Phytochemicals for Your Immune Health

My mom used to dress the dinner plate in full matching regalia; yellow squash nestled next to green asparagus. Red and yellow peppers tossed around the salad added spectacular color. Now dear mom knew these foods were healthy and she loved to decorate my plate with the colors of the season; but did she know that these wholesome foods contain phytochemicals?
Phytochemicals are the active substances in plants that give them their color, flavor, odor, and protection against plant diseases. Phytochemicals work as powerful antioxidants, which can increase our resistance to disease and boost immunity.
While most research focuses on the anti-carcinogen effects of phytochemicals, the results are equally important to those who just want to boost their immune system or help reverse the aging clock.
Scientists at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRC) rated 60 fruits and vegetables for potency of antioxidants, which stabilize cells and help fight the damaging effects of free radicals, which are molecules that weaken the immune system. Antioxidants can help keep cancer, heart disease and other degenerative conditions at bay.
The top scoring fruit in the HNRC study was blueberries followed by strawberries, prunes, black currants and boysenberries. The deeper the color, the better for you. Many of these antioxidants also have anti-inflammatory properties, and some naturally reduce blood cholesterol.
It's important to fill your diet with all the colors of the food rainbow. Eat the blues, reds, purples, oranges, yellows, and greens.
Fresh or Frozen Produce?
It's okay if you don't have time to steam your own fresh veggies, studies by the FDA and the University of Illinois show that frozen fruits and vegetables are nearly as nutritious because they can wait to be picked until they're at the peak of freshness.
Fresh produce is usually picked early, before it's ripe and fully nutritious, so that it ships well.
But if you're lucky enough to grow your own fruits or vegetables, or you can buy straight from a farm - then that's where you'll find the most nutritious fruits and vegetables!!!
What about supplements:
The value of most supplements is, at best, ineffective. The power of phytochemicals seem to be lost when removed from food. Except if you're fortunate enough to find a high quality 'greens drink'.
Click Here to get more info on our green drinks and other supplements!!!
Drinking one glass of a quality 'greens drink' supplies more than 5 servings of powerful, phytochemical rich nutrition.
Other Phyto Foods :
Phyto foods come in many varieties and for all palates. Among the most common sources are:
FRUITS: Apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, berries, cherries, citrus fruits, grapes, kiwi fruit, lemons, mangoes, melons, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, plums. GRAINS: Barley, cornmeal, whole grain, quinoa, brown rice, wheat germ. NUTS and SEEDS: Flaxseed (a small brown seed used in cooking), macadamia, pecans, sesame seeds, walnuts. VEGETABLES: Asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, dark leafy greens and lettuces, mushrooms, onions, green and dried peas, sweet and hot peppers, white and sweet potatoes, pumpkin, soybeans, watercress, winter squash, tomatoes. And a host of others.

The Best Results

I'm not sure about you guys, but getting to the gym is sometimes a pain in the butt, but we all have to do some things we don't want to do, right...: }
At the gym I was doing bicep exercises and my goal was
12 reps each set.
Each set I did, I tried to increase the weight and make it a bit tougher.
It got much tougher.
So much, that by the 8th rep, I wanted to 'throw in the towel'...but I didn't!!!
I wanted to stop so badly, but I didn't.
What I did instead was give just 5% more effort and I didn't stop at 12 reps, I went to 15.
You see, we need to be reminded that the MAGIC doesn't happen on the 1st mile, it happens when you go the EXTRA mile for yourself and for others.
Anybody who knows anything about weight training or dieting will tell you that you get most of your results from those last 2-3 reps you don't want to do, or from those last few weeks that you really don't want to diet.
But here's the catch.
Most people quit on themselves and their dreams, right when it gets tough.
Unfortunately, they then never get to taste the MAGIC that could have taken place for them. That same magic that could have transformed their body from ordinary to extraordinary.
And that TASTE is so sweet, it really is unfortunate that more people don't give themselves the gift of going the extra mile, so they too can enjoy living life in the body of their dreams.
(Shameless plug: Some of the best feedback I get from my 'Living Health - Weight Loss Audio Program', is that it shows you how to easily go that extra 5% and win.)
I've said it over and over again, but I'll repeat it here one more time...you don't have to be 50% or 100% better then everyone else when you diet or exercise.
5% is it.
Yes, that's it.
Persist past your desire to stop dieting or exercising. Do a little bit more today.
Do one more rep.
Workout 15 minutes longer.
Drink one more glass of plain, fresh water.
Eat one more large bowel of salad (without a lot of dressing).
And encourage one more person to exercise with you.
Are YOU ready to give 5% more today?
I can't tell for sure, but I really feel that you are ready.
Am I right?
Make your move.
P.S. In the last 30 days, over 1,012 individuals have used my Living Health Audio Program to quickly and easily add that 5% - 500% extra motivation into your life. Would you like to be next?
Are you ready? Learn More Now!

