Weight Maintenance Myth Busted!

"Study participants who exercised before eating their first meal gained almost no weight and showed no signs of insulin resistance." Reported by a 2010 study in the Journal of Physiology.


If you've been debating about whether you should eat breakfast or skip it, debate no more. It is okay to go through the morning hours without breakfast. Everyone eat different and have different needs for food throughout the day. And this kind of claim about the mandatory breakfast pursue by many Western dietitians really put me in doubts. I am glad that such a popular myth finally get busted.

"There are a lot of forces in our society pushing against" skipping breakfast, says Mark Mattson, PhD, chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. "Those forces are driven by money. They include the food industry obviously, and in some respects the pharmaceutical industry.”

Breakfast cereals alone are an $11 billion a year industry, and that's before you get into eggs and bacon, bagels and lox, pancakes and syrup.

Now, skip breakfast will let you sleep some more in the morning, stay slim and stay younger for longer too! Ha, these are real incentives. My favorite? It is usually just a hot cup of coffee, with real sugar and hazelnut flavored cream.

You can say that I am hooked on coffee and that's why I tell myself that it is okay to have a cup of coffee for breakfast. But here's a piece of good news:

Is coffee good for our health? Although the research on America's favorite morning beverage has been mixed overall, coffee drinkers received a big boost when the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine published the largest-ever study on the topic in May.



A daily cup (or cups) of coffee, the study found, appears to be harmless and may even lower the risk of dying from chronic diseases such as diabetes. Even a one-cup-a-day habit was associated with a 5% to 6% lower risk.

On the other hand, I think that a lean and nutritious breakfast is all good. Give me some egg and toast. I won't say no, ever. Although, I usually can go without.

 

                          

  Source: Yahoo News.  Diabetic Supplies

"Share, pass on your wisdom." *HELP with emotional crisis Call 1-800-273-8255 *Medical Help Call 911 or visit a hospital emergency room *American Foundation for Suicide Prevention www.afsp.org

Coping with Distress and Traumas

To live well means we have to build on some skills for coping with distress, distressful events and traumas. Let it be personal or public events, distress can touch us by many means. For some time, I felt bogged down by the mournful event in Connecticut. And today, another 8 year old lost her life at the Boston marathon event.

Like people in our community,I try to move beyond it but the effect of these sorrowful incidents keeps popping up in our our thoughts. They do somehow set the one to my feelings, whether I like it or not. I find that it is a good time to discuss about coping strategies that we can practically apply in times like this.

The effects of a disaster, terrorist attack, or other public health emergency can be long-lasting, and the resulting trauma can reverberate even with those not directly affected by the disaster. This page provides general strategies for promoting mental health and resilience that were developed by various organizations based on experiences in prior disasters.

The shooting rampage in Newton, Connecticut and other incidents of public scare can lead to emotional distress such as overwhelming anxiety, anger and fear. Those who have struggled to recover from past traumatic events may also be at risk of negative emotional triggers. It is hard to be positive. With trying it can be possible. Yet it is challenging.

After a traumatic event, strong emotions may come and go. It’s important to know when to ask for help. If you or someone you know is showing the following experiences, please ask for help:

• Eating or sleeping too much or too little
• Feeling unusually confused or little forgetful; on edge, angry, or upset; or worried and scared 
• Pulling away from people and things 
• Yelling or fighting with family and 
• Having low or no energy friends 
• Having thoughts and memories you 
• Feeling numb or like nothing matters 
• Can’t get out of your head 
• Having unexplained aches and pains 
• Thinking of hurting or killing yourself or someone else 
• Feeling helpless or hopeless 
• Unable to perform daily tasks like 
• Smoking, drinking, or using drugs 
• Feeling overwhelmed while taking care of your kids or performing at work or school 

If these problems are making it hard to get things done or get through your day, or are getting worse, please call for help. For those who suffer severe emotional traumas, there is the National Help Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Although this hotline is  aiming at suicide related issues, it is well advice to call even if you or someone you care just have other strong emotions or emotional distress.

It is nice to get some support just when you need it. It is like a good rain in time of a drought. At the least, be willing to open up to others around you. Talking things out is a part of self expression. Don't let the next drop of bad emotions be a drop too much. Effective self expression is essential to survival. It is a tool for emotional balancing and stress relief. It helps us get the facts straight and transcribe our emotions.

