Monday, December 31, 2012
Trim Excess Weight And Prevent Diabetes
The program developed by PCRM will help you lose weight and get fit and healthy. Based on research by Neal Barnard, M.D., one of America’s leading health
advocates, this program is designed for anyone who wants to explore and
experience the health benefits of a vegan diet. Low-fat
vegan—plant-based—diets are the easiest way to trim excess weight,
prevent diabetes, cut cholesterol, lower blood pressure, prevent and
reverse heart disease, and reduce cancer risk. They even trim our carbon
footprint.There's a new run of this program now starting, so find out more here>>
Hunger And A Good Meal
A good meal ought to begin with hunger.” (French Proverb) How
many times do we eat because it's that time of day or because we're bored or
anxious or angry, or because the food is just there?
Get more weight loss tips from my 200 Plus Weight Loss Tips
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Play Is Good For You
People talk about old age as a second childhood, and they often mean this in a critical way. But that idea may be something we should cultivate, if we consider the mounting research which shows the importance of play and stimulation for the health of seniors.
A study by a team from Rovaniemi Polytechnic in Finland followed 40 people aged between 65 and 81 over a three-month period while they regularly used swings, see-saws and climbing frames at the Santa Claus Sports Institute in Lapland. By the end of that time there were significant improvements in their balance, speed and co-ordination. Many of the participants also reported that they felt better mentally, and that they were empowered by their success in mastering the apparatus.
Small babies and children naturally seek out stimulation as a part of learning and exploring the world. People in their teens and twenties sometimes become dangerous thrill seekers. As we get older we tend to restrict the amount of input, choose what’s safe, seek out what we know, minimise stimulation. Those who look after the elderly will often seek (with the best of intentions) to cocoon their charges, giving them a regularised day with few surprises.
But research is now showing that we should be challenging people well into their twilight years, encouraging them to stay active, to have fun – to play again like children for whom every day is a great adventure.
A study by a team from Rovaniemi Polytechnic in Finland followed 40 people aged between 65 and 81 over a three-month period while they regularly used swings, see-saws and climbing frames at the Santa Claus Sports Institute in Lapland. By the end of that time there were significant improvements in their balance, speed and co-ordination. Many of the participants also reported that they felt better mentally, and that they were empowered by their success in mastering the apparatus.
Small babies and children naturally seek out stimulation as a part of learning and exploring the world. People in their teens and twenties sometimes become dangerous thrill seekers. As we get older we tend to restrict the amount of input, choose what’s safe, seek out what we know, minimise stimulation. Those who look after the elderly will often seek (with the best of intentions) to cocoon their charges, giving them a regularised day with few surprises.
But research is now showing that we should be challenging people well into their twilight years, encouraging them to stay active, to have fun – to play again like children for whom every day is a great adventure.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Festivities And Your Weight
Center entertainment around non-food events such as ice skating, renting a holiday movie, or singing carols.
Offer to bring a favorite low-calorie dish to holiday parties, so you know there will be at least one "safe" item available. Arrive fashionably late and stand far away from buffets so you're not tempted to nibble constantly. Instead, indulge in conversation. From Duke University Medical Center
Offer to bring a favorite low-calorie dish to holiday parties, so you know there will be at least one "safe" item available. Arrive fashionably late and stand far away from buffets so you're not tempted to nibble constantly. Instead, indulge in conversation. From Duke University Medical Center
Monday, December 10, 2012
Smoking And Back Pain
For years, research has shown a link between smoking and an increased risk for low back pain, intervertebral (spine) disc disease, and inferior patient outcomes following surgery. A new study,published in the December 2012 Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery(JBJS), also found that smokers suffering from spinal disorders and related back pain, reported greater discomfort than spinal disorder patients who stopped smoking during an eight-month treatment period.
“We know that nicotine increases pain,” said study author Glenn R. Rechtine, MD, University of Rochester Department of Orthopaedics. “In this study, if you quit smoking during treatment, you got better. If you continued to smoke, there was statistically no improvement, regardless of the treatment you had. Smoking is bad for you... This study supports the need for smoking cessation programs for patients with a painful spinal disorder given a strong association between improved patient reported pain and smoking cessation.”
“We know that nicotine increases pain,” said study author Glenn R. Rechtine, MD, University of Rochester Department of Orthopaedics. “In this study, if you quit smoking during treatment, you got better. If you continued to smoke, there was statistically no improvement, regardless of the treatment you had. Smoking is bad for you... This study supports the need for smoking cessation programs for patients with a painful spinal disorder given a strong association between improved patient reported pain and smoking cessation.”
