The Amazing, True Cost of Smoking

Contrary to what many may think, smoking is much more expensive than it is advertised. In fact, it's estimated that actual costs of smoking total nearly $40 a pack.

This estimation includes all the factors associated with smoking, not just merely the cost of one pack of cigarettes.

Researchers have broken down these factors by cost:

• $33 a pack for the cost of early deaths, smoking-related disabilities and other factors (which includes $20.28 a pack due to reduced life expectancy)
• $5.44 a pack for the cost of the effect of secondhand smoke on significant others
• $1.44 a pack for the cost of the effect of secondhand smoke on the society as a whole

At approximately $40 for every pack, the total cost over one smoker's lifetime equals nearly $171,000.

In past studies, researchers only calculated medical and secondhand smoke costs. However, in this study researchers tried to take into account the entire range of lifetime costs.

The total was calculated using lifetime costs acquired by men and women who smoke at age 24. Researchers also estimated that many of these people would eventually quit.

By smoking one pack of cigarettes:

• A smoker's life is cut short by two hours
• Men lose a total of 4.4 years of their life
• Women lose a total of 2.4 years of their life

Interesting enough, many smokers are less afraid of dying than they are of acquiring a disabling disease such as emphysema.

Though smokers don't spend much more time with a major disabling condition, they do become disabled sooner, resulting in a sooner death.
Chicago Sun-Times October 18, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Although many of you who read my daily blogs and twice-weekly newsletter don't smoke, chances are you probably know a loved one who does. That is why it is equally important for you to understand that cutting back smoking to just one cigarette a day does ALMOST NOTHING to a smoker's risk of cancer.

The only way to completely prevent cancer caused by smoking is through abstinence. However, it obviously is wise to not smoke -- but if one decides to stop smoking the best route is cold turkey and not gradual reduction.

Smokers frequently use cigarettes as a form of emotional support. Therefore, I highly recommend the new brain wave entrainment therapy, Insight and Focus Audio CDs, which I have to offer on my site. It is really inexpensive and is a marvelous tool to help people address their addictive tendencies.

As many of you may also know, I believe eating sugar is worse for you than smoking. As with smoking, it is possible to be addicted to sugar.

To help smokers, or sugar addicts, successfully quit and maintain a healthy diet, I found a wonderful tool that is at your disposal. Psychological acupressure techniques like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) are a great way to get on the road to better health.

EFT uses simple tapping with the fingertips to input kinetic energy onto specific meridians on the head and chest while you think about your specific problem. Voice positive affirmations are also incorporated into this technique.

Whether you suffer from a traumatic event, an addiction, disease or pain, energy psychology tools are an amazing tool to quickly, efficiently and effectively solve the problem.

These tools were developed in psychology, not medicine and most clinicians that practice this have psych training. EFT will guide you through it.

Dy Joseph Mercola, DO

Acupuncture 'Beats Headache Pain'

Researchers have found acupuncture to be a useful, inexpensive and effective form of treatment for people who suffer from chronic or migraine headaches.

Studies have shown acupuncture to work better than conventional treatments alone and result in fewer headaches. Participants of the study included 401 patients from England and Wales who suffered from several headaches each week.

One group received acupuncture plus standard treatment and the other received normal therapy alone. The patients who received acupuncture plus standard treatment were administered 12 treatments over the course of three months.

Results of the study concluded the patients receiving acupuncture experienced 22 fewer days of headaches per year, took 15 percent less medication and saw their doctors 25 percent less than the other group.

Also, acupuncture decreased the severity and frequency of headaches in those who experienced severe headaches.

Acupuncture treatment involves the insertion of extremely fine needles into the skin at precise points in the body. It has been shown to help with nausea and pain and has been known to help women undergoing fertility treatments to conceive.

