6 Healthy Foods For Every Woman

Certainly there is no shortage of advice on nutrition and healthy eating but with all the media hype surrounding many “health foods,” it can be hard for a woman to tell the nutrients from advertising ploys. Women are sometimes led to believe that a specific food is healthier than it really is or that they need some exotic or expensive form of certain nutrients to gain benefits.

From the advertising that says a product has “no cholesterol” it’s still can be loaded with bad fats or tons of calories. You have to read the whole label, look at all the ingredients and the portion sizes, before you know for sure just how healthy a food is. To help the women to have a healthy lifestyle, here are the six hearty foods they say for every woman needs.

Super Food # 1: Low-fat yogurt



Goal: 3 to 5 servings a week



What it does: Yogurt is good health itself and it continues to accumulate its benefits in many new and exciting ways. And not just yogurt, any fermented dairy product, including kefir, contains healthy “probiotics” – bacteria with the power to protect you in myriad ways.



Yogurt may decrease the risk of breast cancer and it can reduce problems associated with irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory digestive tract disorders, both conditions that impact women more than men. In addition to that, it can also help reduce the risk of stomach ulcers and vaginal infections.



A cup of yogurt is loaded with bone-healthy calcium, something every woman needs more of at every age. One cup of yogurt has about 448 mg of calcium, compared to just 300 for eight ounces of skim milk. Choose a low fat yogurt with live cultures, like Lactobacillus acidophilus and skip the fruit-on-the-bottom or other flavored varieties.



Super Food # 2: Fatty fish – like salmon, sardines, and mackerel



Goal: 2 to 3 servings every week



What it does: The fish has a healthy factor called omega-3 fatty acids, and specifically two types known as DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).



A fatty fish not only plays a vital role in the health of the membrane of every cell in our body, it also helps protect us from a number of key health threats. Some of those threats include heart disease, stroke, hypertension, depression, joint pain, and a number of illnesses linked to inflammation, including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis and may even offer some protection against Alzheimer’s disease.



Walnuts and flaxseed oil has an omega-3 acid known as ALA – alpha-linoleic acid, that it is certainly good for women but requires a process in the body to convert it to DHA. And that conversion process can be influenced by a variety of individual factors.



The good news is there as new products supplemented with DHA such as ready-to-drink milk product and egg fortified with DHA, a certain brands of soymilk, and making a way to the market is a cereal fortified with DHA.



Super Food # 3: Beans



Goal: 3 to 4 servings every week



What it does: Beans are a good source of protein and fiber. They are among one of the healthiest things a woman can eat.



Beans and lentils in particular, have protective effects against breast cancer. Doctors also found a relationship between a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and a higher intake of legumes. It can help lower cholesterol, while their level of a nutrient known as isoflavone can help in the regulation of hormones and may aid with PMS, perimenopause, or menopause symptoms. Lastly, it does does give a steady supply of folic acid essential to women’s pregnancy.



Super Food # 4: Tomatoes (or watermelon, red grapefruit, red navel oranges)



Goal: 3 to 5 servings each week



What it does: The powerhouse nutrient in all these fruits is lycopene. While it said to have a protective effects against prostate cancer, it has shown also it has tremendous health benefits for women as well.



Research is starting to show that lycopene may protect against breast cancer and it’s also a powerful antioxidant that can help a woman fight heart disease. It may also help keep you looking younger longer by protecting against UV damage from the sun.



Super Food # 5: Vitamin D fortified low fat milk or orange juice



Goal: At least 400 IUs of vitamin D daily



What it does: Experts say fortified foods, such as milk, are the best source of Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps reduce the risk of osteoporosis and may be vital in reducing the risk of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and tumors of the breast, colon, and ovary. It has the potential to prevent up to one–half of all breast, colon, and ovarian cancer.



A combination of staying out of the sun (which the body uses to manufacture vitamin D) and using sunscreen, which blocks the synthesis of vitamin D, has resulted in many women hitting a dangerously low level of Vitamin D.



