September 2022

The health benefits of eating breakfast extend throughout your day, making it the most important meal of the day. Consuming a good, hearty breakfast is like priming a pump, to help your body get ready for a full day’s worth of activity. Not only does the first meal of the day heat up your metabolism to better burn calories, studies show that the effects of this “jump start” help keep the metabolism working at a higher rate throughout the day. Blood sugar levels rise up and remain higher longer, instead of having a quick drop off that might be generated by eating just high sugar content breakfast snack foods. Skipping this important meal does you no good at all. You will be hungry sooner, eat more later, and not have the good energy to function efficiently. Additional health benefits of eating breakfast include an increased ability to use your brain, an excellent idea for those younger ones who need to pay attention at school. Some dieters have found that they have better success by flipping their food intake, having dinner for breakfast and typical breakfast foods for dinner. The higher caloric intake at the breakfast meal allows the body to function better all day, and the impact of a good breakfast helps the body become less hungry at later meals. The body can burn off the higher calorie levels all day long, instead of having food sit idle at night, turning into fat with inactivity. Calories burn faster in the morning, following the breakfast meal, and the body metabolism slows down near nighttime. Being able to eat more food is another of the health benefits of eating breakfast. You can actually eat more with a good balanced breakfast followed by a moderate lunch and lighter dinner. People who skip breakfast eat more snacks during the day, and have heavier meals later. It is easier to incorporate protein, fiber and fruit into typical breakfasts. Breakfast eaters exercise more because they have the energy to do so, making personal fitness a by-product of eating healthy breakfast meals. Tangible health benefits of eating breakfast include a boost in concentration, energy and productivity levels. Eating high fiber breakfast foods like cereal, fruit, grains, nuts, and yogurt are lower calorie than snack foods like doughnuts or sweet rolls. They give you needed bulk in your diet, last longer, help you feel full and less hungry longer. High protein breakfast foods like eggs, milk, and meats are good breakfast foods, but watch out for the fats like butter and cream cheese. Always take fats in moderation. Eating breakfast will improve your overall nutrition, and help reduce the risk of heart disease and regulate cholesterol. Breakfast is important to body metabolism by breaking the fast of sleep time; long term fasting does not allow you to produce the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight. Extensive studies on this topic have been done by researchers at the Cleveland (OH) Mayo Clinic and Harvard University/Massachusetts General Hospital. Source by Wendy Pan

The use of wine and our strong convictions of its health benefits, abstainers and teetotalers notwithstanding, are probably as old as wine itself dating back to the first civilizations in the ancient world. In Mesopotamia ca. the third millennium BC, the Babylonians believed wine to have medicinal and therapeutic effects and it was considered so pure and free of contaminations that it was preferred-along with beer-over water. In Ancient Egypt more than two thousand years BC, wine also became a common ingredient in “prescription drugs” for curing a variety of ailments. The drugs were formulated using other ingredients too, such as water and particularly those derived from medicinal plants. And stories abound from the Far East where the Chinese would lace wine with animal parts to concoct drugs to cure just about any ailment. Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine who had a keen sense of physiological and metabolic reactions in the human body not only used wine as a prescription drug in Ancient Greece but also pioneered it into an antiseptic for treating wounds. The link between wine and its medicinal and therapeutic benefits grew stronger through the various eras and Middle Ages up to modern times. So compelling was the link that following the decreasing death rate of convicts and migrants who were treated with wine aboard Australia-bound ships in the early part of the nineteenth century, it spawned the founding of vineyards and wineries by British doctors throughout the rest of the century. Many such wineries have grown into global businesses responsible for some of the largest wine outputs in the world. For example, Lindemans and Penfolds were founded in the early 1840s by Drs. Henry J. Lindeman and Christopher R. Penfold, respectively. But as wine became integral to religions from Biblical times and the evils of alcohol took root into societies, wine, its health benefits, and its sociological impacts became very controversial and spawned the anti-alcohol temperance movement in colonial America. In 1916, federal health authorities removed alcohol from the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), “the official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines and other health care products manufactured or sold in the United States.” Then in 1920, the Volstead Act was enacted under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution making the manufacture, sale, importation, and distribution of alcohol illegal which lasted until 1933 when the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified to repeal National Prohibition. During Prohibition, consumption of alcohol and homemade wine for personal use was still allowed though each state and often towns or counties were left to implement further control according to local needs. Wine for sacramental and medicinal uses was also exempt. In Canada, provinces had already started implementing prohibitory laws in 1917. Much research on the health benefits of wine has been documented particularly since the nineteenth century. But the temperance movement had been strong and gained renewed momentum in the 1980s in advocating the evils of alcohol on public health. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a now very influential organization, was first founded in 1980. Then during Ronald Reagan’s first presidential term in the 1980s, First Lady Nancy Reagan launched the “Just Say No” drug awareness campaign which naturally included alcoholic beverages. Senator James Strom Thurmond, whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver in 1993 and whose wife later became addicted to alcohol, was a long-time, staunch anti-alcohol advocate. He led the offensive responsible for implementing (in 1988) the now-familiar warning on labels of all wines sold in the U.S. The ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, now the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, or TTB) text reads as follows: GOVERNMENT WARNING: (1) According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects. (2) Consumption of alcoholic beverages impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery and may cause health problems. But there was a major turnabout in 1991 when French scientist Dr. Serge Renaud made public his theory of the French Paradox which observed that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart diseases (CHD) which is the major cause of death in industrialized countries despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats found in, for example, eggs, dairy products and particularly cheese, and meat. Renaud’s work catapulted sales of red wine in the U.S. and a renewed interest in the health benefits of wine when CBS aired its French Paradox TV segment on 60 Minutes that same year. The French Paradox, the countless epidemiological studies and laboratory studies and experiments, such as those by renowned Kaiser-Permanente cardiologist Dr. Arthur Klatsky make a strong case in asserting the J- or U-shaped relationships between the consumption of alcohol and mortality rate. More specifically, these have demonstrated that moderate alcohol consumption resulted in a lower mortality rate compared to abstainers and teetotalers or heavy alcohol drinkers. As well, moderate consumption has also been linked to a lower morbidity (disease) rate. Moderate consumption is generally defined to represent 14 g of pure alcohol (ethanol) per day which can be obtained from 148 mL (5 fl oz) of twelve-percent-alcohol wine-careful with that “two glasses a day” guideline-or from 355 mL (12 fl oz) of five-percent-alcohol beer or from 44 mL (1½ fl oz) of forty-percent-alcohol spirit. And to enjoy and maximize the health benefits of moderate drinking, consumption must be daily and not averaged out by, for example, drinking seven times the recommended amount at one Saturday-evening party, and should be part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle including regular exercise. As of 1999, wine destined for the U.S. market could then be labeled by TTB approval with a directional health-related statement directing consumers “to consult [their] family doctor about the health benefits of wine consumption” or to request the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) and Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) published Dietary Guidelines for Americans “to learn the health effects of wine consumption.” But Senator

The process of receiving health care services at the correct time in the appropriate way and to get the best possible outcome is defined as quality health care. Six attributes of health care quality • Safety – Care should not harm any patient. • Patient centered – Individual needs should be taken care of when providing care. • Timely – Care should be provided exactly on time. • Effective – Care must be based on evidence. • Efficient – Wastage of time should be reduced. • Equitable – Equal care should be provided to every patient. What is quality health care? The meaning of quality health care is not the same for all people. According to some patients, quality care is to consult a doctor, to get proper treatment from the staffs of a hospital and to have a physician who can spend much time with the patient. But all these things are secondary. Clinical quality of care is the most important thing because more lives can be saved by providing evidence-based and high quality care. Does quality equal safety? Yes, quality equals safety. The quality of care is to be improved by the health care providers because it can save more lives of the patients. How is health care quality measured? Outcome indicators and process indicators are the two ways of measuring quality of care. Timelines and baseline practices are measured by process indicators. Complication rates, mortality rates and infection rates are measured by outcome indicators. These indicators can be looked at by the consumer to compare the hospitals. National