Paul Eckert Care

Paul Eckert Discusses Why Health Coverage is so Important

Family Financial Centers, the true innovator in the financial services market, today announced the addition of the Family Discount Medical Card Program.  Paul Eckert, CEO and Founder of Family Financial Centers, explained that this program fills a real need in the market place today.  He went on to explain how this program will allow their customers to enjoy significant savings on all aspects of needed health services.

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Herbal Teas 

Paul Eckert Herbal Teas Author: Whitewolf

“They made a good deal of camomile tea, which they drunk freely to ward off colds, to soothe nerves, and as a general tonic. A large jug of this was alway prepared and stood ready for heating up after confinements. The horehound was used with honey in a preparation to be taken for sore throats and colds on the chest. Peppermint tea was made rather as a luxury than a medicine, it was brought out on special occasions and drunk from wine-glasses…” Flora Thompson – Lark Rise to Candleford.

Herbal infusions have been drunk throughout the centuries – both for their medicinal and culinary properties – after all, our common ol’ cuppa [the black tea which came over from the Far East] is just a herb infused in water. Herbal infusions can consist of just one herb, or can be blended with a number of different herbs to produce a range of tantalising tastes.
So you’ve tried the herb tea-bags from the supermarket….and weren’t that impressed…. try using loose dried herbs, preferably organic, or fresh herbs [you’ll need to double the quantity of herb used if using fresh] and discover a myriad of new herbal remedies and refreshing drinks.

How to make a Herbal Tea : To make your own delicious cup of herbal tea simply place a teaspoon of dried herb [or herbs if you’re using a blend of herbs] into a tea-pot, caffetiere, or suitable loose-tea holder and pour on freshly boiled water. Infuse covered for 5 mins or so [roots and tough herbs may need to infuse for longer], strain and serve. If you’re making herbal tea for more than one person, add more dried herb just as you would with loose tea or tea-bags. For medicinal brews you may need to double the amount of herb and leave to infuse for longer – generally at least 5 – 10 minutes.
There are number of ways you can sweeten your herbal tea – why not try honey or maple syrup instead of sugar; or a shot of apple juice; dried orange or lemon peel; a bruised clove [particularly effective when a cold or sore throat threatens - cloves are wonderfully antiseptic] or add a cinnamon or liquorice stick.

Not all herbs lend themselves to teas – Feverfew is so strong it is not suitable for infusions – whilst others, although suitable, should only be consumed in small quantities, such as Yarrow. Others, like Chamomile, can be safely consumed in quantities of 5 or 6 cups a day. Obviously poisonous herbs should be avoided completely, and your health condition and any medications you are on should be taken into account – Rosemary and Sage, for example, should not be taken by epileptics, persons suffering from high blood-pressure, or during pregnancy or breast-feeding; Valerian root should not be combined with sleep-inducing medicines; and Hops should be avoided by anyone suffering from depression. Always check up on any herb you’re thinking of using, if in doubt ask your doctor or health professional – and remember that even the safest herbs should, like most things in life, be taken in moderation.

Ready for that cuppa yet? Here’s a small selection of herbal teas to tempt you….

Balm or Lemon Balm Tea – A delicious, lemon scented tea, refreshing and calming, and a tonic for mind and body. Soothing for stomach upsets and spasms, especially those connected with emotional worries or stress. A cup of Balm tea can calm palpitations and is a soothing remedy for ‘butterflies’ and nerves. It is also a gentle herb suitable for children, where it can be used to calm anxious or excitable children and soothe headaches. Balm is also a useful remedy for chicken pox and shingles – not only as a tea but also as a wash to soothe irritated or inflamed skin.

Blackcurrant Tea – A refreshing tea which counters acidity and helps cleanse the system. Dried Blackcurrant leaves need to be soaked for an hour or so in cold water before making an infusion, they will also need to infuse for slightly longer than some herbs – at least 10 minutes, and you may prefer to use 2 teaspoons for one cup.

Calendula / Marigold Tea – The bright orange petals of the Marigold flower can be drunk as a tea to help remedy nettle rash and skin problems. It is also useful for remedying digestive infections and fungal problems such as thrush.

