Learn To Ski On Vacation
Sunday, January 11, 2009


by: Marcus Stout

It seems that we are only just beginning to discover the power of green tea. Over the last few years, green tea has been linked with reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis. And, as time goes on, it’s likely that we’ll find more and more uses for green tea.

The magic bullet in green tea is its high level of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants combat free radicals that are created in our bodies as we process food. The free radicals produced damage our cells and our DNA, and eventually lead to disease if we don’t combat them. Anti-oxidants are our most important defense against the damage of free radicals.

One of the most important anti-oxidants is epicatechin gallate (EGCG) As an anti-oxidant, EGCG is 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E. EGCG is one of the many catechins found in green tea, as well as in fruits and vegetables. They are anti-oxidants, bioflavonoids and polyphenols. All three of these substances are effective in improving our immune system, and preventing aging and disease.

But, research is showing that, in addition to preventing disease, the powerful anti-oxidants in green tea may have an anti-bacterial effect, as well. This stands to reason, since we know that anti-oxidants boost our immune system.

Researchers at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston found evidence that tea may keep the immune system prepared to fend off attacks from bacteria and other pathogens. The study looked at 11 healthy non-tea drinkers, who began drinking tea, and compared them with 10 healthy people who began drinking coffee.

The researchers found that drinking 20 ounces of tea every day for at least two weeks doubled or tripled the immune system’s output of an infection-fighting substance called interferon gamma. Apparently the body metabolizes the tea into molecules that mimic the surface proteins of the bacteria, jump-starting the immune system so that when real viruses show up, the body’s immune system begins acting more quickly.

Okayama University in Japan found something even more interesting. Patients who were infected with a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (staph infection) that was particularly resistant to anti-biotics responded more favorably to their treatment when it was administered with the EGCG extract from green tea. The EGCG made the infection less able to fight against the anti-biotic.

So, what does this mean to me?

As with many other research findings, there are always more things that we need to examine. And, no doubt, more research will be conducted to more conclusively identify how green tea’s anti-oxidants can help our bodies stay healthy. It does seem likely, however, that the anti-oxidants contained in green tea are highly effective at improving your immune system, which may help prevent you from catching viruses.

But, even more importantly, these anti-oxidants may help treat serious bacteria and infections even after you’ve contracted them. Doctors may be able to use this powerful information to help patients recover more easily and more quickly from serious infections.

But, for sure, we know enough to conclude that we need to have a diet that’s rich in anti-oxidants. Be sure that you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day. Then, wash it all down with green tea to help increase your anti-oxidant level even further.

Be sure the tea you choose is green tea, too, rather than traditional black tea. Black tea is healthy, but not as healthy as green tea. All tea comes from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis; sister to the camellia bush that many people grow in the Southeast US.

Black tea is fermented during processing, green tea is not. The fermenting that black tea undergoes changes the natural anti-oxidants into another state that is not as healthy as their original state. For this reason, green tea (and white tea, too) is your best source of anti-oxidants.

How much do I need?

In Asian cultures, where the consumption of green tea is very high and the incidence of many serious diseases is much lower than that of the US, many people drink as much as 8-10 cups of green tea each day. However, most doctors believe that you can gain health benefits from drinking just 8-10 ounces each day.

One thing is for sure, any amount of green tea is increasing your level of anti-oxidants – which is good for your health. They key seems to be drinking it consistently. Adding one cup of green tea to your diet every day for the rest of your life will be more effective than drinking a quart just occasionally.

If you’re not drinking green tea right now, adding it to your diet could be an effective way to improve your immune system over the short and long term. You may be able to more effectively fight off little viruses that come your way right now, and you may be able to prevent serious diseases later in life. Green tea is delicious and it’s good for you; so it makes good health sense to get your dose of green tea each and every day!

posted by Health Insurance @ 7:41 AM <$BlogCommentDeleteIcon$>
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How Sweet it is! Ski better by finding ski 'sweet spot'
Saturday, December 13, 2008


I am happy with the old comedies. The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney was one of my favorites next to the 3 Stooges. I remember whenever things went right for Jackie Gleason he would shout, "How Sweet It Is!"

Now whenever I ski or board, and those magic moments come when I blast through bumps or lace my way down steeps or float through powder I think "How Sweet It Is!"

I now realize how true that statement is. No matter if your skiing or snowboarding every great run begins with a great turn and continues with a series of turns.

To have those great turns you need to master the "sweet spot."

The sweet spot in any sport is the point where beautiful things just happen. It is the optimal position where forces meet to accomplish the maximum act in the most efficient manner.

