Archive

Archive for May, 2010

May
18

Every Breath You Take

For many people, the home is a sanctuary. However, the air there may not be as clean as we think. Several aspects of modern living can actually spoil the air in the home. And because houses are being built and remodeled in ways that tightly seal the shell, drastically reducing air movement between the indoors and outdoors, pollutants in the house will largely remain there. The better informed you are about any air issues affecting the family home and health, the better equipped you will be to control and prevent them.

Indoor air problems stem from many substances including biological pollutants, combustion by-products, hazardous building materials, and household products.

Biological pollutants come from living matter. The most widespread examples include mold, animal dander, and dust mites. Excess condensation and poorly maintained HVAC systems can promote mold growth. Therefore it’s critical to have appliances with condensing units cleaned and serviced regularly. Minimize the impact of animal dander and dust mites with regular dusting and cleaning.

Fuels, including natural gas, propane, oil, and kerosene, produce harmful by-products. Any heating appliance that burns fuel can release carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, or excess water vapor. Ensure that all fuel-burning equipment is well maintained, properly vented, and inspected regularly for safety.

Remodeling projects give your home new sparkle, but the process can create unhealthy air. Home renovations often disturb areas containing old hazardous materials, such as asbestos and lead paint, and can release particles into the air. Rather than try to remove them, which often creates more of a health hazard, it is better to carefully cover them up. A professional inspector can help you determine what hazardous materials you will uncover and how best to contain and clean them up. Paints, adhesives, and stripping and finishing solvents can also create indoor air pollution. Some of these products are volatile and flammable. Read all labels thoroughly and use them strictly as recommended.

The very chemicals we use to clean and disinfect our homes can also cause air pollution. Follow manufacturers’ instructions for amounts and usage. Use the least strong product that will do the job with the smallest amount necessary. Ventilate the area that you are cleaning so that fumes do not linger. Keep household chemicals tightly sealed in their original containers.

Be aware of the signs that you may have an indoor air quality problem. You may notice stale and musty odors. Dirty or faulty HVAC equipment will most likely affect the air quality. Excessive condensation and humidity often correlate to the presence of molds. And take note of any changes to the family’s health inside the home, such as irritated eyes and throat, sneezing, coughing, congestion, and fatigue. If you suspect a problem with the air in your home, take action promptly. A professional air quality inspector can do a comprehensive review of your home’s environment and help you address issues effectively. Once you have fixed existing problems, schedule annual inspections and service calls to prevent recurring damage.

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May
18

Our family loves Ginger Snaps. When we were children, my siblings and I would find all types of creative ways to use the delectable disks. From spicing up a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich to adding fire to ice cream, the Ginger Snap had a fixed place in most of our menus. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when, in one of those adult moments, I flipped the box over to see just what caused the Ginger Snap’s appeal. The answer horrified me. How could this be? Is it a mistake on the label or am I possibly misreading it? The snap came from the arch-enemy of dentists: sugar!

I had read the packaging correctly, and unfortunately my days of consuming 10-15 cookies in one sitting had come to an end. Not only was there sugar, there were other forms of sugar disguised in creative names.

As we enter that adult phase of our lives, many of us try to reduce our sugar consumption for personal reasons or under the advice of our medical practitioners. But the desire to cut back on the sweet stuff is made even more difficult because food manufacturers often disguise sugar with legal – yet crafty – labeling. Most often, the list of ingredients on food products begins with the ingredient of greatest quantity and continues in descending order until the final ingredient (of least quantity) is listed. Some manufacturers find ways to list sugar with different names, thereby making it appear as if each sugar is an insignificant part of the product.

Beware! The truth is that, when combined, all these sugar pseudonyms often equal almost half of the ingredients in common food products.

Returning to my Ginger Snaps, I found sugar for sure. Reading further, I found brown sugar, corn syrup, and dextrose. Though labeled differently, in the end they are just various forms of sugar. Naturally, there are some ways to avoid falling into manufacturers’ sweet snares.

First, become aware of the common alternative names for sugar that you will see listed on ingredient lists. These monikers include sugar (obviously), honey, brown sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, glucose, lactose, maple sugar, sorghum syrup, turbinado sugar, caramel, dextrin, fructose, grape sugar, invert sugar, maltose, and molasses.

