If you are having trouble getting all of the vitamins you need, you might consider taking daily vitamin supplements. Though there are a few studies against having people take multivitamins, in 2002, an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and written by members of the Harvard School of Medicine,  concludes that “it appears prudent for all adults to take vitamin supplements.” Daily supplements, however, are not a “one-size-fits-all” kind of solution. There are many different types of multi-vitamins available. They are tailored specifically towards a specific gender and age group. You will find them clearly marked so you know which one to take. However, your doctor might suggest a different type depending on the deficiency you are experiencing.

Women’s vitamins typically come with higher iron and calcium than a “general formula” multi-vitamin. That’s because women naturally do not absorb as much iron as men and also lose iron through menstruation. Women also typically eat less red meat, which is full of iron. Women who have gone through menopause, however, usually do not need a supplement that has extra iron. The elderly have different needs than middle-aged adults and should look for vitamins that specifically address this. (Some are labeled “50+.”) Pregnant women also have very different needs and should consult a doctor about taking supplements during their pregnancy. Prenatal vitamins often contain higher levels of folic acid and iron than the typical one.

If a bottle is labeled “high potency,” what does this mean? The FDA allows a company to label their multivitamin as having high potency if at least two-thirds of the included vitamins supply 100% of the recommended daily value. It usually means that the multivitamin provides a substantially high amount of both vitamin B and vitamin C.

It is important to remember that the best way to obtain vitamins is by eating vitamin-rich foods, not by taking supplements. Also, if your diet is rich in a certain vitamin, you should avoid taking supplements that cause you to have too much of that vitamin. Too much of anything can be more detrimental than helpful.

If you enjoy sex (I know that there is a big chance that you do), you’ll surely enjoy engaging in it more often after you read the soon-to-be-published article in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The article, which surveys decades of studies on health and sex, spells out the health benefits one can gain from having sex more often. Dr. Irwin Goldstein, the editor-in-chief of the journal says that the article will make you see how important sexual activity is. He also said that “human beings were really meant to do it.” In the article researcher Stuart Brody states that penile-vaginal intercourse gives the most health benefits as compared to other types of sexual activities.

What is in sex then that makes it good for your health? Here are some of the known health benefits that sexual activity can bring you:

You will live longer if you make love more often. A study done in Britain showed that men who had sex at least two times a week lived longer than men who had sex less than once a month. A similar study also was conducted in the US, and it showed the same results–men who have sex more often live longer. The British study also revealed that men who have sex more often have healthier hearts and are less likely to have heart attacks. Another study, which was published in the Biological Psychology journal, reveals frequent sexual activity lowers diastolic blood pressure.

A French study also showed that women who do not have sexual intercourse often are more likely to have breast cancer than those who do regularly. In men, frequent sexual activity was found to be a good way to prevent prostate cancer, this was found out in a study conducted in Minnesota.

Every time you have sex, you burn around 50 calories. Imagine how much calories you’d be burning if you have sex at least three times a week. This is probably why those who have frequent sexual intercourse tend to be sexier than those who do less often.

If you want to live longer, start making love to your partner more often, it will bring the two of you a lot of benefits.

During pregnancy a lot of things happen to a woman’s body, and one of those things is a gain in weight. Some women gain so much weight during pregnancy that they cannot get back to their pre-pregnancy shape easily, and they end up wondering why most celebrity moms get back into shape in a very short time. We must remember that celebrities have platoons of dietitians and fitness experts to help them get back into shape after pregnancy, so it is not really surprising to see them return to their pre-pregnancy shape quickly. But that doesn’t mean that if you cannot afford to hire dietitians and fitness experts you do not have the chance to be sexy again after pregnancy. There are things that you can do to help you regain your figure after pregnancy.

Avoid foods and beverages with lots of sugar (like cola and artificial fruit juice). Sugar has a lot of calories, so you should limit it as much as possible. Eat healthy foods like whole grains, lean meat, and vegetables. When you have snacks, avoid processed foods; you can have fruits or wheat crackers instead. Drink a lot of water every day, 8 to 12 glasses of water daily will help you cut fat from your body.

You also must exercise, but start with light exercise first like short walks in the morning. Do not exercise immediately after you give birth, there needs to be a time of healing and rest before you begin an exercise regimen. It is best to talk to your doctor about when and what kind of exercise that you can have.

Another thing that will help you burn calories and lose weight is breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is not only good for your baby, it is also good for you. Did you know that you can burn 500 calories per day if you breastfeed? Not only that, breastfeeding also helps you lower your stress level.

