Getting The Message Across

If you are someone who uses chat programs such as AIM, ICQ, Yahoo messenger, MSN, or Googletalk and have a lot of online friends, it can be a great way to get people to read your blog and to leave comments on it.

 

As it is with your signature on your email, you don’t want to just send an instant message to people every time you update your blog. You also don’t want to simply send a message to someone asking to read your blog.

 

For someone who has been on your friends list for a while, you can be less formal of course, but you want to be polite when you talk to people who you may have not talked to in a while or someone who is new.

 

Use your own judgement when you are chatting with people about your blog. If it’s someone that you haven’t talked to in a while, and someone asks you what you have been up to, you can point them to your blog so that they know what is going on with you.

 

Some blogs, like LiveJournal, have their own messaging program, so that’s also another good way to advertise your blog.

 

Be certain that you don’t send someone a message though only to advertise your blog. It’s more polite to say something about their blog first, and then tell them about your blog.

 

If you have a common interest, it’s a good ice breaker and it will give you something to talk about.

 

How Blogging Brings Fame: Helping Your Business Get Famous Through Blogs

If you have an online business and that you know that you are really selling great products, but no one's visiting your website, it might be because you lack something, which is advertising.

 

If you really want to make your online business a success and really sell the products or services you are selling, then you need to let people know how you

feel about the product. You need to let them believe in your product as much as you do.

 

One way to do this is through blogging. It may sound a bit ridiculous but you have to understand that blogging brings fame. It can literally help your online business go from zero to a winner.

 

First of all, you may ask the question on how blogging can help your business grow. Even though you might know blogging as an online personal journal, you have to consider that this can become a marketing tool that can help your online business.

 

You have to remember that millions of people visit the internet on a daily basis. And, there is a good chance that some of these people may come across your blog and read it.

 

The key here is to market the product you are selling passively. Don’t be too aggressive as people may think that you are desperate in selling a particular product. Instead, try marketing it passively and slowly getting in to people's heads as well as slowly selling them the product. Before they know it, they already brought the product you are selling.

 

Pre-selling is the key. You first need to make them believe in the product through blogs. How? Write about the products and describe it. You have to put all the things you know about the products you are selling. You have to make people see how good it is and why they should have it.

 

How you write about the product is up to you. But, you need to remember that in order for a blog to be a success, people should obviously read it. There are quite a lot of techniques to write a successful blog.

 

However, here are the basic techniques that you should know.

 

First, you will need an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

 

The introduction as well as the title is one of the most important parts of a blog or an article. These two parts are where you need to work hard on in order to make people read the entire blog. The titles as well as the introduction of your blogs should be able to catch the attention of readers. In the introduction, you need to put in things that will give people a reason to keep on reading and move on to the second part of your blog which is the body.

 

In the body, this is where you pour in all your knowledge about the product. Don’t just say you are selling the product and that they should buy it in order for you to make some money, but you have to give them a much better reason on why they should buy it.

 

This means that you need to describe the products individually and in detail and that it should be simple to read. Try putting in some of your experiences with the product.

 

The last part of the blog is the conclusion. You just basically need to recap on all the things you said on the body of the blog and again, you have to put in why they should purchase the product.

 

These are some of the tips that you should know about blogs and how blogging brings fame. By writing a blog about the products you are selling, which is also simple to read, to the point, informative, and entertaining, then you can be sure that people will start visiting your online business website and start purchasing whatever it is you're selling.

 

Blogging Brings Fame: How Fame in Blogging Can Bring You Success in the Internet

It is a fact that a lot of people today make blogs and has their own blogging websites. Some are registered in free blog hosting websites, while there are others who makes blogs in paid blog websites. Whatever you use, you will see that blogging is indeed enjoyable as you will be able to write about absolutely anything and everything you want to discuss. And, blogging brings fame.

 

Blogging is not just an online journal. Although thousands of people have their own blogs and blogging websites, you have to consider the fact that only few people became famous because of it and became successful.

 

You have to remember that the internet is one big marketplace where you will be able to buy and sell almost everything you want. And, when it comes to blogs, it can be used as a form of advertising. Some people who become famous and who writes really good blogs can even ask people for some money and shocking as it may be, people do give money.

 

In fact, some bloggers are so good at blogging that they write great things and earn as much as a thousand dollars a week simply out of donations from readers.

