Healthy blog

Single Herbs Vs Herbal Combinations

2009-01-13T05:06:00.000-08:00

by: Dev Sri

In Ayurveda there are a lot of home remedies which utilize only a single herb. In Ayurvedic medicinal formulations only combinations of different herbs are used.

There is specific reason for using herbs in combination and not in isolation. Herbs have chemicals and formulations, which can bring strong effects on body. There are however can be undesirable effects for a herb on human body. This undesirable effect is neutralized by the formulation of another herb in the combination. The herbs when used in combination helps body better manage the undesirable effects of another herb.

A requirement of Ayurvedic medicines is that it should not cause other diseases; or there should not be any side effects for any Ayurvedic medicine.

Every herb in the combination/formulation plays a curative or pacifying role. It is therefore necessary to opt for herbal combinations instead of depending on single herbs.

Herbs in combination are also yield more results than when taken in isolation. The curative power of a herb can be enhanced by presence of another herb. The effectiveness of a single herb is increased by facilitating better assimilation of the herb.

An example is piper longum (Indian long pepper), which enhances the power of many herbs used in Ayurvedic formulations. The increased benefits of herbs combination can be attributed to the power of a herb to prepare the body for better assimilation of the beneficial components of the main herb in the formulation.

Another example is Shilajit (mineral pitch, Asphaltum), which enhances the potential of any medicinal combination.

It is also necessary to follow the instructions of herbal combinations as different combinations and proportions can have different effects.

The laboratory experimentation on Ayurvedic medicines must also be based on the herbal combinations and not based on any single component of a herb. Use of herbs or chemicals in isolation is unhealthy to the body. The effect of the whole medicinal combination needs to be studied and documented.

This may be an alien concept for allopathic medicine, where every single chemical is tested for a specific purpose and is passed on as clinically tested. Side effects of such medicines come to notice only after a lot of people around the world has actually used it for a long time.

Ayurveda Medicines, Ayurvedic Herbs and Ayurvedic Treatments

2009-01-13T05:02:00.005-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Ayurveda is not just only about treating diseases. Ayurveda is just about leading a healthy life in a physical, mental and divine level. The food items we eat, the air we breathe, the freshness of nature we experience, the fragrance we smell, the good sights we enjoy, all have potential medicinal values.

This is best illustrated by the story of Jeevaka’s test. It is the final test assigned by Jeevaka’s Acharya (teacher) Athreya.

Jeevaka (Jivaka), like other disciples of Atreya had to bring a herb or a leaf with no medicinal value. Jivaka, could not find such a plant or a herb. However, it was only a manifestation of superior knowledge he had on the value of plants, herbs and all elements of nature.

Jivaka explained that whatever plant he saw had some medicinal property, which can be used under optimum conditions for best results. He said even the slanting sunrays, cool breeze, the sound of water flowing through a rivulet, the singing of birds too have medicinal properties. Some have medicinal qualities to treat physical ailments while others have powers to cure mental disturbances.

One should look at Ayurveda medicines in this light. Nothing on the earth is without a reason. Every leaf, flower, root and stem has medicinal qualities under specific conditions.

Have a look at Ayurvedic medicines prepared by Ayurvedic herbs for different Ayurvedic treatments. Ayurvedic medicines are prepared by a combination of selected roots, leaves or stems of Ayurvedic medicinal herbs. These herbs form part of Ayurvedic massage oil, Ayurvedic herbal decoctions called kashaya, Ayurvedic jam called Rasayana, Ayurvedic Ghee called ghrita etc.

According to Ayurveda, diseases can occur when there is a slight imbalance in the basic humors of human body – vata, pitta and kapha, which collectively is known as tridosha or three doshas.

Ayurvedic treatment is a method of restoring balance of human system through proper application of medicine by drinking, eating or application by massaging.

Preparations of medicines are under controlled conditions. Slight variations from standard condition can spoil the medicine.

There are also quality standards for the medicinal herbs collected for Ayurveda medicine preparation.

Alcohol and Drug Addiction Relief with Ayurveda

2009-01-13T05:02:00.004-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Ayurvedic relief from addictions like drugs, alcohol, smoking and over eating helps people come back to enjoying their life without addictions to any harmful substances. Ayurveda is unique system of lifestyle that helps people lead healthy lives. Ayurvedic addiction recovery therapies work with the willpower of the person.

As a first step to recover from the addiction, the person must identify he is slave to an addiction and should have a desire to recover from alcohol addiction, drug addiction or addiction to smoking. Over eating is also a behavioral problem that has far reaching consequences on one's health.

One detrimental factor to free one from addictions is the withdrawal symptoms. The addicts feel they are punished for abandoning the use of drugs, alcohol or cigarette.

Ayurveda approaches this problem systematically and Ayurvedic system of cure from addictions is based on treating the cause instead of symptoms. The alcohol consumption or smoking is only a symptom. Underlying reasons can be stress or mental tension. The person tries to dissolve his worries in alcohol, but he or she ends up more worried and disheartened.

Ayurveda aims at removing the root cause of the addiction. Ayurveda aims at replacing the addictive behavior with some constructive behavior. For instance, smokers will be given herbal cigarettes, which satisfy their urge to smoke, but removes the toxins added to their body.

This herbal approach is supplemented with counseling, guided meditation, massage therapy, aromatherapy, etc which help in complete recovery of the addiction without withdrawal symptoms.

The inertia or the mental conditioning of the person to give up the habit is the first thing that needs attention.

Ayurveda also recommends personalized treatment programs based on the physical constitution of the person. Physical constitution, called DOSHA in Ayurvedic terms gives clues to effectiveness in recovery from any addictions.

Each type of persons have specific herbal formulations that help in removing toxic wastes accumulated to the body, strengthen internal tissues and easily recover the person from addiction.

The important factor is the mental preparedness of the person to accept he/she has some addictions and honest desire to recover. After getting the person in right mental condition, it is easy to recover from any life-threatening bad habits.

Ayurveda Epilepsy Treatments

2009-01-13T05:02:00.003-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Epilepsy (seizure disorder, fits) is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent instances of seizure or tremors. These are due to abnormal excitation from brain. Epilepsy treatment methods are aimed at controlling the disease. Most cases of juvenile epilepsy don't pass over to adulthood.

Not all epilepsy cases are alike. Sometimes there can be apparent reasons like stress, brain injury, genetic conditions and parasitic infection of brain. It is also observed that instance of epilepsy can occur without any solid provable reason.

Epilepsy due to specific reasons like use of certain drugs, epilepsy as withdrawal symptom, seizure due to abnormal levels of sodium in blood are temporary cases and will be cured without any special treatments apart from the medicines and diet to return to normal health.

Epilepsy treatment in Ayurveda

Apasmara or apasmaram is the term used for epilepsy in Ayurveda. The reasons sited by Ayurveda scripts include stressful life, lazy life, poor diet and suppression of natural urges.

Each person is different and each case of epilepsy is also different. Thorough examination of the patient by an Ayurvedic physician is essential to identify the right treatment for a person.

Epilepsy in most cases is a vata disorder. However, it can also be caused by vitiation of pitta or kapha. Imbalances of all the three doshas are also not very rare.

Vata type seizure is mainly a mental problem. Stressful days, poor sleep and mental exertion are reasons. Digestive problems like gastritis, constipation etc. can also be reasons.

Rest, normalized diet and specific time to take food can help such persons control epilepsy. Abhayanga or Ayurvedic oil massage, shirodhara (pouring of medicated oil over head), thalam (retaining medicated oil on head) helps in pacifying mind. Nerve tonic herbs like Aswagandha (Withania somnifera), Brahmi (Bacopa monniera), Jatamamsi (Nardastachys jatamansi), Shanka pushpi (Evolvulus alsinoides) etc are used to pacify nervous system and to reduce instances of abnormal brain functioning.

Inflammations inside head due to diseases like Encephalitis cause pitta type seizures. Exposure to heat is a high risk factor in such cases of seizures. Kapha type epilepsy is due to blocks in central nervous system. A sedentary or highly secluded life can lead to this condition.

Kapha type epilepsy is also characterized by excess salivation. Tulsi (holy basil), Acorus calamus, etc are the type of herbs beneficial in kapha epilepsy.

Prevention of Epilepsy Ayurveda way

Regulate the lifestyle with Ayurvedic daily routine (dinacharya).

Stay as much positive about the day and life as possible. Don’t allow tensions to creep in to your mind. Don’t get excited at anything. Start practicing yoga meditation.

Keep your daily diet fully nutritive. Don’t eat late at night. If possible go for five or six small meals a day, instead of one or two big meals.

Massage your soles with coconut oil or sesame oil before going to bed. This give your head a cooling effect.

Eye Care in Ayurveda

2009-01-13T05:02:00.002-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Not many people know there is a specialized branch in Ayurveda that deals with eye care. Eye care or netra chikitsa comes in Shalakya Tantra (Urdhwanga chikitsa in Malayalam), one among the eight branches of Ayurveda.

Shalakya tantra is Ayurvedic equivalent of ENT. It deals with all diseases affecting parts above neck. Ancient Ayurvedic texts describe 76 types of eye diseases. Though there are not cure to all of the diseases, there are solid directions to effectively manage any eye condition and manage better eyesight.

Here are some eye care habits you can follow to better manage your eye health.

The first principle is not to stare at any object for long times or don't try to figure out a distant object in such a way that you tire your eyes. Blinking of eye is a natural process and don't suppress the feeling to blink your eyes.

Don't attempt reading or watching TV in dim light or too bright light (bright sunlight).

Being part of your body, your eyes too require rest. Don't cut in on the time to sleep.

Splash your eyes with fresh water early in the morning and several times in the day.

Staring computer screen for longer hours is a recipe for eye fatigue. Take a break from your job every 30 minutes. Close your eyes for a few seconds or take a small walk.

Diet

Food items rich in vitamins, especially Vitamin A is necessary to maintain good eye health. Carrot and other colored vegetables are good sources of vitamin A. Apples, chick peas, radish, whole wheat bread, etc too are good for eyes.

Drink lot of water during the day time. Don't allow dehydration to happen. It tires your eyes, just as it does to your body.

Ayurvedic Cure for Parkinson’s Disease

2009-01-13T05:02:00.001-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Parkinson’s disease (Paralysis agitans) as described by James Parkinson in 1817 is characterized by degeneration of central nervous tissues, affecting the motor skills of a person, thereby impairing his (rarely her) movements and speech.

Kampa vata described in Ayurveda is similar to Parkinson's disease. Kampa means vibration or shaking (as in an earth quake). Ayurvedic texts describe the symptoms as constant shaking or tremor of limbs and/or head, difficulty in body movements, difficulty in speaking, expressionless face and staring like look.

Parkinson’s disease affects about 1% of population of people aged 65 and above. It is less common in developing and underdeveloped countries. The description of similar type disease in ancient Ayurvedic scripts suggests such a disease existed 2,000 to 3,000 years ago.

Modern researches on Parkinson’s disease almost revolve round an extract from an Ayurvedic herb. Levodopa or L-Dopa present in Mucuna pruriens is easily converted to dopamine at brain. This is especially beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. (More info at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=15548480&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_Brief)

Synthetic L-Dopa brings with it several side-effects, while Mucuna pruriens preparation gives complete benefits of better Parkinson's cure with a little side effects like. The side effects of Mucuna prurens preparations are minimal when compared to synthetic levadopa. One important preparation in this regard is HP200 mucuna pruriens powder available in Indian market, which has been approved by Food and Drugs Administration of India.

Ayurvedic treatment for Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease Ayurveda treatment aims at balancing disturbed vata. Massage therapy, enema, medication methods are applied. In addition to Mucuna pruriens (known by names violet bean, cowhage, naikkurana and kaunch beej), Ashwaganda (Withania somnifera), Sida cordifolia are the prime herbs usable in Parkinson’s disease Ayurvedic treatment.

Ayurvedic Parkinson's treatment utilizes a holistic approach. The holistic treatment regime has great chances of success. Pacification of vata at the digestive tract is important. Mild laxatives are used for colon cleansing, mainly to control vata aggravation.

Rigidity associated with Parkinson's disease is due to entry of vayu to mamsa. To relive rigidity, one has to be given nervine tonics (Jatamansi and Shanka pushpi) are examples. Depression is due to vata entering nervous system, which can be controlled by appropriate drugs like Hydrocotyle asiatica or Hypericum perforatum.

Ayurveda Parkinson's disease treatment is not just about applying certain medicines or drugs to pacify the symptoms of the disease. Parkinson's disease Ayurveda treatment is a concerted effort to accurately identify the exact reason of the imbalance and offer stable solution to the problem.

This holistic approach makes use of meditation as a self diagnosis tool. Parkinson's disease occurs due to imbalances in mind, body or soul. Yoga and meditation helps the person to accurately focus on the right reason for the condition. It can sometimes be physical, mental or spiritual. Identifying the cause makes the cure as easy as possible.

Snoring Remedies

2009-01-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Snoring causes and snoring home remedies. Ayurvedic home remedies for snoring.

Though people approach snoring as a funny menace, it is a condition that requires treatment. Over sixty percent of men above age 50 snores, which can be indication of several other problems including high blood pressure and blockages in the respiratory tract.

Snoring is not a disease, but sometimes can be indication of serious conditions like sleep apnea. Though in itself is not a disease, snoring can cause serious health problems. The person sharing the room will not be able to sleep well and suffer from symptoms associated with sleep deprivation. This is applicable to the person who snores too.

Being overweight is a reason for snoring. If you are overweight and snore, you had better lose those extra pounds slowly but steadily. Eat nutritious, fiber rich food, while also taking up regular exercise programs, including yoga. It is beneficial to your general health condition too.

Try sleeping on your left side. This will help reduce snoring. Sleeping on your right side can create problems inside stomach because of the peculiar shape of stomach and the action of digestive juices.

Avoid alcohol and smoking. Alcohol and smoking are not helpful to human body in any way. Taking hard drinks immediately before going to bed can cause loud snoring.

Nasal congestion can be reason for snoring. If it is the case you can put a few holy basil leaves in two-three glass of water, boil it and allow the steam to reach your nose.

Practicing yoga can also help, as several of the yoga asanas can help clear the disturbances in the respiratory tract.

Diabetes and Food Style: Turn Your Food into Your Medicine

2009-01-12T05:10:00.003-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Fast paced life of modern world has necessitated us to give only lower priority to nutrition. This is at a time when nutrition awareness of everyone is high. Instead of taking well cooked food items, fruits and juices, people go after carbonated drinks, fast 'junk' food, frozen and preserved food, microwave food. People also don’t take the time to enjoy and appreciate the food they eat. Today most of us just need any food that fills the belly for sometime.

This food habits have given rise to a variety of health problems. Significantly important one among them is diabetes.

Ayurvedic principles tell us food is one important element that keeps a person in a balanced state of body, mind and soul. Taking healthy food translates into healthy body.

Ayurvedic view on diabetes is no different. There are times when diabetes can attack without any warning sign. Ayurvedic food style combined with certain herbal applications helps one effectively manage his or her condition of diabetes.

High sugar level is the most dreaded thing about diabetes. Ayurveda recommends food items that don't release excess sugar into the blood. Food items that are too sweet, ice cream, chocolate, friend food items, white flour, preserved food, fast food, junk food etc are to be avoided. Bad habits like smoking and drinking should be given up.

Ayurveda recommends Ayurvedic herbal tea for diabetic patients. Replace sugar with honey or jaggery (thickened molasses - sarkkara) or better still palm jaggery (thickened palm molasses - karippatti).

The advantages or drinking more than eight glass of water everyday is not easily told in an essay. Drink a minimum of 8-15 glass of water in the day time. After sunset take only minimal quantities of water. Another thing is to drink plenty of water an hour before a meal and an hour after the meals. Drinking water close to meals dilute the digestive fire (in Ayurveda it is called pitta) and makes the process of digestion difficult.

Take fruits like grapes, fig, pomegranate, citrus fruits etc. Bitter melon (bitter gourd, karela) is used as medicine for diabetes.

The point about Ayurvedic management of diabetes is never a hard task. All you will have to do is to incorporate Ayurvedic principles as your daily routine. Having healthy food and exercise regime itself can help one control his or her diabetes to a great extent.

Include turmeric and garlic as spices, bitter gourd as vegetable, triphala as a laxative and drinking lot of water as daily habit. These are not very difficult to follow. You can't eat or drink all the food items you have. But living a sweeter life sometimes means giving up some sweet for tongue food items.

Causes of Bronchitis and Ayurvedic Home Remedies

2009-01-12T05:10:00.002-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Bronchitis – causes and Ayurvedic home remedies for bronchitis.

Bronchitis is inflammation of bronchi or air passages that carry air to lungs. People suffering from bronchitis see a heightening of this disease in damp climate.

In Ayurveda, bronchitis is termed as kasa roga (casa roga). According to Ayurveda concepts, germs cause this disease. However, accumulation of phlegm in the digestive tract after indigestion is the primary reason for bronchitis.

Thus treating bronchitis primarily aims at treating abnormalities in digestive system. The medicines also have curative powers to treat lung diseases.

Herbal remedies for Bronchitis

Tulsi (Holy Basil Ocimum sanctum), adathoda (Adathoda vasika), linseed, etc are used in the treatment of bronchitis.

You can chew two or three fresh tulsi leaves daily to keep yourself free from almost all of the diseases that affect you. Tulsi leaves also form constituent of several Ayurvedic preparations aimed at treating bronchitis. The other herbs are used in the concoctions (Ayurvedic preparations). They give the best results when used in the right proportions in the combination.

Precautionary measures include avoiding exposure to humidity, dust and other allergens.

You should also take care of your food and diet. Include a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Avoid smoking, alcohol and other addictives. Canned foods items are also best avoided. Easy to digest food items should form the main meals. Eat lots of fibrous food items and avoid the chances of constipation. Problems in digestion are the beginning point of bronchitis and you need to take extreme care in ensuring you have smooth digestion.

Manasanthi: Ayurvedic Directions to Calmer Mind

2009-01-12T05:10:00.001-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Manasanthi is peace of mind. Manas means mind and santhi means peace or tranquility. Just as the name suggest this form of Ayurvedic therapy is aimed at pacifying mind.

Mind, body and soul are equally important to Ayurveda. Manasanthi (also can be spelt manassanthi, manasanti, manashanti or 50 other variations) is a comprehensive mind-body-soul treatment.

Manasathy is a combination of Ayurveda, yoga, meditation, aromatherapy. The stress is on holistic approach towards better health for body as well as mind. There will be oil massage, sirovasti, dhara etc in the therapy. Rejuvenation massage, steam bath etc are other facets of this therapy.

Fully body massage on a daily basis, with sesame oil (or coconut oil) 30 minutes before bathing has several physical advantages as well as psychological advantages.

This is effective stress management therapy. A person practicing this regularly will have the benefits of better emotional control and relaxed mind.

People with excessive mental turbulences are also given vegetarian, calming food. Spicy, hot tasting and salty food items are not helpful in relaxation, while sweet tasting food items are helpful. Easy to digest food items, mostly in liquid or semi solid form ensures faster digestion, which is helpful in managing mental worries too.

Prompting the persons to read religious texts is also an effective way of pacifying human minds. Listening to soothing music with slow beats also pacifies mind.

Another important thing is to keep company of pleasant people, visit religious places and locations with a little sunshine, clean water and greenery.

Mind is the sum total of the personal life, personality and everything a person experiences in his or her life. To care for the mind, you need special attention.

Ayurvedic Beauty Care

2009-01-12T05:10:00.000-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Ayurvedic beauty care mostly is Ayurvedic lifestyle itself. However there are some additional usages of ointments and including healthy food items in your diet.

Ayurvedic beauty care includes employing techniques for skin care, hair care, eye care, foot care and to keep optimum body mass. There is no place for ama (bodily toxic wastes) in the body. Complete nutrition to body is necessary for good beauty care.

Healthy Ayurvedic lifestyle is natural Ayurvedic beauty care. Balance lifestyle in such a manner that there is little scope for stress or accumulation or bodily or mental toxins. Ayurvedic beauty care deals not only with external beauty. It also deals with inner feelings like happiness, calmness and mental stability. No one can hide sadness with makeup.

Daily exercise, especially yoga is an important aspect of Ayurvedic beauty care. Women who want to keep their youthful beauty needs to practice yoga on a daily basis. Practicing yoga can also relieve women off menstrual problems and can help them with easy delivery at the end of their pregnancy.

Ayurvedic beauty care do include the use of natural cosmetics derived from such plants like sandalwood, turmeric, henna (mehndi), aloe vera and many naturally available beauty care products. The application of which is determined by the body and skin type of the person. A knowledgeable Ayurveda beauty care expert can tell the exact body and skin nature of a person and give advice on exact type of cosmetics to use.

Once started, Ayurvedic beauty care continues to give a glowing face and confident look wherever you go.

Top Ten Tips To Prevent Hair Loss

2009-01-12T05:09:00.001-08:00

by: Dev Sri

Though people with an overdose of philosophy say it not what is outside, but inside the skull that counts, people suffering from hair loss wish it is the other way round. People of 'almost' all cultures are obsessed with thickly growing hair.

Ayurveda has identified this obsession a few centuries ago and has given the directions to minimize hair loss and better hair growth in its scheme of beauty care, which is commonly called lavanya sutra or the sutra for lavanyam or beauty.

Though lavanyam is referred to feminine beauty, hair loss tips are beneficial for the tougher sex too.

Here are top ten tips to prevent hair loss and ensure healthy hair growth.

1. Gently massage your scalpel with fingertips after applying a hair oil like coconut oil or sesame oil.

2. Eat Indian gooseberry in any form early in the day. Don't take gooseberry based products later in the night as it can affect your beautiful dental line.

3. Boil fresh or dried and powdered Indian gooseberry (also called amla) in coconut oil. Apply this for nourishing hair growth.

4. Eat all types of vegetables and fruits. This will ensure supply of vitamins and minerals essential for the healthy growth of hair. Vitamins and minerals are good for your health too.

5. Also eat protein rich food items – tuna, lean meat, whole milk are beneficial.

6. While bathing, wash your head with cold water only. It is winter and water is ice-cold, you can make it luke-warm. It is ok to wash your body with cold water.

7. Apply brahmi oil on your scalpel before going to bed. Good for hair growth and brain.

8. Dandruff is a cause of hair loss. Squeeze half a lemon to half a liter of water and rinse your hair and scalpel with this water as a cure to dandruff. Do this no more than three times a week and for up to a month.

9. Rosemary oil is an aromatherapy oil, which can be applied to your hair once in a week to reduce hair fall.

10. Crush a few leaves and flowers of hibiscus (shoe flower) with two or three glasses of water. The water becomes thick with the juice and use this water to wash your hair. Thoroughly cleanses your hair and gives dark bright color to your hair.

Never apply soap or high power shampoo on your head, as it can affect healthy growth of hair.

Are The Most Commonly Prescribed Drugs Of Our Time Safe?

2009-01-12T05:09:00.000-08:00

by: Gary Stanton

New research is revealing some alarming concerns over the safety of Statin agents and questioning their effectiveness in a high percentage of patients taking these drugs.

How do Statins Work? The process of producing cholesterol begins with a two carbon molecule, acetyl-CoA, known as the "building block of life." Acetyl-CoA molecules combine to form hydroxymethyl glutaric acid (HMG). The enyme HMG-CoA reductase is required for mevalonate to be produced from HMG-CoA reductase. Statin drugs inhibit this enzyme and that is why they are known as HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. This is the reason for the reported numerous side effects.

Statin drugs don't just inhibit the production of cholesterol. Statins inhibit the production of an entire group of intermediary enzymes and molecules that have essential biochemical functions. The mevalonate chain produces 3 end products and one of those is Cholesterol. Ubiquinone and dolichol are the others.

Ubiquinone also known as Co-Enzyme Q10 is an essential cellular nutrient formed in the mitochondria and is necessary for ATP production, functioning as an electron transporter to cytochrome oxidase, the primary respiratory enzyme. High levels of Co-Q10 are required by the heart to function. Ubiquinone, a form of Co-Q10 is in all cell membranes where it plays a vital role in maintaining proper cell membrane structure for nerves and muscles to function. Reduction in serum Ubiquinone levels have been described after statin therapy.( Mabuchi H, et al, J Atherosclero Thromb. 2005; 12(2) : 111-9)

Studies have shown that the use of statin agents for cholesterol control will reduce the level of co-enzyme q-10 by up to 40%. It appears that these statin agents, by altering membrane function actually also impair energy transport to these muscles necessary to keep them functioning properly. Co-Q10 deficiency can cause muscle wasting, pain and weakness and heart failure (the heart is a muscle!).

Proteins are synthesized within the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum. This complex creation of peptides is directed by dolichol phosphate. The Dolichols are also critical in the assembly of glycoproteins, which allow complex protein structures to fold and interact with receptors and membranes. Dolichol-mediated processes create complex neuropeptides, and mechanisms critical in cellular communication, identification, and immune function. The reality of Dolichol inhibition by statin agents is evident and the resultant turmoil in cellular function is not unexpected. It is also not unexpected that altered cognition and abnormal behavior can result from statin induced neuropeptide formation.

Another common side effect associated with statin agents when used to dramatically reduce cholesterol levels are the neurodegenerative type diseases, almost like Lou Gehrig's disease or Multiple sclerosis, and this is because there is damage to the cellular membranes that make up the insulation around the nerves. It is like electrical wiring in an old house where the insulation around the wire has broken down leaving exposed wiring. These poorly functioning nerves and membranes result in muscle aches/pains as well as decreased strength and decreased nerve function. Memory and thought process may also be severely affected.

Drastic Cholesterol Reduction. It seems that a lot of these problems begin when cholesterol levels become elevated and aggressive reduction occurs with the use of statin agents. Therefore elevated cholesterol levels have been described as the initiating phase in the development of atherosclerosis. Of course, statins inhibit the production of cholesterol--they do this very well. Cholesterol is the body's repair substance: scar tissue contains high levels of cholesterol, including scar tissue in the arteries. Cholesterol is the precursor to vitamin D, necessary for numerous biochemical processes including mineral metabolism. The use of statin agents will reduce the synthesis of Vitamin D. Studies have identified the increased incidence of musculoskeletal pain in patients who are vitamin D deficient, and that replacement results in dramatic improvement.(Al Faraj S.,et al. Vitamin D Deficiency and chronic low back pain in Saudi Arabia," Spine 2003; 28(2): 177-9).

A number of patients describe gastrointestinal symptoms and diarrhea associated with statin therapy. Unfortunately after an extensive gastrointestinal workup, the statin therapy is not discontinued. Statin agents reduce bile salts production, which is required for the digestion of fat. Those who suffer from low cholesterol often have trouble digesting fats. Cholesterol also functions as a powerful antioxidant, thus protecting us against cancer and aging.

It is no surprise that the aggressive control of cholesterol, typical of statin therapy, in an attempt to reduce cardiovascular disease, in itself produces it's own disease process. Even though statins have not been proven to decrease the risk of heart attacks and strokes for those not suffering from heart disease.

An Introduction to Mobile Psychiatric Rehabilitation

2009-01-10T07:43:00.003-08:00

by: Megan Hazel

People who are mentally ill also seem to be chronically afraid of hospitals, or at least seem to want to avoid medical attention in a hospital setting. Looking at it from the perspective of someone who is confused or otherwise mentally unstable, the sterile and instrument-laden halls of a hospital are indeed terrifying, and can even be considered "creepy" by a person who is not suffering from a mental condition.

Mentally ill people do not want to come to a hospital, and they do not want to seek treatment, making it difficult to get that treatment to them. This is why mobile psychiatric rehabilitation units have been established. Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation is designed to help people who are suffering from a mental illness regain or maintain the skills that will help them function in society, allowing them the comfort and security of being treated in an individualized fashion by a caring person in their own homes.

The mobile psychiatric rehabilitation program is individualized to each person, with a specialist conducting an assessment of each person to whom the mobile psychiatric rehabilitation unit is assigned. They work with the mentally ill individual to determine their strengths, and their personal and community resources. From there they work to determine a plan of service to help outline the tasks and goals of the individual. Both the patient and the representative have tasks between each visit to make progress toward these goals.

The mobile psychiatric rehabilitation units are tailored to meet the wants as well as the needs of each individual. They can meet an individual in their own home, at their school, their work, or even in their neighborhood. These services are short term and are goal oriented, allowing people, through their own personal choice and at their own speed, to develop the skills and the support that they need to become self-sufficient and to have a more satisfying life.

Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation can help to allow a person to manage their own home through the acquisition of new skills such as budgeting, nutrition, and other self-care skills, as well as skills in areas such as the use of public transportation. Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation can help to teach mentally ill individuals or mentally deficient individuals to use their time more productively, both in the community and at home, and can help them to manage mental health issues like their medications.

Mentally ill people can also benefit from mobile psychiatric rehabilitation to help them use community resources such as employment specialists, advocacy groups, program participant groups, and other community support to their advantage. They will learn how to enjoy and make use of the love and support of their family, friends, and community, even co-workers, and will work on their ability to coordinate their care between their service providers and their support systems at or near home.

Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation focuses not on medicating or treating mentally ill patients, but on helping individuals medicate themselves and assisting them in managing their own diseases so that they can live out their lives as best as they can. A mentally ill individual could make use of mobile psychiatric rehabilitation to learn how to live on their own and how to use the features available to them, from busses and trains to employment specialists.

People working with mobile psychiatric rehabilitation can learn how to utilize their co-workers as a support system, and about how to reach out for the help that they need in managing their everyday life. The mobile psychiatric rehabilitation programs can also help people to learn about their own homes and lives, allowing them to learn about things such as budgets so that they can become even more independent.

It feels good to work with a friendly person to reach a goal that you personally have set. Whether your goal is to learn how to get to work all by yourself or how to buy groceries or clean your own house. Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation is a wonderful service for the mentally ill, and can help people who might otherwise fall apart to get on their feet and learn to move forward, perhaps for the first time in their lives.

Mobile psychiatric rehabilitation is for anyone who is a functional mentally ill person. This program, if it is available in your area, can help you or a loved one learn to make use of their functional capacity to live independently.

Don't Touch Me There! - Avoiding Massage Mishaps and Misunderstandings

2009-01-10T07:43:00.002-08:00

by: J. Terrence McDermott

There is no avoiding this simple fact about massage therapy: Providing or receiving the healing power of touch is intimate. And intimacy, even in the most professional settings, can expose vulnerabilities and lead to uncomfortable and even awkward situations.

It is the responsibility of the massage therapist to create an environment that is conducive to a healthy, relaxing and satisfying experience for the client. On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the client to communicate with the massage therapist in a manner that allows the therapist to provide the service in a manner that puts the client at ease.

An experienced massage therapist will be able to guide the recipient through the massage process so that there is little confusion about some of the basic areas that cause embarrassment or confusion.

Take It All Off?

The amount of clothing worn during a massage is dependant on the type of massage being administered. It is normal to be completely undressed during a full body Swedish massage but is not absolutely necessary. If a client prefers to wear panties or briefs during the massage that is fine. Frankly, the client should be able to wear whatever makes them most comfortable. Regardless, the therapist will appropriately drape the client so that only the areas of the body being massaged are exposed.

The therapist will usually instruct the client about what to expect before they begin undressing. The therapist will then leave the room and allow the client to undress and get comfortable on the massage table under a sheet or towel. The massage therapist will then uncover only the area of the body being massaged.

Touchy Feely

There are a variety of reasons that an individual may want a massage: stress relief, relaxation, general wellness, enhance circulation, improved flexibility, etc. No matter what the reason for the massage the therapist is always under the obligation to respect the boundaries set by the client and to establish his or her own boundaries.

Therapeutic massage is, by nature, a sensual experience. However, it is not intended to be a sexual experience. If a client, male or female, makes any overtly sexual requests or suggestions then the therapist is obligated to professionally and forcefully identify the inappropriateness of these comments. Conversely, no therapist should take liberties or make assumptions relative to what parts of the body can be touched.

In general, it is never appropriate to touch the genitals during a massage session. The client cannot expect to be touched sexually and the therapist cannot touch a client in a sexual manner. Either case will betray the trust in the relationship between the two parties…to say nothing of the potential for legal and ethical issues.

And let’s be clear. While there are documented benefits of breast massage, it is not, and should not be, included in a total body massage. Breasts are off limits unless a very special request is made of a qualified therapist. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork includes a specific policy in its Standards of Practice. The Board states that therapists may "only provide therapeutic breast massage as indicated in the plan of care, and only after receiving informed voluntary consent from the client." That being said, breast massage is legally restricted in some states.

An experienced massage therapist, male or female, will know how to deflect sexual advances by a client. If a subtle response does not do the job then a forceful statement or ending the session will be the correct response. Any client who feels that they are being touched inappropriately should feel confident in their right to speak up. If it is incidental contact or just an accident the therapist will apologize and continue with the client’s discomfort noted accordingly.

Extracurricular Activity

As stated earlier, touch is intimate. Permission for such intimacy is accorded based on the massage therapist’s professionalism and the trust of the client. At the same time, a relationship is established…a professional relationship but a relationship nonetheless. Understanding and honoring the boundaries of that relationship will allow both parties to fill their roles appropriately.

It is generally accepted that there ought not to be any personal relationship between the therapist and a paying client. Allowing the relationship to expand beyond the massage table to a social or even romantic connection is to invite a host of ethical dilemmas. A therapist could be perceived as taking advantage of a client who might be in a vulnerable state due to stress or physical ailment. In the state of Washington it is illegal to date a client within two years of the last session. That is strict stuff and is as likely to protect a therapist from misunderstandings as it is to protect a client.

Borders and Boundaries

Providing the healing power of touch is an honorable and ancient profession. The benefits of massage therapy are numerous and continue to gain acceptance as a mainstream health practice. No one should ever have to feel uncomfortable about getting a massage and they won’t if they are in the hands of a well-trained and ethically centered massage professional.

Breaking Out of Sugar Hell

2009-01-10T07:43:00.001-08:00

by: Karen Schachter

I was recently in New York City, standing in line at Starbucks when my friend pointed out this sign to me: "Make Yourself Happy - Choose a Sweet Indulgence or a Non-Fat Option." As initially tempting as all the treats in the case behind the sign looked, I had to laugh at the irony of the words on the sign. Nothing against Starbucks (I'm a huge fan of their chai tea mistos), because they are only a small part of a huge industry that sells false messages about food, but I have got to set the record straight. Low fat will not make you happy. Neither will a sweet indulgence. Temporarily, maybe. Long term, never.

