Website reviews: WebMD.com – Part 3
WebMD.com is a highly recognizable and well-known resource that both consumers and health care practitioners use for referencing medical and health information. A review of the website was both interesting and time consuming as I wandered in and out of a long winding path into the many and varied features and functions of the site. WebMD is educational, current on issues, and a valuable tool for health assessment.
The homepage layout is busy and filled with an abundance of information, but it is well organized so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. You may, however, get lost in the wealth of eye-catching information if you’re not focused on finding specific information. You could easily spend a couple of hours perusing WebMD.com.
As you would expect, since it’s a medical information website, many are looking for pertinent information on diseases, medical conditions or issues, and to get the latest updates on medication and diets. Writers benefit from this information also as they find a surplus of information to supply an article with support of ideas and point of view.
The website information is divided into seven distinct categories and navigation is by clicking on the tabs at the top of the page.
*Home: The homepage that gives a sampling of what you will find throughout the site. It includes links to blogs, news and other items of interest. You’ll find something to peak your interest on this page.
*Health A-Z: Lists health terms A-Z and health guides to healthy living, medical tests, drugs and tools for your use. Like the homepage, here you’ll find news and articles that can lure you away from this page.
*Drugs & Treatments: If you want to find a drug or an over the counter medication and information pertaining to it, a search window is available on this page. You will also find FDA warnings and other warnings and news about drugs.
*Women: Health, love, stress, lifestyle and specific issues that are all about women’s health is found in this section. Top articles dealing with a wide assortment of issues are highlighted. News and links to boards and blogs are accessed from this page.
*Men: Sex, stress, and medical conditions and symptoms that men experience, and how they affect relationships are here. If you ever wondered why men don’t see their doctors regularly, check out this page.
*Children’s Health: All kinds of great information dealing with health, fitness and emergencies can be found in this section. Read about parenting and pregnancy and get your questions answered here also.
*News & Blogs: This section supplies you with news and more great information as well as boards where you can post comments or questions. Find support groups here. Read blogs and gain knowledge through the experience of others who have battled the same issues as you. Election 08 is in this section where you can find the US Presidential candidates stand and philosophy on health care.
I have one complaint about the website and that is the fact that pop-up ads are allowed on the site. Simply close them and they’ll go away.
There you have the seven major categories of information on WebMD.com. It contains a wealth of information that can help you find answers to your inquiries. I didn’t find it to be as precise or as well organized as the Mayo Clinic website, but it provides information that is timely and important to health, lifestyles, and medical issues of today.
Eat Healthy Guide – Lose 1lb a Day
Copyright (c) 2008 Phil Hixon
In following a healthy eating guide it is important to follow certain guidelines no matter what diet plan you may be following. In this guide we will set a few pointers to follow when constructing a plan.
Healthy Eating Guide Guidelines
1. Instead of eating 3 bigger meals break it up and eat 5-6 smaller meals and snacks throughout the day. Eating more meals makes your metabolism work more efficiently
2. Eat slower. Many people eat so fast they are full before they know it. Slow down to allow your body to tell you when it’s full. This causes overeating.
3. Before going into a full blown calorie, fat and carb counting rampage start slow and transition to eating healthier foods in general. Select whole grains, lots of vegetables, fruits, and cut out as much sugar and preservatives.
4. Find a diet plan that is congruent with who you are as a person. Many different diets work for many different people and vice versa. While one diet may work for “Suzy” what will work for you may be totally different. The most important part about eating healthy or being on a diet is to NOT be on a diet. And what we mean by this is when you are following a certain plan it must not feel like it. It must start to just become who you naturally are. If it is gut wrenching to follow a certain plan it’s not worth it because no matter how disciplined you are you won’t stick to it long term. So read reviews and learn about different diets and choose the one closest to who you are that gives you results.
Along with your healthy eating guide you should have a journal to track your progress. Make notes of how you feel on your plan and just make casual notes about activities you are doing or ways in which you are eating.
Healthy Eating Guide Sample meal Plan
Breakfast: 1 cup 2% skim milk, 2 oz turkey bacon
Snack: Medium apple, Peanut butter
Lunch: 3oz tuna salad, 3 slices whole wheat bread, 1 cup lettuce
Snack: 1 oz sliced turkey breast, 1 tsp mustard, Flour tortilla
Dinner: Salmon, ½ cup steamed broccoli
Remember this healthy eating guide is just a sample for the average person. Depending on your needs and goals there may be modifications.