 

The key to success in blogging is by getting as much loyal readers as you can. To do this, it is important that you should write blogs that people will want to read. Whatever you write about, it is possible that you can get people interested by writing it really good. Mix in some humour, some of your experiences and also a little something about your life. The point of this is that the content should be interesting enough that people will want to read it over and over again as well as recommend it to other people to read.

 

Some people are natural born writers who writes things that interests people, while there are also others who learns how to write good blogs. Writing really good blogs requires a lot of practice. You have to experiment on your writing style up until you get it right where people will be able to understand everything and where the blogs you write will get them interested and leave them wanting for more.

 

A good writer means that you have to be able to catch the reader's attention at the opening sentence. After you caught the reader's attention, you now have to keep them interested in reading the blog up until the end. A good writer will be able to satisfy the reader at the end of the blog. However, a great writer will both satisfy the reader and leave him or her hanging and wanting for more.

 

The talent for writing great blogs can be learned. Try taking a look at some of the most successful blogs. By doing so, you will be able to know what writing techniques they used in order to get people to read what they write.

 

Study their writing skills and try to think of ways on how to improve yours.

 

This will definitely let you write more effective blogs that will surely get people's attention. In time, you will be able to say that blogging definitely brings fame. Remember these tips and you can be sure that you will be well on your way to online fame and eventually success.

 

How to Profit From a Blog

Blogs can be for profit or non-profit but most bloggers blog for the purpose of making money. There may be some contents published to simply provide an outlet for voicing out the bloggers’ opinions and share their thoughts. However, the general population of bloggers has the intention of profiting financially. 

 

Fortunately, there are several methods of profiting from a blog and applying these methods can help you gain money.

 

The Advertisements

 

Selling space for advertisers is one of the most common ways to profit from a blog. Since blogs that have a considerable amount of traffic can make income with ad sales, make sure that you have a target audience. The reason why bloggers choose to sell advertising is that it is a passive form of income once the traffic has progressed. Although it takes work to look for advertisers and maintain the ads on the blog, those who can achieve it can gain reasonable

amount of money with the ads.

 

Compared to other forms of profiting from a blog, selling advertisement space can be one of the most consistent revenue streams. If you are able to maintain your ad slots filled, you should have a very good idea of just how much you can make every month.

 

On the negative side, selling ads requires you to have some kind of established traffic. Traffic is important because it draws interest from potential advertisers.

 

You might find it hard to sell an ad space without traffic and it will most likely not produce much revenue. Additionally, the blog must have a target audience in order to achieve the maximum amount of cash for advertisement space. Remember that advertisers are more likely to pay if your target audience is a match to theirs.

 

Affiliate programs are also a major resource of profits for several bloggers. Affiliate programs are excellent in a sense that they enable you to have the opportunity to make money even if your blog has a small audience. However, one bad side to affiliate programs is that there can be instances where you cannot make any money at all.

 

Newly created blogs feature affiliate ads most of the time compared to selling space directly to advertisers. Since selling ads is hard to do without much traffic, affiliate programs are perfect for new blogs. More so, they can be easily maintained and only take very little time.

 

Promoting and Premium Content

 

Bloggers who are service providers at the same time have an excellent opportunity to look for clients and increase their rates. Maintaining a blog that focuses on your area of expertise can help you easily become a recognized authority in your field. Additionally, it can aid potential clients to find you. You can also benefit from the increase in demand of your services and improved reputation that you build, which enable you to charge more for your services.

 

Aside from promoting your services, selling premium contents are also excellent ways to profit from a blog. Blogs are a massive source of information and remember that not everything has to be free. There are bloggers and business that attained success by selling some of their work. There are blogs that sell memberships on their Web sites. Although selling premium content is possible in any field, you must have the capability to give something to the reader that is worth paying for.

 

Earning High Interest – 3 Best Options for Earning High Interest On Investments

The trick behind earning high interest from your investments is mostly a matter of what risks you are prepared to take, as well as the amount of time you would be willing to wait on returns. 

 

Someone who has bigger short-term needs obviously needs to be prepared to take bigger risks than someone who has a longer time frame in which they can wait for returns.

 

You have a couple of options when you are thinking about what to do about funds which you want to keep liquid. 

