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12166312067?profile=originalHere is an article from Natural News about research on electronics and sleep deprivation.
We have known this for years and I have been suggesting to people that they NOT have a TV in their bedroom and not play on the computer just before bed. Personally, I also use full spectrum lighting before bed and sleep on a Nikken magnetic mattress to reset my body’s natural rhythm during sleep. See my website st www.nikken.com/bychoice for information on these products

(NaturalNews) Do you use your computer, watch television, or mess around on your cell phone within the hour before you go to bed at night? If so, you might be altering your sleep cycle and preventing quality rest, according to a new study conducted as part of a National Sleep Foundation poll. Researchers say that staring at light-emitting screens during the hour before going to sleep inhibits the proper release of melatonin, a hormone that regulates the body’s natural sleep cycles.

Roughly 95 percent of poll respondents indicated that they typically play video games, watch television, use the computer, or access their smart phones within the hour before they go to sleep. And 43 percent of respondents between the ages of 13 and 64 said they rarely ever get a good night’s sleep during an average work week.

“This study reveals that light-emitting screens are in heavy use within the pivotal hour before sleep,” said Charles Czeisler from Harvard Medical School, in a Breitbart piece. “Invasion of such alerting technologies into the bedroom may contribute to the high proportion of respondents who report that they routinely get less sleep than they need.”

While respondents in older generations tended more towards passively watching television before bed, younger respondents indicated participation in more active and brain-engaging activities like playing video games and using smart phones, which experts say may be even worse for sleep and overall health.

“Over the last 50 years, we’ve seen how television viewing has grown to be a near constant before bed, and now we are seeing new information technologies such as laptops, cell phones, video games and music devices rapidly gaining the same status,” said Lauren Hale of Stony Brook University Medical Center. “The higher use of these potentially more sleep-disruptive technologies among younger generations may have serious consequences for physical health, cognitive development, and other measures of well-being.”

Keeping mobile phones and other radiation-emitting devices away from your bed at night will also help improve sleep quality by limiting exposure to the “electro-smog” they emit that can disrupt restful sleep. Long-term exposure to even low levels of electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) may cause serious health problems, so it is always a smart idea to limit their use and keep them away from your body whenever possible (http://www.naturalnews.com/022926_E…).

Extracted from : http://wellnessbychoice.wordpress.com/

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Do you lead an active lifestyle or a sedentary one?
 The question is simple, but the answer may not be as obvious as you think. Let's say, for example, you're a busy guy who works 60 hours a week at a desk job but who still manages to find time for five 45-minute bouts of exercise. Most experts would label you as active. But Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., has another name for you: couch potato.

Perhaps "exercising couch potato" would be more accurate, but Hamilton, a physiologist and professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, would still classify you as sedentary. "People tend to view physical activity on a single continuum," he says. "On the far side, you have a person who exercises a lot; on the other, a person who doesn't exercise at all. However, they're not necessarily polar opposites."

Hamilton's take, which is supported by a growing body of research, is that the amount of time you exercise and the amount of time you spend on your butt are completely separate factors for heart-disease risk. New evidence suggests, in fact, that the more hours a day you sit, the greater your likelihood of dying an earlier death regardless of how much you exercise or how lean you are. That's right: Even a sculpted six-pack can't protect you from your chair.

But it's not just your heart that's at risk from too much sitting; your hips, spine, and shoulders could also suffer. In fact, it's not a leap to say that a chair-potato lifestyle can ruin you from head to toe.

Statistically speaking, we're working out as much as we were 30 years ago. It's just that we're leading more sedentary lives overall. A 2006 University of Minnesota study found that from 1980 to 2000, the percentage of people who reported exercising regularly remained the same—but the amount of time people spent sitting rose by 8 percent.

Now consider how much we sit today compared with, say, 160 years ago. In a clever study, Dutch researchers created a sort of historical theme park and recruited actors to play 1850s Australian settlers for a week. The men did everything from chop wood to forage for food, and the scientists compared their activity levels with those of modern office workers. The result: The actors did the equivalent of walking 3 to 8 miles more a day than the deskbound men. That kind of activity is perhaps even more needed in today's fast-food nation than it was in the 1800s, but not just because it boosts calorie burn.

A 2010 study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that when healthy men limited their number of footsteps by 85 percent for 2 weeks, they experienced a 17 percent decrease in insulin sensitivity, raising their diabetes risk. "We've done a lot to keep people alive longer, but that doesn't mean we're healthier," says Hamilton.

Today's death rate is about 43 percent lower than it was in 1960, but back then, less than 1 percent of Americans had diabetes and only 13 percent were obese. Compare that with now, when 6 percent are diagnosed with diabetes and 35 percent are obese.

