Glucose Test Strips on Ebay

Glucose testing is a vital part of an effective blood sugar management program for people afflicted with diabetes. Having access to cost effective test strips is an absolute must but even though blood sugar testing devices have been around for over 20 years, the cost of testing strips has not declined very much, if at all.

Why is this so?

By eliminating competitors, four medical companies now dominate about 90 percent of the market which keeps prices high. These firms are in the game to make money and since the markup on test strips is so high (cost of manufacture is typically around 5 cents each, versus 85 cents to one dollar at retail) it represents a windfall profit opportunity.

At the same time, the growing number of diabetics, identified by increased medical screening, is set to generate greater demand for glucose strips in North America which means more people paying inflated prices. This is fine if a patient has medical insurance but if that's not the case it can financially over-burden them and make testing a lot harder to justify. They become torn between the dire need to test and the fiscal need to save money. A diabetic needs to test without much concern for price.

How to lower the cost.

Clearly, a way to lower the cost of test strips is desirable. New companies are showing up that have lowered the cost of testing to about 60 cents per strip but that price is still somewhat steep.

One method that has proven to lower the cost of my own blood sugar testing supplies is to buy them online on EBay. For one reason or another, people are ending up with a surplus of glucose test strips and they're auctioning them off on the world's largest garage sale.

Typically, test strips go for at least 50 percent less than retail which can bring your cost down as low as 25 - 30 cents depending on the brand and model of blood sugar monitor you use.

EBay has proven effective for me and many others but since it's an online auction, I urge you to be cautious and do your research on products and buyers before committing to anything. Before buying test strips on EBay there are some things to be wary of in order to buy safely.

It is possible to buy bargain test strips on EBay and so far I've perosnally had good experience.

But unwary buyers could get more than they bargained for. They could be opening themselves up to eye damage or unnecessary surgery if they don't know how to buy glucose strips safely. There is also the possibility of ending up with counterfeit strips, so it pays to be informed.

Product reviews: http://ebayplex.com/glucose-test-strips-on-ebay

Complete Balanced Nutritional Supplements - Green tea

The way some reporters make it sound, green tea and health are synonymous. Some self-proclaimed experts make it sound like a magic weight loss pill. One of them claims that coffee-drinkers can lose 10 pounds in six weeks by switching to green tea. Another group says that five cups per day will help your burn 70-80 extra calories per day. That would work out to about a pound in six weeks.

There is some truth to the claims made by supplement
manufacturers and tea distributors. But, the truth about weight loss is this. There are hundreds of different diet pills and weight loss drugs on the market, but none of them work on their own.

If you are overweight, it probably has very little to do with how much you are eating, but with "what" you are eating. If you're like most people, you are eating foods that are high in calories and low in nutritive value. If you suffer from cravings and tend to overeat, there are nutrients missing from your diet. You can benefit from a well designed multi-nutritional supplement.

Of course, the research concerning green tea and health has not focused solely on weight loss. Like most of today's research, the primary focus has been cancer. The catechins in the camellia sinensis plant, from which the tea leaves are taken, have been shown to have a variety of anti-cancer activities. One of them is very interesting and completely contradicts what the media and the so-called experts have said.

There is an enzyme that researchers refer to as fatty acid synthase-N or FASN. FASN is suspected of being an "oncogene", a gene that when mutated or present at high levels turns a normal cell into a cancer cell. Inhibiting FASN has been investigated as a component of chemotherapy, but the inhibitors have caused weight loss and anorexia, an undesirable side effect for the cancer patient.

In one study concerning green tea and health, researchers found that catechins inhibit FASN in animals, without inducing weight loss. Catechins have been shown to lower cholesterol levels, reduce the waist size of people with type II diabetes, improve the secretion of insulin and inhibit the formation of blood clots. They have anti-inflammatory activity and in animals have been shown to prevent rheumatoid arthritis.

There is plenty of evidence from studies concerning green tea and health to make the following statement. It reduces your risk of prostate or breast cancer. There is not enough evidence to say much else about it "conclusively". Even in the area of cancer prevention, the evidence is only "strong", not conclusive.

It is safe to say that it is a good ingredient for a supplement to contain. But, there are other extracts that have much stronger evidence concerning the benefit of supplementation. Try to find a supplement that contains olive leaf, curcumin, grape seed, black cumin, bilberry, milk thistle, pine bark, ginger, gingko biloba and myrrh.

We may learn more about green tea and health, as time goes by, but one thing will not change. It's only one important antioxidant. There are many others.

Product reviews: http://ebayplex.com/complete-balanced-nutritional-supplements-green-tea