Your pets can bring Infection to you and your kids

Pet ownership is thought to be a key to heart health, social support, and long life, but have you ever thought that letting a pet dog lick your face, picking up its feces or allowing it to sleep on your bed could put you and your kids at risk of catching infection? Pets can pass germs to human beings. Transmission of germs from animals to humans can occur either by direct contact between a person and an animal or through an intermediary insect like a mosquito or a tick. Although many germs are species-specific–meaning, they can infect only one or a few closely related species–other germs are able to cross species barriers and pass from animals or birds to humans. Virus and fungi are less likely to be transmitted from animals to humans, whereas bacteria and parasites that are normally found in animals find humans to be suitable hosts as well. Thus, many of the of the animal-derived infections are caused by bacteria or parasites.
Read how dog, cat and other pets may be carriers of infection.
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How to buy Exercise Walking Shoes

How to buy Exercise Walking Shoes
You must be buying your dress shoes primarily because of the quality of leather, color, texture and decorative design but in exercise walking shoes it is what is under the foot that's more important. If you are a serious walker and looking for good shoes ,then you must understand the fact that the way the walking platform of a shoe is designed from the heel, where the walking motion begins, to the toe, where the foot must bend for toe off, determines how your foot will function. An issue of the University of California at Berkeley wellness letter observed “ ill fitting shoes,it is thought, cause 80% of all foot problems. Besides causing corns, bunions, nail deformities and other problems, painful shoes can alter gait and your outlook for the worse.” Anything which inhibits the natural motion of the foot will affect the foot's biomechanical efficiency. Your foot and the muscles in your legs will fighting the restrictions of the shoe. Thus, it is important to know what kind of exercise walking shoes should be bought.
A good exercise walking shoes platform should not be stiff at the forefoot, the ball of the foot, as many jogging and cross training shoes are. Rigid sole at the forefoot on exercise walking shoes interfere with toe – off, which is an essential part of the foot's contribution to your forward progress and speed. Some rocker type shoes, most cross trainers and jogging shoes are too rigid for the biomechanical juncture. They restrict the foot's ability to contribute to forward propulsion at the toe-off and cause the foot to labour against the stiff walking platform as it tries to bend in its natural manner. An exercise walker wearing such shoes and trying to accelerate beyond the brisk pace will experience unnecessary shin fatigue and stress in the leg muscles.
A good exercise walking shoe should have a comfortably wide toe box to accommodate the widening of the forefoot when the body weight is loaded onto it. The toe box should also be high enough to give the shoe adequate clearance. The platform of an exercise walking shoe should be essentially neutral. It should not try to manage the foot's biomechanics but should let it move from the heel plant to toe-off in its most natural manner. It should be just thick enough to protect the bottom of the foot, and provide a moderate amount of cushioning. The heel should be closer to half a inch because it is easier to walk at a fast pace with a lower heel.
But keep in mind that your buying decision should always be made on the basis of 'fit and comfort' over any technical features.
Things you should keep in mind while you go to buy exercise walking shoes :

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Why should you include Fermented food in your Food

We all know that there a large number of bacteria present in our gastrointestinal tract those are important to digestion. The beneficial bacteria present in our bowel try to protect us from the massive number of harmful bacteria those might have been ingested while consuming food and water. We need certain bacteria in our digestive system in order to have proper digestion. When bacteria are removed because of prolonged use of antibiotic , it creates breeding ground for illness. Our immune system weakens and we lose our ability to digest, absorb food and assimilate. The harmful bacteria get foothold in the colon because of our bad food habits. We consume less fiber and more refined carbohydrates. This slows down the bowel transit time and fuel harmful bacteria. Thus, we need to have fermented food and probiotic supplements to have good bacteria in our digestive tract.

In order to increase the useful bacteria in gastrointestinal tract, we can have fermented food like yoghurt and sauerkraut. Irritable bowel syndrome has become a great problem in the America because of our food habits.

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Air Freshners-Are they really fresh?

To watch television commercials for air fresheners, one could think them to be made from fresh cut flowers. We place them all around our homes. But these fresheners don’t freshen the air, but rather make our home’s air more polluted. Air fresheners used in a confined area, like homes, offices or cars create an intense amount of toxins in a small area.
Indoor air quality can be lower than the air quality outdoors. The fine particulate matter from outdoor air pollution comes in through doors and windows. Dust mites, mold, pet dander and fur, tobacco smoke and fumes from combustion appliances like gas heaters and stoves contribute as well, as do building materials that out-gas, such as paints, varnishes, insulation, particle board, plywood, carpets and furniture.
With all that already in the air inside, why make indoor air more polluted with air fresheners? The air fresheners emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), like most paints do. In the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), the manufacturer admit that breathing high concentrations of vapor in excess of the permitted exposure level may cause following problems:

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We are living in the pool of Germs

We are surrounded by various germs. Many of these germs are harmful for human beings and find various routes to enter in our bodies. Inanimate things around us are also responsible for the spread of the infection in adults and kids. Free living germs like bacteria, fungi, and virus survive on the non living things like furniture,utensils, toothbrush, toilet seats, faucets etc. Bacteria and fungi survive on these inanimate objects for prolonged period than virus because of the fact that virus require living cells to survive. Moisture helps germs to hang around in the environment even for several days without drying off or drying up.

A study carried out in 2006, found that adults infected with rhinovirus who stayed over-night in the hotel rooms contaminated one third of the things in the room. The rhinoviruses survived on the objects they touched like electric switches, telephone, television, television remote devices etc for 24 hours. These objects might not receive routine cleaning , so these virus survived on these objects for a long time. Few other object like sharp things can be contaminated by blood also causing life threatening diseases. Everyday things like drinking glasses, toothbrush hats, hair brush, bed sheets, toilet seats etc serve as vector of infection.
The infection through these inanimate objects spread mainly because of sharing of objects.

Here is a list of the everyday things that can spread infection:
http://www.articlefit.com/We-are-living-in-the-pool-of-Germs/a8950_1

How to do thyroid test at home.

Do thyroid test at home. Please note that this not the final test. Check with your doctor for a confirmatory test.

Thyroid Self-test


One can perform a self test to check thyroid for hypothyroidism. Place an oral thermometer by your bed at night. Shake it down until it reaches approximately ninety-six degrees. As soon as you wake up next morning place thermometer under your armpit and leave it there for 10 minutes before getting out of the bed. Relax and remain still. Remove thermometer and record your temperature.
What next?
Read more on: http://greenissues.today.com/2009/02/24/do-thyroid-and-iodine-test-at-home/

The Right Exercise for You

All of us understand the importance of staying fit and the role played by the exercise in keeping us fit. We have many energy saver system like drive through fast food points, banks, cleaners, pharmacies, elevators, escalators, moving walkways, television and music systems with remote controls, automatic washers and dryers etc. Our inactivity has increased actually because of spending long hours in working on internet, watching television, playing video games etc.This kind of sedentary lifestyle puts our longevity and health at risk. If you have not included exercise in your daily routine then you are at a high risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart diseases, obesity etc. Obesity is further associated with other diseases like heart failure,diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, stroke, degenerative joints, many types of cancer, gall bladder diseases and many more. Many of these disease are life threatening and may lead to premature death.
We all have excuses and explanation for not doing exercise like lack of time, odd working hours, home, kids etc. But we must convince ourselves that the worldly possessions like money, power, status, image all are of no use if we do not have good health. Thus, it is very important to keep yourself healthy. Good eating and drinking habits and exercise keeps you fit for whole life.

Continue reading on: http://www.articlefit.com/The-right-kind-of-exercise-for-You/a8952_1