HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK ALONE

Copyright © Jacques Girard, Ph.D.
http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou

If everyone who gets this sends it to 10 people, you can bet that we'll save at least one life.

Let's say it's 6: 15 p. m. and you're driving home (alone of course), after an unusually hard day on the job. You're really tired, upset and frustrated.

Suddenly, you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw. You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home; unfortunately you don't know if you'll be able to make it
that far.

What can you do? You've been trained in CPR but the guy that taught the course neglected to tell you how to perform it on yourself. Since many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, this article seemed to be in order.

Without help, the person whose heart stops beating properly and who begins to feel faint, has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.

However, these victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough. The cough must be deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest. And a cough must be repeated about every 2 seconds without letting up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm. In this way, heart attack victims can get to a hospital.

Tell as many other people as possible about this, it could save their lives! From Health Cares, Rochester General Hospital via Chapter 240s newsletter AND THE BEAT GOES ON . . . (reprint from The Mended Hearts, Inc. publication, Heart Response)


BE A FRIEND AND PLEASE SEND THIS ARTICLE TO AS MANY FRIENDS AS POSSIBLE
ALSO PRINT AND KEEP A COPY OR TWO HANDY.

About the Author:SEE PROFILE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou
-----------------------------------------------------------------

To Err Is Human, To Forgive, Divine

Copyright © Jacques Girard, Ph.D.

http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou

Thursday, May 31, 2007

'Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.'--Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is a sequel to my post dated 4/12/2007 on "Forgiveness". It can be used for the start of any new period or season of the year. And an effective way to help patch up bruised relationships... especially when heartfelt on your part...


"As this year (or any other occasion) is about to end and the new is fast approaching...

…remembering that forgiveness and letting go of old hurt feelings helps create better mental and physical Health…

…In the spirit of the season..and to help re-establish some semblance of Peace and Harmony in this gone insane World..

..this is to propose that we call a ‘truce’ in our petty conflict and silly grudges…declare an ‘amnesty’ on both your and my actual, exaggerated or imagined past offenses…let them go...

...and start (the New Year, or...) with a New, Clean, Happy, Positive, Slate of unconditional... warm...sincere...supportive... fun...honest Friendship…

...Acknowledging that neither of us is perfect..that ‘to err is human and to forgive, divine’.....finding that the best policy is to "live and let live"...

...I, for one, would welcome with no reservations such a ‘New Start’ relationship which, having learned from – thus does not repeat - the unpleasant… but one in which we treat each other with genuine mutual courtesy... consideration and respect... to enjoy our communications and personal visits in a relaxed manner... with no need to ‘walk on eggshells’...:o)…


A call or Email to let me know your own feelings and thoughts on this sincere invitation will be welcomed with open arms and mind (and a promise of NO nagging or recriminations now or ever!)…

...And, whatever your decision, I want you to know that I continue to support and appreciate your friendship and all you did to help me in the past!

Wishing you and yours a (Merry Christmas, or other occasion) with warm hugs, I remain,

Your (loving, etc.) Friend Always,

(S)

-----
Of course, you may make any adjustments to the above "template", to best suit your particular situation. With Best wishes from Your Friend,

Jacques

'Forgiveness means giving up all hope of a better past.'
(Landrum Bolling)


About the Author:SEE PROFILE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Daily Activity Pays Future Dividends

Being active now could help you live a more independent life in your twilight years. It is like "investing or saving a Dime to make a Dollar"...like a good Insurance policy...

In a study of older women, the ones who were consistently the most active during the 14-year study were the least likely to have difficulty performing daily activities down the road. Inject action into your day with these simple strategies: take stairs instead of using elevators, go for walks at lunchtime, and do some house or yard work each day. Of course, these benefits are not limited to "older women".

RealAge Benefit: A physical activity program that builds stamina, strength, and flexibility can extend your lifespan by as much as 8.1 years, tell us the Experts.

For those of you who "hate exercising"...are couch potatoes, and the like: I urge you to peruse and start practicing my post on "Self-Discipline". Then, start slow.

Taking a healthy WALK is, and becomes gradually more pleasant and enjoyable WHILE you are actually doing it: Walking… So:, just take those first few steps... (Remember what Aristotle said: ‘Well begun is half done!)...then a few more... build up to walking around the block...then further...then increase your mini-excursions to 20-30 minutes, non-stop...put in some bounce and vigor into your step…and wave your arms back and forth to further increase your circulation...the flow of blood and life-giving oxygen throughout your entire body and brain…You will actually feel happier...more cheerful and optimistic...a bit euphoric…added rewards!...

Most importantly: learn to ENJOY walking…turn it into a freeing experience... look around...notice new things... buildings...trees... shops...people....(you’ll be amazed at how many friendly people with smiling faces you will meet along the way…eager and happy to meet and befriend you… perhaps even fellow-mild exercisers…)...

‘The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.’ (Erma Bombeck) :o)

Out on the Trail

Choose the open trails over the open road for your walks and jogs whenever possible.

An exercise plan that minimizes your risk of injury or accident is best for your RealAge. Choosing designated walking trails over congested roads can help protect you from accidents, traffic debris, as well as car emissions. Grass or dirt trails also will be gentler on your joints than pavement or cement.

DO anything and everything to make walking FUN...anything but ‘work’ !...Use your imagination… fantasize…make believe that you were being confined... imprisoned in a tiny space by some crack-pot (in Psychology, we call this type ‘psycho-ceramic’: cracked pot.) :o)…and...at long last...you are FREE!...and able to walk around... discover new things...people...animals… vegetation...and, generally: celebrate your newly gained Independence!...

...And, if you enjoy listening to music or world news...an inexpensive ‘Walkman’ radio/cassette or CD player could be good company and give you ‘rhythm’….A reliable pedometer would further motivate you when its reading shows you how you are steadily progressing in ‘how many steps you just took’...especially when you also appreciate how ‘painless’...but rather how much fun it actually was…

So, DO IT!...get off your 'burro'...take those first few steps…and you’re on your way!...This is NOT a ‘backbreaking exercise, is it?...ENJOY!...

Later on, should you decide to participate in our S.L.I.M. For Life © Program, during your Modulations (our exclusive proprietary deep self-hypnotic exercises), you will be given gentle, mild, motivating stimulators to enthuse you automatically and voluntarily to feel like... yes! to want to get up and love moving around!... :o)


A bit of ‘good news’ for you ‘sedentary types’...

In a recent series of extensive studies of sedentary people who decided to start exercising in order to help control their high blood pressure (in many cases, the latter was ‘over the roof’)…every single one of them experienced remarkable improvements in their blood pressure readings, regardless of how much they exercised…

Amazingly enough: even those who mildly exercised, such as: walked for as little as thirty minutes a week gained improved results !…Shucks!...they just won’t leave us couch potatoes any more excuses, will they? :o)

…To reinforce this last remark of mine, THIS just came across my desk (Read and Reap!) :

Couch Potato Alert

Calling all couch potatoes! Research shows that sedentary people are 2 1/2 times more likely than regular exercisers to develop dementia. So just start moving: lift weights, take walks, go swimming, ride a bike, weed the garden, go for a run, or do whatever you enjoy. And keep at it.

Speaking of ‘taking walks’, Fred Allen just had to put his two cents in:
‘I like long walks, especially when are taken by people who annoy me!’ :o)

…Then I found THIS little gem to share with you, dear friends:
‘Climb up on some hill at sunrise. Everybody needs perspective once in a while, and you’ll find it there.'(Robb Sagendorph)

Also, remember to 'Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.'
(Mark Twain)

And finally: "Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside." (Norman Cousins)...Science also found that five minutes of sustained "Belly Laughter" (the kind that leaves your belly sore for a while) can actually burn as many calories as does 4-1/2 miles of jogging! SO: LAUGH!...LAUGH!...LAUGH!

