Hundreds of Thousands of Americans spend millions of dollars each year on diet pills, “magical” exercise devices, and misrepresented health and fitness products, when in all actuality a good set of dumbbells and a brisk walk may be all you need to get in better shape than you’ve ever been in.
What can you do with nothing but a set of dumbbells, you ask? Provide resistance to your body’s movements - also known as weight lifting. That’s all weight lifting is - resistance. The terms “weight lifting” and “resistance training” have become one in the same because they are describing the same activity - moving your body under more resistance than it normally has to handle.
In fact, you’ve just stumbled upon the basic secret of exercise in general! Whether you are talking about resistance training, Pilates, Yoga, cardiovascular activities, or any other form of exercise, all of these programs have one thing in common - performing more activity than you would get sitting on the couch. WHY should you exercise, though?
How about defying the aging process for starters? Do you know that the primary reason why elderly people end up in nursing homes is because they lose the ability to think and move on their own? Do you also know that the entire process of thinking and moving on our own happens because we do it every day? Until we retire, that is. Once we don’t have to go to work anymore, or deal with scheduling and lifestyle issues, suddenly the only thing that we have to think about is whether to watch game shows or soap operas all day long, and the only exercise we get is deftly flying our fingers over the remote control.
Mush. That’s what our brains and bodies turn into when we stop using them. Think you are still sharp as a tack, and at the height of your game? Try to say the alphabet backwards in 30 seconds or less.
Yes…. sharp indeed.
What about physically? Think that you can still hold your own even though you don’t really exercise much? Stop reading this article and drop down on the floor for some correct-form push-ups. Did you do at least 30 if you are female, or at least 40 if you are male? No? How about 20 or 25? 15? Unless you pulled off 30 or 40, you are probably at less than the 50 percentile mark for your gender - health conditions notwithstanding.
Okay, so you’ve determined that you aren’t exactly Olympic athlete material. So what? You don’t even like sports, let alone being very good at them. That’s fine, and there is nothing wrong with that. So what about fat? Do you like bodyfat? Do you find it physically appealing? Do you think it’s healthy? If so, we’re done speaking. Go on about your business, and thanks for reading this far.
For everyone else, here is a newsflash: In America today - the year 2004 - obesity related health conditions account for more deaths in the United States each year than all known forms of cancer COMBINED. Heart Disease alone is the number one killer of American adults, and it is a PREVENTABLE CONDITION!
How about self-esteem? 64% of Americans are overweight. That is almost two-thirds of the population. If you think that a figure like that and the skyrocketing sales of prescription anti-depressants aren’t related, you now have a second opportunity to stop reading this article and continue on with your day.
Here is the bottom line, folks: Exercise and a reasonable nutrition program are necessary for ALL people, for their ENTIRE lives. Note, however, that I said “exercise”, and that I also said “reasonable nutrition program”. At no point did I say anything about spending 2 hours per day at the gym, or about eating nothing but carrots and celery for the rest of your life. Why? Those practices are just as ineffective at long-term weight loss as diet pills and late night infomercial products. Here is what DOES work:

Weight/Resistance Training - Weight training for both men and women has the same effect - it makes your muscles more metabolically active. In simpler terms, it means your muscles will burn more calories - even when you are sleeping. Muscle is the only site on your body where bodyfat is broken down. Weak muscles = weak metabolism. Weak metabolism = slow calorie burning.
Cardiovascular Training - Contrary to popular belief, this type of training is meant to help your cardio-respiratory system function more effectively, and ultimately to last longer. Does it burn a lot of calories? Sure it does. However, if you don’t combine it with resistance training and supportive nutrition, you’ll likely just burn off water weight and the muscle tissue that you worked so hard for up in step number 1.
Reasonable Nutrition Program - Quality sources of complex and fibrous carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, and lean sources of protein. Eat those nutrients in reasonable proportions frequently throughout your day, and your metabolism (refer again to #1) will crank up to high, and you’ll be burning more calories on a day to day basis than you ever have before in your life.

So far we have seen that not only can exercise keep us out of a nursing home, but it can also keep off excess levels of bodyfat which will - literally - keep us alive. We haven’t even touched on sports performance, recreational activities, improved energy levels, ability to focus, or many of the other benefits of a regular exercise program.
Personally, I’d be happy with just staying out of a nursing home, and staying alive long enough to look good in a bathing suit. What about you?

