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2012

Why Are You Not Using ADHD Alternative Therapy?

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Are you frustrated with the way ADHD medications work?  The dose needs adjusting; then it wears off before it is time for the next pill; the symptoms in between seem more pronounced than ever, and a few minutes can seem like an eternity.  So, why are you not using ADHD alternative therapy?

Medications are not the only answer available to help control the symptoms of ADHD.  In addition, it is not a disorder that only affects the individual.  It is a family issue.  Are you doing anything to help yourself and the other members of the family, in addition to the loved one who daily exhibits the symptoms of hyperactivity and inattention?

With all the daily challenges, why not give ADHD alternative therapy a chance to help everyone in the house live with the disorder and face any problems with better understanding and the confidence to cope?  Consider the following:

  • Parent Training
  • Family Therapy
  • Support Group
  • Behavioral Therapy
  • Social Skills
  • Psychotherapy

It may surprise you to discover that the first 4 therapies on the list are for family members and caregivers.  Everyone understands the challenges of living with someone who has ADHD can be exhausting, frustrating, and disheartening.  Thus, everyone in the family needs to understand that ADHD alternative therapy is necessary for the entire household.

Parent Training

Any good ADHD therapy program must include parent training.  Even under the best of circumstances, raising children can be a challenge.  Add a special needs child to the mix, and anyone will naturally be overwhelmed.  With better understanding of the disorder and the skills to handle those situations that will inevitably come up, parents can have the tools to help their child live a more normal life, as well as maintain their own sanity.

Family Therapy

Family therapy is vital, especially when siblings are involved.  Not only do they have to live with a brother or sister exhibiting behaviors that make their life miserable, their parents have less time for them. ADHD alternative therapy is designed to help give everyone in the family the necessary coping skills, and maybe permission to ask for help when a break is needed.

Support Group

A good support group is another essential ADHD alternative therapy.  No one is perfect.  No one has superhuman strengths.  Living with a special needs child has challenges that the average parent cannot truly understand.  So, when the going gets tough, it is really helpful to talk to other people who live with the consequences of the disorder every day.

Behavioral Therapy

When first introduced to behavioral therapy, it is probably assumed it is to help the ADHD child or adult learn how to act properly in social situations.  However, it is actually for the caregivers who will play a significant role in the life of an ADHD child.  When the behavior reaches an unacceptable level, parents, teachers and health care professionals will have the skills needed to defuse a situation and enforce the consequences of misdeeds.

Alternatively, this ADHD alternative therapy helps parents and others know how to reward excellent behavior, in addition to understanding the emotional needs of an individual who must live with the knowledge that he or she does not fit in, due to a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Social Skills

Now, this ADHD therapy is specifically designed for the person who suffers with the disorder.  While he or she may understand the behavior is not what is expected in social situations, it is important to provide the skills necessary to recognize them.  Then, give them the skills to have a sense of control over their own actions and check the behavior before it gets totally out of control.

Psychotherapy

Finally, the most important ADHD alternative therapy for the individual is probably psychotherapy.  Understandably, children and adults who suffer from the disorder are probably also experiencing depression and other problems. The emotional toll of ADHD must be immense.  They do not fit in at school; they are more likely to get into trouble; and they are constantly reminded to take their meds or behave in a certain way.

Psychotherapy is the one time it is okay to talk about how they feel, without fear of judgment.  It is the place to vent the frustration that accompanies the disorder. In addition, people can talk about any concerns, at home or anywhere else, in confidence.

So, do yourself a favor and check out any ADHD alternative therapy available to everyone in the family.  Do not just muddle through each day.  Learn how to control the disorder, and not let it control you or the ones you love.

Alternative Therapies For Fibromyalgia - Myofascial Release & Massage

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There are many alternative therapies for Fibromyalgia and each individual may be affected differently by each therapy. A therapy that works well for one may not benefit another as much or at all. It is important to know what is available to you that can help better your quality of life and help you manage your pain.

I have tried several different therapies and there are a few that really helped and one in particular, was a life-saver! My hope is that you can find a therapy that you can add to your conventional treatment and gain freedom of movement and freedom from the stress and depression that are caused by Fibromyalgia.

Integrative Medicine: The idea was developed to help medical and other health professionals to expand their practices by and integrating accessible effective Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) protocols for the treatment of their patients. This would bring patients more complete care and give them all the help that is available to improve their overall health. Some of the therapies included are: Energy Therapies (including CMU Technology), Herbs and Supplements, Nutrition, Lifestyle Strategies, Biochemical Approaches and Structural, Movement and Mind-Body Therapies.

In this article, I will cover two structural, movement and mind-body therapies: Myofascial Release Therapy & Massage Therapy.

Massage therapy helps with Fibromyalgia because it gently works on the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, fascia and ligaments). Massage increases circulation of blood to tight, sore muscles and increases muscle tone. It is sometimes used in conjunction with ultrasound or with the application of heat and/or cold packs. Massage is also often helpful in removing built-up toxins such as lactic acid, and to help re-educate muscles and joints that have become misaligned.

Massage also helps the movement of lymphatic fluid (removes body wastes, toxins, pathogens), to release muscular tension, maintain proper musculoskeletal structure and function, internal organs, the central nervous system, the immune system, the endocrine system, mind/body integration, and energy flow to promote healing and emotional well-being.

Myofascial Release is a very effective hands-on technique that provides sustained pressure into myofascial knots to eliminate pain and restore motion. To understand what Myofascial Release is and why it works, you need to know what fascia is. Fascia is a thin tissue that covers all the organs of the body. It is actually one structure that exists from head to foot without disconnection. Myofascial Release treats taut bands in the muscle by releasing the uneven tightness in injured fascia. I was treated with the John Barnes method of Myofascial Release after a car accident that inflamed my Fibromyalgia symptoms and led to the discovery of myofascial trigger points. Even if you do not have Chronic Myofascial Pain, you can still benefit greatly from this therapy.

There are many more alternative therapy options out there and I will continue to provide information about them in hopes of giving you and your doctor the ability to make an informed decision about what therapies might work for you.

