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Reasons to Finally Get Clean: Effects of Addiction on Your Health and Life

Reasons to Finally Get Clean: Effects of Addiction on Your


Reasons to Finally Get Clean: Effects of Addiction on Your Health and Life

Are you struggling with addiction but can’t seem to get motivated to get clean? It’s important to understand how detrimental substance abuse is to your health and well-being.

In addition to causing countless illnesses and physical issues, addiction can be fatal. In fact, in 2016 alone, 63,632 people died in the United States as a result of an overdose. 

If you think you can continue using drugs and alcohol without serious side-effects, you’re wrong. Eventually, it will catch up with you.

Keep reading get a better understand of the effects of addiction on your health and quality of life.

Physical Repercussions

Depending on the type of drug you’re addicted to, there could be a number of physical risks. These could include injuries related to an overdose or long-term illness.

Alcohol and narcotics can wreak havoc on your liver. Years of abuse could lead to liver disease or cancer.

Hard drugs and alcohol can cause brain damage after years of heavy abuse. You could also become susceptible to hepatitis, heart disease, and stroke.

Finally, substance abuse weakens your immune system, making you more vulnerable to common illnesses.

Damage to Your Mental Health

Addiction doesn’t only harm your body. It can also lead to mental and emotional problems.

Most drugs have a “comedown” or withdrawal period associated with them. These periods can lead to serious depression and anxiety.

You may abuse drugs and alcohol to cover up preexisting mental problems or issues with self-confidence. This is a dangerous cycle to get caught in. Instead of addressing your problems, you’re making them worse by digging yourself into a hole.

The best thing you can do is to seek professional help. Places like this center can help you face your addiction head-on. 

Addiction Ruins Relationships

Addiction may cause you to isolate yourself. You may either want to hide your substance abuse or feel you can’t identify with your friends and family.

Abuse may also cause irritability, anger, or erratic behavior. This can lead to tension between you and loved ones, especially if you’re shutting them out.

If you notice your relationships starting to crumble, it’s time to seek help. Your family and friends are your biggest support system. It may be difficult, but reaching out to them for help could be just the thing you need to get on the path to recovery.

Financial Hardships

Nobody likes dealing with financial stress. Unfortunately, addiction and money issues go hand in hand.

Supporting a drug habit is expensive. Plus, once you’re addicted, paying for it takes precedence over everything else. Before you know it, you’re having trouble paying your bills.

To add to the problem, the more addicted you become, the more expensive your habit will be. That’s why it’s important to seek treatment before you’re in over your head.

Understand the Effects of Addiction

If you want to get clean but can’t seem to find the motivation or strength, it’s important to seek help. The longer you continue abusing drugs or alcohol, the more damage you’re doing to your body.

Understanding the effects of addiction is a good way to find the inspiration to get clean. Keep the points discussed above in mind when thinking about your future.

Check out more articles related to everyday health issues and general well-being.

Health

The Top Five Health Benefits of a Balance Board

The Top Five Health Benefits of a Balance Board


The Top Five Health Benefits of a Balance Board for Your Standing Desk

Have you heard the news that as many as 80% of adults experience lower back pain at one point or another in their lives?

Well, this isn’t some random, baseless statistic.

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) says that up to 31 million people in the U.S. suffer from such problems at any given time.

What’s more, low back pain costs almost $500,000 in excess healthcare treatments and lost productivity for every 1,000 employees in the country.

Scary statistics, right?

The good news is that the many benefits of a balance board can help minimize or prevent back pain episodes. If you pair it with a standing desk, and you can enjoy more health benefits.

But what exactly is a balance board? How can it help you?

Continue reading to learn the top ten balance board benefits!

What A Balance Board Is

To really benefit from balancing boards, you first need to understand how balance boards work.

Balance boards, also known as wobble boards, look like a skateboard at first glance. Some resemble a large bathroom scale.

Appearance aside, they consist of a flat platform. Underneath are half-spheres or rounded bottoms. As such, standing on the board requires constant use of various muscle groups so that you can “keep your balance”.

Think of it like riding a bicycle. To keep yourself – and your bike – upright, you’d have to keep pedaling, right?

The same concept of constant movement applies when using a balance board. In other words, you need to keep moving many different muscles to keep yourself aligned.

