Lifestyle Fashion

How to write a wedding speech: 6 tips for writing a wedding speech

Giving a wedding speech or a wedding toast is difficult to do. Sometimes the hardest part is writing your wedding speech. Where do you start? What do you say in your wedding toast? How do you write the best man’s speech? How do you write a bridesmaid speech? See 6 Tips for Writing an Amazing Wedding Speech.

1) Play to your strengths. Don’t think the pressure is on being someone you’re not, are you funny? Great, everyone loves to laugh. Don’t feel like it HAS to be funny. If your strength is the emotional thing, don’t try to leave the audience rolling on the ground, tug at their heartstrings. People get too nervous giving a speech, but you don’t have to if you keep it simple and real!

2) Start with a story. Nobody wants a long presentation – a story begins with a bang. It attracts your audience and engages them. Also, they are more natural! You won’t have to rehearse it, all you have to do is tell it! This could be a fun memory you’ve shared or something more serious, maybe a scenario that really showed the groom’s strength of character or the bride’s incredible heart, etc.

3) Pick a few key things that you like about both the bride and groom, before you start writing your speech. What are its best features? The best wedding speeches usually only have a couple of key points, and once you’ve chosen yours, completing the rest of the speech is much easier. If you are writing your speech as a bridesmaid, you will choose one more pair for the bride than the groom. If you are the best man writing your speech, choose a few more for the groom than the bride. Make sure they are REAL things that you and others like – if you say that the bride has a motherly heart and everyone knows that she hates children, people will know that you are faking it. If you are not very close to your friend’s new spouse, then emphasize the speech towards the friend you know and love.

4) Once you have your points, think of a story, quote, or metaphor for each one. Now is the time to take a trip back in time and think about all those fun times you spent together. This makes the speech easier to deliver because it is much more natural and will also make it much more interesting than if you were reading it straight off the page. The stories, quotes, and metaphors strengthen each of your points and give the speech a sense of progression. If you can’t think of any stories that will work for your points, ask your other friends or parents – someone will have one!

5) Wrap it up. Once you have your points, it’s time to put it all together in the incredible wedding speech of the century! To do this, take the things you just said you love about them and explain why they are a good match. He’s funny, is she smart? Perfect, he is the next Ray Ramano and she can be his agent. Do you both have a heart to help people? Impressive, together they will change the world. This can be serious or funny; the main thing is to take the time to say why they are such a good couple.

6) Toast the bride and groom, wish them an amazing future together and thank them for the amazing wedding. Then sit back and pat yourself on the back. You just gave the best best man or bridesmaid speech of all time.

Lifestyle Fashion

Can you discover the best skincare brand?

With all of these skin care products on the market, one can’t help but wonder which brand is the best for skin care. However, you need to dig deeper into the problem if you really want to get the best results with a certain cream.

Everyone wants to know more about the best brand in the skincare market. Unfortunately, there are none. If you look at the situation from an objective point of view, you will see that the best brands sometimes offer great products and sometimes sell items below our expectations.

Even if the best skincare brand existed, it doesn’t mean that all the creams in that series would be the best. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of skincare brands, and a few dozen are already famous. How can you choose between them?

The brand name is strictly related to the marketing strategy of the company. If a company decides to invest all its profits in making its brand famous, it can do so without even selling a reliable product. In fact, some famous brands will sell mediocre products and make big profits simply because people don’t know what else to buy.

You don’t have to be an expert if you want to get the best skincare cream. When you want to make a decision, stop thinking about brand. Instead, you should look at the ingredients. Because it is impossible to have a list of all the harmful ingredients, you should start your search by looking for the best substances on the market: Cynergy TK, Nanobelle Coenzyme Q10, and Phytessence Wakame.

It doesn’t matter which company makes these products, as long as they contain the right ingredient. With these three natural substances, there is no doubt that the product will work perfectly on your skin, even if you are a very sensitive person.

Now that you know there is no such thing as the best brand for skincare, you should forget about buying based on the product name. Look at the ingredients and you won’t be disappointed in the product you buy.

Lifestyle Fashion

Very low-dose birth control pills for perimenopausal women

Are you joining the signals that your body is preparing to say ‘goodbye’ to your period? And are you wanting to ditch your birth control? Don’t be swayed by a false sense of security – If you’re still having your period, you can still get pregnant. When you stop menstruating, you are not officially ‘menopausal’ until 12-18 months later, so you still need to continue contraception during your ‘perimenopausal’ period, which can last 3-5 years. Your doctor can measure your FSH or follicle stimulating hormone through a blood test to see if you are in menopause; do not trust over-the-counter test kits, as birth control pills can mask these tests.

