healthy alternatives

Well, it has been one month now since I completely stopped using toothpaste, my oral hygiene regimen of rinsing my mouth with baking soda / salt twice a day followed by brushing my teeth with plain water twice a day seems to have actually IMPROVED things!

Stumbling upon a far more effective alternative to mouthwash

I use to use mouthwash but it seems that, after a few hours, the “ickiness” would always return and overnight, well, in the morning I felt like I had drank from a swamp the night before. All those chemicals moving around in my mouth also don’t inspire much confidence considering all the health issues people are having later in life due to environmental and lifestyle choices followed over a lifetime. There HAD to be alternatives, I read a few online articles a few years back and stumbled upon the “salt” rinsing. It’s quite easy, fill a 1/2 cup of hot water and mix in about a tablespoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda. The result? Well, the best damn mouthwash you can ever have at a fraction of the price of what is being “marketed” as the best. Throw the rest into an oral irrigator and your mouth will be as clean as an emergency room floor (before the patient comes in of course).

Toothpaste, for all it’s wonders, is actually rather useless

I was brought-up being “marketed” by dentists and businesses that if I don’t use toothpaste, my teeth would fall-out and gingivitis was just around the corner… what a bunch of BS! Standing-up to commercial forces even in the face of conventional wisdom is actually a fantastic habit to have! Most of toothpaste ingredients are geared towards polishing, considering it’s thrown-out a few seconds after being “applied”, it makes you realize how either incredibly potent (ei: dangerous) or useless it really is. Consider toothpaste is a rather recent invention, I can safely say that it isn’t worth the status it has been given.

Results after one month

After one month of the no-toothpaste lifestyle, my gums have went from a slight redness along the gum-line to pink! My mouth always feels fresh and clean even after a meal or a few hours of heavy exercise. Even better… “tartar build-up” is gone and my teeth are actually WHITTER! What can I conclude? Well, I wish I started this regimen 30 years ago! It has saved me money and proven incredibly effective! Before you ask your dentist about following this regimen, realize that he or she, although a professional, is still being marketed rather heavily by companies that want you to use their oral products. Try this regimen for a month, go see your dentist, ask them if they see (or you feel) a difference THEN tell them what you have done!

Is Listerine environmentally friendly?

I have nothing against Listerine or other products but when a far more effective (and cheap) method exists that is environmentally friendly, why are we being marketed bogus junk? Just think of the chemical and logistical footprint that a simple product like Listerine has on the environment? A lot of wasted energy to produce an inferior product… that is mass-produced and marketed as THE BEST when it really falls rather short. I have no qualms about the “chemicals” in my salt/baking-soda mouthwash but who knows the long-term ramifications of the chemicals found in most toothpastes and mouthwashes these days. I think our governments have truly failed us on so many levels, it’s astonishing how much of our daily lives are influenced on a subconscious level by marketing whose focus is on profits rather than co-existing within our environment.

The Bigger Issue: The government doesn’t care

If the government really cared about our health, things such as alcohol, junk food (including TV diners), tobacco products… the list goes on, would simply not be available for consumption much less marketed to us on a daily basis. If the government really cared about the environment, mass-production of useless products when environmentally friendly alternatives existed wouldn’t be profitable. If the government really cared about it’s citizens, it would put a higher priority on physical education (government run gyms, school programs etc) instead of promoting a lifestyle of stagnation. Governments are there to help guide a population regardless of economic considerations but this sadly has changed where financial considerations have a higher priority than of the people it “should” be representing.

The Bottom Line

Only by standing-up against conventional wisdom can truth be discovered.

I got a comment today from a reader of the article I wrote titled LegendaryLife Profile: Mariusz Pudzianowski in which I stated that although bodybuilding has seen huge strives in physique, the same gains in strength in the power lifting world haven’t been achieved. This is the answer I would have given to my younger self knowing what I know now.

Question from Australia:

What I like to know is that these people (as you had mentioned) are from a specific gene pool. Is it possible for a person who does not have the genetics such as theres to achieve strength and fitness not to their level but close to it?

Answer:

Let me be the first to tell you I am not a doctor, sports physician nor expert in the fields of genetics or optimal training so my answer is based off the discussions I have with athletes of all ages, 15 years of studies in the field and personal experiences. Nobody wants to be “second strongest man” so I will re-phrase your question. “Even with bad genetics, can I become the world’s strongest man?” My answer to you is both yes and no. Take this advice at your own risk and don’t even consider following any of it until you understand the WHY behind it.

Yes, you can

Let me be the first to tell you that genetics play a large role in how much strength you can achieve but what is a far bigger factor is your personal ambition to achieve this goal. Some of the most gifted people genetically can amount to absolutely nothing simply due to a lack of desire. If you think you can become the strongest man in the world, then you have a heck of a shot better chance then the average person with achieving this goal. The more important question I have to ask is are you willing to do what it takes? I have met more then my fair share of bodybuilders, gifted athletes and just freaking huge gym rats, by the age of 35 have shot their joints to hell. You see, muscles are capable of growing bigger and stronger up to a certain point far faster then your joins or ligaments can. There are guys who take steroids who can double their strength within six months but let me be the first to tell you that you wouldn’t want to spend one day in those bodies a decade later. Read up on past sports heroes, pro-wrestlers and even great power lifters, what you will find out usually isn’t anything to brag about. Many need hormone replacement therapy the rest of their lives due to steroid abuse, they need a constant stream of sleeping pills and pain killers just to get through the day and their personal lives are a mess. The body can only take so much abuse before it begins to shut off, hence why steroids, growth hormone and a host of other drugs including pain killers must be used on a regular basis just to keep the momentum going or gains from fading. There are exceptions to every rule, but if you really push yourself beyond your physical limits, you will pay a price one way or another.

Ron Coleman for instance looks like the healthiest person in the world, he is HUGE, POWERFUL and quite intelligent but he is completely dependent on “supplements” the rest of his life. He is the result of fantastic genetics meeting incredible determination with lots of help. He is like the 0.1% cream of the crop with an extremely gifted body but he has also been working out most of his life, just look at the photos of him as he progressed in bodybuilding and you will see a slow progression from well built into HULK over an extended period of time. He has earned, in every sense of the word, the body he has but I wouldn’t want to be in his body if he ever reaches the age of 80.

Remember that only in this century was the 5 minute mile broken, somebody had the will to make what others said was impossible, the next day many others achieved exactly the same goal… moral of this story is if you truly believe you can do it, it will happen.

No, you can’t

Now for the cold hearted reality, if you are unwilling to take the drugs, unable to handle the mental stress of lifting huge amounts of weights and don’t have the muscular or bone structure that is capable of supporting massive amounts of pressure then you will never become the strongest man in the world nor anywhere close to it. You may be an incredible one in a 10 million man exception but odds are that you are not. We are all limited by our genetics, sure, drugs allow us to somewhat morph from one body type into another but the underlying structure that supports everything cannot change enough to turn an extreme ectomorph (skinny, has trouble building and maintaining muscles, long arms and legs) into an extreme mesomorph (muscular, builds muscle very easily and athletic build). Your body type is a birthright given by your ancestors, hence why I believe the next revolution in augmenting body types must come at the genetic level BEFORE the body has had time to form itself fully, soon after conception in a petri dish.

Here is my advice to you

I don’t believe in hiding the facts from anybody but before you do anything, learn to eat, train and build goals for yourself to make your dream of being almost as strong as the Bill Kazmaiers of this world a probability. I am assuming your in your teenage years, so don’t even consider taking steroids, growth hormone or any other supplements as they will screw you up big time (protein and creatine are fine). Your body is swimming in testosterone, this is THE TIME to take full advantage of this, eat and train like a madman, strive for 10 pounds of muscle PER YEAR. Work on your foundation, hit the gym and read all you can about bodybuilding and improving your health. After a few years of doing this and once you have stopped growing (your growth plates have sealed), if you still want to be the worlds strongest man, then additional supplementation is a must. I know it isn’t politically correct to say this but you don’t become a 280 pound man with huge muscles by just eating oatmeal every morning. Be warned though, once you take this path there is NO going back. You will have the body of a God for maybe 10-15 years if things are done well but expect a future of erectile dysfunctions beginning after your first cycle even with post cycle therapy (clomid, nolva etc.). Expect to become addicted to pain killers and don’t expect to be in any kind of healthy shape, if your body doesn’t pop beforehand, in your senior years. From one guy to another, to be blunt, if you have the body of a God but can’t do anything with a woman you are deeply attracted to in bed, it will tear your mind apart and crying like a little boy.

My goal is to live to 150 years old, as such, steroids, growth hormones and many other supplements are in my future but I won’t even consider the possibility until I am mid to post manopause (male version of menopause) in my early 40s… even then, these will be maintenance levels of maybe 80-100 mg a week of testosterone, nowhere near abuse levels that are exponentially higher. Sure I will end up with size 18 shoes and cranium the size of a basketball by the time I die but this will be my choice to make. It’s your body and your choice but I would advise you heavily not to even touch drugs of any kind until you have reached at least 200 pounds in bodyweight with a single digit body fat percentage in your early 20s, naturally being the strongest guy in the biggest gym in your town. If you cannot achieve this, then I am sorry but you simply don’t have the genetics to be THE strongest man in the world, you will become strong, no doubt about it… but not THE strongest, becoming instead, best friends with your neighborhood dialysis machine by the time you hit 30 if not sooner with no cute girlfriend or wife to soak up your tears after realizing you just threw away your life.

