Articles

ADD & ADHD Drugs Linked to Heart Problems

A government advisory panel is recommending that drugs for attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactive disorder should carry a prominent warning about heart health risks.

The panel, convened to consider ways the drugs' effects on the heart could be investigated and made it's recommendation earlier this year based on a Food and Drug Administration analysis of more than 300 people who died while they were taking stimulant medication.

That's just the "REPORTED NUMBER". Thousands of drug related deaths per year are never officially reported.

Most recently the sudden death of 25 people using Ritalin or Adderall has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to require a "black box" warning be affixed to these drugs. A "black box" warning is required when drugs are deemed especially dangerous . We believe most pharmaceutical drugs are dangerous and use of them should be avoided whenever possible.

Those people with high blood pressure (stimulants frequently cause high blood pressure), heart murmurs, congenital or structural heart defects, or other cardiovascular problems should be especially concerned if a stimulant is prescribed for them.

Of the 25 people who died 19 were children.

According to Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist who writes books about ADD, "The recommendation was based on an upsurge in stimulant prescriptions, which the panel found alarming when coupled with 25 reports of sudden deaths in people taking these medications. In other words, it isn't that the drugs are more dangerous than we thought, it's that they're probably being too freely prescribed." A federal survey found that nearly 1 in 10 12- year-old American boys takes a stimulant.

There are an estimated 2.5 million children and 1.5 million adults taking these medications so 25 sudden deaths doesn't sound all that bad statistically unless it's your death or the death of your child or loved one.

We believe ADD and ADHD are just two more "diseases" created by the pharmaceutical industry to increase drug sales.

What are some non-drug ways to treat what is called ADD and ADHD?

Getting enough sleep, eating right, and getting lots of physical exercise can help with ADD (and of course every other symptom you may be suffering with). It's important that people diagnosed with ADD get help learning how to organize themselves and that they get plenty of positive human contact. They typically get a lot of criticism.

There is a new treatment that is showing promise in treating ADD type symptoms. It's called cerebellar stimulation. This treatment involves 10 minutes twice a day of exercises such as juggling, balancing on a wobble board and standing on one leg with eyes closed. This treatment is designed to stimulate a region in the back of the brain called the cerebellum.

We have a long track record of successfully treating people who have been diagnosed with ADD, ADHD and other behavior disorders. You don't need to run the risk of dangerous side effects of these drugs.

The sad thing about ADD and ADHD is that perfectly normal active kids are being diagnosed and drugged. Public schools encourage this practice as it makes it easier on teachers who are already faced with over crowded classrooms and often have to work with inadequate teaching materials.

We notice that most kids with ADD/ADHD symptoms have food sensitivities. Sugar, corn, and wheat are almost always sure bets. But there may be more foods in addition to these that cause sensitivities. We have found that using RNA, DHA, B-Vitamins, and Adrenal Support are very helpful. If you have concerns about ADD/ADHD symptoms make an appointment to come in or call about our next health lecture.

Vaccinations, Mercury, and Autism.

Attention Parents. You need to protect your children! You need to make educated choices when it comes to vaccinating your infants and small children. Health care providers are injecting the most toxic, non-radioactive element known to man into your children's blood stream and many of you are not aware of the dangers.

Before they attend first grade most children in the United States have received 21 vaccinations and have been exposed to 87 times the federal governments own safety guidelines for daily mercury exposure. Your newborn could receive its first hepatitis B shot in the first 12 hours of life. The number of recommended vaccinations for children up to 24 months has nearly tripled since 1988, according to

The National Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, the CDC recommends vaccination against 12 diseases. A child could receive as many as six shots during a single doctor's visit.

The mercury I'm talking about comes in the form of a preservative developed by Merck and used by Eli Lilly and many other pharmaceutical companies who manufacture vaccinations. It's called Thimerosal . It is nearly 50% ethyl mercury. It has been widely used as a sterilizing agent to prevent bacterial contamination from repeated insertion of needles into multi-dose vials of vaccine. There is more and more evidence that some children given vaccinations containing this preservative are being diagnosed with autism. The latest statistics show that 1 in every 166 children in the United States today are diagnosed

with Autism. ADD, ADHD, and other neurological disorders are also being considered connected to this high level of mercury poisoning in vaccinations.

More than 4,200 claims have been filed in the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program by parents alleging that their children suffered autism or other neurological disorders from mercury in their shots.

Why some, not all children have an adverse reaction to vaccinations?

There are many studies being conducted into the high rate of autism and vaccinations. One study being conducted now may indicate that some children are lacking the presence of enough Glutathione to enable them to detoxify mercury and other heavy metals. These toxins end up being stored in their organs, including their brains. The presence of Glutathione is required to maintain the normal function of the immune system. It exists in almost every cell in the body. Researchers are now finding that many autistic children have deficient glutathione levels in their systems.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzanegger signed a bill on September 29, 2004 banning the use of Thimerosal in California. The good news is that it passed. The bad news is that the bill does not go into effect until 2006 .

There is some evidence that Thimerosal has already been removed from most infant vaccinations but it's very unclear if that's factual information. It's very confusing and difficult to nail down which, if any vaccinations are now free of this dangerous toxin.

There is a tremendous amount of information out there and I strongly suggest that if you have infant children or are planning to start a family you need to take the time to research this very important, and potentially devastating vaccination risk.

There's growing controversy regarding the need to vaccinate children at all.

Here are some things you need to know before you vaccinate your child:

Factors that can increase the risk of adverse reactions are:

· A child not well at the time of vaccinations;

· A family history of allergies, vaccine reactions, convulsions, epilepsy, or any other neurological or immunological problems;

· A bad reaction to a previous vaccine;

· An allergy to one of the ingredients in the vaccine;

· Vaccinating a premature infant according to chronological not gestational age.

Prior to vaccination obtain the following information for your records, verified and signed by the vaccine administrator:

· Evidence that your child is healthy

· Evidence that your child is developing normally

· Time and date of administration

· Name of vaccine administrator and credentials

· The lot and batch number

· Written verification that the vaccination has been stored correctly at all times

· Request only single dose vials.

· Ask to see the original package and the insert containing information about the contents of the vaccines, including ingredients, preservatives, and additives.

· Ask your doctor to explain all the signs and symptoms of all adverse reactions so you may recognize them should they occur.

· Pain, hardness, redness, and swelling at the injection site

· Fever, unusual crying, restlessness, irritability, sleeping more or less than usual, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, sweating, chills.

