All you have to do is leave a short comment below answering the following question:

What's your no.1 health-related question or concern?

That's it. And don't worry — it doesn't have to be long or unusual or fascinating. One sentence will do it

If you're one of the first 5 people to leave a comment below, I'll email you to get your shipping details. The publishers will mail out a hardback copy to you completely free of charge — you don't even have to pay for shipping.

The book is titled (deep breath):

Everything You Need to Know About Enzymes: A Simple Guide to Using Enzymes to Treat Everything from Digestive Problems and Allergies to Migraines and Arthritis

It's by Tom Bohager and launches today — Friday 1st February 2008.

If there's already 5 comments below and you want to order a copy, you can get it at Amazon.com here.

If you're one of the first 5 commenters, enjoy your free book and I'll talk to you soon. Hope 2008 is rumbling along nicely for you…

~ James

update: 1 Feb ~ all 5 books have now gone — wow, that was quick.
update: 5 Feb ~ Mike and I answered your questions here. And unknown to us, Tom Bohager — the book's author — was kindly beavering away on answers too. You can find Tom's answers here.

Source: Passion for Health

Source: natural health: Newly tagged products at Amazon.com

Source: natural health: Newly tagged products at Amazon.com

Many thanks for posting up your health questions a few days ago. I talked them over with Mike this morning and decided to post up the answers in this separate blog post…

I want to know how to get rid of my carpal tunnel without surgery ~ Nancy

I'm afraid this is a very specific condition that's unfamiliar to us. We therefore can't offer you specific therapeutic advice. But on a general level, many problems can be addressed with rest and a limited amount of mobility exercises to prevent muscles stiffening from lack of use. This allows the body the chance to heal naturally.

I don't know if your Carpal Tunnel issue has been caused by a repetitive motion — such as from typing. If it has, it makes sense to stop hammering those little muscles and nerves in your hand and wrist and allow them time to heal.

If you're hammering the same area of your body over and over again, you're going to hit problems sooner or later. Of course, if you're healthy and full of nutrients, your body stands a greater chance of healing quicker than if you're not.

Sorry we can't be more specific on this issue but I did unearth a relevant-looking book on Amazon.com that you might like to take a look at:

End Your Carpal Tunnel Pain Without Surgery (3rd Edition)

What can we do to be beat overweight and obesity. Although the answer may in essence be easy as in healthy diet and exercise, but how do we find the endurance and patience to succeed with it. Will there ever be a quick fix or easy answer? ~ Janet

Mike made a great point when we were discussing this question. 'Endurance' makes health and exercise sound like a life sentence!

But in fact, once you're in healthy habits and feel good all the time, it's the opposite of a life-sentence — you're finally FREE. Free to live, free to choose, free to offer patience, understanding, empathy. Free to focus, free to work, free to play. Free to enjoy life. Free to do whatever you like.

Without good health and energy, you're trapped in a world of effort and struggle, where there's never enough time, never enough energy and never enough motivation.

As you become healthier, it's amazing how much time you seem to generate. Stuff gets done and suddenly you've got spare 'capacity' as I call it.

It's an abstract concept for most because they've never experienced it. If you could offer everyone a 2 minute sample, they'd never look back.

You can get there by following the Habit Guide system. Yes, that's a shameless plug for our eBook … But seriously, Habit Guide shows you how — which is the bit everyone's missing.

Mindset is often one of the big thing that needs to change. Affirmations and maxims can help on this score. 'Food is fuel' is a big one. Our relationship with food can be a big problem. Many people have food as part of their 'pleasure' system and that's a big problem. Because although you might enjoy the flavor of a fatty desert for a few minutes, you leave your body laboring for a lot longer than that.

Keep your model day really simple. Healthy food can be on your plate in seconds. No recipes to follow (if you don't want), just combine a few different food types and you've got lunch.

There'll never be a quick fix but there's an easy one: The Passion for Health Diet. I'll be re-posting it to this blog soon. With the PFH Diet, you simply start on Day 1 and then repeat the following days with different fruits and stuff to give you a bit of variation.

If you're struggling for clarity or with exactly how to change, or with changing your routine or habits, try Habit Guide. Seriously, there's just nothing else like it out there tackling the BIG problem — the 'habit' and 'how to' side of getting healthy and staying healthy.

