The Clever Apprentice

Many American’s receive joint replacements each year. It is a method for senior citizens or anyone with worn out joints to obtain additional years of being active and enjoying life. Patients trust that a procedure such as this is so common and routine, they don’t question their doctors opinions nor do they question the manufacturers of their joint replacements about the quality of the product being implanted into them. This has tended to cause practices which could even produce damage to you or those you care about. If you know someone who has received a hip replacement, read on for this important information about the manufacturer zimmer hip replacement recall.

The current hip replacement surgery has been happening since the 1970’s, which is why it may seem so ordinary to one. A hip replacement, like those made by Zimmer Durom, typically involve three individual pieces designed to mock how an organic knee joint would. The use a substitute part made of metal to replace a section of the femur bone. A bone cement or screws to hold the contraption in place allows movement like the joint naturally would.

Click here in order to feel out more information about the zimmer durom hip replacement

One of the most common issues with hip replacements is the need for revision, or a further surgery to correct issues with the implant. Regrettably, this is an issue that a lot of older people and actually healthy younger patients can’t handle. This is the special target of the zimmer durom hip. The Durom implant was supposed to be durable and was understandably, advocated for younger recipients, whose conditions warranted such surgeries. But more than 10% of these paitents are in need for having repeat surgery in the next 2 years.

If you or someone you know has had a hip replacement surgery in the last several years, ask your doctor if it was a Durom. In the event that it was, whether your hip replacement has failed or not at this point, you can participate in a legal class action. If Zimmer Durom reaches you don’t sign anything or you could lose this right.

BPH, or benign prostate hyperplasia, is a medical term for a swollen prostate gland. Put simply this means that the prostate, a mass which encloses the urethra and lies under the bladder, swells this can impair or possibly even block urinary flow. As most males age, their prostate gland grows and may engender various complaints for example problems passing urine, reduced urinary stream, and urinary retention. Frequent night time urination and even persistent urinary tract inflammation may also be brought about by an enlarged prostatic gland. So What Is An Enlarged Prostate? Males over sixty frequently develop prostate enlargement. An annual testing is suggested for every man over 50, regardless of the presentation of problems, for the maintenance of prostate health. Look For medical intervention at once if blood is observed in the urine or you are unable to micturate. Established therapies for Benign Prostate Hyperplasia can be surgical procedures and the use of drugs. Unfortunately, erection difficulties or inability to control micturition can be experienced following surgery. An alpha blocker or drugs to shrink the prostate gland are often suggested for better prostatic health, but medicines often result in undesirable side effects so what are some more natural treatments?

Prostate Enlargment Troubles? Find Natural Treatments to a More Healthy Prostate Gland: To assist in the reduction of any symptoms created by an enlarged prostatic gland and also to further improved prostatic health, a few herbal therapies may provide ease. African pygeum brings down swelling, supplying ease from the more irritating symptoms. The herb African Pygeum has been regularly tested for quite a few years in Europe as a formula to encourage better prostatic health, it is a product of a tree indigenous to southern Africa. A reduction of fats in the diet may improve symptoms, and in addition increasing exercise, pressure in the prostate may be eased through ejaculating more often, it is also best to avoid sitting for a long period of time. Symptoms are frequently made worse through the consumption of antihistamines and decongestant drugs bought over-the-counter, consume these with care. Cut back on coffee and alcohol consumption, and don’t drink close to retiring for the night to cut down nighttime visits to the lavatory. You’ll also find additional alternative remedies used for better prostatic function — these include the herb saw palmetto, starflower oil, selenium, and also lycopene, a molecule found in tomatoes. Before commencing any herbal treatment plan make sure to discuss your intent with a doctor.

RNA therapy is a novel technique of soothing diseases including cancers, involving mesothelioma. It can be defined as the treatment which utilizes hereditary materials or DNA which will send a enzyme in the bacterium or hinder with the mixture of enzyme in a microorganism so as to treat a health problem. RNA are basic biological parts of genetics. They are sub-units of genes which holds the instruction for creating proteins. These genes are located in the chromosomes in the core of the microorganisms. Pertaining to the Human Genome Project most of the genetic materials in people have been summarized. People have around 30,000 and 40,000 DNA strands. At the point these DNA are adjusted either by transmutation or by removing, it may perhaps run differently finalizing in cancers.