Nutritional Fads, are They Really Helpful
Many perspectives to nutrition exists today. The subject is largely an emotional one.From strict vegetarians who support their eating habits with a fairly religious intensity to paranoid teens, constantly trying to look and feel like their favourite celebrities, the subject has gone from the mundane to the magnificent.What are the fact anyway and why should I care? First off, you should care, because more than half of America is overweight and even Europe is not far behind.Added to that there is more than a 50% chance of contracting diabetes, stroke, cholesteremia and a host of heart related complications if you do not care.
What are the common dieting fads and what should you watch out for about them? We’ll take a look at these fads one by one and assess their suitability or otherwise for our health.
It’s no longer news that teenagers are in the forefront of the craze for a slim physique. Quite a lot of teenagers, routinely skip meals, some even induce vomitting in order to curb overfeeding, Adults too are not left out, fasting is a regular routine for some, hoping to shed those pounds fast and freely. What are the merits of this approach? Quick weight loss, and something more. When weight reduction is prosecuted in this manner, fat is lost rapidly. One point needs to be noted. Fats in the body act as an emergency storage.Whenever our energy intake falls below our metabolic threshold, the body converts fats into energy. However, when we resume our normal eating patterns, the accumulation of fat is sometimes rapid that we often gain extra and become,seriously, more robust than we previously were.
Also, recent studies have shown very severe effects of skipping meals among teenagers. An irregular menstrual cycle, irregular heart rate, and anaemia have been known to plague lots of teens seeking to attain a celebrity physique.
Recently some folks have taken to eliminating certain food groups altogether from their diet. They reason that after all, the occurence of strokes, heart attacks, diabetes and other cardiovascular complications have been strongly linked to these food groups,so, why not do away with them altogether?
An offshoot of this schoool of thought is the current vegetarian movement. What should we know about a healthy,balanced and nutritious diet? Should we totally eliminate fats from our diets and maybe even carbohydrates as some strenously propose? Nutrition experts agree that a balanced, sensible diet should consist of at least more than 50% complex carbohydrates, less than 30% fats and the rest protein and other food groups. If we consistently violate this creed we open ourselves to several unpleasant health disorders including a weakened immune system, anaemia, amongst other ailments. You should know that so much energy is required by the body for normal living activities such as walking, talking, muscular movements, repair of cellular tissue and others. Vitamins and proteins do not contain sufficient energy to meet the body’s energy demand and at any rate, they cannot readily release their embodied energy for use by the body. The only food groups that contain energy in sufficient amounts required by the body and can release them readily are fats and carbohydrates. If we consistently decide to bypass these food groups, Yes, we’ll grow thin, but a very low metabolic rate and its attendant problems; a weakened immune system, low blood count, anaemia, lethargy and irritation become our lot.
The same thing applies for liquid diets, they tend to be high on protein and low on carbohydrates.You soon develop all the above named health complications, with their prolonged usage.
What then is the appropriate course of action? You’ve probably heard it several times. Eat smaller meals with low fat and the necessary amount of carbohydrates. Use a lot of vegetables and fruits. Eat regularly,stomach ulcers fatality rates are rising in proportions you really need to be frightened about. Above all exercise regularly and keep your mind fresh with the latest information on good nutrition and healthy living. A happy, healthy, long disease free life is possible, only know the rules and play by them.
The most annoying TV ads
Every one of them! I can just imagine the scenario. When a new account comes in, ad agency nerds look at the products they’re supposed to pitch, and ask themselves a basic question: “How can we make an annoying TV commercial out of it?” Too often they succeed. Let me count the ways:
First on the list has to be the revolting HeadOn ads. Consumer Reports said recently there’s no clinical proof that the little roller grease applicator actually helps relieve headaches. Gee, I’m shocked! Anyone who believes that rubbing the smelly goo on your forehead can stop headache pain has to be a total idiot. However, the greedy creeps who produce the ads believe that by incessant repetition of the ads, brainwashed people will stagger out like zombies and buy the stuff. It must work, because the ads continue and continue and continue.
