3 Heartburn Natural Remedies That Really Work

There is a new guide that claims there is a natural cure for acid reflux and heartburn. You may have seen it. If not, you probably will.

Is this another scam?

Is there really a Natural Cure for Heartburn and Acid Reflux?

On the sales page, the author claims that 1000's of former sufferers have been cured from heartburn and acid reflux disease with 97% of the cases being corrected without drugs, exercise, or some fad diet with the solution being fast and simple.

This is my review:

3 Natural Heartburn Remedies That Really Work

1. If your trusty Rolaid or extra strength Tums are not near by why not try the juice of an apple or carrot which can neutralize stomach acids. The first time I tried this, I slept like a baby.

2. Sleep on your left side, as this tends to elevate the stomach higher so your nighttime reflux is lessened.

3. Have a swig of ginger ale which will make you belch and reduce some of the pressure of your Lower Esophagael Sphincter.

All of the above remedies will help, but they will not cure the condition. They only address the symptom and not the actual problem.

The obvious question is how will this new guide be of any help to the countless number of people that have problems associated with heartburn and acid reflux?

Well, if you go thru a bottle of 100 count rolaids like it was candy and someone says there is a cure, you listen. Of course you do your homework, and that homework has produced some interesting facts.

The author is not a Doctor, but well versed in the medical field. He has very strong testimonials from a host of Gastroenterlogists that follow his methods not to mention the thousand plus customers that are following his methods successfully.

He goes on to explain what the 12 major root problems are and how you can identify each one. You will learn exactly why you are responsible for your digestive problems and how to correct them quickly and easily.

If you are one of the 40% of our population that currently have acid reflux, heartburn, or Gerd (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), I would highly recommend this very affordable low cost publication to anyone.

Recommendations are freely given when something revolutionary benefits all of mankind. I personally, am on the road to recovery thanks to the Natural Cure For Acid Reflux.

J David Ross is an independent freelance writer on many subjects using various pen names. If you would like to free yourself from acid reflux and the many associated digestion problems, check out http://www.acidreflux-remedies.com.

J David Ross is an independent freelance writer on many subjects using various pen names.

Top Health Tips for the Elderly to Start You Off in the Right Direction

1. Don?t begrudge spending money on your own comfort, health and quality of life. You deserve it!

AND FOR THE OVER-60?S -

The government?s annual fuel allowance of ?200 is meant to be used for our warmth and comfort, and to ease the worry of the increased heating bill.

The Winter Fuel Payments Help line is 0845 9 151515 If you are receiving a disability or income-related benefit, you may be able to claim a grant of up to ?2,500 for insulation and heating improvements. Call Home Energy Efficiency Scheme 0800 952 0600. If you receive disability and income-related benefits you can claim Cold Weather Payments if the temperature falls below 00 C for 7 consecutive days.

There is also the Staywarm scheme. For a fixed charge you can use as much gas or electricity as you need. 0800 1 694 694 Finally, if you are unable to pay your winter fuel bill, in the first instance contact your supplier explaining your problem and informing them that you are a pensioner. Good news worth remembering, is that electricity companies and British Gas have a policy of not disconnecting pensioners between 1 October and 31 March ? so keep warm and don?t panic.

AND DO YOU NEED REMINDING - DON?T WASTE YOUR MONEY AND HEALTH ON CIGARETTES. RESEARCHERS TELL US THAT THE AVERAGE BRITISH SMOKER WILL SPEND ?91,832.43 ON CIGARETTES IN A LIFETIME. (Now, I?ve never smoked so I wonder what happened to my ?91,OOO?)

2. Keep your mind active, crosswords, sudoka, hobbies, etc. NEVER STOP LEARNING. If you have an interested mind, people are more likely to enjoy your company and be interested in you.

3. Keep your body active. As the saying goes, if you don?t use it, you?ll lose it Walk in the fresh air if possible. If you enjoy company while you are walking then join a rambling group. (Often ?rambling clubs? for the retired are more socially inclined ?ambling clubs?). Gardening combines the benefits of fresh air, exercise and the results can give you immeasurable pleasure. Dancing; particularly formation or line dancing exercises the memory also. Swimming, is a particularly good exercise for all parts of the body with the added advantage that the water is supporting you and therefore there is no weight on the joints.

4. Feed your body with the correct foods. You wouldn?t expect your car to work efficiently if you fed it the incorrect fuel. So feed your body with nutritious foods that contain the necessary vitamins and minerals in order for it to return optimum performance. With winter approaching we need to build up our immune system, so in addition to a well balanced diet of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and nourishing protein (laced with the benefits of virgin olive oil and garlic), we should add a few supplements to help us on our way. In addition to a good multi-vitamin tablet, you?ll probably benefit from extra Vitamin C, Echinacea, EPA fish oils, selenium, ginko biloba to aid circulation, particularly to the extremities, and glucosomine to help with those aching joints.

Don?t forget your flu jab and the jab against pneumonia for the over 70?s. There is also really excellent news on the common cold front. At long last there appears to be something that stops a cold developing. Vicks First Defence is a spray that you use at the first sign of a cold and it stops the cold virus in its tracks. This miracle goes on sale during October 05.

5. Socialise. Possibly I don?t have to remind you about this as the majority of retired folk I meet complain that they are busier now than ever they were, that there are not enough hours in the day, and they wonder how they ever found time to go to work. There are so many clubs and groups to join. To name a few popular ones, U3A (University of the Third Age) for both sexes and with interesting speakers, and offering numerous sub sections for specific group interests and hobbies, Women?s Institute, (has gained a new image after the film Calendar Girls), Townswomen?s Guild, Gardening Clubs, Art Clubs, etc., and many clubs aimed specifically at the retired.

If transport is a problem, remember most local authorities offer free or reduced bus fares for senior citizens and travel tokens for the disabled. There is a Senior Railcard for reduced train fares for the over 60?s. National Express have a Routesixty Scheme which enables over 60?s to travel nationwide very cheaply (Tel 08705 808080). Also, occasionally, National Express offer their ?go anywhere for ?5 scheme?.

If you have difficulty in getting around the town, then there is Shopmobility where you can hire mobility scooters (various models and sizes available) and electric and manual wheelchairs. Shopmobility is usually manned by helpers who will be only too pleased to instruct and allow you to practice before you are let loose on the town. Also there is the added advantage that there is usually a free car park attached to Shopmobility for clients? convenience. If you have difficulty in using public transport, often local authorities provide a ?dial-a-ride? service from your home to the shopping centre.

Well, whatever you do ? ENJOY IT! We were always told that laughter is the best medicine and now we know it to be true ? it raises the serotonin levels in the brain and gives you that ?feel good? factor.

Visit Mabels?Maintaining Bygone Times, containing numerous articles thoughtfully researched mainly for the older person. You may access these articles by visiting http://www.mabels.org.uk/ - You will learn about the best tips, latest news & advice to improve your health, fitness, finances & retirement as well as information on nostalgic topics, places to visit, leisure & lifestyle, mobility & helpful organisations to make the most out of life and much, much more to benefit Your Quality of Life.

Overdoing Supplements At A Young Age

I was looking up information on Nitric Oxide supplements when I came across the following comment from Jon Dermure of Ohio in a supplement review. I didnt find it amusing at all.

hey dudes... nitrix is by far the best supplement i've ever taken. i am 13 years old and im staking nitrix with cellmass, no-xplode, and axis (too boost testosterone). my dad says when i get into high school i can stack it with ephedra to burn fat and biuild muscel simotaniously. my max bench has soared from 80 lbs to 125 for 3 reps. i strongly suggest stacking all these for maximum results.

Yes, weight training can indeed be beneficial to young individuals but Jon Dermure is taking it a bit too far I think. Let's take a look at the obvious:

1. At 13, you DO NOT NEED a testosterone booster as your body will achieve peak levels in a couple of years

2. At 13 - you havent even begun to tap onto your genetic potential and what your body is really capable of, but he's already loading himself up with everything he finds on the supplement shelves

3. Little Jon Dermure can't even spell 'muscle' and he's advising everyone to stack supplements for maximum results.

Ok, point #3 isn't not a valid point, but I guess what I'm trying to say here is that at that age, I don't think anyone should be relying so heavily on supplements. After all, supplements are exactly what they are - SUPPLEMENTS! They are meant to supplement your existing diet and not replace it.

Josh Stone, also known as DM, is the author behind the site http://www.dailymuscle.com which offers the author's personal views on real-life fitness, bodybuilding, sports nutrition, cardio, fat loss, training information, and on all things that surrounds fitness.

Plastic Surgery A Risky Business

Choosing to have plastic surgery on any area of your body is likely to be one of the biggest decisions you will ever make, and should not be undertaken lightly. Like any other kind of medical procedure, there are risks involved, and these must be carefully weighed before surgery. When it boils down to basics, anyone considering plastic surgery must decide whether the possibility of what they might gain is more powerful than the risk of losing what they already have, however unattractive that might seem.

Medical science is, it seems, improving almost every day, and so plastic surgery does not now involve the risks it once did. We all, however, have heard horror stories about people who have been permanently scarred by surgery that has gone wrong, and have even lost their lives. While we might all in theory say that we would give anything for a butt like J-Lo, we have to ask ourselves before surgery how realistic a statement this really is.

The best protection against surgery mishaps is choosing a highly qualified and experienced plastic surgeon, so do your research before selecting a doctor. The plastic surgery industry is an extremely buoyant one, and while this means that there is a huge choice of surgeons available, it also means that those who are less skilled can find a niche in the market by offering low prices to vulnerable people. This is not to say that the more expensive the better, simply that knowledge is power. Talk to former patients of any doctor you are considering, and find out how happy they were with their surgeon's work.

Plastic surgery involves an operating room that is remarkably similar to the one in which cancerous tumors are removed, and other surgeries that we would not choose to have performed unless we had to. Lives are lost in every OR, so before going under the knife weigh the risks carefully, and make sure that you are putting yourself in the hands of the best.

