Benefits Of A Wholesale Directory For Your Retail Business

Benefits Of A Wholesale Directory For Your Retail Business If you are looking for a reliable source for procuring your wholesale supplies, you should visit a reputable wholesale directory. A wholesale directory gives comprehensive information about wholesale distributors, suppliers, and importers according to product categories. Not only this, they also provide you useful information, like reviews on products and wholesalers, which could help you in running your business successfully.

Here Are Some Of The Key Benefits Of Using A Wholesale Directory. 1. To obtain information about legitimate suppliers. Though there are many online sources that give information about wholesalers, but most of them are not trustworthy. Therefore, it is best to consult a good wholesale directory for getting references of wholesalers and for your products. These directories take utmost care to ensure the authenticity of the information. They verify wholesale firms before including them on their lists. For this, they do extensive research, like gathering feedback from retailers, wholesalers, and customers, contacting Better Business Bureau to get the firm's rating, and visiting and calling the firms to know more about them. 2. To know about the ratings and reviews of a wholesale firm. These directories do not just give contact and business information of suppliers; they also provide reviews and ratings of different businesses. This could save a lot of your time that otherwise would be spent on gathering feedback about the firms. 3. To network with retailers and wholesalers. Most wholesale directories have trade forums that enable people interested in retailing and wholesaling to interact. A wholesale forum could be a useful platform for you to seek solutions to your problems, get information on latest product trends, know about effective marketing techniques, know secrets of succeeding in wholesaling, and get information on genuine suppliers of wholesale products. 4. To identify suitable product niches. Your profits in the wholesaling business, to a large extent, depend on which products you choose to sell. Wholesale directories have tools that give you an idea about the market size for your products and the profits they could earn. This helps you to make informed decisions and find the right product niche. 5. To get discounts. Some wholesale firms give special discounts to the customers who come through wholesale directories. Moreover, some directories also negotiate deals on behalf of their customers to help them get products at the best rates possible. Getting good deals means you can earn good profits. To enjoy the above benefits, you should choose your wholesale directory carefully. All directories are not dependable, as some do not update their database periodically, while some do not verify the wholesale sources. You should choose a directory that is experienced and reputable. It should have a large database to allow you choose from a large number of wholesale suppliers. Benefits Of A Wholesale Directory For Your Retail Business

Where to Buy Candle Making Supplies

Where to Buy Candle Making Supplies So you've finally decided to make your own candles. Where do you find the needed candle making supplies to do it?

AT HOME The cheapest and best place to find candle making supplies is at your own home. You can put together scrap and used materials to make new candles. This is ideal for those who want to just try out candle making, or do the craft as a hobby. You can utilize used candles and broken crayons to create your own candles in different colors. For the wick, you can use several pieces of cotton threads. You don't even have to buy the molds, as you can use empty milk cartons or tissue cartons. Also, instead of buying a double boiler, you can also make use of an improvised one using a tin can and any pot. ARTS AND CRAFTS STORES If you're making candles in bulk, especially when you are engaged in a candle making business, it is better to buy candle making supplies at your local arts and crafts store. Here, you will find more choices and brand new materials, such as wax and a variety of molds. These materials tend to be much easier to manipulate and prepare than scrap materials from home. Of course, buying from the store is more expensive, but it usually produces better results, especially for beginners. Also, you may be able to get the materials at wholesale prices if you buy them in bulk. Another good thing about buying from arts and crafts stores is that many of them offer candle making kits. These kits provide you with all the necessary materials in order to create a certain number of candles with a variety of designs. The kits usually cost much less than if you were to buy the same amount of materials separately. Some kits even include a candle making book to go along with it. These kits are ideal for those who simply want to try out the craft of candle making, or those who want to give special candles as gifts. ONLINE STORES If you're too busy to go to your local arts and crafts store, you can always check out the Internet. There are many online candle making supplies stores that you will find with just the click of a button. Some online stores even offer better deals than the ones you can find at your local store, because the cost of keeping up an online business is generally much less compared to its physical counterpart. Aside from that, you can also have the materials shipped right to your doorstep. Just make sure that you are buying from a legitimate online company before you give out your credit card number! The great thing about the craft of candle making is that the supplies are so easy to find, and won't cost you a lot. Do try it! Where to Buy Candle Making Supplies

Where to Buy Kindles

Where to Buy Kindles Where to buy Kindles is simple. You can buy previously owned Kindles of course but considering the price of them, the small saving will not be worth buying them from somewhere like eBay because they are likely to be tarnished and not under a warranty. The best place to buy a Kindle is from the Amazon store itself. Now I will tell you a few features of the Amazon Kindle that really make it stick out compared to other similar eBook readers in the market now.

Amazons Backing - Amazon is the kind of book retailing online, it is not even close. They have literally every book you can imagine and this makes it so easy for them to dominate this niche. With their wireless WhisperNet service, you can download a book and within minutes be reading it on your device. Crisp Screen - You may think that it would hurt your eyes reading for so long on a screen. Imagine for example reading a whole book on a laptop computer screen, it would cause your eyes pain. Amazon have combated this really well though by creating a unique raised ink feature which makes it extremely close to just being like reading a book. There is no super bright lights in the background that will hurt your eyes. It is difficult to explain it without showing you. Read Multiple Books / Save Space - Some people have considered that you might not be able to read multiple books on your Amazon Kindle but this is far from the truth. They are designed so that you can switch between books/newspapers/magazines easily. Also, consider the amount of space that you are likely to save if you have all your books on one device. The Kindle is the size of one book yet can store many on it. Also, when you buy a book from the Amazon Kindle store, you don't have to queue up in a shop to buy it, it is instant and that book will forever be available to you when you want to read it. And finally, the best feature that is available is that you can download books totally wirelessly. You never need to plug it into a computer which is great as you can see a book you like, and download it immediately and start reading 5 minutes later. You only ever have to connect the device when you want to recharge its battery. Where to Buy Kindles

Power Selling - How to Convince People to Buy What You Sell

Power Selling - How to Convince People to Buy What You Sell A salesperson sells - that is what he does.

As a salesperson, you may sell to people who desperately need whatever it is that you are selling. You may sell an item to someone who can live without it, but would like to have one anyway. You are also going to at least try to sell an item to people who could not care less about what you are trying to sell. These are the people who are going to need your skills in order to convince them. After all, the others are pretty well determined to have what you are selling anyway, aren't they? So, how DO you convince people to buy what you sell? You convince people to buy what you are selling, no matter what it is, by: * Knowing the market and the people you are selling to. * Knowing the product that you are selling as if you gave birth to it yourself. * Knowing how to read people. * Knowing how to talk the language of different people. * Knowing when to back off and when to push just a little bit. THE KEY CONCEPT OF CONVINCING PEOPLE TO BUY WHAT YOU ARE SELLING, SIMPLY STATED, IS KNOWLEDGE. Knowledge is the key that will get your foot in the door, will get your point across, and most importantly, will get that sale made. 1: Knowing the Market and the People That You Are Selling To. Have you ever seen an older man try to talk "hip" to you kids in the hope of making a sale? It is feeble. They are not buying it. He is uncomfortable. A good salesperson knows the crowd he is selling to and knows how to talk to them. You simply need to know how to hit their buttons and how to do so while still using your own style and your own voice. ENGAGE EVERY POTENTIAL CUSTOMER AS "THE" CUSTOMER. Make them feel as if they really matter. 2: Knowing the Product as if You Gave Birth To It yourself. Your products are your children, and you should be able to rattle off information about them as easily as the names of your kids. There is just something comforting buying from someone who really knows what they're talking about. 3: Knowing How To Read People. A Good salesperson is like a good poker player. He knows when someone is bluffing him or stalling for time. He knows when they are about to all it quits and walk away. He knows this because much like a good poker player, he can read people. He knows the body language that says "sale" or "no sale". He can see "lower the price" in their eyes. If you have never been able to read people, consider taking a course in body language, or at least leafing through a book that explains the basics so that you can get the hang of it. KNOWLEDGE, ONCE AGAIN, IS POWER. 4: Knowing How To Talk the Language of the People. The same way you need to know the market, you need to know how to talk to people around you. Again, you are not going to use language that is counter-intuitive to you. IT IS POSSIBLE TO LOSE A CUSTOMER IF YOU ARE NOT TALKING THEIR BUSINESS LANGUAGE. You can adjust the conversation as you go. If you think you are losing them, go basic, but never lowbrow them. 5: Knowing When To Push A Little Harder and When To Back Off. Not everyone is an easy sale. Some need a little more convincing. As a salesperson, you have to be able to see the "line" - the line that separates "just hard enough" from "way too damn hard", and you have to walk that line with your customers. This can be difficult, but paying close attention to customer's "cues" will help you to better understand where they are in the sales process. Power Selling - How to Convince People to Buy What You Sell

Comics Sale - Find Your Favorite Book at a Discount

Comics Sale - Find Your Favorite Book at a Discount When going around to the different garage sales I always find that mother, that is sick and tired of her son's stack of comics. Sale of these comic books go on behind their son's back, or while he is out of town.

Some people think this is taken advantage of the sale, since most mothers have no idea the real worth of what she is selling. Yes most of the time you get what you pay for but once in a while there is a gem. There are always plenty of Mad Magazines and Spiderman, but my favorite is Conan the Barbarian. This comic book lasted for 23 years in its first publication from 1970 to 1993. I was still in grade school when it first came out. It had nothing to do with Arnold Schwarzenegger; this was far before that time. But I found a Conan the Barbarian #195 for 10 cents. It was in very good shape. I thought I found gold, but there are still too many of them around. A mint condition one is only worth .00. But for me I still am glad I found it and have kept it. But comics sale can be found not only in your neighborhood but at the stores and online. For me personally I want to hold it in my hand and judge the condition. Having a stranger judge the condition that they are going to profit from still does not sit right with me. This is one of the things that I do not do online. I will always prefer to rummage through the stacks of comic books and see what I can find. Comics sale to me is like telling a child you have free candy. Comics Sale - Find Your Favorite Book at a Discount

How To Sniff Out Bargains Others Overlook

How To Sniff Out Bargains Others Overlook A wise man (or woman) once said, "timing is everything". That's especially true when it comes to sniffing out the best bargains.

