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Could high heels affect your health?
High heels are dangerous to your health

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You like high heels.

When you are wearing high heels your legs are beautiful. You probably think high heels are the height of elegance. You should know that high heels can affect your health. Wearing high heels is your choice, but you should at least be aware of the problems related to high heals.

Women have four times as many foot problems as men. Wearing high heels is a major reason for this. Physical problems associated with high heels include foot pain, foot deformities, a change in back posture, knee osteoarthritis and balance impairment. Orthopedists think that high heels can contribute to the development of a variety of conditions like arthritis, chronic knee pain, sprained ankles and back problems.

High heels can also result in a variety of foot problems. High heels could be the cause of knee osteoarthritis, a painful, degenerative joint disease. The knee osteoarthritis is characterized by the breakdown of the cartilage surrounding the knee. You could have ankle sprains and breaks from rolling over on high-heeled shoes. If you wear high heels you probably had this kind of problem. You should also know that high heels are pumps with heels of more than two inches.
High heels and Osteoarthritis

Wide heels increase the risk of developing osteoarthritis in the knee as much as, or more than, spindly-heeled stilettos. High heels increase knee joint pressure, this is repetitive stress to the knee elevates the risk for osteoarthritis.

When you wear shoes with high heel it is long term effect to your knee, ankles and feet. The exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown. Risk factors for osteoarthritis include injuries, age, congenital predisposition and obesity. Walking on high heels puts abnormal stress on both the front and the back of the knee. The health of the cartilage that in the knee is dependent on the fluid in the knee. It absorbs the nutrients it needs from this liquid to repair itself. If you wear high heels stress on the knee restricts the absorption of the fluid, and the cartilage begins to dry out and shred.

High heels and foot problems

Feet are designed to provide you with balance and strength as you walk or run over many different types of terrain. High-heels could change the shape of your feet and may eventually prevent them from functioning properly. Foot problem related to high heels is metatarsalgia, which is pain in the ball of the foot.

If the joints of your feet don’t work properly because of the strain of wearing high heels, other areas of your body are forced to compensate and suffer extra wear and tear. The Morton's neuroma, which is 10 times more common in women than men, is caused by a thickening of tissue around a nerve between the third and fourth toes. The Morton's neuroma, could develop as response to irritation and excessive pressure such as the weight burden high heels place on the ball of the foot. Treatments of the Morton's neuroma include orthotics, cortisone injections and in some cases, surgery. If you wear very high heels, you should know that can cause the calf muscles and Achilles tendons to become permanently shortened.

You should know that other tendons and connective tissues can also become permanently disfigured. If you only wear high heels whole area could be reshaped for high heel wear only, even to the exact measurement of one pair of heels. If the skin on the bottom of your feet gets hard, you should treat it. It can become very painful. You should know that shin splints can happen when very high heels are worn. When the anterior tibial muscletears away from the bone can cause pain when the muscle is used. If your shin splints you should have gentle stretching exercises, such as swimming. Sometimes wearing shoe inserts to support the foot could help. You should consult your doctor about shoe inserts.

High heels and falls

High heels impaired balance in both the younger and older women when the brain received dissimilar information from the eyes and the senses in the legs. When older women wear high heels might be at greater risk for falls. Being overweight means extra stress for your feet, not to mention the joints of your legs and spine. If you overweight and you are wearing high heels that are extra stress for your feet, joints and ankles. Toppling over on very high heels can cause a broken ankle, wrist fractures and worse condition.

High heel and headaches

Wearing high heels on a regular basis can cause toe pain, mid foot pain, heel pain, ankle pain, knee pain, hip pain, lower back pain, mid back pain, upper back pain, and headaches. When you wearing high heels that cause unnecessary stress on your ankles, knees, pelvis, and potentially throughout your entire spine. The compensatory changes that result from wearing heels can cause the muscles behind your neck to be stiff, putting pressure on nerves that can result in chronic headaches.

High heels and deep vein thrombosis

Standing for long periods of time in high heels can cause deep vein thrombosis. You should know that standing even in low heels carries this risk. Deep vein thrombosis is condition in which blood clots form in deep veins, mainly in the legs.

Some good tips for you

You should never wear high heels all day long. When you are shopping shoes do it in the afternoon or evening. Feet because of accumulation are little bigger in the afternoon. Your shoes need to be comfortably for you. You should try shoes on both of your feet, because sometimes one foot may be larger than the other. Measure shoes while you are standing.

Making sure the shoe fits properly is essential. Flat shoes are not the ideal for foot and leg health. Low heels are best for you. The healthiest shoes for women are those with fairly wide heels that are no more than a half or three-quarters of an inch in height. You should know that pain and other foot problems are less likely to occur if high heels are worn as infrequently as possible and are replaced by sneakers or flats as much as possible. Wearing extremely high heels can damage the feet, especially if the toes are pointed, or the shoes are too tight. Damage can sometimes be so extreme that the sufferer can never wear any high heel ever again. Starting with lower heels and practicing for short lengths of time, gradually building up the height and time will help to prevent shin splints.