Using a low-dose birth control pill

Many doctors do not recommend continuing to use hormonal methods like the patch, injection, and ring during perimenopause, but they often recommend that you switch to a low-dose birth control pill like Alesse or similar that contains only 20 mcg of estrogen. Using a low-dose birth control pill will, in most cases, keep your periods regular and at the same time protect you against pregnancy. Low-dose birth control pills are taken in the same way as regular oral contraceptives and you will be unlucky if they don’t act to regulate you periods during perimenopause.
Low-dose birth control pills also have health benefits.

Hot flashes and vaginal dryness are common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, but they can be reduced with very low-dose birth control pills like Alesse. Osteoporosis and bone loss can also occur at this time and low-dose birth control pills can prevent this in some cases. A more well-known benefit for all women, regardless of age, is protection against ovarian and uterine cancer through the use of low-dose birth control pills.

DO NOT take very low-dose birth control pills during perimenopause if you smoke OR if you have a history of blood clots, breast cancer, or heart disease.

Good news about side effects Due to the very low dose of estrogen, fewer women will experience side effects and lose libido, but if you’re unlucky, side effects can include nausea, breast tenderness, higher blood pressure, or headaches.

Barrier-based contraceptive methods (diaphragm, cap, sponge, female condom, male condom, etc.) will be fine to use BUT keep in mind that as your periods become lighter and less frequent during perimenopause, it will be more difficult for you to track your cycle with accuracy if you use it ‘natural contraceptive methods (fertility awareness).

Keep an eye on your body during perimenopause

You may be in your forties or fifties and still have a lot of “ sex miles ” left on you (hey, some claim this is the best part of your sex life!). However, perimenopause and menopause are times of great change in a woman’s body, especially in the hormone department. Now is the time to be aware of what your body is telling you and to ‘support’ this transition in the best way. you can stay healthy and of course not get pregnant. You won’t be surprised to read that eating a well-balanced diet, taking a good vitamin supplement, reducing your intake of coffee and alcohol (just when you feel like it the most!), And getting a little exercise is really good for you, but you also need to know how. successfully manage this last stage of your ‘contraceptive career’.

Finally stop birth control

Your doctor will help you decide when to stop using low-dose birth control and how to manage your menopause. Take the time to educate yourself and make a decision on whether or not you should continue to use ANY form of hormones. (HRT) Your body needs support as it is going off hormonal contraceptives and this can be done without problems and with minimal symptoms. if you follow medical advice.

Lifestyle Fashion

5 natural treatments to lighten the skin

Aging can take away the natural glow from a ‘once-radiant’ face. Other factors, such as weather conditions, genetics, and health issues, can deprive skin of its natural glow. It is imperative that you take appropriate steps to prevent skin conditions like sun spots and melasma. Herbal skin lightening remedies are safer alternatives to chemical skin treatments.

Dark spots, melasma, and hyperpigmentation may appear on the hands, face, and shoulders. Hormonal fluctuations and sun exposure can cause uneven skin tone. To be sure, cosmetic treatments provide an easy solution to these conditions, but you can lighten their appearance with simple ingredients from your kitchen. Eating a healthy diet and following a healthy skin regimen can do wonders for your skin. Some of the herbal remedies for a healthier glow are as follows.

  • Lemon juice is a rich source of natural vitamin C. Being strongly acidic, it is the perfect natural astringent. Its moisturizing action nourishes the skin from the depths. Lemon juice has long been used to treat dark spots and uneven skin tone. Add vinegar or honey to lemon juice to enhance the body color lightening effects. Regular use for 6 months will definitely give positive results.
  • Papaya is a tropical fruit that is edible and also offers benefits for the skin. It contains the enzyme ‘papain’ that helps exfoliate the face. In addition, it also helps the regeneration of skin cells. Papain also restricts the activity of the pigment-producing enzyme ‘Tyrosinase’. Just rub the raw papaya peel on your face and shoulders. Wash off after 15 minutes to reveal glowing skin underneath.
  • Castor oil is extracted from the bean-like seeds of castor plants. The undecenoic acid found in these seeds helps clear pots from the skin and slow aging. Apply castor oil daily for 10 minutes. The visible difference is noticeable within a month.
  • The onion juice and vinegar mixture offers wonderful benefits for the skin. Both ingredients are natural body scrubs. Prepare an onion puree and extract the juice. Mix the same amount of vinegar in this juice. Apply this solution directly on age spots or melasma. Within six months, the spots will be visibly reduced.
  • Aloe vera promotes the natural regeneration of the skin. New, whiter skin cells emerge from within. It is used in various skin lightening creams as an active ingredient. Aloe vera is very effective against minor scrapes and burns.

Natural skin lightening remedies have many benefits over chemical cosmetic treatments. Most of these treatments use harsh chemicals, such as hydroquinone, to whiten the skin. Expensive treatments like microdermabrasion and chemical peels can have adverse side effects. Herbal creams that contain natural skin lightening ingredients provide a much safer alternative.

