Tuesday 29 March 2011

Group Insurance Can Save People A Lot Of Money

Whenever you get a job the first thing you want to know after salary is what the benefits are. What kind of health insurance plan can we get with your company? The truth is, that depends on what insurance company they choose. It also depends on how much money they are willing to spend on each plan. Of course the best prices only occur at group packages. These plans make obtaining insurance incredibly affordable in contrast to an individual health insurance plan.

There are several reasons why group health insurance plans are so affordable. First of all, whenever you buy anything in bulk you can expect a price break. That is exactly what happens with group insurance packages. The insurance company is going to get paid a lot more when several people buy plans. Secondly, if everyone buys the same package the prices will be less. If you want a custom plan you should consider an individual plan and expect to pay more. Fortunately many group plans do offer variants of the standard group insurance plan, but that also carries with it some additional fees.

With the economy the way it is right now, we should be thankful there are still opportunities to save a tremendous amount of money with health insurance. Group insurance plans provide that opportunity and allow us to support our families without fear of illness or sudden injuries. Additionally our dental and prescriptions are also covered under most of these group plans. That means that if you have a dental emergency or need to fill a prescription, you will save quite a bit of money.

Although group insurance keeps costs down, there are other ways for you to help keep the overall cost of insurance down. Take care of yourself. Make sure you eat the right foods and brush your teeth 3 times a day. Consider taking walks for 30 minutes per day and do some weight training at least once per week. Encourage your children to exercise as well. There is so much we can do as a nation to ensure our health insurance costs remain low so that everyone can afford them. Lawmakers are playing a role as well with laws that prohibit excessive lawsuits against medical mistakes, and discarding ideas like prohibiting insurance to those with pre existing conditions. We are all on the right track to saving money in these desperate times.

Lead Generation Company Includes Cheque With Sales Letter

Two of the greatest challenges for a company doing direct mail sales lead generation are getting attention and creating attractive offers. A compelling package with a poor offer will flop. And a poor package with a compelling offer won't even get opened.

One advertiser who managed to both grab attention and make an irresistible offer is Coutts & Co., 15 Lombard Street, London EC1V 9AU, England. One of their staff, a Mr. R. W. R. Round, mailed a unique lead generation letter to law firms.

Stapled across the top of the letter was a cheque (or "check," as my American friends would say). The cheque was drawn on the company bank account, and was made payable to the letter recipient, in the amount of 25 Pounds Sterling, but was not signed.

In the letter, the writer presents his simple offer. He will meet with the prospect for 20 minutes to resent a remarkable new pension scheme developed for the legal profession. If the prospect hears the presentation and believes the writer has wasted the prospect's time, then the writer will sign the check and hand it to the prospect without a quibble.

The letter goes on to give a few credible reasons for why the prospect should meet with the writer, the most compelling of which is the fact that over 120 other law firms have already taken advantage of the
services of Coutts & Co.

This letter is remarkable for a number of reasons. It has stopping power. A real cheque (not one of those fake ones, so common in direct mail marketing) with my name on it would get my attention, at least long enough to motivate me to read the letter and discover what was going on.

And the offer is simple to grasp. "I'll tell you during a 20-minute meeting how our pension scheme helps your business, and won't waste your time, otherwise the check is yours to cash without further
ado."

The letter also sells the appointment and not the product (pension plans), a wise move in two-step sales processes like this where a salesperson must close every sale. In these cases, the goal of the letter is always to find a buyer, not finalize a sale.

You could copy this tactic. Or you could dream up one of your own. If you manage to grab attention and present an enticing offer at the same time, good for you. If you can't, hire a professional.

Make Your Own Websites - Get Top Advice From Top People

Considering the rapid rise in popularity of the internet, a growing number of people are seeking to create their own website. Unfortunately more than 90% will give up within the first few months due to their lack of knowledge.

You don't have to be a computer whiz to make your own websites. Under proper guidance it can easily be done. A great way to stand out from the crowd is to have a good strategy from the outset.

One of the easiest ways to learn internet marketing is by regularly attending seminars.

After attending numerous intensive seminars, I usually end up with a bundle of written notes containing pertinent information, most of it being substantial and doable ideas that I subsequently cannot wait to put into practice!

Nothing compares to listening to a successful internet marketer telling you all about his thriving websites and revealing the techniques that he has used.

Often these seminars have a panel of many different speakers, who have totally different backgrounds, techniques and a different perspective on internet marketing, making it a unique learning experience. Where else would you be able to get such valuable and diverse information in one place?

Also, the fact that you will be able to interact and exchange ideas with other delegates acts as a great moral booster. Seminars are fantastic place to discuss anything from Squeeze pages to SEO with like minded people.

How do they work?

You will usually find two different types:

Strategy specific seminars

They work a bit like personal coaching.

To attend those you will have to pay a substantial fee. The number of delegates is usually only between 30-50, the speakers 2-3, and it is more work-shop based. You will receive personal step by step guidance on specific strategies. There is a lot of interaction (as the group is quite small) and practical tasks to achieve.

General seminars

This type is a lot cheaper and in many cases free. There are a large number of delegates anything from hundreds to sometimes thousands and 10 to 20 speakers.

The information and recommendations given will be general rather than "project focused". Due to the large number of delegates, there won't be any specific guidance on the various subjects.

Both specific and general seminars are enormously invaluable and although there are sales pitches in both, I would strongly advise a beginner to start with a free seminar and once more confident and knowledgeable to opt for a more specific one.

Create Your Own Web Page - Why You Must Use a Mailing List

Unless you keep in contact with your site visitors, chances are your competition will be talking to them and promoting their own products and services. This is something that you need to be aware when you first try to promote your own website effectively.