Maybe right up there or worse are the new car commercials. The ear-splitting noise roars in, then an announcer with the growl of a super-macho sportscaster tells you to buy the latest overpriced gas guzzling road hog. The threat is that if you don’t buy it for a mere $30,000, you’re nothing but a sissy girl. Of course, if you dash right down to the dealership today and buy one, you’ll get $2,500 cash back. I can never figure that one out. Now, let’s see. I buy with cash, they’ll be kind enough to give me some of my cash back. Did it ever occur to them to just lower the price by $2,500 and save a lot of paperwork and dishonest pitching? Of course not.
If there must be one person who is the most obnoxious TV pitchman, it has to be that bearded little butterball, Billy May. The guy always speaks with an annoying, shouting monotone. You can tell as soon as his grimacing mug appears on the screen he’s peddling some useless product, such as a spot remover that will only remove your money into his bank account.
There’s a woman on our local TV station who must be his doppelgang opposite, because her grinning mug and annoying voice have the same effect as she loudly peddles furnature. Her ads seem to be on dozens of times a day peddling her wares. Worse, sometimes she brings her kids on camera with her, and it is frightening to realize a new generation of annoying TV hacks is being bred.
Other examples of annoying TV ads are the medical miracles. Of course, the most descriptive ones about bowels, incontenence, bad odors and flatulence are aired at dinner time when they can have their most repulsive effect. So are all the before-and-after diet programs, all total scams, all promising weight loss if suckers scarf down their little pills instead of six helpings of mashed potatoes. While diet pills are supposed to make you smaller, in recent years, we see more and more ads that offer other phony little pills guaranteed to make men bigger, if you know what I mean.
Another example is that local stations air endless ads extolling the skills and neon-toothed personalities of their on-air staffs. How much make-up, hair dye, toupees and ability to read cue cards does it take to make a brilliant broadcaster? And why do I have to see the same self-serving commercial every night before the talking heads appear? OK, you wax dummies look great. Now, just give me the news.
I could go into the boring home shopping and after-midnight gab-forever-infomercials, but that would only make me shudder with more agony. As I grow older, and as repetative pitches are gradually taking over all programming, I can only answer the question about the most annoying TV ads simply: all of them!
Twelve Herbal Slimming Tablets To Help You Lose Weight
Before you think of taking prescription drugs to lose weight, it would be better to take a look at the range of herbal slimming tablets on the market. Some may not live up to expectations but others may be effective.
As with any diet plan it is still the best course to try all the recommended avenues such as exercise, low calorie diet, cutting out fatty foods, eating more food with a low glycemic index and avoiding skipping meals and so on. Here is a review of some of the more common herbal slimming tablets on the market today.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #1: Adios
Adios contains dandelion root, boldo butternut and focus. This is used to speed the metabolism up. It also burns fat efficiently.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #2: Apple Slim
Bional Apple Slim Xtra has vitamins, selenium, chromium nicotinate and apple vinegar extract. They help with food movement throughout the small intestines and help burn fat quickly.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #3: Chromium Picolinate
Chromium Picolinate uses chromium as an active ingredient. Its helps control your blood sugar level and decrease insulin levels thereby allowing the body to burn fat efficiently
Herbal Slimming Tablets #4: Citrimax
Citrimax (HCA) comes from the rind of a fruit named Garcinia cambogia which originates in Asia. It prevents cravings for sweet things, it regulates appetite, it uses the body’s fat to provide energy and it stimulates energy.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #5: Figure Trim
Figure Trim CLA Formula is tablets that mix chromium and lecithin with conjugated linoleic acid, known as CLA. CLA is a type of fat and in the tablets it is used for maintaining a balance between the body fat and lean muscle.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #6: Fiber Diet
Holland & Barrett Fiber Diet are a mixture of vegetables , citrus fruits and grains that makes you feel full and are full of fiber.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #7: Lipoclear
Lipoclear XLS contains chitosan. Chitosan is a fiber extract from a shrimps shell. It works by binding the fat from food and instead of being absorbed by the digestive tract it goes straight through the body.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #8: Starch Neutralizer
Phase Two Starch Neutralizer can be defined as the Atkins diet but in tablet form. It has an extract from a white kidney bean which prevents an enzyme known as alpha amylase from digesting starch. Carbohydrates are therefore passed through the digestive system as extra fiber.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #9: Slim Nite
Power Health Slim Nite is herbal tablets with ornithine, carnitine and arginine. Three amino acids of which carnitine converts stored fat in to energy, and arginine and ornithine work with the metabolic rate.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #10: Xenadrine
Xenadrine EFX is a well known brand of dietary supplements. They comprise of a mixture of yerba mate, bitter orange and green tea extract all of which help burn fat quickly.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #11: Zotrim
Zotrim contains three yerba mate damiana and guarana, three South American herbs that put a stop to cravings by making you feel full.
