Potassium is a mineral that is quite important to how the heart can function more properly. At the most basic level, potassium is essential to the rhythmic, smooth and continuous pumping of the heart. This is because potassium supports the nerve transmissions and greatly takes part in making sure that every muscle in the body gets to move. Potassium greatly helps in regulating a person’s heartbeat.

Aside from being an important factor in keeping our teeth and bones healthy, Vitamin D is also important to the heart’s health and its ability to function properly. In fact, recent research has showed that meeting the standard recommended daily intake levels of Vitamin D can significantly reduce the risk of death caused by heart failure. Sufficient intake of Vitamin D has been connected with reducing inflammation, which is a common cause of heart disease. Vitamin D also plays an important role in the ability of the heart to pump blood efficiently, as well as affects the structure of the cells located in the heart.

Children need between 200 and 300 International Units of Vitamin D per day. Adults should have about 400 International Units per day, with those over 55 years of age, actually need to increase their dosage to 800 International Units. It is, however, important to not take Vitamin D in excessive amounts, as it can negatively affect one’s health.

Selenium is another mineral that is important to the function and health of the heart. Together with Vitamin E it actually serves as an important antioxidant in addition to its role in keeping the tissues of the body flexible. Selenium also offers protection against diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Lack of selenium in the body has been connected to various types of heart diseases and conditions including an enlarged heart and compromised heart function in children. For adult males, selenium intake should be about 70 micrograms per day while adult females should have a selenium intake of about 55 micrograms daily.

Magnesium actually helps the heart with its muscle contractions by regulating the neuromuscular activity that assures a regular heartbeat as well as its role in helping the body to make the most out of potassium and calcium - both of which also affect heart health and function. Adult men should have about 350mg of magnesium per day and adult women need 280mg daily. Depending on a child’s age and weight, the standard recommended amount of magnesium are 130mg and 240mg each day.

It is important to note that there are nutritional supplements that can greatly help a person when it comes to having a good bill of health. However, keep in mind that moderation is key when it comes to taking care of one’s health. Nutrient supplements may seem harmless at first glance but it can actually prove to be quite harmful to one’s health once taken in considerably excessive amounts.

Note: This article may be freely reproduced as long as the AUTHOR’S resource box at the bottom of this article is included and and all links must be Active/Linkable with no syntax changes.

Charlene J. Nuble 2005. For up to date links and information about Vitamins, please go to: http://vitamins.besthealthlink.net/ or for updated links and information on all health related topics, go to: http://www.besthealthlink.net/

Only natural weight loss can be permanent. Going on diets and taking weight loss pills to eliminate food cravings is only temporary and leads to obesity.

Not only is natural weight loss safe, but you’ll eliminate food cravings without taking weight loss pills.

Most weight loss systems are not natural, and that’s why the "failure rate" is over 98%.

There are no diets whatsoever, which lead to natural weight loss, because every single diet slows down your metabolism, which means that when you go off the diet, you will eventually gain back more weight than you lost.

How many people do you know, who actually kept it off?

So, dieting is just not an option, if you want to keep the weight off for good.

Weight Loss Pills

Most weight loss pills or diet pills are nothing more than appetite suppressants, which help to take away food cravings so that you don’t eat, or don’t eat as much.

So in reality, what you’ve done by taking weight loss pills, is actually putting yourself on a very drastic starvation diet, during which your body is getting progressively more starved for nutrition, and also…

Your metabolism will slow down to a crawl, and that’s your guarantee that when you go off the weight loss pills, you are going to blow up like a balloon, and eventually gain all the weight back, plus a few extra pounds as a bonus.

Food Supplements

Taking a safe and healthy food supplement that your body can absorb, can really enhance a good natural weight loss program, because the extra nutrition will help your body to become more nutritionally satisfied.

This will help to eliminate food cravings without taking weight loss pills. Cutting back on food cravings by becoming more nutritionally satisfied, means that…

You won’t slow down your metabolism, and you won’t have the same problem with regaining the weight.

The problem however…

Is that most food supplements are not absorbed very well by your body. When you take a Vitamin and Mineral supplement for example, most people are only able to absorb between 4 to 5%, so it’s a total waste of money, plus…

If you are not absorbing the supplement, it will definitely not help to eliminate food cravings, so you’re no further ahead.