Catnip Tea – As long as your cats don’t get to this one before you… Catnip tea was apparently a favourite country tea long before the black tea [which is now the nation’s common cuppa] arrived from the Far East. A nerve-tonic, useful for keeping colds at bay, as well as ensuring a restful sleep. It is useful tea for soothing nervous headaces and is a good digestive aide, nerve relaxant, cold preventative, and hiccup remedy. Catnip is a gentle herb and makes a suitable drink for children and will help soothe feverish chills.

Chamomile Tea – Perhaps one of the most well known of the herbal teas – Chamomile is a wonderful boon to hay fever and asthma sufferers, being markedly anti-allergenic – leave to infuse covered and inhale the steam before drinking. It is also useful for calming stomach spasms, relieving morning sickness, easing indigestion, bloating and hiccups. A cup of Chamomile tea last thing at night can ensure a good night’s sleep. Another gentle herb Chamomile is useful for relaxing over-tired children and offers a gentle remedy for teething.

Dandelion Tea – The leaves and petals of the humble Dandelion make a diuretic tea for treating fluid retention and urinary infections. Unlike most diuretics, which leach potassium from the body, Dandelion is rich in potassium. It is also a valuable liver tonic.

Elderflower Tea – A delicious, cooling tea, and one of my first choices for warding off colds and ‘flu. Elderflower is also a popular folk remedy for hay fever sufferers and should be drunk a couple of months before and throughout the hay fever season – preferably sweetened with local honey. Particularly tasty blended with Raspberry Leaf.

Fennel Seed Tea – A spicy tea useful for relieving windy digestive systems. Fennel Seed tea was reputedly drunk (and the seeds eaten) by the Anglo-Saxons to dampen the appetite and ward off hunger-pangs, it is also a folk remedy for relieving the aches and pains of flu.Crush 1 teaspoon of seeds and infuse covered for 10 mins.

Hawthorn Tea – Good for headaches, poor circulation, and lapses of memory. Hawthorn was widely used in the past to bulk out more expensive teas – the following recipe for a popular country tea mix is taken from Barbara Griggs’ The GreenWitch : “2 parts of dried Hawthorn leaves to 1 part each of Sage and Balm; or equal parts of Hawthorn, Sage, Balm and Blackcurrant leaves”

Hops Tea – A sleepy brew most useful for insomnia relief. Hops are not recommended to be taken internally by anyone feeling low or suffering from depression.

Lavender Tea – If you’ve over indulged on the alcohol the night before, an infusion of Lavender flowers makes an ideal cuppa for calming the throbbing pain of a hangover. It also soothes the digestive system and assists the liver.

Limeflower Tea – A mild-flavoured, delicate tea widely drunk all over Europe and valuable as an anti-spasmodic and sedative to the nerves and digestive system. A soothing remedy for headaches, particularly those caused by nervous tension. Drink in the evening to relax, or after a meal as a digestif.

Nettle Tea – Nettles really are one of Nature’s little gems, they have so much to offer us and are full of vitamins and minerals. Nettle tea is a superb detoxifying, cleansing tonic for the whole body, and is particularly beneficial to the liver and kidneys, and can help sooth eczema and irritated or inflamed rashes and skin conditions. Nettles are anti-allergenic – try blending them with chamomile for a hay-fever remedy – and the anti-inflammatory and cleansing properties make it an ideal regular cuppa for sufferers of arthritis. Nettle tea is also a valuable remedy for anaemia caused by heavy menstrual bleeding.
Some people find Nettle tea rather bland in flavour, but nothing a dash of honey or lemon can’t solve, or try blending it with a more aromatic herb such as Lemon Balm.

Peppermint Tea – A refreshing cuppa which will soothe stomach cramps, spasms and bloating, calm nausea and headaches, and makes an excellent after dinner digestif. Maurice Messegue, a French herbalist, proclaims it is as “a balm for the entire digestive tract.” Peppermint tea works well as an iced drink, decorate with a sprig of fresh mint – or add a fresh Peppermint leaf to ice-cubes before freezing.
Peppermint tea should not be drunk too often – and should not to be given to children under the age of 5.

Raspberry Leaf Tea – Another personal favourite, raspberry leaf is a refreshing and soothing tea, which blends well with elderflower. Raspberry Leaf is commonly recommended during the last 8 – 10 weeks of pregnancy to strengthen the uterus muscles and encourage easy labour. For this reason it should not be drunk before the last 8 – 10 weeks of pregnancy (please seek advice from your midwife or healthcare practitioner). Raspberry Leaf can also be drunk to relieve diarrhoea.

