My name is Brian Gosur, and I am an alcoholic. Alcoholism is a disease. It’s a disease that slowly creeps into your life and makes its claim on you. It takes over everything, and becomes the desire, the drive, and the motivation for your life. It kills, not only on a physical level, but on an emotional, and spiritual level as well. It destroys your family, your finances, and your friends. You will die a very slow and agonizing death, while everyone who loves you, can only sit back and watch this horrible tragedy take place.

The real sad thing about this type of decease is you, and only you, hold the key to turning this whole thing around. Your family and your friends can try to encourage you and support you with everything that they have in them, but only you can make the decision to quit, and change the course of your life forever.

So it is with obesity. Obesity is a disease, and 67% of Americans have it. Like alcohol the first thing you do is never admit that you have a problem.

You say, you can stop whenever you want. You say, you just reward yourself for working real hard all week. No big deal…yea you kinda over eat at that holiday party, but it was Christmas…You just couldn’t say no and hurt their feelings…besides, everyone else was doing it…right? You tell yourself that, after the holidays, you’re going to start that diet and do those exercises, and you will get back that shape that you once had.

Is This You?

Any of those excuses sound familiar? They do to me, because as an alcoholic, I used every one of them over and over again. They didn’t mean a thing to me because I knew, and I never had any intention, of ever doing or keeping any of them. They were just empty words that I used all the time, but they had no real meaning for me, and all the people who loved knew that as well.

People will eventually begin to give up on you, and you will find yourself drifting further and further away from your home, and from those that love you and depend on you.

I know that I can never ever have a drink again, and I don’t miss it one single bit. It has been almost twelve years of sobriety for me, and I thank God, and my wonderful wife, for bringing me through this journey. It was not easy. It was hard, but it was worth every step that I took to get to where I am today.

As I contemplated writing this article, I realized that there are a lot of similarities between the decease of alcoholism and the disease of obesity. I wanted to use my experience and my struggle with my disease, to help those of you in your struggle with your disease of obesity, and even those of you who may be just at the start, of your unhealthy life of being over weight and over eating.

Here are five steps that you must come to grips with before you can ever hope of getting healthy again.

1. Houston…We Have a Problem

The first thing, and the hardest thing for me to admit was that I had a drinking problem. This is the hardest step for anyone to take. I thought that if I only drank on the weekend and got drunk on the weekend, I was OK, but my friend told me that it just meant that I was a weekend alcoholic, but an alcoholic none the less.

Is your scale trying to tell you something?

Food will slowly start to creep into your life just like that. It tastes good and you like to eat it, and you never give a thought to what your eating or if it’s good for you. Before you know it your eating more of it all the time, and at all hours of the day and night. You maybe even sneaking it into your house or bedroom, and the pounds start to slowly add-on.

You have to realize the truth and see, that food is no longer just for living, but you are living for your food.

2. Never Walk Alone

The second thing that I came to realize, was that I could not win this battle by myself. That’s a very hard thing to admit when you’re an, “I can do that,” kind of person. You know the kind that never asks for directions when he gets lost…that’s me.

Look for those people who love you and care about, and want to help you win this battle, and then cling to them and learn to lean an them, it will make all those bumps in the road, a lot easier to take.

I do promote the Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge, because it works and you will never walk this road alone. We encourage you to get three people to join you on your challenge, not only because the product works, but because statistics show that when people take on a challenge for anything, their success lies in the encouragement and support of their family and friends. Plus, when you get three people to join you, your product is free. Lose weight, and get healthy for free>

3. Find The Right Plan For You

There are a ton of weight loss products and programs out there. Find the one that works for you. Check them out and see if it’s right for you, because if it’s not, you will not see results and after a couple of weeks of struggling for results… you will quit.

Take the time and do the research and find the right product and plan your road to a new healthy you.

4. Exercise has To Be A Part of The Plan

People still walk the malls.

