How Effective Is Nicotine Gum?

Nicotine is the addictive substance of tobacco, and smokers become accustomed to the stimulation that nicotine provides. When smokers try to quit, the cravings that they feel are mostly due to nicotine withdrawal. A Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) can help overcome these cravings for nicotine.

Some of the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal include irritability, inability to concentrate, drowsiness, insomnia, and dry cough. An NRT like nicotine gum reduces these symptoms and allows the user to gradually cut down on the amount of nicotine his system needs to function normally. At the same time, his exposure to all of the other toxic substances in cigarette smoke is eliminated.

Of the many NRTs available, one of the most popular and easy to use is nicotine gum. Unlike patches, nicotine gum allows the user to control when and how much nicotine goes into his system. As an added benefit, it provides an oral replacement for those who need to overcome the habit of having a cigarette in their mouth.

Nicotine gum is available in different strengths. Heavy smokers are advised to start off with gum which has a relatively high amount of nicotine -- 4 mg. As dependence on nicotine is reduced, the strength of the gum can also be reduced to 2 mg. Most manufacturers offer gum in these two strengths.

The gum can be taken at certain intervals during the day to maintain a constant level of nicotine in the bloodstream, or it can be taken only when there is a craving for cigarettes. The gum is usually taken at regular intervals at the beginning of the therapy and then gradually reduced over a period of weeks.

It is advisable to consult with your doctor or pharmacist before using nicotine gum. They can offer guidelines about how to use the gum and the length of time the therapy should continue. Using nicotine gum in combination with certain medications may be contraindicated, so it is especially important to consult with your doctor if you are on any other kind of drug therapy.

Nicotine gum is used differently from regular gum. It should not be chewed continuously, but rather only until you feel a slight tingling in your mouth. When this happens, stop chewing and put the gum between your teeth and your cheek for about one minute until the tingling stops, and then again resume chewing slowly. Repeat this cycle for about 30 minutes or until there is no more taste left in the gum.

Gradually reduce the amount of gum you are using over a period of about three months. By this time, you should be taking no more than two or three pieces of nicotine gum a day. Do not continue using the gum for longer than three months.

Most people can use nicotine gum without experiencing any side effects, but adverse reactions sometimes occur. It is possible that the gum may bring on headaches, dizziness, upset stomach, and soreness in the mouth. If these conditions persist consult with your doctor. More severe side effects include seizures and difficulty breathing. If this happens, it is important to seek immediate medical attention.

Thousands of people have found NRT to be an effective aid to quitting smoking. The nicotine replacement method you decide on is a personal preference, but chewing gum has the advantage of being easy to use and providing doses of nicotine when it is most needed.

Manufacturers of nicotine gum include Nicorette and Rite Aid.

Dangers Of Smoking

Almost everybody knows that smoking is bad for the health. Images of blackened lungs line school hallways and hospital waiting rooms, but despite this people continue to take up smoking. This may have to do with the pervasive romantic image of smoking -- an image that has nothing in common with reality.

There are many ways to take tobacco. You can chew it, inhale it through the nose, and smoke it in the form of cigars or cigarettes. No matter how it's taken it is dangerous, but because smoking is the most popular way to consume tobacco it has also received the greatest attention from the medical field and the media.

When a smoker inhales a puff of cigarette smoke the large surface area of the lungs allows nicotine to pass into the blood stream almost immediately. It is this nicotine "hit" that smokers crave, but there is a lot more to smoke than just nicotine. In fact, there are more than 4000 chemical substances that make up cigarette smoke and many of them are toxic.

Cigarette smoke is composed of 43 carcinogenic substances and more than 400 other toxins that can also be found in wood varnish, nail polish remover, and rat poison. All of these substances accumulate in the body and can cause serious problems to the heart and lungs.

Cancer is the most common disease associated with smoking. Smoking is the cause of 90% of lung cancer cases and is related to 30% of all cancer fatalities. Other smoking-related cancers include cancers of the mouth, pancreas, urinary bladder, kidney, stomach, esophagus, and larynx.

