Weightloss for Life

New York — Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests.
It’s not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new work found a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren’t overweight were susceptible.
That abdominal fat, sometimes described as making people apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped, has already been linked to higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease.
“Now we can add dementia to that,” said study author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.
She and others report the findings in Wednesday’s online issue of the journal Neurology.
The study involved 6,583 men and women who were ages 40 to 45 when they had checkups between 1964 and 1973. As part of the exam, their belly size was measured by using a caliper to find the distance between their backs and the surface of their upper abdomens. For the study, a distance of about 10 inches or more was considered high.
The researchers checked medical records to see who had developed Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia by an average of 36 years later. At that point the participants were ages 73 to 87. There were 1,049 cases.
Analysis found that compared to people in the study with normal body weight and a low belly measurement:
— Participants with normal body weight and high belly measurements were 89 per   cent more likely to have dementia.
— Overweight people were 82 per cent more likely if they had a low belly   measurement, but more than twice as likely if they had a high belly measurement.
— Obese people were 81 per cent more likely if they had a low belly measurement,   but more than three times as likely if they had a high measurement.
 Ms. Whitmer said there’s no precise way to translate belly measurements into  waist circumference. But most people have a sense of whether they have a big   belly, she said. And if they do, the new study suggests they should get rid of it, she  said.
It’s not clear why abdominal fat would promote dementia, but it may pump out substances that harm the brain, she said.
Dr. Jose Luchsinger of the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, who studies the connection between obesity and Alzheimer’s disease but didn’t participate in the new work, cautioned that such a study cannot prove abdominal fat promotes dementia.
But the study results are “highly plausible” and “I’m not surprised at all,” he said. High insulin levels might help explain them, he said.
Dr. Samuel Gandy, who chairs the medical and scientific advisory council of the Alzheimer’s Association, said the results fit in with previous work that indicates a person’s characteristics in middle age can affect the risk of dementia in later life.
And it’s another example of how traits associated with the risk of developing heart disease are also linked to later dementia, he said.
MALCOLM RITTER
The Associated Press
March 26, 2008 at 4:19 PM EDT

Mushrooms are the only natural fruit or vegetable source of vitamin D. They’ve got a lot of other things going for them too. They’re a good source of copper, potassium, selenium and the B-vitamins niacin, pantothenic acid and riboflavin . They also contain ergothioneine, a potent antioxidant, in amounts greater than those found in chicken liver and wheat germ, the other two richest sources. They’re fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in calories.
– Susan Bowerman

SOME exercise folklore, such as the runner’s high, is eventually proved. But far more common are the persistent myths, including the following two.

Personal Best: Yes, Running Can Make You High (March 27, 2008) If you’re not sore the day after a workout, you didn’t push yourself hard enough.

Not true, said James Pivarnik, a kinesiology and epidemiology professor at Michigan State University. “Soreness usually comes when you’ve laid off for a while, or you’re trying something different,” he said. Consider this: Only a week after finishing a long-distance triathlon quite comfortably, Dr. Pivarnik, then a postdoctorate fellow, played a round of golf. “The next day I was dying,” he said. “I was more sore after hitting the golf balls than after any training sessions or the race.”

Fit people accustomed to a sport might not be sore, even after a tough session, said Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, but “their heart still gets a workout and they improve.”

Running causes arthritis or damages knee cartilage.

“This is so crazy,” said Dr. Tim Church, director of preventative medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. “The data clearly shows that people who are physically active, whether running or walking, have much better joints as they age.”

And yet, people often liken their knee cartilage to Michelins, telling Dr. Church, “It’s like tires, you only have so many miles to go.”

In fact, Dr. Wright explained, the only research that ever looked at running and cartilage found that elite runners who ignore injuries are the ones whose miles saddle their knees with wear and tear. Not so with average runners. “That’s not to say that runners don’t get arthritis or wear and tear,” she said. “But continuing to run has never been proven to make it worse.” CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS

If you are overweight then finding an easy weight loss program that suits you is probably high on your agenda; however, there are a number that are very good and benefit anyone who wants too shed some pounds. It is important to be aware of just how harmful being overweight or obese is to health and many serious health conditions are caused as a result of excess weight.Personal commitment to achieving a desired result is no different for people using an easy weight loss system as it is for anything a person tries to achieve. Your primary reason for losing weight must be clear whether it is too improve your looks or for health reasons; once you know this, then you must decide.