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Within the last 10 years the field of teeth whitening, both in the dental office and at home, has changed immensely. Essentially, there are two different methods to get whiter teeth: dental (in-office) whitening, and an at home treatment. Discover a few secrets about teeth whitening that your dentist hopes I’ll never tell you!
METHOD #1: DENTAL (IN-OFFICE) TEETH WHITENING
I can tell you from first-hand experience, dentists LOVE the patient who wants to have a teeth whitening procedure in the dental office. Back in the early ’90’s there was only one option available.
Your dentist would make molds of your teeth, send them off to a lab, and in 5-10 days receive back your custom fitted teeth whitening mouthpiece. Then you would sit in the dental chair for 1-2 hours, with these plastic teeth whitening molds filled with peroxide (at a very low concentration) pressed against your teeth and gums.
After 3-4 visits, your teeth would be officially declared whiter (and usually they were), and you would be sent home with a nice $500 - $1,000 bill to pay. And with whiter teeth of course.
I’ll be the first to admit, dental office teeth whitening has come a long way in the past 10 years. Now the most popular teeth whitening dental office procedure known as Laser Bleaching (or Power Bleaching, Argon Bleaching, etc.) is a shorter process. Basically this teeth whitening procedure consists of the application of a concentrated peroxide gel onto your teeth, then for the next hour you sit in a dental chair with your mouth wide open, while a special light (usually argon) is shined onto the teeth whitening paste that in turn chemically reacts with the peroxide to complete the teeth whitening process in as short a time period as possible.
This teeth whitening procedure does work. Although, many dentists say that you get a whiter smile by repeated tray applications because the teeth whitening peroxide stays in contact with your teeth for longer periods of time. The downside is that you still get stuck with that fat $500 - $1,000 bill (at least for the good teeth whitening procedure).And you still need to either come back 6 months later for another teeth whitening (excuse me - a touch up!), or you’re given some take home whitening items. Why then did you spend $500 - $1,000 dollars for an in-office teeth whitening procedure?
Fortunately, as most other things in life, technology stepped in to make teeth whitening easier and more affordable!
METHOD #2: HOME TEETH WHITENING
I’ll say this once just to get it out in the open, it’s now possible (in almost all cases) to achieve “dental office” quality teeth whitening, from the comfort of your own home! “At-Home” teeth whitening has taken a bite out of (sorry for the pun) the “in-office” power bleaching systems, where millions of corporate advertising dollars now compete with the comfort of teeth whitening at home.
And rightly so…
Up until a few years ago, teeth whitening was a fairly complex process. The hard part was making those fitted mouthpieces for each patient, for this reason alone, home teeth whitening was not an option for most people.
ESSENTIALLY, THERE ARE 3 DIFFERENT HOME TEETH WHITENING OPTIONS AVAILABLE
TEETH WHITENTING OPTION #1 - BRUSH-ON WHITENING
Brush-on teeth whitening in principal is a great concept, just brush on the formula, allow it to dry on your teeth, and let is stay on your teeth overnight. Sounds simple, right?
In reality, brush-on teeth whitening is designed for the segment of the public that is in love with shortcuts (in other words, for those people who don’t want to spend the time to do it right the first time). Brush-on teeth whitening has TWO MAIN FLAWS:
1. When you brush on the teeth whitening formula, it relies on the premise that it will dry on your teeth. This is great in principle, but if you get the teeth whitening formula wet (i.e. from saliva or from licking your teeth) then it becomes REALLY easy to rub off parts of the formula. And guess what happens if you rub off only part of the teeth whitening formula? You got it - you don’t get an even whitening result! It turns out patchy and blotchy.
2. The second flaw with most brush-on teeth whitening as I see it, is the ingredients. If you look at the ingredient list of the leading brush-on whitener, you’ll see the first ingredient is alcohol. If you’ve read my ebook “The Bad Breath Bible” (http://www.TheraBreath.com/web/art/l/badbreath.asp) then you already know that alcohol is terrible for your breath! Actually, I’m sure the reason why they’ve added alcohol to their teeth whitening formula is because it’s needed as a desiccant (something that dries out the formula so that it supposedly stays on your teeth at night). However, that still doesn’t diminish the effect it can have on your gums and your breath. Also, most of these brush-on teeth whitening formulas contain glycerin which literally sucks the moisture out from the enamel of your teeth and it’s the primary cause of most tooth sensitivity from teeth whitening.
TEETH WHITENING OPTION #2 - STRIPS YOU STICK ON YOUR TEETH
The second most common type of home teeth whitening is using whitening strips. The main lure of this home teeth whitening option is the strips’ simplicity of use, they’re easy to apply and no preparation is necessary. Again, everybody loves shortcuts, right? Unfortunately, once again that’s exactly the type of teeth whitening you end up getting! Let me explain…
Strips that stick on your teeth usually consist of an upper strip and a lower strip each pressed against the outer surface of your teeth. Now think about this for a second…Are your teeth completely flat? Of course not - they have recesses and grooves, particularly between each tooth. Well imagine you’re painting a fence, and you just slapped paint on the outside, without taking the time to paint in the grooves between each wooden board. That fence would look pretty funny wouldn’t it? Nicely painted on the outside, but in the grooves between each wooden board, still dark and dingy, with all of the old paint showing.
When you use teeth whitening strips, the same thing can easily happen to your teeth if you’re not careful. The whiter your teeth become, the more pronounced those dingy cracks seem! Eventually it can end up looking like you have small gaps between your teeth. Definitely not the desired result!
TEETH WHITENING OPTION #3 - TRAYS WITH BLEACHING GELS
Trays with bleaching gels still provide the best combination of the most affordable and most efficient teeth whitening available. Since I’m a dentist, I can let you in on a few little secrets (some secrets which most dentists would shoot me for telling you since it costs them thousands in lost income)!
First, most of the teeth whitening gels available at your dentist are exactly the same. There is very little difference from one dentist to another, that’s because the gels are formulated by a small number of manufacturers.
Second, most of the teeth whitening gels available at retail stores are of very poor quality. They’ve been sitting in a warehouse or on a truck for who knows how long, and because they are designed to be “low cost” they have very low concentrations of active ingredients. Older teeth whitening gels use a concentration of only 16% of carbamide peroxide.
Third, the one thing in common between dental office and “store” teeth whitening gels is that they both use glycerin as a carrying agent. Now there is nothing wrong with glycerin by itself. It is not dangerous in any way. However, when mixed with carbamide peroxide, the glycerin is used to draw water out of the enamel in order to speed up the whitening process. This is what causes the most common side effect of teeth whitening - sensitive teeth! Therefore, you’re going to want to find a teeth whitening product that does not use a glycerin base.
ARMED WITH THIS NEW TEETH WHITENING KNOWLEDGE, NOW WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
There are four key components I recommend for making sure you get the best possible teeth whitening results every time.
1. Immediately before whitening, brush your teeth for two minutes with an oxygenating toothpaste combined with the finest natural polishing agents AND aloe vera to strengthen your gums and prevent any sensitivity. This way you’re sure that the whitening gel directly contacts your tooth enamel (instead of dental plaque).
2. Use form-fitting mouth trays that are fitted to your specific bite. Make sure they fit snugly around each tooth, and at all points they press firmly around the sides of your teeth and gums. The best home teeth whitening systems use a moldable tray system that contains mouthpieces which you can actually fit to your mouth. You mold them by soaking them for a few seconds in warm water, then you press the plastic up (or down) against your teeth and gums. When the plastic cools you have a nice soft plastic mouthpiece that is fitted to the curves of your particular smile.
3. You should use as strong of teeth whitening gel as possible to ensure that the time your teeth are in contact with the whitening gel is well spent. Use a 21% carbamide peroxide concentrated teeth whitening gel that is formulated specifically to reduce the sensitivity to your teeth and gums, (in other words - NO glycerin!). This percentage of concentration also means a whiter result in a shorter period of time. Finally, a flavored teeth whitening gel helps - why not make the experience as pleasant as possible? No need for it to taste bad!
4. Immediately after your teeth whitening treatment, enhance the effect by using an oxygenating oral rinse. Remember, make sure not to use a mouthwash that contains alcohol, as this can actually chemically curtail the bleaching effect, not to mention it dries your mouth out!
I recommend following this teeth whitening system for 5 days in a row. You can even do the top and bottom arch separately for comfort if you prefer. After that…you’ll have a noticeably whiter smile - GUARANTEED!

