All About Beauty and Health

Skin Care Throughout Life

2008-02-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

From the day we are born, our skin requires much care to remain smooth and healthy. It begins with soap to keep us clean. Then, there are creams,powders, and ointments to keep diaper rash from our bottoms.

During the first few years of our lives, our skin will do well with soap for cleaningand the occasional lotion or cream for moisture. Then come the teen years. Our raging hormones bring out the oily skin, the pimples, and a host of other conditions. It's important to understand that everything that comes in contact withour body affects our health and the condition of our skin. That's why choosing natural skin care products and ingredients is important.

The liver filters the toxins and poisons from the food we eat, but whatever we place on our skin is directly absorbed. This includes deodorant, lotions, gels, cleansers, toners, make-up, perfumes, and more. As we age, our skin becomes more sensitive, and we need to be even more careful with the beauty treatments we use

How to maintain your contact lenses

2008-02-04T04:04:00.000-08:00

Don't leave your lenses lying around. When not in use, store them in the appropriate container with the cleaning solution. A dusty atmosphere and chemical fumes may damage your lenses, if they are left uncovered. Utmost hygiene must be maintained as contact lenses come into direct contact with your eyes.

Always wash your hands before you handle your lenses. Daily sterilisation of your lens is a must for soft lens users. Sterilisation refers to cleaning of the lenses with the prescribed cleaning solution, which are sold along with the lenses. Clean the lenses daily ONLY with a cleaner prescribed by your doctor. Regular water must not be used for this, as it is not sterile and may damage the lenses. Change the storage fluid daily.

If the cleaning solution or the storage fluid is unclean, or the container is dirty, this may damage the lenses and, in turn, your eyes. If your lenses do not settle on the eye, get them checked. If you experience any sort of pain, watering, redness, discharge, decreasing vision or heaviness, remove the lenses immediately and consult your doctor. Change the lenses periodically, depending upon their life span.

Fiber in Your Diet

2008-02-04T04:01:00.000-08:00

Why do I need fiber in my diet?

Dietary fiber is the part of plants that cannot be digested. There are 2 kinds of dietary fiber. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to keep foods moving through the digestive system. Soluble fiber holds water which, in turn, softens the stool for easy bowel movements. Fiber is an important part of your diet even though it passes through your body. A high-fiber diet can:

reduce cholesterol levels
promote regular bowel movements
improve blood sugar levels in diabetics
treat diverticular disease (inflammation of part of the intestine) and irritable bowel syndrome (abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation that come and go).

A high-fiber diet may help prevent some cancers, such as colon and breast.
If you do not have enough fiber in your diet, you may have constipation. Your bowel movements may be small, hard, and dry.

What foods contain fiber?

Breads, cereals, and pasta made with whole-grain flour and brown rice are high-fiber foods. Many breakfast cereals list the bran or fiber content, so it's easy to know which products are high in fiber. All fruits and vegetables also contain fiber. Dried beans, leafy vegetables, peas, raisins, prunes, apples, and citrus fruits are all especially good sources of fiber.

How much fiber do I need in my diet?

You should have at least 14 grams of fiber for every 1000 calories that you eat every day. Read the label on food packages to find out how much fiber a serving of a food will provide. Foods containing more than 20% of the daily value of fiber per serving are considered high in fiber.

Privacy Policy

2008-01-15T04:06:00.000-08:00

Privacy Policy for http://dodomenthok.blogspot.com/

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At http://dodomenthok.blogspot.com/, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by http://dodomenthok.blogspot.com/ and how it is used.

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Simple Solutions for Better Skin

2008-01-15T03:59:00.000-08:00

Here are a just a few natural skin care solutions for you to try. You'll be very pleased with
the results:-

1. Once a week, rub your skin with baking soda while in the shower, for a smooth, silky feeling. You can also do this on your face to remove blackheads.

2. Fresh tomatoes are great for the oily areas of your face. (Please makesure to try the tomato juice on your arm first, as your skin may be sensitive to it). Rinse thoroughly immediately after using the tomato juice.

3. For a great moisturizer try olive oil. This healthy fat is good for you and is great for your skin. You can also use it to soothe sunburned skin.

4. Vinegar can work wonders for smelly feet and armpits. Mix water and vinegar 50/50, and use in place of deodorant: it will keep the unpleasant sweat smell away, without any irritation. As for your feet, if you suffer with athlete's foot, a week of vinegar foot bath will help a lot, sometimes completely getting rid of your condition.

5. Egg yolk mixed with honey makes for a really great mask. Apply it on your skin, leave it on for 20 minutes, and rinse off. Excellent for sensitive skin. Honey gives a tingling/ticklish sensation, so if you are sensitiveto that, use the egg yolk alone.

6. Another use for egg yolk: for those with eczema, use it instead of soap.It doesn't smell great, but it will heal your damaged skin.

7. A great treatment for dry skin is avocados. What you have to do is mash it, smooth it onto your face, and rinse off after 20 minutes.

8. Lastly, make sure you drink 8 glasses of water every day to keep your skin cared from the inside out.

Red meat link to breast cancer ?

2008-01-11T03:55:00.000-08:00

Burgers, bacon, hot dogs, bologna - their effect have taken another hit. Researcher are now reporting that younger woman who indulge a taste of red meat may their chances of getting a common type of breast cancer.

The connection between eating red meat and breast cancer has been studied before, with no clear conclusions. This study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, zeroed in on premenopausal woman between the ages of 26 and 46 and looked not just at overall rates of breast cancer but at the incidence of different types of the disease.

About 60% of breast cancers are fuelled by the hormones oestrogen and progesterone; the thought is that certain components of red meat, including compounds that develop when is cooking and hormones fed to the animal to spur growth, could encourage the development of that kind of cancer.

Researchers analysed the diets and health records of more than 90 000 women over a period of 12 years. About 1000 cases ofbreast cancer developed. Of those, the women who deveoped cancers sensitive to oestrogen and progesterone (about half of all cases in study) had a histry of eating more red meat than either women who didn't get cancer at all or those who had cancers not fuelled by the hormones.

The extra risk range from 14% more for those who ate between three and five servings per week up to nearly double for who ate more than 1.5 servings a day. Red meat included beef, lamb or pork even as a main dish in sandwiches, and in processed form.

The study does not difinitively prove cause and effect. But given that red meat has also been implicated in other forms of cancer and heart disease.

Aloe Vera

2008-01-08T03:53:00.000-08:00

Aloe Vera has many uses. Externally, it is applied for burns and sprains. Internally, it can be taken for jaundice, constipation, loss of appetite and gas formation in the stomach. In burns, the juice or the pulp of the fleshy part of the leaf is applied externally. For sprains, the pulp or the juice may be gently rubbed over the affected part two to three times.

For all these ailments the juice or pulp of this plant is given. You can add a pinch of salt or sugar to the juice, which is bitter. For treating children with aloe juice, you can add honey, sugar, or jaggery to it. For a patient suffering from jaundice, the juice or pulp should be given by adding jaggery or sugar (salt should not be added).

The dose: Both pulp and juice of the aloe should be given in a dose of one teaspoonful (5 ml) thrice a day, preferably on an empty stomach. Keep a growing aloe in your kitchen windowsill handy as it is a great first aid treatment for burns. Aloe Vera will stop the pain almost immediately and even help in healing if a little of it is freshly applied after a few hours.

Protein in diet

2008-01-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Definition
Proteins are complex organic compounds. The basic structure of protein is a chain of amino acids.

Alternative Names
Diet - protein; Complete protein; Incomplete protein

Function
Protein is the main component of muscles, organs, and glands. Every living cell and all body fluids, except bile and urine, contain protein. The cells of muscles, tendons, and ligaments are maintained with protein. Children and adolescents require protein for growth and development.

Food Sources
Proteins are described as essential and nonessential proteins or amino acids. The human body requires approximately 20 amino acids for the synthesis of its proteins.
The body can make only 13 of the amino acids -- these are known as the nonessential amino acids. They are called non-essential because the body can make them and does not need to get them from the diet. There are 9 essential amino acids that are obtained only from food, and not made in the body.
If the protein in a food supplies enough of the essential amino acids, it is called a complete protein. If the protein of a food does not supply all the essential amino acids, it is called an incomplete protein.
All meat and other animal products are sources of complete proteins. These include beef, lamb, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, and milk products.

Protein in foods (such as grains, fruits, and vegetables) are either low, incomplete protein or lack one of the essential amino acids. These food sources are considered incomplete proteins.
Plant proteins can be combined to include all of the essential amino acids and form a complete protein. Examples of combined, complete plant proteins are rice and beans, milk and wheat cereal, and corn and beans.

Side Effects
A diet high in meat could lead to high cholesterol or other diseases, such as gout. Another potential problem is that a high-protein diet may put a strain on the kidneys. Extra waste matter, which is the end product of protein metabolism, is excreted in the urine.

Recommendations
A nutritionally balanced diet provides adequate protein. Vegetarians are able to get enough protein if they eat the proper combination of plant proteins.
The amount of recommended daily protein depends upon age, medical conditions, and the type of diet one is following. Two to three servings of protein-rich food will meet the daily needs of most adults.

The following are the recommended serving sizes for protein:
For recommended serving sizes of protein for children and adolescents, see age appropriate diet for children
2 to 3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, and fish (a portion about the size of a deck of playing cards)
1/2 cup of cooked dry beans, lentils, or legumes
1 egg or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, which count as 1 ounce of lean meat
Select lean meat, poultry without skin, fish, and dry beans, lentils, and legumes often. These are the protein choices that are the lowest in fat. For more information, see the food guide pyramid.

The Human Body: A Carefully Protected Fortress

2007-12-28T04:39:00.000-08:00

No matter how clean our environment may be, we share our living space with many microorganisms. If you could examine with a microscope the room you are now sitting in, you would clearly see the millions of creatures you are living with.

So, in this sense, a human being is a besieged fortress. It goes without saying that to protect this fortress under assault a failsafe plan is necessary. Human beings were created with the perfect protection that they need; they are not defenseless against these enemies. God Almighty has created micro defense systems in the human body, protecting it from all sorts of dangerous organisms and fighting to defend it on multiple fronts.

Invasion forces have to cross the first lines of defense. Even thought the first line of defense may suffer setbacks, it will give the enemy a hard time and reduce its invasion ability.

Deterrents Waiting for Micro-enemies

The first front that the enemy must pass in the human body is our skin. The skin covers the whole body like a sheath and has many special features. One of the vital features of this miraculous packaging is its ability to protect the body from the micro-enemies that make the body sick. If we accept that the body is like a besieged fortress, we can say that the skin, with its outer layers of dead cells and the creatures that live on it, is the strong ramparts of this fortress.

One of the ways in which microorganisms reach us is through our breathing. Every moment there are hundreds of different kinds of germs in the air we breathe waiting to enter our bodies. But they are unaware of the nasal guards to repel them. A special secretion in the mucosa of the nose traps and expels between 80% and 90% of the microorganisms that that enter the respiratory system either directly or through dust, vapor or other carriers.

Germs can also enter the body through the food we eat. But our body’s defense

We can compare the human body to a fortress under attack. Just as the defense of a fortress besieged by enemies is very well planned, so the human body has a perfect defense system.

system is aware of this route and waits for the intruders in the stomach where the food goes. Stomach acid destroys most if not all of the germs that manage to overcome all the other obstacles and reach the stomach. The germs that make it through the stomach are destroyed by digestive enzymes produced in the small intestine.

The Truth Revealed by our Defense System

There are some important questions that have to be asked in the light of all these facts.

