1. Candles - the odors from scented candles can inflame your nasal cavities, according to James Wedner, M.D., chief of allergy and immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine.

Those with allergies are likely to have a runny nose or watery eyes when near a burning candle. Candles with scents like pumpkin are usually best tolerated.

If you’re having trouble with a candle, try to move away, extinguish it outside or get some fresh air yourself.

2. Perfume - has hundreds of chemicals, mostly untested on people, and when mixed with the essential oils in the perfume and sprayed into the air they can cause a person to sneeze, feel congestion or get a headache.

It’s hard, but ask people around you to go easy on the spray scents and suggest body creams and lotions as their scents aren’t quite as strong.

You might also keep a small fan in your office or car to keep the air moving.

3. Soaps and detergents - you might be surprised to learn that most of the itching you think is caused by a cleaning agent, is actually the fault of a perfume additive.

Look for “no additives”, “unscented” or “phthalate-free” on the label.

When drying clothes, use a sheet of aluminum foil in the dryer (instead of smelly static cling sheets) to get rid of static without the strong odor. You can also try a scent-free, no-additive dryer sheet.

4. Stuffed animals - can get chock full of dust mites, a problem for an estimated 15% of people.

You can try washing (in water 140 degrees or hotter), drying and then repeating (usually monthly) for favorite toys.

Toys that can’t be washed can be put in a plastic bag in the freezer for a few hours; this will also kill the mites. Store toys on a shelf, rather than on the bed.

5. Carpeting - it’s warm on your feet and feels wonderful, but even if you vacuum all the time, you still have dust mites.

Your best bet if you have a persistent allergy is to take out the carpeting and replace it with wood or tile and use area rugs instead.

Wash the rugs monthly, and keep the humidity of the space below 50%. Dust mites thrive in humid environments.

6. Spices - add zing to your food but as they come from pungent plants they also can bring on everything from sniffling to swelling of the nasal passages, itching and burning in the lips.

Avoid the troublesome ones including coriander, poppy seeds, pepper, dill, paprika, cumin and saffron — often found in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.

If you’re not sure which spices are the trouble, try writing down what you eat each time you have an allergy attack and see if you can find a common theme.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Sleep less BUT have more energy (like Jay Leno)

Do you find there’s not enough hours in the day to do all you’d like…Do you wake up feeling groggy and fatigued?

What if I told you you could sleep less and have MORE energy? I bet you’d snatch my hand off!

Think about all the things you could achieve with another 2 - 3 hours in the day.

Discover the new sleep solution designed with renowned Tiredness Expert Tina Hagen…

A study showed the effectiveness of these breakthrough techniques with:

- 98% of volunteers reported an increase in their energy levels
- 90% said they have no trouble getting up in the morning
- 72% said they felt healthier
- 87% said that they are able to think more clearly

Click through to find out how to sleep less BUT gain more energy

Eleven Unexpected Allergy Triggers continued…

7. Christmas Trees - the staple of the holidays is a place where mold grows very fast especially if the tree is put into a bucket of water or damp soil… a moist, dark place mold just loves.

Many people are either allergic to or irritated by the mold spores. A fake tree is the answer for many.

If you must have a real tree, avoid one that’s been cut weeks in advance, as its probably already ripe with mold. Be stingy with water once the tree is at home and keep it up for as short a time as possible.

8. Wall paint - the solvents and synthetic resins often lead to itchy eyes and headaches, with oil based paints being particularly troublesome as they continue to release chemicals even after they dry.

Keep the windows open as you work, and try to have fresh air circulating in the space for up to four weeks after finishing the work. Paints with low levels of VOCs send fewer chemicals in the air, but this isn’t a guarantee you won’t still have trouble with them.

9. Alcohol - it’s not an allergy to alcohol (which is rare) but the grains and additives used to make the liquor. Wheat or sulfur dioxide preservative can also cause stuffy noses or rash.

New York allergist Wellington Tichenor, MD also mentions grains like corn, barley and rye as well as fruit flavorings that can be troublesome too.