Make no mistake: "Regularly exercising is not the same as being active," says Peter Katzmarzyk, Ph.D., Hamilton's colleague at Pennington, the nation's leading obesity research center. Katzmarzyk is referring to the difference between official exercise activity, such as running, biking, or lifting weights, and so-called nonexercise activity, like walking to your car, mowing the lawn, or simply standing. "A person may hit the gym every day, but if he's sitting a good deal of the rest of the time, he's probably not leading an overall active life," says Katzmarzyk.

You might dismiss this as scientific semantics, but energy expenditure statistics support Katzmarzyk's notion. In a 2007 report, University of Missouri scientists said that people with the highest levels of nonexercise activity (but little to no actual "exercise") burned significantly more calories a week than those who ran 35 miles a week but accumulated only a moderate amount of nonexercise activity. "It can be as simple as standing more," Katzmarzyk says. 

For instance, a "standing" worker—say, a sales clerk at a Banana Republic store—burns about 1,500 calories while on the job; a person behind a desk might expend roughly 1,000 calories. That goes a long way in explaining why people gain 16 pounds, on average, within 8 months of starting sedentary office work, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

But calories aren't the only problem. In 2009, Katzmarzyk studied the lifestyle habits of more than 17,000 men and women and found that the people who sat for almost the entire day were 54 percent more likely to end up clutching their chests than those who sat for almost none of the time. That's no surprise, of course, except that it didn't matter how much the sitters weighed or how often they exercised. "The evidence that sitting is associated with heart disease is very strong," says Katzmarzyk. "We see it in people who smoke and people who don't. We see it in people who are regular exercisers and those who aren't. Sitting is an independent risk factor."

This isn't actually a new discovery. In a British study published in 1953, scientists examined two groups of workers: bus drivers and trolley conductors. At first glance, the two occupations appeared to be pretty similar. But while the bus drivers were more likely to sit down for their entire day, the trolley conductors were running up and down the stairs and aisles of the double-decker trolleys. As it turned out, the bus drivers were nearly twice as likely to die of heart disease as the conductors were.

A more recent interpretation of that study, published in 2004, found that none of the participants ever exercised. But the two groups did sit for different amounts of time. The analysis revealed that even after the scientists accounted for differences in waist size—an indicator of belly fat—the bus drivers were still more likely to die before the conductors did. So the bus drivers were at higher risk not simply because their sedentary jobs made them resemble Ralph Kramden, but also because all that sitting truly was making them unhealthy.

Hamilton came to call this area of science "inactivity physiology" while he was conducting studies to determine how exercise affects an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase (LPL). Found in humans as well as mice, LPL's main responsibility is to break down fat in the bloodstream to use as energy. If a mouse (or a man) doesn't have this enzyme, or if the enzyme doesn't work in their leg muscles, the fat is stored instead of burned as fuel.

Hamilton discovered that when the rodents were forced to lie down for most of their waking hours, LPL activity in their leg muscles plummeted. But when they simply stood around most of the time, the gene was 10 times more active. That's when he added an exercise session to the lab-rat routine and found that exercise had no effect on LPL. He believes the finding also applies to people.

"Humans sit too much, so you have to treat the problem specifically," says Hamilton. "The cure for too much sitting isn't more exercise. Exercise is good, of course, but the average person could never do enough to counteract the effect of hours and hours of chair time.

"We know there's a gene in the body that causes heart disease, but it doesn't respond to exercise no matter how often or how hard you work out," he says. "And yet the activity of the gene becomes worse from sitting—or rather, the complete and utter lack of contractile activity in your muscles. So the more nonexercise activity you do, the more total time you spend on your feet and out of your chair. That's the real cure."

 

"Your body adapts to what you do most often," says Bill Hartman, P.T., C.S.C.S., a Men's Health advisor and physical therapist in Indianapolis, Indiana. "So if you sit in a chair all day, you'll essentially become better adapted to sitting in a chair." The trouble is, that makes you less adept at standing, walking, running, and jumping, all of which a truly healthy human should be able to do with proficiency. "Older folks have a harder time moving around than younger people do," says Hartman. "That's not simply because of age; it's because what you do consistently from day to day manifests itself over time, for both good and bad."

Do you sit all day at a desk? You're courting muscle stiffness, poor balance and mobility, and lower-back, neck, and hip pain. But to understand why, you'll need a quick primer on fascia, a tough connective tissue that covers all your muscles. While fascia is pliable, it tends to "set" in the position your muscles are in most often. So if you sit most of the time, your fascia adapts to that specific position.

Now think about where your hips and thighs are in relation to your torso while you're sitting. They're bent, which causes the muscles on the front of your thighs, known as hip flexors, to contract slightly, or shorten. The more you sit, the more the fascia will keep your hip flexors shortened. "If you've ever seen a guy walk with a forward lean, it's often because of shortened hip flexors," says Hartman. "The muscles don't stretch as they naturally should. As a result, he's not walking tall and straight because his fascia has adapted more to sitting than standing."

