Health Is Wealth

Herbal Skin Care Tips

2009-09-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here are 22 practical Herbal Tips for Skin Care from the experts! Very easy to use and effective.

1) Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day.
2) Cut some beet root into small pieces and grind them. Squeeze juice from beet root and massage to your face for 5 minutes, Shower after 10 minutes with mild soap or gram flour.
3) Mix sandalwood powder with rose water and add 4 to 5 drops of milk in it and apply on to your face and body.
Shower after 15 minutes with warm water.
4) Mix honey in water and drink daily in the morning to keep your skin shiny and smooth.
5) Warm honey and mix with lemon juice and apply on to face. Wash after it dry.
6) Mix Turmeric, sandal powder and olive oil and apply to body. Shower after 10 minutes.
7) Massage your skin with milk. Milk has moisturizer, it will keep your skin smooth.
Cool Use humidifiers and keep room temperature moderate to keep your skin away from dryness.
9) Hot water blushes your skin and you don't feel fresh unless you have bath with little cold water.
If you have shower for a longtime, dead skin will be automatically be removed. Do not rub with towel,
be gentle on your skin.
10) Take food which contains more A and C vitamin.
11) Grate carrot and boil. Massage that mixture to body to get fair and smooth skin.
12) For natural bleaching: - mix milk and lemon juice. The
milk will break as soon as you mix the lemon juice in it. Use that mixture to massage on your body.
It works as natural bleaching.
13) Mix turmeric and cream on the top of milk, massage that mixture to body.
14) If you go into sun your skin will lost the fair ness.
To get your skin color to normal take equal quantities of cucumber juice and tomato juice and apply on to skin.
Shower after 10 minutes.
15) Massage mustard oil to your skin for 5 minutes and have shower with gram flour or mild soap.
16) Mix cream on the top of milk and all-purpose flour and apply that paste on to your skin avoid eyes,
eyebrows and lips. Shower after 5 minutes. This will make skin smooth.
17) Mix curds (yogurt) with wheat flour and apply to your skin and take shower after 5 minutes.
1Cool Grind rose petals and mix with cream on the top of milk and apply to your body. Shower after 10 minutes.
19) Scaly skin is a result of fluorine deficiency. Fluorine is the anti-resistant element of the human body,
the absence of which creates problems in the blood and spleen. Since cooking and heating foods destroys fluorine,
it is better to eat uncooked raw fruits and vegetables. Other foods rich in fluorine are goat milk and cheese, rye flour,
avocados, sea plants and cabbage, cream whey and cottage cheese.
20) Wrinkle skin is a result of Sodium deficiency and makes skin sticky.
Cucumbers are ideal for combating and preventing sodium deficiency because they are not only high in sodium,
but also help in keeping the body cool, a great summer's treat.
21) Skin rashes are the result of silicon deficiency.
To avoid pus and rashes, eat plenty of sprouts, alfalfa, barley, tomatoes, spinach, strawberries and figs.
22) Skin eruptions are the result of Chlorophyll. And are found in wheat grass and other green leafy vegetables

Benefits of Ginger

2009-09-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

Ginger was used in ancient times as a food preservative and to help treat digestive problems. To treat digestive problems, Greeks would eat ginger wrapped in bread. Eventually ginger was added to the bread dough creating that wonderful treat many around the globe love today:

Ginger has long been renowned for its use in cooking and for its aromatic smell, but did you know that there are also many health benefits of ginger root such as curing nausea and helping with digestion.
The flavor of Ginger is characterized by its unique combination of lemon/citrus, soapy and musty/earthy flavor notes. It is warming to taste.

The powdered, dried form of ginger has a more spicy, intense flavor and is often used in baking (gingerbread, gingersnaps, ginger cookies).
* 1 pound fresh ginger = about 2 2/3 cups chopped
* 1 pound ground ginger = 5 cups
* 1 ounce = 5 Tablespoons

Ginger is supposedly more effective than Dramamine in combating motion sickness.

