Are You killing Yourself With Sugar?

Since sugar became a household commodity in the 18th Century, sugar consumption has increased from four pounds per person annually to 180 pounds annually for half the American population. HFCS use has increased over ten thousand percent since its introduction into processed foods and beverages in the 1970s.

Learn more here.

How Middle-Aged Women Can Reduce Heart Disease Risk

If you are a middle-aged women, you might this article interesting to you.

Are you getting enough Omega 3

Diets low in Omega 3 has found to cause depressive behavior in mice ( it is really wonderful that we can know when a mice is depressive). Read this article to find out more.

Some Truth About Bottled Water

Mercola.com features an article on bottled. You might want to read it and discover for yourself why you are taking poison one gulp at a time

10 Best Health Articles of 2010

Let us start the year with the second most valuable entity ( the first is Time) in the universe - our health.

Mercola.com today picked its 10 best health article of the past year. As in the last post of last year, I said we need to look back to go for forward, let us take better care of ourselves this year. After good health is the only true wealth.

Here are the articles

Simplified Nutritional Tips

1. To improve concentration - avocados, asparagus, carrot, grapefruits
2. To strengthen muscle and brain - herring, ocean perch
3. To enhance memory - milk, nuts, rice
4. Improve mood - orange juice, paprika, soybeans, bananas
5. Reduce stress - cottage cheese, almonds, brewer's yeast
6. Enhanced well-being - beans, peas, tofu
7. Sleep aid - bread, noodles
8. Improving social skills - lobster, what germ
9. Strengthen immune sysytem - garlic
10. Increase sexual desire - oysters, morels, pulse(beans, peas, lentils)

Your Body Literally Glows With Light

The human body literally glows, emitting a visible light in extremely small quantities at levels that rise and fall with the day.

Past research has shown that the body emits visible light, 1,000 times less intense than the levels which can be seen with the naked eye. In fact, virtually all living creatures emit very weak light.

To learn more about this faint visible light, scientists in Japan employed extraordinarily sensitive cameras capable of detecting single photons. Five healthy male volunteers in their 20’s were placed bare-chested in front of the cameras in complete darkness in light-tight rooms for 20 minutes every three hours.

The researchers found the body glow rose and fell over the day, with its lowest point at 10 AM and its peak at 4 PM, dropping gradually after that. These findings suggest there is light emission linked to the body clock, most likely due to how metabolic rhythms fluctuate over the course of the day.

Faces glowed more than the rest of the body. This might be because faces are more tanned than the rest of the body, since they get more exposure to sunlight.

Sources:

Live Science July 22, 2009

PLoS One July 16, 2009; 4(7): e6256 [Free Full-Text Article]

Lose Weight in 10 Simple Ways

1. Drink enough water- at least 8-10 glasses everyday

2. Restrict alcohol intake, if possible avoid it

3. Avoid saturated fats

4. Include low fat milk products, i.e yogurt, cottage cheese, skimmed milk- they help cravings for food

5. Take more vegetables, beans, whole grains

6. Include food with Omega 3 fatty acids such as mackerels, salmon and herrings.

7. Eat four or five meals of smaller portions rather then three main meals

8. Take adequate fiber.

9. Add spices such as ginger, mustard, pepper, cinnamon, clove, etc- it helps decrease sugar cravings

10. Avoid food two to three hours before bedtime

See the glass as half full

See the glass half full, it may prolong your life as much as 12 years. A study which began in the 1960s and done over 30 years and published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings has concluded that optimists are far more likely to live longer than pessimists. Dr. Toshihiko Maruta, the chief researcher of this study stated, "The important thing is that we've proven the relationship scientifically, and made a correlation between how people see the world when they're young and how they turn out 30 years later."

Read more here

Tortoise-Pigeon-Dog

“Keep a quiet heart, sit like a tortoise, walk sprightly like a pigeon and sleep like a dog.” These were the words of advice Li Ching-Yun who was reported in Time Magazine back in 1933 to have buried 23 wives and fostered 180 descendants by the time he died at the age of 256.

Born in the province of Szechwan in China, where he also died in 1933 his diet mostly consisted plenty of herbs and rice wine.By his own admission he was born in 1736 and had lived 197 years. However, in 1930 a professor and dean at Minkuo University by the name of Wu Chung-chien, found records “proving” that Li was born in 1677. Records allegedly showed that the Imperial Chinese Government congratulated him on his 150th and 200th Birthdays.

If this true than, Li Ching-Yun's advice on longevity should be given serious consideration.

Exercise Can Benefit The Elderly

A study recently published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise reports that the elderly people aged between 70 and 89 show improvement in the physical functions after undergoing physical activity programs. The study was led by physiologist Roger Fielding with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University, Boston, Mass. He is director of the center's Nutrition, Exercise Physiology and Sarcopenia Laboratory.

The study which was funded by Agricultural Research Service(ARS), the chief scientific Research of the U.S Department of Agriculture(USDA) found that volunteers - all of them with sedentary lifestyle and a variety of physical health improvement - were able engage in regular moderate exercise for one year. Those who improved the most exercised fat least 150 minutes a week.

ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 26, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/03/080321123721.htm

Another Reason To Avoid Stress

It's been known for some time now that severe stress lasting weeks or months can harm cell communication in the brain but a recent study conducted by Dr.Tallie Z. Baram, the Danette Shepard Chair in Neurological Sciences in the UC Irvine School of Medicine and her team found that short term stress lasting only hours has the same debilitating effect on the brain.


The study found that acute stress activates selected molecules of cortisol, a widely known stress hormon, activates the release of corticotropin releasing hormones(CRH). The release of CRH speeds up the disintegration of dendritic spines.

Dendritic spines are protrusions on neuron which houses the synapses. As learning and memory takes place in the synapses, the release of CRH in brain's hippocampus region, the brain's main learning and memory center greatly affects this process.

So the next time you are stressed in for a few short hours keep in mind that you are harming your brain.
Adapted from materials provided by University of California - Irvine.

How to Beat Fatigue in 8 Simple Ways

1. Have proper meals. A balanced diet goes a long in ensuring your physical as well as your emotional well being. Cut down or totally avoid junk food. Don't skip your meals especially breakfast. Make sure you drink enough water.

2. Get adequate sleep. Sleep deprivation not only contributes to low energy levels but also decreases alertness. Studies have also shown that a person deprived of a good nights rest is more prone to mood swings and shorter attention span.

3. Exercise regularly. Studies shown that folks who exercise at 30 minutes three times a week are better at handling stress thus have higher energy levels.

4. Prioritize. Plan your job as well as your domestic tasks well. Be clear about your values and establish your goals. Going through life without a proper direction a clear set of goals can be very tiring to the body and soul.

5. Learn to silence yourself. Meditate if you like. Listen to soft soothing sounds if you wish. Just don't have too many conversations in your head.

6. Act on your worries. Whatever it is, face it. Worrying about a problem but taking no action to fix it is a waste of time and saps energy.

7. Be mentally healthy. If your feeling depressed, find a trusted friend or a professional counselor. Be honest to yourself and be specific about issues that are causing you to feel depressed.

8. Lead a balanced life. If you are putting in too much time in your office, take a step back and try to enjoy other things in life. A little fun and relaxation can be a great help. Learn to enjoy the company of others.