Mexicans boo Miss USA, showing discord

Although it is a departure from this Blog's theme, the following is just crying out to be shared with you. I had intended to do a write-up on this sad event, but A.P. journalist MS. WATSON says it all very well in the article below. I just wanted to get a couple of personal observations off my chest, if I may...

1- The negative emotionalism demonstrated by a majority of the Mexican audience, the "hosts" of happy-spitited international Ceremonies being held in their own country, was a regrettable display vaguely reminiscent of the mass hysteria found amongst fanatic Muslim terrorists. It is a textbook classical brand of rat pack gang veneer bravery ("there is safety in numbers"). These types love to show off in front of groups of their peers.

It is also a reflection of low grade intellect, mistaking non-political guests for the Country from which they came. Besides the reasons given in the fine article which follows, it is a mindless outburst against J.W.'s and U.S. Governmental illegal immigration actions, misdirected and ending up hurting innocent individuals like MISS U.S.A., Rachel Smith...Oh, for the good old days of warm friendship between our peoples!

2- Donald Trump looked and acted very sheepishly at the end of the event, in contrast to his usual bombastic mannerisms and braggadocious pitches...And now, I yield the floor to...

Posted on 05/29/2007, 15:03
By JULIE WATSON Associated Press Writer

Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007, poses just moments before falling during the evening gown competition of the Miss Universe 2007 pageant in Mexico City, Monday, May 28, 2007. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) Mexicans' Booing of Miss USA Reflects Prickly Relations Between Neighboring Countries

Many here south of the border reveled in her disastrous evening: First Miss USA Rachel Smith slipped and fell on her bottom during the Miss Universe evening gown competition. Then she was booed by hundreds in the Mexican audience.

The treatment of the Tennessee beauty queen was nothing personal. It had more to do with Mexico's sometimes tense relationship with its powerful northern neighbor.

U.S. athletes have sparked a similar response. In 2005, when the U.S. played Mexico during a World Cup soccer qualifier, the crowd booed the U.S. national anthem and a smattering of fans chanted "Osama! Osama!" during the game.

Smith was booed repeatedly during her stay in Mexico, including last week, when she carried a guitar and wore an Elvis-style suit during a parade of national costumes held in downtown Mexico City.

She kept her poise during an interview Monday night with pageant judges, despite the boos and chants of "Mexico! Mexico!" that drowned out her answer.

"I am very passionate about education and being in South Africa sparked my interest in that," said Smith, a journalism graduate who volunteered for a month at talk show host Oprah Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Then she paused, smiled and spoke in Spanish. "Buenas noches Mexico. Muchas gracias!" which earned her some applause and some chuckles.

Miss Japan Riyo Mori, who went on to win the crown, opened her interview with "Hola Mexico!" to cheers and claps. Her personal trainer, Ines Ligron, said she had warned Mori about the importance of speaking in Spanish to win over the crowd.

Even an opening "hola" might not have helped Smith, who faced long odds for simply being a gringa.

U.S.-Mexico relations worsened in the past year after the U.S. National Guard was sent to the U.S.-Mexico border to assist the U.S. Border Patrol and help build hundreds of miles of wall to keep out illegal migrants.

Mexicans are also upset over a U.S. Senate proposal for a sweeping immigration reform bill that would limit the consideration of family ties, capping visas for foreign parents of U.S. citizens at 40,000 a year. The plan would change a system that favored family ties for four decades.

Many Mexicans also feel that the United States exerts its influence to tip the balance in its favor, whether in global politics or sports events.

On Tuesday, Mexican media lamented the fact that their contestant, Rosa Maria Ojeda, did not make it to the top five in the pageant while Smith did, despite falling down on the runway. Smith's fifth place finish only added to the theory that the United States always is favored.

The Mexican newspaper El Universal said Ojeda's fans were not as upset about her top-10 finish as they were that "the judges did not penalize that fact that Miss USA totally fell on her seat after she stepped on her dress."

The newspaper said that when the show went to a commercial break, an NBC representative warned the audience of 9,000 to behave because "this gives the world a bad image of Mexico."

Donald Trump, who co-owns the pageant, brushed off the ruckus as Mexicans' frustration with Washington politics.

Smith did not comment publicly after the contest. On Tuesday, she flew back to the United States.

The Vast Importance of Self-Discipline

Copyright © Jacques Girard, Ph.D.

http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou

To honor the great self-discipline of the valiant American troops who liberated me and millions of others from the Nazi occupation in my native Belgium during WWII, I wish to dedicate the following to you, my dear readers, this Memorial Day weekend, 2007.

"In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves. Self-discipline with all of them came first."
(Harry Truman, 33rd US President )

It is understood that “men” is generic for “women, girls, boys, you and me”…and “discipline” is germane to “control”, meant to be implemented and demonstrated by oneself.

It is composed of a rich mix of essential ingredients which include deep conviction, sincerity, a strong sense of purpose, determination, positive thinking, motivation, stick-to-it-iveness, persistence, truthfulness, dependability, reliability, integrity, self-respect (*), focus, unshakable resolve, the firm acceptance of personal responsibility…and I may be forgetting a few more building blocks which forge that precious entity called “character” and “personality”.

Each of these components takes dedicated developmental efforts on one’s part, just as repetitions of specific exercises are required if one is to build up, strengthen, maintain and tone one’s physical muscular structure.

(*) Self-respect, respect to and from others, like love or driver’s licenses, are not "due" anyone as birthrights. They must be earned by sustained, daily practice and nurturing maintenance.

If this formula sounds discouraging , as it appears to be “too much work”, stringent, demanding…and more than it may be worth to the uncaring, uninvolved, lazy, apathetic, dependent followers and losers of society: my sincere regrets! It is one thing to believe in Santa Claus and the tooth Fairy when one is a child. Adult pragmatic realities are another.

Yet, early childhood is also the time of life when sound, loving, aware, responsible parents are expected to firmly and gently instill, teach, show daily, preferably by personal examples, how to acquire, build, harness and turn into a lifelong habit all the above described qualities.

Once they become an automatic way of life, they are as simple, easy, automatic and natural as is the process of breathing or blinking.

If you were not privileged to have parents, teachers or other role models to guide you, who possessed and practiced the leadership elements shared herein, cheer up: it is never too late to start !

Remember that, to form a new habit, or get rid of an existing, old one no longer wanted or beneficial, takes as little as twenty-one consecutive days of conscious repetitive and relatively effortless actions.

I could not think of honoring all the known and unknown heroes of Past times and events better than by sharing these heartfelt thoughts, visions and roadmaps for the Future.

This simple, yet powerfully productive system will gladly be shared with you upon request. All you need to do is advise me of your interest, either through a “comment” in this post, or by emailing me at: jacques.slimforlife@gmail.com . There will be no charge for this service.

You may further like to know that it was the major foundation which helped produce the unprecedented ZERO recidivism results for all fifty-seven paroled prison inmates who successfully graduated from my STOP CRIME Seminars series © (for at least a full year after their release), as described in the “About the Author” sections.

Bear in mind that the said formula was not conceived for the ‘criminal mind’. It is every bit as effective for anyone who sincerely desires to change negatives into positives and turn their lives around by 180 degrees within a relatively short time span.

I firmly believe that the late F.D.R.’s U.S.Government trained the WWII GIs well in boot camp and subsequently, for which I am personally eternally grateful this Memorial Day!

Your Caring Friend,

Jacques






About the Author:SEE PROFILE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou
-----------------------------------------------------------------

On A Roll Again...

