Asperger’s Syndrome – Seven Available Treatments

This post was written by A Guest Author on May 22, 2011

Asperger’s Syndrome is a condition on the Autism Spectrum. Autism has a broad range of definitions, with people afflicted performing at different levels. Asperger’s people are likely to operate at a higher level and may frequently blend in with the general population. Their principal issues are social plus they have issues with repetitive motions or compulsive interests.

Even though there is no remedy for Asperger’s, you can find therapies available to reduce its impact. Asperger’s treatment can vary widely and not each therapy will work for every person. Here are some treatments that are available:

1. Social skills training – Using social stories and rehearsing different social scenarios, individuals grow to be more at ease with possible social interactions and discover ways to respond properly, just as they learn in academic courses.

2. Parent education and training – Parents can be schooled and trained to give help such as practicing social stories, participating in behavioral modification exercises and training in the emotional support role by becoming knowledgeable about how Asperger’s Syndrome individuals think.

3. Behavioral modification – Often also known as ABA, behavioral modification lessens undesirable behaviors and increases function. This is accomplished by making use of a consistent routine, applying encouragement for appropriate conduct and negative outcomes for undesirable behavior.

4. Prescription drugs – This is one of the health tips that many people have intense views about. Mood stabilizers, psychostimulants and anti-depressants are all commonly used to permit Asperger’s afflicted people to deal with symptoms that stop them from leading normal lives to making development within their condition. People with Asperger’s generally have associated conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorder. Most of these disorders regularily need drugs to control.

5. Individual psychotherapy – This counseling is meant to help the person deal with the emotions that can arise from experiencing a severe social disability.

6. Educational interventions – There are lots of things that may be accomplished in the classroom environment to facilitate increased functionality for Asperger’s children. Employing visual systems to keep track of their schedule and tasks typically help children to deal with these. You may also set up a regimen that will be implemented as closely as is possible on a daily basis. If there are changes, prepare your child in advance to let them get used to the disruption.

7. Dietary supplements – Another choice that works for some Asperger’s individuals is a supplementation of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin B6, vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids and carnosine are known to have great results on health and behavior.

By employing a combination of these therapy options above you may find that Asperger’s Syndrome can be made to be more controllable.

Build Muscle Mass by Eating a Balanced Diet

This post was written by A Guest Author on December 15, 2010

Most people believe that weight training is the most effective way to build muscle but it is really just a small part of the process. Along with your regular workouts, you will have to eat a balanced diet that contains all of the vitamins and nutrients you need to boost muscle growth. If your goal is to build muscle mass quickly, keep in mind the following diet-related tips:

1. Eat twice your body weight in protein.

Note that this tip does not mean the food on your plate should weigh more than you do. It means you should eat twice the amount of protein in grams as your body weighs in pounds. So if you weigh 130 pounds, your protein consumption should be around 260 grams.

2. Eat different types of proteins.

While meat is one of the most common sources of protein, other protein-rich foods are available that you can include in your diet. The more types of proteins you eat, the better because each of the brings something different to the table. So don’t just stick to a diet of pork and beef. Try alternating these foods with fish, soy, beans, cottage cheese, and eggs for more variety.

3. The more active you are, the more protein you need.

People who take part in strenuous and constant physical activities such as sports and aerobics require more protein in their diets. If you fail to consume adequate amounts of protein, your muscles will weaken and become slack. This is why most coaches of football or basketball teams encourage their athletes to eat a high-protein diet especially during the playing season.

4. Drink plenty of water.

Drink eight to ten glasses of water daily if you want to gain muscle as fast as possible. This amount should be enough to replace the fluids you lose during your workouts and while performing other daily activities.

5. Take protein supplements.

Many people these days are not able to get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from their regular meals due to the lack of time to prepare healthy home-cooked food. You can solve this problem by taking protein supplements, which you can buy from most health stores. When taking these supplements, however, make sure that you increase your fluid intake in order to avoid damage to the liver or the kidney, which are possibilities with a high-protein diet. Better yet, talk to your doctor before you start taking protein supplements.