Whether it's a diamond, a rare painting or a prime piece of real estate - or anything in between. You can purchase almost anything at a bargain if you shop for it at the right time. Yes, timing is everything especially when you're looking for bargains.This is the number one rule of savvy bargain hunters. Never shop for bargains in season. If you do, never shop for items that everyone's shopping for and buying at retail. Shop for items when others aren't. For example, sweaters in the spring or sandals in the fall.If you want a car shop for last years model at the beginning of the new car season in September. This is the time they're open to giving better deals. Why? Because they have to make room for the new models. I. Ebay: Learn how to shop eBay. Bargains fill this site if you know what, how, where to look. If you know what you're looking for, where to look, how to search and how to bid, you can save thousands of dollars by looking for it on eBay. You can't call yourself a bargain shopper unless you have an eBay account and use it to compare prices. II. Look for Desperate People You Can Help: Where there are desperate people there are usually bargains. People who have to sell or motivated sellers as we call them give the best bargains. So look for a way to help them, not take advantage of their situation. With this attitude you'll both win. They'll get what they need which is usually cash. In addition, you'll receive a good deal and the joy of knowing you helped someone who needed what you had. III. End of Season Sales: This is the best time to hunt for bargains. At the end of winter look for coats, boots, jackets, rain gear, wool scarves, and other winter gear. At the end of summer look for swim wear, sandals, lawn equipment, lawn furniture, barbecues and equipment, and other summer accessories. Seasoned bargain hunters always think on the opposite end of the crowd. If you think like the crowd, you'll seldom save the real money. IV. End of Holiday Sales: Another tip to sniffing out bargains is to look for the end of holiday sales. Yes, after everyone has torn through stores during the holidays, the bargain sniffers find the real bargains after everyone has paid the so-called holiday prices. V. End of Month Sales: This is the time most retailers want to clear their stock to make way for the new stock of items that's coming in. Motivated retailers want to get rid of the items that's been sitting on the shelves since the beginning of last month (slow sellers). In addition, this is the time they have to take a hard look at their profits or non-profits for the month. This is also the time many of their bills become due and they're more open to giving bargains. VI. Garage Sales: Despite the high tech methods many people use to find bargains such as the Internet, eBay and other online auctions. The old fashion garage sale is still at the top of the list when it comes to finding bargains. There's nothing like the personal contact of buyer and seller bargaining over items face-to-face.It's almost therapeutic; something that happens between buyer and seller no computer can match. Look through your local newspaper and find the garage sale near you this weekend. You'll surprise yourself at the bargains you may find and the new friends you could possibly meet.Yes developing a good nose for bargains is knowing where to look and your timing. Conclusion: If you can remember these tips you'll have what it takes to enjoy the admiration of others. Why? Because you'll have the skill to sniff out bargains others miss. Happy shopping! How To Sniff Out Bargains Others Overlook

How to Find the Best LCD TV to Buy

How to Find the Best LCD TV to Buy Recently television broadcasts were required to switch from analog to digital signals. This change resulted in the consumer buying new high definition televisions. These televisions have a variety of types of screens. One type of high definition screen is the LCD (liquid crystal display) television screen. If that is the type of screen the buyer decides to purchase than how do you determine the best LCD TV to buy?

Each house and each room is different within a house. Each room has doors, walls and perhaps windows which are unique to that room. Some buyers want to mount the new LCD TV on a wall. He should understand the size of the wall and position of the wall mount and determine if the viewers can see the television wherever they are sitting. While not permanent, moving a television mounted on the wall will be more difficult than one which is simply placed on a stand. An educated consumer will become acquainted with a pixel. It is the number of pixels that helps achieve the quality of the picture. Each television has a certain amount of pixels. The buyer needs to know what that number is for the television he is considering buying. The quality of the picture will be affected by the distance and angle of view of the viewer. Anyone purchasing a television would be wise to view the screen from as many angles and distances as possible. Watching a television screen is not fun if the picture can not be seen easily. The size of the screen and the number of pixels bears directly on the cost of a television. The price of a quality LCD television can range from the several hundred dollars to a dollar amount in the thousands. This is a major purchase for any household and should be approached in a calculated manner. The television may have undergone testing to show its reliability. This data is often published in any number of consumer reports. It would be disappointing to purchase a high priced television and then have it break down. A household faces major decisions about what to buy very often. It is a major decision to buy a LCD TV. The decision to purchase the television will be made easier having as much knowledge as possible about that television. How to Find the Best LCD TV to Buy

Wholesale Perfumes - Available at Bargain Prices

Wholesale Perfumes - Available at Bargain Prices Wholesale perfumes are normally only accessible by traders and perfume outlet owners, usually buying in bulk. This is not something that an ordinary member of the public can do and so those bargain prices for wholesale perfumes and wholesale beauty products remain out of reach. Just a little research on the internet can however reveal some real bargains that sometimes match those wholesale perfume prices. If you are smart and gather some orders amongst friends you can really capitalize on offers by shipping to one address and saving that way too.

Before you start your research it's probably worthwhile revisiting the different grades of perfume - it can seem a bit confusing for sure! There seem to be 3 general categories of ladies perfumes: Eau de Toilette (EDT) sometimes known as Cologne. This usually contains between 3% - 7% of perfume oil concentrate, the balance being made up of alcohol and water, with a little dye sometimes added to give some color. Moving up in terms of quality and cost, there is Eau de Parfum which usually contains 8%-13% of perfume oil. This seems to be the most popular as it offers a good balance between cost and the length of time the fragrance lingers on the body. Top of the range is Perfume, or Parfum. With typically 15%-22% of perfume oil concentrate, this product is generally used for special occasions as the price can be quite high, even at the discounted price of wholesale perfumes. While ladies perfumes undoubtedly dominate the market, in the last dozen years or so sales of men's fragrances have steadily grown. A typical perfume outlet will cater for both. Fragrances may lead the pack so far as wholesale beauty products are concerned, but significant sales can be seen in the Bath & Body products, Gift Sets, Hair and Makeup sectors too. Be VERY sure that when you are buying at wholesale perfumes prices that they are original designer fragrances, not cheap imitations known as 'knock-offs'. Purchasing in this way makes a lot of sense - you will look and feel just great... enjoying 'luxury for less'. Top tip: the best time to apply perfume. Perfume oils are absorbed more easily on your warm skin just after you have had a bath or shower and the fragrance tends to last much longer. Best places to put it are on your underarms, on your wrists, and either side of your neck. Avoid spraying perfume on your clothes as you may well leave stains that are hard to remove. Always avoid spraying perfume on your jewellery; it can easily become discoloured as a result of doing that. So plan to take advantage of wholesale perfumes by researching the grade of perfume you want and then hunting down bargains on the internet. Wholesale Perfumes - Available at Bargain Prices

Deciding Where to Buy Wholesale Perfume

Deciding Where to Buy Wholesale Perfume We all love our perfume, and sometimes our most favorites come with a price tag large enough to feed a family of three for a few months or more. What are we suppose to do when we want to smell good, but nearly choke on the proposed pricing of our favorite perfume? Taking out a second mortgage may cross the minds of some when shopping for name brands however; one option is to buy it at wholesale.

Have you been wondering where to buy wholesale perfume? Wholesale perfume is available in such places as online wholesale companies as well as some of those small businesses that buy by bulk and then pass the savings on to you, their customer. However, you should always do the research needed to find out that the company you are buying it from is a genuine and respectable company, because just as in any other business, there are those who are only scamming you for your money. You should find out if they have, a return policy and money back guarantee as well as a telephone number that works. This means that you really should pick up your phone and give them a call, just to make sure that it is legit, although there are genuine wholesalers around, it is better to be safe than it is to be sorry. You may have to gather together with your friends; family members perhaps even the neighbors, who may be interested in ordering their own perfumes to come up with a large enough order to satisfy any particular wholesale company order requirements. You can always call around or search online while comparing the different types of perfumes and wholesale perfume companies so that you are better able to find a wholesale perfume that is right for you and your budget. It is in your best interest to find a wholesale outlet or you may find someone who buys a surplus stock of a certain perfume, then makes a profit while saving his or her customers a little money. Keep in mind, however, that most wholesale perfume outlets may require you to purchase a certain amount before reaching a quota that will amount to a wholesale price for your order. Always remember to take note of the quantity size of the perfume you are buying, as sometimes you may receive a four-ounce bottle of perfume when you are expecting a five-ounce bottle of perfume. You should also take care to notice if they state whether their perfumes are name brand or simply smell like a name brand. Then there is the profitable option of becoming an affiliate. You can buy your own wholesale perfume, while earning an income in selling to your friends, family and others. Even if you would like to buy Victoria by Victoria Secret perfume, Gothic perfume oil and many others or perhaps even Kids perfume sets. Deciding Where to Buy Wholesale Perfume

Find Incredible Handbags At Wholesale Prices

Find Incredible Handbags At Wholesale Prices For many women, handbags are just as important as shoes. Without a great handbag, your outfit is incomplete. With everyone trying to save money these days, it is important to find the handbag you want without spending a lot of money. Try looking for handbags at wholesale prices to keep money in your pocket. This is an incredible way to find great and affordable handbags.

