What is Optimal Health Anyway?

This happened to me recently. I had a woman attend one of my health lectures using a walker. She had just come from dialysis and was wearing a surgical boot. I asked her if she had any health concerns, and she said no. Thats right, she told me that apart from the wound in her foot that wouldnt heal and her failing kidneys she was otherwise in good health.

Im very thankful to live in a world with such amazing, life-saving technology as dialysis, but Im also amazed that someone in this state would consider herself to be in a good state of health.

What does it mean to be healthy anyway? It stands to reason that there should be an accepted definition of health to use as a starting point. It so happens that the World Health Organization has one.

Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

This definition has not been changed since 1948. It pretty much says it all.

The word health comes from the same root word that gives us the word holy. Its about being whole. Being healthy is about being in balance. Balance doesnt mean that you never lean to one side or the other. Balance is about how quickly you come back to center. Physical health is greatly influenced by genetics, environment and diet. Someone who falls and receives a scrape should expect to heal. First their genes will influence potential. Some people may not form blood clots well. Some people may have other disorders that slow their ability to rebuild tissue. Others heal very quickly.

The environment may influence healing processes as well. If you keep scraping your knee, how quickly would you expect it to heal? Damaging influences need to be taken away. What other things are affecting your body that it is also trying to deal with? If your body is trying to deal with constant lung irritation due to bad air, the resources of your body might not be able to cover other battles, like an infected wound.

Diet is about raw materials. You are what you eat. If you are providing your body with good foods that are not saturated with preservatives you have the raw materials the cells need to perform the tasks of healing. Sometimes it is difficult to eat the recommended amounts of fresh whole foods on a daily basis, so high-quality dietary supplements can help ensure that you have the raw materials your body needs.

Studies have shown that people with better diets seem to enjoy better health. This means that they still get sick from time to time. They are still at the same risk for car accidents and paper cuts. What makes them healthier than others is measured by how quickly they come back to their balance. How is your state of balance?

Dave Saunders is a nutritional consultant, published author and lectures to the medical community on new discoveries and technologies in nutrition and biochemistry. You can read more about discoveries in nutrition at http://www.glycowellness.com

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So, What IS Spyware?

You've heard all kinds of terrible things about it, but just what IS it - and how does it get on your computer in the first place?

Spyware is a real pain in the arse, to put it bluntly. It bogs down your computer's memory, causes you to be spammed to death with pop-up ads, and tracks everywhere you go while you surf the web! Worst of all, 99% of all spyware downloads itself to your computer without your knowledge - or your consent.

Can they do that? Yes, unfortunately, they can - but you don't have to sit back while your computer is destroyed with malicious software. Spyware scanners and removal programs are a must on any computer that gets online.

But, first, let's talk a little more about spyware - and what it truly is.

Broadbandinfo.com makes things a little clearer:

Spywaregathers information about Internet users without their knowledge or consent and delivers that information to advertisers or others who have access to the information. Users can get spyware in their systems by downloading certain programs or in the form of a virus.

Sort of scary, isn't it? There are two main ways to "get" spyware:

1. It downloads itself into your computer, without your knowledge or consent, when you visit a certain website or click on a certain pop-up ad.
2. It downloads itself to your computer along with something you chose to download, usually under the guise of "free extras" - you may or may not (usually not) be notified that the extra content is included with the download.

Short of never downloading anything, or ceasing to ever surf online again, the only sure way to keep your computer clean of spyware is to periodically "clean" it up with a good spyware removal program. The only true, and reliable, preventative measures that can be taken are to never click on pop-up ads and to be careful of where you surf - regardless, though, you are always going to end up with some spyware.

One of the things about spyware that people don't realize is that most of it is programs. That's right, it's a program running in the background of your machine - eating up your resources. You can imagine what would happen if you had hundreds (and without a removal program, you will) - eventually your computer would be inoperable - slow as a snail, for want of a better term.

Since spyware is inevitable - as much so as taxes and death these days - you'd best go ahead and download a few reputable spyware removal programs on your pc.

From homecomputersafety.com

Professional i.t. tech & geeky-girl gamer who feels her duty to warn the average user about the dangers of the Internet. Feel free to use, please link back to http://www.homecomputersafety.com/

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Blogging With WordPress in a Web 2.0 World - Video Blogging

Blogging in a web 2.0 world is all about interactivity and building a community. What better way to do both than through video blogging?

Video blogging is just one of the new powerful ways to market your products and incorporate web 2.0 technologies into your WordPress blog. When you combine video and blogging you are able to reach new markets through the many video sites such as YouTube and Flickr. How, you ask? Host your videos on YouTube and embed them into your blog post. It looks like people are watching the video on your site but they are actually watching it on YouTube. You extend your reach without using your bandwidth!

My colleague and friend, Jeff Herring - The Article Guy - put a video up on YouTube and at the same time incorporated it into his blog. Within two days he was number one on YouTube for his keywords. How much traffic do you think that brought to his blog?

You don't need to be in the video yourself. You can do screen capture videos to explain something in your niche. Since people learn on different levels, combining video and text will get your message out to more people than text alone.

If you do use videos that include you, you will quickly build the 'know, like, and trust' factor. People will hear from you in your own words, see you, and feel like they know you. It's so difficult to build trust but with video blogging you are doing just that whenever people see you.

To get started with video blogging all you need is a little, inexpensive Flip Video camera. It's easy to use and has software built right in for uploading to your computer and then on up to your blog. Why is it called a 'Flip'? Because it connects to your computer through a USB connection built right into the camera. When you are ready to connect the camera to your computer, you 'flip' open the USB connection and you are ready to go.

You can see that there is really no excuse not to get started with video blogging now.

The Bottom Line: Start bringing your blog into the world of Web 2.0. You have no excuse not to!

I'd like to invite you to see everything that is available for you at http://www.TheWordPressWizard.com - where you will also find information about my free weekly teleseminars, The Wizard Weekly as well as information about upcoming classes.

by Cathy Perkins, The WordPressWizard.