Addressing the Canny Investor

Biological clock

Obviously you need biological clock to time and alarm the point when you need to die and when you need to age. Aging is the same death as in those one-day butterflies, but a little bit prolonged one. Not immediate kill but gradual shut down of protection mechanisms - immunological, genetical repair, and just other necessary functions of proliferation. As soon as those functions turned off - an organism starts to deteriorate and wear off.

Interesting that our organism is not a static thing. We probably replace all molecules in our body within relatively short period of time. Obviously water is replaced completely every couple months. Water is 60% of our body. Other molecules are replaced as well. Thus, human being is just some unstable chemical organisation around genetical information. Molecules swirl and disappear like crazy. DNA in cells maybe is not changed so fast, but the cells themselves change quickly in most of cases. There is no need to age just because of wearing.

Biological clocks are necessary and there is no doubt they exist.

The theories of aging that consider death as a sequence of events caused by external causes - like oxidations and accumulation of genetical errors should anyway include the idea of Internal Biological Clock as well. Simple example is menopause in women. Somewhere at 40-55 all women undergo menopause. Unavoidable. Though there were reports of childbirth at 60 yo but considering one chance in billions, it is just a joke. Males have their equivalents too. All people after certain age change their immunological, hormonal, metabolic levels and so on. Majority of organs decrease their function . Thymus involute. Fat cells overgrow others, muscle cells degenerate etc. The same happens to all other multicellular animals and plants.

Now the real question: Is it possible to break the biological clock or at least slow down and rejuvenate?

Possible methods of rejuvenation.

1. Telomeres lengthening and other genes regulation.

Several genes that might play role in aging described recently. Telomerase encoding genes are the most discussed. In theory, if we lengthen the telomeres (these are the ends of chromosomes that are shortened with each division by very interesting mechanism), we could overcome cell tendency to lose ability for proliferation. Hence, we have “immortal cells”. Hence, immortality or at least longevity is reached - cells divide indefinitely and repair organism. Basically, to restore telomeres length we need to activate production of or to introduce into the cell an enzyme named telomerase. To reach each cell in the body we would use viral vectors or smallRNA. Working with virus production and then cell transduction I would say it is difficult, very difficult. There are too many obstacles to use them efficiently. SmallRNAs would be more promising. In any case, when you go from theory to practice problems rise exponentially. Biggest question: will it work? Immortal cell (cell which is able to divide indefinitely) does not mean immortal body. One of the outcomes would be uncontrollable cell growth and, hence, cancer. Actually scenists discuss telomeres mostly in connection with cancer. They are very cautious saying about the rejuvenation. Mass media extrapolates the findings to possibility of longevity and further rejuvenation.

My guess would be that telomeres are some of the “final cogwheels” in the Internal biological clock. It is useful to divide the clock on intracellular and whole body levels just for understanding. But in reality the levels are not separable, they continue one into another. It is easy to understand that intracellular production of any protein, any enzyme depends on transmembrane regulation. Hormones activate receptors that activate DNA transcription and protein production. Other genes that play role in cellular aging are described recently as well. I do not know how to use this method at present time

2. Hormone replacement.

When I studied in med school, several time I met mentions about hormonal side effects that cause a person to look much younger. Well known for example are: If a woman in menopause suddenly resumes menstrual cycles and looks younger than her age, we might suspect an ovarian Tumour producing excess of estrogen. If a person has thyrotoxicosis - excess of hormone thyroxine - he/she loses weight and looks much younger Persons with manic phases of bipolar disorder look younger, more energetic. Certain hormones - corticosteroids for example - might be increased or decreased in elderly. Couples that look younger were shown to have increased level of sexual relationships. Again, that supposedly should significantly change the hormonal levels.

If we give a person some of those synthetic hormones - estrogen, thyroxine - we can sometime reproduce the younger looks.

It is not the same as plastic surgery or skin creams and massages. It invigorates whole body. Skin as well. There is heavy price - recent debates are waxing and waning - if estrogen replacement increases or decreases risks of cancers (uterine, breast, ovarian etc.) Thyroxine excess takes heavy tall on cardiovascular system. Psychiatric disorders (mania for example) was linked to ceratin changes in neurotransmitter levels. Certain psycho tropic drugs change the ratios. Supposedly they can be employed for rejuvenation. Unfortunately, you would rather receive a psychosis than younger look.

