Autism On The Rise

Recall the blog "Oprah: On Autism" - where Oprah had a special on her show about autism. In that video, a mom caring for her autistic son cried in despair, "He is not there! I don't know where he is but he is not there."

On Thursday, March 30th, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, released the latest numbers on autism - and it is 'scary' - 1 in 88 children now has been diagnosed with autism or its related disorder. These numbers suggest there are about a million kids and teenagers afflicted with this illness.

"Autism is now officially becoming an epidemic in the United States. We are dealing with a national emergency that needs a national plan," says Mark Roithmayr, president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks. Saying it is not entirely better detection that causes the big jump in new cases, Roithmayr continues, "Something [else] is going on here, and we don't know what it is."

If new scientific studies claim that diseases are caused by cellular malfunction and toxicity (cells injured by free radicals, pesticides/insecticides, food preservatives, antibiotics, tobacco, alcohol and recreational drugs) then the bigger question is what has been done to determine why this big jump in new cases?

We are now are confronted with autism in children and Alzheimer in our elderly population...with no solutions in sight.

Ingrained Habit or Being Too Comfortable?

You are age twenty five. Finally, you found a job you think you can stay on for 40 years till you retire at age 65. A few years down, someone introduce you to a 2 to 3 year plan to early retirement. What would you do? Would you: as a Type A person, Say, no thanks? Type B, At least investigate? Type C, Unconditionally try out the 2 to 3 year plan while still working with your 40 year plan to retirement?

If for whatever reason you bypass this opportunity - what would be the cause? Is it out of habit to say no or you are too comfortable with your life? Forty years is a long time to wait to find out the outcome. If on the day you retire, you discover you have not saved enough to comfortably retire, what then? Continue working?

It is unfortunate old habits are hard to beat. Societal and cultural conditioning are so ingrained that we become stifled. Take a circus elephant as an example. From birth, circus elephants are conditioned to walk in circles from being tethered to a pole. Each time the elephant extends the rope tied to its leg, the tug restrains it from continuing. As the elephant grows into an adult elephant, it definitely has the strength to pull the pole with it....but being conditioned from birth it feels restraint. In real life, an elephant in a Barnum and Bailey Circus fire was burnt to death as it could not escape from being tethered to a pole. It could have easily broken free but the conditioning from birth was too ingrained for it to break out.

Another example of comfort that stifles is the frog. In lab experiments, a frog was put in a jar filled with cool water. The water was heated very slowly. You would think the frog would jump out of the jar as soon as it gets warm but alas, the frog adapts and by the time it boils, it is too late. The frog gets cook as the water boils.

These 2 examples are a clear warnings to us about being complacent, allowing ourselves to be conditioned into  stiff necks preventing us from changing and adapting to new economic realities and conditions.

If you are a type C person, congratulations! you are on your way to complete freedom "untethered" to a company or employer. The open sky is your office!

If you are type B, congratulations, at least you have an open mind to investigate. You investigation may lead you to become a type C. There is plenty of hope.

If you are a type A person, what can I say? But I will leave you with final example. A flea can jump between 3 and 6 feet. Put a flea in a jar and it would jump out freeing itself. But if you put on a lid, the flea will jump but gets nowhere because of the lid. After awhile, the flea has "learned" and conditioned itself not to jump because of the barrier above. Now when you remove the lid, the flea will remain in the jar and rot in there.

Be hungry.and free yourself from your own imaginary tether....you are neither too young or too old to be tethered by being close minded!

America's Pharmacist Suzy Cohen Discusses Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a pink colored super carotenoid found in microalgea. It is a powerful antioxidant ten times more powerful than other carotenoids including resveratrol. As a supplement, it is known to improve cardiovascular health. Research has also shown astaxanthin to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.

Below is a video from America's Pharmacist Suzy Cohen on Astaxanthin:

Power Profile: Gary Rogers

From  a skeptical Fitness Center Owner:

How Much is Your Health Worth?

Majority of us would plunk down big dollars for a nice flat screen TV without breaking a sweat. Or spend a tidy sum to go on a nice vacation. Some others would indulge in a good meal and drink.

But spending money to improve our health is probably the last thing in our minds. Most of us, especially when we are still young, think we are invincible.....nothing can hurt us, or make us sick. Money is never allocated to health unless we are directly afflicted with some ailment. We abuse our bodies without meaning to but eventually all that smoking, alcohol, fast food and sleep deprivation will hurt us.

Then, one day we wake up and realize whether too late or just in time, that our bodies need to be  taken care of. This is when we start to shop at WholeFoods - to buy only organic food products. We reduce our fast food intake or avoid them all together. We start to read food labels and eat less processed food. Trying to reverse the damages we inflicted on our bodies will not happen overnight. It takes time, if time is on our side.