Alternative Therapy for Insomnia Treatment

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Insomnia or sleeplessness is a common disorder people are facing. This disorder came into existence in the modern world and was not even known in the ancient times. Physicians and scientists believe that this disorder is created through an individual behavior and eating habits. In medical terms Insomnia is a condition when a person is unable to attain full sleep and practices partial sleep. In case of partial sleep, an individual feels drowsy and even sleep but his or her sleep is disturbed in the middle and he /she is awake leading to sleeplessness. Insomnia is hazardous situation in which an individual is unable to get sound sleep and this leads to mental degradation and tiredness. The problem is mainly found in people with ages between 30-50 and mostly the working professionals and businessmen who are always surrounded with several responsibilities which most of them considered as "Tensions". Health Stats have shown that developed nations like USA, Europe & Australia have shown high rise in insomnia / sleeplessness cases.

So what are the causes of Insomnia? There are several causes the main ones are as follows:

- Mental Tension

- Depression

- Frustration

- Anxiety

- Indigestion (improper working of digestive system)

- High intake of caffeine (Coffee, Cold drinks, drugs)

- Irregular diet (eating frequent meals randomly throughout the day)

- Sitting or lying idle all the time and practicing no physical exercises

- Psychological problem (in this person considers himself awake all the time and so induces insomnia symptoms)

- Sleeping place is noisy and lighted all the time degrading sleep etc.

All these factors in one way or the other causes insomnia though there are several medical factors too. As a result the insomnia patient feels tired and mental fatigue throughout the day; also the patient may feel drowsy which could lead to accident if the victim is driving. If the person does not start up any treatment he / she may acquire chronic insomnia which leads to disease cropping in the body, and it becomes very difficult to cure.

Now the burning questions - Is there any treatment for Insomnia? Off course there is. Modern physicians usually prefer in prescribing sleeping pills, sedatives and even tranquilizers to make the patient sleep but it is a known fact that they are not the permanent treatment for Insomnia and if these medicines are practiced for a long time may cause other problems like hormonal disturbance, Hypertension etc. (I am not totally rejecting the Western medicine but emphasizing that their long term intake might cause harm).

Alternative therapies like Yoga, magneto therapy and acupressure instruments, Indian head massage too help to some extent for the Insomnia Treatment.
There is one remedy to treat insomnia which is called "YOGA". Yoga's meditation technique is considered one of the best tools in fighting against insomnia. As we know that Insomnia is caused due to mental stress and depression hence practicing meditation thoroughly helps in getting rid of the problem and ultimately the sleepless ness. The major posture for medication is like lying idle over the floor (place a cloth / carpet over the floor as it reduces magnetic behavior of earth which detracts mental nerves) and put your body in full relaxation along with your mind, until you feel that you are in neutral phase of your mind unable to think or do any activity, over that state concentrate on any of your body part and start analyzing not through your eyes but through your mind - a virtual world, this ultimately calms the mind and help in taming your mental activities. Practicing meditation for a long time really helps in getting rid of sleeplessness or insomnia.

According to Webster's Dictionary magnetotherapy is the treatment of disease by the application of magnets to the surface of the body. Now a days different magneto therapy and acupressure instruments are available in markets, like E.N.T. Magnet Pair, Power Mat, and Magnetic Pillow with Pyramid etc. Magnets have the power to promote the growth of cells and they increase the number of healthy red blood corpuscles (RBC). The RBC contains hemoglobin and the hemoglobin contains iron. The magnets influence the iron in the blood through which it reaches every part of the body. Thus, it removes calcium, cholesterol and other minerals that get deposited. This therapy has no side effects but there are some guidelines that need to be considered.

Indian head massage is a relaxing treatment, which as the name suggests, concentrates on the head, neck, and shoulders. It is an extremely safe form of massage that can promote stress relief, healthy hair and relief from general tension and aches and pains. It improves blood circulation to the head and neck area, therefore speeding up the disposal of waste products. It helps to improve the mobility of the head and neck area which gives relieves in mental and physical strain. It also helps in relieving eyestrain, headaches, congestion and Insomnia. It balances the Charkas (energy centers) therefore helping the body to work in a more harmonious manner.

Thus, combining the alternative therapy with the modern therapy, and the love and support of family members can help in the treatment of not only Insomnia but all the stress and mental related diseases.

When To Consider Alternative Therapies

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As much as Conventional Medicine could not resolve many medical conditions, Alternative or Natural Therapy also does not have the answer for everything. Each has it's own sphere of effectiveness and in certain cases, they overlap.

Here are some of my thoughts on when to consider Alternative/Natural Treatments over Conventional Medicine.

a) When it's not an emergency situation, when the person's life is not in immediate danger. Many Alternative Therapies requires a period of time for results to appear. In times of life-threatening situations, stay smart and go for the Emergency Room.

b) When there is no known solution in Conventional Medicine for that condition or when the doctors cannot figure out what is wrong with you. For example, Mercury poisoning from Dental amalgams - it takes a certain amount of detective work to pinpoint this problem, and it's very likely that you have to be the detective.

c) When the alternative or natural solution had proven to work more effectively without side-effects over the Conventional Approach. Yes, you would have to study and compare, then you can make an informed decision. There is so much information available today, so all you have to do is look for it.

d) As Preventive Medicine. In this age of much exposure to stress, toxic substances and the consumption of food with low nutritive value, the probability of developing serious medical conditions is heightened. In my opinion, Preventive Medicine is a much better insurance to life-long health. There are numerous Natural Therapies available today to detoxify the body, build up the body's resistance to disease and also to strengthen our emotional health (which has a direct impact on a person's well-being). There is so much that we can do to keep ourselves at optimum performance that it becomes very difficult for disease to set in.

So remember, keep an open mind and study the options you have with regards to the medical conditions. I myself, turn to Conventional Medicine when that is the wiser choice. At other times, I use Natural Healing approaches when I know it can help me more. We can be independent-minded but we don't have to be stubborn when our health is jeopardised. What's important is to remain alive and be fully functional, therefore take advantage of the good in each sphere of medicine.