In the Slim America Weight-Loss Project, we only recommend natural food supplements which are fully absorbed by the body. As a result, these totally safe food supplements really help to enhance and speed up our natural weight-loss program, and also…

Not only are food cravings greatly reduced, but our students are reporting lots of extra energy, more stamina, and are finding it much easier to stay away from junk foods which provide very little nutrition, but really help to put on the pounds.

Exercise for Natural Weight Loss

Proper exercise is an essential ingredient in any natural weight-loss program, because there is no way that the weight loss will be permanent without exercise, and that’s a fact.

But here’s the problem…

Over 95% of all the weight loss exercises, that people do in order to burn off fat, actually burn almost no fat whatsoever. Most of these exercises burn almost exclusively sugar, and that’s why it’s so hard to get rid of the fat.

For most people who are overweight, especially if you’re obese, doing all the normal weight loss exercises like running, swimming, playing sports, using all the fancy exercise equipment in gyms, weight lifting etc., are practically useless for getting rid of fat.

Most of these exercises are very hard to do, require a lot of work, and a lot of sweating, for very little results. For sure, if you stick to it long enough it will certainly help, however…

The results are so minimal for most people that 99% of people will give up long before achieving any realistic results.

In the Slim America Weight-Loss Project, we only recommend walking for weight loss, however just normal walking is not very effective either.

In the Slim America Project, we actually teach 10 secrets about walking, which not only help to turn walking into a very effective fat burner, but more importantly, also helps to rebuild your metabolism.

Walking for weight loss has to be part of any natural weight loss system because it helps to turn your body into an effective fat burning machine, which will cause you to burn more fat during the whole day.

Complete Natural Weight Loss

Only a complete and natural weight loss system which is totally safe, without the use of weight-loss pills to eliminate food cravings, and which includes a good walking program will result in permanent weight loss…

And also…

You don’t have to become a "health nut", to succeed!

Have a Great Life

Armand Dupuis is a Personal Trainer, Lecturer, Teacher, & Permanent Weight Loss Specialist, who has been a Serious Researcher into Human Consciousness for 5 Decades.

Mr. Dupuis has presently specialized his Teachings, into a powerful permanent and "free" Weight Loss System, and Information is available on his Web Site.

http://www.slimamericaweightlossproject.com/ea

Do not do high protein diets! Too much protein can cause kidney failure. Be careful!

If all we had to do is burn more calories than we take in, weight loss would be easy. Why? Because most people stop eating when they want to lose weight. It works for 2-4 weeks but then all of a sudden, it stops. Your body adjusts to the lower calories. Now you have to drop your calories even further to keep losing weight. Pretty soon, you’re starving yourself.

Think about this. Let’s say your body required 1600 calories per day. If you ate only 1000 calories that would mean you would lose weight according to the theory. If that’s the case you should be able to eat all the STARCHES and SUGARS you want as long as you did not exceed 1000 calories. Let’s take it one step further. Let’s say you eat nothing but 1000 calories from doughnuts. Well, you should lose weight, right? Definitely not!

Besides getting sick you would gain weight. But why? Because the body utilizes each and every calorie you eat in a different way. The body uses calories from proteins differently than calories from starches. So the bottom line is not HOW MUCH we eat, it’s WHAT AND WHEN WE EAT! How about that! You can eat more and lose weight. The key is to eat mini-meals every 2.5 to 3 hours, keeping your body fueled and your metabolism humming.

Make sure you include vegetables at every meal and fruit in at least 3 meals. Choose whole (unrefined) grains such as old-fashioned oatmeal, brown rice or buckwheat groats and natural starches such as sweet potatoes and beans. Also, eat small portions of protein with each meal. Your portion size should equal the size of a deck of cards. As for fat, it’s best to get your fat from flax oil, salmon and other sources that provide essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6 & 9). To limit the amount of saturated fat you eat make sure you eat skinless chicken breast and remove all visible fat. If you want an omelet or scrambled eggs, use one whole egg and 5 egg whites.

The body not only utilizes each and every calorie you eat differently it also BURNS each and every calorie differently. Your activity level will determine which calories the body will utilize for energy (protein, carbs or fat). Most people will only burn calories from the foods they’ve eaten during the day and never tap into their fat stores. In other words, they eat so they can go to the gym and burn it off; a never-ending cycle. Unfortunately, some people don’t eat enough and they go to the gym and burn off muscle proteins. They lose weight, BUT they also get flabby due to the loss of muscle tissue.