Hope Willie Nelson will excuse the pun. :o)




Copyright © Jacques Girard, Ph.D.

http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou

Russell Baker astutely remarked that ‘Reporters thrive on the world’s misfortune. For this reason, they often take an indecent pleasure in events that dismay the rest of humanity’...The subject of excess fat and obesity is really getting a lot of press every day - and night - of the week ...

We have become so accustomed to reading, hearing, viewing daily depressing news items that, if some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain void… a bit cheated. "Nothing in the news today", we sigh.

Violence and smut are everywhere in the press and on the airwaves. I recently had a good laugh hearing a smart-ass friend of mine comment about all sorts of stressful problems in the daily news, "You cannot turn on your television without seeing them...although sometimes you have to hunt around if you want to get a good one!" :o)

If you actually enjoy or even crave fatty foods, a good way to help eliminate fats from your body is to take in foods that contain a high amount of fiber. In a recent study of men and women whose weight had increased over a period of ten years, it was conclusively found that those who consumed regularly foods high in fiber gained the least amount of extra pounds regardless of what else they ate, whereas those with a diet low in fiber gained considerably more.

You may be able to ‘fight fire with fire’, but Fat can be fought with Fiber!...

Coming back to fatty ‘fast foods’...in all fairness, it must be said that, in response to the clamors of the news media and many concerned consumers, fast food eateries have begun a ‘smaller portions’ and ‘healthier foods’ 'movement' recently: salads, including fruit salads, sandwiches, etc....

Greasy spoon Jack-In-The-Box started out by advertising a ‘Gourmet Deli.’-'Pannido Sandwich’ reminiscent of those that helped make Subway famous and that morbidly obese young man thin...When this seemed to be well received commercially, the competition also began to follow suit.

And just when things began to look good, the news came out that the leading cause of death among carb.-deprived fashion models, is falling through street grates.) :o)


Mon Dieu! It really feels like getting my S.L.I.M. For Life © drugs-and-dieting-free permanent, simple "Answer" ready for the Internet is taking ‘forever’...

...while the Media, especially every TV station and the late night comedians, broadcast new and more alarming news about the eating habits of Americans daily...
…and divulge the fact that many fast food chains 'counter-attacked' and reversed their recent health-conscious offerings with truly shocking come-backs to please the inveterate fatty and high calorie addicts amongst their customers: larger portions were back...triple, quadruple, quintuple (!) burgers...and other returns to 'Square A'...deserving to be called ‘The Revenge of the low carb dieters’?...

As I write, NBC-TV is reporting more scary new findings about child obesity...Sorry to leave you with such 'downers' that are only topped by the sordid events in the Middle East and elsewhere...

So, Have as HAPPY, Healthy, Safe weekend as you can, my friends!

Jacques



About the Author:SEE PROFILE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou
-----------------------------------------------------------------

A TV Commercial worth noting...

Copyright © Jacques Girard, Ph.D.

http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou

...was aired repeatedly in March, 2006 and beyond, that sent out a frighteningly accurate message…delightfully presented by three cute 4-6-year-old children: a darling little Afro-American girl..a handsome young Latino boy and an adoable Caucasian little lady…

It opened with our Black doll looking up at the camera and sweetly, but firmly asking, ‘MOM! Can I have some FAT?’…followed by the boy asking his Mom for some SUGAR…the white child requesting GREASE…and the boy now pleading for PROCESSED JUNK FOOD…

Next, the Black child charmingly presses on ‘PLEASE! ...Pretty PLEASE, Mom!..Buy me some OBESITY!’ …followed by our young man asking for ‘A SHORTER LIFE’…and the pretty White child begging for DIABETES.

The little African-American girl makes an irrestistible face as she concludes this presentation with a heart-melting, eyelash-fluttering, engaging big-eyed-look...reinforced by a honey-voiced, flirtatious ‘I PROMISE I’ll be GOO-OOD!’…


TIME TO WAKE UP to today’s unpleasant, BRUTAL REALITIES, folks!...And let us not allow DAD, UNCLE, AUNT, COUSIN, Family FRIEND, etc.,etc. to escape the contributory culpabilities of the above-illustrated roles… WE ALL play them as ‘Facilitators’…as ‘Enablers’…as ‘Appeasers’…as ‘Blackmailers’ (“If you don’t finish your dinner, you won’t be getting any dessert!”) who use hard candy, sugars, chocolate bars, ice cream, cookies, greasy chips and more as substitutes for our inability or unwillingness to discharge our disciplining, guiding RESPONSIBILITIES to guide and discipline as Parents and Adult role-models.

I am referring to teaching to our children BY PERSONAL
EXAMPLES of loving firmness that they, as imminent members of our World Society have MANY Behavioral ‘DUTIES’ and Obligations (including to themselves and in deference for the need of a healthy body…)…And that these ‘Expected’ Actions rank amongst the vast lists of POSITIVES whose FULFILLMENTS Are their own REWARDS!...

EARNED Pride of Accomplishment…Increased Self-Approval, Self-Liking, Self-Respect and Much More … NOT Synthetic, Veneer ‘Easy Way Out’ tactics used by either acknowledging or bribing, using the KILLERS of Well-Being, Fitness, Good Health and appearance mentioned above.

This dangerously crass syndrome is NOT YOUR fault. You observed it – thus, feel comfortable in perpetuating it – while YOU were the children we are now discussing… Sweets, Chocolates, Candies…a wide array of treats have been a generation-to-generation Parents’ way to ‘buy’ the affection and ‘proper behavior’ of children…

The DIFFERENCE is that, ‘THEN’…All the processed, chemically toxic, fattening foods and beverages (just Think of the mega-spoonfuls of SUGAR contained in each can of today’s SODAS, just to mention one!) …

Sedentary lifestyle (couch potatoes…a TV-and-electronic games-addicted youth culture…riding cars or sitting at an increasingly younger age, instead of riding their bikes or walking and running)…and many other elements which contribute to excess weight, fat and inches…Plus many resulting diseases… either DID NOT EXIST or only did in MINOR WAYS of little consequence.

PLEASE give this ‘dissertation’ your SERIOUS and SINCERE consideration…for the sake of your ‘SMALL FRIES’’s future Well-being and Life!.. Thank you! (J.G.)


Another TV commercial depicts a handsome Latino child licking an ice cream cone...downing a cream-filled pastry…chocolates, etc…a happy-faced chubby little couch potato…watching TV while endlessly eating sweets…greasy chips and guzzling down sodas…

…while a man’s voice-over tells us that it is ‘him’ speaking…saying : “ I always thought that my eating problems started in High School…but, looking back, I realized they started long before, when I was a small kid…”

...and, all along, I looked healthy but found out too late that the foods I ate sure weren’t!...I thought I was eating healthy, normal things like everybody else I know did ... You know!: a little this...a little that…

My parents would say: “it’s only an ice cream’…or ‘a few cookies’…or ‘just a few chips’…or ‘a soft drink’…’a donut’…and, before you know it…I was overweight...got type 2 diabetes… And now, my Doctor tells me I also have heart problems and my life could be cut short…”

He (the adult voice) appealed to all the viewing parents, families and other adults to become responsible role-models and loving, aware, yet firm ‘food and drink watchdogs’ instead of permissive and, worse yet, force-feeders…to give their children a fair chance to grow up healthy and as disease-free as humanly possible…

…and yet Another P.S.A.…

A young child is sitting at the kitchen table…Mommy hovering over him, giving him various types of junk food…

(Male Voice/Over:) ‘It ISN’T the few cookies…sugary drinks… french fries…burgers…ice cream…candy bars…It IS obesity..type 2 diabetes…heart disease… years shaved off his life…It’s All in YOUR hands!...

