AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY (TRY THE KEY WORD) AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY .
Cancer Update from John Hopkins:
1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.
2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.
3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.
4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.
5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.
6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.
7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.
8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.
9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.
10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.
11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.
CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc. are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are being starved.
c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try to drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering.. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.
1 6. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
PLEASE READ
1. No plastic containers in micro.
2. No water bottles in freezer.
3. No plastic wrap in microwave.
Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer.
Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital was on a TV program to explain this health hazard.
He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high he at, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in&n bsp; the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
DISCOVER YOUR ACHIEVEMENT ZONE
Here’s how to get more done in less time…
When a knock sounded on her office door, Alma Triner looked up, startled and noticed that it was dark outside. She hadn’t even had lunch! Her boss opened the door and put his head inside. “Want a ride to the party?” he asked.
For a moment Triner was surprised. Then her mind shifted gears. A vice president of the international consulting firm Arthur D. Little, in Cambridge Mass., she was expected at a dinner party for the firm’s top executives. But she hadn’t thought about it for hours. Since morning she’d been working on a presentation for a client. As the ideas and words came smoothly, everything else had escaped her.
“I was getting so much accomplished,” she recalled later. “Every sentence, every concept felt just right. I was hardly aware of what I was doing.”
Alma Triner had been in her “zone” – a term often used by athletes to described being zeroed in on a task that they are oblivious to distractions. Absorbed by her project, Triner was able to ignore jangling telepphones, hunger pangs, even the march of time. And she had not only produced top-quality work but had done so in less time than it would have taken many equally talented competitors.
The ability to devote unswerving attention to a task can produce success in any field. On the other hand, being unable to stay in a zone can turn a sure winner into an also-ran. At the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials, decathlon star Dan O’Brien began by setting a record pace in the contest’s events that a place on the team seemed certain. That’s when he relaxed and stumbled in the pole vault – failing to clear a height that he had reached hundreds of times before. Unable, as he admitted later, to “get his head together,” he tried and failed twice more. Despite O’Brien’s physical abilities, a mental lapse had dashed his Olympic hopes.
Most of us can symphatize with O’Brien. You’ve probably had those frustrating times when you couldn’t seem to get your brain going. You’ve sat blankly in front of the computer screen, struggling to find the right words. You’ve stared at the budget figures, unable to get your mind around them. And yet you’ve also known states of high concentration – when you’ve done your best work at a fast pace. How can you get yourself into this most productive state, your own personal zone?
Psychologists who have worked in the field of maximum performance, and neurologists who have studied what happens to the brain in such states, provide useful advice.
Practise, practise. Does mental focus develop the part of the brain used in the task, just as physical exercise builds up the muscles? Psychology professor Michael Posner of the University of Oregon used PET scans and electroencephalograms to trace the brain activity of people focused on given tasks. Trying a task for the first time increased blood flow and electrical activity in the brain. But as the subjects became accomplished, brain blood flow and electrical discharges decreased, the more we practise concentration, Posner believes, the less brain activity is necessary.
“The key,” says Louis Csoka, who taught concentration to future battlefield commanders at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, “is to learn to overcome ‘noise’ and interference, whether internal or external.” If you’re a jazz lover, you might practise by turning some music on and listening only to the alto saxophone, blocking out all the other instruments or vocals. If you’re a football fan, practise by looking only the left outside linebacker.
Follow a ritual. On operating room days, California oral surgeon Al Steunenberg always rises at the same hour, drives to work by the same route and parks in the same parking place. He dons his scrub suit top first, then the pants; washes the right hand first, then the left; moves to exactly the same position beside the patient.
It’s not superstition. In following his ritual, the surgeon systematically focuses on the task ahead. By the time he is ready to operate, he is completely in his zone. “It’s like an athlete or a priest before a ceremony,” says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor of human development at the University of Chicago and author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimum Experience. “Habitual behavior makes it easier for them to develop their undivided attention to the challenge ahead. The ritual activity recalibrates the mind.”
A ritual can be created for just about any task. If you hate balancing your chequebook, establish a sequence: Clear your desk; lay pencils on your left and calculator on your right; open the bank statement. The ritual will ease the transition to the unwelcome chore.