We are born into a world where we are given mixed messages about food, especially sugar. On the one hand: don't eat sweets -they are bad for you! They will make you fat! They will cause your teeth to rot! They will give you diabetes! And on the other hand: Eat sweets - they will make you happy! Or creative! Or inspired! Let's celebrate with cake! Here's a piece of candy, now please stop crying! Or here's a cookie because you were good! I love you - here's chocolate!

Pretty powerful - and confusing - messaging that is infiltrated into our brains from practically the time we are born (and then compounded a hundred times over by advertising). The message is this: That although sugar might be bad for our health, it can make us oh, so happy and, without it, our lives might feel depleted, depressing, loveless and lonely.

Although we all know that too much sugar is not good for us, many of my clients, readers, friends and people in the audience at my talks find this white substance (or another form of sugar, like alcohol, white flour, or other quickly absorbed carbohydrates from processed foods) addictive and compelling. Despite our best efforts at "willpower," almost everyone has experienced the "I NEED SOMETHING SWEET OR CRUNCHY OR ALCOHOLIC NOW" syndrome. . . that intense craving for some substance that will bring us comfort or relief or cheer. And the reason is: it works! It really does. . . that is, it works temporarily.

Like a drug, sugar (and its partners in crime) literally affects our brain so that we feel immediately relieved, calm and happy. Problem is, this feeling does not last and we often find ourselves later feeling equally - or more - down, upset or irritable. No amount of willpower works when our brains are working against us.

And here's another crazy thing: Many of us are so used to feeling irritable, anxious, mildly (or intensely) depressed, tired, unfocused, and full of cravings, that this state of being feels almost "normal." But let me assure you: this is not normal. When our brains and bodies are balanced, our normal state is to feel good. Energetic. Calm. Focused. Satisfied and fulfilled and nourished by our food and by our lives.

Now I am not blaming sugar for every emotional or physiological problem we experience. Anxiety, depression, irritability, lack of focus and cravings are often multi-determined and complex. And I must admit, I am hesitant to even write about this because I don't want to perpetuate the "bad food/good food" mindset that you may have. But, as a therapist and as a person who struggled with some depression, anxiety and eating problems myself, I am convinced that sugar's affect on our brain chemistry must be understood if we are to break out of some of these painful cycles.

Let's use my day yesterday and my initial descent into "sugar hell" as an example of what could - and often does - happen when we eat sugar. I started off my day as usual - some protein, fat and complex carbohydrates (a big dose of peanut butter on a sprouted wheat bagel), which kept me pretty full and satisfied until lunch. At that point, my husband made the kids grilled cheese which looked so good that I couldn't resist. This is not my typical lunch and, although filling physically, did not feel at all satisfying. I knew I needed more protein and some vegetables, but we were busy so I skipped it.

I had an amazing slice of cake at my daughter's birthday party and enjoyed every bite of it, but afterwards, found myself nibbling at the snack food that was out. And nibbling. And more nibbling. (Still hungry from lunch, and triggered by the sugar in the cake). I really couldn't stop which, these days, is quite unusual for me. When we left the party and got home, I found myself searching cabinets. I munched on the popcorn my husband made for the kids. I noshed on some left over cake (just straightened out the edges several timesJ). I picked at some leftover Chinese food.

I was in quite a state really, searching, physically full, but unsatisfied, and noticing my mood shifting from calm and stable to mildly irritable and jittery. And because I have been in "sugar hell" before and am quite familiar with what I need to do to get out of it, I was able to stop. It is in these moments that I ask myself what I need to do to "right" my body's chemistry. Although I was physically full, I knew I needed real fuel for my brain in order to get off the rollercoaster I was on. I knew, for me, that fuel had to come in the form of protein (and I wanted red meat) and fat. I ate a good meal, watched a funny movie with my husband, and got into bed, finally satiated, physically and emotionally.

Had I not been in tune with my body, or had I not really tuned in and listened, this "sugar hell" (or cycle of craving and munching and dissatisfaction with elevating irritability and anxiety) could have continued for quite a while (and let me assure you, it has in the past - in fact, I used to LIVE in this place!). When we eat sugar, our blood sugar temporarily rises and we feel good, leading later to a drop in blood sugar levels and an intense craving for MORE. Sugar may also temporarily increase our serotonin levels (our "feel good" brain chemicals). But again, these feelings don't last and ultimately, the sugar and fake foods (like a drug) deplete our bodies and our brains so that over time, we feel less good (and feel like we NEED more sugar to feel better).

Unfair, I know. And I am not suggesting we never eat sugar again or never feed it to our kids. We need to balance our psychology and emotional response (the word NEVER tends to throw us into a state of feeling deprived) with our biology and physiology (the physical effect of these foods on our body and our brain), so that we can find a way of relating to sugar (and its counterparts) effectively. So that we can become aware of the effects of these foods on our bodies and arm ourselves against intense and continual cycles of fatigue, irritability and cravings.

Here are a few tips that may help either prevent "sugar hell" in you or your children, or help pull you out of them if you happen to find yourself there:

1) TUNE IN to your body. Figure out what works for you (and your children) and what keeps your blood sugar levels and brain chemistry stable. Notice what foods trigger cravings, difficult behavior,fatigue or irritability, and minimize them.

2) Notice what emotional states might trigger sugar cravings - loneliness? Stress? Boredom? Fatigue? Begin to address them with non-food solutions and get help if you need to.

3) Most people benefit from some combination of protein, fats and high-quality carbohydrates at each meal and snack to stabilize blood sugar levels.

4) If you are going to eat sugar or processed carbohydrates, arm yourself by eating protein and/or fat (a piece of cheese, some nuts, some sliced turkey, for example), beforehand.

5) Do NOT skip meals - ever.

6) Avoid fake sweeteners (like NutraSweet, saccharine, Splenda, etc), which just "whet" your appetite for more sweets.

7) Avoid packaged foods that are labeled low fat. In fact, don't be afraid of fat at all - most unprocessed fats are GOOD for your body and your brain (more on this another time!).

8) If you find yourself in the middle of a sugar binge or "sugar hell," stop and ask yourself: "what is the next thing I can do to shift this cycle?" Then DO IT.

9) Don't beat yourself up - for anything. Especially for not having "enough willpower." Remember, your cravings are not about willpower, but about your body's way of trying to tell you that you are out of balance somehow.

10) Stop thinking of sweets as a reward. Find non-food treats for yourself and your children.

Copyright (c) 2008 Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds

Pharmacotherapy of Combat-stress-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

2009-01-10T07:43:00.000-08:00

by: The American Psychotherapy Association

ANNALS Winter 2007 www.americanpsychotherapy.com

This 1-credit continuing education opportunity is co-sponsored by the American College of Forensic Examiners International (ACFEI) and the American Psychotherapy Association. ACFEI maintains responsibility for all continuing education accreditations. This article is approved by the following for 1 continuing education credit:

APA provides this continuing education credit for Diplomates.

The American College of Forensic Examiners International is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. ACFEI maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

The American College of Forensic Examiners International is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The American College of Forensic Examiners International designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 hour AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

By Harpriya A. (Sonya) Bhagar, MBBS and Alan D. Schmetzer, MD, Fellow of the American Psychotherapy Association, and Master Therapist

A number of veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/OEF) are returning home with signs of combat-stress-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In a recent study, 16.6% of the soldiers met the screening criteria for PTSD. On average, they showed a significant increase in sick visits, missed workdays, severity of somatic symptoms, and poorer overall health (Hoge et al., 2007). In another study, the youngest age group, 18–24 years, was at greater risk compared with veterans 40 years of age or above. Diagnosis was made early (median of 13 days), and most of them were detected in primary care clinics (Seal et al., 2007).

Upon return from the war zone, veterans frequently report intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, increased vigilance, avoidance of social situations, hyperarousal, and nightmares. Treatment involves integration of mental health, primary care, physical medicine, attention to substance abuse, and vocational services. The mental health portion involves an initial screening of the combat veteran for PTSD and other mental illnesses, followed by a full assessment. Both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy (individual, couple, and group) are offered for treatment.

From a pharmacological perspective, several studies have found the traditional anti-depressants effective in PTSD. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), like sertraline (Zoloft®), paroxetine (Paxil®), and fluoxetine (Prozac®), have been studied extensively for PTSD, and sertraline and paroxetine have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for PTSD. SSRIs have been found to be effective both in short-term trials and long-term maintenance treatment for relapse prevention (Asnis et al., 2004). However, earlier studies have focused mainly on PTSD secondary to interpersonal trauma in a civilian setting. In a multicenter study, venlafaxine extended release (Effexor XR®), a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, was found to improve both the re-experiencing and the avoidance symptoms of PTSD, but not hyperarousal. The drug was effective and well tolerated in both short-term and continuation treatment of PTSD (Davidson et al., 2006). In a small study, mirtazapine (Remeron) was found to be effective in both short-term and continuation treatment of combat-stress-related PTSD without any serious side effects (Kim et al., 2005). In addition, sedation from mirtazapine can even prove beneficial in improving sleep in PTSD. In a randomized trial comparing phenelzine (a monoamine oxidase inhibitor) and imipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant), both significantly reduced combat stress related PTSD symptoms (Kosten et al., 1991). Benzodiazepines are used in PTSD for panic attacks or anxiety states. They provide temporary relief but run the risk of tolerance and addiction.

Veterans with PTSD find it hard both to fall asleep and to maintain sleep due to hyperarousal and vivid nightmares related to combat. Significant others often report that patients scream in their sleep and may even wake up soaked in sweat. Prasozin and clonidine both decrease the central nervous system’s noradrenergic activity. They have been found to be effective in decreasing hyperarousal symptoms and improving sleep (Boehnlein, 2007). Other drugs used for sleep are the benzodiazepine class of drugs, like temazepam, and non-benzodiazepines, like zolpidem (Ambien™) and ezopiclone (Lunesta™). However, caution must be taken regarding the habit-forming potential of these drugs (Bhagar and Schmetzer, 2006).

The presence of psychotic symptoms in PTSD can further complicate the clinical picture. In one study, 20% of the 91 males with combat-stress-related PTSD were found to be suffering from hallucinations and delusions, and hyperarousal was positively associated with the occurrence of psychotic symptoms (Kastelan, 2007). In a small study, augmentation of SSRI with olanzapine (Zyprexa), an atypical antipsychotic, was effective in treating SSRI-resistant combat-related PTSD symptoms, especially sleep (Stein, 2002). In another study, monotherapy with typical or atypical antipsychotics, reduced both PTSD and psychotic symptoms, and antipsychotics seemed to offer another approach to treat the psychotic subtype of combat–related PTSD resistant to previous antidepressant therapy (Pivac, 2006).

Overall, PTSD pharmacotherapy involves several drugs based on our experience with PTSD in general, but well-designed studies are needed to establish treatment guidelines specifically for combat-stress-related PTSD.

References

Asnis, G. M., Kohn, S. R., Henderson, M., & Brown, N. L. (2004). SSRIs versus non-SSRIs in post traumatic stress disorder: an update with recommendations. Drugs, 64(4), 383–404.

Bhagar, H. A., & Schmetzer, A. D. (2006). The newest medicines for sleep. Annals of American Psychotherapy Association, 9(2), 25–26.

Boehnlein, J. K., & Kinzie, J. D. (2007). Pharmacologic reduction of CNS noradrenergic activity in PTSD: The case for clonidine and prazosin. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 13(2), 72–78.

Davidson, J., Baldwin D., Stein, D.J., Kuper, E., Benattia, I., Ahmed, S., et al. (2006). Treatment of post traumatic stress disorder with venlafaxine extended release: a 6-month randomized controlled trial. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(10), 1158–1165.

Hoge, C. W., Terhakopian, A., Castro, C. A., Messer, S. C., & Engel, C. C. (2007). Association of post traumatic stress disorder with somatic symptoms, health care visits, and absenteeism among Iraq war veterans. American Journal of Psychiatry,164(1), 150–153.

Kastelan, A., Franciskovi,? T., Moro, L., Roncevic-Grzeta, I., Grkovic, J., Jurcan, V., et al. (2007). Psychotic symptoms in combat-related post traumatic stress disorder. Military Medicine, 172(3), 273–277.

Kim, W., Pae, C. U., Chae, J. H., Jun, T. Y., & Bahk, W. M. (2005). The effectiveness of mirtazapine in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder: A 24-week continuation therapy. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 59(6), 743–747.

Kosten, T. R., Frank, J. B., Dan, E., McDougle, C. J., & Gille, E. L., Jr. (1991). Pharmacotherapy for posttraumatic stress disorder using phenelzine or imipramine. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 179(6), 366–370.

Martényi, F. (2005). [Three paradigms in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder]. Neuropsychopharmacol Hung, 7(1), 11–21.

Pivac, N., & Kozari?-Kovaci,? D. (2006). Pharmacotherapy of treatment-resistant combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder with psychotic features. Croatian Medical Journal, 47(3), 440–451.

Seal, K. H., Bertenthal, D., Miner, C. R., Sen, S., & Marmar, C. (2007). Bringing the war back home: mental health disorders among 103,788 US veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan seen at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167(5), 476–482.

Subliminal Cds, Tapes and Mp3's

2009-01-10T07:38:00.004-08:00

by: Sara Thompson

The term "subliminal" refers to anything that exists just below your consciousness awareness i.e. at the subconscious level.

It has long been known that in order to create lasting measurable change in yourself it is necessary for you to access the subliminal or subconscious part of your mind. One excellent method of doing this is through the use of subliminal programming. By using subliminal recordings in the form of Cds, Tapes and Mp3s, you can bypass the conscious mind and reprogram your inner mind through the use of carefully selected subliminal messages.

(ref: http://www.SubliminalMp3s.com ) which offers free subliminal programs online. No other site offers such a large assortment of free subliminals online.

Subliminal messages can be constructed for a great many things like reducing stress, inducing relaxation, creating motivation , for better study habits, smoking cessation or losing weight, to name but a few!

The subliminal messages that are passed to your subconscious mind really do begin to change your thinking patterns and physical habits. So lets look at exactly how do their work.

Subliminal programs contain positive affirmations (subliminal messages) that are designed to help the listener achieve a change in a specific area they have chosen or to achieve a particular goal they have set. The physical brain receives these affirmations at a subconscious level and because there is no interference from the critical conscious mind the subconscious mind, which is where are beliefs and attitudes are stored, immediately begins the work of making the subliminal messages a reality in your life.

Subliminal messages accelerate the process of changing your attitudes because they bypass the analytical critical conscious mind and begin to reprogram the subconscious mind much like reprogramming a computer.

When subliminal messages, which are usually embedded in a piece of music or masked with ocean waves, are played, the beliefs that are stored in the subconscious mind are slowly and gently replaced by powerful new positive beliefs. It is an automatic and effortless method of changing yourself from the inside-out.

However, having said that, you should be aware that most of your subconscious programming has taken place over an entire lifetime and it is unlikely to be changed in a few hours or days. In addition you may have several issues that overlap and may require more than one subliminal recording to reprogram. A example my be self confidence issues. You may have low self esteem and listen to a subliminal recording to increase this area but find that after listening to it for several weeks you still lack self esteem. In such a case you would need to also ensure the subliminal confidence messages on the recording included self esteem affirmations or you could purchase/make two different subliminal recordings. However, I would advise getting a recording that helps to totally restructure your entire self image. This type of overlapping issue can apply to almost anything in life so real, true, honest introspection is needed to determine what area of your life needs changed before you de!
cide which subliminal recordings and subliminal messages are right for your particular circumstances and needs.

Reprogramming of the subconscious mind takes time and you will usually see permanent results after about twenty-eight days. It is my rule of thumb to give all personal development tools at least a month before looking for real tangible results.

However, like all good self improvement techniques subliminal reprogramming can lead to initial irritation in some people as the subliminal messages being offered conflict with their established beliefs. In this instance the subconscious mind fights back in a vain attempt to keep the status-quo, it hates change. Remember that your beliefs and attitudes were programmed into your subconscious mind to protect you! If this happens don't be disheartened it is a sign that your new beliefs are taking hold and that change is happening. After you have made a few changes like this the subconscious mind gets the message and realises who is really the boss and the discomfort is unlikely to occur again if you decide to make more inner changes.

Subliminal reprogramming can be achieved through the use of subliminal CDs/tapes, videos/DVDs and it is even possible to purchase software that allows you to create your own custom subliminal recordings.

To those of you who are unsure of the effectiveness of subliminal messages I would ask this. Have you ever heard a piece of music in the morning without paying much attention to it yet had it in your head all day, perhaps even humming or singing it throughout your day? I bet you have! Have you ever been in a crowd totally unaware of all the conversations that were taking place until someone mentions your name? Are you also aware that you are receiving subliminal messages every day? The vast majority of advertising campaigns are filled with subliminal messages in the form of visual input designed to elicit a specific response from you.

Would it not be better to ensure the subliminal messages reaching your subconscious mind are of your choosing and that they are creating the person, life and circumstances you want? Yes? Then why not give them a try?

5 Tips For A Healthier, Stronger Core

2009-01-10T07:38:00.003-08:00

by: Yuri Elkaim

Core training has become the new “buzz” word over the last few years as more and more people have begun to realize its role in posture, spinal health, performance and overall aesthetics. What is less commonly known is that the core is anatomically defined as the region between the shoulders and knees, not simply the midsection. Most people view the core as simply being their abdominal muscles and, as such, miss out on a tremendous amount of value that other functional movements provide.

When I refer to the core I allude to the inner and outer units of our body. The inner unit consists of smaller, more static stabilizing muscles such as the transverse abdominis, multifidus, and the pelvic floor and diaphragmatic musculature. The outer unit is comprised of larger phasic (or dynamic) muscles that generate movement such as the gluteals, latissimus dorsi, erector spinae group, biceps femoris, and peroneals. Aside from generating movement, these muscles work synergistically to provide much needed pelvic stability during motions such as walking, running, and so forth. Because all functional movements such as lunges, squats, step-ups, most stability ball movements, and many others revolve around the pelvis, they will offer tremendous core training effects when done with proper technique. The following are 5 tips you can use to train the inner and outer units of your core with maximal efficiency.

TIP #1 – Brace your abdominals

This is the first thing you should be aware of during any and every movement that you will ever perform. Abdominal bracing consists of three parts. First, draw in your belly button as if you were to put on a tight pair of pants. This will activate your transverse abdominis, the body’s waist belt muscle. Second, raise your pelvic floor by performing a kegel (contracting the pelvic floor muscles up as if you holding in a full bladder). This helps to increase intra-abdominal pressure which will aid in spinal stabilization. Third, lightly create tension in your abdominal muscles as if you were about to get punched in the stomach. This activates the internal and external oblique muscles. By performing all three of these actions you will ensure that your spine is well protected through all movements. Abdominal bracing should be initiated before and maintained through each and every exercise. With repetition, these muscles will remember their roles and tend to maintain a tighter constricted waistline, even without you being aware.

Exercise: Belly tucks

Lie face down on the floor with your forehead rested on the back of your hands. Inhale, pushing your belly button into the floor (“ballooning” your abdomen). Hold for 3 seconds. Exhale, drawing your belly button towards the ceiling (as if being pulled by a string), raise pelvic floor, and tighten your abdominal muscles. Hold for 3 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

TIP #2 – Maintain a neutral spine

A neutral spine is attained when your spine is kept in its natural alignment. This is best achieved by ensuring that your back is flat (with slight lumbar lordosis) during all movements, especially lifting. This, in conjunction with abdominal bracing, is essential to better support the spine during all movements. Let us take the example of picking up a heavier box from the floor. The last thing you want to do in the situation is reach down without bending knees and picking up the box…this is a sure way to throw your back out. What is instructed to do in such a case would be to squat down keeping your torso tall (ie. neutral spine), with your abdominals braced, and lift through your legs as opposed to extending up through your torso. If these lifting mechanics are not met, you place you spine at a greater risk of disc herniation, especially if the load is heavier.

Exercise: Cat/Camel motions

In a four point stance (hands and knees) take your spine through a series of cat and camel stretches. Meaning that you round out the back like a camel and then arch it out like a cat. Repeat 6 times. Once you have completed the 6 repetitions simply allow your back (spine) to relax. Wherever it feels most relaxed is your neutral spine!

TIP #3 – Incorporate unilateral lifting

Unilateral refers to the concept of carrying (or pushing) a load on only side of the body. For instance, walking to work holding your brief case in one hand. By doing so, the body automatically activates its contralateral (opposite) side to stabilize the torso and maintain good posture. Studies have shown that this type of lifting stimulates much greater core muscle activation compared to bilateral lifting (equal load on both sides).

Exercise: Unilateral Lunge Walks

Perform your lunge walks while holding a weight, equivalent to 10% of your body weight, in one hand. Perform 10 reps with the weight in one hand, and then switch. The key is to focus on keeping your torso upright and minimizing and lateral swaying.

TIP # 4 – Use a Stability Ball

Incorporating a stability ball into your workouts will make such a difference in your core strength and spinal health. Working on the stability ball offers several benefits such as increased balance, range of motion, co-ordination, and muscle activation. Simply by sitting on the ball, your core muscles fire to a much greater degree in order to stabilize your body. Any unstable surface for that matter will foster much greater core muscle activation as your body is constantly readjusting itself to maintain proper posture. This type of body awareness is known as proprioception, and is immensely beneficial for athletes of all endeavors, and even for people who want more balance while standing in the subway. Incorporate the aforementioned unilateral lifting and you get twice the benefit! Exercise:

Exercise: Stability Ball 1-Arm DB Chest Press

Position your body on the ball so that only the shoulders, neck and head are resting on it. With the feet shoulder width apart raise your hips so that your body is in one straight line (essentially forming a bench within your body). Squeeze your buttocks together as if holding a $1,000 bill between them. Next, with a DB in one arm, push it up and towards your body’s midline as if creating an arc like motion. Repeat 12 times and then switch arms. Ensure to keep your body and then ball as still as possible. Notice the muscle activation in the posterior side of the body especially in the glutes and lower back!

TIP #5 – Incorporate multi-planar movements

Our bodies rarely operate in one single plane (ie. front to back, side to side). Often, our movements require us to move through several different planes such as when walking and looking back over your shoulder. It is important to remember that all movement stems from the core, especially rotation based movements. As such, it is important to strengthen those core muscles accordingly to ensure movement efficiency and injury prevention. Did you know that 80% of our core musculature inserts on a diagonal. This means that our bodies are anatomically constructed for such multi-planar movements involving diagonal and rotational movements. Examples are throwing, kicking, and swinging a tennis racquet or golf club. I’ve seen clients improve their golf drive by 30 yards by simply incorporating these multi-planar movements into their routines.

Exercise: Cable chop (from knees)

Position yourself in the middle of the cable crossover machine. Face your body at a right angle from the cables. Starting from your knees, keeping your body upright and strong, reach over and across your body grabbing the handle (with both hands) on the highest setting. Keeping both arms straight “chop” the cable across your body from above your starting shoulder to the opposite hip. Return slowly and repeat 8 times on each side. Be sure to drive the movement from your obliques and not your arms.

By incorporating these 5 core essentials, you can look forward to having firmer, stronger and more performant core muscles. Not only that but you will also be more efficient and stable in all your movements. And, if you participate in regular sporting activities you will have an added edge over your untrained counterparts.

Psoriasis And Its Possible Treatments

2009-01-10T07:38:00.002-08:00

by: Jefferson Steelflex

Psoriasis is a long lasting, chronic skin ailment characterized by inflammation and scaling of outer layer of skin. The symptoms of psoriasis are chronic skin rash condition with a red or silver color and the skin has blisters. The symptoms of having the disease are recurring attacks of skin rashes, small red patches that expands and becomes scaly, red plaques and silvery scales etc.

When psoriasis occurs, patches on the skin thicken, reddens, and become covered with silvery scales referred to as plaques. These patches are itchy or have a burning sensation with crack in the skin at the joints. Psoriasis occurs in a wide variety of areas in the body including the elbows, knees, scalp, lower back, face, palms, fingernails, and soles of the feet, toenails and even on the soft tissues inside the mouth. Psoriasis often leads to psoriatic arthritis.

Researchers have commented that, psoriasis is a disorder of the immune system. In psoriasis the abnormal immune system leads to the over-production of T-cells; a type of white blood cell that protects against infections; that in turn triggers the excessive skin cell production and inflammation. There are certain conditions that flare up the problem of psoriasis, like infections, stress, change of climate and excessive dry skin. There are certain medications that worsen the problem of psoriasis such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and medicines for treating high blood pressure or depression. Psoriasis may also be hereditary. Genetic connections with a psoriasis patient may also trigger the diseases.

Diagnosis of psoriasis requires a through examination and required diagnosis. There are various types of psoriasis. The most common type is the plaque psoriasis or psoriasis vulgaris as known scientifically. In this type of psoriasis, the lesions have a reddened base covered by silvery base. Guttate psoriasis are caused by viral respiratory infections or streptococcal infections. In this type, drop like lesions occur on the limbs, and scalp. The non-infectious pus characterizes pustular psoriasis. Sunlight allergies, medications, infections, perspirations, emotional stress, chemicals and even pregnancy cause it. Large, dry, smooth red plaques occurring in the folds of the skin near the genitals, in the armpits and under the breast, characterizes inverse psoriasis. It is related to over-sensitivity to sweating and friction. Reddening and scaling of the skin, accompanied by itching sensation and pain in the area happens in the case of erythrodermic psoriasis.

The disease, psoriasis requires a systematic treatment according to the severity of the problem and responsiveness to certain medication. The effectiveness of the treatments varies from one individual to another. The type of treatment suitable for a particular patient depends on the location of the lesion, their size, amount of skin affected, response to the undergoing treatment and most importantly the perceptions of the patient and preferences about the treatment undergoing. The treatment is according to the specific forms of disorder.

There are mainly three types of treatment provided to the patients affected by psoriasis. In the topical treatment, the patient is suggested loads of fresh air and sunlight, steroid ointments, and medicines prepared from coal tar or anthralin and vitamin D3. Other topical solutions include, bath solutions and moisturizers. Phototherapy and systematic treatment for severe cases are other forms of psoriasis treatment.

Purify Your Body With Natural Body Detox

2009-01-10T07:38:00.001-08:00

by: John Khu

Like every thing else the human body needs to be cleansed inside out every now and then, otherwise the accumulation of harmful, or in some cases even poisonous elements, may cause serious diseases, mental and physical fatigue, pains in various parts of your body, and an overall degeneration. So if you are trying to retrieve that lost spark, if you want to regain that zest for life, natural detoxification is the way to go. Get rid of those terrible toxins by natural body detox methods.

Detox methods clean the blood in your liver, through the kidneys, lungs, skin and intestine. And natural body detox methods are the cheapest and safest way of cleaning your body thoroughly.

Obviously, as a preparatory measure, prior to the beginning of your natural body detox, you have to bar further toxins from entering your body. Products which we consume regularly, such as, coffee, nicotine, refined sugar, alcohol, saturated fats, all contain toxins. So stop indulging yourself before you start natural detoxing. Other products of day to day use such as shampoo, toothpaste, soap, floor cleaners etc all contain toxins, so for the time being check the use of all that stuff.

Having stopped effectively the entry of more toxins, you can begin with the actual natural body detox process. Here are some of the ways in which you can have a natural body detoxification:

Natural Body Detox Method #1:Juice Fasting: this method requires you to drink only glasses of juice for up to three days. The juices of fresh fruits and vegetables of all kinds except citrus fruits like oranges and lemon. However, before continuing this method of natural body detox for more than three days you should always consult a doctor or a qualified nutritionist.

Natural Body Detox Method #2: Water Fasting: water fasting is perhaps the most effective way of natural body detox. For a day or two, you are supposed to live on a diet of water only. What happens is that the water flushes the toxins out of your system, but keep in mind that before extending this for more than two days consult a doctor or a health specialist. Like juice fasting water fasting too should be done while you are at home, in order to cope with the discomforts like headache etc while the toxins are being flushed out.

Natural Body Detox Method #3: A Healthy Diet: Good eating habits are not only a measure of natural body detoxification, but a healthy diet is something you should follow all year round for general benefits. Fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, raw nuts keep your system healthy and cleanses it too.

Natural Body Detox Method #4: Saunas: a sauna or a steam bath cleanses the dirt out of your body pores, so it not only detoxifies through your skin but also does away with the toxins deposited in the fat cells. Saunas are therefore a must in natural body detoxing.

Natural Body Detox Method #5:Skin Brushing: another method that enables you to detoxify your body through your skin, instead of your internal organs is skin brushing. Take a dry skin brush, and in gentle circular motions brush your skin, starting from your feet. This gets rid of the dead calls of your skin and cleans it.

Before getting started zero in upon the method(s) that suit you best and follow it. Natural body detox is something we all need, but get to know about the various methods and before undertaking a rigorous routine always consult an expert.

Five Key Elements for a Healthy Body

2009-01-10T07:38:00.000-08:00

by: Marie Watson

With so many different obstacles in our way today it’s essential to do the things that are necessary to keep our bodies in top condition. Between diseases and pollution in our air and water, we must stay tuned into the needs of our bodies in order to assure a long and healthy life. Making the right choices in these areas will allow us to remain happy and productive many years past retirement.

1. Get plenty of sleep

Being well-rested is one of the most important elements in maintaining a healthy body. Sleep deprivation whether purposely or the result of insomnia can cause your body to become tired, fatigued, and run down. This lends its way to an invasion of many infections because of a compromised immune system. Sleep is the body’s best defence, so you need to make sure you obtain what your body needs. Each person requires on average between six and eight hours of sleep nightly, although some may function on as little as five hours while others need up to ten hours.

2. Exercise regularly

Besides having the ability to boost the metabolism, exercise also helps the body sleep most restfully. Whether you do a complete workout or just take a walk several times during the day, you will feel much better by participating in some kind of exercise. That doesn’t mean you have to do something boring—you can swim, bicycle, play tennis, ski, water ski, or do any other type of activity that you enjoy. The important thing is to make sure you do it regularly.

3. Eat healthy foods

In order to maintain a body that is healthy and active all of your life, you need to learn how to eat foods that are good for you. Certainly that high fat, high calorie burger from the local fast food place tastes good, but it is not good for you. You need to develop the habit of eating lean protein, steamed or raw vegetables, fresh fruits, and carbohydrates containing a low glycemic index such as whole grain cereals, brown rice, and wheat bread and pasta. That doesn’t mean you have to give up sweet desserts and snacks for good, but you need to learn to eat them in moderation.

4. Maintain a normal weight

Having excess weight puts a strain on both the heart and the back. In order to assure that you can stay active and do the things you enjoy, you need to make sure your weight is within normal range. If you are overweight but think you are still healthy, you need to review the things you are able to do compared to some of the things you used to be able to do. Certainly you are older which causes some difference, but your weight definitely has a detrimental effect on the level of activities in which you are able to participate.

5. Make sure you have an adequate supply of essential nutrients

No matter how many healthy foods we eat, it is likely we are not getting all of the nutrients we need. This is especially true of the Omega-3 Fatty Acids that help us maintain the health of our hearts. Although this nutrient is found in fish, few of us can eat enough fish to compensate, so we need to supplement this deficiency with fish oil supplements. The same holds true of many other nutrients such as Calcium, Iron, Folic Acid, and the B vitamins just to name a few.

A healthy lifestyle will help us keep our bodies healthy into our golden years, and following these tips will certainly help you in that process. You don’t need to give up your favourite foods to be healthy, but you do need to make sure you eat unhealthy foods in moderation. You also want to make sure to get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and supplement your diet with important vitamins and minerals.

Developing a Proper Eating Plan

2009-01-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

by: Mary Watson

Skipping meals doesn’t help weight loss

Many people begin a diet plan without knowing the proper way to eat. They may eat the right foods, but the way they eat those foods can have a positive or negate impact on weight loss. If you think you can skip meals and enhance weight loss, you will be quite disappointed with the results.

Develop an Eating Schedule

One of the key items to consistent weight loss is having a set schedule to eat your meals. Although sometimes this is difficult with the work schedules and lifestyles we lead, it’s an essential part of weight loss. In fact, the schedules that most of us keep today are likely to be contributing factors to overweight—as much if not more so than the type of foods we eat. It is unnatural to expect the body to go for hours on end without food. We began life as babies eating every 3-4 hours, and it’s only natural that the body should continue to expect that.

How Your Eating Schedule Affects Weight Loss

Although it is natural to think that if we eat less food we will be able to lose more weight, that is not always the case. If we eat less food, we must also eat on a regular schedule. Attempting to lose weight by eating one or two meals a day is not going to work. In fact, you will probably gain weight because your body will revert to starvation mode thus slowing down your metabolism. That means you can eat one meal a day of under 1,000 calories and still not lose weight! On the other hand, you can consume 1,200-1,500 calories per day in 3-6 meals and lose weight easily.

Many people claim if they eat breakfast or eat three meals a day they will gain weight, but it’s not in the fact that they are eating three meals per day but in the food they are eating during those meals. Nothing says you have to eat three course meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but you do need to eat at least three meals daily. Even if you eat some fruit and whole grain cereal with skim milk for breakfast and a garden salad with low calorie dressing for lunch, you are eating healthy while staying on schedule.

Avoid Eating on the Run

Our fast lifestyles today are forcing many of us to grab something quick and eat at our desks or in the car. In many cases that means we are not eating meals that are healthy nor are we allowing ourselves to take the time to sit down and enjoy a leisurely meal. Eating a piece a fruit while in the car may not hurt too much but that piece of fruit will eventually turn into a high calorie pastry for breakfast and a fast food trip for lunch to save time. We have to slow down and take the time to eat our food so that the body can digest it properly. If your schedule is so hectic that you don’t have time for breakfast and lunch, it’s time to slow down before it takes a toll on your health in ways other than those that affect your waistline.

Do Not Eat Too Close to Bedtime

Another mistake many of us make with our fast-paced lifestyles is eating a complete dinner late at night. There may be occasions when it can not be avoided, but for the most part, you want to have your evening meal at least four hours before you retire for the night. If you work late, you may want to reverse your eating schedule so that you have your heavy meal for lunch and eat a light dinner.

Drug Detox Demand May Be Reduced By New Computer Program

2009-01-09T05:58:00.005-08:00

by: Rod MacTaggart

Most of the 500 Metro Detroit doctors who recently evaluated a new online prescription drug program say it improves patient safety and quality of care by reducing the number of pharmacy errors, patient allergies and harmful drug interactions that can occur as a result of hand-written prescriptions. This is good news for the thousands of victims of prescription drug problems who end up needing drug detox.