No if, ands, or buts about it, you must get off the couch and get some physical exercise. That’s part of the reason why you’re in this situation in the first place. Eating too much, eating all the wrong things, and never getting any exercise.

I think that exercise is the first thing to go. You get a little bit older and you get a little bit busier, and then you lose the contact with your friends that you used to play basketball, tennis, and  golf with, and you learn a new activity…how to veg out on the couch with your chips, beer and pizza.

Start to integrate an exercise plan in along with your new eating plan. Take a shake in the morning, a light lunch, and a good healthy dinner, and then a walk or a run to close the day out. You will feel better and best of all, you will see those pounds start to fall off. Believe me…it’s a great feeling.

5. Do It Today – Start Right Now!

As my friend Cedrick Harris always says, “don’t be a member of the biggest nation on the planet, called Procrastination. I use to live there, and I didn’t like it one single bit. Nothing gets moving in that nation, and there are no success stories coming out of that country.

How many times have you said, “you got a point there Brian, I’m going to take a good look at it later,” “I’m pretty busy right now, but I will check it out,” “I know I need to do something, I’m going to get started someday.” Someday becomes next month, and next month becomes next year, and in the mean time you’re getting fatter, and your heart is working harder, and you’re blood pressure is getting higher, and eventually your walking time bomb…EXPLODES…and you die.

My doctor tried to tell me this years ago, until one day he sat me down and just hit me between the eyes with the truth. My alcoholism was going to kill me. He said you are going to die, if you don’t change your life around right now…today!

Obesity is a disease, you and only you can decide whether you’re going to be another statistic, or another success story that will reach out and save someone elses life. But you need to start today…right now.

We have had a lot of controversy over the rights of those people who want to smoke and those who don’t. Do they have as much right to the same air as those who do not smoke? We live in a free country right?

Well I don’t want to talk about that. I will leave that for others to haggle over, but what I want to concentrate on is the effects that smoking has on a smokers life and on those who are just standing by and breathing in the second-hand smoke.

Lots of us have either smoked ourselves or had friends and family members who have. My father smoked cigarettes until the day he died of lung cancer. He was about a three pack a day smoker.

I remember going over to his house after the doctor said he could go home and die, and although I didn’t smoke, I would light one up for him so that he could smoke it. I often thought that this little white cigarette, that he was puffing on, was the process that my father choose over living his life with us. It’s a choice that he made and granted, we didn’t have all of the research and data that we have today, we didn’t have all of the scientific connections between smoking and cancer, that we have today, but it was known that smoking was not good for you.

I remember all of those days that I was breathing in that second-hand smoke, and I hated every minute of it. We didn’t know all of the ramifications that second-hand smoke had on other people as we do today, but smoking was an accepted cool thing to do, that turned into an awful habit that was extremely hard to break.

Smoking causes more deaths each year, than AIDS, drug abuse, alcohol, automobile deaths, suicides, and murders combined. That’s a lot folks.

I asked my daughter one day why she smoked? She said she really enjoyed the taste of the cigarette…Really? You enjoy the taste of the bottom of an ash tray in your mouth? Or do you like being the person who gets to kiss you and taste the bottom of an ash tray in their mouth. I know what that’s like, my wife used to smoke…yuk!

Cigarettes can cause your breath to smell like the bottom of this ash tray too.

My daughter has quit smoking by the way.

As one who has been on the other side of this…it’s awful and it’s nasty and it will eventually kill you and maybe even take out somebody that you really love.

I have seen my father rot away from lung cancer, my mother-in-law die of pancreatic cancer, and my wife’s closest friend die of ovarian cancer. As many of you know, It has been the most horrible painful experiences that i have ever gone through. A little piece of you dies as you watch this horrible decease take the life of your loved one.

It is estimated that 90% of all lung cancer deaths in men and 80% of all lung cancer deaths in women are caused by smoking.