Once you are no longer in their mind, someone else will swiftly move in.

Online marketers should understand the importance of keeping themselves at the forefront of their prospective customers' mind by emailing to their list regularly.

This builds a relationship of rapport and trust with your potential customers and they will in turn be more likely to visit one of your website hyperlinks included in your emails.

Keeping in touch is key to increasing your web site traffic.

It is a lot harder to find new potential customers than it is to keep existing ones.

The best way to retain and benefit from your current customers is to become "a master" of keeping in touch.

There are several ways to achieve this, but the most efficient and economical is by using "Permission Email Marketing".

This means that the people you will be regularly emailing have explicitly given you "permission" to be included on your mailing list. This is a hundred times more efficient than using direct emailing.

Click the link below to get more top internet marketing strategies today.

1. How to implement it?

Opt-in forms

Get visitors to subscribe to your email list by inserting an opt-in form on your website. It should be placed in an easy-to-find prominent location. Near the top of the page is usually a good choice. It is important that you keep the form "short and sweet". If it requires more than 10 seconds to fill-in, most people will be put off!

Additionally, you can include a sign-up email address to your email signature. This should simply ask people if they would like to be included to your email list.

2. Offer a free gift

Basically you need to give your visitors a reason for signing-up. This will definitely help to turn your website visitors into subscribers.

Perhaps offer a free ebook, report or video. It should be something that they can immediately get access to and easily download.

3. Build your list

One of the primary objectives of your internet site should be to get visitors to subscribe to your list (newsletter, email) therefore having the chance to develop a relationship with them should be your top priority.

Building a considerable mailing list should therefore be your ultimate goal, but only include people that have given you permission to do so, otherwise you could be accused of "spamming" them.

Keep growing this relationship by regularly sending your list emails. Their content should be of value to your subscribers and related to your website.

Large Plastic Easter Eggs - What Do I Do With Them All?

So you plan on buying over 100 large plastic Easter eggs for a super duper Easter egg hunt that you are putting on for all the kids in your neighborhood. But you are in two minds whether to use something else besides plastic eggs as you don't want to have to throw them all away once Easter is over, or have the hassle of storing them somewhere clean and out of direct sunlight for next year. Well, feel good about using large plastic Easter eggs for you hunt this year as they are handy little things to have around the house. Let's take a look at how they can be recycled and used around the house as handy containers.

Handy Little Household Storage Devices

If you have decided to go for a large plastic Easter egg that doesn't have any holes in and is pretty air tight, then they can be used as a fab way to keep paints or varnishes in for a small painting or varnishing job. For example, if you have sanded down an old wooden chair and plan to give it a new lease of life with a few coats of varnish. Then you can pour some varnish into one half of an egg instead of ruining one of your best bowls and annoying your wife.

Tired of pricking yourself on random loose pins or thumbtacks in your home office drawer, then use a large plastic Easter egg to store them in and put the egg neatly in your drawer. That way you will never be struggling to find a pesky thumbtack again.

Similarly, ever had the frustration of losing a screw or nut or bolt whilst assembling that flat pack furniture, then why not empty the bag of screws it came with into a large plastic Easter egg and put it conveniently into your pocket. So when you need the next screw, just take it out, pop the lid off, and grab the screw you need - perfect.

We all know that storing batteries in the refrigerator helps prolong their life. But ever had one of these batteries leak battery acid into your fridge? You can say goodbye to all your fresh fruit and vegetables as they would be contaminated. A great solution to this would be to store your batteries in a large plastic Easter egg and the slip it into the refrigerator. Therefore, if you batteries ever leak, your perishables will be protected and safe to eat.

Large Plastic Easter Egg Ideas for the Bedroom

Back in the 90s, ladies pantyhose were sold in egg shaped containers to keep them fresh and prevent them from ripping or laddering. Why not adopt this idea for your bedroom and store all your pantyhose in a large plastic Easter egg to protect them from any sharp edges and splinters you have on your nightstand. Also, it will be a lot easier to see how many clean pantyhose you have left in your drawer as you can just count how many eggs you have.

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to great uses for large plastic Easter eggs this year; you are only limited by your imagination. So don't worry about being wasteful after Easter is over, there are a ton of great uses just waiting for you to try out.

What Is the Psoas Muscle and How Does It Cause Back Pain?

The psoas muscle (which is sometimes referred to as the Iliopsoas) is a large muscle that connects the upper back and the inner thigh. Though it might be difficult to imagine how a muscle could make this connection, the psoas is an extremely important muscle. It help to stabilize and torso as well as rotate the hips.

This muscle helps you sit up from lying down, stand up from sitting down, and it helps you walk. The psoas is very important in our day-to-day life. But sometimes lack of activity and a sedentary lifestyle can lead to a contracted or tense psoas muscle. This may cause lower back pain and stiffness or lack of mobility in the lower back or hip area.

Over time you may hold your body in an unnatural way either due to poor posture, injury, or just having a job that requires you sitting all day. This causes the psoas to develop a "memory" to hold itself in a contracted or stiff state.

You may have a contracted psoas muscle as well if your back is generally out of alignment. Misalignment of the psoas muscle can cause your back to lean more to one side of the other. This can result in bulging discs, sciatica, or other types of back pain.

Since your psoas controls so many different movements from sitting up, standing up, and walking, it is likely that you may have difficulties or pain with these movements as well.

Understand that the pain you're feeling is the direct result of a muscle imbalance in your psoas. Specifically, the psoas is contracted and throwing other parts of your back and hips out of alignment.