Alternative Therapy For Lower Back Pain

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Back pain, most prevalently lower one is one of the common medical complaints, affecting almost eighty percent of the total population. Most of us suffer from an episode of this type of pain during our life span, but sometimes after an incident, the probability of experiencing pain might become episodic. This type of pain can vary from slight, constant pain to an unforeseen, severe pain. If it occurs suddenly and lasts from a few days to few weeks then it is called, acute back pain. But if it persists for more than a three months then it is considered as chronic.

In this regard, it is indispensable to take the help of a professional health care practitioner. The popularity of alternative therapy has progressively increased, and now it is considered as the most reliable pain management treatment for lower back pain.

Pain Management for Lower Back

Lower back pain occurs due to muscle strain that can be prevented by altering lifestyle values, including weight control and most importantly regular physical exercises, staying away from smoking and opting for alternative therapy as the preferred way for coping with this type of pain. Alternative therapy is a holistic approach towards better health and includes various techniques like physical therapy, integrative manual therapy, craniosacral therapy and so on. Physical therapy is often prescribed to the sufferers of this kind of pain and a well designed treatment of it works best and can aid in speeding a patients recovery.

Alternative Therapy - Innovative Hands-on Technique

Hands-on techniques are the featured aspect of an alternative therapy that plays a key role in the management of lower back pain. It helps prevent long-term back problems by providing ease to muscle tension, relieving pain and improving muscle strength. Physical therapists provide special exercises that are specifically designed to strengthen back muscles, lowering pain and making your back fit and strong.

Massage Therapy - Effective Pain Management

Generally, the main purpose of physical therapy and hand-on therapies is pain management. Back message therapy is a satisfying experience for the sufferers of this type of pain. According to most of the health care practitioners, massage therapy is a legitimate and genuine aid for lower back treatments. A massage therapist provides gentle body movements that make you feel good and relaxed. Message therapy offers the following optimum health benefits:

• Helps improve blood circulation which in turn helps relieve muscle soreness from intense physical activity.
• Relaxes muscles which lead to an improved range of motion.
• Results in increased levels of a hormone endorphin, triggering the production of certain chemicals that help in pain management of the lower back pain.

Those who are suffering from back pain and seek pain relief should try alternative therapy for pain management. Its various techniques and therapies help minimize this pain, increase flexibility, strengthen muscles and improve body posture. A physical therapist can provide you with various hand-on therapies and describe various ways to cope with your back pain.

Take Control of Your Health and Fitness With Alternative Therapies Solutions

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Alternative therapy solutions are becoming more and more popular. Many people are getting away from the medical model because the solution so often involves drugs as the mode of treatment. People are beginning to seek alternative therapies looking toward natural products, chiropractics and osteopathy, yoga, homeopathy treatments, deep breathing, traditional healers, message, meditation, diet based therapies, and progressive relaxation to name a few. The side effects of prescription drugs are beginning to sound more and more harmful to the body and society is becoming more educated, seeking alternative therapies in order to avoid the toxicities of prescription drugs.

Currently there are vitamin and supplement companies offering natural products to combat the fact that many of us do not take in the nutritional elements necessary for a healthy life often on a daily basis. Our lifestyles often demand that we are eating on the run, grabbing whatever is quick and easy and often at the expense of good nutrition. These vitamins and supplements insure that we are giving our body what it needs nutritionally in spite of our lifestyle. Chiropractors and Osteopathic Healers are becoming more and more popular because their treatments are noninvasive, non prescriptive and based on returning the body to its natural condition. Yoga and exercise are sought as an intervention for health along with homeopathy treatments, deep breathing, traditional healers, message, meditation, diet based therapies, and progressive relaxation.

People are becoming more educated and realize that we, as a fast paced society, faced with all types of stress, need to find ways to become healthier. Obesity is becoming the norm rather than the exception and with that comes numerous health concerns. Prescription drugs are not always the answer. Alternative Therapies offer alternatives to prescription drugs and offers a variety of methodologies to increase health and well being. Alternative therapies is becoming the wave of the future. Get away from the toxins in prescription drugs and move toward the natural, alternative therapies wave of the future.

For more Alternative Therapies, personal development, life strategies, and self help go to http://www.YourExcellenceWithin.org.

Search Results

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People seek alternative therapies for fibromyalgia for many reasons: a desire to avoid numerous prescription medications, the ineffectiveness of prescription medications, the number of unwanted side effects associated with them, or a desire for a more natural therapy for fibromyalgia are just a few.

On this page, we look at some of the currently available alternative therapies for fibromyalgia and some of the natural products that have helped some patients obtain relief.

But before we do that, we will first cover conventional treatment for fibromyalgia.

These typically include sleep medications, muscle relaxers and pain relievers. Doctors may also prescribe anti-depressants, anticonvulsants and/or reuptake inhibitors. It is not uncommon to see reports of patients that take ten or more different prescription medications.

And despite all of this, people search for alternative therapies for fibromyalgia and grasp at anything that may give them relief.

Acupuncture and hypnosis are being studied as natural therapies for fibromyalgia relief. Scientists are doing research in an effort to learn why acupuncture is an effective natural therapy for fibromyalgia for some people.

Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that involves placing very thin needles in the skin at certain points throughout the body. Acupressure is a similar technique that does not involve needles, but applying pressure to those same points. It is sometimes recommended as one of the alternative therapies for fibromyalgia, because doctors do not understand exactly what causes the widespread daily pain that is the most common symptom of fibromyalgia.

And since conventional medications are often ineffective, may be addictive, and can cause numerous unwanted side effects, even doctors look to less conventional methods of treatment for the condition. As a natural therapy for fibromyalgia, acupuncture has been effective for some people and may be worth a try.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy and pain management therapy are sometimes used as alternative treatments for fibromyalgia.

Rather than relieving the pain, these therapies focus on coping with the pain, learning to relax the muscles, reduce stress and avoid negative thinking patterns that may make the perception of the pain greater than it actually is. These alternative treatments for fibromyalgia focus on the mind-body connection and, in particular, how the mind can affect the body. Cognitive-behavioral and pain management therapies have been effective for some people.