Information is the one thing that people need, especially young people, before they make this very drastic mistake of choosing to smoke. Young people are right there in the middle of the peer pressure and they don’t see what this awful habit can do to them down the road. I understand that. I was young once myself, and I never thought to look down the road, no matter what people were telling me. If it was cool and it made me look good with my friends, i was in.

Most people started on their path to smoking because of this type of pressure, and once they realized the mistake they made, it was too late. They either found it so difficult to quit or they were told by their doctor that they had an incurable cancer and it didn’t matter anymore…they could keep smoking if they wanted too.

That’s what happened to my father, and he kept on smoking right to the end. It took about six months for the lung cancer to suck all the life out of him. He died on September 10, 1973.

Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of deaths in the United States, and yes…it’s caused by smoking. That’s what my mother died from, and she never smoked a day in her life, but she lived with a man who smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. Second hand smoke can kill also.

Rather than leave you with a list of decease and deaths that are caused or linked to smoking, or statistics that show how dangerous smoking is, I thought I would end this article with a video that I think will get my point across loud and clear. After you watch it, I want you to ask yourself a question…Do you still want to keep smoking?

Please tell me the one reason why you can’t or you won’t stop smoking? Fill in your reason why in the comment section below.

As the baby boomers start to reach that retirement age, most of them are looking to living longer and maintaining that healthy lifestyle and keep those young-looking physics as long as possible.

Getting a membership at gyms and the Y, have all increased over the past few years, despite the rough economy. It’s not only a place of working out and getting back in shape, but also a place of belonging to a community. You can meet with friends or find new ones as work out partners at the gym. It’s a place to exercise both physically and socially.

It just shows why health and wellness is the number one industry in America. No matter what the economy is doing, it’s always a first priority for most people. Everyone is always looking for ways to get back into shape. Weather it diets, joining a gym, getting into some type of bowling, golf or some kind of league, to keep the pounds off and your health up.

There is a little known fact that can keep you healthy, add almost seven years to your life, and make your smile brighter. What is it? Floss your teeth everyday and live.

Yes, that little job that everyone hates to do, can not only add years to your life, but there are other very good benefits to your over all health, that this simple process can do.

Flossing can help with bad breath

Ever suffer from bad breath or know some else that does? Ever notice that the one who has the bad order coming from their mouth, never notices it? They always come right up to your face and talk to you from about two inches away. It doesn’t matter how discreet you are, they will follow you around and make your life miserable.

If dental plaque, that is found between your teeth is not cleaned, it will eventually release a bad smell from your mouth. This is a major reason why a person may suffer from bad breath, called halitosis. Tooth decay and gum disease, also caused by dental plaque, are a source of a bad smell in the mouth as well.

People suffering from heart disease must be ever more careful with their oral hygiene. The mouth is an entry point to harmful bacteria that may reach cardiac tissue. Keeping your mouth and teeth clean, can reduce the risk of these types of complications.

There is evidence that diabetes can be aggravated when someone has gum disease. A person who suffers from diabetes has organs that usually heal more slowly. Tissue inflammation can therefore develop more rapidly, particularly at the gum level. It is very important to remove dental plaque and tartar regularly to avoid developing or complicating gum disease.

Toothbrush style floss

Some experts say that you can add up to seven years to your life by simply flossing your teeth.

I remember being told to always brush my teeth twice a day, but flossing is so important as well, because simply brushing just doesn’t get everything out from between your teeth. Only grabbing that little string between your fingers and getting all that food out that gets stuck in between your teeth, can make the job complete.

Floss Stick

I know that your fingers get red and go numb when you do this, but you must start getting used to it. I buy those floss sticks or a toothbrush that has a floss at the end of it. It’s much easier on your fingers and I think it does a better job.

I always carry them with me if I go out, and they’re easy to keep in you pocket or purse. If you forget them, I learned something from my dentist that you can use. He said to simply go to the restroom and rinse your mouth a couple of times, or chew some gum. The gum will help loosen the food particles from your teeth and it will also help your breath smell fresh and clean.