The idea is to supply your body with the calories it needs to maintain proper bodily functions, AND burn off calories from stored fat. If you over-eat, your body will store the excess calories as fat. No matter how much you exercise, you’ll still be storing fat, not losing it. If you eat too little your body will think it’s starving and hold on to its fat stores. No matter how much you exercise, you’ll keep your stored fat and lose precious muscle.

If the body’s functions are met first by supplying it with the amount calories it needs, several times throughout the day, it will rid itself of fat incredibly fast. Trust me, the human body is not meant to be fat.

My fat loss and fitness plan "Every Body Loses" will give you the tools you need to begin a healthy fat loss program. The style of eating and exercising outlined in my book is one that you can follow for life without feeling deprived. If you’re serious about losing fat and getting fit go to http://www.aim4nutrition.com and get started TODAY!

Aimee Deak is a certified personal trainer, nutrition analyst and author of the book, “Every Body Loses”, an easy-to follow, step-by-step guide to fat loss.

You can find more information about fat loss and exercise on her website http://www.aim4nutrition.com

Taking diet pills is definitely not an effective weight loss strategy, because as soon as you stop taking them, all the weight you lost will return with a vengeance, because…

Most diet pills are nothing more than drugs which act as appetite suppressants, and the side effects can be devastating or even deadly so it’s not a good way to lose fat.

Most of them will usually act as effective appetite suppressants, which means that you won’t be hungry and will stop eating. Of course you are going to lose some weight, but…

When you are not eating, you are on a starvation diet, and your body responds by slowing down your metabolism, because it is being deprived of essential nutrients which it needs to survive.

Eventually, you have to stop taking the pills or you’ll die. When you do stop, your hunger will return with a vengeance, because your body is trying to replace the nutrients it’s been lacking, and just look at the…

Side Effects of Diet Pills

Many of these diet pills are addictive and some of the side effects are high blood pressure, liver irritation, headaches, dizziness, sexual difficulties, increased heart rate, diarrhea, and even death, plus…

Guaranteed, you’ll regain all the weight you lost and then some, because now your metabolism is much slower than before, so in other words…

Diet pills make you gain weight in the long run, and also, just look at the harm to your body from both the starvation and the side effects.

That’s too high a price to pay for temporary weight loss. Instead…

Replace Diet Pills with Supplements For healthy weight loss!

Healthy supplements are much better than diet pills for healthy weight loss. Also, supplements make a safe appetite suppressant without slowing down your metabolism, and… Make Diet Pills Obsolete!

People take diet pills in order to stop eating, but eating is required for survival. The reality is that you need to stop eating the junk foods, however…

That’s a lot easier said than done, as you are craving food because your body is asking you for nutrients which is not in the food you’re eating. The reality is that…

You can never satisfy your cravings, without giving your body “what it is craving”.

Healthy Supplements Satisfies Your Cravings

When you take the right kind of supplements, your body becomes more nutritionally satisfied, which greatly decreases your cravings, so you’ll lose some fat, without slowing down your metabolism, and you won’t regain all the weight you’ve lost.

But here’s the problem…

Not all Supplements are Created Equal

In order for your supplements to be an effective appetite suppressant, you need to take only “Quality Supplements” that your body can actually absorb, because…

When you take most vitamin and mineral supplements for example, it’s common knowledge that your body will only absorb about 4 to 5% of the nutrients in them.

It doesn’t seem to matter if you buy your supplements from a drugstore, a health food store, or if they are prescribed by a doctor.

What’s the point in spending money for supplements, if your body can’t absorb them, or if the nutrients you body is lacking is not in them to begin with?

Most people take lots of supplements, but they are still craving food all the time, and that means…

The supplements which you are taking are not making you nutritionally satisfied; otherwise you wouldn’t have all those cravings and keep gaining fat.

Breakthrough Super Supplements

In the Slim and America Weight-Loss Project, we only recommend supplements which are absorbed by the body, otherwise what’s the use?

Over the years we’ve come across a variety of different supplements which will affect different body functions, and just recently, we’ve come across a line of super supplements which act as effective appetite suppressants, because…

They are being fully absorbed by the body, and therefore making the body more nutritionally satisfied, otherwise, the cravings would remain.

Not only are our students who are taking these supplements eating a lot less, but they are also reporting a lot more energy, and a lot more stamina to get through the day.

The net result is…

Faster weight loss

Faster and safer weight-loss results are now possible without slowing down your metabolism, so that more effective fat burning takes place 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Weight loss that stays off!

