Women's Health Blog » Healthy

Successful Pregnancy

Linda Greens — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:24:03 +0000

Being pregnant can and should be one of the most exciting and fulfilling times of a woman’s life, but unfortunately it can also be one of the most stressful times too. The woman needs to have ripened and released a healthy egg from one of her ovaries. This travels down one of her two fallopian tubes, stroked along its length by the tiny, finger-like cilia fronds which line the tubes.

Sperm then swim past the cervix, through the womb and up into the fallopian tubes to meet the descending egg. Eggs can live about 24 hours and sperm may live for two to three days, so they need to find each other within this fairly brief period. Several sperm may reach the egg at about the same time, but one needs to be able to break through the egg’s protective shell and get inside.

Once this has happened, the nucleus of the sperm fuses with that of the egg and the egg’s wall becomes impenetrable to other sperm. The egg spends the next two or three days passing down the remainder of the fallopian tube, then reaches the womb cavity, where it floats free for two or three days. Conception has now taken place.

Inside the fertilized egg, the combined ball of egg and sperm nuclei have been dividing, first in two, then four, eight, sixteen and so on, to develop into a cluster of cells called an embryo. when a sperm cell fuses with an egg cell, the result is a ball of their nuclei. Sperm and egg each donate 23 chromosomes, making a set of 23 pairs in all. These form the genetic blueprint for your future baby, and cover everything from hair and eye color to blood group. However, it is the father who determines a baby’s gender. Women’s cells have two X chromosomes, so egg cells always contribute an X chromosome; whereas sperm cells may contain either one X or one Y. When a Y chromosome combines with an X, it results in a male baby. If an X-carrying sperm fertilizes the egg, the baby will be a girl.

The embryo embeds itself in the blond-rich lining of the womb. You are now technically pregnant. However, it is believed that as many as 40 per cent of pregnancies are lost at this stage because the embryo does not implant itself properly.

The womb lining is kept in place (rather than being shed in a normal monthly period) by extra progesterone produced by your ovaries. It is the major upsurge in the amount of this hormone in the body that makes many pregnant women feel nauseous in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

This entire process, made to look so easy by couples who conceive quickly, or accidentally, is very finely balanced throughout. It is thought that perhaps as many as 20 per cent of embryos which do implant are lost in what seems to be a late period.

Dieting – Lose Weight Healthy

Ralph Serpe — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:06:06 +0000

Many of us are constantly in a battle to lose weight, and a lot of us want to discover a diet where we can lose weight and lose weight fast. Not looking at how to lose weight healthy.

Dieting is a very hard thing to do. First you must commit yourself to modify the diet or current way you eat, which if not an easy task. Statistics on dieting are not good, so how can we find

a diet that is easy and will lose weight and lose weight healthy.

There are many good diet plans out on the market today. The South Beach Diet is a very popular healthy diet plan, there is the Negative Calorie Diet, which in my opinion is also a healthy way of eating. There is also the Idiot Proof Diet Plan which is exactly that, and is a healthy plan.

One crucial aspect of dieting is to burn fat but also feed muscle as you don’t want to lose weight and have a lot of flabby skin.

1. Do not ever skip breakfast, your breakfast gets your metabolism going, especially after a good nights sleep. Eat a healthy diet, like whole grain cereals, protein based foods that are low in fat, lowfat yogurt, etc.
2. Drink plenty of water, for one drinking a lot of water keeps you feeling full and less hungry, drink less soda and coffee and definitely less alcohol as all of those can add significant calories to your daily intake.

3. Make sure you watch your carbohydrate and calorie intake. Make sure you keep track of your intake. Carbohydrates need to be kept low, as well as eating good carbs such as fruits and vegetables, stay away from your refined sugars, flours and processed foods.
4. Take your time, don’t try to rush losing weight, lose weight healthy means lose weight slow, plus if you do it the right way, you will keep the weight off. Many people who lose weight to rapidly, as soon as they shift their eating habits back they put the weight back on quickly and usually a lot more weight than they originally lost. What happens when you lose weight to rapidly your metabolism will slow down, it slows down the rate we burn energy to survive. A resistance is built up which is called homeostasis, for example when our body heats up, we sweat, which is the response designed to cool down, this is homeostasis. The same principle happens when you lose weight, but when you lose weight to rapidly you will lose body fluid and muscle mass instead of burning the fat.

You should also take a regimin of vitamins and minerals. This will boost your energy and your metabolism.

To lose weight healthy, you must eat good foods, not just basing them on the caloric or carbohydrate content, and you must do some sort of exercise.

Nutrition – What You Should Know

Tera Warner — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:15:18 +0000

Various vegetables should be the prominent food in your diet. Even though they may not taste as good as a slice of cake, vegetables have more nutritional value that is principal for excellent health. Whole grains are another food that are healthy for your body. Notice I said WHOLE grains. Try to stay away from white-processed flour as there is barely any nutritional value in it. During the grain refining process almost all vitamins and minerals are taken out, as well as much of the fiber. Not to mention the fact that they bleach the flour, which puts chemicals in your body that shouldn’t be there! So eat whole wheat bread instead of white bread, and whole rolled oats instead of instant. Whole fresh fruits are another beneficial food group for your overall health and nutrition. They contain vitamins and fiber much like vegetables do, but fruit is much sweeter which makes them great for when your sweet tooth starts acting up. Another necessary factor of nutrition is protein. Protein can be found not only in lean meats and nuts, but also in vegetables. Go for smaller portions of meats if you desperately have to have it however, and choose leaner meats such as chicken or fish over red meats such as beef. Dairy is necessary to keep in your diet as well. It is one of the major sources of calcium which is necessary for keeping your entire body functioning properly. However, you should eat low-fat dairy products to cut down on your fat intake. Lastly, try to cut out fried foods, processed food, and foods high in saturated fats, sugar, and salt.

Body Care Shows That You Care

Ralph Serpe — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:15:12 +0000

Good body care is easy and hard all at the same time. It is easy in that it is really possible to have a longer, healthier life if you have good body care habits now. It is hard, however, because it means breaking old habits and working hard to make new habits. Begin any new body care program first by making goals for yourself. Where do you want to be in a year? What kind of life do you want to be living? What kind of health and fitness do you want to have? Starting your body care with goals and then sharing them with someone is one of the most effective ways to make victory possible. Body care begins with really caring about your body. It sounds simple and redundant even, but it is true. You will never see significant changes in the condition of your body unless you deeply care that your body is healthy and vibrant. I don’t know what it will take for you to be really convinced about the importance of good body care. I can only hope that you have read enough health warnings and perhaps even seen what poor health has done to your family and friends enough to make changes for yourself.

One of the first and easiest ways to improve your body care is to drink water. Replace many of the sugar-filled and caffeine-filled drinks you’re used to with water. You will notice a difference in your energy levels, your skin, and your appetite in a short time. Water is one of the best ways to take good body care. Another obvious and important element to good body care is getting more active. This doesn’t mean you have to sign up to run the next local marathoon, but it does mean that you have to make time for twenty to thirty minutes of cardio exercise at least every other day. Go for a brisk walk or a jog, play a game of tennis. Do things you enjoy. The important thing for good body care is that you are active. Inactivity is one of the most dangerous ways to live. A third and final thing in good body care is your diet. Grab a couple of health books and begin learning about the things you should be eating and the things you must avoid. Educate yourself and then begin to implement changes to fit your lifestyle, budget, and goals.