Preventing disease by promoting nutritional health has always been a strategy of practitioners of natural medicine. The reason for this strategy is the recognition that in order to effectively treat a disease, we must treat the cause of the disease. As we investigate the true cause of disease, any disease, we are led to see that there is one common thread running through all patterns of disease. This common thread, the cause of disease, is the nutritional health of the cell. By adopting a strategy to improve the nutritional health and function of the cell, disease can be arrested and health restored.

In other words, disease can be prevented at the cellular level. In fact it is arguably the most effective place to promote health. But what are the underlying causes of cellular dysfunction? Simply put cellular dysfunction most often is the result of nutritional deficiency, a heavy toxic load, or overwhelming stress on the cell. While all are important areas to address, nutritional deficiencies are the easiest to understand and the easiest to correct.

It is becoming clear that our food supply no longer contains the nutrition that it once did and we are no longer able to get the nutrition we need through a meal. Through excessive processing of our food, the food industry has given us food nearly devoid of nutrients. It is no surprise then that we have seen such a huge jump in supplement sales in the last decade. Up until recently nutritional researchers have been focusing on isolated nutrients and extracts to replace what is missing from typical diets. Isolation of nutrients fails however to address the many important cofactors and other essential components of whole and complete foods.

Today we are seeing leading edge research into the role of whole food concentrates and superfoods. In this discussion, superfoods are foods that contain extremely high and readily available amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids. That is to say, they are foods that are packed full of nutrition. They are not considered herbs in that they are not typically used as medicines to treat illnesses. Instead superfoods are regularly supplemented to the diet as a way to complete the nutrition picture of an individual. Do they need more antioxidants? What about amino acids or trace minerals? A superfood will provide whatever is needed and it will provide it on the cellular level.

Keep in mind however that not all superfoods are equal. In the unregulated supplement industry it is important to find a company and product that you can trust. Investigate the company, owners, research available, etc to find a quality product. Also consider using a qualified healthcare practitioner for support in making any decisions regarding your health. Medical supervision may be helpful while you adjust to proper cellular function and take on a nutritional strategy for your health.

Are you sick and tired of temporary quick fixes and the money-merry-go-round of medications, doctors, surgery, dialysis, organ transplants, chemotherapy, and radiation? Would you like to regain or improve your health, have more energy, and lose weight without doctors, medication, or surgery? Would you like to experience the joy and peace of mind every human being desires and deserves?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you need not look any further because this article includes the lifestyle choices and strategies that lead to vibrant health and longevity. Your responsibility, should you embrace it, is to implement them. These are the same strategies I discovered and implemented on my journey back to health.

How do I know they lead to vibrant health? Here are the personal indisputable facts: I suffered with chronic asthma and was addicted to an inhaler for nearly 20 years. I was overweight, had arthritis, vertigo, and a host of other health challenges. Despite repeated doctor visits and faithfully taking medication daily, my health continued to fall apart.

Today, at the young age of 63 (will attain age 64 in May, 2008), asthma is no longer an issue and I’m no longer addicted to an inhaler, arthritis & vertigo vanished, and I lost over 60 pounds. I’m more energetic and feel better today than I did when I was in my 20s. Most importantly, I’m experiencing a peace of mind that’s truly amazing and enjoying that zest for life we all desire and deserve.

The facts indicate this country is in the middle of the greatest healthcare crisis in American history. Despite the nearly 2 trillion dollars spent on doctors, medications, surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and organ transplants, the prevalence of chronic diseases for both children and adults continues to skyrocket. Think about it, if modern medicine could give us better health, we would already be healthy.

So in order to avoid chronic diseases, we must take charge of our life and assume personal responsibility for everything we put into and unto our body. Wishing for good health is not sufficient. Good health is not a gift from God. It’s not a stroke of good luck. And it’s not a matter of “good genes”, although genes do play a part.

Creating vibrant health is a matter of skill based on education, and having the foresight to implement what we learn. That means taking personal responsibility for our health, which requires a burning desire, an unwavering commitment, and plenty of persistence and determination. Whether we’re rich or poor doesn’t matter; all the money in the world can’t purchase great health once it disappears.

