Vitamin C 'does not stop colds'

Taking a daily supplement of vitamin C will not protect most people from common colds, scientists say.

A review of 30 studies, involving 11,350 people, also found doses of at least 200mg per day did little to reduce the length or severity of colds.
But people exposed to periods of high stress, like marathon runners, could reduce their risk of catching colds by half if they took the vitamin daily.
The Australian and Finnish team's study is published in the Cochrane Library.

Researchers at the Australian National University and the University of Helsinki concluded that, for most people, the benefits of taking vitamin C daily were so slight that they were not worth the effort or expense.
Although they found it could reduce the duration of colds by up to 8% in adults and 13.6% in children, as most people only have two or three colds every year, this benefit is only very small.

Useful effects
Author Professor Harri Hemilä, said: "It doesn't make sense to take vitamin C 365 days a year to lessen the chance of catching a cold."
However, they say it may be justified in those exposed to severe cold or physical stresses, where vitamin C doses reduced the risk of getting a cold by half.
Furthermore, they say there is "tantalising" evidence from one study that very large doses of vitamin C taken at the beginning of a cold might have a useful effect.
But more research would be needed to evaluate this possibility.
In the 1970s, Nobel Prize-winning chemist Linus Pauling encouraged people to take 1,000mg of vitamin C daily to ward off colds.
But since then the effects of the vitamin on colds has remained controversial.

Fighting infection
The current recommended daily allowance of vitamin C is just 60mg, and Catherine Collins, a registered dietician with the British Dietetic Association, says an optimum amount would be 200mg every day.
But she said most people could easily obtain this amount through eating five portions of fruit and vegetables every day.
Furthermore, eating too much vitamin C means it cannot be absorbed and so is removed from the body.
Although infection-fighting white blood cells do use vitamin C, Ms Collins said there was very little evidence to suggest that it could help fight off colds.
She said: "It sounds biologically plausible because vitamin C does help improve our immune systems, but it only seems to work if people are deficient in it in the first place, which is very rare."
However, she added that the study was useful in adding to the existing body of evidence concerning Vitamin C.

Eating fish: good for heart, bad for environment?

Doctors recommend a good dose of salmon or tuna in the diet because of its benefits to the heart. But is it good for the environment?
Surging demand for salmon in particular has been spurred in part by numerous studies touting the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in some kinds of fish.
A study published in June in the American Heart Association journal Circulation said a diet with liberal servings of fish, nuts and seeds rich in such nutrients can help lower a person's blood pressure. Other studies have shown benefits to eye and brain development and preventing heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and eye disorders.
Conservationists point out that while global fish stocks were getting hammered long before sushi became chic, health trends could add pressure to already vulnerable fisheries.
"Over-fishing has predated the interest in omega-3 and healthy eating. But now there are places where it is certainly going to accentuate it," said Jason Clay, vice president of markets at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
"The FAO (U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization) estimates that by 2030 average annual per capita global consumption of fish will increase by 1.5 kgs (3.4 pounds) and some of it will be driven by health-related demand," he said.

When it comes to omega-3 fatty acids, not all fish are equal. Fatty fish such as trout, salmon, mackerel and Alaska pollock are rich in this crucial group of nutrients.
Tuna are, too, but few wild tuna fisheries are regarded by conservationists as sustainable.
"It depends on your source ... Omega-3s are very high in wild salmon and the Alaskan salmon fishery is well-managed," said Phil Kline, an ocean campaigner with Greenpeace.
Alaska salmon are among the fisheries that have been certified as sustainable by the British-based Marine Stewardship Council. It uses stringent criteria for a fishery to get its seal of approval and the right to bear its eco-label.
It has not yet given its blessing to any tuna fishery but is assessing the sustainability of the U.S. Pacific coast albacore tuna industry.
Demand for salmon has certainly been soaring.
According to the U.S. National Fisheries Institute, American per capita consumption of salmon has risen from 0.87 pounds (0.39 kg) per year in 1992 to 2.026 pounds (0.92 kg) in 2006. The species also went from being America's sixth most popular fish to eat to its third over the same period of time.
In a well-managed situation, such demand can lead to conservation: it's in no one's interest to deplete something of value.

"In the long run, the more valuable wild salmon are the better they are likely to be protected," said Gunnar Knapp, a professor of economics at the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research.
He said high demand and prices gave people an incentive to protect vital salmon habitat such as spawning grounds in rivers from other industries such as logging and mining.
"In Alaska, even if the price of salmon were to quadruple it would not lead to too many fish being caught because the limiting factor is not the price but how much the managers allow the fishermen to catch, and they make that assessment purely on biological grounds," Knapp told Reuters by phone from Anchorage.
But he said Russia's salmon fishery, for example, was not so well managed and could suffer overfishing as prices rise.
Much of the burgeoning demand for salmon is being met by the rapidly growing aquaculture industry, but experts say there are environmental concerns linked to that, too.
WWF's Clay said fish being caught for fishmeal to feed the aquaculture industry include species such as anchovies, which are rich in omega-3s but which have questions over their sustainability.
"One out of every three fish that is caught right now is used to make feed for other fish," he said.
Fish don't actually produce omega-3 fatty acids, they capture it from the food chain.
And there are plenty of substitutes out there such as walnuts, flaxseed and canola oil, which can provide the same omega-3-related benefits as fish.
In the past, children in many parts of the world were given cod liver oil as a health supplement. These days, they are more likely to take fish oil capsules made from other species.
For conservationists, the question is whether the latest health trend will result in salmon and other species going the same way as eastern Canada's cod fishery, once one of the world's richest which utterly collapsed last decade.

Obese 'under-report' sugar intake

Obese people underestimate the amount of sugar they eat, making studies into the condition based on self-reporting very unreliable, UK researchers say.

But a new urine test has been developed which can for the first time work out how much sugar people have consumed.
In a study of hundreds of volunteers, researchers compared what people said they ate with data from urine tests.
The findings appear in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.
"These results show what many have suspected for some time: obese people are not able to tell us what they actually eat," said Professor Sheila Bingham who led the team from the Medical Research Council and University of Cambridge.
"If we are to tackle the scourge of obesity, both exercise and diet need to be taken into account."

Linked after all?

Studies have suggested that eating more sugar is not linked to obesity.
But the report says these conclusion were based on studies which relied on self-reporting and that their findings show these to be inaccurate.
"The spot urine and blood tests established that obese people consume more sugar and less Vitamin C than their thinner counterparts, but this did not show up when asked," said Professor Bingham.
"Although obese people may have a less active lifestyle than people of normal weight, reports about what they ate were less accurate than those from their normal weight counterparts."
Dr Colin Waine of the National Obesity Forum said the tendency to under-report food intake among the overweight was a major problem for medical practitioners.
"Used sensitively, this test could be a great tool in helping patient and practitioner work out what's going wrong and talk through what could be done about it."

