There are many fad diets that promise to help you lose weight in almost no time at all. After two or three weeks on the diet you find yourself losing enough to be able to brag to your family and friends about it, and you're so optimistic that this new lifestyle will be your ticket to a smaller waistline that you start to browse the stores for new clothes.
You continue to lose weight for another couple of weeks, and then something happens: you start to feel sluggish, you begin craving something that your diet absolutely forbids you to have, or the general sense of optimism begins to transform itself into a feeling of constriction, frustration, and even dietary imprisonment.
You decide to have just one snack, or spend just one day eating whatever you want with the intention of going back to the diet the following day. What happens then, is that you feel such satisfaction from that treat that the entire effort falls apart and you put the weight back on in practically no time at all.
Does this scenario sound at all familiar?
Diets are very hard, as is the feeling of being overweight. Many of these fad diets may promise instant and significant weight loss results, but most of them rely on depriving your body of certain nutrients and disrupting the natural function of your body's metabolism. Chinese medicine considers obesity to be partly the result of declining function of the metabolic fire of the kidney network and a diet that provides a well-balanced array of nutrients is the key to losing weight in a healthy way. What follows are five foods that will help you restore your body's ability to use energy and help you become your healthy weight.
1. Millet: A well-balanced diet should consist of whole grains instead of refined grains like white rice and pasta, and millet is a beneficial and delicious staple of this category of food. This non-glutinous grain is over 10-percent protein, has high amounts of fiber and B-complex vitamins, and because it isn't an acid forming food, is easy to digest.
2. Asparagus: When losing weight, it's important to favor chlorophyll-rich foods, including asparagus. Asparagus is a nutrient-rich vegetable packed with folate, vitamins A, C, and K, and fiber. Asparagus also contains a carbohydrate known as inulin (not to be confused with insulin) that promotes healthy bacteria in the large intestine - which in turn promotes a healthier digestive function.
3. Pomegranates: Eating a balanced diet to lose weight should include eating fresh fruits, and pomegranates are a wonderful example of a healthy, nutritious fruit that has antioxidant properties and will help prevent cancer. While the benefits of drinking pomegranate juice have gained a lot of attention recently, you will be more likely to lose weight by eating the fruit fresh to increase your fiber intake and keep the calories down.
4. Pine Nuts: Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pine trees and are considered an essential ingredient in the tasty Italian mixture pesto. Chinese medicine uses pine nuts to improve gastrointestinal tract and digestive functions, and pine nut oil is even used for appetite suppression. Pine nuts and other nuts are a tasty part of a well-balanced diet intended for weight loss.
5. Green Tea: It has been found that consuming large amounts of coffee and caffeine can lead to food cravings, increase one's appetite, and induce stress-related eating. Green tea is a wonderful alternative to coffee in that it does provide a little caffeine but also contains beneficial antioxidants. So drink up!
A healthy diet also includes lean proteins like chicken breast, legumes such as lentils, and other whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. While fad diets may promise a large amount of weight loss in a short period of time, there's almost a guarantee that you will put that weight back on-and then some!
Eat five smaller meals a day, avoid processed foods, chew more slowly, and incorporate more healthy foods into your diet-starting with these five.
I hope this article helps you find foods that can aid in your weight loss goals! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.
May you live long, live strong, and live happy!
5 Essential Weight Loss Foods
Baby Clothes
Parents have to work harder and harder to save money to give their newborn the things they need such as clothes and toys. They do not only seek for sweet baby clothes that are attractive but also durable. Finding baby clothes that make your baby comfortable and healthy is easy. Select baby clothes that are easy to put on and take off.
Baby Clothes are often affordable, and well worth the money paid for them. There are hundreds of styles, colours and designs to choose from, and they all look adorable on babies. Babies basically need three types of clothing. They need clothes to play in or daytime clothes, nightwear and clothes to go out in. As your baby grows and embarks on each new stage of their life the type of baby clothes you buy need to change so that your baby is dressed in clothes fit for the job.
Baby Clothes are also a great gift for an expecting mother. Since the children grow so fast, many people will purchase baby clothes that are larger than what the baby is currently at, as they can then grow into the clothing. Buying baby clothes can be so much fun with loads of choice and so many wonderful and cute outfits.
Ten Speed Cleaning Tips
Dust and grease, like family members we see frequently but don’t always want to deal with, are two culprits lurking around every corner in my house. I prefer using strategic methods in my ongoing battle against them, but time isn’t always on my side. Instead, I pick an hour over the weekend to arm myself with rubber gloves, two cloth rags, a brush and dustpan, and some spray cleaner. Then I choose my worst t-shirt-and-shorts combo from my closet and load up Madonna’s Confessions from a Dance Floor, turning the bass up high. Once my body’s pumping to the music’s beat, I put my ten speed cleaning tips into action, and whip through my house like the Tasmanian Devil with OCD.
1. Let the Sunshine (and Air) In
Before the dust starts to settle, I open the shades and windows to let in the spring sun and air; then I light a candle and let its aroma take over the house.
2. De-Cluttering Dance
When Madonna tells me to “get ready to jump,” I de-clutter the house by making piles of papers and mail. I make one pile of bills to pay and follow-up correspondence; the second pile is for papers to file away. Then I choose a date on the calendar for getting rid of both piles. This simple act frees up my kitchen counters for the space I need to cook, and keeps my table open for entertaining.
3. Trap the Dust Bunnies
Dust bunnies live in my bedroom and under my furniture, and float along the baseboards, trying to hide. I use my dustpan and a garbage bag to catch the bunnies in each room before they hop away.
