The Clever Apprentice

The World Series of Poker field of live and online poker qualifiers has ballooned to well over 8,000 people this year, leading many in the industry to question whether a legitimate poker pro can ever win again.

The argument goes like this: with so many people playing for the pot, the natural luck involved with every poker hand means it’s harder than ever for a person of any amount of skill to place in the money using skill alone. Someone is going to get through based on luck, and if there’s a huge pool of lucky players, like there will be this year, the legit pros are going to get crap hands and bumped early on.

Of course, the purists will say this is how the game has been played for hundreds of years, and eventually, as odds require, everything will balance out to as it once was. Like back when Moneymaker won in 2003, and the field was 800 or so players.

If you’re an amateur, however, I recommend you give it a go, especially if the number of entries stays high at the 6,000-8,000 mark. With those kind of odds, a ham sandwich has a chance at the final table and millions of dollars.

1. Spiritual involvementprayer, reading about spirituality, meditation, yoga.

2. Consistent sense of humorlaughing at oneself and the ironies and paradoxes in life.

3. Frequent periods of joyful, happy experiences. Ability to recognize and circumvent ironies, paradoxes and hypocrisy.

4. Unflappable positive expectations; frame events in a constructive lightthe glass is half full versus the glass is half empty.

5. Ability to readily adapt to changing conditions.

6. Rapid response and recovery of stress response systems to repeated challengesa.k.a ability to bounce back.

7. Enthusiasm for physical activity.

8. Consistent pattern of identifying and communicating feelings.

9. Daily sense of peace of mind, gratitude and generosity.

10. Continuing presence of support from and for family and friends.

“Confidence on the outside begins by living with integrity on the inside.” Brian Tracy

As humans, we have the ability to make conscious choices as to how we want to live our lives. Our choices determine the outcome of our life experiences.

If the ten signs of Good Health aren’t solidly fixed in your lifeyou can choose to change.

• Be patient and give yourself time to develop new behaviors, thoughts and identityone that is congruent for your comfort and security.

• Make small, incremental changes in the way you think and behave. You don’t need to turn yourself inside out to create a change. Small changes can create the biggest difference.

• Learn to recognize the emotions you are acting out and find healthy ways for expressing those emotions.

• Stop the negative self-talki.e. stop judging yourself or comparing yourself to others.

• Stay focused on your goaldo something every day, internally and externally, to alter old habit patterns.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, international speaker and inspirational leader. Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life’s challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

The spectacular location of Africa known as South Luangwa has been voted the finest place to safari in Africa. The area has been celebrated in many years by the worlds most influential animal experts. British tourists might be able to observe large groups of lions as well as beautiful boars. Try a safari in Zambia with Kaingo Safaris.

The region is well known for its brilliant driving safaris and is a crowd pleaser with all UK people. The changing weather makes the area irrestible with a dry season during winter and a green beautiful jungle feel over June and July. During the changes in season the exotic animals will change giving tourists a different aspect.

Uncover the charm of Africa with a walking safari vacation and be at one with the gorgeous nature. The breathtaking rivers and tigers and lions can make folk feel alive with energy. Couples will be able to take huge amounts of photographs and take home the very best memories.

South Africa has lots of animals in its regions and British tourists might well easily find the perfect photo of a giraffe. If you are not used to a walking safari you will often go on a driving safari and admire large amounts of the country all within a short amount of time. Once you have finished your safari by day you could then go back to your apartment to have dinner. Innumerable apartments are 3 star and tremendous.

Copyright 2004 Brian Kindsvater

One of the recent fads is to search for keywords and niches based on an R/S Ratio. The ‘R’ is the number of websites found with that keyword as reported by a search engine search (the supply), and the ‘S’ is the number of searches on that keyword (the demand).

Here is How This Works

In fantasy land the number of searches would be 100,000 and the number of websites would be 1 (your website), resulting in an R/S ratio of .00001.

In reality, the number of found websites is about 1,000,000 and the number of searches is 10,000, resulting in an R/S ratio of 100.

