If you’ve never come up with any ebooks or digital products on your own but you’ve been writing articles and posting in forums, then you’re in for a big surprise.

You won’t believe that you already have your own digital product in hand.

You’d probably think that your own product has to be an ebook, a piece of software or some sort.

That is normal.

Though you can’t actually hold a digital product, the image of a book that appears on a website seems appealing and real enough to imagine that it’s a tangible, physical product – when an ebook is really a simple PDF or executable file.

That’s why creating an ebook can sometimes be a logical way to own a digital product.

But, you’ve been missing the point.

Like I said in the opening paragraph, if you have been writing articles and posting in forums, you definitely already have your own product in hand.

Take writing articles for example.

You can write a 500 to 600-word article about a topic and then leave an affiliate link to the website you’re promoting in the author byline.

Since there’s no article can be written exactly the same by two different authors, unless you plagiarize word for word, your article is your own unique product – in this case, a marketing product on its own.

What you need to do next is market your article as if you’re marketing an ebook or other digital product and make sure that there are as many people as possible read your article.

How do you market your own articles?

One way to do it is by submitting your articles to hundreds of article directories and thousands of ezine publishers.

If you want a quick result, and get your article listed in major search engines in as little as one day, pay for the article submission service or use article submitter software. You’ll get a wider distribution in a short period of time this way.

What if you don’t write an article, but have been actively posting in forums?

Well, use bits and pieces of the postings and turn them into articles.

For example, post a question like “how do you get top ranking in search engine?”

Then, when you get enough responses, compile the answers and write an article based on the information you have. Next, give a catchy headline for the article such as “Top 7 Sure-fire Ways to Achieve Top Search Engine Ranking in Less Than a Week.”

Include a short promotion about you in the author byline and Presto! You’ve got an article. You’ve got your own product.

Of course, you don’t normally create an image of article cover (like ebook normally has ebook cover), and lose the feeling of a ‘real’ product, but you can always turn a few of your articles into a short report. And guess what? Lots of people create images for their reports. You can do the same too.

Now, can you easily create a 500-word article?

How fast can you write a 500-word article?

Can you write more than one 500-word article?

Think about it. I’ve just created a product of my own and you’re done reading it in less then 3 minutes.

Is this article a great product? You’ll be the judge, but what’s more important is that I’ve already successfully marketed “my own product” to you.

Haven’t I?

Zamri Nanyan owns www.BigArticleDirectory.com and he welcomes authors worldwide to submit articles to his well-maintained Big Article Directory for free. To find the right service or software for your automatic article submissions, visit www.BigArticleDirectory.com/articlesubmitter

Free money! Receive up to $25,000 that never has to be paid back — Guaranteed! Get a grant to start your own business today!

If you’re a small business owner, or you’ve always dreamed of starting your own business, you’ve probably run across ads like these. Companies that “guarantee” you’ll get a grant to start your own business that never has to be paid back. Purchase their product, and they’ll give you the “secrets” to making all your money troubles go away.

Have you ever wondered if all the hype is true? Can you really get free cash to start or expand your business? Before you spend your hard-earned money on what could turn out to be nothing more than a list of names and addresses (that you can actually get for free in the Internet by the way), keep reading to learn the truth about grants for individuals and business start-ups.

First of all, what is a grant?

A grant is a sum of money that is used for a specific purpose. Grants are given away by charitable organizations called foundations, and their sole purpose is to give away that money.

In addition, the U.S. Federal government also gives away billions of dollars of grant money every year for many reasons — including to support and encourage economic development and small business growth, which is where you come in.

So what’s the catch? (You knew there had to be a catch, right? I mean, if it was that easy, every new business out there would be starting out in the black!)

Most corporations, foundations and government agencies ONLY give grant money to nonprofit organizations that have a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS.

The most common grants given to individuals are in the form of scholarships.