Many factors affect how well your weight loss program will go including how much physical activity you have during a normal day, the type of food you eat, how many meals you have and when those meals are eaten. Many people have unrealistic expectations about how much weight they should lose every month but weight loss should not be rapid which can have a serious impact on your health.

Considering that one pound represents 3500 calories which can be burned or lost in a week, it means you need to get rid of 500 calories a day either through exercise or proper diet. Most of us eat too much and definitely an excess of junk foods which we shouldn’t rely on the way we do although it is not a good idea cut out everything you enjoy.

Another more subtle factor is the emotional reaction to stress and problems as many people simply start eating when they feel insecure or depressed. Problems occur when medical conditions arise from overeating, like diabetes which is on the increase but we must not forget other diseases like cancer, heart conditions and raised blood pressure. Many of the easy weight loss treatments neglect the psychological factor, hence, very few are truly effective, but you have to go beyond planning and find the real cause of a metabolic imbalance.

One aspect that also needs to be included is how the person pursues the subject of their weight loss program as those who take a more relaxed approach are usually more successful. The one thing that has shown to be true no matter what you do in life is that being positive about something is more likely to make it happen. Together with the loss of extra pounds comes a boost in energy and vitality as well as a sense of well being that is directly related to an improving self-esteem.

Easy weight loss programs are all about a person’s ability to adapt to some demanding living conditions and once you embark upon it, it usually gets easier and easier.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Darryl_Cocks  

Being overweight is no laughing matter. Obesity is becoming an epidemic and is responsible for a ton of health problems including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and even cancer. There may be no single cause for the rise of obesity, but the increase of technology and the convenience of “fast food” are certainly major factors. So if you are obese or even just a little bit overweight, you need to start taking your weight problem seriously. If you don’t, the pounds will pack on and your health will decline. Read on to discover the natural way to lose weight.

First of all, let’s get one thing straight. Fad diets won’t work. You may drop the weight initially on a fad diet, but when you have lost the weight, what is going to prevent you from putting the weight back on? Everyone wants an easy answer to weight loss, but unfortunately there is no magic button or magic pill that we can take to make the pounds drop off.

Think about this, how long did it take you to put on that excess weight? One week? Two weeks? Six months? Unless you had a non-stop high fat eating marathon, you probably progressively gained weight over a period of months or years. So if it took you a while to put the weight on, why would you think that it would only take a few weeks to take it back off. So if you want to lose the weight and keep it off, you need to be patient.

The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to change the way you eat. Eliminate those fast food meals. If you want to be shocked, look up how many calories your favorite fast food meal contains. Now do you see why you are gaining weight? These foods are high in calories, high in fat and high in sodium. The only they are not high in is nutrition. So the first step to lose weight the natural way is to stop the fast food dining.

Learn how to prepare delicious, healthy meals at home. Instead of snacking on those yummy chips and chocolate bars, try eating fruits and veggies. Eat six small healthy meals a day instead of two or three large meals. This is the most important tip for weight loss. Eating more meals will increase your metabolism and help it to burn off the excess fat.

Try drinking green tea instead of sodas. Green tea has been shown to increase your metabolism and it is also a great antioxidant that can help you fight off certain diseases. It is also critical that you start taking vitamins and supplements. Choose a good source of all natural supplements and start taking them everyday. You will feel healthier and have more energy.

So if you are looking for that magic bullet that will make you lose weight, stop looking, it doesn’t exist. The only way to lose weight and keep it off for good is to start eating a healthy diet.

