The Finney School of Real Life

Educating the Information Age

Sudden Hearing Loss

Filed under: The Healthy Way — admin at 8:27 pm on Wednesday, June 25, 2008

In the United States alone, an estimated 4,000 people will develop sudden hearing loss each year. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, sudden hearing loss occurs equally between men and women and most often among those 30 - 60 years of age.

Sudden sensorineural hearing loss refers to a loss of hearing of 30 db (decibels) or more over three adjacent frequencies, as determined by a hearing test, within a three-day period. Often sudden deafness occurs within a matter of hours. Many people who experience sudden hearing loss notice it when they wake up in the morning or when try to use the telephone. The amount of hearing loss can vary, from mild to severe, and it is often accompanied by vertigo, tinnitus or both.

Sudden hearing loss is considered a medical emergency and should be evaluated by a doctor as soon as possible. There are many possible causes of sudden hearing loss; however, the cause often remains unknown even after an evaluation.

Radio personality Rush Limbaugh reportedly had cochlear implant surgery a few years ago after experiencing sudden hearing loss. Cochlear implants are considered a good alternative if hearing loss does not improve and hearing stabilizes in the severe to profound range. Hearing aids are also an option. Rapper Foxy Brown reported experiencing sudden hearing loss while recording in the studio.

Connie Briscoe is a New York Times best-selling author of five novels. You can read more about sudden hearing loss at
Hearing Informer.

Healthy Confidence Builders

Filed under: The Healthy Way — admin at 6:04 am on Monday, June 23, 2008

No one is perfect and different people have to deal with different things in their life. Some things like acne, baldness, bald teeth and other things can greatly affect a person’s confidence. A person with acne may be ashamed and try to hide their face. A person that is going bald may try to cover it up by always wearing a hat. People with bad teeth may avoid social situations and other situations where they have to talk or smile a lot. In essence these people are not able to live their life to the fullest because they spend so much time trying to hide things about themselves.

Luckily, with health advances, treatments for things like acne, baldness, and bad teeth can be treated, usually in a short period of time. Once treated they not only aid people in overcoming a poor physical appearance but they can also give a person a boost in confidence. A boost in confidence from a change in appearance can do a lot for any person. They could be more social and ambitious in every situation. It could improve a person’s job performance and even their love life. So if you are an individual that suffers from one of those problems take some time and find a quality treatment and in a matter of months you could have that boost in confidence like many others have had.

Feng Shui Mistakes to Avoid in the BEDROOM!

Filed under: The Healthy Way — admin at 5:33 am on Monday, June 23, 2008

While considering each individual’s best sleeping direction and avoiding his or her “Lonely Pillow” direction. (Both are determined by your year of birth in relation to your gender.) There are several environmental factors to consider when choosing the position of your bed, such as:

Large MIRRORS - aren’t recommended in the bedroom, because they aren’t conducive to a restful nights sleep. Mirrors reflect light… light is Yang Qi, which is active energy. By reflecting light mirrors stir-up the Qi in the bedroom, where you want the Qi to be more Yin / still and restful. Besides, mirrors could reflect your bedroom activities to the neighbor. This wouldn’t create a feeling of security and safety in the bedroom. Plus, if the mirror is in your “Lonely Pillow” direction, it will cause you to be single.

Headboard against a wall! The wall provides stillness of energy to provide a restful nights sleep. You want the Qi to be still at top of your head. If you angle your bed in a corner, there will be too much movement in the Qi at the top of your head for you to have a good night’s sleep. When there is a window above or behind the head-of-the-bed, be sure the window is closed when you are in bed, because a closed window stops the movement of Qi. After all Qi moves with Wind & Water.

Clear view of the bedroom entrance… without being in-line with door. If you’re in-line with an OPEN doorway, you’ll be hit directly by the Qi coming through the OPEN doorway. I emphasize OPEN, because the majority of Feng Shui books fail to mention that a door must be OPEN for the Qi to move through it. After all doors, like windows, stop the movement of Wind & Water. So if you have no choice but to sleep in-line with the door… CLOSE the door, or at least keep it ajar to direct the Qi away from the bed.

Bathrooms mustn’t be seen from the bed. With bathrooms it is a sanitation issue. Keeping the door closed or at least ajar is the simplest solution. Moving the bed would be another solution.

