Things You Should Know About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss programs have become so popular today, that there is a huge increase on those wanting to undergo weight loss surgery, simply to look good. Have you really considered to analyze the facts behind the medical term called, weight loss surgery? I have, after living with my father-in-law who went through a weight loss surgery himself quite recently.

Many may see it as the easiest solution for all their appearance issues, while there are those who still find it a difficult and tough decision to make on whether the weight loss surgery is actually necessary after all.

Deciding on a weight loss surgery is definitely like everyone says, a life changing one, and at the same time it requires the patient to have a strong commitment towards the whole program by following a strict diet and exercise plan. Get the right facts on the pros and cons of such a surgery procedure, because eventually the facts will surface and this would in-turn be a highly essential tool in helping one decide.

I believe that one has to always consider what their expectations are going to be from the said weight loss surgery, and whether the relevant results of that actual surgical procedure will be justifiable in their opinion.

If you ask me, patients should definitely not take this as their ultimate answer to all their problems when there are other options still available out there, take for instance, adhering to healthy eating habits, followed-through with a couple of good exercise plans helps one maintain their health and figure well into the future. Being the sceptical person I am, the sound of a fast weight loss program, always tends to worry me.

Nevertheless with the current technologies available throughout the world it is without a doubt that having a weight loss surgery done these days, is rapidly gaining more acceptance by making them more safer and more efficient in its process.

The most popular questions in the minds of all patients considering weight loss surgery would be questions similar to these :

How much can I lose from doing this surgery? Well, the amount of weight you tend to lose would fall into several factors, but basically its got to do with the type of weight loss surgery in itself, it definitely determines the overall outcome. If you were to analyze the Lap-Band procedure noted to be the safest amongst many, sadly this particular surgery type has a reputation in showing signs of an overall slower weight loss.

We all agree that a regular exercise routine and the food we consume on a daily basis plays an important part in our weight loss program. If followed strictly, then there is a 36% potential of losing ones excess body weight within that very same year.

Is there any qualifications in doing a weight loss surgery? Well even this can depend on several factors, namely your current body weight. An ideal candidate for a type of surgery like this would surely weight 100 pounds over and above their ideal body weight, in order for them to qualify. Your body mass index is yet another factor they would need to analyze.

Usually those who have a BMI in the ranges of 35 - 40 and suffer from obesity connected problems like diabetes, sleep apnea, obesity related heart disease, have found to be regular candidates for weight loss surgeries.

I want to know how safe is weight loss surgery? Thankfully, it's usually a relatively safe procedure to go through. But just like any other surgical procedure, certain risks should be carefully considered prior to the procedure. After researching further I've come to understand that surgeries done in a laparoscopical manner are much safer to do and patients find it much easier to recover when compared to other methods such as open surgeries.

Can I get involved in activities after a surgery? Of course yes, but naturally after allowing a time frame of four to six weeks, the body should be completely healed by then. And at this juncture I am pretty sure that your doctor would be encouraging you to continue with the exercise regime as it always helps the body achieve rapid weight loss.

What should I eat after a weight loss surgery? A liquid diet is definitely in store for you for the first couple of weeks after the surgery, and this should gradually change around the sixth week, when you begin to add in other food stuff such as fresh fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products and lean meats into your menu.

Normally you wont have much of an appetite in the beginning, so eat several small portions at a time throughout the day. Another thing to also remember would be to avoid food that are fibrous, sweet foods, greasy, doughy or sticky, which if continued to consume, may lead to obstacle the stomach and intestines, and then you might end up needing a totally brand new surgery just to correct that.

In most cases, weight loss surgery can be a life saving procedure for many people, while for others it's just another cosmetic procedure they carry out in order to look good. But, overall it has its many other advantages, where primarily patients being very pleased with the amount of weight they managed to lose.

Having said all that, I still feel that it is highly significant that anyone seriously considering a weight loss surgery to discuss this fully with their doctors first, and get the best medical advice to date. This will eventually eradicate any misconceptions that you may have relating to weight loss surgery.