accreditations, recognitions and state of the hospital should also be looked at by you to measure quality. What are quality measures and quality indicators? The process of converting the medical information of a patient into percentage or rate to analyze the quality of care provided by the hospitals to their patients is called a quality measure. You will be given information by quality measures about how the patients are provided care by the hospital. This quality information can be used by you to compare the quality care of different hospitals. What role do nurses and doctors play? A very important role is played by the doctors and nurses. Quality care should be provided by all the nurses and physicians, clinically and satisfactorily. All the staffs in a hospital such as the receptionist, scrub nurse, hospital administrator, physician and the X-ray technician are responsible in providing quality care to all the patients. Remember all these features when you will go to get quality health care from any hospital. Source by Rajesh B Sanghvi

If mental well-being is to flourish healthily, maximally and spiritually, particularly depression during COVID, then our mental paradigms need adapting to incorporate deeper levels of pure mental silence: awareness which facilitates disease-free consciousness and purifying transcendence. Humanity has evolved beyond ‘copy n paste’ religious belief systems, replaced now with mature independent thinking — integrated souls functioning through spiritually evolved intellects — a level of cosmic consciousness through which the heart ‘sees’, intuits [Reality] beyond falsity. But, here we must be careful, for, while maybe abandoning formal religion — for whatever reason — is a personal choice, abandoning God is not a choice even if we think we’ve jumped ship; abandoning God is not possible for the reason of evolution and the innumerable laws of nature. Evolution is a God-appointed process — the Transcendent which created the laws of nature. This Transcendent Power, through the agency of evolution, continues working within each of us, guiding unto more mature perceptions of inner Reality as separate from outer programming. In other words, notwithstanding ‘decision’ of maybe to leave formal religion, God-Force, through evolution, unceasingly works WITHIN everyone for the reunification of the human soul back to God — back to Source AS Spirit Soul. More on evolution further on. Self-Transcendence – Intuiting The Sacred Coronavirus has left many intuiting for Sacred Immanence within: self-transcendence in defeating COVID by natural or spiritual means. Intuiting represents divine response to action, to what we can do practically regards COVID and mental health. More than ever, emergence of spiritual leadership-understanding is called for globally. In this context, at individual level, the Sacred within you needs YOU to create Pure Thought space in our own mental environment thereby grow self-immune consciousness: grow health-emanating stillness whereby antibodies are rapidly forthcoming in establishing, not only a virus-free consciousness going forward, but complete positive mental health by natural means. To this outcome, self-transcendence simply means rising above our worldly affairs – and associated consciousness — in meditation. At practical level, the shift from human awareness unto Sacred consciousness — unto self-transcendence — involves only attuning our mental compass inward toward the realm of transcendental consciousness in meditation. Establishing transcendental consciousness ultimately will emerge victorious in defeating COVID, heralding the spiritual-maintenance approach to complete mental / physical health in our own life, and globally going forward. In establishing transcendental consciousness, esoteric scriptures undoubtedly are the reliable means on developing transcendental consciousness, whereby the born-into animalistic mind standard can undergo change — alchemy from base level ‘DE-pressed’ consciousness to function blissfully or, transcendentally in ‘EX-pressed’ consciousness. Thus, in relieving symptoms of mental low energy or mood fluctuation, the secret lies in the expression of bliss consciousness. In expanding this mental health theme let us decode three pivotal scriptures which have direct bearing on such matters plus resolution of this pandemic by natural self-immune means. Luke 9-58 states: ‘Birds have nests, foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lie down and rest’. This heavily coded sentence is obviously not intended for literal surface interpretation. Unless these ancient words are understood esoterically then their hidden benefit — of building mental health and COVID resilience naturally – is lost at practical level. ‘Birds’ here symbolize Genesis ‘fowl of the air’, they represent lower nature thought patterns: non-soul serving mind-sets which have ‘nested’ in the deeper mind, in the subconscious. ‘Foxes’ symbolize cunningness, divisiveness, selfishness, thus, not wanting to be exposed, they hide in safe places – in fox holes — to deflect detection. Thus the ‘birds’ — lower thought nature — have built ‘foxholes’ in the deeper mind from where to propagate negativity and low mental energy. What is ‘son of man’ in relation to ‘birds’ and ‘foxes’? Luke 9-57 puts it: “As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, I will follow you wherever you go”. ‘Following’ biblical Jesus means replicating the symbolism for which the title ‘Jesus’ stands, which