The majority of drug-related trips to emergency rooms and detox centers – not to mention sudden deaths and trips to the morgue – are caused by problems with prescription drugs. Hospitals, ERs and detox centers in recent years are seeing more dependencies, addictions, overdoses and life-threatening drug interactions as a result of prescription drugs than more traditional illicit street drugs like heroin, cocaine in its many forms, and perhaps methamphetamine.

Most drug detox facilities now provide specialized medical drug detox services for a host of different prescription drugs. And although detox centers help people with problems caused by legitimate prescriptions, many of the most commonly abused prescription drugs have found their way into the illicit street drug pipeline. And virtually all of the popular prescription drugs now found in schoolyards, night clubs and on the streets require drug detox to safely get off them.

The new prescription drug program, called ePrescription, is used by doctors right in their offices to access online information about a prescription drug, including generic alternatives, potentially harmful drug interactions, and potential allergic reactions. Patients already taking other prescription drugs often don’t remember what they’re taking or forget to tell the doctor about them – or the doctor doesn’t ask. But because the program lists all the patient’s medications, it helps avoid the serious side effects or even dependencies that lead to drug detox when the wrong drugs are combined. And because the doctor uses the computer to print out new prescriptions, it helps prevent patients from getting the wrong drug or wrong dosage just because a pharmacist couldn’t read the doctor’s handwriting.

In the two years that doctors have tested the program, 3.3 million prescriptions were written, and nearly a third of them – one million prescriptions – were identified as offering potentially harmful drug interactions, and another 100,000 prescriptions were spotted as being potentially allergic. In all, 423,000 prescriptions were corrected – changes that, if not corrected, might have caused injuries and even deaths. For drugs with a high potential for dependency such as narcotic painkillers and many antidepressants and antipsychotics, keeping track of the prescriptions with the computer surely helped prevent trips to drug detox.

The power of the new program to improve patient health and prevent prescription drug misadventure was lauded by most of the doctors testing it. They said it alerted them to potential problems they wouldn’t have noticed otherwise, and they liked how the program let them check other medicines patients were taking. Mixing prescriptions is always an area of risk that can precipitate dependency or addiction and lead to the need for drug detox or to complications and even death.

Detroit’s new online prescription drug computer program appears to be helping get that city’s prescription drug error and abuse situation under control, and should help save a lot of people from needing a drug detox program.

The Blind Bind of Male Depression

2009-01-09T05:58:00.004-08:00

by: Patti Desert

Many men have a difficult time recognizing that they are depressed. Men often interpret the word "depression" as describing a state of helplessness or hopelessness, accompanying a general sense of feeling fragile or vulnerable. In many ways our culture conditions men to ignore these states or to experience little awareness of them. Men are taught "boys don't cry," and are uniformly rewarded with praise and validation when they "act like a man" instead of tearing up or expressing fear in response to a harshly distressing encounter. Such an encounter might be a football injury or a harsh and critical baseball coach or an abusive peer. After years of this kind of persistent reinforcement these boys grow into men with a form of blindness whereby they often do not see or understand the nature of depression. In ignorance they become bound by painfully repetitive behaviors and feelings with no knowledge that they can change. What men do recognize is what they call "stress" and they will commonly describe events and situations as stressful with no awareness that those events and situations are the triggers stimulating an internal state of dis-ease that often leads to depression. The following are some of the less recognizable experiences that men commonly describe as "stressful" or "stress-related" and that are symptomatic of depression.

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION

high levels of anxiety, irritability, and/or anger; low energy and/or fatigue; difficulties concentrating; frequent worries about others' opinions; loss or lack of confidence; loss of interest in favorite activities; weight loss or gain; loss of sex drive; sleep problems; inability to relax; addictions; obsessive-compulsive behavior; frequent suffering from vague physical ailments.

TRIGGERS OF DEPRESSION

Many normal and joyous life experiences can trigger depression. A new relationship, a new baby, a new home or job, a large inheritance, or even winning the lottery. Each of these events bring additional and, at times, unfamiliar experiences that can challenge a man's sense of confidence to address such responsibilities. Generally, when men feel a lack of confidence they will double up their efforts. However, when such efforts fail and a man's confidence is compromised longer than is tolerable his sense of self worth is diminished and that places him at risk for depression.

Separation, divorce, loss of a job, retirement, death of a loved one, constant and unrelenting pressures from others to do things their way--these also can tax a man's sense of competency and self-worth. As commonly learned growing up, men experiencing loss will tend to suppress tears and sadness and will instead present a "stiff upper lip," or get busy and support others, or express anger at the perceived offender, or find ways to occupy their thoughts so they can avoid uncomfortable feelings. As well they will reject any idea that they cannot optimally perform. And if, by chance, they do have trouble functioning effectively, they will suffer intense anxiety, tension, and fatigue. When this happens and they cannot change what they believe is causing their distress, they will begin experiencing more of the symptoms listed above.

Physical illness and unrelenting pain can also trigger depression. Pain is the body's red alert system that something is misfiring, and the nervous system is the first responder to engage our defense system to bring relief. When pain is intense enough or it persists long enough it creates unrelieved stress on our natural biological defense systems. Once that happens our immune system and other related defense systems become compromised and can no longer provide necessary relief. One of the common results of this biologically-based depletion is depression. The biological and chemical effects of untreated depression then synergistically trigger an even wider system breakdown that further weakens our body and makes us susceptible to other physical disorders.

THE BLIND BIND OF MALE DEPRESSION

Men are conditioned from the time they are little boys to be problem solvers, doers, thinkers, and action takers. Such conditioning primes them to naturally assume the roles of dedicated employee at work and primary caretaker at home. They push themselves to meet time lines, sales quotas, budget schedules, financial, emotional, and professional expectations of family and friends. They are not taught to consider or are not aware of the cost these pressures can impose on their physical well being and emotional peace of mind. They are blinded to the understanding that if the cost gets high enough fatigue, irritability, impatience, and the other symptoms listed above start to manifest. They do not recognize that in an effort to gain relief from these symptoms they engage in behaviors that potentially exacerbate the problem. And so, in ignorance, they compulsively and impulsively bind with the distracting excitement or mind numbing experience of a increasing variety of behaviors. Some examples include alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex, spending, long periods on the internet, and working harder and longer. Ultimately, instead of bringing relief, these binding behaviors bring an additional set of worries that now includes substance-related depression, financial debt, social isolation, family conflict, a shame-driven perception of self, and a widening rift between the painful state of depression and the support that can bring relief and healing.

HEALING FROM THE BLIND BIND OF DEPRESSION

Men did not ask for this blind-bind state of being. And they cannot return to their pasts and change the experiences that conditioned them to overlook or ignore or to have little understanding of the symptoms of depression and the interactions that trigger it. However, men can learn to recognize the symptoms and then, at the very least, seek out more information. Depression is treatable and a few basic steps can begin the process. Awareness is fundamental. The next step requires action. Here are some recommendations:

get eight hours sleep; do something you enjoy each week; walk for twenty minutes, three times a week; eat healthy meals that include fruits/vegetables--depression leeches the body of nutrients; schedule a massage; practice deep, slow breathing throughout the day; take a work break—go in late, leave early, take the day off; consult with a physician; talk about frustrations with a trusted friend; get professional counseling.

This last suggestion, getting professional help, is significantly important. Often men know that these activities can help to lift their mood and alleviate stress but hard as they try, they falter at following through with them. Understandably. Depression is a condition that effects the mind, the body, and the emotions. Many men routinely grow up with few tools to address these areas when compromised. However, with the help of a skilled psychotherapist who has experience and training working with men in the treatment of depression and anxiety the blind bind of male depression can release. And with that release men can then acquire the tools to alleviate the symptoms of depression, to prevent its debilitating reoccurrence, and to live with a consistent sense of healthy and enjoyable connection with self and others.

How I Healed Myself from Fibromyalgia

2009-01-09T05:58:00.003-08:00

by: Rebecca Hanson

Have you ever met a seven-headed dragon? Slaying it is nearly impossible, because as soon as you cut off one head two more grow in its place! I know this first-hand, because I fought with this dragon for 20 years until I found the chink in its armor and pierced its heart, once and for all.

Misdiagnosis Abounds

Like many sufferers of fibromyalgia, I was misdiagnosed for 15 years. Maybe it was because the condition has no specific or single cause, or because it has only recently (1990's) been recognized as a "legitimate" malady. As late as 1982, fibromyalgia was not even an entry in the doctors' standard clinical reference book, the Merck Manual. Over the years my doctors labeled my symptoms as: Chronic back pain (lower, mid and upper), frozen left shoulder (two and a half years), frozen right shoulder (one and a half years), plantar fasciitis, sleep disorder, restless leg syndrome—you get the picture. Finally, in 1997 I was given the label "fibromyalgia" and told that the only treatment was cortisone injections in every muscle where the pain was intolerable.

"Damn!" I thought, "That's a lot of needles!" Not willing to become a doctor's voodoo doll, I never went back to that doctor. Instead I turned to holistic approaches. I tried everything imaginable to "manage" my pain: excruciating deep muscle massage, strict diets, herbal remedies...I even tried a putrid brew concocted by a Chinese medicine doctor.

Admitting Defeat

After suffering for seven years under the futile belief that I could affect my own cure, I gave up. Admitting defeat, I found a new doctor and asked for help. His theory was that fibro is a disease linked to depression. So along with a non-steroid medication for pain, he prescribed an anti-depressant and a sleeping pill. These seemed to take the edge off the pain for a while.

I was "managing" my pain, pretty well until 2005 when I was crushed by trigeminal neuralgia. Excruciating pain exploded across the right side of my face—encompassing the jaw, cheek bone and temple and behind my ear. It was debilitating! I could do nothing but lie as still as possible with ice packs. Aspirin with codeine did not begin to touch the pain. I thought it might be a tooth, but the x-ray did not reveal anything for the dentist to deal with. I was sent to a neurologist who quite rudely told me, "You'd better hope it is a tooth because it's not worth cracking your head open to fix this." The trigeminal nerve does not originate in the spine, but at the base of the brain!

Gadz! I was a mess! So, my family doc prescribed an antiseizure drug in the hope it would block the perception of pain. As I was leaving his office, he said (rather off-the-cuff), "It might help with the fibromyalgia too."

A month later I was undergoing a root canal which eventually cleared up the facial neuralgia, but I stayed on the antiseizure medication because it did take a further "edge" off the fibromyalgia.

At the same time all this was happening, I was running two companies, TeleClass International and the Law of Attraction Training Center. I was happily turning every aspect of my life around and experiencing success and joy in everything I did—except THIS. I figured I just had to accept THIS as "the way it is."

I was beaten down and felt there was just nothing else I could do about it. Of course, my body was continuing to deteriorate under the unrelenting pain.

Body/Mind Connection

My businesses started to suffer also and I decided to hire a business coach. On the intake form, under the heading of Health I wrote: "Ok, I wasn't going to address this, but if it shows up as dramatically as it has this week, then I won't ignore it. I was thrown flat on my back with a muscle spasm around my entire chest. The spasm was continuous for four days." My coach wrote back, "You are pushing very hard on yourself. Nothing wrong with that, except your body is telling you that something is wrong. Therefore, part of your journey is learning how to flow with ease and grace."

Hmmm, he had a point, but I really did not want to address this seemingly endless, impossible health challenge! Nevertheless, I surrendered to my coach and prayed for a solution.

A few days later I was reading and meditating—well, I was sort of reading and meditating—it was hard to stay focused and my eyes were just glancing at the letters in the book when these two sentences jumped off the page into my heart: "If your affairs are out of order, it is a reflection that your thinking is out of order. If your body is out of order, it is a reflection that your emotions are out of order." How to Use Your Twelve Gifts from God, by William Warch

I'm a very orderly person—my house is in order, my office is usually clean and orderly, my bills are all paid—I'm very responsible and my affairs are in order. But my body was definitely OUT OF ORDER and I had no clue what emotion was causing this, I had lived with it for 20 years. Whatever the cause, it was deeply buried.

Defining Event

At this point I decided to cooperate with my coach and an extremely painful memory surfaced! I had been so disappointed—more than disappointed—I was really angry at my body for letting me down when I had to surrender Matthew back into the care of Social Services! WOW!

In 1980 my husband and I had adopted a baby who had been abandoned at the time of birth because it "wasn't perfect." His natural parents would not bond, love or care for him because he was Down's syndrome. My husband was an obstetrician and when he learned the child was abandoned, he was quite shaken. Our fourth child, Sarah, has Down's syndrome and she has been such a joy to us that it was quite disturbing to imagine this little boy without a family. So we asked for and adopted Matthew at birth. What we did not realize at the time was that Matthew was also autistic. The combination of D.S., plus severe retardation and autism was a horrific package, and in seven years I was totally burned out.

That was when I felt such anger at my body. When I give my word or make a commitment I keep it. I'm a person of integrity. For my body to cave in like it did was simply NOT in my realm of possibility. But it had and I had carried this anger inside my body for 20 years!

Letting Go

NO WONDER I WAS IN PAIN! And my doctor was right! If fibromyalgia is caused by depression, and depression is "anger turned inward" as I learned in nurses' training, then indeed I was depressed!

I LET IT GO! Once I "saw" the root emotion—anger—I could understand why my body was screaming in pain. And I let it go. Just like that. In the moment I made my decision to let it go, it left. I knew it. A few days later I started slowly weaning myself off the medications. I'm not a martyr, so if I were feeling pain, I would be back on the meds, but I'm not. I'm free of pain, gaining strength, reprogramming my thinking and adding activities back into my life. This week I started two exercise classes at the local recreation center—a gentle fitness class and water fitness. THAT is a miracle!

Now, I would not presume to know what is at the root of every case of fibromyalgia. But I wouldn't be surprised if a long-held or blocked emotion would surface for most sufferers. My hope and prayer in sharing my story is that it will re-activate hope in your heart, and faith to believe in a miracle for yourself or someone you love.

Recovery From Exercise: Looking At What's Best

2009-01-09T05:58:00.002-08:00

by: Yuri Elkaim

The human body operates most efficiently when it is in balance, or has achieved a state known as homeostasis. As such, optimal recovery means that all body systems have returned to the state they were in before exercise (homeostasis). However, for most avid exercisers, recovery is a limiting factor. The better you can recover, the sooner and better you can train. The process of recovery (regeneration) gets less attention than it should. Every person should have a systematic plan that includes recovery activities on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis. The following are simple tools that you can implement to help your body recover better between exercise bouts.

Cool-down

After exhaustive exercise, don't stop and rest immediately. You can speed up the removal of lactic acid from your muscles by continuing to exercise at a low intensity for 10-20 minutes. Cooling down can help reduce the feeling of stiffness that often occurs after a workout and is especially important if your next training session or event is scheduled a few hours later.

Stretch

Static stretching before exercise puts you at risk for damaging the very tissues you are trying to protect and as such should be avoided. Research has shown that stretching causes lengthening of the tendinous fibers within the muscle-tendon unit. Such lengthening causes the tendon (or passive) component to lose much of its shock absorbency, thus, placing the muscle fibers at greater risk of trauma. However, stretching after exercise may help minimize muscle soreness and may even help prevent future soft tissue injuries. Thus, before activity, more active-type stretching routines that promote range of motion and increased blood flow are recommended. Conversely, after exercise, the emphasis should be on passive or static stretching to allow the muscles to relax and return to their resting lengths.

Carbohydrates

The muscles are primed for quick restoration of their carbohydrate fuel reserves (glycogen) immediately after exercise, so don't wait too long to start eating foods and drinking beverages rich in carbohydrate. Fruits, energy bars, and sports drinks all contain large amounts of carbohydrate. From a nutrition standpoint, post-exercise is one of the only times where you want to be consuming high-glycemic index foods for they will stimulate a quicker release of insulin and, thus, carbohydrate storage in the muscles. Ideally, these fuels should be consumed as quickly as possible upon finishing your exercise session.

Protein

Most forms of exercise lead to the breakdown of proteins within the muscles. This breakdown-repair process stimulates the muscles to rebuild and become stronger. Moreover, some of our muscle proteins continue to be broken down during the recovery phase after exercise. For a faster buildup of muscle proteins during recovery, include a small amount of protein in the foods you eat. Milk, cheese, eggs, whey protein shakes, sandwiches, nuts (almonds, walnuts) and energy bars provide carbohydrate and protein. Look for easily digestible protein sources (such as the ones listed above) following strenuous exercise. Avoid saturated fats.

Fluids

Replacing lost fluid is crucial to the recovery process. Having adequate fluids within your body promotes the removal of toxins and waste from your muscles. Top off your supply of fluids by drinking before exercise, continue to hydrate every 15 or 20 minutes during a workout, and replace any body weight lost during exercise by drinking while you recover. Remember, 1 L of water is equivalent to 1 kg of body weight. Therefore, if the difference between your pre- and post-exercise weight is 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) you would want to rehydrate with 1.5 L of water to bring your body fluid back to homeostasis. Before, during, and after exercise, the rule of thumb is that if you’re thirsty, it’s too late! Therefore, be sure to have a water bottle throughout the day to sip on. On a daily basis (at rest), the number of ounces of water you should be consuming should equal half of your body weight (in lbs). Thus, if you weigh 200 lbs, then you want to be drinking 100 ounces of water (almost 3 L).

Salt

Your body loses water and minerals - mostly sodium chloride, some potassium - when you sweat. Drinking water alone during exercise and recovery will make it difficult to replace body fluids rapidly because much of it will pass through the kidneys to become urine. Replace the salt along with the water to counteract dehydration. If you have to compete again within a few hours, consider sports drinks that contain water, sodium chloride, or fruits such as bananas which are high in potassium. Add extra salt to foods at mealtime if you are susceptible to cramps. Consider using condiments, sports drinks, and fitness waters instead of salt tablets.

Damage Control

Inflammation, swelling, and muscle soreness are possibilities following strenuous exercise. To minimize the effects, consider cold packs around joint areas, alternating cold and hot whirlpool baths, and the use of specially designed magnets to speed the recovery process. Light massage is also a good option for promoting toxin removal from the tissues and reducing delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). A study by Hilbert et al. showed that a 20 minute massage 2 hours following exercise helped to reduce the intensity of soreness 48 hours post-exercise in subjects who underwent 6 sets of maximal eccentric hamstring contractions. Minimize foot contact with the ground. Engage in light activities that increase blood flow while not taxing the nervous system. Swimming, cycling, walking, and light jogs are alternatives, but minimize foot contact with the ground.

Sleep

There is plenty of evidence to show that lack of sleep can have an adverse affect on training and competition. You might get by for a day or two with inadequate sleep, but it will catch up with up sooner or later. If you haven't monitored your sleep habits already, determine how much sleep you need each night to ensure full recovery. It's not eight hours for everyone - could be less, could be more. Then try to establish a routine that will allow you get what you need to perform well. Sleep is divided into 1.5-hour time cycles. If you can time sleep cycles in increments of an hour and a half (1.5 hours, 3.0 hours, 4.5 hours, 6.0 hours, 7.5 hours, 9.0 hours), you have a better chance of waking up refreshed. The idea is to awake at the top of the cycle instead of at the bottom. And don't dismiss the power of a 20-30 minute nap during the day. The journal Sleep highlighted a meta-analysis done on studies looking at the effects of sleep deprivation on performance. The researchers found that overall sleep deprivation strongly impairs human functioning. Moreover, they found that mood is more affected by sleep deprivation than either cognitive or motor performance and that partial sleep deprivation has a more profound effect on functioning than either long-term or short-term sleep deprivation.

Also be aware that overtraining can impair your body’s ability to fully rest and regenerate. A study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise revealed that female swimmers who trained excessively showed a higher incidence of sleep disruptions. In sum, there are several measure that you can take to better your recovery between exercise sessions. Remember that a combination of the several of the aforementioned tools should be implemented for best results.

The Process of Spiritual Development.

2009-01-09T05:58:00.001-08:00

by: Keith McGregor

There are basic steps the average beginner needs to be aware of when starting their journey on their spiritual development awakening.

We use the process of guided meditation exercises to help us with most of the psychic growth. If we can read and understand these processes of psychic growth we can then progress with much more speed. Knowledge is power. A very good process of understanding psychic development is called PREVAILE.

P.R.E.V.A.I.L.E

PROTECTION

Protecting yourself before and during a guided meditation is essential. If your intention is for the highest of good, then you are pulling positive energy towards you and, as like attracts like, you will only receive positive communication. Your intention is your protection.

ROOTING / GROUNDING

As you increase your energy vibrations, you need to keep the balance of “what comes in must go out”. Rooting yourself consciously allows your body to expel any excess or old energy through your feet, thus keeping yourself balanced.

ENERGY / CHAKRAS

Spirit are on a higher energy vibration so we need to raise our energy levels to increase our ability to communicate with them during meditation exercises. The method used to increase our vibration is to open and close our chakras (Energy centres). With practice this linking to the higher energy becomes more natural.

VISUALISATION

During a guided meditation, you visualise within your mind. This is to improve your ability to accept what you get from spirit. When spirit communicates with you, their usual first step is to put visual pictures directly into your mind. We practice this through guided visual meditations.

ACCEPTANCE

The next step in development is to accept any visualisation that comes into your mind, even if you do not know where it came from. Accepting that it came from spirit is the only path you must take. Do not think it is your own imagination. Accept what you get!

INTENTION

Your intention for the highest of good is everything. Whether you seek inner peace or wish to share your gift with others, your intention is your guide. Your intention will draw to you that which you desire as long as it is for the highest of good.

LANGUAGE (SPIRIT)

Each individual person has a unique way of communicating with spirit. Meditations enable you to develop your own language with spirit using your own spiritual abilities.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Once you have become “au fait” with your spirit language and your abilities then, over time, you will find the inner peace and enlightenment you seek. You will have the confidence to accept all that you receive and understand the reasons why your life is as it is, feeling you at one with the universe.

The Power of Spiritual Development Meditations

2009-01-09T05:53:00.000-08:00

by: Keith McGregor

The power of spiritual development meditations have many aspects that help us. The way we open ourselves up to get clear and precise messages during a guided meditation is to open our chakras. In the process of opening our chakras we are increasing the vibration and level of energy with in our bodies. As we increase the energy and level of vibration during our meditation exercises this has a healing affect on us. This is because when our chakra are at there normal state they may be holding on to emotions or blockages that need to be dealt with. When the chakra are open and there is an increased flow of energy through the chakra it is a cleaning and cleansing process that we are going through. During this process we will often be shown what our blocks are and what we can do to help our selves.

In this day and age we find that people are always busy. If they aren’t working they are watching television or on the internet. Our lives are so busy that our brains overload and even in our sleep state we find it hard to calm down and to give ourselves a break. During a psychic meditation your brain is being given the direction it has to go. You do not have to think at all, just allow thought to come to you. This is like giving your brain a vacation! Taking away your need to think about everything gives your brain the break you need to reboot where you are not responsible for what comes through your mind, but know that it is for the highest of good.

Guided meditation is a very good way to start your meditation process because often when we meditate to find total calm and quiet within ourselves we find it very difficult to slow down our minds and to accept the state our mind is in. For instance, we hear all the little noises and they disturb us. With a guided spiritual development meditation you are supposed to be listening to a voice and you find it very easy to accept what you are given. Removing the responsibility of your own thoughts, but learning to accept the inner voices that are there to guide you and help you along the way,

In conclusion, spiritual development meditations are a fantastic, powerful method of helping you to clear your negativity and to reboot your brain, on occasion, to help you move forward within your life. Having said this, the biggest self gain will probably be the belief that there is more to the universe than just the earth plain because you will find your link to the spirit world

Knock Out Weight Loss Strategies: 7 Dynamic Ways To A New You

2009-01-09T05:52:00.003-08:00

by: Ted Cantu

I got the phone call early on a Monday. It was from California and I had no idea what I was about to learn from the amazing Dr. Berneathy. Dr. B, as he is affectionately known, has created a dynamite weight loss formula for his patients in his Chiropractic clinic. I was about to embark on a real education.

If you want to lose the weight then you will have to lose any type of victim mentality and get positive. I learned from Dr. B that weight loss was not that hard to do. This guy had the secret that so many other programs out there seemed to miss.

I am going to tell you some of these strategies now.

Lesson 1: You Got To Detoxify – Now what does this exactly mean? You have to get rid of all the junk in your diet. If you are serious about weight loss then you must get rid of the excess garbage in your daily diet. There is a time period here that you will have to observe. This is a multi-step process that you must start on if you want to lose the unwanted pounds.

Lesson 2: Keeping A Positive Mindset – Getting powerful results starts with a healthy mindset. I suggest getting rid of all the substances in your daily pattern that lead to racing thoughts. In this category I include caffeinated drinks, alcohol, sugar and other stimulants. I recently switched to herbal teas from around the world and noticed a huge difference in every aspect of my life.

Lesson 3: Move – You got to get in motion if you want to lose weight. Life is about motion, it is about doing, it is about experiencing new things, you got to get out of your living environment and breathe fresh air. Even if you are not used to exercising you have to get up and out. Mobility is everything. This is going to help you build up your mindset to finally exercise.

Lesson 4: Water Based Foods – Just like Dr. B said do not eat junk foods. Artificial colors and flavors are ultimately bad for you and they must be avoided. Taking the bold step to water based foods will take some imagination There are a lots of great things to be said about what kind of vegetables you buy. You can either buy organic produce, eat vegan, or go totally vegetarian. Avoid taking too many radical steps to reach your goal. Your shifts in this area should be gradual.

Lesson 5: Love Yourself – I always found that I usually got the munchies around 10 PM every night. This became a problem but I found ways around it. I was never tempted by late night advertising by Taco Bell because I had problems with dairy and my sinuses. I was able to find some guilt free snacks to help tide me over. I found things like black bean dip and blue corn chips that were fat free. I also found this amazing Green Tea Non Dairy Ice Cream. If you are willing to stretch your imagination you will come across some incredible finds. This is totally up to you. The other thing I can tell you is to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water.

Lesson 6: Take Control – Avoid being a victim whenever possible. Avoid living in a constant state of “reaction”, (ex: you’ll never believe what this guy said to me, you’ll never believe what happened to me today, I could only get that promotion if so and so was out of the way etc.). These types of inner conflicts are not healthy for the mind. You are controlling the situations around you. It is for this reason you must have self mastery.

Lesson 7: Eat Often – You can achieve great things with smaller meals. You can eat multiple times a day and not have to worry about going hungry. If you are eating the right things in the right combination then hunger pangs are a thing of the past. You are going to be well settled and will not have to worry about calorie counting. The body will start to adjust to your eating habits and you won’t have to worry about how much you need to eat. Your portions will be smaller.

Dr. Berneathy is well schooled in all of these areas. He is an abundant wealth of knowledge and I decided to take him on as a client. These areas of weight loss intrigued me and yet I wondered how I could apply these rules to my life.

We talked about fundamentals and what it would take to get fantastic results. Weight loss is a complicated game if you don’t approach it the right way. That is why there are so many diets that fail and fall off the market place. But talking to Dr. B made things really simple. We need to stop stuffing ourselves with fake food. But more importantly we had to follow a process that would help eliminate waste before the pounds would fall off.

The importance of this subject matter cannot be underplayed. Disease can settle in if the body is not where it should be. Losing weight is a very serious subject matter and you should take proper steps to take care of your body.

Why Weight Loss Pills Are Ineffective For You

2009-01-09T05:52:00.002-08:00

by: Ted Cantu

You just bought a nighttime and daytime formula of weight loss pills. You have been taking them for … months. Lets face it, this weight is not falling off your body and you got to wonder why this is taking so long. It’s obvious there is some kind of problem here with your weight loss program. Maybe pills aren’t the answer?

Dr. Berneathy has some rather unexpected statistics on the subject of weight gain. He mentions in his talks that the body will be almost immune to weight loss pills because of one simple reason. The body has to detoxify. Your body has to get rid of all of the junk and garbage that you put into it through eating fast foods, non-foods, and harmful substances that clog up your system.

What Is Detoxification?

Being overweight and suffering from obesity are becoming all too common these days. This carries a huge load of negatives such as health risks and illness. It is for this reason you must detoxify your body.

That means getting rid of anything that’s man made. I would scrap any product that had artificial sweetners, additives, artificial coloring and preservatives in it.

I would get my hands on a green drink too ASAP. I found some liquid chlorophyll in my health food store a few months back and I liked it. I made a drink out of that with some purified water. I found this naturally uplifting and it put my body in check. My pH level increased to a deep rich green color, (yes I use the testing strips) in a matter of a few days.

You will notice some differences when you start to clean your body out. My sweat didn’t stink anymore and I had no foul odors. This sanitized my body from the inside out. I started to notice real change too in how I approached food once I was cleaned out. I didn’t have cravings for things that I thought I would miss. In fact, I had gotten so wound up in my work that I would forget to eat breakfast AND lunch. I am not suggesting that you do this but my energy level soared through the roof.

It was after I had experienced this body cleansing that I decided to do something with my exercise program and the foods I ate. I wanted to reach higher levels of this type of living. I learned one thing that Spring and that was detoxification is the key to a better life.

Getting back to the Weight Loss pills for a moment. The marketing pitch for a lot of these products claim that you can eat whatever you want and still lose the weight. The foods they show in their ads include pizza, chocolate, cake and pies. Good grief.

If you are going to detoxify yourself then make sure the foods you eat are good foods and not junk foods. There is no point in going back to a “fried chicken diet” or a “chocoholic overload diet”. If you are going to start taking care of your body and are willing to go all the way we got some good news for you.

The weight will start to come off of you after you detoxify.

Lets Get Back To Basics

So does that mean you can do all of this with diet pills? Perhaps but if you do not have the right fundamentals of weight loss and how your body reacts to certain foods you could be on the never ending rollercoaster. It is no wonder why so many diets fail when they hit the market. You need to know what combinations of food are good for you and which ones aren’t.

To learn more about detoxification and how it affects weight loss you need a coach.

Why You Need To Detoxify Your Body

2009-01-09T05:52:00.001-08:00

Developing a Proper Eating Plan

2009-01-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

How to Avoid Diet Plateaus

2009-01-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

by: Mary Watson

Everyone has periods when no matter what they attempt, they will not lose weight. It’s normal to experience this “plateaus” occasionally, but if you have them frequently, you may be doing something wrong. If you think you are doing everything you should do and are still not losing weight or are losing at a very slow pace, you need to evaluate everything you are doing to find the cause.

Make a Log of Your Menus and Snacks

One of the first things you need to do in order to determine the cause of your weight loss plateau is to make a log of everything you eat. In all likelihood you are eating things you should not be eating or in excessive quantities. It is rare that one can follow a diet program precisely and not lose weight. There may be occasions when you might lose less weight than at other times for any number of reasons including illness, but if it continues beyond a week or two, you need to keep of log of your food intake in order to evaluate the cause.

While you are logging your food consumption, you want to pay close attention to your snacks. One of the mistakes people tend to make is choosing low calorie snacks that have added sugar or thinking they can eat more because the food has little or no calories in it. The time you eat meals and snacks may also have an effect on the speed at which you lose weight. If you have a tendency to eat dinner after 6:00 p.m., you may find it difficult to lose weight because there is not enough time to digest the food before bed. Of course, if you go to bed much later, this will not be as big of a problem.

Log Your Activity Level

In addition to logging your intake of food, you need to log your activity level as well. You have to keep in mind that you cannot lose weight without exercise, so there is a good possibility that without realizing it, you have lowered your level of activity, thus placing your weight loss at a plateau. This decreased activity level will cause your metabolism to slow down and those slow your weight loss efforts. You want to ask yourself what you are doing differently; perhaps you have slowed down the speed of your activities or have changed to an activity that does not burn calories at the same speed as the activity in which you were previously participating.

Evaluate the Drinks You Are Consuming

You should be drinking at least sixty-four ounces of water daily. If you are not doing this, it is probably affecting your weight loss. Even low sugar drinks can have an affect on your weight loss if you consume too many of these drinks especially if they are preventing you from drinking enough water. Soft drinks should be avoided as much as possible because even the diet varieties contain excess sodium which can have a detrimental effect on weight loss.

Many years ago I was involved in a weight loss program and when I reached a plateau I was told to drink something hot in the morning to get the metabolism going at full speed. If you are not a tea or coffee drinker, you can certainly substitute hot water with some lemon or other flavouring added. I would not recommend hot chocolate unless you are drinking the sugar free variety, and even then you must be careful how much you drink at 70 calories a cup.

Why Going Under the Knife is the Last Resort to Weight Loss

2009-01-08T06:42:00.002-08:00

by: Mary Watson

So you've tried every diet going and you've tried all the pills, patches, potions and hypnotherapy programmes and still nothing has produced the desired results. You're now desperate to the point of suicide, but you have some money put by for an emergency. Money can buy just about anything right? But, can it buy you a new body?

The answer is yes!

But before you seriously consider putting yourself at the mercy of the surgeon's knife, let's look at this drastic action in more detail.

The most common form of weight loss surgery is the gastric band, which will set you back around £8,000. Undoubtedly, the gastric band is a highly effective weight loss surgery procedure used to help overweight people achieve significant and long-term weight loss.

Basically, it's a an inflatable silicone ring that is placed around the upper part of the stomach, creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach with a small opening to the rest of the stomach. The band controls the amount of food that passes from the stomach into the digestive tract.

The object is to make you feel satisfied on much smaller amounts of food and digestion is slowed down, making you feel full for longer periods and resulting in weight loss.

A major benefit is that the band can be adjusted if necessary and can be kept in for life, ensuring that you never again become a victim of over-eating and obesity.

It's obvious that weight loss surgery works better than weight loss drugs or diets but what are the risks? There are some risks with this kind of surgery so doctors will usually only recommend it after you've tried several other ways of losing weight. Even then, surgery is not suitable for everyone. For example, your doctor may consider surgery too risky if you have heart or lung problems.

Another quite common surgical weight loss procedure is a gastric bypass, which will cost in the region of £11,000.

Known as a Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass, this is a highly effective weight loss surgery procedure.The operation creates a small stomach pouch in the same way as the gastric band. This is then attached to a section of the small intestine. Food then bypasses the rest of the stomach and some of the intestine. This results in you being able to consume a significantly reduced volume of food.

It is the most common form of Bariatric Surgery and is a proven method of weight loss. When combined with a supervised diet, increased physical activity and a change in behaviour habits, it can lead to long-term weight loss with all the associated health benefits.

It differs from a gastric band as it has a 2 way weight reducing effect, both restricting food volume and reducing the amount of calories the body absorbs. Also, gastric bypass surgery is preferable to some people as it does not require any adjustment, making it more convenient if you live some distance from the hospital or do not want to attend for adjustments.

