The debate over whether diet soda is a dieter's friend or a dieter's enemy seems to become more heated every day.

One side is saying it is a great beverage for people trying to lose weight and who want something more exciting to drink than water. The other side is saying it won't help you lose weight but can actually make you gain weight.

I wish I could give you a definitive answer and say either, "Yes, diet soda is fine to drink when you are trying to lose weight." Or "No, diet soda will not help you lose weight." But I cannot find enough clear cut evidence to wholeheartedly support either statement.

What I have gleaned from my research is this:

Setting aside the issue of whether or not diet soda will aid or impede your weight loss is the issue of the chemicals it contains and whether or not you want to be ingesting them on a daily basis in significant quantities.

There's also the issue of diet soda that contains caffeine. If you are mainlining Diet Coke, you have most likely formed a dependency to caffeine which will cause a period of headaches, when (or if) you decide to break that dependency. Large amounts of caffeine can also disrupt your sleep, can make you jittery, and can speed up your heart rate.

Some people complain of fluid retention when drinking diet soda and blame the sodium content in the it. Most diet soda/pop is very low in sodium. The culprit in fluid retention might be the artificial sweetener. Some recent research is showing that people react differently to artificial sweeteners, causing fluid retention in some people.

If you don't want to give up diet soda but it is making you retain fluid, try switching to a soda with a different artificial sweetener in it and see if that makes a difference. For example, if you are currently drinking one sweetened with Aspartame, try switching to one sweetened with Splenda or saccharine (NutraSweet). Also try drinking no diet soda for a least a week.

Drinking diet soda does seem to make some people think they can have that candy bar (ever had a Diet Coke and a king size snickers bar?) because they are saving calories with the diet soda/pop so the higher calorie food is okay. Likewise, some people will order a diet soda/pop after super-sizing their fast food meal. Drinking it lulls some people into thinking that switching out regular soda for diet means they can eat more food, but what usually happens instead is weight gain, which is then blamed on the diet soda/pop.

Personally, I get cravings for salty foods when I drink a lot of diet soda. My physician thinks it's the artificial sweetener that's causing those cravings. So instead of drinking a 12 pack of Diet Coke every day like I used to (yes, I'm being serious) I now try to have just one can of regular soda a day. I'm not always successful at doing that and sometimes drive to the store for an "emergency 12 pack of Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, or Diet Mountain Dew, but eliminating most diet beverages from my day-to-day diet has calmed my cravings.

So you'll have to make the judgment call for yourself on whether or not to include diet soda/pop in your weight loss or weight management plan. Some people say it helps them with weight management; others say it's a weight gaining tool. The only way to know for sure what it is for you is to try it and see.

If you have trouble sleeping, you may want to consider giving Borian a try. It WILL put you to sleep. Guaranteed.

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Discount vitamins can give the first responders in our bodies the equipment they need to fight disease and aging by boosting our immune systems. So much depends upon this misunderstood, complex collection of organs and glands, yet most people take their immune system for granted. They don't know they have low immunity until a problem breaks out elsewhere. The immune system is not only the dragon at the door battling all attackers, but the canary in the cage — the first system to be compromised when a person's health takes a turn for the worst.

Our society depends upon first responders, like firefighters, police, and medical teams. They can't respond to emergency without the proper tools, and neither can our immune systems. That means good nutrition. When human beings were still hunter-gatherers living in trees and caves, they had a more balanced diet; now much of the junk food people consume is actually harmful to the body. Stress, aging, prescription drugs, tobacco and alcohol, poor diet, too little sleep, and too much work all contribute to a weakened immune system. Plus every year brings new threats from bird flu and other emerging viruses until humanity is virtually under siege.

Now it's time to reinforce the immune system with those important vitamins, amino acids, and enzymes that make a difference in the body. It's never too late to begin a vitamin regimen for general good health, especially when multivitamins have become so common. Several recent studies have shown the benefits of adding supplements to the average diet to boost the immune system.

Vitamin D-3
The importance of Vitamin D in all its forms have been known for centuries, for as long as humans have consumed milk. In the Journal of Immunotherapy, 2000, Volume 23, scientists reported how Vitamin D-3 treatments in mice enhanced the immune system's reaction toward tumors. Studies showed that Vitamin D-3 increased T-cell immune activity against tumors and lessened the chance of spreading to other tissue, or metastasis. In mice and humans, a tumor leads to an increase in a bone marrow cell called CD34, which naturally suppresses the effectiveness of healthy T-cells to fight the tumor. Vitamin D-3 give T-cells a boost, lowers CD34, and keeps the tumor from spreading. This is exactly the kind of help the immune system needs.