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Innovative Power Therapies Provide Simple Techniques to Deal with Trauma
Recent years have seen the development of a family of therapies that offer clinically effective alternatives to traditional, long-term treatments. These Power Therapies only require one to three sessions, but the results are usually permanent. Each of them provides noticeable relief from negative emotions, pain, and trauma by “rewiring neural pathways” in the brain.
It doesn’t matter whether the pain suffered is physical or emotional. These methods bring relief from fears and traumas such as: phobias, depression, grief, rape, natural disasters, crime, childhood sexual abuse, and post traumatic stress. Although their methods differ from each other in emphasis and approach, Power Therapies all work by interrupting old habits and reflexes that were established around the painful incidents.
Painful reactions are replaced with non-distressful ones. These methods work by triggering brain activity below the level of conscious control. Emotional intensity also goes down. Relieving lifelong problems in moments seem to defy logic, but a body of documented scientific studies prove the benefits are real. Fortunately, a person doesn’t have to believe in these techniques for them to work.
EFT is Easy Enough for a Person to Learn to Do in Minutes
It doesn’t matter whether their pain results from something recent or from long ago - or whether or not the cause is known. EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy) works on both the emotional level and the physical level. The mind focuses on the pain or problem at the same time that another response is introduced, whereby a neutral response replaces a painful one.
Everyone suffers from self-limiting fears to some extent. But some people are paralyzed by them. From my experience, the most powerful fears are the unconscious ones. During the tapping sequence with my clients, after one fear gets cleared, another one comes up to be healed.
Once people learn how the tapping is done, it’s simple enough for them to use on themselves whenever they sense fear or pain. Find more information at my website, http://www.susanquinn.net or at Gary Craig’s extensive EFT website, http://www.emofree.com He offers a free, downloadable instruction manual on that site, with tons of how-to and case studies.
EFT Always Taps Exactly the Right Place
It was developed by Gary Craig, who simplified Roger Callahan’s revolutionary Thought Field Therapy (TFT). TFT therapists follow complex tapping sequences (protocols) for numerous symptom categories. By contrast, EFT taps on the same meridian points on the face and body for every problem.
Rather than focusing on the traumatic memories (as with most talk-it-out therapies), EFT addresses the true cause, the disruption of the body’s energy system. It’s unnecessary for a person to relive the painful memories.
EFT works directly on the energy points (meridian system) of the body. Like acupuncture, relief comes (in part) from stimulating the meridians. Only, instead of needles, the person’s meridians are tapped with the fingers. Whether EFT is performed by a therapist or self-applied, over 80 percent of people achieve noticeable improvement or complete cessation of the problem.
EFT Applies the Same Steps to Any Negative Emotion
Craig’s system is based on the concept, “The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.” He reasons, since every negative emotion has the same cause (an electrical disruption - a “zzzzzt”) they can all be relieved in a similar manner. It’s unnecessary to focus on diagnosis (or delve into the old wounds) to be successful with EFT.
EFT Simplified Sequence:
- Identify the problem
- Apply the Basic Recipe
- Relief - Complete; Partial; None
- Test and re-apply if necessary
- Apply Adjusted Basic Recipe
Each element must be performed precisely as described, and in the proper order. Every round of tapping takes about one minute. Tapping can be done by either hand, on either side of the body. Tap solidly with the index and middle finger on each tapping point about seven times.
The Basic Recipe Starts with the Setup
The person starts by identifying their fear, negative emotion, or trauma.
THE SETUP SENTENCE
“Even though I have this __________, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Fill in the blank with a short phrase about the problem being addressed, for example: “anger toward my father” or “nightmares.”Sometimes a person can’t “accept themselves,” so we might tap on just that at first - as in, “Even though I can’t accept myself for this and I hate myself right now, I am willing to be willing to accept myself.”
Repeat the statement out loud three times, while simultaneously tapping the “karate chop” point on the side of the hand (or two specific points on the chest). The “karate chop” point (abbreviated KC) is located at the side of the hand about an inch below the baby finger. Vigorously tap the point with the fingertips of the index finger and middle finger of the other hand. While either hand will work, it’s usually most convenient to tap the KC of the non-dominant hand with the fingers of the dominant hand.
This is followed by the Sequence of tapping again. Modify the Setup statement, based on the new issue(s) that might present itself. Then tap another round. Do as many rounds as necessary until the problem is gone. That may require several sessions.
Example of a Client Session
For my clients, I combine EFT with hypnosis and EMDR http://www.quintal.net/subjectPages/emdrtechniques.htm (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing - another Power Therapy). Treatments are custom tailored to each person’s particular needs. My success rate is over 80% of clients reporting 60% to 100% reduction of symptoms after treatment.
PROBLEM: A woman in her 30’s is afraid to have some mandatory surgery. She’s terrified of them putting the anesthetic tube down her throat, as in a previous surgery.
FEELING or BELIEF: “I will choke to death” is the belief. FEAR is the feeling that she experienced. The woman rated her level of fear a ten (on a one-to-ten scale), as she recalled the prior operation when she thought she was choking.
First, EMDR (another Power Therapy) lowered the fear. She said after processing with the Eye Movements that the fear went down to a level seven. The belief was, I will be alone (and die that way).
When we started EFT, I had her tap the set-up point on the hand and say with me three times: “Even though I am afraid I will be left alone to die, and that I am helpless, and I judge myself for having this fear, I completely accept myself right now.”
We did one round of tapping on “This FEAR.” Then she reported feeling cold and alone. She remembered a skiing accident when she was lost in the snow for a few hours (where she felt she was surely going to die alone).
We tapped on different aspects of this incident for several rounds. Then she recalled other fears she’s had in her life, which we tapped on. Then we tapped on the humiliation she’s felt for having certain fears. Events that are attached to the same feeling (this type of fear) all come up, one after another.
After we had tapped on each one until it was gone, she measured her level of disturbance around that issue. It was now down to a two. We tapped on “this remaining fear” and it came down to a zero.
Then she made a deep sigh, and her face registered a sense of relief and peace. The new belief: “I am strong and have survived many things that would kill most people.” We tapped this belief in with several rounds. This strengthens the belief even more.
We went back to the memory of the FIRST operation, where she got her tube phobia. She focused on this memory (and checked inside her body for the feeling that went with it). She reported she felt no fear at all.
I had her “run a movie” in her mind of this first operation, from beginning to end; and at the same time, she was to monitor her body for any feeling of fear. I asked her to tell me if she felt any sense of fear as she recounted the experience in detail. At one place in her story, she felt fear of about six. After several rounds of tapping on this, the fear went to zero. We then repeated this process with her “running a movie” of the original experience in her mind. This time she got all the way through the story with no feelings of fear. At the next session the fears were at zero as well.
Two later sessions Future Paced how she’d deal with the surgery with her family and office mates. Future Pacing is a way to create the behavior we want to have in a future situation, through imagery enhanced with EMDR and EFT.
She called me several months later to report that she’d gone through the surgery with very little fear. When she felt some fear, she tapped on it using EFT. And it went away. She was grateful for the work we did, because she was also able to ride the train to San Diego with her husband (something she’d never been able to do).
Eliminate Everyday Fear and Frustrations as they Arise
The most amazing thing about EFT - clearing these fears removes scary and self-limiting beliefs that have been driving a person their whole life. The beliefs that have the most power are unconscious, so they have to be carefully teased out.
I teach these simple-to-learn EFT techniques to all my clients, including children (who are very good at this) because I think it’s a wonderful tool for managing their anxiety and other negative emotions. People who learn to discharge their fears right away are pleased to discover they don’t have to be afraid of them any more.
andcopy; 2006, Susan Quinn