· Difficulty breathing, convulsions, inconsolable screaming (high pitched scream)

· Loss of vision, hearing, swelling of lymph nodes.

· Collapse or shock-like state, brain damage.

· Confusion

· Language difficulties

· Disorientation

· Memory problems

· Mood alterations

· Combativeness

· Any unusual behavioral problems

If you suspect a reaction of any kind seek medical attention immediately. You know your child better than anyone else. If your doctor will not speak with you honestly about the risks of vaccinations, change doctors.

Less than 2% of Negative Reactions to Vaccinations get reported. Medical doctors rarely report them.

You can report a negative reaction to the "National Vaccine Information Center"

Please note: There has been no conclusive proof that mercury in vaccines cause neurological disorders but there is enough evidence pointing to this danger that the FDA and the CDC have recommended that it be removed from all infant vaccines. Sweden has refused to import our multi dose vaccines since the early 1980's.

Another interesting fact is that there are no reported cases of Autism in non-vaccinated Amish children.

For more information on this subject we recommend you pick up a copy of David Kirby's book Evidence of Harm . You can also visit the following web sites:

Be Very Afraid

If you are consuming Hydrogenated or Partially Hydrogenated fats and oils you might as well be eating Tupperware.

WHAT THE FOOD INDUSTRY DOES NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW.

Hydrogenation is Born

As if no further damage could be done to the already lifeless processed oil, way back in the 1930s, the boys at DUPONT figured out a way to harden the oil into a perfectly engineered non-food and called it margarine. Their only two criteria: spread ability and shelf life. ( Not your health ).

Margarine is another product removed from anything resembling human food, and actually is closer to the category of plastics. Since all the Essential Fatty Acids (usable fats) have been destroyed, and all the enzymes are long gone, there is nothing left to 'go bad' - it can't spoil.

The only reason hydrogenation is legal is that it has been around for so long . When it was invented, the effects weren't well understood. Now decades later, with billions in lobbying money in place, a few details like cancer and Alzheimer's aren't going to get in the way.

Here's a good way to think of hydrogenation. In the old days if you left a bag of potato chips open all night, next day the chips would be limp and soggy. Today we have potato chips that are crispy to perfection. You can leave them out on the counter for days and they'll still be perfectly crisp. Sealed potato chips in those round, perfectly stacked tubes will last a year or more! This phenomenon has nothing to do with food or nutrition. It is a masterful feat of plastics engineering . The potato chip has been completely soaked in hydrogenated oil, protected from the external environment - kind of like polymerizing a marlin you're gong to hang over the fireplace. Once inside the stomach, the chips continue to do what they were designed to do: resist breakdown. The food value for humans is in the negative.

Hydrogenated foods are toxic because they contain free radicals and our bodies don't have the ability to assimilate them.

In the body, hydrogenated foods contribute to:

-aging

-cancer

-tissue breakdown

-digestive disease

-clogged arteries

-arthritis

-Alzheimer's

-neurological diseases

- WEIGHT GAIN

The fiction that hydrogenated margarine is superior to butter can be seen for what it is: marketing hype . And the reason is what - no cholesterol? Please! Of course margarine contains no cholesterol - it's closer to a plastic than to a food.

Without artificial flavoring additives, margarine would taste like a Formica desktop.

Humans don't need foods to be that stable. Our digestive systems have about 12 hours to metabolize what we eat. If breakdown doesn't happen during that time, very likely we'll be wearing the stable residues for a long, long, time.

So start looking at labels. You'll see why they're printed in micro-fonts. When you see the word 'hydrogenated ' think plastic. When you see the words 'partially-hydrogenated' think plastic and free radicals.

We care more about your health than big business does. Read the labels. If you see anything listed that you're not sure of, don't eat it.

READ AND LEARN!! STROKE

About 5,500,000 stroke survivors are alive today. 2,400,000 are males and 3,000,000 are females. Data from GCNKSS studies show that about 700,000 people suffer a new or recurrent stroke each year. About 500,000 of these are first attacks and 200,000 are recurrent attacks.

What is a Stroke?

A stroke is a sudden interruption in the blood supply of the brain. Most strokes are caused by an abrupt blockage of arteries leading to the brain (ischemic stroke). Other strokes are caused by bleeding into brain tissue when a blood vessel bursts (hemorrhagic stroke). Because stroke occurs rapidly it is also called brain attack. . When the symptoms of a stroke last only a short time (less than an hour), this is called a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or mini-stroke.

The effects of a stroke depend on which part of the brain is injured, and how severely it is injured. Strokes may cause sudden weakness, loss of sensation, or difficulty with speaking, seeing, or walking. Since different parts of the brain control different areas and functions, it is usually the area immediately surrounding the stroke that is affected. Sometimes people with stroke have a headache, but stroke can also be painless. It is very important to recognize the warning signs of a stroke.

Stroke Warning Signs

•  Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.

•  Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.

•  Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.

•  Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.

•  Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

You Could Save a Life

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.

You, as a bystander, can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

•  Ask the individual to SMILE.

•  Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

•  Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately, and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

What causes a stroke?

Ischemic stroke can be caused by several different kinds of diseases. The most common problem is narrowing of the arteries in the neck or head. This is most often caused by gradual cholesterol (rancid) deposition. If the arteries become too narrow, blood cells may collect and form blood clots. These blood clots can block the artery where they are formed, or can dislodge and become trapped in arteries closer to the brain. Another cause of stroke is blood clots in the heart, which can occur as a result of irregular heartbeat, heart attack, or abnormalities of the heart valves. While these are the most common causes of ischemic stroke, there are many other possible causes. Examples include, the use of drugs, including prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and street drugs, traumatic injury to the blood vessels of the neck, disorders of blood clotting, diabetes, obesity, and smoking.

Medical conditions that increase your stroke risk:

•  Previous stroke or "mini-stroke" (transient ischemic attack, TIA).

•  High blood pressure

•  Diabetes

•  Heart Disease

Controllable risk factors & life style choices:

•  Smoking

•  Obesity

•  Physical inactivity

•  Excessive alcohol intake

•  Drug use

More Stroke Stats

•  Stroke is the third leading cause of death, behind heart disease and cancer

•  Each year, about 700,000 people suffer a stroke. About 500,000 of these are first attacks, and 200,000 are recurrent attacks.

•  Stroke killed 275,000 people in 2002 (the most recent official statistics available) and accounted for about 1 of almost 15 deaths in the United States

•  At all ages more women than men have a stroke.

