Estrogen and Breast Cancer - The Evolving Mystery

September 1st, 2010 by biobersama

As many women begin the transition through menopause a lot of consideration goes into the idea of taking Hormone Replacements - whether it is just Estrogen (Estrogen Therapy or ET) or a combination of Estrogen and Progesterone (Hormone Therapy or HT). For the purpose of this article Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) will refer to both HT and ET.

Replacing your hormones with either natural or synthetic (laboratory made) forms of hormones may offer some benefit by helping to reduce many of the symptoms of early menopause - such as, hot flashes, insomnia, moodiness, and vaginal dryness. As well as more serious problems that may result from menopause like weakened bones, and osteoporosis.

But as with EVERY pharmaceutical product made to help relieve pain or discomfort there are risks, and hormone therapy is not without them. What’s important is that your unique health history and risk factors are discussed with your doctor to best determine whether or not HT or ET is the best option for you.

Estrogens Impact on the Breast

What you have to recognize is that the scientific community is just beginning to realize the uniqueness of every woman’s hormone profile. The effect of HRT on one of your female friends may be vastly different from the effect they have on you. This is why there is such a large amount of variation in what each woman experiences as they transition through menopause. This is also one of the greatest challenges that Doctor’s and Scientist face in their effort to understand the affects HRT has on the female breast.

Probably the biggest concern women have about HRT is the increased risk of that dreaded disease - Breast Cancer! Breast cancer risk, like many diseases, increases with age for women, but it is not specifically affected by menopause. Unfortunately, recent studies have generated a lot of conflicting data between HRT and breast cancer risk.

But, before I go into the risk of developing breast cancers from HRT, it is important that you understand how Estrogen and Progesterone hormones affect your body, or more particularly, your breasts.

There are two primary thoughts on how cancer develops in the breast. One is that cancer tends to appear in fast growing tissue - Estrogen (and Progesterone) can cause breast tissue to grow at a faster rate - therefore this may be one way Estrogen is related to developing breast cancer. A second theory is that when estrogen is broken down in breast tissue the resultant compounds may bind to genetic material (DNA) and damage it. Damaged DNA is a common cause of cancers. For the moment - these are two primary theories on how HRT may increase the development of breast cancer.

Understand that the scientific community is hard at work trying to unravel the link between Estrogen and Breast Cancer — or if there is even really a link — but good science takes time. There are so many variables (like medical history and diet) in every study that it is impossible to blame ET or HT alone for breast cancer. Although the results of many clinical trials does show that HRT MAY increase the risk of developing breast cancer.

The Risk Factors

As a result of the various studies and clinical trials done, one thing is for sure, many more studies will need to be done before we unravel the mystery of HRT and breast cancer. In the mean time be aware of the fact that:

Breast cancer risk is increased with the use of ET, and to a greater extent with HT, use beyond 5 years. And observational data suggest a slight potential increase for breast cancer with HRT use for less than five years.

By how much the risk is increased is not exactly clear at this point and will likely vary depending on each woman’s unique genetic makeup, diet and exposure to various environmental factors. Obviously, the risk factor of taking HRT has a much greater impact if you are already at risk of developing breast cancer. If you fit into any of the categories below - then most physicians would probably agree that you should avoid HRT.

If you are a breast cancer survivor: The concern is that HRT may stimulate the growth of small or hidden tumors, it is nearly impossible to determine how many women harbor these hidden cells known as micrometastases.

If you have a family history of breast cancer: It is not clear whether women with a family history are at increased risk of developing breast cancer when taking HRT and therefore the medical community is cautious about recommending it.

If you have a history of: Uterine cancer, Liver disease, Blood clots, Undiagnosed vaginal bleeding or Heart disease.

One major consideration when contemplating HRT should be whether or not you are at a higher than average risk of developing breast cancer. Some other minor factors that may increase your cancer risk are weight gain and women who experience menopause later in life than average.

HRT - A Personal Decision

HRT is really a personal choice - there is no right or wrong answer. While some women may not want to accept the risks associated with HRT others may want to. Each woman must decide for herself, with input from her doctor, the best course of action. Both patient and doctor should be comfortable with the decision to take HRT or to pursue other treatments.

