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Healthy Chocolate – A Healthy Treat that Tastes Great

Posted by crazyaboutfood | Posted in Nutrition | Posted on 05-11-2009

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Healthy Chocolate comes with some of the most essential
nutrients needed by most Americans.  This is probably why we
all have chocolate cravings.

The fruit of the cacao tree contains cacao seeds or beans.
If you peel open a seed or bean, that’s where you’ll find
the chocolate or chocolate nib.

Highest Amount of Antioxidants

Low temperature treated chocolate contains the most
antioxidant flavonoids of any other food found on this
planet.  These antioxidant flavonoids protect you from free
radicals that are responsible for aging you.

The Benefits of Flavonoids:

Helps repair damage caused by free radicals

Keeps blood clots from forming

Helps with your circulation

Helps prevent heart disease

If your looking for a high antioxidant chocolate treat,
choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate and for the
highest amount choose raw chocolate.

Contains the Highest Magnesium Levels

Healthy Chocolate is an excellent source of the mineral
magnesium.  We need magnesium for many of our body’s
functions such as balancing our brain chemistry.  This could
be the reason women crave chocolate more during their
menstrual cycle.

To keep your heart functioning at its best, you need a
regular supply of magnesium.  Americans are extremely
deficient in this mineral and about 80% of us need to focus
on adding more to our diets.

Healthy Fatty Acids

Chocolate is a source of saturated fat which does not seem
to raise cholesterol levels.  It is also a source of heart
healthy monounsaturated fat.

Chocolate’s monounsaturated fat contains a powerful fatty
acid called oleic acid which is also found in olive oil.

Contains “Feel Happy Chemicals”

Two important brain chemicals found in chocolate are
phenylethylamine and anandamide.

Phenylethylamine gives you the same feeling as
falling-in-love.  It also increases your alertness and your
focus.

Anandamide levels increase in your brain with the
consumption of chocolate.  This chemical produces a feeling
of relaxation and just makes you feel good.

Healthy Chocolate is Raw Cacao

In its raw and unadultered state, chocolate is actually a
valuable and potent super food.  Chocolate processed at low
temperatures protects its nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

Besides magnesium, other essential minerals present are
calcium, zinc, iron, copper, and potassium along with
vitamins E and B.

You will not find much caffeine in raw chocolate.  What you
will find is the sister molecule of caffeine which is called
theobromine.

Since chocolate has more of a stimulating effect when it is
roasted or cooked, eating  your chocolate raw could give you
a much more pleasant experience.

To find some of the greatest quality low temperature treated
chocolate treats,  Click Here.

You can find more antioxidant rich foods by visiting Destination Healthy Foods.

Gluten Free Foods Are Essential For The Health Of The Gluten Intolerant

Posted by crazyaboutfood | Posted in Health | Posted on 05-11-2009

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Gluten free foods are popping up everywhere and it’s
becoming easier and easier to find breads, desserts, etc.
that are made from gluten free grains.

What is Gluten?

This protein can be found in wheat, rye, and barley
products.

Gluten contains a very complex protein which is hard to
digest by our bodies. The size of the gluten protein
molecule makes it very difficult for your digestive system
to handle.

The problems start when gluten enters your small intestine.

For the gluten intolerant, gluten can wreck havoc on your
health by ripping holes in the lining of your system. This
can create leaky gut syndrome and pretty serious allergic
reactions from your immune system.

Absorbing important nutrients from your food will be halted
when you suffer from intestinal damage and this could lead
to malnutrition. Malnutrition could then lead to contracting
a disease.

Some of your favorite grains do not contain gluten such as
corn, rice, and pure oats. Some of the more exotic gluten
free grains are quinoa, buckwheat, millet, teff, and
amaranth.

Since wheat, rye, and barley are grains that naturally
contain gluten, eating oats that have been processed in the
same plants as these grains will be cross contaminated with
gluten.

