Is America Sick and Getting Sicker?

Despite the advances we have made in medical science and technology, we are experiencing an age of unprecedented sickness and ill health.  An aging population simply can’t explain away the rise of many diseases that are rapidly becoming epidemic throughout the world.  Cancer is the number one killer, followed closely by heart disease and diabetes.

While billions of dollars are spent every year trying to find a cure, physical, mental and emotional illnesses continue to climb.  The cures, if there are any, are yet to be found.  Year after year new diseases crop up, diseases that were unheard of twenty years ago.

Could it be that we’ve hit a brick wall trying to maintain health and now have to accept that we have to live with pain and expect a short lifespan?

Doctors will claim that as you get older, you can expect to get sick and you just have to live with it.  According to what they say, you need to be addressing your problems with some kind of drug.  You can expect to add a new drug every ten years that you get older.

But is what they say true, or is there something more sinister behind it?

Are we meant to be sick?  Or were we made to expect health as a matter of life?  Were we made to suffer endless pain, depression and cancer or is it possible that there are cures out there, but someone is keeping it from us?

Of course the way we choose to live has a bearing on how healthy we will be.  It’s an established fact that if you pump your body full of fat, sugar and loads of calories, you can expect to get sick.  If you choose to smoke, live a highly stressed lifestyle and get little to no exercise, you will get sick.  We are responsible for the way we treat our bodies.

While we live in a fast paced environment, it does little good to neglect our bodies for the sake of making more money just to improve our standard of living.  While we all want to stay healthy, today’s society promotes sickness.  And today’s doctor offer the only cure he knows, a prescription drug.  No matter what the ailment, there’s a drug out there to relieve the symptoms.

Unfortunately, relief comes at a price in the form of side effects, some of which are serious enough to cause disability and death.  This, of course, does not keep the doctor from whipping out the prescription pad to write another drug to treat the side effects. Today’s mainstream doctors simply do not know about natural methods to treat illness as they were not schooled in it.  And seldom will your doctor ever advise you to seriously change the lifestyle that is making you sick.  There’s a growing belief among practitioners that sickness is the direct result of a drug imbalance!

Despite the general beliefs that cures can’t be found, the truth is that many people with terminal and life threatening illnesses have become well at the hands of doctors who refused to buy into the traditional idea that drugs and surgery are the only methods to treat disease.

Many people, long after their traditional doctors gave up on them, have turned to alternative medicine and found relief from pain and even been cured form their incurable diseases. There are some true miracle doctors that have cured the most deadly diseases, yet you are not likely to hear of them on the daily news. They’re not featured on the front pages of national papers.

The questions remain.

Why are so many people sicker than ever before?

Why don’t you hear about those miracle doctors who have a genuine concern in seeing their patients get cured and stay well?

Take a look at ancient China.  Doctors at that time had an interest in seeing their patients get well.  If their patients stayed sick and died, the doctor didn’t get paid.  How different that is to today. The typical doctor wants to continue his practice, but he can’t draw a salary or turn a profit if there are no patients to treat.  Typically they have a vested interest is seeing more patients.  The more patients that get sick, the more money they make.  The more patients they can see on a regular basis, the more profit they make.

The medical profession, unlike other professions, cannot thrive unless there is a continuous stream of sick people who need treatment.  It’s the only profession that thrives on sickness and disease.

Many businesses know they won’t survive long unless they produce a quality product that people want and need.  If their products are shoddy, they will find themselves bankrupt before long.  Yet today’s pharmaceutical company produces inferior drugs that carry a long list of side effects, drugs which are often dangerous and even deadly.  In spite of the product,  pharmaceutical companies make billions of dollars annually from the sales of their products.

Typical businesses live by a code of ethics.  Big pharma sees no need in publishing the truth about their drugs.  They only publish the best of the studies they make and leave the others on the shelf.  Often, those “good” reports are doctored with language that puts a positive spin on the drug.  The media is quick to project the latest miracle drug that dupes the public to buy into the hype.  Yet it’s strange the media ignores those doctors who have a safe and proven record of curing diseases of patients who doctors have given up on.

Kickbacks, bribes, conflicts of interest is the rule when it comes to producing and marketing drugs.  If any business resorted to such tactics, they would be forced out of business, their executives placed behind bars.  Unfortunately, Big Pharma has become a veritable Big Brother as projected in the book, 1984 by George Orwell.

Big Pharma already rakes in billions of dollars annually and is seeking even more.  In future they hope to outlaw those supplements with proven track records to promote health just so they can get more people to take their poison.  Compound pharmacies are under attack. Regular reports and studies are published informing the public of the dangers of taking certain vitamins and minerals.  God himself provided this pharmacy of natural products so we could all stay healthy and live fruitful lives.  But Big Pharma seeks to take away that right.

