Can't Stop Smoking, Start Drinking Tea...

Let me start off by saying, that this is not an article about how to stop smoking. In a way, it is quite the opposite. Whether it is a pipe, cigar, or cigarettes, some of us have found that we are smokers. Maybe you have attempted to quit, and maybe you haven't cared enough to try. Either way, the truth remains, "I am a smoker." If this sounds familiar, then you I write this for you.

It came to me one afternoon, when I was trying to fight off a sore throat, and I held my pipe in my left hand, and searched for my lighter with my right...I shouldn't be doing this. I have had this sore throat for a week, and I can't stop smoking.

Well, the truth was the truth, and I really didn't have intentions of stopping...Slowing down, yes; stopping, no. Though this moment was quick, it was important, as it was then that I accepted my fait. And more importantly, was now able to balance the scales.

Smoking makes you look old, smoking causes cancer, smoking smells, smoking makes your teeth yellow, and a million other STOP SMOKING ads rushed through my head...

I accepted them all...

Ok, now what...Well, I began to think. With a sore throat nagging me at the moment, I decided to attack this enemy first. Mouth wash, medicine, vitamins; I found these were all good ideas. But although I was helping the issue, my throat still hurt, and I was beginning to cough.

Perhaps the coughing was a blessing in disguise as I reached for cup of tea to help stop a fit of coughs. The steam helped me breathe, and the hot water cleared my throat. If nothing else, this experience got me thinking.

I looked further into the matter, as I of course stepped up my tea intake.

I found out that drinking tea, Rooibos Tea and Jasmine Green Tea in particular, will help me to relax (calming down my nerves), contain large amounts of anti oxidants to fight against the increased level of free radicals in my body from smoking (the cause aging skin and of course, Cancer), clean my body of toxins, help me breathe, and help my previously mentioned sore throat. I looked at this list, and the STOP SMOKING ads returned...

Could it be that a pot of tea was a helpful accessory walking down this smokey path?? From personal experience, I have found that tea helps. And NO, I do not think drinking tea will protect me from all ailments, or that I will never get sick again, or I will avoid any other ill drawn fait that may await me, but with certain facts that I had to accept, I can only do my best to minimize the damage. And as I end this article with no promises, I will restate a simply written statement that proves itself time and time again, "Drinking tea is a good idea..."

About The Author
David Giusti
Along with writing, David Giusti is the owner of Sabaidi Tea Co., Ltd., www.sabaidi.net, a company that exports Handmade Gourmet Tea Bags and Gift boxes and other specialties from Bangkok, Thailand. You can read more on the company's home page at www.Sabaidi.net.
info@sabaidi.net

New Findings on the Role of Glutathione in Cancer

Cancer cells and normal cells are known to respond differently to nutrients and drugs that affect glutathione status.

Numerous studies have shown that tumor cells have elevated levels of glutathione levels, which confers resistance to chemotherapy drugs.

One of the challenges of cancer therapy is how to deplete tumor cells of glutathione, so as to make them more vulnerable to the effects of chemotherapy drugs, while at the same time allowing normal cells to remain relatively unaffected by chemotherapeutic drugs.

A number of new findings have emerged that take into consideration the role of glutathione in pathways that promote programmed cell death (apoptosis) in cancer cells.

A German study has reported that glutathione (GSH) plays a critical role in cellular mechanisms that result in cell death. The study found that cancer cells resistant to apoptosis had higher intracellular GSH levels.

Depletion of glutathione in these tumor cells made them more vulnerable to the effects of anticancer drugs or the gene that promotes apoptosis (CD95 or APO-1/Fas). The researchers concluded that apoptosis resistance in tumor cells depends, at least in part, on intracellular GSH levels. (1)

In another study conducted in Spain, researchers found that lowering GSH concentration may be convenient not only for the efficiency of chemotherapy, but also to induce a rather fast and direct apoptosis mechanism in tumor cells. (2)

Based on that premise that the glutathione-S-transferase enzyme is expressed at high levels in many tumors, researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Pennsylvania, went on to design a novel prodrug (PABA/NO).

