Some of you may be able to grow Noni. See my 22nd Dec. 2008 post on Drought forum = "Need a challenge." A few years ago, trying to develop a foreign aid agro-industrial export of Noni, I met with the biggest western industry wholesaler. Gotta say, I don't know what is being marketed as "pure" after hearing what they were importing. The pungent fruit that falls off the tree is no longer green, but a translucent buff grey. This stage has top potency & may differ from commercial products' efficacy. I mash it through a strainer & it has the consistency of rough apple sauce. It keeps in the fridge for just shy of indefinitely. 1 - 2 tablespoons at a time is a reasonable dose of this Noni compote. To tweak the taste try mixing it with a little of what is called "Fortified Wine" (low, low alcohol content) or some grape juice, if you can't abide to ingest it alone. If you put the whole fruit in a blender & liquify it to sieve out the juice it tastes bad, because the oxygen interaction spreads the poor taste. Try the compote mash & you will see the taste is palatable.

Situps is a curse, not even a word deffinetly not an exercise. What you want to do is a variety of crunches. Crunch is defined in my training sessions as being flat on your back, bending your knees up, imagining a string pulling your SHOULDERS up off the floor 3-5 inches while holding your head straight with your back. If you do it correctly, your neck will NEVER be bent, therefore you will not hurt your back. You (and anyone) should NEVER do situps. It was proven to harm more than to help years ago. Crunches can be done with extra resistance by bringing your hands and placing them of your tummy for the Âeasiest crunch. Placing the hands on your chest will make the exercise a bit harder and placing them behind your neck (only fingers touching) will make it really hard to perform. Do NOT pull your head up off the floor use your abs to squeeze the muscle and lift your shoulders off the floor. When you reach a level that crunches is no problem for you, try to place a book on your chest to increase the resistance. Now, there are Reverse crunches as well for the really lower abs. Be on your back, place your arms to the sides (like a cross) to maintain balance and now raise your knees towards your chest while your feet are at the same height of your knees. If you really want to challenge your self, be on your back, raise your legs up and maintain them straight as you can in vertical position. Now do a crunchÂ. This will really burn. Regarding repetitions: To START I would recommend three sets of 10 reps five days a week  never on the full stomach. When you feel comfortable with that, INCREASE the time of each repetition (do 5 seconds up, and 5 seconds down) and keep the same number of sets. DonÂt EVER exercise fast! It never works. Always stretch your body before and after exercising. My wife had a C-section and with the above program she is nearly fully back to the flat abs she had before pregnancy. It took six monthsÂ. Hope it helps Ron

Sending good thoughts and prayers to you both, especially for a good prognosis when the pain is checked out. (((((HUGS)))))

Had a laminectomy 2 years ago to relieve the pressure on my sciatic nerve. Had never experienced pan like that before. Holy cow! Suffice to say that there was great relief after the surgery but, like they say, once something is broken, it's never like new again. The excrutiating, disabilitating pain was gone but to this day my left leg is still numb from my buttock fold to my foot! I can walk without a limp now and am grateful for that. I have terrible days and my nights are the worse but for the most part I do ok. Aleve and Motrin are helpful. I also walk as much as possible (which kills me but I do it anyway) and I make sure I stretch my hamstrings and calf muscles. I was a Physical Therapist Asst. for many yrs. and know that the one best thing you can do to keep your back healthy is to have a strong core. Find a way to work on those abdominal muscles. They support your back. I also know (from experience) that to some of us, abdominal exercises aren't easy to do when your back is killing you! Good luck to you all with your back discomfort!