Victor Kuri

Archive for January, 2011

Melt away the fat, fast!

This is what a weight loss patch promises: easy weight loss without the extra effort. It all sounds too good to be true, right? In most cases, it actually is. Weight loss patches are viewed by many as a substitute for diet pills. But in recent years, the US Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning against the use of a weight loss patch for weight loss.

How it works

A weight loss patch claims to help in weight loss by either suppressing your appetite or helping you burn excess fat. A weight loss patch works through the skin, supposedly releasing appetite suppressants and other chemicals into your body. It is said to be more effective than a diet pill because it goes directly to your body without passing through the stomach, which removes the important nutrients found in the weight loss patch.

Ingredients

Many weight loss patches usually contain these four main ingredients:

1. Guarana: a stimulant that aids in mild fat burning or thermogenic properties.

2. Chromium: helps regulate insulin function and balance blood sugar levels.

3. Garcinia cambogia or hydroxycitric acid: said to prevent the conversion of carbohydrates into fat by inhibiting the action of the enzyme citrate lyase.

4. Fucus vesiculosus or brown seaweed: supposed to help burn fat. It contains a significant amount of iodine, which serves to aid the thyroid gland.

Is it effective?

Unfortunately, although these ingredients can aid in weight loss, a weight loss patch only contains a small amount of these ingredients, thereby resulting in minimal weight loss. Furthermore, some of the ingredients, like brown seaweed, remain untested and the long term effects still unknown.

Bogus patches

Recently, the US FTC has been alarmed with the increasing number of retailers selling a bogus weight loss patch for weight loss. The US government is cracking down on these retailers, hoping to eliminate the selling of fake weight loss patches in the market.

In the end, a weight loss patch is not an effective product for weight loss. If you are thinking of losing weight, go for a diet and exercise plan instead.

Man boobs are the curse of overweight men but they can also be caused by a few other health issues including a medical condition called gynecomastia. To begin with the most common cause of this problem is being overweight. The chest area simply winds up with way too much fatty tissue and the result is breasts for a man. The only way to get rid of them if this is the cause is to get your health care provider to put together a good diet and exercise program and then stick to it. It will not happen overnigh,t but if a man is prepared to work hard and adhere to both the diet and the exercise program, then over time as the weight drops so will the unsightly male breasts.

They can also be caused by certain medications. If this is the case, sometimes your physician can make changes to your medication, even removing you from taking the medication. But sometimes the medication cannot be changed and other things must be done to diminish the chest area.
Another cause can be puberty. Often when boys are growing they pudge up a little before they have their growth spurt. It is not usual for this weight gain to include a gain in the chest area that can make it appear like the preteen has breasts. This can be very difficult for a teenage boy, but fortunately they will have their spurt and all of a sudden they will grow taller and the embarrassing shape will disappear.

The final cause of this problem is gynecomastia which is a condition in males that has to do with a hormonal imbalance. It happens when the body has too much estrogen and not enough testosterone. Man boobs caused by this imbalance can be corrected.

Recently a study conducted on high altitude athletes and soldiers who are forced to serve in mountain areas (such as Afghanistan) has shown incredible results. As it turns out, a drug that was initially developed for overcoming erectile dysfunction can serve as an enhancer for situations when endurance is needed at higher altitude. And this drug is the one you have definitely heard about – Viagra.

The research conducted in the Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System involved study participants who were asked to ride bicycle simulators with special breathing masks that mimicked the low-oxygen air found at higher altitudes. The test group who were given a standard dose of Viagra has shown an average improvement in endurance and overall physical activity of 39%. It’s evident that in crucial situations when physical abilities are required in complicated conditions like those of high altitudes having such a stimulant is very beneficial. After the report was published a group of military researchers has stated that they will initiate their own studies on the performance of soldiers in high altitude situations with the use of Viagra stimulation.