Everybody is different, so the trick is for you to find the supplements which will give you the best results. Today there are many supplement manufacturers who have top quality products, however…

There are many others, who make misleading claims for products that are not only totally useless, but some can also be very dangerous to your health, so how can you know for sure what’s best for you?

The answer is simple: if the products solve your problem, "Great", if not, they’re a waste of money and you should get your money back.

If you take a good comprehensive general supplement and are eating at least reasonably healthy, you’ll become more nutritionally satisfied and it should take a lot of your food cravings away, otherwise you are not absorbing them and they are a waste of your hard earned money.

Becoming more nutritionally satisfied is the only way to get rid of food cravings in order to lose weight permanently.

Diet pills on the other hand, work exactly the opposite and slows down your metabolism 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so…

Only a natural weight loss system together with healthy and effective diet supplements is the answer to staying permanently slim, fit, and healthy.

Isn’t your health your greatest asset?

Not only is losing weight in a healthy way, "real easy" once you know how, but more importantly…

The weight stays off!!!

What’s the point in losing and regaining the same 20 or 30 lbs. over and over again? That’s what happens when you slow down your metabolism by taking diet pills, instead of losing the fat the right way to begin with,.

Why Not Lose It 4 Life

Only by following a safe and easy system like the Slim America weight-loss program, will you be able to burn the fat much faster, and lose the weight for the rest of your life, so diet pills are just not an option.

Armand Dupuis is a Personal Trainer, Lecturer, Teacher, & Permanent Weight Loss Specialist, who has been a Serious Researcher into Human Consciousness for 5 Decades.

Mr. Dupuis has presently specialized his Teachings, into a powerful permanent and "free" Weight Loss System, and Information is available on his Web Site. http://www.slimamericaweightlossproject.com/ea

Some experts think that arthritic conditions or pain conditions in general aggravate and flare up trigger points, and that one can get additional relief to arthritis symptoms trough self massage.

The idea is not to massage the area where it hurts, but to find pressure tender areas in your muscles near the actual pain area, and massage them instead.

For example, if your arthritis pain is in your knee joint, then you would find and massage tender points from your quadriceps muscles.

Exercises -lose it or use it

Not moving will only make matters worse in the long run, it’s important to maintain as active lifestyle as possible.

Besides maintaining functionality, exercise can work as a natural pain medicine, because it helps to release endorphins, body’s natural pain killers.

Just a half an hour long walk, can be all what’s needed to release enough endorphins to make a difference.

Nutrition ? dietary supplements may help

While not everybody agrees that supplements are useful, there is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence to support them.

Here’s a Lists of supplements that are thought to help in maintaining joint health, and which may be helpful in some arthritic conditions.

Glucosamine - amino sugar that may have a role in cartilage repair

Chondroitin - component of cartilage that works similar to glucosamine

Msm or methylsulfonylmethane - a big supplier of sulphur

Omega 3 fatty acids - can be obtained from fish oils

More information at Pain relief guide com

Read more about glucosamine & arthritis

Here’s a list of other natural & herbal supplements for arthritis

You might also want to check herbs for arthritis page

Sticking to your dietary guidelines is extremely important to reduce the risk of developing dumping syndrome, which can cause sweating, diarrhoea, bloating and dizziness. Always listen to what your surgeon, physician and nutritionist is telling you. It’s your life and long-term health we’re talking about.

Right after the procedure you will be required to stay in hospital for 4 to 6 days, and generally you can get back to your normal activities within 6 weeks. You should lose generally between 8-10lbs per month in the first 2 months after gastric bypass surgery and achieve a stable weight after 2 years.

The first year is critical and will require you to see your physician regularly were you will be evaluated ? this includes your mental health too.

Exercising and eating properly are crucial to your health afterwards and there’s still a long way to go after surgery, it certainly isn’t a quick fix for obesity and carries real risks. Remember what your doctor has told you, stay strong, focused and you’ll do just fine.

Article by Beverley Brooke, visit the section on the gastric bypass at her website for more information on the surgery, the risks and other information relating to the gastric bypass.