You should warm up the muscles before each wearing of high heels. The calf muscles should be stretched and exercised on a regular basis. Before putting heels you should run on the spot for a few minutes to warm up your muscles. After wearing your high heels for an extended period you should stand with your legs apart barefoot on the floor. Keeping your legs straight, bend at the hips and try to touch your toes. You should have warm-up and cool-down exercises every time you wear high heels. If you feel any pain in your ankles or feet while wearing your high heels, take them off immediately. Sometimes is best to not wear high heels at all.

www.pomega5.com

California teens still dominate the green skin care campaign

Makeup for teens getting a green makeover

Noelle Robbins

Many teenage girls get together on the weekends for sleepovers and movies, often spending hours applying the latest makeup and perfecting their look.

Last weekend, a group of girls got together in Ross to have a very different kind of conversation about cosmetics: how to make them safer.

It was the third annual National Summit put together by Teens for Safe Cosmetics, a group founded in 2005 after headline-grabbing statistics showed that Marin County residents had higher rates of breast cancer than the national average. What began as an offshoot of Search for the Cause, a cancer awareness group, has grown to about 1,000 members with chapters in the Bay Area and New York.

Since its formation, the group has produced award-winning videos and lobbied for the California Safe Cosmetics Act, which took effect in January 2007. It requires cosmetic companies that sell products in California to label ingredients that are on state or federal lists of chemicals that may cause reproductive harm or cancer. Last March, the group held a "Miss Treatment" beauty pageant in Santa Monica that called attention to the use of potentially harmful ingredients by one of the largest makers of nail polish.

"When I realized I couldn't even pronounce the ingredients in these (beauty) products, I became really scared," said Kate Smith, a sophomore at San Domenico Upper School in San Anselmo. "When I joined the group, I would learn new facts and share them with my mom and my friends. I felt empowered sharing my knowledge."

Smith, 15, was one of 160 attendees at the two-day event, which included authors, experts and discussion panels designed to increase consumer awareness about product ingredients.

"I realized I use 25 products a day, not necessarily cosmetics, but I do wash my face and take a shower," said Jessica Assaf, a senior at the Branson School in Ross and winner of a 2006 Brower Youth Environmental Award for a video she made about what goes into shampoos and other products. "It is about boys and girls, and it is not just about makeup."

Brooke Sommerfeldt, with the San Francisco Department of the Environment, mentors the group. She said that when teens learn about how some brands are made and marketed, their rebellious instincts kick in.

"They don't like the idea of being pushed around, so do-it-yourself products and education are a good fit for them," she said.

Alice Zhao, a junior at Galileo High School in San Francisco, agrees. As part of a makeover project she organized last year, she emphasized the effectiveness - and economic appeal - of homemade treatments.

"You can make your own facials out of milk and oatmeal and save money," she said.

But Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the nonprofit Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and author of "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry" (New Society, 2007), said she understands the allure of cosmetics and remembers being entranced with them as an adolescent.
"The drugstore cosmetics aisle was my comfort zone. With each measured purchase, I was one step closer to that girl I dreamed of: the confident, lovable version of me," she said.

Malkan estimates that before getting on the school bus every day, she used 20 products containing 200 chemicals, 85 of which her research has identified as toxins. Malkan said she continues to be frustrated by the regulatory system and by companies that refuse to change their formulations.

On the scientific front, Charlotte Brody, executive director of Commonweal, a health and environmental research institute in Bolinas, and Renee Sharp, of the Environmental Working Group, joined with Tracey Woodruff, director of reproductive health and the environment at UCSF, to discuss the dangers of phthalates - a common ingredient in nail polish and fragrance. Phthalates (pronounced THAY-lates) act like fake estrogen, they said, leading to potentially higher risks of breast cancer in women - particularly if exposure occurs during the years of puberty, when the chemicals can affect rapidly developing breast tissue. There are also ongoing studies about the effects of phthalates on male reproductive systems, and whether manicures during pregnancy can have a lasting effect on a fetuses.

While there are small local and national companies committed to formulating safe, healthy cosmetics, many major companies have resisted changing their products for the American market.

But there's no need to throw out everything you've been using over fear that it is harmful, said Lynda Fassa, founder of an organic children's clothing company called Green Babies and author of "Green Babies, Sage Moms," (NAL-Penguin, 2008).

The POMEGA5 line is endorsed by the teens campaign

"Use what you have, and when you really need to replace it, make sure it is green," she said.

By the end of the weekend summit, the group had a plan for 2008: Continue working with lawmakers to ban lead in lipstick as well as phthalates, and create a manual to help others start chapters of Teens for Safe Cosmetics in their communities and online.

Though the goals are broad, Mark Schapiro, author of "Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power" (Chelsea Green, 2007), told the group it has the power to achieve them.

"The cosmetics industry is 10 times more scared of teens (than adult purchasers)," he said. "They can't arrest you if you show up at the front door of L'Oreal, and they can't call you a bunch of crazy environmentalists. You are their future customers. You are a fountain of enormous energy for change."

Carly Wertheim, a junior at Redwood High School in Larkspur, said that is what continues to inspire her.

"I am amazed at the impact on someone's life I can have," said Wertheim, who gives talks on the subject at local schools. "They changed what they use; they changed their lifestyle because of what I said."

