THE RADON PROBLEM

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

You can't see radon. And you can't smell or taste it, but it may very well be a problem in your home. It is estimated to cause many thousands of deaths each year. Radon is a cancer-causing, radioactive gas, and when you breathe air containing the gas, you can get lung cancer. In fact, radon has now been declared the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today. Only smoking causes more lung cancer deaths. If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, your risk of lung cancer is especially high.

Radon can be found all over the United States. It comes from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock and water and gets in to the air you breathe. Radon can get into any type of building, homes, offices, and schools and build up to high levels. But you and your family are most likely to get your greatest exposure in your home because that is where you spend most of your time.

Testing is the only way to know if you and your family are at risk form radon. The Environmental Protection Agency along with the Surgeon General recommend testing all homes below the third floor for radon. It is inexpensive and easy to do the testing and it only takes a few minutes of your time. Millions of Americans have already had their homes tested. Radon from soil gas is the main cause of radon problems although it can also enter the home through well water. And in a small number of homes, certain kinds of building materials may give off the gas, too. However, the building materials rarely cause the problem by themselves.

It have now been determined that nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels. Elevated levels of radon gas have been found in every state including homes in your state.

The public has only recently started showing interest in this deadly, cancer-causing gas. Contact your state radon office for general information about radon in your area. While radon problems may be more common in some areas, any home may have a problem. Home buyers and renters are now asking about radon levels before they buy or rent a home.

While radon in water is not a problem in homes served by most public water supplies, it has been found in some well water. If you've tested the air in your home and found a radon problem, and your water comes from a well, contact a lab certified to measure radiation in water to have your water tested. If you're on a public water supply and are concerned that radon may be entering your home through the water, call your public water works.

Since there is no known safe level of radon, there can always be some risk. But the risk can be reduced by lowering the radon level in your home. A variety of methods may be used to reduce radon in one's home. In some cases, sealing cracks in floors and walls may help to reduce radon. In other cases, simple systems using pipes and fans may be used to reduce the gas. Because major renovations can change the level of radon in any home, always test again after you have any work done. There are reliable test kits available through the mail, in hardware stores and certain other retail outlets.

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WHERE DIETS GO WRONG

When we discover that we are heavier than we want to be, we have a natural invlination to eat less food. We may skip lunch or eat only a tiny amount of our dinner in the hope that if we eat less our body will burn off some of its fat. But that is not necessarily true. Eating less actually makes it more difficult to lose weight.

Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of years ago, and at that time there were diets. The only low-calorie event in people's lives was starvation. Those who could cope with a temporary lack of food were the ones who survived. Our bodies, therefore, ahve developed this built-in mechanism to help us survive in the face of low food intake.

When researchers compare overweight and thin people, they find that they ear roughly the same number of calories. What makes overweight people different is the amount of fat that they eat. Thin people tend to eat less fat and more complex carbohydrates. Losing weight is not something one can do overnight. A carefully planned weight loss program requires common sense and certain guidelines. Unfortunately, there's a lot of misinformantion floating around and lots of desperate people are easily duped and ripped off.

Every day one can open a magazine or newspaper and see advertisements touting some new product, pill or patch that will take excess weight off quickly. Everyone seems to be looking for that "magic" weight loss pill. Millions of Americans are trying to lose weight, spending billions of dollars every year on diet programs and products. Often they do lose some weight. But, if you check with the same people five years later, you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight they lost.

A survey was done recently to try and determine if any commercial diet program could prove long-term success. Not a single program could do so. So rampant has the so-called diet industry become with new products and false claims that the FDA has now stepped in and started clamping down. Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity can develop into a number of diseases and serious health problems, and it is now a known fact that when caloric intake is excessive, some of the excess frequently is saturated fat.

The myth is that people get heavy by eating too many calories. Calories are a consideration it's true, but overall they are not the cause of obesity in America today. Americans actually take in fewer calories each day than they did at the beginning of the century. If calories alone were the reason we become overweight, we should all be thin. But we are not. Collectively, we are heavier than ever. Partly, it is because we are more sedentary now. But equally, as important is the fact that the fat content of the American diet has changed dramatically.

People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time. Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, increase your metabolism by exercising regularly. Select an exercise routine that you are comfortable with and remember that walking is one of the best and easiest exercises for strengthening your bones, controlling your weight and toning your muscles.