The glutathione-s-transferase in tumor cells converts PABA/NO to lethal nitric oxide, resulting in death of the tumor cell. The prodrug was shown to have antitumor effects in an animal model for human ovarian cancer. (3)

In the fourth study, Polish researchers found that ingesting a selenium supplement is beneficial, as a supportive element in chemotherapy. (4)

Selenium is a co-factor of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase [GSH-P(x)] and was found to significantly increase the activity of GSH-P(x) in patients reciving the supplement.

A previous clinical study by the same researchers recommended the administration of selenium in patients with ovarian cancer undergoing multi-drug chemotherapy. (5)

Another interesting study by researchers in Texas showed that your chances of surviving a type of brain cancer, called primary malignant glioma, could depend on the type of glutathione-s-transferase (GST) gene you were born with.

Having a combination of a two specific variants of GST (germ-line GSTP1*A/*A and GSTM1 null genotype) confers a survival advantage in some types of brain cancers, but also comes with an increased risk of adverse events related to chemotherapy. (6)

There is compelling evidence to suggest a crucial role for glutathione and substances that target glutathione metabolism in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Undenatured whey protein is one of the natural foods known to selectively deplete cancer cells of their glutathione, thus making them more susceptible to such cancer treatments as radiation and chemotherapy.

For a complete report on the research on undenatured whey protein and cancer see the report Glutathione (GSH) and Whey Protein in Cancer. http://www.1whey2health.com/cancer_glutathione.htm

Disclaimer: The information here is not provided by medical professionals and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Please consult your physician before beginning any course of treatment.

References:

1. Friesen C et al. [Cell Death and Differentiation advance online publication, 23 April 2004]

2. Tormos C et al. [Cancer Lett. 2004 May 10;208(1):103-13.]

3. Findlay VJ et al. [Mol Pharmacol. 2004 May;65(5):1070-9.]

4. Sieja K et al. [Gynecol Oncol. 2004 May;93(2):320-327.]

5. Sieja K. [Pharmazie. 1998 Jul;53(7):473-6.]

6. Okcu MF et. al. [Clin Cancer Res. 2004 Apr 15;10(8):2618-25.]

Copyright © 2004 Priya Shah

About The Author
This article was first published in the April 2004 issue of The Glutathione Report, http://www.glutathione-report.com, a newsletter featuring regular updates on the health benefits of glutathione. Get a Free report on Glutathione in Health and Disease http://www.1whey2health.com

Back Surgery Is Not Always The Answer

So many people suffer from chronic low back pain. Its the number one reason Americans miss work. Back pain can either come on slow and get worse, or all at once you wake to find you cant get out of bed like a lighting strike out of the blue. Either way its a terrible thing to cope with. When after a few days or a couple of weeks at tops, most people end up going to the doctor. Upon going to the doctor, a lot of the people hurting with low back pain are told by physicians that surgery is needed. This news alone can be devastating in itself. Back surgery required recovery time that most people cant afford to take from work. Back surgery also is very expensive. Not only does it take a to recover and expensive, its also sometimes not even necessary.

So many people have low back surgery when other alternatives could have been used. Other methods of dealing with back pain can be physical therapy, biofeedback, traction, exercise, steroid injections, and electric stimulation therapy of muscles and nerves just to name a few. People that rush into back surgery have found that their back actually hurts worse than it did before the surgery. Some people also need follow up surgery either to correct mistakes made in the initial surgery, or problems in the back that crops up later. Either way this is also devastating. By this time, the patient has been out of work so long, that a financial hardship has occurred, medical bills have piled up, or some people have lost their employment, and find their back pain is no better or even worse.

People needlessly put themselves in this situation. I blame this on a couple of things. Physicians are quick to suggest surgery for the simple reason they do not believe in treating people with pain medicine. Some physicians are more worried about writing prescriptions for pain medication, than the pain your suffering from. This is due to people abusing the system when it comes to prescription drugs, or the lack of knowledge the physician sometimes has towards chronic pain sufferers. Either way the true chronic pain patient suffers tremendously.

