Osteoarthritis -- How is it Affecting the Aging US Population? Part 1 by Kamau Austin

Are you noticing as you mature problems beyond the age of 35 your knees, elbows, ankles, or joints feel ache or stiff? This condition may even be worst on moist and rainy days.

You may be beginning to experience a condition known as Osteoarthritis. In our next series of blog posts we will discuss this debilitating condition and some ways to help alleviate it.

As the "baby boomer generation" ages, doctors predict there will be a staggering growth in the cases of Osteoarthritis (OA). Although OA affects the quality of life for many people as they age, few people are familiar with the term Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms of arthritis. It is one of the main causes of disability in older adults.

OA's impact and toll on the US health care system is immense.

Until the 1980s, OA was considered a progressive degenerative disorder. It was considered one of the inevitable results of age.

Back in the 80s it was assumed that Osteoarthritis developed because of the long time normal wear and tear of joints. This was viewed as naturally occurring with age.

However, new research has altered this perception to a large extent. Research shows that there may be other factors associated with OA.

-- Major Factors of Osteoarthritis --

- Water Retention
- Heredity
- Obesity

In our next post we will discuss the symtoms of Osteoarthritis.

Boost Your Metabolism Now Part 3 and Conclusion -- By Kamau Austin

In our first two posts we looked at a very popular term used in health and fitness circles called metabolism. But what actually is your metabolism was our rhetorical question. We decided that it would be more instructive to illustrate rather than give a definition of what a metabolism is in our exploration of the term.

We gave analogies of how you may have to workout twice as hard as someone else to lose weight if they have a faster metabolism. Moreover we revealed (to no surprise to many) that your metabolism slows down with age.

Furthermore we discovered some functions of a healthy metabolism. A metabolism helped with things like:

- maintenance and upkeep of the muscles and tissues

- repairing and healing damaged and injured parts of the body and

- keeping the body running by providing energy and ridding the body of harmful toxins.

Today we want to discuss the kinds of things that affect the metabolism.

The body's metabolism is affected by a few key factors such as...

- proper nutrition
- adequate quantities of water, and
- properly planned physical activity.

Each of these factors is crucial to maintaining a perfectly balanced rate of metabolism. If we ignore even these factors then the metabolism of the body tends to decrease.

The process of losing excessive weight and weight management is also related very closely to your body's metabolism. Weight loss is achieved by burning the excessive fats accumulated by the body. The rate or speed you burn fat is dependent upon the your body's metabolism.

Therefore, the easiest way to lose or manage your weight is to boost your metabolism. The trend du jour is for people to adopt a certain diet low in sugar, carbohydrates, fats, or calories.

-- Beware Trendy Diets --

What tends to happen in low calorie diets is you often lower your weight but at the -- expense of your metabolism.

Avoid diets built on the myth: ALL FAT IS BAD!!

The body cannot function without fats. In fact if any one of the basic food groups is eliminated from the diet then the metabolism and the overall health of your body will suffer.

The most effective way to boost your metabolism rate is to follow an exercise and good nutritional program. The program should allow you more energized physical activity that will increase your metabolism.

To bust a very powerful and popular myth, your metabolism is not something you are born with. You can increase your metabolic rate.

Take care of your health with a sensible diet and exercise. These simple steps will help to increase your metabolism rate.

The metabolism of your body is directly related to the intensity of the exercises done by you. It is important to maintain continuity and a consistency when working out to increase your metabolism.


A few simple exercises when performed with rigor and intensity can yield very good results. Moreover changing your food habits, does not mean you discard all familiar foods and replace them with tofu.

Carefully chart out a plan where you specifically name which exercises and with what frequency you will adopt them. Cardiovascular and strength training is a great way to increase metabolism. The body's metabolic rate responds enthusiastically to rigorous activity and trying new exercises with greater intensity forces the body to use up its fat reserves and activates your metabolic rate.

Sports nutritionists understand you need a healthy ratio between fat and muscle. Proper supplementation can help get rid of stubborn excess fat. We found a product called Cardio-Stack™ available from Amazon and www.BODeStore.com, that shows great promise to release fat from the body into the blood stream where it can more easily be eliminated.

If you need to increase your muscle to fat ratio perhaps you should consider a product like Cardio-Stack.

You can increase your metabolism provided you eat healthy and exercise regularly. Don't forget to drink lots of water to consistently flush out the toxins in the body. Fitness guru Denise Austin suggests drinking cold water helps boost your metabolism because your body has to expend energy to help keep you warm.

Always check with your doctor before embarking on any health and fitness program. However examine which of these tips can help you increase the efficiency of your metabolism.

Kamau Austin is a health and fitness advocate and enthusiasts who writes regularly for Health and Fitness Vitality.com