Many physiological adaptations occur as one becomes more fit, some of these include: an increased size and efficiency of the heart, increased blood volume, increased muscle capillarization (more capillaries developed) and increased mitochondria (small bodies in the muscle cell that use oxygen to burn fat and make energy) density. So it should be obvious then that if we increase the stroke volume or the a-v difference (or both), the VO2 max will increase. With a more muscular heart and an increased blood volume you may increase the stroke volume and with a greater extraction of oxygen from the blood at the muscle level (more mitochondria) you can increase the a-v difference, which equals a higher VO2 max. Thus, VO2 max is a good indicator of physical condition or fitness.

The question arises whether it is beneficial to know your VO2 max to develop an ideal training regimen or whether a high VO2 max automatically determines you as a great runner. From evidence accumulated by Prof. Tim Noakes and his colleagues at the Sports Science Institute of South Africa the answer is that knowing your VO2 max will not answer either question. Here’s the explanation according to Dr. Andrew Bosch at the Institute. Dr Bosch questions whether VO2 max is genetically determined (i.e. an athlete with a high value has muscles that are capable of utilizing large amounts of oxygen and has a cardiovascular system capable of delivering this quantity of oxygen). This athlete can then run at a maximum aerobic speed that can be sustained by this amount of oxygen. If VO2 max was determined genetically, then it would make no difference if the athlete was highly unfit or superbly fit since the result of the test would be the same. However, it should be intuitively obvious that a fit and more conditioned runner can run at a higher speed (higher power output) on a treadmill than when unfit. Dr. Bosch suggests that in this situation the (high) VO2 max value would be attained at a very low running speed, which would be impossibly inefficient.

Dr. Bosch confirms the common knowledge that oxygen demand increases incrementally as the speed (power output) of the runner increases. This increase in oxygen consumption continues until the athlete can no longer continue running at that speed and stops. The volume of oxygen consumed at that instant is termed the VO2 max and the running speed, the peak running speed. Historically, exercise scientists have attributed a leveling out or a plateau to VO2 max and that at the point this occurs determines the value. Research by Noakes and colleagues indicate that half of athletes tested in laboratories fail to demonstrate a plateau and that their VO2 or oxygen consumption is still increasing when they cannot continue further. This poses a question as to why these runners stopped if their oxygen consumption (the supposed limiting factor) was still on the increase. Prof. Noakes feels and is continuing to search for evidence that some "central governor" regulates the power output to the exercising limbs to help protect the body from "running itself to death" via a heart attack (see VO2 Max or the Brain?). The fact that oxygen consumption continues to increase until ultimate fatigue indicates that as the fitness level of the athlete increases and he is able to run faster, so does his VO2 max. Therefore, the inability to use the VO2 max test as a predictor of future performance of an athlete that can still improve his running by using a scientifically devised program becomes obvious - a great training induced increase in running speed (decrease in race times) will transfer into a substantial increase in VO2 max and visa versa. Even knowing the peak speed is unlikely to help an individual for the same reasons and also possibly because of the unlikelihood of being able to sustain such a speed/intensity for the duration of a long distance run.

Professor Tim Noakes feels that running economy is the true measure of performance. Running economy is the relationship between maximal power output and oxygen consumption. Good running economy in this context means that a highly economical runner may actually achieve a higher treadmill speed or power output at a relatively low VO2 max and is therefore more efficient. A less economical runner will require a higher volume of oxygen to achieve the same power output. Noakes is proposes that biomechanical efficiency contributes to running economy - for example, a runner with good core stability will waste less energy and power than a competitor with poor core strength that allows for inefficent movement. Also, Dr. Noakes considers superior runners to have superior fatigue resistance. That is, they have a superior heart that can maintain a high cardiac output at the maximum coronary blood flow and skeletal muscles that are efficient, elastic and possess a high degree of contractility.

Dr. Bosch concedes that even though it may be of little use in predicting running ability or program design, there are some uses for the VO2 max test. He advises that if a program is being designed for a beginning runner who has not run any races and therefore has no running times, a VO2 max test will give a good indication of the current condition of the athlete and how to base running schedules. Also, if performed regularly, a VO2 max test can give an indication of the effectiveness of the training program. Lastly, it is fun to compare own VO2 max to those of elite runners who often have values exceeding 70ml/kg/min.

David Petersen is a Personal Trainer/Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and the owner and founder of B.O.S.S. Fitness Inc. based in Oldsmar, Florida. More articles and information can be found at http://www.bossfitness.com

NOTE: You’re free to republish this article on your website, in your newsletter, in your e-book or in other publications provided the article is reproduced in its entirety, including this note, author information and all LIVE website links as above.