Today I’m going to share with you 5 useful and free tools (software) that I use very often when running my online businesses.1) PDF CreatorIf you have been thinking of creating your own PDF ebooks, yet you do not want to buy the expensive Adobe PDF writer, I have a solution.A free software I’ve been using for a long time is CutePDF. It’s free and very easy to use. Just install and print any page or document into a PDF file.2) Screen Shot SoftwareGetting a screen shot of your desktop is very useful when you want to add some useful graphics to your ebook, instruction manual or in your sales letter.I’ve tried numerous screen shot software but frankly, none of them compares to this free version.Most screen shot software are complicated and they offer too many features that you don’t need. But
Screen Shot 1.0 gives me exactly what I need. It’s easy to use and it works fast.3) Multi-purpose Text EditorThis software is not for everyone. But if you are an experienced ‘hands-on’ internet marketer, you will appreciate this software.Have you ever experienced a situation where you have to change just 1 word in ALL your html files? You open as many windows as possible and try to repeat the change at top speed, only to realize that you still make mistakes along the way.What if there is a software that allows you to open unlimited number of text files, including your html files, php files etc, and you can replace a word or sentence across all the opened files at the same time?This is just one of the many advantages of Notepad ++.With Notepad ++, you can also view 1 file in two different windows. This is very useful for debugging purpose.Another feature that I like is its color distinction for different syntaxes and codes. If you know a little about html, php or asp, this software can be your best editor.Basically, if you ever need to perform any text editing, I can’t recommend any editor other than Notepad ++.4) Audio EditorNowadays MP3 recorder is very common. You can easily record your own voice or an interview session. The problem is how are you going to edit the recording?There are some expensive software out there. Yet again, I’m using a free audio editor that is superbly easy to use, very reliable and it produces top quality audio files.The audio editor I’m talking about is Audacity.You can edit most of the popular audio formats with Audacity. But if you need to export the edited file in MP3 format, you will need to install an extra plugin. I suggest if you want to install Audacity, install the MP3 plugin too because you will definitely need it one day. The detailed instruction to install the plugin can be found at

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/exportmp3.html5) English Dictionary! Please, don’t laugh at me. English is not my mother tongue and to make sure that I’m using the right word most of the time when writing a blog or newsletter, I need to use a dictionary.Online dictionary is too slow and one needs to be online to use it. What I’m using is WordWeb. It’s free and it’s easy to
use.I have it automatically turn on whenever I start my computer and I set up Ctrl-Z as the hotkey. Whenever I need to check the meaning of a word, all I have to do is highlight the word and press “Ctrl Z”. It’s that simple.Besides the meaning of the word, WordWeb also gives you the synonyms. Whenever I can’t think of an appropriate word to use, I’ll enter something close and see if I can find a better word in the list of synonyms.If you have used one of these software or you decide to try them out, share with us your experience in the comment section below. Or if you have a better recommendation, let us know. We are all looking for better software to improve
our efficiency, aren’t we?These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. http://www.leadsleap.com/blog/5-useful-and-free-tools-for-webmasters-or-internet-marketers/?r=rancher08

Copyright 2005 Linda Slater Dowling

At one time or another, we’ve all wished that there were 48 hours in a day. Sometimes it feels like we need at least that long just to get everything, from work to studying to socializing and relaxing, done. College students, in particular, struggle to fit their busy schedules into a “normal” day, and to do it often end up sacrificing the last thing they should: their sleep.

As you likely know, juggling classes and a social life is not easy. Add to that the pressures of getting all “A’s,” working part-time (or even full-time) to help pay your tuition, and getting involved in other campus activities, and it’s no wonder that many college kids report getting to bed at 3 a.m. on a regular basis.

Generation Y Is Really Tired

A 2000 poll by the National Sleep Foundation found some startling facts about the nation’s 18-29-year-olds, which includes some of Generation Y. A full 33 percent of those polled said they suffered from significant daytime sleepiness, making them as sleepy as shift workers. But that’s not all. The poll also found that:

• 55 percent of young adults reported waking up feeling “unrefreshed.”
• 53 percent said they will sleep less to get more done.
• 55 percent postponed bedtime to watch TV or use the Internet.
• 40 percent reported feeling sleepy at work or school two days a week or more.
• 60 percent reported having driven while drowsy in the past year.

Not surprisingly, all that sleepiness had increasing numbers of kids and young adults reaching for prescription sleep aids. Since 2000, the number of 10- to 19-year-olds who use such drugs has increased 85 percent, and spending has jumped 223 percent!

Why Sleep Is So Important

Some side effects of not sleeping enough are obvious. It becomes hard to concentrate and make decisions (You may have read the same paragraph four times and still not know what it said, for instance), and you become irritable, forgetful and just plain crabby.

Other effects can be more serious and may not surface right away. Not enough sleep has been linked to: