Everybody wants to stay fit, healthy and slim, but for fat or over weight persons, it is sometimes very difficult to keep their weights in control. A lot of diet or food consciousness is required to stay slim. But there are some tips that can help us boost our metabolism rate to keep our weight in control.
Why metablism rate is concerned in staying slim?
The answer lies in 2 words, which are "ENERGY CONVERSION"
What is "Energy Conversion"?
"Food broken down in the digestive tract is absorbed into the bloodstream and dispersed into cells throughout the body where it fuels energy. In lean people, heat production goes up by as much as 40 percent after a meal. In overweight people, it may rise ten percent or less, which means food energy is stored as fat rather than burned."
Tips to boost your metabolism rate!
There are natural nutritional supplements you can take to help activate your nervous system and boost your metabolism rate so that dietary fat is converted to energy, not stored as body fat:
* Green Tea contains polyphenols, which have powerful antioxidant properties. But, the real “kicker” is its ability to help you burn calories. In a recent study, participants taking green tea extract burned an additional 500 calories a week compared to those taking caffeine or a placebo. I recommend drinking at least three eight-ounce cups daily (to provide roughly 240-320 mg of polyphenols). If you prefer not to drink the tea, try: 300-400 mg daily of green tea extract (Be sure the product is caffeine-free and standardized to 80 percent total polyphenol and 55 percent epigallocatechin.); or 100 mg of green tea polyphenols, taken three times daily. (This is caffeine free.)
L-carnitine. It has been know to keep your hear healthy. But it is found in helping overweight peoples, speeding their metabolism and drop extra pounds. In many cases it is observed that they had greater energy, and could exercise more frequently and vigorously.
L-carnitine is an amino acid that picks up fatty acids in your blood and takes them to your cells where they’re used for the production of ATP, your most readily available form of energy.
Many women are carnitine-deficient, especially vegetarians and those in mid- life and beyond. Red meat is the best source of carnitine, but too much red meat can disrupt the acid/alkaline balance that is so important to overall good health.
Doctors recommend taking 1,000 mg of L-carnitine a day.
Calcium & Magnesium. Doctors recommend you take both calcium and magnesium to help counteract acidity when trying to lose weight. This will bring your body back to an alkaline state, which gives you the necessary oxygen to efficiently break down and get energy from the foods you eat. Plus, magnesium helps promote a healthy inflammatory response in your body. If you’re trying to lose weight, take at least 1,000 – 1,500 mg of calcium and 500 – 750 mg of magnesium per day.
These tips are courtesy of Dr. Susan M. Lark, M. D, having a 28 years of clinical experience, is one of the foremost authorities in the fields of clinical nutrition and preventive medicine.
Source link of the post: Weight Loss
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Thursday, August 30, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Are soft drinks hard for our health? - Part 2
In my previous article I have provided some very important and eye opening information about the hard facts about soft drinks atPart 1
Now in detail you can read the health problems, the soft drinking habit can gift us:
Obesity
One very recent, independent, peer-reviewed study demonstrates a strong link between soda consumption and childhood obesity.
One previous industry-supported, unpublished study showed no link. Explanations of the mechanism by which soda may lead to obesity have not yet been proved, though the evidence for them is strong.
Reporting in The Lancet, a British medical journal, a team of Harvard researchers presented the first evidence linking soft drink consumption to childhood obesity. They found that 12-year-olds who drank soft drinks regularly were more likely to be overweight than those who didn't.
For each additional daily serving of sugar-sweetened soft drink consumed during the nearly two-year study, the risk of obesity increased 1.6 times.
Obesity experts called the Harvard findings important and praised the study for being prospective. In other words, the Harvard researchers spent 19 months following the children, rather than capturing a snapshot of data from just one day. It's considered statistically more valuable to conduct a study over a long period of time.
Researchers found that schoolchildren who drank soft drinks consumed almost 200 more calories per day than their counterparts who didn't down soft drinks. That finding helps support the notion that we don't compensate well for calories in liquid form.
Tooth Decay
Here's one health effect that even the soft drink industry admits, grudgingly, has merit. In a carefully worded statement, the NSDA says that "there's no scientific evidence that consumption of sugars per se has any negative effect other than dental caries." But the association also correctly notes that soft drinks aren't the sole cause of tooth decay.
In fact, a lot of sugary foods, from fruit juices to candy and even raisins and other dried fruit, have what dentists refer to as "cariogenic properties," which is to say they can cause tooth decay.
Okay, so how many more cavities are soft drink consumers likely to get compared with people who don't drink soda? This is where it gets complicated.
A federally funded study of nearly 3,200 Americans 9 to 29 years old conducted between 1971 and 1974 showed a direct link between tooth decay and soft drinks. Numerous other studies have shown the same link throughout the world, from Sweden to Iraq.
But sugar isn't the only ingredient in soft drinks that causes tooth problems. The acids in soda pop are also notorious for etching tooth enamel in ways that can lead to cavities. "Acid begins to dissolve tooth enamel in only 20 minutes," notes the Ohio Dental Association in a release issued earlier this month.
