Thursday, November 20, 2008

Greedy Bastards

My God, the Thanksgiving and Christmas craziness in this country is cranking up again.

I don't know about you, but during this time of the year I often wish I lived alone in a cave in the mountains of Siberia or something.

Does Siberia have mountains?

Hell, I don't know.

But that doesn't matter anyway.

What does matter is the new stuff we have for you on our website.

We have two articles this week that I consider "must reading."

The first one is on the topic of sleeping positions, and I know you'll find it as interesting a read as I did.

We can thank Josh Day for writing that one.

We can also thank Josh for the second article, which deals with the most recent cynical attempt by the greedy bastards in the pharmaceutical and medical establishments to get even healthy people on prescription drugs for life.

Prescription drugs, I might add, that have dangerous side effects.

And if you don't believe me on that one, ask your doctor why you have to have your liver tested regularly when you're on their statins.

Duh.

You have to have your liver tested because statins are so toxic!

And if you still don't believe me, check out the excellent article devoted to statins side effects at The Weston A. Price Foundation website.

Anyway, I'm starting to rant, so I'll put a plug in it and instead let you scroll down to the links and descriptions of the new articles on our website this week.

How Sleep Positions Affect Your Slumber
Lack of sleep, as well as troubled or shallow sleep, can lead to health problems and fatigue during the day. Even if you don't have insomnia, you may not be getting adequate sleep due to your sleeping position.

Healthy People Should Take Statins, Media Says
So says a recent study, funded by the statin drug makers themselves. That's right, healthy people with "normal" cholesterol levels will benefit by taking their drug. Remember Vioxx, anyone?

Five Foods for a Healthy Digestive System
If you have G.I. problems, you may benefit from including one or more of the following five foods in your diet - all of which are rich in nutrients that are particularly important to the health of your digestive system.

Tim Russert: Would Fish Oils Have Saved His Life?
Dr. Jay Cohen writes, Russert had some signs of heart disease and was receiving standard medical treatment. Treatment included medications for reducing elevated blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. These therapies are not particularly useful in preventing sudden cardiac death.

That's it for now.

Chet "Sleep Positions" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com/blog

Monday, November 03, 2008

Talk to Yourself

This beautiful Monday morning I want to share an extract from a comprehensive self-improvement book that I've found useful in my life.

In this extract, you'll learn how to talk to yourself to improve your health.

Whoa!

The book's title is Five Steps to Personal Power and was written by a psychologist named Patrick Ryan.

Here's what Dr. Ryan has to say about self talk...

Even though there are twenty-four hours in a day, I don't believe that all time is created equal. I am convinced that what happens to us during both the first and last ten minutes of each day is inordinately important.

An athlete would not dream of starting a physical activity without first stretching and warming up. Similarly, we need to psychologically stretch and warm up each morning before starting our day. Following is the psychological warm-up that I use every morning.

Wake-Up Stretch

Set your alarm clock for five minutes before you actually need to get out of bed. Or, better, eliminate the need for alarm clocks by learning to auto-suggest a wake-up time when you go to bed at night. In any case, it is important to wake up gently, without feeling rushed. Before you get out of bed, ask (and answer) these three questions:
What do I have to be thankful for?

What do I have to look forward to today?

What can I do today to move me closer to my goals?
If you wake up in the morning and ask a question like "Oh God, another day: why me, Lord?" the super-computer will spend the rest of the day validating those questions. But the opposite is also possible. If you ask questions like, "What do I have to look forward to today?" the super-computer will make every attempt to validate that question. So the choice is really yours: you can either program your super-computer with garbage, or program it with empowering thoughts and questions.

Morning Pep Talk/Mirror Talk

This technique is simple, yet so very powerful, if you try it for even one week, I bet you will see results. Within the first fifteen minutes each morning, put yourself in front of a mirror. Your morning Pep-Talk should be very brief (10-15 seconds), should have some humor in it, and should be positive. You should also make certain that you establish unbroken eye contact with yourself in the mirror.

A sample morning Pep-Talk might go something like this: "Good morning, you good-looking devil. This is going to be a fabulous day, and I'm going to make the most of it. I am really looking forward to working on that project today. I'll be unbeatable."

Another idea is to use a water-soluble pen to write an inspirational or motivational word, sentence, or short quote on your mirror. This kind of "mirror talk" is a surprisingly powerful method to program your super-computer in a positive way.

Note from Chet: I use many of the simple but highly effective self-improvement techniques found in Dr. Ryan's Five Steps to Personal Power and I bet you'd find them helpful too.

Oh, if you have a self-improvement tip you'd like to share, scroll down a bit to the "Comments" link and give it a click and then type away to your heart's content.

Chet "I Talk to Myself Constantly" Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com/blog