Natural Health Remedies

Ever since men and women started losing hair, there have been ’remedies’ to stop or reverse the process, and many a con-artist or trickster happy to make a quick buck through the misery and misfortune of others. I can imagine one of our distant ancestors buying a toupee fashioned out of twigs only to be ridiculed by the rest of the tribe.

Indeed potential cures have ranged from Wiccan magic spells to getting various animals, commonly cows in India to lick the scalp of a balding man. An eighth century Chinese remedy which involves catching a green grass snake and pounding it to death in a bag of silk and then boiling the remains and rubbing them into your scalp and the Native Americans had a similar remedy, replacing the snakes with scorpions, nettles and the urine from a pregnant woman!

On a more serious note, bearing in mind all causes of hair loss as discussed in my other articles, there are only two types of treatments are going to work, those which address the hormonal sensitivity, or treatments that stimulate growth despite it. And as it happens there are only two drug treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for male baldness: Minoxidil and Finasteride. And we will begin by looking at Minoxidil today.

Minoxidil (more commonly known by its trade names Rogaine and Regaine) is a vasodilator medication which was first used exclusively as an oral drug to treat high blood pressure. However those using it will noticed an interesting side effect, namely increased growth and darkening of fine body hairs.

Seeing the potential of this Upjohn Corporation produced a topical solution that contained 2% minoxidil to be used to treat baldness and hair loss, under the brand name Rogaine in the United States and Canada, and Regaine in Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Treatments are available in 5% concentration solution for men and 2% concentration solutions for women.

How Minoxidil works is still not fully understood but studies have shown it is effective in preventing hair loss and may help attain some regrowth. One particular study in healthy males aged 18–50 years with male pattern baldness found that compared to a baseline of 103 to 106 hairs/cm2, those who applied of a 5% solution of minoxidil for 32 weeks increased their hair counts by an average of 39 hairs/cm2, in contrast to 5 hairs/cm2 in subjects who received a placebo.

It should be noted that Minoxidil has shown to be more effective in younger men (18 to 41 years of age) and has shown to work only in the central vertex are, so will not help those with a receding hairline.

As with most medicines some side affects should normally be expected however Minoxidil fares pretty well in this department.

The most common side effect of topical (i.e. external use) is in fact an itchy scalp, dandruff and hair loss. Yes you did read that correctly, hair loss is a common side effect of minoxidil treatment, however manufacturers and users say this is part of the shedding and regrowing effect. However there is no guarantee that the new hair loss will be replaced with hair growth. Regardless Minoxidil remains one of the most widely used treatment of balding in the world today. It is my personal recommendation for slowing down the balding process before you consider hair transplant.

Michael is Practice Manager at the Australian Institute of Hair Restoration, AIHR and Advance Cosmetic Beauty Clinic. Call 1300733092 for a free consultation. Hair transplant & other cosmetic surgery can be arranged in Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne – Australia.

If you’re searching high and low about the best way to lose those extra pounds, then no doubt you’ve come across NutriSystem, one of the most popular systems designed for weight loss purposes. These days, so many people are eager to become thinner, making them an easy target for marketing scams. Well, we’ve checked out NutriSystem reviews and we’re eager to tell you what we’ve found out about this particular system and help you see why this weight loss system is definitely worth a try.

A Healthy Diet

The system’s primary feature is the NutriSystem Food, which is basically a diet created to help people who want to lose weight achieve their goal. There are a number of diets out there, but the NutriSystem isn’t focused on counting calories. Instead, it includes foods that are healthy. Properly proportioned, eating these foods will allow you to get back in shape slowly but surely – until you reach your ideal weight and go for maintenance from there. Unlike other diets, this particular system actually encourages you to eat – but in moderation, which is the key to a successful weight loss plan.

Great Deals and Savings

NutriSystem reviews show that one of the main reasons why NutriSystem is such a hit among dieters is that it’s surprisingly very convenient. The company sells pre-packaged meals from their website and, upon receipt and confirmation of your order, ships them to your door. What’s more, the company also has an ongoing deal that involves supplying a week’s worth of NutriSystem food packages for free with every four-week order. If you go for this deal, you’d only be spending approximately $293.72 for five weeks’ worth of food. That’s big, big savings right there! This makes the system significantly cheaper than the competition, including Jenny Craig, LA Weight Loss, and Weight Watchers. At a time where basic commodities such as staple fruits, vegetables and poultry are priced so high, it’s no wonder why NutriSystem has such a huge following.

New Programs

Another thing worth mentioning about NutriSystem is that it’s always evolving, creating more wonderful opportunities for people to lose weight effectively and safely. The company is now promoting the NutriSystem Flex, a new program wherein you are to eat Nutrisystem Food for five days every week. The two days that are left out is when you are free to decide what to eat – you can provide your own food. This program recommends meal plans to help you make better decisions. You are, in fact, encouraged to take in fresh and whole foods to balance out the highly-processed NutriSystem fare. The NutriSystem Flex is considered by many health experts a good innovation because it gives way to variance in calorie intake, ensuring your body that it will not be restricted to the same foods all the time. Plus, since this new member of the NutriSystem company is cheaper, the chances are higher for you to be able to take the diet further, to really keep it and achieve weight loss at last.

