Channel 9) Acai berries are the latest weight loss fad. These so called Super Foods that you take as a supplement to lose weight have been getting a lot of international attention. And like you have probably already seen; they are all over the internet in blogs and success stories of people who have apparently used the pills and lost a ton of weight!

But we here at Channel 9 are a little skeptical and aren‘t sure that we‘ve seen any real proof that these pills work for weight loss. So we decided to put these products to the test. What better way to find out the truth than to conduct our own study?

To get started, I volunteered to be the guinea pig. I applied for a bottle of the LeanSpa. While there are ton’s of Acai berry ads online, LeanSpa is one of the most credible and trustworthy suppliers on the market. It included the free trial of the product and it did not try to fool me into agreeing to additional hidden offers. Another reason why I chose LeanSpa is because it is the most concentrated and purest Acai products on the market. This would give me the most accurate results for my test.

claims to have lost 42 pounds in 2 months with acai
–> Here is what LeanSpa claimed on their website…

• Accelerates Fat Loss
• 4 Times More Weight Loss Than Diet And Exercise
• Boosts Energy
• Rich in Antioxidants

Were pretty skeptical, but wanted to find out for ourselves if this product could actually do everything that it claimed. Most of the success stories talk about combining Acai berry with colon cleansing products to achieve maximum weight loss. I decided to do the same. The idea behind combining the products is that while the Acai Berry encourages weight loss and increases energy, the colon cleanse helps rid your body of toxins and allows your body to work and burn calories more efficiently. I chose Natura Cleanse to test.

Here is what Natura Cleanse claimed on their website…

• Helps Eliminate Bad Toxins that have Built Up Over the Years
• Removes ‘Sludge‘ from the Walls of the Colon
• Helps Get Rid of Gas and Bloating
• Helps to Regulate the Metabolism

And the Natura Cleanse, like the Acai Berry, had a free trial with a 100% satisfaction guarantee and had no hidden offers.

Putting Acai to the Test

Both the LeanSpa and Natura Cleanse arrived within 4 days of having placed my order online for the free trials.

The bottles I received held a month‘s worth of pills which worked out perfect as I was to follow the supplement routine for 4 weeks time and document my progress throughout.

My Test

4 Week Acai Berry Diet: LeanSpa + Natura Cleanse

• Take one LeanSpa pill per day
• Take one Natura Cleanse pill per day

Conclusion: Like us, here at Channel 9, you might be a little doubtful about the effects of this diet, but you need to try it for yourself; the results are real. After conducting our own personal study we are pleased to see that people really are finding success with it (myself included ). And you have nothing to lose. Follow the links to the free trials I have provided and know that you are getting a quality product that works; no strings attached!

We spoke to the manufactures of the product and arraigned to give all our readers free trials of the products so they could test it out themselves.

Listed below are the links. Go get your free trials now. Then come back here and post your results.

*Remember, to get results like Julia’s, you will want to use BOTH products together ($1.99 for LeanSpa, $1.95 for Natura Cleanse).

Good Luck with your weight loss

-Julia Miller

GRAND ISLE, La. — An offshore oil platform exploded and was burning Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay. All 13 workers were rescued from the water, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The explosion aboard the platform, owned by Mariner Energy, occurred west of the site of the April offshore rig blast that caused the massive BP oil spill.

Patrick Cassidy, a spokesman for Mariner Energy, told CNBC that there does not appear to be any oil leaking.

The Coast Guard said no one was killed in the explosion, which was reported by a commercial helicopter flying over the site around 9 a.m. CDT.

All 13 workers at the platform were plucked from the water by a supply boat and taken to another platform where they were waiting to be picked up by the Coast Guard, the agency said.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said one of the 13 people rescued was reported injured.

In Washington, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that person was being transported out of the area. The extent and nature of the injury was not immediately known.

The platform continued to burn several hours hours after the explosion, said Coast Guard fireman Katherine McNamara.

No oil or sheen from the burning platform was seen in the water by Coast Guard helicopters on scene, McNamara said.

Coast Guard Cmdr. Cheri Ben-Iesau said seven Coast Guard helicopters, two airplanes and three cutters were dispatched to the scene from New Orleans, Houston and Mobile, Ala.

Gibbs said a federal government response was ready if needed.

“We obviously have response assets ready for deployment, should we receive reports of pollution in the water,” Gibbs told a daily briefing.

