Accidents can happen anywhere, even in the home. Every home, and especially those with small children, should have a home first aid kit for accidents.

No one can predict who will be injured in the home. It may be an older child that must call for help. Inside every home first aid kit, then, include a detailed emergency contact list. Clearly write the phone numbers of community emergency services like 911, the police, the fire department, the local Poison Control Center, and the family’s doctor and pediatrician. Also consider including a list of phone numbers of relatives or friends who can help in a serious emergency. It is also helpful to include a list of each family members medications and medical conditions like food or insect allergies. Also list the contents of the home first aid kit so that it is always kept stocked and the medicines up-to-date. Discard expired medication. Keep these lists in a plastic report cover.

Choose a portable, durable container for the kit. Since the kit will be inside, it does not need to be waterproof. A tote bag or plastic tackle box or art box make excellent containers. Store the kit so that it is easily available to adults and older children, but out of reach of young children.

Home first aid kits can be personalized for each home, but all kits should contain the following supplies: bandages of various sizes, triangular bandages, gauze, adhesive first aid tape, scissors and tweezers, antiseptic ointment and wipes, hydrogen peroxide, cough medicine, antihistamine, decongestant, instant-activating cold packs, and safety pins.

The kit may also contain activated charcoal or syrup of ipecac if recommended by a medical professional.

To further protect the family, consider taking courses in first aid and learning CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.

Hemorrhoids are caused by the dilatation of the arteries that are located in the rectum and anal area. This dilatation appears due to a sedentary lifestyle, constipation, or as a result of a hereditary predisposition. In order to avoid the complications that this medical condition might cause, it is best to use the appropriate hemorrhoid treatments, whether it is traditional or alternative medications.

Although it might seem unbelievable, there is a wide range of simple methods that can help you prevent and treat hemorrhoids. The secret behind this is a balanced diet, the consumption of teas made of natural herbs and an active lifestyle. There is no wonder that simple elements are capable of changing not only your present state of health, but also the future of your health. That is why you should take some basic principles into account – these principles are focused on keeping your health great with the help of alternative medicine, natural herbs and traditional therapies.

In order to prevent hemorrhoids and the unpleasant consequences of this condition, the first thing you should change in your life is your daily diet and eating habits. In many cases, the health problems are related with being overweight or obese and with unhealthy eating habits. More and more people are tempted to eat processed products and junk food instead of introducing more fruits and vegetables in their diet. The consequences are disastrous, especially if we consider the fact that a high fiber diet, unprocessed carbohydrates such as fruits or integral cereals are very important when wanting to prevent and to treat hemorrhoids - fibers have the main purpose of softening and bulking up the stools so they can be passed out of the body easier. Anthocyanidins are phytochemicals present in fruits which help to strengthen the walls of weak blood vessels and veins. The fruits high in anthocyanidins are blackberries, cherries and blueberries and in case these are hard to find, then supplementation with Vitamin C and bioflavonoids will do the same trick. Bioflavonoids are present in high amounts in citrus fruits, buckwheat and some herbal teas such as rosehip.

Herbal preparations play another important role in preventing hemorrhoids. These herbal preparations are best represented by teas, herbal ointments and even suppositories – all these are helpful especially in the case of genetic predispositions or when trying to reduce discomfort and pain. Lots of liquids made from herbs like horsechestnut, grape-vine leaves, mistletoe leaves, nettle, mallow and oak bark are also capable of alleviating symptoms and preventing the onset of hemorrhoids. Furthermore, these herbs are of great help when trying to treat external hemorrhoids, as compressions with such mixtures can be applied directly on the affected areas. A great herb for this is the gel of Aloe vera which is renowned for its soothing and cooling properties.

Alternative medicine offers numerous methods that can prevent hemorrhoids and fight against the negative effects of a stressful lifestyle and poor eating habits. Homeopathy gains more and more popularity, even when it comes to treating hemorrhoids. On the other hand, aromatherapy plays an important role, together with an active lifestyle. Even if daily exercising and fitness hours are not your favorite activity, a dynamic lifestyle will help you avoid hemorrhoids. The introduction of walking in your daily schedule as well as the avoidance of prolonged periods of sitting down in the same spot will help to reduce constipation risks and other unpleasant consequences that appear together with hemorrhoids.

Hemorrhoids are an unpleasant affection, but the methods that can prevent and treat them are based on simple and efficient principles that promote healthy living and lifestyle habit. Herbs and a high fiber diet with foods that are rich in bioflavonoids and anthocyanidins will not only help to prevent hemorrhoids but also encourage great health.