Red Clover Tea – A mild and sweet-like-honey flavour tea which is high in calcium and has a demulcent quality making it useful for acid indigestion relief. Reputedly soothing for asthma and respiratory problems. Red Clover has an age-old reputation as a cancer preventing herb. (The flowers contain the anti-cancer compound genistein). Blends well with Raspberry Leaf.

Rosemary Tea – A light and clean tasting cuppa for getting you going in the morning. Rosemary is a great herb to refresh a lagging mind and keep your memory sharp, it also makes a pleasant migraine remedy.
Rosemary tea should not be drunk too often and is not suitable for epileptics. Do not use during pregnancy or if breast-feeding.

Sage Tea – Quite an aquired taste! Good for warding off colds and ‘flu, but if you can’t bring yourself to drink it a Sage infusion makes an excellent gargle for sore throats. Also useful for menopausal women suffering from night sweats and hot flushes.
Sage tea should not be drunk too often and not more than 3 cups a day. Sage is not suitable for epileptics and should not be used during pregnancy or if breast-feeding – Sage tea is a traditional folk remedy for labour and is also used to encourage the milk flow to dry-up after breast-feeding.

Thyme Tea – Makes a good tonic for exhaustion, and drunk as a cold tea can help relieve headaches. Thyme tea is also useful at relieving urinary infections and water retention and is a popular folk remedy for flu with muscle aches and pains. Good for chest problems and for treating asthma – for the wheeziness, and shortness of breath symptoms, Andrew Chevallier [Encylopedia of Medicinal] suggests an infusion of 15g thyme and 15g nettles to 750ml of water – which should be sipped throughout the day. Thyme tea can also provide relief for hay fever sufferers and is considered to helpful in maintaining vitality, particularly in old / third age.

Valerian Tea – [another favourite with the felines] – A natural sedative, and an excellent remedy for insomnia…but very pungent! I would suggest blending this herb with other relaxing [and pleasantly aromatic] herbs such as Passion Flower, Limeflower, Chamomile, or Lemon Balm, and a good teaspoon or two of honey! Valerian Tea is also good for relieving nervous irritability, tension headaches, and menopausal problems, or to relieve bronchial spasms and smoker’s cough.
Valerian should not be taken if already using sleep-inducing medication.

You may like to blend two or more herbs together – here are a few tried and tested favourites at Gaia’s Garden :

Lemon Balm & Chamomile – A refreshing and calming blend, and a tonic for mind and body. Soothing for stomach upsets and spasms, especially those connected with emotional worries and indigestion

Red Clover & Raspberry Leaf* – A soothing, pleasant tasting blend. [*Raspberry Leaf is commonly recommended during the last 8 - 10 weeks of pregnancy to strengthen the uterus muscles and encourage easy labour. For this reason it should not be drunk before the last 10 weeks of pregnancy]

Mintea – A refreshing and soothing blend of Peppermint and Catnip (rich in antioxidants). A soothing after-dinner cuppa which may help ease headaches (particularly those associated with digestive problems). Not for children under 5.

Nettle & Lemon Balm – Just the thing to throw of Winter’s shadow and bounce into Spring. A detoxifying, cleansing, tonic brew! The Lemon Balm is soothing on the stomach and uplifting for your emotions

• For further herbal information, or to purchase organic herbs, herbal tea blends and much more, please visit Gaia’s Garden : http://www.gaias-garden.co.uk/.

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Simple Things To Improve Your Health

Paul Eckert Simple Practices By: Adrian Adams.

Your health is very important, and having bad health can prove to be very discouraging. No doubt you want to do everything that you can to make sure that you improve and maintain good health. While no matter what you do, you probably will not improve your health overnight, there are a variety of things that can help to improve your health if you keep at it. The following are some very simple things that you can do on your own to start improving your health.

Start Moving
One very simple thing that you can start to do every day to improve your health is to get moving. Anything that gets you moving is a great way to improve your health. Start taking the stairs instead of elevators, park far away from the store so you get to walk a bit. You can even start to schedule time to play outside with your kids or your pet. Walking your dog every day is a great way to start moving as well. Although you do not need to start exercising for an hour every day, just scheduling in 15-20 minutes of moving can help to drastically improve your health.