•  28% of people who suffer a stroke in a given year are under age 65.

•  Compared with whites, young African- Americans have a two- to threefold greater risk of ischemic stroke, and African -American men and women are more likely to die of stroke.

•  About 47 percent of stroke deaths occur out of hospital

•  On average, someone in the United States suffers a stroke every 45 seconds; every 3.1 minutes someone dies of a stroke

About 4.7 million stroke survivors (2.3 million men, 2.4 million women) are alive today.

•  Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States

Source:

American Stroke Association These statistics came from the largest stroke study conducted so far in the U.S. and is titled Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucy Stroke Study. The complete study can be accessed online:

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/36/4/720
and Washington University School of Medicine

What can you do to reduce your chances of stroke?

Have your heart rate variability tested.

IF you're a smoker, STOP. We can help you.

Find out if your cholesterol is healthy or rancid.

Let us help you lose those extra pounds.

Your good health and longevity is important to us. Call today and set up an appointment for a complete health assessment.

The Water We Drink

You turn the tap and fill your glass with water. It looks clear, it looks refreshing, you know water is good for you and they tell us that it's perfectly safe to drink. But is it really? If you are drinking "city water" you are getting much more than water. There is growing alarm about drugs, hormones, and other chemicals that are polluting our waterways and finding their way into the very water we drink.

Where do they come from? Pharmaceutical industries, hospitals and other medical facilities are obvious sources, but households also contribute a significant share. People often disperse of unused medicines by flushing them down toilets, and human excreta can contain a variety of incompletely metabolized medicines. These drugs can pass intact through conventional sewage treatment facilities, into waterways, lakes and even aquifers. Further, discarded pharmaceuticals often end up at dumps and land fills, posing a threat to underlying groundwater.

Farm animals also are a source of pharmaceuticals entering the environment, through ingestion of hormones, antibiotics and veterinary medicines. (About 40 percent of produced antibiotics are fed to livestock as growth enhancers.) Manure containing traces of such pharmaceuticals is spread on land and can then wash off into surface water and even percolate into groundwater.

Pharmaceuticals, and personal care products (PPCPs) that are excreted from or washed off the body naturally, end up in sewage that flows into sewer systems and septic tanks, but where do they go from there? Scientists are beginning to monitor the extent of these PPCPs in the aquatic environment and their consequences. What they are finding is that our current water purifications processes are only able to remove pollutants that are biodegradable. What's left are substances that find their way back into our drinking water.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) our water contains drugs and personal care products such as:

•  Anti-neoplastics (cancer drug)

•  Beta-blockers

•  Bronchodilators (asthma drugs)

•  Lipid regulators (cholesterol lowering drugs)

•  Hypnotics (Sedatives)

•  Antibiotics (infection drugs)

•  Antiseptics

•  Aspirin

•  Ibuprofen

•  Indomethacin (arthritis drugs)

•  Benzafibrate (cholesterol regulator drugs)

•  Carbamazepine (anticonvulsant)

•  Naproxen (pain killer)

•  Estrone (estrogen replacement therapy and birth control pills)

•  Potera, 2000 (a breakdown product of anti-cholesterol drugs

•  DEET (insect repellant)

•  X-ray contrast agents

•  Sunscreen agents

•  Caffeine

•  Synthetic musks (fragrances, soap, laundry detergent, cosmetics)

These are just a few of the pollutants in our water supply.
note: synthetic musk was created by DuPont, it's use is banned in Japan and other European countries.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in a different study revealed a list of compounds including painkillers, acetaminophen and ibuprofen, prescription medicines for cardiac disorders and hypertension, and female sex hormones use in birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy.

What do the scientists say?

What risk does chronic exposure to trace concentrations of PPCPs pose to humans or wildlife? Some scientists believe PPCPs do not pose problems to humans since they occur at low concentrations in water. Other scientists say long-term effects of pharmaceuticals and similar chemicals on humans are not known and advise caution. They are concerned that many of these drugs and chemicals have the potential of interfering with hormone production . Chemicals with this effect are called endocrine disrupters and are attracting the attention of water quality experts.

We know a lot more about the effects of PPCPs and other pollutants on aquatic life. For example, anti-depressants have been blamed for altering sperm levels and spawning patterns in fish and other marine life.

Every day, nearly 1 billion gallons of treated wastewater from an area that includes about 9 million people are discharged into deep waters off Huntington Beach, the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Playa del Ray via three long undersea pipelines, called outfalls, operated by the two counties and the city of Los Angeles.

The wastewater is filtered and processed, but many contaminants remain and settle into the ocean sediment, where they are consumed by bottom-feeding organisms.

Excessive amounts of estrogens or estrogen mimics can create so-called inter-sex animals with both male and female genitals. Previously, scientists have shown that some fish with the altered organs were infertile.

The effect on humans, however, is largely unknown and unproven, though some studies have linked hormone-mimicking chemicals to reduced sperm counts, altered genitalia in baby boys and premature puberty in girls.

The facts are that drugs, hormones and other chemicals polluting our water supply are measured in parts per trillion.

So is there really any need to worry?

According to environmental engineer Glen Boyd, Tulane University, New Orleans, "The big unknown [is whether PPCP's in our drinking water] present a health concern now or in the future?" He notes that, although the number of peer-reviewed papers on the topic is limited, government agencies concerned with water quality in the United States and professional organizations serving the water and wastewater communities are beginning to acknowledge PPCPs as an emerging environmental issue.

The long-term outcome of humans ingesting sub-therapeutic doses of numerous drugs as well as any dose at all of substances not meant to be ingested remains a major, un-addressed issue. Christian Daughton, chief of the Environmental Chemistry Branch of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), predicts, "In areas of water scarcity, we'll see more and more reuse of treated sewage to meet drinking water needs, thereby increasing the likelihood that PPCPs will end up in drinking water." Extensive monitoring of the occurrence of PPCPs and their concentration trends over time is required to ensure safe water supplies in the future. Then toxicologists need to determine if the kinds and amounts of PPCPs in

our drinking water affect people. The subject will require collaboration and cooperation between the FDA and the EPA. The problem with that is, the FDA usually does not address environmental concerns and the EPA does not deal with drug issues .

Do you really think you can count on the EPA and the FDA to protect you from this very serious environmental unknown?.

You need to protect yourself and your family.

We suggest you drink only high quality, bottled , drinking water . The absolutely purest water available today is Penta.

