Tuesday, December 25, 2007

A study published in BMC Psychiatry, an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed research articles, found that taking vitamin B12 may be helpful in treating depression.
The research, completed by Kuopio University in Finland, monitored 115 outpatients over a six-month period, measuring the levels of B12 in their blood before and after treatment. They found that those with higher levels of vitamin B12 in their blood during both measurements, responded better to treatment. The research suggests that supplementing vitamin B12 may enhance the effectiveness of anti-depressants.
The results were considerable, even when taking other influences into account, such as family history, as well as drinking and smoking habits.
Vitamin B12 is imperative to normal red blood cell formation and tissue and cellular repair, as well as DNA synthesis. A deficiency in this essential vitamin can lead to an oxygen-transport disorder known as pernicious anemia. Pernicious anemia can cause irritability, confusion, mood swings, hallucinations and mania. A deficiency in vitamin B12 takes three to five years to develop, since a large supply is stored in the liver.
The researchers noted that it may be possible that B12 is needed to produce monoamines, amine compounds containing one amino group, functioning as a neurotransmitter that regulates mood. Shortages of monoamines are thought to be related to depression. Another hypothesis is that a vitamin B12 deficiency causes a build up of homocysteine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, which could enhance depression.
7,000 lives are taken each year by suicide in the UK and Ireland, and seven out of ten recorded suicides are due to depression. Another concern is that many cases of depression are neither recognized nor treated, making these numbers even higher.
A lack of B12 has been associated with many medical conditions, such as anemia and Alzheimer’s. B12, like many other vitamins can be found naturally in most animal products, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs and milk and milk products.
Although the research had a positive and substantial outcome showing that those with higher levels of B12 vitamin in their bloodstream benefited most from anti-depressant treatment, more studies are needed to prove that taking a vitamin B12 supplement could treat depression.
The author of this article is Tim Moore, writing for Vitamins Stuff, a site that offers information on Vitamins and Alternative Medicine.


How To Stop Your Snoring
What is snoring? How to Solve this problem?
Some vibrating sound originating from respiratory tract due to obstructed air
movement during breathing while sleeping is known as snoring.
Snoring is nothing but a vibration takes place in the path which connects mouth and
nose.
snoring usually emerges from either nose or mouth and some times through both.
Causes,
Weakness of throat due to which the throat closes while sleeping.
Due to some allergies.
Fat gets deposited inside the throat.
Some obstruction in the nasal passageway.
Snoring cure is possible through proper treatment. You can go for surgery to solve
the problem you encounter, but it is advised that there are lots of ways to get cured
and the sufferer can try them first.
Some of the Treatment methods are:
Drug Therapies
Devices
Appliances
Lifestyle Changes: Diet
Lifestyle Changes: Exercise
Sleeping Positions
Alternative Therapies

List of Some Devices used for Stopping Snoring are,
The “Sandler” Pillow™
The Snore Ball
Sleep Position Monitor
Nasal Strips
Nasal Dilators
Throat Sprays
Snore Stopper
These devices may be available at local stores and at online sites.
Following is the list of the health factors that can contribute to snoring:
Allergies may clog the airway and trachea
Allergy medications, may dry the nasal cavities
The airway may be clogged due to Cold and Flu
Some of the nasal sprays may irritate the nasal passageway
Enlargement of adenoids and tonsils
swelling of the an ineffective thyroid gland

Drinking alcohol sedates the throat muscles and causes them to collapse
The upper airway is inflamed by Cigarette smoking
Many people think that snoring is not a physical problem. In fact snoring is a
physical as well as an emotional problem. So take proper treatment, get cured and
lead a happy life.


Food Entertainment
A proper, even if occasional, detox diet is necessary to relieve our bodies of harmful toxins and chemicals, and maintain a healthy, normal, and long-lived life.
Food retailing is going through a global revolution. On one side of the equation companies such as Walmart, Aldi and Liedl are gaining market share as local commodity food retailers.
As one of the most common causes of lethargy is constipation, learn more about colon detox today.
Where does this leave the independent food retailer and does he have a future? If you ask Pete Luckett of Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada, the answer is a definite yes. As the food giants move the industry in one direction, the independent retailer has no choice but to move in the opposite direction and to make food shopping an entertaining experience.