Laser In Situ Keratomileusis

SIK - laser vision correction, is a procedure for the correction of moderate to high degrees of myopia (nearsightedness). LASIK will also correct low to moderate degrees of hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism associated with myopia.

In order to really understand the LASIK procedure, the patient must have a working knowledge of the Cornea. The Cornea is a clear window to the eye and is transparent tissue. Generally, the cornea is 11.5mm in horizontal diameter, which is roughly ½ inch. The center most portion of the cornea is about 500 microns thick.

The day of the procedure begins with the arrival at the center of choice. Of course, the first matter at hand is collection of payment and consent forms. Oral Valium, in most cases, is dispensed to relax the patient. Pre-operative topical antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic drops are given.

The patient will be escorted into the surgery suite. The surgeon will then examine the eye under the slit lamp and will apply a gentian violet dye to the pupil. These markings give orientation for astigmatism, when patients lie down their eyes tend to roll slightly; therefore, these marks allow for a perfect line up. Also in the case of a "free flap", the mark would allow proper orientation of the cap back on the eye.

The patient is now ready to be placed in position in a reclining surgical chair. Eyelashes are covered with a plastic drape and a speculum, lid holder, is inserted to hold your eyelids open. The opposing eye is patched closed. LASIK is most commonly performed bilaterally (both eyes on the same day). Patients remain awake during the procedure, and the eye is numbed with drops. There is no discomfort during the procedure.

The patient will be asked to focus on a light, most surgeons provide a coach or hand holder to assist the patient through the process. The coach's job is to tell the patient everything that is going to happen before it happens. Patients will also be reminded to focus on the light, keep still, and breathe normally.

The surgeon will begin the placement of the suction ring (the microkeratome blade will attach to this), once good positioning is obtained, suction is applied. The patient will generally feel pressure and vision will go dark; however, there is no pain involved. The microkeratome will be placed on its track, after an adequate amount of pressure is fulfilled. The surgeon will then start the microkeratome blade across the cornea creating the flap. The flap is left attached to the cornea by a hinge, which is made by having the microkeratome stop before it fully traverses the diameter of the cornea, leaving an uncut portion. The flap is 160-180 (about 4 human hairs) of the 500 microns. The patient will hear a buzzing sound and feel a mild vibration. Once the flap is complete, the suction ring and the microkeratome are removed.

The flap is then lifted by the surgeon, and folded back out of the way. Then the excimer laser is used to reshape the remaining surface of the cornea. The laser treatment typically lasts less than one minute. During the laser treatment, the patient will hear the click sound of the laser and might also smell a slight burning odor. The treatment will last from 30 to 90 seconds. One diopter of correction will take approximately 8 seconds. The surgeon has control of the treatment at all times. Should the eye move off center, the surgeon could stop and then restart the laser treatment. The amount of laser treatment necessary is based on the patient's particular prescription. This information was programmed into the laser prior to arrival for surgery.