This same effect can be seen in other areas of your body. For instance, if you spend a lot of time with your shoulders and upper back slumped over a keyboard, this eventually becomes your normal posture. "That's not just an issue in terms of how you look; it frequently leads to chronic neck and shoulder pain," says Hartman. Also, people who frequently cross their legs a certain way can experience hip imbalances. "This makes your entire lower body less stable, which decreases your agility and athletic performance and increases your risk for injuries," Hartman says. Add all this up, and a person who sits a lot is less efficient not only at exercising, but also at simply moving from, say, the couch to the refrigerator.

There's yet another problem with all that sitting. "If you spend too much time in a chair, your glute muscles will actually 'forget' how to fire," says Hartman. This phenomenon is aptly nicknamed "gluteal amnesia." A basic-anatomy reminder: Your glutes, or butt muscles, are your body's largest muscle group. So if they aren't functioning properly, you won't be able to squat or deadlift as much weight, and you won't burn as much fat. After all, muscles burn calories. And that makes your glutes a powerful furnace for fat—a furnace that's probably been switched off if you spend most of the day on your duff.

It gets worse. Weak glutes as well as tight hip flexors cause your pelvis to tilt forward. This puts stress on your lumbar spine, resulting in lower-back pain. It also pushes your belly out, which gives you a protruding gut even if you don't have an ounce of fat. "The changes to your muscles and posture from sitting are so small that you won't notice them at first. But as you reach your 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond, they'll gradually become worse," says Hartman, "and a lot harder to fix."

So what's a desk jockey to do? Hamilton's advice: Think in terms of two spectrums of activity. One represents the activities you do that are considered regular exercise. But another denotes the amount of time you spend sitting versus the time you spend on your feet. "Then every day, make the small choices that will help move you in the right direction on that sitting-versus-standing spectrum," says Hamilton. "Stand while you're talking on the phone. It all adds up, and it all matters."

Of course, there's a problem with all of this: It kills all our lame excuses for not exercising (no time for the gym, fungus on the shower-room floor, a rerun of The Officeyou haven't seen). Now we have to redefine "workout" to include every waking moment of our days. But there's a big payoff: more of those days to enjoy in the future. So get up off your chair and start nonexercising.

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Stiletto Heels, Uber Skinny Jeans, Heavy Bags- What NOT to Wear :One of the biggest fashion faux pas is wearing fashion that cause pain

By DENNIE HUGHES

Thanks to the towering stilettos being introduced this season, there were a multitude of models wiping out on the runways. Just check out YouTube to see some of the carnage. 

But crazy-high heels aren't the only treacherous fall trend: Such fashion must-haves as sewn-on jeans, hefty handbags, and oversize jewelry can also play havoc with your health. "All that squeezing, balance shifting, and heavy lifting can really take a toll on your body," says Bob Emery, Dr. P. H., an associate professor of occupational health at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Fashionistas need not despair, though. A few minor adjustments to this year's looks can keep you in style— and out of the doctor's office. 

Designer Don't
Sky-High Stilettos
"This year's heels are taller than ever and offer less support— and the higher the heel, the more damage that can occur," says New York City podiatrist Johanna Youner, D. P. M. Over time, the extra weight on your forefoot can lead to pinched nerves and joint problems such as bunions or hammertoes (sexy, huh?). "I've also seen women who literally fell off their shoes, fracturing their foot or spraining their ankle," Youner says. 

Fashion Do Stick with a two-or three-inch heel and a rounded or open toe. This will distribute your weight more evenly and make room for swollen tootsies. "Instead of spindly stilettos, look for wedges, platforms, or thick, stacked heels—as well as a firm back or straps to keep your foot secure in the shoe," Youner says. For extra shock absorption, consider having a leather outsole replaced with a rubber one, and adding a thin gel or foam insole, such as Dr. Scholl's for Her ball-of-foot cushions.

 

Designer Don't
Skin-Tight Jeans
"Super-skinny jeans won't crush your organs the way corsets did, but they can irritate your skin and trap moisture, which can set you up for a yeast infection," says Elizabeth Kavaler, M. D., a urologist in New York City. A stiff denim crotch seam can also cause pelvic muscles to clench (in an effort to "push" the fabric away), making urination difficult. 

Fashion Do Choose skinnies made of stretch denim in a breathable cotton or linen, and make sure the seams are soft and pliable. When trying them on, take a seat: If you feel the need to unfasten, try another size or style. Looser boyfriend jeans or trouser jeans won't make you feel like a sausage in too-tight casing. 