Caffeine Dependence
The stimulant properties and dependence potential of caffeine in soda are well documented, as are their effects on children.
Ever tried going without your usual cup of java on the weekend? If so, you may have experienced a splitting headache, a slight rise in blood pressure, irritability and maybe even some stomach problems.
These well-documented symptoms describe the typical withdrawal process suffered by about half of regular caffeine consumers who go without their usual dose.
The soft drink industry agrees that caffeine causes the same effects in children as adults, but officials also note that there is wide variation in how people respond to caffeine. The simple solution, the industry says, is to choose a soda pop that is caffeine-free. All big soda makers offer products with either low or no caffeine.
That may be a good idea, though it raises the question of whether soda machines in schools should be permitted to offer caffeinated beverages or at least be obligated to offer a significant proportion of caffeine-free products.
It also raises the question of how one determines a product's caffeine content. Nutrition labels are not required to divulge that information. If a beverage contains caffeine, it must be included in the ingredient list, but there's no way to tell how much a beverage has, and there's little logic or predictability to the way caffeine is deployed throughout a product line.
Okay, so most enlightened consumers already know that colas contain a fair amount of caffeine. It turns out to be 35 to 38 milligrams per 12-ounce can, or roughly 28 percent of the amount found in an 8-ounce cup of coffee. But few know that diet colas -- usually chosen by those who are trying to dodge calories and/or sugar -- often pack a lot more caffeine.
A 12-ounce can of Diet Coke, for example, has about 42 milligrams of caffeine -- seven more than the same amount of Coke Classic. A can of Pepsi One has about 56 milligrams of caffeine -- 18 milligrams more than both regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.
Even harder to figure out is the caffeine distribution in other flavors of soda pop. Many brands of root beer contain no caffeine. An exception is Barq's, made by the Coca-Cola Co., which has has 23 milligrams per 12-ounce can. Sprite, 7-Up and ginger ale are caffeine-free. But Mountain Dew, the curiously named Mello Yellow, Sun Drop Regular, Jolt and diet as well as regular Sunkist orange soda all pack caffeine.
Caffeine occurs naturally in kola nuts, an ingredient of cola soft drinks. But why is this drug, which is known to create physical dependence, added to other soft drinks?
The industry line is that small amounts are added for taste, not for the drug's power to sustain demand for the products that contain it. Caffeine's bitter taste, they say, enhances other flavors. "It has been a part of almost every cola -- and pepper-type beverage -- since they were first formulated more than 100 years ago," according to the National Soft Drink Association.
But recent blind taste tests conducted by Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore found that only 8 percent of regular soft drink consumers could identify the difference between regular and caffeine-free soft drinks.
The study included only subjects who reported that they drank soft drinks mainly for their caffeine content. In other words, more than 90 percent of the self-diagnosed caffeine cravers in this small sample could not detect the presence of caffeine.
That's why the great popularity of caffeinated soft drinks is driven not so much by subtle taste effects as by the mood-altering and physical dependence of caffeine that drives the daily self-administration.
And the unknown could be especially troublesome for the developing brains of children and adolescents. Logic dictates that when you are dependent on a drug, you are really upsetting the normal balances of neurochemistry in the brain. The fact that kids have withdrawal signs and symptoms when the caffeine is stopped is a good indication that something has been profoundly disturbed in the brain.
Exactly where that leads is anybody's guess -- which is to say there is little good research on the effects of caffeine on kids' developing brains.
Bone Weakening
Animal studies demonstrate that phosphorus, a common ingredient in soda, can deplete bones of calcium.
And two recent human studies suggest that girls who drink more soda are more prone to broken bones. The industry denies that soda plays a role in bone weakening.
Animal studies -- mostly involving rats -- point to clear and consistent bone loss with the use of cola beverages. But as scientists like to point out, humans and rats are not exactly the same.
Even so, there's been concern among the research community, public health officials and government agencies over the high phosphorus content in the US diet. Phosphorus -- which occurs naturally in some foods and is used as an additive in many others -- appears to weaken bones by promoting the loss of calcium. With less calcium available, the bones become more porous and prone to fracture.
The soft drink industry argues that the phosphoric acid in soda pop contributes only about 2 percent of the phosphorus in the typical US diet, with a 12-ounce can of soda pop averaging about 30 milligrams.
There's growing concern that even a few cans of soda today can be damaging when they are consumed during the peak bone-building years of childhood and adolescence. A 1996 study published in the Journal of Nutrition by the FDA's Office of Special Nutritional noted that a pattern of high phosphorus/low calcium consumption, common in the American diet, is not conducive to optimizing peak bone mass in young women.
A 1994 Harvard study of bone fractures in teenage athletes found a strong association between cola beverage consumption and bone fractures in 14-year-old girls. The girls who drank cola were about five times more likely to suffer bone fractures than girls who didn't consume soda pop.
Besides, to many researchers, the combination of rising obesity and bone weakening has the potential to synergistically undermine future health. Adolescents and kids don't think long-term. But what happens when these soft-drinking people become young or middle-aged adults and they have osteoporosis, sedentary living and obesity?