Of course it all comes down to profits.  Big Pharma has more concern about profit than the health of the people it is supposed to serve.  It is more concerned that its shareholders realize dividends than how many people die from their drugs.  The CEOs of many drug companies enjoy lavish lifestyles, the best hotels and restaurants with no concern about the people who must die to support their way of life.

But if drug companies continue their madness in acquiring more money at the expense of the people, government agencies such as the FDA and FTC, responsible in insuring the health of the citizens they are sworn to protect, quietly and happily ride in the back pockets of the multi-billion dollar drug companies.  The FDA pays lip service to many dangerous drugs, approving their use while taking in bribes from Big Pharma. Natural supplements are banned from reaching the public who would stay far healthier than any drug could ever accomplish.

Gestapo-like tactics are employed under the guise of public safety as the FDA and FTC have invaded the offices of doctors who have impeccable records of curing the most deadly diseases, arresting the doctors and draining their financial resources through lengthy court battles.  Some doctors such as Dr. Burzynski have won their battles, but their files have never been returned.

The basic freedoms are being removed as Big Pharma slowly attempts to stifle protest and assume the Big Brother role to tell everyone what they must take for their ailments and how they must think.  Even Communism does not choose to go this far.

The result is a society that is increasingly losing strength.  And a society that loses strength is a country on the brink of decline.  America is fast headed toward disaster.  Its position in the world will become that of the sickest and poorest nation on Earth because too few have the courage to stand up and put an end to the greed and corruption that rules today’s medical establishment.

The Startling State of Healthcare in America

The healtcare system in America today is in shambles. From the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry to the government agencies of the FDA and FTC, healthcare has become one great cash cow. The main interest is in making profits over the health and welfare of the average citizen they proclaim to protect.

Despite all the advancements made by medical science, the medical establishment has taken several steps backward. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to find cures for cancer, heart, disease, diabetes, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other diseases that plague mankind today. We “run for the cure”, raise millions and yet are still no closer to finding the elusive cure.

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are the best that today’s medical establishment offers, all of which fall short in preserving the life of the sufferers. Drugs are the main arsenal doctors prescribe to treat the symptoms, but the causes of disease are not addressed.

The establishment calls it healthcare. In fact the better term is “disease care” as the system does not promote health. As long as the patient becomes ill and stays that way, big pharma, pharmacists and doctors stay in business. The onus is in insuring that many people get sick and kept that way so multi billion dollar profits can continue to roll into the coffers of the pharmaceutical companies that proeduce drugs.

Diseases have not been eradicated. Rather, more diseases crop up every year, more drugs are prescribed as more people get sicker. The statistics tell a frightening tale:

• Cancer is recognized as the number one killer in America today. The war on cancer pronounced during the presidency of Richard Nixon has been lost. Over $200 billion has been spent since 1971 trying to find a cure for cancer. But a cure is as far off as it ever was.

• Diabetes is on the rise and fast becoming a worldwide epidemic. China, that bastion of Communism, is fast taking over Europe as number one in diabetes. Even children today are coming down with adult onset type 2 diabetes.

• Heart disease is on the rise.

• Muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, asthma, neck, shoulder and back pains among many have increased dramatically.

• More people are suffering from stomach ailments, GERD and ulcers.

• More people suffer from high stress, depression and anxiety.

• Allergies, constipation, arthritis, fibromyalgia and herpes afflict more people than ever before.

Despite the increase in all these illnesses, more people are desperately trying to lose weight and stay fit.

Yet more people are getting fatter. More are seeing their doctors, getting tested more often and getting more prescriptions. More surgeries are performed though their effectiveness is often in question.

America spends over 2 trillion dollars annually on healthcare, but ranks among the lowest in overall health. There are over 30 countries where lifespan is higher than that of the average American.

Americans consume over half of all the drugs ever manufactured. Doctors write over 3 billion prescriptions every year. The average American has over 30 prescription and non-prescription drugs in his medicine cabinet.

An aging population simply cannot explain the rise of so many diseases. It does not explain the dramatic rise of ADD, ADHD, bipolar disorder, asthma and autism in children who are over-medicated and over-vaccinated.

With all this affecting so many people, it’s not difficult to see why drug company profits are at an all-time high. It’s not difficult to see that the food industry and the weight loss industry are getting rich on the backs of Americans who have placed their unfounded faith in their medical practitioner to keep them healthy. Too many die in hospitals under a doctor’s care than can be explained to diseases alone.

Kickbacks, bribes, conflict of interest, outright lies and cover-ups clearly demonstrate that healthcare is out of control. Government bodies such as the FDA and FTC, responsible for the health and welfare of Americans, ride the back pockets of out-of-control drug manufacturers.

The Bible clearly states that the love of money is the root of all evil and many unfortunate victims of government inaction and Big Pharma unconcern for life die every year needlessly.

Cures for many illnesses exist. But the profit motive of greedy executives that sit on the board of directors insure that the public does not hear about them.

