The good news is that you can sit back and relax. It’s time to cut to the chase with the top three tips that you can use today to have a healthy, safe, and happy pregnancy before you welcome your bundle of joy into the world:

Consider your dental hygiene. When you’re pregnant, the last thing on your list may be making a dental appointment. But due to higher levels of progesterone and hormone changes during pregnancy, it can promote increased bacterial growth on your teeth. Basically, your gums will be much more susceptible to infection and inflammation, which leads to gingivitis. And when you add to that strange cravings for brownies, lemons, and pickles, your teeth may be pretty out of whack. Do yourself a favor and check in with your dentist several times during pregnancy to prevent any unnecessary infection that could spread to your baby.

Think before you eat. FYI, the whole “eating for two” concept is actually a myth. For many pregnant women, this may be terrible news. But when you think more about what you eat, you’ll feel better and improve your energy levels day by day. All you really need are 300 extra calories a day to compensate for your baby. According to MSNBC, your baby requires 55,000 calories from conception to birth–that’s it! And contrary to popular belief, there’s no reason to load up on calories in your first trimester. Begin to eat more healthy foods and proteins in your second and third trimester to compensate.

Have a glass of wine. Yes, you read that correctly! Drinking wine on occasion won’t pose any risk to your baby, and it may even have the opposite effect, according to research from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. The study showed that pregnant women who drank one to two glasses of wine a week actually had better behaved children than women who abstained from alcohol altogether. Of course, heavy drinking poses behavioral and emotional risks to your baby, but sticking to a few drinks a week under the supervision of your doctor is perfectly fine.

Photo by Veritas Supermercados

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What I didn’t know then was that night was the beginning of a long haul in allergy diagnostics. Two days later she woke yet again with another swollen lip, only the second time her entire body was covered in a mysterious red spotted rash.

The rash led to hives and the hives led to painful red skin. In fact at any given moment any one, or combination of these symptoms would randomly appear.

What began as a seemingly harmless swollen lip led us from Urgent Care to ER to allergist where they ran a series of tests to determine the source of her swelling and rashes. To my surprise, and that of the allergists, my daughter was allergic to EVERYTHING!

They had tested her for environmental allergies, food allergies and outdoor allergies. When everything came back positive I was shocked. You can imagine my relief when the allergist began to explain which allergens were more likely to cause her symptoms based on reaction. It was obvious that her allergies to dust, pollens and grasses had the highest reaction indicating they were likely the real cause of her symptoms.

Now that we knew the cause it was time to develop a plan for treatment!

The Simple Approach to Manage Airborne Allergens:

Each of the allergens impacting my daughter were categorized as airborne, meaning they float in the air we breathe and gain access to our bodies after being inhaled. I knew to minimize her symptoms I needed to focus on one key factor, the air!

Reducing the amount of grass and pollens she inhaled was rather simple. We paid attention to the pollen count, installed special screens that filtered these allergens out and avoided over exposure to the great outdoors.

My bigger challenge was dealing with dust mites as I knew very little about them and even less on how to control them. I began by studying up on these critters and exactly how they cause allergies. To my surprise everything revolved around the bed! This explains why she had so many late night flares.

To reduce dust mite allergens I had to purchase special mattress and pillow encasements that trapped the mites, and their waste, preventing them from floating in the air. Next I removed stuffed animals from her room, thoroughly vacuumed the carpets and finished up with an allergy quilt for that extra protection.

I have to be honest the results weren’t instant. In fact I began to question if my efforts were even worth it considering she was still having reactions weeks after implementing my new strategies. My worries were quickly put to ease when the allergist explained that it takes time for the body to fully eradicate allergens and that given some time her symptoms will subside. He was right and my daughter started sleeping peacefully again!

Photo by clearallergy

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Without further ado, here are the top five foods to add to your diet to burn fat and stay healthy at the same time:

• Celery: Celery is a calorie negative food that only has 19 calories per cup. And celery will help to you to effectively burn calories since it takes much more than 19 calories to prepare, chew, and fully digest a cup of this vegetable. Celery is also full of water to suppress the appetite to make it easier to lose weight.
• Oatmeal: Oatmeal is a delicious breakfast food that is rich in fiber, which will help you to stay full for longer. Oatmeal will also keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the day so that your body can efficiently digest and burn fat while at rest. As a warning, stay away from sugary oatmeal in a variety of flavors; these seemingly healthy breakfast treats will pack in unnecessary calories and sugar.
• Salmon: Salmon is a healthy fish that contains omega-3 fatty acids. And your body needs omega-3 fatty acids to control a hormone called leptin, which regulates metabolism. Since salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, it will help to boost your body’s natural ability to burn fat by regulating leptin.
• Grapefruit: Grapefruit isn’t necessarily a calorie negative food, but it is very low in calories at only 74 calories per cup. Grapefruit also contains a powerful antioxidant called naringenin, which communicates with the liver to burn fat. No wonder the Grapefruit Diet is so popular! Of course, it’s best to enjoy grapefruit as part of an already healthy diet instead of restricting yourself to just one food group to lose weight.
• Green Tea: There are a number of fat burning supplements that contain green tea as a leading ingredient. And as a natural beverage, green tea can help to boost metabolism due to its EGCG content. Green tea will also protect your overall health by reducing the risk of cancer with a generous dose of antioxidants.

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A Celebration of Chocolate

Chocolate is the world’s number one flavour. This tasty substance was first discovered by the ancient Mayans, who used the extract of the cacao plant as a beverage in ancient rituals. Later, after it had been discovered and brought to Europe by the Spanish, chocolate became a symbol of royalty, available only to those rich or powerful enough to obtain it. In Renaissance-era France, chocolate was officially reserved specifically for members of the French Royal Court.

Today chocolate is the favourite dessert of the masses. Whether on its own or blended as a subtle flavour it’s used in countless foods and drinks worldwide. I think it’s about time we gave chocolate it’s due.

Chocolate is revered throughout the world and many countries have their own chocolate celebrations. In the country of Ghana, for instance, which is a major producer and exporter of chocolate, the government decreed that February 14 would henceforth become National Chocolate Day.

The thinking behind this was that the associated Valentine’s Day celebrations were corrupting the youth of the country and that a focus on chocolate for that day would reduce the “wanton immorality” on the part of young people on this day. Personally, I’m not so sure that was a good idea. After all, chocolate has been considered an aphrodisiac for centuries. The Ghanaian government may have more to deal with than they bargained for!

Chocolate comes with a surprising array of health benefits, various studies have shown that the chemicals in chocolate can boost your mood, lower your blood pressure and even improve your cardiovascular health. Technically, chocolate is actually a vegetable, it comes from the cacao tree found in Central America and Western Africa. Of course, we all know how important it is to eat our vegetables, right?

Despite all this, chocolate does have its detractors (clearly these people are no fun at all.) The two main criticisms are that it contributes to obesity and to the development of acne. The fact of the matter is that any food eaten in excess will cause obesity, not just chocolate. It’s a matter of maintaining moderation; everything in your diet has its place, including chocolate.

As for the acne, the actual causes of acne are related to diet, hormones and genetics. Some believe excess sugar contributes to the problem and thus label chocolate as a culprit. The evidence however, points to the fact that getting rid of acne is more a matter of eating a healthy diet overall, maintaining proper hygiene and avoiding food allergies. Paying attention to these factors is what’s really needed as a treatment for pimples.

Personally, I think the most important benefit of chocolate is that it simply tastes good. Don’t we all deserve to enjoy a break once in a while with the world’s greatest dessert? Even if chocolate were completely unhealthy, I’d argue the taste and psychological benefits would make it all worthwhile.

So remember, on October 28, feel free to celebrate National Chocolate Day without guilt and in whatever manner you see fit. Chocolate mousse, chocolate sauce, dark chocolate, white chocolate, the possibilities are endless!

Photo by David G-H

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Here is how last Thursday night was supposed to go: Attend the Sound for Scoliosis kick off party that was organized by a friend of mine. Have a fun night hanging out with friends, enjoy a few drinks, see my partner’s new band play later that night, and come home.

Here is what happened instead: I don’t go out very often, but for the first time in a while I was out and having a great time. I got to hang out with a few friends I haven’t seen in a while and I saw a couple of bands. Good times. Until suddenly, I wasn’t having such a good time anymore. Out of nowhere, the band that was playing got so loud it was nearly deafening and I had tunnel vision. I have a history of anxiety and panic attacks, which is the reason why I don’t go out very often. Logic told me that I was having a panic attack. No big deal, at least not to me because I have such a history with them and have learned over time how to talk myself down out of a panic. Except for the small detail that I did not feel anxious in the least before these symptoms washed over me, this was a fabulous plan. It didn’t work.

The last thing I remember from inside the bar was sitting in a bathroom stall telling myself that I was totally fine. Unbeknownst to my conscious brain, I had walked out of the bathroom. When I made it to my partner who was waiting outside for me, I collapsed into him. I had passed out, woke up on the floor, and passed out again, this time my head falling back into a brick wall. Somehow I had made it outside through the back of the bar and an ambulance had been called. After sitting in the bathroom stall, the next thing I remember is talking to paramedics who were telling me that I was probably fine (because I had mentioned my history of panic attacks) and that they just had to check my vitals before letting me go on my way.

If there is one attribute I embody when I am terrified, it is annoyance. I talk a lot, I ask a lot of questions, and I pursue every task as if it is a test–and I desperately need to know if I passed. Did I pass this vitals test the paramedics spoke of? They didn’t tell me because as soon as they checked my blood sugar, I was informed that a trip to the hospital was in my best interest because it was dangerously low. I had failed the blood sugar test!

I spent six hours at a hospital that I’m just going to go out on a limb and say could totally make a top 10 list of the most unproductive hospitals in the country. Seriously, if you either work or hope to work in the medical field and want a job where all is expected of you is to gossip with your coworkers, do nothing to actually treat your patients, and just stare at them while they repeatedly set off the heart rate monitor alarm while sitting on your ass, then you need to apply for a job there.

I endured six hours of tests followed by waiting and then more waiting. Six hours of being poked, prodded, and then ignored. Six hours of being left in a room to twiddle my thumbs and wonder what the hell is going on with no updates. Six hours of having seemingly random people mosey on into the room, ask what happened to me, write it down, ask if anyone has given me anything to raise my blood sugar, and then leave, never to be seen or heard from again. Six hours of sporadic vomiting, regardless of the fact that I’m pretty sure nothing could have been in my system after this much waiting, and waiting, and waiting. After all of this, I was finally told that I have low blood sugar that would need to be kept in mind when making my daily nutrition choices, a rapid heart rate (hence the repeatedly setting off the heart rate monitor alarm even while completely relaxed), and an extremely high white blood cell count.

Now here is a funny story about one of the most unproductive hospitals in the country. Usually, and I could be wrong here but I think this is how medicine is usually practiced, you have blood taken, that blood gets tested and then when the doctor finds something wrong with that blood, they then move on to diagnosing the problem and then treating it. This hospital did not work that way. In this hospital, you apparently get your blood taken, they test it, find something wrong with it, and then want to perform all of the tests again because they didn’t like what they found. This is a problem because I have always had an extreme fear of needles. It is a bad, bad fear. I am actually over the moon about not freaking out like a total four-year-old child over getting a whole lot of blood drawn and letting the paramedic attempt to put in an IV on the way to the hospital. I am extremely proud of myself for that. You have no idea how major that is.

Needless to say, I did not let them continue with their Let Us Do the Least Amount of Work Possible by Repeatedly Running the Same Tests charade. I went home. For fear of a concussion, I wasn’t allowed to doze off while laying around the hospital for six hours, so I went home and I got some much-needed, much-appreciated sleep.

The three symptoms that I have going on, the low blood sugar, the rapid heart rate (or Tachycardia, if you want to get all fancy with your medical speak), and the extremely high white blood cell count are all of the effects of my Periodontal Disease, which I have had for the past seven years. Periodontal Disease is an inflammatory disease that affects the teeth, the tissues that surround and support the teeth, and when it is extremely advanced, to the gums. It has run rampant throughout my family and just like the family members who have had it, regardless of how well I have taken care of my teeth throughout my life, they continue to break down and eventually rot. If you have never had problems like this with your teeth then you may be surprised to find out that when there is a problem in your mouth, it is only a matter of time before you start having problems with the rest of your body. Your teeth really do affect your entire body and in my case, it has lead to an extreme bacterial infection that even high doses of antibiotics seem to be immune to. A high white blood cell count in itself signifies rapid infection, as does a rapid heart rate. Low blood sugar seems to be the only thing I can at least treat and control.

Fun, right? So that is what has been going on with me and over the past week, I have focused on getting my energy back up and adjusting to making eating a new part time job of mine in order to control the low blood sugar factor that has become my new reality.

Woman Tribune will be back in full swing over the next few days as I get all of its affairs in order and finally get caught up.

Photo by Michael Coté

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In the United States today, the cost of in vitro fertilization starts at around $12,400 per cycle. Most often, it takes multiple cycles of IVF in order for it to prove to be effective and still, at the end of your treatment, there is no guarantee that you will come out with the success you had hoped for.

Infertility is recognized by the World Health Organization as a legitimate disease and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has publicly stated that infertility is an “emerging public health priority.” Regardless, it is extremely rare to find IVF, as well as any other assisted reproductive technology services, listed on insurance policies. In fact, only 15 states have passed laws to date that require insurance companies to offer some level of treatment for infertility. That isn’t to say that you will find IVF listed as a covered course of treatment within all 15 of these states, but you will find some form of treatment that will be made available to infertile couples.

Considering that an extremely limited group of people are likely to ever find in vitro fertilization, or most other services like it, listed as a covered course of treatment on their insurance policies, the only other option those seeking this procedure is to pay for it out of pocket. This does not look too great for, well, most people who are diagnosed with infertility. This is especially true since while we have seen a subtle rise in our national economy, we are still very much dealing with the aftermath of a historic financial crisis.

There are obvious considerable cost barriers that infertile couples are faced with. This bill would help to alleviate some of this well-known struggle by making tax credits available to taxpayers who earn an adjusted gross income of less than $182,500. This bill would also make these tax credits unavailable for those who earn $222,520 or more per year.