Second, if you want to ease back on the amount of sugar that you consume in your food and beverages, choose sugar-free options. Sugar free beverages are often indistinguishable from their sugar-laden counterparts. The multitude of sugar substitutes offer another way to cut back on your sugar intake. Most of them are safe, but it’s a good idea to do at least some preliminary research before using them. The FDA regulates food safety, but an overworked and understaffed federal agency can’t catch everything.

Third – and this is only if you can really do without sugar as we commonly consume it – opt for either black strap molasses or Sugar in the Raw. These products are the least processed forms of sugar available, and they retain quite a bit of the nutrients not found in white sugar. As a matter of fact, in order to obtain snowy white sugar, manufacturers wash it an average of seven times, stripping many of the natural nutrients. Raw sugar is usually washed only twice.

Finally, and most effectively, you can just take simple sugar out of your diet. This seemingly extreme measure does not mean you can’t enjoy the great tastes of foods, but you will have to find healthy alternatives to satisfy that sweet tooth.

We still love Ginger Snaps, but we have sought out the similar snacks that use unprocessed sugar or no sugar at all. If we do want to relive the youthful, carefree days, we might slip in four or five of the decadent Ginger Snaps every once in a while.

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May
17

Arthritis of any sort is painful, but gout is probably tops in that department. Forget shoes and socks, bed sheets cause too much pain. If you can walk, it’s not very far and definitely not easy. That’s because gout usually attacks the right big toe first.

Once the doctor has diagnosed the problem, treatment options are discussed. If you want to avoid a repeat performance, prepare for your life to be changed. Your choices of food and drink will be limited, as will the use of some medications and herbal remedies. You may even have problems with your normal exercise routine.

Gout is caused by excess uric acid, the waste product from the purine found in protein. If the kidneys don’t filter it all out, it forms into crystals. After they hit a certain weight, they become to heavy and get dropped off into joints. The irritation caused by the sharp crystals are the symptoms of gout.

You can limit the number of flare ups with a careful diet. Avoiding some foods can help, and adding or increasing others will also be beneficial. Here are a few examples:

Alcohol: With the exception of limited amounts of red wine, alcohol should be avoided. Beer and its cousins are particularly bad, as they do two things; dehydrate and provide extra purine. Dehydration is one way to ensure a new bout.

Aspirin: This pain killing product can change how well your kidneys filter out uric acid, leading to an excess amount in the blood. Low dose aspirin (81 mgs and under) may not be as bad as higher dosages.

Cherries: This fruit and tart cherry juice may be a tasty way of getting rid of a gout flare up and preventing future ones. Recent studies indicate that cherries may significantly reduce uric acid levels in the blood and increase excretion of it.

Protein: Foods high in protein, including meat, seafood and vegetable sources, contain purine. Organ and processed meats contain the highest amounts, but even beans and other vegetables have some. It’s not known if vegetable purine acts the same way that meat purine does, but it is a good idea to watch even those foods.

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May
17

Usually the acne types that you will be suffering are blackheads, whiteheads, cysts, papules, (inflamed, red, tender bumps that have no head – tip, do not squeeze these it will end up leading to scarring) and pustules (this is your normal red circle white or yellow headed zit). Everyone of these acne types end up being a self-esteem killer.

However below I am going to give you five tips to try to help you out.

1. You can go the topical treatment route for your acne type, they can come in the form of lotions, or creams and contain salicylic acid, sulfur, or benzyl peroxide, as the active ingredient.

2. Now this one is just for the ladies gentlemen sorry. Birth control! This may seem weird to some, however a girlfriend I had in high school had almost every type of acne and could not get rid of it. She went to consult a doctor, and this is what she recommended. It helped, it cleared up her skin in a matter of a month.

3. Antibiotics are another way to approach acne. Essentially when you have acne it is an infection and this is what antibiotics are prescribed for. They also make antibiotics that are geared directly towards acne. You will want the antibiotics to contain minocycline, doxycycline, erythromycin, and tetracycline.

4. Here is a common approach to treating different acne types, Isotretinoin, it is taken orally and does have great results. Isotretinoin can help with the overproduction of sebum, inflammation, and clogged pores. Like antibiotics you will need to obtain a prescription for this method to help. Now with all great things there are usually drawbacks, and this medication is associated with depression, hair loss, headaches, and more. It is also not advised that pregnant women take this medication.

