Archive for the ‘Women’ Category

The South Beach Diet: A Quick Review

The South Beach Diet Information You Want To Know

The South Beach Diet as you know, has become incredibly successful after the weight loss and recipe book by similar name was put to print, released and picked up momentum in inner circles as dieting success ‘before’s and after’s’ were quietly discussed and raved about. The book, in question, The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss. I’d however suggest buying it used since, because of the diet book’s popularity (2nd best selling diet book in the United States in the last 10 years - 2006) there have been massive printings, which results in new and used copies for literally, less than one dollar, hardcover included.

The doctor now famous and behind the diet book is a cardiologist from as you might suspect, Florida, (as in ‘South Beach’) named Arthur Agatston. He created the diet plan after creating a system for his patients out of necessity, not able to find something suitable that emphasized “good carbs” and “good fats”. Commonly confused with the Atkins Diet, a completely different monster that pushes the philosophy of a low carbohydrate (low carb) diet, the South Beach Diet instead encourages eliminating the bad carbs and bad fats, while replacing each with good carbs and good fats.

Good carbs are defined as (according to Doctor Arthur Agatston) being high in fiber or good fat, and have a low glycemic index, which basically means those types of foods are digested and absorbed at a much slower rate in your body. Also recommended is eating fiber or good fat whenever good carbs are eaten in order to slow down the digestion of the carbohydrates. Good fats are defined as polyunsaturated or mono-unsaturated fats, versus the bad fats being saturated fats or trans fat.

The South Beach Diet is not meant to be a short term dieting solution. It is not a one week or one month quick fix answer to shed enough pounds to be able to fit into a new summer bikini. It was created for the long haul.

Tapping into tell it to you straight and healthy insight about the healthy living you want to adopt, is not rocket science. No matter your interest: from water conservation at home to what foods to eat to boost energy and shed pounds, you name it. Deciding to have a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be difficult, or at all life altering if you don’t want it to be, nor must you have to forgo all the tastes, living like a rock star lifestyle and adventure you have grown to love as much of the time, is the misconception.

- Robert McMackey

 

Trouble reading after 40?

Do you feel your eyes are failing you lately? Is your reading vision deteriorating by the day? There could be two potential causes of your vision woes. But how do you know what it is? should you be worried? and most important, should you see the eye doctor?

If you are in your early to mid forties and you are beginning to notice that reading has become difficult, chances are you are noticing the beginning signs of presbyopia. The condition of presbyopia is an age related phenomenon that effects only near vision.

Presbyopia is related to a thickening of the lens inside your eye. This lens, known as the crystalline lens, is responsible for focusing from distance to near. It accomplishes this feat by adjusting shape. Throughout life, the crystalline lens grows more dense and loses it’s flexibility. This happens to most everybody right around the age of 40 years or better.

Presbyopia can be addressed in many ways. The most basic form of correction is with reading glasses. Simply slipping on a pair of readers will fix your near vision. However, don’t expect to see anything in the distance if you are wearing reading glasses, unless they are bifocals or prescription progressive lenses.

Another method used in alleviating presbyopia is with contact lenses. Contacts can be fit in a variety of ways. One common fitting style is referred to as mono-vision; where one eye is corrected for distance vision and the other for near. Alternatively, consider multifocal lenses for a progressive style of vision.

There are even some surgeries being tested to correct your presbyopia. Conductive Kerotoplasty is the most common and widely used corneal refractive surgery used for presbyopia.

So what if you are having trouble seeing up close, but you are no where near 40 years of age? Most likely you are farsighted, also known as hyperopia. In essence your eye, from the surface of the cornea to the retina, is too short and light rays do not come to a clear focus. Theoretically, the focal point is behind the eye. Because of the power of the crystalline lens in young people, mildly farsighted kids and teenagers don’t even notice a vision correction is necessary. However, uncorrected farsightedness can lead to headaches and eye strain.

So should you see an eye doctor? Absolutely! Only your eye care provider can be entirely certain that your eyes are healthy. Your eye exam is about a lot more than just your vision.