So, are there any grants available to you as a small business owner? Yes. Is somebody just waiting to hand you a check for $25,000? No. In fact, you may never actually see the cash. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of all the programs that are out there — and that could add up to a lot more than $25,000. You just have to know where to look and what to ask for.

Here’s how it works. First of all, be prepared. Finding a grant is going to take some work on your part. You’ll want to set up a system for keeping the information organized. You can create a paper system with files and a calendar, of do it on your computer. You’re going to want to separate your research into classifications that make sense for your business, plus you’ll need to keep track of who’s giving what away and the corresponding deadlines.

Next, you’ll have to do some research to find what programs are available in your area, and what the guidelines are. Then you’ll have to do some deeper research, to eliminate the ones you don’t qualify for. (Most grants have some type of restrictions — some are geographic, some are targeted towards specific groups, some are for specific types of businesses, etc.)

And the third and final step will be to apply for the grants you qualify for and need. (For a small business grant, what’s required is usually a well written business plan).

So how do you get started? Before you start looking for grant money, you need to figure out exactly what you’re looking for. What exactly do you need to take your business to the next level. This will not only help you to be more focused on your business goals, but it will give you a better idea of where to start looking and save you time in the long run.

For example, do you need training? Maybe you’ve realized you need to learn how to use a computer, learn to build your own Web site, or master a specific program such as word or excel.

What about technical assistance? Are you trying to learn a new process or need to learn how to use specific equipment?

Do you need assistive technology because of a disability?

Do you need cash to purchase equipment and supplies?

Make a list of exactly what it is you need, and prioritize it. Figure out a schedule of when you need to have it. Create a basic budget based on how much what you need would cost if you had to pay for it out of pocket. Also note down where, in your local area, you can find what you need.

Now it’s time to start looking for your grant. A good place to start is the Small Business Administration. They’ve got a great Website that has lots of information to get you started. You can even take free online classes to learn how to write — or tweak — your business plan.

After that, start locally. Check with your own Small Business Development Center, Chamber of Commerce or, if you’re in a rural area, Association of Government office. If there are small business grants available in your area, these are the experts who will know about them.

Don’t forget about your local library. The librarian in charge of the research section is very knowledgeable, and can provide you with a wealth of materials.

It’s important to keep an open mind and think outside the box when you’re looking for grants. Not all grants come in the form of cold, hard cash. You might be able to find funding that will pay for the training you need, business classes or get a scholarship to go to your local community college.

Your local Small Business Development Center may operate a “small business incubation center” and can provide you with low-cost office space that includes telephone lines, use of office equipment, meeting rooms and someone to answer calls and take messages.

If you need help with advertising or marketing your products or services, look to larger corporations, your local chamber of commerce or your city’s economic development office. They may offer co-op advertising programs, reduced printing costs on specific advertising campaigns, and other resources for getting your name out to your target market. If you sell products for nationwide companies, check to see if there are advertising incentives where they’ll help to pay for your advertising costs.

If you’re a member of a professional or trade organization, see if they offer programs. Check the Internet. You can find grant information from the federal government online. The foundation center is another great resource with an interactive database. Women should utilize women’s organizations and the women’s business centers.

You can check the foundation center online for a very comprehensive listing of foundations and the grants they offer. Again…remember that most foundations DON’T give grants to individuals, so don’t waste a lot of time looking at the foundations themselves. Instead, LOOK FOR THE NONPROFIT organizations they have give grants to! You’re looking specifically for economic or community development grants.

That’s you’ll actually be able to access whatever grants, services and resources are available, because the nonprofit organizations are the ones who work with indidivuals and provide “service delivery.”

To find out who is getting the money, check the foundations 990 tax forms, which are usually available online. That will tell you which nonprofit organizations to contact.

Keep a file of all the possibilities, and hone your research to the sources that provide the best fit for your needs.

There are resources out there, if you’re willing to spend the time looking for them. Keep an open mind, be willing to think outside the box, and never give up!