Wheat gluten grains include spelt, wheat bran, wheat germ,
wheat berry, triticale, couscous, durham, bulgar, farina,
semolina, einkorn, farro, graham, udon, seitan, wheat grass
and matza.

What are Gluten Intolerance Symptoms?

Symptoms to watch for after consuming gluten would be
discomforts such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and
constipation. Watch for fat in your stools, cramps, aching
joints, tingling and numbness, headaches, rash, itchy skin,
and irritability. Longer term conditions could include
irregular menstrual cycles, slowed child development, weight
gain or weight loss, depression, and nutritional
deficiencies.

A more serious gluten intolerance is called Celiac disease
and when gluten is consumed this actually triggers your
body’s immune system. Celiac disease is caused by the
inflammatory interaction of gliadin which is a gluten
protein.

Your small intestine’s lining will become flattened by the
inflammation created by your body’s reaction to this
protein. This will hinder your ability to absorb important
and life giving nutrients from the foods that you consume.

This disease can run in families and is more common then
most people think. If left untreated can result in more
serious complications like Type 1 Diabetes.

A strict gluten free diet is the only way you can fix this
disease.

An Up and Coming Gluten Free Grain is the Quinoa
Grain

Quinoa is high in protein and has a high content of the
valuable amino acid lysine.

Usually grains do not have this important amino acid.

This amino acid is needed for the absorption of minerals
such as calcium and for muscle building.

Lysine also helps in the production of enzymes and
hormones.

Quinoa is considered a complete protein because it contains
all eight essential amino acids.

Gluten Free Food Advice

Gluten free desserts are easier to make than in the past.
There are quite a lot of gluten free flours and gluten free
cookbooks available. There are also desserts like chocolate
and ice cream that naturally do not contain any gluten, but
always check the label.

Gluten free foods are some of the most healthy foods like
whole dairy products, seafood, nuts, beans, fruits,
vegetables, meats and poultry.

Trying to avoid gluten in your diet, is like trying to
avoid aging. You must be on the ball at all times and read
every label as most processed foods contain gluten in
disguise.

For additional ideas from this author about this topic,
check out Gluten Free Foods.

For basic Healthy Eating Guidelines, visit Destination Healthy Foods.

Colloidal Gold is an Ancient Super Food that has Been Rediscovered

Posted by crazyaboutfood | Posted in Health | Posted on 05-11-2009

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Colloidal Gold is a supplement with super nutrient abilities
that encourages peak performance of your body and mind.

Commonly Reported Experiences and Benefits:

Optimism and motivation increased

Increased overall sense of well being

The ability to focus, remember, and concentrate is stronger

Coping with stress is easier

A deep night’s sleep

Sense of energized yet calm zen-like awareness

Easier dream recollection

Mood support through the “winter blues”

Helps with addictive cravings

Was Gold Taken as a Super Nutrient Supplement in
Mankind’s History?

For centuries, gold tonics have been sought for
rejuvenation and over all well being.

The Mayan culture used gold for their eating utensils and
has held gold in high standing for thousands of years.

Could this be based on drinking glasses, plates, and bowls
made from gold enabling microscopic amounts of gold to be
absorbed by the human body?

Paracelsus the modern forefather of Pharmacology studied
alchemy and created metallic minerals such as gold for use
as medicines.

Paracelsus cured patients that other physicians of his time
had trouble curing.

Is a Super Food Made from Metal Safe?

Yes, 14 of the most crucial nutrients in human metabolism
are metals which include magnesium, manganese, iron,
selenium, and zinc.

Gold does not interfere with medications or other
chemistries within your cells as it is a non-toxic noble
element.

People with allergies are told to wear high quality gold
jewelry because allergies to gold are almost non-existent.

Is Colloidal the Best Type of Gold Supplement?

Yes, you must be able to ingest and absorb gold if it is to
be of any value to your body.

The colloidal size is easily absorbed into your cells.

Smaller forms such as ionic supplements of gold are being
pushed as a better form of gold because of its smaller size.