Massage and chiropractic therapy are sometimes used as alternative treatments for fibromyalgia. Many people think of chiropractors as back doctors but, in actuality, misalignment of the vertebra may press on nerves and cause pain in other parts of the body, so chiropractic therapy has become a highly recommended form of treatment for all types of chronic pain and may be an effective natural therapy for fibromyalgia.

The effectiveness of massage as a natural therapy for fibromyalgia is questionable. Some patients report that deep muscle massage is actually uncomfortable and increases pain.

Yoga, meditation, prayer and biofeedback have all been used for alternative therapies for fibromyalgia with varying degrees of relief reported. Yoga, swimming and other forms of regular, low-impact physical exercise may accomplish several things as a part of natural therapy for fibromyalgia.

First, regular exercise increases muscular strength and endurance. Second, endorphins released by the brain during exercise are natural pain relievers and mood enhancers. And third, physical activity increases blood flow and oxygen supplies to the muscles. A lack of oxygen in the muscles is believed by some to be one of the causes of fibromyalgia pain.

As natural therapy for fibromyalgia, many people have tried herbs, botanicals and vitamin supplements. Proper nutrition is also important in good health. Unfortunately, chronic pain often leads to depression in many people and, subsequently, they forget or don't care about eating right and taking care of themselves.

Some of the vitamins and minerals that may be considered as alternative therapies for fibromyalgia include B-complex, omega-3 and 6 fatty acids. These recommendations are related to enhancing energy, mood and healthy joint function.

Sam-E is sometimes recommended as a natural therapy for fibromyalgia, but Sam-E can have unwanted side effects and should be used with care, as should St. John's wort and kava for depression relief. None of these herbal, botanical and vitamin supplements which are sometimes recommended as alternative therapies for fibromyalgia can relieve pain, but there is one botanical product which often can.

The mangosteen is a fruit that grows only in areas of Southeast and Central Asia and was used traditionally by native peoples in these areas to treat a number of conditions including pain.

Laboratory studies and chemical evaluation has shown that the mangosteen contain analgesics, anti-inflammatory agents and Cox-2 inhibitors, all of which are pain relievers.

Many people who have tried mangosteen supplements or juice as a natural therapy for fibromyalgia have reported amazing results. Of the many alternative therapies for fibromyalgia, mangosteen is one of the few that can address many different symptoms, not only pain, but also depression, fatigue, sleeping problems and lack of energy.

Discover Alternative Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Because rheumatoid arthritis medications are known to have side effects -- some quite serious -- there is a growing interest in alternative therapies.

For rheumatoid arthritis in the early stages, an anti-inflammatory is usually the first choice. Typical anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis medications include aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen.

Aspirin, as most people know, can cause stomach upset and eventually ulcers. Ibuprofen has caused liver damage, anemia, intestinal bleeding, diminished vision and meningitis. People who have aspirin sensitive asthma may also be sensitive to ibuprofen. It has not been proven safe for use by children and should not be used by pregnant women or nursing mothers. These side effects and possible dangers are some of the reasons that people look for alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis.

Naproxen is another of the fast acting or anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis medications. In clinical trials of patients taking naproxen, one to ten percent experienced one or more of the following adverse reactions: heartburn, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, lightheadedness, vertigo, itching, sweating, hearing problems, visual problems, cardiovascular edema, heart palpitations, vomiting, gastro-intestinal bleeding, ulcers, anemia and other side effects.

Natural anti-inflammatory botanicals, nutritional supplements and herbal remedies may be considered as alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis.

Zinc, an essential mineral, has been shown to be capable of inhibiting the inflammatory response, but most studies of zinc supplementation in rheumatoid arthritis patients have been inconclusive. Like many supplements and alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis, zinc seems to help some people and has no side effects, unless high doses are used.

Botanicals and herbal remedies which may be considered as supplemental or alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis include ginger root, bromelain, feverfew, turmeric and mangosteen.

Ginger, turmeric and mangosteen have all been used historically by native peoples to treat pain and reduce swelling. The effectiveness of ginger as an alternative to rheumatoid arthritis medications has been studied in clinical trials and indicates that it does show promise.

A small clinical study (18 patients) concluded that turmeric was nearly as effective as one of the anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis medications, but it is not clear whether this was a placebo effect, since there was no control group. Additionally there is some disagreement concerning whether it should be used in the powdered form or as a tea.

Mangosteen is a relatively new and exciting addition to the western world as an anti-inflammatory. It was used historically by the native peoples of Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Malaysia and the Philippines to treat a variety of bodily aches and pains.

The mangosteen is a fruit and its most readily available form is a drink that contains a puree of the fruit and its rind. It is important when purchasing mangosteen products to consider only the ones that include the rind, because anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory components and even Cox inhibitors are concentrated in it, as well as numerous vitamins and minerals.

While no human clinical studies have been completed to date concerning mangosteen's efficacy as an alternative or supplement to rheumatoid arthritis medications, numerous laboratory studies have shown that certain of the "xanthones" (powerful anti-oxidants) are anti-inflammatory and Cox-2 inhibitors.

Alternative Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

According to Dr J. Frederic Templeman, M.D. in response to the question "Will the Mangosteen help with pain?" he states: "...Presumptively the mangosteen inhibits the pain-related action of the Cox-2 enzyme in the CNS [Central Nervous System] and blocks pain impulse generation.

So yes, the mangosteen may significantly reduce any pain you might be experiencing." [End Quote]

Prescription Cox-2 inhibitors are being shunned by a great many people due to their numerous undesirable and serious side effects. Indeed, the Cox-2 inhibitor, Vioxx(TM), was taken off of the market worldwide for a time because of the health dangers associated with it and has embroiled Merck in a nightmare of legal woes.

Lab rats or cell lines have been used to conduct mangosteen research and there were no reported side effects. It is believed that because the mangosteen contains the anti-ulcer compounds ascorbic acid, beta carotene, fiber and pectin, it would not have any of the gastric side effects common in anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis medications.