Once the laser treatment is complete, the surgeon will irrigate the treated area and lay the flap back into its original place where it will adhere to the eye without the need for sutures. Topical drops will be applied and the area will be smoothed. Most surgeons wait 1 to 3 minutes to insure the corneal flap has fully re-adhered. At this point, patients can blink normally and the corneal flap remains secured in position by the natural suction within the cornea. While it is possible to dislodge the corneal flap during the first day or two by physically rubbing the eye, this event is actually quite rare. Before the patient leaves, the surgeon will examine both eyes to insure that the flap is still in position.

Since the protective layer remains intact with LASIK, patients are only placed on an antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drop for about a week. Preservative Free artificial tears are used initially for dryness. Vision is usually quite good the following day with LASIK.

LASIK patients are instructed to wear protective eye shields while sleeping the first night to prevent accidental trauma to the cornea flap during the early healing period. The excimer laser is an ultraviolet laser, which utilizes Argon and Fluorine gas to create a non-thermal, or cool beam, of laser light, which can break molecular bonds in a process commonly, referred to as "photoablation". A simple way to imagine how the laser works is to think of it as placing the curvature from your glasses or contact lenses onto the front surface of your eye, allowing you to see without corrective eyewear.

How to Develop the Attitude

During a catalogue search at my local library, I came
across this title: "Fitness without Exercise - The
Scientifically Proven Strategy for Achieving Maximum Health
with Minimum Effort." This book by Bryant Stamford and
Porter Shimer really misses the point. After all, fitness
is more of an attitude than a destination.
I found another title for a book that is a better concept
and is one with which I completely agree. "Walking: the
Pleasure Exercise," a book by Mort Malkin. Actually,
during my research at the library, more than 20 per cent of
the items had *walking* in their titles when I used
*fitness* as the search-word. Makes sense, doesn't it?
Walking is naturally one of the best places to start
creating a Fitness Attitude. For one thing, it gets you
outdoors, and that's good for the fitness of your head! In
addition, it uses all the large muscles in your body, it's
low-impact, and it doesn't require any special equipment.
It is something you are already expert at doing, and your
body is perfectly designed for it. Hooray! You've got an
awesome place to begin on your way to having a Fitness
Attitude: Go for a walk every day.
Now, I'm going to make a confession. Even though I place a
high value on health and nutrition and fitness in general,
I sometimes have to really make an effort to get out the
door with my walking shoes on. Today, for example, it was
rainy and cold. I had a back-log of emails to answer, and
had eaten a heavy lunch. It would have been really easy to
make a very good case for staying indoors by the woodstove
with my computer screen glowing away.
At a time like this, momentum helps. I feel weird when I
have to miss my daily walk because over time it's become a
part of my life. It easier to walk consistently when you
make it a routine, or you have a ritual to help you get out
the door. A routine will also to carry you along. Decide
on a length of time for your walk, rather than setting a
distance. Then, go! Some routes will become your
standards, and then you won't have to plan - which is one
of the benefits of a routine. Used appropriately, routines
free your thoughts, so you can contemplate topics more
interesting than whether to make a right or left turn at
the corner.
Good for you, if you use a treadmill, gym, or other
walking strategy such as mall walks. Still, if you can
possibly make arrangements, spend at least some of your
walking time outside. Time in the open air is part of
fitness as an attitude.
Which brings up the question of food as it relates to the
attitude of fitness. Generally, when you are eating foods
that have a good natural basis, (like salads that aren't
drowning in some oily vinegar dressing, or a vegetable stir-
fry that isn't heavily glazed with high-sugar sauce), you
don't crave garbage non-foods like my personal favorite:
red licorice. Still, the packaging of 'snack foods' and
the ease and portability they afford in our frenetically
paced culture means that sometimes, you're going to eat
junk. Once you've established your Fitness Attitude,
though, processed 'foods' stop being a staple in your diet,
and that's a better fit.
As you put attention on fitness, your life will soon
include the pleasure of walking daily and a natural hunger
for whole foods that are nourishing to you. A Fitness
Attitude isn't complicated, and you'll feel better. You
simply will.