To me, healthy eating simply means removing, or limiting the foods in your diet that could be harming you and eating enough of the foods that contain the nutrients essential to your health. It is always preferable to get your nutrients from food itself rather than supplements, although replenishing nutrients using supplements is necessary, too. Most importantly, eating should be a pleasurable experience. If you are not enjoying your meals because you feel deprived or bored, your diet is not right for you. There is no one right diet, or way to eat, different people thrive on different foods.

1. Try doing some of your shopping at local farmers markets if possible. Here is a great link to find one near you.

2. Never go shopping when you are feeling hungry. This will help prevent impulse buying – usually something junky – to satisfy your hunger.

3. Most of your shopping should be in the outer aisles – the produce, the meats, fish, eggs. The inner aisles are usually full of processed foods (which you want to avoid) – the ones full of sugar, trans fats and other preservatives that extends their shelf life. Processed foods also tend to have a lot of the healthy protective micronutrients missing and are high in sodium and low in fiber.

4. Buy fresh food whenever possible – the fresher the food, the more nutritious.

5. Buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever you can and if possible, locally grown. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are less likely to have been sprayed with pesticides and chemicals. It’s also a great way to support local farmers.

6. Choose the most colorful fruits and vegetables, the more varied the colors, the better. This way you will get as many different phytonutrients as possible.

7. Choose simple whole foods – those closest to mother-nature. The more refined or processed, the less the nutritional value.

8. As a general rule, if there are ingredients that you cannot recognize, pronounce or spell, you should not be putting those into your body. And no cartoon characters either.

9. Become a label reader – though most of the foods you should be eating do not require labels. If you do buy packaged or boxed foods, know what is in them.

10. Be wary of “all natural” labels. Although I recommend an all natural way of eating, “all natural” on a label is often meaningless and deceptive and a guise for hidden sugars.

11. Look for sugars in all its different forms on the label. A variety of different versions of refined sugars are often used to trick you into thinking that there is not much sugar in the product. Here are some of the different versions of refined sugar – cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, date sugar, grape sugar, glucose, sucrose, maltose, maltodextrin, dextran, dextrose, sorbitol, corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, corn sugar, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, barley malt, caramel, carob syrup and sorghum syrup.

12. Look for the number of grams of sugar on a label – 4 grams is equivalent to 1 teaspoon. If possible buy foods that contain 3 grams or less.

13. Try to buy grass feds meats and free range chickens. Organic meats and poultry without hormones would be next best and if you cannot find them, then chose lean cuts of meats and remove the skin from chicken as this is where toxins are stored.

14. Limit buying fish with a high mercury content. Choosing ocean caught fish is generally better than farm raised fish which are usually full of PCB’s.

15. Lastly, bring your own shopping bags with you to the supermarket.

Follow Dr. Frank Lipman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lipmo .

Frank Lipman MD, is the founder and director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in NYC a center whose emphasis is on preventive health care and patient education. His personal blend of Western and Eastern Medicine combined with the many other complimentary modalities he has studied has helped thousands of people recover their energy and zest for life. He is the author of the recent Revive: Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again (2009) and Total Renewal; 7 key steps to Resilience, Vitality and Long-Term Health (2003).

Don’t get sucked into the idea that food is your enemy when you’re trying to lose weight. In fact, it’s just the opposite: Befriend the right foods, and the pounds are much more likely to peel off than if you just try to cut calories across the board. Here, seven foods known by nutritionists to boost your body’s fat-burning potential

1. Oats
Wait a minute; aren’t oats a carb? Yes and no. Oats are a whole grain, and they’re high on what nutritionists call the “satiety index,” meaning oats have tremendous power to make you feel full. Not only that, they’re also high in soluble fiber, so they cut cholesterol and blood fat. Oats digest slowly, so they don’t raise your blood sugar, and they keep you feeling filled up well into the late morning. Old-fashioned steel-cut and rolled oats, with up to 5 grams of fiber per serving, are best, but even instant oatmeal has 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving.

2. Apples
To keep the pounds at bay, eat an apple–or two–a day. Numerous studies have found that eating an apple a half hour to an hour before a meal has the result of cutting the calories of the meal. Why? The fiber in the apple makes you feel full, so you eat less. Recent research suggests eating apples has other benefits, too; the antioxidants in apples appear to prevent metabolic syndrome, the combination of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and prediabetes that tends to accompany thickening around the waist. Also, apples are high in pectin, which binds with water and limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb.

3. Eggs
Nutritionists have been trying for some years to restore the reputation of the lowly egg. No longer thought to be a cholesterol-booster (eggs contain a different type of cholesterol than that in humans), eggs are a concentrated form of animal protein without the added fat that comes with meat. Dietary studies have repeatedly found that when people eat an egg every morning in addition to (or instead of) toast or cereal, they lose twice as much weight as those who eat a breakfast that’s dominated by carbs.

4. Cinnamon
This simple spice appears to have the power to help your body metabolize sugar, according to surprising data that came out of a USDA study involving diabetics. Eating as little as 1/4 to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon a day was found to reduce blood sugar levels and cut cholesterol from 10 to 25 percent. So add cinnamon to smoothies, sprinkle it on your cereal, or flavor your coffee with it.

5. Almonds and Almond Butter
Another counterintuitive choice; aren’t nuts and nut butters supposed to be incredibly fattening? Well, almonds are calorie-dense, but they also pack a huge nutritional punch–and they’re particularly effective in counteracting cholesterol and triglycerides. One study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating almonds was as effective as taking a statin. Spreading almond butter on your morning toast gives you a nice protein boost while preventing the carbs in the toast from spiking your blood sugar.

Caring.com was created to help you care for your aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. As the leading destination for eldercare resources on the Internet, our mission is to give you the information and services you need to make better decisions, save time, and feel more supported. Caring.com provides the practical information, personal support, expert advice, and easy-to-use tools you need during this challenging time.

