What's So Great About Shea Butter?

Shea butter ranges from an ivory, to pale yellow, to a slight green shade and has a mildly nutty aroma. It is derived from the Karite Nut tree in Africa and has been known for thousands of years for it's many desired properties and it's important role in Africa due to trade and also being commonly used as a food source.

Shea butter is mostly widely known today in most areas today as a skin moisturizer but it's effects have been known to go far beyond this. Shea butter is not only hight in essential fatty acids and vitamin A & E and contains the rare vitamin F, but also has cinnamic acid which gives aid in protection from UV-B rays to the skin- giving it slight sunscreen properties. Shea butter has been known to increases local capillary circulation which triggers cell re-oxygenation which assists in the excretion of metabolic wastes from pores and is useful in the treatments of small wounds, skin ulcers and prized by the many cosmetic companies for the role it's been known to play in anti aging skin treatments. The benefits of shea butter are both endless and priceless- especially to soapmakers. For all the reasons above and the fact that she has a high percent of unsaponifiables (unsaponifiables are parts of the oils that do not react to the soapmaking process, leaving it behind to nourish the skin)- shea butter is truly a wonderful addition to any soap.

Here are just some benefits & uses of shea butter to sum it all up:

skin moisturization, decongestant for colds, anti-inflammatory for sprains and arthritis, wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, psoriasis, massage, hair care, burns , chapped lips, sun damage, insect bites, small wounds and scrapes, diaper rash, etc.

Visit Lisa Chambers' website for more free information, tips, and recipes based on a healthful and balanced take on beauty, home, and well being.

Gout Treatments

A common cause of gout is the accumulation of a chemical called uric acid. Uric acid is a normal breakdown product of another chemical called purines. The treatment involves controlling the inflammation, which causes the pain and swelling and ultimately damage to joints. Also, lowering the uric acid level is a logical means to controlling gout.

There is some benefit to avoiding foods that cause gout but most people who get gout will need medication to prevent joint damage and also prevent future attacks which often happen sooner and are more severe. They can also cause permanent damage to the kidney and joints. The crystals can also deposit on the skin and are then called tophi.

Most of the time the symptom can be controlled by anti-inflammatory medications like naproxen or indomethacin. In severe cases steroids like prednisone may be needed. Some people even need injections into the joints. Fluid from the swollen joints can be removed and analyzed for the uric acid crystals.

The treatment includes medicines like allopurinol, which decrease the level of uric acid, or there are other medicines like colchicine, which decrease inflammation. Also there are medicines called uricosuric agents that increase the removal of uric acid in urine. Colchicine works best if taken really early in the attack and sometimes repeat does may need to be taken periodically such as every two hours or so till there is pain relief or a maximum dose is reached or there are side effects like gastrointestinal upset.

The specific dose and the manner of taking these medicines are best discussed with your healthcare provider.

Common side effects of these drugs include stomach upset and ulcers from prednisone and ibuprofen type of medications, diarrhea from colchicine and sometimes gout can get worse from allopurinol especially if the person is not on colchicine first during an acute attack.

Gout provides detailed information about gout, foods that cause gout, and more. Gout is affiliated with Osteoarthritis Treatment.

The Benefits of Meditation: Tips and Techniques

Meditation is healthy, safe and affordable. In fact it?s free. The only expense you?ll have is a meditation mat, which isn?t especially necessary-at least from my experience. Meditation has been around for 5,000 years, and was originally a spiritual component of yoga. Through the years non-yogis adopted it, intuitively sensing and connecting the practice with greater peace of mind. Personally, I can?t say enough good things about meditation. Its use has rewarded me with less worry and much more energy. But I?ve never been one for anecdotal evidence. Let?s get to the science?

Transcendental Meditation

Recently, there?s an incredible amount of science tied into the benefits of meditation. The studies are endless and cover a variety of meditative practices. On Transcendental Meditation alone (mantra repetition) there are over 500 studies. Some are more noteworthy that others. A study in the Japanese Journal of Public Health found that through Transcendental Meditation, industrial workers sleep improved and their smoking decreased. Another study conducted at the MERU Research Institute, in Buckinghamshire, England found that the length of time practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program correlated with younger biological age and younger functional age.

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation, which asks us to focus on our breath to facilitate awareness of the present moment, is another widely studied meditation technique. After studying the effects of 8-weeks of mindfulness meditation on participants, a 2003 report in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine concluded: ?A short program in mindfulness meditation produces demonstrable effects on brain and immune function.? Impressive, but fairly vague. To get a more committed response to the benefits of meditation we have to turn to Taiwan. In 2002 their journal Chang Gung Medicine reported that ?training in MM may be a medically superior and cost-effective alternative to pain medication for the control of headaches with no underlying organic causes in highly motivated patients.?

Stress Reduction and Meditation

What causes these positive physical changes? To answer this, other research has looked at the specifics of what happens in the body during meditation. . Researchers at the Maharishi School of Management in Fairfield, Iowa, found that meditation has an enormous impact on stress reduction. When they examined a group who had meditated for four months they saw that they produced less of the stress hormone cortisol. They were therefore better able to adapt to stress in their lives, no matter what their circumstances were.

Having balanced cortisol levels is essential to mental and emotional health. Notice I say balanced rather than none. We don?t want to completely eliminate cortisol. If we did we?d be dead. Even low cortisol levels can be dangerous. Not enough cortisol is the identifying trait of Addison?s disease. John F. Kennedy had this condition, which he denied passionately during his presidency. Yet during his term he regulated his levels through hydrocortisone (synthetic cortisol). The reverse of JFK?s condition is called Cushings Syndrome.

The five most common and noticeable changes of this condition include; red face and puffy cheeks; excess fat surrounding the collar bones, muscle weakness, and hypertension. But we don?t have to have Cushing?s Syndrome to be damaged by extra cortisol. The changes we experience may be subtle variations of these. Plus, the changes caused by excess cortisol are age dependent. Young people may stop growing and teenagers can develop acne. The mature among us aren?t safe either. Since excess cortisol damages bone-tissue those over age 60 may develop fractures related to osteoporosis. So it?s evident that if we can regulate cortisol, especially through a natural process, we owe it to ourselves to try.

Other Benefits of Meditation

Regina Drueding, MD, is a meditation instructor at Life Circles in Utah, USA. She quotes the benefits of meditation as follows: ?more energy, improved quality of sleep, decreased anxiety, lessened chronological aging, improved concentration, improved visual acuity, increased alertness and heightened immunity.? She writes: ?Besides the benefits mentioned earlier, meditation results in improvement of hypertension, sleep disorders, headaches, heartrhythm disturbances, chronic pain ? pain due to cancer, infertility and irritable bowel syndrome. Following meditation, mental and physical refreshment result ? and benefits are cumulative with regular practice.?

How to Meditate

Meditation is both simple and complex. It?s like defining the color orange: When you see it you know it. Similarly, the experience of meditation is best, well?experienced. In an article in New View magazine, Shippensburg University?s Dr. C. George Boeree describes the basics of Buddhist meditation. In summary, the beginner?s technique is as follows:

1. Sit or kneel comfortably.

2. The hands are loose and open with the palms up, one atop the other and thumbs lightly touching.

3. Head is upright. Eyes may be closed or open. If open they should focus on your hands or a spot nearby.

4. Beginning meditators should count upwards to ten on each exhale. Breathe in a relaxed and natural way. Then begin again at one and repeat. Continue to breathe naturally.

5. Continue for 15 minutes.

In my personal experience, I don?t find that the specific length of time is as important as repetition and persistence. To paraphrase, 10 minutes daily beats 15 minutes once a week. This brings me to another point: We all have different personalities and as such, different meditation approaches suit some more than others. Thankfully there are many varieties of meditation. Some varieties have sub-varieties.