It takes effort and may seem difficult at first, but you’ll reap great rewards from the exercise! We’ll discuss them in more detail below, but to give you a sneak peek, here’s a few:

  • Reduced risks of back pain
  • Make you less prone to injuries
  • Stronger, more toned muscles
  • Enhanced core muscle health
  • Slim down and shape up
  • Make work more fun

So, without further ado, here are the top wobble board benefits (that will also make you love your standing desk even more).

1. Reduced Risks of Back Pain

Sitting for long periods of time (like your typical office day) can lead to low back pain. It can also make your existing back problems worse. Why so?

Because this static position puts more pressure on the muscles and spinal discs on your back. It also puts more stress on your neck, shoulders, arms, and legs. Problems with the legs can also lead to foot pain.

To make matters worse, prolonged sitting also increases your susceptibility to poor posture. Poor posture, according to health experts, contributes to the rising cases of low back and neck pain. These two conditions, by the way, cost the U.S. $88 billion a year.

All these make the benefit of standing (and standing desks) more apparent. The simple act of standing straight can already help you release those added stress and pressure from your muscles and nerves.

But why not take things to the next level? Hit two birds with one stone, as the saying goes.

With a balance board, you reap the low back pain-reducing benefits of standing. At the same time, you also work out various muscle groups.

2. Lower Odds of Sustaining Injuries

People who have poor balance and bad coordination are injuries waiting to happen. You may dismiss these as being a klutz, but this “clumsiness” increases your odds of accidents and even concussions.

Using the standing desk balance board combination, you can boost your spatial awareness. This makes it easier for you to “autocorrect” the way you hold your body. In case of a possible accident, it’s easier to assume a danger-preventing body position, such as regaining your balance before you fall.

3. Minimized Chances of Falls

Expounding on falls, did you know that these accidents lead to the hospitalization of more than 800,000 people in the U.S. every year? While not all are due to poor balance, many of them are, especially amongst the elderly.

The good news is that balance training has proven helpful in this area. One study found that balance-centered exercise programs can reduce risks of falls by more than one-third.

This should also tell you that if older people can accomplish balance training, then so can you. So long as you keep at it, you’ll master your balance board in no time at all. What’s more important though is that you’ll worry less about the consequences of concussion-inducing falls.

4. Stronger, More Toned Muscles

As mentioned above, you need to keep certain muscles moving to maintain your balance on your board while working on your standing desk. The longer you use your board, the stronger, more toned your muscles become.

Who wouldn’t want to have good-looking legs? Best of all, as you improve your muscles’ strength and appearance, you also get work done.

5. Stronger Core, Better Shape

Losing weight without starving yourself on a rigorous diet is possible. But of course, you need to be more physical.

All that time you spend sitting behind a desk doesn’t help. Why spend your day sitting if you can turn it into an all-day gentle, yet effective exercise?

A balance board with your standing desk gives you this opportunity. All those tiny movements you’ll make on the board, combined with the muscles you use to keep upright, improve your core, legs, back, and glute muscles.

Start shaping up and slimming down with a balance board that’ll make you remember muscles you forgot were part of your body.

Make Work More Fun with These Benefits of a Balance Board

These are only a few benefits of a balance board. They should be enough to make you realize that work will be more fun if you have one paired with your standing desk. Besides, you’d want to make better use of your time than just hunched over your computer, wouldn’t you?

So, as early as now, make your balance work for and not against you. Get a top-quality balance board ASAP.

For more self-improvement tips like this, feel free to check our blog’s self-improvement and motivation section!

Health

What To Look For In A Home Health Care Provider

What To Look For In A Home Health Care Provider


What To Look For In A Home Health Care Provider

A home health care provider can play a very important role in the overall well-being of your loved one.

When they visit your parent, spouse, or other relative, a home health care provider can ensure they are taking their medications properly. They can also assist them with injections and things like wound care. They can even educate them about health-related issues and just talk with them about how they’re feeling.

It’s why it’s absolutely imperative for you to choose the right home care company to provide you with an in-home care provider. It could affect your loved one’s quality of life in a big way and ultimately determine how happy they are.

Before you hire a health care provider to visit your loved one’s home, you should see exactly what they have to offer. Here is what you should look for in a home caregiver.

Experience

The first thing you want to do before bringing a home health care provider on board is ask them how much experience they have dealing with those who have health issues.

