"To be honest, I have stopped to judge anymore it just not needed.... we should LET GO of ALL THAT WE PERCIEVE as REAL and start living in THE NOW PRESENCE. Only then you become the silent watcher of your SELF. You become still like in a EYE OF THE HURRICANE. We all have this EYE in our Energy Field. THat place is a place where we meet GOD. Be Yourself, Surrender to LOVE. Take control of your emotions. BE WELL"
anon
Monday, 26 May 2008
Australian Tourism
These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual
responses by the website officials.
Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the
plants grow? (UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.
Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them
in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? (USA)
A: Africa is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Australia is that
big island in the
middle of the Pacific which does not ... oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is
every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send
the rest of the directions.
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.
Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Austria is that quaint little country bordering Germany, which is ... oh forget
it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight
after the hippo races. Come naked.
Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.
Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake
serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in America which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes
are
perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's
a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees
and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by
spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me
where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller
than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay night clubs.
Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.
thanks to tedd koren for these
responses by the website officials.
Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the
plants grow? (UK)
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you've been drinking.
Q: I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in Australia? Can you send me a list of them
in Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville and Hervey Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?
Q: Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? (USA)
A: Africa is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe. Australia is that
big island in the
middle of the Pacific which does not ... oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is
every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
Q: Which direction is North in Australia? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send
the rest of the directions.
Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.
Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Austria is that quaint little country bordering Germany, which is ... oh forget
it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight
after the hippo races. Come naked.
Q: Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers. Milk is illegal.
Q: Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake
serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in America which is where YOU come from. All Australian snakes
are
perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's
a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees
and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them. You can scare them off by
spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me
where I can sell it in Australia? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
Q: Can you tell me the regions in Tasmania where the female population is smaller
than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay night clubs.
Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.
Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.
thanks to tedd koren for these
3 minute depression cure for real?
I came across an ad today for the '3 minute cure for depression' by mike freeman
I then spent half an hour (10 X 3!)looked on the internet to see if anyone had purchased it ($100),and found this comment:
"Like a mug I sent for it. It's basically, if the life you have isn't what you want, either change it or change what you want.
I may be missing something but that's what it seems to be saying, couched in gobbly language like "Eomotional Logical Operators or ELOs".
I don't feel disloyal in telling you all. If it had been a dramatic, ground-breaking work I might have. Besides this stuff is not new is it? It must go back to the dawn of time. It's certainly in "The Human Givens", which is pretty neolithic"
Iansf
....actually that statement "if the life you have isn't what you want, either change it or change what you want." sounds very useful - rather like some of Dale Carnegie's points..
Here's something else for FREE:
" What’s depressed person's posture like? It's not hard to visualize a person who is depressed. Depressed people often walk around with their eyes down. (They're accessing in a kinesthetic mode and/or talking to themselves about all the things that make them feel depressed.) They drop their shoulders. They take weak, shallow breaths. They do all the things that put their body in a depressed physiology. Are they deciding to be depressed? They sure are. Depression is a result, and it requires very specific body images to create it.
How come you know these things without seeing him? Because you practiced this before haven’t you? We all have experienced it. Now if you do these to your body, you are gonna feel lousy, you are gonna feel depressed. Now if you change the way you use your body, your shoulders are back, you breathe if you use your voice different way, if you move your body with a different tempo.
It’s hard to feel depressed in that way. In fact there’s a research studied at the University of California, Berkeley, they tried something different without drugs. They did something sound so stupid. Here’s what they did. They came up with a simple approach that they took people that are clinically depressed, that means they have reached high level of depression. It’s like they get a certification saying that they are clinically depressed. They are achievers at the depression level. That means they practice the pattern of "being depressed" on a regular basis. They had these ‘patients’ come of 4 weeks, stand in front of a mirror and do one silly thing. They ask them to grin from ear to ear and they had made them smile for no good reason for 20 minutes 7 days a week. Now when they are doing it, they grin so big that they created a wrinkle on their side of the eyes. You know those sets of lines that when you smile so big? Interestingly, they kick their shoulders back while they are doing it and breathe fully. They go, “Dump idea!” But what happen is not a single person was able to remain depressed. What most interesting is, at the end of the 20 days, many of them had no need for medications and that’s all they change."
Thankyou Nelson Tan ( he derived this from Tony Robbins)..
I then spent half an hour (10 X 3!)looked on the internet to see if anyone had purchased it ($100),and found this comment:
"Like a mug I sent for it. It's basically, if the life you have isn't what you want, either change it or change what you want.
I may be missing something but that's what it seems to be saying, couched in gobbly language like "Eomotional Logical Operators or ELOs".
I don't feel disloyal in telling you all. If it had been a dramatic, ground-breaking work I might have. Besides this stuff is not new is it? It must go back to the dawn of time. It's certainly in "The Human Givens", which is pretty neolithic"
Iansf
....actually that statement "if the life you have isn't what you want, either change it or change what you want." sounds very useful - rather like some of Dale Carnegie's points..
Here's something else for FREE:
" What’s depressed person's posture like? It's not hard to visualize a person who is depressed. Depressed people often walk around with their eyes down. (They're accessing in a kinesthetic mode and/or talking to themselves about all the things that make them feel depressed.) They drop their shoulders. They take weak, shallow breaths. They do all the things that put their body in a depressed physiology. Are they deciding to be depressed? They sure are. Depression is a result, and it requires very specific body images to create it.
How come you know these things without seeing him? Because you practiced this before haven’t you? We all have experienced it. Now if you do these to your body, you are gonna feel lousy, you are gonna feel depressed. Now if you change the way you use your body, your shoulders are back, you breathe if you use your voice different way, if you move your body with a different tempo.
