Holistic Healthcare versus Traditional Western Medicine

The Western medicine community recently asked the question: Will Alternative Healthcare, a.k.a. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine (WM) merge? This question implies there is reason to wonder and/or we need to consider the benefits a merger might create. The consideration of merging Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine is analogues to comparing apples to oranges. The only comparison between apples and oranges is that they are both fruit?but the comparison ends there. Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit Healing and Western Medicine is diametrically polar opposites with nothing in common, except the subject (you). I will explain.

In order to understand the ideology of Western Medicine, you need to examine the language used by doctors and researchers. Their choice of words reveals their belief systems and the models they use to understand the way they think healing works. When observing the state of Western Medicine and the unprecedented influence of pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, an interesting paradox arises. The drug companies claim that pharmaceuticals and OTC can do wonders for people: lower cholesterol, end clinical depression, reverse osteoporosis, eliminate allergies, cure cancer, cure MS, calm children and many other similar promises.

If prescription or OTC drugs are so good for people, where are all the healthy medicated customers? The truth is, there aren't, any. There's nobody taking twelve prescriptions or OTC drugs with a clean bill of health. In fact, the more prescriptions a person takes, the worse their overall health. And if you approach the healthiest people you can find and ask what prescription drugs or OTC drugs they're taking in order to be so healthy, they'll give you a confused look: Healthy people don't take prescription or OTC drugs!

This sort of language is not uncommon from researchers in Western Medicine. They perceive the hum! an body as a battleground on which wars are waged against invaders (viruses, bacterial infections and tumors). Beginning with the Victorian era, Western society has become addicted to quick fixes and results with no effort. Western Medicine has in some instances provided this result. When Western Medicine doesn?t produce a ?quick fix? result the answer is: ?Sorry, it couldn?t be helped?the surgery was a success, the patient died.? It is interesting to note the AMA reports a dismal success rate?approximately 250,000 people die each year due to misdiagnosis and/or the treatment does little or nothing to improve the person?s health. In other words these people didn?t die due to an illness they died due to the wrong treatment.

Western Medicine?s theory and doctrines fail to recognize that diseases are not separate from the person. In fact every disease can be more accurately called an expression of the patient's lifestyle, beliefs, and energies. Cancer is not a tumor, for example: it is a systemic disorder that can only truly be cured by helping to support the body, not by attacking it with chemical bombs or knives. The tumor is merely one physical expression of the systemic disorder, and simply removing the tumor does nothing to cure the disease. The body is designed to heal itself?given it has the proper care?nutrition, herbal supplements, spiritual and emotional well-being.

The body is designed to heal itself provided it has the proper support to do its job. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is based on a concept of balanced qi (pronounced chee), or vital energy, that is believed to flow throughout the body. Qi is proposed to regulate a person's spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance and to be influenced by the opposing forces of yin (negative energy) and yang (positive energy). Disease is proposed to result from the flow of qi being disrupted and yin and yang becoming imbalanced. Among the components of TCM are herbal and nutritional therapy, restorative physical exercises, meditatio! n, acupu ncture, and remedial massage.

Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing has existed since the beginning of time amid religious beliefs and practices, along with the mystery, superstition, fear, and misunderstanding. Holistic Healing is now becoming recognized regardless of what anyone chooses to believe or think. Ask almost anyone about their spiritual well-being and they will probably tell you, Yeah, I am a spiritual person, I go to church frequently.? Therein, the confusion arises out of the association of healing with religion. The majority of people, including religious leaders, do not understand the difference.

Definition: HEAL 1. To restore to health or soundness, 2. To set right, repair, 3. To restore a person to spiritual wholeness, 4. To become whole and sound, to return to health.

Definition: SPIRIT 1. The vital principle or animating force within living beings, Incorporeal consciousness. There are about twelve more elaborations mostly to do with various religious implications.

Definition: RELIGION 1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe, 2. A set of beliefs, values and practices based on the teachings of a religious doctrine.