When it comes to your back, going under the knife should always be the last resort. Everything under the sun should be tried, and tried again before anyone should have surgery. There are a few exceptions when having back surgery right away is necessary, but for the most part, other measures and therapy are out their and should be used. As a low back pain sufferer myself, though Im not a medical doctor, I would suggest something like this. First find a doctor who believes treating pain with pain medication. Combing physical therapy with pain medication can relieve pain tremendously. Do physical activities such as stretching, walking, sit-ups if possible, this strengthens the muscles around the disc taking the pressure off the nerves that cause such pain. A good program of pain medicine combined with other pain management tactics can do wonders over a period of time. A lot of people have found that the pain has actually went away with this type of therapy.

Worse case scenario, its better to have your back still in tact with pain, compared to the many complications, the severe pain, permanent nerve damage, loss of physical mobility, being unable to work, and even becoming disable due to having low back surgery. Remember no matter what anyone tells you, its your back, not theirs. Its easy for someone to tell you what you should do, but they don't have to walk in your shoes after a failed back surgery.

Copyright 2006 Robert Gould

About The Author
Robert Gould is an advocate in pain managment, helping people who suffer from chronic pain to get the proper pain medication to treat their pain for a better quality of life. For more information go to: http://www.rxscripts4u.com

Alternative Cancer Treatments - Insulin Potentiation Therapy

This article is about the use of Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT) for people with cancer. IPT has been known about for many years as a kinder, gentler way of using standard chemotherapy drugs, selectively delivering them to the cancer cells, whilst leaving the body's immune system intact.

Insulin Potentiation Therapy, generally referred to by the initials IPT, is an alternative treatment that uses standard, approved cancer-fighting drugs in much lower doses, thereby eliminating many of the debilitating side effects so common with conventional chemotherapy. The side effects are significantly reduced because the chemotherapy doses can be as low as 10-15% of the standard dosage.

IPT was developed by Dr. Donato Perez Garcia (1896-1971) in Mexico, who claimed it to be especially effective with breast cancer. Indeed, that if a cancer can be beneficially influenced by existing chemotherapy drugs, then IPT may also be effective, but without major side effects. Dr Garcia's work is today carried on by his grandson, of the same name.

The first clinical trial of IPT for treating breast cancer was undertaken in Uruguay and published in 2003. For the trial, insulin combined with the chemotherapy drug methotrexate in low-dose form resulted in significantly stabilising the disease, with reduced progressions, as compared with insulin or low-dose methotrexate alone. Other studies have been worldwide, although informal. In fact, although little known, IPT has been in use for approaching seventy years.

How does IPT work?

Insulin, which is created naturally in the pancreas, regulates many of the body's functions at the cellular level, the most well-known being the level of glucose in the blood. It is suggested that insulin also modifies the receptivity of cancer cells to being penetrated by chemotherapy agents. Cancer cells grow by secreting their own insulin-like growth factor and insulin itself which draw on the body's nutrients to multiply. In fact they possess many times more insulin receptors than do normal cells, and these receptors will respond to administered insulin, which in turn makes them hungry for glucose and thus more susceptible to chemotherapy medication. The chemotherapy drugs are thus able to target more precisely the cancer cells, leaving the normal cells relatively unaffected.

What's wrong with traditional chemotherapy?

It is generally recognized that, over time, regular chemotherapy dosages may so compromise a patient's immune system and organ functions as to prevent further treatment or even cause organ damage resulting in the patient's death. Cancer cells are highly active in fighting for the glucose found in the blood stream. With sixteen times the number of insulin and insulin-like receptors found in healthy cells, cancer cells absorb essential nutrients from the blood stream before normal cells can get to them. This is the reason that, in advanced stages of cancer, tumors continue to grow and multiply while the patient appears to waste away. In addition, because of the cancer cell's internal protection against toxins, normal chemotherapy doses need to be sufficiently large to force their way into the cancer cells. The result is the killing of many healthy cells in addition to the cancerous ones, frequently inducing in the patient nausea, vomiting, fever, hair loss, etc.

Benefits of IPT

* IPT works vigorously against cancerous tumors whilst being gentle on the patient, who continues to live a normal lifestyle during treatment.

