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Monday, March 30, 2009

Treat Acne Without Using Any Creams Or Medication

If you suffer from Acne you know what an annoying condition it is. Acne's target is young adolescents and teenagers which are more prone to suffer from acne due to their social status.

If you have acne and had to deal with it yourself, you most probably now how difficult it is to get rid of it. You might have tried numerous amounts of different products, ranging from pills to creams, but to no avail.

This happens because the education in how to treat acne revolves around these different types of medication, without talking too much about the most elementary things to do in order to treat the problem.

What are the elementary factors then?

Keep Skin Clean

It is of utmost importance to keep your skin clean. It does not mean that a dirty face causes acne because it is the bacteria inside the skin that starts acne.

Cleaning you skin regularly will not cure acne but will help it stop from spreading on the rest of your skin and reducing the chances of becoming more severe.

It is advisable to wash skin thoroughly even if you are using ant-acne cream.

Right Choice of Food

The market is full of products helping you out in reducing the amount of sebum produced by sebaceous glands. Using these treatments alone will not help you ease the problem. Consider eating food containing Vitamin A and B.

Foods containing a lot of Vitamin A like spinach, sweet potatoes, apricots and carrots and Vitamin B, like vegetables, cereals, sweet corn, rice and berries help in regulating your hormones and sebum production.

Avoiding Over Production of hormones

Increase in the production of hormones will encourage acne growth. If you are under stress because of work, school or social problems you might need some form of relaxation to help you out.

Any sort of exercise like yoga or walking will help ease your stress and eventually your acne.
It is of utmost importance to avoid food and drinks that increase hormonal increase. This type of food includes caffeine, dairy products, carbohydrates and meat eventually produce toxins that will need to get out through your skin. When their path is blocked with a hair follicle toxins build up and together with sebum trigger acne.

It is a fact that most of the acne treatments that we try will not stop it completely.

Source : http://treating-acne-naturally.blogspot.com
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Vitamin C Turunkan Kadar Asam Urat

VITAMIN C ternyata tak hanya bagus untuk memperbaiki kondisi tubuh usai operasi atau saat lemah, melainkan juga baik bagi mereka yang menderita penyakit asam urat atau gout, satu bentuk rematik yang menyebabkan munculnya peradangan pada sendi-sendi.

"Asupan vitamin C menyediakan pilihan lain yang bermanfaat dalam mencegah penyakit asam urat," jelas Dr. Hyon Choi dan koleganya dari universitas British Columbia di Vancouver, Kanada.

Korban-korban penyakit gout memiliki ciri biasanya berusia 40-an atau lebih dan pria, meski kadang juga wanita. Vitamin C dikatakan para ahli ini dapat menurunkan kadar asam urat dalam darah.

Gout, merupakan penyakit yang dapat menyebabkan kerusakan permanen pada sendi dan terkait dengan penyalahgunaan alkohol, kegemukan, tekanan darah tinggi dan diet tinggi daging serta keju.

Di Amerika Serikat, penyakit ini nyaris menyerang sekitar 3 juta warga. Sebuah observasi atas 47.000 pria Amerika dari tahun 1986 hingga 2006 dengan beragam masalah kesehatan menemukan bahwa setiap 500 mg vitamin C yang dikonsumsi menurunkan risiko terkena gout hingga 17 persen.

Sementara itu. sekitar 70 mg vitamin C dapat Anda peroleh dari sebuah jeruk. Konsentrasi lebih tinggi dapat diperoleh dari pil suplemen.

Risiko makin berkurang hingga 45 persen bagi mereka yang mengonsumsi Vitamin C 1.500 mg per hari dibanding mereka yang mengonsumsi 250 mg per hari, kata tim yang dikepalai Choi yang sekarang mengajar di Universitas Boston, Amerika Serikat.

Sumber : Yahoo!Health"
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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Pregnancy & Back Pain - Oh my aching back!

Back pain and pregnancy just seem to go together! When you see a pregnant woman you see her rubbing her belly and holding her back. Why is it that the majority of pregnant women will have back ache as a nearly daily complaint? And, more importantly, what can you do about it?

