The skin is the most exposed part of the human body due to which it also becomes the one most vulnerable to attack. In this article, we offer some of the easiest skin care tips that will help you get a radiant, beautiful skin texture.

For the skin to remain fresh and healthy, it is necessary that its follicles always remain hydrated. Drink plenty of water so that the skin never goes dry. Fruits and vegetables too are recommended because these contain anti-oxidants and vitamins which can help slow down the aging process. Smoking, drinking and junk foods too is known to have a negative effect on the skin, so if you have fallen prey to these, try to rid yourself of these habits.

The other thing you have to keep in mind is to never compromise on sleep. However this is easier said than done because in present times, the stresses at both work and home are such that our bodies often are devoid of sleep. Tiredness or lack of sleep can lead to dark circles around the eyes with the overall fatigue also slowly leading to skin destruction. Therefore try getting minimum 7-8 hours of sleep every day.

One must also be wary of the surroundings because nowadays our environments have become extremely polluted due to the use of toxic substances and being exposed to such surroundings can have adverse effects on the skin. Therefore if you spend considerable time outside the confines of your dwelling then have a bath as soon as you return home. The benefit of bathing is that apart from helping to remove germs from the body, it also aids in opening up of the skin pores which may have been formerly shut. This can help the skin to breathe better. However while bathing, always remember to use soaps that don’t contain harsh ingredients. Also take care to never scrub the skin too hard while bathing because it can strip essential oils from the skin and leave it exposed.

The other way to replenish the skin is through massages. Massages improve blood circulation through the skin and also help in the removal of dead skin cells. However while massaging the face, always take care to massage in the upward direction. This can reduce the danger of wrinkles later in life.

Last but not least, skin care products are a must have to keep your skin in the pink of health. Creams such as sunscreens help to protect against the harmful UV rays while moisturizers can be used to treat the dry skin phenomenon which is often encountered in winters. Anti-aging, fairness, acne and stretch mark creams form an altogether different variety of creams that can be used to treat specific skin conditions. However before buying these creams from the chemist, perform adequate research because there have been cases where particular types of creams have known to cause adverse reactions and allergies in people.

Always remember, just like any other body part such as the eyes, nose and ears, the skin too is integral to the human anatomy. Therefore it is essential that you take good care and maintain it in optimum condition.

The subject of superbugs is a topic that is becoming increasingly important for many people right now. We are now collectively facing the serious consequences of combating infections with medical drugs instead of understanding the real reasons behind infection and subsequently treating them in ways that truly benefit the body, not harm it.

The antibiotic approach to treating infections is costing human society more than anyone could have anticipated. The bugs that were ‘successfully’ subdued with antibiotics for decades are now taking revenge by producing what is known as ‘antibiotic-resistant organisms’, i.e. superbugs that defy antibiotic treatment.

Some 100,000 Americans suffer potentially deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant ‘staph superbug’. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), more people now die from these superbugs than from AIDS diseases. Recent nationwide outbreaks of infections caused by superbugs killed teenagers in U.S. schools, reflecting the natural consequence of indiscriminate and irresponsible use of antibiotics in this country.

Just a few days ago the media reported about a new study that showed 47 percent of the meat sold in the United States is contaminated with antibiotic-resistant organisms. Most cattle in the US are pumped full with antibiotics for infections they develop as result of improper feeds, growth hormones, and unhealthy living conditions. If you handle such a piece of germ-infested meat and then touch a fruit or vegetable and subsequently eat it, you may subsequently become infected with a potentially deadly germ, or so we are told.

We are now being warned about an imminent new epidemic that involves superbugs. Before the recent announcement that superbugs are infesting nearly half of US meat supplies, in March 2011 health officials warned that California is being hit by a superbug. Over 350 cases of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, CRKP, have been reported in Los Angeles County alone. The CDC announced a 40 percent mortality rate for those who become infected. Of course, antibiotics are ineffective against this superbug. Now it appears that the disease has spread to most of the country. Should we all be scared?

Officials are saying that The CRKP bug is mostly impacting hospital patients, elderly patients at nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities. These are the places where antibiotics are most frequently and often unnecessarily administered. However this assessment is outdated and no longer valid.