British Medical Journal March 15, 2004 (Free Full-Text Article)

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Headaches are so common that the United States forks out over $1 billion every year to get relief from migraines. This is just the cost for treatment and doesn’t include costs lost due to the result of the debilitating effects such as lost workdays and reduced employee productivity.

It never ceases to amaze me how effective the nutrition plan is at controlling the vast majority of headaches, especially severe migraines.

In my experience, over 75 percent of people show remarkable improvement with their headaches once they modify their diet and begin following the plan.

The wonderful thing is the headache relief comes quickly, usually occurring in the first couple of days. This is especially comforting information for those suffering from migraines who want instant relief, the sooner the better.

The nutrition plan virtually eliminates all common food-related causes of headaches. Perhaps the most important one is the major challenges that most people have with insulin shifts. This rapidly resolves once grains and sugars are removed from the diet.

It is important to remember when first starting the program to eat every two hours while you are awake, otherwise you may risk the chance of worse headaches due to hypoglycemic episodes.

Psychological acupuncture approaches are also incredibly effective in treating headaches and I recommend this free manual to introduce you to the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which involves tapping on specific energy meridians and has been incredibly successful in providing permanent relief to many of my patients.

This technique is similar to acupuncture in that it deals with your body’s energy meridians, however is less invasive since it doesn’t involve the use of needles and for mild conditions can be performed without going to see a practitioner.

The importance of emotional health is often overlooked and I can’t express how critical it is to maintaining your physical health.

By Joseph Mercola, DO

Five Simple Strategies to Reduce Stress and Eliminate Exhaustion

Do you often feel tired and stressed out? You're not alone. One of the most common problems I hear from patients is that they felt fatigued, anxious or depressed. And they often have trouble sleeping -- even though they are exhausted.

Most of them share a common underlying theme -- adrenal burnout. It's the result of racing through life with a constantly aroused sympathetic ("fight or flight") nervous system.

In the heightened nervous state of adrenal burnout, the body overproduces adrenaline, cortisol and other stress hormones.

Eventually, this causes the adrenal glands, the front line in the stress reaction, to show wear and tear and become depleted. This frequently leads to an impairment in the thyroid gland, which can cause a further decline in energy level and mood and is one of the reasons why so many women have thyroid glands that don't work well.

Fortunately, you can help reverse this problem by making a few simple lifestyle changes:

Eat steadily, all day long. Skipping meals is one of the worst things you can do for your body.

When you're hungry, your blood sugar drops, stressing your adrenal glands and triggering your sympathetic nervous system. That causes light-headedness, cravings, anxiety and fatigue.

Skipping breakfast is particularly bad, as it is a sure fire way to gain, not lose, weight.

If you start each morning with a good breakfast and "graze" healthfully every two to four hours, your "metabolic flame" will burn evenly all day and your blood sugar won't take any sharp dips. You'll feel more rested and energetic.

Another drawback to skipping meals: The resulting low blood sugar can slow the speed at which you process information and shorten your attention span.

Eat More Raw Uncooked Food. Stopping at MacDonald's for breakfast is the way most American's eat breakfast, but this will not allow you to receive the maximum energy that uncooked food stores.

Raw eggs may take some getting used to, but they are an inexpensive way to increase the amount of uncooked protein and fat in your diet. And forget the myths of their great risk: the risk of salmonella from raw eggs is only 1 in 30,000, and even that risk can be greatly avoided by carefully examining the eggs prior to eating them.

Use Psychological Acupressure Techniques to Lower Your Stress.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a powerful but easy technique for quickly resolving emotional distress. It can even relieve physical complaints such as chronic pain, allergic symptoms, and much more. Not only does it do this quickly, but it works without forcing yourself or the recipient to repeatedly re-experience the negative emotional state. This treatment is generally permanent, relatively easy to apply, boasts a higher than 80% success rate and is free of negative side effects.
See the free 25 page free manual on EFT that provides an overview and clear instructions on how you can use this valuable tool to:

• Remove Negative Emotions
• Reduce Food Cravings
• Reduce or Eliminate Pain
• Implement Positive Goals
• Pay off your sleep debt.