Where the need for male strength all began

I believe that men, at some primal level, are attracted to being the biggest in the land. For instance, I am slightly taller then Mariusz Pudzianowski but he outweighs me by 100 pounds of pure muscle. If we met in a jungle and had to fight for the last woman on Earth, unless I had a gun, I wouldn’t stand a chance in hell even if I had a baseball bat. Since the dawn of time, animals (including us) have fought for reproductive opportunities for that one incredible, one in a million, female… before wealth came into the picture, which provides security in our modern age, physical prowess was the deciding factor. Women want a man that can protect her and her child from danger. For instance, if you where in a jungle full of tigers, would you want to have a child with Woody Allen or Arnold Schwarzenegger?

The Bottom Line

I know I probably swamped you with more information then you can probably comprehend, I tried to keep it as simple as possible. Your job now is NOT to follow my advice blindly but understand the WHY behind my response. This isn’t even touching the surface of what you need to know, the answers are out there, it’s your job is to find them. Best of luck!

Check out Big Ron Coleman’s Website to get some inspiration as to what IS possible, he IS the strongest bodybuilder out there right now and I think his body looks better then Bill Kazmaier’s or Mariusz Pudzianowski’s for that matter.

To say I enjoy working out would be an understatement… I LOVE working out. The more my muscles hurt the next day, the better I feel! I am not a masochist but I feel weird if some part of my body isn’t in some sort of pain on a daily basis.

Tips to improve your health and get more out of a workout

Here are my top 10 tips to improve your overall health and fitness, follow these at your own risk and be sure to always get a checkup by a doctor before partaking on anything that will stress your body.

10: Change your routine!

My exercises have evolved over the past decades from a regimented one in which I had to do 3 sets of one exercise followed using x weight with y periods of recovery between them. I am to the point now that it just doesn’t do anything for me anymore to follow this for more then a two week basis, my body just adapts too quickly. I now have a very simple regimen in which I have a different routine each time I enter the gym created in my head. I know I am going chest and back for instance today, so I go into the gym and start lifting what feels right. Regardless, never do the same identical exercise twice in a month.

9: Change your reps and sets every few weeks

I went from doing three to four sets of 8 reps to three to four sets of 20 reps… man did my body respond big time to that! I gained 2 kilograms in a month doing this… without taking protein powder, creatine nor any other supplement beyond a multi-vitamin. By the time you have done six to eight exercises with little rest in between them this way, the blood in any body part you have concentrated on feels like it’s about to explode out of the muscle. FANTASTIC! I managed to shock the hell out of my central nervous system and it was forced to adapt big time. So one month I went from 3-4×8 then 3-4×20 then back to 3-4×6, I think I will try 30 next time (I am doing this using drop sets by the way… for added difficulty).

8: The gym is a battlefield, your enemy the weight… it must be conquered!

I know I look a little weird wearing an army uniform when I workout, it keeps people away from me but also creates an internal image as to what I am doing there to begin with. I am not in the gym to talk, I am not in the gym to make friends, I am there to push my body and mind beyond it’s comfort zone. I am there to vanquish self-doubt, tell the weight whose boss and most importantly, try to attract some of the eye candy that surrounds me To me, a gym is a place of sacrifice, hard work and endless challenges. If you treat each workout like it’s a mission, you will get much more out of it.

7: Challenge others

If I see a guy doing squats and it happens to be my leg day, I can’t help but go to the rack right next to him, load up my bar with a little more weight and begin banging out the reps. I did this once with a guy who was 6 ft 3 and very well built, I didn’t realize his warm-up was my max weight… he cleaned my clock but you know what… at least I stepped up to the challenge without fear nor hesitation. Of course, this is more fun when you can motivate others to push their bodies further, bodybuilding is a game of one-up-man-ship, fair or otherwise, that is how you gain the respect of those at all levels.

6: Take care of your lower back

I keep getting reminded when I take my lower back for granted, just about every exercise from leg curls to standing dumbbell flies requires a lot of work from… you guessed it, your lower back (and abs) to keep you balanced. No matter how strong your legs are, no matter how many inches your arms, everybody has one achilles heel which is their lower back. Begin neglecting your lower back and EVERYTHING gets affected both at the gym and elsewhere. It isn’t any fun waking up in the morning feeling like an elephant used your lower back as a trampoline anymore then it is to have trouble sitting in an office chair for an extended period of time with a throbbing ache. A healthy lower back is vital to a healthy life and body.

5: Machines are for warming up and safely maxing yourself out

People who do entire exercise regimes using machines are loosing out big time on what they could be getting out of their time. It all comes down to neuro-muscular co-ordination or central nervous system optimization, that is what exercise does, it increases the efficiency of your neuro-muscular pathways, the fact that muscles get bigger and stronger is simply a by-product of this work. What I am saying is that there is a lot more stimulation occurring within your body when you use free weights then with machines. You are forced to recruit far more muscle fibers, neurons… you name it, simply to hold your balance, stamina and focus. Machines are great for allowing you to do what would be dangerous with free weights safely but they should be used as little as possible.

4: Bodyweight is an excellent weight onto itself!

When was the last time you tried one legged squats using nothing more then a smith machine and an empty bar? Well, give it a try, it will be a struggle. Same goes with pull-ups and many other exercises where the only machine you need is your own body. Free weights, machines and bodyweight all have an important role to play in optimizing your central nervous system, use them effectively for the best results.

3: Eat real food

Before you even touch a protein powder or the bottle of creatine tablets, consider this, nothing is more anabolic then food. NOTHING! All the protein powders in the world will produce zilch for you unless you include a healthy, whole food diet. If you can’t name the ingredient on something you are about to eat, don’t eat it. The good food you put into yourself is what your body uses to build muscle, produce growth hormone when you sleep and most importantly, repairs all the damage that exercise does to your body.

2: Rest and relax

Exercise produces a lot of micro-tears which the body needs time to recover from. If you don’t give your body enough fixing time, you are setting yourself for injury, over-training and possibly going backwards towards achieving your fitness goals. If you notice after a few months that you stop gaining, the best solution, more often then not, it to take a week or two off and eat as much damn food (read #3) as you can. You will not only gain weight but your strength will also increase along with muscle size.

1: Never stop learning

Like all things in life, the moment you stop allowing new thoughts, training ideas or others access to your methodologies, you will stop progressing. Health and fitness is no different. If you learn of a new training system that counters everything you have been taught, don’t ignore it, give it a try, maybe you will learn something that will go a long way towards improving yourself.

The Bottom Line

Weight training is as vital to a body as breathing, without it, you can never achieve your full potential as a human being.

In North America and to a lesser degree in Europe, when you call customer service, more often then not, your being patched directly through to an Indian call center to handle your requests. Taxes with companies such as H&R Block are also subcontracted to India including a lot of manufacturing, resource allocation and even strategic development. If you have some money and don’t have time to become pregnant yourself, it only makes sense to outsource that to India as well!

Pregnancy

It’s no secret that the entire process of pregnancy takes a number of the woman, that, till now, was simply a birthright, there where no other alternatives. The hormonal, psychological and physical toll or pregnancy stay with her the rest of her life along with the stretch marks. Pregnancy isn’t without it’s risks but as women push their child bearing years into their mid to late 30s, infertility becomes a growing issue as well. India serves an unlimited number of young, economically disadvantaged women who are willing, if the price is right, to become a surrogate. The process occurs through in-vitro fertilization (sorry guys) using the man’s sperm and the woman’s eggs, they are then implanted into the surrogate. The end result? Your child in every sense of the word, sharing no genetic material with the surrogate and your wife or girlfriend gets to keep her amazing body, having a child without ever taking a day off work nor pain associated with giving birth.

Womb for Rent

Now, this surrogate isn’t getting pregnant with your child for the fun of it, she expects to be financially compensated. In India, a woman can expect around $4 500 for the entire process, not a lot by First World standards but this is 15 years of wages for the average maid! She gets pregnant and wins essentially a lottery that sets her up on a better path in the future. She wins as she gets out of relative poverty, the family wins as they get a child out of the transaction. Both winners right?

Self-Induced problem

It’s no secret that one of the major factors causing infertility is age, the longer people wait before starting a family, the harder it will be. A woman as at her peak reproductively in her 20s, out in nature, this isn’t a problem but in the real world, that is right before university, after high school! It seems nature hasn’t adapted fast enough to our ever changing world and now, couples the world over, are paying dearly for it. A woman having a child in her 20s, unless within a very secure relationship, has a higher chance of being marginalized the rest of her life. I wrote a few months back about my experiences working in Canada and Australia at minimum wage jobs, what I may not have mentioned is that the vast majority of the women that where there, you guessed it, started their family in their early 20s if not younger. They where mostly divorced or never got married to begin with, most of them hated their jobs as much as their lot in life. For men, although we can have children all our lives, our peak is in our mid 20s. It isn’t just infertility rates that increase with age by the way, genetic defects rise as well such as Autism, Down Syndrome and a host of other conditions that a family would want to avoid at all costs.