By that time, switching to water, milk or fruit juice may be too little, too late.
Source link: Washington Post February 27, 2001; Page HE10
5- For more studies about this topic and to know what expert say about health effects of soda use. This is a compilation of quotes about the destructive health effects of soft drinks from some of the leading authors on health, nutrition and junk food.
The health effects of drinking soda - quotes from the experts
-Soft drinks add up dangerous toxins to your body.
Soft drinks-hard facts
6-
This is an interesting story about a person who has been addicted to soft drinks, but how he suffered from many health problems and realized that these soft drinks were main cause of his sickness, and tried to quit from his habits.
Confessions Of A Soft Drink Addict "Andrew K"
Confession of a soft Drink Addict
Other articles:
The hidden chemicals in splenda
The Ecologist
Now in detail you can read the health problems, the soft drinking habit can gift us:
Obesity
One very recent, independent, peer-reviewed study demonstrates a strong link between soda consumption and childhood obesity.
One previous industry-supported, unpublished study showed no link. Explanations of the mechanism by which soda may lead to obesity have not yet been proved, though the evidence for them is strong.
Reporting in The Lancet, a British medical journal, a team of Harvard researchers presented the first evidence linking soft drink consumption to childhood obesity. They found that 12-year-olds who drank soft drinks regularly were more likely to be overweight than those who didn't.
For each additional daily serving of sugar-sweetened soft drink consumed during the nearly two-year study, the risk of obesity increased 1.6 times.
Obesity experts called the Harvard findings important and praised the study for being prospective. In other words, the Harvard researchers spent 19 months following the children, rather than capturing a snapshot of data from just one day. It's considered statistically more valuable to conduct a study over a long period of time.
Researchers found that schoolchildren who drank soft drinks consumed almost 200 more calories per day than their counterparts who didn't down soft drinks. That finding helps support the notion that we don't compensate well for calories in liquid form.
Tooth Decay
Here's one health effect that even the soft drink industry admits, grudgingly, has merit. In a carefully worded statement, the NSDA says that "there's no scientific evidence that consumption of sugars per se has any negative effect other than dental caries." But the association also correctly notes that soft drinks aren't the sole cause of tooth decay.
In fact, a lot of sugary foods, from fruit juices to candy and even raisins and other dried fruit, have what dentists refer to as "cariogenic properties," which is to say they can cause tooth decay.
Okay, so how many more cavities are soft drink consumers likely to get compared with people who don't drink soda? This is where it gets complicated.
A federally funded study of nearly 3,200 Americans 9 to 29 years old conducted between 1971 and 1974 showed a direct link between tooth decay and soft drinks. Numerous other studies have shown the same link throughout the world, from Sweden to Iraq.
But sugar isn't the only ingredient in soft drinks that causes tooth problems. The acids in soda pop are also notorious for etching tooth enamel in ways that can lead to cavities. "Acid begins to dissolve tooth enamel in only 20 minutes," notes the Ohio Dental Association in a release issued earlier this month.
Caffeine Dependence
The stimulant properties and dependence potential of caffeine in soda are well documented, as are their effects on children.
Ever tried going without your usual cup of java on the weekend? If so, you may have experienced a splitting headache, a slight rise in blood pressure, irritability and maybe even some stomach problems.
These well-documented symptoms describe the typical withdrawal process suffered by about half of regular caffeine consumers who go without their usual dose.
The soft drink industry agrees that caffeine causes the same effects in children as adults, but officials also note that there is wide variation in how people respond to caffeine. The simple solution, the industry says, is to choose a soda pop that is caffeine-free. All big soda makers offer products with either low or no caffeine.
That may be a good idea, though it raises the question of whether soda machines in schools should be permitted to offer caffeinated beverages or at least be obligated to offer a significant proportion of caffeine-free products.
It also raises the question of how one determines a product's caffeine content. Nutrition labels are not required to divulge that information. If a beverage contains caffeine, it must be included in the ingredient list, but there's no way to tell how much a beverage has, and there's little logic or predictability to the way caffeine is deployed throughout a product line.
Okay, so most enlightened consumers already know that colas contain a fair amount of caffeine. It turns out to be 35 to 38 milligrams per 12-ounce can, or roughly 28 percent of the amount found in an 8-ounce cup of coffee. But few know that diet colas -- usually chosen by those who are trying to dodge calories and/or sugar -- often pack a lot more caffeine.
A 12-ounce can of Diet Coke, for example, has about 42 milligrams of caffeine -- seven more than the same amount of Coke Classic. A can of Pepsi One has about 56 milligrams of caffeine -- 18 milligrams more than both regular Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.
Even harder to figure out is the caffeine distribution in other flavors of soda pop. Many brands of root beer contain no caffeine. An exception is Barq's, made by the Coca-Cola Co., which has has 23 milligrams per 12-ounce can. Sprite, 7-Up and ginger ale are caffeine-free. But Mountain Dew, the curiously named Mello Yellow, Sun Drop Regular, Jolt and diet as well as regular Sunkist orange soda all pack caffeine.