Why Your Back Hurts

When you are pregnant your body produces a variety of hormones. One of these hormones is called Relaxin. Sounds like something really soothing and helpful, which it is, for birth. Relaxin causes the ligaments and the pelvis to soften to allow the baby out through the pelvis. This is also why pregnant women "waddle."

In addition the pelvis relaxing for the upcoming event of birth, your uterus is growing and this does two things:

  • Changes your center of gravity
  • Relaxing uterine ligaments cause additional strain to be placed on the spine and your surrounding muscles
  • Your overstretched abdominal muscles are also not equipped to handle the entire weight of the uterus so your spine and back muscles will bear this extra burden as well.

Posture is another culprit. As your mother would say, "Stand up straight, shoulders back..." I would add, "Uterus up and out, be proud!"

If this is not your first pregnancy you have two additional concerns regarding your back: your older children and the fact that second pregnancies tend to experience all symptoms of pregnancy a bit earlier on. Ensure that you lift you children using your legs and not your back, when bathing them kneel at the tub instead of bending at the waist (What waist?), or have someone else take on these chores. Children may need a bit of an explanation why you can't carry them around as much, but in the long run you will be grateful for protecting your back.

Prevention

Prevention is the best management for this discomfort. Preventative measures include:

  • Exercises (Particularly Pelvic Tilts)
  • Paying attention to your posture
  • Lifting and bending appropriately
By Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE, About.com
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Periksa Darah Dapat Identifikasi Kanker Indung Telur

BEIJING, KOMPAS.com - Pemeriksaan darah dan ultrasound dapat membantu mengidentifikasi kanker indung telur pada tahap dini, setidaknya dua tahun sebelum gejalanya muncul, kata beberapa dokter Inggris pekan ini.
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Kanker indung telur adalah salah satu kanker yang paling mematikan, sebagian karena gejalanya sangat tidak jelas sehingga perempuan seringkali tidak diperiksa sampai keadaan sudah sangat terlambat.

Hampir 100.000 perempuan di seluruh dunia meninggal akibat kanker indung telur setiap tahun. Kalau penyakit itu ditemukan pada tahap dini, hampir 90 persen perempuan dapat diselamatkan.

Studi atas 200.000 perempuan yang menggunakan kedua pemeriksaan itu secara bersamaan menemukan 90 persen kasus kanker indung telur, sementara penggunaan ultrasound saja setiap tahun mengungkap 75 persen. Hampir separuh kasus berada pada tahap dini I dan tahap II, ketika kanker itu belum menyebar jauh dan kadangkala masih dapat diobati.

Karena saat ini tak ada pemeriksaan yang baik bagi kanker indung telur, memiliki pemeriksaan yang bisa diandalkan dapat menyelamatkan banyak jiwa, kata Ian Jacobs dan Usha Menon dari University College London.

"Temuan studi jangka panjang ini membesarkan hati, terutama karena hampir separuh kanker indung telur yang dideteksi masih berada pada tahap awal (tahap I), ketika angka kelangsungan hidup dapat setinggi 90 persen," kata Peter Reynolds dari Ovarian Cancer Action, Inggris, dalam satu pernyataan.

Kanker indung telur didiagnosis pada lebih dari 21.000 perempuan di Amerika Serikat selama 2008 dan menewaskan lebih dari 15.000 orang; di Inggris penyakit tersebut menyerang sebanyak 7.000 perempuan setiap tahun dan menewaskan lebih dari 4.000 orang.

Jacobs dan Menon mengatakan pemeriksaan darah CA 125 dan pemeriksaan ultrasound transvagina telah berhasil dalam beberapa tahun belakangan dan kini menawarkan informasi yang lebih bermanfaat kepada para dokter.
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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Mengapa kita cegukan?

