Food intolerance differs from a food allergy in the respect that it tends not to involve the immune system and it generally is not life-threatening but it can make you feel unwell.
Food intolerances can occur at any age, they tend to be a reaction to a particular food or food ingredient.
Common foods and ingredients which people tend to be intolerant to are:
• Milk
• Wheat
• Soya
• Apples
• Eggs
• Pork
• Mushrooms
• Chicken
• Lettuce
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Solanine (found in certain vegetables)
• Salicylate (found in fruit, vegetables and herbs)
• Tyramine (found in aged wine, meat and cheese)
• Purines (found in protein foods)
• Amines (found in cooked foods and preservatives)
• Colourings
• Flavouring
As you can see, these are everyday foods and ingredients.
You may have been eating a food or ingredient which you are intolerant to for many years and not realised it until now when your symptoms are showing.
If you have a food intolerance, you may be having other physical or emotional symptoms.
The list is endless but it does show you that your other small health problems may be linked to your food intolerance.
If this is the case, then it is good news, all you have to do is find out which food or ingredients you have an intolerance to and you can cure all those small annoying health problems too.
Stewart Hare C.H.Ed Dip NutTh
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Fast weight loss diets normally work by having you simply eat a lot less than you usually do and keeping your fat intake to an absolute minimum. Other fast weight loss diets tell you to just eat certain foods or drink juices until you reach a weight you’re comfortable with.
When you attempt to lose weight with fast weight loss diets by making radical changes in your eating habits and going from consuming thousands of calories a day to far less calories, it is inevitable that you will you see the number on your scale go down. The question to ask yourself is what are you actually losing on this seemingly effective fast weight loss diet?
You see, losing weight is one thing but losing fat is another. The difference is that when you simply lose weight, this could be water weight, muscle tissue or body fat. However, while fast weight loss diets often help you lose weight, rarely will you be losing much body fat.
What’s more, as a result of the loss of muscle tissue, your body burns fewer calories every day, since muscle uses up lots of calories by itself. This means that fast weight loss diets will make it even easier than before to gain weight. This is why the majority of dieters, especially those on fast weight loss diets, put the weight they lost back on, and often gain more weight, after going back to their old eating habits.
Another disadvantage of fast weight loss diets which tell you to drastically drop your calories is that after your body immediately responds by losing weight initially the weight loss will slow down to a halt. This is because your body is made to survive, and when you suddenly stop eating as much as normal, it holds on to your body fat since one of the purposes of fat is to fuel your body when you don’t have enough energy coming from food.
As a result of all this, you will find that pretty soon you will go back on another fast weight loss diet to lose all the weight you packed back on. This is where the concept of yo-yo dieting came from and one of the signs of such behaviour is flabby upper arms which is a result of the loss of muscle tissue. One study found that going on fast weight loss diets frequently can weaken the immune system and even increase your chances of developing cancer.
Fast weight loss diets also focus a lot on what you eat but very little on why you get fat. The truth is that many of us do not get anywhere near the amount of exercise that we should, and when you also take into account how much food we eat, and the high levels of sugar and fat we consume, it’s no surprise that almost 35% of Americans are obese. However, it is very difficult to gather the energy to exercise at a moderate pace since fast weight loss diets are usually low-calorie diets.
Rather then resort to fast weight loss diets, I recommend focusing on eating small and frequent healthy meals to avoid fat gain, and implement an exercise program involving both aerobic exercise and strength/resistance training to burn the fat and build muscle so your body burns more calories at rest. A fast weight loss diets will have the opposite effect and is a very unhealthy way to lose fat.
Why do 95% of dieters fail within one year? Why are fat burning pills a complete rip-off? Joseph Cole answers these questions and more in his revealing industry report “Weight Loss Scams, Myths and Cons Exposed”. Get your FREE copy today at:
Today, parents are more aware of specialized nutrition for specific problems that arise from infant and children’s health issues. Television influences the visual stimuli and since the children are not born with a preference for salty or overly sweet foods, they have to acquire a taste for them. Despite attempts to provide 3 nutritional meals a day, who says they will eat it. Kids are finicky and won’t sit still even though, the food is prepared with the best of intentions.
Now Foods has complete Vitamins and Minerals in Orange Splash and Berry Chewables.