5. This is another good method with a bit of a drawback, that drawback being money. This is a bit on the expensive side, but can work well. Aesthetician (basically someone who studies beauty) or a dermatologist (skin doctor) can help by giving different kinds of treatments. These range from microdermabrasions, (a resurfacing of the skin) corticosteroids, (an adrenal steroid hormone) or chemical peels are a few of the things they can do. Usually with around 5 or 6 sessions you will start seeing a difference in your acne. This depends on the type of acne and the severity of the acne.

BONUS 6th Tip

6. Proactive. This product has been endorsed by some of the biggest celebrities out there. Now I am sure they get paid and get paid well to do the endorsements for proactive, however this stuff works. If it did not work the stars would not back it. They would lose creditability with their fan base and that in turn would hurt business for them. They do not want this. I for one have seen results of people using proactive and they have all been good. Now I cannot say this is definitely the route you want to go, but I have seen it work. It also works on everything from mild types of acne to severe acne types. It is not super expensive, and they also offer a 60 day money back guarantee so you have nothing to lose trying it out.

Rounding all this out I am hoping that you have learned a little bit form this article about your type of acne as well as a solution that ends up working for your acne.

Thanks for reading!

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May
15

Do you suffer from neck pain? You are not alone. Many people do on a daily basis.

As a chiropractor that has seen thousands of patients suffering from neck pain, I have a few suggestions that may bring you some relief.

Ditch that old pillow. Sometime just getting the right pillow can make all the difference. If you sleep a lot on your back try purchasing a “contoured” pillow that will help support the curve in your neck. If side sleeping is more your style, make certain that when you are laying on your side that your head is in a “neutral” state, or in other words that the distance between your ear and each shoulder is equal. Avoid at all costs sleeping on your stomach, as this forces you to turn your head to breath, thus stretching one side of your neck for hours on end.

Take work breaks. Get away from your desk, and look up. Look left and right. Try to reverse the action of your work. If you look down and often to the left, take a break by looking up and to the right. Avoid having the mouse to far in front of your reach. You should be able to have your arm bent at ninety degrees and still operate your mouse.

Hold the bottom of the steering wheel while driving for long distances. Patients that exclusively use one hand on top of the wheel often have shoulder and neck pain as a result.

Let the head dangle. Before sleeping, if your pain allows you, try laying on your back on your bed and letting your head stretch out at the end of your bed. Allow the weight of your head to gently stretch your neck. Hold this for one minute. Repeat each night.

Try chiropractic care. We are experts in the spine, and treat neck pain on a daily basis. Often just a very gently manipulation of the bones in the neck can provide immediate relief.

Try a massage. A good massage therapist can relax the muscles that support the neck. Be sure to find a liscensed massage therapist that is familiar with trigger points or acupressure.

Do things that make you happy. This may sound simple, but many people do not know how to unwind. Stress is a huge trigger of neck pain and you must combat it by taking time for yourself.

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May
15

Do you think experts would just advise you to buy eye gels just so you could buy additional skincare products?

The skin that surrounds the eyes is very thin and sensitive. Thus, it could be easily damaged. Your facial cream or facial cleanser may already be subtle and hypoallergenic but it is still not advisable to be used in the eye contour. That is how highly sensitive the area is. Facial products usually have harsh ingredients that could bring about adverse effects to the skin around the eyes.

Is it ideal to invest in eye gels? Of course, it is. The skin around the eyes certainly also needs proper nourishment and care. It is not enough to leave it alone. If you are caring for your facial skin, you should also do the same with the eye contour. But please refrain from using your ordinary facial creams and skincare products. If you want to not bring about any adverse damage to the skin around the eyes, you should instead buy and use eye gels.

Eyeliss

Eye gels contain special and specific ingredients that have been formulated just for the area. Those formulations are very subtle and mild; they could not possibly bring about harsh effects even to the most sensitive skin. They should be patronized and regularly used. When buying skincare products for the skin around the eyes, you should particularly choose products with Eyeliss.

What is Eyeliss? You may be wondering by now. It is an important skincare ingredient. Eyeliss is an expensive formula that originated in Europe. The substance brings about dramatic effects in reducing eye bags as well as smoothing out wrinkles. It could work amazingly fast. In a commissioned clinical trial, Eyeliss has been proven to work in 65% of participants with eye wrinkling problems in as fast as 28 days.

