Emotional Basketcase

Email Marketing — Boost Conversions Through List Building

Building Trust Starts By Building Relationships With Your Customers  Email marketing is an important part of  internet marketing  and is not something you should ignore. Take action today and start selling to your customers over and over again rather than just once. So the title kind of gives away my most important point before I can explain it better. That is, creating a list is one of the most important ways to develop better relationships with your customers. This is commonly known as email marketing and it allows you to build trust but with trust comes responsibility, so my rule of thumb is to offer value.

 When you offer real value in the content you are putting out there, you can expect to develop a certain level of trust with your customer base. Giving your customer base something of real perceived value to them in turns helps them to trust you more which happen to be a real, effective method of marketing. Think about it why would someone buy a product or service from you, verses your competitors?  The answer is that you’ve provided them value and they’d rather support someone they trust (obviously) than some random person from who knows where.

 The truth is you want to sell a product or service to somebody else and it can oftentimes seem so much easier to just not interact with your customer base and rather, try to get them to click on a display ad from your website or click your CTA (Call-to-Action), this can seem simple, but this is almost no better than trying to convert targeted cold traffic; you may get some sales but your ultimately leaving money on the table.

 Things I’ve found useful and some things I Learned the Hard way  If someone had told me, in the beginning, that I should just sign up to every websites mailing list, or pop-up offers, to gain Intel to more effectively market, I would have thought it a strange tactic, however I would have probably saved a bunch of time, rather than doing it all myself and spending a lot of time on it. So by all means get a email address you don’t care about all that much, and do some research, on some popular niche-related websites, and you can save a lot of time. Remember, a popular website has likely put a lot of effort and time into developing their email marketing campaigns so you will have a wealth of knowledge and best of all, it’s’ FREE. I don’t condone copying someone else’s campaign, I would just use it for idea’s and rewrite things in my own words, this way it’s original content and all you have to do is some legwork.

 Email marketing will not only help you make more sales; you can also use your list to build a customer base that, if you’ve done your job right, will keep buying products well into the future.

 RELATED:  Boost Conversions By Boosting WordPress Page Load Speed 

 Creating An Effective Email Marketing Campaign  First thing you will have to look into when considering email marketing and list building is the task of finding an email service for sending your email campaigns. There are some decent providers that are free to get started with but that have limits depending on the size of your list, and there are some paid options. Here’s three popular options that you can have a look at.

  AWeber  – No free account option but they do offer a 30-day free trial for unlimited subscribers and emails. Basic account is $19.00 per month for up to 500 subscribers. Aweber has a great track record and I find Aweber the best option for the beginner, it’s very user friendly and requires very little setup.

  Mad Mimi  – Free account is limited to 100 subscribers but unlimited emails. Basic account is $10.00 per month for up to 500 contacts. Visual builder is great, very easy to quickly throw together content, but pricy for sure. One of my accounts was closed completely out of nowhere, I lost all my campaigns that I’d spent a bunch of time on. I will stay away from them in the future, but the choice is yours.

  MailChimp  – Free account is available which includes 2000 subscribers and a limit of 12000 emails per month. Great tracking and analytics, builder is decent.

 The next step is to have a product or niche in mind that has the potential to convert. This step can make or break your efforts so ensure that the quality is there. Ask yourself if the product is good enough as to where you would buy it. Research the product and this can be done by searching out your competition.

 So you have an email sending solution, your own domain and an appealing product or series of products that are quality, now you need to lewer people in to sign up for your list. A great way to entice people to give you their email address and sign up, is to offer something for free. You could offer a ebook about something specific in your nice or you could offer them a free course for signing up, the choice is yours.

 Ideally you will want to find either a popup or exit intent plugin for wordpress or you could pay for a service, where you design the popup that asks your visitors to sign up. Leadboxes are a good paid option but this can be expensive, so you may be better off with a popup plugin like ninja popups or something similar. The great thing about leadboxes is that they have exit intent where the code can measure when a visitor is about to close the page and will trigger on that exit intent.

 Once you’ve done all the legwork, setup your campaign and designed an effective popup, you’ll now have something to work with and can start building those relationships. The only way you can gauge your effectiveness is to test, so get testing and start email marketing today!

        The post  Email Marketing — Boost Conversions Through List Building  appeared first on  Technology Watchpost .