To learn more about Teens for Safe Cosmetics and its forthcoming events, including Turning Green - a Lifestyle on April 26 in San Francisco, visit http://www.teensforsafecosmetics.org/. The event will include a green spa and a runway show featuring eco-friendly fashions and beauty products for teens. Want to model or design an outfit for the event? The group is seeking models and teen clothing designers. Boys and girls ages 14 to 18 are encouraged to apply. Download an application from the Web site. For more information, visit the Web site, call (415) 289-1001 or e-mail info@teensforsafecosmetics.org. Deadline for applications is Feb. 29.

http://www.pomega5.com/


Their ever-hip site spans from eco-mama tidbits and spoofing green dating jargon to posing the inevitable teen scene question, “If green is the new black, shouldn’t you know what you’re wearing?”™
This prescient tagline fits with Shaping Youth’s own goals in our ‘m-power’ media enrichment-spins on youth fashion to encourage ‘ecofabulous’ teens, much like the Teens for Safe Cosmetics team that we’re hoping to team with down the line!
Here’s their eco-fashion show/green spa efforts (at left) via their parent org, Search for a Cause, to raise awareness about cancer causing agents in shampoo, lotion, and grooming products.
Similarly, we ‘counter-market cool’ when kids become branded as ‘human billboards’ with ‘must-have’ logos by retracing the origins of ‘what they’re wearing,’ seamlessly to help shred the fallacies and zip up the critical thinking skills. Students begin to ‘think green’ early on, be aware of their purchasing power and choices, and are often shifted in influence from fashionista to passionista…
In fact, much like the book at left, we’ve found youth are able to ’sell in’ notions to parents in a reverse marketing strategy, to gain issue awareness and often, systemic, familial behavioral change.
We do this with our ‘Dare to Compare’ nutritional sessions as well, empowering kids as the ‘teachers’ wherever possible.

Your very own damage control: POMEGA5 ultra green products do not contain 4-dioxane found to be a cancer causing agent

Pomega5 Healing Cream

Ingredients

Aloe Barbadensis Gel (Aloe Vera), Simmondsia Chinensis Oil (Jojoba Oil), Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond Oil), Calendula Officinalis Oil (Calendula Oil), Daucus Carota Oil (Carrot Oil), Cetyl Alcohol/Glyceryl Stearate, Cetearyl Olivate/Sorbitan Olivate, Cetyl Palmitate/Sorbitan Palmitate/Sorbitan Olivate (Olive Oil Based Emulsifiers), Butyrospermum Parkii Butter (Shea Butter), Cera Alba (Beeswax), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Punica Granatum Oil (Pomegranate Seed Oil), Vitis Vinifera Seed Oil (Grape Seed Oil), Arnica Montana Seed Oil (Arnica Oil), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E) and Simmondsia, Citrus Nobilis Oil (Mandarin Orange Essential Oil), Citrus Medica Limonum Oil (Lemon Essential Oil), Citrus Grandis Oil (Grapefruit Essential Oil), Citr us Aurantium Bergamia Oil (Bergamot Essential Oil), Lavandula Angustifolia Oil (Lavender Essential Oil), Cymbopogon Nardus Oil (Citronella Essential Oil), and Aniba Rosaeodora Oil (Rosewood Essential Oil).

Pomega5 family photo

Cancer-causing agent found in natural, organic personal care products

SATURDAY March 15, 2008 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Cancer-causing agent 1, 4-dioxane is known to be present in many conventional personal care products.

But a new study released March 14 by the Organic Consumer Association (OCA) shows that the toxin is also present in many leading brands of claimed natural and uncertified organic shampoos, body washes, lotions and other personal care products.

On the other hand, organic brands which are certified under the USDA National Organic Program and carry a “USDA Organic” seal do not contain 1, 4-Dioxane which in California would be required to be labeled with a warning because of its toxicity, the test results show.

According to the organic advocate with more than 500,000 organic consumers and organizations, the toxin is generated from the cancer-causing petrochemical ethylene oxide, an ingredient commonly used in the personal care products.

The OCA warns that the concerned ingredient is not labeled because it is considered a contaminant or by product of the ethoxylation process.

Our dedicated customers

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we love pomega5 products

Green technologies are making a splash worldwide

Great Water Technology

Green energy is making big money

The alternative energy business is starting to make real money.

Worldwide sales for companies specializing in biofuels, wind farms, solar panels and fuel cells grew 40 percent in 2007 to reach $77.3 billion, according to an annual report issued Tuesday by Clean Edge, a research firm that studies the green technology industry.

That's significant revenue for an industry crowded with startups, many of which don't yet have finished products to sell. But other companies - including major corporations such as General Electric - have waded into the field, selling their wind turbines and solar panels around the globe.
Revenue in the wind power industry alone jumped 68 percent in 2007 to reach $30.1 billion as new wind farms sprouted across the United States and China. Sales of ethanol and biodiesel, together, grew about 24 percent to hit $25.4 billion. Solar photovoltaic sales grew 30 percent, totaling $20.3 billion.

As imposing as those figures might seem, they're small by the standards of the traditional energy business, especially when individual oil companies report annual sales greater than $100 billion. But for green tech, the increasing revenues suggest that the young industry is gaining traction.

"Clean energy has moved from the margins to the mainstream, and the proof is in these numbers," said Ron Pernick, co-founder of Clean Edge. The firm, based in San Francisco and Portland, Ore., provides research to businesses and investors looking to profit from the green tech industry.

Alternative energy companies are riding a wave of interest started by the rise in the price of oil, which has more than tripled in five years. Their fortunes also have been buoyed by concern about global warming, which most scientists blame on the carbon dioxide that comes from burning fossil fuels. Investors have been pumping money into alternative energy companies, many of them based in the Bay Area.