Women are not created equally, so do not fret when you see other women lose weight more quickly. Just continue to exercise and eat healthy foods, you’ll be sure to get your sexy, pre-pregnancy figure back in due time.

Every smoker is unique physically and mentally, so there is no exact effective method of quitting smoking. Smoking is an addiction, and every addicted individual reacts to the withdrawal symptoms differently.  If one method does not work for you, just try another. Here are some of the tested and proven ways of quitting smoking that may help those who are struggling to end their smoking habit:

Set your mind to quit smoking. This is probably the most difficult  of all that is listed here. It is easy to fool one’s self that one’s mind is set on quitting, but deep inside it’s not really the case. But once one’s mind is really set on quitting, it will be less difficult to follow other steps that may help you to quit.

Cut it slowly. You can start by smoking one less cigarette each day until you reach the point where you smoke your last. For some people this is quite effective, it is actually a way of conditioning one’s mind to the inevitability of the end of the habit.

Avoid fellow smokers. If you are on the process of slowly lessening the number of cigarettes you smoke each day, it is easier to keep yourself from lighting up when you don’t see someone who is smoking. Many smokers have wasted weeks of progress because they have seen someone smoke in front of them and their resolve melted.

Use some substitute for cigarettes. Of course, if you are a hard smoker, it may seem that nothing can substitute cigarettes, but it is better to use something like mint candies or chewing gum than just using your will to control your habit.

Exercise. As you slowly progress through cutting the number of cigarettes you consume, put some more exercise into your daily routine. Exercise can help a lot in warding off some of the withdrawal symptoms.

Avoid social gatherings, like parties, where alcohol and cigarettes are abundant when you are still in the process of quitting. It is very easy to throw away a month’s worth of progress in quitting smoking when you are under the influence of alcohol.

Get someone to quit smoking too. It is easier to quit when you have someone, a fellow smoker, who is also trying to quit. You will have more resolve to quit than when you are alone in your endeavor.

Is exercise good for pregnant women? You may think that because pregnancy brings a lot of changes in the body of a woman, exercise may not be advisable for those who are pregnant. But a new study shows that a well-designed exercise program could be beneficial for both the mother and the baby inside her.

Dr. Raul Artal, chairman of obstetrics, gynecology and women’s health for the Saint Louis University School of Medicine says that women who exercise during pregnancy are less likely to develop conditions like gestational diabetes. Dr. Artal also says that “exercise maintains musculoskeletal fitness and women can cope with the anatomical and physiological changes of pregnancy better when they’re in good shape. Women who exercise can also tolerate labor better and recover more quickly from delivery as compared to those who do not exercise.”

But it is not only the mother who benefits from exercise, the baby also gets something very good out of the mother’s exercise. The baby reaps cardiac benefits in the form of lower fetal heart rates every time the mother works out. A 30 minute session of moderate exercise each day is recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. But a pregnant woman must first seek the advice of her doctor before doing any kind of exercise.

“A lot of things depend on the level of fitness a woman had before her pregnancy,” Dr. Thomas Wang, a family practitioner for Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, said. An expectant mother should see to it that the kind of exercise she will do will give her a good level of exertion but not too much that it tests her pregnant body’s limits. ”Anything that involves impact or the chance of abdominal trauma, they should try to avoid,” Dr. Wang explained.

The best exercise that a pregnant woman could pursue is any one of the following: walking, light dancing, and light swimming. Exercise that involves the risk of falling should be avoided.

Perhaps, like most people you have suffered from the pains of a sore muscle or cramps.  To alleviate this pain, you crave nothing more than to place something warm against the pained area. What are your options?

1.  You could purchase an electric heating pad. Of course, that means you need to sit somewhere near an outlet.

2. You could purchase a package of adhesive heating pads.  However, most of these have a strong odor.  Also, they are single use items, making them rather expensive.

3.  You could purchase a microwavable heating pad.  Reusable and no need for an outlet, makes this a good choice. . .

But for the best choice:

4. You could make your own microwavable heating pad.  All you need is 2 cups of rice and a clean knee-high sock.

Direction:

Carefully pour rice into sock.

Tie a knot to prevent rice from escaping.

Place heating pad in microwave for 1 minute*, and it’s ready for use!

*Heating times may vary.  Start with 30 seconds, and check the temperature of the heating pad, adding more time if needed.

Diseases can strike when you least expect, but there are certain medical conditions that are more common than others. Women are particularly vulnerable to three health concerns, including heart disease, breast cancer, and depression. This article discusses the risk factors associated with each disease so more women can prevent these types of ailments:

Heart Disease

Heart disease is the leading killer of men and women alike. However, death itself is not the main worry for women; disability and premature death are more concerning to women. More men actually die because of heart conditions compared to women, but this condition often goes undiagnosed in women.