On internet you can find massive information about hormones that rejuvenate you. I saw some websites that list practically any major hormone:

• estrogen

• androgens

• corticosteroids

• growth hormone

• thyroxine

• DHEA

• melatonin

• and some others as a drug that leads to rejuvenation.

The websites often have references to scientific literature. Most of the websites just sell you those hormones or offer courses of hormone therapy.

My personal opinion would be that blind replacement can cause more harm than lead to any desired rejuvenation.

Useful information that I would extract from the item is that A) Practically every hormone in the body is involved. B) Certain means of rejuvenation are actually documented. That gives hope.

I do not use hormones personally. If I would employ them, I would use them in very small quantities to mimic physiology and in special controlled conditions that I will describe below. The doses that are used in regular therapy are actually way to high compare to the natural levels of a healthy organism.

3. Antioxidant therapy.

As we discussed, in the best case antioxidants are the method for longevity, not rejuvenation. I use mega-doses of antioxidants available over the counter. I use only those that I consider safe. I have a lot of doubts they give measurable effect. Anyway I use them. Would not throw away.

4. Caloric restriction.

I use it as well. 60% of regular meal - is way to much - you would barely move your feet. I regulate it. My opinion: if you increase your activity, you can eat more. Just balance your food and motions. Though I might be wrong.

5. Hypothalamic regulation.

This is scary level. Hypothalamus is the area of your brain that sits on the base of your skull. Why do we discuss hormones above? Well, hypothalamus contains hundred of centres that regulate your metabolism and first of all, hormonal status. Studies of hypothalamus are complicated - mostly there are postmortem studies of brain sections. To perform functional study you need to use micro-neurosurgical techniques (still very rude) and try to register changes in a hundred or so cells out of several billions. Changes would include minuscule production (nano and Pico grams) of poorly defined neurotransmitters. The infinitely small quantities of those neurotransmitters are produced by only few out of hundreds cell connections and exist only several nanoseconds. In general to study this area is more difficult than to look for a needle in a haystack. If you consider that there are only few centres have appropriate expertise, you would understand why the progress is relatively slow. Even fewer labs study rejuvenation. Though there were reports that transplantation of hypothalamic tissue from younger animals to older could result in rejuvenation-like effect.

I mention this level because A) hypothalamus regulates production of bunch of intermediate messengers that in turn activate hypophysis, that activate adrenal glands, ovaries, thyroid gland etc (maybe many other areas in th body) that in turn produce the hormones discussed above. (Full description you could find in a textbook of Endocrinology) B) because of complexity of hypothalamus it is a good candidate were a “supreme cogwheel” of biological clock may reside. One hint would be proximity of epiphysis - small pea-like gland that produce melatonin and regulates circadian rhythms. It would not be surprise that all that is interconnected in the hypothalamus. One of objection - what is about worms? They do not have hypothalamus as it is. But they age and die as well as humans. Explanation would be that worms also have nervous system and some other part of it may play the central role in the biological clocks. Another explanation would be that there is no such centre at all, everything happens on the lower levels.

I was interested in methods of rejuvenation since childhood. Maybe I read too many science fiction. When I was in medschool a saw some mentions of unusual phenomenon in magnetic radiation. To make story short, eventually I found a book - 400 pages of fine script. I found the book in Central Medical Library in Moscow. Even our relatively large library in Russian State Med U did not have this book. In addition I read the dissertation thesis, that were related to that book. Several Russian scientists developed relatively complicated theory, done many hundreds of experiments. Theory is a little bit complex, involves discussion of stress and adaptation syndrome. Obviously hypothalamic area also discussed. I am not big fan of that theory. But result the authors described were striking: they were able to restore menopause in rats, prolong rats life span almost twice and more important repeat it again and again. By the description from the book “rejuvenated rats” looked the same as young, but were just bigger in size. Well, you saw a lab rat, you know that older rats have rare hair, bleak eyes, are in menopause etc. Young rat, in opposite, would have bright red eyes, very sleek hair, menstruations, etc. This is no surprise - all growth of hair, production of oil by skin, production of moisture in lacrimal glands and so on are regulated by the hormones. The same is true for rats as well as for humans.