Lifestyle Fashion

Great ways to say "Happy Birthday"

The old-fashioned birthday card is losing steam, and new ways to wish your friend a happy birthday are replacing it. Sometimes a few simple good wishes on Facebook or a birthday email are enough, but many times we want a more creative way to wish our friends a happy birthday in New York. There are many options for simple but interesting ways to recognize a friend’s birthday.

You can quickly and easily send a greeting card online with fun animations, music, and a cute message. Online greeting cards are available from a variety of websites, including evite.com, 123greetings.com, bluemountain.com, and egreetings.com. If your sense of humor is more sarcastic, you should visit someecards.com for more tongue-in-cheek humor. On all ecard websites, you can sort greeting cards based on recipient or card type (for example, fun cards or top picks) and the site will allow you to personalize the card with a personal message and then an email. . the card to your friend.

Another more creative way to convey a message is by writing on baked goods. In New York, Mrs. Fields offers delicious cookies of various sizes with personalized messages written in frosting. Who wouldn’t want a giant chocolate chip cookie covered in frosting? However, NYC Cookies by Design will deliver a personalized cookie bouquet with a message for your friend. Their cookies come in a variety of sizes and styles, so you can get flip flop cookies for your friend who loves the beach, guitar cookies for someone more musical, or car cookies for someone who loves the racetrack. Cookies by Design also offer large cookies, similar to those offered by Ms. Los Campos. And if cookies aren’t your first baked option, you can always choose to buy a cake with a happy birthday message written across the top. Famous New York bakeries like Veniro’s in the East Village or Magnolia Bakery in the West Village offer great cakes or birthday cakes.

Another option is to order a bottle of champagne online with a custom printed message on the label. This way, your friend will receive both a nice bottle of champagne and your personal message. For the artistically talented, you can print your own label to stick on the champagne bottle. This idea could also work with a large bottle of wine instead of champagne.

If you only have time to quickly stop by a store, you can send your friend a “Happy Birthday” balloon, either alone, with a card, or with a gift. It is also a popular New York tradition to embarrass a friend at work with a large helium balloon waiting on their desk on the morning of their birthday.

The possibilities of wishing someone a happy birthday are endless. A traditional card is becoming a thing of the past; There are many more original ways to share your birthday wishes. A friend’s birthday is an opportunity to get creative and show your friend that you thought of him on his special day!

Lifestyle Fashion

How to Slowly Smoke a Pork Loin Recipe

Whole pork tenderloins can be found in almost every grocery store. It’s a fairly inexpensive cut of meat to marinate, rub, and simmer in a smoker. And for large groups, it’s a perfect, easy-to-serve dish … one that’s different and will make your missions complement you all night long.

The whole pork tenderloin is found on both sides of the pig’s spine. It is usually around 30 “long and can be divided into different” roasts. “You will see that these are referred to as” Top loin roast “or” Center loin roast. “Smaller, more manageable piece of meat.

I prefer to buy the whole pork tenderloin at stores like Costco or Sam’s and do the trim myself. It is quite easy and with a sharp knife you can do it yourself in no time.

You’ll want to remove the meat from the packaging first and rinse it quickly. Next, trim the silver skin (thin, “silver-colored” skin), as well as any excess oil that may be attached. After a few minutes of trimming, you should have a clean piece of lean meat.

It is not necessary to remove all fat, but large deposits should be removed. Smaller bits of fat will melt during cooking and keep the meat moist. At this point, you can divide the entire tenderloin into smaller sections or leave it whole. It depends on the size of your smoker and how many people you want to serve.

Tenderloin can be used for a number of things: it can be cured and made into Canadian-style bacon, cut into pork chops (tenderloin chops), cut into country-style ribs, or smoked whole. But with this recipe we are going to smoke the whole loin. This is a perfect recipe for a backyard barbecue or a big party.

To smoke it whole, you will need a few things:

• Smoker for indirect cooking

• Wood and charcoal as fuel

• “The BBQ Rub” by Killer Hogs.

• Marinade

• Meat thermometer

Pork itself doesn’t have much flavor, but best of all, you can infuse it with just about any flavor you like. I do this by marinating the whole tenderloin overnight.

The marinade consists of:

• 1 cup of apple juice

• 1 cup of pineapple juice

• Cup of olive oil

• Cup of red wine vinegar with garlic

• Cup of Dijon mustard

• Cup of maple syrup

• Cup of molasses

• 2 tablespoons kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• Fresh thyme, parsley and oregano (a few sprigs of each chopped together)

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large saucepan and heat gently. It does not need to boil; just heat it enough to combine the flavors

Cool the marinade and place the whole tenderloin in a large bowl. I use a 3 gallon zip lock bag, but any container large enough for the task will work.