Cheryl Antier is the President/CEO of Dream Weaver Enterprises, a business and fundraising consulting company. MAPS (Microenterprise Answers to your Personal Success) was started as a way for her to give something back to other women, because of the blessings she’s received in her life. MAPS offers a free monthly ezine called “Directions”. Subscribing is easy and you can unsubcribe at any time with a simple click of your mouse. Your privacy is important, so your information will NEVER be shared. “Directions” does all the research for you — find out about the latest programs, grants and funding opportunities in your area — and know BEFORE you apply if you qualify. NEVER be taken in again by a con artist. Monthly ALERTS will warn you about scams. Read reviews of the latest programs, books and software that can help you succeed. Each issue is jampacked with information about a single topic, so you can learn what you need to know quickly and easily. Sign up today — it’s FREE! http://www.microenterprisesuccess.com

Move over Desktop PC, it’s the era of the portable computer, or at least that what the enormous demand implies. In fact demand is so high that taiwanese manufactures are anticipating part shortages proacitively. It looks like once there are backlogs those will only grow because demand for laptops is not diminishing at all. Manufacturers are trying to structure the technology cycles but that doesn’t restrict anybody from coming and upgrading things.

More manufacturers are appreciating that gaming laptops is becoming large enough sector to go after. I think gaming laptops have never been at such low prices. You can hunt down some extremely good bargains out there that will get you gaming. For those who need portability, the speed laptops offer in relation to gaming shouldn’t be frowned upon much longer as performance is improved. These days the large number of gaming laptops are not even big, chunky and loud. Though gaming laptops have evolved in many aspects, in relation to pure performance they still cannot contend with desktops. The evolution of gaming laptops implies that they will become thinner and weightless in the the coming years.

Even though the market share is dominated by manufacturers marketing via retail channels I think the direct channel and custom built laptops will always be about. With popular manufacturers you normally don’t have a clue what they fit into the notebook. Detailing what you need simply is the core benefit. Despite there being lots of laptops in the stores its unlikely you will find a lot of choice of high end systems. This is exactly why custom laptops are here. The good news is that there are a lot of resellers who make laptops and they offer outstanding customer care too. Yet another great factor.

We’re observing some fairly cool stuff at the moment and I question what will hit the market next. So far it seems like inexpensive portables are the popular item. I think the notion for such a device came from the needs of the third world. I really feel that we are likely to see ultra light 15 inch laptops very quickly as well. I’m sure that companies already have their plans made up. Market trends imply that gaming laptops will become more portable in the next couple of years. Even though notebooks technology follows roadmaps theres always going to be a idea that changes all that.

For the performance these are the best laptops.

The Giro d’Italia has a fine history behind it, like the Tour de France it was started to publicise a newspaper, just like the Tour de France the organisers made the leaders jersey the same colour as the paper, yellow in France from the L’Auto newspaper and pink in Italy from the La Gazzetta dello Sport. The first Giro was in 1909 and was 2448 kilometres long (the shortest), split into 8 stages and was won by the Italian rider Luigi Ganna, 127 riders started in Milan, but by the finish, also in Milan, there was only 49 left, this was not the worst edition, in 1914 only 8 out of the 81 starters managed the full distance.

The winners.

Just like the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espaa, the Giro d’Italia always has a deserving winner, three riders have won it five times, Alfredo Binda and Fausto Coppi of Italy and the great Belgian, Eddy Merckx, Merckx of course also won the Tour de France five times and the Vuelta once. There have been many other “stars” who have won the Giro over the years, French heroes Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault and from Spain Miguel Indurain have all one 5 Tours de France and the Giro more than once. The home riders have obviously been the big winners, Felice Gimondi, Gino Bartoli, Ivan Gotti, Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savoldelli have all shown there winning ways, but the battles between Giuseppe Saronni and Francesco Moser in the 80’s are epic. The strangest rider to have taken part in the Giro d’Italia would be Alfonsina Morini Strada who is the only woman to have ridden the race, and finish!