Sharp corners , caused by oddly shaped rooms, pointed directly at the bed or bedroom door are considered an ‘Angle or Metal Sha’. These cause instability and insecurity to the relationship as well as health problems. Some remedies for this type of sha (negative affect) are rounding the sharp edge off the corner, concealing it with molding, or positioning the bed in another location.

Avoid large exposed beams above the bed , which cause various problems depending on their position. Move beds and other occupied furniture out from under exposed beams. If it is impossible to move the bed, conceal them with an actual flat ceiling or use thick multi-colored tapestry-type fabric by stapling the cloth as if it were an actual ceiling over the bed.

* When the beam is chopping across the body, health problems in that area of the body will develop. Once again we are dealing with the harshness of a direct hit of Qi, which is being directed downwards off the sides of the beam.

* Beam dividing bed between two pillows , from head to toe, the harmony of the union is in jeopardy. The Qi coming down from the sides of the beam could cause separation or divorce.

A bed positioned between two of the unseen energy patterns. To find these unseen energy areas, divide the width and depth of your entire home by three creating a tic-tac-toe type grid. If your body is divided you will have health problems in the region where the two energy patterns bisect your body. When a bed is divided from head-to-toe between the two pillows by an unseen energy grid line, the occupants are sleeping in two different energy combinations… which cause relationship problems. A couple described it best when they said “it’s like we’re sleeping in the same bed in different rooms.” The solution is to move the entire bed into one section of the house grid. Hopefully, the section with the best energy combination.

P.K. Odle’s easy to follow Classical Feng Shui guidance shows you how to improve your Finances, Health & Relationships. Get more tips/articles in her FREE email newsletter, The Feng Shui Advantage MONTHLY! at http://www.fengshuiadvantage.com.

I Pulled A Fast One On My Obese Husband - Now He’s Skinny And Loving It!

Filed under: The Healthy Way — admin at 5:58 pm on Saturday, May 31, 2008

I really didn’t mean to be devious. I was worried about his health and mine. I finally went cold turkey and gave up my two pack-a-day cigarette habit and put on 40 lbs. He weighed 241 lbs. and tried every diet in creation. After being on that famous high-protein diet, bacon and eggs every morning and steak for dinner, he wound up having a triple bypass. I’m usually not a nagging wife, but I knew this kind of eating couldn’t be right. He would tell anyone who would listen how he was losing weight and I wouldn’t leave him alone.

Not being a motivated person, I knew I needed help from a support group. How ridiculous to think my husband would join with me. Do you know how hard it is to find men at these meetings? I couldn’t imagine him getting on a scale every week in front of all these women, so there I was on my own.

The most important fact I learned from my group leader that day is that (we hope not intentionally), husbands, friends and family will try to sabotage you. “Have another helping, it’s good for you!” Sound familiar? I realized this was true when I got home and with renewed excitement I rambled on about my meeting, the interesting diet plan and how they all laughed when I said my goal was to find my cheekbones again. He had this blank stare that said I’m happy for you but if you’re going to do this, I don’t really want to hear about it. He’s not usually the kind that tunes me out like that so I was a bit upset but I knew he really meant it.

At the next weekly meeting, I thumbed through the cookbooks for sale. I purchased the one that had quick and easy menus and lots of comfort food. My thought was that it wouldn’t be necessary to cook something different for the two of us. He would love things like Creamy Broccoli-Topped Pasta, Chicken or Veal with Creamy Mustard Sauce, and luscious sounding soups like Cauliflower au Gratin and Vegetable-Cheddar Soup.

That’s where it all began. The first meal I served was the Chicken with the Creamy Mustard Sauce. We thought we died and went to heaven! When Chubby Hubby raved I just played it cool and told him I purchased a new cookbook. No talk about healthy cooking, not a word about low fat and heaven help me if I mentioned the dreaded word ‘diet’.

Two weeks passed. I noticed my husband was depressed and seemed worried about something. He’s not one to pour his problems out easily. It took time to finally get it out of him. “I’m really concerned about something” he said very seriously. “I’ve lost a lot of weight for no reason and I think there must be something terribly wrong with me.”

Now I know it was cruel for me to laugh, but I had to. When I told him those meals that he was raving about nightly were low in fat and portioned correctly, it took a while to sink in. His plate was as full as always. The difference was that now it was filled with normal portions of meat and more with deliciously seasoned vegetables plus either rice, potatoes or pasta.

We continued to eat well. No gimmicks, no pills, no cabbage soup or grapefruit diets. I relearned the art of cooking and we both have a new respect for food. We’re both looking great. I lost my 40 lbs and more, he now weighs 178 lbs. Please understand that unlike the diet ads on TV, we did not do this in 6 weeks. It’s unhealthy to yo-yo diet. Have patience! After a while we realized that we would also have to change our lifestyle so my svelte husband is out on the treadmill almost every day and I take aerobic classes twice a week and instruct line dancing three times a week. By the way, we’re in our 70’s still eating right and still going strong.

Author is the owner of the website www.healthy-cooking.ideatreasury.com and is a line dance instructor for the Parks & Recreation Dept. For more tips and recipes and to claim your copy of “6 Tips For A Healthy Dinner Out”. This special report features six easy to follow tips for having a healthy dinner at restaurants.

Calms Forte by Hylands

Filed under: The Healthy Way — admin at 12:09 pm on Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Description of Calms Forte

Hyland’s Calms Forte provides natural relief of symptoms of
simple nervous tension and sleeplessness. Hyland’s Calms Forte
is all natural and works without contraindications or side
effects. Easy to swallow tablets are perfect for daytime or
nighttime use.

Ingredients of Calms Forte Passiflora Incarnata HPUS 1X
Triple Strength (Passion Flower), Avena Sativa HPUS 1X Double
Strength (Oat), Humulus Lupulus HPUS 1X Double Strength (Hops),
Chamomilla HPUS 2X (Chamomile), Calcarea Phosphorica HPUS 3X
(Calcium Phosphate), Ferrum Phosphorica HPUS 3X (Iron
phosphate), Kali Phosphoricum HPUS 3X (Potassium Phosphate),
Natrum Phosphoricum HPUS 3X (Sodium Phosphate), Magnesia
Phosphoricum HPUS 3X (Magnesium Phosphate), In a Base of
Lactose, N.F., Calcium Sulfate, Starch (Corn and Tapioca),
Magnesium Stearate.

Suggested Use for Calms Forte

As a relaxant: Swallow 1 to 2 tablets with water as needed three
times daily, preferably before meals. For insomnia: 1 to 3
tablets 1/2 to 1 hour before retiring. Children: 1/2 adult dose.

Additional Information for Calms Forte

Calms Forté is a homeopathic remedy to soothe and calm irritated
nerves and alleviate edginess while nourishing and strengthening
the nerves, encouraging the body to withstand daily stress and
strain. Provide temporary symptomatic relief of simple nervous
tension and insomnia (sleeplessness). 100% natural, no side
effects and non habit forming. For
more details click here!

Green Tea The Secret To Good Health

Filed under: The Healthy Way — admin at 9:27 am on Saturday, March 29, 2008

Green tea has been around for 1000’s of years, and the Chinese
have always known about the many health benefits of green tea.
Now the rest world is catching up and jumping on the green tea
bandwagon.

What makes green tea so healthy? Antioxidants, green tea is
loaded with antioxidants that support your bodies immune system
and helps eliminate harmful toxins from your body. These
powerful antioxidants are so potent that research is showing
that they might even be able to cure cancer.

In addition to being healthy green tea can also help you lose
weight. Green tea has what is called a thermogenic effect on
your body meaning that it makes your body burn more calories
there by causing you to lose weight. In addition many people
feel they get a natural energy boost, and also that they can
think better when taking green tea.

Promoting good health and weight loss are great, but perhaps the
best part is that green tea tastes wonderful. It doesn’t give
you that insulin crash that soda does, and it’s not hard on your
stomach like coffee. You can find green tea in many different
flavors, but stay away from bottled tea because most of the time
it’s filled with sugar or artificial sweeteners. The best way to
buy green tea is in bulk loose leaf form, or if that’s not
available in your area you can substitute it with bagged tea,
but keep in mind that bagged tea is typically lower in quality
than loose tea.

By simply replacing soda, coffee, or any other sugar filled
beverages with green tea you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor
and you will notice a positive change within days.