Your friends and coworkers will thank you too.

Our Toxic World
September 2006, Lyle Loughry

Man’s pursuit of bigger, better, faster, younger and more convenient has come at a terrible price. The automobiles that shuttle us, the products with which we clean ourselves and our homes, the appliances that keep us cool and the recreational vehicles that help us relax, all pollute our environment. And let’s not forget the toxins found in the air you breathe, the chemicals found in the water drink, the pesticides detected in many of the fruits, vegetables and meats you serve your family, and the petroleum byproducts you apply to your skin. It’s not enough that you’re subjected to toxins everywhere you turn–the real issue is the number of years of exposure you face–exposure that starts even before you are born.

According to a 2005 study commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in cooperation with The American Red Cross on the umbilical cord of blood of newborns, 287 different industrial chemicals, pollutants and pesticides were found including mercury, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, dioxins, furans, pesticides, and chemicals from flame retardants, PCBs, industrial lubricants, plastics, Teflon, Scotchgard, industrial bleaches, electrical insulators, coal-fired power plants, vehicle emissions, and wood preservatives,all of which are known to cause health complications in humans, to be toxic to the brain and nervous system, and to cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests. Chemical exposures in the womb or during infancy can be dramatically more harmful than exposures later in life. Among the possible implications of mercury and other toxins cited by the EWG are major nervous system disorders, including autism, attention deficit disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. (1)

Once you’ve entered the world and you’ve taken your first breath, you can be reasonably sure it will include some unhealthy trace particles of air pollution. That’s true for every breath you take, thereafter, as well. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US facilities alone released 4.7 billion pounds of toxins into the atmosphere in 2002.

It’s in the Water You Drink

Currently, there are more than 850 studies, conducted by federal, state and local government agencies, US health organizations and major universities that conclusively prove that tap water is alive with deadly bugs that cause Hepatitis, E-coli infections, and Heliocobacter pylori, the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. Additionally, monitoring groups from all fifty states have reported drinking water containing arsenic, asbestos, cyanide, lead, mercury, bug and weed killers, embalming fluids, and even radioactive wastes, all in addition to known killers like chlorine and fluoride! According to one study conducted by the University of Michigan, water into which oil spills find their way is pumped back into our water supplies, for our consumption. Increasing outbreaks of waterborne disease cause an estimated seven million people to become sick, and more than 1,000 to die in the United States each year. (2)

It’s in the Food You Eat

And, as if concerns about breathing and drinking weren’t enough, you also have to be careful with the produce, meats and fish you ingest. Herbicides and pesticides-used to keep bugs off of crops, inhibit weed growth and protect your lawn–are taking their toll on your health. Environmental chemicals have a wide range of effects on immune system function, ranging from a decrease in your body’s ability to fight infections and tumors toincreased allergies and autoimmunity, as well as dermatological, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, respiratory, musculoskeletel and cardiovascular problems. (3)

Source:
1. Body Burden, the Pollution of Newborns, Environmental Working Group, July 2005
2. www.mediasyndicate.com
3. Ohio State University School of Medicine

A new study reported in the July 2006 issue of Annals in Neurology found that the risk of Parkinson’s disease in those who reported being exposed to pesticides and herbicides increased by about seventy percent, ten to twenty years after initial exposure. The risk of Parkinson’s disease associated with exposure has been reported in many other studies. Another recent study was reported by Mayo Clinicresearchers who published their findings in the June 26, 2006, online issue of Movement Disorders. They found that men who had ever been exposed to pesticides on their farms or gardens were more than twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. Exposure to pesticides is likely to harm the brain, because the pesticides commonly used in the US have been shown to cause degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. In postmortem studies, these pesticides are persistent in tissues years or even decades following exposure. Pesticides such as DDT have been banned in many countries, but they are still polluting the environment. Much of our produce comes from these countries that do not ban some of the most toxic agri-chemicals.