Invent Challenges. A hundred years ago, pioneer psychologist William James declared that humans use only a tiny part of their potential. All too many of our tasks are routine or tedious. The brain operates almost on idle. The result can be careless mistakes or dragged-out drudgery because we “can’t get with it.”
The perfect state of flow, or zoning, Csikszentmihalyi explains, occurs when our skills exactly measure up to the challenges confronting us. Therefore, Csikszentmihalyi says, the way to get a dull but simple job done easily is to make it harder. Turn a boring task into a challenging game, so that you engage all your potential. Invent rules, set goals, pace yourself against a clock. The increased challenge maybe what nudges you into your zone.
I was once asked to write an introduction to a series of articles on litigation. Words came slowly as I plugged away at a topic that didn’t inspire me. I made numerous trips to the coffeepot. Then the magazine’s art director phoned to say he’d created an eye-catching design for the article, drawing a gavel bent into the letter J. Could the first word of the article begin with J?
I not only accepted the challenge but added one of my own: Could every paragraph begin with J? Using such words as Justice, Jurisprudence and John Marshall, I managed nine paragraphs. By engaging my attention, the contest expedited the task.
Talk to yourself. As you install that drip irrigation system in your rose bed, tell yourself, “The line to the hose bib goes here, the the first emitter…” Verbalizing keeps your mind on the task, reinforces the steps you’re taking and reminds you of what needs to be done.
Self-talk can also serve as white noise, taking your mind off distracting stimuli. A young ski racer, bothered by spectators and blowing snow, was having a disappointing competition when his coach pulled him aside. “Look ahead,” the coach said, reminding the skier to focus on the gates ahead as he skied the ones before. Repeating the phrase like a mantra – “Look ahead, look ahead, look ahead” – the skier focused his attention and won a medal.
Forget tomorrow. You can’t wait to see your boss’s smile when you submit on time that flawless report. Or perhaps you’re nagged by the worry that he won’t like it.
“Preoccupation with outcomes makes us mindless,” says Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer. When you let your thoughts drift to the future, you go right out of your zone – and take your concentration with you.
Dallas Cowboys lineman Leon Lett learned that the hard way. Lett, a defensive tackle, had not scored a touchdown since he was a ten-year old. But in the 1993 Super Bowl, he got his chance when the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback fumbled right in front of him. Lett scooped the ball up and headed for the goal line, 64 yards away. There was no one between him and a sure six points. Crossing the ten-yard line, Lett threw his arms out in jubilation, the ball in one outstretched paw. He never heard the pursuing footsteps of the Bills’ wide receiver, Don Beebe. At one-yard line, Beebe reached out and knocked the ball from Lett’s grasp, ending the lineman’s premature triumph.
Focusing on the future instead of the present can cripple any activity. “A top tennis player thinks about making a good shot, not about winning the match,” says psychologist John E. Anderson, president of the Centre for Sports Psychology. “One good shot followed by another good shot will win the match.”
To keep in your zone, stay zeroed in on the here and now.
Interrupt yourself. Sometimes a short break can actually help you get a job done faster. When stress threatens your concentration, take a deep breath and picture yourself in a calm environment. Or bend over and let your arms dangle, relaxing all your muscles. Sound can also help. You can buy relaxation tapes or make your own, selecting whatever sounds you find soothing.
When you’ve relaxed, go back to the job. But when you’ve finished, don’t plunge immediately into the next task on your list. “Take a break for a while,” Csikszentmihalyi advises, and give yourself a chance to rejuvenate.
When a knock sounded on her office door, Alma Triner looked up, startled and noticed that it was dark outside. She hadn’t even had lunch! Her boss opened the door and put his head inside. “Want a ride to the party?” he asked.
For a moment Triner was surprised. Then her mind shifted gears. A vice president of the international consulting firm Arthur D. Little, in Cambridge Mass., she was expected at a dinner party for the firm’s top executives. But she hadn’t thought about it for hours. Since morning she’d been working on a presentation for a client. As the ideas and words came smoothly, everything else had escaped her.
“I was getting so much accomplished,” she recalled later. “Every sentence, every concept felt just right. I was hardly aware of what I was doing.”