This pleases me. As a Family Physician and Clinical Hypnotist with thirty years experience in the field, I applaud this trend. Certainly, a capable and compassionate physician will struggle to assist his/her patient find headache relief by whatever methods, complimentary, traditional or both. Much can be gained if we look at hypnosis as a helpful tool in the battle for headache relief.

As our understanding of how the brain works and which compounds or “neurotransmitters” control our pain response develops, we begin to suspect that relaxation therapies including hypnosis, may alter in a positive and fundamental way our brain chemistry such that pain relief is more likely. An interesting study was performed with patients who learned relaxation skills. The researchers checked the subjects’ monoamine oxidase levels-since monoamine oxidase is what metabolizes serotonin, a pain relief chemical, and found changes in those levels consistent with what you would expect with preventive drug therapy! The study suggests that it is not just a matter of feeling relaxed that’s important but actually learning via these relaxation therapies to turn off and on certain pain pathways in the nervous system by changing monoamine oxidase levels and consequently serotonin levels.

In this paper, I would like to introduce you to hypnosis and self-hypnosis as a modality of pain relief for patients who suffer from headache. Hypnosis is fun, effective, relaxing and has no side effects. What is this thing they call hypnosis? No, Virginia, it is NOT clucking like a chicken, barking like a dog or being ” put under”, helpless, and at the control of the master. Rather for most people, most of the time, it is a focused state of attention or harmony. It is easily achieved by visiting a professional skilled in hypnosis. This pleasant state has two fascinating and useful properties:

1) It is profoundly relaxing. In our stressful lives what person would not enjoy a few minutes of deep relaxation in the middle of the day from hell!

2) The mind becomes open to positive and therapeutic suggestions. Only suggestions given with your permission and for your own benefit are accepted. No one can be forced or coerced into doing something they do not wish to do.

Hence, when I help patients use hypnosis for headache and stress, I offer them headache specific suggestions as well as relaxation and stress reduction instructions. I find this process fun and creative. I get to know my patient not just as Mr. Jones with a headache, but also as a real person in a stressful situation. This stressor in combination with his or her biological predisposition to headache is creating more pain.

Let’s take a look at a case history and see how it all fits together. Mr. X, a hard driving chief financial officer of a high tech company is known as the “firing man” and is responsible for downsizing a company whose expenses exceed its revenues, and whose market share is declining. His neurologist has referred him to me for help with his chronic daily headache that has not responded well to numerous medications. His executive decisions in the short run will result in layoffs and suffering for many. However, with his expertise, talent, intelligence and hard work, he may “turn the company around” and in the long run, his efforts will benefit far more people than those who will suffer in the short term. He is not well liked by his co-workers and worries a lot about his health and finances. He is a pleasant man, rather intense and self confident to the point of arrogance. At this time, he is wiling to consider non-drug therapies to diminish the pain and discomfort of his daily headaches.

As I get to know him, I will develop for him the three elements essential to our success. First, in order to benefit from the therapy he must be motivated. Motivated to want to use hypnosis for his purposes, not mine, and motivated to put aside ten minutes each day to develop via hypnosis relaxation sufficient to impact on the pain chemicals in his brain. Second, I must establish with him a positive and supportive rapport. Trust is an essential element of the hypnotic process. For this gentleman who is used to firing people and always being in control in a “one up one down” situation, I must simply be his assistant. Without this rapport, hypnosis will not be effective.

Third, I must make sure he has sufficient hypnotizability. Most of us can experience hypnosis without difficulty. Probably, only about 10 percent of us will not be able to enjoy the hypnotic process. I have little to worry about with this patient. Most high functioning individuals in our society have good hypnotic skills, as hypnotizability is associated with creativity, intelligence and imagination.

After a brief explanation of hypnosis and after gaining his permission, Mr. X was hypnotized to enjoy some deep relaxation. Of course, like many patients he had expected to be ‘put under” as he had seen on the stage. Prior to his hypnosis, he was informed that this would not happen but nonetheless, in spite of his level of awareness, the relaxation and ability to accept suggestion would be pleasing to him.

With this mixture of trust, motivation (based on correct information) and hypnotizability, I was not at all surprised that Mr. X achieved some initial success at relaxation using hypnosis and self-hypnosis. Mr. X was pleased and agreed to return for further sessions. Not surprisingly, he canceled most of them because he was too busy at work! Nonetheless, he was very positive about the hypnosis that we did. He reported that the relaxation lessened the pain from his headache.