Avoid Fat
Cutting fats out of your diet can be a great way to improve your health as well. Start skipping the high fat fast food and choosing healthier foods such as fruits and vegetables. You should also watch out for dairy products as well, since they tend to be quite high in fat too. Start looking for foods that are fat free or low fat, and start eating them instead of their high fat competitors.

Stop Smoking
One thing that many people are doing that will lead them to an early grave is smoking. If you want your health to improve in drastic ways, then you need to stop smoking as soon as possible. While it may not be easy to quit, if you keep smoking it will probably kill you in the long run. Smoking can have a variety of bad effects on your health, including respiratory problems, heart problems, cancers, and more. If you are serious about improving your health, then you need to stop smoking now.

Get Rid of Stress
While it is definitely easy to say than it is to do it, getting rid of stress can help you improve your health in amazing ways. It is important that you start finding ways to reduce the stress in your life. Take up a hobby or start doing relaxation or yoga if you find it helps to melt the stress away. Start thinking more positively and take time out for yourself as well. Stress can cause all kinds of physical and emotional problems, so get rid of it and improve your health.

Start Flossing
Your teeth are very important as well, and have a lot to do with your total health. One thing that you can do to improve the health of your teeth is to start flossing every day. While brushing your teeth and using mouthwash is great, usually it is difficult to get to those germs and food that are between your teeth. If you start flossing your teeth will last longer and your mouth will be healthier as well.

Drink More Water
If you want to improve your health, one simple thing that you can do is to start drinking more water every day. No doubt you have always heard that you should drink at least eight glasses of water a day, and you should drink that much if not more. Drinking water helps to keep you hydrated and flushes out your system as well, which can promote health. Start taking water with you everywhere and you will start feeling better very quickly.

Cut Down on Salt
One thing that many people do not think about when they are considering their health is salt. While a bit of salt may not cause any harm, too much salt can cause a variety of problems within the body, including high blood pressure. Just cutting back on the amount of salt that you eat each day can help to improve your health now and in the long run.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables
While you’ve probably heard your mother telling you all your life to eat more fruits and vegetables, it really can help to improve your health. Fruits and vegetables are filled with great vitamins and antioxidants that can help the way your body functions. They can even help you fight off infections and colds as well. Start eating more fruits and vegetables daily and you will see an improvement in your health

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Organic Foods: The Facts Revealed By A Recent Study

Paul Eckert Organic Foods author James S. Pendergraft.

A world-wide awareness oh health issues have resulted in more and more people deciding to go organic especially in terms of the food choices they make when they go grocery shopping for their families. For most people this move is the result of a belief that organic food contributes more to one’s health because of increased nutrients. There are many who have also made the switch because of the better taste they believe organic foods have.

Aided by this move and perception, the organic industry last year grew by a whopping 18% in the US alone. Coming on the heels of these ‘positive’ developments for the organic industry is the latest study conducted in the UK. This study, commissioned by UK’s FSA (Food Standard Agency) was led by Dr. Alan Dangour, (who is a Public Health Nutritionist) and a team of experts from the well-known London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

The study took into consideration and examined data that has been compiled over the past 50 years. The results have rocked the world, especially the organic industries and all the consumers who’ve been forking out more money to pay for what they believe are healthier products. The findings of the research study revealed that vegetables and fruits, as well as dairy products obtained from cattle that are organic-food fed bring no additional nutritional value to humans than their industrially produced counterparts.

Before you take this at face value though, it’s important to note that Dr. Alan Dangour is a nutritionist and therefore restricted his study to the nutritional aspect which does not take into consideration the effects of pesticides and insecticides which are ever present in regularly grown or processed food products.

The study revealed that there are minimal nutrient differences between organically grown and chemically grown fruits, vegetables and other processed food products including dairy and meat items. So minimal are these differences that Dr. Alan Dangour believes they’re practically irrelevant.

Though a whopping 52,000 scientific papers were looked at in the course of the study, only 162 of them were said to be relevant to the study and that number went further down to 55 as the experts continued to search out those papers that met their quality standards.

The organic industry along with The Soil Association, obviously aren’t pleased with this study and its results which they believe hasn’t taken into consideration some important factors. Dr. Dangour said that the impact of pesticides and insecticides might be the next area to be studied though there are no concrete plans for such a research as yet.

