The Truth Behind Bottled Water

Bottled water generally can be relied upon to be safe from bacteria and free of chlorine. Many consumers believe that bottled waters are of higher quality than tap water, although it is not generally true. Many bottled waters are only processed tap water, and their quality varies widely depending on the quality of the local water and the type of filtration used.

Buying "pure" water in a plastic bottle defeats the purpose, because the plastic quickly leaches into the water. Federal and state regulations for bottled water are confusing and changeable; and some bottled waters are even exempt from regulation! Fluoride levels in some brands were five times higher than those in tap water. High pollutant levels are allowed in bottled water based on an industry-wide assumption that bottled waters are consumed as a beverage - a health conscious alternative to an alcoholic beverage or soda pop and not as the primary source of drinking water.

There are many excellent brands of bottled water on the market today that can be enjoyed as a refreshing beverage even if not as a regular source of drinking water. Bottled water is defined by the Food and Drug Administration as simply "water that is sealed in bottles or other containers and intended for human consumption." Federal regulations require that bottled waters marketed across state lines meet federal standards for drinking water. Those bottled waters sold only within individual states need to meet only state requirements, which can vary from federal standards.

The purity of bottled water is controlled under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (mineral waters and soda waters specifically are exempt and thus are not regulated at all). Legally accepted sources for bottled water are wells, springs, and public water right from the tap. No requirements specify that the source of the water or any treatment it has undergone be listed on the label, but if any information is given at all, it must be truthful and not misleading. Manufacturers have an excellent selling point in telling if the water has come from a well or a spring, so if the source of the water is not revealed, chances are the water is treated tap water.

Bottled waters are divided into two types: still (without bubbles) and sparkling (with bubbles). Even though there are no state or federal regulations for the labeling of bottled-water containers, the labels do use certain generalized descriptive terms. Drinking water is tap or well water processed in some way before bottling while spring water is water that emerges from the earth's surface under its own pressure, sometimes through a pipe.

Water in bottles labeled "Spring water" must come from a spring; "Natural spring water," unlike plain spring water, may not be processed in any way before it goes into the bottle. Beware of companies with the word "spring" in the company name rather than in the name of the product, or companies referring to the product as "spring-fresh," "springlike," or "spring-pure." Do not mistakenly assume that this water is from a spring.

Mineral water is water containing a legally specified level of minerals. "Natural mineral water" is sparkling or still water, usually from a spring, which contains only the naturally occurring minerals. Regular "mineral water" may have had minerals added or removed.

Sparkling water is water that contains bubbles made by carbon dioxide gas. "Naturally sparkling" water contains the bubbles when it is underground; when the water is drawn from the spring, the natural carbon dioxide is removed separately and reinjected during bottling. Some still waters also are carbonated, with either natural or manufactured carbon dioxide.

Club sodas and seltzer water are not controlled by federal regulations. Both are merely filtered and carbonated tap water; club soda also contains added mineral salts. The quality of these waters will differ greatly, depending on the local water and the method of filtration used.

What Is Reflexology & How Can It Help Me?

Reflexology uses the foot as a map of the entire body. Pressing specific parts of the foot is believed to help heal problems in a related, yet distant area.

Foot reflexology in the United States began with the work of William Fitzgerald, M.D., who practiced in Connecticut during the early years of the 20th century. His technique was based on ancient practices that applied pressure to hands, ears, or feet to revive energy flow and bring about homeostasis (balance). His system uses the foot. The foot became a map of the whole body, each part relating to a specific body area.

Reflexology involves treatment as well as diagnosis. Fitzgerald theorized that the body is divided into ten equal zones that run from head to toe. With his system, which was initially called zone therapy, gentle pressure to certain points on the feet seemed to relieve pain in a particular area of the body. In the 1930s, American nurse and physiotherapist Eunice Ingham developed detailed maps of the feet that included what she termed reflex points which link spots on each foot to specific body parts. Reflexology spread quickly throughout the United States and Europe. Most reflexologists working in the United States today have been trained in Ingham's method.

Reflexology is a system of applying pressure to the foot. It is not a massage. Instead, the practitioner's thumb, fingers, and palms apply pressure to specific reflex points on the foot. Reflexologists believe that each part of the foot relates to its own part of the body. By applying pressure to a reflex point, the corresponding body organ or area is affected. Reflex points are on the soles, tops, and sides of the feet. The points on the right foot correspond to the right half of the body, and those on left foot correspond to the left half of the body.

Although people can perform reflexology on themselves after learning about the reflex points and pressure techniques, it usually is performed by a trained reflexologist. In a typical session, the patient lies on a massage table while the reflexologist gently massages each foot, and then begins treatment by systematically applying pressure to its reflex points.

Treatments last from thirty minutes to an hour. According to practitioners, patients may experience tingling sensations in areas of the body that correspond to reflex points as those points on the foot are pressed. Reflexology is not painful.

Reflexology advocates believe that this approach can increase energy flow to the organs that correspond to the reflex points and increase the vitality of those organs. By increasing the vitality of the internal organs, practitioners believe they can improve patients' health. They claim that reflexology can reduce stress and tension, improve circulation, eliminate toxins, and bring the body into a state of balance conducive to good health.

Reflexology is recommended by proponents as a means of alleviating the symptoms of some chronic ailments, such as headaches, asthma, and bowel problems. It does not claim to cure illnesses.

There are two linked beliefs on which reflexology is based. One is that reflex points exist on the foot, and that these reflex points can influence health in distant organ systems and parts of the body to which they are linked. The second is that the body contains an invisible life force, or subtle energy, similar to the concept of qi (chee) in Chinese medicine. Reflexologists believe that by stimulating reflex points on the foot, they can unblock and increase the flow of this energy throughout the body.

Some reflexology advocates have offered hypotheses to explain the action of this subtle energy, or to interpret reflexology in physiological terms. They believe that energy travels from the nerve endings in the foot to the spinal cord, where it is disbursed to all parts of the body. Some advocates claim that reflexology releases endorphins, which are natural pain-blocking chemicals released by the brain. Others claim that reflexology detoxifies the body by dissolving crystals of uric acid that settle in the feet.

Study shows that reflexology could contribute to headache relief. In addition, patients who received reflexology following gynecologic surgery needed less medication to maintain bladder function. None of the beliefs and concepts on which reflexology is based, such as the idea of subtle energy, has been proven. The major underlying hypothesis that pressure applied to the foot improves health is also not documented.

Reflexology can promote relaxation and feelings of well-being. Although reflexology is not a proven method of treating disease, its potential relaxation benefits are obtained inexpensively and easily, especially because the technique can be self-administered. Overall, reflexology is a gentle, noninvasive technique, free of side effects.

What Is Acupressure & How Can It Help Me?

Acupressure is the pressing of specific acupuncture points in order to relieve pain and stress in a particular area or part of the body. Pressure can be applied by one's own or another's fingers, or, in response to particular problems, by a button on a wristband. Acupressure was said to have developed from the natural human tendency to stroke, massage, or press the body until pain is relieved.

Acupressure is acupuncture without the needles. A type of massage, it involves placing very firm finger pressure for a few minutes on an acupoint, which is a specific place on the skin. The acupoint to be pressed is determined according to which energy channel is blocked and therefore causing the problem. Each acupoint is believed to control particular body organs or functions.

According to ancient Chinese lore, acupressure is said to remove trapped energy, assist the free flow of the life force, and dissipate problems in areas of the body. Claims made for acupressure vary by practitioner. Some claim that the technique successfully treats obesity, arthritis, and pain and improves blood circulation. Others believe that acupressure can function as an effective preventive measure, maintaining health through the promotion of balance in body organs and systems.

Acupressure stems from the ideas on which traditional Chinese medicine rests, and is rooted in the beliefs and assumptions of that ancient healing system, including the flow of qi throughout the body. When qi meets no blockages and can move smoothly, balance and harmony are said to exist in the body, a state equivalent to health.

Conversely, when the flow of qi is blocked, internal imbalance results, a condition that results to illness. The fundamental belief behind acupressure, then, is that pressing certain points on the body, called acupoints, can remove energy blocks along relevant meridians, returning balance to the body and enabling healing to occur.

The ability of acupressure to reduce headaches was shown in a study reported twenty years ago. This research project followed 500 patients for two years and found that acupressure techniques were effective in relieving headache pain. The acupoints used in efforts to eliminate headache are located on the hands and feet as well as the head and neck. The particular point or points pressed depend on the type and location of the headache. Research suggests that applying pressure to specific acupoints also can reduce chronic backache.

The effectiveness of acupressure may be due to the relaxation and comfort that results from hands-on massage, the pressure that results in the release of endorphins (which are the body's natural painkillers), or some other cause. Although very hard or deep pressure may be somewhat painful, acupressure is not invasive and may be worth a try.