Gordon Kay is a presbyopic person. He recently accepted his vision. After years of denial, Gordon has put together http://www.eyeonpresbyopia.com to keep himself and other presbyopic people in the know when it comes to their near vision.

- Gordon Kaye

 

Head Lice; A Common But Treatable Occurence

Kids are bound to come home with headlice is they attend any kind of school or daycare center. Then the kids transmit the lice to their parents. Discovering that you have lice might be a source of embarrassment, but it affects nearly every person at some time or another and is nothing to be ashamed of.

Head lice are highly contagious. It can spread through indirect and direct contact. When one person in the family has lice it will spread quickly through the family if left untreated. Lice can live up to three days with out any human host, they will live on your hats, furniture and clothing until someone comes in contact with that item and then will have to deal with lice themselves.

It is very important to prevent head lice. Most daycares and preschools require that the kids store their coats and hats in a place where they do not come into direct contact with other kid’s belongings. Some sports teams ask that each player have their own head gear. This is because lice can infect an entire team from just one round of batting practice.

Everyone has their own way of annihilating lice, but most doctors concur that head lice are best treated with over the counter or prescription chemicals. The patient must leave the chemicals in their hair for a designated time before washing it out. Afterwards, all of the lice eggs (also called nits) must be combed out of the hair with a special fine toothed comb.

You can use organic treatment against louse. In addition to using a special purpose organically-produced shampoo, you can also find ways to eliminate lice while avoiding smelly chemical treatments prescribed by doctors. For example, you might try and soak your hair all night in some type of oil to in effect, smother the little devils.

Pubic lice and head lice are different and they don’t respond to the same cure either. It should be kept in mind that if one has the other it doesn’t necessarily mean that he has both types.

Head lice can be commonly found in children at daycare centers or school. It is easily transferred from person to person. Since it can survive for three days without human contact on hats, clothing, and furniture, your entire family can easily get lice. Most often lice are treated with over the counter or prescription chemicals. Louse can be treated organically with shampoos and lotions specifically designed for that purpose. Other suggestions for treatment can be found online. Pubic lice, however, are quite different than lice in your hair. Remember, that the bugs are different and must be managed differently.

- norman horowitz

 

The Key to Permanent Weight Loss Is NLP

Some individuals talk a lot about weighing more than they would like. A number of people have trouble with weight loss or becoming motivated to change their lifestyles to steer clear of the long-term outcomes of obesity. These unfortunate individuals have to learn to take the weight off or experience negative medical consequences.

Individuals who are overweight have the opportunity to select from a number of methods of losing weight and start down the path to self-improvement. In the most severe cases, doctors may choose to medicines for weight loss. However, these drugs have the potential to cause serious or even deadly problems.

Medicines prescribed to help people lose weight sometimes injure the heart or lungs. Some of these have been banned, and numerous patients have required heart or lung transplants because they took these drugs. Another way individuals frequently work to lose weight is by crash dieting. These techniques say they help individuals to lose their extra weight over a short period of time. Those who do drop the extra weight for a short time often regain it. Moreover, many dieters can develop nutritional deficiencies because of these diets.

Other individuals focus on strenuous exercise as an alternative weight loss strategy. Unfortunately, strenuous exercise can be dangerous to the body. Those who engage in strenuous physical exercise frequently do so to endurance as opposed to fitness levels, and cause their bodies to enter a state of anaerobic metabolism.

These words are a medical method of describing how a person’s no longer burns fat in the normal way when going into this state. Instead, a person’s metabolism decreases in order to keep as much energy power as it can. Instead of assisting a person’s body to take off the weight, this person actually encourages his or her body to retain energy in the form of fat. The majority of professionals who advise about weight loss agree that the best method of losing weight is reducing the number of calories a person eats each meal. The majority of individuals who are obese really do want to lose weight, and persons actually do struggle to do this.

The majority of behavior modification approaches for appetite suppression and weight loss allow people to identify why they overeat. Clients consciously work to control their urges to eat through keeping journals, identifying healthy food choices, and discussing their conscious motivations for overeating.

Often, people who are obese battle with subconscious issues related to eating and appetite control. Hypnotism for weight loss is an effective way to help an overweight person to overcome appetite control issues. Trained hypnotherapists teach overweight persons to employ self-hypnosis weight loss strategies to manage subconscious issues that cause obesity. Weight reduction through hypnosis is a very helpful strategy that encourages people to lose weight without using their will - and to keep the weight off!

Conventional hypnosis experts typically employ post-hypnotic suggestions to help people believe that nutritious foods are tastier, or that a person becomes full after eating smaller portion sizes. They often suggest to their clients that high-fat, high calorie menu items ruin one’s appetite or that they don’t taste good.

On the down side, however, many individuals are resistant to this kind of direct hypnotic suggestion. For these people, Ericksonian hypnotherapy typically offers a different approach and a more positive outcome. It eradicates the person’s propensity for resistance by concealing these ideas within discussions or stories known as metaphors.

The optimal hypnotherapy weight reduction approaches help clients to conquer their appetites by coping with the underlying reasons for the cravings and compulsions that they experience. Guided imagery is also helpful to facilitate the essential required to alter one’s habits and experience long-term weight loss.

In contrast to other treatments designed to suppress a person’s appetite, hypnotherapy for weight loss is fairly inexpensive. Perhaps the least costly ways to reap the benefits of this approach is to purchase a self hypnosis CD program for weight loss.

People who choose weight loss hypnosis CDs are able to utilize them in the comfort of their own homes, where urges to overeat can be the most intense. They experience powerful mental links between their homes and the best ways to lose weight. This optimizes the efficacy of hypnosis-based weight loss strategies.

Summary: Ericksonian hypnotherapy for weight reduction is one of the most efficacious strategies for weight loss through appetite control. This allows clients to address subconscious issues at the center of their rationales for excessive eating and weight gain. This approach is most effective for use at home through the purchase of CDs and DVDs designed to help people lose weight through self-hypnosis.

Alan B. Densky, CH, a specialist since 1978, has developed a powerful tool known as Neuro-VISION ultimate weight loss. Everyone is different, so he offers several natural weight loss hypnosis and NLP programs. Visit his Free self improvement video index.

- Alan B. Densky, CH

 

Budget Weddings - Have a Flawless Wedding on a Small Budget

So, you want a gorgeous wedding, but you don’t want to spend the rest of your married life paying for it? Well, most of us do. However, ‘budget weddings’ don’t usually stay within budget. There are a lot of ways to avoid stepping on one of those financial minefields that explode the cost of your wedding. Here are just a few.

Don’t Hire Unnecessary People:

You don’t need to fork over tons of cash just for a performer or a band if you want music at your wedding. Here’s another option: Make a bunch of CDs with all your favorite music, then have a friend or family member play them for you. This works well with a large disk changer CD player. Budget weddings can be pulled off with little things like this. By using this method, you can save $1000 or more.

Keep it Smaller:

No matter how tempting it is to invite everyone you ever knew, as well as all their friends and family, STOP! Only select your family as well as your very best and closest friends. Anyone else should be left out. Ask everyone you do invite to please not bring extra guests. Stick with the people you invite only. This saves you from the worry and expense of having to bring in enough food to feed everyone.

Think About Food:

Food can cost a lot of money, adding up to a huge wedding expense. Avoid fancy little foods that nobody normally eats, especially the ones that few people can pronounce properly. Instead, consider something like a potluck wedding, or make simple hors d’oeuvres that you can enlist a few friends to help with. Budget weddings can be just as wonderful as expensive weddings, and you won’t spend yourself into a pit. Who wants to start off married life with debt to pay off?

Want a champagne wedding on a beer budget? Visit Wedding Planner Secrets and discover how to create Budget Weddings complete with Free Wedding Speeches and everything else you could want.

- Coreen Christobel

 

A Younger Look Thanks to Vitamins and Minerals

Common skin problems are usually treated with over-the-counter medication. These products are made with a variety of man-made chemicals or ingredients that appear in such low dosages that they cause no real effect.

When we go to our local drugstore and look for a product or treatment that will relieve our ailment. We usually pick up a jar or bottle and read the ingredients, but what do they mean? What makes things worse is that most products will list a large number of tongue twisting ingredients that are hard to understand. However, here is a short list of vitamins that are common in skin care products and that may help you make a more informed decision.