Moral Issues

This isn’t just happening in India, it’s happening around the world, even in the industrialized world so I am not picking on India specifically. The biggest question you need to ask in these circumstances is that if the woman was economically advantaged, would she want to become a surrogate for a family she has no relationship with? Although there are exceptions, I bet 95% of the time the answer will be “Hell No”. So, the question must be asked, is renting a strangers womb for 9 months a moral act? I know that on the streets of Bangkok (Thailand), you can rent a young woman for $20US for a 24 hour period (use your imagination) so is this much different? How much different is renting a woman for 9 months compared to a 24 hour period, or even buying a liver for that matter? These are poor women, who have no real choice, selling the only thing they have to try to better themselves. Alternatively, most people rent their brains and bodies 8 hours a day, so how is even this act different? I am not here to preach, but just think about this and feel free to share your comments.

The Bottom Line

There is no way around this, renting a person, now matter how well intentioned, is still renting a person.

Buzvia: Giving birth becomes the latest job outsourced to India

I started a few months back of drinking several types of teas and grape juice throughout my day, both are healthy (especially green tea) but wow… did they ever do a number on my teeth!

Reasons for Staining

• There are a host of reasons why teeth become discolored, here is a partial listing from the top of my head:
• smoking, drugs or certain types of medications (especially antibiotics such as tetracycline, minocycline and doxycycline)
• alcohol, it’s a fantastic leaching agent which means that it acts as a magnet, not only taking essential minerals from your mouth but also throughout your body
• drinking coffee, tea (especially dark ones), red white, cola and juices (especially grape)
• bad oral care, such as not brushing your teeth or not rinsing your teeth
• high protein diet, this leads more to a yellowing then graying of teeth
• certain medical conditions cause a change in oral functions, especially those that reduce saliva production
• dehydration, if you don’t drink enough, your entire body is under strain and this can be shown in your mouth
• bad diet, your body will prioritize the resources to keep your body alive, sadly, if there is a choice between your vital organs and your mouth, the mouth looses

Why does tea and grape juice stain my teeth?

I really like my tea in the morning, afternoon between meals and generally with most meals, I drink plenty of grape juice. The results after a few months? My teeth have become the same color as my tea mug! Keep in mind that just because your teeth aren’t white, it doesn’t mean they are unhealthy. If they turn blue, then you got a problem (dead) but otherwise, it’s just a color which has no effect on their function. I have also read that tea naturally contains fluoride whose amount depends on leaf quality, so that mixed in with the anti-oxidant qualities of both the grape juice and teas (especially green tea), they both have a positive impact on the body. In the short term, these and other staining liquids or foods stain the plaque adhered to the teeth themselves, not the actual enamel but given enough exposure, this also becomes stained. Enamel is normally translucent, so what you are seeing in the mirror is really the color of the dentin under the enamel layer which is naturally darker. With age, the enamel naturally thins out, leading to darker teeth but any type of staining agent will affect both the level of translucency of the enamel and darken the dentin, leading to darker teeth in general.

How do I whiten teeth naturally?

The easiest way to keep teeth white is to simply never let them get brown or yellow to begin with, this begins with good oral habits. Of course, if you use any tobacco product, you need to quit that before doing anything else as it has a tremendously detrimental effect not only on overall oral health but also that of the body, no excuses.

First, always brush your teeth after every meal, sure this is easier said then done but it will prevent the initial buildups that lead to teeth discoloration.

Second, floss before going to bed at night to get at junk that may be stuck between teeth and rinsing your mouth twice a day with one tablespoon of salt, one table spoon of baking soda mixed in about half a cup of warm water. This will kill bacteria everywhere, nullify the acids in your mouth (baking soda is a powerful base) and works great at greatly reducing tartar and bad breath. If you have an irrigator, that is even better then rinsing your mouth.

Third, you can purchase whitening kit / toothpaste or get zoom bleaching done at your local dentist. You can also just brush your teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide but don’t swallow any of this stuff and use only in limited quantities.

The Bottom Line

Oral health is required for overall health as it’s easily one of the most important defense against disease.

For older patients who require close monitoring in a home setting, Duo-Cares wristband glucose and blood pressure monitor may be exactly what the doctor ordered.Features

Vital sign monitors run into the thousands of dollars but this wristbands advantage is its small form factor (meaning it can follow the patient anywhere) and relatively non-evasive fit factor. Although it doesn’t rack many other vital signs, most diabetics also suffer from secondary conditions which this will monitor. Additional features include:

• incorporates Fast Tracking Temperature (FTT) technology for accurate blood glucose readings even when the device and blood are two different temperatures
• step deflation on the cuff for blood pressure monitoring within 30 seconds
• advanced oscillometric algorithm (AOA) technology
• requires only a small blood sample (0.5ul) and gives readings in 5 seconds
• one button monitoring of various vital signs
• wristband monitor stores results and allows for easy data transfer to computer for clinical evaluations over time
• uses enzyme based test strips for accurate readings

The Bottom Line

There has never been a better time to be or become a diabetic, but don’t forget a healthy lifestyle incorporating physical activity (including weight training), proper diet and regular monitoring will go a long way towards reducing the likelihood of serious complications.

Buzzvia
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2007/08/post_12.html

Corporate Site
http://www.duo-care.com/

Americans spend over 40 billion dollars a year on potions, products and programs designed for a singular purpose – to loose weight. Ironically enough, the more Americans spend on loosing weight, the more weight they gain! Frontline has looked into this phenomena in it’s documentary Diet Wars.

Summary

I believe this is worth watching but if you don’t have time, here is a summary of the key points outlined in the documentary:

• January is when most Americans think of shedding the weight
• many obese people realize the damage they are doing to their health but simply cannot change their habits
• heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol and cancer risk factors are all influenced by carrying excess weight
• 2/3rds of Americans are overweight with most living in a state of denial
• Pritikin diet consists of fruits, fish, vegetables, soy milk, beans, it’s basically an ultra-low calorie reduced diet
• Atkins consists of eating all the fat you can while limiting the starches, fruits and cereals
• Atkins contradicts everything the government and scientific community has told the public
• Atkins works by reducing caloric intake, just like all diets that are effective
• the anti-fat (low fat diet) dogma is difficult overcome
• in the 90s, the food industry began removing fat from our foods (to reduce caloric intake and reduce weight of consumers)
• all commercial foods are made up of protein, water, carbohydrates and fats but removing the fat from a product requires the addition of one of the other three (usually carbohydrates) which gives them the same calories as regular “non-low-fat” products
• 3 000 calories of carbohydrates = 3 000 calories of fat
• low fat era of the 90s caused Americans to before fatter then ever with a third being obese by the early 2000s
• eating too much refined sugars (rice, white bread, pasta) cause sugar rushes which then causes the pancreas to over-compensate with insulin which in turn stimulates hunger
• Atkins works by satisfying your hunger due to the high protein and fat content (it’s burned slowly by the body verses carbohydrates which are burned quickly)
• saturated fat and cholesterol help clog up the bodies arteries
• Harvard recorded the lifetime diets of health professionals and after 20 years of research they found out that saturated are animal fats are linked to heart disease and cancer but unsaturated fats from fish and vegetable oils help protect people from these conditions
• unrefined carbohydrates are filling and nutritious while refined carbohydrates have the opposite on the effects on the body
• nuts are very high in fat and protein but also very nutritious
• South Beach Diet outsells Atkins now in the United States
• 80-90% of people who loose weight from specialized diets gain it back within a year due to cravings and returning to old habits
• Weight Watchers keeps the weight off longer then other plans due to the community support lacking from many other diet programs, it isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle change
• Weight Watchers uses a buddy system, teamwork, to maintain weight loss
• 65% of Americans are overweight or obese
• Americans live in a dream world compared to our ancestors where food is plentiful and cheap without requiring physical activity to acquire it
• childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing due to improper diet and lack of activity (some 12 year olds already have type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol)
• one child in two within the United States is at risk of developing diabetes over their lifetime
• most school cafeterias are full of junk food which works against their abilities to get a proper education
• children don’t play outside as before, families don’t eat together and the television has become a baby sitters (societal values have changed)
• sedentary lifestyle reduces calorie requirements by the body so even a normal diet can cause obesity
• America On The Move promotes healthy weights by using pedometers, creating fun, goal orientated activities to loose weight
• schools that cut out physical education to save funds are now returning towards physical activity as part of the school curriculum
• food is an important part of American culture, which is why limiting food consumption is a difficult task for most Americans
• all diets are gimics, long term changes are required after the initial weight loss and self-control isn’t a sexy marketing catch-phrase

My Dieting Views

The entire diet industry is made up of a lie, that of money. To be more specific, that you need to spend money to get the body you want… things couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of giving your power to a third party, save your money and time, invest in yourself instead!

The Bottom Line

Permanent weight loss is easy if you are willing to change your lifestyle.

Buzzvia
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/view/

If you are unlucky enough to require the use of an artificial limb, I hope this gives you hope that the functionality desire may not be that far away.

Dr. Goldfarbs Background

Dr. Goldfarbs is a professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University who has been fascinated by prosthetic limbs since childhood, and did his masters degree into designing a robotic artificial leg. He later did his doctorate in developing a computer controlled brace that would allow paraplegics to walk with the use of electrical stimulation on their muscles! He’s currently doing research into dramatically improving the usability and functionality of artificial limbs.