Would you like to learn more about what's coming out of your tap? Check out some of the following web sites.

http://www.esemag.com/0502/drugs.html

http://ag.arizona.edu/AZWATER/awr/july00/feature1.htm

Toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc.html

"Shocking Results Of New Study Reveals How To Lose Weight by Eating And Decrease Your Risk Of A Heart Attack By More Than 50%!!!"

Read on to find out why your low calorie diet may be setting you up for the nation's #1 killer...

Eat more, lose weight and decrease your risk of heart disease by over 50%? Sounds crazy.but it's true.

At least that's what the results of a 17 -year study of almost 9,800 people appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has recently reported.

I know, I know - sounds too good to be true-like one of those infomercials that claims you can eat all you want and still lose 100 pounds in 3 days. Well, you're right, there is a catch. And, here it is:

You Must Exercise!

That's right.good old fashioned exercise.

Here's exactly what the study found:

"Despite widespread attention to diet calorie intake may not be a major factor in causing death by heart disease, according to a 17-year study of almost 9,800 Americans. Instead, losing excess weight - and exercising may do more to ward off death from heart disease," says Jing Fang M.D., and colleagues from the Albert Einstein college of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.

"The fact is that those who both exercised more and ate more nevertheless had low cardiovascular mortality," says Fang.

"Expending energy through physical activity may be the key to cutting the risks of heart disease and living a longer, and healthful life," she says.

The researchers studied data from 9,790 participants in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a national study from 1971 to 1975 that was funded by the U.S. government. Fang's group compared reports of physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity, caloric intake was unrelated to heart disease.

Those who exercised more and ate more were both leaner and had less than half the cardiovascular disease mortality than did those who exercised less, ate less and were overweight.

The study also found that subjects with the lowest caloric intake, least physical activity, and who were overweight or obese had significantly higher cardiovascular mortality rates than those with high caloric intake, more physical activity, and normal weight. The difference in mortality rates was 55%.

So, if you ate the least, exercised the least, and were overweight, you had a 55% greater chance of dying from heart disease.

An interesting fact is that people who were overweight at the beginning of the study did NOT decrease their risk of heart disease by decreasing the amount of food they atewithout exercising.

Dieting WITHOUT Exercise Had no Impact Whatsoever!

Researchers went on to say that the most practical lesson learned from this study is you should focus more on calorie expenditure than on reducing calorie intake. Exercising and burning calories may be one of the best ways to extend healthy life.

The Catch

Responding to the study Jack V. Tu, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto and head of the Canadian Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Team (CCORT) says, "It suggests caloric intake is less important than physical activity. That supports those of us who've been saying that exercise is better for you than dieting. It suggests that if you eat more and maintain ideal body weight , it's O.K." Maintain ideal body weight? Yes, that's the Catch. Unfortunately, the findings don't mean that it's time to party at your favorite fast-food emporium.

Most Americans follow only half of this advice. They love to eat but hate to move their butts. "We want to encourage everyone we can to exercise," Tu says. "Having said that, we don't want people to go running out to McDonalds after they jog for 30 minutes. Doing that occasionally is fine. But you need balance. Some exercise, combined with moderate food intake, is the way to go."

But Wait..It Only Gets Better...
Taking Drugs for Depression is Dangerous.
Exercise is a Safe and Effective Alternative.

Researchers have found that walking for 30 minutes (longer is better) each day quickly improved depressed patients' symptoms. Antidepressant drugs are highly addictive and have potentially deadly side effects.
The results indicate that, in selected patients with major depression, aerobic training can produce a substantial improvement in symptoms in a short time.

Previous studies have suggested that exercise is a potent mood-booster, and most research indicates that regular activity is a better depression treatment than psychotherapy or medication.

Exactly why is unclear, but exercise does influence certain mood-related hormones, and it is also believed to enhance people's sense of control over their lives.
In one study that compared exercise with antidepressants among older adults, investigators found that physical activity was the more effective depression-fighter.

As you can see, the evidence has been piling up for a long, long time. Exercise is clearly one of the major pieces in the puzzle to living a longer, happier, healthier life
But, the sad fact is, fewer than one-third of U.S. adults get the recommended amount of exercise each day.What's worse is that 40 percent are almost completely sedentary.

The embarrassing truth is, when the World Health Organization studied health around the world, the United States was found to spend the most on health care, yet ranked second to the last in overall health.

The fact of the matter is clear: We have become a nation of self-imposed sickness and disease.

The answer is not leading a sedentary lifestyle, waiting 'till you are sick, and then looking for a wonder drug or surgery to fix years of neglect.

There simply is no magic bullet. Nope, the answer is to take care of what you've got.before you lose it.
Starting an exercise program now can ad countless HEALTHY and HAPPY years to your life. More importantly, not starting one can prematurely end your life. I know that's a little "heavy", but it IS the harsh reality we all must face. Now or later.

Now you know what you must do, but just hold on one second..

WARNING:
Read This Before Exercising!!!

Here's what to do BEFORE starting your new exercise program: The first thing you should do before starting your new exercise program is have a complete biomechanical evaluation to make sure all your muscles and joints are working properly.
In particular, exercising on a malfunctioning or unbalanced spine can lead to back pain, neck pain, headaches, sciatica, numbness and tingling in your arms and legs, shoulders, elbows, hips and knee pain and even herniated discs and premature arthritis.

Even though exercise is necessary to decrease heart disease and improve overall health,it is an added stress on your body and must be taken seriously . You don't want to simply trade heart disease for a life of debilitating pain.

A complete Chiropractic pre-workout evaluation can determine if it is safe for you to begin working out.or.if you need a few simple treatments to get you ready to make sure you avoid serious injury.
We can also show you what exercises to avoid and if you need a modified program or can go all out.
It is important to know that personal trainers and gym owners (unless they are Chiropractors) do not have the training to do this complete biomechanical evaluation. For that reason, we recommend getting a complete biomechanical evaluation BEFORE you begin your exercise program. It can save you a lot of pain and suffering.

The bottom line is : Exercise should be an integral part of your life. The trick is incorporating it into your every day routine. When it becomes a habit you begin to look forward to it. JUST DO IT!

.. And don't forget, if you ever have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Contact us with your questions. We're here to help.

