Overconfidence Can Be Good

Read this interesting new research about why a little cockiness is good for you.

The Last Lecture

"We don't beat the Grim Reaper by living longer, we beat the Reaper by living well and living fully, for the Reaper will come for all of us. The question is what do we do between the time we are born and the time he shows up. It's too late to do all the things that you're gonna kinda get around to."

The quote above is from the late Prof. Randy Pausch.

Listen to this lecture and be inspired.

When?

If you have goal and a plan to achieve that goal. And if you are willing to work at it, do whatever is needed and keep doing it in the face of obstacles, mockery, ridicule, fatigue; the question of whether you will achieve that goal can be eliminated.

It is only a question of when.

10 Ways to Keep Your Bladder Healthy

Health.com carried this useful article. Read on to find out how you maintain your bladder healthy.

Banned for Pets and Farm Animals, but Okay for You and Your Children?

Dr. Mercola With Consumers for Dental Choice

Dental amalgams have been in use since the American Civil War. They are an anachronism that has been perpetuated by dental industry patents, and there's a conspiracy of silence that seeks to keep the 75 percent of Americans who are ignorant about that fact that amalgam fillings are actually 50 percent mercury.
As stated by Charlie Brown, who founded the Consumers for Dental Choice in 1996:

"The only way amalgam could be marketed was to hide the mercury. The only way you could hide the mercury is to have a coordinated effort to make sure that nobody blew the whistle.
At the start of our movement, we confronted an iron triangle; three major forces: The American Dental Association that profit from a system of consumer ignorance; The Food and Drug Administration that sits in the hip pocket of the American Dental Association… and the state dental boards, who were the enforcers who told dentists, "You have to be silent."
The American Dental Association had a gag rule and said, "Don't say the M word. Don't tell people about the mercury; don't say that it's toxin, or there will be consequences." The consequences were the state dental boards pulling licenses of dentists all through the 1990s and threatening to pull the licenses of many more.

Fortunately in the last 10 years nearly half of all US dentists have recognized the dangers of amalgams and have stopped using them in their practice. But the remaining 50 percent of dentists still use them, and that currently accounts for between 240-300 tons of mercury entering the market every year. In the United States, dental offices are the second largest user of mercury – and this mercury eventually ends up in our environment by one pathway or another.

Did You Know?...

Dental amalgam can cause far-reaching problems, such as:

• Exposure to mercury, the most toxic and more vaporous of the heavy metals, can harm your kidneys, and permanently damage your child's developing neurological system, and even kill your unborn child in the womb.
• To implant amalgam, a dentist drills out healthy tooth matter in order to carve the crater necessary for amalgam placement – a primitive process that irreversibly weakens tooth structure. With a damaged tooth structure and with a metal-based filling that expands and contracts with temperature changes, teeth with amalgam are much more likely to crack years later, necessitating additional dental work.
• Amalgam is a workplace hazard, especially for young female dental workers who experience an elevated rate of reproductive failures.
• Dental mercury is the number one source of mercury in our wastewater, so dentists are handing the clean-up bill for their pollution to taxpayers and water ratepayers.

Why would a primitive, pre-Civil War polluting product that is 50 percent mercury and cracks teeth still be going into your mouth?
Amalgam was introduced in the Civil War era by the new American Dental Association, which won a political battle with the physicians of the mouth, who said using mercury in oral health care is malpractice. Florida dentist James Hardy, in his book Mercury Free, refers to the creation of amalgam and the creation of the American Dental Association as the "twin-birth."

Why Do Half of All Dentists Still Use Mercury Amalgam?