is, Ideal or Perfect Soul. In other words, Jesus represents Perfect MIND, the spiritually Enlightened consciousness – the God-given Potential within each of us. The man in this scripture is symbolism for ‘son of man’, ‘son’ meaning offspring of the mind’s lower nature – ‘man’ symbolizing mind. So, as divine status can only know Itself through Itself, biblical Jesus is revealing that the man (carnal mind) cannot ‘follow’ Jesus, [Enlightened mind] AS ‘son of man’ into the kingdom of health, happiness and bliss consciousness, that such lower state of mind is not compatible with divine consciousness. ‘Son of man’ represents a subconscious law of lower mind and its non-spiritual dynamic, including ignorance of the source of mental / physical health and COVID Immunity. ‘Son of man’ is symbolism for carry-over programming from previous lives which conditioning is rooted in duality consciousness, in opposites such as good-bad, love-hate, like-dislike, possible-impossible, including negative or depressive attitudes regards healing, health and happiness. With no capacity for relating spiritually or lovingly, lower nature in principle recognises only ill-health and negativity as opposed to Immutable Truth — inner healing, compassionate, transformative well-being and love-consciousness expression. Thus the reason ‘son of man’ has nowhere to rest or lie down is because it is not possible to do so: not feasible for lower nature to rest simultaneously in pure consciousness. Involution — Evolution in Relation to ‘Son of Man’ Humanity exists in cycles of involution / evolution eternally: Spirit descends – involution –into matter, forms the physical body marking the beginning of ‘evolution’ the process back unto Wholeness. In this context, the human soul at birth arrives with a non-spiritually developed intellect, plus five senses of perception set at animalistic standard. We come here with the initial ability of experiencing in carnal sense consciousness only, the involution level THROUGH which we evolve and ascend AS higher consciousness. Equipped initially in experiencing through animalistic standard of perception, we’re born with a non-discerning intellect which interprets ‘reality’ through conditioned awareness. Thus, like caterpillar-butterfly metamorphosis, evolving out of this son of mortal man cocoon unto eternal Son

Letting it all hang out takes on a literal meaning when a man is into nudism. Although exact figures are hard to come by – the American Association for Nude Recreation includes about 213,000 – it seems that interest in nudism is growing. And there are many men who claim that there are penis health benefits to a clothing-free lifestyle. For those interested in how nudism might improve penis health, the following information should be helpful. Not so healthy First, however, it’s important to acknowledge some penis health detriments that can occur if a man indulges in nudism activities. Probably the one that most often springs to mind is getting a sunburned penis. And that’s a very real possibility. Because the penis is usually kept hidden away, it gets very little sunlight, making penis skin much more sensitive to sunlight, especially when it is first exposed to the open air. Men need to make sure that they don’t let the penis (and balls) spend too much time in direct sunlight, and that they use a good sunscreen when they do. Nudist men also need to beware of plants like poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac and take steps to protect their penis from these and similar plants. Penis health benefits But what about the pluses to penis health of nudism? There are several. – It can lessen penis odor. One of the most common issues men face is that of a persistent and unattractive penis odor. A little musky scent can be attractive to a partner, but when the aroma is overpowered by sweat, bacteria and other smells, it can be a hug turn-off. Airing the penis out by engaging in nudism can help to fight penis odor – and with less sweat accumulating thanks to underwear and trousers, penis odor is less likely to come back. – Penis skin may be healthier. Proper exposure to the sunlight means that the penis skin is soaking up vitamin D, as well as accumulating natural moisture which helps keep the skin vibrant and alive. In addition, even soft clothing can at times rub the penis skin the wrong way, creating a chafing situation or even a rawness. In addition, penis skin that is exposed to fresh air is less likely to create an embarrassing itchiness. – Better rest makes a rowdier penis. Millions of people have significant sleep issues – and getting inadequate sleep is one of the more common reasons for a man to experience erectile difficulties. In general, the more rested the man, the more raring to go is the penis. In many cases, inadequate sleep has to do with feeling overheated while sleeping – which is less of a problem if one is sleeping in the nude. – The blood gets circulating. Many theorize that exposing the body to fresh air helps to improve blood circulation. This is great for overall health in general and penis health in particular. Greater circulation improves blood flow, which is essential for a erectile function. – Self-esteem may go up. Many people who are interested on nudism worry that their bodies are too imperfect for them to expose to others. A guy may feel self-conscious about his weight or may worry that his “equipment” won’t compare favorably to other guys. In fact, most people who regularly participate in nudism find that they become much more comfortable about their own body and come to appreciate its beauty. This can translate into more self-confidence in the bedroom as well. Nudism can indeed help improve penis health, but nudism alone is not the answer. Men need to regularly apply a superior penis health creme (health professionals recommend Man 1 Man Oil, which is clinically proven mild and safe for skin) to the penis. It works best if the crème is loaded with vitamins, especially vitamins A, B5, C, D and E. Men should make sure the crème also includes L-arginine, an amino acid which can assist in keeping penile blood vessels open for increased blood flow. Source by John Dugan

