“Honey” where are we going for dinner tonight? The man continues to walk, not knowing that someone was talking to him. “Hey! I am talking to you! Are you deaf? Why are you ignoring me?” The next moment, he realizes that she has stomped off in anger as there wasn’t any form of reaction from him. The rest is history as you recapped yourself chasing after your girlfriend, coaxing and comforting her.

I believe this scenario is not new to many men out there. It’s not that you refused to listen to her. The real reason boils down to the fact that your hearing might be impaired without you realizing it. After a couple of consultations with the doctor, you discovered that the root cause might be due to the long hours of Ipod blasting and dancing next to mega huge speakers in clubs that resulted in the hearing loss of your right ear. Fortunately, the doctor explained that the hearing loss is only temporary as you discovered the problem early.

As people age, structures in the ear may become less elastic after undergoing changes that result in less responsiveness to sound waves. This is called presbycusis, where hearing loss is due to ageing. Hearing degenerates gradually as we age, the trick is to not accelerate this process prematurely. This hearing degeneration begins when you soon enter your early teen years and may start to be noticeable when you are over 50. According to the statistics provided on the National Institute On Deafness and Other Communication Disorders ( NIDCD ) website, men are more likely to experience hearing loss than women. 

Before you start to go into a panic stricken mode, here are 4 practical ways for you to protect your sense of sound against premature loss from noise and carelessness, the two killers that are responsible for most hearing losses.

#1 Exercise common sense and stay away from noise producing equipment. 

The most common danger to your hearing is noise. Noise consists of a mixture of sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last over a long period of time. Prolong exposure to these noises, will definitely result in hearing impairment as there is high probability of the sensitive structures within our inner ear being damaged. This kind of loss is termed as noise-induced hearing loss. These noises are present in our surrounding environment such as construction sites, traffic, mechanical equipments, household appliances…etc

#2 Reduce the volume in your portable music players.

Before you decide to blast your Mp3 player, think again! The distance from the source of the sound is important as earphones are mere centimeters from your eardrums. Listening to loud music over time can cause hearing loss. Generally, the louder the sound, the lesser the time you should exposed yourself to it. Hearing damage occurs even after continuous listening to music at a reasonable volume.

#3 Use ear plugs if required.

Sounds of 75 decibels or less are unlikely to result in hearing loss. A normal conversation is roughly about 60 decibels, however in clubs the noise level can go up to as high as 110 decibels which is equivalent to an aero plane taking off.

If you are exposed to an environment where noises are prevalent, you may want to consider using ear plugs to reduce the stress caused on your ear drums.

#4 Protect your head.

Head injuries may also result in hearing loss. Impact trauma can affect in a fracture of the cochlea which is the auditory portion of the inner ear and is usually permanent. Protect your head at all cost!

“Ouch! Arghh! Finally you heave a sign of relief! However, you felt a sharp pain while you were trying to release your stool. The next thing you noticed, there were tiny traces of reddish substance believed to be blood, that could be seen in the faeces you had excreted. Recalling the food you ate for the day, you couldn’t seem to remember any that provides clues to the existence of  the substance. However, you could feel the burning sensation and acute pain when cleaning yourself. You suspected tears around your anus. Those were the details you gave to your doctor during your visit to the clinic. One of the most common questions normally asked by the doctor would be, “do you consume fruits?” The model answer given by most people would be “yes” since everyone of us know that fruits are healthy and known for their rich anti-oxidants in fighting against deadly diseases such as cancer, preventing cell damage and anti-aging properties. But again some people may think that drinking fruit juice everyday is the same as consuming fruits. This assumption has caused misinformation and many people are confused between facts and myths. Are you one of them?

Let’s briefly describe the above scenario first. This scenario is one of the more common conditions that happen when one does not consume enough fiber. Constipation will definitely happen and your body will complain about the lack of fiber in your digestive system by using pain as a warning signal when you are doing your business in the toilet.