The Important Role of Vitamins

Vitamin A. In an investigation published in the British Journal of Dermatology, specialists found that nutrients high in beta-carotene — a form of vitamin A — appeared to minimize the risk of psoriasis.

Vitamin B Complex.Lately, greater attention is being paid to topical preparations containing B vitamins. These creams can help give skin an almost instant healthy glow while moisturizing cells and enhancing general tone.

For the skin, the single most vital B vitamin is biotin, a nutrient that creates the basis of skin, nail, and hair cells. Without adequate amounts, you may end up with dermatitis (an itchy, scaly skin condition) or sometimes even hair loss. Even a small deficiency causes symptoms.

Niacin, another specific B vitamin, helps skin hold moisture, so creams made with this nutrient can help your skin look better and younger in as little as six days. Niacin also has anti-inflammatory properties to treat dry skin. In stronger concentrations it can also act as a lightening agent to even out blotchy skin tone.

Vitamin K. As the element responsible for helping blood clot, Vitamin K won’t do much for your skin from the inside. But studies presented in the American Academy of Dermatology in 2003 showed that topical vitamin K works well to minimize circles under the eye as well as bruises. In study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2002, specialists shown that skin therapies with vitamin K cream after laser surgery significantly reduced bruising. When combined with vitamin A in a cream, vitamin K can be even more efficient for those dark circles.

In a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, specialists from the Nippon Medical School in Tokyo shown that the local application of a gel made with a derivative of vitamin K, as well as vitamins A, C, and E, was efficient in minimizing dark under-eye circles while also decreasing wrinkles.

Minerals Beneficial for Skin Nutrition

Selenium. Several researchers believe this mineral plays a crucial role in skin cancer avoidance. Taken in supplement form or used in a cream, this mineral helps protect skin from sun damage. If you do spend any time in the sun, selenium may help minimize your chance of burning.

Copper. Still another important mineral is copper. Along with vitamin C and zinc, copper aids in the development of elastin, the fibers that hold skin structure from below.

Zinc. The third mineral that is vital to skin repair is zinc especially if you have acne. In fact, sometimes acne itself is a symptom of a zinc deficiency. Administered internally or used topically, zinc works to clean skin by regulating oil production and may be efficient in regulating the appearance of acne lesions or help those already on your skin to clear sooner. Food sources of zinc include oysters, lean meat, and poultry.

By keeping in mind this short list of vitamins and minerals, finding the right skin care products will be a cinch.

Now you can enjoy a scarless and healthy skin thanks to the benefits of our latest skin moisturizing product, made with natural ingredients to ensure the best results.

- Claudia Truffello

 

The South Beach Diet Phase 1

The South Beach Diet book became extremely successful as soon as the diet book by similar name was published and grew with rapid succession among a dedicated inner circle. Each with dieting success stories to brag about, the South Beach Diet book, authored by Doctor Arthur Agatston, The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss, continues to grow in popularity, but the South Beach Diet Phase 1 keeps confusing readers.

The South Beach Diet Phase 1 is designed to be the shortest of phases 1, 2 and 3 of the diet, lasting for a two-week period. It was created to be intense, kick-start your body and your mindset about dieting from that now on. Contrary to popular thinking and one of the stickier parts to Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet, you do not have to limit yourself only eating low carb foods.

In a nut-shell, Phase 1 force feeds you the thinking to: rid yourself of bad carbs that are not doing anything nutritionally for yourself, replace the bad carbs that are found in surplus in most American diets with ample amounts of protein, good fats and low glycemic index (G.I.) carbs that solves your hunger and regulate your blood sugar balance.

Foods that cause you more harm rather than benefit: fruit, candy, cereal, potatoes, grains, etc. all are eliminated, or the dieter must phase themselves off of during the South Beach Diet Phase 1. If in doubt, if you should have any confusion, just consume all the salad, greens, and (most) vegetables you desire, as they are right in line because of their dietary benefit.

It is during Phase 1 that Doctor Agatston has proven that one’s body resistance to insulin will go down, so depending on your body weight and condition, you may lose 5 to 12 pounds initially, initially in the first 2 weeks alone, as your body begins to eliminate surplus body weight.

