Theathens Directory

While the Southern and Southeastern United States have definite seasons, they are not as clearly defined as the Northeast and Midwest. Yet, it’s that time of year again when plants begin their cycle of new growth and cause runny noses and itchy eyes for more than 20% of the population. The pollen producing plants are sending their powder-like particles into the air to fertilize and create new plants.

For many people, it’s the start of their inhalant allergies which are caused by airborne allergens. Sufferers, from the mild to serious, find their eyes, ears, nose, sinuses, throat, voice box, lungs and skins affected to varying degrees depending on the type of plant to which they react.

Symptoms can include: itchy, tearing, burning, swelling eyes; itching, pressure, muffled hearing, popping in the ears; itching, sneezing, congestion, postnasal drip; pain and/or pressure over the cheeks, forehead or between the eyes; scratchy, itchy, sore, dry, hoarse throat; coughing, shortness breath, burning sensation in the chest, wheezing; and rashes, dry skin. If you discover that you suddenly have begun to experience some of these symptoms, you may have a pollen-related inhalant allergy and depending on the severity of your symptoms, you may be able to control it on your own or you may need to visit a doctor. Either way you need to monitor the daily pollen count and track your reactions. This will help you to determine which seasonal plants may be causing your reactions.

Allergen Producing Plants

Here’s a list of the most common pollen producing plants for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas that can help you avoid the plants that affect you the most.

Trees

The nut-bearing trees of the South/Southwest — Maple, Pecan and Walnut — end their pollination by early June. Most of the other trees produce their pollen in March and April annually.

Grasses

Blue, Orchard, Red Top, Timothy, Italian Rye, Johnson, and Bermuda. Grass pollens are the major source of most pollen allergies because their season lasts from May through September (except for Bermuda which lasts through November), and are the most difficult avoid because of the large exposure of grassy areas. Florida also has three indigenous grasses that pollinate from April through October: St. Augustine, Natal and Bahia.

Weeds

With the exception of English Plantain and Yellow Dock weeds (seasonal April through July), most weeds indigenous to the south/southeast don’t begin to bloom and cause allergic reactions until mid-summer through early autumn.

Controlling Your Environments to Avoid the Pollen

You can help to alleviate your reactions immediately and on your own by creating a “pollen-safe” zone within your home, work space and vehicles. You will need to reduce the level of the pollen in the air; control the relative humidity; and “rinse” the pollen agitators out of your nose, sinuses and tissues, and off of your skin.

In your home, make sure that your furnace filters are clean and you are using disposable filters with self-sealing edges that trap and hold allergens and dirty air to provide 100% filtration. Also, remember to change those filters every month. It’s also a good idea to add air vent guards to your heating/air conditioning vents for extra air filtration. When you want to “air out” your house, use temporary window guards that include filters similar to vent guards to keep pollen particles from entering your home. Cleaning carpets and floors with a HEPA vacuum also keeps pollen and dust particles from being released back into the room. Also, using a HEPA air purifier helps to control pollen and other air-borne allergens that enter your home from open doors, clothing, groceries, etc.

You probably only have limited control over your work environment, but you can help reduce the pollen and allergens in the air by using a small HEPA air purifier in your work space, and carry a sinus rinse to reduce nasal irritation. When you’re in your car, there are HEPA air vehicle purifiers you can use that not only help to control the allergens in your car, but also help to control the dust and dirt that accumulate inside. If you travel by plane, there are even portable plane air purifier filters available that fit on the overhead air nozzle above your seat.

If your symptoms are not severe, these simple steps perhaps in combination with some over-the-counter medications such as eye drops, antihistamines and decongestants may give you all the relief you need this spring. However, if your symptoms are severe and are leading to more serious conditions such as upper respiratory tract infections, corneal abrasions, skin infections, diminished hearing, you need to see a doctor in addition to controlling your environment.

No one wants to miss the fun and the fresh air, and there are a couple of quick things you can do so that you can enjoy the outdoors for limited amounts of time. There are comfortable face masks and wearable air purifiers that can help “clean” the external air and filter out the pollens. You also need to wear “breathable” clothing that covers most of your exposed skin, and you want to try to avoid venturing outside on windy days when the pollen is really blowing.

By: Kathryn Jordan

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Kansieo.com

Advertising your insurance agency is an obstinate and expensive course, and it needs an extraordinary bundle of effort to manage this purpose. In order to achieve and gain credit in this high-speed and competitive universe, you will find many other companies that are attempting to find ways to boost their product to gain that cutthroat advantage. It is true that you need to spend money to make money; hence, you have to ensure that you do not fall off the path.

Firstly, you must allot a budget and set off from there prior to settling on a particular marketing strategy. This is because different modes of advertising all have a price.

Some companies offer zip code exclusive endorsement and lead rights, which provide you a unique publicity online. They present an insurance agent directory for their website visitors. As more and more are making use of the internet and looking for insurance through this method, it has become increasingly significant in our society today to be advertising online. A big proportion of people have access to the internet. This is a cost effective way to gain the spotlight on a national and local level.