Although the long-term benefits of gastric bypass surgery appear to outweigh the short-term risks, the immediate risks associated with gastric bypass surgery to treat obesity may be much higher than was previously thought.

A recent study shows that the risk of death within the first 30 days after gastric bypass surgery is at least four times higher than previously reported, and much of that risk was attributable to the surgeon's inexperience. Subsequently, the risk of dying within 30 days of surgery is about 1 in 50.

Is that a risk worth taking? I suppose it all depends on just how desperate you really are. Well, no matter how desperate you are you should always try every alternative method first. Like the much cheaper and no-risk herbal remedy option.

With this option you won't need to spend your life savings on surgery and you won't have to risk your life to lose the excess weight.

Is Weight Loss All in the Mind

2009-01-08T06:42:00.001-08:00

by: Mary Watson

Is hypnosis the answer to losing weight quickly and safely? Well look into my eyes as I delve into the deepest, darkest recesses of the mind to find out.

Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, usually achieved with the help of a hypnotherapist. When you're under hypnosis, your attention is highly focused and you're more responsive to suggestions, including behaviour changes that hypnotherapists say can help you lose weight.

Many advertisers on the Internet want you to believe that because hypnosis is "natural", it cannot harm you and is therefore a superior method of weight loss.

Firstly, it cannot be claimed that hypnosis is one of the most natural ways to lose weight, because it's obviously not natural to be in a state of induced hypnosis. But, having said that, it could be a safe method. The real question is does it work?

One reason for weight gain is quite often psychological. Basically, it's all in the mind. So one way to effectively reach your weight loss goal is to reach deep down into your subconscious mind and change the way you think about food.

Imagine if you could lose weight by just relaxing and listening to a pleasant and friendly subliminal message. A message that could be implanted deep into your subconscious. A powerful message that affects your attitude to eating and exercise, without you even realising.

Hypnosis is a unique experience, but you are always in control. Hypnotherapy is rather like being in a daydream, it is a state called "trance". It might be a deep trance or it might only be a light trance.

With hypnosis there's no right or wrong way to experience it, there's just different ways for different people. In general a hypnotic trance is a very pleasant, relaxing and tranquil xperience. While hypnotised you will be aware of all physical sensations around you, perhaps even noticing sounds you wouldn't otherwise be aware of.

When you are fully conscious again you may be able to recall everything that happened while you were in your trance-like state, depending how deep your trance was.

Hypnosis can help by allowing you to overcome unconscious obstacles, which prevent you from losing weight and from keeping weight off. You know that eating too much is not what you desire and you know that exercise and sensible diet are important.

However, these are not conscious, logical issues. Successful weight loss is all about re-educating your unconscious mind and forming new healthy habits.

Hypnosis and hypnotherapy work on a subconscious level to help you achieve a state of mind where you can actually lose weight willingly. Until you are genuinely willing to make these changes, your weight loss goals will seem very difficult to achieve.

So, on the surface it would appear that hypnosis as a weight loss aid has something going for it. After all, hypnosis works for smokers who are trying to give up the fags, doesn't it? Well, the truth is hypnosis is slow to produce any long-lasting results and will not work for everyone.

Studies have shown that one reason why it doesn't work is because it requires weekly consultations with a qualified hypnotist for at least 8 weeks or more in addition to any self-hypnosis or listening to some recorded message. So, In order to achieve any benefits from its use, hypnosis must be practiced on a regular basis for a significant period of time.

And, as we all want to see results almost instantly, this method is very likely to fail because we just don't have the patience to continue. Then there's the cost to consider. Hypnotherapy sessions do not come cheap.

Unfortunately, the only people who claim hypnosis is easy, simple, and effective are those trying to sell you their programme. So, in conclusion, hypnosis is just another method that seems to be making money for those who practice it.

Does the Slimming Pill Hold the Answer to Weight Loss

2009-01-08T06:42:00.000-08:00

by: Mary Watson

The "Diet Pill" has an obvious appeal to anyone who wants to lose weight fast, and with very little effort. How marvelous life would be if we could just pop a pill and body fat just melted away. Everyone knows, or should know at least, that if something sounds too easy or just too good to be true, that's because it is.

Every scientist, doctor, dietician and fitness trainer will tell you that taking diet pills is downright dangerous, but is it? And if it is, then how dangerous is it?

Well, according to scientists, some diet pills can cause panic attacks, strokes and even fatal heart attacks. Some of these "drugs", better known as phentermine are closely related to mphetamines, so they work as an appetite suppressant, stimulating the release of brain chemicals, which in turn reduces the sensations of hunger.

An overdose can lead to hallucinations, seizures, severe headaches, blurred vision and vomiting. Is all this information a little unnerving? It should be. And there's more. Here are some other so-called miracle slimming cures, which come in the form of a convenient pill.

The Diet Pill

---Amfepramone. This drug is known as "diethylpropion" in the UK, and was a prescription appetite suppressant branded as Apisate or Tenuate banned by the European Medicine Approval Agency in 1999 because of safety concerns. It works by mimicking the effects of noradrenaline in the nervous system to suppress hunger.

---Phenylpropanolamine (PPA). PPA is a vasoconstrictor used in nasal congestants and cough medicines, it is not approved in the UK for the treatment of obesity. Still used to control urinary incontinence in dogs.

---Ritalin (Methylphenidate). Ritalin is approved for the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and not for weight loss. Side-effects are increased heart rate and raised blood pressure, which can greatly stress the cardio-vascular system. A schedule 2 controlled drug, classed alongside amphetamines.

---Clenbuterol. Clenbuterol was originally developed as an asthma treatment, but also seems to increase metabolic rate and causes people to lose fat and gain muscle. It is banned by the International Olympic Committee because of its abuse by athletes and body builders. Clenbuterol is also used in a veterinary product to treat breathing problems in horses. After poisoning episodes linked to the consumption of meat containing Clenbuterol residues, its use is strictly controlled.

What's very alarming about all these drugs is that they can be easily purchased over the Internet from unscrupulous dealers based outside of the European Union.

Pills that can be legitimately purchased in the UK include the popular "Slim Bomb" Weight Loss Pills. The manufacturers claim that many years of extensive research have gone into this little blue pill and that the formula has undergone many rigorous changes to produce the latest and very effective offering.

These pills are manufactured from a combination of herbal extracts and other natural substances that are thought to cause a thermogenesis reaction in the body. This reaction is supposed to stimulate and accelerate the metabolic rate, which in turn reduces hunger cravings and produce the kind of calorie burning effects more associated with body activity, such as exercise. Although all the ingredients appear to be organic in origin, no clinical evidence exists to confirm its effectiveness as a weight loss aid.

So, what can we deduce from this information about slimming pills? It would seem at worse they are dangerous to your health and at best they simply don't work. Dieters should avoid buying any pills available only online, as their pedigree is dubious at best, and may not comply with EU regulations.

Is the Zone Diet for You

2009-01-08T06:26:00.004-08:00

by: Mary Watson

Is the Zone Diet just another fad? Well, it's currently the favourite diet of the celebrities including Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and many other well-known faces from the world of film and theatre. So what is all the fuss about?

The Zone Diet was created by Dr. Barry Sears, and is based around the consumption of correct ratios of food groups. In theory, by regulating your insulin levels, you keep your body's metabolism performing at its optimum level and the weight just falls off! Well, whatever the theory is, it seems to be working for some people so let's take a closer look at what this diet entails.

The Zone Diet

Our bodies are not fundamentally geared up to process "junk food" very well, and that's one reason why it's considered harmful to us. Although we live in a fast-paced modern age, our body structure is based on a very old design, which goes back to prehistoric times. Our bodies expect to be fed foods like lean protein and natural carbohydrates, which is exactly the foods that our ancestors would have eaten.

The theory behind the Zone Diet is if we adhere to the correct ratios of carbohydrates, fats and proteins that our body needs, we will help the body to regulate the levels of insulin. Keeping insulin at the right levels will help speed up the body's metabolism, and the result is, you lose weight. All you are actually doing is feeding the body exactly what it was designed to expect.

The ratio of food groups is: 40% Carbohydrates, 30% Fat and 30% Protein. So, each meal is based on a calculation.

Creating a Zone Diet meal can be a little tricky, as the ingredients have to be measured precisely. Food groups are classified into 'blocks' and then further classified into 'mini-blocks'. A typical meal might consist of one block of Carbohydrates, but this may be broken down further into three mini-blocks, which might comprise 1 cup of green beans, 2 cups of yellow squash and 1 glass of red wine.

The Zone Diet also allows for 2 snacks a day and the occasional glass of wine, calorific intake tends to be much lower when on the diet. In that respect it is more restrictive than other measured diets such as the South Beach Diet.

So, what are the benefits of the Zone Diet?

---Dieters tend to get all the nutrients they need, as all fruits and vegetables are okay to eat. Smaller portion sizes will also help to build a healthier lifestyle and maintain weight loss.

---Cravings for carbohydrates tend to disappear after a few days as the body adjusts to the new high protein diet.

---The concentration on lean proteins and "good cholesterol" is healthy for your heart.

---Weight loss on The Zone Diet can be very rapid! It is essentially a low-carb, low-calorie diet and can give great results in a short period of time.

The not so beneficial aspects are…

---Essentially, the Zone Diet should be considered as a short term weight loss remedy.

---Coming off the diet can result in putting the weight back on very fast if dieters return to their previous eating habits.

---The diet can work out to be quite expensive. Creating Zone meals requires buying special cookbooks and other materials.

---The Zone Diet can be time-consuming, as food preparation is sometimes a complicated process! It is therefore not practical for some people.

What is the French for Diet

2009-01-08T06:26:00.003-08:00

by: Mary Watson

France is well known as a nation of food lovers, so even the French are susceptible to the obesity syndrome. However, there are many people, especially women, who have bucked the trend and remain to be slim. Some French woman can eat all manner of delicious foods, indulge in wine and yet still stay trim and beautiful. What's their secret?

It would appear the French Diet is very appealing as there are no restrictions on carbohydrates or fat and no calorie counting, just good quality food eaten in moderation. The key here is quality and not quantity.

Their diet contains all fresh whole foods and they avoid processed foods, junk or fast foods, and sugary drinks. The French are passionate about cooking, so when cooking for themselves or friends, they will go to great lengths to seek out the freshest produce and ingredients for their meal. This is typically done on foot by walking around the farmers' markets, boulangeries and fromageries, all the time burning calories and contributing even more to a healthy lifestyle.

It's important to point out that French portions are a fraction of the size of those in the United States. So, while a French woman would be happy to unhurriedly savour a small plate of delicious quality food, others would rather wolf down a double helping, which is very often inferior quality.

The French tend to eat consciously and slowly, making sure they savour each and every mouthful. The psychology is by stopping to enjoy your meal, you will feel satisfied faster and will not tend to over eat. If you relax while eating, your body will metabolise food more efficiently, whereas hurriedly eating your food will lead your body to secrete Cortisol, which is steroid hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex as part of the body's response to stress.

French woman also drink plenty of water too. A good point to remember is, as well as prolonging your life and keeping your internal organs (liver, kidneys etc) clean and healthy, water will speed up your metabolism and aid weight loss.

The French Diet

With the French diet, you can eat unprocessed meat, fish, poultry, grains, bread, dairy products, vegetables and fruit. A varied diet is essential, as each food contains different vitamins and minerals necessary for long term health. The only conditions are on the size of the portions.

Other foods that are allowed include, croissants, pastries and baguettes. Did you know that a French croissant weighs in at just 1 ounce!

Real cheese is fine but processed cheese is definitely out. As you may be aware, the French regularly enjoy a glass of wine, especially at meal times. Red wine is packed with antioxidants and has recently been proven to be good for the heart. The French have a low incidence of heart disease and many cite red wine as the reason. However this should be restricted to 1 or 2 glasses a day.

Lastly, the French love fresh fruit and vegetables, and there are no restrictions on these. That's because they are low in calories and nutritionally dense. They also use heart healthy Olive Oil for cooking and dressings, rather than artery-clogging hydrogenated cooking oils.

So, it would appear that the "French Diet" isn't really a diet in the traditional sense, instead it's much more of a lifestyle. The only drawback in this hectic age in which we live, is finding the time to eat a meal slowly and in a relaxed state.

Endometriosis Symptoms Improved By Reducing Use Of Chemicals In Household Cleaners

2009-01-08T06:26:00.002-08:00

by: Carolyn Levett

Women have reported that when they reduce the amount of chemical based toiletries and household cleaning products, they begin to see a reduction in their symptoms of endometriosis.

In this article we will be looking at how you can start to get rid of all those toxic chemicals in your home, which you use as a matter of course every day to keep your home clean.

How does this help women with Endometriosis! ..... By reducing the number of different chemicals you are exposed to, which can be absorbed by your body, you will give your body a much better chance to function properly, for your immune system NOT to be put under stress, and improve your chances of healing.

You may be unaware of some of the toxins you are absorbing from the outside environment. And what is worse .... you have no control of this exposure. It is caused by industry emitting billions of tons of fumes, cars churning out noxious poisonous fumes, and agriculture spewing out millions of gallons of pesticides and organo-phosphates. Most of these toxins are invisible, and some of them you cannot detect with your sense of smell. They are insidious, highly dangerous to all life on earth, and we are all starting to pay the price now.

Because endometriosis seems to be such a modern epidemic, it only takes common sense and simple logic to realise that what is happening in our environment and what is happening to reproductive health around the world, that these two things are undoubtedly linked.

These environmental chemicals are wreaking havoc on the health of humans, animals and plant life alike. In humans, it is women and children who are most susceptible to these pollutants - and it shows up in condensed pockets of ill-health in people living near industrial plants.

BUT, the home is one place where you can start to take control. You can minimise your exposure to chemicals. As well as using chemical free, non-toxic personal toiletries - which we have covered in the past in End of Endo - you can change your habits and start to use old-fashioned natural alternatives to clean your home instead. And they work just as well. We have all become acclimatised/brainwashed/fed the advertising, which makes us believe we need all these different products.

The following advice gives you some tips and ideas to keep your home clean without using a multitude of different chemical based products.

People invest in separate products for individual cleaning jobs: furniture polish, bathroom floor cleaner, bathroom fixture cleaner, kitchen surface cleaner, oven cleaner, and bleach for general purpose around the house, 2-3 laundry detergents for cleaning clothes, glass cleaner, and drain cleaner - the list goes on.

If you look in the average cleaning cupboard of many homes, you will find a huge array of different bottles, cans and containers; some of which may have only been used once. Some of them will be past their ‘use by date’, and you have to throw it away - more toxic garbage thrown into the environment - and you have wasted your money. You will also notice that many products advise to keep away from children or your pets, must be used in a well ventilated room, and many will have severe warning logos stamped on the container, which means they are either highly toxic or flammable and down-right dangerous.

All of these products are costly, dangerous to your home, family and the environment. You can keep your home clean, germ free and smelling sweet by using only 2-3 home-made organic products, and you will save money.

Let's start with the kitchen. Rather than use a different cleaning product for the stove, kitchen sink, cabinets, floor and refrigerator, work tops and so on, there are only 4 ingredients that you need, and you can purchase them in any grocery store. They are white vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and salt.

Also take note - all of those ingredients you can put into your mouth quite safely without fear of poisoning.

~ Kitchen Floors - In a bucket mix 1/2 cup white vinegar with 1-gallon hot water. This is safe for hardwood, linoleum, tile, and any washable surface.

~ Oven Cleaner - Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda, 1 tablespoon salt, and add 1/2 cup hot water. Make a gritty paste, apply to the oven, heat slightly, cool and then wipe away with a damp rag.

~ Refrigerator Seals - The plastic seals of refrigerators can be wiped free of debris with a rag dabbed in white vinegar.

~ Kitchen Cabinets - 1/4 cup of lemon juice mixed with 1 quart of hot water. Lemon juice helps to remove grease from wood and metal.

~ Dish-washing by Hand - In a small spray bottle, fill 3/4 with water and 1/4 with lemon juice. Lemon juice is the main ingredient in dish-washing detergent because it is an excellent grease fighter. You don't need any of the other ingredients that make up commercial dish-washing detergents - they are mostly fragrances.

For laundry, there are three products to use: washing soda, white vinegar and salt.

~ Laundry Detergent for White Clothes - use 1/4 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate) in place of bleach. Bleach is one of the most toxic substances for the environment. Washing soda costs only a few pennies per wash load, and it is far less expensive than bleach. Along with the washing soda, add 1/4 cup of white vinegar.

~ Laundry Detergent for Dark Clothes - use 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1/4 cup of salt.

Salt helps restore faded colours, and to remove dirt and grime. It is salt that is used in dyeing of fabrics that helps to fix the dye.

For carpets there are three choices: salt, baking soda or cornstarch.

Just as salt helps to restore the colour of dark coloured laundry, it also helps to bring out the colour in carpeting, while at the same time, removing dirt.

Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salt (depending on the size of your rug or carpet), let it sit for 15-30 minutes, and then vacuum. You can also alternate between salt and cornstarch. The instructions are the same. To remove odours from carpets, add 1/4 cup of baking soda to the salt (or cornstarch) and make a powder with the mixture, sprinkle on the carpet and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and then vacuum. If you want to add a fresh scent to your carpet, you can sprinkle Cinnamon, or All Spice on the carpet, let it sit for 15 minutes and then vacuum.

The bathroom - The same cleaning products used in the kitchen are suitable for the bathroom; white vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice.

~ To clean the toilet, sprinkle in baking soda and scrub with a toilet brush

~ Bathroom Glass Cleaner-1-2 tablespoons of white vinegar mixed with 1 quart of water in a spray bottle. To remove oily or greasy fingerprints from the mirror, dab on a little rubbing alcohol and wipe with a linen rag.

~ Bathroom Floors-The same as kitchen floors: 1/2 cup of vinegar with 1-gallon hot water. This is safe for hardwood, linoleum, tile, and any washable surface.

Other cleaning areas

To polish wood furniture and wood floors, and to have a wonderful citrus scent, use citrus oil. You can purchase a gallon of citrus oil from many home improvement store. It costs about $5.00 a gallon, but will last you a long time.

~ Polishing Wood Furniture - pour a small amount of citrus oil (undiluted) onto a lint-free rag, and polish to perfection.

~ Another Furniture Polish - mix equal parts olive oil and lemon juice for a natural furniture polish. Just apply with a soft cloth and buff to a shine.

~ Cleaning and Polishing Wood Floors - Dilute one cup of citrus oil in one-gallon hot water. Use a sponge mop and mop floor.

For crayon marks, spilled candle wax, and residue left from tape and other adhesive, dab with mineral oil and wipe gently with a rag. Mineral oil is the main ingredient of many commercial products that advertise the removal of greasy wax stains and marks.

To further ensure that you are helping the environment to remain toxic free there are a few simple things that you can do:

• Use cloth rags - never use paper towels or the new "Disposable Wipes." Such products are bleached, and are therefore toxic.

• Recycle old clothing, sheets and towels into rags. Wash once a week and you'll never have to waste money on paper products again.

• Recycle Paper and Plastic Bags - Never buy plastic garbage bags. Use the bags that you get from the grocery store to dispose of household garbage. (Try to recycle as much of this as possible)

• Invest in your own heavy duty shopping bags to use for grocery shopping, and take only 1-2 plastic or paper bags from the grocery store to use as trash bags.

• Minimize your use of plastic in whatever form it comes - bags, packaging, bottles etc. It is the least degradable form of packaging on earth.

• If you need to use sprays in your home for whatever use, make sure you use pump action sprays.
Other organic household ideas: safe non-toxic alternatives you can use.

Here are few more household tips to minimize your need for toxic chemical based preparations:

~ For ants, sprinkle red chili powder at entry point.

~ To remove perspiration stains, white vinegar and water works well on fresh stains on cotton.

~ Polish chrome or remove pet odour with cider vinegar.

~ For automatic dish-washing detergent, try ½ cup baking soda with liquid dish-washing detergent.

~ Repel moths with cedar chips or cedar essential oil.

~ Remove oil stains by rubbing white chalk into the stain before laundering.

~ Equal parts of vinegar and salt with a little elbow grease will remove mould and mildew stains but will not eliminate the problem. In this case treat the cause, which is usually a need for better ventilation or reduce moisture in the atmosphere with a dehumidifier.

~ Clean your drains by pouring ½ cup each of baking soda and vinegar into drain. Wait two minutes, add two quarts boiling water, and repeat.

~ Throw away your air freshener and try herbal bouquets, pure vanilla on a cotton ball, essential oils used with a special burner, or perhaps try opening the windows - even if it is a bit chilly. Let you home breath every now and then.

~ Clean window/mirrors/glass by adding a little vinegar and a little liquid soap to a spray bottle of water. Shake mixture a little and spray on surface that needs cleaning, and clean/polish with soft cloths.

~ Drains - pour a cup of baking soap and a cup of vinegar down the drain followed by a quart of boiling water, to deodorize and keep flowing freely.

This is just a few of the ways you can use simple safe ingredients to keep your home clean. How do you think our Grandmothers managed ….. easy, by using the methods above.

Chuck out all those bottles of toxic cleaners. Your basic cleaning shopping list will be as follows:

• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Lemon Juice
• Salt

I have said this before above – you can put any of these things in your mouth without fear of poisoning. Which means they will be safe for skin contact, safe for your family and much, much better for the environment.

Endometriosis - Diet And Nutrition Can Reduce Symptoms

2009-01-08T06:26:00.001-08:00

by: Carolyn Levett

Diet changes can help reduce the symptoms of endometriosis

Changing your diet to deal with Endometriosis is an excellent foundation to assist you in reducing the symptoms, and will help regenerate your health.

Adjusting what you eat can bring about many positive physical and metabolic changes, as well as improving our health. Many of you may be aware that various illnesses and diseases have responded very positively to changes in diet, and Endometriosis is no exception.

Some of the positive physical changes that take place when we change our diet, will at first not seem reliant on our food intake, but they are. For example, eating the right kinds of foods can:

~ sharpen our mental alertness
~ help us to stop feeling so sluggish
~ give us more energy
~ regulate sleep patterns
~ regulate bowel movements
~ balance blood sugar levels
~ regulate metabolism
~ regulate body weight
~ control hyperactivity - especially in children

We are very much a reflection of what we eat. When someone has a diet loaded in fats, the first place it will show up is in their complexion, with greasy, sallow skin. When we are constipated, an Iridologist (alternative health practitioner specializing in diagnosis using the iris of the eye) will immediately see this in the lack-lustre appearance of the eyes. With a lack of vital nutrients in our system, the body will eventually give you tell-tale signs.

The diet in modern day western society has become depleted of vital nutrients for many reasons. Intensive farming has robbed the soil of vital trace elements which used to be taken up by the crops as they grew, and in turn we consumed them. We rely so much on convenience foods now, which are very low in goodness. Much of our ‘fresh’ produce like fruit and vegetables is actually gassed and then stored in warehouses for months.

Many of us eat ‘fast food’, which is not very nutritious - the longer that food is left standing in a heated serving cabinet, the less nutritious value it has. People get lazy; they cannot be bothered to shop for valuable ingredients, yet alone cook good wholesome food anymore.

Scientists, health researchers and others have now found that the lower your food intake, with fewer calories and proteins, the longer you will live. We simply do not need the food intake that we have in the West.

What the body needs is a simple, balanced, preferably organic diet, which is prepared using fresh ingredients, and is viewed as our means of sustenance rather than being viewed as ‘something to stop us being hungry’. We do have many problems and issues surrounding food in the West, with anorexia, comfort eating, and many other eating disorders. Food is also used in many social situations, but this is no excuse for not being able to feed yourself with good food when you are at home.

Food is our fuel, it makes us function, grow, replace worn out cells, gives us energy, and feeds the entire body. Food is the secondary requirement to life, with oxygen being the first basic requirement. More important than food is our daily requirement for water. We need lots of it; plain, fresh water. Yet most people only drink a small proportion of what the body really needs.

But going back to food; it provides us with energy. The foods we take in include:

~ Carbohydrates, which provide the chief source of energy for bodily functions and muscular exertions
~ Fats which are the most concentrated form of energy. Three fatty acids are essential in the diet because the body cannot make them itself.
~ Proteins, which are the building blocks in food, the construction materials for growth and repair of cells
~ Fibre, indigestible parts of plants which provide roughage and aids digestion
~ Vitamins and minerals - the organic substances which the body cannot make, but which it requires in small amounts to maintain health

Controlled Diet for Endometriosis

Controlling your diet to help you deal with Endometriosis is an excellent starting point. As I have said earlier, we really are a reflection of what we eat, and the body responds very quickly to what is put inside it. Let me emphasize that point thus:

~ Look how radically altered we become by too much alcohol - which can happen very quickly
~ A Sumo wrestler is not born large - they eat themselves large
~ Body builders do build up their bodies with power/weight lifting, but they also use a high protein diet to back it up
~ Drink too much coffee and you have a caffeine rush
~ Travel to another area and you may get upset by the change in water consumption
~ When we are hungry, many of us suffer that awful drowsy blood sugar drop; eat something and we can pick up again very quickly

So the body is very sensitive to what is put in it, and sometimes that sensitivity is quick to show up. Unfortunately other sensitivities are not noticed and will creep up on us, which is when we suffer from dietary deficiencies and a lack of trace elements. There are times when our body gives us clues that we have a deficiency and we start to have cravings for certain types of foods.

The role of a controlled diet in Endometriosis management has proved exceedingly beneficial for many women. Some women have even been able to be totally symptom free with changes in diet. The plan of the endo diet is to relieve or prevent some of the disabling symptoms that occur with menstruation, as well as the general pain of endo. The goal is to decrease estrogen levels, stabilize hormones, increase energy, alleviate painful cramps and stabilize emotions.

SO WHERE DO WE START!

Let’s start with pain and hormones in relation to diet …………

Endometriosis is an estrogen-sensitive condition, but the painful menstrual cramping that occurs is predominantly due to prostaglandin synthesis in the body. Prostaglandins are naturally occurring fatty acids, which are derived from dietary sources. The body can produce different types of prostaglandins through a complex series of pathways.

There are the ‘good guys’ and the ‘bad guys’ of the prostaglandin group. The goal of a controlled diet is to block the ‘bad guys’ for their negative actions on the body, and increase the ‘good guys’ for their opposite and beneficial actions. The action of the bad guys is to increase uterine contractions, and the good guys have a soothing effect. By changing the types of oils that are taken into the diet, the production of the good guys can be stimulated, which helps with uterine relaxation. These oils are composed of omega-3 fatty acids, which lead to positive prostaglandin production. Excellent sources of the omega-3 fatty acid producing oils are:

~ Evening primrose
~ Safflower oil
~ Walnut oil
~ Flax seeds/oil

It is also important to decrease intake of those fatty acids that will stimulate the bad guys which are found in saturated fats, butter, animal and organ meat, lard.

In addition to decreasing bad fat intake, the diet should also consist of high fiber. Not only does this help with good digestion, but it is also thought that a diet high in fiber can decrease total circulating estrogens. It is recommended to incorporate 25 grams per day of fibre. Good sources are:

~ whole grains excluding wheat and rye
~ beans, peas and pulses
~ brown rice
~ vegetable and fruits
~ oatmeal

The following foods are recommended to modulate estrogen levels by incorporating one or two servings a day:

~ mustard greens
~ broccoli
~ cabbage
~ turnips

FOODS TO AVOID

~ wheat - this includes breads, cakes and pasta products, all based on wheat
~ refined and concentrated carbohydrates
~ sugar, in whatever form, including honey
~ alcohol
~ caffeine which is found in tea, coffee, soft drinks
~ chocolate
~ dairy produce including all milk, eggs and cheese
~ fried food, margarine and hydrogenated fats
~ soy products and soy protein - tamari can be used in small amounts
~ tinned and frozen packaged foods as little as possible
~ additives and preservatives

Note: Meat, dairy and eggs promote the pro-inflammatory prostaglandins.

FOODS BENEFICIAL FOR THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

~ beans, peas, lentils
~ onions
~ garlic (raw or lightly cooked)
~ carrots (contain beta-carotene)
~ live yogurt (good for healthy intestinal flora)
~ rhubarb
~ seeds and sprouted seeds
~ ginger
~ green tea

HORMONE REBALANCING

Foods containing natural plant sterols can be helpful. They are thought to block the estrogen receptors, so in turn excess estrogen in the body cannot ‘lock-in’ to these receptors. These include:

~ peas, beans and pulses
~ red and purple berries
~ garlic
~ apples
~ parsley
~ fennel
~ brassicas: cabbage, cauliflower etc
~ nuts and seeds
~ celery, carrots
~ rhubarb
~ sage

VITAMIN AND MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS

Although the best source of vitamins and minerals is through a well balanced diet, many foods today are depleted in these vital trace elements. Today, most of us need to supplement our diet with some of the vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function optimally.

The following is a list of supplements that will help women with Endometriosis:

Magnesium - is a mineral and is believed to ease cramping with menstruation

Zinc - is essential for enzyme activity, helping cells to reproduce which will help with healing. Zinc is also reported to boost the immune system and helping to create an emotional sense of well-being

Calcium - levels of calcium in menstruating women decrease 10 to 14 days before the onset of menstruation. Deficiency may lead to muscle cramps, headache or pelvic pain.

Iron - women with Endometriosis tend to have very heavy periods which can lead to an iron deficiency. This can lead to anemia which is characterized by extreme fatigue and weakness.

B vitamins - these are important for the breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in the body. B vitamins are reported to improve the emotional symptoms of Endometriosis, and have proved helpful in dealing with PMT

Vitamin C - is well known for helping to boost the immune system and help provide resistance to disease. It is also used in the body to build and maintain collagen within the body.

Vitamin A - is another immune system booster

Vitamin E - plays an important role by increasing oxygen carrying capacities and also strengthens the immune system

Selenium - when taken together with vitamin E has been reported to decrease inflammation associated with Endometriosis, as well as immune system booster.

OTHER USEFUL SNIPPETS:

Certain vegetables have substances that activate liver enzymes and help the liver to detoxify chemicals. This allows the liver to eliminate excess estrogen from the body more effectively. These vegetables include: broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts.

Auto immune diseases are thought to be triggered by free-radicals in the body, which could be an added factor in Endometriosis. Free radicals are destructive molecules and are found naturally in the body but can be made worse by pollution, stress, illness and smoking. There are minerals and vitamins that will help to fight off these free-radicals because of their antioxidant properties, including: vitamins A,C,E, CoQ10, selenium, vitamin B complex, as well as specific supplements being sold specifically as Antioxidants.

TO SUM UP

~ increase omega-3 fatty acids
~ avoid meat, dairy products, wheat and sugar
~ increase fiber
~ modulate estrogen intake
~ avoid caffeine and alcohol
~ avoid refined foods, e-numbers, additives
~ minimize or avoid soy products as they contain high levels of phytoestrogens, and soy contains a particular toxin which seems to be particularly detrimental for women with Endometriosis
~ peel fruit and vegetables to remove toxic chemicals
~ eat organic produce wherever possible
~ drink lots of filtered or mineral water

America's Children Are Dying To Lose Weight

2009-01-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

by: Foster W. Cline MD And Lisa Greene

Wasting away, Katie died weighing only 58 pounds. And she was sixteen. That just doesn't seem possible to me when I look at my seven-year-old daughter who weighs in at about 55 pounds. Anorexia is a medical enigma. Although there is little concrete evidence of what actually causes anorexia, most experts agree that there are several contributing risk factors. We believe that awareness of these risk factors can reduce the odds that they will be triggered so we are hopeful that this information will save lives. If you're a parent or a teacher, you need to read on…

Word has it around town that Katie had been told by a high school teacher that "she needed to go on a diet." So she did. Certainly this one comment didn't cause this young lady to spin out of control with dieting but it might have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Negative comments about body type and size from authority figures, teachers, coaches and parents, can have a big impact on an adolescent child's self-esteem and are implicated as possible triggers in studies on anorexia. Never underestimate the power of the spoken word to heal… or kill…

Eating disorders (bulimia and anorexia) have historically been considered a girl problem but the pendulum is swinging. Anorexia is being diagnosed more frequently in boys, too. Young boys are becoming more body image conscious than in previous generations. Case in point: my nine-year-old son has come home from school upset on several occasions because kids have called him fat. He is far from fat; in fact, he has cystic fibrosis so we are grateful for any extra padding he has and work very hard to keep his weight as high as possible. His diet is exactly the opposite of what everyone else is eating, filled with high fat, high calorie foods. Jacob understands the importance of complying with his dietary requirements but it can be hard for him to go against the norm.

With the emphasis on childhood obesity and diabetes, children are thankfully becoming more aware of the necessity of good nutrition and weight control. But I wonder if there is a price to be paid by children who are predisposed to eating disorders. With the media, parents, doctors, schools and peers emphasizing being thin and high achieving, it will be unfortunate if the numbers of children diagnosed with anorexia accelerates.

The difficulty lies in knowing which children are predisposed to eating disorders. As our society addresses the obesity issue, are we unknowingly putting some children at risk for eating disorders? How can we address the very real, very troublesome problems associated with the alarmingly increasing body mass index of our young children without triggering other children's potential for becoming anorexic?

This is a problem every parent of every child should consider. Research shows that about 6% of young people suffer from an eating disorder and this figure is thought to be low. The next time you are at a school assembly, look around. There are likely to be at least 10 kids there who have an eating disorder. One of them may even be your own. It is thought that the "anorexic mentality" is in place long before there is physical evidence of the disease. Has your thirteen -year-old been on a diet lately? Stats say that there is an 80% likelihood that she has been. Dieting at a young age puts children at risk for anorexia.

The cause of an eating disorder in any one child is unclear because multiple factors appear to play a role. Genetic factors, family interaction patterns, and the individual's own character and personality have all been implicated. But to summarize the problem in a single sentence, it appears that the illness is a response to coping with stress in genetically predisposed children who are filled with denial about their feelings and weight. There! Quick, short, concise, and anything but simple. This single sentence has many implications for parents and parenting. Let's take a brief look at each of these contributing factors individually and provide parenting responses that might be helpful in combating eating disorders.

1. The Genetic Factor in Eating Disorders

Eating disorders, like many other behavioral illnesses, appear to run in families. Not only does the illness itself run in families but the predisposing temperament seems to as well. The one good thing about illnesses that run in families is the fact that children can be prepared to recognize warning factors prior to the onset of the problem. When children are forewarned, they are forearmed. This forewarning is best carried out in a heart-to-heart discussion about possible future problems. A loving parent, relative, or counselor can initiate dialogue before the child is an adolescent, in an informative, non-hand-wringing and factual manner that indicates a hopeful outlook for a healthy future.

