Health related information and news from around the world.

The perfume/fragrance industry has grown rapidly. Women used concentrate perfumes for very special occasions 30 years ago. Today eau de parfum and eau de toilette varieties, as well as concentrates, are splashed on every day by many women. The smell of flowers or exotic and heady fragrances is one way some women project sexiness and confidence. This is clever marketing from the perfume houses, and has unfortunate consequences for those allergic to strong fragrances. Remember that no-one needs a lot of perfume during the day. In the evening, when the mood is more conducive to romance you may use the fragrances more. Scent signalling will occur naturally anyway, perfume or no perfume.

As is the case with their primate cousins, women have a different vaginal smell when they are ovulating than when they are not. Some women worry they don’t smell clean, sweet or feminine enough at all times and have succumbed to the use of vaginal sprays. This is confusing for males and confusing for the body. Men instinctively like, and are aroused by, the variety of genital smells. So keep clean and let that be sufficient perfume in the genital area.

Men, please consider the aroma of your body too. Be clean. Use aftershave lotions and colognes if you want but keep in mind that less is more. Don’t splash on aftershave. It is as much a turn-off as women overdoing the perfume spray. And please use deodorant, and make sure you change your shirt and underwear every day.

When a survey of sex appeal was carried out in 200 different cultures, it was discovered that clean skin was the single most important feature. It is a powerful erotic signal for our species. Scent signalling is powerful, erotic, inexplicable and positive.

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Yellow is an intense colour and suggests fun, happiness, pleasure and some intellectual stimulation. A bedroom decorated with a large amount of yellow indicates a relationship based on a more mental form of communication, rather than being based on a purely physical or emotional relationship.

With yellow predominant, especially a bold yellow, you are likely to be a perfectionist who is very critical of yourself as well as others. The inner you loves a challenge is always welcome, otherwise you feel easily bored.

When you earn for yellow you |are broad-minded and rarely have any inhibitions, although there may be more talk than action in the bedroom.

You may actually spend more time analysing and talking about your sex life than actually participating in it. You are an inquisitive person who asks a lot of questions.

Bright yellow or intense yellow is best not used in large amounts in a bedroom as it can create anxiety and keep the mind too active, both of which are not conducive to restful sleep. It’s best to choose a very pastel version such as cream, buttercup, pale lemon, or pale golden yellow, or use it in a very small quantity. Alternatively, complement strong yellow with deep blue, deep green or deep purple to reduce its stimulating impact.

Bright yellow is often combined with other primary colours in a Contemporary style bedroom and usually only chosen by young adults or children who seem better able to handle the energy of this colour.

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The female Town and Country bedroom may have the natural, casual, textured look or it may have the country cottage look of cotton fabrics with small floral prints such as the Laura Ashley prints, the French provincial look or the natural look. Comfort is of prime importance. She likes natural, light-to medium-coloured, stained or painted timber furniture and a mix of textures. Bedroom colours will range from neutrals to pastels to mid colours. Cane and wicker often appear in the bedroom. Several comfortable cushions on the bed complete an inviting picture. However the cushions will not be absolutely perfectly placed the way a Classic would neatly arrange bed accessories. Several comfortable cushions on the bed complete an inviting picture.

A male Town and Country bedroom will have lots of texture in the fabrics with an emphasis on natural colours of cream, white, beige or brown. There will be a lot of natural, light coloured timber furniture. It will be a welcoming and comfortable room inviting you to enfold yourself in the security and cosiness of its soft and comfortable style. The bed will be made but to a Classic it looks messy and untidy. Visual perfection is not a priority to them.

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In discussing the Fantasy bedroom we are referring to an adult’s bedroom, not a child’s room. This style will be a little ‘out of this world’, an escape from reality. The form of the escape depends on the type of fantasy involved. The person with this style of bedroom is obsessive, creative and individual, who uses their bedroom and their intimate life to escape from the practical and everyday issues of life. They have very high and unrealistic ideals and are disenchanted with their own reality so the intimate world of their bedroom gives them a chance to pretend for a while. For a brief moment the romance of another time or another whether it be in the past or the past or the future, becomes their reality.

With each type of Fantasy style, there is an underlying base of one of the other styles. The ethereal type is often a Romantic or a Creative, while the futuristic type is often based on Contemporary or Dramatic. The impossible ideal type may be any one of the other styles. With maturity or a change in their circumstances such as marriage, the Fantasy person reverts to their basic style.

As each type of fantasy is quite different, it is not possible to give general guidelines to identify this style, except to say the bedroom decor reflects the fantasy and is totally recognisable when you see it.