There are really two things you can do to relieve the pain. The first is to correct any lifestyle problems that may be causing the stiffness in your psoas muscle. Maybe you need to stand up ever now and then during the day instead of sitting for hours on end, or maybe you need to practice improving your posture. Secondly, to loosen up the psoas muscle you will need to develop the daily habit of stretching out the psoas muscle. If you do this consistently, you can start to relax and loosen the muscle tension.

Stretching exercises that target your psoas muscle will help you open and release the tension in this muscle. Stretching your psoas may be difficult at first if you are not particularly flexible. Don't feel bad, if your psoas is contracted and stiff, many other muscles in your body are probably stiff as well.

One muscle in particular that you may need to stretch in addition to the psoas is the piriformis muscle, which helps to rotate your legs. Often times a tense psoas and a tense piriformis muscle will come hand in hand.

Keep stretching daily and over time, your psoas and other muscles in your body will gain flexibility and the pain you are experiencing will slowly go away as your psoas opens up.

What Causes Lower Back and Pelvic Pain?

Maybe you've experienced it before. A sharp and stabbing pain in your lower back or hips. Maybe you're even experiencing it right now. What's going on here and what can you do about it?

First of all, I want to let you know that I'm not a medical professional, so I can't say for certain what may be causing your pain, but in my experience, most lower back and hip pain is the result of what is called Sciaitca.

I first experienced Sciatica several years ago while I was finishing up my senior year of college. It started as a dull pain in my right hip. At first, I just thought that I had slept in an awkward position or something and just brushed it off. But over the next week, the pain increased to the point where I could barely walk without having to stop to rest and let the pain die down. At this point, I went and saw a university doctor who explained to me what Sciatica is.

Essentially, there is a nerve in your body called the Sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back down to your legs and feet. It is the longest nerve in the body. When your Sciatic nerve gets trapped somewhere, then you will experience Sciatica.

Sciatica usually presents itself as a sharp and intense pain in the lower back, hips, buttocks, legs, or feet. However, it can sometimes be a numb or tingling feeling like you might feel when your leg is asleep.

What might cause sciatica? There are a lot of things that could lead to this condition. It is pretty much anything that puts pressure on the Sciatic nerve. In my case, it was my Piriformis muscle. This small muscle is located in the pelvis just above the Sciatic nerve. When the Piriformis becomes irritated it may contract or spasm and crush the Sciatic nerve.

Other common causes of Sciatica are bulging or herniated discs in the lower back, tension in other muscles in the lower back or hips such as your Psoas muscles, or Spinal Stenosis (a progressive narrowing of the spinal canal which puts pressure on spinal nerves).

But when you boil everything down, most of these causes are the direct result of muscle imbalances in the body. A muscle imbalance occurs anytime that a muscle is either too strong or too weak. This results in your body's alignment being shifted in order to compensate. When your body isn't in alignment, then pressure is placed on bones, nerves and inter-vertebral discs, which will cause many of the conditions that result in Sciatica.

So, then the way to relieve most cases of Sciatica is to balance out the muscles of the back and correct the alignment problems that cause pain. Most muscle imbalances can be taken care of with stretching exercises that help to loosen tense muscles and strengthen weak muscles. These stretching exercises take time to really work and it may be a several days or weeks before you start to see the benefits, but in the long run living without pain is a fair trade off.

The Alarming Dangers of Using NSAID Painkillers Like Aspirin for Back Pain

You're back hurts. I've been there myself, so I know what you're going through. I used to suffer from sciatica and it made the simple act of walking a real struggle with all the pain in caused. My doctor even told me to take some painkillers to help. But did you know that painkillers like Aspirin and Ibuprofen can actually very dangerous for your health?

NSAID's (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen are actually the direct cause of one-third of all gastrointestinal bleeding related hospitalizations, as reported by the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

If that wasn't enough to scare you away from these things, keep reading...

NSAID's also can stop blood clotting, damage your kidney and liver if taken for long periods of time, and even kill you!

I know that when you're in pain the most important thing is for you to get rid of it, but please understand that getting rid of the pain with painkillers isn't going to solve the problem. Something is causing the pain, probably a muscle imbalance or a bulging disc putt pressure on one of your nerves, and blocking out that pain isn't going to fix the underlying cause.

Do not equate "no more pain" with "I'm all better."

Without addressing the real cause of the pain, you may further damage your body and make your condition even worse in the long run. If you need to use painkillers to make your life more manageable, however, that is fine, but once the pain is under control, keep working to eliminate the cause.

So, then what are the alternatives to NSAID painkillers?

Systemic enzymes are a great alternative. These painkillers will not only get rid of the inflammation, but they actually promote the body's natural ability to heal and repair itself. Since they are also all-natural, they also don't come with the same nasty side effects that your aspirin or ibuprofen may give you.

Systemic enzyme-based painkillers are much more effective and they do not put your overall health at risk.

Additionally systemic enzymes can also help to remove and reduce scar tissue. Scar tissue can create restriction and strain on our bodies. By helping to reduce this, systemic enzymes help to ease pain in the long-run as well.

They also help to keep the your blood from getting too thick. This is useful for taking the pressure off of the liver to clean and allowing it to function normally. Plus, they can also aid in improving immune system function and help prevent viral infections.

If you need to take a painkiller for your back pain or sciatica, I recommend choosing systemic enzymes over the dangers of NSAID's.

However, remember that it is important not to view the painkiller as the remedy to the problem. Sure, use the painkillers to make your life more manageable, but remember to look beyond the pain and address the underlying root cause of the pain to find real lasting relief.

Personal Loan Rates Continue to Rise

Dramatic cuts in the base rate have done little to lower the cost of loan rates, which have increased at an even higher rate than the rates of credit cards.