Who drives these external microbes to entering our bodies through our food? Who decides the route the food follows, what kind of a system must destroy the microbes, what will the microbes’ next target if they escape this deterrent, and what alternatives they take if they encounter a more powerful substance? Body cells have never been outside the body and so have not had the opportunity to examine the chemical structure of these external microbes, nor have they ever studied chemistry. So how do they know what substances will kill the microbes? Indeed, Allah, the Lord of the heavens and Earth, created such a non-sleeping defense system protecting the human body surrounded by microbes like a besieged castle. In a verse, Allah describes His wisdom of perfect creation as follows:

He is Allah – the Creator, the Maker, the Giver of Form. To Him belong the Most Beautiful Names. Everything in the heavens and Earth glorifies Him. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Qur’an, 59:24)

We must remember that the human body is helplessly exposed to microbes 24 hours a day. The fact that you are able at this moment to read this text without being adversely affected by the microbes around you, is due to the operation of the defense system inside your body inspired by our Almighty Lord. It must also be remembered that Allah has specially created germs and viruses to remind us of our helplessness against these minute structures entering a human body and making it sick and even cause its death.

Enzymes That Perform 36 Million Processes A Minute

2007-12-27T04:36:00.000-08:00

Every second, more processes than can be counted are carried out in the bodies of all living things. So complex and detailed are these processes that at every stage, the intervention of “super-regulators” is essential to control the whole system that maintain order and accelerate events. These super-regulating chemicals in the human body are enzymes.

Every living cell contains thousands of enzymes, each of which performs its own tasks, such as assisting with the copying of DNA, breaking down foodstuffs and producing energy from them, and constructing chains of compounds from simple molecules.

Enzymes are produced by mitochondria inside each cell. Large parts of enzymes consist of proteins, the rest of are vitamins and vitamin-like substances. Were it not for these enzymes, none of our functions, from the simplest to the most complex, could take place, or else would occur so slowly as to stop altogether. In either case, the result would be the same—death. We could not speak, eat, digest, see or even breathe– in short, we could not live.

Enzymes’ most important tasks are to initiate, halt and accelerate various chemical reactions in the body. As the cells perform their functions, the chemicals inside them must react accordingly. Higher temperatures are needed to initiate most chemical reactions. Yet such high temperature could pose a danger to living cells, causing them injury or death. The solution to this dilemma lies in enzymes.

An obvious miracle of creation, enzymes manage to initiate or accelerate chemical reactions even in the absence of high temperature, yet as catalysts, they do not enter into—or are themselves changed—by these reactions. Take one example from your daily life of how enzymes accelerate the processes taking place within your body: Thanks to an enzyme involved in the removal of carbon dioxide from the blood as you inhale, you do not suffocate. An enzyme known as anhydrase accelerates the process of cleansing carbon dioxide by a factor of 10 million times! At this speed, the anhydrase can transform 36 million molecules every minute.

The Body’s Rapid and Economical Production Vehicles

Enzymes permit vital reactions to take place as quickly as possible, and also to exploit the body’s energy in the most efficient way. If you compare the human body to a factory, with the many enzymes working within its cells as various means of production, no source of energy would be able to run with that factory. Because the level of electricity needed to power trillions of machines, of 2,000 different types, all working perfectly at such high speeds would be enormous. In a laboratory environment, therefore, an exceedingly high level of heat and energy are needed in order to carry out even a simple reaction in the cell.

However, the cell’s working enzymes carry out their tasks silently and faultlessly in the relatively low heat from the body and with the energy they obtain from nutrients. Just one of these characteristics is sufficient to show how enzymes have been specially designed to make every reaction occurring place in the body perfect yet completely efficient.

Even as you read these lines, a large number of enzymes are controlling reactions taking place throughout your body and providing the nourishment and energy your cells need to stay healthy and functioning. Even though a person has no knowledge of everything that is happening inside his body, enzymes are not only aware of it, but also intervene in all processes in a most vital and accurate manner. Moreover, every enzyme accelerates specific chemical reactions in the body. No enzyme does the tasks of another, nor makes a mistake in performing its own, because each enzyme is specially formulated for performing its own task.

For example, while a large number of enzymes can be effective in fluids with a neutral pH, those enzymes charged with digesting foodstuffs in the stomach can work effectively only under a highly acidic environment. Again, saliva contains the enzyme amylase, which breaks starch down into maltose and accompanies food along the esophagus, but it is neutralized when it reaches the acidic environment in the stomach. But once it arrives there, in any case, its work is done. 1

Enzymes’ Lock-and-Key Compatibility

The molecular shapes of enzymes are completely in conformity with whatever substance they are designed to act upon. Each enzyme—and the substance it will affect by combining with it—fit together precisely in a three-dimensional complex geometry. The way enzymes detect the substance they match, then head towards and combine with it is exceedingly deliberate behavior. Moreover, enzymes resemble conscious hunters, in that they lie in wait, making a shelter for themselves to hide in, where they remain ready to join with their appropriate substance. Each one is in the right place that matches its design and characteristics. They avoid environments in which they might be harmed or become ineffective.

The way they assume the responsibility of initiating or accelerating reactions is a matter worth reflecting on. Unless some agent is present to prevent them, various enzymes will constantly initiate and accelerate all of the various chemical reactions in the body. This could eventually lead to over-production of particular proteins or certain damaging imbalances within the cell. And so, it is the cell itself that regulates the enzymes’ activity. When the cell decides an enzyme to halt in its actions, it distracts it with an extraordinary act of conscious planning. To do so, it sends to the enzyme a substance similar to the one it normally combines with, and the enzyme attaches to this substitute instead. Therefore, this “imitative” substance keeps the enzyme occupied and for a while, forestalls it from unwanted activity.

In order to snare the enzyme, however, this imitation substance must also compete with its genuine counterpart. This inhibition of the enzyme is therefore known as a competitive inhibitor. By means of this method, enzyme activities are thus halted until such time as whatever substance is produced as a result of the reaction triggered by the enzyme falls below a specific level.

This information is not to be read once and then forgotten. First of all, it will be useful to realize that proteins, fats, carbohydrates and vitamins composed of unconscious atoms are making the calculations, taking the decisions and implementing the plans just described, and not trained human beings with consciousness and a sense of responsibility. The cell determines the amount of substance produced, as if were doing a control of inventory. And when it decides that production needs to be halted for a while, it implements an exceedingly sophisticated procedure in order to do so.

How the cell produces the imitation substance to occupy the enzyme and releases it at just the proper time is highly planned behavior.

Because if these imitation substances always existed in the cell at all times, they would then also halt production by distracting enzymes when they’re most urgently required. But the cells’ timing is always perfectly accurate. Such an organized, intelligent form of behavior that is performed in sequence, one after the other, by molecules too small to be seen with the naked eye, is just one of the countless signs of the superior nature of God’s creation. Obviously, these apparently conscious substances behave under our Lord’s command.

Scientists Reject Evolutionist Claims of Chance

As more and more details emerge about the structure of enzymes, proteins and other similar structures, the invalidity of the theory of evolution becomes even more apparent. These structures in the micro-world lead scientists, willingly or otherwise, to accept the fact that there is a flawless design in life.

One such scientist is the microbiologist Malcolm Dixon:

Every minute the enzyme system does what chemists working a full shift cannot. Could anyone believe that naturally occurring enzymes became aware of themselves and hundreds of their counterparts as the result of chance? Enzymes and enzyme systems are touchstones of the same genetic mechanism. The more advanced research is carried out, the more detailed a design emerges. 2

Enzymes’ structure is too complex to have emerged by chance—a fact that is expressed in the famous biochemist Michael Pitman’s probability calculations:

As we know, there are some 1080 atoms in the universe and 1017 seconds have gone by since the Big Bang. Two thousand basic enzymes are essential if life is to survive. The chances of a single enzyme coming into being by chance are greater than 1020. The chances of them all emerging as the result of chance is 10 40000. Even if we think of the whole universe as an organic soup it is still impossible for such a minute probability to come about. 3

As these scientists have said, it is impossible for even a single enzyme to form spontaneously by chance. Yet 50 “pre-enzymes” work together to produce a single enzyme. Yet another enzyme requires nine different other enzymes before it can synthesize a single amino acid. This raises a very difficult question for any reasonable scientist: How did the first enzyme come into existence in the absence of the others? This is a question for which evolutionists can never provide an answer.

In addition to the problems posed by enzymes’ chemical production, they have another extraordinary feature: Once enzymes form, they can easily dissipate again or become passive unless just the right conditions are maintained. In other words, they cease to function until and unless they are needed.

In short, to enable any single enzyme to function, all the other requisite enzymes, cells, systems and structures have to be already in place, in full working order. So how did the first enzyme come into being? The answer is obvious. Almighty God, the flawless Creator, created every living thing and its cells in one single moment, together with all their necessary enzymes and proteins. This fact is revealed in a verse from the Qur’an as follows:

O man! What has deluded you in respect of your Noble Lord? He Who created you and formed you and proportioned you and assembled you in whatever way He willed. (Qur’an, 82:6-8)

(1) Harun Yahya, The Miracle of Protein, Istanbul, Vural Publishing, March 2001.
(2) Michael Pitman, Adam and Evolution, London, River Publishing, 1984, p.144.
(3) Pitman, Ibid., p. 148.

Therapy And Medication For Various Illnesses Today

2007-12-26T04:30:00.000-08:00

The pharmaceutical drugs for rheumatoid arthritis often have severe side effects from stomach discomfort and diarrhea to kidney malfunction. People who take the pharmaceuticals for this condition often find themselves in the lab frequently having their blood work monitored carefully. However, this is why there are rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies. Especially with the high levels of side effects that drugs have and even the discontinuation of several drugs by different companies, the use of rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies has increased. Rheumatoid arthritis can greatly affect someone’s life. It can result in the inability to use your hands, walk, or do simple daily tasks. Therefore any rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies that can help are greatly appreciated by the sufferers of this illness.

The most common therapy is hot cold therapy. This means that heat is used on the affected area for about fifteen minutes to reduce the inflammation and then cold is used for fifteen minutes to help control the pain. The most common herbal supplement used for rheumatoid arthritis is Glucosamine. Glucosamine is known to aid in the repair and health of the joints. The second most common herb that does the same is Chondroitin. There is also something called MSM. This is a sulfur based anti-inflammatory that is said to work just as well as the typical medications. TO try and slow the progression of the disease and not just symptom relief is Niacinamide.

This is supposed to maintain the health of cells and therefore slows the progression of the illness. It is otherwise known as Vitamin B3. Rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies are available at most health food stores and pharmacies. Although they each have their own benefits and are proven to be helpful, it is mentioned that when taken together in a combined supplement they are the most beneficial. Acupressure is a common physical treatment that can help with the pain or arthritis. It works by placing pressure on specific places on the body. This can be done by a trained therapist, or techniques can be taught and done at home. Rheumatoid arthritis alternative therapies are readily available and most are not very reasonable priced. They are definitely gaining in popularity every day.

Hip complaints are generally felt as pain in the groin, hip, or in the buttock, although it may spread into the thigh and knee. Pain is usually worse when walking, rising from a chair, and lying on the affected side and can be exacerbated by warmth.

The causes of hip complaints and associated pain are manifold and include arthritis and previous joint distortion. Mechanical dysfunction of the pelvis, lower back, or knees can also cause hip problems, and occasionally infection may be at the root.

Reflexology may be described as a specialized form of massage of the feet and - less commonly - of the hands. Performed to detect and correct "imbalances" in the body that may be causing ill-health, it is, however, much more than simply massage.

Alternative names for reflexology include reflex zone therapy and zone therapy. There are several variant forms or extensions of the therapy, including Morrel reflexology. Perhaps the most widely divergent among them, however, are the Vacuflex system and the metamorphie technique.

Do You Believe In The Herbal Hype?

