Have You Tried L’Erbolario’s Elixir Body Lotions?

I have been using the extensive line of L’Erbolario skincare products for some time now and recently realized I had never tried their Elixir Body Lotions. I cannot believe I have been missing out on this luxury.

The L’Erbolario Elixir product has solved my dilemma and prevented morning headaches from more powerful and pricey perfumes. A quick spray after a shower or bath leaves a refreshingly light, heavenly scent that lasts throughout the day. The L’Erbolario Elixir are now part of my daily skincare routine.

These fabulous products are alcohol free and contain ingredients such as Green Tea and Verbena extract and Camellia oil. They are designed for the skin to maintain its natural moisturizing factor and are ideal for the most sensitive skin.

Our Favorite Health Products carries three fragrances in stock, Orangerie, Nostos and Tea and Cedar. Believe me, it is difficult to decide which one to use. The line retails for $29.95, but right now it is on sale at OurFHP for $23.59. Do not miss out on this offer. Pamper yourself today.

We will also include a sample packet form our luxurious skin care line with your order.

Ellen
OurFHP

Yes, we are fat.

I was in Zurich a year or so ago. I had only one meeting Friday morning and it ended early. So, I took a long walk around town. First a stroll on Bahnhofstrasse then along the river Limat, around the lake, over the bridge into the old town and back to the hotel. In all, a walk of several hours. After a while I noticed, I do not know why, a lack in my surroundings.

Where were all the corpulent people? Not one did I encounter. Not one. It was early in the year, before the time to see many tourists, but even the foreigners were thin, at least, by my standards. Once planted in my brain, the difference was startling. Why was everybody so not overweight? A few rotund women, nothing more and even they were not fat.

Online I went. Was there a major difference between countries? Had I noticed something?

The answer was a resounding yes. Some of the statistics available online are a little out of date, but the overall result is the same. We in the US are the gold medalists, with some 30% plus of the population classified as obese. The Swiss come in at the bottom of the pile with 8%, only ahead of Japan and Korea, both of which must have poor diets, by our standards. Japan and Korea have some 3% of their population classified as obese.

John Oram

3D virtual tennis anyone?

There are so many opportunities to be fitter. Forget about the benefits of living longer, it’s a nice side effect, but not the objective, at least not mine. A real purpose, I feel, is not to be a burden to others and being healthier is the way to achieve that goal. Avoiding the need for help is the objective. Not all of us will succeed, an illness is an illness and we cannot avoid all illnesses. We should, however, try to avoid the avoidable. And to do this, exercise and weight control are top of the list.

My wife exercisers several days a week, walks and watches what she eats. I bought her a Wii a short while ago and she uses it in her program. Now we hear that the, seemingly advanced, Wii controller is on its way out. New game consoles will sense body movement and there will be no need for the Wii controller or any other hand held device. When they arrive, I am going to get on line.

Some of us find independent exercise very trying, but if you give us something to chase, you can run us to exhaustion and, from time to time, into the surrounding furniture. I hope the new systems will give me that option. I look forward to playing virtual tennis or squash, with a need to cover the whole court. A virtual tennis court is now in my plans. May be I can set one up on the grass outside and use a real racket. Are these systems going to be 3D?

These games could change the nation.

John Oram
OurFHP

The HS-Omega-3 Index®

A note from Chris Janelli of Our Favorite Health Products, LLC.

Our Favorite Health Products is working closely with Dr. William Harris to introduce and market his test for omega-3 levels in the bloodstream.

The test, known as the HS-Omega-3 Index, was developed by Dr. Harris, PhD, an internationally recognized expert in the relationship between omega-3 levels and heart disease. Dr. Harris has received five NIH grants to study the effects of omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) levels on human diseases.

The HS-Omega-3 Index test measures levels of EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes. Research has shown a correlation between a high HS-Omega-3 Index and a reduction of relative risk of sudden cardiac death. At the highest omega-3 levels, risk for sudden cardiac death is reduced by about 90%.