6. Don’t forget to eat your carbs.

A lot of people equate eating carbohydrates with becoming overweight, so they tend to avoid eating carbohydrates whenever they can. Carbohydrates, however, are essential in producing energy in the body. A diet too low in carbs will eventually make you weak and sluggish. Don’t worry about the weight you may gain from eating carbohydrates. If you are following an active exercise routine, you can burn off the extra carbs with just a couple of workouts.

Realize that gaining muscle is not something that can be done overnight. There are no real shortcuts for this process so you should avoid taking steroids and similar substances, as they will only be harmful to your health in the long run.

Cinergy Health & Life Insurance Agency is dedicated to providing quality health and life insurance plans for people in a variety of life situations. For more information on a selection of health, insurance and medical topics, visit the Cinergy Health & Life Learning Center at www.cinergyhealth.com .

How To Cut Down Your Kid’s Soda Consumption

This post was written by A Guest Author on November 25, 2010

Many parents are alarmed that more and more kids are getting to drinking soda. In fact, recent studies show that more than 40 percent of kids aged 2 to 11 and 62 percent of teenagers aged 12 to 17 drink more than one soda a day. It is not a surprise that in line with this soda consumption increase, there has also been a significant increase in cases of childhood obesity. This is because drinking soda daily even just one can significantly increases the risk of obesity. To help you curb this problem before it becomes worse, here are top tips to cut down on your kid’s soda consumption.

Don’t store soda inside the house It is true what they say, out of sight is out of mind. If you want to eliminate soda in your kid’s diet, keep soda out of the house. When they see soda in the refrigerator, they will only be tempted to pop a can and drink from it.

Offer healthy alternatives There are various beverages out there that taste just as great but do not have negative effects on one’s health. For one, you can offer fruit shakes, fruit juices, smoothies, and similar types of beverages. These drinks are packed with vitamins and nutrients that will empower their health, strengthen their immune system, and protect them from different kinds of ailments. Milk shakes and dark chocolate shakes are also healthier alternatives to soda. Now, if your kid really misses the fizz, what you can do is to invest on soda making equipment like soda siphon and soda chargers so you can create your homemade soda that tastes just as great but without the harmful ingredients. It is just like when you wanted your kids to indulge in low-fat desserts. Instead of buying desserts from restaurants or groceries, you made your own by investing on cream chargers and cream whippers to ensure that what your kids eat are healthy.

Phase out soda slowly Just like any habit, quitting on soda drinking can be difficult. Don’t ban the soda all together. Slowly phase it out by decreasing the amount that your kid can drink. Eventually, they will get used to not drinking any at all.

Be a good role model If you gulp down 3 to 5 soda cans a day, you cannot expect your child to lead on a healthier life that is soda free. If you want that, you must turn on a new leaf yourself and to ensure that you opt for healthier beverages to drink so that your kid would follow suit.

Educate your kid Sometimes, your kid just doesn’t know what is bad for him. If he understands the reason why you would want him to quit or avoid drinking soda, it would be easier for him to respect your decision and follow your orders. But if he’s clueless as to why you are banning his favorite drink, it is possible that he would just sneak behind your back to get that drink he always craves for. Of course, there is no need to scare your kid with exaggerated facts. Just tell him directly what the negative repercussions of soda drinking are. Good luck!

For more tips and information about soda siphon please visit: cream chargers

Veg It Up

This post was written by A Guest Author on November 5, 2010

We all know that we need to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. At the very least, we should be eating five servings every day of fruit and vegetables – if not more (each serving size should be the size of your fist.). And canned stuff, for the most part, just won’t do. Fresh or frozen is the way to go with fruit and vegetables.

The benefits of getting more vegetables in your diet are many. They contain a large amount of fibre and fill you up, so you reduce your desire to consume more high-calories foods than you really need to. They contain vitamins, trace elements and antioxidants that are hard to get from other sources, and some vegetables may have cancer-fighting properties.

The one exception to the “fresh or frozen” rule is tomatoes. Tomatoes are a rich source of the cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene. Lycopene is made more bio-available by cooking, so tinned tomatoes still have plenty of this property. Even tomato sauce and tomato puree contain lycopene. But tinned tomatoes are better and are less likely to have hidden sugars in them and they haven’t been quite so processed.

