Expert Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, reveals shocking facts about genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Smith links GMOs to toxins, allergies, infertility, infant mortality, immune dysfunction, stunted growth, and death.

The Amazing “Revolving Door” Untold Story of FDA’s Approval of Monsanto’s Toxic rBGH

Yet another genetically modified ingredient to watch out for and be aware of … Monsanto’s genetically engineered growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) in dairy products.

Sources

Seeds of Deception

The Federal Reserve has announced there will be a second round of “quantitative easing” – to the tune of $600 billion – designed to counteract deflation.

If prices fall on a widespread level, an event known as deflation, it means you could be faced with lower prices at the mall and the gas pump. However, the major downside to deflation occurs when companies can no longer make a profit off of whatever it is they’re selling. This leads to cuts in production, job lay-offs, salary decreases, lower consumer spending and ultimately an increasingly shaky economy.

Further, falling prices often persuade consumers to put off large purchases in hopes of getting an even better deal in the months to come, which further taxes the economy. Deflation also essentially makes the value of debts greater, since their value remains fixed while prices deflate.

As the Christian Science Monitor reported:

“While much of the public sees the run-up of growth in government and exploding deficits as keys concerns, [Federal Reserve Chairman] Bernanke, continuing his soft stance on deficits, has argued that fiscal restraint would threaten the recovery.

Instead, he argues that monetary policy still has arrows in its quiver that should be used to lower the unemployment rate and rejuvenate the economy while also preempting the dreaded prospect of deflation.”

The end result, dubbed QE2, is the Federal Reserve buying $600 billion or more worth of U.S. Treasury bonds.

What is Quantitative Easing and What are the Risks Involved?

As the Wall Street Journal reported, quantitative easing is:

“ … the electronic equivalent of starting up the Fed’s printing presses to create money for buying financial assets in the market – in this case long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Buying bonds pushes down their yields, and the interest rates across the debt markets that are closely tied to U.S. Treasury rates.”

As for the risks, they continue:

“No one, inside or outside the Fed, knows the precise effects, or the unintended consequences, of more bond-buying. Giving investors incentives to seek higher yields in riskier assets raises the likelihood of creating asset-price bubbles …

At some point – well before the economy has completely recovered — the Fed will need to withdraw all the money it’s printing now in order to avoid a surge in inflation down the road. Some investors don’t believe the Fed will be able to do that quickly enough, and fear inflation will result.”

There are also potential impacts on the value of the U.S. dollar, with experts stating its value could easily crash. As Business Insider wrote:

“Each time you add a new dollar to the system, it decreases the value of each existing dollar by just a little bit. Now the Federal Reserve is pumping 900 billion dollars into the system and that is going to have a significant impact. Bill Gross, the manager of the largest mutual fund in the entire world, said … that he believes that more quantitative easing could result in a decline of the U.S. dollar of up to 20 percent...”

As for what the Federal Reserve’s QE2 really means NPR translated the statement into “plain English” as follows:

“The economy still sucks. People are spending a little bit more, but they're stretched thin: One in 10 workers can't find a job, wages are basically flat, home prices are way down and nobody can get a loan. Companies are buying more stuff, for now, but they're not building new factories or offices. Nobody's hiring. Nobody's building. Inflation has gone from low to super low.

The Fed has two main jobs: Keep unemployment low and prices stable. At the moment, as you may have heard, unemployment is really high. And inflation is so low that it's making us nervous. We keep saying that unemployment's going to fall. And it keeps not falling.

So to give the economy a kick in the ass—and to pump up inflation a little bit—we decided to go on a shopping spree. First of all, we're going to keep buying new stuff when our old investments pay off. Second—and this is the big news for today—we're going to create $600 billion out of thin air and use it over the next eight months to buy bonds from the federal government. We hope this will make interest rates go so low that people will borrow and spend more money, and companies will start hiring. By the way, this is an experiment, and we don't really know how it's going to work out. We reserve the right to change our plans at any time.

Of course, we'll continue our policy of letting banks borrow money for free. If you're worried this is going increase inflation and destroy the dollar, please reread everything we've said to this point. We plan to keep rates near zero for as long as it takes, but we won't tell you how long that is. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on things.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy was Thomas M. Hoenig. He's the president of the Kansas City Fed, and he's voted against Fed policy at every one of our meetings this year. He thinks this whole creating-$600-billion-out-of-thin-air thing is going to do more harm than good.He also thinks that all this money we've pumped into the economy could inflate another bubble and create widespread worries about inflation. That could lead us right into another crisis.”

Now is the Time to Give Thanks for What You Have

With the U.S. economy as shaky as ever, now is the time to take stock of what is truly your greatest asset: your health. Your health is your greatest wealth, and is one of the only true “things” worth investing in.

It may now be a good idea to replace costly recurring expenses, like your monthly gym fee, with a one-time cost for a high-quality personal trainer DVD you can do in your own home. You can even go in on it with a friend and workout together daily.

The idea is that you can cut costs while still making sound purchases that will support your long-term health and well-being.

Further, as unemployment rates are still high, work to assure you have savings in excess of 3 to 6 months or more of what you will need to pay your bills if you become unemployed.

Likewise, many investors are turning to gold and other precious metals as a more stable bet than the dollar.

Gold, silver and other precious metals offer a sense of security, an insurance policy, if you will, that you will have something to fall back on if the economy crashes.

Sources

The Wall Street Journal November 3, 2010

NPR.org November 3, 2010

CSMonitor.com October 18, 2010

BusinessInsider.com

TheTakeAway.org November 8, 2010

If you’re like most American families, you enjoy milk, cheese, ice cream and other dairy products on a regular basis. You probably perceive them to be healthy staples, full of calcium, protein and other nutrients to support your family’s health.

You should know, however, that U.S. dairy products may not be as pure as they seem. Instead, they commonly contain a genetically modified ingredient -- Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) -- that has been linked to so many health hazards in humans and animals it’s banned in most other industrialized nations, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the European Union.

Cancer Risks and More: What Does the Research Say About rBGH?

Many U.S. dairy farmers use Monsanto’s rBGH because it boosts milk production by about 10 percent. But this increase in production does not come without a price.

As GMO expert Jeffrey Smith, international bestselling author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, explains in the video above, milk from cows treated with rBGH has increased levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), with levels up to 10 times as high as those in milk from untreated cows.

This hormone has been linked to increased risks of breast, prostate, colon, lung, and other cancers. According to the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), founded by Jeffrey Smith:

“Studies suggest that pre-menopausal women below 50 years old with high levels of IGF-1 are seven times more likely to develop breast cancer. Men are four times more likely to develop prostate cancer. IGF-1 is implicated in lung and colon cancer.”

The hormone has also been linked to an increased rate of fraternal twin births in humans.

Milk from cows injected with rBGH is also less nutritious and has more antibiotics and pus in it than milk from untreated cows. The pus comes from infected udders, as cows given rBGH are more likely to experience a painful udder infection called mastitis. These infections are in turn treated with antibiotics, leading to increased rates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the milk, the people who drink it and the surrounding environments.

rBGH is NOT on Dairy Labels for a Reason

Milk and other dairy products that contain rBGH does not have to be labeled as such, which means you have no way of knowing whether or not it’s in your milk. Some manufacturers, noting the increased health risks and the growing consumer opposition to rBGH, have begun adding statements such as “No artificial growth hormones” to their labels to let you know it’s rBGH free.

Monsanto fought back against this labeling, going so far as to sue a dairy in 2003 that labeled their milk cartons with “Our Farmers’ Pledge: No Artificial Growth Hormones.” The suit was settled when the dairy agreed to add a statement to their packages that said, “according to the FDA no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from [rBGH]-treated and non- treated cows.”

This is not true, according to IRT, as the FDA and Monsanto both knew of increased rates of IGF-1, pus and antibiotic residues in milk from treated cows. However, the statement became a requirement for all labels that dared say they were rBGH-free nonetheless.

Further, the misleading statement was written by none other than the FDA’s deputy commissioner of policy, Michael Taylor who, according to IRT, was “previously Monsanto’s outside attorney who, after running policy at the FDA, became vice president of Monsanto.”

There were other unscrupulous dealings that went on behind the scenes as well. For instance, back in 1997 when Fox news wanted to air a news series on the link between rBGH and cancer, Monsanto attorneys threatened “dire consequences” if the show aired.

As Jeffrey Smith wrote in Seeds of Deception, one of the world’s best-selling books on GMO:

“The Fox news series included an excerpt from Canadian national television in which a government official described how a Monsanto representative offered her committee a $1 to 2 million bribe if they recommended rbGH approval in Canada without further data or studies of the drug. A Monsanto spokesman said the officials misunderstood their company’s offer of “research” funds.”

And according to IRT, “The reporters who had created the series later testified that they were offered hush money to leave the station and never speak about the story again. They declined.” The series never aired.

How to Find rBGH-Free Dairy

Americans are increasingly looking for pure, rBGH-free sources of dairy. In surveys:

• 80 percent of consumers have said they believe dairy products from cows not treated with rBGH should be allowed to be labeled as such

• 76 percent said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned with dairy cows given synthetic growth hormones

• 55 percent said they would buy milk labeled without synthetic bovine growth hormone if available

Already, 50 of the top 100 dairies have decided not to use rBGH in their milk, and companies like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Starbucks, Yoplait and Dannon have also pledged to go rBGH-free.

Many major food manufacturers have not followed suit, however, so it’s still a buyer beware market. If you want to find rBGH-free dairy, the following resources will help:

• The rBGH-free Dairy Guide (National) from Food & Water Watch. You can also find listings of rBGH-free dairy by state here.

• The Institute for Responsible Technology’s Non-GMO Shopping Guide (see page 8 for dairy products).

It’s important that you use your power as a shopper to voice your opinions about potentially dangerous genetically modified ingredients like rBGH.

If you find the use of this cancer-causing hormone to be unacceptable, please support the brands that are rBGH-free in the guides above, and boycott those that are still buying milk from rBGH-treated cows.

Sources

Institute for Responsible Technology

Organic Consumers Association

Surveys of Consumer Attitudes (PSR) PDF

Do you run religiously on a treadmill for hours every week? Do you lift weights, too, and assume you’re covering all of your fitness basics? Well you’ve got a good start, but you’re missing out on a very important fitness staple that is a key to your health and longevity: building your core.

What exactly is your “core”? It’s a set of 29 muscles in your back, abdomen and pelvis, muscles that are essential to your ability to function on a daily basis. It’s because of your core muscles that you can control your movements, maintain balance and stability. They also protect and support your back, which is an essential element as you age.

If your exercise program does not address your core muscles, your body can become weak in its center, making you more prone to poor posture, lower back pain and muscle injuries.

Strengthening your core muscles, on the other hand, means that your spine will be supported and your body less prone to injury during sports activities and also during daily life.

Considering that more people rush to U.S. emergency rooms for injuries related to falling than from any other cause, and, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, they're the primary cause of accidental death in people over the age of 65, strengthening your core muscles to keep your center of gravity stable could very well save your life, and also extend it.

The Benefits of Strengthening Your Core

When your core muscles are strong, it makes you more stable and less prone to injury. Studies have shown, for instance, that:

• Core stability has an important role in injury prevention among athletes.

• Core strength enhancement programs can help prevent injuries in workers. Among one group of firefighters, an intervention to improve flexibility and strength in the trunk stabilizer and core muscles groups results in 42 percent fewer injuries and reduced lost work time due to injuries by 62 percent in a 12-month period.

• An eight-week rehabilitation program that improved hip and core muscle strength in women reduces the knee abduction movement, which is associated with developing patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).

The Mayo Clinic has also pointed out numerous ways that core exercises can benefit you, such as:

• Better balance and stability

• Strengthening and toning your abdominal muscles

• Making it easier to perform physical activities of all kinds, from swinging a golf club to getting dishes from your top kitchen cabinets

So even though toned core muscles may not make as big an aesthetic impression as toned abdominals or biceps, toned core muscles will keep you agile and stable even as you get older.

What is the Best Way to Strengthen Your Core Muscles?

You don’t need to go to a gym or buy special equipment to strengthen your core, you simply need to perform exercises that will get all your core muscles working together as you use the trunk of your body without support. Three such exercises include:

1. Bridge

Lie on your back with your knees bent (feet on the floor). Contract your abdominal muscles and raise your hips off the floor, holding the position for five to eight seconds. Slowly lower your hips to the floor, then repeat the move. For a more advanced bridge, try extending one knee, then the other, while in the bridge position.

2. Plank

Lie on your stomach, resting on your forearms with your palms facing down. Raise off the floor so you are resting on your elbows and toes. Keeping your back flat, contract your core muscles and hold for 10 seconds, then lower yourself to the floor and repeat. For a challenge, try stretching out one arm or leg at a time, or reaching out an arm and opposite leg at the same time.

3. Side Plank

Lie on your left side, then raise your body onto your left forearm, keeping your shoulders, hips and knees aligned. Rest your right arm on your side. Hold the position for 10 seconds, then repeat on the right side. For a more advanced side plank, raise onto your left hand with your hips coming off the floor and extend your right hand toward the ceiling.

However, to get a more comprehensive workout, one that will build your core muscles and provide you with a mind-body workout, SheaNetics fitness program from MySheaNetics.com.

SheaNetics® uses “Tri-Core Power Training” to help build up all three key muscle groups of your core, helping to prevent injuries and improve performance. Below you can hear from leading surgical, medical and physical therapy professionals discuss the health-giving benefits, including core stabilization and strength, of SheaNetics:

Whether you want to excel at sports, play tennis on the weekends or simply stay strong and active well into your golden years, building your core is essential. Be sure you are including core-strengthening moves into your life now to experience the phenomenal benefits both now and later.

Sources

The American Journal of Sports Medicine October 7, 2010

Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology 2007; 2: 3.

Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 2004 Jun;36(6):926-34.

MayoClinic.com Core Exercises

More than 42 percent of Americans experience dizziness or vertigo during their lifetimes. Many suffer in silence, assuming there is nothing that can be done for the disarming feeling of spinning or falling off balance.

However, in about 20-50 percent of cases dizziness is actually caused by a disorder that’s incredibly easy, and fast, to treat -- once it’s diagnosed. If you currently struggle with dizziness, you owe it to yourself to explore this condition, as it’s actually one of the most common causes of vertigo there is.

What is Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)?

BPPV causes mild to intense dizziness, which is often triggered by changing the position of your head (specifically, tipping your head up or down or lying down, turning over or sitting up in bed). Along with feelings of dizziness, you may also experience spinning sensations (vertigo), loss of balance, blurred vision, unsteadiness, nausea and vomiting. Abnormal rhythmic eye movements, or jumping of the eyes, are also common along with BPPV symptoms.

“Symptoms of BPPV are almost always precipitated by a change in head position. Getting out of bed and rolling over in bed are two common "problem" motions. Some people feel dizzy and unsteady when they tip their heads back to look up. An intermittent pattern of these symptoms is usual,” states the Vestibular Disorders Association (VEDA).

Because of this, some people with BPPV avoid certain movements and positions for years at a time, not realizing that there is a simple remedy in sight. Lisa Dransfield, director of physical therapy at the Balance and Vestibular Center at Associated Neurologists Physical Therapy in Connecticut tells NewsTimes:

"There are people who come to see me and say they haven't turned their head in a certain direction for ten years or more. The sad thing is many have learned to adapt to this by driving without turning their head, not reaching for things, and not rolling onto their side in bed.

Their world becomes very small and limited, and they increase their risk of getting into accident.”

What Causes BPPV?

Structures in your inner ear contain calcium carbonate crystals (sometimes called “ear rocks”) that help you perceive movement and gravity. If these crystals become dislodged, they can bounce around your inner ear canals, leading to feelings of spinning, imbalance and vomiting. 

BPPV can occur with no known cause, especially in older people, however it is often associated with a head injury. According to VEDA, “The most common cause of BPPV in people under age 50 is head injury.” Head injuries that occur from falls, playing sports, car accidents and any other cause may contribute to BPPV.

It is also associated with migraines and viruses of the ear, and any disorder that impacts the balance organs of your ear can also increase your risk of BPPV. The condition has also been occasionally reported following dental or inner ear surgery.

The Epley Maneuver: A Simple Treatment

A surgical procedure that involves using a bone plug to block a portion of your inner ear is sometimes recommended to treat BPPV, but make sure you do not consent to this treatment until your physician has tried a canalith repositioning procedure known as the Epley maneuver. As the Mayo Clinic states:

“Performed in your doctor's office, the canalith repositioning procedure consists of several simple and slow maneuvers for positioning your head.

The goal is to move particles from the fluid-filled semicircular canals of your inner ear into a tiny bag-like open area (vestibule) that houses one of the otolith organs (utricle) in your ear where these particles don't cause trouble and are more easily reabsorbed.

Each position is held for about 30 seconds after any symptoms or abnormal eye movements stop. This procedure is usually effective after one or two treatments.”

The Epley maneuver takes just 15 minutes for your physician to perform and may offer you relief to a problem that’s been plaguing you for years. A recent study published in the journal Physical Therapy even found that the odds of resolving BPPV were 22 times higher among those receiving the canalith repositioning procedure than in people receiving a sham treatment.

Following the treatment, your physician will give you home-care instructions to follow. Generally, your ear must not move below shoulder level for the rest of the day, and you cannot lie flat. When you sleep you will need to elevate your head on several pillows or sleep in a recliner.

One of the best parts about the Epley maneuver is that your physician can teach you how to do it, so you’ll likely be able to correct the problem yourself at home should it reoccur.

If you know of a friend or family member who has complained of unexplained vertigo and dizziness, please forward this article on to them. By seeing a health care practitioner who is knowledgeable about BPPV and the Epley maneuver, you may be able to find relief from chronic dizziness in as little as 15 minutes.

Make Sure You See the Right Health Care Practitioner …

Keep in mind that when seeking treatment for BPPV, any physician will not do. Many are not trained in the Epley maneuver, and some may not be familiar with BPPV or its appropriate natural treatments.

If you see a neurologist or another expert because you are dizzy or having head pain, and that expert is not familiar with BPPV, you could end up being misdiagnosed and prescribed drugs unnecessarily.

So be sure you’ve done your research when choosing a provider and, whether it is an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist, a chiropractor, or another type of practitioner, be certain they have had adequate training and successful experience in dealing with and treating BPPV.

Sources

NewsTimes.com October 4, 2010

Physical Therapy March 25, 2010

Vestibular Disorders Association

MayoClinic.com Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV)

Dizziness-and-Balance.com

If you’ve ever engaged in all night drinking marathon the night before a big exam, procrastinated until the last minute to pay bills, filed your income tax forms after the deadline, waited until Christmas day to do all of your shopping or stopped at the Oberweiss drive-thru for a large chocolate shake with whipped cream and a cookie when you have been diligently following a healthy eating plan, you have engaged in self-handicapping behavior, also referred to as self-sabotaging behavior.

In a study by the Educational Psychology Review, self-handicapping is defined as “creating impediments to successful performance on tasks that the individual considers important.” 

The focus of this particular study was on academic self-handicapping, where the subjects took a self-esteem protective strategy by withholding efforts on a task such as studying for an exam in order to “save face” when they then got back poor grades.

The Three Major Causes of Self-Sabotaging Behaviors … and How to Overcome Them

Research shows that there are three major categories of self-sabotaging behaviors: procrastination, overindulging and fear of failure. Below are detailed descriptions of each of these behaviors followed by what you can do to overcome them.

Self-Sabotaging through Procrastination

One of the quickest and most surefire ways to sabotage potential successes is through procrastination. The negative impacts of procrastination extend over to your health, finances, work and relationships.

In a Psychology Today article, leading experts on procrastination uncovered the below revealing characteristics of procrastinators.

• Most procrastinators frequently manifest as a form of rebellion from being raised by domineering, controlling parents that unknowingly stifled the child’s ability to regulate themselves and act on their own intentions.

Being raised under these circumstances usually results in the procrastinator turning to friends for support rather than their parents. The friends then perpetuate the procrastinator cycle by showing more tolerance to their excuses than the parents would.