How To Deal With Fears In Children

Having three little kids can sometimes be a lifelong lesson for parents like me. Dealing with their everyday fears is a great task in itself. And as we go along our daily lives, dealing with their inner fears is a task we must carry out with great care and understanding. We agree that feelings of being fearful are part and parcel of our children's growing pains, especially during their early years. As we watch them grow, they become more aware of things around them. Each new learning experience, coupled with rapid development both physically and mentally - it is not uncommon to witness children developing fears as part of their adjustment mechanism. The good news here is that most children get over their fears as they get older.


It is sometimes us, the adults, who over-comfort or exaggerate their concern when children express their fear's. Instead of helping the poor little child, adults are now accomplices in generating such fears. This situation worsens somewhat to the dismay of adults! Therefore, it is important that adults learn to recognize certain types of fears in children that could simply be a passing phase. However, if the child's fears are caused by an external factor such as abuse or neglect, then the adults must act swiftly to remove the child from such a situation.

Fear Of Strangers
Babies often experience anxiety towards strangers as soon as they are aware of their surroundings. Some babies as young as one month-old often cry when strangers approach them, or when they are handed to another person other than their own familiar adults. Older babies around six to eight months can get very upset when handled by strangers. Their anxiety usually improves around ten to twelve months when they tend to move about. However, this positive behaviour soon gives way if children are overwhelmed by their new skills and abrupt changes in surroundings.

Fear Of Sleeping Alone
Toddlers of ages two to three may experience fears of sleeping alone or visiting the doctors office. At this age of emerging independence, toddlers have difficulty separating themselves from their parents, especially when they get tired and sleepy. They may appear to want to be by themselves during the day, but really, they are pretty vulnerable and appreciate cuddles at nights. The fear of sleeping alone may not be due to 'monsters or ghosts' as some parents may think. As such, getting toddlers to sleep alone may require a step-by-step process for parents to help ease their anxiety.

Fear Of Seeing The Doctor
Children are afraid of seeing doctors mostly because they do not like being poked or jabbed at. The strange and unfamiliar environment that is associated with pain and suffering can lead to a fear of visiting the doctors office. To help ease children's fear, parents must acknowledge that these fears are real to the children themselves. Adults should not tease them or overdo their comforting. Lastly, children should never be rushed to overcome their fears.

So what do you do when your child is experiencing fear? Here are three examples I've tried along the way :

Give TLC
When children are fearful, parents should remain calm to comfort them. Do not over-react. Soothe your child by softly humming his favourite song or find ways to help him to relax. Children need to learn positive ways to cope with their fears. Parents can show them by facing their own challenges without losing control or getting upset.

Role-Play
Prepare your toddler or preschool child before leaving home. If the need arises, parents can role-play what will happen at the doctor's office or at the party that they will be attending. Role-play offers much consolation and assurance.

Pat and Praise
As a child gets older, it is helpful to tell him about his success in conquering his fears. Say things like - "Look, you used to be afraid of the dark, now that you are older, you are not afraid anymore!" Be sure to praise them when they visit the doctor's office without much fuss, or stay in a party for more than twenty minutes.

Vitamins For Children

I have three little kids in my family, and quite common with them are the cases of getting a fever, runny nose and common colds. Maybe it's due to the climate some say or could it be their food? I'm not a Doctor so I'm not really sure what causes them. But common sense would tell us that children nowadays need all the vitamins they can get.

Basically, I would think that not many of the kids these days eat a healthy diet. They tend to prefer eating snack food rather than healthy food. Even the so-called 'healthy food' in the current era may be derived from nutrient deficient soils. So what's good to eat and what's not? Personally, my kids are fussy eaters, opting more easily towards junk food and the ever increasing existence of fast food.

My worry is that children are more susceptible to vitamin and mineral deficiencies compared to us, the adults. Choosing the right supplementation could be the wises decision we ever make to ensure their good health. We all know that our body system can't manufacture the right amount of vitamins needed on a regular basis. So it's quite important that we depend on that steady supply of precious minerals and compounds from a foreign and environmental source. This is what I learned about Vitamins for Children and their definitions.

Many of the available multivitamin supplements contain one or more of these :

• Vitamin A - Maintaining a healthy skin, nails, hair, vision and promoting growth, are all corresponding to Vitamin A. It's known to be an essential antioxidant for our immune system.