If you are a single man you’ll need to have hurricane preparedness all figured out prior to the 2006 Atlantic tropical hurricane season. You need to determine if you plan to evacuate and which category of storms you’re willing to endure and stay home. If you fail to evacuate during mandatory evacuation periods and you find yourself alone, then you may also find yourself without power or water for three to four weeks.

You may also experience flooding in your area of or even inside your home and you must maintain your health. To do this you’ll need fresh bottled water supplies and it makes sense to get a portable generator so you can cook some of your food. You’ll also need gasoline cans in order to run your generator and you will not be able to run it all the time.

Proper hygiene will also be important you’ll need at least one gallon per day for yourself to drink and 3.5 gallons per for other bodily needs of water and hygiene. If you do not plan for such events then the hurricane will become a major problem for yourself and your health. You should also consider isometric and cardiovascular workouts, which you can do if you do not old home gym equipment.

Or perhaps you’ll like to buy some home gym equipment which you can utilize to take away some of the boring hours you will endure with no television set and no power. Please consider all this in 2006.

There have been some new changes to come about recently to the rules of the types of foods we should eat everyday to keep us healthy. In addition to these rules there are a couple of strategies that we each should follow everyday that would enhance these rule changes as well. Lets’ review these new rules and strategies now.

1. You need to eat fewer calories. I know that you have heard this before, so you are going to hear it again. Try to stay around 2000 calories per day. This will help you maintain a healthy weight.

2. You need to get more of your food from a plant source. Try to eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and cooked dried beans and peas. We got to be more like vegetarians if we want to live a long life.

3. You need to eat more fish as part of your diet. Instead of just 2 servings per week as it was recommended in 2005, you need 4 to 5 servings per week. Fish is good for your heart as it has omega-3-fats that can reduce the risk of heart disease.

4. Turn to low-fat dairy products which are lower in saturated fat and is also link to heart disease. Also new research has found that when you replace high fat dairy products with low or nonfat you can lower your blood pressure too. I will say that you can use dairy products to get the calcium your body needs as a bone-strengthening mineral that your body loses as you get older. However, for those of you who do not believe in drinking milk, you can get the calcium your body needs from beans, broccoli, leafy green vegetables, collards, and kale. One note, spinach does not like to give you it calcium very easily like other plants, so do not rely on it too much.

5. Lower your consumption of added sugars and solid fats. Too much sugar has been a main cause of diabetes and solid fats like butter have added calories to your mid-section with few if any nutrients that your body needs.

6. Also you need to reduce your sodium intake and refined grains such as pasta and white bread. If you want to eat these foods as many people do, substitute them with whole wheat as they are widely available in many products now.

7. Cut back on eating lean meats, eggs and poultry. You can still eat these items but try to have them once a week for lean meats and poultry and twice a week for eggs. Also, keep the portion sizes small as well.

8. Cut out drinking sodas and non-100 percent fruit juices and drink 8 cups of water per day instead. On average our bodies are made up of 70 percent of water. Water is instant energy and all your body is doing is going through all the other liquids to get to the water, so why not cut out the middleman.

9. Getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night is another part of your healthier life style that needs to be highlighted too. This is a concept that has not been talked about a lot, but needs to be added to your overall health plan.

10. Last but not least, Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. We need to get 2 1/2 hours per week of moderate-intensity or 1 1/4 hours per week of vigorous-intense aerobic physical activity or a combination of both. You also need to add muscle-strengthening exercise that is moderate to high intensity 2 or more days per week.

Add all these things up and you will be well on your way to a longer and healthier life.

What is the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful company? The fact that you can tell they are successful actually has something to do with it. The best and the brightest usually look like the best and the brightest. Successful companies do certain things that make them appear to be successful. We are able to recognize these things because; often they are the same things that actually make them successful in the first place. They have a strategy, they stick with it and they get corresponding results.

Take employee health for example. Companies that promote employee health have the appearance of an employee-friendly, positive culture. The best part about promoting health is that this appearance translates directly to performance. These companies typically perform better than those not recognized for it. That’s right; a company promoting health is performing at a higher level because of improved productivity, morale and even cost savings due to the health of their employees. In fact, companies ranked by Fortune Magazine as the “top 100 companies to work for” earned nearly double the profits of those not making that list.