Super Food # 6: Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, cranberries)



Goal: 3 to 4 servings every week



What It Does: Berries may protect your body with powerful anti-cancer nutrients known as anthocyans, which are believed to play a role in cell repair. This anthocyans may decrease the risk of several cancers, including those in the breast and gastrointestinal tract.



Berries are also high in vitamin C and folic acid, which is essential for all women in their childbearing years. And they offer powerful anti-oxidant protection, which not only protects the heart but also may protect against skin aging, from the inside out. Cranberries may help reduce the risk of urinary tract infections in women, while the nutrient, lutein found in all the berries, can help protect vision.

Getting Your Kids Involved In Grocery Shopping

Filed under: Children, Expert Tips & Advice, Nutrition, Parenting

I know most parents might think that this is the most ridiculous thing judging from just how tough it can be but don’t give in just yet.

You probably want your kids to make the best food choices and maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout their life right? Grocery shopping is a great way to ensure this since their supermarket skills are nurtured and these replicate to wiser choices in the future, nutritionally speaking.

Don’t be discouraged by the boredom or worse the whining since that comes with the territory. Just make sure that the kids are involved right before you make that trip to the store.

Plan it.

Set up a game plan, call it a grocery plan even and get the kids in it right from the word go. Start by discussing with them the best choices in terms of healthy snacks and meals, then for fun, ask them to hypothetically enlist the things that you will require.

Allow them some excitement by allowing them to choose a few items for school lunches and snacks. Have them keep an open eye for flyers for sales or alternative healthy foods to buy.

Grocery games: tag, this is it!

Consider how old your kids are and fill their plates with as much as their age permits them. Divide the grocery list and let your kids find some of the items. If they do, have them cross off as your cart fills up. For their sake, stick to the list as much as possible. It’s an effective way of sticking to the budget and teaching them discipline by being a fine example.

Incorporate some maths in all the excitement by letting your kids keep track of the price list by using a calculator to know how close they are to the final cost.

That is not all of it.

• Ask them to, for instance, place oranges that weigh close to two pounds in a bag.


• Probability: ask them to guess how much apples weight (choose a number like 5), then weigh to establish how close they were.


• For more mature kids, have them work out the prices hypothetically and guess the total price. Compare this to the real thing.



• Become shopping detectives. Have them spy out certain items like a pineapple canned with its own juicy goodness or whole grain bread costing less than 3 dollars or better yet a cereal: 4 grams fiber and 7 grams of sugar per serving.


• Scout: try finding a new fruit like a papaya or dried cherries.


• Compare prices. Tell them to consider national brands to store ones and decide the one that is a money saver.


• Have them decide, between a large and smaller packing, which one offers a better value for your money.

Take one step each time.

Do not over do the whole thing. One hour or less is just about enough. No need to tire the kids with too much since this is supposed to be a fun activity, not one that becomes dreaded over time. Remember there is only so much they can do so taking it a step at a time is the best approach.

Nature At Its Worst – 10 Worst Things In Nature

Filed under: Health List

Diversity in nature is so amazing there are more than 10 million different species that inhabit the earth and only about 20 percent of these have been discovered.  Biodiversity is the foundation of all our needs, from food, shelter, clothing, to medicine.  The potentials found in nature’s diversity are great, but so are the awful things that can be found in it.  Here are 10 of the worst things that have emerged from the awesome diversity in nature.

Deadliest Toxin: Botulinum

Botulinum toxin is the deadliest protein known to man and is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botulinum is a neurotoxin that is so deadly it can kill the entire human population with only as little as two pounds of the stuff and is one of the most dangerous potential biological weapons.  The bacteria lives in low-oxygen environments and can contaminate food or open wounds or can be ingested as spores.  Food poisoning can result from as little 1 microgram, which is enough to kill a human.  It causes paralysis and death occurs due to the inability to breathe.  However, this substance is used in very safe quantities in Botox beauty treatments.