• Vitamin B1 - Deriving energy from food, this is it's essential for. It also helps prevent the loss of appetite and at the same time reinforcing our nervous and digestive system.

• Vitamin B2 - It supports cell growth and promotes body energy. Just like vitamin A, it's also good for hair, nails and the eyes.

• Vitamin B3 - This vitamin produces body energy and also aids the brain function and improves the level of skin health.

• Vitamin B6 - This is important for obtaining a healthier skin and to build a strong immune system. It's also known to be essential for the function of muscle and brain and aids hormone production.

• Vitamin B12 - Helping generate red blood cells, in return preventing anaemia and fatigue. It is also a good vitamin for the nervous system.

• Vitamin C - This is quite necessary for an overall healthy growth and for the development of our body. Vitamin C will boost the immune system and help to absorb the iron from foods. Known to have protective elements against certain forms of cancer and coronary heart disease. This vitamin is not stored in any great amount in our body thus it needs to be replenished every day.

• Vitamin D - Very Essential in the formation and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth. This vitamin is needed in our body to help with the absorption of calcium and phosphorous, which indirectly keeps our bones strong and healthy.

• Vitamin E - It works as a natural antioxidant which helps protect our body's tissues from free radicals, which could attack the fats in the membranes of our cells. It will also help build a healthy heart and immune system. You requirements for Vitamin E would increase when your intake of polyunsaturated fats increases as well.

• Calcium - We all know this is something essential for maintaining and building those strong healthy bones and teeth.

• Zinc - It will help in the process of healing wounds. Most Zinc that is in our body are found in the bones.

• Iron - This is the vital part of a haemoglobin (this is the red pigment found in our blood which is responsible to carry oxygen in and around the body). A situation where there is a lack of Iron in our daily diet would leave us feeling very tired and lethargic.

So now perhaps we get a clearer picture of what all these vitamins stand for. Choosing that right multivitamin with the right amount of minerals will definitely help our children's short and long term health requirements.

I know I'm gonna start them on multivitamins now, what about you?

Herbs For A Better Liver

Have you experienced any or all of these symptoms - frequent headaches, get bruised easily, impaired sex-drive, food allergies, eczema, chronic fatigue, pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) or frequent indigestion problems?

If you have, you may be suffering from impending liver problems. It is easy to overlook the fact that these symptoms are related to our liver as the liver handles over 500 functions (I bet you didn't know that, did you?), each crucial to our health and well-being. Most liver conditions show no symptoms. In most cases when symptoms start to show it may be too late.

Learn everything about herbs here, as we owe it to our lives and to the wellness of our liver. Our health and vitality depends greatly on the health of our liver. Modern lifestyles such as alcohol consumption, tobacco, environmental pollutants, food additives, popular cosmetic ingredients, stress and doctor's medication are all toxins that can kill our liver cells, leading to impaired liver function and hence the above symptoms.

Herbs that strengthen the liver are milk thistle, dandelion and turmeric, commonly used by herbalist to strengthen and improve liver function. These three herbs work synergistically to provide five liver-enhancing actions.

Milk Thistle (active ingredient - Silymarin) : Silymarin is the active component in milk thistle that has been used for centuries as a liver tonic. Studies have shown that Silymarin, standardised to 200mg, enhances liver health in the following ways; blocks toxins from harming the liver cells and alters the permeability of the liver cells. This prevents toxic materials from reaching and killing liver cells. It also helps to regenerate new liver cells. Various clinical studies show that Silymarin, at a dose of 400mg, enhances the growth of liver cells. Regeneration of new cells in replacing injured or dead cells is important to ensure continuous optimal liver function.

Dandelion : Belongs to a class of herbs known as bitters. It is a common herb used by both Eastern and Western herbalists to enhance liver health through cleansing of the cells and stimulating the production of bile to digest away fat deposits, improving the efficiency of liver cells.

