one time or another suffer from this gum condition. Other suggest that as many as 80% of the population have at this very minute at least some symptoms of gingivitis. Whatever the true number, it's clear that the problem of gum disease is a chronic problem for many people.

There's a lot of gingivitis going around. Some estimates show that almost all adults will at one time or another suffer from this gum condition. Other suggest that as many as 80% of the population have at this very minute at least some symptoms of gingivitis. Whatever the true number, it's clear that the problem of gum disease is a chronic problem for many people.

To understand the problem we need to find the cause of the problem. With gingivitis, it's caused by bacteria in your mouth that feeds on plaque. Now a build up of plaque starts out soft and then hardens or calcifies on your teeth. It's that plaque material, along with microscopic food particles and bacteria that accumulate around the gum line causing irritation and gingivitis.

Gingivitis, although considered inflammation of the gum tissue, like many conditions has different levels of severity.

The first stages:

Gum Sensitivity. You may notice your gums may hurt a little when eating certain foods or when brushing.

Later Stages Common symptoms along with the first stage symptoms:

Bleeding gums. This can be a lot or a little but it almost always will include pain when brushing.

Substantial Pain: Your gums will hurt even when you're not eating.

How they look: Your gums will look inflamed and swollen in the areas where gingivitis has taken hold. It may even seem as if tissue torn and may look like an surface wound.

How they feel: Your gums will feel soft to the touch. They will feel mushy like instead of firm.

Receding gums: This last symptom is very serious. If gingivitis is allowed to continue, your gums will start receding away from your teeth. Gums that recede cause tooth loosening and loss.

The good news is that gingivitis is treatable and can be prevented to a large degree. Inflammation of the gums is then caused by plaque that builds up on your teeth. The answer is to remove the cause of the gum disorder and your gums will heal. The best way to eliminate this disease is through good dental hygiene. Brushing your teeth regularly and flossing between each tooth structure can keep the plaque buildup under control.

In the earlier stages of gingivitis, it's possible to reverse the condition with good dental care and mouthwash. The goal is to keep your mouth clean so the gums can heal. Brush your teeth, floss daily, use a mouthwash and if your gums aren't to swollen and sore, carefully brush the gums as well. This massaging stimulates the gum tissue and removes bacteria and any loose skin layers.

Abigail Franks writes on a variety of subjects which include family, travel, and business. For more information on Gingivitis and Teeth health visit the site at http://www.4-home-teeth-whitening.com/gingivitis.html

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Today, many people are choosing to do away with the bulky glasses and opt for the lighter, more convenient contact lenses. The problem is, with so many different advertisements on television, radio and the Internet; it can be difficult to determine where you should buy your contacts. While everyone offers a different price, they each include the statement that they are the cheapest option available to you. Is this true? Well, only you have the power to know the answer to the question. The answer will come to you, if you do your homework and research all of your contact lens purchasing options before settling on any one source.

So what are your cheapest contact lens options? Basically you can purchase your contacts from your doctor?s office, in an optical store or on the Internet. Which one is the best and cheapest? This is where you need to do your homework. In this article, we will do some of the homework for you, but you will need to make the ultimate decision.

The Doctors Office

Your doctor?s office will help you in all aspects of your contact lenses, from trying them on, learning how to fit them and much more. Additionally, you will have the peace of mind in knowing that you are receiving the best care possible. At first, you may think that your eye doctor is the most expensive of all your options. This may or may not be true. Some doctors are competitive in pricing and want your business. While they may be a little higher than some other options you are considering, you will likely get a lot for that price. For example, with the price the eye doctor charges, you probably get the contact lenses, the exam, office visits and lens care products.

An Optical Store

An optical store offers much the same services that your eye doctor does, except in less time and sometimes at a cheaper price. You can probably find an optical store such as the popular Lens Crafters and have everything ready for you in no time at all. Again the price of this would include the contact lens, the exam, office visits and eye care products.

The Internet

This may be the most cost-effective option for purchasing cheap contact lens. However cheap the contact lens may be, it is important that you have your guard up when exercising this option. The Internet makes getting your contacts easy, convenient and scary all at the same time. When shopping online, you will want to look for those web sites that are reputable, trustworthy and offers complete information about the company. There are several popular Interent contact lens sites that can provide cheap contact lens. Currently a handful of these sites can provide good nationally know products at competitive prices. Most usually keep a large inventory, so they are able to ship your order quickly.

Before choosing a company, make sure you check with the Better Business Bureau to ensure that the company is reputable. Also use a major search engine like Google or Yahoo to find reviews of that company, make sure they have customer service and test it out and that they have a return policy.

Michael Moody is a successful Webmaster and publisher of CheapContactLens.net. He provides information about various considerations regarding buying cheap contact lens that can be read on the Internet in the comfort of your own home.