If you do decide to try HRT make sure you work closely with your doctor - prescribing the right dosage may sometimes turn into a bit of a guessing game. Keep your doctor informed as to how you are feeling and whether or not you think it is helping. The best thing you can do is actually keep a journal and track the symptoms that you’re hoping HRT will help with. The lower the dosages and the shorter the duration is best if you are worried about increased breast cancer risk. But again your personal situation should be discussed in detail with your doctor, if you have another medical condition where the benefits HRT provide outweigh the increased breast cancer risk, then HRT should be considered.

If HRT is not for you - you are not without help. Thanks to all the ongoing research, new therapies and alternatives are being investigated every day and have proven successful for many women. But a word of warning - since this is a very new field, don’t necessarily believe every thing you hear and read. There are a lot of companies trying to take advantage of this relatively new market. And since a lot of the herbal remedies are not regulated by the FDA some companies will package almost anything with no regard for scientific data to back up their claims. Look for resources that are impartial and companies that provide actual data to support what they are claiming.

Lastly, I personally am an advocate of a healthy diet and active lifestyle to beat menopausal symptoms and weight gain — you should know that every clinical study I have read has shown that these two factors are proven to ease the menopause transition by regulating hormones naturally. And with no increased risk of breast cancer — actually eating the right foods will help prevent breast cancer as well as many other types of cancer and disease. So regardless of your HRT decision — the first step you should take when it comes to helping yourself is to eat a proper macronutrient profile and get that body of yours moving!

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Saving Money on Office Cubicles with Smart Designs and Smart Shopping

August 31st, 2010 by biobersama

Whether you are moving your office to a new location, larger or smaller, or you are simply looking for a way to maximize your current space, you will likely need to purchase new office cubicles and systems furniture. You may not be aware that there are many ways that you can save money when purchasing new office cubicle components and managing their layout, while at the same time maintaining employee satisfaction and increasing workplace efficiency.

Turn Hard Wall Offices into Office Cubicles

First of all, there is a misconception that if you are coming out of a hard wall office into a space in which you will use office cubicles, you will need to establish the new workspaces to be exactly the same size as those previously being used. This is simply not true. An office cubicle is more efficient than a traditional desk and credenza setup, and it can actually give you more office workspace in a fraction of the size of a standard office. For example, a 10′x12′ office with a 36″x72″ desk and a 22″x72″ credenza equates to the same square footage of workspace as an 8′x8′ office cubicle or even a 6′x8′ U group.

First, it is important to note that building a hard wall office costs more money in general than creating an open floor plan that uses office cubicles. In addition, a hard wall office requires more floor space than its footprint may suggest when wall thickness and hallways are also taken into consideration. By using office cubicles, more personnel can be fit into a smaller space (smaller space equates to lower rent), and they can still be offered the same amount of workspace that they would have had in hard wall offices.

Use Smaller Office Cubicles - Gain Larger Workspaces

You may instead be starting out with a floor plan that uses 8′x8′ office cubicles. If you reduce these spaces to 6′x8′, and you are working with a leased square footage rate averaging $25, you can save $400 per year per employee on rent. However, this does not mean that you will be putting your employees in less comfortable office cubicles, which could negatively impact the work environment. There are many ways to maximize the revised space to be used to its fullest and, in fact, you can wind up with more workable space in the smaller office cubicle than you had previously.

Take Advantage of Changing Technology

The days of large, bulky computer monitors are becoming a thing of the past, and the trend is now toward flat panel monitors or even laptops. For this reason, you no longer need to factor desk space that will be consumed by a large monitor and computer setup into your office cubicles. When CRT monitors were standard, you would have needed to set up an office cubicle in a three-piece L - a corner work surface (which would have been taken up mostly by the monitor) and two straight surfaces coming off of either side. However, with smaller computers taking up less space, you can instead work with an office cubicle in a two-piece L - two straight work surfaces that meet in a corner that no longer needs to be as deep as it previously did. That is one less worksurface to buy, which saves you money.

