The Sweat Stops Here

As many as one in 100 individuals across the UK suffer from severe excessive sweating or hyperhidrosis, according to the clinical paper Boni R. in Kreydon OP, Boni R, Burg G (eds); Hyperhidrosis and Botulinum Toxin in Dermatology.  Many more people suffer from mild or moderate forms of the medical condition.
 
If you're one of those unlucky individuals afflicted with the embarrassing condition and are familiar with clammy handshake syndrome or underarm perspiration overload then don't get in a sweat about it!  Thanks to an established treatment offered by SWEAT BREAKER, specialist in the provision of non-surgical procedures for excessive sweating, help is at hand to wipe out the problem. 
 
Founded by respected consultant surgeon, Mr Adrian Richards, the company is committed to treating excessive sweating in localised areas including armpits, hands, feet, head and face.  The straightforward procedure, in the form of Botox® injections, is highly effective and will keep excessive sweating under control.  The virtually pain free process involves injecting a tiny amount of Botox® solution just under the skin, in approximately ten to 15 different sites, at 1cm intervals, using a very fine needle (the same type of needle that is used for premature babies).  All in all, the treatment takes only 10 minutes, its effects last on average of seven months and results can be expected in a little as three days.
 
Botox® treatment has been used successfully for over 20 years and is backed by extensive clinical trials, with over 1400 medical research papers showing it to be safe.  The treatment, which is administered by a highly trained medical practitioner, works by blocking the action of nerves that supply the eccrine glands, preventing them from producing sweat.
 
Prior to the treatment, a dedicated team of highly trained staff will talk you through the procedure whilst a medical practitioner will assess you in order to ensure that you are a suitable candidate for the treatment.
 
 "Hyperhidrosis is a genetic condition which blights many people's lives and often has a profound effect on self esteem and confidence levels," commented Mr Adrian Richards, MSc, FRCS (Plas) Consultant Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeon.  "Traditionally, the only solutions available for excessive sweating have included strong antiperspirant deodorants, topical applications of aluminium chloride and, in severe cases, invasive and extensive surgery such as curettage involving scraping out the eccrine glands - a mutilating, potentially dangerous and incredibly painful procedure with varying results.  I am delighted to be in a position to offer sufferers a simple, safe, effective and proven non-surgical procedure that will eradicate the problems for months at a time."
 
Like it or not, we all have to sweat in order to maintain a regular body temperature. If your body is too hot, blood vessels dilate to let more blood reach the skin, where the blood cools.  Then sweat glands produce more sweat, and that evaporates to cool the skin.  But for many people, sweating doesn't just occur when the body overheats.  Exercise, stressful situations, anxiety, even alcohol, or spicy food can trigger hyperhidrosis.  In extreme cases, excessive sweating can occur regardless of an individual's situation or state-of-mind.  What's more, concern over the condition breeds sweating.

The Truth About Smokers Relaxation Ruse

Smokers love excuses. They can't quit because .. (fill in the blank). I covered one of the favorite excuses in another article, the 'concentration con'.
Now here's another of the main - can't quit - excuses. Smoking helps relaxation. Most smokers claim it helps them relax. But would you ever describe a smoker as relaxed ?
Their addiction (or habit) makes them nervous and jumpy. All things equal, a smoker will never relax as they once did before their drug.
Think about last time you ate in a restaurant. Isn't that a relaxing environment when you're eating your meal, in good company ? But that's not enough for the smoker. They're still not relaxed. They need a cigarette fix, even between courses, because they think that's what they need to relax.
Then they associate a temporary relaxation with the cigarette, rather than the environment and company. They don't even consider their non-smoker friends enjoyment might get ruined by smoking.
Let's look at the realities of the relaxation ruse. Nicotine is a stimulant, not a relaxant/depressant. A stimulant speeds up metabolism, not slows it down.
The 'smoking is relaxing' claim counts as yet another irrational excuse used by smokers who can't face up to quitting. The smoker genuinely feels a cigarette will relax him.
In reality it's the habit, expectation and association with relaxing situations that are the main reasons he feels relaxed. Sometimes it's even the deep breathing effect that helps relaxation.
Any sportsperson knows that deep breathing helps relax before an event. Difference is he's breathing fresh air, rather than poison ! Smokers actually credit their cigarette for a temporary benefit they get from deep breathing.
Most people agree stress and relaxation make two opposite conditions ? Many smokers think giving up will create more stress. They think their cigarettes are actually relieving stress.
Amazingly, cigarettes actually 'cause' the stress smokers think they're relieving ! Continual craving for another cigarette; guilt, helplessness at their inability to quit; low self-esteem... Any of this sound familiar ? At best, another cigarette temporarily reduces the stress caused by earlier cigarettes.
So we really should call the relaxation effect, the 'relaxation ruse'... an illusion favored by uninformed smokers who wrongly credit their cigarette with relaxation.
Quitting smoking means a return to relaxation. Quitting smoking means a return to a clear head... among many other benefits. Once you see through the relaxation ruse', you're much closer to finally quitting smoking once and for all.

