Face Exercises To Help Tone and Tighten Your Face

An easy facial exercise instruction, that may help tone and tighten your face.

Afternoon Drowsiness

It is well known that ambient light can influence aspects of human physiology including brain function, circadian rhythm, heart rate, and hormone release. But most studies of this have focused on the effects of light during the night; few have examined the body's response to light during the day.

New studies exposed participants to 21 minutes of bright white light in the morning. They became more alert, and brain images showed that regions of the brain involved with alertness and some cognitive processes became more active.

Those brain regions are also involved with attention and arousal regulation. This means that light exposure DOES affect performance and alertness at work.

Sitting inside a poorly lit office surrounded by incandescent or fluorescent lighting day and night starve your body of the unfiltered ultraviolet light that helps your body produce vitamin D. Full-spectrum light improves our health. More lumens the better!

The human race evolved under the sun, and for thousands of years lived in close harmony with its heat and light. Sunlight not only increases your energy and general well being, but it also helps:

• Lowers your cholesterol
• Teats multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis
• Prevent and treats cancer
• Lowers your blood pressure
• Increases the value of exercise
• Improves your body's ability to detoxify

See the light ... the bright natural light.

Sinus & Allergy Problems

Throughout Southern California people are suffering from sinus trouble (sinusitis). The majority believe the symptoms to be nothing more than a slight cold in the head that periodically worsens. They do not realize they are suffering from chronic SINUSITIS, nor do they realize how rapidly a chronic sinus condition can flare up and become serious.

Sinusitis is an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining one or more of the nasal sinuses. There are 8 sinuses; cavities in the cheekbones, forehead, and on either side of and behind the nose. The function of the sinuses is to aid in the all important pollution control of air entering the lungs. Even the sweetest country air contains dust particles, pollen and other impurities. City air is often filthy with soot and smog. During the few seconds it takes for air to be sucked into the lungs, the air must pass through an intricate maze of snares and traps. The body's system of "air conditioning" begins with the hair just inside the nostrils. These hairs strain out and move obvious particles of dust, flying insects, and other large particles of filth riding the air stream as it is sucked into the lungs. Heat from the rich blood supply in the nose warms the air on its journey to the lungs, but both the warming affect and the cleansing effect of the nasal passages are lost in breathing through the mouth. Since it is highly desirable to keep impurities out of the lungs, the importance of catching such impurities in the nose is apparent. It is essential to good health that the sinuses function properly. Usually the pain is dull and aching. It may become excruciating with excessive activity.

Sinusitis can be either chronic or acute. A tendency to head colds that hang on and on is a major symptom of chronic sinusitis. Pain is often less than in acute conditions and may be merely annoying, but unless corrected completely, chronic sinusitis may stay with the victim through the major symptoms come and go.

Patients with chronic sinus trouble are often astounded at how quickly relief comes with Chiropractic care without the use of drugs and/or operations. Give it a try .... it works!

Men Also Get Osteoporosis

With all the hype about osteoporosis in women and the ads for calcium you would think it was just a disease of women, but that is very wrong. About one in six men who live to extreme old age do have a hip fracture caused by osteoporosis. the figure is one in three for women in the same age group.

Bone loss in both sexes begins as soon as the skeleton is fully mature, which is some time after age 30. The menopause is simply an accelerated phase of bone loss. This gradual loss may never cause a man a problem if he dies before the age of 70. However, a small skeleton in either a male or female means that bone loss will become more critical earlier in life.

Testosterone in males has a similar effect on calcium and bone in men as estrogen does in women. Men tend to maintain normal testosterone levels until late in life, unless they have an illness or use alcohol to excess Studies show that in medical situations where there is a decreased testosterone level, there will also be bone loss.

It is really not known how to stop osteoporosis related to age. But it is known that cigarette smoking and alcohol both increase bone loss.

The best approach to the problem is to prevent bone loss through developing a good skeleton, with challenging exercise and proper nutrition, in the development years, and to avoid alcohol and cigarettes.

Feel up When Life is Getting You Down

With about 19 million Americans suffering from depression, and with prescriptions for drugs to treat the disorder having doubled over the last 10 years alone, the problem is only growing without real healthy answers from the medical community. The reason is that most people don't have the first clue about what's really giving us the blues.

Why do most people go through life never identifying the true source of their feelings?

As children, we were not encouraged to share our feelings, we were told to put on a happy face and ignore how we really felt. These unacknowledged, buried emotions are feelings within us that are very much alive and active. They are the cause of many diseases and dis-harmonies in the body. 

What are the three things anyone can do today to help lift their mood?

First, acknowledge that you feel blue or down. Place your hand on your chest, this is a major energy center called your heart chakra, and repeat the following three times, "even though I feel down and blue I deeply love and accept myself." 

Accepting yourself in this downer state is powerfully healing. It will honor your feelings and in that honoring allow the emotional energy to begin to release.

Second, once you have acknowledged how you feel, take some time to write out how you might have felt as a child. The following is an easy and effective technique to help you get to those deeper feelings.

Forgive yourself and others for how you feel.  Do this by placing your hand on your chest (your heart chakra again) while repeating statements like:

"I forgive myself for feeling down and blue, I am doing the best I know how."

"I forgive my younger self for feeling powerless and unheard, they were doing the best they knew how."

"I forgive my mom and dad, they did the best they knew how with the knowledge and resources they had."