Taking vacations allows time for relaxing and enjoying yourself in being free from your everyday responsibilities at home and at the office. It is your moment to travel and explore the world. Vacations also bring unforgettable memories that will last for a lifetime. Making good memories is good for the soul. You will not only enjoy it, but also become mentally, physically and spiritually healthy. Before giving you the importance of vacation, here are some tips on how to take a vacation: 1. Make sure you have a vacation budget. 2. Let your boss and colleagues know it early. 3. Reserve your flights and hotels early. 4. Pack light. 5. Enjoy the planning and packing as part of the overall experience 6. Leave your phone and laptop home. Specialist Corner Studies show that taking a vacation can lessen the risk of dying from coronary heart disease and help live a healthier life. Experts consent that people who seize their health seriously should also learn to take vacation time seriously. Researchers from the State University of New York at Oswego conducted a survey of more than 12,000 men ages 35 to 57 who had participated in a large heart disease prevention trial. The results, presented last March at a meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society in Savannah, suggest that men who take vacations every year reduce their overall risk of death by about 20 percent, and their risk of death from heart disease by as much as 30 percent. When the mind feels pressured and blocked with ideas, the effects on the body can be undesirable. One very important characteristic of mental health and well being is simply setting set the time to allow your mind to do nothing. It is in the method of not being hectic that one is free to reflect, deliberate, refresh and generally be grateful in the world around you – a world which you are usually to busy to recognize. When the Doctor says Rest When you get sick, the most common thing you hear from your doctor and peers is to get plenty of rest. This was meant exactly that. Rest, with no activities suggested whatsoever. The art of doing nothing when you are unwell drains your mind from noise and hassle of the world. As stress and depression rise, having a time for regular outings and vacations can give you some solutions to maintaining a healthy condition. Many people plan a vacation wherein fast paced activities are planned everyday for the week. Therefore, the vacation often ends up being as demanding as the job that you left behind. A lot of people evoke the feeling of being crushed by the time they have got back from their holiday, and this is the point. In order to get the bursting health benefits of a vacation, it is important for you to do as little as possible and set aside the time to relax your mind and soul that you need to replenish so you can return home feeling rejuvenated. Take it Easy and Unwind Idleness is often sulked upon in modern society, yet it is a significant part of your human mental health. It allows you to collect thoughts, to expand your viewpoint, and to alleviate anxiety. A certain amount of being idle is essential to a happy, contented life. The ultimate tool in stress management is relaxation. Whether you take a siesta in a beach chair or snore beneath the stars, you will feel that you sleep better on a vacation. Your mind and body calm down when you adjust your focus and your pace. One great way to relax is by reading a book especially when you fall asleep doing it. Fishing is somewhat of a reflective activity. Trying innovative sports like surfing and bowling may not be soothing but may suggest benefits to your health and well-being. No matter how active or inactive your vacation is, your mind will take it easy and your body will unwind. Basically, do the things you love, the things that bring meaning to you in your life, and see if you can mix it with the quiet and calm down time you need with the adventure side of yourself. Explore Your Options A vacation will give you the chance to see new places and seek new adventures. Some may take a trip abroad and explore the wonderful things beyond in search of discovery. Others may spend their vacations camping and hiking in mountains nearby. Still others prefer to volunteer in an activity in their community. There are a lot of choices to pick from. Choose what’s best for you and for your health. The goal is to get out of your stress and daily obligations and take care of you. Source by Debbie N Turner