In addition, many of today’s offices are now going paperless. This means that employees need less storage space in their office cubicles than they may have in the past to store hanging files or paperwork. For example, a traditional office cubicle may have had a box/box/file and/or a file/file - a three-drawer cabinet and a two-drawer cabinet - in place. The office cubicle may also have had two overheads - one closed bin and one open shelf. These would have been necessary when everything in the office used paper. However, now that more projects are stored digitally, you may wish to take a new look at exactly how much of this space is currently needed.

With a close review of your employees’ office cubicles, you may find that instead of paperwork filling their drawers, employees now have empty spaces - or spaces sparsely populated with personal items. While it is important to not remove spaces for personal items entirely, you also want to ensure that your office cubicles have little wasted space. As is often the case, you will find that people will expand their usage of their office workspace to fill what they have available - even if they do not need all of it for work and personal items. Once you have reviewed what spaces are actually needed to ensure that employees can operate efficiently (and happily!), you can start to pare down the number of office cubicle components that you purchase, eliminating one of the overhead bins, for example, or one set of drawers, and saving money in the process.

Revise Your Office Cubicle Layout

The next step would be to revise the layout of your office cubicles while making them take up a smaller footprint. For example, you can take an 8′x8′ L office cubicle configuration and convert it into a 6′x8′ U configuration. Surprisingly, this will give your employees more square footage of office workspace, not less. Instead of 28 square feet of work surface in the 8×8 L configuration, the employee using a 6×6 office cubicle in the U configuration will have 32 square feet of work surface - all in a footprint that is 16 square feet smaller. Plus, you should always try to incorporate existing sheet rock walls into the layout of your office cubicles. By using the office walls, you can avoid purchasing unnecessary panels.

If you look closely at the office layout and make these important revisions, you will find yourself with two new options - the ability to rent a smaller space that can fit the same amount of people, or the ability to fit more people in the original space by implementing a redesign of your office cubicles. Either way, you are saving a great deal on space and on rent.

Limit the Powered Components

You can also save money by minimizing the number of powered panels you place within each office cubicle. Powered panels will always be more expensive than those without power, so cutting back is a simple way to save money. You can limit the power to the panels along the spine of a set of cubicles. If your cubes are running against walls, you can take advantage of existing outlets on walls by utilizing power strips or by using the walls as part of the office cubicles themselves instead of panels.

Buy Used, Buy Clones, Buy Carefully

Finally, buying used panels or clones of name-brand office cubicles can save you money overall. Make sure when going this route that you work with a vendor that can stand behind its products by offering solid guarantees and extended warranties. Ask the vendor questions about its customer service policies and find someone that you feel comfortable working with. Ideally, the vendor will also be able to help you make intelligent decisions about the overall design and layout of your office cubicles.

If you are buying used panels, make sure that they are clean and in good shape. If you are buying clones, make sure that they are clones of well-known office cubicle brands and that they will hold up as well as the more expensive options. Avoid buying inexpensive furniture like what you might find in the big box stores. Such pieces are intended to be used in a home office and likely will not hold up in a business setting. This can cost you more money in the long term as you find you have to replace it much sooner than commercial grade furniture.

Conclusion

With creative design and purchase choices of your office cubicles, you can keep your employees happy and comfortable while you save money on both components and rent. It’s best if you can find a vendor that can advise you on office cubicle design and that can sell you products that are inexpensive and of high quality. In this way, you can create a productive, efficient office workspace that has benefits that go beyond the financial.