Herbal Slimming Tablets #12: Seven Day Cabbage Diet
Holland & Barratt Brand Seven Day Cabbage Diet is tablets that combine cabbage, courgettes, carrots, tomato, green pepper, and onions.
Most of these herbal tablets can be purchased over the internet or from your local health food store or drug store.
Top Tips For Choosing A Treadmill
All of us are interested in looking and remaining slim, fit and healthy. This is the reason why dieting techniques and fitness ideas have become immensely popular. The trick is to maintain a balanced diet program for a considerable period of time and continue with a good exercise regime. This sounds easy in theory, but in practice may be more difficult. Either we are too busy to follow this rigorous schedule or we lack the commitment to stick to it.
The exercise treadmill is the ideal solution for us to maintain our health and obtain results even in a short period. Treadmills come in numerous types, with several features, styles and in various price ranges. Choosing the right type of treadmill can be very confusing due to the huge variety of these machines.
Here are some top tips for selecting a good treadmill that suits both your lifestyle and your budget.
Tips for selection of treadmills:
The first step in buying a treadmill is to read as many online treadmill reviews as possible. These reviews can give you a good idea about the special features and benefits, as well as possible shortfalls or problems in the various models. By reading online treadmill reviews you may discover some features that you would initially consider to be advantageous such as orthopedic belts may lead to complications that you had not have expected such as motor overheating and controller board failure. Treadmill review and ratings websites will assist you in narrowing down your choices to the models that appear to be the best match to your overall requirements.
Treadmills are available in two types – folding and non-folding. In general, folding models come in a price range of $500 to $2000, with majority of them priced between $700 and $1500. For a normal workout, these machines are ideal and serve the purpose of regular exercising perfectly well.
Decide the space available to you for putting up the treadmill. A smaller type of treadmill comes to about 6 square feet, when folded. However, you have to ensure that there is enough space in it for your running. A non-folding treadmill would be about double the size of the folding one.
If you plan to use the treadmill as a walking exercise machine, then a folding treadmill is more than enough. However, if you wish to do some heavy running exercise, then the non-folding type is the best, because it is sturdier. Moreover, check the quality of the treadmill to ascertain whether it is robust or flimsy in construction.
Checking the belt for the above purposes is also important. The belt should be wide enough and long enough to allow you to do both walking and running on it without any discomfort. The belt should be sturdy enough to allow all the family members in your house to exercise, irrespective of their body weights and their individual fitness regime.
Ensure that the buttons and controls are easy to read, easy to operate, and entirely user-friendly.
Think twice before purchasing treadmills with cooling fans or LCD TVs. A separate floor fan is much easier to set up near the treadmill and less complicated than a built-in cooling fan in the treadmill. Think hard whether you really require an LCD TV, while exercise. It is just another added complication to the treadmill most of the time.
Find out the period of warranty for the treadmill and also the facilities for after sales service by the manufacturer/supplier in your area. You would need to get a fast response in case of breakdown and it is advisable that you check this aspect carefully in the beginning itself.
If you want save some money in your treadmill purchase, then you could watch out for discount offers, coupon codes, close-out sales, and other such rebate offers. Further, several manufacturers offer special discounts like nurses’ discounts, physician’s discounts, seniors’ discounts, and business discounts. You might avail one of these discounts through a person in that category and known to you.
Online treadmill purchase normally costs less than buying them from the traditional sports goods stores as the supplier does not have the overheads associated with a traditional bricks and mortar store. Many online suppliers also offer free shipping and zero sales tax.