Authors described the methods that they found mostly empirically. Moreover they tested some methods on humans and described treatment of variety of diseases - asthma, gastritis, peptic ulcers, low grade skin cancers (non-melanoma) just to name few. As I understand they did not describe rejuvenation in humans. Though later there were some mentions in literature. Authors describe zones of activation, training and stress. In general the methods are difficult to apply - they require permanent control of organism condition for many months, maybe years. Control of hormonal level and control of blood work. In addition parameter would vary from individual to individual. In modern medicine it is much faster and more reliable to cut out skin cancer with knife or give powerful proton pump inhibitors for a gastric ulcer.

I realized that I used some of the methods described, even before I read that book. Since then I added some more methods for my own use. Mostly I use the methods that I feel safe and efficient. For example transplanting of hypothalamus would be out of question. It is a wacking unsafe procedure. Recently there were reports that DHEA, melatonin or other hormones could make miracles: older people feel as young. I would wait confirmation of the effects. Some authors suggest rejuvenation may be reached by individually designed cocktails of hormones. I would think that any hormone given makes more mess than regulation. Practically every hormone described have loops and pathways that prevent overproduction. If you just replace the hormones by giving the substitute, you wack the production of your own hormones those that injected as well as many others. All hormones are complexly interrelated. Individual cocktails would be better, but the doses described in literature are wacking. Again I might be wrong. Maybe everything is so simple - just get cocktail and you will jump as a newborn bunny.

Considering different information from different sources, I would propose following theory:

To rejuvenate yourself you need to recreate the hormonal and metabolic level of young organism.

This is actually very difficult to reach: your organism have all the means to produce all the necessary hormones. Levels of hormones in elderly are not so far from the levels in youth actually. The difference is several percentages, not several folds. But biological clock switch to underproduction. The idea is to cheat the biological clock and to restore the youth levels. The most difficult part is to get into the window of optimal production. You can not go too low - just wouldn’t have any effect on rejuvenation. You can not go above the optimal level - it will cause stress and even more deterioration. So approach is very individual. There is no quick effect - you can not rejuvenate from looking 50 to looking 30 overnight. You really need a lot of commitment and time. The methods which you choose are not of so great importance. Practically any action toward your body would cause changes in your metabolic and hormonal status. Physical exercise, herbs, yoga, hormones (low doses) etc - we could list thousands.

Personally I used available antioxidants, slight caloric restrictions, herbs (some of substances in herbs like ginseng, Echinacea, etc mimics hormones in their chemical structure), self-hypnosis, neurolinguistic programming (NLP), auto-training, different exercises, lactic bacteria, etc. Important is the ability to adjust the level of treatment - reduce the dose of herbs or increase dose of exercise etc.

Methods of control are of much great importance. The described methods include measurement of hormonal level and of certain fractions of cells in the blood work(that is also regulated by hormonal and metabolic reactions)

If I would have a clinic of rejuvenation therapy I would probably use many of those methods - they are objective and reproducible. But they require blood work.

For individual use there some subjective methods exist. They are described in literature as: If you are in the condition of rejuvenation you feel great energy, hunger, restlessness. Your sleep would be normalised, you are fighting regular infections much more efficiently - inflammatory reaction might be exaggerated, but they last shorter time. Your eyes would glisten as in youth. You will feel constant euphoria and need in doing something. There are some other subjective criteria. Personally, I would add: you will notice that your nails and hair grow like crazy in those conditions.

The biggest problem is how to hold in this condition of rejuvenation for a prolonged period of time. You really can not go overboard - super activation would just wack all your system. You can not go under activation - just no any useful effect. You need to get it is just right. Solution is tight, continuos control. Boy, it’s really tough in the modern stressful environment (would not describe all the junk that I had in recent years), but it is possible. Dedication is your solution. Some formulas to calculate doses of stimuli are described in the literature, but I feel it is easier to go with individual subjective feelings. Below there is an animation that contains some simple elements of NLP and might help to tune a brain a little.

Now, what did I get by using those methods? Well not much, but I hope for more. At present time I am 35 yo I do not really have good control group in my personal experiment. Sometime people asked me if I am younger than my brother (He is younger than me for several years). Maybe it is some sort of control group. When I come into a bar (can not say often, maybe once in a year with friends) waiter often asks my ID. It is funny also because I do not use alcohol. So, to drink a Coke I need to show ID, being 35 yo. Sometime people ask me are you 18 or 19 When I played water polo at Yale, undergrads told me they thought I was freshman (as I guess also 18 or 19). That time I was 33. Teenagers often start to talk to me in the way if I am another teenager. And so on.

