Doctor’s Notes? Seriously?

I was online the other day looking at some health related articles when I ran into a website that was offering doctors notes that you could download and print.

This is the first time I’ve ever come across this phenomenon. It was really strange to me to see this.

First of all, who uses these things? And why?

Well, students and workers are primarily the target audience for these doctors excuses that you can download, edit and print. Students and workers who want a “day off” from school or work either for illness or for other reasons.

Now they would want to use them because they would provide “cover” for missing the day. It would make the school or the worker’s boss think that the worker or student had a viable illness that would warrant them missing school.

Now, how does this work?

Basically, a person visits the website, makes a payment, and then is directed to a page where they can download the notes, edit them, and then print them out.

It’s a very tight process and it’s not difficult at all to perform.

However, it would be up to you as to whether or not you think this is something you would want to do.

No, Sorry, Drinking Water Won’t Help You Lose Weight

Many, many, MANY people I talk to about weight loss always include the fact that they like to drink a lot of water.

Which is good, because you want to drink a lot of water.

But unfortunately not for the reasons they believe.

Water is definitely good for you. And you should drink it instead of just about anything else.

However, using water as a weight loss tool doesn’t work.

Several new studies have revealed that drinking water before meals or drinking lots of water to damper appetite don’t work.

One study published in Physiology & Behavior found that people who drank a lot of water before a meal did not, in fact, have their appetites dampened. They still ate as much as the people who did not drink water.

Another study in Appetite found that there was no difference int he amount of calories people consumed with or without water. So people who had water intake one day consumed the same amount of calories as people who had no water intake.

Now, you may not be a person who thinks that drinking water helps weight loss. However, 64% of people on a diet believe that it does. So the odds are that you are a person who believes it.

Nothing wrong with that. It’s not your fault. Visit just about any “health” and “weight loss” blog, and you’ll find articles that recommend all kinds of tricks using water to lose weight.

It’s such an easy thing to believe. But really, how often have you had a glass of water or two before a meal and felt full enough to not partake in the regular amount of food you usually eat?

I know that I’ve tried it before and it didn’t work for me at all.

Now we know why… it doesn’t work.

Whitening Teeth With Charcoal? Excuse Me? What???

When someone first told me that I could whiten my teeth with charcoal, my first reaction was… “WTF?”

Immediately my mind wandered back to my father cooking steaks on our backyard grill. I began to have visions of myself taking one of the charcoal briquettes from the big paper bag and rubbing it on my teeth.

Yikes!

But after doing some research, I discovered that activated charcoal is actually very effective in whitening teeth (and it’s NOT the same stuff your dad used to cook hamburgers with).

Some toothpaste you find at your local health food store already has activated charcoal in it. So this is by no means a new revelation.

It was to me, however.

So I began looking for the best option when it comes to whitening with charcoal.

I discovered that you can use straight charcoal powder instead of using a charcoal toothpaste from your local health food store.

Once I began using it, I noticed my teeth were much whiter. Much whiter than they had been when I used a name brand teeth whitener.

How It Works – And Is It Safe?

Yes, it is safe.

According to Wellness Mama:

Activated charcoal is a highly absorbent substance. It removes toxins when they adhere to the surface of the charcoal. It is not absorbed by the body, but passes through the GI system, so chemicals and toxins bind to it, which then pass through the body and are expelled by the digestive system.
In the 1800s, two men took lethal doses of poisons (including arsenic) and survived without harm… their secret: they mixed the poisons with activated charcoal powder. (Stating the obvious: do not try to repeat these experiments!)

Activated charcoal is extremely effective at binding to toxins from household chemicals, ingested medicines, and other chemicals from the body, especially when taken within 30 minutes of ingestion. For this reason, it is a great first treatment for any kind of poisoning, but should not be taken within several hours of medications (or even vitamins) that DO need to be absorbed.

Using It

When you use the charcoal it’s going to make your mouth look like something from The Walking Dead.

However, don’t panic. It washes right out.

All you have to do is use a designated charcoal brush to apply the charcoal to your teeth.
Then lightly brush for a few minutes.
Then let the charcoal sit in your mouth for a few minutes more.
Rinse and spit and make sure your mouth is clear of any charcoal.
Use an additional toothbrush to brush any remaining charcoal.
Rinse and spit again.
Clean up the sink and make sure there isn’t any charcoal remaining in the sink (it can stain your sink).

That’s it. Before you know it you’ll be sportin’ some pearly whites!