A large part of those who are using Viagra on a regular basis these days know that the drug was initially developed and tested as a treatment for hypertension and angina. But after the initial clinical studies have shown amazing results in men who were suffering from erectile dysfunction, Pfizer has redirected the drug and received an approval from the FDA for it being used as a treatment for ED. The anti-hypertension didn’t go away since the drug is based in the same active element. And Pfizer has recently introduced a new drug to the market, labeled Revatio, which uses the same active element and is marketed for the treatment of hypertension.

Hypertension is one of the main effects of physical activity in low-oxygen environments such as high altitudes. Because of the low oxygen content in the air, the blood vessels in the lung shrink forcing the heart to work harder in order to maintain proper blood circulation. That’s why having an effective drug for hypertension in high altitude situations can significantly improve the overall condition and physical abilities of people working in such an environment.

The study in question involved professional cyclists who were put in a situation of low oxygen air. It simulated an altitude of 12,700 feet, and the test subjects had to ride a 6-kilometer track against time. The results were impressive for those who had a good response to Viagra in the first place. This group of athletes had an average time of nearly 11 minutes against 15 minutes when taking placebo. However, a certain group of athletes didn’t have any response to Viagra and their results were the same in case of placebo and Viagra use. The actual dosage didn’t have any significance, since both 50 mg and 100 mg dosage provided the same effects in physical performance.

So if you need something to boost your physical abilities in the environment of high altitudes, then taking a pack of diamond-shaped pills might be a good idea even if you don’t have any problems with erection in normal circumstances.

It’s almost impossible to run a computer without also picking up a small daily mountain of spam for erectile dysfunction drugs. Those e-mails just keep on coming. You wonder how they can ever make money for those responsible. Yet, apparently, they are very profitable. It needs replies from less than one percent of people to cover costs and show a good profit. The reason? Most of this spam is sent out using a zombie army of PCs. These bots infect machines and, without the owners being aware, send out this torrent of rubbish. Thus, the cost to the spammers is effectively zero. The PC owners pick up the bill for connection time and bandwidth. Anyone foolish enough to buy is almost pure profit. Which brings us to Australia.

For some time, it’s been impossible to go anywhere in Australian cities without seeing billboards advertising, “Longer lasting sex”. To enjoy this special offer, all you had to do was sign up with a company called Advanced Medical Institute (AMI). Records now presented to the court dealing with this company’s administration show that the owners, Jacov “Jack” Vaisman and Brian Lonergan, spent $34 million on advertising between January 2008 and June 2009. Advertising the old-fashioned way in Australia is not cheap. But it’s not simply the cost of all the ads that has sunk the company. For all the claims, the company had little or no interest in promoting the health of those who parted with their money. Most of the treatments were either ineffective or had dangerous side effects. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was just beginning a prosecution for unconscionable conduct – that’s misselling and civil fraud in our racketeering sense of the word. AMI routinely gouged thousands of dollars from their patients with non-qualified medical staff giving advice and sales staff hitting credit cards for unauthorized payments. When whistleblowers tried to bring all this to the public’s attention, AIM began a year-long legal campaign to gag the whistleblowers and the newspaper that was about to publish the story. By coincidence, the British subsidiary was declared bankrupt early in 2010 owning several million.

This demonstrates the extent of the market for erectile dysfunction treatments and the vast number of men apparently willing to part with their dollars for that treatment. What makes this story all the more surprising is that a business could have grown so big so quickly. With the presence of three highly effective drugs, you would think there would be no place for a cowboy outfit like AMI. Yet this company could maintain an advertising budget of $34 million over 18 months without difficulty. The only reason it failed was the extent of their fraud became too public to hide. With Cialis offering both a conventional 36-hour pill as needed and a once-daily version, it’s hard to understand where all the business came from. Cialis is effective in the vast majority of cases and, even when not, Australia has a socialized medical service which offers free or subsidized care for erectile dysfunction. There was no need for these men to pay exorbitant fees for treatments that did not work.