During sleep your adrenal glands are restored and repaired. Unfortunately, most of us place little value on sleep, and end up getting less than we need, night after night. Result: Your adrenal glands stay depleted.

The average person needs six to eight hours of sleep each night. Sleeping under six hours will actually accelerate aging and increase your risk of diabetes. If you feel as if you're dragging, you need the full eight hours of sleep..

For better sleep:

Avoid before-bed snacks, particularly grains and sugars. This will raise blood sugar and inhibit sleep. Later, when blood sugar drops too low (hypoglycemia), you might wake up and not be able to fall back asleep.

Sleep in complete darkness or as close as possible. When light hits the eyes, it disrupts the circadian rhythm of the pineal gland and production of melatonin and seratonin. There also should be as little light in the bathroom as possible if you get up in the middle of the night.

No TV right before bed. Even better, get the TV out of the bedroom or even out of the house, completely. It is too stimulating to the brain and it will take longer to fall asleep. Also disruptive of pineal gland function for the same reason as above.

Wear socks to bed. Due to the fact that they have the poorest circulation, the feet often feel cold before the rest of the body. A study has shown that this reduces night wakings.

Read something spiritual or religious. This will help to relax. Don't read anything stimulating, such as a mystery or suspense novel, as this may have the opposite effect. In addition, if you are really enjoying a suspenseful book, you might wind up unintentionally reading for hours, instead of going to sleep.

Avoid using loud alarm clocks. It is very stressful on the body to be awoken suddenly. If you are regularly getting enough sleep, they should be unnecessary. I gave up my alarm clock five years ago and use a dawn simulator which works by with an alarm to a dimmer switch that gradually turns the light on to full intensity over 45 minutes. I just love it as it is so gentle and if

I need more sleep, I get it without being startled or disrupting my adrenals. Almost like a real dawn.
Other strategies for excellent sleeping can be found on my site.

Avoid energy-zappers. A variety of toxins in food and the environment contribute to a heightened adrenal response:...

Consider Vegetable Juicing for Breakfast.

One of the most common questions people ask me is "What am I supposed to eat for breakfast?" This is because most American breakfasts are a prescription for health disaster. So I developed a green vegetable juicing recipe that seems to help most of my patients regain their energy.

Sugar. When you eat sugar in any form, it throws your blood sugar out of balance, activating your sympathetic nervous system and causing a variety of other severely disrupting actions to your body.

Household and self-care products. The vast majority of chemicals found in pesticides and other products, undergo little or no testing for chronic, low level exposures and for chronic health effects.

Virtually all household products are now available in natural, nontoxic formulations. Purge your cupboards and medicine chest of chemical-based cleaning products, air fresheners, gardening supplies, shampoos, soaps and deodorants, and find non-chemical alternatives.

In the place of chemical cleaning products, I highly recommend the PerfectClean line of cleaning tools, like the PerfectClean terry cloths and dusters. Due to their ultra-microfiber construction, you can use them with only water (so you eliminate the need for cleaning your home with chemicals) and they clean at a deeper level than any other product you could find out there.

Start by making just a few of the changes defined in the five sections above. You will begin to see major improvements within days. Build on your energy levels and relaxed stress by incorporating more of the changes as you go along, and your adrenal burnout will soon be a distant memory.

By Joseph Mercola, DO

Are Exercise and Diet Equally Important?

The United States is in the midst of an enormous public health crisis:

More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight, one-third of who suffer from obesity.

Contrary to popular belief, being thin does not necessarily mean one is healthy. And, while regular exercise can balance some of the harmful health consequences of being overweight, it certainly cannot remove them entirely.

That is why, according to a study, weight and activity levels are powerful predictors of living a long life; the healthiest people are those who are both thin and physically active.