How Body pH Can Affect Your Energy Levels

WHAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T REALIZE; WE ARE BIO ELECTRICAL ENGINES

In order to accomplish all the many millions of complex functions that occur over the course of the day, your body has to be able to communicate with itself... all the way down to the cellular level. And do you know how it does this? Through pulses of electricity. That's right, electricity.

Your body operates on an electro magnetic current. Believe it or not, all of the organs in your body emit these fields of electrical current. In fact, nerve signals are nothing more than electrical charges.

What creates this electrical power in your body is a very fine balance that exists in your bio chemistry. And of all the systems in your body that depend on this delicate, bio chemical balance, one of the most important is your blood stream. This is where pH comes into play. But what is pH?

WHAT PH IS AND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO ALL YOUR BODY FUNCTIONS

PH is a scale that measures how acidic or alkaline a substance is. The scale ranges from 1 to 14 with 1 being very acid, 7 neutral and 14 very alkaline.

So what does pH have to do with you and your blood? Well, the pH of your blood is extremely important. The ideal pH level for your blood is right around 7.35 and your body goes to enormous lengths to maintain this level.

Why? Because if your blood pH were to vary 1 or 2 points in either direction, it would change the electrical chemistry in your body, there would be no electrical power and in short order you would drop dead. As you can see, maintaining the right pH level in your blood is pretty important!!

With this in mind a good way to avoid upsetting this delicate bio chemical balance would be to take a look at those things that can compromise the maintenance of the ideal pH level in your body. And what is the main culprit in this case? The answer is the creation of acid in your body.

Before we look at what causes acid, here's a graphic example to give you an idea of what can happen in the blood when your pH drops to less than ideal. Red blood cells are how oxygen is transported to all the cells in your body.

As red blood cells move into the tiny, little, capillaries, the space they have to move through gets pretty small. In fact, the diameter of the capillaries gets so small that the red blood cells sometimes have to pass through these capillaries one red blood cell at a time!

Because of this, and because it's important for the red blood cells to be able to flow easily and quickly through your body, they have a mechanism that allows them to remain separate from each other. This mechanism comes in the form of the outside of healthy red blood cells having a negative charge. This causes them to stay apart from each other, sort of like when you try to push the negative ends of two magnets together. They resist each other and stay apart.

Unfortunately, acid interferes with this very important mechanism in a pretty frightening way. Acid actually strips away the negative charge from red blood cells. The result is that your red blood cells then tend to clump together and not flow as easily. This makes it much more difficult for them to flow easily through the bloodstream.

But it also makes it harder for them to move freely through those small capillaries. This means less oxygen gets to your cells. Acid also weakens the red blood cells and they begin to die. And guess what they release into your system when they die? More acid.

I could describe a whole list of processes that occur when your system becomes and remains acid but I think you get the idea. The point is that aside from the acid that is secreted into your stomach to aid digestion, acid in your body is bad. Really bad.

In regard to producing energy in the body, here's an easy question for you. What do you think happens to a person's energy level if over time their system becomes more and more acid, their biochemical balance is disrupted and their red blood cells can't deliver oxygen and nutrients as efficiently to all their cells? The answer is simple. Their energy level drops. Dramatically.