For more information on Nutrisystem Food, visit NutriSystem Reviews site.

The increasingly popular HCG diet was originally developed more than 50 years ago by Dr. A.T. W. Simeons. Even though there are people who say this diet is a scam and doesn’t really work, there are thousands of people who have successfully lost and kept off significant amounts of weight with the HCG protocol.

In fact, part of the reason this particular diet is so popular is that people can lose one to two pounds per day, and even more during the first week, by following the protocol outlined by Dr. Simeons.

Dr. Simeons spent many years studying the connection between HCG and weight loss. He discovered that this particular hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin, has an interesting effect on the hypothalamus, a region of the brain that, among other things, controls and regulates our weight and metabolism. The interaction of the hypothalamus and HCG causes the release of excess abnormal fat stores into the bloodstream, which allows the body to burn it more readily. In this way, the HCG diet for weight loss prevents extreme feelings of hunger while eating only 500 calories a day.

This is a crucial aspect of the HCG protocol diet; normally, when calories are severely restricted, the body goes into starvation mode in order to preserve excess fat stores. The metabolism slows down, making it almost impossible to burn unwanted, abnormal fat. But since that fat is released due to the effects of the HCG, the body can utilize it for energy rather than burning muscle tissue and vital fat (such as the fat that protects our organs) which is what typically occurs on a low calorie diet. All that released fat in the bloodstream eliminates the occurrence of significant feelings of hunger, making it easy to tolerate a very low calorie diet (vlcd) for several weeks at a time.

While skeptics and critics of the HCG diet for weight loss argue that of course anyone will lose weight if they eat only 500 calories a day, they miss the important fact that individuals on this diet have very little, if any, experience of hunger. Additionally, they ignore the fact that individuals who strictly adhere to the HCG protocol typically experience several benefits that often don’t occur with other weight loss programs:

-A reshaping, or “resculpting”, of their body

-Significantly less binge eating

-Much less tendency towards emotional eating

-Fewer cravings following the diet

-A significant decrease in inches

-A new “setpoint” weight that makes normal eating possible without gains

These benefits have been experienced by those who have used HCG injections as well as those who have used homeopathic oral HCG drops. This is especially good news for anyone who dislikes needles or can’t afford the $500-$2000 cost of an HCG clinic!

While the HCG diet protocol is definitely very effective for shedding stubborn unwanted pounds, it is popular with dieters for many other reasons as well:

-You don’t need to engage in exercise while on the plan.

-You don’t need to purchase any special, pre-made meals.

-Your grocery bill will be significantly reduced.

-You will lose a significant amount of weight within the first several days.

-The HCG protocol resets your metabolism, helping you keep your weight off for years to come.

-With oral HCG drops, no prescription is required.

-You will lose stubborn fat from your thighs, hips, arms, belly and buttocks.

-Homeopathic oral HCG is very safe.

Serious About Losing Weight? Buy HCG drops!

Winter usually means more than just nasty weather, snow days, and shorter days. It also means another cold and flu season is upon us. But, if you are like most people, you probably don’t have time to be sick. You may have a work deadline ahead, very few sick days to use at work, or a big event on the horizon, so you are probably looking for ways to get over your cold faster, and back on your feet. Here are some tips on how to recover quickly from your cold symptoms.

1. Find the right cold medicine for you. There are so many types of cold/flu medicine out there on the market that choosing the right one may seem difficult. Try choosing one that has all of your symptoms listed on the label. If you only have a runny nose and sneezing, you should pick a product that has only these on the label, but if you have a cough and a sore throat as well, you should pick one that will ease the symptoms of all four. If you are still unsure, call your doctor or ask the pharmacist. They can help you pick out the one that is best for your symptoms and in some cases they may recommend an antibiotic, if you have a viral infection.

2. Get plenty of rest. Taking time to rest, recharge, and distress is a great way to get over a cold. If you’re a mom, you could arrange for your kids to visit a grandparent or stay with a sitter, while you get a few hours of rest or you can just take time out of your day to read or watch a good movie, instead of thinking about bills, work, or whatever other stressful situations you are subject to throughout the day.

3. Eat foods that are rich in Vitamin C and other nutrients. Believe it or not, chicken soup has been proven to help you get over a cold faster, because chicken releases an amino acid during cooking that chemically resembles the drug acetylcysteine, which is often prescribed for bronchitis and other respiratory problems. Some also say that the spices added to chicken soup such as garlic and pepper is ancient treatments for respiratory problems. You can get your vitamin C from a variety of juices and fresh fruit, and you can invest in a vitamin C supplement. You should do your best to stay hydrated, especially since most sinus and respiratory medication can leave you feeling dried out.

4. Alcohol is not the answer. While alcohol is a popular choice of most old-timers, and while it may provide temporary relief. Alcohol merely dehydrates you and masks the symptoms. It is important to stay hydrated and work on getting better, instead of always looking for a quick fix.

While colds are annoying and often time consuming, it is important to put in the effort and take the necessary steps to not only feeling better, but to getting well. You should not hesitate to contact your doctor if you symptoms continue for more than a week, or if you are concerned about something you are taking or doing.

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