* Standard chemotherapy medications are considered to work better in combination with IPT. As a result of the low dosage requirement and much reduced toxicity, the treating physician has greater freedom and flexibility in selecting and combining the various chemotherapeutic agents, resulting in a more highly optimized treatment.

* Due to the lower dosage requirements, treatments costs are significantly less than with standard chemotherapy.

* Side effects are relatively minor. There is no vomiting, no high fever, no vomiting and no hair loss. However, there can sometimes be a little initial nausea and occasional constipation.

IPT Side Effects

IPT causes a reduction in the blood glucose level. This is known as hypoglycemia and is an expected side effect of insulin therapy. Be in no doubt, hypoglycemia is a potentially dangerous state for the body, however it is a condition that is quickly and effectively controllable through the administration of intravenous glucose infusions. This is a standard component of the IPT protocol.

The information presented here is intended simply as that - to make you aware of available treatments which might be worthy of further and more detailed investigation. Readers should note that, whilst there are many individual anecdotal cases and studies over many years that suggest that IPT may be effective, there is at present no collection of scientific data to validate Insulin Potentiation Therapy as a treatment for malignant neoplastic diseases or cancer to the satisfaction of the United States FDA. As always, you should seek the guidance of a professional medical practitioner before taking any medications or undergoing any form of therapy.

About The Author
Dr Bianca Tavares is a medical consultant experienced in both traditional and complementary medicine. Her writing about prostate cancer can be found at http://www.prostate-cancer-answers.info and her alternative health blog can be viewed at http://alternative-cancer-therapies.blogspot.com

8 Ways To Fall In Love With Fitness

No, it's not impossible. You can fall in love with exercise instead of having that dreaded feeling every time you lace up your sneakers. The trick to falling in love with fitness is finding something you love to do, and trying new things because you may discover a dormant passion for line dancing, snow shoeing, or even something as exotic as fencing. It's time to uncover your inner athlete and fall in love all over again!

Balls, Bosu and Barrels – If you were the kid who was always climbing the monkey bars and ropes at the park, you'll have tons of fun getting fit with these fitness tools. Exercise balls can be used for all kinds of abdominal exercises, a Bosu is a neat device for balance training and core stability exercises, and you can use a small barrel for practicing Pilates – all in the comfort of your own home. So next time your at the park with your kids, they'll be chasing you on the monkey bars!

Square Dancing – This energetic style of dance may look strange to you – but it's great exercise – and great fun! This folk dancing tradition has existed in Canada for hundreds of years and has maintained its popularity as a social activity often deemed "friendship set to music." Now this form of dance is even more popular as people are doh-si-dohing their way to being fit! Don't knock IT before you try it! You may forget you're getting fit because you're having so much fun!

Snowshoeing – Snowshoes are thousands of years old, and Native Canadians used to use snowshoes as a form of transport. Only in the last century has snowshoeing become a recreational sport. Now, Canadians across the country are strapping on their snowshoes and heading for the trails to spend some time outdoors, at one with nature, while boosting cardiovascular fitness and toning their backsides. Today's modern snowshoes are typically lightweight, aluminum frames with fabric decks and strap bindings as opposed to the classic bent-wood frames crisscrossed with rawhide strips. In recent years, many celebrities have talked about the physical benefits of snowshoeing, especially when it comes to toning your glutes and quads.

Snowshoes are inexpensive compared to skis and snowboards, and snowshoeing is not a difficult sport, but don't let that fool you into thinking you are not getting a good workout. Using poles, whether specially designed for snowshoeing or made for cross-country skiing, they will help you maintain balance and give your upper body a good workout too, especially when you're doing some intense climbing.

Buddy Up! – It's no secret that having a fitness buddy helps get you going. Let's face it, when your doorbell rings at 6 a.m., you're not going to hide under the covers and ignore your buddy. Or, when your work buddy grabs you for your daily lunchtime power walk, you're less likely to sit at your desk and graze. A workout buddy provides a little extra incentive to get you going, and a little less response time to say no to exercise!