The race itself.

The Giro has started outside of Italy on eight occasions, the furthest away being either Belgium, Greece or possibly the Dutch town of Groningen, which hosted the opening individual time trial in 2002. When the race is on Italian soil the main difficulties are usually the Alps, Dolomites and the Apennines, the Giro is in May so the big climbs can get dreadful weather, snow, rain and cold temperatures can shape the race and determine the winner.

The future of the Giro d’Italia.

The future of the Giro d’Italia looks good, since the UCI (cycling’s governing body) brought in the Pro-Tour all the top 20 teams have to ride, before they would only get all the Italian teams and a few foreign teams with sponsor interests in Italy, now the race is also shown free on television, where as before it could only be seen on a private station. The 2005 edition was one of the best for years, top teams, top riders and a hard course brought the race to life, for years the Giro had become a procession until the last hour, then the sprinters took over. The climbers had some good hard stages and the team leaders would do there work for the overall on the hills or the time trial, and that was it, now its one of the most exciting stage races there is from begging to end.

Alastair Hamilton is a successful writer who offers a truly unique depth of experience in competitive cycling, he also contributes adding technical articles about bikes to some cycling online magazines. Find further reviews road and mountain bikes at http://www.bike-cycling-reviews.com

Some men have a tough time keeping an erection and some chicks have remarkably long sex drives, meaning it will take the woman an incredibly long time to come. Because of this contrast in sex drives, love making might become an annoying and undesirable experience. That’s why small dildos will be helpful. If the guy climaxes early in the session, or even if the chick just takes longer than her bloke, he can continue to penetrate the lady with the stubby dildo. That way all sexual activity does not have to end. It gives the guy plenty of time to recharge his stamina and also keeps the chick happy. So when the guy is ready to come back into the sexual session, the gal will still be aroused enough to accept the gent.

Your very most sensual zone is your thoughts. And as noticeably as legions of females won’t admit this, the penis is a focus of power, no matter how large or little, it is still associated with power. Penetrating your wife with a large dildo might often make a fantasy of power activity reality. Get on the tables with the Best Sex Toys from sex bomb.

Some folk delight in the sensation of feeling full in their vagina or bottom. Whenever a marital toy such as a large dildo, penetrates the vagina or bottom, the muscles contract around it. Legions of girls notice the tightening of the above muscles to be powerfully enjoyable.

Despite the fact that the Property Index service is actually a pretty young organization, (they were established only in March 2007), they were very fast to advance to expert status. As a matter of fact, they are a extremely easy syndicate specialised in servicing any individual looking to let real estate in most parts of the world. They’re guaranteed to help you discover just what you are calling for very quickly not to mention in a trouble-free manner.

Real property is being offered in most areas of the world presently, possibly the elite area being property you can purchase in France. It should really be a no brainer to list a slew of the phenomenal real estate available in France, the rationale for hunting for realty here is a combination of the houses and apartments you can purchase and the chance of being able to live amongst this passionate and lively population.

Find the best selection of French properties here!

It is one of the truly trendy areas in our times, and in view of the scenic beauty and the great weather surrounding you, how could you be wrong.. Property in France is very rich in history, culture and art, this area of the world has always been home to lots of indigenous cultures.

Only thirty years back you’d find merely a tiny number Britishers looking for properties in France. Presently that trickle become a inundation. Ask any individual who has chosen to relocate to France and they will tell you the same thing!

We received a question from a visitor who hates working out, she said what would be best for weight loss, developing a more active lifestyle/job or going to a gym 4 times each week?
We decided to answer the question by looking at a fictional case study.