With so many chemicals in everything we eat, it is quite difficult to keep all the junk out of our systems and only eat the health stuff. The good news is that even after consuming unhealthy food, although many toxins stay in our bodies for a while, it is always possible to get rid of them. For clearer skin, increased energy, and better health overall detoxification diets are becoming increasingly popular. The idea is that these diets flush the system specifically, the liver, kidneys and colon of toxins that are received through a normal diet. Most detox diets typically last anywhere from one week to a month but for increased health overall, these diets can offer some great lifestyle advice to anyone, even those not committing to a full detox diet. Considering the number of chemicals in fast food, junk food, and even food and drink that may seem healthy, like milk for instance, toxins should be methodically flushed out of the body from time to time. The simple but most effective way to detoxify is by drinking plenty of water. Water flushes and purifies the body of any junk inside it. A good way to test for proper hydration is by taking note of the color of your urine. Clear urine means proper hydration but more yellow urine signifies that you should drink more water. A good way to ensure proper hydration is by carrying a water bottle and drinking from it whenever you are thirsty instead of opting for unhealthy drinks. Even drinks that seem natural, like apple juice, may have preservatives and artificial sugars so sticking to water during detox is the best bet. Drinking tea, specifically green tea also has many benefits for detoxification. Next, there is the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and natural grains. These nutrients are easily processed by the body and most detox diets include high consumption of these items. Red meats, dairy, and greasy foods should be avoided during the detox period. For protein during the diet, fish, chicken and nuts can be consumed. Green vegetables, lentils, and brown rice are also great options. Above all smoking, drugs, and the consumption of alcohol should be avoided during detoxification because these things should be considered toxins. Although the diet itself is key, exercise is also a very important part of a detox program. When exercising, the body sweats out certain toxins that it might not otherwise expel. The increased body temperature during exercise also helps purify the body. Exercising three times a week for at least half an hour every time is enough to purify the body, but more exercise is always good. The exercise itself doesn’t need to be strenuous; anything that increases heart rate and body temperature will do the job. There are several higher-budget options for detoxification as well, such as detox drinks and “internal body cleansers” but the tips above work just as well, if not better. The idea of the diet is simply to keep additional toxins out while flushing the body of anything harmful that already exists inside it. If detox diets are done regularly, the dieter will find himself or herself with increased energy, long term health benefits, and clearer skin. Source by Joel Gray

Getting health insurance quotes without giving your phone number is easy and something you should do right now. Whenever you are online do you stop when asked for your phone number and best time to call? I do…I can’t stand to be interrupted at home…especially by a salesperson. Asking for your phone number is an intrusion most people avoid. The bad news is they are unaware of market conditions in personal health insurance. Health insurance is an expensive, necessary evil but it should be something you should never overpay for. Asking for a phone number is a turnoff. But there is good news… You can get up to a hundred health insurance quotes without giving your phone number. You are asked for the following and the following only, for each person you are trying to insure: · Zip code · Gender · Date of Birth · Smoker or not · Student or not That is it…no phone number…no medical questions. My wife and I have used this free, no obligation service for 8 years. I hate to spend a penny on insurance of any kind. But I have the assurance that I am paying the very least amount for my policy. I filled this out just the other day…it took less than a minute…I received 112 different policy quotes to choose from…the quotes had the monthly premium, company name, deductibles, co pays, and a real plus…I could find out if my current doctor accepted this policy. You should know what kind of policy you are looking for. Since we are healthy, exercise and eat right, we look for high deductible catastrophic coverage. These have the very lowest premiums. But the prices vary greatly…I identified a savings of $684 per year over what I am paying now. So you should use this free service every several months. It is easy fast…and no one will call. Once you narrow down the policy that meets your needs you then fill out one application and one application only. Isn’t this better and far faster than talking to several dozen salesmen or saleswomen. That is what you would have to do to get the same amount of information with every other service on the web. Wouldn’t you rather get health insurance quotes without giving your phone number? Here’s how… Source by Gary Pierce