Soups, salads and smoothies are the easiest way to get all your vegetables (or fruit, in the case of smoothies) in one go. For a good basic soup, start with fried onions (that’s one vegetable) then tossi in whatever other vegetables you can find – potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, pumpkin, spinach, parsnip, beans… even lettuce (but not eggplant). Boil it, add a splash of vinegar and salt, mash or blend it, then serve topped with grated cheese – it couldn’t be easier! Salads are simple – and they don’t even need to contain lettuce.

But for many busy people, getting more fruit and vegetables into your diet can be hard. If you’re in a rush, it’s easy to fall back on good old standbys like macaroni cheese, scrambled eggs or spaghetti bolognaise if you’re having to prepare a meal and you can’t think of anything or just don’t feel like soups or salads. This is where you need to have some quick and simple ways to “veg it up” and add veggies into these good old favourites.

To be able to add more vegetables to basic staples, then you will need to make sure your pantry, fridge and freezer and well stocked. Frozen vegetables are great – they don’t go off and because they are frozen quickly as soon as possible after harvest, many of the vitamins and antioxidants are preserved, as they do not have time to break down. Good frozen vegetables include peas, sweet corn and green beans, but these days, you can find a huge range of frozen vegetable mixtures. And don’t forget frozen fruits, especially berries! Of course, if you can grow your own vegetables, this is even better. Staples that should always be on hand from the vegetable department include potatoes, onions and carrots, plus a green vegetable or two.

Let’s take some basic favourite meals and see how they can easily have vegetables added in…

Lasagne: If you’re cooking the mince from scratch, add some onion and garlic before browning the meat. Throw in a tin of tomatoes (but you’re probably doing this anyway). You can also add capsicum (bell pepper), fresh oregano, spring onions or zucchini (courgette) to the meat mix. The cheese sauce can also have onion added to it if you haven’t added this already. And you can even leave the lasagne out of lasagne and substitute thin slices of potato (leave the skin on and boil first) or slices of raw zucchini. If you substitute fried eggplant for the lasagne and top the finished dish with natural yoghurt, you have made moussaka.

Macaroni cheese: While the macaroni is boiling, add a few vegetables into the pot to cook alongside them. Suitable vegetables include green beans, peas, diced carrots or even spinach and silver beet (Swiss chard). Add onion to the cheese sauce. After all the cooking is done, sprinkle chopped raw tomatoes, parsley, spring onion and garlic over the top.

Scrambled eggs: This can easily be transformed into a vegetable-rich Spanish omelette (sort of). Fry onions, tomato, zucchini, celery, green beans, herbs and garlic in the pan before adding the eggs and salt. Top with grated cheese and black pepper.

And for dessert….

Custard: Add chopped raw fruit into the cooked custard. Bananas and apples are great, but berries, oranges and fresh apricots are lovely, too.

Spotted dick: Instead (or as well as) using dried fruit like raisins or currants, add frozen berries. Diced apple or rhubarb also works well.

Bread and butter pudding: layer fruit with the bread. Blackcurrants are especially delicious, as are apples, pears and apricots.

Nick Vassilev runs a successful London carpet cleaning firm called CarpetFirst!. Being in the cleaning industry for more than 12 years, Nick has built a substantial knowledge base, which he wants to share with everybody with passion for carpets, cleaning and… guitars. For more info regarding carpet cleaning visit http://www.carpetfirst.co.uk

To find out how to add nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains in convenient and inexpensive capsule form call me today at 224-558-3460!

Menopause Hair Loss – Age Gracefully

This post was written by A Guest Author on October 27, 2010

As with all the other symptoms experienced during menopause hair loss is just one more. Thinning hair is, of course, due to decreased levels of estrogen and increased levels of testosterone in your body. Be reassured you can still strive to age gracefully and look your best.

When estrogen decreases to a level below the amount of testosterone in your body you may start to notice the beginnings of hair loss. You may notice more hair in your brush when you are done brushing your hair or more hair in the drain after your shower or just notice that you are shedding more hair than normal.