The word Sauna comes from Finland has been around for more than 2000 years. Many Finnish people regularly use a sauna bath to help sooth their senses and saunas can now be found anywhere in the world. They are so well liked because of the benefits they provide the user with of helping to relax and bring calmness to a person’s body and mind. Often people will make life long friendships whilst using a sauna and it provides us with a taste of luxury that we would not normally get the chance to have. You will often find that lots of hotels and some homes as well have a sauna bath.

The main idea of a sauna bath is that it provides you with the benefits that are good for both you physical and mental well being. Certainly people who lead very stressful life’s find a sauna bath good for both recreational and therapeutic purposes and the wooden walls of the sauna provide an enigmatic aroma which further helps to relieve the stress that the person is feeling.

There are 2 kinds of saunas available one dry and the other wet and it really depends on the person as to which they like better. Today more and more saunas are heated using a heaters and the steam is produced by splashing water on to heated rocks that are in the room. Today there are many different kinds of saunas available from the steam sauna to the hot air sauna to the FIR (Far Infra Red) sauna and the light sauna, but each and every sauna available is different and it is up to the person using it which one they prefer.

There are many benefits to using a sauna and below are just a few:-

1. Using a sauna daily can help those people who are having problems with their weight as this is the ideal place to get control of such a problem.
2. For those people who suffer from blood pressure, body pains, a low immune system or bad skin using a sauna can often help to relief the condition that they are suffering from.
3. It is a great way of relieving stress and many people who use a sauna bath find that they sleep better. Often you find that the fatigue you feel from a day is relieved and you become relaxed quite quickly when using a sauna bath.
4. For those people who suffer from such diseases as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia and some forms of cancer find the low temperatures of the Infra Red Sauna a great way of relieving some of the symptoms that they suffer from.
5. A sauna bath not only loosens up the fat cells in the body but also is a great and easy way of removing any toxins from your body in large amounts. Such toxins as sodium, cholesterol, cadmium, lead, nickel and mercury will removed from your body using this method and it soon creates a healthy and beautiful body.

However the reader must be aware that all necessary precautions should be taken when using a sauna bath and they must be aware of any products that may cause them an allergic reaction.

Almost everyone has suffered from acne at one time or another in his or her lives. It is primarily a disorder of the sebaceous gland (glands in the skin that secrete an oily substance) of the face, the neck and back. When the sebaceous glands become clogged with the oily substance they create, the accumulation results in pimples. There are several forms of acne, but the most common is acne vulgaris, found primarily in adolescents.

The exact cause of acne is not known, but factors that contribute to this condition include heredity, oily skin and androgens. Additional factors include allergies, stress, the use of certain drugs, nutritional deficiencies, liver dysfunction, exposure to industrial pollutants, cosmetics and the monthly menstrual cycle.

In addition, the skin functions to eliminate a portion of the body’s toxic waste by sweating. If the body contains more toxins than the kidneys or liver can effectively discharge, the skin takes over. In fact, some doctors call the skin the 3rd kidney. As toxins escape through the skin, they can disrupt the health and integrity of the skin, creating issues.

Recommendations for Wellness

Note: Some of these recommendations may take 2-4 weeks before any results or improvements are experienced.

Apply distilled white vinegar (can be diluted if too strong) to the face and affected areas. Allow this to sit for 5-10 minutes before rinsing off with cool water.

Lemon or any citric fruit works great as a natural exfoliate, removing dead skin cells that may clog the pours. As with the white vinegar, apply the juice of a lemon (or desired citric juice) to the face. Allow it to dry for about 10 minutes, then rinse with cool water. You may feel a mild sting or burn when the lemon juice is applied. If so, diluting the juice is acceptable.

Increase water consumption. Water helps flush toxin out and help transport nutrients in the body.

Eat a properly balanced diet to ensure proper nutrition.

Take a high quality multiple vitamin and mineral supplement to make up for nutrients missing in today’s foods.

Echinacea or Oregon grape can be used to boost the immune system and fight acne-causing bacteria.

Dandelion, Burdock or red clover can help to keep the liver clear of toxic overload.

Herbal combinations such as Natures Sunshine's Ayurvedic Skin Detox and BP-X can also be used to cleanse and detoxify the liver and reduce acne.

Historically, large quantities of vitamin A have been successfully used to treat severe acne. Large amounts, however, can be toxic and should be used when working with your health care provider.

Consider adding additional zinc to your diet. Zinc aids in the healing of tissues and assists in preventing scarring. It is also important for the body in resisting infection and inflammation.