So, in general it is really hard to measure rejuvenation. All measurements are mostly subjective. Even in well designed scientific trial you find either some description of biochemical changes (which doesn’t say you anything about rejuvenation as it is) or some subjective descriptions - “patients felt much better, felt rejuvenated and invigorate”. How much rejuvenated? How many years were reversed? It is very difficult to estimate. If I say to a person that I have MD and PhD, he says “aha”. Mentally they immediately adjust and now they say that I am probably 30. OK. Sometime they just say: you look so young.

Again 35 is not the age where you really can brag that the methods worked. I would wait couple more decades to say that there was measurable effect. Unfortunately. You do not have the right for a mistake. If a method did not work , you can not go back and change it. You already are behind for several years.

But my personal, subjective feeling is that the methods do work. I believe that it is possible by tight control maintain the level of younger organism. It just requires a lot of work.

Below there is animation that might help to tune in the desired “optimal rejuvenation condition”. Animation requires Flash file player I use that animation for myself. I doubt that it will necessarily help you. Maybe 1 out of 10. If you are not sure, don’t’ touch it. The animation contains some simple NLP information.

Animation

Basically looking at the animation couple times a week for 5 min should start the tuning process (at least I feel so). You should target at the condition when you feel inexhaustible energy, euphoria, normalized sleep, and some feelings that is hard to describe - like a fine tingling in your fingertips, subjectively it feels like a pouring energy. It is difficult to explain, but when you feel you understand it. If you do not feel anything, it means it did not work, forget it.

So to finish I would say that Rejuvenation is difficult but probably possible to reach - at least in a certain degree. A.K.2004

About The Author

Aleksandr Kavokin, MD,PhD

http://www.geocities.com/aging_rejuvenation/

http://www.geocities.com/usmle_test

aging_rejuvenation@yahoo.com

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The Israeli Health Ministry recently issued a health advisory strongly recommending that soy foods be eaten only in moderation. They also recommended that soy formula be avoided altogether by infants.

A Host of Disorders

There are hundreds of studies linking soy with such disorders as:

• Digestive problems
• Thyroid dysfunction
• ADD and ADHD
• Dementia
• Reproductive disorders
• Cancer

Phytoestrogens are the Culprit

The Israeli Ministry based its advice on the findings of a panel of nutritionists, oncologists, pediatricians and other specialists who spent over a year looking at the available evidence. They concluded that the phytoestrogens in soy (estrogen-like plant hormones) can be harmful. Their recommendations are in accord with those made by the United Kingdom’s chief medical officer and the British Dietetic Association.

The panel found that:

• The evidence that soy alleviates menopausal symptoms is inconsistent.
• Soy phytoestrogens increase the risk of breast cancer.
• Soy phytoestrogens can also reduce male fertility.

They also noted that while soy has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol, there is no proof that it reduces the risk of heart disease.

The panel concluded that the proven risks of soy foods outweigh the possible benefits.

Mothering August 2005

Dr. Mercola’s Comment:

The Israeli Health Ministry has made a wise decision, and I hope the knowledge of the potential dangers posed by uninformed soy use continues to spread.

After an aggressivemarketing campaign from the soy industry, Americans are convinced that soy is a miracle health food. Some 200 million Americans are now eating soy in record amounts and in newly created, highly processed forms like soymilk, soy burgers, soy energy bars, soy ice cream, soy cereal and soy meat.

Meanwhile, thousands of studies link soy foods to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, infertility and a host of other problems.

Millions of Americans feed soy formula to their infants. The estrogens in soy can irreversibly harmyour baby’s future sexual development and reproductive health, and can cause many other developmental abnormalities.

Soy formula should never be used as it can damage your infant. It:

• Will adversely affect hormone levels, as it has been associated with reduced testosterone levels.
• Will impair thyroid function through isoflavones present in the formula.
• Increases the risk of behavioral problems.
• Will expose infants to up to 2,000 times higher estrogen content.
• Has potentially high concentrations of aluminum and manganese.

There are some soy productsthat are, in fact, good for you — but only certain types and in limited quantities. Fermented soy, which includes natto, miso andtempeh,is a health food for most. But soy formula is an abomination that has caused much damage to the children of this country, and it should be immediately banned for sale everywhere.