Medheads - People who take multiple prescription drugs on a daily basis and, as a result, suffer from brain fog. They can be young (ADHD, depression drugs), middle-aged (cholesterol drugs, diabetes drugs) or elderly (Alzheimer's drugs, osteoporosis drugs, etc.). These are the people you see on the road who drive for ten miles with their turn signal on, who swing wide into the left lane before making a right turn, and who take four full seconds to accelerate after the traffic light turns green. Medheads, not to be confused with Deadheads, who are actually a lot more fun to talk to.

Black boxer - A consumer who takes drugs that are so dangerous, the FDA requires the drug packaging to carry a large black box warning about severe harm or death. Black boxers usually don't care about the long-term harm to their health, they just want the pain (or other symptom) to go away so they can get back to watching prime-time television in relative comfort.

Drug madvertising - The practice of allowing drug companies to advertise patented chemicals directly to consumers in order to create demand for drugs that everyday people frankly do not understand. Every country in the world bans the practice of Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) drug advertising... except the United States, of course, where consumers are subjected to a never-ending barrage of ridiculous drug ads showing happy, healthy people popping purple pills they would never consume in real life. Of all industrialized nations in the world, only the U.S. (with the ever-caring support of the Food and Drug Administration) endorses drug madvertising.

News repeater - Not be confused with a news reporter, a news repeater is a person who gets paid to pretend to be a member of the press, but who actually just regurgitates whatever health / medical news the drug companies and the FDA are peddling this week. New miracle breast cancer drug discovered! Vitamin E may kill you! Sunlight is deadly! Don't trust Canadians (or their pharmacists)! Deadly, dangerous Chinese herbs may have possibly killed someone somewhere! Drug companies need billions of dollars in drug profits to find the cure for cancer! Evidence-based medicine is credible! These are the type of headlines constructed by news repeaters.

Fictitious disease - A fabricated disease invented for the sole purpose of creating a new market for patented drugs. ADHD is the prime example of a fictitious disease, and the psychiatric community is now well-practiced at labeling human behaviors "brain chemistry imbalances that need to be treated with chemicals." Other fictitious diseases include high cholesterol (it's not a disease, it's just a symptom), hypertension (also not a disease, but rather a symptom), and even osteoporosis (not a disease, just fragile bones caused by dietary and lifestyle habits that can be easily reversed).

Diseasification - The process of spreading the fictitious diseases through the population. This is how drug companies get rich: by manufacturing disease and convincing people they now suddenly suffer from it. See "Spontaneous Mass Diagnosis," below. Diseasification is greatly aided by drug madvertising (mass propaganda) designed to change the way people think about health and disease. Fear of public speaking used to merely be a fear. Now it's a disease, and there's a drug to treat it. Menopause used to be menopause. Now it's a disease, too. The former head of Merck, a man named Gadsden, once said he wished to expand the drug market to healthy people, so he wouldn't be limited to selling drugs only to sick people. He wanted people to take drugs like they chew gum. What a visionary!

Spontaneous mass diagnosis - The process of redefining health in order to instantly label as many consumers as possible with a fictitious disease. Spontaneous mass diagnosis works by moving the goalposts that define a disease state. A "normal" level of LDL cholesterol used to be 130. Last year, a panel of corrupt medical decision makers with under-the-table financial ties to drug companies spontaneously decided that "normal" LDL cholesterol should be 100.

Overnight, ten million more Americans were suddenly afflicted with the fictitious disease of high cholesterol. And the treatment for this spontaneous disease? Statin drugs, of course. The aim of Big Pharma is to make sure everyone fits the definition of at least one disease, because the prescription drug lords know that once a person gets on one prescription drug, the inevitable side effects will create other health problems that need to be treated with even more drugs. Instant
recurring revenue! Now that's a clever marketing plan!

The Wall - Short for Walgreens, one of the top street corner pharmacies in America. The Wall is where medheads and black boxers go to buy dangerous drugs to treat their fictitious diseases because they've been subjected to spontaneous mass diagnosis.

There are alternatives to taking drugs.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A MEDHEAD!

Your Thyroid and You

Your thyroid is one of the most important hormone producing glands in your body. Your thyroid plays a big role in your metabolism. Your thyroid makes a hormone called Thyroxin. This hormone travels through the blood and lands in the cells of your body. Once it gets there it tells the cell to "make energy".

Almost every cell in your body is affected by thyroxin so if this hormone is not working right then you can have a symptom in any part of your body.

Basically it starts the metabolism. Metabolism has to do with, diet, exercise, adrenal function and other things but the thyroxin is the signal to tell it to work.

The thyroid also makes a hormone called calcitonin. It tells calcium to go to your bones. So you can eat all the calcium you like but if it doesn't know to go to the bones then it ends up in other places such as the kidneys (kidney stones), the gall bladder (gall stones), the arteries (plaque), or the joints (arthritis, bone spurs and degenerated joints).

What if your thyroid tests are normal?

When you test for thyroid in the blood it tells you if there is the hormone in the blood but not if it is getting to the cells. So you can have plenty in the blood but it is not being used. You see, the cells themselves may be blocked with toxins.

What if the thyroid tests are not normal?

The thyroid itself may be blocked with endocrine disruptors (toxins). The pituitary (the gland that tells the thyroid to work) may also be blocked by toxins.

What about iodine, kelp or other thyroid supplements?

Many people take iodine or kelp to help the thyroid and this is good BUT.that is simply thyroid food. If the thyroid is blocked with toxins then it is like giving food to a person whose jaw is wired shut.

Why do toxins like the thyroid?

Because endocrine disruptor toxins are attracted to fat cells and endocrine glands have a lot of fat cells. Also, the thyroid is so close to the surface of the body (in the neck) that it can be more so affected by the elements. Women spray cologne (which contains toxins) on their thyroid every day. You should consider changing that.

Common thyroid symptoms:

• Memory loss
• Weight gain
• Cold hands and feet
• Dry skin
• Constipation
• Hair falling out
• Osteoporosis
• Chronic neck pain

Remember the thyroid hormone goes to most of the cells in the body so the thyroid can be the main cause or partial cause of any symptom you have, including weight gain.
If you think your thyroid has been affected by toxins come on into the office for a complete, noninvasive evaluation.

Mammograms cause breast cancer, and other scary facts you probably never knew.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among American women between the ages of 44 and 55.

The most common method for "early detection" is mammography. A mammogram is an X-ray picture of your breast that can reveal tumor growths otherwise undetectable in a physical exam. Like all x-rays, mammograms use doses of ionizing radiation to create this image. Radiologists then analyze the image for any abnormal growths. Despite continuous improvements and innovations, mammography has garnered a sizable opposition in the medical community because of an error rate that is still high and the amount of harmful radiation used in the procedure.