It is true that ionic is a smaller particle size than a
colloid.

This truth doesn’t necessarily make ionic more desirable.

Due to the fact that at the cellular level ionic gold acts
more like a drug because its shape and energetic quality has
been radically altered by removing electrons from the outer
electron orbital of the atom.

This results in an imbalanced atomic charge (called ionic)
that causes the atom to be attracted to and bond with atoms
having negative charges within the cell.

Just like the rush you get from coffee, eventually this
form of gold will cause an over sensitization of your
nervous system.

Elements for Life has Created Pure Colloidal Gold!

Gold Rush is an exceptional product created in small
batches and should impress even the most educated gold
supplement connoisseur.

The concentration of this gold is 10 ppm or parts per
million and has a particle size of 1.2-3nm which makes it
almost 100% bioavailable.

Gold Rush is not an ionic gold supplement.

True Colloidal Gold of the highest quality is light ruby
pink in color.

This product requires no refrigeration and is basically
tasteless.

If you would like more information on the subject of Super
Foods and Colloidal Gold, go to 10 Super Foods.

Coconut Nutrition is The Hidden Treasure for Your Health

Posted by crazyaboutfood | Posted in Nutrition | Posted on 25-10-2009

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Coconut Nutrition has taken a beating for decades.  There is
a misconception spread among people that coconut fat is not
good for the heart.  This is because it contains a large
quantity of saturated fats.

The saturated fats present in coconuts are not harmful and
contain medium chain fatty acids which help to prevent
various heart problems including high cholesterol levels and
high blood pressure.

Why You Need Saturated Fats

They are important for fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E
and K.  Dietary fats are needed for the conversion of
carotene to vitamin A and for mineral absorption.

The livelihood of your hormones, hormone like substances,
and cell membranes depends on an adequate supply of
saturated fats.  Saturated fats also provide your body with
a great source of energy.

Omega 3’s need saturated fat to be used properly in your
body.

Your cells communicate better when your diet has this fat
and your cell membranes should be made of about 50%
saturated fat.

Vegans or Vegetarians who do not eat any animal products
should look at coconuts as a source of saturated fat.

As Nutritious as Mother’s Milk

Coconut’s fat is unique because it’s composed predominately
of medium chain fatty acids or medium chain triglycerides.
Coconuts are one of only a few dietary sources that contain
MCFAs or MCTs.

Mother’s milk is another source of these powerful fatty
acids which help newborns to develop their immune systems
properly.

Coconut Nutrition and MCTs

Your digestive system will not have to work too hard
because these fatty acids are easily digested.

Your body rapidly turns MCTs into energy for your body.

The fatty acids found in coconuts are loaded with lauric
acid.  Lauric acid helps your immune system fight off germs
and parasites.

MCTs boost your metabolism and thyroid functions.

Coconuts and Your Cholesterol Levels

Recent studies show that dietary coconut oil does not lead
to high serum cholesterol nor to high coronary heart
disease.

It has been found that coconut oil fats help to raise “Good
Cholesterol” levels.

Older studies on the fats or oils found in coconuts
reported that it raised cholesterol levels and was
therefore, a risk for heart disease.

This kind of flawed study used hydrogenated coconut oil.
Hydrogenated oil is made by forcing hydrogen gas into oil at
high pressure – this changes the properties of an oil for
the worst.

All hydrogenated oils have been shown to increase serum
cholesterol levels which contribute to heart disease.

There are studies that prove people in tropical areas of
the world who consumed a large amount of coconuts did not
suffer from the many diseases of our Western World.

Organic Coconut Cream is Delicious

This is one of my favorite ways to consume coconuts.
Organic coconut cream is very similar to coconut milk, but
contains less water and has a more thick paste-like
consistency.  This rich and thick cream has a light sweet
taste and contains more nutrients than coconut oil.

Coconut Nutrition and Raw Coconut Cream

Unlike coconut oil, which is fat soluble, coconut cream is
both fat and water soluble.