Investigation is being done to use DNA therapy to battle abnormal cell growths likes mesothelioma cancer. Gene therapy attempts either improving the means of the healthy cells to engage the cancer cells or straightforwardly remove the carcinomas or prevent their development. At present genetic therapy is just in clinical trials and at the moment it cannot be used for treating sicknesses including cancer. It may take many years to learn if it does have an important role in the treatment of carcinomas of all kinds.

In RNA therapy genes are put in to the cells that are targeted. Most of the clinical experiments are done using protein 53. This genetic material is called Tumor suppressor gene. If this gene malfunctions, it could finalize in many different sorts of cancer like colon cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal carcinoma,, lung carcinoma, etc. In gene therapy, this gene and other desired genetic material are inserted in to the target cells to thwart the expansion of cancer.

The DNA is usually placed to the patients cells by these procedures: Microinjection of genes into the cells and Electroporation. DNA carriers are called a vector. The vector in nearly all circumstances is a virus. These viruses are altered so that they do not make any sickness in the person and thus are not harmful. The mutation also makes the virus to find the target cells. The vectors are selected because of the exact details and necessities like how good they transfer DNA to the cells they recognize and are able to infect, and whether they change the cells DNA permanently or temporarily.

Want to get fit and lose some weight? Are you tired of struggling to stay on your diet and exercise plan? No matter what your current fitness level, there’s a good chance that a few small changes can bring you MUCH better results.

Here are 3 of the most powerful fitness “secrets” to help you get (or stay) on track to a healthier, better-looking body:

1. Workout early in the day.

If you workout early on in the day, you’ll probably have a much more effective workout — mainly because you have more energy and are “fresher” than you are in the afternoon or evening. Also, studies have shown that people who workout in the morning tend to stick with their exercise programs longer and achieve better long-term results

2. Eat some healthy fat every day.

One of the worst mistakes you can make is to cut out all or most of the fat from your diet. Simply put, the human body needs some healthy fat to function properly. Also, it becomes extremely difficult to lose weight when you begin to cut your fat intake too much. The key is to choose healthy, fitness-friendly fats. A few of the best fat sources include: extra-virgin olive oil, flax oil, fish oil, virgin coconut oil, avocado, and raw nuts/seeds.

3. Don’t let yourself get hungry.

Hunger is the enemy of anyone trying to lose weight. If you try to fight hunger, eventually you will lose. The key to real weight loss success is to never let yourself get hungry. If this means snacking all day long then do it! But, of course, you have to choose the right snacks in order to be successful. The next time you start to feel hungry, quickly grab one or more of the following “super snacks” and eat:

apples
oranges
berries
dried prunes
raw veggies with low-fat dip
unsalted or lightly-salted nuts
low-fat/low-sugar yogurt
a few whole-grain crackers w/ low-fat cheese
a whole-wheat tortilla with hummus
beef/turkey/ostrich jerky
a bowl of whole-grain/non-sugared cereal
a high-protein/low-carb smoothie

…just to name a few! For more healthy snack ideas pick up one of the many healthy cookbooks at your local bookstore.

Jamie Clark is a writer and co-editor for RealFitnessExperts.com. For tons of useful tips and tricks from some of the world’s top fitness experts be sure to visit: http://www.realfitnessexperts.com today!

Extra body weight is being perceived as an epidemic in the United States. The latest data from the National Center for Health Statistics show that 30 percent of U.S. adults 20 years of age and older - over 60 million people - are obese. About 60-65 percent people in the U.S. alone are overweight. This increase is not limited to adults. The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than tripled since 1980. Among children and teens aged 6-19 years, 16 percent (over 9 million young people) are considered overweight.

One common measure to determine ideal body weight is body mass index (BMI), which is a ratio of height and weight multiplied by a factor. This ratio should be less than 25 for both men and women. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight, and a BMI equal or over 30 is clinically obese. Obesity has also been linked to other nutritional disorders, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardio-vascular diseases. Shockingly, the numbers of teen obesity in the United States is also leading to teen diabetes.

One factor that is chiefly responsible for the accumulation of extra body weight among Americans is the fast food culture. These fast foods chiefly include burgers, sandwiches, fries, pizza and soda. All these foods are high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt - the main enemies of ideal body weight and optimum health. They are also low in essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace elements) and fiber - the friends of good health and general well being. So why is this fast food culture overpowering us? Face it - any food that is high in fat, sugar and salt tastes so good. And fast food well qualifies for this category. In addition to the taste temptation, fast food is also readily available and unfortunately cheaper than the healthy food. The other factors that contribute to excess body weight are lack of exercise, sedentary lifestyles, and improper eating habits leading to decreased metabolism, certain medical conditions and their drug after-effects.