ATTENTION ALL PARENTS!

At the risk of seeming to put a damper on the fairly hopeful effects of TV commercials such asd those reported above…

...It is ESSENTIAL for all parents to know that, besides the ‘foods-and-sugary-beverages’ on trial, just as dangerous is the fact that about ALL children have become fixtures…immobilized in front of the TV for hours on end!

You tell them ‘not to speak to strangers’ in an attempt to protect them from harm…yet, the two elements just mentioned are major contributors to the dangers of advanced and spreading Child Obesity, recent clinical studies have found…(And, while we’re on the subject, the adolescents and adults in the family ought to include themselves into the ominous picture as well!).

Besides the lack of physical activity inherent in addictive TV gazing (except that of the jaws, as salty chips, greasy, sugary, junk foods are automatically being stuffed in)…

The mere fact that TV commercials abound in effective psychologically-devised ‘brain washing’ pitches for a wide variety of (appetizing looking and sounding) fattening, mega-calories-and cholesterol-laden munchies of all sorts.

Hamburgers…fried chicken… chips …fries...candies and sugary sweets of every denomination are amongst the culprits in this frightening equation.

Worse yet: the latter are often viewed as 'snacks' by neurotically hungry or starving individuals. And that is only what is consumed to make 'waiting for meal time’ more bearable for them. Then comes the "real meal": oftentimes another family exercise, or orgy in gluttony and gobbling down poorly chewed quantities of...

Wishing you and yours a Healthy, Safe and Fun Labor Day weekend!

Also, take a look at the “real” Internet Income program we are enjoying part-time.

Your Friend,

Jacques
About the Author:SEE PROFILE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:
http://www.payitforward4profits.com/spirou
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Good Beer IS Good For You!

Cheers to Beer: Amazing Benefits
By Shawn McKee
eDiets Contributor
Updated: May 21, 2007

What if your doctor prescribed you a medicine that could reduce strokes, heart and vascular disease, and the incidence of cataracts and breast cancer cells? You would take it every day, right? Well, you won’t have to see your doctor for this remedy, but you may want to visit your favorite bartender.

It’s fairly common knowledge that beer has a relaxing effect on the body and can reduce stress, but there are a myriad of other health benefits of this potent potable that are not as apparent at your local happy hour. There has never been better reasons to enjoy a cold one. So test your beer health IQ.

The Healthy, Happy Hour Beer Quiz: True or false?

Beer is good for your heart.
True: A Dutch study conducted by TNO Nutrition and Food Research found that a known reference for predicting future cardiovascular disease, blood C-reactive protein (CRP), declined by 35 percent after three weeks of regular beer consumption compared with levels after three weeks of drinking non-alcoholic beer. The same study found that levels of HDL or "good" cholesterol rose by 11 percent during the same period. Beer also contains vitamin B6, which prevents the build-up of an amino acid called homocysteine that has been linked to heart disease.

Also, the Archives of Internal Medicine published an article confirming the benefits for women drinking alcohol. Data was collected from more than 70,000 nurses aged 25 to 42 whose health histories were tracked from 1989. Younger women who drink two or three alcoholic beverages a week have a lower risk of developing high blood pressure than women who do not drink alcohol. The women in the group who drank two or three alcoholic drinks a week had a 14 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure than those who abstained.

Beer will reduce the chance of stroke.
True: One drink a day for women or up to two drinks a day for men will reduce your chances of strokes, heart and vascular disease. Strokes are the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the leading cause of serious, long-term disabilities. It is said that light to moderate drinkers will decrease their chances of suffering a stroke by 20 percent.

You should give your grandma a beer.
True: Don’t load her up a beer bong yet or take her to “kill a keg” night at you local pub, but in moderation, beer has been proven to have positive effects on elderly people. It helps promote blood vessel dilation, sleep and urination. ---

Beer makes you funnier and more attractive to the opposite sex.
False: I’m sorry; beer won’t make you funnier, although it will lower inhibitions and may make your bad jokes seem funnier to your inebriated amigos. In this state of lowered inhibitions, “beer-goggles” can take over and make that 4.5 at the end of the bar seem like an eleven. You’ll see clearly in the morning. (Again, sorry.)

Beer is both fat-free and cholesterol-free.
True: Check the label. Nutritionally, a beer is similar to a can of soda in its calories and carbs, but can your cola curb cancer?

Beer is good for breasts.
True: Research by scientists at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal found that polyphenols in wine and beer appeared to decrease breast cancer cells significantly. Numerous other experiments have shown that certain polyphenols, mainly flavonoids, can protect against heart disease and have anticancer, antiviral and antiallergic properties. The Portuguese study concluded that xanthohumol, which is found in beer, was the most potent polyphenol over breast cancer cell growth; it showed its effect more rapidly and at a lower concentration than the others.

Beer could save the Three Blind Mice.
True: John Trevithick, Ph.D., and Maurice Hirst, Ph.D., of the University of Western Ontario, conducted a study that suggests beer reduced the incidence of cataracts in mice (but increased their propensity to “go wild” and get tattoos they’ll regret later in life -- my own inference). If the same cataract protection occurs in humans, it would be especially beneficial to people with diabetes.

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
Benjamin Franklin said it; it must be true.

Beer has many healthy benefits when enjoyed in moderation. One or two beers a day can keep you healthy, but don’t overindulge or you’ll watch your beer belly blossom. Drink responsibly. Cheers!


Shawn McKee graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a BA in Journalism and has written for The Broward and Miami New Times.

P.S.: As a Belgian-born and raised loyal beer drinker and home brewer (I suppose you know that Belgium is "The" yearly Winner of Top Beer Awards), I sorta rushed into sharing the above (excellent) article with you'all (does saying this make me a "Southern Belge"?:o)...before its author formally authorized me to... Hmmmm!... does this mean you just read a pirated beer keg tale instead of pirates' traditional barrel o'Rum?...
Anyway...I'm looking forward to receiving Shawn's O.K. soon... Meanwhile: A VOTRE BONNE SANTE!

(S) Bucaneer Jacques

So, RELAX!...Don't Obsess about...

...your Excess Weight, Fat, and inches.

People tend to ‘compare notes’ and to compare their problems, ‘situations’ with those of others... While this may be harmless in and of itself, what is not is reacting emotionally when others are better off.

Worse yet is when the resulting upset...jealousy...envy and feelings of resentments become an obsession.

It is important to realize that we attract that which we keep repeatedly and constantly foremost on our mind. And obsess...pout...feel sorry for ourselves... despair...become frustrated...impatient, and the like.

Instead of ‘empowering’ fatness, excess weight and what you may hate about your body by energizing the negative feelings and thoughts you harbor about it is to concentrate on the shape...size and weight of that body you sincerely want...

You can effectively do this by Visualizing...actually SEEING the ‘New’...Ideal YOU...KEEPING IT at the front of your mind. This IS the healthy way to help yourself achieve this!...So long as you are ALSO "RWA": Ready, Willing and Able to get into ACTION and DO All that you can to make this come true for you, and This Is Definitely So!...

This is why I have been gleaning and sharing with you ‘all sorts’ of ways and means said to enable Weight Management...a virtual pot-pourri of choices, including various simple exercises from which you can easily pick and choose whatever appeals to you the most.

Try them...even switch around until you find the ‘right’ one(s) for YOU...

MEANWHILE: DO NOT OBSESS about your Excess fat, weight and inches!... RELAX!...for, so doing, will help you avoid resiting...’fighting’...bucking against your progress, once you are on your way..thus: avoid discouragement and frustration.