• Procrastinators have the tendency to drink more alcohol, which further solidifies evidence of self-regulation problems and avoidance methods that often accompany procrastination.

• Some of the common lies that procrastinators tell themselves are “I work best under pressure,” or “Working under pressure makes me creative.” Unfortunately these lies don’t motivate them to get the job done the next day nor do they help instill creativity.

• Experts have identified three specific types of procrastinators:

• Arousal -- thrill-seekers who wait until the last minute to experience the euphoric rush

• Avoiders -- attempt to avoid the fear of failure, care what others think of them and would prefer others thought they were lacking in effort, not necessarily ability

• Decisional -- unable to make a decision, which they believe excuses them from responsibilities

The heavy costs of procrastination range from health problems such as compromised immune systems, more colds and flu, gastrointestinal problems and insomnia to other major areas of life such as the workplace and relationship troubles.

Don’t Put off Today … Tips on Overcoming Your Procrastinating Ways

If the thought of giving up your procrastinating ways elicits a physical resistance in your body, force yourself to put one foot in front of the other and start with these simple techniques:

• Whatever your task is, start by breaking it up into segments and tackle one a day. You can even set a timer and tell yourself you need to complete your task before the timer goes off.  Be specific with writing down your tasks and be careful not to write them in a way that sets you up for failure such as “Go on a diet.”

• Set a reward for yourself once the job is done. This could be a manicure, massage or dinner with a friend.

• Take some time for self reflection and ask yourself why you are putting off a certain task and if you find your excuse has anything to do with potential failure, start it immediately.

• Practice visualization and meditation by forming a mental picture in your mind of whatever it is you are worried about that is blocking you from a task and then replace that thought with a positive resolution.

Put in as much detail as you can into the visualization and imagine how you see, hear and feel when you are doing it. By practicing these techniques you will be able to let go of needless worrying, start thinking positive thoughts and get your goals accomplished. It may help to do your visualizations along with a relaxation CD. At SixWise we love the Pure Relaxation: Guided Meditations for Body, Mind & Spirit CD by respected meditation expert Mary Maddux.

The guided meditations and music on this CD calm your mind, soothe your emotions and create a state of deep relaxation in your body.

• Get a good night’s sleep: When we sleep, the stress hormone cortisol is lowered, but when we are sleep deprived, cortisol levels rise. Further, your energy levels will go down and you'll be less able to cope with any setbacks during your day. With guided sleep meditations by a leading meditation expert, Mary Maddux, and music by a renowned meditation music composer with 20 years experience, the Sleep Easy CD will help you fall asleep fast, and find deep rest ... at an incredible price.

Sleep Easy CD users have reported:

• Falling asleep faster

• Waking up less throughout the night

• Falling back to sleep faster when awakened during the night

• Feeling more rested the next morning

• Self-Sabotaging through Overindulging 

Overindulgence most often happens as an unconscious response and people experience it when they’re unable or unwilling to face reality or to acknowledge the implications of the situation.

For example, while strictly following a new way of healthy eating for over a month, you may find yourself dropping a bag of Reeses, frozen pizzas and peanut butter cookies in your grocery cart on your next shopping trip, justifying it by telling yourself it’s for your husband/wife or kids, knowing deep down that is not true.

Experts say that by engaging in this kind of behavior you are your own enemy and participating in a form of self-sabotage to your own goals.

Tell Yourself You Deserve a Healthy Body

The first step to take in dealing with diet sabotage and overindulging issues is to recognize that it is happening. If you find the times that you engage in overindulging you are feeling sorry for yourself, ask yourself what the true, underlying emotions really are.

By doing this, you may find that you are eating to fill an emotional void such as boredom, sadness that your partner is out of town or loneliness because you are spending a Saturday evening alone.

Here are some tips to help you the next time you get the urge to overindulge:

• Take part of your lunch break at work to go for a walk so you’re taking the focus off of food

• Find a healthy eating partner either at home or at work and set common goals together

• If you begin to engage in negative talk, stop yourself and ask what are you feeling at that moment

• Make plans for a fun vacation once your goal is achieved

• Be prepared to deal with stress in a healthy manner … before it drives you to overeat and gain weight. To keep the stress levels from driving you to overindulge, the staff at Sixwise.com encourages you to try Staying Healthy in a Stressful World, the highly praised CD by Dr. Peter Reznik, one of the most respected mind/body integrative therapists of our time. The program will actually help you to embark on a practice for transforming your stress into life-enhancing experiences.

Self-Sabotaging through Fears of Failure

Most people avoid feedback and criticism like the plague and this is especially true when it comes to performance review time at work or taking an exam at school. The thought of being criticized or failing snowballs into seemingly insurmountable proportions and causes people to engage in self-destructive behaviors, such as denial and procrastination, with results that can negatively impact their work, health and organization.

You can take control of life and find out all of the possibilities and goodness that life has to offer once you let go of the fear of failure.

To get you on the path to following your dreams and accomplishing your goals, here are some practical techniques to overcome your fears:

• Consider the high price of missed opportunities and delve into alternatives -- Without taking any risks in life, you’ll never know what opportunities lay in store for you. Fear of the unknown can cause a sense of paralysis in people struggling with pursuing their dreams. Once you’ve done your research and are informed of the possible consequences of a situation it lessens the fear of failure and makes it easier to move forward.

• Understand the benefits of failure -- Put the worst-case scenario in perspective and ask yourself if you set out to do something and failed in the process, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Chances are the answer isn’t as nearly catastrophic as your thoughts had conjured up. As the saying goes, “As one door closes, another opens,” just as each failure represents another opportunity for growth.

• Take action -- One of the best plans of action for reducing fear and building confidence is making the first step and going for it. After you accumulate all of your knowledge and research, you are ready to take your first step and each step after that you will feel more confident and your fears will become more manageable.

SixWise Says ...

Your level of self-control can be depleted by simple, daily decisions, research shows. You can help to reserve some of your willpower -- and thereby reduce your risk of engaging in self-destructive behaviors -- by delegating unimportant choices to others.

 

Recommended Reading

Devastatingly Addictive Behaviors vs. Good Addictions ... How to Replace One With the Other

Taking Risks: How to Take Calculated Risks to Get Ahead in Anything

How to Break Free from the Self-Sabotaging 'People-Pleasing' Habits in Your Relationships

Sources

Psychology Today

The New York Times January 6, 2009

WebMD.com

Psychology Today May 2, 2008

Educational Psychology Review, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2001

Science Daily March 2, 2009

The Federal Reserve has announced there will be a second round of “quantitative easing” – to the tune of $600 billion – designed to counteract deflation.

If prices fall on a widespread level, an event known as deflation, it means you could be faced with lower prices at the mall and the gas pump. However, the major downside to deflation occurs when companies can no longer make a profit off of whatever it is they’re selling. This leads to cuts in production, job lay-offs, salary decreases, lower consumer spending and ultimately an increasingly shaky economy.

Further, falling prices often persuade consumers to put off large purchases in hopes of getting an even better deal in the months to come, which further taxes the economy. Deflation also essentially makes the value of debts greater, since their value remains fixed while prices deflate.

As the Christian Science Monitor reported:

“While much of the public sees the run-up of growth in government and exploding deficits as keys concerns, [Federal Reserve Chairman] Bernanke, continuing his soft stance on deficits, has argued that fiscal restraint would threaten the recovery.

Instead, he argues that monetary policy still has arrows in its quiver that should be used to lower the unemployment rate and rejuvenate the economy while also preempting the dreaded prospect of deflation.”

The end result, dubbed QE2, is the Federal Reserve buying $600 billion or more worth of U.S. Treasury bonds.

What is Quantitative Easing and What are the Risks Involved?

As the Wall Street Journal reported, quantitative easing is:

“ … the electronic equivalent of starting up the Fed’s printing presses to create money for buying financial assets in the market – in this case long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Buying bonds pushes down their yields, and the interest rates across the debt markets that are closely tied to U.S. Treasury rates.”

As for the risks, they continue:

“No one, inside or outside the Fed, knows the precise effects, or the unintended consequences, of more bond-buying. Giving investors incentives to seek higher yields in riskier assets raises the likelihood of creating asset-price bubbles …

At some point – well before the economy has completely recovered — the Fed will need to withdraw all the money it’s printing now in order to avoid a surge in inflation down the road. Some investors don’t believe the Fed will be able to do that quickly enough, and fear inflation will result.”

There are also potential impacts on the value of the U.S. dollar, with experts stating its value could easily crash. As Business Insider wrote:

“Each time you add a new dollar to the system, it decreases the value of each existing dollar by just a little bit. Now the Federal Reserve is pumping 900 billion dollars into the system and that is going to have a significant impact. Bill Gross, the manager of the largest mutual fund in the entire world, said … that he believes that more quantitative easing could result in a decline of the U.S. dollar of up to 20 percent...”

As for what the Federal Reserve’s QE2 really means NPR translated the statement into “plain English” as follows:

“The economy still sucks. People are spending a little bit more, but they're stretched thin: One in 10 workers can't find a job, wages are basically flat, home prices are way down and nobody can get a loan. Companies are buying more stuff, for now, but they're not building new factories or offices. Nobody's hiring. Nobody's building. Inflation has gone from low to super low.

The Fed has two main jobs: Keep unemployment low and prices stable. At the moment, as you may have heard, unemployment is really high. And inflation is so low that it's making us nervous. We keep saying that unemployment's going to fall. And it keeps not falling.

So to give the economy a kick in the ass—and to pump up inflation a little bit—we decided to go on a shopping spree. First of all, we're going to keep buying new stuff when our old investments pay off. Second—and this is the big news for today—we're going to create $600 billion out of thin air and use it over the next eight months to buy bonds from the federal government. We hope this will make interest rates go so low that people will borrow and spend more money, and companies will start hiring. By the way, this is an experiment, and we don't really know how it's going to work out. We reserve the right to change our plans at any time.

Of course, we'll continue our policy of letting banks borrow money for free. If you're worried this is going increase inflation and destroy the dollar, please reread everything we've said to this point. We plan to keep rates near zero for as long as it takes, but we won't tell you how long that is. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on things.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy was Thomas M. Hoenig. He's the president of the Kansas City Fed, and he's voted against Fed policy at every one of our meetings this year. He thinks this whole creating-$600-billion-out-of-thin-air thing is going to do more harm than good.He also thinks that all this money we've pumped into the economy could inflate another bubble and create widespread worries about inflation. That could lead us right into another crisis.”

Now is the Time to Give Thanks for What You Have

With the U.S. economy as shaky as ever, now is the time to take stock of what is truly your greatest asset: your health. Your health is your greatest wealth, and is one of the only true “things” worth investing in.

It may now be a good idea to replace costly recurring expenses, like your monthly gym fee, with a one-time cost for a high-quality personal trainer DVD you can do in your own home. You can even go in on it with a friend and workout together daily.

The idea is that you can cut costs while still making sound purchases that will support your long-term health and well-being.

Further, as unemployment rates are still high, work to assure you have savings in excess of 3 to 6 months or more of what you will need to pay your bills if you become unemployed.

Likewise, many investors are turning to gold and other precious metals as a more stable bet than the dollar.

Gold, silver and other precious metals offer a sense of security, an insurance policy, if you will, that you will have something to fall back on if the economy crashes.

SixWise Says ...

“What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it to make war.”
            --Simone Weil

 

Recommended Reading

What is Deflation, Why Should You be Concerned -- And What Can You Do?

10 Top Predictions for 2010 and the Coming Decade

Sources

The Wall Street Journal November 3, 2010

NPR.org November 3, 2010

CSMonitor.com October 18, 2010

BusinessInsider.com

TheTakeAway.org November 8, 2010

The Federal Reserve has announced there will be a second round of “quantitative easing” – to the tune of $600 billion – designed to counteract deflation.

If prices fall on a widespread level, an event known as deflation, it means you could be faced with lower prices at the mall and the gas pump. However, the major downside to deflation occurs when companies can no longer make a profit off of whatever it is they’re selling. This leads to cuts in production, job lay-offs, salary decreases, lower consumer spending and ultimately an increasingly shaky economy.

Further, falling prices often persuade consumers to put off large purchases in hopes of getting an even better deal in the months to come, which further taxes the economy. Deflation also essentially makes the value of debts greater, since their value remains fixed while prices deflate.

As the Christian Science Monitor reported:

“While much of the public sees the run-up of growth in government and exploding deficits as keys concerns, [Federal Reserve Chairman] Bernanke, continuing his soft stance on deficits, has argued that fiscal restraint would threaten the recovery.

Instead, he argues that monetary policy still has arrows in its quiver that should be used to lower the unemployment rate and rejuvenate the economy while also preempting the dreaded prospect of deflation.”

The end result, dubbed QE2, is the Federal Reserve buying $600 billion or more worth of U.S. Treasury bonds.

What is Quantitative Easing and What are the Risks Involved?

As the Wall Street Journal reported, quantitative easing is:

“ … the electronic equivalent of starting up the Fed’s printing presses to create money for buying financial assets in the market – in this case long-term U.S. Treasury bonds. Buying bonds pushes down their yields, and the interest rates across the debt markets that are closely tied to U.S. Treasury rates.”

As for the risks, they continue:

“No one, inside or outside the Fed, knows the precise effects, or the unintended consequences, of more bond-buying. Giving investors incentives to seek higher yields in riskier assets raises the likelihood of creating asset-price bubbles …

At some point – well before the economy has completely recovered — the Fed will need to withdraw all the money it’s printing now in order to avoid a surge in inflation down the road. Some investors don’t believe the Fed will be able to do that quickly enough, and fear inflation will result.”

There are also potential impacts on the value of the U.S. dollar, with experts stating its value could easily crash. As Business Insider wrote:

“Each time you add a new dollar to the system, it decreases the value of each existing dollar by just a little bit. Now the Federal Reserve is pumping 900 billion dollars into the system and that is going to have a significant impact. Bill Gross, the manager of the largest mutual fund in the entire world, said … that he believes that more quantitative easing could result in a decline of the U.S. dollar of up to 20 percent...”

As for what the Federal Reserve’s QE2 really means NPR translated the statement into “plain English” as follows:

“The economy still sucks. People are spending a little bit more, but they're stretched thin: One in 10 workers can't find a job, wages are basically flat, home prices are way down and nobody can get a loan. Companies are buying more stuff, for now, but they're not building new factories or offices. Nobody's hiring. Nobody's building. Inflation has gone from low to super low.

The Fed has two main jobs: Keep unemployment low and prices stable. At the moment, as you may have heard, unemployment is really high. And inflation is so low that it's making us nervous. We keep saying that unemployment's going to fall. And it keeps not falling.

So to give the economy a kick in the ass—and to pump up inflation a little bit—we decided to go on a shopping spree. First of all, we're going to keep buying new stuff when our old investments pay off. Second—and this is the big news for today—we're going to create $600 billion out of thin air and use it over the next eight months to buy bonds from the federal government. We hope this will make interest rates go so low that people will borrow and spend more money, and companies will start hiring. By the way, this is an experiment, and we don't really know how it's going to work out. We reserve the right to change our plans at any time.

Of course, we'll continue our policy of letting banks borrow money for free. If you're worried this is going increase inflation and destroy the dollar, please reread everything we've said to this point. We plan to keep rates near zero for as long as it takes, but we won't tell you how long that is. In the meantime, we'll keep an eye on things.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy was Thomas M. Hoenig. He's the president of the Kansas City Fed, and he's voted against Fed policy at every one of our meetings this year. He thinks this whole creating-$600-billion-out-of-thin-air thing is going to do more harm than good.He also thinks that all this money we've pumped into the economy could inflate another bubble and create widespread worries about inflation. That could lead us right into another crisis.”

Now is the Time to Give Thanks for What You Have

With the U.S. economy as shaky as ever, now is the time to take stock of what is truly your greatest asset: your health. Your health is your greatest wealth, and is one of the only true “things” worth investing in.

It may now be a good idea to replace costly recurring expenses, like your monthly gym fee, with a one-time cost for a high-quality personal trainer DVD you can do in your own home. You can even go in on it with a friend and workout together daily.

The idea is that you can cut costs while still making sound purchases that will support your long-term health and well-being.

Further, as unemployment rates are still high, work to assure you have savings in excess of 3 to 6 months or more of what you will need to pay your bills if you become unemployed.

Likewise, many investors are turning to gold and other precious metals as a more stable bet than the dollar.

Gold, silver and other precious metals offer a sense of security, an insurance policy, if you will, that you will have something to fall back on if the economy crashes.

SixWise Says ...

“What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it to make war.”
            --Simone Weil

Recommended Reading

What is Deflation, Why Should You be Concerned -- And What Can You Do?

10 Top Predictions for 2010 and the Coming Decade

Sources

The Wall Street Journal November 3, 2010

NPR.org November 3, 2010

CSMonitor.com October 18, 2010

BusinessInsider.com

TheTakeAway.org November 8, 2010

How would you describe your body type? Tall, gangly, petite, medium-boned, muscular, square and rugged, pear-shaped, willowy, broad shoulders, curved hips, long thin limbs, rectangular-shaped, soft and round are just a few of the many ways to describe the vast range of physical attributes a person can have.

Body image continues to be a constant struggle for both men and women and countless diet attempts, a lifelong of insecurities, perfectionism, cosmetic surgeries and male body image disorders are emerging as evidence of how serious it’s become.

A body-image survey in Glamour magazine of 16,000 women revealed that over 40 percent of women are dissatisfied with their bodies! Unhappiness with body types hasn’t improved much over the past 25 years when the very first Glamour study was released.

And despite the wide range of body types that have gained increasing acceptance as beautiful over the past generation, from the voluptuous to the waif thin, women continue to harshly criticize their own bodies.

On a positive note, other findings from the study showed:

• Only 16 percent of women admitted to taking diet pills versus 50 percent in the 1984 study
• The number of women taking drastic measures to lose weight through starvation and purging has fallen to 20 percent

Rather than sitting back and dwelling on what to change about their bodies, a percentage of women sought out positive ways to improve the outlook on their bodies.

How to Harness Your Own Inner Thoughts for a Better Body Image

As the Glamour magazine survey revealed …

1. Love Your Job, Love Yourself
   
   75 percent of the women cited professional achievements as a way to boost self-esteem and body image. The sense of feeling valued and appreciated puts you into a positive frame of mind and keeps negative thoughts at bay.

2. Exercise, Feel Better, Stronger and More Confident
   
   96 percent of women said just 30 minutes of exercise a day twice a week made them feel more comfortable with their bodies. Exercise also helped transform thoughts of viewing their body as the enemy to appreciating it as a powerful asset.

3. Healthy Eating Feeds Healthy Minds
   
   97 percent of women said eating healthy tuned out the negative talk in their minds.
   
   Melina Jampolis, M.D., an internist and nutrition specialist in San Francisco, found there is a direct link between food and feelings.
   
   “The first thing that many of my patients tell me as soon as a week after starting a healthier diet is that they have more energy and just feel better physically. What’s more, diets rich in these foods have been associated with lower incidence of depression. So if your mood is better, and you feel better, your body image and self-esteem are understandably better,” Jampolis told Glamour.
   
   For simple and fast recipes to include in your healthy body-image diet, try one of our favorite recipes books, Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes.

4. Be Supportive of Other Women and Be Generous with Compliments
   
   95 percent of women said getting compliments from other women helped improve their self-image. Creating a circle of friends who are supportive and not afraid to offer compliments freely and provide you with positive feedback is one surefire way to keep you on the right track to feeling good about yourself.

Men Under Scrutiny as New Body Image Emerges

No longer is it just the women in ads using their sex appeal and bodies to sell, but now muscular men with washboard abs have stepped onto the arena and raised the bar for a new kind of masculine beauty.

In an article from The Healthy Place.com, today’s ideal man has a sinuous body, clear skin and an almost feminine quality to him, making the rough and calloused look an icon of the distant past.