The Department of Homeland Security said the platform, known as Vermilion Oil Platform 380, was owned by Mariner Energy of Houston. DHS said it was not producing oil and gas.

msnbc.com

Mariner Energy focuses on oil and gas exploration on the Gulf of Mexico. In April, Apache Corp., another independent petroleum company, announced plans to buy Mariner in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $3.9 billion, including the assumption of about $1.2 billion of Mariner’s debt. That deal is pending.

Company records show that the platform and rig is in 340 feet of water.

Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney made Milwaukee, Wisconsin a household name in the hilarious sitcom Laverne and Shirley.  You know it, too, as the place where Old Milwaukee beer and Brewers’ baseball were born.  However, there is traditionally little fun for those in brew city who suffer from chronic pain or other ailments.  Now, even they can find relief at the Xiaodan Acupuncture clinic.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture, as practiced by clinics like Xiaodan Acupuncture in Milwaukee, is rooted in 3000 years of traditional Chinese medicine.  As has been clinically substantiated, there are bioelectric currents that run through the human body.   Qi (chi) are these currents, also known as meridians or connected channels.

Chinese medicine practitioners, like those at the local Xiaodan Acupuncture clinic, believe that when this flow is balance there is harmony in the body and it is healthy.  However, when something interrupts that flow, then the body is in disharmony and unhealthy.  It is the practice of acupuncture, then, that restores the balance in chi and health to the patient.  

What are the Risks?

There are remarkably few risks to acupuncture performed by a professional, as seen at the Xiaodan Acupuncture clinic, but some patients have experienced minor bleeding after the needles are removed, bruising may occur at the puncture site, and some even experience dizziness. 

However, these risks are far from commonplace.  In fact, most patients have minimal if any discomfort at all.  The greatest risk, as with any medical procedure that enters the human body, is infection.  The risks of unsterilized needles in acupuncture are the same as in any medical facility, or anywhere the skin tissue is penetrated.  More minor risks are simple infections at the site of penetration; however, more dangerous threats include hepatitis and HIV transmission. 

Because of the risk of such pathogens, the United States mandates that ALL acupuncture needles are sterilized following a strict guideline.  Additionally, most are of the single-use variety found in hypodermic needles at any western medical facility.  It’s always wise, though, to watch the acupuncturist remove the needles from the sterilized packaging before allowing them to be used on your body.

Where can I go in Milwaukee?
 
The Xiaodan Acupuncture clinic is located at 10625 W. North Avenue; however, there are other places should that clinic still be too far away.  Consequently, you may need to consult your handy hard bound version of the Milwaukee yellow pages, or an online version, for a professional acupuncture clinic nearer you and start living a healthier pain free life.

For years in China, medical techniques have evolved from local care givers that until recently the western world knew nothing about.  Teas and other medicinal drinks as well as manipulation of the body using acupuncture were all hiding from most of the west.  The ability of western doctors to heal with surgery and drugs made the Chinese methods seem like folklore.  It was if the Chinese methods would never work.  Through time, the west has learned that much of the so called folklore really does work.  It’s safer and less harmful to the body.  One of the most accepted practices now used is acupuncture.  What is acupuncture?  Acupuncture in its most simple form is to promote health and alleviate pain and suffering.  In the same way that a traditional doctor can look at a person’s blood pressure, acupuncture looks for energy channels call meridians that work together for better health. 

 Acupuncture is what is used to unblock energy pathways in the body.  In more recent times, other acupuncture techniques are used more than the needles people associate with acupuncture.  Those are still used but they also use lasers and magnets and even pressure along the same points.  Acupuncture is what many athletes use in conjunction with traditional medicine to ward of the pain that comes from being an athlete at the top levels of human abilities.  If it didn’t work, people wouldn’t continue to use it.

Acupuncture Is What Oriental Medicine Uses   

Many people who have never tried acupuncture wonder if it hurts.  Most have no idea what the needle even looks like.  The needle used in acupuncture is actually smaller than a hypodermic needle used for diabetes.  It is solid and not hollow like other needles.  Most people who have had acupuncture say that there isn’t any pain.  A person might feel some pressure or even some tingling but the pain isn’t present.  Some other people say that they feel tingling in other parts of the body and not at the site of acupuncture.  Acupuncture is what oriental medicine uses and it might be explained like what a chiropractor does with manipulation except with energy.

While there are still many doctors who look at acupuncture as a childish endeavor, the art of acupuncture continues to show promise everyday as it is being tested concurrently with western medicine.  With the twenty first century comes other methods of using acupuncture and it continues to look promising.  For more information look on a website for acupuncture or look in the local phone book for an acupuncture clinic close to home.