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For the female Practical, the best way to a successful evening of seduction begins earlier in the day when you help with the housework. Help her with the dishes or the cooking, vacuum for her, assist her with the practical duties she must complete before she can relax and receive pleasure. With your help, she will not be so tired at the end of the day and more willing to participate in a sexual adventure. A potted flowering plant rather than fresh flowers is a good way to show her you care. Her practical nature may think flowers a waste of money. An appropriate gift of her favourite chocolates from time to time will also be well received. Don’t expect her to wear romantic lacy underwear and lingerie. It will be simple, comfortable, practical and clean, in basic colours of neutrals such as white, beige or grey, or in blues or greens. Turn down the lights to create a soft subtle atmosphere. loving to her, get her in the mood for pleasure. Perhaps a gentle massage, to remove the stresses of her day. Keep foreplay simple, but don’t rush it. Once she is relaxed, she will enjoy whatever you have in mind for her.

Responsibilities weigh heavy for the Practical man. Lighten his load if you can. Of course he enjoys sex (what man doesn’t) but can become set in his ways. Get him out of his pyjamas and break his normal going to bed routine. Comfort and security are the basis of his existence. Sometimes stir the pot. The Practical man might not know how to get out of the usual routine, so

You’ll have to be the one to vary it. Use your imagination and creative abilities to inspire changes in foreplay and seduction with him. Show him there are other ways – he will enjoy it. Begin his seduction by encouraging him to stop working a little earlier than normal for one day. The world won’t fall apart just this once. Prepare his favourite meal at home and remember his favourite dessert. That’s sure to put him in the right mood. Spontaneity is uncomfortable for him, so preparation is the key to success. Tell him what you have planned so he can get used to the idea first. Make it special, but not too far out of his comfort zone.

Good news: share the tasks, plan the seduction and you are in for a good time.

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Positivism has the opposite effect. When we consciously place our awareness on love-based beliefs and thoughts, we begin to see the world as a loving, friendly, non-threatening place. Our focus is on the immediate here and now. By zeroing in on the present moment, we are able to let go of the past and all its guilts and resentments, and we realize that whatever the future may bring, we are perfectly capable and confident of being able to handle it.

We also discover that we already have everything we need to enjoy the present moment. Hence, right now, at this moment there is nothing we need or want. As a result, we feel content and we begin to experience inner peace. In the process, we suddenly realize we are no longer judging or condemning others. This, in turn, leads us to forgive everyone whom we once believed had harmed us in some way.

We begin to see everyone as our sister and brother and we begin to love everyone unconditionally. We begin to accept everyone the way they are and we ask no changes of anyone. We begin to experience a wonderful feeling of oneness with every person and living thing. The concept of feeling separate from other people disappears and with it, any feelings of loneliness.

On this higher level of consciousness, often called the inner self, the higher mind or self-realization, we feel calm and content and we experience an almost constant happiness and joy. Herbert Benson, M.D., defined this state as the relaxation response, the opposite of the fight or flight response. When both mind and body are relaxed, immunocompetence is maximized. Risk of catching a cold or flu is minimal and the severity and duration of any infection that might occur is reduced to the minimum. Risk of getting cancer and most other diseases is also at the lowest possible level.

Furthermore, studies have shown that within an hour of switching from fear-based to love-based beliefs and thoughts, the ability of the immune system to manufacture antibodies is dramatically increased. For example, a 1983 study by Dr. David McClelland, a Harvard psychologist, tested the immune reactions of one hundred volunteers after they were first shown a movie about Mother Teresa depicting love, humor and compassion, and then another about Hitler depicting hate and violence. Results clearly showed that positive emotions created by watching Mother Teresa boosted the presence of antibodies in the volunteers’ saliva while negative emotions resulting from the Hitler movie suppressed antibodies.

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According to the World Health Organization, herbal products still provide primary health care for 80 percent of the world’s population. Even in the U.S., some $8 billion is spent every year on plant-derived medications.

Many plants contain chemicals that have been scientifically validated for use in OTC and prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical companies frequently search among herbs for new drug sources.

Herbs, of course, are widely used in homeopathic medicine. Homeopathy is a healing system in which naturally-occurring herbs and other substances arc used to stimulate immunocompetence and other body defense systems. A homeopathic physician uses a patient’s symptoms to make a “symptom profile.” He then matches it with a medicine having a similar profiler-implying that the medicine has produced similar symptoms in a large number of patients.

Most cold or flu symptoms are produced by the body’s defensive reaction to the virus rather than by the virus itself Hence homeopathy treats the host father than the virus. Specifically, a homeopathic physician will treat the host’s underlying basic vulnerability, which translates into enhancing the immune system and other body defenses which may have been weakened.

Only a homeopathic physician has the skill to match a cold sufferer’s “symptom profile” with a medication having similar properties. However, if you have access to a homeopathic physician and your cold or flu is severe enough to warrant homeopathic intervention, you will find a wide range of natural remedies available.