Child Life Essentials has a great tasting Vitamin and Mineral in 8 oz liquid. Chewables and Liquids have come a long way since first introduced in the 60’s (I was there). Yummi Bears by Hero Nutritional Products has Whole Food Nutrients in a value size, so if you have several little ones, this has 200 Bears with certified organic veggies and fruits, all the good ones, even brussel sprouts, cabbage and spinach, various berries too. For the older ones that can swallow, they also have a Vegetable And Fruit Blend in caps that have an enormous array of nutrients including Green Tea, Digestive Enzymes etc. Of course breast milk is the very best for infants, however your Doctor might even suggest a multi in liquid for little ones. I find prescription ones not entirely full of the right nutrients, and may also have other ingredients from the pharmaceutical companies, that may not sit well with a parent, who would like a more wholesome multi. Country Life has Maxi Babycare with iron in a Raspberry flavor, with all the essentials including Vitamin K for bone development. Twinlab has Infant Care, fruit flavored with Fish Liver and Cod Liver Oil. Bringing up baby means a lot of diapers. With all the new kinds of diapers out in the market including the plastic ones, California Baby has a Calm Diaper Cream, with food grade nutrients from Zinc, Tea Tree and Aloe, with an Essential Oil Blend.
Boiron Homeopathics has Calendula Ointment to sooth sore tuchies. California Baby has a Bubble Bath for the sensitive ones, this should be for all young ones, so they don’t have to deal with artificial ingredients and the bad stuff from other sources. It comes unscented in 13 ozs and no irritation. They specialize in chemical sensitive children, and have quite a range of products. Now, you pre -moms, that needs some help with nausea and feeling icky. Babys Bliss has a Peach and Ginger flavored Liquid, supporting those endearing moments. Babys Bliss also has Gripe Water in 4 ozs of Liquid. An amazing formula that works for those teething stressful times of discomfort (they say if grown-ups had to go thru that, we couldn’t do it). Hylands has Teething tabs for babies and a Homeopathic Kids Kit with 7 items for the little ones to keep on hand for any issue that walks in. This Kit addresses all the various ailments that we all have experienced while growing up.
Ear Infection, pain and hurting!
A Hot Topic in every parenthood, because it’s so prevalent. Recent studies of children who have had a tympanostomy, an incision in the ear drums, to place plastic drainage tubes show that up to 52% of young ones develop hard scar tissue, according to Dr. Robert Mendelsohn MD, author of “How to raise a healthy child, in spite of your Doctor”. Dr. Michael A Schmidt, author of “Childhood Ear Infection”, wrote the great majority of all ear infections involve no bacteria, they are inflammation and fluid back up, usually related to allergies, mostly to milk products and nutritional deficiencies including not enough Vitamin C. Hyland’s has Eardrops and Tabs for ear pain and burning. Eclectic Institute also has Ear Drops For Kids, just warm and drop in the ear. Wallys Natural Products has Ear Oil, Almond, Tea Tree, Garlic Eucalyptus, and Mullein (good for glands). You may look into Ear Candling, an old fashioned remedy that cleans wax out of the ears. The American Academy of Allergy and Immunology, says that a child has more than 25 percent chance of developing allergies if one parent has it.
If both have, it’s a 66 percent chance. Most are unaware that allergic and chemical sensitivities can trigger ear infections, a higher rate even in the antibiotic group, so be sure to give Natren’s Life Start for Infants 2.5 ozs. It provides the beneficial bacteria to restore what has been destroyed in the gut. American Health has the Acidophilus in Liquid Culture 16 ozs in flavors of Banana, Blueberry and Strawberry. Child Life Essentials has Life Colostrum Plus with the Probiotics. Colostrum will rebuild anti-bodies and children may do a complete turn about. In powder form you can sprinkle on foods, or even take separately. Also drop in some Garlic Oil, odor free by Wakunoga/Kyolic, it helps keeps away vampires and possibly infections and parasites. For those that need more concentration and more focusing, less squirming and fidgeting, Source Naturals has Focus Child which includes all forms of Phosphatidylcholine (brain food) DHA and Grape Seed. Jarrow has a Liquid Max Dha, which can be added to shakes and food. Natures Way has the Efa Blend Attention Focus, essentials for intelligence and vision. Since Calcium is antagonistic to lead build up in children’s bodies and those that have a Lactose Intolerance with dairy, Country Life has Tall Tree Chewable Calcium in Tutti-frutti Flavors. Peter Gillhams Natural Vitality has Kid Calm and Baby Calm, in a special proprietary formulation of Magnesium and Vitamin C, relaxing nerves and more concentration. In Schools and Daycares, respiratory problems always arise.