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Overview
Melatonin is a natural hormone, which is produced and secreted by the pineal gland. Melatonin plays an important role in the regulation of many hormones in the body. Among its key roles, melatonin controls the body’s circadian rhythm, an internal 24-hour time-keeping system that controls when we fall asleep and when we wake up.
Melatonin is also a very powerful antioxidant. In one study, melatonin was 60 times more effective than Vitamin C or water-soluble Vitamin E in protecting DNA from damage. Preliminary evidence suggests that it may help strengthen the immune system.
There are numerous claims and theories concerning all the things that melatonin may do and as a result it has become one of the popular life extension and life enhancing supplements that are currently available on the market today.
Uses
The most accepted function of Melatonin is it role in sleep regulation. Melatonin supplements help induce sleep in people with disrupted circadian rhythms. Melatonin is significantly more effective in decreasing the amount of time required to fall asleep, increasing the number of sleeping hours, and boosting daytime alertness.
Melatonin is purported to be one of those miracle substances that has a hand in everything. This may be due to the fact that during the height of the antioxidant craze, Melatonin was found to be a more powerful and more universal antioxidant than both vitamin C and vitamin E. Whatever the reason, Melatonin ostensibly plays a role in numerous health conditions.
Here is a partial list:

Insomnia
Osteoporosis
Menopause
Depression
Eating Disorders
Breast Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Cancer-related Weight Loss
Sarcoidosis
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Epilepsy
Sunburn
Viral Encephalitis
Heart Disease

Since a lot of evidence for many of these claims is rather light and since I am not trying to sell you melatonin supplements, I am going to focus only on its role in sleep enhancement.
Insomnia
As many parents realize, drugs like Ritalin are not without side effects. One of the major complaints that parents have is that their children who take Ritalin can’t fall asleep at night. Many parents report that their children, who may be only five or six years old, are wide awake until 11 pm or later.
Melatonin may be able to help these children. Since it is the primary chemical in the body that helps to induce sleep, children who suffer from insomnia often find that Melatonin restores their normal sleep cycle and helps them to be more awake and alert during the day.
How to Take It
There are currently no guidelines as to how to take Melatonin. Sensitivity to Melatonin is an individual thing and doses that are ineffective in one person may be too much for someone else.
The best approach for any condition is to begin with very low doses and slowly add more until you get the effect that you are seeking.
In children, it is best to start with a dose of about 0.3 mg/day or less. Although current research suggests that even doses as high as 10 mg are perfectly safe, it is best to proceed with caution.
In adults, 3 mg is usually a safe starting dose and you can increase it or decrease it as you see fit.
Availability
Melatonin is readily available in most health food stores in the United States and it is very cheap. In Europe it is a controlled substance. Most Europeans who wish to use Melatonin find it cheaper and easier to have it shipped from the US.
Adverse Effects
Melatonin is one of the least toxic substances known. In one extensive clinical trial, a high dose of 75 milligrams of melatonin per day was given to 1400 women in the Netherlands for up to four years with no ill effects.
The only consistent side effect of high doses has been drowsiness and a slower reaction time.
Other common complaints include:

Vivid dreams or nightmares
Stomach cramps
Dizziness
Headache
Irritability
Decreased libido
Breast enlargement in men
Decreased sperm count.