However, acupressure should not be used as the only treatment for a chronic problem or for serious injury or illness. In these cases, a licensed physician should be consulted. Acupressure should be avoided near the abdominal area in pregnant women and near varicose veins, wounds, sores, or bones that may be broken.

Your Diet: Don't Forget To Get Plenty Of Antioxidants, Fiber, & Fats

Antioxidants: Our bodies are constantly exposed to "free radicals," or highly reactive molecules that can damage the body and are associated with degenerative diseases. Fruits and vegetables are rich in substances known as phytochemicals, some of which act as antioxidants, protecting us against free radicals. A 3/4 cup of cooked kale can neutralize as many free radicals as 500 mg of vitamin C, or 800 IU of vitamin E.

Other important phytochemicals occur in rice, tea, and spices. Cruciferous vegetables, including cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, contain phytochemicals that seem to be protective against cancer. Some phytochemicals also appear to be helpful for minor illnesses, such as colds.

Fiber: Eating a plant-based diet provides high levels of fiber. Water-soluble fibers, such as gums and pectins, protect against heart disease and diabetes by binding in the gut with bile acids, which contain cholesterol, thus preventing the re absorption of these bile acids. Water-soluble fibers also delay glucose absorption and gastric emptying, which stabilizes blood sugar levels. Water-insoluble fibers, celluloses and hemicelluloses, protect against colon cancer by absorbing water, increasing stool volume, and speeding the passage of stool through the bowel. They also dilute the concentration of toxic bile acids, which can contribute to cancer.

Fats: Government guidelines say that we should consume no more than 30% of total daily calories as fat. Actually, optimal fat intake may be much lower, perhaps 15 to 20%, or even less. To reverse coronary heart disease, try cutting fat to a mere 10% of total calories, and cholesterol to 5 mg. There are three kinds of dietary fats: saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

Saturated fats are primarily found in animal foods and in tropical oils, such as coconut and palm oil, which are solid at room temperature. These fats can be the most harmful, because they easily clog arteries. Polyunsaturated fats are found in safflower, sunflower, corn, and fish oils. They contain both omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFAs). Theoretically, humans evolved on a diet that consisted of small and approximately equal amounts of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, but now most people eat about twenty times more omega-6 than omega-3.

Omega-6 is useful in repairing injuries and causing blood to clot and blood vessels to constrict. Omega-3, however, inhibits blood clotting, relaxes smooth muscles in blood vessel walls, and protects against heart arrythmias, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease. Many foods are rich in omega-3 EFAs, including salmon and mackerel, flax and flaxseed oil. Among oils, flaxseed oil and canola oil are high in omega-3 EFAs, and so are, pumpkin seed, evening primrose, borage seed, walnut, and black currant oils. An excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids is flaxseed oil. It contains 50% omega-3, compared to the 10% found in canola oil.

Some researchers believe that it is better to use monounsaturated fats, which not only reduce the risk of lipid peroxidation but also reduce LDL, or bad cholesterol, while maintaining high levels of HDL, or good cholesterol. Olive oil and canola oil are high in monounsaturated fats.

The Macrobiotic Diet

The macrobiotic diet is based largely in part of the yin-yang principle of balance, a key component of ancient Chinese medicine. Yin and yang are opposite forces believed to describe all components of life and the universe. In macrobiotic diet, the worldview of balance is applied, including the selection, preparation, and consumption of foods.

The macrobiotic diet was developed by Japanese philosopher George Ohsawa, who sought to integrate traditional Asian medicine and belief with Christian teachings and Western medicine. The macrobiotic diet is more than a prescription for specific foods and their preparation. It is also based on a spiritual and social philosophy of living, as well as a unique concept to human physiology and disease. Because this concept was developed without the benefit of professional training or knowledge of anatomy and physiology, it is fanciful and far from accurate. For instance, it states that blood cells, which are actually produced in the bone marrow, are “birthed by a mother red blood cell in the stomach.”

Macrobiotic techniques, including iridology, or looking at a person's eyes to diagnose cancer and other types of diseases, appear to be less commonly accepted than they were a few decades ago. This is a good thing because in the past many sick people failed to have their illnesses properly diagnosed, and failed to receive immediate proper treatment, if at all, often with fatal results. Also, some individuals were "diagnosed" with a cancer they did not really have, "cured" with macrobiotics, and presented publicly as evidence of the ability of macrobiotics to cure cancer. This kind of activity perpetuated an unfortunate cycle.

The false beliefs about how the human body functions and the useless diagnostic techniques of the diet was carried to extremes. Initially the macrobiotic diet consisted almost exclusively of brown rice and a very limited amount of liquid. It was nutritionally deficient, causing a few deaths from starvation. The requirement was modified. It now derives 50 to 60% of its calories from whole grains, 25 to 30% from vegetables, and the remainder from beans, seaweed, and soups. The diet mainly consists of soybean-based foods. A small amount of fish is permitted, and processed foods are avoided.

In-season foods are preferred, and food is to be prepared in very specific ways. Vegetables, for example, should be cooked for long periods of time (a procedure that diminishes their nutritional value). Rice must be pressure-cooked. Only gas stoves are to be used, and utensils should be constructed of wood or other natural materials, glass, ceramic, enamel, or stainless steel. Copper pots, aluminum utensils, and electric stoves are not allowed.

Advocates of the macrobiotic diet believe that it cures cancer, prevents illness, and promotes good health and overall harmony with the external world. The explanations given for these effects concern energy, vibrations, and yin-yang balance. Within the yin-yang ideology, whole-grain foods are considered ideal, not because they are low-fat, low-cholesterol, low-calorie, high-fiber foods, but because they are neutral: they are neither too yin (female) nor too yang (male).

The philosophical context in macrobiotic diet involves the idea of balancing foods that are yin and those that are yang, of calculating the yin and yang of the season and of one's geographic location when selecting and preparing foods, and, for cancer patients, to balance yin cancers with yang foods and vice versa. However, no research supports these ideas.

The macrobiotic diet, however, can have value if not taken to extremes. The diet lowers fat and cholesterol in the body, reduces weight, and produces results associated with low-fat diets. These beneficial results include lower blood pressure and reduced chances of getting heart disease and certain cancers that appear related to fat intake, such as breast cancer.

Caution is crucial, however, because the diet can be seriously deficient in particular nutrients. Studies found serious deficiencies in infants and children who had been on macrobiotic diets. Problems in children included nutritional rickets with breathing abnormalities as well as bone deformities, vitamin B12 deficiency, growth retardation, deficiencies of protein, vitamins, calcium, and riboflavin, leading to retarded growth and slower psychomotor development.

The study of lactating macrobiotic mothers mirrored these results, finding that the mothers' milk was deficient in essential vitamins. Researchers recommend that children on the macrobiotic diet receive dairy products and eggs to provide the missing nutritional components and produce a safer, balanced diet. Pregnant and breast-feeding women similarly should supplement their macrobiotic diets.

The macrobiotic diet, like other vegetarian diets, requires supplementation to balance its deficiencies. A properly supplemented macrobiotic diet is beneficial to good health. A low-fat diet, high in grains and vegetables, supplemented with eggs, cheese, and fish to ensure adequate nutrition, plus plenty of liquid, can help prevent heart disease and some cancers and keep you in good shape.

The Life-Healing Power Of Meditation

Meditation is one of the most accepted alternative therapies in western medicine. It gained serious attention in Western cultures in the 1960s. As word spread of Eastern masters able to perform remarkable feats of bodily control and achieve altered states of consciousness, people in Western countries became increasingly fascinated by meditation. Health practitioners and researchers became interested in understanding how the mind could evoke physiological changes in the body. Meditation's ability to achieve physical benefits gave way to the beginning of the curiosity and research activity that continues to this day.

Meditation has been described in varying, often extreme terms. Viewed by some as a means of maintaining attention and awareness in the present moment, it has also been categorized as a symbol for world peace. As emphasized in most Asian traditions, mental control is the foundation of meditation, and mental control also lies behind meditation's application as a complementary healing technique. Mental mastery is believed to be capable of producing physiological and emotional change. The goal is to improve health in general and facilitate the healing of certain illness.

The practice of meditation includes certain common procedures. The meditator sits or lies quietly, usually with eyes closed, in a peaceful environment devoid of distractions. Mental exercises geared to channel concentration and relax the body are performed. The aim is to stay relaxed yet alert. Typically, a focal point of concentration is selected. This can be an object, a word, or a sound, a mantra or action, or the rhythm of one's own breathing.

Meditation is believed to promote the body's self-healing mechanisms. It is also a method of managing stress. Stress is now widely acknowledged as contributing to and exacerbating many health problems. Therefore, therapies such as meditation are greatly advocated, because these approaches provide effective relaxation techniques that help patients deal with stressful situations.