Source: Melanie Haiken, Caring.com

Do soft drinks cause pancreatic cancer? Does chocolate prevent stroke? Two nutrition studies just swept across the newspapers and airwaves. Did you see them? Here are the short-and-sweet headline versions:

1. Soda pop causes pancreatic cancer.
2. Chocolate prevents stroke.

These studies got a lot of attention because these are popular foods. One study warns of a serious disease we all fear, while the other gives you another reason to eat something you want to eat anyway. But are they true? To be honest, even after taking a look at the actual data, I’m still not sure, and I’m not sure the experts know either. But they make sense and fit with what we already know about nutrition, so they do make important points.

The Problem with Soda
Most soft drinks are made with highly concentrated sweeteners, like high-fructose corn sweetener. Even the “healthier” versions made with good old-fashioned sugar deliver it in a highly concentrated dose. The job of the pancreas is to secrete insulin when needed to process sugar, so when you hit your body with a wallop of sugar, the pancreas goes into overdrive. Experts at the University of Minnesota followed 60,000 people in China and found a link between those who drank large quantities of soda and the incidence of pancreatic cancer. The researchers theorize that stressing the pancreas repeatedly with high doses of sugar leads to inflammation, which in turn sets up a vulnerability to pancreatic cancer.

Their study found that people who drank two or more sodas a week had an 87 percent increase in their risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Since pancreatic cancer is rare, and the overall risk of developing it is low, even an 87 percent increase is not as big as it sounds. But pancreatic cancer is a particularly deadly type of cancer, killing most of those who get it within a few years. So protecting our pancreas is something we all need to take seriously.

Is Chocolate Really Good for You?
Yes, say researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, who released data showing that dark chocolate lowers your risk of stroke, and lessens the likelihood of death after a stroke, as well. It’s not the chocolate that’s so healthy; it’s a flavonoid called epicatechin, which is present in the original cocoa beans from which chocolate is made. (It’s easy to forget that chocolate comes originally from plants.) The plant-based chemical relaxes blood vessels and clears cholesterol, easing blood flow to and from the heart.

Flavonoids are present primarily in dark chocolate; the process used to create milk chocolate dilutes them. So the M&Ms and Hershey’s milk chocolate kisses don’t count.

But here’s the rub: To offset the bitterness of the cacao beans, chocolate contains a lot of sugar, and sugar’s not good for you. So yes, chocolate is good for you, but only dark chocolate. And it’s only good for you in small doses, so don’t overwhelm your body with a blood sugar spike. (See previous item about soda pop, insulin, and the health of your pancreas.)

So What’s the Answer? Moderation in All Things.
Limit yourself to the occasional soda — one a week or less. Drink water or fruit juice the rest of the time; the study found no link between juice and pancreatic cancer. Even better, drink milk — it builds bone and contains vitamin D, which is turning out to be the greatest cancer-preventative of all time.

Allow yourself a two-inch square (3-4 ounces) of dark chocolate a day; it makes a great late-afternoon pick-me-up. Then put away the rest of the bar and get out the fruit. This month has also seen the publication of studies demonstrating that blueberries prevent colon cancer, mangoes and pomegranates prevent breast cancer, and the combination of yogurt and blueberries together cures intestinal disorders.

None of this is news, of course; experts have been saying for years that blueberries and other colorful fruits are rich in the phytochemicals that prevent cancer. But the evidence just keeps mounting, with new antioxidants isolated and documented in lab studies each year. I’m sure next week will give us a new ingredient to add to our fruit salads.

Caring.com was created to help you care for your aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. As the leading destination for eldercare resources on the Internet, our mission is to give you the information and services you need to make better decisions, save time, and feel more supported. Caring.com provides the practical information, personal support, expert advice, and easy-to-use tools you need during this challenging time.

By Steve Savage, Green Options

The industry that has been providing us with high quality coffee may seem to be doing well today, but it actually faces a combination of issues that may well render our lattes and cappuccinos a very expensive indulgence in the future.  We will probably stop worrying about whether it is “Fair Trade” or “Organic” and worry about whether we can get it at all.

“Arabica” Coffee - the Good Stuff

Any coffee aficionado will tell you that ‘arabica‘ coffee (Caffea arabica) is far better than the lowly ‘robusta’ coffee (Caffea canephora) that made up the Folgers-style “cup of Joe” that I grew up drinking.  These are actually two different species of coffee and arabica only does well in a limited range of environments - mainly consisting of higher elevations in the tropics. At lower elevations the pests (insects and diseases that ‘robusta’ can tolerate), devastate the more delicate, arabica types.

Coffee Production Problem One

The places where arabica coffee can grow are shrinking. Even subtle temperature increases caused by climate change raise the elevation limit for successful arabica cultivation. Mountains get smaller as you go higher so you can imagine the issue. There is less and less land suitable for arabica production. If this was the only problem it might be fixable, but it isn’t coffee’s only challenge.

Coffee Production Problem Two

Arabica coffee production is not well suited to mechanization, both because it is often grown on difficult terrain, and because it doesn’t have a normal, “crop” cycle. Coffee has many “flushes” of flowers triggered throughout the year by precipitation. At any given time there are coffee berries of different levels of maturity on every branch. That is why it needs to be hand-harvested if you want good quality. That feature of the coffee industry puts it on a collision course with demographic trends in many coffee producing regions of the world. As fertility rates fall and populations age, there are going to be less and less people who are able or willing to do this sort of difficult, low-paying work. One major coffee company commissioned a survey of coffee growers in Central America asking what changes they would like to see to make coffee growing better. The overwhelming response was the desire to grow something other than coffee. “Fair Trade” or not, most people who grow coffee are not thrilled about doing it and there are going to be fewer and fewer folks willing to make that effort in the future. So this part of the coffee industry is not only facing a smaller growing area, it is facing a lack of growers.