Mindfulness meditation is one of these versatile practices. Perhaps it?s because its essence-awareness of the present moment-is so versatile. Mindfulness in our daily life can be practiced by slowing down and attending to our surroundings. What are our 5 senses telling us? We can use mindfulness in the middle of a hectic day, such as paying attention to our breathing when stopped at a traffic light. We can also use other everyday events as triggers for mindfulness. Buckling your seatbelt? Make this a reminder to return to the present. Really think about what you?re doing and the details of the experience.

The more traditional may benefit from a more formal mindfulness practice. You may sit in the identical form as in traditional Buddhist meditation- on a chair or kneeling. However, you may also sit with your legs crossed. Your eyes are closed and your posture is both straight and relaxed while your head remains upright. Focus on your breath and allow mental chatter to float by without regard. Thoughts, emotions and sensations will come, but don?t be influenced by them. Keep focused on your breath. If you are getting involved with your thoughts don?t worry-your efforts aren?t destroyed. The key thing is to bring your attention back to breathing and continue. This can go on for 5 minutes to 5 hours. It?s up to you.

Transcendental Meditation is another popular form of meditation. Generally, this type is practiced twice daily for a period of 15-20 minutes. Again, this technique involves sitting comfortably. Yet in contrast to basic Buddhist the eyes stay closed. Each student is given a mantra and is instructed to induce relaxation through use of this mantra. Since many of either can?t or won?t go to a formal TM class, a no-fail mantra I recommend is the classic OM. In The Heart of Yoga, T.K.V Desikachar writes that repetition of OM enables us to maintain mental and emotional calmness, overcome obstacles and enable understanding. It is the shortest of the mantras, and is said to be suggestive of God. If you?re uncomfortable with the religious aspects of OM I suggest a word that has positive meaning for you, such as love, calm or peace. Calm is an ideal substitute, since vocally it resembles OM.

Final Word

You may never, ever choose to meditate. Yet if this is your choice it may be valuable to question why. For a long time I was reluctant because of images of the dropout hippie 60?s. Yet when I tried it the experience overcame my reservations. If you try it the same may happen to you. If it doesn?t you haven?t lost any money, and you?ve gained a new experience.

Resources:

Getting in the Gap: Making Conscious Contact with God Through Meditation (Hay House Inc., 2003)

The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh (Beacon Press, 1975)

Galina Pembroke

Whey Protein for Rookies

Whey protein is a popular supplement used by bodybuilders to add to their already high protein diets. Everyone needs protein and whey is the perfect protein because of its convenience and easy to use drinkability. This article will explain what whey protein is and why it`s the top selling sports nutrition product on the market today. You will also learn the common amino acids found in whey, best times to consume it, and learn how much whey you need in your daily diet.

During the process of converting milk into cheese, whey protein is separated out. Whey is the highest quality and best source of protein available to the public. It plays a role as an antioxidant and helps support a healthy immune system. Studies have shown that whey protein contains the perfect combination of amino acids needed for optimal performance in the body. Consistent supplementation of whey with a good exercise program will yield the results that you are looking for.

The amino acids commonly found in most whey powders can be classified in three different categories:
1) Essential Amino Acids
2) Non-essential Amino Acids
3) Conditionally Essential Amino Acids

The essential ones used in most powders powders are valine, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, and lysine. Non-essential amino acids include aspartic acid, serine, and alanine, while conditionally essential aminos are proline and glutamine. Most whey protein powders also include a decent amount of calcium and potassium, so its no wonder whey protein is the highest selling sports nutrition supplement on the market today.

Most athletes consume around thirty grams of whey protein daily, while some bodybuilders even take amounts higher than two-hundred grams. Large doeses are not recommended because it will overload your liver and you won`t get the same results you would get with a lower dosage. The best time to consume whey protein is directly after a workout with some form of simple carbs such as orange juice. When I supplement with whey, post-workout is the only meal I have it. I just make my meals with whole foods which in my opinion, tastes better.

