Giant pandas for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo play at the Shanghai Zoo in east China, Jan. 5, 2010. Ten giant pandas selected for the world expo by the Chinese giant panda protection and research center were flown to Shanghai on Tuesday from the center’s Bifengxia base in Ya’an City of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. They will meet the public late this month after two weeks of quarantine.
7 Diet Mistakes- You Don’t Even Know You’re Making
January 5th, 2010 by Kai 1 views No comments »Are you earnestly trying to lose weight—eating right, busting a move at the gym, forsaking chocolate cake—yet finding the scale is stubbornly unmoved despite all your steadfast slim-down efforts? There is hope, and fortunately, the answer doesn’t necessarily lie in squeezing another cardio class into your cramped schedule or skipping meals because you overdid it last night.
By making a few subtle changes to your daily eating habits, you can automatically drop pounds. The truth is, many of the seemingly virtuous eating habits we think are helping us lose weight are really just helping us, well, lose hope! For instance, for a long time, I thought that going for a 40-minute jog meant I could have any sweet thing that crossed my path that day, or worse, that by drinking a diet soda, I was “owed” that 150-calorie savings later. But, as with the jogging, I’d often eat back my calorie savings three times, so I’d end up gaining pounds, not losing them. Get wise to the sneaky diet saboteurs below to start changing your weight fate.
1) Stealth Saboteur: You think that avoiding sugar means skipping just the white stuff.
The real skinny: Steering clear of sugar packets, candy and soda is smart, but you may be inadvertently piling on simple sugars from less obvious sources. Women take in an average of 18 teaspoons of added sugar per day, according to the National Cancer Institute, much of it due to sugars in bread, cereal, canned fruit and even bottled sauces and salad dressings. Scan labels or ingredients ending in “ose” (such as dextrose, maltose or high-fructose corn syrup)—they’re all fancy names for sugar, advises Sari Greaves, R.D., spokeswoman in New York City for the American Dietetic Association. Try eating fresh fruit (add berries to your yogurt instead of buying the fruit-flavored kind); make your own vinaigrette instead of buying bottled; and top plain oatmeal with 1 tsp brown sugar rather than buying the flavored kind. Limit yourself to 45 grams of simple sugar a day for a trimmer silhouette.
2) Stealth Saboteur: You’re overzealous with the olive oil.
The real skinny: Yes, it’s a good fat, but it is caloric, containing 120 calories and 14 g fat per tablespoon. To enjoy the oil’s rich flavor and health benefits, mist it on your pan with a spray bottle rather than pouring it on. You’ll keep all the flavor, and ditch the extra calories.
3) Stealth Saboteur: You stick to a one-serving limit.
The real skinny: Stopping at a single serving of starchy foods like mashed potatoes can be an effective way to limit your calories, if that serving is a reasonable size. However, the one-and-done pledge often just prompts you to spoon up a heaping portion on the first pass of the platter, because you know you’re not getting any more. Heap mountains of food on your plate and you’re likely to polish it off, according to Madelyn Fernstrom, Ph.D., director of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. A more body-wise way to approach the buffet or family-style dinner: Tell yourself you can always double-back for more if you’re still hungry—you’ll take less and may find you’re too satisfied for seconds!
4) Stealth Saboteur: You consider fruits and veggies “free” foods.
The real skinny: I hate to upset the apple cart, but produce has calories, too. Yes, fruits and vegetables are among the healthiest foods you can eat, but calories in dried fruit can add up, as can calories in starchy vegetables such as peas, corn and potatoes. If you like the idea of eating with abandon rather than keeping track of servings, choose H20-rich vegetables (spinach and zucchini are great options) and high-fiber fruit (such as apples and berries). Theses bites are naturally light. The best bet: Have 2-4 servings of fruit a day and 3-5 of veggies, for a total of 5-9 servings of produce daily.
5) Stealth Saboteur: You think being a vegetarian excuses other not-so-healthy habits.
