Get Chitika Premium
Sign up for PayPal and start accepting credit card payments instantly.

Drop 300 EC Fast

http://voiceofbragg.com/dropentrecardsfast/

Sunday, January 10, 2010


5 New Year's Resolutions That Save Money

When you make those New Year's resolutions, you're thinking about fresh starts and the year ahead. What you might not realize is that they also could save money.


Here are five popular resolutions and just how much you could save if you resolve them in 2010:

Quit Smoking

Smoking won't just kill you, it'll drain your bank account.

Smokers are using the high cost of the habit as one reason to quit. In an August study by the American Lung Association in Washington, D.C., smokers listed "saving money" as the No. 1 reason they wanted to quit, says Dr. Norman H. Edelman, chief medical officer.

You can save money by stopping a pack-a-day habit, which can cost between $1,825 and $3,650 per year, depending on the cost of cigarettes in your area. Nationally, a pack-a-day smoker is going to average $2,000 annually on cigarette costs, says Edelman.

Then there's the extra dry cleaning to rid your clothes of the smell, dental bleaching or caps for yellowed teeth and Botox to iron out smoking-induced wrinkles, he says.

Quitting also can save on insurance premiums. Typically, a smoker pays 15 percent to 25 percent more on health insurance premiums than nonsmokers and 50 percent more for life insurance, says Scott Leavitt, past president of the National Association of Health Underwriters in Arlington, Va., and president of Scott Leavitt Insurance & Financial Services in the Boise, Idaho, area.

And if you successfully quit smoking, you'll get nonsmoker rates after you've been smoke-free for a year, says Leavitt.

Exercise Regularly

You'll save money in several ways with regular exercise.

On average, Americans are spending $7,800 annually on health care, according to the National Association of Health Underwriters. "More than half those costs are the result of lifestyle choices," says Leavitt.

But exercise brings real savings. "If people are eating right and exercising three times a week for 20 minutes a day, they see prescription costs decrease by 70 percent and medical costs decrease by 30 percent," he says.

Dietitian Katherine Tallmadge has seen similar results in her patients. Exercise can dramatically improve conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease, she says.

With exercise alone, patients (with their doctor's guidance) "are able to go off medications entirely or cut medication in half," says Tallmadge, spokeswoman for the Chicago-based American Dietetic Association and author of "Diet Simple."

Eat Healthier

A healthy eating plan can be as -- or more -- economical than fast food. "It's a total myth that eating healthy is expensive," says Tallmadge. "It's the cheapest way to eat."

"The fat, the salty, the sweet, that's the expensive stuff," she says. For example, a 10-ounce bag of potato chips is $2.59. For the same money, you could buy four pounds of potatoes, which contain vitamins and fiber, she says.

Connie Diekman, director of University Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis and past president of the American Dietetic Association, offers these tips to save money: Buy smaller but leaner cuts of meat, eat protein-rich beans and buy produce in season when it's freshest and least expensive.

A smaller amount of a leaner cut can slice your food bill and your bad cholesterol.

"You don't focus on what's the cheapest," says Diekman. "You focus on what's going to meet your needs most economically."

Pay Down Debt

If this is a priority, it means that you've already recognized your life would be better without the stress of debt.

The average American owes $8,329, according to a 2009 survey by The Nilson Report, a Carpinteria, California-based newsletter on consumer payment systems. If you're carrying that load with a 15.99 percent APR and making minimum payments of $167 per month to start, it will take you 33 years to pay off the debt. And you'll pay $15,289 in interest.

But kick in an extra $35.50 per month (paying $202.50 every month), and you can pay that same debt off in five years. Total interest: $3,821.

Paying down debt has another added benefit: Your credit score goes up. That means the next time you borrow money, you'll pay less for that loan.

Build Up Emergency Fund

Nothing takes the stress out of financial situations like spare cash. But it can also save you money. When you have cash on hand, you don't have to use more expensive options like high-APR credit cards, short-term loans and payday loans for emergencies.

If you're hit with an unexpected $500 car repair, you're covered. If you put that $500 on a credit card with a 15.99 percent APR and take a year to pay it off, it will cost you about $580.

