New Remedies for an Everyday Complaint
By PETER JARET

Dr. Robert Kunkel has been a headache specialist at the Cleveland Clinic for more than 35 years. He is past president of the American Headache Society and the National Headache Foundation.

Q. How common are headaches?
A. Headaches are one of the most common of all medical complaints. And by far the most common are tension-type headaches. Seventy-eight percent of adults experience at least one tension-type headache during their lifetimes. The symptom is typically a band of painful pressure all around the head.
Migraines are the second most common. An estimated 20 percent of adults suffer from migraines. Migraines are associated with moderate to severe throbbing pain, which is usually accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light or odors. Migraines tend to get worse with physical activity.
Cluster headaches are relatively rare. These are more painful and debilitating than migraines. They come on suddenly and are located usually behind one eye. Each one may last only an hour, but they occur in clusters, sometimes several in one day. The clusters may occur over a week or two, and then go away for weeks or months. Nobody knows why this cycle occurs. The pain is so intense that people sometimes have to pace the floor or bang their heads.

Q. Are headaches often a symptom of serious medical problems?
A. Sometimes, but much less often than people think. The headaches I’ve been describing are called primary headache syndromes, because they are not associated with other diseases or conditions. Ninety-five percent of all headaches are primary headaches. Headaches caused by an underlying condition, such as a brain tumor or problems with the circulatory system, are called secondary headaches. Although they are rare, it is important for doctors to exclude possible underlying causes when diagnosing a recurring headache.

Q. Are tension-type headaches, migraines and cluster headaches related?
A. That’s controversial. Obviously, all of them involve pain in the head. Some researchers think they may have some other features in common. Tension-type headaches are associated with muscle tension in the neck and head. Migraines and cluster headaches are vascular, meaning they are linked to abnormalities of blood flow in certain parts of the brain. But studies show that migraine and cluster headaches seem to be happening in different parts of the brain, so they are quite distinct.

Q. Do some people experience more than one kind of headache?
A. Absolutely. We see many patients in the headache clinic with mixed headaches. In other words, they may suffer from tension-type headaches and then from time to time also experience a migraine on top of the usual chronic tension-type headaches. We used to call these combination headaches, but now we usually say a patient suffers from tension-type headache and migraine. A typical pattern is for someone who had migraines when they were younger, in their 20s, who then develop tension-type headaches when they are in their 40s or 50s.

Q. Are men or women more at risk of suffering headaches?
A. Migraine headaches are three times more common in women than men. Cluster headaches are five times more common in men than women. Beyond those gender differences, there is strong evidence that migraine headaches are inherited. Abnormalities on three chromosomes have been linked to inherited risk. Cluster headaches may also run in families, but there’s less evidence for that.
Tension-type headaches seem to affect men and women equally, and there’s no evidence that they are inherited. We used to think tension-type headaches were triggered by stress, and that may still be true for some. More generally, they are associated with muscle tension in the neck or face. But even that isn’t always true. Some people who suffer from chronic tension-type headaches do not show signs of increased muscle contractions or spasms. And there are people who have muscle spasms who don’t get headaches as a result.

Q. Let’s focus on tension-type headaches, which are the most common. What’s the most effective treatment?
A. Some people get relief simply by resting and relaxing. Others feel better if they massage the muscles of their temples or neck. Of course many people turn to over-the-counter pain pills, such as aspirin, Advil or Tylenol. These can be very effective in relieving episodic tension-type headaches. People with stubborn tension-type headaches can benefit from prescription muscle relaxants.
Unfortunately, pain medications can cause rebound effect if they are overused: when people stop taking them, their headaches return and may be even more painful. In fact, overuse of over-the-counter pain pills is a common cause of chronic headache pain. Over-the-counter pain medications with caffeine are a particular problem. The caffeine helps speed relief, but it is also more likely to cause rebound.
A good rule of thumb is not to take medication to treat headache pain more than twice in a week. If you find yourself taking an over-the-counter pain reliever most days, you could be suffering from a medication-overuse headache. Then it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor.

Q. Can tension-type headaches be prevented?
A. Yes. Some patients experience fewer and less severe tension-type headaches if they use relaxation techniques such as meditation or deep breathing exercises. Exercise also helps some people avoid headaches. Exercises that improve posture, such as yoga, may be especially helpful, since they reduce muscle tension in the neck and shoulders.
Following a healthy diet probably helps, especially eating on a regular schedule and not skipping meals. We know that skipping meals can trigger migraines, and it may also trigger tension-type headaches. A healthy diet and regular exercise help people maintain a healthy weight, of course, which may help prevent headaches, too. A recent study done by Richard Lipton at Albert Einstein College of Medicine showed that obesity is a risk factor in chronic headache.
Another way to prevent headaches is to identify and then avoid the triggers that cause them. Tension-type headaches can occur when people skip a meal, for instance, or if they are anxious and tend to clench their jaws.
We often recommend that patients keep a diary of when and where headaches occur. Keeping a diary can also help when you sit down with your doctor. The more you know about when headaches occur, what seems to trigger them and what they feel like, the easier it is to diagnose and treat.

Q. Are medications available to prevent tension-type headaches?
A. Yes. Doctors sometimes prescribe muscle relaxants such as Flexeril, taken once a day at night. Low doses of tricyclic antidepressants, such as Elavil, have also been shown to be effective in preventing chronic headache. The problem with these drugs is that they can cause sedation and increase appetite, which is something we don’t want to do.
There’s also interest in botulinum toxin, which is injected at sites around the neck and scalp to reduce muscle tension. The toxin blocks nerve impulses to these muscles, and for some patients can offer two to three months of relief. Our interest is the fact that botulinum toxin seems to work better in the treatment of chronic migraine than it does in tension-type headaches. Botulinum toxin, which most people know as Botox, also seems to inhibit the release of other chemicals from the nerve endings that may cause inflammation around the blood vessels, that in turn may be involved in migraine as well as causing muscle spasms. Although it’s not approved specifically for headaches, many doctors are using Botox. Most of us have some patients who are doing well. But like most treatments, it doesn’t work for everyone.

Q. What do you do to treat your own headaches?
A. I have to admit, I’ve never had a headache, not even a tension-type headache. A lot of my colleagues are surprised at that. Most doctors who specialize in this field became interested because they suffer migraines or cluster headaches. I’ve always been interested in headaches, but not for personal reasons. Even though I’ve never experienced a headache, I like to think that I’m sympathetic to the pain that my patients are suffering.

Ajit Kumar, Natural Healer says:
Simple light Intermittent pressures on different points of scalp can be given, once a day. Relief has been experienced by considerable number of patients.

By JANE E. BRODY
Published: April 29, 2008

Randi considers the Y.M.C.A. her lifeline, especially the pool. Randi weighs more than 300 pounds and has borderline diabetes, but she controls her blood sugar and keeps her bright outlook on life by swimming every day for about 45 minutes.

Randi overcame any self-consciousness about her weight for the sake of her health, and those who swim with her and share the open locker room are proud of her. If only the millions of others beset with chronic health problems recognized the inestimable value to their physical and emotional well-being of regular physical exercise.
“The single thing that comes close to a magic bullet, in terms of its strong and universal benefits, is exercise,” Frank Hu, epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in the Harvard Magazine.
I have written often about the protective roles of exercise. It can lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, dementia, osteoporosis, gallstones, diverticulitis, falls, erectile dysfunction, peripheral vascular disease and 12 kinds of cancer.

But what if you already have one of these conditions? Or an ailment like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, congestive heart failure or osteoarthritis? How can you exercise if you’re always tired or in pain or have trouble breathing? Can exercise really help?

You bet it can. Marilyn Moffat, a professor of physical therapy at New York University and co-author with Carole B. Lewis of “Age-Defying Fitness” (Peachtree, 2006), conducts workshops for physical therapists around the country and abroad, demonstrating how people with chronic health problems can improve their health and quality of life by learning how to exercise safely.