Weight loss, weight gain and weight maintenance is no magic. It is simply a ratio of calories-in and calories-out. By “calories-in” we mean how many calories you are obtaining from your food on a daily basis, and by “calories-out” we mean how many of these calories you are burning in the same day. In order to lose weight, your calories-out should be more than your calories-in everyday until you reach your weight loss goals. For maintaining weight, there should be no significant difference between your calories-in and calories-out on a daily basis. For gaining weight (for example, for underweight people), your calories-in should be greater than your calories-out until your reach your desired body weight. It is recommended that a big part of the calories-in for the people trying to gain weight should come from protein sources, so they gain muscles rather than body fat.

Now, the question is how do we calculate calories-in and calories-out. Your calories-in can be calculated with the help of a dietician, who would calculate the calorie equivalent of the food that you consume in general on a daily basis. There are also software available to do the same calculations that you can search over the internet. The calories-out are in general more than your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is the amount of calories that your body burns without any activity. Many dieticians and gymnasiums offer the RMR calculation tests. Also, there are software available to calculate your RMR that you can search over the internet. In order to lose weight, the general rule is that you need to consume fewer calories per day that your body burns naturally anyway. Either with the help of a dietician or these nutrition software, you can come up with certain foods or their quantity to cut down from your daily diet in order to start losing weight. At this point, it is extremely important to know that you only need to cut down on your calories-in, but you still need all other nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals and fiber, for optimum health. If your weight loss plan includes cutting down on certain foods and / or their quantity, it will be a good idea to include the supplements of these vitamins and minerals to ensure optimum nutrition.

It should be noted that carbohydrates, fats and proteins provide the calories in the food. So obviously one has to cut down on these nutrients in order to restrict one’s calorie intake. When it comes to carbohydrates, you should cut down on the bad carb intake that are high in calories and also burn fast making you hungry again. The bad carbs are mainly derived from processed foods and sweet snacks and desserts, such as, candies, cookies, chips, doughnuts, brownies, Danish, etc. Rather, these bad carbs should be substituted with good carbs. The sources of good carbs are whole grains like rice, wheat, oat, barley, whole grain cereals, whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, etc. The nutrition recommendation is that less than 30 percent of your total calorie intake should come from fat.

This fat consumption should be lower in saturated fat and should include unsaturated fats, such as polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats, as they are beneficial for heart and general health. The good sources of these beneficial fats are vegetable oils, fish oil and olive oil. As far as proteins are concerned, about 40-50 percent of the human body mass is composed of proteins. Therefore, one has to be really careful when it comes to protein nutrition. One should cut down on red meat foods that are although high in proteins, are also high in fat. One should increase the intake of vegetarian sources of proteins, such as soy, beans, pulses, as they are generally low in fat. The good sources of animal proteins are chicken and fish as they are in general low in saturated fat and high in unsaturated fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids.

About author:

Dr. PJ Prakash holds a Ph.D. in Human Nutrition from the University of Rhode Island (U.S.A.) and a Post-Doctorate in Human Nutritional Biochemistry from the Tufts Medical School, Boston (U.S.A.). He previously worked as a nutrition scientist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston where he published several research papers in prestigious nutrition journals. Currently, he is a nutrition consultant and personal weight loss coach (http://www.healthyme4ever.com/) and also a freelance writer in the field of human nutrition.

Recently, a number of articles have been published on static magnetic therapy. Static magnetic therapy is the placement of a magnet field on or near the body to enhance healing, relieve pain and improve body function. The idea of magnetism is not new. Early Chinese medical literature claimed healing properties for lodestrone, a naturally magnetic mineral. For centuries, static magnetic therapy has been used by eastern practitioners to relieve pain and swelling, and to induce healing. Since the 1950’s, numerous Japanese studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of magnetic fields for treating various conditions. Many magnetic devices are registered with the Japanese Welfare Ministry as medical devices, after undergoing clinical testing at accredited medical institutions to verify their safety and effectiveness.

For many years, the Magnetic Health Science Foundation has been meeting annually in Japan to report on the growing body of evidence of the scientific technology of magnetic research. To date, there are now over 300 published articles on magnetic research.

But, do magnets really work? The answer may lie in understanding the laws of physics, and in reviewing recent scientific evidence.

We are energetic beings surrounded by naturally generated electromagnetic energy, fields of energy which are created by the spinning and moving of electrons and charged particles within the cell.