The American Cancer Society Recommends :

" Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year, and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health."

If you think about it, common sense will tell you that there is something wrong with the idea of once a year going to an x-ray clinic to have your breasts squished and blasted with radiation.

Is mammography an effective tool for detecting tumors? Some critics say no. In a Swedish study of 60,000 women, 70 percent of the mammography-detected tumors weren't tumors at all. These "false positives" aren't just financial and emotional strains, they may also lead to many unnecessary and invasive biopsies. In fact, 70 to 80 percent of all positive mammograms do not, upon biopsy, show any presence of cancer.

At the same time, mammograms also have a high rate of missed tumors, or "false negatives". Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, in his book, The Politics of Cancer, claims that in women ages 40 to 49, one in four instances of cancer is missed at each mammography. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) puts the false negative rate even higher at 40 percent among women ages 40-49. National Institutes of Health spokespeople also admit that mammograms miss 10 percent of malignant tumors in women over 50. Researchers have found that breast tissue is denser among younger women, making it difficult to detect tumors. For this reason, false negatives are twice as likely to occur in pre-menopausal mammograms.

Many critics of mammography cite the hazardous health effects of radiation. In 1976, the controversy over radiation and mammography reached a saturation point. At that time mammography technology delivered five to 10 RADS (radiation-absorbed doses) per screening, as compared to 1 RAD in current screening methods. In women between the ages of 35 and 50, each RAD of exposure increased the risk of breast cancer by one percent, according to Dr. Frank Rauscher, then director of the NCI.

According to Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. one estimate is that annual radiological breast exams increase the risk of breast cancer by two percent a year. So over 10 years the risk will have increased 20 percent. In the 1960s and 70s, women, even those who received 10 screenings a year, were never told the risk they faced from exposure. In the midst of the 1976 radiation debate, KODAK, a major manufacturer of mammography film, took out full-page ads in scientific journals entitled About breast cancer and X-rays: A hopeful message from industry on a sober topic.

Despite better technology and decreased doses of radiation, scientists still claim mammography is a substantial risk. Dr. John W. Gofman, an authority on health effects of ionizing radiation, estimates that 75 percent of breast cancer could be prevented by avoiding or minimizing exposure to the ionizing radiation this includes mammography, x-rays and other medical and dental source.

Since mammography screening was introduced, the incidence of a form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma insitu (DCIS) has increased by 328 percent . Two hundred percent of this increase is allegedly due to mammography. In addition to harmful radiation, mammography may also help spread existing cancer cells due to the considerable pressure placed on the woman's breast during the procedure. According to some health practitioners, this compression could cause existing cancer cells to metastasize from the breast tissue.

Cancer research has also found a gene, called oncogene AC that is extremely sensitive to even small doses of radiation. A significant percentage of women in the United States have this gene, which could increase their risk of mammography-induced cancer. They estimate that 10,000 oncogene AC carriers will die of breast cancer this year due to mammography.

The risk of radiation is apparently higher among younger women. The NCI released evidence that, among women under the age of 35, mammography could cause 75 cases of breast cancer for every 15 it identifies. Another Canadian study found a 53 percent increase in breast cancer mortality in young women given annual mammograms. Dr. Samuel Epstein also claims that pregnant women exposed to radiation could endanger their fetus. He advises against mammography during pregnancy because "the future risks of leukemia to your unborn child, not to mention birth defects, are just not worth it". Similarly, studies reveal that children exposed to radiation are more likely to develop breast cancer as adults.

While the number of deaths caused by breast cancer has decreased, the incidence of breast cancer is still rising. Since 1940, the incidence of breast cancer has risen by one to two percent every year. Between 1973 and 1991, the incidence of breast cancer in females over 65 rose nearly 40 percent in the United States

The majority of health experts agree that the risk of breast cancer for women under 35 is not high enough to warrant the risk of radiation exposure. Similarly, the risk of breast cancer to women over 55 justifies the risk of mammograms. The statistics about mammography and women between the ages of 40 and 55 are the most contentious. A 1992 Canadian National Breast Cancer Study showed that mammography had no positive effect on mortality for women between the ages of 40 and 50. In fact, the study seemed to suggest that women in that age group are more likely to die of breast cancer when screened regularly.

Burton Goldberg, in his book, Alternative Medicine, recommends that women under 50 avoid screening mammograms, although the American Cancer Society encourages mammograms every two years for women ages 40 to 49. Trying to settle this debate, a 1997 consensus panel appointed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) ruled that there was no evidence that mammograms for this age group save lives; they may even do more harm than good. The panel advises women to weigh the risks and decide for themselves.

In his book The Hope of Living Cancer Free , Francisco Contreras, M.D. say's
"Since a mammogram is basically an x-ray (radiation) of breast, I do not recommend mammograms to my patients for two reasons: 1) Few radiologists are able to read mammograms correctly, therefore limiting their effectiveness. Even the man who developed this technique (mammography) stated on national television that only about six radiologists in the United States could read them correctly. 2) In addition, each time the breasts are exposed to an x-ray, the risk of breast cancer increases by 2 percent."

O.K. SO WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE TO MAMMOGRAM SCREENINGS?

While screening is an important step in fighting breast cancer, is there an alternative to annual mammograms? The answer is yes. There are new thermographic technologies . Thermographs are able to detect cancers at a minute physical stage of development. Thermography does not use x-rays, nor is there any compression of the breasts. Also important, new thermography technologies do not lose effectiveness with dense tissue, decreasing the chances of false-negative results.

Some doctors are now offering digital mammograms. Digital mammography is a mammography system in which x-ray film is replaced by solid-state detectors that convert x-rays into electric signals. Though radiation is still used, digital mammography requires a much smaller dose. The electrical signals are used to produce images that can be electronically manipulated; a physician can zoom in, magnify and optimize different parts of breast tissue without having to take an additional image.

It's your body. It's your decision. Your best defense against breast cancer is making sure you maintain optimal health. We want nothing more than to help you become as healthy as possible.

For more information regarding mammography risks see:

The Politics of Cancer by Samuel S. Epstein, MD page 539
Death by Medicine by Gary Null PhD, page 23
Under The Influence Modern Medicine by Terry A Rondberg DC, page 122

Drugs Cause Liver Damage?
No Kidding!