During meditation, people learn to redirect their attention to the present, reacting neither to experiences of the past nor thoughts of the future. Preoccupation with past and future is believed to be a major source of chronic stress. Meditation provides a mental training that teaches individuals to be aware of what causes their stress, thereby giving them a sense of control.

The benefits of relaxation and stress reduction, in turn, appear to reduce levels of stress hormones, improve immune functioning, diminish chronic pain, improve mood, and enhance fertility. Quieting the conscious mind is believed to allow the body's inner wisdom to be heard. That is, meditation promotes the body's ability to heal itself.

Further benefits attributed to meditation include enhanced immune functioning in individuals with chronic diseases such as cancer and AIDS. Practitioners also claim success with meditation included as part of the treatment of patients with hypertension and heart disease. It is also considered useful in assisting rehabilitative therapies for addictions such as alcohol and drugs.

With regular, long-term meditation, one can experience personal and spiritual growth, obtain richer sensory experiences, greater alertness, and increased mental efficiency, as well as the ability to access deeper levels of awareness. Some practitioners even attest to a mystical sense of oneness with the universe or the higher being.

The major foundation for meditation's popularity, especially as a benefit to personal health, is the belief that the mind can cause changes in the body. Many cultures, particularly those in Asia where meditative strategies have long been included in health regimens, have relied on this idea for centuries. A more recent underlying belief is the idea that stress induces harmful effects on the body. Because meditation emphasizes mental training and relaxation and imparts a sense of control, it is considered a potent agent against stress and anxiety, and therefore has gained widespread acceptance as a valid medical therapy.

Many studies have documented the relationship between meditation and the reduction of stress, anxiety, and panic states. Research has documented the relaxation response produced by meditation and prayer, a response involving decreased heart and respiration rates and eased muscle tension. Meditation has been shown also to help control negative thinking and assist people in managing potentially stressful situations in a calm manner.

Frequent meditation may reduce anxiety, depression, and pain among patients with cancer as well. A 1996 study reported in a journal published by the American Heart Association found that Transcendental Meditation (TM) reduced hypertension in African-American patients.

The relaxation and stress-reduction benefits of meditation are well documented. It has been found to reduce lactic acid levels (high levels of which are associated with anxiety). Mainstream medical practitioners often recommend meditation in conjunction to conventional treatment or as a preventive health measure. Meditation can ease muscle tension, lower oxygen consumption and heart rate, and with practice decrease blood pressure.

The History Of Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a form of medicine that relies on minute amounts of herbs, minerals and other substances to stimulate a person's natural defenses and help the body heal itself, often tames illnesses with a single dose of medicine and causes virtually no side effects. Homeopathy, which is derived from two Greek words, literally means "similar suffering."

Although the concept dates back to at least the10th century B.C., modern homeopathy is based on the observations of Samuel Hahnemann, an 18th century German physician. Dr. Hahnemann considered the medical practices of the time barbaric, because patients were regularly bled,leeched and blistered to purge them of fluids believed to cause most illnesses.
He quit medicine and became a translator of scientific texts. But Dr. Hahnemann continued to experiment on himself with various substances in hopes of finding a more humane way of healing people. He suspected that disease represented an imbalance in what he called the body's vital force (believed to be the immune system) and that only a small stimulus was needed to restore balance in the body's natural defenses.

But that hunch didn't fully bloom until he began experiments to discover why small doses of quinine, an extract from a Peruvian tree bark, cured malaria. To his surprise. Dr. Hahnemann found that large doses of the drug had unexpected effects. After taking massive doses of quinine for several days, he developed trembling, heart palpitations and other symptoms of malaria. As soon as he stopped taking the drug, his symptoms disappeared. From this experiment, Dr. Hahnemann developed his belief that "like is cured by like," also known as the law of similars, which is the basis of homeopathy.

Dr. Hahnemann theorized that if large amounts of a substance such as quinine cause symptoms of illness in a healthy person, then small doses of that same substance should cure an ill person who has similar symptoms. For instance, if you have a cold, taking a small amount of a substance that in large doses would cause coldlike symptoms should cure your sniffles, according to Dr. Hahnemann's theory. But the remedy will work only if its pattern of induced symptoms matches the symptoms of the ill person.

Dr. Hahnemann and his early followers conducted more experiments in which they gave large amounts of herbs, minerals and animal extracts to healthy people and recorded all of the symptoms they developed. Later, he compiled these experiments into a book, called “Materia Medica,” a reference guide first published in 1811 that helps practitioners match a patient's symptoms with a corresponding homeopathic remedy.

Dr. Hahnemann had to overcome one major obstacle. Some of the substances he used, such as arsenic, mercury and belladonna (deadly nightshade), were extremely poisonous. So he diluted the substances in water and alcohol until he believed he had safe doses that would trigger healing in the body without causing any harmful effects. In fact, Dr. Hahnemann theorized that as the doses got smaller, the remedy not only would become less toxic but would actually be more potent and effective as well.

Today, more than 1,200 substances are recognized as homeopathic remedies. Available as pill, powder or liquid, these remedies are considered safe enough that 95% of them are sold over the counter in the United States in many health food stores.

The Health Benefits Of Wine

Around 8,000 to 10,000 years ago, an unknowing soul accidentally let the juice of a sweet fruit - perhaps dates, figs, or even grapes ferment. The outcome: The sugar in the juice fermented to alcohol and wine was born. Since then, wine has been a staple beverage of many cultures. In Mediterranean countries, for instance, people sip wine daily with their meals, and it's believed to be one of the reasons heart-disease rates are low in this European region.

The notion that wine may be good for you is not new. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, referred to wine's attributes in his writings. And today, we know from many research studies that people who drink one or two glasses of wine daily with meals have lower death rates from heart disease and stroke.

Wine's health benefits appear to be twofold. The alcohol in wine, whether red or white, helps protect the heart; and the phytochemicals from the skins of grapes that end up in wine, especially red varieties, also provide protection from heart disease. These two "attributes" raise wine above other alcoholic beverages as a good- for-you drink. But as with anything, especially alcoholic beverages, moderation is the key. In this case, more is definitely not better.

Wine provides heart-healthy benefits. Grape skins contain a class of phytochemical called flavonoids. When red wine is made, the juice ferments with the skins allowing the flavonoids to leach into the wine. This process imparts both flavor and color to the wine. As a result, red wine contains flavonoids. (Grape skins are removed during the making of white wines, hence a very low flavonoid content.) These flavonoids help take care of your heart by protecting your LDLs and preventing dangerous blood clots. (Red or purple grape juice also contains flavonoids but only about one-quarter to one-third the concentration found in red wine.)

Research from the University of Wisconsin shows that red wine flavonoids also help keep the blood platelets from becoming sticky. This means blood clots are less likely to form, lessening the chance of a heart attack. The heart-healthy benefit of wine, primarily red wine, should be put in perspective. Studies that confirm red wine is good for the heart also reveal that those people also typically consume their wine with meals.

Therefore, the timing and amount may be crucial in how both alcohol and flavonoids impact heart health. In fact, in regions of Italy and France where heart disease is relatively low, moderate wine drinking is learned from an early age around the dinner table. Displays of drunkenness are virtually nonexistent, and finding pleasure in sipping wine slowly at meals is typical.

However, drinking an entire bottle one night and then dividing this by seven for a "moderate" average over the week is missing the point. The key here is moderation at all times. Before you rush out and buy a bottle of Merlot, proceed with caution. Alcohol consumption, and this includes red wine, is not without risks.

Regular drinking may impair mental function and memory. Moreover, heavy drinkers (4 to 5 drinks or more per day) have a greater risk of developing hypertension. This increases the chance of stroke and kidney failure. Heavy drinking also increases the likelihood of liver damage and liver disease. In addition, keep in mind that alcohol consumption increases the risk of injuries and accidents at work and on the roadway.

For women, the increased risk of cancer (particularly breast cancer) with drinking must be weighed with the potential benefit of lowering the risk of heart disease. Talk over your cancer risk with your physician before you decide on moderate alcohol consumption (one drink per day).

The Healing Powers Of Love

Philosophers, poets, and theologians strongly believe that love is the very essence of spiritual experience. Every world religion teaches the importance of giving and receiving love. Now scientific research is beginning to verify the healing power of love.

One important reason love improves health is because it generally inspires support from other people. One of the main reasons that frequent attendance at religious services is associated with better health may be that church attendance promotes social support and a sense of belonging, especially among older adults. Social support has been found to be a protective factor in preventing or alleviating many diseases.

In a 1979 study done in Alameda County, evidence showed that social support was one of seven factors that was found to have a positive benefit for health and longevity. People with many close social ties had a lower risk of death than those with few social ties. Moreover, people with close social ties and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors lived longer than those who had healthy behaviors but lacked close social ties.

