There are many teas that have been drunk throughout the ages. They are basically infusions of plants, usually the leaves and sometimes the flowers, by boiling them with water. Teas can be drunk hot or cold and are used for a variety of ailments. Teas of different sorts are drunk worldwide.

The official tea that we drink is the second most popular beverage and grown in the mountainous regions of China, India, Sir Lanka, Vietnam, Nepal, Georgia, Japan, Kenya, Malawi and Taiwan. The tea we drink is taken from the top leaves and the buds of the Camellia Sinensis tree. These leaves are specially dried and then crushed for maximum flavor.

Tea is a mild stimulant, with small amounts of caffeine. It has far less than its counterpart coffee. It also has small amounts of vitamin A, B2, C, D, K, and P. there are also trace amounts of some minerals. Overall it is good for your health. It is recommended that about 3 cups of tea and more should be drunk a day to get the healthful qualities of this beverage.

There are 4 common forms of tea are:

Black tea

White tea

Oolong tea

Green tea

Black tea is the most common form of tea and is known as the famous “English tea” as this is drunk predominantly in Britain and the Western world. This tea is drunk hot but can also be used to brew the famous iced tea. It is made from the leaves of the tea plant and is completely fermented. This results in its darker color. It is more of a stimulant than the other teas and a more intense taste. Sometimes it is drunk with lemon but most commonly with milk.

White tea comes from the bud of the tea plant. It undergoes little or no processing (fermenting or oxidizing) this brings out the antioxidants but will reduce the stimulant quality of this tea. Because the buds can only be harvested in the spring season this tea is not so common and fairly expensive.

Oolong tea is fermented more than green tea but less than black. Research has shown that this tea helps the digestive system and is good for metabolism.

Green tea is also not fermented like white tea but is made from more mature leaves so is much more common and affordable. This tea was predominantly drunk in the Orient namely Japan and China, but is gaining new ground in the West as research is showing the beneficial properties of this form of tea. Again it has more antitoxins (flavonoids) and is less of a stimulant. Added to this it has vitamin C and fluoride.

Tea Houses are becoming very popular especially in fashionable areas of Europe like Paris. As more research comes to light we will hear more about the benefits of this popular drink. So the next time you relax with a good refreshing cup of tea you can rest assured that your favorite beverage is also good for your health.

I would really like to know if there is anybody in the civilized part of our planet that does not know that an electric adjustable bed is the best thing for an aching sore back. No, I did not think so. There are a multitude of articles available on this site as well as throughout cyberspace that espouse the truly delightful pleasures of laying down and sleeping in comfort on an adjustable bed, electric or otherwise.

From my own research into the labyrinth that is the electric adjustable bed market, I have been struck firmly by the fact that it is primarily targeted at the more elderly among us as well as individuals with some form of physical disability. After all, hospital adjustable beds are the norm for a very good reason. I cannot imagine any Hospital functioning efficiently without the flexibility and practicality of adjustable beds. Regardless of the evident advantages associated with electric adjustable beds in easing the discomfort felt by individuals with varying degrees of physical disability and pain, an electric adjustable bed is great for anyone, at any age, at any time.

In retrospect, when I look back at my life, I wish I had an electric adjustable bed when I got married. I am not sure they even made them that far back, but the possibilities would have been interesting to say the least. After all, electric adjustable beds are not just for sleeping. You can adjust the position to watch television more comfortably. You can eat breakfast in bed without spilling your coffee or orange juice all over yourself. You can adjust your position to read in bed and write that report that was due yesterday. The possibilities are only limited to your imagination….Oh! You mean you thought I was going to talk about sex in my new electric adjustable bed…. Don’t be silly…adjustable-bed-center.com is a family rated website, but whatever you do in your own bedroom is nobody’s business but your own.

The buying habits of most adults follow a certain time-honored pattern; Buy the best, fastest car you can afford. Buy the biggest, best television you can afford. Buy the biggest, best house you can afford–best appliances&ndashbest living room–best dining room–best this and best that. Does anyone buy the best bed they can afford to spend at least one third of their life. I do not think so. Perhaps I am over exaggerating but from my own personal experience, everyone I know has followed the same pattern described above. There always seems to be enough money for when we are awake but it is always too expensive when we have to go to sleep.