Why Plant Breeding Won’t Save the Day

If you have read my previous blogs you know that I am a big believer in technological solutions to agricultural problems or challenges.  In this case I don’t believe that will happen. My friend, John Vendeland, explained the problem to me (he should know, he got an achievement award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) for his work on developing the coffee industry in Kuawi in the 1980s). John explained that while it is possible to use some rather extreme “conventional breeding” methods to move pest resistance genes from ‘robusta’ coffee to arabica lines (it requires chromosome doubling of the ‘robusta’ and many back-crossings), the process is so slow that it won’t really help. The old picture below is of John with Dr. Alcides Carvahlo, a very influential coffee breeder who did this sort of difficult work for his entire, 52 year career. He died in 1993 and some of what he was working on has still not been commercialized because the process takes more than 20 years. Breeders are still working, but these issues are arising too fast.

Could Biotech Help?

John was asked to give a talk to the SCAA last year about the potential of biotechnology to help the coffee industry (an industry that pledged not to allow any biotech back in the 1990s). His message was blunt. “Don’t either worry about biotech coming in to the coffee industry or hope that it will.” He explained that no company is going to invest the $30-60 million it would take to do the research and regulatory work to commercialize biotech coffee because it just doesn’t “pencil.” Yes, there is a lot of coffee grown (>10 million hectares), but very little is planted in a given year, and maybe 50 to 100 ha would be the accessible part of the market in a given year.  At that rate there would be no way to recover the investment.

Not surprisingly, none of the companies that develop GMO crops are even thinking about coffee today. It isn’t even clear whether it would be possible to deal with arabica’s pest or ripening issues with transgenic methods. In any case it does not matter because it isn’t going to happen. That conclusion would stand even without factoring-in the “marketing uncertainty” of GMO coffee.

What To Do as a Coffee Drinker?

I wouldn’t start hoarding supplies of premium coffee beans in your freezer. These are trends that are going to play-out over decades, not years. Even if it happens faster, life could go on without good coffee, right? (well, maybe not in Seattle…)

You are welcome to comment on this post or to email me directly at feedback.sdsavage@gmail.com.

Green Options Media is a network of environmentally-focused blogs providing users with the information needed to make sustainable choices. Written by experienced professionals, Green Options Media's blogs engage visitors with authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice. We invite anyone with questions, or simply curiosity, to add their voices to the community, and share their approaches to achieving abundance.

Emergencies don’t come with warning bells. They strike at unexpected moments and your response, or lack thereof, could determine how things come out in the end. How much do you think you know about first aid and proper emergency response? Was Mom right about sweating out a cold?
Most people think they know quite a lot, but most of what they have learned consists of myths that could actually do more harm than good. Put yourself to the test and seriously ask yourself: what would I do in these situations?

1. You grab a hot pan with your bare hands
   Do you put butter or mayonnaise on the burn? Hurriedly remove the child’s clothing because it is stuck to the burn? Do you get out the ice? Those are the common reactions in the case of a burn, but all of them are myths. Butter, mayo, or other types of grease may cause even more damage to tender skin. Pulling clothing or other materials stuck to the burn could damage the tissue or pull the skin off completely.
   The correct action is to rinse gently with cool water and coat the burn with antibiotic ointment. If the burn is on a sensitive area of the body such as the face or if there are a lot of blisters, then go to the ER and do not pop the blisters. You also want to seek medical assistance if a burn completely circles a limb or is larger than your hand.
   Further Reading: Burn First Aid at Mayo Clinic
2. Someone is having a seizure
   Do you move them? Do you hold them still? Do you force open their mouth with your finger or another object, or put something between their teeth? Do you simply watch them carefully and time the seizure? Again, most of these answers are commonfirst aid mistakes that could lead to injury of the person seizing.
   Prying the mouth open or moving them could lead to injuries such as muscle tears. The only reason they should be moved is if they are in an unsafe place and will likely fall off something and hurt themselves. Try to put them on their side and call 911. You may want to unbutton the top of their shirt or their belt to help them breathe and try to time the seizure activity. If the person is a known epileptic, emergency services only need to be called if it lasts for longer than five minutes. Never hold someone having aseizure unless you are preventing them from injury!
   Further Reading: How to Handle a Seizure at AETNA.
3. You sprain your ankle
   Is it ice or heat you use? Do you prop it up? Should you rush to the ER? This is a very common injury that many people blow off without seeking medical attention. In most cases that is okay, but you do need to know how to treat it and when to seek help. The biggest problem is remembering when to use ice and when to apply heat.
   For an ankle sprain you want to apply ice. Heat will actually increase the swelling and could slow down the healing process. If it is painful to put any weight down on the foot then it may be a fracture and you should see a doctor.
   Further Reading: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
4. You are bitten by a snake
   Do you rip off your shirt and wrap the wound? Suck out the poison and spit it on the ground? Get out your pocket knife and carefully cut the wound open so the poison can drain?
   These are all myths that can actually be quite dangerous and lead to more injury than is actually necessary. If you cut the wound even slightly you may slice tendons or nerves that cause more damage. Tourniquets often lead to the blood circulation being cut off and could lead to the loss of a limb. The safest response is to immediately splint the wound or wrap it in something clean and get to the ER right away.
   Further Reading: U.S. National Library of Medicine
5. Your nose suddenly starts bleeding
   Should you lean forward and pinch your nose? Or tip your head all the way back so the blood cannot run out? More importantly, how do you know when it is serious enough to seek medical intervention? Nose bleeds are not always emergency situations, but they are the source of a majorfirst aid myth. If you answered that you would lean forward and pinch the nose closed, you were actually correct. The myth is to tip your head all the way back so the blood cannot flow out, but this could be dangerous with a heavy nose bleed that doesn’t stop quickly. For a nose bleed, lean forward and pinch just underneath the bone. If the bleeding does not stop within five minutes seek medical attention.
   Further Reading: Family Doctor
6. Your child eats an entire bottle of Flintstones vitamins
   Do you assume children’s vitamins are safe and they will just be really healthy for a few weeks? Do you grab the Ipecac from the bathroom and force vomiting? Do you simply run to the ER? In the case of vitamins, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Children die every year from an overdose of iron and children’s vitamins are a main source of iron. For poisons in general, you want to keep the product that was swallowed and call poison control immediately. Depending on what was swallowed, different actions will need to be taken so you must remain calm enough to speak clearly and hear what you are instructed to do for the child.
   It is now advised that all Ipecac be thrown out completely. It is no longer considered a safe medical intervention, as some poisons can actually be made worse by vomiting. Also, a patient vomiting can seriously interfere with treatment once they are at the hospital.
   Further Reading: Flintstone Vitamins
   