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NEW THERAPY FOR HEART ATTACKS

Monday, September 29, 2008

New drugs can stop or limit the damage of a heart attack, but only if the patient gets help immediately, experts say. Once the flow of blood to a portion of the heart is blocked for several hours, the damage is irreversible. Knowing the symptoms of a heart attack, which can be wide-ranging and confusing, is extremely important. So is knowing risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and family history.

Typical symptoms of a heart attack include a crushing pain in the chest, sweating, difficulty breathing, weakness and pain in the arms, particularly the left. Symptoms one could attribute to something else can cause devastating delays in seeking treatment. These include feelings of indigestion, back shoulder and neck pain and nausea. Early signs of trouble may appear during physical activity and disappear with rest. Any numbness of tingling of the fingers or toes, dizziness, shortness of breath or difficulty in breathing should not be ignored.

Clinical studies, laboratory investigations and a number of surveys show certain personal characteristics and life-styles pointing to increased danger of heart attack. These danger signs are called "risk factors." These well established risk factors are high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, cigarette smoking and diabetes mellitus.Attempts at modifying risk factors most certainly have contributed to the declining death rate from heart attacks in the United States.

During the 1960's, U.S. death rates from heart attacks were still rising, but today's figures show that heart attacks have fallen dramatically. And, overall, heart-related problems have declined about 25 percent in the last decade. This decrease undoubtedly is due to better medical care of heart attack victims, but it is likely that a sizable percentage is related to modification of risk factors.

Medical technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate. More drugs and medical technology are available than ever before and the entire population is now more aware of the seriousness of heart attacks. There has been an increased interest in learning CPR and many community organizations now offer this valuable training. Of particular concern by doctors and researchers is the role that the American diet plays in the health of one's heart. Obesity predisposes individuals to coronary heart disease. Some of the reasons for this are known, but others are not. The major causes of obesity in Americans are excessive intake of calories and inadequate exercise. When caloric intake is excessive, some of the excess frequently is saturated fat, which further raises the blood cholesterol. Thus, obesity contributes to higher coronary risk in a variety of ways.

Many of the major risk factors for a heart attack are silent and much of the responsibility for their detection lies with each of us as individuals. Regular checkups are particularly necessary if there is a family history of heart attacks of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels or diabetes.

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THE SMOKING HABIT

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

CONQUERING THE SMOKING HABIT
Most smokers sincerely want to quit. They know cigarettes threaten their health, set a bad example for their children, annoy their acquaintances and cost an inordinate amount of money. Nobody can force a smoker to quit. It's something each person has to decide for himself, and will require a personal commitment by the smoker. What kind of smoker are you? What do you get out of smoking? What does it do for you? It is important to identify what you use smoking for and what kind of satisfaction you feel that you are getting from smoking.

Many smokers use the cigarette as a kind of crutch in moments of stress or discomfort, and on occasion it may work; the cigarette is sometimes used as a tranquilizer. But the heavy smoker, the person who tries to handle severe personal problems by smoking heavily all day long, is apt to discover that cigarettes do not help him deal with his problems effectively. When it comes to quitting, this kind of smoker may find it easy to stop when everything is going well, but may be tempted to start again in a time of crisis. Physical exertion, eating, drinking, or social activity in moderation may serve as useful substitutes for cigarettes, even in times of tension. The choice of a substitute depends on what will achieve the same effects without having any appreciable risk.

Once a smoker understands his own smoking behavior, he will be able to cope more successfully and select the best quitting approaches for himself and the type of life-style he leads. Because smoking is a form of addiction, 80 percent of smoker who quit usually experience some withdrawal symptoms. These may include headache, light-headedness, nausea, diarrhea, and chest pains. Psychological symptoms, such as anxiety, short-term depression, and inability to concentrate, may also appear. The main psychological symptom is increased irritability. People become so irritable, in fact, that they say they feel "like killing somebody." Yet there is no evidence that quitting smoking leads to physical violence.

Some people seem to lose all their energy and drive, wanting only to sleep. Others react in exactly the opposite way, becoming so over energized they can't find enough activity to burn off their excess energy. For instance, one woman said she cleaned out all her closets completely and was ready to go next door to start on her neigh_bor's. Both these extremes, however, eventually level off. The symptoms may be intense for two or three days, but within 10 to 14 days after quitting, most subside. The truth is that after people quit smoking, they have more energy, they generally will need less sleep, and feel better about themselves.

Quitting smoking not only extends the ex-smoker's life, but adds new happiness and meaning to one's current life. Most smokers state that immediately after they quit smoking, they start noticing dramatic differences in their overall health and vitality. Quitting is beneficial at any age, no matter how long a person has been smoking. The mortality ratio of ex-smoker decreases after quitting. If the patient quits before a serious disease has developed, his body may eventually be able to restore itself almost completely.