Sticking needles in your body to treat acne?  Isn’t that overkill? 

Surprisingly, no.  Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years in China and the East, and one of the benefits is that the skin tends to clear up.  Some with painful cystic acne that can leave scars find long lasting help treating acne with acupuncture.  Your pimples or cysts aren’t usually punctured by the special, slender acupuncture needles.  You usually get treatment on your ear.

It Is For Real

At one time, Western medical circles were very skeptical of the Chinese practice of acupuncture (inserting needles into special places on the body called acupuncture pionts).  But after decades of study, it is starting to be embraced (albeit carefully) by conventional as well as alternative healers around the world.  Although it looks very painful, a trained acupuncturist knows where to insert the needles painlessly.  Acupuncture works for animals, even the notoriously skittish Thoroughbred racehorse, often making the animal go into a deep state of relaxation.

Like a lightning rod attracts and directs the immense power of lightning, so an acupuncture needle attracts and re-directs the energy currents of the body.  An acupuncture treatment can zone in on one specific area of complaint, but often you are asked about your entire medical history so your whole body can be worked.  Acupuncture is called a holistic form of treatment, since your entire body, emotions and stress levels are also seen as having powerful effects on your health.  Treating acne with acupuncture is not as far-fetched as it might first sound.

The Finer Details

It is thought that hormone imbalance can cause the body secrete more oils than it really should.  Treating acne with acupuncture can help regulate your body’s hormone output, and thus make your skin clearer.  Treating acne with acupuncture isn’t a magic cure-all, though.  You still have to eat a balanced diet, wash yourself consistently and avoid heavy makeup or products that might irritate your skin. 

Sometimes treating acne with acupuncture can be covered by some health insurance, but often it isn’t.  Keep the costs in mind, as well as your doctor or dermatologist’s advice, when considering treating your acne with acupuncture.  Even acupuncturists say that the best way to combat acne is by preventative means.  Your doctor or dermatologist might even know of an acupuncturist to recommend to you.  You may have to go for as many as twenty or thirty treatments.  Acupuncture can also help with other skin diseases like psoriasis, dermatitis and warts.

People often find in alternative medicinal practices a better means to get relief from their troubling ailments because by using the resources given to us by Mother Nature we are able to cure our ills as well as diseases and it does not even require using toxic drugs, which are often accompanied by serious side effects. This is a viable alternative even to the huge healthcare industry valued at about 1.3 trillion dollars, which constitutes about a seventh of the U.S. economy.

Using These Tools Acupuncturists Can Treat Many Ailments

Among the viable alternative health treatments available today is acupuncture, which made use of tools in ancient Chinese acupuncture such as herbs, exercise as well as nutrition, needles and massage to provide relief and the tradition has been passed down for over a thousand years. Using these tools in ancient Chinese acupuncture, traditional Chinese doctors as well as present day practitioners are able to identify as well as prescribe suitable therapeutic responses for a whole lot of human ailments.

These tools in ancient Chinese acupuncture have been handed down over three thousand years and patients find their bodies responding instantaneously to the various methods employed. When nutrition, which is an important tool in ancient Chinese acupuncture, is given, the patient will immediately notice an increased feeling of well-being as well as feel more vital. And, when this nutrition is used along with nutritional supplements as well as when herbs are also added, the body will start to reverse the process of the disease and thus the patient will feel a lot better.

If the tools in ancient Chinese medicine is also accompanied by surveillance as well as correction, the patient will notice that a remission in their symptoms as well as gets alleviation from the same symptoms. The body begins the process of healing itself and there is a noticeable reversal of symptoms, with the body quickly responding to the acupuncture treatment.

It is thus necessary for the patients to become proactive about their bodies and to use all the available tools in ancient Chinese acupuncture so that the herbs of nature and more will help them find relief as well as have them healed and regain harmony with themselves.

There has been a noticeable change in the tools in ancient Chinese medicine that are being used today as compared with the ancient varieties. With fish bones being used came a change that was a departure from bamboos used until then. Later still, the use of metals came about and the needles were made from copper, silver, and brass as well as, in some cases, gold. The use of metals gave the acupuncturist more precision as well as thinner needles and can safely be assumed as being the beginning of needle insertion techniques that continued until the present times.

With success achieved by using needles as tools in ancient Chinese acupuncture, came many theories as well as philosophies expounding the value of acupuncture that remain with us till today.

