SIMPLE WAYS TO GOOD HEALTH

Good health is the foundation of a good life, so make these improvements, and they’ll resonate out to the rest of your life.

(1) Eat breakfast every morning:
Eating breakfast is important for your health and mental power, supplying essential vitamins, minerals, and energy for your day.
(2) Get a good night’s rest:
You just can’t have a happy and productive life if you’re tired all of the time, so get some quality shut eye.
(3) Drink water:
Step up your water intake to lose weight, feel better, and improve your skin.
(4) Eat slowly:
Slow down when you eat, and you’ll find that you consume less while still feeling satisfied.
(5) Cut down on junk food:
Junk food has a nasty way of bringing your health down, so avoid it whenever possible, opting instead for healthy food like fresh fruits and vegetables.
(6) Practice good dental hygiene:
Researchers have found that dental hygiene is important for more than cosmetic reasons-it can help you chew food and even avoid heart disease.
(7) Drink tea:
Be sure to check out the powerhouse of benefits that tea can deliver, which includes improved memory and prevention of ills such as cavities, cancer, and heart disease.
(8) Get some exercise:
Whether you need to lose weight or not, exercise will have a positive effect on your overall health and quality of life.
(9) Improve your energy:
If you’re feeling sluggish all day, chances are you’re just not going to feel good about yourself. So take a few steps to boost your energy, and you’ll be better in your daily life.
(10) Intensify your workouts:
Researchers have found that by doing more intense workouts, you can enjoy similar benefits that you would with a more relaxed workout for a longer period of time.
(11) Enjoy fish a few times a week:
Eat fish, and you’ll get a serving of Omega-3 fatty acids, which can help reduce heart disease.
(12) Wear better shoes:
Don’t torture your toes with restrictive shoes all the time-limit the amount of time you spend in uncomfortable shoes.
(13) Protect your skin:
Stay out of the sun to avoid skin damage, or use sunblock to help.
(14) Eat at home:
It’s easier and cheaper to prepare healthy foods on your own at home, and skillfully cooking a meal is sure to impress just about anyone.
(15) Get tested for prediabetes:
Diabetes is a disease that many are susceptible to, and by discovering it early on you can prevent it or lessen its impact.
(16) Take a daily walk:
One of the best things you can do for your health and overall quality of life – Get a little bit of movement and clear your mind with a walk every day.

GENE MAY HELP PREDICT TIMING OF ALZHEIMER’S ONSET

A gene that may offer a highly accurate prediction of the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and the age at which people will begin to show symptoms has been identified by U.S. researchers.

The TOMM40 gene may be the most highly predictive Alzheimer’s gene discovered so far, said the Duke University Medical Center Rsearch Team, who found that the gene could predict the age of Alzheimer’s disease onset within a five- to seven-year window among people over 60.

The study was scheduled to be presented on July 12 at the Alzheimer’s Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, held in Vienna, Austria.

“If borne out through additional research, a doctor could evaluate a patient based on age, especially among those over age 60, their APOE genotype and their TOMM40 status, to calculate an estimated disease risk and age of onset,” Lead Author Dr. Allen Roses, Director of the Deane Drug Discovery Institute at Duke, said in a university news release.

In previous research, Roses found that apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes, particularly APOE4, are associated with increased risk and younger age of development of Alzheimer’s disease. APOE4 accounts for about 50 percent of late-onset cases of Alzheimer’s, but the cause of the remainder of cases hasn’t been known.

“It now looks fairly clear that there are two major genes — APOE4 and TOMM40 — and together they account for an estimated 85 to 90 percent of the genetic effect,” Roses said.

The Duke team is planning a five-year study of APOE genotypes and TOMM40, along with a drug trial to assess prevention or delay of Alzheimer’s disease onset.

(Source: HealthDay News, July 12, 2009)

HOW TO SURVIVE A HEART ATTACK WHEN ALONE?

Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting.
Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
You may never have a chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.
Let’s be careful and be aware.
The more we know the better chance you have to survive….

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life.

Read this…It could save your life!!