 

Earning High Interest within a Short Timeframe 

 

There aren’t a lot of solutions for people who want a quick way to earn more with a short-term deposit. With cases where the money needs to be available on a day-to-day basis your only real options are savings accounts and higher yielding money markets. (Note: Online banks have much better rates) There is not a lot to do when you want to get money working at a higher return rate for you; this is due to the liquidity issue. (Meaning you want to have the money readily accessible) When you have a little bit of a longer investment timeframe there are many more options. 

Earning High Interest within a 2-3 Month Timeframe

 

When you get away from that first level type of account, where you have the funds immediately available, your earning potential becomes a lot higher. 

 

While the local bank probably doesn’t have much to offer, (things like term deposits) A lot of online banks have great deals with attractive yields.

 

So, it’s just a matter of choosing one of the many offers which are available online. Then you must be patient enough to wait, without touching your deposits during the investment time. Many people look to earn a lot of interest on short or just slightly longer deposits. If you have a longer investment timeframe, you have even riskier options. 

 

Earning High Interest within an Extended Timeframe

 

If you have an unspecified timeframe in which you can invest your money you will have more alternatives then with deposit accounts as well as CDs. You also have the option of a longer period CD (This locks up your funds for a longer, but the rates are higher). 

 

Then there are a few riskier options. With these you will have to wait quite a long time before seeing your earnings, but it is definitely worth it in the end. Investors who aren’t afraid of taking extra risks should learn to earn good interest along the lines of 5%, for this you will use a more advanced position of investment. This is called carry trade. 

 

Finance a New Car Using Auto Loans

Most men and even some women really find a sense of pride in buying a new car. All that rings in their mind is the fresh paint job, new chrome wheels and the power engine. All these are very good thoughts, but they might turn to dreams if one does not have money to purchase the car. This is where financing the car comes in hand. 90% of car owners bought their cars using borrowed funds. Not many can come up with the exact amount all at once, unless you are filthy rich or buying a very old car that does not cost much. This is why many companies have come up with various ways of providing car loans. Auto loans are the safest bet.

 

Financing a new car using auto loans is as easy as ABC. In fact, there is a wide variety of financing companies that offer very good interest rate on car loans. This might be a disadvantaged advantage since it tends to be difficult to decide on which company to use. Just look for one that offers great customer service, has very low rates and is quick in releasing the cash. These are the qualities of a good financing institution.

 

When lending you the money, there are certain factors that the loaning institution considers before lending you the cash. The main factor is your credit score. As a matter of fact, this is what will determine the amount of cash you will receive from the loaning institution. No bank or lending office can risk giving money to someone who has a poor credit score since they risk not getting their money back. 

 

In addition to this, they also ask for some private information related to you income. This way, they can rate the exact amount of money that your monthly income will allow you to pay. They require to know for how long you have been employed in your recent place of work, if you own or rent a house, your entire working history and something little about your own personality. 

 

There are three simple steps to finance your new car with an auto loan. First, confirm your FICO score with 2 or more bureaus. Then collect all the information that the bank will require such as your employment history. Finally, look for at least three auto lenders of whom you will compare and choose the best.

 

How Do Automatic Trading Robots Work?

Automatic trading robots are commonly used in currency trading markets. One of the most popular ones right now is the FOREX Bullet Proof, which was created by the same group of workers who invented the Fap Turbo Robot, which in turn was widely thought of as being the best and most profitable robot to have been created in the last few years. 

 

Most of these robots are made to quite a high standard, and they are built sturdily so that they can handle the huge sums of foreign money of different currencies that they have to process. As a result, when you are choosing an automatic trading robot, you have to ensure that you are getting it from a reputable firm, a company that knows about the business. There are several low quality robots which may have disastrous results. It’s by far better to utilize a robot that was created by professionals who have been proven to create reliable and good quality products. 

 

Most automatic robots are able to trade with different currency pairs. They have their specialties. This particular robot, the FOREX Bullet Proof, is able to trade two primary FOREX pairs: These are the EUR/USD and the USD/JPY. These have an enormous trading amount. This robot doesn’t try to get extremely exaggerated results, but rather its main goal is getting a 5% return on a monthly return basis. Altogether yearly it changes into quite a lot. 

 

Trades are based on the time difference between the different worldwide inventory exchanges. The idea is that it will be capitalizing on various cash actions in different currencies which happen when the trading of stocks which are quoted as being in a certain currency are stopped. Then the ones quoted in the other FOREX will begin to be traded. 