Most Vicious Animal: The Honey Badger

The Guinness Book of World Records has named the honey badger “most fearless creature.”  It may look deceptively cute but it attacks almost anything and is a very smart animal, knowing its opponents’ weak spots.  A honey badger knows to attack a male human’s testicles, for example.  Honey badgers have been known to kill crocodiles and snakes; it can eat a five-foot snake in only 15 minutes.  They are so ferocious that not even a leopard or a lion will attempt to kill one.  Honey badgers are also known to use tools, like using logs as ladders.  As the name implies, these animals love honey so much that they would not hesitate to dive into a beehive regardless of whether or not it’s safe.  Honey badgers are found in Africa and Western and Southern Asia.

Worst Insect: The Mosquito

Nothing else can beat the mosquito as the peskiest insect in the world.  Being feasted on by female mosquitoes day in and day out come summertime is not a small nuisance.  On top of their nasty blood-sucking habits, their constant buzzing is just as irritable.  Humans have awoken to mosquito bites on almost every inch of skin that these parasites can get to for as long as both have co-existed on earth.  The red, itchy bites are not the least of our worries, though.  Mosquitoes are also known to be the deadliest insects in the world.  They spread malaria through their bites and it is believed that half of the deaths of the human population throughout all of known history was from this disease.

Worst Symptomatic Disease: Fatal Familial Insomnia

Fatal familial insomnia is an inherited disease that was discovered only recently and is so rare that it has only been found in only 28 families around the world.  As the name suggests, it is a terrible and fatal disease that prevents you from sleeping and leads eventually to death.  There is no known cure and once the disease has begun, the person has between 7 to 36 months of sleeplessness until he finally dies.  The stages of fatal familial insomnia are as follows:

1. Insomnia sets in and increases over time, which results in panic attacks, paranoia, and phobias, lasting for about four months.


2. During the next five month, hallucinations and panic attacks worsen.


3. Three months of continuous sleeplessness result in rapid loss of weight.



4. Dementia soon follows.  For about the final six months, the person becomes unresponsive and mute and eventually dies.

Most Painful Bite: The Bullet Ant

The pain from a bullet ant bite is claimed to be the same as the pain from being shot by a bullet, hence the name.  The pain is so acute and is described as a burning, throbbing, and all-consuming sensation that lasts for as long as 24 hours.  Like all other ant species, the bullet ants live in colonies, usually at the base of trees.  In Brazil, the Satere-Mawere tribe uses these ants to initiate boys into manhood.  Hundreds of bullet ants are attached to a glove, which is then worn by a boy who must endure their stings for 10 minutes.  This ritual is repeated several times.  The poison from the stings may paralyze the boy’s arm temporarily and may cause him to shake uncontrollably from the pain for days.  Bullet ants are found in Nicaragua and Paraguay.

Most Intrusive Weed: Salvinia Molesta

Salvinia molesta is an aquatic fern which originated from Brazil.  It is also known as kariba weed and its growth on water doubles in size every few days.  Because of its frantic rate of growth, it is common to find lakes completely covered by a 24-inch high carpet of this weed.  Due to lack of sunlight, animal and plant life in the water cease to exist.  It is almost impossible to kill the plant; a tiny piece is enough to start water infestation.  The salvinia molesta reproduces like a spore; when broken into tiny pieces, each piece starts a new growth.

Smelliest Plant: The Corpse Flower

The corpse flower got its name from its distinct, awful smell: like that of a rotting corpse.

The plant grows a single, enormous flower, which reaches over 10 feet in diameter.

The corpse flower mimics the look of rotting meat to attract carrion eating insects.

The stink is spread as a result of its temperature, which is close to that of the human body’s.

It originated from the grasslands of Sumatra, but many display gardens around the world have made it a part of their collection.

Worst Spider: Brazilian Wandering Spider

The Brazilian Wandering Spider is enormous in size and has one of the most painful and the deadliest bites among all the spiders.  An interesting side effect of a bite from this spider is an erection that lasts for hours.  Studies are being conducted to determine its medical potential use for erectile dysfunction.