Kelebihan makan, alkohol, rasa senang, atau stres, dapat menstimulasi saraf phrenic, yang mengontrol diafragma (lapisan otot yang mengontrol pernafasan). Diafragma ini lalu berkontraksi. Pada waktu yang sama, glotis (bagian dari pangkal tenggorokan dimana terdapat pita suara) menutup sehingga menutupi jalannya udara, demikian menurut Patricia Raymond, M.D., gastroenterologist di Chesapeake, Virginia. Saat itulah terjadi cegukan setiap beberapa detik. Cegukan yang normal terjadi beberapa menit saja, namun dalam kasus lain juga lebih lama. Cara mengatasinya antara lain dengan menahan napas sambil menelan ludah, atau bernafas di dalam kantong kertas.
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Cholesterol, Statins And Heart Disease

Pharmaceutical companies have found Ancel Keys 1953 hypothesis that high fat diet = high cholesterol = heart disease very rewarding financially – unfortunately it looks as though he was wrong. His hypothesis has become completely ingrained in the thinking of the media, food manufacturers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, the government, the medical profession and most people in the western world and has turned into big business which will go a long way to protect itself.

Ancel Keys was the Director of the Laboratory of Physiological Hygiene at the University of Minnesota. He used data from seven countries to show that the higher the dietary fat consumption, the higher the blood cholesterol levels, the greater the risk of heart disease. Unfortunately in order to support his hypothesis, he ignored data from many other countries and cultures which would have disproved it.

This information was gratefully received by food manufacturers who produced chemical fat free spreads, by governments,concerned at the increasing rate of heart disease who told everyone they must eat less fat, and by pharmaceutical companies who produced statin drugs which were to be used as mass medication for anyone considered to be at risk of heart disease.
However there were dissenters who believed that the hypothesis was wrong. They found plenty of evidence that had been conveniently ignored. The famous one is of the study by Dr George Mann, professor of medicine and biochemistry at Vanderbilt university in Tennesee. In the 1970's he studied the Masai in Kenya and found a group of people who ate milk, meat and fat, and had virtually a zero rate of heart disease. His resulting article in the New England Journal of Medicine described the diet-heart hypothesis as “the greatest scam in the history of medicine”.

Dr Malcolm Kendrick has done a 14 country study looking at the correlation between saturated fat consumption and heart disease, and, using figures from the WHO, found that the seven countries with lowest saturated fat consumption had the highest rates of heart disease. (1)

The Framingham study – conducted over 49 years – has found that high intake of saturated fats reduced the rate of strokes and coronary heart disease. The Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial involving 361,662 men where cholesterol consumption was cut by 42% and saturated fat consumption by 28%, had no effect on heart disease morbidity or mortality. In fact, a later study found that those who followed a cholesterol lowering diet were twice as likely to die of heart disease as those who didn't (2,3).

Cholesterol is important to cellular health and many studies show its protective benefits, with elderly people who have high cholesterol levels living longer than those with low levels. Eleven out of eighteen studies of elderly people found that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for coronary heart disease – and the other seven studies found that it wasn't a risk factor in early mortality from any cause. Studies have also found that high cholesterol is not a risk factor for women, so it would appear that there are few people for whom it is a risk factor. The Lancet, in 1995, published a study of 450,000 people, and concluded that there was no association between blood cholesterol and stroke.

In fact several studies have shown higher mortality from cardiovascular disease with low cholesterol levels – this includes low total lipids, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL – the largest study to date is one of over 1000 patients with heart disease at UCLA in Los Angeles – this found much higher mortality over five years from those with low cholesterol (4).

A Dutch study of 1200 individuals over 65 looking at the relationship between cholesterol levels and mental function found, over a six year period, lower levels were associated with a reduction in cognition and information processing speed (5).

Most studies of young and middle aged men have found high cholesterol levels to be a risk factor for heart disease – these men are often highly stressed, another risk factor by itself, and cholesterol is used as building material for many stress hormones. So the treatment required is for stress rather than cholesterol.