Even for borrowers looking to take out a personal loan who have an excellent credit rating, the average rate is 12.3 per cent, according to figures from Defaqto.

That marks a significant rise since September, when the base rate was 5 per cent and the average personal loan rate for those with an excellent credit rating was 10.8 per cent.

The best deal around for people with an excellent credit rating is from the Co-operative bank, with a rate of 7.8 per cent.

The same loan from the Co-Operative was the most affordable last year as well, however, back then the rate they offered for that product was 7.6 per cent.

David Black, analyst at independent data compiler Defaqto says that the recent trend among lenders has been to push up rates and that this is down to a number of factors.

'Lenders are under more funding pressures now and they are reluctant to lend to all but those with top credit scores,' he says.

'The imminent loss of payment protection insurance sales will also hit lenders' profits so they are looking to stretch their margins.'

Mr Black is referring to a recent clampdown by the authorities which stipulated that lenders can no longer sell PPI at the same time as selling a loan to the customer.

Under the new rules, lenders will now have to wait 14 days before contacting customers and enquiring as to whether they are interested in taking out PPI.

Some customers are not surprised at the new rules regarding PPI, with Sara from Cheshire saying:

"This should not come as a surprise to anyone. PPI cross subsidised loan rates so the campaign to get rid of the product rather than improve it has done more harm than good."

Alan O'Sullivan, credit reporter with This is Money, says: "This may all sound very negative, but there is no need to panic. Loan rates in general are not increasing as much as credit card rates and, unlike these variable rates, your loan rate will not rise as it is fixed for the length of your agreement."

He then went on to highlight the good deals that are still around to certain customers, saying: "Other great deals on, for example, a £5,000 loan over three years, include Sainsbury's Finance (8.8%), Tesco Personal Finance (8.9%), Alliance & Leicester (8.9%) and Lombard Direct (9.4%), to name a few."

All these rates fall well below the average for lending rates to borrowers with an excellent credit rating, which is 12.3 per cent.

However, he did point out that these loans are by no means available to everyone, saying: "You're going to need an excellent credit file to get them - no missed credit card payments over the past six months - but they are nonetheless there for the taking."

Some Tips For Loans As Borrowing Gets Harder

It is no surprise to any of us that interest rates have risen and are still rising and lenders are able to be choosy so borrowing on a whim is no longer possible.

The credit crunch has made borrowing prohibitive as the bank loan rates have soared on personal loans and mortgages. The popular lenders have made increases in the last couple of weeks including Nat West with a 2.5 per cent rise.

Michelle Slade from the financial comparison website Moneyfacts.co.uk says, "It is not only mortgage rates that continue to increase, so have personal loan rates and monthly repayments."

She says Tesco Personal Finance has gone up another 0.6 per cent, Lombard Direct has gone up 1 per cent, the AA is up 0.1 per cent and Barclaycard rates have increased by 0.5 per cent. Barclaycard have also put a stop on their one-time best-buy product which they used to offer through Masterloan.

At least half of the lenders who offer personal loans have altered their charges since the beginning of the year.

An increase of 11 per cent on smaller loans by Black Horse has seen an addition of 52 pounds and 68 pence in interest, per year, on a 1,000 pound, one-year loan.

To borrow 25,000 pounds from the Nat West over 5 years with a rate increase of 1.5 per cent on these bigger amounts, will see an extra 1,015 pounds and 20 pence on the total cost of the loan.

Some lenders have actually reduced rates. Brittania BS and Moneyback Bank lowered rates at the beginning of 2008 and a loan for 5,000 pounds with the Clydesdale Bank or Yorkshire Bank can cost up to 7 per cent less than before.

The experts are all echoing that in such glum economic circumstances and family budgets are really being squeezed borrowing should be thought about.

Steve Wilcox at Citizens Advice warns, "The fact that a lender has approved your loan does not mean you can afford the repayments, "and he goes on to say,

"Loans are not for paying off current borrowings or to buy everyday essentials such as food or energy. While there is a credit crunch on, lenders still need to make some money but borrowers must be extra-careful that they can afford repayments."

Do not forget, if you can justify borrowing, that the "typical rate" may not be the rate that you will be offered. By law a "typical rate" must be offered to a minimum of 66 per cent of approved borrowers, which leaves a remaining third that may well be charged a higher rate.

As we know, lenders are picky so you may not qualify for a loan if your credit history is nothing other than perfect; the slightest blip may cause your application to be turned down flat.

Also, buying Payment Protection Insurance from your lender is not a good move and can cost you thousands. If you want this cover go for independent cover from insurers like britishinsure.com or paymentcare.co.uk.

Another mistake is to assume that your own bank will offer you the best the deal - get quotes from other lenders.

You must not forget that every application you make for a loan will leave a footprint on your credit file which in turn might push up the rate that you are offered or you could result in being refused by lenders contacted subsequently.

Credit Cards Watch Out When Using Your Credit Card Abroad

Going on holiday or business to Spain, France or Italy this year? Then watch out for a new ploy to overcharge your credit or debt card.

Many restaurateurs and retailers in these countries now have the facility to get you to authorise your bill in euros but then they recharge your card in sterling. That sounds innocent but there's a sting in the tail. The retailers charge you an additional service fee of up to 4%! The system is called dynamic currency conversion (DCC).

DCC guidelines from Visa say that UK cardholders should be offered the option to either have their card charged in euros or to have the transaction changed into sterling before it goes through. It seems that in practice, few of us are being offered the alternative. Many retailers are charging us in sterling automatically - and with the extra 4% fee!