While the introduction of this bill is light at the end of the tunnel for many who hope to undergo fertility treatments but cannot afford to do so, spreading the word about this bill also raises awareness about the importance of egg donation.

We don’t hear about the option for healthy women to donate their eggs very often. The term “in vitro fertilization” has quickly become quite common and has reached the point where most everyone knows what it is and how it is done, but we usually have a very one-sided thought process when it comes to the procedure. We think about the women undergoing IVF, but not about if she will use donor eggs or who they come from.

In most cases, there is a six to nine month matching wait associated with IVF when a woman is using eggs that are donated. This is merely more time that women undergoing IVF must wait in order to attempt to conceive, not even counting the amount of time one cycle takes to complete. This can become an understandably hard time. The key to more women wanting to donate their eggs is letting them know that it is an option and what qualifies them in order to start the process.

Photo by jeo0072002

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Current research and medical studies reveal that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Each time one woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she brings a league of family, friends and loved ones with her to join in the fight against it. The fight against breast cancer is never just the fight of the one diagnosed with it; it is the fight of everyone who has ever known someone who has been diagnosed.

It’s true that countless people have committed themselves wholly to fighting breast cancer, but what every person who has donated their time, resources and finances to this fight will tell you, is that the fight will not stop until a cure for this severe and tragic cancer has been found. One of the most pivotal steps in ensuring a cure is found within our lifetime is to continue raising awareness while making a difference in the lives of those who have been affected by breast cancer.

BeeWell for Life is a resource dedicated to supplying people just like you and me with the resources and tools available to make the most of your healthy active lifestyle. Their website is fully dedicated to the health and wellbeing of your body, mind and spirit while continuing to lead the way in breast cancer awareness and support through their partnership with the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization.

The BeeWell for Life website is also the home of the BeeWell Miles Program where you can Walk and Bee the Difference. For every mile you walk, run or cycle and log on their website, they will donate $0.10 to the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization to fund YourShoes, a peer support program that includes a 24/7 breast cancer center that provides a toll-free hotline, email and support groups staffed by trained breast cancer survivors, as well as other outreach and awareness services and programs.

To make sure you never miss an important health tip, be sure to follow @BeWellforLife on Twitter and “like” them on Facebook.

iPad2 Giveaway

In an effort to get more people having active conversations about breast cancer, raising awareness and to help make a difference in the lives of those affected by breast cancer, BeeWell for Life has just launched Tag4Cancer.com, where they are giving away an iPad2 to two lucky winners. To enter to win, tweet from the Tag4Cancer.com website and make sure your tweet includes the hashtag #Tag4Cancer, links back to the official Tag4Cancer website and mentions both @beewellforlife and one of your friend’s Twitter handles so they can raise breast cancer awareness too. The more you tweet, the better your chances of winning.

But that isn’t all; you have yet another chance to win an iPad2 by introducing other participating bloggers (like myself) to some of your most inspiring, motivating friends! To enter to win, leave a comment on this post telling us how or why a certain friend of yours inspires you to either be fit or to make a difference in others. You must link to your friend’s blog, Facebook profile or Twitter handle in your comment.

For the list of participating bloggers where you can also comment to enter to win an iPad2, check out the contest rules. This contest will end May 31st.

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Hypertension is defined as high blood pressure. Blood pressure readings should be no more than 120 over 80. The top number (120) is the systolic pressure or pressure created when your heart beats. The bottom number (80) is the diastolic pressure or pressure inside blood vessels when the heart is at rest. Physicians tend to be more concerned with the diastolic pressure because you do not want constant pressure on your arteries, but both should be monitored.

Hypertension often has no symptoms. This is why it is important to regularly have your blood pressure checked. Keep in mind the “white coat factor”, which basically means your blood pressure goes up because you are nervous at the doctor’s office. Also, one reading will not determine if you have high blood pressure or not. To determine if you have high blood pressure, you should have several blood pressure readings over several days at different times. Record these readings and bring them to your doctor for him to determine.

What increases your risk of developing hypertension?

• Smoking
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Family history
• African American descent

While the above risk factors can all contribute to your chances of developing hypertension, you may have none of these and still develop hypertension.

If high blood pressure persists and is left untreated, serious complications can result. Some of these complications are heart attack, kidney damage, kidney failure, congestive heart failure, stroke, arteriosclerosis, brain damage and vision loss.

If you do develop hypertension, what can you do?

• If you are overweight, lose weight. Extra weight strains your heart and even small weight loss can mean big changes in blood pressure.

• Exercise for 30 minutes most days of the week. Even moderate exercise, such as a 30-minute walk can improve blood pressure. This also will go hand-in-hand with achieving weight loss.

• If you smoke, stop.

• Reduce stress. Meditation, exercise, and making time to do things you enjoy can all help with stress reduction.

• If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar in check.

• Limit alcoholic beverages. If you must drink, consume no more than 1 to 2 drinks per day.

• Watch your sodium intake. Excessive salt is believed to put you at higher risk for hypertension. Limit salty foods and avoid using the salt shaker. Stick to fresh, unprocessed foods. Also, you can easily halve the salt in half in recipes with no taste difference.

• Increase calcium intake. New research shows that insufficient calcium can increase blood pressure. Aim for 3 servings of dairy per day or 1000 mg of elemental calcium.

• Make sure you are getting enough potassium. Low potassium levels have also been shown to affect blood pressure. Orange juice, bananas, tomatoes, dried beans, and potatoes are all good natural sources.

Many times the above lifestyle changes can improve high blood pressure. If lifestyle changes are not enough, your doctor may recommend a medication to treat the high blood pressure. Many medications in multiple classes have been developed to help aid in reducing high blood pressure. Any of the following medication classes may be prescribed.

• Alpha blockers
• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
• Aniotensin receptor blockers (ARBs)
• Beta-blockers
• Calcium channel blockers
• Central alpha agonists
• Diuretics
• Renin inhibitors
• Vasodilators

Remember, if you are faced with high blood pressure, it is imperative that it is treated. Fortunately, lifestyle changes and, if need be, medication options can be used to bring blood pressure down to healthy levels.

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Whole grain provides vital nutrients such as antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients that make up a healthy diet. Whole grains are those that contain the complete grain, including the bran, the germ and the endosperm. When working together naturally, these three ingredients have tremendous health benefits.

After some research, it has been found that a big indicator as to why most Americans are not receiving the daily recommended serving of whole grains is because they aren’t sure what exactly whole grains are, or what foods are made of true whole grain. It seems to me that this is a great indicator that Americans are not being given the adequate and comprehensive education we rightly deserve when it comes to what foods must be present in our daily diets to keep ourselves healthy. We merely read about recommended serving sizes, but never information on how we should incorporate those foods into our diet in the healthiest way possible.

There are many ways to incorporate whole grain into your diet. Here are some simple food choices that are loaded with whole grains that are healthy for you to eat on a daily basis:

General Mills is dedicated to providing America with more whole grain at breakfast with their cereals than any other breakfast food from any other manufacturer. General Mills Big G cereals contain at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving, with more than 20 Big G cereals delivering 16 grams or more.

