Help For Children With developmental and learning problems

I received this and thought I'd post it on my log as it might be of help to someone:

If you know a child who:

• Suffered from a traumatic birth, difficult pregnancy or medical problems in early life?
• Is suffering developmental delay
• Has repeatedly visited GP/consultant but problems still remain
• Suffers from low attainment, low self-esteem, low self-confidence
• Suffers poor eye/hand co-ordination resulting in frequent accidents and clumsiness
• Suffers from reluctance to attend school
• Suffers from hyperactivity and an inability to sleep/relax
• Is unwilling to adopt a healthy lifestyle with good food and good exercise regime

Sunflower Trust Children’s Charity could help

For over a decade Sunflower Trust have helped improve children’s:

IQ by 12%
Health by 60%
Behaviour/study skills by 60%

To find out more please call 0845 054 7509 or e-mail enquiries@sunflowertrust.com
Further information is available on website http://www.sunflowertrust.com/


APPLICATIONS FOR COMPLIMENTARY TREATMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY
1st November 2007 LATEST!


Patricia Murray Cox Sunflower Trust co-Ordinator A registered charity dedicated to helping children with health, learning and behavioural difficulties

Get Fit With The Help Of A Trainer

Chad Tackett and Global-Fitness are dedicated to helping you get fit and stay fit with online trainers, videos, nutritional plans and lots more. They are now making very special offer so you can find out for yourself how great there system is:


Simply go to Global Health And Fitness and click through to their secured order form and enter "onedollar" in the Comments field and you'll be charged just $0.95 for Trial Membership (instead of $9.95)!


The moment you join you'll receive a username and password for access to all this for 30 days:

• Very effective exercise programs, specific to your goals,
  fitness level, and the time you have available!
• 175 exercise instructions and video demonstrations to
  view at home or print out and take to your gym/workout room!
• A Trial version of Protrack 2008, the latest version of their
  exercise and nutrition tracking software!
• The new GHF Training Manual and online books on each of
  the 5 Components of Optimal Health!
• Hundreds of delicious, healthy recipes and shopping lists!
• F R E E entry to the GHF Fitness Challenge, their 12-week
  fitness contest!
• Full access to the new members-only Fitness Forum where you
  can get expert advice, as well as correspond with other members!
  

Battle Of ideas 2007

This weekend ( 27th and 28th October) I am attending the Battle of Ideas in London.

I only heard about it last weekend, but immediately I wanted to be there. the aims are:

• to showcase new arguments about core issues
• to initiate open ended discussions

Topics include:

• The Resurrection of religion: moving beyond secularism or losing faith in politics?
• What is the future of cities?
• Change the world: make a documentary?
• Iraq: Whatnow for the war on terror?
• CAM: junk science or genuine alternative?
• Friendship or networking

and lots lots more. Check out their web site for the full programme.

Healthy Pizza

Antioxidants are really important for our long-term health. They help counteract free radical damage to the body, including to the skin and the joints. If you’re interested in ageing more gracefully, you definitely need to take a look at the amount of antioxidants in your diet.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are some of the best sources of antioxidants, but research by scientists at the University of Maryland has shown that the antioxidant levels in pizza can be boosted by increasing the baking temperature and the length of time that the pizza is cooked for. So a well-done pizza is likely to contain more antioxidants than a less well-done one.
Sadly people, including the media, tend to take information like this and conclude that a well-done pizza is a healthy food. The UK Guardian newspaper heading was ‘From Fast Food To Health Food: Pizza Gets A Makeover’. But the truth is pizzas are not the most healthy of foods, and though they are OK in moderation it’s much better to focus on getting antioxidants from fruit and vegetables.