Theoretically, the lower the ratio the better, which is why numerous marketers suggest that low R/S ratios be searched for and then targeted. Keywords with high R/S ratios are immediately discarded.

Why the R/S Ratio is Meaningless

Theoretically, the ratio works, but now let us get back to the real world. If you are ignoring keywords or niches with high ratios you are missing highly profitable markets.

The number of websites reported as the ’supply’ is usually meaningless. This is why the ratio does not work if it is based on the number of computer generated results. So Google says it found 10,000,000 other websites with your keyword. Hope is not lost. You are not competing against 10 million websites. Hardly any of the websites will have anything to do with your target market.

Compare the following:

Example 1

Search results - 100,000
Searches - 10,000
R/S Ratio - 10

Example 2

Search results - 5,000,000
Searches - 100,000
R/S Ratio - 50

Which example is potentially more profitable?

You have no way of knowing! If you automatically fail to consider Example 2 in your marketing efforts because it has a much higher ratio you may have made the wrong decision and discarded 100,000 potential customers.

You need to actually review the websites listed in the search results to see what value they hold. This is important. The ’supply’ side of the equation that needs to be evaluated is not the number of websites containing your keyword, but the number of websites that are actual competitors.

If the top websites are giving away your information for free, like government sites, then maybe it is time to find a different keyword to target.

But more likely you will see only a few, or maybe a few dozen websites that actually provide meaningful content or products that compete against you. Instead of a theoretical 5,000,000 websites, in reality there may only be 50 - or less.

The R/S ratio analysis is also primarily only important for natural search engine results. Through pay-per-click programs you can jump your website to the top of the search engine results page, and your competition for PPC keywords will be even less. Sometimes it will be nonexistent.

You also need to remember that a high R/S ratio in Google may not be high in Yahoo, 7Search, or another search engine. Similarly, keywords for which bidding competition is fierce on Google may be wide-open in Overture.

As a result, do not be quick to disregard an entire keyword market due to your initial evaluation that the keyword has a terrible supply and demand ratio. Dig a little. Review the actual search engine results and act as a potential customer to better assess what the real competition is. Compare different search engines, and evaluate different PPC programs. This extra effort will often unveil profitable markets that your competitors, using a flawed analysis, will neglect.

Brian Kindsvater has been marketing online since 1994. Brian shares research about niche products, free and useful marketing resources, and valuable articles at the exclusive membership site http://nichex.com. Brian Kindsvater’s legal articles can be found at http://lawzilla.com

I had an interesting encounter the other day with one of my readers. Actually, every encounter with my readers is interesting. They are never boring. This lady read some of my articles about living in Guanajuato, Mexico. She and her husband live in Mexico already but are thinking of moving to Guanajuato.

We corresponded with a couple of e-mails and I think I offended this woman. Whenever I get e-mails from people asking about living in Guanajuato, I immediately make the assumption that they are virtually Spanish-illiterate. I am almost always correct.

You see, what exists in the mostly American expatriate communities in Mexico, like San Miguel de Allende, Puerto Vallarta, and the popular resort areas where American expats have traditionally flocked, is they do not learn Spanish nor do they assimilate into the culture. They do in Mexico what they would be screaming about if they were still in the States concerning the immigrant population in Americanot learning English and thus not assimilating into the culture.

I do not want to see in Guanajuato what has happened in other areas of Mexico. In San Miguel de Allende, for example, you could live and never have to speak one word of Spanish. Many of the American expats are quite upfront about this issue and ask why they should learn Spanish. They require anyone who works for them to speak English. This attitude has changed San Miguel de Allende into something other than what it used to be. It is an American colony or enclave in a Mexican wrapper.

My conversation with this reader took on a scary tone. She took offense at the direction most of my writing about Mexico has taken in recent months. In my first book, The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico, I dealt with issues concerning The Ugly American in Mexico. If you want to read some “reviews,” go to Amazon.com and type in Doug Bower. Read the reactions to that book. Americans who review the book negatively say things like, “He is a bitter man.” or “He has issues.”