Up and Moving

“The data show that regular moderate exercise increases your ability to battle the effects of disease,” Dr. Moffat said in an interview. “It has a positive effect on both physical and mental well-being. The goal is to do as much physical activity as your body lets you do, and rest when you need to rest.”

In years past, doctors were afraid to let heart patients exercise. When my father had a heart attack in 1968, he was kept sedentary for six weeks. Now, heart attack patients are in bed barely half a day before they are up and moving, Dr. Moffat said.

The core of cardiac rehab is a progressive exercise program to increase the ability of the heart to pump oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood more effectively throughout the body. The outcome is better endurance, greater ability to enjoy life and decreased mortality.
The same goes for patients with congestive heart failure. “Heart failure patients as old as 91 can increase their oxygen consumption significantly,” Dr. Moffat said.

Aerobic exercise lowers blood pressure in people with hypertension, and it improves peripheral circulation in people who develop cramping leg pains when they walk — a condition called intermittent claudication. The treatment for it, in fact, is to walk a little farther each day.

In people who have had transient ischemic attacks, or ministrokes, “gradually increasing exercise improves blood flow to the brain and may diminish the risk of a full-blown stroke,” Dr. Moffat said. And aerobic and strength exercises have been shown to improve endurance, walking speed and the ability to perform tasks of daily living up to six years after a stroke.

As Randi knows, moderate exercise cuts the risk of developing diabetes. And for those with diabetes, exercise improves glucose tolerance — less medication is needed to control blood sugar — and reduces the risk of life-threatening complications.

Perhaps the most immediate benefits are reaped by people with joint and neuromuscular disorders. Without exercise, those at risk of osteoarthritis become crippled by stiff, deteriorated joints. But exercise that increases strength and aerobic capacity can reduce pain, depression and anxiety and improve function, balance and quality of life.

Likewise for people with rheumatoid arthritis. “The less they do, the worse things get,” Dr. Moffat said. “The more their joints move, the better.”

Exercise that builds gradually and protects inflamed joints can diminish pain, fatigue, morning stiffness, depression and anxiety, she said, and improve strength, walking speed and activity.
Exercise is crucial to improving function of total hip or knee replacements. But “most patients with knee replacements don’t get intensive enough activity,” Dr. Moffat said.

Water exercises are particularly helpful for people with multiple sclerosis, who must avoid overheating. And for those with Parkinson’s, resistance training and aerobic exercise can increase their ability to function independently and improve their balance, stride length, walking speed and mood.

Resistance training, along with aerobic exercise, is especially helpful for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; it helps counter the loss of muscle mass and strength from lack of oxygen.

In the February/March issue of ACE Certified News, Natalie Digate Muth, a registered dietitian and personal trainer, emphasized the value of a good workout for people suffering from depression. Mastering a new skill increases their sense of worth, social contact improves mood, and the endorphins released during exercise improve well-being.

“Exercise is an important adjunct to pharmacological therapy, and it does not matter how severe the depression — exercise works equally well for people with moderate or severe depression,” wrote Ms. Muth, who is pursuing a medical degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Feel-Good Hormones

Healthy people may have difficulty appreciating the burdens faced by those with chronic ailments, Dr. Nancey Trevanian Tsai noted in the same issue of ACE Certified News. “Oftentimes, disease-ridden statements — like ‘I’m a diabetic’ — become barricades that keep clients from seeing themselves getting better,” she said, and many feel “enslaved by their diseases and treatments.”
But the feel-good hormones released through exercise can help sustain activity.

“With regular exercise, the body seeks to continue staying active,” wrote Dr. Tsai, an assistant professor of neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She recommended an exercise program tailored to the person’s current abilities, daily needs, medication schedule, side effects and response to treatment.
She urged trainers who work with people with chronic ailments to start slowly with easily achievable goals, build gradually on each accomplishment and focus on functional gains. Over time, a sense of accomplishment, better sleep, less pain and enhanced satisfaction with life can become further reasons to pursue physical activity.
“Even if exercise is tough to schedule,” Dr. Moffat said, “you feel so much better, it’s crazy not to do it.”

Related
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April 28th, 2008

“What the hell are you swallowing?”

“Amino acids,” I answered, while choking down a handful of “horse pills.”

“Amino acids?” My father stared at my skinny 14-year-old body, slack-jawed.

“Yeah, amino acids. These are the building blocks of life. I’ve been reading about it,” I said, pointing to my pile of muscle magazines on the floor. “This is how I’m going to get buff and smart.”

“Oh.” My dad was visibly dumbfounded. I could tell he was wondering how it was that the family doctor had never mentioned any of this.

Twenty years later, many people are still clueless about the importance of consuming enough amino acids. This simple dietary addition can boost lean body mass. And having increased muscle has all sorts of benefits.

It can:
• ward off diabetes
• boost immunity
• maximize energy
• accelerate metabolism (saving you from developing unsightly belly fat)
• prevent osteoporosis

The absolute best source of amino acids is whey isolate. As long as it doesn’t contain adulterants like sugar and artificial flavors, anyone at any age can benefit from its muscle-building effects.

Researchers from the School of Biomedical Sciences reviewed all previous studies done with elderly people who suffered from the muscle-wasting disease sarcopenia and then supplemented with whey isolate. By taking about 45 grams of whey isolate per day, these people were able to drastically increase their muscle mass and strength and reverse the disease.

To get your hands on muscle-building amino acids, purchase Whey Advanced. It contains vitamin C, micellar caseine, and is flavored with stevia. It has zero sugars or artificial flavors. You can mix it in a shake or simply stir it into water.

With the same ease you can try “Pro-Optimal Whey Protein Mix”.

Visit : http://tinyurl.com/4ze9kf

Infants of every culture instinctively adopt this posture of squatting to relieve themselves. Although it may look strange to someone who has spent his entire life deprived of the experience, this is the way the human body was designed to function.

Chair-like toilets had only been used by royalty and the disabled till middle of 19th century. Western Europe, as well as Australia and North America, did not want to appear less civilized than Great Britain, whose vast empire at the time made it the most powerful country on Earth. So, within a few decades, most of the industrialized world had adopted “The Emperor’s New Throne.”

Nobody realized that the sitting position makes elimination difficult and incomplete, and forces one to strain.

Today, many physicians blame the modern toilet for the high incidence of a number of serious ailments. The prevalences of bowel diseases (hemorrhoids, appendicitis, polyps, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticular disease, and colon cancer) are similar in South African whites and in populations of prosperous western countries.

Seven Advantages of Squatting
1.Makes elimination faster, easier and more complete. This helps prevent “fecal stagnation,” a prime factor in colon cancer, appendicitis and inflammatory bowel disease.
2.Protects the nerves that control the prostrate, bladder and uterus from becoming stretched and damaged.
3.Securely seals the ileocecal valve, between the colon and the small intestine. In the conventional sitting position, this valve is unsupported and often leaks during evacuation, contaminating the small intestine.
4.Relaxes the puborectalis muscle which normally chokes the rectum in order to maintain continence.
5.Uses the thighs to support the colon and prevent straining. Chronic straining on the toilet can cause hernia and pelvic organ prolapse.
6.A highly effective, non-invasive treatment for hemorrhoids, as shown by published clinical research.
7.For pregnant women, squatting avoids pressure on the uterus when using the toilet. Daily squatting helps prepare one for a more natural delivery.

The Indian type of toilet is more conducive to complete evacuation than the Western toilet. With the western style closets becoming popular in India, there is a risk of increased incidence of appendicitis.

Inputs from : http://www.naturesplatform.com

Stay Active as Long as You Want
– By Holly Little, Certified Personal Trainer

It’s a common problem for many who exercise, a problem that hurts during everyday activity and scares a lot of people away from any physical activity. It’s lower back pain. For those of you who suffer from this problem, here are some ways to stay active and help relieve this pain.

There are a number of recent studies showing that most people with lower back pain need to improve lower back strength with a good lower back muscle workout. This might cause a little more pain in the beginning, but in the long run, it will ease the muscles of any pain they are currently having. Basically, the long-term solution for back pain lies in exercise.