Power requirements are the next hurdle

Dr. Goldfarbs realized while doing robotic research that the achiles heel of any powered prosthetics is the inability to function for extended periods of time without having to have the power supplies refreshed (plugged in). As a result, he exchanged motors for special materials that expand and contract based on varying voltage, functioning very much like normal muscle tissue. In 2000, while doing research for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency), he developed a fuel source that simply used hydrogen peroxide instead of conventional motors and batteries.

Military needs artificial limbs!

With impressive advances in body armor, the number of casualties that the military suffers from was sharply down but as limbs are still exposed, a record number of limbs where being amputated. Having impressed other researchers, he then set his sights in 2005 towards developing an advanced prosthetic arm ever with 30 million dollar in funds from DARPA.

DARPA Results

The artificial arm developed by Dr. Goldfarbs was radically different then anything currently in the marketplace and has almost the same functionality of a real one! The artificial arm has more dexterity, freedom of movement and power then what is currently available with the added benefit of using a liquid fuel power system which can be refreshed when ever the user desires. Other researchers are also studying implantation of electrodes directly within the central nervous system to control artificial limb movement instead of using current methods.

The Future of Artificial Limbs

Dr. Goldfarbs is now researching the development of an artificial leg using the same technology he developed with DARPA funds for the next generation artificial arm.

Video

I found a video by Dean Karmen, I don’t know if the arm is the same as the one developed by Dr. Goldfarbs but the end of the video is interesting regardless.

The Bottom Line

Follow your strengths and success will surely follow.

Buzzvia
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Creating_The_Ultimate_Artificial_Arm_999.html

I started a little experiment on myself about two weeks ago, it being the peak of summer, I can’t go more then a few hours without being drenched in sweat, I consider air conditioning evil so my only comfort is a fan.

Cold Showers in Summer

About two weeks ago, I shut off the hot water in my place, not only will this save me a bundle in the summer but really, it’s already so damn hot outside, why would I want to take a hot shower on top of that? I usually take about 2-4 short showers throughout the day, I use them to break up my day and refresh my mind.

Cold Shower Experiment Week 1

First week, I can tell you, jumping under a COLD shower wasn’t something I was looking forward to, although it was incredibly refreshing, they where rather short affairs. Cold water running down my back made me short of breath and I was even shivering! My body was, oddly, use to hot showers in a hot environment and switching to chilly water was a complete shock. Suffice it to say, they are a great mechanism to wake a person up in the morning.

Cold Shower Experiment Week 2

Now into my second week and you know what, my body has adapted, the cold shower doesn’t feel so cold anymore, I am able to last a few minutes now and it’s rather enjoyable. I no longer shiver nor feel short of breath, the cooling effect also lasts for a good 20 minutes after the shower is complete as well!

Hot Showers

Think of a cold shower being the equivalent of a steaming hot shower in the dead of winter, well, after a week of adaptation, they are just as great! I will, from now on, take only cold showers in the summer (to cool me down) and hot ones in the winter (to warm me up).

The Bottom Line

Experiments involving your own bodies senses, done safely, can lead to new doors of experiences being opened.

Larval (Maggot) Wound Therapy, also known as Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT), involves using maggots to clean a wound. Maggots aren’t these evil little worms that eat people alive, they actually benefit the victim (and themselves) by feeding off dead flesh. Let me repeat, they only eat what is dead, they have no interest in live tissues… hence their incredible value at cleaning up infections.

History of Maggot Therapy

Maggot therapy isn’t anything new, flies have been directly applying this therapy on just about every living thing since the dawn of time, what is new, is we finally realized the benefits. Sometimes humans are slow to realize that what may seem nauseating to some, is actually mother natures way of helping us get over some battle damage. Using maggots as wound vacuum cleaners all started with anecdotal evidence by field surgeons during war that soldiers who had maggot infestations in their wounds seemed to recover quicker and better then those them. In fact, when antibacterial medicines and other modern techniques fail, maggot infections can help those who otherwise would have had to suffer extreme medical procedures to save their lives.

What are maggots?

Maggots are the larva stage of the regular house fly and is the second of four life cycle stages (after egg, before pupa). Once the fly deposits its eggs, the maggot emerges within a day and it eats until it’s ready to enter the third life cycle stage. After the maggot has eaten it’s fill, it then proceeds to a moist area away from the food source to enter the pupa state, which then leads to the emergence of the fly.

The bad maggots

Although maggots are only interested in dead flesh, they sometimes get under the skin of animals and even humans, changing from a beneficial insect to one that is parasitic. These type of infestations, known as myiasis, are usually caused by direct interactions with maggot infestations, such as putting your hand in rotting garbage. Flies don’t normally deposit eggs on living things unless they have an open sore or wound.

Summary

This is a rather graphic video, so I have posted it at the bottom of this summary:

• Medicinal maggots are our best friends, they are used for improvised debridement purposes in both field and clinical settings
• the periphery of a wound is covered with a tincture of benzoil to both clean up and make the application of a hydro colloid dressing easier
• sterile nylon chiffon mesh is then applied over the wound, trapping the medicinal maggots and the dressing they reside upon in place
• sterile medicinal maggots are removed from a sterile lab container using a tongue depressor and put in the middle of a dressing
• chiffon (with dressing) is then applied directly to the wound with the maggots place in them middle of the dressing
• maggots tend to work their way out from a wound rather quickly
• waterproof neoprene tape is then applied around the entire wound (except the center of the wound to allow aeration), holding the entire dressing assembly together

The Bottom Line

Maggots are our friends, we should be so lucky to get a wound infested with them, as it could save your life if you are far away from medical facilities.

Buzzvia
http://www.ucihs.uci.edu/com/pathology/sherman/home_pg.htm

Having used electric, fire and gas in the past to cook a tasty meal… gas is by far the most efficient and cheapest cooking method but Thermador is offering what seems to be a good, though pricey alternative.

Stove tops pluses and negatives

You rarely see a good cook in a kitchen use fire (except for pizza) or electric to prepare a meal, they are simply to slow and not very good at really getting things hot. Maintenance is also an issue, there is nothing simpler then a gas stove top, pipe goes in, distributes the gas and ignite. No moving parts, nothing to break and incredibly flexible. Fire on the other hand is tough to beat when out in the woods but not very practical in modern kitchens, the smoke produced adds flavor but it takes forever to get something going and not being able to control the intensity nor location of the heat source makes cooking anything beyond hot dogs on a stick a very tricky experience. In the middle you have electric, electricity prices are going up (as always) and these traditionally took forever to get to a good temperature and as the flame doesn’t envelope the pans like gas, heat distribution on anything but a flat surface is much to be desired.

The Thermador Experience

Without sounding too much like a commercial, induction heating means the counter top stays relatively cool as only the pan itself gets warm, greatly increasing safety, especially during spills (they happen) and kids running around. As the elements are flat with the surface, cleaning is a breeze and instant temperature changes are possible due to the induction technology. Additionally, these Thermador counter top elements heat-up 50% faster then gas and as the heat is within the pan itself, a far higher efficiency in heat distribution is achieved verses traditional electric or gas.

The Bottom Line

Induction really seems cool but the two thousand dollar price tag is rather steep.

Buzzvia
http://www.thermador.com/product743.html

Imagine just being able to breath normally for your medical treatments instead of popping pills or stabbing yourself, the NSI Pulmonary Drug Delivery Device promises just that.

Lungs for drug delivery?

Although the lungs have been used for years to deliver steroids to asthmatics during an asthma attack, they are second to none for drug delivery. The blood stream is an effective method used for centuries but it always carried the risk of secondary complications as the main defense (our skin) was breached for nasty critters to cause havoc each time a needle was used. Just about every system within our body has a direct connection to the lungs, from hemoglobin bringing oxygen to each one of our bodies cells to the disposal of cellular waste gases. Although using the bodies digestive system to deliver medication will be with us for a very long time to come, it isn’t an efficient delivery system and has it’s own host of complications. When you think about it, the lungs offer far more potential for non-evasive drug therapy then the current status quo. If you smoke, you are living proof as to the popularity and widespread ease of use that drug treatments using lungs has to offer.

What Next Safety is offering

Using asthmatics for instance, current respiratory technology requires people to deeply inhale for adequate drug delivery but Next Safety’s Pulmonary Drug Delivery System is different. It uses aerosolized drugs and purified air to deliver the drugs deep into the pulmonary system regardless of lung capacity, put another way, it allows you to simply breath normally for drug administration. The advantages of this are great for people suffering from a number of ailments or requiring medications such as antibiotics, anti-emetics, bronchodilators and narcotics.

The Bottom Line

Anything that helps simplify drug delivery is a very positive step towards improved patient recovery.

Buzzvia
http://www.nextsafety.com/pure_air/pulmonary_delivery.html

For quite some time, mothers have been told that supplements are just as good if not better then breast-milk but study upon study point out that nothing even comes close to fresh milk produced by the mother for her growing child.

Why do we breastfeed?