Caffeine occurs naturally in kola nuts, an ingredient of cola soft drinks. But why is this drug, which is known to create physical dependence, added to other soft drinks?
The industry line is that small amounts are added for taste, not for the drug's power to sustain demand for the products that contain it. Caffeine's bitter taste, they say, enhances other flavors. "It has been a part of almost every cola -- and pepper-type beverage -- since they were first formulated more than 100 years ago," according to the National Soft Drink Association.
But recent blind taste tests conducted by Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore found that only 8 percent of regular soft drink consumers could identify the difference between regular and caffeine-free soft drinks.
The study included only subjects who reported that they drank soft drinks mainly for their caffeine content. In other words, more than 90 percent of the self-diagnosed caffeine cravers in this small sample could not detect the presence of caffeine.
That's why the great popularity of caffeinated soft drinks is driven not so much by subtle taste effects as by the mood-altering and physical dependence of caffeine that drives the daily self-administration.
And the unknown could be especially troublesome for the developing brains of children and adolescents. Logic dictates that when you are dependent on a drug, you are really upsetting the normal balances of neurochemistry in the brain. The fact that kids have withdrawal signs and symptoms when the caffeine is stopped is a good indication that something has been profoundly disturbed in the brain.
Exactly where that leads is anybody's guess -- which is to say there is little good research on the effects of caffeine on kids' developing brains.
Bone Weakening
Animal studies demonstrate that phosphorus, a common ingredient in soda, can deplete bones of calcium.
And two recent human studies suggest that girls who drink more soda are more prone to broken bones. The industry denies that soda plays a role in bone weakening.
Animal studies -- mostly involving rats -- point to clear and consistent bone loss with the use of cola beverages. But as scientists like to point out, humans and rats are not exactly the same.
Even so, there's been concern among the research community, public health officials and government agencies over the high phosphorus content in the US diet. Phosphorus -- which occurs naturally in some foods and is used as an additive in many others -- appears to weaken bones by promoting the loss of calcium. With less calcium available, the bones become more porous and prone to fracture.
The soft drink industry argues that the phosphoric acid in soda pop contributes only about 2 percent of the phosphorus in the typical US diet, with a 12-ounce can of soda pop averaging about 30 milligrams.
There's growing concern that even a few cans of soda today can be damaging when they are consumed during the peak bone-building years of childhood and adolescence. A 1996 study published in the Journal of Nutrition by the FDA's Office of Special Nutritional noted that a pattern of high phosphorus/low calcium consumption, common in the American diet, is not conducive to optimizing peak bone mass in young women.
A 1994 Harvard study of bone fractures in teenage athletes found a strong association between cola beverage consumption and bone fractures in 14-year-old girls. The girls who drank cola were about five times more likely to suffer bone fractures than girls who didn't consume soda pop.
Besides, to many researchers, the combination of rising obesity and bone weakening has the potential to synergistically undermine future health. Adolescents and kids don't think long-term. But what happens when these soft-drinking people become young or middle-aged adults and they have osteoporosis, sedentary living and obesity?
By that time, switching to water, milk or fruit juice may be too little, too late.
Source link: Washington Post February 27, 2001; Page HE10
5- For more studies about this topic and to know what expert say about health effects of soda use. This is a compilation of quotes about the destructive health effects of soft drinks from some of the leading authors on health, nutrition and junk food.
The health effects of drinking soda - quotes from the experts
-Soft drinks add up dangerous toxins to your body.
Soft drinks-hard facts
6-
This is an interesting story about a person who has been addicted to soft drinks, but how he suffered from many health problems and realized that these soft drinks were main cause of his sickness, and tried to quit from his habits.
Confessions Of A Soft Drink Addict "Andrew K"
Confession of a soft Drink Addict
Other articles:
The hidden chemicals in splenda
The Ecologist
Are soft drinks hard for our health? -Part 1
From many days I was hearing about the side effects of soda consumption, but I was simply shocked after knowing the facts, that habit of drinking cola drinks can harm your health. As an educator and parent I want to share this piece of information to every person who is concerned about their health. I have tried to provide many articles links showing clear picture how this fashion or trend of drinking soft drinks is causing illness and giving us the “gifts” of many health related problems.
In today’s situation this awareness is more important, because use of cold drinks/soft drinks is increasing at a very significant level. And most of the parents don’t know how soft drinks can harm us, or could be a cause of multiple kinds of health hazards for our children.
These beverages have no significant nutritional value and only, providing lot calories, sugars and caffeine.
1- Now let’s look at some of the major components of a can of a soda:
• Phosphoric Acid: May interfere with the body's ability to use calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. Phosphoric acid also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize nutrients.
• Sugar: Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the RDA of sugar.
• Aspartame: This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilispsy/seizures. Further, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.
• Caffeine: Caffeinated drinks cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer.
• Tap Water: I recommend that everyone avoid drinking tap water because it can carry any number of chemicals including chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, cadmium, and various organic pollutants. Tap water is the main ingredient in bottled soft drinks.
Soda is one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems. Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein and other food that your body needs.