How effective is Eyeliss?

You should know more about the substance. It has been carefully formulated based on an advanced peptide technology. Eyeliss has three important peptides. Hesperidin methyl chalcone improved circulations and lymphatic drainage in the eye area. Dipeptide valyl-tryptophane promotes necessary fluid drainage to prevent creation of eye bags and puffiness. Lipopeptide pal-GQPR decreases inflammation, reduces wrinkles, and boosts skin elasticity as well as firmness.

Combined with other ingredients, Eyeliss could make a great difference. That is why eye gels containing the substance should be used and patronized. Homeo Age is an ingredient that could bring about anti-aging antioxidants that when combined with Eyeliss could bring about ideal skincare to the area around the eyes. Haloxyl helps improve overall circulation in the area to eliminate eye bags and eye puffiness. You should choose eye gels with Eyeliss combined with any or both of these important substances/ingredients.

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May
14

In this era of entertainment, you can buy a lot of things online. Not only the things which are related to fashion but even the basic things for the use at home can also be purchased online. There is a lot of shopping going on these days and the people who are looking to find the designer wares are also going online. There is no need to go to the franchise and then select what you want. You will just have to click the link and you will be on the place to buy the things. The same remains true for the progressive eyeglasses.
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You can buy any kind of fashion items online. There are so many things which the internet has made easy for us. One of them is the purchase of the latest eyeglasses frames. It was not possible earlier to find the eyeglasses frames from all around the world. Only the people who would travel would be able to get those frames. But it is a lot different these days. The people can easily find the glasses frames online. They can find any frame of their own choice and can order it online. Once the order is placed, the item will be delivered to your home. The time of this delivery depends upon the area you live in.

The greatest advantage which the online shopping of the eyeglasses frames can be understood is that there is no pain while comparing different designs and comparing their prices. This used to be a very tough task. The people, who were to find the best price deal, would have to waste a day roaming around and searching for the lowest price. Now you can compare the prices right on the internet in an instant.

Not only will this but you also be able to buy the things online without any hustle. You can go to the online store, choose your favorite progressive frames, rimless frames or frames with metallic rims. This all is so easy now that you do not have to worry about anything.

You can also take other advantage from the availability of the eyeglasses frames online. You can speed up the things. You can visit many stores instantly. You can open more than one websites and can compare the prices and can view different styles of the frames online. Moreover, you can use the internet to know what is in and what is out.

Remember that while choosing the frames and searching the stores, you will have to be careful that you are visiting a legitimate and legal seller. This will keep you safe and you will not lose any money through frauds and scams.

May
14

Baldness is a condition that is common to both men and women. Although the exact causes of baldness is still yet to be verified, certain factors like hormones, heredity, age and even stress can be contributory factors of this condition. Hair loss that resulted from diseases or non-hereditary factors can still grow and be replaced naturally but hair loss resulting from common baldness is regretfully permanent.

In men, baldness begins with the thinning of the hairline. Then, there’s the appearance of a bald spot by the crown of the head. For women, bald patches are uncommon. They only experience a diffused thinning of hair.

The causes of baldness are conceptualized through factors like natural hormones, diet, improper hair care, pregnancy, medications and certain diseases. In order to find effective baldness treatment, you need to initially know the underlying cause of the condition.

As mentioned earlier, regretfully, common baldness is incurable. The only way to go about this is to undergo hair replacement therapy. This procedure has been existent since the 1950s. No worries – surgical hair replacement is a known low risk procedure.

What surgeons do in this procedure is remove tiny plugs of one’s hair-bearing skin. Then, they transplant them to tiny holes in one’s scalp. These plugs are actually taken from the band of hair that extends from over one’s ears to around the back of one’s scalp. In one session, surgeons can transplant 60 to 100 hair plugs. The diameter of each is just the same as the diameter of a regular pencil eraser. To minimize discomfort during surgery, mild sedation and local anesthesia is given to patients.

With this procedure, hospitalization is no longer necessary. In fact, after a couple of days from the operation, you’ll see tiny scabs forming around every hair graft. When these scabs disappear, donor hairs would fall out. Then, new hairs will generally start to grow after a few months.

At an average, the cost of this procedure would start at around $2,000 per round of surgery. The usual numbers of sessions are three to four, depending on how extensive the bald area is.