With oil setting yet another all-time price record Tuesday - topping $108 per barrel - the report's authors expect alternative energy's rapid growth to continue. Clean Edge projects that the industry's annual, global revenues will hit $254.5 billion by 2017, while the industry will continue to soak up venture capital investments.

"As the price of oil goes up, up and up, that obviously makes investments in clean energy alternatives more attractive to investors of all shapes and sizes," said Clint Wilder, one of the report's authors.

And yet, alternative energy revenue remains a small piece of the world's overall energy market.
For a sense of scale, look no further than the oil industry, which many alternative energy enthusiasts would love to replace. Exxon Mobil, the world's largest international oil company, reported $404.5 billion in sales last year - more than five times the entire alternative energy industry combined. And that's just one company.

Alternative energy revenue "is a tiny fraction of what we spend on oil," said James Sweeney, an energy economist with Stanford University. "And that's not counting what we spend on natural gas and coal."

But that disparity is one of the reasons entrepreneurs and investors are delving into alternative energy. They see room to grow.

Great Green Omega 5 oil people technology

"People see these market niches available, and they're still niches, but niches have this wonderful way of growing over time," Sweeney said.

Just how much they'll grow is difficult to predict.

A lot will depend on federal policies concerning energy and climate change. The Clean Edge report's authors warned that if Congress doesn't renew tax credits used by renewable energy developers, companies that specialize in solar and wind power will be hard hit. The House has approved an extension, but the Senate so far has not.

"If these credits are not extended by the time they expire at the end of this year, we could see the growth of solar and wind come to a standstill in the U.S.," Pernick said.

All three leading presidential contenders have called for limiting carbon dioxide emissions and letting companies buy and sell credits to emit the gas. That kind of cap-and-trade system would increase the cost of energy derived from fossil fuels and make alternative energy sources more attractive.

"What that will do to the economics of all these companies is it will make them all much more competitive," said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund advocacy group and author of a new book on the alternative energy business, "Earth: The Sequel." Krupp was not involved in the Clean Edge study.

"I would predict that the revenue growth is going to continue to explode," he said.

The report also included a list of alternative energy trends to watch in 2008:

-- Interest in the next generation of electric vehicles will continue to grow, driven in large part by innovations from small companies, not the major automakers.
-- Geothermal power, which uses the Earth's heat to generate electricity, will continue its recent renaissance, particularly in the western United States.
-- And foreign companies will become an increasing presence in the American wind power industry, building wind farms and manufacturing plants in the United States.

Great Wind Power Technology

www.pomega5.com

David Baker

Ugly women

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Bio-fuel companies are having a hard time at the markets while green cosmetics are thriving

Beware of These Strong Buys

It's an understatement to say that investors are excited by the opportunities in green tech.

John Doerr, one of the world's most successful venture capitalists, called cleantech the "biggest economic opportunity of this century." One of the best-performing stocks of 2007 was none other than First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), up an incredible 795%. And recent data from the Cleantech Group (reported by CNET News) showed that VC investment in green tech increased 44% in 2007 -- from $3.6 billion to nearly $5.2 billion.

Triple back-up-the-truck booyah, right?

Not so fast.

A centerpiece of the recent Roth Capital investment conference in California was an "Investing in Green Tech" expert panel. Its goal was ostensibly to reveal how to make obscene profits by investing in green tech stocks.

But it did the exact opposite.

As the panel went on, it became clear that even these experts -- people who now devote their careers to advancing "green" technologies -- weren't quite sure what the perfect green tech policy, incentive, initiative, or technology looked like. But who could blame them?

Wrap your head around this...First, there's significant government involvement in the sector that distorts market forces. That should be an immediate red flag for prospective investors. Whenever the government is involved in something, there can be no certainty.Second, green tech development cycles are becoming increasingly rapid. That means that what seems like a great idea today could be obsolete tomorrow. For an investor in an early stage company, that means your product may never get to market -- so you're staring down a significant risk of total capital loss.

Finally, we still haven't decided what the goal of green tech is. Is it to increase efficiency and reduce demand? If that happens, energy prices will drop and consumption will just rise again. Is it to build cleaner generation and consumption technologies? Unfortunately, every alternative solution has a shortcoming. For wind, it's the fact that wind tends not to blow during hot days when demand is highest. Plus, windmills aren't always welcome additions to a community's skyline. And then there's the equipment bottleneck along the solar supply chain. There just doesn't seem to be enough silicon or tellurium to go around.

Buyer bewareYet investors continue to throw money at the sector, and they remain optimistic about current investment opportunities. Just look at the analyst ratings for a few well-known green tech stocks:

Company No. of Buy Recommendations No. of Sell Recommendations

First Solar 21 0

Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) 8 0
Fuel-Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK) 8 1
Fuel Cell (Nasdaq: FCEL) 6 1

Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ) 3 0
Energy Conversion Devices 10 0
Evergreen Solar 13 1

That overwhelmingly positive analyst sentiment could very well have you considering entering the sector. This comment from Lisa Bicker of CleanTech San Diego, however, should send you running: "The capital markets for these types of investments are very frothy right now...yet there are few productive investments available."

A case study

For evidence of what happens when frothy markets meet a lack of productive investments, take a look at what's happened to ethanol stocks over the past two years. Once thought to be a product that could make the United States both greener and more energy independent, recent research has revealed that ethanol production may actually offset or, even worse, outweigh the greenhouse gas reductions caused by ethanol use. What's more, the combination of rising corn prices and farmers growing more corn and less of everything else has led to higher food prices across the board.