An article appeared in the L.A. Times the other day and guess what? They are going to conduct a study to try to understand why certain prescription drugs and some over-the -counter drugs can cause severe liver damage and sometimes complete liver failure, which leads to, you know what, death . Isn't it nice that the medical community is finally getting around to researching this undisputed link? Yes, medical doctors are willing to admit that pharmaceuticals are basically toxic to the liver and can cause serious damage including sudden death . The study will to attempt to find out why some people drop dead and others don't . Here is a quote by Dr. Paul B. Watkins, a liver expert at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and chairman of the liver network's steering committee. "We're trying to understand why two perfectly healthy people can be taking the same drug, and one suddenly turns yellow and dies." Good question. Of course these drugs can also cause serious damage to the liver but that can be handled by ripping out the old one, that's after a compatible donor liver can be located. Then you can expect to spend the rest of your life on organ anti-rejection drugs. Here is another quote. "Severe liver injury has a very high mortality rate", says Dr. Leonard B. Seeff, a liver expert at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, Md. "But aside from the obvious risk factors like drinking too much alcohol or getting viruses, which weaken the liver, we can't predict who is going to develop liver damage from taking drugs." Sounds like they've been playing Russian Roulette to me. What do you think?

Side Note: The Dangers of Acetaminophen

More than half of all cases of acute liver failure are caused by overdoses of acetaminophen, which accounts for more than 56,000 emergency room visits, 2,600 hospitalizations and an estimated 458 deaths each year.

Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in popular over-the-counter drugs such a Tylenol . The standard recommended dose of acetaminophen is 1,000 milligrams four times a day, or 4 grams a day. It's easy to exceed that - people may end up in the emergency room after taking 6 to 8 grams for three days. We recommend 0 milligrams daily. There are natural ways to treat symptoms that eliminate the risks associated with pharmaceuticals.

Source: L.A. Times September 26, 2005

Latest Obesity Statistics
USA Obesity Rates Reach Epidemic Proportions

· 58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese
· Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight
· 78% of American's not meeting basic activity level recommendations
· 25% completely Sedentary
· 76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990

Obesity Related Diseases

· 80% of type II diabetes related to obesity
· 70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity
· 42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals
· 30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity
· 26% of obese people having high blood pressure

Childhood Obesity Running Out of Control

· 4% overweight 1982 | 16% overweight 1994
· 25% of all white children overweight 2001
· 33% African American and Hispanic children overweight 2001
· Hospital costs associated with childhood obesity rising from $35 Million (1979) to $127 Million (1999)

Childhood Metabolic and Heart Risks

· New study suggests one in four overweight children is already showing early signs of type II diabetes (impaired glucose intolerance)
· 60% already have one risk factor for heart disease

Surge in Childhood Diabetes

· Between 8% - 45% of newly diagnosed cases of childhood diabetes are type II, associated with obesity.
· Whereas 4% of Childhood diabetes was type II in 1990, that number has risen to approximately 20%
· Depending on the age group (Type II most frequent 10-19 age group) and the racial/ethnic mix of group stated
· Of Children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese

SOURCE: http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/statistics-obesity.htm

Grocery Store? Drug Store? OR DISEASE CENTER? ...
Read about how they are counting on your poor choices.

Grocery Store or Disease Center?

The next time you run into your neighborhood market take a moment to notice exactly what they are selling. They are basically selling two types of things: 1) processed foods and beverages that cause disease, and 2) prescription drugs that treat the symptoms of those diseases. It's a brilliant sales and marketing scheme. You buy the stuff located in the front of the store and get diseased, and then you become a customer for drugs sold in the back of the store. It's a brilliant, strategic, plan implemented to retain customers and increase sales to those poor unsuspecting folks.

Look at how the store is laid out: the pharmacy is located in the back of the store so if you need to get at least one prescription filled or you're getting it filled for a friend or loved one you are forced to walk through aisles loaded with high impulse junk food. You must first walk past soft drinks, chocolate bars, snack food, high sugar cereals. These shelves are intentionally stocked with the most high profit (low nutrition) items available.

And if you make your way to the check out stand without picking up one of these products you find yourself in the check out line with Snickers bars and M & Ms staring you in the face. Along side the usual small refrigerators stuffed with carbonated soft drinks.

When you think grocery stores are getting the message that we want alternative choices they sell products that claim to be healthier for people with diseases but actually cause them to get more diseases. Have you ever looked at the ingredients in meal replacement drinks for diabetics? The first three ingredients are water, sugar, and sucrose. If you're not diabetic already this kind of product will help you on your way.

Virtually all typical, grocery stores in America sell a vast array of foods that increase your chances of developing chronic diseases. Look at all the products that contain refined white flour. These would be most breads, cookies, crackers, pastries, and pastas. Refined white flour strips the body of essential nutrition, leaving it deficient in B vitamins as well as minerals like magnesium and zinc. These are the vitamins that are essential to children in order to build a healthy nervous system and avoid behavioral disorders later in life. These are the same nutrients vital to pregnant women to prevent having babies with birth defects.

This brings me back to the question Grocery Store or Disease Center? These same grocery stores sell foods containing chemicals that have been proven to cause cancer (sodium nitrate) along with one of my favorite heart disease promoting ingredients (hydrogenated oils). Then there are the carbonated soft drinks that set us up for osteoporosis and bone loss. Not to mention weight gain. So you can see how one might consider the corner grocery store a disease center. Most of the products on the shelves are actually "disease in a box" rather than real food.

Even when you do your best to choose more natural foods such as fruits and vegetables you know they were grown from soil depleted of nutrients and full of pesticides. Washing them will only remove the residue on the surface.

We shouldn't lay all the blame on grocery stores. They don't produce the food products that are poisoning Americans. Big food companies are spending the big bucks on marketing research to make sure they can cash in on the latest nutrition buzz.

Do their food products deliver when it comes to the nuances of good nutrition?

Let me tell you about a lawsuit filed against several food-company giants, including Kraft Foods, General Mills and Kellogg's. Ms. Jennifer Hardee of California filed the suit March 24 in San Diego, seeking class-action status and listing the reduced sugar versions of Post's Fruity Pebbles (Kraft), General Mills' Cocoa Puffs and Trix, and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

It seems that Ms. Hardee was shopping for her daughter and noticed that the manufacturers of many new products, especially cereals, were trumpeting reduced-sugar content and discovered that these claims were intended to trick consumers.