4. Ragamuffin Maid
I tuck two rags in my waistband and take my natural cleaner on a tour of my house. Using the two rags, I dust wooden surfaces with one and spray clean the kitchen counters with the other.
5. Handles with Care
I clean every door, cabinet, and sink handle in the house, removing whatever residue any hands have left behind.
6. Kitchen Sponge and Soak
After sweeping away the dust bunnies, it’s time to degrease the oven and soak the sink. Since I tend to go through sponges like toilet paper, I purchased a package of cellulose sponges: one for the kitchen, another for the bathroom, and a third for the toilet. They scrub off caked-on grease from the stove, then join my fruit skins in the compost bin (instead of a landfill) once they’ve run their course.
7. Bathroom Break
My bathroom always requires a weekly touch-up. Using Bon Ami, I sprinkle the sink and bathtub, and then wash them clean with hot water. Finally, I take my toilet sponge and run it over the top of the toilet and seat.
8. Fluff the Pillows
Dust and pet hair accumulate in couch and bed pillows, so get outside and do a little shake.
9. Refrigerator Madness
Since my food seems to expire as quickly as I do (by the end of the week), I go through the fridge and see which vegetables are ready to join my sponges in the compost bin.
10. Sweep and Vacuum—and the Mop Alternative
A quick sweep of kitchen and wood floors will catch the rest of the dust bunnies and dirt. I like to mix my favorite essential oil with baking soda to sprinkle in the carpet and on my rugs, for quick deodorizing before the vacuum comes out to play. And since the only small rooms in my house requiring a mop are my kitchen and bathroom, I take a third rag and use the natural cleaner to spray the floor, then I finish up my speed-cleaning frenzy with barefoot dancing to Madonna’s last track, while the rag and I move across the floor.
16 rules to live by for young-looking skin
16 simple yet wildly effective rules to live by for dewy, plump, perfectly smooth skin--no matter what your age.
1. Even if you're sitting in the shade, without sunscreen you're being zapped by aging rays. Sunscreen, (at least SPF30, every day) not only prevents aging, it gives your skin time away from defending itself, so it can actually repair and undo existing damage.
2. There's wet, and then there's wet: If you want any antiager to work better, get your skin very wet. For instance, if you want your face scrub to exfoliate more than usual, do it at the very end of a shower.
3. Always pat eye cream in with your ring finger--it's the weakest, so the most gentle.
Perfect Your Skin: The right regimen makes all the difference, whether you're treating breakouts, wrinkles or redness.
4. Retin-A, Tazorac, Renova: These prescription-only retinoic acid formulas de-age skin like no over-the-counter cream. It takes about six weeks to see results, but the difference in most people is truly spectacular.
5. For some, retinoic acid is too skin-sensitizing. The next strongest thing is available over the counter: retinol. The most powerful retinol we know of is Help Me by Philosophy. If that's too much for you, Healthy Skin by Neutrogena is nonirritating but still extremely effective.
6. Too much sugar in your diet causes glycation--an inflammation and a disruption of collagen production. Avoid eating sweets, and use a product designed to prevent (and undo) the reaction.
7. Your skin does most of its repair-and-refresh work at night. Lack of sleep shows up on your face as dullness initially, graduating to wrinkling, sagging, and even breakouts as you continue to lose sleep.
There are no falsities to this beauty sleep business. A Lucky beauty editor was recently inflicted with mono (and a 1,000 hours of sleep) and reemerged with her most luminous skin ever.
8. Supplements: Who knows if they work? They might, and that's why we take them--especially those with omega-3, -6, and -9 oils. Since none of us can eat as much youthifying salmon as the experts say we should.
9. Cold really does bring down puffiness. Throw your eye cream in the fridge, or use these already-frosty versions.
10. Unanimous editors' rave: More Lucky staffers mentioned Kiehl's when they were queried about their antiaging routines than any other brand. They love the avocado eye cream, the pineapple papaya face scrub, the...
11. Peptides stimulate your cells to produce more collagen. They retexturize--so your skin feels silkier and looks brighter--and minimize lines. And they don't irritate at all.
12. Smoking is even better (and faster) at aging your face than the sun.
13. Wind and cold are dehydrating. Moisturizer plumps up your skin, making it look and feel smoother temporarily. We have never met a makeup artist who doesn't apply moisturizer liberally before makeup--it really makes a difference.
14. If you overdo it on skin treatments, anti-inflammatory products like Dr. Brandt's Laser Relief will calm your skin back to normality overnight.
Been a little overzealous with your skin care routine? One Lucky editor suggests this calendula cream as a cure all.
15. Tinted undereye moisturizer is a genius invention. Use it alone if your trouble is not severe, under concealer if it's more major.
16. If all else fails, keep your sunglasses on--and not solely for the obvious reason of camouflage. You also shield the delicate and first-to-wrinkle-and-sag eye area from future damage. Eye cream with SPF
Environmental and Food Sensitivities
Environmental and food sensitivities are usually the result of leaky gut syndrome. The prevalence of these sensitivities is more widely recognized today than in the past; 24 percent of American adults claim they have food and environmental sensitivities.
These sensitivities, also called delayed hypersensitivity reactions, differ from true food allergies, also called Type I or immediate hypersensitivity reactions. True food allergies are rare occurrences. They affect 0.3 to 7.5 percent of children and 1 to 2 percent of adults.