It is a principal of hypnosis that all suggestions require reinforcement. Additionally, practice and repetition are required to develop these skills so they can produce both a biologically medicated pain relief (via altered brain chemicals) and a psychological harmony that helps the patient deal more easily with daily stress.

As with most of my patients, I asked Mr. X to set aside ten minutes daily (preferably at work and without interruption) to listen to an audiocassette that I created for him to recapture the relaxed feeling and increased suggestibility that he experienced in my office. With some practice on his part, I was confident that these daily and pleasant practice sessions would reinforce positive suggestions relating to his particular headache and attitude toward work.

Results have been very satisfactory so far. Mr. X has not returned for further work. When last I inquired he reported an improvement in the severity of his daily headache. Once again, he said he had little time for therapy but he was enjoying the ten minute practice sessions via his personalized audio cassette. This particular case history will illustrate to the reader the value of using non-drug therapies to assist in pain control. Human beings are complex creatures who may have many different “triggers” for headache. Some of these triggers are stress and psychologically mediated. By dealing effectively with these “triggers” we may assist in pain control with less or no drugs.

To summarize, hypnosis is effective and fun and provides a powerful complimentary or stand-alone therapy to those who suffer from headache. Stress reduction and relaxation techniques have an important role to play in the treatment in one of the more vexing problems physicians face in practice, the patient with headache. A recent paper, New Treatment Options In Migraine by neurologists Drs. Brandes, Edvinson, Marcus, and Rapoport rates relaxation therapies as “effective” as a non-drug therapy for migraine.

Dr. Larry Deutsch is a practicing family physician and hypnotherapist. His proven self-help and hypnotherapy programs have helped thousands of people achieve happier and healthier lives. As a Family Doctor, he is able to amplify sound medical counseling with a unique and artistic style of self hypnosis accompanied by beautiful and relaxing music. To learn more about Dr. Larry’s products and subscribe to his monthly newsletter “Hypnosis, Health, & Happiness” go to http://www.drlarry.com

Quick weight loss is advertised by diet marketers all the time. The marketing screams

"Lose 10 pounds over night, while you sleep”

You’ve heard them before, but you really don’t believe them do you? I hope you understand somewhere in the back of your mind that quick weight loss is neither real healthy nor long lived.

Quick weight loss should only be used if you’re weighing in too some kind of competition or test. And only under a doctor’s care. It can be dangerous if you’re not strong enough to handle the drain.

On the other hand, competitors do it all the time, but they understand the weakness overriding their efforts. They understand the importance of getting back into their original rhythm.

Most quick weight loss pounds are only water; very, very few fat cells. Your body will flush water out of your system and the scale will show an over night loss of some desired pounds. However, it doesn’t last long.

Loosing weight this way is like squeezing a sponge dry. Weigh the sponge before and it will be heavier than after you squeeze the water out. And guess what? As it’s dipped in water the weight all comes back.

This happens with your body too. You can drink down the special diet formulas and drain your body of fluids. It’s good for the weigh-in but as soon as you drink any fluids your body will hold the water and your quick weight loss soon disappears. Not what you’re looking for when you’re trying to fit into those new 501s.

The success of quick weight loss in a no-carb diet is also this loss of water. You may be excited when you see the quick weight loss, however it doesn’t last long. Once carbs are introduced back into your diet, sadly, there goes the quick weight loss.

Be grateful for this, since it’s your body trying to create balance and keep you alive. The only proper way to lose weight is by reducing the size of those fat cells.

Instead of being persuaded into a quick weight loss scheme try these small easy life style changes. These tips won’t achieve quick weight loss but by following them you will see some really great long term healthy changes in your body and in your mind set.

1.) Always have your meals with soup or salad first. This helps to fill you up before the main meal.

2.) Eat slowly. This gives your body ample time to communicate to your brain the fullness you are experiencing. If time won’t allow you to eat slowly, have a meal replacement bar instead.

3.) If you’re using a no-fat or low-fat dressing with your salad, have it on the side and dip your fork into the dressing before you spear the salad. This gives you the flavor without as much dressing. A high calorie dressing poured over your salad can add 200-400 additional calories to your meal.

4.) When dining out; have a to-go box delivered with your meal. Immediately put half your meal in it. Not only will you cut calories but you now have an entire additional meal for a few hours later. Your brain will produce an unperturbed feeling because it thinks you finished your meal.

