Conditions and Diseases

New study casts doubt on lung cancer treatment

2012-02-13T03:00:00.001-08:00

New study casts doubt on lung cancer treatment
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A controversial radiation treatment for patients who've had lung cancer surgery may not help elderly people live longer, U.S. researchers have found. Postoperative radiotherapy, or PORT, is thought to cut the chances that a tumor will return. But it can damage the heart and lungs, which might cancel out any potential benefits -- particularly in seniors. "Thus, these patients may be exposed to the side effects and complications of PORT without a clear benefit," lead researcher Dr. ...
Source: news.yahoo.com

Gretchen Rubin: How Fun Is Your Workplace? (And Why It Matters)

2012-02-12T16:00:00.001-08:00

Gretchen Rubin: How Fun Is Your Workplace? (And Why It Matters)

In The Levity Effect: Why it Pays to Lighten Up, Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher make an interesting argument that "levity" is an extremely effective tool for helping people to work better. An atmosphere of light-heartedness, it turns out, helps people pay attention, eases tensions and enhances a feeling of connection.

When I read this, I thought, "Well, levity would be tough for me -- I'm not particularly funny, and I'm not particularly outgoing."

But what the authors mean by "levity" is really a sense of lightness. It's less about being funny and more about being able to have fun and see the humorous side of everyday situations -- especially difficult situations.

Ah, I thought, I'm trying! The ninth of my "12 commandments" is "Lighten up." When I posted sticky notes with key phrases all around my office and apartment, the one I put in the master bathroom read, "Tender and light-hearted."

Gostick and Christopher include a quiz about workplace levity. Looking at it, I realized that most of my workplaces included these elements, which I'm sure contributed to the positive experience I had everywhere (except for the summer I worked as a waitress at Dos Hombres Mexican restaurant, and zoikes, I did not like that job).

For example, I'd assumed that the atmosphere around the Supreme Court would be serious, thoughtful and grand. And it was. But in her chambers, Justice O'Connor incorporated several goofy aspects that made it a lot of fun, too. Each Halloween, she required her clerks to decorate elaborate pumpkins, and birthday celebrations were always a big deal, and she took the clerks on a yearly outing (we went fishing). And that sort of thing really did make a difference.

How does your workplace measure up? Take Gostick and Christopher's quiz:

New employees are made to feel welcome.
Meetings are positive and light.
We have fun activities at least once a month.
It's common to hear people laughing around here.
I can be myself at work.
We have a lot of celebrations for special events.
When brainstorming, we like to have fun.
My boss is usually optimistic and smiling.
Customers would call us fun to do business with.
I have a friend at work who makes me laugh.
We have a good time together.

Does your workplace have "levity," according to this quiz? Do you think it matters?

This is a great list for home, too. For my next book, Happier at Home, I tried several resolutions that were meant to try to bring more levity into my apartment. For instance, I tried to under-react to problems, and it really did help.

How about you? Have you found that an atmosphere of levity and good humor makes a difference to your workplace or home? Have you found any good strategies to keep things fun and light?

* It's fun to look around Laughing Squid, which "features interesting art, culture, and technology from around the web."

* Valentine's Day is next week. Give the gift of happiness! Well, you can't do that, but you can give The Happiness Project (can't resist mentioning: #1 New York Times bestseller). Buy it for yourself, for your sweetheart, or for anyone who needs a good book to read.

Order your copy.

Read sample chapters.

For more by Gretchen Rubin, click here.

For more on happiness, click here.

Follow Gretchen Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gretchenrubin

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Leda Natkin Nelis: My Asperger's Son And His Superhuman Memory

2012-02-11T01:02:00.001-08:00

Leda Natkin Nelis: My Asperger's Son And His Superhuman Memory

My fifteen year old Asperger's Syndrome son has an astonishing audiographic and photographic memory. He's able, after watching a film only two or three times, to recite the dialogue verbatim. We discovered this years ago, when our then-nine year old announced one evening before bedtime that he had learned the movie "Troy" which he had watched twice earlier that week. My skeptical husband insisted on verifying our son's claim, popping the DVD into our player for a Brad Pitt-Willem Nelis stand off. Sure enough, even as we fast forwarded the film several times to assure that it wasn't only the opening scene ("Good day for the crows...") that had been cognitively sampled and thoroughly digested, we were stunned to watch our son recite, word for word, the film's dialogue (could he not have chosen a better written screenplay for the debut of his neurological party trick? "Citizen Kane", for example?)

Our son's uncanny memory skills surfaced again earlier this week. Sadly, my mother in law passed away and the family flew to Amsterdam for her memorial. Willem insisted on giving a speech at the gathering, which he hurriedly dictated to me earlier that morning on board our cramped British Airways flight. His words were poignant, powerful, and sophisticated, and I was stunned at how effortlessly he was able to put his thoughts into carefully-crafted prose. As Willem read his speech before a crowd of elderly relatives and close cousins, I basked in the warm glow of maternal pride. Later, on the return flight to Heathrow, my son acknowledged my effusive praise with a polite, business-like nod. "Most of the speech comes from 'Iron Man 2'," he explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

Willem had effortlessly retained, retrieved, and reconfigured chunks of language from a film that he had seen a year or two ago.

Language appropriation is clearly one of the challenges that we need to confront as our brilliant but fragile son makes his way through his secondary school years. What do you do with a child who has such powerful memory skills? How can we help him to avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism? It was fascinating a few months back to watch Willem prepare for a practice exam on the Treaty of Versailles. The entirety of pages thirty through thirty nine of his "Making of the Modern World" history text book were hovering right there in his head, as distracting as a busy swarm of gnats on a hot summer's evening. Willem, as he wrote his exam essay, made a careful effort to change every adjective and adverb from these sentences of his textbook that were stuck in his head; still, the basic syntax of many of his sentences bore a close resemblance to those in the textbook.

Our son is a great thinker as well as a great retainer of facts, and is capable of making uncanny parallels, analyses, and inferences that go way beyond his quirky ability to retain and regurgitate data. Still, I realize that his gift comes with its own high price, and Willem will need to recraft the texts that sometimes sit there inside of him like a heavy meal. I hope that as he makes his way through secondary school and later University that he can free himself from the shackles of his uncanny memory so that he can revel in the wonders of creative literary freedom.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

H1N1 'Swine' Flu Makes a Comeback in Mexico

2012-02-10T09:00:00.001-08:00

H1N1 'Swine' Flu Makes a Comeback in Mexico
FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- It was just about three years ago that a strange new strain of flu first appeared in Mexico, then spread across the border to the United States and eventually much of the globe.
Source: news.yahoo.com

Cancer Drug Erases Alzheimer's in Mice

2012-02-09T13:00:00.001-08:00

A drug typically used to treat skin cancer quickly reversed Alzheimer’s disease in mice, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Alzheimer’s researchers call the results exciting, but they remain cautious about the drug’s ability to fight the disease in humans. Researchers... Continue reading...

Study on mice shows fasting weakens cancer

2012-02-08T16:00:00.001-08:00

Early research on mice with cancer shows that fasting may weaken tumors and help chemotherapy work better, scientists said on Wednesday. Get the complete story

It Doesn't Matter If Your Diet Is Low-Fat Or Low-Carb, As Long As You Cut Calories, Study Says

2012-02-05T16:01:00.001-08:00

It Doesn't Matter If Your Diet Is Low-Fat Or Low-Carb, As Long As You Cut Calories, Study Says

If you're trying to lose weight, a new study shows it doesn't really matter what you cut out of your diet as long as you're cutting something.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests it doesn't matter whether people adhere to diets where they have to cut out fat, and/or carbs and/or protein -- so long as they're just cutting the calories consumed, Reuters reported.

"If you're happier doing it low fat, or happier doing it low carb, this paper says it's OK to do it either way. They were equally successful," study researcher Christopher Gardner, a professor at Stanford University who was not involved in the study, told Reuters.

To test this, Pennington Biomedical Research Center scientists had 424 overweight or obese men and women take part in one of four diets for two years. The first was low-fat with average protein, the second was low-fat with high protein, the third was high fat with average protein and the fourth was high fat with high protein, the Globe and Mail reported.

All the diet plans cut 750 calories a day from the participants' diets, and all were high-fiber and low in cholesterol and saturated fat. Researchers followed up at the six-month mark and the two-year mark, and found that after six months, all four dieting groups had lost an average of nine pounds of total body fat and five pounds of lean muscle, according to the Globe and Mail.

"Participants lost more fat than lean mass after consumption of all diets, with no differences in changes in body composition, abdominal fat, or hepatic fat between assigned macronutrient amounts," researchers wrote in the study.

However, study researcher Dr. George Bray told Reuters that the ultimate predictor of weight loss was adherence to a diet.

The Mayo Clinic explained that calories we consume either get turned into fat or physical energy. And if you consume more calories than you are burning off, then that will lead to weight gain.

The Mayo Clinic reports:

Because 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose 1 pound. So if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'd lose about 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).

But don't take this to mean you can eat horrible food, as long as you eat less of it. Past research suggests that not all foods are equal when it comes to weight loss (and of course, not all foods are equal nutritionally, either). A study conducted by Harvard researchers shows that there are certain foods that seem to be more linked with weight gain, the New York Times reported.

Eating French fries is linked with gaining an average of 3.4 pounds every four years, according to the New York Times, and foods like potato chips, red and processed meat and sugary drinks are also associated with weight gain.

Meanwhile, foods like fruits, veggies and whole grains were linked with weight loss in the study, according to the New York Times.

Also on HuffPost:

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Make These 9 Swaps for Healthier Super Bowl Snacks

2012-02-04T11:00:00.001-08:00

Make These 9 Swaps for Healthier Super Bowl Snacks
Traditional chicken wings are full of calories and fat -- about 160 calories and 11 fat grams per wing. Avoid all that unhealthiness by making your own grilled chicken wings. Simply coat three pounds of raw chicken wings with a package of herb marinate, a half cup of oil and vinegar dressing, a quarter cup of ketchup and two tablespoons of hot sauce (or more if you like them really hot!). Refrigerate for about an hour and then grill them up! Making them this way allows you to have three wings for 200 calories and 15 grams of fat. Talk about a Super-Bowl-snack improvement! More from Shape.com: Super Bowl Shockers You Won't Believe 6 Healthy Ingredients You Should Never Eat Flickr photo by TheDeliciousLife
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Malaria's Global Death Toll Much Higher Than Thought

2012-02-03T10:00:00.001-08:00

FRIDAY, Feb. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Malaria killed 1.2 million people worldwide in 2010, a figure nearly double other estimates, a new study says. Continue reading...

Mystery Illness Spreads Outside High School

2012-02-03T08:00:00.001-08:00

Mystery Illness Spreads Outside High School

The mystery illness affecting 15 teens -- 14 girls and one boy -- from Le Roy High School in New York is reportedly also affecting a 36-year-old who lives in the area.

NBC News reported that Marge Fitzsimmons, who has lived her whole life in LeRoy, also started experiencing the Tourette-like symptoms in October -- around the same time a dozen teenage girls started experiencing the symptoms, which include uncontrollable tics and head shaking. Three more students -- including one boy -- came forward with symptoms late last month.

"When it first started I thought maybe I'm going crazy," Fitzsimmons told NBC News. "As an adult, I can't imagine these teenagers going through this and for anyone to think that they're faking it at all. Try living a day in their shoes."

The symptoms were so bad that she had to stop working.

"The motor tics wouldn't stop, and the vocal tics started, and I went to one of the bosses and said I have to go," Fitzsimmons told NBC News.

HLN reported that she was also diagnosed with conversion disorder, from stress and childhood trauma. The other teenagers at the high school have also been diagnosed by experts with conversion disorder, which is where a stress or psychological issue is manifesting in physical ways, with real physical symptoms.

Fitzsimmons told HLN that her doctor said it was like "everything you've ever suppressed in your whole life has just erupted like a volcano."

Previously, USA Today reported that Erin Brockovich -- the environmental activist who linked cancer cases with toxic drinking water in California, spurring a 2000 movie starring Julia Roberts -- has launched her own investigation into the cause of the illness.

Brockovich is getting involved upon finding out that there was a toxic chemical spill that occurred near the school 40 years ago, thereby contaminating the water and ground, USA Today reported.

However, the New York Department of Health has not found that there is any environmental or infectious cause of the mystery illness, with department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond telling ABC News that "the school is served by a public water system. ... An environmental exposure would affect many people."

Earlier this week, CNN reported that Le Roy Central School District is hiring an outside environmental testing company to test Le Roy High School and the surrounding community.

"Our community has suddenly found itself at the center of national attention due to the students who have been exhibiting neurological symptoms," school district superintendent Kim M. Cox said in a statement, CNN reported. "This has led to much speculation, conjecture and misinformation in the national media and consequently within our community."

Fitzsimmons told HLN that as a child, she hung out in a quarry near the chemical spill site.

"We used to do what teenagers do when you get a group of them together," she told HLN.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Are Stars Taking HGH To Stay Young?

2012-02-01T13:00:00.001-08:00

Are Stars Taking HGH To Stay Young?

HuffPost's QuickRead...

EDITION: U.S.

CA Canada FR France US United States UK United Kingdom

Grammy Awards
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Movies
Katy Perry

Smarter Ideas More

|
Sign Out

February 1, 2012

62k

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
- U.S. UK CANADA FRANCE
POLITICS
- 2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE
- GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS
BUSINESS
- SMALL BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
- CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO
- MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY
TECH
- TECH TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ
- SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG
MEDIA
LIFE & STYLE
- STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN
- TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION
CULTURE
- ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE
- RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION
COMEDY
HEALTHY LIVING
- HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS
- MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP
WOMEN
- HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS
LOCAL
- NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH
- CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES
MORE
- GOOD NEWS SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD GAY VOICES
- GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRITY MUSIC MOVIEFONE TV POLITICAL HOLLYWOOD TRAILERS AND CLIPS FEATURES HOLLYWOOD BUZZ

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Judith J. Wurtman, PhD: Muscling Your Way Into Weight Loss

2012-01-31T15:00:00.001-08:00

Judith J. Wurtman, PhD: Muscling Your Way Into Weight Loss

The mantra chanted by most weight loss experts is, "Eat less, exercise more." Eating less is not hard to understand, although one person's "eat less" may be someone else's binge. If you and the cushion on your couch move about the same amount each day, exercising more is also not hard to understand. But what if you do some physical activity, say taking out the trash cans, scraping ice off your car windows, going up and down the stairs of your home and occasionally walking for a few minutes on your treadmill or around your neighborhood? What does "exercise more" mean? How does one translate this advice into something that will enhance weight loss?

There's an app for that... Yes, the scientific way of determining this has already entered the electronic age. It is possible to buy cell phone-size devices that contain formulas that translate your current body weight and physical activity together with your projected weight goal, into a daily program of calorie intake and physical activity. If you follow through with the programs on these devices, your daily physical activity, calorie utilization and weight loss will show up on your computer with either encouragement, congratulations or a mild scolding to resume the program. Humans are still around to offer advice on exercise, as well as hundreds of articles that outline weekly exercise programs to increase your physical activity over time.

However, the emphasis on moving more, and the many options for doing so, often overlooks one aspect of exercise that has a significant impact on weight loss -- that is, the effect of increased muscle size on weight loss and weight maintenance. It seems that men are likely to recognize this and incorporate so-called bodybuilding on the way to their optimal weight. Bulking up is a positive goal, one that is often accomplished with the encouragement of a workout buddy or a trainer. As someone from the other gender who watches men watching themselves in the mirrors at my gym, I am not sure whether their goal is weight loss or a buff body. But I have to admit that many are willing to come to the gym many times a week and endure painful routines (at least from their grunts, it sounds painful) to achieve bulging shoulders, chest, back and arm muscles. Although many may not realize it, their expanded muscle mass may also be speeding up their weight loss.

Women, of course, do not usually see a rounded deltoid muscle or chest muscle definition as their goals unless they are competing for Ms. Muscle Fitness of 2012. "Don't even mention muscle strengthening exercises," a dieting friend told me. "Muscles on top on my fat arms and thighs will bulk them up into sausages." Somehow my concern that she will look like a limp noodle if she doesn't maintain her muscles went over like, well, a limp noodle.

I suspect that the parade of fashion models making their way through the magazines we women read convinced my friend that toothpick-like arms and thighs smaller than a normal wrist are ideals toward which she should strive. Unfortunately, like so many dieters, my friend was told that aerobic activity was the only type of exercise necessary for weight loss, and reassured that she could wait until she was much thinner before including exercises that strengthened her muscles. Was this good advice for a dieter? I don't think so.

Increasing muscle size has benefits that go beyond being able to lift up your carry-on bag and placing it in the overhead compartment of an airplane. The link between muscle mass and bone health, which includes increased balance and protection from falls, as well as being able to carry out the normal activities of daily life, are well established. Increased muscle mass, however, has a particular utility for the dieter. Muscle consumes much more energy than any other organ in the body, and muscles need calories to work, rebuild and enlarge. Most of the calories you eat are used up by your muscles.

Everyone loses some muscle while dieting because a thinner body requires less muscle to carry it around than a heavier one. One reason it is so hard to maintain weight loss when the diet is over is that smaller muscles means eating fewer calories than before you started the diet -- and this is hard to do.

Building muscles requires increasing calorie, protein and carbohydrate intake. Magazines and websites devoted to building bigger muscles offer food plans that would make a dieter weep with joy. You must eat many times a day, sometimes up to six substantial meals and snacks. Both protein and carbohydrate must be eaten. The protein supplies specific amino acids that are the foundation of muscle fibers, and the carbohydrate supplies energy to the muscles so they are not broken down for energy (a common physiological occurrence).

Building muscle means that you, the dieter or ex-dieter, can maintain your new lower weight without fearing that an extra peapod or crust of bread is going to throw you back into weight gain mode.

But before you start tossing those barbells around, find a professional trainer or experienced bodybuilding friend or family member to show you what to do. Check out the Internet for sensible eating and muscle-strengthening programs. Don't fall prey to the screaming ads for muscle building powders and drinks. Lean protein, low or fat-free dairy products, lentils, beans, soy and eggs are all excellent sources of muscle-building protein. However, while healthy carbohydrates must be eaten, fat-filled, sugary carbohydrates are not part of this muscle-building process.

For more by Judith J. Wurtman, PhD, click here.

For more on weight loss, click here.

Follow Judith J. Wurtman, PhD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stopmed_wt_gain

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

What Can You Find Out In The Best Bodybuilding Blog?

2012-01-31T14:01:00.001-08:00

What Can You Find Out In The Best Bodybuilding Blog?

Interest in bodybuilding’s been around even preceding muscle t-shirts started to be in trend. In fact, at present also the ladies are engrossed. In fact, bodybuilding is a way to be able to establish your own self. It will seem like a techie aspect to find yourself in. Is it possible to practice bodybuilding without registering in a program or employing a trainer? Nowadays, using cyberspace, practically everything can certainly be self trained.

One method to proficiently discover more about body building is to browse applicable blog sites. A bodybuilding blog, a high quality one, could possibly help in many different ways. Nowadays, blogs are generally in the same way useful as books or periodicals. Truth is, in contrast to a book, a blog are able to keep on improving its facts so its viewers can catch the latest.

A few of the things you’ll get in bodybuilding blogs are the below:

- Exercising programs. Many workouts obtain many outcome A number of routines tone you down, some sculpt specified targeted aspects, many develop muscles, etc. An excellent blog site on bodybuilding will feature physical exercises and show their complexity degree. The series of physical exercises should help it become easier to sustain the routine. As expected, many of the exercises suggested needs to be free from danger and there should be dire warnings about warming up and trying to cool off, about having someone see you when you’re weight training, etc.

- Exercise equipment. You may won’t be expending on personal trainers or gymnasium memberships, however, you may need to invest in bodybuilding equipment. If the blog is extra effective, it could actually even present replacements. As an example, precisely what day-to-day normal thing can you utilize in the event you don’t have barbells or dumbells?

- Diet and nutrition. An outstanding blog on bodybuilding will instruct you with regards to which foodstuff are great for building muscles. When your foods be carb-heavy, protein-heavy, well-balanced, etc.? It will also enumerate the necessary vitamins and minerals, the ideal calories, great natural products, etc.

- Stories. To make a great deal more awareness also to refrain from being so completely techie in nature, it might be very good to tell of tales and also anecdotes associated with bodybuilding. They are able to wind up being impressive, encouraging, complicated, etc. Over everything, they could offer empathy for anyone still in the early stages or middle of the undertaking.

- Frequently asked questions and additional inquiries. What could be seriously valuable is a post classification that enough relates to general and not-so-common queries.
Never assume all bodybuilding blogs are genuinely worth your view nevertheless. When ever seeking all around for the ideal blog to try, guantee that the publisher of the blog is capable of go over and advice about bodybuilding. He or she must have both abilities and practical experience. Perhaps, this person also knows how to create nicely.

Source: www.fitnessmindbody.com

Popular Diabetes Drug Might Cut Pancreatic Cancer Risk: Study

2012-01-31T14:00:00.001-08:00

TUESDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- A new Swiss-American study indicates that long-term use of the popular diabetes medication metformin may lower the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, at least among women. Click here to read the rest

Big Pharma donates drugs for neglected diseases

2012-01-30T14:00:00.001-08:00

LONDON (Reuters) - The world's major pharmaceutical companies joined forces with governments and leading global health organizations Monday to donate drugs and scientific know-how to help control or wipe out 10 neglected tropical diseases by 2020. Drugmakers have been criticized in the past for not doing enough to fight diseases of the poor as they concentrate instead on conditions more prevalent in rich nations, such as high cholesterol. ... Read more

Sam Sommers: Why Is It So hard To Make The Life Changes We Seek?

2012-01-29T20:01:00.001-08:00

Sam Sommers: Why Is It So hard To Make The Life Changes We Seek?

We're smack dab in the middle of self-help season. Websites are running their annual "How to Make Your Resolutions Stick" stories; bookstores are devoting front-and-center display space to the topic. And yet, just three weeks into 2012, our personal wish lists for self-improvement are already fizzling. Many of us are already transitioning from the wide-eyed idealism of Jan. 1 to a more sober resignation of maybe next year.

Why can it be so hard to make the life changes we seek?

Because we often think about self-help in all the wrong ways, and it comes back to haunt us when the going gets tough. It's hard to blame us. Just consider what some of the supposed gurus of self-help tell us to do in their books, blogs, and TV appearances -- look at the questions that Dr. Phil, for example, tells us to ask ourselves:

What are the 10 most defining moments of your life?
What are the seven most critical choices you have made to put you on your current path?
Who are the five most pivotal people in your world and how have they shaped you?