Some of the early awareness of the importance of electromagnetic energy fields was discovered when the Russian cosmonauts first spent long periods of time on board the Mir space station; they became sick. Their illnesses appeared to be caused by the lack of contact with the magnetic field surrounding the earth. Once the Russian space station was equipped with a magnetism generator, the symptoms disappeared.

All cells within the body are ordered by magnetism; the atoms and molecules are tiny magnets with a positive and negative pole. All communication within the body occurs through electric currents and the electromagnetic frequencies they generate.

According to the laws of physics, the first law of electromagnetism states that if an electron or other charged particle is moving it generates a magnetic field. The corollary to this rule is that if an electron or charged particle encounters a magnetic field it must move.

So how does this apply to magnetic therapy, healing, and pain? When a person is injured, the body immediately reacts to restore the body to its natural balanced state. In brief, the injured tissue produces a chemical reaction whereby acids are released and chemicals are brought to the injured site to begin a healing process. This chemical reaction leads to swelling which causes pain.

The theory is that when a magnetic field is placed at or near the injured site the electromagnetic field induces a current or charge in the tissues in the body. This charge causes the toxins (acids and other chemicals) to move, the toxins are removed and excreted, and a natural healing state ensues. As this change occurs, the blood flow to the injured site is improved, the swelling is reduced, and pain is alleviated.

Some scientists believe that magnetic therapy causes the body to dispose of waste materials (toxins) more quickly and speeds up the healing process. Numerous studies have been conducted on the effects of static magnetic therapy in Asia and Europe. Recently, scientists in the US have begun reporting their results of the effectiveness of magnetic fields.

Magnetic therapy has been found to be effective in alleviating burning, numbness and tingling, and exercise induced foot pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy (Weintraub 1998, 1999, 2003); in alleviating neuropathic pain in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (Weintraub & Cole 2000); in alleviating pain in people suffering from osteoarthritis in the knees and hips (Harlow 2004, Hinman 2002, Pipitone 2001, Wosko 2004); and in other chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (Segal 2001), fibromyalgia (Alfono 2001, Thomas 2001) and chronic back pain (Collacott 2000).

Although the scientific research in the United States is still in the early stages compared to the Asian and European studies, static magnetic therapy has been shown to have no detrimental side effects and has great promise for those suffering from chronic painful conditions.

For more information on magnetic studies and where to find magnetic devices, go to our website: www.mayaintegratedmedicine.org or email us at:info@mayaintegratedmedicine.org

Jeanette M. Conner PhD, MS, MN, ARNP

Dr. Conner is the President and Director of the Maya Center for Integrated Medicine & Research in Shelburne Vermont; a health and wellness center focused on providing comprehensive traditional and complementary services while encouraging individual healing through self care. Dr. Conner is an Associate Professor of Clinical Research at Dartmouth Medical School, Department of Community & Family Medicine. She has conducted clinical research in health care for over 10 years, and now focuses her efforts on teaching others to promote their health and heal illness through the use of mind-body-spirit medicine.

Are you making losing weight harder than it has to be? One of the most important keys to weight loss success is ensuring that you are not standing in your own way. When you eliminate self-sabotaging behaviors, you are free to focus on external challenges and temptations rather than wasting time on self-created issues.

In this article, we will discuss three of the most common physical ways you can sabotage yourself.

Booby trapping your cabinets

One of the most common reasons for diet failures is bringing unhealthy foods into the house. You may bring a package of cookies home and say it’s for the kids, but admit it: Some of those cookies will probably end up in your mouth. It’s best to leave the cookies on the store shelf and not lead yourself into temptation.

Instead, make sure that you are setting yourself up to win in the nutrition arena. Be sure that you have plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products in your home. That way, you will reach for food that will satisfy you inside and out when you are hungry rather than go for the foods that just satisfy your tongue.

Creating ‘bottomless food pits’

A bottomless food pit is an environment in which a large quantity of unhealthy food is made available to you in one sitting. Examples are buffets, whole pizzas, tubs of buttered popcorn, boxes of cookies, and bags of potato chips.

If you have a hard time controlling your food intake, then you will be more likely to overeat when faced with a bottomless food pit. I remember going to the movies on more than one occasion when I was overweight and sitting down with a tub of buttered popcorn. I’d become so engrossed in the movie that I didn’t notice the robotic way that I was taking popcorn from the tub and putting it into my mouth. I only became conscious of what I was doing when my hand scraped the bottom of the empty tub.

You want to eat consciously and enjoy the experience. If you do want to enjoy popcorn at the movies, then order the smallest size. If you must have cookies or potato chips, then have the snack size (not the grab bag size, which can contain 2 servings or more).