To clear and heal the skin, try a homeopathic Acne remedy. It can help to dry up pimples & prevent future outbreaks

Ginseng is a fleshy rooted herb and a slow growing plant that takes years to grow. Ginseng grows in well-drained, cool, shaded hardwood forests. Ginseng does not grow in full sunlight, and hardwood forests provide the plant with plenty of shade. Ginseng is a perennial plant, but unlike other perennials lies dormant some years and does not grow new tops every year. The root does not die but lies dormant until the following year.

Ginseng seeds sprout up in the spring. Hence, the best time to plant is sometime the end of September until the end of February. Seeds or plants will sprout the end of April. Plant seeds about 1/2 to 1” deep, two year old roots about 11⁄2” deep. Lay the roots on their side, not vertical. Then cover the whole bed with 1 I” of mulch or rotten leaves.

One-year-old plants will have three leaflets, looking like a strawberry plant. The second year, the plants usually have five leaflets, and the following year, it begins to branch out with two, three and four prongs with three to five leaflets in each prong. It grows in the wild about 1’ tall that blooms in the summer. When it ripens in the fall or late summer it has bright red berries. Each berry usually has two seeds. The seeds may be kept in damp sand for one year and used for replanting or sold. It takes about six to eight years to grow to the point where its roots are large enough to harvest. If it is cultivated using fertilizers and pesticides, it takes about 4 or 5 years to grow.

Ginseng roots do not grow straight down. They are usually at about 45 degrees in the ground. Carefully expose the underground stem at the base of the above-ground portion, and follow it until it joins the top of the true root. The taproot may be forked and have many diffusely branched rootlets. Expose the whole root and wash as soon as possible but do not scrub. A little soil left around the root rings may enhance its value.

Spread cleaned roots on a piece of old plywood or screen rack in the shade for drying. Turn frequently and provide adequate aeration. Drying time varies with root size and drying techniques. Large roots require three or more weeks to dry at room temperature or outdoors, but small roots dry in a few days.

Hair growth is more in the first 30-40 years of a person’s life and much slower after that. It is very difficult to ensure good hair growth throughout though a balanced and proper diet would go a long way in promoting hair growth. Hair growth may be affected due to several factors like neglect, external weather conditions, stress, prolonged illnesses or stress. Thin, brittle or split hair takes a long time to grow because it is not healthy. Hence, the best way to ensure good hair growth is to provide the body with the essential nutrients through the food we take.

Hair growth depends very much on vitamins. The most important vitamins necessary for hair growth are: vitamin A (produces healthy sebum in the scalp), vitamin C (antioxidant), vitamin E (improves scalp circulation), Biotin (produces Keratin), Inositol (keeps hair follicles healthy), Niacin (promotes scalp circulation) and pantothenic acid, Para-Aminobenzoic Acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 that prevent graying and hair loss. The most common food-based sources of these vitamins are: citrus fruits, green vegetables, fruits like pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, potatoes, green peppers, vegetable oils, soybean, raw seeds, dried beans, wheat germ oil, brewer’s yeast, whole grains, eggs, liver, rice, milk, fish, turkey, chicken and red meat.

There are hundreds of products in the market that promise to ensure good hair growth. These products contain the necessary vitamins, proteins and minerals that promote hair growth. They can be in the form of external applicants like oils, shampoos, conditioners and sprays or they can even be in the form of tablets or capsules suitable for internal ingestion. Products for external applications do not have a very durable effect while vitamin supplements in the form of capsules have a more lasting effect on the hair growth.

Today, almost all hair care products advertise the presence of a necessary vitamin in their products that would make the hair thicker, stronger, longer, lustrous, and on the whole, healthier. Viviscal, Shen Min, Nu Hair, Hair Genesis, Fast Grow, Hair Formula 37, Follicare, Melancor and Advesia are some of the popular hair vitamin products available in the market today. There are several websites that provide information about hair vitamin products. There are also exclusive stores that specialize in hair vitamin products. However, it is better to consult a physician before using these products to understand the exact condition of the hair so that the right products can be used.

Rogaine, also known as minoxidil, is a medicine used by men and women alike to stave off hair loss. Rogaine comes in the form of a liquid and is applied to the scalp twice a day. As with all medicine, there are some risks to taking Rogaine. You must weigh the potential benefits with the potential risks, preferably with your doctor.

Here are some of the possible side effects to Rogaine (minoxidil):

Allergic reactions. If you have had an unusual reaction to minoxidil in the past, or if you are allergic to preservatives and dyes, be sure to inform your doctor. Some people experience an itchy or burning scalp after application. If the pain is too much to bear, wash off the medicine and let your doctor know.

Dermatological Problems/Acne. While rare, minoxidil does cause some people to have acne. Skin may also become reddish in color and the face may swell.