Forgiveness is an important step in releasing downer feelings.  Even if you are not ready to completely feel forgiveness, doing this process plants seeds that propel you towards more wellness and happiness.

Tell yourself you are feeling better and better each day and you probably will.

Learn more powerful steps to clear the emotional baggage from your childhood.  Learn powerful techniques to heal the emotional issues from your childhood.

Bottled Water or Tap?

The bottled water industry has exploded in recent years, and enjoys annual sales of more than $100 billion worldwide. Americans paid $13 billion for bottled water in 2014.

According to Co-op America, "as much as 40 percent of bottled water is actually bottled tap water, sometimes with additional treatment, sometimes not." The number one (Aquafina) and two (Dasani) top-selling brands of bottled water in the U.S. both fall in the category of purified water. Dasani is sold by Coca-Cola, while Aquafina is a Pepsi product. As U.S. News & World Report explains, "Aquafina is municipal water from spots like Wichita, Kansas."

There is a trade off with everything we choose in life and with bottled water there are several. There is an environmental issue to consider and often surprisingly a quality issue. A considerable number of used water bottles end up as litter, where they can take several hundred years or more to biodegrade. 90% of water bottles end up as either garbage or litter, at a rate of more than 200 billion bottles per year. When some plastic bottles are incinerated along with other trash, as is the practice in many municipalities, toxic chlorine is released into the air while heavy metals deposit in the ash. If plastics are buried in landfills, not only do they take up valuable space but potentially toxic additives such as phthalates may leak into the groundwater. This problem could be avoided simply by recycling used bottles regularly.

As mentioned above, some studies indicate that bottled water may be no safer, or healthier than tap water in many countries while selling for up to 1000 times the price.

There have been studies that have shown higher risk of certain diseases when regularly consuming city tap water and this is not likely to change in the near future. One of the best recommendations, and perhaps the best solution, would be the use of a home charcoal and reverse osmosis water filtration which will leave your water pure and tasting great.

This is one of the most important health habits you could possibly maintain. Water is essential and if you don't get enough clean water you will suffer health problems. Your exclusive beverage should be water. Try to have at least eight glasses of water a day.

The simple way to calculate the amount of water most of us need is to drink one half your body weight in ounces of water. The average adult is 150 pounds which would be two and one half quarts of water.

The bottom line is that you are better off not drinking unfiltered tap water. Chlorine used in most municipal purification processes is a toxic chemical and should not be consumed in large quantities. Avoid distilled water as it has the wrong ionization, pH, polarization and oxidation potentials. It will also drain your body of minerals.

When using bottled water, avoid purchasing the one-gallon cloudy plastic (PVC) containers from your grocery store as they transfer far too many chemicals into the water. The five-gallon containers and the ones in the clear bottles (polyethylene) are a much better plastic and will not give the water a plastic taste. If you have a question about the purity of the water call the company selling it and get an "independent lab assessment" of water quality and stick with the companies that can provide this information.

"About a quarter of the bottled water sold in the U.S. actually is just tap water."

Types of Auto Medical Payments Coverage

The following are types of Medical Payments (MED-PAY) Coverage that many consumers are NOT aware of. Worth the time to read and subsequently follow-up with your insurance agent. Could save thousands of dollars in the future.

"Non-reimbursable, Non-excess Med-pay" is coverage that many refer to as the last ''true med-pay", and is the type that would have been part of a "full-coverage" package many years ago. There is no repayment obligation by the consumer, and the applicability of coverage is independent of health insurance benefits. It is the most expensive of the medical payments coverage, but the added cost is not, by any means substantial. It is not uncommon for the coverage to cost $ 5-10 per $ 1,000.00 of coverage, over a six-month period. This is the type of coverage that you should have, as a consumer, and what we advise our patients to purchase.

"Reimbursable Med-pay" marks the first in the deviation from the type of Med-pay that was typically provided, and is one level lower on the scale of desired coverage. The reimbursement is described by many names, such as "Third Party Liability", "TPL", "subrogation" or "contractual reimbursement." All of these names have been used interchangeably to detail the concept that the original payor of the bills is due to receive a refund of amounts paid, from settlement or judgement against the responsible party, due to the fact that its policyholder was not at fault for the incident. The way this typically works, is that the med-pay insurer pays the bills as deemed reasonable and necessary, up to the limits of coverage. The insurer then has a claim against the settlement proceeds, or award of judgement, pertaining to the case of the policyholder. Upon settlement or judgement, the policyholder is required to pay the first funds of settlement back to the pay or of the med-pay benefits. This can cause friction between doctor and patient, and may ultimately lead to the possible destruction of the doctor-patient relationship, when it is perceived that the doctor received more money in his pocket than the patient, when the patient "was the one that was injured."

"Excess Med-pay" is the first in a series of coverage that many consumer groups feel represents illusory coverage. "Excess" refers to amounts of medical care that exceed that which the policyholder's health insurance will cover. Because of the status of the law, many carriers are refusing to consider billing above any contractual rate between the facility rendering care, and the health insurer. So, in essence, if you have health insurance and the facility is contracted with the health insurer, there cannot be excess, so therefore you have no med-pay, although you are paying for it. Most excess coverage also carries a reimbursement obligation; therefore, in the event the carrier does pay anything, they receive the amounts they paid as reimbursement. Further complicating this coverage, and giving further support for the allegations that the coverage is illusory, is the fact that without health insurance, many policies are subject to a deductible. Often times, the deductible, or "retention" is 40% of the coverage amount.