What Women Really Need to Know About Vitamins

Much of what you know -- or think you know -- about dietary supplements could be wrong.
The May issue of Women's Health magazine says that while Food and Drug Administration daily value recommendations for vitamins haven't changed since 1968, what we know about nutrition has. The Institute of Medicine has new recommendations for vitamins, called dietary reference intakes.
Lisa Drayer, nutrition adviser and contributing editor to Women's Health, recommended specific supplements that take into account these latest numbers.
For more information visit Women's Health.
Take a multivitamin daily
- Women's Health recommends One-a-Day Women's, which comes closest to current DRIs.
For example, Women's One a Day offers only 50 percent of the daily value of Vitamin A, with 20 percent as beta carotene which is a safer alternative. Even small excesses of Vitamin A have been linked to an increased risk of birth defects, liver problems and nervous system disorders, as well as long-term bone damage that can eventually lead to hip fractures.
On the other hand, for Vitamin D the daily value is 400 ius, but current research says women need 800 to 1000.
The four nutrients women need more of are calcium, Vitamin D, magnesium and Vitamin K.
For extra calcium, try Nature Made Calcium with Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. But take this supplement at a different time than when you take a multivitamin, because your body can't absorb over 500 mgs of calcium at a time.
For extra magnesium, try Nature's Bounty Magnesium. Magnesium can protect against heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer. New DRIs say we should get 320 mgs a day.
For extra Vitamin K, try Puritan's Pride All Natural Vitamin K. Vitamin K is really important for bone health. Women's Health recommends a supplement of 100 micrograms called Puritan's Pride, which you can only get through the mail. Vitamin K can interfere with a blood thinner called coumadin, so talk to your doctor if you take that medication before taking vitamins.
For pregnant women and athletes, try Country Life Vitamin B12 and Floradix Iron and Herbs Extract. You need more iron if you exercise more than an hour a day or if you're pregnant. Iron helps hemoglobin deliver oxygen at greater volumes.
Vegetarians and vegans should look for supplements with B12 and iron. If you're vegan you need those plus Vitamin A. Women's Health recommends drinking carrot juice to get extra Vitamin A.
Women who are breast feeding should take 5 mgs of zinc a day.

Food firms accused of understating salt levels

Consumers are being misled about the salt content of some ready meals and other processed foods, according to a survey published yesterday.
The report accuses manufacturers of deliberately understating portion sizes on food labels, in an apparent effort to make the amount of salt in their products seem as low as possible. In one case a packet of chicken nuggets gave the salt content for a portion weighing 15g, the equivalent of just one nugget. Servings of baked beans varied across brands from half to one third of a 420g can.
Unclear labelling risks misleading consumers about the amount of salt in their diet, according to the Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (Lacors), which coordinated the study.
"There is concern that customers are being hoodwinked and misled by some manufacturers who are deliberately quoting unreasonably small portion sizes on their packaging to mask the true salt content of their products," said Geoffrey Theobald, chairman of Lacors.
Environmental health officers at 60 local councils across the UK collected 831 samples of processed foods from supermarkets and other stores.
Tests revealed that the salt content of the foods had fallen by 10.9% since May 2005, though fewer than half the foods met the Food Standards Agency's salt reduction targets for 2010.
The Food Standards Agency has introduced a "traffic light" system of food labelling that lists ingredients as red, amber or green, to indicate whether levels are unhealthy or not. While several retailers have adopted the scheme, others, including Tesco and large manufacturers such as Nestlé and Kelloggs, have championed an alternative system expressing ingredients as a percentage of a guideline daily amount.
Targets set by the FSA aim to see daily recommended levels of salt intake fall from today's level of around 9g to 6g by 2010. According to the pressure group Consensus Action on Salt and Health, a 3g drop in salt intake would lead to a 22% reduction in strokes and a 16% fall in coronary heart disease, preventing 35,000 deaths in Britain every year.
Amelia Lake at Newcastle University's Human Nutrition Research Centre, said: "Manufacturers and people who sell food have a responsibility to consumers, at the very least to be clear about the contents of their products."

Health care crisis

The debate now raging over how much money the federal government should spend to provide basic health insurance for poor children is just an opening skirmish in what is likely to be an all-out war in coming months and years over how to pay for health care in America.

Almost every presidential candidate in both parties has come up with some proposal that promises to control the costs, broaden the availability and upgrade the quality of health care. At the same time, a growing number of states and localities -- including Howard County and the state of Maryland -- are seeking local answers to the problem.Health care is in the spotlight for an array of reasons -- a growing proportion of Americans have no health insurance, costs of providing care are rising far faster than the overall rate of inflation, costs to workers of employer-provided insurance are growing while benefits are limited and the costs of coping with catastrophic illness are placing a growing burden on families and communities.

The challenge is finding ways to provide every American with quality affordable health care without dictating how the care will be offered.Our failure to make progress toward that goal is causing a slow-motion health care crisis that is already threatening the well-being of millions.In most other developed countries the government offers universal care with more private care choices available to those who can afford them. But many Americans fear the bureaucratic implications of a publicly funded universal care system that might provide mediocre or inadequate care. They say they want the right to choose their own doctors and methods of care.But, truth be told, a growing proportion of Americans are losing their access to health care choice and seek care only in emergencies. The costs of providing that emergency care are extraordinarily high and the benefits are limited.Employer-provided insurance, the bedrock of health insurance, is eroding.About one in six people in the United States -- 46.6 million people -- lacked health insurance for all of 2005 and the ranks of the uninsured are growing with every passing year.Many companies, particularly smaller firms, faced with fast-rising health insurance expenses are asking workers to cover some of the cost, are limiting benefits or dropping insurance plans altogether. Thirty-nine percent of firms in the United States didn't offer health insurance at all in 2006 and 41.9 percent of "wage and salary" workers aged 18 to 64 were not offered health coverage through their own employers.Americans worry about health coverage and health care costs. For instance, 54 percent of those polled by the Pew Research Center in 2006 said that paying for the cost of a major illness is a major problem. Some 44 percent said paying for prescription drugs is a major problem.At the same time, many are not convinced that being uninsured is a problem. A majority in a national poll taken in 2004 mistakenly believed that the uninsured can receive the care they need through clinics and hospital emergency departments.In fact, lacking health insurance can be seriously dangerous to your health, studies by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine (IOM) show.According to the IOM, an estimated 18,000 adults die each year because they are uninsured and can't get appropriate health care. Hospitalized patients without health insurance receive fewer needed services and lower-quality care, and have a greater risk of dying in the hospital or shortly after discharge than patients with insurance. Uninsured victims with trauma due to an auto crash are 37 percent more likely to die of their injuries.Uninsured children are five times more likely to have an unmet dental need and about half as likely to get needed mental health care or counseling.And there's a good chance that at some point an uninsured person or family will face serious, economically destabilizing medical expense. Six out of 10 uninsured working-age adults report problems paying medical bills, compared with 35 percent of insured adults. Among those reporting medical bill problems, 27 percent said they struggled to pay for expenses such as food, rent and heat.Still, a significant number of workers are balking at the rising costs of employer-sponsored insurance. Premiums for a family of four paid for by workers increased almost 12 percent between 2004 and 2005 -- from $222 a month to $248. Almost two out of three workers who chose not to participate in their employer's health plan in 2002 said the plan was too costly.Employer-paid health care for retired workers has declined significantly in recent decades, a development that has prompted a growing number of older workers to stay on the job years beyond their original plan. Overall, 35 percent of companies with 200 or more workers offered retiree health benefits in 2006, down substantially from 66 percent in 1988.A vital health insurance contributor in recent years has been the Medicaid program, funded by both state and federal dollars. Medicaid offers a relatively generous package of benefits to low-income mothers and children, people with disabilities and some low income seniors.Some 56.3 million people were covered by Medicaid during the 2006 fiscal year and a number of current state and federal proposals to broaden publicly funded health insurance coverage to include more low-income people would use Medicaid as a funnel for the aid.

Children, the healthiest of Medicaid beneficiaries, accounted for 49 percent of the enrollees but just 18 percent of the spending in 2004. People over 65 with disabilities in contrast comprised only 25 percent of beneficiaries but accounted for 70 percent of spending.Medicaid also pays for nearly half of all long-term care services. Nearly 60 percent of all nursing home residents receive support from Medicaid.Eligibility rules for Medicaid are complicated and vary widely from state to state.