Possible Birth Defects. Rogaine, as applied topically, has not been tested on pregnant women, so there is some controversy about its safeness when it comes to this special group. Studies show that Rogaine does not cause birth defects, but the work is not yet conclusive. Before you use the medicine, make sure that your physician knows that you are pregnant or if you think you will become pregnant.

Breastfeeding Anomalies. Studies have shown that Rogaine will pass into breast milk when it is ingested orally. On the other hand, it is unclear if minoxidil passes into the breast milk when applied topically. Most doctors recommend that women not use minoxidil when during the breastfeeding period.

Of course, don’t let these potential problems fool you. Only a few women will ever experience Rogaine’s side effects. Check with your doctor before you start using this medicine. Follow his recommendations (including dosage) and you should be fine.

You wake up in the morning feeling alone. This is the day after your diagnosis and you can’t believe this is happening to you. You haven’t been yourself for some time. After many visits to the doctor and some tests, the results are not promising, or so you think. How can this be happening to you? Where did it come from and why now?

The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) opens up unknown territory for most people. Your feelings of loss, anger, fear, frustration and denial are very real. Your reaction to this news is more normal than you may realize. Most people experience some, if not all, of these feelings when they receive unwanted news. It is very important to allow yourself to experience these feelings as you digest the news of your diagnosis.

The exciting information is that MS is well known and understood by many physicians and survivors of MS. Information on MS is easily accessed through the MS society, at the library, through your doctor and on the Internet. MS support groups are vibrant and active in responding to inquiries from individuals who have been newly diagnosed.

Your life and how you choose to live it is all up to you. Learning to be an active participant in living with MS means that you can have a full, dynamic and rewarding life, if you so choose. You will learn knew ways to manage the many tasks that face all of us each day. For the next while, you will be faced with making many small changes to improve your health and maintain your independence. Talking about MS and listening to others share their story of how MS has been life changing may bring with it surprises - the surprises you’re looking for as you adjust to accepting MS. MS does not have to change your life in the dramatically devastating way that you might think.

Embrace your future. You may have heard the saying “as one door closes another door opens.” If just for now try to consider that a “window of opportunity” has come your way. This may be your chance to review your life, how you are living, and seek support and guidance to create your new life path. You might be surprised what prospects may come your way.

If you are looking to have a tummy tuck done you have a lot to consider, not the least of which is the cost. Did you know that there are two types of tummy tucks? There is a full tummy tuck and a mini tummy tuck. Obviously, as the name implies, a mini tummy tuck is an easier procedure, less invasive and less costly.

In the full tummy tuck procedure excess skin and fat from the midsection are removed while tightening the abdominal muscles. During this surgery an incision is made across the lower abdomen and around the belly button because the belly button needs to be relocated after the muscle and skin is tightened. Many people want to have a tummy tuck because the result of this surgery is a tighter, smoother, and flatter stomach. A full tummy tuck is recommended for those who need more extensive tightening of the abdominal muscles and who are 20% above their ideal weight.

Sometimes people who qualify are able to undergo a mini tummy tuck procedure. A good candidate for a mini tummy tuck is someone who just has a pouch of fat in their lower abdomen that they want to have removed. This is a procedure that may be recommended for people who are within 10% of their ideal body weight. A mini tummy tuck requires a smaller incision and leaves the belly button alone.

Both procedures will often have liposuction performed in addition to the tummy tuck procedure because this will enhance the overall results of the entire procedure and make you happier with the results.

Now that you understand the difference between the two procedures you can understand why a the cost of mini tummy tuck will be significantly less. First of all it is an outpatient surgery and second it takes less time. You may even find that a mini tummy tuck is as much as 50 percent less costly than a full tummy tuck.

It is very important to know how much any type of cosmetic surgery is going to cost you because it is typically not covered by health insurance. So do your homework and know what type of cost you are looking at before having a tummy tuck. If you do your homework and are aware of the different procedures you will be able to choose the procedure that best fits your needs and your pocketbook.

Flexibility is not the most important part of a workout for most people. Cardio and weights are the first two things that come to your mind when thinking of fitness but flexibility should also be in there. Flexibility is more than being able to touch your foot to the back of your head. It decreases the likely hood of injuries and makes your workouts more effective.

There are many different types of stretches you can do. Static, dynamic and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) are the three major types. According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), static stretching is the only type that is recommended for most people.

Static stretching can be accomplished by slowly stretching a muscle through the entire range of motion until you feel tightness. If it doesn't feel comfortable you are going to far.