Working out at the local gym
Before we can estimate the calories burned from any gym session we first need to look at the individual, the type of exercise and the intensity level. We must set the same standard in order to compare the two ways. The individual I am using for this example is a 30 year old male weighing 154 pounds (70Kg, or 11 stones). Every gym session he will jog for about an hour. He would have some breaks during the hour but for this example I will calculate for a full hour. For this example the exercise will be a jog, and the intensity of the jog will be a very light, easy pace.

For the case of jogging this individual would burn up to 500 calories. This is not a bad number of calories burned during a training session; after all, another 6 workouts and it would equal the same calories in one pound of fat. However, don’t forget this is assuming a frequency of 4 workouts per week, what if he did no other exercise for the other 3 days in the week?

If we take into account the 3 days without exercise then that 500 calories actually becomes 285 excess calories burned per day (500 x 4 workout days = 2000 divide by 7 days = 285 excess calories burned every day). Also, because there are 3500 calories in one pound of body fat, it would take at least 12 days to lose one pound. I don’t think many dieters would be motivated with such slow progress.

These calculations make me realise how poor gym workouts can be for an overweight person who joins a gym just purely to lose weight. I mean 285 calories is nothing; this can easily be spoiled with one extra chocolate bar or a dessert! Plus many dieters find it hard to drag themselves to the gym just for a few sessions per week, but in this case we are talking about four, one-hour sessions each week!

This doesn’t mean working out is a waste of time, after all there are many other health benefits to exercise, however, losing weight is all about calories and in this case the energy expended is fairly low to produce any real results.

For any dieter to lose a satisfactory amount of weight in the above example he would have to follow a strict calorie reduced diet along with the gym sessions.

Develop an active lifestyle
With an active job or lifestyle fewer calories are burned per hour than a gym session but the consistent rate can make a greater total of energy burned over the course of a day, even with a job that doesn’t make you feel like you’re exercising. For example, if our male worked as a postman with an average 8 hour shift, we could estimate that during an average day he would be walking 50% of the time, 40% he would be standing, and the other 10% would be coffee breaks, lunch, etc. This calculates to 4 hours walking and over 3 hours standing. Our average man would burn up to 1100 calories per day (700 walking + 400 standing). Over a thousand excess calories burned every day is a huge amount and means he would lose weight relatively quickly with little or no dieting.

Ok not all dieters are postmen, nor am I saying they should change jobs in order to lose weight. The point is any job could be made more active with a little imagination. Using every excuse available to become more active at work can really add up to a big difference in energy expenditure. Maybe go fetch everyone’s lunch from the canteen, go to the furthest toilet in the building when you need to spend a penny, use the stairs rather than the lift or get off the bus one stop before your normal stop and walk. These are just suggestions but if you use your imagination you can find many other ways to burn off more calories during an average work day. Also a job is done every day so the calories burned per week add up higher.

Even if you cannot possibly make changes to your work day, there is still a chance to make changes in your own time. Simply focus on completing more everyday tasks such as cleaning, maintenance, gardening, housework or walking the dog. Again it’s all about using the imagination to create activity. I’m sure 2 hours cleaning out the garage, and one hour walking the dog will burn more calories than working out for an hour.

Which is the best way to lose weight?
An active job or lifestyle is the obvious winner here. The calorie burning potential was more than twice that of the workout. Yes, in the real world not many dieters will work as postmen, roofers or on a construction site, but we could also state that not many people would be prepared to run for a complete hour for four workouts a week. The above examples were used to illustrate the positive effects of any change in lifestyle.

In other articles on my site I do write about what would be the best exercise, but this is no contradiction as any suggestion would be in a different context, in this article I was considering those who struggle to get to the gym or really detest exercise. If I hated working out I would definitely try for an active lifestyle, after all, I could complete all my chores and burn many more calories, and probably without the necessity of following an awful, restrictive diet!

Wayne Mcgregor has written hundreds of articles on ways to lose weight. His website provides tons of free weight loss information and help.

http://www.weightlossforall.com

In today’s competitive environment, every organization is trying to improve sales results. In every company, the most important – and vulnerable – link in the success chain is the performance of their people. As a sales management trainer and coach, I see that managers across every industry fail to take a hard look at the capacity of their people to provide the service — whether it’s to internal or external customers – that puts them in a league apart from the competition.