Alma Triner had been in her “zone” – a term often used by athletes to described being zeroed in on a task that they are oblivious to distractions. Absorbed by her project, Triner was able to ignore jangling telepphones, hunger pangs, even the march of time. And she had not only produced top-quality work but had done so in less time than it would have taken many equally talented competitors.
The ability to devote unswerving attention to a task can produce success in any field. On the other hand, being unable to stay in a zone can turn a sure winner into an also-ran. At the 1992 U.S. Olympic trials, decathlon star Dan O’Brien began by setting a record pace in the contest’s events that a place on the team seemed certain. That’s when he relaxed and stumbled in the pole vault – failing to clear a height that he had reached hundreds of times before. Unable, as he admitted later, to “get his head together,” he tried and failed twice more. Despite O’Brien’s physical abilities, a mental lapse had dashed his Olympic hopes.
Most of us can symphatize with O’Brien. You’ve probably had those frustrating times when you couldn’t seem to get your brain going. You’ve sat blankly in front of the computer screen, struggling to find the right words. You’ve stared at the budget figures, unable to get your mind around them. And yet you’ve also known states of high concentration – when you’ve done your best work at a fast pace. How can you get yourself into this most productive state, your own personal zone?
Psychologists who have worked in the field of maximum performance, and neurologists who have studied what happens to the brain in such states, provide useful advice.
Practise, practise. Does mental focus develop the part of the brain used in the task, just as physical exercise builds up the muscles? Psychology professor Michael Posner of the University of Oregon used PET scans and electroencephalograms to trace the brain activity of people focused on given tasks. Trying a task for the first time increased blood flow and electrical activity in the brain. But as the subjects became accomplished, brain blood flow and electrical discharges decreased, the more we practise concentration, Posner believes, the less brain activity is necessary.
“The key,” says Louis Csoka, who taught concentration to future battlefield commanders at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, “is to learn to overcome ‘noise’ and interference, whether internal or external.” If you’re a jazz lover, you might practise by turning some music on and listening only to the alto saxophone, blocking out all the other instruments or vocals. If you’re a football fan, practise by looking only the left outside linebacker.
Follow a ritual. On operating room days, California oral surgeon Al Steunenberg always rises at the same hour, drives to work by the same route and parks in the same parking place. He dons his scrub suit top first, then the pants; washes the right hand first, then the left; moves to exactly the same position beside the patient.
It’s not superstition. In following his ritual, the surgeon systematically focuses on the task ahead. By the time he is ready to operate, he is completely in his zone. “It’s like an athlete or a priest before a ceremony,” says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, professor of human development at the University of Chicago and author of Flow: The Psychology of Optimum Experience. “Habitual behavior makes it easier for them to develop their undivided attention to the challenge ahead. The ritual activity recalibrates the mind.”
A ritual can be created for just about any task. If you hate balancing your chequebook, establish a sequence: Clear your desk; lay pencils on your left and calculator on your right; open the bank statement. The ritual will ease the transition to the unwelcome chore.
Invent Challenges. A hundred years ago, pioneer psychologist William James declared that humans use only a tiny part of their potential. All too many of our tasks are routine or tedious. The brain operates almost on idle. The result can be careless mistakes or dragged-out drudgery because we “can’t get with it.”
The perfect state of flow, or zoning, Csikszentmihalyi explains, occurs when our skills exactly measure up to the challenges confronting us. Therefore, Csikszentmihalyi says, the way to get a dull but simple job done easily is to make it harder. Turn a boring task into a challenging game, so that you engage all your potential. Invent rules, set goals, pace yourself against a clock. The increased challenge maybe what nudges you into your zone.
I was once asked to write an introduction to a series of articles on litigation. Words came slowly as I plugged away at a topic that didn’t inspire me. I made numerous trips to the coffeepot. Then the magazine’s art director phoned to say he’d created an eye-catching design for the article, drawing a gavel bent into the letter J. Could the first word of the article begin with J?
I not only accepted the challenge but added one of my own: Could every paragraph begin with J? Using such words as Justice, Jurisprudence and John Marshall, I managed nine paragraphs. By engaging my attention, the contest expedited the task.
Talk to yourself. As you install that drip irrigation system in your rose bed, tell yourself, “The line to the hose bib goes here, the the first emitter…” Verbalizing keeps your mind on the task, reinforces the steps you’re taking and reminds you of what needs to be done.