The major purpose of the South Beach Diet Phase 1 is 2-fold: to throw you into a routine that you stick with that keeps you from being hungry and to lay the groundwork for a frame of mind that ensures you get rid of the bad foods and move toward the food that will shed pounds, deliver energy and better your quality of life.

Finding straight talk and good for you resources about the healthy living you want to achieve, is not as hard as you think. No matter your interest: from how to lead a healthy life to how to really lose weight once and for all, you name it. Deciding to have a healthy lifestyle need not be hard, or at all challenging if you don’t want it to be, nor do you have to forgo all the tastes, fun and adventure you now appreciate as often is the misconception.

- Thor Daniels

 

Detoxification Diets: Are They Worth It?

You have probably come across a few detoxification diets in your quest for a real solution to a number of health ailments. These programs are commonly associated with losing weight but there are many other times that call for detoxification diets. Following are some of the more popular reasons that you might want to consider one.

No one can help but consider shedding weight as soon as the many detoxification diets are mentioned. This is just a natural reaction to the word diet. Fortunately, these programs are fantastic for jump-starting your metabolism and for getting your system cleansed at the same time. Do you believe it?

Conventional weight loss plans will clean out your digestive system through the elimination of a lot of junk food and the introduction of healthier eating options. However, detoxification diets go a step further. You get rid of the toxins in your body that might be instrumental in your holding on to extra weight.

One key component that some detoxification diets have in common is drinking water. A detoxification diet often asks you to add a little fresh lemons into the beverage while others prefer you to stick to pure, distilled water with no additives. Either way, you are flushing out the unwanted poisons from your body when you add water to your detoxification diets.

There are other reasons that someone may want to consider one of these body cleansing programs. Anyone who suffers from acne breakouts can benefit from trying one of the detoxification diets available today. These programs can help you get rid of extra toxic properties in your body and some of these elements may be the cause behind such acne breakouts.

One way to tell that you might need to flush out your system is by looking at your skin. If you see a lot of acne, clogged pores, pimples, blackheads or red, inflamed acne sores then you’ll want to look into detoxification diets to help you clean up your complexion while cleansing your system.

Your mood may also be affected by too many toxins in your system. Having an abundance of caffeine, sugar, fatty foods and alcohol can lead to your direct downfall in mood. You may feel tired, run down or a bit sad because your body is clogged with heavy toxins that need to be released.

Wanting to feel energized, a clear complexion, and to also lose weight? Deciding on the right dietary program from the slew of detoxification diets out there may be exactly what you have been looking for.

Detoxification diets are a controversy. Well-known, you’d recognize the name sources have been trying to convince you that detoxing your body does little to improve your health. But still, constantly, the testimonies keep pouring in about how doing a body detox has virtually banished an allergic reaction to Ultram, the struggles to lose weight, and has had the ability to improve health through detoxification. Stay tuned for the low-down, special, health report exposing the secrets behind a body detox, cleansing and fasting.

- Jackie Black

 

Surprising Fasting and Detoxification: Forbidden Dangers

Centuries ago, before medicine, drugs, pharmaceuticals, and alcohol - often the reasons behind a body that is sick today and deteriorating bodies from within - there wasn’t at all the need to detoxify and fast. As frightening as that might sound, our bodies usually are stronger and capable than we give them credit to be, but its our own behavior that lead to poisoning our bodily cells and unnecessarily suffering, robbing us of our life. Do you know that the human body has an absolutely amazing ability to detoxify itself? It’s true and it’s a good thing too, because the majority of consumers eat or absorb a seriously high amount of dangerous toxins and ingredients that in effect, begin choking your body, on a fairly regular basis.

If you eat a fresh healthy diet, are interested in pursuing a healthy living and you don’t smoke or drink alcohol in out of the ordinary quantities, your body is better equipped to cleanse, detoxify and get rid of the toxins - in fact, you may be completely clueless about the dangers that you are eating in your everyday diet - that you eat throughout the day: breakfast, lunch, dinner and all snacks or meals in between. If you currently smoke or your diet is largely made up of fast food, processed ingredients, artificial ingredients, international cuisine, foods from questionable environments, or the American favorite, junk food, your body is likely overtaxed and desperate for help.