Let’s say you’re driving home.
Suddenly you start experiencing severe pain in your chest that starts to radiate out into your arm and up into your jaw.
You are only about five miles from the hospital nearest your home.
Unfortunately you don’t know if you’ll be able to make it that far.
You have been trained in CPR, but the guy that taught the course did not tell you how to perform it on yourself.

Many people are alone when they suffer a heart attack, without help.
The person whose heart is beating improperly and who begins to feel faint has only about 10 seconds left before losing consciousness.

These victims can help themselves by coughing repeatedly and vigorously.
A deep breath should be taken before each cough, deep and prolonged, as when producing sputum from deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives, or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

Deep breaths get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating.
The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm.
This allows the heart attack victim to get to a hospital.

DRINKING COLD WATER AFTER A MEAL – CANCER !!!

Can you believe this???

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.

It is nice to have a cup of a cold drink after a meal.
However, the cold water will solidify any oily stuff that you have just consumed.
It will slow down the digestion.
Once this ’sludge’ reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food.
It will line the intestine.
Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer.

It is best to drink warm soup or warm water (coffee, tea, etc.) after a meal.

What is the CORRECT WAY of EATING FRUITS?

We all think eating fruits means just buying fruits, cutting it and just popping it into our mouths… It’s not as easy as we think. It’s important to know how and when to eat fruit.

What is the CORRECT WAY of EATING FRUITS?

IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUITS AFTER YOUR MEALS! FRUITS SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.

If you eat fruit like that, it will play a major role to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.

Let’s say you eat two slices of bread (ie in a sandwhich) and then eat a slice of fruit.
The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it is prevented from doing so. In the meantime the whole meal rots and ferments and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

So please eat your fruits on an empty stomach or before your meals!

You have heard people complaining – every time I eat water-melon I burp, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet etc – actually all this will not happen if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. The fruit mixes with the putrefying other foods and produces gas and hence you will feel bloated!

Graying hair, balding, nervous outbursts, and dark circles under the eyes: all these will not happen if you take fruits on an empty stomach.

There is no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter.

If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruits, you have the secret of beauty, longevity, health, energy, happiness and normal weight.

Drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from the cans.
Don’t even drink juice that has been heated up.
Don’t eat cooked fruits because we don’t get the nutrients at all.
We only get to taste the flavor.
Cooking destroys all the vitamins.

Eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice.
If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful (i.e slowly), because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it.

You can go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body.
Just eat fruits and drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days and you will be surprised when your friends tell you how radiant you look!

KIWI:
Tiny but mighty is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E & fiber. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

APPLE:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C, thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.

STRAWBERRY:
A Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE:
Sweetest medicine. Eating 2-4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones as well as lessening the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON:
Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. It is also a key source of lycopene – the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C & Potassium.

GUAVA and PAPAYA:
Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene; which is good for your eyes.

***

AN INSPIRING WORD

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born
A Death Certificate shows that we died
Pictures show that we lived!

Have a seat, relax… and read this slowly…

I Believe…
Just because two people argue,
It doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.
And just because they don’t argue,
It doesn’t mean they do love each other.

I Believe…
We don’t have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.

I Believe…
No matter how good a friend is,
They’re going to hurt you every once in a while and
You must forgive them for that.

I Believe…
True friendship continues to grow, even over
The longest distance..
The same goes for true love.

I Believe…
You can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.

I Believe…
That it’s taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.

I Believe…
You should always leave loved ones with loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe…
You can keep going long after you think you can’t.

I Believe…
We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I Believe…
Either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I Believe…
Money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I Believe…
My best friend and I, can do anything, or
Nothing and have the best time.

I Believe…
Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down,
Will be the ones to help you get back up..

I Believe…
Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had
And what you’ve learned from them and
Less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.

I Believe..
It isn’t always enough, to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe….
No matter how badly your heart is broken
The world doesn’t stop for your grief.

I Believe…
Our background and circumstances may have
Influenced who we are, but.
We are responsible for who we become.

I Believe…
Two people can look at the same
Thing and see something totally different.

I Believe…
Your life can be changed in a matter of
Hours by people who don’t even know you.

I Believe…
Even when you think you have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to you -
You will find the strength to help.