Critics of proposals to expand some Medicaid coverage -- like the recently debated bipartisan plan to increase spending on the SCHIP program for low-income children -- argue that the added aid would prompt the movement of children from job-based insurance to government-paid coverage.In fact, the portion of children covered through job-based insurance decreased from 65.6 percent to 60.5 percent between 2000 and 2005 as Medicaid and SCHIP coverage grew.The quality of Medicaid coverage varies widely, depending on the ability and willingness of state governments to make contributions. Nationally, Medicaid has grown to be the second largest item for state government general fund spending after allocations for elementary and secondary education.The sheer size of the Medicaid program has forced all states to try to hold down its spending growth. Despite such efforts state and local Medicaid expenses are projected to rise 7.8 percent in 2007.Beyond the existing Medicaid programs, members of Congress and presidential candidates are debating other mechanisms to broaden access to health insurance and improve care.Democrats have generally been proposing publicly funded alternatives.Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has suggested that people could keep their existing coverage, choose a private plan offered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program or sign up for a new "public plan option similar to Medicare."Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina would give everyone "a choice between private insurers and a public insurance plan modeled after Medicare."Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois says he would "establish a new public insurance program" for people who do not have access to group coverage.By contrast, Republicans have generally proposed reforms based on more entrepreneurial concepts.Former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani proposes shifting to a system where individuals could buy their own insurance, with the help of tax incentives. Critics say people with relatively few health problems might get a good deal from that plan, while people with more health problems could end up paying more.Mitt Romney, who was widely praised when he was governor of Massachusetts for his plan to bring provide universal coverage to state residents, said he would like to offer flexible federal aid to empower states to come up with their own solutions to control rising health costs and expand coverage.Sen. John McCain of Arizona has said that his goal would be to control health care costs by demanding accountability from every player in the industry -- from drug companies to insurance companies to doctors, hospitals, the government and patients.He argues that significant progress could be made with better treatment of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease, which account for 75 percent of all health care costs.The idea that health care costs could be substantially constrained with better, more pro-active management of care, is one that most health care professionals endorse.A recent study by the Milken Institute, based in Santa Monica, Calif., said a reorientation of health care toward more prevention counseling could save more than $1 trillion in 2023. Reducing obesity alone could trim the incidence of disease by 14.8 million cases in 2023, saving $60 billion in treatment costs that year.The idea of coaching patients to better health habits is a key element of an innovative health care plan that will be offered by Howard County to low income residents in the coming year. County officials emphasize the program is not health insurance, but a fee-for-services plan. Coaches will help participants overcome obstacles to fitness and patients can be dropped from the plan if they fail to make good-faith efforts to improve their health.

Your health

Halloween horrors
Don't eat the glow sticks. That sounds like common sense, but every Halloween the Illinois Poison Control Center gets calls from parents whose kids decided the neon liquid looked tasty. Kids also eat suspicious candy, face paint and dry ice, all of which can be harmful.
• Use nontoxic face paint or makeup. Some products contain emollient laxatives, talc or hydrocarbons, which can be toxic if eaten.
• In small amounts, the liquid in glow sticks or necklaces won't cause severe poisoning. But it could cause a rash, nausea and burning.
• For the punch bowl, don't put dry ice in individual glasses. It could burn the mouth and throat and can cause severe pain.
Plan a safe Halloween this year, but post the poison center's number by the phone just in case. It's (800) 222-1222.

Run the numbers
Think you can lose weight by diet alone? Well, you can, but you might not want to. Every pound you lose through diet alone is roughly three-quarters fat tissue and one-quarter muscle tissue, according to the American Council on Exercise.
Weight loss through diet and exercise has a better ratio. For every pound you shed, you'll lose about 1¼ pounds of fat tissue, and gain about one-quarter pound of muscle.
That higher muscle mass will improve your metabolism and protect against age-related muscle loss.
Be an active patient:Œ
Patients who get involved in their health care get better results. That holds true when you have cultural or religious issues that may be a factor in your care. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers tips for a successful doctor visit:
• Discuss your religious concerns. Some religious restrictions could impact your medical treatment.
• Explain any dietary requirements, such as kosher dietary laws or religious fasting.
• Tell the doctor if you are uncomfortable being examined by a male or female.
• Ask for detailed information about your diagnosis, tests, treatment and prescriptions. Ask to see pictures or written information if you don't fully understand.

Beauty school, computer training, all on wheels

From beauty tips to computer education to healthcare, it will all be rolled out on wheels in Rajasthan as the state government tries to reach out to rural areas.Initially, a single mobile beauty van costing Rs two million and fitted with beauty equipment will be launched in the first week of December in Jaipur. Students enrolled in a diploma course in beauty culture would run the unique project.
From threading to manicures and pedicures, the students will impart beauty training and tips for a price to women, especially those who want to become beauticians."Our main aim is to offer training to women by reaching out to them so that they can stand on their own feet," said Vasudev Devnani, Rajasthan's state minister for education."A bus estimated to cost around Rs two million would have all the facilities, including cosmetics and threading, manicure and pedicure equipments," an official said.Starting with one bus that can accommodate up to 10 trainers at a time, the plan is to allow more such mobile beauty schools in rural areas. Jodhpur has already put in a request for a van.The state government is also going ahead with computer education on wheels.Through public-private partnership, the government will operationalise 32 buses, one in each district, fitted with IT infrastructure and other teaching aids."The state government with the support of global and local partners has taken steps towards bringing ICT in education to empower students and enhance the quality of education in the state," a senior education department official said."We have invited expressions of interest (EOI) from interested parties," he added."The government would extend a subsidy to the extent of up to 75 per cent towards the capital cost of buses and equipment. The idea is to provide basic computer education to students in elementary classes residing in rural areas through these buses by the private partners," he added.Mobile medical units too are to be set up to take healthcare to the doorstep of the rural populace. These will be operated by NGOs and hospitals or private health clinics under the control of district health societies.

Health-care debate concerns far more than just insurance

Pizza is on Marcia Nielsen’s mind as she considers what frustrates her about the health reform debate in Kansas.
Imagine someone who’s just eaten a slice of thin-crust pie with sausage, pepperoni and extra cheese and isn’t happy with how it tastes. When he calls the parlor, should he focus his complaints on the delivery guy?
Kansans are doing something like that with health care when they focus the debate on making sure more people have health insurance, said Nielsen, the executive director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority.
Insurance issues are significant, but if policy makers in Kansas are going to lessen problems in the health care system, they must control costs and push Kansans toward healthier living. The authority plans to issue reform recommendations Thursday, and most of them won’t deal with insurance.
Offering a package focused only on insurance would be like getting a bad pizza and not thinking about how it was cooked or what ingredients went into it.
“The only thing we focus on from a policy perspective is the pizza delivery guy,” she said last week. “How big is his pizza delivery truck? How fast does he get here? Is he nice? Do we give him a big tip?”
Like their counterparts in most other states, Kansas legislators have struggled with health care issues for nearly two decades, alternating between waiting on Congress to approve national legislation and taking incremental steps themselves. Much of the discussion has focused on providing coverage to more people.
In January, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius called on legislators to enact a plan to eventually bring universal coverage to Kansas. Instead, they approved a bundle of less ambitious reforms and told the Health Policy Authority to study other changes.
The authority’s recommendations have emerged from meetings in September and October. They do include more aggressive attempts to see that children eligible for state medical coverage are enrolled and initiatives to help small businesses provide coverage for their employees.
The authority also has endorsed a statewide ban on smoking in public places and an increase in tobacco taxes to raise nearly $52 million a year.
But its recommendations will tackle a whole series of issues, including getting Kansans to eat better, making sure schoolchildren get more exercise, getting more information about health care to consumers, promoting a “whole person” approach to treating patients and encouraging providers to emphasize preventive care.
“Health insurance reform will be part of next year’s debate and should be, but we have to realize that the number of uninsured Kansans and Americans is a symptom of the high cost of health care,” said Sen. Jim Barnett, an Emporia Republican who’s a physician and chairman of his chamber’s Public Health and Welfare Committee.
Perhaps its easier to focus on insurance because it is a tangible thing, lived day-to-day by some 300,000 Kansans. It has easy-to-understand consequences: not being able to afford prescriptions or frantic trips to emergency rooms for problems that could have been treated early but for the cost of a doctor’s visit.
Some of the authority’s initiatives seem less concrete. For example, it wants to define “medical home” in state law.
It sounds like something to tack onto a bigger health reform package, a thick paragraph of dry language inspiring a big “Huh?” from most people who read it.
Describing it doesn’t make the idea sound dramatic, either. Kansans’ medical home would be a doctor or clinic that coordinates their care, linking them to specialists and emphasizing preventive care. If someone has diabetes, for example, every medical service he receives deals in some way with the condition.
The medical home would see that the patient doesn’t take the same tests two or three times, that records are shared and even that the patient has access to community support groups or information at the public library. A patient could consult with a doctor by e-mail to avoid an office visit.
The big change? Insurers and patients would pay doctors for e-mail consultations and coordinating care. Medical providers would be paid more if they created true medical homes.
The goal would be a health care system where services aren’t duplicated, preventive care is emphasized and information flows freely and quickly. Costs would be lessened.
If the state focuses only on making sure more people have insurance, Nielsen said, “We’re just adding more people to a broken system.”
“If we don’t do anything to fix the underlying system, you can just keep adding more people, but at some point the whole thing topples over based on its own weight,” she said. “And you know, we’re pretty close to being there.”
Finally, getting Kansans to do the things they should in their daily lives but don’t also promises to control costs. It’s so obvious people don’t consider it: Someone who’s healthy doesn’t need as much medical care.
“Because of all the advertising on television for pharmaceuticals and drugs, people believe there is a pill for everything,” Barnett said. “They undervalue the importance of exercise, weight control or smoking cessation.”
In short, Kansans need to take a broader view, because health insurance is like the pizza delivery guy, the means for delivering the pie.
“That’s the whole conversation,” Nielsen said, describing her frustration. “Except pizza and whether we like the pizza isn’t dependent on the pizza guy, unless he comes really late and the pizza’s cold.”