Dr. P would have you believe that questions like these hold the key to improving the person you are. But look more closely. These questions have a common link -- and I don't just mean their use of arbitrary digits that seem more likely to have come from fortune cookie lucky numbers than any sort of actual research.

More importantly, these questions share the assumption that there's a true or core self residing within each of us. And that introspection is the way to discover it.

But the thing about introspection is that it gives you different conclusions under different circumstances. And locating your core self? Well, who we are as people is also dynamic and context-dependent.

Are you looking to be a happier, more productive, more successful person? Are you in the market for self-help? Then the better advice is stop putting so much effort into finding your "authentic" self. Learn to embrace the self as flexible.

Consider one study of students at Stanford, who were asked to serve as pen pals with "at-risk" middle-schoolers. The college students were instructed to offer encouragement to the younger kids by explaining in their letters that they, too, had struggled at times in school, but eventually persevered and found academic success. They were told to emphasize the idea that natural ability is overrated-that intelligence "is not a finite endowment, but rather an expandable capacity."

Did these letters help the middle-school students bounce back from adversity? It's impossible to say -- the letters were never delivered. But the mere experience of writing them had a lasting impact on the college students themselves: Months later, the letter-writers were still reporting greater enjoyment of school than were other Stanford undergrads. Their grade point averages were higher, too, by a full third of a point on a four-point scale.

You see, viewing the self as a static and stable entity is what puts us on the defensive and leads to chronic self-deception in the face of setback. When you accept that the answer to "Who am I?" should be written in pencil and not pen, threats become opportunities. Failures transform into life lessons. Even if this isn't how you usually see things, it's not too late to start now.

Yet another study -- this one from Hong Kong -- illustrates how easy it is to change how you think about yourself. Researchers gave students one of two different, ostensibly scientific articles -- articles that either depicted intelligence in static or flexible terms. Those led to think of intelligence as a fixed quantity took the easy way out: They didn't persist on tasks in the wake of poor performance, and they avoided taking on new challenges later. Only students told that intelligence was malleable showed the stick-to-it-iveness necessary to improve their performance down the line.

OK, so self-help isn't really for suckers. (Hey, my new book, Situations Matter, is sitting on that front-and-center table at bookstores this month, and I'm not complaining.) The motivation for self-improvement is indisputably admirable. But the problem is that too often, we just don't think about self-help the right way.

What should the self-help gurus be telling you?

That the aftermath of failure is precisely when you need to remember that the self is flexible.

That you're better off focusing on effort and other controllable factors, and not on fixed aptitude.

To forget about "not being a ____ kind of person," whatever the presumed deficit in your supposedly authentic self may be.

Bad grade on your paper? Lousy earnings projections for the quarter? First one voted off the reality dancing show? There are dangers to chalking up setback to a lack of ability or a glaring limitation of your true self. Instead, force yourself to make a list of the changeable factors -- internal and external -- that can bring about better outcomes the next time around.

Because whether in California or Hong Kong, good things happen when you embrace the self as malleable. Regardless of what you read in the self-help aisle, you don't have to lose sleep hunting for your core identity or reconnecting with your inner you. Chicken soup for your soul and numbered questions are overrated.

For more by Sam Sommers, click here.

For more on mindfulness, click here.

Like this post? Interested in the book? Then check out the website for Situations Matter: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World (now available!). You can also follow Sam on Facebook here and on Twitter here. Book trailer video below:

Follow Sam Sommers on Twitter: www.twitter.com/samsommers

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Infants Are Born with 'Intuitive Physics' Knowledge of Environment

2012-01-27T19:00:00.001-08:00

Infants Are Born with 'Intuitive Physics' Knowledge of Environment
Babies are born with an awareness and understanding of their environment, says Dr. Kristy vanMarle, a psychologist and associate professor at the University of Missouri Developmental Cognition Lab. Dr. vanMarle calls this "intuitive physics."
Source: news.yahoo.com

Roche's Avastin helps colorectal cancer patients

2012-01-26T01:00:00.001-08:00

ZURICH (Reuters) - Patients with advanced colorectal cancer who received Roche's Avastin live longer when they also receive the drug as part of their second round of treatment, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday, citing a late-stage study. Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer first treated with Avastin and standard chemotherapy before being given Avastin with a different chemotherapy after their disease had progressed lived significantly longer than those given only chemotherapy in the second-line setting, Roche said. ... Get the complete story

Talking things through in your head may help autism

2012-01-25T03:00:00.001-08:00

Talking things through in your head may help autism
LONDON (Reuters) - Teaching children with autism to "talk things through" in their heads may help them solve tricky day-to-day tasks and could increase the chances of them living independent lives when they grow up, British scientists said Wednesday. Psychologists who studied adults with autism found that the mechanism for using "inner speech," or talking things through in your head is intact, but they don't always use it in the same way as typically developing people do. ...
Source: news.yahoo.com

Top 20 DIY Tips To Reuse Plastic Bottles

2012-01-24T16:02:00.001-08:00

Top 20 DIY Tips To Reuse Plastic Bottles

HuffPost's QuickRead...

EDITION: U.S.

CA Canada FR France US United States UK United Kingdom

Hurricane Irene 2011
Energy
Green Living
Animals

Smarter Ideas More

|
Sign Out

January 24, 2012

87K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
- U.S. UK CANADA FRANCE
POLITICS
- 2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE
- GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS
BUSINESS
- SMALL BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
- CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO
- MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY
TECH
- TECH TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ
- SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG
MEDIA
LIFE & STYLE
- STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN
- TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION
CULTURE
- ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE
- RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION
COMEDY
HEALTHY LIVING
- HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS
- MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP
WOMEN
- HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS
LOCAL
- NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH
- CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES
MORE
- GOOD NEWS SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD GAY VOICES
- GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

GREEN ENERGY CLIMATE CHANGE ANIMALS GREEN TECH POLITICS FOOD GREEN HOLIDAY

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Larry Malerba, D.O. : Isn't It Time to Occupy Big Medicine?

2012-01-24T16:00:00.001-08:00

Larry Malerba, D.O. : Isn't It Time to Occupy Big Medicine?

HuffPost's QuickRead...

EDITION: U.S.

CA Canada FR France US United States UK United Kingdom

Arizona Shooting
Michele Bachmann
2012 Speculatron
Gabrielle Giffords

Armchair Detective More

|
Sign Out

January 24, 2012

105K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
- U.S. UK CANADA FRANCE
POLITICS
- 2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE
- GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS
BUSINESS
- SMALL BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
- CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO
- MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY
TECH
- TECH TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ
- SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG
MEDIA
LIFE & STYLE
- STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN
- TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION
CULTURE
- ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE
- RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION
COMEDY
HEALTHY LIVING
- HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS
- MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP
WOMEN
- HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS
LOCAL
- NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH
- CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES
MORE
- GOOD NEWS SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD GAY VOICES
- GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

POLITICS POLLSTER 2012 ELECTIONS 2012 BLOG 2012 TOOLBAR SPECULATRON HUFFPOST HILL FUNDRACE OFF THE BUS OCCUPY WALL STREET CPI

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

More Americans Practicing Safe Sex, CDC Reports

2012-01-20T08:00:00.001-08:00

THURSDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Americans who practice behaviors that put them at risk for HIV infection has declined significantly, federal health officials reported Thursday. Continue reading...

More Americans Practicing Safe Sex, CDC Reports

2012-01-19T11:00:00.001-08:00

'I Was Sick And Tired If Being Sick And Tired': How Trevor Lost 95 Pounds

2012-01-16T13:00:00.001-08:00

'I Was Sick And Tired If Being Sick And Tired': How Trevor Lost 95 Pounds

Got a success story of your own? Send it to us at success.stories@huffingtonpost.com and you could be featured on the site!

Name: Trevor Holland
Age: 28
Height: 6'3"
Before Weight: 370 pounds

How I Gained It: I've always been an active person and although my weight has fluctuated in the past, I've generally been in good shape. However, in my late teens I developed bipolar disorder (which was only diagnosed in the last six months). Then, at the age of 24, my hero, my father, died from aggressive cancer. It tore me apart, and my symptoms worsened as a result. I would use food as a response to the entire spectrum of emotion: happiness, sadness, depression, solitude, celebration, anger, etc. My eating habits spiraled out of control until I was putting myself under a great deal of financial stress. I would also eat in secret, out of shame for my behavior.

Breaking Point: One day, it finally dawned on me that I had hit rock bottom. I weighed 370 pounds and was so grossly unfit that I struggled to perform basic tasks. Walking up the stairs would make me out of breath, putting my shoes on would make me struggle to breathe, a five-minute walk would cause me to sweat profusely. My legs hurt, my feet hurt. I constantly had heat rash on my legs. I had destroyed my body and the implications this had on my mental well-being were vast. I was miserable, sluggish and lacked the inclination to do anything.

I realized enough was enough. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I decided to change my life -- not in the short term, but forever. I decided I was going to lose weight, fix my body and fix my mind. That was August 13, 2011.

How I Lost It: I joined my local gym and started exercising four to five times a week, slowly building up the intensity. I also rewired my thought process around food by finding other things to fill the void in my life. I started painting and writing. I was determined. I changed my eating habits to three square meals a day, with plenty of fruit, vegetables, lean chicken and fish. I started writing a blog to chronicle my journey and keep myself on track called Belly and Brain. The hard work has continued and I'm feeling like a brand new man. I'm proactive, productive, full of energy, happy and confident. As of today, I've lost 95 pounds and plan to lose another 45. I feel great and am so proud that I've managed to change my life without gimmicks, tricks or quick fixes.

After Weight: 275 pounds

For more on weight loss, click here.

Check out more of our inspiring weight loss stories below:

5 Foods That Age Your Brain

2012-01-16T10:02:00.001-08:00

5 Foods That Age Your Brain

By Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., F.A.C.S. and Michael Roizen, M.D. for YouBeauty.com

A healthy diet is about more than keeping yourself fit and free of heart disease, wrinkles and impotence (yes, all are related to food!). It's about preserving your memory, too.

For instance, eating high amounts of saturated fat -- more than four grams in an hour -- can raise the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood, which can stick to your arteries, and, even worse, turn on inflammatory genes that result in those wrinkles, poor orgasm quality, and you got it, that gunk in your brain that makes your memory be less than it is now.

The same arterial plaque buildup from this saturated fat -- we call it a food felon -- that leads to heart disease is a major culprit for vascular dementia -- when the brain neurons become inflamed or don't get enough oxygen and blood flow. Inflammation and lack of oxygen (resulting from that donut or sugary soda) result in accelerated memory loss.

This gives serious meaning to the phrase "eating to forget."

More from YouBeauty.com:
How Your Diet Affects Your Brain
QUIZ: Are You Eating the Right Foods?
Avoid Sneaky Sources of Sugar

Poor food choices cause poor cognitive functioning: The eight southern states in America that make up the "Stroke Belt" also have higher incidences of obesity and and greater chance of dementia. Of course, many factors are at play when it comes to developing dementia, but lifestyle factors like a high saturated fat diet (from four-legged animal fat, two-legged animal skin, palm and coconut oil), coupled with little physical activity, are certainly big contributors to memory problems as well as wrinkles, orgasm decay and heart attacks.

A recent study of healthy adults and adults with mild cognitive impairment tested out the effects of two diets. One was the "high diet," which was high in saturated fat (at least 25 percent of the diet) and simple carbohydrates (glycemic index greater than 70). The other was a "low diet," which was low in saturated fat (less than 7 percent of the diet) with a fewer simple carbs (glycemic index less than 55).

Not surprisingly, the low (low in the food felons) diet improved or made the levels of three important markers of health better for you.

Firstly, this diet was associated with decreased plasma lipids (read: less bad cholesterol). Secondly, the low diet was linked with lower insulin levels. Current research is looking at an optimal insulin dose to help cognitive functioning in people with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.

Lastly, the low in food felons diet lowered CSF F2-isoprostane concentrations, which is a fancy way of saying it lessened the biomarkers of free radical injury, a signal of oxidative damage to, or damaging inflammation in, your central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord).

What does this all mean for the bigger picture? After just one month of the low saturated fat/low carbs diet, "visual memory" improved for healthy adults and adults with cognitive impairment. This was a small study of 49 subjects, but the implications have big promise for your enjoyment of life and brain functioning!

Starting today, what can you do? Look out for the five food felons, which are guaranteed to age your brain and body. We like to kick the felons totally out, but truth be told, the felons don't have to be exiled from your diet -- they just have to be put under very close watch.

Here's a quick review of how they can age you, so you can steer clear:

Look out for "partially hydrogenated vegetable oils." Trans fat alters metabolic processes and hardens your arteries. How much to have? Zilch! Flickr photo by Mykl Roventine

Look out for "partially hydrogenated vegetable oils." Trans fat alters metabolic processes and hardens your arteries. How much to have? Zilch!

Flickr photo by Mykl Roventine

Tinnitus Miracle – Suffering From Tinnitus? Factors You must Know

2012-01-16T10:00:00.001-08:00

Tinnitus Miracle – Suffering From Tinnitus? Factors You must Know

Written by gaurav mehrotra on January 16th, 2012

Tinnitus Treatment

If you’re among the many individuals who consistently knowledge a ringing inside your ears, you’re not alone. Tinnitus is really a quite irritating and frustrating condition that affects numerous people. This article will show you distinctive methods which will allow you to alleviate and cope using the discomforts of tinnitus.

Be patient when taking medications to handle tinnitus. What a lot of tinnitus patients do not comprehend is that it truly is typical for these medicines to take awhile to settle in, that is why they stop taking them so easily. It is important to continue taking the medication and you are going to see positive outcomes, soon.

Tell your associates and family members about what you’re going via. It is important for you to surround oneself with people who are understanding and supportive; that may only happen if you share what’s happening together with your ears. Explain what tinnitus is, and how it impacts your life, to ensure that they are aware and can be there for you.

Many people swear that anti-anxiety medication aids with their tinnitus, and it tends to make sense than it would. This type of prescription calms you down, lowering your tension levels and therefore your blood pressure till it reaches a standard level. If your tinnitus is bothersome as well as the tension unbearable you too can ask your doctor for a recommendation.

Any time you receive the diagnosis of tinnitus it can be a true shock, and it is that emotional reaction which can make you become frustrated using the sound you hear. Understand that with time points will get much better and you will be able to forget regarding the sound and get on with your life.

While tinnitus isn’t a illness, it is a incredibly bothersome condition. As you are able to see, there are numerous methods which will be made use of to treat tinnitus. By implementing these basic methods, it is possible to lessen the uncomfortable symptoms of tinnitus and can reside a productive, enjoyable life in spite of it.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

China cancer village tests reach of law against pollution

2012-01-16T05:00:00.001-08:00

China cancer village tests reach of law against pollution
XIAOXIN, China (Reuters) - Nothing in Wu Wenyong's rural childhood hinted he would end up on a hospital bed aged 15, battling two kinds of cancer. Born to poor farmers in Xiaoxin, a dusty village of low brick houses in southwestern Yunnan province, he paddled in the Nanpan River as a child and later helped his parents tend rice. About 3 km (two miles) from Wu's home stands a three-storey high hill of chromium slag produced from the Yunnan Luliang Peace Technology Company. ...
Source: news.yahoo.com

Man Busy In Retirement Gets No Respect From Working Wife

2012-01-15T17:00:00.001-08:00

DEAR ABBY: I retired two years ago at age 50 after working for 30 years. My wife and I are financially secure and I'm enjoying every day of my retirement. However, my wife -- who is younger -- won't be eligible to retire from her job for another five years. She is becoming more and more abrasive toward me. I suspect it's because she's jealous of my retirement status.She constantly accuses me of being lazy. Abby, I don't sit around all day. ... Get the complete story

Gretchen Rubin: 9 Common Myths About Clearing Clutter

2012-01-15T15:02:00.001-08:00

Gretchen Rubin: 9 Common Myths About Clearing Clutter

One of my key realizations about happiness, and a point oddly under-emphasized by positive psychologists, given its emphasis in popular culture, is that outer order contributes to inner calm. More than it should.

After all, in the context of a happy life, a messy desk or house is a trivial problem -- yet I've found, and other people tell me they feel the same way, that getting control of the stuff of life makes me feel more in control of my life generally. (Even if this is an illusion, it's a helpful illusion.)

But as much as most of us want to keep our home, office, car, etc. in reasonable order, it's tough. Here are some myths of de-cluttering that make it harder than it needs to be.

Myths of Cluttering:

1. "I need to get organized." No! This is not your first step! Don't get organized.

2. "The more organized I am, the better." I fully appreciate the pleasure of having a place for everything, and perhaps counterintuitively, I find it easier to put things away in an exact place, rather than a general place ("the third shelf of the coat closet," not "a closet"). However, this impulse can become destructive: If you spend a lot of time alphabetizing your spices or setting up eighty categories for your home library, consider simplifying your approach. Also, some things simply won't stay organized, so it's not even worth trying; I've spent hours sorting magic markers and Calico Critters pieces, only to find everything a jumble the next day.

3. "I need to run out and buy some inventive storage containers." See #1. I love cunning containers as much as anyone, but I've found that if I get rid of everything I don't need, I often don't need a container at all.

4. "I need to find the perfect recipient for everything I'm getting rid of." True, it's easier to let go of things when they're going to a good home, but be wary of letting this kind intention become a source of clutter, itself. I have a friend who has multiple piles all over her house, each lovingly destined for a particular recipient. This is generous and thoughtful, but it contributes mightily to clutter. Try to find one or two good recipients, or create some kind of rigid system for moving stuff along quickly.

5. "I can't get rid of anything that I might possibly need one day." How terrible would it be if you needed a glass jar and didn't have one? Do you need gigantic stores of rubber bands or coffee mugs?

6. "Someday, I might get that gizmo fixed." Face it. If you've had something for more than six months, and it's still not repaired, it's clutter.

7. "After I lose some weight, I'll fit into these clothes again." If you lose a bunch of weight, you'll likely want to buy a new pair of jeans, not dust off the pair you bought seven years ago.

8. "I need to keep this to remind me of the past." I'm a huge fan of mementos; remembering happy times in the past gives you a big happiness boost in the present. But ask yourself: do I need to keep all these t-shirts to remind me of high school, or can I keep a few? Do I need to keep a giant armchair to remind me of my father, or can I use a photograph? Mementos work best when they're carefully chosen -- and when they don't take up much room!

9. "I need to keep this object to show respect for the person who gave it to me." You can love someone, but not want to keep a gift from that person. It's okay to pass an item along to someone who will appreciate it more.

What other myths am I overlooking? Do these ring true for you?

* I just discovered Geoff Manaugh's Bldg Blog -- so much to see and read.

For more by Gretchen Rubin, click here.

For more on mindfulness, click here.

* My next book, Happier at Home, is inching toward completion. Just finishing the interior layout now. If you'd like to be notified when the book becomes available, sign up here. Now that the year has switched from 2011 to 2012, my publication date seems much, much closer.

Follow Gretchen Rubin on Twitter: www.twitter.com/gretchenrubin

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Science's "most beautiful theories"

2012-01-15T10:00:00.001-08:00

Science's "most beautiful theories"
NEW YORK (Reuters) - From Darwinian evolution to the idea that personality is largely shaped by chance, the favorite theories of the world's most eminent thinkers are as eclectic as science itself. Every January, John Brockman, the impresario and literary agent who presides over the online salon Edge.org, asks his circle of scientists, digerati and humanities scholars to tackle one question. ...
Source: news.yahoo.com

Science's "most beautiful theories"

2012-01-15T04:00:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - From Darwinian evolution to the idea that personality is largely shaped by chance, the favorite theories of the world's most eminent thinkers are as eclectic as science itself. Every January, John Brockman, the impresario and literary agent who presides over the online salon Edge.org, asks his circle of scientists, digerati and humanities scholars to tackle one question. ... Courtesy of Yahoo News

Procera avh – Get Assist Along with your Memory With This Suggestions

2012-01-14T22:00:00.001-08:00

Procera avh – Get Assist Along with your Memory With This Suggestions

Written by gaurav mehrotra on January 12th, 2012

Several men and women actively seek ways to boost their memory on an every day basis. Regardless of whether it is to help you learn about some thing new or basically to help to ensure that you do not grow to be stressed during the day, you’ll find a plethora of means which you can increase your own memory. This write-up consists of just a number of of those suggestions.

Here is actually a memory tip! Bear in mind some thing by categorizing it in your mind. This will make recall a lot a lot easier! As an example, in case you are going to go food shopping; keep in mind meat and that may remind you that you will need chicken, beef and pork.

Make a memory connection with a different word or believed. Keep in mind, for example, that the individual that is certainly over your school could be the principal, not the principle. He or she is your pal! Understand that and you’ll in no way forget which spelling is appropriate for the term you’re trying to use. These kind of word associations have been shown to drastically improve your memory recall.

For critical points you must keep in mind on a certain day, use a pen and write the information on your hands. This is a technique that has been used for generations and it functions since you know the info is on you all the time. Just ensure you do not wash your hands!

In case you are studying new information and facts, attempt switching up your routine a little bit. Endlessly repeating exactly the same sort of study session can get boring. You might find that, just after a although, you are no longer retaining the details. So switch up your routine. Choose a brand new time along with a new spot to study. The novelty in the modify will enable you to in remembering.

If your memory is either, beginning to decline or just not becoming as strong as it made use of to become, take into account following many of the suggestions mentioned in this write-up. You could be surprised at how much higher your memory can swiftly turn out to be, when you begin operating on it on a every day basis.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

WATCH: Shoulder Openers, Day 6

2012-01-14T15:00:00.003-08:00

WATCH: Shoulder Openers, Day 6

Release the week's stress with this Saturday morning seated series that focuses on the neck and shoulders.

When our partner Yoga Journal put out the call for their 21-Day Yoga Challenge, we knew we wanted to be a part of it. Over the course of three weeks, we're going to learn to incorporate a daily practice of breathing, meditation and vegetarian eating to our busy lives. We're hoping to emerge stronger, more flexible and mindful of the choices we make for our bodies. You can check out our progress at Team HuffPost's Social Workout page and you can follow along on our blog. Want to join the challenge? Click on the leader board below to become a part of Team HuffPost!