Even processes such as childbirth can be influenced by social support, according to a 1980 research. Among a group of women receiving social support, mean delivery time was 8.7 hours, compared with 19.3 hours for the group receiving only standard treatment. Mothers who received social support had fewer complications during delivery and more readily bonded with their babies.

In a study done in Alameda county, a 17 year prospective follow-up study by Reynolds in 1990 concluded that among women, social isolation was a risk factor for the onset and progression of cancer. Other studies confirm that social support appears protective against cancer. A 1996 study of women with advanced breast cancer found that having social support was associated with longer survival time.

Social support may promote health and healing in several ways. One way is by helping people resist unhealthy behaviors. Social support also improves health by decreasing the level of stress. Another aspect of love that increases health is the active concern about the well-being of others. Altruistic activities were reported to produce marked benefits in the personal health and well-being of the highly successful individuals.

Giving of oneself to help others enhances well-being and produces feelings of usefulness, especially among older adults. A 1992 study by Dr. James House of the University of Michigan found that volunteer work, more than any other activity, produced a dramatic increase in life expectancy and improved health. Men who did no volunteer work were two and one-half times more likely to die than those who volunteered at least once a week.

Studies suggest that altruistic behavior has a positive effect on immune response even when it is merely observed, rather than engaged in. In a 1985 Harvard University study, noted psychologist Dr. David McClelland found that when students were shown a film about Mother Teresa, they showed an immediate and significant increase in the immune antibody. When students were shown a film about Attila the Hun, their antibody levels dropped.

The Benefits Of Vitamins A & B

Vitamin A: Vitamin A is a group of fat-soluble substances that play a key role in vision, development of bone and skin, and production of red blood cells. They are also important to the establishment of patterns in the human embryo. The applications of carefully limited doses of supplemental vitamin A in maintaining health are numerous. Vitamin A seems to prevent the progression of cervical dysplasia to cervical cancer. A Japanese study found that women with the lowest bloodstream concentrations of vitamin A were 4.5 times more likely to develop cervical cancer than women with the highest bloodstream levels of the vitamin.

The problem with vitamin A is that there is a possibility of birth defects if it is accidentally overdosed during the first 3 months of pregnancy. Unless otherwise indicated for special health conditions, women of reproductive age should limit consumption of supplemental vitamin A to 5,000 IU per day. Very high doses of the vitamin have, on rare occasions (approximately 1 in 5 million births in the United States), caused birth defects. A daily dose of 5,000 IU per day can be used safely during pregnancy but may not prevent cervical cancer.

Vitamin A and zinc deficiency produce the major complications of alcohol abuse, poor night vision, slow healing of wounds to the skin, depressed production of testosterone and estrogen, and poor immune function.

Alcohol interferes with the intestines' ability to absorb vitamin A and zinc. Night blindness is a serious health problem in societies in which women, in particular, are chronically deficient in vitamin A. Vitamin A supplementation greatly reduces but does not eliminate the problem. Zinc supplements added to vitamin A, however, nearly completely eliminate night blindness when the underlying cause is nutritional deficiency.

Relatively low doses of vitamin A are sufficient to prevent immune "burn-out" due to stress on the thymus during various kinds of infections. Vitamin A also makes antibodies more responsive to various kinds of infections, increases the rate at which macrophages engulf and destroy bacteria, and stimulates natural killer (NK) cells.

The first signs of vitamin A overdose are dry skin and chapped lips, especially in dry weather. Later signs of toxicity are headache, mood swings, and pain in muscles and joints. In massive doses, vitamin A itself can cause liver damage. Discontinue vitamin A at the first sign of toxicity.

Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 is a term for a group of related compound including pyridoxal-5'-phosphate, pyridoxine-5'-phosphate, and pyridoxamine-5 '-phosphate, which are absorbed by tissues at slightly different rates. Deficiencies of vitamin B6 are associated with a number of diseases.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) deficiencies cause increased sensitivity to testosterone in the skin. Women who have flare-ups of acne along with PMS often improve after taking vitamin B6. Women who develop acne during testosterone treatment usually benefit from taking B6. Vitamin B6 is useful in treating ADD and ADHD, preferably in its active form, pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP).

Vitamin B6 was as effective as Ritalin in controlling "hyper" behaviors, and that the benefits of vitamin B6 supplementation continued for nearly a month after its daily use was discontinued. Vitamin B6 had an additional advantage in that it increased bloodstream levels of the hormone serotonin, associated with improved social orientation in ADHD.

Supplementation with vitamin B6 can help treat amenorrhea in women who have high levels of the hormone prolactin. This is the hormone that enables milk production, so vitamin B6 is most likely to help women who develop amenorrhea while nursing. It may also help amenorrheic women whose stores of the vitamin have been depleted as a side effect of using oral contraceptives or prescription drugs for asthma or epilepsy.

Vitamin B6 is important for children with asthma. In a study of 76 children with asthma, taking 100 milligrams of vitamin B6 twice a day resulted in fewer attacks, less wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness, and less frequent use of inhalers. In adults, vitamin B6 does not necessarily improve lung capacity, but taking the vitamin results in decreased wheezing.

A series of studies have found that magnesium and vitamin B6 used together are of considerable benefit in treating autism, considerably more than either supplement used by itself. Supplementation with magnesium and vitamin B6 reduces the excretion of homovanillic acid, which is a rough measure of the presence of the stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine in the brain. Presumably the combination of supplements reduces stress.

These are only a few of the applications of vitamin B6. Dosages range up to 500 milligrams per day, but taking more than this amount may cause tingling, numbness, or burning in the fingers or toes. Women who use oral contraceptives and people who take prescription medications for bipolar disorder, unipolar depression, tuberculosis, or seizures are at risk for vitamin B6 deficiency. If you take theophylline (Theo-Dur) for asthma and have any history of seizure disorder or unexplained loss of consciousness, you should not take vitamin B6.

Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a collective term for a group of B vitamins containing cobalt. Deficiency of this vitamin is associated with pernicious anemia, a particularly destructive form of vitamin B12 deficiency that causes blood cells to be broken down faster than they can be replaced. This form of anemia is called "pernicious" because it develops slowly over a period of at least 3-6 years and the damage it causes is well advanced before any symptoms appear.

Staying Healthy Through Physical Conditioning

Our bodies are naturally designed for work. At one time our survival depended both on an ability to escape from danger and a capacity for hard work. Physical conditioning was the natural result of such a life. But modern conveniences have dramatically changed the way we use our bodies. Instead of working in the fields or chasing down dinner, many of us spend all day at a desk and our evenings in front of a television set.

Elevators and escalators have replaced staircases and vacuum cleaners have replaced rug beating. The automobile has become so much a part of our lives that in some areas anyone seen walking on the sidewalk is viewed with suspicion. So if our daily routine does not provide the necessary movement to keep us fit, we owe it to ourselves to find another alternative.

Using our bodies as they were meant to be used is an essential part of living a healthy and balanced life. Along with a proper diet, regular exercise helps prevent many diseases, lengthens life span, and improves the overall quality of life.

Our risk of developing one of the "illnesses of modern civilization" can be decreased by regular exercise. For some time now it has been known that exercising can reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, improve the ratio of lean muscle to fat, and strengthen and increase the heart's efficiency. All of these effects decrease the chance of death due to cardiovascular disease. More recently, scientists have noted a possible connection between certain types of cancer and inactivity. And finally, regular exercise combined with a sensible diet is still the most effective way in combating obesity.

Women benefit from regular exercise in another important way - exercise reduces the risk of osteoporosis by increasing bone formation and delaying bone loss. For women who already have the condition, exercise can help stop the progression of the disease. And because regular exercise reduces glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, it is helpful in controlling diabetes as well as in reducing the risk of adult-onset diabetes. Exercise also stimulates the secretion of other kinds of hormones that have been linked to decreases in clinical symptoms of anxiety and depression.

In addition, by improving circulation and nourishing tissues, exercise increases the range of movement of body joints, reduces the effects of stress and tension, and decreases or even cures insomnia. Of course there is some risk of injury with any kind of exercise. But the improved strength, balance, and coordination that comes from regular exercise greatly reduces the risk of all kinds of injuries.

Many activities can improve physical fitness, but some may be more suitable for you than others. A well-rounded fitness program should incorporate three basic components: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, and flexibility. Following this guideline, any program you select should include exercises that increase heart and lung capacity, stretch tight muscle groups and strengthen weak ones.

Cardiorespiratory fitness refers to how well the lungs deliver oxygen to the blood and how well the heart and circulatory system send blood and its nutrients throughout the body.

Programs that develop heart and lung capacity are often referred to as being aerobic, and they accomplish their goal by elevating the heart rate for a sustained period.

Aerobic exercise typically serves as the foundation for any fitness program since a healthy heart and lungs are essential to the safe and skillful performance of almost all activities and sports.