Calcium – The 3 little known health benefits that you should know about

Why do you need calcium?  Calcium is known for strengthening bones and teeth.  99% of calcium in the human body is in our bones and teeth.  The remaining 1% of calcium in the body performs other vital functions most of us don’t even know about.

 Calcium raises your metabolism  Studies show that having more calcium increases your  metabolism  and less lowers it.  I couldn’t exactly figure out how or why, but in many studies it appears that calcium  helps the body burn fat.   It also maintains lean muscle mass while dieting

   Calcium protects your heart  Calcium helps all the muscles in your body, including your heart, to contract and relax properly

 Calcium regulates blood pressure and fights hypertension  Calcium maintains the pressure in your arteries.  Along with helping your heart contract properly, these are 2 necessary functions to keep your blood flowing.

 So, calcium helps keep you alive.  Big benefit!

 One medication available for people with high blood pressure is a “calcium channel blocker.” It blocks calcium from entering your cells to keep blood vessels from constricting.  This may help the high blood pressure, but can cause unwanted side effects.

   Related: The benefits of beet juicing and how to get started 

  With a calcium channel blocker medication, like all medications, it helps one symptom, but doesn’t allow your body to do what it’s supposed to do (letting calcium naturally regulate your blood vessels).

 Prescription drugs have so many side effects, I wonder if they’re worth it.  Avoid taking them when possible and stay healthy in the first place!

 Calcium helps prevent colon cancer  An American Cancer Society study showed people who took calcium supplements had 30% lower risk of colon cancer than people who didn’t.  Colon cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S.

 Foods with calcium, like yogurt, also taste good and are filling.

 How much calcium you need  Men and women between 19 and 50 need 1,000 mg of calcium a day.  Men and women between 50 and 70 need 1,200 mg of calcium a day.

 While it’s key to meet that requirement every day, if you get over 2,500 mg of calcium every day, you increase your risk of kidney stones.  More of a good thing isn’t better, in this case.

     The post  Calcium – The 3 little known health benefits that you should know about  appeared first on  Technology Watchpost .

What’s Their Endgame With China and Russia? Are We Headed For WW3

Within at least the last few years the rhetoric has heated up with respect to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. Mostly lately it’s been Russia “ hacking the election ” war propaganda. This fear mongering is constant, on every major corporate news network and is growing louder, it seems every day.

 I remember the September 11th buildup to war and the outright phony “intelligence reports” leading to the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent “war on terror” that has done more to erode civil liberties and freedoms than any terrorist threat ever could. Because this is still somewhat fresh in the minds of those who lived  through September 11th, the intelligence with respect to promoting war with a major power like that of Russia, seems like a very dangerous game to be playing.

 Why would anyone want a large scale war like the US intelligence seems to be promoting right now? What is their end-game?

 The post  What’s Their Endgame With China and Russia? Are We Headed For WW3  appeared first on  The Green Living Solution .

How to lose weight without dieting – Is it possible? Dieting for beginners

Lose weight without dieting? So you’re like so many others out there and you are looking to lose belly fat without dieting, right? Well, it’s not easy but it is possible… Really, you’re going to have to give it an extreme effort but yes, entirely possible. So how to lose weight without dieting? Read more and we’ll cover it in detail. If you don’t want to change your diet, I totally understand, so what you need to do is extreme  […] 

 The post  How to lose weight without dieting – Is it possible? Dieting for beginners  appeared first on  True Health Report .

Proven methods for reducing the risk factors of breast cancer

Breast cancer: Silent killer In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, we all needed to discuss a few easy and approachable methods that may lessen your chance of cancer. Prostate cancer is the second most frequent cancer among men in america following skin cancer treatment, so odds are you or somebody you know is impacted by this ailment. Get rid of belly fat: More especially, carrying excessive fat around your waist was proven to pose a much higher danger. Utilize  […] 

 The post  Proven methods for reducing the risk factors of breast cancer  appeared first on  True Health Report .

Protein shakes – Are they really worth the money or not?

Protein shakes – Pros and cons Every grocery store and pharmacy sells protein shakes in a huge variety of brands, flavors, and sizes. So people think that they’re good for you. Contrary to popular belief, protein shakes don’t help you reach your weight loss goals as much as they claim to. In fact, a lot of them seem more like scams than actual fat burning tools. The main reason that they might be impeding your progress is simply a misuse.  […] 

 The post  Protein shakes – Are they really worth the money or not?  appeared first on  True Health Report .