7. Someone starts to choke across the dinner table
   Do you jump behind them and do the Heimlich maneuver? Hand them their glass and encourage them to drink? Pat them lightly on the back? Your response to someone choking will depend on whether they are able to talk a little bit or if they cannot make any sound. If they are coughing violently and can speak a little, then it is a partial blockage. If they can only nod their head and/or are turning blue, then it is a full blockage that does require you to jump up and start thrusting upward around their stomach.
   The Heimlich maneuver will force air up through the body and help dislodge whatever is choking the person, but only in the case of a full blockage. If some air is getting through, then encourage them to continue coughing and stay close by, but you do not need to take action unless they start to have breathing trouble or turn blue. Do not give them anything to drink, as the fluid will take up what little space is left for air to pass through. In most cases a partial blockage can be coughed out, but if it becomes a full blockage then once again the Heimlich maneuver will be necessary. Do not perform the Heimlich on a child less than a year old. For a refresher, see this video:
8. Your child suddenly has an extremely high fever
   Do you give them Tylenol and wrap them in a warm blanket to sweat it out? Rub them down with rubbing alcohol? Put them in a tub full of cold water? While there are traces of good advice in two of these options, none of them are the best route to take with a fever. The biggest myth is that rubbing a child’s chest or forehead with rubbing alcohol will break a fever. The child will actually breathe in the alcohol, and their young systems are extremely sensitive to this substance. It is not healthy for them.
   While there may be some truth to the old wives tale of sweating out a fever, it is not a good thing to try with a child. Sudden high fevers can lead to febrile seizures, so putting them in a cool bath (not cold!) and giving them something like Children’s Tylenol to break the fever (if they are old enough for medication) is a better course of action. If you cannot get the fever down or if it goes above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, you should seek medical attention.
   Further Reading: Kidshealth.org

How many of these myths did you think were just standard first aid procedure? How many missteps might you have made if these things occurred in your home? Any of these things could happen and cause minor injuries that do not rise to the occasion of a true emergency, but you never know when something seriously tragic may happen. The ability to think on your feet and take the safest and most effective course of action is essential, especially in situations where you may be the only person around to help someone in need.

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE.

Written on 1/26/2010 by DivineCaroline. DivineCaroline a place where people come together to learn from experts in the fields of health, spending, and parenting. Come discover, read, learn, laugh, and connect at DivineCaroline.com.

By: Nicole Williams

10. Make a list. Pre-breakfast, compiling a daily to-do list creates mental order and calms the mind. Effective lists contain only ten things (including one fun task). Each should have an allotted time frame and be planned to fully exploit your daily energy peaks and troughs.

9. Channel Tarzan. With a fist, firmly tap the area over the thymus gland (the center of your sternum) for three deep breaths. (Yelling like the jungle boy is optional.) According to Donna Eden, Ph.D., author of Energy Medicine for Women, this harmonizes the body and strengthens your immune system against the threats of tiredness, germs, and office-borne infections.

8. Assume the Cobra position. This hatha yoga pose energizes, keeps stress levels low, and combats the back stiffness sitting at a desk all day can bring on. Warm up for two minutes with the cat/cow (on all fours, inhale with the head and buttocks up—making the back concave—then exhale, tucking the head and buttocks, curving the back gently up.) Then move into Cobra by lying on your stomach and placing your hands flat on the ground by your lower ribs. Inhale, press through the hands, and lift the torso and waist off the floor, pressing your pelvis and hips down. Tilt your head back slightly and hold for twenty seconds, gently breathing through your nose.

7. Pack a snack. Fill a lunch bag with a half cup of almonds (the B vitamins support mind and body if under stress), dried apricots (to energize brain and muscles), and walnuts (which protect your heart if deadline adrenaline is pumping).

6. Go for green. Receptors in the eye’s retinas are more sensitive to certain light frequencies, and the wavelength of bright green is super-stimulating for the brain—especially good if you’ve got a long, hardcore day ahead.

5. Take a whiff. Peppermint oil improves your brain’s cognitive performance, according to German researchers. Jasmine increases alertness on days full of endless meetings. Lavender reduces pre-presentation anxiety, and citrus aromas oxygenate a brain that didn’t get enough Z’s.

4. Stow the Blackberry. Constantly checking e-mail causes loss of focus and concentration on important tasks. Set three daily read-and-respond times. Then stick to them.

3. Share your schedule. When you arrive at work, send your colleagues an e-mail stating when you’ll be available today and when you cannot be interrupted. If you’re in a cubicle, sit with your back to the entrance and pop on some headphones to discourage distracters.
2. Get fishy. Popping an Omega-3 capsule every morning (450mg) keeps your brain alert, boosts learning power, and fights depression.

1. Use Affirmations. En route to work and throughout the day, mentally repeat, “I am incredibly efficient today. Nothing fazes me.” Positive mantras undermine negative beliefs—and instill everything we say and do in that moment with real conviction. Skeptical? Just try it!