Steve Brink is the founder of Cosmetic Surgery a website decicated to plastic surgery.

New Health Care System: A New Path

This is article 2 of 12

12 of the most important aspects of the new health care information system

We have been discussing a completely new national medical information system set up solely in the best interest of the public and the individual that would completely change health care as we know it today. Compared to the present high levels of disease the degree and type of results we are discussing in the proposed system seem almost unreal. A major reason for such radical change is that computer technology, as applied to preventative medicine, has been effectively bypassed for the past several years. Technology is now in the position to provide for a very rapid ketch-up in that area. We will likely see dramatic advancements in preventative medicine as seen in the 70s and 80s when electronics was first applied to the health care field, primarily in machines and tools?such as cat--scans and operating tools and similar equipment.

The core of the new health care system is based on clinical laboratory science (CLS) data. CLS and its critical relationship to the biochemical makeup of the human body and the great advantages that entails, providing an ideal mechanism on which to base a health care information system. Details of CLS and the bio-chemical makeup of the human body were discussed in the article titled ?Your Health Care System: Critical Technology Sidetracked?. For more information directly from the professionals of this valuable relationship click on the (18) link at the end of this article.

So when one decided that a large scale health care information system based on CLS is ideal, design-wise where do you go from there? Just how could such a system be designed to fully harness all of that vital health data. How do you convert that health information into improved human health--more specifically improved levels of wellness, and decreased levels of disease? Obviously it would require the use of the computer with some form of special data processing. The system would need the capacity to evaluate human health levels in general, relate those health levels in turn to an individual?s health condition, to one?s personal environment, and in turn relate that data to millions of other individual?s results. This would be massive amounts of data requiring supercomputers.

The system that has been designed uses a powerful national research center that works in conjunction with 50 state diagnostic computer systems which you as an individual or a patient, would have access to. You could tap into the state diagnostic system with the use of a large profile pattern of clinical laboratory test results (likely 100 separate tests from one blood sample). It would provide you an extremely extensive health analysis as well as a means of intervention at levels almost unbelievable compared to today?s limitations. In fact it would be so outstanding that at first it would likely seem more like science fiction than reality.

This is a highly sophisticated medical information system intentionally designed around the sole interests of the public and the individual, not the medical industry. Because of its effectiveness in the radical reduction in disease levels and its related reduction in health care costs, it would very unlikely ever receive any support from the medical industry. In fact, for the sake of both its effectiveness and integrity, the new system would need to be legislated in existence and controlled by the public through a public commission.

It becomes obvious that for such a system to be successful it needs the strong support of the constituency it represents?you. If that support does not come it very likely will just die a slow death, and as a result we will have to live with the limitations of the present health care system--likely for decades to come.

Anyone that carefully takes the time to look into the details of the proposed information system, observe what it?s based on, how it goes about correlating the public and the individual?s health and environmental data, it become apparent that such a system would almost have to be successful. It would only vary in the detail as to its results.

The author of both this article and the book titled Vibrant Health Plus: The Real Medical Revolution is W.D Wood. For more information about the author, the book and the subject click on http://www.newhealthcaresystem.net Biochemical makeup as it relates to clinical laboratory science http://www.vibranthealthplus.com/page18.

If you are interested in buying a copy of the book, I am currently sending out all copies autographed and I am including a condensed four page letter that I sent to 92 US Senators along with a copy of the book. I am enclosing a list of the Senators and other key house representatives. The book has a 30 day unconditional warranty--not available in book stores.

Buy Phentermine Shed Obesity

Gaining weight might look as a very easy and fast affair but believe me once the weight is gained and a person gets a look of an obese, it?s never easy to shed the impression of being an overweight and that extra pounds from your body. Most people who are overweighed are not because they want to be an overweight person but because of there disfigured lifestyle. These people don?t have enough time to have a good look towards them.

They do not pay much attention toward what are they eating, when are they eating, how are they eating. Because of this type of uncontrolled lifestyle in the period of six months or so, they starts looking like an obese and that is the time when a person starts realizing his mistakes and decides to repent them. Then raises the challenge to lose weight. Consultation is done on large amount regarding the ways to lose weight.

This is the time when an over weight person is being introduced to Phentermine, the best diet control pill available or the best appetite suppressant. Phentermine was introduced in the markets of US in the early 50s with some other diet control pills such as fenflueramine and adipex. Because the medicine used for treating the persons having drug addiction is same as phentermine, this pill is sold under high medical supervision. Phentermine diet pill works with the sensitive parts helping them to arise, which in results gives the feeling of satiety and fullness of stomach.

Phentermine combines with the neurotransmitters in the brain. It helps brain to release a special type of chemical called catecholamines, which stops the hunger signals coming towards the brain. This restriction on hunger signals causes in lost of desire of having food as the brain does not get the hunger signals coming from the abdomen. In brain the main work area of phentermine is hypothalamus region. This part of the brain is mainly responsible for controlling appetite. Hence, phentermine is the response to all those who have gained unnecessary weight only because of over eating.

From the last decade the best thing technology has given to us is the freedom of buying anything from online stores without getting into direct contact with the sellers. This anything includes medicines also and these online stores are the best way to buy drugs used for appetite suppressants and erectile dysfunction because quite often a person is reluctant to discuss these problems even with the doctors because of the feeling inferiority. But still there are many big questions yet to be answered. ?How to know that these medicines are safe and effective for buying?? ?is it legal to buy these type of medicines from an online drug store??, ?how can one prevent himself from getting screwed?? This article will answer some questions like these.

In many cases it is safe to buy phentermine and medicines like this online but only if you are careful and show your due attentiveness. These are all the necessary steps since the result of being cheated could be more than serious. The question many people often raise is about the legalization of these online drug stores. When companies like Pfizer and walmart can give online prescription, it means that the law has given the right to do so because these giant companies are firmly controlled by the governing law.

It becomes very difficult for these companies to sell drugs like phentermine online and the too in the illegal manner. But this should be made sure before buying cheap phentermine that these online pharmacies tag along with the other guidelines for safety and quality as outlined by FDA. The best thing is that the prescription is written online and privately, so there remains no need to see a doc. Because there is no face contact with the sellers in buying phentermine so there remains no question of a buyer feeling shy.

The consultation is absolutely free even if one decides not to buy phentermine. When compared with the prices of phentermine purchased from a local pharmacy one will find that he has bought a cheap phentermine. On these online drug stores one will find a complete range of phentermine according to one?s personal need and dosage as prescribed and duration of the prescription. Buying phentermine from an online drug store is absolutely safe from any one misusing anybody?s private information for any cause.

Buying phentermine and a cheap Phentermine are no longer a big issue. If you have decided to buy phentermine online, it is recommended to always start with a smallest order available. Check how this pharmacy handles your order; check their delivery time and this should be made sure that they don?t leak your private information. After this the complete order should be placed depending on the quantity that fits your weight loss plan. If all works in your favor you may find yourself saving a huge amount on your medication in the long term.

Chris Read is an associate editor to the website http://www.hateweight.com It is committed to provide visitors with complete information on weight loss, diet pills, obesity and phentermine. We also provide articles on health related topics. Your feedback & comments will be highly appreciated at email editor@hateweight.com

Oils and Creams Used in Aromatherapy Message

The aromatherapy massage cream combines the synergistic effects of providing calmness of mind and wonderful skin care. The massage cream bathed with the wonderful aromatic flavors can produce some outstanding impact when massaged on your body. So aromatherapy massage cream not only provides soothing sensations to your mind and body, but also enriches you with a glossy skin.

Mingling effects of aromatherapy massage cream

If one aromatherapy massage cream is mingled proportionately with another then they can produce the best results. Once the aromatherapy massage cream is mingled you should store them in a dark bottle to avoid any damage of the cream. You can undergo an aromatherapy cream massage in the spas or in the healing arts centers. However, if it is not possible for you to go to these massage centers, then practice self massage to heal your mind and body.

Different flavors of aromatherapy massage cream

The aromatherapy massage cream is often blended with natural botanical thickeners and skin-rejuvenating ingredients like coconut oil, vitamin-E and jojoba oil to provide you with an entirely new soothing massage experience.

Following are some important aromatherapy massage cream flavors to provide you with physical and mental well being:

• Peppermint - Reduces digestive problems, relieves headache, muscle pain and uplifts the mind and body.

• Oregano - Assists in providing mental clarity, reduces depression and relieves muscle aches and pains.

• Pine - Possess a fresh aroma so it has a deodorant effect and often serves as an antiseptic.

Unlike the massage oil, the aromatherapy massage cream can be applied only through body massages. However, whether you visit the spas or perform self-massage, the cream provides an amazing moisturizing and soothing effect to your skin, body and mind.

Benefits of using aromatherapy massage cream

The aromatherapy massage cream is usually sensual and warm, evoking romantic feelings and healing the mind and body of all.

There are several benefits of the aromatherapy massage cream:

• The aromatherapy massage cream helps reduce stress caused due to hypertensions, depressions, muscle pains and headaches.

• The cream improves blood circulation, reduces fatigue and cures a sore back.

• The nourishing quality of the aromatherapy massage cream melts upon skin contact into rich creamy oil, which provides a glowing lustre to the skin.

• You can massage the aromatherapy massage cream on your baby?s body to ensure your baby has an excellent nervous system and proper growth.

However, massage the cream on your own body to achieve a romantic feeling and provide a rejuvenating heal to your mind and body.

Aromatherapy Massage Oils Soothe Your Mind And Body Experience an aromatherapy massage with aromatherapy massage oils to soothe your mind and body. This type of aromatherapy massage simply makes you feel splendid. While you experience a massage with aromatherapy massage oils, you will feel a unique sensation of fresh aromas cooling your brain, refreshing your mind and relaxing your body muscles, specially after a tired day out.