*3 Myths and Facts

Myth #1

I drink fruit juice daily. I think i am getting enough nutrients and anti-oxidants from the juices i drink everyday. I think there is no difference between consuming fruits and drinking fruit juices.

Fact

Drinking fruit juice is definitely not the same as consuming fruits. Why? This is because most of the fruit juices on the shelves of supermarkets, if not all, are pasteurised. This will mean that they possess lesser nutrients. Any fresh product, no matter how healthy it is that gets canned or packed, will lose vitamin b and potassium. When the product is exposed to air, it will start to lose its anti-oxidant qualities after about 20 minutes. You be better off eating the physical fruit instead.

Myth #2

I heard that fruit juices are high in carbohydrates and bad for health.

Fact

This is definitely misleading. Drinking fruit juice have beneficial qualities for your health. It will depend on when you drink the juices and whether the juices contains any added sugar. For example, drinking fruit juice after your workout will aid in replenishing body fluids and blood sugar, and also providing nutrients for your body. However, be careful of when you consume them as fruits contain high levels of sugar known as fructose, fruit juices contain even higher sugar due to the addition of sugar by manufacturers. This will quickly add up the calories and also causes insulin spikes detrimental to your health and weight management due to the high sugar content present. It is a sure fire way to put on weight if you consume fruit juice before bed time.

Myth #3

Since fruits are healthy, i can take medication with fruit juices instead of water.

Fact

Taking medication with any other fluids other than water is disastrous! Fruits are healthy, so are fruit juices depending on the sugar level. However, consuming medication with fruit juices is a totally different story. Certain fruit juices such as grapefruit juice can cause normal doses of medication to become toxic overdose as it causes the rate of absorption of specific medication to be absorbed quickly, while fruit juices such as orange juice may result in decreasing the effects of certain medication wiping out the beneficial effects from them.

*What you need to know when choosing fruit juices.

After clarifying some of the myths and facts about the difference between eating fruits and drinking“juices that appeared to be healthy”, the following are what you need to know when choosing fruit juices. Look out for any added sugar. Choose 100% pasturised juices without any added sugar only as they are healthier. Juice concentrates contain a lot of sugar and it will definitely contribute to a higher probability of diabetes and obesity. A easy way to know how much sugar is present in the product is to look at the amount of sugar per serving. Compare the serving with this measurement, one teaspoon of sugar or one sugar cube is roughly 4 grams. You should now have a rough idea of how much sugar you will be consuming per serving.

Most of us are living a busy and hectic life, working hard for our dreams and goals. However, with the constant stress and hectic schedule on a daily basis, the majority of us tend to neglect our nutrition intake and the types of food we eat daily, and end up cultivating bad eating habits. Depending on the eating habits taught to us by our parents during childhood, some of us may even be eating incorrectly without knowing it. The real key to smart eating is actually to cultivate good habits.

What do I mean by good eating habits? Carbohydrates? Protein? Fats? Phytochemicals? Antioxidants? How much do we consume for each type of nutrients ? The amount of information present currently n both the internet and the real world such as magazine publications …etc, is enough to make most of us nostalgic and confused. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be that difficult. For the majority of us, we lead busy and stressful lifestyles, what we seek are simple and easy to follow solutions. We do not have the luxury of time to flip through every article, magazine publication …etc that we can get our hands on. Solution to this? Here are 12 easy to follow tips that you should start to cultivate and make it part of your daily nutrition plan.

Tip #1 – Take your multi-vitamins every day in the morning.

All you require is just a tablet of multi-vitamins daily. A standard multivitamin fills enough of the gaps in your diet to make a difference since most people normally lack a certain kind of micro-nutrient in their diet.

Tip #2 – Drink 2 glasses of water before every meal.

Besides keeping you hydrated, it will definitely make you eat less. This can possibly make you feel less hungry, reducing your food intake, hence preventing possibility of overeating per meal and aiding in weight loss.

Tip #3 – Start your day with heavy meals at the beginning and drop the portions.