You might try grain free liquors like potato vodka, rum or tequila and skip flavored liqueurs. Look for wine labeled “sulfite-free”.

10. Buttons on Blue Jeans - are often made from nickel which can be a trigger for rashes in up to 20% of women. These can be itchy, red and sometimes causes blisters and are often treated with topical creams.

To avoid these symptoms replace the buttons with plastic ones or coat the button with clear nail polish, a remedy found to work by a recent St. Louis University study.

11. Lemons and limes - limonene, the zesty compound in lime and other citrus fruits, leaves many with watery eyes and a burning feeling in the nose. You might even have irritation on your skin if you touch, eat or drink products with limonene.

Treat any rash with topical hydrocortisone creams and skip the garnish with your drink or salad. Watch for lime in salad dressings, marinades and desserts as well.

Many allergens can be avoided but you’ll need to keep your eyes open for ‘hidden’ triggers like the ones mentioned above.

Share This

In women, death rates from colorectal and breast cancer was down, while the increase in lung cancer deaths slowed quite noticeably.

Good news to be sure, and a sign that new therapies, early diagnosis and continued research are making a mark against this terrible disease.

Cancer prevention also makes a marked impact on cancer diagnosis, and is the motivation behind ten recommendations made last year by the American Institute of Cancer Research and presented at 2008’s annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association.

Written by an international team of scientists, including Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, an epidemiology professor who heads the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, the ten lifestyle tips were reviewed by Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN, the nutritional advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research.

Both Collins and Willett discussed the suggestions with attendees at the American Dietetic Association’s annual meeting that’s just wrapped in Chicago.

Take a look at the recommendations for yourself… common sense really, but absolutely worth including in your life, especially if you have high risk factors for cancer.

1) Be as lean as possible, but not underweight. Collins suggests not just checking the number on the scales, but also measuring your waist to get a feel for your abdominal fat. Men should have a waist measurement no larger than 37 inches; women’s waists should be 31.5 inches or less.

2) Be active for at least 30 minutes every day on most days of the week. If you’re out of shape or very sedentary, talk with your doctor first. Then start slow and build gradually over time. And contrary to popular belief, you can break up your workout — 10 to 15 minute sessions, twice a day are just fine according to Collins.

3) Avoid sugary drinks and consumption of energy-dense foods. No one is saying these foods (or their additives) cause cancer, but they do add extra calories to your diet, and can sabotage your healthy weight over time. A treat now and then is fine, all the time can really blow your calorie budget.

4) Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes. You’ll want to try to add a lot of different colors (deep green leafy veggies, blueberries, etc.) to your meals. Most Americans, says Collins, are stuck in a rut of eating the same three vegetables over and over. Try something new, you just might like it and be helping your body at the same time!

5) If you drink at all, limit alcoholic drinks to two a day for men and one for women. To do this, you’ll need to keep an eye on the bartender as according to Collins, drinks can have a higher alcohol content than expected. Willett was quick to caution that the pros and cons of moderate drinking is something that women should consider carefully, weighing the heart benefits against the increased breast cancer risk from drinking.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Certified Nutritionist and Personal Trainer breaks rank…

We all know sessions with a Personal Trainer and visits to a Health Advisor costs an ‘arm and a leg’…

Thankfully Mike Geary (a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) has blown the lid off the ‘Professional’ health industry and released a free “no-gimick” report which reveals an explosive truth about fat loss…

And he’s giving this report away for FREE - you can get your copy here at Lean Body Fitness Secrets 
 

  Ten Things You Can Do That May Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer
  continued…

6) Limit red meats (beef, pork, lamb) and avoid processed meats. Good as they may taste, you’ll want to keep your red meat intake to 18 ounces a week, says Collins. She suggests choosing chicken, seafood, or legumes in place of red meat, and encourages moderation rather than eliminating these meats entirely from the diet.

7) Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with sodium. You’ll want to try and keep your sodium intake under 2,400 milligrams a day. To add flavor to food, use herbs and spices instead, says Collins. She points out that processed foods account for a large part of sodium intake today — so don’t worry so much about the salt you add when cooking or eating, rather read the labels of the foods you buy.

8 ) Don’t use supplements to protect against cancer. This is a recommendation that is likely to be reviewed, but for now the experts are cautioning against taking a supplement purely for cancer protection benefits. It’s not that supplements are bad, but the science doesn’t support (except in the case of vitamin D) the idea that these substances can protect against cancer.

9) Mothers should try to breastfeed babies exclusively for up to six months and then add other foods and liquids. If this is an option for you, it’s a good idea and provides the baby with many healthy benefits.

10) After treatment, cancer survivors should follow recommendations for cancer prevention. This includes patients who are currently undergoing treatment, as well as those who have finished their therapy and are being monitored. Once you’ve beaten your cancer back, you need to do all you can to keep your body in top form - healthy and strong enough to resist anything that comes your way.

You need to keep in mind that while these tips are sensible suggestions they are only intended to reduce (not eliminate) your risk of cancer. There are many other things (genetics and environmental factors to name a few) that contribute to cancer risk, but these lifestyle choices give you some control over the aspects you can change.

Share This

There were several different psychological experiments that were part of the research.

Photos of women were shown to 100 male subjects under a variety of color presentations — framed by different borders of white, gray, green or blue in addition to the red.

Consistently the women framed in red were rated more attractive.

The final experiment in the series involved the male subjects being told they had $100, shown a picture of their “date” wearing a red shirt, and then asked to estimate how much money they planned to spend on the evening.

As lipstick makers, fashion designers and Valentines Day card companies have been trying to tell us, wearing red meant the male subjects were prepared to spend more on the evening, and encouraged a higher rating of attractiveness.

To check this finding, the same photos were shown to female subjects and there were no color-dependent differences in attractiveness ratings.

What’s more, the color red seems only to affect the perception of attractiveness, and didn’t change how men rated the women in terms of likeability, kindness or intelligence.

The male subjects were unaware of the influence of the color red on their choices.

The study appears in the October 28th issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and is the first research of its kind to lend hard and fast evidence to the effect red has on romantic relationships.

Lead researcher, psychology professor Andrew Elliot said, “It’s fascinating to find that something as ubiquitous as color can be having an effect on our behavior without our awareness.”

Anthropologists aren’t surprised by the idea and point out that many other species use the color red to signal fertility and sometimes ovulation and it could be this same reaction that’s being triggered here.

After all biologically speaking, men are looking for the most suitable mate, as are women. Perhaps we aren’t (or more precisely men aren’t) driven by the civilized instincts we’ve adopted over the millennia.

It might be buried deep in the subconscious, but the study shows there is a reaction to the vibrant color, long associated with love.

Wearing red doesn’t always pay off.

Continues below…

Unique Treatment that Stops Excessive Sweating

If excessive sweating is a problem for you them there is a  natural solution that you may want to have a look at.   It’s a practical and unique treatment that permanently gets  rid of your underarm sweat problem – naturally and  without side effects - and has helped a lot of people avoid   the embarrassment of excessive sweating.

A simple process, it only takes 30 seconds a day using readily available and inexpensive products (you may already have  them in your home).

It’s easy to incorporate into your morning or evening routine, and it will keep your sweat problem away for the rest of your life!

So if this embarrassing problem is something you suffer with then check out this natural solution.

Share This

A team out of the John Innes Centre, Norwich is asking us to face just this question as they’ve developed a new breed of tomato, rich in an antioxidant pigment known as anthocyanin that is believed to offer protection from cancer.

The British researchers took two genes known to induce production of anthocyanin from the snapdragon and put them into the tomato.

As not one of the human researchers had the nerve to eat the surprisingly purple fruit, the tomatoes were fed to cancer prone mice.

Amazingly the animals lived an average of 182 days, compared to 142 days for mice fed a standard diet and 146 days for mice fed red tomatoes.