2007-12-24T04:26:00.000-08:00

In China, herbal method has been treated for along time. Nowadays, it's not strange if American use that treatment. There is a fast-growing interest among people today regarding alternative medicines and therapies. This interest includes the herbal remedies and dietary supplements market. In fact, it's a safe bet that many large supermarkets in your local area feature an aisle or two specifically for natural medicines alone. A quick browse through the World Wide Web about health problems and topics will reveal advertisements and articles about natural health products that claim to help consumers with everything from migraines to sexual deficiencies.

When they are used properly in combination with a patient's overall health regimen, these natural health products can be effective and safe. More and more people are observed to be taking an active part in taking care of their health, and this is a good thing. What makes it a problem, though, is the lack of information that patients sometimes have, especially when it comes to self-presciption medicines. With that in mind, it is valuable to know the following rules-of-thumb regarding botanicals and herbal remedies:

Don't immediately think that taking a natural medicine is safe for you. Alternative medicines from plants or herbs can also be dangerous when taken improperly. These natural medicines are usually needed to be taken in strong dosages, or at least strong enough to be effective. It's good to remember that they also have contra-indications, just like other medicines. Usually these contra-indications happen when abnormally large dosages are taken, or if the herb is taken over a prolonged amount of time.

Goji Berries are getting much acclaim lately for being health food products, usually marketed as either Himalayan goji or Tibetan goji. One source indicates that Goji Berries have been a mainstay of Traditional Chinese Medicine for around 1,900 years already. According to Chinese legend, Goji Berries were also used by Shen Nung who is believed to have been the First Emperor of China. Goji Berries are now considered a health food because research has shown that it has antioxidants and nutrients aplenty, which may explain why Goji Berries are also now classified as one of the superfruits. Demand for superfruits like Goji Berries is expected to reach the billion-dollar mark by year 2011.

The Goji Berries you may be familiar with are usually of an ellipsoidal shape and bright red, with each of the Goji Berries filled with up to sixty seeds. Goji Berries that are planted in countries in the Northern Hemisphere may ripen in the months of July, August, September and October.

Nowadays, Goji Berries are planted in commercial quantities in north central China (in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region) and in western China (in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.) The size of a typical plantation of Goji Berries can start at 100 acres and extend to up to 1000 acres in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Ningxia has been found to produce some of the top Goji Berries variety which are sometimes called the red diamonds commercial variety.

Keeping An Eye Out For Diseases And Illnesses

2007-12-23T04:24:00.000-08:00

Pleurisy, also called pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura. Pleurisy can be generated by a variety of infectious and non-infectious causes. Pleurisy is caused by swelling and irritation of the membrane that surrounds the lungs. Certain autoimmune diseases (such as systemic lupus erythematosus) can irritate the pleura. It is usually a symptom of another illness. It is also called Pleuritic Chest Pain. Pleurisy can develop from many things, including bacterial or viral infections of the lungs (such as pneumonia), TB, lupus, chest injury or trauma, a blood clot in the lung, or cancer. Sometimes a cause cannot be found. The effects of pleurisy can often be felt long after the condition has gone away.The hallmark of pleurisy is severe chest pain that starts suddenly.

The pain is often strong or stabbing when you take a deep breath. It usually subsides or disappears between breaths. It's usually felt on one side of the stomach area or lower chest. Deep breathing and coughing often make it worse. Pleurisy causes fluid to collect inside the lung area. Breathing may be rapid and shallow because deep breathing induces pain; the muscles on the painful side move less than those on the other side. When an accumulation of fluids (pleural effusion) is associated with pleurisy, the pain usually disappears because the fluid serves as a lubricant. Treatment depends on what is causing the pleurisy. Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory form of arthritis that causes joint pain and damage. It affecting more than two million people in the United States. Rheumatoid arthritis attacks the lining of your joints (synovium) causing swelling that can result in aching and throbbing and eventually deformity. Sometimes rheumatoid arthritis symptoms make even the simplest activities — such as opening a jar or taking a walk — difficult to manage. Rheumatoid arthritis is two to three times more common in women than in men and generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 60. But rheumatoid arthritis can also affect young children and older adults. It is commonly polyarticular; that is, it affects many joints.

About seventy-five percent of those affected are women, and 1–3% of women may develop rheumatoid arthritis is their lifetime. The disease most often begins between the fourth and sixth decades of life; however, RA can develop at any age. RA usually affects joints on both sides of the body equally. Wrists, fingers, knees, feet, and ankles are the most commonly affected.Rheumatoid arthritis is two to three times more common in women than in men and generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 60. But rheumatoid arthritis can also affect young children and older adults. Inflammation, soft tissue swelling, and the involvement of multiple joints are common signs and symptoms that distinguish rheumatoid and other inflammatory arthritis from non-inflammatory arthritis such as osteoarthritis.

Treatments include medicine, lifestyle changes and surgery. These can slow or stop joint damage and reduce pain and swelling. To quickly reduce joint inflammation and symptoms, first-line treatment usually consists of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen (Motrin and others), naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve), celecoxib (Celebrex) and many others.

Enjoy a “Long, Healthy, Happy Life”

2007-12-22T04:21:00.000-08:00

(Excerpts from the e-Book “ Enjoy a “Long, Healthy, Happy Life” )

"Those who fail to take the time to be healthy will ultimately have to take the time to be sick." ~ Dr. James Chappell

So you want to enjoy a long, healthy, happy life or should I say, you want to be the “exception to the rule.”

You should know from the start that the “odds” are stacked against you, but by accepting and tackling the challenge you will find it very worthwhile and rewarding, not to mention adding many years of happiness onto your lifespan.

Talking of “lifespan”, lets pause for a moment and think about that.

Its key to differentiate between living a “long life” (lifespan) and living a “long HEALTHY life” (healthspan), which then can translate into the ideal situation where you can enjoy a “LONG, HEALTHY, HAPPY LIFE”.

I know of many people, young and old who just exist from day to day with aches and pains, disease and suffering and with many bedridden for a number of years before they die prematurely from one of the modern lifestyle diseases like cancer or heart disease. One can hardly call that “living” or having had a great life.

Most people look forward to retiring after a long period of working and bringing up a family, with a vision of being able to relax, travel and enjoy a long, happy, healthy life with one’s family. The reality, unfortunately is very different for most people.

This dream unfortunately, invariably has a perverse ending in this day and age. Virtually every one of us living a modern lifestyle will be diagnosed with a fatal chronic disease in our lifetime. Most of us will land up having long term expensive drug treatment, causing misery, pain and suffering and eventually death without dignity. At least half of us will be diagnosed with cancer and will be treated by conventional medicine, resulting in a slow painful death after undergoing expensive poisonous chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. Those of us lucky enough to escape cancer will most probably succumb to heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s or some other chronic degenerative lifestyle disease.

Supercentenarians

However there are people, who in their early years, were never exposed to the current modern lifestyles, toxic pollution, fast foods, processed foods and pharmaceutical drugs, who have proved that you can “LIVE” a long, healthy and happy life.

The Gerontology Research web site (http://www.grg.org) have a validated worldwide list of living “Supercentenarians”. ( people who are 110 years old or older). There are currently 69 women and 8 men on this list with 25 in the US, 24 in Japan, 26 from other countries and only 2 living in the UK.

So from this you can get a true understanding of “longevity”, but the million dollar question is why do these people live so long ?

Its all about “how we live” and “what we eat” which all boils down to “LIFESTYLE”.

Take Control of Your Lifestyle and Your Healthcare

The key challenge is to want to do this for yourself and your family. The starting point is to take control of your lifestyle and your healthcare by becoming aware and informed and then to take the appropriate actions.

Its hard to accept, but actually NOBODY out there is interested in you and your families healthcare or whether you live a “long, healthy and happy life” or not.

As a matter of fact you will be very surprised to know that there is a whole industry that want just the opposite.

I hear you say “But what about my GP, Gynie, Paede, Oncologist, Cardiologist, etc?, surely they are interested ?”

They should be, but remember each of these people make a living from the “Disease Business” astutely managed and controlled by the Pharmaceutical Industry.

This article, with additional information on the website

http://www.naturallyhealthylifestyles.com

and in the e-Book, sets out to enlighten and inform you about what you have to do and what you have to avoid, to escape the “Disease Business” and enjoy a “long, healthy and happy life”. We also want to expose what the true obstacles are that you will encounter on this amazing, rewarding “lifestyle” journey, which will enable you to make the necessary decisions and actions to avoid them.

Modern Lifestyles

Its an undeniable fact that in this modern era of toxic air and water pollution, fast fried fatty foods, processed foods, carcinogenic groceries, sugar filled foods and drinks, pesticide poisoned soil, fruit and vegetables, alcohol, smoking, lack of exercise, prescription and recreational drugs; just to name the main culprits; nine out of every ten adults will die prematurely from a serious chronic lifestyle degenerative disease. Very few of these diseases were common just a hundred years ago and are unquestionably caused by our modern lifestyles.

The variety of aches, pains, disease and suffering are as plentiful and as diverse as humankind. Sickness and disease abound and as we all know most of these diseases cause us and our families misery, pain, financial hardships and suffering and in many cases “death”, but sadly most of these deaths could have been prevented.

The Germ Theory

Modern medicine is based on Louis Pasteur’ s (1822-1895) “Germ Theory” where every disease is caused by a specific external germ and is seen to be different. The solution being, specific drugs to address and mask each of these symptoms, of which there are currently hundreds. This was the fatal birth of the “Disease Business” and the most lucrative and protected industry on earth today – the pharmaceutical industry. Although Pasteur was recognized at the time as the father of bacteriology and microbiology based on his “Germ Theory of Medicine”, he was not a medical man and was in direct conflict with other research doctors of the day.

The Cellular Theory

Alternative medicine on the other hand has a holistic, preventative approach and is based on Dr Antoine Bechamp’s (1816-1908) and Claude Bernard’s (1813-1878) “Cellular Theory” which is based on the “healthy terrain” concept. (a healthy inner body).

So what is the healthy terrain? Béchamp began to describe it nearly two hundred years ago, but Claude Bernard finally stated that to maintain a “healthy terrain” (disease free body) there were two factors, which when violated were responsible for every known disease.

1. The necessary Nutrition to feed the bodies numerous cells

2. Toxin free blood, cells and body tissues

One must have proper nutrition and be free of toxins to maintain a “healthy terrain”. He also established that germs were attracted to diseased tissues and cells and were not the cause of the disease, dispelling Pasteur’s “Germ Theory”.

The following paragraph is taken from the Antoine Bechamp website.

“Bechamp was one of France's most prominent and active researchers and biologists. He taught in universities and medical schools, and published widely on cell biology, disease, botany and related subjects. His would probably be a household name today if it wasn't for the activities of Louis Pasteur, who history has treated very kindly indeed, considering his fake science, his tendency to steal ideas (mainly from Bechamp), falsify experimental data, and in general make claims which had no basis in fact. “

It is unfortunate that the profit driven “Disease Business” continues to endorse the “Germ Theory” for obvious reasons, despite vast scientific research proving the “Cellular Theory”. Notable work has been done for numerous years by many credible researchers worldwide, with a huge contribution from the Dr Rath Foundation in the USA who have been very active since 1993 when Dr Rath made the first of many new scientifically proven discoveries leading to his Cellular Medicine theory.

Miracles

Modern medicine has made incredible advances over the last decade, specifically in surgical techniques, identification of viruses, burn treatment, trauma and emergency room care. So if you are involved in an accident, these services are essential and often life saving, with these specialist doctors performing lifesaving miracles. Unfortunately not all modern medicine, especially in the area of disease prevention and treatment fits into this category.

