It made me think of how simple messages and simple remedies can be overlooked. I suggested personalized music to a friend who’s dad has alzheimers, and the thought never occurred to her. She immediately got her dad hooked up to songs that brought him to places of laughter and peace. The movie also illuminated how complicated something as simple as bringing music into elder homes can be. It’s not as easy as it sounds....
The team of international researchers analyzed stats from 50 countries participating in the World Health Survey. They found that countries with high consumption of black tea were associated with a low prevalence of diabetes. So which countries guzzle the most black tea? Ireland tops the list, followed by the United Kingdom, Turkey, and Russia. The US didn’t do so well, coming in at 32nd. (See how other countries ranked here....
Here are 8 reasons you’re confused about calories and the simple steps that will help you do the math. Portions sizes are out of control You’ve all heard about the rapidly expanding serving sizes of restaurant and fast food portions, but just how bad are they? Portions sizes in restaurants may contain double or triple the calories of home-cooked meals, and studies show eating out is associated with a higher BMI....
It’s easy to get suckered into thinking that celebrity chef creations are nutritious—after all, their food just looks so good. But while popular chefs churn out tasty recipes, they’re likely turning a blind eye to nutrition, warns a new report. A team of UK researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, examined the nutritional content of 100 recipes from popular celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver, Lorraine Pascale, and Nigella Lawson....
Habitat destruction caused by environmental disaster, overfishing of certain species to near extinction and rampant water pollution from agriculture runoff have left our oceans and their inhabitants facing a survival crisis today and – if we are not careful – a crisis that is sure to grow exponentially far, far into the future. Fish lovers everywhere are faced with a quandary – how to select fish that is part of a healthy diet AND a good choice for the environment?...
This dish is as simple as they come: fresh veggies plus fresh salmon in a five-ingredient marinade. Just make sure the salmon you buy is wild, not farmed. Wild salmon is lower in calories, saturated fat, and sodium but has more zinc, potassium, iron, and calcium than farmed. (It’s better for the ocean, too!) MORE: This One Ingredient Makes Salmon Delicious Serves 2 Marinade 2 tsp toasted sesame oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp minced ginger ½ tsp salt ⅛ tsp black pepper Stir-fry 1 salmon fillet (6 oz) 2 c broccoli florets ½ c snow peas ¼ c carrots, cut into matchsticks 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil ¼ c sliced water chestnuts 1 tsp organic tamari 2 c spinach, stems removed 1 tsp sesame seeds...
Why? Surprisingly, there’s really no proof that cough syrup helps whatsoever. A video from the American Chemical Society points out that although we spend billions of dollars on cough medicine every year, the science behind syrups is seriously lacking. Analyses of cough medicine studies have found either conflicting evidence or no evidence that the meds are any better than a placebo. And that goes for all types of cough syrups, since there are several....
Peanut Noodles Whole wheat spaghetti Organic creamy peanut butter Seasoned rice vinegar Reduced-sodium soy sauce Scallions [sidebar] Prepare 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti per package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking liquid and drain pasta in colander. Whisk together cooking liquid, 5 Tbsp organic creamy peanut butter, 3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce, and 1/2 cup chopped scallion greens. Add to pasta, tossing to combine well. Divide among 4 serving bowls and top with 1/4 cup slivered scallion greens....
That’s how Valerie Bertinelli and her husband, Tom Vitale, describe the first time they cooked together. While he assembled a shrimp appetizer and she topped crostini with mozzarella, they touched, they tasted, and, Bertinelli says, they “just knew.” This joy of good food and the people you share it with forms the basis of 52-year-old Bertinelli’s new cookbook, One Dish at a Time. It’s packed with recipes from the many people she has loved throughout her life: her mother, her grandmother, her mother-in-law–even her former mother-in-law, Eugenia Van Halen (mother of rocker Eddie)–and her girlfriends....
It’s getting complicated. Over one third of divorce filings in 2011 contained the word “Facebook,” according to a recent report from Divorce Online, a legal services firm. And the overlap between Facebook and relationships doesn’t stop there: ABC News reported in May that children’s Facebook profiles, mined for evidence of poor parenting, are now often used in custody settlements. In fact, a survey of prominent divorce attorneys concludes that 81% of them report a spike in cases using Facebook and other social networks as evidence in divorce proceedings, according to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers....