Besides cancer, smoking is also related to several other diseases of the lungs. Emphysema and bronchitis can be fatal and 75% of all deaths from these diseases are linked to smoking.

Smokers have shorter lives than non-smokers. On average, smoking takes 15 years off your life span. This can be explained by the high rate of exposure to toxic substances which are found in cigarette smoke.

Smokers also put others at risk. The dangers of breathing in second-hand smoke are well known. Smokers harm their loved ones by exposing them to the smoke they exhale. All sorts of health problems are related to breathing in second-hand smoke. Children are especially susceptible to the dangers of second-hand smoke because their internal organs are still developing. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are more vulnerable to asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, bronchitis, pneumonia, and ear infections.

Smoking can also be dangerous for unborn children. Mothers who smoke are more likely to suffer from miscarriages, bleeding and nausea, and babies of smoking mothers have reduced birth weights or may be premature. These babies are more susceptible to sudden infant death syndrome and may also have lifelong health complications due to chest infections and asthma.

It is never too late to give up smoking, even those who have smoked for 20 years or more can realize tremendous health benefits from giving up the habit.

Use Hypnotic Treatment For Depression

If you are depressed and are looking for ways to cure yourself of this problem, using hypnotic treatment for depression will get you out of this low state of mind by altering your self image and lifestyle for the better. Hypnotic treatment for depression will empower you in general and arm you with the resources you need to come out of your depressed state of mind.

The cause of depression is not primarily biological, even though it is popularly believed to be. This is a myth. All depression is not rooted in biology – only some is. Most of our anxieties, phobias and traumas that lead to depression are based in personal and deeply ingrained beliefs. Hypnotic treatment for depression has the ability to retrain the unconscious mind into learning new behaviors and beliefs that will lead to dispelling depression.

Hypnotic treatment for depression will help to modify the deeply held belief and make change possible. A change of state is crucial to coming out of depression, and the persistent low mood and depressed state of mind can be altered using hypnotic treatment for depression. Hypnosis is deeply involved in the causality and treatment of depression.

The creation and maintenance of a belief system is done via hypnotic phenomena, thus the treatment of depression lies in changing these deeply held beliefs using hypnotic treatment for depression. It is a myth that hypnosis can be dangerous to depressed people; in fact the polar opposite is true as hypnotic treatment for depression helps to cure depression by reaching deep into its roots and eliminating or altering the same. The only and very important exception is for those who are so severely depressed that they are suicidal and/or in a stage of de-compensation.

Hypnotic treatment for depression helps to alter and improve deeply ingrained beliefs about the client’s past, future, present, and even their parents (because the childhood experiences form central part of the depression experienced in adulthood). Perceptions of current events, issues of faith, conflict, insecurities, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness can all be addressed using hypnotic treatment for depression.

Many depressed people go through the additional problems of insomnia, weight problems, stress, smoking, lack of confidence, diabetes, ignorance about how to go about curing their depression, resentment and anger – all of which hypnotic treatment for depression can solve, through diligent and consistent focus and practice.

It is advisable not to jump into all this at once, but take baby steps. First, address the insomnia using hypnotic treatment for depression. Feeling better will lead to a happier frame of mind; move on to more problems, going into deeper and deeper perceptions and experiences until you reach the core of the problem and then solve it using hypnotic treatment for depression.

Most importantly, hypnotic treatment for depression will change your perception regard depression, your own self image, your life and the reasons that make you feel depressed. Hypnotic treatment for depression will help you along, and keep giving you ideas on how to get better, while giving you hope for a better future the whole time.

Lifetime Fitness: On Your Way to a Healthier You

Many people end up abandoning perfectly good fitness programs and weight-loss regimens before they even lace up their sneakers.

Why? Because in a world filled with fast food, instant messaging, and a five-second disease-tracking device, anything without a quick payoff goes against the grain of the typical American instant gratification ethic. While it would be nice to actually drop inches in just a few days like what most miracle ads proclaim, managing weight and losing weight through physical fitness is a slow and steady process that takes time and commitment.