Some of this money can be used to develop great organic skin care

Of course, demand for ethanol wasn't necessarily stoked by market forces. The government, politicians who coveted the Iowa primary, and several powerful interest groups were very much involved in making it a green-tech priority.

All of this combined to make ethanol stocks a very bad investment back when they were being touted in the spring of 2006. For example, on April 5, 2006, analyst Michael Brush wrote about a few "ethanol stocks to get revved up about." Here is the performance of those picks since his article was published:

Company Return since 4/5/06
Green Plains Renewable Energy (75%)
Pacific Ethanol (81%)
Archer Daniels Midland +28%
MGP Ingredients (63%)

Another high-profile ethanol play, VeraSun Energy, IPO'd in June later that year with shares trading at $25 per share. It now trades for $7.25.

I am not against saving the world.

This is not to say that energy companies pursuing green solutions are bad companies, or that they're misguided. The world is clearly pursuing cleaner energy or greener solutions, even as the demand for energy around the world rises. A company like Fuel-Tech, which can help power plants reduce their emissions, will clearly benefit.

Still, investors can turn even the best company into a bad buy by paying the wrong price. That's a real risk in the green tech sector, where outcomes are uncertain and valuations "frothy."

If you do it, do it right

Nonetheless, there's clearly a wide market opportunity for green tech companies in today's economy -- and a wide market opportunity is one of the core traits we look for in the small companies we recommend to investors in our Motley Fool Hidden Gems service. So while we're somewhat wary of the sector, we're also taking a long hard look at it.

Governing that research are a few tips gleaned from those Roth Conference panelists:

Focus on green initiatives like Omega 5 or nutraceuticals that offer immediate return on investment to customers. They're most likely to be widely adopted.

Peak demand for electricity remains an enormous challenge, which makes distributed generation, energy storage, and advanced metering technologies extremely interesting to the large utilities that will be making many of the spending choices going forward.

Hybrid vehicles. They have clear consumer appeal, and they're one of the few ways for individuals to participate tangibly in emissions reduction.

Don't overpay.

So while we're looking hard at green tech at Motley Fool Hidden Gems, and we have Fuel-Tech on our Watch List, we won't recommend any stock at the expense of a compelling valuation.

When it comes to buying green tech stocks, you should do the same.

By Tim Hanson
www.pomega5.com

Green technology

Organic skin care

pomegranate seed oil

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The State of the Union of green investments -- Omega 5 oil technology will not be affected by overall slump...

Greentech in nutraceuticals is here to weather the recession

Will a market slump slow greentech?

Amy Westervelt

The dollar and the Dow have hit record lows in the last several months, as commodities and oil hit highs and the majority of Americans say they don’t believe that any stimulus provided by the government will help the country’s economic downturn. Some “green” business leaders are concerned that a looming recession and tight credit market will force environmental responsibility programs and purchases to the back burner; others point out that increased efficiency is always welcome in a recession.

Both may be right.

With corn, soy beans and palm oil all at record highs, the biofuel market is scrambling to rebuild its business case. But oil prices continue to rise as well, and coal has doubled in price since August 2007.

Overall, the cleantech market is likely to continue growing, according to Nancy Floyd, founder and managing director of San Francisco–based venture capital firm Nth Power. “Parts of the cleantech or energy sector have been growing at phenomenal rates,” she says, citing sectors that have seen 35 to 40 percent growth year-over-year. "Those growth rates may come down, but even if you have 25 percent year-over-year growth, that’s still pretty significant.”

Most analysts and industry players predict that programs and products at the margins will be the first to go if and when the recession hits, but that products and services that reduce costs or improve efficiencies may actually grow.

“The green market in the United States has always been driven by money and market opportunities as opposed to policy changes,” says Jon Entine, senior counselor with Cincinnati-based brand consulting firm Northlich and adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

“To the extent that green can show positive metrics it will be successful, but the problem is that many green products and services don’t show a return in a purely capitalist economy, so when you face a recession you’ll get cutbacks on the margins, and we’ll probably see a retreat in green initiatives.”

Omega 5 oil company is a survivor

Floyd notes that the current market climate may create a more challenging environment for high growth companies that are likely to feel squeezed in both the credit and equity markets. Raising growth capital could prove a stumbling block for some business. "I think its obviously going to be highly dependent on the business and their growth prospects," she adds.

www.pomega5.com

Investments in green or clean technologies such as Omega 5 are gradually gaining momentum in India

VCs plan niche funds for green tech, health care

Relatively newer and lesser-invested sectors, fewer investors and growth potential lead to creation of niche funds


Deepti Chaudhary


Bangalore: After floating niche funds for technology, real estate and infrastructure, venture capital funds in the country are now looking at exclusive funds for green technology and health care sectors.



In focus: Srini Vudayagiri, MD, Lightspeed Advisory Services, says the fund size for green technology would be small.Venture capitalists say sector-specific funds are generally floated by firms on the back of their expertise and in-depth knowledge of the sectors they invest in. Relatively newer and lesser-invested sectors, fewer investors and growth potential of an industry lead to the allocation of new specified niche funds.


“I think specified funds would be floated for renewable energy sector as well as the health care sector this year. The fund size could go up to $100 million (Rs399 crore),” says T.C. Meenakshisundaram, founder and managing director of IDG Ventures India, a $150 million early-stage technology venture capital fund.


