Obese Men Face Twin Threat From Prostate Cancer (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, Aug. 8 (HealthDay News) -- The standard screening testfor prostate cancer may not be accurate for obese men, leaving them morevulnerable to the disease, and surgery is less likely to be effective forthem, a new pair of studies found.

Thousands of years ago, when humans lived natural co-q-10 nomads, moving around the land in search of food and shelter, they would collect wild plants, berries and roots for food. When they became ill, their instinct led them to the curative properties of these plants and they would innovatively crush and mix leaves, stems, roots and berries and produce treatments for a range of ailments.

Gradually the human race started to evolve and people began to settle in one place long enough to make a dwelling. These people were still dependent on plants for nutritious and medicinal purposes but instead of going off in search of them, they began to grow their own and so a garden became an essential part of their lives. Documents purchase dmae-bitartrate are now in safe keeping in Britain, such as the 10th Century Leech Book of Bald and the Saxon translations of the Herbarium of Apuleis, show that the use of herbs dated from the earliest times.

However, evolution continued and as communities built up, few people in urban areas had space to grow anything and gardens were a luxury enjoyed by the minority. Sadly as a result during the last hundred years, much of the art of using herbs in cooking, as medicine or for cosmetics has been lost.

More recently there has been a return to the roots of nature. People are becoming increasingly disillusioned with modern day medicines and growing numbers are forming immunities or allergies to the synthetic ingredients. Chemical preservatives contained in some remedies can often have adverse effects on sensitive skin and digestive systems.

As a result, people are looking once again to nature for solutions to common ailments. Flick through the pages of a business directory or a magazine and count how many advertisements you see for alternative remedies and treatments.

Fresh fruit and vegetables without preservatives are now the preferred choice and even those who don't have a proper garden are finding the space on a balcony or windowsill to grow their own produce. And it's not just as a cure for ailments and an aid to a good diet!

As beauty remedies, the uses of herbs are vast. Many people overlook the contents of a manufactured product, allowing their purchases to be influenced by bright, attractive packaging and pungent perfumes. With additives and preservatives, however, the effectiveness of these products is minimal. Making your own beauty products can be more beneficial, and lots of fun too! There are many natural and inexpensive ways to beautify yourself. Different herbs have various components that are helpful for skin, hair, teeth and eyes and some of the foods we eat also have these properties so that they, too, can be used as beauty products.

One example is Tea Tree Oil, one of nature's best purchase methyl sulfonyl methane antiseptics. It promotes the natural healing process, has a broad range of anti-bacterial applications and has no known side effects. This natural essential oil is distilled from the leaves of the Australian tree Melaleuca alternifolia. Many products are now available for the treatment of psoriasis, acne, eczema, dandruff and itchy scalp, insect bites, digestive disorders and many more.

It is seldom the case you will come across anyone who will not have made use of the benefits of herbs in some way. It is also an interesting fact that we are reverting back to the way we started so many years ago. Nature seems to be coming back into our lives, and seems to be doing us a lot of good.

Sarah McInerney (Sarah Mac) is an experienced copy writer with a passion for well written, compelling work. Sarah is happy to take on any writing project: she has already written for a range of markets: travel; legal; engineering; hair care; beauty & natural remedies.

For details on how Sarah Mac can help your business grab an audience with fully researched, inspirational writing for print, web and press, visit http://www.wordsbysarahmac.co.uk

Words by Sarah Mac: Let good writing speak volumes about your business.

Medicare Prescription Drug Premiums to Rise in '09 (HealthDay)

HealthDay - THURSDAY, Aug. 14 (HealthDay News) -- The average monthly premiumfor Medicare's prescription drug plan will increase branched chain amino acid an estimated $28 in2009, three dollars more than this year's monthly premium, Medicareofficials announced Thursday.

Vitamins: you cant live without them, thats for sure. The question, then, is: where do you get them from? In the good old days (which may have been in your grandparents generation, but perhaps much further back than that) we got our vitamins and other nutrition from totally natural sources: the sun, the water we drank, and the food we ate.

Nowadays, and this is no secret, our food and whatever we drink, just doesnt pack the same punch as it did in the good old days. There are many reasons for this, and I dont want to write a dissertation on it. But, for example, many of us get our food from soil that is not as rich as it used to be. And the many chemicals that are used on most of the food we are likely to eat may deplete the nutrition even further, or at least add some unneeded poisons to our diet. And it often comes from far away from where we live, so it may have lost some more of its nutritional content on the way here.

So, what should we do? Well, one common approach is to take vitamins. This view has both backers and detractors.

Recently, wholesale methylsulfonylmethane msm to the Seattle Times, one former detractor of this approach has changed its viewpoint.

They note that the American Medical Association (AMA) is advising all adults to take at least one multi-vitamin per day -- a reversal of their long-standing anti-vitamin policy.

Their policy has changed it seems, because of advances in research on the effects of vitamins. It now appears that people who get enough vitamins may have a lower risk of some common chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Perhaps their change of view is reflecting that of the American public. For instance, 20 years ago the AMA only encouraged vitamin supplements for pregnant women and those who are chronically sick.

I remember, when I was younger, that there were some multi-vitamins on the market and some other vitamin and nutritional supplements also, but they were not your common fare. And when I started going to health food stores, I ran into a whole barrage of strange vitamins that Id certainly never heard of in biology classes.

But now, for example, the value of folic acid in preventing some birth defects and heart disease is recognized.

Who ever heard of folic acid 20 or 30 years ago?

Of course its not just that food has less nutrition nowadays, but also that we are not so aware of caring about our own nutrition and how it relates to health. The AMA says that almost 80 percent of Americans do not eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day to provide essential nutrients.

If that is the case, then we need to get our vitamins and minerals from somewhere. And it seems that vitamin supplements are now accepted by the scientists and doctors who should know about these things.

Another thing that scientists are learning more about is that our recommended daily allowances for vitamins may need rethinking.

Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, of Tuft's University's Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging said that nutrition experts are concerned that recommended daily allowances for many vitamins are too low. RDAs were originally established to prevent symptoms of vitamin-deficiency disorders. But evidence is growing that higher levels of many vitamins are necessary for optimum health.

And, as we know, if these vitamins dont come from our food, we need them from somewhere, such as vitamin supplements.

Dr. Robert Fletcher of Harvard University agrees. He reflects that many of us thought while we were growing up that a reasonable diet would take care of our vitamin needs. But, he says, the new evidence is that vitamins also prevent the usual diseases we deal with every day, (such as) heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and birth defects.

However, experts, and others of us with common sense, remember that vitamins are a supplement to our diets. They dont replace a balanced diet. So, by all means eat a balanced diet, but if you want to lower your risk of contracting the common chronic illnesses of today it would also be wise to add a good multi-vitamin supplement to your diet.

Bruce Brightman is the founder and CEO of Life Source Labs a leading manufacturer of vitamins, caffeine extract nutritional and sports supplements. If you want to learn more about multi-vitamin supplements visit his website: http://www.lifesourcelabs.com