So when the Immune System need attention Bio Strath Liquid is perfect for children immunity, all with herbs, nutrients and aminos. Herbs For Kids has VI Protection Blend for all Viral Infections, very tasty with Echinacea, Hyssop and Lemon Balm. For more builder-uppers, there is Barley Essence Berry Blend by Green Foods Corporation in Raspberry and Straw berry flavors. It’s Young Barley Grass, a complete Phytonutrients (veggies). For problems with mucus and coughing, Boerickle And Tafel has the 8 oz Childrens Cough And Bronchial Syrup for that deep growling bark. (We used to call it croup) Eclectic Institute has Echinacea/ Goldenseal, a natural antibiotic in a Strawberry Tincture, and Herbs For Kids has several blends helpful for allergies, cold and flu. Don’t forget the Vitamin C in Liquid by Natrol Ester C With Elderberry and Source Naturals has the very hip Mega Kid (a new one) in a variety of flavors includes the antioxidants Spinach, Broccoli and Carrots (just what they love to eat) What about Constipation and Diarrhea? Yerba Prima Powder in Apple Cinnamon 12 ozs, with Oat Bran and Barley Bran, put some in Rainbow Light’s Protein Energizer. Rice Protein, no dairy, no soy, or sugar, low fat, low carb, Chocolate flavor with a Whole Food Base, and easy to digest. Even grown-ups can do this. Also good to fill you up, since obesity concerns are running rampant.
Throw in Real Berry/Real Green Bars, has all the Berries, and Apple Fibers, makes a wholesome Snack, between meals or part of one. No High Fructose Corn Syrup or Trans Fat Oils, lethal for children with special needs or low immunity. In today’s world pediatricians are now recognizing and acknowledging the importance of Supplementation. There’s even more awareness in the medical community as many over the counters are filled with dyes, sugars and alcohol. Parents now have the ability to ensure their offspring will be alright and healthy Naturally!
Click here for more products for herbspro.com/articles/children-health-support.asp Children and Babies Health Support
Written exclusively for herbspro.com Herbspro.com by Suma G Nathan, Certified Registered Holistic Nutritionist/Chinese Herbalist.
Will spending money on diet programs and clubs give you weight loss motivation? I recently had an epiphany about this recently after reading this interesting quote in a book called “The World’s Best Kept Diet Secrets” by Diane Irons.
Dieters have been fooled into spending large sums of money to enter a diet club or program that promises to help you lose weight. Remember, you are still the one doing the work, no matter how much you spend on some pricey gimmick. “I became a diet club junkie, going from program to program. I’m sure that I spent thousands of dollars, believing that someone else was going to set me free from my years of overeating. It was only when I came to the decision to take charge of my own body that I dropped the pounds.” Dan, age 47, 130 pounds lost
There are so many different diet programs and clubs to choose from these days that it’s mind-boggling. There are almost as many different diet programs as there are dieters!
We’ve got Jenny Craig, made famous by Kirstie Alley and other programs that use celebrities as spokespersons. We’ve got weight watchers, of course, and now they’re all going online to push their programs. We’ve got new diet books out every month and the most recent trend are those that blame emotional eating for weight gain.
Taking your checkbook or credit card out to join a weight loss program or buy a weight loss book might make you feel better for a little while…it might make you feel like you’re at least doing something but if you don’t do the real hard work of following the guidelines, failure will follow.
Dan’s comment about making the decision to take charge of his own body really opened my eyes to the winning motivation that lies behind every successful weight loss story. You’ve got to face the truth that it’s your own bad choices that are making you fat and then start to make the right choices to eat right and exercise.
Bottom line is that you’ve got to value being healthy (and thin) more than you value the momentary taste of fat and sugar.
Changing your attitude about your health is the motivating factor that will help you lose the weight and keep it off. If you choose to spend money on a diet club or program, make sure you choose one that teaches you healthy lifestyle choices and not just following the rules of the program. Then you’ll have lasting weight loss success.