I Believe…
Credentials on the wall do not make you a
Decent human being.

I Believe…
You should send this to all the people
You believe in, I just did.

- By Arhata Osho –

LIFE’S STRESS MAY LEAD TO WEIGHT GAIN

Study Shows Stress on the Job or Stress at Home Can Cause Some Waistlines to Grow.

Lost your job? Worried you will? Feeling a lack of control over decision-making at work? If you’ve been gaining weight, chances are you answered “yes” to one or maybe all of those questions, new research indicates.

A study in the July 15 Issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology suggests that when heavier men and women are stressed, they gain weight.

Women’s waistlines are affected by sources of stress, such as strained family relationships, job demands, difficulty with paying bills, and feeling limited by life’s circumstances, the study shows. The research was conducted by Jason Block, MD, MPH, who worked on the study at Harvard University while he was a Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar.

Block and colleagues found that men were more likely to gain weight due to job demands, lack of decision-making authority, difficulty paying bills, and lack of skill discretion — the ability to learn new skills and perform interesting new duties.

The researchers use the term “psychological stress” to describe the factors that caused the weight gain; they say study participants were more likely to gain weight if they already had a higher body mass index (BMI).

Thinner people dealing with the same sorts of stressors didn’t exhibit a similar weight-gain pattern, the researchers say in a news release.

People who are coping with stressful periods may change eating patterns and the types of food they consume, the researchers say.

“This is one of the first studies to explore the relationship between stress and weight gain in a U.S. population,” Block says in the news release. “Our findings show that stress should be recognized as a threat to the well-being of American adults, especially those who area already overweight.”

The researchers analyzed data on a nationally representative group of 1,355 men and women from 1995 to 2004. The study was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the National Institute on Aging.

“Our results also highlight apparent sex differences in the influence of stress on weight gain,” the researchers write. “Some stressors outside of work or finances, including general life constraints and strain in relationships with family, were associated with weight gain among women but not among men, suggesting effects on weight from a broader range of life domains on women.”

The researchers write that clinicians should be aware that such stressors can lead to weight gain; they suggest that workplace stress-reduction programs be part of weight loss programs for overweight and obese people.

(Source: WebMD Health News, July 8, 2009)

LANGUAGE ‘PREDICTS DEMENTIA RISK’

People with superior language skills early in life may be less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease decades later, research suggests.

A Team from Johns Hopkins University studied the brains of 38 Catholic nuns after death.

They found those with good language skills early in life were less likely to have memory problems – even if their brains showed signs of dementia damage.

The study appears online in the Journal Neurology.

Dementia is linked to the formation of protein plaques and nerve cell tangles in the brain.

But scientists remain puzzled about why these signs of damage produce dementia symptoms in some people, but not others.

The Researchers focused on nuns who were part of an ongoing clinical study.

They divided the women into those with memory problems and signs of dementia damage in the brain, and those whose memory was unaffected regardless of whether or not they showed signs of dementia damage.

And they also analysed essays that 14 of the women wrote as they entered the convent in their late teens or early 20s, assessing them for complexity of language and grammar.

The study showed that language scores were 20% higher in women without memory problems than those with signs of a malfunctioning memory.

The grammar score did not show any difference between the two groups.

Lead Researcher Dr Juan Troncoso said: “Despite the small number of participants in this portion of the study, the finding is a fascinating one.”

“Our results show that an intellectual ability test in the early 20s may predict the likelihood of remaining cognitively normal five or six decades later, even in the presence of a large amount of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.”

Brain Cell Growth

The study also found that brain cells were largest in women who retained a normal memory despite showing signs of disease in their brains.

The Researchers said this suggested that a growth in brain cells might be part of the body’s early response to the onset of dementia, and this might help to prevent memory impairment.

Dr Troncoso said: “Perhaps mental abilities at age 20 are indicative of a brain that will be better able to cope with diseases later in life.”

Dr Susanne Sorensen, Head of Research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It is interesting that the nuns in the study with better language skills in their youth avoided memory problems in later life.”

“However, the research is in a very small, select group and it would be difficult to say at this stage if language skills could really predict dementia.”