There is a wide range of benefits of ginger such as nausea, digestive problems, circulation and arthritis. Nausea caused during pregnancy or by travelling is one of the benefits of ginger root. Ginger is also known to have the ability to calm an upset stomach and to promote the flow of bile. Stomach cramps can be eased and circulation can also be improved. Ginger supports a healthy cardiovascular system by making platelets less sticky which in turn reduces circulatory problems.

Ginger oil used for massage can help relieve painful arthritis due to its anti-inflammatory properties. Ginger is often included in many herbal decongestants and can help to minimise the symptoms of respiratory conditions, colds and allergies.

With all the benefits of ginger and continuing research, the ginger root is fast becoming a very popular medicinal herb.

Health Benefits of Ginger Listing:
* Soothes Common Cold Symptoms, Including Respiratory Infections
* Eases Menstrual Cramps
* Relieves Headaces
* Helps Stop Diarrhea
* Believed to Have Anti-Cancer Properties
* Stimulates Digestion
* Naturally Freshens Breath
* Relieves Nausea, Including Dizzyness from Motion Sickness
* Helps Lower Cholesterol
* Relieves Gas and Bloating

Beneficial Use of Meditation

2009-08-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

What is meditation and what is the use of it?

Meditation is a way to release your inner self and let your creative energy to work. We are the part of one big energy. Meditation allows you to feel this common energy and to reach peace in your mind and soul.

It often happens that we are too busy with our daily problems and we forget to look in our hearts and listen to them. This is the common reason of all conflicts and fights. Meditation helps you to hear your heart’s voice. It brings peace and calmness.

The great benefit of meditation is that your mind stays clear. It is the moment of synergy of your mind and soul.

There are many techniques of meditation, and I want to suggest you one of them. I do not claim that it is a professional technique, but I hope my experience can be useful for you.

You can use breath and concentration technique. Concentration on something is important because it helps you to clean your mind and control your thoughts. Breath is the second important thing, it is a connection between your soul and body. With help of breathing you can relax your body and make you mind calm. This helps you to release your soul energy. The best way is to concentrate on your breath. It allows you to combine the beneficial use of both techniques.

Use meditation to solve your problems. If you need to find the answer to the question, meditate on it. At first, you should find a comfortable position, relax, concentrate on your breath, and breathe deep and slowly. Clean your mind, focus your attention on breathing, do not let any thought in your mind. Let your soul and heart to be free. And now ask yourself about the problem you need to solve.

You will be surprised how easy you can find the right answer and how complete you will feel after the meditation.

Yoga - Pranayam

2009-06-16T01:23:00.000-07:00

How to Do Pranayam

Pranayam (also spelled Pranayama) is an ancient part of Perform Yoga Postures practice, the fourth part of the eight-fold Yoga described in the ""Yoga Sutra of Patanjali". Pranayama is concerned with breathing and posture. Research has shown that that practicing Pranayama can relieve symptoms of asthma[1]. It is also beneficial in treating stress related disorders, such as anxiety and depression[2]. Pranayam supplies oxygen to the entire body, and exercises the lungs, the stomach and its surrounding organs.

There are a total of six types of Pranayam practice:

(A) Bhastrika Pranayama
(B) Anulom Vilom Pranayama
(C) Kapalabhati Pranayama
(D) Bahya Pranayam
(E) Bhramari Pranayama
(F) Udgeeth Pranayam

Bhastrika Pranayam:

Sit in comfortable position; you may sit even on a chair.
Breathe in until the lungs are full through your nostrils.
Feel the diaphragm move down to allow the lungs to expand and forcing the abdomen out, followed by the mid section of your chest expanding and finally your collar bone rising.
Breath out forcefully and uniformly, again through your nostrils.
Again feel the collar bone dropping, chest deflating and the diaphragm moving up as the lungs collapse allowing the abdomen to be sucked in. This process of exhaling should be much faster than the process of inhaling.
Repeat the process.
When correctly done, your chest will expand when you breathe in and deflate when you breathe out.
Continue doing this for 5 minutes.