Several other factors can come into play when it comes to losing your hair like genetics, nutrition, thyroid problems, specifically hypothyroid, stress, and chemotherapy treatments. If you have none of these conditions and are still losing your hair, talk to your doctor about your hormones. They are probably the culprit.

When you do talk to your doctor, ask about supplements that will help with hair growth. He or she may prescribe the active ingredient in Rogaine, called minoxidil, to start to regrow some of your hair. It’s not just for men, ya know.

Natural supplements can also help improve the state of your head. The four most effective are, Biotin, Flaxseed oil, Evening Primrose oil, and Zinc.

Biotin helps strengthen hair and nails, is essential for metabolizing fats and amino acids and can help regulate blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels are not within normal limits the body produces an excessive amount of the male hormone dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. DHT is the major factor in the destruction of hair follicles.

Flaxseed oil keeps hair and nails healthy and decreases the amount of oil secreted by the body and aids in healing.

Evening Primrose oil is rich in Omega 3, conditions your scalp and reduces the production and appearance of dandruff.

Zinc assists with thyroid function and reduces hair loss due to hypothyroidism. Taken with copper to maintain a proper mineral balance, zinc can affect the hormones responsible for genetic hair loss, called alopecia.

Always follow the recommended dosage on the supplement package or whatever dosage your doctor oks for you.

During perimenopause and menopause it may seem as if your body has turned against you and is staging a mutiny. But in reality this is a time for you to embrace the new you and learn to enjoy the newest phase of your life. The phrase – You’re not getting older, you’re getting better is so, so true.

The symptoms of menopause will eventually decrease in severity and allow you to live your life to the fullest without having to worry about when your next period is going to start and if you have enough feminine supplies to get you through.

If you happen to be one of the 30% of women who are affected by menopause hair loss, remember there are treatment options available to help you so you too can live a healthy, happy mid to late life. These are truly the best years of your life.

Learn exactly how to stop high blood pressure and eliminate your risk of a heart attack or stroke, in just a few short days, using a step by step natural home remedy. CLICK HERE.

Diet Plans And Menus – The Blood Type B Diet

This post was written by A Guest Author on October 26, 2010

The Blood Type B Diet is one of several related diets that depend on the individual’s blood type. These 4 diets all promise to promote weight loss, eliminate toxins and fat from the organism, fight against several illnesses, and slow the aging process. Blood type B, in which the letter B stands for barbarian, most likely started in the Himalayas. Most of the people with this blood type are located in that general area. Here are some of the diet principles.

You may eat a wide variety of food. But you should try to avoid nuts and grains. Eat pasta, corn, and buckwheat in moderation. Make sure that you eat at least one fruit a day. This diet comes with a long list of foods to eat and foods to avoid. Even among the favored food groups such as fish and vegetables there are plenty of items to avoid. For example, avoid crustaceans, shellfish, anchovies, eel, bass, barracuda, smoked salmon, and frogs. Good choices include fatty fish and white fish. You should probably take magnesium supplements. Clearly you won’t be able to follow this diet without a book. Three times a week perform strenuous exercise, which increases your cardio-vascular capabilities. Relax with meditation, yoga, or tai chi twice a week.

Advantages of the Blood Type B Diet include improving the state of your cells and immune system. Its foods are varied and healthy. Disadvantages include the need for food supplements.

Here are two sample menus:
Menu 1
Breakfast: Rice or bran cereal with skim milk. 2 plums. Grape juice.
Lunch: A fresh herb omelet. Light goat cheese. A slice of spelt bread. A banana.
The mid-afternoon snack consists of a skim-milk yogurt, cranberry juice, and green tea.
Supper: Parmesan fettuccini. Green salad. Frozen yogurt.

Menu 2
Breakfast: A slice of wheat germ bread. Skimmed cottage cheese. A poached egg. Green tea.
Lunch: Chicken salad. Green beans. A soy yogurt.
The mid-afternoon snack is a glass of grape juice and a rice cake.
Supper: Grilled mackerel. Spinach. Boiled potatoes. Fruit salad.

