Lost and Found – a Novel by Ron Rink

Do You Have Any Trouble Seeing — Is It Cataracts?

I know, if you’re under the age of 50 and you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking that I only write for older people. Not true. Even if you’re young, this is good information for you as well. There are also some good tips for everyone, regardless of age, to follow to possibly help avoid cataracts later in life.

I started having vision problems before I was 50, and today I’ve had cataracts removed from both my eyes.

Here’s what you need to know about treating cataracts.

Cataracts are the leading cause of loss of vision for adults aged 55 and above. Here’s what they are and what you should know about their treatment.

What is a cataract?
The lens is the part if the eye responsible for focusing light and producing clear, sharp images. In a normal eye the lens is clear, allowing light to come through and giving you a clear image. The lens is made of mostly water and protein. Over time, protein can accumulate in certain areas of the lens, making images look blurred or fuzzy. The lens may also become cloudy, resulting in a “tinted” look to the world for the person who has the cataract.

Symptoms include:

• Cloudy or blurry vision.
• Colors appear faded.
• A halo may appear around lights, or lights may appear too bright.
• Decreased night vision.
• Frequent prescription changes in your eyeglasses or contact lenses.

What’s the cause?
For most people, cataracts are a natural result of aging. Cataracts may also occur as a complication to surgery for other eye problems (like glaucoma). Cataracts may develop after an eye injury. Some forms of radiation treatment can cause cataracts to form. They may also be linked to steroid use. There is also a congenital form where newborns have cataracts at birth.

Those who have diabetes, and who smoke and drink heavily, are also at higher risk for cataracts. Sun exposure is also linked to the rate of cataract growth, so wearing sunglasses or a wide-brimmed hat may help to delay growth.

What’s the treatment?
Problems due to small or early cataract can be addressed by better eyeglasses, lighting, anti-glare sunglasses, or magnifying lenses. However the only effective treatment is surgery, where the cloudy lens is removed and, in most cases, an artificial lens is implanted. (In some cases a lens cannot be implanted and glasses or contact lenses are used instead.)

Vision problems caused by cataracts tend to develop slowly over time, so most people who have cataracts do not need to rush into having surgery. In fact many cataracts do not need to be removed. There are some exceptions – for example, if the cataract interferes with treatment of another eye problem.

But generally speaking, the decision whether or not to go ahead with surgery depends on the quality of vision. All surgery involves risk, particularly of infection. Cataract surgery is considered a safe surgery, and is extremely common. In about 90 per cent of cases, people who have cataract surgery end up with better vision.

(I can attest to that. My vision improved within a couple of days and is still good today. It’s been over 5 years since I had my cataracts removed. It also wasn’t a difficult surgery. I was home within a few hours and functioning normally a couple of days later. There was no pain or uncomfortable after effects.)

Fewer than 3 per cent of patients who have the surgery experience serious complications. These include swelling of the retina, which usually resolves itself, a new or different astigmatism, inflammation of other parts of the eye, development of glaucoma, and infection of the tissues in the eye (less than one per cent of cataract surgery patients experience this particular side effect). Some of these complications can leave patients with poor vision of blindness in the affected eye.

The operation lasts about one hour and many patients remain awake for it. Patients return quickly to every day activities, but their vision may remain blurry until the eye heals and adjusts to be able to focus properly.
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I’m writing a series of articles on our environmental and economic situation over at my other blog .. http://www.theleaderinside.com. Stop by and let me know what you think.

Just passing it along.
=======================================================
I believe in meditation! In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

=======================================================

============================================================
Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

Ron
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.theleaderinside.com
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Could You Recognize a Heart Attack?

T here have been so many studies done about the treatment of heart attacks over the past several years. Most of them have been quite impressive. In more recent studies, experts have been finding that many of these heart attacks often go unrecognized. And let’s face it — if the patient or the doctor don’t know if an actual heart attack has happened, or is happening, all the studies in the world aren’t going to help.

One recent study about unrecognized heart attacks suggests that 43 percent — or more than four in 10 — may go undetected when they occur, and more often in women than men. While other experts say that estimate is too high, they concede that unrecognized attacks are a problem.

On one point all agree: Both women and men need to know the warning signs of a heart attack and to seek immediate help if they suspect one.

What’s the worst thing that can happen if you’re wrong? You’ll be sent home from the emergency room, secure in the knowledge it was a false alarm.

It’s not uncommon for people to ignore the warning signs of a heart attack. Sometimes, it’s a case of denial. Other times, people wrongly write it off as indigestion or stress.

According to the American Heart Association, the warning signs of a heart attack typically include:

* Chest discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and then returns. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
* Discomfort in other areas of the upper body, such as pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
* Shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.
* A cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

Women are more likely than men to experience such symptoms as shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Dutch researchers reported the finding that 43 percent of heart attacks are unrecognized in a study published earlier this year in the European Heart Journal. They analyzed the electrocardiographs (ECGs) of more than 4,000 men and women over age 55, all participants in the so-called Rotterdam Study.