Some pain felt in your lower back might be the result of weak abdominal muscles. When you have a weak core, you are more likely to have poor posture and your muscles may be strained in a way that is uncomfortable or causes pain. You can minimize back pain by doing exercises that make the muscles in your back, stomach, hips and thighs -your core- strong and flexible. Even if you are currently participating in cardiovascular exercises like running or swimming, you should still add some of the following exercises, specifically designed to strengthen your core.

Leg Raises to strengthen stomach and hip muscles
How to: Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Lift one leg off the floor to about a 45° angle. Hold your leg up for a count of 10 and return it to the floor. Do the same with the other leg. Repeat 5 times with each leg. If that is too difficult, keep one knee bent and the foot flat on the ground while raising the opposite leg.

Leg Raises to strengthen back and hip muscles
How to: Lie on your stomach. Tighten the muscles in one leg and raise it from the floor. Raise it as high as you can (approximately 30°) without causing any discomfort to your lover back or lifting your hip off the floor. Hold your leg up for a count of 10 and return it to the floor. Do the same with the other leg. Repeat 5 times with each leg.

Wall Slides to strengthen your back, hip and leg muscles
How to: Stand with your back against a wall and feet shoulder-width apart. Slide down into a crouch until the knees bend to about 90°. Count to 5 and slide back up the wall. Repeat 5 times.

Partial Sit-Up to strengthen stomach muscles
How to: Lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on floor. Slowly raise your head and shoulders off the floor and reach with both hands toward your knees. Count to 10. Repeat 5 times.

Back Leg Swing to strengthen hip and back muscles
How to: Stand behind a chair with your hands on the back of the chair. Lift one leg back and up while keeping the knee straight. Return slowly. Raise the other leg and return. Repeat 5 times with each leg.

Exercises to increase flexibility and stretch out the back
How to: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on your bed or floor. Raise your knees toward your chest. Place both hands under your knees and gently pull your knees as close to your chest as possible. Do not raise your head. Do not straighten your legs as you lower them. Start with 5 repetitions, several times a day.

If you have not done any kind of exercise recently or if you have any type of high-risk health issues, it is recommended that you consult your physician before you do any of the suggested exercises.

WATER—How Much?
We loose water through urine and sweat so we need to drink water regularly. There is no point to quantify it. Our body has 75 percent of its mass due to water. It has a very big role to play in our life.
Water:
• Is essential for digestion, nutrient absorption and elimination
• Aids your circulation
• Helps control your body’s temperature
• Lubricates and cushions your joints
• Keeps your skin healthy
• Helps remove toxins from your body
One can live without food for couple of days but without water, it is difficult to survive for more than two days. Besides it depends upon the climate, atmospheric temperature, health of the person and the daily routine of the person.
Although our body indicates its need in the form of thirst but many times, a busy person forgets to take water. Therefore a broad guideline has been indicated-eight glasses of water.
Best way to access your water requirement could be by judging the color of urine. If the person is not consuming Vitamins then her/his urine color should be pale yellow. Darker yellow color indicates the necessity to increase in the intake of water.
Thirst can be quenched by consuming sodas, coffee and fruit juices but for a short duration. It cannot be as satisfying as water.
PET bottles are considered as unsafe for storing water. . Glass bottles are best, but if you’re traveling and can’t use a glass bottle, the high-density polyethelene (HDPE) Nalgene bottles appear to be a safer choice, so far.

Want Healthy Balance and Energy? Take a Bath..

The emission of EMR (electromagnetic radiation) from cell phones continues to become a growing concern. However, you’ll not hear the large wireless corporations or the federal government publicly talking about cell phone EMR emission issues.

Here are some sound solutions that can help minimize the EMR your phone emits:

1. Use your cell phone on speakerphone. While this is a great solution and I strongly recommend it, it’s simply not practical much of the time. Especially if you are in a public place where rules of discretion and proper etiquette prevail. Another problem is that not all cell phones have speakerphones — and even those that do may have poor sound quality. I do recommend that if you are choosing a new cell phone, make sure it comes with a speakerphone option.

2. Always keep your phone as far away from your body as possible. There’s a dramatic drop-off in radiation exposure for every inch you keep your phone away from your body.

3. Get yourself a Blue Tube Headset with an airtube. This new design is the best headset on the market. Others may actually increase the amount of radiation emitted.

4. Limit your cell phone use to the bare minimum. Your cell phone is constantly searching for signals and emitting EMR while you’re using it.

5. Turn off your cell phone when not needed OR keep it a few feet away from your body. Even when not in use, as long as your phone is turned on, it continually emits EMR as it connects to its base station.

Bluetooth wireless headsets are even worse than regular ones. Why? Because the wire is replaced with a transmitter and receiver operating with low power at frequency levels between 900 MHz to 2.4 GHz.

The maximum frequencies for wireless products compliant with Bluetooth specifications are 2.497 GHz. The frequency power of wireless headsets rivals that of microwave ovens, which also operate at 2.4 GHz.

And, while in a few cases emission may be lessened by the use of a cell phone headset or earpiece, it may not reduce radiation enough. This means that even a product that offers up to 70 percent reduction in EMR is not nearly as effective as it seems.

I doubt you’ll find as much radiation reduction in other headsets on the market. The Blue Tube Headset advantage is clearly illustrated below.

Conventional Headsets use wire to deliver sound to the earpiece and may also emit electromagnetic radiation. The Blue Tube advanced acoustic technology delivers the clearest sound achievable through an air-filled wireless tube that reduces the emission of radiation

If you’ve ever felt guilty about reaching for a cold one, I have great news:

That cool, refreshing beer just might save you from heart disease.
Don’t let the puritans make you afraid of casual beer drinking. Consuming a reasonable amount of alcohol is nothing to feel guilty about. In fact, it can be good for your health.

Beer also contains antioxidants like vitamin C, as well as hundreds of flavonoids such as Epicatechin.

Flavonoids are anti-oxidant compounds that provide the dark color in many fruits and vegetables. They stem from the seeds, skin and certain other parts of fermenting plants, and they help prevent hardening of the arteries. Flavonoids also improve blood flow and blood pressure. Dark beer has more of these nutrients than a lighter beer.

People who don’t indulge may be denting their bodies of essential nutrients, minerals and vitamins, such as magnesium, calcium and iron. Beer has always added protein, fiber, calcium, iron and potassium to diets around the world.

Almost everybody has heard of the benefits of drinking red wine. But in a recent study I came across beer drinkers had the lowest risk of heart disease.

Like wine, beer has been shown to:
# reduce strokes
# reduce heart disease
# reduce blood pressure
# increase coronary blood flow
# fight Alzheimer’s
# fight diabetes
# fight ulcers
# fight hepatitis A
# fight pancreatic cancer
# fight Parkinson’s disease
# raise good cholesterol
# lower bad cholesterol

Many of us associate drinking beer at social events, like a football game, with friends and family. These events cut back stress and in combination with conservative drinking, the risk of coronary disease is lowered by 32%.

Drinking a beer a day decreases cholesterol levels, increases antioxidants and reduces levels of fibrinogen, a clot-producing protein.

Keep in mind that the carbs in beer can add inches to your waistline. But there are new brews that are lower in carbs. They have the fuller flavor of “real” beer and put their low-calorie cousins to shame.
Since Busch released the first low-carb beer on the market, Michelob Ultra has experienced the best sales of any beer they’ve ever introduced. The good news here is that brewers are looking for their slice of the new market. And each new brew seems to outperform the last, in terms of flavor and fullness. The reigning three kings of low-carb brews are:
# Michelob Ultra by Anheuser Busch with 2.6 g of carbs.
# Aspen Edge by Coors with 2.6 g of carbs.
# Rock Green Light by Rolling Rock with 2.6g of carbs.

Compared to the average count of 11 grams of carbs for domestic beer - and as much as 20-30 g. for European imports, you can dramatically cut your carbs by making the switch to a low-carb variety. These low-carb beers compare well to mixed drinks.