These days when hair has become a conspicuous element in most cultural definitions of youth, sexuality and fashion, it is only natural to be bothered at the sight of thinning hair. This is especially if it’s you hair that’s thinning and getting bald. Just as the causes of baldness vary, proper assessment is necessary in order to determine how you can bring back your lost hair. If it’s a permanent condition, don’t worry – there are currently more advanced ways to resolve this dilemma.

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May
13

The journal Diabetes Care reported in March 2010 that Australian researchers had established women (age forty-five and above) were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes if they had breastfed their infants. Specifically, the fifty three thousand women tested showed the same odds of developing type 2 diabetes as did women who had never had children… this is in stark contrast with women who had breastfed their babies and who showed a fourteen percent reduction in the “diabetes risk”.
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Although these findings do not suggest that breastfeeding actually protects women against diabetes type 2 in later life, they do echo several earlier studies… according to University of Western Sydney researcher Dr Bette Liu.

“What’s new,” she reported, “is that the study also included childless women… and they were fifty percent more likely to develop diabetes type 2 than their counterparts who breastfed. In other words, while having children does increase the risk, feeding babies naturally reverses this.”

“Put slightly differently” Liu continued, “it appears that while having children increases the chances of women developing type 2 diabetes in later life, breastfeeding can restore this risk to the same level as that of women who have never had children.”

The fifty three thousand subjects were given questionnaires that covered health and life-style issues. After collating the raw data on diabetes prevalence, the researchers factored in a number of issues they thought might have an impact. These included age, weight, family history of type 2 diabetes, reported exercise habits, education, income levels and, of course, breastfeeding patterns.

“The results are great,” said Liu. “Breastfeeding is a natural activity that women can usually choose to do and it’s wonderful to know that it is good for their health as well.”

The researchers remain unsure as to exactly how the effect they discovered works in practice. Liu speculates that it could have something to do with a long term impact the hormonal changes that come about with breastfeeding might have on a women’s ability to process blood sugar. “I would say to women considering breastfeeding that there are benefits not only for the health of their babies but also for their own longer-term health,” she concluded.

As scientific research journeys on, it seems to happen more and more that we rediscover the wisdom of the ancients that is often little more than a return to common sense and naturally healthy lifestyles. This is includes the knowledge that breastfeeding not only produces healthy children, but also reduces the mother’s chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?

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May
13

One of the largest growing health businesses is that of family chiropractor. Chiropractic treatment deals with manipulating the skeleton-muscular system in order to best align your body and relieve pain. They deal with very sensitive areas that have been harmed due to trauma, natural wear, or degenerative diseases.

For this reason, chiropractors must deal with areas of a patients’ body that are sensitive to pain. With a family chiropractor there is an emphasis on being gentle, since they often work on children. If you bring your child for the first time, monitor his or her reactions carefully to ensure the chiropractor is gentle enough. The goal is to merely stretch the back and take strain off the muscles and bones.

The back is a very sensitive place that can be easily damaged. Many people carry tension there and, after a while, the tension can have a big effect. It is in the most central part of your body, so if your hurt your back, it will hurt to do just about everything.

Children often speak of back pain because of rapid growth. The muscles and bones cannot keep up with their bodies’ urges to grow, and therefore muscles and joints can be very sore. It is becoming a growing trend with parents to bring their children to a family chiropractor instead of passing off soreness just as ‘growing pains’.

It is a combination of massage, physical therapy, and bone alignment. Chiropractors are often recommended by doctors as a regular source of treatment and relief from pain. Though backs are their specialty, they service all areas of the body that have pain. Often the hips, shoulders, and the neck are also regularly treated since there is such a close relationship between them and the back.

One reason why many people prefer chiropractors to forms of medical help for body pain is because it is very non-invasive. While other doctors may speak of surgery, back braces, or medication, chiropractors attempt to find less severe ways to fix the problem. It is very much like physical therapy in hoping to strengthen and train the weak parts of your body so they can handle strain far more easily.

The most common treatment is the spinal adjustment. This involves a precise knowledge of how much force the spine can take. By focusing on three points, the chiropractor will push your spine slightly past its normal range of flexibility, but not far enough to cause damage. You may hear popping and feel immense relief as tension is let out. It is done for the purpose of giving your spine greater flexibility and allowing you to naturally relieve tension and align your back naturally.

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