Women tend to think of symptoms as chest pain. What they don’t know is that heart disease can manifest itself in different ways, including jaw pain, nausea, shortness of breath, shoulder ache, and vomiting. Risk factors include diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, smoking, and heredity.

Breast Cancer

This is the most common type of cancer among women. Some experts believe that breast cancer is exaggerated to the public so women fear diagnosis even when they experience some symptoms. You should remember, though, that stopping this disease through early detection should be your paramount concern. Risks factors of breast cancer include genetics, personal history of this condition, race, increasing age, previous breast radiation, abnormal breast biopsy, medication use, alcohols, and obesity.

Depression

More women suffer from depression than men. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 12 million women suffer from depression as opposed to 6 million men. Depression can be triggered by a variety of factors, including a previous depressive episode, heart problems, family history of depression, chronic illness, stressful life event, substance abuse, recent surgery, or childhood history of physical abuse.

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When most women think of milk, they think of those small cartons served with school lunches or the milk they may pour over their morning cereal. Too often considered a beverage for children, milk can be vital for women’s health and the prevention of osteoporosis, the most common metabolic bone disease in the United States. What osteoporosis means is that with age, bones can become more fragile and easier to break. Twenty-eight million adults have osteoporosis in the US today, and women are four times more likely to suffer from osteoporosis than men are.

After osteoporosis is diagnosed, little can be done to reverse the damaging effects of the disease so prevention is the key to protection against osteoporosis. When our mothers told us to drink our milk to build strong bones, they were right. Drinking 3-4 cups of Vitamin D fortified skim milk daily is one of the best natural defenses against osteoporosis. Calcium can also be found in green leafy vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts. Although calcium supplements can be another option, experts advise consulting with a doctor before taking the supplements.

Other ways to fight against osteoporosis are daily weight bearing exercise (walking, running, dancing, tennis, bicycling, or aerobics), maintaining a healthy weight, not using tobacco, limiting alcohol to no more than two drinks per day, and eating a balanced diet.

After menopause, when osteoporosis is most likely to occur, women also are urged to avoid accidents. Make sure that all stairs have railings, remove hazards such as throw rugs and wires to prevent tripping, and make sure all areas of the home are well lit.

Loss of bone mass normally begins as early as age 35, so it is never too early to drink your milk and limit the risk of osteoporosis.

A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, usually done by a gynecologist. The two common surgical approaches to performing a hysterectomy are either via a laparotomy or trans-vaginally. Reasons for a hysterectomy include cancer of the cervix or uterus and excessive vaginal bleeding, especially in a woman who has either already had all the children she wants or is post-menopausal. Hysterectomies have had a controversial past; during the 19th century, women were given hysterectomies as a treatment for psychological problems since hysteria was thought to originate in the uterus.

Feelings of fatigue, abdominal or back pain, nausea, shortness of breath are sometimes the only signs a female may have before a heart attack. Although men and women’s hearts are made the same and they both accumulate plaque there is a subtle difference. The plaque in women’s hearts seems to be spread out more throughout the vessel lining. It is assumed that this may be why women don’t exhibit the same symptoms as men. Heart disease may not be discovered in women as much as it is in men because of different symptoms. Physicians are looking for the tell tale symptoms that men have which are chest pain and difficulty in breathing. The heavy plaque buildup seen in men is not discovered in women because they distribute it more evenly.

Your heart is about the size of your fist and beats 100,000 times a day. Without major symptoms that heart is assumed to be working fine.. Women instead concentrate their health concerns on breast cancer and reproductive health. Actually the number one problem for women is heart disease.

Because women’s symptoms that may lead to a heart attack are so subtle, knowing one’s risk factors can be another clue to be more aware of what a women’s body is telling her. The odds are increased by aging and having a family history of heart disease. Heart disease occurs about 10 years after men have heart attacks. The years between 50 and 60 after menopause are a risk factor. Diabetics have two to four times the risk of heart disease. Diabetes is a bigger risk factor for women than for men and heart disease in female diabetics can begin without any symptoms. Heart disease risk is 69% higher in African-American women than in whites.

Because of these many subtle symptoms that are hard to detect it is recommended that women have more tests to determine the state of their heart. Blood sugar tests help determine diabetes and its risks. There is a hemoglobin A1c test that estimates average blood sugar over a month. C-reactive protein test is very important for women since they can have high levels of this inflammatory marker and yet not have high cholesterol.

The electrocardiogram test may be distorted for women due to breast tissue. Another technique that is better is echocardiography which employs ultrasound and nuclear imaging.