Benefits of using aromatherapy massage oils

The aromatherapy massage oils have a special therapeutic quality and are used in the spas, and physical/mental healing centers. The massage oils are used by aroma therapists and healing practitioners to provide the top quality massage effects to people. Apart from providing soothing sensations, the aromatherapy massage oils have an added quality of healing various diseases like cold, flu, insomnia, severe muscle pain, headache and various other illnesses.

Types of aromatherapy massage oils

The various types of aromatherapy massage oils soothe, moisturize and activate calming sensations in your mind and body. Below are examples of some major aromatherapy massage oils that can provide you with the best feelings:

• Chamomile - Reduces swelling, relieves stress, insomnia and depression.

• Eucalyptus - Reduces fever, relieves sinus pains and coughs, reduces boils and pimples.

• Lavender - Relieves depression, spasms, and menstrual cramps and controls blood pressure.

• Rosemary - Reduces indigestion, fights infection, increases concentration.

• Nutmeg - Relieves digestion problems and help you to sleep peacefully.

• Peppermint - Stimulates mind and body, reduces motion sickness, muscle pains, neuralgia and decongests the chest.

Use these magic aromatherapy massage oils to cure yourself from all types of diseases and ensure perfect physical and mental well-being.

Ways to use the aromatherapy massage oils

When you massage with the aromatherapy massage oils, they provide you with a comfortable feeling that provides a calming effect to all your senses. The aromatherapy massage oils can be applied on you in the following two ways:

• By inhalation - in this method the massage oil vapors are inhaled through lungs. This direct inhalation of aromatic oils always refreshes your brain.

• By application to the skin - this method ensures direct massage of the oils in the body whereby the massage oils get absorbed by the blood stream and enhance one?s health, beauty and hygiene conditions.

The aromatherapy massage oils when properly applied help to overcome symptoms of depression and negativity, calm the anxious mind and heal life spirit of all.

Jamie is the author of other Aromatherapy Message Tips located at Health Tips and Message Information

Please stop by and sign up for our free health tip news letter.

Help A Depressed Person

Depression affects your mind, as well as your body. If you have a friend or a loved one who is depressed, it can be extremely painful to witness. However, there are ways that you can help.

If you have a family member, friend or loved one who is depressed you can provide support by just being there. Sometimes letting a depressed person vent frustrations and fears is at tremendous help. You may be able to encourage this person to seek medical help, and that doing so does not show weakness or lack of character. It might be a good idea to show support by going along for the first appointment. The therapist may wish to speak with you about signs and symptoms. Once it becomes clear that something is amiss, you can suggest that he or she seek professional help. (This is critical since only one third of people with mood disorders ever receive treatment.)

Learn all that you can about depression. You will be better able to detect radical changes in your friend?s behavior for better or worse and pass this information on to the treating clinician.

Ask how you can be of help. As noted, sometimes talking helps a great deal, or you might try encouraging some outdoor activities like walks or dining out.

Most important, always look for signs of suicide threats. If a depressed person starts talking about dying, that is a sure sign that immediate help is necessary. Tell the primary care physician immediately, and encourage your friend to talk about these feelings.

Depressed provides detailed information on Depressed, Depressed Children, Depressed Teens, Depressed Men and more. Depressed is affiliated with Mental Health Clinics.

Pain Medicine: Different Types of Pain Medicine

The formal term for painkillers is analgesics, a word derived from the Greek words an (without) and algia (pain). The three most commonly used types of pain medicine today are the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), the paracetamol based drugs and the opioid drugs.

The nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAIDs) group contains a wide range of different painkillers. Examples of commonly known NSAID painkillers are Aspirin, Diclofenac and Ibuprofen. NSAID pain killers do not only alleviate pain; they will also lower fever and decrease inflammations. They are called non-steroidal in order to discern them from the steroids, since the steroids are also used for their anti-inflammatory capacity. Aspirin was discovered in 1829 when salicylic acid was chemically isolated for the first time, but willow bark containing salicylic acid has been used as a pain killer long before the 19th century. A lot of NSAIDs are available over-the-counter but this does not mean that they are harmless. When misused, even comparatively weak NSAIDs can have severe side effects, including bleeding ulcers and photosensitivity. NSAIDs are generally not recommended during pregnancy.

Paracetamol is also known as acetaminophen. Both words are derived from the chemical name for this painkilling compound: N-acetyl-para-aminophenol and para-acetyl-amino-phenol. Two examples of commonly known brand names under which Paracetamol is marketed are Tylenol and Panadol. Painkillers containing Paracetamol will relieve pain and decrease a fever, but unlike the NSAID painkillers they have no anti-inflammatory properties. One of the advantages of Paracetamol compared to NSAIDs is that Paracetamol painkillers will not affect the blood?s ability to clot. Nor will they damage the kidney or lining of the stomach as long as you stay within the recommended limits and never use too much Paracetamol. High doses of Paracetamol will however be damaging to a wide range of bodily functions. Paracetamol should never be combined with alcohol since the liver will be overloaded with the burden of breaking down both alcohol and Paracetamol, which makes the risk of Paracetamol poisoning higher. If you are healthy, well-nourished and do not drink alcohol, a single 10 gram dose of Paracetamol can cause significant liver damage.

Opioid drugs are very potent painkillers but will come with a sever side effects, even in low concentrations. Morphine is one of the most commonly used opioids in pain killing drugs. An example of a morphine based painkiller is Tramal. Pethidine is another pain killing opiate and can be found in medications such as Alodan and Demerol. Morphine will act directly on the central nervous system and can relieve even sever pains, such as post surgery pains and cancer pains. Morphine is addictive and it is important that it is used with caution. The addiction can be physical as well as physiological. The side effects are also both physical and psychological. Among the physical side effects are constipation and an inhibition of the cough reflex. Psychological side effects include euphoria as well as nightmares, and drowsiness can come hand in hand with insomnia. Morphine was isolated from opium in 1803 by Friedrich Serturner, a German pharmacist. He named it morphium after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus. Serturner soon discovered its usefulness as a painkiller, but morphine didn?t grow really popular until the hypodermic needle was invented in 1853.

Read more about the different types of pain relief medication so thet you can choose the right Pain killer pills

Insights Into Stop Smoking Hypnosis Therapy

Stop smoking hypnosis treatment is one of the oldest stop smoking methods obtainable. People have been using stop smoking hypnosis therapy as a stop smoking aid since the 1980?s and there are numerous individuals who swear by its effectiveness. Still, there is much contention regarding its use in the regulated world, as most scientists demand that its positive effects are mostly reported by the therapists themselves. Nevertheless, it is truthful that it is effective for assorted people, and it is a justifiable stop smoking aid to try, specially if you have tried all of the other stop smoking methods within reach.

All things considered...

Stop smoking hypnosis treatment involves the patient participating in a string of sessions during which the hypnotherapist guides the patient be means of a series of relaxation exercises, leading him or her into a extensive state of consciousness. During this period of deep relaxation, the patient is in a highly suggestible condition. The therapist uses this state to form suggestions regarding quitting smoking. The procedure may involve echoing phrases or reading statements that have been prepared for the session. These suggestions become a part of the patient?s psyche, making him or her less liable to smoke during the day.

As a general rule...

Various stop smoking hypnosis therapists use relaxation rather than suggestion to assist patients stop smoking. They claim that the act of relaxation during the sessions allows the patient to better make do with the stresses of quitting smoking. Because many individuals turn to cigarettes when they experience pressure or irritability, this claim may in truth be true. However, there is still much controversy surrounding hypnosis stop smoking methods. Research has shown that hypnosis stop smoking support does seem to retain people from smoking for a restricted amount of time. Nevertheless, the staying power of the therapy is not as powerful as other stop smoking aids.

As it has been noted...

Numerous people recommend that stop smoking hypnosis therapy be used in conjunction with other stop smoking methods such as nicotine replacement stop smoking products like the patch or nicotine gum. That way, whatever is learned in the hypnosis session can be reinforced during the day. For people who would rather use natural stop smoking products, the patient can use herbal products to help keep his or her frame of mind elevated and to help remove cravings and stress.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step...

No matter how you feel about stop smoking hypnosis in principle, the only way to discover out whether or not it works is to try it yourself. If you have tried all of your other options and none of them have worked, hypnosis therapy might be the answer for you. However, you ought be informed that hypnosis itself does not work on various people. In fact, studies show that fifteen to twenty-five percent of the worlds population cannot be hypnotized at all.

Steve Hill discusses the quit smoking process. Learn the facts before you decide which quit smoking product to buy. Read more no-bull stop smoking articles and information at: quit smoking and quit smoking using hypnosis Steve also has a website at stuttering information

Mood Stabilizers & Mood Enhancers A Remedy to Naturally Boost Mood & Alleviate Depression

Depression and mood disorders are very prevalent mental health issues today. In an increasingly health conscious society, more options are being put forth in the realm of natural medicine, allowing people to stabilize and enhance mood naturally, without addictive and often harmful prescription antidepressants.

Natural mood stabilizers and mood enhancers usually work by encouraging the production of serotonin and other pleasure chemicals such as norepinephrine in the human brain, thereby promoting a sense of calm, well-being and revitalization.

Herbal mood enhancers may contain several different herbs and vitamins in concentrated form ranging from St. John's Wort, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12 and various other proprietary blends of botanical extracts and powders. The goal of natural mood stabilizers is to simultaneously alleviate stress and anxiety, while increasing energy and vitality levels (this is where Vitamin B12 usually comes into play - as an energy enhancer). All of this is done through precise blends of complementing ingredients to produce the desired outcome chemically in the human body.

A mood stabilizer is an excellent way to help make it through life's rough patches or particulary stressful events in life, since they are natural and non-habit forming, but very effective at enhancing mood for those who need some temporary help from time to time. Please note that individuals who suffer severe clinical depression should seek the help and guidance of a therapist and/or psychiatrist though, as therapy and medication may be needed in extreme cases.

Mood enhancing herbs have actually long been used in ancient civilizations as a means for mood stabilization and mood elevation. Natural mood enhancers, in contrast with prescription antidepressants, actually do not produce many of the common side effects of prescription antidepressants.