If you are constantly tired to the point you think you might have ‘Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - CFS’, you are experiencing constant lapses of forgetting things, lack of concentration, or maybe, you often are sick, catching a flu, susceptible to allergic reactions, and catch practically any virus that surfaces where you work, you might very well need a health check-up, tune-up, some easy fasting and detoxification, the almighty cleanse or a quick body detox, or worse, you may need to have your health checked from head to toe.

Individuals with such symptoms certainly would benefit from learning about ways to detoxify your body.

Many who have adopted a regular routine of fasting and detoxification, either singularly or both, have testified to renewed energy, a sharper mind, feeling better, boasting to their doctor with astonishing turnarounds, but the benefits of fasting and detoxification are vast, and there simply is not enough room to list them all here, in this arena.

Yes, there are a whole bunch of health benefits to going through a fast or body detox, but there are also bad parts and to be frank, they can be as serious as death if you are not careful and ignore such ‘medical’, or health warnings. That’s no joke. Many are quick to publish and print in health publications, health forums, or health articles about fasting and detoxification benefits yanked straight from the news, often labeling such a natural remedy as the “best of the best” diet pill, or the “miracle” in a bottle, so to speak, that will remedy all aches, pains, ailments and health problems from top to bottom.

But, few even realize, perhaps why the so called experts rarely ever bother to mention the negative side, or the things that can go horribly wrong when completing or during a body detox - in fact, it can cause your death - killing you, if you aren’t crystal clear about the word “death”.

There are a lot of people unknowingly reporting that going through detoxification will “cure” anything and all problems. This health article about fasting is only the beginning; a must have special report soon will be released that will blow the roof off the myths most common to fasting, detoxification, cleansing and of course the colon cleanse. Keep an eyeball out for it! (Or roll the dice and take another chance).

- Dave Whitsom

 

Today’s Development of Mineral Makeup Cosmetics

Mineral face makeup is the latest trend in the cosmetics business. This organic makeup is promoted to be a better and healthier alternative to traditional makeup. Certain ingredients which are considered irritants, such as talc, fragrances, dyes, oils, and preservatives, are omitted from the manufacturing process of mineral makeup cosmetics.

Today’s health conscience women have turned to mineral makeup cosmetics for their beauty needs. Cosmetics companies are in fierce competition to offer mineral makeup to consumers. These companies are investing a lot of money and time in the research and development of new lines of mineral cosmetics. These cosmetics can be produced in different colors and also to provide differing effects.

The cosmetic industry is marketing this innovative new makeup as a healthier alternative to previously developed makeup products. The emphasis is being placed on the advantages of mineral makeup, which uses anti-inflammatory, purified, and natural ingredients and pigments. They also emphasize that cosmetics with minerals such as zinc oxide will provide the consumer with a natural sunscreen to protect one’s complexion from UV rays and prevent bacterial growth on the face.

Mica is another one of the major ingredients in the development of mineral makeup cosmetics. This mineral is ground into a fine white power and numerous colored pigments are added. The mass majority of colors added to mica makes it a great base for mineral face makeup matching virtually any skin tone and texture. The finer the mica is ground the silkier the feel of the makeup.

Another mineral used is iron oxide which is commonly referred to as rust. It is added to the cosmetics for a yellow or bronzing tone. Shine can be increased in the makeup by the addition of bismuth oxychloride. The bismuth also adds a luminescence to the product creating a satin glow to the skin. Whitening the makeup for adaption to various skin tones is achieved by the addition of titanium dioxide.

Here are just a few of the minerals that are being used in the up in coming industry of mineral makeup cosmetics. More cosmetic companies are fighting for the mineral cosmetics market, and because of this more minerals will be milled and developed. Currently companies are offering products that are mineral based that help moisturize dry skin to look and feel healthier, prevent clogged pores and acne, offer smoother coverage and a silkier feel than more traditional cosmetics. They also offer a product to give the feeling of natural skin.

- Samantha Steiner