Pour marinade over tenderloin and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. The longer you let it sit in the marinade, the more flavor will get into the meat.

When you’re ready to cook the tenderloin, remove it from the marinade. Let excess marinade drip off before applying next step.

Now is the time to season the whole tenderloin.

I use The BBQ Rub. because it has the perfect amount of sweetness, flavor and spiciness … but you can use whatever seasoning you prefer.

Start with some Dijon mustard all over the tenderloin first and then sprinkle with The BBQ Rub.

Let the whole tenderloin rest while the smoker reaches the proper temperature. Your smoker should be 225 degrees with light smoke. For the wood I use cherry. The smoke from the cherry adds a pleasant, smooth flavor all the way through and won’t overload you with harsh flavor.

Once the smoker reaches temperature, place the tenderloin on the grill and enjoy a cold drink. The hard work is done and now is the time to let the smoker do his job.

Hold 225 degrees and in 2 hours check and see what the internal temperature is. The target temperature is 145 degrees and it will take approximately 3 to 4 hours for the tenderloin to reach this temperature.

If you overcook it, the meat will be very dry, which is why I start checking the internal temperature at 2 hours … and then I continue to check it every 20 – 30 minutes until it reaches an internal temperature of about 135 – 140 Once it reaches this internal temperature, it’s time to start glazing the pork tenderloin.

For my pork tenderloin glaze, I like to mix pineapple juice and 50:50 barbecue sauce and brush the outside of my tenderloin. Also, you can add apple jelly, preserves, honey, or anything sweet to the outside of the tenderloin at this time. Adding a sweet glaze at the end will complement the flavor of the pork and keep it from burning.

Keep a close eye on the enamel because it will darken quite quickly. It is important not to have the heat too high when frosting. Caramelizing sugars can go from a rich, sweet taste to a dark bitter in minutes.

I like to let the glaze sit on the pork tenderloin and “bake” for about 30 minutes.

When the tenderloin reaches the desired internal temperature, 145 internal, remove it from the smoker, loosely cover your tenderloin with aluminum foil and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Removing it from the smoker at 145 and standing will allow the natural juices to redistribute throughout the meat. This is an important step and should not be skipped. Don’t worry about the pork tenderloin “going cold” because after the standing period it will still be very hot … but it will not lose all the juices as it would if you cut it up immediately.

Once rested, it’s time to slice the tenderloin and enjoy.

Serving suggestions are to simply cut the tenderloin into medallions (about 1 to 1.5 inches thick) and fan them in a platter, adding a bowl of your 50:50 BBQ sauce and pineapple juice to the side for dipping.

Or you can arrange your medallions on slip rolls and serve with a garnish of spicy mustard or Dijon.

Lifestyle Fashion

Curious sayings and humorous expressions in Pennsylvania Dutch English

English as a world language

English, with its increasing number of varieties, pidgins, and inflections, is now firmly established as a world language. It is currently spoken as a second or foreign language by more speakers than those who call it their first language. There are now more than three non-native speakers of English for every native speaker, and the number of non-native speakers of English continues to grow daily. “Never before has there been a language that has been spoken by more people as second than first,” said David Crystal, author of the book “English as a Global Language.” In the area where I grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, there is an interesting variety of the English language spoken by the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”

A difficult aspect of English speaking in Dauphin, Lancaster, and York counties in south central Pennsylvania, where a large concentration of Amish, Mennonites, and other “Pennsylvania Dutch” sects live, is the manipulation of the grammatical elements of English. Here are some examples of the ways in which grammar and word order are handled in everyday speech in Pennsylvania Dutch. For “outsiders” – anyone other than Pennsylvania Dutch – these expressions of everyday speech can range from funny to surprising. Here are some of the many aspects of this variety of English.

Intricate grammatical forms

“He throws dad down the stairs with his hat.”

Explanation: Throw Daddy’s hat down the stairs. (I don’t care how old he is, don’t you dare touch the old Pope!)

“Go out and tie the dog and don’t forget to turn off the light.”

This expression uses complicated grammar in addition to “Germanic” verbalizations. Here the verb “outen” means “to go out”. The adjective and noun are used in reverse order to other forms of Standard English.

“The owner says he will pay me ten dollars a day if I eat myself, but only five dollars if he eats me.”

Explanation: No, there is no cannibalism here! The worker will receive $ 10 a day for providing his own meals, but $ 5 a day if the owner has to provide the worker’s meal. (Wow! I’m glad we cleared that up!)

“He’s a pretty good man still, isn’t he?”

Explanation: He’s a good man (provider), right? (a label question form)

Use of specialized vocabulary

The addition of specialized but “local” vocabulary is also done quite frequently, as demonstrated in these examples.