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Bill Moyers Visits HuffPost, Talks Inner Life And Purpose

2012-01-14T15:00:00.001-08:00

Bill Moyers Visits HuffPost, Talks Inner Life And Purpose

When veteran journalist Bill Moyers visited The Huffington Post Friday, he didn't just talk politics and current affairs; the public television giant also talked metaphors and inner life.

That's because Moyers -- who attended divinity school -- counts spirituality as an area of great interest, describing his interview series with Joseph Campbell, the Power of Myth, as one of his most successful and meaningful series to date.

For more of Moyers' thoughts on the importance of guiding metaphors in life, check out the videos below.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Whole Foods Market Ending Ties With Hatchery In Chick Abuse Lawsuit

2012-01-14T06:03:00.001-08:00

Whole Foods Market Ending Ties With Hatchery In Chick Abuse Lawsuit

HuffPost's QuickRead...

EDITION: U.S.

CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

Animals
Extreme Weather
Climate Change
Fracking

Armchair Detective More

|
Sign Out

January 14, 2012

86K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
- U.S. UK CANADA
POLITICS
- 2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE
- GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS
BUSINESS
- SMALL BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
- CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO
- MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY
TECH
- TECH TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ
- SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG
MEDIA
LIFE & STYLE
- STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN
- TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION
CULTURE
- ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE
- RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION
COMEDY
- URLESQUE
HEALTHY LIVING
- HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS
- MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP
WOMEN
- HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS
LOCAL
- NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH
- CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES
MORE
- GOOD NEWS SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD GAY VOICES
- GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

GREEN ENERGY CLIMATE CHANGE ANIMALS GREEN TECH POLITICS FOOD GREEN HOLIDAY

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Whole Foods Market Ending Ties With Hatchery In Chick Abuse Lawsuit

2012-01-14T03:00:00.001-08:00

Whole Foods Market Ending Ties With Hatchery In Chick Abuse Lawsuit

HuffPost's QuickRead...

EDITION: U.S.

CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

Animals
Extreme Weather
Climate Change
Fracking

Armchair Detective More

|
Sign Out

January 14, 2012

86K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
- U.S. UK CANADA
POLITICS
- 2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE
- GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS
BUSINESS
- SMALL BUSINESS
ENTERTAINMENT
- CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO
- MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY
TECH
- TECH TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ
- SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG
MEDIA
LIFE & STYLE
- STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN
- TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION
CULTURE
- ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE
- RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION
COMEDY
- URLESQUE
HEALTHY LIVING
- HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS
- MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP
WOMEN
- HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS
LOCAL
- NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH
- CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES
MORE
- GOOD NEWS SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD GAY VOICES
- GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

GREEN ENERGY CLIMATE CHANGE ANIMALS GREEN TECH POLITICS FOOD GREEN HOLIDAY

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Quickly Lose Weight Following These Simple Steps

2012-01-13T22:00:00.001-08:00

Quickly Lose Weight Following These Simple Steps

Has your patience with obesity come to an end? Though carrying excess weight has become commonplace, you do not need to succumb to this unhealthy way of living. The following advice can help you create a sustainable weight loss plan. Your success depends on you, and you can tailor a plan that will be easy to follow and still give you results.

Before you take any diet pills like UniqueHoodia, you need to consult with your doctor. Some diet pills on the market could be harmful to those with heart conditions or those who take certain medications. Before you start taking any kind of diet pills, get your doctor’s thumbs up and see whether the issues of UniqueHoodia scam can be real.

If you’re aiming to lose weight, you should pay close attention to the foods you consume. Regular exercise and healthy eating is the surest way to weight loss while living a lifestyle you love. The most important concept, though, is that to lose weight, we have to use up more calories than we consume.

Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables can assist you in your weight loss efforts. Go heavy on vegetables as fruits contain lots of sugar. This will keep you full and satisfies while providing your diet variety. Consider making a smoothie or adding some berries to your oatmeal as a means to get more fruit into your diet. Add extra vegetables to meals such as soups or stews.

If you are keeping an eye on your waistline, make sure you are targeting your calories to be close to 2000 per day. Whatever you calorie intake, it is vital to ensure you are getting all the vitamins and nutrients your body needs. If you see any deficiencies in nutrients, consider changing your diet or taking multivitamins.

There is no magic pill for weight loss. You have to change what you are doing physically and tweak what you are putting into your body. If you will follow our tips, you will find success at effectively losing the weight that you want to lose and keeping it off.

5 Foods That Fight Abdominal Fat

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

Ann Brenoff: Is Sitting the New Smoking?

2012-01-13T15:02:00.001-08:00

Ann Brenoff: Is Sitting the New Smoking?

Sitting is the new smoking, according to AARP, an organization I subscribe to mostly because its membership discounts are a notch better than those of AAA and now that my husband thoughtfully armed me with a set of jumper cables for my last birthday, I no longer need to buy into the auto-repair industry's damsel-in-distress hype.

But AARP and I part company when it comes to a recent report it published. According to the report, sitting is the newest, greatest evil since cigarettes. My ergonomically designed chair and I would respectfully disagree.

AARP reports that there is "mounting evidence" that sitting increases our risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes and early death "even for people who exercise daily." It adds that Americans sit more than they sleep and spend an average of 10 hours a day sitting at a desk, in front of a TV or in a car. Older adults are the top offenders. I plead guilty as charged, but you may never convince me that sitting is the greatest threat to my health; whereas smoking certainly remains one of the chart toppers.

Smoking is a choice that some stupid people make; I never did, not because of health concerns but because of the disdain that came from being raised by two chimney stacks who literally lit one match in the morning with coffee and just chain smoked their way through to bedtime. My father died a painful death of emphysema, and my mother stroked out when she was just 61. Me? I mostly remember the constant odor of cigarettes that permeated every piece of furniture and every article of clothing in our apartment. Even today, I can smell a cigarette being smoked by someone on the freeway three cars away with the windows rolled up.

No, I've never smoked a cigarette in my life.

But sitting? Sitting is something I do big-time. I sit in front of a computer all day long. I sit an hour each way in the car to get to the computer I sit in front of all day long. When I get home, I spend a few more hours sitting in front of a computer as I finish up work, help the kids with their homework, pay my bills, book my vacations, order books and chat with friends on Skype. I sit and I sit and I sit.

Why don't I stand, you ask? For a few reasons. I once worked next to a woman who insisted on placing her office computer on a pedestal so that she could stand all day in front of it instead of sitting. For her, it worked out well. For everyone else, not so much.

For one thing, nobody appreciated being towered over. Her standing blocked our already limited view of office life (mostly people sitting in front of their computers in little cubicles) and projected her already-loud voice to an intrusive level. An office community is a delicate balance of personal needs and consideration of others. The others must trump the personal needs if there is to be harmony and productivity.

It took mere minutes before my co-worker's standing raised people's blood pressure. She eventually sat down.

The antidote to sitting at your desk all day is to get up frequently and move around. I make a point of visiting the kitchen or the bathroom, or just walking over to talk to someone every 30 minutes or so. It's a short walk, but one that addresses the mental and physical stiffness I feel if I sit continuously.

But I don't do this to ward off cancer, diabetes or obesity. Sorry, AARP, I have enough legitimate things to worry about, and won't be adding this to my list.

Follow Ann Brenoff on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnnBrenoff

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Dr. Karen Becker: Trendy Pet Dental Procedure May Do More Harm Than Good

2012-01-13T15:01:00.001-08:00

Dr. Karen Becker: Trendy Pet Dental Procedure May Do More Harm Than Good

Nonprofessional dental scaling (NPDS), also known as anesthesia-free dentistry, is gaining popularity with an increasing number of dog and cat owners.

These are well-meaning pet guardians who may be fearful of anesthesia or may not be able to afford professional veterinary dental care. They want to provide some form of oral care for their pets, so they opt for NPDS.

However, anesthesia-free dentistry is essentially a cosmetic procedure that addresses only the parts of your pet's teeth you can see. The question many pet health care professionals are asking is whether NPDS procedures are doing more harm than good.

One of the biggest concerns many veterinarians have with just scraping teeth is that the mouth is full of blood vessels, which can launch oral bacteria into the bloodstream. Once the bacteria is in the bloodstream it can infect other organs like the valves of the heart, resulting in a disease known as vegetative valvular endocarditis.

Read the American Veterinary Dental College's (AVDC) position statement on dental scaling without anesthesia.

Why Anesthesia is Used for Dental Procedures

The fact is, a truly thorough oral exam and cleaning can't be accomplished on a pet who is awake.

Anesthesia has several benefits when it comes to caring for your pet's mouth, including:

• Immobilizing your dog or cat to insure his safety and cooperation during a procedure he doesn't understand and is stressed about.

• Allows for a thorough exam of all the surfaces inside the mouth and the taking of X-rays.

• Allows for scaling below the gum line where periodontal disease is most active.

• Pain management.

A dog or cat who isn't sedated simply won't tolerate a thorough inspection of his mouth. He'll move around a lot, making the use of sharp instruments extra dangerous.

Cleaning below the gum line of a fully-alert animal is something that should never be attempted. Pets won't stand for it because not only does the procedure cause tremendous stress, it's also extremely painful.

And if tooth extractions are necessary, they are out of the question for un-anesthetized pets.

How Anesthesia-Free Dental Procedures Might Do More Harm Than Good

Non-professional dental scaling can potentially give pet owners a false sense of security about the state of their dog's or cat's oral health.

Even though your pet's teeth -- what you can see of them -- may look clean and fresh after an anesthesia-free dental procedure, what you can't see is actually more important. Problems like tartar buildup below the gum line and gingivitis aren't addressed during a procedure that only scrapes and polishes the teeth. Most oral disease happens below the visible surfaces of your dog's or cat's mouth.

NPDS is an aesthetic procedure that doesn't deal with gum problems or other risks to your pet's overall health that can develop from disease that starts in the mouth. It doesn't allow for probing of the gums to look for the presence of deepening periodontal pockets or bone destruction resulting from gum disease.

The majority of older dogs that have undergone anesthesia-free dental procedures for years wind up with significant dental disease requiring multiple extractions as they age.

With all that said, there are certainly situations in which I remove plaque and tartar from a pet's teeth without using anesthesia. Each pet and situation is different. I don't do it in lieu of a thorough dental exam, and I don't do it on pets for which I have no dental history. But if, for example, I have a pet with a large chunk of tartar that is irritating his mouth, I'll remove that tartar without anesthesia if I can do it easily and without stressing out the patient.

When Putting Your Pet "Under" Is a Concern

The prospect of making a beloved pet unconscious with anesthesia is a distressing worry for many people. If you are among them, Dr. Brett Beckman, writing for dvm360, offers this advice:

Veterinary practices that routinely perform dental radiography and probing on all dental patients practice at an advanced level of care. They're also likely to be well-equipped to safely monitor patients and handle any problems they encounter.

Administration of premedications and nerve blocks enables patients to be kept at anesthetic depths consistent with that of a light general anesthesia. This keeps patients close to waking, even when extractions or other invasive procedures are needed, thus maximizing cardiac output and tissue perfusion and maintaining blood pressure.

For more information on the safe use of anesthesia in pets, read my recent article "What You Must Know Before Your Pet Goes 'Under.'"

Don't Forget All Important At-Home Care!

You can help maintain your pet's dental health with:

• Regular brushing

• A balanced, species-appropriate raw diet

• For dogs, an all-natural dental chew bone

For more by Dr. Karen Becker, click here.

For more on pet health, click here.

Dr. Karen Becker is a proactive and integrative wellness veterinarian. You can visit her site at: MercolaHealthyPets.com.

Her goal is to help you create wellness in order to prevent illness in the lives of your pets. This proactive approach seeks to save you and your pet from unnecessary stress and suffering by identifying and removing health obstacles even before disease occurs. Unfortunately, most veterinarians in the United States are trained to be reactive. They wait for symptoms to occur, and often treat those symptoms without addressing the root cause.

By reading Dr. Becker's information, you'll learn how to make impactful, consistent lifestyle choices to improve your pet's quality of life.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Losing Weight Can Help Stop Snoring

2012-01-13T11:02:00.001-08:00

Losing Weight Can Help Stop Snoring

posted on January 10, 2012 in Weight Loss with 0 Comments

Loud snoring everyone knows is incredibly annoying and completely obnoxious. But did we all know that loud snoring can be the cause ofa deadly condition known as sleep apnea? Snoring may come from a lot of reasons, at times from sleeping ina bizarre posture or perhaps from after a major night of consuming alcohol. However, if loud snoring is really a result from sleep apnea than the intelligent move to make will be to seek advice from a physician who can help to address this irritating and perilous disorder.

The damaging facet of sleep apnea is that your air passage gets to be blocked, thus constraining the air passage and resulting in noisy snoring. Nevertheless oftentimes the deafening noise coming from the person afflicted with sleep apnea is actually gasping and suffocation simply to inhale. The daunting facet of this disorder is it can easily be life-threatening, on a yearly basis people depart this life in their sleep from suffocating because of an untreated sleep apnea problem.

Thank Goodness there are various of montgomery snoring treatment options available to remedy this ailment. Just about the most popular procedures has been the CPAP machine. This machine forces air flow straight down your air passage whilst sleeping, eliminating snoring and the choking for breath. Sad To Say most people don’t like putting ona facemask to go to sleep and will choose other treatments. A fresh treatment solution that men and women tend to be open too are the sleep apnea medford oregon mouth pieces. This devices help to position the jaw to the extent that the throat remains unobstructed thus allowing the victim to breath and stop loud snores.

In the event you or a person you love is affected by this disorder than you have to go to a sleep apnea practitioner who is able to effectively diagnose and offer strong treatment solution. Everyone deserves and requires to secure a healthful nights rest to be able to effectively function in society on a daily basis. The great thing is that lots of solutions will also be taken care of by means of most insurance plans, so there really is no reason to hold back if you think you may be battling with this challenge.

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

65-and-Older Population Soars

2012-01-12T11:01:00.001-08:00

There are now more Americans age 65 and older than at any other time in U.S. history. According to a new Census Bureau report, there were 40.3 million people age 65 and older on April 1, 2010, up 5.3 percent from 35 million in 2010 (and just 3.1 million in 1900). Click here to read the rest

Could This Newly Found Hormone Boost The Effect Of Exercise?

2012-01-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

Could This Newly Found Hormone Boost The Effect Of Exercise?

By Katherine Harmon
(Click here for the original article)

Hormones aren’t just for sex—they help control everything from the times when we feel hungry to the timing of our heart beats. Dozens have been described, but there is now a new one on the scene. It might help explain some of the health benefits of exercise and point the way to preventing obesity and diabetes. The find was described online Wednesday in Nature (Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group).

Exercise has myriad benefits for the body and brain, but many of the triggers for these improvements have so far been somewhat of a mystery.

“There has been a feeling in the field that exercise ‘talks to’ various tissues in the body,” Bruce Spiegelman, a cell biologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and co-author of the new study, said in a prepared statement. “But the question has been, how?”

Speigelman and his colleagues found that exercise—in both mice and humans—starts a cascade of signaling changes, including the production of a never-before-described hormone. They dubbed the new hormone irisin, as a nod to the Greek messenger goddess Iris for its ability to send information to surrounding body tissue.

And the messages irisin carries are not trivial—they seem to effect positive changes in the body. An increase in irisin helps turn white fat into the more beneficial and metabolically active brown fat, which burns more calories. It also seems to make the body more sensitive to glucose, an important capability for keeping diabetes at bay.

In the study, the researchers discovered that exercise increases the body’s production of a metabolism-regulating protein, which in turn stimulates expression of a protein that can produce the new hormone, found to reside in the outer membranes of muscle cells.

The effects of exercise on the hormone’s production seem to be long-lived. Even after 12 hours of rest, mice that had been on a three-week jogging regimen had 65 percent more irisin in their blood than unexercised mice. And people who had gotten 10 weeks of endurance exercise training had double the amount of irisin in their blood than those who had not.

But could this hormone, the scientists wondered, mimic some of the effects of exercise—without subjects having to hit the treadmill? To find out, they injected a batch of obese, pre-diabetic mice that had been fed a high-fat diet with just about as much of an irisin boost as they would get from a workout. After 10 days of injections, the irisin-boosted mice had shed a little weight and become more sensitive to glucose—all without exercise. And a later dissection showed that the hormone spike didn’t seem to have any negative biological effects.

“It is likely that irisin is responsible for at least some of the beneficial effects of exercise on the browning of adipose tissues and increase in energy expenditure,” Speigelman and his colleagues noted in their paper. This find might help explain some of the “afterburn” of extra calories after vigorous activity.

Even if the hormone proves safe for humans to take as a supplement, it won’t replace all the benefits of going to the gym. But it might help people fight obesity and remain more sensitive to glucose, thus fighting off diabetes.

“It’s exciting to find a natural substance connected to exercise that has such clear therapeutic potential,” Pontus Bostrom, a postdoctoral researcher at Dana Farber and co-author on the new paper, said in a prepared statement. The researchers are now also investigating possible effects of the exercise-based hormone on other diseases, including neurodegenerative conditions, and have licensed the finding to Ember Therapeutics (a company co-founded by Spiegelman) for drug development.

Also on HuffPost:

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

The Science Of Sex: 5 Must-Know Facts About Your Brain And Desire

2012-01-11T10:01:00.001-08:00

The Science Of Sex: 5 Must-Know Facts About Your Brain And Desire
In recent years there has been a lot of talk about pheremones -- chemicals that have the ability to trigger a social (and potentially sexual) response from members of the same species. Some companies have even begun bottling these chemicals, urging consumers to use them as cologne and "enhance your sex life." According to Sukel, these bottled pheromones are little more than marketing. "As of now there's no good scientific study that shows that these sprays actually work," she said. "But there are plenty of people who use them and claim they're the best thing ever. The placebo effect really works."
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.: 5 Tips To Avoid Yoga Injuries

2012-01-11T07:04:00.001-08:00

Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D.: 5 Tips To Avoid Yoga Injuries

Can yoga wreck your body? A recent article in the New York Times argues that it can, quoting the increase of yoga-related injuries in recent years as the number of yoga practitioners has soared.

Indeed, the number of yoga injuries treated in emergency rooms or doctors' offices rose to 5,500 in 2007, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission. The same year, the number of yoga practitioners reached an estimated 15.8 million. That pegs the number of injuries at 0.035 percent, or about 3.5 out of every 10,000 practitioners.

Can weight training wreck your body? Between 1990 to 2007, an estimated 970,000 weight training-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms, according to the American Journal of Sports Medicine. That's an average of 57,000 injuries per year among an estimated 37 to 45 million practitioners, or roughly 0.12 to 0.15 percent, about 1.2 to 1.5 out of every 1,000 practitioners.

Can golfing wreck your body? In 2007, an estimated 103,000 of the nation's estimated 26.2 million golf players visited the emergency room for golfing-related injuries, according to data from the Consumer Products Safety Commission. That's 0.39 percent, or 3.9 out of every 1,000 golf players incurring an injury.

Any type of physical activity aiming to increase fitness carries with it a certain degree of risk. Pegged next to the injury rate of common physical activities like weight training and golf, however, yoga comes across as far safer than even a relatively innocuous activity like golf (ignoring for the moment that yoga is not just about fitness).

Exercise improves health by challenging the body, triggering changes that make the body stronger: increased muscle mass, stronger bones, greater flexibility, coordination and range of motion -- depending on what is targeted. That is the core of what makes exercise work, but that is also what makes any type of exercise program carry some degree of risk.

As the above statistics indicate, however, making claims about the injury risks of yoga without backing them up by the relative percentage risk is at best poor reporting, at worst could discourage someone from trying yoga who might otherwise benefit from the practice.

Yoga has more than 50 well-documented health benefits according to Dr. Tim McCall, author of Yoga as Medicine. Numerous studies on yoga as therapy demonstrate that yoga offers not just effective stress management, but also is a useful complement in the treatment of diabetes, cancer, MS, heart disease, back pain and many more conditions. Physicians, for example Dr. Loren Fishman, have effectively used yoga in the treatment of numerous debilitating musculoskeletal issues, including rotator cuff tears, back pain, sciatica and much more.

That being said, any type of physical activity that challenges the body should be practiced with awareness and caution. To help you develop the safest possible yoga practice, follow these five tips:

1. Adopt a beginner's mind. You wouldn't go into an advanced ballet or kickboxing class without working your way up through the basics first. Yoga may look comparatively more simple, but it's not. Start with a series of yoga classes targeting beginners, which introduces you to the basics in a systematic way. Not all studios offer intro courses for beginners, so look around. Make sure you build a solid foundation of knowledge of alignment before you try your hand at more challenging classes like a rigorous Vinyasa flow class or a hot yoga class.

2. Learn to listen to your body. In any yoga class, your body, not the teacher, is the real guide to what is best for you. Listening to your body and honoring its signals is key to a safe practice. If something doesn't feel right, ease out of the pose. If something feels like a strain, you're pushing too hard. If your body feels like it needs a break, relax back in child's pose.

3. Do your own pose, not your neighbor's. For most of us, the mind tends to overrule the body. So if the person next to you gets her face all the way down to her shins in Paschimottasana (seated forward bend), by golly, you're gonna get there too, no matter how much your hamstrings howl. However, yoga at its essence is about getting in tune with your body. The only right way to practice a pose is to practice it in the way that honors where your body is at, and not trying to force yourself into your neighbor's pose.

4. Look for your intelligent edge. Look for the sweet spot in every pose. That is where you are challenging the body and yourself, but still staying completely within your comfort zone. Your intelligent edge is that place in the posture where you are feeling a soothing stretch and your muscles are working, but there is no pain, strain or fatigue.

5. Pick the right teacher and approach. When it comes to practicing and teaching yoga, it's not a one size fits all. Yoga teachers vary in approach, style, experience and training. If you're young and fit, you will be able to handle a wide range of yoga styles and classes. On the other hand, if you're a 50+ year old male with super tight hamstrings just starting out, it may be better to start with individual yoga sessions with an experienced teacher. The same thing applies if you have any injuries or physical limitations you're working with. Let your teacher know before the class, and don't be shy to ask if the class will still be suitable for you. If the teacher isn't able to offer specific feedback related to your condition, that's a good indication the teacher might not a good fit for you.

For more by Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D., click here.

For more on yoga, click here.

