Maximizing the Benefits of Nutritional Vitamins and Herbal Supplements

Nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements are just one of the many types of dietary supplements available in the market. Dietary supplements include vitamin or herbal extractions as part of their ingredients. Like other supplements, nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements come in pill, gel capsule, liquid, or powder forms.Getting the most out of supplementsAs the consumption of nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements increase, more studies dedicated to maximizing its benefits to the body are being conducted. The formula is simple: Dietary supplements must complement your diet. They should not overpower, cancel, or take away from the nutrients that your body absorbs from your natural diet.Below are some tips collated from these different studies. They should help you maximize the performance of the nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements you take.1. Excessive supplements can harm you.Even though nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements contribute to a healthy lifestyle, taking too much of them can be dangerous. This is because supplements can be likened to drugs in that they are also reactive to other elements present inside the body.For instance, too much iron may increase your chances of getting iron overload. Excess iron may builds up in tissues of your vital organs (such as your liver or heart). This overload is a chronic disease that when left untreated may lead to hemochromatosis, which is potentially deadly.Unless your doctor prescribes that you need an excess amount of a certain nutrient for a certain medical condition, it is still best to just take the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). No previous studies or data can prove that taking more nutritional vitamin and herbal supplements than what set in the RDA has beneficial effects.2. Natural does not mean safe.Claims that nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements are safer because they are natural are very misleading. Never buy supplements just because the manufacturer says that they are ‘natural.’Some plants are toxic in nature and can be harmful or deadly for human consumption. For example, the herb ephedra was pulled out of the market after it was linked to the death of a famous athlete. Play it safe and ask your doctor.3. Supplement does not mean substitute.While it is true that nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements can greatly help you get and maintain the recommended nutrients you need for a healthy lifestyle, it is wrong to look at supplements as substitutes for the natural sources of vitamins and nutrients. Maintain a healthy and balanced diet and just use supplements to fill your nutrition gaps.4. Ask for professional help.Because of the risks posed by harmful combinations of nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements and medications, it is best to seek the advice of a doctor or a herbal medicine expert before taking any. Remember that nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements do not work the same way for different people – what works for your neighbor may be harmful to you. Your doctor should evaluate your overall health condition and then diagnose the correct and most potent variety of nutritional vitamins and herbal supplements for you.5. Be sure your supplement is safe. Buy only supplements from manufacturers that are pharmaceutical GMP compliant. These manufacturers have passed the most stringent manufacturing standards, so you can be sure that their products are free of harmful contaminants and contain the exact volume of nutrients you pay for.

There is an excessive amount of traffic coming from your Region.

#EANF#

Factoring Vs A-R Financing – What’s the Difference?

In today’s tight credit environment, more and more businesses are having to turn to alternative and non-bank financing options to access the capital they need to keep the gears of their business running smoothly.There are a number of different tools available to owners of cash-strapped businesses in search of financing, but two of the main ones are factoring and accounts receivable (A/R) financing. Sometimes, business owners lump these two options together in their minds, but in reality, there are a few slight differences that result in these being different financing products.Factoring vs. A/R Financing: A ComparisonFactoring is the outright purchase of a business’ outstanding accounts receivable by a commercial finance company, or “factor.” Typically, the factor will advance the business between 70 and 90 percent of the value of the receivable at the time of purchase; the balance, less the factoring fee, is released when the invoice is collected. The factoring fee-which is based on the total face value of the invoice, not the percentage advanced-typically ranges from 1.5-5.5 percent, depending on such factors as the collection risk and how many days the funds are in use.Under a factoring contract, the business can usually pick and choose which invoices to sell to the factor-it’s not usually an all-or-nothing scenario. Once it purchases an invoice, the factor manages the receivable until it is paid. The factor will essentially become the business’ defacto credit manager and A/R department, performing credit checks, analyzing credit reports, and mailing and documenting invoices and payments.A/R financing, meanwhile, is more like a traditional bank loan, but with some key differences. While bank loans may be secured by different kinds of collateral including plant and equipment, real estate and/or the personal assets of the business owner, A/R financing is backed strictly by a pledge of the business’ assets associated with the accounts receivable to the finance company.Under an A/R financing arrangement, a borrowing base of 70 to 90 percent of the qualified receivables is established at each draw against which the business can borrow money. A collateral management fee (typically 1-2 percent) is charged against the outstanding amount and when money is advanced, interest is assessed only on the amount of money actually borrowed. Typically, in order to count toward the borrowing base, an invoice must be less than 90 days old and the underlying business must be deemed creditworthy by the finance company. Other conditions may also apply.Features and BenefitsAs you can see, comparing factoring and A/R financing is kind of tricky. One is actually a loan, while the other is the sale of an asset (invoices or receivables) to a third party. However, they act very similarly. Here are the main features of each to consider before you decide which one is the best fit for your company:Factoring:· Offers more flexibility than A/R financing because businesses can pick and choose which invoices to sell to the factor.· Is fairly easy to qualify for. Ideal for newer and financially challenged companies.· Simple fee structure helps the company track total costs on an invoice-by-invoice basis.A/R financing:· Is usually less expensive than factoring.· Tends to be easier to transition from A/R financing to a traditional bank line of credit when the company becomes bankable again.· Offers less flexibility than factoring because the business must submit all of its accounts receivable to the finance company as collateral.· Businesses will typically need a minimum of $75,000 a month in sales to qualify for A/R financing, so it may not be available for very small companies.Transitional Sources of FinancingBoth factoring and A/R financing are usually considered to be transitional sources of financing that can carry a business through a time when it does not qualify for traditional bank financing.After a period typically ranging from 12-24 months, companies are often able to repair their financial statements and become bankable once again. In some industries, however, companies continue to factor their invoices indefinitely-trucking is an example of an industry that relies heavily on factoring to keep its cash flowing.

