Canadian Pharmacy – A Major Help to U.S. Citizens

Canadian pharmacies are one of the safe and low cost prescription drugs which are supplied safely. At a survey it was found that about 50 million people in U.S. are not covered by sufficient medicines. If we compare the expenses done on prescription medication between U.S. and other countries, U.S. is much ahead in terms of expenses and also it could be unaffordable instead of medical coverage. Currently, almost everybody in U.S. is purchasing prescription drugs online from pharmacists who are based in Canada, especially the old people.

The cost of drugs in U.S. can be reduced by importing low cost medicines or directly from manufacturer. Pharmacy companies need to maximize the profit to provide sufficient funds for the research and development. It will lead to a heavy loss in monetary part somewhere in billions or trillions of dollars to pharmaceutical industry and thus retrain the capability of companies to spend money in pharmaceutical research, only if imports are allowed.

The comparison of the price between cities and border area is too high. Prices of medicines in border area are too low compared to main U.S. and it shows that the Canadian pharmacy is getting popular day by day. However Canadian pharmacy is yet not approved by FDA, but it has the same standards which are made by FDA.

Although Canadian pharmacy drugs are low in cost, but then also it is advisable to do some research before going ahead and buying any of the pharmacy online. Things such as the cost of the pharmacy, delivery charges and the quality of the drugs need to be checked before placing an order.

October 7, 2009 | Filed Under Nutrition Update | Leave a Comment 

Supreme can Figure Out all your Problems

You would have heard about the magic of Acai berries if you are a diet conscious human being. There are number of programs which are telecast on television by number of famous personalities. The Acai berries are presently advertized as the best food around the world.

As the Acai berry has become so famous in the market and is liked by everyone so number of manufacturers have started adding Acai berries in their products. One of the best products with Acai berry is supreme. This is everyone’s favorite nowadays.

The ingredients of the Supreme an Acai berry product

Basically the effectiveness of any supplement is determined by the ingredients only. The supplements which attribute only Acai berries are the best as said by the researchers and the doctors. Those manufacturers who mix the other ingredients with the Acai berries usually end up with less effective food supplement which is disliked by everyone. Fortunately, supreme has Acai berry only as chief ingredient. This is the very best advantage of supreme that it offers all the advantages of the Acai berries.

The benefits of the supreme or Acai berry supreme

As the pills of supreme contains only Acai berry, one get the equal benefits of Acai berry as consumed raw. This means your desire for food is covered up, this also means your immune system is perfect, your circulation is also working perfectly, and you look good and also feel healthier. The Acai berry is considered to be world’s wonder food, and if you consume them regularly the result you get is unbelievable or limitless. One would feel and look good or even much enthusiastic.

How does supreme an Acai berry product works?

As we all know that Acai berry is an excellent product but the problem lies in the customer service of the product. Basically all the companies offer free sample for the trail purpose but these are the tactics of the sales personals but in reality they are trying to pull you in the lifetime membership. There are number of people who have filed complaints to dissolve their membership but got nothing. Number of customers try the customer help line number but get no answer they only get to hear the voice of operator only.

In the market nowadays the Acai berries have become the most wanted diet pills and every week millions of diet pills get sold. They have become so popular just because they have been advertised everywhere on talk shows, news papers and in magazines also.

Sorry to say, number of people thinks that the sales man of these pills will rob their money off and so they won’t get the benefit which they can get. And if someone is smart enough then there is no need of getting worried. One should read all the details, terms and conditions before giving any amount of money. One has to remain aware in order to save him or herself from getting robbed.

July 13, 2009 | Filed Under Nutrition Update | Leave a Comment 

Vegetarianism

Meat is expensive at the supermarket or butcher shop. But when experts anallyze what the meat-centered American diet costs the nation’s health-care system, the price goes sky-high: $29 billion to $61 billion a year. These figures come from a report issued by Neal D. Barnard, M.D., and other members of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that promotes health through nutrition.