Depending on your level of fitness and what you hope to achieve, most experts recommend a minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic exercise three to five days a week. You may choose any activity that uses large muscle groups that can be maintained continuously and that is cardiorespiratory in nature. Examples include brisk walking, swimming, sprinting, bicycling, cross-country skiing, skating, stair-climbing, hiking, dancing, basketball, and soccer.

Intensity, or the speed of the workout, is crucial and is measured by how fast the heart is made to beat. Usually the goal is to reach 65% to 90% of the exerciser's highest possible heart rate and sustain this rate for some length of time.

Muscular strength and endurance exercises use progressive resistance to increase the size and strength of muscle fibers, resulting in a greater physical ability to perform work. Free weights are typical examples of the types of resistance equipment used in building strength. Push-ups, chin-ups, and curls produce similar results, but require no special equipment since they utilize the body's own weight as the source of resistance.

Despite popular conceptions, strength and endurance training is not just for weight lifters, boxers, and body-builders, but is an effective way of improving general fitness, converting fat to muscle, and increasing metabolic rate.

Stretching is an aspect of fitness that is often neglected. Many people choose activities that focus on strength and cardiorespiratory fitness but little in support of flexibility. However, most physical fitness professionals consider it an important element in achieving top physical performance. Some people are naturally less limber than others; to avoid strain or injury, the safest flexibility exercise is a slow, sustained stretch.

Flexibility training is all about increasing the range of motion around a joint. Many things determine a joint's flexibility, including the structure of the joint and the resilience of the attached muscles and connective tissue. As muscles become stronger through exercise, they also become tighter. That is, unless flexibility training is done. On this basis, gentle stretching may reduce the tightening effect of strength training and other endurance activities, as well as reduce the risk of injury.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong: Two Powerful Ancient Chinese Exercise Programs

Tai Chi: The most popular form of exercise in China. It developed as a "soft" martial art in the early 1200s. It is now a component of traditional Chinese medicine and is practiced primarily for its health benefits. Tai chi consists of a precise sequence of slow, graceful movements, accompanied by deep breathing and mental attention to achieve balance between body and mind and to focus the qi (pronounced chee), or vital energy. A practitioner's weight is shifted while the body is kept stable and upright.

Because it can be practiced anywhere and by people of any age and physical ability, tai chi is an attractive exercise program for disabled or elderly people. Tai chi involves an energy expenditure equivalent to that of other low to moderate aerobic activities. Exercises can be completed in fifteen to twenty minutes and are ideally practiced twice a day.

Practitioners of tai chi report mood enhancement and physiological changes similar to those produced by other moderate forms of exercise. However, tai chi is uniquely beneficial for improving posture and balance. Because of this effect, tai chi may help prevent injuries from falling. Significant studies on this technique include the following:

One of the earliest studies done in 1982 by Dr. Lansheng Gong of the Shanghai Medical College, studied the electrocardiograms of one hundred tai chi practitioners and found benefits. However, he also noted that these beneficial effects did not seem attributable to the amount of physical exercise, and other mechanisms needed to be discovered.

A 1992 study by Dr. Shuk-kuen Tse and Dr. Diana M. Bailey concluded that tai chi helped improve balance among people who were largely sedentary. From a 1995 study by Dr. Jinshin Lai and associates, elderly tai chi practitioners showed significantly improved cardiorespiratory function, compared to sedentary subjects. However, another study found that tai chi conferred no significant changes in blood pressure or heart rate.

An ongoing study by Dr. Kate Long at Stanford University School of Medicine will determine the potential applicability of tai chi for patients suffering from arthritis and fibromyalgia. A second study by Dr. William L. Haskell will evaluate the role of tai chi as compared to traditional Western exercise in improving the physical and psychological health of older men and women.

Well-designed research seems to conclude that tai chi, as a form of exercise for elderly people, may prove a valuable part of health maintenance programs, both for preventing falls and for maintaining fitness.

Qi Gong: Qi Gong (pronounced chee gong) is another ancient Chinese exercise involving physical movements and breathing exercises. An element of traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to circulate internal qi, which, according to Chinese medicine, is the vital energy that flows through the body in a system of subtle channels known as meridians. Qi Gong is intended to direct the internal qi, and promote health.

There are two basic kinds of Qi Gong, internal and external. Internal Qi Gong is used for self-healing and health maintenance. It can be performed in any position, including standing, sitting, walking, or even lying down. External Qi Gong is practiced by Qi Gong masters or Qi Gong doctors, and involves projecting the qi energy out of one's body to heal another.

In China, Qi Gong is used for disease prevention as well as therapy. Although the movements resemble those of tai chi, they do not flow smoothly from one to another, but consist of short sequences of movements that are repeated many times. Qi Gong has been studied in China for its impact on arthritis and cancer, and for general health maintenance.

Among conditions that reportedly benefit from Qi Gong are many health problems of elderly people, including high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, arthritis, and gastrointestinal ailments. The exercise also appears to help immune function. Studies on Qi Gong have suggested that many age-related changes can be affected through regular practice.

Included in the studies are: A twenty-year study in China by Wang, completed in 1993, reported benefits of lowered blood pressure. Patients using Qi Gong experienced a 50% decrease in death and illness from strokes.

Research in China by Sheng-han in 1994 indicated that Qi Gong was able to alter such physiological reactions as EEGs, EMGs, respiratory movement, heart rate, skin potential, skin temperature, sympathetic nerve function, stomach and intestinal function, and metabolic rate.

During a 1997 study by Dr. Wen-hsien Wu of the New Jersey Medical School, Qi Gong was helpful for patients with reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a debilitating disease of the autonomic nervous system that often resists medical intervention. For these patients, Qi Gong significantly reduced pain and anxiety.

In a hospital in Beijing, ninety-three patients with advanced cancer were treated with a combination of drugs and Qi Gong exercises, while a control group was treated with drugs alone. 81% of the Qi Gong group showed a dramatic improvement in strength, 63% in appetite, and 33% were free from diarrhea, compared to improvements of 10%, 10%, and 6%, respectively, in the other group.

Sleep: Nature's Best Medicine

There is absolutely nothing in the world that can take the place of sleep. We must not let the body go short on sleep, since there is simply no substitute for it. Experience and observation also tell us that bedtime has something to do with the going and coming of daylight. We are aware of the fact that sleep before midnight is more refreshing and relaxing than sleep afterwards. If we postpone our bedtime mainly to the hours after midnight, we will not derive the healing and strengthening benefits from sleep that we would by going to bed earlier, because the hours before midnight count double.

Not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. The individual requirements lie generally between 6 and 10 hours. Anyone who cuts sleep short so that he can work more will soon notice that he has calculated wrongly. During the day his energy will decline and his efficiency will diminish. If we need much sleep in order to feel fresh during the day, we should not compare ourselves with those who get by with less. We must by all means obtain the amount that our bodies require.

People who are engaged in demanding employment are often so exhausted in the evening that they feel unable to cope with their duties. But how amazed they are the next morning, when after a good night's rest and refreshing sleep they are able to easily deal with what the evening before seemed an insurmountable impossibility. That is why no one appreciates sleep more and experiences its revitalizing powers better than those who have had a busy day. But he who instead puts it off because of other activities or by means of stimulants, should not be surprised if in time sleep fails to perform its duty.

Many people complain that they cannot sleep. Even children are often unable to do so. All of these disruptions are either connected with overdoing or with taking things that stimulate. Children not yet subject to work pressure can nevertheless have this problem if their parents neglect to observe the routine the children's age demands.

Years ago it used to be common for children to go to bed early. Today children often watch television late into the night. By thus resisting sleep they disorganize the natural sleep pattern. If in addition they have nutritional deficiencies, one need not wonder why their fresh, healthy looks disappear and become sick often. Children who are robbed of their necessary sleep over any length of time will become nervous and irritable and will gradually lose the benefits of invigorating sleep. This disadvantage cannot be corrected easily in later years.

Read This If You Want To Laugh Your Way To Good Health!

Laughter therapy is the use of humor as a complementary treatment for people suffering from physical or emotional disorders. In medical facilities, laughter therapy is usually available in a special room in the hospital or ambulatory care facility. These are rooms where patients can go to relax and get away for a while from the medical atmosphere. Usually, these rooms contain small libraries that include humorous books, videos, toys, and other amusing objects.

Some hospitals have volunteers who wheel carts filled with books, toys, audio and videotapes, and other objects to patients' rooms. Trained laughter therapists are also available in some cities, and patients or family members often try humor therapy on their own.

Some states have volunteers with established transportable humor and laughter programs, consisting of cartons of items that they bring to inpatient facilities when invited. The items include rubber chickens and water pistols, which patients apparently use to everyone's amusement with their physicians and dietary staff.

Humor also involves one on one interactions between patients and caregivers. One can benefit from reading, listening to, or viewing what they find funny. Because people differ in what they think is funny and what makes them laugh, laughter therapy is often individualized.