Healthy gut tips and recommendations

I,hope you’re doing really well today,we’re gonna talk all about having a,really healthy gut I think this is one,of the most important things when it,comes to having a healthy happy,well-functioning body your gut is almost,like your second brain and actually 95%,of your serotonin which is the happy,chemical hormone that makes you feel,really good that is mostly produced in,your gut so not in your brain but in,your gut so we want to make sure that,our gut is happy so that it can share,that beautiful serotonin with our brain,plus your skin is so affected by the,health of your guts if you suffer from,acne or oily skin or you merely want to,improve the appearance and like the glow on your skin having a good digestion is key for that so I want to share my tips,with you guys these are the things that,work really well for me when I’m,consistent with these things I do see it,in my body my stomach stays nice and,flat I don’t have like digestive issues,and I just feel better.

 So let’s get,started with the first tip now this,might be a little TMI but I want to go,there today with this video I think it’s,really important to talk about this and,it’s such a key and having healthy,digestion and that is elimination it’s,kind of funny how like eating and,socializing around food and like,consuming food is such a normal and like,socially acceptable thing to talk about,but like you know the other end like,where does that food go that end of the,process is something that’s not really,talked about and I do understand why but,I want to go there today because I think,it’s so important so my first tip for,healthy digestion is to visit the,bathroom,first thing in the morning this is,actually something which’s commonly,practiced in the IU Vedic tradition of,medicine the way that I do this and a,lot of you guys may already know this if,you’ve seen my other articles maybe what I,ate today’s I drink water the first,thing when I wake up I have,room-temperature water that’s really,important you don’t want to have cold,water first thing in the morning and I,would just recommend not having cold,water at all because it’s really not,that good for your gut so,room-temperature water or sometimes I,do warm water it’s a boil some water and,I’ll have like half boiled water and,half regular water so that it’s a nice,kind of like warmer temperature and I,will drink that and you guys it sets off,my digestion when you drink water first,thing in the morning it creates like a,natural kind of like flow in your,digestive system and it starts to become,like a little signal and a little,trigger to your body so drinking water,first thing in the morning is so so so,important and also you have just woken,up from a really long fast so when,you’re sleeping you’re not eating or,drinking anything and the first thing,that you want to do is rehydrate your,body.

 We’re made of almost eighty percent,water and all of our selves all of our,tissues and organs they need water,especially our digestive system and also,if you just think about it from your,body’s perspective what would you want,to get first thing in the morning,you would want something natural,something that you can use and you know,things like coffee and and food that’s,fine but I think first thing is really,important to have water when you,eliminate first thing in the morning you,are freeing up all of that space in your,stomach and you just feel so clean and,like tight and light weight you know you,don’t feel like heavy or bogged down I,usually wake up pretty early but if we,have like a flight or something that’s,maybe at 6:00 in the morning and I still,want to do like my little routine and,things I will factor in the time that I,need to have my water in the morning and,go to the bathroom I will not start my,day before I go to the bathroom I,actually used to struggle a lot with,this a few years ago before I got into,this really good rhythm I would get,ready super fast and I would go and then,I would just kind of like wait but,sometimes if I was stressed or I had,people over or I don’t know like I was,on vacation or something I just felt so,awful in my stomach and I remember it,cost me a lot of stress as well plus if,you think about it what you’re,eliminating is full of toxins and like,old stuff that your body doesn’t want,and if you just let it sit in there for,too long it’s also not good for your,body and you’re kind of like sitting in,your own toxins.

 You know so soon as you,you want to eliminate that stuff if you,start doing this regularly you will get,into a really good for them and a really,good habit of doing this and it will,become like second nature if I’m at home,if we’re traveling whatever the case is,I always make sure the night before that,I have at least like a liter to a liter,and a half of water and I will drink,that in the morning I’ll go to the,bathroom and then I’ll start my day I’ll,do my meditation after that I’ll do my,exercise I’ll do my journaling my work,or whatever it is but that is like the,number one thing that I do when I wake,up so now I think we know each other a,little bit better I hope you can,appreciate my honesty and my willingness,to provide value to you guys even though,it’s something that’s not really talked,about a lot but this is something that,is key for me with my digestion and that,allows my stomach to stay flat allows me,to feel really good and lightweight and,like not bogged down throughout the day,additional little tip as we’re already,on this topic when you do go to the,bathroom keep your knees up you wish to,be in the natural position for,elimination and that is with your knees,upwards also on the topic of water and,staying hydrated that is of course such,a key I’m personally not a huge fan of,drinking a lot of water with my meals I,prefer to have most of my water like,between them so either before or after I,will sometimes have a little bit of,water but too much water during your,meal can actually dilute the saliva and,the enzymes that it takes to break down,the food so you don’t want to be like,over diluting and overflowing your,system with water when you’re eating but,like an hour or 30 minutes before you,sit down to eat is an amazing time to,drink water because you’re loosening up,your digestive system you’re lubricating,it you’re waking up the cells with lots,of good hydration so that’s definitely a great plan and also very very important to know.