However, as men try to live up to this new body image some are engaging in abusive behaviors involving steroid use and putting themselves at risk for musculoskeletal injury. As a result of failed attempts at living up to the “perfect media image,” there has been a spike in the number of psychiatrist visits for the treatment of body image disorders.

Steven Romano, M.D., director of the Outpatient Eating Disorders Clinic at New York Hospital/Cornell Medical Center's Westchester Division, told HealthyPlace.com, "I'm seeing more and more males who have body image disturbances. They are compulsive exercisers, and there are a number of steroid abuses."

Another expert refers to this as "reverse anorexia.” Similar to how female anorexics look in the mirror and see themselves as fat, these males with muscled proportions see themselves as too thin or as not having enough muscle mass. 

In contrast to women, most men rank an attractive face and body build high up on their list so they do whatever they can to live up to their set standards even if this means indulging in self-destructive behaviors. Two other characteristics men place a high value on are hair and height, both, in their opinion, representative of their manhood, power and strength.

Cosmetic Surgery Explosion in Men

The stigma attached to cosmetic surgery being only for women has also changed as more men are going under the knife. According to Manhattan plastic surgeon Joseph Pober, M.D. on HealthyPlace.com:

“About 20-25 percent of my practice is men, and contrary to the myth, most of the men are heterosexual. These men tend to be basically successful and secure, and they usually look good already. They tend to worry most about being disproportionate--not whether they are fat or thin, but whether their calves and waistlines and chests are proportional."

Learn to Love Yourself and Happiness will Follow

Creating a new and healthy body image begins with loving what you see when you look in the mirror each day and cultivating the confidence within you. Below are nine steps you can take on your journey to a positive body image and newfound confidence.

1. Stop the negative chatter now

As soon as negative thoughts enter you mind, replace them with a positive mantra or new body image label that makes you feel good about yourself.

2. Dedicate your time and energy to meaningful life goals

Take all of your weight- obsessing thoughts and put forth that same energy and feeling toward other life goals such as career, family and self-fulfillment goals.

3. Be kind to yourself and be your own best friend

Battling your mind is more than half the battle when it comes to body image … but there is more to it than that. In fact, the lifestyle choices you make can also make or break your body image. Incorporating a mind-body workout into your daily routine encourages you to find balance, self-confidence and a personal state of well-being. This is why we recommend you engage in the SheaNetics mind-body fitness program.

SheaNetics is a unique fitness and self-help philosophy that is “meditation in motion and thought.” It provides you with life-improving ideas and the inspirational motivation needed to achieve complete well-being.

4. Don’t attempt to live up to images portrayed in the media

In addition to the airbrushing and touching up of magazine photographs, trying to replicate the look of celebrities is downright unrealistic; remember, they have a whole staff including personal trainers and chefs to help maintain their sculpted bodies on a daily basis.

5. Love what you see in the mirror—

Keep your new body image mantra in mind, close your eyes and soften them before looking in the mirror each day. Look only into your eyes first, then slowly take in the view of your entire body, being mindful of your new mantra during the entire process. See your body as whole, healthy and complete.

6. Surround yourself by people who accept you the way you are

Take control of the people you interact with on a daily basis and stay away from those that are disapproving and critical of you.

7. Establish personal boundaries with people who make judgmental comments

Speak up and let others know they’ve hurt your feelings when they comment on your weight or body. You can also draw an invisible circle around as a shield to protect you from any criticisms.

8. Instead of trying to please others all the time, learn ways to please yourself

Take some “Me” time each day to simply relax and get in tune with your body.At SixWise, we highly recommend the Pure Relaxation: Guided Mediations for Body, Mind CD by respected meditation expert Mary Maddux.

The guided meditations and music on this CD calm your mind, soothe your emotions and create a state of deep relaxation in your body. Aside from music, if you're looking for some other keys to relaxation, check out our past article, How to Relax (and Lower Your Cortisol Levels): A Golden Key to Your Health.

9. Give up the “what if I only lost X number of pounds” thoughts and start living your life today

Don’t live in the past or obsess about the size you used to be … start living in the now instead.

Try these body image techniques today and begin noticing the changes in your happiness. Soon you’ll be blossoming with new confidence and letting your true greatness shine through.

SixWise Says ...

“I’m fat, but I’m thin inside. Has it ever struck you that there’s a thin man inside every fat man, just as they say there’s a statue inside every block of stone?”

--George Orwell

Recommended Reading

Self-Image Makeover: Be Confident in the Nude in Just One Week Get Beach Body Confidence Just in the Nick of Time!

Those Who Don't Diet are Better at Improving Health Than Those Who Do Diet

Sources

Glamour.com March 23, 2009

HealthyPlace.com January 13, 2009

WebMD.com

Exercise is a well-known natural mood booster. You’ve heard of a “runner’s high”? This refers to the euphoric feeling many people get after a challenging run … and research has confirmed that, indeed, endorphins -- your brain’s feel-good, pain-relieving chemicals -- are produced during running.

What’s more, those endorphins attach to areas of your brain associated with emotions, including the intense, positive emotions experienced during love affairs. So the runner’s high is not just a myth … it’s a very real mood boost that runners and other active exercisers get to experience.

But as intense as a runner’s high can be, it may pale in comparison to the mood boost offered by another type of exercise … yoga.

Yoga May Boost Your Mood Better Than Any Other Type of Exercise

A new study has revealed that yoga increases the levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in your brain. GABA helps to regulate nerve activity and lower levels are linked to mood and anxiety disorders. Drugs that increase GABA activity are used to treat anxiety and improve mood … and it appears yoga may help to increase GABA activity, offering potential antidepressant benefits, naturally.

In fact, yoga was found to boost mood better than walking and other forms of exercise,

"This is important work that establishes some objective bases for the effects that highly trained practitioners of yoga therapy throughout the world see on a daily basis …,” Kim A. Jobst, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, told Science Daily.

What Other Benefits Does Yoga Have to Offer?

While many are initially drawn to yoga as a way to relieve stress or get in shape, it also offers a host of other benefits through its stretching, meditation and various postures.

Overall benefits to the mind and body that are often reported include pain reduction, increased flexibility, posture and strength, improvements in mood and well-being, better sleep, increased energy and more.

Yoga has even been found to benefit certain health conditions such as cancer, depression, pain, anxiety and insomnia because it may improve your sleep, fatigue and mood. It can also reduce heart rate and blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic. 

While all types of yoga offer mind-body benefits, certain types are also used to help you find your inner tranquility and strength, and to promote spiritual growth and self-awareness.

Combining Yoga With Other Forms of Mind-Body Exercises for Maximum Effect

Yoga is a phenomenal way to experience the “high” that comes from exercise, but it shouldn’t be your sole form of physical activity. Ideally you need a mix of exercises including aerobics, strength-training and stretching.

And no matter what form you do, remember that ALL exercise is beneficial for your mood. Exercise is a natural way to increase serotonin levels. Studies have shown that one hour of aerobic exercise has the same uplifting effects as 2.5 hours of indoor light therapy, which is as effective as antidepressant drugs in treating SAD and other depressive disorders.

Regular exercise is also a phenomenal way to relieve the symptoms of all types of depression, including seasonal depression. As TIME magazine recently reported:

“Molecular biologists and neurologists have begun to show that exercise may alter brain chemistry in much the same way that antidepressant drugs do — regulating the key neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine.

At the University of Georgia, neuroscience professor Philip Holmes and his colleagues have shown that over the course of several weeks, exercise can switch on certain genes that increase the brain's level of galanin, a peptide neurotransmitter that appears to tone down the body's stress response by regulating another brain chemical, norepinephrine.”

Quite simply, it is your body’s natural state to be active. Studies show, for instance, that sitting for too long actually stimulates disease-promoting processes, and may double or even triple your risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and premature death.

Fortunately, with at-home DVDs like the wonderful SheaNetics® program created by fitness expert Shea Vaughn, staying active is easy. Most exercise programs are geared only toward giving you short-term physical improvement. But SheaNetics understands the real goal for us all is to find total health and fulfillment that is life-lasting.  

This revolutionary lifestyle and exercise practice is a new East meets West blend of values and movements charging the mind and body to unite as one. You get in shape, feel great about yourself and naturally come to embrace ongoing, life-healthy choices. 
 
SheaNetics® is a self-styled mix of Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, GYROKENESIS®, Dance and much more. It also introduces you to the body enhancing benefits of “Tri-Core Power Training” -- a highly effective technique for developing all three regions of your core to improve balance and boost physical performance. 

As part of her practice, Shea also follows the "Five Living Principles of Well-Being,” a guide to her fitness regimen and daily lifestyle -- Commitment, Perseverance, Integrity, Self-Control and Love. SheaNetics brings you “meditation in motion and thought” -- a program that reduces stress, improves your body and helps put you on a pathway to enjoying a lifestyle of fitness, personal balance and well-being.

You can also try doing regular stretching, as it will help you to reduce and manage stress, along with improve your mental clarity and focus. As with exercise, proper form in stretching has everything to do with achieving the maximum health benefits. We highly recommend the Stretching Toward a Healthier Life DVD for this purpose.

And remember, there's a reason why they say "variety is the spice of life." Exercise does not have to be boring or tedious. In fact, it can be enjoyable if you simply vary your workouts.

One day try a beginner's kickboxing class at your gym. The next, go for a long, brisk walk with a friend. Then try a yoga class, weight lifting or a session of SheaNetics. Varying your workouts not only keeps things interesting, it also ensures that you're working all of your muscle groups and getting all the benefits -- like a major mood boost -- that exercise has to offer.

SixWise Says ...

“I sometimes think that running has given me a glimpse of the greatest freedom a man can ever know, because it results in the simultaneous liberation of both body and mind.”
            --Roger Bannister

 

Recommended Reading

The Different Kinds of Yoga & The Focus of Each Kind in Brief

Yoga-Related Injuries Already High and Rising: How You Can Prevent the Casualties of Yoga

Sources

Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2010 Nov;16(11):1145-52.

ScienceDaily.com November 12, 2010

Time.com June 19, 2010

NYTimes.com March 27, 2008

MayoClinic.com

Even though the holidays are supposed to be a joyous time of year as you celebrate with family and friends, they have the tendency to elicit feelings of depression, loneliness and despair, leading to bouts of depression and a sense of feeling utterly overwhelmed by expectations.

And it seems everywhere you turn you hear on the news or read in the newspaper stories about the poor state of the economy -- only compounding feelings of desperation.

By changing your outlook on the holidays and practicing gratefulness for the people in your life and your health -- along with finding ways to give back -- you can start embracing the holiday season once again with open arms. It’s amazing how showing your love, consideration and serving others changes your perspective during times of hardship and stress to a more positive one.

Philosopher Albert Schweitzer eloquently expressed what gratitude meant to him in this quote:

"At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us."

And writer Ruth Ann Schabacker captured the essence of gratitude in the following sentiment:

 “Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.”

You, too, can replace negativity and depression with inspiration, love, fun and joy by following the below techniques to expressing gratitude.

4 Ways to Grow the Gratitude Garden in Your Life

1. Change your language and your heart will open

Be mindful and conscious of how you talk to others and yourself and watch how your life opens up to more things to be grateful for. Research has shown that it’s impossible to be fearful and appreciative at the same time, so the next time you find yourself in a negative rant, take a step back, shift your thoughts to what you are grateful for and the people you appreciate in your life and let your heart grow.

2. Find a gratitude partner

Find someone close to you to help you keep your thoughts positive and focused and looking at the glass of life as being two-thirds full. Gratefulness is a muscle that needs to be worked out on a regular basis. Similar to a running or walking partner, your gratitude partner is there to “keep you in check” and encourage you to get back on track when you slip back to negative thinking.

3. Remember those who have been there for you

One helpful way to practicing gratefulness is remembering those who have helped you through difficult times or were by your side to celebrate joyous moments in your life’s journey. Taking the time to remember those who showed you kindness, acted as a mentor or believed in you will expand your gratitude threshold. You can also write a letter of thanks and read it aloud to that special someone face to face.

4. Start a gratitude journal

Before you think you don’t have time to do this, you can make it simple by writing down five things you are grateful before going to bed each night. You can increase your list as time goes by. Then, at the beginning of each day you can look over your list and start your day with a personalized sense of gratitude.

Try out the Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude to get started, it offers the perfect place to record your daily moments of gratitude and even provides inspirational quotes to boost your mood.

Staying Emotionally Healthy All Season Long: 10 More Tips

Your emotional health is closely tied to your physical health and if you’re not feeling good mentally then you begin to form physical ailments. Here are nine techniques to keep your emotions at a happy and healthy level throughout the holiday season.

1. Lower Expectations to a Modest Level—If you continue to try to live up to a Norman Rockwell/It’s a Wonderful Life kind of a holiday each year, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Make your holidays your own and stop thinking about how you think they should be and you’ll get much more enjoyment out of them.

By setting realistic expectations, you can hope for the best and handle any problems that may come your way with more flexibility and ease.

2. Start a New Family Tradition, Volunteer or Make a Donation—Change your usual routine and do something different this year by coming up with a list from each family member with five things they think would make the holidays more memorable and fun this year.  One or more of these things could become an annual tradition. Volunteering at a local soup kitchen is a great way to give back as a family to those less fortunate.

You can also start a donation pile for specific causes such as giving your old cell phone to victims of domestic violence or getting your kids involved by finding and giving extra school supplies to underfunded public schools.

Rest Easy This Holiday Season … If the stress of the holidays is keeping you up at night, the Sleep Easy CD -- with music by a renowned meditation music composer with 20 years experience -- will help you find deep rest and sleep. Users have reported falling asleep faster, waking up less throughout the night, falling back to sleep faster when awakened during the night and feeling more rested the next morning. Limited Time: FREE Shipping! Read More About the Sleep Easy CD Now!

3. Don’t Take on All the Holiday Work Yourself, Delegate Some Holiday Responsibilities—Be specific with your requests. You could ask a relative to bring a dish to your holiday dinner. Give some guidance and you will find that family members are more willing to help out than you may expect.

Request that your relatives bring a dish to your holiday dinner. Ask your spouse to pull out the holiday decorations from storage and get your kids involved with decorating and simple house cleaning jobs like dusting. You can even make the job easier with the PerfectClean All Purpose Terry-Cloth, which have patented built-in antimicrobial protection, are made of the 100% safe ultramicrofibers that are only 3 microns in size, which is even smaller than many bacteria. These ultramicrofibers are by far the most effective cleaning material available, and they make cleaning a breeze.

4. You Have Control Over how you React to Family Dramas—If you have two relatives that you know aren’t on speaking terms, remember that it is their issue and you don’t have to get involved or let it affect your holiday.

Keep your limits and boundaries in place, be mindful of your hot buttons and have a plan in place -- this might be walking away or avoiding the person or situation that is prone to conflict.

5. Honor your Loved Ones no Longer with You—Holidays are usually a difficult time for those who recently lost a loved one. Instead of becoming depressed you could seek out special ways to remember your loved one such as giving a toast, having a drink they liked or making one of their favorite dishes and incorporating that into your holiday ritual.

6. Keep a Healthy Schedule and Don’t Skip out on Sleep—It may be easier said than done, but try to maintain a normal routine that includes enough sleep to stay refreshed and energized.

This means leaving holiday parties at a reasonable time and avoiding present-wrapping all-nighters. Once you are in bed for the night, to help you unwind from your busy day listen to a relaxation CD like the Sleep Easy CD to help you "shift gears" and relax into sleep.

7. Make Time to Exercise—Add exercise to your “daily things to do list” this holiday season and enjoy its anti-anxiety and anti-depression benefits. You can get creative to fit in exercise such as taking a few extra laps around the mall your next shopping trip or taking a walk to the post office instead of driving to drop off your Christmas cards.

Exercising increases the levels of endorphins in your body, which stimulate your immune system, reduces stress and puts you in a better mood. It’s a good idea to incorporate stretching with your exercise routine, as it will provide you with increased energy levels and an even greater sense of well-being.

There are countless stretches for your body, but it takes just 15 of them to stretch 95 percent of your body, according to stretching expert and creator of the DVD Stretching Toward a Healthier Life, Jacques Gauthier. In his DVD, he shows you all 15 of these most effective stretching exercises, and the full program takes just 15 to 20 minutes a day.

SheaNetics, developed by fitness expert and Vince Vaughn’s mom, Shea Vaughn, is another at-home DVD set that provides amazing fitness for all ages and all fitness levels. This revolutionary lifestyle and exercise practice is a new East meets West blend of values and movements charging the mind and body to unite as one. You get in shape, feel great about yourself and naturally come to embrace ongoing, life-healthy choices. 

SheaNetics® is a self-styled mix of Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, GYROKENESIS®, Dance and much more. It also introduces you to the body-enhancing benefits of “Tri-Core Power Training” -- a highly effective technique for developing all three regions of your core to improve balance and boost physical performance. 

As part of her practice, Shea also follows the "Five Living Principles of Well-Being,” a guide to her fitness regimen and daily lifestyle -- Commitment, Perseverance, Integrity, Self-Control and Love. SheaNetics brings you “meditation in motion and thought” -- which is why this mind-body practice reduces stress, improves your body and helps put you on a pathway to enjoying a lifestyle of fitness, personal balance and well-being.

8. Eat sensibly—Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t give you the green light to overindulge in food or alcohol. You can still eat and drink your favorite dishes, desserts and cocktail, just in moderation.

You’ll find yourself feeling better about yourself physically and emotionally if you don’t overdo it. If you do go a little overboard on your mom’s homemade cookies, tell yourself it’s okay and you’ll get back on track the next day.

9. Elevate your Mood with a Sun Lamp—Now that daylight savings time has passed and days are growing shorter, people tend to become gloomier due to lack of sunlight. Even if you’re not diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) you’ll gain great benefits from investing in a full-spectrum sun lamp like the Solarex Sun Lamp -- which features a special 27W bulb that provides as much light as a typical 150W incandescent bulb, and lasts up to 5 times longer -- to lift your mood.

10. Give Yourself a Break and Take Some Time for Yourself to Savor the Holidays—Your body and mind know how to relax -- you just need to give them "permission" to do so. This is easier said than done, of course, so for those of you who need a little help, we highly recommend popping in the Pure Relaxation: Guided Meditations for Body, Mind & Spirit CD by respected meditation expert Mary Maddux.

SixWise Says ...

What kind of holiday gift giver are you? Take this quiz to find out!

 

 

Recommended Reading

9 Ways to HELP Your Friends and Family This Holiday Season … in Health, Love and Life

15 Tips to Avoid Overeating This Holiday Season

How to Keep Your Spirits High During the Upcoming Holidays

Sources

PsychCentral.com November 19, 2009

Shine on Yahoo November 24, 2008

WebMD.com

Want to meditate, but don't feel you have the time? Wondering how you could learn meditation without a big investment of time?

If you are reading this article, you are undoubtedly a busy person. The possibility of adding yet another thing to your day may seem overwhelming, and yet you know you need to slow down and relax. You are probably familiar with the many benefits of meditation and know it would "be good for you".

I'd like to begin by dispelling the idea that you don't have time to meditate. Since meditation increases productivity, taking time out for meditation will not mean that you'll accomplish less.

In fact, you will likely accomplish more in your activity because you will have greater clarity of mind, more energy, and better concentration. "If you're too busy to meditate, you're too busy" was the advice I heard when I was new to meditation.

The most difficult step is setting aside the time. Once you've done that, there are many ways you can achieve a meditative state and get the benefits of meditation. In this article, I'll share some meditations that are easy to do and easy to learn, as well as some general guidelines to follow.

While it's ideal to set aside 15-20 minutes to meditate, you can do these meditations for briefer periods of time throughout the day. In fact those of us who are moving at top speed might be able to ease into the "meditation habit" simply by taking a few minutes here and there to do these mediations and slow down. For best results, try to work up to a 15-20 minute meditation period.

Meditation Guidelines

Meditation gives us an opportunity to shift gears and experience a more peaceful, relaxed state. The following guidelines are meant to help you do just that.