The majority of people who use medicinal cannabis tend to use it for counteracting the symptoms of a long standing chronic condition, rather than as a method to look after their immune system to keep in good health. While research into the benefits of cannabis for the immune system is quite sparse, there are early indications which seem to suggest that there could be some benefits to be had. Research conducted in San Francisco seems to suggest that cannabinoids can help the ECS (endocannabinoid system) function. To make this as simple as possible for you to understand, this is a system of receptors (CB1 and CB2) which are located all around your body. The endocannabinoids are able to help keep the ECS functioning well, thus maintaining your health, as well as helping with counteracting any pain that you may experience as part of an ongoing chronic condition. If the immune system becomes out of balance for any reason, this is when problems occur which are detrimental to your health. For example, MS is an autoimmune disease which caused in part by an unbalanced immune system, so if the immune system can be balanced with cannabis, could we see a reduction in the occurrence of MS? It certainly seems possible. Cannabis also has long standing anti-inflammatory properties which are well known. This is why it is so good at lessening the symptoms of arthritis, according to https://cannabis.net. Inflammation also occurs when your body is exposed to dangerous toxins, and cannabis is able to respond to the inflammation by binding to the receptors to reduce this inflammatory response. If you suffer from inflammation on a regular basis, you will quickly notice the benefits of using cannabis to manage and reduce these levels of inflammation. Researchers also seem to believe that cannabis can play a crucial role in the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, but also for more common conditions such as Crohn’s disease. Have you been using cannabis to help your immune system stay healthy? It may not be a viable way to maintain your immune system for some, but if you are in good health and willing to take the plunge, let us know how you get on. Also, we’d recommend you visit your local dispensary for help with selecting the best strain for your own personal use, if you are unsure of which strain to go with. They will be able to offer the best advice. Source by Kevin Jackson

Obesity, which contributes to several health problems like cancer, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure has become epidemic and affects nearly half the U.S population. The number of obese people has doubled since 1985, which has led to a 30% increase in health premiums. The overall financial costs of obesity are greater than those for alcoholism or smoking. The annual cost of treating health problems related to obesity is estimated at upward of $100 billion. Reduction of health costs over time will not happen if obesity is ignored. Why more taxes? Two reasons; First and most obvious is to raise part of the money for what is being proposed as universal health care, a subject that carries with it a separate debate. The second and probably most import reason is to raise awareness of what we are eating and how it affects our bodies. The American public is woefully ignorant about nutrition. What to Tax There have been dozens of “sinful-food” tax proposals from a penny a can for sodas to 10% on all fast food items. It probably needs to be more inclusive than that. Packaged foods with a lot of sugar and starch probably contribute as much to the problem as the entire fast food industry. It could well be a sliding scale on all foods except fresh produce based on grams of fats and sugar per 100 grams or per serving. What is the Tax Rate? The Department of Agriculture has suggested that, for “sinful-food” taxes to change the way people eat, they may need to equal at least 10% to 30% of the cost of the food. It is estimated that a 10% federal tax on fattening foods would raise $530 billion over 10 years. There should also be a program of tax subsidies to encourage the purchase of healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetable. This of course would reduce the gross income somewhat. Opposition Response Most of us are opposed to more taxes, myself included, but there are other oppositions to a tax of this kind. Here are some of the most common. I,m not fat and I don’t want to pay for someone who is and I like my sodas and Dorritos. You can still eat whatever you like. Paying $1.10 for a 99 cent bag of Dorritos may well be the cheapest way for you to pay for this problem. It is inevitable because of the magnitude of this social problem that it won’t cost you in some way. The government must stop trying to legislate our behavior and picking our pockets. Sorry friend…too late. In a society this complex and generally prosperous, everything we do in some small way affects everyone else. “No man is an island.” The only way for the government not to do something is to completely drop the idea of universal health care. How good is your imagination on that happening? It’s a regressive tax that unfairly affects the poor. This appears to be true on the face of it. Low income people eat high starch and fast foods in an attempt to stretch their food dollar. As mentioned earlier there should be a tax subsidy for choosing healthy foods. More of the public health dollar needs to go to nutrition education and awareness. With the right information and a little assistance, low income people can have healthy diets. One of the glitches in pursuing a national health care problem is the political avoidance of personal accountability and responsibility. We have been lulled into reliance on government, a condition which is hard to reverse, and the government seems to cherish it’s role. Individual responsibility is the ultimate solution; until then everyone pays in one way or another. Source by Al Van Abbema