Too much fat anywhere is not a good thing, but there are several reasons why too much belly fat is especially bad: It’s the most likely to cause health problems, it makes it difficult to find clothes that fit, which causes challenges with projecting a professional image as well as self-esteem, and it also makes strangers draw inappropriate conclusions. Moreover, since it is often stress that either caused or continues to increase this particular pattern of fat distribution, the resulting stress from the consequences may well make the problem even worse.

1. Health Problems:

By now, most people know that too much fat upfront and center causes major health problems. We have read for years now that apples are bad - i.e., bodies shaped like apples, with most of the excess fat stored right in the stomach. Why? Apple shaped people have a much higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and related ailments. In fact, there’s now a name for the body shape and its associated conditions: Syndrome X. And syndrome X is bad news indeed.

2. Professional Image:

The clothing industry has yet to catch up to the realities of body fat distribution among an ever increasing number of women. Most clothes that allow for a less than slender waistline are specifically made for pregnant women, and these days, many of them are designed to show off that pregnant belly rather than to camouflage and minimize it. This may work nicely for women who are in fact pregnant, but it makes things worse for those who aren’t.

So it can be quite challenging to find flattering clothes, short of having them custom made. Some companies are beginning to see the potential in offering flexible waistbands, but far too often, clothes, even in stores specializing in plus-sized women, are designed for pear-shaped women. Women with apple shapes have a much more difficult time finding attractive, well-fitting, and professional-looking clothes.

3. Problematic And Embarrassing Assumptions:

Big bellies in men, sometimes referred to as beer bellies, can cause people to think that the bearer might have issues with excessive drinking, certainly a problematic assumption with potentially detrimental consequences for a man’s career.

Women with excess fat in that area on the other hand are assumed to be pregnant, which theoretically has the benefit of being offered seats in crowded subway trains and such, but more likely causes strangers to feel at liberty to ask about due dates or even reach out and touch a woman’s belly. While this sort of thing is an inappropriate violation of personal boundaries, it is also extremely humiliating to non-pregnant recipients, to say the least.

4. The Vicious Cycle:

All three of the above consequences of excess belly fat have yet another unfortunate consequence resulting from the previous three: They cause even more stress, and since stress may well have been responsible for the excess abdominal fat in the first place, and since it makes the body accumulate even more fat right where it’s least wanted and prevents the fat that’s already there from being burned off, the stress resulting from too much belly fat can easily result in more of the same and makes it even more difficult for affected people to lose weight and improve the situation. Thus, the vicious cycle continues and feeds on itself.

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Maybe this sounds a little overdramatic, but unfortunately the reality is that excessive, untreated stress can actually kill you. When you’re stressed, your body produces the hormone cortisol, which is designed to get your rear in gear as part of the fight-or-flight mechanism. However, this hormone is meant to be released only occasionally in small doses – when stress causes it to be secreted for long periods of time, the body reacts with a variety of different health consequences.

The following are seven of the major health effects caused by stress. If you’re experiencing any of these conditions and believe they may be linked to stress, seek medical counseling as soon as possible:

1. Diabetes

Diabetes occurs when the body produces too little insulin to process all the sugars in your body. As these sugars build up, you may experience a number of health problems including thirst, headaches and weight loss. Over time, the condition can cause complications ranging from heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage, nerve damage, diabetic neuropathy, skin conditions, and gastrointestinal problems.

2. High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is often referred to as a “silent killer” because there are few actual symptoms that present with the disease. High levels of stress can bring on this condition, which can result in an aneurysm, coronary heart disease, enlarged heart, damage to the brain and even heart attack. If that isn’t a good enough reason to learn to manage your stress – I don’t know what is!

3. Weight Gain

People under high levels of stress often experience fluctuations in weight – as anyone who’s ever taken comfort in candy bars knows all to well. However, if your weight gain gets out of control, you could be putting yourself at risk for developing cancer, heart problems, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, sleep apnea, liver disease and gallbladder disease. If you notice that you’ve put on a few pounds, try hitting the gym – exercise is also a natural stress reliever.

4. Susceptibility to Disease

Your body can only do so much – when you’re under constant pressure, its resources are being diverted to help respond to stress. This leaves the immune system compromised and susceptible to infection by viruses and bacteria. If you’ve ever noticed yourself coming down with a bug when you’re at your most stressed, it isn’t just a coincidence – it’s your body letting you know that you’re under too much stress to handle safely.

5. Depression

Constant stress can make you feel like there’s no way out of your predicament, which can eventually lead to feelings of hopelessness and depression. Depression is a serious disease – it’s nothing to take lightly. If you find yourself feeling trapped by feelings of despair and despondency, seek professional help immediately.

6. Heart Disease

Type A people beware – stress can and does cause heart disease and heart attacks. Stress contributes to the buildup of plaque in the arteries. As the arteries narrow, the heart has to push the blood even harder to distribute it throughout the body. Over time, this extra stress on the heart can have devastating effects.

7. Cancer

While there’s no proven link between stress and cancer, it’s widely accepted that excessive stress is a risk factor for developing a type of this deadly disease. Overall, stress weakens the immune system which may allow cancerous tissues to develop and flourish. If you feel that excessive negative stress is causing your immune system to break down, seek help to learn effective stress management techniques that allow you to cope properly.

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Detoxification is a way of cleansing your system from harmful toxins and substances that have accumulated in your body. Most people do not realize that there is a problem with built-up toxins. Since you are looking for a detox diet recipe, you may already well understand that the food we eat every single day actually do contribute to the toxins in our body.

A detox diet can help relieve your system from these synthetic chemicals and free radicals. If left unattended they can have harmful effects in our body. With the detox diet you’ll also be able to enjoy delicious foods, foods that do no harm to you. If you are motivated enough and follow the detox program you’ll find that these detox diet recipes will even help put your eating habits on the right track for the rest of your life.

A good detox recipe to try is called “Creamless Spinach Soup Recipe.” It is a delicious and healthy detox diet recipe that will indeed complement your detox diet. You can eat it as a regular meal or as a snack. Spinach is a good source of iron, calcium, and other vitamins, as well as high in fiber, which is exactly what your body needs for detoxification.

You will need the following ingredients:

2 tablespoon of extra virgin oil (olive or coconut)

1 teaspoon garlic chopped

1 cup medium diced onion

1 cup medium diced carrots

1 cup medium diced celery

1 cup medium diced leek

6 cups water

2 bay leaves

Spring of thyme

2 pounds of chopped spinach.

First you saute the garlic for about 2 minutes in your choice of virgin oil. Continue to saut

Humans are vulnerable creatures. Any day, any time, anyone can fall ill if we do not take care of our health properly. Whether it is a minor condition like the common flu, a serious condition like cancer or some other long-term ailment, both the young and old cannot escape from such unfortunate works of nature. It is evident that there is a need for medical products and services to help prevent germs and viruses from attacking one’s body, to reduce the effects of a health problem, or to prevent a health condition from worsening.

Today, technology has enabled us to enjoy better quality products and services like never before. Scientific discoveries have made it possible for us to benefit from cheaper and better medical products. The advancement of nanotechnology and robotics for instance, has produced effective drugs, vaccines and devices, facilitating the treatment of patients in most areas of our health. Cheaper drugs have also made treatment available to the less privileged, allowing more and more people to have access to such goods and services.

Other than consuming medical products and services for the usual purpose, many do turn to them to prevent the occurrence of certain conditions or for cosmetic enhancement. For example, this may take place when an individual wishes to prevent further hair loss. He then has to rely on specific medical equipment to treat that condition, and ensure that its intended effect is achieved by consuming certain medicine. In addition, one may wish to enhance her beauty by taking injections to prevent wrinkles from forming around the eyes. Both examples show that other than treating basic health problems, medical products and services also serve various purposes, which may not be deemed necessary. Thus, there are multiple reasons why one requires access to these medical products and services.

The market available to sell these products and services to is large. For example, hospitals and private practices require the use of them to treat their patients for the above-mentioned reasons. Thus, pharmaceutical companies producing the relevant equipment or medical supplies need to be able to contact them to sell them their products. Conversely, hospitals and private practices rely on these companies to keep on manufacturing these products and equipment. Thus, it is essential that businesses in this industry are able to contact their target prospects and customers effectively.

In order for businesses to gain immediate information on where these hospitals and practices can be found, it is always convenient to have access to medical mailing lists for all types of medical products and services. A medical mailing list would contain complied information of the various contacts of hospitals and private practices, where medical products and services are needed. They will be accurate and up-to-date as companies offering these lists maintain them through continuous research and monitoring. Therefore, businesses that wish to sell their medical products and services to a highly specific prospect group can save time and money by using a good medical mailing list. They will be able to use it to locate relevant groups of companies that are suitable for their marketing campaigns, reaching their customers within a short period of time.

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Boy has 18 months clean and sober. Boy is going to twelve step meetings, praying and meditating each day, talking to his sponsor regularly, doing service like chairing meetings, speaking at detox, sponsoring others. Boy is staying clean one day at a time. Uh Oh – boy meets girl. Boy and girl go together for a few months. Girl breaks up with boy. Boy is devastated. Boy relapses and loses everything.

Believe it or not this scenario is very realistic indeed. How do I know? It happened to me! They say that the disease of addiction is a feelings disease not because we can’t learn to handle life on life’s terms but because I believe us addicts and alcoholics feel very intensely. This does not mean we cannot live normal lives and must shelter ourselves from heartache, but rather we must stay spiritually fit in order to prepare ourselves for those emotional upheavals that inevitably come our way as we trudge through our destinies. When I relapsed with 18 months under my belt I had let up on some of the spiritual exercise that kept me fit.

Sure I was praying and meditating each day, but I stopped meaning the words. I was in a rush when I said my prayers. I didn’t listen for the answers to my prayers when I meditated. The love relationship shifted my focus from being God centered to being self centered. I was more concerned with looking good and feeling good than I was with helping other addicts and alcoholics recover which is one of the most important things an addict or alcoholic can do to help themselves stay clean and sober. “When all else fails, help another addict or alcoholic,” the program professes.

Don’t get me wrong! There is nothing wrong with feelings, and to boot I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as bad feelings and good feelings. Feelings are our mind’s teachers. When we feel angry we are being taught that there is an issue that must be dealt with. If we push it away or use because of it we are simply adding more work to be done later. If we feel sad we should know that an event has affected our soul and we are going through the natural grieving stage in order to move on to a better place. Yes, we must allow ourselves to feel our feelings but we cannot be ruled by them.

When we start letting our feelings dictate our actions we start getting into trouble sometimes. How then do we deal with our more difficult feelings in recovery and take preventative measure to minimize them. For some medication is required, anger management classes, breathing exercises, meditation and prayer, and counseling are all fine techniques for dealing with tough emotions.

But I believe the best medicine for those in recovery is to simply stay spiritually fit by going to meetings regularly and sharing honestly from the heart, practicing the spiritual principles of the program like honesty, courage, willingness, open-mindedness (to name a few), staying in touch with other addicts and alcoholics who have been through what you have been through, and carrying the message of recovery to others. In these ways one can get through the ups and downs of the roller coaster road we sometimes call life.

Zach Samuels is the author of Confessions of a Crack Head which can be found at Confessions of a Crack Head. The site offers resources for addicts and their families, a blog, a forum, contact information, and more.