Saturday, December 08, 2012
200 Plus Weight Loss Tips
It’s not much to pay and you get great tips and reminders like this:
Dealing With Cravings
Duke Diet & Fitness Newsletter says: “Try thinking of cravings as ocean waves. Just as a wave recedes after it peaks, a craving will recede if you do not feed it with your thoughts or actions. Instead of giving in to a craving right away, give it some time to pass. Distract yourself for a few minutes by reading or writing in your journal, taking deep breaths, going for a walk, talking about how you feel, or using such positive self-talk as "This urge won't last forever, and I am in control. I am feeling uncomfortable, but I can wait this out." Remember, bingeing might make you feel better for a short while, but you will feel better in the long run if you find a healthier outlet instead.”
Buy “200 Plus Weight Loss Tips”? from the UK site
Buy “200 Plus Weight Loss Tips”? from US site
And, of course, if you're a member of Amazon Prime, those weight loss tips are still free.
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Self Help Number 3
Thank you to everyone who has downloaded my free Kindle book “200 Plus Weight Loss Tips”. The book is now 1st on the Personal Health free
download best seller list and 3rd on the Self Help free download list.
Can you help me to get to number 1 on both lists please?
If you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can do so here, but you only have
till 7.59 am on Thursday (UK time) to get it free:
If you download it and like it, please post a review. You can download the book now, and read it when you have time – lots of people have told me they’re going to read it between Christmas and the new Year. And please tell others about this offer.
If you download it and like it, please post a review. You can download the book now, and read it when you have time – lots of people have told me they’re going to read it between Christmas and the new Year. And please tell others about this offer.
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Download my eBook "200 Plus Weight Loss Tips" for free
Many people are struggling to manage their weight for the holiday season, so I thought I’d give all those people some help. My Kindle book “200 Plus Weight Loss Tips” is now free for most of the next two days. That is until:
7.50 am on Thursday 6th December in the UK.
11.50 pm on Wednesday 5th December in USA (PST)
8.50 pm on Thursday 6th December in Sydney, Australia
Here are the first three tips to get you going:
The Colour Blue
Reader’s Digest says: “There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.”
Imagine More To Eat Less
While you may not be able to stop after just one, simply imagining yourself eating a bag of crisps could keep you from going overboard. A study by Carey Morewedge of Carnegie Mellon University, published in Science, shows that when you imagine eating a certain food, it reduces your actual consumption of that food. These findings suggest that trying to suppress your thoughts of desired foods in order to curb cravings for those foods is a fundamentally flawed strategy.
Increasing Your Self Control
It may seem bizarre but clenching muscles - any muscles - can help you exert self-control. The next time you feel your willpower slipping as you pass that mouth-watering dessert case, tighten your muscles. A study in the Journal of Consumer Research says firming muscles can shore up self-control.
Don’t wait and lose this chance to get all the tips for free, rather than paying the normal download price. There’s no catch in this; it genuinely is free and you can keep it on your eBook reader indefinitely. But I would like to ask a favour: if you download it and like it, please post a favourable review on Amazon. Even if you don't have time to read it now, download it now to read later.
Here are the links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
7.50 am on Thursday 6th December in the UK.
11.50 pm on Wednesday 5th December in USA (PST)
8.50 pm on Thursday 6th December in Sydney, Australia
Here are the first three tips to get you going:
The Colour Blue
Reader’s Digest says: “There’s a good reason you won’t see many fast-food restaurants decorated in blue: Believe it or not, the color blue functions as an appetite suppressant. So serve up dinner on blue plates, dress in blue while you eat, and cover your table with a blue tablecloth. Conversely, avoid red, yellow, and orange in your dining areas. Studies find they encourage eating.”
Imagine More To Eat Less
While you may not be able to stop after just one, simply imagining yourself eating a bag of crisps could keep you from going overboard. A study by Carey Morewedge of Carnegie Mellon University, published in Science, shows that when you imagine eating a certain food, it reduces your actual consumption of that food. These findings suggest that trying to suppress your thoughts of desired foods in order to curb cravings for those foods is a fundamentally flawed strategy.
Increasing Your Self Control
It may seem bizarre but clenching muscles - any muscles - can help you exert self-control. The next time you feel your willpower slipping as you pass that mouth-watering dessert case, tighten your muscles. A study in the Journal of Consumer Research says firming muscles can shore up self-control.
Don’t wait and lose this chance to get all the tips for free, rather than paying the normal download price. There’s no catch in this; it genuinely is free and you can keep it on your eBook reader indefinitely. But I would like to ask a favour: if you download it and like it, please post a favourable review on Amazon. Even if you don't have time to read it now, download it now to read later.
Here are the links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Monday, November 19, 2012
World Toilet Day
Today is World Toilet Day - more than 2 billion people still don’t have a dignified or private place to go to the loo.
Text WASH12£1
to
70070
to donate one pound to Village Water working to reduce this dreadful statistic (I'm a trustee so I can vouch for this charity and all the good work it does).