Instead: look for at least ONE Good ‘Inside’ aspect of you that you really like... admire...respect...are happy with...proud of, and the like...perhaps a trait which has earned you compliments or the envy of ohers.

To ‘compare notes’: In the U.K., for instance, it was found that fast and junk foods are also consumed nowadays...and TV-watching couch potatoes abound.

On the other hand, they do a lot more walking than their U.S.counterparts…BUT they are, generally, more philosophical and relaxed about their bulkiness..and found that this Attitude helps them whenever they do decide to do something about it...So: RELAX!...and DRINK GREEN TEA and Coffee!...

That Morning Caffeine Fix? Consider It Health Care
Here's another plug for green tea -- and coffee, too.

A large Japanese study has found that sipping away on six cups of green tea each day may shrink type 2 diabetes risk, especially among women and overweight men. Why? Researchers aren't sure yet, but caffeine may play a role. Even though green tea's not loaded with the stuff, other studies have found that the caffeine in coffee seems to guard against diabetes.

The Story of Two Horses

Just up the road from my home is a field, with two horses in it.

From a distance, each horse looks like any other horse. But if you stop your car, or are walking by, you will notice something quite amazing...

Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.

This alone is amazing.

If you stand nearby and listen, you will hear the sound of a bell. Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see that it comes from the smaller horse in the field. Attached to the horse's halter is a small bell. It lets the blind friend know where the other horse is, so he can follow.

As you stand and watch these two friends, you'll see that the horse with the bell is always checking on the blind horse, and that the blind horse will listen for the bell and then slowly walk to where the other horse is, trusting that he will not be led astray.

When the horse with the bell returns to the shelter of the barn each evening, it stops occasionally and looks back, making sure that the blind friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

Like the owners of these two horses, God does not throw us away just because we are not perfect or because we have problems or challenges. He watches over us and even brings others into our lives to help us when we are in need.

Sometimes we are the blind horse being guided by the little ringing bell of those who God places in our lives. Other times we are the guide horse, helping others to find their way...

Good friends are like that... you may not always see them, but you know they are always there.

Please listen for my bell and I'll listen for yours.
And remember... be kinder than necessary- everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. (Aren't YOU too?)

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly...and never ever abandon your friends, no matter how busy you are.
Leave the rest to God, who can fix anything...

Your Loving Fiend,
Jacques

P.S.: (Personal) IT MAY INTEREST YOU TO ENTER "JACQUES GIRARD, Ph.D." ON YAHOO! Search---AND GO TO #6 ON THE LIST ("NEW STUDY BLAMES BELGIUM'S ELITE FOR COOPERATING WITH THE NAZIS -HAARETZ")

Health Chart of the Best Fruits & Veggies

Absolutely the best chart I have seen. SHARE THIS CHART - Suggest you PRINT out and AFFIX it to your refrigerator...

Apples Protects your heart prevents constipation Blocks diarrhea Improves lung capacity Cushions joints
Apricots Combats cancer Controls blood pressure Saves your eyesight Shields against Alzheimer's Slows aging process
Artichokes Aids digestion Lowers cholesterol Protects your heart Stabilizes blood sugar Guards against liver disease
Avocados Battles diabetes Lowers cholesterol Helps stops strokes Controls blood pressure Smoothes skin
Bananas Protects your heart Quiets a cough Strengthens bones Controls blood pressure Blocks diarrhea
Beans Prevents constipation Helps hemorrhoids Lowers cholesterol Combats cancer Stabilizes blood sugar
Beets Controls blood pressure Combats cancer Strengthens bones Protects your heart Aids weight loss
Blueberries Combats cancer Protects your heart Stabilizes blood sugar Boosts memory Prevents constipation
Broccoli Strengthens bones Saves eyesight Combats cancer Protects your heart Controls blood pressure
Cabbage Combats cancer Prevents constipation Promotes weight loss Protects your heart Helps hemorrhoids
Cantaloupe Saves eyesight Controls blood pressure Lowers cholesterol Combats cancer Supports immune system
Carrots Saves eyesight Protects your heart Prevents constipation Combats cancer Promotes weight loss
Cauliflower Protects against Prostate Cancer Combats Breast Cancer Strengthens bones Banishes bruises Guards against heart disease
Cherries Protects your heart Combats Cancer Ends insomnia Slows aging process Shields against Alzheimer's
Chestnuts Promotes weight loss Protects your heart Lowers cholesterol Combats Cancer Controls blood pressure
Chili peppers Aids digestion Soothes sore throat Clears sinuses Combats Cancer Boosts immune system
Figs Promotes weight loss Helps stops strokes Lowers cholesterol Combats Cancer Controls blood pressure
Fish Protects your heart Boosts memory Protects your heart Combats Cancer Supports immune system
Flax Aids digestion Battles diabetes Protects your heart Improves mental health Boosts immune system
Garlic Lowers cholesterol Controls blood pressure Combats cancer kills bacteria Fights fungus
Grapefruit Protects against heart attacks Promotes Weight loss Helps stops strokes Combats Prostate Cancer Lowers cholesterol
Grapes saves eyesight Conquers kidney stones Combats cancer Enhances blood flow Protects your heart
Green tea Combats cancer Protects your heart Helps stops strokes Promotes Weight loss Kills bacteria
Honey Heals wounds Aids digestion Guards against ulcers Increases energy Fights allergies
Lemons Combats cancer Protects your heart Controls blood pressure Smoothes skin Stops scurvy
Limes Combats cancer Protects your heart Controls blood pressure Smoothes skin Stops scurvy
Mangoes Combats cancer Boosts memory Regulates thyroid aids digestion Shields against Alzheimer's
Mushrooms Controls blood pressure Lowers cholesterol Kills bacteria Combats cancer Strengthens bones
Oats Lowers cholesterol Combats cancer Battles diabetes prevents constipation Smoothes skin
Olive oil Protects your heart Promotes Weight loss Combats cancer Battles diabetes Smoothes skin
Onions Reduce risk of heart attack Combats cancer Kills bacteria Lowers cholesterol Fights fungus
Oranges Supports immune systems Combats cancer Protects your heart Straightens respiration
Peaches prevents constipation Combats cancer Helps stops strokes aids digestion Helps hemorrhoids
Peanuts Protects against heart disease Promotes Weight loss Combats Prostate Cancer Lowers cholesterol Aggravates Diverticulitis
Pineapple Strengthens bones Relieves colds Aids digestion Dissolves warts Blocks diarrhea
Prunes Slows aging process prevents constipation boosts memory Lowers cholesterol Protects against heart disease
Rice Protects your heart Battles diabetes Conquers kidney stones Combats cancer Helps stops strokes
Strawberries Combats cancer Protects your heart boosts memory Calms stress
Sweet potatoes Saves your eyesight Lifts mood Combats cancer Strengthens bones
Tomatoes Protects prostate Combats cancer Lowers cholesterol Protects your heart
Walnuts Lowers cholesterol Combats cancer boosts memory Lifts mood Protects against heart disease
Water Promotes Weight loss Combats cancer Conquers kidney stones Smoothes skin
Water melon Protects prostate Promotes Weight loss Lowers cholesterol Helps stops strokes Controls blood pressure
Wheat germ Combats Colon Cancer prevents constipation Lowers cholesterol Helps stops strokes improves digestion
Wheat bran Combats Colon Cancer prevents constipation Lowers cholesterol Helps stops strokes improves digestion
Yogurt Guards against ulcers Strengthens bones Lowers cholesterol Supports immune systems Aids digestion

---------------------------

About F A D S …

FAD (Dictionary definition): ‘A fashion in dress, behavior, or speech that enjoys brief popularity’…’The object of this fashion’…

Coming back to one of many "today’s Breaking News"…Excuse ME!..but I am FED UP (Oooops!...another pun..:o).. )…with all the Endless CRAP spread by the News Media and ‘authotitative Nutrition Experts’ (especially those who wave impressive Degrees and Titles in the naïve, gullible, eager, desperate, hopeful, overweight consumers’ faces)…
They never cease to scare, confuse and send them avidly jumping on ‘the latest’ FAD band wagon in search of a magic form of instant gratification... dishing out fortunes to buy worthless, impotent, and oftentimes harmful, pills, potions, patches. remedies, gadgets, tchatchkes, special diet plans supplemented by special diet foods, and many other ‘miracle’ or fast acting snake oils…

The diet race moves the herds of countless blindfolded ‘Large’ size human cattle rapidly from one ‘get thin quick fix’ FAD scheme to another…like the endless parades of FAD fashion trends: shoe styles, shirts, dresses, pants, colors, often ludicrous ladies' fashions that actually look as if they were misogynist-designed.

