"Pick the Brain" - A self improvement site

During writing posts for my blogs, I continue my search for good blogs or sites, so that I can read good stuff at the same moment. And most of my blog posts are a reference links for myself as I read those posts or go to those links present at my posts.

"Pick the brain" provides tips and advice to help you live a little smarter.
Pick the brain is dedicated to self improvement with a focus on:
personal productivity,
motivation,
positive psychology,
money,
health, self improvement,
and self education.
There are reviews of sites and other stuff.

What they say about the site?

"The advice we provide is rooted in personal experience and common sense. This site will help you use the strength of your own mind to create the environment you need to thrive."

Here are a few post links:

- I liked this post because sites or blogs are catagorized, so you can search the sites according to your choice. 101 Online Self Improvement Resources

- 27 Lessons Learned on the Way to 3000 Visits a Day and 2200 RSS Subscribers

- 21 ways to Increase Motivation

- 4 Powerful Reasons to Meditate and How To Get Started

Why selection of well-balanced diet and appropriate physical activity is important to health

Well balanced diet and appropriate physical activity is equally important to gain health and vigor. Often we try to chose balanced and nutritious food to maintain good health but forget to change our lifestyle which is not appropriate enough for physical activities. We are so busy with our comfortable lives that we forget that some easy steps can help us make some choices to adopt some kind of physical activities which is very essential to keep us fit and healthy.

Government agencey called the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has created a tool called "My Pyramid" to help people select a healthy, well-balanced diet and appropriate physical activity.

My pyramid:
The pyramid's vertical bands represent that a healthy diet requires 1) eating a variety of foods (grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, dairy products, and high-protein foods), and 2) choosing the best foods in each group. For example, whole-grain is better than white pasta, and skim milk is better than ice-cream.

Healthier foods are low in calories, low in saturated and trans fats (to improve your cholesterol levels), and high in fiber (a type of carbohydrate found in plants). Our bodies cannot digest fiber or use it for energy. That means that you can eat a lot of fiber and feel full without having to store any of its calories. Fiber also aids digestion (keeps stool soft and traveling easily through the intestine) and can even help fight cancer, particularly colon cancer.
Tip: The U.S. Surgeon General and many professional health organizations recommend a diet containing 20-35 grams of fiber a day. The average American diet barely consumes half of this amount with an intake of 10-15 grams daily.

Physical activity refers to any movement produced by muscular contractions that burns extra calories. Examples of physical activity include pushing a stroller, vacuuming, or mowing the lawn. Physical activity is intense enough to make you break a sweat, but comfortable enough to let you carry on a conversation.

How much activity do we need?
Adults are expected to participate in at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day on most days of the week. Children and teens should get even more, at least 60 minutes per day. You can do all of the recommended 30 minutes at once, or break it up into 10- or 15-minute periods throughout the day.
Tip: Walking briskly (3-4 mph) for even 15 to 20 minutes a day begins to decrease your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or developing type 2 diabetes.

Source: "learn genetics"

For more information:

- http://www.mypyramid.gov/

- Inside the pyramid

A personal blog from a working mom

mZaIxE space is a blog from a working mom, from Malyasia. Rozz_Lea Rozie started the blog in April, 2008 and upto now she has written more that 100 posts. (Quite a good number of posts!)

The posts you can read at the blog are about Random Daily Happenings, Family, Children, Life, Personal, Friends, News, Events, Thoughts, Poems, Foods, Cultures, Nature, Books,Travel, and Writing.

She is very personal at her blog posts, as whatever she reads or likes, she shares it with the readers of her blog.

In her "What colour is your aura?-post My Aura is Violet", she says:

"Idealistic and thoughtful, you have the mind and ideas to change the world.

And you have the charisma of a great leader, even if you don't always use it!

The purpose of your life: saying truths that other people dare not say

Famous purples include: Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Susan B. Anthony

Careers for you to try: Political Activist, Inventor, Life Coach"

I could find many self help and thoughtful posts on the blog.

Why we should avoid homogenized milk and prefer organic, raw product?

There are many reasons behind selection of organic or natural products. There is no exception when it comes to milk and milk products. It is a very active, and living substance. A complex and complete supply of vitamins, minerals, amino acids (protein), antibodies, essential fatty acids (fats), and carbohydrates. It is raw "whole" milk. Are we getting the real "whole" milk benefits from the bottled or packed milk from the markets?

What dangers are hidden behind using homogenized milk, this report would help us learn about pasteurized, homogenized and fortified process.

