When you are moving through a transformation stage, it
takes a lot of energy to navigate all the changes you are
facing. Successfully managing your energy is a must in high
change situations like these.

Eating smaller meals every 3 hours boosts your energy.
Additionally, it lowers your cholesterol, keeps your blood
sugar on an even keel and increases your metabolism –
helping your lose weight.

After you eat a meal, the food is broken down into sugar
which provides you with energy. It takes about 3 hours for
this process to be complete — for your blood sugar levels to
go up and then to fall.

If you want to keep your blood sugar levels even — supplying
you with the right amount of energy throughout the day — eat
a small meal every 3 hours and you will prevent the falling
blood sugar levels, and the sagging energy that comes from
the fluctuations of blood sugar. If you eat small meals every
3 hours you keep your blood sugar levels steady. When your
blood sugar levels are steady your energy and mood stay
steady and more balanced throughout the day.

It is easy to upset the balance of blood sugar — and thus
energy and mood — by skipping meals or waiting too long to
eat. When blood sugar levels are normal, you feel good and
energized. When blood sugar levels fall, your energy and
your mood drop. Eating a healthy diet every 3 hours helps to
positively alter your brain chemistry and stabilize your
moods.

When you eat a large meal every 5-6 hours, you provide a lot
of fuel all at once in your system — and set the stage for
more dramatic blood sugar imbalances. The excess energy
does not get used up and instead gets stored as fat. But
more frequent, smaller meals delivers your body adequate,
manageable amounts of fuel spread evenly over the course
of a day.

How to do it:

You can eat six equal sized smaller meals. (The simplest
way to get started is to take your normal, well balanced
breakfast, lunch and dinner and divide each in half, eating
half at regular meal times and half 3 hours later.)

Or

You can eat three smaller meals with three snacks

In the “Eating every 3 hours plan,” sit down in a relaxed,
pleasant environment every three hours and have some
combination of protein, high fiber complex carbohydrates,
healthy fats, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Then you
stop eating for 3 hours.

Eating smaller meals every 3 hours is not the same as
“grazing” throughout the day. Grazing throughout the day —
eating small amounts almost continuously throughout the
day — can actually lead to spikes in your blood sugar and
low energy and moods.

A meal or snack is composed of some combination of the
important food groups — protein, high fiber complex
carbohydrates, healthy fats, vegetables, fruit, and whole
grains.

The protein will help you stay alert and energized —
plus help you feel full.

The fiber will help you feel full.

The complex carbohydrates and whole grains will
digest slowly and deliver you a steady supply of energy for
the next 3 hour spurt.

The fat –which digests slowly will deliver you a
burst of energy long after you have eaten it.

The vegetables and fruit will help you feel energized
and full of pep.

When eating every 3 hours you have to be mindful of portion
control — you don’t want to increase your calories. Instead,
start eating normal portions — and even splitting a normal
portion into 2 meals. Supersize portions can often be split
up into 2 or even 3 meals.

Because you will be eating so frequently, you will need to
pay attention to quality eating. It helps to plan your meals
and snacks ahead of time. You can even go so far as to get
them ready ahead of time and place them in handy
containers.

After a week or so of eating every 3 hours you will
experience so much more energy and feel so much better
that any inconvenience or fear about changing will be
transformed into eager anticipation of the day’s culinary
delights.

Healthy snack suggestions:

Pistachios and a piece of fresh fruit

Cheery hazel nut butter on a piece of banana

Hard boiled egg and a spoonful of tabbouleh

Shrimp with cocktail sauce or salsa

Sliced turkey with veggies, grainy mustard and
tortilla

Ham wrapped around cooked asparagus
spears

Deviled egg and celery sticks

Diced ham and canned white beans drizzled with
olive oil and mustard

Slice of mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil drizzled
with olive oil and red wine vinegar

1/ 2 cup of ricotta cheese with berries

1/4 cup Roasted red pepper humus on 1/2 whole
wheat pita bread toasted

Cashew butter on apple slices

Nuts and dried fruit — trailmix

Canned salmon drizzled with lemon on rye
crackers

Yogurt with honey and sliced almonds

Guacamole with rice crackers or corn chips

Sliced tomato, grainy mustard, and low fat cheddar
cheese on whole grain bread, melted in the broiler

Hard boiled egg, 2 rye crisp crackers, 8 ounces of
tomato juice

1 cup of 1% milk or soymilk, and 1 whole grain
oatmeal raisin cookie

Cottage cheese or ricotta cheese dip with fresh
veggies

Mary Ann Copson is the creator of the Evenstar
Mood and Energy Management System for Women.
With Master’s Degrees in Human Development and in
Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann is a Certified
Licensed Nutritionist, a Certified Holistic Health
Practitioner, a Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician, a
Professional Life Coach and Human Development
Consultant. For resources about reconnecting to your
natural rhythms through better management of your
physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual
energy visit evenstaronline.com evenstaronline.com.