You get the wonderful health benefits found in coconut oil
along with the bonus of breaking up your stored plague.

Stored plague that has hardened in your body due to the
consumption of cooked fats and cooked cholesterol breaks
down with the use of this powerful solvent.

Best Way to Eat Coconut Cream

Organic Coconut Cream makes a great ice cream

Great fat to use in smoothies

Just scoop a spoonful or two into your favorite soups and
stews.

Make Your Own

If you have a Green Star Juicer, all you’ll need are some
quality coconuts preferably organic coconuts.  Call or visit
your local health food store.

Basically, you would crack the coconut open, drain the
coconut water or drink it, scoop out the fresh coconut meat,
and then feed it to the Green Star Juicer and presto -
freshly made coconut cream.

For more information and ideas on adding coconuts into your
life, go to Coconut Diet
To have a healthy mind, you must eat the best
foods!  Find out what might be missing from your diet by
visiting Destination Healthy Foods

Three Effective Ways to Reduce Stress and Depressed Mood During the Holidays

Posted by Mark Lakewood, CEO | Posted in Depression | Posted on 25-10-2009

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The holiday season is quickly approaching and many of us are preparing for this joyous time of the year. Some may embrace the holidays with cheer, hope, and thanksgiving while others may embrace the season with burden, anxiety, and personal failure. This article addresses three ways you can overcome anxiety and depressed mood during the holidays.

The first and most effective way to avoid anxiety and depressed mood is to recognize unachievable and unrealistic expectations (unhealthy thoughts) that you may subscribe to. Our thoughts have a direct bearing over our emotional disposition and the consequences that occur in the aftermath. We often cannot change circumstances (situations, events, and the behavior of others) that occur in our lives but we do have the power to alter the way we feel and react to them by simply changing the way we think. If we would like to avoid experiencing anxiety and depressed mood during the holidays, we must take ownership and control over our own thoughts by identifying unhealthy thoughts that we may subscribe to that might be contributing to a negative emotional disposition and replace them with healthier ones.

Some may fear social rejection and judgment from others. Though others may choose to judge negatively, pondering on this thought can ultimately rob you of experiencing joy and happiness. The following are six common unachievable and unrealistic expectations (unhealthy thoughts) that are often pondered on during the holidays:

1. “I need to spend a lot of money on gifts otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others” – It is a shame that so much worry is attributed from the issue of money especially during the holidays. We should not feel or be made to feel that the holidays are all about external/physical gifts. The most precious gift that we can give to one another is our fellowship and love (internal gifts). No external/physical gift can replace this. Internal gifts have a longer shelf life and increase our self-esteem more than external/physical gifts.  We must keep this issue in the proper perspective otherwise we can inadvertently teach others that external/physical gifts are more precious and desirable than our fellowship and love.

2. “For gatherings, my home must always be clean and tidy otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others” – It is never okay to invite guests to a filthy home. But expecting your home to be constantly tidy might be an unrealistic expectation, especially when children are present. Expecting such would only cause you anxiety and depressed mood. Do not worry about the cleanliness of your home but rather focus on fellowship as this is much more important and significant.

3. “I must prepare a flawless meal for my gathering otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others” – The quality of meals should not be the main focus of the holidays. If food preparation is an issue, there is nothing wrong with purchasing meals from a restaurant. To go one step further, having a potluck might be a better and less expensive idea as your guests would be directly involved with the food preparation by offering a variety of foods at your gathering freeing up time for fellowship.

4. “My physical appearance must be acceptable and appropriate otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others” – Aside from daily hygiene, do not worry about your physical appearance. The fellowship that you can give to one another is much more important than your physical appearance. More times than not, our own anxiety over our physical appearance has more to do with how we feel about ourselves rather than how others may perceive us.