According to Meenakshisundaram, these funds would be floated by firms already present in the country.


“Mid-size funds are always country specific. Such funds could already be present in India. However, it is quite difficult for a mid-size fund to be both country as well as sector specific at the same time,” he says.


Lightspeed Advisory Services India Pvt. Ltd’s managing director Srini Vudayagiri says a few small green-technology funds, with fund sizes ranging from $20 million to $50 million, would come together this year.


“The fund size for a sector like green technology would be much smaller. There is no comparison with sectors like infrastructure which needs huge capital. We will see an India-specific fund for green technology this year,” he says. Lightspeed Advisory, a technology focused venture capital firm, was floated by US-based Lightspeed Venture Partners.


Both Lightspeed Advisory and IDG Ventures are interested in investing in renewable energy or green technology companies. Investments in green or clean technology are gradually gaining momentum in India.


Last year, UTI Ventures, a private equity firm, invested $8 million in Pesco Beam Environmental Solutions, a company involved in waste-oil recycling and alternate energy systems, while IDFC Private Equity had invested Rs35 crore in Ahmedabad-based Doshion, a water management firm, in the second half of 2007.


Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers or KPCB, the venture capital firm that has backed companies such as Amazon.com, Google Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc., too wants to actively invest in clean-technology companies in India. KPCB, which partners with Sherpalo Ventures for all its India investments, has so far been focused on consumer-facing businesses and has invested in five companies in the information technology and Internet sectors. Canaan Partners had also earlier shown interest in investing in green technology companies.

POMEGA5 sample products

The health care industry saw an investment of about $100 million last year through seven deals.
Sector-specific funds are not new in India, though they were mostly focusing on technology or infrastructure. Some of the prominent tech-specific funds are Helion Venture Partners, NEA-IndoUS Venture, Lightspeed Advisory, IDG Ventures and Intel Capital. Infrastructure-specific funds include 3i Group Plc., and state-run India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd.


Venture capitalists invested about $928 million in 80 deals in India in 2007, according to a Dow Jones VentureSource report. Venture capitalists continue to be bullish about the investment opportunities in India, but say high valuations remain an issue of concern.


“The overall investment environment in India is becoming more competitive with new funds being launched and lots of global funds looking at India as a market to invest in. This also impacts valuations, particularly for more mature companies. Unrealistic valuation expectation is one key concern driven by benchmarking with large public listed companies,” says Kanwaljit Singh, managing director, Helion Venture Partners.

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Pomegranate company among 7 outstanding functional & health enhancing food enterprises

Research and Markets: 7 Outstanding Companies in Functional & Health-Enhancing Foods – an Essential Report for Any Company Aiming To Develop a Strategy in Nutrition and Health

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c84043) has announced the addition of 7 Outstanding Companies in Functional & Health-Enhancing Foods to their offering.

Our latest report, 7 Outstanding Companies in Functional & Health-Enhancing Foods provides insights into the strategies of the most outstanding companies in the field of food and health – insights that anyone can apply to their own business.

The seven featured in this report were chosen because they met these three criteria:

-- strategies in nutrition and health are the most advanced and the most successful
-- strategies that best illustrate the future direction of functional foods
-- companies from whom the most can be learnt about how to be successful in the business of food and health
Our selection includes some large companies with diverse portfolios (Danone, Unilever, PepsiCo) as well as very focused companies (Yakult and Pom Wonderful) and an entrepreneurial startup (Innocent). Common to all these companies, despite their very different starting points, is a demonstration of how to be successful in food and health.

The seven companies are:

1. Danone (global)
2. Unilever (global)
3. PepsiCo (global)
4. Emmi (Switzerland)
5. Yakult Honsha (global)
6. Pom Wonderful (US)
7. Innocent Drinks (Europe)

Anyone aiming to develop a strategy in nutrition and health, whether it involves developing new brands or reinventing old brands, can learn lessons from these companies and gain insights that can be applied in any setting.

The report shows that even businesses with a portfolio of long-established brands whose health credentials are far below what is required in today’s market can successfully refocus themselves on health, provided that management has the vision, the will and the competence.

What the seven companies also have in common is that they are connecting to the most important trends in food and health, which are identified in Mellentin’s 10 Key Trends in Food, Nutrition & Health 2008.

They are:

1. Digestive health – a wellness issue and the biggest opportunity
2. Fruit & superfruit – the future of food and health
3. The marketing power of “naturally healthy”
4. Beauty foods – the newest niche
5. Weight management more about maintaining than losing
6. Mood Food feels its way
7. A tipping point for the premiumisation of health
8. Healthy snacking for the “me generation”
9. Kids' nutrition – connecting to multiple trends is crucial
10. Are antioxidants the new probiotics?

We know how how companies with diverse portfolios have connected to many of these trends (eight or nine of the trends, in the case of Danone, Unilever and PepsiCo) while other companies are connected to a smaller number of trends, but have such deep expertise in these narrower areas that they have achieved leadership that has become unshakeable.