Related Articles:
Soy Formula Kills Three Babies
Think Soy is Healthy?
Here’s Why it’s Not as Good as You Think
Soy Formula May Stunt the Intestinal Growth in Your Baby

Dr. Mercola is the founder of Mercola.com, one of the world’s most visited and trusted health websites, and publisher of the free Mercola.com e-newsletter — the #1 dietary health and wellness newsletter on the Web with over 500,000 subscribers. Dr. Mercola, a physician for over two decades, is also a New York Times bestselling author whose latest book, “Dr. Mercola’s Total Health Program,” presents his entire renowned dietary health program and has sold over 150,000 copies. He is routinely interviewed by the media for his expert insights, including CNN and ABC World News Tonight. His passion is to change the fatally flawed conventional medical system to one focused on real prevention and cure.

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If you are like most people, you don’t enjoy the taste of chlorine in your drinking water. Nevertheless, you’re willing to put up with it because it kills certain bacteria that are harmful to your health.

This article will look at the “Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde” characteristics of chlorinated water. These characteristics are much more ominous than the mere combination of bad taste and health benefits might suggest.

The Dr. Jekyll of Water Treatment . . .

Time magazine hailed the use of chlorination in water treatment as one of the major scientific achievements of the 20th century. Chlorine was first used to treat the public water supplies of Jersey City, New Jersey in 1908. Since then, it has achieved almost universal application in the industrialized nations.

The impact of chlorinating public water supplies has been dramatic. In 1908, the average life expectancy in America was 49 years. At the turn of the 21st Century, the average life expectancy had risen to 77 years and it is still climbing.

In 1941, Mathieson Alkali Works published the document, “Hypo-Chlorination of Water.” The document colorfully described the lifesaving benefits of chlorine: “The fearsome specter of water-borne diseases, including typhoid fever, so prevalent before the advent of chlorination, can be successfully laid to rest. The water works operator, by his testing and treating, stands as a vigilant sentinel to prevent armies of billions of disease organisms from invading the homes of his community.”

The use of this chemical in the treatment of drinking water is responsible for the elimination of typhoid and cholera, especially in developed countries.

The Mr. Hyde of Water Treatment . . .

The benefits of using chlorine as a sanitizing agent are obvious. However, this water treatment agent has a darker side. All the time we thought we were preventing epidemics of one disease we were creating another. Two decades after the start of chlorinating our drinking water the present epidemic of heart trouble and cancer began.

When water treatment facilities employ chlorine and other disinfectants to control microbial contaminants, they react with naturally occurring organic and inorganic matter in the water. This reaction produces Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM). These trihalomethanes are chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform.

According to the EPA, trihalomethanes are present in most public water supplies. The scarey thing is that some scientific studies link TTHMs to an increased risk of cancer. The U.S. Council of Environmental Quality reports that Cancer risks among people using chlorinated water are up to 93% higher than among those whose water contains no chlorine.

Other studies suggest that TTHMs may cause problems in the reproductive process. They may also be linked to heart, lung, kidney, liver, and central nervous system damage.

Skin Absorption of Chlorine . . .

Most assessments of the effects of water borne contaminants on the human body assume that ingestion through the drinking of water is the primary route of exposure. However, recent studies at the University of Pittsburgh found less chemical exposure from drinking chlorinated water than from showering or washing clothes in it. The study found that, on average, absorption through the skin accounted for 64% of water borne contaminants entering the body. Recent research shows that we have underestimated the amount of contaminants absorbed through the skin. This research reveals that ingestion may not be the sole or even primary route of exposure.

Besides penetration of contaminants through the skin, the contaminants can adversely affect the skin and hair. Chlorine bonds chemically with proteins in the hair, skin and scalp. As a result: (1) the hair can become rough and brittle and lose its color, (2) the skin can become dry and itchy, and (3) it can aggravate sensitive areas in the eyes, nose, throat and lungs.

Inhaling Chlorine By-Products When Showering Is a Major Threat . . .

Evidence clearly shows that contaminants like chloroform and trichloroethylene do serious harm when ingested or absorbed into the body. However, the major threat caused by these water pollutants is far more likely to be as air pollutants.

Hot showers can release these dissolved contaminants into the air. The lungs absorb these contaminants, including chlorine, trichloroethylene, chloroform, benzene. They pass from the lungs into the bloodstream.

Conclusion . . .