5. “I need to bring a mate to the gathering otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others” – If you are single, sometimes attending a gathering by yourself where couples are present might make you feel uncomfortable as you might feel that you do not fit in. Keep in mind that you are not alone as there are many people that are divorced, separated, or single. If having a mate was a prerequisite for gatherings, I guarantee you that there would be a lot less gatherings!  In addition, avoiding gatherings would only rob you of the experience of possibly meeting a potential mate.

6. “I need to pretend that I am happy during gatherings otherwise I might be perceived negatively by others” - Experiencing happiness is not a prerequisite for attending gatherings. Oftentimes, life events and experiences that have nothing to do with the holidays may play a direct role in your emotional disposition. The wonderful thing about gatherings is that there are plenty of people that you can talk with. If someone asks you how you are doing or feeling, be honest with them and let them know. Do not tell them that everything is fine when it is not. Oftentimes, having someone to discuss your problems with might actually help you resolve them as well as make you feel better. Take advantage of this opportunity.

If there are any other unhealthy thoughts that you might be dealing with that are not discussed in this article, I encourage you to write those thoughts down on a piece of paper writing a healthier thought (one that you would like to subscribe to) next to it. It would also be a good idea for you to review these thoughts daily so that it becomes easier to recognize and replace unhealthy thoughts.

The second way to avoid anxiety and depressed mood is to establish personal and professional goals for yourself. There is a lot to be said for New Year’s resolutions. Establishing short and long-term goals is a healthy idea because they can provide you with structure by giving you something to look forward to. Goals oftentimes give meaning to our lives. Those who do not have goals often feel hopeless and helpless. Just make sure that the goals that you establish are significant and achievable otherwise they will not be effective or worth your while to achieve.

And finally, the third way to avoid anxiety and depressed mood is to work at giving to others. Sometimes we are fooled into believing that happiness is achieved through the gifts that we receive or the items that we purchase. Just the opposite is true. You can achieve true happiness by helping others in need, volunteering your services, holding the hand of one in despair, or just simply being there when one experiences a low moment in his/her life. Oftentimes, it is not the words that we say that lifts one’s spirit or gives one hope. But rather, it is just being there that makes all the difference in the world. At times, we feel uncomfortable because we do not know the right words to say to those who are hurting. Words are not always important. The fellowship and the love that you can provide is what the holidays are all about. Let’s not lose this perspective and let’s not give unhealthy thoughts, with all the anxiety and depressed mood that goes along with them, the ability to rob us from experiencing the joy and the happiness that we all deserve to experience during the holidays. Happy holidays to all!

About the Author

Mark Lakewood, CEO of Building Strong Families National Seminars, http://www.StrongFamilies.us, is a distinguished bullying prevention expert, author, and speaker with over 20 years of clinical experience as a family therapist.  Mr. Lakewood facilitates seminars on family and school-related issues. He facilitates the “Standing Up To Bullying” Conference, http://www.StandingUpToBullyingConference.com and the Sudden Compliance Program Webinar Series, http://www.SuddenComplianceWebinars.com.

Why I Decided To Take The Swine Flu Warnings Seriously

Posted by Bodybuilding Geek | Posted in Health | Posted on 30-08-2009

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I suspect that for most people their concern about swine flu peaked the day that the World Health Organization raised their warning level all the way up to level 6 and declared that they were at “full pandemic status”. Since then the world has not melted or anything, so we have all gone back to business as usual. I know that I have, and I think most people have taken the view that this thing is pretty much yesterday’s story and that swine flu is about as harmful as a drink of water.

And you know what? So far, it looks as if that’s about right (yes, some people have died of swine flu complications, but a lot less than were initially expected). I have to admit that I was starting to feel the same way, but I have just finished reading a book called “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”, and what I found out is that looks can be deceiving when it comes to strains of flu. The author points out that the last time we saw a flu strain like this novel H1N1 strain begin spreading around the world, it ended with the deaths of about 100 million people.

It did not happen that long ago either. It was 1918, less than a century ago. An H1N1 strain came out of nowhere at about the same time of the year, spring time, and then vanished a month or two later without causing much of a problem. But then it came back in the fall.