Follow Eva Norlyk Smith, Ph.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/YogaUOnline

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Insight: New DNA reader to bring promise

2012-01-10T00:00:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New DNA reader could bring genetics to medical clinics After years of predictions that the "$1,000 genome" - a read-out of a person's complete genetic information for about the cost of a dental crown - was just around the corner, a U.S. company is announcing Tuesday that it has achieved that milestone and taken the technology several steps ahead. The new genome-sequencing machine from Ion Torrent, a division of Life Technologies Corp., in Guilford, Connecticut, is 1,000 times more powerful than existing technology, says CEO and chairman Jonathan Rothberg. ...

First Person: Retirement Is a Journey, Not a Destination

2012-01-09T15:00:00.001-08:00

*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles. Read more

First Person: The Sluggish Economy Has Me Rethinking My Plans for Retirement

2012-01-09T10:00:00.001-08:00

First Person: The Sluggish Economy Has Me Rethinking My Plans for Retirement
*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
Source: news.yahoo.com

Fantastic Ways to Shed Pounds

2012-01-09T06:04:00.001-08:00

Fantastic Ways to Shed Pounds

Melt Away The Pounds With These Fantastic Tips

You wouldn’t know it by looking at Americans, but life is much more enjoyable if you’re healthy and in good shape. What; you don’t believe me? Okay, allow me to elaborate. When you’re in great shape, you’re able to function easier. This is because your body is carrying around less fat and your heart is in better condition.

By placing your thumbs around the bar next to your index finger during lat pull downs, you can improve your back workout. By placing your thumbs correctly, you will make the muscles in your back work hard, rather than the muscles in your arms. The same grip can also be used when performing pull ups, to make sure that the right muscles are being engaged during the exercise.

When you are working on the lat machine, try moving your thumbs close to your index fingers. This can enhance how your back is trained during the exercise. By doing this you are causing your arms to carry less of the load. Your back will take over and the exercise will be more effective. You should also do this with pull ups.

Besides physical benefits, fitness provides other bonuses to you and your body. Exercise can also give you an emotional boost. Your brain releases more endorphins when you exercise, giving you a feeling of euphoria. Working out can also enhance your self-esteem and assertiveness by giving you a better image of yourself. In a sense, you are only a few short exercises away from a happier you. When a person is physically fit, it’s not just the outward appearance that shows results. Emotional health also gets a boost from regular workouts.

Physical activity produces endorphins, which give you a strong sense of pleasure. A strong self image is often a side effect of working out as well. As you exercise on a regular basis, and see results, you become more confident in all aspects of your life. The bottom line is you are only a few workouts from really feeling great.

Dead lifts and squats can give your tummy muscles a great workout, too. Your posture and oblique muscle strength will improve if you do five sets of ten reps each. Squats and dead lifts are actually great for your abs, though a lot of people don’t seem to know it. Do at least five sets of 10 repetitions each and your body will tone up. Your posture will improve and your obliques will tighten up.

The diet solution program tips here can make weight loss easier for you. You just need some patience, hard work, time, and a lot of dedication. You will use these traits for much more than just working out. If you can succeed at raising your children, maintaining your marriage and performing your job duties, you can also succeed at achieving your fitness goals. Just go out and do it. This advice will help you to get back into tip top condition, as simply as possible.

Getting into shape takes nothing more than some time, dedication, hard work and patience. It is important to follow these characteristics in every aspect of your life. With all that you manage to handle in your life, you should be able to tackle your fitness goals. So go out there and give it your best shot!

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Ab Coaster – Better Fitness Starts Right Now

2012-01-08T19:00:00.001-08:00

Ab Coaster – Better Fitness Starts Right Now

Written by gaurav mehrotra on January 3rd, 2012

Best Ab Machine

What images come to mind when you hear the word fitness? If you think of mainly horrible things like pain and fear then you have probably already preconditioned yourself against fitness. This article will present some tips to help you start to enjoy becoming fit and staying fit in a reasonable amount of time.

A great way to help you get fit is to start doing compound lifts. Compound lifts are lifts such as the bench press, squat, pull-up, and deadlift. These lifts are better than isolation lifts because they use more than once muscle group. Isolation lifts tend to only use one muscle group.

To maintain your fitness level for life, you must find forms of exercise that you enjoy. If you have to force yourself to exercise, you are very unlikely to exercise on a regular basis or to maintain your fitness level in the long term. By participating in enjoyable forms of exercise such as swimming, cycling, hiking, dancing, and playing enjoyable team sports, you can be fit and stay fit for life.

An important fitness tip to remember is that you can’t spot train. Spot training involves focusing on one specific body part and attempting to lose weight in only that area. This is impossible to do. In order to lose body fat in an area, you have to lose overall body fat.

A good way to help you become physically fit is to start eating healthy. Any bodybuilder fitness model will tell you that bodies are made in the kitchen. In order to get the best results out of your workouts, you really should be eating healthy and eating smart.

Hopefully, reading this article has helped you to realize that getting in shape can actually be a fun activity. Once you begin to see it as something you do for yourself instead of an obligation you can begin to work even harder. The tips that you have read here will help you to start doing just that.

Read more click here Ab Machines That Work

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

U.S. News Ranks The Best And Worst Diets

2012-01-08T17:00:00.001-08:00

U.S. News Ranks The Best And Worst Diets
DASH was developed to fight high blood pressure, not as an all-purpose diet. But it certainly looked like an all-star to our panel of experts, who gave it high marks for its nutritional completeness, safety, ability to prevent or control diabetes and role in supporting heart health. Though obscure, it beat out a field full of better-known diets. More from U.S. News Health: Easiest to Follow Diets: in Pictures Best Diabetes Diets Best Weight-Loss Diets [Flickr/Wikimedia] photo by Magic Madzik.
Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

US redefines rape to count more people as victims

2012-01-07T11:00:00.001-08:00

The Obama administration says it is expanding the FBI's more than eight-decade-old definition of rape to reflect a better understanding of the crime and to broaden protections. Click here to read the rest

Grace Suh Coscia, L.Ac., Dipl.O.M.: Using Chinese Medicine To Stave Off Winter Weight Gain

2012-01-07T10:05:00.001-08:00

Grace Suh Coscia, L.Ac., Dipl.O.M.: Using Chinese Medicine To Stave Off Winter Weight Gain

Last week in Barneys those skinny jeans perfectly contoured your curves and made your butt look incredible. Now, after you've removed the tags and struggle to snap that waist button for your heavily-anticipated office party, you mentally recall everything you ate and conclude that, other than a few bites of your friend's brownie cheesecake at dinner the other night, you've stuck perfectly to your diet.

You're most likely experiencing water weight. Those skinny jeans fit a little skinnier, your fingers and ankles feel swollen, your eyes look like the aftermath of a party girl who got a little too tipsy last night, you feel bloated and you just know everyone will be talking about your newly risen muffin top at the party.

This is not what sexy feels like.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Weight Loss

Traditional Chinese medicine and herbology focuses on a cycle of five elements to which nature rotates. Since you're part of nature, you also experience these changes. From this Eastern perspective, winter becomes the water season. That's one reason why water weight becomes such a drag during the frigid months.

Follow these three strategies to banish water weight and you'll never have to dread your cocktail parties as you sullenly stare in the mirror again at your too-tight little black dress with your bulging belly.

Balance Salty and Bitter

From those freshly-baked cranberry walnut scones your favorite coworker brought in this morning to that can of Campbell's you nuked for a quick dinner, you're probably eating more salt during the winter season. (Remember, sodium lurks in even non-salty tasting foods.)

In Chinese medicine, the winter element focuses on how your kidneys and bladder regulate salt and water metabolism. You should therefore carefully monitor these organs during your winter months.

Simply put, excess salt pushes your body to hoard water. That's one reason you felt bloated and puffy after eating your aunt's Paula Deen-inspired Thanksgiving dinner: Her honey-glazed turkey alone seriously spiked your sodium levels. As if not fitting into your favorite black camisole wasn't bad enough, you also increase your toxic load when your body holds on to excess water during the coldest months.

Bitter foods are your friends in balancing salt intake. Smart choices include watercress, endive, turnip, celery, asparagus, alfalfa, carrots, quinoa, rye, oats and amaranth. Balance your salt with bitters and you'll kiss bloating and all the other unpleasant symptoms of water weight goodbye. And you'll stay lean and sexy as the snow melts and you anticipate bikini season.

Excess salt also creates dry, cracked skin. You've probably noticed in winter you apply more moisturizing cream to your hands and reach more often for the Chapstick. The high water content in these vegetables and grains help you combat winter dryness.

When you do need to salt your steamed vegetables, skip the Morton's for sea salt, which retains its beneficial trace minerals.

Blood sugar and Adrenal Support

Those gingerbread shortbread cookies you ate too many of at your daughter's after-school Christmas party spiked and crashed your body sugar, leaving you fatigued, bloated, yet oddly craving that leftover cherry cheesecake sitting in your fridge.

In Chinese Medicine, the water element also involves your adrenal glands. When your blood sugar plunges, you burn out your adrenals, so you want to closely monitor your blood sugar during the winter months.

When you eat the right foods, this becomes easy. Always begin your day with a balanced breakfast that includes lean protein, healthy fats and whole grains or non-starchy vegetables. If breakfast isn't on your agenda because you've lost your keys and you're running late for rush hour, have a protein smoothie that includes a high-quality whey or pea/rice protein, fiber (berries, flaxseed and chia seeds make ideal fiber sources), and unsweetened coconut milk. You'll stay full and focused throughout your morning.

Likewise, continue lunch and dinner with optimal lean protein, healthy fats, non-starchy vegetables and starchy carbs like quinoa, lentils or a sweet potato to keep your blood sugar balanced all day.

And don't forget winter is water season. Drink eight to 10 glasses of purified water throughout your day, but minimize liquids during meals since too many liquids can dilute your stomach acid and inhibit protein digestion.

Manage Your Fears and Insecurities

Pressure to create the perfect family dinner, credit card bills, seasonal affective disorder, worries about the economy and failed resolutions during the New Year can all leave you feeling a little more strained. Unease and worry only exacerbate negative feelings. It's not all in your head. Fear and insecurity go hand in hand with winter's water elements.

Think of these emotions like a coffee percolator that comes to boil. You've clung to them all year, but fear and insecurities really come to surface during the winter months.

The right diet can help. An imbalance of too much salt and not enough bitter foods, for instance, contribute to excessive fear and insecurity. These emotions also increase stress, which raises your cortisol levels and stores fat.

Find your calm amidst the uneasiness. Meditations, ear acupuncture and Chinese herbal remedies can calm you and create an ideal, holistic weight loss program. Create "me time" to unwind. And stay positive. After all, you have breezy spring days ahead as you keep off that winter water weight and look gorgeously lean in those perfectly-fitting skinny jeans.

Sources:

Brownstein, David. Salt Your Way to Health. MI: Medical Alternative Press, 2006.

Maciocia, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text for Acupuncturists and Herbalists. PA: Churchill Livingstone, 1989.

Pitchford, Paul. Healing with Whole Foods Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition. CA: North Atlantic Books, 1993

For more by Grace Suh Coscia, L.Ac., Dipl.O.M., click here.

For more about natural health, click here.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Gym Uses Auschwitz Picture To Promote Weight Loss (PHOTO)

2012-01-06T17:05:00.001-08:00

Gym Uses Auschwitz Picture To Promote Weight Loss (PHOTO)

A gym in Dubai has apologized after releasing an advertisement featuring an image from a German concentration camp to motivate clients to lose weight.

The Circuit Factory Gym published the image of the Auschwitz concentration camp with the phrase "Kiss Your Calories Goodbye" on its Facebook page, but soon took down the post amid a whirlwind of backlash from users, according to CBS New York.

(SEE PHOTO BELOW)

Gym founder Phil Parkinson apologized to a number of users who Tweeted angry remarks concerning the image and ensured followers that the designer is no longer with the company.

Circuit Factory
Apologies for the insane poster campaign that was put up this morning... The creative guy has been told where to go x

However, Parkinson told Arabian Business News that he noticed an immediate increase in traffic to the gym's website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.

"It has got to the point I am nervous that I can't cater for demand," he told the paper.

But a public relations representative said the long-term consequences of the controversial ad could be yet to come.

"Associating your brand with human suffering as a means to secure visibility is extremely short-sighted and may have far-reaching effects," Eileen Wallis, managing partner at a Dubai public relations firm, told Arabian Business News.

The Anti-Defamation League has accepted Parkinson's apology but denounced the "mindset of a generation that appears to be so distant from a basic understanding of the Holocaust" to deem the ad acceptable to use in the first place, the International Business Times reports.

Still, some are questioning whether the shock-factor of the advertisement was what the marketing team was after from the beginning.

"It's a PR trick, people...The only people that are stupid are the ones that fall for this obvious stunt," The Media Line quoted a commenter as stating.

Regardless of the designer's intentions, Twitter user Alison Lehr (@AlisonLehr), in addition to others, expressed her fury over the ad with a special message, CBS New York observed.

LOOK:

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Resource for smoking cessation

2012-01-06T05:01:00.001-08:00
Resource for smoking cessation

Written by Sarah G on January 6th, 2012

If you’ve searched the web for information on things like Zyban, Nicotine addiction, tobacco-related issues related to health policy, big tobacco, what have you…you have got to havealook at SmokeShopTalk.com. It’s a pretty comprehenssive, humours, geeky look at a lot of topics related to smoking. This article called All About ecigarettes is pretty comprehensive, but they also have some serious and funny articles about Propylene Glycol usage in products generally, from the angle of the seemingly unjust clamp-down on eCig manufacturers. Just search the site for “propylene glycol”, I guarantee you’ll be entertained.

This site has a massive amount of information, and a lot of it seems geared toward sincerely providing facts and ideas about quitting smoking. Like this article on Nicotine Replacement Therapy . THe images alone are hilarious, but the comprehensive information on NRT, dopamine, is solid. Check out the section towards the bottom of the post, showing the brain scan images of smokers, called The Dope on Dopamine.

The people at SmokeShopTalk have an interesting take on this stuff, and are apparently very enmeshed, or at least interested, in the world of … well smoking. The chap goes by the moniker Smokey the Barrister. ‘Nuff said. It can be hard to find the better articles on the site, some are short and cute, others are very long and detailed. Spend some time poking around, you’ll probably get very concerned about tobacco, healthcare policy, and so on, but I bet you’ll laugh more than you’d admit to tomorrow at work.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Herpes Vaccine Study Produces Partial Victory

2012-01-05T16:02:00.001-08:00
Herpes Vaccine Study Produces Partial Victory

Los Angeles Times:

Finding a vaccine to stop herpes has been frustrating for researchers. The family of herpes viruses inflict suffering on millions of people. Herpes simplex virus type 1 is generally linked to fever blisters and genital herpes and type 2 causes genital sores. A study published Wednesday shows progress toward a vaccine but hardly perfection.

Read the whole story: Los Angeles Times

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Targacept: Alzheimer's drug studies will continue

2012-01-05T15:00:00.001-08:00
Targacept Inc. said Thursday that its partner AstraZeneca PLC is preparing to run midstage clinical trials of an experimental Alzheimer's disease treatment that Targacept developed. Read more

Dave Linn: Cycling for Rare Cancers

2012-01-05T09:01:00.001-08:00
Dave Linn: Cycling for Rare Cancers

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

Good News

Charity

Clinton Global Initiative

Greatest Person Of The Day

Smarter Ideas More

Log in

|

Sign Out

January 5, 2012

Like

18K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
U.S. UK CANADA

POLITICS
2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE

GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS

BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS

ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO

MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY

TECH
SCIENCE ENGADGET APPLE BLOG

TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ TRANSLOGIC

MEDIA

LIFE & STYLE
STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN

TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION

CULTURE
ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE

RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION

COMEDY
URLESQUE

HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS

MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP

WOMEN
HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS

LOCAL
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH

CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES

MORE
SCIENCE BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD EDUCATION GAY VOICES

GREEN LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

IMPACT TED WATER GREATEST PERSON CHARITY HOMELESSNESS VOLUNTEERING MILITARY

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Alcohol Treatment at House – a Good Alternative For Some

2012-01-05T08:03:00.001-08:00
Alcohol Treatment at House – a Good Alternative For Some

Written by Keith Baxter on December 30th, 2011

Treatment for alcoholism has gotten a reputation as being a medical procedure. Whether the treatment is inpatient or outpatient, its is taken into account to be something that takes place in a certified facility. There is a therapist, a specialist, nurses, probably group sessions, and the entire program of treatment can easily be very public in the sense that a sufferer can’t be anonymous in a therapy facility. A new method to alcohol treatment that supplies an antidote to many of the complications of medical rehabilitation is house treatment, and it has numerous perks for alcoholics.

The process of detoxification can easily be more efficient and efficient at the sufferer’s home with the assistance of a specialist and around the time clock tracking by a skilled nurse. Having the conveniences of home and understanding household members available if desired is a little something that medical treatment cannot supply. The person whom is undergoing a grueling detoxification could suffer less and be finished more rapidly than a sufferer in a clinic.

For an alcoholic, house is where the routines are, as well as it’s better for lots of persons to deal with those routines in the home environment directly. Behaviors that can easily be masked and repressed during clinical treatment are ever-present in the house setting – rituals and recurrent actions that are connected with the dependency can easily be dealt by having as therapy proceeds instead of at a later time.

Numerous alcoholics whom pursue treatment might respond better to a course of rehabilitation that don’ts consist of group therapy treatments, yet instead one-on-one time by having a familiar and reliable therapist. Group treatment can be detrimental for many more receptive sufferers who would like to preserve their anonymity as well as however are significant concerning breaking their addiction as well as achieving sobriety. By protecting a sense of self-worth as well as an emotion of accomplishment through self-confidence as well as strength, a patient in alcohol treatment at home could make larger strides to the ultimate goal of being sober.

At last, by having home therapy, the alcoholic obtains individualized attention from experts as well as does not feel like a part of a subculture that could short-circuit the rehabilitation procedure. Another advantage of receiving this attention is that the procedure of alcohol treatment at all phases is more effective, needing reduced time as well as effort from the sufferer.

The rate of recidivism is pretty high by having any alcohol treatment approach, yet home care programs guarantee for the best individual, as well as has countless advantages that provide it a benefit over conventional medical treatments.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

First Person: We're 'Freezing' Extra Cash in Our Retirement Accounts

2012-01-04T19:00:00.001-08:00
First Person: We're 'Freezing' Extra Cash in Our Retirement Accounts
*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
Source: news.yahoo.com

Researchers Closer To Cure For Deadly Bacteria, Listeria

2012-01-04T18:04:00.001-08:00
Researchers Closer To Cure For Deadly Bacteria, Listeria

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

Fast Food

Burgers

Food Crime

E. Coli

Armchair Detective More

Log in

|

Sign Out

January 4, 2012

Like

8K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
U.S. UK CANADA

POLITICS
2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS FUNDRACE

GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON OFF THE BUS

BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS

ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO

MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY

TECH
HUFFPOST TECH ENGADGET APPLE BLOG

TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ TRANSLOGIC

MEDIA

LIFE & STYLE
STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN

TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION

CULTURE
ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE

RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION

COMEDY
URLESQUE

HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS

MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP

WOMEN
HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS

LOCAL
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH

CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES

MORE
BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD EDUCATION GAY VOICES

LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

FOOD RECIPES CHEFS RESTAURANTS DESSERTS COCKTAILS WINE BEER

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

So Does The Fast Food Toy Ban Actually Work?

2012-01-03T16:02:00.001-08:00
So Does The Fast Food Toy Ban Actually Work?

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

Fast Food

Food Crime

E. Coli

Cheese

Smarter Ideas More

Log in

|

Sign Out

January 3, 2012

Like

8K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
U.S. UK CANADA

POLITICS
2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS

GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON

BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS

ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO

MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY

TECH
HUFFPOST TECH ENGADGET APPLE BLOG

TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ TRANSLOGIC

MEDIA

LIFE & STYLE
STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN

TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION

CULTURE
ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE

RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION

COMEDY
URLESQUE

HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS

MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP

WOMEN
HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS

LOCAL
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH

CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES

MORE
BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD EDUCATION GAY VOICES

LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

FOOD RECIPES CHEFS RESTAURANTS DESSERTS COCKTAILS WINE BEER

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Study Looks at Deep Brain Stimulation in Bipolar Patients

2012-01-03T10:00:00.001-08:00
MONDAY, Jan. 2 (HealthDay News) -- A small study suggests that deep brain stimulation, which is currently being investigated as a treatment for general depression, may also help patients with bipolar disorder. Read more

Could Gastric Band Hypnotherapy Help You Lose Weight

2012-01-02T23:02:00.001-08:00
Could Gastric Band Hypnotherapy Help You Lose Weight

Written by SarahB on December 29th, 2011

Ever heard of weight loss hypnotherapy?

No, well don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it here – www.lapbandreviews.org/lap-band-blog

If you’re short of time, a quick overview is that gastric band hypnotherapy is a completely safe and inexpensive treatment that basically convinces the subconscious mind that it has had a gastric band fitted. The program includes audio recordings which help to achieve this goal.

As a result of the hypnotherapy, the user feels fuller quicker, has less cravings and therefore starts to lose weight quickly. There are no side effects whatsoever and the results are very noticeable in a short time frame. If you’re considering having weight loss surgery, this is a must try first. Find out more here – gastric band hypnotherapy

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

French breast implant firm used fuel additive

2012-01-02T16:00:00.001-08:00

French breast implant manufacturer PIP used a fuel additive in its now-banned implants which the company knew were defective as early as 2005, it was revealed on Monday.

Continue reading...

Thorough Analysis on the Effects and Use of Herbal K2 Incense

2012-01-02T11:01:00.001-08:00
Thorough Analysis on the Effects and Use of Herbal K2 Incense

posted on December 29, 2011 in Health, Healthy, Healthy Weight Loss with 0 Comments

Herbal incense has effects on your approach to life in addition to generating a solid affect on your ideas utilizing its enjoyable event. Everyone is receiving targeted plus more when it comes to good smelling incense. Fumes with this incense will be making people strain less in addition to assisting people to locate technique to enjoyment. These types of incenses in task were used in this spiritual strict pursuits, having said that becoming required for every single dwelling. There’re obtainable in tremendous variety however the most reliable in addition to popular an example may be K2 incense. This kind of incense includes mixing herbal products together with botanical components and various other items. Any firm offers their unique food, nonetheless most important factor that will be removed from resinous flowers has become identical. On the net market involving organic incense makes feasible for buyers to get k2 and many types of alternative incense.