Feel Good in Fun Clothes! – Remember the old adage about how when you look good, you feel better? This goes for the gym too. If you buy yourself some fun fitness clothes that you feel good in, you are more likely to have more confidence in yourself and as a result, push yourself harder at the gym. Stores like Winners and The Bay offer great deals on workout clothes that are able to stand up to any fitness test. Remember, if you look the part, you're more likely to feel the part!

Bring the Outdoors Inside – So what if the temperature is way below zero and the wind chill is making you shake like a leaf. Quit lamenting warm days gone by, and bring your beloved outdoor sports indoors. Shed all your layers, and find an indoor rollerblading rink, grab your tennis partner and hit your local tennis club, climb the rock wall at your local YMCA, hit a spinning class, or throw on your bathing suit and swim laps at your local pool. Create your own warmth, and you won't be missing those days any longer.

Position Yourself Properly – Sometimes watching others can give you just the boost you need to get going at the gym. Look around you and position yourself next to someone who inspires you and watch yourself take off! You'll soon be running to keep up with them...

Take Your Toddler With You– Most mothers never know when they'll be able to squeeze in a little exercise time while running their kids around all day. Nowadays, many gyms have daycares, but if you don't want to leave your children, you can exercise with them! Of course, you can run around outside all together, play in the snow, and build snowmen. But, if it's too cold, why not try a kid-friendly Pilates video? Most companies which sell Pilates videos have kid-friendly ones too. Your kids will have a blast getting fit with you while trying all those fun exercises!

About The Author
Richard Moore is the Founder an President of Everything Health and Beauty! For Men and Women
Everything Health and Beauty for Men and Women was established to provide information, tips and reviews relevant to all things pertaining to Health, Beauty, Fitness And Wellness. We are quickly growing and becoming one of the most popular internet health, beauty, fitness and wellness resource sites available. We give you new and innovative, up to date real and honest information. http://www.everythinghealthandbeauty.9k.com
ehandb@hotmail.com

Health And Wellness Products - How To Make Your Own

Health and wellness will mean very different things to different people.

Wellness can be defined as 'the pursuit of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. For the benefit of this article, wellness products are being looked at in the context of 'over the counter drugs, health supplements and health remedies.

While for some people, wellness products might be viewed as an aid to recovery from illness, for others it might be a means of further enhancing some aspect of their current health.

The variety of and uses for such products are as numerous as are the the definitions of wellness products or wellness programs, depending of course upon who is promoting them at any given time.

Whatever your reasons for pursuing alternative care health or health and wellness products, a common goal is to achieve optimised health and well-being.

There are powerful media images hailing the benefits and safety of many over the counter drugs, supplements and health and wellness products, every where you turn these days. They have equally strong claims of being the one and only miracle cure or solution for one ailment or another. How accurate are these claims though, and what are the real costs to you in monetary and health risk terms?

Immediately after reading this article, go take a look and do a quick add-up of the total cost of all the health and wellness products you currently have in stock. I'm sure the figure will surprise you just as much as learning about the very real and harmful side effects which can be caused by some of these drugs or supplements that are supposed to be contributing to your overall state of wellness.

You may also be surprised to know that many of the 'over the counter drugs you buy on a regular basis, simply treat the symptoms and not the real health issue. Needless to say, this approach of focusing on the symptom, side-steps the crucial requirement of getting to the root cause of your condition or whatever it is that ails you.

You're most likely to pursue a wellness product either because you are becoming wary of the adverse effects of chemically produced drugs or because you're keen to recover from ill-health and improve a specific health condition. In some instances it might be that you just want to optimise your current state of good health.

While some health and wellness products can be an effective measure toward improving your health, you should note that long-term use of certain over the counter drugs and some supplements can cause you more harm than good, with the long-term implications far outweighing any short-term benefits. You may well find that you are paying far too high a price on the basis of a mere quick fix promise.

For thousands of years, people in lands far and wide have used natural homemade remedies to manage their health conditions and wellness needs, without manufactured health and wellness products, that can be detrimental to health. They have purely relied upon attaining or maintaining health by plants or by other natural means. It could be argued that with the emergence of chemical and pharmacological methods, many forms of this natural means to health and wellness have declined. In fact, even by today's standards, there are many so-called under-developed countries where inhabitants' rely on nothing more than homemade health and wellness products, gained via natural methods of plants or plant-based extracts.