This time it was completely changed, and that dopey virus that caused little loss of sleep in the early part of the year was suddenly dropping people in their tracks. Those that turned blue did not last very long, and in most cities around the world they quickly ran out of coffins and had to stack corpses in makeshift piles and bury them in mass graves.

Well, I could go on about the obvious parallels between the strain that emerged in 1918 and the one we are dealing with in 2009. But really, I would only be scratching the surface of a very involved story that actually goes back to Abraham Lincoln and something he did during the Civil War. Something which guaranteed that even if nature acting on its own does not come up with a twin version of that 1918 strain, we may yet get to experience it again anyway.

That was just one of the surprising things I discovered in “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza“, and I can guarantee you that those “idiot” WHO officials that we all laughed at earlier when they raised the alarm and then nothing bad seemed to happen, well, they aren’t quite the idiots we made them out to be. Not by a long shot.

Trust me, if you think all those swine flu warnings were hype and that our troubles are now behind us, then you are going to be one of the 99 percent of the population that gets caught with its pants down when the nasty hits the fan. No one knows whether it will be this year, the next, or five years from now. But if you would rather be among the one percent whose family isn’t taken by surprise, get a hold of this book. Heck, for the cost of cheap family meal you get an education that might just save the life of a family member one day.

Usually when someone tells you that some book they are recommending may be the most important one you will read this year, you already KNOW that it is a line. But in this case, that’s just not true. At any rate, you can decide for yourself when you go check it out. You can thank me later for pointing you in the right direction.

At the very least, sign up to grab the introductory chapters of the book. If you read those and you still think you and your family have
nothing to fear from the next pandemic you will at least know where to find the information later if you discover you were wrong.

So drop what you are doing, and check out“Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza” right now so that you can get prepared well ahead of time. I know that my family is going to be a lot better off for me having learned what is in this book, and what I can do to make sure they are protected as much as possible against any pandemic threat – no matter when it makes its appearance.

You Can Read More Great Articles On Everything You Need To Know To Prevent The Swine Flu From Affecting You Or Your Family and How To Survive the Pandemic of 2009 At The Truth About The Swine Flu Pandemic

Find Out Why A Pandemic Can Still Kill You Even If You Avoid A Swine Flu Infection

Posted by Bodybuilding Geek | Posted in Health | Posted on 30-08-2009

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When most people think about the prospect of a severe pandemic visiting their neck of the woods, it is the fear of becoming infected that scares them. In the case of a flu strain that kills as efficiently as the one that circled the world in 1918, the prospect is hardly a comforting one.

In the case of blue collar workers it is believed that in some U.S. communities the mortality rate for those infected was as high as 10 percent. In more epidemiologically isolated communities, like the Inuit Eskimo tribes of Alaska, the mortality rate reached 90 percent and virtually wiped those communities off the map.

Less widely appreciated is that a pandemic need not even reach your door in order to be able to kill you or a family member. During a severe pandemic you could literally starve to death while never having come in close contact with the virus. This is just one of the conclusions I reached after reading “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”, which will have you rethinking just how much you really understand about your own place in the world. Because it turns out that we are a lot more delicately positioned than we like to believe.

Here is what I am talking about. Get up from your chair and head to the kitchen and make a quick inventory of the amount of food you have. How long would it last you if you discovered tomorrow that the shelves would be empty in the stores where you shop? Most retailers today work on a “just in time” model – they stock just enough product to keep the shelves full for a few days, and restock just as frequently as new shipments come in. Nobody stores in quantity any more because their margins are too thin to accommodate the extra expense. So any disruption to the fulfillment line means rapid onset of delivery problems, to stores, to customers, to you and your family.

In the event of a national crisis that should knock out truck drivers – and this could simply be due to fear that once they get in their trucks and embark on a long haul they will not be available if a family member falls gravely ill during a pandemic – the panic sweeping of inventory by consumers could easily clear store shelves in as little as 24 hours, leaving whatever you have in your cupboards as the only food and water you may be able to get your hands on for weeks.