As a sales manager, you can set the context for your team to pull ahead, or ‘breakaway’ from the competition. Context sets the tone and often determines the meaning of events and actions. In business, context affects our vision, motivation, ambition, and follow through.

Some aspects of context are outside of our control. Things happen. Markets rise and fall. Yet some people thrive even in hard times. While these people are the masters of context, I would also argue that the ‘climate’ in which they work could contribute enormously to the difference between success and failure.

Here are three ways you can take charge of the context in which you create an environment where ‘breakaway’ results can happen:

ADOPT A ‘NO BULLIES HERE’ POLICY

Some people use much stronger language to describe the people I’ll politely call bullies. You may call them: tyrants, egomaniacs, jerks or unprintable. These are the people whose behaviour leaves you feeling badly about yourself, and feel free to use whatever profanity you want to describe them, because they are real trouble.

Many ’stars’ shout, belittle, and make unreasonable demands of support staff and colleagues, while ingratiating themselves with the higher-ups. How people treat both the powerless and powerful is a good measure of human character and the “bully” quotient.

One bully can destroy your team’s morale. You and your colleagues will spend inordinate amounts of time and energy dealing with this person, instead of focusing outward on breakaway performance.

HOT TIPS:

- Protect your people. If you are in a position to do so, aim to nourish a culture of decency in your organization. While you may not have a ‘no bullies here ‘ policy in writing, you can have it in spirit. If the superstar you’re about to hire has a reputation for being difficult, don’t hire!

- Set this ground rule for sales meetings: focus on the situation, issue, or behaviour, and not on the person. This rule translates into not placing blame on people. It safeguards the self-confidence and self-esteem of all meeting participants, and provides a process for regulating out-of-bounds behaviour.

PRACTICE ONGOING REGARD

We all do better at work if we regularly hear that what we do matters, that it is valuable, and that our presence makes a difference to others.

Nearly every organization or team I’ve been privileged to spend time with under-communicates the genuinely positive and admirable achievements of its members. I can understand wanting to avoid conflict, but avoiding praise is puzzling.

HOT TIP:

Make space at the beginning of a sales meeting for any expressions of appreciation or admiration that anyone may wish to deliver. I recommend that the leader not deliver any of these kudos during the first few meetings so team members get used to practicing ‘ongoing regard.’ If no one has anything to say, so be it (although I’ve never seen this happen).

You may find that sharpening your capacity to express genuine appreciation or admiration is vitalizing. It will remind you of why you want to be on your team, and why performing at your peak is important.

CREATE ACCOUNTABILITY

How many times have you said that you were going to do something and then not done it because nobody else would know the difference? Try spreading the word. Just the simple act of telling your plan to another person raises the stakes. Most of us place a high value on doing what we say we’ll do. There is something profound about taking our commitments seriously when we profess them to another person or when we join in a pact to reach a common goal.

HOT TIP:

If you are a sales manager, allow your people to tell you how they plan to reach their goals, rather than you telling them how to proceed. Create time, regularly, for them to report what they have been doing and learning. Useful questions to help the discussion are:
- What worked?
- What didn’t work?
- What happened?
- What would you do differently next time?
- What assumptions are you making?
- When will you do the tasks you propose?

- How will I know you have started the tasks?

If you are a team member, seek out someone you trust and check in regularly. Declare what you intend to do and watch what happens!

‘CREATE THE CONTEXT’ CHALLENGE

Establish the practice of ‘ongoing regard’ at the start of each sales meeting. The purpose is to recognize people whose performance and integrity helps the team achieve goals and objectives. Acknowledge that their specific behaviour, and the personal qualities that led to that behaviour, had a positive impact on you, on a customer, or on the team.