Nastiest Fish: The Candiru

The Candiru is a sliver-like parasitic catfish that is more feared in the waters of the Amazon river than the piranhas.  The Candiru feeds on blood and enters the host through even the smallest orifices of the body, most often through the gills, and latches on using the razor sharp spines on its head.  It finds its host by sniffing the water and is attracted to the smell of human urine.  The Candiru can swim up into the penis or the vagina of humans who often wade, and urinate, in the waters of the Amazon.  Once the fish has implanted itself, it causes great pain as it drinks blood and can only be removed by cutting it out.  This parasitic fish can grow up to a length of six inches.

Most Damaging to its Environment: Man

One does not have to be an environmental activist or a “tree-hugger” to recognize man’s destructive nature against nature and, ultimately, himself.  Aside from natural disasters, only the human species is capable of causing mass destructive damage that spans continents and extends across all species on earth.  We pollute the waters, the air, and the land.  We can flatten mountains and tear down forests.  We have caused the extinction and are still endangering the existence of thousands of species on earth, both discovered and undiscovered.  The theory of natural selection espouses the phrase, “survival of the fittest.”  Such is the cycle of life, but we must not forget that co-existence with other species is just as important to survival.

Make The Lice Go Bye

Filed under: Children, Expert Tips & Advice, Parenting

LiceLice. A disgusting topic to talk about but one we have to highlight nonetheless. It is like being behind the wheel; you have no control of all the other people around you, but you can stop yourself from running them over.

Lice, you should know are not picky. Whether you take five showers a day or five showers a month, they will easily pitch tent on your head given half a chance. As long as you have blood running through you then you qualify. They are so dependent on human blood; so dependent that they cannot go a day without it (talk about being thirsty). They easily change heads from one person to another.

First thing you should NOT do when your only child comes home from school with a head that is well inhabited by these blood suckers is to panic. It does not help at all. Throwing everything she touches in the waste bag and declaring quarantine is not fixing the problem. Calm down, allow yourself to relax and follow these three simple guidelines.

One thing you should not do is to go to your pharmacist to get something over the counter. Truth is it doesn’t work and it could have very serious implications and health effects that you do not want. Do not even think of trying to pick them out one by one. You wouldn’t get even half of them and the time that it takes, it’s just ridiculous. Good news is that you do not need six years of medical school to fix the problem. Try getting a conditioner and coating everyone’s hair. Leave it on for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight) since this is the long it takes to kill them. People go for different alternatives like Vaseline and mayo. These are hard to remove and as far as mayonnaise is concerned, it is disastrous since 8 hours out of the fridge means that it becomes toxic and if this leaks into your blood stream through the head, the results are not pretty. Enough said.

Do the laundry, from their bedding to their clothes. It is best to use the hottest setting for this since there is no taking any chance of leaving these things alive. To be even more sure, dry each laundry load twice. After all there is nothing to loose and that much more to gain.

The morning after, the breadwinner gets to be first in the cleaning process, them being the head provider and all. After they are well showered, with most of the conditioner out it is time to get picking. Have them sit on a comfortable chair. Get the best lighting in the house because you will definitely need it. You are on the advantage if you have a magnifying glass somewhere since it will improve your accuracy. At this point in time, the head will seem much bigger in surface area than it usually looks but don’t be deterred by this. A little patience is all that is required.

Get a lice comb and section the hair into portions and tie them all separate with rubber bands. Taking attention on one part, remove all the eggs with no mercy at all and once you’re dead sure that you have gotten rid of them, tie back that part and move to the next. It helps if you start from the back making your way to the front consecutively. Picking is the worst of it especially for the kids since they make the job so much harder for you. To reduce this, let them watch a favorite movie to lessen their movement. Try as much as possible not to be irritated because chances are you will be tempted to be on several occasions.

If you complete this process up to this far and you are still in one piece then you can afford a smile since you have just completed the thick of it. The rest of it is not as demanding.

The only other sacrifice you have to make is to repeat the whole picking procedure for another eight days running, making sure you do not miss out on one because that is simply bad news. The cycle is just as east to start all over again and you don’t want that. Redo the conditioner thing on the seventh day for extra caution.