Previously only found in hospital settings, drug-resistant staph germs are now also spreading through prisons, gyms and locker rooms, and poor urban neighborhoods. They can enter the blood, kidneys, liver, lungs and muscles around the heart. Most cases exhibit life-threatening bloodstream infections. However, about 10 percent of the cases involved the so-called flesh-eating disease, according to a study led by researchers at the federal CDC. It is estimated that 18,650 people die annually from this particular superbug, which is about 1,500 more than those who die from AIDS in the U.S. each year.

Bacteria Are Smarter Than We Think

It is a law of nature that every living organism wants to live and survive for as long as it possibly can. Bacteria that are repeatedly exposed to antibiotics will, therefore, try to become immune to them. To survive such assaults, bacteria have their own sophisticated defense strategies, which are in a way similar to ours when we need to defend ourselves against invasive bacteria or viruses. One possible way for bacteria to evade an antibiotic attack is to mutate their genes. As a result, the bacteria become resistant to the active ingredients of a drug, which subsequently renders the drug ineffective.

You may have wondered why so many brands of antibiotics stay on the market for relatively short periods of time. One reason for this is that the bacteria keep outsmarting the antibiotics, and more powerful drugs are then needed kill the newly created strains of bacteria. Another reason for withdrawing brands from the market is the increasingly frequent occurrence of serious side effects that arise from repeatedly giving the drugs to the same patients.

The more we use these drugs, the more resistant the bacteria will become. Top researchers in this field already admit that they are fighting a losing battle. We have overused antibiotics to a degree that every disease-causing bacterium has now developed mutated versions that resist at least one antibiotic.

When an antibiotic attacks a colony of bacteria, most of them die. Yet some of the microbes survive because they harbor mutant genes that resist destruction. These mutant bacteria then pass on their resistant genes to other bacteria, and within 24 hours each of them may have left an estimated 16,777,220 offspring, equally resistant to the antibiotic. The problem is that you can never predict whether this will happen to you when your doctor gives you an antibiotic.

Bacterial Warfare Leads to Self Destruction

But the nightmare doesn’t stop here. The mutant bacteria begin to share their resistant genes with other unrelated microbes they contact, making all sorts of microorganisms resistant to treatment as well. The well-known microbiologist Stanley Falkow once said that bacteria are ‘clever little devils’ that can become resistant to drugs they’ve never met and anticipate confrontations with other ones.

In this way, relatively harmless bacteria turn into superbugs, capable of evading any attack by medical drugs. They lurk particularly in places where antibiotics are most often used, i.e. hospitals and nursing homes. According to recent research findings, five to ten percent of all people checking into hospitals today are going to get infected as a result of antibiotic-resistant bacteria lodging within these buildings.

Except for the sterile environment of surgery theatres, the superbugs can be found riding on dust particles of the heating and air-conditioning systems, in bathrooms and toilets, and even in the food. They account for most of the deaths in hospitals today. The superbugs ‘choose’ patients whose immune systems have already been compromised as a result of sickness, injury, surgery, and/or previous encounters with antibiotics.

In healthy people with a strong immune system, these bugs can live on their skin or in their noses without infecting them. In other words, under normal circumstances, we can live with the bugs without ever getting infected and, even if we did get infected, our body would deal with them effectively while becoming immune to them. However, this natural resistance to the bugs decreases drastically with the first course of antibiotics taken for a simple infection. Vaccines, which also contain antibiotics, are of course, a leading cause of an increasingly widespread occurrence of superbugs, given the number of people who have been and still are being vaccinated against infectious diseases, including the flu (for more details, check out my new book, Vaccine-nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time).

Superbugs Are Not The Enemy

Because of the excessive use of antibiotics through mass vaccination and inside and outside of hospitals, antibiotic-resistant organisms have now become the most common cause of infection. To make matters worse, in many countries people can now acquire antibiotics over the counter.

Since precise dosage depends on the individual and the potency of the infection, and since there is no clear time limit to the number of courses a person may require to kill all the germs, antibiotics can never be considered ‘safe’. Interrupted intake or too low a drug dose can encourage the growth of resistant bacteria, which may allow them to be passed on to other people as well. This may increase the risk of infection for those who are near a person who takes antibiotics and may explain why infection is higher in families where they have been used before. However, to become infected, other predisposing factors must be in place, such as poor diet, vaccination which suppresses the immune system, low vitamin D levels due to lack of regular sun exposure, and inadequate personal hygiene, among other reasons.