Other compounds found in the fruit may promote heart health and are anti-hypertensive, so health problems associated with prescription Cox-2 inhibiting rheumatoid arthritis medications should not occur with mangosteen usage.

It is possible that mangosteen could one day be considered an effective supplemental or alternative treatments for rheumatoid arthritis. Hopefully, at some point, clinical studies can confirm this, but research is expensive and usually funded by pharmaceutical companies, which is why there are so few studies of the effectiveness of herbal and botanical remedies, particularly in the United States.

Studies of alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis have shown that diet plays a possible role. Patients who have used a diet that excluded common food allergens such as grains, milk, nuts, beef and eggs reported being symptom free for as long as five years, as long as they stuck to the diet.

In addition to or as an alternative to anti-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis medications, some doctors prescribe corticosteroids like prednisone. But, while these may be effective for short-term relief of symptoms, long-term use of corticosteroids is known to cause many other health problems including diabetes.

In addition, they tend to lose their effectiveness, and can be habit forming. When a patient has been taking corticosteroid rheumatoid arthritis medications, they must be "weaned" off of them, meaning the medication must be gradually reduced before switching to alternative therapies for rheumatoid arthritis.

Alternative Treatments - Information on Alternative Therapies and Bioavailability

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Alternative therapies have emerged out of the public's dissatisfaction with the limitations of conventional treatments.

The conventional medical system has boxed itself into only diagnosing and treating disease rather than focusing on prevention. Although attempts to correct public perception have been made with a push for early diagnosis of disease, conventional medicine is still unable to be of help to healthy people who are just looking for ways to stay healthy.

What conventional medicine considers prevention, PAP smears, mammographies, colonoscopies, cardiac stress tests, are actually methods of diagnosing diseases at early stages. Not one of these methods actually prevents diseases from occurring. Desperately aware of the need to prevent disease, the public has been searching for different avenues of true prevention. As our population lives longer and healthier lives, deferring the aging process has become a must for many people. In fact, a whole booming industry has developed in an attempt to satisfy this urgent need to stay young and healthy. Menopause and its attendant hormone imbalances have provided an enormous amount of fuel for the alternative health industry. Billions of dollars are spent every year by women in search of alternative help for symptoms of hormone imbalance, and millions of dollars are spent by the alternative industry in the development and promotion of alternative treatments.

While the alternative trend is booming, it behooves conventional doctors and patients to become vigilant, well informed and careful in making safe and effective choices in this new area. In the past many of my patients have come to me with questions on alternative therapies. As a conventional physician I had limited access to the alternative world, and I had to do my own research. In the end, I became somewhat of an expert. I've begun to use alternative therapies in my practice with varying results. This article offers an overview of the alternative medicine world I've been sharing with my patients and have had some success with.

But before you try any of these remedies, I strongly suggest you seek professional advice. Do not follow advice given by sales people in health food stores, or on-line advertising by marketers for the particular product they are selling. Do not fall prey to advertised specials for cure-all medications, you don't know what is in them, you don't know what their effects will be. Find a physician interested in alternative therapies, go to a health care provider with experience and get the most knowledgeable help available. Even if these products are available over-the-counter, they may not be as safe as you think they are. Remember, there is only one of you and every time you take a supplement or medication, you are affecting your body's balance.

Most supplements and herbs are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.). This is the single most important piece of information you must be aware of when making alternative therapy choices.

The Food and Drug Administration is the federal regulatory body that approves medication for usage by the public. The only medications approved by this agency are pharmaceuticals, medications with unique chemical formulations, patented and having undergone rigorous and expensive processes of testing for function and safety.

F.D.A. approval is a large part of the expense of bringing patented medications to market. Having obtained this approval drug companies can make certain claims that serve to differentiate between medications and allow them to charge higher prices for their products. Because the F.D.A. approval process is tedious and expensive, only pharmaceutical companies with unlimited funds can undergo it.

Even F.D.A. approval does not guarantee safety. F.D.A. approved medications are often taken off the market in a hurry when they prove dangerous to users. A few recent examples are: Duract-anti-inflammatory medication taken off the market because it caused liver failure, Rezulin - a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes that caused liver toxicity, Seldane - an antihistamine with cardiac and other untoward side-effects.

The F.D.A. does not evaluate the function and safety, or supervise the manufacturing of alternative therapies, herbs and supplements. As these are natural, unpatentable substances, there is no large company who serves to make a great deal of money from the F.D.A.'s approval and the public's wide usage of the products. Therefore, most alternative therapies, herbs, and supplements do not undergo the costly approval process from the FDA. Again, this does not mean that they are not safe or effective. Nonetheless this situation leaves us, the public in a precarious position. Whenever you go to a health food store, you are buying on faith. The information on the label is vague, contents are somewhat questionable and I am sure you noticed, indications for use are invariably missing. You may never know exactly what is in the pill you're taking. And that's a scary thought. We live in a society where the best marketer, the company that spends the most money on advertising, gets their product sold.

So how do you choose which supplement or herb to take?

Who is the product manufacturer?

When I started researching alternative treatments for symptoms of hormone imbalance, I learned something few people know. There are very few manufacturers of raw supplements, vitamins and herbs. The enormous variety of brands that fill the shelves of our health food stores, are often the same product packaged by different companies.

Let me explain a little further.

Let's take Dong Quai- an herbal supplement that presumably improves hot flashes. Dong Quai can be found in stores under as many as twenty different labels. Most Dong Quai is produced by a handful of manufacturing companies that package the raw Dong Quai under different labels. It is impossible to determine who the manufacturer is, and which product is better. Anybody can contract with a manufacturer, then get a packager, put their own label on a supplement, and then sell it to the public. It's that simple. But it leaves the public in an uncomfortable position. On the other hand, the industry has recognized the need for laboratory tested brands, and a few manufacturers with long standing solid track records have established themselves in the market. Their products are standardized. For the consumer this is an important fact. Standardized, means, that the dosing is the same from batch to batch of supplement. For instance- St. John's wort made by Pharmanex has the same amount of active ingredients in every bottle of St. John's wort bought under the Pharmanex label. Since there is no regulatory agency that requires standardization of dosing, the manufacturer decides whether to provide internal testing and quality control for their products.