Researchers conducted studies involving female nurses in order to determine the affect of both exercise and weight on health.

Fit vs. Fat Findings

Women who were obese and inactive had a 2.5 times higher mortality rate than women who were lean and active

Those women who were active (despite being obese) were twice as likely to die a premature death than those who were lean and active

Lean women who exercised under 3.5 hours a week increased their risk of premature death by 55 percent, compared to those women who worked out more often

Obese women who worked out for at least 3.5 hours a week experienced a death rate that was 91 percent higher than lean women who exercised similarly

The premature death rate was 142 times greater for obese, inactive women

While physical activity does help improve health, excess weight can carry a number of significant health risks. Being obese triples the risk of heart disease, as well as produces a tenfold increase in the chance of developing diabetes.
The Ledger December 23, 2004
ABC News December 22, 2004

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

You may remember the results of a study I posted earlier this fall that found fitness may play a greater role in heart health than what you weigh. However, I believe exercise and nutrition go hand-in-hand. There is no doubt that both physical activity and a proper diet can

• Help treat health problems
• Lower your risk for diseases
• Help you live a long life full of energy and passion

With that said, one of the most important factors in helping you achieve good health is to have a diet based on eating the right foods for your specific genetic and biochemistry. One of the ways you can determine this is through metabolic typing.

Discovering your metabolic type is simple: You can take my free online test or you can read my book, TOTAL HEALTH Program for a more in-depth understanding.

Remember, the foods that may be healthy for others are not necessarily healthy for you, and vice-versa. Thus, eating according to your specific type is the proven way to ascertain which foods work best for you.

Also, controlling your insulin levels is important to optimize your health. You see, when you eat grains and sugar your insulin levels increase. When insulin levels increase, you are telling your body to store carbohydrates as fat and to not release any of the stored fat. (This makes it impossible for you to use your own stored body fat for energy.)

So the excess carbohydrates in your diet not only make you GAIN WEIGHT, they make sure you keep that weight on. By cutting grains and sugars from your diet, you will not only tame your weight but also fight illnesses.

A daily exercise routine is another main factor in accomplishing optimal wellness.

The key to exercising is to make sure you are using it effectively. By doing so, you will ensure all your hard efforts are not wasted and are having a positive effect on your body.

To aid you in your exercise efforts, there are three important variables to exercise to keep in mind:

1. Length of time
2. Frequency
3. Intensity

I encourage my patients to gradually increase the amount of time they are exercising to one hour a day. Initially the frequency is daily. This is a treatment dose until they normalize their weight or insulin levels. Once normalized, they will only need to exercise three to four times a week.

You should exercise hard enough so that it is difficult to talk to someone next to you. When you are exercising that hard your cardiovascular system is under such a significant amount of stress that the mere act of talking makes you unable to provide your body with enough oxygen.

However, if you cannot carry on a conversation AT ALL, then you have gone too far and need to decrease the intensity.

Exercising, and of course eating right, should come naturally in your daily life.

Visit Dr Mercola's website at: mercola.com

All Pain Is Not Created Equal, Nor Should It Be Treatred Equally

One of the primary functions of all medical systems is for the treatment of pain and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is no exception. Regardless of the location of the pain (head, back, joint, abdominal, etc.) TCM can serve as an exceptional way to alleviate your discomfort.

The famous doctor Hua Tou (110-207 A.D.) is credited with having developed the first anesthetic used in performing surgery; as well as mastering many uses of acupuncture for pain.

The effectiveness of TCM in treating pain is demonstrated by its long history of continual use especially amongst martial artists. Of all the conditions in which TCM may be used, pain is often the most commonly researched and understood to be highly effective.

All pain is not created equal, nor should it be treated equally. Pain manifests within our body in different locations, for different duration's and with very different qualities.

A TCM practitioner will ask extensive questions regarding the nature of your particular pain. This thorough investigation into the type of pain and its particular cause leads to very successful treatments in relieving the pain as well as eliminating its cause.

