By Daniel MR Thomas

There’s no doubt that stretching exercises help in the struggle to grow taller. The best ones are a matter of what is right for the individual. Really there’s no one size fits all.

What you need to do is stretch your spine; you can do simply by standing straight, holding your head out and jutting out your chin. You will immediately grow an inch or two, depending on your usual posture.

Probably the people with the best posture are ballet dancers, so you should take a look at some of the exercises they do to keep their perfect posture. These typically give the spine a workout as well as strengthening the leg muscles.

Although your main objective is growing taller naturally, you will also, by exercising, lose a few pounds and be fitter than before. Therefore it’s all gain and only a little pain when you first begin your exercise program. Along with stretching exercises you could also cycle, or go swimming regularly. Alternatively you could do what boxers do and jump rope. Lifting weights can also help strengthen the spine and muscles, which could be stimulated into growth.

If you are under 24 years old, then to naturally grow taller, most of the above exercises will help along with a healthy calcium and vitamin rich diet. If you are over 24 then specific stretching exercises which target the spine will help.

One of the best stretching exercises is the simplest; have you ever watched a cat stretch? Try to copy the movement it makes. Go down on your hands and knees, with you arms locked into a stretch; breathe in and flex you spine down and bring your head up gradually. Breathe out as you bring your spine up to an arched position, while moving your head downwards. Keep this position for between 3 and 8 seconds and repeat as often as feels comfortable.

Another easy stretching exercise in answer to your quest for how to grow naturally taller is another simple one. Hang from a horizontal bar for 30 minutes per week. Do this for 5 minutes or so a day as part of your stretching program. This has been recommended by hakims (traditional medicine practitioners) in Pakistan for centuries. They say that you should combine this hanging exercise with eating lots of turnips (called ‘the poor man’s apple’ in Pakistan) which are rich in calcium. These should be young, sweet turnips which can be eaten raw in a salad with dates and grated carrot. This is a healthy snack or side dish or even a light luncheon.

Finally try a slightly harder exercise; you have to lay down with your knees up and tucked in behind your butt. Hold on to your ankles if you can, or use your arms placed at your sides for leverage. If you can hold your ankles do so while you raise your spine into an arch so that your shoulders and head and feet only are on the floor, If you can only use your arms, maneuver yourself into the same basic position with your arms remaining on the floor. This is a great way to grow taller naturally.

Should all these exercises to grow taller fail, remember that it is your personality that should count with other people, not your looks. After all, Napoleon Bonaparte was short and he became Emperor, and Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino don’t seem to care about being shorter than the average male. Cultivate your personality and be happy with yourself to be more attractive and confident.

By Robert Frederick Lee

Corn silk may now be associated with a healthy lifestyle and medicinal benefit, but, as an adolescent, my memories of the use of corn silk was as a cigarette alternative. I have been told tales of those people in the Dirty Thirties who regularly rolled this dried corn fibre into cigarette papers, since tobacco was prohibitively expensive. While I do not recommend this practice today, the anecdote illustrates that desperate people use creative tactics to achieve an end!

The silk from the ears of corn, ironically, has significant medicinal benefit and use, unlike tobacco. It is used to treat cystitis, prostatitis and urethritis, and has a long history in the treatment of bedwetting, kidney stones, jaundice and oedema. Studies have found that it reduces blood clotting time and blood pressure. As a gentle treatment for gout, it rivals the effectiveness of cherries. (As a gout sufferer, I can attest to the effectiveness of both.)

Rick in Vitamin K, it is a good diuretic, eliminating fluids but not decreasing the body’s potassium. Since it contains significant potassium, whatever is lost through the diuretic effect of the corn silk is more than offset but its input levels.

While the most popular method of consuming corn silk is to make a tea or infusion by steeping a handful of fresh or dried silk in two cups of boiled water, there is a wealth of other options for using this valuable grass in recipes.

I dry the silk (preferably in open air, as opposed to a dehydrator), then crumble a small handful over my cereal, similar to sprinkling flax seed over cereals. It has a slightly sweet and nutty taste. In early summer, I harvest the silk fresh, chop it fine, and use it in salads. I have found that the full silk is quite stringy, unless chopped. In soups, I use chopped silk along with cream corn and finely chopped potatoes, parsley, a little tarragon, pepper, chopped onions and cayenne. On occasion, I will toss in chopped zucchini or pumpkin and a little pumpkin spice as an alternative. Dried & crushed corn silk also works well in breading for chicken and pork chops.

Ideally, the material should be harvested just prior to the ears forming, so that the pollen is captured, as well. Because of its high moisture content, do not store in plastic, and dry any silk that you will not be using immediately. To dry corn silk, spread it thinly on a fibreglass screen in an area without direct sunlight, but moderate air movement. In a dehydrator, corn silk tends to clump.

There have been no significant reports of side effects regarding the consumption of corn silk. However, as in all foods and medicines, moderation is recommended.

By Ethan R. Kalvin

Much can be learned about a patient’s condition by listening to and observing the patient’s body. A few routine tests can be instrumental in saving someone’s life. It is important to one’s overall health and well-being to adhere to regularly scheduled physical examinations. Here is what you can expect when reporting for a routine physical examination.

To begin with, your doctor will need some general information about you, so you will have to complete a health history form. You will be asked about allergies to medications, past surgeries -if any, and possibly questions about alcohol, tobacco, and drug consumption. It is important to be completely honest with your answers. This information is confidential, and it can be helpful in determining the causes of any conditions that might be present or that might be avoided. Even if you have a regular doctor who knows you well, you may be required to update this form annually. Your or your family’s medical history can change with each year – a parent or a sibling may develop something that might also affect you. Sometimes we can be suddenly stricken with an unexpected health issue or illness. The information on this form can assist doctors in determining if there might be symptoms of impending complications.

After your paperwork is done it is then that you will first meet with a nurse and they will take down some general information about you. They will gather data about your height, weight, and blood pressure and in many cases take urine or even draw blood. These may seem menial, however there is a lot of information that can be learned not only from the blood and urine analysis tests and the blood pressure check but even from the information contained in weight and height. Any significant change in these can provide an indication of a health problem as well.

When your doctor first comes in the room he or she will discuss with you the information that they have gathered so far and ask more probing questions about any health area that they feel may be an issue. Then as they begin the exam, the doctor will not only listen to your systems but they will also look and feel to check if everything seems normal. Most doctors have a patient wear a gown so that they can see the areas that they are checking on because there are skin issues and discoloration issues that can indicate problems.

Overall, a routine health exam can help to identify some serious health issues. When caught early enough many serious health issues can be treated more successfully and many can even be cured.