It’s hard to feel depressed in that way. In fact there’s a research studied at the University of California, Berkeley, they tried something different without drugs. They did something sound so stupid. Here’s what they did. They came up with a simple approach that they took people that are clinically depressed, that means they have reached high level of depression. It’s like they get a certification saying that they are clinically depressed. They are achievers at the depression level. That means they practice the pattern of "being depressed" on a regular basis. They had these ‘patients’ come of 4 weeks, stand in front of a mirror and do one silly thing. They ask them to grin from ear to ear and they had made them smile for no good reason for 20 minutes 7 days a week. Now when they are doing it, they grin so big that they created a wrinkle on their side of the eyes. You know those sets of lines that when you smile so big? Interestingly, they kick their shoulders back while they are doing it and breathe fully. They go, “Dump idea!” But what happen is not a single person was able to remain depressed. What most interesting is, at the end of the 20 days, many of them had no need for medications and that’s all they change."
Thankyou Nelson Tan ( he derived this from Tony Robbins)..
weight loss research with acupressure
Self-acupressure technique shows promise in pilot study
Portland, Ore. — Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research has received a $2.1 million grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to study the effectiveness of a technique combining self-acupressure with mental imagery to help people maintain weight loss.
The Center is seeking about 500 overweight people to participate in the LIFE study which will test the Tapas Acupressure Technique™. TAT involves lightly touching specific pressure points on your face and the back of your head. While holding these points for a few seconds or minutes you are asked to focus on a problem, in this case on losing weight or maintaining weight loss.
The technique was developed in 1994 by Tapas Fleming, a California acupuncturist. It has been used widely to treat trauma, stress and food allergies, but this is the first time it has been tested in a large clinical trial.
"The Tapas Acupressure Technique did show superiority in helping people maintain weight loss in a pilot study involving 90 participants," says Charles Elder, MD, principal investigator and an internal medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. In the pilot study, the TAT group maintained greater weight loss than a social support group, and another group that practiced the Chinese exercise and breathing technique known as Qigong.
Portland, Ore. — Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research has received a $2.1 million grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to study the effectiveness of a technique combining self-acupressure with mental imagery to help people maintain weight loss.
The Center is seeking about 500 overweight people to participate in the LIFE study which will test the Tapas Acupressure Technique™. TAT involves lightly touching specific pressure points on your face and the back of your head. While holding these points for a few seconds or minutes you are asked to focus on a problem, in this case on losing weight or maintaining weight loss.
The technique was developed in 1994 by Tapas Fleming, a California acupuncturist. It has been used widely to treat trauma, stress and food allergies, but this is the first time it has been tested in a large clinical trial.
"The Tapas Acupressure Technique did show superiority in helping people maintain weight loss in a pilot study involving 90 participants," says Charles Elder, MD, principal investigator and an internal medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. In the pilot study, the TAT group maintained greater weight loss than a social support group, and another group that practiced the Chinese exercise and breathing technique known as Qigong.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
bullet points
more fake bullet points:
. fake cocaine - the legal substitute that fools even the experts
. how to lose 3 dress sizes in under a week
. how to instantly generate $1000s without leaving your house
. the secret that the worlds billionaires dont want you to know ( see page 35)
. how you are sabotaging your success by thinking this thought
. the one food that will stop you losing weight
. How almost immediately, you can flood your business with eager new customers (no matter how dismal your
efforts have been before)
. Engorge your bank account with massive amounts of fresh cash (no matter how broke you are now)
. How to...Crush your competition (even if you're competing
against Attila the Hun)
. fake cocaine - the legal substitute that fools even the experts
. how to lose 3 dress sizes in under a week
. how to instantly generate $1000s without leaving your house
. the secret that the worlds billionaires dont want you to know ( see page 35)
. how you are sabotaging your success by thinking this thought
. the one food that will stop you losing weight
. How almost immediately, you can flood your business with eager new customers (no matter how dismal your
efforts have been before)
. Engorge your bank account with massive amounts of fresh cash (no matter how broke you are now)
. How to...Crush your competition (even if you're competing
against Attila the Hun)
Friday, 23 May 2008
"survival of the fittest" sucks!
Darwin never said "survival of the fittest" - except to complain about it.
That phrase was coined by Herbert Spencer who wanted to use Darwin's theories to
promote his "Social Darwinism" - a dangerous idea that the Nazis used to justify
murdering millions.
Leading Nazis, and early 1900 influential German biologists, revealed in their writings that they were influenced by "Social Darwinism" and this had a major influence upon Nazi race policies. Hitler believed that the human gene pool could be improved by using selective breeding similar to how farmers breed superior cattle strains. In the formulation of their racial policies, Hitler’s government relied heavily upon the theories of Herbert Spencer. As a result, a central policy of Hitler’s administration was the development and implementation of policies designed to protect the ‘superior race’. This required at the very least preventing the ‘inferior races’ from mixing with those judged superior, in order to reduce contamination of the latter’s gene pool. The ‘superior race’ belief was based on the theory of group inequality within each species, a major presumption and requirement of Spencer's ‘survival of the fittest’ theory. This philosophy culminated in the ‘final solution’, the extermination of approximately six million Jews and four million other people who belonged to what German scientists judged as ‘inferior races’.
In contrast Darwin hinself noted that compassion and cooperation were those qualities that distinguished advanced civilizations. That is the reason why some societies and
species survived and others did not.
Darwin never said "survival of the fittest"
That phrase was coined by Herbert Spencer who wanted to use Darwin's theories to
promote his "Social Darwinism" - a dangerous idea that the Nazis used to justify
murdering millions.