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics seems to be doing more damage than we can even begin to understand. Antibiotics are among the most powerful immune-suppressants that exist. Most people who are ill and die don’t actually die from their diseases. They die from a massive build up to toxins and a depleted immune system, both of which serve as an open invitation for opportunistic bacterial infections. This applies to cancer, AIDS, and most other so-called “killer diseases”. Autopsies revealed that many of the patients who died from an “AIDS” disease had never actually been infected with HIV but were killed by antibiotic-resistant superbugs.These bugs cause similar symptoms to the ones considered AIDS diseases. It is difficult to determine how many millions of AIDS victims are actually victims of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, or rather what allows them to infect the body. Our ignorance and the resistance to live in harmony with the laws of nature and take care of our basic needs combined with the incessant demand for a magic bullet to quickly put a stop to an illness, are the real enemy here.

Lessons To Be Learned

Many people have contacted me with the question whether there is a cure for infection with Clostridium difficile (CD).CD is a spore-forming bacillus that is responsible for the development of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. While CD was first described in 1935 as a part of the fecal flora of healthy newborns, the regular exposure of babies to antibiotics through vaccines and medications for minor infections has converted this beneficial bacillus into a potentially fatal superbug that can lead to the destruction of the entire digestive system, and wasting.

Unfortunately, I have seen many people deteriorate this dramatically because of the temptation to rid the body of an infection with antibiotics. CD is largely due to past use of antibiotics, chronic vitamin D deficiency (vitamin D regulates the genes responsible for natural antibiotic secretions), lack of sleep, emotional stress, all of which can lead to an unbalanced intestinal flora, which, in turn, diminishes the level of immune health.

Even though, CD comes with a certain risk, targeting the already resistant bacteria with more antibiotics (which is common practice) practically removes any chances of recovery.

It is not possible to outsmart or root out bacteria that are engaged in infecting cells that have already been damaged by antibiotics, eating nutrient-deprived foods, or chronic vitamin D deficiency. In US hospitals, where over 20 percent of patients become infected with CD, patients are given the lowest quality food you can find, sunlight is avoided at all cost, and antibiotics are administered around the clock. These are the perfect conditions for breeding and spreading superbugs.

As long as the underlying condition (damaged, weak, toxic cells) exists, specific bacteria will be drawn to those areas and infect these cells. Bacterial infection is always host-specific. That’s why not every person who is exposed to staph aureus, for example, will become infected with it. In fact, if exposed to it, only a fraction of people will become infected, namely those who are already unhealthy, like patients in a hospital or those with a compromised immune system. And as I have already mentioned, a major cause is vaccination during childhood and also adulthood: all vaccines suppress and damage the immune system. Bacterial infection cannot occur in healthy cells, even if it involves superbugs. The cell environment and cell condition determines whether an infection will or will not occur.

The outdated medical approach to dealing with infection is based on the germ theory of Louis Pasteur, which has been proven wrong by Pasteur himself at his death bed, and more recently, by documented research. It is heavily flawed and bound to fail.

The existence of antibiotic resistant organisms doesn’t show that these germs are vicious monsters. Nothing in nature is unnecessary or useless. It merely shows that they evolved into mutant bacteria to do the job they are designed to do, namely, to infect and decompose what is no longer needed and useful. If destructive germs were rooted out, life on the planet would stop. We would all suffocate in waste matter and toxins that could no longer be decomposed. The earth would be littered with corpses of humans and animals that could never decay.

Is There Any Hope For Us?

There are natural antibiotics that have also cleansing properties and at the same time stimulate the immune system, e.g. Pau D’ Arco, olive leaf extract, and for more dramatic results, MMS (formerly known as Miracle Mineral Supplement). MMS works regardless whether a germ has mutated or not. Many essential oils also exhibit these characteristics.