"Modified, or Coordinated Med-pay" further represents coverage which may be classified as illusory. The "Modification" or "Coordination" is between the health insurer and med-pay carrier, thus acting as excess med-pay. There is one little difference, separating the two; however, in that it pays only a percentage of the excess amounts, after the policyholder first pays a deductible. The same problems persist as with "excess" coverage, in that if there is health insurance the insurer may refuse to honor any amounts in excess of what was paid by the health insurer.

Caveats to Medical Payments Coverage

Insurance companies have been known to arbitrarily change your coverage from "Non-reimbursable" to "Reimbursable," and from "Non-excess" to "Excess." You should take the time to review any notices sent to you by your insurer, which reflect "changes to your automobile policy" and immediately reject any non-requested changes.

"Always better to have the correct coverage and not need it, than to need it and not have it."

Gum And Your Teeth

Is chewing gum good for your teeth? The medical answer is quite simple.

When you chew gum, you produce more saliva. If you chew gum after you eat, the extra saliva can neutralize and wash away the acid that's produced when food breaks down in your mouth. This can help prevent tooth decay. The minerals in the extra saliva can even strengthen the hard, outer surface of your teeth (enamel).

It's important to choose gum carefully, however. The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends sugarless gum. In fact, several types of sugarless gum even bear the ADA Seal of Acceptance.

Sugared gum also increases saliva production, but the sugar in the gum may contribute to tooth decay.

"Being successful is about professionalism, and chewing gum is unprofessional."

Combatting Cold Sores

Cold sores…those red, painful lesions that perpetually encroach upon the area surrounding the mouth. They spoil date night, ruin the complexion, and are a source of embarrassment and frustration. Also known as fever blisters, these persistent sores are simply an external representation of an internal viral infection. Cold sores are the most common manifestation of a herpes simplex labialis infection – the most prevalent type of herpes simplex virus.

Once infected with any form of the herpes simplex virus, a lifelong infection is established and symptoms occur according to the reproductive cycle of the virus. After the initial infection, the herpes virus migrates to sensory nerve ganglia, where it resides indefinitely. The infected individual remains asymptomatic during this quiet, remission period. However, it is during this time that asymptomatic shedding of the virus occurs and transmission upon contact is possible. Localized lesions that identify the specific type of herpes infection – cold sores, for example – flare up when the latent virus begins to reproduce and create red, swollen vesicles that leak a highly contagious fluid possessing active viral particles. The lesions eventually form scabs and enter the remission period once again. Current treatment protocols for the herpes virus utilize anti-inflammatories to reduce lesion size and antiviral monotherapy to inhibit viral replication, but they have yet to be successful at significantly reducing the duration or severity of recurrence. Currently, it is well known that the herpes simplex virus is more likely to reactivate when the immune system is depressed. Deficiencies in innate immunity lead to uncontrolled relapses in humans already infected with herpes simplex virus. Considering the influential role of immunity in relapses, perhaps a better treatment approach should focus on supporting the immune system and its potential ability to let this sleeping virus lie.

Herbal Support
Scientific research and numerous clinical studies provide a substantial amount of evidence supporting the usage of various botanicals for improving immunity, especially during a viral assault. Echinacea is particularly adept at enhancing the antiviral activities of the immune system. It can upregulate gene expression of various immune cells, stimulate phagocytosis, and suppress the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. In addition to its immune-modulating abilities, standardized preparations of the aerial parts and roots of echinacea show potent virucidal activity against the herpes simplex virus when in contact with the direct virus, either prior to cell entry or during asymptomatic shedding.

Astragalus, a close companion to echinacea, shares the ability to modulate and support the immune system, especially when a viral attack is at hand. A recent study discovered that this amazing botanical was able to protect astrocytes from herpes simplex virus through a multitude of mechanisms involving increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and interleukin-6, and activation of nuclear factor-?B (NF-?B). In this way, astrocytes were able to grow and proliferate in a normal manner. Infection with herpes simplex virus attenuates the growth and proliferation of cells, but in the presence of astragalus polysaccharide, normal growth and proliferation was promoted.

Mushroom extract provides another source of immune support and virucidal activity. An isolated proteoglycan of Reishi mushrooms was found to inhibit viral replication and hence, the death of cells infected with herpes simplex virus. Similarly, a protein from Maitake mushrooms was shown to inactivate and inhibit replication of herpes simplex virus in a dose-dependent manner. Other mushrooms, including the Chaga medicinal mushroom and the almond mushroom, have been studied for their antiherpetic and antiviral properties.

Relapse and remission may be the targeted outcome for individuals already infected with herpes simplex virus, but prevention in non-infected individuals should be an equally sought after goal. Botanicals have not only been shown to aid remission, but they also help provide assistance with prevention. Monocaprin and lauric acid, two superior fatty acids found in coconut oil, were tested for their ability to reduce large numbers of herpes simplex virus in a short amount of time. Results showed a greater than 100,000-fold reduction in virus titer within 1 minute, at a concentration of 20mM. This significant outcome provides valuable insight into the usage of these two compounds as preventative agents.

While Western medicine continues its search for effective antiviral medications, nature appears to provide us with an array of synergistic botanicals that not only support and assist the immune system in its fight against persistent viral attacks, but also shows promise for prevention against infection.