By Annie Tucker Morgan, DivineCaroline

In 2007, I had the good fortune to live on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, for a year. While I was there, fewer than sixty-five thousand permanent residents occupied this 622-square-mile Eden, which meant that there were almost as many roosters as there were humans living there. Far away from the clanging trains, rattling jackhammers, buzzing bumper-to-bumper traffic, and other city background noises that had been my daily soundtrack when I lived in California, I sensed my hearing acclimating to an entirely new set of tones: the music of nature. Each morning, exotic birds burst into song outside my window. Many an evening, deafening tropical rain hammered the roof of my house. And in the middle of the night when the swells were up, I could hear the steady hum of waves crashing in the distance. It was amazing.

Back in the real world, we’re exposed to a cacophony of different noises–some relaxing, some jarring, others so constant or droning as to go largely unrecognized. And though everyone’s aural preferences are individualistic, certain tones have more power than others to lift our mood, wake us up, and even improve our concentration. What are the sweetest sounds we hear?

1. Hydrotherapy
Whether it’s a babbling brook, waves breaking onshore, the steady rush of a waterfall, or the drumming of a rain shower, the sound of water is unprecedented in its ability to calm our jangled nerves and lull us to sleep–just ask the droves of music producers who earn their livelihood by recording aquatic melodies and selling them to insomniacs and stressed-out individuals. The secret to water sounds– relaxing effects may lie in the primal rhythms they contain, which help people regulate their breathing, quiet their minds, and call forth memories of blissful time they’ve spent in nature.

2. Snap, Crackle, Pop
Certain repetitive sounds have the opposite effect water does: each sonic burst is a mini-pick-me-up. These noises include dry autumn leaves, hard-packed snow, or loose gravel crunching underfoot, as well as bacon grease popping in a frying pan. Like a rushing river, such sounds have a rhythm all their own, but it’s more staccato and therefore more invigorating. In addition, the sound of a car rolling up a gravel driveway can fill listeners with excitement as they anticipate the arrival of a long-awaited guest.

3. Light My Fire
Whether it’s outside at a campground or inside in a fireplace, the crackling of a fire is mesmerizing to most people; it hypnotizes them into a drowsy, quiet state, punctuated by an occasional mm-hmm. These hearthside sounds may resonate because of humans’ age-old fascination with fire, one of the first tools they used to consciously manipulate their natural environment to keep themselves warm, cook their food, and even herd animals.

Nocturnal gatherings around fires at night were also some of the earliest social gatherings, spurring communication and fostering relationships. Many millennia later, the sound of a fire may trigger some primitive memory of this turning point in human evolution

4. Laugh-In
If laughter is indeed the best medicine, then an infant’s delighted squeals as she discovers her own toes or a toddler’s raucous giggles when he’s being tickled are the ultimate panacea. The pure, unself-conscious joy that children’s laughter projects is contagious; it liberates adults from their day-to-day stresses by reminding them of more innocent and carefree times. And for the parents of youngsters, their kids’ belly laughs can be a reassuring sign that all is well psychologically and that the parents are making sound child-rearing decisions.

5. Noise Pollution
Ironically, one of the most widely used therapeutic sounds is not a single tone at all, but rather a combination of all sonic frequencies playing simultaneously: white noise. So named for its similarity to white light–which is not an absence of color, but a mixture of all colors–white noise works by absorbing all background noise and “reprogramming” it as a steadier, more calming buzz, not unlike the sound of radio static. As a result, it’s an effective sleep aid, a treatment for tinnitus, and a concentration booster (to block out the distracting sounds of noisy coworkers, for example).

6. And the Winner Is…
In 1935, two Bell Labs researchers named Harvey Fletcher and W.A. Munson conducted an investigation into human hearing that remains the most renowned study of its kind to this day. In measuring the frequencies that the ear is most responsive to, Fletcher and Munson discovered that people’s favorite sound of all is that of the human voice, which falls right within the ideal range of frequencies (300-3,000 Hertz) for our hearing. The only question is, did our voices evolve to suit our ears, or was it the other way around?

At DivineCaroline.com, women come together to learn from experts in the fields, of health, sustainability, and culture; to reflect on shared experiences; and to express themselves by writing and publishing stories about anything that matters to them. Here, real women publish like real pros. Together, with our staff writers, they’re discussing all facets of women’s lives from relationships and careers, to travel and healthy living. So come discover, read, learn, laugh and connect at DivineCaroline.com.

By Vasant Lad, Yoga+

What to Eat and Drink
Thousands of years ago, the Vedic sages understood that the great rhythms and forces of nature- the alternation of day and night, the rhythmic cycle of seasons- all affect us, as do the seasons and cycles of human life. Being in tune with nature, they knew, also means being in tune with your individual constitution, or prakruti, which is comprised of three subtle energies: vata, the energy of movement; pitta, the energy of digestion or metabolism; and kapha, the energy of lubrication and structure.

How to Adapt
While you can’t control the weather, you can control certain factors (the food you eat, the type and amount of exercise you do, the herbs you ingest, and so on), which either build your health, vitality, and resistance to disease, or wear you down. Here is ayurveda’s view on winter- and what you can do to stay balanced this season.

In winter, the sky is often cloudy and gray, the weather is cold, damp, and heavy, and life, even in the cities, moves more slowly. Welcome to the season of kapha. When balanced, kapha supplies strength, vigor, and stability to both body and mind. This subtle energy is responsible for lubricating the joints, moisturizing the skin, and maintaining immunity. But in excess, it can lead to sluggishness, mucus-related illnesses, excess weight, and negative emotions such as attachment, envy, and greed.