Leading Nazis, and early 1900 influential German biologists, revealed in their writings that they were influenced by "Social Darwinism" and this had a major influence upon Nazi race policies. Hitler believed that the human gene pool could be improved by using selective breeding similar to how farmers breed superior cattle strains. In the formulation of their racial policies, Hitler’s government relied heavily upon the theories of Herbert Spencer. As a result, a central policy of Hitler’s administration was the development and implementation of policies designed to protect the ‘superior race’. This required at the very least preventing the ‘inferior races’ from mixing with those judged superior, in order to reduce contamination of the latter’s gene pool. The ‘superior race’ belief was based on the theory of group inequality within each species, a major presumption and requirement of Spencer's ‘survival of the fittest’ theory. This philosophy culminated in the ‘final solution’, the extermination of approximately six million Jews and four million other people who belonged to what German scientists judged as ‘inferior races’.
In contrast Darwin hinself noted that compassion and cooperation were those qualities that distinguished advanced civilizations. That is the reason why some societies and
species survived and others did not.
Darwin never said "survival of the fittest"
Thursday, 22 May 2008
Fake cocaine: A legal substitute that fools even the experts!
How "Fake Cocaine" Can Send Your Sales Over The Top!
please note - read to the end of this - there is vital info here for addicts!
Once upon a time, in the 1980's, copywriter Gary Halbert wrote an ad for Entrepreneur magazine. The ad was for a business opportunity... and for some reason... Halbert put a bullet point in the ad that said:
* Fake cocaine: A legal substitute that fools even the experts!
For the record, this business opportunity was not being promoted by the Mafia... and... strangely enough... had nothing to do with the narcotics industry.
But... get this: People called for years after the ad ran... trying to find out about the "fake cocaine".
Hmn!
What's the lesson here?
Simply this:
The most POWERFUL human emotion you can tap into is CURIOSITY!
And, Good Sirs and Fair Maidens, one of the very best ways to drive your reader wild with curiosity... is to load your sales message with... and apply... an orgy of bullet points!
More often than not, the most insanely profitable sales letters, ads and web sites are laced with a HUGE list of ultra-compelling, benefit-driven bullet points.
And, in case you're not sure what a bullet point is, let me explain:
A bullet point is a block of words (copy) that offers a compelling benefit or "secret knowledge" to the reader. They are called bullets because they are usually preceded by a little round dot that looks like a bullet hole. Just like this:
*
Although a round dot (like above) is the most common symbol used for bullets, you can also use check marks, arrows, numbers, letters... and... anything else that draws attention to the point you are about to make.
Speaking of which, the most powerful bullets apply what I like to call: "The Teaser Torture Treatment". That's to say, they're loaded with a healthy dose of curiosity and reward!
Perhaps the best thing for me to do to help you "get this", is to open fire with a list of bullets from my "private" swipe file.
Check out the bullet points below, and see if you can grasp just how POWERFUL a properly constructed bullet can be (Note: all of the following bullets were written by copywriter John Carlton... because... hardly anyone can touch him when it comes to "bulletizing"):
* How to control the RPMs of your ball's spin with pinpoint accuracy! (So instantly accurate, you'll be able to practice with your 8-iron in your living room... and never hit a lamp or knock a picture off the wall!)
etc...
HOWEVER, THERES ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE THAT DRINKING YOUR OWN URINE AFTER TAKING DRUGS YOU GET THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF THE DRUG WITHOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS !!! AND SAVE A PILE OF MONEY !!
please note - read to the end of this - there is vital info here for addicts!
Once upon a time, in the 1980's, copywriter Gary Halbert wrote an ad for Entrepreneur magazine. The ad was for a business opportunity... and for some reason... Halbert put a bullet point in the ad that said:
* Fake cocaine: A legal substitute that fools even the experts!
For the record, this business opportunity was not being promoted by the Mafia... and... strangely enough... had nothing to do with the narcotics industry.
But... get this: People called for years after the ad ran... trying to find out about the "fake cocaine".
Hmn!
What's the lesson here?
Simply this:
The most POWERFUL human emotion you can tap into is CURIOSITY!
And, Good Sirs and Fair Maidens, one of the very best ways to drive your reader wild with curiosity... is to load your sales message with... and apply... an orgy of bullet points!
More often than not, the most insanely profitable sales letters, ads and web sites are laced with a HUGE list of ultra-compelling, benefit-driven bullet points.
And, in case you're not sure what a bullet point is, let me explain:
A bullet point is a block of words (copy) that offers a compelling benefit or "secret knowledge" to the reader. They are called bullets because they are usually preceded by a little round dot that looks like a bullet hole. Just like this:
*
Although a round dot (like above) is the most common symbol used for bullets, you can also use check marks, arrows, numbers, letters... and... anything else that draws attention to the point you are about to make.
Speaking of which, the most powerful bullets apply what I like to call: "The Teaser Torture Treatment". That's to say, they're loaded with a healthy dose of curiosity and reward!
Perhaps the best thing for me to do to help you "get this", is to open fire with a list of bullets from my "private" swipe file.
Check out the bullet points below, and see if you can grasp just how POWERFUL a properly constructed bullet can be (Note: all of the following bullets were written by copywriter John Carlton... because... hardly anyone can touch him when it comes to "bulletizing"):
* How to control the RPMs of your ball's spin with pinpoint accuracy! (So instantly accurate, you'll be able to practice with your 8-iron in your living room... and never hit a lamp or knock a picture off the wall!)
etc...
HOWEVER, THERES ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE THAT DRINKING YOUR OWN URINE AFTER TAKING DRUGS YOU GET THE BENEFICIAL EFFECT OF THE DRUG WITHOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS !!! AND SAVE A PILE OF MONEY !!
Wednesday, 21 May 2008
Osteoporosis Drug Fosamax is Bad for Your Heart
Women who have used Fosamax are nearly twice as likely to develop atrial fibrillation (quivering of your heart’s upper chambers), which is the most common kind of chronically irregular heartbeat.