Seems like those purple tomatoes did something.

“I think it is one of the first genetically modified foods that’s seen to have a consumer advantage,” explains plant biologist Cathie Martin who helped to create the tomato and has been fielding media calls since the publication of the study in Nature Biotechnology.

Anthocyanin is the substance in grapes, blackberries, blueberries and even cranberries that’s been shown to slow the growth of colon cancer cells.

Other evidence suggests that the pigments in these berries help boost eyesight, act as an anti-inflammatory and may even hold off diabetes and obesity.

Experts also suspect the substance is able to offer protection against cardiovascular disease and many age related degenerative diseases.

Those who are uncomfortable with genetically altered foods (sometimes called functional food) point to the obvious…

To get the health benefits of anthocyanin, eat the natural sources of the substance - grapes, berries and the like.

Healthy, varied sources of nutrients are always best. Looking for one “superfood” plays into the idea that there are “miracle cures” for weight issues.

What’s more, tomatoes are already nutrient rich - chock full of antioxidant compounds like lycopene and flavonoids.

Do we really need to put time and effort into making them better?

Besides the striking purple color, researchers insist what makes this new breed of purple tomatoes so incredible is that the healthful anthocyanins are in both the skin and the flesh of the fruit.

This makes it more likely that sauces using it would keep healthful benefits.

Although it’s hard to imagine purple pizza…

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Announcing: How these celebrities lose weight after kids.

Have you ever wondered how celebrities can drop pounds in time for a TV appearance or stay looking so beautiful immediately after having a baby?

Well, finally you too can discover the fitness secrets they’ve used for years to get their fabulous Hollywood bodies!

Celebrity fitness expert Greg Alario has just released a new program that reveals the fitness secrets of his former movie star clients including:

** Julia Roberts **
** Michelle Pfeiffer **
** Paula Abdul **
** Brooke Shields **
** Kathleen Turner **

You’ll be shocked to discover the truth about increasing your metabolism and achieving permanent weight loss.

Find out how you can achieve long-term weightloss without pills, expensive meals, boot camp workouts, or by starving yourself
 

Boost Your Health With New Purple Tomatoes continued…

As to taste… well Martin says she’s tasted it and you can’t tell it from a regular tomato, there is no berry taste at all.

The British researchers hope they’ve made a start toward producing a new generation of “functional foods” to combat lots of serious diseases, cancer included.

The purple tomato (still a long way from any produce department) would join omega-3 fatty acid added to eggs (to help heart disease) and probiotics in yogurt (to help digestive function) already available on store shelves.

Share This

Thankfully new research says that you don’t have to work up a sweat to get the benefits of exercise.

You see, the study presented at the Obesity Society annual scientific meeting in early October found that even a little bit of exercise - 1 hour a week - delivers an improvement in quality of life and makes everyday tasks easier for severely obese people.

Even those who think they’re past caring (or helping) should be encouraged to get active according to the results of this study.

“This study speaks to the importance of people who are overweight, even severely overweight, paying attention to the fact that increasing their activity even a little bit can make their day to day life better,” says Dr. Martin Binks, research director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center, a residential weight loss program at Duke University Medical Center.

Founded in 1969, the Duke Diet and Fitness Center is one of America’s longest running treatment centers for people who deal with excess weight, a sedentary lifestyle and associated health problems.

Dr. Binks and his team looked at the relationship between current activity and quality of life in about 1,200 severely obese men and women who entered the Duke weight loss program.

These subjects were 100 pounds overweight and in their pre-program assessment reported that they were active for just about one hour a week. Quality of life and ease of daily living were also noted.

Even this minor level of activity brought benefits. The subjects felt better.

The study participants didn’t think “workout” but rather just being more active as part of their everyday routine.

Left untreated, obesity can, and often does, lead to poor health. But beyond the burden to your body, being so heavy opens you up to self-esteem challenges like feeling unattractive, as well as the thinly veiled social stigma of being so overweight.