Assuming you eat six or more meals per day, you can get away with having whey at three different times daily. Just make sure that the rest of your meals come from other protein sources such as egg whites and tuna. A diet when you`re only having whey protein will not only taste bland, but you will feel hungrier throughout the day because of whey`s instant digestability. Not what what you want when trying to lose fat. Until next time, later.

My Sites: http://www.clubbodybuilding.com and http://www.geocities.com/bashore69/bodybuildingarticles.html My book Bodybuilding for Rookies will be released August 12.

Is Fibromyalgia Simply in Your Head or is it Real?

The title of this article may seem, on the surface, insulting to anyone who has had to cope with the complaints associated with fibromyalgia. However, it's good to ask the question, even if only for the purpose of answering the critics, i.e. those who doubt the existence of fibromyalgia and assign its symptomology to the realm of psychiatric illness.

Is fibromyalgia real? This question, no doubt, gets asked for a number of understandable and simple reasons. One: the vast majority of individuals diagnosed with fibromyalgia are of one gender; they are female. Two: a high percentage of fibromyalgia patients are concurrently treated for affective illnesses such as anxiety disorder and depression. Three: to date, the etiology of fibromyalgia is unclear since there seems to be no clear and definable cause for the illness (which is why fibromyalgia is referred to as a syndrome, rather than a disorder).

However, regardless of these facts and the mystery that still surrounds this condition, medical research is increasingly bringing more light to bear on the question, Is fibromyalgia real?. And the answer would seem to be yes. What does this research show? With regard to the chief characteristic of fibromyalgia, it shows quite a bit. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans given to fibromyalgia patients indicate that FMS patients have a heightened response to pain stimuli. That is, individuals with fibromyalgia seem to experience pain far out of proportion to what would be considered normal.

What accounts for this? According to Dr Perricone (of The Perricone Prescrition), a pain neurotransmitter called substance P exists in abnormally high levels in the brains of fibromyalgia patients. Additionally, research is finding that the sleep difficulties routinely reported by FMS patients may be linked to the pain they experience.

Patients with fibromyalgia syndrome often fail to achieve sufficient amounts of stage 4, or delta, sleep. Yet it is at this deep level of sleep that the pituitary gland secretes human growth hormone and the body engages in a restorative process. Can a lack of deep level, restorative sleep be an originating factor behind FMS pain? This has been suggested more than once.

Doubtless, it may be a number of years before fibromyalgia syndrome is more completed understood. However, many signs, and ongoing research, indicate that the condition is not psychiatric in nature, but, rather, can be tied to a physical origin.

The author of this article is Tim Moore, who also publishes a list of commonly asked Questions about Disability Issues.

Are Hoodia Gordonii Diet Pills Authentic?

There is magical ingredient in Hoodia Gordonii (a cactus found in South African Desert) that is used in treating Obesity. The ingredient which is responsible for curbing one's appetite is called P57. Kalahari desert is not only the home for the San People, but its also home for Hoodia Gordonii, which is actually a succulent plant. Without knowing the power of Hoodia Gordonii the san bushmen have been using the it for centuries to starve off hunger during their long and ardeous trips in the harsh South Africa.

The active ingredients which is present in hoodia plant has proven to suppress one's appetite by up to more than 2000 calories a day. This makes hoodia precious and what makes it even more precious is, hoodia is all natural and the organic ingredient in the Hoodia cactus plant is the result of 30 years of research by the CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research).

One of the most renowned pharmaceutical company, Pfizer is developing a pill, based on the bioactive compound in hoodia gordonii, P57. Pfizer believes that P57 wll banish food cravings. So this is a clear indication that there are a lot of companies are selling Hoodia Diet Pills which are not authentic. So buyers beware and do a through check before you buy them.

The demand for Hoodia in the world today is such that all plants of the hoodia species are now protected species in the countries of southern Africa. Furthermore, CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has reognised Hoodia as protected species. If you are wondering what this means, its pretty simple, it means that that no one can trade in Hoodia without a CITES permit, the importer as well as the exporter being required to ensure that a CITES permit has been issued, else it would be illegal and you might be sentenced on smuggling acts.