Ms. Hardee claims that implying such products are lower in carbohydrates and therefore healthier, because they are lower in sugar, is fundamentally deceptive. That's because more often than not, the companies remove the sugar only to replace it with other highly refined carbohydrates. The result, similar carb content, similar caloric content, and similar nutritive value.

The following quote should amuse you. "Consumers wanted less sugar, so we gave them less sugar. The product has the same nutritional benefits the previous version did." This quote was given to the Wall Street Journal by a General Mills spokeswoman.

She undoubtedly meant that in a positive way. But applied to General Mills' Cocoa Puffs, it could certainly be interpreted otherwise.

Lets take this a step further. Nutrition value aside (and I can't imagine a bowl of Cocoa Puffs providing any measure of what I would consider good nutrition) what could General Mills possibly have on it's mind when it presents the new variation of it's Cocoa Puffs cereal emblazoned with a huge inscription claiming "75% Less Sugar".

As reported in the Wall Street Journal , the original product contained 13 grams of sugar and 13 grams of other carbohydrates per serving. The new version has only 3 grams of sugar, but it now has 23 grams of other carbohydrates. The 26 grams of total carbs per serving is unchanged, and it's a good guess that along with the processed white flour the "other carbohydrates" are mostly in the form of corn syrup, which leaps from seventh to second place on the package's ingredients on the new, less sugar variation. Does that make any sense to you?

Sugar by any other name is usually corn syrup. Do these food giants really think we are unaware that corn syrup is only another form of added sugar? Maybe they are just gambling that shoppers who do understand will never actually look at the list of ingredients?

It all comes down to the mighty buck. The pressure for profits whether it be a grocery store chain or a big food giant is intense. But should those profits be gained by providing a constant supply of foods containing poisons to the American public who are already hands down the most obese and diseased people of the developed world?

If we stop buying these products that we know are causing us harm and if we insist that toxic ingredients such as aspartame, monosodium glutamate, food additives, hydrogenated foods, and chemical preservatives like sodium nitrite that directly causes cancer are outlawed we will be going a long way toward protecting ourselves, our children, friends and loved ones.

Read labels. If you see an ingredient that sounds like something you might find in a laboratory don't eat it. And remember sugar by any other name is probably some form of corn syrup or chemical.

Will You Be Ready When the Big One Comes?

We've all watched the News coverage of the disasterous hurricanes pummeling the Gulf Coast. It has become all too obvious that should a disaster hit closer to home we need to be as self sufficient as possible. It could take days for state and federal help to arrive. That's why FEMA, The United States Coast, Army Reserves all recommend that we plan on sustaining ourselves unaided for at least 72 hours after a disaster hits. There is no doubt we will encounter a major earthquake in Southern California at some time in the future. Will you be prepared? Don't know where to start? We've put together some guidelines to help you plan how to survive what we all hope will never happen.

What to do during an Earthquake

Stay Calm! Try to get to a doorway. Be careful not to get your fingers caught in the door jam should the door fly shut. If you can, get under a piece of heavy furniture like a desk. Keep away from windows. If you are outside try to get away from buildings and power lines. If you are driving pull over and wait for the shaking to stop. Avoid parking under overpasses. If you are in a high-rise building try to get against an inside wall. Do not use elevators. If you are in a department store do not run to the exit. Try to get away from any displays or other objects that may fall on you.

What to do after an Earthquake

Check yourself and others for injuries. Provide first aid for anyone who needs it. Check water, gas, and electric lines for damage. If any are damaged, shut off the valves. Check for the smell of gas. If you smell it open windows and doors and leave immediately. Report it to authorities. Use someone else's phone. Turn on the radio. Don't use the phone except for emergency. Stay out of damaged buildings. Be careful around broken glass. This is why you should have sneakers or heavy boots near by. If you are at school or work, follow the emergency plan or the instructions of the person in charge.

Disaster Supplies

• Flashlight and extra batteries
• Portable, battery-operated radio and extra batteries
• First aid kit and manual
• Emergency food and water (plan on at least 1 gallon per day per person)
• Non-electric can opener
• Essential medicines
• Cash and credit cards
• Sturdy shoes. Keep a pair of sneakers under your bed at home, at work, and in your car.
• A copy of your insurance policy
• Personal hygiene products, tooth bushes, toothpaste, soap, combs, etc.
• Entertainment: Games, books, a deck of cards
• A list of emergency phone numbers
• Current photos of your loved ones for posting on the internet if necessary.

You can assemble this yourself or you can buy survival kits already assembled.

You can order kits on the internet. A company called www.quakekare.com has a good selection of kits for home, office, or automobiles. A kit for a family of four can be purchased for just over $100.00. You can also purchase meals ready to eat (MREs) at your local Army-Navy stores. They'll last three years and require no water, refrigeration or heating. Each meal provides 1,200 calories and costs about $8.00 each.

If you put your own kit together it's a good idea to check it every six months. You might use the time we change our clocks as a reminder. Change out the water and add fresh batteries.

Make arrangements for pets

Talk to your neighbors who have pets. Agree to provide aid to each other's pets if you are not home when a disaster strikes. Pets may not be allowed into emergency shelters for health and space reasons. Contact your local humane society for information on local animal shelters. Keep current pictures of your pets in your survival kit for posting on the internet if necessary.

Teach family members how and when to turn off gas, electricity, and water

Make sure that family members know how to respond after an earthquake. Teach family members how and when to turn off gas, electricity, and water. Teach children how and when to call 911, police, fire department and which radio station to tune to for emergency information.

Make a plan to reunite with family

Chances are you may not all be together during an earthquake. Take the time now to pick a place you will reunite after the earthquake. It's a good idea to designate a family member or friend who lives outside the area to be your contact. It's sometimes easier to call long distance than local after a disaster. Make sure everyone keeps that number with them. You can also program a number in your cell phone of the person you would want to have notified in case of emergency and title it ICE (In case of emergency).

Insurance

Make sure you have enough insurance to cover fire, flood, and structural damage. Keep your policies in a safe fireproof container. Keep a copy with your emergency supplies. Call your insurance agent immediately to report any damage. Even if you have not had time to properly assess all the damage call immediately. Claims are usually handled in the order they are reported. Take photos. Note: Homeowner's policies don't usually cover flood damage. Make sure you understand your policy.

Obesity, Paying the Price

It's common knowledge that obesity in this country has reached epidemic proportions. Being over weight is both dangerous and costly . People who are obese are putting themselves at dangerous risk of develo