With a payday lender, the interest rate will average 15 percent for two weeks, which works out to 400 percent annually, says Keith Ernst, director of research for the Center for Responsible Lending in Durham, N.C. At that rate, a $500 emergency could cost much more.

Having money set aside can be your answer to unexpected bills, says Dave Jones, president of the Fairfax, Va.-based Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies. Says Jones: "Having that emergency fund there is such a comfort."


Friday, July 31, 2009


The Wonders of Honey and Cinnamon


Bet the drug companies won't like this one getting around. It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a "Ram Ban" (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases. Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada , in its issue dated 17 January, 1995 has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:

HEART DISEASES:Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heart beat. In America and Canada , various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that as you age, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

ARTHRITIS:Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon Honey and half teaspoon Cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

BLADDER INFECTIONS:Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

TOOTHACHE:Make a paste of one teaspoon of cinnamon powder and five teaspoons of honey and apply on the aching tooth. This may be applied three times a day until the tooth stops aching.

CHOLESTEROL:Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of Cinnamon Powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, was found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS:Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

UPSET STOMACH:Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomach ache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS:According to the studies done in India and Japan , it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

IMMUNE SYSTEM:Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks. Scientists have found that honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

INDIGESTION:Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA:A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural Ingredient which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY:Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four times a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age. Life spans also increases and even a 100 year old, starts performing the chores of a 20-year-old.

WEIGHT LOSS:Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stomach and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body.

CANCER:Recent research in Japan and Australia has revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three times a day.

FATIGUE: Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful rather than! than being detrimental to the strength of the body. Senior citizens, who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts, are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

Thursday, July 23, 2009


HEALTHY JUICES FOR TOTAL WELLNESS

Recommend below are the secret recipe for healthy drinking.

Carrot + Ginger + Apple
> Boost and cleanse our system.

Apple + Cucumber + Celery
> Prevent cancer, reduce cholesterol, and improve stomach upset and headache.

Tomato + Carrot + Apple
> Improve skin complexion and bad breath.

Bitter gourd + Apple + Milk
> Avoid bad breath and reduce internal body heat.

Orange + Ginger + Cucumber
> Improve skin texture and moisture and reduce body heat.

Pineapple + Apple + Watermelon
> To dispel excess salts, nourishes the bladder and kidney

Apple + Cucumber + Kiwi
> To improves skin complexion.

Pear & Banana
> To regulates sugar content.

Carrot + Apple + Pear + Mango
> Clear body heat, counteracts toxicity, decreased blood pressure and fight oxidization!

Honeydew + Grape + Watermelon + Milk
> Rich in vitamin C + Vitamin B2 that increases cell activity and strengthen body immunity.

Papaya + Pineapple + Milk
> Rich in vitamin C, E, Iron. Improve skin complexion and metabolism.

Banana + Pineapple + Milk
> Rich in Vitamin with nutritious and prevent constipation

Sunday, April 19, 2009


Women Over 40: Blood Sugar Hormones Make You Fat And What To Do About It

By Perry Permann

Are you a women over 40? Your hormone system changes. If you are a woman over 40 and you want to lose weight permanently, an important hormone to look at is insulin. Insulin has a large effect on if you are capable to lose weight permanently- and might make you fat instead. Do you know why?

Insulin is released by the pancreas- an organ playing a major part in digestion and regulating blood sugar. There are many hormones raising your blood sugar, including glucagon, adrenalin and growth hormones. Numerous health risks, such as diabetes are correlated with high blood sugar. So we have numerous hormones raising your blood sugar level, and increasing health dangers.

But: There is only one hormone aiding you to decrease blood sugar, and that's insulin. Insulin scales down blood sugar levels. Hence it is essential to balance your blood sugar.

After eating, sugar is getting into the blood stream- for example as a result of digesting starchy foods. To deliver energy to your body, this blood sugar needs to go into the cells of your body. Insuline facilitates this process: Sugar goes from the blood into the cells where it can be burned.

Insulin has more tasks to do. It assists to get fatty acids from the blood into the fat cells where they are stored. Insulin prevents your body from burning fat as well. So, insulin is a major player in the old orchestra of players raising fat storage- very useful for our ancestors who were vulnerable by starvation all the time, but causing too much fat on our bodies nowadays.

