I got new lab tests this week after I started using Plexus Slim about 6 weeks ago. You simply drink a powder,
similar to kool aid in a 16 oz bottle of water once a day. (It taste delicious, is sugar free and stimulant free, BERRY POMEGRANATE is the flavor) and its safe for anybody at any age. See TheBreastDiva.com click on products. This was originally made for diabetics, to lower their sugar & lipid levels, but a great side effect was weight loss, so it is great for everyone wanting to safely lose weight and stabilize their blood sugar and lipids.

My weight has had severe fluctuations because of cortisone shots I received for a bad rash I had on my face from an allergic reaction I had from neck spray at my chiropractors office. It had me totally with a dry scaly face, full of fluid and hungry as a football player! Off and on, I have lost about 5lbs from the Plexus Slim. I have a few friends who have lost 5 lbs just in the first week!

I am not a diabetic, so I do not regulary check my sugar, but I have had high cholesterol and triglycerides and my liver panel was scary.

Here are my lab results from April 2009 and then again this week and what is the normal range:

Glucose was 92, now 95, normal is 70-110
Total Cholesterol was 298, now 232, normal is 120-199, still high but much better!
Triglycerides were 171, now 80, normal is 50-150, I am thrilled!
HDL Cholesterol was 43, now 46, normal is 40-75
LDL Cholesterol was 221, now 170, normal is 63-129, still high, but much improved!

Liver Panel:
AST (SGOT) was 101, now 34, normal is 0-40, AWESOME!
ALT (SGPT) was 226, now 48, normal 0-40, getting really close to normal!

All in all, I feel there has been a huge improvement, and where my doctor thought I may have had fatty liver disease, now there is no evidence of it! I am well pleased and feel very confident in giving this testimony for PLEXUS SLIM!

Debbie Mormino
Mormino & Associates
Affordable Health Insurance & Benefits
http://DebbieMormino.com
985-892-5858 / 985-237-3360

by Janie Emaus (Thu Aug 06, 2009)

It used to be that a hot guy could turn my body upside down, filling me with anxiety and making it hard to think straight. As the adrenaline rushed through my veins, my heart would pump loudly and I’d forget what I was trying to say, mumble something incoherent and hope that my smile was getting to him the same way he was getting to me.

Nowadays, I still have anxious moments where my adrenaline pumps quickly and my heart pounds loudly. I quite frequently lose my train of thought, not to mention a particular word. And I often mumble incoherently, causing those around me to think I’ve entered early Alzheimer’s. (OMG, they are talking about me! This STILL happens, unfortunately!)

Unfortunately, this time around, it’s not because of a hot guy, but the result of a hot flash – one of the symptoms of out-of-whack hormones. And I can no more control these raging hormones than I could tame the ones that raged when I was a teenager.

Back then I was taking my clothes off for something fun. Now I’m shedding layer by layer for survival.

For those of you who have not yet reached the hot flash zone, let me tell you how it is:

The heat starts from deep inside your body, and begins slowly to creep out of your pores, drenching your neck and forehead. It can be subtle at first. You might think it’s just an extremely warm day, although no one else seems to be experiencing this ‘summer effect.’ You may attribute it to having just eaten hot, spicy food or to walking too fast on the treadmill.

Once it passes, you’re left with a slight chill and several seconds of reorientation as your body returns to normal. And with the hope that it won’t happen again.

But there is no fooling yourself once they arrive. No turning back. You’re merging into a new lane on this highway of life and you’ve got to keep going forward.

There are a few remedies you can apply, but as of yet, I haven’t found any real cure, only temporary solutions.

First, and most important, always dress in layers. Whether you’re going walking along the beach, sitting in an air-conditioned restaurant or skiing down a black diamond mountain: think layers.

Second, there are pretty fans made from wood or plastic. You can purchase these to match your outfits or buy one for each day of the week, much like those little girl underpanties that we used to wear. Or if you’re so inclined, you can buy one of the electrical fans. But here’s a warning: the whirring noise will attract attention and it does often sound like a mini vibrator!

Third, you can take hormone pills of one variety or another. But the verdict still hasn’t come in on the benefits of these.