Tips for helping children deal with disasters and major distress

• Putting the disaster in context. For example let kids know how likely it is that a disaster like the one. covered in the media could happen where the students live.
• Connecting the disaster to lesson plans. Access disaster training from Red Cross here.
• Informing kids about the nature of the media and news coverage. 
• Discuss how the news typically shows the scariest parts of any situation.
• Remind children that there are plenty of good things going for them and around the world.
• Assuring kids that they are safe. Offer encouragement and support. Point out the good things.
• Listen to their feelings, thoughts and point of views.

"Share, pass on your wisdom."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*HELP with emotional crisis Call 1-800-273-8255
*Medical Help Call 911 or visit a hospital emergency room
*American Foundation for Suicide Prevention www.afsp.org

Beat Winter Blues

Though the winter time has almost past us, the cold air is still lingering in the air. And, there is still very little warmth during the day, especially early in the morning.

I still keep my house well lit throughout the day and do turn on all the lights in the evening before giving in to the night (smile.) It is a little obsessive you may say. But I'd like to stay on the safe side of things. Always keep a light bulb lit up in my mind and in my eyes.

Drink plenty of water helps 

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers this advice to help battle the winter blues:

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids, especially water.
• Hone in on a hobby, such as making your crafts or reading.
• Take up a new winter sport, such as skiing or ice skating.
• Cut back on dietary portion sizes, and add more fruits and vegetables to your menu.
• Adjust your sleep schedule -- go to sleep earlier and wake earlier in the morning, so you can enjoy a longer day.

And while you're ready to put your annuals seeds down for some summer time blooming, enjoy it as the neighbor's Eranthis open up their gentle petals.

Also,

GET INVOLVED

In the face of disaster, Americans come together with courage, compassion and unity and ask, “How can I help?”

There are many ways to give encouragements and help to others, especially after a disaster occurs. 

The whole community can participate in programs and activities to make their families, homes and communities safer from risks and threats. Nowsaday, communities go online. Therefore, even if you are homebound, log on and reach out to others, like me.

"Share, pass on your wisdom."
*HELP with emotional crisis Call 1-800-273-8255 *Medical Help Call 911 or visit a hospital emergency room *American Foundation for Suicide Prevention www.afsp.org

Updated 4/16/2013

Won't Wait Till Next Life to Have my Sight.

A recent discovery in eye sight treatment in India gives high hope for children with deafness or autism. 

Another Vision Made Possible by
 the Information Age

Project Prakash, a nonprofit organization established in India to diagnose and treat people with curable blindness, was founded by MIT neuroscientist Dr. Pawan Sinha, who was moved to act by a chance encounter with a blind person during a visit to his native India makes surprising discoveries about how the brain develops and humans learn to see. 

"Prakash," the Sanskrit word for light, signifies both bringing sight to children and illuminating scientists' understanding of brain development.

Giving eyesight to a young boy apparently born with blindness in India has given rise to new findings in brain plasticity. It shows that a young brain can acquire new functions if initiated.

This is how the story goes. A baby was born blind in a small Indian village. His parents assumed he was just another victim of the family curse, destined to a life without sight like his sister, father and grandmother before him. 

Like many others in India, the parents resigned to his fate. 

They sent him to an institution for the blind 

when he was just four years old. 

Miraculously, the boy's world changed when 

health workers visited his school to conduct screening tests 

and determined his eyes were treatable.

He soon underwent surgery and at last began to see. This discovery challenged established views on brain plasticity and lead to new approaches for children with deafness or autism.

It reveals how the brain learns to process color, shape and movement. Different parts of the brain must engage to process a vision. Kids' eyesight can still be changed after age 6 or 7. The brain has significant capacity to "catch up" in interpreting color and light signals to recognize objects, regardless of whether the window was dark during the early stages of development.

Additional tests showed that motion aids the brain's ability to distinguish individual objects. For example, the participants could see a triangle displayed among scattered lines more readily when it constantly moved than when it was stationary.

Another potential application is with deaf children. "Exactly the same sort of idea would apply to deafness as to blindness: Would the brain of a child who has been deaf from birth be able to acquire auditory processing capabilities, would he be able to acquire spoken language even if he is treated several years after his birth?," Sinha wonders.

For the blind boy who discover 20% sight age seven is nothing less than a miracle. For him, and a growing number of Project Prakash patients, the light now glows brightly.

As for the children who are currently untreatable because of damaged eye structures, Sinha dreams that one day they will gain eyesight as well. "

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*HELP with emotional crisis Call 1-800-273-8255 *Medical Help Call 911 or visit a hospital emergency room *American Foundation for Suicide Prevention www.afsp.org

Source: A November / December 2012 | Volume 11, Issue 6 of the National Institute of Health published on behalf of the Fogarty International Center.