Labelling claims

By now many of us are aware of the benefits of a balanced diet and recent claims that go along with support of this. But what of the now numerous claims being made by manufacturers of partially or fully processed foods. Can their claims as stated on the labels be given equal validity? It's a grey area since it boils down to the `care wording' as to how the message is laid out in the first instance, and to which degree does it constitute a medicinal claim. The article `Health claims: food or medicine?' by Choice puts this issue under the microscope to find out how much of what is being claimed by the food consortium's as to it actually being relevant.

Versatile Coconuts

The coconut has long since been part of the stable diet of many cultures, and for good reason. The milk and the flesh of the kernel not only taste great on their own but can be a used to make delicious beverages and even used as an added appealing ingredient in meals. Thai curries are a good example of this since the main ingredient is the milk.

Coconuts enjoy a popularity world wide because of their diversity of useages. However what of their health benefits? Well so far to say that the active ingredient within coconut oil is a saturated fat called lauric acid, and although saturates have been given a bad name lately it is the variety derived from animals that makes this so.

Coconuts are unique within the plant kingdom because of this and also due to it's medium chain triglyceride structure meaning that it is non storable by the body but is in fact used as energy instead. In a nutshell lauric acid once it is `cold pressed' from the coconut flesh, makes it one of the healthiest oils you can consume, with far reaching benefits as stated in the article `Coconut Oil' by Cathy Wong.

It's benefits to our health is a good enough reason to keep it as part of our diet as stated by Dr. Bruce Fife in his article `Coconut Oil is the Healthiest Oil on Earth!' which is taken from his book `The Coconut Oil Miracle'.

Straight from the source?

Unlike many parts of the world tap water in Australia employs very stringent methods in respect to the regulatory contents and purity in maintaining the integrity of the supply that Australians enjoy. However though the addition of Fluoride is very debatable wherein some countries which include Germany and Denmark have banned it's use. Fortunately here in Queensland we do not have it in our supply but for how long will this last. Anyhow thats another story. Anyhow an interesting article published in Essential Baby entitled `What's wrong with a drink from the tap?' raises the issue of the bottled water craze which is sweeping the Western World.

A good point made I thought. Personal need or just marketing hype. Has any studies been carried out to suggest that bottled water is indeed of superior quality than tap water? Or is it a con?

There is nothing new in this idea naturally as the following article `When did people first start drinking bottled water rather than tap water?' clearly shows us, explaining the the history of this habit very well including links to graphs to show the upward marketing trend of `health orientated bottled water drinkers, and again shown here in the first of a three part essay entitled `Bottled Water, Bottled Hype Part 1' shows the ramifications of this escalating habit on our environment and it's subsequent cost to us all. So what indeed is the cost we pay for our bottled water hit? The whole picture is not quite as healthy as one may at first hand imagine.

Pumping the manpower

Testosterone levels are the lifeblood and benchmark for all males, in fact it lies at the very core of the male psyche and what it is to be a man. Both sexual drive and stamina are highly effected by any inclinations in production. With this it makes good sense to not only protect existing testosterone production but also to boost it's levels. The article entitled 5 Easy Ways to Increase Your Manpower by Men'shealth gives insightful reminders to maintaining the male libido and some sound tips with which to achieve this.

Free Implants

The internet media machine just keeps on getting bolder as time moves on. One recent article I came across apart from raising questions has it's supporters and much as it has detractors. Sara Bonisteel's recent report `Web Site Offers Free Breast Implants' for Fox News will certainly raise eyebrows. Wether one considers the online practice of giving away free breast augmentations to young women to be acceptable or not the reality is that it has taken off in a big way and the website in question MyFreeImplants shows quite a healthy Alexa rating of 60,960 (as of the time of writing). It is however a girl popularity driven online community site where male benefactors are charged via membership and messaging fee's, a proportion of which goes to the girl of their interest. Very questionable and only time will tell how this enterprise ventures.

Take heart

Nutritionist and dietition Rena Shukla has always provided us with solid practical advice for health and wellness maintenance, and her latest article `Get the pulse' is no exception. Whilst it is brief it does instill the importance of getting into the habit of keeping a watchful vigilance on our own heart rates. This essential organ can tell us many things about out status in the wellness stakes and should not be overlooked. This is of particular significance should we be taking up an exercise routine after a period of inactivity. So take heart and be considerate to yourself.