As mind-boggling as these figures are, Dr. Barnard insists that they are conservative, because his team limited its findings to diseases for which the data are strongest. "Undoubtedly," he says, "meat costs the health-care system even more."

"If you look carefully at the data, the optimum amount of meat you should eat is zero," concurs Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.P.H., chairperson of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Research has linked meat consumption to colon, lung, prostate, and ovarian cancers
as well as to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of lymph cancer. In fact, when researchers in New Zealand compared the health of 5,015 meat eaters and 6,115 vegetarians, they found that the vegetarians were 39 percent less likely to experience any form of cancer.

The same study showed that the vegetarians were 28 percent less likely to develop heart disease, the number one cause of death in the United States. That’s no coincidence. Meat is a major source of dietary fat. Fat consumption is strongly associated with obesity, diabetes, and elevated cholesterol and blood pressure-all risk factors for heart disease.

In a landmark study comparing 25,000 Seventh-Day Adventists (whose religion espouses vegetarianism) to typical meat-eating Americans, researchers at Lorna Linda University in California discovered that the Adventists had 40 percent fewer heart attacks. What’s more, their heart attacks occurred an average of 10 years later in life.

When people have a meatless or almost­meatless diet, they also seem to have a lower risk of stroke, which is the number three cause of death in the United States. When John Lynch, M.D., a neurology fellow at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, tracked the health of 6,500 stroke-free men over 10 years, he found that 12 percent of those who ate meat daily ended up having strokes. By comparison, just 5.4 percent of those who ate meat one to three times a month had strokes.

Meat delivers a double whammy to your health. It not only can be high in fat-especially saturated fat, the kind with strong ties to heart disease and cancer-it also tends to displace fruits and vegetables in the diet. That’s not good. Fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and nutrients that help prevent America’s top three killers: heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

The Myths of Going Meatless

Clearly, building your diet around fruits, vegetables, and other plant-derived foods has a lot to offer, health-wise. Yet as recently as the mid-1970s, most nutritionists called vegetarianism a one-way ticket to malnutrition.

How things have changed. Today we know that eating healthfully is easier as a vegetarian than as a meat eater, largely because most vegetarians consume less fat than the typical omnivore. Even the American Dietetic Association now endorses vegetarianism as nutritionally sound. Nonetheless, the old arguments still crop up. Here’s what those arguments sound like-and the reasons why they don’t hold water.

Vegetarians can’t get enough protein. For years, protein was the star nutrient in the American diet, and meat was its primary source. So experts assumed, quite logically, that vegetarians would develop protein deficiencies.

That thinking has shifted, for two reasons. First, nutritionists now realize that Americans eat way more protein than they actually need. Second, the kind of protein that comes from meat is accompanied by an unhealthy amount of fat.

The Daily Value for protein is 50 grams. You can easily meet this requirement by consuming plant-derived foods. A cup of lentils contains 15 grams of protein; 4 ounces of tofu, 9 grams; 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, 8 grams; a cup of cooked oat bran, 7 grams; a cup of pasta, 7 grams; and 1/2 cup of millet, 4 grams.

"Protein has become a nonissue," says Suzanne Havala, R.D., a registered dietitian in Charlotte, North Carolina. "If you eat a reasonable variety of foods, you won’t have a problem getting enough protein. In fact, as long as you consume enough calories to meet your energy needs, you’d have to work hard to devise a protein-deficient diet."

Vegetarians can’t get enough iron. Yes, you can-as long as you’re also getting
enough vitamin C. Plant-derived foods provide plenty of iron. The catch: It’s non­heme iron, which isn’t as well-absorbed as heme iron, the kind found in meat. You can easily improve the absorption rate by pairing a nonheme iron source with a vitamin C source. At breakfast, for example, have a glass of orange juice (which is rich in vitamin C) with a bowl of hot wheat cereal (which supplies 9 milligrams of non­heme iron, or 50 percent of the Daily Value).