I advise you to stick with standardized labeled products for your own safety. Some examples of standardized labeled products include: Pharmanex, Nature's Bounty, Solgar, and Twin Labs.

Assuming that you have chosen a reliable brand with a proven track record there still are no guarantees the therapy will work for you. A potential stumbling block to benefiting the most from your chosen herb, vitamin or supplement, is bioavailability.

A big word with big implications. Bioavailability represents the amount of active ingredient in the medication or supplement that gets into your blood stream and can be effectively used by your body. You could take pounds of supplements without visible improvement in your condition simply because your body is unable to extract its beneficial ingredients. A perfect example is yam in its natural forms. Although yams contain progesterone, the hormone our body needs, eating yams will never give you that progesterone. That is because our bodies cannot make yams bioavailable, meaning it cannot extract the progesterone from them. How the supplement gets into your system, what the body does with it once it's in your blood stream, how much of it gets to your cells and how they use it, are only parts of the bioavailability story. When medications are tested for effectiveness, the most important marker is their bioavailability. With supplements and food substances, that are not under FDA scrutiny, bioavailability is not even addressed.

Another example of variable bioavailability is calcium. Calcium is essential to good bone structure. But taking calcium supplements does not insure that more calcium gets into our system, let alone to our bone cells or into our bones. Let's follow the path of a calcium pill you take in the evening, three hours after your last meal. Your stomach is empty and the pill gets broken down into tiny components by gastric juices. If the components are small enough, the calcium supplement you took gets absorbed into your blood stream. If it isn't small enough, it goes through the stomach and into the intestine and out the other end- no calcium supplement for your body. If it gets absorbed into your blood stream it has a good chance of getting to your bone cells. But once there, there is no guarantee that the cells that need the calcium have the enzymes, substrates, and all other necessary environmental elements, to absorb the calcium molecules and use them to make strong bones.

The path I use to describe the fate of calcium in your body is similar to any other food or medication you take. There are lots of great supplements available with incredible potential benefits. The reason they don't live up to their promises is because they are not bioavailable. This is one of the key reasons many supplements just don't work. In an attempt to improve bioavailability, many manufacturers advise taking their supplements on an empty stomach. The reason behind this method of administration is that hypothetically, an empty stomach will be more inclined to digest and absorb a supplement than if mixed with other foods or medications. I stress hypothetically, because there are no studies to substantiate the bioavailability of most supplements on the market today.

Other methods of administration (besides pills and tablets) have better rates of absorption and bioavailability. Pharmaceutical companies have conducted numerous studies that reinforce the increased bioavailability of creams and gels. The reason is primarily that skin is a more predictable absorbent, it is the largest organ in the human body and the blood flow to the skin is high in warm areas, like chest, inner thighs, arms, and pulse points (wrists, ankles, armpits, groin).

From a clinical standpoint, degree of bioavailability of a substance is directly proportional to its expected effect. If you are taking a pill to get rid of a headache and the headache is gone in thirty minutes to an hour after you took the pill, clinically speaking, the pill was bioavailable enough to be effective. When we discuss the bioavailability of natural hormones or supplements we are referring to subjectively measurable effects (like elimination of hot flashes, or night sweats for instance).

Good luck on your journey!

Drug Interactions with Alternative Therapies

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Herbs and other alternative therapies were the original medicine. Ancient cultures used herbs and plants to stay healthy and cure illness. But, for years after the pharmaceutical world took over treatment, the Western world lost interest in alternative therapies.

Today, however, interest in alternative therapies is renewed. Many people are choosing to treat some conditions naturally before trying medicines. For example, many people recently diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol are choosing to increase their exercise, change their diet and lose excess weight before resorting to high blood pressure and cholesterol medications. In many cases, patients can reverse their blood pressure and cholesterol problems without ever needing medication.

Other patients are using alternative therapies as adjuncts to traditional medicine. For example, green tea has been shown to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy in some forms of cancer. Drinking large amounts of tea while undergoing chemotherapy treatments can increase the concentration of the chemo drugs in the cancerous cells, making it more effective.

A large number of people are also using alternative therapies for preventative purposes. Take green tea, for example. It has been shown to prevent many types of illness, including heart disease, Alzheimer's and some forms of cancer. Others use yoga to relieve stress and massage to manage muscle and joint pain.

But, what if you're pursuing alternative therapies at the same time that you're using conventional drug therapies? Is there a chance that there could be interaction between the two?

Well, the answer is, possibly. There are thousands of drugs being prescribed for hundreds of different conditions today, and no doubt some of the drugs will interact with some of the alternative therapies.

Since alternative therapies have become so popular, some research has been performed to determine how, and if, some of the most popular alternative therapies interact with drugs.

One study, in particular, reported by the UK Tea Council studied the effects of flavonoids on drug therapies. Flavonoids were chosen for study because they are contained in so many substances that we many of us consume regularly, and because flavonoids are generally thought to be very healthy.

Flavonoids are a type of anti-oxidant. Anti-oxidants are extremely important to our health because they combat free radicals. Free radicals are created in our bodies as a by product of converting our food to energy. Free radicals damage our cells and DNA. Over time, this leads to premature aging and disease. Anti-oxidants combat these free radicals, preventing them from causing damage. Research has shown that a diet rich in anti-oxidants, including flavonoids prevents many forms of disease, such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's.

Fruits and vegetables contain flavonoids, as does beverages made from plants, such as tea and wine. But, doctors wondered, could these healthy flavonoids interfere with drugs that we may be taking for medical conditions?

The research mentioned above found that flavonoids can, in some cases, interfere with the transport of certain drugs. Transport refers to how drugs reach the organs or body systems they're designed to affect.

In some cases, this could cause interactions between your medications and alternative therapies such as Gingko Biloba, Milk Thistle, green tea, and soy isoflavones. It's not likely that the flavonoids found in your food would interact, as they are not typically consumed in highly concentrated quantities as is found in herbal supplements.