Cholesterol is required for :
  • proper brain and nerve function
  • endocrine glands
  • blood vessel integrity
  • absorption of fat soluble vitamins eg vit D. Vitamin D contains cholesterol, and it protects against multiple sclerosis and all diseases resulting from lowered immunity including cancer and HIV
Cholesterol is produced by the liver, and levels are regulated by the liver. A healthy liver will be better able to regulate cholesterol levels. Increased amounts of cholesterol are produced by the liver in response to tissue trauma due to physical injury or inflammation which requires cholesterol as part of the healing process. This is the process that occurs in atherosclerosis, where the cholesterol containing plaques that form in arteries are a direct result of a direct irritation of the tissue by infection, toxins of some other inflammatory process. Many potential causes of this irritation have been proposed - diabetes, trans fatty acid consumption, high homocysteine levels, stress, and viral and bacterial infection, particularly cytomegalovirus and chlamydia.

Statins, medication prescribed largely to reduce cholesterol levels, do appear to have benefits for some of those with cardiovascular disease – but it appears not to be due to their cholesterol lowering ability but due to their anti inflammatory action and blood-thinning effects. Also the actual benefit is minimal – it has been calculated if statins were taken for 30 years, the average increase in lifespan would be 2 months and this benefit would only be seen in men with pre-existing heart disease(6).

Those who have been shown not to benefit from statins are the elderly, men without existing heart disease and women – which covers quite a few of those on statins. Unfortunately, GPs in the UK are actively encouraged to get cholesterol levels as low as possible, and they are paid if they can achieve this in a high enough percentage of their practice population.
Statins are currently the most expensive single item of drug expenditure to the NHS, which together with all the unnecessary cholesterol tests and payments to GPs, makes them an enormous drain on the NHS.

Statins may not be required, and have the potential for side effects including liver damage, peripheral neuropathy, joint and muscle pain, and muscle weakness, including heart muscle. All these problems are appearing in ever increasing numbers in those on statins. Consultant rheumatologist Ian Morris has seen increasing incidence of patients with severe musculo-skeletal effects due to statin use. He considers that the evidence in favour of statins is based on studies sponsored by pharmaceutical companies which has been subject to statistical manipulation and selective presentation(7).

Statins work by inhibiting enzymes required for cholesterol production, and also co-enzyme Q10 production – the latter is vital for intra cellular energy production, and has been shown to be depleted by statins. It is vital to supplement with co-Q10 for anyone taking statins – those without symptoms should take 50-100mg daily, and up to 150mg with symptoms, which can take some months of statin use before they appear. Foods with high co-Q10 levels include organ meats, nuts, sesame seeds, oily fish and broccoli.

Management And Prevention Of Heart Disease

The natural healing approach is to deal with any cause of inflammation in the body. This is likely to be dietary – food intolerances and over acidic diets – so alcohol, caffeine, red meat, trans fatty acids (see below), dairy and wheat will need to be reduced, and maybe cut out altogether if there is a food intolerance. Antioxidants are important as they will reduce any inflammatory processes in the circulatory system. For example pomegranate juice has been found to be effective against atherosclerosis, inflammation and high cholesterol levels.

Liver function also needs to be addressed as an inefficient liver will not clear up excess blood fats. Herbs such as artichoke, commiphora mukul, fenugreek, turmeric, garlic and cayenne are all used to reduce cholesterol levels by improving liver function.

High stress levels involve the hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal glands (HPA axis) which produce the hormones (including cortisol and adrenaline) needed to deal with the stress – insulin is part of the calming down, or opposing action after stress has been dealt with. With constant stress levels this process doesn't have a beginning and an end, it becomes constant. High cortisol levels result in the deposition of visceral fat in the abdomen, raised blood pressure, lowered immunity and raised blood sugar and insulin levels – in other words metabolic syndrome X – heart disease and diabetes. Other causes of high cortisol levels include steroid use, depression, smoking and spinal cord injury.

Adaptogenic herbs are able to normalise cortisol and other stress hormone levels after stressful events – specifically rhaponticum, eleutherococcus, rhodiola, withania and panax ginseng.

A low GI (glycaemic index) diet has been shown to significantly reduce cholesterol levels, specifically LDL levels – it also reduces the risk of diabetes, improves insulin sensitivity in diabetics, and reduces the damaging effects of highly variable blood sugar level. C-reactive protein – a measure of inflammation in the body – is significantly decreased by weight loss and low GI diet. Insulin and glucose normalising herbs include eleuthero, rhaponticum, rhodiola and holy basil (Ocimium sanctum).