The researchers gave the men and women a baseline ECG screening during the years 1990 to 1993, then repeated the ECGs during either 1994 to 1995, or 1997 to 2000. The imaging tests revealed that over 4 out of 10 heart attacks went unrecognized — including one-third of attacks in men and more than one-half in women, the study said.

The researchers think the results could apply to any developed country.

Dr. Susan Bennett, director of George Washington University Hospital’s Women’s Heart program, said even a doctor may not recognize a heart attack, especially in women. “Physicians typically under-evaluate and under-treat women,” she said.

A special report published last year in the journal Circulation polled 500 physicians online, including primary-care doctors, obstetricians/gynecologists and cardiologists. They were given an experimental case study and asked to categorize the patient’s level of heart-disease risk. The authors found that women at intermediate risk were more likely to be assigned to a lower-risk category than men with identical risk profiles.

Bennett said the decision to evaluate a patient for a possible heart attack depends on the “index of suspicion.” And often, that suspicion is not high enough for women, she said. “When they [doctors] see a woman who is white, on the thinner side, they get that reflex that this is a lower-risk person,” she said.

Of course, even better than recognizing a heart attack early on is focusing on preventing one. “Know your numbers,” Bennett advised. That means knowing your blood pressure as well as your cholesterol levels. Focus, too, she said, on a healthful diet and a healthful weight. Aim for a body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) below 25: that’s equal to less than 150 pounds for a person 5-feet, 5-inches tall, and less than 175 pounds for a person 5-feet, 10-inches tall.
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I’m writing a series of articles on our environmental and economic situation over at my other blog .. http://www.theleaderinside.com. Stop by and let me know what you think.

Just passing it along.
=======================================================
I believe in meditation! In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

=======================================================

============================================================
Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

Ron
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.theleaderinside.com
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I don’t know how the temperatures are today where you are, but here in southwestern Ohio, USA, we’ll get well into the 90s today. That’s where we were yesterday, and where it looks like we’ll be for the next few days, at least. I know it can be a lot hotter than that in other parts of this country and other countries, but with the high humidity levels here, this just adds insult to injury as far as I’m concerned.

I also have this awful memory of the time when I had a nasty kidney stone attack. If you’ve ever had one of those, you know how excruciatingly painful that can be. Unbelievable agony. In hot weather like we’re having during the summer months, it’s vital that everyone drink plenty of water to keep things moving and floating the way they should. Some experts say that 6 to 8 glasses a day is a good quantity.

For myself, I drink a lot more than that. (Of course, since I work at home, the distance from my office to the bathroom isn’t a problem.)

Staying hydrated in the summer is important for many reasons, including the prevention of kidney stones. A lack of fluid can lead to the development of kidney stones, and typical summer physical activities can often shake those stones loose and that will result in painful symptoms.

One of the best ways to prevent kidney stones is to stay hydrated throughout the entire 24-hour period. You need to spread those 6 to 8 glasses of water throughout the entire day and up until night time. Don’t try to get your daily quota in just a few hours. While this is a sound concept all year long, it’s especially important during the hot summer months.

It is very important for people to be aware of how to prevent kidney stones because many people — about 13 percent of men and 7 percent of women — will have kidney stones sometime in their lives.

Here are some other tips on how to reduce your risk of developing kidney stones:

* Drink plenty of water.
* Reduce your consumption of soda and iced tea, which contain an acid called oxalate that can increase the risk of certain kinds of kidney stones.
* Exercise and lose weight. The large number of sedentary and overweight people in the United States is a major factor in the increasing rate of kidney stones in the country.
* Drink lemonade, but not the powdery mix. Real lemonade has been shown to reduce the risk of kidney stones.
* Ask your doctor about medications that can help prevent kidney stones.
* Ask your doctor if you should continue taking calcium supplements, which may increase the risk of kidney stones.
* People with highly acidic urine may have to eat less meat, fish and poultry — foods that increased the amount of acid in the urine.

As always, be sure to discuss any of these recommendations with your doctor.

I’m writing a series of articles on our environmental and economic situation over at my other blog .. http://www.theleaderinside.com. Stop by and let me know what you think.

Just passing it along.
=======================================================
I believe in meditation! In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

=======================================================

============================================================
Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

Ron
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.theleaderinside.com
============================================================

Afraid of Infection?

Although I don’t like to write articles that may have an element of making you fear something, I sort of got caught up in a documentary I saw on Public Television last night about super bugs and how they are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Today’s article isn’t really about super-bugs, but it is about the fact that germs have become public enemy number one. It’s getting so that the risk of infection seems to be everywhere — airplanes with their stale air — buses and subways where people are coughing and sneezing, flu outbreaks, and how about all those crazy infections people are picking up in hospitals? Now we’re even getting warnings just about every week about sicknesses people are getting from eating food — e-coli — salmonella, etc. Just this morning the news warned people like me to stay indoors because of the pollution expected outside this afternoon.