Whether you are an evolutionist or believer, you cannot deny that we are a mammal. One of the key tenets of being a mammal is that you actually give birth to live children who then breastfeed for an extended period of time. Unlike birds who essentially eat pre-digested food brought by both parents or reptiles that are born with all the skills needed to catch their first meals, us mammals are born completely defenseless. We generally reproduce slowly over an extended period of time, unlike insects that give birth to thousands of youngsters in one shot. This is where breastfeeding come into place. It’s very taxing on a woman to continue fetal development within the womb and the birth canal is a very narrow road indeed so to have optimal children, mammals continue the process of fetal development outside the womb. Although we aren’t as extreme as Kangaroos, we are about middle of the road compared to say a whale or elephant.

What is breast milk?

Breast milk can be thought of as the original supplement produced by nature, it has all the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fats, proteins and even hormones that a baby needs for optimal health throughout a lifetime. There have been a number of studies published which indicate that the benefits of breast milk over formula continue to pay dividends even when the child progresses to solid food. Unlike formula, it does not rot teeth, it does not produce nauseous surprises in diapers and even helps the child fight immune system invaders when they have none developed yet!

Vital Stats

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), out of the 74% of mothers that try breast feeding, only 30% are still doing it three months later and six months later, the number drops to 11%. This is scary to say the least, I could argue that this is one of the many risk factors leading to future health problems. The more “primitive” the society, the more they tend to breastfeed both in duration and proportion, there is also information indicating these societies have less relative health problems as well (hmmm…).

Breast Feeding Statistics

Being a man, I feel lucky I don’t have the body changes that happen with producing and feeding a child but thanks to CNN, they have given a list of top 5 problems and fixes with feeding the little critters.

Mistake #1: Solitary Confinement

Breastfeeding has become a solitary activity in our modern culture, mothers with problems are left to their own devices to figure out answers. This is ashame as most mothers, well, breastfed and haven gone through a few children, are vast untapped resources as to improving the experience and avoiding problems. Start a support group if none is around, visit the local hospital or ask your doctor if there is one around to attend.

Mistake #2: Not Learning from Success

If you have a friend or family member that recently had children, ask them to help you if with your problems. Your own mother and your extended family may also be great resources, tap them!

Mistake #3: Got MORE Milk?

Babies sometimes enjoy the process of nursing a little too much, they just won’t stop, don’t worry, when the baby is full, he or she will stop and give you a break. Don’t assume you aren’t producing enough milk, hence the reason for excessive nursing but if you have concerns, use a breast pump to measure production or see a doctor to make sure everything is alright.

Mistake #4: Breastfeeding with Strangers

Don’t worry, breasts are breasts… you had your legs open during birth in front of complete strangers so showing your breasts can’t be any worse. Your baby will thank you and there is no reason to be shy.

Mistake #5: Rivers aren’t build in a Day!

When you begin breastfeeding your child, you don’t produce copious amounts of milk equivalent to the neighborhood cow! At first, the production amount is highly concentrated and more colostrum then milk, measured in teaspoons, not the gallon. Keep at it and the river will soon build itself up as your baby develops.

The Bottom Line

Motherhood and breastfeeding should go hand in hand. It’s what is best for you, your baby and ultimately the survival of the human species. We have been breastfeeding our offspring for well over a million years, don’t be so quick to jump to formula if you experience a few issues.

Buzzvia
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/08/09/ep.breastfeeding/index.html

Next time you commit a crime, be sure to take your gravol! You are being warned, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has invested and created the first light (from a flashlight) that is designed to make you barf! No longer will the police say “put your hands up”, they will simply slide a bucket over and flash this light in your eyes until you surrender.

How does the Barf-Light work?

At first, the light from the flashlights LEDs completely blind you, as do most flashlights as the sudden change from dark to light with enlarged pupils causes a shock to the system. This barf-light will then rotate between different colors, inducing the same symptoms as motion sickness (vertigo to nausea). Although the mechanism behind this is unknown, I have experienced something very similar to this when I was flying my plane once. I was touching down facing the setting sun and the light going through the propellers caused me to feel quite nauseous instantly. Seems our brain has trouble with flickering lights even when you don’t suffer from epilepsy!

Circumventing the effects of the Barf-Light

The easiest way to not be affected by the barf-light is to simply not look at it or wearing sunglasses (both of which I started doing after experiencing this type of phenomenon first hand). Considering most crimes occur under the cover of darkness, I doubt wearing sunglasses at night isn’t in the cards for most criminals.

The Bottom Line

Light, in the wrong hands, is just as dangerous as Night.

Buzzvia
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/19142/?a=f

Up until the Nintendo Wii came to market, the only real exercise you could get on a video game console, unless you where into dancing, involved primarily the use of your maximus thumbis muscles. After a few hours, these muscles would develop cramps that would signal to the avid gamer that it was time for a bathroom and lunch break.

History leading up to Wii

In my youth, which I still haven’t outgrown, Nintendo was THE console to have, as they progressed from the NES, SNES to the N64, the game play evolved very little. During this time, the other consoles games in the marketplace where also rather routine, they each had their “must have” games but generally, game control was via controllers. When the Wii came into the marketplace, there was a fundamental shift, Nintendo KNEW it couldn’t compete with the likes of Sony and Microsoft in the graphics department… so they decided to focus on the one area where they always lead the pack… FUN FACTOR. Unlike the other consoles, Nintendo decided that graphics where not the immediate area that required attention, it was, rightly so, the input device (aka: controller).

Wii… all the way to the bank!

I should point out that Nintendo has ALWAYS been interested in their bottom line, unlike the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii is not a loss leader. Nintendo makes money off each game and each console sold.

Video Games and Fitness

For a very long time, playing video games was an oxymoron of being physically active. Why go out and play ball when you can sit on your ass and play ball on the television! This is why I applaud the Wii, they have taken video games from mostly a static activity to one that requires physical movements. This philosophy continues with their newest game (likely to become a series) called Wii Fit which evaluates your physical fitness and improves it via game play using a balance board type device. Yes, you can now use a balance board to interact with a video game… cool!

What does all this mean to the video game industry?

While Sony and Xbox 360 are almost exclusively focused on better game play and improved high definition graphics, Nintendo has essentially created an enormous new marketplace for the video game industry as a whole. Before the Nintendo Wii came out, most people wouldn’t associate physical fitness with game play but now that this idea is slowly being adopted by the general public, I would expect demand for these type of games to exponentially increase. What the Nintendo Wii has done is put physical fitness back into the forefront, which I think is fantastic and will lead to an entire new segment of games not only for the consoles but PCs and Macs as well.

The Bottom Line

Physical fitness, no matter it’s origins, is always a positive thing.

Buzzvia
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6196157.html?tag=cnetfd.mt

I find it rather humorous that most people have no problem eating pigs, birds, cows, lobsters and just about every other animal on this planet including our closest cousins out in Africa but damn those cat eaters!

Chinese know how to eat

If you ever ate at a traditional Chinese restaurant, no, not those Westernized ones, a real authentic Chinese restaurant where the waiter doesn’t speak a word of English and you can see the cook out in the back smoking between preparing meals. Notice the menu (you will need an interpreter), just about every part of an animal is available, from the stomach of a cow to the head of a fish. The Chinese culture is incredibly resourceful and open minded regarding food preparation, even with their vegetables, there is incredible variety compared to what is available in Western restaurants. Menus that go into the hundreds of available dishes are common place where in Western restaurants, you are lucky to have a choice among 20 types of dishes. Chinese cooking is also incredibly fresh, vegetables are bought at the market that day or the day before, the fish is swimming in the tank up until the second after you order it and that tea has been made from whole leaves upon your arrival.

Cats, Dogs and Spiders

Haven eating at more then my fair share of authentic Chinese restaurants, the fact that you can eat cats, dogs and even spiders (deep fried mind you) really isn’t a surprise to me. In South America they love their deep fried insects and I am sure when I was in Malaysia that I ate some things that if I knew what I was eating, it would have induced instant bulimia once the meal was over.

Why are Cats and Dogs off limits?

I don’t understand why people are offended that some cultures have different interpretations of what is acceptable to eat and try to impose these values on other cultures. In the Congo, they love their bush meat while in Russia they love their caviar. In the United States, they love processed meat products while in Korea, freshly cut squid and dog are celebratory dishes. Eating a cat? Evil. Eating a dog? Evil. I would far prefer to eat a fresh cat then a processed hot dog if I had the choice. Other then our emotional attachment to dogs and cats in our culture, there is nothing wrong with eating our feline nor canine friends. We are animals just like these animals, and in a survival situation, roasted “mans best friend” with onions would be first up on the menu.

Pets vs Food

I think this uproar over eating cats is simply a lot about nothing, really. George Clooney had a pet pot-bellied pig which he loved and I am sure to him, eating bacon in the morning with eggs probably makes him nauseous, same thing with cat and dog lovers. This doesn’t mean there is something wrong with eating these animals (and insects), their nutritional values are certainly healthier then the commercially processed junk we buy in the supermarkets. The deeper question to ask is where are all these self-professed “animal lovers” when a cow, fish, bird, pig or any other animal is slaughtered for human consumption? You cannot have it both ways and expect to be taken seriously.

The Bottom Line

One persons pet is another persons food.