Self-talk can also serve as white noise, taking your mind off distracting stimuli. A young ski racer, bothered by spectators and blowing snow, was having a disappointing competition when his coach pulled him aside. “Look ahead,” the coach said, reminding the skier to focus on the gates ahead as he skied the ones before. Repeating the phrase like a mantra – “Look ahead, look ahead, look ahead” – the skier focused his attention and won a medal.
Forget tomorrow. You can’t wait to see your boss’s smile when you submit on time that flawless report. Or perhaps you’re nagged by the worry that he won’t like it.
“Preoccupation with outcomes makes us mindless,” says Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer. When you let your thoughts drift to the future, you go right out of your zone – and take your concentration with you.
Dallas Cowboys lineman Leon Lett learned that the hard way. Lett, a defensive tackle, had not scored a touchdown since he was a ten-year old. But in the 1993 Super Bowl, he got his chance when the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback fumbled right in front of him. Lett scooped the ball up and headed for the goal line, 64 yards away. There was no one between him and a sure six points. Crossing the ten-yard line, Lett threw his arms out in jubilation, the ball in one outstretched paw. He never heard the pursuing footsteps of the Bills’ wide receiver, Don Beebe. At one-yard line, Beebe reached out and knocked the ball from Lett’s grasp, ending the lineman’s premature triumph.
Focusing on the future instead of the present can cripple any activity. “A top tennis player thinks about making a good shot, not about winning the match,” says psychologist John E. Anderson, president of the Centre for Sports Psychology. “One good shot followed by another good shot will win the match.”
To keep in your zone, stay zeroed in on the here and now.
Interrupt yourself. Sometimes a short break can actually help you get a job done faster. When stress threatens your concentration, take a deep breath and picture yourself in a calm environment. Or bend over and let your arms dangle, relaxing all your muscles. Sound can also help. You can buy relaxation tapes or make your own, selecting whatever sounds you find soothing.
When you’ve relaxed, go back to the job. But when you’ve finished, don’t plunge immediately into the next task on your list. “Take a break for a while,” Csikszentmihalyi advises, and give yourself a chance to rejuvenate.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR PEACE OF MIND
1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked
Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others'affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction - our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. There is God to look after everything. Why are you bothered? Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.
2. Forgive and Forget
This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop illfeelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. These in turn result in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Believe in the justice of God. Let Him judge the act of the one who insulted you. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive, Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.
3. Do Not Crave Recognition
This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yourself in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely and leave the rest to God.
4. Do Not Be Jealous
We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will onlytake away your peace of mind.
5. Change Yourself According to the Environment
If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.
6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured
This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Everyday we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully thinking, "God wills it so, so be it." God's plan is beyond our comprehension. Believe in it and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.
7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.
8. Meditate Regularly
Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday in the presence of the Lord, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining 23-1/2 hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before.You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily mediation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.
9. Never Leave the Mind Vacant
An empty mind is the devil's workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or church work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental praising of God's name.
10. Do Not Procrastinate and Never Regret
Do not waste time in protracted wondering "Should I or shouldn'tI?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Always remember, God has His own plan, too, for you. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past.
DO NOT REGRET.
Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Take it as the Will of God. You do not have the power to alter the course of God's Will. Why cry over spilt milk?
May God help you remain at peace with yourself and the world around you!
Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others'affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction - our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. There is God to look after everything. Why are you bothered? Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.
2. Forgive and Forget
This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop illfeelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. These in turn result in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Believe in the justice of God. Let Him judge the act of the one who insulted you. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive, Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.
3. Do Not Crave Recognition
This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yourself in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely and leave the rest to God.
4. Do Not Be Jealous
We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will onlytake away your peace of mind.
5. Change Yourself According to the Environment
If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.
6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured
This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Everyday we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully thinking, "God wills it so, so be it." God's plan is beyond our comprehension. Believe in it and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.
7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.
8. Meditate Regularly
Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday in the presence of the Lord, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining 23-1/2 hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before.You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily mediation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.
9. Never Leave the Mind Vacant
An empty mind is the devil's workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or church work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental praising of God's name.