Does Your Retirement Plan Cover Health Care Issues?

One of the most essential and basic questions of retirement planning, is the one that is unfortunately also the most ignored: does your retirement plan cover health care issues? It is important to start thinking about health care issues as you begin planning for your retirement needs. Always remember that planning ahead will protect you and your family from the possibility of having to pay considerable health care costs, or worse, being unable to afford health care or long term care when you need it.
Always take the necessary steps to protect your financial future as well as to plan ahead for your health care needs. As a generality however, most people do not pay enough attention to this very important aspect of life planning. A large number of people, pre-retirees as well as retirees, readily agree that health is one of the most important issues in retirement. However, almost no one really spends enough time actually planning for health issues in retirement. Most pre-retirees do undertake some kind of planning for the financial aspects of retirement, but seem to neglect understanding and planning for health benefits options.
Planning for medical issues during retirement takes more than just planning the financial details. It would, in fact, involve reevaluating your routine and budget, exploring the health care options, and researching Health Savings Accounts, long term care options and life insurance options. Even though most pre-retirees are willing to pay for prescription drugs and doctor's visits during their retirement, they seem to have a very unrealistic view of what it will cost. Most people anticipate costs to be less than $300 a month for health care-related expenses whereas, in reality, the average retiree actually spends around $640 a month.
In short, most Americans are confused about health benefits and do not really plan for a healthy retirement as well as a financially stable one. Most people don't even have a realistic idea of how much money they spend on essentials each year. To help people like that, many websites offer a health expense calculator that estimates your annual health expenses, including all your medical costs, dental costs, ophthalmology costs, and the total amount spent on prescriptions, for the entire family. These calculators can help you to understand how much money you would need, to meet all your medical expenses.
They are, in fact, invaluable tools in planning health benefits and financial needs after retirement. Having a retirement plan that covers health care issues is vital. The risks of both heart disease and diabetes increase as we age. This is another reason why planning for retirement should include a sensible diet, exercise, and active control measures against any chronic illness.
Research and gaining updated information would be an important step in making the right decisions for a healthy post retirement lifestyle. There is also a major financial incentive, for retirees to try to stay healthy - economics. A healthy lifestyle and healthy habits developed now will be helpful in protecting your financial well being after retirement.

Doctors give health tips to shoppers at mall fair

El Pasoans had the chance on Saturday to learn more about leading healthful lifestyles at the 2007 Healthy Living Expo, a one-day exposition at Cielo Vista Mall that offered free tips on health, wellness and financial well being.
Now in its 10th year, the Healthy Living Expo provided visitors the chance to visit 30 booths with health and quality-of-life information. Organizers estimated 25,000 people walked through Cielo Vista Mall.
Shoppers interested in specific topics could learn more about subjects including karate, sleep, Alzheimer's and credit repair.
Dr. Sergio Ibarra, an emergency-medicine physician at the Southwest Urgent Care Center, set up a vendor's booth for people to have their blood sugar and blood pressure tested.
"As we know here in El Paso, two of the leading causes of health problems are going to be out-of-control blood pressure and diabetes," Ibarra said. "This is a good way for us at least to get people who normally wouldn't go to their doctor and see where they are on both those issues."
Ibarra said that because El Pasoans often neglect their health until they need emergency care, he's promoting his urgent-care center as a way for patients to see health experts even if it's after hours or an emergency short of a heart attack or stroke.
Dr. Marino Rios, an ear, nose and throat specialist, set up equipment used to determine whether a patient is suffering from conditions that could lead to vertigo, dizziness or imbalance.
Rios said that people who experience vertigo and dizziness often are poorly diagnosed because determining the cause of those symptoms can be very complex and can be caused by a number of conditions, such as bad eyeglasses, or inner ear or nervous system abnormalities.
"The majority of people that have dizziness end up in emergency rooms," Rios said. "It's the most complex system to investigate, and that's why patients go without answers."