The foods that most often trigger these reactions are eggs, cow’s milk, nuts, shellfish, soy, wheat, and white fish. Food allergies trigger reaction of type IgE antibodies that bind to the offending food antigens. The IgE antibodies attach to mast cells that stimulate the release of cytokines and histamines.
This results in closing of the throat, fatigue, tearing, hives, itching, respiratory distress, watery or runny nose, skin rashes, itchy eyes or ears, and sometimes severe reactions of asthma and anaphylactic shock. These symptoms occur within minutes after the food is eaten and people usually know what they are (hives or difficulty breathing).
Physicians diagnose food allergies through the use of patch skin tests and RAST (radioallergosorbent test) blood testing, which are great for testing for food allergies but do not accurately determine food sensitivities. Sensitivity reactions, also called delayed or hidden hypersensitivities, occur when IgA, IgG, and IgM antibodies are triggered in response to foods, chemicals, and bacterial toxins.
The most common antibody reactions are IgG to mold and foods; exposure to molds and foods is quite high compared to pollens. For example, in an entire hay-fever season, we might inhale a teaspoon of pollen, but we take pounds of food inside us each day. It is estimated that 95 percent of all food allergy is of this delayed type.
In the past, these delayed allergies were called serum sickness. The sensitivities cause symptoms that are delayed, taking several hours to several days to appear, which makes tracking them down very difficult. Food and environmental sensitivities cause a wide number of symptoms typical of a leaky gut reaction.
Food particles enter the bloodstream through damaged mucosal membranes; the body recognizes them as foreign substances (antigens) and triggers an immune reaction. Prolonged antibody response can overwhelm the liver’s ability to eliminate these food antigens.
Subsequently, the antigens enter the bloodstream and trigger delayed hypersensitivity response, inflammation, cell damage, and disease. Almost any food can cause a reaction, although the most common are beef, citrus, dairy products, egg, pork, and wheat. These foods provoke 80 percent of food sensitivity reactions.
Antibodies and antigens form what is known as immune complexes. If you have many antibodies and few antigens, you have a small immune complex. Conversely, if you have many antigens and only a few antibodies, you also have a small immune complex.
The worst symptoms and cravings appear when you have moderate amounts of both antibodies and antigens—when you have a large immune complex. When you try to eliminate foods while in this state, you are left with enormous cravings for them, and symptoms often worsen before they improve.
It can take seven to ten days to get through this stage. These large immune complexes can cause rashes in the skin and cheeks, as those seen in lupus. Blood testing for IgG or IgG4, IgM, and/or IgA antibody reactions can help determine sensitivities to a variety of foods and environmental substances.
You may want to screen for food allergies with IgE testing at the same time. Some labs test for another indicator of delayed hypersensitivity: white blood cell blastogenesis, where lymphocytes are stimulated and produce protein, DNA, and RNA at a rapid rate.
Environmental screening panels measure antibody reaction to chemicals commonly found in our homes, yards, workplaces, and public places. People often test positive to household cleaning supplies and petroleum-based chemicals. Several laboratories perform antibody testing for foods, dusts, environmental chemicals, heavy metals, molds, and pollens.
Lectins
Lectins that are incompatible with our genetics can also cause negative reactions to foods. We each have a genetically determined blood type—A, B, AB, or O. Our blood types contain specific antibodies that helped our ancestors live successfully in their environment.
We no longer stick to our ancestor’s specific environment and are continually exposed to new substances. When we eat a food that contains lectins that are incompatible to our blood type, they target an organ or tissue and begin to collect blood cells in clumps, a process called agglutination.
Peter D’Adamo, N.D., author of Eat Right 4 Your Type, hypothesized that when we eat foods containing lectins incompatible with our blood type, we experience negative health reactions. For example, if I have type A blood and drink milk, my body will begin to agglutinate and reject that milk.
When I drink milk, the next morning I wake up with a clump of mucus in my throat. I know this and usually avoid uncultured dairy products. The lectins don’t get digested and then cause reactions. According to D’Adamo, the lectin proteins settle somewhere in our bodies and have a magnetic effect on the cells there.
The cells clump together and are targeted for destruction as though they were foreign invaders. This can appear to us as irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, or nearly any inflammatory condition. Lectin reactions mimic food allergies. The digestive system and nervous system are especially sensitive to lectin reactions.
The people whose arthritis responds to elimination of the nightshade family of foods (potatoes, eggplant, tomatoes, peppers) probably have lectin sensitivities. If you want to know much more about blood type diets and lectins, read Eat Right 4 Your Type.
Elimination-Provocation Diet
If you wish to determine food and chemical sensitivities on your own, you can use the elimination-provocation challenge. Only eat foods that you are unlikely to be sensitive to for a week and then add back the foods you normally eat to “challenge” your system.
Removal of offending foods calms down symptoms, while careful addition of only one food every two days makes it easier to determine which cause reaction. Although the elimination-provocation challenge sounds simple, it can be tricky.
People usually have no problem with the elimination part—a restricted food plan for a week is easy. Slowly adding foods back into your diet may be more difficult, because recipes and restaurant foods have many ingredients. Sometimes it’s hard to determine which ingredient caused the distress.
Reactions that are delayed for a day or two also complicate the situation. It then becomes necessary to remove all suspected foods for four days and try them again one at a time. If you have the same reaction each time you add the food, you’ve found the culprit.
Unfortunately, if you have sensitivities to one food, you are often sensitive to all foods in the same family. For example, some people who are sensitive to wheat are sensitive to all grains in the grass family. It is common to be sensitive to more than one food or food family.