For example: “Lee, by delegating paperwork to the summer students and making more face-to-face sales calls you are helping us have a great second quarter. You are resourceful and creative.”

It may take a number of sales meetings for the practice to feel comfortable and meaningful. Stick with it.

This article may be reprinted in its entirety with express written permission from Nicki Weiss. The reprint must include the section “About the Author”.

Nicki Weiss is an internationally recognized Certified Professional Sales Management Coach, Master Trainer, and workshop leader. Since 1992, Nicki has trained, certified, and/or coached more than 6,000 business executives, sales managers and salespeople.

Nicki guarantees increased sales performance when sales managers become better sales coaches. Sign up for her FREE monthly e-zine, Something for NothingTM, which has powerful tips and techniques for sales managers who are ready to make this transformation. Sign up at http://www.saleswise.ca.

You can email her at nicki@saleswise.ca or call 416-778-4145.

All these teas (unless specified) are brewed with one teaspoon of dried
leaves or two teaspoons of fresh leaves to one cup of water.
You should always steep the teas. This means pouring hot water over the tea substitutes and
leaving for five to fifteen minutes. You should always dry the tea leaves and roots out
of the sun, in dark airy places. Then you should store the dried teas in airtight
containers.

Persimmon Tea:

a fine strong tea can be made from the persimmon leaves when dried and crushed. The leaves can be used all year
round and are rich in vitamin C. Use Persimmon tea as a healthy tonic.

Sassafras Tea:

Boil the fresh Sassafras roots after washing, until the water
turns reddish brown. They can then be sliced and dried for use later on.
Some claim this tea to be a blood thinner, a blood purifier, to help
bronchitis, and is a stimulating spring tonic. Mostly this tea is used for
pure enjoyment.

Birch Tea (Wintergreen):

Tea can be made from th The Black, yellow and white birch leaves. Dried
leaves can be used year round for making tea. A large handful of fresh leaves
steeped in hot water can be drunk( 1 to 2 cups a day) – for rheumatism
and headaches. Birch tea is said to reduce the pain of passing kidney stones,
and is a fever reducer. If used cold, this tea can be used as a mouthwash.

Blackberry or Raspberry Tea:

The dried mature leaves of these
brambles make a good tea. This tea can be used to help control diarrhea, as a
blood purifier and a tonic. Use this tea all year round.

Blueberry Tea:

The dried mature leaves are steeped until cool.
Drink 1 to 2 cups per day as a blood purifier and a tonic.
Blueberry tea can be used to help inflamed kidneys and to increase the flow of
urine. This tea can be a little bitter. Use it all year round.

Alfalfa Tea:

The dried and powdered leaves and flower heads
brew into a very nutritious tea, but can be a little bland.
You can mix them with normal teas to stretch them out and add
further nutrition. This tea’s vitamin content is very high.
Use it all year round.

Wild Strawberry Tea:

For this tea, use the dried leaves as per normal. Pour several
cups of boiling water over a handful of fresh leaves in the
evening. Cover the tea and let it steep overnight. IN the morning, strain the water and reheat.
This tea is reputed to help with a multitude of health problems,
such as stomach troubles, eczema and diarrhea. According to
experts, it is much more healthy than purchased coffee or
teas. Use this tea all year round.

Wild Rose-Hip Tea:

Gather a handful of these leaves, steep them for 10 minutes,
then strain, and make a healthy tea. The leaves can be used dried or fresh
when in season. Instead of boiling, you can place a handful in cool water
overnight, then strain and reheat in the morning. Use the tea all year
round. This tea has a very high Vitamin C content and helps with Colds and the flu.

It is also helpful for a sore throat.

Sweet Goldenrod Tea (Anise):

For this tea, you can use the dried or fresh leaves or
flowers. It makes a very flavorsome tea. This tea is very enjoyable!
Use it all year round.