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Typically assumed to inflict solely negative consequences, cholesterol is actually a necessary component of a healthy body. Cholesterol is a waxy substance in the blood, critical in the digestion of dietary fats, the building of cell walls and in manufacturing vitamins and hormones. One of the secrets to securing a healthy body, including a healthy liver, is to maintain an ideal balance of cholesterol levels.

If cholesterol levels are too high, a person is at risk for coronary artery disease, heart disease, a metabolic disorder or even liver disease. Embedded in vehicles known as lipoproteins, cholesterol is transported in the bloodstream to be used or excreted throughout the body. When these inhabitants of our blood become overpopulated, traffic jams can result, blocking subsequent blood flow in the vessels. Impeded circulation is a primary factor in most types of illness.

Cholesterol and the Liver Excessive cholesterol in the blood can deposit plaques along the vessels, contributing to the development of atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries. While atherosclerosis is a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes, it can also have negative consequences on the liver. The relationship between the liver and blood cholesterol is multi-faceted:

? Synthesis of bile acids ? Essential to the digestive process, the liver synthesizes bile acids from cholesterol. Bile acids emulsify dietary fat, allowing for its absorption in the intestines.

? Liver circulation - Liver disease, particularly cirrhosis, can lead to portal hypertension. Portal hypertension is the result of high blood pressure within the portal vein, where the blood enters the liver. When blood cannot flow easily through the liver, internal pressure increases, posing the risk of ruptured blood vessels. Cholesterol deposits may also contribute to decreased blood flow in the liver, further restricting the vessels that safely handle the liver?s duties.

? Removal of cholesterol ? High-density lipoproteins (HDL) help remove excessive cholesterol from the body by transporting it to the liver for its breakdown and excretion. As a diseased liver?s function decreases, do does its ability to remove excessive cholesterol from the blood supply.

What is Excessive Cholesterol? According to the American Heart Association, about 20 percent of the U.S. population has high blood cholesterol levels. When getting your cholesterol checked, there are four numeric values that come into play - total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoproteins), HDL (high-density lipoproteins) and triglycerides.

? Total Cholesterol ? A comprehensive measurement of the cholesterol in your blood, it is desirable to have a value less than 200 mg/dL. A person carries a borderline level of health risks if the total cholesterol is between 200-239 mg/dL, and is considered high risk if total cholesterol exceeds 239 mg/dL.

? LDL - This cholesterol is the primary cause of harmful fatty buildup in arteries. The higher the LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, the greater the health risk. Ideal LDL levels are below 100 mg/dL, while values exceeding 159 mg/dL carry a high risk of cardiovascular disease.

? HDL ? This form carries blood cholesterol back to the liver, where it can be eliminated. HDL helps prevent a cholesterol buildup in blood vessels. While values typically range from 40 to 60 mg/dL, an HDL under 40 mg/dL puts the individual at risk for cardiovascular disease. Studies suggest that high levels of HDL cholesterol reduce your risk of heart attack.

? Triglycerides - Triglycerides are the chemical form in which most fat exists in food as well as in the body. Triglyceride levels under 150 mg/dL are normal, while values exceeding 199 mg/dL carry a high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Due to the delicate balance of useful cholesterol and damaging cholesterol, most physicians rely on specific ratios of these four numeric values to determine healthy blood cholesterol.

Liver Benefits from Good Cholesterol Ratio The public is being increasingly educated on the various ways to maintain the best possible cholesterol levels. These include lifestyle modifications, such as smoking cessation, regular exercise, a diet high in fiber and low in saturated fat, as well as reliance on cholesterol lowering medications.

Awareness of cardiovascular risk by improving your cholesterol ratio will benefit not only your heart?s health, but also your liver?s health. While the heart muscle pumps blood throughout the body, the liver must cleanse the blood and extract ingredients critical to sustaining life.

Just as the heart and liver contribute to blood maintenance health, all of our organs and body systems work in unison to support the proper functioning of our bodies. Factors that affect one system will likely affect every other. So if optimal liver health is desired, then steps to increase HDL and decrease LDL and triglycerides are definitely called for.

References:
Henkel, John, Keeping Cholesterol Under Control, FDA Consumer Magazine, January/February 1999.
www.abouthypertension.info, Health Issues Associated with Hypertension, NCERx LLC 2006.
www.americanheart.org, About Cholesterol, American Heart Association, Inc., 2006.
www.liverdisease.com, Cholesterol and Liver Disease/Hepatitis, Melissa Palmer, MD, 2004.

This article was prepared for LiverSupport.com. Visit us to learn more about liver health.

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Did you know that around 40% of the times it is you who blow up your weight loss program? Don?t you believe it? It surely will sound incredible since you believe that you are taking utmost efforts to reduce weight and lose excess fat. But there are many things we do knowingly that deter us from our desired goal. In the following section we have named 10 common ways by which we ourselves destroy our weight loss campaign (check out where you went wrong). We have also given what needs to be done on these counts.