Source article:
The Real Dangers of Soda to You and Your Children
2- “According to a study recently published in the American Journal of Public Health, Teenagers who drink more soda have more mental health difficulties, including hyperactivity and mental distress.
Researchers used questionnaires to survey 5,547 Norwegian 10th graders about their eating and soda-drinking habits, as well as hyperactivity and conduct problems in school, and mental health indicators such as anxiousness, dizziness, hopelessness, panic, sadness, sleeplessness, tension, and unhappiness with themselves and a sense that everything is a burden.
They found that the teenagers who drank the most soda (an average of four or more glasses a day) scored highest on measures of behavioral difficulties, hyperactivity, mental distress and overall mental health problems.
Norway has the highest rate of carbonated soft drink consumption in the world, with an average of more than 30 gallons per person per year. Among the teenagers surveyed in the study, 45 percent of boys and 21 percent of girls drink one or more glasses of soda daily.
Because the study only looked at correlation, the exact reason for the link between soda intake and mental distress is not clear. The researchers pointed out that children with high soda consumption are more likely to skip meals and eat less nutrient-dense foods than children with lower consumption, thus making them more likely to develop nutritional deficiencies. Other potential culprits are sugar and caffeine.
"These findings make a strong comment about the need to make soft drinks less available in schools, homes and events for kids," said lead researcher Lars Lien. "Together with all the other compelling evidence of detrimental effects of sugar, I think the evidence from this study strengthens the call to make changes as a society."
Nutritionist Mike Adams, author of The Five Soft Drink Monsters, a book that teaches people how to kick the soda habit, said, "It is very clear that diet strongly impacts mood, mental function and behavior. Drinking liquid sugars or artificial chemical sweeteners is much like poison to the human body, and it causes an imbalance in the functioning of the body and mind."
Adams added, "Most children diagnosed with ADHD are actually suffering from severe nutritional imbalances that can be easily corrected through changes in diet."
Source of article:
News target
3 - Results of a survey suggest:
The researchers note that soda consumption among children and adolescents rose 41% between 1989-1991 and 1994-1995, mostly displacing milk and juice, the leading sources of many vitamins and minerals in the American diet.
The results are based on data from more than 4,000 children aged 2 to 17 years.
Among children aged 2 to 5:
• 75% drank milk
• 53% drank juice
• 34% drank soda
In those aged 12 to 17:
• 63% of boy and 49% of girls drank milk
• 34% drank juice
• 68% of boys and 63% of girls drank soda
Soda drinkers were less likely to get the recommended levels of:
• vitamin A
• calcium
• magnesium
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine November, 2000; 154: 1148-1152
4- Kids are heavy consumers of soft drinks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are guzzling soda pop at unprecedented rates.
Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.
• And what happens if you drink a lot of them at a very young age?
Nearly everyone by now has heard the litany on the presumed health effects of soft drinks:
• Obesity
• Tooth decay
• Caffeine dependence
• Weakened bones
But Is really cola so bad for our childrens?
Look for part 2 of this articles.
In today’s situation this awareness is more important, because use of cold drinks/soft drinks is increasing at a very significant level. And most of the parents don’t know how soft drinks can harm us, or could be a cause of multiple kinds of health hazards for our children.
These beverages have no significant nutritional value and only, providing lot calories, sugars and caffeine.
1- Now let’s look at some of the major components of a can of a soda:
• Phosphoric Acid: May interfere with the body's ability to use calcium, which can lead to osteoporosis or softening of the teeth and bones. Phosphoric acid also neutralizes the hydrochloric acid in your stomach, which can interfere with digestion, making it difficult to utilize nutrients.
• Sugar: Soft drink manufacturers are the largest single user of refined sugar in the United States. It is a proven fact that sugar increases insulin levels, which can lead to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, premature aging and many more negative side effects. Most sodas include over 100 percent of the RDA of sugar.
• Aspartame: This chemical is used as a sugar substitute in diet soda. There are over 92 different health side effects associated with aspartame consumption including brain tumors, birth defects, diabetes, emotional disorders and epilispsy/seizures. Further, when aspartame is stored for long periods of time or kept in warm areas it changes to methanol, an alcohol that converts to formaldehyde and formic acid, which are known carcinogens.
• Caffeine: Caffeinated drinks cause jitters, insomnia, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, elevated blood cholesterol levels, vitamin and mineral depletion, breast lumps, birth defects, and perhaps some forms of cancer.
• Tap Water: I recommend that everyone avoid drinking tap water because it can carry any number of chemicals including chlorine, trihalomethanes, lead, cadmium, and various organic pollutants. Tap water is the main ingredient in bottled soft drinks.
Soda is one of the main reasons, nutritionally speaking, why many people suffer health problems. Aside from the negative effects of the soda itself, drinking a lot of soda is likely to leave you with little appetite for vegetables, protein and other food that your body needs.
Source article:
The Real Dangers of Soda to You and Your Children
2- “According to a study recently published in the American Journal of Public Health, Teenagers who drink more soda have more mental health difficulties, including hyperactivity and mental distress.