 My,second tip for a nice flat tummy and,good digestion is to feed the good,bacteria in your gut,there are prebiotics and probiotics,prebiotics are like a good fertilizer,for the good bacteria in your gut pretty,bad,come from pretty much all plant-based,food so sweet potato is a great source,of P biotics the greens are another,great source there are certain types of,fruits that are good like apples and,then there are probiotics which are live,bacteria that can be found in yogurts,and in like kefir and also in fermented,foods like kimchi sauerkraut and,kombucha and different things like that,so you need a good balance of both for,your gut. There are also certain,supplements which you may take that have,prebiotics and probiotics one that I,really like is called glow it’s the,inner beauty powder from the Beauty chef,I mentioned this in one of my recent posts and I,really really love this it’s got a blend,of over 20 natural ingredients and you,get a minimum of 500 million probiotics,per serving. There are lots of,supplements on the market so you can,definitely you  know pick and choose,which one suits you but this is one that,I have really been enjoying lately it’s,a with having a good balance of,prebiotics and probiotics it’s also,really important to eat,anti-inflammatory foods inflammation is,one of the biggest culprits when it,comes to imbalances in the body and most,inflammation stems from not having a,healthy gut so examples of,anti-inflammatory foods are for example,cruciferous vegetables which are,especially good for the gut so broccoli,cauliflower Brussels sprouts so many,doctors whom I read about and read books,from and just watch like videos and,documentaries on they all stress the,importance of cruciferous vegetables,sweet potatoes are also very,anti-inflammatory and it’s something,that the bacteria in your gut love and,of course most greens are,anti-inflammatory you can do some,research online and find like the best,anti-inflammatory foods and of course on,the opposite end of the spectrum you want,to avoid foods that cause inflammation,that caused this like disruption in your,gut and a lot of you guys probably know,about gluten that’s a huge sensitivity,for a whole lot of people for the most part I,do avoid gluten but there are certain,occasions where I’ll indulge in a nice,pasta or I’ll have some bread or I have,like you know a cake or something that,has gluten in it but I think it’s more,about what you do for most of,your diet so I don’t believe in a,completely restrictive 100%,100% of the time I would say like 80 to,90% of my diet is really good like I,just enjoy eating clean and healthy but,then I do have my moments when I’m not,so healthy we’re human we have cravings,we socialize we go places where it’s not,always easy to find you know super super,healthy things specifically if we’re,traveling if you know we’re in airports,or at hotels or we just want to enjoy a,life you know there are those moments I,don’t think you have to be so so strict,on yourself but in general I try to,avoid gluten something else that can,cause a lot of inflammation in your body,is dairy we’ve spoken about dairy at,tons and tons on my channel and you guys,know that’s something that I avoid for,my skin and there are so many,alternatives to dairy products these,days you can find milks cheese’s butters,yogurts ice creams pretty much,everything so for me it’s not something,that I even like I’m not even interested,in it I can’t find those other,alternatives if you know I am craving,something like that so Dairy is,something to definitely avoid or your,gut and of course you know highly,processed things,sugary things soda as things like that,and my third tip for healthy digestion,is intermittent fasting this is,something that I talked about briefly in,my last vlog and with intermittent,fasting you’re giving your digestion a,break from eating not necessarily about,cutting calories or eating less food but,you eat your food in a particular window of,time and then you let your digestive,system rest for the remainder of the time so,it works really well for me is I’ll have,my last meal at around 8 o clock in the,evening and then I’ll have breakfast the,next day but I’ll wait until around 12,o’clock to eat that gives my body around,a 16 hour and fasting period I’ve been,loving the benefits so far and there’s,so much information and research that,you can read about I think it’s also a,really great way to get to know your,body better and to start eating more,intuitively there are different ways of,doing an intermittent fast but I think,just like the principle of not,overloading your digestive system you,know for the whole day is really,important I will leave some interesting,resources down below in the description,box if you guys want to read more about,this run to my fourth tip for healthy,digestion and a flat,tell me that is exercise so exercise is,not only really good for just burning,excess calories and extra fat and,toning up your body from a physical,level but if you think about it when,you’re exercising you are literally,moving your body so you’re moving your,organs you’re moving your intestine and,it allows all of those tubes to move as,well and if you’ve ever seen what the,inside of our intestines look like it’s,like a very very long winding tube,that’s actually such a phenomenal thing,in our bodies I think if you stretch it,out like in the event that you stretch out the surface,of your intestine it’s almost the size,of a tennis court but anyway when you,are exercising you’re also moving at,that tube so you’re facilitating the,movement of the food through your,intestine and that’s why also doing yoga,and certain stretches can be really good,if you’re having some issues with your,digestive system specifically if you’re,just feeling like a little stuck and,constipated and that’s because you’re,literally moving and manipulating the,way that the tubes are moving and on the,opposite end of that you can imagine if,you are very stagnant throughout the,entire day if you’ve been sitting