Thus, based on Western Medicine?s common interpretations of how things 'ARE', many paradoxes are created. The resultant effect is confusion and un-wellness. The Truth, as Carl Jung and others have carefully worded in their writing, is this: Every Thing in the universe is Energy and Consciousness. How anyone thinks or feels about that Fact cannot change it. The purpose of All religions is the recognition that humans have a part of themselves that is not physical and there is a need to explore and experience this aspect of themselves. Part of the intent is to discover one's purpose and to live in the best way possible. Another part of that goal also includes the attainment of Truth and Spiritual Wellness. However, the result of religious teachings with ! regard t o our Spiritual health has been an abysmal failure. If the most important aspect of our being is our Spiritual self, and it has been neglected, it is a miracle we have existed this long.

Many churches are in a state of extreme confusion in an attempt to avoid accepting the ?Truth.? The greatest struggle is how to incorporate all the now known knowledge and assimilate it into the religious dogma and theology. The problem is the impossibility of reconciling the obvious flaws in most theology and doctrine. The obvious shortcomings and how political and nationalistic and other special interests and agendas have resulted in a history filled with disappointment, tragedy, confusion and religious wars.

In many cultures it has always been thought and/or known that we are spiritual beings, the biggest exception is in western industrialized cultures that we believe we are people who happen to have a soul. Eastern philosophy believes we are a soul first, housed in this thing called a ?body.? The most beautiful and simple interpretation of how everything 'IS' can be found in the Native American tradition. Everything in the universe is Spirit, each thing in it is of the same Spirit and it is all Connected. This is exactly what we are beginning to understand in science and quantum physics, that everything in the universe is made of the same thing and has a consciousness about it. The two things that frustrate scientists the most is the fact that all these things operate across time, space and dimensions they do not yet understand, and the ability of things to operate on inter-dimensional and multi-dimensional levels. A high degree of new understanding about the science and physics of what spiritual really means is now mostly coming from independent researchers. High-tech and aerospace research physicists and scientists, all seem to have a more concise and accurate understanding of Spirit and the Spiritual than those from a theological background.

The Reality and The Truth of Spirit?In plain language,! there i s only One God or Universal Energy that Is Everything. There is only One Consciousness. We are only one individuated expression of The One. All the dogma, theology and religious beliefs anyone chooses to pile on this truth is commonly referred to as Bunk. It is the lack of true knowledge and the application of these distortions, which have been the source of all emotional, physical and spiritual problems. Spirit is alive, it is something that is lived and experienced, the surest way to destroy or suppress it is to organize it and institutionalize it.

Spiritual Experiences teach us: Everything we think or feel affects oneself and others. We need to realize every feeling?anger, fear, hate, sadness, judgment?are mind generated emotions and need to be modified or eliminated. Left to fester?anger, fear, hate, sadness, judgment, creates physical reactions. For every physical reaction, a.k.a. symptoms?i.e. colds, cancer, MS, and everything from A to Z, there is a direct link to mind generated emotions. When these mind generated emotions are eliminated and the wounds created from long term and dysfunctional expressions are healed, the physical manifestation labeled as illness by Western Medicine is eliminated.

The bottom line is Health and Well-Being is affected by two factions?Doctors and Ministers. Doctors are trained as mechanics who work on the physical mechanism. They are in the Business of ?Treatment.? They are Not Trained in the Art of Healing. Most doctors do not even understand the most rudimentary concepts of Healing. Most do not realize how they can produce damage and even induce death sentences on their patients.

There is little difference in the effects produced by an intentional damaging curse or a prayer prayed improperly, bad advice or simply some random negative thought. Ministers are trained in traditional theosophical dogmatic perceptions specific to the cultural religious views they ascribe to. Most people have little concept about True Spirituality or how the universe real! ly opera tes. As a consequence they convey misinformation, half-truths, superstitions and fears along with a multitude of associated damaging information into a person's consciousness. The result of which is Confusion and Paradox?which leads to distress, disease and un-wellness.