NIACIN - Some Important Facts

Niacin is well known as the "cholesterol fighter in a bottle". A quote from long ago, "Niacin is the most inexpensive and effective internal cleansing mechanism known to man."

Following ingestion of niacin, one will expect "side effects" of itching and flushing of the skin. Please note that flushing is normal, and not an allergic reaction. It's what niacin does as it cleanses the body of toxins and poisons. The best side effect I experience is the calmness that follows a dosage.

Cardiovascular disease is significant killer in the United States, and it is frequently associated with high cholesterol. Our American diet, with fast food, toxin-loaded, refined sugar cholesterol-impregnated foods, is the frequent messenger of destruction and death.

In recent years, niacin has become widely used as a potent cholesterol fighter. Various studies indicate doses of niacin increase beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, lower harmful low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and decrease triglycerides. However, all too often extremely high doses of niacin are prescribed (usually 500 to 4500 mg/day). Those amounts are not necessary. I receive the same flushing reaction from 100 milligrams as I do for 500mg, thus, low dosages are what I recommend.

Studies conducted by scientists from Auburn University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Georgia Southern University, and the Hames Heart Institute (Claxton, Georgia), Professor Lefavi studied the serum cholesterol levels of healthy, college-age athletes. They found that cholesterol could be significantly lowered an average of 14 percent, and total cholesterol/HDL ratios improved by seven percent by merely adding only 200 mcg niacin supplement to their daily diets. These findings are even more significant when we note that subjects were classified as "normal," having cholesterol levels "within normal limits."

Early studies suggest that vitamin B3, or niacin, a common water-soluble vitamin, may help improve neurological function after stroke. When rats with ischemic stroke were given niacin, their brains showed growth of new blood vessels, and sprouting of nerve cells which greatly improved neurological outcome. Stroke is the third-leading cause of death in America and a leading cause of disability. Ischemic strokes occur as a result of an obstruction within a blood vessel supplying blood to the brain. Ischemic stroke accounts for about 87 percent of all cases.

One underlying condition for this type of obstruction is the development of fatty cholesterol deposits lining the vessel walls. Niacin is known to be the most effective medicine in current clinical use for increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), which helps get rid of those fatty deposits.

Therefore, research indicates that niacin is the hope on the horizon for cholesterol's cascading catastrophe. Niacin supplementation is a viable tool in everyone's daily fight against high serum cholesterol and our country's major killer, cardiovascular disease.

For your overall health, you might consider NOT stocking up on cheesecake, doughnuts, candy and other cholesterol-laden garbage. Instead, with this knowledge, go to your local chiropractor or health food store and purchase a natural form of niacin.

Passing Thoughts

What are you thinking about at any given moment? Could you even answer that? Probably not, but your mind is always active with some thought constantly passing through your mind. The fact is, over 70,000 thoughts per day is the researched number.

What is thought? Do you actually think mentally, or is thought just a passing reflection without any given pattern? Of course at times you do concentrate on a given theme or a task where something is accomplished. At times your thoughts are creative and you become deep in thought, a thing that no other animal can do. But even so, do you actively engage in mental creation, or do you simply tune into a mental wave length at random.

What are we doing now at this very moment? Are we engaging in actual or passing thought, or is it a mental or spiritual reflection having more or less interest? What becomes of each passing thought? Where does it go during sleep or at the time of death? On such occasions the physical body either remains dormant or disintegrates. But what about the mental or spiritual aspect? Is there a logical answer?

And, what is life anyway? From whence does it come and where does it go? Within the womb of the mother, for instance, a physical creation is taking place and at a given time a combined reaction takes place and the baby is born with a mental and physical element all its own. Mental impulses call for nourishment and physical growth takes place for a given period of time, When adulthood is reached, physical growth is arrested. However, maintenance and reparation continue all through life, maintaining a state of being until "death do us part."

But what about the process of maintaining health and function or activity? What regulates this element? What changes common food into flesh, blood, and bones, hair, skin, and nails. Food provides distribution when and where it is needed. Have you thought of this reaction? Would you entertain the concept that this process would require pill, shots, physiotherapy, or passing thought on your part? Not so!

All function and activity of the body are directed and controlled through the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord. The spinal cord is encased within the spinal column and sends out bundles of trunk nerves through openings provided for that purpose between the vertebrae that form the spinal column.

Through this medium sensation reaches the brain where the message is interpreted and responding mental impulses set glands and organs into activity and function in a process of directed or controlled definite activity, in a state of health.

This is NOT merely a passing thought ... It is a fact!

Talking About People

The most interesting thing in the world is people: men, women and children. The race, color, and/or nationality does not really matter. People are what counts.

Many things may have interest, beauty, worth, or value, but they are a pale abstract, all of passing interest. Only people awaken a keen impression or lasting interest because only they are children of God, possessing a quality that nothing else has. Think about it ...

Man, it is said, was created from the dust of the earth and made in the image of God. What does that mean? Does it mean that the Creator of the universe is fashioned in the likeness of man? Not so. How could such a creation be possible? Literally it could not, yet the same universal quality that makes all things possible resides within man or in life, each form bearing after its kind in the likeness of its own nature. Is that principle not reasonable enough?

But what about people? People are something different. People are the only things in God's creation that can and do think, reason, and remember. We are the creature that has hands and the ability to create things of interest or can go places, or preserve that which he has created for the good of his fellow being, or can produce a pattern for all time if need be.