Free Health Care in Iraq

In the past, Iraq has had more accessible health care programs than the United States. This is also true of many other Islamic nations. These nations recognize that one of the basic rights of all citizens is the access to good health services and that the government has the responsibility to guarantee these rights. Without good health, all of the other rights, liberties and freedoms become meaningless.
All Americans are facing a continually growing crisis in providing health care for their families. The last few decades have seen skyrocketing costs for absolutely everything related to medical costs and prescription drugs. A survey by Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust showed that during the first half of 2007, premiums for employee-sponsored health insurance rose nearly twice as fast as wages. According to I M S Health, worldwide sales of prescription medicines in 2006, rose 7 percent to $602 billion. The U.S. had $252 billion in sales, a 5.7 percent increase. Pharmaceutical companies are making record breaking profits with little regulation by the government. Free market competition is theoretically supposed to lower prices, but it fails to do this when the industries become virtual monopolies in specialized items. They can literally charge any price that they want to. Some prescription drugs cost $100 for one pill. This is not free enterprise, this is greedy exploitation.
Lobbyists in Wash. D.C. continue to persuade Congress to pass legislation that benefit’s the special interests, instead of benefiting the public. Congress has also financially aided American pharmaceutical companies by restricting imported drugs, even though these are usually much lower in price and would be more affordable to many low income families. Almost every presidential candidate that is campaigning today for the 2008 election, is promising to make needed reforms and increase health care coverage for the millions of Americans who presently have none. Unfortunately, whenever these well intentioned politicians succeed in getting elected, they immediately run into roadblocks and opposition by the corporations who are monopolizing and profiteering in the completely privatized health care industries. As long as lobbyists continue to influence or fund, directly or indirectly, political campaigns, don’t expect any real changes to come anytime soon. The reality in American politics is that those candidates with the most money, win the elections. And those politicians who receive the most contributions from the wealthiest corporations, are forced to pass legislation favorable to those same corporations. This corrupt political system does not benefit the public. It only benefit’s the politicians and the special interests.
The U.S. federal government is essentially a republican capitalistic system even though state governments are more democratic. (U.S. presidents are not elected by popular vote, they are elected by the Electoral College. In the 2000 election, Al Gore won the popular vote by 543,895 votes, but George W. Bush was elected by the Electoral College. State governors are elected by direct popular vote, which is more democratic). This capitalistic system prohibits the government from nationalizing either the economic interests or the health care interests. The American public is continuously told that this system is the best for the people. Actually it’s not the best system for the people, it’s the best system for the corporations. Any nationalized system, either in industry or health care would reduce the profits of the corporate owners but would increase savings by the public, in addition to making health care universally available.
When the industries of a nation remain separated from the government, the system is called capitalism or free enterprise. When a republican or democratic government controls the major industries, the system is called socialism.
What happens when the government goes into partnership with the corporations, and uses the powers of government to benefit the corporations instead of the people? This is neither democracy nor socialism. This is little different than a monarchy. This arrangement enriches only a small group of corporate owners. The results of such a partnership is that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and millions of children are left without health coverage.
Many of the Islamic nations in the Middle East, such as Iraq and Iran have established socialistic systems for their major industries and their health care programs for the people. This has been the major cause of antagonism between those nations and the capitalistic system of the U.S. The U.S. government is in partnership with the major corporations and they are totally committed to the privatization of all industries and health care programs. This makes it almost impossible for any national health care program to get enacted by Congress. The K Street lobbyists immediately set up roadblocks whenever any attempt is made.
One of the goals of the U.S. government, in partnership with the U.S. corporations is to replace socialism with capitalism throughout the world. This is the nation building crusade that the present administration has been totally preoccupied with since inauguration day in 2000. Especially in those nations that have vast national resources, like oil or cheap labor. Privatization and Globalization continue to play the major role in U.S. foreign policy. This is the primary reason that the U.S. and Britain conspired in 1953 to overthrow Mohammed Mossadegh and replace him with Shaw Reza Pahiazi. Mossadegh nationalized the oil industries and the Shaw essentially privatized them and gave major concessions to the U.S. and Britain. This is the same reason that the U.S. and Britain invaded Iraq in 2003. Both Mossadegh and Saddam Hussein had established national ownership of the oil industries and socialistic health care programs for their nations. The U.S. was unconcerned that these systems were actually benefiting the people. The U.S. government always seems to think that they know what is best for other nations.
Prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion, Iraq had national ownership of the oil industry (since the 1970‘s), a free education system for all Iraqis and over 10,000 medical centers which provided free medical care for all Iraqis. This socialistic economic system helped all of the Iraqi people even though it was controlled by a military dictatorship.
The Iraqi military dictatorship was partially necessary due to the centuries old antagonistic nature of the different religious sects and local tribal leaders. This was a consequence of the haphazard way in which the British created the state of Iraq out of different tribal areas immediately after WW I. The new national boundaries were arbitrarily drawn without any consideration of the different local cultures or religious divisions. The Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds were all very independently minded groups and they each wanted either to control the government or establish independence. Forcing them together into a new nation has resulted in problems ever since.
Compare this nationalized Iraqi system with the present U.S. system. In the U.S. all industries are privately owned. The people receive no benefits from any natural resources within the U.S. The American oil companies who exploit the natural resources of our own nation and of other nations, such as Iraq, do so solely for their own self interests and revenues. This is of no benefit either to the people of other nations (such as Iraq) or to the American people.
The U.S. has a good, free public education system available to all children through high school, but the higher educational college systems have become so expensive that only the very rich can afford to enroll their children. College tuition costs of $30,000 or more per student per year makes higher education impossible for many average families. This is robbing our nation of some of the most intellectually gifted and promising future leaders, not to mention future scientists. This incredible annual educational expense is creating a new system of discrimination for the young students. The rich children have the opportunity to be college graduates. But the poor children are denied this opportunity. Admission to colleges should be available to all, based on each student’s intellectual capabilities, not on their financial resources. Compare this discriminatory system to the free higher educational system that existed in Iraq before the U.S. invasion. Imagine how many more American students would attend colleges if they were tuition free, or at least more affordable. This could actually be a reality if only a small percent of the U.S. military budget was spent on education.
Before the 2003 occupation, Iraq had one of the best medical care systems in the Middle East. Well equipped hospitals and medical centers with well trained doctors and medical staffs, both men and women, provided all Iraqi citizens with free medical care and free prescriptions. This socialized system was funded by the government primarily through oil revenues. The nationalized ownership of the oil industries returned the revenues to the people in the form of medical benefits. This type of socialized government funding of medical and health care programs is vehemently opposed by the U.S. government. Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the U.S. has tried to eliminate all forms of social programs in that nation. Especially the nationalized oil industries and the socialized health care programs. Privatizing these two industries would create potentially enormous profits for U.S corporations who have great ambitions in the Middle East.
Compare the free medical health care that Iraqi citizens had before the U.S. invasion, to the astronomical costs that all Americans face today. It is not unusual for an American to pay $1000 for a simple annual physical exam, in which the doctor’s visit only last a few minutes and consists of a few simple tests and questions. Even with medical insurance, a simple annual medical check up can cost several hundred dollars, due to the annual deductibles. In fact, even those families that have medical insurance usually pay the insurance companies more in annual premiums than they receive back in savings. The insurance companies always make a profit on every policy. If they don’t, they find an excuse to cancel the policy. This raises the question of why these insurance companies even exist. Exactly the same function could be provided by a nonprofit government program. These companies cost the public billions of dollars annually, but they provide no product or service. It’s not a justifiable service if the premiums are more than the returned benefits, it‘s just a waste of money. The costs for any serious medical procedures are so high that any major injury or illness may bankrupt an average family. A medical emergency costing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, usually results in families being forced to mortgage their homes or sell them. Any serious medical operation will be a financial burden for the rest of their lives and most likely prevent any of the children from ever attending college. This dire situation is faced by Americans that are employed and actually have medical insurance. Those families that are unemployed or can’t afford health insurance are forced to simply do without medical care. Thousands of uninsured Americans, including children, go without treatment and many simply die for lack of simple medical attention or medicine.
But the U.S. government continues to assure the American people that this system is the best of all possible. Does the government assume that all Americans are stupid? Doesn’t the government have any responsibility at all to provide adequate health care to it’s citizens? Isn’t this one of the rights that should be included in the U.S. Constitution? (If our nation’s founders were writing the Bill of Rights today, it most definitely would have been included). $200 billion a year is presently being spent by the U.S. on an unnecessary war in Iraq, which is attempting to take away from the Iraqi people a system that is superior to the American health care system. This makes no sense at all. If anything, the U.S. should be encouraging or copying such a nationalized system which provides free health care for everyone.
Fortunately for the future citizens of Iraq, the present democratically elected Iraqi leaders are resisting such changes by the Bush administration, even though this issue is not yet settled. The Iraqi Constitution which was adopted on Sept 25, 2006 states:
Article 30: ‘The state guarantee to the individual and the family--especially the children and women--social and health security…
The state guarantees the social and health security to Iraqis in case of old age, sickness, employment disability, homelessness, orphanage or unemployment, and shall work to protect them from ignorance, fear and poverty. The State shall provide the housing and special programs of care and rehabilitation.
Article 31: Every citizen has the right to health care. The State takes care of public health and provide the means of prevention and treatment by building different types of hospitals and medical institutions.
Article 32: The State cares for the handicapped and those with special needs and ensure their rehabilitation in order to reintegrate them into society. This shall be regulated by law.
The Iraqi government’s primary source of income is the oil revenues and the Iraqi Constitution establishes the nationalization of this industry. Without these revenues the government would be unable to finance the socialized health programs and provide free medical care for the Iraqi citizens. This nationalization is adopted in:
Article 109: Oil is defined as the property of all Iraqi people and is to be managed by the federal government in conjunction with regional provincial governments.
This is the article in the Iraqi Constitution which nationalizes the oil industry. This is the article that the Bush administration has been trying to have deleted from the Constitution. This is the contested subject of the primary ‘benchmark’ that the U.S. is demanding the Iraqis accept before the occupation forces will begin to withdraw from Iraq. This Article 109 is preventing the privatizing of the Iraqi oil industry and the ownership of the Iraqi oil reserves by American companies.
The U.S. wants to privatize both the Iraqi oil industries and the health care system of the nation. This privatization would only benefit the American corporations, it would not benefit the Iraqi government, the Iraqi people or the American people. This is a selfish demand by the U.S. government and their U.S. corporate partners and was the only reason that the Iraqi war was started in the first place.
The crisis in American health care is not going to get better, it’s only going to get worse. That is, unless some fundamental attitudes are changed concerning our nation’s priorities. Spending billions or even trillions of dollars on foolish wars and doing nothing to give health coverage to millions of American children and adults is morally wrong and unconscionable.