Soldier’s Herb Tea:

This common backyard weed has green leaves and
two seedy spikes. It was used by the colonials and Indians as well.
One teaspoon of seeds per cup of boiling water steeped for a half
hour is useful for dropsy and jaundice. To make this tea, use fresh leaves
chopped fine. Place one heaping teaspoon per cup of boiling water
anc steep for a half hour. If you have dried powdered leaves, use one level
teaspoon and reduce the brewing time to fifteen minutes.
Drink this tea four to five times a day until relief is obtained. This tea can be Used for gout, to help clean
out nasal passages and to slow menstruation. It is also used to expel
worms. A cooled tea made from rainwater can be used as an eyewash.

Steve Happ is a flash and web developer. His hobbies include the tea ceremony, cars, and psychology. To see more about this topic, go to his tea site.

As a registered dietitian, and someone who specializes in sports nutrition, I was appalled when the low carbohydrate fad came into popularity. However, I also predicted that in a couple of years people would become better educated and ready to really pay attention to how to eat for health.

Yes, people lost weight, but mostly because they eliminated many of the high fat, high calorie snack foods and meals they were previously eating. Unfortunately, the foods that promote health were also eliminated as all carbohydrates came under attack. Gone were the chips but also gone were the fruits and vegetables so high in health-promoting nutrients. Even worst of all was the increase in animal fats that are known to promote disease and inflammation.

Let’s first address why the low carb diets bothered me. Carbohydrates are one of the three major nutrients in our diet, known as macronutrients. Protein and fat are the other two. These three nutrients supply most of our calories, with alcohol being the fourth. All foods break down into glucose, which is our primary fuel and the only fuel for the brain. No matter what, the brain needs glucose to survive. Even some of fat breaks down into glucose. During the low carb diets, people were instructed to avoid all obvious carbohydrate foods, and in some diets were even encouraged to check their levels of ketones in their urine. Ketones are a byproduct of impartial fat metabolism for people who are not getting enough carbohydrate in their diets or, for medical reasons, are not utilizing the carbohydrates they are eating.

However, carbohydrates are the primary fuel for breaking down body fat during exercise. So, here we have people who want to lose weight trying to also exercise, but because they are not eating the primary fuel for that exercise, their exercise intensity suffers. As a consequence, they burn fewer calories during exercise and cannot burn as much body fat. Not only does science support this, but I would see this happen with my own clients. I also used myself to experiment on. One of my clients challenged me to try the Atkins diet. Never mind the effect of cutting out all my fiber in my diet (constipation), but by the third day I felt like I had lead feet when I tried to do my usual workout! I had no fuel in my body at all. By day #5, I felt I was doing my system more harm than good and went back to my fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Ahhh. Also, I had not consciously realized just how high my diet was in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and how low it was in animal products, particularly animal fats.

This brings up the other problem I had with these diets. More research than I can mention has shown the advantages of a diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Because of the phytochemicals in these foods, it has been shown that people who eat high amounts of these foods not only weigh less but their health benefits from the high intake of antioxidants and vitamins. Studies looking at cancer and heart disease continually conclude that high intakes of these foods benefit health. My own experience with clients has also shown this. Most people already eat too few servings of fruits and vegetables. Once they increase them, however, they find themselves filling up on fewer total calories. Not only do they start to feel better but they start to lose weight!

Starches still have a bad rap, but once people realize the difference between one starch and another, we may actually see more people eating diets consisting of whole, unrefined foods. So, I guess the benefit of the high protein, low carb diets may be the new awareness that people have in the value of eating unprocessed, whole foods, and that all foods really DO fit into our diet.

Marjorie Geiser helps people overcome their confusion and distress they may feel when trying to add healthy eating and fitness into their busy lives. She offers a free, monthly newsletter on various topics of health. She is a Registered Dietitian, Personal Trainer and Life Coach. To learn more about her services, go to her website at http://www.megfit.com or email her at margie@megfit.com