The language barrier might explain the lack of explanation but we are a little more cynical! Even where permission is sought, we doubt whether many restaurateurs or retailers will clearly spell out the additional service fee. After all it's an opportunity to make a bit more profit!

Our advice is that when abroad in euro-land always ensure that your transaction is processed in euros. That's because some UK card operators such as Nationwide, Saga and Lombard Direct will convert euros to sterling at no charge. Others, such as cards from our high street banks, will charge 2.75% as a foreign currency loading fee - but even that's less than the retailers' 4% DCC.

In fact even with a 2.75% foreign currency loading fee, it'll still be cheaper to use your credit card rather than converting sterling to euros before leaving the UK or converting it abroad at the bureau de change. That's because the exchange rates applied by Visa and Mastercard are often much better than you'd get for your cash and travellers cheques whilst abroad. And please don't be fooled by the commission free advertising outside the bureau de change. They might not charges commission but their currency rates are never cheap - after all, how else do they make a crust?

And another bit of helpful advice. Unless it's an emergency don't be tempted to use your plastic to withdraw euros. That's because as with all cash withdrawals, interest will be charged from the minute the euros leave the cash dispenser. Remember, there's never any interest free period on cash withdrawals.

And whilst on points to remember, please be especially vigilant about card security whilst abroad, especially if you're travelling in Eastern Europe. Card fraudsters love holidaymakers and business travellers. That's because they're able to enjoy a bit more time with the card before the card is blocked. Chip and pin technology has helped enormously but there are still risks to watch out for. A report we read last week serves to highlight the problem.

Mr & Mrs B were on a weeks' break in Prague when Mr B's wallet was stolen by a pickpocket. It was greatly inconvenient and not a little distressing, but they thought that their chip and pin cards would protect them. Imagine their horror when they returned to the UK, to find that within three days of losing the wallet all their debit and credit cards had been raided for thousands of pounds. How could that happen?

It's a fairly common fraud. A trained spotter had watched and recorded the pin number they used at a cash machine and a pickpocket had followed them from the machine to steal their wallet. Armed with the card and the pin number, the fraudsters were in for a field day. That's because this couple, like 1 in 3 cardholders, used the same pin number for all their cards. Naturally, knowing the 1 in 3 statistic, the fraudsters tried the pin number they knew on all the cards in the wallet. Hey presto, bonanza time!

And yes, it does also happen in the UK.

So, two lessons here. Be particularly careful when entering your pin numbers anywhere - not only abroad. Secondly, don't use the same pin number for all your cards. Work some way o remembering them. For example, use the first, second, third and fourth digits from each of the number clusters on that card or some combination like that. Or if you have a better memory than me, memorise a pin for each card!

Mega Green Tea - An All Around Health Supplement

The taste of tea is undoubtedly refreshing. No wonder why a lot of people get indulged with it. However, together with the enjoyment it gives, you get a bunch of benefits from it as well. Much more like a drug but not on the bitter side, mega green tea is indeed an ideal solution to common health problems of a lot of people.

Usually, green tea is more associated with weight loss. True indeed, it is proven effective in helping individuals to cut down figures in their weight. But the magic of this tea does not just end there. Here are some other benefits you can get out of the refreshing taste of this product:

Protects over cardiovascular disease. It can lower down the LDL cholesterol and serum triglyceride levels in the body. The antioxidants in it inhibit the oxidation of the cholesterol in the arteries. Aside from this, it holds back thromboxane A2 formation that reduces the risk of heart attack. This is very similar as to what aspirins regularly do for the body.
Lower down blood pressure. As people ages, hypertension becomes common to them. And one reason that causes hypertension is the enzyme which is secreted in the kidney often called angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE). Green tea is one source of ACE inhibition and studies have shown that it minimizes the risk of hypertension to most people.
Controls blood sugar levels. It lowers down the amount of blood sugar in an individual's body. It contains polyphenols that allows the normal elevation of glucose in the body. Therefore, green tea is also best for people who have diabetic history.
Kills bacteria and viruses. Also, taking green tea in every meal can prevent the risk of food poisoning due to some bacteria. This is because this kind of tea is an antibiotic that helps prevent diseases caused by different bacteria. More than this, it can kill a lot of viruses. In fact, it can help lessen the risk of getting viral hepatitis.

Though this is proven to be effective in terms of giving good health to those who use it, it is still a must to be cautious when taking one, especially its dosage. Those with good health conditions have nothing to worry about it but those with health disease need to be careful. For instance, mega green tea has a caffeine content of 280 milligrams. This is fine for healthy people. Otherwise, those with hepatitis and cancer need more dosage than 280 milligrams.

Know About The Right Omega 3 Dosage - Avoid Megadosing Omega 3

Yes, Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for our health and have innumerable health benefits too. But, this does not mean that you increase your consumption beyond permissible limits. Megadosing on supplementation will not accelerate the health benefits and can be harmful for you.

Before explaining what the right dosage is, let me give you a brief insight into these remarkable fatty acids. These acids are a group of polyunsaturated fats that are essential for the proper functioning of every cell in our body. These fats cannot be synthesized within our body and we need to obtain them through our diet.

The diet of the Western population lacks in these acids and this is the main reason behind most of the degenerative disorders such as heart problems, cancer, diabetes, depression, arthritis etc.

So what can you do to keep away from such diseases? The answer is simple; consume more omega 3 rich food such as fatty fishes, leafy vegetables, tofu, soybeans and walnuts. Certain vegetable oils such as flaxseed oil, canola oil and sunflower oil are also considered rich in essential fats.

The richest source of fatty acids is Fish Oil. This is because they contain both EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) fats in the natural form and in good quantities.

Being extracted from the issues of cold-water fishes, fish oils are bound to contain toxins such as mercury, metals etc found in ocean waters.