The sorry state of healthcare today is weakening the fundamental strengths that made America great. America is fast sliding into the realm of a third world country and the future of this great nation will go down in history.

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The author is a freelance writer having written a number of articles to Helium, Suite 101, eHow, and Constant Content. He writes in several topics, but primarily in the health field where many people are deceived and ignorant about the dangers of standard drugs. If you are looking to purchase articles for your blog or add content to your website, you can find a number of articles at: http://www.constant-content.com/author/20444-mrmagica-details-0.htm You can also read a number of useful articles at: http://www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/mrmagica

Learning to Ruin Your Sleep the Easy Way

For many bedtime becomes another job activity. While they’re never paid to get to sleep, the very activity of forcing sleep insures they will stay awake. Popping sleeping pills do help, but they are not the best healthy solution to the problem.

Nevertheless, if you are one of the few who do manage to sleep most nights and would prefer to be bleary eyed by the time you get to work, here are some helpful tips you can employ to insure that a good night of sleep becomes a sought after miracle.

• Drink plenty of caffeine before bedtime. No doubts about it. You won’t need toothpicks to keep your eyes open all night. While you’re at it, try alcohol, another sure way to keep you awake. Both caffeine and alcohol will help produce a good bout of acid reflux, diarrhea, constipation and a host of other stomach ailments guaranteed to keep your co-workers and your boss at arm’s distance from you.

• Gorge yourself with food shortly before retiring. Your stomach will be busy growling and producing gas as it tries to digest that food. That bloated feeling is sure to ruin any good night of rest. You might have to get up on occasion to rush to the washroom to throw up some of that undigested food. Taking a few antacid pills to calm the war inside your stomach certainly helps to reduce the production of stomach acids the stomach needs for digestion. But there’s no better way to insure your health gets ruined by adding ulcers, constipation and intestinal illness.

• Get into a serious argument with your girlfriend or your wife so you can stew over their inconsideration all night long. If you’re not married, try picking a fight at the local bar. You’ll be lying in bed relaxing head bruises with an ice pack.

• Watch violent movies before bedtime. This works much better with the volume on full blast. You need to get angry to see red all night. Anything from a hockey fight to a boxing or wrestling match will help keep the adrenaline flowing. Make sure to move your TV into the bedroom so you and your bleary eyed wife can both enjoy the fights.

• Get into a heavy workout routine. Forget taking a walk to relax like the wimps do. Go for a 10K marathon. Lift those hundred pound weights. Sweat your way into shape and sleepless nights. Make sure to continue that routine every night so you can be tired when you go to work the next day.

• Start an all-night day care center. There will always be some kids who want to emulate you. Children screaming in your ears are a great way to keep up those jangled nerves.

• Keep your bedroom window open during the cold winter nights. Pneumonia will help keep you awake until you find rest at the cemetery.

• Puff more than your usual pack-a-day habit before going to bed. Smoker’s breath will insure you spend time on the uncomfortable love seat instead of your bed when your wife kicks you out. Smoking excessively also helps you cough your way to a cancer ward in the hospital.

Now if all this sounds like a great deal of trouble, maybe it’s far better just to relax, drink some soothing herbal tea and forget about your worries before you drift off to a restful sleep.

End

The author sometimes likes to write humor and thankfully most of it appears in this, his Word Press blog. But if you’re looking to read more serious stuff, you can find it at Helium: http://www.helium.com/users/210594

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How to Tell If You Are About to Be abducted By Aliens

Alien abductions! We’ve heard so much about them! They lurk just beyond our ability to notice them but they’re waiting. Who can tell their reasons?

Perhaps they’re just waiting for humanity to self-destruct so they can move in and establish a new Utopian order. Or maybe they’re waiting a few light years for reinforcements to arrive to make the first and final conquest of the human race. Or perhaps it’s just to pick out those of us who have the qualities of becoming super beings to finally bring lasting peace to humanity.

Whether friend or foe, there are some, including Fox Mulder, who believe they have been abducted beyond their will and have become subjected to unholy experiments. One thing is certain. No one who has been abducted has ever shown much improvement beyond mental instability. .

In any case, alien abductions are felt by believers to be real and can’t be explained away by Nazi doctors or an IRS audit.

Should we be concerned?

And how can you tell if you have been a victim of an alien abduction? Trying to convince your friends and relatives may lead to an abduction to a psychiatric ward by white clothed doctors won’t do much good if you have no solid proof beyond a few cat scratches.

But then again, perhaps the world has been taken over by aliens and they’d prefer you didn’t try to stir up resentment against the positions of power they already hold in the halls of government and pharmaceutical companies. An uprising may not work in their favor. Then again, our current epidemics of obesity, cancer, heart diseases and diabetes may be the work of aliens as they attempt to eliminate the human race.

