Yarrow Tea (Achillea Millefolium)

Yarrow Tea (Achillea Millefolium)
 by: Simon Mitchell

An amazing tea that can help with colds and flu, and also help you see in pure colour. Yarrow has an ancient history. The generic name comes from Achilles who, according to legend, saved the lives of his warriors by healing their wounds with yarrow leaves. Crushed and rolled in the hands the plant provides a temporary styptic to check blood flow. Millefolium means 'thousand leaves' which were reputed to help with binding a wound and helping a scab to form. One of this astringent herb's ancient names is 'Soldier's Woundwort', along with 'Carpenter's Weed', 'Staunchweed' and others that show its popularity and prolonged use over many centuries.
The herb tea has also been used in the past for stimulating appetite, helping stomach cramps, flatulence, gastritis, enteritis, gallbladder and liver problems and internal haemorrhage - particularly of the lungs. It's effect is described as 'diaphoretic', causing the dilation of surface capillaries and helping poor circulation. The promotion of sweating can be useful for fevers and colds. Yarrow mixed with Elderflower and Peppermint (sometimes Boneset) is an old remedy for colds. A decoction of yarrow has been used for all sorts of external wounds and sores from chapped skin or sore nipples. In China Yarrow is still considered to have sacred properties, readers of the I Ching will often use Yarrow stalks in their studies.
There is one danger to overuse of yarrow internally: prolonged use of this tea may render the skin sensitive to exposure to light. It is this 'side effect' that shows that Yarrow tea has some mild psychotropic effect. A couple of cups of this tea and you may notice a shift in the colour and intensity of light around you. For artists or photographers this photosensitiser can sometimes provide a useful shift in perception. However, another name attributed to Yarrow is 'Devil's Plaything' - one suspects that this name was given to several herbs used by the witches or 'Wise Women' who were systematically exterminated in the middle-ages in Europe.
Yarrow leaves have also been used in tobacco or snuff mixtures and a decoction rubbed into the head is said to delay balding. To make Yarrow tea add two or three fresh or dried leaves per person to boiling water and leave to infuse for 5 minutes or so. Sweeten this with honey if you like. Some people like it with a slice of lemon to give this tisane a clean edge.
Thanks to C. Esplan, D. Hoffman, J. Lust, R. Phillips

About The Author

Simon Mitchell
From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe. If you wish to republish this article (only with resource info. intact) you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/yarrow.html

This article was posted on September 04, 2004

Wild Watercress Soup (Nasturtium officinale)

Wild Watercress Soup (Nasturtium officinale)
 by: Simon Mitchell

Wild Watercress soup is a delicious and nutritious recipe with the leaves available in spring and early summer. Watercress is rich in Vitamins A and C, iron, iodine and phosphorus. Watercress has been used as part of a holistic response to cancer of the lungs, larynx, oesophagus, prostate, bladder, uterus, stomach and intestines. It can be used in the treatment of: skin problems bronchitis winter colds or flu liver or kidney fatigue sinusitis
However there are dangers: watercress may cause cystitis in some people and its medicinal use is not advised for those who have a delicate stomach or suffer from acidosis or heartburn. Excessive or prolonged use may lead to kidney problems. Some doctors advise against its use during pregnancy. Wild watercress often grows in streams inhabited by water snails which carry liver fluke. There is also the possibility of bacterial infection. Eating wild watercress in a raw state is not advised for this reason. Cooking the leaves for a short period removes the dangers. Also make sure that the watercourse feeding the stream in which the watercress grows is free from industrial or agricultural pollution.
Ingredients for watercress soup: Pick the watercress from clean water areas by pinching out the tops of the plants. Uprooting them will destroy this resource for everyone. Gather a good handful for each person who will be sharing this delicious spring treat. Other ingredients for a soup for 4 people are: 2 large potatoes generous knob of butter dash of olive oil (to prevent butter burning) stock cube (chicken or vegetable) salt and freshly ground pepper single cream
Instructions: Cube the potatoes and cook them gently in the oil and butter until they are starting to soften Add boiling water and dissolve the stock cube. Simmer for 10-15 minutes Coarsely chop the watercress and add to the mix for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally Liquidise and add in some single cream to taste. Add Salt and pepper to taste Use some purchased raw watercress leaves and pepper to garnish
This nutritious soup is warming when hot and a refreshing summer soup when served cold. Watercress is part of the Nasturtium family whose peppery leaves are well known for their nutraceutical value. In addition to containing high vitamin C contents and antioxidant Beta-carotene, it contains vitamin E and is a natural antibiotic. It is sometimes used in complementary medicine to speed up the body's detoxification processes.
Thanks to Dr A. Dracea, J. Lust, R. Phillips

About The Author

Simon Mitchell
From an ebook called ‘Wild Food’ underway at simonthescribe. If you wish to republish this article (with resource info. intact) you will find excellent quality pictures to accompany it at http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/wildwatercresssoup.html

This article was posted on September 04, 2004

Don't Get Cancer

Don't Get Cancer
 by: Simon Mitchell

One antidote to cancer is information
In general our responses to cancer are converging, but very slowly. Presently all cancer authorities are agreed on only one thing:
cancer cannot take hold in a healthy immune system
The World Health Organisation (W.H.O.) is promoting prevention as a better option than treatment and particularly targeting smoking as the highest recogniseable risk area. The Cancer Research Institute (C.R.I.) is seeking vaccines that support the body's own ability to heal. Alternative and holistic approaches seek to do the same with diet, nutrition, lifestyle and other choices.
Different philosophies of medicine achieve 'immune support' in various ways not considered by orthodox Western medicine, which concentrates mainly on 'drugs and surgery' as an afterthought to disease, often just adding more toxins and stress to an overloaded system. Alternative treatments take many forms to support the body in its own healing process.
Although we have constant new biological treatments promised, they usually only apply to a small percentage of cancer types. Change in this field is agonisingly slow and in some cases utterly stuck. Medical science is failing to adapt to the new 'quantum theory' sciences that see the human body from an energy or 'vibrational' perspective. Western 'allopathic' medicine continues to refuse integration with other, older medical philosophies such as Chinese, Ayurvedic, Tibetan, Homeopathy, Herbalism or vibrational treatment.
In truth we don't even have a research methodology that will cope with assessing different treatment forms and levels tuned to an individual patient. So far it is much easier for the orthodox to just deny the effectiveness of alternative ways of healing because they do not make rational scientific sense, than it is to extend their model to include other healing models. The fiscal interest of pharmaceutical companies is also a factor in our lack of access to holistic treatments
The complex cancer situation effects us all directly. One in three people in the 'West' now gets cancer at some point. Many factors are combining to aggravate acute degenerative disorders such as cancer or heart disease, the two top killers in the Western World. These expose the unwary to dangers and this includes the toxic side-effects of allopathic treatments - it is emerging that the third biggest killer may be 'allopathic medicine' itself !
The Cancer Research Industry
Research shows that in UK every year somewhere between Ј450 to Ј500 million is spent on cancer research by the pharmaceutical industries, charitable organisations and government. In US an estimated $14 billion dollars (Ј7.72 billion) are spent. A hard-hitting report published in March 2004 by Fortune, an American business magazine and written by Cliff Leaf, himself a cancer survivor, suggests that for several reasons much of this funding and research is misdirected. He claims that despite a total of $200 billion spent on cancer research since 1971 that mortality rates are basically unchanged. The report was all but ignored by mainstream media.
What if he's right? What is much of this money is wasted? What if the research is misdirected? What if much of the work serves no real purpose beyond the generation of profit? That would mean that the cancer research industry is one of the biggest bandwagons ever. Despite many more billions spent world-wide on cancer research there seems very little to show for it. After seeing friends and family cut down in their prime by cancer, and its allopathic treatments, this researcher believes that there is something seriously wrong with accepted wisdom on cancer treatment. The author's local health authority has a twelve million pound overspend this year - the major expenditure? The cost of cancer drugs. Several situations are combining to make cancer a big risk for us all at this time, despite the hard work of many dedicated health service professionals.
Cancer and Orthodox Medical Science
Although medical science has created miracles in dealing with infectious diseases, solving many of the medical problems of the 1940's and 50's, the new weapons against acute degenerative disorders are not yet ready. Genetic testing and counselling, gene therapy, nutrigenomics, advanced (subtle and tuned) radiotherapies, cell therapies, therapuetic cloning, cancer vaccines and even anti-aging therapies are a seemingly constant 10 - 15 years away. This is the 21st century and we are still getting 20th century treatments. This leaves us at the moment in a time of high cancer risk with treatments that are often the medical equivalent of cracking a nut with a sledgehammer. The orthodox treatment of cancer is too often as dangerous as the disease itself.
Alternative treatments for cancer are not given a fair hearing. Information is still actively repressed or marginalised from many sources. The subject of Cancer and alternative treatment must be the original can of worms! Its never a good time to get cancer but there are more options than you might think or even be advised from orthodox treatment centres. For example there are many things one can do to supplement (and ease) orthodox treatments with complementary ones. It is unlikely you will be given information on this unless you seek it out yourself.
Although much research on alternatives is often suppressed there are people who can guide you through the minefield of misinformation, disinformation, ignorance, applied self-interest, politics and other complexities in the field of cancer, whatever choices you make. Support is a central issue in any disease and there are increasing options here with many groups 'online' helping each other with a variety of treatment forms.
An Integrated Approach to Cancer
The cancer discussion needs opening towards a more integrated medicine that is centred on the patient, but even this discussion is presently marginalised. People are finding each other online and comparing notes, even the drug manufacturing industries are predicting that 'patient advocacy' forms a strong part of future medicine. But for true patient advocacy to happen, medical consumers presently need to be at least as, if not better informed than their medical doctors.
There are many options in cancer treatment that are not generally discussed through orthodox medicine. For example group therapy is not widely prescribed or accessible for cancer patients despite the fact that studies show it can actually double survival time. There is mounting evidence of the validity of herbal and nutritional regimes that support the immune system and may complement the sledgehammers of traditional, orthodox treatment, chemo and radiotherapy.
Sometimes complementary therapies are allowed with orthodox treatment but are still limited to only accepted medical philosophies - or that which can be measured through double-blind testing methodologies that basically view every person as the same. The different philosophies of 'medicalism' and 'holism' - which puts people central to their treatment - are still far apart. This is not a situation that is in any way advantageous for those of us who become patients.
Alternative approaches are viewed at best as unproven and are unresearchable using 'quantitative research methodologies'. There are many people wanting a more integrated approach to health care than the drugs and surgery promoted by orthodox allopathic medicine. This is shown by the huge number of people who seek complementary and alternative medicines without the knowledge of their doctors. The main research into treatments that address every aspect of disease and patient still takes place in secret because practices that fall outside of standard medical practice and physicians who offer unconventional cancer treatments may be vulnerable to the civil charge of malpractice. Given the modern quantum sciences and other feasible medical models such as those mentioned there are many more realistic options for treatment than we are presently being offered.
It is easy to be overwhelmed in this field, different people giving different information, which you may need to find, understand and act upon, often 'against the clock'. What is needed is an overview that presents comprehensive information from wide sources in an objective manner.