STAY HEALTHY THE STEVIA WAY

Stevia is 300 times sweeter than regular sugar, with minimal aftertaste. Stevia extract has no calories. Stevia extract is suitable for diabetics and those with high blood pressure. Children can use stevia without health concerns. Stevia does not cause tooth cavities. Stevia is heat stable and thus could be used for cooking and baking. Stevia extract is a great alternative to synthetic sweeteners. Can be easily blended with other sweeteners, such as honey. Stevia is already widely and safely consumed in many countries around the world for decades.

This remarkable, no-calorie sweetener called stevia is, unfortunately, not a household name. It should be. I believe that eventually stevia will be one of the most popular and widely used no-calorie sweeteners in the world. With the availability of stevia extract there seems to be little reason to use artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and saccharin.

We all have a craving for a sweet taste and often satisfy this craving with sugar or fat-filled foods. Even “natural” sugar substitutes, such as honey, maple syrup or molasses, can be unhealthy if over-consumed since they can markedly elevate blood sugar levels. Hence, stevia can be advantageous to practically everyone whose diet contains sweeteners. Although stevia can be helpful to anyone, there are certain groups who are more likely to benefit from its remarkable sweetening potential. These include diabetics, those interested in decreasing caloric intake, and children.

Stevia for Diabetes

The availability of artificial sweeteners has been of enormous benefit to those with diabetes. However, there’s always been a concern that over consumption of these synthetic sweeteners may cause some unknown harm to the body. Could stevia substitution be a good alternative for those with diabetes? We believe so. Stevia leaves have been used as herbal teas by diabetic patients in Asian countries. No side effects have been observed in these patients after many years of continued consumption (Suttajit, 1993). Furthermore, studies have shown that stevia extract can actually improve blood sugar levels (Alvarez, 1981, Curi, 1986).

Stevia and Weight Loss
It would seem quite obvious that substituting a no-calorie sweetener to sugar would help reduce caloric intake and thus contribute to weight loss. If you are the type of person who adds sugar to your morning coffee or tea, or to iced tea, lemonade, and a variety of desserts and baked goods, then, over time, the elimination of these refined sugar calories could make a significant difference.

Sweet Teeth with No Cavities
Even a five-year old child knows that sugar causes tooth cavities. There are certain bacteria in our mouths, particularly streptococci mutans, that ferment various sugars to produce acids. These in turn eat through the enamel of the tooth causing pockets or cavities. For a long time, scientists have searched to find alternative sweeteners that are not fermentable by bacteria and hence do not cause cavities. Artificial sweeteners have been helpful in this regard. The chemicals within the stevia plant that impart its sweetness are not fermentable, and thus do not cause tooth cavit

Use in Children
Candies, sodas, ice cream, pies, cakes… it’s disturbing how many sweet products are ingested by children on a daily basis. All that sugar can lead to tooth cavities and obesity. We believe that partially substituting with stevia can help children satisfy their sweet tooth while decreasing the risks from excessive sugar intake.

If you’re a parent, you can take advantage of the many recipes provided in The Stevia Cookbook to provide your children with tasty sweets that will satisfy their sweet teeth but not cause damage to the teeth. Obesity in children is a growing problem in this country and any method we have of helping children reduce their caloric intake will be greatly beneficial.

We also are concerned with children overconsuming excessive amounts of artificial sweeteners. The potential, long-term health consequences of saccharin and aspartame ingestion are currently not fully known, but they do need to be kept in mind. Eliminating all artificial sweeteners will be a frustrating enterprise since they are extremely prevalent. However, by partially substituting stevia in homemade desserts, you can significantly reduce your children’s exposure to these artificial chemicals.

Hopefully, with time, stevia can be added to a variety of sodas, candies, gums, and other foods in the US, just like it currently is in Japan and other countries.

Anti-Aging potential
We know from numerous animal studies that reducing caloric intake leads to life span extension. Since stevia can substitute for sugar, and we know excess amounts of this sweetener can contribute to high blood sugar, obesity, and have other unhealthy effects on the human body, it would seem likely that substituting stevia for sugar could have a positive effect on longevity. This effect would be most apparent in those who normally have a high intake of sugar.

With references from Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Answer the phone by LEFT ear.
Do not drink coffee TWICE a day.
Do not take pills with COOL water.
Do not have HUGE meals after 5pm.
Reduce the amount of OILY food you consume.
Drink more WATER in the morning, less at night.
Keep your distance from hand phone CHARGERS.
Do not use headphones/earphone for LONG period of time.
Best sleeping time is from 10pm at night to 6amin the morning.
Do not lie down immediately after taking medicine before sleeping.
When battery is down to the LAST grid/bar, do not answer the phone as the radiation is 1000 times.

As we grow, getting the right amount of essential minerals becomes more and more important in handling life’s increasing demands… essential minerals such as:

• Calcium – to help promote your bone density and skeletal system
• Magnesium – to support your lungs and pulmonary system
• Potassium – to help regulate your circulatory system and promote your heart health

The best way for us to obtain these and other minerals is by eating wholesome unprocessed foods in our daily diet. If we eat processed foods, we risk losing valuable amounts of these essential minerals before the food ever reaches our table.

It is ideal to receive all our nutrition from whole, unprocessed organic foods but it has been realized over time that a high-quality multivitamin could be a valuable complement to our diet, especially when the situations in our life make it challenging to eat consistently healthy meals.

When it comes to synthetic multivitamins, boatloads of research exist — research that details how our body can only absorb a small percentage of the nutrients (and potentially use even less). It’s very clear that our body will absorb greater amounts of nutrients if the multivitamin comes in a non-synthetic natural whole food form.
Dr Mercola has followed stringent criteria to produce Whole Food +Plus Vital Minerals with:

• Calcium – To provide a high-level of support for your skeletal system, As we age, our need for calcium becomes more and more important to promote healthy bones.
• Magnesium – Scientific studies have reported that magnesium is helpful in supporting our lungs and overall pulmonary system. Magnesium intake promotes bone density health. It also helps maintain our muscular and nervous systems and helps support our healthy heart, and our energy needs.
• Potassium – This important mineral helps regulate our circulatory system and promotes our heart health. .Potassium is another important element in our bone density health. As we age, bone density becomes an important element in our overall health.

Whole Food Multivitamin +Plus Vital Minerals’ formula has natural value built into it.

It provides you with a highly concentrated daily supplement containing more than 50 nutritional ingredients… all in a special herbal food base.

One of the challenges your body faces every day is combating free radicals.

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules and fragments of molecules that may impact your body at your cellular level.

Free radicals constantly attack your body proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and DNA, and can cause potentially serious health concerns unless they are kept in check. Every cell in your body suffers an estimated 10,000 free radical hits each day. Your body does its best to fight back — in what is an actual battlefield at the cellular level.

To help balance the effects of free radicals, Whole Food +Plus Vital Minerals provides you with high-potency amounts of an exclusive antioxidant formula that includes: Natural beta-carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Selenium, L-cysteine, Lutein, Lycopene, Red wine proanthocyanidins, And select extracts and powders from over 25 fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

HOW ABOUT TRYING IT………

Yes, it’s true.

Nature still has a few miracles up her sleeve.

You’ve probably heard that breast milk is jam-packed with nutrients and disease-fighting ingredients that help keep babies healthy.

Well, incredibly, coconut oil contains one of the same compounds—Lauric acid—found in mother’s milk! And Lauric Acid is the predominant type of MCFA (medium-chain fatty acids) found in Coconut oil.

Fortunately for our health, Lauric acid in both breast milk and coconut oil transforms when consumed into a substance called monolaurin, the actual compound responsible for helping to strengthen the immune system.

Skeptical? So were a lot of scientists, who’ve proceeded to test the heck out of this substance.

In fact, a great volume of research has been done establishing the ability of Lauric acid to enhance immunity.

What researchers found was that this medium-chain fatty acid derivative actually disrupts the lipid (or fatty) membranes of the offending organisms.

The Lauric acid in coconut oil is one effortless way to help strengthen your immune system.