One thing that you do not have to pay extra for and is a standard feature of any electric adjustable bed is a great nights sleep. Whether you are young or old, a good nights sleep is priceless. Since the average person spends at least one third of their existence in bed sleeping, or tossing and turning, trying to adjust their body to that perfect position in order to sleep, a good electric adjustable bed is absolutely vital. How do you feel in the morning after a night of tossing and turning in bed?

In closing, whether you buy an electric adjustable bed before you get that sore aching back or after, the advantages far outweigh the actual cost. I do not want to rehash the well-documented advantages either real or slightly overblown of buying an electric adjustable bed. Now that you are here on my site, you can research to your hearts delight until you are totally satisfied that it is the right investment in both yourself and your well-being. Good luck with the rest of your life, and have good nights sleep.

Of all the places in the body that can hurt, the face might seem the strangest. But for some people, that’s exactly where the agony occurs, and the cause is a nerve gone haywire.

How peripheral nerves involve themselves in pain is sometimes confusing. Here’s a handy way to think of the two basic patterns:

#1: The nerve is the messenger. If you have a dental abscess, a facial sunburn or a sinus infection, you can count on pain being present. Where does it come from? Special nerve endings detect the tissue-injury and generate electrical impulses. The peripheral nerves carry these impulses into the brain. The peripheral nerves didn’t CAUSE the pain, they’re just carrying the bad news. (Don’t shoot the messenger!)

#2: The nerve itself is the mischief-maker. In some cases the nerve generates abnormal impulses on its own. The nerve is still capable of carrying normal impulses, like those informing the brain that the skin of the face is warm or cold-or that you cut yourself shaving-but generates signals of its own as well that the brain can only interpret as painful.

When peripheral nerves generate bolts of pain in the forehead, eye, cheek or jaw, it’s called trigeminal neuralgia. This technical term can be broken into its parts, starting at the end and working forward. “Algia” means pain. A “neur-algia” means nerve-pain. Finally, “trigeminal” is the name of the nerve involved. So “trigeminal neuralgia” means pain caused by the trigeminal nerve. We have two trigeminal nerves, one for each side of the face. They are among the largest nerves in our heads.

An older term for trigeminal neuralgia was “tic douloureux.” This bears explaining. A “tic” is a sudden, brief movement. “Douloureux” is the French word for “painful.” So a “tic douloureux” means that a sudden, brief movement and a pain occur together. However, this terminology was largely abandoned because it implies that movement is an essential feature. It isn’t. When movement is present, it’s just as a reaction to the pain.

So what are the usual features of trigeminal neuralgia? First of all, it almost always occurs on just one side of the face. If one of our trigeminal nerves gets involved in this unfortunate condition, it’s rare indeed that the second trigeminal nerve would be so unlucky to get involved, too. Or another way of looking at it is this: if the pain switches sides or crosses the midline, then it’s probably not trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigeminal neuralgia usually involves brief, but intense jabs of pain, though is sometimes more steady and continuous. It can also get revved-up by external stimuli, like washing the face, putting on make-up, brushing teeth, chewing-and sometimes just talking.

The most usual form of trigeminal neuralgia begins after the age of 50. And, once present, it tends to hang around. Its course-like that of the stock market-fluctuates.

Treatment is not usually curative, but help is still available. Most patients obtain relief through one or a combination of medications that either simmer down the extra nerve-impulses or reduce the effects of the barrage of extra signals that arrive in the brain. Some of their generic names are carbamazepine, gabapentin, baclofen, clonazepam and lamotrigine.

A minority of patients with this condition undertake surgery for it. One surgery involves purposely damaging the trigeminal nerve-fibers where they gather together in a structure called a ganglion. This approach is fairly safe, but produces partial numbness on the face.

Another surgery goes straight to where the trigeminal nerve fibers meet the brain. The surgeon gently separates the nerve from its surrounding tissues. The good part of this procedure is that it doesn’t seek to damage tissue. The downside is that the location for the surgery is at an important cross-roads for many nerve and brain pathways, so a complication can be devastating. While some people get long-lasting relief from the surgeries, others obtain just temporary respite.