About The Author

Simon Mitchell
'Don't Get Cancer' http://www.simonthescribe.co.uk/don'tget1.html

This article was posted on September 04, 2004

How to Supercharge your Energy Levels through Exercise

How to Supercharge your Energy Levels through Exercise
 by: Paul Reeve

Your energy levels will depend on several factors, including genetics, nutrition, sleep habits, and emotional stress. Some of these you have no control over But there is one VERY important factor that you do have control over and that is your ability to take part in physical exercise.
Need a source of vast power and energy?
Look no further than your gym.
The link between physical fitness and energy is so strong, that doctors have lately been prescribing exercise as treatment for chronic fatigue, depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and insomnia, for instance.
If sufferers of the most stubborn kind of fatigue can be energized with exercise, imagine what can do for those of us who experience ordinary, every-day fatigue.
* Feel Great At Mid-Afternoon *
Your brain thrives on oxygen. Blood transports oxygen to the brain, so the greater blood flow to the brain, the greater the oxygen supply the brain has. As you increase your heartbeat with a vigorous workout, more blood surges through the brain, more oxygen gets absorbed by your brain cells, and you feel more mentally alert and energetic.
Experts point out another long-term cause-and-effect relationship between exercise and blood flow to the brain: as you continue exercising, the number of capillaries (small blood vessels between your arteries and veins) throughout your body will grow. More blood flow through your "pipes" means more oxygen will be supplied where you need it.
Regular exercise also keeps the pipes clear and circulation healthy by preventing atherosclerosis (buildup of plaque). Regular exercise can actually REVERSE atherosclerosis when combined with a healthy nutrition plan. When you have atherosclerosis in check, your brain is virtually guaranteed for the rest of your life.
Blood also carries glucose, the simple sugar that's the primary fuel source for your entire nervous system of which the brain is the command center. Glucose's production starts the metabolism of carbohydrates. Various enzymes, plus your body's ability to use glucose to produce ATP, the more important energy chemical in the body, control this production. When you exercise, you increase the level of those enzymes and their activity.
In other words, when you exercise regularly, you boost your enzymes, resulting in more glucose, and your body is more efficient in using the glucose. You get a larger supply of ATP, which helps fight off the mid-afternoon energy drop-off.
* Increase Metabolism *
It's no secret that strength trainers are firmer and stronger than sedentary folks. How could it be otherwise?
Resistance exercise builds muscle, pure and simple. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism, and the more calories you burn even at rest.
So why does "strong and toned" equate to more energy?
For starters, heavy people have to lug around more weight all day long. When the overweight climbs a flight of stairs, do yard work, or even just carrying the garbage can to the curb, they're also carrying that excess weight, making almost everything they do more exhausting.
Better-conditioned muscles make every task that much easier, regardless of body weight. When you exercise, your ability to use muscle fibers is increased. So you require less effort to perform any physical task.
A strong body also has a stronger immune system. Being sick drains us of energy, and exercise, by boosting immunity, staves off illness. Recent research has shed light on why the strong may get sick less often and recuperate faster when they do get sick: exercise increases the activity of natural killer cells in the bloodstream.
* Less Stress *
A great deal of research supports that weight lifting is one of the most effective means of battling depression and stress. One of the main fatiguing factors of depression and stress is lack of sleep. In a recent Stanford University study, formerly sedentary insomniacs who began to exercise fell asleep 15 minutes faster and were able to sleep an hour longer than they had before becoming active.
* Boost Brain Fitness *
To this point, we've been talking about the benefit of exercise on mental energy. But is it possible that being in shape might translate to even greater mental benefits, such as increased intelligence, creativity, memory, or reasoning ability? It's very possible.
Studies show that both factors of mental stimulation and exercise were contributing to the increase of the brain's learning centers in different ways. Mental stimulation results in more synapses (the little gaps between brain nerve cells that enable them to communicate with one another), while exercise increases the number of capillaries in the cerebellum and cerebral cortex (two areas of the brain crucial to intelligence.)
* Take a Walk *
Medical research results could hardly be clearer: Taking a walk is one of the best ways to take charge of your health. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (February 11, 1998) showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 8, 1997) reported that men 61 to 81 years old sharply reduced their risk of death from all causes, including cancer and heart disease, by walking two miles a day. Other research has shown similar results for women.
Recent studies have concluded that moderate amounts of exercise - including walking, jogging or using a treadmill for one hour, four to five times a week - can turn back the aging clock 30 years for middle aged men.
Consistency is probably the most important part of your workout. The more committed you are to walking all or most days of the week, the healthier you'll be. Remember that short walks are better then none at all. Health, like life, is a journey. All you have to do is take the first step.

About The Author

Paul Reeve is a Personal Trainer responsible for training individuals one-on-one and assisting them in achieving their health and fitness goals and providing them with guidance, support and motivation. Presenter and lecturer for Fitness Professionals, Sports Organizations, Sport Coaches, Corporate and Community Organizations. Webmaster for http://www.treadmilladviser.com - providing informed advice on exercise treadmills.

This article was posted on September 04, 2004

Nutrition, Evolution, and Having a Healthy Diet

Nutrition, Evolution, and Having a Healthy Diet
 by: Judith Schwader

Nutrition has everything to do with health. This isn't news, exactly, but looking around at the crazy information on the market, one wonders if anyone actually makes the connection: what you eat affects how you feel. It's that simple. Your health depends on the food choices you make in both the short and long term.
Take a pill, and all you've done is treat a symptom. Change your eating habits, and create a lasting change in your well-being. There are so many approaches to eating, however, and so much conflicting information that it's come down to this simple question: does whatever you're eating right now make sense?
Well, sense isn't common, and it does depend on some good information. So here is something to consider: what kind of foods are humans evolved to eat? Cheetos? Don't think so. That's a no-brainer, but what about some others that we counted as healthy staples until recently, like bread and pasta. Go way back in your imagination, to hunter gatherer days – before agriculture and the obesity which followed for the first time among humans – and consider what would be part of our ancestors' normal diet. If you're about to pop something into your mouth that wasn't around before agriculture, (a relatively recent development in human history), then eat it knowing it's not considered a 'normal' food by your body. Foods your body considers 'normal' contribute to your health, other foods are either neutral or harmful. How simple is that?
A well-known exploration of this concept that certain foods help our bodies thrive is Dr. Peter D'Adamo's book, "Eat Right 4 Your Type," in which he bases his lists of what to eat and avoid on blood type. D'Adamo asserts that type O is the oldest type, and the newer A type didn't show up on the scene until agriculture. So, Os should eat lots of meat and veg because that blood type doesn't know how to handle too much grain. Type As can eat grain, but not dairy. Dairy is a category reserved as a 'normal' food only for the yet more recent human blood type, AB. (Maybe we'll evolve a new type that can handle Cheetos and red licorice, my personal favorite abnormal foods).
D'Adamo supports his blood-type theory with all kinds of careful research, and so what? Does it make sense that humans should rely primarily on foods that occur naturally? Absolutely. If you're going to eat a grain like wheat then, eat it whole, or don't eat it at all, and don't eat much of it anyway because humans pretty much made wheat up! I'm not going to take the, "Does it occur naturally?" debate too far, because it's time to look at another researcher's take on the food and evolution connection.
Dr. Phillip Lipetz wrote "The Good Calorie Diet," a book for the weight loss market, but he also has supported his theories with all kinds of careful research. His describes how the human response to starvation that was developed during the ice age carries on today. Ironic, isn't it, that the food available to us today - rich and sweet and abundant - causes our bodies to behave as though starvation is at hand.
The short story for how this works is that up until the ice age, humans ate whatever was readily available, like roots, plants, fruit, and a little tasty carrion now and then. Along came the ice ages, and those foods became scarce. Now humans were forced to hunt, but it was dicey and the weapons were primitive, so spans of time occured between kills. The result: our ancestors evolved ways to make the most of the conversion of excess blood sugar into stored nutrition in the form of body fat. When they starved, they lived off stored fat.
Today's diet mimics the ice age diet: high fat and high protein, and our genetic programming says, "Uh oh, we're facing starvation again. Better store up some fat." Lipetz goes into convincing detail about food combinations in his book. He describes some that cause the creation of excess fat, such as butter on bread. More useful are his combinations that actually inhibit fat formation, like lean meat with most vegetables. In a society where obesity and its attendant health issues are rampant, these food combinations are helpful places to focus our attention. Yet the single most useful bit to remember from his research is that foods which cause our bodies to create excess fat all have one thing in common: they weren't part of our ancestors' normal diet.
Armed with this overview, next time you're about to pop something in your mouth - whether your focus is health or weight – you don't need to have a bunch of rules and whacky information in mind. Just use common sense. Ask whether it's a food that was around before the advent of agriculture. If it was, go for it. If it wasn't, then consider that your body won't consider the food 'normal,' and in both the long and short run, that's got health consequences.
© 2004 Judith Schwader

