Value Of Friendship To A Woman's Health And Well-Being

It seems that a UCLA study shows that friendships between women are special. Our chaotic inner world can be soothed, emotional needs lacking in our marriage can be filled and friendships between other women can help us in many other ways.

It seems that when women hang out with each other, this can counteract the daily stress that we feel in everyday life. The UCLA study proposes that women react to stress with a variety of brain chemicals that actually causes women not only to make friendships with other women but to maintain them as well.

Until this study came to light, the belief was that when people experienced stress, a cascade of hormone was triggered in the body that made the body either stand up and fight or run. Now it seems that women possess a much bigger behavioral repertoire than just the fight or flight mechanism. It now seems that when the hormone oxytocin is released in a woman due to the stress response, it softens the response to fight or flee and encourages her to take care of her children and bond with other women instead.

Having friendships with other women could explain the reason women live longer than men. Studies have also found that social bonds reduce the risk of disease by decreasing the heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol. There is no doubt that having and maintaining friendships help women to live longer. Studies have found that people without friends increased their chance of dying early over a 6-month period.

Women who interact with other women also improve their quality of life. In one study, it was found that women who had more friends were less likely to develop physical disabilities during the aging process. Women who had good friendships were also found to lead more joyful lives. These results were quite significant so researchers surmised that if women did not have close friends or confidants then it was as harmful to their health as smoking or being overweight.

It was also found that women who had close friendships could deal with a spouse dying much more effectively than women who had no friends.

If having friends with other women counters the stress in our lives, keeps us healthy and adds years to our lives, why is it so difficult to find the time to spend with them? This is a question that puzzles researchers. It seems that each time women get too busy with family and work, the first thing they do is set aside their friendships. They are pushed to the back burner. That is a big mistake because women are a source of strength for each other. They nurture one another. Women need to have space without pressure where they can speak candidly to other women. It is quite a healing experience.

About the Author:

Linda J. Allen is the co-founder of GirlfriendsCafe.com, an online social networking site for women throughout the United States and Canada.

For further information on GirlfriendsCafe, visit http://www.girlfriendscafe.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_J._Allen

By Linda J. Allen

Woman's Health and Workout Ideas

By Jen Felker

Fitness, muscle-building and gym work-outs have gone beyond the traditional all-male club. With the hype over fitness and health and a healthy lifestyle, women have joined the club as well. However, men and women have different fitness needs.

Women’s fitness and exercise needs are focused on the muscles of the upper back. Most of their exercise work-outs are also designed for the stomach muscles, especially those who have just given birth. At the same time, exercises for women are usually designed for weight loss. And while men tend to focus on muscle building whereas women work on toning their muscles, strength training is important for both.

Here are a few things to make you women out there go out and start building up your muscle strength.

Make the performance of your usual tasks easier with a physically strong body. Chores will be easier, lifting your kids, the grocery or the laundry will be a piece of cake. Consequently, it will reduce possible strain on the muscles and injury. Training can increase a woman’s strength by 30 to 50 percent.

Lose fat at the same time. A strength training done 2 to 3 times a week for a span of two months can result to two pounds of muscles and would mean a reduction of 3.5 pounds of fat. The more muscles and less fat, the faster is the metabolism, which ultimately means your body burns calories faster than normal.

Fight osteoporosis. Weight training increases spinal bone mineral density which means lesser chances of the risk of osteoporosis.

Fight heart disease and diabetes. Weight improvement improves cardiovascular health by lowering the bad cholesterol and blood pressure. It also improves glucose use in the body by 23 percent which reduces the risk of diabetes.

The road to a healthier you. Not only does it promote a healthier body, but it also develops a healthier attitude and a healthier heart. Women who engage in regular strength training are more confident, with a more positive outlook in life.

So how do you get started?

For those who lead very busy lifestyles, hitting the gym and starting on a regular fitness plan may seem the perfect way to keep fit. But for most, starting out on a regular walking exercise is the way to go. Start at a manageable rate. A 10 to 15 minute walk is a good way to start. Prior to a workout, make sure to stretch your major muscles.