down,working at your desk or in school or for,me I spent a lot of hours on the,computer just sitting down editing,videos replying to emails working etc,sitting down too much can cause your,metabolism to really slow down and that,can also then have an effect on your,digestive tract so making sure you’re,getting in a good workout at least like,four times per week if you can do it,every single day it doesn’t need to be,something you know crazy and like a,crazy hit class or an intense spinning,class of something like that even just,going on a walk just to move your body,get the blood moving get your metabolism,fired up and just have like some,movement in your body can be really,really helpful less exercise will,release really good hormones and,endorphins in your body which make you,feel really good they make you happy,they reduce stress and all of that is,really important for you know a healthy,digestive system this brings me on to my,fifth tip which is to reduce stress in,your body basically when we feel,stressed our body is releasing,adrenaline and cortisol all over our,body,and when we’re in this day it puts our,body into fight-or-flight mode so it’s,literally diverts a lot of the blood,from my digestive system to our arms and,our legs to either run from that lion or,to fight  us it’s a pure self-defense,mechanism that’s deeply deeply engraved,in the ancient parts of our brain and it,used to be a really important response,system in our body it kept us alive and,you know away from danger but now our,bodies are producing this cortisol in,this adrenaline which is actually not,helping our body in fact it’s causing,stress and havoc on our body and can,actually cause you to store more fat,specifically around your waist area so,repeatedly diverting blood away from,your di tract can actually cause your,gut wall to break down and that can lead,to leaky gut syndrome can cause a host,of other digestive issues so it’s really,important to try to keep the cortisol,level as low as possible in your body,and there are certain things that I like,to do on a daily basis that just helped,me to kind of manage that something that,I love which I’ve talked about a lot and,you guys probably know is I like to,meditate I usually do this as part of my,morning routine I will take 10 to 15,minutes and I’ll open an app on my phone,it’ll either be headspace simple habit,is really good as well and there are,lots of great meditations for free that,you can find on YouTube it’s an amazing,thing to do in the mornings and it,really helps set the tone for the day it,is quite relaxing to sit there but it,also teaches you mindfulness thought,about just feeling good in the moment of,meditation but you know you can take,that lesson that you learned or those,skills that you’re learning through the,meditation and carry them with you,throughout the day and that has a huge,effect on your stress levels on your,happiness on how reactive you are to,certain things and also on your focus,and where you choose to place your,attention so meditation is amazing we,also spoke a little bit about exercising,which is of course so ideal for your,body and to keep the stress levels low,and just in general attempting to keep,yourself talk positive as well and not,being too like negative on yourself,because that can result in a lot of,and that’s all like self manufactured I,mean there’s things that have been,outside of us that we can’t always,control like you know if your client is,late or if the weather is horrible or,you know there’s traffic and things like,that those are usually out of our,control but what’s in our control are,our thoughts our environment will we,choose to listen to what we choose to,read and how we can like uplift and,motivate ourselves and also when I sit,down to eat I want to eat in a calm and,peaceful setting I don’t like to eat if,there’s like a big discussion or an,argument or something going on like I,just can’t my stomach is gonna be so,upset but I like to take my time when I,eat I don’t want to be stressed I will,usually sit down and I’ll listen to an,audiobook or I’ll watch something nice,on YouTube or you know be with a friend,I try to have a positive conversation I,don’t really like to talk about you know,negative things or upsetting things over,food because I feel like it has such a,huge effect on my digestive system and I,just feel like I can’t digest the food,properly and especially when I am alone,and I’m eating I also try to think about,how the food that I’m eating is really,going to nourish in my body and the time,just to be present and mindful of what,you’re eating and not be like in a whole,other world and like shoving food down,your throat that I think you also eat,more intuitively that way as well when,you are present and when you are more,mindful have you ever noticed if you’re,like watching TV or you know distracted,by something and you have like food or,sweets or whatever I anyway would eat,way more than if I was being present and,mindful when I’m eating so definitely,keep that in mind and what that said as,well if you are going to indulge in,something with like a cookie or a cake,or whatever have a good feeling when,you’re doing that if you are gonna,indulge in something that’s not that,healthy and then at the same time you’re,thinking about how bad it is for you,that also produces cortisol and that,like not such a good feeling in your,body so if you’re going to indulge in,something feel good about it I think,it’s so important to have a good balance,and not be like super super restrictive,and have like a negative,mindset around food so those aren’t my,top five tips for a really healthy gut,for healthy digestive system for a flat,tummy these are the things that work,really well for me and I would love to,hear from you guys let me know if you,also practice some of these things that,I talked about and which one works,really well for you or if you also have,some tips that I haven’t talked about in,this video please share them with me,down below in the comments it’s always,nice to hear from you