Vegetarians can’t get enough calcium. Dietitians recommend that Americans consume 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day. You can get all the calcium you need from low-fat or nonfat milk, cheese, yogurt, and other dairy products that are rich in the mineral. But what if you eliminate dairy products, as some vegetarians do? In that case, many fruits and vegetables can make a contribution to your calcium intake. Among those highest in calcium are collard greens (290 milligrams per cup, cooked), bok choy (250 milligrams per cup, cooked), tofu (244 milligrams per cup), dried figs
(161 milligrams in six figs), and kale (148 milligrams per cup, cooked).

Vegetarians risk neurological damage from vitamin B12 deficiency. Because vitamin B12 is found primarily in meats and other animal-derived foods, vegetarians often have low levels of the nutrient. The risk of not getting enough B12 is of particular concern to the strictest vegetarians, called vegans (pronounced "VEE-guns"). These people forgo all animal products, including dairy foods like milk and cheese.

But even vegans can get as much vitamin B12 as they need through supplementation. In fact, some nutritionists recommend that all vegetarians take a daily B12 supplement, just to be on the safe side. You need just 6 micrograms (that’s six-millionths of a gram) to match the Daily Value. And you can probably get by with even less for a few months, since your body stores up to a 2-year supply.

Vegetarianism stunts children’s growth. Several studies have shown that this simply isn’t true. In one study, Kay L. Stanek, R.D., Ph.D., associate professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, compared the body measurements and nutrient intakes of omnivorous children ages 10 to 12 with children of the same age who had been ovo-lactovegetarians from birth.

(Ovo-lactovegetarians eat eggs and dairy products but no meat.) Neither group showed any nutritional deficiencies, and both had similar height ranges.

July 1, 2009 | Filed Under Nutrition Update | Leave a Comment 

Naturopathy

Mainstream medicine has its drugs and surgery; Chinese medicine, its herbs and acupuncture; Ayurveda, its nutrition and meditation. Each of these healing systems is a collection of individual therapies united by a well-defined philosophy of healing.

But naturopathy is different. "It’s more than just a healing system," explains Joseph Pizzorno Jr., N.D., one of America’s preeminent naturopaths. "It’s a way of life."

Naturopathy espouses a wide-ranging combination of nutrition and supplementation, exercise, stress management, herbal medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, manipulative therapies, and hot and cold baths. Since so many nondrug therapies fit under the naturopathy umbrella, you’re getting a good taste of blended medicine when you visit a naturopath and follow his advice. But the naturopathic approach to healing is so broad and all-encompassing that some critics consider it an alternative smorgasbord with no individual identity.

In fact, naturopathy has a very distinct identity. Its use of multiple alternative therapies serves a single noble goal: to stimulate what the Greek physician Hippocrates, the father of medicine, called Vis Medicatrix Naturae-the healing power of nature.

Uncommon Therapies, One Common Goal

The term naturopathy was first coined by John Scheel, a New York City physician, in 1895. He later sold the term to Benedict Lust, who applied it to his own unique blend of nondrug therapies. Lust would go on to become the seminal figure in naturopathy.

Around 1895, Lust opened the Health Food Store in New York City, where he sold vegetables, herbs, and homeopathic medicines. (The store’s name is the first documented use of the phrase "health food.") The following year, he enrolled in New York’s Universal Osteopathic Medical College, and in 1898, he became a licensed osteopath. Lust went on to earn degrees in chiropractic and homeopathy as well as in a discipline then known as eclectic medicine (which was essentially a form of scientifically applied herbalism). In 1919, he founded the American Naturopathic Association to promote his vision of a unified, drug-free approach to healing. Naturopathy espoused the following principles.