For example, all head pain is not the same in its quality, location, associated symptoms or cause. In the extreme case of a migraine which is often associated with other very specific symptoms (visual disturbances, nausea, dizziness, etc.)

A TCM practitioner may identify the cause as ‘internal wind’. ‘Internal wind’ is a term used in Chinese Medicine that is often associated with vertigo, seizures and tremors (conditions such as epilepsy, Parkinson's, Tourette’s, etc.). It has only been reported within the last year that western drugs used for treating epilepsy are now being used to treat migraines.

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using this approach of treating ‘internal wind’ successfully for over 2000 years. Where TCM excels is that it does not stop at trying to eliminate the symptoms but also the root cause. TCM further understands that a particular condition may have different causes (all migraines are not caused by ‘internal wind’), therefore requiring different treatments.

Pain is one of our body’s first warning signs of an imbalance which should be addressed immediately before other complications arise. We need not and should not live with painful conditions.

Traditional Chinese Medicine should be considered for any condition in which pain is associated.

Through the use of Acupuncture, Moxibustion (applying heat to points), Herbal Remedies, Nutrition and Bodywork most painful conditions can be alleviated and their cause eliminated.

Acufit Programs by Max Dente, L. Ac. visit his website at: maxdente.com

Whole Grains: Easy Cooking Instructions

Whole grains are easy to cook on the stovetop (as you would cook rice or pasta), or in a countertop steamer. I always cook one pound (2½ cups) of whole grains at a time (as much as my steamer will hold), since they keep well -- refrigerated or frozen.

Leftovers can be reheated in a microwave or used in salads. I make my own "instant grains" by packaging ½-1 cup portions in baggies and storing them in the freezer. They take a minute or less to thaw in the microwave.

The first time you cook a new grain, check them 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time to make sure they are not getting mushy. If they aren't tender enough to suit you at the end of the recommended time, cook a little longer. You do not need to rinse or pre-soak whole grains.

Cook grains in bouillon or other flavored liquid; 1 cup bouillon = 1 cup water + 1 bouillon cube or 1 teaspoon bouillon granules, or 1 cup of any other flavored liquid of your choice. If you don't use bouillon that contains salt, be sure to add a little salt to the cooking liquid. Whole grains cooked without salt taste hopelessly flat. Vegetable or chicken flavored bouillon yields neutral-flavored grains that can be used for anything – breakfast cereal, main dishes, salads or desserts.

Cooking whole grains in an electric countertop steamer: If you are serious about healthful eating, I recommend that you invest one of these inexpensive, handy appliances. This is by far the easiest, most convenient way to cook all of the whole grains. Mine is a Black and Decker brand, with an 8-cup capacity rice bucket and 75-minute timer. Countertop steamers come with instruction booklets with detailed information on cooking vegetables and seafood.

Follow these instructions for cooking whole grains, using the times and amounts shown in the chart.

Fill the steamer base with water to the top line. (Do not use the drip tray.) Place the steamer basket on the base. Place 1 pound of grains and 4 cups of bouillon in the rice bowl and set the rice bowl in the steamer basket. Cover, plug in, and set the timer for 75 minutes. When the timer rings, let the grains sit until cool OR remove the cover carefully to avoid steam burns. Drain the grains in a colander if there is excess liquid.

Note: I let the grains sit for at least 20-30 minutes after the timer rings before removing the lid.

On the stovetop: Any of the whole grains can be cooked in a pot just as you would cook white rice, but they take longer and will use more liquid. This is my least favorite method because you have to stand around and watch the pot. After you've done this once or twice, you'll want to go out and get your countertop steamer.

Use a medium-size pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring six cups of bouillon to a boil in the pot, stir in a pound of the grains (2 1/2 cups) and return to boiling. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and simmer until the grains are tender and most of the water is absorbed, usually 45-60 minutes.