Side effects of the more common antidepressants (Zoloft, Paxil, Effexor, Lexapro and more),may include any of the following: suicidal tendencies, sexual disfunction, dry mouth, urinary retention, constipation, blurred vision, headache, weight gain, gastrointestinal disturbance and more.

Most people actually discontinue the usage of prescription mood enhancers (antidepressants) due to the simple fact that the side effects are worse than the actual depression. Many critics of prescription mood stabilizers argue that we don't know enough about how or why they work in the human brain, and that it is the overkill approach to treating depression or the sledgehammer to crack a nut approach, which is not necessary to effectively treat many cases of depression.

One thing is certain. There are countless people who suffer from moderate depression and mood disorders from time to time. There is simply no reason to not try a natural method to stabilize and regulate your mood by using a natural mood enhancer to get through emotionally difficult times. It's simply not worth the risks associated with antidepressants if it is not severe enough to warrant a psychologist's supervision.

Visit Mood Enhancers for more information on the natural mood enhancer mentioned in this article. Danna Schneider is the founder of Herbal-Therapeutics Effective Herbal Remedies .

High Blood Pressure Compliance

In this article we're going to discuss the main difficulty with controlling high blood pressure. It isn't what you think.

Of all the diseases and problems that we as people face, high blood pressure is one of the most easily treatable. Yet, there are so many people who have it and are unable to lower it. Why?

The answer may surprise you.

Most people who suffer from high blood pressure, have been diagnosed as having it and been given a treatment regime have great difficulty in sticking to the regime itself. That is the biggest problem in battling high blood pressure.

For example. Patients who need to take certain drugs to lower their blood pressure become lax. They may basically feel okay, especially if their blood pressure is not serious enough. Most people with borderline high blood pressure have no symptoms. Therefore, because they basically feel in good health they will occasionally skip their medications or not take them at all.

Then there are people who smoke. Smokers have probably the hardest time of all quitting or even reducing the amount they smoke each day. Just look around at all the stop smoking programs there are. This will give you a pretty good idea of how hard it is to quit. Also, since smoking itself does not directly raise your blood pressure this gives a person even less incentive to stop, adding to that the likelihood that stopping will end up putting weight on which will actually raise the blood pressure itself.

Alcohol is another problem. People who enjoy a couple of drinks a day are very unlikely to give them up, especially if they have stressful jobs. Those couple of drinks help relax them at least psychologically even if their blood pressure is being raised in the process. And for people who are alcoholics, stopping or even lowering their alcohol intake is almost impossible.

Salt in the diet is a very hard thing to give up. The truth is, with the depleted soil in our world, most foods have very little taste. People who live with a salt shaker in their hands would have a very difficult time eating their meals without that extra salt. For many people, eating is one of the great joys in their lives. To turn that into an unpleasant experience is not something they are likely to do. Plus, those who always on the go and have little choice but to eat in fast food chains are never going to be able to decrease their salt intake.

Then there is the matter of obesity. Just like with smoking, look at all the diet programs. Losing weight for many people is one of the hardest things in their life. Even if they want to, some people find it close to impossible. And for people who are overweight, exercising to lose those extra pounds may be difficult because obese people just don't have the stamina to do much exercise.

When you add all the above factors together and each ones degree of difficulty, it is easy to see why so many people have trouble reducing their blood pressure.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to High Blood Pressure
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Spring Forage

Thankfully, winter does not last forever! In the spring there is no more temptation to dip into the white flour canister and whip up biscuits and gravy or grandma's banana bread. Ah, as the daylight hours grow longer, we lose the urge to rummage through the fridge for high carb no-no's. With the onset of spring, thick, sweet, hot, heavy, bloating, high glycemic platters of food suddenly have no appeal!

And, to coin a phrase borrowed from a popular shark film, just as you thought it was safe to go back on your diet... here comes spring! The fabled season of birth and renewal, of life, regeneration, energy and love has a down side for some. Everything smells fresh and sweet; tender green grass, fragrant new flower buds, spring rain carried along on gentle breezes. We start moving again, we are out sneezing from allergies, hustling and bustling. We use more energy and our schedules pick up in intensity. Life in general increases...and so do our appetites.

Now, instead of wanting comfort foods on a dark, cold day, we need an energy snack while we are on the run. We expel more energy than we have for the past two or three months and our snack triggers are activated. After all, we are creatures of nature and we respond to the seasonal cycles. We are instinctively following nature's urges to forage through the season's fresh and plentiful bounty. Like the bear, we want to hunt out snacks after winter's hibernation. Like the cattle and hooved creatures of the field and plains, we seek energy through munching, nibbling, grazing and, yes, foraging.

However, as low carbers, we are in a terrific position...this negative cycle for high carbers is actually a positive for us! Eating the high carb way is a major disadvantage during spring because they reach for unhealthy, carb-laden foods. Although we must be mindful of where we forage and graze, low carbers have a distinct advantage over those who eat the old way. Yes, a distinct advantage indeed! As long as we watch our meal portions, and only snack when we are truly hungry or empty, then spring is our smorgasboard. Graze through the fresh salad greens and tender dark green veggies, root through the nuts and berries, forage for pork rinds, bacon bits and a myriad of cheeses, and rejoice in the low- carb lifestyle we have chosen!

Spring symbolizes renewal and vitality...so enjoy renewing your fridge's crisper bin, meat tray, and pantry. Feel the vitality of the low carb way of life, and eat guilt-free. Forage to your heart's content--literally.

Cherie? Davidson is a freelance writer and Web content developer who lives in the Pacific Northwest with her toy poodle, Auggie Dog, her ?energy muse.? She has her own freelance writing business, Suitable Words Publications (http://www.suitablewords.com), where she writes and promotes Website content, designs and develops e-books, hires out as a copywriter and writes a wide variety of articles, reviews and essays. She has started a blog at http://suitablewords.blogspot.com and a free article site at http://www.writerscontent.com

Weight Loss/Control Glossary of Terms

A Little Help With Some Difficult terms
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Aerobic Exercise. Any activity involving large muscles, done for an extended period of time. Aerobic exercise can be done for weight loss, but it also provides cardiovascular benefits. Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, biking, jogging, swimming, aerobic classes and cross-country skiing.

Aloe. Herbal product derived from the aloe plant, it is often added to herbal weight loss products. However, it has not been shown to effectively promote permanent weight loss. Different parts of the aloe plant may be used. Aloe gel may lower blood glucose and keep other medications from being properly absorbed. Aloe leaf lining has more side effects, including nausea, diarrhea, lowering of serum potassium and laxative effects that could be dangerous to individuals not in good health.

Appetite Suppressants. Medications that act upon the brain, tricking it into believing that it is not hungry or that it's full.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis. A body composition test that works by sending a small electrical signal through the body, enabling the amount of fat, muscle and other lean tissue to be measured.

Body Composition Test. A test used to determine the current percentage of body fat a person has.

Body Mass Index (BMI). A popular method used to gauge whether or not a person is overweight. BMI is calculated by dividing a person's weight (in kilograms) by his or her height (in meters, squared).

Calorie. A unit of measure for the amount of energy released when the body breaks down food.

Carbohydrate. Any of a large group of sugars, starches, cellulose and gums that the body uses by converting into glucose, a simple sugar, for fuel.

Cascara. A common ingredient used in weight loss products. One of the few herbs approved by the FDA as an over-the-counter drug. It is a strong stimulant laxative.

Catecholamine. A chemical in the brain that affects mood and appetite.

Chitosan (KITE-o-san). A dietary supplement made from chitin, a starch found in the skeleton of shrimp, crab and other shellfish. It has not been shown to contribute to permanent weight loss.

Cholesterol. A type of fat that circulates in your blood. It comes from two sources. the body makes its own regardless of what is eaten and from foods containing animal products.

Dietician or Dietitian. A person who specializes in the study of nutrition.

Diuretic. A drug that promotes the formation of urine by the kidney.

Diuresis. Water loss

Duodenum. The beginning portion of the small intestine.

Ephedrine (Ma-Huang). A common ingredient in herbal dietary supplements used for weight loss. Ephedrine can slightly suppress your appetite, but no studies have shown it to be effective in weight loss. Ephedrine is the main active ingredient of ephedra. Ephedra is also known as Ma Huang, not ephedrine. High doses of ephedra can cause very fast heartbeat, high blood pressure, irregular heart beats, stroke, vomiting, psychoses and even death.

Extensive Gastric Bypass. A gastric bypass operation in which portions of the stomach are removed. The small pouch that remains is connected directly to the final segment of the small intestine, thus completely bypassing both the duodenum and jejunum.

Fat. Organic compounds that are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, it is the body's most concentrated source of energy. Like protein and carbohydrates, fat is a principal and essential component of the diet.

Fat Absorption Inhibitor. Medications that work by preventing the body from breaking down and absorbing fat eaten with meals.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Government agency whose mission is to promote and protect the public health by helping safe and effective products reach the market in a timely way, and monitoring products for continued safety after they are in use.

Food Triggers. A situation or emotion that causes a person to eat such as stress or depression.

Gastric Banding. A surgical procedure in which a band made of special material is placed around the stomach near its upper end, creating a small pouch and a narrow passage into the larger remainder of the stomach.

Gastric Bypass. A type of operation that combines the creation of a small stomach pouch to restrict food intake and the construction of bypasses of the duodenum and other segments of the small intestine to cause malabsorption (decreased absorption of nutrients).

Glucomannan. Made from the root of Amorphophallus Konjac, an herbal supplement that is said to contribute to weight loss by delaying the absorption of glucose from the intestines.

Guarana. A nervous system stimulant derived from the seeds of a Brazilian plant of the same name, it is often found in herbal supplements that promote weight loss.

Guar Gum. Also known as guar, guar flour, and jaguar gum, it is a dietary fiber obtained from the Indian cluster bean. Used extensively as a thickening agent for foods and pharmaceuticals, it is commonly sold as an herbal supplement to promote weight loss.