Begin your day with breakfast as the heaviest meal and reduce the amount of food intake when the day slowly comes to an end. Our metabolism is the highest at the beginning of each day but it significantly drops when each day comes to an end. Eating heavy meals in the evening is not going to do your health any good and you will only pile on the weight unnecessarily.

Tip#4 – Eating the right foods at the right time.

50% – 60% of your diet should contain foods which are under the complex carbohydrates category. This is because complex carbohydrates take a longer time for the body to digest, hence providing energy for the body throughout the day without causing insulin spikes that can result in your body storing fats. However, it is recommended for you to consume a meal rich in simple carbohydrates after your workout to replenish your glycogen stores, which is your energy reserves since you have used them up during your workout. The trick is to eat the right foods at the right time.

Tip #5 – Eat consistently throughout the day

Eat every 2 to 3 hours. This will increase your metabolism and make your body more efficient in burning fats. Besides, you will feel less lethargic since you have consistent energy coming from the food you consume throughout the day.

Tip #6 – Eat smart.

Food that appears to be greasy will have sent you a warning of the presence of unhealthy fats in them. Common sense would have told you to avoid them.

Tip #7 – Give yourself a break.

Everyone have favorite foods they love. Don’t turn them into forbidden pleasures. Just don’t eat them everyday. Think about how often you are eating them that may result in jeopardizing your diet and then mitigate. A strategy is to rotate your favorite foods throughout the entire week having them once or twice per week. If you find it hard to resist the temptation, try eating your favorite food in smaller portions in the day as compared to the evening.

Tip #8 – Drink tea.

Include tea such as green, black or white tea into your diet. Studies ( quoted from numerous reports on United States Department Of Agriculture website http://www.usda.gov ) have shown that drinking tea can provide the body with the anti-oxidants crucial to your body in fighting against serious diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Besides these types of tea contain rich quantities of anti-oxidants and also anti-aging properties that can aid in preventing wrinkles.

Tip #9 – Pile onions on everything.

Onions are a top source for heart savers called flavonoids. Besides, they are an excellent source of anti-oxidants as well.

Tip #10 – Include tomatoes in your diet.

Consuming lots of tomato products will aid in reducing your risk of cancer. This is because they are a rich source of lycopene, a type of carotenoid that is believed to cut your risk of cancer. Studies have also shown that men who consume a lot of tomato products tend to have a lower risk of contracting prostate cancer.

Tip #11 – Always leave the skin on your food.

When you are consuming fruits or vegetable products such as potatoes, leave the skin on. Peeling away the skin, you will be throwing away the heavy-duty nutrients and fiber. However, this does not mean leaving the skin on meat products such as chicken, which is unhealthy and high in cholesterol.

Tip #12 – Consume a low fat, low carbohydrate snack before bed time.

A low-fat, low-calorie carbohydrate snack consumed 30 minutes before bed time will aid in making you sleepy. Besides, it provides the required energy for your body while you are asleep, this is more essential if you are looking to build more muscle on and losing the fats.

These tips aim at busy adults who already have a dieting or nutrition plan in place. If you are just starting out, it is highly recommended to visit a nutritionist or your family doctor before you begin any dieting plan.

Slogging when you are tired can cause your heart to be strained. Research has revealed that tired people experience bigger spikes in blood pressure compared to those who are well rested. This is because they increase their effort to compensate for their diminished capability. When a person is already fatigued but still forces himself to work harder, there is tremendous mental stress which will raise the blood pressure and stress out the heart.

Since multitasking is the way of life, time management is important. Set realistic expectations for the amount of work you can handle in a day and invest time in exercise and relaxation. Even if you are facing a tight deadline, give yourself a breather. Set the alarm every hour to remind yourself to get up for a stretch or walk out for some fresh air. Bringing in a potted plant may also lower the stress level in your work environment. A recent study shows that people who worked in offices with plants and windows felt better about their jobs.