Do you enjoy reading? Perhaps so, but what holds the most interest for you? Is it not people or something that people do, or their history and how they created hieroglyphic impressions. Or, how about the alphabet, with the incredible ability to form words, thus giving meaning and lasting interest in things and places where men have been, or are going, and why.

What kind of people hold the greatest interest? Is it not those who serve best and make possible things of greatest interest to mankind; health, hope, happiness, peace, good will, wise or foolish, in relation to his fellow being and the God of the universe.

The professions which should hold the greatest interest are perhaps teachers, doctors, and those who make possible a more abundant life for mankind and for the common good.

It's time to think of and create an interest in your own person. One of the Psalms states that the body is "fearfully and wonderfully made," and that is an affirmation of truth. Add life to your years without the side effects that so often follow medication and/or drugs. Live!

Think, for the mind tells the body what to do.

Antibacterial Soap Overuse May Help Spread Disease

Scrubbing your hands too often with antibacterial soap may actually have the opposite effect and make you and others more susceptible to disease.

Doctors at the summer scientific meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology said that, "When overused, the relatively harsh detergent action of antibacterial soaps leaves you vulnerable to open sores that can attract bacteria, resulting in skin problems such as eczema. This begins a vicious cycle, whereby a person who develops hand eczema or another form of dermatitis touches a surface, leaving microscopic germs behind. Another person comes along, touches that surface and he too can be infected with the bacteria."

Dr. William Baugh, chief of dermatology at the Beaufort Naval Hospital in Beaufort, S.C., stated,“I've seen patients who have developed hand eczema from these [antibacterial] products, it certainly can occur [and spread].  When I ask patients [with eczema] how often they wash their hands, they say 20 to 25 times a day. They think they are being good citizens by washing frequently. But you can over do a good thing.”

On December 16th of 2013 the FDA announced that soap manufacturers must show that antibacterial soap is both safe and more effective than using conventional soap and water or it will need to stop
production of them. About 75 percent of liquid antibacterial soaps and 30 percent of soap bars used has Triclosan2 as an active ingredient. Triclosan, which was originally used strictly in hospital settings, was adopted by manufacturers of soaps and other home products during the 1990s, eventually becoming a billion dollar industry. Now Triclosan is also being used in wipes, hand gels, cutting boards, mattress pads and other home items. Triclosan's use in home over-the-counter products was never fully evaluated by the FDA however, and while the agency had to produce guidelines for the use of Triclosan in home products in 1972 it only published its final draft on December 16 of last year. Their report, the product of decades of research, notes that the costs of antibacterial soaps outweigh the benefits and forces the manufacturers to prove otherwise by 2016.

You shouldn't wait long to stop using antibacterial soaps.

* Antibacterial soaps are no more effective than conventional soap and water.
Forty-two years of FDA research in addition to independent studies have produced no evidence that Triclosan provides any health benefits as compared to old-fashioned soap. So far, analysis of the health benefits do not show any evidence that Triclosan can reduce the transmission of respiratory or gastrointestinal infections. This might be due to the fact that antibacterial soaps specifically target bacteria, but not the viruses that cause the majority of seasonal colds and flus.

* Antibacterial soaps have the potential to create chemically resistant bacteria.
The FDA is making manufacturers prove these products work because of possible health risks associated with Triclosan and bacterial

The CDC recommends washing your hands with conventional soap and water. That's because while alcohol from hand sanitizer kills bacteria, it does not remove dirt or anything else you may have touched. The water doesn't need to be hot and you are better off scrubbing for about 30 seconds to get properly clean. resistance is first on the list. Heavy use of antibiotics can cause bacterial resistance, which results in a random mutation that allows the bacteria to survive exposure to the chemical. If the chemical is used frequently enough, it might kill other bacteria but the resistant bacteria will grow even in the presence of this chemical. Antibacterial resistance is a huge medical issue. Some bacterial species have even acquired resistance to several different antibiotic drugs, making it harder to control and treat infections as they spread.

* The soaps could impact your thyroid health.
Some studies have identified that rats, frogs and other animals can’t regulate their production of thyroid hormone when exposed to Triclosan and the theory is that because it chemically resembles thyroid hormones that it can bind to the thyroid receptor sites shutting down thyroid hormone production.

* The soaps might lead to other health problems,
Children with prolonged exposure to Triclosan appear to have a higher chance of developing allergies, including peanut allergies and hay fever. This could be due to reduced exposure to bacteria, which are necessary for immune system function and development. Another study suggests that Triclosan may interfere with muscle contractions in human cells, as well as in mice and minnows. Given new findings that the chemical can penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream more easily than originally thought this is a huge concern. They literally strip away fatty acids, moisture and amino acid from the skin. Overuse of antibacterials is worse than frequent use of other soaps as chemicals in the detergents strip away the naturally protective fats and oils on the skin.

* Antibacterial soaps are bad for the environment.
When we use a lot of Triclosan in soap it gets flushed down the drain; it leaves sewage plants and is often detected in streams and other bodies of water where it disrupts algae's ability to perform photosynthesis. Triclosan builds up in fatty tissues and it may appear at greater levels in the fatty tissues of animals higher up the food chain.

If you want to stop using antibacterial hand soap, you can substitute hand sanitizers, which simply kill both bacteria and viruses with alcohol. Because the effectiveness of hand-washing depends on how long you wash, a quick squirt of sanitizer might be more effective when time is limited.