Is there any way to know if you have become a victim of an alien abduction? Here are some questions to ask:

Have you lost track of time and can’t account for your whereabouts for an hour or more? Losing track of time and memory could be the result of taking statin drugs. But perhaps this is just the front the aliens need to take you into their mother ship, the Axiom.

Have you ever felt paralyzed with fright from a being in your room? Other than a white coated doctor checking your life signs in your hospital bed, if he appears to be your doctor checking you up in your bedroom, you should be concerned.

Do you have some unusual scars or marks with no idea how they got there? Check with your friends if you haven’t been out the previous night for a good time with the bouncer at the local pub. If this isn’t the case, check to see if you haven’t been flagellating yourself in a religious purge. If these can be ruled out, the only conclusion is an alien, other than your wife unless her name is Lorena Bobbitt.

Did you have a dream of flying you felt positive wasn’t a dream? Maybe you’ve been watching too many Peter Pan movies or Mary Poppins. If either of them aren’t real, that leaves the improbable alien.

Have you witnessed rays of light outside of your home or had light beams shining through the windows of your room? That depends on where you live. Life next to a major highway is likely to produce enough lights form passing cars to make you feel aliens are out to disturb your sleep.

Do you have a strong urge to fulfill a mission without knowing from where this urge comes from? Check first your anti-depressants for their hallucinogenic quality. Lots of people exhibit bizarre behavior, commit suicide or murder simply from the use of Prozac. It may be that your doctor prescribed it to get rid of you.

Did you ever dream of strange eyes peering at you through your window, knowing that they did not belong to Santa Claus or didn’t belong to trick-or-treaters on Halloween?

Have you experienced puzzling sleep disorders waking at night to scratches at your door and thumping noises in the attic or your laundry room? Did you remember to bring in the dog. That howl outside your window could be form Rover and not a Tommyknocker.

Have you seen your spouse become paralyzed and motionless as soon as she sees you? Perhaps you have morphed into a shapeless mass of blubber after eating all that processed junk food?

Has there been anyone who has claimed that you went suddenly missing or saw an alien near you that wasn’t Linoge in that movie “Storm of the Century”?

Have you had the feeling of being watched at night? Perhaps the IRS is spying to find some illegal activity on your part. If it’s not them or a private eye your wife hired to watch for extracurricular trysts with female employees, then it’s likely an alien.

If you can come reasonably conclude that aliens have abducted your or are about to, check yourself into a sanatorium for protection. You’ll need it.

Author Bio: The author is a freelance writer who writes mostly in subjects dealing with health and business. He currently has a number of articles publuished on Helium: http://www.helium.com/users/210594 You can also buy articles for use in your website or ezine here:

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Cultivating a Relationship with Your Doctor

Disclaimer: The following article is but a humorous look at the relationship between the doctor and patient. As one of a series of articles looking at the lighter and funnier side of life, it by no means should be construed to be gospel truth. The author simply believes that due to the present state of economic chaos, we all need a good laugh now and then and that’s why this series is written. So sit back and enjoy!

There is no question that the doctor-patient relationship is a special one that borders on genuine love. Your doctor loves your body for the money it can bring while he pumps it full of prescription meds. Of course it’s taken for granted that mind and body are separate entities. If something goes wrong with your body, it’s not your fault you got sick. After all, diet and exercise has nothing to do with health, or so the medical profession hopes you’ll believe. If this was not so, why would so many people continue to chow down burgers, smoke a pack a day and pollute their bodies with toxins every chance they get?

The major problem with your doctor is that he hasn’t got time to tend to your personal needs at every hour of the day as he is in love with thousands of other corpses he sees on a daily basis. In order to know what’s wrong with you, he needs the opportunity to carefully observe every aspect of your daily life, jot down the foods you eat and how you handle the kids and your wife. He has to follow you to work, with a white lab coat to distinguish himself from the company employees while watching you eat those sugar-laced donuts and how many smokes you can puff during the smoke break.

It’s not an easy job, but if you want the doctor’s attention and establish a good relationship with him or her, you need to make some sacrifices that will ensure he’ll be at your beck and call when the next heart attack occurs. Since your doctor is concerned about the health of your pocketbook, it’s only natural to reciprocate by developing a close kinship with him. So what can you do to insure your relationship is a stellar one? Here are some tips:

Buy a bigger home. You’ll simply need a home with plenty of space to house his medical paraphernalia and his clinic. While this may seem a burden, consider that most Americans love big homes and fancy cars so this shouldn’t be much of a financial burden for you.

Build a lab facility. Your doctor can’t conduct his experiments without the test tubes, MRI and X-ray equipment he needs for treatment and/or torture. Whether the lab stands apart from the house or is an addition, you should insure it has adequate insulation so you and the neighbors can’t hear the screams of the doctor’s patients as he performs treatments. If finances just aren’t available, use your rec room as a temporary facility. You may even be able to get a grant from the government to help in your expansion efforts. Considering the state of today’s economy it’s wise to use government incentive programs to help employ construction workers to build that new addition.