Laughter as a complementary therapy is recognized as helpful for many patient groups in many medical circumstances, all of which are complementary. Advocates do not claim that humor or laughter cures disease. Humor therapy is brought to cancer patients, sick children, people under treatment for depression, the elderly in nursing homes, cardiac patients, and other groups. The main goal of the therapy is to improve the quality of life, provide symptom relief by distracting the patient from constant awareness of pain, and improve emotional and psychological health by encouraging relaxation and stress reduction.

As part of support programs for patients, humor can provide a means of communication between patients and their caregivers and loved ones. Often it does this by serving as an icebreaker, allowing patients to convey their ideas or feelings that are often difficult or awkward to express in other ways.

Although common sense would seem to be the rationale for including laughter and humor in patient care settings, laughter has a long history in medical practice. Laughter was used as an "anesthetic" to distract patients during surgical procedures in the 13th century, and other references to it appear in ancient medical literature. Reports of the physiological benefits of laughter are also found in the American medical literature from the early years of the 20th century.

The physiological effects of laughter include an increase in heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen consumption, which in turn stimulate the circulatory system. Laughter also massages and exercises the muscles and organs involved in breathing, as well as causing the release of endorphins, which are the body's natural morphinelike compounds that help control pain. Advocates believe that these physiological effects explain the therapeutic benefits of laughter and humor.


Researches have documented the physiological effects of laughter, and anecdotal reports describe patients' appreciation and positive experiences with humor and laughter. A recent university-based research concluded that laughing lowers blood pressure and increases muscle flexibility in addition to releasing endorphins. Endorphins not only reduce pain; they also induce a degree of euphoria, and therefore may further enhance the positive effects of laughter.

Furthermore, there are evidence indicating that laughter increases immune activity, and that it can reduce levels of cortisol, a stress hormone associated with suppressing the immune system. The results of other investigations show that laughter increases natural killer cell activity in the immune system. These studies are preliminary, and so far have limited clinical implications.

All in all, laughter and humor are distracting and uplifting. They help people cope with stress and illness, and create an environment that is relaxing. They certainly enhances the quality of life for people in general.

Protect Your Ears From Hearing Loss

Even though age-related hearing loss generally begins in a person's fifties, it may happen sooner if hearing loss runs in your family or you've been exposed to excessively loud noises.

Noisy places are some of the most likely settings for age-related hearing loss. High-pitched conversation noise and rattling dishes will steal the words of your companions, and distractions may make it difficult for you to rely on a defense mechanism you may not even realize that you've been using: lipreading.

As we age, a change slowly takes place in a certain region of the inner ear, the cochlea, when hair cells that pick up high-pitched sounds begin to deteriorate. You'll think that you can hear, but you don't always understand, and that's because you're actually hearing only part of a word spoken, says Dr. House of the House Ear Institute. Environmental noise only adds to the damage done by age alone.

Whether you can still discern every word of every conversation or you've already noticed some loss of clarity, there are things that you can do to keep your hearing sharp and healthy. The most important thing that you can do to preserve your hearing is to protect yourself from loud noises, says Dr. House. Wear ear protection if you're mowing the lawn, riding in a noisy motorboat, or going to a monster truck rally, he advises. Be aware that the volume at concerts has gotten no less ear-splitting than what you remember. "We've seen people who suffered permanent hearing loss from one exposure at a concert or disco," says Dr. House.

Habitual exposure to noise is worse than the occasional blast of jet engine noise you hear as you climb the steps to your commuter flight. If you work in an area where people routinely have to raise their voices to be heard, you're at risk. Wear ear protection, and wear it consistently, says Dr. House.

If you have a hunch that you are beginning to suffer mild hearing loss, get it checked out. Hearing loss is not only a sign of age. "There are all kinds of causes of hearing loss, and sometimes they are treatable with surgery or medications," says Dr. House.

Otosclerosis, the hardening of bones within the ear, is a condition that is 90% curable with delicate surgery, for example. Other mimickers of age-related hearing loss include Menieres disease, which is treated by medication or surgery, or even a benign tumor on a nerve that lies within the ear. Even though such tumors aren't malignant, they need to be detected early. Besides causing hearing loss, they can grow, causing pressure on the brain.

The best specialist to see is an otolaryngologist, once known as an ear-nose-and-throat doctor, or an otologist, a medical doctor who specializes exclusively in diseases of the ear. Once you've been checked for potential physiological problems of the ear or other hearing-related health problems, you'll probably be referred to an audiologist, a specialist in the testing of hearing. You may take a test in a soundproof booth with special headphones while you use a device to indicate when you hear sounds of various pitches with each ear.

Hearing aids have become smaller, more inconspicuous, and vastly more sophisticated than they were even just a few years ago. Many are digital and capable of filtering out peripheral noise, so they selectively amplify the sounds you've been missing and most want to hear, like voices.

Oxygen Therapy

Without oxygen, we cannot live for more than a few minutes. We breathe it in from the air, and our red blood cells carry it through the bloodstream to nourish organs and tissues. But can oxygen, as produced by ozone and hydrogen peroxide, cure serious diseases such as cancer and AIDS? Advocates of a group of therapies known variously as hyperoxygenation, oxidative therapy, and ozone therapy, claim that it can.

Oxygen therapies involve administering ozone or hydrogen peroxide into the body for the purpose of treating disease. Most oxygen molecules in the atmosphere are composed of two atoms. When this oxygen, known as O2 collides with single atoms of oxygen under the right conditions, a three-atom molecule of oxygen, known as ozone, or O3, is created.

The ozone layer is in the upper atmosphere, approximately thirty miles above the earth's surface. Because of its chemical structure, ozone is capable of absorbing certain forms of radiation from the sun. If this radiation were not absorbed but instead passed through to the earth's surface, plant and animal life as we know it could not exist on earth. In the lower atmosphere, however, ozone can be a health hazard. Here it is a product of chemical reactions between sunlight and nitric oxide from car and factory emissions. If the ozone concentration in the air gets too high, it can irritate eyes and lungs and aggravate the problems of people who suffers breathing difficulties.

Ozone is not an accepted or proven medical therapy. However, advocates promote it for use in several ways. It is administered intravenously, through injection into muscle or skin, or by infusion into the rectum or vagina. Some practitioners draw small amounts of blood from the body, place the blood in a machine that infuses ozone into it, and then pump the ozone-rich blood back into the patient.

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is composed of two atoms of oxygen and two atoms of hydrogen. It is formed when water reacts with a single atom of oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide, commonly used for wound cleansing and disinfection, is applied to the skin only. But advocates of oxygen therapy promote regimens involving internal delivery of hydrogen peroxide.

Most ozone or hydrogen peroxide treatments involve injection of diluted solutions of ozone and hydrogen peroxide. Advocates of oxygen therapies claim that it treats and can cure many diseases and conditions such as asthma, emphysema, AIDS, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer's, and certain cancers.

Ozone and hydrogen peroxide produce oxygen atoms with facility. Ozone is unstable and splits easily into two atoms: one stable oxygen molecule and one atom of oxygen. Hydrogen peroxide also will split into a molecule of water (which consists of two hydrogen atoms plus an oxygen atom) and one atom of oxygen. According to oxygen therapy advocates, these single oxygen atoms provide oxygen that the body uses both to prevent diseases from starting and to fight diseases that already present in the body.

Advocates of oxygen therapy believe that disease is caused by microorganisms that thrive in low-oxygen environments. The microorganisms are said to thrive because they are less complex in terms of evolutionary development than normal body cells are, and therefore they require less oxygen. Lacking adequate oxygen, microorganisms in body tissues are thought to be able to spread and cause disease and illness such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. According to oxymedicine advocates, our bodies can become depleted of oxygen by pollutants, poor diet, stress, and other causes. When ozone therapy is administered, oxygen levels are raised. Elevated oxygen levels are believed to destroy the disease-causing toxins and microorganisms.

Potential medical uses of both ozone and hydrogen peroxide have been explored for over a century. In the 1920s, hydrogen peroxide was used to treat the flu. In the 1940s it was studied in animal tests for possible use against carbon monoxide poisoning. For these uses, hydrogen peroxide was shown to be ineffective or much less effective than other available therapies. Hydrogen peroxide currently is applied in medicine only to cleanse and disinfect wounds and in dentistry as an irrigating agent in treating root canal problems and gum disease.

Similarly, ozone has been studied for its potential medical benefits since the 19th century. In recent times it has been investigated for possible use against AIDS. Ozone showed an ability to inactivate the HIV virus in blood and serum in laboratory experiments. However, follow-up studies in people with AIDS have been disappointing, failing to show that ozone had an effect against the disease. Treatments that appear promising in the laboratory are not always effective in humans.

