriptions are known to increase weight in women.
- Helps to control and prevent acne breakouts.
- May help to prevent certain types of cysts. Since ovulation ceases, the risks with ovarian cysts decrease as well.
- Prevents ectopic pregnancies.
- The risk of endometrial cancer is decreased.
- Unlike certain other methods, the Yasmin patch works better the longer you use it. So even when you stop taking it, the effects of the drug are still present and are much stronger for a period of time.

Side Effects of Yasmin

- Bleeding between periods.
- Increased risk of water retention
- Malasma risks. This is where the skin forms dark spotty patches due to the changes in the hormones.
- Nausea
- Tender breasts

Be sure to see your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.