Researchers used questionnaires to survey 5,547 Norwegian 10th graders about their eating and soda-drinking habits, as well as hyperactivity and conduct problems in school, and mental health indicators such as anxiousness, dizziness, hopelessness, panic, sadness, sleeplessness, tension, and unhappiness with themselves and a sense that everything is a burden.
They found that the teenagers who drank the most soda (an average of four or more glasses a day) scored highest on measures of behavioral difficulties, hyperactivity, mental distress and overall mental health problems.
Norway has the highest rate of carbonated soft drink consumption in the world, with an average of more than 30 gallons per person per year. Among the teenagers surveyed in the study, 45 percent of boys and 21 percent of girls drink one or more glasses of soda daily.
Because the study only looked at correlation, the exact reason for the link between soda intake and mental distress is not clear. The researchers pointed out that children with high soda consumption are more likely to skip meals and eat less nutrient-dense foods than children with lower consumption, thus making them more likely to develop nutritional deficiencies. Other potential culprits are sugar and caffeine.
"These findings make a strong comment about the need to make soft drinks less available in schools, homes and events for kids," said lead researcher Lars Lien. "Together with all the other compelling evidence of detrimental effects of sugar, I think the evidence from this study strengthens the call to make changes as a society."
Nutritionist Mike Adams, author of The Five Soft Drink Monsters, a book that teaches people how to kick the soda habit, said, "It is very clear that diet strongly impacts mood, mental function and behavior. Drinking liquid sugars or artificial chemical sweeteners is much like poison to the human body, and it causes an imbalance in the functioning of the body and mind."
Adams added, "Most children diagnosed with ADHD are actually suffering from severe nutritional imbalances that can be easily corrected through changes in diet."
Source of article:
News target
3 - Results of a survey suggest:
The researchers note that soda consumption among children and adolescents rose 41% between 1989-1991 and 1994-1995, mostly displacing milk and juice, the leading sources of many vitamins and minerals in the American diet.
The results are based on data from more than 4,000 children aged 2 to 17 years.
Among children aged 2 to 5:
• 75% drank milk
• 53% drank juice
• 34% drank soda
In those aged 12 to 17:
• 63% of boy and 49% of girls drank milk
• 34% drank juice
• 68% of boys and 63% of girls drank soda
Soda drinkers were less likely to get the recommended levels of:
• vitamin A
• calcium
• magnesium
Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine November, 2000; 154: 1148-1152
4- Kids are heavy consumers of soft drinks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they are guzzling soda pop at unprecedented rates.
Fifty-six percent of 8-year-olds down soft drinks daily, and a third of teenage boys drink at least three cans of soda pop per day.
• And what happens if you drink a lot of them at a very young age?
Nearly everyone by now has heard the litany on the presumed health effects of soft drinks:
• Obesity
• Tooth decay
• Caffeine dependence
• Weakened bones
But Is really cola so bad for our childrens?
Look for part 2 of this articles.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Tips to improve your memory
Very few people have good memory. As we grow older our memory is affected as well. And in our daily life we are often are embarrassed due to weak memory, as we forget to do our important chores. But it is possible for everyone to improve it. With time and practice you can acquire the ability to memorize load of information.
Tips to make your memory better:
These tips are taken from mind and memory experts.
1- Believe in yourself that you have a good memory. Take steps in improving your memory and forget it that you had a bad memory history.
2- Keep your brain active: This is a very important step. As in my teaching career I have practiced it myself. The more you keep your brain working, the more you get from it. You can keep you brain busy by learning new things, challenge your brain with puzzles and games. These brain exercises spur the development of new nerves connections that can help improve memory.
3- Reduce stress: Chronic stress can make remembering more difficult. Stress makes it difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things.
4- Exercise daily: Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body including the brain, and help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures."
5- Eat well and eat right. A healthy diet, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.
6- Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.
7- Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.
8- Create vivid, memorable images. You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book – that's too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It's your mind – make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.
9- Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or your best friend's birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.
10- Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.
11- Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).
12- Try meditation: Research now suggests that people who regularly practice "mindfulness" meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.
13- Sleep well: The amount of sleep we get affects the brain's ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night's sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.
14- Build your memorization arsenal:. Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.
15- Venture out and learn from your mistakes: Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you've done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.
Source link: www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Memory
Articles relating to this post:
1- Imporve your brain health
2- You can cultivate your ability to heal yourself
3- Self growth of self development
4- Know your biorhthms for self growth
5- Meditation may bolster brain activity
Tips to make your memory better:
These tips are taken from mind and memory experts.
1- Believe in yourself that you have a good memory. Take steps in improving your memory and forget it that you had a bad memory history.
2- Keep your brain active: This is a very important step. As in my teaching career I have practiced it myself. The more you keep your brain working, the more you get from it. You can keep you brain busy by learning new things, challenge your brain with puzzles and games. These brain exercises spur the development of new nerves connections that can help improve memory.
3- Reduce stress: Chronic stress can make remembering more difficult. Stress makes it difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things.
4- Exercise daily: Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body including the brain, and help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental “pictures."
5- Eat well and eat right. A healthy diet, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants—broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example—and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.