And lastly, you could give up those activies known to trigger hot flashes.

In my case this would be all of my favorite things: coffee, my work-out sessions, fine wine and those extra-dry, extra-cold martinis. But these are also the things I share with my best friends. Women who relate completely to what I’m going through. Things I do not want to give up.

So, pass the fan and that bottle of wine…oh, here it comes…off with my sweater…

Pt. 1: Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

In 2002, the National Institute of Health was conducting a ten-year clinical trial, involving over 16,000 women, which studied Hormone Replacement Therapy, a program that Doctors had been widely prescribing to women since the 1960’s. The study was abruptly discontinued because the level of dangerous side effects and diseases was found to be so great. These diseases all increased:
Pulmonary Embolism risk (blood clots in lungs) increased by 114 per cent!
Strokes by 41 per cent!
Heart attacks and cardiac deaths by 29 per cent!
Breast Cancer by 26 per cent!
There were slight reductions in colon cancer and hip fracture but not significant enough to outweigh the dangers.

For thirty years, the safety of this process was debated in the alternative health world and it has now finally been scientifically proven that Premarin, the drug in the Pempro Estrogen therapy, can cause way more harm than good in the general female population. For forty years, drug companies promoted the myth that Estrogen deficiency was the major factor in menopausal symptoms. What has surprised me is that more women aren’t extremely angry that this went on for so long before something was done about it. Natural or Functional Medicine follows the view that these problems are a sign of overall hormone imbalance in both the ovarian hormones and the ones that generate stress response by the adrenal glands.

If anything, it has been shown more and more that women are more Estrogen dominant then deficient. It’s all relative. Even if a woman’s Estrogen drops, Progesterone, the other female hormone, drops much more dramatically near menopause. Plus, many other factors can increase Estrogen.

An inactive woman who consumes more calories than she uses, will have elevated Estrogen. Estrogen levels are also increased from Xenostrogens, chemical compounds found in our daily lives that are mostly byproducts of the petroleum industry. These are found in plastics, Styrofoam, many beauty and hair products, meat from any animals given growth hormones and pesticides used on non-organic fruits and vegetables. Birth Control pills have Estrogen also.

Progesterone needs to be in balance with Estrogen. Emotional and physical stress can significantly reduce Progesterone by affecting the levels and ratio of cortisol and DHEA produced by the Adrenal glands. The key to rebalancing the overall female hormone system is to balance the Adrenal system, establish an appropriate diet and specifically balance the Estrogen and Progesterone levels naturally till the Adrenal system takes back over.

The first step is to take a saliva test, which shows the specific levels of female hormones available for the body and the state of health or exhaustion of the Adrenal glands. The Adrenals are responsible for 33 per cent of the overall hormones in pre-menopausal women and half of them in menopausal women. This is why many female hormone treatment programs are often unsuccessful unless you include the Adrenal system as well.

Part 2: The part of your brain that regulates heat gets a trigger from somewhere, so your blood vessels dilate to release that heat. More blood rushes through the upper half of your body, which releases it and voila, you’ve just had a “hot flash”. Don’t be alarmed, 85 percent of women will experience them at some point. “Night Sweats” are just hot flashes when you’re sleeping. If you are too young for menopause and have them, see your physician. They can be caused by many ordinary things; alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, spicy foods, fat, chocolate, climate, medication etc. But fluctuations in hormones are usually the trigger if you‘re having them consistently and taking HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) is a sometimes successful but more dangerous option. (see HRT dangers http://fabulously40.com/blog/id/female-hormones-for-women-over-40-11158 ) Other “traditional” medical options are antidepressants and epilepsy medication while a newer option being tried is an injection of a local anesthetic into your neck!

Many women take Black Cohosh to help with hot flashes and menopausal symptoms in general. Some succeed, others don’t. Like anything taken on your own, you need to be careful about possible side effects or interactions with medications. Incorrect amounts can cause anything from indigestion and headaches to seizures and liver damage. There’s bad with the good in natural or herbal remedies, just like pharmaceutical medications. The “bads” aren’t typically as bad or as dangerous as medications but they’re still there.