Fosamax is the most widely used drug treatment for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The FDA approved the first generic version (called alendronate) in February.
The drug was associated with an 86 percent higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared with never having used the drug. Atrial fibrillation can cause palpitations, fainting, fatigue, or congestive heart failure. They can also lead to embolic strokes.
Sources:
* Eurekalert April 28, 2008
* Archives of Internal Medicine April 28, 2008; 168(8):826-31
Fosamax is the most widely used drug treatment for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The FDA approved the first generic version (called alendronate) in February.
The drug was associated with an 86 percent higher risk of atrial fibrillation compared with never having used the drug. Atrial fibrillation can cause palpitations, fainting, fatigue, or congestive heart failure. They can also lead to embolic strokes.
Sources:
* Eurekalert April 28, 2008
* Archives of Internal Medicine April 28, 2008; 168(8):826-31
pain killers..
Pain is a signal from our body that something is not right. It can be due to a physical injury, some kind of disease, or emotional upset. Taking pain killers and not looking into into the cause of the pain is like when driving down the road and your oil warning light comes on taking a hammer and smashing it.. the pain killers will most likely kill you in the end..
Friday, 16 May 2008
vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms
A deficiency of vitamin B12 can gradually lead to abnormal neurologic and psychiatric symptoms, like:
* fatigue
* diarrhea
* pale skin
* dementia
* spasticity
* psychoses
* sore mouth
* hypotension
* incontinence
* appetite loss
* bleeding gums
* rapid heart rate
* vision problems
* tongue problems
* muscle weakness
* shaky movements
* mood disturbances
* shortness of breath
* impaired sense of smell
* tingling/numbness in hands/feet
* unsteady gait ~ especially in the dark
* personality changes ~ “megaloblastic madness”
oh dear! better get some of this!
* fatigue
* diarrhea
* pale skin
* dementia
* spasticity
* psychoses
* sore mouth
* hypotension
* incontinence
* appetite loss
* bleeding gums
* rapid heart rate
* vision problems
* tongue problems
* muscle weakness
* shaky movements
* mood disturbances
* shortness of breath
* impaired sense of smell
* tingling/numbness in hands/feet
* unsteady gait ~ especially in the dark
* personality changes ~ “megaloblastic madness”
oh dear! better get some of this!
American Idol judge Simon Cowell
American Idol judge Simon Cowell has been aging gracefully until now and is never going to have plastic surgery when he gets older. The 47 year old Cowell believes that cosmetic surgery looks unattractive on men.”I wouldn’t have plastic surgery, it looks ridiculous on guys,” said Cowell.
Simon Cowell says that his youth regimen consists of doing exercises at home and in his office. “I’d do 100 press-ups before I get in the bath in the morning, then at work after a meeting, I’ll shut the door and do more.”
Cowell also dismissed rumors that he uses hair color to hide gray hairs. “I’d never dye my hair either. Everyone thinks I do, but I never have”, says Cowell.
It is admirable that Simon Cowell is comfortable in his skin and is looking forward to aging without any cosmetic intervention. Looking at Cowell closely, his face looks youthful, except for the crows feet from the sides of his eyes and slight under eye bags. Additionally, Simon’s forehead is astonishingly free of any wrinkles or lines, suggesting that he may condone and use non-invasive cosmetic treatments such as Botox or Restylane injections.
On the other hand, Simon has a normal aging man’s belly and man boobs which he cannot get rid of with just exercise as only going under the knife and having liposuction or male breast reduction can eliminate the breasts. Simon Cowell is apparently self-conscious about his man boobs and was recently embarrassed when a young girl did an artistic portrait of Simon Cowell with a pair of boobs. Cowell said, “What are those? What are those? Are you saying I have those? Are you? I’m not very happy.”
In medical circles, man boobs are a medical condition known as gynecomastia, which is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males. This condition is generally the result of a hormonal imbalance, or the side effect of certain medications, obesity, and old age. For many men, the combination of natural weight gain and the aging process will lead them to develop gynecomastia at some point in their lives as in the case of Simon Cowell, Harrison Ford, and John Travolta. While gynecomastia is not a serious physical threat to health, it can lead to increased self consciousness for the person.
Simon Cowell says that his youth regimen consists of doing exercises at home and in his office. “I’d do 100 press-ups before I get in the bath in the morning, then at work after a meeting, I’ll shut the door and do more.”
Cowell also dismissed rumors that he uses hair color to hide gray hairs. “I’d never dye my hair either. Everyone thinks I do, but I never have”, says Cowell.
It is admirable that Simon Cowell is comfortable in his skin and is looking forward to aging without any cosmetic intervention. Looking at Cowell closely, his face looks youthful, except for the crows feet from the sides of his eyes and slight under eye bags. Additionally, Simon’s forehead is astonishingly free of any wrinkles or lines, suggesting that he may condone and use non-invasive cosmetic treatments such as Botox or Restylane injections.
On the other hand, Simon has a normal aging man’s belly and man boobs which he cannot get rid of with just exercise as only going under the knife and having liposuction or male breast reduction can eliminate the breasts. Simon Cowell is apparently self-conscious about his man boobs and was recently embarrassed when a young girl did an artistic portrait of Simon Cowell with a pair of boobs. Cowell said, “What are those? What are those? Are you saying I have those? Are you? I’m not very happy.”
In medical circles, man boobs are a medical condition known as gynecomastia, which is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males. This condition is generally the result of a hormonal imbalance, or the side effect of certain medications, obesity, and old age. For many men, the combination of natural weight gain and the aging process will lead them to develop gynecomastia at some point in their lives as in the case of Simon Cowell, Harrison Ford, and John Travolta. While gynecomastia is not a serious physical threat to health, it can lead to increased self consciousness for the person.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
sick and tired of feeling sick and tired? B12 Alert!