And, unlike the usual Lauric acid content of 42-49% in many coconut oil brands, Fresh Shores Extra Virgin Coconut Oil contains a whopping 57% of lauric acid.

Probiotics are defined as live microorganisms that, in sufficient amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. A growing body of research links probiotics to relief of digestive tract complaints such as irritable bowel syndrome, yeast infections, and diarrhea that results from certain illnesses. The idea behind probiotics is to increase the amount of beneficial bacteria in people’s intestinal tracts as a way to aid digestion, boost the body’s natural defenses and fight off harmful bacteria that can cause health problems.

Probiotics may:
• Protect against infection
• Enhance and boost the immune system
• Promote and improve digestive health
• Alleviate diarrhea caused by antibiotic treatments
• Promote urinary and genital health
• Assist in the management of inflammation
• Help alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance
• Improve some types of eczema in infants and children
• Reduce cholesterol levels
• Decrease the risk of certain cancers

Although the scientific evidence shows that probiotics really can help, questions remain about how well that research translates into the real world, where some marketers may add untested amounts of the bacteria to various foods. While there are thousands of different probiotics, only a handful have been tested in clinical trials and been shown to deliver specific health benefits when eaten regularly. Most probiotic products can be found in the dairy case or as dietary supplements.

Dr Mercola has launched Complete Probiotics. He claims to offer 11 solid reasons why it’s his #1 pick

# Maintains an ideal good to bad ratio by making the environment hostile to undesirable bacteria
# Supports production of B vitamins, especially folic acid and biotin, and vitamin K
# Promotes mineral absorption
# Supports protein and carbohydrate digestion via probiotic enzymes
# Aids in metabolism and the breakdown of toxins
# Maintains appropriate bowel transit time
# Promotes optimal fungal and viral levels in the body
# Supports immune system function by removing toxins
# Produces lactic acid for support of digestive processes and colonic pH balance
# Sustains suitable serum lipid and blood pressure levels
# Supports normal inflammatory response

Dr Mercola is very confident of your satisfaction with your purchase of Complete Probiotics, He provides a 100% Money Back Lifetime Guarantee so you can try Complete Probiotics at NO RISK!
I think there is no harm trying it….

You may get Probiotics that has been clinically tested for the proper ingredients ensuring specific health benefits from world’s leading Wellness Doctor.
You may contact him at http://tinyurl.com/2786fdj

By Astrid Pujari, M.D.
Special to The Seattle Times

It’s been called one of America’s fastest-growing epidemics. In King County, the number of people with diabetes has doubled in the past decade. Nationally, more than 20 million people have developed the disease, an alarming number of them children.

Diabetes is a major risk factor for a whole host of serious diseases, including heart attack, blindness, kidney failure and can lead to limb amputations.

But one positive feature of this potentially deadly disease: Type 2 diabetes can be controlled or even prevented through healthy lifestyle choices.

What is diabetes? It’s a disease in which a person’s blood sugar — glucose — is too high. The hormone insulin helps glucose get into cells to give them energy. When insulin malfunctions, sugar accumulates outside the cells in the blood. This means that cells “starve” because they can’t get energy, and the extra sugar goes to places it shouldn’t — like the kidneys, nerves and eyes, causing damage.

There are two main types of diabetes. In Type 1, the body doesn’t produce insulin. In Type 2, the body’s cells are resistant to the effects of insulin or there isn’t enough to go around. In the United States, 90 percent of diabetics are Type 2.

What can we do to prevent diabetes? The No. 1 thing is to exercise and keep a healthy weight. But even if your weight isn’t ideal, you don’t need to lose a lot to see results. In one well-designed study, people who combined 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise with 5 percent to 10 percent weight loss had 58 percent less chance of developing diabetes.

That means you don’t have to lose a lot of weight or run marathons to drop your risk. Brisk walking, dancing or swimming once a day qualifies as moderate exercise.

Type 1 diabetes isn’t usually considered preventable in the same way as Type 2. However, speaking from a holistic point of view, there are two interesting studies.

One large study from Finland suggests that infants who get enough vitamin D in the first year of life may be less likely to develop Type 1 diabetes. A second, large Australian study suggested that niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, may be helpful in preventing Type 1 diabetes in high-risk children.

In fact, researchers are so interested in the second one that a large European study is now under way to explore the results.
How can we treat it? Type 1 diabetics require insulin for life, because they don’t make it. That’s why those prevention studies on niacinamide and vitamin D are so compelling.

For Type 2 diabetics, it depends. Some people can control their blood sugar by watching their diet and exercising, though often people need medication as well. Some also require insulin.

Some people ask me which is better for blood-sugar control — weight training or cardiovascular exercise? One well-designed study published in 2007 suggests that doing a combination of both is the best, though you will still see benefit with either one alone.
What about natural supplements to lower blood sugar? One simple thing to do to help lower blood sugar is to eat more soluble fiber. There are lots of sources of soluble fiber, including oats, barley, psyllium husk (Metamucil) and beans. It slows down the absorption of sugar from the intestine, and makes it easier to keep blood sugars under control after meals.

Many supplements are promoted for blood-sugar lowering. Two are bitter melon and chromium.

Two studies which combined chromium with standard medication suggest that it adds an extra boost to blood sugar lowering. This is still controversial, though, and the studies were small. There isn’t much data on bitter melon, though it has been historically used for blood-sugar problems in Asia.

I do not recommend natural supplements as a substitution for conventional medical treatment, and I definitely recommend talking to your doctor about any supplements.

Does emotional stress affect blood sugar? Stress causes our bodies to think we are being attacked. As a result, it releases high amounts of “fight-or-flight” hormones. Their job is to mobilize lots of energy, including glucose, to help our cells respond to danger. In diabetes, though, there is a problem with insulin, so a lot of that glucose ends up accumulating in the blood instead.

It would make sense, then, that chronic stress would not be good for your blood sugar because your fight-or-flight hormones would be high all the time. This could lead to higher average blood sugars, and possibly, more medication.

Although there haven’t been a huge number of human studies on this topic, one well designed study found that stress management dropped hemoglobin A1C (a long-term management of blood sugar) an additional 0.5 percent above the conventional approach. That is a small, but significant, amount.

Dr. Astrid Pujari is a Seattle M.D. with an additional degree as a medical herbalist; she practices at the Pujari Center and teaches as part of the residency programs at Virginia Mason and Swedish/Cherry Hill hospitals. All information is intended for education and not a substitute for medical advice. Consult your doctor before following any suggestions given here.

There is still a simpler way to reverse Diabetes:
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Patients’ concerns about drug side effects are often shrugged off by their doctors, according to a survey of 650 patients who were taking cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins.

Statins, such as Lipitor and Zocor, are common drugs with widely known side effects that include liver damage, muscle problems, memory and mood changes, and more. In the case of muscle problems, if the side effect is not recognized it can progress to a potentially fatal condition called rhabdomyolysis.

Nonetheless, patients who responded to the survey said that they had to initiate a discussion about side effects with their doctor, and when they did:

• 47 percent said their doctors dismissed their muscle or cognitive problems, and said they were not statin-related
• 51 percent with a type of nerve pain called peripheral neuropathy said their doctors denied a connection to the drugs
• 32 percent said their doctors denied a connection between their symptoms and statins
• 29 percent said their doctors “neither endorsed nor dismissed the possibility of symptom link to statins”

Rather than attributing the patients complaints to the drugs, many doctors instead blamed the “normal aging process” or denied the symptoms entirely. Aside from not addressing the health concern in the patient, this ignorance toward a potential adverse drug reaction (ADR) means that no “adverse event report” is being given to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Side effects are already underreported by 90 to 99 percent, according to one Harvard Medical School expert, and the FDA relies heavily on such reports to gauge a drug’s safety once it hits the market.

In short, the survey suggests that the FDA is missing out on a wealth of ADRs because doctors are not recognizing them in patients.

The study’s authors believe that statin-related side effects are not the only one’s being missed.

They suggest that many other drug side effects are also being ignored. The researchers speculated that doctors’ tendencies to ignore drug side effects may be due to the powerful ad campaigns touting medications’ benefits and downplaying side effects.