1. Above all, be easy about these meditations. Don't strain to follow the instructions. They do not need to be done in an exacting way. You should feel it is easy to meditate. That doesn't mean you always feel easy -- you could even feel restless or become aware of fatigue or feelings of discomfort -- but there will be a sense of ease about it when you are not trying too hard.

2. Don't resist thoughts or try to make them go away. Simply let thoughts come and go, not minding them. When you are aware that you've become caught up in thoughts, easily come back to the focus of the meditation. One way to treat thoughts is to let them be a meaningless activity of the mind. In this style of meditation, we ignore the content of thoughts.

3. Take it as it comes! The mind's habit is to evaluate and judge what is happening in order to make decisions about the best action to take. This is necessary when we are engaged in activity, but during meditation it is time to let everything happen on its own without our interference. There is no right way for meditation to happen. Meditation is about letting go and relaxing. That's why we say "take it as it comes".

Four Simple Meditations

1. Breath Awareness Meditation

   Observing the breath is the basis of many meditations. It is an easy way to relax and become more present. This meditation can be done sitting or lying down. Begin by getting into a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Now bring your attention to your breath. Simply notice the breath as it moves in and out. Notice how the body breathes automatically, effortlessly. Don't try to manipulate the breath in any way. Notice all the details of the experience of breathing -- the feeling of the air moving in and out of the nose, the way the body moves as it breathes, etc.

   Continue with your attention on the experience of breathing throughout the meditation. The mind will wander away from the breath -- that's fine, it doesn't matter. That's a part of the meditation! When you notice that you are no longer observing the breath, easily bring your attention back to it.

2. Body Awareness Meditation

   This meditation will help you to be more in the present moment, more in tune with your body and more grounded. It is very helpful when you are feeling "scattered". This meditation is like the breath meditation, except that your attention is on the body. It can be done sitting or lying down. Begin by getting into a comfortable position, and close your eyes.

   Now bring your attention to your body. Feel the physicality and density of the body. Feel the weight of the body on the chair or the bed. Let yourself relax into the pull of gravity. Notice all the myriad of sensations going on in the body. What are you experiencing in your body? What is it like to be in the body?

   As you continue meditating, you can allow yourself to experience whatever physical sensations naturally attract your attention, or you can purposefully scan your body. If you scan, you can start with the soles of the feet and move up, go from the head down, or simply randomly scan the body. See what it feels like in the various parts of the body. Notice the details of your experience. Allow your awareness to be fully with whatever is being experienced in the body, pleasant or unpleasant.

   Continue meditating as long as you'd like, allowing yourself to fully feel whatever is being experienced in your body. When you notice that your mind has gotten caught up in thoughts, easily bring it back to awareness of the body.

3. Walking Meditation

   This is a way of meditating while walking. Done properly, it can be every bit as powerful as sitting meditations, and it is easier and more natural for many people to do moving meditations. During the meditation, you focus on the sensations in your body, as you do in the Body Awareness Meditation.

   In some ways it is easier to do this while walking, as it is easy to be aware of the physical experience of walking. As always, let thoughts come and go, easily favoring the sensations in the body. Notice the way the body feels as you walk -- the feelings in your feet and legs, the swinging of your arms, etc. When the mind has wandered, simply bring it back to the experience of walking.

   Need Help? Try a Guided Meditation Often it's easiest to meditate while being guided, at least in the beginning until you get accustomed to meditating. We created our Pure Relaxation CD for just that purpose. It has deeply relaxing meditations of various lengths and styles, accompanied by soothing music. Learn more about the CD now including the special price and FREE SHIPPING offer.

4. Knitting Meditation

   Believe it or not, knitting can be used as a powerful meditation. There is a reason that knitting has become so popular! The simultaneous use of the right and left hands, the back and forth between the needles, the feel of the yarn gliding over your fingers, tricks the mind into a relaxed state.

   If you don't already knit, get some needles and yarn and have someone show you how to do a simple knit stitch. Get comfortable and start knitting. Thoughts will go through your mind, but the focus on the knitting will keep you from becoming overly involved with a train of thought. Just easily favor the experience of knitting, not minding the flow of thoughts. Knitting in this way naturally produces a meditative state. Thoughts and emotions which might have been distressing can easily flow through and resolve on their own as you knit.

   Note for knitters: If you already knit, you can make your knitting a meditation by dedicating some time to knitting purely for the sake of knitting -- not to create a finished product. Use the garter stitch only. Forget about the gauge, the number of stitches, etc. Just knit away!

When the next "big one" will hit is the million-dollar question among earthquake enthusiasts. But perhaps an even more appropriate question isn't when the next big one will hit, but where.

Though California is often regarded as the earthquake epicenter of the nation, there is another major fault line that most people are not aware of. It runs right through the heart of the "American breadbasket," and when it has its (next) big break, experts say the impact could be far worse than anything the West Coast has experienced in modern times.

The New Madrid Fault System spans a 120-mile stretch from Charleston, Missouri and Cairo, Illinois, down Interstate 55 to end up in Marked Tree, Arkansas. The massive zone crosses five state lines and cuts across the Mississippi River in three places and the Ohio River in two.

It's true that the greatest risk of earthquakes in the United States is definitely along the West Coast ... but, although the tremors may not be as frequent, when they do occur along the New Madrid Fault Line, the damage covers more than 20 times the area.

When Will the Next "Big One" Hit the Midwest?

We say the "next" big one because a major earthquake event did hit this region in the past. The Great New Madrid Earthquake of 1811-1812 describes a series of over 2,000 shocks that spanned a five-month period, destroying farmland and causing great destruction.

Although the Richter Magnitude Scale that we use to measure earthquakes today wasn't available at this time, it's estimated that five of these "shocks" measured 8.0 or higher, and it's said that 18 were strong enough to ring church bells all the way on the East Coast.

The New Madrid Fault Zone is currently active, and has more than 200 measured shocks (over 1.0 on the Richter scale) each year. The St. Charles County (Missouri) Division of Emergency Management (EMD) reports the following activity in the zone:

• Tremors large enough to be felt (2.5 - 3.0 on the Richter scale) are noted annually.

• Every 18 months, the fault releases a shock of 4.0 or more, capable of local minor damage.

• A shock of 4.3 occurred along the New Madrid Fault on Thanksgiving 1996, which was felt by people in the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi.

• A magnitude of 5.0 or greater, occurring about once per decade, can do significant damage, and be felt in several states.

Further, a damaging earthquake (6.0 or greater) occurs about once every 80 years, the last one being in 1895. This, says the EMD, would cause serious damage to buildings from Memphis to St. Louis.

A major earthquake (7.5 or greater) happens once every 200-300 years, with the last one in 1812. According to EMD, there is a 25 percent chance of an earthquake of this magnitude occurring along the New Madrid Fault Line by 2040.

A quake this size, they say, " ... would be felt throughout half the United States and damage 20 states or more. Missouri alone could anticipate losses of at least $6 billion from such an event."

How about another event like the series of quakes felt in 1811-1812?

Researchers predict that these types of events occur only once every 500-600 years, which means they don't expect another for 100 years or more. However, experts including emergency planners, engineers and seismologists have given the event a 3 percent chance of occurring by the year 2040.

Can Earthquakes Really be Predicted?

While no one can predict an earthquake with utmost certainty, scientists do "forecast" future earthquakes using the best methods currently available.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Center for Earthquake Research and Information of the University of Memphis, it's estimated that in the next 50 years along the New Madrid Fault Zone:

• There's a 7 percent to 10 percent chance of a magnitude 7.5-8.0 earthquake occurring in this region.

• There's a 25 percent to 40 percent chance of a magnitude 6.0 or larger earthquake occurring.

The EMD has given it an even greater chance, saying there's a 90 percent chance that a 6.0 earthquake will be felt in this region by the year 2040. They say it's events of this size (6.0-7.6) that concern them the most, since they are the ones most likely to occur within the lifetimes of our children, and have the potential to cause great damage.

Joan Gomberg, of the U.S. Geological Survey earthquake hazard program in Memphis, agreed. "If a major earthquake were to hit southern Illinois, the damage could be great," she said. "If it's a six, it depends upon where it hits. If it hits next to an urban area, it could do a lot of damage. But if it occurs in the boondocks, it won't be nearly as damaging."

If an Earthquake Hits the Midwest ... Are They Prepared?

According to an investigation by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Repeated recommendations from all levels of government in an eight-state region of the central United States have been largely ignored on how to best brace for an event that scientists expect will kill thousands and cause widespread chaos."

"We are entirely unprepared," said Amr Elnashai, who runs the Mid-America Earthquake Center at the University of Illinois. "It is really amazing -- really amazing. How can a country as rich and prosperous as the U.S. leave itself in peril this way?"

The Post-Dispatch investigation, in a review of studies and reports and interviews with more than 150 government officials, researchers and preparedness advocates, found:

• Many government agencies haven't estimated what kind of damage a major earthquake will cause to their emergency facilities, which could cripple response efforts.

• No plan is in place to renovate older schools to more up-to-date, stricter building codes or even to use low-cost fixes to strengthen them.

• Utilities are not required to report on hazardous material spills and other problems that could occur during an earthquake, nor their plans to remedy them.

• Key bridges are vulnerable to earthquake damage, and some states have no programs in place to fix them.

• Over 80 percent of counties across the region are late to file required plans on how they will prepare for earthquakes and other natural disasters.

• Some communities haven't held earthquake drills in more than a decade.

However, some progress is being made. Government research has identified key danger zones and risks of earthquakes, and, with all of the terrorism response training in recent years, earthquake response will also improve. Further, some areas have received grants to strengthen vulnerable facilities.

Further, according to the Post-Dispatch, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is planning a comprehensive New Madrid earthquake drill, which hasn't been done since the early 1990s, in 2007. This drill is so important that only one other drill, conducted last year, received higher priority: A drill for a hurricane hitting New Orleans.

Recommended Reading

Earthquakes: They're Happening in MOST U.S. States; When is the Next "Big One?"

The Six Most Feared but Least Likely Causes of Death

Sources

Daily Egyptian December 7, 2005

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Our Region is Ill-Prepared for the Next 'Big One'

St. Charles County Division of Emergency Management

Richter Magnitude Scale

Having a pet can, at times, test your patience, particularly when Fido has chewed up your expensive new boots, or Snowball decides to meow up a storm at 4 a.m. Still, most pet owners will agree wholeheartedly that pets give back much more than they receive in the form of companionship and love.

Indeed, the United States is a pet-loving nation, having more dogs and cats than any other country, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Most pet owners treat their pet like any other member of the family, perhaps even giving them special birthday and holiday presents and foods.

But here is another reason to spoil your pet (as though you needed one): Owning a pet can actually improve the health of its owner.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), having a pet can decrease your:

• Blood pressure

• Cholesterol levels

• Triglyceride levels

• Feelings of loneliness

But that's not all. K.C. Cole, RN, MN, director of UCLA's People-Animal Connection (PAC), says she believes the human-animal bond offers many social, psychological and physiological benefits. PAC volunteers bring dogs to visit about 400 hospital patients each month.

"Among other things, animals contribute to raising self-esteem, significantly lowering anxiety levels, improving attitude toward others and opening lines of communication," Cole said. "With geriatric patients we see a bridge of communication develop with staff and family when a dog visits."

Pets and Your Heart

Perhaps the most notable benefit has to do with heart health. Several studies have found that people who have had a heart attack survive longer with a pet than without.

Another study, by Karen Allen, PhD, a medical researcher at the University of Buffalo, involved 48 stockbrokers with high blood pressure. Those who owned a cat or dog had lower blood pressure readings in stressful situations than those without.

"When we told the group that didn't have pets about the findings, many went out and got them," Allen said.

Recovery After Illness

Other studies have found that people with pets tend to have a speedier, easier recovery after illness or surgery. One UK study of 50-60-year-old women recovering from breast cancer, for instance, found:

• 87 percent reported that their pets filled "at least one important role in their social support."

• 43 percent reported that their pets fulfilled more than 10 important support functions, such as being cared for, tactile comfort, and still feeling included socially, when they took their dog for a walk.

Kids and Pets

Many of us have fond memories of our first childhood pet, and as it turns out, pets are just as good for kids as they are for the elderly and adults. One five-year study of 600 children aged 3-18 found that children with pets who are slow learners, or whose parents had divorced, had higher levels of self-esteem and better emotional functioning than those with no pet.

Children with autism and other learning and behavioral disabilities also often show immediate improvement when pets are brought into the classroom for animal-assisted therapy.

Further, kids who have a cat or dog in the home during their first years of life are less likely to develop hay fever, asthma and animal-related allergies than those who don't.

Better Overall Health

Research presented at the 10th International Conference on Human Animal Interaction in October 2004 found that pet owners simply experience better health than non pet-owners. The survey of more than 11,000 Australians, Chinese and Germans found that over a five-year period:

• Pet owners made 15-20 percent fewer annual visits to the doctor than non pet-owners.

• Those who went to the doctor the least were those who continuously owned a pet.

• The next healthiest group was people who got a pet during the study.

If you're still not convinced of the benefits of pet ownership, other studies have found these additional health improvements to pet owners:

• Reduced depression

• Less stress

• Improved exercise habits

• Better quality of life for those with Alzheimer's or orthopedic disorders

A Dog, Cat, Bird ... or Dolphin?

So which types of pets provide the most health benefits? Most commonly, dogs and cats are mentioned in the studies. However, any animal has the potential to brighten your life.

Case in point, a study in a November 2005 British Medical Journal found that people with depression who swam with dolphins for an hour a day for two weeks reported feeling less depressed than those who simply frolicked in the water.

But if you're looking for the most benefit, a pet of your own (after careful consideration) may be the best route to take. Said Mara Baun, D.N.Sc., professor at The University of Texas School of Nursing at Houston, "People derive the greatest health benefits from their own pet, or one to whom they feel some personal attachment.

Recommended Reading

Is Pet Insurance a Good Investment? Find Out Why the Answer Depends on YOU

Winter Dangers to Your Pet: Don't Let Fido and Fifi Freeze!

Sources

Eurek Alert November 24, 2005

The Pet Prescription: Is it for You?

CDC: Healthy Pets, Healthy People

Pet Health Council

British Medical Journal November 26, 2005; 331(7527):1231

Pets Can Provide Healthy Benefits

Does Chicken Soup Have Healing Powers?
by www.SixWise.com

You've likely heard it proclaimed throughout your entire life: chicken soup is good medicine.

Whether it was your mother, grandmother, or a Campbell's soup commercial handing out the advice, a steaming bowl of chicken soup has been touted as the cure for just about every ailment, from the common cold to a nasty scrape on the knee.

But is chicken soup, in and of itself, really a "medicine" of sorts? Does it actually possess healing capabilities, or is its magic all in our heads?

Back in the Day

Around the 12th century trusted healers started to prescribe "the broth of fowl" for their ill patients. It was during that time that Egyptian Jewish physician and philosopher, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimonides, started to write extensively about the benefits of chicken soup.

The ancient healer wrote, "The meat taken should be that of hens or roosters and their broth should also be taken because this sort of fowl has virtue in rectifying corrupted humours."

Maimonides used his 'fowl brew' to treat such things like hemorrhoids, constipation, and even leprosy. He strongly believed and especially praised the brew's healing power for respiratory illnesses like the common cold.

Since then, many researchers and scientists have pondered the question of whether or not chicken soup has any real health benefits to patients suffering from a cold. Some have even done experiments to see if there is such proof.

Is the Proof in the Soup?

Dr. Stephen Rennard, MD at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, thought his family's chicken soup really did work, but as a scientist, he wanted proof.

"One day we were discussing chicken soup," Rennard explains. "My wife says that grandma says this is good for colds, and I said maybe it has some anti-inflammatory action."

Rennard tested his theory and added his wife's home made chicken soup to white blood cells, called neutrophils. To his surprise, the soup did slow the neutrophils. In fact, he claims that chemicals in the broth-based elixir clears a stuffy nose by inhibiting inflammation of the cells in the nasal passages.

Dr. Rennard did admit that there needed to be more studies conducted, but believes his findings are one more piece to complete the puzzle.

Since Dr. Rennard's findings in the early 1990's, several studies have since agreed with his results, and show chicken soup as a "relief" for the common cold, not a "cure." All research agrees that the soup helps break up congestion and eases the flow of nasal secretions. In addition, many say it also inhibits the white blood cells that trigger the inflammatory response (causing sore throats and the production of phlegm.)

The "Guts" of Chicken Soup

When you are feeling under the weather, it seems that everything hot helps to make you feel better. However, the good thing about chicken soup is that - properly prepared such as the recipes below - it is loaded with valuable nutrients. This includes:

Chicken: Chicken contains an amino acid called cysteine, a substance released when you make the soup. This amino acid is similar to the drug acetylcysteine, which is prescribed by doctors to patients with bronchitis. It thins the mucus in the lungs, making it easier to cough out. And hot chicken vapors have been proven more effective than hot water vapors in clearing out the cold in your nose.

Carrots: Carrots, one of the routine vegetable ingredients found in chicken soup, are the best natural source of beta-carotene. The body takes that beta-carotene and converts it to vitamin A. Vitamin A helps prevent and fight off infections by enhancing the actions of white blood cells that destroy harmful bacteria and viruses.

Onions: Onions, another chicken soup regular, contains quercetin, a powerful anti-oxidant that is also a natural anti-histamine, and anti-inflammatory.

Final Note

While chicken soup isn't a cure for a cold, it does help alleviate some of the annoying symptoms that come with it. And, if nothing else, it definitely is a delicious, comforting meal that helps keep your body hydrated.

To get the full benefits, of course, we recommend homemade chicken soup using only natural ingredients.

The next time the cold bug has you down, stay warm, get a lot of rest, and try slurping away on one of these three chicken soup recipes (maybe you can coax someone else into making one of them for you!)

Dr. Rennard's Chicken Soup

1 large roasting chicken or baking hen (6 to 7 pounds)
1 package chicken wings or drumsticks (10 to 12 pieces)
10 medium carrots, peeled
3 large onions, peeled and quartered
3 parsnips, peeled
1 large sweet potato, peeled
2 turnips, peeled
6 stalks celery
1 bunch parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the whole chicken and chicken parts. Place in 8-quart soup pot, fill three-quarters full with water and bring to a boil. Add carrots, onion, parsnips, sweet potato and turnips.

2. Simmer covered for 1-1/2 hours. Add celery and parsley and cook for another 45 minutes. Spoon out the chicken and bones.

3. Remove the vegetables along with a small amount of the broth; puree, then stir back into the soup. Salt and pepper to taste.

Stephen Rennard, M.D., is chief of pulmonary medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The recipe actually is a time-tested family recipe, handed down by his wife's grandmother.

Thai Chicken Soup

This is a mild but spicy chicken soup, flavored with the very unique flavor of galangal ("kha" in Thai) which creates a heavenly taste when combined with hot chile peppers, coconut milk, lime leaves and lemongrass.

Ingredients

16 fluid ounces organic chicken soup broth
4-5 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
4 or 5 2 inch pieces fresh lemongrass, bruised to release flavor
1 inch cube (or a bit more) galangal sliced thinly
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 oz organic chicken breast cut into smallish bite sized pieces
5 fluid ounces coconut milk
small red Thai chili peppers, slightly crushed (to taste)
coriander (cilantro) leaves to garnish.

Note the number of red peppers is a personal choice. It can be as few as half a chili per diner, to
as many as 8-10 per diner, but the dish should retain a balance of flavors and not be overwhelmend by the chili peppers. We suggest about 8-12 chili peppers for this recipe.

Method

Heat the stock, add the lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, fish sauce, and lime juice. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil. Add the chicken and coconut milk, then the chili peppers. Bring back to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes (until the chicken is cooked through).

Amish Chicken Noodle Soup

3 lb. grass-fed chicken
2 qts. water
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. organic chicken stock
2 c. celery, chopped
2 c. carrots, chopped
1 tart apple, chopped
1 c. onions, chopped
Dash pepper
4 c. egg noodles

Place chicken in kettle with 2 quarts water. Cover until tender (about 2 1/2 hours). Remove chicken from kettle and strain broth. De-bone chicken and return to kettle with strained broth.
Add chicken stock, celery, carrots, apple, onions, and pepper and cook until vegetables are tender.