You can add raw grains to soups or stews while they cook. My only concern is getting everything done at the same time without overcooking any of the ingredients. Some of my recipes use this method, but most recommend cooking the grains separately. Do whatever seems easiest for you.

Other appliances can be used to cook whole grains; try what you have on hand:Rice cooker: if you have a rice cooker with a metal container and no timer, you may be able to use it to cook your whole grains, but you will need to experiment. These cookers use a sensor to determine when the liquid has been absorbed.

Crockpot: Put grains and liquid in the crockpot or slow cooker, turn it on and leave it for 6-8 hours.

Microwave: you can cook whole grains in one of the plastic rice steamers specifically designed for microwave use, but I haven't been too pleased with the results. You don't save much time, and you have to stick around to change the power setting and stir midway through the cooking process.

Pressure cooker: If you're comfortable using a pressure cooker, they work just fine for whole grains. Adjust the cooking times as you would for any other food (usually about half the regular time.)

Recipes: You'll find hundreds of recipes using whole grains, more details on specialty whole grains (with cooking charts), and nutritional information at my web site; see the link below.

By Dr. Gabe Mirkin

Weight Loss Strengthens Your Heart, Lowers Heart Attack Risk

A study from Turkey shows that the heart beats with greater strength when a person loses weight (Heart Vessels, March 2006).

The obese patients in the study received echocardiograms to predict their risk for heart failure by measuring their left ventricular function. After they lost at least ten percent of their total body weight, the strength of the contractions of their hearts increased significantly.

This study shows that weight loss should be part of the treatment for heart failure if the person is overweight. It also explains why being overweight makes you tired and short of breath, because your heart has to work much harder to push blood through blood vessels blocked by fat.

Losing excess weight improves heart function and also helps to prevent diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, kidney damage and even certain cancers.

A blood test called HBA1C will help your doctor decide if you are at risk for a heart attack, even if you are not diabetic. When your blood sugar level rises too high, sugar sticks to cells. Once on a cell, sugar cannot be removed and is converted to a poison called sorbitol that destroys the cell to damage arteries and cause heart attacks. HemoglobinA1C (HBA1C) measures how much sugar is attached to cell membranes.

A study in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Volume 16, 2005) shows that an HBA1C level below 4.6 percent means you are at very low risk for a heart attack. However, each one-percent increase raises the risk for a heart attack nearly 2.5 times. So people who have HBA1Cs above 4.6 are at increased risk for heart attacks, even if they are not diabetic.

More than 40 percent of Americans die of heart attacks and other blood vessel damaging diseases and 35 percent ultimately become diabetic.

That means that all people who have HBA1Cs above 5 should consider losing excess weight by:

• eating less
• exercising more
• avoiding smoking
• and going on a diet that limits refined carbohydrates (foods made from flour or with added sugars), saturated fats (meat and chicken) and partially hydrogenated oils

If your HBA1C is above 6, your doctor may prescribe diabetic medications.

By Dr. Gabe Mirkin

A Successful Stop Smoking Program

Quitting smoking is not an option, but a necessity for your health and the health of your family.

There is no magic pill, patch, gum or acupuncture point. What there is, is your desire and will to quit.

Each persons strengths and/or weaknesses are individualistic. Through incorporating various therapeutic modalities, a well balanced program builds on your natural desire for a healthier life while supporting your body/mind to overcome any weaknesses.

A well structured program incorporates:

• Acupuncture
• herbal therapy
• nutrition
• physical conditioning
• relaxation techniques
• breathing exercises
• guided imagery and motivational affirmations.

Reasons for smoking vary. A sound program strives to identify your particular reasons for smoking and provide you with the tools best suited to help you overcome your habit.

Always choose a program that has the added benefit of working with you to maintain a healthy lifestyle, ideal body weight and a positive stress free mental outlook.

Acufit Programs by Max Dente, L. Ac. visit us on line at: maxdente.com