You have to think of getting your own website if you do not have one for your business. Your own business website adds to your company’s competence and easy accessibility in today’s fast-paced society. It serves as an immediate and easy reference for clients searching for quotes of any kind of coverage. You can easily make a one-page site simply with your business information and perhaps a short story on how you got in to the business of selling insurance. If are willing to take a few more steps forward and create more pages, you may have to get the services of a web developer and SEO expert. Nonetheless, for the meantime, quickly make a webpage if you still do not have one.

By: Cheryl G. Anderson

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health directory

The Front Squat:

As you may have already discovered, the squat is at the top of the heap (along with deadlifts) as one of the most effective overall exercises for stimulating body composition changes (muscle gain and fat loss). This is because exercises like squats and deadlifts use more muscle groups under a heavy load than almost any other weight bearing exercises known to man. Hence, these exercises stimulate the greatest hormonal responses (growth hormone, testosterone, etc.) of all exercises. In fact, university research studies have even proven that inclusion of squats into a training program increases upper body development, in addition to lower body development, even though upper body specific joint movements are not performed during the squat. Whether your goal is gaining muscle mass, losing body fat, building a strong and functional body, or improving athletic performance, the basic squat and deadlift (and their variations) are the ultimate solution. If you don’t believe me that squats and deadlifts are THE basis for a lean and powerful body, then go ahead and join all of the other overweight people pumping away mindlessly for hours on boring cardio equipment. You won’t find long boring cardio in any of my programs!

Squats can be done with any free weighted objects such as barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, or even just body weight. Squats should only be done with free weights – NEVER with a Smith machine or any other squat machines! Machines do not allow your body to follow natural, biomechanically-correct movement paths. You also perform less work because the machine stabilizes the weight for you. Therefore, you get weaker results!

The type of squat that people are most familiar with is the barbell back squat where the bar is resting on the trapezius muscles of the upper back. Many professional strength coaches believe that front squats (where the bar rests on the shoulders in front of the head) and overhead squats (where the bar is locked out in a snatch grip overhead throughout the squat) are more functional to athletic performance than back squats with less risk of lower back injury. I feel that a combination of all three (not necessarily during the same phase of your workouts) will yield the best results for overall muscular development, body fat loss, and athletic performance. Front squats are moderately more difficult than back squats, while overhead squats are considerably more difficult than either back squats or front squats. I’ll cover overhead squats in a future article. If you are only accustomed to performing back squats, it will take you a few sessions to become comfortable with front squats, so start out light. After a couple sessions of practice, you will start to feel the groove and be able to increase the poundage.

To perform front squats:

The front squat recruits the abdominals to a much higher degree for stability due to the more upright position compared with back squats. It is mostly a lower body exercise, but is great for functionally incorporating core strength and stability into the squatting movement. It can also be slightly difficult to learn how to properly rest the bar on your shoulders. There are two ways to rest the bar on the front of the shoulders. In the first method, you step under the bar and cross your forearms into an “X” position while resting the bar on the dimple that is created by the shoulder muscle near the bone, keeping your elbows up high so that your upper arms are parallel to the ground. You then hold the bar in place by pressing the thumb side of your fists against the bar for support.

Alternatively, you can hold the bar by placing your palms face up and the bar resting on your fingers against your shoulders. For both methods, your elbows must stay up high to prevent the weight from falling. Your upper arms should stay parallel to the ground throughout the squat. Find out which bar support method is more comfortable for you. Then, initiate the squat from your hips by sitting back and down, keeping the weight on your heels as opposed to the balls of your feet. Squat down to a position where your thighs are approximately parallel to the ground, then press back up to the starting position. Keeping your weight more towards your heels is the key factor in squatting to protect your knees from injury and develop strong injury-resistant knee joints. Keep in mind – squats done correctly actually strengthen the knees; squats done incorrectly can damage the knees.

Practice first with an un-weighted bar or a relatively light weight to learn the movement. Most people are surprised how hard this exercise works your abs once you learn the correct form. This is due to the more upright posture compared with back squats. To see photos of proper form on the front squat, visit http://truthaboutabs.com/Front-Squats.html.

By: Mike Geary

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body exercises

Acne is a very complicated problem of our times. Treat it wrong and it could even ruin your life. The worst part of it is that it appears when you least expect it. Whether you are a child or an adult you always have to be ready when acne will strike. Among any types of acne the worst is when it appears on your face, because it ruins a person’s aspect for good.

Acne is not so bad if you think that is temporary, but the scars that it leaves behind remain for life on your skin. The way to deal with it is to use a natural acne treatment to clear pores inside out, without trying to pop the zits. Rubbing the spots would make your acne worse leading to scarring. The natural products are the way around that, the good way.