In general, we should follow a kapha-pacifying regimen in the winter. But dry, cold, windy weather can provoke vata, too, and can lead to arthritis, indigestion, and other problems. To calm both vata and kapha when temperatures plummet, read on.

Morning Routine
Ayurveda suggests waking up a bit later in the winter (around 7 a.m.) than you would in other seasons. Upon rising, scrape your tongue to remove the dead bacteria and yeast that have accumulated overnight, and to improve circulation to the visceral organs. Then brush your teeth with toothpaste made from heating herbs such as cinnamon, clove, bilva, and haritaki. Next, drink a cup of warm water to stimulate a bowel movement. Then treat yourself to a quick massage. Rub warmed sesame oil all over your entire body (it’s heating and good for all prakrutis in the winter). Let the oil soak in for 5 to 10 minutes, then take a hot shower and exfoliate your skin.

Conclude your morning regimen with yoga, pranayama, and meditation. Surya namaskara (sun salutation) and poses that open the chest, throat, and sinuses remove congestion in the respiratory organs. Try the fish, boat, bow, locust, lion, and camel poses, along with the shoulderstand and the headstand, if you can do it. Follow this with a systematic relaxation and a few rounds of bhastrika, the breath of fire. This breathing practice builds heat and eliminates mucus from the respiratory tract.

After meditating, it’s important to eat a nutrious breakfast. If you don’t feed your digestive fire in the morning, it will dry up bodily tissues and provoke vata. Enjoy a bowl of oatmeal, barley, cornmeal, tapioca, or poha (basmati rice flakes) mildly spiced with cinnamon. An hour after breakfast, boil 1/2 teaspoon of fresh or powdered ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of ground clove in a cup of hot water for 5 minutes. Drink this tea to increase your digestive fire, improve circulation, and reduce excess mucus. (Skip the tea if you have an ulcer or another inflammation-oriented problem).

Indoor Activities
Join a gym, do a workout video, or hit the treadmill to increase circulation and quell kapha. Soak up sunlight, too. Sit by a window to bathe in early morning or evening light. Sun rays relax the muscles, produce vitamin D, soothe Seasonal Affective Disorder, and help the body maintain healthy sleep rhythms.

What to Eat and Drink
Incorporate whole wheat unyeasted bread, buttermilk, cottage cheese, steamed vegetables, warm soup cooked with ghee (clarified butter), and spicy food into your meals. Because your appetite is heartier in the winter, eat more protein- beans, tofu, eggs- and if you’re not a strict vegetarian, chicken, turkey, and fish. Add warming spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper to promote digestion. Drinking a few ounces of sweet or dry wine with your meals will stoke your agni (digestive fire), improve your appetite, and increase circulation. Avoid cold drinks (they aggravate kapha and vata) and opt for hot water, hot tea, and occasionally, hot cocoa or chai.

Staying Warm
Avoid cold drafts, wear warm clothes, and don’t forget to wear a hat outside. (Grandma was right: more than half of the body’s heat is lost through the head.) Also, cover your ears and neck to keep vata and kapha in check.

Curing a Cold
Ayurvedically speaking, colds are a kapha-vata disorder. The body builds up an excess of cool and moist kapha qualities, resulting in congestion and a runny nose, and at the same time it may suffer from excess vata, which reduces agni, leading to chills, loss of appetite, and poor digestion. Here’s help.

Try ginger. It’s the best remedy for colds. Drink ginger tea, take a bath infused with ginger and baking soda (put 1/3 cup of baking soda and 1/3 cup of powdered ginger into a hot tub and then soak the body from the neck down), or try a ginger steam treatment. Boil one teaspoon powdered ginger in a pint of water. Turn off the stove, put a towel over your head, and inhale the steam through your nostrils for about 5 minutes. This will relieve congestion and help you feel much better.

Take vitamin C. Try 500 mg daily for up to three months.

Use natural nose drops. Lubricate the nasal passages and relieve the irritation and sneezing of a cold with nasya. Lie on your back, face up, with a pillow under your shoulders and your head tilted back, so your nostrils are facing the ceiling. Put 3 to 5 drops liquefied ghee in each nostril and gently sniff the oil upward into the nose. You can do nasya in the morning and night (on an empty stomach and at least one hour before or after showering).

Drink hot water. Drinking hot water several times a day removes toxins from the system and speeds up your recovery time.

Avoid dairy products. Strictly avoid dairy products, including yogurt, cheese, milk, and ice cream, until your congestion clears up.

Why Is Your Appetite Stronger in the Winter?
In response to cold weather, the body constricts the skin pores and superficial connective tissue to prevent heat loss, which directs the heat away from the peripheral tissues and into the body’s core, including the stomach. Agni (and, therefore, your appetite) becomes stronger in winter. However, if kapha or vata are provoked, agni plummets, leaving you more susceptible to colds, poor circulation, joint pains, and negative emotions.

Winter no-no’s
Avoid cold drinks, fasting, late nights, naps, exposure to cold drafts and wind, and stay physically active.

Vasant Lad, BAMS, MASc, is a world-renowned ayurvedic physician from India. He is the founder of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the author of numerous books.

Source: Yoga+ is an award-winning, independent magazine that contemplates the deeper dimensions of spiritual life--exploring the power of yoga practice and philosophy to not only transform our bodies and minds, but inspire meaningful engagement in our society, environment, and the global community.

By Paula Spencer, Caring.com senior editor

If making a commitment to “eating healthfully” seems like an overwhelming chore, think more strategically. Opt for a few simple tweaks. Certain small changes serve up huge, lifelong benefits that can help you lose weight, ward off disease, and sustain a better mood and more energy all day long.