While conventional medicine relies on scientifically backed research to substantiate effectiveness and safety. In contrast, similar cannot be said about some alternative medicines or health and wellness products. There is no such requirement but their promotion as regard effectiveness are deemed sufficient in themselves as support for therapeutic or wellness claims.

Herbal remedies in general are harmless, however, certain claims being made by some health and wellness products promoters, (under the banner of being 'natural') can insinuate their health and fitness products being the exclusive answer to your health condition or wellness questions, thus putting you at great risk. Secondly, how open are they being about what's really inside? You should always consult your physician over any health concerns, as well as discussing with him/her your intention or choice of alternative means for treatment with any health and wellness product or remedy.

Multi-billion-dollar industries have long wealed their power by way of lobbying to gain exemption from FDA regulation. This has been exactly the case, according to the Skeptical Inquirer, who, on commenting on the 'dietary supplement industry, back in 1994, states - "Since then, these products have flooded the market, subject only to the scruples of their manufacturers".

The above point is an important one to note in that, while health and wellness products manufacturers may list ingredients and quantities being used in specific health and wellness products, there has been no real pressure on them to do so, or to do so accurately. Furthermore, neither has there been any watchdog body to ensure they are penalised for this failing.

So, what are the alternatives open to you? Increasingly, more and more people are turning to do-it-yourself health and wellness homemade herbal remedies. The distinct difference being that in making your own health and wellness products, you are in the driving seat. Not only do you have a full awareness of exactly what the ingredients are and the true quantities, but with the appropriate level of guidance from a reputable practitioner, you're more conversant with any health implications, if any.

With the right know-how, you too can draw on the old-fashioned yet effective sources to greatly improve your health. For instance, using naturally prepared herbs, vitamins, minerals and nutritional supplements, essential oils and flower essences to create real healing solutions that deal with particular health conditions rather than just the symptoms.

It is in the interest of a health and wellness product manufacturers to promote their products as being the only option open to you. They don't want you to know about the abundant natural resources and health- giving potent attributes of herbs and home remedies which have been used effectively for thousands of years. You see, these remedies cannot be patented because you can make them yourself and at a fraction of the cost.

Whether your goal is to overcome illness, drugs intolerance, allergies or just to optimise your already good health, with a little know-how, you can start making your own health and wellness products and remedies, using nothing more than the readily available natural resources in your home and garden. Not only will you save your hard earned cash, you also alleviate the risk of serious or harmful additives and side effects.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can treat numerous common ailments without the harsh side effects, using nothing but natural herbs, vitamins and nutrients you prepare yourself at home? For instance, did you know that placing yogurt on your face help to bring water from the deeper layers of your skin to the surface, moisturizing your skin for the rest of the day and hiding wrinkles?

Here are just a few more of the many quick and effective remedies you can learn to make:

1. Natural laxatives
2. Beauty recipes
3. Skin care and cleansing preparations such as acne treatment
4. Herbal shampoos as well as how to treat hair loss,
5. Dermatitis
6. Menstrual Pain and PMS Symptoms

About The Author
Olga Graham is a qualified social care practitioner, life coach and founder of: http://www.health-womens-healthy-living-goals.com A health and Personal Development website for women, that provides free guidance and goalsetting tools, enabling women to set and achieve all aspects of their health goals.

Anxiety Relief Starts with this Belief

If you have anxiety, congratulations – identifying the condition of anxiety for what it is may be the most difficult step in moving beyond it. The next step is to determine why anxiety has arisen in your life, and then implement a strategy to reverse the trend.