Home Sweet Home

But the toxins you’ll probably find most surprising are those found inside your home–where most of us think we’re safe. Many of the products that improve the look and scent of your home, like household cleaning products, have been linked to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and other learning or behavioral disorders. Even the glue used to hold that new carpet down, contains the harmful ingredient, benzene, and the neurotoxin, xylene–one of the most unhealthy chemical combinations to which you can be exposed. Carpets can emit over 200 volatile organic chemicals. Faulty appliances can emit ozone, which affects lung health, and carbon monoxide, which is lethal at high concentrations. Also, mold, bacteria and other biological contaminants can cause or exacerbate asthma, allergies and infections.

The bottom line is that we are surrounded by toxins, pollutants, and synthetic (inorganic) chemicals. Many are invisible–colorless, odorless and tasteless–and most have never been tested for their effects on human health. And while there are ways to reduce the impact of some exposure, it’s just not reasonable to think you can avoid toxic exposure, altogether. Those who understand the increasingly deadly impact of environmental toxicity on our bodies also understand that there is no “quick fix.” It’s taken your entire lifetime to reach the level of toxicity and imbalance you now experience. To be as healthy as your body is capable of being, plan to fight this toxicity battle for the rest of your life!

More and more anti-aging practitioners, like Rashid O. Buttar, D. O., a diplomat in preventative medicine and clinical toxicology, and Vice-Chairman of the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology, and Robert Nash, M.D., who is board certified in neurology, pain medicine, and chelation therapy, and Chairman of the American Board of Clinical Metal Toxicology, are coming to the same conclusion . . .in order to maintain optimal health, and reduce the incidence of the degenerative diseases of aging, the health practitioner’s job is to detoxify their patients. Listen to what they, and others are saying:

“I can now very comfortable and definitively state to you,” says Dr. Buttar, “that, in my opinion, based on the evidence, every single chronic insidious disease process is related to one word: toxicity. A year ago, I wouldn’t have said it, but the more success we’ve had, the clearer it has become; All chronic disease is toxicity. You get rid of the toxicity and you put out the fire. You may need to rebuild the health later, but you must put the fire out, first. Conventional medicine is just covering your eyes so you don’t see the fire.”

Dr. Nash concurs, though perhaps not yet 100 percent. He says, “Most of the diseases of aging–arthritis, most cancers, vascular and others–have been shown to be associated with toxic metals and persistent organic pollutants. For example, vascular diseases, stroke, heart attack, plus most cancers, and macular degeneration have been linked directly to lead, and that’s just lead.” Dr. Nash also explains that, “Between nature and man, we have polluted the planet, but man’s pollution is by far the most toxic. We are now paying a price for our environmental neglect. That price appears to be chemical sensitivities, plus an increasing number of diseases of aging.”

Walter J. Crinnion, N.D., Chairman of the Department of Environmental Medicine at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, Phoenix, wrote six years ago, “Chemical compounds, ubiquitous in our food, air and water, are now found in every person.”

A 2003 US study by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), revealed the presence of 116 chemicals–some of them banned for more than two decades because of toxicity–in people of all ages. In July 2005, the CDC released a major report that makes the important distinction that the level of chemicals found within the body is the result of the cumulative impact from all routes of exposure, including ingestion, inhalationand dermal absorption, as well as how the chemical is distributed in body tissues, transformed into metabolites, and eliminated from the body.