While chlorinating public water supplies is perhaps the most efficient way to address the problem of water contamination, it does present a “catch 22″ situation. We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

How do we deal with this seemingly impossible situation? It appears that the better part of wisdom would show that chlorine should do its work until it gets to the point of use. At that point we can remove it along with the trihalomethanes and other contaminants with a quality home water filter.

Earl Calvert is a freelance writer and lives in Birmingham, AL. As an advocate for clean drinking water, Earl designed his website on drinking water to educate the public water quality issues. For more information, go to http://good-clean-water.com

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Mobile broadband has been announced as the last development in the telecom technological world that is the turning point to the future of high speed internet. Up until recently, broadband has been delivered via a traditional telephone landline, high speed connection, that connects to a pc using a modem. WI FI high speed internet is soon going to more and more popular, whereby the ADSL modem is attached to the PC terminal thanks to a wireless intranet, and people are now ridding their homes of ADSL cables. However mobile broad band is taking internet connections one step further and offering another important step in the evolution of internet connectivity; a broadband connection pretty much in any room without the use of a landline cable. mobile Broadband is available from Compare Broadband UK, visit for the latest deals.

The idea of browsing internet using a reliable broadband connection in any room is surely attractive for potential users, especially those people that often connect to internet with their computers away from home. People who travel a lot for work are the obvious target for mobile high speed internet who will be interested the concept of not having to search for a WiFi hotspot for a very fast connection. Mobile broadband reaches much further than that, and since prices begin to come down and internet speeds is faster we will soon witness the majority of high speed connection clients applying for mobile high speed internet.

Mobile high speed internet works by using a portable modem to any modern laptop, generally referred to as a ‘dongle’, from where your computer is then able to work with the mobile broadband internet provider the customers have registered for. Internet companies are offering mobile broad-band packages and coverage of the networks, known as 3G networks, which is now reported to be nearly 90% of the United Kingdom.

Connection speed is an important factor for any high speed connection line and mobile broad-band suppliers not that far ago struggled to market potential mobile users that any mobile broad-band could compete with traditional, ADSL landline high speed broadband. Fast speed connections are changing, however, with Vodafone reporting mobile broadband lines up to 7.3 mb, which is in line with most of the ADSL landline broad-band. Countries like the United Kingdom, are planning to finance with lot of money in fibre optic cable networks, because they want to improve broad band line to up to 100mb.

In New Zealand an important telecom provider has claimed that mobile broadband networks will soon improve fast over the coming years and they have announced that mobile high speed internet is going to deliver speeds of up to 100mb by early 2011, the year the GB’s fibre optic network is due to be completed. This could create a step in industry thinking, with the creation of an efficient super fast mobile broad-band connection network having obvious advantages over the laying of thousands of miles of fibre optic cables, without mentioning the practical point of view.

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With all the talks of obesity and America’s race for thin bodies, cholesterol has suffered a beating. It is even one of the main figures in the development of hypertension, that contribute much to coronary heart disease. Often seen as the culprit in “fattening” America, cholesterol has become a food taboo, something that must be avoided at all costs.

What people do not know though is that there are two kinds of cholesterol and one kind is actually beneficial to the body. In fact, it is one of the essential substances that our bodies need to maintain balance.

What is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a substance that can be found in fats or in lipids. Lipids are important because it is used to form cell membrane, used to balance hormones and help in other bodily functions. Too much cholesterol though tends to clog the bloodstream, eventually leading to heart disease. And because cholesterol cannot easily dissolved, only transported, the risk of build-up is great. As mentioned earlier, there two kinds of cholesterol, the LDL and the HDL cholesterol.

The bad cholesterol

The LDL cholesterol is frequently referred to as the “bad cholesterol” because too much of these can accumulate in the walls of the arteries and clog the blood stream that leads to the heart and the brain. This build up, called atherosclerosis, which can eventually lead to a heart attack or a stroke (brain attack) depending on where the arteries are leading to.

High LDL increases the risk for heart disease so it important that it is kept at normal range, which is below 100 mg/dL.

The good cholesterol

The HDL cholesterol on the other hand is referred to as the good cholesterol as high levels seem to protect a person from heart disease and hear attacks. According to some experts, instead of staying at the arteries like the LDL, HDL leaves the arteries and instead goes to the liver. In contrast with LDL levels, a low HDL increases the risk for heart attack. Levels of HDL should not be below 40 mg/dL for men and 50 mg/dL for women. Regular exercise has been found to increase the levels of HDL.