High Protein Diet. Diets that recommend receiving up to 30% of calories (or more) from protein as opposed to the recommended 10%-15% from protein. These diets also recommend low carbohydrate consumption and are often high in total fat.

Hydrostatic Body Fat Testing. A body composition test performed by submerging the person in water and then measuring his or her underwater weight.

Jejunum. The middle section of the small intestine.

Ketone. Waste products in the body that are a result of fat burning.

Ketosis. An abnormality of the body's metabolic process, resulting in an increase of ketones in the blood, which can increase the risk of developing kidney stones. Ketosis is prevented by eating at least 100 grams of carbohydrates a day.

Ma-Huang. See ephedrine.

Meridia. See Sibutermine

Metabolism. The amount of energy (calories) your body burns to maintain itself. Metabolism is the process in which nutrients are acquired, transported, used and disposed of by the body.

Monounsaturated fat. A type of fat found in large amounts in foods from plants, including olive, peanut and canola oil.

Mortality. The rate of death.

Obesity. An excess proportion of total body fat. The most common measure of obesity is the body mass index (BMI).

Orlistat. A commonly prescribed fat absorption medication, it is sold under the brand name Xenical.

Phen-fen. A weight loss drug made up of fenfluramine and phentermine. Its use has been linked to heart valve problems and has been banned by the FDA.

Phenylpropanolamine (PPA). Once a common weight loss ingredient in appetite suppressants, recent studies have linked PPA to an increased risk of stroke. The FDA warns consumers to avoid use of products containing PPA.

Polyunsaturated Fat. A type of fat that is found in large amounts in foods from plants, including safflower, sunflower and corn oil.

Protein. An organic compound that is the building block of the human body. Protein builds and maintains muscle tissue.

Pyruvate. Formed in the body during digestion of carbohydrates and protein, some studies indicate that it may help with weight loss. Although it appears to be safe, claims of boosting metabolism, decreasing appetite and aiding in weight loss require further study.

Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The level of essential nutrients required to adequately meet the known nutrient needs of practically all healthy persons, according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences.

Restriction Operation. The type of surgery most often used for producing weight loss. Food intake is restricted by creating a small pouch at the top of the stomach where the food enters from the esophagus. Examples of restriction operations include. gastric banding and vertical banded gastroplasty.

Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RGB). The most common gastric bypass procedure. First, a small stomach pouch is created by stapling or by vertical banding. This causes restriction in food intake. Next, a Y-shaped section of the small intestine is attached to the pouch to allow food to bypass the duodenum as well as the first portion of the jejunum.

Saturated Fat. A type of fat most often found in animal food products including milk, eggs, meat and butter. Saturated fat is also found in vegetable products such as coconut and palm oil. Studies show that too much saturated fat in a person's diet increases heart disease risk.

St. John's Wort. An herb that is primarily used as an antidepressant due to its effects on serotonin. There is limited research indicating its use for weight loss.

Serotonin. A neurotransmitter found in the brain that affects mood and appetite.

Sibutramine. A common prescription appetite suppressant, it is sold under the brand name Meridia.

Vertical-Banded Gastroplasty. The most frequently used restrictive operation for weight control. During it, both a band and staples are used to create a small stomach pouch.

Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD). A short-term weight loss diet, VLCDs are commercially prepared formulas of 800 calories or less that replace all usual food intake. Not all VLCD need be formulas; they could just be low calorie meal plans. These diets (in fact most diets less than 1000 calories) are low in essential nutrients and require vitamin/mineral supplementation.

Xenical. See Orlistat

Yerba Mate. Also known as Paraguay tea, this strong central nervous system stimulant is often sold as a dietary supplement. It has not been proven to cause weight loss.

Weight Cycling. The repeated loss and regain of body weight. When weight cycling is the result of dieting, it is often called yo-yo dieting.

Source: WebMD

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

About The Author
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Michael Lewis has been collecting articles and information on Weight Loss and HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health benefits. He has created and edits numerous web sites about this subject. Michael is a staff writer for http://www.ageforce.com and several other websites. If you would like to contact Michael you can e-mail him at Michael@AgeForce.com or if you would like to know more about Weight Loss, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) and related health topics please visit us at AgeForce.com.

What are Dental Implants?

Q: What is a dental implant?

A dental implant is a metallic root of a tooth. It is placed in the bone of your jaw by a dentist and allowed to heal in the bone for a period of time until the bone-implant union is strong enough to support a prosthetic tooth. The implant is made out of titanium, a metal that is very well tolerated by the human body.

Q:How is it used to replace missing teeth?

A: When you are using a dental implant to replace missing teeth, your dentist will first determine if you have enough supporting bone to safely place a dental implant to support a prosthetic tooth. The implant is placed into the bone in a very specific surgical procedure to insure that the implant will not be rejected by your body. In order to place the implant in the bone, it is necessary to cut through the gum tissue. The gum tissue will usually be sewed up either over the implant or around the implant after it is placed into the bone. The implant will then be allowed to heal in the bone for several months until the union is strong enough to support the prosthetic tooth.

Q: What kind of dentist do I need to see?

A: Any dentist can place or restore a dental implant. Dental implants are usually placed by Oral Surgeons, Periodontists, Prosthodontists or General Practitioners. Prosthodontists and General Practitioners will usually be the one's who restore the teeth. You should start by consulting with your general practitioner or a prosthodontist and determine how much experience and training they have in the general field of dental Implantology. If you elect to go with one of these practitioners, you can follow their recommendation as to who will actually place your dental implant.

Q: How much do implants cost?

A: Usually around $1500 to $2000. Speak with your dentist.

Q: Are dental implants a permanent solution to tooth loss?

A: Yes dental implants are considered to be a permanent solution. There are, however, some caveats... Sometimes the dental implant does not integrate and it will be lost. In those cases, another implant might be placed that would stay there and become permanent. Sometimes, the restoration will have to be repaired or serviced... As a matter of fact, most restorations will require some degree of maintenance and sometimes replacement over a period of time. You should be prepared for future expenses in this regard.

Q: Are there people who cannot have dental implants?

A: Most everyone can have dental implants placed, but there are some exceptions and some cautions... Patients who are uncontrolled diabetics or have severe psychological problems are not good canditates for dental implants. Patients with severe medical compromises are not good candidates for anything involving surgery although the dental implant procedures can normally be carried out under local anesthesia and are therefor less risky than surgical procedures requiring general anesthesia.

Patients missing a large amount of bone are not good candidates, but bone grafts can be used to replace the missing bone and allow the patient to have dental implants. You should speak very carefully to your dentist and find out just how good a candidate you are for dental implants. If there are things that will make you a better candidate, you should understand them and help to make the decision as to whether they will be implemented.

Those people who require significant bone grafting for implant placement should engage the services of a qualified oral surgeon. Many minor bone grafts can be accomplished by any competent dentist placing dental implants.

7 How to avoid problems with dental implants.

#1. Find out who has implants and ask them who did them and how they came out.

#2. Find qualified ADA specialists, preferably a Board Certified Prosthodontist , to treat you. This is a very demanding area and specialty training is required.

#3. Get a detailed, written treatment plan including all fees and make sure there are no hidden costs.

#4. Get a second Consultation to help you evaluate the first one.

#5. Ask the dentist for names of patients that he or she has treated and for the names of other dentists that he works with. Call them and find out as much as you can about the type of work this dentist does.

#6. Determine the commitment that this dentist has to dentistry and to the area of dental implantology. Does he or she teach? Does he or she publish articles in the scientific dental literature. Is he or she considered an expert in this area of treatment.

#7. Look for someone who is confident, cautious and thorough in his or her approach to your dental work.

#8. Call the state board of dentistry and find out if there are any rulings against this practitioner regarding his dental practice.

#9. Don't be afraid to ask how many of these procedures this dentist has performed successfully.

#10. Ask the dentist about failures. What happens if an implant fails. What are the alternatives if this treatment plan does not work?

Find out more information about dental implants at

http://www.drmagner.com
http://www.212smiling.com
http://www.drsmile.net

Virus Classification

Virus classification is the process of naming viruses and placing them in a 'family tree' in relation to other viruses. This process is different from the one used to classify plants or animals. Thanks to the fossil record, there are clear connections between most animals or plants. Viruses do not leave such a record, so it is more difficult to determine relationships between them. Another factor causing difficulties in virus classification is their pseudo-living nature, many scientists are debating whether viruses should be considered alive because they are missing several criteria considered important for living creatures. This makes viruses very difficult to place in the current classification system for plants and animals.

Virus classification is currently based on five phenotypic characteristics; morphology, or structure, of the virus; type of nucleic acid, or the genetic material, of the virus; mode of replication; hosts; and the type of disease they cause. There are two classification systems in use today, the Baltimore system and the International Committee on the Taxonomy of Viruses classification guidelines.

The Baltimore classification system was developed by Nobel Prize winning biologist, David Baltimore. This system separates viruses into seven groups, designated by Roman numerals, depending on their type of genetic material, the number of strands of genetic material and their method of replication. There are other classification systems that are based on the morphology of the virus or the disease caused. These systems are inadequate due to the fact that some diseases are caused by different viruses, the cold or flu are the most common example of this and some viruses look very similar to one another. Another factor is viral structures are difficult to determine under a microscope thanks to their small size. By classifying viruses based on their genetic material, some indication of how to proceed with research is provided because viruses in a category behave in a similar manner.

The seven groups are: Group I, double stranded DNA viruses such as the herpes virus and the chickenpox virus; Group II, single stranded DNA viruses such as the parvo virus; Group III, double stranded RNA viruses; Group IV, positive-sense single stranded RNA viruses such as the Sars virus, the yellow fever virus and many other well known viruses; Group V, negative-sense single stranded RNA viruses such as the measles virus, the mumps virus and the rabies virus; Group VI, reverse transcribing RNA viruses such as HIV; and Group VII, reverse transcribing DNA viruses such as the hepatitis B virus. The Group VI viruses use the enzyme to reverse-transcribe their RNA into DNA and then insert the transcribed DNA into the host organism's DNA, where it is replicated whenever a cell divides. The Group VII viruses transcribe their DNA into an RNA form, then transcribe the RNA back into DNA to be inserted into the host's DNA and replicated.