The Natural Medicine approach to hot flashes addresses the specific imbalances of female hormones found with diagnostic testing. The patient then gets specific amounts of natural, plant-based substances that turn into female hormones in the body. The Adrenal glands control up to 50 per cent of all hormones in menopausal women so that aspect of their health always needs to be checked to see how much that’s affecting the hormonal imbalance. A saliva test finds the Adrenal and hormone levels to give the Physician a place to start for the amounts of treatment supplements. When adrenals are stronger, many aspects of your life can stabilize also: fatigue, weight gain/metabolism, insomnia and immune system, to name a few.

These specific Bio-Identical hormones are much safer than HRT. If the amounts of these hormones can be determined with the help of a saliva test and you address the Adrenal issue also, you may be more successful in dealing with menopausal symptoms. The treatment goal is to balance the hormones so that menopausal symptoms stop and then strengthen your adrenals enough for your body to keep things that way.
Here is a link to my website for further information on female hormone symptoms.
Please contact me with any questions you may have.

http://www.drmichaelmadden.net/

Here is a link to Fab 40 member, Janie Emaus’s page about what practical, daily steps you can take to deal with the discomfort from hot flashes.

http://www.powderroomgraffiti.com/feel-it/warning-hot-flashes-ahead.html

–

from Dr. Mercola:

Hundreds of homeowners are alleging that toxic levels of chemical pollutants like sulfur are being emitted by contaminated drywall made in Chinese factories. Class-action lawsuits have been filed in Florida, California, Louisiana and Alabama. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the complaints.

During the recent U.S. housing-construction boom, builders were desperate for materials, and drywall was especially in demand. Before 2005, drywall imports to the U.S. from China were negligible; since 2006, however, more than 550 million pounds of it has been shipped to the U.S. — primarily to Florida. The drywall was used to build more than 60,000 homes in at least a dozen states.

Drywall is made from gypsum, a soft mineral, that is pressed between thick paperboard. Plaintiffs’ attorneys say the allegedly toxic drywall material probably originated in at least one gypsum mine in China.

The problem came to light last year as homeowners began commiserating on the Internet about rotten-egg smells in their houses and rashes of nosebleeds and other ailments. At the same time, air-conditioner repairmen began complaining to builders about copper-coil corrosion in newly built houses. The air-conditioning companies concluded it was caused by high levels of airborne sulfur and moldy toxins. Wires in outlets, appliances and lamps started corroding as well.

Sources:

Time March 23, 2009

Dr. Mercola’’s Comments Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

More than 60,000 homes across the country, most of them in Florida, contain drywall from China that may be emitting sulfuric odors and exposing homeowners to respiratory health problems, nosebleeds, headaches, insomnia and sore joints, among other complaints.

The emissions are also corroding air conditioning coils and electronic equipment, which is ruining electronics and could pose the risk of electrical fires.

The problem is so severe in South Florida that congressman Rep. Robert Wexler wrote a letter to the state’s governor asking him to declare a state of emergency because the health and safety risks associated with Chinese drywall are similar to the impact of a hurricane or other natural disaster.

Already at least four class-action lawsuits have been filed in Florida and others have been filed in California, Louisiana and Alabama. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is also investigating the complaints.

A String of Toxic Products from China

China’s economy has been growing at a rate of nearly 10 percent annually for the last 30 years, largely because they are exporting massive amounts of products across the globe.

They’re widely known for producing affordable (cheap) goods, and in recent years have made quite the name for themselves as a producer of toxic goods as well. Aside from this latest revelation of toxic Chinese drywall, the United States has been grappling with a string of toxic disasters from China, which include:

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Toothpaste and other Chinese-made toiletries that have been found to contain a toxic chemical used to make antifreeze
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Pet food ingredients laced with toxic melamine
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Imported livestock quarantined for disease and banned chemical contaminants
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Catfish fillets from Chinese aquatic farms tainted with bacteria and heavy metals
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Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical
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Mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides

How Can You Tell if Your Home has Chinese Drywall?

Although The Florida Department of Health says tests show levels of emissions from the Chinese drywall pose no “immediate health threat,” affected homeowners are still worried about potential health effects, not to mention the impact on their property values.