Open up a dual account. It should be in your name and your doctor’s name so he can withdraw the charges for his services without issuing you a receipt.

Get a new bed. You’ll need a double-king sized one as your doctor needs a place to sleep too. You can never know when adverse drug effects keep you awake and screaming half the night. Your doctor needs sleep too so he must address your problems immediately with emergency surgery as may be needed. Your double-king bed must be large enough to accommodate your lawyer, accountant and IRS auditor too. The lawyer is necessary to smooth out any differences you may have between you and your doctor. Divorces between patients and doctors are as common as between husband and wife.

Take out extra life insurance. You want your doctor to feel right at home and that requires giving him a few perks to get in bed with you. One of them is taking out extra insurance that can cover any lawsuits he incurs from malpractice by patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Since life is so delicate, you can never know when you will keel over from drug complications as so many patients do in the nation’s hospitals every year, about 100,000 by some estimates. Taking the right dose and right prescription is no guarantee you will survive to tomorrow. Your doctor needs to continue his practice uninterrupted so he needs to know that you will pay for his mistakes and is guaranteed to be the beneficiary of your estate.

Build a big parking lot. It’s not absolutely necessary, but it’s a good way to bring in extra income so you can delay bankruptcy. Guests and patients need a place to park while they are being serviced. To add more revenue, install a gate where they can pay $5.00 in parking fees. If you think this is too much, many people, including your doctor, gouge their customers on a regular basis. If patients prefer to park in the street, install a parking meter or have a city tow truck service haul away the offending vehicle. You might consider getting into the tow truck business yourself.

These are helpful points that can insure you stay healthy until 40. A love relationship with your doctor is so important. Insuring that your doctor is safe, comfortable and profitable is the best way for a happy retirement six feet under in your doctor’s backyard once he takes control of your property.

Living the Great American Diabetes Diet

Disclaimer: This article is meant as a light-hearted and humorous look at one of our most favorite pastimes—dieting. The author in no way endorses the enclosed material as accurate, though it may represent a great portion of the population. Neither can the author be help liable for any damages incurred by following the information herein, except perhaps what might occur to the funny-bone of the reader. While the author may not approve the following material and advice, the FDA and Big Pharma might endorse the information enclosed as a convenient way to sell you more drugs and make more money.

The diet plan everyone wants is finally here!

Move over Atkins. Move over Pritikin! There’s a new fat kid on the block and for once he’s telling it straight. Twenty-four  million Americans can’t be wrong as they enjoy the benefits of this high glycemic, low fiber diet that is sweeping the nation. Now you can join them and enjoy the following benefits too!

• Obesity
• Heart Disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Stroke
• Alzheimer’s
• Arthritis and so much more!

Forget about the Darwinian theory that we descended from the apes. It’s totally untrue. We descended from whales.  Surely you realize that weight loss is simply impossible. Though you may lose it, you’ll only gain it back and more to spare! You are meant to carry along some extra blubber.

Face it, fat is in, baby! Why struggle so hard and deny reality? Those diets don’t work ’cause they go against your natural inclinations. Take a close look around you. The survivors are the obese as they roll over their skinny counterparts in the dash to the hospital for triple bypass surgery.

The thought of a surgeon slicing through thick blubber to get to your aorta should make your mouth water!

But you don’t have to miss out! The Great American Diabetes Diet (G.A.D.D.) is the only realistic diet that works! It’s effortless and guaranteed to work 100%. Even more, it requires no exercise!

How, you ask, can you join the ranks of the millions already enjoying the benefits of blindness and foot amputations? Chances are you’re already on your way to the  complications! Just a few simple lifestyle changes and you can be assured of a comfortable vacation spot in a hospital ward. And if you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late to support the pocketbooks of your local pharmaceutical company that stands ready with a costly army of medications to service your every woe.

Big Pharma, the FDA, the FTC and many government agencies are already busy promoting GADD with advertisements and false reports outlining the dangers of vitamins and minerals in your diet. They already know that man is a descendant of whales and we must get pleasantly fat while they get pleasantly wealthy.  So discard those herbs being sold at your health food store today and start on your way to a new you with the GADD! Once you’ve finished with clearing out your kitchen cabinet of those unwanted “health” supplements, you can begin your diet by:

1. Eating a Sumo wrestler’s breakfast. Be sure to drink a large glass of sweetened orange juice. Fry up a good batch of eggs, bacon and sausage to last until the morning doldrums. If you prefer cereal, there’s no need for whole grain, it’s so bland.  Show your kids you like sugar as much as they do and fill up a few bowls of high-fructose-corn-syrup sweetened cereal. Don’t like cereal? No problem, have at least 6 pancakes along with a good dollop of whole fat butter and smother it all with maple syrup.  And don’t neglect to add two tablespoons of sugar to your morning coffee for that extra spike of glucose! But if you’re like many, breakfast is too much a bother.  There’s no harm in simply skipping this meal.  Just be sure to pick up a few donuts on your way to work.
2. Mid morning hunger can be alleviated by conveniently placed vending machines where you’ll find an assortment of high calorie, high carbohydrate snacks. Don’t forget to take advantage of your smoke break. A good puff will fill your lungs with the goodness of friendly chemicals designed to shorten your breath effortlessly.
3. Lunch is the most important meal of the day, so don’t neglect those hamburgers, fries and cola. With just 150 calories and 43 grams of sugar, you can afford to drink more than one soft drink! Bringing your own lunch is unhealthy. Eat what’s being served in the school cafeteria or the local restaurant. Don’t forget to relax and hack your way through another cigarette. It will pay off in more dividends than you can imagine!
4. Mid afternoon needs as much attention as the mid morning. Insure energy with a large bag of salted chips and pretzels. If you’re feeling some indigestion or acid reflux, take an aspirin or those meds your doctor prescribed. Don’t forget the ritual of another good smoke.
5. There’s no need to scrimp on dinner. Just make sure there are no vegetables on your plate. The key to cooking well is to fry…fry…fry. Pizza and fried chicken are great alternatives when you’re in a rush to see your doctor over those minor chest pains. To enjoy the GADD, the more in a hurry you are, the better the indigestion. You eat more, chew less and pack on pounds as fast as you can eat.
6. The evening is a time to stress-out before the TV with another smoke and the last beer of that six-pack you brought home. Don’t worry about those health nuts who promote nuts and seeds as a good way to snack. A large bag of Cheetos and all-dressed Ruffles will do you good before bed. Ignore your dog’s incessant whine as he attempts to get you to go out with him for a walk. You’re tired and darkness is only two hours away.
7. While preparation for bed doesn’t appear to have anything to do with the GADD, it is important how you do it. Brush your teeth with the fluoridated water that your taxes pay the city to clean up. Better still, take a shower. That water contains the trace elements of the drugs that are inadvertently flushed down the toilets by many dedicated householders. Make sure you drink at least 8 eight ounce glasses of unfiltered tap water every day.

There you have it, a daily approach to living today’s American dream! Simply by making the changes to your lifestyle, you can insure that everyone in the medical establishment, the food and agriculture industry and the CEOs of big pharmaceutical companies continue to have jobs and billion-dollar profits.

Is Addiction to Drugs or Alcohol a Disease?

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While some people may be predisposed to becoming alcoholic,  I don’t believe it is a disease. There are many factors that can lead someone to become an alcoholic, but they are not born into it.  If it were so, we should have seen a great more people getting the “disease” throughout man’s history.

Alcohol and drug abuse is often the result of an inability to cope with current problems.  Today’s society is fast-paced and puts emphasis on the need to perform.  Unfortunately, too many people find themselves running beyond their abilities on the treadmill of life and seek for ways to relieve stress, anxiety and fear. Alcohol and drugs provide an avenue of escape from reality. But as the pace of life increases, so does the need for a fix.

Those who are prone for addiction may have an inherent chemical or biological imbalance that disposes them to the bottle, but studies show that addiction is not inherited. One of the major factors for addiction comes from learning by example. If your parents, relatives and close friends find comfort in a drug, it’s likely you will pick up the same habits. Parental example is a powerful influence on children. If they smoke, their children may start smoking too. None of this is any indication of a disease.

There is a tendency to explain away behaviors by labeling them as a disease when there is no indication or proof that there is any virus or germ that may cause it. There is a body of psychiatrists that get together every year to discuss whether the symptoms of some disorder should be labeled as a disease. By vote they call it a disease and the medical community accepts it as so. ADHD and a number of behavioral problems have been labeled as diseases. Once a disorder has the label of “disease” on it, it provides the opportunity to make a profit by the medical profession from the the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture new drugs to the doctors who prescribe  them.  Anti-depressant drugs are among the best selling medications, though depression, in my opinion, is not a disease but merely the symptoms exhibited by a person who has too much time on his hands.  He has the luxury to worry excessively about his problems. Abraham Lincoln once said that most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.  Much of that has to do with the attitude and approach to a problem,  neither of which prove the existence of a disease.

Alcohol and drug abuse are the result of behavior problems. And behavior problems start with the mind. How you think determines how you feel. For many, the pressures of life make them feel lousy and the only way to feel good is by having a drink. But doing so doesn’t get rid of the problem. Only a positive approach and action can overcome problems. Unfortunately, most people become accustomed by habit,  reaching automatically for the cigarette, the booze or popping the pills. This is not the mark of a disease.

Time was when a disease was something caused by a virus of some sort. Today, everything is labeled a disease. It’s a convenient way to sell more drugs, but most of our “diseases” such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and others are the end  result of a poor lifestyle.