Americans do not want to confront the reality that they act badly in foreign countries. Mexico is no exception. Though not all without exception come here and act like they were raised by wolves, a great deal of them certainly do. To prove that point, all you would have to do is come to San Miguel de Allende and sit in the Jardin for a while. You would not be disappointed.

In our new book, which will be released in two weeks, I deal with the reality of Americans who do want to learn the language and assimilate into the culture. I also write about what it is we have to deal with on a daily basis living in Mexico. The first book: the reality of Americans acting badly in Mexico. The second book: the reality of how hard it is to live in Mexico.

Mexico is not a perfect society. From the way some Americans react to what I have written about the realities of Mexican culture, one that is vastly different from the American culture and one that is very difficult, you would think that Mexicans personify holy righteousness.

They do not.

Some American expats are so infatuated with Mexico that they simply cannot see there is indeed a dark side to the culture. And, if you point it out, even with proofs and reasoning, they label you a bigot.

For example, I pointed out in an article, “not one shred of logic or an ethic of honesty applies in this country.” I should have clarified that with a, “as we Americans understand honesty and logic.” As Americans, we would regard it as dishonest for a landlord to wire outside security lights into your duplex electric meter, not tell you about it, and expect you to pay for the higher light bill. This happened to us here in Guanajuato.

When we figured this out, we moved immediately. Before writing about this, I asked my Mexican friends about this situation. They told me this is standard practice and it did not shock them. I was told that since I am an American, it is assumed that to do something like this is ok.

Another example: We were told by a Mexican woman we trusted that it is standard practice for contractors to have elaborate schemes to cheat Americans. When you hire someone to paint your house, he will tell you the “American price” for the paint and labor, paint your house, and then pocket the difference.

And, there is the American Price for things and there is the Mexican Price for things. Most expats we know will send a trusted Mexican friend to buy things because when the vendors or service people see the American coming, the price goes up, up, and up!

Just the other day, we got lectured that “We” needed to walk on one side of the sidewalk so the Mexicans could walk on the inside part of the sidewalk. “We” should walk on the side closest to the street.

On three occasions, either a bus or a truck has hit me because Mexicans have shoved me off the sidewalk. The same thing happened to an American expat who is almost 70 years old. A taxi nailed her. Mexicans also shove each other off the sidewalks. On the buses, it is even more horrible.

I cannot count the times I have been on a bus when a pregnant woman, with small kids in tow, gets on and no one will get up so she can sit down. You could be a crippled pregnant woman with kids in tow, and blind as well, and your fellow Mexicans will not surrender their seats for you. This is such a problem that the local television stations in Central Mexico have started doing public service announcements dealing with this “reality of Mexican life.” This is a reality that some American expats, like this woman who wrote me, cannot (or refuse to) see.

They would not be doing these television announcements if this were not an issue. Mexicans in central Mexico will not surrender their bus seats to handicapped persons or pregnant ladies. There have been some horrid accidents as the result.

It is to this sort of rhetoric that the woman who wrote me took offense.

What then does an American Expatriate who is a writer do? Ignore it? Pretend it does not exist? Look the other way?

I think not.

I’ve been trying to think, “just how did this woman who wrote me manage to miss this reality if she already lives in Mexico?”

Here is what I came up with:

Americans, the vast majority, come here and do not learn Spanish. They depend on cable or satellite television, all in English, and would not watch the local television station’s public service announcements. How could they understand the announcements if they did see them?

They live in isolated Americans-only gated communities. They live in an isolated situation and never (or at least rarely) mix with the nationalsas in San Miguel de Allendeso they do not see the realities of Mexican living.

They’ve invented their own reality.