To cure food and environmental sensitivities, you’ll do best with a holistic approach. Begin by avoiding substances you are sensitive to for a period of six months, and your body will gradually stop reacting to most of them. That will help detoxify the body, especially the liver.
A comprehensive program of nutritional supplements will help in the healing process. The Elisa/Act Patient Handbook, provided by Elisa/Act Biotechnologies, reads, “Persons suffering from immune system dysfunction and overload due to delayed hypersensitivity reactions often have a need for even greater supplementation because of poor functioning of the body’s normal biochemical pathways.”
Organically grown and nutrientrich natural foods also help repair the body. Exercise programs and use of stress-management tools also play a part in recovery. With a holistic program you will find that over time you will become less and less sensitive to foods and the environment.
Top 10 Detox Foods
Green leafy vegetables - good sources of many vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy, like vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium. They are also great sources of fiber. It offers major benefits to your entire body, including your brain, your bones and your heart, while helping to prevent cancer, detoxify your body, boost your immune system and give your more energy.
Lemons - is widely known for its healing powers and is used in many different ways. Lemon is also a diuretic. This means it is good for people with urinary tract infections and high uric acid problems, such as those with arthritis or rheumatism because it helps flush out all the toxins and bad bacteria.
Watercress - is a member of the cruciferous family which includes broccoli, kale and mustard. It contains three times as much vitamin E as lettuce, more iron than spinach, and more calcium than milk. Watercress moves things out of your system by acting as a diuretic, plus it's rich in minerals.
Garlic - has been used for its beneficial effects for thousands of years. It is a blood cleanser, a natural antibiotic it also reduces blood fats thinning the blood and lowering blood pressure. In addition to the bulb's cardio benefits, it activates liver enzymes that help filter out junk.
Green tea - chemicals derived from green tea dramatically boosted production of a group of key detoxification enzymes in people with low levels of these beneficial proteins. GST (glutathione S-transferase) enzymes are believed to be crucial to the body's defense against cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins.
Broccoli sprouts - contain a chemical that kills the bacteria responsible for most stomach cancer, say researchers, confirming the dietary advice that moms have been handing out for years. Broccoli sprouts are particularly useful for detox and activate the liver's phase II detox enzymes.
Sesame seeds - Sesame seeds help protect the liver from damage caused by alcohol and other toxins. And if you want more than just what comes on your hamburger bun try tahini, a sesame seed paste commonly used in Asian dishes.
Cabbage - is a longstanding dietary staple throughout the world and is so widely cultivated and stores so well that it is available throughout the year. The cabbage has beneficial properties that are known to prevent cancer, among other known diseases. The phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables initiate an intricate dance inside our cells in which gene response elements direct and balance the steps among dozens of detoxification enzyme partners, each performing its own protective role in perfect balance with the other dancers.
Psyllium - is used to treat constipation. It absorbs liquid in the intestines, swells, and forms a bulky stool, which is easy to pass. Psyllium is cultivated for it use as an herbal medicine. The husk of the psyllium plant is a very rich source of natural fiber. Psyllium facilitates regular bowel movements, dredges the colon of dangerous toxic residues and accelerates the entire detox process.
Fresh Fruits - All fresh fruit is good for detox provided it is eaten on its own, not before, with, or after food. A fresh fruit or fruits juice fasting is often recommended for a short (3-day) fast to cleanse and detoxify. Fruit can be fresh, frozen or dried. It includes apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, raisins, pineapple, mango, kiwi fruit, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, melon, sultanas, nectarines and peaches.
The wonders of Pearl Powder
Pearl is a valuable ingredient in Chinese medicine. It has the function of brightening eyes, curing skin disease, and fighting off diarrhea. Its elements are shell protein and non-organic elements mainly consisting of calcium. However, pearl powder is very difficult to absorb into the human body. It can result in severe poisoning if not dissolved and diluted completely. It is useful when the powder can dissolve in the solution keeping its effective elements.
Powdered Pearl- a beauty treasure of the orient. Pearl powder, taken internally, contains calcium carbonate which strenghten bones, muscles and nerves. It reduces skin blemishes and rebuilds your health. Use it as a cooling beverage, taken with water, tea or juice. Powdered pearl can also be applied to the face as a beauty mask for rejuvenation and flawless complexion.
Pearl powder is a finely milled powder made from freshwater pearls, which contains a number of amino acids and several minerals. It is considered by its proponents to help improve the appearance of the skin.
Long a favorite of Asian women. According to ancient Chinese history artistes in the Tang Dynasty began using Pearl Powder on their faces to protect and beautify their skin when applying stage makeup. During the Ching Dynasty Empress Dowager began taking Pearl Powder internally as well as applying it to her face.
Freshwater pearls have been collected for some 3,000 years by the Chinese, and not just for jewelry. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) employs the medicinal qualities of ingested powdered pearl to treat inflammatory illnesses including epilepsy, convulsions, hyperactivity, hypertension, insomnia and palpitations. Traditional Chinese medical doctors also suggest pearl to quiet nerves and improve vision.
According to ancient texts and records including the "Compendium of Materia Medica," up thru the current "Pharmacopoeia PRC edition" pearl has been used for medicinal purposes from China for over 2000 years. Pearl has a reputation of being a medicine for treating certain diseases as well as preserving a youthful appearance. The cosmetic grade pearl powder is mixed with the inner shell of the oyster as compared to the medicated grade which is made wholly from pearls.