Visit General Mills website for information about Big G cereals, including product and nutrition details, as well as where your closest grocery store is where you can find General Mills Big G cereals.

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Here is a breakdown of what H.R. 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act does:

• Redefines rape
  The federal law, as it is seen and goes into effect today, does not use federal tax dollars to cover abortion unless it is an unwanted pregnancy resulting in rape, incest, or if the pregnant woman’s health or life is at risk. Under the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, the rape exception would only cover “forcible” rape. Ironically enough, the word “forcible” is not defined in the bill. What this means is that if a minor child who is, say, 13 years old, is coerced into a sexual relationship with a man who is not a minor, let’s just say he’s 40, and that girl becomes pregnant as a result of that rape, well, that rape doesn’t count. If a woman is drugged and then raped, that rape doesn’t count. If a woman is unconscious and is raped, that rape doesn’t count. If a woman is mentally disabled and cannot consent to sexual activity and is raped, that rape doesn’t count.

• Puts an age restriction on incest
  If a woman is raped by her father, brother, uncle, grandfather or a member of their family, and she is 18 years old, she cannot use federal funds in order to obtain her abortion. Also, let’s say a 17-year-old girl is raped by her father and she is just shy of her eighteenth birthday. If she was raped when she was 17, but is seeking an abortion when she is 18, would she be eligible? I suppose that’s up to the Chris Smith and John Boehner Official Rape Panel to decide.

• Removes the exception for women’s health
  This bill will allow federal funds to cover abortion if, and only if, a physician certifies that the pregnancy will kill her. If continuing her pregnancy will damage her organs in some way or she will become terribly ill, having to live on medications, dialysis, in a wheelchair or what have you for the rest of her life, she will not get coverage because that isn’t life-threatening.

• Requires government to continue funding agencies and programs that discriminate against women and endanger women’s health
  Currently, it is law that doctors and nurses do not have to provide elective abortion services, nor are health care facilities required to offer abortion services. Under the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, these facilities are given free reign to discriminate when it comes to a woman’s reproductive health care by in addition to not providing abortions, also refusing to refer women to other health care facilities, agencies and programs that do and the government cannot withdraw funds. Due to the GOP’s constant attack on all of women’s reproductive health choices, abortion is being regularly redefined to include emergency contraception and even birth control, which could also be effected by this bill.

• Cuts tax benefit to organizations and/or individuals who select an insurance policy that covers abortion
  Today, most private health insurers cover abortion services. Under the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, tax subsidies that are given to small business owners and individuals who purchase insurance that covers abortion would be cut. This bill would, in fact, ensure that all private insurance companies stop covering abortion services, even when abortions are medically necessary.

Make Your Voice Heard — Speak Out Against H.R. 3

#DearJohn Twitter Protest

If you are on Twitter start following and contributing to the #DearJohn Twitter protest. The #DearJohn campaign was started by feminist social media superhero Sady Doyle. This hashtag was created as a response to H.R. 3 and is being directed at Speaker of the House John Boehner who has made this bill a “top priority.” That’s right, John Boehner and the GOP are not working towards creating more jobs for Americans or reducing the country’s deficit; their top priority is to strip women, and most notably, rape survivors of their reproductive rights.

You can also tweet at John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) as well as the 173 co-sponsors of the bill who are on Twitter by looking them up here. Remember, if you are engaging via Twitter, keep your inquiries and tweets directed at representatives productive without offending or insulting.

Contact Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Co-Sponsors of H.R. 3

The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act is sponsored by Chris Smith. He authored this bill and should rightfull know how the people whom this bill would effect feel about his position on stripping rape survivors and women of their reproductive rights. You can find his office mailing addresses, phone numbers and fax numbers here.

You can find the list of all 173 co-sponsors of this bill as well as information on how to contact them here.

Contact Your Representative

You have the undeniable right to contact your representative and voice your position on this bill. You can easily find out exactly who your representative is and what their contact information is here.

To quote Sady Doyle on contacting your rep:

Look that person up on Wikipedia, to get a sense of who they are, if you don’t already know. Then, CALL THEM. Be polite; be professional; do not threaten or use violent or abusive language under any circumstances. Explain to them that their constituents don’t support this bill, explain how and why it’s a bad bill, and let them know that if they support or fail to oppose this bill, they can expect that to impact them in a very bad way when it comes to the matter of keeping their jobs. We hired them; we can fire them. We want to flood them with calls, today and tomorrow. We need to stand up and be counted. And we can. But we need to make sure they don’t just see us talking on the Internet. We need to make sure they hear our voices, one by one by one.

When contacting your representative, it is very easy to become flustered, nervous and scatterbrained. Sady Doyle, the lifesaver of activism that she is, worked out a script she used when calling the short list of Democrats who have co-sponsored H.R. 3 and posted it for others to use. If your Representative is not a Democrat, this script is still a really good start to working out what, exactly you want to say.

Hi, I’d like to leave a comment for the Congressman in regards to a bill that was recently introduced.

[They’ll say okay: It’s their job to be open to comments from the public, remember.]

The bill is HR3, which is an extremist anti-choice measure that would strip rights from rape survivors and people who need abortions in an unprecedented way. Even under the Hyde amendment, there were exemptions for survivors of rape and incest, and they received federal funding; this strips that back by saying that only people who are “forcibly raped” will be covered. And 70% of rapes aren’t “forcible.” Not only that, but it makes it much harder for insurance companies to cover people who need abortions, regardless of why they need them, and it strengthens “conscience” restrictions, which means that doctors can refuse to provide reproductive medical care to anyone at any time, if they can claim that their conscience was involved. [Representative] is one of the very few Democrats who has co-sponsored this bill. I’m very disappointed in him. Most Democrats don’t support these extremist anti-choice restrictions, and most Democratic voters won’t be willing to overlook this when it comes to the polls. I’d appreciate it if you could pass that comment on to the Congressman.

[They’ll say yes.]

Great. Thank you so much for your time.

No one has the right to de-legitimize sexual assault survivors and H.R. 3 proposes to do just that. Make your voice heard.

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Infertility is a huge hurdle for a lot of women. In fact, one in eight couples of childbearing age experience fertility issues, making up about 7.3 million people in the United States alone. Regardless of the number of people infertility affects, it remains a reproductive health issue that still has a good amount of stigma attached to it and some, some of that stigma being internalized self-critique by the women affected by it. It is not uncommon for women to believe that there must be something wrong with them on a deeper level than just having a health issue when they are having trouble getting pregnant or experience a miscarriage. That is why it is so important for more people who are and have been affected by fertility issues to speak up about them and create a safe and encouraging dialog for others.

Giuliana and Bill Rancic are a couple who are very familiar with fertility issues. Giuliana, a news anchor for E! and Bill, an entrepreneur and The Apprentice season one winner, have been sharing their story of trying to get pregnant in intimate and explicit detail on their reality television show, Giuliana & Bill, which airs on Mondays at 8pm ET on the Style Network. The couple has also recently joined RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, a non-profit organization with the only established, nationwide network mandated to promote reproductive health, and Fertility LifeLines, a free and confidential educational resource that provides information and support to people with fertility health concerns. With these organizations, Giuliana and Bill Rancic have been speaking up about fertility issues, their own issues, and how to go about getting help, support, and treatment options.