Seeing or hearing so many friends suffering from one ailment or another makes one wonder why we give so little thought to our health until we become ill. Is passing middle age the only time we start to take care of ourselves? Is it too late then to try to reverse the years of abuse?

How much is too much to spend on ensuring a healthy you?

.....A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; 
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Biderman’s Daily Edge 3/9/2012: Rigged Market

From TrimTabs Money Blog:

US Shoppers Spent $161.5B online in 2011

The chart on the left is from the eMarketer Blog.
It projects the millions of online shoppers in the US. Last year according  to Bloomberg, in the US alone, people spent $161.5 billion in internet shopping. This is   an enormous amount of money.

JP Morgan projects Global eCommerce will grow by19% each year. Their analysts also found that higher income users shop online more often.

With this kind of info, it only makes sense to place yourself in this business. What better way than to ride on the coat-tail of a successful online retail company, like Market America, one of the faster growing internet retail companies in the world!

Internet User or Internet Benefactor?

There was a time you rent a space, put up your sign and open for business. And pray they, your customers, would come. If you make it, you recover your start-up costs and more. But think of all the headaches you have with employees, payroll, health insurance, retirement funding, etc.

Now, look what we have today....Internet. Overnight millionaires are minted everyday. Internet users from desktop to mobile devices are increasing by leaps  and bounds. Just Facebook users alone are approaching one billion. It is not difficult, therefore, to imagine new riches are made everyday on this medium of communication.

The question before us is, are you a sideline user or are you a benefactor of the internet, harnessing it to create wealth? Is internet, one of the greatest engines of wealth, passing you by? You are witnessing the greatest wealth creation period in history.....and you are just a spectator? Just like a lot of people spent countless hours on their couch, very contented, being spectator sports fans....ruining their health chomping on potato chips and guzzling cans of beer.

Come on already! Hang up your sign on the internet. The start-up cost is so negligible the benefits are mind boggling. And to top it off, you have no employee worries, no payroll to fuss over, no health insurance nightmares, nothing to slave over! This is a perfect work space....and your internet shop is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and no worries about sick days.

Of course, if you were to start an internet business from scratch it will cost you an arm and a leg....you need to write a business plan, register your domain name, find someone to design your website, load up on inventory if you area retail website. And depending on the type of business, the website design and implementation can be costly.

But if you were to become a Market America (MA) UnFranchise® owner, the start-up is almost negligible. You will have your own website portal and immediately, you are ready to do business with more than 3 million things to sell from well known name brands, including  marquis names like Apple, Macys, Target, Best Buy, Travelocity, Dell, HP, Barney's of New York, Barnes & Noble, Marriott Hotels & Resorts and MA's branded products. With this many partners found at the Market America, Shop.com websites, it is hard to fail. All you need to do is follow the business plan laid out by the pioneers of the business. And if you are diligent, you will be on your way to financial health and wealth!

As most Market America owners would say...Meet you at the top!

Young Entrepreneur: Greg Bohenko

At 19, this young entrepreneur is already on his way to time and financial  freedom. Imagine that!
You too can attain time and financial independence just working 10 to 15 hours a week by diligently following the 2 to3 year Plan B. Don't wait 45 years to find out Plan A (which makes someone else rich) does not work!

Young Entrepreneurs: Olivia Li

A new generation of young entrepreneurs are creating so much wealth most of us can only dream about.....retiring in their twenties!

FDA Warning on Statin Drugs

Statins are widely prescribed drugs for patients with high cholesterol. If you use statin, be aware of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) recent warning that patients taking this drug are prone to a small risk of higher blood sugar levels which can lead to being diagnosed with diabetes and loss of memory.

The FDA is said to require all drug makers of statins, top brands Zocor, Lipitor and Crestor, to add warning labels of such risks. According to statistics, more than 20 million Americans are prescribed to this drug.

Some doctors say the benefits out weigh the risks. As always, work with your doctor.

Market America Announces the Launch of Market United Kingdom

Ah...don't you like it? More ways to create wealth!

You can read more about this launch by clicking here.

Alzheimer's, Is Hope Near?

This week's Barrons features Alzheimer's, Is Hope Near?"
"Big pharmaceutical companies have struggled for years to develop a drug that will halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease, a terrible neurological ailment that begins with memory loss and steadily robs patients of brain function, leading to dementia and death. Success would have an enormous societal impact and help to contain the cost of an ever-increasing population of Alzheimer's patients, which number an estimated five million in the U.S. -- and 26 million worldwide."

 Click here to read more.

After reading this....we can now ask why India has the lowest rate of Alzheimer's disease. Find out why later.

Have a blissful day!