Eunice Coughlin is the founder of healthy-living-for-moms.com healthy-living-for-moms.com a resource for moms of all ages and stages who seek spiritual and physical health and wellness.
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that results in the swelling of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. It affects the lower part of the small intestine, the ileum. The swelling, which extends deep into the lining of the affected organ, can cause pain and make the intestines empty frequently, leading to diarrhea. As the symptoms of Crohn’s disease are like other intestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis, it is difficult to diagnose.
Crohn’s disease affects men and women equally and seems to run in some families. Occurring in people of all age groups, the disease is more often diagnosed in people between the ages of 20 and 35. Abdominal pain, often in the lower right area and chronic diarrhea are the early symptoms. Rectal bleeding, fever, weight loss, loss of appetite, arthritis, and skin problems may also occur. Bleeding may be severe and constant, leading to anemia. Children with Crohn’s disease may suffer delayed development and stunted growth and fatigue resulting from anemia.
Obstruction or blockage of the intestine due to swelling and the formation of scar tissue is a general health problem related to the disease. Crohn’s disease may also cause sores, or ulcers, that tunnel through the affected area into surrounding tissues, such as the bladder, vagina, or skin. The tunnels, called fistulas, often become infected. Sometimes fistulas can be treated with medicine, but in certain cases surgery is essential. About one third of the people who develop Crohn’s disease, have problems around the anus. Small cracks called fissures may also progress in the lining of the mucus membrane of the anus.
Nutritional health problems such as deficiencies of proteins, calories, and vitamins are common. These deficiencies may be caused by inadequate dietary intake, loss of protein, or malabsorption. Other health problems associated with Crohn?s disease include inflammation in the eyes, mouth or spine; reddish skin nodules, kidney stones, gallstones, and diseases of the liver and the biliary system. Medical science has not yet discovered a cause or cure for Crohn’s disease, but many drugs are available to control the symptoms.
e-CrohnsDisease.com Crohns Disease provides detailed information on Crohns Disease, Crohns Disease Symptoms, Crohns Disease Diet, Crohns Disease Treatment and more. Crohns Disease is affiliated with e-Colitis.com Colitis Symptoms.
When spring opens her arms and invites new birth and awakening, we almost feel brand new ourselves. We feel refreshed, revived, and full of excitement at the warmth of the coming season. For most of us, this inviting image exists, yet for others, the sluggish, heavy and toxic weight of our winter hibernation means we are less than excited at the prospect of baring our flesh. Dimpled skin, cellulite, unsightly color and slow metabolism are one of the many factors that spring us into action. We decide to renew our memberships, revise our eating plans and count our calories.
You may already be aware that you should do something, yet the thought of climbing out of your winter skin may seem so overwhelming you don’t know where to begin. Empty promises vouched by magic weight loss pills, semi-starvation diets, no pain no gain workout routines – all this is enough to leave you mystified.
If you have never tried detoxing before, you may be pleasantly surprised. Think abundance, think healthy nutritious meals, think bikini! In as little as 21 days, you can start looking more radiant, filled with boundless energy and streamlined waistline ready for those revealing summer outfits.
The benefits are endless, 3 weeks is all it takes to build a habit. In 3 weeks you will learn how to prepare, eat and nourish your body with energy boosting meals, conquer your cravings and flatten your stomach. Now the prospect of finally feeling healthy and looking good may spur you into action, but before you grab the first detox you see, take into consideration these 10 PRE DETOX PRINCIPLES.
First, ensure you visit your GP and discuss your ideas about starting a detox regime. Any medical conditions need to be taken into consideration before embarking on any dietary changes.
Find a suitable DETOX that is no shorter than 21 days.
Ensure your meals are balanced, nutritious and include all the essential vitamins and minerals.
Enlist the support of your friends and family, make sure you know why you are detoxing and tell them.
Introduce moderate exercise well before you start to reduce the stress of to many changes at once.
Cut down and eventually stop the consumption of caffeine, sugar and any other stimulants before starting your detox. You body will experience harsh symptoms if you suddenly stop.
Find local farmers and organic produce and familiarize yourself with what is available to you.
Re-organize your social diary so as not to conflict with your DETOX. If you have a busy month, delay your detox until your find a suitable time to begin.
Ensure you are not going through a stressful phase in your life such as moving home, changing jobs or personal grief.