Check out their recent PSA for RESOLVE and Fertility LifeLines below:

If you are under the age of 35 and have been trying to conceive for a year or more, or if you are over the age of 35 and have been trying for six months or more, it is important to see a fertility specialist as soon as possible. By seeing a fertility specialist now, you can potentially reduce the chance of more frustration later. You will also have the opportunity to get educated about fertility, get answers to your questions about fertility from a professional who knows what they’re talking about, and with your specialist, you can determine potential treatment options that have the best chance of working for you.

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In a new book, Womenopause: Stop Pausing and Start Living (O Books 2010), menopause experts Drs. Lovera W. Miller and David C. Miller claim that Menopausal Hormone Therapy can help reduce the risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, diabetes, and even depression.

While certainly the fear that women will become interested in Menopausal Hormone Therapy in order to remain looking young, very much in the same way that plastic surgery has become so popular among people of all ages and lifestyles. However, Dr. Lovera Miller warns that the “chief reason Menopausal Hormone Therapy is recommended is to maximize quality of life. It is never to be used as some nutty attempt to remain young or turn back the clock.”

The doctors utilized a new set of metrics by which to measure the health benefits of Menopausal Hormone Therapy and they explain that there are certain categories of women who should not use Menopausal Hormone Therapy, including women who have had or currently have breast cancer, liver disease, or a heart attack or stroke within the past 12 months. For women who are prime candidates to utilize Menopausal Hormone Therapy, the doctors discuss the numerous benefits it has to treat menopause symptoms, including:

• A reduced risk of developing depression and dementia
• Reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, diabetes, and colon cancer
• Bio-identical verses “BodyIdentical” hormone therapy
• Which nutritional supplements really work for menopause
• Stronger bones and muscles
• Improved sexual response

Womenopause: Stop Pausing and Start Living by Drs. Lovera W. Miller and David C. Miller is available at Amazon, as well at your local bookstore.

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Young people who want to take part in the Healthy Schools Challenge should pick some of their best friends and register their team on dosomething.org/HealthySchools and start a healthy living project at their school. By reporting back and sharing what they did to make their school a healthier place to be, the person who started their team could win a $1,000 scholarship for college as well as an awesome party for their school courtesy of Do Something.

Need some ideas for your own healthy living project? Young people are already hosting field days, getting health food vending machines put in their schools, hosting exercise experts at their schools, educating the community on where people can buy local organic food and starting organic gardens to be used in making healthy school lunches.

Do Something has some pointers for young people interested in the Healthy Schools Challenge, so head on over and get started today.

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If you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering what you can do to stay healthy when everything you read about health revolves around diet and exercise. Well, here are five things you can do to keep yourself revitalized and refreshed.

Sleep

Lack of sleep can do a lot more harm than a lot of people may be aware of; it can cause weight gain, it may shrink your brain and it can also put you at risk for developing heart disease. Getting enough sleep keeps you on track during the day and increases athletic performance.

Unplug

I know just as well as any other self-respecting computer addict that there is definitely a time to unplug yourself from the internet. It’s addicting, it’s time-consuming and it often takes up more time than you mean it to, which can cause you to skip getting the physical benefits of going outside and giving yourself some fresh air.

Sex

There are many, many benefits to responsible, safe, consensual sex; it boosts immunity, strengthens your pelvic floor muscles and reduces your risk of heart disease. Even not going all the way can be beneficial–the simple act of holding hands with someone reduces stress levels.

Get Centered

Meditating is a super easy way to alleviate stress and best of all, it’s totally free and you can do it anywhere, whenever you have the time.

Socialize

Maintaining good friendships is key to healthy living. Research has actually shown that good social relationships may help you live longer while poor social relationships were found to be more harmful than not exercising.

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When you have a migraine, it’s easy to think there’s nothing you can do to treat it. They don’t simply go away after taking a painkiller like a headache does, but there are a few things you should know about migraines that can save you from experiencing them as often.

First, let’s discuss why migraines happen. When you know why a migraine is coming on and what type of environment or activities you’re doing that trigger migraines, the easier it will be to stay away from those things, or at least limit your exposure.

Migraine attacks may be triggered by:

• Allergic reactions
• Bright lights, loud noises and certain odors or perfumes
• Physical or emotional stress
• Changes in sleep patterns
• Smoking or exposure to smoke
• Skipping meals
• Alcohol
• Menstrual cycle fluctuations, birth control pills, hormone fluctuations during the menopause transition
• Tension headaches
• Foods containing tyramine, MSG or nitrates
• Long exposure to light from computer screen, video screens and television

There are certain foods you can incorporate into your diet or increase the amount of times they show up on your plate that will help fight migraines.

Millet

Millet is one of many whole grains that are part of a healthy, migraine-free life, and it contains magnesium, which kicks migraines to the curb.

Coffee

When it comes to coffee, it’s a love/hate relationship. Caffeine can give you migraine relief and is a major ingredient in many headache medications, but when you drink it excessively, it can actually cause migraines. Moderation is key!

Flaxseed

An Anti-inflammatory diet is beneficial to preventing migraines, so flaxseeds, with their omega-3s and fiber to boot, are your new food friend.

Fish

Also packed with omega-3s, fish should be your go-to protein choice, and is much better for headache prevention than processed meats.

Spinach

Vitamin b2 is known to help in the battle against the migraine, so make like Popeye and load up on your spinach.

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The New York City Health Department has recently developed three anti-smoking signs displaying a decaying tooth, diseased lungs and a damaged brain that depict the harmful effects smoking can have on the body. These ads will also have messages such as “smoking causes tooth decay” along with the number of a city helpline that will aid people in quitting smoking. It will also be mandated by the state that one of these ads are shown wherever cigarettes are sold and if they aren’t, New York cigarette retailers will face a $2,000 fine.

These signs are a first of their kind in the U.S., with New York being the only state to have gone so far to spread the word of the harmful effects of smoking and how to quit. But some people don’t agree with the signs and even think that they are unlawful–big tobacco companies for one.

Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Tobacco Company, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., along with two major retail trade groups and two convenience stores have filed a lawsuit in Manhattan Federal Court against New York City.

The lawsuit was filed last Wednesday and reads, “The government may not force private parties to carry messages beyond purely uncontroversial factual statements that are designed to prevent consumer deception. … The signs … do not describe the risks of smoking in purely factual terms. Instead, the signs force tobacco manufacturers and retailers to community vivid images at the point of sale.”

While what the lawsuit states may seem like a case of semantics, it goes further, saying that federal anti-smoking rules prevent local governments from interfering with cigarette advertising, making this new mandated imagery is considered unlawful by the same people who are trying to push these images into the shops and stores of all tobacco retailers.

But the government in New York are adamant on stopping people from continuing to smoke and are doing everything they can to make New York completely tobacco-free.

Elizabeth Thomas, the spokesperson for the New York City Law Department said, “We are confident that the health code provisions being challenged will withstand legal scrutiny.”

So what do you think? Is the New York City Department of Health not only free to, but also held to a standard where they should be interfering with tobacco sales and doing everything they can to warn potential customers of the harmful effects tobacco can have on your body? Or are they looking for an ideal smoke-free New York and trying to make sure it happens at all costs–even at the hands of doing something considered unlawful?