The “Modern Medicine” Paradigm

There is however a very different face to modern medicine that affects us all a lot more seriously and frequently. The “modern medicine” paradigm, which promises good health for all and the prevention and cure of disease, has not only failed completely to meet these objectives but has delivered pain, suffering and misery and cost trillions of dollars.

No amount of modern medicine or medical advancement can help you if the drugs are filled with poisonous toxins and have such serious side effects. Similarly no amount of processed or fast foods can provide you the nutrition your body needs to be healthy. Ultimately, if you want optimum health and want to prevent or reverse disease, you have no choice, you must take control of your own healthcare and change your lifestyle.

The Way Forward

So how do you get the awareness and the necessary information to enable you and your family to live a long, healthy, happy life.

Firstly, you must take control of your lifestyle and your healthcare.

Secondly, unless you understand the true nature of what CAUSES disease and death, and how degenerative diseases develop in the body, you will not be able to take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your family. The earlier you start the quicker you can start living and have peace of mind and not become a “Wasted Life” statistic.

“Wasted Lives”

Did you know that in the UK somebody dies unnecessarily from heart disease every three minutes? Are you or anyone you know a potential candidate for heart disease or any of the other modern scourges, like cancer, diabetes or Alzheimer’s ?

To get a real perspective on the scale of these “wasted lives”, lets look at just a few of the statistics for the UK and the USA. The following are just for the three main killers, heart disease, cancer and modern medicine. Yes ”modern medicine” !

Cancer deaths in the UK – in 2005 there were 153,491 deaths from cancer, according to figures published on the www. cancerresearchuk.org web site.

Cancer deaths in the USA – in 2003 there were 556,902 deaths from cancer according to figures published by the National Centre for Health Statistics.

Heart disease deaths in the UK – 70,000 deaths occur each year with one death every three minutes according to a BBC news article.

Heart disease deaths and statistics in the USA – according to the American Heart Association (AHA), heart disease is the number 1 killer responsible for 1 million deaths in 2002 with the statistics for various heart conditions showing 1 adult person in 4 suffer from some form of heart disease.

50 million suffer from high blood pressure
12 million suffer from coronary heart disease
6.2 million suffer from angina pectoris
7 million suffer from heart attack
4.4 million suffer from stroke
1.8 million suffer from rheumatic heart disease/fever
1 million suffer from congenital cardiovascular defects
4.6 million suffer from congestive heart failure

That’s SCARY ! If that’s not got you feeling a little worried, lets look at the most incredible statistic of all, which is the deaths caused by “modern medicine” in the USA. This is the very medicine prescribed by our friendly trusted GP to “supposedly” make us better- makes you think?

In October 2003 the Nutrition Institute of America (NIH) released a report stating that between 1993 and 2003 – Medical mistakes took 7.8 million lives, more deaths than all the wars America fought combined.

A group of researchers meticulously reviewed the statistical evidence and their findings are absolutely shocking. These researchers have authored a paper titled “Death by Medicine” that presents compelling evidence that today’s system frequently causes more harm than good.

This fully referenced report shows the number of people having in-hospital, adverse reactions to prescribed drugs to be 2.2 million per year. The number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections is 20 million per year. The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million per year. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million per year.

The following is an excerpt from Death by Medicine

By Gary Null, PhD; Carolyn Dean MD, ND; Martin Feldman, MD; Debora Rasio, MD; and Dorothy Smith, PhD

“The most stunning statistic, however, is that the total number of deaths caused by conventional medicine is an astounding 783,936 per year. It is now evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the US. (By contrast, the number of deaths attributable to heart disease in 2001 was 699,697, while the number of deaths attributable to cancer was 553,251.) “

The Naturally Healthy Lifestyle Journey

“Optimum nutrition is the medicine of the future”
Dr Linus Pauling – twice Nobel Prize winner.

We all want to live a long, healthy, happy life with an abundance of energy and vitality, the ability to perform mentally and physically with emotional balance and the lack of disease and disorders. To achieve this we need to embark on a naturally healthy lifestyle journey.

The Miracle Healer

The body is a “miracle healer” made up entirely of molecules from the food we eat and drink, which is what “enables” the body to heal itself and to exist in perfect health. The problem is most of us eat and drink the wrong things which poison the body with toxins that make us ill and expose ourselves to the killer diseases, causing us extreme pain and reducing our life span significantly.

You are a unique individual in a specific phase of your life with specific needs to cater for your current lifestyle, whether it be starting a family, being a busy corporate employee, manager or executive, self employed, a sportsman / woman, highly stressed, sickly or suffering from a chronic disease, a government employee, a busy housewife, a teenager, over 40 or 50, a senior citizen or any other phase of life.

During this journey you will want to look at the following areas of your life and decide which of these you want to change to achieve your specific goals.

The “Toxin” Generators

The key to your “naturally healthy lifestyle” journey is to be aware of the following factors and find ways to positively adapt your lifestyles accordingly to combat the toxic effects and set the foundation for optimal health and quality of life.

Here are some of the key things you need to think about to achieve this:

Nutrition – fresh fruit, seeds and vegetables and natural supplements
Your individual diet – enjoy low-glycemic load eating habits
Stress – avoid physical, traumatic and mental
Pollution – water, air, work and home environment
Fresh produce pollution – pesticides, fertilisers – eat organic
Processed food- additives, preservatives, colourants, other carcinogens, MSG
Fast foods – fatty, fried foods, trans fats, hydrolysed fats, hydrogenated oils
Refined carbohydrates – cakes, cookies, biscuits, breads
Sugar and sweeteners – sucrose, fructose, corn syrup,
Soft / cold drinks - A 12-ounce can of soda has the equivalent of about 13 teaspoons of sugar
Smoking – cell damage
Alcohol- excessive drinking
Prescription and recreation drugs (including street drugs)
Groceries – salt, carcinogens, monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Cosmetics - carcinogens
Sunscreen and tanning lotions – carcinogens
Lack of exercise, sunshine and relaxation
Shallow breathing – slows lymphatic system – slows waste extraction
Meaningful work or hobby to challenge the mind

As you can see there are many things that can affect our health and in many cases we have been abusing our bodies for a long time. So getting our body, mind and spirit back into shape is a journey that will enable us to live a natural healthy lifestyle.

That means, once you understand the effects each of these topics have on your health, you can take the necessary actions to address these either through small changes over time or more aggressively if necessary, which will contribute to you being able to enjoy a long, healthy, happy life.

More detailed information on these topics can be found in the e-Book and on the website.

The Naturally Healthy Lifestyles web site http://www.naturallyhealthylifestyles.com

Our Naturally Healthy Lifestyles web site is dedicated to providing all of the information required for you to fully understand the natural holistic healing powers of the body and soul and the critical role “Optimum Nutrition” plays. In addition the Naturally Healthy Lifestyles web site has all of the information and professional advice and guidance, with proven independent recommendations and solutions from Richard Penfounde, our Naturally Healthy Lifestyle “GURU”, to enable you to take charge of your own health and wellbeing by becoming ...

“Your own first-choice Natural Practitioner”.

Regardless of our age we all desire to be physically fit with an abundance of energy, an alert and active mind, a resilience to infectious diseases and viruses, protection against the killer diseases like cancer, heart attacks and strokes, while living to a ripe old age, pain free, happy, healthy, full of vitality and actively enjoying life to its fullest. It seems like a dream – BUT its not.

It CAN become a reality through a “Naturally Healthy Lifestyle”.

If you would like to achieve this, then the Naturally Healthy Lifestyles web site has the information you need and we would like to accompany you on this journey to assist you to achieve your health goals. For regular news updates on leading edge announcements, you can register for our Naturally Healthy Lifestyle Newsletter, which will keep you up to date with the latest news and trends.

We have made this a “one-stop” web site with all of the information you will need to enable you to “take charge of your own health” and to start living a “Naturally Healthy Lifestyle” with all of the wonderful benefits that come with that.

My team and I look forward to welcoming you to our Naturally Healthy Lifestyles community,

In health and wellness, join us at:

http://www.naturallyhealthylifestyles.com

Richard Penfounde - Natural Health Advisor and “GURU” - Head of the Naturally Healthy Lifestyles Research Team.

A Precious Mineral Named Zeolite

2007-12-21T04:19:00.000-08:00

Our environment is becoming increasingly unfriendly to our health. Toxins from earth, air and even the foods and water we ingest, assault us on a daily basis. We are getting pollution from so many sources that our bodies are finding it hard to eliminate all the toxins. Many of these are heavy metals.

You might be surprised to know the amount of heavy metal toxins that we accumulate in our bodies. Where does it come from? It is found in the air we breathe, water we drink, and the soil that our food is grown in. Once inside our bodies, these heavy metal toxins combine with our cells and prevent the metals that our bodies need from binding with our cells. This in turn will cause far-reaching problems throughout your body. It is also thought to be a factor in some types of autism.

Added to this is the refinement of foods; this will destroy much of the basic nutrition in our foods. The growing methods we use for our food are also factors. Artificial fertilizers and chemicals used in farming are also harming our food nutrition. These factors have led to us eating less nutritious foods. This has led to the deterioration of our health. Our bodies are showing sighs of strain as we succumb to diseases and ailments that were almost unknown to our ancestors.

Because of this situation there is a growing movement to help our bodies get cleansed and detoxified. More products are being discovered and rediscovered to help us in our battle for survival. Many of these products are actually natural products that have been sitting under our noses for centuries. Especially prevalent are a category of nutritional aids known as diet supplements One of the latest supplements is called Natural Cellular Defense. The main ingredient in this product is Zeolite.

What is Zeolite? It is a precious mineral made from the chemical reaction of sea salt and volcanic ash. For many years it has been used as a substance to help with health and wellbeing. Now Zeolite is being promoted as a nutritional supplement to improve your health and vitality.

What does Zeolite do? Zeolite has a honeycombed structure and has negative charges. This will draw in heavy metals into its structure and cleanse the body of these dangerous toxins. The body in turn gets rid of the Zeolite along with all the toxins it has captured. In this way your body can get rid of these heavy metal toxins more easily. This action will help the body to restore its natural pH levels and improve your immune system.

The advantage of Zeolite is that it is completely natural product. Therefore it is non-toxic and should not produce side effects. This makes it safe to take for a longer period. It is the main substance in the nutritional supplement Natural Cellular Defense. This supplement is offered by a company called Waiora, that specialize in helping people maintain their health by detoxification, and natural anti aging products.

High Cholesterol More Likely In Overweight

2007-12-20T04:17:00.000-08:00

Risks of overweight to health are pretty well documented by this point. Many if not most people have heard news about the damage that too much weight can cause to the body's functioning. These warnings typically emphasize damage to internal organs however, and don't spend a great deal of time on how overweight can affect the muscular skeletal region of the body. The fact of the matter is however overweight stress can have a profound and immediate impact on how a person is able to function.

When considering internal bodily functions, one of the major risks in being overweight is the development of high cholesterol. The term high cholesterol is actually a bit vague since cholesterol is fairly wide ranging, and not all cholesterol is harmful. In truth, cholesterol is found in the cells of all tissue and cholesterol is required in the building and development of cells. Without cholesterol in some form, the human body wouldn't function or develop normally. When discussing cholesterol that adversely affects health, the term that's really being referred to is a form of cholesterol found in the blood stream.

Lipids, or fat, in the blood stream are made up of cholesterol to a considerable degree. The process itself is a bit complex and medically specific, but in essence blood cholesterol is transported by proteins, and one of those proteins is called LDL, shorthand for low-density lipoproteins. The term bad cholesterol refers to LDL because of LDL's connection to disease of the arteries. The higher the levels of LDL, the higher the chances for circulatory problems including heart disease and stroke. High levels of LDL then is what's really meant by references to high cholesterol.