If you are going to a buffet, be sure to have an apple or other piece of fruit before you leave home. That way, you can decide which items you will have rationally rather than be at the mercy of a ravenous appetite when you get to the buffet!

Sleeping with the enemy

While it is true that some fast food restaurants are offering healthy items on their menus today, most menu items are still either fatty, salty, sugary, or a combination of the three. Be honest: If you go into Burger King and smell the hamburgers and fries, how likely is it that you will order a salad? Again, you don’t want to lead yourself into temptation.

However if you must go to a fast food restaurant, then I recommend that you check out the establishment’s Web site beforehand. Usually, they will post the menu and provide nutritional statistics on the items they offer. You can decide ahead of time what you will have. Then, go to the drive thru to get it. That way, you won’t be tempted by the smells of the unhealthy stuff.

The above pitfalls are just a few challenges you will need to handle on your way to achieving your goals. The better you can handle these challenges, the sooner you will enjoy the spoils of victory: A healthier, fitter body.

A Registered Nurse for many years, Kimberly Floyd battled obesity for much of her adult life. She was finally able to achieve her ideal weight and is currently writing a book that is designed to help others achieve their weight loss goals entitled ‘Take Back Your Temple’.

Kim has written articles for the Georgia Nurses Association publication and Nursing Spectrum Online. Now a technical writer, she has written training programs for corporate clients, including IBM, U.S. Bank, and Cingular.

Kim also teaches an online course called ‘Goodbye to Shy.’ This course is distributed to over 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, and Australia through Thomson Learning. An accomplished speaker and trainer, she delivers presentations on health-related topics to enthusiastic audiences.

ATTITUDES

IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

Exercising has so many physical benefits that most of us
can relate to, but what about the emotional and
psychological benefits it brings? Physical fitness, I
believe, touches far more than just our arms, arteries and
waistlines. It touches our very soul.

LESS EQUALS MORE

Tiger Woods was asked, “How do you feel about your
competition?” Tiger replied, “My competition comes not from
other people, but from the golf course in my mind.”
Personally, my workouts are not gauged on how much I can
lift that day or how fast I can run a mile. My workouts are
all about efficiency. If I can accomplish my goals in half
the time, doing half the routines, you’re darn right I am
going to do it.

In my experience, less is always more.

WISDOM IS MORE POWERFUL THAN WEIGHT

One of the best attitudes you can have in order to keep your
workouts going is to never be afraid to ask for help. Early
on, I realized I needed assistance. If you want to reach a
goal, find someone who has met your challenge and get advice
from him or her.

FORMULAS

Remember the formula:

CONSISTENCY

If I had to narrow the magic down to one word for getting
results, it would be consistency. If you learn nothing else,
learn this principle. Results are about being consistent.

VARIETY

Your body is a smart, adaptive machine. On occasion, throw a
little change in the mix.

EFFICIENCY

If you work smarter rather than harder, develop a “less is
more” attitude and watch the results follow.

DISCIPLINES

There’s no getting around it. Exercise takes discipline; it
takes courage. Anything you have ever done in life has taken
hard work, perseverance, and willingness to get in the
trenches. You want to feel better, so be willing to pay the
price. If not, you will pay a dear price very soon and it
won’t just be monetary.

BELIEFS

HOPE

All it takes to get started is a small amount of hope-hope
that you can feel better, maybe lose a little weight, lower
your blood pressure and stress levels, and at the end to the
day feel happier, inside and out. You get hope and then
you’re on your way!

FAITH

Sometimes it takes faith from others to get us started. Some
times it may even take an act of desperation from us, but
believing that it is possible to feel better gives us
motivation to start or continue on.

DESIRE

Desire comes from within. It motivates us when we really
want to be in denial, make excuses or quit. True desire
starts in your heart.

It’s time you quit making excuses, quit feeling sorry for
yourself, and quit sitting on your biggest asset.

Just Move IT!

Greg Ryan is a high profile fitness expert and former employee of Kathy Smiths. Body building champion, public speaker and personal trainer to the stars. He is a best selling author of the Changing from the INSIDE OUT through real behavior change, smart eating and effective exercising. Start getting in better shape today!

For FREE MINI COURES click here http://www.resolutions.bz

New studies evaluating the effects of high-carbohydrate and high- monounsaturated fat diets indicate that patients with type 2 diabetes suffered of modestly raises blood pressure after being exposed to 14 weeks of a high-carbohydrate diet compared to a diet high in monounsaturated fat.