We now know the risks, so why do half of dentists continue to use the filling material used by their great-grandfathers?
Is it the price?
No.
The alternatives to amalgam are comparably priced – or even less expensive. Amalgams cost more than glass ionomers, which can be applied via a mercury-free technique called Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART). ART does not require drilling; only hand instruments, and is virtually painless.
Amalgam also cost the same as composite fillings (also called resin) for smaller cavities, although composite can cost a few bucks more for large cavities. But when you add the horrid environmental and health catastrophe caused by amalgam, of course, amalgam's cost to society is much higher...
The answer is: Profits!
Amalgams are quick and easy. Dentists make more money per chair per day implanting mercury. For factory-style dentistry, where the teeth represent dollar signs instead of part of a human being, dentists drill, fill, and bill. The term "drill, fill, and bill" is a joke aspiring dentists learn in dental school. Only the joke is on us and our children: they count their money, and we have a vaporous neurotoxin implanted an inch from our brains or our children's brains.
And of course, since amalgam damages tooth structure and cracks teeth, pro-mercury dentists will continue to profit from amalgam long after its initial placement. Teeth with amalgam require more dental work in the long term. So for the pro-mercury half of dentists, amalgam is the gift that keeps on giving.

How Can Pro-Mercury Dentists Compete with Toxic-Free Dentists?

The pro-mercury dentists' trade group, the American Dental Association, has pulled every lever with Congress, the Food and Drug Administration, the state dental boards and the corporate media to cover up amalgam's mercury.

1. First, the ADA popularized the deceptive term "silver fillings," so consumers would think amalgam is made mainly of silver (actually, it has twice as much mercury as silver).
2. Second, it mounted a no-holds-barred campaign to silence competitors and critics of 19th century dentistry, especially the courageous dentists who realized their leadership was so fundamentally in error.

According to its own self-description, the American Dental Association appears focused more on promoting products – and getting paid handsomely to do so – than in promoting its dentist members. At the bottom of its news releases, the ADA has frequently written:

"The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing more than 155,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer and professional products. For more information about the ADA, visit the Association's Web site at www.ada.org."

Of the five sentences, one is about members, and three about the ADA's product endorsement system. The "ADA Seal of Acceptance" is a pay-to-play system in which companies pay the ADA to secure their endorsement. By contrast, the American Medical Association will not do pay-to-play endorsements of products; it is considered unethical.
The ADA owns two patents on amalgam, patent numbers 4,018,600 and 4,078,921. They have expired, but while they were in effect the ADA went to incredible lengths to wipe out mercury-free dentistry and quash dissent from the emerging critics of mercury-based dentistry.

The Role of the American Dental Association

How does the ADA keep pro-mercury dentists in business – and keep profits rolling in for the amalgam makers?
Here's how:

1. The "silver fillings" deception
   
   Gold fillings are called gold because they are made of gold.  Seizing on the comparison, the ADA brochures promoting mercury fillings called them "silver fillings."   The ADA claims the term means "silver-colored," but who are they fooling? In my dictionary, the first definition of "silver" is the element.  The color is the fourth definition, behind the element, medium of exchange, coins, and eating utensils.
   
   Consumers for Dental Choice, with its Campaign for Mercury-Free Dentistry, fought back against the "silver fillings" deception.  In California these advocates launched the term "say the M word," which led to fact sheets on amalgam in that state and several other states and cities.  These fact sheets, which dentists are required to hand their patients, inform the public that amalgam is mercury.
2. The gag rule
   
   When its amalgam patents were in effect, the ADA used its power to block the emergence of mercury-free dentistry by adopting a rule of conduct prohibiting dentists from discussing mercury with their patients:
   
   

   "Based on available scientific data, the ADA has determined that the removal of amalgam restorations from the non-allergic patient for the alleged purpose of removing toxic substances from the body, when such treatment is performed solely at the recommendation or suggestion of the dentist, is improper and unethical."

   Yes, the ADA said it is unethical for a dentist to tell the truth to his patients!
   
   Thanks to an extraordinary campaign by Consumers for Dental Choice, the gag rule is now just about defunct.  Working with state lawmakers, with civil liberties organizations, with state Attorneys General (Charlie Brown, head of the consumer group, used to be one), and with an outraged citizenry, the movement for Mercury-Free Dentistry succeeded in the legislatures, in the courts, and in the courts of public opinions to restore free speech rights to dentists.
3. Rent-a-Congressman
   
   How about the political process?  We do have friends in Congress, Republicans like Congressman Dan Burton and Senator Mike Enzi, and Democrats like Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Congressman Gregory Meeks.  But they are few and far between.
   