In the early 1990s, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses devised and implemented rules for the naming and classification of viruses. This group still oversees the classification of viruses today. The ICTV system shares many features with the system used for classifying cellular organisms. There are several differences however; the classification of cellular organisms starts with the Kingdom, while viruses start with Order; another difference is the species name generally takes the form Disease species. For example the classification of the yellow fever virus is; Family - Flaviviridae, Genus - Flavivirus, Species - Yellow Fever virus. Notice this virus does not have an Order classification; that is because recognition of the Orders has been extremely slow, in over ten years only three Orders have been named. Many of the 80 known families remain unplaced. The ICTV are still working on this aspect of virus classification.

Michael Russell Your Independent Virus guide.

Are Alternative Complimentary Natural and Holistic Medicine All the Same?

There is such a vast amount of information out there in the public domain that it is sometimes very hard for us to make sense of it all or even to make a choice about our health treatments. I am a layperson that got interested in ?other? treatments when I left my general practitioner?s office unconvinced by his theories about my ailing health. I did not want to be tired any more, but suspected that I first had to get to the bottom of the despondency that I seemed to drown in.

The first confusing thing I ran into was what were alternative, complementary, natural and holistic medicine ? were they all the same thing? I wanted to learn more about the cause of the ailments and not on how to suppress the symptoms. And so I became a strong supporter of the holistic health approach. The adjective holistic (often spelled wholistic) spans all four health domains vs. any one of them, spiritual, emotional, physical and mental. Holistic medicine works in harmony with the body?s rhythms and energies, bringing it back as close as possible to its original state. It speaks of ?treating the whole person? and harmonizing the person with nature and refers to the various traditional and modern systems of health protection and restoration, which are based on the body's natural healing powers, the many ways the different tissues affect each other and the influence of the external environment. A toxic environment, whether it is family, belief, or relationship, is one which impinges on someone's holistic health. Holistic health looks at life from the perspective that humans function as complete, integrated units rather than as the sum of separate parts.

Alternative medicine is often the term used to describe therapies such as Homeopathy, Acupuncture and Naturopathy and provides a genuine alternative to your family doctor?s surgery. The greatest benefit is achieved when holistic practitioners practice alongside conventional doctors but sadly, in most countries this is still more the exception than the rule!

Some therapies like metamorphic technique, chelation therapy or Hopi ear candles are effective within a limited range of conditions and are quite restricted and so are by definition complementary.

Most people think natural medicine must imply that there is something inherently good about being natural - but not all things natural are beneficial. Arsenic is natural but certainly not beneficial! The biggest challenge is that most of these therapies are certainly not natural, like Homeopathy or Flower Essence. Most therapies involve a concept of natural, vital energy, which provides the driving force for life itself. Asthma inhalers, antibiotics and steroids never actually cure chronic conditions and often leave people dependent on drugs for partial relief. The holistic approach alleviates symptoms while working towards a real cure that removes the need for treatment of any kind. Generally, the more authentically our spiritual, emotional, physical and mental needs are met both locally and chronically, the higher the state of our holistic health.

Lizette le Clus-Fox is an ardent advocate for a holistic approach to health and runs http://www.wellnessthoughts.com and her ezine Wellness Thoughts provides regular in-depth information. To learn more about holistic health visit her web site today!

Waxing Hair Removal: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Waxing Hair Removal: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions:

How does hair waxing work? A wax combination is spread thinly over the skin. A cloth strip is pressed on the top and then ripped off with a quick movement removing the wax along with the hair and dead skin cells leaving the skin smooth.

What's the difference between hot waxes and cold waxes? Good hot waxes melt just above body temperature so they can be easily spread thinly over the skin. As they harden they trap the hair in the wax so it is removed by the roots when the wax is ripped off.

Cold waxes are available in precoated strips which can be pressed directly onto the skin. The hair sticks to the wax and is then removed with the quick pull back action. (Cold waxing is also known as Persian waxing)

What is the effect on the skin? As dead skin cells are removed in this process the skin can feel quite smooth afterwards. The hair waxing action does cause the skin to sting and many find a soothing skin healing cream to be helpful afterwards. Some persons find the skin reacts with redness and bumps which disappear after a few hours.

Are there any health precautions to keep in mind with hair waxing? Some physicians do not recommend hair waxing for persons suffering from diabetes or who have varicose veins or poor circulation as they are more susceptible to infection.

Users of Retin-A, Renova, Differin or Accutane are advised not to use hair waxing on the face as these medications tend to weaken the skin and tearing of the skin may occur when the wax is removed.

Hair waxing should not be done on areas of skin affected by warts, pimples, moles or rashes or on skin that is irritated, chapped or suffering from sunburn. Never apply wax to peeling, broken skin or varicose veins. Never apply wax to the nipples when removing hair from the breast area.

On what body areas can hair waxing be used? It is wise to test a small area first but generally waxing can be used on most parts of the body. The exceptions are the male genitals, nipples, inside the ears and nose, eyelashes.

How long before hair reappears? Generally between 3 and 8 weeks. Less hair regrows and it is generally finer. Eventually some hair never regrows.

Recommendation: To make waxing hair removal much easier and less frequent, always apply a hair inhibitor after each waxing session. Click here for details: http://www.1bodycare.com/159490-kalo

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Acne: A Basic Understanding

Statistics indicate that as high as 80% of the entire American population has ever had acne. Acne afflicts all genders, sexes and ages making it a universal skin disorder. As a form of skin disease, the good news is that acne is not transmittable.

Although acne is not contagious from person-to-person, it can spread to the whole face and can severely affect all the skin tissues that have pilosebaceous units. It is not true that acne just affects those going through puberty. Even infants or individuals who may be well over their forties, can develop this skin disorder. Acne infantilis is the term used for acne that grows on newborn babies, on the other hand acne rosacea is related to middle-aged people.

Acne has different classifications, according to the severity of the infection.

Comedo is the form where all severe acne cases originate. This is characterized by red swelling or small lesions on your skin. Whiteheads and blackheads are two forms of comedo. Conversely, blackhead is an open comedo. The coloration is due to the accumulation of dark skin pigments called melanin, plus hardened sebum and other skin debris and particles. This is the basic structure of whiteheads, however, the only difference is the coloration and these are deeply situated into the skin layers.

If you have sandpaper-like skin around the tissue of your mouth and on the surface of your forehead, chin and cheeks, you probably have papules. Pus-filled lesions are also termed as pustules.

Nodules on the other hand are similar with pustules. However, nodules are firmer and are larger acne growing deep in the skin. Inflammation may develop your pustules into containing semi-liquid or liquid materials composed of white blood cells (which are dead because of the acne-infecting bacteria named as Propionibacterium acnes), dead skin cells and active or inactive bacteria. This can result into more serious acne called cysts. In such situations, you may need the assistance of a skin dermatologist or physician.

What is the cause of acne? It is quite difficult to exactly determine what may have caused your acne infection as reasons differ case to case. Studies indicate that the skin disorder may be brought about by many factors, including poor diet, stress, weather elements, and hormone changes or may be genetically influenced.

Medically speaking, acne starts from the formation of hardened sebum, or the oily substance secreted to the skin through the sebaceous glands. This then will be permeated with acne-infecting bacteria, which in return will trigger the immune system to release white blood cells to obstruct the attack of the bacteria. As this happens, dead white blood cells and bacteria will accumulate in the hair follicles mixed with skin debris and dead skin particles, which then will inflame the lesions.

Most mild case acne may be treated with over the counter acne medications. They are generally topical drugs, which you apply on your skin for acne treatment. They may come in the form of soaps, lotions, gels and creams. Conversely, systematic acne medications are taken orally. The most common of which are the antibiotics.

Knowing that you are not the only one inflicted with acne at some point in life or another helps in that there will always be new research and new products coming on stream. Continue to read up on acne research and help your fight against it.

Kathelene Capelle is a writer for beauty tips and advice. Her blog includes useful information on acne remedy, natural skin care, natural remedies for skin care and anti-aging. She also provides step-by-step recipes for skin care that you can easily prepare from ingredients right out from your kitchen. Get updated on tips and resources at http://www.acne-and-skin-care.com

10 Things to Find Out Before Joining a Health Club

If you are serious about getting the best results you can when it comes to improving your physical fitness, then joining a quality health club is probably going to be important for you. The number of people who successfully reach their fitness goals by utilizing a health club is far greater than those who are successful on their own.

This isn't to say that you can't do it on your own, but be pre-warned that going it on your own is a lot more difficult than you may think. If you want to get physically fit without joining a club, as a minimum, you should plan on hiring a personal trainer, at least to get you started. Also, you will need to invest in some home exercise equipment. The cost of a trainer and quality home equipment can require an investment that would allow you to join a good health club for several years.

Believe me when I tell that I'm not trying to convince you not to do your own thing. I have all my own equipment. But keep in mind that I also have an advanced degree in exercise physiology and many years experience coaching others on what needs to be done and how to do it. And, to be honest, if there was a good health club close by, I would join it in a flash. For me, the closest good health club is about 60 miles away. My investment in good quality equipment cost me about $5000. That would pay for quite a few years of health club membership.

So, chances a good that you should consider joining a good health club to help you meet your fitness goals. If this is the case, here are some of the most important things you need to consider when evaluating a health club before you join.

1.Health Screenings ? Find out if the club performs a health screening before you begin your membership. Ideally, a certified fitness professional should give you a submax fitness test to determine your current cardiovascular fitness. They should also ask you questions about your medical history and conduct tests for flexibility. Getting this information will help the staff evaluate your capabilities and design a safe and effective exercise routine that will help you achieve your desired results.