And how about the FAD automobile models, shapes, colors...the FAD A.G.s (Attention Getters) of tattoos, body mutilation, bling-blings, and so on…Anything to project the veneer appearance of being ‘in’…of ‘belonging’…of knowing the latest in ‘what’s hep’…

A FAD could be deemed to be cultist or religious in nature, due to its feverishly intense popularity and the energy, the enthusiasm, the fanatical fervor of its devotees…

THAT (FAD) diet is ‘out’ …( emphasized by the ‘getting old' line ...’Ooooops!...we miscalculated!...etc…reports and news releases by the red-faced ‘Experts’)… THIS (FAD) diet is now ‘in’…’THIS one REALLY works!..and it ONLY costs $...’ and, off you rush to the trendy FAD race track again…so long as your pocketbook and your resilience can stand it…and, after all, if THIS FAD doesn’t work…don’t worry: another one is just around the corner…introduced by a convincingly written sales pitch that will vibrate the strings of your highest hopes and lowest instincts…

To millions of starving dieters clamoring for a diet that gives them that ‘pleasantly full feeling’ - not provided by low carbs or low fats or low sugars - this rat-race is as disappointing... frustrating and exasperating a FAD as was the previous ‘Answer’: (SEE the end of my story about the multi-millionaire who seeks Truth and the Meaning of Life…and ends up getting ‘The Answer’ from the Most revered and wise ‘Expert’ in the World: a 102-year-old Belgian Priest, now the Grand Lama in mythological Shangri-La)..:o)…

Before I proceed with an honest, objective, although undiplomatic observation, as a European-born Professional, I must ask your kind indulgence, my American friends: that you ask yourself whether you prefer hearing a hypocritical (also called ‘diplomatic’) half-truth or lie: something you would rather hear …or some possibly embarrassing truth, a reality check which may help open your awareness ?

In other words, I urge you to objectively, with an open, totally honest mind, adopt a ‘if the shoe fits…Wear it! Attitude, O.K.? :o)... And I beg you to refrain from getting offended, insulted, start a riot, call me a '….ing foreigner' or tell me , 'if I don’t like it ‘here’... why don't you just ‘go back where you came from?‘ ( For you know I couldn’t fit in the womb any longer!...:o)…)

So, just please RELAX…take a deep breath…Open your OBJECTIVE Mind and consider the following : during the years I have lived in the U.S…became a citizen, voted, created much employment, paid high taxes, made many important contributions to the Nation, its safety, and much more...One trait, in paricular, never ceased to amaze me. What I am referring to is an ingrained habit...a custom I guess, common to a vast majority of Americans: FADS...as addictive and costly as drugs!

Germane to another American tendency (fast becoming global, as we shall soon learn) : ‘Living Up to the Jones’s’…FADS are a form of mass hysteria... reflections of ego, insecurity, low self-esteem, low self-confidence...a desperate need to LOOK and/or look like...be ‘accepted’, ’approved’ by questionable individuals or groups or ‘gangs’ (*) or cults or organizations...driven to do almost anything just to be given the false illusion (like the glitter of fools’ gold) that you ‘belong’ and are ‘accepted’, special, ’welcomed’, walk through life bearing some lofty ‘seal of approval’.

(*) Gangs, with their violent, anti-social behavior patterns and ultra-neurotic, territorial need for recognition, respect, being, sounding, looking unique, better, special, ‘different’…yet invariably ending up blending in as a homogenous group...as witnessed by their dress, mannerisms, headband colors, hand shakes and signals, body language, graffiti and other creative ‘intellectual properties’, ‘brands’…the latest being 'rap’ music…

Oddly enough, this contemporary FAD has become accepted globally and is making Millions of Dollars for its promulgators!...(could it be that ‘society at large’ secretly hopes to find protection from injury and death at the hands of gangsters by ‘joining’ and parroting them, just as did Millionaire heiress Patricia Hearst after her abduction by that black militant group?…or was it just the old fashioned ‘opposites attracts’?...)

And, if this isn’t controversial enough to suit you…take another deep breath…pry Open that great Mind of yours... seriously and unemotionally ponder the following: (Please note that I am not asking that you ‘buy’ or agree with me...only that you objectively take a hard look at what I am sharing with you. Then, decide and act according to your own conscience. These are not insults, accusations, put-downs...just honest, pragmatic, analytical observations I have made over the years…O.K. ?)

The FAD-produced myopic, false illusion (delusion) of individuality and personal freedom that was, at first, given as the motivation behind the emerging ‘movements’ has mutated over the last few generations...going from burning bras (and flags) to trend-setting ‘fashion statements’: thongs... drugs...sex and Rock-N-Roll…A.I.D.S.

The FAD-driven 'propaganda' about what will make You ‘Look Good’, 'Sexy'. ’Glamorous’, ’Thinner’, ’Curvier’, ‘More Stylish’, ’More Appealing’ (and, with each such excitingly flattering, ego-stroking adjective or superlative, the price-tag goes Up, naturally)

These are the usual ways that a FAD is started by clothing, shoe and accessories manufacturers with large advertising and public relations budgets who target, grind down and brainwash all ‘follower’ types that will listen... All whom they consider and treat as being the weak-willed, gullible, emotional, vulnerable, unoriginal, mentally lazy, docile, insecure, lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem, unwilling to exert their minds and make smart decisions, think and stand up for themselves as did the strong-charactered amongst their ancestors…

I still cannot keep a straight face seeing young dudes lost inside elephant sized coats and pants, especially those below-the-knee cuts…and this FAD gets even more ridiculous looking when they are fat or obese to begin with..and may think that this ‘fashon statement’ will help them appear to be slim by contrast…sorry, fellas!... there’s just nothing aesthetic or attractive here I’m afraid…and that includes the turned around or worn sideways baseball caps FAD, while I’m at it…

From that 'clown-like' fashion FAD to those self-mutilations, the ’body piercing’ savage jungle customs: ears,eyelids, tongues, nostrils, belly-buttons, nipples, genitals…to tattoos that compete with wall graffiti... contributing nothing but more pandemonium to an already disturbed society. The only ones they've missed so far is the bone through he nose and the bottom lip-stretching saucer...