You have to approach working out to get your muscles stronger, and working out to get more flexible as two separate and different things. The main difference is how long the effects of your routine will stay with you. If you stop doing bicep curls, it'll take some time for you to lose a significant amount of strength. If you stop stretching, the effects will go away a lot faster. This is why the number of days in a good flexibility program are at least 2-3 times per week but should really be 5-7 times per week.

Before beginning to stretch, you should do a small warm up that will increase the temperature in your muscles. This will make it easier to stretch without any discomfort or pain. You should hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds and do two-four repetitions per stretch.

Most people don't stretch. They justify it by thinking it won't make their arms bigger and won't give them the edge in a race. Flexibility gives you a wider range of motion which is beneficial in everything from picking up heavy tools in your garage to winning a race.

Only in America could billions of dollars be made selling weight loss products to people who need to shed a few extra pounds. In a world full of starving people, Americans seem to have emerged as a nation of overfed, under exercised fatties who can’t put down that bag of potato chips, stop eating that ice cream or refuse that second (or third?) helping of pasta. America’s weight problem – historically solved by eating less and exercising more – had now proliferated a dizzying array of products. Celebrities, nutritionists, doctors, herbologists, hucksters and former fatties have come up with thousands of products designed to melt fat, reduce cravings for bad foods, block carbs, sugar and fat, lose pounds while you sleep, and more..

Many products claim that, as long as you take one of the pills, you can eat what you want and actually lose weight. There are diet plans, calorie counters, diet food cooked and delivered to your doorstep daily, dance and walk your way to weight loss, the hula weight loss program, the Brazilian weight loss program, the fat burning, belly reducing, balanced woman, unbalanced woman. You name it and it’s on a weight loss infomercial. In fact, weight loss programs (separate from fitness programs and equipment, which may result in weight loss but are sold as ways to improve your appearance) account for more than 50% of all revenue generated in today’s infomercials.

One of the most successful weight loss infomercials ever produced featured a product called Bio Slim. Created by Doctor Josh Leightberg, Bio Slim was a science-driven, medically sound program consisting of several herbal pills which when combined with a diet plan also created by Dr. Leightberg resulted in a changed metabolism, an improved digestive system and a stronger anti-immune system, all of which ultimately led to a steady, healthy weight loss. Following the success of Bio Slim, a steady stream of niche players, knockoff artists and entrepreneurs took to the airways with their twist, their hook, their product designed to produce quicker, easier results. One of them was the well known and extremely successful Fen-Phen diet, which was a combination of two herbs known to doctors and other professionals in the industry as herbal speed. While still legal at the time, the pills killed the appetite completely, created a euphoric state in the user and led to many problems including heart attacks which led the FDA to ban the main substances from use in the USA.

Weight loss infomercials are so powerful and so successful that you have to be careful which products you choose to use. As with anything else in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There really is no magic pill or substance that is going to let you sit on the couch and eat huge quantities of bad foods and make you lose weight without paying some kind of terrible price. I mention Bio Slim as an example of a stellar product designed by a professional doctor whose goal was to improve people’s lives and make money. You could call a number given out to anybody who ordered Bio Slim and speak directly with Dr. Leightberg if you had questions or concerns about his product. That should tell you something about the man and the product he’s putting his name on.

Another thing to look out for in weight loss infomercials are the add-ons. Popular diets like the Atkins diet which were not sold on infomercials, but became successful through book sales, interviews and word of mouth led to the creation of a whole host of products you didn’t need that were designed to help you stay on or perform better while on the Atkins plan. Low carb foods and low/no carb candy imitations, sometimes ten times more expensive than their higher carb counterparts, flooded the airwaves. Pills designed to reduce the difficulties associated with the Atkins diet surfaced in infomercials. These items are usually designed by less than professional individuals looking to cash in on a craze they had nothing to do with in the first place.

The use of tobacco and its resulting nicotine addiction is responsible for killing more than 430,000 people each year in the United States, more people than die from car accidents, homicide, suicide, fire, alcohol, cocaine, heroin, and AIDS combined. Tobacco use in some form accounts for around one in three of all deaths from cancer in the United States. Smoking is responsible for 83% of all lung cancer deaths. Smoking also causes cancers of the mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, kidney, bladder, pancreas, uterus, cervix, and some leukemia. Cigarette smoking also can cause lung diseases that can be just as serious as lung cancer. Smokers may develop chronic bronchitis, with their airways blocked up with mucous, forcing them to cough frequently; and, of course, smoking can lead to emphysema, making it difficult for the lungs to perform their function of supplying adequate oxygen to the body. People with these problems tend to tire more easily and this influences them to avoid getting the exercise they need to promote their health. Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 65,000 deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Your heart is at risk. Smoking doubles the risk of heart attacks, and, in addition, is a major risk factor for peripheral vascular disease, which is the narrowing of the blood vessels that carry blood to the leg and arm muscles.