   The ADA has been particularly devious in the halls of Congress.  It doesn't instruct its minions in Congress – members from both political parties – to write bills, conduct hearings, nor even make speeches.  Instead, the ADA buys silence and inaction from Members of Congress.  Sound familiar? It was the same tactic used by Big Tobacco for several decades.
   
   At the state level, it's the same; in some state capitals, the ADA has had the single largest political action committee.  The tactic is the same: Do nothing, say nothing, and cash the PAC money.
4. Strong-arming the children of America
   
   In the Maine legislature, money is not king.  The state has fair practices that limit outside money and create a level-playing field for unfunded candidates.  Unable to buy their way into power, the ADA resorted to outright strong-arming. A bill was gaining momentum in the Maine Legislature to phase out amalgam.  The ADA struck back, threatening to deny treatment for Maine children if their dentists could not use their favorite filling material.  If amalgam were banned, the ADA threatened:
   
   

   "The result will be treatment delayed, treatment denied, and treatment never being sought. That is not a situation the dentists of Maine, the United States, or our policymakers can be willing to accept."

   Several years later, the ADA's Pennsylvania chapter pulled the same power play against children with disabilities. A fact sheet law in the City of Philadelphia meant parents are now made aware of amalgam's horrid health risks to their children.  In inner-city clinics, parents were insisting on mercury-free dentistry – the same as parents do in the affluent areas.  But to the Pennsylvania Dental Association, inner-city parents were supposed to take the crumbs their dentists offered: mercury fillings or no fillings. 
   
   A dental association leader was demanding that parents of children with disabilities sign a release allowing him to put mercury fillings in their children; when they refused, he denied all treatment. No tooth cleanings. Nothing...  Suburban parents might go to a dentist down the street, but for inner-city minority parents of children with disabilities, finding a dentist is not easy – and this dentist knew it. Incredibly, the Pennsylvania Dental Association – which claims to support choice for children in the suburbs – endorsed the position of this dentist. 
   
   Fortunately, the story did not end there.  This callous power play endorsed by the Pennsylvania Dental Association – denying dental care for children with disabilities unless they agreed to mercury fillings – caught the attention of the disability rights community.  The Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Disabilities enacted a resolution condemning this ADA chapter.

What Can You Do to Stop the Use of Amalgam? 

During this Mercury-Free Dentistry Awareness Week, I urge you to help spread the word and help educate others by sharing this article with your social networks. Together, we can END the use of toxic mercury in dentistry.
Charlie Brown, who runs Consumers for Dental Choice, is headed to Nairobi in October to lead a worldwide delegation participating in the world mercury treaty negotiations.  With him will be a team of dentists, consumers, attorneys, and scientists fighting to get amalgam into that treaty.  With the world deciding whether we continue allowing mercury in children's mouths, much is at stake.  Here's what you can do in your nation or state:

Americans:  Our #1 problem is the Food and Drug Administration, which has partnered with the American Dental Association to cover up the mercury, to make you think you are getting silver instead of mercury in your mouth.  The FDA intentionally conceals the warnings about amalgam deep in its regulation -- so parents will never see them.  On its website, the FDA gives dentists the green light to continue to deceive consumers with the term "silver fillings"
"Americans are ready for the end of amalgam."  This was the theme of the testimony to the U.S. Department of State on August 18 by former West Virginia state Senator Charlotte Pritt.   Yes, Americans are ready.  But FDA is not.  So let's send them a message.
Nine months ago, FDA scientists advised the agency to disclose the mercury to all patients and parents, and to stop amalgam for children and pregnant women.  Yet FDA sits – sits actually in the pocket of the American Dental Association – ignoring its own scientists.
Please write the Director of FDA's Center for Devices, Jeff Shuren, jeff.shuren@fda.hhs.gov  Ask Dr Shuren why FDA continues to ignore the scientists and covers up the mercury from American parents and consumers.  Ask when FDA is going to get in step with the world on mercury.