Preliminary data indicate the potential benefit of omega-3 oils in a wide range of medical conditions, including pregnancy. While optimal levels have not yet been established for ideal levels of EPA and DHA in all circumstances, the HS-Omega-3 Index may be used to monitor the omega-3 levels in patients who are encouraged to take fish oil supplements or to add fish to their diets, such as women planning to get pregnant and pregnant women.

It is widely accepted that the essential omega 3 fatty acid DHA plays a vital role in fetal development. After 30 years of clinical research, the need for adequate DHA during pregnancy seems to be acknowledged.

Results of clinical research tell us that children born of women who consume DHA during pregnancy have better coordination and visual acuity, what’s more, children born to women who under consume DHA during pregnancy have a higher risk for low verbal IQ scores, reduced fine motor skills and less developed social and communication skills.

Experts recommend pregnant women consume at least 200 mg DHA per day. This modest DHA recommendation is currently not met by about 90% of pregnant women. In fact, average intakes are less than 80 mg/day.

While the HS-Omega-3 Index test is primarily used to establish a baseline risk profile for sudden cardiac death and to help patients reduce their risk, it can also be used by women planning a pregnancy as an important indicator to guide their omega-3 supplementation program. An Index of 8% to 11% higher would indicate healthy levels of Omega-3 EPA+DHA.

It is known that the Index can be raised by eating a diet rich in Omega-3s, but even if a woman is consuming 200 mg DHA per day, an amount recommended for a pregnant woman, people vary and each person's response to supplemental Omega-3s varies, particularly in pregnancy when nutrient requirements increase.

Dr. Harris feels that an HS-Omega-3 Index between 4% and 8% can be corrected by increasing the EPA+DHA intake by ½ -1 gram (500 - 1000 mg) per day. This can be accomplished in two ways: eating more oily fish and/or taking fish oil supplements. On the other hand, if the Index is less than 4%, his recommendation would be to raise intake by 1-3 g (100 - 3000 mg) per day; significantly more than the 200 mg recommended for pregnant women.

If you would like to get references for many of the above statements please send me an email at john@ourfavoritehealthproducts.com

A post when there is nothing to say, but don’t forget what I told you.

I have to pen a post, but what to say. The push of our site is simple. How many times can we tell you to exercise, a little or a lot, it doesn’t seem to matter a lot, try not to become corpulent, don’t get constipated and join a club with modest supplement intake, fiber, omega 3, a multivitamin, vitamin D, in winter, and whatever your doctor recommends to give yourself a better chance of living a healthier life, if not a longer one?

We’ve added some products and seem to be moving in the direction of natural cosmetics. I just put up a new European line.

But, I did go to the Galapagos Archipelago, as we now call it, over Thanksgiving.

There are many lessons to be learned from such a trip. Keep humans out from where they do not belong. Get rid of introduced species; kill them off no matter what. And the locals can do the job better than the imports, if you will only get out of the way and let them do it.

So on most islands there are no humans, no billboards, no johns and leave before sundown. No relieving oneself whilst in the National Park. A good thing to, it keeps the group moving and concentrating on the objective.


All the naturalists, hiding their resentment, as a good host should, whilst showing around the comparatively affluent foreigners, are Ecuadorians. The ship we were on was crewed by Ecuadorians, as I believe is the requirement. The standard of input and service from our hosts was extremely high, they were proud of their land and the product they delivered.





It’s a good trip, if you get a chance.

John Oram

Do you know how much Omega-3 is in your bloodstream?

We have noted many times that the difficulty with supplements is not only to know what type to take but how much to take. We direct you to the numerous US Government sites that give excellent guidance and the latest knowledge. On these sites the skeptic can find much information on what is efficacious and what is definitely not.

Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are getting a lot of press. The situation is far from clear and some studies appear to be contradictory. Some say increase omega 3 and lower the intake of omega 6 to get the omega 3 to 6 ratio more in line with our ancestors, somewhere in the region of 1 to 12. And then a reputable study supports the idea that omega 6 is useful in of itself and an effort should not be made to cut back on foods high in omega 6 fatty acids.

The omega fatty acid debate seems to be heading in the cholesterol direction, a marker for general good health with lower instances of many chronic diseases. By reducing inflammation, omega-3 fatty acids are associated with a lower risk of heart disease, both in persons with a history of heart disease and in healthy individuals.

Most of us have heard the suggestion that we eat more fish, particularly those with a high fat content.

So, it would seem the key is to know how much omega 3 is in your system and what the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 is.

Our Favorite Health Products is now selling the HS-Omega-3 Index® Test on its website. This is a new test that measures blood levels of protective omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA in relation to all omega fatty acids. The desired HS-Omega-3 Index® is 8%, but most of us have an index in the range of 3 to 4%.

With the results of the HS-Omega-3 Index one can know how effective the fish oil supplements one is taking are and adjust ones intake accordingly.

If your HS-Omega-3 Index is between 4% and 8%, the recommendation would be to increase your intake by 500 to 1000 mg per day, either by eating more oily fish or taking omega-3 fish oil supplements. With an HS-Omega-3 Index of less than 4%, the recommendation would to increase the intake by 1000 to 3000mg per day.

The personal HS-Omega-3 Index report allows you to determine the success of your current omega-3 intake or adjust your ongoing intake to achieve a desired level.

The HS-Omega-3 Index® is an accurate, precise and validated measure of your red blood cell omega-3 level. The assay is reproducible and highly responsive to changes in omega-3 intake. Individual variability in the HS-Omega-3 Index® is very low.

The HS-Omega-3 Index® Test is available at our website.

We urge you to go to the US Government sites mentioned in out prior post and visit the American Heart Association site for the latest information on omega 3 fatty acids.

John Oram

Probiotic? Prebiotic? What’s the difference? Are they useful?

A probiotic is a supplement or food containing live bacteria that provides a health benefit. A prebiotic is food for the bacteria.

Ingesting live healthy bacteria of a preferred strain can be beneficial, sometimes. A medical intervention or condition that decimates the gut flora, as we like to call it, will leave us in difficulty until the gut is repopulated with these little friends who are greatly missed when not in place to help with the passage of waste through the colon. They give their all for our benefit, at least the good ones do. So, an active repopulation effort is very worthwhile.

The bacteria in our system are not all to be welcomed home. But normally the good outweigh the bad.

A probiotic can also solve a problem by producing what the body does not produce or does not produce enough of. The most obvious example is lactose intolerance. The body does not produce sufficient lactase; a bacterium can produce lactase to make up the difference.

The bacteria in our bodies can be classified in three different groups, the beneficial, the harmless and the pathogenic, those that cause diseases. The diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria include cholera, diphtheria, leprosy, syphilis, tuberculosis, typhoid fever and food poisoning, to name a few.

Studies supporting the claims of probiotic efficacy are many. A symptom of lactose intolerance is diarrhea. A probiotic, added to milk, reduces the incidence of diarrhea in children. It also appears that strengthening gut flora gives generally positive results in situations where groups congregate for long periods, such as schools, with more apparent benefit for the young.

The natural benefits have resulted in efforts to improve nature. We now have GM bacteria.

But what of GM modified bacteria? Genetically modified, that is. The development of GM bacteria is a large and ever growing part of the pharmaceutical industry. The hope is that the GM bacteria will do its good work as designed and not become a rogue or pathogen. These GM bacteria are in a sense drugs and the initial results are very promising. The most studied and therefore the most modified bacteria are Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, both found in fermented milk products.

So, some strains of gut bacteria are useful and many are hyped and oversold.

Read the label and head for a .gov web site.

John Oram