Pete started his retail life as a �barrow boy� selling fruit and vegetables in the English town of Nottingham. Having toured the world he ended up residing in the Atlantic provinces of Canada where he opened his award winning �Pete�s Frootique�.
Pete�s philosophy is simple; provide an entertaining experience and top quality product and your customers will keep coming back.
It�s about people
Pete�s philosophy is that you need to show you care about people if you are to compete with the mass food retailers.
As a consumer visiting Pete�s retail outlet you are guaranteed to be greeted at the entrance by a team member in top hat and tails. Steve the piano player will play your favourite tunes on his piano which is positioned on a stage above a display of fruit.
It�s not all gimmicks to entertain you
Pete employs a nutritionist to provide professional information on health related issues and each week team members attend product knowledge training sessions to ensure they can pass on product benefits to customers.
Pete is committed to building a team, his internal customers are as important as his external customers. Interviews to hire team members take place at 7.00am as a test to see if potential team members can get to work on time. The interview concentrates on checking the potential team member�s personality. Technical knowledge can always be learned, personality is an ability that is essential to become a member of a team.
Retail is detail
Pete�s Frootique is a theatrical experience, customers are directed through a �boutique� store layout.
On the journey they pass by �The English Butcher�, �The French Deli�, a bakery and an English product shop which stocks many of Pete�s favourite products from when he was in Britain.
On the consumers journey they pass by theatrical props displayed in the ceiling as well as tasting stations that entice consumers to try new fruits and vegetables from around the globe.

If you suffer with acne, or if your skin is dull, rough or blotchy, a detox could be exactly what you need. Other symptoms of toxic overload can be lethargy and frequent headaches or simply feeling below par. Detoxing will not only help your skin but the other major elimination organ, the liver. In fact your whole system will benefit!
Pete has one of the smallest advertising budgets in the industry. He rarely advertises in local newspapers, but has one of the most effective marketing strategies in the industry.
Pete has authored three books on fruit and vegetables, their origins and unique ways of cooking them.
He regularly appears on the national Canadian TV as a food expert and has a two minute segment on the national lifestyle program just before the weather report. These segments can include how to identify when mangos are ripe to how to cook new potatoes to preparing celeriac and beetroot soup.
Pete has a regular thirty minute documentary program on the Food Channel. Each episode takes one fruit or vegetable and follows its origins, how it is grown commercially and unique ways of preparing and cooking the produce. Programs have been produced on mangoes, macadamias, kiwi fruits and truffles.
Pete is also a motivational speaker. I have shared the stage with him at retail conferences in Canada, USA and the United Kingdom. His enthusiasm is contagious and an excellent advertisement for his business.
Effective retailing
Consumers don�t just visit Pete�s Frootique because it is a fun place to go. They visit because he and his team are excellent retailers.
Power displays are built with skill based on years of experience. The team know how to effectively dummy displays, so that a little can look a lot. Endcaps are used throughout the store and cross merchandising ensures that they maximise the basket spent per customer.
Branding is critical
The brand �Pete�s Frootique� is precious to Pete and his team. The logo is evident outside the business, on all team members� business cards and on all signs used to promote products. Every customer is constantly aware of what business they are in.
Pete is fully aware that all his customers have to go to a supermarket to finish off their weekly shop. He has secured the position as the expert on fruit and vegetables and the company that cares about the customer where consumers can enjoy shopping. This is a truly unique experience that customers talk about to their friends.
Pete and I have produced a training video �Winning at Retail� based on Pete�s Frootique. Its aim is to act as a training tool for retail team members on how to develop an experience in a retail environment. This video is available via our web site www.johnstanley.cc
If you have the opportunity to visit Canada, put Pete�s Frootique on your itinerary. You won�t be disappointed.
Detox methods include dietary changes, fasting, supplements, exercise, yoga/meditation, improving the environment (using CFC-free hairsprays, for example), New Age methods include aromatherapy, salt bath, skin brushing, etc.