OUR NEW BOOK

Guanajuato, México–New Book offers survival tips in the Land of Frogs

Guanajuato, México - According to the 2000 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, published by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Service, an estimated 300,000 Americans would expatriate to other countries each year between 2000 and 2005. Some estimates predict the number will continue to increase each year after 2005. Americans are leaving the country in droves, most of whom settle in Mexico. The authors of The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico have written a new book targeting a specific area of Mexico where Americans are moving as expatriates, study abroad students, or retirees. This new book is titled, GUANAJUATO, MXICO: Your Expat, Study Abroad, and Vacation Survival Manual in the Land of Frogs.

Contact Information:
Doug and Cindi Bower
http://mexicanliving.access.to/

What do you know about bird flu?

NO - what do you really KNOW about bird flu, as opposed to what you have been told by the media? Probably not a lot.

Much has been made of the potential for the H5N1 avian flu virus to disrupt not just localities but even whole regions, countries and civilization as we know it. Unfortunately, much of what is believed by the public is a far cry from the truth, which we present here for the first time.

Misunderstanding #1. Bird flu is a new, foreign disease.

The truth: H5N1 Bird flu has been around for nearly 50 years, and was first isolated not in China, Korea or Thailand, but in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1959. Since then, not one Scots child has died from bird flu, despite panic-inducing headlines that hundreds of thousands could now be at risk.

Amazingly, this has been totally ignored by the media, whose colorful maps showing geographical spread of the disease all point to the far east as the initial source of the problem. Showing complete lack of any investigational skill or desire to discover the truth, we still see these every day.

Misunderstanding #2. Bird flu has killed millions of birds.

Actually, no it hasn’t. Of course there have been a few deaths from the disease, however the vast majority of the millions of birds that have died since this outbreak began have been killed DELIBERATELY. Like the horror scenes we saw as a result of barbaric approaches to the benign foot and mouth disease outbreaks in the UK or the previous threat BSE (mad cow disease), the animals we have seen butchered and burned were not killed because the HAD the disease, only because they were considered to be AT RISK of getting it - an entirely different thing.

Of course, that little fact is ignored in the scare-mongering that is currently sweeping the globe, where facts seem to matter little!

Misunderstanding #3. But millions could die - people are already dying.

Once again, this is far-fetched and sheer speculation. So far (according to the WHO) there have been fewer than 200 cases WORLDWIDE from bird flu and a little over 100 deaths. Normal flu kills many times more than that EVERY DAY. Granted, there seems to be a high death rate amongst those diagnosed with the disease, but let’s not forget that we are talking about poorly nourished susbistence farmers and farm workers who work in appalling conditions.

Many of the farms involved are of the intensive variety, producing millions of birds at a time in conditions that can only be described as barbaric and filthy. Is it any wonder both the birds and the workers get sick.

Misunderstanding #4. Bird flu is readily passed to humans.

This is perhaps the easiest point to answer. What is quite clear from the above figures is exactly the opposite! Despite working ankle-deep in bird-sh*t every day, thousands of people and millions of birds are unaffected. If the disease was readily transmitted to and between humans, it would have caused a lot of problems in other countries before now.

Misunderstanding #5. All birds and people should be vaccinated against H5N1 flu.

First of all, no human vaccine exists (at least publicly) against H5N1 flu. This is a GOOD thing. We have been taken for a ride by an immensely greedy group of people who have led us down this path before - remember “swine flu” in the 1970’s (a proven pharmaceutical fraud, whose “vaccine response” killed thousands, when the disease itself killed No-one!).

In fact virtually ALL vaccines contain some of the most toxic chemicals known to man and NONE have ever been proven to be of benefit, let alone prevent disease. Rather they have been shown time and again to CAUSE disease in massive numbers, which is why compensation programs exist.

We wouldn’t be surprised if some enterprising pharmaceutical company just happens to have something on the back burner to be produced when the price (and the demand) is right. However, we also wouldn’t be surprised if its use led to drug-induced death on a scale never before seen despite the fact that medicine is the leading cause of death in the Western World.

These shocking truths, and many more lie waiting to be discovered, so let me ask you again, what do you really know about bird flu?