These hysterical FADS...neurotic drives to ‘be better’...to appear to ’be different’ only make the (failed) ‘originalities’ more of the same…for all wannabe ‘unique’ individuals, when viewed collectively, look so alike. Clothes, dress, body language, hand gestures, cars, motorcycles, bling-blings, lingo, music, typical ‘gang’, or rat pack syndromes. Not a ‘one of a kind’ in the bunch, let's face it!...:-(…

And this is why this unfortunate, almost ‘religious’ in fervor, as it is fanatical, FADS habit practiced by Americans for the past few generations have gradually infiltrated and affected...’infected’ many foreign nations...disrupting...even destroying the very foundation of their centuries-old precious traditions…

There may be a few exceptions in cases where a FAD brings about actual ‘Progress’ that could serve to improve or liberate…

Who would ever have believed that even the utra-conservative, custom-bound, gently bowing, cultured, flower arranging, tea ceremony performing Japanese would get caught up in, and be swept away ‘into’ American Rock-N-Roll, blue jeans, feminism in lieu of femininity... and divorce, just to mention a few imported Yankee FADS…

…or that my own native Belgium and neighboring Holland, France, England, Germany, and other European nations have all taken up American-imported FADS, tainting their traditional centuries-old, ingrained cultural makeup with drugs, cholesterol, fats-laden fast foods, dress, Rock music, gangs, You Name It…

These insidious FADS and their ready acceptance by the general public, start at an early age ‘thanks to’ the Advertising Industry and the Media with addictive bombardments rendering desirable otherwise 'blah' foods, beverages, clothing, tennies, toys, even behavior patterns...

While this is called ‘good merchandising/marketing’, nevertheless it effectively penetrates, controls, changes, motivates the consumers’ will to flock and purchase the object of the featured FAD of the moment, whether it is worthwhile or not…and before checking into it… This sheep 'follow-the-leader' mass-attitude could get one to leap from a high diving board, simply because ‘the others do it’…then, half-way down, notice that the pool below is empty of water!...

It is also typical of citizens who fail to vote, or simply check off boxes and vote for candidates ‘they say is a good one’ ---Anything to keep from taking quality time away from TV watching to responsibly study in depth the ballots, the candidates, the issues…to check, look and make sure there is water in the pool!

This sort of ‘dangerous’ habit of too many Americans has already begun to show negative results in the form of special interests-inspired unfair, unconstitutional laws that were ‘slipped in under the carpet’ when unconcerned, uninvolved, lazy voters failed to discharge their Rights…ignorant, uncaring and disrespectful of their precious and rare Freedoms as well as duties…

IN WEIGHT AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT: So long as individuals will continue to respond or react to FADS without even a minimal amount of due diligence investigation…thus: surrender their will to FADS’ influencing factors…they will also continue to spend and waste fortunes on useless junk that literally ends up going straight down the drain...

Compulsive behaviors in over-eating,loss of control over your will power (yes: you do have plenty of it when you need or want to, let’s face it) ...low self esteem, guilt, impulse control deficiencies, often accompanied by ancillary disorders…the same basic neuro-transmitters which play a key role in catering to your brain’s pleasure centers also contribute to binge eating and allied tendencies…are amomgst other scientific findings that explain away excess fat, weight, inches and obesity...$275 Millions worth of extra aviation fuel in a year due to 'excess weight', tell us statistics!...Your gain.. Their loss…:o)

And, to all you Mothers: Have a Happy Mothers' Day (A Wonderful FAD to celebrate)!

Your Friend,

Jacques

SLIM with soup

A hearty bowl of vegetable soup may be a slimming lunch selection.

Research reveals that foods with a high water content, such as soup, may help reduce the number of calories you consume while still helping you feel full. In a study, people who ate soup for lunch consumed fewer calories at their meal compared to people who had a serving of casserole for lunch, but the soup sippers felt just as full at the end of the meal.

Oversize portions, larger hamburger buns and their ‘hungry man packed’ contents.. jumbo platters that used to satisfyingly feed a family of four or five are now plunked down in front of already fat folks, who were brought up "never to insult the cook by leaving any food on their plate" and oftentimes also that of whoever they happen to be sitting with, and didn’t finish theirs...So...

Slim down with a sensible plan of healthy eating and exercise. The best way to avoid excess pounds is to incorporate nutritious, low-calorie foods and regular physical activity into your daily routine.

To avoid overeating, exercise portion control by measuring food servings with cup measures or scales, eat plenty of high-fiber foods that are more filling, drink plenty of water before meals to suppress your appetite, and use smaller plates so that the urge to eat the plate clean is less likely to get you into trouble.

Obesity not only increases a person's risk of kidney stones, but it also increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gall bladder problems, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and certain types of cancer.

Besides the contributing causes for excess weight and obesity , we also need to acknowledge the sedentary lifestyles of a nation whose high percentages of inhabitants don’t walk enough...or exercise at all, or rarely. You have the basic, major contributing factors to humongous waistlines, bellies, thighs, double/ triple chins that flap back and forth as the main body waddles about awkwardly...

Small fries...Large fries...

And, we must not overlook our beloved children...affectionately called "small fries" (today’s too-often, more appropriately "Large fries" I hate to say)...as well as our teenage adolescents...and our fat infants and toddlers...to make the picture complete.

What to Eat: Expert Clears the Confusion

By John McGran, eDiets Editor-in-Chief

Pry that mouse out of your hand for a second -- it's time for another show of hands. Today's question: Who amongst us feels comfortable and in control when doing the grocery shopping?

If you raised your hand, good for you -- you are in the minority when it comes to feeling confident about your food-shopping prowess.

The rest of us can't be blamed for stressing while sauntering aisle-to-aisle at our favorite supermarket. So many choices -- as many as 50,000 -- are calling out to us.

Sure, you want to do right for you and your family, but how is the super busy man or woman supposed to have a firm grasp on what constitutes a healthy meal?

-Oh sure, you think you read or heard something good about that package with the label screaming ORGANIC! Or maybe you saw something great about fish and its omega-3 fatty acids on TV...or was that something bad about fish and its mercury content on the internet?

And can a bowl of Trix or Lucky Charms really be part of a nutritious breakfast? Go ahead... scream. Then ask yourself the question you've asked yourself countless times: What to eat!?

Marion Nestle is a world-renowned expert on nutrition and the "politics of food" and she has asked herself that very same question many times, too. Recently though, Marion stopped asking and started telling... via her supersized new book ‘What to eat…’ ’(see below)

Fun-Sized Fact: Marion's last name is pronounced nessle, not nest-lee like the chocolate bar.

Yes, that book title is a mouthful. But after reading the 600-plus page book you'll not only enjoy the taste it leaves in your mouth, but you'll also bask in the calmness it spreads through your besieged brain.

Digest Marion's smorgasbord of food sense and there'll be no more asking WHAT TO EAT? In fact,you may actually begin enjoying those weekly trips to the supermarket. Well... I did say almost ...

Mr. Bad Food (John McGran) caught up with Marion just the other morning. Well, it may be more accurate to say Mr. Bad Food WOKE UP Marion at 6:30 a.m. yesterday. It seems there's a 3-hour time difference between Pennsylvania and California, and when a PR liaison sets up a phone interview for 9:30 a.m., she means Pacific Time not Eastern Time, the time zone where this interviewer happens to live.

Marion, who you may have heard of from her previous best sellers Food Politics and Safe Food, proved a very good sport. She not only stayed on the phone to discuss her newest release, but she also ended up revealing her favorite junk foods (Bar-B-Q potato chips, frozen yogurt and chocolate-covered ginger) to Mr. Bad Food!

Marion's message of food and health is a simple one: "Eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, go easy on junk foods."

Her lengthy new book tells you that... and a whole lot more. "I hope my book helps readers to understand and sort through the issues when they read health claims," she notes. "I want the reader to feel like he or she is in control of their personal food situation... I want them to go back to enjoying what they are eating."