And if, like so many people, you’re trying to lose the weight and failing, you’re likely blaming yourself - another thing certain to sabotage your confidence.

What you need to understand is that the trouble with obesity is in the odds - 95% of those who manage to lose the extra weight regain all they lost within 5 years.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Certified Nutritionist and Personal Trainer breaks rank…

We all know sessions with a Personal Trainer and visits to a Health Advisor costs an ‘arm and a leg’…

Thankfully Mike Geary (a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) has blown the lid off the ‘Professional’ health industry and released a free “no-gimick” report which reveals an explosive truth about fat loss…

And he’s giving this report away for FREE - you can get your copy here at Lean Body Fitness Secrets 
 

Just A Little Activity Helps Severely Obese continued…

Imagine all that effort and being right back where you started in just a few years?

Instead, many in healthcare are pointing out (and rightly so considering soaring obesity rates) that treatment focused on diet and achieving an ideal weight… instead of living an all around healthy lifestyle, clearly isn’t working for the long term.

Obesity is the type of condition, similar to diabetes and high blood pressure that may need constant treatment and monitoring. Perhaps by treating obesity just as we do other chronic diseases, we can find effective, lasting ways to help patients manage weight.

Even a modest weight loss of 5-10% of your current body weight, maintained long term, can have tremendous benefits not only to overall health, but your everyday life as well.

Getting active, even just a little bit every day, can be that all important first step.

Share This

These physicians are drawing on information that for a given medical condition, it’s not unusual for one-third of patients to feel better after being treated with a placebo.

If you believe you will get better, chances are, you will.

“Twenty to thirty percent of the benefit seen in rheumatism drug studies are due to the placebo effect. Real changes in health go along with the belief that patients will get better,” says researcher Jon C. Tilburt of the Mayo Clinic.

Thanks to today’s brain imagery techniques, the theory that thoughts and beliefs affect your psychological state, and cause the body to undergo real biological changes has been shown to be true.

Known to science as the ‘placebo effect’, this phenomenon has long been observed in clinical trials where patients who were taking an inactive compound reported real improvements, more improvement than patients getting no treatment at all.

Placebos can either be a pill made from inactive substances or a sham procedure meant to imitate the real one but with no specific therapeutic activity that a patient accepts as therapy.

Any subsequent therapeutic effect is based on the power of suggestion.

Using a placebo is a strategy if a physician is treating a problem that doesn’t have proven treatments.

Despite the drug companies’ best efforts, new medications take time to develop, test and get to market.

So many conditions aren’t fully understood, or show different symptoms in different people that you can see why treating a chronic problem can be a challenge for your doctor.

According to the American Medical Association, using a placebo without telling the patient undermines trust and compromises the relationship between doctor and patient.

The patient should know if a drug is a placebo, and should never be given a prescription just because they are seen as a difficult or demanding patient.

How do doctors explain a placebo to patients?

The AMA wants physicians to tell patients that placebos help better understand a condition by allowing them to try different medications.

Typically a practitioner will say something about using a medication that’s not often used for your problem, but might benefit you.

If you agree, the doctor doesn’t have to identify which medicine is a fake.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Store Cupboard Remedies that Really Work…

If you regularly buy over the counter drugs, don’t waste any more money.

You can now easily treat any illness without side effects, using only natural herbs, vitamins and nutrients!

Charles Silverman N.D. Certified Naturopathic and Herbalist Doctor has taken his 18 years research and experience as a naturopathic doctor and condensed it into a home remedy encyclopeida of the most powerful, and more importantly proven, home remedies.

You can eliminate the Flu virus, boost your immune system, and recover faster from colds using these home remedies…

As well as sleep better, look younger and treat any skin problem with your own skin care home remedies and recipes.

Want to know more..? Just click through here
 

Fake Drugs, Real Benefits continued…

If you’re feeling a bit deceived by all of this, the doctors who follow this line of reasoning are quick to point out that they always have the best interest of the patient at heart.