?Follow a strict dieting schedule:
A strict dieting schedule where individual promises to eat only a particular food group/groups is particularly difficult to stick to. So do not cut out entire food groups or decide intake of only one type of food.

?Emotional eating The more depressed you are, the more you eat. Are you one such type of person? The disorder you are suffering from is known as emotional eating. Deal with the disorder professionally or else you would continue adding more weight to your body. Also trying to engage in alternative activities will help deflect attention.

? Going it alone: Dieting is an onerous process, with the individual having to undergo many a rough patches during the period. Unless he has someone to discuss with and support him in his venture, he is susceptible to dither away from his goal, i.e. reduce weight. So have a good support system to ensure that there is someone to counsel you every time.

?Excessive fasting: It has always been a misconception associated with weight loss- stop eating and you will lose weight. Fasting, unless for a smaller span of time such as 24 hours is no solution to weight. Instead one begins to lose fewer calories as fasting period extends. Human body is programmed to react in such situation by slowing down the metabolism as it perceives the situation as famine.

?Skip the breakfast This is an extension of the myth discussed in the earlier paragraph. Skip breakfast and you consume lesser calories; so more weight loss. Is it true? No! At supper you eat more voraciously. So, no skipping of breakfast. Breakfast is an important meal of the day and gets metabolism going.

?Keep a food diary: A food diary is like a common budget. How much are you eating and how many calories do this produce is written on one side. On the other side is the standard written about the amount and food and calories that a normal healthy person is required. This will help get a real grasp of how one is faring in his weight loss program.

?Set realistic goals: The goals set by the dieter must be realistic. Unrealistic goals like cutting all soda from the present consumption of 2 liters a day is unachievable. They will largely affect the dieters? motivations to continue with dieting.

?Weight in every day: Some dieters are so very excited and impatient with their dieting program that they will weigh themselves everyday. Does weight loss program or dieting produce such instant results? No! Moreover, the changes in the person may not always be quantifiable. This is incorrect since it lowers the motivation.

?Exercise regularly but within limits: Exercise regularly everyday. But do not overdo the exercise. This will not produce muscles in a day. Nevertheless, there are risks of overuse injuries.

?Strictly deny your favorite dishes: You resolve to cut the consumption of your favorite dish. But your heart fails to forget it. Will you be able to stick to your resolution? No, there will enough frustration. Instead cutting the quantum of the dish gradually will help.

Rome was not built in a day. The same applies to your body. The changes will be perceived and visible with time, not overnight. So patience is the final answer.

Gauri Rajesh has been associated with the health care industry for long. She has a degree in pharmacy. In her leisure time, she writes informative articles on several topics dealing with general health care.

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In the history of fitness and aerobics, elliptical machines are the only aerobic products who made a breakthrough. Almost all gyms, fitness clubs and even homes have already acquired their own elliptical machines. Elliptical machines continue to be popular. Users and buyers of these machines even reached 2.8 million in 2005.

Why are elliptical machines popular? What do users get from them? There are many benefits that can be enjoyed by using an elliptical machine.

Elliptical machines are able to provide healthy bodies by maintaining a healthy bone density. Researches have shown that the bone density has an impact on how healthy the person would become. A person is healthy if he has a healthy bone density.

The exercises needed to maintain a healthy bone density include running, aerobics, weight lifting and exercises where the person remains on his feet. However, these activities may cause jarred bones, which is very dangerous.

With the elliptical machine, all exercises to maintain a healthy bone density can be performed. Using an elliptical machine, the person will be standing on his own feet on a platform wherein he will be bearing weight.

Stepping up and down the platforms causes pedaling with an oval movement. This is very similar to the movement done when walking or running. This only means that the elliptical machine is able to provide the same benefits people can get with these exercises. Plus, they do not experience harmful stress that can impact the bones and muscles.

Safety is ensured with elliptical machines. Using the machine will allow a person to perform exercises smooth and flowing. This minimizes the risk of being injured when performing workouts. The muscles are safe since the pressure is evenly distributed on all the muscles of the body. This will prevent the person from stressing and harming a certain muscle group.

Elliptical machines were also proven to provide workouts best for the cardiovascular system. This is because of the many movements that can be made using the machine. All the muscles of the body are working which is good for maximizing the cardio impact in the body.

Many people would like to maintain a healthy body or even lose weight the easier way. However, they would not like to risk the benefit they can get in doing harder exercises. With the elliptical machines, users are able to do exercises the easy way without sacrificing the amount of weight they would lose.