Let’s look at my client for a specific example of how this works. They did a group weight loss program last year:

This company (We’ll call them Cubicle Sales Inc.) is comprised of multiple sales teams. Each team works together to reach new prospects, identify their office equipment needs and show them the best options for their company. This requires not only sales and presentation skills, but also a great deal of teamwork. More importantly, the team has to have high energy and drive to gain and retain each client. The group weight loss program pitted one sales team against another and required each member to work together as they shared a common goal. After they did their group program, they found that they were working better together since spending time on this shared goal of winning the competition.

Cubicle Sales Inc’s CEO noted to me that the teams were not only working better together, but also seeing better sales numbers and customer satisfaction. Each person was more energized, team focused and therefore more successful. The best part for the CEO, was that their customers were clearly pleased to be working with such a motivated company.

So what can other businesses do to become successful? They can do what the best and the brightest do. The most successful companies have known for years that by investing in their employees, they have seen decreases is health care spending, employee turnover and even burnout from job stress. Most importantly, these successful companies, such as Cubicle Sales Inc, know that they need employees to perform at high levels. We now know that a healthy employee is far more likely to be that top performer. With such a strong link between health and performance, we also know that there is a reason companies appear to be top performers. Most likely it is because they are top performers.

Business Health Expert Joe Byrd uses his passion and expertise to bring business and health together. He integrates health education in lifestyle topics such as Stress Management, Weight Management, and Smoking Cessation into businesses in order to accomplish the following:

- Improving Employee Health

- Decreasing Health Care Spending

- Increasing Your Employee Productivity

- Improving Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Joe applies his craft in the business world by making health part of business strategy. As he helps companies invest in their employees, together they create healthy and successful cultures.

My mother-in-law, a widow of a doctor, recently died. The way she exited was a nightmare. This was because her health strategy produced a lousy result.

Shortly before passing away, she had a colostomy to fix an intestinal blockage, the result of a decades-long struggle with diverticulitis. Poor teeth and gums, kidney failure and liver problems were also in the mix.

Not surprisingly she was riding a doctor-directed merry-go-round of prescription drugs and their side effects.

My mother-in-law went out in typical American fashion–a slow system-by-system breakdown accompanied by loss of mobility.

She learned three hard, painful lessons during her exit:

1) You can’t find health in a doctors office.doctor’s .

2) Pharmaceuticals do not restore your health.

3) Our “health care” system manages disease, but does not improve your health.

My father, a retired dentist who can barely get around using a walker, is also following the typical American health strategy.

In spite of eating all the “right foods,” he is dealing with the effects of prostate disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, stroke, Parkinson’s, and has recently been fitted with a pacemaker.

He too has been riding that doctor-directed merry-go-round of prescription drugs. He has his cozaar, carbidoba, ticlid, prilosec, voltaren, lipitor, and zoloft. His vasotec and doxycycline have recently been discontinued.

You do not have to follow this common American health “strategy.”

Instead, you might want to consider implementing what I call the Grandma Weiss/Uncle Wallace health strategy.

These relatives of mine lived well into their 90’s, were seldom sick and rarely ever saw a doctor. They were not plagued by slow, agonizing, system-by-system breakdowns.

On their last day they made it to the bathroom unassisted, had an evening meal, drank a little tea, read a bit, went to bed and didn’t wake up.

The night they closed up shop, all their metabolic enzyme systems mercifully shut down at the same time, the way nature intended it.

This kind of strategy is quite common in remote places like Vilcabamba in Ecuador and Abkhazia in the Russian Caucasus.

Dr. Weston A. Price chronicled other distant groups who did not get sick nor die like we do. He found the diets of those people to be nutrient-dense, containing four times the minerals and ten times the fat-soluble vitamins found in the American diet of the late 1930’s and early 40’s.

Here are two common denominators found in the strategies of Grandma Weiss/Uncle Wallace and isolated groups noted for their health and longevity:

(1) Diets loaded with minerals and vitamins that maintain their 2000+ metabolic enzymes through time.

(2) No reliance upon prescription drugs that interfere with those metabolic enzymes.