Designer Don't
Monstrous Bags
The potential side effects of enormous arm candy: a stiff neck and shoulders and a pounding headache. Carrying a heavy shoulder load also restricts blood flow to one side of the body, causing muscle strain. 

Fashion Do With all the hardware, today's average bag can weigh 10 pounds empty. Look instead for smaller sizes in lightweight materials like silk, cotton, or nylon. Padded wide or short straps or longer straps worn diagonally across the chest can spread out the load on your shoulder. A bag with many compartments will distribute weight more evenly (and keep your stuff from pooling in one spot). And unless you want to develop a hunch, be sure to switch arms frequently. 

Designer Don't
Oversize Earrings
Wearing doorknockers can cause the holes in your earlobes to stretch or tear. Once that happens, the lobes may not heal on their own—then, to repair the damage your only option is cosmetic surgery (read: not covered by insurance) to remove excess tissue and stitch the hole shut. 

Fashion Do "Limit heavy chandeliers to only a couple of hours at a time, and never wear them around little kids, who tend to pull on earrings, which can speed up the tearing process," says John Canady, M. D., professor of plastic surgery at the University of Iowa. If you can't give up bigger, eye-catching styles, try lighter hoops, mesh metals, and wooden or plastic beads instead of heavy stones. For extra support, swap skinny ear wires for post styles that come with large plastic backs.

 

(Extracted from : http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/fashion-hazards )

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WHY DO I CRAVE SUGAR ?

Sugar cravings are a real problem for many of us. They can cause much frustration as well as feelings of low self-worth as we give in to those cravings. One of the reasons we crave sugar (or caffeine) is because of low adrenal function.

The adrenals are hormone glands that sit above the kidneys. Amongst other things, one of their jobs is to secrete epinephrine (better known to some as adrenaline) which provides us with energy. They also secrete cortisone when there is inflammation present in the body. Thirdly, they replace the function of the ovaries in the production of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone when women get close to their menopausal years. When everything is functioning well and everything is being nourished properly, there is no problem. This hormonal transition takes place smoothly.

What can interfere with this? Stress, first and foremost. Of any kind. When we're stressed the adrenals secrete adrenaline as if we were preparing to fight tigers in the jungle. They don't know the difference between the stress of facing a tiger and the stress of facing an irate boss, a bouncing checkbook or rush-hour traffic. They just jump into gear and adrenaline flows.

Inflammation can be caused by many well-known factors such as injury and diseases like arthritis etc. What is less known is that food allergies can also cause inflammation. If the allergen is something that is eaten frequently such as wheat, we can have consistent low-grade inflammation going on almost all the time. (Dairy is another common food allergen). The adrenals are consistently under pressure to produce cortisone to keep the inflammation under control as much as possible.

These two factors are enough to deplete the body's energy reserves. Add to them the requirement of now manufacturing estrogen and progesterone and you can see that this gland could very well get into trouble.

What happens?
-Lack of energy most definitely
-Fatigue
-Need to take afternoon naps
-Cravings for sugar or caffeine to force the adrenals to give the energy that is lacking
-Menopausal symptoms can also kick in if the adrenals are not up to par

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STOP SUGAR CRAVINGS?

What I often do when someone comes to me with these symptoms is to put them on adrenal supplements. I recommend a higher dosage to start with, which we reduce as the energy returns. I often start them on one to two, or even three of the sugar craving formula as well. Apart from this, I make no dietary recommendations at this time. It is just too hard to ask a person to cut out the sugar when in reality it is like a drug for them. It gives them the energy to get through day and to feel like a human being. It helps the brain to work. I give them a formula for their adrenal glands for a week and when they come back in to see me their energy has improved, their mood is better, and they often have a different, more positive outlook. They now have more willpower in which to make some changes.

I tell people when they are reaching for the chocolate or the cookies, to eat a packet first. Wait 10 minutes and if you still want the chocolate, eat it. If you do this consistently, not only will you cut down on the number of "bad" snacks you eat, but after a while you will find that you are craving fruits or vegetables instead.


The next step is to begin replacing the high sugar drinks in the diet with low-carb drinks. And we start with the most detrimental, i.e. drinks with sugar substitutes and all their side effects as well as caffeinated drinks. Many people drink sodas or juices consistently throughout the day. For that I recommend a particular lemon tea formula which helps to give energy by flushing fat. Controlling the blood sugar levels can be very effective in stabilizing mood swings as well.

After 3 to 4 weeks, dietary changes should be happening quite naturally. For the purposes of sugar cravings the general rule is that the more refined carbohydrates you eat, the more you crave. And the easiest way not to crave is to not eat ANY sweets or refined carbohydrates (including white flour etc.) Increasing protein intake can be very helpful too. For some people simply adding more protein to their diets cuts down their sugar cravings tremendously. This is especially true for vegetarians.



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