“Should I put the candy in a bite?” (A “toot” is a paper bag).

When talking about the fact that his father or grandfather is sick, a child might say:

“Dad is not that good; his food is gone and it doesn’t look that good on his face either.”

Speaking of his son’s difficulties in school, a parent could be heard expressing the following feelings: “My son is not stupid. It’s not that he can’t learn, it’s just that after he learns it, he forgets it.”

If you don’t speak “Pennsylvania Dutch” in one of its many forms, you may be told, “You don’t distinguish yourself so well. You speak so gracefully as if a body can’t understand you.”

When talking about someone who does not read aloud well, in a meeting or at school, for example, people might say something like, “When you get up to read, you get confused.”

Or how about this fun little observation of someone else’s speech: “Don’t talk too fast, it runs too much when I think.”

Pennsylvania Dutch Proverbs

Some interesting Pennsylvania Dutch proverbs include these offerings:

“Kissing wears out, cooking doesn’t”

“No woman can be happy with less than seven to cook”

“A plump wife and a big barn never hurt a man”

“He who has a secret does not dare to tell his wife”

“We get too old and too late, idiots”

The state of the cornerstone

In this region of the “Keystone state,” as Pennsylvania is called, this variety is often called “Ferhoodled English” by the Pennsylvania Dutch themselves and by local “outsiders.” Famous for their frugal lifestyle and delicious fresh, natural cuisine, the Amish and other sects contribute to the state’s tourism. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to taste the crafts, food and “peculiar” language of this austere town. It is just another one of the many varieties of English that is continually developing as a global language.

“When you come, get out” When you are in the area, stop by. See, hear and experience Pennsylvania Dutch food and Dutch for yourself.

Lifestyle Fashion

Colonoscopies are over-promoted, over-prescribed, and overcharged; consumers must resist and rebel

Introduction: some questions to set the stage

Should you trust your doctor? Is the medical system organized and controlled by the modern equivalent of highway robbers? What can we learn from the way colonoscopies are promoted and valued in the United States? What is the most important lesson to take from a brief exploration of these questions?

Here are short answers to the first three of these rhetorical questions. I am saving an answer to the last question (that is, recommended course of action) until the end.

  1. No, don’t trust your doctor, if you are lucky enough to have easy access to one or more doctors. Instead, be cautious and double-check, run independent checks on relevant issues, and get other qualified opinions. Doctors and other providers are not your enemies, but they are definitely not your friends. They are highly trained professionals who operate in a complex dysfunctional profit-oriented system. Most want to do the right thing, but pressures can lead even ethical professionals to justify that courses of action are not in your best interest. In this essay, I will argue that your interests and the public interest take a backseat to a kind of higher power: the profit motive.
  2. Yes, the medical system is highway robbery, circa 21st century.
  3. Much can be learned by taking a closer look at the colonoscopy industry complex. The procedures that are performed can serve as canaries in the coal mine of the American medical system. Pay attention, be alarmed, and do what you can to save yourself before it’s too late.

Colonoscopies, Medical Providers and Free Enterprise Run Amuck

Colonoscopies are the most expensive routine screening test in this country. A report from the Commonwealth Fund revealed that this procedure is billed at rates ranging from $ 6,385 to $ 19,438. (See Explaining America’s High Health Care Spending: International Comparison of Supply, Utilization, Price, and Quality, May 3, 2012, Volume 10.) These figures are retail rates for the uninsured; insurers generally negotiate prices below $ 3,500. Americans lucky enough to have employer-based insurance often assume that health care is basically free, despite increased copayments and deductibles, but it is not . Older people on Medicare make the same mistake, often because they are Exhausted (I mean, too tired to give a shit).

Like the high costs of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, everyone pays in the end, no pun intended.

In other Western countries, the median price for a colonoscopy is a few hundred dollars. Compare this to the US experience:

Americans pay more for almost all interactions with the medical system … A price list compiled by the International Federation of Health Plans found that medical services are more expensive in all categories, by a huge margin.

We are world leaders in medical spending, although numerous studies have shown that we do not receive better care and are less healthy than people in almost all other Western nations.