Add noodles and cook 8-10 minutes

Flowers have been used as a delicate food among many cultures for thousands of years. Romans commonly used violets in their dishes, Hispanic cultures ate stuffed squash blossoms, Asian Indians used rose petals, and the French liqueur Chartreuse contains carnation petals.

Today, edible flowers are usually reserved for chic restaurants and wedding cakes, not your typical meal at home. But, edible flowers can be quite tasty, and they make a welcome addition raw in salads, cooked with an appetizer or main course, infused into sauces or added to desserts.

Because edible flowers are so delicate, they don't keep well in the refrigerator (if you must store them, put them between two moist paper towels, wrap the package in plastic wrap, the put it in the fridge). Instead, they're best cooked as soon as you get them home, after carefully rinsing them in cold water.

Edible flowers can be found at gourmet food shops, specialty markets and farmers' markets (or in your own backyard, if you grow them). You should not eat flowers from a florist or that you pick on the side of the road, as they may have been treated with pesticides (nor should you eat flowers you've grown if you've treated them with pesticides). Generally speaking, only the petals of the flower (not the stems, pistil or leaves) should be eaten (and avoid eating flowers if you have allergies, as they could aggravate your symptoms).

If, like many Americans, you're not sure where to start when it comes to edible flowers, here's a great primer of 20 tasty, edible flowers you can incorporate into your meals.

1. Bee Balm: Has a taste similar to oregano and mint, with slight citrus undertones. Excellent for dishes that use oregano, or in fruit and vegetable salads.

2. Calendula (Marigolds): A spicy, peppery flavor that turns foods a golden color. Also known as "Poor Man's Saffron" because of their flavor. Use them in soups, pasta, herb-butters, rice dishes or salads, or even try them in scrambled eggs.

3. Carnation: A clove-like flavor, with a spicy/sweet kick. They can be steeped in wine or candy, or used to decorate baked goods.

Chrysanthemum petals should be blanched before using, then add a slightly bitter flavor to salads.

4. Chrysanthemum: A pungent, slightly bitter flavor, similar to mild cauliflower. These petals should be blanched before using, then make great salad toppers or stir-fry additions.

5. Dandelion: Best when picked young, dandelions have a sweet, honey flavor. They can be made into a potent wine, eaten steamed with rice, or served raw over a salad.

6. Hibiscus: A flavor similar to cranberry and citrus, the petals are slightly acidic. They can be used in salads or boiled to make a tea.

7. Lilac: A pungent, lemon-like flavor with a strong perfume and floral taste. Excellent in salads.

Nasturtiums, one of the most common edible flowers, have a sweet, peppery flavor similar to watercress.

8. Nasturtium: One of the most common edible flowers, they have a sweet, spicy, peppery flavor similar to watercress. The flowers can be used on sandwiches, appetizers or salads, or can be stuffed. Pickled nasturtium seedpods are often used as an inexpensive alternative to capers.

9. Pansy: A mild, grassy, sweet flavor. Excellent for garnishes and added to fruit or vegetable salads, desserts and soups.

10. Queen Anne's Lace: A mild, carrot-like flavor that's best used in salads.

11. Radish Flowers: A spicy, radish-like flavor that makes an excellent salad topper.

12. Roses: The flavor is subtle, but similar to green apples and strawberries with fruity, spicy or minty undertones (darker varieties have stronger flavors). Use them in desserts or salads, syrups and jellies, or to make flavored punches or butters. (For an impressive display, try freezing them in ice cube trays and serving the cubes in a punch.)

13. Snap Dragon: With flavors ranging from bland to bitter, depending on variety, try them sparingly on salads or as a garnish.

14. Squash Blossoms: The blossoms from squash and pumpkin have a flavor similar to raw squash and are often served breaded and fried, or stuffed whole.

Violets have a sweet, fragrant flavor and can be used in salads, desserts and punches.

15. Sunflower: The petals have a slightly bitter flavor and should be blanched before eating, then are great on salads. The sunflower bud has a flavor similar to an artichoke, and can be steamed.

16. Sweet Woodruff: A sweet and grassy flavor with nutty, vanilla undertones. Use them in appetizers, soups, stews and salads.

17. Thyme Flowers: The flowers taste like a mild version of the herb and can be used anywhere thyme would be, such as in soups, stews and on vegetables.

18. Tulip: A sweet, cucumber-like flavor that's excellent on salads. (Only the petals, NOT the bulbs, are edible.)

19. Violet: A sweet, fragrant flavor that works well on salads. Also great for garnishes, desserts and punches.

20. Yucca Flower: A crunchy texture and sweet taste similar to an artichoke. Use them in salads and as a garnish.

Recommended Reading

Flower Power: What Each of the 20 Most Popular Flowers Symbolize & Other Interesting Facts

Witch Hazel: Unnerving Name, Fantastic Health Benefits to You ... and an Interesting Background

Sources

Edible Flowers History

WhatsCookingAmerica.net

Home Cooking: Edible Flowers

Starchefs.com

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and with it comes the official start of the holiday shopping season. Spending is expected to increase some 7.5 percent this holiday season, an increase credit card group Visa USA attributes to rising employment and falling gasoline prices.

Typically, the holidays generate over one-fourth of annual U.S. retail sales. This year since Thanksgiving falls early, there's an extra shopping weekend before Christmas, and experts expect an extra boost in sales because of it.

It's easy to get caught up in the holiday spirit when looking for gifts. The average American spent $1,096 on holiday gifts in 2005, and many faced higher-than-normal credit card bills in January as a result.

Holiday Spending Sends Many into Debt

Something about the holiday displays and the spreading of holiday cheer makes many Americans overspend.

"I think a big catalyst for problems ends up with the holiday season," said Brad Strohe, co-chief executive officer of Freedom Debt Relief, a consumer debt resolution service. "Culturally and combined with all the marketing, people throw caution to the wind and have less personal guilt about spending because it's not on themselves."

When all is said and done, consumers go over their holiday spending budgets by an average of 15 percent to 30 percent, according to the International Mass Retail Association.

With all of this extra spending, a 2004 holiday survey by The Consolidated Credit Counseling Services found that 39 percent of consumers were still paying off their holiday debt from the year before.

"You have to look at where you'll be three months from now, six months from now, and a year from now. Otherwise your financial hangover will turn into a financial disaster that will stay with you for years to come," says Karen Gross of the Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education

How Much Should You Spend This Holiday Season?

There is no right or wrong amount for everyone, but what is important is figuring out how much you can afford to spend by making a budget.

A general rule of thumb to follow, according to CBS News Early Show Financial Advisor Ray Martin, is to only spend what you can afford to pay off before April 1. Anything that takes you longer than three months to pay off is out of your budget.

When setting a budget, first decide how much you can afford to spend (as opposed to basing it on how many gifts you have to buy).

"Our recommendation is to set a limit for a maximum amount you're going to spend, without regard for how many presents, who you're buying for and for what purpose," Strohe said. "Then make a list for the people you need to shop for and allocate how you're going to spend your original budget."

Keep that list with you when you shop to avoid impulse buys or spending too much on any one gift. And, says Martin, make sure you shop early to get the best deals.

"Last-minute shoppers pay the price for their procrastination in several ways," Martin says. "They don't have the time to look for sales, be selective or price compare. Taking the time to do this can save as much as 20 percent on some purchases. Also, late shoppers tend to use premium delivery services such as next-day delivery as opposed to two to three-day delivery."

Tips for Happy Holiday Spending

Planning how to shop this holiday season is perhaps the best way to ensure your holidays won't be spoiled by a huge debt come January.

"By developing and sticking with a holiday spending plan, Americans can enjoy the holiday season without suffering a financial hangover," said Stephen Brobeck of the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). They offer the following tips to keep your spending in check during the holidays:

• Make a budget and stick to it.

• Make a price list of all gifts and other holiday expenses (food, decorations, greeting cards, party clothes, etc.) to make sure everything is included in your budget.

• Compare prices before you buy and review sites and stores that offer gifts under $30, under $40, and other targeted price amounts you have set

• Pay off credit card debts as soon as possible to avoid expensive interest charges.

• Start a "Christmas Club Account" for next year. This allows you to automatically deposit funds each month into a bank account you'll use for your holiday spending next year.

Recommended Reading

How to Choose the Right Gifts for Men: Six Simple (and FUN) Steps

How to Keep Your Spirits High During the Upcoming Holidays

Sources

Reuters November 2, 2006

MSNBC

Consumer Federation of America

CBS News: The Early Show

Santa Cruz Sentinel

Trans fatty acid, also known as trans fat, is an artery-clogging fat formed when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, a process called hydrogenation. Many manufacturers use this process of hydrogenation because it reduces cost and increases the shelf life and flavor stability of their food.

Hundreds of household food items such as commercially prepared baked goods and margarine, and commercially prepared fried foods like onion rings, contain significant amounts of trans fatty acids. Astoundingly, typical French fries contain about 40% trans fatty acids, many popular cookies and crackers have from 30 to 50%, and doughnuts include some 35 to 40% trans fat.

Trans fat poses various serious health risks. It raises your body's level of bad cholesterol (LDL) while scrubbing away the good cholesterol (HDL) that keeps your arteries clean. Your arteries can become clogged, making them inflexible, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.

Trans fat can also increase triglycerides and inflammation, a direct link to an increased risk of diabetes.

Your best strategy is to get as close to a near-zero intake of trans fats as possible. Some Americans, without even realizing it, eat 30 to 40 grams of trans fat daily.

The FDA predicts that by just removing trans fat from all margarines -- currently 70% are high in trans fats -- 6,300 heart attacks would be prevented each year. They also state that the elimination of trans fat in just 3% of breads and cakes and 15% of cookies and crackers would save an astronomical $59-billion in health care costs in the next 20 years.

O-R-E-O Spells National Attention to Trans Fat

On May 1, 2003, Stephen Joseph, a public interest lawyer, filed suit against Nabisco to stop the sale of Oreo cookies in California due to their high, but unlisted, level of trans fat. Within a week, he dropped the suit before Kraft, the parent company of Nabisco, was even served.

Mr. Joseph, founder of BanTransFats.com, said, "The factual and legal basis for the lawsuit when it was filed was that the American people did not know about trans fat. At best, perhaps 10 to 15 percent knew. The American people were being kept in the dark by the food manufacturers. The word 'trans fat' is not even on food labels."

He continued, "After three days of incredible national publicity, everyone in America knows about trans fats, and if anybody doesn't, I don't know where on earth they've been hiding. The factual and legal basis for the lawsuit has totally disappeared. I certainly could not tell a court now that nobody knows about trans fat."

Mr. Joseph filed the suit targeting America's favorite cookie to make consumers aware of the dangers of the practice of adding partially hydrogenated oils to food -- and it worked.

Finally, a Trans Fats Regulation

For years it's been almost impossible to avoid trans fatty acids because manufacturers have not been required to post trans fat content on their product's nutrition label. Fortunately, things are about to change.

Effective January 1, 2006, a trans fat regulation requires manufacturers to list the amount of trans fats on food nutrition labels directly under the line for saturated fat. Even products that contain no fat or no trans fat are required to list the absence of trans fat on the label, unless the product qualifies to bear a "simplified Nutrition Facts" and has a 0 value for total fat and does not declare a value for saturated fat.

Surprisingly, this regulation comes as the first significant change to the Nutrition Facts panel since it was established in 1993.

Under the new FDA regulations, "Our choices about our diets are choices about our health, and those choices should be based on the best available scientific information. This label change means that trans fat can no longer lurk, hidden, in our food choices," said Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., commissioner of FDA.

Providing more useful information to consumers who seek a healthy diet, the FDA claims that the new labels are expected to reduce the costs of illness and disease for Americans. An estimated savings of $900 million to $1.8 billion each year in medical costs, lost productivity and pain and suffering will result from the new regulation.

Recommended Reading

Six Deceptive Practices on Food Nutrition Labels that You Need to Know

The Health Risks of Processed Foods -- In Just a Few Quick Bites

Sources

The Dangers of Trans Fat

Recipes Today -- Uh-oh, Oreos: The Trans Fats Debate

Trans Fat: The Hidden Dangers

Oxidative stress is now recognized as a leading cause of chronic disease and aging. It occurs when free radicals -- toxic oxygen molecules produced by normal body processes but also via external sources like stress and pollution -- spiral out of control.

Even the healthiest among us have free radicals in our systems. However, free radicals are normally kept under wraps where they cannot cause great harm to the body. When free radicals exist in your body in excess, the harmful condition known as oxidative stress occurs.

"There is evidence that free radicals are a predominant factor in the etiology of a wide range of diseases and conditions such as cancer, diabetes, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease and rheumatoid arthritis," says free radical and antioxidant expert Li Li Ji, Ph.D. of the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

How Free Radicals Take Over Your System

There are two major ways that free radicals can overwhelm your body. One is that you've been exposed to an abundance of them due to environmental pollutants and other toxins, including:

• Cigarette smoke
• Alcohol
• Automobile exhaust
• Air pollution
• Bacterial, fungal, or viral infections
• Asbestos
• Radiation

The other is that your body is lacking in the healthy compounds it needs to fight free radicals: antioxidants. Antioxidants can be vitamins, minerals or enzymes, and they exist in foods and certain supplements. Because most Americans do not eat healthy diets -- ones that include fruits, vegetables and other whole foods -- and instead eat diets rich in processed fast foods, many of us are seriously lacking in these health-giving compounds.

In reality, most of us experience a combination of these effects in daily life. In other words, your diet may not be the best and you're also exposed to regular second-hand cigarette smoke and alcohol during your daily happy-hour meeting with co-workers, or to exhaust fumes on your drive home. The result is most assuredly oxidative stress.

Mental Stress Leads to Oxidative Stress

Your emotions and exposure to external stress also impact the amount of oxidative stress going on in your body. Take one study of 39 women, aged 20 to 50, who had been experiencing extreme, ongoing stress while caring for a chronically ill child. When compared with 19 similar women who were not undergoing stress, the stressed women had significantly higher levels of oxidative stress in their bodies.

This oxidative stress, the researchers pointed out, damages DNA, including telomeres, the caps at the ends of chromosomes that carry genes. As we age, telomeres naturally shorten and die; however, chronic stress accelerates this process. As increasing numbers of cells reach the end of the telomeres and die, physical symptoms of aging appear, including:

• Weakened muscles
• Wrinkles
• Fading eyesight and hearing
• Organ failure
• Diminished thinking abilities

"Everybody's trying to figure out what causes aging and premature aging. We all know that stress seems to age people -- just look at the aging of our presidents after four years," said Dennis H. Novack of Drexel University College of Medicine, who studies the link between emotions and health. "[The study] demonstrated that there is no such thing as a separation of mind and body -- the very molecules in our bodies are responsive to our psychological environment."

The Toll of Oxidative Stress on Your Body

Aside from being a direct influence on the way your body ages, oxidative stress has been linked to a wide array of diseases, including:

• Heart disease
• Hypertension
• Cancer
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
• Asthma
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Arthritis
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer's disease
• Parkinson's disease
• Huntington's disease
• Lou Gehrig's disease
• Autism
• Stroke

Oxidative Stress: Tips for Fighting Back

Although we all experience some level of oxidative stress -- it's normal and, in fact, necessary for our very existence -- this does not mean that you must sit idly by and let an excess level do its damage. Here are four key ways to help prevent oxidative stress and all of its related conditions:

1. Eat an antioxidant-rich diet. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, but you must fortify your diet with them by eating fruits, vegetables, nuts and other whole foods regularly to get the benefit. You can check out our past article for a list of the top 20 antioxidant foods and six disease-fighting super antioxidants.

2. Exercise sensibly. Exercise does, in fact, cause oxidative stress in your body, which is why doing too much of it, or at too strenuous a level, can do your body more harm than good.

   However, "If you build your fitness level gradually, your body's antioxidant defenses will improve faster than the rate at which free-radical generation increases," says Alex Sevanian, Ph.D, professor of pathology in the department of molecular pharmacology and toxicology in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Southern California. "Exercise enhances the body's ability to handle stress more than it harms the body through stress."

3. Consider chiropractic wellness care. People who have received chiropractic care had higher mean levels of serum thiol, primary antioxidants that serve as a measure of health status, than those who received no chiropractic care, according to a study in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research.

   "Going through life, we experience physical, chemical, and emotional stress. These stresses affect the function of the nervous system. We hypothesized that these disturbances in nerve function could affect oxidative stress and DNA repair on a cellular level," said Dr. Christopher Kent, one of the study's authors. "Chiropractic care appears to improve the ability of the body to adapt to stress."

4. Take time to relax. A stressful, anxiety-filled daily routine will wear you down, no matter how healthy your lifestyle may otherwise be. Said Elissa Epel, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) who helped conduct the telomere study mentioned above, "The findings emphasize the importance of managing life stress, to take it seriously if one feels stressed, to give your body a break, and make life changes that promote well-being."

Recommended Reading

Six Disease-Fighting Super Antioxidants You are Likely Not Getting Enough Of

Don't Stress Out About It, but Stress is Now Proven to Cause Weight Gain in Women: Five Key Stress-Reduction Tips

Sources

Study Confirms That Stress Helps Speed Aging

Oxis Research

Men's Fitness: Winning Against Free Radicals

Medical News Today: Chiropractic Influence on Oxidative Stress and DNA Repair

Every year 48,000 Americans die from a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) -- an infection they DID NOT have when they entered. Increasingly, people are finding that hospitals are some of the worst places to be, as they are literally crawling with germs, some of them “superbugs” that are resistant to antibiotics and other treatments.

In the largest nationally representative study to date, researchers revealed that both sepsis and pneumonia, two infections commonly acquired while in the hospital, are costing U.S. patients a staggering amount in increased health care costs and some are paying with their very lives.

Close to 20 percent of people who developed sepsis after surgery died -- a number made all the more tragic as sepsis is a bloodstream infection that is often preventable. It often occurs because medical equipment is not properly sterilized during surgery.

Many HAIs are the direct result of superbugs … microbes that are becoming increasingly deadly and difficult to treat. Anup Malani, study co-author, investigator at Extending the Cure, and professor at the University of Chicago, said on EurekAlert.org:

"These superbugs are increasingly difficult to treat and, in some cases, trigger infections that ultimately cause the body's organs to shut down.”

Eight Common Superbugs That Could be Lurking in Your Local Hospital

Worldwide superbugs account for more than 2.5 million infections, about 100,000 deaths and billions of dollars in medical costs each year, according to Dr. Philip Tierno, director of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at the Langone Medical Center at New York University.

What are some common superbugs that could be lurking in your neck of the woods?

1. MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

MRSA kills up to 20,000 Americans each year -- which is a greater death toll than AIDS, which took just over 14, 500 lives in 2007. Not only is MRSA resistant to methicillin, which includes penicillin and related antibiotics, but it's beginning to become resistant to newer antibiotics as well.

If you carry MRSA on your skin without being sick (which happens regularly in about 30 percent of people), you are said to be "colonized" with the bacteria. Though you may not be affected, you can pass the germs on to others.

MRSA typically begins as a skin rash that resembles small pimples, boils or spider bites. The bumps then progress into deep abscesses that may require surgical draining. If the infection spreads beyond the skin, it can lead to infections in your bones, joints, bloodstream, heart and lungs.

2. Resistant Streptococcus (Group A Strep)

This bacteria commonly causes relatively mild illnesses like strep throat and impetigo, but when bacteria gets into blood, muscle or the lungs due to surgery or a wound it can lead to life-threatening, invasive infection, including necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating bactiera) and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS).

Necrotizing fasciitis destroys skin, fat and muscle tissue while STSS leads to a rapid drop in blood pressure and organ failure. About 20 percent of people with necrotizing fasciitis and more than 50 percent of those with STSS will die.

3. Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE)

Enteroccocci bacteria normally exist in your intestines and in the female genital tract. However, it can cause infections of the urinary tract, the bloodstream or of wounds.

VRE are resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic typically used to treat enteroccocci bacteria, making them very difficult to treat. This bacteria is often spread from person to person on the hands of caregivers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as via contaminated surfaces.

4. Resistant Klebsiella Pneumonia

Klebsiella are a type of gram-negative bacteria that can cause pneumonia, bloodstream infection, wound infection and meningitis. The infections are common in health care settings among patients with catheters or ventilators, as well as those taking long courses of antibiotics.

Klebsiella bacteria are spread via person-to-person contact, contaminated medical tools or during surgery. Some Klebsiella bacteria have become resistant to a class of antibiotics called carbapenems, which are typically the last line of defense in treating related infections.

5. Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Another gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa is commonly found in soil and water but if it enters your body it can cause infections in your lungs, kidneys or bloodstream. Infections can be particularly deadly in hospitalized patients with cancer, burns, and cystic fibrosis.

6. Resistant E. coli

A new strain of E. coli, ST131, has emerged that is increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolone and other antibiotics. Spread by infected feces that come in contact with food products, the bacteria can cause potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal illness and dehydration.

7. Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii

Common in severely ill ICU patients or those who have had prolonged hospital stays, Acinetobacter Baumannii can be spread by catheter insertion or other invasive medical procedures. The bacteria have developed substantial antimicrobial resistance, making it increasingly difficult to treat. Mortality rates of associated infections approach 80 percent.

8. C. Difficile (C. diff)

Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that may cause intestinal disease. The bacteria reside in your gut, and most often infection occurs after a person receives antibiotics. Because antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut, it’s easy for C. diff to take over after the course is finished.

C. diff is most common in people who have been in hospitals or other health care facilities, however there is also an aggressive, particularly toxic C. diff strain that has been infecting people who have not been in a hospital or taken antibiotics.

C. diff bacteria is found in feces, and is easily spread from person to person. Because of this, hand-washing and meticulous cleaning are among the best methods to cut down on the spread of infection.

How to Protect Yourself While in the Hospital or Other Health Care Setting

Careful attention to infection-control measures are essential for avoiding superbug infections in hospitals, but data uncovered by the Seattle Times suggests that many hospitals are not following basic procedures like hand-washing.

According to a review of hospital records, the Times found that in some hospitals only 40 percent of staff members wash their hands according to infection-control protocols, and even in the best cases only 90 percent compliance was found. This means that in the best-case scenario one out of 10 physicians, nurses or other health care workers you encounter could have contaminated hands … and often it will be far more.

Doctors’ clothing, from ties to white coats, can also be reservoirs for germs, harboring numerous strains of bacteria that are easily transferred from patient to patient.

This is why if you have a loved one or you are in a hospital, doctor’s office or nursing home we recommend you print off this ”Form To Inform” to help better protect your health.

Again, we highly recommend you print out this “Form to Inform” and give it to all health care workers who you come into contact with to assure they are aware of the risks of superbugs and know you want to reduce your risks of exposure.

Wipe Away Superbugs with PerfectClean Antimicrobial Wipes

Your second line of defense can be PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes (used nationwide in hospitals), which will provide an easy way for you to sanitize your hands and your surroundings throughout your stay.

These wipes are used by hospitals, schools and other commercial organizations that require ultra-clean environments. PerfectClean's ultramicrofiber construction combined with a patented antimicrobial chemistry enables these clothes to reach deep into microscopic crevices of all surfaces, including your hands, to remove pathogens in their path ... that is because at an astonishing 3 microns, the ultramicrofibers are even smaller than most bacteria (each cleaning cloth contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!).

PerfectClean products are completely safe, reducing or even eliminating the need for harsh soaps and toxic cleaners. You can use the hand wipes dry or dampened only with water for the most effective clean.

In fact, we recommend carrying a PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipe in your pocket or keeping one at your bedside and wiping your hand discreetly any time you shake hands or touch a public surface (especially door knobs, food trays, light switches, TV remote control and other heavily contaminated but rarely cleaned surfaces).

PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made from high-performance hypoallergenic materials knitted with the highest quality conjugated (splittable) micro-denier filaments.

Individual fibers are the same size range (or smaller) than most bacteria. These microscopic fibers are produced by a complex manufacturing process that involves hundreds of variables that splits a polyester-polyamide conjugated filament (bicomponent) resulting in from 9 to 16 microscopic fibers.

Again, these split filaments achieve an individual fiber size of approximately 4-6 microns (bacteria range from 2-8 microns).

Graphic Size Relationships to PerfectCLEAN Fibers in Antimicrobial Wipes

PerfectClean performance is further enhanced by the material’s overall positive (+) electrostatic charge. In fact, the electrostatic charge developed by a PerfectClean wiper naturally is greater than the electrostatic charge developed by disposable dust sheets chemically.

Dirt and dust particles, bacteria and pollen, and other organic particles all have a negative (-) charge. Thus, PerfectClean fibers literally act as thousands of tiny magnets (positively charged fibers attract negatively charged dust, dirt, etc.) attracting and binding all types of particles.

When damp, fiber quality and quantity provides an enormous surface area within the material, which accelerates and increases wicking of solution through the material resulting in a powerful capillary action (suction) achieving the highest absorption capacity of any material tested.

How to Use Hospital-Grade Microfiber Hand Wipes

• Place in your pocket or purse or by your bedside. Wipe and rub your hands and fingers thoroughly after you come into contact with people through handshakes or when you touch any surfaces that others have touched.

• Clean surfaces using Hand Wipes from your food tray and TV remote to your nurse call button and bed rails.

• Can be used dry or lightly dampened. They are capable of “trapping and removing” 99.99% of bacteria from hard surfaces throughout your home, hospital room, (also your computer keyboard to TV remote control and any workplace).

• Wipe frequently touched areas anytime guests or others (including hospital staff and physicians) visit you.

And because PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made of highly durable ultramicrofiber cloth, you can use them for 100+ washes before you need to replace them -- making PerfectClean Hand Wipes incredibly economical for everyday use.

Physically removing germs from your hands and environment before they gain entry into your body -- using hand-washing, PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes, or both -- is an important variable in staying free from infectious diseases and superbugs.

Also be sure you take advantage of PerfectClean's Total HomePure Pack for all of your home’s deep-cleaning needs.

Includes:

• 2 All Purpose Terry Cloths
• 2 Super Silk Cloths
• 3 Lenstronic Cloths
• 2 Scrub & Clean Reversible Gloves
• 1 Flexible Duster with 2 Duster Covers
• 1 EasyGrip 16"-wide Flat Mop System w/Ergonomic Handle
• 2 Flat Mop Heads

Again, the ultramicrofibers in these products reach into microscopic nooks, crannies and crevices on your floors, countertops, furniture and other surfaces and remove everything in their path. No other type of cleaning tool can come remotely close to removing microscopic contaminants that can make you sick!

SixWise Says ...

Staying out of a hospital is your best defense against getting a hospital-acquired infection. Read How to Eliminate Cures that can Kill for tips to keep you out of the hospital!

 

Recommended Reading

How to Eliminate Cures that can Kill

New Deadly SuperBug “C. Diff”: Health Warning!

Sources

DailyFinance.com October 17, 2010

Physorg.com July 30, 2010

EurekAlert.org February 22, 2010

Archives of Internal Medicine February 22, 2010; 170(4):347-53

CDC.gov Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Disease

CDC.gov Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae )

The Seattle Times November 16, 2008

Most Americans know that kissing is off limits when they’re sick if they want to avoid spreading the germ to others, but most do not think twice about shaking hands. This seemingly innocent gesture is actually a key way that germs are spread … and is actually a greater risk to passing on an infection than sharing a kiss!

With cold and flu season upon us, and superbugs like MRSA and C.diff on the rise, it’s imperative that you know how to lessen your risks of the “killing touch” -- and how it can lead to disease and illness.

We’re All Potential Disease Carriers

Your hands may look clean but lingering on their surface are countless organisms, many of which can make you sick. How do these organisms get there? Many are picked up throughout your day as you open doors, use pens, type at your computer, or use an ATM or even a shopping cart.

Cold viruses linger on such surfaces, and countless others, for 18 hours or more. And research from the University of Virginia Health System found that 35 percent of surfaces touched by unwashed hands -- and that jumped to 50 percent in hotel rooms -- contained traces of rhinovirus, which accounts for many cases of the common cold in adults and kids each year.

Thirty-five percent is a lot of surfaces … and that is only referring to one type of disease-causing organism. University of Arizona environmental microbiologist Charles Gerba, PhD said on LittleAbout.com:

“If I put my hand on a surface, I could pick up the cold virus that you left there. Surfaces are really important to cold transmission. You literally pick up colds all the time. We’re not just talking about colds and flus. Some of the other illnesses you can get are diarrhea, infectious hepatitis, fevers, and hand foot and mouth disease.”

Gerba and colleagues at the University of Arizona, who tested over 800 public surfaces in four U.S. cities, found one out of every five surfaces in places like shopping centers, offices, day care centers and airports are contaminated.

As for the top 10 germiest places, the researchers identified the following, were germs are able to survive anywhere from just a few hours to a few weeks:

   1. Playgrounds
   2. Bus rails/armrests
   3. Public bathrooms
   4. Shopping cart handles
   5. Escalator handrails
   6. Chair armrests
   7. Vending machine buttons
   8. Shared pens
   9. Public telephones
  10. Elevator buttons

Americans touch about 300 different surfaces every 30 minutes, so that’s a lot of germ exposure.

Your Home is Also a Germ Haven

Anytime you touch a surface, you run the risk of contracting an illness, and this is not only the case in public areas. Why? Because as soon as you get home you transfer those germs into your house.

In fact, when the University of Arizona researchers set out to find how easily germs are transferred from one spot to another, they found some disturbing results. They artificially contaminated surfaces with an invisible fluorescent dye then tracked the dye's path over the course of several hours.

People commonly picked up the fake "germs" from doorknobs, telephones and other surfaces, and they spread quickly to people's faces, hair, desktops, pens, computer keyboards and other personal items.

From there, the germs spread to people's cars and into their homes, ending up on kitchen appliances, faucets and remote controls.

"The houses lit up like Christmas trees," said Dr. Kelly Reynolds, the study's lead author.

In a separate report, U.S. and UK researchers concluded that hand hygiene in your home is essential to avoiding infectious diseases. As EurekAlert reported, the researchers noted that “if we want to avoid catching flu or tummy bugs, or protect ourselves and others from organisms such as MRSA, salmonella or C. difficile, then we have to start in our own homes, by paying greater attention to good hand hygiene.”

This is because once germs are on your hands, they are easily transferred inside your body if you touch your eyes, mouth or nose -- something most of us do unconsciously numerous times a day.

As EurekAlert reported on the American Journal of Infection Control report:

“Cold and flu viruses can be spread via the hands so that family members become infected when they rub their nose or eyes. The report details how germs that cause stomach infections such as salmonella, campylobacter and norovirus can also circulate directly from person to person via our hands.

If we put our fingers in our mouths, which we do quite frequently without being aware of it, or forget to wash our hands before preparing food, then stomach germs can also be passed on via this route. Some of us also carry MRSA or C.difficile without even knowing, which can be passed around via hand and other surfaces to family members or, if they are vulnerable to infection, go on to become ill.”

How to Avoid Picking Up Germs: Why Are There Problems With Hand-Washing and Hand Sanitizers?

Germs are literally everywhere, so unless you’re planning to walk around donning a pair of rubber gloves it’s inevitable that you’ll get some on your hands. The key is to get the germs off your hands before you reach up and touch your face, mouth, eyes, nose or ears …

Hand-washing is one way to do this and has been proven to be the best way to get disease-causing viruses off of your hands.

But there are a couple of problems with hand-washing that must be addressed. First, if you wash your hands too often, you may actually dry out and damage your skin – and your skin is actually the best defense against invading viruses. If your dry hands crack or have other tiny abrasions from excessive hand-washing, it will allow an entry point for viruses.

Second, hand-washing is not always convenient or possible. For instance, if you shake hands with a colleague or go grocery shopping, it’s not possible to wash your hands right away and you may end up touching your eyes, nose or mouth before you do, providing another entryway for viruses.

Hand sanitizers, though convenient and portable, are also potentially problematic. First, it’s estimated that hand sanitizers keep your hands clean for only two minutes. While most people believe the products keep germs away from an hour or more, this is wishful thinking. In reality, your hands will likely be dirty again in just minutes.

There is some concern that these antibacterial liquids may limit children’s exposure to germs, to the point their immune systems are negatively impacted.

Further, hand sanitizers, including one of the leading brands, Purell, have been given a seven out of 10 score for toxicity (with 10 being the highest hazard) by the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. According to Skin Deep, ingredients in Purell Hand Sanitizer are linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, allergies, reproductive toxicity and more.

A Portable, Quick, and Extremely Effective Solution …

For times when you can’t get to a sink every time you touch a new public surface or have been washing your hands to the point they are getting dry and cracked, PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes (used nationwide in hospitals), are a perfect solution.

These wipes are used by hospitals, schools and other commercial organizations that require continuous ultra-clean environments without leaving toxic chemical residues.

PerfectClean's ultramicrofiber construction combined with a patented antimicrobial chemistry enables these clothes to reach deep into microscopic crevices of all surfaces, including your hands, to remove pathogens in their path ... that is because at an astonishing 3 microns, the ultramicrofibers are even smaller than most bacteria (each cleaning cloth contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!).

PerfectClean products are completely safe, reducing or even eliminating the need for harsh soaps and toxic cleaners. You can use the hand wipes dry or dampened only with water for the most effective clean.

In fact, we recommend carrying a PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipe in your pocket and wiping your hand discreetly any time you shake hands or touch a public surface (especially door knobs, shopping cart handles, light switches and other heavily contaminated but rarely cleaned surfaces). Because germs are also heavily spread around schools, we recommend you tuck one in your child’s backpack and teach him or her to wipe his hands regularly throughout the day.

PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made from high-performance hypoallergenic materials knitted with the highest quality conjugated (splittable) micro-denier filaments.

Individual fibers are the same size range (or smaller) than most bacteria. These microscopic fibers are produced by a complex manufacturing process that involves hundreds of variables that splits a polyester-polyamide conjugated filament (bicomponent) resulting in from 9 to 16 microscopic fibers.

Again, these split filaments achieve an individual fiber size of approximately 4-6 microns (bacteria range from 2-8 microns).

Graphic Size Relationships to PerfectCLEAN Fibers in Antimicrobial Wipes

PerfectClean performance is further enhanced by the material’s overall positive (+) electrostatic charge. In fact, the electrostatic charge developed by a PerfectClean wiper naturally is greater than the electrostatic charge developed by disposable dust sheets chemically.

Dirt and dust particles, bacteria and pollen, and other organic particles all have a negative (-) charge. Thus, PerfectClean fibers literally act as thousands of tiny magnets (positively charged fibers attract negatively charged dust, dirt, etc.) attracting and binding all types of particles.

When damp, fiber quality and quantity provides an enormous surface area within the material, which accelerates and increases wicking of solution through the material resulting in a powerful capillary action (suction) achieving the highest absorption capacity of any material tested.

How to Use Hospital-Grade Microfiber Hand Wipes

• Place in your pocket or purse. Wipe and rub your hands and fingers thoroughly after you come into contact with people through handshakes or when you touch surfaces that others have touched.

• Clean surfaces using Hand Wipes from your car steering wheel and doorknobs, to all the various surfaces throughout your home and office.

• Use these wipes to clean anywhere others touch: on your desktop, telephone, keyboard, door knobs & door frames, chair-arms/back, mirror surfaces, file cabinets, other office furniture and other large surfaces. Can be used dry or lightly dampened. They are capable of “trapping and removing” 99.99% of bacteria from hard surfaces throughout your home and workplace.

• Wipe frequently touched areas once per day or anytime others visit your office and/or use your office equipment

And because PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made of highly durable ultramicrofiber cloth, you can use them for 100+ washes before you need to replace them -- making PerfectClean Hand Wipes incredibly economical for everyday use.

PerfectClean Works in Your HOME Too!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, keeping your home clean is one of the most effective measures you should take to help prevent health issues, and two of the keys they cite are:

       1. Use Preventative Measures
       2. Buy the Least Harmful Product Available

No other product even comes close to PerfectClean in achieving these two keys, so be sure to see the PerfectCLEAN Total HomePURE pack, which is a total cleaning kit for every room and every surface in your home – ideal for removing the germs you and your guests may leave behind!

Includes:

• 2 All Purpose Terry Cloths

• 2 Super Silk Cloths

• 3 Lenstronic Cloths

• 2 Scrub & Clean Reversible Gloves

• 1 Flexible Duster with 2 Duster Covers

• 1 EasyGrip 16"-wide Flat Mop System w/Ergonomic Handle

• 2 Flat Mop Heads

Again, the ultramicrofibers in these products reach into microscopic nooks, crannies and crevices on your floors, countertops, furniture and other surfaces and remove everything in their path. No other type of cleaning tool can come remotely close to removing microscopic contaminants that can make you sick!

Remember This OTHER Important Line of Defense

Physically removing germs from your hands before they gain entry into your body -- using hand-washing, PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes, or even better “use both” -- is an important variable in staying free from infectious diseases, as is removing germs from your home.

However, in the event you are exposed to a germ, your immune system will be your next line of defense. A healthy diet, regular exercise and stress management are all keys to keeping your immune system strong. Further, 70 percent of your immune system is located in your digestive system. This means that if your gut is overrun with bad bacteria, there’s a good chance your immune system will not be functioning at its best.

So, you may want to consider taking steps to balance your gut bacteria, including taking a high-quality probiotic such as AbsorbAid Probiotic from NutritonsFinest.com -- a superlative probiotic supplement that provides clinical activities supporting systemic health and wellness through immune-system protection, allergy reduction and effective and enhanced nutrient absorption.

This, along with avoiding contact with anyone who is sick, keeping your hands clean, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands are not clean, will go a long way in keeping you free from infectious agents like cold, flu and other germs this year.

SixWise Says ...

As you’re pushing your shopping cart through the grocery store, you likely don’t realize that your hands are clasped around one of the worst public places in terms of germs.

According to University of Arizona researchers, shopping carts contained more saliva, bacteria and fecal matter than escalators, public telephones, and even public restrooms!

Recommended Reading

Can Your Kitchen Sponge Make You Sick? This and Other Germy Questions Answered

The Surprising 9 Jobs With the Highest Germ Exposure -- and What You Can do About It

Sources

UPI.com November 6, 2010

EurekAlert December 19, 2007

American Journal of Infection Control March, 2007; 35(2):86-8

LittleAbout.com May 24, 2009

Medical News Today September 30, 2006

International Journal of Environmental Health Research 2005 Jun;15(3):225-34.

Tis’ the season to give thanks … thanks for all you do have and thanks for those things you’re grateful you don’t have (like health issues or excessive debt). If you haven’t yet made your own list of what you’re thankful for this year, carpe diem – and this year, add a twist.

Make a list for what your friends or family members may be wishing they could be thankful for … items they may be having trouble achieving. As always, for virtually every problem there is often a solution, sometimes a simpler solution than they may realize.

In this time of giving and sharing, what better way to show your friends and family that you care than to present them with a solution to the problem that has been plaguing them, without them even having to ask! Here we’ve compiled some common problem areas along with opportunities to help those in your life who may be afflicted (many of these make great potential presents for the upcoming holidays).

1. They Have Asthma, Allergies or Breathing Troubles…

Many allergic reactions are triggered by airborne particles in your home’s indoor air. Your home is actually much like a sealed jar filled with contaminants that have no way of escaping. As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states:

 “There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.

Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously. Other sources, related to activities carried out in the home, release pollutants intermittently. These include smoking, the use of unvented or malfunctioning stoves, furnaces, or space heaters, the use of solvents in cleaning and hobby activities, the use of paint strippers in redecorating activities, and the use of cleaning products and pesticides in house-keeping.