To stop the lice armies from ever invading again, add a little peppermint oil to the family shampoo. They really don’t like that and they will not even consider setting tent on your family again. Besides peppermint is good for your head so it’s a big plus. Neem seed oil does the same, maybe even better but there’s a catch. It does not smell so good. Beside that, it is actually quite good. It not only prevents them from living on your head, it also obliterates them.

Making Your Breath Fresher Than a Sea Breeze

Filed under: Conditions & Diseases, Expert Tips & Advice, Oral Health

Bad BreathWhen it comes to bad breath, most of us have a story to tell. You ever had an acquaintance whose breath could make you eye twitch. You hold your breath for so long to avoid inhaling the unpleasant smell emanating from their mouths since looking away would be rude. If that is you or a close friend then these guides may make their breath as fresh as can be.

Water is your friend.

With age comes dehydration. You don’t have to be thirsty to have a reason for taking in some water; your body needs it for a lot of mechanisms and keeping you going. An understated effect of water is that it helps reduce the number of bacteria in your mouth. It does this by washing them away and keeping them far from the mouth where they create the not so pleasing smells. Bacteria are one of the causes of bad breath and keeping them at a minimum is a sure way of guaranteeing a fresher breath.

Carbohydrates are not totally a bad idea.

Going the low-carb way is a good approach in getting a healthy lifestyle, but do not overdo it. Avoid having a ketone breath by taking a slice of bread and a few more carbs in your diet and you will be good to go (or talk.)

A regular vacuum.

If you are brushing your teeth to get that lovely breath then you are only doing half the job. You see the tongue is made of millions of filaments where food particles that can easily lodge within. That’s why you need to brush your tongue using your toothbrush or your tongue cleaner. This will guarantee lesser bacteria.

Getting a mouthwash is also a good approach. Everyone knows how important it is before that date, but in reality it addresses the surface problem of unpleasant breath instead of fixing the whole food particle and bacteria thing.

Your teeth need to be constantly cleaned and flossed especially to reduce any chances of getting that undesired odor. (Try and smell your floss after your done and you will get the idea of what causes the bad breath.)

If you have braces, mouth guards or any other kind of oral device, make sure that they are cleaned to near perfection before sliding them back into your mouth.

Water picks are good.

If you are making the assumption that brushing long and hard is going to get rid of the entire odor then sorry to burst your bubble. It is practically impossible to reach all the crevices in your mouth. Instead go for water picks that will reach all the spaces missed by your toothbrush and ultimately give you a fresher breath.

Chew like you will never chew again.

Facts reveal that the more saliva there is lingering in your mouth then the lesser the occurrence of the mouth odors. That explains why people have morning breaths: simply because saliva production is in low gear during the night. This allows bacteria and the odors to linger around.

Sometimes it is hard to avoid a dry mouth, especially if you are sick or under medication. That is the point where sugarless gum comes in: sugarless since you don’t want to ruin your teeth with the sugary stuff.

Chewing increases the production of saliva which ultimately washes away the food particles. The antiseptic and enzymatic characteristics of the saliva make it effective in reducing the bacteria. Chew a gum that has Xylitol. This replaces sugar (its sweet) and minimizes the replication process of the bacteria in the mouth.

Go for cinnamon.

Cinnamon, according to studies, show that it is an odor-fighter. It in effect reduces the number of bacteria in your mouth. It does more than merely cover up the stink. Limit it to sugarless since sugar is a no-no for your teeth.

A regular visit to the dentist wouldn’t hurt.

Sure, most of the bad breath cases revolve improper dental hygiene but in some cases it goes much further than that. If the bad, unpleasant smell does not go away it is high time to make that appointment with the dentist.

A professional may help deal with a cavity, tooth decay or a gum disease that may be responsible for the odor. In rare cases, this odor can be a pointer to an underlying problem like kidney or liver failure. This is the situation when your dentist finds no problem at all. If that happens then see a doctor for further examinations.