5.) At a fast food restaurant, never super size your meals. I don’t need to explain why; you know why!

6.) And if you must have a dessert, split it, and give the other half to that hot bodied friend you dislike so much.

7.) Finally a very real important tip for weight loss; Always think long term.

These simple eating tips won’t bring quick weight loss but if you start using these every day, you will start seeing the long term success.

-Jaikob

Jaikob Mateo is an Internet consultant and a voracious student of human nature. Jaikob fashions himself after the Watcher in the Marvel comic series. His heroes are Superman, Dare Devil, the Fantastic Four, Spiderman, and most members of the Justice League. His employment history led him to manage thousands of employees. This provided him with endless opportunities to pursue his near-obsessive fascination with human nature and persuasion. Jaikob claims he used to have super powers but his therapist took them away. You can visit his Blog at: http://phatbody.blogspot.com/

WHAT IS MUSCLE?

When I was younger, I’d never really thought about what the ’stuff’ between my skin and my bones was made of. I understood that muscles were what bodybuilders had, and fat was something that made you fat, and that I had some of each. I think, though, that I believed that they existed inside some kind of other substance that filled the space between my skin and my bones. Then, in secondary school, I learned that, in a healthy person, most of this magical substance was just muscle. In fact, I learned that, aside from my body’s networks of organs, blood vessels and nerves, and my skeleton there isn’t really much under my skin except for muscle and fat.

I learned that muscles were an incredible network of fibres that allowed me to move my limbs, to stay sitting or standing upright, to talk, breathe, and pretty much to translate any thought I had into action of some kind. I learned that if I didn’t use them, muscles would shrink and weaken, and if I did, they’d grow stronger. And I learned that as my muscles grew stronger, so did I.

All of this was quite a revelation for me at the time, so I can understand the initial confusion that exists amongst so many of my clients ? why they want to tone without building muscles. The truth though, is that muscle is the only thing under their skin that can be toned, and that ‘toning’ often simply means that muscles become slightly more visible (which then makes the whole body look smoother and firmer). So without enough muscle to start with, there’s nothing there that can be toned.

BULIDING THE RIGHT SIZED MUSCLES

Often, the clients I speak to don’t have a problem with the idea of a little muscle. The problem is that many don’t realise it isn’t an ‘all or nothing’ thing. Unfortunately, because of the lack of clear information out there in the media, the only image they have to associate ‘women’ with ‘muscle’ is one of a female bodybuilder at the peak of her competition physique. Not that there’s anything wrong with wanting such a physique if that’s a client’s aim, but for most of the women I speak to, the possibility of developing such large, defined muscles is really quite scary!

Those kinds of muscles, however, don’t happen quickly or easily. Really large muscles require long, intense workouts over a period of time, and a base level of testosterone ? a hormone most women don’t have in sufficient quantities (without the use of steroids, anyway) for size to become a problem. Granted, there are women with naturally high testosterone levels (and I’m one!), who will put on muscle more quickly. But even for me, muscles don’t suddenly appear, fully-formed overnight. So if I notice I’m gradually building size in an area I don’t want it, it’s not difficult for me to change my training in that body area to gradually reduce the size again.

Also, many people believe any kind of weights work will automatically increase muscle size. The truth is that not all training produces size increases. There are a number of variables you can play with in strength training ? the heaviness of the weight, the number of repetitions of the movement, and the time you allow yourself to rest between groups of repetitions (or sets). Very generally speaking, training with a heavy weight and low repetitions in each set will increase strength; training with a medium-to-heavy weight and medium repetitions will increase muscle size; and training with a lighter weight with high repetitions per set will increase endurance.

In practice, it’s not actually quite this simple, and there are other factors to consider. The important point is that not all training will increase muscle size, that some muscle is necessary if you want to tone, and that working with a competent trainer will help ensure you get only the results that you want from your training.

In Part 2 of the article (http://optimumlife.co.nz/Fitness%20Articles/Muscle/Muscle2.htm), we look at why muscle is so important for weight management and long- term health.

Copyright 2005 Tanja Gardner

Optimum Life’s Tanja Gardner is a Personal Trainer and Stress Management Coach whose articles on holistic health and relaxation have appeared in various media since 1999. Optimum Life is dedicated to providing fitness and stress management services to help clients all over the world achieve their optimum lives.

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To find out more about holistic fitness and stress management please visit http://optimumlife.co.nz, or contact Tanja on tanja@optimumlife.co.nz.