These side effects were in healthy people. We also don’t know how melatonin may affect people suffering from disease.
Possible Drug Interactions
Melatonin may interact or interfere with other drugs.
These include:

Antidepressant Medications
Antipsychotic Medications: many of these medications are now being used in treating children with ADHD and Bipolar disorder
Benzodiazepines
Blood Pressure Medications
Blood-thinning Medications, Anticoagulants
Interleukin-2
Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
Steroids and Immunosuppressant Medications
Tamoxifen

If your child is taking any of these things, you should consult with his doctor before giving Melatonin.
Also, caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol can all diminish levels of melatonin in the body while cocaine and amphetamines may increase melatonin production.
Conclusion
Often children with ADHD have a great deal of difficulty falling asleep. This can be due to the medications that they are taking or just be one component in the spectrum of their problems. When used properly, melatonin may be a safe and effective way to handle sleep problems in ADHD children.
Anthony Kane, MD
ADD ADHD Advances
http://addadhdadvances.com

Attention Publishers:
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For an ezine, send an email to: melatonin@addadhdadvances.com.
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Sunglasses play an important role in protecting your eyes from potentially harmful UV rays. This invisible form of energy takes the form of radiation which can damage your eyes if they are overexposed. But the pertinent question is, how much protection do I need? Or stated differently, when exactly should I be wearing sunglasses?
One of the major determinants about deciding whether a particular situation calls for the use of sunglasses is the environment in which you are in. Rather surprisingly, UV exposure is greater on the snow, as well as on sand, pavement and water, than in more green environments. We often imagine a park at high noon to be some of the most dangerous conditions for UV exposure. But in fact, environments in which your surroundings are reflective, such as snow and water, provide some of the most perilous situations. This is because in such situations, the amount of UV is not easily absorbed by the greenery around you, but rather hits the ground and is reflected back up towards your eyes. This means that you have UV light approaching your eyes both from above and from below.
Another dangerous situation, in which you should always be careful to wear sunglasses, is when you are at high altitudes. UV rays are filtered out in the atmosphere. This essentially means that the gasses between you and the sun which are trapped within the earths gravitational pull filter out ultraviolet light before it reaches your eyes. In high altitudes, however, the concentration of those filtering gases, as well as their thickness, is significantly reduced. As a result, light rays are significantly stronger, and thus the presence of UV is much greater at higher altitudes.
Time of day, is of course, also one of the greatest determinants of UV risk. UV rays are directed from the sun. As a result, it should seem obvious that the risk of UV exposure is greatest when the sun is strongest, during the hours between 10am and 4pm. At these times the UV rays are more direct and as a result their effects on your eyes are significantly stronger. Consequently, it is key during these periods to take necessary precaution and wear sunglasses when outside.
Weather is another often overlooked factor when determining whether or not to wear sunglasses. It seems intuitive that if the sun is out, then UV rays are stronger, and as a corollary, if the day is overcast the risk of UV exposure is virtually nil. This is not the case however. Rather, UV rays quite easily permeate clouds, rain, and the like. This means that an overcast day is no indication that UV rays are any less intense on that day. By contrast, it is often more important to be contentious about wearing sunglasses during such days as we are often not cognizant of the UV risks we are facing and may take risks with our eyes as a result.
After learning about the dangers of UV radiation exposure to your eyes the question becomes, not if I should be wearing sunglasses, but rather when should I be wearing sunglasses?

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These are two very powerful tools for self-improvement, but how can you use them in harmony? For example: Self-analysis and meditation cannot be performed at the same time. After all, multi-tasking runs contrary to what meditation is all about.
So where do we start? Self-analysis will give many of your meditations purpose. The purpose of self-analysis is to objectively look inward, constructively, without judgment or regret, and to find solutions to ongoing problems.
There is an instinctive fear to take start this task. Hence, the reason why there are professionals for psychological analysis. This leaves you with a decision from the onset: Whether to do it yourself, or with the help of professional guidance.
If you elect to go it alone, that’s fine, but be prepared to encounter more issues than you originally thought possible. At one time, we have all managed to disconnect with our inner being. This creates a fear of looking inward because of our reaction to what we might see and learn.
Don’t waste time with evaluations, comparisons, or judgments. These concepts only support our feelings of inferiority, and for most of us, those feelings should be purged from our inner being.
You will need solitary time, when you can reflect on dilemmas, and take notes. You can do this in your car, but you will need a recording device. You will also want to make sure anything embarrassing is either encoded or hidden. Records are great, but they can be incriminating, so take the time to protect yourself from a potential invasion of your privacy.
In order to meditate, you will need to set aside time, in the early morning, or at night. There is less activity in most households, at this time, and less of a chance for you to be diverted or interrupted.
The quest for self-improvement is the purpose of this kind of meditation. You need to clear your mind and focus on one thought only. This should not be turned into a form of grieving, so you must look at it objectively and try to remove your personal feelings.
Your mind will naturally “stray,” a bit, unless you have been practicing meditation for some time. The straying aspect is actually good in this instance, because it allows you to come back with a slightly different perspective each time.
The end result of all this work, will be discovering a multitude of self-improvement solutions and improve the quality of your life.