Both the good in our lives and the dis-eases we have are the results of our experiences, conditioning and beliefs. It is the experiences, conditioning and beliefs that are counter to our true nature that causes the damage. No matter how dire a client?s predicament seems to be, I Know if they are ?Willing? to do the emotional and spiritual work of releasing old habits, beliefs and forgiving, everything can be healed. The word ?incurable? used by Western Medicine really only means that the person can not be ?cured? by ?outer? methods and that they must Go Within to effect their healing. The condition was created as a way to cope?it came from within and can be healed from within. Reference: Heal Your Body, Louise L. Hay

Since Holistic/Metaphysical Healthcare focuses on supporting the Mind, Body, Spirit to heal itself as it is designed to do and Western Medicine perceives the human body as a battleground on which wars are waged with chemical bombs and scalpels against invaders, how can these divergent ideologies be merged?

The answer: They can?t be?i.e. water and vinegar doesn?t mix?it is metaphysically impossible. Likewise, it is metaphysically impossible to merge Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Western Medicine. Anyone who would consider such a merger does not understand the laws of Holistic, Metaphysical, Energy or Mind, Body, Spirit healing.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

How Diabetes Causes Heart Attacks

A recent study from Washington University in St Louis may explain why more than 75 percent of diabetics die of heart disease (Journal for the American College of Cardiology, February 7, 2006). The heart muscle of diabetics uses a much higher percentage of fat for energy than that of non-diabetics, to markedly increase risk for heart attacks.

The energy source for heart muscle is mostly sugar and fat, and to a lesser degree, protein. Muscles need far more oxygen to process fat than to process sugar. The blood supply to heart muscle comes from large arteries on the outside of the heart. Diabetics have narrowed arteries because high blood sugar levels cause plaques to form and reduce the diameter of the coronary arteries. The increased need for blood flow from burning fat and the decreased blood flow from narrowed arteries put diabetics at very high risk for heart attacks, heart failure and sudden death. The increased use of oxygen increases blood levels of oxidants that further damage the inner linings of arteries.

Another study from Sweden shows that many people discover that they are diabetic only after they have had a heart attack. Researchers recorded blood sugar levels in men who had had heart attacks and then did sugar tolerance tests at discharge and three months later. They found that 35 percent had diabetic sugar tolerance tests at hospital discharge and 40 percent had impaired sugar tolerance tests three months later (Lancet, Volume 359, 2002).

Therefore, 40 percent of people who have heart attacks are diabetic, even though they may not know it. Many of the diabetics had normal HBA1C blood tests, the standard test to measure diabetic control. Furthermore, the patients who were unknown diabetics had a much higher rate of sudden death from their heart attacks than those who were not diabetic. The authors recommend that all people with heart attacks be tested for diabetes.

For my recommendations on how to control diabetes, see

Heart and Cardiovascular Health One Of The 7 Secrets Of Living To 120

As for keeping a heart healthy, consider this. The odds for a healthy heart are not cardiovascular friendly. In fact, the statistics speak for themselves.

Over 1,000,000 die each year due to heart disease.
500,000 women every year die from heart disease, making it a concern for both men and women.
Every 60 seconds someone dies of a heart attack.
Sudden Cardiac death (SCD) accounts for 300,000 deaths each year - 1 every 60 seconds.
Get this, 95% die before reaching the hospital.
100,000 athletes die each year from SCD. Sixty percent of our youth are at risk for heart disease.
Heart attacks kill more people than the next nine causes of death, combined.
Putting it into perspective, heart disease is like Seven (7) Boeing 747 planes crashing with no survivors, everyday. WOW!

The human heart pumps five quarts of blood every minute, and it beats 10,000 times each day for 50, 75, 100 years or more. That is right. The human body contains about five quarts of blood. Day after day, year after year, this organ, about the size of a man's fist, pumps approximately 45 million gallons of blood through the body over a 50-year period. In short, blood is the life of our bodies while the heart is the power that keeps it circulating. It is a fact that the number one cause of death in America is heart disease.