Keep in mind that tobacco customers are warned of the harmful effects of smoking each and every single time they purchase a pack of cigarettes. Every pack of cigarettes sold in this country contains the Surgeon General’s Warning on the side of the pack with a fact about the harmful effects of cigarettes, such as, “cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide.” It seems that what New York City is doing is trying to add imagery to the warnings people receive, knowing that people react far more drastically when susceptible to imagery than just words.

When all is said and done, I think people who smoke will continue to do so until they feel they are ready to quit or come to the decision to quit on their own. As the high failure rate of people who try to quit smoking tells us, people can only truly kick the habit when it is their own decision that they came up with on their own and for the betterment of their own lives. Tobacco customers right now know that each pack of cigarettes contains a Surgeon General’s Warning, but they choose not to even acknowledge its presence.

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In my (most humble) opinion, PETA is merely using scare tactics (or “kicking a guy when he’s down,” in a matter of speaking) in order to get people to pay attention. Sadly, their ‘punch in the gut’ tactics have worked, which is why we’re still seeing ads from them popping up again and again, all of them skirting right on by questionable and pushing up against insulting and this ad in particular, if you took PETA’s logo off of it, it could have been an ad for how to buy Viagra online.

There is absolutely no proof to be seen that supports their accusation that cow’s milk causes impotence and because so many of their ads and promotional techniques have been brought to question by several different reputable resources over the years, there are a great number of people who see them for who they truly are. People who are vegetarian and vegan and who would support PETA, had it not been for their “shock jock” nature, have seen through them for years and by using these types of marketing techniques and creating health risks that have no factual data supporting it to put on billboards, flyers and other marketing materials, they are alienating the same people who would otherwise support them and their cause.

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We are all guilty of thinking and saying stuff like this–to our family members, to our friends and even to ourselves. We are all guilty of self-criticism when we look in the mirror and notice that the skirt that fit us perfectly and hugged our hips in all the right places last season but doesn’t go past our thighs this season. We have all thought we were too fat, we have all dieted in hopes of becoming skinnier, more attractive, the “thin ideal.”

Women have more pressure than ever right now to look attractive, to dazzle with our appearance, to wear all the right fashions and to strive to look like the women who grace the covers of magazines. This is especially true of younger women and teens who obsess over this thin ideal and who will stop at nothing to attain it. These thoughts that so often enter our brains and things people tell us, whether we have gained weight and they ask if we are under stress because of it or if we lose weight and we’re told how great we look because we shed five or ten or fifteen pounds. While we’ve undoubtedly thought this was normal, it actually has a very damaging impact on women. That is why Tri Delta has launched a five-day body activism campaign, Fat Talk Free Week.

Fat Talk Free Week (October 19th-23rd) draws attention to body image issues and the damaging impact of the thin ideal on women in society. This annual public awareness effort stemmed from Tri Delta’s award-winning body image education and eating disorders prevention program, Reflections: Body Image Program.

The supermodels and people we see on the covers of magazines are thinner than 98% of women and a great percentage of these women think that they too can look just like what they see on these magazine covers and on television and in movies, but often we see, especially on magazine covers, is an airbrushed and heavily-photoshopped appearance of that person. Not even the person being put on the pedestal of ideal weight and beauty looks like that! Tri-Delta is in pursuit of the healthy ideal, which has absolutely no bearing on our weight or size. The healthy ideal is all about our physical health, mental health and our quality of life and that is what truly matters. Tri Delta’s initiative this past week has been about eliminating fat talk and they believe that by eliminating fat talk, we can begin to change the way women think about their bodies and accept their bodies just the way they are because if you’re healthy, then why does anything else matter? Why do we care so much about the size that sits on the tags of our clothing or how other women and men may look at us and what they may think if they see us in a swimsuit or a form-fitting top or a short skirt.

Can you believe…

• 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.
• 51% of 9 and 10 year old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet.
• Research has shown that very young girls, ages 5-7 who are exposed to Barbie, the best-selling fashion doll in the world who has unattainable and unhealthy body proportions and who if was a real person, would be too thin to menstruate, have lower body esteem and want a thinner body than they have.
• As many as 10 million females are suffering from anorexia or bulimia. That’s more than are suffering from breast cancer.

Because it is the last day of Fat Talk Free Week, do something good for yourself today. Choose one friend or family member and discuss one thing you each like about yourself. Or start a journal of all the good things your body allows you to do. Learn how to take a compliment! The next time someone gives you a compliment, rather than objecting and saying something like “No, I’m so fat,” practice taking a deep breath and saying “Thank you.”

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While I am normally all over politics and current events, I have been staying away from my usual news channels and publications because of the big debate that has taken over the news outlets as of late–health care reform. As you can tell from the opinion pieces that have appeared in our politics category, there is always an opinion to be had when it comes to legislation that has the power to change the lives of the people in this country.

I recently published an opinion piece of health care reform on my personal and feminist/political website, Menstrual Poetry that highlighted not only why health care reform is so important to the low-income people of this country, but also put my own personal perspective on the issue since I am currently in the middle of trying to get the health and dental care that I desperately need, which is also why I have not had the time that I have had in the past to dedicate to Woman Tribune.

I have a dental condition called Periodontal Disease that has given me a great deal of problems. Over the past few years however, my dental condition has worsened and of course, my wisdom teeth have decided that now would be the perfect time to sprout up. Apparently they did not receive the memo that I already have crowded teeth because my mouth has already produced too many teeth to fit so there is no way four additional, massive teeth are going to fit in there. But up they sprouted anyway. My wisdom teeth have been making their way into my mouth, desperate to be my best friends, for over two years now and throughout the entire time, I have spoken, saw, consulted with, and have downright pleaded with dentists to do something to help me, but to no avail. These past few years have been hell for me because my dental condition has continued to worsen, my teeth are beginning to decay regardless of how well I take care of them, and my wisdom teeth (that are coming in already pre-decayed for me) are causing me to be in constant, unrelenting pain. They are forcing pressure against all of the teeth in my mouth, causing my mouth and face to swell up and is also the source of a constant migraine headache. The pressure they are putting on my head has gotten so bad that I have woken up several times barely being able to hear and I woke up just this morning with what I am assuming is an ear infection from hell and a swollen throat.

I hardly get any good sleep where I actually wake up rested; often I wake up after 15 hours of sleeping and I am still tired. But I know that it is not me being tired, it is me being in so much pain that the only thing that my body will do is shut down.

So why, in over two years, have I not had these teeth pulled? Why am I blogging about mind-numbing pain instead of getting something done about it?

I don’t have insurance. No dental insurance, which would have helped with preventative dental work so I wouldn’t be in this position right now. No health insurance, which is what I am in need of now that my dental condition has become so bad that it is directly affecting my health. And because I don’t have insurance, I do not matter.