Warning! Hydrogen peroxide can be harmful, causing toxic reactions if taken internally in excessive amounts or as an undiluted preparation. Some individuals, acting on their own and under no care or supervision, have become seriously ill and others have died from drinking hydrogen peroxide.

Massage: A 5,000 Year-Old Healing Art

Massage has been around for at least 5,000 years. Just about every other culture practiced some form of body manipulation to ease pain and prevent or cure illness. Long before aspirin and heating pads were available, people have treated their sore bodies with a massage. When a caveman twisted one of his knees, he rubbed it. When an Egyptian princess had pain in her temples, she rubbed them. Massage is probably the most natural of natural remedies, and it can also be a powerful healer.

People all over the world have developed special massage techniques. Many of these require years of training to master and can't be done on yourself. However, there are self-massage techniques that you can use to help with many common health concerns. For instance, you can rub away stress, headaches, restless legs, muscle cramps with techniques that require only practice, a warm, quiet area and a little massage oil, which you can even make yourself in your kitchen.

In the 19th century, a Swede named Peter Hendrik Ling developed what is now the most widely known and studied form of massage in the Western world: Swedish massage. Many massage experts believe that the Swedish massage offer benefits including: Reduced muscle tension; Stimulated or soothed nervous system; Enhanced skin condition; Improved blood circulation; Better digestion and intestinal function; Increased mobility in joints; Relief of chronic pain; Reduced swelling and inflammation.

A Swedish massage therapist uses soothing, tapping and kneading strokes to work the entire body, relieve muscle tension and loosen sore joints. The technique uses five basic strokes. They are:

Effleurage: A French word that means "stroking." It's a warm-up technique that lets a person get used to the feel of the therapist's hands. Experts say that the gliding stroke primarily improves circulation.

Petrissage: A technique in which you lightly grab and lift muscles, pulling them away from the bones. You then "knead" the muscles by rolling and squeezing them. Massage therapists believe this stroke helps relieve sore muscles by clearing away lactic acid, a by-product created by your muscles when they work extra hard. Petrissage may also increase circulation to muscle tissue.

Friction: Involves using thumbs and fingertips to work deep circles into the thickest parts of muscles and around the joints. These circular motions may help break adhesions, knots of tissue that form when muscle fibers bind together. Experts say friction may also make soft tissue and joints more flexible.

Tapotement: Includes all of the chopping, beating and tapping strokes in Swedish massage. A few seconds of tapotement can invigorate your muscles, stimulate them and give you a burst of energy. But if you use the technique for a longer period, it will begin to fatigue and thereby relax the muscle, a welcome result for muscles that are cramped, strained or in spasm.


Vibration: Strokes that involve pressing fingers or flattened hands firmly on a muscle, then shaking the area rapidly for a few seconds. This may help stimulate your nervous system, experts say, and could boost circulation and improve the function of your glands.

Massage may slow the body's release of the stress hormone cortisol. A massage before bedtime also seems to lengthen the deepest phase of sleep, allowing your muscles and other body parts more time to regenerate. In addition, massage may increase your body's production of the hormone, serotonin, which can improve your mood, boost your immune system and even prevent migraine.

Below are 3 other common forms of massage:

Deep tissue massage: Targets chronic tension in muscles that lie far below the surface of the body. Deep muscle techniques usually involve slow strokes, direct pressure or friction movements that go across the grain of the muscles. Massage therapists will use their fingers, thumbs or occasionally even elbows to apply the needed pressure. A therapist may use Swedish massage in combination with deep tissue.

Sports massage: Designed to help you train better, whether you're a national champion or a weekend athlete. The techniques are similar to those in Swedish and deep tissue massage, but sports massage has been adapted to meet the athlete's special needs. Pre-event massage can help warm up muscles and improve circulation before competition. It can also energize or relax an athlete and help him focus on the competition. Post-event massage can push waste products out of the body and improve recovery. Sports massage also help athletes prevent or work through minor aches and pains accumulated during training and can allow them to train more effectively. It also helps athletes recover from injuries and helps in rehabilitation.

Neuromuscular massage: A form of deep tissue massage that is applied to individual muscles. It is used to increase blood flow, reduce pain and release pressure on nerves caused by injuries to muscles and other soft tissue. Neuro-muscular massage helps release trigger points, intense knots of tense muscle that can also "refer" pain to other parts of the body. For instance, relieving a tense trigger point in your back could help ease pain in your shoulder or reduce headaches.

Lead Poisoning: A Health Threat That Could Be Hurting You & Your Loved Ones

While adults can generally tolerate the low levels of lead that may be present in our homes, top officials in our federal government are now calling lead poisoning the nation's primary environmental threat to children. According to the EPA, one out of nine children under age six has enough lead in his blood for it to be a health problem.

Lead is a naturally occurring metallic element whose toxicity is well established. It is a cumulative poison, so while one small exposure may not seem harmful, repeated exposures can build up over time. Because lead is an element, it never decomposes into another substance that might be more easily tolerated, and it never leaves your body. Damage from consistent lead exposure is usually irreversible.

Early symptoms of lead poisoning include abdominal pains, loss of appetite, constipation, muscle pains and weakness, irritability, a metallic taste in the mouth, excessive thirst, nausea and vomiting, headache, insomnia, depression, and lethargy. Repeated low-level exposure has been found to produce anemia, stomach ailments, and permanent neuropsychological defects and behavior disorders in children, including noticeable learning difficulties, poor scores on IQ and development tests, and short attention spans. In very high doses, lead can cause brain damage, nervous system disorders, and death, although such heavy poisoning is unlikely from exposure around your home. There is no safe level for lead.

The household lead exposure people generally think of first is caused by lead-based paints. Manufacturers removed much of the lead from paint in the 1950s, and the federal government banned lead in paint altogether in 1978. While this means we don't have to worry about lead in a new can of paint, there is still great concern about the lead that is already on the walls in millions of homes across America. 75% of all private housing built before 1980 has some lead paint. Since lead was a standard ingredient in paint at that time, lead-painted walls may be found in houses in all older neighborhoods, whether well-to-do or poor.

Many children get lead poisoning not from eating paint chips, but rather from breathing fine paint dust stirred up by the opening and closing of windows with lead-painted window frames, or from the removal or disturbance of old paint during renovations. It can be found on the exterior and interior of houses - on walls, window and door trims, railings, baseboards, and radiators.

It takes very little lead to cause lead poisoning. The Centers for Disease Control has set ten micrograms per deciliter as the level above which some sort of action should be taken. A child can reach lead/blood levels of three times that amount by ingesting lead equivalent to one granule of sugar a day, which could easily happen if a child touches a windowsill and sucks his thumb on a regular basis.

Tap water is another source of lead. Lead in water causes 10 to 20% of overall childhood lead exposure. If your water comes from a well, travels through old lead-soldered pipes, or is known to be very corrosive, you may have cause for concern.

The glaze on ceramic and pottery dishware can also cause significant lead exposure. Lead is used to create bright colors and mask deficiencies in the pottery and has been known to be a problem, especially in imported pieces. The federal government prohibits the sale of dinnerware that releases lead in amounts greater than 2,000 parts per billion, which prevents direct cases of lead poisoning. However, in 1986, the state of California passed legislation requiring written warnings on any dishware that releases lead in amounts greater than 224 ppb, based on the potential longterm health risk to young children and developing fetuses.

Pregnant women should be especially careful during pregnancy, as developing fetuses are the most vulnerable. Most important, do not start to strip paint or wallpaper to prepare the new nursery now if there is any chance that old layers of lead paint may lurk below.

Children are most likely to get lead poisoning between the ages of six months and six years, when lead dust from carpeting, toys, or the floor can most easily get in their mouths and lungs. Your doctor can order a blood-lead test for your child if you suspect your child has been contaminated.

If you live in a house or apartment built before 1980, inspect your building carefully for signs of paint chips or dust. Look at windowsills, baseboards, and especially door frames, where friction can grind up paint layers. To remove dust, damp-mop or wipe with a solution of trisodium phosphate (TSP), which can be purchased at paint or hardware stores. As with asbestos, it is better to leave lead paint in place if intact rather than create a hazard by disturbing it. But if you find you have a major problem that requires removal, hire a qualified contractor. Complete removal might cost thousands of dollars, but you can significantly reduce the hazard by replacing doors, window frames, or contaminated carpeting, or by putting up wallpaper or paneling.

To remove lead from drinking water, you will need a reverse osmosis system or distiller. Inexpensive carbon filters will not remove lead . Before you buy ceramic or pottery dinnerware, ask about the lead used in glazes. Lead releases can vary from style to style from a single manufacturer, so be specific. When in doubt, don't buy it.

I Love My Coffee, But Is It Bad For My Health?