I've lost count of how many Habit Guides we've sold now and we've only ever had 2 refunds. One was clearly just a freebie seeker because they flatly refused to tell me what the problem was (and it was only about 30 minutes after they'd bought!).

And the other one was a guy who thought he was getting something else (he hadn't read the page at all). We refunded both of course.

But if you try Habit Guide and for some reason decide it's just not for you, no problem ~ no hard feelings, we'll be happy to give you a refund.

So give it a try risk-free. I'll bet you a guava half you'll be glad you did

Some say salt is good for you and some say it is bad for you. Which is it and is sea salt ok in moderation? ~ Martha

There are really 2 answers to this. Here's the first 'specific' type answer:

Excess salt is definitely bad for you. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) program recommends a maximum of 2.3g of sodium (please note sodium and not salt). They say you'll get greater benefits by lowering that further to 1.5g per day.

Click this link for more information on DASH

Salt may be more of an issue in very hot climates since cultures in these regions have always valued salt very highly. Perhaps this was more for its preservative qualities?

Sea salt is thought to be better than table salt but if you've ever accidentally swallowed some sea water, you'll know what your body thinks of it

But here's the most important thing (this is answer no.2):

Who wants to live like this?

Counting grams of salt and sodium? And then doing the same for all the other nutrients your body needs, like magnesium and zinc and all the rest? Wouldn't you rather live, than spend your time in front of a spreadsheet, trying to calculate your micro-nutrient intake?

Plan your diet around whole, natural foods, minimize processed foods and you don't need to worry about counting grams of salt or anything else. There are one or two things to be conscious of like Omega 3s but eat naturally and the micro stuff (salt and otherwise) takes care of itself.

I have always wanted to know the following: When you cut into a fruit or veggie do you lose just the enzymes on the cut surface or do they continue to move up to the surface and disappear until all enzymes are gone even if you bag them up and put them in the frig? ~ Alice

Not sure on enzymes at all. I'll ask the author of the book we gave away and see what he says. However, you will lose vitamins by cutting the fruit or veggie and then storing it in a fridge. Freezing is better, and fast-freezing is better again.

But ideally, you want to only cut your fruit or veggies during the 'prep' stage of your meal, ie. just before you cook.

Equally, it's best to avoid buying pre-cut or sliced veggies for the same reason, you'll have lost some of those vital vitamins.

What nutritional steps can I take now at age 49 to ensure that I have better health and longevity in the 2nd half of my life (hopeful aren't I!) ~ Liz

I bet you know what's coming… Age is irrelevant. What's healthy at 20 is healthy at 50. The Okinawans are the longest-lived folks on the planet and there's no special dietary preparation for the later years. They're simply healthy all the time

Though Mike mentions in his article that their diet probably isn't perfect. It's just a damn sight better than the average Western diet.

You want to be at square 1 and then proceed to move gradually towards a healthy diet and lifestyle. Square 1 we're referring to as being 'normal' with no particular vitamin deficiencies to address. You can do little checks of tongue and eyelids and things like that to see if you're deficient in anything. If you are, go for some therapeutic doses first.

Then, when you're back at square 1 you can start making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle. (This is hard and where everyone falls flat on their face. Use Habit Guide to make it about a thousand times easier).

Why is it so difficult for people to take responsibility for their own health? ~ Linda

Great question Linda and it's a BIG one. Some of the answers you'll find above but I think this warrants its own blog post. So I'll do that soon…

Unknown to us, the author of the book we gave away — Tom Bohager — was also kindly preparing answers to your questions. Click here to view what he had to say…

Take care folks — bye for now.
~ James & Mike

If you've repeatedly failed with diets and plans, there is one huge piece of information you're missing…
Click here to crush your bad habits for good…

Source: Passion for Health

I want to know how to get rid of my carpal tunnel without surgery ~ Nancy

Carpal tunnel may be assisted by enzyme formulas with Bromelain, Papain, Serratiopeptidase and Nattokinase. Each of the enzymes are known to reduce inflammation, speed recovery and increase circulation.