TCM physicians believe the calcium and other valuable minerals and amino acids from pearl powder can also be absorbed through the skin. They have found pearl powder, applied externally, speeds the skin's natural metabolism to tone and rejuvenate complexion, heal blemishes, minimize large pores and reduce redness. A pearl facial pack is said to rejuvenate dry, dull skin. CiXi, the last Dowager Empress of China during the Qing Dynasty (16441911), preferred expensive powdered pearl face masks to maintain her complexion.
During Ming dynasty the famous doctor Li Shizhen put in his medical book, Classical Chinese Materia Medica, the use of pearl powder for skin health: "Spread on face, lubricate skin and give good complexion. Spread on hands and feet, smooth skin and relieve chaps. Remove face acnes. Decrease secretion."
To make a mask, you can mix one teaspoon pearl powder with enough olive oil to form a thin paste. Apply to clean, dry skin; then, after 10 minutes rinse off with warm water. Another option is a mix of pearl powder and milk and beaten egg, believed to have anti-aging effects. This pearl powder can also be used on its own, applying it on the face before sleep and removing it the next day. In TCM terminology, pearl powder has cooling, disinfectant and balancing properties. It keeps the skin cool and moist.
Pearl has other interesting applications. In China, pearl powder is used to heal wounds because it is believed to have antiseptic properties. In the United States, surgeons frequently sprinkle a lower-grade pearl powder, called surgical pearl, into their latex gloves before operating. The soothing, antiseptic pearl powder absorbs excess moisture and may help prevent the spread of infection. Similarly, pearl powder sprinkled into shoes helps absorb odor and excess moisture. The peal has been used to treat ulcerous sores by sprinkling the sores with the powder. It enhances tissue growth and prevent infections.
Pearls are made of aragonite (CaCO3) and a small amount of conchiolin, an organic albuminoid substance. Oyster pearl powder and shell are both chemically the same and are good sources of calcium carbonate.
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Fitbone
Wanna walk tall? If Mother Nature has failed to give you that statuesque figure, worry not. Fitbone surgery, an advanced and high-tech option for leg lengthening, promises to add those crucial inches. This is a relatively-new surgical procedure for lengthening bones and skeletal deformities. It involves a fully-implantable, electronically-motorised, limb-lengthening device. The average length a limb can be elongated is between 5-9 cm. Of course, it comes at a painful price. The procedure is being done in Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia and the Philippines.
This surgery is also done on those with injuries, congenital defects and certain kinds of dwarfism. It's rarely done on kids under 16 due to risk of damage on growth plates. Fitbone surgery is an advancement over the older Ilazarov surgery where the patient's leg is fitted with a frame that pierces the skin, muscles and bone. Screws attached to the bone are turned 1 mm per day. After the growth gap is closed, patients have to wear the frame till the new bone solidifies. Beware, there's risk of infection.
Fitbone surgery, on the other hand, involves cutting the bone and implanting a metal telescopic nail containing a motor. This expands lengthwise about 1 mm a day as the bone grows around the expanding rod. It's powered and controlled by radio signals from outside. After being lengthened, the bone is allowed to solidify. Surgery takes 3-4 hours and the patient has to remain in hospital for about a week. It could take some nine months for the patient to walk again. The rod is removed after two years.
Killer Worms
Intestinal capillariasis caused by Capillaria philippinensis appeared first in the Philippines and subsequently in Thailand, Japan, Iran, Egypt, and Taiwan, but most infections occur in the Philippines and Thailand. As established experimentally, the life cycle involves freshwater fish as intermediate hosts and fish-eating birds as definitive hosts. Embryonated eggs from feces fed to fish hatch and grow as larvae in the fish intestines. Infective larvae fed to monkeys, Mongolian gerbils, and fish-eating birds develop into adults.
Larvae become adults in 10 to 11 days, and the first-generation females produce larvae. These larvae develop into males and egg-producing female worms. Eggs pass with the feces, reach water, embryonate, and infect fish. Autoinfection is part of the life cycle and leads to hyperinfection. Humans acquire the infection by eating small freshwater fish raw. The parasite multiplies, and symptoms of diarrhea, borborygmus, abdominal pain, and edema develop. Chronic infections lead to malabsorption and hence to protein and electrolyte loss, and death results from irreversible effects of the infection.
Treatment consists of electrolyte replacement and administration of an antidiarrheal agent and mebendazole or albendazole. Capillariasis philippinensis is considered a zoonotic disease of migratory fish-eating birds. The eggs are disseminated along flyways and infect the fish, and when fish are eaten raw, the disease develops.
Let's Eat Clone Meat?
Having completed a years-long scientific review, the Food and Drug Administration is set to announce as early as next week that meat and milk from cloned farm animals and their offspring can start making their way toward supermarket shelves, sources in contact with the agency said yesterday.
The decision would be a notable act of defiance against Congress, which last month passed appropriations legislation recommending that any such approval be delayed pending further studies. Moreover, the Senate version of the Farm bill, yet to be reconciled with the House version, contains stronger, binding language that would block FDA action on cloned food, probably for years.
With a conference committee poised to finalize the farm bill in the next few weeks, that left the FDA a potentially narrow time frame within which to act if it wanted to settle the issue in sync with America's major meat-trading partners.
New Zealand and Australia have released reports concluding that meat and milk from clones are safe. Canada and Argentina are reportedly close to doing the same.
And although European consumers are generally uncomfortable with agricultural biotechnology, the European Union's food safety agency is expected to endorse the safety of meat and milk from clones in a draft statement that could be released within the next week.