Cigarette smokers die much younger than nonsmokers. Based on data collected from 1995 to 1999, the Centers for Disease Control estimated that adult male smokers lost an average of 13.2 years of life and female smokers lost 14.5 years of life because of smoking. For smokers between the ages of 35 and 70 the death rate is three times higher than those who have never smoked.

Tobacco smoke is a major source of indoor pollution. Secondhand smoke causes about 3,000 lung cancer deaths every year among those who do not smoke, and also is a factor in up to 40,000 deaths related to cardiovascular disease for nonsmokers too. Exposure to tobacco smoke in the home increases the severity of asthma for children and is a risk factor for new cases of childhood asthma.

Tobacco is very bad for the reproductive health of a woman, leading to a reduction in fertility and an increased risk of having a miscarriage. If a woman who smokes conceives a child, she may face the possibility of having an early delivery or even a stillbirth. And women who smoke increase the chance that their baby will have a low birth weight.

See the future if you continue this path. If you would take a moment to think of yourself as getting any of the diseases promoted by a smoking and nicotine habit sometime in the future, note how painful it would be for you, both physically and psychologically. Think, for a moment, of how much unhappiness it would create for you and your loved ones, and how it would keep you from enjoying the more healthy life that is yours after you have become a permanent nonsmoker. It is important to fully understand and feel, both consciously and subconsciously, just how negative a nicotine habit is to your overall enjoyment in life so that your mind, both conscious and subconscious, knows, without any delusion, just how much intense suffering will come to you unless you change your course in life.

Now make that picture dimmer and less bright and move it away from you, and watch as it grows darker and smaller. Take a moment to see yourself free of your nicotine addiction in the future. Look at how much healthier you look and feel. You can breathe freely and enjoy the fresh air entering your lungs. Your skin is healthier and you look younger at an older age, while your clothes smell fresher and cleaner. You are totally free of all the physical problems smoking would have caused you. When thought about in this way, it is more pleasurable to not smoke. You’ve found other healthier ways to get pleasure and reward yourself. In fact, cigarettes are now truly disgusting to you. As you see yourself a tobacco-free person, notice, now, that you’re feeling fine, you’re so relieved, you’re so much more at peace, you’re so much happier, so much healthier, and now you’re freer to be who you really want to be. Notice how much more personally self-confident and filled with personal self-esteem you now look and feel.

You may not fully know this, but the positive changes that result from becoming a permanent nonsmoker come sooner and are more pervasive than you ever imagined, making smoking cessation more immediately rewarding for you. Twenty minutes after you have quit, your blood pressure drops back down to the level just before your last cigarette and the temperature of your hands and feet increase toward a more normal level. Eight hours after you have quit the carbon monoxide level in your blood will have returned to a normal level. Just 24 hours after you have stopped smoking, your chance of a heart attack will already be decreasing. In the following weeks your circulation will be improved and the functioning of your lungs, even as soon as several weeks to 3 months’ time, will have improved by 30%. In subsequent weeks you will be able to look forward to other significant health improvements. Sinus congestion, shortness of breath, and coughing will have decreased. The cilia function within your lungs will return to normal, enabling you to deal with mucous and clean the lungs, and thus reduce any infection. One year after quitting, your extra risk of heart disease will be half that of someone who has continued to be smoker. After 5 years the risk of a stroke can be reduced to that of a nonsmoker. Ten years after quitting smoking your lung cancer rate will be half of that of someone who has continued to smoke, and your risk of cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus, pancreas, kidney, and bladder will all have decreased. Fifteen years after you have quit and become a permanent nonsmoker your risk of coronary heart disease will have fallen to that of someone who does not smoke. A 35-year-old man who becomes a permanent nonsmoker will, on average, increase his life expectancy by 5.1 years. And, of course, the quality of his life will be greatly increased during all his years, no matter how long he lives. Even smokers who quit after age 50 substantially reduce their risk of dying early. The argument that it is too late to quit smoking because the damage is already done is just not true.

It is important for people to know that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine and heroin. As matter of fact, it works to create and maintain an addiction in a way that is similar to those drugs. The addictive nature of nicotine is created by its ability to release dopamine in the brain, a chemical that creates feelings of pleasure. This is similar to the physiological and psychological effects of both cocaine and heroin. Recent research has shown that there is also some chemical in cigarette smoke that reduces the level of monoamineoxidase (MOA), which plays a role in breaking down dopamine. This helps create an overall increase in dopamine and thus contributes to the desire to keep taking more nicotine.

