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Eczema

The link with allergy is apparently fiercely debated, but my personal experience of asthma and the medical establishment leads me to believe individuals should explore all possible avenues.

One of the ways to test for allergy is an exclusion diet.  The following foods have been associated with the condition: -
  • Eggs
  • Wheat
  • Milk products
  • Fish
  • Shellfish
  • Tomatoes
  • Nuts
  • Soya products
  • Yeast
  • Some additives
Some of the usual suspects in other words.  Try eliminating these foods from your diet for 2 weeks.  If you notice an improvement then it is possible you have discovered the cause.  Re-introduce the foods slowly one by one.  If the eczema returns you should have pin-pointed the culprit.  Of course the allergen in your case maybe something outside the list, in which case making a mental note of when the condition worsens may help you link with the cause.  It is known that people react to contact with certain materials such as nylon or wool.  Also detergents, such as washing-up liquid; and make-up can trigger a reaction.

Fish-oil supplements and Evening Primrose oil have been shown to offer relief to sufferers, as have cream preparations containing chamomile, liquorice and witch hazel.  There are also homeopathic medicines that can help, but you need to decide on which one seems the most appropriate, from the description of the medicine.

Butterbur has been shown to be useful in asthma and migraine conditions, so maybe it is worth exploring whether it would help here? Let me know what you discover.

Exercise and Keeping Fit    

I often wondered why the over weight guys and gals at my gym never seemed to be winning their battle of the bulge contest, despite their regular aerobic exercise classes.

It is now scientifically known that the body, after an aerobic work out returns to its metabolic resting state an hour after the activity.  In other words the body ceases to burn those calories off at the rate you would like.  I can't remember the exact statistic, but to burn off a pound of fat takes something like a 4 hour run.  

But before you rush off to burn your gym kit, there is some good news.  Aerobic exercise is good for your heart, lungs and circulation (cardio-vascular), and is also a mood lifter.  In fact some people reckon they get an adrenaline rush (lucky so and so's).

And there is even better news...weight training burns calories far more effectively than aerobic exercise.  Now before all you women think oh no, I don't want to look like Arnie, this isn't for me, you are wrong.  To get a body like Arnie you have to shift big weights, train intensively and eat like a monster.  You probably have to do other things as well ^^ (raised eybrows!).

After using weights your muscles continue to burn calories for several hours afterwards.  Weights are great for toning, especially if you want to concentrate on specific areas, and for body posture.  It will also give a sense of well-being.  Just doing something like bi-cep curls early morning will give your system a metabolic kick-start and that is what exercise is all about, getting the body's systems out of a resting state.

So, next time you go to the gym combine your aerobic work-out (20 mins) with a weight-training program (40 mins) and after a while you should start to notice some results.  But do remember diets play a significant role.  Even with workouts you can still consume more calories than your body requires, and yes, it will be stored as fat :-(

I know some people recommend exercising every day and while I go along with this to some extent, it is also very important to give the body time to recuperate.  When you weight train you actually tear muscle tissue, it therefore follows that time is required for the tissue to rebuild (get bigger).  This is why muscle builders exercise muscle groups on alternate days.  They also have at least one day off a week from any muscle building activity.  The aim is to develop lean muscle tissue, because it is this tissue that burns the calories.  Daily aerobic activity is very beneficial, but again it makes sense to have a couple of days of less strenuous exercise and one day a week where you do nothing more than have a gentle stroll or a brisk 15 minute walk.    

If you would like some specific advice on what exercises you should use then please use the forum.




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This article is copyrighted. Please do not reproduce this article in whole or part, in any form, without obtaining my written permission.Copyright © 2009 by Philip Bailey.  All rights reserved.  theapothecary.890m™ is a trademark of Philip Bailey.

Last updated: 16 April 2009.

Anyone suffering from a serious, or what they suspect to be a serious, health problem, should consult a qualified medical practitioner immediately.  Any "recommendations" made on this site are made purely as helpful suggestions and you accept that they may not work for you.  We all know from experience that what might work for one person may not necessarily work for someone else, but hopefully this site will be used by all in the spirit it is meant to convey.