So, for example, if you're drinking three or four cups of green tea each day to help protect your health, it's unlikely that there would be any interaction. However, if you're taking 10-12 capsules of green tea extract each day, your concentration of flavonoids would be significantly higher, and might cause some interaction.

This information is not designed to influence you to stop using flavonoids to protect your health. Research has shown time and again that they're very effective at keeping you young and healthy. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, green tea and other anti-oxidant sources can help you keep your weight in check, lower your cholesterol and even regulate insulin.

However, as with any alternative therapy you're considering, it's important to keep your doctor in the loop. Inform him of any alternative therapies you'd like to try, and find out how they might interact with any particular medicines you're taking. This way you can ensure that you're treating your particular health concerns in the best way possible, whether that means traditional medicines alone - or in combination with alternative treatments.

It's nearly impossible for researchers to list every possible medication and every alternative therapy that it might interact with. But, working closely with your doctor, who knows your medical history, health concerns and treatments can ensure that you're pursuing the healthiest route for treatment.

We're all concerned about our health. And, many of us are also concerned about using natural, healthy remedies whenever possible, as well as taking advantage of all we've learned about how substances like anti-oxidants can prevent disease. Alternative remedies can be a great way to stay healthy, but it's important to always consult your doctor before you begin something new.

Information About Alternative Therapy in Health and Medicine

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Have you just learned about the latest fad in alternative therapy in health and medicine? Chances are that this "new" alternative therapy in health and medicine has actually been in existence for centuries, but is only now getting media attention and acceptance from the modern medical society. If you have recently read or heard about a new alternative treatment that sounds appealing to you, or if you have a condition that is unresponsive to western medical approaches, you might want to consider giving this alternative therapy in health and medicine a try.

Do The Research

It would be wrong to just make an appointment for that particular alternative therapy in health and medicine and just show up at the practitioner's office. Do some comparison shopping first, much like you would when choosing any doctor or health practitioner. Here are a few key points you should consider and research before making an appointment:

Is this treatment affordable? Most health insurance companies refuse to cover any treatment that they deem an alternative therapy in health and medicine. Some treatments can be costly when paying out of pocket. Will the practitioner you're considering agree to a payment plan, or just one lump sum?

Do you understand the treatment? You might be asked to view things in your life differently, and make some significant lifestyle changes. Is that something you're ready for?

Do you know your entire medical history? Your alternative medicine practitioner will need to know your detailed medical history, including physical and mental health. This is to help prevent any complications, for example if something containing chamomile is prescribed and you are allergic to ragweed, you could end up with a very severe reaction.

Is there a practitioner available near your home? You may need more than one session, so how far do you want to travel?

If you have put sufficient thought and research into the above questions, then you are ready to start your journey with alternative therapy in health and medicine.

Be Patient

You may not notice significant changes after just one visit. You should exercise some patience. Odds are, some significant changes in your diet, exercise, and ways of dealing with stress will need to be made. You may have to find healthier ways to deal with stress, like walking, yoga, or meditation instead of smoking, drinking, or eating too much.

You should expect trial and error periods of varying lengths, just as you would with modern medicine. It takes some time to figure out the perfect blend of herbs and treatments for you, so don't give up!

Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine

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Just because the media doesn't think favourably about alternative therapies in health and medicine (why would they, they depend enormously on revenue gained from drug advertisements), doesn't mean to say that they are not hugely successful in the areas they treat.

Take homeopathy. Did you know that homeopathy can heal poisonous snake bites? And cataracts? And cancer?

Well, to be strictly honest, homeopathy doesn't do the healing. It frees those blockages within you, so that you can heal yourself. It does this by treating you, not the disease you have. This is unique in health and medicine, let alone alternative therapies in health and medicine.

Few people are aware of the enormous scope homeopathy has. It's kept well hidden by vicious media attacks. This is totally understandable when you realize that homeopathy is low cost. That anyone can do a lot of good using a few common remedies at home, without knowing very much.

This is a huge threat to the lucrative profits of the big pharmaceutical industry.

But does it help you?

Let's look at a few examples.

A woman was suffering from a cerebral stroke and in a coma. After a month of futile treatments, doctors declared her case as hopeless.

Luckily for her, a homeopath was brought in.

Her unique symptoms before and during the stroke were taken.

She was given a common homeopathic remedy, one which is found in all first aid kits for home prescribing, regularly. Within two days she was moving her eyes, blinking and made efforts to speak. After one week she talking, moving her neck and asking for food. Within one month she walking with support. Shortly after, she recovered of all her mental functions. - Reference Homeopathy 4 Everyone May 2009

Let's look at another case.

A newly trained hospital doctor was given the job of overseeing the hopeless cases of hepatitis C. With little to do and an open mind, he began searching for something outside the scope of medicine, something perhaps within the scope of alternative therapies in health and medicine.

He discovered that alpha lipoic acid (an antioxidant) was a great healer for toxic livers. After giving his patients this supplement, they all recovered.

Sadly his colleagues couldn't afford this to come out, as it threatened their careers and their reputations. - Reference Dr. Berskson's book 'The Alpha Lipoic Acid Breakthrough'

Yet another case showing how thorough practitioners have to be when using alternative therapies in health and medicine.

A young medical student was taken seriously ill suddenly. She visited doctor after doctor. She was prescribed everything from antibiotics to antidepressants and everything in between. Not one doctor asked her what had changed in her life just prior to becoming sick.

Eventually she worked it out for herself. Since starting at university, her diet had changed from good home cooking to eating hot dogs on the run. Once she eliminated the hot dogs and their sodium nitrate preservative from her diet, she fully regained her health.

Take control of your own health. Look beyond your comfort zone for health care and nutrition. Have an open mind. You'll be amazed at how healthy you can become.

Advantages of the Alternative Therapies Based on Quartz Crystals

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Nowadays, there are some alternative therapies based on quartz crystals. They are used in the treatment of all conditions that are characterized by physical pain - whether those be 'light looking' ones like headaches, or whether they be the most serious conditions like cancer (the pain that comes with it). How the quartz crystals find application in healing makes for an interesting study. It may not make sense to the person entirely schooled in western medical thought, but to the person with an appreciation of oriental medicine (which is often as effective as occidental medicine), the use of quartz crystals in healing would make perfect sense.