The influence of rap music

Here's information on an interesting article:

Sexual Stereotypes Portrayed in Rap Music Videos Influence High-Risk Behaviors Among African-American Teenage Girls

New Rochelle, NY, October 16, 2007—African-American female adolescents who spend more time watching rap music videos are more likely to participate in high-risk behaviors such as binge drinking and sex with multiple partners, to test positive for marijuana, and to have a negative body image, according to a report in the October 2007 issue (Vol. 16, No. 8) of Journal of Women’s Health a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. ( www.liebertpub.com). The paper is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/jwh

Many psychosocial factors can adversely affect self-image, health status, and the likelihood of engaging in high-risk behaviors among adolescent girls. One such factor is exposure to rap music videos, which often portray African-American women as hypersexual and amoral and include content related to violence, sexuality, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Shani Peterson, PhD, Gina Wingood ScD, MPH, Ralph DiClemente PhD, Kathy Harrington, MPH, MAEd, and Susan Davies, from the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory Center for AIDS Research, and School of Medicine at Emory University (Atlanta, GA), and the University of Alabama, Birmingham, sought to identify whether a link exists between the amount of exposure to sexual stereotypes and risky behaviors portrayed in rap music videos and adverse health outcomes. They surveyed and interviewed 522 African-American teenage girls, asked about their rap music video viewing habits, evaluated their health status, and screened urine samples for evidence of marijuana use.

In the report entitled, “Images of Sexual Stereotypes in Rap Videos and the Health of African-American Female Adolescents,” the authors concluded, based on a quantitative assessment, that a significant predictive association exists between increased viewing of sexual stereotypes in rap music videos and likelihood to engage in binge drinking, to test positive for marijuana, and to have a negative body image.

“The findings from this study suggest that African-American girls’ perceptions of stereotypical images of women in rap music videos may contribute to adverse health outcomes,” says Editor-in-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, in Richmond, VA. “Clearly, there is a need for greater awareness and education about the potential public health risks associated with this media exposure.”

Journal of Women’s Health is an authoritative, peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal published ten times a year. Under Editor-In-Chief Susan G. Kornstein, MD, and Deputy Editor Wendy S. Klein, MD, of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Richmond, VA, the Journal publishes clinical and research papers on health issues affecting women across the lifespan and on gender differences in health, disease, and response to treatment.

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. , is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of medical and biomedical research, including Obesity Management, Diabetes Technology and Therapeutics, and Thyroid. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 60 journals and books is available at www.liebertpub.com

Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY 10801www.liebertpub.com Phone (914) 740-2100 (800) M-LIEBERT Fax (914) 740-2101

Getting asthma as an adult

More and more people are suffering from asthma, but it’s not only children that are being affected, more adults are also starting to suffer from asthma.

A study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine looked at the use of cleaning sprays. This study is particularly interesting because it doesn’t look at professional cleaners but instead looks at people using sprays in their own homes. They found a link between using the sprays at least once a week and developing asthma. More research on this is needed, but do err on the side of caution and stop using spray cleaners and air fresheners.

On my web site I have information on dirt and how the sanitised environment so many people live in is not good for health.

Acupuncture research

Assesment of acupuncture by the scientific community has been hampered by the fact that acupuncturists in most studies know whether the needling they are doing is attempting to affect the point or not.

So, it's interesting to see this - an attempt to develop a suitable acupuncture needle for test situations. Here is a provisional abstract from
BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2007 7:31 ( 10 October 2007 )

Background
Placebo needles that can mask acupuncture practitioners to the type of needle used have been considered almost impossible to develop until now.

Methods
We designed a double-blind non-penetrating placebo needle, the needle tip of which simply presses against the skin, and a matched penetrating needle. The needles are encased inside an opaque guide tube and the appearance and feel of the pair are designed to be indistinguishable. To validate the masking effect for the practitioner, 10 acupuncturists each applied 23 non-penetrating needles and 17 penetrating needles to the large intestine-4 point. After removing each needle, they judged whether the needle was penetrating, non-penetrating or unidentifiable. For the validation of patient masking, an acupuncturist randomly applied a non-penetrating/penetrating needle pair to the bilateral Sanjiao-5 points in 60 volunteers. When both applications were completed, we asked them to write down anything that they noticed regarding the needle application and associated sensations.

Results
The mean [SD] of correct/unidentifiable/incorrect answers given by the 10 acupuncturists were 17.0 [4.1]/6.4 [3.6]/16.6 [3.0], respectively. Regarding patient masking, none of the subjects commented in the questionnaire that they had received a non-penetrating needle. Of 60 penetrating and 60 non-penetrating needle applications, 48 (80.0%) and 25 (41.7%) applications elicited skin penetration sensation and 48 (80.0%) and 20 (33.3%) applications elicited de qi, respectively.