Too much insulin contributes to belly fat, being overweight and diabetes, disorder in fat metabolism, heart attacks and strokes.

In women over 40 the endocrine system can be disturbed much easier compared to women in their twenties. If you are a women over 40, you need to look at your insulin level. Two crucial mistakes in eating lead to too much insulin:

* High glycemic index (GI). The easier sugar contained in food gets in the blood, the faster and higher the insulin level grows. The gycemic index (GI) measures how easy sugar from digestion gets in the blood. Cakes, most sweets, white bread and rice or sweet fruits are common foods with a high GI. Broadly speaking, the GI rises with the amount of processing for food. So natural foods have a comparably low GI, whereas extremely processed foods often have a high GI. Avoid foods containing syrup, fructose, saccharose etc.


* Eating artificial sweeteners fools your brain into thinking sugar has got in the blood stream. The insulin level grows, and, as you know by now, you will burn less fat because of that. That's one of the reasons diet sodas do not contribute to losing weight permanently in a healthy way.

If you eat too much fat and have a high insulin level, the fat gets right into fat cells- what you want to avoid to lose weight permanently over 40.

Are you a woman over 40? I've created a free, personalized program for women over 40 who want to lose weight permanently. How would you like to get excellent, lasting weight loss results- be attractive, healthy, energetic, youthful? This program adjusts to your specific situation and keeps you motivated while you enjoy healthy eating and exercise.

Sunday, March 22, 2009


How to Make Garlic Flavored Oil

By Gloria Daniels

Go into any specialty cooking store these days and you will find a large array of flavored oils. They are all bottled beautifully and have a beautiful price tag to match. If you love to cook and this product interests you, why not make your own?

Flavored oils add depth of flavor to your dish as they disperse their flavor throughout a dish immediately and maintain their fresh flavor. They add richness to your cooking and give intense flavors immediately.

Make small batches of oil and refrigerate them to preserve their flavor. FDA recommends that home-prepared mixtures of garlic oil be made fresh for use and not left at room temperatures. Leftovers should be refrigerated and used within 10-14 days to avoid botulism.


Garlic flavored oil is delicious in dressings and is also great to brush on meat and fish. It also can't be beat as a dipping oil with fresh bread. Try the method below for making your own flavored garlic oil, and you may find this becomes a staple in your kitchen.


Recipe for Flavored Garlic Oil


Heat 3 3/4 cups of extra virgin oil oil to a gentle simmer. Add 25 peeled large fresh garlic cloves and poach them for approximately 25 minutes until tender and translucent. Take off the heat and leave in pan until the oil is cooled. Make sure the oil doesn't come to a boil as this will affect the delicate flavor of the olive oil.


Strain the garlic from the oil, reserving them for future use. Pour the oil into a clean decorative bottle and seal with a screw top or cork.


Makes 3 cups of flavored oil


The leftover garlic cloves are a rare treat spread on french bread, meat or fish. If they are not used immediately, pack in a glass jar, cover with oil, refrigerate and use within 10 days.


Remember that the end result is only as good as the ingredients you use. Use a good extra virgin olive oil and fresh plump garlic cloves and you will have a superior flavored oil equal to the best garlic oil you can buy in a high end boutique.

Monday, February 16, 2009


Are You Wasting Money on Multivitamins?

By Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. -


Advertisements with tantalizing promises of improved health, prevention of cancer and heart disease, and greater energy have lured millions of Americans to spend billions of dollars on the purchase of multivitamins.


An article in the February 9 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine reported that multivitamin use did not protect the 161,808 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Study from common forms of cancer, heart attacks, or strokes. And the numbers of deaths during the 8 years of the study were the same in vitamin users as in non-users. Still, it is important to recognize that this was an observational study, not a more meaningful clinical trial. Although these findings apply only to women, other studies have failed to show benefits of multivitamins in older men.