Spinal stenosis, much like any other spinal problem is a condition that needs to be taken seriously. Spinal stenosis is a condition in which there is a narrowing of the spaces that fall between the vertebras and where the spinal cord passes. This disorder may befall a person at birth or it may come about because of too much strain on the back or because of a traumatic injury. In fact, spinal stenosis and acupuncture are good for each other, and with acupuncture, a patient will report having got considerable relief from the symptoms.

Manage The Level Of Pain And Discomfort

Spinal stenosis is very painful, and whatever treatment is recommended must help in managing the pain as well as level of discomfort. Most experts will agree that besides relieving the symptoms, there is not much else that can be done for the condition. Other than invasive surgery, spinal stenosis and acupuncture is a practical method of treating the condition.

In fact, spinal stenosis and acupuncture is a completely natural match because it has been found that acupuncture treatment helps considerably in providing relief from the pain in the lower back. Because spinal stenosis and acupuncture fit one another so well and also because of the high rate of success in dealing with the pain, combined with the low success rate when using Western Medicine, acupuncture is more than a mere alternative – but a very real and effective means of dealing with the problem of spinal stenosis. Even though it has yet to be ascertained just why acupuncture is so successful in treating spinal stenosis, many health professionals recommend spinal stenosis be treated by acupuncture.

Spinal stenosis that is treated by acupuncture is best understood by the traditional Chinese Medicine giver who can understand the underlying principles from a Chinese point of view, which may be quite different from the Western perspective, who often concentrates simply on the release of chemicals in the body that results from acupuncture treatment.

Though there is no doubting the benefits of using acupuncture for spinal stenosis, one should still make sure that a qualified acupuncture specialist administers it, because if left to an untrained person, the needles may actually be inserted in the wrong places thus putting the patient in danger. In fact, you will need a skilled acupuncturist to study your symptoms as well as make a diagnosis much in the same way as any medical doctor would for any other condition.

Self acupuncture!  How on earth is it possible for any everyday Joe to walk into a natural medicine store and ask for something as potentially risky as a self acupuncture kit?  Is this the next wave of New Age medicine to hit the mainstream?  Alongside books on beginning Aromatherapy at the local Barnes and Noble, are we now to find books on acupuncture at home?

History of Self Acupuncture:

Looking to find a way to help patients who require frequent acupuncture sessions but need to save money, Dr. Zu De Ye developed the concept of self acupuncture while performing research at the University of Arizona.  Since then, self acupuncture has become a staple at many traditional Chinese medical clinics across the United States.

How Self Acupuncture Works:

Following in 3000 years of Chinese medical tradition, self acupuncture uses the same concepts of Qi (chi) and meridians to provide relief from a variety of ailments.  The difference is that now patients can treat themselves between visits to their professional practitioner, which effectively cuts down cost as well as provides interim pain relief.

Risks:

Pain relief at home!  Is it possible?  Isn’t it risky?  Because acupuncture is a low-risk medical practice, it is possible to perform it at home without too much concern.  Dr. Ye created needles that are sterile but small, which greatly reduces any potential risks.  In fact, one of the greatest risks is that nothing will happen, because the patient hasn’t correctly used the needle.

Fractal Theory:

In the same tradition as Korean Hand Acupuncture that operates under the concept that a small part of the body can correspond to the whole, the fractal theory, self acupuncture functions by stimulating precise areas that signify organ systems.  In other words, a patient can pinpoint certain trouble spots (e.g. kidneys) simply by placing small needles in very precise places on their bodies at home!

How Can I Perform Self Acupuncture?

Self Acupuncture isn’t as simple as running down to your local Barnes and Noble and picking up a copy of Acupuncture for Beginners:  it is currently only a part of many treatment regimens prescribed by professional acupuncturists.  Although someday it may be possible to go to a bookstore and pick up such a book, it is highly unlikely that such a venture will be as successful as seeking help from a trained professional and using self acupuncture as a part of that treatment.  This way, he can train you regarding your needs and the proper location for the needles.

Headache?  Menopause? Sinusitis? Tremors?  Muscle Aches? Age?  Are you wondering what all of these could possibly have in common?  Following in a tradition thousands of years old, Pittsburgh acupuncture centers are actively treating these and many other ailments all across the steel city.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is the practice of inserting sterilized needles into distinct areas of the body to direct or balance the flow of Qi (chi) in it.  Chi is the flow of energy through the body along meridians, which are connected at varying points by channels.  Pittsburgh acupuncture specialists, and many others, act open this clinically substantiated theory, which results in relief from chronic ailments like sinusitis, migraines, and even age-related issues.