10. Do Not Procrastinate and Never Regret
Do not waste time in protracted wondering "Should I or shouldn'tI?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Always remember, God has His own plan, too, for you. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past.
DO NOT REGRET.
Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Take it as the Will of God. You do not have the power to alter the course of God's Will. Why cry over spilt milk?
May God help you remain at peace with yourself and the world around you!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Lessons in Life
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn 't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.Don' t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter? '
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone, everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn 't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.Don' t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter? '
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone, everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Tips for an Exceptional, Superb, and Powerful Life in 2008
These are really very powerful...implement whenever you can.
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to
3. Record your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to____ today.'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 60 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds and walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does .
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
23. Don't compare your life with others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. Burn the candles, use the nice bed sheets, Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business .
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time .
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. So stop complaining about the weather, the job, the rent, etc.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family will. Stay in touch.
32. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34. The best is yet to come.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36. Do the right thing!
37. Call your family often.
38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: ' am thankful for ___.' Today I accomplished ____.
39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value"
1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to
3. Record your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to____ today.'
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, tai chi, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 60 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds and walnuts.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does .
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
23. Don't compare your life with others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. Burn the candles, use the nice bed sheets, Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business .
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time .
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. So stop complaining about the weather, the job, the rent, etc.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family will. Stay in touch.
32. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34. The best is yet to come.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36. Do the right thing!
37. Call your family often.
38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: ' am thankful for ___.' Today I accomplished ____.
39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.
"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value"
Health Advisory
The top five cancer-causing foods are:
1. Hot dogs
Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.
2. Processed meats and bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.
3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.
4. French fries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acrylamides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams .
5. Chips, crackers, and cookies
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.
BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS
1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain
degeneration.
2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain
Early morning 3 - 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.
Morning 5 - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.
Morning 7 - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10am rather than no meal at all.
Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.
We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to 'schedule.'
DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH...... ......... ..
1. Hot dogs
Because they are high in nitrates, the Cancer Prevention Coalition advises that children eat no more than 12 hot dogs a month. If you can't live without hot dogs, buy those made without sodium nitrate.
2. Processed meats and bacon
Also high in the same sodium nitrates found in hot dogs, bacon, and other processed meats raise the risk of heart disease. The saturated fat in bacon also contributes to cancer.
3. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are cancer-causing double trouble. First, they are made with white flour, sugar, and hydrogenated oils, then fried at high temperatures. Doughnuts, says Adams , may be the worst food you can possibly eat to raise your risk of cancer.
4. French fries
Like doughnuts, French fries are made with hydrogenated oils and then fried at high temperatures. They also contain cancer- causing acrylamides which occur during the frying process. They should be called cancer fries, not French fries, said Adams .
5. Chips, crackers, and cookies
All are usually made with white flour and sugar. Even the ones whose labels claim to be free of trans-fats generally contain small amounts of trans-fats.
BRAIN DAMAGING HABITS
1. No Breakfast
People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level.
This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain
degeneration.
2. Overeating
It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power.
3. Smoking
It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.
4. High Sugar consumption
Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.
5. Air Pollution
The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency.
6. Sleep Deprivation
Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells.
7. Head covered while sleeping
Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.
8. Working your brain during illness
Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.
9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts
Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.
10. Talking Rarely
Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain
Early morning 3 - 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.
Morning 5 - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.
Morning 7 - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10am rather than no meal at all.
Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late.
The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver.
Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.
We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to 'schedule.'
DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH...... ......... ..
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Little-Known Signs Of A Stroke
The subtle symptoms of a "brain attack" are easy to ignore--until it's too late.
A Philippine Business Executive wasn't as alert. He begun to experience numbness and weakness. A few hours later, his entire right side became weak and his speech flawed. Still, he ignored the symptoms. It was only when the weakness became more severe that he visited a hospital. By then it was too late. The mini-stroke became a full-fledged stroke, and he died as a result. Prompt medical attention might have allowed his doctors to give him an anti-coagulant, preventing the stroke.
A stroke should be seen as a "brain attack. " It is as urgent as a heart attack. It is as a heart attack. Lives might be saved and disability minimized if victims recognized the warning signs of stroke and took action--fast. It is urgent to get a stroke victim to a hospital as fast as possible. This usually can be delayed no longer than five to six hours. Yet few visit a hospital within this period.