While the foregoing summary of treatments sounds gloomy, it’s important to realize that most people who seek medical treatment for their trigeminal neuralgia are able to arrive at a happy point where pain is minimized and quality of life is maximized. The neuralgia no longer rules their lives; instead, they’re in control of the neuralgia.

BEXTRA, also known as valdecoxib, is a prescription medicine known as a COX-2 Inhibitor. Like Vioxx and Celebrex, it supposedly lessen the pain of inflammation and fever without causing stomach irritation common to aspirin and other NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). Pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer released Bextra in 2001, and prescription sales soon rose to 3.2 billion dollars.

Bextra is used to take care of an assortment of different conditions, including arthritis, menstrual cramps, and other types of chronic inflammation or low level pain. Pfizer discovered in 2002 that Bextra offered an elevated risk of serious skin irritation during the beginning stages of treatment. Also, during a complicated heart procedure called coronary artery bypass graft, certain patients who had also taken Bextra developed serious heart problems. Bextra also created a heightened risk of Steven-Johnsons’s Syndrome, a potentially fatal skin condition resulting in infection and inflammation, and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, which creates infected skin to flake off and die. In addition, it was originally believed that Bextra, like its sister drug Celebrex, might pose the same heightened risk of stroke and heart attack, and the FDA ordered more examinations to investigate this possibility. Later, in April 2005, the FDA asked Pfizer to remove Bextra from the market because the side effects proved too dangerous for public consumption.

Victims of pharmaceutical shortsightedness have a right to be compensated. A knowledgeable attorney is the key to getting you the settlement you deserve. Just as important as your physical recovery, your financial recovery depends on the action you decide to take. Hesitating one day may prevent you from taking the legal action necessary to recover your losses. Contact a lawyer today!

Since the beginning of mankind, mental illness has played a role in our society. Victims of such illnesses have been outcast, stereotyped and often ridiculed. However, over time, medical and psychiatric science advanced and the medical community became more knowledgeable of these conditions.

It wasn’t until the 20th century when scientists began to experiment with certain chemicals that would alleviate symptoms caused by neurological disorders such as schizophrenia. These drugs are called antipsychotics and they block certain chemical receptors in the brain. At first these drugs were praised in the medical community, however case studies began to show that long term effects of these drugs caused patients to develop serious coordination problems. Since the benefits often times outweighed the risks, doctors continued to prescribe these drugs to their patients.

A creation of a new drug with reduced side effects was created in 1989. This drug was called Cloarzil a so called ‘atypical’ antipsychotic. Unlike previous drugs, Cloarzil was designed to block certain chemicals, while leaving others alone. While it was a breakthrough in the medical community, the drug caused an elevated white blood cell count which interferes with proper immunological functions.

It wasn’t until the mid 90’s that a new drug was introduced. This drug was proven in clinical studies to have the same number of reduced side effects without increasing the patient’s white blood cell count.

Are you currently on one or more pharmaceutical drugs? Perhaps you are not aware, but every pharmaceutical drug depletes the body of various nutrients, depriving your cells of the essential raw materials which drive normal, natural cell function. The data on our industrialized food supply already suggestes that each of us is not getting enough nutrition from diet alone. If you’re taking one or more pharmaceutical drugs, your situtation is likely to be even worse.

In the Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook the following information is listed.

“HMG CoA Reductase Inhibitors delete the body of Coenzyme Q10, an important nutrient, and that result of this depletion could lead to mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased body function, and decreased cardiac output.”

How could that be affecting your life if you are currently on one of those drugs? Perhaps you should consider a high-quality supplement that contains Qoenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) so make up for your depletion.

If you found our your were iron deficient (anemic), you’d probably take an iron supplement, right?

Other items listed in the Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook.

“Many anticonvulsants cause a depletion of Vitamin D, folic acid, and calcium. Depleting these nutrients has the potential to cause problems such as osteoporosis, muscle weakness, blood pressure irregularities, and heart disease.”