About The Author

Judith Schwader holds a Master's degree in Education, and has written extensively on health. She has a background in social science and addressing chronic health conditions through nutrition and life style. Judith's articles appear in: http://QandAHealth.com, and http://masteringyourtime.com.

This article may be reprinted in its entirety so long as this paragraph and the authors credits remain intact.

This article was posted on September 04, 2004

Can Eating Certain Foods Help You to Lose Weight?

Can Eating Certain Foods Help You to Lose Weight?
 by: David Snape

Experts have discovered that certain foods can actually help you to lose weight without the stress of dieting or exercise. The down side is that many of us have a tendency to dress these foods up with cheese, sour cream, butter or other calorie-laden flavor enhancers. This causes the weight loss effect to be lost. It may be difficult to not add extra calories to these foods but with a strong will power it can be done.
A negative calorie food can be defined as a food that results in a slimming effect for the body. In other words a carrot (without anything else) will cause your body to use an increased amount of energy when digesting it and other foods, this can lead to an overall reducing effect on the body. This is partly from the amount of energy it takes to digest the carrot or other "negative calorie food" and partly from the elevation in metabolism that these foods naturally create. The overall effect is a net loss of energy, which is measured in calories.
It should be understood that 'negative calorie' doesn't mean that the food has zero calories in it, nor does it have an anti-calorie or a negative calorie.
Here is a partial list of negative calorie foods: apples, cranberries, grapefruit, lemon mango, oranges, pineapple, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, asparagus, beets, cabbage (green), carrots, cauliflower, hot Chile peppers, cucumbers, endives, garden cress, garlic, green beans, lettuce, onion, papaya, radishes, spinach, turnips and zucchini. There are more and you can learn about them from a medical doctor's very popular book.
In his book, Foods that Cause You to Lose Weight, Dr. Neal Barnard explains the effects these foods have on the body. A quote from Dr. Barnard's book reveals some startling facts, "They found that those who ate foods that were very low in fat and high in carbohydrates, lost weight steadily, without limiting how much they ate. But those on high-fat diets could not effectively lose weight even if they ate skimpy portions." Dr. Barnard is referring to the published results of an experiment conducted at Cornell University and published in the May 1991 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
A book reviewer posted on a website how he lost 30 lbs. utilizing the information from Dr. Barnard's book.
It is important to exercise caution when dieting because there are certain things that your body needs to remain healthy including proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are necessary for the body to function at its optimum level. You cannot remain optimally healthy by eating the negative calorie foods alone.
This article is for information purposes only and is not meant to diagnose, treat or prevent any health condition. Please consult a doctor before dieting.

About The Author

Dave Snape is a health, fitness and wellness enthusiast who maintains the http://tobeinformed.com website. Email list: subscribe@tobeinformed.com Dave also practices Falun Gong: falundafa.org.
david@tobeinformed.com

This article was posted on September 03, 2004

You Can Lose Weight on a High Carbohydrate Diet

You Can Lose Weight on a High Carbohydrate Diet
 by: David Snape

A startling fact is that carbohydrates are not responsible for making people fat. Don't feel too badly though, you are not the only person who was sold on the idea that a high protein, low carb diet was the only way to lose weight.
Here is a simple way to demonstrate this fact. Think about the vegetarians you know, are there any overweight problems among them? The high protein diets rely on a lot of animal fats and proteins, but these vegetarians don't eat them. Startling indeed,isn't it?
Maybe you don't know any vegetarians. They certainly are hard to find, especially in the Midwest, where I live.
You may wonder about the science involved here. After all, many of those folks promoting the low carb diets are medical doctors, aren't they? Being a medical doctor doesn't mean that you don't ever make any mistakes. Besides, the same science that supports the low carb diet also supports the high carb diet. They didn't get it wrong, they just didn't consider the whole story.
That might sound like a contradiction, but it isn't. I'm going to explain why in just a moment. Fist, let me give you the science on this. You most likely are not a biochemist or a physiologist and neither am I. But I have studied the subjects a bit. Don't focus on the technical jargon in the next paragraph, just try to grasp the overall point. You don't need to be a scientist to use common sense and basic reasoning skills. Ready?
Consider this bit of biochemistry. Malonyl -CoA exists in high amounts when there is plenty of metabolic fuel present. Thus, carnitine acyltransferase is inhibited and this in turn prevents acyl-CoA from crossing into the cell's mitochondria. Another enzyme is inhibited by the presence of NADH and Thiolase is also inhibited by the presence of Acetyl-COA. In short, when a lot of glucose is present, fatty acid metabolism is inhibited.
It is the last sentence that clues us in here. Basically, a cell will not convert fats into energy if there is glucose present. When the cell has carbs and sugar to work on, it will not convert the fat to energy, thus the fat gets stored.
This is why the low carb diets work, with little to zero carbohydrates and subsequently glucose to work on, the fat will be used for energy. This is exactly why the high carb diet works too. When no or little fat is present, it won't be stored as fat.
In addition to this, it is important to realize that it costs the body quite a bit of energy to take carbs and store them as fat. This alone is actually a positive. There really needs to be some form of fat present to make it easier.
This should help you understand that whatever your diet consists of, if you want to remain or get thin, you need to avoid mixing fats and carbs together. A fat consists of a fatty acid head and a carbohydrate tail. This means when you mix your fat and carbs together you are asking for trouble, assuming you care about weight, that is.
So now it should be clear why so many people in North America have a weight problem as the NIH was happy to point out a few weeks ago. Think about the typical American diet. It generally consists of lots of combinations of fat and carbs.
As Dr. Neal Barnard points out in his book, "Foods That Cause You To Lose Weight", It is fat that makes people fat.
Don't want to be a vegetarian? I don't blame you. Really, you don't have to be one. Just quit mixing your proteins/fats and carbohydrates together.
Don't overlook the obvious, there is ton of candy and desserts out there that are a mixture of fat and sugar. Meat and potatoes - perhaps this classic is a serious blunder in seperating proteins/fats and carbs. Armed with this knowledge, you can probably come up with dozens of examples of potentially fattening mixtures of food on your own.
This article is for information only. It is not intended to prescribe, treat or diagnose any health problem. Consult your physician before changing your diet or if you have or think you have a health condition.

About The Author

David Snape is a health, fitness and wellness enthusiast.
His web site is http://tobeinformed.com Dave also practices
Falun Dafa: falundafa.org
david@tobeinformed.com

This article was posted on September 09, 2004

How to Fight Cancer and Win . A Book Review

How to Fight Cancer and Win – A Book Review
 by: David Snape

How to Fight Cancer and Win is a book written by William L. Fischer.
You might find this book interesting and useful. Despite being published in 1992, it remains (as of this writing) among the top 20,000 sellers on a popular book-selling site.
William Fischer worked for pharmaceutical companies in Germany. He later became a writer on natural healing methods and has traveled far to learn the healing methods that exist in different cultures.
In his book, How to Fight Cancer and Win, William doesn't advise you to ignore your oncologist's treatment plan. He does, however, give you plenty of information on how to supplement your fight against cancer. Flaxseed oil is part of that advice.
Fighting cancer can be a tough battle to win. I have met a few people who believe they have beaten their cancer through a powerful system called Falun Dafa.
You can download a book filled with stories of people that have overcome all kinds of illness here: clearwisdom.net/emh/download/publications/health_index.html
If you know of someone who has cancer, perhaps you should let him or her know about both of these resources.
This article is for information purposes only. Nothing in this article is intended to diagnose, treat or prescribe for any health condition. If you have or suspect you have a health condition, contact your physician immediately. That is especially so for something as serious as cancer.

About The Author

Dave Snape is a health, fitness and wellness enthusiast. He maintains a site on that theme: http://tobeinformed.com You may subscribe to his email list: subscribe@tobeinformed.com
david@tobeinformed.com

This article was posted on September 02, 2004

Become an LPN, the fast path to a nursing career.