Pasteurization:
Pasteurization began as a result of the poor conditions at dairies, which were introducing dangerous micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses) into the milk after leaving the cow. Cows are dirty animals. Cow manure can easily contaminate the milk if precautions and cleaning procedures are not followed. So rather than clean up the processing, the industry found it easier and cheaper to mass produce "cooked" or sterilized milk. This pasteurization is a multi-step heating process which heats the milk a half dozen times, to as high as 190 degrees F. The measuring stick to see if enough heating has occurred is to measure for a specific enzyme, which incidentally is a very healthy and necessary digestive enzyme, to see that it has been completely eliminated. Once cooked out, the milk is dubbed "safe".


It is unfortunate that this was chosen as the fix all for safe milk. This process destroys, alters and denatures most of the living, active nutrients found in milk. That is why it must then be "fortified"; the adding back in of some of the vitamins. The main one being vitamin D3, cholecalciferol. This is a hormone like cortisone and is toxic in lower doses than naturally derived vitamin D. Dr. Kurt A. Oster discovered that D3 activates xanthine oxidase (a toxic enzyme found in dairy products, which contributes to the displacement of plasminogen, an essential protein which helps prevent atheroscerosis; cholesterol- lipid- calcium deposits in arterial linings). Or in other words, contributes to heart and arterial disease. Vitamin D is best not obtained by supplementation, but by obtaining it's precursors naturally in food, and then through the skin by exposure to sunlight. Even just a little exposure is adequate to allow the body to produce enough vitamin D, which it is able to store. Only prolonged depravation from sunlight will produce a deficiency. Over use of sunscreens can prevent vitamin D formation as well (too much of a good thing is bad). Vitamin D3 is added of course, to aid in calcium absorption. It has been shown in studies that even in milk fortified with vitamin D, calcium is not readily absorbed. Calcium from raw milk or non-dairy sources is more readily absorbed. Processed milk looses a great deal of it's vitamin C content as well. Vitamin C has been shown to be essential in vitamin D metabolism, according to scientists at the Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow. When processed milk is exposed to light, during storage, it looses even more vitamin C .

Homogenization:
Homogenization is another process which denatures the natural fat in milk. This is done purely for aesthetic reasons. The industry felt no one really likes to have milk which "separates". Fresh raw milk separates. The fat rises to the top. Homogenization forces the milk, by extreme pressure, through tiny holes which breaks up the normally large fat molecules into tiny ones, which in this denatured state, stay suspended in the milk. Unfortunately, this unnatural fat is easily absorbed into the blood stream, carrying with it the xanthine oxidase. In un-homogenized milk the xanthine oxidase and large fat molecules are normally passed through the digestive track, unabsorbed.

Another interesting article:
"Dangers of drinking homogenized milk"

Tips:
Seek out Organic, Whole, Raw Goat or cow's milk, yogurt and butter.
Avoid Homogenized milk at the very least.

What we can do for an alternate of milk?

Introduce or keep some of these calcium source foods in your diet: salmon, sardines, albacore tuna, kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, figs, baked beans, brazil nuts, walnuts, almonds, kelp, honeydew melon.

Source: The Series On Milk -- Be Careful!

How to increase your brain powers?

This topic is very sensitive as many people won't believe that you can increase your brain powers. But often it is said that more you work with your brain, more you involve in creative and brain enhancement activities, you can increase your brain powers.

"Increase brain power" is a site where increase your IQ, creative thinking, and a lot more topics are discussed mainly about "brain".

* 5 study habits are:
- Find a Quiet Place to Study
- Organize Your Papers
- Tackle the Most Difficult Assignment First
- Focus on One Subject at a Time
- Take Breaks

For full article: Study Habits
Few article links from many titles:

* More Ways To Solve Problems - Techniques and tricks.

* Creative Thinking

* Brain Foods
The weekly Brainpower Newsletter can help you to know more about brain enhancement tips and techniques. You get the "How To Have New Ideas Invent things" with the newsletter, It is about write new stories, think new thoughts, and be the life of the conversation - just use the powerful techniques in this report.

Sign up for their newsletter here.

HD RadiHD Radio- --a digital version of FM & AM for music lovers l

Music can bring great health and stess relief benefits. Listening to music does wonders to alleviate stress. Music is a significant mood-changer and reliever of stress. Music was found to reduce the pain during dental procedures. Many experts suggest that it is the rhythm of the music or the beat that has the calming effect on us although we may not be very conscious about it.