Signs that your house may be affected include:

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The odor of rotten eggs
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Frequent repairs on your home’s air conditioning system, wiring or pipes
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Health symptoms including irritated eyes, respiratory problems, nosebleeds and headaches that resolve when you leave your home

According to the Web site of one law firm investigating potential lawsuits against the companies, builders and manufacturers responsible for the Chinese drywall problems, the problem may be related to the presence of iron disulfide (FeS2 pyrite), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbonyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon disulfide (CS2) in the material.

If the Chinese drywall is indeed emitting hydrogen sulfide fumes, it could be a serious problem. The Web site continues:

“Exposure to 50 parts per million of hydrogen sulfide for more than ten minutes can cause extreme irritation. Inhalation of 500 to 1,000 parts per million can cause unconsciousness and death through respiratory paralysis and asphyxiation, according to environmental experts.”

If you suspect your home may be at risk, contact your state’s Department of Health, your home’s builder and also an attorney for help.

Other Toxins to Watch Out for in Your Home

Products from China are not the only ones tainting our houses and office buildings. Any number of potentially toxic substances exist freely around us in our daily lives.

For instance:

*

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are toxic gases emitted from paints, cleansers, air fresheners, vinyl floors, carpets, upholstery fabrics, and much more, can cause cancer and damage to your liver, kidney and central nervous system.

VOCs in the indoor air of new buildings have been found to average 20 to 40 mg per m3. Adverse health effects may begin with exposure at just 10 mg per m3.

*

Certain pressure-treated wood products used for decks and playground equipment are treated with pesticides that contain arsenic.
*

Engineered wood products commonly used to make cabinets, furniture, wall paneling and more emit pollutants such as formaldehyde into your home’s air.
*

Foam furniture padding, mattresses and more contain flame retardants known as PBDEs, which are highly toxic and now showing up in breast milk.

This is truly only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the chemicals floating around most homes and office buildings.

In order for you to be truly healthy, your home needs to supply you with adequate opportunity to rest and relax. It needs to nurture, as it is only through this that you can truly recuperate at the end of the day and recharge with the strength to deal with the next day‘s emotional and physical stresses.

Unfortunately, many are now residing in homes that only add to their chemical loads and emotional stresses.

Is it Possible to Make Your Living Environment Healthier?

You may not be able to build a new “all-natural” home or office for yourself, but you can make small changes to bring more natural and healthy materials into your living spaces by:

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Filtering your home’s air using a high-quality air purification system like the one we have identified.
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Redoing a portion of your home with a natural material, such as bamboo flooring.
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Avoiding all chemical cleansers, air fresheners and detergents, and switching to natural varieties instead.
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Installing full-spectrum lighting to bring the benefits of natural sunlight indoors.
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Adding houseplants to your home and office.
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Getting outside to spend some time in a natural environment as often as possible.

You can also look into Bau-Biologie (German for “Building Biology”).

The Bau-Biologie standard is used in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — as a benchmark to professional and independent measurements in houses. The goal is to create an environment as close to nature as possible to best support your physical health and mental well-being.

Related Links:

Dirty Drug Industry Secret: Their Pills are Made in China

Tainted Toothpaste Took an Unchecked Route

10 Dangerous Everyday Things in Your Home

If you, like everyone else, needs an additional source of income these days, you really need to check out The Networkers Club.

The membership benefits of The Networkers Club were only available as a benefit for employees of Unions and organizations for the past 8 years, but now are available to the general public. Not only do our members save money on travel, entertainment and things they’re already buying, but there is also an income opportunity along with the membership benefits.

Your membership will cost you $16 a month. While the money you’ll save is incredible, the income you can generate is even better! The comp plan is a 3×7 matrix, which means each member brings in a minimum of 3 new members. Since the people who brought you in also have a minimum of 3 members, any more than that brought in have to go under their own sponsored people, which in turn fills in the matrix fairly quickly. As your matrix is filling in, you’re quickly earning MUCH more than your $16 membership fees! When your matrix is full, the income is $6546 a month, per spot and you can have more than one!

You can see the comp plan and membership benefits at our website: http://NetworkerBailOut.com or call me for more info at 985-892-5858.