Text WASH12£1
to
70070
to donate one pound to Village Water working to reduce this dreadful statistic (I'm a trustee so I can vouch for this charity and all the good work it does).
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Toys For Boys And Toys For Girls?
My grandson is 7 years old and I’m beginning to think about what to buy him for Christmas. I’d received a copy of the Boots catalogue and decided to have a look through it.
I was shocked to see that the toys for older children were divided into “Girls’ Toys” and “Boys’ Toys”. And, you guessed it, in the boys’ section there were exciting things like Meccano Assorted Build and Play Vehicles or a Weird Science Slime Laboratory. Girls? Oh they have Glitter Babes Giant Pamper Set or, but no, I can’t bring myself to write about the rest.
I’m throwing the catalogue away. I will not be buying from Boots.
I was shocked to see that the toys for older children were divided into “Girls’ Toys” and “Boys’ Toys”. And, you guessed it, in the boys’ section there were exciting things like Meccano Assorted Build and Play Vehicles or a Weird Science Slime Laboratory. Girls? Oh they have Glitter Babes Giant Pamper Set or, but no, I can’t bring myself to write about the rest.
I’m throwing the catalogue away. I will not be buying from Boots.
Saturday, November 03, 2012
Healthy Protein Powders
I am a keen gym person and find that I do well if I take a protein powder after my workout, ut lots of protein powders are full of all sorts of other stuff as well. I like Good Hemp Protein Powder. The taste isn’t that great, but I mix it with orange juice and glug it down. Since I've been doing that I've found I recover better, am generally less tired (particularly in the morning) and my skin looks and feels a lot better.
I like the fact that it’s made in the UK on a farm in Devon. I was pleased to receive their latest newsletter and to read this:
I like the fact that it’s made in the UK on a farm in Devon. I was pleased to receive their latest newsletter and to read this:
“This year we have been growing on farms where we plant additional areas with plants to increase birdlife and wildlife. In fact for every acre of hemp we planted, we planted an additional 10% of land with wildflowers, special grass mixes and food for the birds through the winter.
"The combination of this work and the benefits of hemp have increased the birdlife dramatically – in fact the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) recently counted the birds seen in a section of the farm and found almost 70% increase from 5 years ago.”
Thursday, November 01, 2012
The Secret Of A Healthy Old Age?
I really enjoyed this long article from the New York Times magazine. They title it The Island Where People Forget To Die. If you're interested in having a long and active old age, this article will certainly offer lots of food for thought. It also makes you realise (yet again) that there is a lot in modern society that is not conducive to health and well being.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
An Interesting Approach To Weight Loss
Would you take part in a weight-loss program in which you were explicitly asked not to lose any weight for the first eight weeks?
Although the approach sounds counterintuitive, a study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that women who spent eight weeks mastering weight-maintenance skills before embarking on a weight-loss program shed the same number of pounds as women who started a weight-loss program immediately. More importantly, the study showed that the “maintenance-first” women had regained only 3 pounds on average a year later, compared to the average 7-pound gain for the immediate dieters.
The study’s authors say that the maintenance-first approach may offer a way to halt the cycle of yo-yo dieting.
Read more information on this weight loss technique>>
Although the approach sounds counterintuitive, a study from researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that women who spent eight weeks mastering weight-maintenance skills before embarking on a weight-loss program shed the same number of pounds as women who started a weight-loss program immediately. More importantly, the study showed that the “maintenance-first” women had regained only 3 pounds on average a year later, compared to the average 7-pound gain for the immediate dieters.
The study’s authors say that the maintenance-first approach may offer a way to halt the cycle of yo-yo dieting.
Read more information on this weight loss technique>>
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Small Bits Of Time
If you spent 10 minutes every day doing something, that would be 1 hour 10 minutes a week, and a staggering 60+ hours a year. Think what you could do with all those small bits of time.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Homesick Students
It can be hard on the whole family if someone goes away to college and finds it difficult to settle and is homesick, so why not give the Bach Flower Reemedies a try.
There are 38 different reemedies, so see which one is suitable. Obvious choices could be Mimulus, Walnut or Honeysuckle.
There are 38 different reemedies, so see which one is suitable. Obvious choices could be Mimulus, Walnut or Honeysuckle.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Lowering Alzheimer's Risk
5 steps to lower Alzheimer's risk as suggested by the Harvard Medical School Newsletter
While there are no surefire ways to prevent Alzheimer's, by following the five steps below you may lower your risk for this disease — and enhance your overall health as well.