Many manufacturers have developed elliptical machines and incorporated high technology with them. Many were designed to provide natural motion of body when using the machine. They may be priced higher than other aerobic products but people can be assured that the physical benefits they would like to get will not be neglected.

Buyers can choose from a wide variety of elliptical machines that are now sold in the market. They may come in different forms, in prices and most are incorporated with the highest technology there is in aerobic products. People may still opt to buy the more traditional elliptical machines, which continue to be bestsellers.

Elliptical machines will continue to develop and provide optimum workout for its users. These machines will continue to grow in popularity since they appeal to almost all users. Anyone who uses the machine can be assured of a total workout and the same time will allow burning of fat and calories.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides elliptical machine resources on http://www.aboutellipticalmachines.info

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Creatine ? The most researched performance enhancing nutritional supplement

Does creatine supplementation work?

The February 2004 issue of the Strength and Conditioning Journal, the official publication of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, had an article about creatine loading. Why? Because it works!

How does it work?

I never really liked biochemistry, so I will give you the cliff notes version. Creatine is amino acid derivative that enables the body?s muscle to produce ATP quickly. ATP is the muscles main source of energy.

Is Creatine safe?

Yes. Creatine is the most researched supplement when it comes to increasing athletic performance. The only side affects believed are muscle cramps and water gain.

How does Creatine help athletic performance?

By increasing the concentration of creatine within the muscle cell, there will be an extended supply of ATP (the main energy source for muscle contraction). This allows the muscle to maintain muscle contraction for longer periods of time, thereby reducing muscular fatigue. By reducing muscular fatigue your can achieve higher athletic performance during short-duration, high intensity activities (e.g., weightlifting, sprinting, etc.).

How much Creatine supplementation is need?

There are numerous research studies that have show that 5 grams of creatine consumed 4-6 times daily for one week can substantially increase total muscle creatine concentration by 20-40%. However, if time is not an issue, 2-4 grams daily should be sufficient to fully saturate skeletal muscles within a month.

To date creatine is by far the most effective supplement for enhancing athletic performance, I have personal used creatine to assist my training programs for years, and it is one of the few supplements I never want to run out of.

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Please feel free to publish this article in your Newsletter or on your Website (with Resource Box included).

About The Author

Dr. Jeffrey Banas is a Chiropractic Sports Physician practicing in Mesa, AZ. If you would like to contact Dr. Banas, he can be reached at his office at 480-633-6837, or by visiting his web site at www.personal-weight-loss-help.com

drjeffbanas@yahoo.com

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What exactly do Blood Pressure Monitors do?

Simply put, every time your heart beats, oxygenated blood is pumped to the organs and tissues of your body through pipe like structures known as arteries. Blood pressure monitors measure the force that is exerted on the walls of these tiny hoses every time that the heart contracts. This is known as your blood pressure.

Whilst blood pressure is essential in ensuring the effective functioning of the body, when the pressure elevates too high it becomes a threat to a person's health. It is estimated that over 40 million people in the USA alone suffer from high blood pressure or hypertension as it is medically termed. The precise causes are difficult to determine. Factors such as age, weight, sex, genetics, and salt intake all play a role in susceptibility as do stress and complications such as diabetes and kidney disease. The good news is that although there is as of yet no cure for high blood pressure, once diagnosed it is usually easily treated and controlled.

Effective treatment include changes in diet and lifestyle, reduced sodium consumption, herbal medication and complimentary therapies such as acupuncture and ayurvedic medicine. In extreme cases, it may be necessary for individuals to begin taking a combination of prescribed high blood pressure medication including diuretics, CNS depressants and vasodilators.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is low blood pressure or hypotension. While medical experts are in agreement that lower blood pressure levels are definitely healthier than high ones, when blood pressure drops too low it can result in unpleasant side effects. These include dizziness, fatigue, nausea and poor circulation. If blood pressure drops below levels of 90 mmHg and 60 mmHg diastolic such as in the case of a heart attack, the body will react by going into shock. If left untreated, this will eventually lead to a coma, followed by death.

The best way in which to keep track of blood pressure levels is through the use of a cuff or sphygmomanometer. Due to its proven accuracy, this type of blood pressure monitor is still often used by medical professionals. A sphygmomanometer measures blood pressure levels through the use of a d ring cuff and a stethoscope which records the sound that the blood makes as it is pumped into the artery in the upper arm.

Other popular types of blood pressure monitors include aneroid, digital, wrist and finger blood pressure monitors. Aneroid monitors measure blood pressure levels through the use of an extremely sensitive pressure spring, whilst digital ones rely on inbuilt incredibly sensitive computer chips. Finally, wrist and finger blood pressure monitors are the perfect portable alternative for those suffering from arthritis or a similar condition which makes the use of traditional arm cuffs painful and impractical.

Ann Knight

For treatment relating to low blood pressure please visit Guide4Living.

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