Even so, it’s not surprising patients feel betrayed when they learn that they were given a placebo, a sensitive doctor can explain, “Just because the placebo worked doesn’t mean you’re crazy. You were in distress and thus more prone to reacting to anything with the potential to help.”

It goes to show that the suggestion from an authority figure like a doctor has the power to both heal or hurt.

Share This

Data from an Australian study found that just over 40% of parents of both underweight and overweight children didn’t see a problem with their child’s weight.

The trend is startling, and makes it easy to see why eating habits and exercise patterns are not changing.

A significant number of parents don’t even see the problem that’s in front of them.

Dr Pene Schmidt, a doctoral researcher who led the study said, “Parents are more likely to take the necessary preventative actions if the perception of their child’s weight - whether underweight or overweight - is correct.”

The work was completed at the University of Melbourne’s School of Behavioural Science and included 2,100 children, using both Body Mass Index and waist circumference measurements to classify subjects into three distinct groups - “underweight”, “overweight” and “average”.

Next, these measurements were compared to the recorded perceptions of the parents, and the children themselves.

In total, 43% of parents of underweight children placed their child in the “average” bracket.

For the overweight children, the parental misperception climbed to 49%.

On the kid’s side, 6 out of 10 underweight girls, and 5 out of 10 underweight boys didn’t see their weight accurately.

Perceptions like these are hard to change.

Boys were more often perceived as underweight by their parents; while girls were more likely to be classified as overweight.

Twice as many parents expressed concern about their child being overweight rather than underweight.

The study also calls into question the tools currently in use to assess a child’s weight - BMI and waist circumference.

According to BMI, more children in the Australian study were classified as overweight than would be if waist circumference alone were used.

This may indicate the need for a hard look at the way weight is measured for children, while also pointing out the need for more information and resources for parents.

Obesity continues to be a concern for the health and well being of adults and children in the United States and around the world.

Adult men in the U.S. have an obesity percentage of 33.3%, while U.S. women are at 35.3%. For children and adolescents, 16.3% fall into the obese category.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), obesity raises the risk of:

- Coronary heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cancers (endometrial, breast and colon)
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
- Stroke
- Liver and Gallbladder disease
- Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
- Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and underlying bone in a joint)
- Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

Continues below…

Announcing: New Hope for Smokers Wanting to Quit

Hypnosis works for smokers…

It’s recognized by The American Medical Association (AMA), the American Psychiatric Association (APA), and the British Medical Association (BMA).

Also, hypnotherapy, and similar methods have been used by tens of thousands of people for various ailments, complaints and addictions - and now a new program has been created that promises some amazing results…

A guaranteed outcome of being able to permanently stop smoking with only a single one hour session.

Take a look at the simplest way to do this here

New Study: Nearly 40% Of Parents Can’t Accurately Pinpoint A Child’s Weight continued…

What worries healthcare workers is that being “big” is becoming more socially accepted all the time.

Think about plus size models and clothing designed for heavier people. Restaurant potions are big and getting bigger.

Celebrities battle their weight, some publicly, some with surgery, and some seemingly not at all. Think too about the accommodations that have been made to airline travel - and public transportation in general.

It seems our perceptions of weight (ours and our kids) are being skewed and rather than fighting the additional pounds when they start to become unhealthy more and more of us are taking them along for the ride.

Share This

Think of these as the “Food Pyramid” for exercise and activity level.

Experts now recommend two and a half hours of exercise (aerobic and strength training) for adults per week, and an hour a day for children.

The plan seeks to offer science-based guidance to help us all improve our health by getting more active.

With a reported 59% of adults (aged 18 to 64) not getting enough physical activity, you can see why the government would be urging us to exercise a bit more.

Regular, moderate exercise has shown many health benefits in study after study. Lowering the risk of heart disease, different cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and more are just a few of the benefits. Exercise also:

- improves your mood
- helps you sleep better
- boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the “good,” cholesterol while bringing down low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the “bad,” cholesterol
- helps manage your weight
- puts the spark back in your sex life

For children and adolescents, their bodies growing rapidly, the benefit of regular exercise to cardiovascular and respiratory fitness is well known. Active kids:

- have stronger muscles and bones
- have a leaner body and less likely to become overweight
- have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- have a better outlook

The good news is that young people can have these benefits without doing formal, regimented workouts.