Best way to lose weight
Whether it is 5lbs or 150lbs, weight loss takes determination and a change in lifestyle. We all know that eating too much will cause you to gain weight, but what about eating too little? The common mistake made by most people when trying for weight loss is deprivation. Depriving your body, by eating too little food will NOT result in maintained weight loss. In the beginning, your body will respond to this method, and you will lose weight. Here’s the catch, the weight you lose will be extremely hard to keep off, and you will not look as good as someone who lost the same amount of weight the right way, because you will be losing muscle and water weight, not fat. So what is the “right way” to lose weight and keep it off?
The “right way” consists of a long term lifestyle change that includes a healthy, well rounded diet and increased body movement. To lose weight and keep it off, you have to set realistic goals that can be incorporated into your life for the long term. Your plan should be tailored specifically to fit you. How do you do this?
Step one: review your daily eating habits, write down what you consume on an average day. Look over this, and circle all the things that are high in fat and sugar: Gourmet coffee, fast food, cookies, muffins, donuts, chips, pop/soda, pizza etc. These are the foods that you should work towards eliminating.
Once you’ve evaluated your current eating habits, you will begin to see what changes need to be made.
Step two: Do not drink your calories! This is one of the easiest ways to begin to see weight loss results. One 16 oz bottle of Coke is 200 calories, these are all empty calories. If you drink more than one bottle a day, your body is consuming 400 or more calories from liquid alone. If you replaced that with ice cold water with lemon, you will already be decreasing your caloric intake by 400 calories, without changing the amount of food you consume.
Step three: Plan ahead
Plan 2-3 different easy breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner menus that can be made in bulk at the beginning of the week, or quickly made the night before. Ex: A pot of chili, Whole grain pasta w/marinara sauce, turkey burgers, oatmeal, granola cereal, fruit, yogurt, turkey bacon, sandwich on whole grain bread. These are just a few great breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas that can be pre prepared, or made quickly at night or in the morning.
I don’t believe in eating bland, to lose weight. If you love foods like
How To Get Your Toddler To Eat Well
Toddlers are notoriously picky eaters. Not a parent exists that hasn’t worried about their toddlers eating habits at one time or another.
Some worry their toddlers aren’t eating enough, others worry that their toddlers are eating too much, and still others worry that their toddlers aren’t eating a wide enough variety of different foods.
The good news is that if you do things right, you can set your toddler on a path to good eating indefinitely.
How do you do it?
First and foremost, know that when it comes to eating most toddlers are just learning about food, and just starting to develop habits.
You don’t want to force food on your toddler at any time, or suggest that they clean their plate or take just one last bite of anything.
Why? This may set them up for a lifetime of food struggles.
Rather, the best way to support good eating habits is to have available at all times a variety of healthy foods in your home.
Generally as long as toddlers eat one or two items from each food group within a 2-3 day time frame, they are doing well.
Here are some other things you can do to encourage healthy eating habits:
Eat as a Family – This may not be possible every day of the week, but at least 1-2 days per week you should encourage your family to gather together around the table for a good, wholesome meal. Include lots of different foods that are healthy and nutritious. Toddlers learn by example, and watching other family members eat and interact in an inviting environment will encourage your toddler to do the same as time goes on.
Don’t Require Your Toddler to Clean His Plate – This is a common well intentioned mistake some parents make. Toddlers eating habits are peculiar, but they do know when they are hungry. Forcing them to finish food they can’t or won’t eat will only result in power struggles and potentially problems with food later in life.
Keep the Refrigerator Stocked with Healthy Snacks – If you don’t have dozens of cookies laying about the house your toddler will be less likely to eat them. That said allow your toddler some sweet treats when they are visiting relatives or a friend’s house. Just remember to keep sweets to a minimum at your house.
Cook a Variety of Foods – If you normally cook fish twice a week, your child will become accustomed to it as part of their routine.
It will be much easier to convince your toddler to try new things if they are an ordinary part of your diet, then if out of the blue you decide to try new foods that are unusual or generally unappealing.
As your toddler grows and develops they will eventually develop more routine eating habits. In the meantime simply providing healthy alternatives and variety in their diet is a great way to jump start a healthy diet.
