Easy Health Tips

BMI is short for Body Mass Index and it helps tell you if you have too much fat in your body.  While there are a lot of methods for calculating body fat, BMI is a quick and easy method for determining if you are underweight, overweight, obese, or in a healthy weight range.

To calculate your BMI, you simply use your weight in kilograms and your height in meters.  If you don’t know how to do the math, or just don’t want to, there are calculators online that will figure it out for you.  Just input your height and weight.  Many of them will also let you know if you’re in a healthy weight range.

For adults, the healthy BMI range is between 18.5 and 25.  If your score is below 18.5, you are considered underweight.  Above 25 is considered overweight, and above 30 is considered obese.  This range is used for men and women aged twenty and over.  For those under eighteen, healthy BMI levels vary by age and sex.  BMI range can be determined for children by using height/weight charts.

The problem with BMI is that it’s not terribly accurate for determining the overall percentage of fat in the body.  It was developed as a simple way to determine body fat in large groups of people for various studies.  However, we are all different shapes and sizes and some have more muscle that others, which adds quite a bit of weight to our bodies.  This is a quick reference, but for an accurate reading there is another method.

If your BMI is high, the easiest way to verify that you need to lose a few pounds is by measuring your waist.  A waist of greater than 40 inches in men and 35 inches in women is seen as overweight.  Other methods for determining body fat percentages include underwater weight, fat fold thickness, and several other tests that require advanced technology.  Many of these methods are expensive or difficult, so your doctor probably won’t perform them unless they’re absolutely necessary.

If your BMI is above or below the healthy range, your first step should be to visit a doctor.  They can not only perform more accurate tests to determine your exact fat percentages, they will also ask about your current lifestyle, eating, and exercise plan.  If your BMI is high, but you eat right, exercise regularly, and don’t practice many bad habits, you may not be at an increased risk for health problems.  If you do need to lose or gain weight, they can get you started on a plan to achieve a more healthy weight.

While it may not be perfect, BMI is a fantastic tool to quickly figure out if you are in a healthy age range, or should be concerned about your percentage of body fat.

Today we’re going to talk about apple cider vinegar. I had no idea it had so many uses so, of course I have to share them with you.

Apple cider vinegar has been used in many ways for many years. It has been an important ingredient in numerous home remedies, and it has frequently been used for weight loss. This simple, inexpensive substance has seemingly endless uses. Here are some of them:

• For weight loss, drink two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a glass of water before each meal. This is not a quick fix, but it has been said to cause gradual weight loss with no major changes in diet. Coupled with a sensible diet and exercise routine, however, it could cause somewhat quicker weight loss and help you keep the weight off.
• For a cold or the flu, take a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in water several times a day. This will help balance the body’s pH, making it a less favorable environment for the germs.
• Apple cider vinegar is great for getting rid of dandruff. Applying it to the scalp and letting it stand for 30 minutes to an hour before washing will kill the fungus that causes dandruff. It also helps soothe an itchy scalp.
• Diabetics can benefit from taking apple cider vinegar in water once a day. This has been proven to help lower blood sugar.
• Apple cider vinegar is often used to relieve sinus problems and ear infections. Depending on your symptoms, you can drink it, add it to a vaporizer, inhale it, or squirt it in your ear with a syringe and let it drain back out.
• Digestive problems and diarrhea can be relieved with an apple cider vinegar tonic. The vinegar soaks up liquid and forms a protective coating in the intestines, and it activates stomach acid and enzymes. It may also relieve the symptoms of acid reflux.
• Apple cider vinegar can soothe a sunburn. To get some relief, you can soak a towel in it at full strength and place it directly on the burn, or you can take a bath in water with one cup of the vinegar added.
• Painful and unsightly varicose veins can benefit from treatment with apple cider vinegar. Apply it full strength twice a day, and drink two teaspoons in water twice a day. It may take a month to see results. (This is my favorite tip. I’ve never heard of anything that helps varicose veins really so, I’m trying it and will let you know how it goes!)
• Apple cider vinegar is good for a sore throat. Gargling with a vinegar and water mixture every hour can help you feel better faster. But it is important to remember not to swallow the mixture once you’ve gargled with it, because it draws out germs.
• Muscle soreness can be treated with apple cider vinegar. It can be applied full strength with a small amount of cayenne pepper added, or you can soak in a bath with a few cups of vinegar added.

These are just a few of the myriad ways that we can use apple cider vinegar for health. Drinking a vinegar tonic each day can improve our health in a number of ways. We can also apply it topically to rid ourselves of many more aliments. Stocking up on apple cider vinegar will put the remedy for a variety of problems right at your fingertips.

When you’re exercising in the summer, you will almost certainly sweat a lot.  This is the body’s way of cooling itself off, and it’s normal.  It can even help us lose weight.  But it also means we’re losing water.  If we don’t replace it, we could become dehydrated.

It’s extremely important to drink plenty of water in the summer, especially when we’re exercising.  Becoming dehydrated increases our risk of heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.  Here are some tips for staying hydrated during summer workouts:

• Stay away from caffeinated, carbonated and alcoholic beverages.  They are very dehydrating.
• Drink plenty of water every day.  While there is some debate over whether we really need eight glasses, it is a good idea to drink at least a few glasses of water each day even if you’re not exercising. It helps wash toxins out of your system and aids in building new cells, and it will keep you from being dehydrated when you start working out.
• Always keep water nearby when you’re working out.  Drink it throughout your workout, even if you are not thirsty.  A good rule of thumb is 16 ounces an hour when you’re doing an intense workout in hot weather.
• If you’re participating in a really strenuous activity, or you work out for more than an hour at a time, drink a sports drink with a good electrolyte balance.  This will replace the sodium and other vital nutrients that you lose through heavy sweating.
• Eat more fruits and vegetables.  These are good for you in a number of ways, one of which is keeping you hydrated as they are very high in water content.
• If you’re not sure whether or not you’re getting enough water, check your urine.  If it’s dark in color, you need to drink more. The more water you consume, the clearer it will be.

Hydration is always important to your health, but it becomes even more crucial when you’re working up a sweat.  Watching your water intake is essential.  While it is possible to drink too much water, it is hard to do when you’re exercising in the summer heat. So keep the water handy, and drink it liberally.