High LDL levels can be an inherited trait, but are just as likely if not more likely to be brought about by diet. People who eat foods heavy in saturated fats in particular are more inclined to have high LDL levels than people who consume only moderate or small amounts of saturated fats. Though overweight isn't necessarily from diets high in fat, diets high in fat consumed over time have a good chance of adding extra weight to a person's body frame. Irrespective of whether it's caused specifically by diet or by something else, overweight people typically have LDL levels that are higher than people who aren't overweight.

It's clear why one should be concerned about elevated LDL levels: high levels of LDL are strongly associated with heart disease. This is frequently why routine physical examinations include a blood exam that checks for LDL levels. Any person who is overweight and has high LDL levels will almost certainly be recommended to lose weight. The good news is that weight loss is correlated with lower LDL levels. It's one more way that losing weight improves one's health outlook.

Problems With Male Infertility

2007-12-19T04:15:00.000-08:00

The act of conceiving a child is something most people likely take for granted. The general presumption about having children is that anyone who's reached a certain age can do so, and that it takes virtually no effort at all. Ironically or not, it's almost certainly true that most of the efforts around procreation are geared towards preventing it from occurring. But though the majority of people who wish to have children can do so, there are any number of people who would like to conceive a child but cannot. This inability to conceive a child is often referred to as infertility.

Contrary to what some males may believe, male infertility can and does occur. Male infertility can be especially difficult for a man to cope with from an emotional perspective as general stereotypes of men as vital and vigorous sexual beings often persist. The inability of a male to produce offspring may be viewed as a failure on the male's part to live up to expectations. The term impotent for example typically refers to males, not females, who are unable to conceive children because of a sexual dysfunction. At its root, the word impotent refers to one who lacks potency, or strength. An impotent man then may literally be considered a man who lacks strength. Most men would likely consider it an insult for someone to refer to them as being weak.

There are various causes of male infertility, but typically male infertility comes down to one of two causes: an inability to perform sexual intercourse, or nonfunctional semen. Though it isn't completely necessary, sexual intercourse is the standard method for conceiving children. When a couple is unable to have sexual intercourse at all then, there's obviously going to be problems with conception. While women can have difficulty with intercourse, they may still be sexually functional. A male who isn't functional sexually will find it highly difficult, if not impossible, to have intercourse under any means.

Males may generally take their ability to produce healthy semen for granted, but the male's ability to produce semen that is capable of fertilization can be compromised. There are any number of ways that a man's semen can lose its capacity to fertilize. Having a vasectomy, a sterilization surgery, would be one obvious way. Physical trauma to the testicles can also damage semen output, as can excessive heat in the area of the testicles. Studies suggest that smoking cigarettes can also damage semen and potentially make a male infertile.

While the reasons for male infertility can and do vary, infertility solutions for both men and women do exist. Infertility is enough of a problem that numerous facilities that solely treat infertility are in place. There are infertile men who don't consider their infertility to be an issue. Those men who are infertile and do consider it a problem have treatment options available, and should seek them out.

Ways To Cope With Anxiety

2007-12-18T04:12:00.000-08:00

Though it's sometimes referred to as a fleeting condition, the specific term anxiety refers to a lingering condition. It's certainly true that a person can be temporarily anxious about some upcoming event or other, but anxiety can and does persist over an extensive period of time. Anxiety as a chronic disorder in fact is exceptionally common, trailing only depression among persistent psychological problems.

Anxiety is actually a broad term that can potentially describe a series of conditions. There is certainly overlap between anxious conditions in terms of symptoms and even treatment. Essentially, anxiety as a chronic condition involves being in an agitated state. For some anxious conditions, this agitation is situation specific; for other anxious conditions, generalized anxiety in specific, a sense of agitation seems to be nearly constant.

Everyone has felt high levels of agitation at some point in their lives. It's an uncomfortable way of being, to say the least. Considering being agitated for extended periods of time then can give one an indication of how the person with an anxious condition goes through their existence. As a means of avoiding the pain and discomfort chronic anxiety brings, people come up with different means of coping. Self-medication is a common response in a person with an anxious condition. Self-medicating in this way can involve forms of sedation through intaking drugs or alcohol.

A rather common form of self-medicating an anxious condition, or any other emotional disturbance for that matter, is eating. Certain types of foods especially seem to be consumed during anxious states. Sometimes referred to as comfort eating, these foods are often sweet and / or high calorie. The logic behind consuming high sugar, high calorie foods during anxiety or other distress is likely the immediate sense of physical satisfaction these foods provide. The obvious drawback to this form of coping is that these comfort foods, though the may temporarily bring satisfaction, cause bodily damage if consumed on a consistent basis.

Another frequent tactic for anxiety coping is avoidance. In essence, people avoid those situations that cause an anxious response. When the anxiety-causing stimulus is quite common or very broad, however, avoidance as a coping method can become especially problematic, and can alter the way a person goes through life in a dramatic way. The good news is methods for overcoming anxiety, that don't disrupt or damage one's outlook, are readily available. Because anxiety is a quite common condition, effective and safe treatment options are generally not difficult to find.

Depression Can Sap Physical Energy

2007-12-17T04:02:00.000-08:00

Depression is the most common psychological problem in the US. Estimates vary, but it's generally presumed that twenty percent of US adults are depressed. Though it may not sound like a lot when stated as a percentage, as an actual number twenty percent of the US adult population amounts to tens of millions of people. With numbers that high, it wouldn't be a great stretch to refer to depression as an epidemic.

One of the problems with depression is treatment. The reality of the situation is that depression typically responds quite well to treatment, and that depression is often overcome once treatment is initiated. While it's true that some people don't respond to certain types of depression treatments, odds are that at least one form or another of depression treatment will work for the person who needs it. This is meaningful as there are numerous depression treatments to be had, among them talk counseling and treatment with medications.

The problem with depression treatment is that most people with depression don't get any sort of treatment at all. There are certainly a number of different potential reasons for this, including the stigma that still exists about admitting to being depressed. Another reason for lack of treatment for depression however is likely due to a lack of motivation. People tend to think of depression as completely psychological in nature, but the truth of the matter is that depression also has physical characteristics. People who become depressed can become so listless that physical activity may seem almost overwhelming.

There may be a tendency to label the depressed person as being in some sort of funk or even being temporarily lazy, but the frequency of lethargy within depressed people leaves little doubt that physical inertia is in fact a genuine symptom of depression itself, and not something separate. Acknowledging that a lack of motivation and will is a symptom of depression is one thing, but dealing with the reality of such a state is something else entirely. The person who's depressed and is lacking will and energy can frustrate people who care for them, and can frustrate themselves as well. The thinking seems to go that the person who's feeling depressed should just will him or herself into action, and again, even the depressed person can share in this sort of critical thinking.

Frustrating though it may be, it's important to keep in mind that a lack of energy and physical action is a legitimate symptom of depression. While it's true that lethargy in a depressed person can be tough for all parties involved to cope with, the positive news is that energy often comes back in a person with depression once they've initiated treatment for their depressed state.

Overweight Can Lead To High Blood Pressure

2007-12-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

Carrying excess body weight presents any number of risks to one's health. Though it's a debatable point, the greatest risk from being overweight may be the increased likelihood of developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure has earned the nickname "the silent killer" because though it's often asymptomatic, its effects can have a devastating impact on the body.

A number of medical studies have established a correlation between people who are overweight and elevated blood pressure levels. As with anything else, there is variety in terms of how the effects are presented: specifically, the more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to have elevated blood pressure. In addition, an overweight person or a person who's obese has a higher tendency for elevated blood pressure than people who have a normal body weight. Whether a variation or not, the study outcomes provide mostly conclusive evidence that overweight and high blood pressure are linked.

Breaking it down into actual percentages, men who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty-two percent of the time. Women who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty percent on the time. While on their face these percentages may not seem outrageous, consider that men and women who aren't obese have high blood pressure only fifteen percent of the time roughly. Carrying too much body weight can then potentially triple the risk of high blood pressure.

The most relevant point is that being overweight is associated with elevated blood pressure, but just how this occurs is worthwhile information. Essentially what happens is people who are overweight tend to have higher blood sugar levels than normal, and their pancreas function produces extra insulin to cope with breaking down sugar in their bloodstream. The increased insulin production adversely affects several bodily functions: increased insulin can lead to blood vessels become thickened and rigid; excess levels of insulin can produce surges of adrenaline, which increases the physical functioning of the heart; and higher insulin levels can trigger the kidneys absorbing excess levels of water and salt.

The typical response to overweight is that it's a problem of appearance: dropping excess weight typically means an increased sense of body satisfaction. While body appearance can be meaningful to people, the risk of overweight is far more than just an issue of how one's reflection appears in a mirror. Overweight and obesity are legitimate threats to an individual's health and life, both from the risk of increased blood pressure as well as from other medical conditions.

Research Perspectives On The Patterson Bundle

2007-12-14T07:25:00.000-08:00

The Patterson Bundle is a leather wrapped assemblage of Native American artifacts that was discovered by Bryce and Margaret Patterson in the Book Cliffs of southeastern Utah in the early 1980s. Margaret has reported that she saw a leather strand under a knee - high ledge. She started digging and followed the strand through dirt and many layers of juniper bark until she found a bundle the size of a shopping bag which she took home with her. (Note, it is illegal to remove Native American artifacts from government lands.) After several years and Bryce's passing, she decided to turn it into the BLM in Moab. Carbon dating show the leather wrapping to be between 400-600 years old which predates European contact. Bruce Louthan, field archaeologist for the Moab office of the BLM inventoried it and wrote an article titled "The Patters on Bundle: A Ute Subsistence Kit?" that was published in Canyon Legacy: A Journal of the Dan O'Laurie Museum-Moab, Utah (1990 Fall).

My interest in the Bundle began in 1998 when I spied a small collection of old roots in the display case at the BLM in Moab. As a trained clinical herbalist, skilled in wildcrafting and knowing something of the therapeutic value of certain wild herbs, my heart skipped a beat when I recognized one of the roots to be osha (Ligusticum porteri) a very potent herb that grows between 7,000 and 10,000 feet elevation.

I asked for and got permission from BLM to examine the root bundle more closely. When I arrived for the appointment to examine it, Mr. Louthan presented a carton of artifacts and asked if I would take a look and see if I understood anything about them. I carefully took out one plastic bag after another that contained smaller leather wrapped bundles of roots, stones, feathers, bones, whorls of bark for basketry and more. I did not realize at the time that everything I was seeing along with the other artifacts in the display case (a necklace of seed and bone, a spoon of wood and horn, stone blades, delicate fringe of leather and seed, a strand of deer dew claws, moccasins. etc.) was from this old Native American bundle.

When I finally examined the root bundle from the display case, I thought, "This is not food.". I knew that I wanted to work to identify the other roots. Mr. Louthan was very helpful in offering pertinent articles, photographs and suggestions. A feature article on my research has been published in

HerbalGram, the Journal of the American Botanical Council, issue #55, along with twenty color photographs by Moab resident Jim Blazik. In it I describe my process, method and list an inventory of what I believe the plants to be.

When I began my study, which was supported in part by the Utah Native Plant Society, my intention was to only work to identify the botanical parts. I was stunned to learn that the root bundles were only part of this very rare collection. The thrill of discovery, however, quickly turned into recognition that there may be more to the meaning and of this collection than just some extra stash of supplies. Could there be more "medicine" here than we realize? I started contemplating what all this might have meant to the person or peoples to whom it belonged. Not that I could know, but this line of thinking broadened my perspective from the limited identification of the plant parts to the notion that maybe all this was important in its entirety. Perhaps every item is related to the next, and though we may never know its use, I regarded it all as a potentially rich and revealing representation of a people and culture that we know very little about.