Some of the information in this article comes from a fascinating new book, La Bible des Regimes, written by Jenny de Jonquieres and published by Amerik Media. Her book describes over 80 diets and weight reduction programs. Each diet is presented with 5 menu plans, a detailed discussion of its advantages and disadvantages, and lots more. La Bible des Regimes is presently available only in French.

Levi Reiss authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but would rather drink fine French, German, or other wine, paired with the right foods. He loves teaching computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his wine, diet, health, and nutrition website www.wineinyourdiet.com.

The FDA Encourages Big Pharma To Screw Us!

This post was written by  Marc on January 8, 2010

The FDA Encourages Big Pharma To Screw Us

Filed Under Big Government, Big Pharma, FDA, Health Care Reform

fdaIn a time when the government says they want to make healthcare cheaper it seems someone forget to tell the FDA. The government agency is on a mission to get all non approved FDA drugs off the market. Many of these drugs have been around a long time, are cheap and are helping patients that need them. But the FDA is encouraging Big Pharma to apply for FDA approval of a “branded” version of drugs that are already on the market. Once this approval is given the new FDA approved version cost more and the old version is now illegal to sell and the pharmaceutical companies sue to keep it of the market. A case in point is Philadelphia-based URL Pharma, one of many drug makers that used to sell a non approved drug called colchicine. But recently URL Pharma won FDA approval for a branded version of the drug called Colcrys, which sells for about $4.50 a tablet – nearly 50 times the price of the unapproved version and the company is now suing other drug makers to remove the very same unbranded version that they used to sell! Several months ago, Doris Webb was diagnosed with a rare disease called Familial Mediterranean Fever, a hereditary condition tied to her French ancestry that causes fevers, arthritis attacks and inflammation of the lining of the lungs and abdomen. Debilitating pain in her joints and bones was relieved by a prescription drug called colchicine.

Webb, of Morristown, Tenn., takes two to three tablets a day, paying $11 at Wal-Mart for a 90-day supply, according to her daughter Tina Martin, who also takes colchicine for FMF. The drug, which has long been used to treat gout, is cheap because, like thousands of prescription drugs, it pre-dates modern drug laws and has never been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Now, however, Webb, 66, who’s on Medicare but can’t afford the Part D drug benefit, her daughter says, faces a problem in getting her colchicine. In July, Philadelphia-based URL Pharma won FDA approval for a branded version called Colcrys, which sells for about $4.50 a tablet – nearly 50 times the price of the unapproved version. While the uninsured will be hit hardest by the cost increase, even insured patients, like Martin, will face higher costs. She says her copayment will rise from $10 to $35 for a 90-day supply.

The FDA found that Colcrys’ drug interaction labeling and recommended dosing regimen make it safer than the unapproved forms of colchicine. The agency said it had received reports of 120 patient deaths from interactions of unapproved colchicine with other drugs. It granted URL Pharma and Colcrys three years exclusivity for treatment of gout – a recurrent arthritic inflammatory disease caused by uric acid buildup – and seven years for FMF under orphan drug rules.

But some rheumatologists and patients’ groups charge that the FDA is letting URL Pharma overcharge the public for a drug that’s no better or safer than the unapproved form. “If URL Pharma can show their medicine is superior, that’s fine,” said Dr. Chris Morris, a rheumatologist in Kingsport , Tenn. who has many FMF patients and gouty arthritis patients. “But I don’t think they can. They’re charging an outlandish amount for a medicine that’s available for a fraction of the price.”

There were about 3.5 million colchicine prescriptions filled in 2009, according to IMS Health. There are an estimated five million gout suffers in the U.S. and fewer than 200,000 FMF patients.

Colchicine is the latest unapproved drug targeted by the FDA under a 2006 initiative aimed at prodding drugmakers to go through the agency’s lengthy and costly approval process. The agency already has removed a number of unapproved prescription products and ingredients from the market.

Recently, the American College of Rheumatology sent a letter to the FDA seeking a meeting to discuss how to keep colchicine affordable to patients. “We want to express our concern that a medicine used for centuries to treat gout and rare conditions, which costs pennies, will now cost patients quite a bit more,” said Dr. Stanley Cohen, who is the Dallas-based president of the group, in an interview. “That doesn’t make sense in the setting of health care reform.”