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For many thin guys around the world, gaining weight without using illegal steroids has been a challenge. For thousands of lean young men, the dream is to gain weight, but no matter how much they eat they remain thin. Some people are naturally thin; that means their genetic makeup is in such a way that the body burns more calories than others. The very basic method of weight gain is to eat more calories than your body burns off. By providing the body with more calories, this balance can be altered and body mass can be increased. Weight training is of great importance in this context, which enables the body to absorb more nutrients from the food by increasing the level of certain hormones and increasing the muscle mass.
There are many incorrect beliefs and theories bout building muscle. The type of food to be eaten is an important factor which decides the type of weight gained, whether it is muscle mass or mere accumulation of fat. Some types of calories are not equal to others for gaining muscle; because most processed junk food contains empty, totally nutritionless calories. These foods promote accelerated fat storage, and do not provide the body with the correct nutrients essential for gaining muscle. High quality protein, which the body breaks down into amino acids, should be the centerpiece of all your meals. Intense exercise increases demand for amino acids, which support muscle repair and growth.
Another factor is the selection of the right type of weight training. Resistance exercises will help with muscle growth. Whereas aerobic exercises can result in the reduction of weight. For maximum muscle gain, the focus of your workouts should consist of free weight exercises, rather than machines or bodyweight exercises. To get a very effective workout, you must stimulate as many muscle fibers as possible, and machines do not do this. The main reason for this is a lack of stabilizer and synergist muscle development. Stabilizer and synergist muscles are supporting muscles that assist the main muscle in performing a complex lift.
The results of weight training can vary from person to person, and will usually depend on your consistency and commitment to your program. You should have the patience and motivation for building a powerful body with a consistent diet and exercise schedule.
Exercise Guidelines for building muscle:
Weight training involves the use of equipment that enables variable resistance. This resistance can come in the form of free weights like barbells and dumbbells, machines that use cables or pulleys to help you lift the weight, and bodyweight exercises like pull-ups or dips. The more stabilizers and synergists you work, the more muscle fibers stimulated. The exercises that work the large muscle groups are called compound (or multi-joint) movements that involve the simultaneous stimulation of many muscle groups. These compound exercises should be the foundation of any weight training program because they stimulate the most amount of muscle in the least amount of time. Multi-jointed free weight exercises like the bench press require many stabilizer and synergistic muscle assistance to complete the lift.
Free weight exercises like the dumbbell press or squat put a very large amount of stress on supporting muscle groups. You will get fatigued faster and not be able to lift as much weight as you did on the machine. But you will gain more muscle, become stronger very quickly and have a true gauge of your strength.
If you use machines in your program, they should be used to work isolated areas and only after all multi-jointed exercises have been completed. Beginners should begin with a limited combination of machine exercises, bodyweight exercises and multi-jointed free weight exercises. Before increasing the weight levels, they should work on becoming familiar with the proper form and execution of each.
The following are some proven basic exercises to encourage muscle and strength gain unlike any other exercises.
Bench Presses - works the chest, shoulders, triceps
Overhead Presses - shoulders, triceps
Pull-ups/Barbell Rows - back, bicep
Squats - legs, lower back
Dead lifts - legs, back, shoulders
Bar Dips -shoulders, chest, arms
To build mass, you must weight train with heavy weights. To consider a weight heavy, you should only be able to do a maximum of 4-8 reps before your muscles temporarily fail. A weight is considered ‘light’ if you can do more than 15 reps before muscle fatigue sets in. Heavy weights stimulate more muscle fibers than lighter weights which result in more muscle growth. Heavy weight training puts a huge strain on your body, so adequate rest and recuperation after your workouts is essential.
Eating guidelines for building muscle:
A high protein diet is an inevitable part of any weight training programme, importantly, protein derived from animal sources. Proteins you need to be concerned with are those found in whey, casein (cottage cheese), eggs, beef, poultry, and fish. Soy protein, tofu and bean curd are some alternatives. Eating the right amount of foods consistently will force your body to grow beyond what you may think possible. The diet also should contain an adequate amount of carbohydrates (potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, oatmeal, cream of wheat, cream of rice, rice, beans, bread, pasta, all cereals) and fat. Green leafy vegetables and fruits also should be included.
When you train with weights, you should eat a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. You also must have protein at every meal. To enable your body to actually assimilate and use the all the calories you will ingest, you have to reduce your meal size and increase your meal frequency. Splitting your calories into smaller, more frequent portions will enable food absorption and utilization of nutrients.
During the past 20 years there have been great developments in the scientific understanding of the role of nutrition in health and physical performance. Studies shown that adequate dietary carbohydrate should be ingested (55-60% of total energy intake) so that training intensity can be maintained. Excess dietary saturated fat can exacerbate coronary artery disease; however, low-fat diets result in a reduction in circulating testosterone. So the balance between protein, carbohydrate and fat should be maintained.
So the focus on weight gain programmes must be on two components, lifting heavy weights, which will stimulate the largest amount of muscle fibers. Your body responds to this stimulus by increasing your muscle mass and secondly eat more calories than your body is used to. When you overload your system with plenty of protein and fats, your body has no other choice but to gain weight.
A Mass Gaining program is incomplete without the timely measurements to monitor your progress. Without it, you won’t know how exactly your body is responding to your diet and training routine. Just looking in the mirror and guessing is not acceptable. If you want to start getting great results, you must develop the habit of accurately tracking your progress. This also provides the motivation to continue with the weight gain schedule and for the further progression. So even though you have a very thin body type, and haven’t been able to gain weight no matter what you try, you will definitely succeed with a well planned weight gain programme.