Depression has long been one of the risk factors of heart disease and it is only recently that experts discovered why. Physical universal symptoms such as loss of appetite, sleep problems or fatigue are associated with the narrowing of coronary arteries. This blocks or slows the the flow of blood and can result in a heart attack or stroke. When a person is depressed, he is less likely to exercise regularly or take medicines conscientiously to manage risk factors such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. Depressed patients are also likely to smoke, overeat, or binge drink-all of which are bad for the heart. It has also been proven that depression is more common in patients who have suffered heart attack or heart failure. In fact, for patients who have heart attack, the risk of dying within the next six months is increased 3 to 4 times if they also suffer from depression.

Getting your depression treated does not prevent heart disease, but it is important to address the symptoms to improve your well being. A person who is not depressed is definitely better able to take charge of his heart health.

Cutting out salt from your diet may not be entirely a good way to prevent heart disease. This is because a very low intake of salt will actually cause some people to die from cardiac arrest. Researchers say that while high salt intake stiffens the arteries and increase cardiac muscle mass which increases the blood levels, it also brings about hormonal changes that causes hypertension. But there is no need to be finicky or avoid salt altogether. It is needed to transport nutrients, transmit nerve impulses and contract muscles. Limit your intake to 6g or about a teaspoon a day.

Cigarette smoke and chemical fumes do more than damage your lungs. Air pollution had both short term and long term toxic effects on the heart and blood vessels and to your heart. In earlier studies, inhaled pollutants were found to increase free radical levels that not only trigger inflammation in the lungs but also harm the heart and cardiovascular system.

If you have an existing heart problem, keep your workouts at the gym. If not, wait two hours after peak traffic conditions before heading out for your jog. During the haze season, if you work in a polluted environment, try wearing a mask.

One of the most inexpensive sports to pick up is running. We see people running at all times of the day. Regardless of the weather, running fanatics could still be seen everywhere. They never fail to keep up with their passion regardless of any negative situation they might encounter. The question is, why run? It’s a difficult question to answer. There is a primal connection with movement and the need for an unleashing of tension after a stressful day at the workplace. Running is regarded as an outlet to release our tension by many. It aids in clearing up our minds. However, it’s not about avoiding and running away from reality. It’s about finding that special moment, that special space within us to calm down and think about what we truly want to achieve. It’s about moving out of our comfort zones and find out what’s worthwhile for our efforts. It’s about taking a break and returning more refreshed and clear headed. However, i must agree that it is no mean feat to keep the motivation level high and going strong consistently. Who has the energy to think of exercise after an entire day of endless meetings, meeting deadlines for projects and proposals and not to mention about the pressure you have to withstand from your loud-mouthed bosses? It takes much more than sheer determination to keep going and not give up.

So now you head home, start to binge on junk food like burgers, french fries, tidbits or that awfully sinful chocolate bar you have been saving in your fridge for ages. You do all of this to relieve yourself of all the stress and humiliation you have suffered. Deep down at heart, your runner instincts start to remind you of your sinful indulgences and you start to feel guilty. Soon your brain starts to send signals out and you begin to think rationally. You begin to remember the awesome feeling of your muscular legs pumping with piston-like efficiency, you remember the feeling of the cold breeze blowing at you while running, suddenly the adrenaline rush to start running kicks in again. You glance at your clock and you realized that it’s almost 1 a.m in the morning. You stay glued to your comfortable couch, nursing a headache and swabbing oily fingers on your pants. Suddenly, running seems like an afterthought. However, something seems to keep stirring up within you and you decided to continue on with your running. Taking a deep breathe, you said to yourself, “What the heck, who says you can’t head out for a short 30 minute jaunt now?”

We all experienced these moments of extreme stress, fatigue, laziness…etc All these are just mental hurdles that become your greatest barriers when you finally decided to do something you have passion for. It becomes more significant when it comes to exercising, but do make a mental note of this deep down your heart, “there is always a next time and tomorrow never comes”, do not allow distractions to affect you, just do it. There will always be a fight within you between the angel and devil. One will be telling you to do it, the other will be the one telling you not to do it. When it comes to running, focus on making it a reality and you will be able to turn a deaf ear on the little devil within you.