But you would agree that if you want to get music therapy effect then you have to choose the right kind of music or programs which could provide you relief. I prefer tunig to FM radio at my car, (rather than playing cd player) because most of the FM radios provide interesting programs while playing latest album songs.


FM radio was introduced more than 50 years ago, but popularity of FM radio is increasing as it is easily in reach of mobile or cell phone users. As sound quality is very sharp, FM radios are becoming more popular.

To listen to digital AM and FM programming, you need an HD Radio receiver. HD Radio is a free broadcast service for music lovers.

HD Radio technology has enabled AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally.

More features of the HD Radio!

- As it is free and all you have to do is get a new HD Radio receiver for your home or car
- It is not a satellite radio.
- Crystal-clear reception with no audio distortion
- FM stations now with CD-quality sound
- New kinds of programs you’ve never listened to before
- New experimental formats that no one has ever heard
- New channels to play more of what you like to hear
- More talk and music from the stations you’re plugged into
- Allows access to more new stations with no monthly cost

Check these links for more information:
- new country music stations

- Polk Audio I-sonic ES2

- Florida High Definition Radio stations

Effects of food and beverage marketing on adult and child obesity

There is a link between marketing of unhealthy fast food and obesity among adults and children. How food marketing is effecting our new generation and how it is related to obesity, this article provides you a vivid picture of some research studies alongwith facts and statistics.

- 22 million children around the world are overweight before they start going to school. The global childhood obesity epidemic is focusing attention on the effects of food and beverage marketing.
A recent report published by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concluded that marketing of energy-dense foods and fast food outlets is a "probable" cause of increasing overweight and obesity among the world's children.

Food marketing to children is widespread. The food and beverage industries spend more than $10 billion per year to market to children in the United States. One of the goals of marketing is branding to encourage children to recognize and differentiate particular products and logos.

By 2 years of age, children may have beliefs about specific brands,4 and 2- to 6-year-olds can recognize familiar brand names, packaging, logos, and characters and associate them with products,5-8 especially if the brands use salient features such as bright colors, pictures, and cartoon characters.
By middle childhood, most children can name multiple brands of child-oriented products.
Even among very young children, awareness and recognition translate into product requests, begging and nagging for specific product names and brands.

UFC, the French consumer organisation, found in their survey, that 77% of children preferred advertised breakfast cereals

The Greek organisation KEPKA conducted research among 12-15 year olds, which showed that they started eating potato crisps after being advertised by a celebrity.

A survey of consumption patterns of children between 4 and 12 in the Netherlands found that TV adverts contribute to an unhealthy diet.

They are less able than adults to fully understand that the purpose of advertising is not to inform but to persuade, and to ultimately sell a product.

Studies show that children are much more likely to want to eat food that comes in branded packaging than food with no branding – even if it is the same product.

A study of 3 to 5 year olds showed that over 75% of children preferred French fries in McDonalds branded wrapping, compared to the just over 10% who preferred fries from plain packaging.
The food was exactly the same!

The same study also showed that children with more TVs in their home were more likely to prefer the McDonalds-branded food packaging.

WHO survey: An extensive survey of the evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms this.

The WHO report on Marketing of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children explains that advertising promoting foods high in fat, sugar or salt directly influence children’s attitudes and behaviour – they want and ultimately eat these unhealthy foods.

This can be a direct influence with children buying the foods, sweets and drinks themselves or asking their parents for these foods.

junkfoodgeneration.org is the Consumers International (CI) campaign to stop the marketing of unhealthy food to children. Join at the site and

More facts and statistics:

Adult obesity
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2005:
1.6 billion adults were overweight
at least 400 million adults were obese
In 2015 the WHO predicts there will be:

2.3 billion adults overweight
more than 700 million obese.
According to the World Watch Institute - there are now more obese adults than underweight adults in the world.

Childhood obesity
According to the International Obesity Taskforce (IOTF):

22 million children under five years old are overweight
1 in 10 children are overweight – a total of 155 million
around 30 to 40 million of those children are actually obese

ADVERTISING TRICKS

In 2006 the biggest companies spending on advertising came to:

$7.8 billion on food
$4 billion on soft drinks
$1.1 billion on confectionary
For every $1 the WHO spends on trying to improve the nutrition of the world’s population, $500 is spent by the food industry in promoting processed food.

* More reports:

- Effects of Fast Food Branding on Young Children's Taste Preferences

- The WHO report on Marketing of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children explains that advertising promoting foods high in fat, sugar or salt directly influence children’s attitudes and behaviour – they want and ultimately eat these unhealthy foods.
- Download pdf report