Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Ad - Nutrisystem


I don't know why more companies won't do campaigns such as this. Real message by real people. If the company works, there will be real customers who are willing to provide reviews and comments. If you get negative reviews and feedback, do something about it like Dominos. My wife and I are in LOVE with Dominos now after they completely revamped their recipe! See the below video by Nutrisystem. Makes me wanna give it a try!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Falling in and out of illness

What signs do you look for when you are about to get sick? For me, its a sore throat. I know I'm about to catch the bug when I had one too many sugary drink. I usually start with coffee in the morning but at times I may get carried away with 2-3 more drinks for lunch. Yeah, I know.. not good. when this happens, I immediately go into recovery mode.

-Hydrate self with tepid water hot tea. No iced drinks
-Gargle salt water every other hour
-Avoid processes, oily, fast food
-Pack self with vitamin rich food such as vegetables, poultry, fish
-Get lots of sleep, at least 8 hours

Typically if I stick to this routine, I get better by day 3.

What is your routine? How does your body respond to illness?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Thinking of a nip or tuck? First come to this web chat Friday - Health Key

Thinking of a nip or tuck? First come to this web chat Friday - Health Key

Dr. Martin Newman, a plastic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic Florida, will be conducting an informational echat hosted by latimes.com. Dr. Newman will be defunct myths about cosmetic surgery and answer presorted questions. The echat will be held at 900PST on Friday 12/9.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Study: Acupuncture May Change the Way the Brain Perceives Pain

Study: Acupuncture May Change the Way the Brain Perceives Pain

How does your body answer to acupuncture? I had several experiences with acupuncture and for the most part, I am a believer in eastern medicine. The first time I visited an acupuncturist, I went in to have the Dr. checked out my jammed toe and my knee. My toe I jammed while attempting a backflip in high school roughly 7 years ago from that time. I had limited movement and I experienced limited sensation. My knee was also from an injury sustained from a soccer game when I was a high school senior.

The experience was definitely one for the books. I walked in and realized the acupuncturist spoke of no English and I spoke of extremely limited Mandarin. Somehow through motion and my Academy Award worthy expression of "Ow!", he comprehend what the issue was. He began working the lights and the needed. The initial poke was nothing spectacular. I have had needles pricked at me before. It was when he reached my nerves did I know he was on to something. It is a feeling you never had before, an area in your body where you have never felt anything prior. Soon there were roughly 20+ needles in the surrounding areas of my left knee and my toe.

About 3-4 sessions later across a month, my toe completely healed. I have my full range and sensation back. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I was sold. However, my knee was not so lucky. I concluded that your mileage may vary with acupuncture. However, if you have pain areas and did not have any success with traditional medicine, I would give acupuncture a shot.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. This is solely recommendation and not be considered as medical advice. Please check with your primary physician prior to trying eastern medicine including acupuncture.

Healthy Eating: Experts shun fat-free diets - Kewanee, IL - Star Courier

Healthy Eating: Experts shun fat-free diets - Kewanee, IL - Star Courier

Not all fat are created equal. My mom was in town a few weeks ago when she yelled at me to discard the fatty portion of the salmon. I gasped and explained to her that this was jam packed with omega 3! I was a bit stunned that she was not aware that there were different types of fat let alone healthy ones.

I hope you have developed a habit to take a look at the nutritional value of the food before you make a purchase. It's probably one of the best thing the FDA has established in recent memory. There are, however, room for improvement. Joan Endyke (who can probably use a new profile picture) describes the limitation of the nutritional label in distinguishing the good fat (HDL) and the bad fat (LDL). If you can't remember, keep in mind that LDL stands for low-density lipoprotein as in 'liposuction'. Get it? Here is a detailed article from abcnews.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Short- and Long-term Risk of Infections as a Function of Group Child Care Attendance


Short- and Long-term Risk of Infections as a Function of Group Child Care Attendance

As a parent you always want the best for your child to keep them free from illness. There will come a time when you must decide to introduce them to a daycare or to preschool. The byproduct of that is bacteria and germs! The alternative would be to keep them home and you may possibly be able to control the environment but how about the long run? Can you possibly shield them from play dates? How about at the playground? I think we all acknowledge that we won't put our children in a bubble (I hope..).

This research shows that children who are introduced to daycare early in life are less likely to get sick later.

See results:

Results Compared with children cared for at home, those who started large GCC in the early preschool period had higher rates of respiratory tract infections (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.27-2.03) and ear infections (IRR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.19-2.20) during that period but lower rates of respiratory tract infections (IRR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.66-0.96) and ear infections (IRR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.37-0.88) during the elementary school years.

Conclusions Children contract infections around the time they initiate large structured group activities. Participation in large GCC before 21/2 years old, although associated with increased infections at that time, seems to protect against infections during the elementary school years. Physicians may reassure parents that infections during the first child care years do not lead to a higher overall burden of infections.