This, however, isn’t the last word on the issue so consumers will have to keep watching and waiting. A second study in this area is now being awaited. This study led by Carlo Leifert, of Brussels is set to be published this very year. Leifert is a professor in the field of Ecological Farming and is currently employed at Newcastle University.

In response to Dr. Dangour’s study Professor Liefert has revealed that his study has found organic foods to be richer in antioxidants which he points out are helpful in combating heart disease and cancer.

Looking beyond the nutritional benefits, of organic food, consumers and researchers alike will be able to appreciate the benefits that organic farming has on the environment.

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Eye Health Improvement Through Simple Exercise

Paul Eckert Simple Exercises By Michael Hawkins.

The human body has some impressive self healing features built in. Regardless of how your body is hurt or worn, it will always do it’s best to heal itself. This inbuilt system can be worked upon by eating correctly, exercising etc. A part of our body that we are very dependent on, without getting very much attention, are our eyes. Their health too can be improved by proper use and regular exercise.

Since we use our eye all day long, we seldom stop to think that we would need to DO something with them in order to keep them in great shape. We recognize that most aspects of our physique can be imrpoved upon through training, yet most of us totally neglect the importance of our eyes strenght.

From our first day at school throughout our life as grown ups we get to do close vision work like reading and eying computer monitors. Then in our spare time we repeat by doing many similar tasks – reading books, watching television and playing video games. Our eyes are constantly worn and looking at some nearby objects almost all the time.

This is a problem, because our eyes are not too well equiped to constantly focus on something right in front of our noses – or in other words, we use hard vision using mostly the center of our vision.

A stone-age human being, whose biological and genetic composition would be very similar to our own, would probably have spent the better part of the day using soft, or peripheral vision, looking into the distance and viewing birds, trees, mountains, cloud formations, stars, animals to hunt etc. It can be hard to compare yourself to people in the stone age, but physiologically it is a valid comparison.

In contemporary society we can naturally not be expected to live and act like people of the stone-age, but it is still factual that lots of close vision work like reading, if done incorrectly, over time greatly reduces our ability to see distant objects. Now wonder then that nearsightedness, or myopia, have become more of a rule than an exception.

Most people just accept this condition as the inevitable process of aging, and think that it can only be remedied by wearing corrective lenses or undergoing laser surgery. Both of which are quite expensive remedies.

However, as was already hinted, many common vision problems are to some extent self inflicted. And the damage caused by of various close vision activities could be greatly reduced by reeducating the way you use your eyes.

Furthermore, conditions like nearsightedness can actually be reversed by regularly performing some very straightforward exercises that involves relaxing the eyes and re-training them to focus on object further away.

It is Important to Network in this Business Climate

By Paul Eckert

As we look at the landscape of our industry, you will probably find that the average franchisor has limited resources to work with say’s Paul Eckert. That is why it is always prudent to look at just what resources we should allocate to any endeavor.  We are living in a very unique period of time, one that affects both our economy and the business environment as a whole.  As things get more challenging, we all tend to look even harder at just how we can be more efficient with both our time and our money. At times, we may feel that it’s time to cut our costs and slash all unnecessary spending. This is exactly what is happening all around the country in every organization, large and small.

In today’s economy, many business owners only want to evaluate activity with what directly and immediately affects their balance sheet. Discretionary spending is a term that we all use in our budget meetings, but the decisions that we make to balance our budget can deeply impact the growth of our business. So it is important to properly evaluate and identify just what items are important to the growth of your individual organization. All too often, in an effort to curb travel costs, the necessity to attend conferences and other industry functions are questioned.  To some, the expenses related to attending these functions and other opportunities to network are viewed as something not vital or essential to the operation of their business.  This shortsighted approach does not serve us well. There is an old saying “No man or woman is an island”.  We need to take full advantage of every opportunity to network with others. 

Why is this so important ask’s Paul Eckert?  Let me give you one example.  You may have had a certain predisposition toward a particular idea or area of operating your business for years. You feel that this path has worked for you and you’re going to stay the course. It’s the old “Dance with the one that brung ya” mentality. Often the people that work for you know how you think and they may shy away from challenging your tried and true positions on a variety of business issues. This can lead to trouble for you and your organization.  With this attitude, how can you ever open yourself up to new and exciting ideas and products that can enrich and grow your business?  You need to challenge yourself and you need to be challenged to think out of the box.   It probably will never happen in the comfortable confines of your office.