The skin on your face is one of the most sensitive on your body as well as the most exposed to bacteria and dirt. The products for skin care are a very varied category. There are so many products for acne on the market that could confuse any person concerning the treatment they should choose. Nowadays even doctors aren’t trusted as they used to be in the past; their sincerity is doubtful because of the amount of money in this business. The manufacturers pay them very well to promote their products, even though they might not work.

In our days the society is based on making money, more or less fairly. So, think twice before believing the ones who try to sell you the so called “magic pills”. The natural acne treatment does it’s job very well as well as it has no side effects. To make a natural acne treatment work you only have to be patient, follow the treatment step by step and wait for the result to appear.
There are some products that are meant for face pores treatment.

These have to be used very carefully: doing it excessively it would aggravate your condition, not using the necessary quantity it won’t do it’s effect. This kind of products divide in two categories: face wash products and treatments the work inside out to clear pores. Using them in parallel as well as constantly, but not excessively, there are chances to get rid of acne off your face in no time and for good. And the good parts don’t end here; you won’t have to suffer from any side effects.

I would lie if I say that it has no bad parts, but there is a small price for a great result. The results don’t appear over night and of course there are products that work faster, but none of those cures acne for good and with no side effects.

You only have to stick to the treatment day by day and wait for the results to appear. You won’t have to worry that you will isolated, moreover you become the envy of all those so called “friends”.

By: Jojo Michelle

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Caffeinated Content

The difference between body acne and face acne is that most people don’t see your body acne, but you know it’s there, haunting you every night. The big problem with body acne is that it doesn’t get treated like your face acne does. The methods you need to use to treat your body acne are very similar to your face acne, only you’re applying them to the rest of your body. Here you’ll learn 3 great ways how to get rid of body acne.

1. Clean away clogged up pores around your body

Do yourself a big favor and go buy a good body scrubber. In the shower, use a body wash that’s specifically designed to remove body acne. There are some good brands out there selling these types of body wash. Here’s an added tip: use almond oil on your body scrubber and body wash. The oil is for moisturizing your skin while the body wash removes acne. It’s a win win when you use almond oil and an acne body wash.

2. Apply a fresh minty toothpaste to your body acne

This method works great for face acne, as does with body acne as well. Once you are out of the shower, dry yourself up and apply some fresh toothpaste to your body acne. Let it sit there for about 20 minutes, then rinse it away. A good thing to do at this point is use a cotton pad and gently remove any toothpaste and dirt still on your acne, you’ll find there’s still dirt in your pores even after all this. Use a skin toner on the cotton pad and you’ll be clean and fresh.

3. Moisturize your body

It’s vital to use a moisturizer after all this or else your body will think it’s drying up and produce oils that may cause more acne. This tricks your body into thinking it’s already oily and will not produce any more oil. Use a moisturizer that is oil free, there are plenty of these in the market.

Keep in mind there are no instant fixes to body acne and you will need to maintain clean and healthy skin even after you’ve cleansed away the acne on your body. It’s recommended to apply these techniques 3 times per week once you’ve eliminated your body acne.

By: Ernie Mata

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Create a video blog

This article in the series on Cancer Diet explores the importance of fibre.

Fibre’s role in the body is to assist in the timely expulsion of waste matter from the bowel. If this waste matter stays put for too long, the body starts to reabsorb the antigens and toxins from the bowel bacteria through the gut wall.

One of the easiest ways to tell if you are getting enough fibre is to inspect your stools. Sounds most unsavoury, I know, but all you need to do is see whether they float or sink in the toilet. If they are floating you are getting enough fibre, if they sink you are not.

The reason a good cancer diet will address the need for good elimination is that as the body fights the cancer it produces even more waste matter. This puts a very heavy load on the elimination systems. If the bowels are clogged up as well, then the body struggles under a highly toxic load. This in turn takes much needed resources away from healing functions. Of course, if the patient is also having chemotherapy treatment, good elimination is even more crucial.

In a well managed cancer diet, there will already be a good proportion of raw foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. These raw foods are one of the best sources of natural dietary fibre.

Other much touted remedies such as psyllium husks can be very helpful, but it is preferable to get your fibre directly from your foods, which also contain other elements such as enzymes that help digestion.

Water is also absolutely critical for good bowel function, assisting in the flushing of the bulk material and the toxins that accumulate there. Absolutely no point in upping the fibre content then depriving the body of water so that it all becomes a big plug!

Many medications can cause constipation so be on the lookout for this side effect when starting any new ones. Also high levels of calcium and low thyroid hormones can play havoc, so if you continue having constipation after increasing your fibre and water content, make a beeline for your doctor. Constipation has far too many negative side-effects to allow it to continue too long.

Just a quick PS – every cancer diet should include pears, as they are full of fibre, water and highly nutritious to boot. If you are constipated, a full ripe pear on an empty stomach first thing in the morning followed by a glass of water has a very good chance of doing the trick!

By: Marilyn Bennett

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