2. Anorexia and Bulimia as a Way of Coping with Stress

Food and emotions are closely linked. Over- and under-eating change brain chemicals that affect anxiety and depression. They are both often unhappy and ineffective ways of coping with stress. An authority on anorexia recently noted that a child's inherent vulnerabilities "load the gun," and environmental stresses "pull the trigger." So, assuming inherent vulnerabilities like genetics are unchangeable, how can we avoid pulling the trigger? Is it possible that we can use parenting techniques that will reduce the odds of pulling the trigger?

We believe the answer is yes. We can easily use parenting techniques that excel at raising children who effectively learn to cope with stress in healthy ways. Such techniques include guiding children to solve their own problems rather than solving them for them, allowing children to experience the consequences of their decisions, and responding to children's mistakes with empathy and understanding rather than anger, frustration, and criticism. These are great immunizations against the use of food as a dysfunctional coping response. The experience of coping and overcoming difficulties with good problem-solving skills leads to the ability to confront feelings and issues in a healthy manner, rather than displacing them with changes in food intake. Also, the child's history of successfully coping with painful outcomes of poor choices makes denial much less likely. And, when a child's mistakes are met with empathy and understanding rather than anger and frustration, a child feels supported and understood rather than criticized, demeaned and alone.

3. Psychological Factors in Eating Disorders

Two personality factors have often been reported to be present in eating disorders: perfectionism and high, unrealistic expectations of self. Even when anorexic adults have achieved success, deep down they report feeling insecure and inadequate. There is a tendency to see things only in extremes without shades of gray:

"I'm good or I'm bad."
"I'm pretty or I'm ugly."
"I'm successful or a complete failure."
"I'm perfect or defective."
"I'm fat or I'm thin."

Healthy parenting techniques discourage this type of thinking. Parents: don't over-reassure your children. Over-reassurance actually validates the child's negative thinking and may lead to unhealthy "either/or" black-and-white thinking. Responding with, "Gee, honey, I see it differently, but tell me how you are no good," allows for less manipulation, more acceptance of responsibility, and a child's far more accurate self-examination. Using encouragement rather than praise is also an important parenting technique to increase children's self-awareness. Encouragement gives them experience in viewing themselves, their responses, and their creations realistically, rather than simply trying to please an authority figure. With this simple tool, parents can easily help children learn how to feel good from the inside out rather than looking for approval and self-worth from authority figures.

4. The Role of the Family

There are a number of family factors that are thought to play a role in eating disorders. As we look at some of these interaction factors, it is safe to say that while healthy parenting patterns certainly will not cause or aggravate the problem, they may not be able to alleviate the problem either. Loving, effective parents are known to have had children suffering depression, suicide, and eating disorders. Also, this discussion on parenting styles should not be used as a source of parental guilt but instead provide motivation for change if change is needed. Parents do the best they can, under the circumstances they experience, to raise their children with the love they are able to show. The problem in examining family patterns lies with the fact that all sorts of dysfunctional patterns have been reported. These form a long list:

- Smothering and over-protective families
- Controlling and critical parents
- A chronic feeling of being abandoned and misunderstood
- Having parents or a family that overemphasize appearance and achievement
- Having rigid parents who don't model good conflict resolution skills

The effect of unintentional, yet unhealthy, parental responses cannot be ignored. Again, good parenting techniques do not guarantee success, but at least they are unlikely to contribute to the problem. So rather than focusing on what is speculatively wrong, it is more effective to focus on doing what is right by using healthy parenting skills rather than the unhealthy ones that contribute to dysfunctional family patterns. Whether or not an eating disorder is present, or may be present in the future, it will never hurt for parents to show healthy responses and good parenting techniques.

5. Societal Influences

Finally, there are possible societal factors that influence eating disorders. Big drinks and big burgers have enticed the population into a diabetic frenzy. While most of the population is downright overweight, the females that populate the media (those who model prettiness and good looks) are generally thin to the point of appearing anorexic themselves. Talk about image confusion! On the male side of the equation, we have the same issue with buff men cavorting playfully with thin, pretty women.

With so much emphasis in our culture on athletic performance and good looks, it is not too surprising that some predisposed children take things too far. And, although on the surface it seems reasonable enough to blame society for the self-destructive choices of an individual, this is ultimately self-defeating when dealing with individual situations. Blaming society or others simply removes individual responsibility and accountability and actually increases the likelihood of the negative behavior.

In conclusion, when all is said and done, nobody, at this point, can say with any certainty the exact cause of an eating disorder in any one particular child. But we can say with absolute certainty that all the speculation, studies, reports, and conjecture do not implicate the healthy family interaction patterns taught by Love and Logic. It would appear the personality of the anorexic person is not that of children who have grown up in a home advocating honest acceptance of personal responsibility and where children are:

- Lovingly supported by parents who view mistakes as learning experiences,
- Allowed to make choices and share control,
- And encouraged to cope with the stresses of life in healthy ways.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure particularly where eating disorders are concerned. At this time, there is no cure for anorexia. And America's children are dying to lose weight.

Self-care Strategies for Managing Depression, Anxiety, and Other Emotions

2009-01-08T06:25:00.000-08:00

by: Janel Ball, MA, RCC, MBACP

Depression, anxiety, and other emotional problems are issues that many people struggle with. Often, these problems interfere with everyday life and general well-being. I have read a statistic saying that 80% of the population in North America will suffer from some degree of depression at some point in their lives.

There are self-care strategies that you can learn to help you get through your days with a bit more ease if you find you are struggling with managing your emotions or find yourself on a bit of a roller-coaster of emotion at times. Even during bouts of low-self-esteem, self-care and emotional management techniques can help.

In this article, I am going to share some information that I teach to my clients in counselling sessions as well as to members of self-care workshops. If you have any questions about something I have included here, please do not hesitate to contact me and ask.

Good grounding tools are very helpful for better daily living. By grounding, I mean the tool(s) used to help calm yourself in an emotionally upset time. Now don’t get me wrong, I believe it is important to process and feel your emotions at times as this is the body’s way of healing emotional upset to be able to set it aside. Sometimes this can be done at home using some of the tools listed here and sometimes people need the help of a professional to heal some deeper wounds or to help you get over a hurdle. However, there will be times when it is not appropriate to feel upsetting or disturbing emotions, and it is then useful to know way to ‘ground’ or set the emotion aside and come back to it later at a more appropriate time.

Fundamentally, all of these strategies are about you being in control of your emotions instead of your emotions being in control of you. It can be helpful to know that our bodies have processes already designed into our nervous systems to take care of emotions. Emotions have a lifespan of about 45 to 50 minutes. They do not last forever.

Please note that not every technique will work for everyone. Every person will have some that work for them and some that don’t. Once you have found techniques that work for you, it can be helpful to write them up, or type them and print them out, and keep them handy to ensure you'll use them when you need them.

The main concept to understand is that when you are feeling a lot of emotion, you are functioning from the right side of your brain where your negative emotional centre lies. It is commonly noted in psychology that when you are trapped, in a way, on the right side of your brain, your left side is functioning at a lower capacity. The left side of your brain is thought to be the rational or logical side of the brain. It is therefore helpful to get your left side more activated, but sometimes it needs some help during emotionally charged times. There are many ways to do this, but again, find the strategies that work for you.

Strategies:

Shifting your focus away from the emotion and back to your body can be very useful. This can be done by tapping your feet back and forth and really feeling how your feet connect with the floor.

Another way to shift the focus back to the body is to notice how your body feels on the chair you are sitting in. Notice your back on the back of the chair, your arms on the arm of the chair, your legs, and how your hands are placed.

Next, notice your breath. Long deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth if you can. Really feel the breath going into the body. Breath is very life sustaining and supportive – it is a very good thing to connect with at times of feeling emotionally upset. This can help ground and soothe the body and shift your focus away from an upsetting emotion.

Now, the counseling modality I use most of in my practice is something called EMDR (which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). You can read some information about EMDR if you click on the tap in the menu bar of the website. Some of the grounding strategies I am including here are the tools I use to end sessions with clients so that things are not left open and my clients can get home safely, go back to work, or whatever it that they need to do that day.

The most important of these tools sounds very simple but it is very effective. All you have to do is move your eyes up and down in a vertical line. No need to move your head, just your eyes. Turning your body to face a doorframe or the corner of a room can help. You can think of a metaphorical door in your mind closing your emotional self and centering the body.

Becoming more aware of your physical surroundings can help shift your awareness and activate the left side of the brain. This can be done through naming objects you see in the room around you, naming colours that you see, as well and sounds that you hear.

Another way to get both sides of your brain working if you are feeling a strong emotion is to access them both at the same time. This an be done by looking at a piece of art such as a painting or a sculpture – not a photograph though - and count at the same time. You do not need to analyze the art. Just by looking at it, the right side of your brain is accessed. By counting (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 – as far up as you need to go), you activate the left side of the brain. If you are aware of a feeling and do these two things together, the feeling should dissipate.

Going for a walk, or other physical activity, can help the body feel better and help release the emotion. I strongly believe in the term “walk it off”.

Reading is something that many people do to take their minds off their worries. Some sort of distraction can help shift your focus away from the emotion.

Cooking can be another good, healthy distraction. By the way, eating healthily and getting some exercise are two of the best things you can do for depression.

Journalling, or writing, is very helpful for some to help you handle an emotionally charged situation. It helps give clarity to thoughts and allows for some distance from them by looking at them. Some people find writing very therapeutic. If it is not the right thing for you, that is okay. Keep in mind, you do not always have to go back and read what you wrote. Sometimes its just nice to have a place to get it out in the moment.

Other creative outlets are very helpful as well. Doing some art – which does not have to look like anything – helps get emotion out. This is a similar idea to journalling. What colour would anger be? What would it look like?

If you are able to do some art and give your thoughts or feelings some creative expression, follow-up with some good self-care like a nice bath, a walk, or a warm drink.

The ‘Container’ is a very common therapeutic tool. To some, the concept of the container might not sound very useful, but when practiced and developed, it does wonders for helping set emotions, upsetting thoughts, or memories aside when it is not a good time to be aware of them.

The container is about using imagery, or the power of you imagination (your mind) to help you when you need it. Our minds are pretty powerful so I encourage you to give this one a shot and see how it goes. When I first heard of this exercise, I also did not think it would be helpful. Was I ever wrong. Even last week on the street I had a member of a group I had run come up to me and tell me how helpful the container is and expressed, “Its just great.”

The container is about imagining some sort of container that is big enough, and strong enough, to hold whatever you might ever need to put in it. One stipulation is that it shouldn’t be something that you see all the time in your day as you may be getting a constant reminder of what you are trying to forget (for the time-being). It can be made of any material and can be any colour. It needs some sort of door or lid to keep what ever you put in there safe inside. It may need a lock of some sort. Examples could be a warehouse, a safe or vault, a big box, or plastic container.

To use, or access, your container when you need it, it is helpful to have a really clear picture of it first (drawing it can help). You might picture the items you would like to go into your container individually being placed inside. You might just get a felt sense of it being set aside and placed into the container. Some people like to have some sort of animation to help take the items into the container such as a pack man motion or some sort of suction.

Now, an important idea pertaining to the Container is that you are not trying to make the things you place into it disappear or say that they are not important. It is about setting things aside and coming back to them at a later time when you can better deal with them such as in counselling, talking to a friend, or journalling about it at home.

Sometimes it is helpful to have some sort of nozzle or valve on the container so that you can more easily be in control of what comes out when it is time to take something out.

The Safe Place is another very common therapeutic strategy and is a very useful tool for many. I originally learned of the ‘safe place’ in relation to working with sexual abuse survivors. However, as the years have progressed, I have found that this tool is very useful for anyone. Again, this strategy utilizes our minds by using imagery to help calm the body and the mind. The safe place works by closing your eyes and imagining yourself in a place (which can be real or imaginary). It can be any place at all that you find soothing and comforting. Some people call this place a relaxation place or a happy place. It is helpful if there are not people who are currently a part of your life in your safe place because if that relationship were to ever go sour for a time, it would affect your safe place.

The safe place can be somewhere you have been, a place that you liked when you were a kid, a place you have always dreamed of going, or an imaginary place such as somewhere in outer space. It is helpful to notice all the colours that are there, the sounds, the objects. The clearer the image is for you, it will easier it will be for you to access it and to use it when you need it.

Imagine yourself in this place and notice how it makes you feel. Do you feel calm, more relaxed, at peace? Whatever the feeling is, notice also where you can feel it in your body. Allow yourself to stay there as long as you need to calm yourself.

Anther strategy to help alleviate emotional distress is the Spiral Technique. For this exercise, allow yourself to feel the emotion and close your eyes. Which direction would the spiral be turning? Ok, now change the direction – this will decrease the intensity of the emotion. Try practicing it and see if you can have work for you.

Practicing something referred to as ‘Dual Awareness’ can really help get you through when nothing else seems to be helping. For this concept, it is helpful to note that the emotion is caused from a past experience. However, you are feeling that past experience being triggered in the present. Be aware of these 2 things at the same time: the emotion being connected to a past experience and yourself in your present surroundings. Tell yourself, “I can allow myself to know I am okay right now”. The feeling will eventually pass – your body will take care of it in its own in time. It will not last forever. Sometimes you might feel as if you just need to hang on. Find something to help you connect with your current surroundings.

Design your surroundings so that they reflect calm and relaxation. Your surrounds can greatly affect your mood. Soothing pictures, some spiritual objects, or other calming objects help create an atmosphere of better emotional health.

Spend time talking to friends when you can. Be aware of their boundaries so that you do not go too far with pushing limits. It is important to share with people who will be understanding and supportive.

When dealing with issues of anger, there are healthy ways to process it. Anger has a lot of energy to it and wants to have a physical way to get out of your system. Going to the gym, for a walk, or for a run can help. Screaming into or punching pillows can also help. Stress balls are good as well. Find a healthy way to get the energy out. Anger serves a purpose of letting us know that something needs to be different but, just as it can be done with other emotions, anger too can find a positive outlet.

Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic product that is becoming more and more common as it is helpful to calm your nerves. You might give this a try and carry it around with you if you find it helpful. It can be found at many health food stores.

If spirituality is important to you, you can get in tune with your body at times of feeling emotional upset by visualizing your chakra system and aligning the chakras. Be aware of centering the body along this system. Finding other spiritual beliefs or outlets can help as well.

It is important to remember that practicing these tools will help. Repetition is the best way to learn something new. Also, please keep in mind that this is not a comprehensive list. There are many ways to ground and self-soothe during times of emotional upset.

In closing, I would like to mention that something I try to encourage to all of my clients and to others in my life as well, is to always attempt to have good self-care. Taking care of what you eat, how much sleep you are getting, limiting the amount of caffeine is in your diet, and getting some exercise will go a long way to helping your body take care of you and help support you better during times of emotional upset.

7 Simple Rules For Staying Young... No Matter What Your Age Is

2009-01-08T04:49:00.004-08:00

by : Dax Moy

Why is it that so many people dread getting older?

I mean, what is it that causes sensible, mature, educated people to burst into tears or go thorough 'mid-life' crises at the very mention of their 40th birthday?

It's weird isn't it?

After all, getting older is a natural part of life. Inevitable in fact, because if we don't get older then it means we must be dead!

After working with thousands of people from all walks of life I can reveal this; it's not the actual calendar years that cause people stress and concern, it's what those years do to your body, your face, your appearance.

Not much of a revelation, I agree, but nonetheless it's true.

In fact, if it wasn't for the visible signs of aging that build up over the years, most people wouldn't give a damn about how many candles they have on their birthday cake at all.

The trouble is, we're all brainwashed from quite an early age about what it means to grow older.

We're told "you're not getting any younger y'know!" or "You really should be slowing down and taking it a bit easier at your age" or "You shouldn't expect to achieve as much as you did when you were younger".

What a load of rubbish!

Look, let's get something straight once and for all.

Despite what you've been told by doctors, physios and so-called fitness 'experts' over the years, you do not automatically enter into a downward spiral of performance and appearance as you age.

Physical degeneration is NOT an inevitable part of the aging process.

In fact, you can and SHOULD be able to not only maintain but also improve your physical abilities across the course of your lifetime. You CAN be fitter in your 40's, 50's, 60's and even 70's than you are in your 20's and 30's.

Don't believe me?

Just look at the likes of ultra distance runner and adventure racer Helen Klein. She took up jogging at age 55, progressed on to complete over 75 marathons and 100 ultra-distance marathons (these are races over 100 miles in length) during a career that went on well into her mid seventies.

What about Professor Art De Vany, author of 'Evolutionary Fitness'? At age 68 he rides mountain bikes and dirt bikes competitively (in open competition), trains rigorously on a daily basis and has an amazingly muscular and firm physique with only 8% bodyfat. He's 68!!

These aren't isolated cases, though sadly, they are quite rare...though they needn't be!

Any day of the week you could begin the process of building the better, fitter, faster, firmer, stronger, leaner you and start to benefit from the amazing energy and vitality that's available to you at every moment of your life, regardless of age.

But first, I need you to understand something.

These improvements do not come from some new fad fitness programme.

They don't come from Dr Whoojammywotsits latest diet.

They don't come from those fancy gizmo's, gadgets or wonder pills that you keep buying from all those late night infomercials.

They come from good, old fashioned, honest-to-goodness effort.

Quite simply, if you want to get your butt off, then you have to get off your butt!

There is no other way!

Now, I know that's not what you want to hear and that many of you reading this will probably stop at this point, but nevertheless, it's true. And what's more, you know its true.

So, what are you going to do about it?

If you're like most people, probably nothing. You'll sit there, read this article and decide that I'm either nuts (You're could be right) or that the cost of getting what you want is too high and requires too much effort to achieve.

If that's you then I must respectfully inform you that you are officially insane. After all, isn't one of the definitions of insanity 'repeatedly doing the same things yet expecting different results'?

For those of you who still have your mental faculties intact : ) and are willing to make the changes necessary to achieve a fantastic body (regardless of your age), here are a few pointers.

1.Engage in challenging exercise EVERY DAY- Look, 3 times a week just doesn't cut it when it comes to maintaining or improving your physical self.

The human body is a movement machine, so MOVE IT!... or lose it.

2.Use strength based exercises AT LEAST 3 times a week where you challenge the muscles and joints and load the bones.

With over 600 muscles in the human body it just doesn't make sense to train the way most people do by isolating different muscles and blasting them to death. Instead, use my 600 rule and try to find exercises that use as many muscles as you possibly can.

3. Drink fresh, clean water every day.

You need around a litre for every 50lbs of body weight in order to maintain a decent hydration level within the body. Less than this and your organs, your skin, your muscles and even your brain cease to operate effectively.

4. Avoid all processed food.

Another name for processed food is 'denatured' food. In other words, all of the nature has been removed from it in order to make it last longer on the shelves.

Do you really want to eat something without any 'nature' in it? Only you can decide that, but I tell you this; foods with colourings, flavourings and numbers instead of ingredients will more likely end your life early than extend it.

Opt instead for fresh produce ensuring that 80% of what you eat comes from fresh (ideally organic) sources.

5. Eat less.

People eat too much. Enough said!

6.Sleep more

The human body requires sleep of both great quality and quantity.

Getting 8 hours a night is a good start, but not enough. To truly benefit from your sleep, try to get your sleep patterns worked out so that you are asleep between the hours of 10pm and 2 am to make the most of your body's hormonal repair processes. The hours 2am to 6pm are important to countering stress.

In other words, all sleep is not the same. The timing is important too.

7. Relax more

Yep, I know I said to move more but I also want you to relax more too.

That doesn't mean watch more TV. Read a book, listen to music, take a massage or acupuncture, take more holidays, add variety to your weekends.

Studies show that people who are more aware of the need for a blanc between activity and constructive relaxation live longer, are less stressed and achieve more.

Well, there you go. My guide to looking and performing better as you age.

It may not be what you were expecting. In fact, many of you are probably thinking, 'yeah, but I know all that already, where's the new stuff?'

Sorry, not this time!

There's nothing faddy, or hi-tech about this approach.

It just works.

My challenge to you is to take everything I've just told you and use it for 30 days in its entirety. Don't skip a thing.

If you do, I GUARANTEE that no matter what your current age or physical condition is, you'll look, feel and perform better than you have in years.

You up for it?

The Vacation Rescue Plan - Come Home In Better Shape Than When You Left!

2009-01-08T04:49:00.003-08:00

by: Dax Moy

It's the last day of your holiday and after walking around in flip-flops and a bikini for a fortnight it's finally time to pack your case and take a return flight back to reality.

Taking stock, you're feeling pretty good about yourself. You're totally refreshed, tanned and feeling ready to face the world again. Your holiday has done you the world of good.

Then reality strikes!

Changing back into your going home clothes you notice that the waist is a fair bit tighter than before you left, your hips are bulging a bit and your thighs just about fit into your trousers. Basically, the lard-monster has paid you a visit, and the likelihood is that he's going to be staying for a while!

For many women the above scenario is all too familiar. Two weeks of overindulgence and poor food choices leave the average woman with a weight gain of about 5 to 7 pounds. Nearly all of it fat!

Now, obviously this isn't great. We all like to think of our holidays as being a rejuvenating experience, not one which will leave us fatter and less energetic than before we left for the sun, but what can we do to avoid piling on the pounds whilst still having the holiday experience we're hoping for?

Plan, plan, plan

The main reason that so many of us put weight on during our holidays (or any other time for that matter) is that most of us are 'reactive' eaters. We never pay much attention to what we're eating or when we're going to eat it and either wait until we're ravenous before we find food or simply eat 'because it's there' (especially on all-inclusive getaways).

Neither of these scenarios are great. Waiting too long between meals usually means that you'll overeat when you finally do sit down to a meal and the other approach is an obvious route to obesity.

If you want to win the battle of the bulge you've got to think ahead. Plan for AT LEAST three meals per day (though ideally, five or six SMALLER feedings work best) with a good rule of thumb being that you should not eat again within 2 hours nor leave it longer than four. The result of this approach is that you are giving the body regular, yet small, quantities of food and then digesting them before you eat again, meaning that there is very little left to lay down as fat.

(Note: This only works if you consume smaller quantities of food. Six pizzas will still make you fat!)

Ideally, your planning should also include WHAT you are going to eat as well as WHEN. This reduces the likelihood of eating rubbish or 'non-foods' as we rarely, if ever, actually plan to eat poorly, we simply eat out of a reaction to hunger and immediate availability.

Fresh is best

If you really want to avoid piling on the holiday pounds this summer then avoid processed foods at all costs!

Laden with sodium, sugar and all manner of artificial colourings and preservatives, processed foods fall into the category of 'non-foods', meaning that they lack the vitamins and minerals that are needed in order to maintain optimal health. In addition, these foods are calorie dense and appetite stimulants of the highest order. Eat them at your peril!

Avoid ANYTHING from a packet, jar or tin, opting instead for fresh produce such as locally grown fruit, vegetables and meat or fish dishes.

This isn't as difficult as it may sound. Normally, you'll find that as long as you have a little meat or fish, some steamed, roasted or stir-fried vegetables and the herbs and spices that are grown in the region that you are taking your holiday in, that you'll be onto a winner. It'll be healthy and taste delicious too.

Whatever you do, avoid the 'chips with everything' approach. Not only are most chips pre-packaged and processed mush (instead of real potato) but they're fried in polyunsaturated oils that have been found to contribute to numerous medical conditions including obesity and some cancers.

Mix and Match

During our holidays (though it's true in day to day life too) we tend to 'pad out' our plates with carbs, carbs and more carbs.

Everything from bread (including croissants and pastries) to pasta, pizza to ice cream and even the beer, wine or cocktails that you drink around the pool are predominantly made up of carbohydrate.

It has been proven that excessive ingestion of carbohydrates, particularly those with high glycemic values like potatoes, wheat, sugar and alcohol, can lead to excessive insulin output which is known to increase fat retention leading to obesity and diabetes.

If we want to avoid the pitfalls associated with carbohydrate consumption there are three things we need to do:

1.Determine your biochemical individuality to find out how much or little carbohydrate you should include in your diet (See accompanying article)

2.Cut back on all high glycemic index carbs opting instead for those that release their sugars more slowly.

3.ALWAYS eat protein and fat with your meal. This is important in reducing the effects of insulin as well as providing a well-rounded supply of vital vitamins, minerals and amino acids that will also serve to suppress your appetite.

You need to drink more than you think

Though water consumption has just about been 'done to death' in the media recently, still too many people are oblivious to its importance in maintaining optimal health and vitality, opting instead for fizzy drinks, fruit juice, tea, coffee and alcohol as their main sources of fluids.

The problem is that NONE of these fluids do the job of water and nearly all are damaging to the body.

Even if you drink a couple of litres of fruit juice or lemonade you still cannot consider yourself to be hydrated. These fluids, due to their carbohydrate content, actually require water so that they can be digested properly. They will dehydrate you.

There is simply no substitute for water. You're either drinking it or you're dehydrated.

Dehydration is bad enough back here in the UK but add the holiday sun and the obligatory alcohol into the equation and you've got serious problems. Not only are sunburn and heat stroke going to get you but you're more likely to put on weight too as the body mistakes this thirst for hunger. Found yourself incessantly snacking on holiday? This may be the reason!

So, how much should you be consuming? At least 1 litre of WATER (any other fluids do not count) for every 50lbs of bodyweight, so if you're ten stones (140lb) you'll need around 3 litres just to maintain balance. And remember, if it's particularly hot, if you sweat a lot or you're being active, you'll need a fair bit more.

Eating healthily on holiday doesn't have to be a bore or a chore that detracts from your enjoyment of the experience. You don't even have to count calories, miss out on treats or abstain from alcohol. In fact, by paying more attention to what you eat you'll find yourself more alert, energetic and able to enjoy the experience so much more.

And just think; you may even come home looking better than you did before you went away! Wouldn't that be great?

See you on the beach!

7 Simple Strategies to Kill Cravings and Lose Weight

2009-01-08T04:49:00.002-08:00

by: Dr. Leslie Van Romer

Americans are well-aware of common addictions: smoking, caffeine, alcohol, amphetamines, prescription pain meds, and sleeping pills. However, most of us are blind to this country’s biggest addiction of all: Food. The shocking truth is that too much weight now kills more people than cigarette smoking.

Yes, food is addictive – as we all can attest. Whether it’s a physical, mental, emotional, conditional, cultural, or all-of-the-above addiction makes no difference. We’re hooked, and that’s why it’s so tough to beat those cravings that loudly lure us in, no matter how much we try to think or talk ourselves out of them.

For some of us, it’s sweets that woo; for others, it’s salt. It can be greasy chips we choose, or diet pop we gulp. Bread soothes, meat rules, cheese pleads. Countless combos connive to command and control. And let’s not forget the dark devil himself, a seductive master who leaves us weak in the knees and vacant of sense…chocolate.

Whichever cravings hold you hostage, these seven strategies can help you escape – freeing you to lose weight, sidestep diseases, and build health.

1. Satisfy Your Hunger Drive

You must control your hunger drive to lose and maintain ideal weight – a mythical cultural mantra you may believe. When you fail to control your hunger and give in once more to your cravings, you feel inherently weak, lacking will power and self-control. Delete that myth from your brain. Your hunger drive cannot be controlled. It is a natural instinct, and, like all human instincts, it keeps you alive.

When you’re thirsty, you drink. When you’re sleepy, you sleep. When you’re hungry, guess what? You should eat. Simply fill up on the right foods that satisfy your hunger drive (see Strategy #2). Yippee! You are now free to eat until you’re full.

Remember to listen to your brain and stop eating before your stomach begs for mercy. And when you’re hungry again, truly hungry and not just needy for emotional comfort or relief from boredom, eat! Who would have thunk it? You get to eat when you’re hungry!

Cravings, triggered by hunger, can be crushed, if you stop waging war with your hunger drive and start satisfying it by filling up on the best-for-you foods.

2. Fill Up on Good-Guy Carbs

For all the carb confusion, there is one glaring fact. All carbs are not created equally. The good-guy carbohydrates, sourced by whole, fresh fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains (brown rice, not breads) and legumes, satisfy your hunger drive, thereby calming cravings. When one of your goodies, but baddie screams at you, whether mid-afternoon or during evening T.V. viewing, eat and fill up on nature’s best-for-you foods first, and be amazed by the fading of the craving.

Hint: For cravings to disappear, you must eat enough of the best-for-you foods to really and truly fill you up.

3. Ditch Bad-Boy Carbs

On the other hand, the bad boys incite cravings. Steer clear of them. Scout them out and ban them from your house, workplace, and car. As experience teaches, the more refined sugar, desserts, baked goods, breads, salty snacks, and chocolate you eat, the more hooked you get. If they are out of sight, they are much easier to avoid.

The natural sugars and sodium (nature’s salt), wrapped up in nature’s perfect, nutrient-dense package of fruits, vegetables, unrefined grains, and legumes, are your biggest allies to successfully fight and conquer cravings. When cravings call, be sure to first load up on these foods, especially whole fruits and vegetables, to render those sabotaging urges powerless.

4. Graze on Fruit for Breakfast

Fresh fruit expedites your freedom from cravings. The challenge is – eating enough fruit in a day when traditional food faves demand front stage and center. Rather than breakfasting on the typical bad-boy carbs which trigger cravings (dried-up cereal from a box, quick oats, brown-colored white toast, pancakes, pop tarts, pastries), fat-laden bacon and eggs, or just a cup of pick-me-up-then-crash-me-down, why not jump out of the breakfast box and fill your morning and stomach with nature’s best craving crushers – fresh fruits?

Pay attention to your hunger drive and eat enough whole fruits, approximately four to ten, to fill you up and satisfy you. Grazing on whole, fresh fruits until noon helps shut the gate before the cravings get out of the barn, gain momentum, and sneak attack later in the day. Try it. See how many whole fresh fruits fill you up and behold your incredible shrinking cravings.

5. Keep Healthy Snacks Handy

Whether at home, work, or on the go, think ahead and keep healthy snacks with you at all times – cut-up veggies, fruit, and raw, unsalted nuts and seeds. That way, when cravings start crooning, your fortifications will stop them dead in their tracks.

6. Stop the Diet-go-Round – Forever

Sure diets work, for a while – until they don’t. But they are excellent at one thing – adding red-hot fuel to your cravings.

First, diets deprive you of your food faves - until you can’t stand it, give in, and sneak them back into your life. Second, diets restrict calories and portions, leaving you hungry, making you crave more, and building that food frenzy to a height that consumes your thoughts and your life until…you give in. Third, diets often limit the major nutrient, carbohydrates. With a shortage of good-guy carbs, cravings take control, and you grab the first bad-guy carb in sight. The result: you feel like a hopeless failure one more time.

So the next time you’re tempted to diet, just remember one thing: Diets Don’t Work!

7. Add and Wiggle!

Okay. Let’s face it right now. You’re not perfect. You will never be perfect. Nor do you have to be perfect to finally be free from food cravings. So give yourself some wiggle room. Instead of proclaiming that you’re never ever going to be seduced by one of your food friends again (that’s not going to happen so why go there?), try a new strategy.

Think addition, not subtraction. In other words, instead of trapping yourself in a restrictive food-box of “can’t haves,” depriving yourself from the get-go, think about which foods you “get to” add to your day that will give you the most nutrition for your calorie buck. These are the very same foods – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes – that will short-stop those cravings that have enslaved you for decades.

Then follow the 80/20 Rule. Eighty percent of the time when meals and snacks are routine without holidays, birthdays, or get-togethers, add and fill up first on those best-for-you foods. The other twenty percent of the time, don’t worry about it and wiggle! Just beware you don’t wiggle too much.

No matter how diligent you are at incorporating these 7 Strategies into specific action steps in your daily life, if you are a mere mortal, there will be times when a goodie, but baddie will hop into your open-like-a-baby-bird mouth, and when you least expect it. No worries, with persistent mindfulness, time, and patience, you can unlock that trap door, free yourself from cravings, and build your body-dream-come-true.

enRgy™: GBG New Product, Raises Energy + Reduces Appetite

2009-01-08T04:49:00.001-08:00

by: Elaine Cayron

Fatigue, stress and overweight are the commonly complaints of everyone. Seeking for the right information or nutrition to help them energize and to provide their daily dietary needs.

When feeling fatigued and stressed out, craving for food is what usually everyone is doing and it ends up eating just to energize our body until they realizes that they are overweight. Fatigue and stress are the common problem complained by everyone and seeking for the right supplement to help them energize while reducing weight.

In the United States of America, many men and women liked to eat at fast foods chains and has a high consumption of caloric snacks which provide temporary relief and at long term results to a roller-coaster energy levels and weight gain. And many men and women are overweight or obese, young and old. Some people have enough money to go for a surgery or operation to decrease weight or buying expensive dietary pills. And some attend weight loss programs that cost a lot just to loose some weights or flab.

Thursday was such a great day, February 28, 2008, GBG launched a new product that raises energy while reduces appetite, enRgy(TM). This product energizes your body throughout the day and an additional reduced appetite effect. The combination of increased energy, likewise in activity the same as reduced caloric intake, will lead to successful weight loss. Thus, this will achieve your goals to increase your energy as well as to have control with your appetite.

Eat less and Weight Less

This is a combined healthy food plan with reduced caloric intake includes with the unique and amazing liquid vitamin, GBG's 10-in-One Liquid Multi-Formula, with 8 glasses of water a day and an exercise regimen that leads to a healthier you.

It gains control over food, elevates mood, ramps up workouts for real results, turns your hunger switch, smooth flow of energy and save money on your monthly food budget.

There is a recommended daily dose intake for men and women. There is also a suggested dosage for people who are taking caffeine or coffee.

Supplemental Facts:
Serving size: 2 capsules
Servings per container: 30
Amount per serving/ % of Daily Value
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine HCI) - for the metabolism of amino acids and glycogen
Calcium (Coral Calcium) - increase body pH
Magnesium (Coral Calcium) - assisting the body in building healthy bones
Chromium (polynicotinate) - stimulates metabolism of sugar and fat
Proprietary Blend (450mg* for women & 480mg* for men):
Jet black dutched cocoa, Geranium extract (aerial part),
Phenylethylamine HCI, Trace Mineral blend
Caffeine
*Daily value not established
Other ingredients: Magnesium Stearate, Silica

Warning:
Not for ages 17 or younger without supervision of a health professional and parent/guardian.
Not for pregnant or lactating women, sensitive to caffeine, suffer from high blood pressure, heart disease, psychiatric condition, depression, recurrent headaches, a medical condition, or are taking MAO inhibitor or ADHD drugs. Do not take with cold medicine that contains Ephederine, Pseudoephedrine, PPA or caffeine-containing products. Consumption contrary to warning may cause adverse health effects. If unpleasant effects occur, discontinue use.