You can go online or find local wholesale retailers to find great bargains. Many offer incredible prices for designer handbags or designer look-a-likes. Either way, you will find great quality bags that make a fashion statement. The average woman can not afford to spend 0 plus for a handbag. Shopping for handbags at wholesale prices is the best way to get great bags that look like you spent 0 for them. Today we all need to be smart shoppers and it is more important to save money in our tough economy. Buying at wholesale prices is a great way to save money. More and more people are discovering that this is a great way to stretch their money while still obtaining the products they need. Buying handbags at wholesale prices is no exception. Do you need to tell your friends where you purchased your handbag? No, of course not, but with the great deals you can get, you will want to! Your friends will love you for it. There are many online wholesale retailers to choose from. You will be able to find fashion forward handbags at unbeatable prices. You will have hundreds of different styles to choose from and will not need to worry about the quality. These handbags are high quality and absolutely gorgeous. Essentially, most of these bags are offered at a price that does not include the middle man or retailer markup. Retail markups typically range from 50 percent all the way up to 100 percent! For example, a coat in a store is 0. If you wait two to three weeks, you might find that the coat is now on sale for . Is the retailer losing ? No, not at all, because they marked it up by one hundred percent. Buying wholesale saves you a great deal of money by eliminating huge markups and you will still get the same quality product. This is a smart and very cost effective way to shop for all your handbag needs. We all know that a beautiful handbag is just as important as the outfit it is meant to accentuate. So, save yourself a great deal of money and dive into this smart way to shop. Find Incredible Handbags At Wholesale Prices

Wholesale Products - Drop-Shipping Suppliers

Wholesale Products - Drop-Shipping Suppliers Select a product to sell. Once you decided to go with drop shipping you need to find products to sell and find drop-shipping suppliers for those products. There's no middleman to pay, no packaging costs, no shipping charges or issues with suppliers. And of course, one of the most effective steps you could initiate to compete in our billion dollar ultra-competitive wholesale business, is to own the top suppliers and distributors for your import, exporting, re-selling or drop-shipping business.

Under a purchase order financing arrangement, the financing company pays your suppliers on your behalf and helps ensure proper shipping of the goods. With the letter of credit in place, your suppliers can deliver the product to your clients, usually by drop shipping it, and you can close the sale. They can also search for wholesale suppliers by contacting industry associations. Another method is to change ordering to be focused on wholesale suppliers that offer monthly discount programs. Many wholesale suppliers of salon equipment are available online and consumers are able to quickly and conveniently browse through online catalogs to determine which equipment best suits their business needs. Wholesale suppliers can also be found at alibaba. And of course, one of the most effective steps you could initiate to compete in our billion dollar ultra-competitive wholesale business, is to own the top suppliers and distributors for your import, exporting, re-selling or drop-shipping business. It is a big time secret, however, very time consuming to find and qualify wholesale suppliers and distributors. You negotiate when you want your suppliers to give you concessions, or come up with new products, or give you first choice of items before they offer them to other businesses. I refer to perceptions of your organization, and resulting behaviors such as: customers making repeat purchases; prospects starting to do business with you; employees really valuing their jobs; suppliers doing all possible to expand your relationship; community leaders strengthening bonds with you; businesses seeking beneficial joint ventures; unions bargaining more frequently in good faith; and legislators and political leaders viewing you as an important member of the business community. Bar code Verifiers For suppliers to retail businesses bar code verifiers are very important especially for supermarkets. Global Supply Chain Purchasers can't afford to buy from suppliers that ship substandard products, miss delivery dates, or charge too much because their businesses rely on sourced materials. Wholesale Products - Drop-Shipping Suppliers

Wholesale Yarn

Wholesale Yarn Wholesale yarn is a term used to refer to yarn which is sold and bought in bulk. The wholesale yarn suppliers sell particular quality of yarn in wholesale or in bulk. This is particularly of use to those people, who run small yarn shops and make large number of items made of yarn. In short, yarn in wholesale is purchased by people who use yarn frequently. When buying yarn in wholesale, the customer saves a lot of money, as the suppliers tend to give huge discounts when large amounts of yarns are purchased. Thus, buying wholesale yarn turns out to be fairly economical for frequent users of yarn.

In general, suppliers offer large discounts on most kinds of yarn when bought in wholesale. The amount of discounts varies with the kind of yarn which is bought. If the yarn is made of high quality fiber and is generally quite expensive, then the discount on the wholesale purchase will be quite low. In contrast, if the yarn which is bought in wholesale is of average quality and is generally not very expensive, then the discount can be quite large. Discounts are highest when the yarn to be bought is of mediocre quality. The amount of discount offered by the supplier also varies with the amount of yarn which is purchased. As the amount of yarn purchased increases, so does the discount. There are many yarn suppliers who deal only in wholesale yarn and do not entertain small purchases by regular customers. They generally sell yarn in wholesale to retailers, departmental stores, art and craft stores and other shops which sell yarn. Generally, such suppliers stock only a few types of yarn made by single company, as opposed to the retailers, who stock a wide variety of yarn, from all companies and brands. Wholesale Yarn

Organic Gardening Books - Here Are The 6 Best Gardening Books For Beginners And Greenthumbs Alike

These organic gardening books are those that have had the most profound effect on me, and I have read a lot of gardening books. But these books are the best of the best, in my opinion.

Botany / Plants Book The Secret Life of Plants. The authors of Secrets Of The Soil put out amazing organic gardening books and this classic is a look at the world of plants and their relationship to us. It goes into how plants can think, how they respond to music, and how they respond to being loved/being threatened, yet sprinkled throughout are many lessons we can actually use in the garden. Anyone who believes plants are sentient beings will love this book. A must read. Microorganism Book Teaming with Microbes. Healthy organic soil is teeming with life - not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. These guys make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from us organic gardening and farming addicts to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals. I highly recommend this as one of the organic gardening books for you. Organic Soil Management Book The Non-Toxic Farming Handbook. This book is not only for farmers! It is a successful integration of diverse techniques and technologies of classical organic farming, Albrecht-style soil fertility balancing, and Reams-method organic soil and plant testing and analysis, and it is great for organic home gardeners. It covers fertility inputs, in-the-field testing, foliar feeding, refractometers, tillage, livestock nutrition, moon cycles and subtle energies, and more. Permaculture Book Gaia's Garden. This is one of my favorite organic gardening books for beginners. It describes an organic gardening system that combines the best features of wildlife habitat, edible landscapes, and conventional gardens into a self-renewing landscape that lets nature do most of the work. It has many good design principles, so it is partially a design book. This is my favorite introduction to permaculture because it is a fun read that really simplifies the topic. It's not as comprehensive as Mollison's works, but a great intro. I love this book. Vegetable Gardening Book The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food. This is one of those organic gardening books that shows you how to select, grow, harvest, and store more than 765 varieties of vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts. Not all that much info on growing from seed and transplanting, but a pretty darn big encyclopedia of food plants and good information on vegetable garden layout. General Organic Gardening Book Working With Nature - Shifting Paradigms. This organic gardening book was the first written by one of my gardening mentors, Heide Hermary, founder of Gaia College. It describes ecologically sound organic soil and water management practices and introduces the concept of landscape health management. It summarizes some of the most important information from other books listed on this page, and more importantly, it makes connections between seemingly disparate topics.

Child Behavior For A Three Year Old

Parenting Question

"I'm spiraling out of control with my three-year-old daughter. She won't listen to me and I know that the 'naughty bench' isn't working. I'm at a total loss and feel like such a failure. I don't want to hit her or use the kind of strong verbal yelling that my parents did. What do I do? I want her to understand that I'm the boss and when I ask her to do something or obey something, she should do it. My father was giving me parenting advice today and I feel so out of control. Is this normal child behavior for a three-year-old?"--Out-of-Control Mom Positive Parenting Tip for Child Behavior for a Three Year Old Dear Out-of-Control Mom: Firstly, you are NOT a failure--just a mom who needs some new tools. My guess is that you haven't had many courses on how to deal with three-year-old behavior, so be gentle with yourself. Many parents ask me what's "normal" when it comes to child behavior for a three-year-old. No matter what your child's age, what it comes down to is this: how is your child's behavior working for you, and how is it working for them. From your question, I sense it just ain't working--period! So let's first look at what is going on for your daughter. Children at the pre-school stage are developing a whole host of new skills, including: wanting more independence (for example, "No, I want to do it by myself!"); asserting their wants ("I want that!"); and learning about friendship ("Give that back!"). One of the best things you can do when parenting a three-year-old is to support your child in attaining these new skills without allowing them to become demanding or spoiled. To ensure you don't fall into unhealthy habits that promote power struggles, choose to use a firm--but kind--approach and look for ways that your child can learn from each situation. The more you can allow your three-year-old to do things on her own (and they won't be perfect), the less likely she will be to fight you on everything. Look for household tasks that she can do at her age and find ways that she can help you out. Have her fill the dog bowl, hold the door open for you when you are bringing groceries into the house, set the table, etc. The busier you can keep her doing positive behaviors, the less chance she will move towards negative ones. Be warned: even if you take this approach, your daughter is still going to test you. Below are six simple steps for dealing with three-year-olds when they just won't listen: 1. Let Go of Timeouts - Timeouts can work for some children (but there are far better techniques). Ultimately, the only person we can control is ourselves. If timeouts are not working (that is, your child refuses to go to the "naughty bench", stay on the "naughty bench", or tells you they make their own rules and have moved the "naughty bench"), look for other ways to inspire them to want to be well-behaved (as suggested in the following five steps). 2. Fire Yourself as Boss of the Household! - Many parents buy into the belief that mom should be the boss of the household and be in control. Yet, we must remember that we are modeling for our children how to act every single minute of the day. Our kids learn more from what we do than from what we say. If they see us pulling rank as "boss", they will attempt to be "boss" too. Unfortunately, when this happens, they may outrank us and the real power struggles will begin! 3. Provide Flexibility with Boundaries - Instead of boss, see yourself as your child's coach or guide, responsible for providing them with experiences to learn from and allowing them to experience the consequences of their actions. Give clear guidelines, but also give them flexibility too. For example, "Your toys need to be cleaned up before we go to Grandma's. Do you want to clean them up now, or in 5 minutes from now?" If they still don't clean up, then you might not go to Grandma's that day. Children need to know what the rules are and, more importantly, they need to know you will follow-through with the rules. Once you become consistent with your behavior, your children will learn to trust what you say and will improve their behavior accordingly. 4. Stay Firm (but Kind) - If they fight, you follow-through. Do this without yelling, scolding or punishing. Don't buy into their tears, and definitely don't get into a debate. Stay firm, but stay kind. Tell them that when they want a hug, to come find you. I know keeping your cool is easier said than done. For more on this, check out the "Mom's Time-Out" section (page 111-114) of When You're About To Go Off The Deep End, Don't Take Your Kids With You. 5. Use Consequences That Relate to Their Behavior - Punishment teaches our kids to feel bad, but rarely teaches them how to "do good". If you are encountering the same misbehaviors over and over again, your child is clearly not learning from their mistakes. To facilitate learning, make certain any consequences used are directly related to the misbehavior. For example, when your child is rough with the computer, computer time is over; when your child is splashing water out of the tub, bath time is over; or when your child is goofing off with their food, dinner is over. Again, do these quickly, but kindly. 6. Thank and Appreciate Your Child for What They Do - Children want to please and they want to know that their contributions make a difference. Remember to tell them so--and often. Learning how to motivate our children to want to be well-behaved takes time and practice. Yet, taking the time now to learn these tools can save you years of heartache and frustration. Keep reading, keep practicing, and keep empowering that three-year-old of yours: then watch their behavior change for the better!