Part of URL Pharma’s business plan is to take advantage of the FDA’s campaign against unapproved drugs.

“Four years ago we decided to join the FDA in this effort,” said Dr. Richard Roberts, CEO of URL Pharma. “We are focusing on a few of the unapproved products where there are significant safety and medical issues, applying a lot of science and creativity to bring them into compliance and make them safer.”

In 2005, the company won FDA approval for Qualaquin, a brand-name formulation of unapproved quinine sulfate, long used for treating malaria. The following year, after it sued to force unapproved quinine sulfate products off the market, the FDA halted sales of those drugs.

In its 2006 policy guide, the FDA estimated there are several thousand drugs being marketed without the agency’s approval. Federal law required approval of new drugs for safety beginning in 1938, and for effectiveness in 1962. Many drugs currently on the market preceded those laws.

Unapproved products the FDA has forced off the market include codeine sulfate, carbinoxamine, ergotamine and trimethobenzamide hydrochloride suppositories.

The FDA is targeting unapproved drugs with potential safety risks or lack of evidence of effectiveness, as well as those being marketed fraudulently or competing with an approved drug. But the agency has also said it would consider whether halting sales would leave patients without good alternatives.

Cheap colchicine probably won’t be on the market for long. URL Pharma is suing to force the unapproved products off the market. Whatever the outcome of that lawsuit, the FDA policy guide suggests the drug agency will give other colchicine makers a year from Colcrys’ approval before moving to halt sales. FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley declined to comment on the agency’s enforcement plans.

Nancy Sparks Morrison, 70-year-old resident of Cross Lanes, W.V. who operates a Web site for fellow FMF sufferers, says she and other patients already are having trouble finding cheap colchicine. Her pharmacist no longer can get her old brand, which cost about $10 a month, so she started ordering a Canadian-made version, which costs about $100 a month, through an online pharmacy.

“With Colcrys coming out, all the other makers have stopped production, and when supplies run out there will be no more generic colchicine,” Morrison said. “Then Colcrys will be the only product and they can charge whatever they want. It’s price gouging, there’s absolutely no excuse.”

Attempts to reach colchicine producers were unsuccessful.

Roberts argues that it’s unfair to compare the price of Colcrys and unapproved colchicine. “The companies pushing out illegal products with no regard for safety issues didn’t add value for patients and doctors that we’ve now created,” he said. “We’ve revolutionized how colchicine can be used. We don’t compare ourselves to illegal products.”

He acknowledged that his company distributed an unapproved form of the drug until 2006 but decided several years ago to stop producing or distributing any non-FDA approved products.

Some experts say the higher price of Colcrys is a necessary tradeoff for greater public protection. “It costs a lot to come out with a new drug that meets the standards of safety and efficacy, and someone has to pay for that,” said Dr. Tom Hazlet, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy.

URL Pharma is reaching out to calm the consternation over the price of its new product. It’s offering a three-month supply of Colcrys for $15 to any U.S. patients with incomes under three times the poverty level. FMF patients with private insurance will qualify for coupons limiting their copayment to $25 per prescription. And Roberts said his company soon will announce a third assistance program for FMF patients who don’t qualify for the other two, including Medicare beneficiaries who lack drug coverage.

But Tina Martin remains upset. “They’ve made the price astronomical,” she said, “and it’s not right.”
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2009/December/29/FDA-approval.aspx

Hyaluronic Acid – The Body’s Own Super Moisturizer

This post was written by  Marc on December 23, 2009

Click Here to read all about it!

Should you get an H1N1 (Swine Flu) shot?

This post was written by  Marc on October 20, 2009

I have never had a seasonal flu shot myself. The only time that I remember contracting the flu was when I was a college student and that was a long time ago.

I believe that if you have a strong immune system working for you, the ability to fight off the flu completely or not become seriously ill if you do contract it are greatly increased.

If you look at the people who have died from the Swine Flu, they have all had some underlying condition or a compromised immune system.

The Swine Flu is different than the seasonal flu because it has the ability to infect cells deep in the lungs where it can cause pneumonia and, in severe cases, death. Seasonal flu viruses infect only cells in the upper respiratory system.