Hoodia Gordonii is now one of the most diffiicult to obtain commodities to obtain in the world and also the most wanted too. Naturally when there is high demand, various measures to obtain Hoodia Gordonii illegally comes in picture hence these measures are being vigorously enforced by CITES, because growing Hoodia is a long process due to the length of time it takes to reach maturity, there is only a limited supply available in the short term and this at a time when demand has soared.

Despite all these measures, there is about 3 times the Hoodia being sold in Hoodia supplements today than could possibly be made from the total amount of Hoodia Gordonii being harvested and exported.

More about Natural appetite suppresants and Hoodia diet pills. Also the author maintains a blog on General Medicine.

Energy

Everyone's talking about energy these days.

Worrying about not having enough.

Or it costs too much.

I'm talking about how cheap it is and how it flows. Constantly. In our bodies. Through our bodies. Easily if we're lucky.

In Asian medicine it's called Chi or Qi.

Do you have a Chi Machine?

I do. I bought it in 1999 and have used it almost every day since. It's a lazy man's (or woman's) 20 minute meditation.

You lie on the floor on your back with your ankles on the machine and turn on the machine. It gently rotates your ankles. That's all it does. When it stops you feel like a river is flowing through you because your breathing oxygenates every one of your cells.

It was invented by a Japanese doctor from observing the motion of goldfish.

I first learned about Chi when a Korean MD hired me to write an article to explain Eastern medical practice to Western patients. (I earned ten cents an hour on that task. I had to go all the way back to Plato just to get started.)

Writers tend to have tight shoulders. By 1999 my shoulders woke me up every night shouting at me. The Chi machine shut them up for four years. Then I slipped in some grease in a gas station and turned back to Western medicine. I now have two new shoulders.

If you'd like one to cry on, let me know. But, back to ENERGY. Thanks to quantum physics proving to us that our bodies do flow, constantly, Eastern and Western medicine are merging to our benefit.

In a recent Chicago Tribune article, Ronald Kotulak writes, Western medicine separated the mind from the body in the Middle ages when the famous French philosopher Rene Descarte agreed to accpet flesh and bone as the province of physicians, while the Catholci church claimed possession of the mind, insisting it was the creation of the soul.

But Descartes, whose works were placed on the Church's Index of Prohibited Books in 1667, believed the two really interacted in the brain. Using the fledging powers of observation and deductive reasoning that he was then developing, Descartes could conclude that the mind is so intimately dependent upon the condition and relation of the organs of the body, that if any means can ever be found to render men wiser and more ingenious than hitherto, I believe that it is in medicine they must be sought for.

It's taken a long time, but doctors and psychologists are now bringing the mind and the body back together amid new evidence that the mind can improve the healing process in ways that traditional medicine can't.

Unlike earlier notions about the mind-body connection, which were often based on anecdotal stories or simply gut feelings, scientists now can document through powerful imaging technology what Descartes could only deduce, that our thoughts are capable of producing dramatic chemical and physical changes that directly affect our health.

Acupuncture and acupressure are Eastern medical practices to balance the energy flow. Some say that the cause of all negative emotion is a disruption of the body's energy system. There's a distinction between feelings and emotion. You can have a negative feeling but it passes by much like a smelly truck. If it lingers more than five minutes it becomes a negative emotion.

A process of acupressure is now used to get the energy flowing smoothly again. It follows the meridian outlined 5000 years ago in Eastern medicine. And, evidently, it works.

It won't put gas in your car, but it will power your feet and heart.

Copyright (c) 2006 Cole's Poetic License

? Evelyn Cole, MA, MFA, The Whole-mind Writer, http://www.write-for-wealth.com , evycole@hughes.net . Cole?s chief aim in life is to convince everyone to understand the power of the subconscious mind and synchronize it with goals of the conscious mind.