Ten Important Lessons From the History of Mergers & Acquisitions

The history of mergers and acquisitions in the United States is comprised of a series of five distinct waves of activity. Each wave occurred at a different time, and each exhibited some unique characteristics related to the nature of the activity, the sources of funding for the activity, and to some extent, differing levels of success from wave to wave. When the volume, nature, mechanisms, and outcomes of these transactions are viewed in an objective historical context, important lessons emerge.   The First Wave The first substantial wave of merger and acquisition activity in the United States occurred between 1898 and 1904. The normal level of about 70 mergers per year leaped to 303 in 1898, and crested at 1,208 in 1899. It remained at more than 300 every year until 1903, when it dropped to 142, and dropped back again into what had been a range of normalcy for the period, with 79 mergers, in 1904. Industries comprising the bulk of activity during this first wave of acquisition and merger activity included primary metals, fabricated metal products, transportation equipment, machinery, petroleum products, bituminous coal, chemicals, and food products. By far, the greatest motivation for these actions was the expansion of the business into adjacent markets. In fact, 78% of the mergers and acquisitions occurring during this period resulted in horizontal expansion, and another 9.7% involved both horizontal and vertical integration.   During this era in American history, the business environment related to mergers and acquisitions was much less regulated and much more dynamic than it is today. There was very little by way of antitrust impediments, with few laws and even less enforcement.    The Second Wave The second wave of merger and acquisition activity in American businesses occurred between 1916 and 1929. Having become more concerned about the rampant growth of mergers and acquisitions during the first wave, the United States Congress was much more wary about such activities by the time the second wave rolled around. Business monopolies resulting from the first wave produced some market abuses, and a set of business practices that were viewed as unfair by the American public. Even the Sherman Act proved to be relatively ineffective as a deterrent of monopolistic practices, and so Congress passed another piece of legislation entitled the Clayton Act to reinforce the Sherman Act in 1914. The Clayton Act was somewhat more effective, and proved to be particularly useful to the Federal Government in the late 1900s. However, during this second wave of activity in the years spanning 1926 to 1930, a total of 4,600 mergers and acquisitions occurred. The industries with greatest concentrations of these activities included primary metals, petroleum products, chemicals, transportation equipment, and food products. The upshot of all of these consolidations was that 12,000 companies disappeared, and more than billion in assets were acquired (17.5% of the country's total manufacturing assets).   The nature of the businesses formed was somewhat different in the second wave; there was a higher incidence of mergers and acquisitions to achieve vertical integration in the second wave, and a much higher percentage of the resulting businesses resulted in conglomerates that included previously unrelated businesses.  The second wave of acquisition and merger activity in the United States ended in the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, and this altered - perhaps forever - the perspective of investment bankers related to funding these transactions. Companies that grew to prominence through the second wave of mergers and acquisitions in the United States, and that still operate in this country today, include General Motors, IBM, John Deere (now Deere & Company), and Union Carbide.

