10 cool health tricks to play on your body

Clear Your Nose
To relieve sinus pressure, alternate between pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth and pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. Your vomer bone runs through the nasal passage to the mouth so pushing on these two points causes the bone to swing like a see-saw. This motion loosens congestion and can clear sinuses in under 30 seconds.

Hold It In
According to Larry Lipshultz, M.D., the chief of male reproductive medicine at Baylor College, the best way to hold it in when nature calls is to think about sex. Sex preoccupies the brain which makes your body more comfortable in those situations.

Resist Pain
The next time you get an injection cough when the needle sticks into you. According to German research, coughing causes a temporarily higher pressure in the chest and spinal canal which inhibits the part of the spinal cord that is conducive to pain.


Clear Your Throat
If you have a tickle in your throat scratch your ear. Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose, and throat specialty center in New Jersey says that "when the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm...[that] relieves the tickle."

Ease Your Toothache
A Canadian study found that rubbing ice on the back of the webbed area between your thumb and index finger reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared the control group. The nerve pathways in that area of your hand stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.

Relax Your Eyes
When your eyes are getting weary, perhaps after little sleep or too much time in front of a computer screen, perform this little trick as much as you'd like. Close your eyes, tense every muscle in your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. This action can trick involuntary muscles such as the eyes into relaxing as well.

Stop A Nosebleed
Most nosebleeds come from the front of the septum. If you put some cotton in front of your upper gums and press hard on it from the area below your nose, the flow from the septum will be slowed and often the nosebleed lessen significantly.

Wake Your Hand Up
The next time your hand or any other extremity falls asleep rock your head from side to side or walk around. This tingly sensation in your upper body is often caused by a bundle of nerves being compressed in your neck which can be loosened by stretching your neck. If a part of your lower body falls asleep walk around (as awkward as it may feel) and the nerves in your lower body will be sure to loosen up.

Take Someone Down
A person is at his sturdiest and strongest when standing up straight on two legs. However, if one foot is not even keel with the other by even half an inch, his or her hips will be mis-aligned offsetting the spine. When the brain senses that the spine is weak, it shuts off the rest of the body's physical defenses making it difficult for the person to exert force.


Last Longer Underwater
Before you are preparing to take a long dive under water, take several quick breaths beforehand. The sudden bursts of oxygen clears out the buildup of carbon dioxide in your lungs which lowers blood acidity. According to Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Auburn University, "this tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen.", which can potentially add 10 seconds of air underwater.

Five Essential Nutrients For Your Body

Studies show that 77% of men do not intake enough magnesium and that many of them were deficient in potassium, iodine and vitamin D and B12. Pills aside, many of us are not incorporating enough of the right nutrients in our bodies. Here are five essential nutriets to include in your diets.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is well known to strengthen bones but it also prevents inflammation in arteries reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. Humans get vitamin D naturally from the sun but those who live in areas with long winters are prone to being deficient. Foods that have vitamin D include many fishes like tuna and salmon and milk-based products.

Magnesium

Without enough magnesium, every cell in your body has to struggle to generate energy. -- Dana King, M.D., Medical University of South Carolina

Magnesium is involved in over 300 bodily processes and deficiencies have found to increase the risk of heart disease. Magnesium-rich foods include halibut and navy beans but look specifically for magnesium citrate, which is the form that is most easily absorbed by the body.

Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is all about the brain. A British study found that older people with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 lost brain volume at a faster rate over five years that those with high levels. Vitamin B12 is found boudn to protein in meats like lamb and fish like salmon. However, the most common source of B12 is from fortified cereals.

Potassium

Potassium helps your cells use the sugar glucose for energy. This process is perhaps the most significant in the body as it cannot function without energy. It also helps to lower blood pressure which is important because of Western society's sodium-rich diet. Vegetables are great sources of potassium. Bananas boast 400 mg of potassium however do not even come close to the 1,600 mg of potassium found in one potato.

Iodine

Iodine is used by the thyroid gland to produce hormones that control how your body burns calories. For the many out there looking for solutions to their weight-loss problems iodine may solve the source of the problem all alone. Most people get their iodine from iodinized salt however, as mentioned previously with potassium, our sodium-rich diets arleady do much harm in raising blood pressures. Fortunately iodine is also already common consumed through milk and eggs.

Courtesy of Men's Health

10 Minute Fat Blaster

This 10 minute full-body workout is designed by Craig Ballantyne (C.S.C.S.) for the laziest and most time-scarce people out there who do not have any equipment whatsoever. Do these five exercises without rest in-between as many times as you can within 10 minutes with a minute rest between cycles. Perfect for a quick morning workout or while waiting for dinner to finish cooking.

Jumping Jack (20 reps)
	Start with your feet hip-width apart and hands at your sides. Simultaneously raise your arms above your head and jump so you can spread your feet shoulder-width apart. Then jump again to lower your arms and bring your feet together.
Prisoner Squat (12 reps)
	Stand with your hands behind your head, your chest out and your elbows back. Sit back at your hips and bend your knees to lower your body as far as possible without losing the natural arch of your spine. Squeeze your glutes and push yourself back up to the starting position.
Pushup (15 reps)
	Assume the classic pushup position: legs straight, hands beneath your shoulders. Now brace your abs. Keeping your body rigid, lower yourself until your chest touches the floor. Then push back up until your arms are extended.
Forward Lunge (12 reps/leg)
	From a standing position, take a large step forward with one leg. When your front thigh is parallel to the floor and your back knee is off the floor, hold for 1 second. Make it harder by holding the lowered position for 5 seconds instead of 1. Return to the starting position and repeat with your other leg.
Stickups (10 reps)
	Stand with your back to the wall and feet about 4 inches from the wall. Place the back of your arms against the wall, with upper arms parallel to floor and forearms at 90 degrees. Raise your arms overhead while keeping them against the wall at all times. Slowly return to below the starting position, tucking your elbows into your sides and bringing shoulder blades together.

Source: Men's Health