Your ideal in-home care provider should have at least a few years under their belt and should have experience working with those throughout your area. The last thing you want to do is hire someone who just became a health care provider and isn’t prepared for all the work that goes into caring for someone in their home.

When you work with a home care company like Families Choice Home Care, they will make sure your home caregiver has the experience it takes to set you up with the best care possible. It’s why you should start looking for health care providers through a company like them.

In addition to finding someone who has a few years on the job, you should also strive to track down a health care provider who can cater to your loved one’s specific needs.

For example, if your loved one has a condition like diabetes or dementia, the health care provider should have some experience working with others with the same condition in the past.

This will make it a lot easier for them to provide your loved one with the quality care you’re looking for.

Education

A home health care provider doesn’t need to get the same kind of education that a doctor or nurse does. But there are certain training courses and certifications that they need to complete before they start working.

The home health company that you go through should be able to tell you more about what sets their employees apart from the rest. They should, at the very least, meet the minimum requirements established in your state.

You want to know that, if something goes wrong with your loved one’s health, your home health care provider will be able to step in and do something about it. The only way that will be possible is if they have undergone the proper training.

Patience

In many cases, those who need home health care the most are the ones who give their home health care providers the most trouble.

Some people don’t like the idea of having someone come to their home to help them out. They think they’re just fine on their own and don’t want to have to rely on anyone to take care of them.

This is why in-home caregivers need to be able to practice patience. Your loved one might give them a hard time or refuse to cooperate when it comes to getting an injection or taking medications.

Those who are dealing with something like dementia can be incredibly difficult to deal with at times and can present challenges to those caring for them.

Your health care provider should know how to navigate the rocky waters while giving your loved one the care they need. It takes a special person to be able to do it, but it’s possible to find someone who can be patient, kind, and firm all at the same time.

Excellent Communication

In order to provide the best possible care for a person, a home health care provider needs to be able to communicate clearly, both with your loved one and with you.

The provider needs to be able to find the best ways to talk with your loved one about their health. There needs to be a sense of trust between the two parties in order for their relationship to blossom.

The provider also needs to be able to talk to you about any problems that arise. If your loved one is insisting on skipping meals or not taking medications, they need to talk to you about it and come up with a solution with your help.

If the communication between all of you isn’t good, your loved one isn’t going to be able to get the care they need. It’s important to establish good communication right from the very beginning to make things work.

Reliability

Above all else, you need your home health care provider to show up every day ready to work. Otherwise, your loved one won’t be able to get consistent care from someone who is qualified to provide it.

While your provider may need to take an occasional sick day, you should steer clear of using someone who is constantly calling out for one reason or another. You should also contact your home care company if this becomes a trend so that they can find you a new provider.

You want to find someone who wants to help you and your loved one. It will make a big difference and enrich your loved one’s life in ways you couldn’t have imagined.

Hire a Home Health Care Provider Now

If your loved one needs a home health care provider, you should start looking for one for them right away. The sooner you find one, the sooner your loved one can start getting the care they need.

Health is something you shouldn’t ever take for granted. You should be mindful about improving your own health as well as the health of those around you.

Check out our blog for more tips on taking care of your health.

Health

How to Create Content for an Online Natural Health Store

How to Create Content for an Online Natural Health Store


How to Create Content for an Online Natural Health Store

With the average business now spending up to 35% of their marketing budget on digital marketing, everyone is looking to find ways to cut back on spending.

If you’re a natural health store, you’re already competing with all the big box supermarkets in your region. The best way to capture new customers is to build the kind of authority that only consistent and high-quality content can build.

As an increasing number of users find new businesses through search engines, it’s important to appear at the top of the results of every search. Along with keywords, name recognition, and metatext, search engines will rank highly any site that offers original content on a regular basis.

Between your computer and your phone, you’ve got all the tools you need to start improving the SEO strategy for your natural health store. Focus on these four areas for the best results.

1. Create Bold Headlines

When you see an article posted on social media or written in the media, the first thing you see is the headline.

A headline needs to pack a punch, grab the viewer by the collar, or touch them emotionally.

Below your headline, you can add all the great details that will put your headline in context. After you’ve grabbed their attention, reel them in with your subheading. They’ll be dying to check out your great content.

2. Let Images and Video Do the Work

Not everyone is great at retaining information. Great photos of healthy products or nutritious snacks can draw people in.