Enzymes
Enzymes are one of the least understood of proteins, but also one of the most important for healthy immunology. Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions in the body — they're like the sewage system, treating substances entering the body. Because enzymes can be inhibited or accelerated by other substances and conditions, they can sometimes do more harm than good. A stomachache is a simple example of this, and a common remedy is taking an antacid, which attempts to inhibit digestive enzymes in the stomach. Telomerase is an interesting enzyme that's been getting a lot of press. Found in stem cells, it allows cells to grow faster and live longer, and it's one of the reasons that stem cells duplicate so quickly. Whether Telomerase is the Fountain of Youth or one of the reasons for rapid cancer growth is still being researched, but common enzymes are known to help eyesight, digestion, and cell regeneration.

Antioxidants
In both the human body and the lawn furniture, oxidation is a chemical process best avoided. There's growing research that antioxidants help to protect virtually every cell in the human body, and we are discovering more and more antioxidants all the time. Alpha-lipoic acid is showing up more frequently in discount vitamins, because it reverses aging in cells. Melatonin protects the membrane cytoskeleton of red blood cells from structural changes due to oxidation. Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and beta-carotene all do their best to protect the cells that make up our most important senses, plus our skin and hair. Selenium has been shown to block cancer growth in the breast tissue of rodents. Alpha-lipoic acid even increases the retention of Vitamin E in the cells of older people, as one vitamin helps another.

Good Old Vitamins
Thiamine, Riboflavin, and Niacin are also known as Vitamins B1, B2, and B3, respectively. They help the body convert carbohydrates and fat into energy, while they promote proper function of the heart, nervous, and digestive systems. Vitamin B2 is needed to form red blood cells and antibodies, so it's essential to the immune system. Riboflavin also helps prevent many types of eye diseases, including cataracts, which afflict many people in old age. Niacin is needed for a healthy liver and metabolism, and it aids in repairing cells and DNA. Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and Omega 3 fatty acids are all popular supplements that help to maintain a healthy immune system.

The effect of garlic on the immune system has long been debated, but there's no debate that garlic contains a natural antibiotic, anti-fungal agent called allicin. Calcium and Vitamins K and D are needed for good blood clotting and bone formation. A person could make a life-long study of dietary supplements and their uses, but the simplest way to start is with a good multivitamin from a reputable firm.

Junk in, Junk out
Common sense is integral part of the immune system, because protection starts with what we put into our mouths. Studies reported in Cancer Letters have shown that a diet rich in n-6 fatty acids (corn oil) promotes inflammation and the growth of tumors. Whereas a diet rich in fish oil, which contain lots of Omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin E, slowed inflammation of the colon and other cancer-prone tissue. Hydrogenated cooking oils are now in such disfavor they've been banned from the city of New York. Whole books have been written on the dangers and empty calories found in refined sugar and refined flour, so there's no need to go into that here. Suffice to say that no attempt to improve the immune system can survive a lousy, careless diet.

Almost every week and especially during flu season, we get treated to the usual articles stating that merely washing our hands more often will help us avoid the sniffles. It sounds simple — it is simple — but how many people heed these warnings? No, we're more likely to stay out of drafts, when it's been proven that drafts do not cause colds. Regular check-ups with a doctor, regular blood tests, getting the proper vaccines, and giving up bad habits — such as smoking — are all known to keep human beings healthier. Nobody even debates that anymore, but how many of us take these simple preventive steps to aid the immune system? Common sense goes hand in hand with being healthy.

When Dr. Linus Pauling reported that Vitamin C helped the immune system fight the common cold, it was big news in 1970. Almost forty years later, there is really no excuse for ignoring the beneficial effects of vitamins, minerals, and other dietary supplements. Multivitamins are sold all over town and the internet, often tailored to gender and age, so anyone can start a vitamin regimen with complete confidence. So take your discount vitamins, and give your immune system every break it deserves.

I am trying to adjust to a tird- shift schedule. The television commercials for Tylenol PM ?? say that it helps getting to sleep ? Is the product safe for occasional use ? Are there any safe, non- addictive sleeping- aid type products ?
Thank you

Tylenol is perfectly fine for short-term use if you are only taking it to sleep, but you probably want to talk to your doctor just to make sure if you are planning on taking it every night for an extended period of time. I've actually had a fair amount of luck taking it to help me sleep.

Some people have had good luck taking Melatonin which you can purchase at a drug store.

Lastly, you can speak to your doctor about a medication out there that helps you stay awake during part of the day. It doesn't help with the sleeping, it just keeps you up when you need to be, which in theory helps you sleep later on. Its called Modanifil and you can talk to your doctor about it.