These results are not at all surprising for several reasons. No large study has shown that multivitamins significantly benefit healthy men and women. In addition, for some years physicians prescribed folic acid and vitamins B12 and B6 in the hopes of preventing heart attacks and strokes by lowering blood levels of homocysteine. (High blood levels of homocysteine are associated with an increased risk of coronary and other vascular diseases.) A number of recent studies, however, have shown that, while these vitamins do lower homocysteine levels, they do not prevent heart attacks or strokes.

Many doctors have also prescribed the antioxidants vitamin E and beta-carotene to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Alas, studies have now proven that these supplements are not protective--and may even be harmful.

No one denies that an adequate intake of vitamins is essential; however, vitamins can and should be obtained from eating enough healthy foods rather than from swallowing vitamin supplements.

Then what about vitamins being a great source of energy? Some multivitamin ads do indeed claim that their supplements boost energy; and some professional athletes gobble handfuls of vitamin pills to increase their energy and strength. But researchers proved long ago that energy comes from calories, not vitamins. The highly touted cholesterol-lowering effects of substances added to some multivitamin supplements? Still unproven.

All this is not to say that specific vitamins supplements are never desirable. Vitamins can be valuable in certain situations:

Folic acid supplements in women who are pregnant or plan to become pregnant can help to prevent serious neural-tube defects that affect the baby's brain and spine.

Supplements that contain more vitamin D and calcium than is present in regular multivitamin pills can help older men, and especially women, avoid osteoporosis and bone fractures.
Supplements of vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, zinc, and copper may slow the progression of vision loss in people with early macular degeneration.

And multivitamins are beneficial for some entire groups of people:
those on a very-low-calorie weight-loss diet



individuals who are not getting an adequate diet because they are too sick or too poor--or live by themselves and are unable to prepare proper meals for themselves

I also agree with a comment made by one of the coauthors of the Archives of Internal Medicine article about postmenopausal women mentioned above. An 8-year follow-up period may not be long enough to show that multivitamins protect against cancers that take many years to develop.
All the same, the results of the studies on vitamins so far point to one conclusion: Healthy people who eat enough calories from a varied diet do not benefit from multivitamin supplements.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Cure For Dengue Fever




Dear All

I would like to share this interesting discovery from a classmate's son who has just recovered from dengue fever. Apparently, his son was in the critical stage at the SJMC ICU when his pallet counts drops to 15 after 15 litres of blood transfusion. His father was so worried that he seeks another friend's recommendation and his son was saved.


He confessed to me that he give his son raw juice of the papaya leaves. From a pallet count of 45 after 20 litres of blood transfusion, and after drinking the raw papaya leaf juice, his pallet count jumps instantly to 135.


Even the doctors and nurses were surprised. After the second day he was discharged. So he asked me to pass this good news round. Accordingly it is raw papaya leaves, 2 pcs just cleaned and pound and squeeze with filter cloth. You will only get one tablespoon per leaf. So two tablespoon per serving once a day. Do not boil or cook or rinse with hot water, it will loose its strength. Only the leafy part and no stem or sap. It is very bitter and you have to swallow it like Won Low Kat.

But it works.

Papaya Juice - Cure for Dengue
You may have heard this elsewhere but if not, I am glad to inform you that papaya juice is a natural cure for dengue fever. As dengue fever is rampant now, I think it's good to share this with all. A friend of mine had dengue last year. It was a very serious situation for her as her platelet count had dropped to 28,000 after 3 days in hospital and water has started to fill up her lung. She had difficulty in breathing. She was only 32-year old. Doctor says there's no cure for dengue. We just have to wait for her body immune system to build up resistance against dengue and fight its own battle. She already had 2 blood transfusion and all of us were praying very hard as her platelet continued to drop since the first day she was admitted.

Fortunately her mother-in-law heard that papaya juice would help to reduce the fever and got some papaya leaves, pounded them and squeeze the juice out for her. The next day, her platelet count started to increase, her fever subsided. We continued to feed her with papaya juice and she recovered after 3 days!!!

Amazing but it's true. It's believed one's body would be overheated when one is down with dengue and that also caused the patient to have fever. Papaya juice has cooling effect. Thus, it helps to reduce the heatiness in one's body, thus the fever will go away. I found that it's also good when one is having sore throat or suffering from heatiness.