In fact, the remarkable health benefits come from all those trusted staples of childhood… the jungle gym, tag, tug-o-war, kickball for at least 60 minutes each day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16% of children aged 6-19 years old are overweight or obese - triple the number in 1980.

Now more than ever, we need to get kids up and moving to help them now and in the future.

Of course, getting yourself up and moving isn’t any easier… there are lots of challenges to overcome. The first, and hardest, is getting started. The government provides a guide you can use to help you get more activity into your routine, help you choose the activities to try and ways to schedule workouts into your day.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Certified Nutritionist and Personal Trainer breaks rank…

We all know sessions with a Personal Trainer and visits to a Health Advisor costs an ‘arm and a leg’…
 
Thankfully Mike Geary (a Certified Nutrition Specialist and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) has blown the lid off the ‘Professional’ health industry and released a free “no-gimick” report which reveals an explosive truth about fat loss…

And he’s giving this report away for FREE - you can get your copy here at Lean Body Fitness Secrets

Government Recommends 2.5 Hours Of Exercise A Week continued…

If you’ve been inactive for a long time, talk to your doctor first before you make any changed. But once you get the okay, there are lots of ways, simple everyday things; you can do to be more active. Try to:

1. Walk as much, and as often, as you can.
2. Trade your sit-down mower for a push one.
3. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
4. Park at the far end of the parking lot.
5. Take a brisk walk during your lunch hour or break at work.
6. Walk the length of your favorite shopping mall.
7. Get off the bus a few stops before your usual one and walk.
8. Lift weights or use a treadmill while you watch your favorite TV shows.

None of these activities cost any more than your time and if you exercise as part of your daily like it will increase your life span and the quality of your life.

Share This

New research points to a gene that could prod people to overeat and gain weight.

The most recent findings indicate that obese people seem to have fewer dopamine receptors in the brain… giving them less of an ability to feel pleasure in eating and encouraging them to eat more to get the same pleasure.

The research used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the pleasure centers of the brain in a group of 53 female university students and 33 teenage girls, looking at the response to food.

Subjects were given sips of a chocolate milkshake, and then a tasteless solution. Participants were also checked for the presence of a genetic variant called Taq1A1, linked to a lower number of dopamine D2 receptors in the brain. The body mass index of the subjects was then tracked for one year.

At the end of the follow up, researcher found that subjects whose brain was less activated by the chocolate milkshake and who had the gene variant, were also most likely to have gained weight during the year of follow up.

The increase was 3.6%.

“This is the first imaging study which found less activation of dopamine receptors in [some] humans,” said study lead author Eric Stice, a scientist at the Oregon Research Institute in Portland.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that gets released when you eat… bringing that feeling of pleasure.

In our distant past, this “pleasure chemical” was a reward to the body for eating a life sustaining meal.

The amount of dopamine released is related to the level of pleasure experienced, and it seems that some of us are just genetically predisposed to not have the number of dopamine receptors we need.

Earlier work has shown that obese individuals tend to have fewer D2 receptors than leaner people.

This may explain why some can eat anything they want and not gain… and others feel they eat normally and still gain.

This latest work is the result of a collaboration between clinical psychologists from Oregon Research Institute and the University of Texas, and sensory neuroscientists from the John B. Pierce Laboratory and the Yale University School of Medicine.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

Gain Immunity from Insomnia and Restless Nights…

At least 25% of adults suffer from insomnia - 

With around 18 million prescriptions written every year for sleeping pills…

It’s thought that one very important thing is most likely missing in your brain if you suffer from troubled sleep…

I’m not talking about some form of disability or physical deficiency. 

I’m talking about a form of brain activity that is in sorely low supply in people who sleep badly (and, incidentally, in people who suffer from ADHD).

