Since my personal practice includes gargling with warm water and salt and also using a neti pot whenever I have a 'tickle' in my throat or other signs of upper respiratory infections, I really liked what Dr Goyal suggested.  It's just a reminder for me and perhaps you.

Because I don't like meds or immunizations in general, I have learned to protect myself and boost my immune system naturally.  If you'd like to protect yourself either from  the flu, viruses or upper respiratory infections, read below for Dr Goyal's suggestions.Dr Vinay Goyal:

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).

2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any parthttp://friendfeed.com/marsupilamima of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*  More about yoga as an alternative natural medicine.

5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.

6.. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm. (Green Tea has self-healing properties.)

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc.. Presently, he is heading our Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).

Drew DiVittorio Dipl.,(NCCAOM) states that:

"…conditions such as chronic fatigue, environmental and chemical sensitivities, neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, headaches, fertility problems, memory loss, and depression are some of the many conditions associated with toxins in the body."

Drew cautions us about fasting on just water or not eating at all:

"Not eating or fasting on water is NOT detoxification.  According to research, the liver needs specific nutrients to detoxify. Depriving the liver during a detoxification program only produces more free radicals which can lead to a healing crisis or poisoning of the body." 

"A safe and effective detoxification program requires specific nutrients to enhance the liver's ability to remove the harmful toxins stored in the body."  Read more on how to rid your body of toxins at Asian Healing Arts Institute blog." 

Video Clip:

On the video below you will hear Dr Mercola's thoughts on Detoxification.

Technorati Tags: detox, chemicals, toxins, drew, divittorio, green tea, antioxidant, vitamins, catechins, phytochemicals, mercola, doctor, metabolic, health, diet, nutrition, natural, wellness, asian, healing, arts, institute, body

Great taste. No calories. Wholesome ingredients. How could you drink too much?

This is a question from Diana Garza, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola North America.  What do you expect, the woman works for Coco-Cola. 

People find it difficult to give up a habit, especially if they love it.  It's hard enough to stop something you know is 'bad' for your health and most people aren't even aware of the facts. 

We like to ignore things we don't want to change anyway  and when you really like a drink or food and if it has caffeine, you're surely addicted and then it's really not easy to stop.

Video Clip:

Another article on deceptively sweet diet drinks warns addicts:

Drinking diet soda can increase the risk of "metabolic syndrome," a contributor to heart disease and diabetes, by 48 percent.

Studies shows that as little as one can of soda per day is associated with a 48 percent increased risk of "metabolic syndrome," which plays a major role in heart disease and diabetes.

Dr David Katz:

There is some evidence that the acid load of soda, regular or diet, has an adverse affect on bone health.  I would be very worried that if you are drinking 12 cans a day, diet or regular.  It's potentially going to do damage to your skeleton, and eventually that can be a very serious problem.

Dr Harris Stratyner:

People do indeed become addicted to caffeine very rapidly, and they also withdraw from caffeine very rapidly. It can make their sleep patterns disturbed and make them restless, wired, anxious.

 Take a look at this video and you can click the link to read Dr Mercola's thoughts on diet soda.

 Technorati Tags: diet, soda, weight, loss, health, wellness, aspartame, dr, mercola, gain

Mikhail Tombak, Ph.D. is a Russian educated doctor who headed a Center for Health Sciences in Moscow as well as authoring several bestsellers on health and healing.   Dr Tombak wrote:

We eat way too much sugar and  its digestion results in many poisonous acids in our body.  Huge amounts of mineral salts containing mostly calcium are needed to neutralize these acids. Where are they taken from-  our bones and teeth, where they are present in the highest concentration.

He also suggests using eggshell or lemon therapy if we have started to lose bone.  You can continue reading more of his artlcle on his blog or in his book Can We Live 150 Years.

Technorati Tags: bone loss, osteoporosis, aging, anti-aging, can we live 150 years

It's really about this visceral fat(tummy fat). An article by Christian Nordqvist, editor – Medical News Today, reiterates what Mehmet Oz, MD and Michael Roizen, MD talk about in You: On A Diet mentioned on one of my earlier posts. 

In the article, Dangerous visceral fat builds up if you don't exercise, can go down if you do, Nordqvist reports of a study in the Journal of Applied Physiology which showed  those who exercised more, lost more visceral/tummy fat.

Nordqvist states:

"The more visceral fat you carry around the higher your chances of developing insulin resistance (leading to type two diabetes), heart disease and other metabolic syndromes."

In PDRhealth, more studies show:

"If you have excess fat in your abdominal area rather than in your hips and thighs, you are also at a higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other diseases. For women, risk increases when your waist is more than 35 inches around. For men, risk increases when your waist is more than 40 inches around."

It's the waist measurement, not your weight that really matters when it comes to living and feeling your best…with vitality!

Technorati Tags: visceral fat, exercise, tummy fat, mehmet oz, michael roizen, "you on a diet, weight loss