No matter if the sweet spot is on the tennis racket for a rocket return, swing a golf club that makes Wood jealous or a baseball bat hit that launches a missile or a hockey stick slap that blows down the goalie. It is all a function of the athlete's ability to properly position him or herself so that forces strike the sweet spot at the right time.

For skiing and boarding, it is about adjusting your balance over and around the sweet spot.

In this issue, we will explore the relationship of balance to the ski's sweet spot. Practice these drills at home on a carpet with your equipment to become more aware of your "balance points."


Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and parallel skis. Make sure you are standing fairly tall with slight bend at the ankle, knee and hip joints and spinal column. Try not to have a straight back but, instead, round your lower back slightly while tightening your stomach muscles gently. This is your athletic stance.

Have your arms in front of your body with hands positioned several inches further apart than the width of your body. Look ahead, keep your head up and face forward. About one-sixth of your body weight rests in your head so a nod or a cock of it can throw you off balance. Now the ski's sweet spot is at the narrowest portion of the ski's "waist".




When your boot is in the ski's bindings, the ski's sweet spot is located between your heel and arch. Having a relaxed athletic stance will center you over the ski's sweet spot. Relax your ankles so that you feel even pressure all around the boot cuff of your lower leg. Maintain your weight on the middle of the soles of your feet when on traditional skis and under the balls of your feet for "shaped skis". These points of pressure are known as the balance points. Skis are designed to bend into a circular arc when pressure is applied at this point.

With many new students, I find that they make solid turns on groomed runs but cross their tips on steeper terrain. The typical cause is due to one or both of the following; an incomplete weight transfer with insufficient pressure placed on the new outside ski and / or their balance point is too far back on the heel placing them behind the ski causing them to "drive from the back seat. "

By the way, it is common to be on the ski's body after for the last quarter of the turn. As you lower your stance, you move your body's mass back or a skier may choose on the wider shaped skis to pressure behind the ball of the foot and reduce edge angle to make a wider arc turn.

What you want to do in either of these situation is to move up and forward onto your skis to start the new turn and not just sit back or just move straight up. If you're going to be back, be sure you can get forward again quickly. It is important to begin each turn with weight on the ball of the foot (your balance point).

A good weight transfer and balance point is awareness drill lifting one ski about a foot off the ground and holding it for 5 seconds. Then placing that ski back on the ground and lifting the other ski and holding it for 5 seconds. Repeat. The key is to balance on one ski with the ankle flexed. When lifting the ski, if the ski tip is raised higher than the tail, your weight is too far back. Flex the ankle of the leg you're standing on to place more weight on the middle of the sole of your foot or under the ball of your feet. If the tail is higher, your weight is too far forward. Practice keeping the ski lifted parallel to the ground. Practice this until you can nail your balance point. Knowing your balance point and sweet spot now allows you to play around and adjust your skiing.

By thrusting your hips out in front of your feet shifts your center forward and applies pressure to the front of the skis. In this stance, you feel pressure on the boot tongue and you're ready to make short, quick turns because you can pivot the skid the tips and tails.

Placing your hips directly above your feet centers your balance over the skis in the normal or neutral stance (athletic). You will feel pressure along the entire sole of your foot, but mostly over your arch. Medium-radius turns is performed with optimal control of the entire ski, tip, waist and tail.

Bring your hips to the inside in a carved turn, your center will naturally move back slightly. The skis will track on a wider arc and accelerated through the turn. You will feel pressure between your heel and arch (the sweet spot). You are now feeling the forces of acceleration throwing you back. It is critical to stay in balance by driving your upper body forward to counter the forces pulling you to sit back. Remember, you need to react and begin each new turn on the ball of the foot so up and move forward.

It is hard to experience, as well as develop the balance point adjustments unless you're actually skiing and practicing on a constant skiing terrain environment. The most convenient and least expensive way I found to develop your skills in balance point adjustments is on a revolving ski deck. Make your next snow trip an awesome adventure by first training on a revolving deck. You'll then discover "How Sweet It Can Be" on snow! ) Www.endlesslope.com

posted by Health Insurance @ 8:01 AM <$BlogCommentDeleteIcon$>
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Skiing Holiday Detinations Around The World
Tuesday, November 11, 2008


Ski and Snowboard holidays have in popularity in recent years. This was made possible by the growth of low-cost carriers and increasing the availability of cottage rentals.There are many ski lodges, rental of holiday homes, cottages and villas to choose from throughout Europe and the rest of the world.