And that is why attending conferences such as the International Franchise Association’s yearly convention is so vital. Here you will find a large gathering of individuals who are facing the same challenges in the same industry as you are.  It is a unique opportunity to gain many different perspectives on a variety of issues facing you every day. The old adage that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results has never been more relevant to the time that we find ourselves in right now. The rules of the road have changed. The way we operate and grow our business has to change. We need to have open mind flexibility about how we make decisions. We need to understand that innovative and new approaches are the order of the day.

How do we best prepare our business and ourselves for the future?  We need to talk and share ideas with others.  We need to disagree, agree to disagree, but most importantly, we need to think. When we go to a large convention, we not only have a program that is designed to get us to look at the key issues of the day, such as what we have with the IFA, but we also get the benefit of sharing ideas with many who face the same challenges that we face every day.

How do you put a price tag on that?  It is as the TV commercial says “Priceless”. You never know when and where and from whom the next great idea you hear will come from. But there is a high probability that the process will begin by networking with your peers. And large groups can lead to great ideas that can lead to even greater results and all the benefits that come from that.

How can you get the most benefit from networking at an IFA convention?  You have to approach this opportunity with the right frame of mind and the right mindset.  It has to be more then just a chance to get away for a few days, with a main focus of catching up with old friends and acquaintances. That’s not maximizing your time or your effectiveness at networking.  That might be the reason some may put networking way down on the budgetary list.

Preparation is key!  You need to have a plan of action for every networking opportunity that presents itself.  Here are a few questions that you can ask yourself:  What problems have I encountered that I would like to get feedback on?  How are others addressing these same issues?  What key areas am I most interested in obtaining more information about – finance, operations, franchise relations, development, marketing, legal, new products, or new vendors?  Prioritize your time. You can’t talk to every single person about every issue, so distill your action plan to two or three main items.  Then determine whom you would like to discuss these items with.  Why not get involved and volunteer to be part of a committee?  Don’t be afraid to take the time to participate. Remember, the closer the connections you make with those in the industry, the better your understanding of current and future challenges will be.  Make your plan and work your plan.

Don’t think that these ideas are reserved just for large conferences. Take the networking mindset local. Reach out to the business community in your area. Many independent entrepreneurs can give you insight on how your franchisees might be feeling about things in general. You will get this in an unfiltered way that will enable you to be aware of things that you had not observed before.

The real danger for Franchisor’s doing business in these economic times is in thinking that everyone is still on the same page. With the issues of obtaining good lead flow and the difficulty in obtaining financing, it is imperative that you have a clear understanding of how you and your brand is viewed in the market place.   Work closely with the consultant networks if this is part of your development strategy.  Often they are on the front line and know what candidates are thinking.  In the current environment, it is vital to understand how your business model plays in this economy. You may need to set up a mini conference to exchange thoughts on how your brand is looked at by franchisee candidates and your customers as well.

I hear many business owners talk about scaling back, cutting their development budgets, pairing back on staff, etc. This may all be necessary and prudent in your particular situation. But before you make any decision, make sure that you are looking at more than just numbers. Make sure you take into account all of the facts. By expanding your efforts in networking, you can help round out your decision making process.  In most cases, the decisions you make now will have long lasting ramifications for the future. You have to get it right. Remember, none of us are an island. We need to talk, listen, exchange ideas, encourage, and yes sometimes even commiserate, with one another. Take the time and make the effort to network now more than ever.

Paul W. Eckert is CEO and founder of Family Financial Centers and Philly’s Own Soft Pretzel Bakery.  He is a member of the IFA’s Franchise Relations Committee.  He can be reached at 215-230-5508 or paul@familyfinancialcenters.com.

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Using Meditation for Health Benefits

Paul Eckert on Meditation Author: Roy Thomsitt.

Meditation has for many centuries been associated with spiritual health and a general sense of well being. Those in the Eastern countries, where meditation has always been widely practiced, may have recognized its holistic effect, and the direct part meditating can play in good physical health as well as spiritual.

