The race leaders had come out of the water well below 15 minutes, so I was very far back and had a lot of catching up to do on the bike and run. This part of the race soon became fun. On the bike, I was now flying past many of the triathletes who had kicked, punched, and swum over me in the water.I had a somewhat respectable finish for my first triathlon after a much stronger bike and run....
“Joyful laughter immediately produces the same brain wave frequencies experienced by people in a true meditative state,” says Lee Berk, lead researcher of the study and associate professor of pathology and human anatomy at Loma Linda University. To make this discovery, researchers measured the brain wave activity of 31 college students with an electroencephalograph (EEG) while they watched funny, distressful, or spiritual videos. During the funny videos, gamma waves were produced—the same ones achieved during a meditation session....
Nitro coffee doesn’t boast any magical qualities that make it healthier than your standard cold brew. But since it’s naturally more flavorful, you’ll be less tempted to drown the stuff in cream or sugar. (Though plenty of cafés and bars are using nitro in souped up coffee drinks and cocktails, FYI.) And since the velvety chocolate flavor is so satisfying, sipping some in the afternoon just might stave off a three o’clock sugar craving....
Cloud bread is low in carbs and calories, high in protein, and ridiculously easy to make with just three ingredients: eggs, cream cheese, and cream of tartar. The bread gets its creative name from its soft, puffy texture and golden, pillowy appearance—and the taste of this stuff doesn’t deviate from its look. In short, cloud bread is pretty damn good. Think soft and chewy, with a mild eggy flavor. (Which you can make in a slow cooker, if you didn’t know....
Sure, the sign was a joke, but Old Tyme Barbers owner and head operator Joe Magnetico says that wasn’t so obvious to all. “Ninety-five percent got the joke. But you’d be amazed at how many people came in asking for it,” he says. “I’m telling you, we had more than a couple people ask if we used only special shampoos or something.” The economic downturn bit into Magnetico’s business, and he made changes to his “old school” shop, including younger barbers....
That’s because just 1% of imported seafood is inspected by US regulatory agencies, according to a 2011 report by the US Government Accountability Office—and more than 80% of the shrimp we eat comes from other countries. The Final Word On Fish When you look at what’s swimming under the radar and onto your plate, you might lose your appetite for these bottom-feeders altogether. Here, three things you didn’t—but should—know about shrimp:...
Symptom: Pain while climbing stairs It could be: Early osteoarthritisknee pain Recent research from the University of Leeds found that while climbing up stairs could be an early sign of knee osteoarthritis—a common chronic joint disease that affects mostly cartilage. The study, which asked participants to answer annual questionnaires about knee pain, found that even in otherwise pain-free individuals, climbing stairs was the first sign of osteoarthritic knee discomfort. Normally, osteoarthritis occurs in the 40+ crowd, but as people become more active, arthritis sets in earlier and earlier, according to Michael Cross, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery....
This “easy-to-apply sex spray” is slated to hit the market next year—pending the FDA’s early 2014 approval—and researchers say it could help men delay their orgasm by up to six times longer. So far, the Tempe Spray has mostly received rave reviews from patients in clinical trials. It’s been deemed safe and effective by both the FDA and the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, and has had a low incident of side effects like mild penile numbing....
After viewing brain scans from over 1,000 people, researchers found that personality types are not based on a dominant hemisphere of the brain. Instead of seeing an entire side of the brain light up, the researchers saw a handful of especially strong or synchronized connections scattered across both hemispheres of the brain. In fact, when a connection is strong in one hemisphere, it has no relationship to whether the other connections in that same hemisphere are strong or not, says lead author Jared Nielsen, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utah....
Pest-proof your garden in a jiffy Between the deer, slugs, and snails, you’re worried that come May, you won’t have any plants left in your garden! To deter the hungry nuisances, scatter crushed eggshells on the leaves of the nibbled-on plants and around the perimeter of your garden. Snails and slugs can’t safely go over the jagged corners of the crushed shells, and deer hate the smell of eggs—so your garden will stay pest-free....
Researchers from the University of Munich asked a group of 65 study participants to complete a short creativity test online. During the test, each person was asked to write down different uses for a common object, such as a tin can. Here’s the catch: Before the test, each participant was shown a login screen that featured either the color green or the color white. Those who saw the green screens scored about 20 percent higher on the creativity test....
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“I ran competitively in high school and college, but as it happens with many people, life got in the way, and my fitness and strength withered over the years. Then about nine years ago, just before turning 30, I recall a moment in line at a pharmacy waiting to fill an initial prescription for heartburn medication. Standing there, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a better way for me to relieve my symptoms....
While many people know that they don’t feel their best during the winter months, they might not be aware that they could be suffering from a specific form of depression that begins in the late fall, peaks around January and February, and then starts to fade by early spring. Some experts believe the increased darkness disrupts the brain chemicals that affect mood, such as melatonin and serotonin, and others believe that the reduced sunlight causes vitamin D deficiencies, which can translate to depressive feelings....
Here’s how it works: Enter what you’re eating or drinking (say, a latte) and it will present you with several options, or “tweeks,” to lighten the caloric load (like, opt for skim milk instead of whole). Once you select and submit your tweek, the app will then calculate the number of calories you saved and donate an equal number of calories—in the form of a monetary donation—to participating food banks across the country (for some perspective, every 600 calories you save is the equivalent to one meal)....
A new investigational drug, currently known as ALKS 5461, could deliver all the mood-enhancing and anxiety-lowering effects that lead people to use opiates like heroin and Oxycontin—without the potential for getting high or addicted. That’s right: ALKS 5461 could be a non-abusable, non-addictive heroin-like compound. ALKS 5461 is actually a combination of two molecules. The first is buprenorphine, which is already used to provide some of the benefits of opiates, without many of the worst side effects, allowing people to get off of street drugs (as an alternative to methadone)....
More from Fox: Famous Faces Or BipolarHurowitz said the screening tool is the first of its kind. “Never before has there been a single screen. One that is computerized, which can measure not just depression, but also anxiety disorders, PTSD, and bipolar disorder,” he said. “So it’s really revolutionary in that sense.”By answering a series of questions about feelings and lifestyle, the patient is given a score. “And it’s somewhat akin to trying to monitor cholesterol, which most of us now know should be below 200,” Hurowitz said....