If you are feeling tired, your cells are suffering from an energy crisis. They are struggling - and failing - to produce sufficient energy to power both your body and
your brain for a full day of activity. Thats why you often feel tired out - both physically and mentally- and become fatigued more than you used to. Its like trying to start your car when the battery is dead or there's no gas in the tank.
The reason for your fatigue could be a shortage of an essential co-factor your cells need to produce energy. The energy co-factor I am referring to is vitamin B12.
As we get older, our body becomes less efficient at absorbing this critical vitamin,
and so our B12 levels decline with age. In fact, an article in the medical journal The Lancet reports that as many as 4 out of 10 older patients suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the reasons why so many people complain of feeling tired and worn out.It's also often why your mind sometimes feels fuzzy, unable to concentrate or peform demanding mental work at a high level.
Vitamin B-12, a water-soluble vitamin, aids in forming red blood cells and in building genetic material. Vitamin B-12 also helps in the functioning of the nervous system and in metabolizing protein and fat in the body.
Vitamin B12 is found in liver, kidney, yogurt, dairy products, fish, clams, oysters, nonfat dry milk, salmon, and sardines.
Borderline B12 deficiency can sometimes cause symptoms so dramatic that B12 deficiency may be rejected as a possible cause because it may be thought that such symptoms wouldn't be caused by a mere borderline deficiency. B12 deficiency sometimes goes undiagnosed until the symptoms become moderate to severe, although this is not necessarily the fault of the medical profession. The symptoms often come on so slowly that a B12-deficient individual may become accustomed to them and not complain until the symptoms become severe.
What are some of the symptoms of B12 deficiency?
First, bear in mind that each of these symptoms can be caused by something else, often something serious. It is probably safe to say that if you have a wide range of these symptoms, the cause is much more likely to be B12 deficiency than if you have a just a couple of similar symptoms. If you have any of these symptoms, you might actually consider yourself fortunate if the cause turns out to be B12 deficiency because it is easily treatable, at least if not so far advanced that it has done permanent damage.
An effort was made to put the following symptoms more or less in order, beginning with those perhaps most likely to be indicative of B12 deficiency.
1. Itchy or tingling tongue. The tongue suddenly itches from time to time without warning. This occurs on the edge of the tongue, along one side or the other or at the tip. There is an irresistible urge to scratch the tongue on the teeth to stop the itching. Some individuals experience stinging, pain, or tingling instead of itching.
2. White spots in the skin, resulting from melatonin becoming absent in the area. These often occur on the outside of the forearm, but may occur in other places. The longer these spots are there, the whiter they get. As time goes by, the spots become very dry and flaky to the extent that small raw spots of skin may be exposed.
3. Sharp stabbing, tingling pain in the palm of one or both hands. This occurs suddenly and for no apparent reason in a spot directly below the ring finger, approximately where the first palm crease is. If B12 deficiency is not treated, a tingling pain may begin to occur along the outside edge of the hand, starting from the wrist. This pain occurs when the wrist is flexed backward.
4. Sores at the corners of the mouth, sometimes extending along the edge of the lip. These are raw spots, not blisters, and they tend to come and go.
5. Nerve shock in the side of the body. It can be felt coming on a few seconds before it hits, and then it hits almost like a mild but deep electric shock and quickly subsides. It can occur at the side of either hip or on either side of the upper body, along the ribs. Worse yet, it can occur consecutively in at least two or three locations, one right after the other.
6. Shortness of breath, but without chest pain. This can occur when walking just a few yards.
7. Eye twitch, usually in one eye or the other. It can occur on the eyelid or just below the eye. This is not usually painful, just annoying.
8. Facial pain, usually on only one side of the face at a time. This pain varies so much that it would be difficult to describe all the possibilities. It can be a dull pain in the cheek bone right underneath an eye. It can also be a sharp shooting pain across the forehead, sometimes coming downward from the scalp to the edge of the nose by the eye. This pain can be excruciating but is usually fleeting.
9. Tingling along the back of one or both thighs, staring at the hips and shooting downward. This starts out as more an annoyance than pain, but can develop into pain if not treated.
10. Memory loss and/or disorientation. For borderline deficiency, these should be mild if they occur at all. They can be severe with extreme deficiency.
11. Migraine headaches. These may be preceded by a temporary blind spot in the center of the field of vision, usually lasting about ten minutes, and sometimes followed by facial pain under the eyes. After the blind spot vanishes, there may be zigzag streaks through the vision that may last up to hours. Even in the same person, there may be extreme variations in the headaches themselves. They may be quite severe with nausea or they may be virtually nonexistent. How can it be a migraine if there's virtually no pain? Doctors say it's a migraine if the described visual problems occur, whether there is significant pain or not.
(Migraines of most individuals have causes other than B12 deficiency, but migraines of certain individuals diminish or stop completely after they are treated for B12 deficiency.)
12. General feeling of fatigue. Although listed last, this may be the most common symptom, but it is also a symptom of many, many other ailments.
First of all, discuss your symptoms with your physician or other health care provider if you haven't already. Don't try to make your own diagnosis because you may have an entirely different problem that needs to be treated. If no satisfactory diagnosis is reached, you may want to broach the subject of a possible B12 deficiency with your doctor. If you've been given blood tests, find out whether your B12 level is near borderline or lower. Bear in mind, that even a near borderline B12 level can cause symptoms.
Keep in mind that even if you have another long term physical problem, if you acquire new symptoms they may be caused by a new problem. In other words, if you have another ailment, actual symptoms of B12 deficiency might erroneously be blamed on that other ailment.
What could cause me to be B12 deficient?