Kapalbhati Pranayam:
Sit upright
Inhale through your nostrils a little and exhale through both nostrils forcefully.
Inhale again a little and follow with another forceful exhalation passively and effortlessly.
Continue these cycles. The frequency should be about 60 strokes/minute.
Continue doing this for 15 minutes. You may take a minutes rest after every five minutes.

Anulom Vilom Pranayam:
Sit comfortably.
Close your eyes.
Close the right nostril with the right thumb.
Inhale slowly through the left nostril and fill your lungs with air.
Close your left nostril with the ring and middle fingers of the right hand and open the right nostril.
Exhale slowly and completely with the right nostril.
Again inhale through the right nostril and fill your lungs.
Close the right nostril by pressing it with the right thumb.
Open the left nostril, breathe out slowly. (This process is one round of Anulom Vilom Pranayam.)
Continue for 15 minutes. You may take a minutes rest after every five minutes of exercise.

4. Bahya Pranayam:
Breathe air out, touch cheek to chest, squeeze stomach completely and hold for a while. then release chin, breathe in slowly. Duration : 3 times to 5 times normally.
5. Bhramari Pranayam: Close ears with thumb, index finger on forehead, and rest three on base of nose touching eyes. Breathe in. And now breathe out through nose while humming like a bee. Do this three times.

6. Udgeeth Pranayam:
Breathe in deeply, and chant 'Om'kar. OOOOOOm ( long O and small m. Do this 3 times.
Understand the Benefits of Pranayama Practice
Depending on the intensity of the ailment a person doing regular Pranayam starts getting good results from day one. However it can take from one week to approximately nine months to get the complete benefits of Pranayam.

Health changes can include:
Respiratory troubles clearing up, in addition to improvements to allergies, migraines, High blood pressure, diseases pertaining to the kidneys, and psychological dysfunction in males and females.
The digestive system improves.
Memory improves.
Pain in the joints vanishes.
The process of aging is retarded. Falling of the hair or premature graying, the appearance of wrinkles on the face or other parts of the body at young age, diminution of eyesight etc. are all minimized.
The face becomes bright, luminous and calm.

Pranayam cures or improves the following chronic diseases:
Diabetes, H.B.P., Angina, Blockages in Arteries, Obesity, Asthma, Bronchitis, Leucoderma, Depression, Parkinson, Insomnia, Thyroid problems, Arthritis, Cervical Spondalities , Hepatitis, Chronic Renal Failure, Cancer, Cirrhosis of the Liver, Gas, Acidity

Tips:
Do Pranayam preferably in the morning with an empty stomach.
If you prefer to do Pranayam in the evening, do it on an empty stomach and keep a gap of at least 5 hours between your meal and Pranayam.
Those who cannot sit in Asanas can sit on the chair and do Pranayam.
Never hold your breath while doing Pranayam.
Do about 1 to 5 minutes of jogging after Pranayam exercises as per your physical ability.

Warnings:
Consult your doctor before doing any exercises.
Pregnant woman and persons having a fever should not do Pranayam.
Children above 5 years should do Bhastrika Pranayam for only 2 minutes, Kapalbhati and Anulom Vilom Pranayam each for 5 minutes
Even after consulting doctors, it is important to remember that Kapalbhati can be risky in those who have abdominal wounds, surgical operations, hernia, peritonitis, appendicitis, prolapse of rectum or uterus, hiatus hernia and recently delivered women.

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10 Best Ways You Can Do for Your Skin

2009-06-16T01:15:00.000-07:00

The secret of healthy skin.

1. If you smoke, try to leave it. If you don’t smoke, give your self a gold star. Studies have shown that people who smoke have deeper and sharper wrinkles at the outer corners of their eyes and that the skin on the backs of their necks takes on a cobblestone appearance. Smokers’ skin also tends to be pale and sallow rather than pink and rosy. And apparently, smoking makes your skin more vulnerable to sun-induced damage. So, if you quit smoking today, you can stop wrinkles in their tracks.