France has become a winter sport popular holiday destination. The explosion in the number of people snowboarding has led to the tourists go to France to snowboard and also at the weekend-long holiday weekend of skiing. Snowboarders like to remain in either rented or if they are in larger groups to rent one of the many fantastic ski chalets in France. The ski chalets are also in great demand on the part of the family ski vacation. They are located near the slopes and a great family ski vacation in France.

The great thing about skiing holiday in France is that it gite rentals available suite for all budgets. It is possible, a cheap weekend of skiing stay in a small apartment or a luxury vacation to ski in Chamonix, stay in one of the most magnificent villas in the Alps.

Norway is beloved by cross country skiers and many families there on holiday ski and stay in a traditional house. Austria and Switzerland are also popular winter sport for people who want to go snowboarding and skiing holidays.

For people who want to travel even further, there is excellent skiing available in the United States and Canada. The Rockies are always popular with retirees and snow skiing traditional continue to grow in numbers. In the U.S. there are some luxury villas for rent skis, and some of them even with their own pools.

A ski vacation is a great family vacation and families of all ages to enjoy skiing. Age is no barrier to ski, because there are ski slopes for all abilities. Most ski areas have ski schools, where skiers can learn to ski. While you're fairly fit and to exercise like you, then a vacation at one of the great ski resorts is a great family vacation.

For the beginner ski or snowboard can be a nervous the first time in the ski slopes, but after a few falls, bumps and bruises usually is on the hook sport. Reservations recommended that the experience of the first times, if you leave skiing or snowboarding. But I do not know if you've never been a ski vacation before serving the ski resorts for skiers of all abilities.

Ski holidays have become popular in many mountain regions, countries around the world. The skiing is very popular in France and the Alps offer excellent conditions for skiing in hundreds of ski resorts across Europe. All now offer excellent cuisine for a stay in apartments, chalets and villas.

Chamonix is best known worldwide for its spectacular views of the Alps, Mont Blanc, and there are some luxury ski chalets for rent in this city. Courchevel is a popular ski destination with many designer shops and excellent restaurants. Méribel Morzine and popular ski resorts are also likely to contribute to the French Alps is one of the most popular winter sports destinations in the world.

Switzerland is a popular winter sport in Europe for picturesque ski chalets made of wood. The Valais region is known worldwide for its excellent facilities for skiing and spectacular scenery. The Apennines Mountains in Italy is a good resorts in Le Marche and Abruzzi.

The only thing the rental of ski chalets, apartments or houses of their owners have in common is that they are tourists with a lot of freedom. You are in a position to the local way of life and get a real sense of local culture of the country they are in.

posted by Health Insurance @ 3:33 PM <$BlogCommentDeleteIcon$>
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Sensational Sky Diving


Sky diving is an activity that often justifies the rental of equipment instead of buying due to the enormous cost of obtaining all that is needed for an activity that goes to only a few times a year, if that. The equipment used and almost never goes bad weather rarely causes of accidents.

It is not an activity that was taken lightly, and with the highest quality of the teams is a necessity for obvious reasons. The team, if at the top of the list of importance for security reasons, is not the focus for people who regularly fall from the sky. You can and should use the time before his experience and be prepared in advance for any unfavorable conditions.

This extreme sport requires that the participant is in very good health with no major health problems or disabilities. A visit to your doctor before your experience is the most accurate information about your health and your doctor can advise whether it is something you should do.

Another name for this activity is skydiving, which describes how the Act concerning the leap from a high place, usually an airplane, and a safe return to Earth with the help of a parachute. This sport is by those who want to experience the thrill of free flight and, although they technically fall and not flying is definitely the next to a flying experience for the people.

There are a variety of emotions triggered during this activity. Many people try just once, while others make a career out of it. Who wants to try first to understand, must begin the basic rules and all risks. Know everything about your team is crucial for success. Therefore, you must take control of his team seriously, as you plan your experience. Never take your team for granted.

Moreover, wants to concentrate on their own convenience, but the bottom line is the safety of equipment used. In fact, that most companies offer their services for the people up into the sky and advice at the time of release, including prices for rental equipment in their offices.

The team is very reliable when they are being used properly, and you are very likely to be a safe and exciting leap. If you think you want to try it, you should plan around that, in a few jumps in tandem with an experienced sky diver.

Sky Diving is a very popular past time and a lot of people who try at least once. Many of those who initially showed anxiety and fear, are now those who can not get enough of the experience. If you leave the plane and behind zoom up to 120 mph (200 kph) in the big blue sky, you'll realize why some say this is the most exciting adventure in the world.
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posted by Health Insurance @ 7:11 AM <$BlogCommentDeleteIcon$>
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