The Third Wave The American economy during the last half of the 1960s (1965 through 1970) was booming, and the growth of corporate mergers and acquisitions, especially related to conglomeration, was unprecedented. It was this economic boom that painted the backdrop for the third wave of mergers and acquisitions in American history. A peculiar feature of this period was the relatively common practice of companies targeting acquisitions that were larger than themselves. This period is sometimes referred to as the conglomerate merger period, owing in large measure to the fact that acquisitions of companies with over 0 million in assets spiked so dramatically. Compared to the years preceding the third wave, mergers and acquisitions of companies this size occurred far less frequently. Between 1948 and 1960, for example, they averaged 1.3 per year. Between 1967 and 1969, however, there were 75 of them - averaging 25 per year.  During the third wave, the FTC reports, 80% of the mergers that occurred were conglomerate transactions.    Although the most recognized conglomerate names from this period were huge corporations such as Litton Industries, ITT and LTV, many small and medium size companies attempted to pursue an avenue of diversification. The diversification involved here included not only product lines, but also the industries in which these companies chose to participate. As a result, most of the companies involved in these activities moved substantially outside of what had been regarded as their core businesses, very often with deleterious results.    It is important to understand the difference between a diversified company, which is a company with some subsidiaries in other industries, but a majority of its production or services within one industry category, and a conglomerate, which conducts its business in multiple industries, without any real adherence to a single primary industry base. Boeing, which primarily produces aircraft and missiles, has diversified by moving into areas such as Exostar, an online exchange for Aerospace & Defense companies. However, ITT has conglomerated, with industry leadership positions in electronic components, defense electronics & services, fluid technology, and motion & flow control. While the bulk of companies merged or acquired in the long string of activity resulting in the current Boeing Company were almost all aerospace & defense companies, the acquisitions of ITT were far more diverse. In fact, just since becoming an independent company in 1995, ITT has acquired Goulds Pumps, Kaman Sciences, Stanford Telecom and C&K Components, among other companies.   Since the ascension of the third wave of mergers and acquisitions in the 1960s, there has been a great deal of pressure from stockholders for company growth. With the only comparatively easy path to that growth being the path of conglomeration, a lot of companies pursued it. That pursuit was funded differently in this third wave of activity, however. It was not financed by the investment bankers that had sponsored the two previous events. With the economy in expansion, interest rates were comparatively high and the criteria for obtaining credit also became more demanding. This wave of merger and acquisition activity, then, was executed by the issuance of stock. Financing the activities through the use of stock avoided tax liability in some cases, and the resulting acquisition pushed up earnings per share even though the acquiring company was paying a premium for the stock of the acquired firm, using its own stock as the currency. The use of this mechanism to boost EPS, however, becomes unsustainable as larger and larger companies are involved, because the underlying assumption in the application of this mechanism is that the P/E ratio of the (larger) acquiring company will transfer to the entire base of stock of the newly combined enterprise. Larger acquisitions represent larger percentages of the combined enterprise, and the market is generally less willing to give the new enterprise the benefit of that doubt. Eventually, when a large number of merger and acquisition activities occur that are founded on this mechanism, the pool of suitable acquisition candidates is depleted, and the activity declines. That decline is largely responsible for the end of the third wave of merger and acquisition activity.  One other mechanism that was used in a similar way, and with a similar result, in the third wave or merger and acquisition activity was the issue of convertible debentures (debt securities that are convertible into common stock), in order to gather in the earnings of the acquired firm without being required to reflect an increase in the number of shares of common stock outstanding. The resulting bump in visible EPS was known as the bootstrap effect. Over the course of my own career, I have often heard of similar tactics referred to as "creative accounting".    Almost certainly, the most conclusive evidence that the bulk of conglomeration activity achieved through mergers and acquisitions is harmful to overall company value is the fact that so many of them are later sold or divested. For example, more than 60% of cross-industry acquisitions that occurred between 1970 and 1982 were sold or divested in some other manner by 1989. The widespread failure of most conglomerations has certainly been partly the result of overpaying for acquired companies, but the fact is that overpaying is the unfortunate practice of many companies. In one recent interview I conducted with an extremely successful CEO in the healthcare industry, I asked him what actions he would most strongly recommend that others avoid when entering into a merger or acquisition. His response was immediate and emphatic: "Don't become enamored with the acquisition target", he replied. "Otherwise you will overpay. The acquisition has to make sense on several levels, including price."    The failure of conglomeration, then, springs largely from another root cause. Based on my own experience and the research I have conducted, I am reasonably certain that the most fundamental cause is the nature of conglomeration management. Implicit in the management of conglomerates is the notion that management can be done well in the absence of specialized industry knowledge, and that just isn't usually the case. Regardless of the "professional management" business curricula offered by many institutions of higher learning these days, in most cases there is just no substitute for industry-specific experience.               The Fourth Wave The first indications that a fourth wave of merger and acquisition activity was imminent appeared in 1981, with a near doubling of the value of these transactions from the prior year. However, the surge receded a bit, and really regained serious momentum again in 1984.   According to Mergerstat Review (2001), just over billion was paid in merger and acquisition transactions in 1980 (representing 1,889 transactions), compared to more than billion (representing 2,395 transactions) in 1981. While activity fell back to between billion and billion in the ensuing two years, the 1984 activity represented over 2 billion and 2,543 transactions. In terms of peaks, the number of transactions peaked in 1986 at 3,336 transactions, and the dollar volume peaked in 1988 at more than 6 billion. The entire wave of activity, then, is regarded by analysts to have occurred between 1981 and 1990.    There are a number of aspects of this fourth wave that distinguish it from prior activities. The first of those characteristics is the advent of the hostile takeover. While hostile takeovers have been around since the early 1900s, they truly proliferated (more in terms of dollars than in terms of percent of transactions) during this fourth wave of merger and acquisition activity. In 1989, for example, more than three times as many dollars were transacted as a result of contested tender offers than the dollars associated with uncontested offers. Some of this phenomenon was closely tied to another characteristic of the fourth wave of activity; the sheer size and industry prominence of acquisition targets during that period. Referring again to Mergerstat Review's numbers published in 2001, the average purchase price paid in merger and acquisition transactions in 1970, for example, was .8 million. By 1975, it had grown to .9 million, and by 1980 it was .8 million. At its peak in 1988, the average purchase price paid in mergers and acquisitions was 5.1 million.   Exacerbating the situation was the volume of large transactions. The number of transactions valued at more than 0 million increased by more than 23 times between 1974 and 1986, which was a stark contrast to the typically small-to-medium size company based activities of the 1960s.   Another factor that impacted this fourth wave of merger and acquisition activity in the United States was the advent of deregulation. Industries such as banking and petroleum were directly affected, as was the airline industry.   Between 1981 and 1989, five of the ten largest acquisitions involved a company in the petroleum industry - as an acquirer, an acquisition, or both. These included the 1984 acquisition of Gulf Oil by Chevron (.3 billion), the acquisition in that same year of Getty Oil by Texaco (.1 billion), the acquisition of Standard Oil of Ohio by British Petroleum in 1987 (.8 billion), and the acquisition of Marathon Oil by US Steel in 1981 (.6 billion).  Increased competition in the airline industry resulted in a severe deterioration in the financial performance of some carriers, as the airline industry became deregulated and air fares became exposed to competitive pricing.   An additional look at the ontology of the ten largest acquisitions between 1981 and 1989 reflects that relatively few of them were acquisitions that extended the acquiring company's business into other industries than their core business. For example, among the five oil-related acquisitions, only two of them (DuPont's acquisition of Conoco and US Steel's acquisition of Marathon Oil) were out-of-industry expansions. Even in these cases, one might argue that they are "adjacent industry" expansions. Other acquisitions among the top ten were Bristol Meyers' .5 billion acquisition of Squibb (same industry - Pharmaceuticals), and Campeau's .5 billion acquisition of Federated Stores (same industry - Retail).    The final noteworthy aspect of the "top 10" list from our fourth wave of acquisitions is the characteristic that is exemplified by the actions of Kohlberg Kravis. Kohlberg Kravis performed two of these ten acquisitions (both the largest - RJR Nabisco for .1 billion, and Beatrice for .2 billion). Kohlberg Kravis was representative of what came to be known during the fourth wave as the "corporate raider". Corporate raiders such as Paul Bilzerian, who eventually acquired the Singer Corporation in 1988 after participating in numerous previous "raids", made fortunes for themselves by attempting corporate takeovers. Oddly, the takeovers did not have to be ultimately successful for the raider to profit from it; they merely had to drive up the price of shares they acquired as a part of the takeover attempt. In many cases, the raiders were actually paid off (this was called "greenmail") with corporate assets in exchange for the stock they had acquired in the attempted takeover.    Another term that came into the lexicon of the business community during this fourth wave of acquisition and merger activity is the leveraged buy-out, or LBO. Kohlberg Kravis helped develop and popularize the LBO concept by creating a series of limited partnerships to acquire various corporations, which they deemed to be underperforming. In most cases, Kohlberg Kravis financed up to ten percent of the acquisition price with its own capital and borrowed the remainder through bank loans and by issuing high-yield bonds. Usually, the target company's management was allowed to retain an equity interest, in order to provide a financial incentive for them to approve of the takeover.   The bank loans and bonds used the tangible and intangible assets of the target company as collateral. Because the bondholders only received their interest and principal payments after the banks were repaid, these bonds were riskier than investment grade bonds in the event of default or bankruptcy. As a result, these instruments became known as "junk bonds." Investment banks such as Drexel Burnham Lambert, led by Michael Milken, helped raise money for leveraged buyouts. Following the acquisition, Kohlberg Kravis would help restructure the company, sell off underperforming assets, and implement cost-cutting measures. After achieving these efficiencies, the company was usually then resold at a significant profit.   Increasingly, as one reviews the waves of acquisition and merger activity that have occurred in the United States, this much seems clear: While it is possible to profit from the creative use of financial instruments and from the clever buying and selling of companies managed as an investment portfolio, the real and sustainable growth in company value that is available through acquisitions and mergers comes from improving the newly formed enterprise's overall operating efficiency. Sustainable growth results from leveraging enterprise-wide assets after the merger or acquisition has occurred. That improvement in asset efficiency and leverage is most frequently achieved when management has a fundamental commitment to the ultimate success of the business, and is not motivated purely by a quick, temporary escalation in stock price. This is related, in my view, to the earlier observation that some industry-specific knowledge improves the likelihood of success as a new business is acquired. People who are committed to the long-term success of a company tend to pay more attention to the details of their business, and to broader scope of technologies and trends within their industry.     