Old fashion soap and water and common sense are always the best disinfectants.

Isn't It Strange?

Isn't is strange how people react to life and the things about them?

Isn't it strange that evil is so often emphasized and good is so often ignored, even suppressed?

Isn't it peculiar that good deeds are accepted as a matter of fact, but make one misstep and it is shouted from the top, and in these contemporary times over the internet, television and in the press. This holds especially true when one posts "fun" on the internet, either photos or video. What is posted is ALWAYS in the cloud for all to see. Frightening, but all too true. I urge caution and common sense!

What kind of news gets the headlines? Usually it is crime, murder, corruption, and war. Isn't it strange that constructive and positive news has to be satisfied with a meager mention on inside pages?

Isn't it strange that whispering campaigns are conducted to spread slander and character assassination, and never to praise or encourage others in doing good? Strange that gossip pulls down and never uplifts, that troublemakers possess loud voices while peacemakers have a still small voice.

Isn't it strange that the Prince of Peace had to die on a cross because mankind so easily forgets the good and the great, and so quickly turns to evil influences? Truly, as Robert Burns wrote, "Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn."

Isn't it strange that greed makes men do dishonest, hurtful things such as using defective material in bridges, highways, buildings and worst, genetically alter our foods - merely for greater profit?

Isn't it strange that people continue to buy and use things detrimental to health and well being? For example, cigarettes, marijuana, strong drink, and habit forming drugs. They should know the danger, recognize the dangers and judge accordingly.

Isn't it strange that people are satisfied to use pain killers and sleeping pills for relief without seeking the cause of their health problem and doing something about that?

Isn't it strange that the press often prints misleading stories about Chiropractic even after doctors of Chiropractic have demonstrated and proved the merits of their science in correcting health problems after other methods have failed? Stranger still, people repeat these derogatory remarks without investigating the facts - the researched facts!

Chiropractic is truly a wonderful boon to mankind. We maintain and prove that health, like other virtues, come from within and is expressed outwardly in a helpful way. We are skilled in locating and correcting the spinal cause of dis-ease. Therefore, isn't it strange that more people do not employ chiropractic as a way to better health and a more fulfilling and abundant life?

Form Good Habits

Habits are wonderful things when properly employed. However, much is said about breaking bad habits. That is a difficult thing to do when you have allowed a bad habit to grow and take command.

Most success in life is based on the forming of good habits cultivated in a helpful way. Had you thought of that? Even simple things are subject to the proper exercise of habits. Habits of dressing, sleeping, awakening, eating, doing almost everything ultimately makes the day's work seem easier.

Doing almost everything a dozen times in the same way is the beginning of a habit, good or bad. Watch your step, be on your guard, outline what you want to do, and your pattern of life begins to be formed. Learn to remember. Plan ahead. repetition is the beginning of the thing you desire to remember.

A wise man once related, "I used to tell my troubles to everyone I knew, and the more I told my troubles, the more my troubles grew." Does it work that way for you? Haven't you found such repetition to be true? It is just as easy, therefore, to form good habits by developing helpful patterns relating to wise and happy thins you do.

Keep on keeping on is one way to make things right or wrong. You learn to save by saving. You learn to accomplish by doing repeating, exercising a will to win.

Isn't it just as easy to do right as to do wrong? It is wise, however, from time to time to analyze your daily pattern and its relationship to life. Consider the habit of saving, for instance. It is good but in so doing be careful, don't become a miser. The love you give away is the love you keep. Be a cheerful giver when the need is great, and it will open for you a worthy gate.

Do you say the state of your health prevents you from doing the things you would like to do? You may have headaches, pain, worries that drive you to taking aspirin, muscle relaxers, and things to give you relief. Soon you are developing a drug habit. What can you do to change the pattern?

Consider Chiropractic! We maintain that health is a natural state of being that comes from up, down, inside and outward; without the need of drugs and needless surgery. Does this seem credible?

The spinal column is said to the the strength and support of the body. The nervous system stems from the brain and spinal cord with its countless nerve fibers that form a direct medium of contact from brain cells to tissue cells, in close relationship with the spinal column.

From the good habit of spinal checkups and you will be in line for better health and a more fulfilling and abundant life.

We Still Have Pride

We have a wonderful country, a beautiful country, a prosperous country, a free, rich and happy country. Of course our country has blemishes, things of which we may be ashamed. There's our treatment of Veterans, our period of slavery, our current and past racial intolerance, needless cruel wars, inequality, crime, immortality, injustice, political and industrial corruption found at a level few have witnessed.

But, we still have pride. We are proud of the opportunities that are ours, and we are sure that no other country equals ours in so many respects. Thus, even with all the quirks, we still have pride, hope, and love with assurances that much is well despite the dark spots. We know that all will grow better as time goes on, it always does.

Of course, there are times we tend to complain, find fault, and make rash judgments. But what are we doing, you and I, to correct the trouble we find? What are we doing about pollution, high prices, inequality, and the high cost of medical care and living expenses. The corruption of the whole begins with the shortcomings found in the individual. Are you doing something about the wrongs you see?