Brian Adamson
Totally-Natural
Natural Health Information Centre

This article is Copyright 2006 totally-natural.com, but may be freely distributed in its entirety when properly attributed to the author and with links intact.

Prevent bird flu with our NEW bird flu E-book

The 1650 is somewhat boring compared to other products made by Nokia. The 1650 is an entry level phone and, compared to some of the more well known models within this price band it is basic but functional. Like other comparable mobile phones from Nokia the visual design is very contemporary and would be appealing to a very broad range of customers.The 1650 from Nokia is a sleek and stylish handset.

The display type on this mobile handset is a CSTN, 65K colors. We found the 1650 very compact and easy to carry. The Nokia 1650 weighs in at 80 g If colour is something you are interested in you may like to know that the 1650 is available in, Red and Black. The Nokia 1650 is supplied with a Li-Ion 1020 mAh (BL-5C) battery. On to battery life the Nokia 1650 has 420 hours reserve time and 8:00 talk time. The Nokia 1650 has support for 2G GSM 900 / 1800 . The available ring-tones enabled on the 1650 are Polyphonic (32 channels) including a vibrating alert. There are also a number of additional features on the 1650 like:

Regrettably for Nokia the 1650 has already been surpassed making it possible to find a fantastic deal on this phone. The most cost effective place to buy a mobile at the moment is on the Internet. Shopping online can allow you to take advantage of significant cost savings, surprisingly, it is possible to get a Nokia 1650 with 12 months free , which will not cost a dime.

So you’ve decided to have an online business. Before you start having those big cash flow dreams, stop and get some tips for having an online business. There are many internet information resources for doing this sort of thing. However, the basic tips for an online business are very close to those of a traditional business. Here are some basics:

• Write a business plan and revise that plan periodically. Your business plan should be thought of as a living document. As with any business, you will initially find out what works and what does not work and will have to change your plan accordingly.

• Be very careful about buying webspace and pre-packaged website templates for your business (the “we will build your website” people). You’ll find that down the road it will be difficult to change the site plus get source code to it. You are better off outsourcing the web design with a freelancer and purchasing your own domain and installing the site yourself.

• Make sure you follow all security measures when running a site that accepts credit cards for purchases.

• If you expect to receive a lot of phone calls, you may want to consider hiring an answering service.

• Run your online business like a business. You will need to discipline yourself with working hours to take care of all offsite matters because you will have them. A lot of people make the mistake of treating their internet business merely as a website, which can be very detrimental because running an online business requires an approach that you would have with an offline business.

• Your marketing plan needs to include search engine optimization (SEO). This is important because you want your site to rank in the top 10 of search engine query results. You would be wise to study SEO techniques or hire the services of a SEO consultant.

• Some other marketing ideas include posting your web address on the back windshield of your vehicle or coordinating with other websites to include a backlink to your site. Word of mouth is always one of the best tools for advertising your site. With the advent of Google Adword, Overture and other similar advertising, it is possible to drive targeted traffic to your site by finding keywords that have very low bids. You will be able to measure your conversion ratio of such traffic with sales in realtime.

Customer service is even more critical as customers do not “see” you and building trust with them is a little harder. Performance builds trust.

Copyright 2006 HowToAll

Andrew Smith is the co-owner of HowToAll, a site providing information on how to get things done on a numerous topics.
http://www.howtoall.com

The big black and white killer whale — his four-foot sail-like dorsal fin erect and rising from a long sleek black and white body — came slicing rapidly through the water, seemiingly on a collision course with our vessel.

Sort of a black and white torpedo with eyes, fin, flippers, and fluke!

The Kansas lady to my right gave a little gasp. “Might it hit us?” she asked
plaintively.

No time for her husband to answer. Seconds later, and only a scant four yards
from our starboard rail, the orca suddenly dove, his body and dorsal disappearing
from view. His course took him directly under (not into!) our boat. A mad scramble
ensued as all of us raced through and around the ship’s forward lounge to the port
side of the vessel. Most of us made it in time to see the great dorsal resurface. The
creature thrust mightily with his horizontal fluke and sped away at incredible speed.