But many companies offering quick meals and express lattes are starting to pay attention to one thing in particular—better living conditions for the animals that provide the eggs, bacon, and milk used in the billions of fast-food meals served up every year. The latest example came earlier this month when McDonald’s announced it will require U.S. pork suppliers to create plans to phase out the use of gestation stalls. These metal confinement crates are used to hold female pigs for almost their entire lives before being butchered....
It could be that you (we) just haven’t found the right meditation style, says davidji, apprentice to Deepak Chopra, and the author of The Secrets of Meditation: A Practical Guide to Inner Peace and Personal Transformation. In his new book, the corporate executive-turned-meditation teacher covers the most frequently practiced forms of meditation. “Many types of meditation can help you manage the constant swirl of the city and our reactions to it,” he says....
You know exercise can make you feel better, and you may have heard that light therapy can help brighten your mood. Now one health club chain has put the two together in a unique fitness class designed to bust those seasonal doldrums for good. The aptly named “Lighten Up” workout at New York Sports Club combines 30 minutes of high-intensity intervals and total-body strength moves with a 20-minute light therapy session....
Those fitness classes at your gym are great for many reasons—they challenge and motivate you, especially when you don’t want to work out by yourself. But to get the most out your fitness class, make sure you avoid these mistakes. You don’t watch your form: Go ahead, check yourself out. Many fitness classes are held in rooms with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, which are a great way to ensure that you’re following along with the instructor correctly....
Fight for Food Education Sign it!Who: Celebrity chef Jamie OliverPetitioning: The G20—an international forum of major economic powers, including the USThe lowdown: Worldwide, 42 million kids under the age of 5 are overweight or obese. Jamie Oliver wants to change that. How? By convincing the world’s biggest governments to require basic culinary education for kids. “I believe that it’s a child’s human right to be taught how to grow and cook fresh nutritious food at school,” he says....
Sure, you keep a fairly tidy home: The floors are (mostly) vacuumed, the clothes are (pretty much) hung up, the dishes are (usually) done. But if you tend to ignore the dust that settles into all your home’s nooks and crannies, two new studies show you could be putting your health at serious risk. Common household dust contains particles from as many as 55 different flame retardants, according to new research from the Silver Spring Institute in Newton, Massachusetts....
“Women with the highest blood levels of carotenoids had a 15 to 20% lower risk of developing all types of breast cancer and a 40 to 50% lower risk of developing estrogen-receptor negative [ER-] breast cancer,” says Heather Eliassen, ScD, lead study author. [ER-] breast cancer tumors are fast growing and don’t respond to the hormone therapy that is so successful in estrogen-receptor positive tumors. “Some carotenoids are precursors to vitamin A, which helps regulate cell growth and death,” says Dr....
Don’t Worry About That IQ Test You Didn’t Quite Ace [The Telegraph] If the results of your IQ test don’t qualify you for Mensa, we’ve got good news: The exam doesn’t accurately reflect intelligence. That’s according to new research published in the journal Neuron, which evaluated 100,000 people before concluding that relying on this single, standardized test was a “highly misleading” way to determine intellect. In fact, our IQ results might vary based on a number of different factors, including age and gender, and experts suggest that it would require at least three different tests to accurately gauge mental capacity....
But the proof is in the coif: We treated four women to new ‘dos. BEFOREAFTERStyling tip:Try:Marion’s verdict: Like many women, Marion Campbell, 52, went supershort once she hit 50. But closely cropped hair—especially when it’s curly—can look boxy without layers and bangs. Her naturally coarse texture was also dry and dull, which are instant agers. To create shape, O’Connor snipped tousled pieces throughout; she then cut those ends into a V shape, a technique that makes Marion’s curls springier when she doesn’t blow-dry and provides more movement when she wears her hair straight....
[sidebar]Damiana has a long reputation in folk medicine as a woman’s aphrodisiac, and some of my favorite herbalists recommend it for enhancing desire. The best way to take it is in a tincture. Dissolve 1 teaspoon in some warm water, and drink about an hour in advance of your romantic encounter. You can also make a tea from dried damiana leaves—1 teaspoon to 1 cup boiling water. Steep, covered, for 10 minutes....