My initial approach of insistency to know changed to that of patient observation. I would lay elements of the bundle before me in my temporary workspace at the BLM and try to pay attention to the larger context. Since I could not find any similar research or collections in museums in surrounding states, I set out to University libraries to read old ethnographic and botanical texts, herbariums to study plants, and I combed through my own extensive library to refine my search for plants that could be found near to where the Bundle was discovered.

I thought that more might be understood about the context of the Bundle if more were known about the rest of the contents. There were several small bundles that contained faunal material, and I got permission to take them to the University of Utah to be identified by Jack Broughton, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology. He was able to determine that among them there were rabbit foot bones from a cottontail, arm and leg bones from a jackrabbit, the tail of a short-eared owl, the skin of a small mammal, the headless body of a native trout and an unidentifiable body part.

I know what it takes to find certain medicinal roots. In the case of osha, I have to go up in the mountains to a particular bioregion with a certain sun exposure in just the right month when the snow has melted to be able to see it in flower so I don't confuse it with several other plants that look very similar but can kill you if ingested. But, just how in the world does one acquire an owl's tail? What use or meaning does it have?

Throughout my solitary journey of discovery which lasted 3 years, I always kept in mind that I was looking at and handling a collection whose use, value, purpose and meaning were unknown. My eventual assessment of the botanical parts was that they were from some of the most potent medicinal plants the area had to offer. They would have been very effective against respiratory and bronchial problems that are common among people who spend their winters in the high, dry desert. Even if the contents were used ceremonially, the value and knowledge the bundle holds is very significant.

Mr. Louthan told me that the appropriate Native Americans had been notified of the bundle's existence. It has not yet been claimed by any tribe, which usually requires a long process of paperwork and providing proof that it is of a their culture.

I am aware that Native Americans do not permit or endorse the removal of artifacts of their cultures from where they are placed or buried. It nagged at me that I was handling something of potentially sacred value and nothing had been done to care for it on that level. Having determination but no qualifications of my own to deal with this, I hoped this dimension would somehow come into the process. Help came when my friend Shirley Tassencourt, who knew of my research, called me from her straw bale house in the Arizona desert to say two Native Americans were coming to look at the rocks where she lived. They were Bennie LeBeau, a Shoshone elder from the Wind River reservation in Wyoming, and Woableza, a Lakota Souix medicine man and storyteller. Their work, she said, is to document Native American sacred sites that have been forgotten, defaced or misused so they can be recognized and protected. Their hope is that through education a greater understanding and respect between cultures can be established.

I drove to southern Arizona with three photographs of the bundle and my report to Utah Native Plant Society in hopes the men would talk with me. By the time I got there, Shirley had already informed them of my work. I met with Woableza and, though our conversation was brief, I felt as if I had finally been able to deliver a heavy load that I had been carrying.

We all agreed to meet the next day to talk together about the Bundle. Fortunately, we were in a friendly setting with supportive friends around us because the discussions did not start off well. They were furious! They expressed what I suppose is generations of frustration and anger that once again, one of their sacred items had been ripped from the earth where they believe it had been meant to remain. Mr. LeBeau explained that the area from which it came was probably a vision quest area and that the "knowledges" the bundle holds could be learned by someone only as long as it remained buried there. He likened it to our encyclopedia. If all the pages get torn out, the knowledge is gone.

I tried to remain calm, and with the help of the beautiful weather and several glasses of cool iced tea from our host, Allegra Ahlquist, we moved forward. I reminded them that I did not dig up the Bundle. I explained that I thought the bundle was a very important piece in its entirety, and I was concerned that without attention it could become fragmented as different caretakers put some of the contents on display and others in storage. Sadly, several substantial pieces of its contents have already been stolen from the display case.

The men acknowledged that the spirit of the bundle had been disturbed and this was not a good thing. They maintain that ignorance is no excuse in these matters and that mishaps could come to people who disturb or deface Native American artifacts and rock art. This is what they believe. In spite of the fact that we would be working toward the same goal of protection and proper treatment of the Bundle, it was made very clear to me that though my intentions were good, it is really only for Native Americans to understand and care for it. I was invited to join a sweat lodge that they were going to lead that evening. This is a sacred and prayerful ceremony that has a way of clearing confusion and intentions.

Within a few weeks time Mr. LeBeau traveled to Moab to visit Margaret Patterson and the area where the Bundle was dug up, and he saw the large, restored, rock art panels in Sego Canyon. Then we went to the BLM office to see the B undle. By this point, he was very certain that a ceremony was necessary. Thus began the process of gaining permission to have access to the bundle to do so. After a mutually frank discussion with Mr. Louthan where both men spoke of their cultural prophets, how best to learn from the past, and a meeting in the board room to make sure that Mr. LeBeau was in no way laying claim to the Bundle, he was given permission to sing his songs (in the parking lot) and afterward stand by the display case and use sage smudge and feather fan to pray for and bless the spirit of the bundle while the work of land management went on all around us.

In writing this I wanted to include Mr. LeBeau's and Woableza"s voices and was able to conduct a phone/email interview with them when they happened to be in the same place at the same time. Then they turned the tables on me and asked me a few questions.

(Note: While finishing this article, I learned that the Bundle has been moved to the BLM office in Vernal. I don't have all the details, but according to Donna Turnipseed, archeologist for the BLM office in Moab, they are considering beginning the process by which Native Americans may be able to participate in deciding the future of the Patterson Bundle.)

My questions to Mr. LeBeau and Woableza:

1) Why did you take an interest in the Patterson Bundle?

Bennie: Because it was within our tribal linguistic groups migrational areas of people called the uto-aztecan groups of tribes Woableza: Because there have been many sacrilegious unearthings of these types of medicine bundles and being a selected spiritual leader, I would like to compile all the information I can on such instances.

2) What do you think are the differences between the Native American and Anglo's points of view when dealing with Native American artifacts?

Bennie:The difference between Native American spiritual side is not understood by most Anglos on their spiritual side of the unseen knowledges which is not sacred to most of them. The Anglo point of view is not understood in the same direction and attitude of the spiritual consequences as Native Americans. Many sicknesses are taking place in the Anglo communities who have collected these artifacts and have infected their families and close associates with sicknesses and diseases because of these artifacts. Woableza: It is my own feeling that the differences are #1. Our Native American elders and spiritual leaders who are very knowledgeable would never purchase or sell these sacred native artifacts. #2. The knowledgeable people would never expose the public to these inappropriately acquired sacred bundles which have certain powers that were only for the keeper. There is certain protocol if the sacred bundle is to be passed to someone other than the original keeper.

3) In your view, what was the most important thing that helped to bridge this process and bring two very different cultural perspectives together?

Bennie: Bridging the officials of the BLM management in the archaeology and upper level management on the cultural resource areas that have been impacted on Native American knowledges of these areas. Representatives of tribal entities need to have their input within their regulations and guidelines. Without these kinds of people being invited, a great imbalance can take place in the environment of where these artifacts are dug up. The land becomes sick. Droughts can happen. Sicknesses fall upon the animals, plants and humans, and much death takes place in the environment. Educating these governmental agencies and other educational institutions on Native American perspectives helps them to understand Native American perspectives on the importance of protecting our sacred sites, including burial sites. Woableza: In the case of the Patterson Bundle, it was respectful that Mrs. Harrison thought it best to make the connection to Native Americans. She traveled long distances, spent a lot of time on the project, and tried to build a bridge of respect among the races. In her observations, she respected that we all have spiritual origins and that these spiritual ways still exist among the native peoples. I am glad that she did not base all her writings on published books.

4) One of the most important things I learned from working with you, Mr. LeBeau, is how to regard and treat Native American sacred sites. From Woableza I learned about the power of storytelling. Did you learn anything from me?

Bennie: What I learned from her was that she had been affected by her search to find what each plant represented and the sicknesses that they helped. An obsession had entered into her mind and took her on a long journey, causing a great imbalance within the mind, body and spirit. Within the family and every day living circumstances, we can be affected by these certain bundles that have been taken out of the ground disrespectfully. She did not take that out of the ground, but by coming in contact with it and studying the many plants, rock artifacts, owl feathers, fish, jewelry including ochre paint, had certain consequences to be dealt with spiritually. This person's belongings showed that this was a powerful medicine bundle of the person that was buried there with it who doctored their people. Woableza: What I learned from Mrs. Harrison is that she is an herbalogist and has many gifts to offer. She has opened a doorway to another dimension of thinking that will always have to be updated and carefully discussed to respect all cultures.

5) How would you like to see the Bundle cared for in the future? Mr. LeBeau: "I would like to see the bundle treated with the greatest of respect in educating both the Native Americans and the public. On this point, that the plants are very important to us as humans and that the information be used to protect our heritage as Native Americans in the future with the Native American Graves Protection Agency. Also to stress the importance of strengthening new legislation in the laws to protect our sacredness within this situation and others that will arise in the near future. Also, if the tribes are going to be invited to Vernal to talk on this there, I would hope this would be the place to generate this kind of message to governmental agencies and tribal agencies also. "

Mr. LeBeau's and Woableza's questions to me:

1) What has the Bundle taught you on a personal level?

First of all, as an herbalist, I feel privileged to see and study these very old medicinal plants. Up until this point most of my herbal education information could be found in books. This experience has added a new and welcome dimension that will make me a better teacher. It is an affirmation of botanical medicine not to be taken lightly because whatever knowledge is here must have been handed down through generations and has contributed to what we know today about how to use the plants. There is very much that is indeed personal about my experience with the bundle. There were several years before I met Mr. LeBeau and Woableza that I spent in quiet, solitary research. Because it seemed like such a positive thing to be recognizing the identity and potential value of these roots, it was certainly disillusioning to be told, however kindly, that really my work was an invasion of the rights of Native American culture that they had no obligation to share.

2) How has the Native American perspective helped or changed your life?

Before we met, I was feeling really stretched. Adding the Native American perspective brought better balance to everything, including me. Mr. LeBeau told me I needed a ceremony and I gladly took him up on his offer more than once. Afterwards, I was more at ease about the Bundle and my work. As I shared what I knew of the Moab area with them, they shared some of their points of view and interpretations of rock art and sacred sites with me. I certainly see and travel in such places differently now in ways that are more respectful by their standards.

How have the stories you have learned tie in with the Bundle?

My view has greatly expanded as a result of my work and our association. What began as a limited study of the botanical parts of the Bundle grew into a wider understanding and appreciation that there are Native American cultural connections that can be drawn between the Bundle, the landscape, rock art and more.

copyright 2002 Merry Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter. For class schedule and to ask questions: http://www.millcreekherbs.com

8 Tips On Buying A Treadmill Online

2007-12-13T07:23:00.000-08:00

People are busy and to stay fit they install exercise equipments at home or in the office. One of the most popular exercise machines that helps whittle away the fat is a treadmill. Treadmills are available online in many varieties and according to experts often one can get a high quality treadmill at a discount of up to 45%.

Treadmills can be stored anywhere and exercising can be done even whilst watching television. Here are a few valuable tips:

1. Do your research. Read about treadmills and their pros and cons. The internet has thousands of articles on exercising and using treadmills. Determine from your doctor whether you are healthy enough to exercise on a treadmill.

2. Before you venture out to buy a treadmill make yourself a check list of features you must look for. Examples are: emergency shut off, quality of hand rails, cushioning, safety lock or switch, motor quality and strength, the horsepower, the speed of the treadmill, running surface, inclination, and controls.

3. Read reviews about brands like Smooth, Proform, Nordic Track, and Sole. Dedicated professional websites showcase brand reviews as well as product reviews. Once you locate a treadmill you like check with family and friends what their experience has been. According to estimates exercising using a treadmill can burn around 600 and more calories every hour.