Your neighbors will be facing the exact same dilemma, so don’t bother looking to them to bail you out. Nor should you expect the government to come rushing in with supplies to help you. That kind of thing happens only during local emergencies, not the kind of nation-wide threat we are talking about here where *everyone* is experiencing the same kind of disruptions to their normal existence.

If you are lucky enough to have a huge stockpile of food in your home – enough to get you through the crisis with some rationing – you will not want to advertise the fact. If your neighbor is faced with the option of either watching his family starve to death, or forcibly take food and water from you to make sure that does not happen, well, your life may be threatened yet again.

As I said at the outset, a virus that causes a severe pandemic does not need to reach your door in order for it to claim your life or the life of a family member. It only has to spread fear to get the job done. This is just one of the startling conclusions you will reach yourself once you have read “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”

You Can Read More Great Articles On Everything You Need To Know To Prevent The Swine Flu From Affecting You Or Your Family and How To Survive the Pandemic of 2009 At The Truth About The Swine Flu Pandemic

If Swine Flu Bothers You – This News Will Really Freak You Out

Posted by Bodybuilding Geek | Posted in Health | Posted on 30-08-2009

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If I was to ask you how lethal the current swine flu strain is, you would probably say “not very?” and hope that things are going to stay that way. Well, me too. But I have also been looking at this thing more closely, and the number I come up with for the mortality rate is about 3 in every 10,000 new infections. At least, that’s how swine flu has been behaving up until mid 2009. Of course, things can always change overnight, and that is why we have several major vaccine companies racing to get a vaccine into the hands of the public before it is truly needed.

But that mortality rate is surprisingly low. Especially when you consider that the last time an H1N1 swine flu virus began spreading unchecked in the human population it eventually morphed into a killer that was capable of killing roughly 500 of every 10,000 people newly infected. In some small and socially remote communities the mortality rate reached a level equivalent to a stunning 9,000 of every 10,000 new infections. This makes the current swine flu virus with its 3 in 10,000 seem like small potatoes indeed.

Just keep in mind that the 1918 strain started out as small potatoes too, and took six months or so to ramp up the numbers. No one knows if that might happen again, but nobody who understands the highly mutating nature of influenza A is prepared to rule it out either. The amazing thing I learned, while reading “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”, is that even if the current swine flu strain never manages to become more deadly than it is right now, we could still see a repeat of 1918 from none other than the original virus itself.

How is that possible, you ask? It turns out that through an amazing chain of events starting with Abraham Lincoln, who issued a proclamation to study diseases on the battlefield during the Civil War, and ending with a molecular biologist who was able to string the virus back together in 2005 after it had been dead for nearly nine decades, the monster strain is alive and well and ready to wreak havoc again the moment somebody in the lab gets sloppy with their safety protocols.

So do not let the slowness with which the new swine flu strain is becoming more threatening lull you into complacency about pandemic influenza. There is now something in the lab that ought to be keeping us all awake at night. To find out more about this amazing development, I recommend you read the full story in “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”

You Can Read More Great Articles On Everything You Need To Know To Prevent The Swine Flu From Affecting You Or Your Family and How To Survive the Pandemic of 2009 At The Truth About The Swine Flu Pandemic

Will You Be Denied The Swine Flu Shot?

Posted by Bodybuilding Geek | Posted in Health | Posted on 30-08-2009

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Nobody enjoys going to get a flu shot, but we do expect that if we want one, getting in line for it should simply be a matter of showing up for the event. But what if that was not the case? What if you discovered that you were actually turned away from an inoculation center because you did not fit a predefined “profile” for who is eligible to receive a shot?

Ironically, in a year in which a pandemic strain is circling the globe, this is a very real possibility. Right now we know for certain that swine flu vaccines will be in short supply until sometime in 2010. That means not everyone can be vaccinated against the new pandemic virus.