Cigar smokers who inhale absorb nicotine as rapidly as a cigarette smoker, while those who choose not to inhale absorb a significant amount of nicotine through the lining of their mouth, as do those who use smokeless tobacco. Even though these smokeless users do not hurt their lungs because they do not inhale tobacco smoke, the nicotine from their habit is still very highly addictive and causes the heart to beat faster and their blood pressure to go up. Chewing tobacco hurts a person’s ability to taste and smell, often causes damage to gum tissue, and can even result in the loss of teeth. More seriously, chewing tobacco is full of cancer causing chemicals that can give people cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus. Many people who get these particular cancers were users of chewing tobacco. So powerful are the cancer-causing chemicals in chewing tobacco that even very young users get these cancers.

Nicotine’s effects are short-lived within the body, leading people to continually give themselves more during the day. Eventually, the continued use of nicotine leads to what is referred to as tolerance. The drug is no longer as effective as it was, and people need higher and higher amounts of it just to get the same physiological and psychological effects that they experienced earlier. That is why people tend to increase their usage of nicotine-delivering substances the more they have been using them.

There are even short-term effects related to tolerance. Nicotine disappears from the body in a few hours and some tolerance is lost overnight. Smokers often report that the first cigarettes of the day, newly introducing nicotine to the body after several hours of forced abstinence during sleep, have the strongest effect and are enjoyed the best. As the day goes on, and they smoke more and more cigarettes, tolerance is created, and each cigarette has less effect.

Nicotine also suppresses the production of insulin by the pancreas, which acts to raise blood sugar and causes the liver to release glycogen into the blood. In addition, cigarettes themselves are actually between 8% and 18% sugar, so smokers who puff a cigarette frequently during the day are actually given themselves blood sugar-raising hits throughout the day. All this contributes to smokers experiencing a slight sugar high from increased blood glucose. As a result of all of this many smokers also experience a lessening of appetite. This may explain why people gain weight after stopping smoking. They are trying to maintain their prior elevated glucose level, which was found to be pleasurable. Any craving that a new nonsmoker might experience is most noticeable in the morning and mid-afternoon, when low blood sugar is no longer blocked by smoking.

Nicotine is biphasic in nature. It can both stimulate and relax a person, depending on how they smoke. Nicotine doesn’t work in the body the same way alcohol does, but they both exhibit biphasic activity. People often become uninhibited and more excitable after drinking, while at other times they may become sedated and eventually fall asleep.

Cessation of nicotine intake results in withdrawal symptoms that strongly influence anyone trying to end their tobacco use to start consuming it again. These symptoms can include headache, irritability, restlessness, tiredness, feelings of depression, poor concentration, and anger and frustration. While the most powerful influence on withdrawal is the pharmacological effects of nicotine, many behavioral aspects affect the nature of the withdrawal symptoms. For many smokers, the sight, feel, and smell of a cigarette and the rituals involved in obtaining, handling, lighting, and smoking the cigarette are all strongly associated with the pleasure of smoking and when absent can contribute to psychological feelings of withdrawal. While nicotine gum and patches can act to alleviate the pharmacological aspects of withdrawal, some cravings may persist because of these missed behavioral aspects of smoking. This is a problem in quitting smoking that can be easily dealt with and greatly minimized through the use of hypnosis.

One of the clearest indicators of the power of the effects of nicotine is that while over two-thirds of all tobacco users want to stop using it only a small number are able to do so permanently. Each year, nearly 35 million people make a concerted effort to quit smoking. Only 20% of those trying succeed in abstaining for as long as a year and only a small percent of these are able to do so by using willpower alone. Less than 7% succeed in abstaining for more than a year. Most of those trying to stop start smoking again within days.

Over 90% of smokers who try to quit without seeking treatment fail, with most relapsing within a week. Most smokers take several attempts to quit before they finally succeed.

To reduce the risk of lung cancer and other related cancers that are caused by smoking, smokers need to stop smoking completely. It has been found that the amount of carcinogens inhaled remains high even as they cut back on the number of cigarettes they use. Research has shown that this even applies when smokers are supplementing their intake of nicotine with the use of patches. The reason this is true is believed to be that the smokers inhale more deeply on the fewer cigarettes they do smoke to feed their addiction and the nicotine patches made little difference in how long and deeply the users inhaled the smoke from their cigarettes. Thus, the patches made little difference in the overall amount of carcinogens introduced into their bodies by their smoking habit. The conclusion is that patches do not significantly decrease a smoker’s risk of cancer. Possible theories as to why this is so is that patches fail to provide the high that the smokers desire, nor do they provide a substitute for the enjoyment that people get from the act of physically enjoying a cigarette. Another reason may be addictive compounds found in cigarette smoke that aren’t in the patches.