What can we do to be beat overweight and obesity. Although the answer may in essence be easy as in healthy diet and exercise, but how do we find the endurance and patience to succeed with it. Will there ever be a quick fix or easy answer? ~ Janet

The key to success with exercise is to find something you enjoy or learn to enjoy. Diversity for some is the key, so it does not become boring. Try low impact aerobic exercise while watching your favorite television show.

With regard to diet, you would be surprised how your body stops craving the foods that are not good for you when you take the initiative to make better choices and ensure you are getting the proper nutrition. Try it for two weeks.

Some say salt is good for you and some say it is bad for you. Which is it and is sea salt ok in moderation? ~ Martha

Sodium is an essential mineral, though we tend to get more then we need. Sea salt is a good source because it is not refined.

I have always wanted to know the following: When you cut into a fruit or veggie do you lose just the enzymes on the cut surface or do they continue to move up to the surface and disappear until all enzymes are gone even if you bag them up and put them in the frig? ~ Alice

Enzymes are active in raw fruit and remain that way as long as it is not exposed to excessive heat, or pH changes. When introduced the fruit receives some form of trauma the enzymes actually become more active, which explains why brown spots appear on apples and bananas and soft spots on other fruit.

These spots represent places where the enzymes are actually "digesting" the fruit. As far as a cut, it too is a form of trauma and as a result it will speed up the activity of the enzymes. If the fruit is left out for too long it will quickly digest itself. So the enzymes become less useful since the have a relatively short "life span" (though not really alive) once the become very active.

What nutritional steps can I take now at age 49 to ensure that I have better health and longevity in the 2nd half of my life (hopeful aren't I!) ~ Liz

A) Make sure you calorie intake is made up of foods that have nutritional value (no empty calories).
B) If over weight, reduce the quantity of food on the plate by 25% your normal intake.
C) Get your heart beating faster than normal for a total of 2 hours a week (brisk walking etc..)
D) Do a raw food fast with the change of each season for a minimum of 5 days.
E) Take digestive enzymes with each meal.
F) make one meal a day a raw meal. For example fruit for breakfast or a salad for lunch.
G) Do not eat for 12 hours every day (7:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M).

About the Author

With more than a decade invested in enzyme research and development, Tom Bohager founded leading enzyme supplement manufacturer Enzymedica, Inc. in 1998 after graduating with a B.S. in holistic nutrition from Clayton College. His interest in alternative medicine dates back to 1984 when his father was diagnosed with cancer, as he sought to discover natural, preventive health measures. In large part, enzymes provided the answer.

The author of a previous enzyme book, Mr. Bohager's Everything You Need To Know About Enzymes presents new information and updated research on enzymes and their role in both overall wellness and specific health conditions. He currently resides in Port Charlotte, Florida, with his family.

Source: Passion for Health

Trying to decide what the best natural treatment for you can be a very difficult decision. You may have even tried one or two over the counter treatments without much success, and decided that it was not worth the effort. Often, the harsh medications in over the counter skin products can dry your [...]

Source: Natural Holistic Health Blog

Since RLS tends to disrupt times of rest, it is important to find the best way to help your body rest, even when your legs remain active. With simple lifestyle changes, there can be some relief to the ever present RLS symptoms, without disrupting your life or having to worry about side effects from [...]

Source: Natural Holistic Health Blog

You just received the diagnosis of Psoriasis, and you have a million questions regarding your skin condition. Your doctor or the nurse at the office may have answered your immediate questions and possibly handed you a brochure containing more information. You may have browsed through the brochure only to find more questions popping up in [...]

Source: Natural Holistic Health Blog

The human brain is the soul of the human nervous system. It controls involuntary activities such as respiration, digestion, and heartbeat, which are also known as automatic functions of the body. This organ also controls other conscious activities that are considered as higher order activities like reasoning, abstraction, and thought. The human brain is superior [...]

Source: Natural Holistic Health Blog

If you have had problems with Premature Ejaculation for a long time or if your Premature Ejaculation problem doesn’t clear up even after you try doing things like relaxing and reducing stress and Tension in your life then your Premature Ejaculation problem could be a symptom of a more serious problem.

For most men [...]

Source: Natural Holistic Health Blog