Setting weight management goals for yourself can be a good motivator. Gradual weight loss, for those people who wish to shed off some extra pounds, is usually the safest.

That is why health and fitness experts had come up with the idea of lifetime fitness in order to teach people set realistic goals. These lifetime fitness programs generates dietary regimens that cut your normal calorie consumption for your weight by 500 to 1,000 per day, so will burning the same amount with exercise. In turn, this will definitely encourage healthier weight loss.

Lifetime fitness teaches you how to maintain a physically fit body at the same time enjoy and live a happy, contented life. It gives you the chance to strike a balance between the two (exercise and diet), and make exercise, be it team sports, cycling, or walking, something you will truly enjoy.

That is why lifetime fitness embodies the concept that making a long-term healthy lifestyle change is essential to keeping the pounds off once they are gone.

To know more of the advantages and benefits that lifetime fitness can bring, here are some facts that you need to know:

1. Lifetime fitness programs offers you the most comprehensive and wide-ranging fitness and health encounter with quality services, in which the customers will feel gratified.

These fitness programs provide you the right method in maintaining health, build up and encourage your competence, and take care of your family's physical fitness as well.

2. Because the goal of lifetime fitness is to provide you with long-term achievements as far as physical fitness is concerned, these programs utilizes numerous fitness equipments that will tone and manage your health and the different parts of your body.

There are fitness equipments that will give your cardiovascular system a lift. You can also opt for some sports facilities that will provide you with an alternative way of being physically fit.

3. Lifetime fitness programs and centers also provides nutritional products such as food supplements that will aid in the formation of good blood cells and tissues thereby making your body at its pink of health.

Lifetime fitness centers and programs also provide you with up-to-date fitness magazines that do not only give substantial information about fitness and health but inspirational stories as well. These articles will give you an insight on how to make you life balance and how to live a life that is healthy and fit.

Indeed, staying fit and healthy can be a long and winding road and there are instances wherein you may find your enthusiasm fading occasionally. Nevertheless, with the comprehensive programs provided by lifetime fitness plans, you can start heading back to the right track of a healthier you.

Fight Against Insomnia

By : Kevin Pederson

Lack of sleep may not seem to be a harmful disorder for many, but due to this the body clock and many of its functions go for a toss. There are different types of insomnia that need to be identified and treated accordingly.

Insomnia & ways to avoid it
The lack of adequate and restful sleep can be termed as insomnia. It is not defined by the number of hours a person sleeps but by the lack of it. The inability to fall asleep makes the person prone to other diseases.

Signs and Symptoms
Finding it difficult to fall asleep at night? Well, this could be one of signs. The other sign is you fall asleep but won't be able to sleep at a long stretch; you will keep getting up in intervals. Due to this your morning will be lethargic and fatigued.

Problems faced
As the sleep is incomplete, the day suffers due to this. You are tired and drained out without much to look forward. The level of concentration is very less and you might suffer from other sleep disorder problems like sleep apnea, narcolepsy and restless legs syndrome.

Types of Insomnia
A person is affected by primary or secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia means that the person having sleep problems are not directly related to any other health problems. Secondary insomnia means that the persons sleep is affected by the health problems faced by him. These can be any problems like stomach ache, depression, heartburn, arthritis, asthma and many other diseases.

Insomnia can be classified into three categories short term (acute insomnia), chronic (constant insomnia) and intermittent (on and off). When the short term insomnia occurs on daily basis it would be termed as intermittent. It will be termed chronic when such an occurrence happens every night and lasts for a long time.

Some factors which cause insomnia are
1. Old age
2. Prevalent in female gender
3. Stress
4. Depression
5. Odd working hours
6. Long naps in the afternoon
7. Change in environment/surroundings
8. External noise
9. Jet lag
10. Excessive consumption of caffeine/cigarettes
11. Alcohol and many more.