In most cases, the cause of anxiety will lie in your thought processes, meaning the way you mentally perceive your world and what you expect from it. An anxious mind is often dominated by fear based thinking and negative expectations. Aside from anxiety, are you also a worrier? A nervous Nelly? Do you experience stress often? If so, don't be surprised. Anxiety, worry, stress and nervousness are all kind of the same thing – fear based expectations about future events or the immediate environment. Now some worrying is okay, as it is worry that can motivate us to take action to improve our lives. And it's nervousness that helps keep us alert and on guard in truly dangerous situations. However, problems arise if we develop a mental habit of worrying about trivial matters, or if normal everyday situations like socializing cause us to become nervous. Theoretically, everything we do in every moment of our lives has the potential for creating worry, nervousness, or various anxiety symptoms. There's always the possibility that something might not go the way we want it to. If we let the perpetual flow of negative possibilities dominate our thinking, then sooner or later anxiety will arise. Eventually, even when involved in relaxing activities, the overload of negative thoughts, worries, and fears continuing to linger in our subconscious mind creates a constant anxiety or stress sensation. You can learn more about the long-term symptoms of anxiety, including panic attacks, agoraphobia, depression and derealization, at http://www.MC2Method.com/Anxiety.

However, while understanding the origin of your anxiety symptoms may be comforting, you'll probably be more interested in treating the anxiety and getting on with your life. Of course, the logical solution would be to start thinking thoughts that are more positive. However, if you've tried this over simplified and outdated advice before, you've probably discovered that it's nearly impossible to think positive thoughts all day long, when the little voice in your head constantly argues back - and intensifies anxiety. What you really need is a replacement belief that can forever free you of that negative, fearful inner voice. You need a replacement belief from which thoughts, realistic thoughts, will be drawn – a belief that will be the basis of your new inner voice.

In order to begin reversing anxiety disorder, the belief that I suggest you start cultivating is one that says "I can handle it". Whatever you're worried about, whatever you're nervous about, whatever that negative possibility is that you fear happening, realize that you could handle it if it did happen. In fact, this is the truth. You've probably been through quite a bit in your life already to be where you are now. For all the situations and emotional events that have come along so far, there obviously hasn't been one yet that you couldn't handle. You're alive; you're reading this article about anxiety; you have survived everything so far. And if the past is any indicator of the future, you'll survive many more. So why surrender the beauty of your present moment to faulty thinking and anxiety? The human mind's ability to solve problems and endure emotional adversity is enormous. And when it comes to emotional possibilities, the belief that "I can handle it" is a true one. The only reason you're encountering excessive anxiety or nervouness is because you've started to falsely believe otherwise. Try cultivating a real feeling in your heart that "I can handle whatever happens". Start seeing your world, your future, and your every moment in the light of this new perception, and in the presence of this one true belief, your worry thoughts will lose their power and you will overcome anxiety.

About The Author
Reid Reichardt is a self-development author with a specialty in anxiety issues. His online anxiety treatment programs can be found at http://www.MC2Method.com and http://www.AnxietyAway.com.
Copyright © 2006 - Any reproduction of this article must include the Author information above, and all links must be left intact.

Discount Health Plans: Filling The Gap

NEWS FROM MEDPRIME...

DISCOUNT HEALTH PLANS: FILLING THE GAP

The health insurance crisis is growing in severity. With current estimates that 15.2 percent of the population, or 43.6 million people are without health insurance coverage, companies and individuals are starting to look at cost effective, innovative solutions to alleviate the problem.

"Discount health coverage is becoming increasingly popular because it provides uninsured individuals with a way to receive health care services at a substantial discount," says David Major, a spokesman for Medprime, an online provider. "This type of plan is definitely fulfilling a big need."

Medprime's site, at http://www.medprime.com, is actually one of the first online providers of discount health services to preschedule appointments for its subscribers.

"In effect, we are providing the convenience of qualifying the medical providers for the subscriber and securing the actual appointment at the same time," says Major. The Medprime plan also offers discount services for dental, vision and provides discount coverage for a wide variety of traditional health care needs.

Discount health plans can actually work out better in the long run for many Americans, the spokesman noted, because spiraling health insurance costs are hard to justify when an individual enjoys good health. Discount health service plans like Medprime offer a viable alternative with reasonable rates and the security of knowing that high medical costs can be controlled.

About The Author
Geoff Caplan is Vice President of Marketing at VIBE Direct Media, a full service online marketing services agency. He has over 10 years of extensive experience in all areas of online marketing and has worked with many National, High traffic brands, inlcuding eDiets and myTravelUSA.
gcaplan@vibedirect.com