Trans fatty acids, the chemically changed oils developed by the cholesterol reduction industry, have been found not only to increase cholesterol levels, but also to cause atherosclerosis, damage heart muscle, the immune system and cause cancer and infertility – despite all this, vegetable oils and margarines are still being promoted as heart healthy. It has been estimated that the average adult in the West eats 15-20g of trans fats daily – from trans fats found in baked, fried and processed foods.

Natural oils and fats, especially those with relatively high omega 3 concentrations – saturated and unsaturated – do not have this detrimental effect on the body, they are actively beneficial. Oils from fish are especially high in omega 3's, as are oils from hemp seed and linseeds. A Japanese study reported in the Lancet in 2007 found that two servings of oily fish per week, or 900mg/day of EPA and DHA offered the same level of protection as statins.

Cardiovascular tonic herbs are often rich in flavonoids, which are also antioxidant -many of them also play a role in reducing anxiety and stress – they include hawthorn, garlic, linden, gingko, night flowering cactus (Selenicerus grandiflorus), coleus (Coleus forskohlii), guggul (Commiphora mukul), yarrow and motherwort.

Matthew Wood considers yarrow to be a useful herb in treating the cardiovascular system – he says it thins and decongests the blood, lowering blood pressure, relieving the burden on the heart; he quotes Messegue on yarrow, who says it is antispasmodic and soothing to the heart.
David Hoffman says that hawthorn will keep the heart healthy, preventing the development of coronary disease. Hawthorn is high in flavonoid antioxidants and is also a great herb for stress and anxiety.

References:

  1. The Great Cholesterol Con , Dr Malcolm Kendrick 2007 pub. John Blake
  2. Kannel WB, Gordon T. The Framingham diet study Washington DC 1970
  3. Werko L. Analysis of the MRFIT screenees. J.of Int.Med. 237, 507-18, 1995
  4. Horwich TB et al. Low serum total cholesterol is associated with marked increase in mortality in advanced heart failure. J of Cardiac Failure 8,216-224, 2002
  5. van den Kommer TN et al – total cholesterol and oxysterols: early markers for cognitive decline in the elderly. Neurobiology of Aging 2007, September 19
  6. as (1) p 193
  7. letter to The Independent newspaper 31st July 2007
Write by Christine Herbert has practised as a herbalist, iridologist and allergy therapist since 1997. Previously to this she was a biomedical scientist working for the NHS. She now practises in Norfolk England, where she also helps to run a self sufficient smallholding with her partner
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Thursday, March 5, 2009

Cancer Prevention

An excerpt from the book A Living Miracle

This truly is the way to go! Though I wrote this book principally for people who have recently been diagnosed with this serious health challenge and those that care for them – I would also hope that many more interested readers will incorporate my prevention techniques into their daily lives – especially if cancer has been the cause of death of a family member, which greatly accentuates one’s risk:
  1. Eat a variety of organically produced foods – no single foodstuff provides all the nutrients that a person requires. It is important, therefore, to eat a wide variety of foods every day of your lives, including lots of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, pulses, nuts and seeds.
  2. Maintain not just an ‘average’ bodyweight, but strive for an optimum weight and lean to fat ratio, to minimise strain on organs and joints and possible future health problems.
  3. Avoid too much fat in general and saturated fat from animal products in particular. A diet low in total fat may reduce the risk for cancers of the breast, prostate, colon, and rectum. Such a diet will likely be low in saturated fat and cholesterol and may also reduce risk of heart disease.
  4. Eat foods with adequate amounts of complex carbohydrate and fibre. In my practice, I find most people following a Western based diet eat inadequate amounts of natural whole grains in their natural sprouted state. I recommend an increase in the amount of these foods within your daily prevention plan by eating more fruits, vegetables, sweet potatoes, whole grains and pulses. A high natural-fibre diet may reduce the risk of colon and rectal cancer.
  5. Avoid too much sugar. How sugar feeds cancer is explained a little further on. A diet high in sugar promotes tooth decay.Sugary foods are also often high in fat and calories and low in vitamins and minerals.
  6. Avoid too much sodium. Too much sodium in the diet may contribute to high blood pressure, especially for people with a family history of high blood pressure. Untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
  7. I do not advocate the use of alcohol, when one is considering preventing cancer. However, if you do drink alcoholic beverages, please restrict to one or two small glasses of organically produced red wine once or twice each week. This will provide a few antioxidant compounds. Drinking too much can lead to many health problems. Heavy drinking is associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, esophagus and liver. Cancer risk is especially high for heavy drinkers who also smoke. Alcoholic drinks are also high in calories and deplete your vitamin and mineral status.
Copyright 2008 Pat Reeves. This is an excerpt from Pat's Book A Living Miracle www.foodalive.org
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Sunday, March 1, 2009