Reference
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3361506

When ever you have enough people wanting anything, there is a market niche created which others will choose to exploit (not necessarily in a bad way). Well, with all the online dating sites, people who now suffer from HIV Disease (AIDS), Herpes or other incurable but treatable sexually transmitted diseases can now find like partners to share their lives with. This solves one problem at the expense of creating another.

Sobering STDs Facts

I do remember reading while back that there is a 50% chance of being infected with at least one STD throughout our lifetime, some are treatable, some are not. Before we delve into the world of dating with STDs, let’s review a few key facts thanks to the Center for Disease Control:

• condoms do not ELIMINATE the risk of acquiring an STD but they are an effective method towards reducing risk
• abstinence is not 100% effective but the best method of STD prevention
• pregnancy provides NO protection against STDs and may be harmful to the child while passing thought the birth canal
• one in every 250 people living in the United States has HIV Disease (2/3 don’t know it)
• most STD carriers show no symptoms, hence most don’t know they got them
• STDs are common across all age, race, sexual orientation, social and economic backgrounds
• acquiring STDs don’t just happen “down there”, for instance, Gonorrhea can also infect the eye and live in our mouths while HIV Disease can be acquired by sharing bodily fluids (ei: blood transfusion)
• acquiring one STD increases the risk of acquiring more
• herpes infection in the USA are 25% for woman, 20% for men!

Dating with STDs

People with STDs often feel alone and once over the initial shock of diagnosis, find it hard to find new partners. STDs become a huge barrier to dating the general public hence why dating sites catering to those suffering from an STD are booming online.

Giving hope where there is little

Some STDs are curable, so for those people, regular dating sites are fine but if you suffer from Herpes, Syphilis or a host of other diseases, these sites give hope to those who may have a tough time otherwise.

If you got HIV Disease for instance, I think it would be far better to live out the rest of your 10 - 15 years sharing the experience with a lover instead of sitting next to a window waiting for the Grim Reaper to make an appearance. I think these sites are also a fantastic ice breaker as well, you don’t have to deal with “when do I tell my partner I have XYZ” as you both have the condition on a site specializing in it.

STD Dating Sites

Unlike most online dating sites that cater finding your equal, many of these sites also serve a dual purpose of sharing and community. One thing that irks me is why few of these sites have any “about us” page, if you suffer from a disease as personal as an STD, wouldn’t you want to know a bit about the background before revealing yourself to the online world?

hivpassions.com
A 100% FREE online dating & social networking site for HIV Positive Singles. Being HIV+ doesn’t mean the end to dating, or making new friends. Sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards and email.

herpespassions.com
A 100% FREE online dating & social networking site specifically for singles who have herpes. 1 out of every 5 women in the U.S. have herpes, and 1 out of every 4 men…so there are plenty of people dealing with this issue. Herpes Passions is here to help singles with either HSV-1, HSV-2, or both, meet one another. Based on statistics, you’re pretty likely to meet people with herpes on any dating site you join, but on this one, people know about it ahead of time.

mpwh.com
Meet People with Herpes is a huge online community of people where fantastic friendships are made. Although set up as a dating and social website, it has become a caring community of thousands of people. Participation can be as anonymous as you want, and membership is free, although there is a fee for upgraded services.

PositiveSingles.com
This is an exclusive community for singles and friends with STDs. Here you can get on with your life and meet new friends, partners or potential spouses. If you just need to find someone to talk to or give them help or advice, this is the best place. Never feel lonely again!

positivespot.com
Welcome To PositiveSpot the premier Online community specifically designed for men and women living with STD’s. Standard Membership is free and no credit card required. Instantly create your own personal profile with photos, video and audio.. Find a date, a lasting friendship or soul mate.

PozCity.com
Providing a community for those with HIV/AIDS. Join Now and meet others make new friends, or meet your soulmate.

PozGroup
PozGroup.com is a place where you can find friendship, support, and even love with STD. HPV dating, STD dating, Herpes dating, STD singles, Herpes picture, STD relationship, STD match, STD marriage.

stdmatch.net
We understand at times it is difficult especially in the beginning stages of learning about herpes or if you have been rejected in the past. That is why we created STD Match! Find others in your area today who have herpes and share your outlook on dating. It is free to join and you can start communicating right away in our forums! Then sign up for direct anonymous communicating and more features. Sign up today FREE!

stdpassions.com
A free online dating & social networking site where singles with STD’s can meet. Having a sexually transmitted disease does not mean the end of loving relationships. Sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards and email.

The Bottom Line

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Reference
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/02/27/std.internet/index.html
http://www.cdc.gov/std/

Of course, the cheapest way clean anything is to simply not clean it at all but that isn’t an option unless your a dorm room student. The second easiest and effective cleaning method is to use steam, which is what I think no home should be without but the third is to mix common household chemicals when a liter of gas with a match simply won’t do.

Acid: Vinegar

Look in your kitchen, I am sure you have something acidic like, say, vinegar. Now, mix this vinegar with equal parts water (ratio 1:1) in a spray bottle… all done! Acids are great at dissolving tough stains and especially against mineral buildups, I use to use a liter of pure vinegar in my water distillation machine and it would work better on its own then all the scrubbing in the world. The additional benefit of using a common household acid like vinegar is that it’s cheap, easy to find anywhere in the world and you can eat off it right afterwards without fear of being poisoned.

Oxidizer: Hydrogen Peroxide

Say you have a stain that simply won’t go away, be it on carpet or marble on a counter top where leaving vinegar on there for an extended period of time will do more harm then good. Well, this is where Hydrogen Peroxide comes in, although H2O2 is a weak acid, it’s a fantastic oxidizer, antiseptic and anti-bacterial agent. Throw a bit of this onto the vinegar:water solution you made up and this will speed up the chemical process significantly.

Base: Baking Soda

Let’s say you go a little crazy with the vinegar around the house and start to see some discoloration or things start to feel a little funny, don’t throw water on it, throw a base such as baking soda. This will neutralize any chemical reactions going on, including those enhanced with the power of Hydrogen Peroxide. You can also use baking soda as a scouring agent, vinegar is great for most applications when diluted with water but it doesn’t provide the grit needed for really tough stains like in bathtubs. Baking soda also has additional properties that make it great for around the house, it’s an incredibly effective deodorizer (especially on carpets), tarnish remover (just mix it with warm water), fabric softener, incredibly effective poison ivy rash treater and you can even mix it with cocaine to make crack! How is that for diversity!

Ultimate Weapon: Alcohol

I am not asking you to pour Jack Daniels on your stains but if you are really having a tough time with some stains, diluted alcohol works great, especially on hard surfaces. Unlike Hydrogen Peroxide, which is also an oxidizer, alcohol has the added benefit of dehydration in addition to being a very strong base. Put another way, if a mixture of water + vinegar + hydrogen perodixde doesn’t to the job, try it again using alcohol, you can also throw in a bit of baking soda as well.

Summary

Well, I have now provided you with the power of knowledge, you no longer need to buy ANY store cleaners for the rest of your life, this will save you a small fortune, protect the environment and get your house just as clean without any ill effects of touching or breathing in harmful fumes. I personally prefer to use a steam cleaner myself, but these compounds are just as effective.

Do be careful though, just because these items are easily bought and relatively safe, these same compounds can make for a very explosive situation, so work your way up to higher concentrations on those pesky stains. Remember those elementary school science projects showcasing the power of volcano using baking soda and vinegar, well, this is what your are playing with.

The Bottom Line

Knowledge is a very powerful weapon in the face of consumer mass marketing of household cleaning products.

When I was a kid, pedal boats came in all shapes and sizes but they where not very efficient. Those swans you rent out by the half hour where like pedaling up a 45 percent grade using a bike with flat tires!

Things have changed!

Modern pedal boats are build using light materials, gone are the days of steel frame supports. Most come with canopies so you don’t get a bad sunburn when visiting the local wildlife and best of all, they are a fantastic way to have a very active few hours, even if all you do is tie it with a rope in your pool! If you want to really go high-end, some of these pedal boats even have gears (like on a bike) to really get you moving.

Pedal boats… what’s not to love?

I like pedal boats because you never need to worry about running out of gas if you bring enough food with you, sure they get pushed by the wind but this is an advantage. You can pedal at one end of a lake then allow the wind to push you back to where you started while trolling for fish. They also produce very little noise (when not on) and some even come with glass bottoms so you can see underneath at what is going on. You can also sneak up on wildlife relatively easily to get the best photographs. If you have kids, pedal boats are great, they will get exhausted after a few hours and sleep early all while building up their neuro-muscular pathways!

Where can you get one?

Here is a directly link to… Get your very own Pedal Boat!
The Bottom Line

Healthy activities are abound if you open your eyes.

If you travel anywhere in Asia, you will see entire open air centers filled with street merchants selling everything from tea to noodle, beef to steamed vegetables and all of it tastes great! When I was in Malaysia, I would eat my breakfast, lunch, super and snacks mostly from street vendors. I remember I could eat my fill (I eat a lot) for the equivalent of about one dollar Canadian, at these prices, why bother going to the grocery store and preparing your own meal?