5 Easy Steps to Hiring a Corporate Entertainer

Have you been given the mystifying task of hiring entertainment for your upcoming corporate event?  Are you scared to death by the idea of trying to find something that will be clean, appropriate, and entertaining to the wide variety of people in your audience?  Do you feel like your boss and fellow employees will be blaming YOU if the entertainment is not top-notch?   You are not alone!  As a corporate entertainer and entertainment provider in Houston, I get calls from people every day who are in the exact same position as you are.  You want as close to a sure thing as you can get, but how do you find entertainment that everyone will like?  Where do you begin to shop?  How do you make sure the entertainer will show up and make you look good?STEP 1 – Evaluate your audience.  Take a mental inventory of your group.  Are they crazy and loud, older and subdued, or a mixture of everything?  This will determine your entertainment choices.  For example, a comedian or hypnotist might be great for a younger group, but a corporate magician or entertaining speaker might be better for an older or mixed group.  These days, it’s very important that the performer’s act is 100% clean.  It is not worth losing your job because the entertainer you hired tells off-color jokes that offend someone in your organization!STEP 2 – Make a list of the types of entertainers you like, then narrow the list down to one or two types.  For example, if your group likes to dance, put “band” on your list.  If they like to laugh, list “magician” or “comedian.” Here are a few acts that I’ve found to work very well at corporate events:Comedy Magicians – Make sure the magician specializes in corporate events and performs a CLEAN show suitable for adults (no birthday party magicians).Clean ComediansBands -Again, make sure they routinely perform at corporate events!  You don’t want Metallica at your corporate function.Hypnotists – - Be careful here for liability issues in case one of your executives ends up acting like a chicken in front of everyone.Murder Mysteries -These can be a lot of fun if your group likes to actively participate in the entertainment.Fortune Tellers – Palm readers, etc. -Make sure they don’t do negative readings or focus on the occult.Caricature Artists – These are great, because your people will get to take home a cool souvenir.STEP 3 – Search the Internet.  Make sure and narrow your search for the city where your event will be.  For example, if you are in Houston, enter “magicians in Houston” or “Houston magicians” or “clean comedian Houston.”  The better artists will have websites with video, pictures, and testimonials from other corporate clients that will help you prequalify them before you make the call.  You can also take the easy way out and call a talent agency who can recommend a variety of entertainers.STEP 4 – Call or email the performer for a price quote.  Make sure and explain exactly what you want, how many people are going to attend your event, and how long you’d like the performance to last.  Make sure and consider the advice of the performer, as he or she probably does this every night and can give you some great tips to make sure the entertainment is a smashing success.  I strongly recommend you do NOT shop by price alone.  There is usually a REALLY good reason that some performers are more expensive than others!  In the end, it’s always a better idea to spend a little more money to get a professional entertainer who is going to make you look good!  Make sure and ask for references and follow up on them.  Most previous clients will be more than happy to tell you whether or not a particular entertainer delivered the goods.STEP 5 – Get a contract!  Don’t skip this, no matter what!  All professional corporate entertainers use contracts.  This will give you the peace of mind knowing that the performer will be exactly where he is supposed to be at the time he’s supposed to be there.  You may have to pay a deposit to hold the entertainer.  Don’t worry; this just ensures that the entertainer is holding the evening for your event and won’t book something else that comes along.

2 / 2Firstprevious12