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GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Today the average duration of human life in the United States is just about 70 years for women and a little less for men. Conservative experts believe that man is really build to last about 100 years; and that medial advances and more healthful living habits could bring this about within a generation or two. What good is it to add years to life if we do not also add life to years? In fact, unless people learn to enjoy life and to grow old gracefully, the extra years may be an additional burden.

From 18 to 30 years is roughly the period of highest physical and mental vigor. The experiences we accumulate from the day we are born help us to conserve and to use our physical and mental abilities more wisely, so that for some time after 30 years we are able to perform increasingly well in spite of slowly slipping vigor. After age 50 the increasing accumulation of experience is no longer able to offset the now more rapidly energy and therefore aging begins to assert itself noticeably and in many ways. A number of things may come about gradually such as people who have not used eyeglasses before may at some time in their forties need them for reading, and in the fifties they usually need bifocals.

Also in the forties, people are likely to put on weight because there is a general slowdown in the oxidation rate of the aging body tissue. Also we tend to do less strenuous work with no reduction in the amount of food consumed. And in the fifties there is likely to be some loss of hearing. Usually the high-pitched tomes go first, so words with the sounds of F, S, and TH are confused. A hearing aid may be needed in some cases. Aging is generally accompanied by a loss in physical and mental flexibility. This is noticed in a tendency to become stiff in the joints; in slower comeback after a strenuous trip, excessive "night life," or hard work; in slower healing of wounds, sore muscles, and sprains; in slower recovery of pep after an illness; and in greater difficulty to adjust to new people, new places, and new ideas.

Men, especially, will notice loss of muscular strength. There will be increased unsteadiness and delicate muscle movements will be more clumsy and the stride in waking will become shorter. The conclusion now is that the performance and ability of the elderly has long been underestimated and can be greatly improved by a proper diet, sleep and exercise along with rest and relaxation. Many elderly people tend to lose their joy and will to live and chronic worriers may mope around and withdraw. Medical authorities now say that laughter is one of the best medicines for the elderly. You can always keep your sense of humor tuned up by surrounding yourself with pleasant and interesting people. Just act your age and don't be afraid to laugh at yourself even when no else is around.

Now that we all know the role that physical activity plays in our lives, remember to do something physical every day. The joints must be used or quite simply they will tighten with age creating that stooped worn out appearance we so often associate with getting old. Keep yourself flexible and fit on an exercise program consistent with your ability.

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ALCOHOL AND SOCIETY TODAY

There has been a lot of discussion in the last few years about the continuing problem of alcohol and the effect it has on society. Should we treat alcohol as if it were an illicit drug?

Some of the promoters of harsh restrictions on the sale and marketing of certain alcoholic beverages (restrictions such as advertising bans and higher taxes) have justified their proposals with the erroneous assertion that alcohol is no different than illegal drugs. There have even been stories in some of the media attempting to equate alcohol with the use and/or abuse of illegal substances such as marijuana, crack, cocaine and heroin.

We will first mention as a matter of information that alcoholic beverages have been a part of western civilization for more than 25 centuries. Now we know there will always be people among us who drink. America has already tried prohibition and learned conclusively that it does not work. The simple fact is that many Americans like to drink and the vast majority of those who do, drink responsibly, thus, the public policy challenge we face today is not to stigmatize all drinking as bad but to maximize the probability that those who choose to drink will do so in a responsible manner. It's a fact that excessive drinking can seriously damage one's health. Those who claim that "alcohol is a drug" want that word to carry a particular, threatening connotation. In reality, however, "drug" is an ethically, legally and physiologically neutral term that encompasses a wide spectrum of substances.

According to a well-known medical textbook of pharmacology, a drug is any chemical agency that affects living processes. A drug can be as menacing as cocaine, as benign as sucrose or as helpful as vitamin C. In a societal sense, some drugs relieve pain and assist in the healing process. Others are safely and legally enjoyed by millions of people very day, even though overuse can result in undesirable side effects. And Some drugs are so terribly addictive that simply experimenting with them carries substantial risk. Recent studies show that excess alcohol consumption can lead to a number of serious health problems, and of course there is the problem of addiction which must be taken into consideration. Who among us hasn't been exposed to a friend or relative with a severe drinking problem. Many of societies' problems today such as spouse abuse, child abuse and dysfunctional family relationships can be traced to drinking problems.
Alcohol may lead to liver problems, a variety of cancers as well as forms of osteoporosis and depression, and studies are showing, too, that women are more susceptible to the ill effects of alcohol than are men. From this information, it is safe to conclude that anything which has this type of effect on one's general health, is going to affect the entire system. And research has shown that alcohol depletes the body of it's necessary vitamins and minerals.
"Social drinking" seems to be an accepted practice these days and the arguments both pro and con will always be with us. It is our hope that as you read and consider this information you will become more aware of the effect that alcohol has on society today.