2. Pick a weight that suits you best and stick to it. Crash dieting or yo-yo fluctuations in weight—losing and gaining 20 0r 30 pounds again and again—stretch your tissues, leaving your skin saggy and wrinkled.

3. Use moisturizers and foundation make-ups that contain sunscreen. Unquestionably, women in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s who’ve use sunscreens look years younger than those who don’t.

4. Use cotton swabs and cleanser to wipe away smudges around your eyes. Tissues and paper towels are too coarse and will stretch fragile skin, exaggerating lines or crepeyness.

5. Turn down the heat and turn down the humidifier. A cool moist environment –50 to 60 percent humidity—is most comfortable for your skin.In winter, skin exposed to superheated indoor air and chilling winds can lose water up to 140 times as fast as it does in humid weather, leaving it dry and parched.

6. Keep a comfortable distance from heat sources like open fireplaces and wood stoves, and never use sun reflector to spend up your tan. heat amplifies damage from the environment.

7. Choose skin care products according to your skin type. For example, using an oil-based make-up instead of a water-based product on oily skin can promote blackheads. using an alcohol-based astringent on dry skin can dry your face even more.

8. Change your moisturizer with the seasons. In winter, when your skin is apt to be exposed to dry air, you need a creamier moisturizer. In warm weather, used a lighter-textured lotion that vanishes into the skin and allows it to breath.

9. If you exercise hard enough to work up a sweat, remove your foundation or make-up so perspiration doesn't have to fight its way out of your pores.

10. Never go to sleep at night without removing every trace of make-up--except maybe on New Year's Eve. Habitually sleeping with a layer of dirt, debris and dead skin cells stuck to your face will leave your complexion looking muddy and dull.

Ways to Improve Your Skin

2009-06-05T01:28:00.001-07:00

Any one can improve skin if put the time in to care for it. Any skin can get better if you

1. Avoid too much sun exposure and heavy makeup.
2. Avoid smoking because it can give you skin problems too.
3. Do exercising and eating right this will also help to improve your skin condition.

Anyway Good skin starts from inside your body.

A. Wear Sunscreens And A Hat:

The sun is responsible for skin problems. You can get brown spot, wrinkles, redness, burn, cancer from the sun. You should wear sunscreens daily and a hat. There're moisturizer and makeup that also have sunscreen in it. You should put on sunscreens whenever you go out. You should not lay out in the sun for a tan either. It could ruin your skin and you can get skin cancer later on.

B. Avoid Foundation:

Foundation can clog your pores and harden your skin. You can have that pale, orange look if you don't have foundation on. You should avoid it at all cost unless you need to cover up some problems.

C. Avoid Too Much Makeup:

Too much makeup can damage your skin over time. You should stick with organic powder.

D. Wash Your Face At The End Of The Night:

You can wash your face each night to prevent from clogging pores. You can get oil and dirt accumulated if you don't wash your skin.

E. Do Exercise:

Excercise will improve your skin condition.
It will improve skin circulation and give you a fresher face. It can reduce toxins in your body.

F. Take Vitamins:

Vitamins can replace all the nutrients that you're not getting from food. It can change your skin condition. You should take it daily.

G. Use Aloe Vera:

Aloe Vera can close up skin problems. It's very effective. You can use Aloe cream or fresh Aloe.

H. Vitamin K:

Vitamin K is good for skin corrections. It works very well. You can use it to correct spots and blotches.

Six Steps To Meditation

2009-04-30T23:51:00.000-07:00

This meditation lasts 15 to 20 minutes.

It is a meditation of SIX steps. Each step will take roughly two and half to about three minutes.

Following is explain to you all the steps and then you can start.