Dr. Jeff Shuren, Director
Center for Devices, U.S. Food & Drug Admin.
10903 New Hampshire Ave.
WO66-5431, Room 5442
Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002
Telephone:  301-796-5900
Fax:  301-847-8149
Fax:  301-847-8109

Californians:  Dr. Shuren is coming to San Francisco for a "town meeting" on September 22.  We urge Northern Californians to attend.  It will go from 8 am to 12 noon, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, San Francisco Airport (telephone 650.589.3400)
In Southern California, Consumers for Dental Choice is organizing a city-by-city attack on amalgam --- and needs volunteers.  If you wish to help with the grassroots work of organizing for city council hearings, gathering petitions, and telephoning, volunteer by writing announcements@toxicteeth.org
Australians:  Your government, Aussies, is now in last place on the mercury treaty, asking the world to throw in the towel instead of working to phase out dental mercury.  A great new group has started, Australians for Mercury-Free Dentistry, led by dentist Lisa Matriste and consumer activist Anna Priest.  We urge you to go to its website and join:  http://www.mercuryfreedentistry.com.au/
Folks worldwide:  If you aren't on that list, there's plenty to do – for example, Dominique Bally, an outstanding young advocate from the Ivory Coast, runs the Amalgam-Free Africa Campaign.  If you want to help somewhere, anywhere, and there's nothing on the list above for you, write Charlie Brown, charlie@toxicteeth.org

Consumers for Dental Choice is working to protect your health – and the health of your children – all around the world. Charged with this important mission at state and local, national, and international levels, Consumers for Dental Choice would appreciate your help!
Please consider a donation to Consumers for Dental Choice, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advocating mercury-free dentistry.
Donations can be made online at http://www.toxicteeth.org/donate.cfm. Checks can be mailed to:

Consumers for Dental Choice
316 F St., N.E., Suite 210
Washington DC 20002

Also, for timely updates and information, please join Consumers for Dental Choice on Facebook.
Thank you for supporting mercury-free dentistry!

Top 10 Misconceptions About Islam

Back in July 2009, The Listverse carried a fantastic  article about the misconceptions of Islam. A must read for those who think Muslims are either Arabs or Pakistanis and believe jihad means strapping oneself with bombs and exploding it in public buildings.

Peace of Mind: Near-Death Experiences Now Found to Have Scientific Explanations

Near-death experiences are often thought of as mystical phenomena, but research is now..read more

50 Interesting Facts About The Human Body

1. Brain feels no pain.
2. 80% of brain is water
3. Brain uses 10watts of power
4. Brain plays at night
5. Higher IQ means more dreams
6. Brain can store everything
7. You smell is unique
8. Nose can remember 50,000 scents
9. Your teeth grows before birth
10. Sensation while eating chocolate is better than sex
11. Bones self destruct
12. The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body
13. Close to fifty percent of the bacteria in the mouth lives on the surface of our tongue
14. Your tongue has 3,000 taste buds
15. You cannot tickle yourself
16. Only humans shed emotional tears
17. You are taller in the morning
18. Men are able to read fine print better than women can
19. The cornea is the only living tissue in the human body that does not contain any blood vessels
20. The eyeball of a human weighs approximately 28 grams
21. In a month, a fingernail grows an eighth of an inch
22. It takes food seven seconds to go from the mouth to the stomach via the esophagus
23. Men sweat more than women. This is because women can better regulate the amount of water they lose
24. There are approximately 45 billion fat cells in an average adult
25. During the female orgasm, endorphines are released, which are powerful painkillers
26. In one day, adult lungs move about 10,000 liters of air
27. The average adult has approximately six pounds of skin
28. A pregnant woman's dental health can affect her unborn child
29. Humans have about the same number of hair follicles as a chimpanzee has
30. Next to bone marrow, hair is the fastest growing tissue in the human body
31. On average, a hair strand's life span is five and a half years
32. The big toe is the foot reflexology pressure point for the head
33. On average redheads have 90,000 hairs. People with black hair have about 110,000 hairs
34. Every hour one billion cells in the body must be replaced
35. The adult human body requires about 88 pounds of oxygen daily
36. The human body has approximately 37,000 miles of capillaries
37. In one day, a human sheds 10 billion skin flakes. This amounts to approximately two kilograms in a year
38. The right lung of a human is larger than the left one. This is because of the space and placement of the heart.
39. The human heart beat roughly 35 million times a year
40. The human heart weighs less than a pound
41. A fingernail or toenail takes about 6 months to grow from base to tip
42. Blondes have more hair than dark-haired people
43. A person will die from total lack of sleep sooner than from starvation. Death will occur about 10 days without sleep, while starvation takes a few weeks
44. A cough releases an explosive charge of air that moves at speeds up to 60 mph
45. According to German researchers, the risk of heart attack is higher on Monday than any other day of the week
46. Hair Is Almost Indestructible
47. You Can Still Have An Erection After Death
48. The stomach’s digestive acids are strong enough to dissolve zinc
49. A mans testicles manufacture 10 million new sperm cells each day – enough that he could repopulate the entire planet in only 6 months
50. The focusing muscles of the eyes move around 100,000 times a day