Lose Weight Through Dancing

2009-01-08T04:49:00.000-08:00

by: Ian Bennett

If you have ever wanted to learn how to dance and lose weight at the same time then this is for you. Dancing regularly is one of the best ways of keeping fit and healthy while having fun at the same time. Louis Van Amstel from the program "Dancing with the stars", teaches you how to do all your favoriate dance routines that you may have seen on the show.

Dancing is a great way to lose weight as it is one of the best cardio workouts with the least amount of effort. Most people don't consider dancing as a way of losing weight, they just do it for fun. What people do not realise is by dancing regularly they are toning and sculpting their bodies at the same time. Within a few weeks you will see inches coming off your waistline without you realising because you are enjoying yourself.

Louis Van Amstel is one of the worlds best dance teachers, he has been training people for years and has further enhanced his reputation by being on the dance TV program. Even he used to get stuck dancing when he first started, but once you learn some basic steps you are away. From his video lessons you will be able to learn some steps in as little as 20 minutes. In his video you will learn;

The Cha Cha - Its fun, works on your body well and is easy to learn.

FoxTrot - You can incorporate this into a lot of dances and is very romantic.

Jive - Fast paced and very exciting, great cardio workout.

Rhumba - Very sexy dance, great for losing weight from your weist and hips.

Salsa - Very creative and easy moves, seductive dance.

Samba - Another high energy routine, excellent on the eye and the body.

Tango - Easy to learn, another sexy, seductive and thrilling dance.

Waltz - This is a more structured and softer dance, fantastic for the hips and thighs.

Fat Loss Revealed Part 2

2009-01-08T04:47:00.000-08:00

by: Yuri Elkaim

The secrets to achieving the lean athletic physique that you’ve always wanted are held by Canada’s top trainer, Yuri Elkaim. Most people waste a lot of time in the gym with no real direction or positive results. Fitness and wellness coaches, such as Yuri Elkaim know there is a better way.

Yuri is a former professional soccer, Certified Kinesiologist, Registered Holistic Nutritionist, the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach for the nationally ranked University of Toronto men’s soccer program, and considered by many as Canada’s top trainer and fitness expert. He’s created Fitter U™, the world’s only 12-week body shaping fitness program for iPod/MP3 players geared to helping people lose weight, burn fat, and improve their fitness level. In this article, Amy Coates, Total Wellness Consulting’s nutrition expert will be interviewing Yuri on various facets of weight loss.

…continued from Part 1.

AC: So for beginners, a good nutrition program is possibly the most powerful factor?

YE: Absolutely! Obviously a nutrition program is vital – you must create a caloric deficit through a combined exercise and nutrition approach. But, more so I like to focus on getting my clients to focus on eating healthier, higher quality foods. I like to preach the qualitative side of nutrition more so than the quantitative calorie counting side.

So the key for the fat loss programs I use is exactly that – how can we force the body to burn as many calories as possible, and continue to burn them between workouts. The idea is to demand as much work from the body as possible – and maintain that caloric burn for as long as possible.

Now the ONLY reason the body burns calories is because the muscle tissue is working. It doesn’t matter what activity you are involved in – aerobics or weight training – its muscular demand that determines caloric burn. So you have to begin with that in mind.

Let’s think about this:

You can run a mile in ten minutes.

You can swim a mile in twenty minutes.

After a year of swimming every day and not running – you can now swim a mile in 16 minutes.

Without running – how much has your running improved? Very little. Why? We only have ONE cardiovascular system – so why doesn’t improving your swimming (and cardio system) automatically improve your running?

Because the ONLY reason your cardio system was involved in the first place was because of demand from your muscular system. So you adapted to the SPECIFIC MUSCULAR demands of swimming which by default then involves the cardiovascular system – it’s not the other way around as most people think. The muscles don’t move because of cardiovascular demand – the cardio system is elevated because of muscular demand.

AC: What’s the takeaway message?

YE: Hopefully the readers can understand – that we need to program the body based on the movements it’s going to perform – not based on the cardiovascular system. That’s an upside down method.

AC: So what methods work for fat loss? What methods are ineffective or inefficient for fat loss?

YE: Circuit weight training and interval training always work. Steady state aerobic work never works long term in the real world. Now for those of you out there who will no doubt get caught up talking about health, cardiac heart disease, cholesterol etc - I'm not arguing with you. But we’re talking about fat loss here.

However - for fat loss, the research is unequivocal - high intensity work is superior.

I think the problem is this:

Aerobic training by nature is lower intensity. At some point you get so good at it that it just doesn't burn as many calories, and in effect, you are burning fewer calories than you used to for the same time investment. So what do you do? Go for longer and inevitably run into the same problem? Or increase the intensity? Increasing the intensity is the obvious answer.

AC: You have commented that aerobics were useless for fat loss. This caused a lot of controversy. What did you mean?

YE: I'm sure you'll agree Amy that it only seemed to cause controversy with people who don't do this for a living. Most of the good practitioners in this area didn't even blink. It's not controversial at all in terms of fat loss and I'm getting bored going over it.

I don't think anyone who has trained themselves or anyone else has ever seen low intensity cardio to be a very effective fat loss tool. The loss in lean mass that is typical in most weight loss programs needs to be offset - and steady state aerobic training (despite it's plentiful health benefits) only adds to that problem.

So let me expand on what I meant:

When I said "Aerobics are useless for fat loss" what I meant was "aerobics are useless for fat loss". Is that clearer?

Ok - to be less antagonistic, let's just say that aerobic training for fat loss is the most overrated and overemphasized method in use today. It's completely outdated as a fat loss modality. Here's something to remember – write it on your fridge it you have to: Lifting weights in the intensity zone of 8-12 reps coupled with short rest periods has been shown beneficial for releasing the androgenic hormone testosterone and growth hormone. These important hormones encourage development of lean muscle mass (metabolically active tissue). Fat, on the other hand is just along for the ride! Aerobic exercise has been linked with the release of the catabolic hormone cortisol, which is antagonistic to the development of lean muscle mass.

The efficiency argument is interesting. Does weight training build muscle? No. It breaks down muscle and the body ADAPTS by building more muscle. So in aerobic training - when we "encourage the use of fat" - do we force that same body to adapt by storing more fat? Interesting, most exercise and fitness experts all seem to think so. Think about it for a moment. Who is leaner and more defined…a 100m sprinter or marathon runner???

Seriously - there are thousands of overweight individuals each year who complete marathons. Now completing a marathon is damn impressive to me. However it shows that the aerobic fitness needed to complete a marathon doesn't have anything necessarily to do with creating a fat loss effect. So if you are capable of two to three hours of steady state running and still not be burning enough fat - we can either go to a higher intensity or you can try four hours of running. Any takers for the latter?

In terms of fat loss - calories burned are the most important factor. And aerobic training burns less calories than anaerobic training and weight training overall (besides doing very little to increase your metabolism -your body's calorie burning engine).

So if we accept that lean mass is a major factor in your fat burning engine - and aerobic training makes that engine smaller (i.e. less muscle) and more efficient at burning fat (remember more efficient means it burns LESS) - how can having a smaller more efficient fat burning machine burn more fat? It doesn't.

AC: So you are saying that cardio is the least important component?

YE: I don't think so necessarily. However, I do believe that a combination of properly structure strength training accompanied by high-intensity interval training is the MOST effective way to burn fat while promoting lean muscle mass. The results speak for themselves, time and time again!

Natural Oils - Best Skin Care Products

2009-01-08T04:41:00.005-08:00

by : Darren Brent

Skin care is a priority with today's generation of people, especially the ones who are developing signs of aging. The increase of chemicals in our lives and the side effects of it have turned us towards a chemical free life with fresh fruits and vegetables. As our skin absorbs all the chemicals that are present in the skin care lotions and creams so we need to turn to organic skin care. Herbal skin care is manufactured of bio degradable, organic herbal elements.

Natural skin care products are healthy and rejuvenate the skin fast due to high presence of anti oxidants. Few anti aging skin acre products also have intensive organic products like almond which is a good source of ketones. It rebuilds collagen which is what provides the elasticity and suppleness in the skin. Usually herbal based skin care products have special nutrients and minerals that can only be found in sea weeds and many plants. Many exotic sea minerals and plant extracts are added to skin products to make your skin soft, smooth and young looking.

After the age of 30, skin starts to lose its elasticity and if you do not take proper care, signs of aging can be seen. Drinking a lot of water and eating nutritious meals will not only benefit your skin but control your weight also.

While the best organic skin products for your skin are those which do not have animal fat or have high levels of oils in their composition. People with sensitive skins should be even more careful about the ingredients that the cosmetics and skin care products contain to avoid having skin irritations, rashes and allergies. With a big demand for herbal skin care products, companies have products suiting every skin type so whether you have a dry skin or a normal one, there are many products to suit your need and the suitable products have just the right ingredients to make you look beautiful and young again. Apart from providing you moisturizing and softening your skin most of them protect your skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

Sage, lemon, almond, chamomile, lavender are just a few of the herbs or plants which can do wonders to your skin. Using pure natural oils are effective moisturizers. Almond oil, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil is known for therapeutic qualities especially if one is suffering fro skin rashes and allergies. As bases in cosmetics and skin care products, these make wonderful moisturizing products.

Acne Scar Treatment

2009-01-08T04:41:00.004-08:00

by : Darren Brent

With human skin being our living outer organ of protection from many types of injuries and most infections, we may take for granted as to how important our skin truly is until scaring occurs. All types of scarring, including acne scars varies depending upon several factors. Variations of each person's scar is connected with our genetic heredities, our age, our ethnicity, the size and how deep the wound originally is and even if you are male or female makes a difference. Scars left from acne affect the facial appearance that most always affects our self confidence much more than most other types of scars upon the rest of body. This would explain as to why acne scar treatments are so high in demand.

Out of the main four types of scarring, acne scars are the ones that tend to really bother us the most. Within the group of acne scarring, there are several types of acne scars. They may be scars with deep pits to wavelike or angular in appearance. The American Academy of Dermatology defines acne scars as areas of the skin that has lost or gained tissue during the acne affected area healing process. The one type of naturally disappearing acne scars are called "pseudo scars". These are scars that leave a redness or inflammation called post inflammatory pigmentation. These are the acne scars that will disappear within 6 to 18 months on their own. But for those seemingly permanent types of acne scars, treatment options will vary.

There are over the counter ointments, gels and even easily accessible prescription creams for those types of acne scars less extreme in depth and appearance. To use these types of treatments, a dermatologist recommendation for the right product to purchase is advised, so to get the best results for your dollar and the correct product the first time around. Natural applications like essential oils, mud packs and herbal skin treatment products are known to create wonders and reduce scars. However, these take time to erase the scars so, for very severe cases, Laser skin resurfacing is a milder form of top layer skin removal compared to dermabrasion and chemical peels, but all allow for newer and healthier skin to appear within a few weeks. Augmentation and punch techniques are for deeper scares and allows for the scar to be raised by collagen injections or even skin grafts deepening on pitted scar depth.

Forget Dry Skin and Have a Queen's Face

2009-01-08T04:41:00.003-08:00

by: Darren Brent

Our skin is the biggest organ and the most delicate also. It requires constant moisturizing, hydration and pores kept free from blockages, for you to have a radiant complexion. When we sweat, the built in toxins are released through our skin pores, thus keeping our skin clean and healthy.

When you are young, the skin has inherent natural oils that it secretes to keep the skin healthy and supple. However, as we age, the skin gets drier and loses its ability to produce oils, so you need extra application of natural organic creams and lotions for intense moisturizing of the skin.

When the skin loses moisture, it becomes very dry and cracks appear or skin peels and becomes irritated. Usually, the fungi and microbial infections sets in damaged dry skin and later flares up. Dry skin not only does not look good but the accumulation of dead skin cells, need constant exfoliation. The best way to achieve normal, healthy skin is to have a regular skin care routine which will make you look attractive and have a flawless skin. As you age, the skin loses its moisture content very fast and signs o aging show up fast. It is beneficial to use good authentic organic skin care products, which will help you attain the proper PH balance in your skin.

Some home beauty tips are very effective when you have dry skin. Mash up a banana and add some honey and little milk to make a paste. You can also add a few drops of your favorite essential oil like sandal, rose or lavender to get the perfect fragrance. Apply this rejuvenating face mask and leave it on for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Wash it off with warm water and apply pure almond oil or avocado oil as moisturizer. Repeat this process once a day for a fortnight and see the difference!

The best way to clean your dry/damaged skin is to use a mild soap and use extra moisturizers like pure oils for maximum benefits. Avoid any alcohol based skin care product as it tends to dry out the skin. Alkaline soaps and skin care lotions should be used. Drinking plenty of water every day and eating a balanced diet certainly helps you have an acne free, well nourished beautiful skin. Protect your skin from the harsh rays of the sun and use a soft, gentle sunscreen lotion when ever you go out. Follow the tips and you will see your dull, luster less dry facial skin transform into a supple, soft and beautiful complexioned young face.

Tips To Get Beautiful Nails - For A Beautiful You!

2009-01-08T04:41:00.002-08:00

by : Darren Brent

Not just your face but even your hands say it loud when you need to get that perfect impression in a board meeting or on a special person. Your perfectly manicured nails look good and say it loud about how well you maintain yourself. However, nail care is essential for both men and women and few tips that will help you get that perfect nails sitting at home. So, say good bye to expensive salons and French manicurists.

If you devote a little care even once in 15 days your nail will look beautiful, giving you an edge over the others in today's world of competition.

1. Get a basic nail kit that has the necessary tools but is not prohibitively expensive as brand names do not mean great nails! Nail kits are available at every drug store so you can find one that suits you easily.

2. Wash your hands with a herbal based soap and lukewarm water and let it dry. When the nails are soft, they are easy to cut and file. However, be careful as improper filing can weaken the nails. Use a nail file and shape up your nails according to our desire with easy, gentle strokes. File from the side to the middle along the edge of the nail for the best results. Do not apply pressure on the top which will cause then to crack and break.

3. If you apply nail polish, do not put a thick coat and leave it. Beautiful, well manicured nails require 2 to3 coats of nail polish applications to give them that smooth, glossy finish.

4. As with hair and skin, nails also require attention. A well balanced diet and drinking plenty of water keeps the nails shiny and smooth while dehydrated nails look chipped and dry too.

5. Regular nail care is important and occasionally do apply cuticle oil to moisturize and soften your cuticles and nails. This will help the nails to look fresh and smooth, even without nail polish.

6. Never use alcohol based lotions or nail polish removers as they tend to weaken the nails and dehydrate them. The chances of fungi and other microbial infections increase when the nails are cracked and brittle. Always go in for natural, organic nail care products to safe guard tour skin and nails.

7. Unhealthy habits of biting nails also lead to unhygienic nails and spoil the look of the hands. So, if you are prone to it, give it up! If you follow these tips, you will have healthy, beautiful nails and hands in a short time span.

Eliminate Cellulite Today With an Amazing Technique

2009-01-08T04:41:00.001-08:00

by: Darren Brent

You may be wondering that the 'orange peel' skin is there because you are overweight. However, that is one of the biggest myths - cellulite as it is called, can affect anyone! Understanding what cellulite is important to learn how to reduce or eliminate it. Cellulite is the uneven distribution of fat cells in the body due to the connective tissues which distribute the fat cells under the skin. Fat is important for our body but improper distribution or lumping gives the look that everyone dislikes.

Although you can either just accept it or try to do something with the new techniques that have been introduced to eliminate cellulite completely. Results vary from person to person depending upon the extent of cellulite accumulation or even the skin textures. Usually, most of the techniques are quite effective as any product or method that improves the blood circulation helps to reduce cellulite as well.

We sit in the office and work all day, while that sitting is one of the reasons that one gets cellulite as the blood circulation is poor in this position.

Get up and walk for sometime in the office helps the blood flow in the legs, reducing cellulite over a period of time. Doing minor exercises while sitting in the chair also helps pump up blood to your legs. Walking for short time spans or just getting up to stretch your legs in the office helps better circulation of blood.

Avoid wearing high heels and tight sandals for long time periods as they restrict blood flow up your legs. Wear it only when essential otherwise walk bare foot or in flat heels, and loose comfortable footwear. It may sound difficult and unfashionable but it is a good way to eliminate cellulite! There are some herbal oils that also help dissolve the fat accumulated under the skin or at least smoothen out the lumps. You can apply these oils and massage it in for better absorption by the skin. Over a period of time, these can help break the fat globules and smoothen out skin textures. There are many such products which have actually helped people fight the otherwise loosing battle against cellulite.

Massage is another good way of reducing cellulite. Get a full body massage with essential oils to harmonize your body and mind. While you relax the relevant essential oils will also help in proper circulation of blood while the soft connective tissues that get stimulated will automatically relax which helps to level the fat cells also. Try out some of these very effective remedies and eliminate cellulite from your life.

Go For a Herbal Psoriasis Cure

2009-01-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

by : Darren Brent

The chronic non-contagious skin disease of psoriasis is believed to affect over 4 million American people and is also believed to be incurable, but only treatable instead. The skin condition of Psoriasis is an infamous skin disease that will flare up or go into remission at most anytime when least wanted or expected. This skin disease is described as an over active outer layer of the skin that produces cells faster than is needed and collects upon the surface leading turning into severe scaling, itchy, red swollen skin.

With any recurring signs of psoriasis there is the handful of common inner body triggers that seems to be related to the skin disorder flare-ups. A few of these triggers are linked to extreme amounts of prolonged stress, severe trauma or injury of some type, and even forms of severe illness. Due to triggers which may be related or unrelated, flare ups are a very unwelcoming event that happens at any given time.

Psoriasis happens when the skin plaques are thought to be reacting to the over reactive immune system. With the new skin cells producing on the average of once each month like a healthy body does , psoriasis is the term for what happens when the skin in regenerating new skin every 3 to 5 days. Quickly creating several unwanted new skin layers upon the top skin's surface. Unfortunately there has not been enough time to naturally shed the original top layers of skin before the new skin rebuilds causing the very unwanted extra skin layer effect.

Since there is yet a cure for psoriasis, control is the best that can be done for any level of this irritating and embarrassing disease. The topical treatments and other creams, ointments and salves that doctors will prescribe for rubbing onto the scaly, itchy red areas will help sooth the flared ups. Many prescription creams will usually contain coal tar, retinoic acid, and vitamin D derivatives. There are also prescriptions of medicines that contain steroids or other similar ingredients that are to slow down new skin growth.

There are many people who prefer to use herbal treatments for their psoriasis. Just as doctor prescribed treatments, the herbal treatments also include topical creams, ointments, salves and bath soaks. Most of these herbal treatments include Aloe Vera that is very effective in softening the skin plaques. Oatmeal baths are also highly effective in the extra skin softening for better flaking and removal of psoriasis infected areas. For natural skin healing, there are highly effective herbs like chickweed and cumfrey. These natural methods are to also include diet improvement and adjustments in proper vitamin intake.

How To Use Aromatherapy Oils To Your Advantage?

2009-01-08T04:38:00.000-08:00

by : Darren Brent

Aromatherapy oils are therapeutic essential oils derived from plants proven to bring holistic physical and mental health well-being. Essential oils have a different chemical composition from other herbal products, because of the distillation process. Essential oils are comprised in a richness of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, aromatic compounds, esters, organic sulfides non-terpene hydrocarbons, along with several other VOC substances. In herbal oils from plants, the distillation process will only bring lighter types of phytomolecules.

The (mostly westernized) term of aromatherapy is in reference of the many traditional ways in making use of essential oils. Essential oil use comes from the ancient times of over 6000 years ago, and proven to be utilized back in the cultures of the Greeks, Egyptians and Romans. There were known essential oil usages in massages, bathing in the essential oils were used for running off communicable illnesses too. In the days of Egyptian physicians like Imhotep and Hippocrates, the ways of aromatherapy were strongly believed in as a part of doctor's regime of healthy healing.

The basic modes of aroma-therapeutic applications are aerial diffusion, for environmental dispensing of desired fragrance or dispensing through the air for aerial disinfection. There is also direct inhalation for respiratory disinfection, decongestant, expectoration as neurological wellness effects. Aromatherapy oils have been used as topical applications for many centuries for general massage, baths compresses, and therapeutic skin care. The last set of aromatherapy oil usage is oral, rectal, and vaginal interfaces for infection, congestion, parasites, and of course, perfumes for our body along with fragrances for anointments.

Aromatherapy is known to ease several types of ailments. Many aches, pains and injury discomforts can be physically relieved throughout the body when using the right aroma-therapeutic essential oils in the correct manner. Aromatherapy has also been proven to act on the central nervous system in giving relief from depression and anxiety by reducing stress, contributing to a more relaxed mode, uplifting spirits through sedation or stimulation. Aromatherapy restores both physical and emotional well-being without the modern medical remedy side effects.

When wanting to use aromatherapy throughout your home, there are several ways to use. As an air freshener, there are the benefits of a better smelling home, but also the mental effectiveness physically depending on the therapeutic essential oils chosen. After choosing your oil or mixture of oils, add up to 10 drops of oil or mixture of oils to every two cups of boiling water. You can also go throughout your home putting a few drops in garbage cans, laundry wash, water drains, vacuum filter bags, and on tissue for setting in the drawers of your dressers.

Blow Away Your Dandruff

2009-01-08T04:27:00.007-08:00

by: Darren Brent

Do you suffer from itchy scalp but embarrassed to scratch in public?

Do you have hair loss while you always have white flakes shedding on your clothes?

You are not alone as there are millions like you who suffer from Dandruff. Understanding what this skin disease is and how to combat it effectively is the only solution. Dandruff is the name given to the shedding of skin on the scalp, and appears as white flakes in the hair causing discomfort. Although our skin sheds dead cells and renews itself every fortnight, the word dandruff refers to the unsightly shedding of dead skin which is known to be caused by a fungus. The common symptoms are itchy scalp and white flakes visible in the hair and surface when you scratch.

Dandruff is usually two fungi, Malassezia Furfur and Pityrosporum ovale, that reside in the human body. The fungus sometimes creates an imbalance, so that the renewal of skin cells leads to an overload of dead cells being shed. Most of the dandruff shampoos which claim to reduce dandruff contain Zinc Pyrithione and Nizoral. However, the more chemical you apply to your skin, the more the chances of an adverse reaction increase. In the case of an allergic reaction, consider trying out natural and herb based shampoos, which can contain the growth of dandruff.

You will need to wash your hair very frequently with these highly chemical based shampoos to curb the spread of these fungi. The main function of anti dandruff shampoos is to wash away and remove the dead skin cells faster than they can be shed. This is the only way to keep your scalp healthy and clean. Anti Dandruff shampoos contain strong chemicals which break down oils and contain fungicides to kill the microbial and fungi growth for cleaner hair and a healthier scalp. Lemon, orange, basil, papaya, cloves and other citrus fruits contain astringents that help keep the scalp clear of dead skin.

Applying herb based oils containing Lemon have concentration of anti fungal properties. Lemon oils are used to treat skin allergies which occur due to intense oil production. Lemon has a unique quality of sapping away excess oil which helps to eliminate acne and dandruff. Washing your hair after oiling it well with coconut oil is also known to benefit curbing dandruff. You can also condition your hair using eggs, once a fortnight as egg is known to give a beautiful shine to your hair.

Miraculous Acne Scar Elimination!

2009-01-08T04:27:00.006-08:00

by: Darren Brent

Acne can affect people of all ages; however it occurs most often during puberty as the body goes through hormonal changes. It has also been known to affect people in adulthood, even if their skin was clear during their teenage years. In some cases acne leaves scars on the skin after chronic and prolonged acne, especially if it is left untreated. The pitting on the face and other parts of the body is easily spotted.

Acne scars will usually fade over time, but sometimes severe acne leaves permanent scars that can be the cause of some embarrassment to the sufferer. Although there are less cases of adult acne, it is not uncommon. Acne which strikes during the adult years may be due to skin allergies or accumulated toxins.

Another type of acne which is rare, but no less irritating, is scalp acne. It is very painful and difficult to treat as applying any cream or antibiotic medicine can be difficult due to hair growth. Although acne on the hairline is visible, the regular use of anti dandruff shampoo can help in some cases. A dermatologist should be consulted for severe cases of acne.

There are different methods of acne scar treatment available which help in lessening the scars by removing the older skin layer and helping new, smoother skin grow. Although there are intensive medical treatments such as laser treatment open to sufferers, cosmetic surgeries are also available. There are also various natural remedies that can actually do wonders for the elimination of acne scars.

Water is a miracle drink not only for the treatment of acne scars, but also for facial skin care in general. Keeping your skin in top condition requires drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water everyday. Skin scars can be dramatically reduced with the intake of water. Drinking water increases the dermal moisture content, making the skin soft and more flexible. Your facial skin is delicate and needs to be properly cared for.

Change your eating habits and consider adding organic, natural fibers to your diet. Your diet has a direct impact on the skin; the more fresh vegetables and fruits you eat, the better pH balance in the body will be. Application of Vitamin E directly onto the acne scars also helps the cells rejuvenate. You can break open a capsule of Vitamin E and apply it to the affected area. Rubbing Virgin olive oil onto the scars also helps reduce the appearance of the marks, but it is a slow process on older scars. Fresh scars are easily reduced as the skin is still fresh.

The best natural remedy has to be the application of fresh lemon juice onto the scars. Lemon is known for its bleaching qualities and not only will it reduce the scars, it will also make your skin smoother and give it a lighter appearance.

Sure Shot Younger Looking Skin Formula!

2009-01-08T04:27:00.005-08:00

by: Darren Brent

With big brands spending millions of dollars on advertising, people think that these products will be the best. But have you ever turned over the product and read the list of ingredients and checked each over the internet for the side effects or the harm it can actually cause your skin?

Don't go on the flawless face and lustrous hair of the models advertising these products as half of it is actually digital photography! Think for yourself and learn about organic skin care products. There are many home made creams and secrets that can make you look absolutely fabulous or if you do not have the time to make these concoctions, go in for healthy natural organic skin care products right from moisturizers to face washes and creams to lotions.

Skin is a good absorbent and medically many medicines are introduced into the body with the help of skin especially skin patches. So, if you apply high chemicals infused cosmetics and skin care products, think what you skin is absorbing!

So, why abuse your skin and body - go in for gentle body care products that not only nourish your skin but also help you get flawless beautiful skin with no side effects. Costs may be a little higher than the normal chemical skin care products but after all that shows the quality of the product.

Most herbal and skin acre products have essential oils, which are the real essence and extract of a plant so you have natural fragrances and the benefits of aromatherapy in these products. Your skin will absorb all the qualities of essential oils and become soft, supple and rebuild the elasticity in the skin. Lemon, sage, lavender, chamomile, cedar wood, sandal are few of the essential oils used in skin care products and each has a positive benefit on your health.

There are many reputed stores both near you and online which stock only genuine, organic skin care products. You can be sure of the product quality and your skin type before you buy any product. Choosing what is good for you may become difficult when you see so many products, but get only reputed, good quality organic beauty care products, skin care creams, oils and lotions so that you really find signs of aging eliminated while your skin starts looking fresh, hydrated and beautiful.

Leave the world of chemicals and welcome Nature's bounty and miracles into your life. It is time to say hello to fresh, younger you again!

Understanding The Kinetic Chain - A Personal Trainers Guide To Movement Dysfunction Part 1

2009-01-08T04:27:00.004-08:00

by: Dax Moy

In this current era of 'functional' training, core stability and balance-oriented training it's easy to get carried away with learning what I call the 'HOW's' of exercise.

HOW to balance on a swiss ball, HOW to integrate movement patterns and HOW to devise exercise programmes that have a high transfer into 'real life' situations.

After all, these are FUN elements that demonstrate a greater application of knowledge, skills and abilities to our clients. Or do they?

Interestingly, when asked, many of my students (all qualified personal trainers and therapists) had little real foundational knowledge of what makes their exercises 'functional' beyond "they have a carryover into real life".

I call this a 'lack of WHY?!'

This 'lack of WHY' is a 'disease' of almost epidemic proportions within our industry and one which, in my opinion, will keep us from ever reaching professional status if left unchecked.

Simply put, too many fitness instructors are prescribing exercise based upon the latest trends, personal preferences and outright exercise mythology.

This is like visiting your doctor and being prescribed medicine based upon 'it works for me so let's give it a go'. I'm sure that you wouldn't be too impressed if this happened to you, but what about your clients?

What kind of 'professional' service are they receiving?

The aim of this series is to provide you with the WHY's necessary to make your exercise prescription much more than a 'hit and miss' process and plant your feet firmly on the road to professionalism.

We start our journey with posture, the foundation from which our function, and ultimately all personal training is built.

What Is Posture?

According to the American academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons posture committee as far back as 1947, posture is:

'That state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity, irrespective of the attitude in which these structures are working or resting. Under such conditions the muscles will function most efficiently...'

The key to the above statement is Balance, for it is balance or it's antagonist imbalance that appears to be one of the major influences in creating structural deformation resulting in pain.

Indeed there is much evidence to suggest that chronic imbalance can result in Postural Distortion Patterns that can perpetuate the cumulative injury cycle. This appears to make sense, especially if the kinetic chain concept is applied to the equation.

The kinetic chain is best described as a movement system consisting of myofascial (muscular), Articular (joints) and neural (motor) components with each being dependent on the others for optimum performance, both statically and dynamically. This movement system requires precision of movement based on the alignment and mechanics of each joint as well as how these joints are recruited to create a movement pattern.

In simple terms, the movement produced at any joint in the kinetic chain directly affects the joints above and below it. Dysfunction in any one of these systems may have direct and detrimental effect on the function of its neighbours.

Clearly then, there is much to concern ourselves with when prescribing exercise and stretching programmes to our clients, as every programming decision we make will affect the systems of the kinetic chain. This is obvious of course, but have you ever stopped to think of it in this way before?

Now 'understanding the WHY' becomes much more important doesn't it?

Why Do These Imbalances Occur?

Firstly, we are ALL imbalanced to some degree, even if our posture is considered optimal (we'll talk about this later). This is because there is actually an inbuilt ideal imbalance between the muscles crossing any joint e.g. Knee extensors/flexors, plantar flexors/dorsiflexors. This is simply a reflection of the functional roles of these muscles and beyond the scope of this article.

The muscle imbalances that we must concern ourselves are those that create alignment distortions that affect structural function. These can be caused by but not limited to:

Postural Stress

Living, as we do, under the force of gravity has created a structure, which seems to have placed the ideal imbalance in favour of our extensors; after all, structure determines function.

Unfortunately, modern living creates a 'synthetic' environment where sitting dominates our function and as a result affects our structure.

For simplicity, it is useful to think in terms of postural stress as 'training for posture'.

Imagine 'training' 16 hours/day 7 days/wk for a specific event. You're probably going to get very good at it aren't you? Well, most people get very good at 'bad' posture!

Many posture experts tend to use VladimirJanda's 'short and tight' vs. 'long and weak' classification system (8) as a way of simplifying the processes that create and result from postural distortion and often classify muscles as 'tonic' and 'phasic'.

This oversimplification tends to ignore individual differences in terms of 'normal' posture as well as making assumptions based purely on static posture.

When a muscle becomes facilitated (not necessarily 'just' short and tight) it increases in 'tone' and may decrease the neural drive to its antagonist. This is known as reciprocal inhibition and is a normal quality of the kinetic chain.

However,it becomes a problem when muscles that are supposed to be 'turned off' during a movement sequence remain 'switched on'. This has the effect of creating a situation known as synergistic dominance, where synergists are forced to take on the role of a prime mover due to inhibition.

Pattern overload

Using our 'training for posture' analogy above, it becomes clear that any movement pattern repeated often enough has the potential to create strain upon the tissues creating that movement.

This may create stress patterns in the joint structure, leading to arthrokinetic inhibition where the joint itself causes inhibition of the surrounding tissues or lead to synergistic dominance as an avoidance pattern.

It is important that the stresses applied to our joints be changed regularly through changes in exercise, loads, planes and ranges as well as changes to postural alignment, if pattern overload is to be avoided.

Painful or prolonged noxious stimuli

Injury to a joint creating swelling and/or pain may activate the type 4 joint receptors (nociceptors) that are receptive to these stimuli. These receptors are capable of creating arthrokinetic inhibition in order to protect the joint from further damage.

Lack of core stability

This has been indicated as a possible cause postural distortion and pain. We all train for mobility but how many of us train for stability?

Just how much spinal flexion strength do we need in this vertically loaded body of ours?

Probably not that much! Simply stabilising the platform that our spines work off seems to improve the function most of the clients that I work with (myself included).

Other problems occur here when the tone/strength of Rectus Abdominis is greater than that of the Erector Spinae. Again, reciprocal inhibition and synergistic dominance have the opportunity to 'take root'.

In Conclusion

Our postures are often the only clear indicators of the forces acting upon our bodies. More importantly, they illustrate our ability to cope with those forces.

A clear understanding of WHY muscular imbalance and postural distortion occur is fundamental to every exercise that you will ever prescribe.

With this knowledge of WHY, it becomes easier to see HOW, WHEN and WHERE to apply exercises and stretches to your clients in order to bring about functional and aesthetic improvement.

When, and only when, you can do this you will truly be applying personal to your training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 2 of this series will examine postural types and how to assess them both statically and dynamically.

Part 3 will examine manual muscle testing and Range of Motion assessments.

Part 4: Putting it all together. Programming for postural improvement.

Different Herbs for Anxiety Treatment

2009-01-08T04:27:00.003-08:00

by : Greg Frost

Anxiety disorders are a common problem, affecting approximately 20 million adults and children in America. Anxiety is a common emotion consisting of uncertainty and worry faced by many, whilst anxiety disorders are when such fears are experienced irrationally. There are many treatments available, ranging from medication to therapy and alternative treatments. One treatment is through using natural herbal supplements.

Natural herbs are less costly than medication, and consist of herbs, vitamins and botanicals. They can be taken individually, or with other supplements, but it is best to first consult your doctor before deciding on natural herbs as a treatment for anxiety disorders. They also have the advantage of having no side effects, as compared to medications which can result in side effects such as nausea. Below are some common herbs used in anxiety disorders treatment.

1. Passion Flower

This is a natural plant that is used to treat anxiety, amongst other ailments. Its has unique calming properties, and can also reduce body tremors from fear. It promotes better sleep, and can act as a painkiller. It also contains anti depressants, and is used for high blood pressure and epilepsy.