There were a few other characteristics of the fourth wave of merger and acquisition activity that should be mentioned before moving on. First of all, the fourth wave saw the first significant effort by investment bankers and management consultants of various types to provide advice to acquisition and merger candidates, in order to earn professional fees. In the case of the investment bankers, there was an additional opportunity around financing these transactions. This opportunity gave rise, in large measure, to the junk bond market that raised capital for acquisitions and raids. Secondly, the nature of the acquisition - and especially the nature of takeovers - became more intricate and strategic in nature. Both the takeover mechanisms and paths and the defensive, anti-takeover methods and tools (eg: the "poison pill") became increasingly sophisticated during the fourth wave.    The third characteristic in this category of "other unique characteristics" in the fourth wave was the increased reliance on the part of acquiring companies on debt, and perhaps even more importantly, on large amounts of debt, to finance the acquisition. A significant rise in management team acquisition of their own firms using comparatively large quantities of debt gave rise to a new term - the leveraged buy-out (or LBO) - in the lexicon of the Wall Street analyst.    The fourth characteristic was the advent of the international acquisition. Certainly, the acquisition of Standard Oil by British Petroleum for .8 billion in 1987 marked a change in the American business landscape, signaling a widening of the merger and acquisition landscape to encompass foreign buyers and foreign acquisition targets. This deal is significant not only because it involved foreign ownership of what had been considered a bedrock American company, but also because of the sheer dollar volume involved. A number of factors were involved in this event, such as the fall of the US dollar against foreign currencies (making US investments more attractive), and the evolution of the global marketplace where goods and services had become increasingly multinational in scope.    The Fifth Wave The fifth wave of acquisition and merger activity began immediately following the American economic recession of 1991 and 1992. The fifth wave is viewed by some observers as still ongoing, with the obvious interruption surrounding the tragic events September 11, 2001, and the recovery period immediately following those events. Others would say that it ended there, and after the couple of years ensuing, we are seeing the imminent rise of a sixth wave. Having no strong bias toward either view, for purposes of our discussion here I will adopt the first position. Based on the value of transactions announced over the course of the respective calendar years, the dollar volume of total mergers and acquisitions in the US in 1993 was 7.7 billion (an increase from 6.9 billion in 2002), continued to grow steadily to 4.6 billion in 1995, and expanded still further to ,073.2 billion by 2000.       This group of deals differed from the previous waves in several respects, but arguably the most important difference was that the acquisitions and mergers of the 1990s were more thoughtfully orchestrated than in any previous foray. They were more strategic in nature, and better aligned with what appeared to be relatively sophisticated strategic planning on the part of the acquiring company. This characteristic seems to have solidified as a primary feature of major merger and acquisition activity, at least in the US, which is encouraging for shareholders looking for sustainable growth rather than a quick - but temporary - bump in share price.    A second characteristic of the fifth wave of acquisitions and mergers is that they were typically more equity-based than debt-based in terms of their funding. In many cases, this worked out well because it relied less on leverage that required near-term repayment, enabling the new enterprise to be more careful and deliberate about the sell-off of assets in order to service debt created by the acquisition.     Even in cases where both of these features were prominent aspects of the deal, however, not all have been successful. In fact, some of the biggest acquisitions have been the biggest disappointments over recent years. For example, just before the announcement of the acquisition of Time Warner by AOL, a share of AOL common stock traded for about . In January of 2005, that share of stock was worth about .50. In the Spring of 2003, the average share price was more like .50. The AOL Time Warner merger was financed with AOL stock, and when the expected synergies did not materialize, market capitalization and shareholder value both tanked. What was not foreseen was the devaluation of the AOL shares used to finance the purchase. As analyst Frank Pellegrini reported in Time's on-line edition on April 25, 2002: "Sticking out of AOL Time Warner's rather humdrum earnings report Wednesday was a very gaudy number: A one-time loss of billion. It's the largest spill of red ink, dollar for dollar, in U.S. corporate history and nearly two-thirds of the company's current stock-market value."  The fifth wave has also become known as the wave of the "roll-up". A roll-up is a process that consolidates a fragmented industry through a series of acquisitions by comparatively large companies (typically already within that industry) called consolidators. While the most widely recognized of these roll-ups occurred in the funeral industry, office products retailers, and floral products, there were roll-ups of significant magnitude in other industries such as discrete segments of the aerospace & defense community.    Finally, the fifth wave of acquisitions and mergers was the first one in which a very large percentage of the total global activity occurred outside of the United States. In 1990, the volume of transactions in the US was 1.3 billion, while the UK had .3 billion, Canada had .3 billion, and Japan represented .2 billion. By the year 2000, the tide was shifting. While the US still led with ,073 billion, the UK had escalated to 3.7 billion, Canada had grown to 0.2 billion, and Japan had reached 8.8 billion. By 2005, it was clear that participation in global merger and acquisition activity was now anyone's turf. According to barternews.com: "There was incredible growth globally in the M&A arena last year, with record-setting volume of 4.3 billion coming from the Asian-Pacific region, up 46% from 4.5 billion in 2004. In the U.S., M&A volume rose 30% from 6.2 billion in 2004. In Europe the figure was 49% higher than the 9.5 billion in 2004. Activity in Eastern Europe nearly doubled to a record 7.4 billion."    The Lessons of History Many studies have been conducted that focus on historical mergers and acquisitions, and a great deal has been published on this topic. Most of the focus of these studies has been on more contemporary transactions, probably owing to factors such as the availability of detailed information, and a presumed increase in the relevance of more recent activity. However, before sifting through the collective wisdom of the legion of more contemporary studies, I think it's important to look at least briefly to the patterns of history that are reflected earlier in this article.   Casting a view backward over this long history of mergers and acquisitions then, observing the relative successes and failures, and the distinctive characteristics of each wave of activity, what lessons can be learned that could improve the chances of success in future M&A activity?  Here are ten of my own observations: Silver bullets and statistics. The successes and failures that we have reviewed through the course of this chapter reveal that virtually any type of merger or acquisition is subject to incompetence of execution, and to ultimate failure. There is no combination of market segments, management approaches, financial backing, or environmental factors that can guarantee success. While there is no "silver bullet" that can guarantee success, there are approaches, tools, and circumstances that serve to heighten or diminish the statistical probability of achieving sustainable long-term growth through an acquisition or merger. The ACL Life Cycle is fundamental. The companies who achieve sustainable growth using acquisitions and mergers as a mainstay of their business strategy are those that move deliberately through the Acquisition / Commonization / Leverage (ACL) Life Cycle. We saw evidence of that activity in the case of US Steel, Allied Chemical, and others over the course of this review. Integration failure often spells disaster. Failure to achieve enterprise-wide leverage through the commonization of fundamental business processes and their supporting systems can leave even the largest and most established companies vulnerable to defeat in the marketplace over time. We saw a number of examples of this situation, with the American Sugar Refining Company perhaps the most representative of the group. Environmental factors are critical. As we saw in our review of the first wave, factors such as the emergence of a robust transportation system and strong, resilient manufacturing processes enabled the success of many industrial mergers and acquisitions. So it was more recently with the advent of information systems and the Internet. Effective strategic planning in general, and effective due diligence specifically, should always include a thorough understanding of the business environment and market trends. Often times, acquiring executives become enamored with the acquisition target (as mentioned in our review of third wave activity), and ignore contextual issues as well as fundamental business issues that should be warning signs. Conglomeration is challenging. There were repeated examples of the challenges associated with conglomeration in our review of the history of mergers and acquisitions in the United States. While it is possible to survive - and even thrive - as a conglomerate, the odds are substantially against it. Those acquisitions and mergers that most often succeed in achieving sustainable long-term growth are the ones involving management with significant industry-specific and process-specific expertise. Remember the observation, during the course of our review of fourth wave activity, that "the most conclusive evidence that the bulk of conglomeration activity achieved through mergers and acquisitions is harmful to overall company value is the fact that so many of them are later sold or divested." Commonality holds value. Achieving significant commonality in fundamental business processes and the information systems that support them offers an opportunity for genuine synergy, and erects a substantive barrier against competitive forces in the marketplace. We saw this a number of times; Allied Chemical is especially illustrative.  Objectivity is important. As we saw in our review of the influence of investment bankers vetoing questionable deals during second wave activities, there is considerable value in the counsel of objective outsiders. A well-suited advisor will not only bring a clear head and fresh eyes to the table, but will often introduce important evaluative expertise as a result of experience with other similar transactions, both inside and outside of the industry involved. Clarity is critical. We saw the importance of clarity around the expected impacts of business decisions in our review of the application of the DuPont Model and similar tools that enabled the ascension of General Motors. Applying similar methods and tools can provide valuable insights about what financial results may be expected as the result of proposed acquisition or merger transactions. Creative accounting is a mirage. The kind of creative accounting described by another author as "finance gimmickry" in our review of third wave activity does not generate sustainable value in the enterprise, and in fact, can prove devastating to companies who use it as a basis for their merger or acquisition activity. Prudence is important when selecting financial instruments to fund M&A transactions. We observed a number of cases where inflated stock values, high-interest debt instruments, and other questionable choices resulted in tremendous devaluation in the resulting enterprise. Perhaps the most illustrative example was the recent AOL Time Warner merger described in the review of fifth wave activity. Many of these lessons from history are closely related, and tend to reinforce one another. Together, they provide an important framework of understanding about what types of acquisitions and mergers are most likely to succeed, what methods and tools are likely to be most useful, and what actions are most likely to diminish the company's capability for sustainable growth following the M&A transaction.