Consider what has happened to most Americans during the six decades beginning 1940:

The nutrient density of their diets, including that of the so-called “right foods” in those diets, has continued to slide downhill, and their use of prescription drugs has skyrocketed.

If you conclude you want to retool your present strategy, here are a couple of simple, logical things to do:

(1) Take advantage of the resources offered by the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation.

(2) Start looking for natural alternatives to the prescription and over-the- counter items in your medicine cabinet.

You might not be aware of this, but improving your brain health could lower your risk of developing brain-related diseases as you age. It can also improve your memory, focus and comprehension abilities.

So here are 7 brain health strategies to achieve this:

1. Engage in mind games

If you play crossword puzzles and other games like Sudoku, you could develop your problem solving skills. You could also improve your mind’s focus.

“Nuerobic” exercises include eating blindfolded, showering with your eyes shut and brushing your teeth with your weaker hand.

2. Do something different

Ensure that you brain is active and tested to keep your brain healthy. To promote your cognitive health you could try different things to prevent its deterioration, like memorising song lyrics, taking language classes or learning new dances.

3. Catch some Z’s

Sleeping or resting allows the brain to recuperate and be full of energy for when you need it most. This is enhanced if you have a consistent sleeping schedule.

4. Cut down on the alcohol

Research carried out at Wellesley College in Massachusetts discovered that drinking heavily shrinks your brain. “Heavy drinking” was about 14 drinks a week, “moderate” was between 14 and 8 and “low” as 7 or less.

5. Get out and socialise

A good way to promote brain health is to talk with people. For some reason, it increases your memory and brain function.

It is just as good as doing a crossword puzzle as it has been proven to heighten your intellectual capabilities.

6. Eat nutritional food

Not only does this benefit your brain, but it benefits your body all over. Recommended foods are healthy fats, red cabbage, egg yolks, ginger and dark green leafy vegetables.

7. Eat foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids

Omega 3 acids have been shown to be important to the overall growth, development and functioning of the brain. They improve memory, focus and comprehension

They also guard against mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADD and mood swings.

So there you have it, a list of 7 brain health strategies to help keep your mind razor sharp.

Did you know that regular consumption of fish oil supplements is one of the best brain health strategies? Yes, this is because fish are rich in DHA omega 3 fatty acid, which has been proven to be beneficial to brain functions.

Experts have linked deficiency in omega 3 to the rinse in mental health problems in the recent times; omega 3 is an essential nutrient our bodies need to work properly, but the human body cannot manufacture it. So, we can only get it through our diets and supplementation.

Eating fish would have been the best way to get omega3; but the pollutions in the oceans contaminate fish with toxins such as arsenic, mercury, and other heavy metals. Thus, eating a lot of fish could increase your risk of toxic poisoning; so, we are encouraged to take fish oil supplements instead of eating plenty of fish.

There are other brain health strategies such as participating in memory enhancing games and quizzes; however, if you have low amount of dha, these other strategies will not really be effective. Research shows that the human brain is made up of 60% fats and half of this fat is DHA; hence, the best brain health strategy should involve making sure that the amount of dha in your brain is high enough.

DHA is the reason why taking fish oil supplements is one of the best brain health strategies; this important fatty acid clears the neural pathway of blockages and enhances the rate and clarity of signal transmissions. Hence, it helps to prevent as well as alleviate conditions such as Alzheimer’s, depression, anxiety disorder and bi-polar disorder.

In order to maximize the benefits of omega 3 fish oil, you should take only supplements that contain at least 250mg of dha per 1000mg capsule. Because of the problem of toxic contamination associated with fish, it is also necessary that you ensure the purity of the supplement by buying brands that are molecularly distilled.

The truth is, taking fish oil supplements is not only one of the best brain health strategies, it also helps to boost your general well-being by keeping diseases away from your body; omega3 is beneficial to your heart, eyes, joints, skin and hair. It is also good for those with type 2 diabetes among many other conditions; for more information on other benefits of fish oil, visit my website.

Did you know that regular consumption of fish oil supplements is one of the best brain health strategies? Yes, this is because fish are rich in DHA omega 3 fatty acid, which has been proven to be beneficial to brain functions.