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Gross Stabil SC3 3-Inch Flex Jaw Plastic Spring Clamps

August 29th, 2010 by biobersama

Gross Stabil SC3 3-Inch Flex Jaw Plastic Spring Clamps Gross Stabil: SC3 The Gross Stabil SC3 3-Inch Flex Jaw Plastic Spring Clamps feature a 9-inch overall length and 3-inch nominal opening. The lightweight, structurally sound molder plastic and adjustable tip deliver a powerful grip and illustrate their ergonomic German design and easy fit.
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You’re so busted: you messed up and didn’t comply with ATC. Will the FAA come knocking on your door? That depends on what you did and how you handle it.(ATC NOTEBOOK): An article from: IFR

August 27th, 2010 by biobersama

You’re so busted: you messed up and didn’t comply with ATC. Will the FAA come knocking on your door? That depends on what you did and how you handle it.(ATC NOTEBOOK): An article from: IFR : This digital document is an article from IFR, published by Belvoir Media Group, LLC on July 1, 2010. The length of the article is 2401 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: You’re so busted: you messed up and didn’t comply with ATC. Will the FAA come knocking on your door? That depends on what you did and how you handle it.(ATC NOTEBOOK)
Author: Tarrance Kramer
Publication:IFR (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2010
Publisher: Belvoir Media Group, LLC
Volume: 26 Issue: 7 Page: 11(3)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning

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How Does the Social Security Administration Determine If Someone is Blind?

August 26th, 2010 by biobersama

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has a very structured method of determining whether someone is disabled. SSA will find an individual disabled if he or she meets the five step Social Security disability evaluation process. The five step Social Security disability process includes: (1) Are you performing substantial gainful activity; (2) Is your condition severe; (3) Does your condition meet or exceed a listed impairment; (4) Can you do previous work; and (5) What work can you do? If someone meets all five of the steps of the evaluation process, then that person will be adjudicated as disabled and accordingly receive disability benefits. For someone with low vision or macular degeneration for example, that person would need to meet the five step standard in order to be classified as disabled. However, the Social Security disability program for blind claimants is unique and has somewhat different rules then the regular program.

The rules for being considered blind by SSA are somewhat different from the regular five step process. For SSA to find someone blind, that person would have to meet the medical definition of blindness, durational requirement, be insured, and to not have obtained their loss of vision through certain felony related impairments.

Step One: What does it take to be blind?

An individual has to meet a specific medical definition of blindness. The SSA defines blindness by statute and requires a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with best corrective lens or a field of vision of 20 degrees or less. 20 CFR 404.1581. In other words, if the better of your two eyes has worse vision than 20/200, you will meet the statutory definition of blindness. Unlike regular Social Security disability claims, an individual cannot merely equal the requirement under the third step of the five step evaluation process. The person’s vision must be less than 20/200.

Step Two: What is the durational requirement?

Even though your vision in your better eye may be worse than 20/200, you still will not be legally blind if you do not meet the durational requirement. An individual’s blindness is expected to last continuously for a 12 month period. Five months of loss of vision will not meet the durational requirement nor will five months of on and off loss of vision. If the individual’s better eye is less than 20/200 and has continuously met that requirement for 12 months, then the first two steps have been met.

Step Three: What does it mean to be insured for disability purposes?

The typical disability claimant must have contributed a certain amount of money for a specified time to qualify as insurable for disability purposes. However, blind claimants have no recent work requirement.

Step Four: Is a felony-related loss of vision considered?

SSA will not consider any aggravation of a preexisting impairment arising during the commission of a felony after October 19, 1980, if you are subsequently convicted of the crime. In other words, if you lost your vision do to being poked in the eyes, burned, or any other activity related to your commission of a crime and are subsequently convicted, SSA will invalidate your claim.

If an individual has met these different steps, SSA should find that you are legally blind. It is important to note that even if you do not meet these steps, you can still apply for regular disability benefits through the five step Social Security disability evaluation process.

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Agency Theory and Control Strategy; A Field Study

August 24th, 2010 by biobersama

Agency Theory and Control Strategy; A Field Study : This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher’s website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Original Published by: Cambridge, Mass. : Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Alfred P. Sloan School of Management in 1985 in 64 pages; Subjects: Environmental protection; Law / Environmental; Nature / Environmental Conservation

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Horror Classics V.9

August 19th, 2010 by biobersama

Horror Classics V.9 Here, a ‘zombie’ is NOT an alcoholic beverage! - Annie Van Auken - Planet Earth
Transfer quality of ECHO BRIDGE 4 movie sets is quite good, although film stock is not always in the best of condition. A bargain price also makes these small collections attractive. All titles are contained on a single disc.