In Western countries, though, there has mostly been a dismissive attitude to the part the practice of meditation can play in health. In fact, any benefit from meditating was mostly derided until recently. Health, of course, is the profession of doctors and support professionals, so while doctors have been widely dismissive of meditation as a health aid, it is not surprising the general public in Western countries have followed their lead.

In some ways, though, those traditional attitudes of the medical profession do not stand up to close examination. How often have you heard of a patient being told, on being examined, that there is nothing wrong, “it is all in the mind”? There you have a doctor saying, without hesitation, that the patient’s symptoms are all in the mind; they come from the brain and are not “real”. So, if they acknowledge so readily that the mind creates symptoms, why dismiss entirely that the mind cannot also play a part in cures or improvements in health?

It has also been common for doctors to dismiss some improvements to a patient’s symptoms, when taking a non-drug treatment, that it is merely a placebo effect. In other words, the improvement is “all in the mind”. On these occasions, the doctors, in trying to dismiss the patient’s health improvement, are acknowledging that the patient’s own mind has brought about that improvement.

The human mind, of course, is in contact with the whole of the body 24 hours a day, so if you look at it from that angle, the mind and body, physical and mental health, are all inextricably linked at all times. As meditation helps to establish more self control over your mind, it does leave wide open the possibility that meditating can be used to affect health. In recent years, some health practitioners have come to realise that meditation can have some health benefits, and these are the areas where interest has been most focused:

1. Most modern doctors will acknowledge that stress is a source of health problems, and some now acknowledge that meditation can reduce stress and help people to relax.

2. There has been some study into blood pressure being lowered during meditation. That is one positive use of meditation on health that I can vouch for, as I have measured my own blood pressure during meditation, and brought my diastolic reading down by 10 points or more, on several occasions.

It is good to read that some hospitals and doctors are incorporating some stress reduction therapies, such as meditation and massage, into their every day activities. In fact, my first experience of yoga meditation was 10 years ago, in a class organised jointly by the local hospital and council. I was the only “baby”, being under 50, in the class, which was aimed at those with some physical restriction (in my case fused vertebrae) and thus attracted mostly those in their late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. All felt some benefit from the sessions, including two patients with Parkinson’s disease. No miracle cures, but they did say it helped them.

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Juicing For Better Health

Juicing with Paul Eckert for Health By Lourdes Amil.

Juicing is a very good way to improve your health, diet, lose weight, replace a meal, lower cholesterol. The list goes on and on because natural fruits and vegetables add nutrients to your diet. Since there are no additives they improve your digestion and provide you with needed vitamins. Some people are concern with calories and because the juices you make at home are all natural there is no need to worry about calories. The calorie spectrum is very wide with natural juices, for example, Aloe Vera Juice has approx 3 calories while orange has approx 80 calories. When you mix fruits and vegetables the calories increase but the benefits outweigh the calories.

If you are going to introduce juicing to your diet I recommend at you start of by mixing and matching fruits and vegetables that you enjoy. A good example for me is that I love carrots and I enjoy eating oranges, therefore one of the first juice recipes I tried was oranges and carrots. To this day that is by far my favorite. Another good way to develop juice recipes is to consider the V8 juice recipe and make it what you like, in other words make your own V8 recipe. Take into consideration what fruits and vegetables are in season and let that guide you as well. When you are purchasing your fruits and vegetables take into consideration were you are purchasing. You want o be able to purchase your fruits and vegetables from a reputable market. Always feel and check your fruit and vegetables, you want a ripe and fresh smelling fruit or vegetable. A ripe fruit of vegetable will give way but will not feel mushy; you want it to be firm but to have some give as well. Don’t underestimate your sense of smell, if your not sure then you may want to skip that fruit or vegetable all together.

Two of my favorite things to add to juices are garlic and ginger. For the garlic it is an acquired taste I recommend that you start with a small clover and add as you go along. The ginger is a wonderful fresh taste but again you have to add according to our taste buds. Another additive I love is Cilantro, I love the aroma and extra punch it adds to any juice.

Finally, the most important thing you can do is start juicing today, don’t worry about he calories or the recipes. The calories in juice are good to you; they help you introduce vitamins into your system and they assist you in cleansing. You can experiment with juice recipes by starting with combination of fruits and vegetables that you already enjoy and then you can build from there.

Tags: Juicing with Paul Eckert for Health