 

The idea is as such, the shift of stocks from single foreign currencies into the ones of another are creating a short lasting raise in demand of a certain currency related to another. For example, when shares from the US which are quoted in USD stop trading and the Euro begins to be quoted, there might be a shift between the USD to the EURO. This cause the second to gain value. 

 

As their names suggest, these robots should be completely automatic. You can just turn on your computer and download it. Just turn it on and combine it with your dealers trading platform, then it will simply trade on its own without you having to even get involved. This could be a very easy way to do foreign exchange. It will also fit into your busy schedule.

 

The robot has a 60 day money back guarantee, during which time you can still decide to return it if you are unhappy with it. You can feel secure using this robot as it has been created by an excellent and famous group of workers.

 

How to Spend Less Money and Save More Every Day

One of the main reasons that people become bankrupt is that they cannot control their spending habits. Many of them spend far more then they have. Credit card after credit card is maxed out and their salary is spent the minute it comes in. Bills are paid only sporadically and not entirely. 

 

Going bankrupt is bad for your reputation. You credit report is no longer clean, and this makes it very difficult to get a loan or any kind of job. It can cause you to become stressed out and eventually depressed. 

 

The best way of managing your finances is, save more and don’t spend too much. If this is difficult for you, the tips below could be helpful to you:

 

1.  Automated payments. You could enroll as many due accounts as you can to your savings account or your current one. When they’re due to be paid, the amount will be automatically taken off your accounts. All you have to do is make sure you leave enough money on your bank.

 

2.  Less leisure. Most of the things you spend money on are not really essentials. Instead of eating at a restaurant and spending a lot of money, you could cook a meal at your own home for much less. Instead of going to the movie theater you could wait until they come out on DVD, that way you can even keep the movies. Schedule as many errands as you can on one trip, this saves you money on gas or other forms of transport. 

 

3.  Save your pennies. Instead of throwing your pennies away or just leaving them somewhere you can save them up in a jar, drawer or even get a piggy bank. You might be surprised how quickly those pennies add up. 

 

4.  Teach Your Household To Be Saving. You shouldn’t be the only one saving. You should teach your family and friends to be saving too. Children shouldn’t ask for large amounts of money for trivial things and partners can cut down on drinks with friends. 

 

5.  Change Your Thought Patterns. Maybe you think you shouldn’t be tied to material things, so you waste them. Well you don’t have to be thinking about money or things all the time, but you should be thinking about the future and saving for harder times ahead. 

 

Affirmations and subliminal messages are a good way to change your thought patterns. Whenever you feel like spending lot of money of something you don’t really need, you should repeat these lines:

 

I must save for my future.

My future is up to me.

Money is important, I should take care of it. 

 

Minor Short Term Loans – Loans for a Month

If you are looking to find a trustworthy but reasonably priced short term financing source, then you’ve come to the right place. Small Short Term Loans will be the best source to help you out in any financial emergencies you might be facing. 

 

Because Small Short Term Loans understands that for every different loan there are also different requirements, it gives you a wide range of different loan options to choose from.

 

You as a borrower are free to decide which loan option is the best one to suit your specific needs. You will not be subjected to credit checks or any other document checks. You will not be asked to for a security pledge to receive the loan. The one thing you will need to do is fill out a simple form online. 

 

With many financial providers you have to wait for a long time while they complete various paper checks and other formalities. At Small Short Term Loans all the paper work will be completed within just a few hours and you will receive a timely response when you fill out a loan application. 

 

The amounts you can apply for range from 500 to 2000 pounds. It will only take a couple of hours for the loan amount which you applied for to be processed, the money will then be wired to your own bank account. All of this will take no more than a couple of hours.

Whether or not your loan will be approved depends on when you will receive your following pay check. Your pay check serves to provide the security that you will repay the loan. The loan can be repaid either before the date on which it is due or at the end of the loan period a check will be cashed from your account. 

 

If there is any delay on the payments you will be charged a late fee. These fees are quite high. If you need any information or assistance regarding your loan there is an expert panel service available. 