Indeed, until recently few doctors worried about speedy intervention. Twenty years ago, stroke was considered virtually untreatable, either immediately or later. But during the past decades, that gloomy outlook has been revised dramatically. With new drugs, dramatic surgery and diagnostic technology, most strokes are treatable and subsequent attacks preventable-if action is taken soon enough.
There are two basic types of stroke. Hemorrhagic strokes occur when blood vessel ruptures in the brain, bleeding into the brain itself or into the space between the brain and skull, compressing other brain tissue.
Ischemic strokes result from an interruption in blood flow to part of the brain. The blockage may occur when a clot forms in one of the four major arteries supplying the brain or in their smaller branches. Or it may be caused by an embolism, which occurs when a fragment of plague breaks loose elsewhere in the body and becomes lodged in a vessel in the brain. The blockage robs cells of oxygenated blood needed to carry out their functions. Depending on the brain area, virtually any of the body's functions can be affected with symptoms ranging from momentary weakness to impaired vision. Permanent paralysis or death can occur.
About one-quarter of all strokes give warning signals. TIAs are brief episodes in which a clot or an embolism temporarily blocks blood flow, then dissolves without lasting damage. Though a TIA can last up to 24 hours, almost two-thirds end within five minutes. Thus the victim often ignores or misinterprets the ominous message. This is unfortunate, because one TIA victim in ten will have a major stroke within a year; three in ten within five years.
Certain people should be particularly alert to stroke's subtle warning. Hypertension is a factor in about half of all strokes; persons with untreated high blood pressure are five times more vulnerable. Also at high risk are smokers, diabetics, women who take oral contraceptives with a high estrogen content, and people with erratic heartbeats due to atrial fibrillation. Those who are overweight, don't exercise or have elevated blood cholesterol may also be at increased risk for stroke.
Men have more strokes than women. Although the threat of stroke rises with each year of age, younger people-even teenagers-are not immune.
If you are in a high-risk group for stroke, the most effective methods of prevention are simple. Your doctor may recommend that you lower blood pressure and cholesterol level by diet and exercise or with drugs. Blood thinning medications also reduce risk if you had a TIA.
The odds of defeating stroke are greatly enhanced when people are aware of the symptoms. Here are warning signs you should not ignore:
Pins and needles. The loss of sensation may be noticed first in one hand or foot, then the arm, leg, face or entire side of the body. Or it may be confined to a vague tingling in a few fingers. A doctor will be able to diagnose if it is a stroke. Numbness caused by "brain attack" usually occurs in combination with other symptoms, such as drooping of the muscles on one side of the face or slurred speech.
Losing your grip. Often a TIA announces itself when an object unexpectedly falls from a person's hand.
An unruly tongue. Some people temporarily can't talk, some make nonsense sounds, some don't understand what's being said to them.
A descending curtain. In a stroke or TIA, vision suddenly turns dark, dim or gray as though someone had set up a screen in front of you. Usually only one eye is temporarily blinded, while the other is perfectly normal. Or, depending on the location of the clot, the person may see may see blurred or double images side by side or one atop the other. The semi-blindness may be accompanied by drooping on the same side of the face. Then, slowly, the blindness may lift and the vision return to normal.
Rubber legs. An unsteady gait or lurching to one side usually indicates a clot affecting the balance centers in the brain stem. The gait disturbance is often preceded by vertigo.
The worst headache ever. Sudden, excruciating headache is the most prominent indication of a hemorrhagic stroke. The pain is usually constant rather than pulsating and is felt across the head, rather than being localized in the forehead. It is caused by inter cranial bleeding, as blood from the burst vessel crowds into the space between the skull and brain tissue.
If you or someone you know experiences any of these symptoms, what should you do?
First, take the symptoms seriously, even if they seem trivial or the episode ends quickly. Second, move fast. Don't wait. Those who have a TIA should receive prompt medical attention. If they do not, there is a good chance they will have a real stroke.
Third, describe your symptoms carefully. The more accurate the patient is, the easier it is for the doctors to make a correct diagnosis and offer correct therapy.
If you suffer a TIA, be sure to follow your doctor's recommendation to prevent a major stroke.
It is sad to see people who have had TIAs and who could have done more but did not.
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