Hypertension - How To Reduce Your Blood Pressure

By Nicolle Mitchell

This is the medical name for high blood pressure. It can be caused by many things including stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, anxiety & smoking.
There are a number of things you can do to help reduce your blood pressure; I recommend that you do this with support of your doctor or qualified health practitioner:
  • Eat a more balanced diet, with less dairy & full fat products; less red meat (6oz a week is a good guide), & definitely cut out sugar. Read the labels of everything you buy to be aware of hidden sugars.
  • Replace your usual cooking oil with organic, cold pressed olive oil.
  • Reduce your intake of salt, including peanuts, crisps, crackers & processed or junk foods.
  • Some people have found that taking co-enzyme Q10 can help reduce high blood pressure, especially if they are on statins. Speak to your GP & health food shop for advice.
  • Others also find that ensuring they get enough B complex vitamins is helpful. So either eat plenty of organic green leafy vegetables, or obtain a good quality supplement from your health food shop. Liquid vitamins are the best; followed by capsules, tablet form being the least effective & healthy option.
  • Ensure you are absorbing enough calcium & eat plenty of raw green vegetables, artichokes & parsley. In one study conducted by DR McCarron, 45% of the subjects who were given a 1000mg/day calcium supplement normalised their blood pressure.
  • Australian researchers have discovered that blood pressure can be reduced by increasing the fibre & protein in your diet. So long as you do not have a kidney disorder, increasing your intake of (organic where possible) fresh fruit & vegetables, & soya protein in particular, you may well be able to get your blood pressure under control.
  • Quit smoking! There are support measures that can help, e.g. counselling, hypnotherapy, help lines, etc. see your GP, health practitioner or local library for details.
  • Get fit. Again seek out local facilities which suit you for taking up exercise you enjoy. Go with a friend to give you both support. Reward yourself with something appropriate when you achieve goals & make these reasonable, i.e. start off with small steps & build up to a routine you enjoy. 20 minutes of aerobic exercise, 3 times a week is the current government recommendation, but anything is an improvement.
  • Get de-stressed! Research shows that if you counteract stressful situations with de-stressing activity, you will be less fraught, function better, & be healthier. So indulge in time out or a therapy that suits you on a regular basis. No need to feel guilty; everyone around you will prefer the more relaxed you, & you will be more healthy & have more energy to spend on yourself & others. Massage, aromatherapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, reflexology to name but a few are all therapies that can help.
  • Increase your consumption of garlic, cherries, strawberries, oranges, grapes, olives, wholegrain rice & rye.
  • Cut down or cut out salt. Check all your food labels for hidden salt.
  • Garlic & hawthorn are excellent & natural ways of controlling your blood pressure.
  • Lavender, may chang & sweet marjoram essential oils all have hypotensive qualities, which means they help lower your blood pressure as well as reducing anxiety. Use them in a relaxing bath, burn them in an oil diffuser, or add them to an oil/cream & massage it into your body as part of your daily body care routine.
  • Grapes may help reduce high blood pressure due to the flavenoids they contain. However, you would need to eat a large bunch daily, so as part of a balanced diet they would be a wise inclusion.
Based on a study at Michigan University (Journal of Gerontology & Biological Science Medical Science)

Source : www. healthandgoodness.com
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