Meet the humble curcuma-Nature's Great Warrior against diseases

By Dr. Mercola

For more than 5,000 years, turmeric has been an important part of Eastern cultural traditions, including traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda. Valued for its medicinal properties and warm, peppery flavor, this yellow-orange spice has more recently earned a name for itself in Western medicine as well.
Turmeric comes from the root of the Curcuma longa plant, which is native to Indonesia and southern India, and is widely used as an ingredient in curry dishes and yellow mustard. As research into this powerful spice has increased, it has emerged as one of nature’s most powerful potential healers.
Said Dr. David Frawely, founder and director of the American Institute for Vedic Studies in Santa Fe, New Mexico:

“If I had only one single herb to depend upon for all possible health and dietary needs, I would without much hesitation choose the Indian spice Turmeric. There is little it cannot do in the realm of healing and much that no other herb is able to accomplish.

Turmeric has a broad spectrum of actions, mild but certain effects, and is beneficial for long term and daily usage. Though it is a common spice, few people, including herbalists know of its great value and are using it to the extent possible. It is an herb that one should get to know and live with.”

Turmeric’s Beneficial Effects in a Nutshell

Strengthens and improves digestion

• Reduces gas and bloating
• Assists in the digestion of protein and with rice and bean dishes
• Improves your body's ability to digest fats
• Promotes proper metabolism, correcting both excesses and deficiencies
• Maintains and improves intestinal flora
• Improves elimination of wastes and toxins

Supports healthy liver function and detox

• Turmeric helps increase bile flow making it a liver cleanser that can rejuvenate your liver cells and recharge their capability to break down toxins
• Helps to prevent alcohol and other toxins from being converted into compounds that may be harmful to your liver
• Supports formation of healthy tissue

Purifies your blood

• Stimulates formation of new blood tissue
• Anti-inflammatory: Helps to reduce irritation to tissues characterized by pain, redness, swelling and heat

Contains curcuminoids that fight cancer, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s

• Curcuminoids are potent phytonutrients (plant-based nutrients) that contain powerful antioxidant properties
• Counteract the damaging effects of free radicals in your body
• Relieve arthritis pain and stiffness, anti-inflammatory agent
• Anti-carcinogenic: “Curcumin has been shown to prevent a large of number of cancers in animal studies. Laboratory data indicate that curcumin can inhibit tumor initiation, promotion, invasion, angiogenesis and metastasis.”[1]
• Supports treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: “Because Alzheimer's disease is caused in part by amyloid-induced inflammation, curcumin has been shown to be effective against Alzheimer's. Clinical trials are in progress at UCLA with curcumin for Alzheimer's.”[2]

Curcumin: Turmeric’s Active Anti-Inflammatory “Ingredient”
Most notably turmeric is known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties, which come from curcumin -- the pigment that gives turmeric its yellow-orange color, and which is thought to be responsible for many of its medicinal effects. There are an estimated three to five grams of curcumin in 100 grams of turmeric.
Curcumin has been shown to influence more than 700 genes, and it can inhibit both the activity and the synthesis of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and 5-lipooxygenase (5-LOX), as well as other enzymes that have been implicated in inflammation.[3]
Turmeric’s Cancer-Fighting Properties
In India where turmeric is widely used, the prevalence of four common U.S. cancers -- colon, breast, prostate and lung -- is 10 times lower. In fact, prostate cancer, which is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in U.S. men, is rare in India and this is attributed, in part, to turmeric.
Numerous studies have looked into this potential cancer-fighting link, with promising results. For instance, curcumin has been found to:

• Inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells
• Inhibit the transformation of cells from normal to tumor
• Help your body destroy mutated cancer cells so they cannot spread throughout your body
• Decrease inflammation
• Enhance liver function
• Inhibit the synthesis of a protein thought to be instrumental in tumor formation
• Prevent the development of additional blood supply necessary for cancer cell growth

As for the results of research studies, a study in Biochemical Pharmacology found that curcumin can slow the spread of breast cancer cells to the lungs in mice.[4]

"Curcumin acts against transcription factors, which are like a master switch," said lead researcher, Bharat Aggarwal. "Transcription factors regulate all the genes needed for tumors to form. When we turn them off, we shut down some genes that are involved in the growth and invasion of cancer cells."

A second study in Biochemical Pharmacology also found that curcumin inhibits the activation of NF-kappaB, a regulatory molecule that signals genes to produce a slew of inflammatory molecules (including TNF, COX-2 and IL-6) that promote cancer cell growth.[5]
Turmeric’s Essential Role for Your Liver
Your liver’s primary role is to process and remove toxins carried in your bloodstream. When functioning at its peak, it can filter up to two liters of blood per minute and easily break apart toxic molecules to reduce their toxicity. Your liver is also a crucial part of vitamin, mineral, protein, fat, carbohydrate and hormonal metabolism.
However, poor diet, allergens, pollution and stress can cause your liver to become sluggish, and this can impair its vital functions. This is where turmeric can be a very useful part of your liver support system. Studies have shown that it:

• May increase important detoxification enzymes in your liver
• Induces the formation of a primary liver detoxification enzyme, glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzymes

Turmeric is also a natural cholagogue, a medicinal agent that promotes the discharge of bile from your system. Increased bile flow is important to help your liver detoxify and to help your body digest fats.
Turmeric for Your Heart, Brain and Overall Health
Turmeric inhibits free radical damage of fats, including cholesterol. When cholesterol is damaged in this way, or oxidized, it can then damage your blood vessels and lead to a heart attack or stroke. Therefore, research suggests that turmeric’s ability to prevent the oxidation of cholesterol may be beneficial for your heart. It’s also rich in vitamin B6, high intakes of which are associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.
Meanwhile, turmeric appears to be highly protective against neurodegenerative diseases. In fact, in India levels of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s are very low, and studies have shown that curcumin can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s in mice. The compound has also proven capable of blocking the progression of multiple sclerosis.
Further, Professor Moolky Nagabhushan from the Loyola University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, who has been studying turmeric for the last 20 years, believes that turmeric can protect against harmful environmental chemicals, and in so doing protect against childhood leukemia. The research showed that curcumin in turmeric can:[7]

• Inhibit the toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (cancer-causing chemicals in the environment)
• Inhibit radiation-induced chromosome damage
• Prevent the formation of harmful heterocyclic amines and nitroso compounds, which may result in the body when eating certain processed foods, such as processed meat products
• Irreversibly inhibit the multiplication of leukemia cells in a cell culture

Turmeric's volatile oils also have external anti-bacterial action. As such, they may help prevent bacterial wound infections and accelerate wound healing. Johnson & Johnson even sells a curcumin-containing Band-Aid in India!
And the therapeutic potential of turmeric and curcumin do not end there. Evidence suggests the spice may also be beneficial for:

• Cystic fibrosis
• Type 2 diabetes
• Crohn’s disease
• Psoriasis
• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Cataracts
• Gallstones
• Muscle regeneration
• Inflammatory bowel disease

Which Type of Turmeric is Best?
For use in cooking, choose a pure turmeric powder, rather than a curry powder. At least one study has found that curry powders tend to contain very little curcumin, compared to turmeric powder. Turmeric is also available in supplement form and for many this is a more convenient method to obtain these health benefits discussed above, especially if they are from a high-quality organic source and if one doesn’t particularly enjoy the taste of curry.