Become an LPN, the fast path to a nursing career.
 by: Max Stein

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Careers
Licensed Practical Nurses provide the most amount of direct patient care within the nursing category of healthcare. If you're interested in a healthcare career dealing directly with patients, becoming an LPN is a rewarding opportunity.
LPN Job Description
LPNs provide a large portion of direct patient care. LPNs may be assisted by nurses' aides ( CNAs ) and other assistants in some of their duties. LPNs are directed by doctors and nurses (RNs & nurse managers). Typically, a LPN's work duties include:
Taking vital signs
Preparing and administering injections and enemas
Applying dressings and bandages
Watching catheters
Treating bedsores
Providing alcohol massages or rubs
Monitoring patients and reporting changes
Collecting samples for testing
Provide patient hygiene
Feeding patients
Monitoring food and liquid input/output
LPNs work in a variety of settings like hospitals, outpatient facilities, long term care facilities, clinics and home care. Tenured LPNs may supervise nursing aides and assistants.
Salary Ranges
While nursing jobs in general are in high demand nationwide, LPN positions in hospitals are declining. However, since this has been caused by an increase in outpatient services, LPN positions in long term care facilities and home health is in as much demand as other nursing categories.
The U.S. Department of Labor has published the median income for LPNs as $31,440 in 2002. The range was $22,860 to $44,040 based on geographic location and work experience. Contract LPNs made the most money, while doctor's office nurses made the least on average at $28,710.
A nursing career offers other benefits including a flexible schedule, a short work week (three 12 hour shifts with four days off), tuition reimbursement and signing bonuses.
Education / Getting Started
Because of the high level of patient responsibility, nursing is highly regulated, requiring both education and a license. Graduates must complete a state approved practical nursing program and pass a licensing examination. An LPN certificate can be completed in less than a year. Some RN students become LPNs after completing their first year of study. Course work in the LPN program includes anatomy, physiology, nutrition, biology, chemistry, obstetrics, pediatrics, first aid as well as nursing classes.
Becoming an LPN is the fastest path to a nursing career. Advancement can take many forms, but additional education is usually required.
If you possess the traits necessary to become a successful nurse and want to secure a well paying, important profession caring for others, getting an LPN degree in nursing is a great way to secure your professional future.

About The Author

Max Stein is a freelance writer who writes about business, education and marketing.
www.degreesource.com/article
maxstein_9@hotmail.com

This article was posted on August 31, 2004

Focus Your Light: Earning Money From Home When You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome /Fibromyalgia

Focus Your Light: Earning Money From Home When You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome /Fibromyalgia
 by: Claire Williams

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome /Fibromyalgia makes you extremely tired, exhausted and weak. It means you only have a fraction of the waking hours that most people enjoy - and even those waking hours are often spent feeling exhausted and with brain fog.
But you **can** do something in your day - it just may not be much...
... so all you have to do is 'focus your light' - focus your energy!
Most healthy people have oodles of energy - but many don't focus on anything in particular and so they don't feel that they get anything done.
In essence, many people - healthy or otherwise - sadly lack direction. They lack focus...
Even the tiniest amount of energy - directed every day (or every other day or basically, when you feel well enough) towards a goal - in the end, and after time, forms a huge result.
No matter how much energy you have - if you focus that little amount of the energy on working from home - setting up your own project - you will get there.
After all...
... the snail wins the race!
It's not a question of:
"But how can I make money? I have nothing to sell!" - that's the one objection pretty much every CFS or FM sufferer that I have talked to, initially comes up with.
I say 'initially' because after I've explained to them the different ways in which they can make money online, something 'clicks'...
All you need is a computer, the Internet, and a passion about something. ANYTHING!
We live in a world where knowledge is KING. People are hungry for knowledge - and everyone - EVERYONE - knows something about SOMETHING.
It might be about how to manage 3 kids during the holidays. It might be about your faith in a religion or about spirituality. It might be about your interest in history, pets, makeup, knitting, fishing, model planes, sport, massage, quilting, sewing, gardening, computers, chess, cooking, travelling, cars...
You might know about ways to entertain toddlers and young kids (for baby-sitters and young mothers). You might know about how to be super organised - or maybe you're good with numbers?
You may know a lot about your local area - its history - or great places to go out to - or beautiful nature trails in your area. You may know about an area you visit often on holiday...
What matters is that you know about something that you can write about - that you can either sell in the form of an e-book (easier than you think), or that you can put on your own website (also easier than you think), to attract visitors.
We'll look at how easy it is to set up your own website in forthcoming issues.
Having your own website on a topic you are passionate about is the BEST way to generate long-term income - if you do it properly.
The point is that YOU know SOMETHING about SOMETHING that SOMEONE ELSE wants to learn about! YOU have knowledge - that someone else is looking for!
The point is that the only thing you need to bring to the table is passion and the motivation to work......which won't actually feel like **work** when you're doing something you love anyway!
And the great thing about working on your own project is that you can work WHEN you want, for HOW LONG you want, and on WHAT you want.
If you can only manage 25 minutes one day, then that's 25 minutes more than you would have done if you had done nothing! If you can manage 2 hours on another day - even better! If you can't manage to do anything another day, then so be it!
It doesn't matter because you have no-one to answer to but yourself! Because it's YOUR project!
YOU set the pace...
... focus your energy and you can have your own income-earning web project in months.
This is so important that I'm going to repeat it!!!
Focus your energy and you can have your own income-earning web project in months!!!
I'll leave you with a little quote:
"We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about."
-- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)--
And good luck! This is the beginning of a fantastic journey!

About The Author

Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.net and has suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 1995.

She created 'sleepydust.net' to help Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia sufferers to deal with the condition - from handling their money worries, to recovering from their illness....
http://www.sleepydust.net

To subscribe to the newsletter in which this article was published, please go to:
http://www.sleepydust.net/ezine

This article was posted on August 31, 2004

Alcohol : How Badly Can It Affect CFS Sufferers?

Alcohol : How Badly Can It Affect CFS Sufferers?
 by: Claire Williams

The wonders of alcohol.
The achilles heel for many people. The 'norm' for some others. And poison if you have CFS/PVFS/M.E....
I remember when I first got Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/CFS back in 1995, I thought that having a drink or two wouldn't affect me any differently to my PRE-CFS days.
Unfortunately I didn't realise what I was doing to myself.I didn't know how badly alcohol can affect the severity of CFS...
Nowadays I don't touch alcohol at all, and haven't done so for a few years now. I'd rather see at least a few hours in the day instead of being bedridden for weeks on end because of one alcoholic drink!
Because when you have CFS/M.E., you might as well be pouring arsenic down your throat...
------SIDE NOTE-------
Okay - so that comparison might be a little 'dramatic', but you get what I mean right?
------SIDE NOTE-------
You see when you have CFS/M.E., you are likely to develop **alcohol intolerance**...
The smallest alcoholic drink - even a tiny bit, can send you into a relapse - as I learnt the hard way many years ago.
Having an alcoholic drink now and again was enough to tip the severity of my CFS over the edge and put me in bed indefinitely.
When a **normal** person gets drunk they may feel a bit bad for a day or so, after which, they're back to 'normal', bouncing back and raring to go.
But when a person with M.E./CFS gets drunk - or even has just one drink, they're likely to feel like 'death warmed up' for what seems like an eternity!!!
Personally, I don't actually like alcohol much so I don't miss it. But even if I did, I have realised that alcohol no longer makes me feel the way it used to before I had CFS...
Drinking alcohol now feels like I'm feeding myself poison, and my body reacts accordingly - i.e. a relapse - and I suffer the consequences for a long, long time afterwards.
Unfortunately, us CFS sufferers are just not strong enough to resist the poisons of alcohol. So it's unfortunately a case of accepting it, or getting much, much worse.
As Dr Shepherd writes in his book 'Living With M.E.':
"Some people who previously enjoyed and tolerated regular consumption of alcohol without any adverse effects, now find that even small amounts make them extremely unwell."
-- p214, Dr Shepherd, 'Living With M.E.' --
So if you have M.E./CFS, it is likely that you may have developed an intolerance to alcohol.
And that's not forgetting that alcohol also affects the effects of antidepressants (often prescribed to CFS sufferers to treat their fatigue and to help sufferers sleep)! So if you're taking antidepressants, it's definitely something to bear in mind.
Having CFS/FM can be a very lonely and devastating experience and depression can be a very real and serious symptom for many CFS/FM sufferers.
So the last thing you need is to take substances that make you feel worse.
And guess what?
Yep, you've guess it, alcohol is also a depressant. So it's not a great thing to drink if you're depressed! And according to Dr Shepherd, many sufferers sadly do turn to alcohol...
But alcohol is no answer.
Apart from probably making you feel depressed, you could also develop an alcohol dependency!
What's more, if you **are** alcohol intolerant, then it would make it much harder for yourself to recover from M.E./CFS (pretty much impossible even), while you keep putting alcohol in your body.
And here's some more 'food for thought'...
When you think about how badly a CFS sufferer can be affected by **one** alcoholic drink, then how badly could alcohol be affecting you if you're drinking more???
So there you go - a whole list of reasons why you might think twice about drinking anything remotely alcoholic while you have CFS/M.E.
While you may no longer be alcohol intolerant once you have recovered from CFS/M.E., it may well be a major culprit for preventing you from **recovering** from your CFS/M.E while you still have it.
I didn't know about the possible effects of alcohol when I first had CFS/M.E...
... and I suffered the consequences. My M.E./CFS got worse. A lot worse. And I was only having a couple of drinks now and again!
So I hope this article arms you with enough info for you to make an educated decision about alcohol either way.
You never know - it may well make the difference...

About The Author

Claire Williams is editor of sleepydust.net and has suffered from Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 1995.