In this case, perhaps you should consider a high-quality multivitamin supplement to simply replace the nutrients your body needs.

“Almost every antibiotic causes a disruption of normal bowel flora and a reduction in the production of important vitamins, leading to diarrhea and other gastrointestinal side effects.”

I have a personal experience where my life was saved through antibiotics, but I certainly experienced these side effects. Fortunately there are quality bowel flora supplements which help provide the body with normal levels of intestinal bacteria. This is critical in the metabolization of many vitamins, such as the Vitamin B family.

Here’s what the Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook has to say about Estrogen Replacement Therapy.

“Taking Estrogen Replacement Therapy can cause a depletion of important B vitamins, leadingto anxiety, depression, cardiovascular disease, and depression.”

Again perhaps you should choose a high-quality multivitamin supplement and also provide the nutrients that support normal endocrine function.

The Drug-Induced Nutrient Depletion Handbook provides a drug index, which alphabetically lists drugs by both brand and generic name, with cross-references and the scientific basis, studies and abstracts for the research which determined which nutrients are depleted by the particular drug. It also lists nutrient information with concise descriptions of the effects of depletion. What medications are you taking that are depriving your body of essential nutrients?

As an ADD coach I am often asked about the treatment options available for Attention Deficit Disorder. Generally when someone says “ADD” the first thing that will come to the layperson’s mind is ‘Ritalin’ or an image of a hyperactive “Dennis-the-Menace” type. Fortunately, there is a lot more to Attention Deficit Disorder than drugs and hyperactivity. Each individual is unique and therefore different people will respond well to different treatment options.

There are a number of treatment options available for children and adults with ADD. Let’s explore some of the most common options.

1) Medication - Medication such as stimulants (i.e. Ritalin, Dexedrine, Concerta, Adderall) is probably the most common treatment for ADD. Often antidepressants (such as Prozac, Paxil, Effexor, Wellbutrin) are used instead of or in combination with the stimulants. Some individuals will respond quite well to treatment with medication while others will see little to no difference. It is important to discuss the pros and cons of treatment with medication with your doctor.

2) Counseling and Therapy - Many children and adults with ADD will benefit from counseling from a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Social worker or other mental health practitioner. There is no one form of counseling ? some professionals will focus on exploring events in the past or emotions while others will work with behavior modification techniques. Some professionals will use a combination of approaches depending on the individual.

3) ADD Coaching - Coaching can be conducted in person or over the telephone and focuses on the whole-person. An ADD coach creates a partnership with each client to explore treatment options for ADD while focusing on creating balance and satisfaction in each area of the client’s life. ADD coaching is recommended for a period of 3-6 months for maximum effectiveness. Coaching utilizes regular communication, goal setting, personality and interest inventories and an extensive battery of tools to design an individualized strategy for each client.

4) Biofeedback and Neurofeedback - Biofeedback uses monitoring devices to furnish information regarding autonomic body functions such as heart rate or blood pressure. The individual patient is therefore trained to gain some voluntary control over that function. Neurofeedback uses technology to train individuals to gain self-regulation of individual brain wave states so as to remain alert, relaxed and focused.

5) Nutritional Therapy and Natural Treatments - Naturopathic and Homeopathic Doctors, Dieticians, Nutritionists, Allergists and other practitioners stress the importance of the dietary treatment of Attention Deficit Disorder. These professionals can design a customized diet that will help to reduce the symptoms of ADD. Nutritional supplements and vitamins are often recommended to ensure a balanced diet and proper levels of essential vitamins and minerals.

6) Supplemental Education - Educational centres such as Sylvan Learning Centre and Kumon Math & Reading Centre offer educational programs for children who fall behind in the classroom. Current research indicates that an estimated 50% of children with ADD have a co-existing learning disability. Supplemental Education also exists for adults in the form of career-based training in facilities such as the Academy of Learning.

With all of these possibilities how does any ADDer know where to turn? Remember that no one treatment is a miracle! Often the best treatment comes from a combination of several of the treatments listed above. If you are struggling to find the treatment that is right for you we are here to help.