It’s something that athletes have.

Something that you could have too…

Give yourself the good night sleep you deserve here

A New Clue To The Link Between Weight Gain And The Brain continued…

The research was funded by a grant (R1MH64560A) from the National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical Research.

“What is new here is that for the first time they have identified the consequences of this genetic polymorphism (type) in how the brain functions,” said Dr. Nora Volkow who has worked to identify the role of the D2 gene (the one missing in the ORI subjects) in overeating.

Now the director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, she’s worked hard to make the link between addictive behaviors and the human brain.

She also makes the connection between lack of dopamine receptors and other abusive behaviors, instances of people doing things like drinking and drugs compulsively, even when they know better.

And while you can’t change the genetics of your brain right now, there are things you can do to help yourself fight back.

Eating a healthy diet, and consuming meals more slowly are important first steps.

You’ll also want to be sure you’re active — getting two to three workouts per week — to help activate the dopamine pathway and reduce the urge to overeat.

Share This

The team compared the effects of St. John’s Wort to a placebo, as well as to a wide range of the most popular antidepressants.

The numbers of patients who are taking prescription antidepressants is rising steadily throughout the world and has been for years.

Between 1995 and 2002, the most recent years for which numbers are available, the use of these medications went up 48% according to CDC figures.

Still many patients, uncomfortable with the often disruptive side effects of these prescription medications, and unsure of their safety over the long term, have sought natural alternatives.

“Overall, the St. John’s Wort extracts tested in the trials were superior to placebo, similarly effective as standard antidepressants, and had fewer side effects than standard antidepressants,” the researchers, led by Dr Klaus Linde from the Centre for Complementary Medicine in Munich, Germany reported.

There have been other studies that suggest St. John’s Wort is effective for treating mild to moderate depression, but more work is needed to completely confirm this link.

Encouraging… but just what is St. John’s Wort anyway?

Used for thousands of years, the herb comes from a beautiful, bright yellow, star shaped flower, and works by keeping a chemical known as serotonin in the brain for longer.

This substance is known to be one of the major players in mood, though exactly how it works is still not known.

You can get this remarkable little herb in several forms, capsules, as a liquid or in a tea bag for brewing. You should know that there are considerable variations in purity of ingredients, strength and quality between many of the products on the market today.

Generally this herb is well tolerated if you stick to the recommended doses - more is not better.

Just because it is natural, does not man that you can’t be hurt by taking too much.

Side effects from St. John’s Wort include increased sensitivity to sunlight, as well as dizziness, tiredness, gastrointestinal upset, fatigue, dry mouth and hair loss.

Follow the storage and dosing recommendations on any product you buy, and be sure to shop carefully - watching for quality ingredients, consistent manufacturing processes and realistic claims.

Continues below…

  *Highly Recommended*

If you’re looking for a way to beat the blues try MindSoothe™ - a natural remedy that contains St John’s Wort as the active ingredient.

Click through to find out more about this natural remedy that supports emotional wellness and a positive mental attitude
 

St. John’s Wort: A Natural Alternative For Treating Depression?  continued…

Another reason so many hope for natural alternatives for treating depression is the alarming stories of teens taking antidepressants with sometimes tragic consequences.

During the 1990’s, antidepressants, specifically selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s), were thought to increase the risk of suicidal behavior in children and adults.

In 2004 the FDA took an unprecedented step, issuing a black box warning concerning antidepressant use in young people. No one can say for certain that the risks of these drugs outweigh the benefits. This is a highly personal decision between a young patient, the parents and the physician involved.

St. John’s Wort, while natural and effective for mild depression, does have some problems of its own.

Mainly the concerns over drug interactions, especially when it comes to birth control pills, other antidepressants, cyclosporine, digoxin, indinavir (and other meds used in HIV treatment), Irinotecan (and other drugs to treat cancer), wafarin and related anticoagulants.

If you take any of these medications, talk to your doctor before you begin using St. John’s Wort to be sure it is safe for you.

Share This