She created 'sleepydust.net' to help Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia sufferers to deal with the condition - from handling their money worries, to recovering from their illness....
http://www.sleepydust.net

To subscribe to the newsletter in which this article was published, please go to:
http://www.sleepydust.net/ezine

This article was posted on August 31, 2004

Boost The Immune System The Natural Way - Part 2

Boost The Immune System The Natural Way - Part 2
 by: David McEvoy

Other than taking a decent amount of exercise and following a healthy diet, we may feel there is little we can do to help our bodies maintain themselves. However, it is possible to boost the immune system and encourage cell production through the use of supplements containing nucleotides – the body's essential cell building blocks.
The body has an ongoing demand for new cell production, and must create cells at the same rate at which its cells die. To do this, a typical cell must double its mass and duplicate all of its contents in order to produce the two new 'daughter' cells.
This multiplication of a cell starts with the doubling of the information (inter-phase) - namely the DNA. Previously we discussed how the DNA is formed by the five key nucleotides. A normal DNA consists of 3 billion nucleotides.
It is only after this multiplication of the DNA that the M-phase can start. This is where the two cell nuclei are formed and the cells start to divide into two separate cells.
Cell proliferation is a lengthy and complicated process, dependent mainly on energy and supply of the specific building blocks, the five key nucleotides.
Research has shown that by providing extra dietary sources of nucleotides, the multiplication of these new cells can be speeded up. This applies to the following cell types:
Intestinal mucosa cells – the cells lining the gut
Bone marrow cells, namely leukocytes (especially Lymphocytes) – more commonly termed as the white blood immune cells
Erythrocytes – Red blood cells
Certain brain cells
For years, nucleic acids and nucleotides were considered essential nutrients. Now these nucleotides are increasingly considered to be limiting in certain diets and during periods of stress and illness.
It was thought that the body could synthesise sufficient nucleotides to meet its physiological demands via 'de novo' synthesis of nucleotides. However, research during the last several years indicates that this is not correct. There are certain conditions in which the body requires dietary nucleotides to meet its physiological requirements.
These conditions include:
Rapid growth
Limited food supply
Stress
Chronic disease
Bacterial and viral infections
In these situations, metabolic demand exceeds the capacity of the 'de novo' synthesis, and therefore dietary nucleotides become conditionally essential.
Importantly, dietary nucleotides may also spare the energetic costs of 'de novo' synthesis of nucleotides.
Critical point in nutrition: energy
Building nucleotides by the 'de novo' process requires lots of time and energy. Supplementing purified nucleotides to the diet reduces the proportions required to manufacture, while accelerating all active processes and saving energy also.
Supplementary nucleotides have been demonstrated to enhance the efficiency of a number of vital organs; these include:
Immune organs including the bone marrow
Liver
Intestines
Consequently, supplementary nucleotides have an effect on a number of vital functions:
Immunity
Production of stress hormones
Digestion and absorption of nutrients
Vitality and well-being
Focussing on Immunity
Nucleotides are an essential part of an healthy immune system, because they have been shown to support the following:
The reversal of malnutrition or starvation-induced immunosuppression
Enhancement of T-cell maturation and function
Enhancement of natural killer cell activity
Increase of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity
Aiding resistance to infectious agents such as Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans
Modulation of T-Cell responses toward type 1 CD4 helper lymphocytes or TH1 cells.
In layman's terms, nucleotides help to boost the immune system by speeding up the process of creating new defence cells, which are essential for the body to fight infections.
Reducing the effect of an infection
In 2003 a double-blind placebo controlled trial was carried out by Dr Isobel Davidson at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh. This clinical trial was carried out to test the effects of nucleotides on reducing the severity of specific symptoms, secondary infections and healing time after a natural infection by the cold or flu virus. The findings showed that the specific formula of nucleotides significantly reduced the symptoms of painful sinuses and earache. Over the first six days of taking the nucleotides or a placebo, the discomfort level was on average greatly reduced for the nucleotide patients:
Dry mouth: 30% less
Sore throat: 20% less
Muscle aches: 15% less
Headache: 40% less
Salivary IgA (antibody) concentrations were similar at recruitment, but the subsequent to this were higher in general for the nucleotide group. For the layman, higher antibody levels indicate a greater immune response.
Preserving a strong immunity
The positive effects of supplementary nucleotides on immunity was also backed up with another placebo controlled trial carried out by Professor Lars McNaughton, University of Bath, 2002. McNaughton tested the effects of nucleotides on athletes under both short-term and high intensity, and moderate endurance exercise. Again these results were significant and conclusive. Athletes on the nucleotide treatment showed a 25% higher IgA concentration after 90 minutes endurance exercise, compared with the placebo group.
The stress hormone, cortisol, was 10% reduced for the nucleotide supplemented group. High cortisol levels have been shown to impede the effectiveness of disease fighting cells. Hence, the placebo group showed a greater drop in antibodies. High decreases in IgA (antibodies) are thought to be a reason for increased levels of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (e.g. colds and flu) for athletes and people suffering high levels of stress.
In conclusion, the body needs nucleotides to help support a healthy immune response. The body can normally take these from food, but in times of stress, illness, poor diet or rapid growth, dietary nucleotides become conditionally essential; supplementing all five nucleotides has been shown to preserve a strong immunity, and reduce the severity of infections.
Copyright 2005 David McEvoy

About The Author

Dave Mcevoy: A great resource for nucleotides is Nucell Active. For more information visit http://www.nucell.co.uk, or to purchase go to http://www.mind1st.co.uk.

This article was posted on October 06, 2005

How To Keep Cool In Summer

How To Keep Cool In Summer
 by: Brian Fogarty

You may be surprised to find out that you can be cool and comfortable in the summer heat
Fortunately there are ways to alleviate the effects of the Summer heat. What follows is some information on Products to help keep you cool.
Cooling Vests will keep you cool, but different vests are suitable for different situations.
1. Evaporative Cooling Vests are best suited for use outdoors, and on days when humidity is not to high. These vests work on accelerating your body's natural evaporative cooling. The vests are soaked in water. As the water evaporates your body temperature is reduced.
These vests are relatively effective. They are cheaper than other vests. Prices start at about $30.
On the downside they are not suited to being worn underneath other clothing. This will slow down the evaporative effects. Your clothes will be wet after wearing these vests. Evaporative vests available at http://www.silvereagleoutfitters.com
2. Phase change vests these vests use packs that you freeze. The pack is filled with a gel made of Hexadecane. The pack melts at 18 degrees. The high melting point is very effective at keeping your body temperature at a natural level. These vests are very effective indoors and outdoors. They do not really on evaporation to keep you cool so are fine to wear under clothes. You will stay dry.
The only problems with these vests is that they are expensive $180 plus. In addition to this you will need two or three sets of packs to get you through the day costing around $100 plus per set. Phasechange vests available at http://www.coolsport.net
3. Personal Ice Cooling System (PICS) are the most effective by far. They are also the most expensive about $1800. They work by pumping iced water around a vest using a small pump. The pump is powered with rechargeable batteries. The water is cooled by ice packs. One of the advantages is that it uses regular ice in packs and as long as you can find a freezer or ice your in business.
These vests will keep you cool in any conditions. They are even used by the military. They are suited mainly for working enviroments in the heat. They require a type of back pack of tobe worn. This system weighs of approx 8lb. They are very effective though at keeping you cool in the heat. (PICS) available at http://www.technicalproductsinc.us/cool_system.html
4. Cooling bandanas and neck ties use highly absorptive polymers that are sewn inside neckties and bandanas. When soaked in water they absorb water and swell up. They are then worn and help a little to keep you cool. They use evaporative cooling. They can also be placed in the refrigerator before use for added cooling. These products available at http://www.imcoolnow.com
5. Lastly guys as simple as it may seem try to have plenty of cold water handy. If you drink water before you start to become dehydrated you feel much better.
--
© 2004 by Brian Fogarty
This article may be reprinted in newsletters and on websites, with resource box included. If using this article, please send a brief message to webmaster@keepingmecool.com
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About The Author

Brian Fogarty has a website that discusses cooling products and shows you how to make your own. To find out more visit http://www.keepingmecool.com
webmaster@keepingmecool.com

This article was posted on August 31, 2004

The Sweat Stops Here

The Sweat Stops Here
 by: Adrian Richards MBBS, MSc, FRCS (Plast)

As many as one in 100 individuals across the UK suffer from severe excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis, according to the clinical paper Boni R. in Kreydon OP, Boni R, Burg G (eds); Hyperhidrosis and Botulinum Toxin in Dermatology. Many more people suffer from mild or moderate forms of the medical condition.
If you're one of those unlucky individuals afflicted with the embarrassing condition and are familiar with clammy handshake syndrome or underarm perspiration overload then don't get in a sweat about it! Thanks to an established treatment offered by SWEAT BREAKER, specialist in the provision of non-surgical procedures for excessive sweating, help is at hand to wipe out the problem.
Founded by respected consultant surgeon, Mr Adrian Richards, the company is committed to treating excessive sweating in localised areas including armpits, hands, feet, head and face. The straightforward procedure, in the form of Botox® injections, is highly effective and will keep excessive sweating under control. The virtually pain free process involves injecting a tiny amount of Botox® solution just under the skin, in approximately ten to 15 different sites, at 1cm intervals, using a very fine needle (the same type of needle that is used for premature babies). All in all, the treatment takes only 10 minutes, its effects last on average of seven months and results can be expected in a little as three days.
Botox® treatment has been used successfully for over 20 years and is backed by extensive clinical trials, with over 1400 medical research papers showing it to be safe. The treatment, which is administered by a highly trained medical practitioner, works by blocking the action of nerves that supply the eccrine glands, preventing them from producing sweat.
Prior to the treatment, a dedicated team of highly trained staff will talk you through the procedure whilst a medical practitioner will assess you in order to ensure that you are a suitable candidate for the treatment.
"Hyperhidrosis is a genetic condition which blights many people's lives and often has a profound effect on self esteem and confidence levels," commented Mr Adrian Richards, MSc, FRCS (Plas) Consultant Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon. "Traditionally, the only solutions available for excessive sweating have included strong antiperspirant deodorants, topical applications of aluminium chloride and, in severe cases, invasive and extensive surgery such as curettage involving scraping out the eccrine glands – a mutilating, potentially dangerous and incredibly painful procedure with varying results. I am delighted to be in a position to offer sufferers a simple, safe, effective and proven non-surgical procedure that will eradicate the problems for months at a time."
Like it or not, we all have to sweat in order to maintain a regular body temperature. If your body is too hot, blood vessels dilate to let more blood reach the skin, where the blood cools. Then sweat glands produce more sweat, and that evaporates to cool the skin. But for many people, sweating doesn't just occur when the body overheats. Exercise, stressful situations, anxiety, even alcohol, or spicy food can trigger hyperhidrosis. In extreme cases, excessive sweating can occur regardless of an individual's situation or state-of-mind. What's more, concern over the condition breeds sweating.
So in future, don't work yourself up into a sweat about it. Opt for SWEAT BREAKER's tried and tested treatment for lasting results.
SWEAT BREAKER has a nationwide network of treatment centres. For further information or to find your nearest treatment centre visit www.sweatbreaker.co.uk or call the information line on telephone number 0845 2300015 for specialist and sympathetic advice.
An image can be emailed on request.
Note to editors
• Botulinum toxin A (Botox®) is a chemical produced by the Clostridium bacteria. Botox® is a protein derivative of the toxin.

About The Author

Mr. Adrian Richards is a respected consultant surgeon and founder of SWEAT BREAKER, the company is committed to treating excessive sweating in localised areas including armpits, hands, feet, head and face.
info@sweatbreaker.co.uk

This article was posted on August 30, 2004

The Important of Health Insurance

The Important of Health Insurance
 by: Paul Palatnik

Millions of Americans are uninsured and with the elections coming up, it seems like it is a new issue but it has been an issue for sometime now.
Acquiring health insurance in the United States is very important and every individual or family should have some type of coverage weather it be through a state program or ant other type of health coverage such as PPO's, HMO's, Indemnity Plans, etc.
An individual or family should consider that even a policy with a high deductible, paying a low monthly premium is worth acquiring, even if it seems it wont do much for you.
A day in the ER could cost you anywhere between 2,000 to 8,000 dollars on average.
Online sites where you can purchase health insurance and search and compare plans are www.bestratequote.com or www.healthinsurancestore.com.

About The Author

Paul Palatnik

This article was posted on August 29, 2004

Food that's good for a healthy heart

Food that's good for a healthy heart
 by: Nitin Jain

Here's a conundrum: While experts agree that high cholesterol and blood pressure are crucial heart disease risk factors, many people who suffer chest pain or even heart attacks have levels that are perfectly normal. This puzzle has prompted researchers to scour the body for other cardiovascular villains. Several have emerged in recent years, but the one that stands out the most is inflammation.
The latest studies suggest that chronic inflammation of the lining of arteries is an important factor in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. What causes this inflammation is not clear, but the good news is that (1) the advice that is given for lowering cholesterol, blood pressure and triglycerides also works fine for fighting inflammation; and (2) you can tackle all 4 culprits with the help of dietary weapons - http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/nutrients.htm In fact, you can plan your war against heart disease in your kitchen. Here is how:
1. Think like an artist when you choose fruits and vegetables: Eat those with the brightest colors. They have the most heart protective antioxidant pigments. A diet high in fruits and veggies also provides another important heart benefit, salicylic acid, which is the same anti-inflammatory compound created when aspirin is broken down in the body.
2. Increase food sources of omega-3 fatty acids which target high triglycerides in the blood. Good sources of omega-3s include fish such as sardines, mackerel; nuts and seeds; green leafy vegetables; grains like wheat, bajra; legumes like rajma, cowpea, and black gram.
3. Reduce the amount of meats you eat, especially red meats, and always select lean cuts. Use meat as a seasoning for vegetable dishes rather than the focal point of a meal.
4. Cut down on salt and instead use herbs and spices like ginger, garlic, turmeric and fenugreek liberally in your cooking; the first three are naturally anti-inflammatory and the last has soluble fibre which helps sweep away cholesterol from the arteries.
5. Shift to groundnut, mustard, rice bran and olive oils which contain monosaturated fatty acids that help lower (bad) LDL and maintain levels of (good) HDL cholesterol. Drastically limit margarine, vegetable shortening, butter and all products made with partially hydrogenated oils.
6. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains (wheat, brown rice, oats), beans and pulses, are also great sources of soluble and insoluble fibre, which trap LDLs and usher them out of the body.

About The Author

Get helpful information on vitamins, amino acids, herbs, minerals and other nutrients for a healthier life - http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/.

If you wish to reproduce the above article you are welcome to do so, provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this resource box and LIVE link to our website

This article was posted on August 27, 2004

Some Straight Talk About Low-Carbohydrates and Your Health

Some Straight Talk About Low-Carbohydrates and Your Health
 by: Rick Trojan

There have been many diets and weight loss plans that have come and gone over the years. Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets were popular decades ago. And today are making a comeback.
These diets do promote weight loss. Low-carbohydrate, high- protein diets are more effective. Than low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie diets. Also your cholesterol levels often improve more on a low-carb diet.
A low-carb diet plan structures your eating choices around the selection of lean protein sources. Focusing on fish, soy, poultry, low fat dairy and lean red meats.
It is a diet high in fibrous, crispy vegetables and fruits. Like green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, peppers, spinach, lettuces, berries, cherries, grapes and melons, to name a few.
You are also allowed limited size portions of starchy vegetables. Such as potatoes, carrots, beets and beans/legumes.
However, sweets and sugary foods are eliminated. With the exception of small portions on occasional *diet holidays*.
Your focus should be on healthy choices of fats. That Include raw nuts, seeds, nut butters, olives, olive oil, nut oils. Also some butter, fish oil and flax seed meal.
You should avoid trans fats (partially hydrogenated fats). Like fried foods, excessive saturated fats and margarine that contains trans fats.
Your objective should be to have a protein source at each meal. Along with vegetables, fruit and fats as mentioned above. To help avoid dietary deficiencies. You should include daily nutritional supplements. Consisting of a multivitamin, essential oils, diet formulation and chromium picolinate.
Possible Adverse Physical Effects
You may experience some adverse physical effects with a low- carb diet. Here are some of the negative consequences that could affect your health. Constipation and headaches. Digestive irregularity from lack of fiber. Potential strain on your kidneys. Increased stomach acid levels. Due to a high protein content. And high levels of fat could cause high cholesterol.
If your on diuretic or diabetes medications you should be monitored by a doctor. The low-carb diet affects your hydration and blood sugar levels. Current testing is on going whether a low-carb diet can help diabetics control their blood sugar levels.
Planning The Ultimate Diet
The ultimate goal of a low-carb nutritional diet structure. Allows your metabolic rate to stay high. While satisfying your appetite. And preserving your lean body mass.
However, in order for you to keep this weight off. You must follow the diet structure for your lifetime. This has many health experts worried.
Any extreme type of eating plan. That you follow for just a short time. Most likely will not have long term health risks.
But a lifetime plan of virtually cutting out an entire food group. Essential for your health. Without knowing the long-term risks, is a concern. At this time, the long-term health risks of low-carbohydrate plans have not yet been determined.
However, To minimize or avoid theses specific diet deficiencies. That are associated with low-carb diets. You should approach your low-carb diet as an integrated part of *Your Lifestyle*. Not solely an ingredient focus.

About The Author

Rick Trojan
Helping You Reach Your Goals for Good Health and Living Well
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This article was posted on August 25, 2004

Dental Hygiene, an Ancient Practice - The History of the Toothbrush

Dental Hygiene, an Ancient Practice - The History of the Toothbrush
 by: Rebecca Blain

One of the most asked questions by adults and children is the origin of the toothbrush. There are several schools of thought on when the real toothbrush was created, but you need to look far into the past for the first evidences of oral hygiene.
The Chinese were believed to create the first real toothbrush, or a device that was used to clean teeth, but it was much different than the ones that we are used to today. These first toothbrushes, crafted in the 1400s, did not use nylon for bristles, or plastic for the handles. They were crafted from bamboo, one of the most common plants from that area. The bamboo formed the handle for people to hold on to. Attached to this handle was a set of bristles, which were crafted from the tough hair of the Siberian wild boar. The hairs used came from the back of the neck of this animal. This is the toothbrush associated with having been the ancestor of the one that we use today.
However, there is evidence that there was another form of the toothbrush dating up to 3000 years before the birth of Christ. Due to this, the history of the toothbrush proves that this device is one of the oldest still used by man, only truly outdated by the wheel. This form of the toothbrush was found within pyramids of the Egyptians. These toothbrushes were crafted from a stick. Unlike the Chinese version of the toothbrush, the end of the stick was flayed so that the fibers of the wood were more soft. This stick was then rubbed against the teeth to serve as a form of oral hygiene. This form of the toothbrush did not become far spread as the Chinese version.
The Chinese version of the toothbrush spread to Europe, where the Siberian wild boar took the brunt of the growing popularity of the invention. The only downside to the hairs of the Siberian wild boar was the fact that it was very rough on the gums. On account of this, some people began to use the hairs found on the backs of horses to craft the bristles on their brushes, as this was much easier on their gums and teeth. Despite the added softness of the horse hair bristles, the boar hairs were more commonly used, as horses were too valuable to Europeans during this period of time.
The boar hair toothbrush continued to be used until the early 1900s. In 1937, nylon was created in the Du Pont laboratories by Wallace H. Carothers. This invention forever changed the history of the toothbrush, as well as every other device that required a fibrous material, including ropes. In 1938, Nylon became the sign of modernization, from the creation of nylon stockings to Dr. West's first nylon toothbrush. This brush was called Dr. West's Miracle Toothbrush. Even with this breakthrough in the toothbrush, it wasn't until World War II that Americans began to take oral hygiene more seriously. This was a direct result of the war. This influence spurred on the development of better toothbrushes.
Toothpaste & Whiteners
Another aspect of toothbrush history that should be taken into account is toothpaste and other whiteners. These are usually used with the toothbrush in order to make certain that the teeth and breath were acceptable. The concept of toothpaste and mouth washes is pretty old - almost as old as the Egyptians toothbrush. The earliest known toothpaste was created by the Egyptians. It was said to contain a drachma of rock salt, two drachmas of mint, one drachma of dried iris flowers and 20 grains of pepper. This was then crushed and mixed together to form a powder. When mixed with saliva and applied to the teeth, it would help whiten and clean your teeth. When experimented with by an Australian dentist, the mixture worked far better than anything else created until the twenty first century. The only downside was the fact that it caused his gums to bleed.
In the 18th Century, the next recorded version of toothpaste occurred. This mixture called for dragon's blood, cinnamon and burn alum. This mixture tends to be more of an amusement for many scientists, as there is no proof that "dragon's" existed. What may have really been considered to be dragon's blood is unknown.
The 19th Century saw a lot of innovations to toothpaste, although many of them would be repulsive compared to what we are used to today. Charcoal, for example, was used to clean teeth. Most of the toothpastes of this time were powders that became a paste when introduced to saliva. A lot of these different toothpastes were designed to both clean teeth and give the user better breath. This is where the modern idea for toothpaste came of, and one of the turn points in the history of toothpaste. The combination of these pastes and the toothbrush worked to ensure that there was a higher chance of cleaner and healthier teeth and gums.
It wasn't until the 1900s that toothpastes evolved to be more modern. Colgate, and many other toothpaste companies, worked to design toothpastes that tasted good while providing the means to clean teeth while not causing gums to bleed. Many ingredients are now used in toothpastes, with Fluoride being one of the most common. There are a wide variety of "herbal" toothpastes as well, which do not contain this component. Each of these types are designed to fit the needs and wants of every type of person out there. This high level of choice is the primary evolution of toothpastes. While only a few were available as early as the Egyptian days, now there is something for everyone.
The combination of the toothpaste and modern toothbrush gives everyone the oral hygiene and dental health that they need to be able to have the sparkling teeth that is desired by so many. This combination also helps prevent the loss of your teeth later in life, so that dentures are not required as early. The history of the toothbrush and toothpaste shouldn't be looked down upon, as the options used back then were no where near as pleasant as the types available today.

About The Author

Rebecca Blain is a professional and hobbyist writer who enjoys taking care of her fish and educating people about oral health care such as Crest Whitestrips, which you can read about here: http://www.everything-teeth.com/whitestrips-review.html

This article was posted on August 25, 2004

Journaling for Health: Five Techniques for Wellness

Journaling for Health: Five Techniques for Wellness
 by: Patti Testerman

1. Write about how you feel about everyday events; writing about the events is fine, but be sure to include the feelings. The goal is to get the intense emotions on paper and out of your body/mind.
2. Write about the issues that are most impacting your life today, particularly any health concerns.
3. Make a list of everything causing you stress—which can lead to ill-health, then note what you can (or cannot) do about each item.
4. If you can't get an event out of your mind—like an unpleasant conversation with a co-worker—write what you wish the conversation had unfolded, in dialogue form.
5. Create a mantra or positive affirmation, then journal ways to fulfill the affirmation. An example of a mantra might be: "I am safe, my life is filled with peace."
Finally, re-read your journals on a consistent basis, looking for self-defeating or negative patterns.

About The Author

Patti Testerman is content manager at JournalGenie.com, the only online site that analyzes your writing and then gives you instant feedback. Want to discover self-defeating patterns, or find better ways to communicate in a relationship? Check out our site.
patti@journalgenie.com

This article was posted on August 25, 2004

How Journaling Can Positively Impact Your Physical Health

How Journaling Can Positively Impact Your Physical Health
 by: Patti Testerman

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, writing about stressful life events helped reduce symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis in patients with these chronic illnesses. The effects of the writing exercise were still evident four months later and resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in patient symptoms.
Interestingly, studies showed that asthma patients who wrote about their most stressful life events showed a 19-percent improvement in lung function; similarly, rheumatoid arthritis patients had a 28-percent reduction in symptoms.
These findings add to a growing body of evidence that links mental and emotional health to physical well-being. Although researchers aren't sure exactly how expressive writing can lead to health improvements, they theorize that writing help people cope with stress, and stress—as well all know—clearly impacts health.
University of Texas at Austin psychologist and researcher James Pennebaker believes that regular journaling strengthens immune cells, called T-lymphocytes. He theorizes that writing about stressful events helps you come to terms with them, thus reducing the impact of these stressors on your physical health.
Louise Moran, a nurse coordinator, has written about a patient who, during a serious illness, sent daily e-mails to friends and family about her illness, a practice the woman believes played a pivotal role in her healing process. Moran said another patient felt that journaling helped her create a new life after breast cancer. There have even been studies suggesting that journaling in healthy people actually improves the immune system.

About The Author

Patti Testerman is content manager at JournalGenie.com, the only online site that analyzes your writing and then gives you instant feedback. Want to discover self-defeating patterns, or find better ways to communicate in a relationship? Check out our site.
patti@journalgenie.com

This article was posted on August 25, 2004

The Top 10 Things You Don’t Want to Hear About Losing Weight

The Top 10 Things You Don’t Want to Hear About Losing Weight
 by: Suzanne Hiscock

(But What You Need to Know if You Want to Get Fit!)
10) No, you won’t end up looking like the latest hot young model/singer/actress!
Let’s face it: your body is your body. It’s the only one you’ve got. Can you still look great? Sure! But there are some things you can’t change. You can’t make your legs longer or your feet smaller. You can’t grow five inches or elongate your torso. You have what you have, so work with it! Concentrate on making a healthy and fit you instead of wishing you looked like someone else. You don’t have to be perfect to be attractive. A strong, fit body as well as the self-confidence it brings can make any person attractive!
9) It’s better to be muscular and weigh more than to be flabby and weigh less.
I’ve said it so many times: I’d much rather be 135lbs and muscular than 120lbs and flabby. I’ve been both, and 135lbs with a lower percent of body fat was definitely better! I was smaller, stronger and had much more energy. So, don’t always seek that magical number on the scale, but look at your total body composition instead.
8) You can’t get fit in a week.
Okay, well, you can, but only if you’re one week away from being in peak condition and you keep working out. Otherwise, forget about it! If you want to look good for that class reunion or because you’ll be in a bikini soon, then get moving way before that. Or better yet, get moving for your own health and not for “things” like reunions and bikinis.
7) You need to put some effort into it.
You want to get fit? You have to work at it. You have to plan it, you have to schedule it, and, most importantly, you have to do it. No excuses. Sitting on the couch, telling yourself you should be doing something will not burn up a lot of calories. If nothing else, get out there and start walking. And while you’re out there walking think about a plan of action for a healthier you and get started on it today – not tomorrow!
6) You need to exercise.
Can you lose weight just by diet alone? Sure, you can! But if you want to get fit, you need to exercise those muscles, including your heart. And that heart won’t get any exercise if you’re sitting on the couch, eating broccoli. Lose the weight that you need to lose and you’ll just end up with a thin, but flabby, body. Get moving! Weight training is ideal, but if you’re really not into weight training, find an activity you like to do that work all your major muscle groups.
5) You need to eat properly.
Putting aside any low carb/low fat/high protein controversies, the simple fact is, if you want a fit body, you need to nourish it. Protein, carbs and fat are important, but vitamins and minerals are key elements that your body needs, too. No matter what way of eating you’re following make sure you’re getting enough vitamins and minerals. Add a variety of fresh vegetables and fruit to your diet. The next time you go grocery shopping, linger around the produce section and not only pick out some old favorites, but experiment a little by trying something new!
4) You can’t lose weight overnight.
You didn’t gain it overnight -- or in two months -- and you’re not going to lose it overnight -- or in two months. Think of getting fit as a train leaving the station: you start off slow, gather speed and then off you go! Patience is the key here. Look for consistent trends. If you’re really not losing fat and getting stronger after a couple of months, then you need to sit down and honestly analyze what you’re doing. Keep a journal to help you know how you’re really eating and exercising.
3) You can’t spot reduce.
Genetics will decide where the fat will come off. Doing 1000 crunches won’t reduce your belly fat. Nor will 1000 leg lifts get rid of the fat on your inner thighs. Your body does not burn the fat it needs from the body part that you’re exercising. Your body will burn fat much like an onion is peeled, a layer at a time, if you will. So, don’t overdo it on the exercise for one specific body part and look to getting your whole body in shape.
2) There are no quick fixes.
That’s right, you heard me. There are no quick fixes. None. Put all those pills, potions, contraptions and miracle diets in the garbage where they belong. Learn the basics about how your body gains muscle and loses fat, so you won’t get sucked in by another scam again.
1) Fitness is a lifelong commitment!
So, you faithfully work out and eat properly and you’ve reached your goals. Now what? Well, now you’ve got to keep doing it for the rest of your life, that’s what! You can’t just work your way to being fit and then stop, because you’ll end up exactly like you were before. Fitness is a lifelong commitment. And, you want to know a secret? It isn’t easy! And anyone who says it is easy is trying to sell you something. Make fitness a lifelong ambition and you’ll reap the rewards of a long and healthy life, filled with energy, strength and an overall sense of well being.