Most people are well aware that an estimated 45 million Americans currently do not have healthcare, but is the crisis simply the lack of health insurance or even the cost of health insurance? Is there a bigger underlying problem at the root of our healthcare system? Although the U.S. claims to have the most advanced medicine in the world, government health statistics and peer-reviewed journals demonstrate that allopathic medicine often causes more harm than good.

People in general have always felt they could trust doctors and the medical profession, but according to the Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2000, iatrogenic death, also known as death from physician error or death from medical treatment, was the third leading cause of death in America and rising, responsible for at least 250,000 deaths per year. Those statistics are considered conservative by many, as the reported numbers only include in-hospital deaths, not injury or disability, and do not include external iatrogenic deaths such as those resulting from nursing home and other private facility treatments, and adverse effects of prescriptions. One recent study estimated the total unnecessary deaths from iatrogenic causes at approximately 800,000 per year at a cost of $282 billion per year, which would make death from American medicine the leading cause of death in our country.

Currently, at least 2 out of 3 Americans use medications, 32 million Americans are taking three or more medications daily, and commercials and advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs have saturated the marketplace. Although our population is aging, exorbitantly expensive drugs are being marketed and dispensed to younger and younger patients, including many children who years ago would never have been given or needed medication, for everything from ADHD to asthma to bipolar disease and diabetes. Clearly, the state of health in this country is not improving even though there are an increasing number of medications and treatments. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of prescriptions are expected to increase substantially by 47%. In recent years, numerous drugs previously deemed safe by the FDA have been recalled because of their toxicity, after the original drug approvals were actually funded by the invested pharmaceutical companies themselves.

According to the media, thanks to advances in U.S. drugs and medical procedures, Americans are living longer statistically, but they are living longer sicker, with a lower quality of life, and often dependent on multiple expensive synthetic medications that do not cure or address the underlying causes, but only suppress symptoms, often with a plethora of dangerous side effects to the tune of billions of dollars for the drug industry. Considering that the U.S. is supposed to have the most advanced technology in the world and the best health care system, it is at odds that we spend the most on healthcare, yet are the most obese and most afflicted with illness outside of the AIDS epidemic in some third world countries.

Unless you have an acute emergency that requires emergency room care, being admitted to a hospital environment may be more dangerous to your health than staying out. In 2003, epidemiologists reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that hospital-acquired infections have risen steadily in recent decades, with blood and tissue infections known as sepsis almost tripling from 1979 to 2000. Nearly two million patients in the U.S. get an infection while in the hospital each year, and of those patients over 90,000 die per year, up dramatically from just 13,300 in 1992. Statistics show that approximately 56% of the population has been unnecessarily treated, or mistreated, by the medical industry.

Additionally, as a result of the overuse of pharmaceutical drugs and antibiotics in our bodies and environment, our immune systems have become significantly weakened, allowing antibiotic-resistant strains of disease-causing bacteria to proliferate, leaving us more susceptible to further disease. Not surprisingly, incidences of diseases have been growing at epidemic levels according to the CDC. Now diseases once thought conquered, such as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are much harder to successfully treat than they were decades ago. Drugs do not cure. They only suppress the symptoms that your body needs to express, while they ignore the underlying root cause. Side effects of synthetic and chemical drugs, which even if they are partly derived from nature have been perverted to make them patentable and profitable, are not healthy or natural, and usually cause more harm than any perceived benefit of the medication.

Where “physician errors” are concerned, these may not be entirely the fault of the doctors, as they are forced to operate within the constraints of their profession or risk losing their license, but doctors have become pawns and spokesmen for the drug companies, and the best interest of the patient has become secondary. In the name of profit, physicians are also under great pressure from hospitals to service patients as quickly as possible, like an assembly line, increasing the likelihood of error.

In conclusion, increases in healthcare costs are not just the result of frivolous law suits, but are primarily the result of a profit-oriented industry that encourages practices that lead to unnecessary and harmful procedures being performed, lethal adverse drug reactions, infections, expensive legitimate lawsuits, in-hospital and physician errors, antibiotic resistance due to overprescribing of antibiotics and drugs, and the hundreds of thousands of subsequent unnecessary deaths and injuries. Many people do not realize that there are healthier natural options, and anything unnatural or invasive we are exposed to is likely to cause either immediate or cumulative damage over time.