The real skinny: Ousting red meat from your diet, or even limiting it, lowers your risk for coronary heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer, say the pros, and vegetarians tend to have a lower body-mass index (calculate yours here) than their carnivorous counterparts. But vegging out isn’t a free pass to ignore other cornerstones of a slim and healthy lifestyle—such as working out. If you eschew exercise or rely heavily on dairy and starchy vegetarian foods, you may find your weight stays static (or even start gaining). Start an exercise plan that works with your schedule and build a stable of quick, go-to vegetarian recipes to get lean while you stay green!
6) Stealth Saboteur: You’re addicted to smoothies.
The real skinny: Smoothies are basically the drink that acts like a meal. With names like “berry blast” and “antioxidant punch,” they seem so innocuous that you may be taken in. After all, how caloric could something slurped through a straw and loaded with fruit possibly be? Very! Some sippers at your favorite juice joint can pack up to nearly 850 calories! To savor blender bevvies without undoing your diet diligence, slurp them instead of—not in addition to—a meal, and whip up your own so you control the ingredients. Try one of these delicious blends—each comes in at just 300 calories!
7) Stealth Saboteur: You count calories with the precision of a C.P.A.
The real skinny: Talk about fuzzy math: Obsessing over your caloric intake may prompt you to choose fat-free foods that are low in fiber, high in sugar and ultimately leave you wanting other nibbles—and more calories! Instead of compulsively crunching the numbers, focus on eating high-quality food with plenty of fiber, protein and nutrients. Make your portions small and don’t wait more than five hours between bites, says Ann Yelmokas McDermott, Ph.D., director at the Center for Obesity Prevention and Education at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Your smart choices will add up to a slimmer you!
Snacking sensibly can help you get svelte—find 30 healthy snack choices that taste as good as they’ll make you look at Self.com.
Stay Slim with Eat, Drink this Season
January 5th, 2010 by Kai 0 views No comments »Between office merrymaking, neighborhood fêtes and assorted other bashes, the calendar at holiday time is crammed with opportunities to enjoy our favorite indulgences and meet this year’s party crashers—those extra unwanted pounds. But shindigs don’t have to spell diet disaster. I love a scrumptious party buffet as much as anyone, but over the years, I’ve learned how to celebrate without gaining weight.
My strategy? I never hit a party on an empty stomach. About an hour before I leave home, I munch on a healthy snack with some protein, such as nuts or yogurt, to take the edge off. This way, I can concentrate on the conversation, not the canapés.
Second? If I want a treat, I have one or two, but I try not to follow the waiter around the room. If the cheese balls are calling my name, I snap one up, then try to find a healthier option to fill up on.
Finally, given the choice between a good-for-you and a not-so-healthy food, I choose the more virtuous option. Wild salmon or the porterhouse? Salmon, please. Margaritas or wine? I can have fun at a party sipping lower-calorie heart-healthy Pinot Noir, thank you!
By simply following these three healthy commandments, I enjoy every bash without feeling the urge to exercise twice as hard the next day. Want to savor the good times without gaining? Follow these keys to RSVP “yes” to slim!
Consider the morning after. Tempted to double back to the buffet or dessert table? Put down your fork and ask yourself a question, says Judith Beck, Ph.D., of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Therapy and Research in Philadelphia: “How do I want to feel tomorrow? Bloated and disappointed in myself or proud and healthy?” You’ll be motivated to let the waiter clear your plate. Create a visual reminder of your goal to eat moderately by wearing your “skinny” dress or a favorite bangle. Remind yourself: I’m trying to take good care of ME! (Let our style squad help you find a new party dress with daily Lunchtime Deals.)
Prioritize seasonal specialties. I’m a sucker for chocolate lace cookies like my great-grandmother used to make. I never pass up a lace cookie during the holiday season because I know I’m unlikely to find myself in the temptation zone after the ball drops. Then, come January 1, I revert to fruit and other healthier choices. If I swore off lace cookies altogether, not only would the holidays be joyless, but my willpower would diminish at some point (whose doesn’t?). I’d probably go overboard. Got visions of your own version of lace cookies? Save room in your calorie budget for whatever makes your taste buds merry. See which cookies are the smartest pick for the party season.