Superior quality oils go through a specialized refining process called Molecular Distillation. This removes all the impurities and toxins from the oil making it safe and pure for regular consumption.

Molecularly distilled, pharmaceutical grade fish oils are the safest, purest and richest form of these fats

Regular consumption can provide respite from a large number of diseases. However, as we have mentioned earlier, the dosage should be within the recommended limits and Mega-dosing should be avoided.

By Mega-dosing we mean, consuming ten times more essential oils than the Recommended Dietary Allowance or RDA. By consuming to much of any one nutrient, it can be hazardous for health.

According to the National Institute of Health, 650mg - 900mg of fish oil supplements should be consumed daily to ensure good health. In general, a minimum of 2% of the total daily calorie intake should contain omega 3 fatty acids.

For vegetarians, 2.22 gram of Flaxseed oil or Canola oil should be taken regularly to fulfill the needs of the body. In addition, green leafy vegetables and other sources should also be included in the diet.

Research shows that 2 tablespoons of Flaxseed oil contains approx. 3 grams of ALA fatty acids while 4 ounces of fatty fishes (such as salmon, Hoki) contain 1.5 gram of EPA and DHA fats, the two most essential fats.

Fish oils extracted from the Hoki fish have 40% higher DHA content than other oils. Hoki is a cold-water species found in the oceans of New Zealand and has naturally high DHA and EPA content.

Next Mega Trend Revealed: The Century of the Brain

There is a wonderful mega trend evolving in front of your eyes that you can prepare for now. This trend is your passport for a better and more peaceful life. It's difficult to see mega trends and think clearly when you are an active participant in the midst of chaos. It's like the expression "can't see the forest for the trees."

The economic situation, high unemployment, unstable financial markets, low consumer confidence, rising costs of health care, failing public education, population explosion, feeding a hungry world and political distrust are actually fueling the arrival of the Century of The Brain. This mega trend is emerging rapidly because it's where the solutions to our problems and better future lie. The Century of The Brain is about:

Neuroscience and the power of your brain
Working smarter, not harder
Using our brains more than our brawn
Thinking and acting inclusively rather than selfishly
Integrating our "heads" with our "hearts"
Getting everyone willingly involved in creative thinking
Implementing innovative solutions to our vexing challenges
Communicating more effectively with one another
Experiencing greater harmony, cooperation and collaboration
Engaging in continuous learning and improvement
Growing our collective brain power for a better life and better planet

The collective thinking that created our global and local situations can not develop solutions to the problems it created. Much prior thought was tainted by greed, self interests, power and control. Many decisions were based on short-term gains driven by selfish and destructive narcissistic behavior. It's insanity to believe that new outcomes will emerge from repeating old thinking and behaviors from the brains that created our reality.

Isn't it time to come together to build a better life for our children, our grandchildren and ourselves? Perhaps enough of us can create a critical mass to make a difference. My personal challenge to you is to learn how your brain is wired, what makes you tick, your strengths and how to use your biggest and priceless asset...Your Personal Brain Power. This step will make an immediate difference in your personal life for better thinking and decisions, relationships and career success.

Teaching is the highest form of learning and everyone wins when you teach and role model important principles and practices for good purposes. My second challenge is to teach family members, friends and the people you work with what you are learning about neuroscience and brain power. You will become a valued pioneer in The Century of The Brain. Deanna and I truly believe this is something we can do together, now. Will you join us?

Quake Live - How to Improve Your Game to Start Playing With the Big Boys

Quake Live is a free multiplayer game that is played directly in the browser. Because it is free there are lots of people playing 24/7. It is a great game but can take some time to really master. Luckily Quake live has a great system to check how good you are and placing you against equal opponents. Here are some to improve your gaming and start playing with the big boys.

The game is all about the mega health and the red and yellow life. Think about this logically, if you have more life and armor you can take more damage and your opponent is at a huge disadvantage, even if he is better than you if you have more health and armor you might still beat him. So what we do then is control the life and armor by timing when it spawns and getting it every time.

This can be much harder than you think. If you start playing against better players the battle is all about the armor and mega. The winner of these battles usually wins the round. So recap, get the armor and mega health by any means necessary.

Second is weapons, this means that we must learn where each weapon spawns and also we must know which weapon we prefer for the specific map. Keep this in mind while you get the armor and health and if you get a gap go grab your best guns. This brings me to another point if you are ever dominated by a opponent by a specific weapon try to prevent him from getting it, he might worse with the other guns.

Affordable Health Insurance in Michigan - Low Cost Plans Online

Even if you think you can't afford health insurance, there are some options available to you. Health insurance companies have put together new plans to help fight the high cost of health care insurance in Michigan and the rest of the Country.

Michigan Health Insurance Plans

Many large health insurance companies such as United Health Care, Humana, Prudential, and Mega Life, just to name a few, have put together high deductible insurance plans combined with an (HSA) health savings account. These new plans feature higher deductibles in exchange for lower monthly premiums.

With HSA insurance coverage you must meet the annual deductible amount before the policy begins to pay. Policies typically pay 80% to 100% of medical care costs after the deductible has been met. Deductibles are from $1100 to $5000. Preventive care is usually included with these new health plans and most require you to use in-network providers.

The idea is that with a smaller monthly premium you can afford to put money into an HSA savings account each month for future medical expenses such as your deductible. HSA health insurance plans automatically credit a portion of your monthly payment into this savings account. And, the money you put into your HSA is tax free up to $5250 for self and $10,500 for self and family per year.