“Oh my,” said Kansas Lady, “that was a sight.”

“Oh yes,” replied Kansas Man, “a sight indeed.”

But the great thing was, it was only one of many memorable moments that day
as we cruised the waters of Resurrection Bay and Kenai Fjords National Park on an
afternoon excursion out of the historic Alaskan city of Seward. Our ship was the
Alaskan Explorer, one of several sightseeing vessels operated by Kenai Fjords Tours.
In spite of absolutely rotten rainy weather during some portions of the trip, we (wife
Marilyn and I) enjoyed one of the best waterborne excursions we have ever
experienced. Proof indeed that in Alaska one should never forgo the pleasures of an
outing just because of inclement weather; just dress warmly, in layers, for it.

The trip began about 11:30 a.m., shortly after we arrived in the Resurrection
Bay city aboard the Alaska Railroad morning train from Anchorage. After leaving the
dock we heard words of welcome and instruction from not one but two skippers,
Chris and Roy. They advised us:

“Keep your hat on your head. We don’t go back for hats unless you are wearing
one.”

“If you see any folks in the water, throw them a life ring - whether of not they
are from this vessel.”

“A few nautical terms: ‘Port’ means left, ’starboard’ means right, ‘aft’ is toward
the back of the vessel and the ‘bow’ is the pointy end of the boat.”

And, “If you feel seasick, go aft to the rail on the lower deck. Repeat, aft!”

Shortly thereafter we had a tasty lunch, deli-style, consisting of breaded
chicken or breaded fish (or both), apple chips, choice of light beverage, and cookies.

Our meal was interrupted (we didn’t mind) by the sight of our first critter of the
day, a solitary sea otter who drifted by on the port side of the ship. (”Left?” someone
asked. “Yeah, left.”) The creature was reclining in classic sea otter pose - flat on his
back in the water, paws under his chin, with lower legs and tail tucked up toward his
tummy.

“He weighs about 100 pounds and he has,” said one of our captains speaking
from the bridge, “one of the densest coats on earth.”

We heard lots of “Oohs,” “Aaahs,” and “Isn’t he darling…” coming from all over
the lounge. One of our table mates, Pat Horner of New Jersey, was enthralled.
“Nothing like this in New Jersey,” she told us. Her daughter, Gayle Newfeld of
Kodiak, has seen plenty of sea otters near her Alaska home digs. But she, like us,
was thrilled as well.

Next on our mammal list came a Dall’s porpoise, about a hundreds yards to
starboard. “He’s one of the fastest swimmers in the North Pacific,” said the voice
from the skipper’s mike. “Flipper in a tux. He weighs about 300 pounds and can
travel upwards of 35 miles an hour.”

Then - highlight of our trip by any measure - came our romp on the wild side
with the orcas (killer whales), including the eight-ton male who threatened to
“torpedo” us.

Incredibly, during the course of our cruise not one but two separate killer
whale pods, a half-dozen or so animals in each group, joined us to frolic close by
our vessel.

Both groups paced us, raced us, and surrounded us when we slowed.
They rolled, sounded, made shallow breaches, and approached literally within
inches of our ship.

Once, ignoring the rain and looking straight down from my post at the forward
port rail, I found myself gazing incredulously into one creature’s “blow” hole! Thank
goodness he didn’t take that moment to exhale.

Another time the voice from the bridge announced the presence of Steller’s sea
lions, the first of several large or smaller sightings. A big bunch of them, maybe
three dozen or more, were sleeping, lounging, crawling, and climbing on rocky
beach ledges at the base of a steep granite cliff. A few were swimming in the water,
just off shore. Some looked dark gray, almost black; others were light rusty brown
in color. “Actually,” we were told, “they are all the same color. Their fur just looks
dark when they’re wet.” Whatever their coloration, these were impressive specimens,
weighing in at a ton or more for the bulls, but “only” 650 pounds for the more
diminutive females. Even from within the lounge of our vessel we could hear their
incessant growls and bellowing.