There are several possible reasons. If you're in your fifties or older your stomach may have lost its ability to process B12 from the food you eat. This could also happen at a younger age, but it is not likely unless you have a genetic defect. In either case, a needed protein called gastric intrinsic factor would be lacking in the stomach. In this situation, a dangerous condition called pernicious anemia can develop if B12 deficiency is not treated.
Another possible reason for B12 deficiency is that you simply may not be eating enough meat or animal products, or not any if you're a vegetarian. If this is the case, you must take B12 supplements or injections.
There is an additional less widely known reason for B12 deficiency for those who have multiple sclerosis (or MS). MS causes nerve myelin to be destroyed and B12 is used in the manufacture of myelin as the body struggles to replace the lost myelin. MS can contribute toward B12 deficiency if the body uses up B12 in manufacturing myelin.
If I'm found to be deficient in vitamin B12, what should I do about it?
Your doctor will probably prescribe a series of B12 injections, likely starting daily, then going to weekly and then monthly. You may be told that you'll have to take B12 shots regularly for the rest of your life. B12 tablets exist, but they don't help all who are B12 deficient. If your stomach little or no ability to process B12 from food, then it won't be able to process B12 from swallowed tablets either.
If I start receiving B12 injections for deficiency, how soon can I see an improvement?
You may feel a difference in as little as 12 hours. If you start out with daily shots, your milder symptoms may disappear completely within a few days. Some may take a few months or longer to completely clear up, especially white spots. On the other hand, some symptoms, such as nerve shock or eye twitch, may quickly vanish temporarily but then try to emerge again at times. Extra B12 taken when this happens may eliminate the emerging symptoms.
Is there a way I can avoid taking B12 shots for the rest of my life?
There is now available a sublingual B12 tablet, or nugget, with as high as 5000 mcg of B12. You hold these under your tongue or in the side of your mouth until they dissolve and are absorbed into your bloodstream. As they dissolve, they turn into a pleasant-tasting bright red liquid (cobalamin) which looks the same as the B12 used in injections. In a study, these nuggets have been shown to be effective in some people in overcoming B12 deficiency and maintaining a sufficient level of B12 in the body.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that if taken daily, sublingual nuggets can maintain a constant level of B12 in the body and constantly hold off symptoms, whereas with B12 injections, the symptoms sometimes creep back between injections. Periodic injections keep some people on a rollercoaster but nuggets, when taken daily, tend to create a steady condition of B12 adequacy.
You should consult your doctor before taking B12 nuggets, especially substituting them for B12 injections. There may be a reason why you should not in your particular case. Another possibility is that you may be given injections until you recover from your deficiency and then permitted to take nuggets to maintain a normal B12 level. Your doctor may or may not recommend that you take certain other oral supplements along with B12 nuggets. This is one reason why you should ask your doctor before switching from shots to nuggets.
This article is intended as general information which may or may not be pertinent to a particular individual. It is strongly recommended that you consult your physician for medical advice if you suspect you may have B12 deficiency.
from dr al sears and others
your brain for a full day of activity. Thats why you often feel tired out - both physically and mentally- and become fatigued more than you used to. Its like trying to start your car when the battery is dead or there's no gas in the tank.
The reason for your fatigue could be a shortage of an essential co-factor your cells need to produce energy. The energy co-factor I am referring to is vitamin B12.
As we get older, our body becomes less efficient at absorbing this critical vitamin,
and so our B12 levels decline with age. In fact, an article in the medical journal The Lancet reports that as many as 4 out of 10 older patients suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency. Vitamin B12 deficiency is one of the reasons why so many people complain of feeling tired and worn out.It's also often why your mind sometimes feels fuzzy, unable to concentrate or peform demanding mental work at a high level.
Vitamin B-12, a water-soluble vitamin, aids in forming red blood cells and in building genetic material. Vitamin B-12 also helps in the functioning of the nervous system and in metabolizing protein and fat in the body.
Vitamin B12 is found in liver, kidney, yogurt, dairy products, fish, clams, oysters, nonfat dry milk, salmon, and sardines.
Borderline B12 deficiency can sometimes cause symptoms so dramatic that B12 deficiency may be rejected as a possible cause because it may be thought that such symptoms wouldn't be caused by a mere borderline deficiency. B12 deficiency sometimes goes undiagnosed until the symptoms become moderate to severe, although this is not necessarily the fault of the medical profession. The symptoms often come on so slowly that a B12-deficient individual may become accustomed to them and not complain until the symptoms become severe.
What are some of the symptoms of B12 deficiency?
First, bear in mind that each of these symptoms can be caused by something else, often something serious. It is probably safe to say that if you have a wide range of these symptoms, the cause is much more likely to be B12 deficiency than if you have a just a couple of similar symptoms. If you have any of these symptoms, you might actually consider yourself fortunate if the cause turns out to be B12 deficiency because it is easily treatable, at least if not so far advanced that it has done permanent damage.
An effort was made to put the following symptoms more or less in order, beginning with those perhaps most likely to be indicative of B12 deficiency.
1. Itchy or tingling tongue. The tongue suddenly itches from time to time without warning. This occurs on the edge of the tongue, along one side or the other or at the tip. There is an irresistible urge to scratch the tongue on the teeth to stop the itching. Some individuals experience stinging, pain, or tingling instead of itching.
2. White spots in the skin, resulting from melatonin becoming absent in the area. These often occur on the outside of the forearm, but may occur in other places. The longer these spots are there, the whiter they get. As time goes by, the spots become very dry and flaky to the extent that small raw spots of skin may be exposed.
3. Sharp stabbing, tingling pain in the palm of one or both hands. This occurs suddenly and for no apparent reason in a spot directly below the ring finger, approximately where the first palm crease is. If B12 deficiency is not treated, a tingling pain may begin to occur along the outside edge of the hand, starting from the wrist. This pain occurs when the wrist is flexed backward.