1. Maintain a healthy weight. .
2. Check your waistline. To accurately measure your waistline, use a tape measure around the narrowest portion of your waist (usually at the height of the navel and lowest rib). A National Institutes of Health panel recommends waist measurements of no more than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
3. Eat mindfully. Emphasize colorful, vitamin-packed vegetables and fruits; whole grains; fish, lean poultry, tofu, and beans and other legumes as protein sources; plus healthy fats. Cut down on unnecessary calories from sweets, sodas, refined grains like white bread or white rice, unhealthy fats, fried and fast foods, and mindless snacking. Keep a close eye on portion sizes, too.
4. Exercise regularly. This simple step does great things for your body. Regular physical activity helps control weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise (walking, swimming, biking, rowing), can also help chip away total body fat and abdominal fat over time. Aim for 2 1/2 to 5 hours weekly of brisk walking (at 4 mph). Or try a vigorous exercise like jogging (at 6 mph) for half that time.
5. Keep an eye on important health numbers. In addition to watching your weight and waistline, ask your doctor whether your cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar are within healthy ranges. Exercise, weight loss if needed, and medications (if necessary) can help keep these numbers on target.
For more on ways to help prevent Alzheimer's as well as information on diagnosing and treating it, purchase A Guide to Alzheimer's disease by Harvard Medical School.
While there are no surefire ways to prevent Alzheimer's, by following the five steps below you may lower your risk for this disease — and enhance your overall health as well.
1. Maintain a healthy weight. .
2. Check your waistline. To accurately measure your waistline, use a tape measure around the narrowest portion of your waist (usually at the height of the navel and lowest rib). A National Institutes of Health panel recommends waist measurements of no more than 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men.
3. Eat mindfully. Emphasize colorful, vitamin-packed vegetables and fruits; whole grains; fish, lean poultry, tofu, and beans and other legumes as protein sources; plus healthy fats. Cut down on unnecessary calories from sweets, sodas, refined grains like white bread or white rice, unhealthy fats, fried and fast foods, and mindless snacking. Keep a close eye on portion sizes, too.
4. Exercise regularly. This simple step does great things for your body. Regular physical activity helps control weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Moderate to vigorous aerobic exercise (walking, swimming, biking, rowing), can also help chip away total body fat and abdominal fat over time. Aim for 2 1/2 to 5 hours weekly of brisk walking (at 4 mph). Or try a vigorous exercise like jogging (at 6 mph) for half that time.
5. Keep an eye on important health numbers. In addition to watching your weight and waistline, ask your doctor whether your cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, and blood sugar are within healthy ranges. Exercise, weight loss if needed, and medications (if necessary) can help keep these numbers on target.
For more on ways to help prevent Alzheimer's as well as information on diagnosing and treating it, purchase A Guide to Alzheimer's disease by Harvard Medical School.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Getting Satisfaction From Small Things
Many people belittle themselves for getting immense satisfaction from small things. You hear people say things like: “I know it’s sad but I get such a lot of satisfaction from ..” What that from is varies. It can be
The implication is that it’s not a good thing to get satisfaction from small things. But think about this again. Isn’t it better to find lots of satisfaction in small things rather than waiting for your lfe to be perfect before you can be happy.?
Get more tips and insights from my book 500 Plus Health And Happiness Tips >>
- A tidy desk drawer
- A line of washing
- A new magazine
- The colour purple
- The downy hair on my child’s arm
- Chopping onions finely
The implication is that it’s not a good thing to get satisfaction from small things. But think about this again. Isn’t it better to find lots of satisfaction in small things rather than waiting for your lfe to be perfect before you can be happy.?
Get more tips and insights from my book 500 Plus Health And Happiness Tips >>
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
My Bicycle Ride From Russia to Turkey
I have been away from the office riding my bicycle from Peterhof (St Petersburg, Russia ) to Istanbul (Turkey). I rode 2596 miles (over 4100 km) through ten countries. It was quite an adventure – exhilarating, exciting, scary, tiring and much more. I kept a dialy blog about my journey. You can read my blog here>>
Monday, October 15, 2012
Organic Christmas Gifts
I love Green People organic personal care products. Remarkably cheap for such effective products that care so well for you and the environment. And they’re not tested on animals and use some fairly-traded ingredients too.
They’re currently offering 10% off the Christmas Gift Range if you quote the code GPXMAS – offer ends 20th October.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Vegetarain and Vegan Athletes
If you're a vegetarian or vegan athlete there's some great information here about making sure you get enough protein, etc:
It's from the well-respected Nutrition MD web site.
It's from the well-respected Nutrition MD web site.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
200 Plus Weight Loss Tips
200+ Weight Loss Tips, many of them backed up by references to scientific and medical research. Practical ideas that are easy to apply and effective. No bizarre diets or trying to sell you pills, CDs, specific programmes, or anything else! Just great advice and support to help you get control of your appetite, lose weight and keep it off.
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