Rebecca Wood, Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “One possible implication of this study is that an intellectual ability test in the early 20s may predict the likelihood of remaining cognitively normal five or six decades later.

“However, prominent exceptions exist, including Authors like Terry Pratchett and Iris Murdoch, who developed dementia despite their linguistic brilliance.”

(Source: BBC News, July 8, 2009)

Smart Clothes Could Take Photos

Clothes could one day take snaps of everything happening around whoever is wearing them.

US researchers have made smart fabric that can detect the wavelength and direction of light falling on it.

The research team has found a way to accurately place sensors in each fabric and co-ordinate the electrical signals they send when light falls on them.

The results were a step towards “ambient light imaging fabrics” said the researchers.

Led by Dr Yoel Fink from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the researchers have extended earlier work that placed sensors in relatively large polymer fibres.

Dr Fink and colleagues found a way to stretch the 25mm strands of polymer into much thinner fibres while maintaining the relative positions of the sensors.

This earlier work has led to the creation of very long and flexible light and temperature sensors that may find a role in smart fabrics for soldiers or those working in hostile environments.

In their latest work, described in a paper in Nano Letters, these thinner strands were woven into a 0.1m square section of fabric. The careful creation of the fibres and positioning of the light-sensitive elements meant that the team knew which signals were being sent by which sensors.

This enabled the team to reconstruct, albeit crudely, an image projected onto the small square of fabric. The researchers said their work was an “important step” towards finding ways to get many nanoscale devices working together.

(Source: BBC News, July 10, 2009)

PROOF MOUNTS ON RESTRICTED DIET

Cutting calories may delay the aging process and reduce the risk of disease, a long-term study of monkeys suggests.

The benefits of calorie restriction are well documented in animals, but now the results have been replicated in a close relative of man over a lengthy period.

Over 20 years, monkeys whose diets were not restricted were nearly three times more likely to have died than those whose calories were counted.

Writing in Science, the US researchers hailed the “major effect” of the diet.

It involved reducing calorie intake by 30% while maintaining nutrition and appeared to impact upon many forms of age-related disease seen in monkeys, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and brain atrophy.

Whether the same effects would be seen in humans is unclear, although anecdotal evidence so far suggests people on a long-term calorie-restricted diet have better cardiovascular health.

The precise mechanism is yet to be established: theories involve changes in the body’s metabolism or a reduction in the production of “free radical” chemicals which can cause damage.

Seventy-six rhesus monkeys were involved in the trial, which began in 1989 and was expanded in 1994.

Half had their diets restricted, half were given free rein at feeding time.

The rate of cancers and cardiovascular disease in dieting animals was less than half of those permitted to eat freely.

While diabetes and problems with glucose regulation were common in monkeys who ate what they wanted, there were no cases in the calorie controlled group.

In addition, while most brains shrink with age, the restricted diet appeared to maintain the volume of the brain at least in some regions.

In particular, the areas associated with movement and memory seemed to be better preserved.

“Both motor speed and mental speed slow down with ageing,” said Sterling Johnson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine.

“Those are the areas which we found to be better preserved. We can’t yet make the claim that a difference in diet is associated with functional change because those studies are still ongoing.

“What we know so far is that there are regional differences in brain mass that appear to be related to diet.”

Earlier this year, German Researchers published findings from their study of elderly people which suggested that calorie reduction appeared to improve memory over a period of just three months.

Various studies on the positive effects of calorie restriction on the life spans of various organisms – from yeast to dogs – have been published over the last 70 years

But Dieticians sounded a note of warning.

“Monkeys may be a close relation but there are significant differences which means not everything we see in them can be translated to humans,” said Catherine Collins, spokeswoman for the British Dietetic Association.

“And there should be some serious reservations about cutting calories so dramatically, particularly for anyone under the age of 30. Any such diet would need to be very balanced to avoid malnutrition, and it would be a long-term commitment.”

“People would have to weigh up whether they are prepared to compromise their enjoyment of food for the uncertain promise of a longer life, and a life which could be dogged by all sorts of problems – including osteoporosis.”

(Source: BBC News, July 9, 2009)