Are you beginning to get the picture here as to the importance of pH in your body? Good. Now let's take a quick look at what causes acidity in your body and then look at steps you can take to get your body pH back to an ideal level.

WHAT CAUSES ACID IN THE BODY

The primary cause of an acidic condition in your body is from what you put in your mouth. In other words, what you eat and what you drink. And it isn't how "acid" something may seem when you eat or drink it. It has to do with what is left over when you digest it.

Specifically, does eating or drinking something leave behind an acid or alkaline "ash". For example, I don't know about you but I love seafood. Scallops are one of my favorites. However, when your body digests scallops, it leaves an extremely acid ash. In fact, scallops are one of the most acid foods you can eat.

Unfortunately, a lot of the things most people put in their mouths create an acid ash. These include alcohol, coffee and a lot of flesh protein in your diet. Interestingly enough, stress also tends to create an acid condition in the body.

STEPS YOU CAN IMMEDIATELY TAKE TO IMPROVE YOUR PH

Fortunately, it is pretty easy to immediately change your pH for the better and make it more alkaline. The first step is to understand which of the foods you are eating and the drinks you are drinking are acid and which are alkaline. Then it's simply a matter of eliminating some of the more acid foods you are eating and adding in more alkaline foods.

However, before you start, it's important to get a baseline of what the pH is in your body so that you can see how you are improving or if you need to continue to eliminate more acid foods and add in more alkaline ones.

You can do this by testing the pH of your saliva on a regular basis. This is really simple to do. More details on how to do this are provided on some web pages I have created for you to help you out. A link to these pages is provided below.

In addition to decreasing the amount of acid foods you eat and increasing the amount of alkaline foods you eat, one of the best ways to immediately begin changing your pH is to drink "green drinks". You can make these by simply adding a powder that is made up of a whole host of vegetables that are highly alkaline to a glass of water. Information on suggested green drink powders to use is included on pages that I have a link to below.

Benefits of Having a Fitness Buddy

It's raining outside. Your shoes are still wet from your last walking session. You really should just go out and exercise, but there's something good on TV. Maybe later...
Sound familiar?
Now try this scenario: It's raining outside. Your shoes are wet and you don't really feel like going for a walk, but your cell phone is blinking with a message from your buddy that says she's already left the house and she'll meet you at the trail. You know you have to go, or she'll give you a hard time for ditching her. So, you grab your soggy shoes and head off for a power walking session. Afterwards, you feel good. You always feel good afterwards; it's the getting started part that's hard.
That's why it's so beneficial to have someone else to exercise with on a regular basis. There's no type of fitness regimen that can't benefit from having a fitness buddy. If it's weightlifting, your buddy can spot you. If it's running or biking, they can push you to go faster than you would if you were alone. If it's climbing, she can catch you when you slip and start careening down the mountain (maybe climbing isn't the safest fitness activity).
Whatever your choice of fitness outlets, a workout buddy can not only push you harder than you would yourself, but they can actually get you out the door. Never underestimate the power of social obligations. Those of us who wouldn't think twice about breaking a date with ourselves cringe at the idea of breaking a date with a friend. Especially if we have friends who are experts at giving the guilt-trip.
OK, so you're sold on the idea of a fitness buddy. But wanting one can be easier than finding one. Your regular friends might not be into fitness, or they're the kind of people who start something with good intentions and gradually slack off. It's important to find someone who is as dedicated to fitness (or more dedicated) than you are. But where to look? Here are some ideas:
-Ask a friend, or see if a friend of a friend is looking for somebody.
-If you belong to a gym or health club, see if there is a bulletin board out front where you can post requests.
-Join an exercise class or take some sports lessons; you might find an interested person or two.
-Check fitness web sites, especially related to your interests; there may be a message board where you can look for activity partners.
Whatever route you choose, don't be afraid to initiate proceedings by starting up conversations with people or starting new threads on message boards. You might be surprised at how many people are also looking for regular workout buddies.
Once you find a fitness buddy, don't let him or her down. If you both show motivation and keep to a regular schedule, you'll both reap the benefits.