Set a date, take action and commit, commit, commit.
Debby Fisher established The DETOX Coach with the focus on re-energizing, revitalizing and detoxing the body and mind too create a healthy strong foundation that will in turn support goals and dreams with energy and vitality. Debby is qualified Life Coach, Nutritionist and NLP Practitioner. To find out more please visit detoxcoach.com detoxcoach.com
The fairytale Rapunzel, centered around the secret love between a young woman and her prince, Rapunzel was held captive in a tower with no doors by a powerful evil enchantress. Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair called the prince, she did and the prince climbed up her hair and into the tower of his love, they made plans to runaway together. The powerful evil enchantress was less than happy to discover the young lady’s new found love and plans. She punished Rapunzel by cutting off all of her hair before banishing her to the desert, if you forget how the story goes it was a good one, don’t worry it has a happy ending,
What if the story took a different turn? What if the powerful and evil enchantress let her keep her hair, and kept her in the tower and killed her beloved price instead? Well for one thing you would not get the happy ending we have all grown to love and we may have seen Rapunzel escape the way she planned only to run screaming to her hairstylist demanding a shave off or perhaps she would have saved herself the trip, popped open some wine and taken the scissors to her hair herself.
Shave it off NOW!
I have shaved my head myself and on a couple of other occasions cut most of my hair off myself at different times in my life. A friend of mine had started to first cut the sides then a bit here and a bit there without any particular form or structure until it was a bit of a mess. I have had clients do the same and I have had to “fix” it, sometimes with a shorter more even hair cut and sometimes with extentions. I had a client with cancer that wanted me to shave her head. She said she wanted to be the one that decided to go bald; it was not the cancer’s decision. I shaved the beautiful blond locks that I had seen every eight weeks right off. Her eyes filled with tears along with my own, but we both smiled because it was her decision, she also decided in that moment to live and fight the cancer. She felt like a warrior with her new hairless statement, and she lived.
I have had many mostly female clients admit to a hair chopping or two. Some of the more passive ones will come in and ask to have their long blonde hair cut to their chin and colored brown, My comment is generally “So how is life treating you”? Nine times out of ten it is a break up, a death, the husband cheated, or on one occasion my client’s cat died and the next thing I knew her hair was gone. Recently a famously troubled pop star did it too, off with her hair! So why does this happen? Is it serious? Is it a form of independence and freedom or is it a clue to an impending nervous break down? Perhaps it is a way to release a painful part of your life and start new. I have found that it is mostly women that do this when they are in a state of stress. Should this be looked at as a mental health issue in women? To truly form an opinion I think we must first look at the history of the act itself. Head shaving.
For centuries the cutting of hair and the act of shaving one’s head has been an act of punishment, creed and a visible distinction between the wealthy and the poor. The earliest example of head shaving was in ancient Egypt and Greece. If one had long beautiful hair it was a symbol of wealth and power, if you were lower class, a worker or a slave chances are your head was shaved. In the 1700’s hair was worn with many wigs, attachment, extentions and adornments, the bigger and more elaborate the hair the finer and wealthier gentleman or lady you must be.
For Religion
If you look carefully you will notice that head shaving is a part of the Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Jain and Hindu traditions. Buddhist and Christian monks generally undergo some form of head shaving during their ordination. When a prince that became the Buddha left the castle to seek a way beyond aging sickness and eventual death one of the first things he did was shave his head and beard off this is why Buddhist monks completely shave their heads and beards, to show their commitment for their beliefs. In some religions you shave your head when your father or loved one dies. The concept behind shaving one’s head is a symbol of renunciation, hair is a symbol of attachment and to shed it is to shed your life of worldly attachment. So on one hand it can be a noble thing to have it shorn off for your religious values, for ordination and ritual, in the dark ages it was not uncommon for a wife to cut off her braid and give it to her husband that was forging in to battle for good luck and to protect him on his journey. In the 1800’s people wore lockets that encased locks of their loved ones hair. We still even today keep locks of hair as keep sake; our child’s first hair clipping is usually saved and kept as a memento. On the other hand it can be a symbol of punishment, disgrace, humiliation and degradation.