Imagine for a moment that you have a lamp with a short in the wiring.  Sometimes it works perfectly and other times it flickers and goes out.  Many people would simply find the problem in the wire and repair it with a little electrical tape.  Now, imagine that a single piece of tape could cure the problem rather than simply be a temporary fix.  This is what practitioners like the Pittsburgh acupuncturists do for the human body.  By placing specialized needles in particular places on the body, bioelectric energy is redirected, and the person is healthier.

Ailments and Acupuncture:

Acupuncture has been a viable medical practice for more than 3000 years.  That is 3000 years of practitioners perfecting and reperfecting the science of pressure points and the art of aiding or curing patients.  Today, Pittsburgh acupuncturists and others skilled in this practice help countless people with the following complaints:

Arthritis
Bursitis
Cosmetic (face lift)
Constipation
Contusions
Depression
Detoxification
Headache
Menopause
Muscle Spasms
Sinusitis
Sprains
Tendonitis
Urinary Problems
These are only a few of the disorders that are known to be eased through practices similar to that offered by those like the Pittsburgh acupuncture specialists.  Sounds great, right?  Before making that appointment, though, be aware that there are some risks involved.  While only a few problems have been reported in the decades that acupuncture has been practiced in the United States, it is advised that patients seek out practitioners who use federally mandated procedures for needle sterilization. 

Pittsburgh Acupuncture Specialists:

For many, if not all, Pittsburgh acupuncturists sterilization is not enough.  They are so in tune with their patients needs and desires that they use only pre-sterilized packaged needles that go through a similar process as disposable syringes used for injections in your local hospital.  To talk to a practitioner about headaches or even age-related cosmetic issues, call, go by, or simply review the web page of your local Pittsburgh acupuncture practitioners to include Wholistic Acupuncture of Pittsburgh and Chinese Acupuncture & Herbs Center LLC.

Can I just go to an acupuncturist, give him my hand and walk away feeling healthier without having to undress or even lay on a table?  As of 1971, the answer to that question is yes.  Korean hand acupuncture offers the same healing potential as more traditional varieties without any special procedures or time consuming redressing.

The History of Korean Hand Acupuncture:

Following in a 3000 year history of traditional Chinese medicine, Dr. Tae-Woo Yoo developed Korean hand acupuncture as a means to treat the body by treating only the fingers and palm of a patient.  This style of acupuncture has been the subject of extensive research, in China, since then. 

Later, in 1987, Dr. Yoo brought it with him to the United States where American practitioners and members of the medical community entered the research.  As a result, Korean hand acupuncture has become a popular and less time consuming means for patients to receive the health benefits of acupuncture.

Korean Hand Acupuncture:

Like ear acupuncture and self acupuncture, Korean hand acupuncture evolved around fractal theory.  This theory has evolved to include the concept that the human body is made up of fractions that represent the whole (e.g. the ear represents the human body in a fetal position).  In this style of acupuncture, the entirety of the human body is represented by a patient’s hand.   The following are some examples of this:

Liver is represented by the thumb
Heart is represented by the index finger
Spleen is represented by the middle finger
Lung is represented by the ring finger
Kidney is represented by the little finger1

Depending upon the ailment, the Korean hand acupuncturist can focus on one or more fingers while concurrently treating the patient with heat, cold, metal, fire or water depending upon the needs in question.  For other disorders, the palm of the patients hand may be the site of an acupuncture therapy session.

Risk Factors:

Similar to most forms of acupuncture, Korean hand acupuncture is virtually risk free.  Providing the acupuncturist is following federally mandated guidelines and using sterile and/or pre-packaged needles, there really is not much worry with this style of therapy.  Korean hand acupuncture needles are very small; in fact, they should not exceed a quarter of an inch in length.  But, a hand is not very wide, right?  Absolutely!  However, it must be noted that these needles only penetrate the skin far enough to regulate the flow of qi (chi) in the body.  Therefore, a single needle only needs to penetrate one millimeter.

Minimal pain, twenty minute visits, and no drugs or injections are all extremely good reasons to visit a Korean hand acupuncturist as a means toward living a healthier life.  Since 1987, Korean hand acupuncture clinics and practitioners have begun working across the United States.  Often, practitioners provide more than one style for a patient, which means that therapy need not be limited to a single form or even one that requires redressing and time-consuming appointments.