Cholesterol in food

Foods that come from animals contain cholesterol levels. Just how much depends on the kind of animal food. vegetables however do not contain any cholesterol.

In addition to the cholesterol that we get from food, the body is also capable of producing its own cholesterol. This creates a problem in overproduction since we also take in cholesterol through the foods that we eat. Average individuals or those who do not have any heart problems should only take in about 300 milligrams.

For people who are already at risk for coronary heart disease and heart attack, physicians recommend the reduction in the intake of cholesterol. They should only take in less than 200 milligrams. Everyone is also advised to keep their consumption of saturated fats to a minimum, as these can significantly help in lowering the risk for heart disease.

People, who have severe high blood pressure, are however advised to take in no more than six ounces of lean meat and fish daily. They should also choose the products thatv they buy and ensure that they are fat free or low-fat.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides cholesterol resources on http://www.your-cholesterol-resource.info

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Data security is a serious issue that should not be treated with levity. Most organization in this age rely heavily on management information systems to process and store data.

Such data are vital to the smooth running of the organization. Examples of data usage in organization are; marketing decisions, such as customer preference, data showing weak sales e.t.c

Due to the important role data and information play in the success of an organization its security must be a priority.

The Need For Data Backup
Data backup is a data security tool. The constant availability of data without backup cannot be guaranteed.

Why We Need To Backup Our Data
Computer systems are subject to failures or accidents. Such failures and accidents affect the availability of data.

Fortune 500 companies, with large volumes of data depend on these data for per second decision making cannot afford a downtime of 5 minutes which result into losses running into millions of Dollars.

The Following Could happen To Your Computer System

• Hard disk could crash.
• Computer processor could develop serious faults.
• There could be a serious virus attack.
• Accidents such as a burst in the water pipe, which could lead to water flooding the office and destroying computer systems.
• Natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricane e.t.c.
• Human mistake, such as spilling tea or water over a computer system, accidental formatting of the hard drive, accidental data change e.t.c.
• Theft of the computer system.
• Software could get corrupt, such cases have happened before where saved Microsoft Word document was lost without a trace.

Where To Store Your Data Backup
The location of where to store your data backup is another serious issue.

Why backup your data and store such backup in the same location with your management information systems. The purpose of the data backup is defeated.

Tips On Where To Locate Your Data Backup

• Make sure your backup data is not located in a disaster prune area. Disasters such as earthquake, flood, hurricane e.t.c.
• Make such you have two copies of your backup data.
• Ensure backup data is stored in a secure place.

Advice:
Backup your data regularly on quality media device and ensure they are stored in a safe place. A company with sufficient funds based in the US could have a backup server located in the UK.

Christopher Okoh
CEO
Computer Security & Network Associates
Website:http://www.compsana.com

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While oxygen is the key to human survival, it is also responsible for maximum damage to the human body as ‘free radicals’. Free radicals form when oxygen is metabolized or burned by the body for its functions. Free radicals are also produced through environmental pollution and cigarette smoke

Tens of thousands of them are formed everyday in the body. These free radicals travel through the body causing immense damage to the cell structures and causes chronic disease, anti aging as well as other health problems including DNA mutations leading to cancer.

Thankfully the answer to such destruction at the cellular level is anti oxidants. The body produces anti oxidants as well as they available through fruits and vegetables. Anti oxidants scavenge free radicals; convert them to harmless substance before they can cause damage to the cells and tissues of the body.

Vitamin C beta carotenes and vitamin E are rich sources of anti oxidants. While a balance diet rich in these vitamins are an ideal source of natural anti oxidants they are also available as nutritional supplements and have gained much popularity in the past decade.

The efficacy of such anti oxidants remains questionable. Studies have suggested that anti oxidants occurring naturally as in fruits and vegetables have a far more protective effect than the dietary supplements.

However what has been proven beyond doubt by research is that anti oxidant intake does stave off degenerative diseases and especially cancer. It also improves the overall health and boosts immunity.

The best bet for improving your health dramatically is a complex range of natural anti oxidants. Here is a list of anti oxidants found in foods.

Vitamin C: All types of citrus fruits, kiwi, papaya, strawberries and leafy green vegetables, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc.

Vitamin E: Hard to find sufficient quantities of vitamin E from diet alone. A good source is almonds. Take supplements derived from natural sources.