Traveling with your parents can be a wonderful experience if you plan well ahead. Here are five things you must do to ensure that you and your parents will have a great vacation.

1. Ensure that the itinerary is not too fast paced.

Old folks tend to get tired easily and thus it is not advisable to include activities that are too strenuous. It is also not advisable to pack too many activities in the itinerary such that you and your parents have to rush from one place to another.

2. Ensure that everyone has ample sleep

Plan to have at least six to eight hours of sleep for you and your parents for each day of your vacation. Try to avoid having any more activities after 11 p.m. Prepare some hot water for your parents to soak their legs before bed time if there is a fair amount of walking in the day.

3. Have ample supply of their medication

If your parents are suffering from diabetes, asthma, hypertension, high cholesterol or any other illness, make sure you obtain ample supply of medication from their doctors to last for the whole trip. To ensure that you remember to bring the medication, create a checklist of things to bring and put their medication among the top five items on that list. As a safety precaution, ask them to carry a medical record of their illness and contact details in case you are not around when they need medical attention.

4. Healthy diet

Most old people do not take heavy meals and thus you need to plan for multiple light and healthy meals that are low on salts, oil and sugars but high in fiber. Always have a sandwich or high fiber biscuits in your bag in case they get hungry and there isn't a snack bar in the vicinity. Also make sure that you and your parents drink a lot of water to prevent dehydration.

5. Bring along a first aid travel pack.

Your first aid travel pack should contain medication for fever and diarrhea, cold symptoms and giddiness. It should also include a thermometer, tweezers, sharp scissors, safety pins, adhesive bandages, sterile gauze, adhesive tape and antiseptic wipes. While this list is not exhaustive, the stocks in the travel pack should be enough to cater to most conditions that require general first aid assistance. Do check the expiry date for those medications that you bring along to ensure that they are safe for consumption.

Traveling with your parents need not be a hassle as long as you plan ahead and take care of their needs. Involve them in all the activities along the way and remember to have fun!

â??Half of all decisions fail.â? These are the findings from twenty years of studying decision-making at Ohio State. After writing â??Taking Aim for Better Decision-Making,â? I decided to build a list of things that anyone could use to improve their performance.

1. When faced with a decision, think about your desired outcome rather than facing the decision as a problem to be solved. Problems are negative almost by definition and negative thoughts invoke the constricting â??fight or flightâ? response in us rather than helping us to relax and be inspired and creative. Good decisions need a creative thought process.

2. Donâ??t think you are Superman or Wonderwoman. Enlisting the aid of others has been proven to improve decision-making. First, multiple voices means more options to choose from. Second, involving others in the process facilitates parallel processing versus sequential processing by the lone decider. Multiple inputs also reduce potential unintended consequences. I am not suggesting that you delegate the decision, rather get as much help in the process as possible. The decision is still yours.

3. Consider the Golden Rule. Over the last few years, ethics has become a hot topic in our society. There are all kinds of initiatives being undertaken in our schools to address this issue, but I am convinced that the easiest and quickest solution is to teach decision makers to, â??Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.â?

4. Sleep on it. There are few times in life when instant decisions are required. Most decisions can be considered before any action is taken. There are some who will take this as my approval to put off the decision indefinately which is not what I recommend. Rather, I would encourage you to sleep on a decision before taking any action. This allows your subconcious a chance to participate in the process and possibly provide you with new insights.

5. Always state your decision in a positive frame. Since we have been trained to approach decisions as problems to be solved, it is not surprising that our decision is to not have the problem. I think there are two things at play here. First, we get what we focus on. Second our mind doesnâ??t recognize the word â??notâ?. As an example, an organization I know had a check list of reasons for why an order was delivered late. This only exacerbated the problem until they changed their focus to measuring and rewarding when orders were on time or ahead of schedule.

6. Trust your gut. This is a tuff one for some of us fact based people to accept, but the truth is that when your gut tells you something is wrong you need to pay attention. At the very least, think about the words of Henry Ford when he said, â??If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.â? Something in you doesnâ??t believe you can make this decision work.

7. Tell me why. Traditional decision-making focuses on how to make decisions and it results in only a fifty percent success rate. I am convinced that you will make better decisions if you focus on why you are making a particular decision. There is research that suggests you will have better results if you can elaborate your decision-making process for each decision.

8. Begin Now. Aristotle said, â??Well begun is half done.â? Begin the implementation of your decision immediately with the one small thing you can do right now to move you toward the desired outcome.

If you would like to learn more about decision-making, check out â??Taking Aim for Better Decision-Makingâ? at www.cannonadvantage.com (Available February 26, 2007).