Dentists are only willing to do work if they know that they are getting paid, so when you call a dentist’s office to inquire about sliding scale fee options or payment plans and realize the kind of money you need in order to even get started on the process is more money than you have seen in quite a while–combined–well then you have a problem. When it comes to the uninsured, money is always the problem. Hell, money is quite often just a problem–to those who don’t have boatloads of it. While on my quest to get the dental work I need done, I have applied for medical assistance–and was promptly denied. I am still flabbergasted as to how I could be denied since my income is hilarious! Nevertheless, I have been wafting in a sea of denial and have realized that there is way too much wiggle room in the system for people, like me, who get denied for medical assistance yet can only dream of being able to afford private health insurance; especially if you work from home, like I do.

Everywhere you look in the media right now you are hearing about health care reform. Right wing extremists have dubbed it “Obamacare” and Republicans have been doing all they can to knock a public option for health care off the table. The message of their efforts is simple–All people do not deserve the right to a healthy life; just the privileged people who can afford it do. This belief has never sat very well with me. As Americans we are told that we must love our country; that we must stand by our country, fight for our country, and die for our country if we must–and we should be proud to do it. So why is it incomprehensible to think that our country should ensure that we are a healthy nation? The health care reform legislation is not trying to change anyone’s existent health insurance programs, it is merely giving people like me, who cannot afford private health insurance yet are denied for medical assistance by their state, a chance at a healthy life. It seems ludicrous to me to discriminate against people who are ill and who are low income, yet the government is allowing that discrimination to occur within the Republican and “Blue Dog” affiliations. This country will inevitably always be comprised of the have’s and the have not’s, but access to health care that people so desperately need should never be lumped into those categories. Health care reform is about people. It isn’t politics; it is something that will make it easier for people to get the care that they need in order to live. And I can attest first hand that living in pain and living with a condition that no one can or wants to help you with is not living, it is existing and barely at that.

As for me, I have finally found a sliding scale clinic that gave me a consultation for the dental work that I need done. They also gave me a referral to an oral surgeon who, of course, does not have a sliding scale option and I’m just going to assume, not very fond of the poor people. On August 25 I will go in for yet another consultation, this time with the oral surgeon to schedule getting five teeth extracted–all 4 wisdom teeth and another tooth that has pretty much decayed and that has been giving me many problems, including not being able to put anything remotely cold into my mouth because it makes it feel like my entire mouth is being attacked by super tiny ninjas with huge, sharp swords.

This is merely my personal experience within the failed health care industry right now and while I have been forced to live with incredible pain every day, there are life and death situations out there and people in those situations are suffering every day of their lives within a system that does not care about them or their well-being. Health care reform is about people and people’s lives and it’s high time that we see politicians and people look at this situation with compassion and not merely with a political agenda.

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Vitamins are so important for your body because chances are, the foods you eat are not giving you all of the vitamins your body needs every single day to be the healthiest it can be. Taking vitamins can benefit you and your body in a multitude of different ways; they can dramatically boost your immune system, which is great if you’re susceptible to illness and colds; and if you find yourself coming down with colds or getting the flu often, it’s probably because you’re not giving your body the vitamins it needs to ward off illness.

Vitamins can also prevent premature disease and aging; if you’re one of those women who find their medicine cabinets full of cold creams and anti-wrinkle serums, multivitamins and minerals could have very much the same impact on your skin. In fact, vitamins not only help your skin, but they also give you healthier hair and nails and can control heartburn and allergies.

When searching for the right vitamins, we scoured the internet, compared ingredients and labels and found the vitamins that appealed to us personally. I am a huge believer in separate vitamins for both men and women because as we get older, our bodies start working in completely different ways; what a man’s body needs and what a woman’s body needs are not the same. So I began taking women’s vitamins; one of the best women’s vitamins on the market right now is actually Centrum multivitamins because they support breast and bone health, gives you that healthy skin, hair, and nails, and they are specially formulated with key nutrients to help meet a woman’s nutritional needs.

After just a few days of taking daily vitamins I began notice that I was a lot more focused than I had been before. I completed tasks more efficiently and I was able to maintain that sense of focus for longer periods of time. Generally, I was just a happier person; I felt energetic and upbeat and that really started making me perform better with not just my career, but in my life. I don’t find myself feeling lethargic as often as I used to and that’s amazing to me. Every woman should be taking daily multivitamins; even if you are active every day and feel as if you’re the picture of health; vitamins are made to help you give your body what it needs.

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All you have to do is write an article related to health, fitness, or nutrition and submit it to Health Fitness How To. All article submissions will be judged on content quality, the average number of daily visitors your article attracts, an if you have linked back to Health Fitness How To on your own website or blog. Make sure to review the article submission terms before submitting your article to the contest, otherwise it may be rejected and that wouldn’t be good, especially since you’ve taken all that time to write a high-quality, expert article and all.

So, what kind of articles are Health Fitness How To looking for? According to them, they like “How To” articles the most (please note the name of their website!), since they tend to attract more readers. Your article can be in whatever format you like, but if you’re having trouble coming up with a topic, a “Tips” or “How To” article is a good place to start. As with any article you write, try to make your article as specific and focused as possible. Peopel don’t usually seatch for general health tips; people are focused and zero in on the information they want to know about. If you’re out of ideas for health, fitness, or nutrition articles, that’s okay! Just check out the Health Fitness How To article directory and review their extensive list of categories. I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something that will wow the webmasters!

Because your chances of winning the contest are judged on how many visitors you bring to your particular article daily, here are some great article promotion tips. To promote your article, you should definitely submit your article to social networking and media sites that a great deal of people utilize on a daily basis: StumbleUpon, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Propeller, Mixx, etc.

You are allowed to submit more than one article; each article is considered a single entry for the contest!

This contest ends on Friday, July 10, 2009 and a winner will be announced on Monday, July 20th, 2009; they will also be contacted directly to arrange payment.

Have fun all you health writers and good luck!

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Fake drug and food quality scandals are plaguing the country and this specific ban went into effect after numerous scandals broke out over the past two months regarding the health of Chinese people in several provinces due to fake drugs marketed by non-professional medicinal personnel.

A Chinese internet user late last month exposed 12 fake “experts” selling medicine under various disguises and named on television stations in Shandong province which sparked an online uproar over false endorsements. Earlier this month Chinese police arrested at least five people in connection with a fake diabetic drug linked to the deaths of at least two people and sold to thousands of patrons in several provinces. China has also sentenced two men to death for their role in making and selling milk tainted with melamine (an industrial compound) where at least six children died and nearly 300,000 people fell ill after drinking toxic dairy products last year.

The specifics of China’s new ban includes that non-accredited personnel would be banned from such advertisements and other health programs carried on television and further breaches would see advertisers and companies’ advertising licenses revoked and “temporary suspensions of sales for their medicinal products.”

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Whether you’ve already been hit with the flu or not, it is important to get nutritious flu-fighting foods in your system. Whether you’re fighting the flu or warding against it, no one is safe from getting the flu, especially if you work in an office or retail environment or have children who are mingling with other children and teachers at school or for play who they can get sick from. Get these foods in your family’s diet!

• Red Bell Peppers

Red bell peppers have twice the amount of Vitamin C as an orange, believe it or not, and Vitamin C is an essential vitamin your body needs to fight off the flu. Vitamin C can decrease the duration of a cold by 80% as well as the severity of the symptoms, such as the sniffles and cough.