If the heart goes, it is all over! This makes protecting the heart a number one priority for every living being. Newspapers tell the same story in the obituary columns across this nation. A young man or woman in the mid-years of life die of heart attacks daily. The untold part of most of the obituaries is that the heart attack victim was a picture of health. So what happened? Is this a familiar picture? This is sad and frustrating for the loved ones of heart attack victims who are left behind. And the big question always is, ?What could have been done?'' The old adage says, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.'' What is prevention and how can it be attained?As! a rule, having nature and common sense as a foundation, is definitely a plus. One preventative step is to realize that all life on earth has been and is currently dependent on the vegetable or herb kingdom. This is true for not only sustaining life but for maintaining health. Of course, there are no guarantees for results, but nothing usually is guaranteed. A popular heart enhancer is herbs, which are swiftly gaining much recognition and usage although they have been used for thousands of years. These herbs, even before Hippocrates time, were covered in the Old and New Covenants of the Bible, King James Version, Ezekiel 47:12 and Romans, 14:2, where it states, ?...if you are weak, eat herbs (vegetables)?. Revelation 22:2 ?...and the leaves are for the healing of nations. Again in Psalms advice about consumption of herbs is given, 104:14, ?...and the herb for the service of man.

http://www.robertbarner.com

Dr. Robert Barner, has a B.S. in education and is a practicing Chiropractor, Herbalist, and Health Consultant. Author and publisher of the books, The 7 Secrets Of Living To 120: Men's Prostate Health and The Bible's Answers To Health And Longevity. Overcame a serious health challenge of heavy metal poisoning that almost had him in a wheel chair. He knew that if he kept his heart healthy a solution would present itself to regain the lost health. A healthy success today. The book 7 Secrets takes into consideration the 8 societies in the world that live the longest and how to apply those principles to our daily lives. Also, what 5 medical doctors have shared with the medical community on health but their research and results have been hidden. He believes that at any age a person should be able to do the activities that they like and pursue their dreams. http://www.robertbarner.com

Are You Aware of Your LDL and HDL Levels Do You Even Know What They Mean?

Although there is a lot of talk about cholesterol and the need to lower it in the news today, many people are surprised to learn that there are actually two kinds of cholesterol and one of them is actually good for your body. In order to understand how to better handle your cholesterol, it?s important to understand the difference between the kind of cholesterol your body needs and the kind that puts you at risk for serious health conditions.

Cholesterol is a natural substance that is found in everyone?s bloodstream and cells. The body uses it to produce cell membranes as well as hormones in addition to performing a number of other necessary bodily functions. The problem begins when the body begins to build up too much cholesterol. This can happen in one of two ways.

First, the body naturally produces its own cholesterol in order to aid with the important body functions just mentioned. The remainder of the cholesterol comes from the foods we ingest, mainly meats, fish, eggs, butter, cheese and milk. Vegetables and plant products do not produce cholesterol. Foods that contain trans-fats and saturated fats cause the body to produce even more cholesterol.

Because cholesterol resembles a fat like substance, it can?t dissolve and must be transported from to and from the cells where it is needed by lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein is what is most commonly referred to as bad cholesterol. When your body contains too much LDL cholesterol, a tremendous strain is placed on your heart, making you more susceptible to heart attacks and strokes. High density lipoprotein, on the other hand, is naturally manufactured by the body and works in the body?s defense.

Do you know the warning signs for high cholesterol?

Are you aware of your LDL and HDL levels ? do you even know what they mean?

If you don?t know the answers to these questions and how to lower your cholesterol, you owe it to your family and yourself to find out. If you don?t know the answers to these questions and how to! lower y our cholesterol, you owe it to your family and yourself to find out. You can find the answers to all these questions in an outstanding book titled Lowering Your Cholesterol,written without jargon in an easy to understand style.

Sadly, thousands of men and women ignore the warning signs until it?s too late ... now is the time to take control of your cholesterol and your life!

Emily Clark is editor at Cholesterol Health News, and the eBook Lowering Your Cholesterol.

Homocysteine Heart Disease Risk Factor: What You Don't Know Can Kill You

Diseases of the heart and blood vessels are still the number one health problem in the United States. Approximately 35% of all heart attacks occur in people with normal total cholesterol levels.

Research has shown that high levels of an amino acid called Homocysteine contributes to the progression of heart disease. Many researchers believe that the connection between Homocysteine and atherosclerosis is even stronger than the case against cholesterol. Some studies have shown that for each 5 micromoles per liter increase in homocysteine level, your risk for heart disease can increase by as much as 60 to 80%. The American Heart Association has indicated that a reasonable therapeutic goal for homocysteine levels should be less than 10 micromoles per liter.