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Modifying our diet is one of the keys to losing weight.
But the statistics on diet successes aren’t good and only a very small percentage of dieters achieve permanent weight loss.
To help you become one of those that do achieve permanent weight loss from dieting, here are Ten Golden Rules to Dieting that you can trust to help you lose those unwanted inches and pounds.
Rule 1: Never Skip Breakfast
The old saying that ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ is certainly on the money when it comes to dieting.
Nothing gets our metabolism going faster than breakfast after a good night’s sleep.
Sleeping causes our metabolism to slow right down and breakfast kick-starts it again for us.
But always remember that just as important as having breakfast itself, it’s also important to choose healthy breakfast options like wholegrain cereals and breads, low-fat dairy products like milk and yogurt, and fruit or fruit juice.
Rule 2: Drink Plenty of Water and Get Plenty of Sleep
Drinking plenty of water and getting enough sleep are critically important when we are dieting.
As well as helping to keep us healthy, drinking sufficient amounts of water can help us when dieting because it helps keep us feeling full and stops us from feeling hungry, and when we drink plenty of water we usually drink less soda, coffee and alcohol, all of which can add significant amounts of calories to our daily intake.
New links to the importance of sleep to weight loss are being uncovered all the time.
One case in point was a series of studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which showed that sleep loss can make weight loss far more difficult than it needs to be.
So to make sure your weight loss doesn’t encounter any hidden barriers to success, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep.
Rule 3: Count your Calories
Do you know how many calories you need to maintain your current weight and do you know how many calories you therefore need to consume in order to lose weight?
Once you know these things, you also need to keep track of how many calories you consume each day so that you can compare them to your target and make any necessary adjustments.
Writing down your calorie consumption after each meal will help you realize how much of an effect the little piece of candy here and the occasional cookie there has on your weight.
Writing down your calorie consumption needn’t be hard, most of us eat the same things week in week out so chances are you’ll only need to get to know the energy values of a relatively small number of foods and drinks in order to keep track.
Rule 4: Don’t try to lose weight quickly
Gaining significant weight usually takes years and so should losing a significant amount of weight.
Our bodies don’t like sudden and significant change; in fact it is built to resist it.
This resistance has a scientific name called homeostasis.
When our body heats up to a temperature above its preferred level what happens?
We sweat, which is an automatic response designed to cool us down to the preferred level again. That’s homeostasis at work.
When we lose weight too quickly, what happens?
Our body automatically slows down its metabolism, that is, the rate at which we burn energy to survive and function. That’s homeostasis at work again.
In addition to keeping our body from fighting against us on the weight loss front, losing weight too quickly doesn’t work because early rapid weight loss usually results from losing body fluid and muscle tissue which is not healthy nor helpful in our battle to lose weight.
Rapid and significant weight loss from dieting alone is usually indicative of a very calorie restrictive diet which is also counterproductive because for most of us it is unsustainable.
Rule 5: It’s not just what you eat that counts
Weight gain isn’t a sign that we have been eating the wrong food; it is a sign that we have been eating too much food.
The great news about this is that we don’t need to all start eating lettuce to lose weight; we just may need to cut down a little on the foods we enjoy each day.
Rule 6: Keeping your metabolism up
Muscle and activity keep our metabolism up which is why weight training to build or maintain our muscle mass and aerobic activity like walking, jogging, cycling and swimming are so important to those of us wanting to lose weight
Dieting alone is not the best route to weight loss and to staying in an ideal weight range.
To lose weight safely and keep it off for as long as possible, always combine dieting and exercise.
Rule 7: You won’t continue to eat foods you don’t like
Most diets fail because they require us to eat plenty of foods we don’t actually like.
If we don’t like what we’re eating we’re not going to stick with our diet for more than a week or two.
The key to successful dieting is to reduce the amount we eat and introduce healthier and lower calorie options of the foods we like gradually into our diet over time.
Rule 8: Watch what you drink as well as eat
Almost everything we drink, except water, has calories in it.
Drinks highest in calories are typically sodas, colas and alcoholic drinks.
If we typically drink a lot of any of these high calorie drinks, it may be them and not what we’re eating that is causing us to get fat.
This being the case, for many of us simply reducing these drinks or eliminating them altogether from our diet may be all that is necessary for us to lose a significant amount of fat and weight.
Rule 9: Avoid extremes of any kind
Balance is not only the key to a happy, healthy life; it is also the key to a healthy diet and dieting.
Be very weary of any diets that completely cut out some foods or food groups or severely limit some foods or food groups, for example very low or no-carb diets.
Diets that are extreme in one way or another are likely to be very unhealthy at best and very dangerous to our health at worst.
If you’re ever considering such a diet, which will probably promise very rapid and significant results, remember what we said about rapid weight loss and how our body is designed to maintain the status quo.
Rule 10: Seek help
If you have a lot of weight to lose, you’ve got a better chance of success if you get help.
If your weight is affecting your health to such an extent that it is or is becoming life-threatening or is leading to you suffering from weight related diseases like type-2 diabetes, seek medical help from a doctor or professional help from a dietician or another suitably qualified health care professional to lose weight immediately.
Even if your weight isn’t directly affecting your health now, it is a great idea to get help in your battle against the bulge from professionals like dieticians, personal trainers, gyms, psychologists (overeating is often caused by emotional factors) or weight loss program providers and other weight loss specialists.
In addition to getting professional help, non-professional help, support and encouragement is also vital in improving your chances of dieting success.
For this type of help turn to friends, family and the support of other people with similar weight related goals, such as those that can be found on weight loss forums.
Good luck with your weight loss and remember that if you keep in mind the ten golden rules of dieting you are sure to be a dieting success story in the making.

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(NC)-To many Canadians, the hot summer months represent a time for getting fit, having fun and engaging in lots of outdoor physical activity. The following tips will help you gain the essential fuel needed for an active lifestyle:

Drink lots of water. Always be sure to have a bottle of water on hand in the event that you become dehydrated in the warm weather.
Eat a nutritious diet according to Canada’s Food Guide, packed with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables like peaches, strawberries or corn on the cob. The summer months are an ideal time to take advantage of the fresh local produce. Try to avoid the empty calories and high fat content of fast foods when you’re on the run.
Protect your skin with a sunblock suitable for your skin. A sunburn can cause you to feel ill and light headed, not to mention it increases your risk of skin cancer. Protect your face and eyes by wearing a baseball cap and UV protective sunglasses.
Take a daily multivitamin year round that is formulated specifically for people with a physically active lifestyle, such as Centrum Protegra.
Have fun and play safe!