Joshua Foer - The Memory Master

I like this story of Joshua Foer not because he is the US memory champion but the fact that he is a journalist and is not a "mental athlete". Read the story here.

Productivity Tool - Syncing Calendars

If you are using Google calendar to schedule your tasks at home and Microsoft Outlook at the office.

Download this free software from Google to sync the date between both the programs.

If you are using Yahoo services, click here to read how you can do the same.

 And if  the phone you are using has a sync capability with Microsoft Outlook, sweet, you can now have all your calendar, tasks and contacts in both your smart phone and Outlook and on the world wide web.

Human Interbred With Related Species

Genetic mixing might have occurred in Africa around 35,000 years ago.

It is one of those questions that palaeontologists had always wondered; whether we came from a single species or a combination of two or more.

Read about the new findings here, published by Nature News

What is the Sex of your mobile number?

Odd numbers are usually regarded as man and even numbers as female. We seem to be naturally think everything as either being male or female. Read what The Scientific American article here on why we do this.

Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal

“Enjoy life. This is not a dress rehearsal.”
I came across the quote above today and I thought I might share it with you.

So how do you enjoy life?

In my opinion, you savour every moment of it. Do not chase things all the time and don't focus too much on the end result. Feel and appreciate every moment of the journey you have undertaken.

Be glad to be alive and do not worry about getting old. You have to be lucky to be getting old, the alternative to that doesn't sound too good.

Spent time with people you love. Do not worry about things that gone to past. Bury it. And don't plan too much for the future, it might never come.

Do your best all the time.

Smile. It makes you feel and look good.

Do not waste time with petty people and petty things. Never think too much about what others have to say about you, either good or bad. Remember that the more successful you are, the more people will talk about you.

Live everyday as if it is your last.

Why Saturated fat is good for you

The article below is from Dr. Mercola.com

A misguided fallacy that persists to this day is the belief that saturated fat will increase your risk of heart disease and heart attacks. This is simply another myth that has been harming your health for the last 30 or 40 years.
The truth is, saturated fats from animal and vegetable sources provide a concentrated source of energy in your diet, and they provide the building blocks for cell membranes and a variety of hormones and hormone-like substances.
When you eat saturated fats as part of your meal, they slow down absorption so that you can go longer without feeling hungry. In addition, they act as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Dietary fats are also needed for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes.
Saturated fats are also:

• The preferred fuel for your heart, and also used as a source of fuel during energy expenditure
  
• Useful antiviral agents (caprylic acid)
  
• Effective as an anticaries, antiplaque and anti-fungal agent (lauric acid)
  
• Useful to actually lower cholesterol levels (palmitic and stearic acids)
  
• Modulators of genetic regulation and prevent cancer (butyric acid)
  

If the fact that saturated fats are actually good for you sounds conflicting, at least in terms of what is repeated by public health agencies, I urge you to read Mary Enig and Sally Fallon’s classic article The Truth About Saturated Fats.
It is one of the best and most thorough introductions to this topic, and you can read through it in just a few minutes.

Have You Heard of the Lipid Hypothesis?