Britain’s Environmental Toxins Foundation states that “More and more research is pointing towards mounting evidence that structural and genetic damage . . . potentially caused to the human morphology through the huge influx of chemical agents that are absorbed, ingested and inhaled from the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe . . . is increasingly prevalent in our modern environment.” A paper entitled, Metals in Medicine, published in the July/August edition of Alternative Therapies notes that, “Metals have been implicated in many of the diseases of aging, as well as in neurodevelopmental diseases and autism spectrum disorders.” For example, mercury is known to affect the brain and has been associated with the causation or exacerbation of degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, as well as neurodevelopmental diseases, vascular diseases, nephrotoxicity, and cancer. The paper notes that the effects of toxicant metals on human health have been reported in peer-reviewed literature with increasing frequency. A November 17, 2004, Wall Street Journal article described the high levels of mercury that are now being spread, particularly by massive industrial development in China. The article states, “Mercury and other pollutants from China’s more than 2,000 coal-fired power plants soar high into the atmosphere and around the globe on what has become a transcontinental conveyor belt of bad air.” An International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report says that compelling scientific evidence points to some of the 85,000 synthetic chemicals in use today as contributing to breast cancer by altering hormone function or gene expression. In the past 50 years, a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer has more than tripled in the United States. According to Nancy Evans, a health science consultant for the Breast Cancer Fund (the only national nonprofit organization whose sole focus is to identify the causes of breast cancer and advocate for elimination of the disease), and the Editor of the report, “Medical X-rays, pesticides, household cleaning products, personal care products and some pharmaceuticals are just a few of the multiple and chronic exposures contributing to this epidemic.” Lynn Tondat Carter, PhD., Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, writes in The Celestine Journal that, “Our very ability to think and feel normally can be drastically affected by exposure to toxins. It does not take a giant leap of logic to realize that we could soon be in such a state of toxic poisoning that we would be unable to ‘problem-solve’ our way out.”The Toxic Life, an article that appeared in an April 2006 TorontoStar newspaper was summed up by Life Writer, Nancy J. White, this way, “If you’re a walking, breathing Canadian, you’re polluted.” That’s the situation in Canada, and it’s much worse in the US!

The Safe, Natural Approach

Fortunately, there are recent natural breakthroughs that make it a lot easier to accomplish “living well and being healthy in today’s toxic world.” Known as “the people’s company,” Liberty Health Net (LHN), a six year old International marketing company doing business in 64 countries. offers four, totally natural “breakthrough” products that assure that it’s now possible, Alligin, Tiaga Immune Tea, O2 Basic Essentials, and the newest antioxidant/anti-aging powerhouse,M-G-A-PLUS.

According to a recent book, Allicin, The Heart of Garlic, “we have known for a long time that allicin (found in Alligin) detoxifies heavy metals. There are many reports of water-based extracts of garlic also being used as a cleanser to remove poisonous metals from the blood. Recent work has focused on proving that allicin can reduce the absorption of toxic metals by farm animals.

Tiaga, a bracket fungi (mushroom) is a member of the Ganoderma family of beneficial fungi, the same as the well-known known Reishi mushroom. Tiaga tea promotes a strong immune system that is known to bring balance to the imbalance often found in the body’s internal terrain as a result of toxins, made possible by increased detoxifying activity. A healthy immune system also tones and strengthens the liver and gallbladder and promotes more efficient elimination of toxins, including heavy metals.

O2 Basic Essentials is the newest generation of super-oxygenation technology. The link between insufficient oxygen and disease has been firmly established, and it is strongly believed that all chronic suffering is caused from a lack of oxygen at the cellular level. Initial symptoms of oxygen deprivation range from acid stomach to various bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections, and much more. Oxygen is the vital factor which gives our bodies the oxidizing “firepower” it requires to, among other things, repel disease, increase vitality, promote faster recovery and healing, and oxidize and eliminate toxic buildup in the body.

M-G-A-PLUS is an unmatched blend of exotic fruits and berries from Thailand, Brazil and the mountains of Tibet, synergistically balanced to promote health and long life. If you’re familiar with the health benefits of Mangosteen, Goji berries, Acai, and Pomegranate, you can only imagine the potential benefits available from a daily serving of 3,700 total milligrams of these phytonutrients.

You can’t find these extraordinary breakthrough products in stores, but they are available at substantial member savings from LHN. Membership is FREE! So please go visit, Liberty Health Net,  for more information, or to place an order.