This edition offers the best “mad doctor” assistant since Frankenstein’s Fritz, plus a young Jack Nicholson clashing with an old Boris Karloff in a creepy castle, backwoods Georgia zombies, and Chris Lee’s last go-round as the famous vampire.

SYNOPSES for “Horror Classics V.9″–

DEAD MEN WALK– George Zucco plays twin brother physicians– one good, one evil. The sinister one returns from the grave as a vampire out for revenge on the sibling responsible for his demise. This doctor’s creepy assistant is played by Dwight Frye. He performed a similar role in the 1931 classic, FRANKENSTEIN. Silent film comedian Al St. John has a cameo as the man who finds Kate’s body.

MUTANT– Two brothers discover that toxic waste is transforming the residents of a backwater Georgia town into night prowling carnivorous zombies.

THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA– This last of several Lee/Cushing Dracula movies is set in present-day (1970’s) London, where the immortal vampire has plans to unleash a deadly virus on the world. For this go-round, Mrs. Van Helsing is played by leggy Joanna Lumley, of AVENGERS and AB/FAB fame.

THE TERROR– Roger Corman partly directed this nightmarish and somewhat confusing tale of a French Army officer who follows a beautiful woman to a creepy castle owned by a creepier old Baron. Does the girl really transform into a raven? Is the Baron exactly who he says he is? Are the eccentric villagers misleading our curious lieutenant, and why isn’t he with his men? Wouldn’t YOU like to know!

With HORROR CLASSICS V.10, the emphasis is on monsters, zombies and deadly revenge.

Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.

(4.4) Dead Men Walk (1943) - George Zucco/Mary Carlisle/Nedrick Young/Dwight Frye/Hal Price (uncredited: Al St. John)

(3.4) Mutant (”Night Shadows”) (1984) - Wings Hauser/Bo Hopkins/Lee Montgomery/Jody Medford/Jennifer Warren

(5.2) The Satanic Rites of Dracula (UK-1973) - Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing/Michael Coles/Freddie Jones/Joanna Lumley

(4.8) The Terror (1963) - Jack Nicholson/Boris Karloff/Sandra Knight/Dick Miller/Jonathan Haze/Dorothy Neumann
Horror Classics Vol. 9 - ID#14309 - Nefarius - Georgia
Four movies on one disc
Horror Classics Vol. 9 - Platinum Disc ID#14309

#1: The Satanic Rites of Dracula - 1973 - Director: Alan Gibson

#2: The Terror - 1963 - Director: Monte Hellman, Jack Hill

#3: Mutant - 1983 - Director: John ‘Bud’ Cardos, Mark Rosman

#4: Dead Men Walk - 1943 - Director: Sam Newfield

All in all; decent picture, decent sound. Nothing special, but menus all seem to work and thats rare for cheap compilation DVD’s.
These movies are available individually from amazon, so you can see actual reviews and movie details if you search for the title under DVD’s.
KARLOFF,BORIS: Four horror classics: The Satanic Rites of Dracula, The Terror, Mutant, and Dead Men Walk.
Horror Classics V.9

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Bed Bug Eliminating Tips - How to Eliminate Bed Bugs in No Time

August 18th, 2010 by biobersama


Image : http://www.flickr.com

Have you ever seen a bed bug? Do they bother you every night? If so, then you can start killing them quickly enough to stop them from laying more eggs and turning your bed mattress into their favorite vacation spot.

In this article you will get informative and helpful details on how to eliminate them in no time.

Bed bugs don’t just live in your mattress and couch, they can also live in the cracks of the walls and even in torn parts of the wallpaper. They can really cause a lot of problems, not just by damaging your furniture, but by also damaging YOU, with skin irritations, rashes and itching as they bite you. They often also live in clothing, and in very extreme cases, even hair! Can you imagine what a horrible problem that would be?

Here is what you can do to start reclaiming back your space.