Nix impossible resolutions. The way I see it, the minute I “resolve” not to eat something, it’s all I want! Better to aim to eat reasonably healthy throughout the year—yes, even smack in the middle of the social whirl, than to pledge to start fresh on January 1. If you think your days of eating for enjoyment are numbered, you’ll be more likely to overindulge while you’re still “allowed,” says Heather K., Jones, R.D., coauthor of What’s Your Diet Type (Hatherleigh Press). Instead, nibble sensibly and consistently, which means sampling some of your favorite indulgences but keeping up the “mostly healthy” approach. That way, you won’t feel compelled to go on a pre-resolution eating spree, or need to take off the holiday pounds come January—because you won’t have added them in the first place. Now, that’s cause for a toast!
Make the most of all your meals by loading up on superfoods that combat fat, fight stress or perfect your complexion.
Free online dating/matchmaking
December 13th, 2009 by Kai 0 views No comments »I’ll show you the World’s Premier Discreet Dating website. The one is: ashleymadison.com
Another is:Anastasia Dating Service. Meet Marriage Minded Singles Today It Is Free, Fun, Fast, & Easy.
Immediate biopsy unnecessary for some breast lumps
December 4th, 2009 by Kai 1 views No comments »SOURCES: American Journal of Roentgenology, December 2009.
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – For breast lumps that can be felt with the fingers but look benign on ultrasound, an immediate biopsy may not be needed, particularly for some young women, researchers report.
Instead, the researchers write in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, a checkup six months later would be fine for such “palpable lesions.”
“Many palpable lumps that are solid (not a fluid filled cyst) on ultrasound undergo either needle or surgical biopsy, even when they appear benign on imaging,” Dr. Jennifer A. Harvey, who led the study, noted in an email to Reuters Health.
She and colleagues at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, evaluated 375 “palpable lesions” detected in 320 women over six and a half years.
After an average follow-up period of almost three years, just one of the lumps turned out to be cancer – that is, not benign — Harvey said.
Given how many biopsies would therefore turn out to be negative for cancer, “short-term follow-up is a reasonable alternative to biopsy” in these women, Harvey added in a statement accompanying the study.
While the study suggests that waiting for a repeated ultrasound for six months is as safe as an immediate breast biopsy, “biopsy should be considered if the clinical exam is concerning or if the lump increases in size,” Harvey said.
Such a strategy, she added, “may reduce the number of biopsies that result in benign findings. There is also significant cost savings associated with using short-term follow-up rather than immediate biopsy.”
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection,What Happens
December 4th, 2009 by Kai 7 views No comments »What Happens
There are two types of HIV:
- HIV-1, which causes almost all the cases of AIDS worldwide
- HIV-2, which causes an AIDS-like illness. HIV-2 infection is uncommon in the United States.
How the disease is spread
HIV is spread when blood, semen, or vaginal fluids from an infected person enter another person’s body, usually through:
- Sexual contact. The virus may enter the body through a tear in the lining of the rectum, vagina, urethra, or mouth. Between 75% and 80% of all cases of HIV are transmitted by sexual contact.
- Infected blood. HIV can be spread when a person:
- Shares needles, syringes, cookers, cotton, cocaine spoons, or eyedroppers used for injecting drugs or steroids.
- Is accidentally stuck with a needle or other sharp item that is contaminated with HIV.
It is now extremely rare in the United States for HIV to be transmitted by blood transfusions or organ transplants. Blood and organ donors are screened for risk factors. All donated blood and organs are screened for HIV.
Health care workers are no longer considered to be at high risk of exposure to HIV. Policies are in place in health facilities that require protection from accidental exposure. Workers must properly dispose of sharp objects and wear protective gloves, gowns, and eye and face protection. These measures have been effective in protecting health care workers from HIV.
Spread of HIV to babies
A woman who is infected with HIV can spread the virus to her baby during pregnancy, delivery, or breast-feeding.
- Most children younger than 13 years who have HIV were infected with the virus by their mothers.
- The risk of a woman spreading HIV to her baby can be greatly reduced if she is on medicine that reduces her viral load (HIV RNA) to undetectable levels during pregnancy, if she receives AZT (ZDV) before the baby is born, and if she does not breast-feed her baby. The baby should also receive treatment after it is born.
Ways HIV cannot be spread
HIV does not survive well outside the body. Therefore, HIV cannot be spread through casual contact—such as sharing drinking glasses or by casual kissing—with an infected person. HIV is not transmitted through contact with an infected person’s saliva, sweat, tears, urine, or feces, or through insect bites.
Contagious and incubation period
The incubation period—the time between when a person is first infected with HIV and when early symptoms develop—may be a few days to several weeks.
It can take as little as 2 weeks or as long as 6 months from the time you become infected with HIV for the antibodies to be detected in your blood. This is commonly called the “window period,” or seroconversion period. During the window period, you are contagious and can spread the virus to others. If you think you have been infected with HIV but you test negative for it, you should be tested again 6 months later.
After you become infected with HIV, your blood, semen, or vaginal fluids are always infectious, even if you receive treatment for the HIV infection.
Stages of HIV
Most people go through the following stages after being infected with HIV if the infection is not treated:
- Acute retroviral syndrome, which has symptoms similar to mononucleosis. This often develops within a few days of infection, but may occur several weeks after the person is infected.
- HIV without symptoms (asymptomatic). It may take years for HIV symptoms to develop. But even though no symptoms are present, the virus is multiplying (or making copies of itself) in the body during this time. HIV multiplies so quickly that the immune system cannot destroy the virus. After years of fighting HIV, the immune system starts to weaken.
- HIV with symptoms (symptomatic). After your immune system starts to weaken, you are more likely to develop certain infections or illnesses, such as some types of pneumonia or cancer that are more common in people who have a weakened immune system.
- AIDS, which occurs during the last stage of infection with HIV. If HIV goes untreated, AIDS develops in most people within 12 to 13 years after the initial infection. With treatment for HIV, the progression to AIDS may be delayed or prevented.
A small number of people who are infected with HIV are rapid progressors. They develop AIDS within a few years if they do not receive treatment. It is not known why the infection progresses faster in these people.
Nonprogressors and HIV-resistant
A few people have HIV that does not progress to more severe symptoms or disease. They are referred to as nonprogressors.
A small number of people never become infected with HIV despite years of exposure to the virus. For example, they may have repeated, unprotected sex with an infected person. These people are said to be HIV-resistant.
Whiten your teeth, look great and smile more
November 25th, 2009 by Kai 0 views No comments »Do you think your teeth are not quite as white as they should be? There are many reasons why teeth lose their “whiteness”. Some people are born with teeth that are more yellow than others. Others have teeth that yellow with age. Your natural tooth color can also be affected by many factors.
Drinking coffee, tea, or red wine,Tobacco,Eating highly pigmented foods and so on…
What are Ways to Whiten Teeth?
Internal stains can be bleached, bonded or capped, most external staining caused by food and tobacco that could be removed by a dentist or hygienist.
Prevention
- Avoid tobacco products.
- Stop or cut back on drinking coffee or tea.
- Pass on the grape juice. And that includes red wine!
- Stay away from curry.
- Brush your teeth immediately if you choose to partake in any of the items just mentioned.
If you are looking for a safe and effective at home whitening system that allows you to whiten your teeth in the comfort of your own home, you could look this: safe teeth whitening : 10 shades whiter in 10 days at prowhiteteeth.com
get $10 off professional teeth whitening kits at prowhiteteeth.com
Recommend 8 Sleep-better foods
November 20th, 2009 by Kai 0 views No comments »NONFAT POPCORN
Pop a bag half an hour before bedtime: The carbs will induce your body to create serotonin, a neurochemical that makes you feel relaxed. Skipping the butter-fat will slow the process of boosting those feel-good chemicals, and, as mentioned above, will also slow digestion in general.