Individuals are receiving use of this kind of organic incense of their existing places that the smoking of their incense which makes them feel rest, strain less in addition to assisting the crooks to get free from their particular depression. Some individuals feel that they may increase your lovemaking notions. Another happier area of these herbal products is they are applying in yoga of numerous health conditions. Individuals also have of which whilst they training yoga exercises. k2 incense receives popular in just about every section of the globe, it truly is to be found in various odours, one can possibly decide on conveniently based upon the ambiance. Any firm won’t be able to find it is sophisticated formula, because of this you’ll find only handful of businesses developing this kind of incense. There are various web sites which may be supplying all kinds of incense and another can easily invest in k2 readily available web-sites. Increasing demand with this product or service offers added in result impurity involved. A large variety involving web page supplying false organic incense. In needs to keep in the opinions in relation to internet websites to be sure the purity to have these K2 incense.

Most critical interest whilst getting these incenses online is authentication. When the web page where by inside you are purchasing these incense will be authentic and then, there needs to be genuine url, of which url may direct you to definitely their particular authentication origin. Never invest in K2 incense through the web page without it genuine url.

Fire potential risks link with these organic incense can result in horrible automobile accident. Ahead of applying remember to sometimes make all protective methods and you also learn how to stir up of which point. Usually there are some incense accessories that can assist a person keep on being secure with the these individuals. Ensure that whilst invest in K2 you’ve got bundled these accessories. Incense burner would be the central equipment, just before stimulating who makes positive incense burner is fine. Because they Incense burners are usually lightweight, tend not to location these individuals next to very combustible items. There are hardly any situations of experiencing fireplace with the this kind of incense, immediately after examining these situations that they found these situations ended up take place resulting from putting burner next to drapes. When you want to invest in K2, preserve each one of these points involved.

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

Watch: TV Ads Target Childhood Obesity

2012-01-02T10:00:00.001-08:00
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta launches Strong4Life campaign. Credit of the story

Easy New Year's Resolutions You Can Actually Stick To In 2012

2012-01-02T07:05:00.001-08:00
Easy New Year's Resolutions You Can Actually Stick To In 2012

Welcome to 2012. What are you going to do to make this year your best yet? And no, we're not talking about unrealistic (yet well-intentioned) promises to yourself such as going to the gym every single day or swearing off your favorite food or calling your mom every single day.

The thing with new year's resolutions is that they're often simply unrealistic. With that in mind, we've put together 11 easy new year's resolutions you can actually stick to. They don't cost anything and require minimal effort -- but could have a big, positive impact on your life this year.

Read through and consider adopting a few (if not all!) of them. If you can come up with any other low-barrier-to-entry new year's resolutions, start a conversation in the comments.

Neat idea.

I'm definitely adopting this resolution!

| Become a fan
Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

| Become a fan
Picked These as the Top 5 Slides in the Slideshow

loading...

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

China says latest bird flu virus doesn't jump between humans

2012-01-02T04:00:00.001-08:00
China says latest bird flu virus doesn't jump between humans
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The latest bird flu virus that killed a 39-year-old bus driver in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen over the weekend is not yet transmissible between humans, Chinese health authorities said. "The virus found in the patient was 90 percent similar to H5N1 viruses previously isolated in ducks in China, which suggested that the man was very likely to have been infected through direct contact with a bird," the Shenzhen Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement. ...
Source: news.yahoo.com

China says latest bird flu virus doesn't jump between humans

2012-01-01T23:00:00.001-08:00
China says latest bird flu virus doesn't jump between humans
HONG KONG (Reuters) - The latest bird flu virus that killed a 39-year-old bus driver in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen over the weekend is not yet transmissible between humans, Chinese health authorities said. "The virus found in the patient was 90 percent similar to H5N1 viruses previously isolated in ducks in China, which suggested that the man was very likely to have been infected through direct contact with a bird," the Shenzhen Center for Disease Prevention and Control said in a statement. ...
Source: news.yahoo.com

Insight: Shortage of ADHD drug Adderall seen persisting in 2012

2012-01-01T08:00:00.001-08:00
BOSTON (Reuters) - A shortage of Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, shows little sign of easing as manufacturers struggle to get enough active ingredient to make the drug and demand climbs. Adderall, a stimulant, is a controlled substance, meaning it is addictive and has the potential to be abused. The Drug Enforcement Administration tightly regulates how much of the drug's active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) can be distributed to manufacturers each year. ... Read more

Natural Tinnitus Treatment – tips to stop the ringing in your ears

2011-12-31T23:00:00.001-08:00
Natural Tinnitus Treatment – tips to stop the ringing in your ears

The sheer number of individuals I have met of late who’re looking for a natural tinnitus treatment is happening more often. It seems like everyone is far more ready to attempt natural, alternative solutions than they were even a couple of years ago. I think doctor’s offices are so hectic and a lot of health care is now extremely expensive. These circumstances have made it easier for people take things into their own hands.

Just about the most common ways to know you could have tinnitus is the ringing in your ears. The constant sound of sounds within your head, inside your own ears, is definitely the trademark of tinnitus. In some cases, it’s a buzz. At times, it’s actually a ringing sound. In some instances, typically in the elderly, the continual buzz can be a caution of possible permanent loss of hearing. So, dealing with tinnitus symptoms early on can be very important. Natural tinnitus treatment can help in getting rid of this particular irritating condition.

Some of the other health concerns that may play a role in tinnitus symptoms include high bad cholesterol levels, very low blood sugar, very poor nutrition, and high blood pressure levels. Using herbal solutions as a natural tinnitus treatment can help a number of the underlying issues that may cause tinnitus. Fixing these other complications might turn out fixing the actual tinnitus problem, too.

One more reason why many are looking for a natural tinnitus remedy may be the prospective side effects of a number of the prescription drugs which can be prescribed for someone who is dealing with tinnitus symptoms. Anti-allergy medication might be good at drying up some of the excess mucus that can accumulate inside your ear, however in some instances it can cause blurry eyesight. Tranquilizers and antidepressants are good at numbing the pressure sensation observed by many with tinnitus symptoms. However, as a complication, many people frequently deal with sleep loss, anxiousness, and an increased heartrate. Another medication that can be problematic is a betahistidine. This type of drug may alleviate pressure inside the ear, but triggers severe headaches as well as upset tummies amongst many who take it. It is no wonder consumers are trying to find a natural tinnitus treatment.

Herbal and nutritional health supplements are can help alleviate tinnitus symptoms. Supplements like Niacin might help improve blood circulation by widening capillaries and aiding them in absorbing much more nutrients as well as oxygen. These will be carried naturally to your inner ear via regular blood flow.

Sometimes, the most effective natural tinnitus treatment is to modify your life style as well as your diet. Some tinnitus symptoms are due to an inner ear blood vessel becoming clogged. Avoiding food items which negatively affects the circulatory system may help unblock the blood vessel. Similarly, having reduced blood sugar can easily contribute to tinnitus symptoms. If you are trying to boost circulation and prevent low blood sugar, your natural tinnitus treatment should include staying away from fatty, processed foods, and baked goods and other sweets. Eating a great deal of good proteins, fresh fruits, and green veggies will help, as well.

Sustaining a non-active life-style may also greatly increase the probability of getting tinnitus symptoms. Not being active can boost bad cholesterol and contributes to weak blood circulation. Moving around, taking walks, exercising, jogging, are all very good for your heart. Getting your blood flowing throughout the body, including the ears, generally is a very good natural tinnitus treatment or preventative.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Contaminated Lettuce Pulled From Grocery Store Shelves

2011-12-31T17:03:00.001-08:00
Contaminated Lettuce Pulled From Grocery Store Shelves

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

E. Coli

Cheese

Food Crime

Fast Food

Armchair Detective More

Log in

|

Sign Out

December 31, 2011

Like

8K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
U.S. UK CANADA

POLITICS
2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS

GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON

BUSINESS
SMALL BUSINESS

ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO

MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY

TECH
HUFFPOST TECH ENGADGET APPLE BLOG

TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ TRANSLOGIC

MEDIA

LIFE & STYLE
STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN

TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION

CULTURE
ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE GIFT GUIDES

RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION HOLIDAYS

COMEDY
URLESQUE

HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS

MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP

WOMEN
HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS

LOCAL
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH

CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES

MORE
BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD EDUCATION GAY VOICES

LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

FOOD RECIPES CHEFS RESTAURANTS DESSERTS COCKTAILS WINE BEER

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Will Aguila, M.D.: The Cycle Of Success: Achieving Your Healthy Weight In 2012

2011-12-31T16:01:00.001-08:00
Will Aguila, M.D.: The Cycle Of Success: Achieving Your Healthy Weight In 2012

Did you know that only about 12 percent of New Year's resolutions are kept after the one year mark? A resolution to lose weight is by far one of the most common. Early in January, the YMCA and other gyms will be brimming with well-intentioned "resolutionists" working hard on keeping their promise. But by mid-March, the vast number of them will have given up and returned to their previous habits.

Well-ingrained habits are hard to change. We favor the good intentions of restructuring the way we think, but these will give way to comfort and satisfaction. But why is it that we fail to keep our resolutions? Is it lack of motivation? Maybe it is fear of change or lack of determination?

I believe that two main factors are working against each other here. The first is the fear of change. We get comfortable with our daily choices; we may not like the choices, but we feel safe with them. Many times we don't make a substantial change because we feel that we are in a zone that is safe. Why venture out and try your luck?

The other factor is not understanding the importance of determination. Our past experiences with success or failure will reflect on our ability to be determined. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, determination is "a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end." Motivation is basically a "boost or incentive" to do something. So by definition, determination is really the key to achieving success with something; motivation is just the incitement.

Determination, being the driving force behind achieving a task, has to be followed by effort, which is the work necessary to achieve the desired end. This is where a lot of people will stagger. You see, two issues are at play here. The first is that we may correctly or incorrectly see the effort necessary to achieve our goal as gargantuan. We can create and compound our own worst fears. Almost always, this is a false pretension.

Oftentimes we see the effort as insurmountable because of our experience with our past failures and how we handled them. If we failed at our attempts often in the past, we tend to expect much the same outcome that we did before. But what you need to understand is that although the journey may be the same, the path is always changing! Armed with this knowledge is one of the ways that you can change your outcome and avoid predicting failure.

Determination is what allows you to choose the right path and to switch directions, rather than quitting, if it isn't the right path. No one can teach you "determination," but we can plant the seed, water it and watch it grow into a Grand Sequoia.

Success is then a cycle that originates with inspiration and motivation quickly follows. Motivation then is followed by determination, which leads to effort and this in turn leads to accomplishment. If you attain accomplishment, then you reach further inspiration and the cycle continues itself.

You must keep this cycle alive by driving determination, which is the steam engine that keeps it going. Do this by finding the right people and events that keep you motivated and by taking the effort in stages, not trying to set your goals so high that the effort needed to achieve it is unrealistic. Take shorter, simpler steps that lead to accomplishment, then further inspiration, and then more motivation. Make the cycle of success work for you.

And this is what you have to do to keep that New Year's resolution alive, regardless of what your resolution is. Plant your determination and "watch it grow." Understand the cycle of success and how it works so that you keep looking ahead and adjusting your path.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Gout Treatment

2011-12-31T11:00:00.001-08:00
Gout Treatment

Written by Kirsty on December 22nd, 2011

Gout treatment is something every gout sufferer should consider to give immediate relief from the pain and also to reduce the risk of recurring attacks. Gout is an inflammatory disease that is classed as chronic arthritis. It can develop slowly over a period of time when uric acid has built up in the blood but once gout symptoms appear, typically overnight, the pain and swelling intensify. There are however a large number of people who have high levels of uric acid that will never develop gout or gout symptoms.

The pain is normally the most intense for the first 12 to 24 hours, although if left untreated, the pain and swelling may last for weeks and lead to more serious health issues although less sever attacks may disappear after a week or two even without treatment. Once you have had one attack of gout you are very likely to have another.

It is important to consult with a health care professional before taking any form of medication for gout. There may well be underlying health issues which caused the gout attack in the first instance.

One of the best gout treatments is to rest the affected part and keep it elevated. The use of medications such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug) may be used to relieve the pain but will not reduce the risk of another attack. Aspirin is not used to reduce the pain because it can change the uric acid levels in your blood and may make your symptoms worse. Another gout treatment is the prescription drug Colchicine. Colchicine will reduce the inflammation of a gout attack. It is not specifically used for pain relief but has been known to reduce the pain. Some of the side effects include diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting so it may not be the right solution for everyone. Other prescribed medications such as Allopurinol are effective at decreasing the production of uric acid in the body. This drug is normally used in the prevention of future attacks.

Although there is no cure for gout, the best gout treatment is to take preventative measures to reduce further attacks. There are a number of foods that are known to increase the risk of developing gout, typically foods that are rich in purine.. Beer and spirits, sardines, dried beans and peas, mushrooms and all sorts of red meats should be avoided to reduce the risk of a gout attack.

Gout treatment is best discussed with your doctor. If have ever suffered with a gout attack, consult with a health care professional so you can begin a course of treatment immediately and take steps to avoid painful attacks in the future.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Gerard E. Mullin, M.D.: Your Good Gut Guide to a Healthy New Year

2011-12-31T02:03:00.001-08:00
Gerard E. Mullin, M.D.: Your Good Gut Guide to a Healthy New Year

Come fall, our days and nights begin to revolve around friends, family, parties and, of course, food! Of course, by the time New Year's Day rolls around, most of us are repentant, willing to do whatever it takes to make this year the year we get and stay healthy -- only to slide back into those bad habits all too soon. Making -- and keeping -- healthy resolutions can be challenging, but even more important for people who are coping with preexisting digestive conditions such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Fortunately, with a few key lifestyle changes, you can keep your gut healthy all year long.

1. Manage stress. It's near impossible to eliminate stress from our lives: From busy work schedules, to family obligations, to financial worries, sources of stress and anxiety are everywhere. There's a solid connection between stress and illness: Stress promotes higher cortisol levels, which have been linked to weight gain. And stress can also play a huge role in many digestive problems, particularly GERD and IBS. Research shows that anxiety, depression and stress provoke symptoms in up to 60 percent of people with IBS, and that stress management tools such as deep breathing, relaxation and hypnosis are helpful. Likewise, GERD has been linked to underlying anxiety and stress is clearly associated with worsened symptomatology. These are reasons to be more cautious of managing stress if you have GERD and or IBS.

First, be realistic about what you can accomplish, rather than being overambitious with your schedule. Consider scheduling time for a massage, a hot bath with lavender oil and soothing music, or perhaps just a long walk while stargazing or some quiet time watching a movie or reading a book. And try to fit in seven to eight hours of sleep every night. Sleep is necessary to help combat stress, boost energy and regulate appetite.

2. Eat in moderation. Perhaps the most challenging resolution for many people is making healthy food choices while avoiding splurges that pack on the pounds and cause digestive symptoms to flare. First, keep balance, variety and moderation in your eating habits. Take your time and try not to eat too fast: Slowing down and eating more mindfully helps prevent overeating. You will feel full much sooner than if you will if you race through your meals. Remember, it takes your brain 20 minutes to realize that your stomach is full. Don't bring unhealthy food into your home and -- if you do indulge in occasional snacks or sweets -- put one serving on a napkin and leave the box or bag of treats in the pantry. If the food is out of sight, it is more likely to be out of mind.

And you can make healthy food choices while still enjoying a delicious meal. Select fresh vegetables and low-fat dips before a meal, and offer fresh fruit as part of your dessert. The combination of high-fat and acidic foods (pizza, lasagna, meatballs, fajitas) is particularly notorious for aggravating heartburn. Favor lean protein sources such as turkey, which also is high in tryptophan, an amino acid that helps combat anxiety and depression. Berries are high in antioxidants and don't cause excessive spikes in blood sugar. When cooking, think about using spices that help calm the gut and aid digestion such as ginger, fennel and mint.

Think about eating nuts as a snack instead of sweets, particularly if you have IBS: Sweets can cause gas and trigger IBS symptoms. If you're worried about the high fat content of nuts, don't be. Yes, they are rich in calories, but they increase your sense of fullness rather easily. In fact, women who consume two or more handfuls of nuts per week have a slightly lower risk of obesity than those who eat nuts less frequently or not at all, according to findings from the long-running Nurses' Health Study at the Harvard School of Public Health. When it comes to dessert, choose dark chocolate for its cardioprotective and mood-enhancing benefits. Try to limit alcoholic drinks, which are calorie rich and stress the gut, and keep hydrated with water or club soda with a twist of lemon or lime instead. Choose gut-calming herbal teas (i.e. chamomile) after dinner over caffeinated beverages, which can exacerbate IBS and GERD symptoms. Balancing your food intake will help you stay more in control of your digestion.

3. Exercise. It's easy to cut back on exercise when you're busy. However, getting physical activity will not only help shed the pounds you may have gained over the holidays, but it can also help moderate stress and boost mood, which help combat IBS and GERD. You don't need to wait until the weather improves. Many join a gym as a new year's resolution only to stop going after a few weeks. Wintertime activities include skating, sledding, skiing, walking in the mall or outdoors, dancing and working out in a gym or at an exercise class. Bundle up and take a walk around the neighborhood and you'll burn 324 calories in an hour. So choose some activities that you enjoy and get moving. Try to maintain a set schedule for exercise to help boost your metabolism, mood and energy.

I hope that these health tips help you ring in the new year in good gut health.

Follow Gerard E. Mullin, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/drmullin

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

5 Common Retirement Misconceptions

2011-12-30T19:00:00.001-08:00
Retirement is the brass ring that you have dreamed about since you entered the workforce. Gone are the days of the alarm clock and gridlocked traffic, giving way to lazy days on the golf course or in the motor home. At least that's what we envision when we think about retirement. But what we think retirement might be like may be quite different from the truth. Get the complete story

Health Highlights: Dec. 30, 2011

2011-12-30T14:01:00.001-08:00
Health Highlights: Dec. 30, 2011
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Source: news.yahoo.com

Health Tip: Dealing With Alzheimer's

2011-12-30T06:00:00.001-08:00
(HealthDay News) -- Getting a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease doesn't mean life as you know it is ending. People with Alzheimer's can lead a purposeful and productive life if they take steps to care for their physical and mental health, the Alzheimer's Association says. Courtesy of Yahoo News

Tava Tea – Follow These Tips For Fast And Proven Weight Loss!

2011-12-30T02:00:00.001-08:00
Tava Tea – Follow These Tips For Fast And Proven Weight Loss!

Green Tea And Weight Loss
Weight loss can be a touchy subject for a lot of people, losing weight isn’t as easy as it may sound. The thing about knowing how to properly lose weight is that you have to learn as much as you can about how you can lose weight. You want to keep on the lookout for tips that you can apply towards losing weight, tips like the ones in this article.

Find an outfit that you really like that does not fit yet and hang it somewhere in your kitchen. This will help you keep your goal in mind as you go to the kitchen to get something to eat. If you are reminded of what you would be able to wear when you go to get something to eat, you are sure to make better choices about what you eat.

Losing weight takes a considerable amount of time and so you should celebrate each small victory. Remember to take notes of your clothes size, your actual weight and even your measurements. This will help you to stay motivated as the inches will probably start decreasing much faster than the pounds.

To keep from overindulging when eating out, plan what you’re going to eat ahead of time. When you look at a menu, it’s easy to be tempted by the fatty appetizers or high calorie deserts. Instead, decide on what you want and avoid spending time on the menu. Make sure to pick something you enjoy so you aren’t tempted by the meals of the people you’re dining with.

When it comes to losing weight you want to make sure you not only learn more tips you can apply to your weight loss goals, you want to make sure you implement them into your everyday life. It is only through application of the weight loss tips you know that you can hope to be successful. So try your best to apply the knowledge you just learned and you should see results before you know it.

Read More about click here Dieters Tea

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

Mens Fitness Workouts Performance

2011-12-29T16:03:00.001-08:00
Mens Fitness Workouts Performance

posted on December 21, 2011 in Exercise, Fitness, Health with 0 Comments

The path to men’s fitness workouts and performance increase is very subjective and it all depends on what you want to achieve. In gyms and homes all over the world people are following uniquely specialized fitness programs to improve their performance in a specific sport or competition. Men’s fitness workouts can be intense or more relaxed depending on what you want to achieve. However, most performance programs includes a specific menu plan specifically customized for those intense fitness workouts. Usually resistance training plays a big part as well as a full cardio workout.

These programs are designed for those who wants to get started as soon as possible but have no clear and specific idea how to increase performance in their chosen fitness field. This is clearly the best option for many mens fitness workouts because all the information on nutrition, resistance training is learned through the program. They are really learn as you go fitness workout programs. This is the foundation one needs in order to have performance results that can be monitored over a lifetime.

Flatter Abs - Easy???

Source: www.fastweightloss4u.com

Jane Fonda's Back In Her Leotard

2011-12-29T14:01:00.001-08:00
Jane Fonda's Back In Her Leotard

Jane Fonda is back in her signature leotard and looking better than ever. The 74-year-old actress and fitness guru slipped back into the orignal spandex that made her a household name on the "Today" show with Kathie Lee and Hoda for a peek at her new exercise video for seniors, "Jane Fonda Prime Time."

Fonda first wore the black and red striped leotard on the cover of her 1981 fitness book Jane Fonda's Workout Book. And although she may still fit in the same leotard she wore 31 years ago, Fonda does admit that her new workouts are tailored to her more mature body.

"You want to get in and out of chairs without help, in and out of cars without help," Fonda explained of her new workout regiment that has her looking like she's been drinking from the fountain of youth.

Hoda even noticed that the leotard looked "kind of big" on Fonda's fit frame. Looking good, Ms. Fonda!

Check out Fonda's leotard below:

Related on HuffPost:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

7 Ways To Save Money On A Gym Membership

2011-12-29T10:00:00.001-08:00
7 Ways To Save Money On A Gym Membership

RT @tamarlevine We love this “@HuffingtonPost: 5 ways to remember that we're really all doing the best that we can http://t.co/XVFWHLXM”

We love this “@HuffingtonPost: 5 ways to remember that we're really all doing the best that we can http://t.co/XVFWHLXM”

RT @alyssa_milano ☾ Lunar And Solar Eclipse Photos Of 2011 http://t.co/lGVhimaA /via @heykim

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

VigRX Plus information

2011-12-29T06:03:00.001-08:00
VigRX Plus information

Written by Nicola Gras on December 28th, 2011

VigRX went a lengthy way because it has been around since the marketplace in 2000.VigRX Plus Its success continues to be recognized and recorded by doctors along with other medical professionals in the last decade. This, however,male enhancement did not stop its producers from approaching with a brand new and enhanced version from the product, that is appropriately known as VigRX Plus. Since it’s title indicates, VigRX Plus adds more efficient characteristics towards the already potent mixture of elements. After its recent release, there has been lots of positive VigRX Plus reviews that celebrate the characteristics of the amazing product which promise a much better sex existence to the customers.