Yikes!! That’s getting discouraging!

If you go over to my other blog, http://www.theleaderinside.com, you’ll see that I’m also writing there about what we’re doing to our planet and to ourselves in the process. Stop by — it’s a message that needs to get out there.

I read another article a few days ago that talked about all the new products that are coming out to protect us. Some subway trains are adding anti-microbial covers on their subway poles in their new trains coming out next year. There’s another company called CityMitts in New York that’s producing anti-microbial gloves using microfiber laced with silver ions — the same stuff they put in anti-microbial soaps and lotions.

Here’s some more stuff that was in the New York Times, recently:

• A new product called HYSO, an acronym for Cantonese words meaning “happy hands,” disinfects public restroom door handles. The $60 US device sprays a hospital-grade disinfectant on doorknobs every 15 minutes.

• An around-the-neck air purifier by Air Supply Ionic Personal Air Purifier, which the company promises will repel allergens and viruses. The device is becoming increasingly popular, especially among air travelers.

• Are you one of those cautious types who remove the bed cover as soon as you enter a hotel room, whisking it, bottom side up, into a corner? For hotel guests concerned that bedspreads are not washed as frequently as sheets, Marriott hotels now offers Revive comforters which are encased in white cotton covers. The covers are removed and washed with the bed sheets.

• SteriPEN, a portable, ultraviolet device used to disinfect drinking water for adventure travelers is increasingly being used by urbanites wanting to take extra precautions.

• Other gadgets including a portable subway strap that latches onto the overhead bar and a protective vinyl strip that adheres to shopping cart handles.

Whether you think the hygiene-brigade is born of necessary caution or the “ick factor” gone out of control, no doubt the anti-germ marketplace will continue to flood the market with an ever increasing arsenal of microbe-fighting products.

Just passing it along.

=======================================================
I believe in meditation! In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

=======================================================

============================================================
Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

Ron
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.theleaderinside.com
============================================================

Drink Up and Live Longer?

There has been more and more written about how red wine can help to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer and even obesity. Now some scientists are saying the wine extract known as resveratrol just might turn out to be the Holy Grail of anti-aging.

Interest in resveratrol began several years ago when a group at Harvard reported that it boosted the life of yeast cells by 70 per cent. Other studies over the past few years have found that resveratrol can extend lifespan in worms, flies and fish. And according to preliminary tests, resveratrol has the same effect as reducing calorie intake by a third which scientists say boosts the life spans in animals by as much as 40 per cent.

“In mice, calorie restriction doesn’t just extend life span,” said LeonardP. Guarente, professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It mitigates many diseases of aging: cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease. The gain is just enormous.”

For years, the U.S. National Institute on Aging has financed studies of rhesus monkeys on restricted and normal-calorie diets. Calorie restriction involves eating about 30 percent fewer calories than normal while still getting adequate amounts of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Aside from direct genetic manipulation, calorie restriction is the only approach known to extend life consistently in a number of animal species.

Okay, I hear you saying, “Yeah! But I’m not a bunch of yeast, nor am I a worm, fly, fish, mouse or monkey. Do people even stand a chance?”

How this drastic diet affects the body has been the subject of much research. Some scientists theorize that the low-calorie-provoked increase is linked to an ancient survival strategy. Put simply: when food is plentiful, live fast and breed prolifically. But when famine strikes, focus resources instead on body maintenance to live longer and ride out the famine.

So could scientists actually be close to developing life-extending drugs for humans?

“It is difficult to predict whether resveratrol will be effective in humans,” Matt Kaeberlein of the Department of Pathology, University of Washington told The New York Times. “But if Resveratrol doesn’t make the grade, it is not the last hope of gerontologists, or necessarily even the best. Studies of other, potent antioxidants are under way at the National Institute of Ageing.”

Using data from recent animal findings, Dr. Richard A. Miller, a pathologist at the University of Michigan, estimated that a pill mimicking the effects of calorie restriction might increase human life span to about 112 healthy years, with the occasional senior living until 140, though some experts view that projection as overly optimistic.

Hmmm, I’m not so sure that would be the best thing for the planet. What do you think? Let me hear from you.

There is this caveat: While Resveratrol is available to buy as a nutritional supplement on the internet, health experts advise caution because the safety of taking it at high-dose levels, comparable to those given to the mice, is yet to be established.

I wouldn’t try it myself, but it was interesting to research it.

=======================================================
I believe in meditation! In my meditation I often use what I believe is a powerful aide to deep meditation. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

Regular, daily meditation can give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels.
(5) It is the proven path to finding the peace, love and compassion within all of us –

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

=======================================================

============================================================
Got questions?

Contact me at: http://www.ronrink.com

My email and phone number are at that site. Feel free to contact me. I’m here to help you with your health, nutrition and fitness goals.

Have a healthy and nutritious day!

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

Ron
http://www.wecould2.com
http://www.theleaderinside.com
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