Punishment
Prisoners, the insane and the ww2 concentration camps all practiced head shaving as part of punishment and for hygienic reasons this act prevented the spread of lice. As of the 2006, several countries such as the United States, Russia and Libya still shaved the heads of prison inmates as a punishment as well as the boot camps for juvenile delinquents. The practice of shaving heads has been used in the military, mostly for new recruits. And any hair they are allowed has to be military standard which is just about 4cm of hair on the top.
Many women over the centuries have had this kind of punishment bestowed upon them for many reasons, it was common for men to shave a women’s head for the act of adultery, prosutution even disobedience. A textile mill in England in 1849 used to house male and female workers most of them were young children and teens. They were forced to work 10-14 hours per day and the ones that had a home outside the mill would have to walk and hour there and back, they needed to earn enough for food as families were large in that day and if you were able you worked. There was physical abuse used in the mills (flogging, the strap, and other beatings) for being late, not working fast enough and talking back, but the worst and most feared punishments of all was when you disobeyed, tried to escape or lied you got your head shaved. The girls were proud of their hair and hoped it that it would help them to get a husband and out of the horrible conditions of the mill one day.
During ww2 in France from 1943 -1946 about 20,000 women of all ages and professions were accused of sexual, economical and over all collaborating with the occupying Germans. Most often it was the men who carried out the punishment of shaving the accused head sometimes in the town square among a cheering crowd to humiliate, degrade and make an example of their betrayal and sometimes it was a matter that was carried out within the home at the hands of the accused woman’s father or husband. The act of shaving their heads was in it self was a punishment but also a reminder of the offence to the accused as it grew out and to the public that would throw things at these women as the passed by wearing a scarf if they were allowed, to cover the shame.
Fashion
In the late 70’s early 80’s shaved heads and British inspired punk rock became a no hold barred way to rebel against parents, authority and everything that you thought was oppressing you, people shaved their heads to declare their independence over their own identities and abandoned ideas and actions that were expected. The skinhead was born. And what about the athletes like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley that made the bald head the in thing and tons of young men all over were imitating the cool new athletic look, However when a women goes a shave her head people look but has the look really been copied? What about Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, Demi Moore in GI. Jane, or Natalie Portman in V for Vendetta, I do recall when Sinead O’Connor was popular seeing some people pulling off the look but it did not cause our scissors to need constant sharpening like the “Rachael” did in the 90’s.
How we help others by “chopping”our hair
Donating our natural, 10-12 inches worth of hair to organizations that assist in making wigs for children with cancer is one way to help. I have had clients do this, one particularly unselfish young lady all of 10 years old wanted to donate her hair to the Locks of Love Foundation. She cut her waist length hair to her chin to help another child feel a bit better while fighting for his or her life. I was truly inspired by her generosity. In August of 2006 thousands of prisoners had been shaving their heads and chests to donate hair to help mop up the Philippines’ worst oil spill. The collection was in response to a nationwide drive. Tons of hair and feathers were used to absorb more than 200,000 liters of industrial fuel that leaked from a tanker when it sank off the central island of Guimara 15,000 inmates at a maximum security prison in southern Manila, including 1,000 on death row, began donating hair. Combine the hair with the oil and your going to get the biggest clog in history and you thought it was gross when you had to unclog your shower drain. About 500 hair salons in Manila have joined the “Stop the Oil Spill” drive by collecting hair clippings from their shops.
So depending on when and why you shaved your head or if you did it at all or you are just thinking about doing it, There are some common traits that seem to appear regardless of the actual reason, 1) control, whether wanting to be in control or emotionally out of control, 2) usually some kind of life marker, event, call to action or sometimes even a traumatic life experience. What ever the reason it is an experience that one ever forgets.
For more if formation go to karmakollective.com/” target=”_blank www.karmakollective.com
Roxanne Muir- Hairstylist/Makeup artist and business owner, continually updating my skills and asking questions.
It is too bad that all the people capable of running the world are to busy driving cabs and cutting hair. -George Burns
Are you in need of new dentures? It can be difficult to find affortable dentures, especially if you are in an extremely rural area of the country or are on a fixed income. There are a few options that may be able to help you, one of which is called a dental discount plan. Let me explain further.
Dental discount plans offer affordable dentures by giving their plan members discounts from ten percent to as much as sixty percent off the usual cost of dental care. Of course, these discounts will vary depending on the plan that you choose and the area of the country that you reside in. Dental discount plans are not insurance policies! This is where some people get confused, but it’s really very simple.