 

In order to be eligible for a loan you must meet these simple criteria:

1. You should have a set monthly income.

2. The company with which you are employed must be dependable.

3. Employment history with your current company should show at least 6 months. 

4. A bank account which is current and active is required. 

5. You should be at least 18 years or older.

 

A Smile Can Change Everything

When we are worrying about something, it usually shows on our face. We often think we are looking and acting normal, but stress and worry usually manifests itself in some way. Smiling is often the last thing we feel like doing, particularly in the darkest of times. Yet, when we learn to smile in spite of our problems, we open a door to a new kind of energy that can sometimes bring relief from the pain we are carrying. 

 

Someone once said, “Smiling is a social obligation.” How many times has your day been brightened by the smile of a total stranger? In that instance, when you instinctively smile back at them you find yourself feeling a little optimistic, your day becomes just for a fraction of a second, not such a bad place to be after all. 

 

There is a reason why we feel better when we smile and no doubt it’s a reason we love to laugh. When we smile, our brain releases a hormone that makes us feel good “endorphins.” This immediately lifts our spirit and makes us feel more optimistic. Smiling soon becomes contagious, and as we smile at people, so more people smile back at us, which encourages us to keep smiling. 

 

Most people when they feel stressed choose to stay at home because they say, “they don’t feel like mixing.” This may be the worst thing anyone who is feeling down can do to make himself feel better. Instead, go out with family and friends and don’t isolate yourself. You will feel your mood lifting and you will start to feel some optimism again. 

Likewise, when you are not with your friends, find a funny book to read or watch something funny on television. Laughter produces the same feel good chemical responses in our brain. We do not need to feel pessimism or depression. 

 

With a little bit of help from the “pharmacy” in our brain, we can learn to practice optimism, regardless of our situation. Counter negative feelings by focusing on things that will create uplifting thoughts rather than negative ones. Surrounding yourself with happy people and fun situations will help you to think positively about your situations as their own optimism rubs off on you and you find yourself laughing and smiling with them. Over time, you will be in a much better position to make life decisions, or seek resolutions to the things that are creating stress in your life. 

Be the Stone that Makes Ripples in Other’s Lives

One of the reasons we find it difficult to be positive is our focus on ourselves. Many people focus on the things that are going wrong in their own lives and forget to look around them and see what is going on in the lives of others around them. 

 

Most major world religions focus on good works as a means to attaining reward and there is some excellent value in this approach to life. When we focus on ourselves, we tend to magnify the problem in our mind and introspection can lead to negative thinking. When we compare our “bad experiences” with someone else’s experiences, we often find ourselves realizing that maybe our situation is not so bad after all. 

 

We probably meet people every day with needs greater than our own without even realizing it. The mother sitting next to us on the bus pushing a young child in a pram, who is struggling with the stresses of patenting young children; the elderly man who sits on his veranda silently watching passers-by and wishing some of them would come and talk to him in his lonely and isolated world. The friend we have lunch with at work who gossips about things that a colleague from the office is doing or not doing. 

 

Investing time in other people and their needs will change our perspectives on things happening in our own world. We can share our parenting skills with that young mum and help her to deal with her world and realize that we do have something to offer people and our retirement doesn’t mean we are suddenly redundant. We can find relief from our own loneliness, by sharing a cup of tea and a cake with that old man, and find ourselves thankful for the family we have, when we realize he has no family. We can deal with the negative effects of others words by gently helping our gossiping friends understand the negative effect that gossiping us on our lives. 

 

As we become the stone that ripples its influence into other’s lives, we find things to like about our world and ourselves. When we hide ourselves in our homes and allow our negative thinking, rob us of experiences we miss the rewards that boomerang back to us. Take time out today to walk to the shop or catch a bus, rather than take the car. You may be surprised the difference it makes to your day.

 

Changing Your Self-Perception and Feeling Good about Yourself

How do you feel about yourself today? Are you thinking that if you could just lose weight you would feel happy, or life would be perfect? Are you wishing you had enough money to go buy that hot new car that will make you the envy of your mates? For many of us, our body image or our possessions help define what we think of our self. We live in the future rather than in the present. 

 

When this attitude of “life will get better when something happens” affects the way we live our life, we need to challenge those thoughts. As we learn to love and appreciate the person we are now, we will find our focus is not on what we can be but on who we are now. This is the perspective we want to have and we need to have. If we don’t love ourselves now, we potentially can keep looking to what the future might do to help us to improve ourselves. We need to embrace the person we are now and see that the resources to be better or to do better don’t lie in external things, but are already inside us.