1) The Step Of Rhythmic Breathing:
Breathe in slowly, easily, evenly, and deeply and then breathe out slowly, easily, evenly, and deeply. Within three minutes you should be able to breathe in and out about ten times. But you need not count. I will do the counting for you. And when the three minutes are over, shall ask you to move on to the second step. As your breathing becomes rhythmic, your tensions will relax. It may be better if you blend the repetition of ?OM? with your breathing. As you inhale, take in the breath, utter the sacred syllable ?OM? silently. Then exhale, take out the breath and as you do so, utter the sacred syllable ?OM? orally i.e. with sound.

2) Detached Observation:
In this step, as an observer you have to watch the movements of the mind. Detach yourself from the mind. This is very, very important. You are not the mind. You are only watching the mind. What is the mind doing? What thoughts is it entertaining? You are not the mind. You are not thinking those thoughts. Just watch the mind. Observe the mind without any judgment, without any criticism. You are but a silent observer; observe without judgment, without criticism. You will find that as you detach yourself from the mind and just keep on watching it, its movements, gradually the mind will cease its activities.

3) The third step is the step of serenity, the step of peace. In this third step, you may imagine yourself as a rock in the midst of an ocean. Waves arise. They dash against the rock. The rock is unaffected, is calm, tranquil, peaceful, serene. Waves arise. Waves are the distracting thoughts. They dash against the rock. The rock is unaffected, calm, tranquil, peaceful, serene.

4) It is the step where you realize your oneness with all that is, all men, all creatures, all things, all conditions. You are not apart from others. The others & you are parts of the one great whole. You are in every man, in every woman, in every child. You are in every unit of life, in every bird and animal, in every foul & fish, in every insect, in every shrub, in every plant. You belong to all countries and communities, all races and religions. You are at one with the universe. This type of meditation will fill your heart with loving kindness & a spirit of compassion so that a stage may come when you will not wish to snuff out the life even of the smallest insect.

5) The Meditation On Your Immortality:
In the fourth step you have realized that you are not merely in your physical body. You are in all that is, in the experience that we call death. It is the body that drops down, the physical body. But you will continue to be, even when the body has dropped down, you will continue to be in every grain of sand, in every drop of water, in every ray of sunshine. Death cannot touch you. You are immortal. If you are at one with all humanity, then even if there is one human being alive, you are alive. If you are at one with all living creatures, then even if there is but one creature breathing the breath of life, you are alive. Yes, you are immortal, immutable, eternal, deathless!

6) In this step you breathe out peace and happiness, goodwill and bliss to all. May all be happy and full of peace and bliss. Think of all who dwell in the Northern lands and pray in the heart within: ?may all who dwell in the Northern lands be happy and full of peace and bliss.? Then think of all who dwell in the Southern lands and offer the prayer ?may all who dwell in the Southern lands be happy and full of peace and bliss.? Likewise, ?may all who dwell in Eastern lands and all who dwell in Western lands, may they all be happy and full of peace and bliss.? Breathe out peace and goodwill to all. May all be happy and full of peace and bliss. All living things whether they be near or far, tall or tiny, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, whether they be born or are still in the womb unborn, may all, all, all be happy and full of peace and bliss. May those that love and those that for some reason or the other are unable to love you, may those that speak well of you, and those that for some reason or the other are unable to speak well of you, may all, all, all, without exception, be happy and full of peace and bliss. You are in them all. It is only when they become happy that you are happy. May all be free from disease, ignorance, sorrow. As you get up from this meditation, you will find that you yourself are happy and full of peace and bliss.

And now if you are ready, we shall begin with the meditation. Sit in a relaxed posture; as far as possible, the back, the neck and the head should be in a straight line. In the beginning you may find it difficult to bring them all in a straight line but do it as far as possible. Above all, be relaxed. Relax your body. Relax your muscles. Relax your limbs and now let us embark on this interior journey, a journey that takes us within, a journey that in due course may change our lives and fill us with tranquillity, with peace and bliss and make us instruments of GODS help and healing in this world of suffering and pain.