2. Lavender

This is a more popular alternative than the passion flower, and is also known for its calming properties. It is also one of the more effective treatments for panic attacks, and is a tonic for the nervous system.

3. Lemon Balm

This is used to calm the digestive and nervous system, and also reduces blood pressure. It is uncertain if used alone, lemon balm is effective for treating anxiety attacks. It is usually taken with Valerian, Chamomile or Passion flower.

4. Kava

It is an effective tranquilizer, and whilst it is not an addictive substance, research suggests that it may be linked to liver problems.

5. Valerian

This is another natural plant used for treating anxiety. It also promotes better sleep, allowing for the body to rest and recuperate.

6. Chamomile

Chamomile flower leaves are used to make tea, and is a natural alternative for treating anxiety. It also reduces fever, encourages sleep and enhances the body’s metabolism.

7. Dandelion

The roots and leaves are used to treat the body’s internal systems, and through it, provide relief for some of the symptoms of anxiety. It is commonly used in salads and tea, and can also be used as a substitute for coffee.

There are many natural treatments available, and herbs have been used for treating illnesses for centuries. However, do keep in mind that it is not a quick fix, and can only alleviate the symptoms of anxiety attacks. It is advisable to seek out behavioral or cognitive therapy so as to eliminate the root of the problem causing anxiety attacks.

Achieve Wealth using the Power of your Subconscious

2009-01-08T04:27:00.002-08:00

by: Greg Frost

Your subconscious mind is a powerful tool, and if harnessed correctly, you will be able to align your inner world with your outer world. By exposing yourself to more of what you would like to achieve in the outer world, your inner world will similarly be reinforced.

The key difference in attitudes of the wealthy and the less so is in the way they think and behave. How you think is reflected in your inner world, whilst your behavior is how you express in your outer world. Hence, your actions are important as they create subconscious impressions of your status. Here are a few ways how you can create congruence between your inner and outer world, and so achieve greater wealth.

1) Your Choices

Your actions and choices will create the environment around you, which will either spell out wealth, or poverty. By choosing to use the best quality products that are necessary, you are subconsciously telling your mind that you can afford it and that you are superior. This is not the same as simply over spending, or buying more than what you need. It is about aligning your inner and outer world, so that you satisfy your needs in a way that maximizes your utility.

2) Don’t Waste Money

Often, you find yourself buying a cheaper substitute for a product that you really want. Whilst an off the rack mp3 player may serve the same function as an Ipod, for example, the utility you derive from and Ipod is much higher. You will feel dissatisfied with your mp3 player, and this unhappiness that you experience may eventually motivate you to buy the real McCoy so as to satisfy your need. By buying what you would prefer in the first place, you will save on the money that you have spent buying repeated products.

3) Your Mindset

Those who are less well off are unwilling to spend money on the items that they would like to possess, because they are afraid. On the other hand, the wealthy do not limit their minds in this way, and hence obtain greater satisfaction. When you are happier with what you have, you will send forth vibes that attract even more happiness in life. Like attracts itself; this does not mean wasteful spending, it is simply spending where necessary.

Your environment plays a big part in affecting your subconscious mind. Your surroundings will impress upon your mind that you are wealthy or poor, and by surrounding yourself with symbols of wealth you will create the same conditions in reality. Hence, there is a match in your inner and outer world.

Whilst you may not be able to avoid signs of poverty, you can create greater focus on wealth by focusing on signs of abundance. Placing yourself in environments where you are able to relate to the rich will help you to achieve this congruence. When you can fully master the subconscious mind to work in your favor, you will be able to generate sound plans and executable ideas to achieve greater wealth.

How Subliminal Messages help you to Lose Weight

2009-01-08T04:27:00.001-08:00

by : Greg Frost

Ever found yourself looking at the weighing scales and wishing you could lose weight? And yet, you scoff at diet pills and weight loss programs that have not worked for you. This is your conscious mind at work. Your conscious mind tells you that it is not possible to lose those pounds, and that subliminal CDs to lose weight are a hoax. However, this is not true!

All your previous weight loss attempts have failed because your conscious mind has already decided that they will fail. Hence, subliminal CDs provide you with the key to losing weight, by bypassing the conscious mind that forms judgments and negative thoughts. The subconscious mind is uncritical, and accepts the opinions and ideas that you embed into it, helping to dispel these negative thoughts. With the help of subliminal CDs to inject positive affirmations into your subconscious mind, you will be able to lose weight now.

That is not to say that just by listening to a subliminal CD over and over you will lose weight! The magic behind subliminal CDs goes beyond that. The message that the CD sends out to your subconscious consists of a few different but simple principles which you will find yourself practicing slowly as you listen to the CD as per the instructions on the packaging. This is how it works.

1) Confidence

The subliminal CDs will give you the confidence in yourself to lose weight. By going straight to your subconscious, you are able to eliminate the root of the weight loss problem: your conscious mind. The conscious mind tells you that it is impossible and that you will never lose weight, and hence you never lose those pounds.

2) Eat Right, Exercise More

The subliminal CD will encourage you to exercise more, and eat right. You will find yourself more motivated to visit the gym, instead of merely thinking about it. In other words, the subliminal CD contains positive messages that help you transform your ideas into actions. You will feel your subconscious telling you to get busy and cut down on snacking, and to eat right. All these are knowledge that you already have, but just never put into practice!

3) Drink Water

It is important to drink a lot of water when you’re trying to lose weight. Water acts as a natural cleansing and detox routine, as it flushes out the toxics, fats and calories in your body. This is also a part of the magic of the subliminal CD, which encourages you to drink a healthy amount of water everyday.

Before you know it, you will find yourself avoiding snacks and unhealthy food as your body adjusts to take in only the amount of food that is necessary. This is not magic, it is simply the power of your subconscious mind being harnessed to overcome the negative thoughts that your conscious mind produces!

Time-Efficient High-Intensity Workout Plans

2009-01-08T04:27:00.000-08:00

by: Joey Sheather

How you can shock your body into new levels of growth when you are short on time.

This might sound like a cliché, but we do live in a fast-paced, high-stress world where time is a valued commodity on short supply. There is nothing worse than rushing off to the gym, skipping parts of your workout and leaving feeling like you haven’t trained properly and have wasted your time.

I believe that you should have a specific goal to be achieved from every single workout and in pursuit of that goal you give nothing less than 100 percent effort. If you fall short of that level of focus and intensity on a regular basis you are wasting your time and taking a longer path to where you want to be. Make the most of the time you have been given. This, of course, applies to the rest of your life but today we are only talking about training. (Which, of course, is the most important part of your life - ha ha).

Normally you need around an hour to complete most workouts and maybe a little more time to complete a proper warm-up and cool-down. Some days, because of time-constraints, you might only have half an hour or 20 minutes or even 10 minutes. You probably think that I sound crazy by even suggesting that that may be enough time for a growth-producing workout. It is…..

The Ultimate Set

A non-stop ascending-descending execution of full repetitions + partials.

There is a single method that stands out as the most time-efficient and one of the most effective in completely exhausting a muscle group in the shortest possible time. It is a nearly non-stop ascending-descending set where you choose an exercise that is a favourite for a muscle group, pyramid all the way up to your top weight, perform drop-sets all the way back down and perform partial repetitions at the end of each heavy set. Each set is taken to absolute failure and/or beyond except the first couple of warm-up sets.

Example 1: The entire sequence - 13 sets

Standing Dumbbell Lateral Raise.

Set 1. 5 kg x 20 reps
Set 2. 7.5 kg x 20 reps
Set 3. 10 kg x 20 reps
Set 4. 12.5 kg x 15 reps + 10 half reps/ rest 10 seconds
Set 5. 15 kg x 12 reps + 8 half reps/ rest 10 seconds
Set 6. 17.5 kg x 10 reps + 6 half reps/ rest 20 seconds
Set 7. 20 kg x 6 reps + 10 quarter reps/ rest 20 seconds
Set 8. 17.5 kg x 8 reps + 6 half reps/ rest 20 seconds
Set 9. 15 kg x 10 reps + 8 half reps/ rest 10 seconds
Set 10. 12.5 kg x 12 reps + 10 half reps/ rest 10 seconds
Set 11. 10 kg x 15 reps
Set 12. 7.5 kg x 20 reps
Set 13. 5 kg x 25 reps

Example 2: The descent - sets 7 to 13 only

45° Leg Press

Set 7. 8 plates x 15 reps + 10 half reps/ rest 20 seconds
Set 8. 7 plates x 12 reps + 8 half reps/ rest 20 seconds
Set 9. 6 plates x 10 reps + 8 half reps/ rest 10 seconds
Set 10. 5 plates x 10 reps + 10 half reps/ rest 10 seconds
Set 11. 4 plates x 15 reps
Set 12. 3 plates x 20 reps
Set 13. 2 plates x 30 reps

It takes less than 10 minutes and will exhaust you more than a two hour workout. With modifications this set sequence can be applied to almost any exercise and muscle group and will shock your muscles pushing you past training plateaus and complacency into new levels of muscular strength and growth.

How to set up an exercise to perform The Ultimate Set:

1. If you are training a large muscle group - Back, Quadriceps, Chest - you need to choose two exercises. On the first exercise perform the set sequence from Example 1 which is the entire 13 sets. On the second exercise perform the set sequence from Example 2 which is sets 7 to 13 only, i.e. the second half of Example 1.

2. If you are training a small muscle group - Shoulders, Hamstrings, Triceps, Calves, Biceps, Abdominals - you choose one exercise only and perform the entire set sequence from Example 1.

3. On each training day you can do either:
a. One large muscle group + one small muscle group
or
b. Two small muscle groups
or
c. One large muscle group by itself
or
d. One small muscle group by itself

4. The amount of sets and the length of rest time should be the same as described however, the weights, repetitions and partials reps may be adjusted to suit individual needs. There should always be a minimum of 6 full repetitions on each set and 6 partials repetitions where they are required. Try to stick to the formula as much as possible. Train to failure but maintain strict technique.

5. Choose an exercise that is effective for training the intended muscle group and suitable for this set sequence. Here are some that I recommend however, ‘The Ultimate Set’ can be applied to almost any exercise:

Quadriceps - 45° Leg Press - partials performed at top half
- Fit-ball Squat - partials performed at top half

Back - Neutral Grip Chin-ups - partials performed at bottom half
- Seated Cable Row - partials performed at bottom half

Chest - Fit-ball DB Press - partials performed at the top half
- Machine Chest Press - partials performed at the top half

Shoulders - Overhead DB Press - partials performed at the top half
- Standing DB Lateral Raise - partials performed at bottom half

Hamstrings - Seated Leg Curl - partials performed at the top half
- Lying Leg Curl - partials performed at the bottom half

Triceps - Close Grip Smith Machine Press - partials performed at the top half
- Rope Pushdown - partials performed at the top half

Biceps - Standing BB Curl - partials performed at the bottom half
- Rope Hammer Curl - partials performed at the bottom half

Calves - 45° Calf Press - partials performed at the bottom half
- Donkey Calf Raise - partials performed at the bottom half

Abdominals - Fit-ball DB Crunch - partials performed at the top half
- Abdominal Machine - partials performed at the top half

6. Warm-up sufficiently by performing a few light sets of different exercises for the target muscle group and begin the set sequence with a weight that you can easily perform 20 repetitions with.

7. Calculate the 7 even weight increments up to your top weight that you will use during your sets (see Example 1 for clarification).

8. If you are training a large muscle group and are performing a second exercise you need to calculate 7 even weight increments down from your top weight (see Example 2 for clarification).

9. Don’t go past 20 repetitions on the way up.

10. Perform 6 to 10 partial repetitions from the 4th to the 10th sets where you are using the heaviest weights and lower reps.

11. Rest for 10 seconds between sets from the 4th to the 10th set where you are using the heaviest weights and will need more recovery time to generate sufficient strength.

12. On the way down you may go over 20 repetitions if that is what is required to hit failure.

13. Make sure your breathing is deep and rhythmic throughout the entire painful process so that your burning muscles are not totally starved of oxygen.

14. Stretch the trained area intensely at the end of the whole sequence to reduce muscle soreness

15. You must be mentally prepared to push yourself way beyond the pain barrier whilst maintaining strict lifting technique. It is very, very difficult but supremely effective. The benefits will be great if you have the discipline to grind out rep after painful rep.

Why is this technique so effective?

1. It is very time efficient. You will have performed 13 hard sets in less than 10 minutes.

2. There is very little rest time which allows the workout to be short and more importantly super intense. The working muscles are pushed to maximum trying to cope with set after set with little or no rest and lots of lactic acid. This in turn will improve the muscles conditioning and ability to cope with hard training.

3. The entire spectrum of muscle fibers will be innervated. The white muscle fibers will be involved because of the high intensity, the heavy weights and low reps. The red muscle fibers will be called upon due to the continuous, enduring nature of the set, the lighter weights and higher reps.

4. The working muscle will be completed exhausted with maximum muscle fiber damage leading to increased muscle and strength gains.

5. It is very tough. After performing this sequence your normal routine will seem easier. This will motivate you to try even harder with your standard program making it even more effective.

6. It is very different and very intense. If you feel that you have hit a plateau and your training is a little stale this will help you blast through to new levels.

Last Word…

Implement this non-stop ascending-descending execution of full repetitions + partials once or twice a month for each muscle group for amazing results. Use it in conjunction with some of the great weight training programs from GlobalWeightTraining.com and nothing will stop you from reaching you goals. The Ultimate Set is a breakthrough exercise technique. Enjoy the rewards.

The Top Strategies For Losing Weight In This Lifetime...

2009-01-08T04:21:00.004-08:00

by : Mark Battalini

Before you go on any diet you really need to ask yourself the following questions:

- do I really need to go on a diet, or do I just need to be a little more disciplined about my eating habits?
- would doing the minimum extra regular workouts make more sense than not working-out at all, but eating less?
- If I go on a diet, is my body going to be receiving sufficient minerals and vitamins to sustain itself?

Here's why all the questions.

Large numbers of people go on diets that don’t really need to do so, they are doing so simply to comply with some warped belief that the world expects everyone to look thin.

In fact, it could be quite counter-productive to go on a diet, if your body is not going to be receiving its required vitamins and mineral intake to replace those naturally lost during the day.

As a result of the above, before you decide to go on any diet, you might benefit from knowing that the most successful people at losing weight are not necessarily those who go on crash diets, but more likely those who increase (or start) their regular exercise program and eat more healthy meals a day.

However, if you are thinking of embarking on a diet, don’t risk doing so and risking further harm to your body without making sure you take vitamin and mineral supplements to replace those lost during a normal day.

So with that in mind, what diet plan you choose will ultimately end up either making or breaking your results...

So let's find out what kinds of diets MOST people are familiar with, and why the "MAINSTREAM" diets or fat loss diets aren't always the best choice.

What I mean by that is your typical dieting system or plan boils down to these three styles of diets:

-low fat diets
-low carbohydrate diets
-low calorie diets

Up first:

"Low Fat Diets"

Here's a good example of why low fat diets don't always forward you the results your hoping for and why you may need to consider an alternative dieting system.

Low fat diets have been in the mainstream for a really long time but if you look statistically speaking, more and more people in our society are getting more overweight year by year. With that fact alone it should tell you that just a low fat diet is not going to be the answer or end all be all to your weight loss issues. Why it's definitely not a bad start, consuming a purely low fat diet is not the answer to your weight loss concerns.

Up Second:

"Low Calorie Diets"

Trying to lose weight using a Low Calorie Diet STRUCTURED Plan is a sure fire way of failing even quicker than using a low fat diet plan. The problem with using a low calorie diet in and of itself is that you will do your body more harm than good. Simply stated, by using this type of method for weight loss all you’re doing is slowing down your body's fat burning capabilities which destroys all chances of losing weight. (You can lose weight using the low calorie method but all you'll lose is probably a few pounds of weight loss for the first few days, after that all weight loss stops --- this is known as a dieting plateau). You can never get slim by not eating and starving yourself.

Last but not least…

"Low Carbohydrate diets":

Although the popularity of the Low Carb diet has definitely hit the mainstream of dieting fads at super warp speed this is probably one of the HARDEST ways of trying to lose weight. The problem with Low Carb diets are that they are to regimented and tough to follow for the average dieter. As well they tend to deplete your system or body of too much energy (carbs) which in essence makes it almost impossible to stick with that type of plan for any length of time. Hence, another failed attempt.

So where do you go from here?

There's one system I have been fortunate enough to discover that has been working for me just fine.

It incorporates a structured balance between dieting and real world living.

In other words let’s face it, dieting is no easy chore. But if you want to get ahead of the curve (no pun intended) you need a system that you can incorporate into your everyday lifestyle and still be able to achieve the results you want. As well without wanting to strangle the poor bastard in the cubicle next to you for doing absolutely nothing just cause you’re so irritable because you’re STARVING TO DEATH!

And you definitely don’t need some fluffed up un-achievable, un-realistic diet plan system that has you starving all day long and is no way intended for you to succeed. In actuality the only thing it EVER succeeded in doing was costing you money and making you a complete train wreck for the short period of time (hopefully for everyone around you) that you were on it. (Oh yeah, it also makes the fat cat shareholders at these big dieting corporations a lot more richer too!)

If you want a personal recommendation for discovering a diet plan that works, that is TOTALLY REALISTIC and ACHEIVABLE and doesn’t make you the FBI’s most dangerous (for irritability) check out fat loss for idiots dieting system. I’ve personally tested this product and I can say that without a doubt it makes more sense to me than any other plan I’ve attempted or read about thus far to date.

What I liked the most about fat loss for idiots is it’s straight forward no B.S. style weight loss strategies about getting back to a healthier you and stop wasting time on every diet plan out there (not to mention your money) and to stay focused, take action and make it happen.

It’s a real world solution for a real world problem.

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Subtle, Undiagnosed Symptoms Could Be Signs Of Subclinical Hypothyroidism

2009-01-08T04:21:00.003-08:00

by: Mark Hyman, M. D.

Do you have vague, uncomfortable symptoms with no obvious cause?

If so, you might be one of the 45 million people who have a chronic medical problem that is both under-diagnosed and under-treated.

Think about it…

Do you feel tired all the time and have trouble concentrating?

Is your skin dry? Do you retain fluid?

Has your sex drive gone downhill?

Are your hands and feet always cold?

Is your hair thinning, your voice a little hoarse, your fingernails a little thick?

Is your cholesterol high?

Do you have trouble losing weight or have you gained weight recently?

Are you depressed or anxious?

Do you have really bad PMS or trouble getting pregnant?

Do your muscles feel weak, crampy, and painful?

Most of these symptoms aren’t severe enough to send you to the emergency room.

In fact, we usually accept them as a normal part of life -- and so do conventional doctors. They don’t view these symptoms as serious.

But they certainly affect your quality of life. And they can lead to more serious problems, including heart attacks and diabetes.

So what causes these symptoms?

It’s called hypothyroidism.

In this condition, your overall metabolic gas pedal has slowed down because the master gland that controls it, your thyroid gland, isn’t functioning at full speed.

If your thyroid slows down, every other organ and system in your body slows down, including your brain, heart, gut, and muscles.

Thyroid function is really a gray area. But most doctors view it as black or white.

Conventional doctors tend to believe that you can diagnose hypothyroidism only through one blood test, called TSH, and that you only qualify for treatment if your blood level is over 5.0.

But this ignores a whole group of people who have what we call subclinical hypothyroidism. It is called that because doctors have a hard time diagnosing it.

Subclinical hypothyroidism may trigger many low-grade symptoms, like those described above. Yet it causes just slight changes in your blood tests.

In fact, it often only shows up in tests that most doctors never perform.

I see this all the time in my medical practice: Patients come in with vague complaints that alone may not seem too significant.

But when you put them all together, they tell an important story.

For example, take the 73-year-old woman who had fatigue, sluggishness, poor memory, slight depression, dry skin, constipation, and mild fluid retention.

Her doctor brushed her off.

But I believe that most of the symptoms of aging that we see are really symptoms of abnormal aging or dysfunction that is related to imbalances in our core body systems.

So I act as a medical detective to find clues where no one else is looking and put together a story about why a person feels sick. This gets them the answers and tools they need to get well.

In this case, we found that my patient had a sluggish thyroid. Although she didn’t meet all the conventional criteria for hypothyroidism, she had an autoimmune reaction that caused her thyroid to function poorly.

So we replaced her missing thyroid hormone, supported her nutrition, and made some simple lifestyle changes. She soon felt alert, energetic, and youthful -- and all of her other symptoms cleared up.

Another patient was a 28-year-old chronically constipated woman.

She also felt tired in the mornings, always needed coffee, and had trouble staying up at night.

She thought this was normal. She didn’t know she had a sluggish thyroid.

But as soon as we supported her nutrition and eliminated her food allergens (particularly gluten), which create inflammation and interfere with thyroid function, she improved.

Low thyroid function affects people of all ages.

It is very common because of our exposure to toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides, nutritional deficiencies, and chronic stress, all of which interfere with our thyroid function.

And your thyroid isn’t just linked to the symptoms described here.

It is the master metabolism hormone that controls the function and activity of almost every organ and cell in your body -- so when it is sluggish or slow, everything slows down.

Fortunately, we can diagnose and treat problem, with a comprehensive functional medicine approach that uses the concepts of UltraWellness.

First, I determine if you have any of the chronic symptoms of hypothyroidism or diseases associated with it, such as:

• sluggishness in the morning
• poor concentration and memory
• low-grade depression
• dry skin
• hoarse voice
• thinning hair
• coarse hair
• being very sensitive to cold and having cold hands and feet
• low body temperature
• muscle pain
• weakness or cramps
• low sex drive
• fluid retention
• high cholesterol

Next, I do a physical examination for clues to a low-functioning thyroid.

I check for a low body temperature. Anything lower than 97.6 degrees F may be a sign of hypothyroidism.

I might also find fluid retention, a thick tongue, swollen feet, swollen eyelids, an enlarged thyroid gland, excessive earwax, a dry mouth, coarse skin, low blood pressure, or decreased ankle reflexes. I might even find that the outer third of the eyebrows is gone.

These are all physical signs that can be put together along with other symptoms to form a story of what is causing the problem.

Then I perform specific blood tests that give me a full picture of thyroid problems.

Finally, I design a nutrition, lifestyle, and supplement regimen and hormone replacement plan as needed to help people regain their health.

In my next article, I will discuss the major preventable -- and mostly hidden -- factors that slow your thyroid down. And I’ll tell you more about the special tests I use to diagnose thyroid problems, as well as how to specifically treat low thyroid function.

Colon Health With Enemas

2009-01-08T04:21:00.002-08:00

by: Janice Alderman

Detoxification Diet: Subdoxone Detox Plan At

Master Cleanse Food

A regular detox diet plan can rid the body of the accumulated toxins and lead to an active disease-free life. Cut back on cheese meat poultry and refined foods. Eliminate packaged items. Eat more eggs. Add in five tablets a day of American Health Papaya Enzymes to help disintegrate the remaining tar of fermented proteins built up in your intestines over the years. A good detox will help restore the body�s balance, eliminate the waste building up and make our systems run much more efficiently. During autopsies, coroners often find colons that are more than 75% clogged with waste matter. This causes the systems that clean our blood and intestinal tracts to back up. Nutrients can�t be absorbed as efficiently and we gain weight, become tired and irritable. Health issues often follow. as a result of one chronic disease or the other. Saunas are another effective method of getting rid of toxins in the body. A particular procedure known as the far infra red sauna (FIR) first invented by the Japanese has been shown to be a very effective method of detoxification. Toxins come in various forms and manners; the one unifying thing about them all is that they are dangerous to your health. The exhaust from your automobile is known to be rich in carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide and medical scientists have shown that as little as 0.5% of these chemicals in the blood holds dangerous implication for health. Metallic toxins such as mercury lead and others can 'block' nutrients from entering cells and metabolic waste from leaving the cells creating a favorable environment for cancer growth.

Lymph Detox

Toxins pass through the skin and are picked up by the blood for disposal or storage. Fat in the body is very soluble and is able to store many of the toxins taken in. If the Liver is sluggish or slow then the toxins will remain circulating in the bloodstream. In fact although the total percentage of calories from fat has decreased the actual amount of fat intake has increased by 10% per year since 1975!. I recommend the Apple Diet over any other type of "mono-cleanse" because the apple is the King of Fruits! Other popular cleanses that I don't recommend include the Orange Juice Fast the Lemon Cleanse or the Grapefruit Diet. Fresh raw fruit juices and vegetable juices supply the vitamins enzymes and minerals necessary for health and vitality! Lower-carb recipes work by reducing the body's insulin response.

Homemade Colon Cleansing Recipe

Keep in mind you if you eat naturally the body will take care of itself and if you do fill it with toxins there is no miracle cure to remove them that's left to your over worked specialist detox organs ! Eat raw vegetables unsweetened fruit juices brown rice lean chicken and turkey fish and drink plenty of water and you will be getting healthy foods that put the minimum of strain on your organs. You'll also miss out on the chance to spot foods that cause symptoms like bloating congestion or fuzzy thinking Haas says. These trees include; the maple tree and four different varieties of a rare Asian palm tree. Detoxification is the way to a healthy, vibrant lifestyle and freedom from undesirable conditions like obesity, heart disease, skin disease, diabetes, stroke and other ailments. When this happens normal elimination doesn't work efficiently and the healthy functions of these tissues are damaged. The problem though is that while many herbs can help with multiple problems at the same time they are not a cure all. The reason why I have listed these essential amino acids is to assist those readers who take protein supplements for various reasons (muscle building supplementation during or after wasting illnesses) to judge if the product they are using contains all the essential amino acids or not.

Foot Bath Detox Soak

Advocates believe that regular detoxification can also help with chronic conditions including cancer heart disease high blood pressure and cholesterol levels arthritis and allergies. This is an effective way of maintaining a very good circulation and can increase the rate of detoxification inside the body. " For many philosophers scientists and physicians fasting was an essential part of life health and the healing process needed to recreate health where there was sickness. Even though oxygen contributes to oxidation lack of oxygen can also cause serious problems. It is important to realize that there are no shortcuts to success.

Detox Foot Pads Tucson Az:

Foods that aid in effective detoxification include those that are limonene-rich like lemons or slightly bitter veggies like fennel broccoli or artichokes. which not just benefit and strengthen our blood circulation kidneys liver bowels and lungs but our general health in the long run. What's the best way to get started? First if you have any medical condition check with your doctor to find out if doing a detox cleanse is safe for you. While the intravenous method administers compounds directly into the blood stream, oral chelators can be purchased and administered to reduce mercury levels in the body. These will often contain a type of algea and cilantro, natural chelators, known for their ability to bind mercury, and other supplements to assist the body in eliminating mercury. Basically the aim of any detox program is not for the food or lack there of to do the work but to engineer an environment for the body to undertake its natural processes of healing.its the day after day ingestion and build up of them which can lead to degenerative diseases. Because our bodies today are the same as in the past it is critical to eat/ drink and live the same as in years past - centuries past.

A Simple Plan to Diagnose and Treat Low Thyroid Function

2009-01-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

by : Mark Hyman, M. D.

It’s an epidemic problem -- and you could have it.

Low thyroid function affects more than 30 million women and 15 million men. And it can lead to problems losing weight; decreased sex drive; depression; anxiety; thinning hair; and poor quality, thick, cracked fingernails.

So what’s responsible for low thyroid function and why are so many people affected?

Chronic thyroid problems can be caused by many factors, including environmental toxins such as pesticides, which act as hormone or endocrine disruptor\'s and interfere with thyroid hormone metabolism and function.

In one study, people released pesticides from their fat tissue as they lost weight.

This interfered with their thyroid function and caused hypothyroidism. The toxins slowed metabolism and prevented them from losing more weight.

This study is significant, because it shows exactly how toxins interfere with thyroid function.

Heavy metals such as mercury can also affect thyroid function. I see many people with chronic hypothyroidism and other thyroid problems because mercury interferes with normal thyroid function.

The other big factor that interferes with thyroid function is chronic stress. The more stress you are under, the worse your thyroid functions. Correcting poor thyroid function must address the effects of chronic stress and provide support to the adrenal glands.

The next major factor that affects thyroid function is chronic inflammation. The biggest source of this chronic inflammation is gluten, the protein found in wheat, barely, rye, spelt, and oats. This common allergen affects about 10 to 20 percent of the population. This reaction occurs mostly because of our damaged guts, poor diet, and stress.

I also think eating so-called Frankenfoods, such as hybridized and genetically modified grains with very strange proteins, makes us sick.

Our bodies don’t recognize these foods and create antibodies to fight them. This chronic inflammatory response interferes with thyroid function -- and contributes to the epidemic of inflammatory diseases in the developed world.

Lastly, nutritional deficiencies play a big role in thyroid dysfunction. These include deficiencies of iodine, vitamin D, omega-3 fats, selenium, zinc, vitamin A, and the B vitamins.

There are so many reasons for low thyroid function, yet conventional doctors tend to ignore them.

One young female patient of mine had more than 30 percent body fat and was unable to change her body, no matter how hard she worked. She ate perfectly, exercised with a trainer every day -- and her body still wouldn’t budge.

She also had a slightly depressed mood and other vague symptoms.

So I treated her with a low dose of Armour Thyroid, which is a natural thyroid replacement.

What happened?

Well, she not only lost 20 pounds and improved her body composition, but her mood improved and all her other symptoms went away.

I knew she had low thyroid function because I did the right tests.

Most doctors just check something called the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which doesn’t give a full picture of the thyroid. In fact, even the interpretation of this test is incorrect most of the time.

The newer guidelines of the American College of Endocrinology consider anybody with a TSH level over 3.0 as hypothyroid. Most doctors think that only anything greater than 5 or 10 is worth treating.

Unfortunately, this leaves millions suffering unnecessarily.

Other tests, including those for free T3, free T4, and thyroid antibodies, are essential.

I also look for associated problems such as gluten intolerance, food allergies, and heavy metals, as well as deficiencies of vitamin D, selenium, vitamin A, zinc, and omega-3 fats.

Low thyroid function is one of the most common problems I see, and treating it properly makes one of the biggest differences in my patients’ quality of life.

Unfortunately, by using the old guidelines and thinking, conventional medicine misses millions who suffer with hypothyroidism.

In fact, in one study, researchers tested everybody who walked through the gates of a county fair with conventional thyroid testing. They found that according to even conservative conventional standards, half of all the people who had hypothyroidism were undiagnosed, untreated, and suffering.

Once you have confirmed that a sluggish thyroid is contributing to your symptoms, the good news is that there are many, many, many things you can do to help correct thyroid problems.

I have developed a seven-step plan to address hypothyroidism:

1. Identify and treat the underlying causes of hypothyroidism, like food allergies, gluten, heavy metals, nutritional deficiencies, and stress.

2. Support your thyroid with optimal nutrition, including foods that contain iodine, zinc, omega-3 fats, selenium, and more.

3. Eliminate adrenal exhaustion and minimize stress by engaging in a comprehensive stress management program.

4. Engage in thyroid stimulating exercise, which boosts thyroid function.

5. Use supplements to help enhance thyroid function, including all the nutrients needed for proper thyroid metabolism and function.

6. Use saunas and heat to eliminate stored toxins, which interfere with thyroid function.

7. Use thyroid hormone replacement therapy to help support your thyroid gland.

I believe a comprehensive approach is needed to address chronic thyroid issues and to diagnose them. Most of the options for healing by conventional care are quite limited and only provide a partial solution. But by following my seven-step plan you can achieve optimal health and UltraWellness.

Laying a Good Foundation for Health

2009-01-08T04:20:00.000-08:00

by: Paula Muran

In the western medicine world, we have lost touch with the basic concept of true healing. We substitute a band-aid for a cure and wonder why we don't feel better. People get ill for many reasons. Each diseased state tells us that we are ignoring some part of self, and change is necessary. While many factors contribute to healing, and it happens on many levels, all require attention throughout the entire healing practice. Ignoring the body-mind (emotions and thoughts) would not provide adequate and long-term good health.

Physical symptoms like headaches, swollen glands, sneezing and colds, including more serious diseases like cancer, communicate that there is a disturbance in the emotional fabric of our being. Negative emotions like fear, doubt and worry stop the normal flow of energy. These emotions undermine us, and over the course of our lives cause unexplained and crippling diseases that end up controlling us.

The physical body falls apart because we fall apart emotionally. Recent scientific studies have shown that emotions sabotage everything—from simple success to kidney failure. When we don't care for the "whole self," the physical body simply mirrors those effects. Over the course of time, emotions like fear, anger and confusion take their toll. Repressed anger diminishes the functions of the liver. Hopelessness and despair play havoc with the gall bladder. Fear plays havoc with the kidneys, relationships and success. Confusion on the other hand, keeps whirling thoughts spinning, creating a cloud of chaos around us and we become imbalanced and ungrounded. Head colds for instance, are a direct result of emotional confusion. Long-standing negative emotional beliefs deteriorate the entire physical being. A constant string of repetitive negative words weaken and actually exhaust the physical body.

To heal we must feel. We must identify the root emotional cause of the disease. This process lays down a new foundation for good health and begins with a new attitude about being healthy. Any negative emotion causes us to stay stuck in a false perception about our self.

How do we identify negative emotions? The easiest way to identify negative patterns is to see them in family members and friends. Examine other people's behaviors. Notice all the things you like about them and all the things you don't like, especially the things that make you angry, envious or jealous. The people around you are actually reflections of you. What you see in another person that bothers you or angers you is a part of yourself that has not yet been loved and healed. Begin by criticizing your dearest friends. By doing this practice of looking at the faults of friends and family you get in touch with the parts of you that are out of balance and seek healing. This simple exercise offers you an opportunity to look deeply at your own emotional concerns and patterns. Once you locate personal limitation it's time for change.

Emotional patterns are created when you place a judgment upon an experience. To change, we must stay conscious of our feelings in situations. Stay calm, make no judgment—simply feel the energy. For example, let's take anger because anger is one of the most profound emotions and is easily felt. Imagine yourself in an angry situation; stay completely present and deeply feel the anger. Don't judge it—simply feel it. Now, love the feeling that anger produces. Anger can be motivation. It can be passionate. Change the negative charge that anger produces; begin to embrace and love the feeling of anger instead of repelling it.

Next begin to dialogue with the anger. Yes, that is correct, strike up a conversation with anger. Ask it questions like, "What are you teaching me?" or "Why am I so angry all the time?" Permit the answers to come into your conscious mind. As they do, you realize what the true issue is. Sometimes in that moment of realization the anger pattern can release. Other times it might take a few more conversations for the anger to release. This method allows the energy constriction caused by anger and other emotions to release. Any blocked energy begins to flow giving the physical body a chance to heal.