Turmeric : Has been consumed as both herb and spice in India and China for thousands of years. The active ingredient in turmeric, curcumin, which gives turmeric its characteristic yellow colour has shown positive effects on the liver as it protects and controls the damage to liver cells. During the process of converting toxic materials to less toxic substances, vast amounts of free radicals are generated. Curcumin is a powerful neutraliser of these free-radicals, protecting the liver cells from free radical damage. Frequent contact with toxic materials or virus attacks on liver cells lead to liver cell injury. These cell injuries often occur as inflammation. If left uncontrolled, it may lead to permanent liver cell damage or a condition known as hepatitis.

The ability to learn about health related issues is always a good thing. So for those of us who live in a fast-paced lifestyle, now is the time to take control. It pays to invest into our health now, to reap from the future!

Smooth Hands and Feet

Have you been trying to make your hands and feet smooth by applying all those expensive lotions and cream found in the pharmacies?

Ever wondered how you too can get smooth hands and feet? Here comes the perfect solution to that. This is actually an old technique that women (their very own little secret...) around the world used during the older days. It is effective and yet, so inexpensive since the ingredients are right there in your kitchen.

For hands or feet - Pour about two tablespoons of sugar into one hand. Then pour about one tablespoon of baby or olive oil in that same hand. (If you have big hands and feet, use the whole bottle... nah, I'm just kidding) If you need more oil, use your own judgement.

Gently start massaging and rubbing for a good two minutes. Do the same thing for the feet as well. For those who have callouses or rough feet, you would have to do this process for a bit longer.

After continuously rubbing and massaging, gently wash your hands or feet off in warm water.

Pat dry and notice the difference in your skin! It should be soft and smooth, and they will remain that way for days. Repeat this process for at least once every two weeks.

So, did I save you a trip to the pharmacy ??

Bio Magnetic Therapy

In this fast paced society of ours where money rules, stress and depression is always on the rise. This is something you are not able to runaway from. We are so caught up in the "rat race" just to make a decent living. People want answers, to ease their frustrations & stress.

A year back, my friends and I went out for a guys day out just to play futsal. As I used to be very involved in sports during my school days, I thought I still had it in me, how wrong was I! Half way through the game I had a mild kind of a stroke. This really scarred me. So it really doesn't matter if you're 20 or 30 or even 45 years of age. Prevention is always better than cure.

I myself have had my share of ups and down (mostly downs, I would say...) But nevertheless, "life has to move on" as the saying goes. Seeking a solution, was on my mind. Then a came a day, in the days of December, I was introduced to a wellness product. Take an example of a parent, they would pay any amount of money just to provide their kids with the best vitamins/supplements/medical attention etc, the adults on the other hand, would pay loads of cash just to find a way to enhance their quality of life through these sort of products. Without a doubt, the wellness business in these current times is one of the biggest profit making business.

Did a bit of research on it through the web, and boy was I amazed with my findings. Bio Magnetic Therapy, is an alternative/non-invasive form of healing. It's said that it's been in existence for the last 100,000 years. (why didn't anybody tell me this earlier???)

The purpose of Bio Magnetic Therapy is told to be relieving pain and discomforts that are in the body. Thousands of people worldwide have discovered the benefits of this powerful therapy for themselves. We know for a fact that the world we live in, is indeed a huge magnet and that we have evolved in its magnetic fields. Even the human brain, emits magnetic field that may control the body's chemistry.

Have you noticed that when you are ill, certain parts/points of your body become painful to touch, that's because the energy flows in an unbalanced manner but when you are well, energy flows in a balanced manner through the meridians. Now you know why the Chinese perform acupuncture, the needle generates electrical impulses to restore energy balance through those points! Bio Magnetic Therapy does the same sort of thing, minus the pain, stimulating the nerves to create that better blood flow. Nowadays there are even Magnetized Water and juices on the market shelves. This therapy is becoming so easily accessible to all, you make the choice. And the best part about all this is that there are even certain cases where obese patients using these bio magnetic bracelets have seen a reduction in their weight.

As for my personal experience, I was somewhat prone in getting asthma attacks. After using this Bio Magnetic Bracelet, all this is in my past. Another finding I've made through this therapy is that my common stiff necks and sinus problems are also missing. Call this just a coincidence, I don't know. All I know is that this therapy has really helped me. (I've just bought one for my wife, hope it can cure constant nagging...)

Finally, if you would like to add wealth into your health, you could email me.