Work your muscles on the front of your thighs. Stretch your shoulder muscles by standing straight and rolling the shoulders backward in a circular motion. And of course, don’t forget to observe proper nutrition. Load up on water to prevent dehydration. Consume carbohydrates before starting on your work-out.

For those with joint and bone diseases, swimming may prove to be a less stressful activity for your muscles.

But the most important is, make time for your exercise. If you can’t hit the gym or start on a regular work-out plan, make sure that your day is filled with enough physical activity that keeps you going and always on the go. Women’s fitness is the key to your beauty!

When you ask someone to workout with you, you will usually hear the word "no". Besides, working out is boring. Maybe even you will consider that working out is boring and rather do fun things than spending time at the gym doing some boring workout routines.

However, you have to consider that more and more people are putting up with the boring workout routines because of the alarming increase of heart related diseases and obesity. You have to consider that you have to take care of your body in order to live a happier and more satisfying life.

You and only you are responsible for maintaining your body's health. This is why you have to do fitness workouts in order to keep your body in top working condition. Failing to do so will result in a disease-ridden life where you and your family will suffer.

So, while you are still not experiencing diseases because of being overweight, such as diabetes and heart diseases, you have to start doing fitness workout in order to keep your body healthy plus give you the benefit of having a great looking body that you can show off during summers at the beach.

However, if you find regular fitness workout routines very boring, there are quite a lot of fitness workouts that you can do to make workout more fun. There are fun activities that you can do where you can definitely enjoy and at the same time, give you a great quality fitness workout experience.

First of all, most people consider that fitness workouts are only limited at the gym. However, you have to consider thinking out of the box and start being creative. Active sports such as swimming, golf, tennis, football, and basketball are a fun sport that can give you great quality fitness workout experience.

For example, if you like to play tennis, there are quite a lot of tennis schools available that can teach you how to play. You can even include your family in this fun activity and all of you can have fun while at the same time, promote fitness.

If you are not sports minded or you can't think of any sport that can be fun for you, you can also consider dancing as a great fitness workout experience. You can try and enroll in dance classes. Although some people think that dancing is easy, you have to consider that it's not.

Dancing is quite difficult and can be very stressful for your body as it will require you to run, walk, and jump around in the dance floor to do those dance moves. Dancing can definitely be a great fitness workout alternative if you find regular gym workouts boring. Plus, dancing is also fun especially if both you and your significant other enroll in the same classes.

These are just some of the examples that can make fitness workouts more fun and more enjoyable. There are still quite a lot of activities out there that you can do for fun and at the same time, give yourself a great quality workout. There are belly dancing activities, there are hiking and camping activities, there are rock climbing activities and a lot more. All you need to do is find one that interests you and be creative.

Jennifer Felker CSCS. is the author of many fitness articles and research papers. Jen is the publisher of the very popular exercise and fitness blog and can be found at: http://exercise-fitness-advisory.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jen_Felker

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By Jen Felker

Fitness, muscle-building and gym work-outs have gone beyond the traditional all-male club. With the hype over fitness and health and a healthy lifestyle, women have joined the club as well. However, men and women have different fitness needs.

Women’s fitness and exercise needs are focused on the muscles of the upper back. Most of their exercise work-outs are also designed for the stomach muscles, especially those who have just given birth. At the same time, exercises for women are usually designed for weight loss. And while men tend to focus on muscle building whereas women work on toning their muscles, strength training is important for both.

Here are a few things to make you women out there go out and start building up your muscle strength.

Make the performance of your usual tasks easier with a physically strong body. Chores will be easier, lifting your kids, the grocery or the laundry will be a piece of cake. Consequently, it will reduce possible strain on the muscles and injury. Training can increase a woman’s strength by 30 to 50 percent.