Sometimes it is all in your head.

You thinking that your mouth reeks might be an opinion and not necessarily a fact. Confirm with your friend since it might not be the case at all. You might discover that you don’t have halitosis (no matter how convinced you are), if you got that second opinion.

HaliTonic is a unique combination of biochemic tissue salts and selected medicinal herbs which are effective in cleansing the system of all bacterial or putrefactive conditions. Regular use of HaliTonic can help to prevent bad breath by treating the underlying causes. It will also assist with other body odor problems such as foul smelling feet, stools, gassy bowels, underarm odor, etc.

Use HaliTonic along with a regular oral hygiene program and say goodbye to bad breath permanently!

Top 10 Bizarre and Strange Eating Habits

Health List

Sampling different cuisines or indulging in favorite dishes, people simply love to eat. For some, it may mean an all out vegetarian fare while some may prefer an occasional rare steak. Then there are some for whom food may mean completely different things, things that the majority of us will consider the last thing to be anything but food. For instance, gnawing and spitting sunflower seeds is what some resort to just to pass their time, while some may prefer glass for this. Then there are those for whom the taste of their own hair is more refreshing and soothing for their nerves than perhaps a piece of candy. For them, this is what signifies their way of life, though certainly not for the majority of the people. For instance the below mentioned eating habits.

Anorexia

Anorexia is all about starving oneself and is something that is often clubbed with some of the most unconventional eating habits, like drinking orange juice that is laced with cotton wool just to have a false sense of being full and satisfied. Nonetheless, anorexia is a serious eating disorder that is responsible for many death each year around the world.

Xylophagia

An eating disorder that is also referred to as pica, xylophagia is marked by an urge to consume wood or items derived from wood, like paper, pencils, tree bark and so on. It’s common for young children to exhibit xylophagy, though that should not always be thought of as a psychological issue. Instead, it can be associated with the standard oral fixation of infants.

Trichophagia

Trichophagia is a condition characterized by an insatiable urge to consume hair, with it being masticated and swallowed while it’s still attached to the head forming the most common scenario. The hair eventually gets collected in the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in symptoms like indigestion and stomach pain. A common method of treatment followed is to take in purgative so as to facilitate easy removal of the trichobezoar or hairball. Surgery for removal of hair accumulated in the gastrointestinal tract is also an option. There’s even the instance of a surgery that was performed on 24th November 2007 on an 18-year-old teen from Chicago to remove a hairball that had grown to a size of 4.5 kgs. The girl is reported to have been suffering from a psychological condition that prompted her to ingest her own hair.

Hyalophagia

Also considered as a form of pica, hyalophagia is characterized by a tendency to eat glass. Primarily a pathological disorder, hyalophagia can be extremely dangerous for humans as there’s always the chance of serious internal injury caused by the consumption of glass, like the stomach, the intestines or throat can be ripped open by glass as it passes through them.

Urophagia

Sufferers of this disease tend to consume urine, be it their own or someone else’s. Since urine of a healthy individual is sterile, urophagia is considered to be largely harmless, though a risk, howsoever small it may be, does exist if it is urine form a diseased individual or if there is bacterial infection present in the urethra. Some secondary effects like skin rashes can also not be ruled out in case of individuals who are sensitive to urine.

Geophagy

Geophagy refers to an urge to consume substances that is related to the earth, like clay or chalks, and is often believed to be a method to augment a diet that is deficient in minerals. Closely linked to pica that marks an appetite for non-food substances, geophagy is often associated with several health benefits, something that is yet to be established and is very much a topic of hot debate. While a section of scientists believe it to be only harmful, some believe such an eating habit may have adaptive benefits, particularly since humans and animals alike have been practicing such a thing for thousands of years. It can however be dangerous since like coprophagia, there are every chances of parasite eggs to be passed along with animal feces.

Anthropophagy

Though it often gets confused with anthropology, anthropophagy is something that’s completely different and is better known as cannibalism. It has been in practice by various groups among humans throughout history, usually as part of rituals linked to tribal warfare. This was popular in Europe and Amazon Basin with Fiji being once referred to as the Cannibal Isles. Some archeologists have interpreted the Chaco Canyon ruins of the Anasazi culture as evidence of ritual cannibalism.