If not by name, you’ve certainly heard of the concept behind the “lipid hypothesis,” and that is that dietary fat causes heart disease.
This flawed theory was largely spread by Ancel Keys, a diet researcher for whom military K-rations are named, and it was because of the lipid hypothesis that Americans were soon encouraged to substitute vegetable-based fats for animal fats, and to avoid red meat completely.
However, when Keys published his analysis that claimed to prove the link between dietary fats and coronary heart disease, he selectively analyzed information from only six countries to prove his correlation, rather than comparing all the data available at the time -- from 22 countries.
As a result of this "cherry-picked" data, government health organizations began bombarding the public with advice that has contributed to the diabetes and obesity epidemics going on today: eat a low-fat diet.
Of course, as Americans cut out nutritious animal fats from their diets, they were left hungry. So they began eating more processed grains, more vegetable oils, and more high-fructose corn syrup, all of which are nutritional disasters.

What about the Studies That DO Show a Link between Fat and Heart Disease?

Keys believed that dietary fat was causing heart disease in Americans back in the 1950s, and he soon got others to jump on the bandwagon.
Even the American Heart Association, which concluded in 1957 that “the evidence that dietary fat correlates with heart disease does not stand up to critical examination,” changed its position in 1960.
Why? Because Keys was on the committee issuing a new report that a low-fat diet was advised for people at risk of heart disease. Sadly, the theory continued to be accepted as nutritional wisdom, even though clinical trials found no connection.
There are, however, some studies that have found a link between fat and heart disease, and they are often used by saturated fat opponents to “prove” their case.
The problem lies in the fact that most of these studies make no effort to differentiate between saturated fat and trans fat. I believe this is the missing link.
If researchers were to more carefully evaluate the risks of heart disease by measuring the levels of trans and saturated fat, I believe they would find a completely different story.
Trans fat is known to increase your LDL levels, or "bad" cholesterol, while lowering your levels of HDL, known as "good" cholesterol, which is the complete opposite of what you need in order to maintain good heart health. It can also cause major clogging of arteries, type 2 diabetes and other serious health problems.
On the other hand, your body needs some amount of saturated fat to stay healthy. It is virtually impossible to achieve a nutritionally adequate diet that has no saturated fat. What you don’t need, however, are trans fats.
Further, there are some people who do well with a low-saturated-fat diet -- the one-third who are carb nutritional types.  Even then, however, some animal fats are necessary and healthy, and two-thirds of people actually require moderate- to high-saturated-fat diets to thrive.

Healthy Sources of Saturated Fats to Add to Your Diet

Saturated fat is not the root of all evil … and it is NOT to blame for the modern disease epidemics facing Americans. Saturated fat is actually an incredibly healthy, nourishing and all natural fat that humans have been thriving on for generations. Again, as Fallon and Enig point out:

• Saturated fatty acids constitute at least 50 percent of your cell membranes. They are what gives your cells necessary stiffness and integrity.
  
• They play a vital role in the health of your bones. For calcium to be effectively incorporated into your skeletal structure, at least 50 percent of your dietary fats should be saturated.
  
• They lower Lp(a), a substance in your blood that indicates proneness to heart disease.
  
• They protect your liver from alcohol and other toxins, such as Tylenol and other drugs.
  
• They enhance your immune system.
  
• They are needed for the proper utilization of essential fatty acids. Elongated omega-3 fats are better retained in your tissues when your diet is rich in saturated fats.
  
• Saturated 18-carbon stearic acid and 16-carbon palmitic acid are the preferred foods for your heart, which is why the fat around your heart muscle is highly saturated. Your heart draws on this reserve of fat in times of stress.
  
• Short- and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have important antimicrobial properties. They protect you against harmful microorganisms in your digestive tract.
  

So please do not shun saturated fats from your diet. If you’d like to get the most tailored information about which fats, and how much of them, to include in your optimal diet, first find out your nutritional type. Then, make sure your meals include some of these delicious and healthy sources of saturated fat:

• Grass-fed organic beef and beef fat
  
• Naturally raised lamb
  
• Organic raw dairy products (butter, cheese, milk, cream)
  
• Coconut oil

Top 20 Women of the last century

The List Universe currently rated its top 20 women from the 20th century.  Indira Gandhi is at No 3 and Dorothy Hodgkin is at  No 8. You don't know who is Dorothy Hodgkin and her contribution, do you? Read on to find out more?