Let us consider the health equation. Why are you ill? What are you doing to renew health in yourself and your family? Are you merely getting shots, doctoring the effects, depending on aspirin and other nsaids, tranquilizers, wonder drugs, and such? Does this sort of treatment do more than modify the effects? Must there not be a better way, something to correct the basic cause of the health problem rather than the use of pain killers? We may still have pride in great medical centers and hospitals, but are they doing much to eliminate disease rather that fight the effects? Is the search to eliminate disease rather than fight the effects? Is the search for wonder drugs the right course of action - fighting fire with fire?

One of the Psalms tells us the body is fearfully and wonderfully made. Another calls the body God's masterpiece. If we accept these conclusions, is it not logical that treating the masterpiece with drugs, shots and surgery is NOT God's way, or at least only a part.

What does all this mean? It becomes apparent that the spinal column must be in proper posture mode and adjusted or else nerves will be pinched resulting in disturbed function, lowered resistance, and symptoms common to dis-ease. You are always given a choice -- just make it the right one for you.

You deserve the pride of making the correct decision regarding your health.

Be Kind

Did you ever stop to think about the wonderful art of being kind? Nothing will open more doors to friendship or quiet more turbulent waves of anger than just being kind.

Friendship is a wonderful asset, love smooths many a hurt, charity has its place, but being kind is the pathway to all that is good, all that is wise, all that is uplifting, all that makes life worth living. No one can resist kindness, even the worst brute is mellowed by kindness and friction gives way to its wonderful power.

"Love one another as I have loved you," said a gentle and great man. No injunction is more powerful any time, any place; but kindness is basic even for love because its approach makes contacts possible. Be kind and all the world will smile a welcome to you.

Perhaps you will say that you are ill and indisposed. You can't help resenting the things others do to annoy you. Even so, just be kind and your own disposition will improve which in turn will remove the barrier that now separates potential friends.

If you are ill, what has created this handicap? It could be an emotional conflict. Change your way of thinking, be kind, and the barrier will usually disappear.

"But," you may protest, "I am nervous, I have a headache, I can't sleep, indigestion is making me miserable. How can I be kind under such circumstances?"

Did you ever consult a chiropractor about your health problems? Bear this in mind. the chiropractor has a different approach to health -- no medicine, no shots, no tranquilizers, no treatment of effects, for such treatment seldom has lasting results. Doctors of Chiropractic assure you that health, as kindness, comes from within outward but is expressed in a different manner.

Your body is composed of material things; bones, muscles, glands, organs, blood vessels, and nerves -- all of which are arranged in systems coordinated by an intangible force animated through the nervous system that stems from the brain and spinal cord. Does this begin to make sense?

Your body has been called God's masterpiece. It is built around a skeletal framework of bones, the spine being the strength and support of the body. A good chiropractor will find the problems associated with you body, and treat the related symptoms by fixing the cause. This provides a kindness to the n
ervous system thus health returns naturally making possible a greater quality of life.

Opioid, Heroin Deaths Continue to Climb

Overdose deaths from both prescription opioids and heroin continued to rise in 2011, the most recent year for which data were available, according to the CDC. While prescription opioid deaths followed a more than decade-long trend and increased about 2% to 16,917, heroin deaths jumped by 44% -- from 3,036 in 2010 to 4,397.

Officials with the CDC said the increase in heroin deaths may be partly due to users having less access to prescription opioids and switching to the illicit drug. It can be said that about 75% of heroin users say they started out by using prescription opioids.

The increasing number of heroin deaths also coincides with anecdotal reports about rising heroin use among people who have had diminished access to prescription opioid painkillers. The prescription opioid death number is getting close to stabilizing, but added that it's "still bad because it hasn't gone down." That number has been on the rise since 1999, when it was 4,030. In 2010, the figure was 16,651.

Doctors are trying, but they need to do a better of job of screening for opioid abusers by checking prescription drug monitoring programs in their states for patients who are doctor shopping, and by using urine screens to detect if they are using illicit drugs.

Andrew Kolodny, MD, a long-time advocate of tighter controls on opioids, said the growing deaths from heroin and opioids is something that could have been predicted 10 years ago. "I see this as all the same problem, an epidemic of people addicted to opioids," said Kolodny, chief medical officer of Phoenix House, a national addiction treatment organization. "Treatment has to be easier to access than pills or heroin."

We are seeing more heroin use, and presumably the new users of heroin are people who run out of their ability to get prescription opioids. In a way it is an unintended consequence.

Deaths involving benzodiazepines, which are commonly used concomitantly with opioids, also continued to rise, showing up in 31% of opioid overdose deaths in 2011, up from 30% in 2010.

Prescription drug overdoses more than doubled in the past 13 years in Orange County, a deadly increase that has closely mirrored the popularity of their illicit use, according to a report recently released. Illegal drugs – such as cocaine and heroin – used to make up the majority of overdose deaths. In 2012, however, 57 percent of overdose deaths in the county involved prescription drugs, such as Vicodin, Oxycontin and Codeine, the report states.

The steep increase in prescription drug deaths has been nearly in sync with the increasing use of them among addicts, officials said, with users over the years seeking out pain medication to obtain a high similar to heroin.

Last year, 2013, illegal drugs were behind 20 percent of Orange County’s 330 overdose incidents.

Prescription drugs were involved in 57 percent of the cases, 188 deaths. The remaining 23 percent of cases involved both illegal and prescription drugs, the report found. The report detailed all death investigations by the coroner’s office for 2012, but officials singled out the increasing appearance of prescription drugs, noting the flip from illegal to prescription drugs.