Cat food reviews: Hills Science Diet
You can’t find “Hill’s Science Diet (also called Hill’s Science Plan in the UK) at the grocery store. You need to go to a pet store, tack shop or your veterinarian in order to get it. You’ll see that it’s a bit more expensive than the cat food brands in the grocery store. Why is that? Because there is better quality products in Hill’s Science Diet than in any grocery store brand.
But Will Your Cat Eat It?
Cats tend to know instinctively if a food their more expensive. They usually then stop eating the cheaper food if you should go back to it. But there are always exceptions to this rule. Some cats get very fixated on just one brand of dry food or canned food. It’s good to first mix a tiny bit of a new food like Science Diet in with the older food so that the cat not only gets used to the taste, but it’s not a shock to the digestive system.
If your cat won’t eat it after two weeks of trying it, (giving fresh food every day), then perhaps it’s time to call it quits. Many cats, however, do enjoy the taste of Science Diet, especially the dry food.
Many Varieties
About twenty years ago, it was pretty easy to select a cat food form the Hill’s Science Diet line up. You had “cat” or “kitten” formulations and that was it. Now, there’s a lot more choices in flavours and choices based upon the specific health requirements of your cat. Varieties of dry, canned and pouch food cater to:
how old your cat is
whether your cat lives indoors or out
if your cat needs to loose weight
if your cat has hairball problems
if your cat is neutered
There is also the Hill’s Prescription Diet cat food, which first was only available at veterinarian’s offices, but is now available at some major pet store chains. The canned food has very little water and a lot of food but not a lot of odor. These are catered for cats having specific serious health issues, such as feline lower urinary tract disease, kidney problems or problems with bad teeth. Please ask your veterinarian whether your cat may benefit from switching to these foods because of the expense involved.
Proof In Litter Box
Cats do not have the most efficient digestive systems. Undigested food can help make their stools large and smelly. Hill’s Science Diet is meant to be easier for your cat to digest more easily. So, you cat won’t have as large stool, but it will probably still be as smelly. Hill’s just makes pet food they don’t perform miracles.
Does Lipozene work?
The ads are on tv, and boy do they look good. Lose pounds of body fat, no other change necessary, just pop the pills and lose the pounds. But do they work? What’s in them? How gullible are you? Did you even google the name, or ask around? Well, you’re reading this article, it’s a good step. We’ll look at good and bad for this product.
The good-
People say it does work. Of course, it’s darn few people. Check the links at the bottom to read the comments on your own, and feel free to write your own article, helium will appreciate it. It could be a certain type of person profits from this pill, and if it’s you, and you have money, it might be worth it. But read on.
The bad-
Many reports on the net says this is just glucomannan. And it’s fiber. Fiber which you could buy cheaper, and is mildly effective in weight loss in some cases, and soaks up vitamins, and is more effective with other supplements which are not found in this product.
Another bad-
It would seem there are hidden charges. And hidden charges can hit when a bank account is low, cause huge fees with overdraft charges which can lead to further debt which can lead to suicide…not that anyone is implying that big bad companies cause suicide, of course. Just that money bleeding from an account can be painful, very painful. Keep a close eye on the checking account, as you should ANY TIME you buy over the internet.
So does it work? Is it worth the price? If it varies from person to person, there is no answer, because what works for one person, might fail for the next thousand that try it. Read the label. If it is fiber, try to buy cheaper unless you’re rich, although if you have money it seems like you would have expensive products, aides, and exercise equipment up the yahoo. Nor does it excuse companies that take cheap products and repackage them as expensive whoopie-dos.
BEFORE TAKING ANY PRODUCT read, read, read, as much as you can on the internet. Ask around. Advice now a days is cheap, free and plentiful. It’s your health, and paying for mistakes is more costly than asking for help.
So in answer to does it work- ask. Read. Be informed. Figure it out for yourself.
Free links, just to get you started.
http://www.weknowdiets.com/Lip ozene.html?cp=101&KEYWORD=lipo zene&gclid=CMz99-rpq48CFQcfYQo dty2BQw
http://www.ultimatefatburner.c om/lipozene-review.html
http://www.ultimatefatburner.c om/lipozene-customer-feedback. html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L ipozene
in any search bar, type in lipozene and hti the return key. Select sites at random and read. Enjoy.