OATMEAL WITH SLICED BANANA
Sleep is inspired by the hormone melatonin, but stress or excitement can disrupt melatonin’s release. Bring your brain back down to earth by whipping up a bowl of instant oatmeal and topping it with a sliced banana, which is rich in melatonin.
1 CUP OF PLAIN YOGURT WITH 2 TABLESPOONS MIXED NUTS
Scientists in Slovakia gave people either 3 grams each of two amino acids (lysine and arginine) or a placebo and asked them to deliver a speech. Blood measurements of stress hormones revealed that the amino acid-fortified speakers were half as anxious during and after the speech as those who took the placebo. Yogurt is one of the best food sources of lysine; nuts pack tons of arginine. Because both contain alertness-inducing protein, you’re best off eating this combo a few hours before bed (or even at midday, before a big, stressful presentation at work). It’ll reduce the residual stress you feel later in the evening, meaning you won’t replay your day over and over again in your head as you try to fall asleep.
A PILE OF SESAME SEEDS
A HANDFUL OF PRETZELS
1 GLASS OF WINE
A 4-OZ GLASS OF UNSWEETENED CHERRY JUICE
RED BELL PEPPERS
Researchers at the University of Alabama fed rats 200 milligrams of vitamin C twice a day and found that it nearly stopped the secretion of cortisol, a hormone released in your body when you’re stressed. Calorie for calorie, red bell peppers give you more vitamin C than any other fruit or vegetable.
Green Tea and Mushrooms May Lower Breast-Cancer Risk
November 19th, 2009 by Kai 3 views No comments »Women who eat large amounts of mushrooms and drink a lot of green tea may be at lower risk for developing breast cancer, a recent study reported in the International Journal of Cancer.
The research trial included more than 2,000 Chinese women, with 1,009 breast-cancer patients (aged 20-87) and an equal number of healthy women matched for age. Each woman completed a detailed dietary questionnaire citing specific foods consumed.
Do mushrooms and green tea affect breast-cancer rates?
The researchers found that the greater the mushroom consumption (both fresh and dried), the lower the breast-cancer risk. Those who ate the greatest amounts of fresh mushrooms (10 grams or more per day) were about 2/3 less likely than those who ate none at all to develop breast cancer. Subjects who ate 4 grams per day saw their breast-cancer risk fall by half.
Interestingly, the women decreased their risk even more if they also drank green tea daily. The breast-cancer risk of women who consumed both mushrooms and green tea was 11 percent, compared to 18 percent for women who didn’t consume either food. The study used green tea, which is a “younger” tea but which still has caffeine.
No proof yet
While the researchers eliminated possible confounding factors, this study does not prove that mushrooms and green tea actually reduce a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer.
Epidemiological studies, however, do show that in places where the Chinese people are still eating the traditional diet, breast-cancer rates are 4-to-5 times lower than those of most developed countries. (All bets are off if a Chinese woman has switched to eating a westernized diet.)
While this study has not nailed down a cause-and-effect relationship, it is the first to link high dietary consumption of mushrooms and green tea to reduced breast-cancer risk. In addition, those participants who ate at least 10 grams of mushrooms per day saw the greatest reductions in their risk. (See Mushrooms: The Ultimate Longevity Food.)
So eat some!
Half a cup of raw mushrooms weighs roughly 35 grams, so a little more than 1/8 cup of raw mushrooms a day (about 8 or 9 grams’ worth) might just help reduce your breast-cancer risk. Even an 8-ounce cup of raw mushrooms would add up to only 10 calories; therefore, a big helping of these tasty fungi might also help you feel fuller and lose weight. Adding green tea may be a good idea, too. (See Go Green for Your Breast Health.)
If you’re a mushroom-lover or willing to try them, here are some tips:
- Look for mushrooms that are firm, unblemished, and free of mold or surface moisture (but not dry).