Lose fat at the same time. A strength training done 2 to 3 times a week for a span of two months can result to two pounds of muscles and would mean a reduction of 3.5 pounds of fat. The more muscles and less fat, the faster is the metabolism, which ultimately means your body burns calories faster than normal.

Fight osteoporosis. Weight training increases spinal bone mineral density which means lesser chances of the risk of osteoporosis.

Fight heart disease and diabetes. Weight improvement improves cardiovascular health by lowering the bad cholesterol and blood pressure. It also improves glucose use in the body by 23 percent which reduces the risk of diabetes.

The road to a healthier you. Not only does it promote a healthier body, but it also develops a healthier attitude and a healthier heart. Women who engage in regular strength training are more confident, with a more positive outlook in life.

So how do you get started?

For those who lead very busy lifestyles, hitting the gym and starting on a regular fitness plan may seem the perfect way to keep fit. But for most, starting out on a regular walking exercise is the way to go. Start at a manageable rate. A 10 to 15 minute walk is a good way to start. Prior to a workout, make sure to stretch your major muscles.

Work your muscles on the front of your thighs. Stretch your shoulder muscles by standing straight and rolling the shoulders backward in a circular motion. And of course, don’t forget to observe proper nutrition. Load up on water to prevent dehydration. Consume carbohydrates before starting on your work-out.

For those with joint and bone diseases, swimming may prove to be a less stressful activity for your muscles.

But the most important is, make time for your exercise. If you can’t hit the gym or start on a regular work-out plan, make sure that your day is filled with enough physical activity that keeps you going and always on the go. Women’s fitness is the key to your beauty!

When you ask someone to workout with you, you will usually hear the word "no". Besides, working out is boring. Maybe even you will consider that working out is boring and rather do fun things than spending time at the gym doing some boring workout routines.

However, you have to consider that more and more people are putting up with the boring workout routines because of the alarming increase of heart related diseases and obesity. You have to consider that you have to take care of your body in order to live a happier and more satisfying life.

You and only you are responsible for maintaining your body's health. This is why you have to do fitness workouts in order to keep your body in top working condition. Failing to do so will result in a disease-ridden life where you and your family will suffer.

So, while you are still not experiencing diseases because of being overweight, such as diabetes and heart diseases, you have to start doing fitness workout in order to keep your body healthy plus give you the benefit of having a great looking body that you can show off during summers at the beach.

However, if you find regular fitness workout routines very boring, there are quite a lot of fitness workouts that you can do to make workout more fun. There are fun activities that you can do where you can definitely enjoy and at the same time, give you a great quality fitness workout experience.

First of all, most people consider that fitness workouts are only limited at the gym. However, you have to consider thinking out of the box and start being creative. Active sports such as swimming, golf, tennis, football, and basketball are a fun sport that can give you great quality fitness workout experience.

For example, if you like to play tennis, there are quite a lot of tennis schools available that can teach you how to play. You can even include your family in this fun activity and all of you can have fun while at the same time, promote fitness.

If you are not sports minded or you can't think of any sport that can be fun for you, you can also consider dancing as a great fitness workout experience. You can try and enroll in dance classes. Although some people think that dancing is easy, you have to consider that it's not.

Dancing is quite difficult and can be very stressful for your body as it will require you to run, walk, and jump around in the dance floor to do those dance moves. Dancing can definitely be a great fitness workout alternative if you find regular gym workouts boring. Plus, dancing is also fun especially if both you and your significant other enroll in the same classes.

These are just some of the examples that can make fitness workouts more fun and more enjoyable. There are still quite a lot of activities out there that you can do for fun and at the same time, give yourself a great quality workout. There are belly dancing activities, there are hiking and camping activities, there are rock climbing activities and a lot more. All you need to do is find one that interests you and be creative.

Jennifer Felker CSCS. is the author of many fitness articles and research papers. Jen is the publisher of the very popular exercise and fitness blog and can be found at: http://exercise-fitness-advisory.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jen_Felker

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The Fit Way to a Woman's Health

By Anna Dewsberry

Fitness, muscle-building and gym work-outs have gone beyond the traditional all-male club. With the publicity of fitness and health and a healthy lifestyle, women have joined the club as well. However, men and women have quite different fitness needs.

Women's fitness and exercise needs are focused on the muscles of the upper back. Most of their exercise work-outs are also designed for the stomach muscles, especially those who have just given birth. At the same time, exercises for women are usually designed for weight loss. And while men tend to focus on muscle building whereas women work on toning their muscles, strength training is important for both.

So here are a few things to make you women out there go out and start building up your muscle strength.

Make the performance of your usual tasks easier with a physically strong body. Chores will be easier, lifting your kids, the grocery or the laundry will be a piece of cake. Consequently, it will reduce possible strain on the muscles and injury. Training can increase a woman's strength by 30 to 50 percent.

Lose fat at the same time. A strength training done 2 to 3 times a week for a span of two months can result to two pounds of muscles and would mean a reduction of 3.5 pounds of fat. The more muscles and less fat, the faster is the metabolism, which ultimately means your body burns calories faster than normal.

Fight osteoporosis. Weight training increases spinal bone mineral density which means lesser chances of the risk of osteoporosis. Fight heart disease and diabetes. Weight improvement improves cardiovascular health by lowering the bad cholesterol and blood pressure. It also improves glucose use in the body by 23 percent which reduces the risk of diabetes.

The road to a healthier you. Not only does it promote a healthier body, but it also develops a healthier attitude and a healthier heart. Women who engage in regular strength training are more confident, with a more positive outlook in life.

How do you get started?

I understand that there are those who do lead a busy life style but there are ways to keep fit, hitting the gym and starting on a regular fitness plan may seem the perfect way to keep fit. But for most, starting out on a regular walking exercise is the way to go. Start at a manageable rate. A 10 to 15 minute walk is a good way to start. Prior to a workout, make sure to stretch your major muscles. Work your muscles on the front of your thighs. Stretch your shoulder muscles by standing straight and rolling the shoulders backward in a circular motion. And of course, don't forget to observe proper nutrition. Load up on water to prevent dehydration. Consume carbohydrates before starting on your work-out.

If you have joint and bone diseases, swimming may prove to be a less stressful activity for your muscles.

But the most important is, make time for your exercise. If you can't hit the gym or start on a regular work-out plan, make sure that your day is filled with enough physical activity that keeps you going and always on the go. Women's fitness is the key to your beauty!

I have been interested in keeping fit all my life and want to pass on to other the joys of working out.

NEW: Fitness for Women key to your beauty - Faster result generation

For 24 hour fitness visit HERE

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Dewsberry

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The Role Progesterone Plays in a Woman's Health

By Rita Lambros-Segur

Progesterone is a naturally occurring steroid hormone manufactured by the body and is considered a sex hormone. Steroid hormones are built from cholesterol and f there is not enough cholesterol in the body, it won't produce sufficient amounts of progesterone and other steroid hormones. This results in a badly skewed hormonal balance. The use of this natural hormone, usually in a cream or oral oils, can help get the endocrine system back in balance.

WHAT DOES PROGESTERONE DO?

Basically, it's needed by the body for a variety of jobs. It is a precursor to other hormones, like corticosterone, cortisol, estradiol, estrone, estriol and testosterone and is necessary to maintain a pregnancy. When an egg is released, the resulting follicle in the ovary, called the corpus luteum, produces progesterone. This prevents the lining of the uterus from shedding so the developing embryo can implant and grow. The corpus luteum produces during the first trimester of pregnancy. Later, the placenta takes over production. Without sufficient progesterone, the pregnancy will end. The adrenal glands also produce a small amount in both men and women.

These natural levels drop right before a woman's period starts, and low levels are implicated in PMS, repeated miscarriage, and insomnia. The body's levels also drop at menopause, causing a woman's cycles to cease which is why using a natural form in cream or oral oil is imperative.