Remember, making vitamin D from sun exposure or a vitamin D lamp is essential for recovery. The germicidal wave length of UV light is capable of even destroying antibiotic resistant TB bacteria. Before the era of antibiotics, intense UV light (high altitudes) was used to treat TB, with a near 100% success rate. Today, some hospitals use UV to kill of antibiotic resistant organisms in air-conditioning units. There are clinics that use UV light to radiate blood with UV light which instantly breaks down the infectious germs. Of course, after the treatment, the original causes behind the infection must be dealt with adequately. If antibiotics were used at any time in the past, the liver bile ducts must also be cleaned out through a series of liver and gallbladder flushes. Otherwise, reinjection may occur.

Lastly, the fear and constant concern and emotional stress that often follows a medical diagnosis of infection with a regular bug or a superbug, can prevent recovery altogether. The diagnosis can induce a fight or flight response which quickly suppresses the immune system through the secretion of the stress hormone Cortisol. Fear can also impair digestive functions and lead to a proliferation of the germs.

Andreas Moritz is a writer and practitioner in the field of Integrative Medicine. He is the author of 13 books on various subjects pertaining to holistic health, including The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush, Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation and Cancer Is Not a Disease. His most recent book is titled ‘Vaccine-Nation: Poisoning the Population, One Shot at a Time’.

Moritz is also the creator of Ener-Chi Art ( http://www.ener-chi.com ) and Sacred Santemony.

Much of his life’s work has been dedicated to understanding and treating the root causes of illness, and helping the body, mind, spirit and heart to heal naturally.

Connect with Andreas at: http://www.facebook.com/enerchi.wellness

Copyright © 2011 by Andreas Moritz

Numerous steps are involved in creating quality custom formulations of dietary supplements. And in this regard, individuals can take help of companies specialized in formulating and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.

Dietary supplements appear in the market and get attention of individuals. No one thinks how they are made or how they are formulated. They go for the purchase of dietary supplements soon they feel they are quality based and effective to use.

There is a term known as custom formulations. To prepare dietary supplements according to a specified formula is referred as custom formulations. And products are manufactured in the manufacturing industry by considering several useful aspects like use of adhesives, incapsulation steps, etc.

Dietary supplements manufacturing companies offer custom formulations services by taking into account of factors like:

Marketing objectives

The health & wellness industry is considered one of the best known products areas and multi-level marketing strategies are incorporated into ownership marketing strategies since years. And professional dietary products manufacturing specialists thus consider the safety and effectiveness of products. And in this regard, formulations of products are done by companies keeping in mind to deal a large segment of consumers.

Most of companies come with expert team to go for research for custom formulation of products. They find out the requirement of consumers and also consider factors like product is of quality, have some health claim, are unique and reasonably priced.

Ingredient specifications

One of the most important concerns of custom formulation of dietary products is the specification of ingredients used in the formation of products. In the manufacturing processes of products, both inactive and dietary ingredients are used. Inactive ingredients are substance which affects the function of the body. As such, experts of manufacturing companies monitor following things:

1 Plant material is properly processed by milling to get botanical dietary ingredient.
2 Usage of right quantity of amino acids which are considered basic structural units of proteins.
3 Checking the contaminants percentage which could be dangerous to person’s health.
4 Maintain the dosage form like coating agents, flavors, colors, solvents, tablet binders and sweetening agents.

Budgetary needs

Other than these two factors, another useful factor for custom formulations services of companies is budget concern of clients. They make use of ingredients, technology, formula etc as per the budgetary needs of clients. They work with highly trained staff for custom manufacturing, packaging, formula, dosage etc to offer exceptional quality to client’s products.

There are many more factors which are considered to prove health supplements safe, quality based and effective to use. Tests, acceptance criteria and test methods describe the standards of products and companies offer these to justify the performance of products. Thus, it would not be wrong to say that custom formulations of dietary supplements get special attention and care in manufacturing industry.

Do your ADHD symptoms get worse during certain parts of the month? Do you get organized and efficient after your period, and forgetful the week before your period starts? Experts on ADHD noticed that there seems to be a relation between hormonal fluctuations and the severity of ADHD symptoms. Hormones’ influence on ADHD doesn’t just happen every cycle; they can last over an entire lifetime. In fact, the average age a female adult gets diagnosed for ADHD is between ages 36 to 38.