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Tips for staying as healthy as possible during and after your pregnancy

Healthy mama means healthy baby! A fitness and nutritional routine during pregnancy are very important points to remember when you are expecting a baby. Staying healthy during pregnancy is important and the right thing to do for yourself and baby. Besides, your unborn baby will profit from you staying fit and having a healthy diet throughout pregnancy. Related: What to eat during nursing and how breastfeeding can end childhood obesity Preserving a healthy lifestyle tends to lessen the chances of  […] 

 The post  Tips for staying as healthy as possible during and after your pregnancy  appeared first on  True Health Report .

The best workout for muffin top – Get rid of belly fat today

The ultimate best workout for muffin top If you’re looking for the best workout for muffin top then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve all heard the weight loss experts extol the virtues and benefits of exercise. But exercising is work and who needs another job that lasts a lifetime and doesn’t pay at all? “Maybe I’ll lose weight faster if I exercise,” you say, “but I can still lose weight even if I don’t exercise and quite frankly  […] 

 The post  The best workout for muffin top – Get rid of belly fat today  appeared first on  True Health Report .

Post pregnancy weight loss how to get started: What you should know

How to lose weight after giving birth Some women go into their pregnancies being very fit, and others lose weight before they start using an ovulation calendar and hoping for a baby. Others are overweight when they get pregnant, or not in very good shape. Something all these groups have in common, of course, is weight gain during pregnancy. No matter how fit and healthy you were before getting pregnant, after giving birth you will have some pounds to shed  […] 

 The post  Post pregnancy weight loss how to get started: What you should know  appeared first on  True Health Report .

Insulin resistance – The pre-diabetes warning sign to watch out for

Insulin, blood sugar and diabetes  Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that signals cells to extract glucose (blood sugar) from the blood. Some people mistakenly think that insulin actually participates in the action of glucose uptake. But, as a hormone, it simply signals the cells to take action. The actual glucose uptake is up to those cells. In fact, in some cases, glucose uptake can occur without insulin. The best example is with muscle cells during exercises, where cells can sometimes extract blood sugar without being signaled. But, in general, insulin is required to trigger this action.

   In diabetes, this action is broken. In a small percent of diabetics, the problem is because the pancreas cannot produce any insulin. This is referred to as type I diabetes. Far more common, however, is type II diabetes. Type II diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the US. At least initially, type II diabetes is not a condition of the pancreas and insulin production. Indeed, at least initially, type II diabetics produce considerably more insulin than a non-diabetic.

   Type II diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, where insulin is produced but the cells do not respond sufficiently to it. In most cases, this results in more and more insulin being produced to compensate until eventually it is not possible to keep up. This is the point where diabetes can be diagnosed.

   Diabetes causes two primary problems. First, the cells are not getting the sugar they need for normal energy. And, second, the blood sugar raises to dangerous levels in the blood, causing tissues to become saturated with sugars, which causes these tissues to lose their flexibility and, eventually, their function. This is why diabetes are at a much higher risk for conditions like heart disease, and why they suffer nerve and blood vessel damage.