High pollutant concentrations can remain in the air for long periods after some of these activities.

If too little outdoor air enters a home, pollutants can accumulate to levels that can pose health and comfort problems. Unless they are built with special mechanical means of ventilation, homes that are designed and constructed to minimize the amount of outdoor air that can "leak" into and out of the home may have higher pollutant levels than other homes. However, because some weather conditions can drastically reduce the amount of outdoor air that enters a home, pollutants can build up even in homes that are normally considered "leaky."”

The gift of pure air is one of the best you can give, but the challenge with most air filters or purifiers is that air must be drawn to the unit, either through natural air flow, or through the use of a fan. This method results in uneven treatment and can leave pockets of polluted air, plus fans are noisy, subject to failure, and require higher levels of electricity.

Unlike most air purifiers, the PIONAIR™ Air Treatment System doesn't wait for pollutants to contact a filter or plate. Instead, the PIONAIR generates air-purifying technology that migrates through the area and neutralizes organic odors, microbes, & molds at their source. As a result, the PIONAIR produces fresh clean air throughout your home or office uniformly, by addressing the pollutant source - without the use of fans, filters, or plates!

There are two different models available. The original PIONAIR is especially effective against mold, mildew, organic odors, and chemical vapors (such as formaldehyde). The PIONAIR is also effective against pollen, dust, pet dander, and smoke, although for maximum relief from these types of particulate, we most highly recommend the new PIONAIR SMART POINTE system.

The PIONAIR SMART POINTE uses the same technology as the original PIONAIR system, with the added benefit of actively-generated negative ions. These actively-generated negative ions clear the air of particulate FASTER than the original PIONAIR system. Therefore, the PIONAIR SMART POINTE is effective against particulate such as pollen, dust, pet dander, and smoke, AS WELL AS mold, mildew, organic odors, and chemical vapors (such as formaldehyde).
 
So if you know someone who is struggling with airborne particulate, such as pollen, dust, pet dander, or smoke, choose the SMART POINTE. If you do not have airborne particulate, choose the Standard PIONAIR. Both the Standard and the SMART POINTE are effective against mold, mildew, organic odors, or chemical vapors (such as formaldehyde).

For maximum effect, both the original PIONAIR and the PIONAIR SMARTE POINTE systems are intended for around-the-clock use.

• PIONAIR Air Treatment Systems: The Top-Rated Air Treatment Systems for Your Health!

• The Top 10 Allergy Capitals of the United States: Where NOT to Live if You Have Allergies

• Chronic Sinusitis: What it is, What the Symptoms Are, Common Treatments, Potential Cures

• The Sick Truth: Why Airline Cabin Air is NOT as Unhealthy as Your OWN Home's Air!

• How to Keep Your Asthma Under Control This Flu Season

2. They Have a “Stinky Commute”

Have you heard that their “commute stinks!”  Millions of Americans commute an average of 25.5 minutes each way to work each day, but for increasing numbers of workers that number is growing -- a lot.

About 3.3 million Americans are "stretch commuters," meaning they travel 50 miles or more each way to get to and from work, according to the National Household Travel Survey released by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Of these, 19 percent travel at least 100 miles to work and 6 percent have earned the designation of "super-stretch commuters," traveling 200 miles to work each way.

During this time they’re exposed to dirty air whether they’re on the road or in a train. A new study investigation by the Chicago Tribune found that levels of soot or diesel exhaust – which has been linked to heart attacks, cancer, and brain damage -- in train cars is up to 72 times higher than the outside air.

If your loved one spends any time on the road, the Car Ionizer can solve the problem of exposure to dirty air. It uses negative ions to eliminate pollutants and allergens from the air in your car, on a train or on a plane. There are no filters to be changed and it can be recharged over and over by plugging it into your car adapter.

Because the car ionizer is detachable, it can be used anywhere to help reduce your chances of getting an airborne virus and to reduce odors and exposure to toxins.

This is the perfect gift for anyone with asthma, allergies or nagging coughs, as it will help them to breathe easier throughout the coming year.

• The Health Risks of Long Commutes: Why Routine Long Car Rides Can be Hazardous to Your Health

• Dirty Toxic Air You're Breathing            

3. They  “Never Have Time to Exercise”  

Many people have good intentions to work out, but can’t find the time (or money) to go to the gym. You can solve this problem in a snap with SheaNetics, developed by fitness expert and Vince Vaughn’s mom, Shea Vaugh (featured in this photo),

This at-home DVD set is an amazing fitness program for all ages and all fitness levels. Most exercise programs are geared only toward giving you short-term physical improvement. But SheaNetics® understands the real goal for us all is to find total health and fulfillment that is life-lasting.

This can only be achieved by creating harmony in body, mind and self, which is why SheaNetics not only works out your body – creating a leaner, more toned you – but also focuses on creating positive energy.

This is “meditation in motion and thought,” a program that reduces stress and allows you to enjoy a lifestyle of fitness, personal balance and well-being.

• How to Lose Weight, Enhance Your Health and Find Well-Being by Nurturing Your Mind and Body

• At What Age is Exercise No Longer Good for You?

• How Obesity and Overweight May be Impacting Your Brain … Plus What You Can do to Avoid This “Severe” Health Risk

• Why is This 1920s Exercise Making a Comeback … and Can You Benefit From Jumping on the Bandwagon?

4. They Complain about Digestive “Stomach Problems

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) impacts one in 10 Americans about once a week, and virtually everyone has experienced it from time to time. This chronic digestive disease occurs when stomach acid or bile flows back into your esophagus, irritating its lining and leading to other symptoms including heartburn -- the most common symptom of GERD.

If your loved one has GERD or regular digestive trouble, probiotics (good bacteria) taken in combination with digestive enzymes will help to restore optimal functioning to the digestive tract and help reduce digestive disturbances such as GERD.

We recommend a high-quality probiotic, such as AbsorbAid Probiotic from NutritionsFinest.com -- a superlative probiotic supplement that provides clinical activities supporting systemic health and wellness through immune-system protection, allergy reduction and effective and enhanced nutrient absorption – in order to restore balance to your gastrointestinal tract.

AbsorbAid Probiotic is an ideal choice for this purpose because it has 30 billion organisms per capsule, with two clinically effective and dominant genera Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus: L. acidophilus and L. salivarius in a 2:1 ratio and B. lactis and B. breve, also in a 2:1 ratio.  Each bacterial genus-species has its own specific metabolic activities, which lead to their effective inter-species synergism.

AbsorbAid Platinum from NutritionsFinest.com, a vegetable-based digestive enzyme, is also important for proper digestive health. It combines its effective ratio of proteases, amylases, lipases and cellulases with two “acid-tolerant” bacteria or a probiotic combination, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum. AbsorbAid Platinum also helps you to break down food groups and maximize nutrient absorption while alleviating digestive disturbances such as acid indigestion.

• Enzymes: Are You Lacking These Crucial Catalysts to Your Digestion?

• 7 Reasons for Feeling "Bloated" or "Gassy" and How to Avoid Them

• Heartburn? Acid Reflux? You Could be Struggling With GERD

• Probiotics: What are They and Are You Getting Enough?

5. They’re Always Saying They are “Stressed Out!”

The highly praised DVD Staying Healthy in a Stressful World will be a literal lifesaver to anyone who is struggling with stress. It provides a complete training program by Dr. Peter Reznik, one of the most respected mind/body integrative therapists of our time (a recognized expert in mental imagery, dream work, and clinical hypnosis). This highly recommended DVD will help:

• Identify the Three Major Sources of Stress and embark on a practice for transforming your stress into life-enhancing experiences.

• Choose from a menu of 14 Short Mental Imagery Exercises for addressing such stressors as: Anger. Anxiety. Being Hurt. Being Overwhelmed. Decision Making. Difficulties letting go of the workday. Disappointment. Fear of unwanted consequences. General anxiety about life. Guilt or regret about an error made during the day. Restless mind. Sadness. Time pressure. Worry.

• Learn and practice the Physical Stress Buster series, designed for use right at your desk.

• Use the Mind-Body Progressive Relaxation to shift gears, replenish your energy, and increase your vitality and clarity of mind.

Or, try the Pure Relaxation CD. With guided meditations by a leading meditation expert, Mary Maddux, and music by a renowned meditation music composer with 20 years experience, this is the #1 relaxation CD on the market today.

6. They Have Trouble Sleeping (give them something other than DRUGS)

For anyone who has trouble sleeping at night, the Sleep Easy CD -- with music by a renowned meditation music composer with 20 years experience -- helps you find deep rest and sleep. Users have reported falling asleep faster, waking up less throughout the night, falling back to sleep faster when awakened during the night and feeling more rested the next morning.

The CD contains both the Sleep Easy guided meditation with music in the background, as well as a track of music alone, which can be used at any time for its relaxing effect. The insert that comes with the CD includes "Principles to Sleep By," which provide a backdrop to help with sleep.

• 17 Tips for Healthy and Peaceful Sleep … Including 6 You May Not Know Of

• Stress Keeping You Awake? Stressed Because You Can't Sleep?

• Sleep Apnea: The Silent Killer That Can Raise Your Death Risk 46 Percent

7. Their Often Rubbing their Nose or Saying their Sinuses are “Stuffy”

Americans suffer from 1 billion colds a year and another 37 million Americans are affected by sinusitis – that’s a lot of stuffed up noses.

If you’re one of the billions suffering from these stuffed up sinuses, congestion, headaches and difficulty breathing through your nose, you know the toll it can take on your health.

One of the best options for sinus relief has been around since ancient times and still holds true as one of the most effective, safe, and soothing options for sinus health.

Nasal cleansing, also known as nasal irrigation, involves using a neti pot to pour a lukewarm saline solution (pure water mixed with natural salt) inside one side of your nostril while tilting your head sideways so the water runs out of your other nostril.

Offer your friend or loved one an Ancient Secrets Nasal Cleansing Pot and their sinuses will thank you! It is made from sturdy, lead-free ceramic and coated with a food-grade sealant. Its unique design also makes it very easy and effective to use, plus it’s dishwasher safe.

Ancient Secrets Neti Pot has a truly advanced design with easy-grip handle and better nozzle seal. It’s also balanced for ease of use with a concave grip for more assured control, and a better water chamber for less mess and easier cleaning.

• Are Your Sinuses Dry or Stuffy? This Ancient Secret May Help

• A Nasal Cleansing a Day May Keep the Doctor Away

• Is Your Cold Actually Allergies? Autumn Allergy Season is Here and Biting

• Six Ways to Avoid Getting Sick

8. They’re “Concerned” About Spreading or “Catching Germs”

Considering that Americans touch about 300 different surfaces every 30 minutes, it's pretty much impossible to avoid all germs. However, there are ways to dramatically reduce your risk of spreading, and getting sick from, these pesky invaders.

The best continuous alternative to soap and water (before and after you wash your hands) -- ideal for use when you can't get to a sink or have been washing your hands to the point they are getting dry and cracked -- are exclusive PerfectCLEAN Hand Wipes: Terry Cloths and Super Silks.

PerfectCLEAN Hand Wipes: Terry Cloths and Super Silks are made to meet the rigorous standards of the commercial health care market in support of infection control programs that are required in ultra-clean environments.

They are capable of "trapping and removing" 99.99% of bacteria from hard surfaces throughout your home, workplace and those surfaces you have to touch in daily life (doors and door knobs, grocery carts, countertops, etc.). PerfectCLEAN Hand Wipes: Terry Cloths and Super Silks also penetrate invisible surfaces in your skin, then "trap and remove" contaminants, absorbing and concentrating them in the wipes.

• Hypoallergenic: great way to help reduce asthma and allergy triggers

• Absorbs 8 times its weight in water/fluid and absorbs it faster

• Patented Built in Antimicrobial PRODUCT protection: PerfectCLEAN Wipers are distinguished by patented ‘Built-in Antimicrobial Product protection'

Keep one in your pocket for a discrete way to wipe your hands free of germs throughout the day!

• Is Your Hand Sanitizer Toxic? The Hidden Risks You Probably Don't Know

• The Most Lethal Superbug Epidemic Ever is Spreading Like Wildfire: Infectious MRSA Bacteria

• The 10 Most Germ-Infested Places in Public

9. They’re an Avid Cook but Their Fresh Veggies or Leftovers Always Spoil

Sometimes a cook’s biggest problem is using up all of their fresh produce before it goes bad. Solve this dilemma easily with The MiniMate, an evolution of that old box of baking soda you and your grandmother probably have in your refrigerators. Using FDA-approved technology, the Minimate can eliminate most of the germs or mold that may be living on your foods without harming the food or leaving behind any residue.

This is important as these molds and bacteria can make you and your family sick, and they can also spoil food before you have a chance to eat it. This is especially true with organic foods, since there are no preservatives to help ward off the germs. So the MiniMate not only keeps your food safer and healthier, it also saves you money by cutting down on the amount of food you have to throw out and replace.

The MiniMate even helps neutralize pesticides and chemicals on your produce, leaving no residue except clean, fresh oxygen.

This product has been featured by the Food Network’s Paula Deen as a "Hot Pick" and was given the National Health and Wellness Seal of Approval.

• The Top 10 Slimming Foods

• 20 Foods to Boost Your Mood, Increase Your Energy ... and Improve Your Sex Life!

• The 15 Most Important Fruits and Vegetables to Buy Organic

• How Long Before Different Refrigerated Foods Spoil (& Other Secrets to Your Refrigerator)

SixWise Says ...

The benefits of giving are greater than those of receiving!

 

 

Recommended Reading

Why Holiday Out of Stock Syndrome Is Back More than Ever THIS Year!

Becoming Thankful This Thanksgiving

Sources

ABC News November 9, 2010

Most Americans know that kissing is off limits when they’re sick if they want to avoid spreading the germ to others, but most do not think twice about shaking hands. This seemingly innocent gesture is actually a key way that germs are spread … and is actually a greater risk to passing on an infection than sharing a kiss!

With cold and flu season upon us, and superbugs like MRSA and C.diff on the rise, it’s imperative that you know how to lessen your risks of the “killing touch” -- and how it can lead to disease and illness.

We’re All Potential Disease Carriers

Your hands may look clean but lingering on their surface are countless organisms, many of which can make you sick. How do these organisms get there? Many are picked up throughout your day as you open doors, use pens, type at your computer, or use an ATM or even a shopping cart.

Cold viruses linger on such surfaces, and countless others, for 18 hours or more. And research from the University of Virginia Health System found that 35 percent of surfaces touched by unwashed hands -- and that jumped to 50 percent in hotel rooms -- contained traces of rhinovirus, which accounts for many cases of the common cold in adults and kids each year.

Thirty-five percent is a lot of surfaces … and that is only referring to one type of disease-causing organism. University of Arizona environmental microbiologist Charles Gerba, PhD said on LittleAbout.com:

“If I put my hand on a surface, I could pick up the cold virus that you left there. Surfaces are really important to cold transmission. You literally pick up colds all the time. We’re not just talking about colds and flus. Some of the other illnesses you can get are diarrhea, infectious hepatitis, fevers, and hand foot and mouth disease.”

Gerba and colleagues at the University of Arizona, who tested over 800 public surfaces in four U.S. cities, found one out of every five surfaces in places like shopping centers, offices, day care centers and airports are contaminated.

As for the top 10 germiest places, the researchers identified the following, were germs are able to survive anywhere from just a few hours to a few weeks:

   1. Playgrounds
   2. Bus rails/armrests
   3. Public bathrooms
   4. Shopping cart handles
   5. Escalator handrails
   6. Chair armrests
   7. Vending machine buttons
   8. Shared pens
   9. Public telephones
  10. Elevator buttons

Americans touch about 300 different surfaces every 30 minutes, so that’s a lot of germ exposure.

Your Home is Also a Germ Haven

Anytime you touch a surface, you run the risk of contracting an illness, and this is not only the case in public areas. Why? Because as soon as you get home you transfer those germs into your house.

In fact, when the University of Arizona researchers set out to find how easily germs are transferred from one spot to another, they found some disturbing results. They artificially contaminated surfaces with an invisible fluorescent dye then tracked the dye's path over the course of several hours.

People commonly picked up the fake "germs" from doorknobs, telephones and other surfaces, and they spread quickly to people's faces, hair, desktops, pens, computer keyboards and other personal items.

From there, the germs spread to people's cars and into their homes, ending up on kitchen appliances, faucets and remote controls.

"The houses lit up like Christmas trees," said Dr. Kelly Reynolds, the study's lead author.

In a separate report, U.S. and UK researchers concluded that hand hygiene in your home is essential to avoiding infectious diseases. As EurekAlert reported, the researchers noted that “if we want to avoid catching flu or tummy bugs, or protect ourselves and others from organisms such as MRSA, salmonella or C. difficile, then we have to start in our own homes, by paying greater attention to good hand hygiene.”

This is because once germs are on your hands, they are easily transferred inside your body if you touch your eyes, mouth or nose -- something most of us do unconsciously numerous times a day.

As EurekAlert reported on the American Journal of Infection Control report:

“Cold and flu viruses can be spread via the hands so that family members become infected when they rub their nose or eyes. The report details how germs that cause stomach infections such as salmonella, campylobacter and norovirus can also circulate directly from person to person via our hands.

If we put our fingers in our mouths, which we do quite frequently without being aware of it, or forget to wash our hands before preparing food, then stomach germs can also be passed on via this route. Some of us also carry MRSA or C.difficile without even knowing, which can be passed around via hand and other surfaces to family members or, if they are vulnerable to infection, go on to become ill.”

How to Avoid Picking Up Germs: Why Are There Problems With Hand-Washing and Hand Sanitizers?

Germs are literally everywhere, so unless you’re planning to walk around donning a pair of rubber gloves it’s inevitable that you’ll get some on your hands. The key is to get the germs off your hands before you reach up and touch your face, mouth, eyes, nose or ears …

Hand-washing is one way to do this and has been proven to be the best way to get disease-causing viruses off of your hands.

But there are a couple of problems with hand-washing that must be addressed. First, if you wash your hands too often, you may actually dry out and damage your skin – and your skin is actually the best defense against invading viruses. If your dry hands crack or have other tiny abrasions from excessive hand-washing, it will allow an entry point for viruses.

Second, hand-washing is not always convenient or possible. For instance, if you shake hands with a colleague or go grocery shopping, it’s not possible to wash your hands right away and you may end up touching your eyes, nose or mouth before you do, providing another entryway for viruses.

Hand sanitizers, though convenient and portable, are also potentially problematic. First, it’s estimated that hand sanitizers keep your hands clean for only two minutes. While most people believe the products keep germs away from an hour or more, this is wishful thinking. In reality, your hands will likely be dirty again in just minutes.

There is some concern that these antibacterial liquids may limit children’s exposure to germs, to the point their immune systems are negatively impacted.

Further, hand sanitizers, including one of the leading brands, Purell, have been given a seven out of 10 score for toxicity (with 10 being the highest hazard) by the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. According to Skin Deep, ingredients in Purell Hand Sanitizer are linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, allergies, reproductive toxicity and more.

A Portable, Quick, and Extremely Effective Solution …

For times when you can’t get to a sink every time you touch a new public surface or have been washing your hands to the point they are getting dry and cracked, PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes (used nationwide in hospitals), are a perfect solution.

These wipes are used by hospitals, schools and other commercial organizations that require continuous ultra-clean environments without leaving toxic chemical residues.

PerfectClean's ultramicrofiber construction combined with a patented antimicrobial chemistry enables these clothes to reach deep into microscopic crevices of all surfaces, including your hands, to remove pathogens in their path ... that is because at an astonishing 3 microns, the ultramicrofibers are even smaller than most bacteria (each cleaning cloth contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!).

PerfectClean products are completely safe, reducing or even eliminating the need for harsh soaps and toxic cleaners. You can use the hand wipes dry or dampened only with water for the most effective clean.