ï?£ Copyright Bob Cannon/The Cannon Advantage, 2007. All rights reserved.

For the past month or so, I've had a difficult time falling asleep without the use of the sleep aid Tylenol pm. So far it's been working great, but some of my loved ones are concerned that I am destroying my liver. I know that Tylenol can cause liver damage, but right now I'm just glad that it helps me sleep. I guess I just need to find a sleep aid that won't hurt my internal organs…any suggestions?

I have insomnia. I take calcium magnesium with vitamin d And I also take valerian root about an hour before bed. Works great. The calcium makes you pretty calm. I am an all natural herb chick I have done alot of research.

Maybe you can still recall the first time your kids and your spouse heard you snore. There was a bit of humor and some jokes here and there when the night approached. But things changed after a month, when they realized it was not funny; rather it was disturbing.

"Thou dost snore distinctly," William Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest, "there's meaning in thy snores." It was not long ago when modern medicine started to dig more into what the Father of English Literature wrote hundreds of years ago. He was right when he said there is meaning behind a snore, as it is attributed to several health reasons, and could bring worse complications if left unattended.

For plump middle-aged men, snoring may be associated with sleep apnea, which is a more serious disorder that is linked to the snorer not being able to breathe. From the Greek word "Apnea" which is the absence of breathing, it is clear that the snorer suffers from lack of oxygen, and thus, finds episodes when he wakes up gasping for breath. In a situation like this, there's no doubt that it is a life-threatening disorder. And because the snorer wakes up often just to breathe, the quality of deep sleep is reduced, which results to fatigue and drowsiness at daytime. Such factors bring accidents and mishaps at work or on the road. In extreme cases, this
may lead to death.

But negative effects that hound the snorer also extend to the members of his family and others as well. Imagine being ignored and being the center of unwanted attention just because you were accused of disturbing them while sleeping. If you've been snoring for 12 months now, then that means they've been struggling to sleep deeply for 365 nights! And just imagine being the only person in the house whom they don't want to see in the morning. How does it feel to be the recipient of their grouchy treatment when they have to battle with your snores every night?

Even your spouse who used to sleep in your bedroom may be sleeping somewhere now. This means less intimacy, less communications, and more fights. An aftermath of all this is possibly marital breakdown if your snoring persists. Who wants to sleep with a snorer anyway?

Along with this, neighbors will find you annoying if your snores are loud enough for them to hear. So you're not only a nuisance to the family, but to your neighbors as well. Clearly, snoring is not just a mere health problem that is dealt by the snorer alone.

The emotional and psychological threats attached to it are so great that they affect the snorer and the people around him financially, psychologically and emotionally in more ways than one could imagine. But it's not the end of the world if you snore. With the aid of a medical expert, your life will look brighter when it's cured. So go seek for an advice and arm yourself with determination (and money) to cure this problem once and for all.

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With the costs of cooling homes on the rise, and global warming making that task constantly more difficult, home owners are continuously looking for better, more inexpensive ways to cool their homes. The advice you find within this guide an aid you to manage your home and keep it nice and cool during the summer months. Some of these tips are free and just require an investment of a little bit of time and some require monetary investments but in the long run the tips mentioned here should help cut your energy bills.

1. Evaluate Your Home

In the event of a heat wave, you may be struggling to stay cool. This is not the time to evaluate your home for what you can do to make it more cool in the event of the heat wave. There will usually be at least one heat wave per year so plan ahead.

2. You Can Do These Yourself
– Get your air conditioner checked once a year – Install a programmable thermostat – Cleaning out your air ducts is a great first step towards breathing easier indoors – Turn lights off when you leave your home – Keep the sun out (and this the heat out) by keeping your blinds and curtain closed – Buy some tans, even though fans only push are around, this still goes a long way in helping your keep cool

3. Go To Sleep Cool

Many times the effect of the heat result in you not being able to get to sleep. One thing you can try is to buy some cooler inserts, freeze them, then wrap them in towels and stick them in between your legs when you sleep. This may sound weird but it works to keep your body cool (at least until you can fall asleep).

4. Save Money On Home Cooling Systems

The best home cooling systems come complete with an outdoor central air cooling unit. Keep the grass mowed and all other debris out of the way of this large external box. As largely seen as one of the most innovative solutions to this problem, you will literally keep your cool for this step in the process.

5. Bolstering Your Defence Against The Elements

If you absolutely are torn between expanding to your home or picking up a better central air system, go for central air. A higher quality of oxygen in your home will lead to less or even no complications regarding dust and asthma. Moreover, it will allow you to get a more peaceful sleep at night.