Most men work on the basis that if something ain’t broke, there’s no need to fix it. As applied to health care, this means you ignore everything unless it refuses to go away. Then, as if a team of wild horses were required to drag you for help, a trip to the doctor or, if unconscious, the more effective ambulance to the hospital is hopefully in time to save you. And talking of breaking things, did you know it was possible to break your penis? It doesn’t sound very likely does it? Although you always hope your erection is as hard as a bone, this is never what you expect. Well, if you push too hard for penetration or generally your sexual interaction is a little too violent, you may find that fine shaft ruptures. Believe us, the pain is off the Richter scale. But here’s the real embarrassment. No matter how embarrassing this is, you have to go to the emergency room. A failure to get effective early treatment can mean you lose erections permanently. That’s right. No more sex! It’s the same if you get an erection that refuses to go away. This embarrassment can also lead to impotence so, if you have an erection for two hours and it’s really starting to hurt, this is another trip to the emergency room.

We now get into a grab-bag of shorter points starting with the issue of size. Men have among the biggest penises in the animal kingdom. Believe it or not, the expression “hung like a gorilla” is an insult among those who know gorillas. To find bigger penises relative to body size, the real prize winner is a lake duck in the Argentine – for those who like the technical stuff, the Latin name is Oxyura Vittata. But, of course, nothing beats the whale. It’s better not to even think about the length. The other factor we men have to contend with is the cold. When the temperature drops, the testicles and penis shrink. So if you think the duck is a threat to your self-esteem, keep warm.

Nicotine and excessive alcohol are bad for your penis, tending to harden the artery supposed to bring in the blood for the erections. And, when those erections come, don’t panic if there’s a slight curve to the left or right. This is perfectly normal and doesn’t interfere with sexual activity in any way. But there is an unfortunate problem called Peyronie’s Disease in which the penis curves up or down. This can prevent all sexual activity which, to put it mildly is frustrating. And finally, there’s the color thing. It’s quite common for the skin of the penis to be a darker shade than the rest of your body.

So putting all these exciting facts together, we have a picture of your penis standing proud. If this is not happening consistently, the best remedy is Levitra. This has the most power at the lowest dosage which ensures a return of the firm hard erections you used to expect. Perhaps Levitra cannot produce anything quite as impressive as a duck, but it will nevertheless impress your partner and lead to enjoyable sex.

There a multitude of mental health disorders and many people that are affected by them today. They can range from relatively small disorders that do not really affect a person’s life to much, to full scale disorders that can make it almost impossible for the individual to function in society. Like actually having a job or being able to maintain personal relationships. Whether the individual suffers from a mild mental health disorder or the larger ones it is imperative that they seek and get professional help.

If you are unfortunate enough to have a member of your family, or friend, or other loved one that suffers from mental illness then you probably already know how drastically it can affect your life as well as that of the sufferer. Too many families try to cope on their, perhaps worried by the stigma but this can be a drastic mistake. It is absolutely imperative that you contact a mental health practitioner.

More often than not trying to cope on your own can just make the situation and the person in question worse. There is an unavoidable stigma attached to mental illness but this has become less and less over the years as it becomes more commonplace. Mental illness is exactly what the term states an illness and should be treated just like any other illness with doctor consultation and medicine.

Take one of the most common mental health disorders, depression. If left untreated mental health disorders can spiral out of control, sometimes leading to self harm or even harm of others. With medication most cases of depression can be treated fairly easily. I mean if you or one of your family members suffered from say diabetes you would get it treated right? Well mental illness should be no different. It is commonplace even in this day and age for people to suffer needlessly just because they feel they do not need to visit a doctor and that they can bring themselves out of it.

Obviously you or your loved one does not want to be visiting the doctor every time you feel a bit down. Try to figure out if the way you feel or they feel is seriously affecting their ability to function normally on a day to day basis. At the same time do not be too glib, if you are suffering from a mental health disorder then you should be visiting your Doctor the sooner the better. Any doctor will tell you better safe than sorry.