In fact, vaccine manufacturers let it be known in mid August that instead of the initial 120 million doses of swine flu vaccine that they had projected would be made available for distribution to the U.S. population, only 45 million doses are likely to materialize.

Not only is this not great news, we still have no idea yet whether the new vaccine will even offer significant protection – the 2008 seasonal flu vaccine protected only 44 percent of those who received the shot. So the availability and efficacy of swine flu vaccine is still very much up in the air.

Right now this is not a huge concern, because the virus has not claimed a large number of lives. In fact, it has so far caused no more misery than the seasonal flu, which claims up to a half million lives across the globe every year. But that could change quickly, and if the new swine flu strain suddenly proves to be significantly more lethal than it has been, people will want to be vaccinated, and finding themselves denied the shot could be very worrisome.

So who will be allowed to get the shot when it first becomes available?

First responders to emergencies need to remain healthy, as do doctors and other health workers who will take care of the sick. Members of the military are also likely to go into the line, as are children, who have shown a higher tendency to fall sick, pregnant women, and anyone with cardiac problems, high blood pressure, or other underlying health problems than can cause a lowered immune response.

If you are otherwise healthy, and you are an adult, then you will likely have to go to the back of the line and wait until early 2010 before you can be vaccinated. Given that the U.S. will get its hands on an estimated 45 million doses of the new vaccine by late October, and depending on whether one or two shots are required to invoke an antibody response to the new swine flu, about one seventh (more likely), to one third of the population of the United States could be vaccinated during the first round.

But if you are NOT one of the lucky first to be vaccinated, and the virus does turn significantly worse, all is not lost. There are still antiviral drugs that can be administered to break an infection that has got started in your body. To learn more about your options I recommend that you check out “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”, which was written in response to the emergence of the new pandemic. It goes into great detail about pandemic influenza, and what you can do to protect both yourself and your family from the threat.

You can find out more about the book and the vaccine situation by reading “Survive Pandemic Flu – Understand and Protect Against Novel Strains Of Influenza”

You Can Read More Great Articles On Everything You Need To Know To Prevent The Swine Flu From Affecting You Or Your Family and How To Survive the Pandemic of 2009 At The Truth About The Swine Flu Pandemic

101 Ways to Increase Your Height – Does Exercising Work?

Posted by Bodybuilding Geek | Posted in Health | Posted on 12-08-2009

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If you are looking ways to increase height and are still in the process of growing, there are many different things you can do to help this process along.

Your diet, of course, plays an important role in growing taller. By eating foods rich in protein, calcium, amino acids, and calories, you will give your body the energy and nutrients it needs to grow and renew itself. It will also help when you exercise to increase height.

There are many different scams out there that claim that you can exercise to increase height after your body is finished growing. Do not believe these claims, for they are simply not effective ways to increase height. There is no way to lengthen your bones, short of surgery, once they stop growing on their own.

Why is this? To understand, it’s good to know a little bit about how we grow at all. When we are first born, much of our bones consist of flexible cartilage. As we grow, much of the cartilage fuses together to form solid bone. In our teenage years, growth plates located on the ends of long bones gradually lengthen. Eventually these growth plates stop growing once we reach the end of puberty. Not even hormone treatments or vitamin supplements can make them grow again.

However, by exercising regularly while you are still young, you can speed up your growth process as well as promote healthy bones long into your life. By keeping good habits, such as a healthy diet and steady exercise, you can even prevent bone weakening diseases as well as the shrinking that occurs frequently during old age.

Another advantage of using exercise to increase height at an early age is that it releases height growth hormones, which speeds the growth process.

What are some of these exercises? Contrary to what you may think, many useful exercises that release height growth hormones do not involve stretching. Instead, focus on workout routines that focus on strengthening your muscles. Not only will this improve your overall appearance, but it will promote bone strength as your weight increases.

Want to learn more ways to increase height? Visit www.GrowTaller4Idiots.com to learn the idiot proof way of growing 2-3 inches taller in 6 weeks.