"The science seems to be leading them and us to the same conclusion," said a U.S. trade official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because U.S. policy is technically still under review.
The FDA has hinted strongly in the past year that it is ready to lift its "voluntary moratorium" on the marketing of milk and meat from clones and their offspring, saying that the science led them to that decision. Multiple studies compiled by the agency have shown that the chemical composition of those products is virtually identical to that of milk and meat from conventionally bred animals. And studies in which rodents were fed food from clones have found no evidence of health effects.
But public opinion has been negative on the issue, with some saying that not enough safety studies have been conducted and others concerned about the health of the clones, which are far more likely than ordinary farm animals to die early in life.
As of yesterday, the FDA would neither confirm nor deny that it is close to releasing its so-called final risk assessment. Spokeswoman Julie Zawisza said the agency had received a lot of feedback -- about 30,500 comments -- on its draft risk assessment, released in December 2006. That document found no "food consumption risks or subtle hazards" associated with meat or milk from clones or their offspring.
The agency has not revealed how many comments were in favor or opposed.
Clones are genetic replicas, typically made from a single skin cell of a desirable animal. A handful of U.S. companies have pushed for marketing approval, saying the technology will make products from the tastiest beef cattle, leanest pigs and most generous milk producers more widely available to consumers.
"Thousands of data points, hundreds of peer-reviewed journal articles and two reviews by the National Academies have all said the same thing," said Mark Walton, president of ViaGen, an Austin-based cattle cloning company that provided many of the animals that independent researchers studied for the FDA. "There is nothing left to review."
Walton emphasized that for now, because clones are so expensive to make, they will be used almost entirely as breeding stock to produce conventional offspring for market. Scientists largely agree that although some clones harbor genetic peculiarities of uncertain relevance, their sexually produced offspring are healthy and normal.
But even Walton concedes that eventually both clones and their offspring will find their way to market. And as word spread through back channels in recent days that the FDA was poised to give a green light, opponents expressed surprise and anger.
"The FDA has been on the Hill on bended knee asking for more money, yet they are willing to turn around and thumb their nose at the appropriators," said Carol Tucker Foreman, of the Consumer Federation of America, referring to the omnibus spending bill that called for a delay. "The president signed that bill and it is in effect, and they are acting like it doesn't exist."
Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group, said she had read the entire 678-page draft risk assessment and found it to be "long on assumptions and short on data, and especially short on the data that are directly relevant to food consumption safety."
Of particular concern, she said, was that even though the vast majority of clones die either before birth or soon after, those that survive are deemed normal. She said the FDA should withhold approval at least until it has a regulatory plan in place that will give it an ability to track food from clones and watch for human health impacts.
Others have called for mandatory labeling so consumers can avoid products from clones.
The FDA has said that lacking any safety concerns, it will not demand such labels. But last month, the two largest U.S. farm animal cloners, ViaGen and Trans Ova Genetics of Sioux Center, Iowa, announced a voluntary plan under which cloned animals would be registered and segregated from the conventional meat processing streams. If accepted by regulators, it could allow some food distributors to label their products as "clone free."
The Agriculture Department has also declared that meat from clones cannot be deemed organic.
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Why Diets Don't Work for Women over 40
By the time you hit 40, you’ve got too much free estrogen in your body. Mood swings, bloating and flab are sure signs. If you are over 40, chances are, you’ve now got a trigger-happy pancreas that pumps insulin into your blood at the slightest provocation. Contrary to what the diet industry would like you to believe, diets actually cause people to gain weight!
Diets are predicated on negative feelings about yourself. Women tends to go on diets when they don't feel good about ourselves, hoping that losing weight will make them feel better. This strategy works only as long as they can stay on a diet, which, with its strict rules, no one can do for any length of time, because dieting is based on deprivation.The thing that causes so much confusion here is that diets do work, actually–in the short term. All diets, from cabbage soup to Weight Watchers, will cause women to lose weight. At first. But after five years, all diets have the same result: the vast majority of women who lost weight at first gained it back. But if you make one simple change to correct it, you'll shed pounds quicker than you ever thought possible.
Weight loss is definitely an obtainable goal, but not without significant effort. It requires a long-term life-style change that can only be established over time, which is built on not only successes, but also on the failures that provide us with the opportunity learn more about ourselves and inform us how we might do things differently the next time.
Fitness Over 40
Even over 40, the benefits normally associated with a regular, moderate exercise program will kick in, but for seniors, some benefits are of special importance.
Fitness over 40 requires regular performance of the proper exercises. Just as in our 30's or 40's, sitting in the easy chair, clicking the remote, doing 16 ounce curls with a Miller Lite just doesn't cut it. However, it is not necessary to pack up and head for the gym and try to keep up with the hardbody instructor, either. It is necessary to pick an exercise program or physical activity, combine that with some healthy eating habits. Click Here to Read More..
Tongkat Ali (The Testosterone Builder)
Tongkat Ali is a popular folk name for Eurycoma longifolia, a medium size slender tree reaching 10 metres in height. The name Tongkat Ali means “Ali’s walking stick.” Another folk name for the plant is Longjack. Tongkat Ali is native to Malaysia, lower Burma, Thailand, and Indonesia. The root is employed as a traditional remedy for the treatment of malaria, high blood pressure, fevers, fatigue, loss of sexual desire, and impotence. Tongkat Ali enjoys both a long history of traditional use, and a growing body of serious science corroborating its efficacy.