The Cholesterol Conspiracy - The Truth About Statins And Nutritional Supplementation

"All truth passes through three stages.

First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) What is the true cause of heart disease, and how can we truly reduce the risk of death? Atherosclerosis, or Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), is the leading cause of death in both men and women. In the U.S. alone, there are more than one million heart attacks every year, one third of them resulting in death. The majority of men and women currently have, or are actively developing, atherosclerosis. By age 20, most people already have a 15-25% narrowing of their arteries due to plaque formation. By age 40, there is a 30-50% clogging of their arteries. In the beginning of the Twentieth Century, congestive heart disease (CHD) was mostly a result of rheumatic fever, which was a childhood disease. However by the year 1936 there was a dramatic change in the main cause of heart disease. Cardiovascular disease caused by atherosclerosis, or plaque buildup, took first place as the primary cause of heart disease, making congestive heart failure a distant second. During the 1950's, the autopsies conducted on men who died of heart disease that revealed plaque-clogged arteries concluded that cholesterol was the cause of hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) and coronary artery disease. Cholesterol, not calcium, was considered the "cause" of heart disease, despite plaque consisting of 95% calcium and a relatively small percentage of cholesterol. By 1956 there were 600,000 deaths annually from heart disease in the U.S. Of those 600,000, 90% were caused by atherosclerosis, or clogged arteries. In fewer than 25 years, the number one cause of death in the U.S. had changed dramatically ...from congestive heart disease to coronary artery disease. Because cholesterol was dubbed the "cause" of atherosclerosis, the effort to lower cholesterol by any means began in earnest. Both the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry seized upon this opportunity to cash in on a cholesterol-lowering campaign by creating foods and drugs that would supposedly save lives. Diets, such as the Prudent Diet, were established to lower the amount of cholesterol intake from food. There was no doubt that both polyunsaturated oils and drugs reduced cholesterol, but by 1966 it was also apparent that lowering cholesterol did not translate into a reduced risk of death from heart disease. As there was so much money to be made from pharmaceutical development, the campaign to produce cholesterol-lowering drugs kicked into high gear, despite the lack of evidence showing that the lowering cholesterol reduced the risk of untimely death from heart disease. Heart disease kills 725,000 Americans annually, with women accounting for 2/3 or nearly 500,000 of those deaths. After thirty years of cholesterol-lowering medications' failure to significantly lower the death rate from cardiovascular disease, in 1987 a new and more dangerous class of drugs was unleashed upon the world: the "statin" drugs. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are now the standard of care that physicians are indoctrinated into prescribing to reduce cardiovascular disease. Are statin drugs the best way to prevent heart attacks and death? Before 1936 the most common type of heart disease was congestive heart disease (CHD). It rarely caused sudden death and could be treated with the drug digitalis. The incidence of CHD remained stable until 1987, after which the incidence of the disease skyrocketed. Interestingly, the timing of the increased incidence of congestive heart disease coincides with the introduction of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Could cholesterol-lowering statin drugs have something to do with the weakening of heart muscles and the increased incidence of congestive heart failure? We will see that lowering the body's co-enzyme Q10 levels, a side effect of statin drugs, does indeed increase the risk of muscle damage, including the muscles of the heart. Atherosclerosis is a disease characterized primarily by inflammation of the arterial lining caused by oxidative damage from homocysteine, a toxic amino acid intermediary found in everyone. Homocsyteine, in combination with other free radicals and toxins, oxidizes arteries, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, which in turn releases C Reactive Protein (CRP) from the liver-a marker of an inflammatory response within the arteries. Inflammation (oxidation) is the beginning of plaque buildup and ultimately, cardiovascular disease. Plaque, combined with the thickening of arterial smooth muscles, arterial spasms, and clotting, puts a person at a high risk of suffering heart attack or stroke. For years, doctors have hyper-focused on cholesterol levels. First it was the total cholesterol; later the focus became the ratio of "good" HDL cholesterol to "bad" LDL cholesterol. In other words, how much of your cholesterol was good, and how much was bad? Of the two, the important parameter is the level of HDL cholesterol, not LDL cholesterol. HDL, or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, is responsible for clearing out the LDL cholesterol that sticks to arterial walls. Exercise, vitamins, minerals, and other antioxidants, particularly the bioflavonoid and olive polyphenol antioxidants, increase HDL cholesterol levels and protect the LDL cholesterol from oxidative damage, and therefore do more to reduce the risk of heart disease than any medication ever could. There is nothing inherently bad about LDL cholesterol. LDL cholesterol is critical to maintain life. LDL cholesterol only becomes "bad" when it is damaged, or oxidized by free radicals. Only the damaged, or oxidized form of LDL cholesterol sticks to the arterial walls to initiate the formation of plaque. Let us look towards cigarette smoking for a simple example demonstrating that we really need to reduce oxidized LDL cholesterol to prevent atherosclerosis, as opposed to indiscriminately lowering LDL cholesterol with statin drugs. Everyone knows that cigarette smoking increases the risk of many chronic diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Smokers with normal levels of LDL cholesterol are at an even greater risk of developing heart disease than a non-smoker who has elevated levels of LDL cholesterol. Of course the reason why a smoker with normal levels of LDL cholesterol is at greater risk of disease is because his LDL gets excessively oxidized. Cigarette smoke releases so many toxins and free radicals that the LDL cholesterol, the triglycerides, and the arterial walls are extensively oxidized. Homocysteine levels are also increased by cigarette smoking which further oxidizes LDL cholesterol and the arterial lining. Oxidation is the initiating cause of atherosclerosis. Therefore, the more and longer one smokes, the more oxidative damage he sustains and the greater his risk of developing heart disease. The degree of oxidation directly corresponds to the risk of heart disease. If you are not taking vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants then your LDL cholesterol is being oxidized, it is sticking to your arterial walls, and you ARE developing heart disease EVEN IF YOUR CHOLESTEROL LEVELS ARE NORMAL! LDL cholesterol starts sticking to arterial walls before the age of 5. Among the many free radicals that damage cholesterol, triglycerides and the arterial lining is homocysteine, a toxic intermediate biochemical produced during the conversion of the amino acid methionine into another important amino acid, cysteine. Both methionine and cysteine are non-toxic, but homocysteine is very toxic to the lining of the arterial endothelium. Homocysteine oxidizes LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and the arterial lining. Homocysteine is an amino acid normally produced in small amounts from the amino acid methionine. The normal role of homocysteine in the body is to control growth and support bone and tissue formation. However a problem arises when homocysteine levels in the body are elevated, causing excessive damage to LDL cholesterol, as well as to arteries. Furthermore, homocysteine actually stimulates growth of arteriosclerotic plaque, which leads to heart disease. Thyroid hormone controls the level of homocysteine, but numerous factors play a role in the elevation of homocysteine. Normal aging, kidney failure, smoking, some medications, and industrial toxins all elevate homocysteine levels. Interestingly, estrogen helps lower homocysteine. Homocysteine becomes elevated in the blood with a deficiency of the B vitamins-B6, B12 and folic acid. Genetics also play a role. About 12% of the population has an undetected defect requiring higher levels of folic acid than the rest of population to help maintain homocysteine levels in a safe range (below 6.5). Therefore if you have high homocysteine levels (> 7.0) even though you are taking supplemental B complex vitamins, then you may be among the 12% who need more than 1000 mcg of folic acid per day. In addition, betaine, also known as trimethylglycine (TMG) lowers homocysteine. Homocysteine is second only to cigarette smoking in its oxidative destruction. It causes small nicks or tears in the arterial lining, while also oxidizing and damaging LDL cholesterol. The damaged, or oxidized LDL cholesterol sticks to the homocysteine-damaged areas of the arterial lining. The combination of oxidized LDL cholesterol and a damaged arterial lining is what causes LDL cholesterol to stick to the arteries, whether or not the LDL cholesterol level is normal. Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are the standard for treating high cholesterol. This is dogma, and anyone who states otherwise is committing medical heresy. Many people find it hard to believe that pharmaceutical companies could ever succeed in paying medical researchers, medical associations, and doctors to recommend something detrimental to our health. Most people do not know that pharmaceutical companies fund medical institutions, medical education, medical conferences, and still reward doctors and research institutions for providing favorable results on their drugs. Likewise, pharmaceutical companies often suppress negative results from studies done on their drugs. Money has the power to sweep negative results and serious side effects under the rug. Money has the power to influence the FDA to decide which drugs make it to market and which drugs become the "standard" of treatment. Former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Dr. Marcia Angell, warned of the problem of commercializing scientific research in her outgoing editorial titled "Is Academic Medicine for Sale?" Angell called for stronger restrictions on pharmaceutical stock ownership and other financial incentives for researchers. She said that growing conflicts of interest were tainting science, warning "When the boundaries between industry and academic medicine become as blurred as they are now, the business goals of industry influence the mission of medical schools in multiple ways." She did not discount the benefits of research but said, "a Faustian bargain" now existed between medical schools and the pharmaceutical industry. Angell left the NEJM in June 2000 and has written a book, "The Truth About the Drug Companies: How They Deceive Us and What to Do About It." Two years later, in June 2002, the NEJM announced that it was going to begin accepting articles that were written by biased researchers, as there weren't enough unbiased researchers left to write articles. In other words, most research institutions were now funded by one or more of the numerous pharmaceutical companies. An ABC report noted that a survey of clinical trials revealed that when a drug company did not fund a study, favorable results regarding a drug were found only 50% of the time. In studies funded by drug companies favorable results about the drugs were reported an amazing 90% of the time. Money can and does buy the desired results. This is how most medical research and drugs are now developed and brought to market. In 1977, the internationally-renowned heart surgeon, Dr. Michael DeBakey pointed out that only 30-40% of people with blocked arteries and heart disease have elevated blood cholesterol levels, and posed the logical question, "How do you explain the other 60-70%?" Because lowering cholesterol did not reduce the risk of death from heart disease, the Cholesterol Consensus Conference in 1984 developed new guidelines to lower the "acceptable level" of cholesterol. High cholesterol would now be the diagnosis for any man or woman with a cholesterol level over 200. Doctors had to convince their patients that they had the disease and needed to take one or more expensive drugs for the rest of their lives. However, when lowering total cholesterol levels below 200 did not translate into saving lives from heart attacks, the focus then turned to LDL cholesterol levels. The "disease" of high cholesterol was refined to the disease of high LDL cholesterol. The unfortunate patient who had an LDL cholesterol level above 130 was now condemned to a lifetime of expensive drugs. Though completely illogical, even when a person with normal LDL cholesterol levels suffered a heart attack, he would still be prescribed a cholesterol-lowering drug. As we shall see, statin drugs reduce the risk of death by repeat heart attacks by as much as 30%, but interestingly enough, the mechanism of action in reducing the risk of death after a heart attack is not via statin drugs' ability to lower cholesterol! It has been discovered that statin drugs have a modest anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. Yet, there are many natural antioxidants that reduce inflammation and oxidation of LDL cholesterol and the lining of the arteries, which may soon be discovered to be more effective in reducing the risk of death than "antioxidant drugs," without toxic side effects. The myth that high LDL cholesterol is the primary cause of heart disease, and that we must be on drugs to protect ourselves is dispelled by the evidence. If the premise were true that people with high levels of LDL cholesterol get heart disease, then we could assume that people with normal levels of LDL should not get heart disease, or at least very few should get it. However, as Dr. DeBakey observed, approximately 60% of those who die from heart disease have normal LDL cholesterol levels! Furthermore, after over 45 years of doctors prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs, heart disease and stroke still remain the number one cause of death in both women and men. This says that regardless of whether you have a high or a normal level of cholesterol, you have a 50% chance of dying from heart disease. If this is so, and it is, then why take a dangerous drug to attempt to lower your cholesterol in the first place? In 2001, the target level of LDL cholesterol was lowered from 130 to 100, and overnight the number of people considered to be candidates for cholesterol statin drugs doubled. Many people such as myself bristled at the news, because we knew the effectiveness of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in preventing and reversing heart disease. Many of us could see the conspiracy for what it was. The level at which LDL cholesterol is considered normal has continually been influenced by pharmaceutical companies, who pull the financial strings of research grants that keep medical schools and medical organizations in business. The lower they can establish the level at which LDL cholesterol is considered to be normal, the more people automatically become victims of the dreaded disease of "high cholesterol." Therefore, more people will be persuaded that they need to be taking a statin drug, and voilà, more profit for the manufacturers. When you consider the size of the profits already received, let alone the potential profit from statin drugs over the next several years, the cholesterol conspiracy is one of the