Hydrotherapy: Support for the Water Cure

Many of the alternative disciplines that make up naturopathy have been discussed in previous chapters. While drawing on all of these therapies for healing, a naturopathic doctor may recommend one other as well: hydrotherapy, the water cure advocated a century ago by Benedict Lust.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed an extended soak in the tub knows that a hot bath can be quite relaxing. In fact, hot baths-as well as alternating hot and cold baths-are therapeutic fixtures at hundreds of health spas, where people have retreated for centuries to "take the waters." But hydrotherapy can do more than help you relax.

For centuries, Finnish physicians have prescribed saunas to treat infectious diseases. Native Americans used sweat lodges for the same purpose. And as research shows, such a practice makes sense. Raising the body’s temperature in a hot bath or sauna stimulates the immune system and helps discourage disease-causing microorganisms from reproducing. Naturopaths often prescribe hot baths to treat certain types of infections.

In addition, several studies have shown that sweating increases the secretion of certain addictive drugs as well as some toxic metals and chemicals.

June 6, 2009 | Filed Under Nutrition Update | Leave a Comment 

Music

Melodies to Mend By

Opinions vary as to why music has such a profound effect on humans. At least some of its therapeutic power comes from its ability to trigger the release of endorphins, the powerful opiate-like chemicals produced in the brain that induce euphoria and relieve pain. In fact, researchers have discovered that if they administer drugs that block the production of endorphins, they significantly blunt a person’s enjoyment of music, according to David S. Sobel, M.D., director of patient education and health promotion for Kaiser Permanente Northern California, a health maintenance organization.

Music triggers other positive changes, too. It reduces levels of stress hormones such as adrenaline. It has a calming effect on the limbic system, a group of structures within the brain that regulates emotions. And it boosts levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), the body’s first line of defense against colds and other infections.

Of course, music is no cure-all. But it can do some very remarkable things for the body and mind. It has been shown to help heart attack and surgical recovery, chronic-pain management, stroke rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s care, and alleviation of depression.

In one study of people who had suffered heart attacks, eighty people-all newly admitted to hospital coronary care units­were divided into three groups. One group listened to a 20-minute audiotape of calming music; another practiced breathing and meditation to invoke a sense of calm, called the relaxation response; and the third received only standard care. The patients in the music and relaxation response groups showed significant reductions in heart rate and levels of stress hormones, compared with the patients in the standard care group. But the folks who listened to music were the least stressed, suggesting that music is even more relaxing than meditation.

Another study showed the effectiveness of using music for management of chronic pain. At the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing in Omaha, Lani Zimmerman, R.N., Ph.D., associate professor of nursing, gave 40 people with chronic pain a collection of ten music audiotapes. She asked each patient to select one tape that was most relaxing. The patients reported significantly less pain while listening to their tapes. Other studies have shown that music can reduce a hospital patient’s need for pain medication by as much as 30 percent.

Music has also been proven beneficial in management of depression. In one study, people with serious depression were separated into three groups. One group received weekly visits from music therapists, who played music and offered instruction in stress management techniques. Another group received weekly phone calls from music therapists and taped music to play independently. The third group received no treatment. All of the patients who listened to music-whether with a therapist or alone-showed significant improvement in mood, compared with the patients who didn’t listen to music.

Music to your Ears

Studies of music therapy have shown that, in general, soothing, slow-tempo tunes work best for relaxation, stress management, and recovery from illness. But if you’re looking to boost your energy level and productivity, or if you want a sound­track for your workout, choose music that has an upbeat tempo but isn’t bombastic.

Most people get the greatest benefit from music that they’ve selected on their own­no matter what it is, notes music therapist Clare O’Callaghan of the University of Melbourne in Australia. That’s because people choose what they like, which helps motivate them and gives them a sense of personal empowerment. If you’d like to give a family member or friend a calming audiotape or CD but you don’t know the person’s tastes, stick with songs that were popular when he was young. This is the time of life when a person’s musical preferences are formed.

May 1, 2009 | Filed Under Nutrition Update | Leave a Comment 

Next Page →