6- Take better pictures. Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.
7- Give yourself time to form a memory. Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.
8- Create vivid, memorable images. You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book – that's too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It's your mind – make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.
9- Repeat things you need to learn. The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or your best friend's birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.
10- Group things you need to remember. Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.
11- Organize your life. Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).
12- Try meditation: Research now suggests that people who regularly practice "mindfulness" meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.
13- Sleep well: The amount of sleep we get affects the brain's ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night's sleep – a minimum of seven hours a night – may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.
14- Build your memorization arsenal:. Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.
15- Venture out and learn from your mistakes: Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you've done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.
Source link: www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Memory
Articles relating to this post:
1- Imporve your brain health
2- You can cultivate your ability to heal yourself
3- Self growth of self development
4- Know your biorhthms for self growth
5- Meditation may bolster brain activity
Sunday, August 19, 2007
How moblile phones and other electronic devices harm us?
In my previous article I linked to 2 reports where it showed use of these electronic devices can ruin our health. And to prove it, at comment section you can read about a real incident where a person was badly affected by constant use of cell phone and at last he died of brain tumour.
I again researched on this topic, becuase only providing the reports to spread the fear was not my goal, rather I wanted to create an awareness about this serious topic. I am watching with fear that new generation is addict of electronic products, especially cell phones. As today you get all in one packages in cell phones, ie camera, mp3, mp4, internet, and so on. And use of these products is increasing day by day. I was also unaware of the harmful effects of cell phones, unless I read an article at a site and researched about it.
So to make this topic more effective, I am here with some more reports, where you would be surprised to know the real dangers of these devices.
First come to our main topic, where we were talking about health dangers in mobile phone usage. We humans have been surrounded by electro-magnetic fields as part of the earth's envirenmnet. But difference is between the type of EMF waves. EMF's from mobile phones are of a low power, carry "information carrying waves" which work at a frequency our bodies are not aware of. They resonate our body's cells and cause adverse reactions, leading to cell proliferation which is a precursor of cancer. And the worst thing is that these effects happen in the brain, which is normally protected by the blood brain barrier.
Dr George Carlo, is an eminent epidemiologist who was given large research funds by mobile phone operators to prove that their products were safe. Unfortunately, he came back with a completely different picture. He discovered that regular mobile phone use releases an excess of free radicals, which ultimately increases the chances of tumor formation.
He is not the only scientist to discover the damage that’s being done at the DNA and cellular levels. A major institute in Germany – again sponsored by two mobile phone operators – found among regular phone users “disturbances of DNA replication”.
Another report:
Are EMFs Hazardous to Our Health? Dr. David Carpenter, Dean at the School of Public Health, State University of New York believes it is likely that up to 30% of all childhood cancers come from exposure to EMFs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns "There is reason for concern" and advises prudent avoidance". Martin Halper, the EPA's Director of Analysis and Support says "I have never seen a set of epidemiological studies that remotely approached the weight of evidence that we're seeing with EMFs. Clearly there is something here."
From a biological point of view:
The Human Body contains electrolytes and ions, which are positively or negatively charged. The water molecule is a polar molecule - it has positive and negative charges separated by a dipole length. A water molecule has a positive and negative pole and is therefore, an electric dipole. As we are made up of approximately 65-70% water, electrolytes and ions, it follows that the human body has its own weak electromagnetic field and each of our cells has its own EM Field too. Basic science shows us this is so. It follows that strong and even weak Electromagnetic Fields emitted from any electrical or electronic equipment will interact with and affect the human body’s own weak electromagnetic fields, and, therefore, interfere with the body’s natural healing processes.
our health depends on balance being maintained in our cell’s electromagnetic field, that our cells store information in the form of electromagnetic oscillations (information within our DNA for e.g. is ‘electronically’ stored in this way) and information from incorrect or non endogenous oscillations (not of the body - EMF’s/ELF’s being typical examples) can be stored within our cells energy fields leading to disturbance, disorder and incoherence (loss of equilibrium - balance) which can lead to genetic damage, damage to our DNA, illness and disease. In other words, our own electromagnetic frequencies essential to our health, the repair, reproduction and replication of DNA can be altered by storing, or ‘taking on board’ information (oscillations) from other outside sources of energy such as electromagnetic and electrical radiation.
All biochemical functions (processes) are activated and regulated by our body’s own electromagnetic fields. The fact that magnetic fields enter our body’s own energy fields is well documented by biophysicists and can easily be measured. Electromagnetic frequencies are man-made and therefore unnatural, chaotic and disordered and biophysics has established that ‘Every kind of frequency combination which is not in order produces disease.’ Disease occurs through a disturbance of the electromagnetic field in the cells: they become disordered and incoherent.
Ill health is caused by the displacement of electrolytes/ions within the body and by interfering with the body’s natural way of communicating (neurological system) and maintaining homeostasis - balance. This will weaken the defense mechanism of the body as the body expends energy attempting to redress this imbalance. If we cannot get away from these EMF fields because we live within their field of influence, the body will be unable to correct this electrical and biochemical imbalance and, as the science of Biophysics has proven that we only become ill when the defense mechanism of the body is weakened, it follows that we will undoubtedly become ill as a direct result of living or working within these EMR fields.
basic understanding of physics is that EMF’s do weaken our energy fields and this will lead to some form of illness and disease in humans. Children, in particular, with their developing immune systems and ill or sick people are more prone to the effects of EM Radiation, and are, therefore, at risk the most.