Be careful though

Sanitation at these places does take a back seat though, I can say I never got the stomach flu or food poisoning considering I was surrounded by begging stray cats and dogs that looked abused full of scars. I avoided any type of foods that where sitting for any extended period of time, instead, going for the freshly prepared meals that, although I had to wait, where probably the safest thing around. Drinking cups where basically rinsed with water before being given to another customer, never saw any soap being used but when your in the middle of nowhere, food is more important then sanitation. Sure, I could have eaten at restaurants, and I did do a lot of that, but nothing tasted as good nor was as cheap as hocker centers.

Tips to avoid sickness

Always have the street vendor cook a fresh meal in front of you, anything sitting for any extended period of time is a time bomb waiting to explode in your stomach. If you are in doubt, stick to dry foods as they tend to have lots of salt in them to kill off bacteria. Always follow your instincts, if you believe something isn’t good for you then, well, don’t buy it! Also, don’t return food if you don’t like it as it may insult the street vendor and you aren’t getting a refund anyways. You will most likely see the same group of street vendors, and they do talk to one another, if you becoming a pain, expect to have some extras in your food to keep you away in the future or to teach you a lesson. I also never drank water, stick to either unsealed bottled water, hot tea or a soft drink (at last resort). In the third world, drinking tap water from any source is asking for trouble. To be honest, I never washed my hands before eating at these places, I always figured that no matter how dirty my hands get, at least I know where those germs are from relative to a shared bucket of water or communal water source from the ground with the only exception being if I shook hands with somebody earlier in the day.

Tips to gain you extras with street vendors

Sure, a street vendor may charge you 1RM for a super, when he asks for the money (usually upfront), give them a bit extra… not only will they be surprised but you can be sure you will get extra special treatment the next time you visit them along with an extra large helping. To you, an extra 20-50% above the local price is pennies on the dollar but to some of these vendors, it can mean a profit at the end of the night or extra food for their family back home. This also works well in Mexico and in Japan by the way.

The Bottom Line

Street vendors are entrepreneurs just like magazine barons or real estate developers, treat them with the same amount of respect and it will go a long way towards making your meal in a far off destination that much better.

I wish they had these blow up water parks when I was a kid, sure beats having a plastic kiddy pool hooked up to a garden hose!

Features

The Banzai Fall Sidewinder Falls, made by ToyQest, blows up in less then 3 minutes and is built using heavy duty rubber to resist punctures in addition to providing a very safe and soft playing environment. It weighs 78 pounds dry and includes a 10 ft tall water slide and splash pool along with a tunnel but the price is a little steep though cheaper then an in-ground pool.

What I wished it had

Well, it has just about everything to keep your kids more then happy all summer long, I can’t think of anything missing other then possibly a water heater… I still have memories of my toes hitting the freezing water in the middle of summer. I think these type of toys are fantastic as they get kids off the couch and physically active with friends from all around the neighborhood. The Banzai Fall Sidewinder Falls makes total sense in any backyard!

Where can I buy one?

Well, you can buy one right now by clicking on this direct link to the Banzai Fall Sidewinder Falls!

The Bottom Line

Everything evolves, even kiddy pools but it’s up to your imagination to see the possibilities.

I have seen a growing trend in the local supermarket and pharmacy, toothpastes, toothbrushes and mouthwashes are exploding in both price point and features. Here are some cheaper, more environmentally friendly and I dare argue more effective natural solutions for your oral hygiene regimen.

Why are oral hygiene products so expensive?

There is nothing wrong with a profit but that 8 dollar tube of toothpaste has probably gone through multiple markups even before it hits the shelves which you are paying for. First, the chemicals are produced then sent to the factory to be mixed with other ingredients to produce the final product in it’s fancy packaging. Final product then leaves in bulk to a distributor who may then have to pass through various sub-distributors along the way to the store. The store then typically introduces a 30-70% markup based on the prices they paid for the original product. Each level, of which there are many, have employees that must be paid, overhead, marketing, transportation and various other incidental costs that all get tacked on to… you guessed it… the consumer! What was essentially a few pennies worth of materials has now ballooned to a few dollars. This also explains why your Oral-B electrical toothbrush head costs an arm and a leg, my guess is Oral-B doesn’t make much from the toothbrush itself, instead, their profit margins are in the replaceable heads, similarly to how ink jet printers make money.

Chemicals everywhere…

If you read the back of your toothpaste and mouthwash, you will see a lot of chemicals that really don’t give you any real information. I have a rule of thumb I try to follow, if you don’t know what it is then don’t buy it. You breath in, ingest and bath in more then enough chemicals on a daily basis, try to eliminate the easy ones. Besides, most of the labels warn against swallowing what you are putting in your mouth… this is unavoidable so just skip the warning and use something natural! Keep in mind that cheaper mouthwashes use alcohol as their main ingredient, although it kills bacteria, it damages your gums in the process.

Healthy Alternatives

Well, mouthwashes and toothpastes are very easy to substitute with only three ingredients which will clean your mouth better then anything else on the market. The biggest problem with oral hygiene is bacteria buildup around the teeth and under the gum line. In addition to regular PROFESSIONAL cleaning, simply use warm water in an irrigator and add in a spoon of salt and a quarter spoon of baking soda. That’s it… after doing this for a few days, you will notice a few things. The main one is bacteria buildup inside your mouth leading to bad breath and that morning yuck taste are virtually gone. For me, mouthwashes, no matter the kind nor price range never seemed to solve this problem until I switched to this. As for toothpaste, well, you guessed it… salt and baking soda dissolved in water, you can add a little mint extract if you wish. You can buy salt and baking soda in just about every store a few kilograms at a time and nothing is as natural as salt. Baking soda is an acquired taste but after you begin to see the results, you will never want to go back! Please keep in mind that your irrigator will last only a few months as there is internal mineral buildup and always leave some water in the bottom, otherwise the pump is finished within a day. Regarding toothbrushes, I believe there is no substitute for a pro-level Oral-B toothbrush, sure they cost a small fortune but well worth the investment.

The Bottom Line

Oral hygiene doesn’t need to be expensive nor exotic to remain effective.

I, like may children of my Generation Xs, grew up eating cereal in the morning. Now that I know a few things about nutrition, although my parents had good intention, they where essentially feeding us junk food before a busy day.

Most Cereals marketing to kids these days…

I know most parents don’t look at cereal box ingredient lists because they still buy them for their children, believing that they are a healthy meal. Nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of cereals (not only by Kelloggs btw) have enough refined sugar, salt, processed flour, preservatives, artificial color and artificial flavors to make crap look appetizing. Read the label, for your kids sake as all this junk only leads to a very unproductive day, obesity and other health problems later in life… thank God most of us grow out of this habit!

Kelloggs Promise

Well, according to a ABC News article, Kelloggs has avoided a lawsuit by health advocates for their glorified junk food by promising not to promote it’s products to children under the age of 12 unless they meet the following standards

1. No more than 200 calories per serving
2. No trans fat and no more than 2 grams of saturated fat.
3. No more than 230 milligrams of sodium, except for Eggo frozen waffles.
4. No more than 12 grams of sugar, not counting sugar from fruit, dairy and vegetables.

Promises aren’t worth much

Serving sizes are already a joke of the food industry, I regularly eat 4-6 serving sizes in one serving when I do eat something pre-made (ei: oatmeal, yogurt, granola bars etc.), so this is an easy promise to keep by simply bringing serving sizes that much smaller. Parents will KEEP over-serving (by the producers definition) their products if they keep buying this stuff. Trans fats should NEVER be consumed at any age and saturated fats (based on serving size) is still not much of a compromise.

The FDAs recommended daily value for sodium is 2 400 mg FOR AN ADULT, the average child weighs about 1/3 of an adult so for a child, that amount drops to about 800 mg. I think it’s easy to feed your child two servings so you are giving almost the entire DAILY FDA recommended sodium in one meal… and I consider FDA in this instance to be high to begin with. I would have preferred they completely DROP refined white sugar and use xylitol or simply brown sugar. A caveat to all this is that it doesn’t start for another 6 months!

Kelloggs isn’t all bad

I will be the first to say that Kelloggs does produce some great healthy alternatives among with other food producers, the problem is they aren’t really marketing these to kids but to adults. I am not talking about Pop-Tarts, Froot Loops or Cheez-Its neither. I don’t understand this rational of feeding crap to kids but health to adults… the damage from years of malnutrition will take years to undo.

Alternatives?

Well, what ever happened to cooking eggs in the morning into an omelet with fresh vegetables? What about juicing fresh carrot juice or drinking some V8 if you don’t have much time? There are plenty of alternatives to the sugar laden cereal and they take just about the same amount of time to prepare. Yogurt is great along with oatmeal and even cream of wheat is great! Not only will this SAVE you money, most cereals are bloody expensive, but your children will have a very productive day. I am happy to report that organic cereals and those made which very healthy ingredients are also starting to fill up groceries but again, the kids never hear about them.

Deeper problem

If you think about it, how do most kids find out about these junk cereals anyways… well, you let them watch Saturday morning and after school cartoons right? I saw my nephew watch cartoons a few too many times and each commercial promotes a product that is less healthy then the last. I would prefer him playing video games then having access to television. Parents use the TV these days as a baby sitter, they are so busy that they have relegated their responsibilities to the media to educate their children and we see the consequences each day that yet another child is diagnosed with diabetes, obesity and a host of other ailments that could have been prevented. But that, my readers, is a discussion that merits its own headline.