Dental insurance won’t cover many cosmetic dentistry procedures unless you’ve held the policy for an extended period of time and sometimes not in full or not at all. Also, insurance won’t cover any need that is "pre-existing". This means that if you need affortable dentures right away that dental insurance is not your answer because you’ll have a waiting period of at least twelve months before the policy will pay any portion of the cost. Even then you’ll be looking at paying half or more out of your own pocket.
Dental discount plans allow you to see a dentist within 1-3 business days and receive a big discount on your new dentures. I’ve seen some dentures that are discounted as much as 40-60%. Once again, this will depend upon where you live and which discount plan you choose. You’ll simply find a participating dentist in your area, pay a low annual fee to join, individual or family and make an appointment. Pay your provider the discounted rate in full after each visit and you both win big! If you’re in need of affortable dentures, then dental discount plans just may be your best bet.
Do Dental Discount Plans Really Save You Money or is Dental Insurance The Way To Go? Find Out The REAL Truth by Visiting Discount-Dental.net/ Discount-Dental.net or by clicking on discount-dental.net/Affordable-Dentures.html Affortable Dentures . Joe Stewart is a former Life And Health Insurance Agent that now works for himself by providing solid, expert information to consumers.
What can you do to counter the effects of too much sitting? Last month we discussed how the human body was engineered to be moving. We also discussed how postural problems related to too many hours in the seated position can have adverse effects on your health such as low back pain (LBP), rounded shoulders, forward head position (FHP), respiratory problems, range of motion restrictions and butt muscles that simply don’t work.
Does this sound like anyone you know?
The obvious suggestion one would expect from a fitness trainer is to incorporate exercise into your day to counter balance the forces of your workday. So let’s get it over with… We all need to make exercise a regular part of our day. Unfortunately, all exercises are not good exercises for all people. In fact, some exercises can actually make you worse off than if you hadn’t exercised at all.
Here are some exercise tips for people who spend too much time at the desk…
Avoid the temptation to “crunch” your abdominals to death. It’s human nature to tend to focus on improving on what we already do well. Men with strong chests like to show off their wares with a bench press. At the same time those same men with buff chests and skinny legs ignore the all too important squat.
If you observe any group exercise class sooner or later the group will eventually engage in some sort of “crunch” exercise. For many people the crunch exercise should literally be the last exercise on the list. Why? Because the crunch, which targets the rectus abdominus, is working a muscle that’s already hypertonic. It LIKES to do the work anyway on its own.
What’s wrong with having an over developed rectus abdominus? How about adverse changes to your posture, such as forward head position, forward shoulders, reduced respiratory capacity, and reduced range of motion of the neck and head, to name a few. Eventually they will all lead to chronic problems down the road, such as a dowagers hump (hump back), poor balance that increases the chances of a nursing home bound fall, headaches, back pain.
Exercising the abdominal muscles is a great idea. As long as there is balance in your routine. Most people have VERY weak lower abdominals (because the hip flexors, another group of hypertonic muscles, usually do the real work) and nearly as weak oblique musculatures.
As far as the deep abdmoninal wall is concerned, the transverse abdominus (TVA), forget it. For most people have this muscle is completely shut off.
If you’re going to design your own exercise programs here’s a couple of simple rules to follow:
1. Perform abdominal exercises at the end of your routine. If you exhaust your abdominals in the early stages of your workout, how are how going to stabilize your spine when performing your squats? (Don’t answer with a “belt”, please!)
2. When exercising the abdominal, always work the muscles in the order from weakest to strongest: Lower, Obliques and Upper abdominals. If you run out of time or energy, skip the upper abdominal exercises! But don’t skip the lowers…
Avoid the temptation to over develop your chest muscles. This is really the same rule as the first. Don’t exercise muscles that are already strong (and short) at the expense of other muscles that are long (and weak). Men in particular, love to hammer their chest muscles. No doubt, a great chest is a key element for the beach scene. But if the opposing back muscles are not equally strong your shoulders will be pulled forward because your weak back musculature is unable to counter balance the short, tight chest muscles.
Maintain neutral alignment of your head during exercise. If you sit at your desk most of the day chances are that you’ve already been “programmed” to lean your head forward. A forward head position (FHP) can lead to many undesirable secondary problems such as headaches, range of motion issues and respiratory problems. Avoid the temptation of tucking your chin or tilting your head back. You’ll have all day at the desk to reinforce bad postural habits… don’t do it when exercising too.