4. Sores at the corners of the mouth, sometimes extending along the edge of the lip. These are raw spots, not blisters, and they tend to come and go.
5. Nerve shock in the side of the body. It can be felt coming on a few seconds before it hits, and then it hits almost like a mild but deep electric shock and quickly subsides. It can occur at the side of either hip or on either side of the upper body, along the ribs. Worse yet, it can occur consecutively in at least two or three locations, one right after the other.
6. Shortness of breath, but without chest pain. This can occur when walking just a few yards.
7. Eye twitch, usually in one eye or the other. It can occur on the eyelid or just below the eye. This is not usually painful, just annoying.
8. Facial pain, usually on only one side of the face at a time. This pain varies so much that it would be difficult to describe all the possibilities. It can be a dull pain in the cheek bone right underneath an eye. It can also be a sharp shooting pain across the forehead, sometimes coming downward from the scalp to the edge of the nose by the eye. This pain can be excruciating but is usually fleeting.
9. Tingling along the back of one or both thighs, staring at the hips and shooting downward. This starts out as more an annoyance than pain, but can develop into pain if not treated.
10. Memory loss and/or disorientation. For borderline deficiency, these should be mild if they occur at all. They can be severe with extreme deficiency.
11. Migraine headaches. These may be preceded by a temporary blind spot in the center of the field of vision, usually lasting about ten minutes, and sometimes followed by facial pain under the eyes. After the blind spot vanishes, there may be zigzag streaks through the vision that may last up to hours. Even in the same person, there may be extreme variations in the headaches themselves. They may be quite severe with nausea or they may be virtually nonexistent. How can it be a migraine if there's virtually no pain? Doctors say it's a migraine if the described visual problems occur, whether there is significant pain or not.
(Migraines of most individuals have causes other than B12 deficiency, but migraines of certain individuals diminish or stop completely after they are treated for B12 deficiency.)
12. General feeling of fatigue. Although listed last, this may be the most common symptom, but it is also a symptom of many, many other ailments.
First of all, discuss your symptoms with your physician or other health care provider if you haven't already. Don't try to make your own diagnosis because you may have an entirely different problem that needs to be treated. If no satisfactory diagnosis is reached, you may want to broach the subject of a possible B12 deficiency with your doctor. If you've been given blood tests, find out whether your B12 level is near borderline or lower. Bear in mind, that even a near borderline B12 level can cause symptoms.
Keep in mind that even if you have another long term physical problem, if you acquire new symptoms they may be caused by a new problem. In other words, if you have another ailment, actual symptoms of B12 deficiency might erroneously be blamed on that other ailment.
What could cause me to be B12 deficient?
There are several possible reasons. If you're in your fifties or older your stomach may have lost its ability to process B12 from the food you eat. This could also happen at a younger age, but it is not likely unless you have a genetic defect. In either case, a needed protein called gastric intrinsic factor would be lacking in the stomach. In this situation, a dangerous condition called pernicious anemia can develop if B12 deficiency is not treated.
Another possible reason for B12 deficiency is that you simply may not be eating enough meat or animal products, or not any if you're a vegetarian. If this is the case, you must take B12 supplements or injections.
There is an additional less widely known reason for B12 deficiency for those who have multiple sclerosis (or MS). MS causes nerve myelin to be destroyed and B12 is used in the manufacture of myelin as the body struggles to replace the lost myelin. MS can contribute toward B12 deficiency if the body uses up B12 in manufacturing myelin.
If I'm found to be deficient in vitamin B12, what should I do about it?
Your doctor will probably prescribe a series of B12 injections, likely starting daily, then going to weekly and then monthly. You may be told that you'll have to take B12 shots regularly for the rest of your life. B12 tablets exist, but they don't help all who are B12 deficient. If your stomach little or no ability to process B12 from food, then it won't be able to process B12 from swallowed tablets either.
If I start receiving B12 injections for deficiency, how soon can I see an improvement?
You may feel a difference in as little as 12 hours. If you start out with daily shots, your milder symptoms may disappear completely within a few days. Some may take a few months or longer to completely clear up, especially white spots. On the other hand, some symptoms, such as nerve shock or eye twitch, may quickly vanish temporarily but then try to emerge again at times. Extra B12 taken when this happens may eliminate the emerging symptoms.
Is there a way I can avoid taking B12 shots for the rest of my life?
There is now available a sublingual B12 tablet, or nugget, with as high as 5000 mcg of B12. You hold these under your tongue or in the side of your mouth until they dissolve and are absorbed into your bloodstream. As they dissolve, they turn into a pleasant-tasting bright red liquid (cobalamin) which looks the same as the B12 used in injections. In a study, these nuggets have been shown to be effective in some people in overcoming B12 deficiency and maintaining a sufficient level of B12 in the body.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that if taken daily, sublingual nuggets can maintain a constant level of B12 in the body and constantly hold off symptoms, whereas with B12 injections, the symptoms sometimes creep back between injections. Periodic injections keep some people on a rollercoaster but nuggets, when taken daily, tend to create a steady condition of B12 adequacy.
You should consult your doctor before taking B12 nuggets, especially substituting them for B12 injections. There may be a reason why you should not in your particular case. Another possibility is that you may be given injections until you recover from your deficiency and then permitted to take nuggets to maintain a normal B12 level. Your doctor may or may not recommend that you take certain other oral supplements along with B12 nuggets. This is one reason why you should ask your doctor before switching from shots to nuggets.