“It’s all about self-care,” says Beth Reardon of Duke Integrative Medicine and Caring.com’s senior food and nutrition editor. “You have to ask, ‘Am I worth a little extra effort to think about what I’m putting in my body?’ You — and the body that you rely on — deserve nothing less.” Start with these six simple diet game-changers:

1. Add more fat–healthy fat–to your diet.
Why? Many adults, especially baby boomers, have been brainwashed into thinking fats equal calories and should be avoided. But the body needs fat to function. (After all, 60 percent of the brain is fat.) Not all fat is alike, and not all fat calories — researchers increasingly believe — are alike either. “Some fats seem to bind with receptors in the nucleus of the cell and cause the body to metabolize them better,” Reardon says.

Healthy fats include many nuts, seeds, avocado, extra-virgin olive oil, and canola oil. “Eating nuts and avocados doesn’t make you fat — but not eating them might,” Reardon says. Unlike calories from saturated (bad) fats, healthy fat calories are essential to the body’s metabolism. They keep you performing well, and they satisfy hunger better.

How? Use extra-virgin olive oil and canola for much of your cooking. Don’t be shy about adding a small amount of olive oil, with flavored vinegar, to a salad if it makes it taste better, so you want to eat more salad. (Bonus: Less sodium and sugar than processed bottled dressings.) Mash avocado and spread it on your sandwich in place of mayonnaise. Snack on raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, pistachios, and walnuts — four kinds of nuts and seeds with great lipid-lowering ability — or add them as toppings or ingredients to cereal, vegetable dishes, or foods.

Tip: Buy a flaxseed grinder (or coffee grinder) and add freshly-ground flaxseed to anything from cereal and baked goods to vegetables and smoothies. Flax is a rich source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids as well as antioxidants and fiber, and it’s been shown to reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol. Because whole flaxseed tends to be less well used by the body, grinding the seeds before use provides more benefit.

2. Swap what you’re drinking now for water and green tea.
Why? Water is sugar-free, junk-free, and guilt-free. Juice or soda, in contrast, contain unproductive calories (150 calories per cup of grape juice, 150 in a regular 12-ounce can of soda) made up mostly of sugar and few nutrients.

Don’t bank on diet sodas and sugar-free juices, either. They may have no calories, but the artificial sweeteners in them work in the body the same way sugary drinks do: They cause the brain to signal to the pancreas that “sweets are coming!” This causes the pancreas to start pumping insulin. Insulin, in turn, triggers carb cravings and fatigue. “It’s a cheating game,” says Reardon, “that backfires on us.”

Drinks like soda and juice are also habit-forming. The brain tends to associate them with certain foods (chips, fries, hamburgers) or with expecting to eat at certain times. What’s more, liquid calories take up stomach space, making us less likely to eat more satisfying and nutrient-rich foods, so overall nutrition suffers.

Water is less filling and hydrates the body, flushing out toxins, transporting nutrients, and keeping tissues such as the nose and mouth moist and better able to defend against viruses.

How? Aim for 48 ounces of water a day (that’s six eight-ounce glasses), plus two to four cups of antioxidant-rich green or white tea (as a better-for-you coffee replacement). To build an easy water habit, pour glasses of water when you set the table, and set out a carafe for easy refills. Get in the habit of carrying a portable water bottle with you throughout the day. Whenever you would ordinarily reach for another drink, pour water instead. Drink water whenever you’re thirsty and after activity that makes you sweat.

Tip: “I drop a flavored white- or green-tea bag, like mandarin orange, into my water bottle as a quick, amazing-tasting alternative to hot brewed tea,” Reardon says. “You get the antioxidant benefits of tea without the additives, calories, or artificial flavorings of mixes like Propel or Crystal Lite.” The polyphenols in green tea also have mild metabolism-boosting properties.

3. Sample an alternative whole grain once a week.
Why? Whole grains are a critical part of a plant-based diet because they provide essential B vitamins and fiber. But Americans tend to be overly dependent on simple grains, usually white wheat, as well as white rice and white potatoes. “We tend to fall into habits and serve what our mothers did, but there’s a huge world of whole grain variety out there,” Reardon says.

Greater grain variety exposes the body to more nutrients and makes it easier to hit the targeted 45 grams per day of fiber adults need. (Most Americans eat an anemic 15 grams a day.) Another potential plus to weaning from wheat: undiagnosed celiac disease, a wheat intolerance caused by the body’s inability to absorb gluten. The rates of celiac disease have increased 400 percent since the 1950s, according to a 2009 Mayo Clinic study in the journal Gastroenterology. And for every case diagnosed, there are thought to be 30 others not yet detected.

How? Start once a week by swapping out your usual white potatoes, white rice, or white bread with a serving of a new-to-you wheat alternative. Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa,” it cooks like rice), for example, contains up to 50 percent more protein than other grains, as well as higher fat, calcium, and B vitamins. Other options include millet, barley, spelt, amaranth, wheat berries, buckwheat, and wild rice. Even food superstores, like Target, often now stock these wheat alternatives.

Tip: If you’re nervous about cooking an unfamiliar grain, look for semiprepared mixes or ready-made dishes. (Reardon’s local Whole Foods sells a quinoa mixed with pumpkin, pomegranate, and pine nuts, for example.) “Packaged mixes are higher in sodium but a good alternative if you’re paralyzed by fear of failure,” she says.

4. Eat breakfast–and not just any old breakfast. A big one!
Why? Many people postpone the first meal of the day as long as possible because they’re convinced that once they start eating, they can’t stop. “The reason they can’t stop once they get going isn’t that they’ve eaten but what they’ve eaten,” Reardon says. “If you just grab a bagel or a piece of fruit, it’s a simple carb that’s burned quickly, and you’re soon ravenous with a need to feed a glucose low.” This sets you up for a roller-coaster of blood-sugar highs and lows all day.By eating a more complex breakfast soon after you get up, however, your body is actually sated longer — and you’ll ultimately eat less.