1. Clean up your room, I mean really clean it.

Of course you clean your bedroom. But the resurgence of these pests has little to do with not being clean. When I say clean you room, I mean do a spring cleaning about twice a week, taking off your bed sheets, blankets, pillow case, curtains and washing them in hot water and drying them on high heat. steam clean your carpets also, as the steam will kill not just the bugs, but also the eggs.

2. Vacuum clean your room.

The second thing you need to do is to vacuum the rooms. Reach areas where bed bugs are most likely to reside, such as areas under your mattress, bed frame, under your couch and even your closet will also need vacuuming. Make sure to toss the vacuum cleaner bag outside in a dumpter when you finish so that the bugs don’t climb back out into your house.

3. Take apart the beds.

Make sure to remove your mattress from its frame, and inspect it well. These bugs like to live under your mattresses and bed frames. Some recommend appling tea tree oil to the bed frame. Definitely have your mattress steam cleaned.

4. Check your rooms carefully.

Check your walls, closet and even your ceiling for holes. If holes are present then caulk them as soon as possible. The fewer hiding and nesting places they find in your home,the better.

If you have torn wallpaper, then peel it of and either replace it or paint it. This is another secret hideaway of bed bugs.

5. Call an exterminator, the sooner the better.

Remember, modern day bed bugs are very resillient and hardy, making it nearly impossible to handle on your own. Call a bed bug exterminator as soon as possible. They will have access to the newest sprays that have been developed especially for bed bugs and will also prevent eggs hatching and causing further problems.

Remember, the above tips will get rid of maybe 75% of your bugs, the problem is that they multiply very quickly. And you can have another full blown infestation again in under 5 months with just the few bugs that you didn’t get yourself.

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How To Improve Your Odds Of Crash Survival

August 16th, 2010 by admin

You might ask, what does this headline have to do with chiropractic?  It’s often said case management or patient care is much more than just what we do to our patients (such as in chiropractic, applying a spinal adjustment). The patient education portion of our care plan can frequently make or break a successful outcome in a case.  It is the goal of this Health Update to potentially save your life by empowering you with the knowledge needed when it’s time to purchase your next car.  This is about what specific automobile features contribute to crash survival - hence, saving lives!

Did you know the car you choose can improve the odds of crash survival by 400%? In the popular magazine Consumer Reports, they wrote, “Ultimately, safety is active and passive, balancing the ability to avoid an accident and to survive one.” Typically, the first thing we do as consumers when we consider safety in a particular car is to look at the crash-test results.  While this is important, we must first consider the size and weight so we compare crash-test results between cars in the same weight class since statistics show there are two times as many occupant deaths annually in small vs. large cars. Keeping size and weight in the foreground, when evaluating crash-test results, the front and rear end “crumple zone” of the car should be designed to absorb crash forces by buckling and bending in a serious collision. If you’ve ever watched race cars crash, you usually see car parts bend and break off as they bounce off the guard rail or other cars, sometimes to the point where all that is left is the cage surrounding the driver.  Amazingly, the race car driver often climbs out of the cage and walks away, seemingly unharmed.

The next important car feature to consider is a car with a structurally superior passenger compartment. Look for a high quality “restraint system” made up of 3 components: seat belts, airbags, and head restraints. These work together to keep us safe and in place during a crash while the outside of the car crumples, absorbing the energy of the crash.

So where do you look to get this information?  There are several resources available:

  • The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) tests front end impacts at 35 mph, and in 1997 added side impact tests at 38 mph. They also test for the rollover potential for SUVs and trucks and grade the results for each category from 1 to 5 stars representing the likelihood of suffering a life-threatening injury in a crash.
  • Since 1995, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has used a method reviewed by Consumer Reports as being more realistic by crashing only half of the vehicle at similar speeds into fixed barriers, since most crashes are not direct, whole car strikes.
  • Consumer Reports is a 3rd option. They integrate the data from both NHTSA and IIHS and gives us their “CR Safety Assessment,” and run 40 new cars each year through numerous individual tests.