Perhaps some day the “authorities” will label divorce as a disease since one of every two marriages fail.

Eliminate the fats, sugar and unhealthy chemicals and ingredients in most of the food we eat, getting exercise and changing the ingrained habits we’ve developed over the years and we are more likely to find a “cure” for those so called diseases. An improper lifestyle invites viruses and germs to find a home in the body where they can do harm simply because we have weakened our immune system so it cannot do the job it was designed to do.  Disease does not strike a healthy body. I recall one minister mentioning to his congregation that we are not meant to be sick.

Smoking, drinking and drug addictions are not diseases. They can be prevented through a proper lifestyle and the sooner we make those important changes, the healthier we will all be and the poorer the medical system that promotes sickness in the name of profit.

Educating the Public on the Health Risks of Smoking

Smoking, we now know is a vile habit that offers no benefit to those who engage in the habit. Unfortunately the nicotine habit is a hard one to break and while we have made strides like banning smoking in office buildings and public places, a solution to ending the habit is an impossible dream for those who would like a release from this addiction.

While advertising the risks associated with the habit is a step in the right direction, much more has to be done if the habit is lessened or eradicated altogether.

Let’s look at some of the ways a smoker can reduce his chances of suffering from the diseases that come with the habit if he can’t stop smoking:

• Exercise. It applies equally to everyone. A sedentary lifestyle promotes ill health even if you’re not a smoker. But the smoker needs to get more exercise outdoors. Brisk walks and outdoor activity can help clear the lungs of the chemicals accumulated from a lifetime of smoking. There have been those who have lived into their nineties and were smokers. The only difference lay in their outdoor activity levels.

• Diet. Most food today lacks the essential nutrients the body needs to function normally. Both smokers and non-smokers alike need to replace their diet of highly processed foods with natural whole fiber as found in fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Stress Reduction. Stress has its uses. It provides a way to cope with emergencies. But in today’s world, the constant stresses of life take a large toll on health. For many smoking, drinking and drugs offers the chance to relax from hard times. Unfortunately, that pack a day habit is sure to shorten life. Learning to meditate and prayer provide better alternatives and can help to reduce the dependence on a cigarette.

• Environment pollution and the toxic environment. From our food to the air we breathe and the water we drink, pollutants are everywhere. You can reduce the load placed on your body by eating organic foods and getting on a regular detoxification program. Drinking pure water is one of the best ways to flush out those toxins.

What should be done to prevent people from getting into the habit in the first place?

• Manufacturing of cigarettes should be limited to existing smokers and denied to juveniles. A pharmacy, rather than the corner store, should only sell to an existing smoker who can have a prescription from a doctor who is helping him quit the habit.
• Educate the public on the dangers of smoking. Advertising should focus on the damaging effects of a lifetime of smoking. It should impress upon the mind the distastefulness of lighting up with vivid pictures, video and audio. One of the tenets of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) is to heavily impress the distastefulness of a habit on the mind to the point that it “turns away” from the habit in sheer disgust. Imagine lighting up a cigarette only to find worms crawling into your mouth and down your throat! If that image is made so powerful, the urge to smoke is averted. Our schools must do a better job in educating the youth from ever lighting up just to be in the “in” crowd.
• Counseling for the adult smoker. Focus should center on the reason the habit was formed. There are many reasons why someone begins to smoke, both psychological and physical. Counseling should be mandatory. The costs required to treat a cancer victim due to smoking puts a great burden on society. Since the current answer to cancer treatment is chemotherapy and radiation, there is little hope for a prolonged life for the smoker.

Smokers alone should not bear the health risks of their habit. Much can be accomplished if there is a willingness in every sector of society to address the problem from the manufacturer to the retailer and finally the smoker. Smoking needs to be addressed at home, at school and at work. All of us must bear some of the responsibility.

Mr Magica is the author of several articles he has published her and at Helium. You can read more of his work at: http://www.helium.com/users/210594

Denial of The Spirit Within

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We cannot deny the existence of the spirit that resides within all of us. Whether you want to call this spirit God, Allah, Vishnu or some other title, it exists. It doesn’t require belief.

It’s through that spirit that we are all connected. What happens to one will affect the others. Even the events of the world as they unfold have a ripple effect, like a stone splashed into water, those ripples extend through the lake. We are all linked together by this same spirit.To deny its existence does not make it go away.

The spirit works with us only if we follow the rules that govern the perfect functioning of the universe. There are many people who, despite their claim to belief, deny the spirit by their actions. They may try to live in accordance with their own concepts of greed and disharmony, but that way only leads them down the road to frustration and a feeling of emptyness. They accomplish nothing.

To compensate for their feelings they resort to violence as if they hope to rob others of the potential that they have removed from themselves by denying the spirit and the laws that govern the universe. Others accumulate vast riches, but this too does not fulfil the empty sould that cries out for peace, a sense of meaning.