According to oriental medical thought (which is something that even western physicists agree with), our bodies are made of energy. In fact, our bodies -like all the other things in the entire universe are energy. It is energy which combines in particular patterns to form mass. We are all aware of the transactions through which mass can be turned into energy (like where a body is combusted to yield energy). So the idea of our bodies being bundles of energy does make sense. And like all the other energy in the universe, the energy that makes up our bodies is always vibrating. It vibrates at particular frequencies. And there are certain states at which it is said to be balanced. When our body energy is balanced, we experience sound health and peace. But when that relatively delicate balance of energy in the body is disturbed, we experience ill health and lose our peace.

Some materials have been known to have the capability to restore the balance of energy whenever it is lost. One of those materials is quartz crystals. That is how they come to find application in therapy. Their use is simply about passing them through the points in the body where the balance of energy seems to have been lost, thus restoring the balance and doing away with the illness arising from it.

Now there are a number of advantages associated with these therapies that are based on quartz crystals.

Firstly, the therapies that make use of quartz crystals are cheap. These quartz crystals are very easily available, and they don't really cost a lot of money. Moreover, once anybody comes to learn the basics of the therapy, the can perform it on themselves.

Secondly, the therapies that make use of quartz crystals are highly effective. They combat the various health problems from their roots (rather than superficially as is the case with most of the so-called conventional therapies that only address symptoms).

Finally, the therapies that make use of the quartz crystals are safe, as they are not intrusive. These are therapies that you make use of externally. They are not things that you ingest into your body, neither are they therapies that involve opening up your body and doing all manner of mechanical thing to it. The crystals and just passed over your body, and you start experiencing relief almost instantly.

Options in Alternative Therapy

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Alternative therapy comes in many forms and depends upon the specialty of services a person is interested in. When choosing an alternative, consult the advice of a specialist in complementary medicine or a practitioner that specializes in alternative therapy to help you tailor a treatment plan to your needs. Beware of choosing treatments solely based upon whether you like them; treatments should be chosen for their effectiveness and their ability to heal your ailment, illness or disease. There are seven major categories that are used in conjunction with complementary medicine to provide patients with a choice in treatments.

Mind-Body Medicine

An approach to health that involves the spiritual, behavioral, social and psychological aspects of a patient´s health is divided into 4 sub categories. Mind-Body Methods, Social and Contextual areas, Religion and Spirituality, and Mind-Body Systems. Tai Chi and Yoga, prayer, meditation, psychotherapy and hypnosis are some examples in this category.

Lifestyle and Disease Prevention

Prevention of illness and the treatment and identification of factors that cause risk as well as recovery and healing support are vital components of Lifestyle and Disease Prevention. Under this category are 3 subcategories: lifestyle therapies, clinical and preventative practices, and health promotion. Examples are Medical Intuition, behavior and dietary changes, and the healing process.

Biologically-Based Therapies

Interventions, biologically-based and natural practices, and products are the specialty in this category. The four subcategories are herbalism, Orthomolecular medicine, special diet therapies and biological, Pharmacological and instrumental interventions. As some examples, you will find herbs such as Tea Tree Oil and Garlic, high fiber diets and fasting, folic acid and iodine, cell therapy and H2O2.

Manipulative and Body-Based Systems

Movement of the body or manipulation of the body are systems that this category specializes in and it has three subcategories: body work and massage, chiropractic medicine and unconventional physical treatments. Some examples of are: acupressure, colonics, and reflexology.

Alternative Medical Systems

Alternative medical systems are other medical theories that are used outside of Western medicine, and there are four subcategories: Oriental medicine, unconventional Western systems, traditional indigenous systems, and Naturopathy. Examples are diet and acupuncture, Ayurvedic and Native American medicine, and environmental medicine.

Biofield

The use of very subtle energy fields for medical purposes involves healing science, Reiki, and Natural Healing, and Biorelax.

Bioelectromagnetics

Using electromagnetic fields for medical purposes is an unconventional method.

Tips on Finding the Best Alternative Therapy For Your Health Condition

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Before you decide to use Alternative Medicine or therapies for your health condition it is important to gather information so that you can work out specifics as to which sort of therapy feels most comfortable and has been proven to be most effective in healing your sort of health condition. This exercise will give you the reason to trust your chosen modality.

Be informed about Complementary and alternative medicine

It is a good idea to find out what are the various alternative healing methods and what they can do. Get all the facts, visit your local library and ask your reference librarian to help you find books on alternative therapies pertaining to your health condition. Find out things like do you need a referral, what does it cost, will the insurance pay for it.

Do your research

Find out which alternative methods have been effective for cancer pains, allergies, depression, acne, back pain, asthma diabetes, etc. If available consolidate your information with research based articles on treatments and conditions.

There is a wealth of information for research on a lot of federal and accredited association websites.

Which CAM is best for your health condition?

Now that you have a more detailed information about various complementary and alternative medicines out there, you need to get specific and start focusing on which alternative medicine or therapy you feel comfortable with. It is true that if you choose a alternative therapy due to whatever reason without putting any belief or trust in it, chances are that it will not be as effective for you. This is because the body follows the belief in the mind. No matter how good the medicine or therapy is.

Work out specifics

So work out specifics which alternative modality you feel is the best for you and speak with some partitioners of its effects for your health condition. Ask about the treatment, of the length of treatment, how it works, how do you need to prepare for it.

For example you may decide that for your health condition you have heard that Acupuncture has been very effective. Ask an Acupuncturist to confirm your findings and then ask about the details of how it works and what you need to do to prepare for an Acupuncture session. How long do the session last and is it safe for you to drive after the session. What does it cost, does the health insurance pay for it and how many sessions would be required.

Once you know all this beforehand you will feel more confident and more relaxed on the day of your treatment.

Remember all alternative modalities work on the same principle. They encourage the body to heel itself.

Download resource packed FREE software '6 Easy Steps To Good Health Naturally' to have detailed information at your fingertips.

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