The recent removal of several high profile and popular prescription pain medications of the same pharmaceutical family, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, from the buyer’s market has left many people searching for a safer alternative for powerful, fast and effective pain relief. The most recent removal was Pfizer’s pulling of Bextra, citing serious skin reactions, sometimes fatal, and two others, Vioxx and Celebrex have been linked to heart related risks. The dangerous side effects of this particular family of medications is definitely cause for alarm, and has many seeking alternatives that will manage their pain effectively, without the serious risks of several pharmaceutical pain killers.

While there have always been natural and homeopathic pain relief remedies, there has never really been a powerful and viable alternative for people with chronic pain related to ailments ranging from back pain, osteoarthritis, and fibromyalgia, to rheumatism and hundreds of other joint, mucle, and nerve related ailments. These individuals are in need of serious pain reduction therapy on an ongoing basis, and the typical natural remedy simply cannot compare to the speed and effectiveness of prescription pain medications and narcotic drugs, which suppresses pain by targeting the central nervous system. That is, until now.

Before we get into that, let’s look at some of the more widely known natural and herbal remedies for pain relief. These include varying dosages and combinations of “Devil’s Claw”, Willow Bark, the ayurvedic compound Boswellia, Camomile, Bromelain, St. John’s Wort, Horsetail, and numerous others too abundant to mention.

As previously mentioned, these herbs and natural compounds can soothe minor pains and aches, but do not work as effectively as their man-made prescription couterparts. There is now a natural pain remedy on the market that is actually highly effective, and has worked very well for many as a natural pain relief alternative by utilizing a specific blend of several high-grade botanicals designed to aggressively manage pain throughout the day.

These people not only are enjoying the benefits of it’s natural pain relief, but also, and perhaps even more importantly, they are enjoying the peace of mind knowing that they are not seriously endangering their health in other ways simply so they can manage their pain.

No one want to be incapacitated and limited by pain, but who wants to endanger their health just to manage it and live a fulfilling life, and why should you have to? Well, now these people have a natural pain relief solution that has literally been harvested from the land, unaltered, and in it’s purest state. Now, doesn’t that sound healthy?

Your colon is a place for other parasites and organisms to breed and live. Many are harmful to your health and enter the body in various ways ? foods we eat, through the bottom of your feet, air you breathe, the water you drink, and through sexual activity.

What do we find in your colon? We find single cell protozoan, molds, parasites, fungus, viruses, bacteria, worms (round worms), and yeast (candida albicans),. By eliminating constipation, eating more fruits and vegetables, cleaning and detoxifying your colon, you can rid yourself of many parasites. There are herbal formulas that will help you purge these unwanted organisms out.

Now, don’t think you don’t have parasites and other organisms in your colon. It is reported that 1 in 6 people have parasites in their body.

Symptoms created when you have parasites are not always clear-cut. Occasionally there are no symptoms. So, doctors are not always able say when your symptoms or illnesses are created by parasites. You can suffer from parasites for years without knowing why you don’t have good health or just feel run down all the time.

Some common types of parasites are:

* Round worms ? can be up to 14 inches. You can get round worms by eating unproperly cooked meat or by handling dogs or cats infested with round worms.

* Tapeworms ? can be acquired by eating unproperly cooked beef, pork, and fish.

* Pinworms ? are mostly found in children who get them from other children by touching their infected clothing, toys and dirty hands.

* Giardiasis ? is a protozoan that is common among travelers. This parasite is found in untreated water, contaminated food, and can be transmitted sexually.

* Bistoplasma capsulatum ? is an infectious fungus that is found in dirt or in soil. This fungus can cause lung diseases.

There are many good parasite remedies such as olive leaf extract, black walnut, wormwood, and grape seed extract. If you have bloating, loose bowels, excess gas, or other gastrointestinal conditions, try taking olive leaf extract or a drop or two of grape seed extract each day.