Health Insurance in Michigan Quotes

One of the best ways to find affordable Michigan health insurance is to go to an insurance quote website and request quotes. Immediately after you complete their short form, you'll get several low cost HSA, HMO, PPO, and POS quotes while still online. After you have your quotes, you can compare the different policies and see if one will work for you. It's that easy!

Sleep Programming Spiritual Breakthrough Mega-Kit by Dick Sutphen

What is the potential of a human being? A healthy, working member of society might wonder how far they can go in life, and what titles they are capable of achieving. In some cases, you might consider material gain to be a success, and in other cases, you might think that simply achieving a clear state of mind is accomplishing something, and to be perfectly honest it all depends on your point of view. One thing is for sure, however, and it is that stress can easily interfere with your life in ways you never even imagined.

The factors that have been introduced into your life may very well be eating at you, and there is a strong chance that they are holding you back. What can you do to avert this stress? The thing to remember is that some stress can be avoided, and some must be dealt with head on. Family is one example of a stress that must be dealt with because as they say, you cannot choose your family. That being said, you need to compensate, and that will mean finding something that can provide you with the peace of mind you've been searching for.

Let's take Sleep Programming Spiritual Breakthrough Mega-Kit for example. This is a series by Dick Sutphen, and it serves to provide you with a course bent on curing your insecurities and changing your outlook on life. To make it even better, it will do it while you are sleeping! But what comes in the Sleep Programming Spiritual Breakthrough Mega-Kit that makes it so much better than everything else?

First of all the collection comes with six astounding CD's that each provide you with a different lesson. One CD might teach you how to become stress free and find yourself in balance with your life while another might teach you to be faithful to yourself, and essentially okay with who you are. In addition, you will learn to find answers in your dreams, as well as understand the concept of metaphysical affirmations.

As you can see, there are plenty of things for you to learn in do when it comes to embracing yourself and learning to take charge of your dreams. It might sound difficult, and you will certainly run into a few snags when you are dealing with self-improvement, but sleep programming has been proven quite effective over the years and many have learned to embrace it. Dick Sutphen is without a doubt one of the most popular and most renowned sleep programmers in the world, and his strategies will help you out greatly in the long run. That being said, now would be a great time for you to look into this course and see how it can improve your personal life whether you are dealing with a stressful situation at work, or a personal problem that has been nagging at you for ages. You don't have to do it alone.

Vitamin E - Toxicity and Mega-Doses

Vitamin E is a vital vitamin which is most often acquired through nutritional resources. Many people may unconsciously bring much more vitamin E compared to how much their systems need to have. Vitamin E health supplements can result in vitamin E poisoning.

The most important threat of poisoning will be the danger of blood loss. Consuming an excessive amount of vitamin E may also hinder the assimilation of some other fat dissolvable nutritional vitamins necessary to the body of a human. It is almost always not required to have vitamin E health supplements. People experiencing any signs and symptoms of possible poisoning need to seek advice from their physicians. Vitamin E is among the fattest dissolvable vitamins. There are lots of fascinating information about vitamin E. Vitamin E is definitely an antioxidant nutrient very important to fertility and reproduction. E Vitamin furthermore helps prevent the malfunction of body cells.

You'll find so many trustworthy food resources of vitamin E. Alpha-tocopherol is easily the most substantial form of vitamin E for human beings. This puts a stop to oxidation coming from free radicals even while defending cell membranes and cholesterol levels within the body. This is particularly considerable since the oxidation of cholesterol levels can induce cardiac arrest and strokes. Alpha-tocopherol is extremely important since it aids in preventing bloodstream clots. Whenever consumed in large amounts, vitamin E could very well hinder blood clots and raise the danger for hemorrhage. Vitamin E can be quite damaging any time consumed in correlation with specific other medicines. Having an excess of vitamin E could very well raise the blood loss performance of Coumadin. Coumadin is a very common anti-coagulant treatment used in the precautionary therapy of blood clotting. Affected individuals having an excessive amount of vitamin E may enhance their danger for blood loss.

Patients using Coumadin, or related drugs, need to seek advice from their doctors before having vitamin E health supplements. People having a vitamin K insufficiency also need to ask their physicians before consuming vitamin E health supplements. There are a few symptoms to consider that might suggest you are experiencing poisoning associated with consuming a lot of vitamin E. A few of these symptoms include: muscle weakness, nausea or vomiting, exhaustion, wooziness, looseness of the bowels, risk of blood loss.

Vitamin E toxicity is extremely uncommon in human beings. Because vitamin supplements are more persistent in civilized world, the danger grows simply because frequently people consume much more supplements compared to how much their systems demand. The invasive accessibility to vitamin supplements in developed nations around the world increases the chance to take an unjustifiably large dose of vitamin E. Quite often, people may overmedicate by themselves for insignificant health problems by using huge amounts of vitamins. All these substantial amounts are classified as mega-doses. Mega-doses could possibly generate a lot of symptoms, such as exhaustion, headache, diarrhea, and double eyesight. Animal research has proven that massive dosages of vitamin E may obstruct the way the other fat dissolvable vitamins are assimilated.

Mega-T Green Tea For Perfect Body Weight

Weight loss has become a serious concern for all of us who do not find time for workouts to shell out the extra pounds. So we become greatly attracted to pills and other simple ways to lose our extra body weight. One product that has been gaining popularity for its weight loss properties is the Mega-T green tea. It is a set of pills that have to be taken as a supplement to our diet. It will help us to reach the weight we are looking for and live a healthy life.

You need to eat only two Mega-T pills daily. One after breakfast and one at noon. It would be more effective if you could do some small workout after your morning pill. Combined with the effects of the workout, the pill will do wonders to your body. The pill has a perfect balance between the caffeine and the green tea extracts. When compared to other brands the amount of green tea extracts is more in Mega-T pills. This will help you to lose weight faster.