Some more studies:
Microwave protection
BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE DANGERS OF EMF’S AND MOBILE PHONE MASTS AND HOW THEY CAN AFFECT OUR HEALTH
I again researched on this topic, becuase only providing the reports to spread the fear was not my goal, rather I wanted to create an awareness about this serious topic. I am watching with fear that new generation is addict of electronic products, especially cell phones. As today you get all in one packages in cell phones, ie camera, mp3, mp4, internet, and so on. And use of these products is increasing day by day. I was also unaware of the harmful effects of cell phones, unless I read an article at a site and researched about it.
So to make this topic more effective, I am here with some more reports, where you would be surprised to know the real dangers of these devices.
First come to our main topic, where we were talking about health dangers in mobile phone usage. We humans have been surrounded by electro-magnetic fields as part of the earth's envirenmnet. But difference is between the type of EMF waves. EMF's from mobile phones are of a low power, carry "information carrying waves" which work at a frequency our bodies are not aware of. They resonate our body's cells and cause adverse reactions, leading to cell proliferation which is a precursor of cancer. And the worst thing is that these effects happen in the brain, which is normally protected by the blood brain barrier.
Dr George Carlo, is an eminent epidemiologist who was given large research funds by mobile phone operators to prove that their products were safe. Unfortunately, he came back with a completely different picture. He discovered that regular mobile phone use releases an excess of free radicals, which ultimately increases the chances of tumor formation.
He is not the only scientist to discover the damage that’s being done at the DNA and cellular levels. A major institute in Germany – again sponsored by two mobile phone operators – found among regular phone users “disturbances of DNA replication”.
Another report:
Are EMFs Hazardous to Our Health? Dr. David Carpenter, Dean at the School of Public Health, State University of New York believes it is likely that up to 30% of all childhood cancers come from exposure to EMFs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) warns "There is reason for concern" and advises prudent avoidance". Martin Halper, the EPA's Director of Analysis and Support says "I have never seen a set of epidemiological studies that remotely approached the weight of evidence that we're seeing with EMFs. Clearly there is something here."
From a biological point of view:
The Human Body contains electrolytes and ions, which are positively or negatively charged. The water molecule is a polar molecule - it has positive and negative charges separated by a dipole length. A water molecule has a positive and negative pole and is therefore, an electric dipole. As we are made up of approximately 65-70% water, electrolytes and ions, it follows that the human body has its own weak electromagnetic field and each of our cells has its own EM Field too. Basic science shows us this is so. It follows that strong and even weak Electromagnetic Fields emitted from any electrical or electronic equipment will interact with and affect the human body’s own weak electromagnetic fields, and, therefore, interfere with the body’s natural healing processes.
our health depends on balance being maintained in our cell’s electromagnetic field, that our cells store information in the form of electromagnetic oscillations (information within our DNA for e.g. is ‘electronically’ stored in this way) and information from incorrect or non endogenous oscillations (not of the body - EMF’s/ELF’s being typical examples) can be stored within our cells energy fields leading to disturbance, disorder and incoherence (loss of equilibrium - balance) which can lead to genetic damage, damage to our DNA, illness and disease. In other words, our own electromagnetic frequencies essential to our health, the repair, reproduction and replication of DNA can be altered by storing, or ‘taking on board’ information (oscillations) from other outside sources of energy such as electromagnetic and electrical radiation.
All biochemical functions (processes) are activated and regulated by our body’s own electromagnetic fields. The fact that magnetic fields enter our body’s own energy fields is well documented by biophysicists and can easily be measured. Electromagnetic frequencies are man-made and therefore unnatural, chaotic and disordered and biophysics has established that ‘Every kind of frequency combination which is not in order produces disease.’ Disease occurs through a disturbance of the electromagnetic field in the cells: they become disordered and incoherent.
Ill health is caused by the displacement of electrolytes/ions within the body and by interfering with the body’s natural way of communicating (neurological system) and maintaining homeostasis - balance. This will weaken the defense mechanism of the body as the body expends energy attempting to redress this imbalance. If we cannot get away from these EMF fields because we live within their field of influence, the body will be unable to correct this electrical and biochemical imbalance and, as the science of Biophysics has proven that we only become ill when the defense mechanism of the body is weakened, it follows that we will undoubtedly become ill as a direct result of living or working within these EMR fields.
basic understanding of physics is that EMF’s do weaken our energy fields and this will lead to some form of illness and disease in humans. Children, in particular, with their developing immune systems and ill or sick people are more prone to the effects of EM Radiation, and are, therefore, at risk the most.
Some more studies:
Microwave protection
BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE DANGERS OF EMF’S AND MOBILE PHONE MASTS AND HOW THEY CAN AFFECT OUR HEALTH
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