 

Unless we want to lose weight for ourselves our weight loss attempts probably won’t be successful. We should approach a promotion or new job with the self-confidence we are capable of doing the job, rather than the significance we feel it gives to us in the minds of others. 

 

We can hinder our own development and achievements if we try to live in the future. By embracing the opportunities we have today and the people we are today, we are more likely to achieve our goals and ambitions in the future. Our self-worth is not dependent on what we do, but unless we learn to enjoy the person we are and appreciate that person, we are more likely to base our self-worth and self-esteem on our achievements.

 

The danger of this approach is that if we fail in our expectations, it undermines the way we think about ourselves. Our self-esteem remains weak and we usually feel less incentive to keep trying new things. If we base our self-worth on accepting ourselves as we are today, every achievement can be celebrated and we can deal with challenges as growth experiences. 

 

Dealing with a Major Change in Life

Have you just had a major change in your life, something that upset you, hurt you, or made you angry or upset? When these things happen, especially when we feel betrayed or let down by people we love, it’s easy to feel that we can never trust people again. The effect of one or two negative things in our life can cause us to spiral on a path of seeming no return as our negative thought life convinces never to trust people again. We may even lose confidence in our own ability to make good decisions.

 

Being stuck in the past and letting the past manipulate and dictate the future is a major reason many people feel that their life does not progress once they have a traumatic or negative experience. If years have passed since the event, it is possible not to understand the significance or the impact, that incident so long ago continues to have on the actions and thought life. Acknowledging it is the first stage of healing and progression towards a new tomorrow. 

 

If you recognize that some incident in the past is affecting your present actions and reactions, it is wise to seek professional health. You may choose to see a counsellor or seek the help of the leader of your religious group if you have a faith in God. There are also some other things you can do to help yourself.

 

In your mind, picture that event on paper and currently laying on the desk that is your mind. Each time you pass your desk, that paper is open for you to look at and read. For you to stop being reminded of that incident, you need to remove it from your mind’s eye. Now imagine you have picked up that file and put it into a filing cabinet with “case closed” written on it. 

 

The past is the past and nothing that can be said or done will change what has happened. Having acknowledged that maybe the past is causing us to have negative thoughts, we can change them to positive ones by focusing on a new beginning and the hope of a better and happier ending. Preparing yourself today and taking positive steps today to change your thinking will create a happier tomorrow. 

 

Challenge yourself to see yourself not as you were in the past, but as you want to be in the future. Write down how you want life to look like ten years from now and write it as if it was a reality. Read it regularly and see how it changes your thought life to have a direction to head towards and a past to leave behind. 

 

Dealing with Information Overload

Are you like me and sometimes find your self-overwhelmed by all the information available? We choose a subject or a skill we want to learn about, maybe subscribe to an email or two on the subject and then feel overwhelmed by all the information that seems to come our way. We often don’t read the emails sent our way or if they are, we rarely action them.

 

How do we use the information sent to us, glean out the useful, and begin to use it? Here are some practical ideas, but first accept that feeling overwhelmed is normal, feeling confused is normal. It’s part of the journey of self-development. Accept it as normal and it helps in the process of choosing what we will implement, and what won’t work for us.

 

1.  Be very specific in what you want to learn. If it is increasing your knowledge on a particular subject then focus your reading on that subject. Modern marketing techniques encourage the distribution of links and aids to other people’s websites and materials. Once you start to accept emails from a variety of sources you may find your reading is diverting your away from your original learning intention. 

2.  Take time to sift through all the information you are currently receiving on a subject you want to learn more about. Ask yourself which of these emails or information sources is providing me with information that I need and a practical approach to implementing it in my life. 

3.  Cancel your subscription to any information that is not of immediate value to you, though maintain the information for to enable you to subscribe again in the future if required. 

4.  Skim read all emails or information sent to you and highlights the important points. Create a document that enables you to cut and paste information directly relates to your personal development interest.

5.  Use the document you have created to create a list of goals and the means you intend to use to achieve those goals.

6.  Make your goals measurable and achievable. Set yourself a dead line to commence implementing them and to finish implementing them. Create a way of showing to yourself that you are achieving your goals. (for example)

 

Let’s be practical. If you plan to learn how to bake a cheesecake, restrict your emails to just those that teach good cheesecake recipes. Make your goal to learn to bake a great cheesecake within 4 weeks. Your measurable goals would be feeling confident in making a great cheesecake to have people tell you how great your cheesecakes are within four weeks. 