How Homocysteine causes damage

Homocysteine injures the walls of arteries. Injured artery cells absorb LDL, or bad cholesterol. Homocysteine promotes the growth of smooth muscle cells in the artery which in turn narrows the lumen of the artery. As levels increase, you are at increased risk for the formation of blood clots, which can lead to heart attack or stroke.

Risk factors for increased Homocysteine levels include :

• Smoking and tobacco use
• Post-Heart Attack or Stroke
• Kidney Failure
• Advanced Age
• Post menopause
• Chronic, excessive alcohol consumption

How Homocysteine levels become elevated

Homocysteine levels rise when your body does not have the necessary co-factors to breakdown Homocysteine.

The necessary co-factors to breakdown homocysteine to Cysteine and Methionine are Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin B6.

How to protect yourself against high levels of Homocysteine

• Have your doctor check your Homocysteine level
• Take adequate amounts of Folate. Natural Folate obtained from food is only 50% absorbed by the body when taken orally. Folic Acid, the synthetic form of Folate, is 100% absorbed after oral adminis! tration. Liquids are better absorbed than pills.
• Take adequate amounts of Vitamin B12. The average diet supplies 5 to 15mcg per day in a form that is available after normal digestion. Recent studies have shown that at least 800mcg to 1mg of B12 given orally is necessary for proper gastrointestinal absorption.Liquids are better absorbed than pills.
• Take adequate amounts of Vitamin B6. The need for B6 increases when the amount of protein increases in the diet. Liquids are better absorbed than pills.

Increased doses of Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin B6 have been shown to reduce elevated Homocysteine levels by up to 72%.

Prescription formulations of these vitamins with levels as high as 2.5mg of Folic acid, 1mg of B12, and 25mg of B6 have been shown to normalize plasma Homocysteine levels in patients at risk for coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis and stoke.

It is reasonable to assume that judicious dietary supplementation with these vitamins may aid in preventing these illnesses.

Dr. Messina became a Board Certified Family Practitioner in 1985. He had a solo practice until 1994. At that time he helped form a group Family Practice in which he was Vice President. He left group practice in 1997 and became Medical Director of a Wellness Center. He was responsible for coordinating the efforts of nutritionists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, exercise physiologists, and Chinese medicine practitioners into patient care plans.

He became Medical Director of an independent clinical research facility in 2000. He has been the Principal Investigator in over 50 clinical trials involving osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, dry eye, migraine, and diabetes prevention.

He has served as consultant to a nutritional company, and has formulated nutritional supplements.

Visit Dr. Messina's website at =>http://Physicianformulated.com/

Preparing for a Healthy Future: An Interview

Interviewer: We read in the news regularly now about how social security and Medicare benefits will be drastically reduced for the tens of millions of ?baby boomers,? and too many people know from personal experience right now how expensive conventional health care is, to a point where many can?t afford what they need. How does Oriental medicine fit into this scenario?

Kitty: Well, people have always tried to stay healthy; Ralph Waldo Emerson, a 19th century American philosopher summed it up this way: ?Health is the first wealth. What?s different today is that our conventional health care system is so technology driven, and while many of its tests and procedures are useful, they are also so expensive that its benefits are becoming of little value to the millions of people who can?t afford them. So it?s important for people today to know about the ancient Chinese doctors and philosophers who knew that people of their time ? like people today ? needed an affordable, natural way to stay healthy to be able to live the best life possible. Their successful methods and treatments, thankfully, are still available today in what?s being called Oriental medicine.

Interviewer: Based on what you?ve written in other articles on the BIOM website, it seems like the old adage, ?An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? applies to how Oriental medicine works. And since it seems like people, in general, have moved away from the belief that ?technology? will fix all of our problems, what does Oriental medicine offer in way of ?prevention??

Kitty: Developing a ?preventive? mindset is the first step, and the catalyst for taking that step is the situation you mentioned: existing systems that we?ve become dependent on are not as dependable as we thought they were. It?s similar to the way we depend on the grocery store to have the food we need. It?s a great convenience that none of us want to do without, but because it?s so convenient we have forgotten how to grow food in our own gardens. Oriental me! dicine i s built upon ?common sense? ? a sense which isn?t so ?common? anymore. The way I practice Oriental medicine helps people learn how to get back in touch with that sense, while at the same time rebuilding their resistance to disease.

Interviewer: What do you tell young people about maintaining and protecting their health?

Kitty: Kids feel like they?re immortal, and that?s a wonderful feeling; a testimony to the power of health that runs through them. This feeling of immortality is also a danger because the habits and attitudes young people form today, directly affect their health in middle and later years of life. I find that Oriental medicine benefits people most when they?re still young and strong. And children are most likely to reap the benefits of Oriental medicine if their parents understand the basics of 5 Element Diet and Nutrition, and what used to be called ?physical education,' and in Oriental medicine, we call Chi Kung.

Interviewer: So you?re basically suggesting that people need to think ?outside-the-box,? because Oriental medicine is so different from the conventional medicine they?ve been relying on since they were children?

Kitty: Considering that ?the box? is disintegrating (as represented by the skyrocketing cost of conventional medicine, and the unwinding of the Social Security and Medicare systems), the affordability and effectiveness of Oriental medicine should be part of everyone?s set of health care options.

It?s time to open up to new possibilities to make sure you get the health care you need.

Kitty Bradshaw is a licensed acupuncturist, with an advanced clinical degree in Oriental Medicine. Studying and working with Oriental Medicine since 1986, Kitty combines Traditional Oriental Medicine with Taoist healing methods to offer healing possibilities beyond the level of standard health care. Her deep understanding of Chinese medical herbs, combined with her intuitive abilities to diagnose and treat difficult problems, has helped many people regain a! nd maint ain their health.

For a FREE phone consultation to find out how Oriental Medicine can work for you, go to http://www.biom.net to contact Kitty and sign-up for BIOM's complimentary newsletter.

Heart Rate Monitors an Overview

A heart rate monitor is a device that allows users of exercise machines to check their heart rate whilst training. It usually consists of two elements, a wrist receiver and a chest strap. The chest strap uses electrodes to monitor your heart rate, and if the device is connected to your exercise machine, its console will show your heart rate to you. Wrist receivers usually come in the forms of watches that measure your pulse by calculating the time before blood pumps through your wrist veins. Heart rate monitors are becoming more and more popular and most high-quality exercise machines come with a heart rate monitor of their own.

If you are suffering from heart or blood pressure problems, having a heart rate monitor while training is a must. Not only will you be able to see how your heart handles physical effort, but you will also be able to control your heart rate by adjusting speed settings on the exercise machines. Some treadmills and elliptical trainers come with a built-in heart-rate management system, which automatically slows down the machine if your heart rate is too high. This is useful, as it helps avoid many heart-related problems that used to occur in the past with people training harder than their heart could handle.

Even if you do not have heart-related problems, it is still a good idea to use a heart rate monitor from time to time. This way, you will be able to track how your body handles intense effort. To make sure you are healthy and there will be no problems in the future, you should make a daily pulse-rate table for one or two weeks, while training at the same intensity. You will notice if there are extreme pitfalls or ascendings in your pulse, but the best thing to do would be to show this report to your doctor, who will immediately notice any forthcoming troubles.

If you are planning to buy a quality heart rate monitor, one of the more popular manufacturers around is Polar. Polar technology has been around for two decades now and the company has achieved the stat! us of be ing the industry leader in the heart rate monitors field. They have different series for heart rate monitors, ranging from beginners and intermediates to professional athletes. You can also choose your heart rate monitor from different categories, depending on what your needs are: Cardiac Rehab, Jogging, Cycling, Swimming (this includes a waterproof monitor-watch), Fitness, Weight Management and so forth.

Heart rate monitors mean a big step forward in home exercising, as they may help to prevent and avoid many cardiac problems. Always pay attention to your heart rate monitor and try not to push your heart over the limits. Consult a doctor about what the normal pulse rate should be for your body type, in an effort regime. Combine this data with an exercise machine that supports heart rate measuring systems and displays them on their console, or even better, one that adjusts its speed to your pulse rate.

Sophie Goldman is a writer for The Exercise Equipment Blog at http://www.exercise-equipment-today.com, where she also likes to muse about treadmills and elliptical trainers.