Drug Safety August 2007 30(8):669-675

Dr Mercola Comments: (http://tinyurl.com/6bbcrt)

I strongly agree with many of the posters on this article that doctors should not be made scapegoats to this unfortunate finding. Most physicians are intelligent, well intentioned individuals who truly believe that they are dong the best they possibly can for their patients. They are clueless that they are merely pawns in the system that is spending tens of billions of dollars EVERY year to manipulate and deceive them into believing drugs and surgery are the best solution for chronic degenerative health conditions.

When you think about it for awhile it is not that much of a stretch since it certainly true for acute traumas, all they had to do was extend that view to degenerative diseases and when you have tens of billions to invest in purchasing the best marking minds on the planet, this is a relatively easy change to achieve. The results speak for themsevles, the drug companies have been fabuloulsy successful in capturing the minds of logic of most of the brightest and educated professionals our country has ever seen.

BUT, they have only done this temporarily. The Internet will change all that. This site is helping to educate consumers and health professionals alike about the fraud and deception. So many physicians are deceived that they are not at all motivated to listen to their patients’ concerns about the medications they’re taking. This is particularly tragic when you consider that prescription drugs result in more than 700,000 visits to the emergency room in the United States every year.

It is also a shame that doctors are so quick to interrupt their patients as it may be only have about 23 seconds to state your concerns before your doctor will interrupt you, which may at least partly explain why most patients had to initiate the drug side effects conversation, or not have it at all.

Physicians certainly do have some responsibility here, particularly in being familiar with, and open to, the fact that drugs often cause side effects (and sometimes strange ones at that).

Drug Companies Are Influencing Your Doctor

In the United States an estimated 80,000 drug company representatives, backed by more than $19 billion of industry’s combined annual promotional budgets, are visiting doctors every day.

These visits are influencing your doctor, essentially biasing him or her in favor of drugs.

Drug companies do not stop there. They spend millions each year to influence Congress, and similar amounts to influence YOU (via TV commercials, magazine ads, and the like) to ask your doctor specifically for their drug, the way you might ask for a particular brand of food in the supermarket.

Only a very well-informed, open-minded physician will be able to withstand this brainwashing (that actually starts way back in medical school)!

What can you do?

You are making the first major step already; you’re getting informed about what’s really going on.

YOU now know that if you suspect a drug is causing you a side effect, you must be sure that your doctor does not dismiss it. If he or she refuses to acknowledge it, you must seek out another doctor who will. As many Vital Votes readers have also pointed out, you can make a difference by printing out informative articles from Mercola.com and elsewhere, and giving them to your doctor.

Doctors are only human, and many will be very receptive to the information contained in these pages.

As the Washington Post article points out, you can also report drug side effects to the FDA directly (regardless of whether or not your doctor does), and I urge you to do so if you’ve experienced any.

Finally, my advice for your health and wellness holds true in this circumstance as well; you can reduce your reliance on the fatally flawed medical system (and thereby your risks of drug side effects) by eating the right foods for your nutritional type, exercising, and relieving stress with a tool such as the Emotional Freedom Technique.

We invite your comments….

Article has inputs from: www.mercola.com

The side effects of prescription medication can be horrific. Is it really worth taking medication if the cure is worse than the disease?
Here 26 side effects that come with many prescription drugs currently on the market.

1. Drainage, crusting, or oozing of your eyes or eyelids
2. Swollen, black, or “hairy” tongue
3. Changes in the shape or location of body fat
4. Decrease in testicle size
5. Sores or swelling in your rectal or genital area
6. Blue lips or fingernails
7. Purple spots on your skin
8. White patches or sores inside your mouth or on your lips
9. Irregular back-and- forth movements of your eyes
10. Enlarged breasts in males.
11. Unusual risk-taking behavior, no fear of danger
12. Extreme fear
13. Hallucinations, fainting, coma
14. Fussiness, irritability, crying for an hour or longer
15. Paralysis
16. Thoracic Hematoma (bleeding into your chest)
17. A blood clot in your lung
18. Liver damage
19. Kidney damage
20. A lump in your breast
21. Decreased bone marrow function
22. Congestive heart failure
23. Shingles
24. Nerve pain lasting for several weeks or months
25. Bleeding that will not stop
26. Coughing up blood or vomit that looks like coffee grounds

One drug on the market, EvaMist – a treatment for menopause symptoms such as hot flashes – has possible side effects that include cancer, stroke, heart attack, blood clots, and dementia!
But this is only a partial list of the potential side effects of prescription drugs. There are, unfortunately, many more out there.
Sources:
HealthMad March 20, 2008

Dr Mercola’s comments: (http://tinyurl.com/6bbcrt)

Every year, more than 2 million Americans suffer from serious adverse drug reactions. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), these reactions cause about 100,000 deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of death in the country.

Compare this to the death toll from illegal drugs – which is about 10,000 per year – and you begin to see the magnitude of the problem.

However, if you dig a little deeper you find that these reported reactions only skim the surface of what’s really going on. You see, drug side effects are not always recognized as such. Doctors often attribute them to other causes, people downplay them or do not report them altogether. And when you add in other medical errors, unnecessary procedures, and surgery-related mishaps, well the modern health care system actually becomes the LEADING cause of death in the United States. Consider, for instance, that:

• The recorded error rate of ICU’s is like the post office losing more than 16,000 pieces of mail every hour of every day, or banks deducting 32,000 checks from the wrong bank account every hour, 24/7.
• The recorded medical errors and deaths equate to six jumbo jets falling out of the sky each day, 365 days a year.

• Since 2001, a recorded 490,000 people have died from properly prescribed drugs in the United States, while 2,996 people died on U.S. soil from terrorism, all in the 9/11 attacks; prescription drugs are therefore 16,400 percent more dangerous than terrorism. If deaths from over-the-counter drugs are also included, then drug consumption leaps to being 32,000 percent more dangerous than terrorism. And conventional medicine viewed as a whole is 104,700 percent deadlier than terrorism

Your Body is Not a Petri Dish

How can it be that clinically tested, FDA-approved drugs that are supposed to “cure” diseases are ending up hurting, and in some cases killing, so many people?

Because even under the BEST circumstances, such as a drug going through unbiased, stringent, long-term testing, when it is released into an uncontrolled environment (your body), anything can happen.

You may be taking another drug that interacts badly with it. Or perhaps a food you eat causes an unforeseen reaction. There are countless possibilities, and only a tiny fraction has been “tested for” in a lab.

And that is under the best circumstances. Often, studies are biased, results are skewed, and drugs are put on a fast-track to be approved before anyone really knows whether they’re safe. In a sense, it is all a gamble, and there are no 100-percent safe drugs.

This is why just about every time you open a newspaper or skim the news online, there is a new headline about another drug disaster: an unforeseen side effect that has harmed innocent people.

It’s YOUR Body

The take-home message from all of this is to remember that, ultimately, it’s your body, and your decision what to put in it. If your doctor suggests you take a drug, do some research before you take it, because once you do, it could be too late.

Make sure you are aware of the potential side effects of the drug, read the package insert, and remember that even if it lists a side effect as rare, it can still happen to you.

Many, many drugs are vastly over-prescribed and unnecessary. So make sure that you make drugs a last option, not a first choice. For example, all of the following conditions can be treated or prevented with LIFESTYLE CHANGES, yet if you go to a typical doctor, you will likely be prescribed a potentially dangerous drug instead:
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Insomnia
I realize that it takes a massive shift in thinking to realize that your body can heal itself, and that often drugs only hinder the process. But I believe that you, and society as a whole, are ready for it.

But here’s the thing: don’t wait until you’re sick or slowing down to make healthy changes. Do them NOW. Become an active participant in your health, and leave the horrific drug side effects behind for good.

Would you like to comment???

If you find an 70 years old man on your dinner table who does not need glasses to see the menu. Won’t you envy his ability to read a menu without reading glasses; Well I am sure you will jump to know his secret? You will surely ask him the secret of maintaining the perfect eyesight.