This new networking club has been areal blessing to me! I look very forward to Paying It Forward to YOU!

<!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –>

These days the term “Pay it Forward” is known by many people.  It is a blessing to be on the receiving end of this “favor” and a true blessing to be on the giving end!

How many of us have actually Paid it Forward?  I remember a few years ago,
paying the toll on the causeway for the person behind me.  It was a very small gesture, but the man behind me sped up to catch me and mouthed the words, THANK YOU!

These days, many people are hurting financially. Money problems bring a lot of stress, and stress can bring conflict and even diseases.  For people who truly care about others, Paying it Forward is a way to bless others and that blessing given away is a blessing given back to you.

Network marketing is a way to pay it forward by offering people financially strapped, a hand up and an opportunity to change their situation while working from home and keeping traditional business expenses to a minimum.  There are many types; some prove to not work and others work like a charm. If you can find one with a desirable and valuable product, good compensation plan and very little outlay of money, you’ll do well!

An opportunity I’ve recently been shown is The Networkers Club.  My
friend Ellen from Florida paid it forward to me, and I am paying it forward now to you!  If it strikes you as a beneficial gift, GREAT!  If not, please “Pay it Forward” to someone who needs to be blessed with a way to possibly get out of debt, start their own business or even establish a savings account with an out of pocket of only $16. I feel this is a true blessing and it has a compensation plan that will pay up to $6500 a month.

Watch the video by Kevin Spacey with the best example of multi-level-marketing  I’ve ever seen!

Be Blessed! Pay It Forward!

http://TheNetworkersClub.com
3 min. recorded overview: 712-432-1286 access code: 623037#

Live Conference Calls  Tues/Thurs 7:30pm central time/Sat. 12:30pm central
646-519-5860  access code: 8888

Debbie Mormino
985-892-5858 / 985-237-3360

Posted Oct 28th 2008 11:11AM by Angela Bronner

Filed under: health, testimony, Life and Style

By Khadijah Carter, Special to BlackVoices.com

In August 2002, after eight years of working as an Executive Assistant at Morgan Stanley, I decided to resign and pursue my dream of starting a home-based boutique public relations firm. I also wanted to work for myself so I could be more involved in my daughter’s life and school (PTA).

One morning as I lay with my 6-year-old on her bed I felt a lump in my left breast. This was abnormal for me, so I immediately scheduled an appointment with my gynecologist. Initially he dismissed my concerns because I was young, but he scheduled a breast sonogram which was inconclusive, and so a biopsy was scheduled six weeks later.

Because of the nonchalant manner of my test dates, I didn’t feel concerned until I was given the diagnosis–almost four months after my initial discovery–that I had breast cancer. It felt surreal. Almost five years later, it still feels weird to have that label: Khadijah Carter Breast Cancer patient. But I know that I’m blessed to be alive. …

Khadijah Carter: Survivor

Ansel Pitcarian

Survivor Khadijah Carter, who was diagnosed with breast cancer at 28 years old. Carter currently works to empower young women about Breas Cancert Cancer through her work with the Young Survival Coalition.

8 photos

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The College Survival Guide

A Fridge
Regardless of whether you have a wonderful sized meal plan, your fridge may come in handy with leftovers or when you feel like stocking it with bottled drinks.

Computer
The convenience of a computer is essential when sending your kids off to college. Forget the hike to the computer lab across campus students need a computer in the comfort of their room. A printer comes in handy as well. Depending on whether your child plans to carry his laptop around campus, you might opt for a desk top since they’re lighter on the pockets.

Snacks
You will surely survive with off of a meal plan but it doesn’t hurt to stock up on snacks when you don’t feel like leaving your dorm room. Bottled water, pop corn, cereal and Ramen noodles are all low budget snacks to stock up on. Just be weary of the freshman 15.

Things from home
Some college students suffer from homesickness the first year. It’s best to surround yourself with things like photos of the family, pillows or even stuffed animals. Anything that reminds your child of home.

MP3 Player
With all the stress that comes from school and exams, sometimes it’s nice to block out the chaos in your life and even your roommate with music. It’s nearly impossible to find students walking to class who aren’t jamming to tunes.