These special teas contain more ingredients which are meant to increase the effects of the tea extracts on your body. Gotu kola and Fo Ti are some of these which have shown good results on people having weight problems. These are dehydrates and will help you to remove excess water that is stored in the body. Another ingredient is the Guarana which acts like caffeine to provide more energy and charge both mind and body alike.

2 Mega Tips to Lose Weight Fast - These Tips Will Change Your Life & Body in Just a Few Weeks!

Does it seem like no matter how many diets you go on or how many diet pills you take, you just can't seem to get the body you've been wanting? Okay, take a couple of minutes out of your tiring day and read on to discover 2 HUGE tips to lose weight fast that has worked extremely well for me to finally get the body I've been dreaming of!

1. 2 Super Foods - To effectively drop pounds and fat, you MUST get ALL nutrients each day. Please don't become another victim of the fad diet industry! Fad diets (low carb, low fat, low calorie, etc.) are very unnatural and will only reduce your metabolism!

With that said, besides getting all important nutrients in your diet, there are 2 key nutrients that specifically trigger fat loss and weight loss. Those two nutrients are protein and fiber! Protein burns fat, fills you up, and will build lean muscle. Fiber detoxifies your body, keeps you full, and increases the metabolism. Foods I recommend with protein are chicken/turkey breast, egg whites, and whey protein shakes. For fiber, I recommend whole grains, beans, and Fiber One bars (which are VERY delicious by the way)!

2. 2 Super Drinks - Besides drinking plenty of water (I recommend 1/2 your body weight) to ensure you'll lose weight fast, there are 2 other drinks I recommend you get.

Firstly, I recommend you get at least 2 cups of green tea each day. Green tea has plenty of antioxidants to help with getting healthier and speeding up the metabolism.

Secondly, I recommend apple cider vinegar (or ACV). Now, ACV is pretty nasty... and VERY strong, HOWEVER, the health benefits is long enough to fit into a set of encyclopedias! ACV will help you with staying full, detoxifying, and so much more! I recommend for you to get at least 3 tablespoons in 8 ounces of water 3 times daily (preferably right before meals). Also, be sure to get the organic kind that contains the "mother" (a substance inside of ACV which has all the primary health benefits).

Bottom line, in order to FINALLY get the body of your dreams, I recommend you follow those 2 tips above, get on a program that is based on proper nutrition and increasing your metabolism, and you'll get incredible results faster, easier, and 100% naturally! This all has worked unbelievably well for me, and I'm certain it will work just as well for you also!

Mega Life & Health & Midwest National Life Finally Get What They Deserve!

This is a great day in the health insurance industry! Rarely is an insurance company held liable for improper conduct. The majority of the time the "Big Guy" takes advantage of the "Little Guy" and sadly the "Little Guy" has no recourse. But this is not the case today! After many years of repeated violations of insurance conduct laws the NAIC- (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) has levied one of the largest market conduct fines in insurance history against Mega Life & Health insurance company, Midwest National Life insurance company, a.k.a. Health Markets, formerly known as U.I.C.I. a.ka. NASE - National Association for the Self Employed & Alliance for Affordable Services. The fine is 20 Million Dollars and in my informed opinion, it is not nearly enough and it has come much to late!

Health Markets has been slinging their garbage for many years across the country to many thousands of innocent consumers who had no idea the extreme limitations included with the so called insurance coverage provided by Mega & Midwest. They have consistently offered "schedule plans" which pay out an average of only $100,000 per illness (even though the policy is sold as a plan that covers you to One Million or Two Million lifetime). Their coverage traditionally also has no "stop loss number". This has lead to many innocent consumers suffering catastrophic financial losses.

The lack of a "stop loss number" is a very dangerous policy design. To further explain. The term 80/20 is often used when describing how a health insurance policy works. The typical major medical health insurance policy has an 80/20 of $10,000 "co-insurance" percentage split. This quite simply means that after you have satisfied your calendar year deductible the insurance company will pay 80% ($8,000) and the insured will pay 20% ($2,000) of the first $10,000 in medical bills that you incur. This first $10,000 is known as the "stop loss number". After this brief sharing arrangement is over the insurance company pays 100% up to $5 Million per insured for the rest of that calendar year for in network treatment. Everything starts over again on the first of each subsequent year. This greatly reduces the risk to the insured and it is a standard policy design feature included with most legitimate health insurance policies.

In stark contrast, in the case of the "schedule plans" offered through the two aforementioned companies, the terms "co-insurance" and "stop loss" are very rarely if ever discussed with a prospective insured. This is because they have a direct effect on how much the insured will pay in the event of a worse case scenario. Worse yet, Mega & Midwest have traditionally been offering their policies with No Stop Loss Number. This means that if the bill is One Million Dollars, the consumer would pay 20% of that amount ($200,000) before the insurance company would pay 100%. However, with the $100,000 maximum pay out per illness clause included with their insurance contract, Mega & Midwest would still only be responsible for $100,000 regardless of the size of the bill! What a sweet deal for Mega & Midwest. Arguably the worse part about the coverage they offer is the fact that it costs the same or more than a major medical policy without all of the dangerous limitations included with their schedule plans.

Would you buy a policy like that if it was fully explained to you? Most definitely not, and the NAIC apparently agrees. This is the primary reason why after a 3 year 29 state investigation, Health Markets has finally had to face up to all the fraud they have been responsible for. On May 29th, 2008 they were hit with a $20 Million fine.
 
Copyright (c) 2010 Information. Design by WPThemes Expert

Blogger Templates and RegistryBooster.