About 80% of Americans over the age of 20 drink coffee. In fact, many of us are addicted to a daily dose of caffeine. But is our habitual coffee-drinking "grounds" for concern when it comes to heart health? About 30 years ago researchers began their studies for a possible coffee-and-heart-disease connection. Perhaps not surprisingly, researchers discovered that coffee drinkers appear to have a greater risk for heart attacks than non-drinkers.

Yet the scientific evidence wasn't solid; some studies found no ill effects of coffee. Some of the conflicting results were due to the fact that many heavy coffee drinkers are also smokers, which unto its own, causes heart disease. But this didn't explain why even among nonsmokers, heart-disease risk appeared linked to coffee-drinking under certain conditions.

Scientists noticed that European research studies tended to find a link between coffee drinking and heart attacks while studies here in the U.S. failed to find this connection. Why the difference? Coffee brewing methods typically used in Europe, such as boiled or espresso coffee, may be to blame.

According to new research, coffee beans contain substances that raise blood cholesterol levels. These chemicals, called cafestol and kahweol, are found in coffee oils which can be leached out into the coffee depending on how it is brewed. Cafestol and kahweol end up in the brew when the coffee grounds come in contact with boiling hot water. Boiled coffee (grounds combined with boiling water and allowed to steep), espresso, plunger pot coffee, and Turkish coffee are all prepared in this way. And it makes no difference if the coffee beans are decaf or regular, both contain coffee oils with cafestol and kahweol.

Drip coffee, however, is free of these chemicals. When coffee runs through a filter, cafestol and kahweol get trapped in the filter paper. So drip coffee, most commonly served in the U.S., has virtually no cafestol or kahweol. This helps explain why researchers in the U.S. didn't find a consistent connection between coffee drinking and heart attack risk.

Coffee made from instant is also low in these harmful substances. Researchers were surprised to find out that percolated coffee is also low in cafestol and kahweol despite the fact it comes in direct contact with the coffee grounds without a filter.

Cafestol and kahweol can raise cholesterol levels significantly. Cafestol and kahweol boost LDL levels, the cholesterol carrier that blocks arteries. In fact, several studies show that regular intake of cafestol and kahweol, the amount found in about five cups of Turkish brewed coffee, can raise LDL levels by a whooping 25%.

In addition to boosting blood cholesterol levels, coffee drinking may also spell trouble for people at risk for high blood pressure. In one study, researchers showed that young men at risk for high blood pressure may be more sensitive to caffeine's stimulatory effect by raising blood pressure. The study participants were tested under a mentally stressful situation following a dose of caffeine equal to two to three cups of coffee. Researchers found elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes blood pressure to rise. Other studies show that caffeine causes blood pressure numbers to rise in people that are already diagnosed with hypertension.

If you have high blood pressure or at a risk, keep caffeine consumption to a minimum. Ask your physician about interaction of caffeine and other medications you may be taking in the event excessive caffeine intake may change the effectiveness of your drugs.

Researchers are still not in agreement whether coffee is truly detrimental to your heart, especially when compared to other culprits such as eating too much fat. But enough evidence exists to warn coffee drinkers that moderating their coffee consumption may well be in their heart's best interest.

How much coffee is considered "not too much"? Most researchers agree that in excess of five cups of drip, instant, or percolated coffee per day warrants some cautions, particularly if blood cholesterol levels are in the risky range and/or blood pressure is on the rise.

If you drink several cups of coffee daily, ease back by cutting one cup every few weeks. This helps avoid possible caffeine withdrawal troubles such as headache and feelings of fatigue.

Try substituting decaffeinated grounds for regular. Start off slowly by replacing less than one-fourth the grounds with decaf. Then increase the proportion of decaf every few weeks.

How Indoor Air Pollution May Be A Health-Risk For You & Your Family

Indoor air pollutants are not easy to deal with, but we can begin our rundown of household toxics with them, because they pose the greatest hazards to health. If your home contains one of these pollutants, changing anything else won't make much difference, because these override everything both in their degree of harm and their quantity of exposure.

Indoor air pollution has become a problem in the past two decades because of the combination of sealing up our homes for energy efficiency without appropriate air-exchange equipment and filling them with more and more toxic products. Particle-board furniture and cabinets, cleaning products, pesticides, plastics and synthetic fibers used in furnishing and construction, carpeting, drapes, scented items, gas appliances and heaters, and many other common items made from petrochemicals all contribute to an increase in indoor air pollution.

The level of toxic pollutants inside many houses is often higher than that of the air outside, sometimes even higher than the maximum allowable outdoor standards. At present, many government agencies and private firms are studying indoor air pollution, its effects, and what to do about it.

In one study in New Jersey, researchers outfitted 350 people with special test monitors that would continuously sample the surrounding air and measure their exposure to 20 separate organic chemicals. At the same time, they also monitored 100 backyards for outdoor levels of pollutant. When they looked at the test data, they found that people living farther away from polluting industries did not show any less personal exposure than people who lived closer.

The most important factor was indoor air pollution. In some homes, pollutant levels were 100 times higher than outdoors. This study also pointed out another important fact: What we breathe travels throughout our bodies. Samples showed residues of gasoline on the breath of some people hours after they had filled their gas tanks, while a short visit to the dry cleaner resulted in tetrachloroethylene on the breath. Even taking a hot shower elevated breath levels of chloroform, which is released in the stream of chlorinated water.

Often indoor air problems go undetected by those exposed because of a phenomenon known as "olfactory fatigue" where you noticed a strong odor when you first walked into a room, but then a few minutes later, you completely forgot about it and, in fact, couldn't smell it at all. A few sniffs of the same smell, and the ability of your nose to perceive odor is dulled. Gas leaks, for example, frequently go undetected until someone else visits the house and smells gas upon entering. Your nose is the first tool you can use to identify indoor pollutants.

To get a fresh sniff of your house, spend the day outdoors in the cleanest air you can to "cleanse" the olfactory sense in your nose. Then come home and sniff the minute you open the door. Keeping windows closed while you're away will help intensify the smells. If there are odors present, you should be able to smell them in the first few sniffs, and then less and less as you continue to breathe.

If you need another round of sniffs, go back outside and breathe some "clean" air, then go inside again and notice what you smell in the first few sniffs. If you don't notice any odors, have a friend come over and sniff. After breathing the same odors day in and day out, it may take some time to restore your sense of smell.

Once you determine there is a problem, the air quality in your home can be professionally tested, if necessary, and you can take steps to remove sources of pollution. The most effective way to reduce indoor air pollution is to eliminate pollutants at their source. The more of them you replace with nontoxic products, the cleaner and safer the air inside your home will be. In particular, try to remove:

1. scented beauty and hygiene products
2. cleaning products made from synthetic chemicals
3. pesticides
4. plastics, synthetic fibers and fabrics
5. office supplies with volatile ingredients
6. household furnishings made from synthetic materials
7. gas appliances and heaters
8. building materials made from formaldehyde

A second option is to increase ventilation. Keep your windows open as much as the weather allows and, even better, invest in a window fan. If you need more ventilation but don't want to lose heat, consider an air-to-air heat exchanger

Houseplants can also help clean the air. Tests done by NASA have shown that common houseplants remove pollutants as they go through their natural process of photosynthesis - while plants draw in carbon monoxide, they also pick up airborne pollutants through small openings called stomates in the leaves. They are very effective at removing gases such as formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, benzene, cigarette smoke, and ozone, which are harmful for us to breathe, but a gourmet meal for a plant. Aloe vera (which is a good plant to have around to treat burns and skin irritations), bamboo palm, common chrysanthemums, dracaena palms, philodendrons, golden pothos, spider plants, and scheffleras are among the better air filters.

Heart-Healthy Snacks: Get Yourself Some Almonds & Peanuts!

Most nuts have heart-healthy monounsaturated fat that won't put a glitch in your cholesterol readings. Almonds, in particular, are Mother Nature's heart-protecting nut. In every ounce, you get 10% of fiber and zinc needs, 25% of magnesium, and a good dose of vitamin E. Research shows that with the help of these nutrients, eating almonds as part of your daily fare can lower blood cholesterol levels.

In a recent study, researchers from Canada and the U.S. selected men and women with risky blood cholesterol levels as subjects for an almond eating study. For the first few weeks, the participants ate a heart-smart low-saturated fat, low-cholesterol, high-fiber diet that limited fatty meats, dairy products, and eggs.

For the next nine weeks all the participants ate 3 1/2 ounces of almonds daily and used only almond oil in cooking. This addition of almonds boosted the participants total intake of fat from 28% to a whopping 37% of total calories from fat, a level that's sure to send cholesterol levels skyrocketing. But most of the fat increase was from almonds' heart-healthy monounsaturated fats that have a quieting effect on blood fat levels.

After the nine weeks of daily almond eating, researchers discovered that participants' average cholesterol levels dropped significantly, putting everyone's cholesterol levels out of the high risk range. And more good news: LDL levels (that's the bad stuff), plummeted without a change in the cholest