How to Improve Your Mental Fitness

2009-04-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

There are two basic principles to keep your brain healthy and sharp as you age:
Selection & Interest.

When anything you do becomes second nature, you need to make a change. If you can do the crossword puzzle in your sleep, it's time for you to move on to a new challenge in order to get the best workout for your brain. Interest about the world around you, how it works and how you can understand it will keep your brain working fast and efficiently.

Use the ideas below to help reach your quest for Mental Fitness.

1. Play Games: Games are a wonderful way to make fun of and challenge your brain. suduko, crosswords and electronic games can all improve your brain's speed and memory. These games really on logic, word skills, math and more. These games are also fun. You'll get benefit more by doing these games a little bit every day. Spend few minutes or so, not hours.

2. Meditation: Daily meditation is perhaps the single greatest thing you can do for your mind/body health. Meditation not only relaxes you, it gives rest to your brain a workout. By creating a different mental state, you engage your brain in new and interesting ways.

3. Eat for Your Brain: Your brain needs you to eat healthy fats. Focus on fish oils from wild salmon, nuts such as walnuts, seeds such as flax seed and olive oil. Eat more of these foods and less saturated fats. Eliminate transfers completely from your diet.

4. Tell Good Stories: Stories are a way that we solidify memories, interpret events and share moments. Practice telling your stories, both new and old, so that they are interesting, compelling and fun. Some basic storytelling techniques will go a long way in keeping people's interest both in you and in what you have to say.

5. Turn Off Your Television: The average person watches more than 4 hours of television everyday. Television can stand in the way of relationships, life and more. Turn off your TV and spend more time living and exercising your mind and body.

6. Exercise Your Body To Exercise Your Brain: Physical exercise is great brain xercise too. By moving your body, your brain has to learn new muscle skills, estimate distance and practice balance. Choose a variety of exercises to challenge your brain.

7. Read Something Different: Books are portable, free from libraries and filled with infinite interesting characters, information and facts. Branch out from familiar reading topics. If you usually read history books, try a contemporary novel. Read foreign authors, the classics and random books. Not only will your brain get a workout by imagining different time periods, cultures and peoples, you will also have interesting stories to tell about your reading, what it makes you think of and the connections you draw between modern life and the words.

8. Learn a New Skill: Learning a new skill works multiple areas of the brain. Your memory comes into play, you learn new movements and you associate things differently. Reading Shakespeare, learning to cook and building an airplane out of toothpicks all will challenge your brain and give you something to think about.

9. Make Simple Changes: We love our routines. We have hobbies and pastimes that we could do for hours on end. But the more something is 'second nature,' the less our brains have to work to do it. To really help your brain stay young, challenge it. Change routes to the grocery store, use your opposite hand to open doors and eat dessert first. All this will force your brain to wake up from habits and pay attention again.

10. Train Your Brain: Brain training is becoming a trend. There are formal courses, websites and books with programs on how to train your brain to work better and faster. There is some research behind these programs, but the basic principles are memory, visualization and reasoning. Work on these three concepts everyday and your brain will be ready for anything.

Top 10 Diet And Weight-Loss

2008-12-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

1. Low-carb vs. low-fat: They both work
This year the battle of the diet plans ended in a truce: All diet plans are created (relatively) equal, according to a study comparing Mediterranean, low-carb, and low-fat diets. The July study showed that people who stuck to all three diets lost weight, though some plans were better than others for specific health concerns: Low-carb diets often get a bad rap for being unhealthy, but they actually increased good cholesterol by 20%, more than both other diets. Later in the year, another study showed that Mediterranean-diet adherents had a lowered risk of developing heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's.

2. Being fat may start in your brain
Daily visits to the drive-through may not be entirely to blame for America’s obesity epidemic. Parts of the brain that control appetite might predispose people to plumpness, according to a groundbreaking study that looked at rats bred to be either prone to or resistant to obesity. Neurons in obesity-prone rats appeared to be resistant to leptin, a hormone that develops neural connections and controls metabolic rate. So what does this mean for people? Even though your brain may be different than your svelte counterparts, you’re not doomed to a life of obesity. Lifestyle still plays a big part, and rats that were obesity-prone and placed on a normal diet were heavier than their counterparts, but not obese.