Sometimes in life failure is not necessarily an indicator of the difficulty or even the impossibility of accomplishing something. It just tells you what doesn’t work. Fortunately, seeing a qualified certified hypnotist is effective for changing a smoker into a nonsmoker for life. Not only do they become nonsmokers, but they do so more easily and comfortably then they ever expected. With the new cooperation of their subconscious they are able to lose their desire to smoke cigarettes and cigars. There is some physiological discomfort during the withdrawal period following the cessation of tobacco use, but with hypnosis these effects can be mitigated and the period of discomfort shortened. Hypnosis is also able to greatly reduce and even eliminate any tendency to gain weight after smoking cessation. In my clinical practice, I typically see clients only once for complete and permanent smoking cessation.

I admit I have been dying to write an article like this for ages. The reason being that in the course of my working life I still come across many instances of purely and simply over training. The strange thing about this article is that the push to write it came from an ad claiming to be able to double your fitness gains (whatever that means) by training for ......are you ready for this......ONE HOUR A MONTH and yes you did read that correctly.

Well, I consider that a little on the infrequent side, I don't know about you. I'll wait to be proven wrong but I consider it to be verging on the absurd, unless of course you know better. At the other end of the spectrum we have the habit of training everyday which in most cases is likely to result in problems, whether they be injury, fatigue of poor performance.

The point brings me on to an old book I accquired when I first dreamt of being the next Mr. Universe. This book from many moons ago is simple and uncomplicated and was my only source of knowledge when I started strength training as a teenager.

Now this old book of mine recommended that old favourite EVERY OTHER DAY ROUTINE. To most of us this meant a Monday, Wednesday, Friday session with rest days in between and at weekends. Before I get my head bitten right off, let me explain. I appreciate fully that since the inception of the three day a week, every other day system things have significantly moved on. The point I wish to make however is that the rationale behind this system has a great physiological foundation.

Research shows that it can take on average up to forty eight hours (and more in cases) for body tissue to regenerate, grow and repair following exercise and trauma. In simple terms, it takes up to two days for the muscles, tendons and other body tissues to repair AND HERE IS THE KEY BIT to be fully recovered and ready for the next training session. Basically the old three day a week system acknowledges and works perfectly with this, hence the reason for its success.

So what about advancements or improvements of this system? Ok let's take a look at bodybuilding. This activity is all about maximising muscle growth and is therefore a great example to use. A highly successful training system is to train two or three body parts on a given day (back, biceps and legs for example) and then train the other body parts (shoulders, triceps and abdomen). the next day. The cycle is then repeated so that training can occur on consecutive days whilst still allowing for the forty eight hour recovery period of specific muscle groups.

Npw applying this principle to other sports is not so simple. It demands some in depth analysis of the your sport to break it down into its component parts. This will allow specific aspects to be worked on at different times, thus allowing frequent training sessions but at the same time satisfying the necessity for sufficient rest and recovery.

This is such an enormous subject that one article like this cannot fully do it justice but as long as you get a taste of the idea. It is sufficient here to give you some knowledge and ideas to work from. Here are a couple of proven strategiies to work with and apply to your own situation.

Cosmetics, though by no stretch of imagination a valid line of defense, are widely used to camouflage acne. Though this is reasonable and makes sense, any kind of topically applied oil-based compound will aggravate acne. This especially applies to foundation creams, the longest-lasting of which are generally oil-based (or oleaginous).

Specifically, the ingredients to avoid include isopropyl myristate, isopropyl esters, oleic acid, stearic acid, petrolatum and lanolin. Cosmetic brands of lower quality will not mention the presence or absence of such compounds on the label and must be avoided. Though alcohol-based cosmetics are not the best choice for acne-prone skin, they are certainly preferable to oil-based ones. The best bets are water-based cosmetics which, though not as long-lasting as oleaginous ones, are far more suitable and less detrimental to acne.

There are a number of cosmetics available for camouflaging unsightly acne. They usually come in the form of a regimen that includes a concealing cream, a sheer or opaque foundation and a dusting powder. Prior to using these products, the skin must be gently but thoroughly cleansed and a certain amount of individual inventiveness may be called for to match camouflaged acne with unaffected skin areas.

A lot of research has been conducted to isolate the ideal shades of foundation creams for hiding acne, and you can now choose the shade that best suits the degree of acne you suffer from. For instance, green creams have been found most suitable for camouflaging redness resulting from rosacea. Yellow cream is best suited for purplish bruising and excessively pigmented skin (which can be caused by severe acne), and so on.