 

To Go or Not to Go Herbal, that is the Question...

Many people nowadays are turning to “organics” and “naturals” otherwise known as herbals. The rising popularity of herbal supplements has created a new fad if not a new health lifestyle. But before you join the bandwagon, here are some things you need to know about this mean, “green” dietary supplementing machine.

 

What is the difference between a drug and a dietary supplement?

 

According to the definition set by food and drug administrations in different countries, drugs are chemicals that can prevent, prolong the life, treat other effects of a health condition, improve the quality of life, and/or cure ailments and diseases, or alter the function of any part or chemicals inside the body. These drugs have approved therapeutic claims. For example, paracetamol is a drug given to bring down the body temperature in fever. Ascorbic acid is indicated for the treatment of scurvy. Iron supplements are given to treat mild cases of anaemia. 

 

Herbal supplements are not classified as drugs but as dietary supplements. The main difference is that they do not have approved therapeutic claims unlike in the case of drugs. Moreover, dietary supplements could either contain vitamins, minerals, herbals, or amino acids, all aimed to add to or supplement the diet of an individual. They are not intended to be taken alone as a substitute to any food or medicine. 

 

Most of the manufactured medicines we now have once came from animals and plants. Through the years, chemists isolated the life-saving or life-curing components and separated them from the harmful ones. This lead to the further drug research and drug development that lead to the production of a different variety of drugs for many ailments and conditions from synthetic sources. But still we have semi-synthetic drugs, as well as drug that more or less approximate more natural composition. Since herbal supplements are made from a mixture of crude herbs reduced into powder or gel form, and later on packaged as tablets and capsules, there is a possibility that life-threatening or at least body chemistry-altering components are still present, thus the expression of concern from the medical community. 

 

Is there a growing concern with the use of herbal supplements?

 

Yes. With the rising popularity of using and consuming anything herbal or organic is the proliferation of fake herbal supplements that threaten to endanger lives. If that’s the case, then why are herbal supplements given drug administration approvals? One way of ensuring the safety of the people is to have all candidate drugs, food, drinks, and dietary supplements registered with the proper authority. Otherwise, they would pose more risk with these things being sold in the black market for a hefty sum. We could ensure the quality and safety of herbal supplements if they get proper classification with the food and drug administration. Moreover, people may be able to file the proper complaints in the event a worsening of health condition is proven to be linked to the use of a particular herbal supplement. 

 

Is using herbal supplements worth the risk?

 

Yes. It cannot be discounted that many who have tried herbal supplements experienced an improvement in their health, whether this is due to the herbals themselves or due to a placebo effect, as long as they do not worsen the condition of an individual, then using them is worth the risk. But of course, certain things must be considered before taking those herbal supplements:

 

Your doctor knows best. 

 

First of all, clear your condition with your doctor. Ask him/her if taking a particular herbal supplement is safe given your health condition. People with heart, liver, or kidney trouble or malfunction, are usually not advised to take these, or at the minimum is to take these herbals in minimum amounts. All substances pass through the liver and kidney to be processed and filtered respectively. Kava, which is used to relieve people from stress, has been pulled out from the Canadian, Singaporean, and German markets because it contains substances that cause liver damage. Certain herbals such as Ephedra used for losing weight, contains chemicals with heart-inducing effects that can increase heart rate, which in turn can exhaust the heart and cause heart attacks in several documented cases by the American Medical Association.

 

Follow the directions for use.

 

Never take more herbal supplements than what is directed by the doctor or as instructed on the bottle. Each individual reacts differently to the components of herbal supplements. While it is perfectly safe for one individual to take in a supplement of primrose oil capsules, another person may be allergic to it. So, do not even think about downing one bottle of 

 

It has no approved curative effect.

 

No matter how the product pamphlet or the label of the bottle sounds about how it has been found to be helpful in certain health conditions, these herbal supplements are not therapeutic. So do not substitute these for the medications prescribed by your doctor for the treatment of certain diseases, or for the maintenance of blood pressure, lowering of blood sugar and cholesterol, and fight off infections.