Forms of highway robbery in the fourth century America

In case you’ve been on the moon or out of touch for several years, here is a summary of why so many experts believe that the US healthcare system is out of control:

  • Doctors prescribe expensive procedures. However, the high price of ordinary ones represents our $ 2.7 trillion annual healthcare tab – 18% of GNP. ((Source: Elisabeth Rosenthal, Paying until it hurts: a case study with high costs, New York Times, June 1, 2013.)
  • Doctors promote too many tests. According to the CDC, more than 10 million Americans each year undergo colonoscopies (at a cost of $ 10 billion a year). One reason for so much testing is defensive medicine. America is as litigious as it is religious. Doctors are bound (or pressured) by insurance regulations or their employers / professional associations / associations to avoid lawsuits, rather than impoverishing patients or even having poor health outcomes.
  • Pharmaceutical companies saturate the media with direct-to-consumer merchandising. Drug saturation advertising campaigns for whatever affects you or may affect you distort the judgments of patients. Consumers’ appetite for quick fixes is encouraged. Patients are motivated to pressure providers for overrated and overrated products.
  • Greed rules. So-called non-profit hospitals, insurance companies, device manufacturers, and other medical industry players are focused on generating the highest possible profits that they can legally justify. The pursuit of maximum profitability is by far the number one goal of the American medical system.
  • High-tech and drug-focused treatments predominate. A disproportionate amount of medical care and expenses is lavished on chronic conditions in old age, leaving fewer resources for prevention, education, and acute care.
  • Costs / benefits take a backseat. Substantial medical care is lavished on ministrations that simply extend the death process.
  • There is very little incentive to act wisely. Overlooked in studies to explain the high costs and low returns on medical investments relative to other industrialized countries, it’s a disturbing reality: Americans are too fond of guns, gods, demigods, and drugs. They have little commitment to reason and critical thinking, exercise, whole plant-based foods, and the art of shaping supportive environments for themselves and others.

Colonoscopies like coal mine canaries

Colonoscopy gets my vote as the biggest scam in modern medicine. We should stop using the term colonoscopy – colonoscamia it is much more descriptive and appropriate. The biggest scam distinction is not a minor honor or a rather dubious distinction, given the abuses that could and have been documented on the US health care system. Colonoscopies are marketed through scare tactics, not unlike religions. Colonoscopy counselors sometimes describe with almost wicked delight the high chances of terrible torment and premature death from colon cancer.

A year ago, I reluctantly agreed to sit down for a pep talk with a renowned proctologist. The issue was why should I have a colonoscopy, even though there are no risk factors other than old age. I accepted the interview only after years of receiving a colonoscopy harassed by friends, family, and various doctors, including even my dentist! Graphic descriptions of the dire consequences of missing a polyp would have made Hieronymus Bosch proud. I was reminded of visions drawn by nuns about 65 years ago at St. Barnabas Parish School. The eternal fires of hell were described in such fine and vivid detail that anyone would have been convinced that the nuns had been there. I think this whole scare was designed to ensure that I never missed a Mass on Sundays. (For a while, I didn’t, although I arrived as late as possible so my presence would still count.) So I heard the colorful tone of the colonoscopy, and still decided not to. (I even wrote an essay about the interview experience.)

Colonoscopies are billed as quasi-operations. What was recently a simple office procedure has been transformed into a more complex booming business. Now there are surgery centers where lucrative colonoscopies that exceed medical guidelines are prescribed and performed. The goal is to maximize revenue; Lobbying, marketing and turf battles between specialists, in addition to huge profit margins, explain the high costs. Other tests for colon cancer are less invasive, cheaper, and just as effective.

Australia doesn’t even pay for colonoscopies as a standard screening procedure and it’s not common in other Western nations either.

The American Free Enterprise Anomaly

In this country, the government, unlike any other industrialized nation, does not regulate or otherwise intervene in medical prices, beyond setting payment rates for Medicare and Medicaid. Other nations see health care as everyone’s right and regulate hospitals and the rest of the service delivery system as public services. What conservatives like to call the free market is not so free for consumers.

Imagine if you went to a restaurant and ordered your food without having a clue what your dinner would cost. Imagine the anxiety waiting for the waiter to arrive with the bill. However, apply the healthcare model to other normal purchases, large and small. What if the groceries from the supermarket that you loaded, took home, and consumed were totaled and posted to your account, but you didn’t see the bill for days or weeks, long after you’ve processed most of what you took out? Such transactions are ridiculous, of course, and yet they are in the medical system. Sometimes I get bills for medical procedures performed a year earlier, after the hospital or doctor has given up on negotiations for full or good enough payment from the Medicare insurer.) It is strange, irrational, unfair and intolerable.

Fiancée summary and takeaway lesson

Ask yourself, Do you have to be passive and tolerate this state of affairs? Consider that it is not.

First, regarding colonoscopies, know that for most people, regular tests of blood in the stool are sufficient. Unfortunately for unwary and easily intimidated patients, settling for this low-cost option is difficult. Such resistance to colonoscopies will be strongly resisted by the medical advisers involved in the procedure. Stool testing is not a high-income producer for this industry.

What can you do to avoid spending more on lower-quality health care while feeling less and less good? You have three options: die, move, or adopt a REAL wellness lifestyle. Stay with the latter until you move or die. Personally, I go with the REAL wellness lifestyle. On the subject of colonoscopy, I prefer a whole food plant-based diet, lots of exercise, and minor cancer screening methods over the unpleasant, expensive, and questionable invasive procedure. Life is fraught with risk, and flesh inherits more slings and arrows than there will ever be expensive medical tests to detect and treat early on.

Going back to the three options (die, move or adopt a RW lifestyle), I also opt for the last one because the few countries that I would like to call home (Australia, New Zealand, Canada and El Dorado) might not have me. But of course I am really in favor of this choice because TRUE wellness is a richer way to be alive. It’s the only way to fly, or live, in my opinion, even if it didn’t save money and pain on all sorts of chronic medical problems that you would surely have to endure if you were obese, sedentary, bored, or untreatable, and I’m definitely not fat, sedentary. or boring.

Actual wellness is what I suggest to take away from this cautionary tale about colonoscamia in America.

Lifestyle Fashion

Brochure Tips: Automatic Switching

Do you sometimes find yourself “on automatic” when you share your experience? Whether you’ve been in your field for a long time or not, you may be telling your same stories, sharing your same ideas, using your same delivery formats. It can be easy to fall for that, as it is what you know and what has worked for you. Why change what works?

While your audience may be learning some or most of your knowledge for the first time, you’ve been talking and writing about it for what can seem like forever. Unless you add or subtract something from the mix, there is a high risk that it will become stale, run out, become less interesting to those who could barely wait for what you offered and feel like there must be more to life. It is one thing to eat the same food every day for every meal or to wear clothes of the same color every day. Another thing is to repeat the same lesson dozens of times, if not hundreds of times.

Imagine what changes you can make from small to medium to large. Here are some ideas for you to think about.

  1. Expand the way you deliver your information: hard copy, electronic, written, spoken.

  2. Consider a different audience for your experience: younger, older, different industry.

  3. Give your presentations in different ways: in person, on the phone, recorded, Skype.

  4. Combine What You Have – Put individual products and services together in packages.

  5. Change location: Take your information to a different state, country, or region.

  6. Expand Your Reach – Authorize your presentations and insights for others to deliver.

  7. Partner with others: co-present with someone whose experience complements yours

This is far from an exhaustive list of possibilities, as much as a short list for ideas to flow through you. What triggered that? Did someone or something come to mind for the first time, something that can breathe new life into what you’ve been doing, something that can turn monotony into fun, something that seems like a great idea that you’re not entirely sure how? do it? executed?

There is no idea that is too small to consider or too unimportant to have value in itself or as a trigger for something else. Before you are tempted to cancel or think you are missing the procedure, take a breath. Think about who you know who can be a sounding board, who, whether they can give you an answer or not, can give you a place to listen to your own thoughts that can give you answers while listening to what you are saying. After all, you’ve come this far with your business, even if you’re on the starting line. There are many people who can help you take the next steps, steps to keep you from being on automatic any longer.

ACTION – Look in your life for the people you know in all aspects of your life. Pick one or two to talk about your business insights, your expertise, your bite-size brilliance. Explain some ideas about what you are considering for the next steps to take to improve what you are doing and ask them what suggestions they have. It is entirely possible that they can offer you something you never considered.

© 2015

Lifestyle Fashion

Foods that do not match the menu

The question of whether you are actually getting the exact same food that appears on the menu has persisted in the restaurant industry. What guarantee is there that you will get exactly what you asked for? Is there a check and balance to ensure the integrity of the companies that supply the food available in restaurants? There can be many questions surrounding the notion that the food you are ordering is not exactly as stated on the menu. But rest assured, there are few to no loopholes within the major food supply chains, so there is no cause for widespread panic and I’m not trying to stop you from going to your favorite restaurant. On the contrary, most restaurants operate ethically, as the success of a restaurant is based primarily on its reputation, level of service, and quality of food. We’re about to uncover some of the biggest scams in the restaurant industry, and as a consumer, you need to know that the old “bait and switch” practice still exists. We hope this article helps you become a more informed consumer so you can make better dining decisions.

Mass-produced processed foods or factory foods have been available since 1910 and have continued to gain popularity ever since. Some of America’s most iconic food brands were first created in labs and produced in factories before becoming part of our everyday kitchen. Some of the mainstream processed foods that have been popular since 1910 are Nathan’s hot dogs, Aunt Jemima’s syrup, Hellman’s mayonnaise, Oreo cookies, and Fluff marshmallows, to name a few. Advances in technology led some food factories to focus their efforts on packaging and bottling everything from vegetables to soft drinks.

