• The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick…
• Four Things Locksmiths Don't Want You To Know…
• Fun Facts and Laughs: Most Stolen Items At Home, First Aid Hot and Cold Rules, And More…
• Trivia Challenge: Win [[Free Movie Tickets For Two]]
• Real Estate Q&A: What Can I Ask The Seller To Pay For When Buying A Home?

..

Are you sick of getting the cold and flu? In today's Your Heritage Neighbor!^® Free consumer newsletter you'll get tips to prevent sickness and be healthier this year.

You'll also learn four insider secrets of locksmiths, where to stash your cash so it's safe in your home, plus funny jokes, a trivia challenge, and lots more.

Jeff Dicks, REALTOR^®
Keller Williams Realty

PS.  When you notice people talking about real estate in the next few weeks, can you tell them about the free consumer information I provide?

They may be people needing to move in the next 6 months, and you can tell them about my Free Consumer Report: "Home Seller's Guide To Moneymaking Fix-Ups". You'll look really smart because this informative guide explains how to avoid costly repair rip-offs and what improvements bring the biggest return. To request a copy for a friend, simply email me at jeff@jeffdicks.com, or call me at: (919) 793-4730.

How do some people never get sick while the rest of us seem to get a cold or the flu at least once a year? Health journalist, Gene Stone, captured the secrets of 25 people who claim to never get sick in his recent book The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick. If you want to be healthier this year, here are four practical, food-related secrets he discovered to prevent sickness:

1) Garlic.  Researchers at the University of Western Australia found people who started eating garlic regularly reduced their sick days by more than 50%. Garlic has antibacterial and antiviral properties that can help ward off colds or the flu. An easy way to eat more garlic is to include it in a rice or pasta dish a few times a week.

2) Probiotics.  This good bacteria can relieve gastrointestinal conditions and boost your body's immune system. Probiotics that live in your digestive system make it harder for disease-creating germs to move in. Eat one or more of these probiotic-rich foods each day: yogurt with live cultures, sauerkraut, cottage cheese, or probiotic-fortified soy milk. You can also take a probiotic supplement found in most natural food stores.

3) Brewer's Yeast.  Most of the brewer's yeast that you can buy from vitamin or health food stores is an extract from yeast used to ferment beer and wine. Brewer's yeast contains B vitamins that the body uses to maintain blood cells and the immune system. Take one tablespoon each day in powdered form, dissolved in water, to get your recommended daily allowance of B vitamins. This simple supplement can also lower your risk of some cancers.

4) Vegetables.  There's a reason your mother always told you to eat your veggies. If you eat a lot of meats and sugars, your diet is probably acidic with not enough alkaline-based foods to balance out your pH levels. Your pH level is a measure of the acidity to alkaline in your body. And recent studies have linked disease to high levels of acidity. Eating vegetables, legumes, and olive oil keeps your body more at a pH "neutral" level and can help you stay healthy.

Stone says, "Since I started researching this book, I haven't been sick once." I hope you'll say the same after trying some of these tips. To preview the contents of "Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick" or order the book, go to: www.amazon.com.

If you get locked out of your home or simply need new locks, here are some insider secrets to protect yourself and your pocketbook:

1. Check all your doors before you call.  They often arrive at the house and try another door, find it unlocked and charge you for the service.

2. Be careful of scam artists posing as professionals.  Some quote a great rate on the phone and claim they have a special lock at a higher price when they arrive. Find reputable pros at: www.findalocksmith.com.

3. Replace thumb-turn deadbolts near windows.  Whatever the locksmith says, you need to use a double cylinder lock that uses a key near windows. Why? Because it is too easy for a criminal to break a window, reach in, and unlock the door.

4. Cheap locks are easily defeated.  Purchase a "Grade 2" lockset. It's more secure and durable than Grade 1, but you don't need Grade 3 which are for commercial buildings and can be expensive. You may want to ask your locksmith to install high-security locks with keys that can't be replicated at the hardware store.

Most Stolen Items At Home . . .

These are the items reported by the website www.homesalarm.com. Some of them made the list because they are simply easy to find in the average home. In order, the most stolen are:

1. Cash (see where to stash below)
2. Tools and building supplies
3. Home electronics
4. Bicycles and parts
5. Jewelry, Furs, and Silver

Best Places to Stash Cash . . .

You may think you have your stash in a safe place, but burglars know where to look. www.frugaldad.com suggests the following places to hide your cash:

• In the freezer between used meat trays and wrapped in aluminum foil.
• Behind the cardboard backing of a picture frame that is hard to reach.
• Under something heavy like an entertainment center or piano.
• Inside a used soup can on a shelf.

First Aid Hot and Cold Rules . . .

Knowing when to use hot or cold for injuries can be very confusing. Here are the general rules.

Heat increases circulation. Use it for chronic pain like tight muscles in your lower back.

Cold reduces inflammation. Acute injuries such as a newly sprained ankle can benefit from applying cold.

Alternating Hot and Cold is helpful when you have soft-tissue damage or overstretched ligaments. Try 20 minutes of cold each hour in the first 24 hours. Applying 20 minutes of warmth each hour for a few more days should reduce affects of injury. If you still have inflammation after 72 hours, you should call a doctor.

Have A Laugh — "What Do You Say?" . . .

I was visiting an office when a woman walked in with her 3-week old baby and her seven-year-old son.

Turns out she was on maternity leave, and just visiting coworkers.

Of course everyone gathered around the new toddler, while the young boy asked, "Mommy, can I have some money to buy a soda?"

"What do you say?" she asked.

Respectfully, the boy replied, "You're thin and beautiful."

With a smile, the woman immediately pulls out her purse and hands him money for a soda.

Guess who won last month's Trivia Question? I'm pleased to announce the lucky winner of last month's quiz. And the winner is…drum roll please: Ken Corcoran of Wake Forest was the first > person to correctly answer my quiz question.

Who won the World Series in 1903?

a) Yankees    b) Red Sox    c) Americans    d) Giants

The answer is c) Americans. You may have answered the Boston Red Sox, but at the time, the name of the team was the Boston Americans. So, let's move on to this month's trivia question.

What is the most populated time zone in North America?

EMAIL ME AT: jeff@jeffdicks.com OR Call Me At (919) 793-4730 And You Could Be One Of My Next Winners!

Disclaimer:  The information contained in this email is intended for informational purposes.  It should not substitute as legal, accounting, investment, medical and other professional services advice.  Always seek a competent professional for answers to your specific questions. This email is not intended to solicit real estate properties currently for sale.