Usually when a person is nearing mid-40s, he starts feeling the need for some help which could improve the quality of his/her vision. Once you visit an eye specialist, you come out with a prescription. Eye Glasses made as per the prescription does improve your eyesight BUT it becomes a permanent part of your life. One has to use it on a regular basis.

Are you aware that there is a simple yet powerful methods of vision re-training that can allow you to see better naturally—with just a few minutes a day of easy practice. This natural eyesight training is called the Secrets of Regaining Your Vision Naturally. It helps you to discover the safe and proven approach to permanently eliminating not only your eyesight problems, but also the high cost and hassles associated with them.

You can…
• Discover how to throw away your glasses for good …
• Get rid of your messy and irritating contact lenses …
• Avoid the risks and cost of LASIK eye surgery …
• Improve your vision in just minutes a day …
• Free yourself from eyestrain and neck strain
• Save thousands of dollars on your lifetime vision care costs..

…
Have you ever realized that the glasses/contact lenses serve as only a “crutch” or “band-aid fix", they do absolutely nothing to improve your eyesight. Worse yet, there’s strong medical evidence that glasses and contacts actually make your eyes worse! With them, your vision is likely to continue to deteriorate, making it necessary for you to return for stronger and stronger prescriptions.

So, if you wear contact lenses or glasses, you not only have to contend with the incorrect vision habits which initially led to your visual problems, you also must deal with the fact that your strong corrective lenses actually interfere with your ability to improve your vision.

Natural vision training assists you to transition yourself from glasses by reducing your prescription and removing your glasses or contacts when they are not essential for safety. You will also discover how to work with a supportive eye doctor as you reduce your reliance on corrective lenses.

Contact lenses are basically a foreign object in the eyes. In addition to their interference with vision improvement, they possess their own risks and problems, including:: inconvenient to use, difficult to keep it clean and disinfected, leads to irritation and abrasion of the cornea, deprive the cornea of necessary oxygen, dry out the eyes, may cause eye and eyelid infection, subject to irritation from dust, pollutants and allergens and interfere with normal blinking and tearing.

If some of these side effects sound bad, LASIK is even worse … There is always risk of complications and side effects from botched or problematic LASIK surgery, many of which have been downplayed to the general public.

There are few programs which offer natural vision correction through “eye exercises", but the outcome has not been very encouraging since the eye muscles are already too strained, tight and contracted. They certainly don’t need more exercise.

The eye really needs to re-learn the way to relax and reclaim the perfect unstrained vision which one had as a young child.

Visit for more details: http://tinyurl.com/4a52pz

Antioxidants are the body’s best way to neutralize free radicals-who damage cells and tissues throughout the body.

Scientific evidence has repeatedly demonstrated that antioxidants are a cornerstone in the promotion of heart health, immune system support, and memory support. Antioxidants also appear to play a role in helping to slow your signs of aging.

We are eagerly to look for unique combination of antioxidants, omega-3 oils and other ingredients which could offer us:
• A healthy heart
• Support for concentration, memory & learning
• Blood sugar health
• Healthy joints, with an increase in joint comfort
• Fighting your signs of aging
• Healthy brain and nervous system function and development
• Protection for cell membranes
• Cholesterol and other blood lipid health
• Healthy liver function
• Relief of normal PMS symptoms
• Bolstering your immune system
• Healthy mood support
• Optimal skin health
• Improved quality of life when compared with fish oil

A way to enhance your health with a product that really delivers the goods is – New and Improved Krill Oil can help you.

To give you a little idea about KRILLS– Those are small shrimp or prawn-like creatures that feed the world’s most mammoth animals – the great whales. Toothless great whales gulp down huge quantities of krill to provide the energy they need to fuel their massive bulk. A blue whale eats up to 8,000 pounds of krill each day during feeding season.

These highly intelligent great whales aren’t the only animals that depend on krill for their nutritional needs. So do seals, penguins, sea birds, squid and fish.

The hardy Neptune type of krill harvested from harsh Antarctic waters – the ones that comprise New and Improved Krill Oil – are so important they are considered a “keystone species”, an organism upon which many Antarctic predators depend.

You must have heard about two fats in Omega-3 oils that are crucial for our health are DHA and EPA. These compounds are not only essential to maintaining our health – scientific research indicates that they may also promote heart health and provide immune system and mood support.

Now in a perfect world, we would be able to get all the omega-3s we need by eating fish. Unfortunately, studies show that eating fish can potentially expose us to a high degree of contamination with industrial pollutants and toxins like mercury, PCBs, heavy metals and radioactive poisons.

In fact, the FDA and EPA have put out health advisories warning against certain fish and shellfish consumption for young children, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant and nursing mothers.
I formerly recommended that you take Fish oil was also recommended to enhance the intake of omega-3 fats. High-quality fish oils are certainly great products, with many important health benefits.
But there are drawbacks.

Fish oil is a weak antioxidant content. As you increase your intake of omega-3 essential fatty acids by consuming fish oil, you actually increase your need for even more antioxidant protection.

Fish oil being perishable, antioxidants are necessary to ensure that the fish oil doesn’t oxidize and become rancid inside our body. Oxidation leads to the formation of those unhealthy free radicals.
So, we need to consume additional antioxidants for our health in general, and for our increased need for antioxidants when using fish oil.

This was a vexing problem for a long time.

The introduction of Antarctic Pure Krill Oil (now known as New and Improved Krill Oil) – a marine oil of genuine Neptune krill solved the dilemma by uniquely and synergistically combining antioxidants and omega-3s.

For details, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/46w7ey

Looking for happy stomach?
Adopted from the article by: Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

Probiotics is a friendly bacteria that keeps the digestive system healthy. We have 400 different types of probiotics and each type of friendly bacteria has a specific health benefit to the body.
Probiotics may:
• Protect against infection
• Enhance and boost the immune system
• Promote and improve digestive health
• Alleviate diarrhea caused by antibiotic treatments
• Promote urinary and genital health
• Assist in the management of inflammation
• Help alleviate symptoms of lactose intolerance
• Improve some types of eczema in infants and children
• Reduce cholesterol levels
• Decrease the risk of certain cancers

Basically the dairy products and dairy beverages contain probiotics. To name a few:
• Yogurt
• Drinkable and squeezable yogurts
• Fluid milk with added probiotics
• Fermented milk and
• Kefir
Through fermentation, probiotics enhance the flavor and texture of these particular dairy products. Dairy foods actually buffer your stomach acid and bile, thereby protecting the probiotics from the stomach acid so that they can reach the intestines.
Raw (unpasteurized) yogurt is loaded with bacteria. Most yogurts today are pasteurized and these bacteria are killed. However, some friendly bacteria are added back. Look for a yogurt that contains the “live and active culture” sign on the label. Pay close attention to the expiration date because these live bacterial cultures can diminish with time.

Probiotic supplements such as freeze dried powder, capsules, wafers, and liquids should be taken with a caution since Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate supplements in the same way as it regulates medication. Legally, manufacturers can sell supplements, even with little or no research on how well it works or how safe it is.

Supplement and medication reactions can occur, therefore seek the guidance of your health care provider before using any probiotic supplement.

Why not give some fermented dairy products a try today?! You may visit the following site for a trying with dependable Probiotics:
http://tinyurl.com/2786fdj

IF YOU DO NOT REGULARLY HAVE A BOWEL MOVEMENT ATLEAST ONCE A DAY, YOU ARE CHRONICALLY CONSTIPATED

Having too much fat around the mid-section is not the only cause of this extension. Most likely it’s a serious build-up of toxic fecal matter in the intestines and colon that is contributing to a chronic outward swelling of the person’s belly.

This condition called bloating is NOT the stomach making the belly stick out, for the stomach is located ABOVE the transverse colon, beside the liver. Bloat is the COLON (large intestine) expanding due to the impacted fecal matter building up inside.