Today, the fast food industry is the largest distributor of processed foods, but it is definitely not the first to introduce people to foods made in a factory. However, the fast food industry was instrumental in perfecting factory food delivery and brought about a major change in the way we eat by conditioning us to accept factory processed food as a substitute for food. real. Americans consume epic servings of pre-made food every day. The fast food industry is estimated to serve 50,000,000 Americans a day. There has been such a massive infiltration of factory food into our daily kitchen that it is difficult to determine what is real and what is processed when you choose to eat at a fast food restaurant.

Fortunately, fast food is not our only option when choosing between going out or staying home to eat. Most casual dining restaurants serve higher quality food compared to fast food restaurants, but still below the quality of food that you can find in a fine dining establishment. There have been many reports of not getting exactly what the menu suggests, especially when ordering seafood from a restaurant. For example, there are 61 species of tuna and only four species are of great commercial importance. Big Eye, Albacore, Yellowfin and Skipjack are the 4 main species of tuna that you will find in restaurants.

Yellowfin also known as Ahi tuna and is often mixed with Big Eye tuna because they are similar in texture and color. Albacore tuna, a less expensive tuna, is often mislabeled as regular tuna, as it has similar characteristics and can easily be disguised on a bed of rice, surrounded by vegetables, and topped with sauce.

Shrimp, scallops, oysters, and other shellfish are of varying quality and can be easily swapped without raising too many eyebrows. Varieties of shellfish species that are closely related cousins ​​are often similar in color and texture and the difference is undetectable unless you have access to scientific genetic DNA testing. Most large chain restaurants rarely sell mislabeled fish; however, there are reports to suggest that the seafood you ordered could be a closely related DNA cousin to the seafood featured on the menu. In one case, one of the largest fine dining restaurant chains in the US actually served yellowfin and listed the dish as albacore on the menu, a more expensive fish than indicated on the menu.

How could I talk about food fraud without mentioning the massive and deceptive scam that is happening at all levels of food distribution and created from the popularity of Kobe beef? What I’m going to tell you is plain and simple, if you bought Kobe beef in the past, it probably wasn’t Kobe beef at all! Until a few years ago, the FDA banned all imported meat from Japan. That means that until a few years ago there was not an ounce of Kobe beef available in the US Thousands of people became unsuspecting victims of a crime that spans the entire restaurant industry. From large distributors, celebrity chefs, bar owners, and restaurant managers, the Kobe Beef Scam is one of the restaurant industry’s biggest scams to date.

According to the Kobe Beef Council in Japan, in 2016 less than 5,900 pounds. of certified Kobe beef was exported to the US from Japan. Now 5900 lbs. It looks like a lot of meat if you were making the world’s largest hamburger, but to put it in perspective, in 2016 we consumed 18,020,960,000 pounds. of beef in the US Food for Thought, 29,494,738,000 lbs. of chicken ended up on our plates in 2016. Compared to the amount of chicken and beef consumed in the US, the amount of Kobe beef available in 2016 was incredibly minimal. I guess, despite how rare Kobe beef was in 2016, nothing was wasted on burgers, sliders, or any other Kobe-like product. Fake Kobe is so profitable that it spread to another Japanese variety of beef, Wagyu beef. Wagyu beef is the other half of the meaty master plan to get more money from innocent diners.

Wagyu is a Japanese word and translated into English means “Japanese cow”. There are four types of Japanese cows that can be considered Wagyu (Kuroge Washu, Akage Washu or Akaushi, Mukaku Washu and Nihon Tankaku Washu). American farmers have imported a small number of Japanese Wagyu cows to be raised and raised in the United States creating a new category of beef, “Domestic Wagyu.” Domestic Wagyu is the new ultra-beef, not as expensive as Kobe. There are a handful of farmers who work hard to keep the domestic Wagyu bloodline pure, but eventually most Wagyu will be crossed to suit American palates and sold at your local butcher or grocery store. The quality of Wagyu beef is somewhere between Kobe beef and USDA Prime, but how can you be sure it’s real?

I went to a restaurant and ordered the Wagyu steak and it was good, but like USDA Prime it’s good too. Was I a victim of money grabbing from meat barons? I’m not sure, but it was a fantastic meal nonetheless. Let me explain my experience with Wagyu this way, if you opened my fridge right now you will find USDA Prime New York strips, ribs or t-bones and not Wagyu beef. So that this doesn’t happen to you and to stay out of the woods at least until this controversy fades, order or buy a USDA Prime steak, ask a great cook to prepare and enjoy it. You will not be disappointed!

The fact is, only a small fraction of people in the food industry are willing to lie for a profit, but their careers are generally cut short and the gravy train of scam money is cut short immediately. The worst abuse is occurring in the smaller local restaurants that don’t have much of a reputation to protect. For the most part, big-name chains and big-name restaurants have to maintain a high level of food quality, service, and overall reputation or we just wouldn’t give them our business.

Greetings to you!