Autosarcophagy

This refers to the practice of consuming oneself, something that is also described as self-cannibalism. It is believed to be a form of pica, which is a disorder characterized by an urge to consume things that otherwise should not be consumed. Some perform self-cannibalism as an extreme form of body modifications, like eating one’s own skin while some engage in consuming their own blood, a practice that is referred to as autovampirism. There has been an instance of a strange case of self-cannibalism registered on 13th January 2007 in which a Danish artist Marco Evaristti invited some of his most intimate friends to a dinner party where the main gastronomical attraction was agnolotti pasta. Topped on it was a meatball prepared by the artist’s own fat, the result of a liposuction operation performed earlier in the year. In yet another instance, Bernd Jürgen Armando wished to engage in self-cannibalism before offering himself for cannibalism to anyone who cared, as reflected in the infamous German trial of his murderer, Armin Meiwes, who had responded to the offer made on Usenet. What Bernd had to say was that he was a male who is obsessed with the thought of being on a dinner table in whichever way his owner would like to be, either broiled, fried or barbequed. He just wishes to be someone’s meal and would like his owner to enjoy his flesh, which is real and up for grab. The offer was made at Usenet on Mar 31 2002, 7:09 pm

Coprophagia

This is defined as the consumption of feces and is extremely rare for humans to exhibit such a behavior. It is generally believed to be the outcome of paraphilia known as coprophilia, though it gets diagnosed only in extreme cases where it has been found to be causing disruptions to one’s functioning. Consuming fecal matter of someone else carries with it the risk of contracting disease that generally gets spread through fecal matter. This includes diseases like Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, pneumonia, and influenza. Vaccines are often the preferred mode of treatment for those who engage in this practice.

Necrophagia

This refers to the act of human consuming flesh of a dead human. This may not be common but has been found to be habitual among those who practice it. There’s even a level above this, where the habit relates to consuming partly decomposed human flesh!

Following yesterday’s news that mobile carrier Orange are to begin selling the iPhone here in the UK, Vodafone have announced that they too are jumping on the Cupertino bandwagon, albeit not till early 2010.

And with O2’s two-plus year monopoly on Apple’s iconic device therefore well and truly broken, overpaid analysts and most of the tech press/blogosphere have been quick to predict a pending price war for the iPhone and associated tariffs this side of the pond. However, I’m still not convinced that this will be the case.

As I’ve already argued, the carriers need the iPhone more than Apple needs them, resulting in a classic case of divide and conquer. Orange and Vodafone could afford no more to sit by and watch their high end customers flock to O2 in order to get their hands on the so-called Jesus phone. Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has admitted as much, telling investors that not having the iPhone has hindered the ability for the carrier to remain competitive in the UK.

So instead of one carrier signing a pact with the devil, we now have three.

Remember Apple has already achieved what Nokia, the world’s largest handset maker, has been trying to do for years: completely own the customer relationship (think marketing, post-sale services and billing). Only, as The Register reports, Apple also appears to own the carrier relationship too.

Our understanding is that Apple not only reserves the right to get involved in pricing of handsets, but also expects “partner” operators to contribute generously to Apple-controlled advertising. This is on top of the ongoing revenue share to which operators around the world have signed up. Operators used to demand exclusivity before agreeing to such things, but such is the lure of the iPhone, that Apple can call the tune without having to offer the additional inducement of an exclusive deal.

Apple already offers the iPhone through multiple carriers in many countries, but the company is very careful to maintain control of the platform, regardless of the network from which their customers get their iPhones. Apple considers iPhone users to be Apple customers – network operators are just dumb pipes to Cupertino.

The end result of Apple ‘owning’ both customer and carrier relationships, says The Register, will be “near-identical offerings, differing only in the colours of the attached [carrier] logos”.

In other words, don’t expect an iPhone price war anytime soon.