   Diabetes is diagnosed by testing the amount of glucose in the blood.  Ideal blood sugar  never goes above 100 mg/dL. A fasting blood sugar of 126 mg/dL or higher, or any reading 200 mg/dL or higher on two occasions constitutes diabetes. A person with higher than normal readings, but below diabetic levels is sometimes said to be prediabetic, or insulin resistant. However, if your blood sugar is in the normal range, that may not tell the entire story. If you are insulin resistant but can produce extra insulin to keep your blood sugar in the normal range, that will not show up in a blood test that measures only your glucose.

   So why would cells become resistant to insulin? There are many factors that go into this process, including simple aging. While not all of the factors are understood or, likely, even known, I plan to discuss many of them here. But at the simplest level, it might help to look at it like this: Cells require energy. When insulin is detected, the cells sends its glucose transporters to the surface of the cell and extracts glucose from the blood.

   Now imagine a person who is inactive and eats a large amount of glucose-producing refined carbohydrate foods (as so many in the US do). Now the cells energy requirements are very low, but they are continually bombarded by ever increasing signals from insulin to come get more glucose. After a while, a cell may become less responsive to these signals. The number of insulin receptors in the cell may decrease. After all, why waste effort building insulin receptors when the cells gets more insulin signals and glucose than it knows what to do with.

   Obviously, it gets much more complex than this. There are many hormones in play here, which all interact with each other. But this seems to be at the core, and eating less carbohydrates, especially refined carbohydrates, and increasing exercises seems to be the best way to prevent diabetes, and the best way to minimize diabetes once it occurs.

   Insulin resistance is the condition where the body’s response to insulin is significantly diminished. Lifestyle and genetics can push insulin resistance to the point where it becomes a serious problem. Pushed to the extreme, glucose levels will continue to rise as the pancreas falls further and further behind, and the result is type II diabetes. In fact, some degree of insulin resistance is expected and normal as we age. Unfortunately, way too many people today are making lifestyle choices that are making insulin resistance a global epidemic.

   As mentioned, type II diabetes is initially a disease of insulin resistance rather than problems producing insulin. Indeed, type II diabetics generally produce more insulin than the average person until it gets burned out or damaged from the disease. If you are at risk for diabetes but your blood tests show a normal glucose level, those tests may not be telling the whole story. It’s possible for a person to be producing high quantities of insulin, resulting in a normal glucose reading. Such a person may not know they are at risk of developing diabetes, and high levels of insulin–a condition called hyperinsulinism.  Hyperinsulinism  can cause a number of adverse health effects on its own, which may include hypertension (high blood pressure).

   People with insulin resistance are likely to have a number of other conditions, which tend to occur together. These conditions, together, are called  metabolic syndrome  (formerly known as syndrome X). These conditions include excessive abdominal fat, blood fat disorders (including high triglycerides,  low HDL (good) cholesterol , high LDL (bad) cholesterol, high blood pressure, whole-body inflammation, and other conditions). These conditions are reaching epidemic proportions in the US largely as a result of poor lifestyle.

   In general, modern populations tend to get too many calories, eat foods that are too refined, and exercise too little. Refined carbohydrate foods can quickly be converted to blood sugar. Eaten in large quantities, this diet can flood the system with blood sugars. And with people who are inactive, their cells need very little sugar for energy. It’s little wonder that cells can stop “listening” to insulins signal to extract more sugar from the blood.

   A diet that involves less overall calories, less fats (particularly saturated fats), less refined carbohydrates (sweets!), and more whole foods and fiber, and regular exercise have been shown to reduce the risk of the metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

        The post  Insulin resistance – The pre-diabetes warning sign to watch out for  appeared first on  Technology Watchpost .

The hidden truth about cardio — SPOILER: You might be shocked

How your daily gut busting routine may actually be preventing weight loss and pushing you closer to death In western cultures like ours, countries like the U.S., UK, Australia, Canada and other European nations, what’s the first thing that anybody thinks of or tells you whenever the idea of weight loss is brought up? You’ve got to hit the treadmill, exercise bike or the streets and burn those calories! On the surface of it, this makes sense, right? After all,  […] 

 The post  The hidden truth about cardio — SPOILER: You might be shocked  appeared first on  True Health Report .