Throughout our cruise, in spite of the weather, we saw a goodly number of
seabirds including cormorants, American bald eagles, puffins (with little round
“football” bodies and parrot-like beaks, the most comical-looking bird to fly over
and dive into northern seas), black-legged kittiwakes, and (my personal favorite)
murres. These incredible alcids can dive while fishing to a depth of 300 feet below
the water’s surface or more. Wow! That’s equal to the height of a 30-story building.
Because of their black and white coloring some folk call them “penguins of the
north;” I prefer to think of penguins as “murres of the south.”

And what would an Alaska cruise be without glacier viewing? The ice river we
saw and photographed and ogled over that day was Holgate Glacier. Not the biggest
on the Pacific coast by any means, but a beautiful, classic tidewater glacier with
deep blue colors and an impressive face that calved a few small “growler” bergs into
the sea to the delight of all on board.

Our excursion ended about 5:30 p.m., just in time to board our rail cars for the
return trip to Anchorage.

It was, all agreed, a marvelous tour, one that Alaska visitors can put in their
memory caches as among the best trips in the north country.

Come this spring, summer, or fall you could do a lot worse than book one of
these tours. More information is available on the internet at http://www.kenaifjords.com.

Alaskan Travel Writer Michael Miller lives in Juneau where he writes newspaper and
magazine articles as well as Alaska guidebooks. He also publishes a comprehensive
informational website about Alaska cruising. Visit the site at
http://www.AlaskaCruisingReport.com

Arthritis is usually not a contracted disease like a cold or the flu. It is most often a condition of self neglect, caused by malnutrition, dehydration and an overly acidic body. Yes, certain types of arthritis sometime run in families, such as rheumatoid arthritis; however just because you have a genetic weakness does not make arthritis inevitable. Independent modern research has shown that there are many different ways of treatment and prevention of arthritis. It couldn’t come at a better time as arthritis symptoms, particularly osteoarthritis incidence has risen dramatically in the last 10 to 20 years. The search for arthritis pain relief has been the prime thrust of much pharmaceutical drug research. Unfortunately, the public can no longer depend on the effects of many of these drugs as they been proven to be more dangerous than the condition they were developed for as proven by the withdrawal of Vioxx from the marketplace due to mortality from extended use. Western medical treatment of arthritis primarily includes use of steroids, pain relief medication and surgical intervention. Prior to the research of these alternative methods of treatment, medical doctors took a watchful wait and see attitude towards arthritis until such time surgical intervention would be called for (knee or hip replacement). There are other effective methods of treating arthritis other than surgery or long-term use of drugs that have very dangerous side-effects and indeed often increase the symptoms of arthritis. Fortunately, new research has shown other extremely effective methods of not only relieving the pain of arthritis but also actually rebuilding the affected joints. Even the American Medical Association has advocated the use of many of these approaches which include glucosamine, chondroitin, devils claw and numerous other easily available, effective and safe natural treatments for arthritis and the symptoms of arthritis. With education and public awareness of the early signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, the average member of the public can successfully treat osteoarthritis of the major joints. Yes, you can even rebuild damaged joints that have been giving you grating, 24 hour pain in some cases for decades.

The importance of diet and proper hydration (drinking water) is proving to be extremely important for prevention of arthritis. Did you know that one of the most common problems for seniors is dehydration? Did you know that one of the major components in cartilage found in all joints is water?

The point that I am making is often a change in diet, lifestyle, drinking habits are also needed in order to successfully and permanently treat arthritis. Remember that all choices you make help to create your body. These include healthy as well as bad choices, different choices = different outcomes. Be prepared to change some of the fundamentals in your life.

Martin Stone is a practicing Naturopath with 25 years clinical and writing experience. He is a published Author and regular contributor to Woodland Publishers as well as a number of other herbal and supplement companies.