Some Methods to avoid Insomnia
You may not need any treatment if you have acute or intermittent insomnia. These can be cured with some good sleeping habits. The chronic insomnia can be prevented with some medications recommended by your doctor as well as some relaxation exercises, sleep restriction therapy and reconditioning. The numbers of hours may vary from person to person; some may find it okay to sleep for 6 to 7 hours.

Relaxation Therapy
These are some unique methods to remove or reduce anxiety and other tensions in the body. It helps the person to relax as to gain a undisturbed sleep. This requires practice, but the end result is worthwhile.

Sleep Restriction Therapy
By the name itself it means that you are restricting on you sleep time. It starts with a short duration of sleeping time during the night. As days go by the duration will be increased until the normal sleep time is reached.

Reconditioning
Mind plays an important part as it has to remember the association of bed with your sleeping time. You should not use it for any other activities like reading and etc. The other condition is one should go to bed when one is feeling sleepy. During this process one should avoid naps and go to bed at the same time each day. This would create the link with your bed and sleeping time.

Some good habits to practice

1. Sleeping at the same time each night as well as waking up the same time each day.
2. Avoid stimulants like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before going to bed
3. Regular exercise helps in keeping away insomnia
4. Have a light snack instead of a heavy meal before bedtime
5. Relax yourself by reading a book or listening to music before going to bed
6. Take a warm bath
7. Sleep on a firm bed
8. Drink warm milk or herb tea
9. Sleep on your back
10. Get a massage

The First Step to Successfully Stop Smoking

By : Lill Hawkins

Few things in life are as difficult as stopping smoking. The tobacco addiction has been compared to heroin addiction, though I have talked to counselors who work with heroin addicts and smokers and they have assured me that tobacco addiction, while strong, is not really as powerful or difficult to manage as heroin addiction. But one thing both addictions have in common, in fact, that all addictions have in common, is that once a human being is addicted to a substance, the addiction, though it may be managed, lasts for a life time. So if you are a smoker today you will be a smoker for life. You may stop smoking for years, but if you start to smoke, thinking you will smoke occasionally, then you will soon find yourself right back where you started, wishing you had never tried to smoke a little. It is the same as if you were managing an alcohol addiction, a reformed alcoholic can't take "just one drink," and a reformed smoker can't take "just one puff."

The worst part of stopping smoking is the immediate withdrawal symptoms which may vary from person to person, but are found in almost every incidence of smoking cessation. The first 72 hours are the critical hours when smokers find it the hardest to stick with the stop smoking plan. Therefore, it is important to look ahead and make plans for how you will deal with the symptoms. That should be the first step in your stop smoking program. Ask yourself, "What will I do if I crave a cigarette?" If there are times when you are more likely to smoke, like after a meal, while driving, while out drinking with friends, for instance, then you should plan ahead and think of ways to deal with those situations. Having a clear plan that you can fall back on will make your chances of quitting a lot better.

The old saying, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail," certainly applies to many misguided attempts to stop smoking. One mistake that smokers often make is thinking that they will think of something creative when the time comes to deal with a strong urge to smoke, or they ignore that possibility and disregard the danger of giving in to the urge to smoke. If you don't manage your smoking habit, then your smoking habit will soon be managing you. Isn't that what has been happening all along?

Very few people manage to stop smoking on their first try. It often takes several attempts before the smoker successfully handles the addiction. The reason for this is twofold. First, when you first try to stop smoking you don't know exactly what to expect. You may have heard other people talk about their attempts and experiences, but since no two people are exactly alike, you still don't know for sure how your attempts to stop smoking will feel or affect you. Secondly, since you don't know what it feels like to stop smoking it is difficult to plan ahead for ways that you will deal with cravings and other urges that may occur.

Once you have attempted to stop smoking a few times you will know how your body reacts to nicotine deprivation and the psychological affect of giving up smoking. So it is wise to consider each attempt, whether completely successful or not, as a positive step toward stopping smoking. The first few attempts are trial runs, training efforts, and learning experiences. Each experience, no matter how painful or frustrating, can be looked at as a valuable lesson and that will help to relieve the frustration and disappointment of a failed attempt.