The difficulty of harvesting Tongkat Ali in the wild is one very good reason to cultivate the trees in plantations. Additionally, as this traditional plant remedy becomes more popular, supplies of Tongkat Ali in the wild will inevitably decrease. Over time, this tree could become endangered. To preserve the natural environment, and to protect remaining wild specimens of Tongkat Ali, Malaysia is currently establishing plantations of this tree. The Malaysian government is enthusiastic about the future of Tongkat Ali, and is providing economic support for its development. To every appearance, Tongkat Ali is a market volcano of Krakatoa proportions, ready to blow.
Tongkat Ali is a scientifically studied plant which holds up brilliantly under close scrutiny. The root contains a plethora of beneficial compounds, including potent protective antioxidants which inhibit cellular aging. Other phytochemicals in Tongkat Ali are anti-viral, anti-malarial, and anti-cancerous. Others combat high blood pressure, and quell dysentery. Quassinoids in the root prove twice as potent as aspirin against fevers.
Even with its other serious medical applications, what excites most people about Tongkat Ali is that the root significantly boosts sex drive and function in both men and women, by building testosterone. Agents identified as glycoproteins appear to be the sex-promoting ingredients in the plant. This discovery, and years of painstaking research, is the work of Dr. Johari Saad , who is called by many the King Of Tongkat Ali. Dr Johari has conducted the definitive animal research on Tongkat Ali, and developed a novel and proprietary method of extracting the beneficial compounds from the root. His extract, LJ100, has been used in both human and animal studies.
“In our studies, we looked at what was happening with animals when we gave them a specially made water soluble extract of Tongkat Ali.” Joe explained to me. “It basically came down to four categories, increased testosterone, increased energy, inhibition of SHBG, and increased muscle mass.” Joe explained that when given Tongkat ali extract, animals copulate three to four times more frequently than normal. This is due, as it turns out, to a significant increase in testosterone. In fact, testosterone levels in animals given Tongkat Ali increase an unprecedented three to four times on average. While animal results do not always guarantee similar activity in people, the same testosterone-boosting effect does occur in human studies. In laboratory tests on human testicular tissue, Tongkat Ali extract increased the formation of testosterone fourfold.
Increasing testosterone is the big objective from a sex drive standpoint. Testosterone is the most important of the male sex hormones, which are known as androgens, and are produced in the gonads. Testosterone plays a key role in the development and maturity of male sex organs. The hormone promotes secondary sex characteristics including the appearance of facial hair, enlargement of the larynx (producing a deeper voice), sexual desire and sexual behavior. But testosterone is not just a sex booster for men. Women also produce testosterone, about 5 – 10% the amount produced in men. In women, this vital hormone also fans the flames of ardor, and increases sensitivity in the erogenous zones. In both sexes, testosterone stimulates metabolism, promotes lipogenesis (burning of fat), increases the formation of red blood cells, and accelerates muscle growth.
From age thirty or so, blood levels of the hormone decline at a rate of about 2% per year. The level will vary from one person to another. Regular exercise helps to keep a somewhat higher level of testosterone. Those who smoke or drink heavily will lose more of this hormone more quickly. As testosterone decreases in the body, muscle tone, energy and sex drive all begin to decline. In both sexes, sex drive, function, fat metabolism and energy decline into middle age, as blood testosterone drops.
With Tongkat Ali extract you can boost your testosterone levels back up to more youthful levels. Dr Johari also found that Tongkat Ali extract inhibits Sex Hormone Binding Globulin. By inhibiting this agent, more free testosterone remains in the blood. This additionally stems the aging process, improving energy and sexual function, helping to reduce body fat, and reducing risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease.
In both men and women, pharmaceutical testosterone has been successfully used as a therapeutic aid in cases of low sex drive. The hormone has also been used to treat some cases of erectile dysfunction in men. In the case of Tongkat Ali, we have a safe, natural plant agent which causes the body to produce its own testosterone, thereby boosting sexual desire and function. Tongkat Ali gets to the absolute essence of human sex drive, and improves it.
An Athletic Edge
As if increasing testosterone weren’t enough, Tongkat Ali extract also greatly increases ATP production. ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the basic unit of energy in the body, responsible for keeping us alive and going. By increasing ATP, overall energy and vitality are increased. Most people want more energy, and Tongkat Ali provides it, without hyperstimulation, jittery nerves, or insomnia. This is the holy grail of human energy production, and is a valuable enough health benefit by itself to make Tongkat Ali an enduring superstar on the medicinal plant stage.
Athletes and body builders will employ any agent which boosts performance or muscle mass. In both animals and humans, Tongkat Ali extract increases muscle mass. In a study of men, half of the subjects ingested Tongkat Ali extract and half did not. In an eight week physical training program, the men who consumed Tongkat Ali extract experienced greater gains in muscle mass and strength than those who did not. This demonstrates the powerful anabolic properties of Tongkat Ali. Thanks to this significant discovery, a growing number of Asian athletes and body builders now use Tongkat Ali extract as an androgen, to improve muscle size and strength, and to enhance sports performance.
The Sex Doctor
In the Malaysian capitol of Kuala Lumpur, I met with Dr Ismail Tambi, who runs the Human Reproduction Specialist Center. Dr. Tamby is one of the foremost experts on reproductive health in all of Southeast Asia, and is also the leading medical expert on the effects of Tongkat Ali root extract on human subjects. In his work with men, Dr Tamby has found that use of Tongkat ali extract significantly increases testosterone production. “In our studies, we found that Tongkat ali extract increased the serum level of testosterone considerably.” I asked Dr Tamby if the men in his study experienced renewed sexual vitality, or heightened sexual desire. “Oh, yes, most definitely. The men found that Tongkat Ali boosted their sex drive quite a lot. I think that for low libido, Tongkat Ali extract is very valuable. I have seen this result for myself, and can say that this plant really works.” I asked Dr Tamby if the same would apply to women, who secrete only about 5 – 10% as much testosterone as men. “Yes, it certainly should boost libido in women as well, as testosterone is essential to a woman’s sexual desire. Women have used Tongkat Ali for a very long time in this culture,” he added.