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The quality of food we eat (or lack thereof) has a profound affect on Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD. For many people, nutrition alone can effectively work as an ADHD alternative treatment.
A growing body of research points to nutritional deficiencies - especially with essential fatty acids and amino acids - as a contributing factor of Attention Deficit Disorder and learning deficiencies.
Put down the Ritalin bottle for one minute to consider these Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD nutrition research findings;

A George Washington University School of Medicine study found that hyperactive children who ate a meal high in protein did equally well, and sometimes better, in school than non-hyperactive kids.
An Oxford University (England) study evaluated the effects of fatty acid supplementation in average intelligence children with significant reading and writing disabilities. The ADHD symptoms in children receiving Essential Fatty Acids significantly improved over the children in the control group receiving a placebo.
Researchers first tied Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD with lower essential fatty acid in 1981. Studies examining essential fatty acid blood levels in children with behavioral problems in 1983 confirmed this Attention Deficit Disorder nutrition connection.
Researchers further documented the essential fatty acid deficiency tie to Attention Deficit Disorder in a 1987 study. Then, a 1995 study comparing essential fatty acid levels in ADHD boys against a control group of boys without ADHD found significantly lower levels of Omega-3 fatty acids.
In 1996 Purdue University researchers have found that boys with low blood levels of Omega-3 fatty acids have a greater frequency of Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD.

Attention Deficit Disorder is the most common behavioral disorder in children. Not all Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD children are nutritionally deficient in essential fatty acids, statistics and studies show that a significant number of ADHD children are.
Physicians predominately use stimulant drugs such as Ritalin for Attention Deficit Disorder but studies show that Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD children whose treatment program includes only stimulant medication remain at a high risk for vandalism, petty crime, frequency of alcoholic intoxication, and possession of marijuana. Additionally, ADHD medications do not always work, have a host of harmful side effects and never treat the cause the Attention Deficit Disorder.
With Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD, nutrition and food is one the first aspect of treatment to consider, as an ADHD alternative treatment or used in conjunction with traditional ADHD stimulant drug treatment.
Fatty acids are used to make brain and nerve tissue in the body and are crucial for proper growth, mental function, the immune system and brain development. The body cannot produce the two fatty acids families, Omega-3 and Omega-6, on its own and therefore must receive these key Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD nutrition ingredients through diet and supplementation.
Although the typical Western diet is high in the Omega-6 family of fatty acids (found in corn, sunflower, canola and safflower oil, margarine, vegetable oil and shortening), most Americans young and old are highly deficient in Omega-3.
Learning specialists now believe many childhood behavior and learning problems are associated with Omega-3 deficiencies. This deficiency has a greater impact on males because their requirements for essential fatty acids are, in general, much higher. It is no surprise that boys are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder at a much higher rate than girls.
ADHD adults and parents of ADHD children should include food high in Omega-3 fatty acids daily. That said, many children simply will not eat the Omega-3 rich salmon, mackerel and sardines.
Enter flax seed and flax oil - “food of the gods” when it comes to Omega-3 fatty acids.
Flax seed and flax oil are the richest plant source of Omega-3 fatty acids and offers Attention Deficit Disorder nutrition vital to support healthy childhood behavioral and IQ development. One to two tablespoons of flax oil should be part of a every Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD nutrition food action plan.
In addition to the positive affects on brain functioning, flax oil also works to prevent heart disease and certain types of cancer. Flax oil helps soften skin, balance energy, burn fat, stimulate the metabolism, strengthen the immune system, manage diabetes, help prevent autoimmune disease and inflammatory disorders. Flax oil also helps alleviate PMS and some menopause symptoms.
Here are some great ways to sneak flax oil into the daily diet;

Mix 1 tablespoon of flax oil in flavored yogurt.
1 tablespoon of flax oil in fruit smoothies is virtually undetectable.
Mix 1 tablespoon of flax oil with one tablespoon maple syrup or honey as a sweetener instead of granulated sugar.
Use 1-2 tablespoons of flax oil when making tuna salad or egg salad while proportionably decreasing the amount of Miracle Whip or mayonnaise used.
Flax Butter: Melt one stick organic butter and mix with 4 ounces flax oil when cooled to room temperature. Refrigerate until the flax butter solidifies and use in place of margarine.
Omega-3 “Ice Cream”: Mix 2 cups yogurt with 1 tablespoon flax oil and fresh or frozen fruit. Serve when frozen.

Most studies conducted on the affects of essential fatty acids found that at least 10 weeks of supplementation is needed to adequately raised fatty acid levels in brain cells. Follow a diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids for at least 10 weeks, and preferably 12 weeks, before judging the effectiveness of nutrition on Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD symptoms.
Important points about flax oil:

Flax oil is highly perishable and should be kept refrigerated at all time.
Heat destroys the health-giving flax oil properties. Use flax oil only with cold foods, cold proteins are best.
When buying flax oil, use only high quality, cold-pressed flax oil. The date pressed and a freshness date of four months or less from the pressed date should be on the label. If not, don’t buy it!
Do not use flax seed oil beyond its expiration date since the oil will turn rancid.

Essential fatty acids are not the only element needed when addressing Attention Deficit Disorder ADHD nutrition. Amino acids, from which protein is made, are an integral element since amino acids and essential fatty acids are both needed to work in the body. Therefore, adding quality protein is a key in Attention Deficit Disorder nutrition.
Attention Deficit and hyperactive people can greatly reduce the level of unfocused or misdirected energy simply by starting the day with a protein based breakfast. A solid protein breakfast can increase concentration, reduce restlessness and increase mental and physical calm.
Instead of starting the day with sugared cereals, pancakes covered in syrup, sweet rolls, doughnuts or danishes, try these brain-boosting breakfast ideas;

Scrambled eggs, toast and fruit.
Whole wheat toast with peanut butter.
Fruit and yogurt smoothie with flax oil.
Protein shake.
Bacon and eggs with toast and milk.
Egg and sausage patty on English muffin.
Yogurt mixed with a tablespoon of flax oil.

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