Another valuable resource that should not be overlooked is the advice of people who have been able to stop smoking and professional counselors who help with addictions. Their advice and support can help you to avoid some of the pitfalls. When you decide to stop smoking you are making one of the biggest and potentially life saving decisions of your life, so using every possible aid at your disposal makes good sense. It all starts with a good plan.

Traditional And Natural Cancer Treatment Options

While there's a whole gamut of cancer treatment options available; which is the best one to use depends upon the type of cancer as well the stage that the cancer has reached. Though the prevailing trend is to resort to more traditional cancer treatment options, cancer patients are not restricted to them. There are a variety of alternative and natural options (some new, some old) for treating cancer.

Traditional Cancer Treatment Options

Traditional cancer treatment options are often referred to as cut, poison and burn (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation).

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy, which involves the use of chemical agents or drugs to destroy cancerous cells, forms the core treatment of malignancies. These drugs work by targeting fast-growing cells and the type and combination of drugs depends upon the type of cancer. Though chemotherapy has been proven to be effective, it can give rise to a host of side-effects including hair loss, fatigue, diarrhea, loss of appetite, anemia or low red blood cell count, neutropenia or low white blood cell count, mouth sores and shortness of breath.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy ionizing radiation from varied sources including x-rays, gamma rays, protons and neutrons to shrink tumors and kill cancerous cells. It is used almost half of all cancer patients; either by itself or in combination with other cancer treatments. External-beam radiation therapy, which involves using radiation that is emitted from a machine outside the body is more common than internal radiation therapy, in which a radioactive material is implanted in the body near the tumor or cancer cells.

Surgery

Surgery often entails a biopsy, which is done for diagnostic purposes. Surgery that is done to remove the cancerous tissues is often followed by chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which reduces the risk of the cancer recurring and also to destroy any cancer cells that may be left behind in the affected part of the body.

The kind of surgery depends on which part of the body has been affected by cancer as well as the extent of the cancer. In breast cancer patients the options could include lumpectomy, in which only the lump is removed; segmentectomy, in which part of the breast is removed or mastectomy, in which the entire breast is removed.

Alternative Cancer Treatment Options

Traditional cancer treatment options form only art of the story. An increasing number of health professionals are now exploring alternative cancer treatment options that encompass the whole individual.

Nutrition Therapy

Maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet that includes foods rich in antioxidants and beta-carotene, is the best way to provide your body with the nourishment it needs to fight cancer. Proper nutrition helps minimize nausea and fatigue that are the main side-effects of traditional cancer treatments and are a critical component of the healing process.

Buah Merah or Red fruit, found primarily in the Indonesian island of Papua, has very high levels of anti-oxidants, beta-carotene and tocopherol and offers hope to all cancer patients. Beta-carotene and tocopherol have strong anti-carcinogenic properties and help by boosting the immune system and retarding the growth of cancer-causing cells. Buah Merah also contains Omega 3 and Omega 9 as well as linolenat, oleat, dekanoat and linoleat acids; all of which act as active medicinal compounds and also help in the prevention of diabetes mellitus, heart diseases, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.

Naturopathy

Naturopathy is a system of treatment that focuses exclusively on using the healing powers of nature such as sunlight, water and air. It is supplemented with therapies such as massage as well as a wholesome diet. Naturopathy is by and large a holistic kind of treatment and includes homoeopathy, ayurveda, therapeutic nutrition, hydrotherapy or botanical medicine. It is based on the belief that the body is self-healing and will recover and repair by itself spontaneously if it is given a healthy, conducive environment.

Pain Control

Though, to a certain extent medication can be used to manage pain, Acupuncture is gaining popularity as a means to control the pain experienced by cancer sufferers. The pain could be brought on by the cancer itself or as a side-effect to the cancer treatment. Prevalence and severity of pain depend on the extent, location and type of cancer as well as pain threshold of the person afflicted by cancer.