Budget
Students who enter college often come in at the ripening age of 18. A great time for credit cards. Parents beware, your child may end up ruining their credit at a young age

Alarm Clock
When you’re in college you don’t have the luxury of getting awaken by your parents. It’s now your responsibility to get to class on time so alarm clocks are a must. But keep your roommate in mind. You shouldn’t wake him up ever morning with a blow horn alarm.

Cleaning supplies
Now you don’t necessarily need to bring in the rubber gloves, mop and gas mask but it doesn’t hurt to bring along Clorox all purpose wipes for spills or dust. Vacuums and brooms come in handy too depending if you have a carpeted dorm.

Bedding
What most parents aren’t aware of is that most college beds are twin sized but extra long and require special sheets. When shopping keep your eye open for sheets that clearly state ‘extra long’ or else your child may come up short.

Shower shoes
You really don’t know what some people do in the shower these days. College showers are known to be creeping with germs so spare yourself the fungus and purchase flip flops for the shower. You’ll thank us later!

The night of my diagnosis, I looked at my daughter and vowed to live…and to be around for all of her important moments as she grew into a young lady.

I eventually told her what was going on in very simple terms: “Mommy’s breast is sick, so they have to remove this lump”….”The medicine I have to take will make me bald.” I didn’t cry in front of her or express my fears. But since then, she’s become more aware of the disease and often accompanies me to speaking engagements. Most importantly, I’ve used this situation to educate her about the importance of being in tune with her body, to have faith no matter what she’s going through, and that God is real because she sees first-hand how he healed me.

The treatment that I undertook was a mastectomy, followed by reconstructive surgery, and four months of chemotherapy. I gained some weight from the steroids following surgery. I lost my hair, and was very fatigued. I continued working from home, but I relied heavily on my good friend and business partner, Aisha, to sustain the business. I had been adopted, and most of my family didn’t live in New York City at the time, so in many ways my friends were my family. My amazing friends attended chemotherapy sessions with me, went shopping for wigs with me, cooked for me, helped me with my daughter and Aisha’s mother Sylvia helped me organize my end of Chemo/Birthday party.

To cope with the fear, I prayed, I wrote songs (including ‘This Day’) and painted. Although it’s not widely accepted in many communities of color, I also went to therapy. I felt that it was important for me to speak to a professional about the various emotions that I was experiencing.

I started working with the Young Survival Coalition (YSC) in October 2005, because while black women have a lower incidence of breast cancer than white women, we have a higher mortality rate. In many communities of color we still don’t identify with healthcare professionals that don’t look like us, we have cultural taboos, and we have inadequate healthcare. Mostly, a lot of women of color look at breast cancer as a disease of white women. I aim to help dispel this myth because I’m young and black and a lot of women can relate to my struggle. As the Diversity Manager for Young Survival Coalition, I work with multicultural organizations and advocate for survivors of various races and ethnicities to outreach into underserved populations.

Being diagnosed with cancer is a scary situation for anyone. For young women it’s often more challenging. Many times we’re just starting our careers, are still in school, or we don’t have medical benefits — these can wreak havoc on ones financial stability.

Younger women may be unmarried, or newly married, and we may have small children; it’s challenging to balance going through treatment and the emotional demands of a partner and children. Younger women are usually diagnosed at a later stage (this may contribute to higher mortality) than their post menopausal counterparts because we’re often told “you’re too young for breast cancer” and there are no effective tools for screening.

Mammograms are usually for women over 40 (because it’s difficult to detect abnormalities in young women’s breast which are usually dense). Further, breast cancer in young women tends to be more aggressive because of the hormonal aspect. And young women may have long-term anxiety because we have a longer period of time to live with the disease. After treatment, we still have follow up tests, MRIs or scans and any abnormal finding or pain can bring fears of a reoccurrence.

Prior to breast cancer, I’d overcome many obstacles in my life including being adopted and growing up in the ghetto, but somehow I made it through. On the day of my diagnosis, I heard a voice tell me that “You’re not going to die” and I still rely on that promise. Faith is not something you see, it’s something you live.