In fact, we recommend carrying a PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipe in your pocket and wiping your hand discreetly any time you shake hands or touch a public surface (especially door knobs, shopping cart handles, light switches and other heavily contaminated but rarely cleaned surfaces). Because germs are also heavily spread around schools, we recommend you tuck one in your child’s backpack and teach him or her to wipe his hands regularly throughout the day.

PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made from high-performance hypoallergenic materials knitted with the highest quality conjugated (splittable) micro-denier filaments.

Individual fibers are the same size range (or smaller) than most bacteria. These microscopic fibers are produced by a complex manufacturing process that involves hundreds of variables that splits a polyester-polyamide conjugated filament (bicomponent) resulting in from 9 to 16 microscopic fibers.

Again, these split filaments achieve an individual fiber size of approximately 4-6 microns (bacteria range from 2-8 microns).

Graphic Size Relationships to PerfectCLEAN Fibers in Antimicrobial Wipes

PerfectClean performance is further enhanced by the material’s overall positive (+) electrostatic charge. In fact, the electrostatic charge developed by a PerfectClean wiper naturally is greater than the electrostatic charge developed by disposable dust sheets chemically.

Dirt and dust particles, bacteria and pollen, and other organic particles all have a negative (-) charge. Thus, PerfectClean fibers literally act as thousands of tiny magnets (positively charged fibers attract negatively charged dust, dirt, etc.) attracting and binding all types of particles.

When damp, fiber quality and quantity provides an enormous surface area within the material, which accelerates and increases wicking of solution through the material resulting in a powerful capillary action (suction) achieving the highest absorption capacity of any material tested.

How to Use Hospital-Grade Microfiber Hand Wipes

• Place in your pocket or purse. Wipe and rub your hands and fingers thoroughly after you come into contact with people through handshakes or when you touch surfaces that others have touched.

• Clean surfaces using Hand Wipes from your car steering wheel and doorknobs, to all the various surfaces throughout your home and office.

• Use these wipes to clean anywhere others touch: on your desktop, telephone, keyboard, door knobs & door frames, chair-arms/back, mirror surfaces, file cabinets, other office furniture and other large surfaces. Can be used dry or lightly dampened. They are capable of “trapping and removing” 99.99% of bacteria from hard surfaces throughout your home and workplace.

• Wipe frequently touched areas once per day or anytime others visit your office and/or use your office equipment

And because PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made of highly durable ultramicrofiber cloth, you can use them for 100+ washes before you need to replace them -- making PerfectClean Hand Wipes incredibly economical for everyday use.

PerfectClean Works in Your HOME Too!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, keeping your home clean is one of the most effective measures you should take to help prevent health issues, and two of the keys they cite are:

       1. Use Preventative Measures
       2. Buy the Least Harmful Product Available

No other product even comes close to PerfectClean in achieving these two keys, so be sure to see the PerfectCLEAN Total HomePURE pack, which is a total cleaning kit for every room and every surface in your home – ideal for removing the germs you and your guests may leave behind!

Includes:

• 2 All Purpose Terry Cloths

• 2 Super Silk Cloths

• 3 Lenstronic Cloths

• 2 Scrub & Clean Reversible Gloves

• 1 Flexible Duster with 2 Duster Covers

• 1 EasyGrip 16"-wide Flat Mop System w/Ergonomic Handle

• 2 Flat Mop Heads

Again, the ultramicrofibers in these products reach into microscopic nooks, crannies and crevices on your floors, countertops, furniture and other surfaces and remove everything in their path. No other type of cleaning tool can come remotely close to removing microscopic contaminants that can make you sick!

Remember This OTHER Important Line of Defense

Physically removing germs from your hands before they gain entry into your body -- using hand-washing, PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes, or even better “use both” -- is an important variable in staying free from infectious diseases, as is removing germs from your home.

However, in the event you are exposed to a germ, your immune system will be your next line of defense. A healthy diet, regular exercise and stress management are all keys to keeping your immune system strong. Further, 70 percent of your immune system is located in your digestive system. This means that if your gut is overrun with bad bacteria, there’s a good chance your immune system will not be functioning at its best.

So, you may want to consider taking steps to balance your gut bacteria, including taking a high-quality probiotic such as AbsorbAid Probiotic from NutritonsFinest.com -- a superlative probiotic supplement that provides clinical activities supporting systemic health and wellness through immune-system protection, allergy reduction and effective and enhanced nutrient absorption.

This, along with avoiding contact with anyone who is sick, keeping your hands clean, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands are not clean, will go a long way in keeping you free from infectious agents like cold, flu and other germs this year.

SixWise Says ...

As you’re pushing your shopping cart through the grocery store, you likely don’t realize that your hands are clasped around one of the worst public places in terms of germs.

According to University of Arizona researchers, shopping carts contained more saliva, bacteria and fecal matter than escalators, public telephones, and even public restrooms!

Recommended Reading

Can Your Kitchen Sponge Make You Sick? This and Other Germy Questions Answered

The Surprising 9 Jobs With the Highest Germ Exposure -- and What You Can do About It

Sources

UPI.com November 6, 2010

EurekAlert December 19, 2007

American Journal of Infection Control March, 2007; 35(2):86-8

LittleAbout.com May 24, 2009

Medical News Today September 30, 2006

International Journal of Environmental Health Research 2005 Jun;15(3):225-34.

Every year 48,000 Americans die from a hospital-acquired infection (HAI) -- an infection they DID NOT have when they entered. Increasingly, people are finding that hospitals are some of the worst places to be, as they are literally crawling with germs, some of them “superbugs” that are resistant to antibiotics and other treatments.

In the largest nationally representative study to date, researchers revealed that both sepsis and pneumonia, two infections commonly acquired while in the hospital, are costing U.S. patients a staggering amount in increased health care costs and some are paying with their very lives.

Close to 20 percent of people who developed sepsis after surgery died -- a number made all the more tragic as sepsis is a bloodstream infection that is often preventable. It often occurs because medical equipment is not properly sterilized during surgery.

Many HAIs are the direct result of superbugs … microbes that are becoming increasingly deadly and difficult to treat. Anup Malani, study co-author, investigator at Extending the Cure, and professor at the University of Chicago, said on EurekAlert.org:

"These superbugs are increasingly difficult to treat and, in some cases, trigger infections that ultimately cause the body's organs to shut down.”

Eight Common Superbugs That Could be Lurking in Your Local Hospital

Worldwide superbugs account for more than 2.5 million infections, about 100,000 deaths and billions of dollars in medical costs each year, according to Dr. Philip Tierno, director of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology at the Langone Medical Center at New York University.

What are some common superbugs that could be lurking in your neck of the woods?

1. MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus)

MRSA kills up to 20,000 Americans each year -- which is a greater death toll than AIDS, which took just over 14, 500 lives in 2007. Not only is MRSA resistant to methicillin, which includes penicillin and related antibiotics, but it's beginning to become resistant to newer antibiotics as well.

If you carry MRSA on your skin without being sick (which happens regularly in about 30 percent of people), you are said to be "colonized" with the bacteria. Though you may not be affected, you can pass the germs on to others.

MRSA typically begins as a skin rash that resembles small pimples, boils or spider bites. The bumps then progress into deep abscesses that may require surgical draining. If the infection spreads beyond the skin, it can lead to infections in your bones, joints, bloodstream, heart and lungs.

2. Resistant Streptococcus (Group A Strep)

This bacteria commonly causes relatively mild illnesses like strep throat and impetigo, but when bacteria gets into blood, muscle or the lungs due to surgery or a wound it can lead to life-threatening, invasive infection, including necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating bactiera) and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS).

Necrotizing fasciitis destroys skin, fat and muscle tissue while STSS leads to a rapid drop in blood pressure and organ failure. About 20 percent of people with necrotizing fasciitis and more than 50 percent of those with STSS will die.

3. Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus (VRE)

Enteroccocci bacteria normally exist in your intestines and in the female genital tract. However, it can cause infections of the urinary tract, the bloodstream or of wounds.

VRE are resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic typically used to treat enteroccocci bacteria, making them very difficult to treat. This bacteria is often spread from person to person on the hands of caregivers, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as via contaminated surfaces.

4. Resistant Klebsiella Pneumonia

Klebsiella are a type of gram-negative bacteria that can cause pneumonia, bloodstream infection, wound infection and meningitis. The infections are common in health care settings among patients with catheters or ventilators, as well as those taking long courses of antibiotics.

Klebsiella bacteria are spread via person-to-person contact, contaminated medical tools or during surgery. Some Klebsiella bacteria have become resistant to a class of antibiotics called carbapenems, which are typically the last line of defense in treating related infections.

5. Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Another gram-negative bacteria, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa is commonly found in soil and water but if it enters your body it can cause infections in your lungs, kidneys or bloodstream. Infections can be particularly deadly in hospitalized patients with cancer, burns, and cystic fibrosis.

6. Resistant E. coli

A new strain of E. coli, ST131, has emerged that is increasingly resistant to fluoroquinolone and other antibiotics. Spread by infected feces that come in contact with food products, the bacteria can cause potentially life-threatening gastrointestinal illness and dehydration.

7. Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter Baumannii

Common in severely ill ICU patients or those who have had prolonged hospital stays, Acinetobacter Baumannii can be spread by catheter insertion or other invasive medical procedures. The bacteria have developed substantial antimicrobial resistance, making it increasingly difficult to treat. Mortality rates of associated infections approach 80 percent.

8. C. Difficile (C. diff)

Clostridium difficile is a bacteria that may cause intestinal disease. The bacteria reside in your gut, and most often infection occurs after a person receives antibiotics. Because antibiotics kill both the good and bad bacteria in your gut, it’s easy for C. diff to take over after the course is finished.

C. diff is most common in people who have been in hospitals or other health care facilities, however there is also an aggressive, particularly toxic C. diff strain that has been infecting people who have not been in a hospital or taken antibiotics.

C. diff bacteria is found in feces, and is easily spread from person to person. Because of this, hand-washing and meticulous cleaning are among the best methods to cut down on the spread of infection.

How to Protect Yourself While in the Hospital or Other Health Care Setting

Careful attention to infection-control measures are essential for avoiding superbug infections in hospitals, but data uncovered by the Seattle Times suggests that many hospitals are not following basic procedures like hand-washing.

According to a review of hospital records, the Times found that in some hospitals only 40 percent of staff members wash their hands according to infection-control protocols, and even in the best cases only 90 percent compliance was found. This means that in the best-case scenario one out of 10 physicians, nurses or other health care workers you encounter could have contaminated hands … and often it will be far more.

Doctors’ clothing, from ties to white coats, can also be reservoirs for germs, harboring numerous strains of bacteria that are easily transferred from patient to patient.

This is why if you have a loved one or you are in a hospital, doctor’s office or nursing home we recommend you print off this ”Form To Inform” to help better protect your health.

Again, we highly recommend you print out this “Form to Inform” and give it to all health care workers who you come into contact with to assure they are aware of the risks of superbugs and know you want to reduce your risks of exposure.

Wipe Away Superbugs with PerfectClean Antimicrobial Wipes

Your second line of defense can be PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes (used nationwide in hospitals), which will provide an easy way for you to sanitize your hands and your surroundings throughout your stay.

These wipes are used by hospitals, schools and other commercial organizations that require ultra-clean environments. PerfectClean's ultramicrofiber construction combined with a patented antimicrobial chemistry enables these clothes to reach deep into microscopic crevices of all surfaces, including your hands, to remove pathogens in their path ... that is because at an astonishing 3 microns, the ultramicrofibers are even smaller than most bacteria (each cleaning cloth contains over 300 miles of actual cleaning surface!).

PerfectClean products are completely safe, reducing or even eliminating the need for harsh soaps and toxic cleaners. You can use the hand wipes dry or dampened only with water for the most effective clean.

In fact, we recommend carrying a PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipe in your pocket or keeping one at your bedside and wiping your hand discreetly any time you shake hands or touch a public surface (especially door knobs, food trays, light switches, TV remote control and other heavily contaminated but rarely cleaned surfaces).

PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made from high-performance hypoallergenic materials knitted with the highest quality conjugated (splittable) micro-denier filaments.

Individual fibers are the same size range (or smaller) than most bacteria. These microscopic fibers are produced by a complex manufacturing process that involves hundreds of variables that splits a polyester-polyamide conjugated filament (bicomponent) resulting in from 9 to 16 microscopic fibers.

Again, these split filaments achieve an individual fiber size of approximately 4-6 microns (bacteria range from 2-8 microns).

Graphic Size Relationships to PerfectCLEAN Fibers in Antimicrobial Wipes

PerfectClean performance is further enhanced by the material’s overall positive (+) electrostatic charge. In fact, the electrostatic charge developed by a PerfectClean wiper naturally is greater than the electrostatic charge developed by disposable dust sheets chemically.

Dirt and dust particles, bacteria and pollen, and other organic particles all have a negative (-) charge. Thus, PerfectClean fibers literally act as thousands of tiny magnets (positively charged fibers attract negatively charged dust, dirt, etc.) attracting and binding all types of particles.

When damp, fiber quality and quantity provides an enormous surface area within the material, which accelerates and increases wicking of solution through the material resulting in a powerful capillary action (suction) achieving the highest absorption capacity of any material tested.

How to Use Hospital-Grade Microfiber Hand Wipes

• Place in your pocket or purse or by your bedside. Wipe and rub your hands and fingers thoroughly after you come into contact with people through handshakes or when you touch any surfaces that others have touched.

• Clean surfaces using Hand Wipes from your food tray and TV remote to your nurse call button and bed rails.

• Can be used dry or lightly dampened. They are capable of “trapping and removing” 99.99% of bacteria from hard surfaces throughout your home, hospital room, (also your computer keyboard to TV remote control and any workplace).

• Wipe frequently touched areas anytime guests or others (including hospital staff and physicians) visit you.

And because PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes are made of highly durable ultramicrofiber cloth, you can use them for 100+ washes before you need to replace them -- making PerfectClean Hand Wipes incredibly economical for everyday use.

Physically removing germs from your hands and environment before they gain entry into your body -- using hand-washing, PerfectClean Antimicrobial Microfiber hand wipes, or both -- is an important variable in staying free from infectious diseases and superbugs.

Also be sure you take advantage of PerfectClean's Total HomePure Pack for all of your home’s deep-cleaning needs.

Includes:

• 2 All Purpose Terry Cloths
• 2 Super Silk Cloths
• 3 Lenstronic Cloths
• 2 Scrub & Clean Reversible Gloves
• 1 Flexible Duster with 2 Duster Covers
• 1 EasyGrip 16"-wide Flat Mop System w/Ergonomic Handle
• 2 Flat Mop Heads

Again, the ultramicrofibers in these products reach into microscopic nooks, crannies and crevices on your floors, countertops, furniture and other surfaces and remove everything in their path. No other type of cleaning tool can come remotely close to removing microscopic contaminants that can make you sick!

SixWise Says ...

Staying out of a hospital is your best defense against getting a hospital-acquired infection. Read How to Eliminate Cures that can Kill for tips to keep you out of the hospital!

 

Recommended Reading

How to Eliminate Cures that can Kill

New Deadly SuperBug “C. Diff”: Health Warning!

Sources

DailyFinance.com October 17, 2010

Physorg.com July 30, 2010

EurekAlert.org February 22, 2010

Archives of Internal Medicine February 22, 2010; 170(4):347-53

CDC.gov Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Disease

CDC.gov Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae )

The Seattle Times November 16, 2008

It was 1621 when the colonists and native Americans shared their first autumn feast together -- an event that marks what is traditionally considered to be the first Thanksgiving. Colonies and states continued to celebrate Thanksgiving on various days for another 200 years -- until 1863. That is when then president Abraham Lincoln declared a national Thanksgiving holiday to be held on the final Thursday in November each year.

You probably have your own set of Thanksgiving traditions that your family shares each year, but there’s always room for more. Establishing meaningful and memorable family traditions helps bring joy, unification and love to your family, plus helps you create memories that will last a lifetime.  

This year, try some of these tips for creating a memorable and loving holiday that is in the true spirit of Thanksgiving.

Tips for Showing Your Thanks on Thanksgiving

The following traditions can help bring joy and a family focus to your Thanksgiving holiday.

For Hosts …

• Over 38 million Americans traveled 50 miles or more over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend in 2009. If you’ll be having out-of-town guests, welcome them into your home with a bite to eat, a glass of wine or warm apple cider and a big hug!

• Set your table thoughtfully, including special touches of the season to add warmth and ambiance. Gourds, small pumpkins, fall leaves, acorns and other autumn elements will set the mood and bring in a touch of the outdoors.

• If you’ll be having a large gathering, think about where you’d like guests to sit. You may want to use place cards at the table so you can seat people accordingly, either in a way that encourages mingling and conversation or to keep couples and families together.

• Be aware of your guests’ dining preferences. If you’ll be having a vegetarian dinner guest or two, be sure to prepare some non-meat options like the stuffed mushrooms and broccoli in cheese sauce in Alive in 5: Raw Gourmet Meals in 5 Minutes. This recipe book is filled with healthy, raw food recipes that are suitable for a feast, and will please vegetarians, raw foodists, and meat eaters alike.

• If you have guests with gluten sensitivities, they’ll appreciate your efforts to provide a gluten-free dessert. Try the Ginger Pear Flan, Chocolate and Hazelnut Gratin or Chestnut Brownies in Gluten-Free French Desserts and Baked Goods -- they’re always crowd pleasers, and are entirely gluten-free.

• Consider leaving guests with a keepsake from the day, such as a collection of recipes you served or a group photo.

For Guests …

• Bring a dish to share. Hosts will appreciate your thoughtfulness in sharing one of your favorite Thanksgiving dishes. Be sure to ask the host ahead of time what type of dish (appetizer, side dish, dessert, etc.) to bring.

• Surprise the host with a special gift. A framed photo of a loved one who could not attend is a thoughtful sentiment, or try a practical gift like the MiniMate Refrigerator Unit, which will keep the host’s leftovers fresh longer throughout the year.

For Everyone …

• Consider spending the day volunteering to help those in need, such as providing holiday meals to the homeless.

• Take time to think about, or better yet write down, all the things you are thankful for in your life. Be sure to share at least a portion of this list with your friends and loved ones.

• Think about starting a Thanksgiving Eve or Morning tradition. If your family will be together the night before, create a special meal (something simple, like a big pot of homemade soup) that you enjoy together in the advent of the holiday. You can do this with Thanksgiving morning too by creating a traditional breakfast you all share together.

• Think about friends, neighbors or acquaintances who might be alone for the holiday. Invite them to share in the festivities with your family.

• Come up with a way to celebrate with loved ones who could not attend, for instance making a joint family phone call and toasting together.

• Remember those who have passed by saying a few words in remembrance and toasting to their many happy memories.

• Remember that Thanksgiving isn’t over after the meal is served. Whether you spend the rest of the day watching football, playing board games or catching up on each other’s lives, enjoy every minute the day has to offer.

• Enjoy the day after Thanksgiving, too. Many people have the day after Thanksgiving off, so instead of heading out to the malls, stay home and watch movies, cuddle on the couch, play football as a family or go for a hike in a forest preserve -- anything that you enjoy doing together with your family. Whatever you choose, make it a set event, one that you can look forward to each and every year.

Remember, traditions are so much more than events that take place only on holidays. They act as a source of stability upon which your family can depend on and look forward to year after year. They offer you and your kids a sense of identity as a family and help bridge the gap between old and new generations, as well as provide a way to remember those who have passed.

Traditions needn’t be extravagant or time consuming, and some of the best are completely free of charge. This year take some time to reflect on your favorite Thanksgiving traditions, and perhaps adopt a new one or two, to make your holiday the most memorable one yet.

SixWise Says ...

Nearly 88 percent of Americans say they eat turkey on Thanksgiving, according to the National Turkey Federation. The average turkey weight purchased for the holiday is 15 pounds.

Recommended Reading

Becoming Thankful This Thanksgiving

What are You Thankful for This Thanksgiving?

Have You Heard "The Thanksgiving Song"?

Sources

History.com Thanksgiving

History.com Thanksgiving Facts