Penile Extender and VigRX Plus: An ideal combination

How come VigRX Plus fully trust other penile enhancement items just like a penile extender? This is because within the penile extender method, you’re submitting your sex organ to pressure to ensure that its tissue to grow, accommodate more bloodstream and led to bigger hardons. But exactly what the penile extender does not concern itself of is that if your is good enough to resist pressure that it’s submitting it to. Quite simply, your sex organ should be strong and healthy enough to resist pressure triggered with a penile extender. And this is when VigRX Plus makes picture. As the penile extender does its work of stretching your , VigRX Plus pills get the job done of delivering nutrition towards the and ensuring it is constantly on the receive sufficient way to obtain bloodstream to aid lengthy-lasting and difficult hardons.

This perfect combination did not neglect to attract the interest of numerous VigRX Plus reviews. VigRX reviews would neglect to mention the complementary roles all these penile enhancement product use a person having a more active and satisfying sex existence together with his partner. Apart from enhancing bloodstream circulation within the male organ area and supplying your using the necessary nutrition, VigRX Plus also adds to creating orgasm more intense, climaxes more timely, hardons more lengthy-lasting as well as an overall sex existence as pleasing.

The maker of VigRX Plus, Albion Medical, describes its product consequently of the enhanced formulation. This effective formula is created possible due to the elements of VigRX Plus. All of the elements utilized in the product are natural and 100 % safe. It combines ancient herbal treatments and libido enhancers from exclusive sources situated in China, Europe, Asia and South Usa. Before these were combined in to the present VigRX Plus formula, each one of the elements is exposed to extensive study within the company’s labs. And also the combination is scientifically designed for optimal results and greatest degree of client satisfaction.

Try not to go ahead and take word of VigRX Plus reviews for this. You have to try the merchandise yourself to ensure that you’ll go through the benefits first-hands and develop your very own VigRX Plus reviews. Remember, you can’t be sure of anything unless of course you have it yourself. This is applicable perfectly well with VigRX Plus.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Karen Ocamb: Mario Perez, L.A. County AIDS Czar, on the 'Game-Changing' Year in HIV/AIDS

2011-12-28T13:03:00.001-08:00
Karen Ocamb: Mario Perez, L.A. County AIDS Czar, on the 'Game-Changing' Year in HIV/AIDS

Man touching names on The Wall-Las Memorias during World AIDS Day event (photo by J. Emilio Flores)

Albert "Bobby" Tellez died of AIDS this year. His name was one of 11 etched on The Wall-Las Memorias Project monument marking World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 2011.

The others died over the years, but only now, says Richard Zaldivar, Founder and Executive Director of The Wall, have the families of loved ones been able to face getting permission from the entire extended family to have the lost one's name engraved on the public art project dedicated to AIDS in Lincoln Park, East L.A.

The other names belong to Sgt. Robert "Baba" Marez, Laurence "Larry" Rosas, Derrick Cross, Craig Louis Brown, Rudy Flores, Robert F. Rendon, Hector Saucedo, Julio F. Argenal, Steven Michael Rhodes and Romeo B. Garcia. Some of their family members were among the more than 300 people who braved the cold in a heated tent commemorating Noche de las Memorias 2011.

The event honored the late Congressman Edward R. Roybal, who was among the first members of the United States Congress to initiate funding for HIV/AIDS programs in 1982, and The Wall's Associate Director Eddie Martinez, a grassroots leader at The Wall for 15 years, including spearheading the organization's important fight against crystal meth. Also on hand was Mario Perez, Director of the L.A. County Division of HIV and STD Programs (aka Office of AIDS Programs and Policy), who explained why this was such a historic, "game-changing" year in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

But before the policy came the stories from parents, lovers, and friends about the people behind those names.

The Wall Executive Director Richard Zaldivar talking to East LA audience on World AIDS Day 2011 (photo J. Emilio Flores)

Stepping off the stage and into the audience, Zaldivar asked if anyone wanted to share. He waited -- the fear of public speaking is magnified when you don't know if you can keep your heart from exploding in unstoppable tears. The grief was real and palpable, and just as difficult to express for the man who lost his lover 20 years ago as the woman who lost her son last month.

Candlelight vigil on World AIDS Day at The Wall-Las Memorias art monument (photo by J. Emilio Flores)

And yet grief or the understanding of that grief linked everyone together as if the mourning was a family affair. "We are intertwined into the fabric of the neighborhood," Zaldivar told Frontiers about why The Wall is such a signifcant community organization.

President Obama keynoting major World AIDS Day event (photo screen capture from WhiteHouse.gov video)

For about 14 minutes earlier that Thursday morning, President Barack Obama keynoted a major conference on HIV/AIDS commemorating World AIDS Day on the 30th anniversary of the first official recognition of HIV by the Centers for Disease Control. The theme was "The Beginning of the End of AIDS" -- with the focus primarily on the global impact of HIV/AIDS. But in his remarks, Obama announced his administration's recommitment to fighting the disease domestically, as well. He announced an additional $15 million for the Ryan White Program for HIV medical clinics. "We want to keep those doors open so they can keep saving lives," Obama said. He also pledged an additional $35 million for state AIDS drug assistance programs (ADAPs).

"The federal government can't do this alone, so I'm also calling on state governments and pharmaceutical companies and private foundations to do their part to help Americans get access to all the life-saving treatments," Obama said. "Now, as we go forward, we've got to keep refining our strategy so that we're saving as many lives as possible. We need to listen when the scientific community focuses on prevention. That's why, as a matter of policy, we're now investing in what works -- from medical procedures to promoting healthy behavior. ... We know that treatment is also prevention. And today we're setting a new target of helping 6 million people get treatment by the end of 2013. [Standing ovation.] That's 2 million more people than our original goal."

Two days earlier, on Nov. 29, the CDC issued a report that found that less than 30 percent of the 1.2 million Americans with HIV have their viral load under control.

Obama's speech was well-received, though he spoke several times about the history of the disease but only used the word "gay" once, without elaboration: "When new infections among young black gay men increase by nearly 50 percent in three years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter."

"We are extremely gratified that President Obama has heeded our call to increase the number of people being treated around the world and will continue America's leadership in the fight against AIDS," said Michael Weinstein, President of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

In the Meantime Men Executive Director Jeffrey King and LA County HIV/AIDS Director Mario Perez (photo by Karen Ocamb)

Just before he was honored by In the Meantime Men with the Founder's Award on Nov. 29, Mario Perez explained why "treatment as prevention" is such a huge shift in the treatment -- and funding -- of HIV programs. Perez has been on the front lines of HIV/AIDS advocacy for many years, ever since he was in college and "HIV was ravaging Oakland. I made a commitment to fight a public health crisis really to try to prevent something like the crack epidemic in the community I'd grown up in." Perez "gets it," says Zaldivar.

"HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 is sort of a game-changing science that came out this year," Perez told Frontiers. But there are also important new innovations at the CDC. The first is that the CDC updated its HIV incidence numbers. "Essentially, the CDC is getting more and more sophisticated at being able to differentiate from a new infection versus an old infection. If we can better quantify who is being recently infected, we can use that information to come up with better national estimates," Perez said.

Then in August, Perez said, "the CDC reported that essentially every group in the country has seen stable or declining rates of new HIV infection -- except 13-to-29-year-olds. There's a 21-percent increase in HIV incidence among 13-to-29-year-olds, and that's being pushed by roughly a 35-percent increase in new infections among gay men. And that's being pushed by a 48-percent increase in new infections among black MSM. Very troubling. A lot of groups in the country have seen decreases, but black gay men between 13 and 29 -- there's a 48 percent increase. Completely unacceptable state of affairs."

Why, since most young people have grown up on HIV prevention messages?

"The thing that we keep on seeing in the sciences is -- first and foremost -- when you compare the risk among black men compared to white men, black men actually have less risk: less sexual partners on average, not as much sex while under the influence, not higher rates of unpredicted anal intercourse," said Perez. "And so the things that you think may be at play are not at play. And so the risk profile is certainly not an issue. I think it boils down to -- there are communities where HIV is concentrated. So when we talk about viral load and how much virus is out there in the community, whether or not viral suppression is at a level that is acceptable, the fact is in L.A. we know that when we compare Latinos to African Americans to whites, among the folks for whom we have viral load data, viral load suppression among blacks is about 66 percent, compared to about 72 percent for everyone for whom we have viral load information. And so that's a relatively good number in L.A."

But those are numbers. What about the people? Why is there such a high rate of new infections?

"We have social, cultural, economic conditions that are stacked against black men," Perez said. "We have issues around homophobia that are driving under-diagnosis, that are impacting whether or not men get access to care. We have issues around violence, unemployment, people who are poor -- poverty is a predicator for HIV infection. Study after study has shown that. There are social and sexual networks where we need to do a better job of making sure that people are informed, educated, making smart decisions."

But we've been saying this for how many years? This is the 30th anniversary. What about all those billboards with HIV testing messages?

"Exactly, and it's very frustrating. It's not happening at a pace that is sufficient to make a meaningful difference," said Perez. "I'm not convinced that a billboard is sufficient to overcome the social and environmental realities of a black man. I can see that billboard 12 times a day. It doesn't give me a better shot at having a job. It doesn't make the stigma that I'm exposed to day-in and day-out go away. It's a billboard. And messages resonate at different levels with different folks. I think we have to figure out -- and quite frankly, this recession has created more of a gulf between the rich and poor in this country -- so there are more and more people who are disenfranchised, and it has exacerbated our ability to really sort of make some meaningful progress when it comes to infectious disease, poverty, health care access, employment -- any number of things. So it's complicated -- it's multi-layered, multifaceted. There isn't a magic bullet."

Perez explained the new scientific approach by which targeted treatment interventions with HIV-positives is more effective than blanketed prevention and education programs with HIV-negatives. The HIV Prevention Trials Network 052 is a multinational study started 23 years ago. But the "big news" happened just in the past five or 10 years and exploded on the scene this year.

"Essentially there were people enrolled in two different groups -- a randomized control trial -- with heterosexual serodiscordant couples, for the most part," Perez explained. "So either the man was positive and the woman negative or the woman positive, man negative. Group one was an immediate treatment group. Group two was a delayed treatment group. Basically, they were looking at two things: they wanted to know whether or not there was a difference in transmission from the positive partner to the negative partner among people who are on treatment now versus the people who waited to get on treatment once their T-cells hit 350, the treatment delay group.

"After a few years of study, what they showed was that if you started treatment now -- when your T-cells were 550, in that neighborhood, there was a 96-percent reduction in transmission, compared to the group of folks who waited to start treatment until they had 350 T-cells. So the study leader said, 'Time out. We cannot continue. Everyone needs to be on treatment so that we can make sure that the negative partners do not seroconvert.' That was the big headline this summer: 96-percent reduction in transmission if the person starts treatment early, as opposed to delaying treatment. It was in the New England Journal of Medicine with lead author Myron Cohen.

"The second thing the study looked at is -- from a purely clinical standpoint -- among the people who start treatment at 350 T-cells, if we put them on treatment, can we get those T-cells back up to 600 or 700? And what they've shown is that they cannot get the T-cell rebound past 500. So from an immune restoration standpoint, delaying treatment also minimizes our ability to get the immune system to rebound to a state where we want it to be. And so there are some clinical implications to starting treatment early. So we have this study saying treatment as prevention works -- clearly, 96-percent reduction is meaningful.

"And the third thing we've got is this guy named Gardner out of the Denver Public Health Department, who introduces this concept called 'Treatment Cascade.' Basically, if you take 1.2 million Americans who have HIV, and you see how many of them are diagnosed and not diagnosed, and of the people who are diagnosed, how many are linked to care, and of the people who are linked to care, what proportion are taking treatment, and out of the people who are taking treatment, what proportion are virally suppressed, at the end of the equation, only 19 percent of Americans who have HIV appear to be virally suppressed, based on his data.

"So we've done that in L.A., and our estimate is about 42 percent of people in L.A. County are virally suppressed -- a little better than the national numbers, but still not where we want it to be, because of course we want 85 to 95 percent of people to be virally suppressed. Because the better job we do suppressing viral loads, the less new HIV infections," Perez said.

"We've begun to map out basically that cascade and identify the interventions. This is how we're going to try to change the conversation in L.A. We want providers to understand -- we want people to play to their strengths -- and help us move people along from being undiagnosed to diagnosed, diagnosed but not in care, to in care."

Sean Strub disagrees with the change. "People should be given the option to take drugs to reduce their chance of transmitting to others, but to recommend treatment for people in the absence of conclusive science that it will, on average, provide a greater net benefit than harm, is unethical," he wrote in an email. "We know that some people with high CD4 counts can go years and years, some even decades, without going on treatment and suffering the cumulative toxicities of treatment.

'Treatment as prevention' is an 'experiment,'" Strub said. "We do not know whether it will work or how it might change behaviors that could mitigate any preventive effect. People with high CD4 counts typically have much lower viral loads and are less infectious. They may not be as motivated to be on treatment and less adherent, facilitating development of resistant strains. ... This announcement has nothing to do with the health of people with HIV -- it is about rendering us noninfectious, it is about public health officials spraying us with Raid so we're not crawling all over the cookies.

"Stigma is what spreads this disease," Strub noted. "It is what makes people reluctant to get tested, reluctant to access treatment, and reluctant to disclose their status. One of the major reasons people don't test is because they distrust the health care system and public health policies; this decision to coerce people into treatment with incomplete or misleading information is going to add to that mistrust. It is a very sad day for people with HIV."

Jeffrey King, Executive Director of In the Meantime Men, brought up the shift in the conversation with Perez, noting that it is confusing for many that AIDS advocates are now talking about "intervention" and not "prevention."

"There is a toolbox of interventions that we have in place in L.A. for people who are quite frankly high-risk HIV-negative," Perez said. "But we can't target everyone in L.A., regardless of risk. Targeting 180,000 who have no risk for HIV is not the best use of public resources. What we have not been able to effectively quantify is the reach and effectiveness of programs designed to engage HIV-negative folks year after year after year. And we need to do a better job of knowing from one year to the next -- if we're serving a group of 180 gay men in four zip codes, were we able to keep them negative for an additional year and an additional year and an additional year? Or did a third seroconvert? We don't have bio-markers telling us from year to year whether or not that intervention in fact had an effect on reducing the seroconversions. What we do know is that the reach of individual interventions is small.

"Some of us are talking about prevention every single day of the year," said Perez. "What we've done is we've become more specific about the type of prevention we're talking about. Is it a bio-medical intervention designed to prevent HIV? Is it treatment to reduce viral load to prevent forward transmission of HIV under that prevention rubric? Is it getting people diagnosed -- because we also know that once people are diagnosed, they change their behavior to not put others at risk. That's a prevention-intervention in itself. But it's all under the prevention umbrella. The end goal is to make sure we don't have two or three thousand new infections in L.A. every year."

In the Meantime Men meeting on HIV Testing (photo by Karen Ocamb)

But the shift also means a change in the allocation of resources whereby funding will go to AIDS agencies and programs with an HIV testing component and not to organizational capacity building or programs geared toward HIV-negatives. At the In the Meantime Men community meeting of black gay men, they will be launching an HIV mobile testing van, and he wanted to know how best to reach out to black gay men -- especially the dramatically impacted young black gay men. What became obvious was how important the meeting itself was for sharing personal stories about the difficulty of coming out as HIV-positive.

"I appreciate what you shared about us coming out and saying, 'I'm positive' and openly sharing that," King said after one young man shared. "Magic Johnson told me that we need a black gay Elton John because he couldn't properly represent black gay men. One of the things he was concerned about was that black gay men were dealing with their own internalized homophobia, and as a result, he could speak for the black community, but he can't speak for black gay men. So does anybody really feel that they have the answer to how do we reduce HIV infections in the black gay community?

"People are answering that question for you -- by the way -- and it's because I don't believe that we have adequately responded to that question for ourselves. Maybe we don't feel that we're qualified to answer that question for ourselves. We need to get to that level of honesty about what we're talking about."

Some talked about the need to see real people with HIV who looked like them who could answer their questions at the test site and provide resources.

Another man asked, "Recognizing that sex can be considered a dysfunction, and recognizing that we need to go where people are, and [that] stigma is an issue for getting people tested -- is it really that important that people get tested?"

"I think it's important because you just need to know. Since there's so much out there -- if you get tested, if you catch it, I'm assuming it can be treated and you can live a happy long life," responded one man who said he was caught up in a good conversation by HIV testers in West Hollywood -- but didn't get tested in the end.

"I think knowledge is huge," said another man. "Our sexual networks are much more concentrated -- we have sex with each other. So the potential of one person having it turning into five or six people having it is much more likely when you have smaller sexual networks," which he later called "a hotbed for infection."

Another man thought testing was important but was turned off by the "interrogation process" and the guilt and fear of having to relive some things about which you might be ashamed of -- even if you only did it once. He thought more attention should be paid to protection and safer sex.

"When you get tested, they always ask you the same questions: How do you think HIV is transmitted? What bodily fluids," the young man said. "There might have been a time when I did not think about that, and I have to go relive it, and -- it all boils down to fear."

King was persistent: "How do we get people to test? Its not like selling candy -- it's not something people are necessarily running to. How do we make testing more acceptable? How do we make it more normal for people? I think it's important that we ask the question among ourselves."

But if the funding is shifted to only support groups that do HIV testing effectively -- what will become of the community groups such as In the Meantime and The Wall-Las Memorias, where people feel safe to inch out as HIV-positive? If stigma prevents people from getting tested, how else but through small community groups will stigma be confronted and resolved? New era with old problems.

A version of this story first appeared in Frontiers in LA magazine.

Follow Karen Ocamb on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@KarenOcamb

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Factbox: Argentina's president has thyroid cancer

2011-12-28T13:00:00.001-08:00
(Reuters) - Argentina's center-left president, Cristina Fernandez, has thyroid cancer and will undergo surgery to remove a carcinoma next week, but doctors say her chances of making a full recovery are very high. Fernandez started her second term in office earlier this month after winning a landslide re-election in October with 54 percent. Her illness could boost her already high approval ratings due to voter sympathy. She is scheduled for surgery on January 4 and a 20-day leave of absence afterward during which Vice President Amado Boudou will assume the presidency. ... Click here to read the rest

Preventive Care Is Free -- Except For When It's Not

2011-12-28T10:02:00.001-08:00
Preventive Care Is Free -- Except For When It's Not

CHICAGO — Bill Dunphy thought his colonoscopy would be free.

His insurance company told him it would be covered 100 percent, with no copayment from him and no charge against his deductible. The nation's 1-year-old health law requires most insurance plans to cover all costs for preventive care including colon cancer screening. So Dunphy had the procedure in April.

Then the bill arrived: $1,100.

Dunphy, a 61-year-old Phoenix small business owner, angrily paid it out of his own pocket because of what some prevention advocates call a loophole. His doctor removed two noncancerous polyps during the colonoscopy. So while Dunphy was sedated, his preventive screening turned into a diagnostic procedure. That allowed his insurance company to bill him.

Like many Americans, Dunphy has a high-deductible insurance plan. He hadn't spent his deductible yet. So, on top of his $400 monthly premium, he had to pay the bill.

"That's bait and switch," Dunphy said. "If it isn't fraud, it's immoral."

President Barack Obama's health overhaul encourages prevention by requiring most insurance plans to pay for preventive care. On the plus side, more than 22 million Medicare patients and many more Americans with private insurance have received one or more free covered preventive services this year. From cancer screenings to flu shots, many services no longer cost patients money.

But there are confusing exceptions. As Dunphy found out, colonoscopies can go from free to pricey while the patient is under anesthesia.

Breast cancer screenings can cause confusion too. In Florida, Tampa Bay-area small business owner Dawn Thomas, 50, went for a screening mammogram. But she was told by hospital staff that her mammogram would be a diagnostic test – not preventive screening – because a previous mammogram had found something suspicious. (It turned out to be nothing.)

Knowing that would cost her $700, and knowing her doctor had ordered a screening mammogram, Thomas stood her ground.

"Either I get a screening today or I'm putting my clothes back on and I'm leaving," she remembers telling the hospital staff. It worked. Her mammogram was counted as preventive and she got it for free.

"A lot of women ... are getting labeled with that diagnostic code and having to pay year after year for that," Thomas said. "It's a loophole so insurance companies don't have to pay for it."

For parents with several children, costs can pile up with unexpected copays for kids needing shots. Even when copays are inexpensive, they can blemish a patient-doctor relationship. Robin Brassner of Jersey City, N.J., expected her doctor visit to be free. All she wanted was a flu shot. But the doctor charged her a $20 copay.

"He said no one really comes in for just a flu shot. They inevitably mention another ailment, so he charges," Brassner said. As a new patient, she didn't want to start the relationship by complaining, but she left feeling irritated. "Next time, I'll be a little more assertive about it," she said.

How confused are doctors?

"Extremely," said Cheryl Gregg Fahrenholz, an Ohio consultant who works with physicians. It's common for doctors to deal with 200 different insurance plans. And some older plans are exempt.

Should insurance now pay for aspirin? Aspirin to prevent heart disease and stroke is one of the covered services for older patients. But it's unclear whether insurers are supposed to pay only for doctors to tell older patients about aspirin – or whether they're supposed to pay for the aspirin itself, said Dr. Jason Spangler, chief medical officer for the nonpartisan Partnership for Prevention.

Stop-smoking interventions are also supposed to be free. "But what does that mean?" Spangler asked. "Does it mean counseling? Nicotine replacement therapy? What about drugs (that can help smokers quit) like Wellbutrin or Chantix? That hasn't been clearly laid out."

But the greatest source of confusion is colonoscopies, a test for the nation's second leading cancer killer. Doctors use a thin, flexible tube to scan the colon and they can remove precancerous growths called polyps at the same time. The test gets credit for lowering colorectal cancer rates. It's one of several colon cancer screening methods highly recommended for adults ages 50 to 75.

But when a doctor screens and treats at the same time, the patient could get a surprise bill.