largest money making schemes ever perpetrated on the world. In July 2004, the level of LDL cholesterol considered normal underwent another change. The new norm plunged from 100 to 70, virtually doubling again the number of people who are "infected" with the plague of high cholesterol. Why, it's the epidemic of our time! Many enlightened people howled at this news, wondering if the masses would ever wake up and see who is behind this, and why. Why is the medical establishment ignoring the thousands of published medical studies that show the beneficial effects of nutritional supplements against heart disease? Why is the medical establishment down-playing the dangerous and deadly side effects of statin drugs? The "updated" LDL cholesterol recommendations were published in the July 2004 issue of the American Heart Association's publication, Circulation. A panel from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, which is endorsed by the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, were the ones who actually pronounced the new cholesterol level at which drugs should be prescribed. Sounds pretty official and reliable if these powerful medical institutions are backing up these recommendations, right? The fact is eight of the nine panel members making the new LDL cholesterol recommendations were being paid by the statin-producing pharmaceutical companies. The panelists did not disclose their financial conflict of interest. This information was uncovered by Newsday, a Long Island, New York newspaper (D. Ricks and R. Robins, Newsday, July 15, 2004). Seven of the nine panelists have financial connections to Pfizer, the makers of Lipitor®. Five of the nine served as "consultants" to Pfizer. So, what did the other two panelists do to deserve their money? Seven of the nine panelists also received money from Merck, the producers of Zocor®, with four of them serving as "consultants" to the company. Eight of the panelists who made the recommendations that would increase the prescribing of statin drugs have received either research grants or honoraria from Pfizer, Merck, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Glaxo Smith Kline, Johnson & Johnson, Bayer, and many other drug companies that produce statin drugs. You would think that with all the advertising and recommendations from medical experts on the benefits of statin drugs, the medical community would possess overwhelming evidence that the drugs reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. A hint of some of the smoke and mirrors in the pharmaceutical companies' advertising can be seen in their TV commercials. Read carefully the small print on some of Crestor's® commercial advertising. Their commercial states how much it lowers LDL cholesterol. However, in the same ad you can read, "...Crestor® has not been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease or heart attack." If so, then why take it? Isn't the bottom line to prevent death? The system for reporting adverse effects from medications is tremendously flawed, so much so that many people are seriously harmed or killed by some medications before they are finally removed from the market. Most doctors do not know what symptoms or effects are due to the drug, what should be reported, or even to whom to report adverse effects. They assume that the research that went into developing the drug has already identified all the effects and that a drug brought to market is "safe." However, only one in twenty side effects is ever reported to either hospital administrators or the FDA. Statin drugs block cholesterol production in the body by inhibiting the enzyme called HMG-CoA reductase in the early steps of its synthesis in the mevalonate pathway. Cholesterol is one of three end products in the mevalonate chain. This same biosynthetic pathway is also used to create co-enzyme Q10, or co-Q10, as well as dilochol. Therefore, one unfortunate consequence of statin drugs is the unintentional inhibition of both Co-Q10 and dilochol synthesis. The drug information insert of a statin drug states that it lowers co-enzyme Q10 levels. Most doctors have forgotten their biochemistry class in medical school, and forgotten about the importance of Co-Q10. Therefore they apparently are not concerned about such a statement on the drug labeling information sheet. They may even reassure their patients that lowering Co-Q10 is nothing to worry about, but at the same time warn them that the drug may cause liver damage and to have their liver enzymes checked every three to six months to make sure the drug isn't killing them. They do not realize that it is the depletion of Co-Q10 that leads to liver damage and death. Ubiquinone, or co-enzyme Q10, is a critical cellular nutrient created in the cell's mitochondria, the "engines" that produce energy for the cell. Mitochondria use sugar, oxygen, and water to produce energy molecules known as ATP. Without ATP cells could do nothing. Damaged tissues could not be repaired. Cells could not divide or produce or utilize proteins, enzymes, or hormones. Death of cells, and indeed of the human body would occur if ATP could no longer be produced and utilized. Co-Q10 functions within the mitochondria as an electron carrier to cytochrome oxidase, our main respitory enzyme, which helps turn oxygen and sugar into energy. The heart requires high levels of oxygen, sugar, and Co-Q10 since it utilizes a lot of energy. A form of Co-Q10 called ubiquinone is found in all cell membranes, where it plays a role in maintaining membrane integrity, so critical to nerve conduction and muscle contraction. Co-Q10 is also vital for the formation of elastin and collagen, which make up the connective tissues of the skin, musculature, and the cardiovascular system. The most common side effect of statin drugs is muscle pain and weakness. In fact, many patients who start on the statin drugs almost immediately notice generalized fatigue and muscle weakness. This is due to the depletion of Co-Q10 needed to support muscle function. Dr. Beatrice Golomb of San Diego, California, is currently conducting a series of studies on statin side effects. The pharmaceutical industry insists that only 2-3% of patients get muscle aches and cramps, when in fact in one study, Golomb found that 98% of patients taking Lipitor®, and one-third of the patients taking Mevacor® (a lower dose statin), suffered noticeable to significant muscle problems. Some people on statin drugs lose coordination of their muscles. Some develop pain in their muscles, some are not able to write due to loss of fine motor skills. Many lose the strength to exercise. Others are falling more frequently as their muscles give out, still others have trouble sleeping due to muscle cramping and twitching. Even worse, many people are experiencing most of these side effects. The problems are so numerous, it is difficult to list all the symptoms people might experience. These problems do not come from the "disease" of high cholesterol, but the disease of ignorance in prescribing these drugs. As we age, Co-Q10 levels decline naturally. From the age of 20 to 80, Co-Q10 levels fall by nearly 50%. Along with the natural decline of Co-Q10, comes a natural decrease in energy and an increase in the risk of heart disease, stroke, and cancer. If the natural decline of Co-Q10 levels increases the risk of fatigue, cancer, heart disease, and stroke, would it not make sense that accelerating the decline of Co-Q10 levels with statin drugs would have the same effect? They do indeed! Demonstrating the importance of Co-Q10 to cardiovascular health, in a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study of people either taking or not taking statin drugs, supplementation with Co-Q10 reduced the risk of heart attacks and death in those with heart disease and prior heart attacks by 50%, regardless of whether they were on a statin drug or not. (Singh R, Neki N, Kartikey K, et al. Effect of coenzyme Q10 on risk of atherosclerosis in patients with recent myocardial infarction. Mol Cell Biochem. 2003 Apr; 246(1-2):75-82.) Additionally, Co-Q10 was shown to increase blood levels of vitamin E and significantly increase the levels of protective HDL. As low HDL is a major risk factor for heart disease, increasing it is a definite benefit. Statin drugs were shown not to provide any benefit beyond that of supplementing with Co-Q10. Let me make this clear - in this study only the co-enzyme Q10 provided any benefit, not the drugs! Cardiologist Dr. Peter Langsjoen of East Texas University reported the effects of Lipitor® among 20 patients who started with completely normal hearts. After six months on a low dose of 20 mg of Lipitor® per day, two thirds of the patients started to show signs of heart failure, as seen by abnormalities in the heart's filling phase. According to Dr. Langsjoen, this malfunction is due to Co-Q10 depletion. Nine controlled trials using statin drugs in humans have been conducted thus far. Eight of these showed significant statin-induced Co-Q10 depletion leading to a decline in left ventricular function and other biochemical imbalances. In the United States, the incidence of heart attacks over the past ten to fifteen years has declined slightly. But congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy have risen alarmingly. Is it a coincidence that statin drugs were first marketed in 1987, and then from 1989 to 1997, deaths from congestive heart failure more than doubled? 38 It scares me that virtually all patients with heart failure are put on statin drugs, even if their cholesterol is already low. In my opinion, the worst thing to do for a failing heart is take a statin drug. The best thing is to take is a full range of quality nutritional supplements, ...vitamins, minerals, fish oil, and other antioxidants, including Co-Q10. Various antioxidants work synergistically, each contributing to the fight against free radicals in different areas and in different ways. In the blood stream, water-soluble antioxidants, such as vitamin C, and grape seed extract come in contact with and neutralize free radicals before they damage LDL-cholesterol. Other antioxidants saturate arterial walls and other tissues, and protect collagen and elastic fibers from free radical damage, reducing inflammation and plaque formation. The fat-soluble antioxidants, vitamin E, beta carotene, and co-enzyme Q10 ride along in the blood fat (triglycerides) and LDL cholesterol, protecting them and the endothelium from oxidation. Vitamin E sits on the surface of LDL cholesterol, protecting it from free radical damage. Beta carotene, grape seed extract and olive extract penetrate deeper inside the LDL cholesterol and arterial walls, adding more protection from oxidation. Quercetin and alpha lipoic acid work through nitrous oxide pathways to reduce high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease. A report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2005 looked at 97 double-blind controlled studies comparing the efficacy of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs to fish oil. They found that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs reduced the risk of death from heart disease by only 13%, and interesting enough it was NOT due to the effect of lowering cholesterol. The benefits, although small, were derived from the fact that statin drugs have a slight antioxidant effect. Even more interesting, the salmon oil was shown to reduce the risk of death from heart disease by 23%, nearly double the benefit of statin drugs. Salmon oil is an omega-3 fatty acid that gets incorporated into cholesterol and triglycerides and prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Since LDL cholesterol is protected from excessive oxidation there is less plaque buildup and less risk of heart disease. Inflammation is a well-known component in the formation of atherosclerosis. To keep it simple, think of inflammation and oxidation as the same process. The immune system's response to inflammation is to release peroxides that act like acid to break down damaged tissues, so that cells from the immune system, macrophages, can consume the molecules and clean up the site. But peroxides escalate the oxidation/inflammation process, thus damaging more tissue. The arterial walls become more inflamed, escalating the formation of plaque and scarring. The downward cycle continues until atherosclerosis is so advanced that the occurrence of a heart attack or stroke becomes imminent. The liver's response to inflammation is to release C reactive protein (CRP) into the blood. Other inflammatory causes can cause elevated CRP levels, including cigarette smoking, obesity, insulin insensitivity, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, infections, dementia, colorectal cancer, high blood pressure, and aging. Accordingly, elevated CRP levels are a direct indication of inflammation in the body and that atherosclerosis, including heart disease, is actively developing. Homocysteine and high sensitivity CRP levels can and should be tested. Dr. Jialal, of the Universtity of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, is well known for his research correlating oxidized LDL cholesterol as the true cause of atherosclerosis, has also identified high sensitivity C reactive protein as a predictive risk factor for inflammation of arterial walls and plaque formation. Your doctor may not test for these routinely, but you should insist on getting these tests done. Both of these predictive values can be kept at "safe" levels. Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and omega-3 fatty acids can lower the levels of homocysteine and CRP. The B vitamins, along with betaine, or tri-methyl-glycine (TMG), change homocysteine into safer amino acids and reduce inflammation of the LDL cholesterol and the arterial lining. When you receive the results of your homocysteine test, do not accept the answer, "Your test was normal." Ask for the actual number. The doctor and nurse usually know what is normal by what the lab slip states as the "normal range." Most lab results report a normal homocysteine level as being below 10.4, when in fact, since the early 1990's, researchers have known that a homocysteine count above 6.5 signals a rapid linear rise in the risk for heart disease. Furthermore, with every 3 point elevation of homocysteine above 6.5, e.g., when homocysteine levels are 9.5, the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) rises by an additional 35%! Yet you may be told that 9.5 is "normal and not to worry." With a homocysteine level of 12.5, the increase in the risk for heart disease exceeds 70%. The greater the homocysteine level, the greater the oxidation of both LDL cholesterol and the arterial lining. The greater the inflammation, the higher the CRP. Is it any wonder that homocysteine and CRP levels are more predictive for risk of heart disease than cholesterol levels and ratios? I need to emphasize that anyone whether they have a medical problem or not, should discuss this information with their physician before acting upon anything written here. The information provided is not meant to diagnose or treat any disease. It is for informational purposes only; and no one should make decisions about their medications without consulting with their physician. No one should come off a cholesterol-lowering statin drug in lieu of nutritional supplements without a thorough discussion with their physician who is keenly aware of all the pros and cons of both treatment modalities. In summary, I recommend a full spectrum of quality nutritional supplements, along with a healthy diet and exercise, to help obtain and maintain optimal heart and arterial health. I believe all would agree that lifestyle changes are the most important factor for optimal health, ...and many believe that quality nutritional supplements are key in protecting against the process that leads to, and accelerates the development of almost all chronic degenerative diseases, that of oxidation. To combat oxidation we need a full range of quality antioxidants. http://comparativeguide.com