Tags: brain chemistry, cholesterol, diet, lose weight

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Pain killer (and other opiates), and prescription drug abuse is one of the largest growing problems in America today. The users (and abusers) of pain killers and other prescription drugs come in all ages, shapes and sizes.

Prescription drug abuse in general is a huge problem today, but pain killers are probably the most largely abused prescription drug.

It has been hitting America hard for the last few years. It practically came out of no where. Kids as young as fourth and fifth grade are stealing pain killers such as percocets, vicodins, and oxycontins from their parents prescription bottles. Many of them are even buying the pain killers from their fellow classmates, again as young as eleven and twelve years old!

As a person who has had a pain killer addiction first hand, I don’t think America is aware of just how out of control, and how dangerous this addiction is becoming.

Being addicted to pain killers is definitely no fun. Trust me, I know!

After doing pain killers for long enough, they actually start to change your brain chemistry, making it almost impossible for even those with the best of self control to quit.

Those who have never been addicted to pain killers just have no idea of how addicting pain killers and opiates are. It simply takes over you. The addiction becomes an obsession, and it really is nearly impossible to quit without the help of methadone or suboxone.

And people who take methadone to rid a pain killer or opiate addiction sometimes must stay on methadone for the rest of their life. And of course there are those who just use methadone as another drug to abuse, again covering their pain killer or opiate addiction up.

Suboxone is a great way to ease the pain killer or opiate addiction, but I believe for it to be effective you must take the drug for at least a year which can be quite expensive. And even coming off of suboxone is no fun, although it is no where as painful as coming off of pain killers and other opiates.

America really needs to get a control of the pain killer and opiate addiction problem that is simply taking over America.

I don’t know if it is just the area I live in or what, but almost everyone I know has a problem with pain killers, other opiates, or other prescription drugs. I predict that this will be the next “drug epidemic” that plagues America (like crack did when it hit). It really is getting that bad, and quitting is unbelievably hard even with the help of other drugs.

Not to mention how many people switch from pain killers to heroin to “save money”, or as a substitute when they cannot get pain killers (pills).

To get more information on pain killer addiction check out mypainkilleraddiction.com

It is a site that I put together with all kinds of information on opiates and other pain killer addictions. I also describe my story of addiction, how I got through it, information on withdrawal, what to look for if you’re afraid someone you know is addicted, and much much more.

My name is Maryann and I love reading and writing. I am dedicating this article to all of those who still suffer from the addiction of opiates and pain killers. It is a problem that is sneaking up on America very quickly.

For more information on opiate and pain killer addictions, check out my site mypainkilleraddictions.com Pain Killer Addiction. I tell my story of addiction and how I overcame this horrible disease. I also give all kinds of information on withdrawal, signs of addiction, and much much more.

Tags: brain chemistry

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Tags: brain chemistry

Mental illness in children is on the rise for many reasons: bullying at school, being in a hurricane, violence in the family and/or community, seeing a school shooting, worries about terrorism, and a change in brain chemistry at maturation. An increasing number of children are experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Depression in children, including elementary age kids, is on the rise. If you search the internet you will find many facts about mental illness in children. These facts tell a story.