Red bell peppers go great in spaghetti sauce or chopped up in omeletes or on sandwiches. You can also put them on pizza!

• Yogurt

Yogurt contains probiotics. Don’t worry, it’s a good thing! Probiotics are the good bacteria that lines our intestines and defends our bodies against germs. It is important to buy plain yogurt instead of yogurt with added sugar and fruit-flavored versions because it contains fewer calories and more nutrients your body will thank you for. If you want want to sweeten up your yogurt, try adding a teaspoon of honey, which is also an immune booster.

• Green Tea

Green tea contains epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is an immune-boosting chemical. To get the most health benefits from it, steep tea in boiling water for about 4 minutes. If you don’t like green tea on its own, try adding fresh ginger, fresh mint leaves, a twist of orange peel, or a cinnamon stick. It is also important to make sure to drink at least 3 cups of green tea per day to keep your immune system up.

• Almonds

Almonds are a great source of vitamin E which is a disease-fighting antioxidant. You should eat around 24 almonds (1 ounce) per day. You can eat them as a snack, put chopped almonds in oatmeal, salads, stir-fries or anything else you can think of; get creative!

• Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes are an immune-enhancing food due to their beta carotene content which is also the vitamin that gives sweet potatoes their orange pigment. This vitamin is converted into vitamin A in the body. Vitamin A is helpful in the treatment of respiratory infections.

• Chicken Soup

Ah, the most cliche soup on the planet. But it isn’t just a myth that chicken soup is so good for you; chicken soup has mild anti-inflammatory properties which prevents colds and flu by decreasing mucus production and throat swelling and irritation. For your next chicken soup recipe, be sure to include the following ingredients: chicken, onion, sweet potato, turnips, parsnips, carrots, celery and parsley and there you have it, your perfect flu-fighting food!

• Garlic

Regular garlic consumption may make us 2.5 times less likely to get sick this season. The sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to kill viruses. Fresh garlic has more immune-boosting potential than cooked, so add a clove of fresh garlic at the end of cooking your dish.

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One very important method of neutralizing these harmful effects is to maintain an ultimate level of health and fitness to ensure your well-being is always up to par, no matter what is happening in the environment around you… It’s about creating a truly healthy lifestyle and maintaining positive attitude!

A lot of people today confuse our SELF Worth with our NET Worth. This could not be further from the truth! It is not the same thing.

Ben from Ya-ttitude writes:

“Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”

It is just an incredible quote. From every mistake, every heartache, every supposed disaster and imagined setback, you will find in it the key, the ingredients, the information you need to go forward and be better than you are, better than you could have ever imagined you could be. It is a quote I try to live by and one I try to instill in everyone I work with. There are no defeats, just defeatists, and once you figure out that all you did with that mistake is learn how to do it the right way next time, you will realize just how much you can learn and be better from those errors. We all make them, understand how to use them for your advantage!

Napoleon Hill is also the owner of one of the quotes I just love. Someone once said that “if life hands you lemons you should make lemonade.” I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands of people, who can be credited with that one, but Napoleon Hill did it his way and I am Para-phrasing.

“When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Then open a lemonade stand and sell it to all the people who are throwing the lemons at you!”

Darn Brilliant!

Timing is everything. When you least expect it, something or someone shows up to put just the right words together for you–the ones you needed to hear–needed to remember. A friend of a friend passed this message on to me today. The process again validates how much we have to share with one another if we are willing and open to receive each other’s wisdom:

“Go forward with steps that never leave any trace. Accept everything that confronts you with a positive attitude… Just make sure you aren’t trying to avoid the things that are coming, and don’t try to cling to the things that are leaving. Become a brave person who is never stained by anything or attached to anything. Become a true human being, a person who is both the most normal and the most extraordinary.”

~Excerpt from No River to Cross
by Zen Master Dae Haeng

Here’s a few more valuable tips from leading experts; Jean Chatzky talks about her tips for dealing with stress, which she sums up with this easy-to-remember acronym:

A.C.E. Your Life:

Awareness: Before you can tackle stress, understand what is causing you grief and what gives you joy. Jot down which people, places and things give you energy and make you smile, Dr. Hall says. Then, document the things that bring you down. Communicate your findings with family members and encourage them to do the same to build mutual support and understanding, she says.

Choice: After you’ve taken stock of the major sources of stress in your life, know that you have the power of choice, Dr. Hall says. Ask yourself “What can I get rid of?” “What do I need to focus on?” and “How can I build my life around what gives me life?” Learn to say no, set boundaries and give yourself permission to get rid of the negative aspects of your life,” she says.

Energy: Stress can wear away at health and happiness, so it’s important to break the negative cycle of stress with more positive energy, Dr. Hall says. The key is to take baby steps. “Change one little thing—do something more about what you love, and in a week, notice the change in your energy and your experience,” she says. “What that does is it gives you courage to take a bigger step.”

Foods That Help Relieve Stress by Bob Greene:

Stress-Reducing Foods:

Foods rich in vitamin B: These include clams, lentils, chickpeas and quinoa. Foods high in vitamin B have a calming effect on the body, helping to melt away feelings of stress and anxiety and enhance your mood.

Papayas: Fruits and vegetables with orange and yellow pigments are generally going to contribute vitamins A and C, as well as folate, which helps enhance the mood, Dr. Ro says.

Red bell peppers: These contain vitamins A and C and folate, which help give you more energy and repair cell damage caused by stress.

Basil and arugula: These stress-reducing herbs are a great source of folate and add great flavor to healthy dishes.

Sunflower seeds: These contain vitamin E and folate to enhance your mood.

Foods to Avoid:

Caffeinated beverages: Caffeine can cause anxiety and raise stress hormone levels, Dr. Ro says.

Trans fatty acids: Found in sweets like cakes, pies and cookies, trans fats compromise the immune system, which causes more stress on the body and also increases your risk for heart disease.

Sugar: Sugar causes spikes in blood sugar levels, which robs your adrenal glands of their ability to control stress hormones and protect the body against stress.

Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption adds more sugar to your diet and, again, is harmful to the adrenal glands, which protect you against stress. “You might want to put the cork back in the Burgundy [when you are under stress],” Dr. Ro says.

Another important thing…

Sleep: When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces extra stress hormones, making you more vulnerable to stress. But too much sleep can also cause problems. The key is to get balanced sleep, which for most people means, on average, about eight hours a night.

With our busy schedules, we often don’t take the time to attend to the regular maintenance of our bodies. The next time you realize that you are feeling scattered and overwhelmed, take a moment to just breathe and notice the sensation.

Live passionately… what else have you got to do?

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Christine is a certified life coach for women. She is the founder of Girltime Coaching and also writes her blog, Live Passionately.

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In the most blatant of terms, SCHIP provides health insurance to children of families who are stuck in the middle–Not poor enough to be considered for federal insurance, but too poor to even think of the possibility of purchasing insurance from private and major companies. It has been an unfortunate situation, to say the least, to exist in the middle of the spectrum as far as income goes, so often putting families in damned if you do, damned if you don’t positions.

According to the New York Times, the SCHIP Expansion Bill is a version of the same bill that was vetoed twice by ex-President Bush.

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