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AIDS AND DRUG ABUSE

The two groups at greatest risk for AIDS are homosexual or bisexual men and people who shoot drugs. People who use needles to inject drugs (including mainliners and skin poppers) get the virus by sharing their works with other users who already have the AIDS virus in their blood.

You can't always tell who is infected with the AIDS virus. Most people actually carrying the virus don't look any different than anybody else, they look and feel well, but they can still spread the disease. Symptoms of AIDS may not show up for many years and some remain without symptoms even then. Thousands of IV drug abusers already have AIDS, and many thousands more are carriers of the virus.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a serious condition that affects the body's ability to fight off infection. A diagnosis of AIDS is made when a person develops some form of life-threatening illness not usually found in a person with a normal ability to fight infection. To date more that fifty percent of all the persons with AIDS have died. Shooting drugs has now been determined to be one of the biggest problems facing America today. While the homosexual community has put on a media campaign alerting and educating the public about the dangers of AIDS, nothing is being done to stop the widespread sharing of needles among drug users.

Remember, if you shoot drugs, you are in danger of catching AIDS. The best advice for protecting yourself and people you love is to stop shooting drugs. It is also important to note that women who shoot drugs or who live with men who shoot drugs sometimes gives AIDS to their babies, either before or shortly after birth. Babies born with AIDS become ill very quickly. Most individuals infected with the AIDS virus have no symptoms and feel well for a long time before eventually developing such symptoms as fever and night sweats, weight loss, swollen lymph glands in the neck, the underarms and groin area, sever fatigue or tiredness, diarrhea, white spots or unusual blemishes in the mouth. These symptoms are also symptoms of a number of other illnesses and that should be taken into consideration. Anyone with any of these symptoms for more than two weeks should not panic buy should consult their doctor.

The AIDS virus is not spread through normal daily contact at work, school or home. There have been no cases found where the virus has been transmitted by casual contact with AIDS patients in the home, workplace, or health care setting. There is an antibody test that detects antibodies to the AIDS virus that causes the disease. The body produces antibodies that try to get rid of bacteria, viruses, or anything else that is not supposed to be in the bloodstream. The test may show if someone has been infected with the AIDS virus. While the testing procedure is considered accurate, it does not tell who will develop full-blown AIDS.

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Aerobics - Dancing For Profit

Although the national obsession for group exercise has begun to level off, estimates claim 23 million Americans participate in aerobics in health clubs and exercise gyms. This includes people enrolled in programs run from community facilities, YMCAs, and gyms, to dance studios in shopping malls. This figure represents 10% of the US population who exercise occasionally, definitely a fraction of what it used to be 10 years ago when the craze was at its peak and America was waking up to the urgent message of the importance of exercise.

NEW MARKETS
The decline of enrollment-based fitness programs have forced many studios to expand their services. For example, some jazz exercise studios now offer skin care and nutritional counseling. Some offer shiatsu classes.
The biggest problems for any stationary fitness program is being able to organize classes that work around the
schedule of its potential clients. The interest in fitness remains. The market did not dwindle as the figures suggest. The biggest challenge in this industry to identify new ways to deliver its services to the market.

BUNS OF STEEL
If you are an aspiring exercise entrepreneur, here are three avenues by which you can deliver and sell your services to your market:

CORPORATE CONTRACTS.
Many businesses recognize that healthy employees are productive employees, something the Japanese realized decades ago. You can send instructors to a business location to conduct exercise classes that are subsidized by the employer.

SATELLITE CLASSES.
You can lease community or church facilities, recreational centers or school gymnasiums and hold classes for people in that community. Some very large apartment complexes have halls or functionareas where classes can be held.

VIDEOS.
Students who attend your class once can continue the routine on their own time. That's the convenience video can offer. Instead of coming to an organized exercise class, piople will attend an exercise class in front of their VCRs. In fact, a video tape can be an excxellent add-on product to corporate contracts, satellite classes, or studio classes.

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