About The Author

Suzanne Hiscock has been interested in fitness and nutrition for over 16 years. She is the owner of Fitwatch Inc. and developer of the FitWatch Fitness Tracker, an online food and exercise tracker. You can visit the FitWatch website at http://www.fitwatch.com for a variety of fitness calculators and tools.
suzanneh@fitwatch.com

This article was posted on August 16, 2004

So Where.s The Silver Lining?

So Where's The Silver Lining?
 by: Scott Kiser, DDS

Baby boomers beware! What you have been told all these years about silver fillings may not be all they are cracked up to be. Truth is, it may be time to retire those old silver fillings, also known as amalgams.
Post WWII children grew up in an era in which there was a high consumption of sugar-laden foods. Foods like your favorite cereal, sodas, candy bars and desserts. The amount of sugar filled foods for that generation and the current generation is staggering. Additionally, during this period the tooth strengthening benefits of fluoridated water were still undiscovered.
These two factors combined were a major contributing factor to reception rooms of every dentist office in America overflowing with unsuspecting patients. Unsuspecting in that the solution dentistry provided for all of these teeth pitted with cavities and resembling the surface of the moon was an inexpensive silver tooth patch invented in 1894.
Most people were led to believe that silver fillings were actually good for them. Unfortunately, when the dentist patted you on the head, sent you on your way with your lip hanging off of your face and a shiny toy ring in your pocket, he or she failed to tell you, "Oh by the way, your shiny new teeth are packed with mercury and they are going to wear out someday. Only next time there won't be a pretty ring in your pocket - just a hefty bill."
Why Do Fillings Wear Out?
Several factors cause the demise of amalgam restoration. Size, personal hygiene, and diet seem to have the greatest influence on their life expectancy. When a tooth is filled, amalgam is packed into a hole created by bacteria and your dentist's drill. The bigger the hole, the larger the filling used to repair the damage is and the weaker a tooth becomes. Weaker teeth are doomed to fracture because a large filling acts like a wedge, similar to a wedge used to split firewood.
Chewing even soft foods wears the surface of each filling and intensifies the wedging. Hard foods like Corn Nuts and ice wreak havoc on your teeth and should be completely avoided. Acids found in citrus products, coffee, cola products, and foods containing sugar cause the surface of the filling to become rusted and pitted, like a rusty old tin can.
The Truth About Mercury
There are two primary areas to consider regarding mercury. One is how pliable a material it is. The other is how toxic it is.
Mercury is placed in thermometers for a reason; it is very sensitive to temperature change. Even a two-degree difference will register on a thermometer due to the mercury expanding. With mercury being as much as 55% of the substance in an amalgam filling, imagine what that is doing to your tooth structure.
Incredibly it seems that temperature fluctuation in the foods we eat cause the most dramatic breakdown effects in the teeth. When we eat hot or cold foods our fillings expand and contract more that the teeth they are placed inside. Since these fillings are packed tightly into the tooth there is absolutely no room for change.
A can of soda pop placed in a freezer provides an example of two materials expanding at different rates, left long enough and it will explode. Although not as dramatic, the pressures associated with changing mouth temperatures does create microscopic fractures in your teeth, similar to cracks in the windshield of a car. These cracks continue to grow and provide a convenient hiding place for cavity causing bacteria. Even the best brushing and flossing techniques are little match for this type of cavity, and left untreated they can cause large portions of your tooth to break.
Many people don't realize that the mercury in your silver fillings just happens to be number two on the list of the most toxic elements known to man. In California all Amalgam manufacturers, as of December 1993, must display the following warning.
Warning - This Office uses amalgam-filling materials, which contain and expose you to Mercury, a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm. Please consult your dentist for more information.
Some countries have actually banned the use of mercury altogether. In the United States dentists cannot just throw old mercury down the sink. They have to treat it like the toxic waste it is.
Treatment Options
Fortunately there are now alternatives to silver fillings. New types of replacements have revolutionized dental care. Tooth colored restorations made out of porcelain or plastic can be safely bonded (glued) into place creating a much stronger and more stress resistant chewing surface.
However, there is a downside. Be prepared to pay a little more for these types of restorations because the materials used are more expensive and more difficult for your dentist to place. Also, don't be surprised if your insurance company saddles you with more of the share of the additional fees. It may take years for them to discover how long term benefits of bonded fillings out way the increase of up front costs.
The question you must ask yourself in any health decision you make is, "What is my health worth?" Your answer will help you find your own silver lining while maintaining a safe, healthy and beautiful smile.
Copyright: © 2004 by Dr. Scott Kiser
Publishing Guidelines: You may publish my article in your newsletter, on your web site, or in your print publication provided you include the resource box at the end. Notification would be appreciated but is not required.

About The Author

Dr. Scott Kiser has been practicing general dentistry in Salt Lake City, Utah for over 20 years. Dr. Kiser has used only mercury-free substances in his treatments since the mid 90's and concentrates his practice in the areas of sedation dentistry and complete smile makeovers. Consumer Research Council of America selected him as Utah's Top Cosmetic Dentist of 2003 - 04. Visit www.greatsmilesutah.com to sign up for a FREE monthly online newsletter or for more information on Dr. Kiser and all of his services.
Skiserdds@aol.com

This article was posted on August 16, 2004

Eight Weight Loss Tips

Eight Weight Loss Tips
 by: Beth Scott

There are a lot of "crash" diets out there that promise that you'll drop a considerable amount of weight in days or a week. I have tried a few of these, and in my experience the weight always comes back on, just as quickly.
One thing you don't want to do if you are actually serious about losing weight is to follow these fad diets. After their ineffectiveness has been proven time and again, people will start to wise up to that particular diet, and will head off in search of a new craze.
Lets be honest, people want to lose weight and they want immediate results, but this is just wishful thinking. To lose weight permanently and effectively it will be a rather slow progress, all depending on your metabolic rate and how much you need to lose.
There are however some proven tried and true methods for aiding in the weight loss process, and I can make you familiar with them.
1. Don't skip breakfast. Whatever you do follow this advice, because otherwise you are much more likely in fact prone to binge later in the day.
2. Don't eat anything for at least an hour before going to bed.
3. Don't snack while watching TV. It's acceptable to eat a meal while watching television, but never is snacking at this time acceptable.
4. Substitute fruits like; bananas, watermelon, plums, peaches, and oranges for sugary treats like; cookies and candy.
5. Substitute honey for sugar, and carob powder for chocolate in all recipes.
6. Eat more vegetables. This can even be enjoyable if you have a good cookbook like Good housekeeping's latest edition.
7. Avoid unnecessary high calorie foods.
8. Exercise at least a half hour each day for 5 days out of the week.

About The Author

Beth Scott
For more information on weight loss visit: http://hop.clickbank.net/?workgirl15/callenbr
sweetstuff245@hotmail.com

This article was posted on August 16, 2004

Down with Acne!

Down with Acne!
 by: Beth Scott

Like a good many people I have been the victim of acne vulgaris (what an appropriate name) the medical term for pimples. It has made me aggravated, made me cry, and made me angry. Thousands of people each year are afflicted by it, and it makes recluses out of a good many teenagers.
It is caused when your pores get clogged and the fatty material made by the sebaceous gland accumulates, and a "bump" appears under the skin-or perhaps a whitehead or a blackhead (a comedone). Blackheads are not caused by dirt but by the discoloring effect of air on the fatty material in the clogged pore. If this substance becomes infected a pimple results.
As anyone can tell you the worst thing to do is to push or "pop" a pimple. Because this will not only cause more, but can result in life long scars. No matter what you see on TV or a friend tells you, don't pop a pimple. I know, I made the mistake and I'm still regretting it.
But not too long ago I discovered a way to lessen the intensity of my outbreaks, although it stops short of completely curing them.
I totally avoid grain products, most especially bread, corn, cereal, and other pastries, (also potatoes) and to still get all my vitamins I add wheat germ and brewer's yeast to yogurt or milk and fruit. Brewer's yeast does take time to acquire a taste to however, and can be found at most if not all Health food stores.
This method may appeal to you or it may not. Use your own judgment and see what is right for you.

About The Author

Beth Scott
http://hop.clickbank.net/?workgirl15/acnefree
sweetstuff245@hotmail.com

This article was posted on August 16, 2004