It is rumored that when the beloved singer/actor Elvis Presley died, the autopsy revealed that his bloated body had about 50 pounds of impacted fecal matter in his digestive tract! The same situation is said to have occurred with the famous Hollywood actor, John Wayne, who had even more pounds of toxic fecal matter in his digestive tract when he died.

Cleaning out the impacted fecal matter in your own body could contribute to a slimming of the abdomen and some significant weight loss.

Cleaning your colon and rectum may also be the best preventive measure you can take against the risk of colorectal cancer, pre-cancerous polyps in the colon, and those painful diseases of the colon known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Diverticulitis, Ileitis, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) which includes Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Today, doctors have no known medical cure for Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Ulcerative Colitis (other than surgery). It looks like prevention is your only option. Between 25 percent and 40 percent of people with ulcerative colitis eventually need colostomy surgery in which part or all of the colon is cut out and removed.

Medical doctors tend to treat the symptoms of a diseased colon with drugs or surgery, without getting to the real cause of the problem. Has your doctor ever told you how to PREVENT these diseases before they happen to you?

It’s really up to YOU to take charge of your health and well-being. Using a complementary therapy such as cleansing your colon and gastrointestinal tract with Holy Tea is a simple, easy, and pleasant way to start. It’s as easy as drinking two glasses of good-tasting tea per day!

It’s hard these days to avoid over-processed foods loaded with chemicals, drinks laced with caffeine, and all the toxic pollution in the air and water. But you can do something to counteract their toxic effects… simply by drinking Holy Tea to help flush the toxins, parasites, and impacted fecal matter out of your body and restore your colon to optimum health.

The primary function of Holy Tea is to gently cleanse the digestive tract of this toxic waste material, restore a healthy digestive system, and reduce the risk of all the ailments that are caused by auto-intoxification.

Visit: http://www.htcholytea.com/rebeccabrigg

By TARA PARKER-POPE
Published: March 11, 2008

As a symbol of health and wellness, nothing surpasses the simple push-up.

Practically everyone remembers the actor Jack Palance performing age-defying push-ups during his Oscar acceptance speech. More recently, Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor whose last lecture became an Internet sensation, did push-ups to prove his fitness despite having pancreatic cancer.

“It takes strength to do them, and it takes endurance to do a lot of them,” said Jack LaLanne, 93, the fitness pioneer who astounded television viewers in the 1950s with his fingertip push-ups. “It’s a good indication of what kind of physical condition you’re in.”
The push-up is the ultimate barometer of fitness. It tests the whole body, engaging muscle groups in the arms, chest, abdomen, hips and legs. It requires the body to be taut like a plank with toes and palms on the floor. The act of lifting and lowering one’s entire weight is taxing even for the very fit.

“You are just using your own body and your body’s weight,” said Steven G. Estes, a physical education professor and dean of the college of professional studies at Missouri Western State University. “If you’re going to demonstrate any kind of physical strength and power, that’s the easiest, simplest, fastest way to do it.”

But many people simply can’t do push-ups. Health and fitness experts, including the American College of Sports Medicine, have urged more focus on upper-body fitness. The aerobics movement has emphasized cardiovascular fitness but has also shifted attention from strength training exercises.

Moreover, as the nation gains weight, arms are buckling under the extra load of our own bodies. And as budgets shrink, public schools often do not offer physical education classes — and the calisthenics that were once a childhood staple.

In a 2001 study, researchers at East Carolina University administered push-up tests to about 70 students ages 10 to 13. Almost half the boys and three-quarters of the girls didn’t pass.
Push-ups are important for older people, too. The ability to do them more than once and with proper form is an important indicator of the capacity to withstand the rigors of aging.

Researchers who study the biomechanics of aging, for instance, note that push-ups can provide the strength and muscle memory to reach out and break a fall. When people fall forward, they typically reach out to catch themselves, ending in a move that mimics the push-up. The hands hit the ground, the wrists and arms absorb much of the impact, and the elbows bend slightly to reduce the force.

In studies of falling, researchers have shown that the wrist alone is subjected to an impact force equal to about one body weight, says James Ashton-Miller, director of the biomechanics research laboratory at the University of Michigan.

“What so many people really need to do is develop enough strength so they can break a fall safely without hitting their head on the ground,” Dr. Ashton-Miller said. “If you can’t do a single push-up, it’s going to be difficult to resist that kind of loading on your wrists in a fall.”

And people who can’t do a push-up may not be able to help themselves up if they do fall.

“To get up, you’ve got to have upper-body strength,” said Peter M. McGinnis, professor of kinesiology at State University of New York College at Cortland who consults on pole-vaulting biomechanics for U.S.A. Track and Field, the national governing body for track.

Natural aging causes nerves to die off and muscles to weaken. People lose as much as 30 percent of their strength between 20 and 70. But regular exercise enlarges muscle fibers and can stave off the decline by increasing the strength of the muscle you have left.

Women are at a particular disadvantage because they start off with about 20 percent less muscle than men. Many women bend their knees to lower the amount of weight they must support. And while anybody can do a push-up, the exercise has typically been part of the male fitness culture. “It’s sort of a gender-specific symbol of vitality,” said R. Scott Kretchmar, a professor of exercise and sports science at Penn State. “I don’t see women saying: ‘I’m in good health. Watch me drop down and do some push-ups.’ ”

Based on national averages, a 40-year-old woman should be able to do 16 push-ups and a man the same age should be able to do 27. By the age of 60, those numbers drop to 17 for men and 6 for women. Those numbers are just slightly less than what is required of Army soldiers who are subjected to regular push-up tests.

If the floor-based push-up is too difficult, start by leaning against a countertop at a 45-degree angle and pressing up and down. Eventually move to stairs and then the floor.

Mr. LaLanne, who once set a world record by doing 1,000 push-ups in 23 minutes, still does push-ups as part of his daily workout. Now he balances his feet and each hand on three chairs.

“That way I can go way down, even lower than if I was on the floor,” he said. “That’s really tough.”

well@nytimes.com

By Mike Adams
Obese, diabetic mice whose diet was supplemented with an extract of cacao liquor demonstrated a significant reduction in blood sugar levels in a Japanese study reported in the journal Nutrition.

“The dietary intake of food or drinks produced from cacao beans might be beneficial in preventing the onset of Type 2 diabetes,” the study’s authors wrote.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body becomes desensitized to the sugar-regulating hormone insulin. Type 1 diabetes is caused by an actual deficiency of insulin due to low production by the body. Both lead to high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia).

An estimated 7 percent of the U.S. population – 21 million people – have been diagnosed with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association further estimates that 6.2 million people remain undiagnosed and another 41 million are prediabetic.

Researchers supplemented the diets of obese, diabetic mice with either 0, 0.5 or 1.0 percent cacao liquor proanthocyanidins (CLPr) – containing 72 percent polyphenols – for three weeks. They found that blood sugar was reduced in direct correlation with the dosage of CLPr.

Proanthocyanidins are a type of flavonoid, a plant chemical known to have antioxidant properties. Previous studies have found evidence that eating flavonoid-rich chocolate reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease. The current study, however, is the first to record an effect of cacao chemicals on blood sugar levels.

The one percent dose given to the mice would be the equivalent of a human consuming 5 grams of polyphenols per day. This could be achieved by eating 2.5 kilograms of normal chocolate, or 100 grams of flavonol-rich chocolate. However, those considering experimenting with this technique should note that eating sugared chocolate could easily negate any benefits of the flavonoids in the cacao.

Much of the research on the health benefits of flavonols – but not the current study – has been funded by confectionary giant Mars, Inc.

“It is important that consumers realize even though cacao itself may be useful for stabilizing blood sugar, most chocolate products actually contain refined sugar as a sweetening ingredient,” explained Mike Adams, author of How to Halt Diabetes in 25 Days. “Eating sugar along with chocolate is not very smart, especially for someone suffering from diabetes or other blood sugar disorders. I recommend raw, unprocessed, unsweetened cacao, which is extremely bitter and highly medicinal,” Adams said. Raw cacao may be purchased at raw food retailers such as www.RawFoods.com or www.RawGuru.com

Here’s the Truth About Curing Your Diabetes!