4. Get a lower price by using online discount coupons or special credit card schemes. During sale seasons often a high end treadmill can be bought really cheap.

5. Buy online only from reputed and established sports goods stores. Always comparison shop and find out which online store is offering the lowest price, free shipping etc.

6. Be wise and find out details like return policy, setting up costs, and guarantees.

7. If your budget is low look for a used treadmill online or try and buy one at an auction website.

8. Treadmills can cost between USD 100 –USD 5000 and some have rollers and are foldable while others are stationary. Before you pay decide where you are going to keep the treadmill and how many people will be using it each day.

Read the treadmill literature carefully. Many have pre-programming facilities. In manual treadmills you will have to change the incline yourself. Weigh all the pros and cons before making payment and ensure that you have receipts and the warranties stored safely.

Treadmills are sold by major online stores like eBay, YahooSports , and so on. Read expert ratings and consumer ratings before making a choice. Sites like http://www.treadmillreview.net/Treadmill_Brand_Reviews.html give tread mill brand reviews too. So shop for a treadmill online armed with knowledge and walk your way to fitness and good health.

10 Guidelines To Select A Medical Billing Vendor And Maximize Your Medical Practice

2007-12-12T07:21:00.000-08:00

Medical practices are over burdened with paper work and often long hours are wasted filling forms and getting paper work in order. Poor in house billing system leads to unsettled insurance claims and the medical practice could run into financial problems.

There are innumerable medical billing service vendors who offer services that will free the time of medical professionals and ensure that money flow becomes trouble free and efficient. However, a medical billing vendor needs to be selected with care.

1. The first step is to do a survey and find out which medical billing vendor has a good reputation. Look for quality and efficiency a 10 % or greater improvement in quality means greater inflow of funds.

2. Never choose a vendor based on quote alone. What you need is an efficient system that works.

3. Look into scope of services. Does the vendor give comprehensive services? Does the system take care of appointment scheduling, medical records maintenance, SOAP notes, billing and so on. A complete system is more efficient in the long run than a billing only system.

4. Discuss in detail the medical billing vendor’s modus operandi. Find out whether the system in use is aggressive or defensive.

5. Understand the reporting system in detail and ask about aspects like data aggregation and analysis.

6. Avoid choosing a vendor based on quotes or presentation slickness. Check out their system that is already functional and make the effort of verifying references. Also contact the better business bureau to check whether any complaints are registered against the vendor.

7. Ask about technology is use and its compatibility with your computer systems. Think about expansion in future and whether the system can be upgraded. Find out if the technology is HIPAA compliant.

8. Choose a medical billing vendor who has a Code of Conduct in place and transparency in systems.

9. Look for aspects like data security protection, super bill online, online insurance claim editing and so on.

10. Ask for details like volumes handled, staff strength, responsiveness, the number of practices handled.

Be clear about whether your staff will need special training and how the medical billing system will be put into function. Be prepared for initial glitches and a period in which adjustments will need to be made. Ask for a trial period or to observe the process in another practice. The vendor may have a super efficient system but it is important that your staff is comfortable with the system too.

Medical billing systems bring several advantages to a practice and are being used world wide to smoothen out work processes. Technology has changed the way the world functions.

Be smart and choose a medical billing vendor with whom your medical practice will flourish and grow.

Top 7 Benefits Of Owning A Home Treadmill

2007-12-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

Fitness is a world mantra. Old and young are aiming for fitness, beauty and vitality. The way to stay fit is to exercise. The best form of exercise according to fitness gurus in walking. But world over today treadmills are extremely popular and outsell other fitness machines.

There are over 60 million treadmill owners and the number grows by over 10% each year.

Walking on treadmills has many benefits:

1. Regular walking burns calories and ones muscles. It makes blood flow and oxygenation increases. Treadmills are known to help burn calories at faster rate than any other form of exercise.

2. Treadmills prevent the body from becoming complacent and constant present the muscles with variations as well as increased levels of difficulty.

3. Exercising on a treadmill is perfect cardio vascular exercise.

4. With a treadmill in the home aspects like good weather, rain, snow, or sleet does not matter. The walking can be done from the comfort of home or office and an anytime.

5. Treadmills are low impact and so injuries are minimized. High end treadmills have surfaces that reduce impact and reduce pressure. Achilles heels, tendons, knee joints, back muscles, ankles, and thighs are all protected from injury while burning calories.

6. Treadmills have many options and so you can set fitness goals and stimulate running up and down hills, work on speed training, set conditioning goals, and weight loss aims.

7. Benefits include working of all skeletal muscles, the heart and respiratory system. So with the least amount of effort and time spent the needs are met. THRT , or target heart rate training is achieved.

It is possible to reap the benefits of good health by buying the right kind of treadmill. Buying a treadmill is not important it is its proper use by chalking out an optimal exercise program. Exercise routines can be completed while listening to music or watching television. All that is essential is determination and a good pair of running shoes. A study reported in the Journal of American Medicine indicated that exercising on a treadmill outpaced an exercise bicycle, rowing machine, or cross country skiing machine.

Burning calories is one aspect of using a treadmill. Other benefits are seen in people suffering from hypertension, osteoporosis, back pain, or knee troubles.

According to Harvard Medical School walking for forty-five minutes five times a week will cut your chances of getting the flu or cold by half. Treadmills are beneficial and even have advance features that help track the progress of the user. To reap maximal benefits users must learn all about the correct footwork, hip rotation, arm swing, and footwear. To maximize the work out it is important to aim for the target heart rate zone. For this an user needs to subtract his or her age from 220 to deduce the maximum heart rate or MHR. The ideal target zone should be between 50-90 % of the target zone.

A treadmill can put users on the fast track to good health.

10 Must Read Tips On How To Choose Medical Billing Software

2007-12-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

Medical professionals need to spend long hours completing paper work and insurance claims. To ease their work the IT industry has designed and created medical billing software. This software enables quick filling and maintenance of paper work and electronic submission of insurance papers. According to statistics submission of insurance claims electronically increases settlements to over 90 %.

Medical practitioners need to be more than doctors they need to:

• Keep paper work in their practices in order.
• Balance accounts and track aspects like receivables and co-payments.
• Ensure that fees are according to maximum allowable by insurance carriers.
• Procedure codes are current.

All medical practices need to institute sound business practices. Using the right billing software can improve cash flow in medical practices. And the cost of installing the medical billing software will be recovered within months due to streamlining of systems. Most medical billing systems are HIPAA compliant.

As a professional you need to choose a medical billing system carefully. Here are a few tips to guide you:

1. The first step is to evaluate your needs. And when evaluating different systems look for a package that goes one step ahead of billing. Choose a medical practice management system MPP. This will handle considerably more that just medical billing.

2. Determine whether the system handles electronic transmission of claims, direct billing for patients, co-pays, co-insurance, and expenses not covered by insurance.

3. Weigh the pros and cons of different medical billing systems and ask to see a system in operations. Always check out the references yourself.

4. Look for a medical billing management system that is user friendly. When a vendor demonstrates get your office staff to be present. This way you will be able to check how the software functions. Any software must be easy to use to be productive. The system should be fool proof.

5. Ask whether the medical billing software is a traditional system, one that will work on your office computers or an application service provider system (ASP), one that will process data at the software company’s data center.

6. Always get quotes from at least three medical billing software providers.

7. Ask whether they are offering an evaluation period or trial. This will enable you to know in actuality whether the system works or not.

8. Find out about training your office people, up-gradation of system, and whether the software is compatible with your office computer systems.

9. Find out whether the system will handle appointment scheduling, maintenance of records and so on apart from electronic medical records, SOAP notes, and billing. Choose a system that is comprehensive.

10. An ideal medical billing software system must include aspects like payment posting, reconciliation; follow up, secondary submission, and patient billing.

Choose a transparent billing system that enhances your office efficiency. Install a system that you can use not one that will lead to frustration and problems.

Medical billing systems must free your time and that of your office staff not make you run in circles. Choose a system with care.

10 Essential Tips On Ordering Eyeglasses Online You Must Know

2007-12-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

The World Wide Web is a huge marketplace for sports goods, contact lenses, eyeglasses, perfumes, soaps, cosmetics, and other needs. There are many websites dedicated exclusively to eyeglasses and provide a huge range of choices at the most affordable rates. Most websites stock popular brands as well as designer frames. According to experts in eyeglasses popular brands are: Anne Klein, Brooks Brothers, candies, Dolce Gabbaba, Emporio Armani, Nautica eyeglasses, Perry Ellis, and ralp Lauren among others.

If you are sensible you can order eyeglasses online without any problems:

1. Use the internet search engine to locate an eyeglasses website that suits your needs. Spend time browsing through several websites and compare their offerings.

2. Choose a reputed website and make sure they are well known for their fair business practices.

3. Browse through the eyeglasses on offer and get quotes for the pairs you like from at least two or three different eyeglasses online vendors.

4. Read up on eyeglasses and popular brands and determine what the pros and cons of each kind of eyeglasses are.

5. Before you order a air get the bare essentials ready such as your prescription and credit card.

6. Always find out what your frame size is. Look at your current glasses and note down details such as: Model number; color; eye size and bridge size; and temple length. If the information is not visible go to a local optical store and find out details.

7. Get a copy of your prescription. Send it to the eyeglasses website by email. Alternately many websites will request you for your doctor’s name and contact details so that they can get in touch with the doctor directly.

8. Have your PD measurement taken. This is the pupil distance.

9. Use the website’s frame finder option to make sure you like the look of the frame you have selected online. All you need to do is upload your photo and virtually try on the thousands of frames online.

10. Once you are sure then select the frame and pay for the eyeglasses using secure payment gateways.

Always check about shipping costs, return policy, eyeglasses care, and so on. Once the eyeglasses arrive take them to your eye doctor and get the number checked. Or if you are sure of the number then wear the eyeglasses for a few hours and test their comfort level.

In case you feel any discomfort or eye irritation please contact the website and your eye doctor immediately. Also get a full eye exam by an ophthalmologist at least once if not twice a year. Check with your insurance policy whether an eye exam is covered. Never use an old prescription year after year. Take care of your eyes and they will care for you.

Gastric Lap Band: ins and outs of gastric lap band

2007-12-08T07:11:00.000-08:00

Gastric lap band surgery has come up with popularity in US. People have been preferring Gastric Lap Band Surgery for a long period of time, but Gastric Lap Band got approved in 2001. Gastric Lap Band Surgery is one of the best methods of treating morbid obesity, which occurs due to overeating. People who suffer from morbid obesity are always suggested to go on dieting but, its not an easy task. To be on dieting means to hold the hunger, to kill desire of having every time. It works but, it is very much slow process. It is next to impossible to have that much of patience. People go on dieting for some days and when they do not find encouraging results, they start eating again. The demand of eating again and again does not let them to be on dieting.

Gastric Lap Band Surgery helps morbid obese people to overcome this problem by reducing the demand of eating by the body again and again. Gastric Lap Band Surgery reduces the capacity of stomach to hold the food, therefore now the person has to have less amount of food only because now every time he feels fulfillness. This way Gastric Lap Band Surgery helps the person to be on dieting every time without any problem. In Gastric Lap Band Surgery, the stomach is partitioned by the Gastric Lap Band to reduce the size of the stomach. No cutting and stapling of the stomach is done in Gastric Lap Band Surgery. So the surface area of stomach does not decrease and therefore, the complete absorption of food takes place.