Dr. Tamby conducted the PADAM study, in which he investigated Partial Androgen Deficiency In Males. He selected thirty adult males of various ages, assessed their testosterone levels, and then gave them 100 mg of Tongkat Ali extract daily. The testosterone levels of all the subjects rose, resulting in a 91% improvement in libido, a reported 73% improvement in sexual function, and an 82% psychological improvement relative to sex among the men who participated in the study.
Using Tongkat Ali
Dr Johari and other experts involved with this plant recommend around 100 milligrams of concentrated Tongkat ali standardized to approximately 22% glycoproteins daily for men, and around 50 milligrams for women.
source: www.medicinehunter.com
Gluthathione
Glutathione is a dietary supplement used as an antioxidant to help protect the body from many diseases and conditions. It is also used to treat infertility (difficulty getting pregnant), cancer, cataracts, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Glutathione is used to detoxify various chemicals from the body.
Other names for Glutathione include: Gamma-glutamylcysteinylglycine and GSH.Glutathione peroxidase (GSH) is your body’s most abundant natural antioxidant. GSH protects your vision, boosts your immune system, helps turn carbohydrates into energy, and prevents the buildup of oxidized fats that may contribute to atherosclerosis.
Glutathione is a compound classified as a tripeptide made of three amino acids: cysteine, glutamic acid, and glycine. Glutathione is also found in every part of the body, especially the lungs, intestinal tract, and liver. The body produces and stores the largest amounts of GSH in the liver, where it is used to detoxify harmful compounds so that they can be removed from the body through the bile. The liver also supplies GSH directly to red and white blood cells in the bloodstream; it helps keep red blood and white blood cells healthy to maximize the disease-fighting power of the immune system. Glutathione also appears to have an anti-aging affect on the body. GSH levels decline with age, and a lack of glutathione has been shown to leave the body more vulnerable to damage by free radicals, thus speeding up oxidation (wearing down) of the body.
A glutathione deficiency can have a devastating effect on the nervous system, causing such symptoms as lack of balance and coordination, mental disorders, and tremors. Any illness (even a bad cold), chronic disorders such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, injury, or heavy exposure to pollutants can cause a GSH deficiency. This is because your body uses more GSH when it is supporting white blood cells and ridding the body of toxins.
Glutathione is found in almost all fruits and vegetables. Acorn squash, asparagus, avocado, cantaloupe, grapefruit, okra, orange, peach, potato, spinach, strawberries, tomato, watermelon, and zucchini are all good sources of GSH. Some vegetables, such as broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, and parsley, not only provide GSH, but also actually stimulate the body produce more of this powerful antioxidant. Cooking destroys a lot of the glutathione in fresh fruits and vegetables, so you can get the most GSH from these foods by eating them raw or steamed. Eating foods high in glutamine, such as lean meats, eggs, wheat germ, and whole grains, can also stimulate the liver to produce more GSH.
There is no Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for GSH, but supplements have no known harmful side effects. Glutathione supplements can be expensive, but there is some question about the body’s ability to absorb GSH efficiently in supplemental form. If you want to take GSH supplements, just make sure to take them with meals to maximize absorption.
The benefits of Glutathione (GSH)
Glutathione is a substance, the levels of which in our cells are predictive of how long we will live. There are very few other factors, which are as predictive of our life expectancy, as is our level of cellular glutathione.
Glutathione has been called the "master antioxidant" and regulates the actions of lesser antioxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E within the body. "We literally cannot survive without this antioxidant."
"Without glutathione, other important antioxidants such as vitamins C and E cannot do their job adequately to protect your body against disease."
"No other antioxidant is as important to our overall health as glutathione. It is the regulator and regenerator of immune cells and the most valuable detoxifying agent in the human body. Low levels are associated with hepatic dysfunction, immune dysfunction, cardiac disease, premature aging and death."
"A review article published in the Annals of Pharmacology stated that glutathione is important in DNA synthesis and repair, protein and prostaglandin synthesis, amino acid transport, detoxification of toxins and carcinogens, enhancement of the immune system and protection from oxidation and enzyme activations."
Glutathione has potent anti-viral properties - if tissue and serum glutathione levels are significantly increased, the replication of most pathogens are slowed or stopped. Conversely, glutathione deficiency produces a pro-viral effect. Lymphocytes, cells vital for effective immune function, depend on GSH for their proper function and replication.
As we age, there is a precipitous drop in GSH levels. Lower glutathione levels have been implicated in many diseases associated with aging. Antioxidants are well documented to play vital roles in health maintenance and disease prevention. GSH is your cells' own major antioxidant.
GSH plays a role in eliminating many carcinogens, as well as maintaining immune function.
Strong muscular activity, such as that experienced by athletes, generates oxy-radicals (free radicals) leading to muscle fatigue and poorer performance. GSH neutralizes these radicals.
GSH detoxifies many pollutants, carcinogens and poisons, including many in fuel exhaust and cigarette smoke. It retards damage from radiation, such as seen with loss of the ozone
