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.

You really can't spot reduce. You have to lower your overall body fat, to get arm definition. I have VERY toned arms--unfortunately nobody knows that but me, because I need to reduce body fat. Many women do complain that their arms actually look larger after using weights to work the upper body. That is because their muscles are slightly larger, but their body fat is too high to show definition. I have been told by trainers that you need to reduce body fat to below 20% before you can really see arm definition. Now if you have low body fat and just want to work your arms--you michgt be interested in a workout called 'The power of 10" My friend is a trainer and a trainer she knows swears by it. (I also love it--and it would be great for a mom that doesn't have alot of time) Basically you lift weights/do body sculpting exercises--very slowly--each rep is 20 seconds -10 sec up and 10 sec down. You do 8 reps until you reach muscle failure. Muscle failure means that you are so fatigued, that you cannot manage to do another rep. THe entire workout takes 20 minutes and you only do it twice a week. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it and get figured out what exercises you want to do and what weights you want to use, but there is nothing like it... All you would need to do is buy the book. THere are several routines given in it for you to follow. I'm not affiliated with it. I just think the workout is awesome. Good Luck

It is amazing how much flexibility we lose as we get older. I am shocked over here! lol Yoga is something I'd really like to try. As far as the aches and pains, diet can also help there. J. J. Virgin is a new one appearing on the PBS circuit. It's the same type of program others are promoting about dropping certain foods and increasing vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds. Let's see if I can remember them from her program to eliminate food sensitivities and inflammation. Dairy Gluten Eggs Soy Corn Sugar & artificial sweeteners Peanuts (had to look that one up!) Dr. Fuhrman promotes GOMBS Greens Onions Mushrooms Beans & Berries Seeds & Nuts for energy and disease prevention and even reversal. These doctors (others too) are really hitting the circuit that we don't have to get sick or feel tired and achy. We are what we eat! One thing JJV said that stuck with me was "our bodies are not bank accounts, they are labs". That's basically the premise of Dr. Furhman's educationals, too. This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, May 2, 13 at 13:30

I'm late to this discussion and I don't post too often, but what you described in your original post is how I was feeling for the longest time. From what you said, I'd say the nurse was very likely right. I had my first hip replaced on 2009 (at 54) and the other one this year (6 months ago). Here's what I was experiencing - does any of it sound familiar to you? * Pain in my thighs, especially towards the end of the day. The muscles were so sore and I could feel them twitching. * Sleeping was difficult, since I could not find a comfortable position. I even bought a new mattress, since I thought that was the problem. * There was occasional pain in my groin, best described as a knife twisted in there. :( * I lurched when I walked, and for someone who used to gracefully manage modern gymnastics, that was embarrassing. I had a physio consult and the physiotherapist told me what is so very logical, but what had not occurred to me, that a lot of the pain was due to muscles tired of trying to hold my body in a position where the pain was less. I've linked to the booklet I was given. There are some good exercises in there to do. And as for aches and pains in general. Yup, I have them. The worst is the arthritis in the base of my thumbs. Really aggravating! Rub A535 and Ben Gay are my best friends. :) Here is a link that might be useful: Exercises are on pages 7-12