The Complete Cat Health Care Guide

The Complete Cat Health Care Guide really is a complete compendium on cat care - and not just on the health of your cat, either. This useful owner’s manual covers all aspects of cat ownership in real detail, from the more frivolous aspects (ten reasons why cats make fantastic pets, how to play with your cat, etc) to the absolutely essential (healthcare, nutrition, first aid, and so on).

Why Does Anyone Need a Book on Cats?
Cats take care of themselves, right? You can buy a cat and not really need to research how to look after it, how to care for it, and what healthcare problems and potential behavioral issues you’ll need to look out for, right?

The answer (as all cat-lovers will already know) is, of course, definitely not!
Cat ownership implies a certain level of basic, non-negotiable responsibility. If you really want the best relationship that it’s possible to have with your cat, it’s worthwhile taking the time to find out what makes her tick. This means finding out how to keep her happy and healthy, how to supply her with adequate care and nutrition, how to help her adapt to your house (the house training secrets are a definite bonus!), how to prevent and deal with any behavioral problems that might eventuate, and in general how to achieve and maintain the kind of rewarding and mutually affectionate relationship with your cat that we’d all like to have.

The Contents: A More Detailed Look
Happily, this handy guide supplies you with all the information listed above – but it doesn’t stop there. The book takes a pleasantly proactive approach to the question of cat ownership: not only are practical how-to’s supplied, but the team at Kingdom of Pets have anticipated any and all of the problems you might have with your cat – and have listed all the trouble-shooting advice you’ll ever need to keep your relationship with your cat on an even keel.

The book’s laid out pretty logically: essentially, the first half of the book is dedicated to cat-care basics and the more ‘frivolous’ aspects of ownership (choosing your cat, things to avoid in a potential kitten/cat, detailed breed information, the homecoming, playtime suggestions, necessary and recommended supplies and toys, etc); the latter half of the book is where you should look for the nitty-gritty essentials (essential nutrition information, welcome and unwelcome cat behavior explained, how to deal with feline behavioral problems, basic first aid, common illnesses, healthcare options, and caring for the senior cat.)
Information I Found Particularly Useful

Everyone knows the basics of cat ownership: try to get yourself a healthy cat, make sure you’ve got a litter box, feed it regularly, etc etc. But it’s the details that seem to elude us – or me, certainly. How much are you meant to feed it? How are you actually meant to house train a cat? How should you react when your cat presents you with a gruesome, bloodied bird carcass? Why do cats destroy your furniture (and not the expensive carpet-post you bought) – and, more importantly, how can you stop them from doing this? How do you deal with aggression? How are you even meant to know which breed and individual cat is going to suit you the best?
The Complete Cat Health Care Guide has the answers to all these questions, and deals with the issues most pertinent to cat owners in a conversational yet informative style that’s very user-friendly. There’s no confusing terminology, no unclear or contradictory tips - nothing but relevant, helpful information, practical recommendations, and hands-on advice. It really is all covered!

The Best Parts
It’s pretty reassuring, from a consumer’s point of view, to be offered a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee. Upon downloading this book, you get 60 whole days to read and trial the cat care information and strategies included in the volume – and if you’re not completely satisfied, a guaranteed full refund is available. It’s a refreshing show of confidence from the authors, and goes a long way towards assuaging any possible doubts that prospective buyers might have.

I’d definitely recommend this guide to anyone who’s even considering buying a cat: the information contained within is absolutely indispensable, and will go a long way towards guaranteeing a happy, healthy relationship with your pet.

Natural Beauty Tips for Eye Care

Beautiful eyes are the first thing that one notices in your look. It counts much if you take proper care of them and make it shine with your inner self-confidence. In the cosmetic market, you can find number of eye care kits and eye makeup cosmetics. But as you know that our eyes are the most sensitive part in our body, so rather than going for synthetic beauty cosmetics for eye care, you must try natural beauty treatments for your eyes.
Natural Remedies for Eye Care
1. Keep equal amount of triphala powder and sugar candy (powdered) in a glass jar and take one teaspoonful with one teaspoonful of honey on an empty stomach morning and evening and drink 250 gm of milk over it for 2-3 months. This cures all the diseases of the eyes.
2. To make eyes beautiful, after washing the eyes with triphala water apply olive or almond oil around the eyes and massage gently. It makes eye muscles strong and soft and the skin around the eyes looks healthy.

Home Remedies for Dark Circles Under the Eyes
1. Apply cucumber juice on the black circles with cotton for 2-3 weeks regularly.
2. Mix equal amount of almond oil and honey and apply a few drops on black circles for 2-3 weeks. Both wrinkles and black circles are cured.
3. Dip five almonds in water, peel them and chew nicely in the morning or make a paste and take along with 250 grams of milk daily for 21 days.
4. Do not take oils, spices, tea and other hot products.
5. Take 125 gm of tomato juice and squeeze half a lemon in it. Mash 5-7 leaves of spearmint in it. Add black salt according to taste. Drink this once on the morning and evening to be relieved of constipation, worm infection and acne.
6. Take iron and calcium rich diet as their shortage are one of the dominant factors for black circles under the eyes.

Beauty Care - Eye Make Up Tips That Actually Work

Frequent rubbing of the skin or prolonged fatigue will cause eye bags. Over dryness and improper eye care will contribute to appearance of wrinkles and crows feet. Towards middle age, the eye area will droop slightly if untreated.
Do eye padding exercise to strengthen the eye area and improve its circulation around that area. Use your third and fourth finger on each hand, using lightly press and padded movements under your eyes start from inside and then out until you reach the temple and pressed for 10 seconds. Repeat a few times. Do it everyday, during application of eye gel, cream or serum, or whenever necessary without make up.
In today’s changing lifestyle and pattern, you notice some students as young as teenagers have started developing eye puffiness and dark circles which is not so common in the past.
Use eye care products to repair and treat your eye area. Use an eye product daily, add it into your daily skin care regime and start a weekly DIY (Do-it-yourself) intensive eye treatment at home. You may do it alone or together with your DIY home facial treatment.
Use cooling cucumber slices and place it on each eye, rest for 10 minutes. Remove and wash your eye area with clean water. You can also substitute with potato slices or cooling tea bags.
Instead of using vegetables, you can opt to use light weight eye gel masque. Apply around the eyes, rest and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Wash your eye area with clean water.
Apply a light weight eye gel around the eyes.