Although many of them may be prescribed only by a homeopathic doctor, many other common herbal remedies can provide soothing relief from colds, flu and other respiratory disorders. A brief rundown of those most highly favored by herbalists follows.

The favored way to take most herbs is in the form of a tea. Simply make a fairly strong brew, equivalent to suffusing one tea bag of black tea in a cup of boiling water. However, some herbs such as cinnamon, garlic, pepper, mustard and radish may also be taken in food. Under no circumstances try to smoke herbs to clear congestion or to relieve any other respiratory symptoms. Regardless of its source, smoke is a harsh irritant that will inhibit cilia action and inflame the mucous membranes.

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Soon after beginning to exercise, for example, the adrenals secrete epinephrine, a hormone that stimulates immunity. Studies in athletic medicine have noted a clearly-defined relationship between vigorous physical exercise and an increase in resistance to infection. Several studies have dearly indicated that physically-active people have a significantly lower rate of cancer than sedentary people. It is speculated that exercise stimulates antibody production and also relaxes the arteries, allowing more blood to reach nasal passageways.

While the link between nutrition and stress is not quite as well defined, it has been shown that under stress, the body consumes key nutrients more rapidly than most diets can replace them. These deficiencies then inhibit replication of white cells and antibodies in the vast numbers required to launch a counterattack against invading infections.

For example, vitamin C increases interferon in the blood stream, and is believed to stimulate interferon production by infected cells. Vitamins A and E, and the entire B-complex, all provide essential nutritional support to a beleaguered immune system as do such key minerals as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc.

Even though colds and flu are confined to the respiratory tract, they set off an immune response that affects not only the entire body but the Whole Person. The way we respond to events in our lives, and the extent to which we exercise and the way we eat, have more to do with shortening the duration of a cold or flu than any therapy which focuses only on the infected area.

In fact, whatever we do to enhance the fitness and health of either body or mind fortifies the immune system also. The immune system exactly mirrors the health of our body-mind continuum. When we feed and care for our bodies, and when we seek peace and contentment instead of emotional turmoil, our immunocompetence attains its optimal peak.

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STEP THREE: BEGIN TAKING NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS

Both smoking and alcohol seriously impair immunocompetence and increase risk of further viral and bacterial infection. You should also try to cut out coffee and minimize intake of other caffeine-containing beverages such as black or green tea, hot chocolate, cocoa and most cola drinks. However, you may make an exception of an occasional cup of green or black tea with lemon if it makes you feel better.

Many cold sufferers have a deficiency of vitamins A and C and the mineral zinc. Lack of these nutrients hinders production of immune system components needed to destroy invading viruses.

Begin by taking 10,000 IU of vitamin A. If unavailable in supplement form, you could take a tablespoon of cod liver oil followed by consumption of two medium-sized raw carrots. Slice the carrots into sticks and munch them all before bedtime.

Simultaneously, take one gram of vitamin C. Every two and a half hours thereafter, while you are awake, take an additional 500 mg.

Also begin to take one 50 mg. zinc gluconate lozenge every two hours while you are awake. Be careful not to chew or to swallow the lozenge but allow it to dissolve slowly in the mouth, a process which may take ten minutes or so. All of these nutrients are available in health food stores.

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Psychologists have also learned that we can feel any way we want to feel at any time by placing an appropriate thought in our mind. Should a negative thought intrude on our inner video screen, we can easily slide it off. And we can then replace it with a positive visualization, such as a tropical beach scene, before the negative thought has had time to trigger a headache-producing emotion.

In contrast, once a negative emotion has pervaded our consciousness, the strong feelings and upset that it causes can rule us for hours, preventing rational thought and causing us to lash out at people with whom we have close relationships. The result is that we often end up with a tension or migraine headache. Thinking a thought, incidentally, is the same as creating a mental image, or making a mental picture, or visualizing something. Each of us has complete personal control over our thoughts. For example, close your eyes and visualize a red rose; then picture a snow-capped mountain peak; then a dog.

Were you able to see these objects in your mind’s eye? Great! Then this proves that you have the ability to replace thoughts about a rose with alternative thoughts about mountains or dogs. And so it is with negative thoughts that provoke headaches. We can easily slide any negative thought out of our mind and replace it with a more positive thought.

While thoughts can be changed in a split second, it is much more difficult to change a negative feeling.

Think a thought or make a mental picture or visualize an image of a friend or neighbor who has a more exciting spouse, a larger house, a more prestigious job, and a more luxurious car than you do, and you’ve set yourself up for strong feelings of envy and possibly resentment. Within a few minutes, these negative feelings will start low-level stress mechanisms simmering and you will begin to feel tense, uncomfortable and upset.

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