Sitting all day can make your butt go to sleep. Our butts, also known as the gluteus maximus, are the most powerful muscles in our bodies. They were designed to propel our UPRIGHT bodies over land, such as walking and running. If you sit on them all day the natural tendency will be to follow the golden rule: If you don’t use it, you lose it.
To maintain a properly functioning butt, as well as an aesthetically pleasing one, be shore to incorporate judicious amounts of squats and lunges (aka, butt busters) into your fitness routine.
If you’re under the false impression that you don’t need a functioning butt, but you think the one you have looks good, think again! What do you think you are doing when you get out of your car? You open the door, plant your outside leg on the ground, and perform a single legged lunge to raise yourself out of the seat. Do you think that “lunge” is going to get any easier as you grow older? By the way… If your butt isn’t working it won’t look good. It’ll be FLAT!
You might have seen those advertisements for the device to help elderly people get out of a chair. Basically it looks like a seat cushion that the person sits on. When they want to get up the seat cushion has a motorized or spring-loaded mechanism that helps the person stand up out of the seated position. If you’re doing your squats properly, you might avoid ever needing any aids to stand up.
Stretch those stiff muscles after a light warm-up. If you’ve already identified the muscle groups that are chronically tight congratulations. You’ve already overcome the temptation to stretch your naturally long muscles. Before going into your stretch make certain you’re thoroughly warmed up. Warmed up muscles will not only give you better results when stretching, but you will also be less likely to pull a tendon or muscle. Of course, never bounce even if you are warmed up. Bouncing, or ballistic stretching, is a short-cut to injury.
Form is king. This should be your exercise mantra. Your golden rule. The rule that rules… We’ve already mentioned that fact that choosing the wrong exercise can yield worse results than not exercising at all. Worse yet, performing an exercise with bad form is like programming a computer to remember that 1 1 = 3. Once your brain has been improperly programmed it is much more difficult to retrain it.
In his book Motor Learning and Performance, R. H. Schmidt (Human Kinetics, 1991) states that it takes between 300 and 350 repetitions of an exercise before it becomes part of our brains natural process. You might have heard someone tell a new exerciser in a gym setting to develop a “groove” when performing a bench press. When an exercise has been repeated 300-350 times, that movement becomes a motor engram… or neurological program.
Would you like to test yourself for a motor engram? Interlock your hands together as if you were praying in church. Do it without thinking… Look at your hands and determine which index finger is on top of the other. Now interlock your hands together except this time do it the opposite way as you did the first time. If your left index finger was on top before make your right index finger on top. Doesn’t it feel awkward? Your brain is so deeply engramed with that when you perform the same grip “backwards” it doesn’t even feel right.
Now here’s the real kicker… It only takes 300-350 repetitions to learn an exercise in the first place. Once it is learned, with good form or otherwise, it will take 3,000-5,000 reps to “unlearn” it. Have you ever tried to learn a new golf swing from a golf pro after hacking away at the game for 5 years? Pretty tough right?
Once you’re learned an exercise incorrectly, your brain will THINK you are doing it correct. To add insult to injury (little pun), if you’re trained by a professional exercise specialist how to properly perform the exercise, your brain will think you’re performing the exercise incorrectly.
Bottom line: Learn all new exercises correctly in the first place and always exercise with perfect form.
Remember, if you’re new to exercises you should consult with your doctor before engaging in any new fitness programs.
Dave Turpin, C.H.E.K Level 1 and ACE CPT, is the President and owner of Desk Jockey Fitness, a functional fitness center in Charlotte, NC. As a former information technology executive, Dave understands first hand the trials of today’s office workers. Dave’s approach to fitness is intensely focused on posture and muscle balance for long-term health and fitness.
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The human body is adept at resisting disease, repairing itself and becoming accustomed to its ever-changing environment. When the body is furnished with the correct vitamins, minerals, enzymes and other essential dietary needs, our bodies are almost assured to respond with good health. Whereas numerous plants can provide the body with essential nutrients, very few foods have such a diverse, life-enhancing and remarkable nutrient profile as chlorella. When choosing a chlorella source, it is very, very important to make sure that:
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