This report also shows that, of the many strategies that companies can adopt, the most successful companies are choosing either:

-- marketing intrinsic healthfulness or
-- new category creation.
These strategies – the defining strategies of food and health worldwide, which we explain in this report - are not mutually exclusive and, as we show, some companies often have success using both within the same brand.
As the only company in the world dedicated solely to researching the business of food and health we are uniquely able to deliver a wealth of insights and opinions. Plus, our own background in marketing and product development means that we set our analysis in a way that enables companies to connect it to their own strategies.
Content Outline:

Introduction

The 7 companies’ brand strategies

1 Danone: The world's first health-focused multinational?
Case Study 1: Digestive health: Activia – the world’s No 2 digestive
health brand
Case Study 2: Beauty: Essensis – a yoghurt to 'nourish your skin from
the inside'

2 PepsiCo: From soft drinks and salty chips to fruit drinks and
healthy snacks
Case Study 3: Healthy snacking: 'Impossibly good' Flat Earth soars in
first year

3 Unilever: Re-focusing on healthy lifestyles
Case Study 4: Fruit: Knorr Vie – the first daily dose of fruit andveg
Case Study 5: Kids’ nutrition: Amaze – the first specially designed
kids’ brain
Food range ...

4 Emmi: Europe’s most innovative small dairy company?
Case Study 6: Beauty: Emmi's bold plan to beautify Europe

5 Innocent Drinks: A new category creator in Europe
Case Study 7: All natural: Selling the natural functionality of fruit

6 Pom Wonderful: A new category creator in the US

7 Yakult Honsha: A focused strategy in probiotics and digestive health
Case Study 8: Digestive health: The secrets of the original little
bottle’s success
Case Study 9: Blood pressure strategy: Blood pressure-lowering pays
off for Yakult

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Can you super charge your skin and boost your mood with OMEGA 5 oil products?

Gelcaps containing Omega oils

Natural remedies for depression??

Study doubts effectiveness of antidepressant drugs

Antidepressant medications appear to help only very severely depressed people and work no better than placebos in many patients, British researchers said.

Researchers led by Irving Kirsch of the University of Hull reviewed a series of studies, both published and unpublished, on four antidepressants, examining the question of whether a person's response to these drugs hinged on how depressed they were before getting treatment.

They were Eli Lilly and Co's Prozac, also known as fluoxetine, Wyeth's Effexor, also called venlafaxine; GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil, also called Seroxat or paroxetine, and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's drug Serzone, also called nefazodone, which it no longer markets in the United States.

They are all so-called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs.

The researchers found that compared with placebo, these new-generation antidepressant medications did not yield clinically significant improvements in depression in patients who initially had moderate or even very severe depression. The study found that significant benefits occurred only in the most severely depressed patients.

"Drug-placebo differences in antidepressant efficacy increase as a function of baseline severity, but are relatively small even for severely depressed patients. The relationship between initial severity and antidepressant efficacy is attributable to decreased responsiveness to placebo among very severely depressed patients, rather than to increased responsiveness to medication," the researchers wrote.

The researchers obtained data on all the clinical trials submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the licensing of the four drugs.

"Although patients get better when they take antidepressants, they also get better when they take a placebo, and the difference in improvement is not very great. This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments," Kirsch said in a statement.

Molly Stoch is depressed

But Mary Ann Rhyne, a spokeswoman for Paxil maker GSK, said the study only looked at data submitted prior to the drug's U.S. approval.

"The authors have failed to acknowledge the very positive benefit these treatments have provided to patients and their families who are dealing with depression and they are at odds with what has been seen in actual clinical practice," Rhyne said.

"This analysis has only examined a small subset of the total data available, while regulatory bodies around the world have conducted extensive reviews and evaluations of all of the data available," she said.

Doug Petkus, a spokesman for Wyeth, maker of Effexor, said he had not seen the study and could not comment.

Susan Lewel is happy with her Omega 5 oil skin care

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POMEGA5 recommends: take the time to read supplements labels if you look for Omega 5 products

Shauna Licoers: I always read labels on bottles

to ensure that they contain Omega 5

How to Be Heart Smart at the Supermarket

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Taking the time to investigate food labels not only can improve your heart health, but also your overall wellness.

"Reading the labels is a great way to be guided toward healthier choices for your heart, and for general reduction of all chronic diseases today," Cathy Fitzgerald, registered dietitian with MFit, the University of Michigan Health System's health promotion division, said in a prepared statement. "So think about using the front of the package as well as the nutrition facts on the back when you are out shopping."

Start by educating yourself on what food label language truly means. Fitzgerald offered these tips:

The claim, "May reduce the risk of heart disease." A company can only put this statement on a food if scientific evidence exists that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided is strong enough to support it.

Nutrient content claims. The government regulates how a company can use terms such as "high," "low" or "reduced." For example, a food must have 3 grams of fat or less to be considered low fat, and a product that is high in a certain nutrient provides 20 percent or more of the daily value suggested by the FDA.

Foods with fiber. Fiber helps the digestive system and lowers cholesterol. Look for the claims "high in fiber" or "excellent source of fiber," as these products have at least 5 grams of fiber per serving. A food listed as a "good source" of fiber has 2.5 grams of fiber or more.

Omega-3 fats. Omega-3 fats have been shown to benefit the heart. Fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel and trout are good sources of omega fats and are low in saturated fat.

Sterols and stanols. Plant sterols and stanols are cholesterol-lowering substances often added to products like margarine and salad dressings.

Based on the label: no Omega 5 oil

Review the label carefully to make sure a product states it offers the cholesterol-lowering benefits of plant sterols and stanols.