3. Dear diary, I found the easiest way to double my weight loss
A food diary is a staple in many diet programs, but now research shows it can double your weight loss. Study participants who kept no record of food intake lost approximately 9 pounds, while those who kept six or more records per week lost 18 pounds. Talk about accountability. Read one dietitian’s take on the study or use this form to help count servings of food groups.

4. Why weekends wreak havoc on diets
Are you a diligent dieter during the week but spend Saturdays indulging in desserts? You’re not alone. In one study, people ate more—an average of 200 additional calories—on the weekends, even if they weren't on a diet. The increased calorie intake, with no change in physical activity, slowed weight loss. Read dietitian-approved tips for battling the bulge on the weekends.

5. Buddy up to keep weight off
Turns out the buddy system applies to more than just safety. Dieters cringed in 2007 when a study found that a person's chances of becoming obese increased by 57% if he or she had a friend who became obese. But in 2008, dieters got a reason to buddy up: Having someone take an interest in your diet may help with your weight-loss success. Dieters who made contact with a weight-loss professional each month regained 8.8 pounds less than dieters who went it alone. In this Web-savvy age, even virtual friends helped. Dieters who visited a weight-loss website gained an average of 3.3 more pounds than dieters who had human contact, but less weight than those who had no contact. Read how one woman lost 45 pounds by walking with her friends.

6. Pump up the flavor to shed pounds
Diet food isn’t notorious for being epicurean, so weight-loss fanatics rejoiced in June when it appeared that adding a sprinkling of spice to your dishes could possibly aid weight loss. Sugar-free and salt-free "tastants," substances that can stimulate flavor, helped participants in a study lose an average of 30.5 pounds and decrease their BMI by an average of 5 points. "Tastants" aren't presently commercially available, but people inspired by the findings can enhance their sense of smell and taste with seasonings to help them lose weight. Spices and herbs may also boost the health of diabetics. Get delicious ideas for using Indian spices in your recipes.

7. When diets fail, try dieting again
Looking at a fluctuating scale is anything but encouraging, and weight cycling has been the bad guy of dieting for years. While the jury is still out on the health effects of yo-yo dieting, the benefits of weight loss in obese people (even if it takes a few tries) trump potential risks. Weight-loss experts agree the goal is gradual, long-term weight loss, but it may take obese individuals several tries to reach a feel-great weight.

8. Lose the post-workout snack
Michael Phelps may need to consume three post-workout pizzas, but you don't. For most people, heavy snacking after exercise can derail diets. Exercise increases insulin efficiency, but this benefit can be wiped out by a high-carbohydrate snack, according to a November study. So what’s a non-gold medalist to do? Eat these satisfying midafternoon treats pre-workout and leave the carbo-loading to marathon runners.

9. An egg-cellent diet food
Who doesn’t love a sizzling-hot omelet on Sunday morning? Eating eggs may help increase energy and aid weight loss, according to an August study (funded by the industry-affiliated Egg Nutrition Center) in the International Journal of Obesity. People who ate two eggs for breakfast as part of a calorie-reduced diet lost 65% more weight than those eating bagels—and they kept their cholesterol levels the same. The incredible, edible egg is back on the menu, so be sure to try this inventive way to get your daily dose.

10. Weight-loss drugs purchased online could hurt your heart
With long lines at pharmacies, buying medicine online seems like a convenient—and inexpensive—way to stock up on medications. However, online drug labels don’t always include warnings of potentially harmful ingredients, according to research published in May. One brand in the study contained ma huang (Chinese ephedra), which the U.S Food and Drug Administration banned in 2004. (The ingredient was linked to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.) Before you buy drugs online, read these tips about purchasing prescription and nonprescription medications.