Do eye padding exercise to strengthen the eye area and improve its circulation around that area. Use your third and fourth finger on each hand, using lightly press and padded movements under your eyes start from inside and then out until you reach the temple and pressed for 10 seconds.
Your skin is still young and delicate. Do not use too strong eye products, use a gentle and mild eye product to de-puff your eye area.
Use cooling cucumber slices and place it on each eye, rest for 10 minutes. Remove and wash your eye area with clean water. You can also substitute with potato slices or cooling tea bags.
Pour rose floral water onto 2 facial cottons, place wet cottons onto each eyes covering the under eyes area. Leave it for 15 minutes. Rose floral water contains soothing properties and is suitable for sensitive skin.
Use a light weight eye gel or cream masque which does not cause milia seeds or oil seeds. Apply around the eyes, rest and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Wash your eye area with clean water.
Use ready made at the counter eye pads masque. Leave it on eye area for 10-15 minutes or as instructed. Remove and wash your eye area with clean water after that.
Apply a light weight eye gel or cream around the eyes.
Do eye padding exercise to strengthen the eye area and improve its circulation around that area. Use your third and fourth finger on each hand, using lightly press and padded movements under your eyes start from inside and then out until you reach the temple and pressed for 10 seconds.
Your eye problems are not critical yet. Therefore, do not go for oil based, rich and nourishing eye care products provided you have a dry skin texture

How To Take Care Of Nails

Having a pair of well-groomed hands is as fashionable as any accessory you'll ever wear. The hands are constantly used to perform the simplest to the most grueling manual tasks, so they need special attention that oftentimes goes overlooked. Maybe you're in your 20s or early 30s and you think you can't possibly have (gulp) aging skin yet. Well, you're wrong. Your skin's 'youthfulness' has less to do with age than how it's been treated, so if exposed to sun, smoke and stress, your skin will start ‘acting old,’ losing collagen, glow and elasticity. Lines will develop and pores can seem more pronounced. It's easier to prevent damage than to repair it but the good news is you CAN reverse skin damage. The nail is comprised of keratin and amino acids, separated into different sections. The most important parts are the nail plate and lunula. The lunula is the bottom part of the nail nearest the cuticle. This grows into the nail plate, which covers the nail bed. Nail care focuses on the nail plate.
Here are dos and 5 don’ts to help slow down and reverse the aging process and leave your skin glowing at any age.
1. Do's
" Leave your nails without nail polish once in a while atleast inorder to allow them to breathe.
" Keep a pack of hand lotion or cream near the kitchen sink and use it each time after washing your hands.
" Wear gloves while doing housework or gardening and rub some hand cream or lotion before putting on the gloves.
" Apply oil to your nails whenever possible inorder to strengthen them.
" Include ample quantities of calcium and vitamin A in your daily diet.
" Keep your manicure set clean inorder to prevent any infection.
" Have a professional manicure done atleast once a month.
" Cut nails straight-sided with slightly rounded tips to look fingers longer and more slender. This shape looks very nice on short nails too.
" Before doing chores like dusting or gardening, first dig the nails into a soap bar. This prevents dirt from getting embedded under them and also make them easier to clean later.
" A hand massage will boost your circulation and encourage nail growth.
2. Don'ts
" Do not use nails or blades to remove nail polish use only nail polish remover.
" Don't file nails when they are damp.
" Don't cut cuticles
" Don't wash clothes or dishes in very hot water

" Don't bite or chew your nails.
" Don't clean your nails with a sharp metal instrument - use a nail brush and orange stick instead.
" Don't be seen with chipped nail polish - it is a sign of careless grooming.
" Don't leave your hands in detergent for long.
" Don't peel-off your nail polish as you wish to - always use a nail-polish remover.
1. Nail Polish Selection. Whenever we use nail polish, we should select the shade carefully. Deep toned polish looks good on long and slender nails. Pale colours make short nails look longer and they also look good on small, delicate-looking hands.
2. Nail- Length Decision. As regards the nail-length, not everyone can manage long nail. If we do a lot of typing or housework , play the guitar or are a sports freak, long nail are not for us.
File rather than cut as cutting weaken the nail and cause it to flake. File in one direction only from sides to centre, using the softer side of an emery board, not a metal file. Aim for a rounded tip: the shape at the tip should reflect the shape at the base to make a perfect oval.

USEFUL TIPS FOR BEAUTIFUL HANDS
" If your elbows have been darkened, apply a mixture of lemon juice mixed with milk cream. Wash off after 30 mts.
" To get rid of elbow darkness, you can also apply a mixture of cucumber juice and lemon juice ( in equal quantities). Wash off after 15 mts.
" If there is a lot of hair on your hands, apply a smooth paste of gramflour and oil on them. Wash off after 30 mts.

How do I avoid getting polish on my cuticles?
Instead of painting right from the cuticle, place the brush on the nail bed about 1/8" away from the cuticle and push backwards toward it, stopping just before the skin.
Nail facts
* Nails grow roughly 1mm each week.
* Lose a nail completely, and it'll take half a year to grow back.
* The longest fingernails ever recorded belonged to an Indian man who sported 48-inch-long specimens.
* Up to 45% of blokes bite their nails.

Natural Skin Care Tips from the Stone Age

If you’re like most women, you’re constantly fighting two battles: keeping your weight in check, and aging. Even girls in their twenties are fighting the battle of the bulge and searching for skin care treatments that will prevent wrinkles, lines, bags and sags. Although we do need to protect our skin and keep it hydrated with natural skin care products, we could kill two birds with one stone – skin care and weight control – if we take a few tips from the caveman.Cavemen lived in the Stone Age – also known as Paleolithic Era. Many researchers trying to isolate the perfect diet concluded that the Paleolithic diet is the optimal diet for man. Based on their studies of tribes that still live the caveman lifestyle, and eat the caveman diet, there’s a good reason to believe they may be right: These tribes are invariably slim, strong and fast, with straight teeth, perfect eyesight and fresh, supple, blemish-free skin. Disease of any sort, mental or physical, is rare. And their diet is basically the same as it was two million years ago.You may find the Paleolithic diet a little hard to follow, unless you want to take the time to find steaks made from wild zebra killed at the hunt – and they are available, by the way – but there are basics you can follow that will help get your weight under control, and form the basis of your natural skin care treatment routine. Here’s the shopping list: meat, including organ meats, chicken and fish, vegetables (especially root vegetables like carrots, turnips and parsnips), eggs, nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamias, and almonds – not peanuts or cashews), and fruit, especially lots of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Drink water and herbal teas. Animals should be raised in an environment where they are free to roam and eat food that is part of the natural landscape. Don’t eat animals that were fed on something you wouldn’t eat. Of course, it all has to be organic. No chemicals.That shopping list is loaded with everything you need for good natural skin care – proteins, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, healthy fats and oils. And, believe it or not, it will keep your weight down. The protein builds muscle and new cells, the natural oils help the body absorb the nutrients, keep the skin supple, and enhance brain and central nervous system function.Of course, exercise has to be part of it – you can’t hunt zebra and gather wild roots and berries from a couch.Not exactly the salad you’re used to, I know. But different bodies respond to different diets, and it may be just what you’re looking for. The Paleolithic diet has restored many to good health, which manifests in disease-free, glowing and youthful skin. When you understand how to care for your skin, you can improve its condition. There is a great deal of educational information about natural skin care available. Unfortunately, no matter what diet we choose, the concentration of toxins and chemicals in our current environment is still going to be a problem. A good shielding lotion is an excellent natural skin care product for both prevention and treatment of skin care problems. It bonds with the skin to form a protective layer that locks in natural moisture and keeps out chemicals.The combination of a good diet, and the protection afforded by a shielding lotion, may be all the natural skin care treatment you need. And you may even put your weight problems behind you.

Daily Facial Care - Daily Facial Skin Care Tips

Daily skin and facial care is much more effective in making us look beautiful than any cosmetics in the world Someone rightly said ‘Face is the index of mind’. Though the context of the usage of the term might be different, it certainly is applicable universally. For healthy mind, we need to have a healthy face. Facial skin care thus is an important aspect of letting the world knows that we have a healthy mind.
For a patient to go through facial skin care, it is advisable that such patients go to a dermatologist and consult them. Upon the consultation only, a patient should go for facial skin care topical drugs such as Vaniqa or some other drug. However, it is difficult to pin-point the absolute tool which will help a patient do facial skin care. There are a number of facial skin care products which claim to solve a problem or the other. A dermatologist is the right person who can guide a patient to give him or her expert advices on whether to use the drug or not.
In addition to the usage of topical drugs such as Vaniqa a patient may also follow the following regimen.