The Bottom Line

Read labels and cook your own meals, that is the easiest way to avoid feeding your kids junk food masquerading as healthy meals.

References
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=3276491
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/foodlabel/sodium.html

I had the pleasure over the weekend of interviewing the CEO of Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes, Debbie Adler, to find more about not only her business but the markets they serves.

What made you want to get into the organics foods industry with Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes?

Over the years, as an avid cook and baker, I have become very aware of the benefits of using organic ingredients. So when I decided I wanted to start

Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes, it didn’t occur to me to use anything but organic ingredients, because I wanted my customers to derive those same benefits.

Can you give me an idea of the time line you have gone through from initial idea to running business?

I thought of the idea for an organic dessert company in 2005, wrote a business plan in that same year, formulated the recipes in the beginning of 2006, and started selling my organic desserts by the summer of 2006 under Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes.

Where did you get the ideas for the recipes and what ingredients to keep vs. substitution?

I knew that I didn’t want to use white refined sugar because of its harmful effects on human health, so I first started experimenting with all-natural, low-glycemic sweeteners. I tried brown-rice syrup and stevia, but found that xylitol was the best substitution. I also knew I didn’t want to use butter, so I substituted healthful oils such as extra-virgin coconut.

How many product lines do you currently have and how often do they change?

I have cupcakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, quick breads and granola. Every couple of weeks I try to come up with new flavors in each of the categories.

Have you noticed any seasonal or geographic patterns so far in what people purchase?

I have not noticed any seasonal or geographic patterns so far. People from all over the United States order a wide variety of goodies all year long.

Where did you learn about organics, healthy eating and proper nutrition?

I have learned by reading voraciously and taking seminars.

Have you ever considered sharing some of your recipes in a cookbook or alternative medium to help spread the word not only about your business but your passion for proper organic nutrition?

Yes, I am thinking about writing a dessert cookbook to share my knowledge about how desserts can taste delicious and still be made with healthful ingredients. Also, I speak at schools to let children know about the harmful effects of white refined sugar.

What are your views regarding artificial flavoring and coloring?

There are so many all-natural flavors and colors out on the market now that I feel there is no need to use artificial ones.

What are your views regarding the fast food / dessert industry selling desserts produced at an industrial scale?

I know that it is difficult to maintain a high standard of ingredient quality when producing at a large industrial scale, as well as to maintain a homemade taste which people usually are looking for especially when it comes to desserts.

What has the response been from your customers and media regarding your healthy alternative deserts?

At first it’s disbelief that a dessert can taste good with the ingredients we use, and once they try it, it’s elation, amazement and gratitude.

What are some alternatives to using white refined sugar?

The only all-natural sweeteners that are healthful, in my opinion, are stevia, agave nectar, brown rice syrup, erythritol and xylitol.

How do you stay so trim considering you spend much of your time surrounded by tempting treats?

Well, firstly our desserts are not that caloric, but as with anything moderation is key, and I do eat Sweet Debbie’s desserts every day. Secondly, one of the benefits of using extra-virgin coconut oil in the recipes is that it has been shown to help in weight loss.

Additional Information

You can find out more information about Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes at their website: http://www.sweetdebbiesorganiccupcakes.com but be warned, you will be highly tempted by their offerings.

The Bottom Line

Deserts can be as healthy as a solid meal if the proper ingredients are used.

I was looking through the local newspaper insert from a grocery store and on the back, there was an entire page dedicated to Shrek puddings, Shrek Frootloops and Shrek snacks of various types. What I found interesting is how all these foods… marketed squarely towards kids, where ALL junk food. So here is my top 10 list to help parents buy HEALTHY Shrek colored food (ei: all green). Unlike junk food, it’s very difficult to become obese or overweight eating these fruits and vegetables. Tell your kids that these are truly Shrek based foods because they are things he might find in his swap (use your imagination) as there are no grocery stores there.

10: Green Granny Smith Apples

These apples are very filling, exploding with fiber and very nutritious. If your child wants a few of them as a snack, no problem. Apples are very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. They’re also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C.

9: Green Watermelons

Watermelons are fantastic during hot summer days, add them to salads or serve them simply in slices. Don’t forget that every part of the watermelon is edible, from the red interior with seeds to the rind. I enjoy them with a little salt added and even as a drink.

8: Unripened Green Bananas

Bananas are a stable in many tropical countries where people include them in their breakfast, lunch and supper… including snacks throughout the day! Banana trees grow up to 26 ft high in bunches of up to 150 and are very high in Vitamin B6 (pyriodoxine), Vitamin C, Potassium, fiber and Manganese. Please wait till they turn yellow before eating
7: Green Peppers

You see green pepers on pizza, in salads and are great when mixed with other fruits / vegetables in a juice. They are easily added to any meal, such as pastas, soups and great simply raw.

6: Green Spinach

Sure they are high in Iron but they are contain a lot of anti-oxidants and minerals to make them a great all around vegetable. Their high fiber content makes them ideal for people with digestion (processing) problems and they are full of flavonoids which are great anti-cancer agents.

5: Green Dried Seaweed and Kelp

The Japanese produce some truly amazing dried Seaweed and kelp. It tastes great, packed with just about every vitamin and mineral known but I warn you ahead of time, once you start eating it, you can’t stop
4: Green Broccoli

I really don’t understand why there is such an aversion to broccoli, it’s one of my favorite vegetables. It tastes great raw, steamed or cooked in a soup and is packed with nutrition and fiber. George Bush Senior may have banned Broccoli from Air Force One but he didn’t abandon it from your kitchen! Buy it today!

3: Green Vegetable Based Pasta

I have seen this starting to appear in more and more places, basically, instead of 100% flower/egg based traditional pasta, they now sell multi-vegetable based pasta which is far more nutritious and tastes great! One of the tricks to a healthy diet is replacing foods that are so-so with foods that have great nutritional profiles.

2: Green Pears

I LOVE pears, they taste fantastic, packed with all of natures goodness and best of all, extremely high in fiber. It’s one of the few fruits that you can eat 5 and poo 10 of them hahahaha. I know some people bake them or add them to soups, as for me, I like them raw in bunches of 5.

1: Green Kiwi

Kiwis are just one of those fruits that if you where ever stuck on a deserted island with only one fruit available, would be at the top of my wish list to bump into. They are packed with nutrition, water and have a particular taste that never gets old. I add them to home made carrot/orange juice to spike up the flavor.

The Bottom Line

The next time you or your kids want to buy something GREEN because it’s marketed as Shreks (etc.) foods of choice, pick one from my top 10 list… your body will not only thank you but get you well on your way to proper nutritional habits.

Growing up as a kid when everybody else was suffering from acne, I was suffering from poison ivy blisters Actually, I can’t think of a summer where I didn’t catch this wonderful condition – it’s almost a right of passage for me now to confirm warmer weather is upon me… this time I tried something different.

What is the good news about Poison Ivy?

Although I am sure poison ivy has its role in nature (feeding birds, protecting against erosion etc.), it still ranks up there with mosquitoes as things that I wouldn’t miss if they ever became extinct. Poison ivy (its cousins poison oak and sumac) are actually quite harmless, they will not attack you, are rarely fatal and best of all, once you catch it, easily treated. One of the few pleasures of catching poison ivy is hot showers never felt so damn good.

What is the bad news about Poison Ivy?

The worst thing about poison ivy is you can’t get rid of it, you cannot burn it as the smoke can harm your lungs, you can’t rip it out of the ground as even a small piece of root will make it come back with a vengeance and any way you cut it, no matter how you do it, will most likely lead to re-infection unless you are doing it in a bio-hazard suit. One last thing, poison ivy LOVES carbon dioxide (as do most plants) so the more you drive your car and use energy – burning fossil fuels - the more poison ivy will be out there waiting for you during your next camping trip.

How do I know if I got poison ivy?

It’s always a good idea to double check with a medical doctor to make sure you don’t have more serious health or medical problems – your rash might have nothing to do with poison ivy. Over the years, I have come to recognize the hallmarks of poison ivy, usually (but not always), poison ivy rashes develop in clumps, like they are in a race to see which “rash” can get the highest on elevation on my skin, another hallmark is lines, for some reason, poison ivy loves to form rashes that go in straight lines… so remember, clumps with lines
What causes those rashes?

Poison ivy (and its cousins) contain an oil called urushiol, this agent causes those wonderful rashes. It takes only a few minutes to enter your skin (causing a reaction) and it may take up to a week before you start noticing a rash.

What does poison ivy look like?

Make a quick search on the Internet for poison ivy, sumac or poison oak but if you think you can avoid it in a thick forest or while crawling through bushes, forget about it… it blends in and rarely have I been able to trace my steps back to identify exactly where I caught it. My rule of thumb is that if you see poison ivy, you probably already caught it… take a hot shower with plenty of soap ASAP.

What can I do to cure my poison ivy?

For years I would go to the doctor to get topical cream, worked great but a month ago I decided to try something different – very different. Instead of visiting the clinic, I visited the pharmacy and bought some GOLD BOND, it’s a drying powder that is wonderful and curing many types of rashes – baby powder probably does the same thing. Several times a day I would take the hottest shower I could stand for as long as I could take it then upon drying myself off, put the Gold Bond over the