Hallelujah to that sister! Mr. Bad Food has spent the past six years reading and writing about food issues. Instead of feeling totally at ease with what's good and what's not so good, I think I am more confused about healthy eating than when I was a bachelor living hand-to-mouth from fast food bags. (**)

My confusion is not my fault, Marion says. "It's a matter of marketing versus real information," she says. What that means is the "news" we read about a new magical food is sometimes fed to us by trying to sell us that very food!

So how does Marion expect us to unclutter our minds and feel at one with food? Well, for starters, through insightful, informative book chapters like:
• The Supermarket: Prime Real Estate
• Fruits and Vegetables: The Price of Fresh
• Organics: Hype or Hope
• Genetically Modified, Irradiated, and Politicized
• Milk: Subject to Debate
• Yogurt: Health Food or Dessert
• Soy Milk: Panacea, or Just Another Food
• Fish: Dilemmas and Quandaries
• Frozen Foods: Decoding Ingredients Lists

Other revealing topics include sugar, water, eggs and foods marketed for kids. The latter is a pet peeve of Marion's. "Kids are vulnerable; adults know the difference between hype and fact," she said. "Even babies recognize brands. The food makers want to convince kids they need their own foods -- food with funny shapes and colors and cartoon characters on the box.

"The food makers shoot for 'the pester factor,' knowing parents will give in. And that makes it difficult for parents. Parents have to work really hard to overcome these tactics." So when you boil it all down, what are the rules for eating and enjoying food?

Marion serves up her top 5: Eat less: Consume fewer calories, which is easiest to do by avoiding fat and sugar, and eating smaller portions...Buy takeout foods and fast foods in the smallest containers.Order half-portions or divide foods in restaurants.

Reserve sweetened foods for dessert and special occasions. Move more: Being more active is a no-brainer, she says. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables: Everyone agrees on this but you have to make an effort. Ready-to eat versions aren't as easy to buy as potato chips . Go easy on junk foods: That means soft drinks, candy and snack foods that are low in nutrients but high in calories, fat, salt and additives. They should be once-in-a while treats.

Keep to the edges: Stay away from the center aisles of the supermarket, and don't buy anything in a box. If you do have to buy a boxed food, make sure it has five ingredients or less!
What's that? I hear someone asking, "But Mr. Bad Food... why should we follow advice from a woman named Marion Nestle?"
It's simple. Check out Marion's impressive bio and you'll see why food makers, food sellers and food marketing types alike cringe when they hear her name.

Marion Nestle is a Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University, which she chaired from 1988-2003. Her degrees include a Ph.D. in molecula biology and an M.P.H. in public health nutrition, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Her first faculty position was in the Department of Biology at
Brandeis University.

From 1976-86 she was Associate Dean of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine, where she taught nutrition to medical students, residents, and practicing physicians, and directed a nutrition education center sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

From 1986-88, she was senior nutrition policy advisor in the Department of Health and Human Services and managing editor of the 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health. She has been a member of the FDA Food Advisory Committee and Science Board, the USDA/DHHS 1995 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, and American Cancer Society committees that issue dietary guidelines for cancer prevention. Her research focuses on the analysis of scientific, social, cultural, and economic factors that influence dietary recommendations and practices.

She is the author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health (2002) and Safe Food: Bacteria, Biotechnology, and Bioterrorism (2003), both from University of California Press.

In 2003, Food Politics won awards from the Association for American Publishers (outstanding professional and scholarly title in nursing and allied health), James Beard Foundation (literary), and World Hunger Year (Harry Chapin media). Safe Food won the Steinhardt School of Education’s Griffiths Research Award in 2004.

Her latest book, What to Eat (North Point Press, a Division of Farrar, Straus & Giroux), is to be published on May 2. The sure-to-be-bestseller goes on sale next Tuesday, but you can avoid the long lines at checkout and get your copy of What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices and Good Eating now by simply clicking on the title and buying now from Amazon.com.
Still hungering for more on Marion and her about- to-be-released book? Check out Marion's website, www.foodpolitics.com or www.whattoeatbook.com.

(**) Most important REMARKS by Jacques Girard…

The more I read articles such that above news items, etc., and freely share them with you, my dear readers, absolutely unafraid to do so although the sources may be viewed by some as "the competition", the more I become re-convinced that the Ultimate Answers lie WITHIN our Sub-conscious Minds’ ENDLESS reservoirs of ABUNDANT Knowledge and Truth!

As I have written herein several times before, and shall again: ANY/ ALL ACCURATE information which you seek and need, if you are to – once and for all – eradicate all your unwanted, ugly, awkward, embarrassing, unhealthy excess fat, weight, bulges and inches...Always IS at your ENTIRE DISPOSAL Every split second of Every Minute of Every Hour...Day and Night!...

Doing your S.L.I.M. For Life or The I.D.S. Modulations © will AUTOMATICALLY keep on sending these to you using the intuitive, silent, unmistakable message centers...also known as your Inner Voice... your Inner Intelligence...your Higher Self...

By the faithful practice of your Modulations, they become honed... refined...super-sensitized...clear and incredibly sharp, and This Is Defintely So!

My (**) was to bring to illustrate the fact that Mr. John McGran, aka "Mr. Bad Food", (the Editor-In- Chief of "eDiets" e-Magazine and its recent "Glee", both excellent publications bringing to the public's attention many cutting-edge articles written by "Experts" as well as advertisements for their own and other diet plans), freely admitted that, after six years as a reader and writer on foods, diets, and related topics, he is "now even more confused" about the latter than he was as a care-free bachelor...And, in another part of the above article, he admits "still needing to lose 30-35 lbs."!...

EXPERTS in desperate need of HELP themselves is what I see in all this...scrambling in every which direction for answers and formulae that work and CAN BE trusted...and even after agonizing years of study and sacrifices to become Degreed...they too still "SEEK", fumble and err (judging from the endless retractions of earlier "Experts' Advice" and other "Facts" they had previously set down as "die-hard Rules...Dos and Don’ts", such as: coffee and wine is Bad...then, Good...and countless other such dietary Certainties followed by Reversals...New Findings, and the like...) when, all the while, THE Ever-Correct Answers lie WITHIN them, as they do within each and everyone of US...You and Me...patiently waiting to be called upon to "do their thing" for us... whenever we Sincerely Ask!

Worst of all, the "Meyvens" (Yiddish for "Experts" and other knowledgeable "Connoisseurs" – also known as "know- it-alls" :o))... incessantly speak and write in terms convincing enough to scare or motivate Millions of chunky people to run to the drug store or to their wallets to get their credit cards in order to buy BILLION$$$ of Dollar$$$’ worth of pills, potions, lotions, diet plans and foods, drugs, exotic treatments... sign up for long-term fitness programs they seldom use...or, worse yet, very dangerous surgical procedures...ALL at Enormou$ CO$T$...

When THE ANSWERS...SOLUTIONS...drugless REMEDIES...proper, pleasant. Totally SAFE, comfortable eating, drinking, exercising practices are at YOUR and Anyone's comfortable reach who will Sincerely DESIRE and Dedicatedly ASK for the materialization of your fondest dreams and most pressing needs of Good Health, Physical, Mental and Spiritual balance and harmony...

Simply by LISTENING, while feeling Totally Relaxed, to Your The I.D.S and/or S.L.I.M. For Life Modulations © thus, attract and welcome Wellness, Peace and Beauty...for Life!

YES! even Mr. McGran and all the respected contributors to his and other publications dealing with Weight, Health and Well-being CAN "get" all this and End THEIR search, Uncertainties and honest mistakes, Any time They so Desire. Best of all, at a most reasonable one time rate...it lasts "for ever" and This Is Definitely So! :o)

P.S.: FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO to my Mexican friends! Abrazos!

Jacques