Experts have linked deficiency in omega 3 to the rinse in mental health problems in the recent times; omega 3 is an essential nutrient our bodies need to work properly, but the human body cannot manufacture it. So, we can only get it through our diets and supplementation.

Eating fish would have been the best way to get omega3; but the pollutions in the oceans contaminate fish with toxins such as arsenic, mercury, and other heavy metals. Thus, eating a lot of fish could increase your risk of toxic poisoning; so, we are encouraged to take fish oil supplements instead of eating plenty of fish.

There are other brain health strategies such as participating in memory enhancing games and quizzes; however, if you have low amount of dha, these other strategies will not really be effective. Research shows that the human brain is made up of 60% fats and half of this fat is DHA; hence, the best brain health strategy should involve making sure that the amount of dha in your brain is high enough.

DHA is the reason why taking fish oil supplements is one of the best brain health strategies; this important fatty acid clears the neural pathway of blockages and enhances the rate and clarity of signal transmissions. Hence, it helps to prevent as well as alleviate conditions such as Alzheimer’s, depression, anxiety disorder and bi-polar disorder.

In order to maximize the benefits of omega 3 fish oil, you should take only supplements that contain at least 250mg of dha per 1000mg capsule. Because of the problem of toxic contamination associated with fish, it is also necessary that you ensure the purity of the supplement by buying brands that are molecularly distilled.

The truth is, taking fish oil supplements is not only one of the best brain health strategies, it also helps to boost your general well-being by keeping diseases away from your body; omega3 is beneficial to your heart, eyes, joints, skin and hair. It is also good for those with type 2 diabetes among many other conditions; for more information on other benefits of fish oil, visit my website.

One thing that goes without saying in today’s business world, is that regardless of the nature of your home based business, a website is an absolute MUST. Whether you have a product or service to sell, whether local or global, your business will go nowhere fast if you don’t have an online presence. If you need internet marketing help, you’ve landed on the right article. I’ll give you some home based business marketing ideas that will help you promote your business successfully.

The first step is choosing a domain name and getting it registered. You can build your own website (if you have the time) and host it yourself or you can have everything done by another company (if you have the money). Either way, you have many options and tools at your disposal that can align with your business plan and budget. Also note that you can still start your own home based business even if you don’t have a product or service to sell. There are thousands of individuals and companies that have products you can sell for them while earning a commission, called affiliate marketing.

Of the many business marketing strategies known to man, internet marketing is, hands down, the best strategy to use for promoting a home based business as it is the cheapest method and has the potential for reaching millions of people all over the globe. Driving traffic to your site through online resources is like killing two birds with one stone. You can tackle print advertising by writing articles and publishing them to directories and ezines and by submitting ads to the many available (and most of them free) classified ad sites. Online media advertising encompasses writing press releases and distributing them to press release sites. One of the biggest and most popular online advertising trends today is via social media advertising through sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn where you build relationships with your customers. Forums and communities are also great ways to build relationships which helps promote your home based business in the long run. Simply Google your market or industry with the word ‘forum’ or ‘community’ behind it and search for one or two that seem to be the best fit for you.

All of these methods of online advertising contribute to search engine optimization (SEO), which is to say improving your online visibility and escalating in the search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Your goal is to claim the #1 spot in the organic search results (the results on the left, not the right side which are paid ads). This is where your traffic will come from. If you are 800 in the list of search results, no one is ever going to see your site because very few people have the time or patience to scroll through 800 search results. Research shows that people typically won’t even scroll past 4 or 5 search results, let alone 800.

Can you grasp the importance of internet marketing for any business? If you are new to the internet marketing phenomenon and don’t know exactly where to start, there are many great programs or systems online that walk you through every aspect of marketing your online business. A lot of these systems were created by online entrepreneurs who have spent thousands of their own dollars trying to figure it all out over the years and finally DID. Their sacrifices have made it easier for newbies to become successful at their own online home based business. If you are new to running your own home based business, I recommend you find a great system (do your research, read reviews, ask questions in forums) and start marketing your home business from there. Don’t waste the time and money that so many of us have in going it alone, without a proven system, as it will just set you back further and hinder your progress.