Think about hiring a professional photographer for any product photos you plan on using in your marketing campaign. Introduce customers to your natural health store by posting a short walk-around on Instagram. Use your front-facing camera so people can get to know you.

If you do in-store demos or are giving out samples, post videos to social media first thing in the morning to draw customers into your store. Their FOMO will kick in and they’ll be at your door before you know it.

Images and video are at the top of the list for content-driven marketing right now.

3. Keep Content Short and Sweet

Keep your text between 300 to 500 words. Use keywords 3-6 times in your text and focus on one subject at a time.

If you want to post a how-to, create a video to accompany a short numbered list outlining every step. See how other sites get users to quickly consume content before they buy here!

4. Be Honest and Use Good Sources

For everything you write about health and natural products, make sure you’re making honest claims.

If you say that something helps with weight loss, link to an FDA or reputable scientific study. If you quote any statistics, link to your source so that no one can claim you’re making anything up.

Showing you’re an honest resource for health and wellness will build trust. It will also help you receive those all-too-important backlinks from other sites and users.

Great Content Will Improve Traffic to Your Natural Health Store Site

Once you’ve built a great reputation, that trust will snowball into customer loyalty.

Search engines and visitors will both love your high-quality and original content and give you the hits to prove it.

If you’re ready to improve SEO for your health site, check out our guide for more SEO tips to drive local traffic to your site.

Lifestyle

Treats Can Be Good for You! 5 Health Benefits of Frozen Yogurt

Treats Can Be Good for You! 5 Health Benefits of


Treats Can Be Good for You! 5 Health Benefits of Frozen Yogurt

If there’s one food people can agree on loving, it’s frozen yogurt.

Frozen yogurt (more affectionately known as froyo) is more than just delicious. It’s an easily customizable dessert that comes in a variety of flavors. Some people love it for its taste, but there are more that love it for its health benefits.

There’s no denying that if you’re looking for a healthy dessert that froyo beats out ice cream. But have you ever thought about why?

Once you read this post you’ll know about the variety of health benefits it has to offer.

Calcium

Tired of drinking milk to get calcium? Treat yourself with some frozen yogurt!

Froyo has an average of 178 milligrams of calcium per half-cup serving, it’s clearly an excellent source of calcium.

Calcium is well known for its positive effects on bones and teeth, but it does much more than keep them strong.

Calcium intake can help reduce the growth of excess cells in the colon, which in turn could help prevent cancer. Diets high in calcium can also aid in weight loss and help prevent obesity.

Low calories

If you’re counting calories it can seem like every day is a struggle to eat within your limits.

If you have a sweet tooth you’re limited to only so many options. Luckily dessert fans can rejoice, frozen yogurt is here to save the day.

Frozen yogurt itself is a very low-calorie food, even when it’s flavored. If you’re careful with your toppings and serving size, you can have a nice low-calorie dessert if you choose to eat frozen yogurt.

Improve digestive health

Do you feel like you’re sensitive to dairy? Do you miss enjoying frozen desserts?

Frozen yogurt could be the dessert option that you’re looking for.

Frozen yogurt is full of probiotics. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for the human body, and froyo is full of the two helpful organisms Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilous.

Those two probiotics can help break down lactose and be easier on the stomachs of people with dairy sensitivities. The helpful bacteria can also help balance the amount of microflora in the gut.

If you look for frozen yogurt that has the live and active culture’s seal, you’ll have a dessert that’s great for digestive health.

Froyo has tons of protein

Cookies, cake, and other desserts may be tasty but they don’t have much nutritional content. Traditional desserts are full of sugars and carbs, but frozen yogurt is full of protein.

Protein filled snacks can help you feel more satisfied. Frozen yogurt can be the perfect snack for people that need to feel full.

There’s a lot of protein in a half cup of frozen yogurt, more than enough to justify this sweet treat every once in awhile.

Low fat

Satisfying snacks that are also low in fat can be hard to come by.

On top of all the health benefits, froyo has to offer, its low-fat content may be the best.

Ice cream can be very fattening, but frozen yogurt has almost half the fat of ice cream. If you want to make sure that you’re keeping your fat content low, you can stick to non-fat flavors.

What health benefits of frozen yogurt do you like the best? Let us know about it in the comments section!