How? Break your overnight fast within an hour of awakening with a balance of four items: a slow-burning whole grain (oatmeal, muesli, whole-grain English muffin, whole-grain cereal), some protein (yogurt, low-fat milk, tofu with scrambled eggs, nut butter, fish, lean meat), healthy fat (almond butter, cashew butter, nuts, ground flaxseed, canola oil — found in some cereals), and a fruit/vegetable (raisins, frozen berries, grapefruit half, grilled vegetables, banana).

Avoid two food categories that contain most “classic” American breakfast foods:

• Simple carbs (frozen waffle, pastry, muffins, sugary cereal, pancakes made with white flour, breakfast bars)

• Fatty foods high in saturated fats (fried eggs and bacon, cheesy omelets, bagels with cream cheese, fast-food breakfast sandwiches)

Tip: For an easy, sustaining, one-bowl solution, microwave plain oatmeal (not flavored) and low-fat milk with walnuts or almonds and dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.). Add ground flaxseed and top with fresh berries, a little cinnamon, and you’re good to go. Even better: Make a batch to get you through a few days; refrigerate and heat up individual servings day by day.

5. Sub the sandwich.
Why? “Most American are inclined to think of lunch as two pieces of bread and a filling,” Reardon says. Too often, this bread is a simple-carb, processed white wheat — and the filling tends to be fatty meats and cheeses. Net result: a midday waste of calories. Better: Move away from the stereotype sandwich for lunch.

How? Most other cultures don’t rely on sandwiches for lunch, Reardon says. Instead, they eat what we traditionally consider “breakfast food” (whole-grain cereal with yogurt and fruit, eggs) or “dinner food” (fish, brown rice with veggies, soup, yesterday’s leftovers).

No microwave available to heat up a meal? Pack a salad topped with canned salmon, chickpeas, tuna, or deli turkey. Roll up veggies and low-fat cheese in a whole-grain tortilla. Munch fruit and nuts.

Tip: Go to a recipe finder such as epicurious.com to experiment with new dishes built around whole grains, soy protein (tempeh and tofu, for example), or squashes or other vegetables. Pay attention to the reviews to find recipes that match your tastes and prep-time preferences. Making enough to brown-bag for lunch saves money — and spares the stressing over “what will I eat?” that too often leads to quick, calorie-stuffed, nutrient-hungry choices

6. Put your proteins into rotation.
Why? Americans eat too much protein, on average, and too much of it comes from animal sources. A meat-heavy diet is linked to a higher risk of heart disease and cancer. Better: a diet that’s primarily plant-based. That’s why introducing more vegetarian meals, ideally three to four times a week, is an easy way to boost overall nutrition — and save money.

How? Shoot for a mix like this: Red meat once a week, poultry one to two times a week, seafood or vegetarian three to four times a week. Eventually, your goal should be to have red meat twice a month or less.

Tip: Train yourself to think of protein as a side dish to the vegetables and grains, not as a main dish. Thomas Jefferson recommended reserving meat for a flavoring — a “condiment for the vegetables,” Michael Pollan writes in In Defense of Food.

Source:Care2.com &

Caring.com was created to help you care for your aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones. As the leading destination for eldercare resources on the Internet, our mission is to give you the information and services you need to make better decisions, save time, and feel more supported. Caring.com provides the practical information, personal support, expert advice, and easy-to-use tools you need during this challenging time.

It is the time of year where many people will attempt to develop their New Year’s resolutions. Whether you have one resolution or a thousand, wouldn’t it be a fabulous accomplishment to be able to say to yourself that 2010 was the year you stopped dreaming about accomplishing your resolutions and started to do them?

Dreaming about what you want to get done is not a bad thing, but many of us seem stuck in the days after January 1st thinking about losing weight  , starting a business  , or saving more of our income  instead of making it happen.

To help you start the New Year right, here are 6 ways I have thought of that you make 2010 a year of doing instead of a year of dreaming:

Change Your Mental Map
In the article, “Leading Again for the First Time ,” Dr. Chip Souba makes the assertion that “Sustainable success begins with transforming people first by changing their mental maps and thought patterns.” In my studies of success, the people that are most successful are the ones that change their perceptions of what they can do and as Dr. Souba said, change their mental map.

When you change your mental map, you are not changing what you believe to be true or false, right or wrong, but you are changing how you perceive success in accomplishing your goals   . Many of us fall into the trap of thinking that our past failures signify future failures. That is a mental map we have created that has now defined our future. When we change our mental map, we realize that our past failures do not define our future and that we can accomplish the goals we set this New Year.

Increase Your Learning on the Subject
For many of us, the New Year gives us a few days of rest before we have to go back to work. This is a good time to sneak into the library and research your resolutions. I personally like to do my research in the libraries of a large public university. There I have access to search tools and databases that allow me to find peer reviewed articles and data on the topics I am researching. For non-research types like me, our local public library can give us access to:

1. The forms needed to start a business.
2. Books on how to get our finances in order.
3. Exercise and diet DVDs, books, and magazines
4. Online programs to learn a new language, learn about traveling to other countries, develop a resume and a variety of other self-help topics.
5. A staff of people that are paid to help you find information.

If you need help losing weight, then join a support group. Trying to save money? Join a savings club. Want to start a business? Then join a local chamber of commerce. For many of your goals, there are free or low cost groups that you can join that create a support network that will help you stick with your goals.  

No time to cook healthy meals and still want to eat healthy? Order a Personal Chef To Go meal plan. The Singles menu is perfect for singles or for those who who want to eat a healthy lunch while you’re at work without spending a bundle. The Family Favorites meal plan is great for getting everyone to eat healthier too!

Don’t wait for something to happen, the clock to strike midnight, or a mystic vision to reveal what you are supposed to accomplish in the New Year. IF you want to be successful then pick up the phone, get out and start moving, or pick up the pen in write. Whatever you want to do, get out there and do it right now! It is the best way to get you started in accomplishing your goals.