Carotenoids: Beta carotenes are found in oranges, and vegetables like carrots, apricots, beets, sweet potatoes are a good source. Most of the red and green leef vegetables would have beta carotenes.

Flavanoids: Found in whole lot of vegetables and fruits. Onions, beets, citrus fruits and berries contain flavanoids. Green tea is a good source.

Take 4 to 6 servings of these fruits and vegetables daily for getting the complete range of anti oxidants and you can be sure of keeping many of the degenerative diseases, cancer, blood pressure and heart problems at bay. The icing on the cake is you can look younger and beat the ageing of your skin and tissues.

R.G. Srinivasan is a Managerial professional, Writer and Author. He is passionate about alternate therapies and holistic herbal medicine. Check out his site at http://alternative-healthnews.blogspot.com for interesting articles, healthnews, links and health resources.

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I think its time to get the Internet fitting around my schedule for a change, not me fitting around its. I know that sounds an odd statement, since when does the Internet have a schedule, but bear with me.

Between following RSS feeds, forums, blogs, facebooks, tweets etc, etc I find myself jacked in online constantly, eating into my time to get things done. It makes time management a nightmare.

But it’s time to take that back. And a big part of my doing so is getting hold of a mobile Internet dongle. For those that haven’t heard what it is, mobile broadband is exactly what it sounds like. Broadband only mobile - think wireless only spread across the whole of the UK.

You get a dongle, I got mine from Broadband Genie, plug it into the USB drive of your laptop and can get broadband speed Internet connection anywhere there is coverage, which is pretty much anywhere you are also able to get signal on your mobile phone.

So now I can read my RSS feed for the 10 minutes I wait for my connecting train, I can be sending emails on the train. I can use my lunch break in the park to read my favorite blogs. Basically it means I can start using the Internet as something I can have fun with where ever I am, rather than using it as a time sink when I have other things to do.

I am getting my time management back

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With massive rebate programs and tax credits being issued by state and federal governments, using the sun to generate electricity is very popular. So, how does it work?

Generating electricity from the sun is all about converting sunlight into power. Importantly, the process has nothing to do with converting the heat produced by sunlight into energy. This common misconception leads to a lot of confusion regarding solar systems.

The technology behind solar systems is known as photovoltaic technology. Essentially, this technology involves using sunlight to create a chemical reaction. During the chemical reaction, electrons are released from the relevant material and collected by tiny wires. This process creates a direct current of electricity. The electricity is then converted to usable alternating current electricity and stored in a battery or fed into a utility grid system.

Solar platforms use this exact process to produce energy. The arrays are made up of small squares called photovoltaic cells. A collection of these cells forms a single panel and a collection of panels makes up a “solar array.” The size of your array is entirely dependent upon the amount of electricity you want to produce.

The photovoltaic cells in a solar array are where the action happens. The cells are typically made with crystalline silicon under a glass cover. When sunlight hits the crystalline silicon, the material reacts by kicking off electrons. Tiny wires built into the cells collect the electrons in the form of an electrical current. This current is then sent to an inverter, which converts it to usable electricity.

The biggest issue with solar platforms is how efficiently they convert sunlight into electricity. The answer depends on how much you want to spend. Top brands will convert at roughly 15 percent efficiency. Less expensive brands will convert at 5 to 10 percent efficiency. The more efficient the panels, the fewer you will need.

It has become clear that our reliance on fossil fuels is only going to lead to further problems, whether political, environmental or economic. Advancements in solar technology as well as incredible tax breaks and rebates make using the Sun as an energy source a viable solution for you.

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Car insurance is one of those things that everyone hates paying, but knows they must have in order to drive. In most states, driving without car insurance is against the law. When you are caught doing so, you can even lose your license, which is tragic to most people. Therefore, if you want to drive, there is no way around having insurance. You do have the option of choosing what type of insurance you get however.

The best thing to do when you need car insurance is to shop around. Call around to ask for the best rates from each company. You can also do this periodically after getting insurance, so you will know you are still getting the best deals.

After finding the right company, you need the right plan. If you lease your car or truck, you might need more than your state’s minimum coverage. However, if you own your vehicle, it is really up to you on what you get. You should get as much coverage as you can, however there are some options that you might not need. Keep in mind that the insurance salesperson will want to sell you everything, so be wise about your decisions to accept or decline.

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