This characteristic is similar to those of other pandemic viruses like the 1918 virus which killed tens of millions of people at the end of WWI. In fact if you were alive in 1918 you probably already have antibodies that protect against H1N1.

So, to answer the question, should you get an H1N1 flu shot, I ask you this….

Is your immune system strong or compromised? Do you have one or more underlying health conditions (heart disease, diabetes, etc.)? Are you very young or very old?

If you are an adult with a strong immune system bolstered with whole food supplements, good eating habits and get regular exercise, then you may consider yourself pretty safe (no guarantee – just my opinion).

If you are a child or adolescent, a senior (younger than 91) or feel that your immune system is compromised in any way then I strongly recommend an H1N1 flu shot if you can find one.

Finding an available H1N1 flu shot will not be as easy as the seasonal shots. There will be less total shots available and they will be distributed differently.

As an example, Walgreens, who has given over 4 million seasonal shots this year at all of their 7050 locations will only be giving the H1N1 shots at “clinic” stores (24 hour stores and those with Take Care Clinics).

So, if you need to be immunized, start looking for a provider now! Don’t wait until all the vaccine is gone.

If you need advice on what supplements to add to your diet please call or email me and I’ll make a personal recommendation for you.

To Your Good Health!
Marc

Farewell Hydroxycut

This post was written by  Marc on May 18, 2009

Hello Friends!

It was great to hear from those of you who called or sent an email after the last newsletter! Please keep in touch! This week’s post is about OTC diet pills. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments so that I can share them with everyone!

There have been many stories in the news this last week about
over-the-counter (OTC) diet pills.

Just last week, the FDA issued an advisory detailing 23 reports about consumers having experienced liver-related problems and one death from the use of Hydroxycut products. Iovate Health Sciences USA, Inc. of Blasdell, New York and Ontario, Canada the manufacturer of Hydroxycut announced on the same day that it is voluntarily recalling Hydroxycut branded products sold in the United States.

In December, the FDA issued a warning regarding 28 weight loss products that contained undeclared pharmaceutical (prescription drug) ingredients sometimes in amounts far greater that the amount approved in legitimate Rx drugs. In January the FDA added 41 more products to the list!

Please follow the link to the list of products and make sure you and your family are not taking any of them!

I have never recommended OTC diet pills for many reasons:
* They don’t work by themselves
* They contain stimulants often in amounts that cause side effects
* They usually contain ingredients in “proprietary” amounts – meaning they won’t say how much you get per dose
* They always state that they work best when following a sensible diet and exercise program (You’ll lose weight by following such a program without the pills!)
* You’ll always gain back what you’ve lost when you stop taking them

What I Do Recommend

1. Cleanse Your Body… Start with a detoxifying cleanse to get rid of
toxins and wipe the slate clean!
2. Exercise Daily… Plan to walk 30 minutes every day. This can be as
simple as parking a 15 minute walk away from where you work and walking to work in the morning and back to your car after work. Walk with your husband, walk with a friend or walk your dog(s), just do it!
3. Drink Plenty of Water… I recommend at least 1/2 your body weight each day, so if you weigh 150lbs you should drink 75oz of water daily. I add a small amount of 100% grape juice to my water to make it easier to drink.
4. Eat More Frequently… I know it sounds like this will add weight but trust me it won’t! Just eat small frequent meals and healthy snacks but stop before you feel full. You will feel satisfied a few minutes after you stop. Then eat again when you feel hungry.
5. Stay Away From White Foods… White bread, white sugar, white rice, salt and potatoes. These foods will KILL your diet!
6. Limit Alcohol Consumption… Reports show some benefit from moderate (one drink per day for the ladies, two for men) alcohol consumption but it will really stop or slow weight loss!
7. Go Shopping and Plan Ahead… This is crucial! Make sure you have
enough healthy food and snacks with you so that you are not tempted to grab a bag of chips or stop at a fast food drive-thru!

Take Action

Read the Purification Guide to learn more about the detox that I
recommend and call or email me if you have questions or comments.

To Your Good Health!

Marc