"It erodes a trust relationship the patients may have had with their doctors," said Dr. Joel Brill of the American Gastroenterological Association. "We get blamed. And it's not our fault,"

Cindy Holtzman, an insurance agent in Marietta, Ga., is telling clients to check with their insurance plans before a colonoscopy so they know what to expect.

"You could wake up with a $2,000 bill because they find that little bitty polyp," Holtzman said.

Doctors and prevention advocates are asking Congress to revise the law to waive patient costs – including Medicare copays, which can run up to $230 – for a screening colonoscopy where polyps are removed. The American Gastroenterological Association and the American Cancer Society are pushing Congress fix the problem because of the confusion it's causing for patients and doctors.

At least one state is taking action. After complaints piled up in Oregon, insurance regulators now are working with doctors and insurers to make sure patients aren't getting surprise charges when polyps are removed.

Florida's consumer services office also reports complaints about colonoscopies and other preventive care. California insurance broker Bonnie Milani said she's lost count of the complaints she's had about bills clients have received for preventive services.

"`Confusion' is not the word I'd apply to the medical offices producing the bills," Milani said. "The word that comes to mind for me ain't nearly so nice."

When it's working as intended, the new health law encourages more patients to get preventive care. Dr. Yul Ejnes, a Rhode Island physician, said he's personally told patients with high deductible plans about the benefit. They weren't planning to schedule a colonoscopy until they heard it would be free, Ejnes said.

If too many patients get surprise bills, however, that advantage could be lost, said Stephen Finan of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. He said it will take federal or state legislation to fix the colonoscopy loophole.

Dunphy, the Phoenix businessman, recalled how he felt when he got his colonoscopy bill, like something "underhanded" was going on.

"It's the intent of the law is to cover this stuff," Dunphy said. "It really made me angry."

___

AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson

Also on HuffPost:

FOLLOW HUFFPOST HEALTHY LIVING

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Health Tip: Wear Your Seat Belt During Pregnancy

2011-12-28T05:02:00.001-08:00
Health Tip: Wear Your Seat Belt During Pregnancy
(HealthDay News) -- Wearing a seat belt is particularly important during pregnancy, when you're protecting for two.
Source: news.yahoo.com

How Mindfulness Meditation Can Help People With Rheumatoid Arthritis

2011-12-28T00:01:00.001-08:00
How Mindfulness Meditation Can Help People With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Research has shown that the benefits of mindfulness meditation are far-reaching, from minimizing pain sensitivity to helping us regulate our emotions. The newest study suggests it could also have benefits specifically for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

The small study, conducted by researchers from Oslo's Diakonhjemmet Hospital, shows that people who partake in mindfulness exercises had less fatigue and lower levels of stress than people who just receive standard treatment for the condition.

The research was published in the journal Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, and included 73 people with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or psoriatic arthritis between ages 20 and 70. Half of the people were chosen to do mindfulness exercises that were done in 10 group sessions for 15 weeks, as well as one more session six months after the 10 sessions were completed. The other half of the people were just given regular care for the condition, as well as a CD that taught them how to do mindfulness exercises.

In this particular study, mindfulness meditation aimed to help people concentrate on their own thoughts, experiences and pain in the moment, without actively trying to avoid them or judge them, researchers said.

At the end of the study, both groups of people had the same pain levels, ability to talk about how they were feeling and disease activity. However, the people who had the group mindfulness training scored significantly lower in measurements of stress and fatigue, compared with people who didn't have the training.

Even though this study didn't show that mindfulness had any effect on reducing pain levels, past research suggests it can help to ease pain. A study in the Journal of Neuroscience showed that mindfulness meditation can lower pain levels by 57 percent, USA Today reported.

A separate study, in the journal Cerebral Cortex, suggests that meditation has this pain-relieving effect by increasing brain activity in regions associated with sensory information processing, according to USA Today.

For more on the health benefits of meditation, click through this slideshow:

It Makes Your Brain Plastic

1 of 9

Quite literally, sustained meditation leads to something called neuroplasticity, which is defined as the brain's ability to change, structurally and functionally, on the basis of environmental input. For much of the last century, scientists believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood. But research by University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson has shown that experienced meditators exhibit high levels of gamma wave activity and display an ability -- continuing after the meditation session has attended -- to not get stuck on a particular stimulus. That is, they're automatically able to control their thoughts and reactiveness.

Quite literally, sustained meditation leads to something called neuroplasticity, which is defined as the brain's ability to change, structurally and functionally, on the basis of environmental input.
For much of the last century, scientists believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood.
But research by University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson has shown that experienced meditators exhibit high levels of gamma wave activity and display an ability -- continuing after the meditation session has attended -- to not get stuck on a particular stimulus. That is, they're automatically able to control their thoughts and reactiveness.

MORE SLIDESHOWS NEXT > | < PREV

It Makes Your Brain Plastic

Quite literally, sustained meditation leads to something called neuroplasticity, which is defined as the brain's ability to change, structurally and functionally, on the basis of environmental input. For much of the last century, scientists believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood. But research by University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson has shown that experienced meditators exhibit high levels of gamma wave activity and display an ability -- continuing after the meditation session has attended -- to not get stuck on a particular stimulus. That is, they're automatically able to control their thoughts and reactiveness.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

How Does Obesity Affect How The Brain Works?

2011-12-27T16:00:00.001-08:00
How Does Obesity Affect How The Brain Works?

By Katherine Harmon
(Click here for the original article and podcast)

More than a third of adults in the U.S. are obese. And many of those already overweight continue to put on even more pounds. Now researchers have a clue why.

Two new studies in the Journal of Clinical Investigation suggest how obesity and high-fat diets might actually alter the way the brain works, changing in particular the hypothalamus. This almond-sized area of the brain helps regulate hunger and thirst, as well as sleep and body temperature. So if it’s out of whack, people can feel hungry even when they've consumed plenty.

One study found that in the brains of both obese humans and obese rats, neurons around the hypothalamus were damaged by inflammation. High-fat diets have been known to promote inflammation throughout the body, but that usually takes weeks or months to appear. Changes in the brain, however, can happen fast—even within 24 hours. [Joshua Thaler et al, Obesity is associated with hypothalamus injury in rodents and humans]

The second study found that mice on a fatty diet were slow to replace old neurons in the hypothalamus, which could also hamper its function. [David McNay et al, Remodeling of the arcuate nucleus energy-balance circuit is inhibited in obese mice]

So you might consider starting 2012 by watching the ball drop—and dropping the cheese ball.

Also on HuffPost:

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Mom Loses Cancer Fight After Delivering Son

2011-12-27T11:02:00.001-08:00
Mom Loses Cancer Fight After Delivering Son

POCATELLO, Idaho -- Jenni Lake gave birth to a baby boy the month before her 18th birthday, though she was not destined to become just another teenage mother.

That much, she knew.

While being admitted to the hospital, she pulled her nurse down to her at bed level and whispered into her ear. The nurse would later repeat the girl's words to comfort her family, as their worst fears were realized a day after Jenni's baby was born.

"She told the nurse, `I'm done, I did what I was supposed to. My baby is going to get here safe,'" said Diana Phillips, Jenni's mother.

In photographs, the baby's ruddy cheeks and healthy weight offer a stark contrast to the frail girl who gave birth to him. She holds the newborn tightly, kissing the top of his head. Jenni, at 5 feet and 4 inches tall, weighed only 108 pounds at the full term of her pregnancy.

A day after the Nov. 9 birth, Phillips learned that her daughter's decision to forgo treatment for tumors on her brain and spine so she could carry the baby would have fatal repercussions. The cancer had marked too much territory. Nothing could be done, Phillips said.

It was only 12 days past the birth – half spent in the hospital and the other half at home – before Jenni was gone.

Even so, her family and friends insist her legacy is not one centered in tragedy, but rather in sacrifice.

This month, her family gathered at their ranch style home in Pocatello, where a Christmas tree in the living room was adorned with ornaments picked out just for Jenni, including one in bright lime green, her favorite color. She had passed away in a bedroom down the hall.

Recalling Jenni's infectious laugh and a rebellious streak, her mother held the baby close, nuzzling his head, and said, "I want him to know everything about her, and what she did."

___

The migraines started last year, when Jenni was a 16-year-old sophomore at Pocatello High School. She was taken to the family doctor, and an MRI scan found a small mass measuring about two centimeters wide on the right side of her brain.

She was sent to a hospital in Salt Lake City, some 150 miles south of Pocatello, and another scan there showed the mass was bigger than previously thought.

Jenni had a biopsy Oct. 15, 2010, and five days later was diagnosed with stage three astrocytoma, a type of brain tumor. With three tumors on her brain and three on her spine, Jenni was told her case was rare because the cancer had spread from her brain to another part of her body with no symptoms.

Her parents, who are divorced, remember they were brought into a room at the hospital and sat down at a long table as doctors discussed her chances of survival.

"Jenni just flat out asked them if she was going to die," said her father, Mike Lake, 43, a truck driver who lives in Rexburg, north of Pocatello.

The answer wasn't good. With treatment, the teen was told she had a 30 percent chance to make it two years, Lake said. While he was heartbroken, Lake marveled at how strong she seemed in that moment. "She didn't break down and cry or anything," he said.

But her mom recalled Jenni did have a weak moment that day.

"When they told her that she might not be able to have kids, she got upset," said Phillips, 39.

Jenni started aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments, while also posting videos on a YouTube site titled "Jenni's Journey," where she hoped to share her story with updates every other day. She managed to upload only three videos, though, as her treatments left her tired and weak.

On her second video, posted Nov. 20, 2010, Jenni appears distraught while a family friend records her having lunch with her mom.

"Last night, like, I was just lying in bed and I was thinking about everything that was going on and it just like, it just hit me, like everything, and I don't know, it made me cry," Jenni says on the video.

Her mom is shown burying her face in her hands. "Do you know how hard it is to be a mom and know that she's sick and there's nothing you can do," she says, before collapsing into tears.

Jenni persists: "It's hard. It's like, I don't know how long this is going to last and I just want it to go away ... I feel like this is holding me back from so much ..."

By March of this year, the tumors had started to shrink, the family said.

In a picture taken at her prom in early May, Jenni is wearing a dark blue strapless dress and gives the camera a small smile. There's a silver headband in her hair, which is less than an inch long. Chemotherapy took her shoulder-length blond tresses.

Her boyfriend, Nathan Wittman, wearing a black dress shirt and pants, is cradling her from behind.

___

Jenni started dating Nathan a couple of weeks before she received her diagnosis. Their adolescent relationship withstood the very adult test posed by cancer, the treatments that left her barely able to walk from her living room to her bedroom, and the gossip at school.

"The rumors started flying around, like Nathan was only with her because she had cancer," said Jenni's older sister, Ashlee Lake, 20, who tried to squelch the mean-spirited chatter even as the young couple ignored it.

They were hopeful, and dreamed of someday opening a restaurant or a gallery.

Jenni had been working as an apprentice in a local tattoo shop. "She was like our little sister," said the owner, Kass Chacon. But in May, Jenni's visits to the shop grew less frequent.

She had been throwing up a lot and had sharp stomach pains. She went to the emergency room early one morning with her boyfriend and when she returned home, her family members woke up to the sound of crying. "We could hear Jenni just bawling in her room," said her sister, Kaisee, 19.

She had learned that she was pregnant, and an ultrasound would show the fetus was 10 weeks old.

Jenni's journey was no longer her own.

From the start of treatment, she was told that she might never have children, her mother said, that the radiation and chemotherapy could essentially make her sterile.

"We were told that she couldn't get pregnant, so we didn't worry about it," said Nathan, 19.

Jenni, the third of her parents' eight children, had always wanted to be a mom. She had already determined to keep the baby when she went to see her oncologist, Dr. David Ririe, in Pocatello two days after she found out she was pregnant.

"He told us that if she's pregnant, she can't continue the treatments," Phillips said. "So she would either have to terminate the pregnancy and continue the treatments, or stop the treatments, knowing that it could continue to grow again."

Dr. Ririe would not discuss Jenni's care, citing privacy laws, but said, generally, in cases in which a cancer patient is pregnant, oncologists will consider both the risks and benefits of continuing with treatment, such as chemotherapy.

"There are times during pregnancy in some situations, breast cancer being the classic example, where the benefits of chemotherapy may outweigh the risk to mother and baby," Ririe said. "There are other times where the risk outweighs the benefits."

There was no discussion about which path Jenni would choose. Her parents didn't think of it as a clear life or death decision, and Jenni may not have, either. They believed that since the tumors had already started to shrink earlier, she had a strong chance of carrying the baby and then returning to treatment after he was born.

"I guess we were just hoping that after she had the baby, she could go back on the chemotherapy and get better," her mother said.

___

Jenni and Nathan named the baby Chad Michael, after their dads. Nathan has legal custody of the child, who is primarily cared for by Nathan's mother, Alexia Wittman, 51.

"Nathan will raise him," she said. She brings the baby to Jenni's house to visit her family whenever they ask.

Jenni didn't show regret for her decision, not in the final weeks of her pregnancy as she grew weaker, and not when she started to lose her vision as the cancer took its course, her family said.

Jenni's last words were about her son as he was placed beside her a final time, her father said. As she felt for the baby, she said: "I can kind of see him."

___

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Self Help Guide into Eating Right

2011-12-27T10:02:00.001-08:00
Self Help Guide into Eating Right

Every conscious individual has been keeping their life in balance. For improving their self help, one of the most important things you can do to protect yourself from these diseases is to eat a healthy diet Whether or not you have a family history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease or stroke, what you eat – and how much you eat – can help reduce your risk. As a matter of fact, if you are one of the many Americans who do not smoke, eating well – along with being active and maintaining a healthy weight – is your best defense against disease.

Ask your selves these questions for proper self help guidelines and to measure of you are doing good in your daily life’s activities.

How to live healthier?

What do I have to do to eat right?

What are the food that I can eat?

Will I feel better if I eat right?

You should also be able to follow your eating plan correctly. There are many benefits to adopting a healthy eating plan. Healthy eating can help reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. It also makes it easier to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

Source: www.fitnessmindbody.com

Herbal Tea Weight-loss – Ways to make it Work

2011-12-26T23:00:00.001-08:00
Herbal Tea Weight-loss – Ways to make it Work

Written by Payday Loans on December 21st, 2011

Diet is feasible through drinking tea. Scientist have confirmed the common Chinese notion that drinking tea contributes to weightloss, although are not able to tell nonetheless.It has also been established that drinking herbal tea increases your metabolism. Which means your system makes use of calories than it will of course have done under normal conditions. Additionally it may also prevents the body from converting excess energy into fat, regulates blood glucose level levels and reduces cravings for food.Herbal can be good because doing so contains lower amounts of caffeine as compare to coffee. It really has been found out that individuals who consume high levels of caffeine don’t lose much weight in comparison to moderate consumers. In addition, it contains theanine which is an organic relaxant.But you can find people with tried herbal tea for losing fat without any result. In the end they conclude that herbal tea is unable to results fat burning.

They are sure issues you should make into accounts if you would like to obtain the maximum result from your tea concerning weight-loss.Duration is much more beneficial than dosageIt is true that the more tea you drink, the longer the Herbal Tea Weight loss quantity of weight you lose. Still the body is will not like sudden changes. It therefore puts in mechanisms that make it recover the cut down their weight making nonsense of many complete thing. However, whenever you drink tea with a a very long time your weight loss becomes permanent.

Simply because the burden loss is gradual and the body adjusts to it. Therefore you should adopt a habit of drinking tea regularly instead of drinking a lot of it every so often.Combine it with exerciseHerbal tea singly will make you shed pounds when it means you are burn the excess fat within your body. But research projects have shown that those that combine drinking tea with exercise will burn about double the fat they could do when doing just one of the two main. Within a study with rats, previously discovered that rats injected with tea lost 47% of their total weight. However, rats that exercised in addition lost about 89% weight. Which suggests it is best that you combine exercise along with your tea you will easily see the results.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

Watch: Fake Doctor Accused of Botched Liposuction

2011-12-26T19:00:00.001-08:00
Watch: Fake Doctor Accused of Botched Liposuction
California man allegedly posed as a physician to operate a bogus clinic.
Source: feeds.abcnews.com

Michael Feigin, M.S., C.S.C.S.: How To Calculate Your Healthy Weight

2011-12-26T15:03:00.001-08:00
Michael Feigin, M.S., C.S.C.S.: How To Calculate Your Healthy Weight

It's an interesting question-- and one that I rarely, if ever, hear. Don't confuse it with "Do I look fat in this?"-- a question that has no successful answer and always reminds me of "Taste this milk. I think it's spoiled." No one ever asks me if they are fat. But many people do ask themselves that question, and on a very regular basis.

I live in a city that is very image-, fitness- and weight-oriented. When people don't believe me, I tell them to go into any restaurant, sit down at a table and eavesdrop on the table next to you. Within 10 minutes, the folks at the table will discuss a) the new diet plan they are on, and/or b) the new workout they are doing that is "the best ever!"

But in the midst of all this focus, many people still ask themselves, "Am I fat?" Usually, their answer is discouraging: Yes, I should lose weight. How much weight? Well, that's where it gets tricky.

How do you know how much weight you should lose?

There is a formula called the Body Mass Index (BMI) that was developed to help you with that problem. The BMI is the ratio of your weight to height. If your BMI is over 25, then you are overweight and possibly obese. One catch: There is nothing in this formula that determines if the weight is muscle or fat. For example, I am 6'2" and 200 lb. My BMI is almost 26, so according to that measurement, I am overweight. With all due respect, that isn't the case. I happen to be muscular (it would be just silly if the Fitness Guru wasn't at least slightly muscular). I have had problems with insurance companies in the past who would give me a policy because of my BMI. Many professional athletes register as obese because of their high muscle-to-fat ratio.

So, is the answer body composition?

There are several ways to find out your body fat percentage:

Fat calipers: These are the little pincher things that many personal trainers use on new clients. These can be effective, but it really depends on the precision of the person taking the reading. If they are a little off, it could result in a higher body fat percentage calculation.

Bioelectrical Impedance: This is a test where a small current of electricty passes through your body, either via electrodes or by holding onto an analyzer. Problem here is that there are many factors that may give a bad reading: faulty machine, faulty analysis, dehydration. One client of mine was inconsolable because he had the test taken and the genius who was analyzing the results found him to be obese (he is not).

Hydrostatic Analysis: Here we go! This is the holy grail of body composition. You are submerged in a tank of water and weighed. That number is compared to your weight out of the tank and the difference will tell you your actual, true, real body composition! Yeah! The problem is that the tanks are very expensive and very scarse. So this isn't the most practical way to weigh.

Once again, I am the "dark cloud of doubt"...

What's left? Your jeans. We all have that pair of jeans that we fit into comfortably. Not the skinny ones that we pray we fit into -- the comfortable ones that feel good without being constricting. For me, it's Banana Republic, 33 waist. If those get tight, I know I have fallen off the wagon. If they are ridiculously loose, I'll take a look at how I am eating and training and make the appropriate adjustments.

Truth of the matter is that if you exercise and eat right, the weight will come off. I have one client, let's call him Ed, who exercised like a crazy man for months but just couldn't take off the weight. I finally convinced him to take a good long look at how he was eating and -- miracle of miracles -- the weight started coming off easily. It's really not rocket science and there is no silver bullet. Sometimes there are medical reasons for extra weight -- if that's the case, find a doctor that can help you -- but, for the most part, as New Yorkers, we eat poorly, on the go, and get very little rest -- all things that can add up to extra pounds. Take a healthy pause, focus your energies on your health and well-being, and your weight will balance out to a nice healthy place.

Have you found a way to balance out your health and well being in this go-go city? I want to know about it! Shoot me an email at michael@fitnessgurunyc.com. And join us on Facebook for daily tips, motivation, ideas and reminders.

Rock on!

Follow Michael Feigin, M.S., C.S.C.S. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/thefitnessguru

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Regular Mens Fitness Workouts

2011-12-26T13:00:00.001-08:00
Regular Mens Fitness Workouts

Regular men’s fitness workouts are great for your overall health and an intense fitness workout is just part and parcel of your path to good health, total fitness and well-being. However, there are other factors that should play a part in your mens fitness workouts.

One of the major factors it good health is excellent food intake. Lot’s of people build up a fitness menu to comlement their mens fitness workouts and they find that this increases not only their performance but also their health. This maps out what they should or should not eat, or at least eat less of. If your fitness workout is really intense some times vitamins and supplements are a necessity unless you are sure that you are able to receive the proper amounts of iron, calcium, vitamin C or D or E in a day, via your diet. If not, it is best to take some supplements but with care. Regular cardio workouts also enhances your endurance to stress and exercise and resistance training is a feather in your fitness cap and is a necessary tool for being healthy, wealthy and wise.

Source: www.fitnessmindbody.com

What To Do To Lose Weight

2011-12-26T03:02:00.001-08:00
What To Do To Lose Weight

Written by MSL on December 22nd, 2011

What to Do When you Have to Slim down? First, get tips from itworksbodywraps.org/. A lot of individuals need to slim down these days and actually do not even know how to start. Regardless of whether it’s weight gained following a pregnancy or from leading a sedentary way of life, it could be overwhelming and discouraging to consider all you will need shed and how far you have to go.

You will find a couple of issues that all of us really should do when we’re trying to start on a weight loss program which are simple to do, and they really put weight reduction into perspective.The first factor to keep in mind is the fact that becoming overweight doesn’t make you a bad person or diminish your self worth in any way, shape or form. Additional pounds have nothing to do with the person you’re on the inside.

Source: www.newpublichealth.com

One Year Later, GOP Still Grapples With Healthcare Law Question

2011-12-26T01:00:00.001-08:00
One Year Later, GOP Still Grapples With Healthcare Law Question

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

HuffPost's QuickRead...

Loading...