Conclusions
These needles have the potential to mask both practitioners and patients from the type of needle used in acupuncture research.

You can read more about this study here.

Designing a Strength Training Routine for Fat Loss

Here's an interesting article from Lynn VanDyke, a prolific and passionate writer on women's health and fitness:

Designing a Strength Training Routine for Fat Loss
by Lynn VanDyke

Your goal is to lose fat and tone up. You’ve read plenty of my other articles and know that I recommend a mix of 5 tools to create and sculpt the body of your dreams. Those 5 tools are nutrition, hydration, cardio, rest and strength training. Today’s article is all about creating a killer routine that delivers amazing results.

In my many years of experience in the fitness industry I have come across a few timeless myths. One of those myths really gets me piping mad. Have you ever heard, “Lift lighter weights for more repetitions if you want to tone up”? You probably have if you are a woman. I can already feel my blood beginning to boil!

The truth about strength training routines is that they can only be effective if they are created for you and your goals. Lifting light weights for 15 or more repetitions is not going to reduce body fat or help you tone. It will help you work on endurance. If endurance is your goal, then by all means lift lighter for a longer rep time.

On the flip side, and the most popular side, is lifting to lose fat. Your fat loss strength training routine should include heavier weights for low-to-medium repetition ranges. Below is a check list of items that your strength training routine should include:

- An exercise for each major muscle
- Between 3-4 sets for each exercise
- 8-10 reps per set
- A correct weight for each exercise
- 1-2 minute rest periods between sets

Here are all the major muscle groups in suggested order: back, chest, quads, shoulders, hamstrings and glutes, biceps, triceps, abs and calves. You can select from a full body routine done 2-3 times per week or split your lower body and abs from your upper body. An example would be: lower body and abs on Monday and Friday and upper body on Tuesday and Saturday.

Regardless of doing a full body routine or a split routine you will choose an exercise for each of these muscles and do it 3-4 times per workout. Each set will include 8-10 repetitions. You should rest for at least a minute between each set.

The way for you to determine what weight you should lift is to choose a weight that you can safely lift 8 times with perfect form. By the last repetition in each set, you should feel tired. If you feel as though you could do a few more reps with perfect form than move to a higher weight on the next set. You have selected the correct weight so long as you can get within 2-3 reps of the called for rep range with perfect form and your muscles feel tired.

Grouping together the correct weight, rep range, amount of sets, and exercises will result in a fabulous strength training routine that blasts away unwanted pounds. There are more than enough Internet sites providing free routines and information. I recommend using a routine that is developed specifically for you and your goals. You can have a master trainer (me!) create a routine for you for $25 these days. You simply fill out a few forms and I send you an email with your custom build a routine attached. Easy, simple and designed for results!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lynn VanDyke is the head trainer at http://strength-training-woman.com/online-personal-training.html . She will create a custom fitness and nutrition program for you. Get dramatic results with a professionally designed workout routine and menu. Work with a master trainer and fitness nutritionist 1-on-1 and finally achieve your weight loss goals! Simple and extremely effective.

Vegetarian Shoes

I'm a vegetarian and finding nice stylish shoes can be difficult, so I wa spleased to discover Bourgeoise Boheme a while back.

I've recently bought two new pairs of shoes from them and they are so comfortable and stylish.

It's great to know that no animal has suffered in the production of the shoes. Sometimes people say that the leather is just a by-product of the meat industry and the animals aren't killed for the leather. But, by wearing leather, you make the sale of meat more economic and cheaper.

If you think veggie shoes are dull and sweaty to wear check out this site and see what you can find.

Nice to see that the site is also doing fairly traded trainers:

Ethletic Trainer White: Fair trade trainers witha cotton upper and rubber sole. The rubber forthe sole is certified Forest Stewardship Council- sourced from sustainable forests in Sri Lanka and the accredited FSC mark is engraved onthe soles of each pair. A fair trade premium is paid for the rubber and manufacture of the shoes. Available in black too and a high top too. £35