Other important “accident avoiding” features often overlooked include: Tires - greatly impact braking and emergency handling so REPLACE them as needed; Braking-check for the distance required to stop the car at different speeds- the shorter, the better; Emergency Handling-data about accident avoidance and choosing a vehicle with electronic stability control (ESC), especially in SUVs is wise; Acceleration-the quicker a car can get to highway speeds, the better; Driver position and visibility-a good view of the surroundings, especially the “blind spots” is important.  We realize you have a choice in where you go for your health care needs and we truly appreciate your consideration in allowing us to help you.

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Fibromyalgia: Dietary Guide

August 16th, 2010 by admin

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition affecting multiple body systems is not limited to any one aspect of health. Because of this, there is no ONE diet that works the same for all FM patients. Since most dietary guidelines that address FM are based on general healthy eating principles utilized for many conditions such as hypoglycemia, diabetes, food allergies, headaches, digestive disorders, and fatigue, let’s review some of the most popular and successful dietary approaches that have been reported regarding FM.

Basic Guidelines:

  • Carbohydrates: AVOID all refined carbs (white flour products). Eat whole grain bread, oatmeal, granola, nuts. Avoid artificial sweeteners and limit sugar intake to a max. of 40g/2000 calories. Eat roughly 14 grams / 1000 calories consumed of soluble dietary fiber such as apples, oats, and legumes vs. insoluble fiber such as bran. Your total carb intake from all sources should be between 30-55% of your total calories.
  • Fats: AVOID saturated fats (these clog up circulation, lead to inflammation and pain). That means <10% of total calories consumed, so limit or eliminate foods such as cheese, beef, milk, oils, ice cream, cakes, cookies, mayonnaise, margarine, chips and chicken skin. Eat mono- and poly-unsaturated fats and include regular amounts of omega 3-fats. Eat < 300mg/day of cholesterol; Try to avoid ALL trans fats such as cakes, cookies, crackers, pies, bread, margarine, fried potatoes, chips, shortening. Take omega 3 fatty acids like alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) as these help make other omega 3 fats like EPA and DHA, and are very helpful for the brain. ALA is found in flaxseed, linseed oil, or cod liver oil. Limit total fat intake to 20-35% of calories consumed.
  • Protein: Go easy on red meat as they are high in saturated fat. Instead, eat more fish and vegetable protein (legumes and soybeans are great). When eating meat or poultry, remove all visible fat and skin before eating. Maintain protein at 20-40% of total caloric intake. AVOID: processed meats, especially salt-cured, smoked or nitrate-cured.
  • Fruits & Vegetables: Whole fruits are superior to juices. Include blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, kiwis, peaches, mango, cantaloupe melon and apples. Some FM sufferers cannot tolerate citrus fruits but if you can, fruits like oranges and grapefruits are great. Vegetables are crucial. Good choices include carrots, squash, sweet potato, spinach, kale, collard greens, broccoli, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. These foods reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases (diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancers).
  • Dairy Products: Choose reduced or fat-free varieties of cow or soy milk. This also applies to yogurt and cheese.
  • Healthy drinks: Drink 8 glasses of water a day or diluted fruit juices, or herbal teas. Drinking water helps flush out toxins. Avoid coffee, tea, and alcohol as these increase fatigue, increase muscle pain and interfere with normal sleeping patterns. Limit or eliminate alcohol.
  • Healthy Snacks: Chopped vegetables, unsalted nuts and/or seeds; AVOID ALL commercial snack foods (except salt-free air-popped popcorn) as these are high in trans fats & salt. Avoid chocolate and candy.
  • Junk Food: Regular consumption of this is BAD for FM patients due to the high levels of fat, sodium, calories and general lack of nutrition.
  • Artificial Sweeteners: AVOID them! Examples: aspartame, NutraSweet, & saccharine.
  • MSG: (monosodium glutamate (MSG) and Sodium (Salt) can aggravate FM!
  •  QUANTITY: Eat smaller light meals, especially in the evenings.

We recognize the importance of including chiropractic in your treatment planning and realize you have a choice of providers. If you, a friend or family member requires care for FM, we sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence shown by choosing our services and look forward in serving you and your family presently and, in the future.

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