Too many focus on the matters of this world, on themselves. If hope for a brighter future is all they want, their plates are empty. They yearn for the food at the buffet table. Yet even if they partake, that food does not nourish.

While you must satisfy the requirements of the body to keep it healthy, that is not enough. The body is a physical entity and needs physical substance to keep it alive. Feeding the body does not feed the spirit.

For life to exist there must be satisfaction in both the body and the mind/spirit. Riches and fame have their place and exist only to be used for the enhancement and joy toward others. For then there is a harmonious relationship between the body and mind/spirit. They must work together if we are to see enlightenment.

You cannot focus your attention to one area alone as you will suffer both in health of the body and mind.

To reach spiritual enlightenment does not mean that you must meditate like a monk on a high mountain. Meditation is important as it frees the mind of distractions. But you cannot isolate the spirit without the action that is necessary to reach the state of enlightenment. If you carry with you a spirit of understanding and compassion you will be far ahead of the masses who care only for their own comforts.

What Everyone Should Know About the Glycemic Index

Whether you are diabetic or not the glycemic index (GI) and glycemic load (GL) can have a profound impact on your health. They may not mean much to you, but they do to millions of diabetics around the world. Simply put they are measures of how fast the food you eat is transformed into glucose.

If you’re not diabetic it’s is easy to dismiss these indexes as unimportant but likely they do apply to you, though you may not know it.

It is the job of the pancreas to produce insulin to move excess glucose away from the bloodstream and into the cells of the body where it is needed for energy. With many diabetics the pancreas produces more than enough insulin, but  the cells have become resistant to accepting glucose when insulin knocks at the door. High blood sugar in the bloodstream eventually leads to organ failure and many complications such as blindness, heart disease and even amputations of the feet.

Unfortunately, many people are diabetic but don’t know it. It is estimated that upwards of a billion people around the world exhibit some form of insulin resistance. Their pancreas produce more than enough insulin to move glucose and it does get into the cells. They are not diabetic, but the load placed on the pancreas can lead to failure and ultimately the diagnosis of diabetes. This condition has been given the name Syndrome X and you should be aware that you may well be on the road to diabetes.  Combined with a diet of highly refined and processed food, a sedentary lifestyle and bad habits of smoking and drinking, you are likely a future diabetic.

So even if you’re not diabetic you should pay attention to the terms Glycemic index and Glycemic load. They are good indicators of what food is good for you and what food you should avoid eating in order to stay healthy.

So what is GI and GL and why should you care?

GI is a measure of how fast the food you eat is converted into blood sugar.

GL is a measure of the amount of food that must be consumed to produce large levels of glucose. Taken another way, you can raise your blood sugar by simply eating more food, even though it may have a low value on the GI.

Certain foods are quickly converted into blood glucose. Highly processed and refined foods such as white bread, sugary breakfast cereals, cookies and cakes rank high on the glycemic index. High GI foods produce high spikes in blood sugar and it is those high spikes that can lead to damage to the major organs such as the heart and kidneys. On the other hand foods that are high in fiber produce a slower rise in glucose. The pancreas does not need to shift into overdrive to get rid of excess sugar. Fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grain breads rank low on the GI scale and are better alternatives to high glycemic foods.

Watermelon has a high GI. While you might think to avoid consuming a slice of watermelon, the amount of carbohydrates in half a cup is only 6 grams. This is where the GL comes in. 2 slices of watermelon will not significantly create a rise in blood sugar. GL takes into account the amount of calories consumed. Along with GI you have a good standard of which foods are best and which you need to avoid.

Typically a GL rating of 20 or more is considered high, 11 to 19 in the medium range.

A slice of whole wheat bread has a GI of 69 which measures in the medium to high range, but it’s GL is only 9.6 for that one slice.

But take a look at the GI for a can of any soft drink. The GI is 68 and the GL is 34. Clearly that one can is high on both scales and will lead to a sugar spike.

Since most of the processed food you eat ranks high on both GI and GL it makes sense to replace them with high fiber foods. Replacing that junk food will go a long way to help maintain your health and avoid the diseases of cancer, heart disease and diabetes that afflict so many people.

Food labels don’t yet list GI and GL values, though there is a movement to have them listed so you can better judge the food you should be buying. and consuming.

Diabetic or not, you should be paying more attention to what you eat and how it can affect your health. Youth has its advantages but everyone gets old and age can bring with it some serious health problems. So do yourself a favor today to insure a healthier future tomorrow.

The author has been a diabetic for over 8 years. Like many he experienced the symptoms. He has since tackled the disease by losing weight and normalizing his blood sugar through natural means. If you should be interested in finding out about some products that have helped, you’ll find them in the Resource section of his website-in-progress at: http://www.newagediabetic.com