Even though healing begins with the emotions, the physical body must be strong enough to support the emotional body.

Supplements: Supplementation is important because food chemicals, pesticides and a hurried lifestyle play havoc on our systems. Take no more than five different supplements daily. I prefer liquids including Green-Magma and other green drinks. If you don't feel immediate results, they are not working.

Water: Only 5% of the American population gets sufficient water each day. Diet drinks, high corn-syrup drinks and coffee do not count towards proper hydration; in fact these drinks cause gastrointestinal inflammation, kidney and liver problems and an acidic environment. To properly hydrate drink at least half of your body weight in purified water by the ounce each day. For example if you weight 150 lbs. you need 75 ounces of purified water daily. Exercise: The number one killer today is a stagnant lymph system caused by a lack of exercise. Take a walk around the block or take a yoga, chi-kung or Pilate's class.

Sciatica

2009-01-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

by: George Best

The pain known as sciatica (sometimes misspelled as "syatica" or "psyatica") is caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve (one on each side). The symptoms of sciatica usually start in the buttock and may extend partially or all the way down the leg. The sciatic nerves are each formed by nerve roots from the lower lumbar and sacral parts of the spinal cord. The individual nerve roots come together in the lower pelvis to form the sciatic nerves. Each sciatic nerve then runs from the pelvis down the back of each leg. The sciatic nerve splits into two parts below the knee and the two halves run down the back of the lower leg to the foot.

While there are several possible causes of sciatica, by far the most common source of sciatic nerve irritation is a bulging or herniated disc in the lower lumbar spine. A damaged disc may bulge into the opening where one of the nerve roots exits the spine on it's way to join other nerve roots as part of the sciatic nerve. The bulging disc may create direct nerve pressure, and/or may trigger inflammation and swelling, which can also cause pressure on the nerve. When this occurs, pain and other symptoms may be felt part along the course of the sciatic nerve, starting in the buttock area and possibly running down the leg, sometimes all the way to the foot.

Besides disc bulges, spinal openings for nerves may be narrowed by bone spurs or other bone formations related to spinal degeneration. In some cases, sciatica may result from direct trauma to the nerve after it exits the pelvis, such as what can happen if there is a direct impact or hard pressure applied in the lower buttock region. Rare sources of sciatica can include spinal tumors, which can compress sciatic nerve roots as they exit the spine. Another rare cause of sciatica is a cyst or tumor that compresses the sciatic nerve in the hip or knee area.

Not every buttock or leg pain that people think is sciatica is acutually sciatica. True sciatica (sciatic nerve irritation) is usually felt mostly in the back of the leg (not the front or side of the leg). Symptoms of true sciatica are described by various people as stabbing, burning, tingling, numbness/heaviness, or like an electric shock. But even if symptoms seem like sciatica, they are not always due to actual irritation of the sciatic nerve.

One common condition that closely mimics sciatica is caused by knots of contraction called trigger points in a muscle called the piriformis. The piriformis muscles are located on either side of the lower buttock area, running from the upper thigh bone to the edge of the sacrum (the triangular pelvic bone that is at the base of the spine). In addition to causing symptoms that mimic sciatica, tightness in the piriformis muscle may also cause true sciatic irritation, because the sciatic nerve actually runs through the center of the piriformis muscle in some people, and can be compressed by excessive muscle contraction.

Trigger points in other muscles in the buttocks and upper thigh can cause referred pain in the side of the leg that may be mistaken for sciatica as well. It should be kept in mind that true sciatica and piriformis syndrome are associated with symptoms that are primarily felt in the back of the leg. If symptoms are in the front or side of the leg, there's a good chance that the problem is not sciatica.

Treatment of sciatica is usually associated with treating a bulging disc. The first line of treatment is usually an attempt to reduce inflammation to reduce pressure on the nerve bymeans of oral medications. If oral medications fail, steroids may be injected in the area of the disc bulge in order to provide more potent anti-inflammatory effects. A variety of other types of treatment may also be used, such as physical therapy, massage, chiropractic or osteopathic spinal manipulation, acupuncture, or one of the newest forms of treatment, spinal decompression. In some situations, surgery may be recommended as a last resort.

Most episodes of sciatica will resolve within a period of several weeks with or without treatment, but due to the severity of the pain typically involved, most people with sciatica will seek out treatment. Unfortunately, due to misconceptions by doctors and patients alike regarding the nature of sciatica, the necessary steps to prevent a return of sciatica are usually not taken. So, even though most people do recover from a bout of sciatica, nearly all will eventually have problems again at some point. Even sciatica sufferers initially treated successfully with surgery will often have future problems with sciatica.

The good news is that with awareness of how to manage sciatica and a little bit of effort dedicated to prevention, most people can avoid ongoing long-term sciatica problems. The challenge is simply to making people aware of the necessity of a "management" versus "cure" approach to sciatica and getting them to follow-through with preventive exercises and other self-care techniques.

Everything You've Always Wanted To Know About HIPAA And FERPA

2009-01-08T04:13:00.002-08:00

by: Krstine Dunne

Consider this question. Say the mother of a 22-year old student that you have treated requests to see her daughter’s medical records. The Bursar’s office confirms that the student is listed as a dependent for tax purposes. There seems to be no urgent reason for such a release and the student does not wish to give her mother access. How would you protect the privacy of her information?

Situations such as this one that require knowledge of privacy laws to resolve successfully are all too common in the average student health center, yet the acronyms HIPAA and FERPA tend to strike fear into the hearts of the staunchest of college health professionals. So much has been written anecdotally on the subject of how complicated and unspecific these laws are that some may be surprised to find that according to legal professionals, the intersections between the laws are generally clear-cut. This article aims to explain which laws apply to you and what you can do to avoid the headaches that ensue from a conflict between your principles as a care provider and the law.

Six golden rules of privacy law

* FERPA never applies to non-students
* FERPA only applies when the student’s medical records are released
* HIPAA doesn’t apply to records covered by FERPA or to student “treatment records”
* Even if you treat non-students, you’re not bound by HIPAA unless you perform electronic transactions.
* Student health and counseling centers that do perform electronic transactions for non-students only have to abide by HIPAA for those transactions.
* State laws are applicable whether or not other federal laws apply

This is how these rules break down.

RULE 1: FERPA never applies to non-students

RULE 2: FERPA only applies when the student’s medical records are released

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is the older of the two federal privacy laws. Enacted in 1974, one aspect of its governance is the privacy of educational records. There is a popular myth circulating that student medical records fall under the FERPA’s umbrella term “educational records”. In fact, FERPA specifically excludes the treatment records of students in higher education from its definition of educational records (see USC 20, 1232g for a complete definition). It also excludes employees of an educational institution if they are not students. FERPA does come into play, but only if the records are released to someone outside the health center, whether that is the student, their parents, their professors, or another health provider outside the university, at which point they become “educational records” rather than treatment records.

It is important to note that it is not the request for the release that brings FERPA into effect. Many student health professionals believe that if a request to see the records is made that is in accordance with FERPA guidelines, they have to release them or be in violation of FERPA. Not so, says Kristine Dunne, BA, EdM, JD, an associate at the Washington, D.C. office of law firm Arent Fox, LLC.

“It's the release of the records that triggers FERPA,” she explains. “There are no rights extended under FERPA to those medical records until such time as they have been made available to someone other than the treating health professionals, at which point the FERPA protections of student records kick in.”

Applying this to the example at the beginning of the article, if state law doesn’t require you to release the student’s unreleased medical records to her mother, you are under no legal obligation to do so without a court order. Similarly, even if you think a professor may have a “legitimate educational interest” in requesting a student’s unreleased medical records, you still don’t have to release them.

FERPA is just one part of the puzzle, however. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 is another relevant law that seeks to be the national privacy standard in health care. It was updated in 2003 to take into account the trend toward automation and electronic record-keeping. These privacy guidelines have been well publicized and generally uphold the kind of patient confidentiality that most health care providers are comfortable with and there has therefore been a widespread trend in health centers to apply these standards to student medical records, even if they are not legally required. It is important to realize, however, that while its principles of privacy and confidentiality are excellent, in most cases, compliance is not required by law.

RULE 3: HIPAA doesn’t apply to records covered by FERPA or to student medical records which are made, maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of treatment to the student, and are not available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment.

RULE 4: Even if you treat non-students, you’re not bound by HIPAA unless you transmit health care information in electronic form in connection with the submission of claims for payment.

HIPAA’s definition of protected health information (PHI) specifically excludes education records covered by FERPA and the treatment records of students in higher education as defined above. Dunne explains that the goal of this exclusion is simplification.

“If student medical records were subject to HIPAA, there would be two completely different schemes – up until the health center released the record, it would be governed by HIPAA, and when it had been released it would be governed by FERPA,” she says.

This was apparently considered unworkable by Congress, hence the blanket exception that HIPAA makes for any kind of student medical records. However, many student health and counseling centers also treat non-students, and this is where it starts to get a little bit trickier. To be considered a “covered entity” (i.e., bound by HIPAA), your health center must electronically transmit health information in connection with a “HIPAA transaction”. More detailed information on what constitutes a HIPAA transaction can be found in this primer released by The American Council on Education, but essentially it is any administrative or financial task carried out in the course of health care that transmits PHI. If you don’t perform electronic transactions, you don’t have to comply with HIPAA.

RULE 5: Student health and counseling centers that do perform electronic transactions for non-students only have to abide by HIPAA for those transactions.

Usually, every transaction of “covered entities” has to be bound by HIPAA standards, even if they are not all electronic transactions. However, because of the intersection with FERPA, these health centers are able to be bound by HIPAA just for the non-student transactions.

RULE 6: State laws are applicable whether or not other federal laws apply

With all the fuss about HIPAA and FERPA, don’t forget about your state’s laws concerning privacy. In some cases, state laws are the only ones that will apply to student medical records, but even where HIPAA or FERPA apply, state law is still relevant. Despite the fact that HIPAA is a federal law, it bows to state law in those cases where state law is more stringent. Arent Fox Associate Richard Liner, BA, JD, MPH, elaborates:

“HIPAA has an enormous pre-emption problem because it sets a floor and not a ceiling for health care privacy. Congress only established a minimum for protecting patient information. If a state’s laws or regulations are more stringent than HIPAA in their protection of patient health information, then covered entities must follow state requirements.”

This may conjure up ideas of conflicting laws, but Arent Fox counsels that generally, state laws are more specific and will very rarely conflict directly with HIPAA or FERPA. If more than one law is applicable, generally the more stringent requirements will apply. When in doubt, consult counsel before taking action.

Knowing the theory is one thing, but applying it can be a lot more complicated. FERPA requires the student to give written, dated permission before his or her student records information is released – even to other health care providers outside the university, which is a source of frustration for many. But the same information can be released, unauthorized, to school officials who have a “legitimate educational interest”. Similarly, FERPA allows unauthorized disclosure in an emergency, if it is “necessary to protect the health or safety of the student or other persons”. Dunne counsels to rely on common sense to interpret these terms, and to consult counsel early in the process. No law can specifically cover every eventuality; the burden of responsibility and interpretation must, through necessity, rest on the care provider.

This responsibility weighs all the more heavy because schools are concerned about penalties for breaching FERPA. If the Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) found a pattern of violations of FERPA with no obvious attempts to follow the guidelines, it could result in a removal of federal funding. However, it is important to know that individuals cannot be prosecuted for a FERPA breach and individual students cannot sue for damages for such a breach. Schools should carefully develop, implement and maintain compliance oversight with regard to these important privacy laws in order to prevent unlawful release of student records. Likewise, if your school treats non-students, files electronic claims and is bound by HIPAA for those transactions, you should make sure that HIPAA protections are implemented, even though a HIPAA violation may not – for now – result in a fine being imposed. Liner explains:

“In the vast majority of cases where there’s found to be a violation of HIPAA, there is what’s called an ‘administrative resolution’, which generally means the mistake wasn’t intentional and the organization voluntarily agrees to take appropriate remedial action.”

No civil fines for violations of HIPAA have been imposed so far, although Liner warns that is likely to soon change.

Although information on the triumvirate of privacy laws has always been available to those who know where to look for it, there is also a wealth of partial and incorrect information available on the Internet that has muddied the waters for those health professionals attempting to do a little research on the laws that apply to them. Dunne and Liner counsel that you should speak to a professional who knows the law in your state and the ins and outs of FERPA and HIPAA if you are worried about misinterpretation of the law. Even if you know the basics, state laws vary greatly and knowing the details of how the three laws intersect will allow you the greatest leeway to interpret them in a way that is consistent with your ethics.

“It is complicated,” sympathizes Liner. “Talk to the privacy officer within the university, if there is one. There are also a few government Web sites that are really good in terms of user-friendly guidance to help people navigate through the more basic pitfalls.” For instance, the Office of Civil Rights, the enforcement agency for the HIPAA privacy standards, offers tremendously helpful information and FAQs on its Web site.

“Consult with your legal counsel to ensure you’re interpreting and applying the law correctly,” adds Dunne. “And be clear to those who use student health center services, especially students, about the laws that apply.”

Cancer Or Is It Christ In You?

2009-01-08T04:13:00.001-08:00

by: Janie Baer

They call “cancer” the big “C” word. Is it really? I beg to differ as a Christian.

I hope the information in this article will give hope to you who have been given no hope because a doctor has diagnosed you with cancer.

I would hope you would rather focus your attention on “Christ” no matter what stage of cancer has been diagnosed and no matter whether you are a Christian or not. “Christ” should be the big “C” word in your life right now and there is nothing to fear when you use it. What does it mean? It means, “The Anointed One” and refers to His anointing. Jesus is the Christ, “The Anointed One”. And His anointing is burden removing, yoke destroying power. There is no type of cancer that can stand up to the anointing of Christ, the Anointed One. And contrary to some, He is still anointed today to remove all curses, including cancer, from all people and still wants to “heal them all” just like He did in the Bible. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. KJV This revelation of Christ’s anointing should rid us of all fear of cancer. Many just need to be given the revelation of Christ’s anointing and that it is free and available to all just like chemotherapy or radiation is readily available. The chemotherapy and radiation are costly but the anointing is free and available to all.

I know there are many questions that arise when we talk about healing and so I hope my answers from the Word of God will convince you that Christ and His anointing is available to you just as easily as the chemotherapy or radiation.

What is cancer anyway? Cancer is a disease. So according to the Bible since it is a disease then cancer is a curse. If you look at Deuteronomy 28, you will find all the curses that are a result of not keeping the Law of Moses and cancer being a disease is included.

Now since cancer is a curse, you as a Christian have been redeemed from all the curses listed under the Law according to Galatians. How did that happen? Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; KJV You see Christ actually purchased your freedom from cancer or any other curse when He became a curse and hung on His cross. See, His sacrifice was for your total man, spirit, soul and body.

Some believe God gave them cancer. Did God give you cancer? If He did, then Christ Jesus was cursed for no reason for you and you might as well take Galatians 3:13 out of your bible. But I don’t want to take Galatians 3:13 out of my bible because I have received healing by taking that promise as my very own and you can also.

If you believe God gave you cancer, my question to you is; where would God get cancer to give it to you and why would He give it to you? There is no cancer in heaven for God to give it to you and it would be contrary to the bible for God to give you a curse. James 1:17-18 Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven's lights. Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows. 18 In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession. NLT God never changes. His desire to bless you never changes.

If He put cancer on you He would be putting a curse on you and therefore He would be ignoring Galatians 3:13 and Jesus becoming a curse for you so that you could receive the blessing.

Some say cancer and other bad things happen to you because God is punishing you for your sins or is trying to teach you something or make you a better witness. Why would God give you cancer or any other bad thing to punish you for your sins; when as a Christian, God has punished Jesus for all of your present sins, past sins, and even our future sins from the foundation of the earth.

Ephesians 1:2-7 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. 7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; KJV

Why would God give you cancer to teach you something? Would you give your children something bad to hurt them or destroy them so they could learn something? Certainly not. Being a good parent you would sit them down and tell them not only not to do some thing again but you would show them why it is wrong and the consequence of it. And anyway, teaching your children by abuse, don’t people get arrested for child abuse in our society? Then how could God not be guilty of abuse if He put cancer on His children to teach them something or for any other reason and how could He not be guilty of not keeping His Word, especially Galatians 3:13.

Here is what the Word of God says about correction from God to His children: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action), 17 So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. AMP

So our correction as a child of God comes from the Word of God. The Word of God instructs, reproves, convicts of sin (Does not condemn by the way.), corrects of error, disciplines and trains in holy living and conforming to God’s will. That is why we need to read it and meditate it daily so we aren’t taken advantage of by our ignorance of God and His Word and His love for us as His children.

Who in his right mind would want to listen to someone testify of their great God giving them cancer and want to have any thing to do with Him?

Would you want your children tell their friends how you did bad things to them in order to teach them? Certainly not. And neither does God because He is not a child abuser for He is the best Father this planet will ever know anything about and from which all fatherhood should be copied.

And how can having cancer make a good witness of God when most sick with any kind of sickness or disease (especially cancer) are not able to be a good witness because of the pain and suffering. The pain and suffering are also a good indication it is not from Father God.

Why did Jesus, the Christ, come to this earth for any way? Here are some scriptures I think will answer that question:

John 10:9-11 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life — life in all its fullness. 11 "I am the good shepherd, who is willing to die for the sheep. TEV

1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done]. AMP

Jesus came to destroy cancer, sickness, disease and all curse and that is what you see Him doing in the Gospels. And Jesus told us He only did and said what the Father told Him to say and do and it was the Father through Him doing works of “healing and delivering them all”.

Do you think if Adam and Eve had not sinned, would God use sickness, disease or calamity to teach them? Certainly not and neither does He use them to teach us, His children, whom the Bible declares He loves us as much as He loves Jesus. Did He teach Jesus with cancer, sickness, disease, or calamity? Certainly not. People are put in prison for child abuse. God is not a child abuser.

Here are the facts & the truth about Cancer vs. Christ:

Cancer is a disease.

Christ is the Anointed One who destroys all disease in your body, including cancer.

Cancer is not the big “C” word.

Christ has been given a name above all names, the name of “Jesus”, which includes cancer. The name of Jesus has been given to you to speak and see cancer leave your body now!

Cancer is evil and not God sent.

Christ is God sent to be your Savior from cancer now!

Cancer is life threatening.

Christ has brought you abundant life to the full till it over flows.

Cancer comes to kill, steal & destroy.

Christ came to destroy the works of the devil which includes all diseases and that means all evil works of cancer in your body now!

Cancer is a fact.

Christ is the way (Your way out of cancer.), the TRUTH (The truth, He has redeemed you from cancer.), and the LIFE (How can cancer live in your body where Christ, God, Life Himself lives?)

Cancer can be diagnosed.

“In Christ” is really who God and His Word says you are and what you have in this life. (See “In Him” scriptures on my website, so you can declare who you are “in Christ” and what Christ has made you to have.)

Cancer checkups are what they recommend.

In Christ, you are told to look continually into the perfect law of liberty, the Word of God;primarily the Book of Acts through Revelations and make a checkup daily of the blessings of Christ on your body and do no checkups for the curse from which Christ has purchased your freedom. (James 1:22-25)

Years ago I was doing a check on my body for lumps as recommended and the Holy Ghost asked me, “What are you checking for? Are you checking for the curse? You shouldn’t be looking for the curse on your body but for the blessing Jesus purchased for you.”

I have found so many times that woman especially, if the enemy can get a breast or even both with cancer he will get the female organs and on and on. If he can place fear of cancer in our minds that is where the seed for cancer is first planted and then manifested in the body if we meditate on it long enough, start believing it and speaking it; like, “Cancer runs in my family so I probably will get it,” or other words to bring it to pass in our lives. That is why we need to fill our minds and mouths daily with whom and what Christ has made us to be and what He has purchased for us.

Here is your hope of never having cancer or hope when the doctor speaks the word “cancer” to you. If you will meditate and speak these words of hope every day, as many time as you take treatments or medication then you will receive the hope inside of you that will remove all fear and allow the Anointed One and His anointing to work.

Let’s make this confession of our faith in Christ and His anointing every day:

I am redeemed from all the curse of the Law since Jesus became a curse for me. I will not tolerate these curses for they are not in my new covenant in Christ Jesus established in the righteousness of Jesus. I do not allow the curses of the Law to come on my body. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from destruction and perishing before my time. This new covenant has given me the blessing of living a long, full and satisfying life. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from all pestilence which bring agonizing death, including cancer. Christ is the big “C” in my life and not cancer. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from tuberculosis, cancer, progressive wasting of my body, fever, inflammation, and effects of draught, decay, and mildew. Christ Jesus has defeated my enemies and I am completed in Him. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from boils, tumors, malignant diseases causing a discharge, scurvy (bleeding gums and livid skin patches), scabies, hives, rashes and all skin diseases, which cause an itch. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from going crazy because of what I see going on around me. Christ Jesus has redeemed from every curse that tries to come on me and overtake me so that I am destroyed. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from all sickness and plague having a long duration. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from every disease that is in the world. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from all sickness that is known and all sickness that is not known. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from every sickness that has ever been on the earth and ever will be on the earth. Christ Jesus has redeemed me from exhaustion in my heart, my eyes, my mind, and my spirit. Christ Jesus has redeemed from all the curses now! Because of Christ Jesus none of these will come on my body. My life is now in Christ Jesus, my Lord, and I am forever set free from all of these curses now on this earth! I now look for the blessing of Christ on my body.

I personally know this works. My family and I for over 30 years have not had a doctor’s appointment, hospital stay or had to take medication; we just took the Word of God for our healing. And really the more you know the truth of the Word of God, like myself, you will find that you will have very little symptoms come on your body.

So it is Christ in you who is your hope of glory not only in the life to come but also in this life. Live in Him, vitally connected to Him in your every day life. Your intimate relationship with Him filled with love and acceptance is where you will stay free from things that would come to kill, steal and destroy in your life. His love frees you from fear, worry, stress, rejection and condemnation that really are the killers in this day in which we live. A good remedy is just to spend time with Him enveloped in His love, a day would be much to your advantage.

I have listed on my website scriptures and confessions to help you stay strong in your covenant right of divine health and also to restore to you what Jesus purchased for you. I agree with you for your deliverance from cancer and that you continue to live in divine health. I also offer to you on my website a book of Doddie Osteen’s, “Healed of Cancer” to encourage you. God bless you, in Jesus’ name.

Health Center Staff Take Lead Role In Preparing Their Campuses For Pandemic Flu

2009-01-08T04:13:00.000-08:00

by: Cassie Harman

It sounds like the plot of the next blockbuster movie. A third of the world’s population is struck down by a deadly virus that spreads across the globe so rapidly that there is no time to develop a vaccine. Up to half of those infected – even young, healthy adults – die. But as health professionals know, this scenario is not just a flight of fancy. It could be the very real effects of the next pandemic flu outbreak, particularly if H5N1 (also known as highly pathogenic avian flu) is the virus in question, and it is this knowledge that is pushing not just federal and state government but organizations and businesses throughout the world to develop a strategy to tackle it.

Within colleges and universities, the burden of pandemic flu planning is likely to fall upon many student health directors, even at institutions with environmental health and safety departments. John Covely, a consultant on pandemic flu planning and the co-author of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s pandemic plan, explains why this is so.

“Traditionally, emergency planning originates from public safety, or environment health and safety, but a communicable disease poses the biggest threat to students in group quarters. Thus, student health directors are often leading the emergency planning effort for the whole university, because the entire plan - not just the student health component - could be the difference in life or death for their students.”

The importance of having a campus-wide plan that is ready – not just in the preliminary stages – when the pandemic strikes is all the more clear when you consider that, unlike seasonal flu, H5N1 has an increased risk for the typical student demographic of young, healthy adults. The startlingly high mortality rate of up to 60 percent is partly due to a protein, also found in the strain of virus responsible for the 1918 pandemic flu outbreak, which causes a response in a healthy immune system known as a “cytokine storm”, often leading to respiratory failure and death.

Planning for such a massive and yet unpredictable event may seem a formidable task, but Dr. Anita Barkin, chair of the American College Health Association’s pandemic planning committee, counsels that those universities and colleges that have yet to formulate a pandemic plan shouldn’t feel overwhelmed by the work that lies before them. “Pandemic planning is about good emergency preparedness. The things we do to prepare for any emergency are the things we would do to prepare for pandemic flu,” she explains.

Although the tragic Virginia Tech shootings this spring were a different kind of emergency, the issues are similar to the issues faced in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak. Coordinating resources, communicating with everyone on campus and deciding at what stage classes should be called off are questions that have to be answered in most emergency situations. Take your pandemic planning one step at a time, advises Barkin.

“The first step is to find out whether there is an existing emergency plan on campus,” she says. “If there is, who is in charge of it? Health providers on campus should then take charge and begin to formulate the plan.”

There are many unknown factors, but build the framework of the plan first with the elements you can be sure of. Form a committee with all key areas represented, including executive leadership. ACHA’s Guidelines for Pandemic Planning provides a list as an example that may help you collate this. Identify the functions that will be critical in the case of a pandemic and the personnel on campus responsible for each of these, making sure there are enough people representing each function that should some become sick, the plan is not compromised. Identify decision makers, a chain of command, and what channels of communication are to be used. Finally, decide on the role of student health services. Many campuses will have the student health director as the key decision maker in the event of a pandemic, but for some it will be more appropriate for the student health director to have an advisory role instead. In any case, college health professionals will be crucial to the success of every plan.

The biggest question that is central to every campus-wide pandemic plan: when is the right time to send students home? Covely warns that universities cannot necessarily wait for cues from state public health departments before they make their decisions. “The university has to have its own in-depth criteria in advance of a pandemic, and the student health director should be very involved in developing those criteria.”

Don't wait too long to send your students home. Nor should your trigger for this decision rely on the geographical proximity of the virus to your campus alone.

The factors that will determine how early you make the call to send students home will center on the composition of your student population. If your students are mostly from in-state, they will probably be traveling home by car and so you can wait slightly longer before canceling classes and closing the campus down. If many students live a long way away and are going to need to use mass transportation, you may have to act more quickly or risk being swamped with very ill students at a time when the local hospitals will not have the resources to help.

There are three main elements that will shape the logistics and the scale of your plan, and help you figure out the best trigger to send students home. Remember that, as Barkin comments, “The longer you wait, the higher the rate of infection, the less chance of being able to get students home and the less likely you can manage the burden of disease.”

These factors are as follows:

* Student demographics, particularly the number of students who live on campus and the number of non-local students who are likely to be dependent on care.

* The size of your staff (taking into account that up to 50 percent may be sick at one time).

* Your ability to stockpile enough basic supplies, including medications, as well as personal protective equipment such as respirators.

This is where things start to get more complicated, however. Most student health services can’t afford to stockpile many medical supplies. “ACHA is running a survey on pandemic planning,” reveals Barkin. “Of the schools that have responded, most have not stockpiled, or if they have, it’s not a lot.” This could clearly prove disastrous, and for many colleges is a manifestation of what Covely cites as one of the biggest challenges of pandemic planning for some universities: “getting buy-in from the executive leadership.” Pandemic planning is by no means a cost-free exercise.

One tip if you are facing resistance from campus decision-makers over spending money on pandemic planning is to emphasize the fact that once you’ve formulated a response to a possible pandemic, you will have a robust emergency response strategy that can be adapted to fit virtually any emergency, whether it’s evacuation in the event of wildfires, such as Pepperdine University faced recently, a terrorist threat, or an “active shooter”. Investment in, say, developing a Web site with emergency information and updates can be a public relations bonus and a reliable resource. Villanova University’s plan includes broadcasting SMS text messages and e-mails and using an emergency Web page for mass communication.

Dr. Mary McGonigle, director of the student health center at Villanova University, says that their dialogue with their local health department led to Villanova being assessed and labeled a “push” site, a location that is self-sufficient in this type of emergency. She explains:

“In the event of a pandemic, we’d go and pick up supplies from the county and then administer medicine to our Villanova community. That includes students, faculty and their families.”

Help from the county is a financial boon but being self-sufficient and staying local also lowers the risk of spreading the virus so rapidly. The dialogue helps your local health services too. If your local hospitals are likely to have a shortage of beds, they may want to use college dorms for surge capacity at the peak of a pandemic. In return, they may be able to offer you some resources, although research suggests that most hospitals have not had the budget to be able to stockpile effectively either.

The ongoing and fluid nature of pandemic planning is very much evident in some of the complex and thorny issues that have no definitive answer. These may need to be revisited and rethought as scientific discoveries are made, as you approach a pandemic, and if your college’s resources change. One such issue is the availability of expensive antivirals. The federal government has announced that it is stockpiling them and coming up with a strategy for distribution, which might seem to take some of the financial pressure off student health services. Barkin however has a caveat. “I’m concerned that stockpiles would not be distributed in enough of a timely fashion to make an impact on the community. Katrina is a situation that has to come to mind.”

Even if you did manage to persuade campus decision-makers to invest budget in stockpiling antivirals, a potentially challenging feat, there’s a chance that they would be ineffective by the time a pandemic occurs, as overuse can cause the emergence of a resistant strain. Barkin explains that infectious disease experts are talking about using a treatment cocktail – Tamiflu plus one or two other agents - to protect against the emergence of resistant strains, but this would be prohibitively expensive for the average college health center.

Another ethical dilemma surrounding pandemic planning concerns who should get prepandemic vaccines. Scientists are developing vaccines based on the strain of avian flu that has been circulating in Asia, hoping that the vaccine would be enough of a match to combat the illness until a proper vaccine could be developed six months after the pandemic’s emergence. But supplies of this prepandemic vaccine will be limited.

“Some of the conversations around who should get these prepandemic vaccines are very complex,” says Barkin. “Should it be health care workers that get it, or public safety workers such as firemen? Should it be government officials, or the very young and elderly?” Recently, the federal government has announced a three-tiered approach to vaccination that it has developed in consultation with public focus groups and ethicists that places health care workers in the second tier. Whether your health center staff will receive the vaccine, whether it will be in a timely fashion, and how effective it will actually be, are all factors that will affect your pandemic plan greatly – and demonstrate how much of your planning has to leave room for the unknown.

One thing that is beyond question is the importance of student health services acting now. Formulating a pandemic plan may be a slow and ponderous task, but there’s one vital aspect that will slow the spread of a pandemic and can be tackled by your department immediately without getting tangled in red tape and endless meetings.

This public health education can be a collaborative effort with human resources and residence life staff. Covely agrees and even suggests extending the scope beyond campus boundaries. “It’s part of being a good and responsible neighbor to the community,” he says.

Athletes are Prone to Dermatological Irritation: What Can Be Done?

2009-01-08T04:12:00.000-08:00

by: Tom Maroney

When one thinks of the injuries sustained by baseball players, skin irritation is not necessarily the malady that jumps to mind. But for Josh Beckett, ace pitcher of the Boston Red Sox, it is exactly those sorts of concerns that have proven most debilitating over the years: Beckett has suffered from blisters on the fingers of his pitching hand that have landed him on the disabled list an astonishing six times since 2000.

That is a painful problem. It is an expensive problem. And it is a problem that can curtail seasons; it can derail careers; it can mean the difference between playing and not playing, winning and losing.

In Search of Topical Pain Relief

And it’s not limited to Beckett, pitchers, or even baseball players. Athletes of all stripes risk injury due to blisters, abrasions, eczema, cuts...all dermatological concerns that demand topical pain relief. And, it doesn’t end there: Those who participate in outdoor sports—tennis, sailing, skiing, and so on—frequently suffer from sunburn. Those who sweat a lot in workouts or competition such as basketball players, gymnasts, and runners have to deal with chafing. It especially helps runners to prevent blisters, abrasions, and also expedites in healing. These are recurring problems that demand chronic pain management. Yet, many athletes downplay these concerns, oftentimes because such injuries are not considered severe. Hey, it’s not a broken bone or a torn hamstring, so how bad can it be? It can be bad enough to cause an athlete to lose a step, or to favor a certain leg, arm or muscle group. It can also be bad enough to lead to more severe injuries. Just ask Josh Beckett.

As such, athletes aiming to remain in top form should seek to treat their dermatological concerns via natural health remedies. Indeed, natural pain relief is the optimum method for keeping an athlete’s skin healthy and hydrated. In fact, the importance of hydration itself cannot be overstated. Of course, the simplest and most effective method for staying hydrated is to simply drink water. And for athletes, who lose a great deal of fluids through sweating, water should be consumed frequently. In fact, it’s said that even 2 percent dehydration decreases an athlete’s performance by as much as 10 percent. Adequate hydration is crucial in keeping one’s skin healthy.

For athletes already suffering from blisters, abrasions or the like, simple powders and ointments such as Johnson’s Baby Powder or Gold Bond Medicated Ant-Itch Cream can be purchased inexpensively, and can provide tremendous relief. Even petroleum jelly can be applied to cuts or chafed areas to provide immediate topical pain relief.

For athletes suffering from dermatological issues, chronic pain management can truly be that basic. Again, let’s take the example of Josh Beckett: The Red Sox hurler addressed his blisters issue with…surgery? Laser treatment? Nope. He used Band-Aids.

Which doesn’t mean that Band-Aids or baby powder are the only methods for treatment, or even the most effective ones (it should be noted that Beckett’s Band-Aid solution prevented him from throwing his curveball during bullpen sessions, and his on-field performance suffered as a result).

Advanced Natural Pain Relief

For athletes looking for more advanced natural pain relief, XTreme Skin Ointment (http://www.xtremeskin.com) offers a wide range of healing capabilities: It creates a breathable, protective barrier for the skin; it locks out germs and bacteria, and locks in moisture; and it accelerates the skin’s healing process. Natural health remedies like XTreme Skin Ointment can (and should) be used as a preventative measure, but they can also be applied to damaged areas.

It must be stated that no athlete is immune to dermatological issues: Bowlers will often suffer from blisters and cuts; rock climbers, from cracked skin and burns; horseback riders, from chafing; swimmers, from dry skin; weightlifters, from calluses. And, too many athletes will try and play through these problems when they should be seeking out chronic pain management techniques and natural pain relief.

An athlete’s skin is as related to his or performance as his or her muscles, yet too few recognize this. It is crucial that athletes seek out topical pain relief, and it is recommended that they do so through natural health remedies. To ignore them, or to treat them ineffectively, can spell damage, disaster and heartbreak. Just ask Josh Beckett.

2009-01-08T04:05:00.005-08:00