* 1 in 10 children have a mental illness that keeps them from functioning in their families, in their schools, and in their communities. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

* An estimated 2.5% of American children suffer from depression. (www.WebMD, “Depression in Children”)

* Depression in children is often undiagnosed and untreated because it is confused with normal childhood or teen behavior. (www.WebMD, “Depression in Children”)

* Half of the lifetime causes of mental illness start by age 14. (National Institute of Mental Health study)

* Approximately 4.1% of school-age kids have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. (National Institute of Mental Health)

* Anxiety disorders often start in late childhood. (National Alliance for Mental Illness)

* An estimated 13% of kids between the ages of 9 and 17 have an anxiety disorder. (U.S. Surgeon General)

* Emergency departments in U.S. hospitals often under-diagnose mental illness in children who are being treated for self-harm. (”Archives of General Psychiatry,” October 2006)

* Only about 21% of children who have mental illness receive treatment. (”American Journal of Psychiatry,” September 2002)

* Untreated mental illness can lead to more severe mental illness and this illness is more difficult to treat. (National Institute of Mental Health)

Young children can - and do - develop mental illness, including depression. Their mental illness may show up as poor school performance, ongoing worry and anxiety, refusing to go to school, hyperactivity and fidgeting, awful nightmares, disobedience, verbal and physical aggression, temper tantrums, and general irritability. Do you think your child has a mental illness? There are things you can do to help him or her.

1. Poor nutrition can change brain chemistry, so make sure your child eats a balanced diet.

2. Observe your child’s behavior over time. You may wish to keep a diary of this behavior for at least a month.

3. Talk with your child about the problem: bullying, self-esteem, things she or he has seen, and personal feelings.

4. Encourage your child to confide in you. Listen to your child’s word choices and for descriptions of feelings. Observe your child’s body language as you listen.

5. Praise your child’s talents and strengths. Don’t overdo it, though, or your your child won’t believe you.

6. Seek professional help if you think it is needed.

Mental illness is treatable and the treatments are getting better all the time. For the sake of your family, your child, and your child’s future, get help for his or her mental illness as soon as possible. While you are doing this, remember to take care of yourself, for the mental illness of one affects all in the family.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson

harriethodgson.com harriethodgson.com
healthwriter.blogspot.com healthwriter.blogspot.com

Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from amazon.com amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. You will find another review on the American Hospice Foundation website under the “School Corner” heading.

Tags: anxiety, brain chemistry, diet

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Tags: anxiety, brain chemistry, diet

And the males are the very sensitive ones when it comes to this subject matter. Society dictates that they should be macho and must possess sexual prowess.

But there is such a thing as Erectile dysfunction or ED. It is a condition in which a man in unable to get or maintain his penis erect sufficiently for sexual activity. This condition affects millions of men worldwide.

There are many causes of ED and experts have blamed diabetes, heart disorders, and high blood pressure. For the psychological factors, there’s depression, anxiety, and fear. Medications may also cause ED like sleeping pills, anti-depressants, and blood pressure-lowering drugs. Harmful substances can also be the culprit like cigarette and alcohol.

Drugs have been formulated to combat ED and we are know familiar with names like Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. Of course, there’s also the many contraptions used to achieve an erection like vacuum pumps and penile suppositories. Some men would opt for surgery and hormone therapy.

Ancient medicinal knowledge though has revealed to us that there are herbal plants used in boosting sexual performance and they are the following:

Gingko Bilboa

Gingko Bilboa is an extract from an ancient tree species native to China. It is widely used to enhance memory and other mental abilities because it can reportedly increase blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Its beneficial effect on blood circulation is said to extend to the penis, thus helping those with erection problems.

Ginseng

Used in traditional Oriental medicine for centuries, this very famous root is believed to increase vitality and improve overall well-being. These effects alone, according to researchers, are usually enough to make someone become more active sexually. Other researchers say that ginseng also helps relax the artery walls, resulting in increased blood flow to all parts of the body including the sexual organs.

Yohimbe

The bark of this tree has long been used as an aphrodisiac in Africa and as a treatment for impotence in Europe. A purified extract called yohimbine, has even gained US FDA approval as a treatment for men with ED before Viagra became available. Just like with PDE5 drugs, yohimbine works by increasing blood flow to the penis, and it may have an effect as well on brain chemistry.

Horny Goat Weed

Also known simply as epimedium, this herb with a very catchy and suggestive name is popularly used in China for its various sex-enhancing effects. It reportedly increases sperm production, and it also raises the level of the male sex hormone testosterone, which is directly linked to sex drive.

These sites about good-herbal-health.com/ alternative medicine and halds.com/ good health are both dedicated to help you find the best information available about menopause and other health issues.

Tags: anxiety, brain chemistry, cialis, Heart, levitra, menopause, mental abilities, sleep

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Tags: anxiety, brain chemistry, cialis, Heart, levitra, menopause, mental abilities, sleep