In Gastric Lap Band Surgery, a Gastric Lap Band is inserted around the upper stomach. Gastric Lap Band is an inflatable, round, silicon, prosthetic device with an access port, which is fixed deep into the stomach along the right side. Access port of Gastric Lap Band is used to adjust the Gastric Lap Band periodically to increase or decrease the capacity to hold food of the stomach according to the person’s suitability. Gastric Lap Band Surgery is done laparoscopically because this is the easy and safe way to insert Gastric Lap Band. It does not include long incisions and staying in hospital for long period of time. Once if you undergo Gastric Lap Band Surgery, you are to take care of some things like eating habits because some things are forbidden for a short of time after Gastric Lap Band Surgery. Liquid diet is prescribed by the doctor after Gastric Lap Band Surgery. Some complications also may occur after Gastric Lap Band Surgery, but they all are curable. If you also want to lose your weight without any pains, undergo Gastric Lap Band Surgery.

Lap Band Risks: how lap band can trouble you?

2007-12-07T07:10:00.000-08:00

After undergoing Lap Band Surgery, you will experience weight lose but with that you may have some nasty experiences of post Lap Band Surgery complications and other things. You must have heard “No Pains No Gains”. Without suffering from pains how can you imagine yourself to be slim and attractive? Only one thing can be done for you, pains to get an attractive personality can be lessen by using new technology named Lap Band Surgery.

Lap Band is inflatable, silicon, prosthetic device in which a round silicon device is connected to the access port through a tube. Round part of Lap Band is placed around the stomach to divide the stomach into two parts, leaving a pore between the parts to pass the food into lower part from upper part. Port is used to adjust the holding capacity of food of the upper part of the stomach by injecting saline water into port, which is used to make the Lap Band tight or lose.

Erosion can occur. This is where the Lap Band may wear a small area on the outside of the stomach which can lead to the migration of the Lap Band to the inside of the stomach. Occasionally, the narrow passage into the lower part of the stomach may become blocked by a large portion of unchewed food. Slippage can happen. Slippage is an unusual occurrence where the lower part of the stomach prolapses over the Lap Band and cause an obstruction. Some of the mechanical malfunctions that can occur after Lap Band Surgery are leakage from the port, cracking of the kink-resistant tubing or a disruption of the tubing connection from the port to the band, port site pain and port displacement.

Some post Lap Band Surgery complications which you may experience are nausea, vomiting, gastroesophageal reflux, stoma obstruction, constipation, dysphagia, diarrhea, and abnormal stools. A common occurrence for patients who have undergone Lap Band Surgery is regurgitation of some of the non-acidic swallowed food from the upper pouch, which is commonly known as productive burping. This should not be considered normal. All the post Lap Band Surgery complications can be treated later. Patient is required to see doctor regularly.

Lap Band System: All about Lap Band

2007-12-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

Lap Band is a kind of device which is used to reduce weight. When you talk about principles behind the weight lose techniques, it is to reduce the capacity of holding food in the stomach. Once if you start having less food automatically the stored fats will start dissolving making you slim. Method to reduce the holding capacity of food of the stomach is making the stomach small. In methods other than Lap Band System, permanent cutting or stapling of stomach is done. Lap Band is the device, which reduces the holding capacity of food of the stomach without cutting or stapling the stomach.

The first Lap Band System is known as the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band and was patented in 1985 by Obtech Medical of Sweden, which is now owned by J&J/Ethicon Endo-Surgery. The Lap Band System received its approval from the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for use in the United States in June of 2001. LAP-BAND System is a round, silicon prosthetic device which has an access port attached to it with a tube. When Lap Band System is inserted into the body, it divides the stomach into two parts upper part and lower part. Lap-Band System leaves a small pore between the two parts of the stomach. This pore allows the food to move into the lower part. Digestion takes place in both the parts and then it is moved into the intestine for further digestion.

The band is inflated and adjusted by way of a small access port of Lap Band System placed just beneath the skin subcutaneously, and then radiopaque isotonic solution or saline solution is introduced into the Lap Band System through the port. Lap Band System is inserted laparoscopically because this is the easy and safe way to insert Lap Band System. It does not include long incisions and staying in hospital for long period of time. Once if you undergo Gastric Lap Band Surgery, you are to take care of some things like eating habits because some things are forbidden for a short of time after Gastric Lap Band Surgery. Liquid diet is prescribed by the doctor after Gastric Lap Band Surgery. Some complications also may occur after Gastric Lap Band Surgery, but they all are curable. If you also want to lose your weight without any pains, undergo Gastric Lap Band Surgery.

Lap Band Work Out: what all should be considered for calculating working out of lap band

2007-12-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

Working out of Lap Band is outstanding. But the criteria for calculating the working out of Lap Band is not only the results it ultimately gives, there are other things also, which are to be considered before calculating working out of Lap Band like post-operative complications etc. Lap Band Surgery is entirely adjustable and reversible. Lap Band can be said to be adjustable in the sense that it can be adjusted whenever the adjustment is required. The holding capacity of food of the stomach can be increased or decreased according to the need of the patient. The adjustments are also called ‘fills’ and how the fills are made will be discussed later. The Lap Band is reversible in the sense that Lap Band can be removed if anyhow the Lap Band does not suit the patient, though this is uncommon for Lap Band Surgery patients. Though all the weight loses procedures can reduce your weight but what matters is that how all it happens and up to what extent the patient will have to suffer from complications and demerits of the weight lose surgery.

Fills are made by injecting the saline water into the access port of the Lap Band. To make fills no surgery or making incisions is required, it is done from the outside of the stomach. Lap Band is viable and less invasive as compared to other procedures to lose weight. No cutting or stapling of stomach is done in Lap Band Surgery Lap Band Surgery becomes more efficient when it is done Laparoscopically. Inserting Lap Band through Laparoscopic Method around the stomach does not require long incisions like Open Surgery. Only some small incisions are made, which helps to protect blood loss and the fear of infection also reduces. Some post-operative complications like nausea, vomiting, gastro esophageal reflux, stoma obstruction, constipation, dysphasia, diarrhea, and abnormal stools can be treated. Patient can get back to work after having Lap Band Surgery soon as compared to other weight lose surgeries. The prescriptions given by the doctor are also not too much hard to follow and later you get into the habit of them. When you compare all the things about Lap Band Surgery and other weight lose surgeries you would feel the difference between them.

Negative Effects Of Lap Band Surgery: Know The Other Side Of Lap Band Surgery

2007-12-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

No doubts Lap Band Surgery is doing wonders. Results of Lap Band Surgery have no match with other methods to lose weight, but with the quality of reducing weight, it has some negative effects also. Negative effects mean the troubles and pains which the patient has to suffer from. Troubles and pains associated with the Lap Band Surgery are complications and guidelines which are to be followed by the patient. Guidelines means working out for at least 30 minutes everyday, staying away from your favorite thing like cakes, chips, syrups, honey, cookies, pies, pastries, rice, shrimp, pasta, seeded fruits, dried fruit, peanut butter, nuts and vegetables.

Lap Band is more risky for the people above 45 year. They may have risk of their lives also. Number of complications may appear after Lap Band Surgery. Some of those complications are Abdominal hernias, Bloating, Bowel obstruction, Cardiac problems, Close monitoring of food intake, Complicated and dangerous procedures, Death, Depression, Dizziness, Excess skin, Excess sweating, Financial distress, Gallstones, Gas, Hair loss or thinning of hair, Increased risk of other medical complications, Infections, Leaks or perforations causing internal infection, Marital and relationship distress, Nausea, Nutritional deficiencies, Opening later proves to be too small or too large, Psychological distress, Risk increases for age, Spleen injury or tear, Temporarily avoiding pregnancy, Uncomfortable and embarrassing procedures, Vomiting, and Wound infection etc.

Lap Band is inflatable, silicon, prosthetic device in which a round silicon device is connected to the access port through a tube. Round part of Lap Band is placed around the stomach to divide the stomach into two parts, leaving a pore between the parts to pass the food into lower part from upper part. Port is used to adjust the holding capacity of food of the upper part of the stomach by injecting saline water into port, which is used to make the Lap Band tight or lose.

Slippage can happen. Slippage is an unusual occurrence where the lower part of the stomach prolapses over the Lap Band and cause an obstruction. Some of the mechanical malfunctions that can occur after Lap Band Surgery are leakage from the port, cracking of the kink-resistant tubing or a disruption of the tubing connection from the port to the band, port site pain and port displacement. Erosion can occur. This is where the band may wear a small area on the outside of the stomach which can lead to the migration of the band to the inside of the stomach. The pore may also get blocked due to unchewed food. Numbers of risks are there involved in Lap Band, but they all can be treated or avoided if proper care is taken after the surgery.

Do's and Don'ts for hair care

2007-10-08T03:44:00.000-07:00

1. Do you really know how to shampoo your hair? When washing your hair, work the lather from roots to ends. Always massage scalp well with your fingertips — never with fingernails.

2. Don't condition your roots. No matter what type of hair you have, you do not need conditioner there. Roots are close to the oil glands and that's plenty of lubrication. Besides, roots don't get damaged like the rest of the tresses. Apply conditioner at the nape of your neck and work up and through hair, concentrating on the ends.

3. DO make sure you completely coat your ends with conditioner.

4. DO rinse with cool water to help seal the cuticle and lock in more shine.

5. DO dry your hair without damaging it. Pressing your dryer directly on your hair will not dry it faster or make it straighter. This technique causes the hair shaft to expand and the outer layer to curl up, which produces a fuzzy look. Wrap your hair in a towel until it is about halfway dry. Then, hold your dryer five inches away from your hair aiming from roots to ends.

6. When straightening your curly hair with a flat iron, always have a leave-in conditioner spray on your side. The direct heat from flat irons can cause damage to your hair. To combat this damage, spritz a leave-in conditioner on each hair "chunk" before putting the flat iron on it.

7. When adding curl to your straight hair with a curling iron, always have a leave-in conditioner spray on your side.The direct heat from curling irons can cause damage to your hair. To combat this damage, spritz a leave-in conditioner on each hair "chunk" before applying the curling iron.

All hair types need to use a conditioning treatment at least monthly. From blow-drying to coloring, and from flat-irons to swimming, we all do things that are damaging and dulling to our hair. Pamper your stressed hair at least once a month with hot oils and other deep conditioners that will restore it to its best condition.

How to find your skin type

2007-10-07T03:18:00.000-07:00

1. Cleanse your face with cleansing milk.

2. After an hour, take a clean tissue and wipe your forehead, nose, chin and cheeks. If you find oily residue from all of the above mentioned areas, then you have oily skin.

3. If you find oily residue on the tissue only from forehead, nose and chin then you have combination skin.

4. If the tissue picks up dry, flaky skin then you have dry skin.

5. Those lucky few Scooty girls who pick up neither oil nor dry flakes can be said to have normal skin.

6. There are others who have very sensitive skin which reacts quickly and often adversely to hot and cold temperatures, common place chemicals found in soaps, detergents and cosmetics. Those with sensitive skin have to be careful before choosing any product.

Lime can do wonders

2007-10-04T03:03:00.000-07:00

Lime is the best physician at all times. It relieves many symptoms which no doctor could do. Lime is very effective in coughs, cold and influenza. A big glass of warm water, one table spoon honey, half a lemon works wonders. Those who drink one lemon drink every day hardly have to visit a doctor.

Lime destroys the toxins in the body. Typhoid and other diseases die within no time. It is very effective in destroying the uric acid. It is very effective in destroying bacteria from intestinal tract. I t cures constipation, loss of appetite, arthritis, skin diseases, heart diseases. The high potassium content in them makes the lime very useful for preventing and curing heart diseases. It strengthens the teeth and gums. It freshens the breath. It purifies blood and liver.

It stimulates the functions of the kidney, liver and sweat glands. A ripe lime is a good appetizer. It destroys intestinal worms and expels the excessive gases formed in the digestive tract. Regular exercies and the juice helps excreting waste toxins innyour body. It purifies blood. Each and every cell of the body is rejuvenated by taking lime.