2.Qualified, certified fitness instructors ? The instructors should be certified through a national exercise organization such as ACE or ACSM. Some of the organizations have certifications for special needs groups like seniors or people with arthritis. If you fit into a special group, check to see if any of the staff at the club you're interested in has the certifications that will be most beneficial to you. And check their credentials. There are a lot of certificate mills out there that give out certifications for a few dollars and don't require any testing to insure the applicants are knowledgeable or have practical experience.

There should be certified staff members available to answer questions and show you how to use any of the equipment. They should also be available to help you set up your initial exercise program and guide you in any modifications you need to make as you progress.

3.Service Oriented ? When you first go to a club to check it out, see what kind of feeling you get from the staff. Do they seem interested in you and your exercise goals or are they just trying to sign you up for the most expensive package they can talk you in to? Staff members should be willing and able to answer any questions you have about various programs, etc. And they should encourage you to use the facility, not just try to get you to sign up.

4.Try before you buy ? The facility should allow you a try out period before committing to a membership. Look for a club that allows you to try out the facility for at least 2 weeks (there may be a fee for this). At the very least, they should offer you a free day pass so you can see how you feel using the facility.

5.Members of the facility ? Check out the kind of people who are using the facility. Ask yourself if these are the kind of people you want to be exercising next to. If you are a baby boomer and most of the people you see in the facility are 20 something, you may not be comfortable working out with them as your peers. If you like everything else about the facility but you're not sure the other members fit your comfort profile, make a point of visiting the facility when you are most likely to use it. You will probably find that the demographics of many clubs change depending on when you go there.

6.Close to home or work ? If a club isn't convenient for you to get to, you aren't going to use it regularly. If you don't exercise regularly, you will be defeating your purpose. The club I joined when I was living in Chicago was a national chain. One of the big reasons I joined this particular club was that they had multiple facilities within 5 minutes of both my home and my office. It was very convenient for me to go to either club, so I used the facilities all the time. That was a very good thing at the time, because I was training for triathlons which require a lot of training.

7.Types of Equipment ? Similar to location, if a facility doesn't have the kind of weight training and cardiovascular equipment you want to use, it's not going to be a good fit for you. When I was training for triathlons I needed a pool. Another selling point for the club I joined was that each of the facilities that were close for me also had a pool and an indoor running track that helped with winter training. Make sure that you know what kind of equipment you need to use and are comfortable with it. A club that has predominantly free weights isn't going to do you much good if you want to use machines.

8. Condition of Equipment ? Check to make sure all the equipment is clean and maintained. It won't do you much good to belong to a club where half the machines have signs saying they are out of service. And working out on dirty, smelly equipment can really put a damper on your training.

9. Aerobics Room ? If there is any chance you might want to take some kind of aerobics class (dance, step, spin, etc.) you will want to be sure that the aerobics room has good ventilation and a shock absorbing floor. If you have never had shin splints let me tell you that a shock absorbing floor can make a big difference. And a room with poor ventilation cam really get stuffy when your breathing in everyone else's used up air.

10. Facility Temperature and Air Flow ? When you go for your initial visit to try out the facility, pay attention to the temperature and humidity in the facility. They should be at a comfortable level for you to work out. One of the problems with some facilities that have pools is that they don't have good separation between the pool area and the rest of the facility. This can cause some pretty high humidity, which can make working out very uncomfortable.

In a similar fashion, poor air flow within the facility can cause problems. You don't want to be working out in an area that smells like a men's locker room (sorry guys but I don't know what a women's locker room smells like so I have to use what I'm familiar with).

This may seem like a lot of things to find out about, but keep in mind that you are going to be paying a decent amount of money for the use of a good, quality facility. And, you will be spending a fair amount of time there if you are really serious about your fitness and health. It makes sense to make sure you will be happy and comfortable with this investment of time and money.

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Online fitness coach Tom Manfredi is the creator of the site fitness-after-50.com. He has a master's degree in exercise physiology and over 20 years of practical exercise experience.

This site is designed with the mature adult in mind. Learn more by going to fitness-after-50.com

The Search for Pure Hoodia Plant Extracts

The company which created a market for weight loss products with hoodia gordonii has not yet released their own product. That company is Phytopharm. Currently partnered with Unilever (makers of Slim Fast and other food products), Phytopharm has been conducting research and attempting to develop and market a product using pure hoodia plant extract for over ten years. They announced in late April of 2006 that they had just completed the first phase of a five phase clinical research program and still expect that several years will pass before their product is available.

In the meantime, media coverage, including reporters traveling to Africa to sample the hoodia gordonii plant, created a market for health supplement companies. If eating the pure hoodia plant would suppress the appetite, then products containing the plant in powdered form should accomplish the same thing. Weight loss products with hoodia gordonii are working for some people and not for others. This is true with many ?natural cures?, but a controversy is brewing over whether all of the products that claim to contain hoodia gordonii, actually do. At first, it appeared that this was an advertising gimmick created by companies whose products cost more, something to set them above the rest. Statements from a company that sells a product about other companies selling the same product are sometimes just sales pitches. But, in this case, it appears that there is evidence to support the statements.

The first step in chemical analysis was finding samples of the pure hoodia plant. Hoodia gordonii only grows in areas of southern Africa. It is not favored in botanical gardens or green houses because the blooms have such a strong smell. The smell has often been compared to rotting meat. Wild stands of hoodia gordonii have been protected from harvesting by the governments of southern Africa. Cultivation of hoodia gordonii has been difficult. These statements are made by not only the companies that are currently selling weight loss products with hoodia gordonii, but also by Phytopharm. The lack of sources of pure hoodia plant has led suppliers at some point in the manufacturing process to either substitute something else for hoodia gordonii or reduce the amount of the active ingredient to very low levels.

A non-profit organization called Hoodia gordonii.co.za, based in South Africa, attempts to inform consumers about which weight loss products with hoodia are genuine and which are fake. At this time they have had chemical analyses performed by Alkemists Pharmaceuticals on twelve different products which claim to contain pure hoodia plant in powdered form. According to these results, some of the products contain hoodia gordonii, some contain a small amount of hoodia gordonii and some contain no hoodia gordonii at all. In fact, one company is the subject of a possible class action suit.

Some of the questionable weight loss products with hoodia have appropriate CITES licenses for exporting hoodia gordonii and so one must assume that the error was made as early as the harvesting process. The government of South Africa was concerned that this might be a problem. Identification of the hoodia gordonii plant is apparently difficult, as there are 15 different species of hoodia, but only hoodia gordonii has been studied as an appetite suppressant. In order for consumers to find weight loss products with hoodia gordonii that is genuine, it may be necessary to look for companies which display chemical analysis reports or are certified by Hoodia gordonii.co.za.

For more information about the pure hoodia plant, visit the Hoodia Info Blog.

Patsy Hamilton is an editor of the Hoodia Info Blog. Visit us at http://hoodiainfo.blogspot.com

A Guide To Positive Imaging For Weight Loss

Have you ever imagined how visualization can play an important part in losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that keeps it off.

Losing weight can be difficult for many people who use fad diets and pills to achieve their weight loss goals without letting their mind help in the process.

Visualization is a powerful technique that can help you make lasting lifestyle changes. Just by day dreaming, you can significantly improve your chances in achieving your goals.

Visualization is a great weight loss tool and its as simple as visualizing your body as you want your body to look like.

This mental image of yourself is then transferred to your subconscious mind, which in turn starts to work on your body, shaping it in accordance with your mental image thus reducing your weight.

This means that if you program your subconscious with a mental image of yourself as a slimmer person, through persistence your mind will accept this and aid your body to conform to this mental image.

Once your mind is programmed with the proper mental images, it will start to work in assisting you to losing weight. I can?t stress enough how important it is for you to believe in your visualization goals.

You have to let go of past dieting failures and refuse to entertain any negative images that come into your mind.

If you can visualize your body at its perfect weight and proportions, the subconscious mind will work to make it become a reality. It will then begin to positively reinforce your body into aiding the metabolism and eating habits.

Programming your mind into believing that you can lose weight, and to visualize yourself at your ideal weight is of the greatest importance.

Try to think of a different image of yourself, then let your subconscious do the work for you. If you think of your own body fat and being out of shape all the time, then the subconscious mind will find ways to make it so.

The subconscious looks after all of all your vital functions, it is the cause of all your good and bad habits, and also regulates muscle (the muscles are controlled by the subconscious) and body-fat composition on the body, and the latter is the one we are most interested in.

So please try to visualize your body as lean as you would like, and your mind will work on that image. The mind can be a great partner in losing weight.

Getting Rid of Bad Nutritional Habits

A bad habit is like second nature and is acquired over a long period of time. Bad habits are programmed into the subconscious and ?will power? alone will not get rid of it. Many try using all sorts of different ways to break it but without success.

Obesity is the result of bad nutritional habits and some of the causes are boredom, stress, tension and different complexes. Food becomes the substitution for these causes and before too long, obesity sets in. Most people become concerned that they?re obese, eat more and a vicious cycle is established.

The only way for lasting permanent weight loss is to break these bad habits and replace them with positive new ones, and the only way to do this is with visualization. Visualization puts you in charge of your subconscious where all these bad programs are stored.

All the will power in the world is not going to break these bad habits unless one has the help of their subconscious.

Relaxation

Relaxation the best way to reach the sub-conscious and will slow down the mind, turn off the exterior world so as to tune in to one?s inner self. The best times for these sessions are in the morning and late at night right, just before going to sleep.

Try performing two sessions, one in the afternoon (primary) and the other before going to sleep (secondary) but once a day is quite sufficient. Sessions usually last 20 minutes, which isn?t time consuming especially when taking in the benefits received.

When you begin your relaxation sessions, make sure you won?t be disturbed - lock the door, take the phone off the hook and loosen all clothing. Now find a comfortable position, whether it is lying down or sitting in a comfortable chair.