- Store pre-packed containers of mushrooms in airtight plastic bags in the fridge, so they’ll hold on to their moisture and won’t spoil so rapidly.
- Place loose mushrooms in a paper bag and then in your fridge.
- Squeeze some lemon or lime juice onto raw mushrooms to help them retain their color.
New device boosts heart failure survival
November 19th, 2009 by Kai 0 views No comments » For the first time, a miniature heart pump shows the potential to become a widely used, permanent treatment for many older people with severe heart failure. But can we afford it?
In a study of 200 patients, the new device increased by four times the number who survived at least two years compared with an older pump that had drawbacks limiting its use, doctors reported Tuesday.
However, the HeartMate II costs $80,000 plus $45,000 or so for the surgery and the hospital stay necessary to implant it.
“It will allow older people who are not heart transplant patients to stay alive but at a higher cost. It’s all about who’s going to pay,” said Cleveland Clinic heart chief Dr. Steven Nissen, who had no role in the research.
Even now, “the amount of money spent in the care of advanced heart failure patients is extraordinary,” said Dr. Robert Harrington, heart research chief at Duke University, which helped test the device. “These are societal questions — how much is too much?”
Study results were presented Tuesday at an American Heart Association conference and published by the New England Journal of Medicine.
About 5 million Americans have heart failure, which occurs when the heart weakens over time and cannot pump enough blood. Heart transplants are one solution. But few patients find a donor, and many are too old or sick for a transplant.
Left ventricular assist devices, or LVADs, can be implanted next to the heart to help it pump. However, current ones wear out too fast to be long-term solutions, and survival remains dismal — only half of patients live a year and only one-quarter live two years.
The HeartMate II, made by Thoratec Corp. of Pleasanton, Calif., is the first of a new generation of smaller pumps that push blood continuously rather than simulating a heartbeat as older pumps do. A wire from the patient’s abdomen connects the pump to equipment outside the body — a small computer and batteries that the patient wears in a belt pack or harness.
The device was approved last year for short-term use in people awaiting a transplant. The new study tested it as a permanent therapy in people with severe heart failure who were not candidates for a transplant. The study was sponsored by Thoratec, and many study leaders consult for the company or rival device makers.
While other manufacturers make similar pumps, the study was the first large test of these new-generation devices as a permanent treatment.
It enrolled 200 severely ill patients as young as 26 and as old as 81. Two-thirds got the new device. The rest received an older HeartMate pump. After two years, 46 percent of those on the new pump and 11 percent of those on the old one were alive without having suffered a stroke or a device failure.
A cost-effectiveness study has not been done, but doctors hope the new device will prove cheaper by preventing the many complications and hospitalizations these patients endure now, said Duke’s Dr. Joseph Rogers, a study co-leader.
There is a high death rate from the surgery or soon after it: 14 percent with the newer pump and 25 percent with the older one. Even so, most patients will still risk the surgery “because the alternative is worse,” and far more perish without a device, said study co-leader Dr. Mark Slaughter, heart surgery chief at the University of Louisville.
It was an easy choice for Chuck Sixour, a retired school administrator in suburban Knoxville, Tenn.
“I’m 78. My heart’s probably 90, but I feel 60, and the doctors tell me I look 60, mainly because I’ve been very active all my life,” he said.
He received the new device in August 2007 as part of the study. And now? “You name it — I do it,” he said. “I golf two or three times a week. I go shopping with my wife.”
Many older people are healthy other than having weak hearts, said Dr. Alfred Bove, a Temple University heart specialist and president of the American College of Cardiology.
“There are so many of these people that would enjoy life if we could get them out of heart failure,” he said.
Not all are old, either. Leonor Ortiz Childers, a 46-year-old lawyer in Durham, N.C., developed heart failure when she had to be treated for breast cancer while pregnant with twins. The federal Food and Drug Administration allowed her to receive a HeartMate II for emergency use a year ago.
Now, with four children under 4, the device makes it possible “to live a fairly normal life,” she said. “Every day I can hug my children. And as long as I have that, I’m a happy woman.”