One diet consisted in a high-carbohydrate diet consisting of 55 per cent of calories as carbohydrate, 30 percent as fat, and 10 percent as monounsaturated fat. The other diet consisted in a high-monounsaturated fat diet deriving 40 percent of calories from carbohydrate, 45 percent from fat, and 25 percent from monounsaturated fat.

The research compared the effect of two same-calorie diets among 42 patients with type 2 diabetes, who consumed each diet for 6 weeks, with about 1 week between the two periods. These patients were invited to continue the second diet for 8 weeks more. Eightof them continued on the high-monounsaturated fat diet and 13 continued on the high-carbohydrate diet.

Findings after the first 6-week periods demonstrated that there were no significant differences between both diets in systolic or diastolic blood pressure, the upper and lower numbers on a standard reading, respectively, or in heart rate.

After the 8 week-extension, diastolic blood pressure was 7 points higher than at the end of both 6-week phases, because of the high carbohydrate diet associated, and systolic blood pressure was 6 points higher, and heart rate was higher by 7 to 8 beats per minute.

On the other hand, there was a significant lowering of heart rate compared with the end of the initial 6-week periods during the 8-week extension of the high-monounsaturated fat diet. There was almost no statistical significance between Systolic and diastolic blood pressure that were 3 to 4 points lower after 14 weeks on the high-monounsaturated fat diet.

Article written by Hector Milla editor of www.mydiabetessupply.com, a website about diabetes testing supply, or you may read their last article :: Diet for Gestational Diabetes :: at www.mydiabetessupply.com/1/diet-for-gestational-diabetes.html. Thanks for using this diabetes article in your website or ezine keeping a live link.

We all have heard about the harmful effects of commercial insecticides. But if faced with cockroaches flying off the walls, those harmful effects don’t seem too harmful and we bomb our houses with it. Then before we know it, we start having headaches. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are alternate solutions from our very own Mother Nature that are cleaner, safer and work better.

This natural alternative is Boric Acid. It is considered as nature’s own home-made bug control. Boric acid is a white powder which is usually mined from California’s Mojave Desert. Although also used as a preservative and fire retardant, it is proven to eradicate almost all the annoying pests of the regular household like cockroaches, water bugs, ants, silverfish, termites and palmetto bugs and keep them away for a very long time. It also works against fire ants, bedbugs, fleas, beetles, centi- and millipedes, crickets, grasshoppers and a whole lot more. One of the best qualities of borate is that the insects don’t develop a resistance to it unlike with chemical pesticides.

Borates were first used as a pesticide in 1922 with the invention of the ‘Roach Tablet’ by P. F. Harris. In 1955, a lumber company in New Foundland started treating their wood with borates to control termites. It turned out that all the homes with the treated wood were free from termites and wood decay. This worked so well that by 1985 there were over 200 pesticides containing borate. This later on turned into many products seen today.

Apart from being odorless and non-staining, Boric Acid and its derivatives are inexpensive and deadly to all insects. It works by attacking the bugs’ nervous systems and then dries up their bodies afterwards. Borates, when used with chemical solvents such as propylene glycol, can be used in wood and concrete thus giving long-term protection. Boric Acid products are very safe and can be used with children around (since it has also been used in certain salves and ointments for diaper rash in babies). In addition, it also turns into eyewash when diluted properly. Borate is also used as an effective fire retardant which is used in blown type cellulose insulation which is common in houses.

In use against ants, one tablespoon of Boric Acid is mixed with one teaspoon of sugar ad four ounces of water in a bowl. This is then poured over cotton balls and placed on the path of ants. Pour repeatedly when dried out. For cockroaches, mix together 8 ounces powdered boric acid, half a cup of flour and eighth of a cup of sugar, a chopped half of a small onion and one-fourth cup cooking oil. Blend all these well while adding more oil if needed to make soft dough. Take the dough and roll it into small marble-sized balls. Place the balls in places where the roaches normally stay, like in damp dark corners. The rest of the dough should be placed in opened sandwich bags to retain softness. When the balls dry up and become hard, replace with new dough. Make sure that no pets or children come in contact with the balls because they can be very toxic.

For termites, use boric acid that is mixed with propylene glycol, which is a non-toxic version of anti-freeze. In this solution, the glycol helps the borate penetrate into the wood and thus becoming part of the wood fiber. This has proven to be very successful against termites and is also effective treatment for dry rot in wood.

Michael Russell

Your Independent Alternative guide.