HORMONE BALANCING

Balancing progesterone and estrogen is important in maintaining health as adequate production helps maintain the endometrium in the uterus, normalizes blood clotting, blood sugar levels, zinc and copper levels, promotes sleep and a normal sex drive, helps prevent breast cancer, uterine cancer and fibrocystic breasts, stimulates bone building, reduces estrogen dominance symptoms, and is necessary to maintain a pregnancy.

Men need this hormone for the production of testosterone and other steroid hormones, as well as maintaining the prostate gland.

Estrogen dominance triggers cell growth. Without progesterone to trigger maturation, uncontrolled cell growth can result in some kinds of cancer. Too much estrogen coupled with too little of other hormones can promote osteoporosis. An excess of estrogen can also be a catalyst for hypothyroidism. A simple saliva test can check the hormone ratio so a dosage of hormonal cream or oil can be given, if necessary.

HOW CAN NATURAL PROGESTERONE HELP?

Natural progesterone can stimulate the osteoblast cells and encourage bone cell growth to fight osteoporosis. PMS symptoms will subside, and pre-menopausal symptoms can be controlled. Most women using natural forms will report feeling better almost immediately. Natural forms have also been shown to help with migraines and other ailments that can be affected by hormonal imbalance. Supplementation can help clarify thinking, make your allergies less severe, reduce muscle and joint pain, and help you sleep better.

If any of these symptoms sound like something you're more familiar with than you'd like to be, speak to your health care provider. Natural supplementation may be what you need to balance your system.

For more tips on progesterone nutrition, see: http://www.electricalbody.com/product/natural-progesterone-oil.htm - Natural Progesterone Oil.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rita_Lambros-Segur

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A Woman's Health Checklist

By Kadence Buchanan

Regular exercise and a balanced, healthy diet are the hallmarks of good health. However, although you may be doing your best to fulfill the requirements of these two essentials, there is still a lot to be concerned about. That is why it is advisable to have regular visits to the doctor to undergo tests to monitor your health and check for possible diseases.

During your visits, the doctor will usually ask about your personal medical history and that of your family to determine past incidence of heart disease, breast cancer or thyroid disease.

The following is a simple health checklist that every woman must be aware of.

1. Teeth

Upon turning 18, women are encouraged to visit their dentists at least once a year for a dental exam and cleaning.

2. Eyes

It is recommended that women undergo an eye exam every other year. Upon turning 40, women should have eye examinations at least once every year even though they may have no problems with their sight. And after age 45, women are encouraged to undertake regular testing for glaucoma.

3. Hearing

Doctors recommend that women past the age of 65 should have their hearing checked annually.

4. Blood Pressure

Most doctors advise their women patients to have their blood pressure checked at least every two years.

5. Physical Exams

When a woman is in her twenties, she should have at least two physicals during a 10-year span. Each physical should check her height and weight as well as her cholesterol levels. If the cholesterol level is normal, succeeding check-ups can be undertaken every five years until the woman reaches the age of 65 and then every three to five years afterwards.

From the ages of 30 to 65, women should have a physical examination every one to five years based on her overall health. After the age of 65, she should have regular check-ups that monitor blood pressure and other tests including a blood test and urinalysis.

6. Breast Exam

The American Cancer Society recommends that women undergo a self-examination of their breasts every month to detect any bumps that may signify the onset of breast cancer. Their website provides detailed instruction on how to do this properly.

7. Mammograms

After the age of 40, women should undergo annual mammogram testing to determine the possible presence of breast cancer. If a woman has breast cancer in her family, then she should subject herself to a mammogram earlier than that. For the best results, it is advisable to undergo the mammogram at the same medical facility and, if possible, using the same machine, to ensure accuracy.

Kadence Buchanan writes articles on many topics including Women's Health, Relationship, and Nursing

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kadence_Buchanan

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