Sitting may be preferable as you may fall asleep if you become too comfortable. You want to be conscious and not asleep in order to tap into your sub-conscious mind.

Try to exhale all the air from your lungs completely and then breathing in through the nose. Take ten seconds to fill the lungs with air (not to capacity, but comfortable) hold for ten seconds and then exhale slowly through the nose for another ten seconds.

Each one of these breathing cycles should last for 30 seconds, complete five cycles and after each cycle you will be feeling more and more relaxed.

If you are sitting, open your eyes and look straight ahead. If you are lying down, open your eyes and stare at the ceiling. After a few minutes, slowly close your eyes.

Having reaching this calm relaxed state start your visualizations. Put together images that power your emotions. Make them alive and colourful. Make the scenes as real as possible and imagine yourself as slim and toned the way you will look after successful weight loss.

Picture yourself ten weeks from now on the beach, walking briskly and confidently to your favourite spot, your breathing is normal and relaxed. You smile to yourself; you could keep walking like this for miles without feeling fatigued.

You lay your towel out and begin to take your clothes off revealing a firm, toned, well conditioned body. You have just bought a brand new swimming suit which just weeks before would have been lying in your closet waiting to be used.

Glancing around you notice the beach is busy, you catch the eye of someone of the opposite sex, they smile at you and you smile back. You walk confidently to the water and swim a couple of hundred yards with no problem or fatigue.

Or try this:

Visualize your family and friends complimenting you about how good your body looks and how slim you look. Try to view the scene as it is happening this instant - in the present, not in the future.

Using these visualizations you can construct in your mind any scene that desire. See yourself exercising, socializing, in the company of friends. Try and hear people complimenting you about your slim new body, and watch their admiring glances. Make the mental image as real as possible.

?Remember set a goal for your ideal weight
?You must want to lose weight
?Visualize yourself at your ideal weight
?Use positive images at every opportunity

Now that you are armed with this information practice these sessions on a daily basis and over a period of ten weeks you?ll be on your way to become a happier and leaner person.

Gary Matthews is the author of the popular fitness eBooks Maximum Weight Loss and Maximum Weight Gain. Please visit http://www.maximumfitness.com right now for your 'free' weight loss e-course.

The Hypocritical Oath

(With apologies to Patch Adams and any other medical practitioner who actually puts patient care before any other consideration.)

Many medical practitioners have sworn the Hippocratic oath since it was first proposed by Hippocrates, known as the father of modern medicine. Since that time, the oath has been changed by different societies to accommodate changing times, and, today, not all teaching schools require new doctors to swear to this oath. Below is an examination of one of the variants.

Para 1: I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

Fair enough, but do they really know what they are swearing to? Do you?

Para 2: I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

??in whose steps I walk,? that?s the problem. The medical industry is build brick upon brick of so called scientific evidence produced by individuals who claim advances in medical science. Well, it?s about time that it suffered from a double whammy Katrina/Wilma hurricane of Category 5+ magnitude. That?s what it?s going to take to get them to realize that the American Medical Association and the scientific method does not have all the answers and that the very basis of their scientific method is Herbalism, a practice the AMA seeks to step on.

As for sharing their knowledge, this is definitely a patchy affair. Some do, if they can get a research grant to enable them to write a paper for publication in a scientific journal. But, if a doctor working for a drug house produces scientific evidence for the efficacy of another approach or a less expensive drug, they can?t get their work published. Their over-riding need is to stay employed by the company whose principal goal is to find new ways of producing specialist drugs sold at exorbitant prices to increase their profits. Worse, these researchers have to sign secrecy contracts before they can be employed.

Para 3: I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

Ignoring the fact that the statement itself is grammatically incorrect (what else might they do in such a slipshod manner?), let us look at over-treatment and therapeutic nihilism: many children have been subjected to this phenomenon by doctor?s ignorance of a child?s condition. For example, epilepsy can be easily cured by naturopathic methods as practiced at John Hopkins School of Medicine and yet doctors throughout the world still prescribe drugs with horrendous side effects that do absolutely no good at all, i.e. they are therapeutically nihilistic and to use them is to over treat a condition for which there is a simple remedy.

The same applies to the treatment of gallstones. Gallstones are formed in the liver and only become apparent when they have moved into the gallbladder, becoming sufficiently calcified as to show up on X-Ray. There is a simply herbal remedy used for thousands of years that can relieve the problem in 24 hours painlessly and cheaply without surgical intervention. To subject patients to surgery is decidedly therapeutic nihilism in the extreme.

Para 4: I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.

Doctors practicing modern medicine in America are taught that medicine is a science. Whatever part of their education is dedicated to ?warmth, sympathy, and understanding,? we have no idea, but it is patently obvious, if only from the limited amount of time a doctor gives each patient, that these three qualities are not practiced in the majority of cases. When did your doctor last give you the warmth of a hug of sympathy, or show any true understanding of how you are feeling?

Para 5: I will not be ashamed to say I know not, nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.

The danger in this statement is that when a doctor does not know what a patient is suffering from, he rarely says so, frequently prescribing treatments for assumed conditions that the patient does not have. His alternative is applied by sending the patient to a specialist. If this isn?t passing the buck, what is? The problem then becomes the specialist, and we?ve known plenty of those who don?t have the answers either. Ask any rheumatologist, ?What causes the disease?? ?Aha,? he will confess, ?We really don?t know??

Para 6: I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

?? play at God!? Now this does bring a smile to the face and a chuckle to the throat. The moment you step into a doctor?s office and ask his assistance, you are asking him to take responsibility for your health care. You, in that moment, are asking him to ?play at God?. Since when did a doctor acknowledge your own culpability and your own responsibility for your health? At that moment, all he/she can do is offer you drug therapy or surgery. As a member of the American Medical Association and the laws this organization has brought about, they can do nothing else. If this is not playing God, what is?

When you do accept responsibility for your own healthcare, does your doctor cooperate with you? Unlikely! When we have explained to our doctors that we don't want a particular drug, or have requested something that has helped us in the past, we have been turned down. Another example of the doctor playing God! We know our bodies and how they respond to medication, our doctors? do not and any treatment offered (albeit with the best of intentions) may not be appropriate for our bodies ? or yours. What happened to freedom of choice, a God-given right?

Para 7: I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

In America, health care is a business of massive proportions backed by the drug houses whose major interest is increasing the profits of shareholders. It does not matter what effect any medical treatment offered has on a ?person's family and economic stability?. Expensive tests will be performed regardless of whether they are needed or not due to the physicians? greater fear of being sued for damages. Medications will be prescribed, treatments recommended, all of which the patient, despite their familial and financial circumstances, will be expected to fund. Very few doctors under this regime take responsibility for such matters. If the treatment kills the patient, what then! It?s a well-known fact that doctors bury their mistakes, or, if they are discovered, get sued for millions of dollars thus increasing the cost of healthcare to the patient. Between them, the doctors and lawyers fleece the poor. Under these circumstances, can doctors really claim they ?care adequately for the sick??

Para 8: I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

Prevention is certainly better for the individual, but two factors are important here. Firstly, the patient goes to the doctor for treatment when they have become ill. The doctor does not prevent illness in his patient because he only becomes activated after the fact, not before. There are no provisions in America for any doctor to ensure that his patients do not become sick in the first place. Secondly, most medications the doctor prescribes do not prevent disease. Many, have side effects that cause other diseases, and can even cause death.

Para 9: I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If we remember rightly, the majority of doctors earn significantly more money than the majority of people in their society. It has always been a prestigious profession from a financial perspective. Can anyone point us to a doctor who goes out of his way to ensure that his patients can prevent themselves from becoming ill, or a doctor who makes financial sacrifices of his own for the infirm? What ?special obligations? are being referred to here? Can anyone tell us?

Para 10: If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

We think you would agree that the majority of doctors enjoy their lives and practice very little art in the diagnosis and treatment of disease whether they do or do not violate the Hippocratic oath.

We submit that the respect doctors receive is out of the fear their patients have of them, rather than for the treatment received.

??respect?? Now why should we respect someone who has a mind so shut that they actually go out of their way to deprive people of homeopathy, naturopathy, Herbalism, etc. Nope! They don?t deserve respect ? they do deserve derision.

??remembered with affection?? What a joke. We don?t think most patients know their physicians well enough to remember them at all given the amount of time their doctor allows them.

A very uplifting last statement to the final clause of the Hippocratic oath, but who do these people think they are kidding? The finest traditions of their calling died long ago. The AMA and the drug houses rule practicing medical professionals! They have no minds or wills of their own in the practice of modern medicine. We suspect many of them realize this after they have been in practice for several years. As for the use of the expression ?joy of healing?, we are staggered beyond belief at such arrogance. They heal no one; they simply help the individual?s body to heal itself. Now what could be more hypocritical than that?

The Hippocratic oath is the most hypocritical oath any doctor could take. Not only does it need updating, it needs to take into consideration all other medical practices that are in use today that DO bring relief to the suffering of millions without drugs or surgery. The original meaning, as postulated by Hippocrates, has become meaningless and we?re certain that he?s turning in his grave at what has happened to medical practice, certainly in the last sixty years.

BJ Day and Russ Miles are authors who often challenge conventional mistaken, if even widely accepted beliefs.

BJ Day retired from an active business life to take up writing as a retirment career a few years ago. BJ has recently been invited by Durban House Publishers to sign a three book deal as a writer of note. Expect to see BJ in print soon.

Russ Miles is author of the novel, For Sale By Owners:FSBO. A ?Seasoned Real Estate NAR? Broker,? disabled by Multiple Sclerosis, Russ writes books & articles on varied subjects. FOR SALE BY OWNERS:FSBO ISBN 0-595-28703-4,in trade paperback, is available by phone or Internet:1-800-Authors to order direct! Adobe e-book & hard cover editions also available at Amazon.com at Barnes and Noble and other fine booksellers.

What do you think? Questions, criticisms or comments can be addressed to bjjayd@gmail.com. For other items and Issues of interest, please visit http://MilesBooks.com