PC THE TOWN

When you purposely go for a period of time and not eat or drink, the experience is commonly known as a fast. Fasting can be going without food or liquids or both for a specific time frame, and is done for a variety of reasons. Going on a fast may have spiritual implications, or for the purpose of losing weight, preparing for a medical procedure, or for some other reason to the one who is going into the fasting period. However, there can be certain physical and mental risks to fasting. No one should enter into a fast unless they have consulted their doctor to make sure they are capable of withstanding a loss of food or liquids for a specific time. According to MyDailyMoment.com , there are those dieters who believe that skipping meals will actually kick start the weight loss process. But experts know better -- bypassing breakfast, lunch or dinner is actually the quickest way to derail your diet efforts. While it may help you lose weight in the short term, it's actually water weigh...

Are you one of those individuals charged with the responsibility of preparing for moving into or helping to manage someone in long term care (LTC)? Then you know the challenges involved. If not, then you definitely need to research all the ins and outs of LTC, especially if you have loved ones who may be getting older or are incapacitated to the point of needing professional help to live in a situation they requires additional supervision. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Long-term care is a range of services and supports you may need to meet your personal care needs. Most long-term care is not medical care, but rather assistance with the basic personal tasks of everyday life, sometimes called Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) , such as: �          Bathing �          Dressing �          Using the toilet �     ...

This week marks the high point of celebration of Christian believers worldwide with recognition of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the Christ--otherwise known as Passion Week, the final days leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection from death of the Holy One. Although the event took place, with historical and Biblical references validating what happened then, Easter Sunday is still looked upon by Christians as the highest, most significant day of the year. Passion Week (also known as Holy Week) is the time from Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday (Resurrection Sunday). Also included within Passion Week are Maunday Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Passion Week is so named because of the passion with which Jesus willingly went to the cross in order to pay for the sins of His people. Passion Week is described in Matthew chapters 21-27; Mark chapters 11-15; Luke chapters 19-23; and John chapters 12-19. Passion Week begins with the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday...

Although summer is not quite here yet, one of the scourges of American yards across the land soon to emerge on the landscape is a pesky little varmint known as the Fire Ant. These terrible marauders inflict a poisonous bite that can hurt when you are stung, and then linger on as a sore for some time until the spot on your skin eventually heals. If you�ve ever been bitten by one, you�ll know. And some people are very allergic to the venom. According to the Orkin Company, though not a native species in North America, the red imported fire ant has become a common nuisance throughout the southern United States, ranging from Florida to California and as far north as Oklahoma and Virginia. The red imported fire ant ( Solenopsis invicta ) was accidentally brought into the United States in the 1930s via a shipment of cargo. Initially transplanted into Alabama, they have spread and thrived throughout the southern states with the warm climate and lack of predators. Fire ants favor warm, sunny ...

There are actually around 11 million accidents on US roads every year, due to all causes. Please drive carefully -- and make sure you're properly protected with good auto insurance. In the time it takes you to read this brief note, between 5 and 10 autos will crash because the driver was using a cell phone, according to Tri-Star Insurance in Plano, Texas. It's not just the physical act of using your hands to take a call or, even worse, texting, that's to blame. It's also the fact that drivers become distracted when they focus on the phone. That's why, increasingly, research shows that even using a hands-free device doesn't significantly reduce the chances of an accident. Just because it's legal to use a hands-free device doesn�t mean it's safe. And you don�t need more evidence than statistics showing that cell-related accidents are going up, not down. A common distraction problem is to miss traffic signals or fail to spot other road hazards, like a cyc...

Over the past several decades, a huge push in public health has been the fluoridation of water in the water of most municipalities in the United States. Fluoride-containing compounds are used in topical and systemic fluoride therapy for preventing tooth decay. They are used for water fluoridation and in many products associated with oral hygiene. Originally, sodium fluoride was used to fluoridate water; hexafluorosilicic acid (H 2 SiF 6 ) and its salt sodium hexafluorosilicate (Na 2 SiF 6 ) are more commonly used additives, especially in the United States. The fluoridation of water is known to prevent tooth decay and is considered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as "one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century", according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . According to the American Dental Association, there are two ways that you can benefit from fluoride: topically and systemically. Topical fluoride is the type of ...