EDITION: U.S.
CA Canada US United States UK United Kingdom

Health Care Law

Michelle Obama

Elections 2012

Jon Huntsman

Armchair Detective More

Log in

|

Sign Out

December 26, 2011

Like

98K

CONNECT

FRONT PAGE
UK U.S. CANADA

POLITICS
2012 BLOG HUFFPOST HILL 2012 ELECTIONS

GREEN POLLSTER SPECULATRON

BUSINESS
DAILYFINANCE SMALL BUSINESS AUTOBLOG

REAL ESTATE JOBS OCCUPY WALL STREET

ENTERTAINMENT
CELEBRITY ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC RADIO

MOVIES TV GAMES COMEDY

TECH
HUFFPOST TECH ENGADGET APPLE BLOG

TECHCRUNCH JOYSTIQ TRANSLOGIC

MEDIA

LIFE & STYLE
STYLE NEWS STYLELIST FOOD NEWS WEDDINGS PARENTS GREEN

TRAVEL STYLELIST HOME KITCHEN DAILY DIVORCE HUFF/POST50 RELIGION

CULTURE
ARTS PARENTS TRAVEL COLLEGE GIFT GUIDES

RELIGION IMPACT BOOKS EDUCATION HOLIDAYS

COMEDY
URLESQUE

HEALTHY LIVING
HEALTH AND FITNESS HEALTH NEWS

MINDFUL LIVING SLEEP

WOMEN
HEALTHY LIVING PARENTS

LOCAL
NEW YORK SAN FRANCISCO DENVER MIAMI PATCH

CHICAGO LOS ANGELES DC DETROIT YELLOW PAGES

MORE
BLACKVOICES SPORTS WORLD EDUCATION GAY VOICES

LATINOVOICES COLLEGE CRIME WEIRD NEWS HIGH SCHOOL

POLITICS POLLSTER 2012 ELECTIONS 2012 BLOG 2012 TOOLBAR SPECULATRON HUFFPOST HILL FUNDRACE OCCUPY WALL STREET CPI

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Susan Blumenthal, M.D.: 14 Ways To Have A Healthy, Happy Holiday

2011-12-25T19:00:00.001-08:00
Susan Blumenthal, M.D.: 14 Ways To Have A Healthy, Happy Holiday

By Susan Blumenthal, M.D. and Beth Hoffman

The holidays are a time for celebrating with family and friends. As we reflect on the things that we are most thankful for this holiday season, don't forget the importance of good health! While the holidays are brimming with joy and happiness for many, it can also be a stressful time with traveling, visiting relatives and trying to maintain diet and exercise goals. This holiday season, when faced with choices about behaviors that will influence your health today and tomorrow, a wonderful gift you can give yourself is to make choices to ensure a healthier future today and in the years to come. Here are some simple steps to staying healthy while fully enjoying the festivities of the season:

1) Eat Healthy
Eating a balanced diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, healthy sources of proteins, vitamins including D, folate, and calcium that is low in saturated fats and salt are critical ingredients in a recipe for a healthier future. Eating smart will help you to maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of chronic illnesses including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers [1]. In the 21st century, science is revealing that rather than individual nutrients being the key, the health effects of food result from the interactions of nutrients and other substances within and among the foods we consume. Maintaining healthy eating patterns, however, can be difficult during the holiday season. The USDA recently released, My Plate, a visual guide to healthy eating that simplifies making choices for nutritious meals by emphasizing the foods that are healthiest for us and the proportions in which to consume them. The best way to avoid overeating is to maintain a routine eating schedule during the holidays, pile your plate with vegetables and fruits, eat mindfully, taking the time to enjoy your food, and consume a healthy breakfast every day. Starting the morning with a small but satisfying breakfast, such as whole grain cereal with skim milk or an egg with whole wheat toast, will provide you with more control over your appetite. Whether you are hosting the meal or bringing a few dishes to share at the event, make your recipes healthier by reducing fat, sugar and calories (e.g. use fat free chicken broth, reduce the amount of oil and butter, use sugar substitutes, and replace cream with fat free yogurt or sour cream when preparing mashed potatoes or casseroles). At holiday meals, choose lean turkey meat, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, broth-based soups, salads, and other foods that contain lots of water and fiber. Not only are they healthy choices but they will add to a feeling of fullness and satiety. Variety is also important -- sampling a small amount of everything that has different textures and colors on the table can help alleviate cravings! And remember, everything in moderation -- one piece of pumpkin pie will not tip the scales!

2) Cook and Eat Safe
Food safety is very important when you prepare your holiday meal. To reduce the risk of food-borne illness, safely thaw, prepare and cook all meat, poultry and seafood. To keep bacteria at bay, first thaw frozen meat in the refrigerator in cold water or in a microwave oven. Thoroughly clean surfaces, utensils and your hands after touching raw poultry as bacteria can be transferred to other food. Make sure to thoroughly cook all food to the temperature recommended by the FDA (click here for more information). Wash all fruits and vegetables and store leftovers in containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Finally, with the holiday season coinciding with increased travel and the cold/flu season, wash your hands often and use alcohol based hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of viruses and other microbes.

3) Stay Active
Physical activity is one of the most important steps you can take towards a healthier future. If you are not currently exercising, start slowly and build up. Aim for at least 30 minutes at least five days a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with strength training, or 1 hour and 15 minutes per week of high-intensity aerobic exercise. Pick activities you like -- take the stairs instead of elevators, dance, engage in a power walk instead of a power lunch. Try a pedometer and aim for 10,000 steps a day. This holiday season, enjoy being active with friends and family -- bundle up and go for a walk together or play a game of touch football. Visit fitness.gov to learn more.

4) Stay Hydrated
Whether you are traveling or hosting a holiday event, changing routines and the stress of the season can make it easy to forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Drinking water can help with jet-lag if you are traveling, and also help you control your appetite and prevent excessive eating. A reasonable goal is 4-6 cups a day and even more preceding your holiday meal so as not to feel famished when dinner begins.

5) Stamp Out Smoking
If you don't smoke, please never start. If you do smoke, the holiday season can be a great time to utilize family support to quit. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S and is linked to heart disease, cancer and stroke [5]. Furthermore, second-hand smoke significantly impairs the health of those who are in contact with smokers. Not smoking is the number one thing you can do to safeguard your health today and in the future!

6) Limit Alcohol Consumption
If you drink, do so responsibly and only in moderation. Alcohol adds calories. And while one glass a day of red wine might help prevent heart disease, alcohol abuse accounts for 79,000 preventable deaths every year, and is associated with an increased risk of liver disease and some forms of cancer, as well as tens of thousands of motor vehicle accidents annually [4]. Please never, ever drink and drive.

7) Get Plenty of Rest
Between traveling, shopping, and attending holiday events, it can be difficult to get enough sleep during the holiday season. But getting a good night's rest will leave you refreshed and can also help to reduce stress. Most adults require 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Even if you are traveling or away from home during the holidays, try to maintain a regular bedtime routine. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, heavy meals, and exercising right before bedtime. Create a dark, quiet, and comfortable environment to help you fall asleep. Getting adequate sleep will give you a boost to feel your best and enjoy the holiday season.

8) Enjoy Family, Friends and Strengthen Your Social Network
Oftentimes the focus at holiday events is on food, rather than on the friends and family who have gathered together to celebrate the season. Shifting the focus of the day to visiting with loved ones and away from food can make it easier for those trying to maintain healthy eating behaviors during the holidays. Planning ahead can be a helpful tool, as can maintaining as close to a normal eating schedule as possible. As mentioned above, make sure to eat regularly throughout the day and avoid treating a holiday meal as the only meal of the day [2]. When eating, focus on your own plate, rather than suggesting second helpings for others [3]. Have the conversation at the table focus on the positive atmosphere and love of friends and family rather than on the food. Remember, social support is an important ingredient in a recipe for a healthy, happy life, with many studies showing that relationships influence our long-term health in ways that can be as powerful as a healthy diet and getting enough sleep! Having strong connections to others can improve your health and longevity. It's also more fun and easier to engage in healthy behaviors if others join you. These benefits extend to givers and receivers of support. A lack of connections, on the other hand, is associated with increased mortality by as much as 50 percent, depression, and a decline in cognitive function later in life. It's the quality of relationships that makes the difference, so visit with your friends and family in 2012, make new contacts and enjoy developing meaningful connections.

9) Set Realistic Expectations
Many people get wrapped up in trying to make every aspect of the holiday season perfect. Set realistic goals for yourself -- do not expect that you will find the perfect gift for everyone, focus on weight maintenance rather than weight loss and don't punish yourself if you indulge every now and again.

10) Take Time for Yourself
While it can be enjoyable to spend extra time with family and friends at social gatherings this holiday season, make sure to find your own stress buster and time in the day just for you. Take a walk, read a book, practice yoga. Bundle up with a blanket and cup of hot tea and exercise your mind by playing Sudoku, reading a book, doing crossword puzzles or beginning to learn a new language or skill. Choosing fun and meaningful activities as the New Year begins makes life more enjoyable!

11) Travel Safe
Whether you are driving or flying this holiday season, make sure to travel safe. If you are driving, always wear a seat belt and get adequate sleep before getting behind the wheel. Research shows that driving after being awake for more than 20 hours is similar to driving with a blood alcohol level at the limit of 0.08, with recent studies estimating that driver fatigue was linked to 1 in 6 fatal motor vehicle accidents annually [6, 7]. Getting enough rest is also important if you are flying, particularly across time zones. Finally, with 2 million people crossing national borders every day, the spread of infectious diseases like flu is just a jet plane away. If you are travelling internationally, make sure to speak with your doctor about any necessary immunizations or health safety precautions (such as drinking only bottled water) that might be relevant for your destination.

12) Give Thanks and Give Back
More than 50 million Americans will struggle to put food on the table this holiday season, so consider making a donation to a local food bank or dedicating a day of service to help those who are hungry. Many food banks and local charities also support toy drives for children living in poverty. Visit the Feeding America and Snap to Health websites to learn more about how you can contribute to preventing hunger in your community and in our country.

13) Be Ready in Case of an Emergency
Be prepared in the event of a disaster occurring during the holidays, such as a tornado, hurricane, or severe snow storm. Develop a family plan and communication strategy. For more information, call 1-800-Be-Ready or visit www.ready.gov and www.fema.gov. Know what you can do to keep safe from the flu: practice good hygiene, wash hands, cover coughs, get vaccinated for seasonal flu (this year's vaccine provides protection against H1N1 as well) and avoid settings with people who are ill. Check out www.flu.gov to learn more.

14) Be a Savvy Health Consumer
Read as much as you can and use trustworthy Internet sites (see list below) for reliable health information. Know your health plan. Be informed. Knowledge is power when it comes to your health and the health of your family, business and community. By following the steps in this prevention prescription, you can enjoy a healthier future this holiday season, in the New Year and beyond!

Recommended Websites for More Information:

www.4publichealth.org
www.4globalhealth.org
www.healthfinder.gov
www.healthierus.gov
www.womenshealth.gov
www.cdc.gov
www.fitness.gov
www.sleepfoundation.org
www.medline.gov
www.myplate.gov
www.nutrition.gov
www.flu.gov
www.ready.gov
www.fema.gov
www.healthcare.gov

References

[1] FDA. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005.

[2] Berrett, Michael. Twelve Ideas to Help People with Eating Disorders Negotiate the Holiday. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.

[3] Hickey, Tracey. Hickey: "Coping with Eating Anxiety During Thanksgiving." November 20, 2011. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.

[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fact Sheets: Alcohol Use and Health. July 20, 2010. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.

[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Inhaling Tobacco Smoke Causes Immediate Harm. December 9, 2010. Retrieved 25 Nov 2011.

[6] "Two Out of Five Drivers Admit to Falling Asleep at the Wheel, Finds AAA Foundation Study." Retrieved 28 Nov 2011.

[7] National Sleep Foundation. Facts About Drowsy Driving. 2007. Retrieved 28 Nov 2011

[8] Wilper AP, Woolhandler S, Lasser KE, McCormick D, Bor DH, Himmelstein DU. "Health Insurance and Mortality in U.S. Adults." American Journal of Public Health, Sept. 17, 2009 (online); print edition Vol. 99, Issue 12, December 2009.

Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. (ret.) is the Public Health Editor of the Huffington Post. She is the Director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington, D.C., a Clinical Professor at Georgetown and Tufts University Schools of Medicine, Chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center, and Senior Policy and Medical Advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. Dr. Blumenthal served for more than 20 years in senior health leadership positions in the Federal government in the Administrations of four Presidents, including as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Women's Health, as a White House Advisor on Health, and as Chief of the Behavioral Medicine and Basic Prevention Research Branch at the National Institutes of Health. Admiral Blumenthal has received numerous awards including honorary doctorates and has been decorated with the highest medals of the US Public Health Service for her pioneering leadership and significant contributions to advancing health in the United States and worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2009 Health Leader of the Year Award from the Commissioned Officers Association and was named a 2010 Rock Star of Science by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation and GQ magazine.

Beth Hoffman graduated magna cum laude from Brown University. She is a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a former Health Policy Fellow at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington D.C.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

David Katz, M.D.: Bethlehem, 'Perfection' and Our Birthmark: Why Perfect Is the Enemy of Good!

2011-12-25T15:02:00.001-08:00
David Katz, M.D.: Bethlehem, 'Perfection' and Our Birthmark: Why Perfect Is the Enemy of Good!

Among the big medical news stories of the past week is an increasingly global tale of failing French breast implants. According to Reuters, as many as 400,000 women in multiple countries are potential victims of defective implants, prone to leakage and made using a grade of silicone never approved for cosmetic surgery by a French company shut down in 2010.
While the true magnitude of associated risks remains speculative, there is concern about both cancer and autoimmune disease. Such associations with silicone breast implants in general have largely been refuted by objective data, but the current situation is enough of a departure to propagate legitimate anxiety among those affected, from the women who received the implants, to public health authorities around the globe, to the French policy makers on whose watch these serious corporate transgressions played out.

Any connection of this worrisome story to events in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago seems at first limited to happenstance; this news happens to be breaking, and I happen to be writing about it, shortly before Christmas. But while undeniably goaded by such temporal serendipity, I do see a connection of deeper significance.

For the faithful of a certain faith, Christmas is about more than oddly-clad elves, expedited gift delivery, and flying ungulates. We all know the holiday is ostensibly a birthday celebration for Jesus, but that just scratches the surface. If true meaning can be found beneath all the layers of pagan and pop-culture veneer, it is about redemption. Jesus was sent to us to embody a perfection unattainable for us; to atone for sins we are incapable of avoiding; and ultimately to fall, and rise, on our behalf -- and thereby absolve the worthy.

The story reverberates more deeply for those who believe than those who don't, of course, but the case is not hard to make that it is evocative for us all, regardless of faith. We yearn to be more perfect than our modest aptitudes allow. We are, as we say, only human, and thus inescapably imperfect. Jesus was sent here to help us confront that limitation.

We cannot cross that threshold on our own, and the stakes of trying tend to be high.

Perhaps no one since Jesus has made that point as clearly, and compellingly, as Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his famous short story, The Birthmark. Hawthorne tells of a scientist married to a woman so beautiful that by all accounts, her beauty is nearly perfect; she is a rival to Helen of Troy. Her nearly perfect beauty is marred only, and ever so slightly, by a birthmark on her cheek.

The scientist contemplates his wife's near perfect beauty, and becomes seduced by the concept of "perfect" beauty. He thinks to himself: after all, I'm a scientist -- I have the power -- I can do this!

The story then builds in an ominous crescendo as the scientist prepares an elixir in his lab, and prepares his wife for the procedure. When at last all is ready, he stretches his wife out on a bed and administers the elixir to her. Lo and behold, the birthmark disappears -- and her beauty is... flawless.

But alas, Hawthorne wrote this story for a religious audience of his day as a moral parable about the unattainable conceit of human perfection. So, in fact, the seemingly superficial birthmark was nothing of the sort, but rather the mark of the heroine's inescapably imperfect humanity. The elixir did remove the birthmark, but it traced its remedial effects from the woman's skin, to the very core of her -- to her heart -- and rendered her beauty perfect, even as it killed her. She could not be perfect and still be a living, breathing human being.

This tale is of surprisingly timely relevance. It is germane to all who aspire to the figures of air-brushed, half-starved super models. It seems germane to those who accept the risks of liposuction, rather than embrace the harder, but safer and more rewarding commitment to using feet and forks as well as possible. And it seems germane to hundreds of thousands of perfectly healthy women, now worrying about the loss of that health for the sake of more perfectly contoured breasts.

I am not faulting the women -- I am challenging their potential successors to reject the faults in a culture that prioritizes perfect boobs over perfectly good health. Never mind the men whose favorable attention the perfectly shaped breasts are presumably crafted to attract. I am speaking past them (us?) to the women.

Ladies: Why would a woman allow anywhere near her a man who is more concerned about the size and symmetry of her breasts, than whether she put her health in jeopardy to get there? The scenario reminds of Woody Allen's irony, noting he wouldn't want to join any club that would accept him as a member. None of us should want anything to do with someone who wants us because of surgical enhancements for which we potentially and electively mortgaged our health.

All truly worthy effort leads toward good, but not to perfect. Perfect is out of reach for the standard issue Homo sapien. Perhaps perfect breasts do happen -- but if so they are invariably accompanied by imperfections elsewhere.

The truly worthy generally also requires some genuine effort. Liposuction removes fat expeditiously, but confers none of the health benefits of weight loss achieved by eating well and increasing physical activity. Even Jesus was denied a quick fix or silver bullet -- and instead endured a crown of thorns. In meaningful efforts to better ourselves, we all have our crosses to bear.

That hundreds of thousands of women around the world will spend this holiday season under dark clouds of anxiety about their health would be bad enough if they had been driven to that predicament by true need. That they do so replicating the fate of Hawthorne's hapless heroine is testimony to the superficial values of our culture, our misguided notions of both perfection and health, and our failure to learn from the follies of history.

Perfect is the enemy of good, because we can't get to perfect. Jesus tells us so. Hawthorne wrote it out for us. If a French breast implant company begs to differ, who do you choose to believe?

As a new year looms, we might consider abandoning the quest for superficial perfection -- and embrace the pursuit of humbler, but deeper good. The particular advantage of good over perfect is... We could actually get there from here.

-fin

Dr. David L. Katz; www.davidkatzmd.com
www.turnthetidefoundation.org

Follow David Katz, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DrDavidKatz

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Judith Johnson: Spending Holidays With 'Loved Ones' Who Aren't Very Nice To You

2011-12-25T14:00:00.001-08:00
Judith Johnson: Spending Holidays With 'Loved Ones' Who Aren't Very Nice To You

Below the surface of many family holiday gatherings are mini dramas playing out, contemporary grudges and resentments and unresolved childhood issues. Nothing hurts with such emotional depth as these familial battles. For the tender-hearted, this can be a psychological mine field while self-righteous bullies reign unchallenged. Many silently suffer through these events while dutifully and unconsciously assuming their childhood role as the family black sheep or underdog. Those in secondary roles are often either complicit or oblivious, leaving the underdog to fend for his or herself. Here are seven strategies for doing it differently this year.

Strategy 1: See it for what it is. The bottom line of these battles is that they are mere reflections of the level of consciousness of the participants involved. Most bullies and tyrants have failed to evolve psychologically past their childhoods and are simply functioning out of a juvenile state of consciousness. Typically, they are caught in a win/lose mentality that drives them to perceive themselves as a winner at the expense of someone else. Putting you down is driven by a desperate attempt to put themselves up. In this sense, you are simply a means to an end and their attack on you is really nothing personal. You cannot evolve another person's consciousness for them. Any attempt to address the matter head on with them will simply further ignite their battle position. On the flip side of this, is there any merit to the accusations and judgments lodged against you? If so, are you willing or able to change? If so, only do so for your own highest good and not to seek the approval of others.

Strategy 2: Stay conscious in the present and study how the dynamic works. Remember, it takes two to tango. Play detective with the situation and notice how this other person gets to you. Is it through sarcastic remarks? Giving you the silent treatment? Disdainful looks? Just how do they communicate their rejection and judgment of you? How do they hook you into their game? Pay attention to your own behavior as well. Do you comply by feeling and behaving like a victim? Do you try to defend yourself against their attacks? Does this drama dominate your entire experience? How do you buy in to this other person's point of view?

Strategy 3: Stand tall in your own integrity and truth. Be at the cause of your own behavior rather than at the effect of others. Stop behaving in relationship to this person. Don't buy into the familiar emotional territory of your childhood. Be your own grown-up person. Stop focusing on them and focus on yourself. Be who you know yourself to be rather than jumping into the underdog or black sheep costume of your childhood. Get out of reactionary mode and simply be yourself. By moving your attention away from the bully, you stop feeding on or into the situation.

Strategy 4: Stop wanting or expecting the other person to change. Before entering the situation, psyche yourself up. Remind yourself that this other person is probably never going to change his or her behavior toward you. Make your consciousness big enough to let that happen without being the center of your attention. Make peace with it. Let it be so without trying to change it in any way. Focus instead on learning how to stay true to yourself in the presence of someone who belittles you. Stop giving them your power. Remember that both of you have the freedom to choose how you will behave. Take the high road and don't expect them to join you.

Strategy 5: Practice forgiveness. If you find yourself having a hard time with the situation, launch yourself into forgiveness mode in the privacy of your own mind. Forgive yourself for judging yourself for any judgments you have against yourself or the other person. Keep doing this as judgments come up. Neutralize them with forgiveness. If you don't really feel the forgiveness, do it anyway -- fake it till you make it.

Strategy 6: Step free of the drama and choose to have a healthy, good time. Setting and holding to the intention of doing it differently goes a very long way. Choose out of the drama and into having an authentically good time. Give more of your attention and interest to other people at the gathering. Help out in the kitchen. Just find some way to do it all differently. If you typically sit in a corner, get up and mingle. Find a buffer -- someone you can engage with to shift your focus. Just do whatever it takes to keep moving your attention away from the drama and into finding new ways to be with your family. By doing it differently, you will elicit different responses.

Strategy 7: Strike out on your own for the holidays. If your family gatherings are simply unbearable for you, don't go! There is no law that you have to spend the holidays with your family. What does the holiday mean to you? If it is about being with your family -- then figure out how to do that using the first six strategies above and evolve a place for yourself that nurtures and supports you. If the meaning of the holiday is about the deeper religious message it brings, then find other people to be with who share your beliefs. Maybe you just want to have a light-hearted time. If so, then give yourself the gift of creating that for yourself with our without other people. Take ownership of your own experience and create a happy and blessed holiday for yourself.

The holidays come and go every year. Don't stay stuck in a bad emotional drama. The willingness to do it differently will always create the means and ability you need. Trust yourself and have the courage to step free. Happy holidays, everyone.

Please feel free to leave a comment below, or to contact me at judithjohnson@hvc.rr.com. You can also retweet this post, share it on Facebook or email it to friends who may enjoy it. To learn more about me, visit my website, www.judithjohnson.com or my Facebook page "Tending to Your Ending." For information on my future blogs, click "Fan" at the top of this page.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com