1. In the morning you should clean your face with luke-warm water and a creamy cleanser or purifying gel wash. Avoid bar soap because this strips the natural moisturizing factors from the skin, leaving it feeling very tight and dry. Do not rub the skin dry. Instead, blot it gently with a towel. Your morning facial care can be done in the shower or at the sink. Next, you should tone the skin on the face. Toning the skin helps remove any residual cleanser or make-up that may have been left behind. A toner also helps restore the natural pH level of the skin, leaves your skin clean, clear and ready to be hydrated. Next, apply a moisturizer. This should be specialized to your skin type.

2. Take cover against harmful UV rays from sunlight.

3. Applying appropriate moisturiser to the skin area according to the skin type.

4. Intake of balanced diet, fruits and vegetables.

5. Another great facial product to use is a moisturizer. The moisturizer protects your skin from the air, keeping the water your face needs in your skin. A moisturizer will give you the appearance of softer, better looking skin. Moisturizer can also be used if you have dry skin to keep it looking fresh and avoid dry patches. Those with oily skin or with acne on your face should look for a moisturizer that is non-comedogenic to ensure it does not cause acne. Another benefit of facial moisturizer is that many times it will contain sunscreen, protecting your face from the harmful rays of the sun.
There are hundreds of great products that can be purchased yourself for treating your skin at home. With a little experimentation and perhaps some trial and error, you're sure to find the skincare products that are just right for your skin. It is recommended that you stick with one brand for all your needs (i.e. cleansing, toning, and moisturizing), because they tend to use similar formulas in most products and you do not want to "confuse" your skin. Eventually, you will find the perfect at home solution to any of your skincare problems without having to spend a fortune.

6. Usage of mild soap or only mild warm water while cleaning the face.

7. Frequent cleansing of face to ward off dirt and moisture from the skin area.

8. To remove makeup, a user can apply olive oil on skin.

9. Never go to bed with your make-up on. Make-up that is left on overnight clogs the pores and prevents the skin cells from shedding, which may cause blemishes and/or blackheads. The skin needs to breathe over night. Waterproof make-up is most easily removed with a gel cleanser. The most important thing that you can do for your facial skin is to avoid sunlight or use liberal amounts of sunscreen. Sunlight causes the skin to age and causes skin cancer which is the most common malignancy in humans.

10. Sliced potatoes or Cucumber may help you get out of swollen or puffy eyes.
The above facial skin care tips would certainly help an individual get glowing and healthy facial skin. In case a patient is advised skin care drugs such as Vaniqa, one should seek help of internet while going for its purchase. To buy and order these online, means availing these drugs from anywhere anytime and with many rebates and discount offers. Yes, facial skin cares should be taken but with a consultation of a dermatologist.

Hair Care Tips for Smooth and Silky Hairs

Hairs are one of the greatest assets. It has now become a multi million dollar business and is still growing very rapidly. One who can't afford extra expenses can manage it through natural herbal ways as well as through some effective home remedies.
Herbal Shampoo for Hairs
1. Shampoo of Multani Clay: Immerse 100 gm multani clay in water. After two hours make a paste and apply gently in the hair. Wash the hair after 5-10 minutes in winters with warm water and normal water in summers. If hair is very dirty do it twice a week; the hair becomes soft, silky and long. It brings a cool and light feeling.
2. Shampoo of flour of gram pulses: Apply paste of flour of gram pulse made with water on the hair twice a week and wash the hand after an hour. The hair becomes black, dense, clean, shining and soft. It also relieves itching or cures boils in the head.

Home Remedies for Hair Care
1. Add one-gram black pepper in 100 gm of curd and apply in the scalp. Now wash the hair with warm water once a week. The hair becomes black and beautiful and stops falling.
2. Mix eclipta alba, black sesame, dry emblica myrobalan and sugar candy in equal quantities (all in powdered form). Take six grams in the morning on an empty stomach daily and drink 250 gm of milk over it. Take this treatment from one years, along with it take vegetarian food, and do not indulge in sex.
3. For graying of hairs, add black sesame and eclipta alba in equal quantity, chew one teaspoonful of this mixture in the morning on an empty stomach and drink fresh water over it. Take daily for six months. It is successful for all persons up to 40.
4. To prevent hair fall, mash beetroot leaves in heena paste and apply on the head also cures dandruff.
5. Warm 300 gm coconut oil with 3 gm of black pepper added in it. When it starts boiling stop heating, sieve with a fine cloth and keep in a bottle. Massage with fingertips in the night gently.
Immerse peels of lemon in coconut oil for 8-10 days in sunshine. Now sieve and apply in the hair. Hair becomes black and shining.

Black Hair Care Tips, Style and FAQs

African-American/Black hair in general is more brittle, coarser, dryer and curlier (nappy) than those of non-African decent. Because of this hair care for a Caucasian would be different than for an African, who needs to be more careful when treating his/her hair because it is more delicate.
Another feature of black hair is that it is irregular in diameter. Neither the fiber diameter nor the cuticle diameter is the same all through its length. Because of this typical structure and coiling structure the hair has many fragile points. The outside of a tight curl puts stress on the outer hair fiber cortex and cuticle. At some points outside the curls, cuticle becomes very thin and flakes easily. These areas of stress in the hair fiber are prone to damage by chemicals. Even vigorous combing is enough to flake the cuticle and damage the hair.
Another undesirable feature of the black hair is its low moisture content. This character also makes the black hair more susceptible to weathering. Since the black hair is too curly in nature, it is difficult to comb. It is prone to hair breakage and hair shedding.
Because of these difficulties, black hair requires more care than any other type of hair. The following black hair care tips help in preventing some damage to which it is naturally susceptible.

Massage the scalp regularly to encourage oil production.
Always use a wide-toothed Afro comb. Combing helps spread the natural oil through the hair, making it look shinier and healthier.
Use intensive pre-shampoo treatments
Shampoo your black hair as often as you feel necessary but only lather once, using a small amount of shampoo. Rinse thoroughly.
Always towel-blow your hair and never rub it with towel.
Try a hot oil treatment once a month. It lubricates dry scalp and help in moisturizing black hair.
Choose non-greasy formulas for your hair gel so that they don’t take away the healthy sheen.

If you want to braid your black hair, use a softening shampoo that maintains the right moisture balance. You can also try a natural oil based moisturizer.
While combing your hair, start from the tips and work towards the roots, it will be less damaging to the hair.
Have a regular trim to remove split ends as it prevents hair breakage.
Whether it's in cornrow, braids or bun, try not to repeat the same 'pull-back' hairstyle too often. The stress on the hair may cause it to weaken around the edges.
Try to avoid the use of heat treatments, chemical relaxers or hot hair drying of your hair.
Cotton pillow cases and sheets help in breakage, use a silk or satin scarf to wrap up your hair while sleeping.
Besides these natural hair care tips, there are certain black hair products that can be used for taking care of your hair. Black hair has its own specific characters and its unique problems. So special black hair growth products need to specially formulated for taking care of the more fragile black hair. The best black hair care or hair growth products are the ones that use the natural hair care products.

Can I remove a relaxer from my hair?
If you've read this far, you probably already realize the answer is "no". Permanents are called permanent for good reason. The bonds in the hair are destroyed when the hair is relaxed. The part of the hair that has been relaxed will never be "natural" again. The only way to get rid of relaxed hair is to cut it off or wait for it to break off. Waiting for the hair to break off is not a good transition option. But, some women choose it because they are uncomfortable giving up the length they've worked hard to get. There are ways to transition from relaxed hair to natural hair. But, the relaxed hair will never be natural again.
Stay away from Sodium Laurel Sulfate products: Always look for ammonium lureal based products - less irration to scalp due to a larger molecular structure, less penetration into pores. Shampoos are not made for conditioning or moisturizing, they are made for cleaning action. Always shampoo and rinse. Never leave shampoo on hair for very long.
The Secret lies in using Black Hair Care Product that is Natural, contains no Mineral Oil or Harmful Chemicals, and provide your Black Hair, Care, Shine and Natural Growth. Nubian Silk Stimul-X hair growth system is the right choice for you