Doctors who evaluate women with ADHD rarely factor in hormonal fluctuations when they construct a treatment plan. But an increased awareness of ADHD and the effect of hormones are starting to change this. Here are the four major stages of a woman’s life, the hormonal changes that occur at these periods, and the best ways to manage symptoms.

Adolescence

During puberty, the female body produces higher levels of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. These “raging hormones” often lead to risky behavior, rebellion, and increased impulsivity. During their early teen years, girls with ADHD are more likely to experience academic problems, experiment with drugs, and display aggressive behavior. You can help your daughter by keeping an eye out for signs of worsening symptoms. When you notice this happening, encourage her to accomplish tasks, study for a big test, or write a paper a week in advance. Identify her strengths and skills, and emphasizing these during the emotional lows of her cycle. Try to patient with her if she begins to get argumentative; instead of yelling, show her a better way to handle the situation.

The reproductive years

During the first two weeks of the menstrual cycle, estrogen levels rise. This hormone is responsible for the release of neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin, and can explain why women are better at managing their ADHD symptoms at this point of the cycle. At the third and fourth week, progesterone levels increase and start canceling out the benefits of estrogen. Experts believe that women with ADHD are more likely to experience severe pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) than women who do not. The good news is that proper ADHD management gets rid of PMS too.

Pregnancy and childbirth

Pregnancy is a period of hormonal change. Not only does the placenta produce more hormones; it stimulates the thyroid and adrenal glands to increase hormonal production as well. During the first few months of pregnancy, expectant moms with ADHD are more likely to experience anxiety, mood swings, and fatigue. The good news is that these symptoms improve as the pregnancy progresses. After childbirth, hormone levels drop and can cause postpartum depression or mood swings. Make sure that any ADHD treatment you are taking is safe while pregnant or nursing.

Menopause

During menopause, or the last period, your estrogen levels would have dropped by 65%. This drop in hormones does not occur immediately; rather, it is a gradual decrease that takes place during perimenopause, or the ten years before menopause. Women with ADHD going through perimenopause tend to experience fatigue, memory lapses, irritability, and moodiness more than women without. Look for natural ways to stabilize your hormone levels, such as eating food with phytoestrogens (plant estrogens). Get a lot of exercise as well. While it might be tempting to seek hormone replacement therapy, this may actually cause a hormonal imbalance that will aggravate the effects of perimenopause and contribute to your ADHD symptoms.

As drug research into HIV and AIDS continues, there is a continual fight to lower anti-HIV drug prices and develop generics. This struggle has been in place since the first drugs came on the market that effectively fights HIV and prevents development of full-blown AIDS. The fact is that the fastest growing areas of HIV infection is in developing countries without the resources to bring high-cost drugs to most infected patients. That fact alone is why people around the world are fighting to get drugs to infected patients faster and much cheaper than the drug companies would like.

Drug companies are not in the market to help people with effective drugs without something in return. They are in the market to make a profit. And the more profit they can make, the better off they are. Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) is a good example of this. This is a combination of drugs that helps delay the onset of full-blown AIDS. When it first came into the market, it could cost up to 15,000 USD per patient per year. That put the price well out of the reach of most people infected by HIV. The drug companies were making a fantastic profit, but millions continued to get AIDS and die. To turn this around, the market had to bring down anti-HIV drug prices and generics had to come on the market.

A generic manufacturer in India brought a much cheaper version of HAART onto the market. That competition forced the brand-name manufacturers to lower their prices. To bring things even further down, governments, private organizations, and activists from around the globe put pressure on the drug companies. This had a profound effect. The large drug companies agreed to lower their prices. But, that did not end their quest to maximize profits. They sued South Africa’s government when it decided to place few restrictions on generic manufacture or importation. But, pressure from countries around the world brought that to a halt. The struggle continues for lower anti-HIV drug prices and generics.

It is important that attention never wavers to lower anti-HIV drug prices and generics. Efforts continue to try to balance the need for drug companies to profit and the need of humans to survive with HIV. International business and trade agreements both make this easier and complicated. But, if attention wavers, the balance will fall to one side again and the struggle will start all over again.