Sodium. Look for phrases like "low sodium" or "reduced sodium." This is especially important in processed and canned foods. If a food is labeled as "reduced" in sodium, it has 25 percent less salt than the regular product.

Trans fats. Eat trans fats sparingly, as they raise your bad cholesterol and lower your good cholesterol. Fried foods and processed foods that have a long shelf life are often loaded with them. The term "partially hydrogenated oil" on an ingredient's list indicates the food contains trans fats.

Saturated fat. Butter, fatty cuts of red meat, and cheese made from whole milk are among foods with the highest amount of saturated fat -- a main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Opt for low-fat or non-fat dairy products, lean meats such as loin or round cuts, and liquid margarines instead of butter.

More information

The American Heart Association offers has more about how to read food labels.

FRUITFASTtm SOFTGELS COMPARED TO WHOLE FRUIT POWDER PILLS

Traditional Fruit Powder Pills are prepared by simply removing all available moisture and volatile natural solvents using a high vacuum extraction procedure. This results in a powder that has a high degree of hygroscopicity (water absorption character) that renders these powders incapable of full dissolution (the process of dissolving a substance into a liquid). After ingestion, the initial addition of moisture results in a high viscosity shell forming on the outside of the powder mass and essentially renders the remainder of the material incapable of being utilized because the cellular level phytochemicals can never become released and accessible to digestion and absorption. FruitFast Softgels different from traditional Fruit Powder Pills because they are not void of all the moisture and natural solvents. Due to the protection property afforded by the FruitFast production process, FruitFast Softgels are capable of delivering a full complement of phytochemicals under normal digestion conditions in a highly bio-available form.

We are the only company in the world to make Fruit Softgels. We use only Grade A - USA Grown - Whole Fruit, as our starting basis. We know the value of our product, the source of our materials and the exacting process necessary to achieve the testing results we demand.

Whether you decide to take our Pomegranate Softgels or our Pomegranate Concentrate is a matter of personal choice. Because our Pomegranate Softgels are made from the whole fruit and the Concentrate is a product of just the juice, we cannot give you a head to head comparison. If you are looking for convenience, we recommend the Softgels. If you like the flavor of the Concentrate and enjoy drinking it each day, you should probably stick with the Concentrate. We have many customers that buy both our Concentrates and our Softgels so that they have a stable product to take when traveling.

Made from whole Pomegranates (peel, pulp, juice and seeds), our natural process (no solvents used) maintains the fruit's active enzymes in a state of optimal bioavailability. The result is a Pomegranate Softgel that delivers 50 mg. of Ellagic Acid and 80 mg of Anthocyanins per capsule.

In this Jesus bubble bath -- no Omega 5 oil

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USA now allows organic label on cosmetics -- it is showtime for Omega 5 oil products

U.S. to allow ‘organic’ label on cosmetics

Lawsuit led USDA to reconsider decision to take labels off

WASHINGTON - The government is reversing its decision to yank the “USDA Organic” seal from lotions and lip balms and will now allow cosmetics to carry the round, green label.

An organic soap company and a consumer group had sued the Agriculture Department for ordering removal of the distinctive seal.

Without the government seal, the word organic is “just a fluff marketing claim,” David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, said Wednesday.

“It’s kind of a truth in advertising thing — consumers can trust that it is indeed free of synthetics and does support organic farming and agriculture,” said Bronner, whose company and the Organic Consumers Association had sued the department in June.

The department created the label three years ago for food and other products grown without pesticides or fertilizer and made with all-natural, chemical-free ingredients. It applies to meat and dairy products from animals given organic feed and access to the outdoors and never given antibiotics or growth hormones.

Department officials decided in April they didn’t have the authority to regulate cosmetics and ordered companies to remove the USDA seal. Late Tuesday, one day before a deadline to respond to the lawsuit, the department issued a memo reversing its decision.

Barbara Robinson, head of the department’s National Organic Program, said officials have struggled over the issue, particularly because the program is still new.

“We’re USDA. We’re looking at it from an agricultural perspective — we do agricultural products here. We do food,” Robinson said in an interview. “We don’t do cosmetics here. We’re not lipstick. We’re not mouthwash. We’re not lawn care products. It takes a while to sit down and look at this and say, all right, how do we make this work?”

In the end, officials determined that it doesn’t matter what type of product is labeled, as long as it follows the rules. In other words, Robinson said, “What difference does it make if you brush your teeth with it or eat it?”

The reversal also allows dietary supplements and pet food to carry the organic seal. The department is in the process of creating organic standards for fish.

The decision to remove the seal from cosmetics had frustrated companies that, like Bronner’s, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to find all-organic ingredients and get certified to use the seal. Only products cleared by government-authorized agents can use the seal.

Chris Shmol: I purchase only organic skin care

Legal liability was also at stake: Some organic cosmetic companies have been sued for deceptive labeling because they bore the claim.

Now it should be clear that, “just like food, the federal standards pre-empt any state laws, and if you meet federal standards, the product is organic,” said William J. Friedman, an attorney defending the companies in state courts.

Bronner and the consumer group expect to drop the lawsuit against the department pending settlement talks over the next month, said attorney Joe Sandler, who is representing Bronner and the consumer group.

The department still must comply with a federal court ruling this year in another lawsuit, filed by organic blueberry farmer Arthur Harvey in Maine, and draw up new rules on whether small amounts of non-organic or synthetic substances can go into organic food. The new rules will also govern feed for dairy cows.

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