This article is intended as general information which may or may not be pertinent to a particular individual. It is strongly recommended that you consult your physician for medical advice if you suspect you may have B12 deficiency.
from dr al sears and others
sungazing
It’s becoming common knowledge in alternative medical circles that the sun, far from being the enemy to health that western medicine has made it out to be is really our best friend when it comes to health, healing, immunity and even strengthening our eyesight. How can this be? Well in this article, I’m going to show you how and teach you a little known Taoist technique to not only improve the eyesight and eye strength, but to increase your overall immunity simply by using the sun with a simple eye exercise that only takes a few seconds to do each morning and evening.
see http://www.naturalnews.com/022961.html
see http://www.naturalnews.com/022961.html
Saturday, 10 May 2008
statins - atrogen-1
A team from Harvard Medical School says it has cracked the mystery behind statins' tendency to cause muscle damage in some patients
Statins basically are an unnatural way of lowering cholesterol level, and in the new study researchers found that statins activate a gene signal in muscles called atrogen-1. When this gene activates, it targets key muscle proteins for destruction. The activation of this gene drives the process of muscle atrophy and muscle wasting. It is induced in cardiac muscle in failing hearts. Why on earth would any person want this gene activated by a drug?
Statins basically are an unnatural way of lowering cholesterol level, and in the new study researchers found that statins activate a gene signal in muscles called atrogen-1. When this gene activates, it targets key muscle proteins for destruction. The activation of this gene drives the process of muscle atrophy and muscle wasting. It is induced in cardiac muscle in failing hearts. Why on earth would any person want this gene activated by a drug?
fibromyalgia shock
An article in the New York Times this week talks about a new drug for fibromyalgia which has been aggressively marketed in the states. The thing is that this drug, which apparently manages to reduce the pain, causes weight gain, swelling, dizziness and sleepiness. Is this drug helping or hindering the healing process? I will leave you to make up your own minds. But when the body is suffering even more after the visit to the doctor, maybe its time to not go to the doctor for the cure! I found it interesting that Dr. Nortin Hadler, a rheumatologist and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina who has written extensively about fibromyalgia said “The diagnosis of fibromyalgia itself worsens the condition by encouraging people to think of themselves as sick and catalog their pain” Lets face it when we get a label we then tend to start to fulfil it!
“These people live under a cloud,” he said. “And the more they seem to be around the medical establishment, the sicker they get.” This is something I really do agree with, I don’t see how on the whole the medical establishment are helping to heal people, when the medications they are giving them are giving them even more symptoms.
Dr. Frederick Wolfe, the director of the National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases and the lead author of the 1990 paper that first defined the diagnostic guidelines for fibromyalgia, says he has become cynical and discouraged about the diagnosis. He now considers the condition a physical response to stress, depression, and economic and social anxiety.
“Some of us in those days thought that we had actually identified a disease, which this clearly is not,” Dr. Wolfe said. “To make people ill, to give them an illness, was the wrong thing.”
“These people live under a cloud,” he said. “And the more they seem to be around the medical establishment, the sicker they get.” This is something I really do agree with, I don’t see how on the whole the medical establishment are helping to heal people, when the medications they are giving them are giving them even more symptoms.
Dr. Frederick Wolfe, the director of the National Databank for Rheumatic Diseases and the lead author of the 1990 paper that first defined the diagnostic guidelines for fibromyalgia, says he has become cynical and discouraged about the diagnosis. He now considers the condition a physical response to stress, depression, and economic and social anxiety.
“Some of us in those days thought that we had actually identified a disease, which this clearly is not,” Dr. Wolfe said. “To make people ill, to give them an illness, was the wrong thing.”
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
marathon running causes heart disease!
For a Strong Heart, Heed this Lesson:
" If you're looking for a New Year's resolution, don't let your good intentions put you at greater health risks. My suggestion: Nix long duration exercise from your plan. There's a body of clinical evidence to support what I've been telling my patients for two decades. Long-distance workouts - especially marathons - traumatize your heart and mimic the effects of heart disease. So this may not be the best way to support your favourite charity!
Back when I was in medical school, I saw this first hand. At the time, I was working at an emergency aid station for marathon races. During one race, I saw 2 runners fall to their knees, their lips turning blue, suffering from irregular heartbeats and fearing a heart attack. Unfortunately, the damage is continuing. In 2006 alone, at least 6 runners lost their lives in marathons in the US. In March, two police officers, one 53, the other 60, died of heart attacks at the Los Angeles Marathon. Three runners in their early 40s all had fatal heart attacks during marathons in Chicago, San Francisco and the Twin Cities. And on October 29th, at the Marine Corps Marathon, a 56-year old man collapsed at the 17th mile marker, never to recover. Science Finally "Discovers" the Risks of Marathon Running Results from Boston area hospitals reveal the risks and damaging effects experienced by dozens of marathon runners they've studied over the last ten years."
from Dr Al Sears MD
" If you're looking for a New Year's resolution, don't let your good intentions put you at greater health risks. My suggestion: Nix long duration exercise from your plan. There's a body of clinical evidence to support what I've been telling my patients for two decades. Long-distance workouts - especially marathons - traumatize your heart and mimic the effects of heart disease. So this may not be the best way to support your favourite charity!
Back when I was in medical school, I saw this first hand. At the time, I was working at an emergency aid station for marathon races. During one race, I saw 2 runners fall to their knees, their lips turning blue, suffering from irregular heartbeats and fearing a heart attack. Unfortunately, the damage is continuing. In 2006 alone, at least 6 runners lost their lives in marathons in the US. In March, two police officers, one 53, the other 60, died of heart attacks at the Los Angeles Marathon. Three runners in their early 40s all had fatal heart attacks during marathons in Chicago, San Francisco and the Twin Cities. And on October 29th, at the Marine Corps Marathon, a 56-year old man collapsed at the 17th mile marker, never to recover. Science Finally "Discovers" the Risks of Marathon Running Results from Boston area hospitals reveal the risks and damaging effects experienced by dozens of marathon runners they've studied over the last ten years."
from Dr Al Sears MD
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