Drugs such as Oxycontin, Opana, Codeine and Vicodin are increasingly being used, and sold, by people seeking a high, officials said, often with deadly consequences. Narcotics investigators in Orange County have been seeing the trend for years on the street, he said, and it’s a trend that’s occurring across the country.

There has been a surge in the use of opioid drug - heroin and prescription painkillers - in the United States, and this rise in popularity has some calling it an “epidemic.” Here in Orange County, public health officials say there is a growing problem with opioid abuse and subsequent overdoses.

The increase in heroin use across the country is interconnected with an expanding opioid market, driven by the high demand for prescription painkillers, such as Oxycontin and hydrocodone. As a general class of drugs, opioids have a high potential for abuse.

Across North Carolina, there has been a more than 300 percent increase in opioid overdose deaths since 1999, according to the state Center for Health Statistics.

One important part of that approach is the use of the medication, naloxone, which can quickly reverse an overdose caused by opioid medications and even heroin. This was possible due to a state law passed in 2013 that gave doctors the ability to prescribe naloxone to a person at risk of opioid overdose, as well as that person’s friends and family members. Naloxone is just one piece of a larger effort to address substance abuse and misuse, particularly with prescription and other opioids.

Simply put ... THERE IS NO "MAGIC" PILL ... WITHOUT SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES!

Mouth Devices for Sleep Apnea

If you have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea -- a condition in which relaxation of the muscles around the tongue and throat causes the tissues to block airflow to the lungs while you sleep
 -- there are a number of treatment options to discuss with your doctor. Two of the most widely used and most effective are continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and dental appliances, or mouth guards.

CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure)

The most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP blows air down your throat at night to keep your airways open while you sleep. The treatment is done using a CPAP machine, which consists of three main parts:

• Mask that fits over your nose -- or your nose and mouth -- and is held in place with straps while you sleep
• Motor that blows air
• Large tube called a cannula that connects the motor to the mask

CPAP machines are small, lightweight, and fairly quiet. If you travel, you should take your CPAP with you.

Benefits of CPAP include keeping your airways open while you sleep, easing snoring, improving sleep quality, relieving daytime sleepiness, and lowering blood pressure.

Although you will likely feel better rested and alert once you start CPAP, getting used to the device can take some time. Some people have difficulty sleeping the first few nights of treatment.

Side effects of CPAP use are minor and may include:

• Feelings of confinement from the face mask
• Sore or dry mouth
• Nasal congestion, runny nose, sinusitis, or nosebleeds
• Irritation and sores over the bridge of the nose
• Stomach bloating and discomfort
• Discomfort in chest muscles, which usually gets better after a while

If you are having any of these or other problems, speak to your doctor. An adjustment to your CPAP machine may make it more comfortable. Some CPAP machines have special features such as heated humidifiers to reduce problems such as drying of the airways. Other possible fixes include using a cushioned face mask, chin straps, and nasal saltwater sprays. Your doctor may have additional suggestions.

Mouth Devices

If you have mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea and can't tolerate or haven't been helped by CPAP, oral appliances may be an effective treatment option.

These devices, which must be fitted by a dentist or orthodontist, and worn in the mouth at night include:

Mandibular advancement device (MAD). The most widely used mouth device for sleep apnea, MADs look much like a mouth guard used in sports. The devices snap over the upper and lower dental arches and have metal hinges that make it possible for the lower jaw to be eased forward. Some, such as the Thornton Adjustable Positioner (TAP), allow you to control the degree of advancement. 

Tongue retaining device. Used less commonly than MAD, this device is a splint that holds the tongue in place to keep the airway open.

From Acorn To Oak

Do you count material blessings and belongings in a big way? Little things count also, so try to never discredit  those small things - especially yourself because you might feel so minor in this great world of ours. Someone once said, "An oak tree is only a little nut that held its ground long enough to grow up." How true!

Have you ever stopped to ponder that everything, regardless of size, starts from a small beginning? The whale was once a little mammal in a great ocean, the giant Sequoia tree grew from a seed, almost as tiny as a mustard seed. The largest skyscrapers began with a single brick. Hoover Dam started with a bag of cement and a yard of sand. And so it goes....

Every giant enterprise or important invention started with a simple idea. Most found their beginnings in a home or even a garage setting. The iron teakettle singing on the stove produced the original idea for the steam engine. A spider web across the garden path may have suggested the suspension bridge. An apple falling from a tree gave Sir Isaac Newton the idea which is known today as "the law gravity". A bullet wound in the abdomen of a patient aided a doctor in studying principle of digestion.

All these were little things, yet what tremendous wonders they held in store when the right moment arrived for the world to see the light and find the way.

The revolution in the world of healing has been magnificent. More and more, instead of treating effects of pain and discomfort with drugs and surgery, we are recognizing in mass that healing is done by clearing the cause of most disease. And that is done effectively by opening the nerve channels, thus allowing nature's healing forces within the body to function normally.

The nervous system is the directing and controlling medium of the body. Through the nervous system sensation is flashed to the brain informing the Innate Mind of the needs of the body, or the dangers to it. These impressions are interpreted and responding impulses are flashed back over the nervous system to the glands, organs and muscles of the body awakening them to normal activity.

Little things like discomfort, sleepless nights or even an emotional day may be signs of something bigger. See your doctor and grow healthy and strong.

We only have this life once .... and never again.  Make it happen.