Sunday, July 26, 2009

PERSEVERANCE



by Anne Stortz
from Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul

When all the world is looming dark
And things seem not so clear,
When shadows seem to hover 'round
Lord, may I persevere.

When it seems everything's been tried
And there's no way to go,
Just let me keep remembering
Sometimes the journey's slow.

I may just need to stop and rest
Along the path I trod,
A time to try to understand
And have my talk with God.

As I gain new strength to carry on
Without a doubt or fear,
Somehow I know things will be right,
And so, I persevere.

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Saturday, July 25, 2009

What Obama's Health Reform Means For You



I recently wrote an article about Obama’s health care reform efforts for a local Brooklyn publication. The article should be published in the next week or so. I am limited in what I could write here because they’ve paid me for the first rights to my information in the article.

Because I’ve examined over a thousand pages of proposed healthcare reform legislation and have written an article about it, I support the health care reform effort pushed by Obama. After the American Medical Association (AMA) reviewed the proposed legislation, they now also support it (which is an 180 degree turn from their original position, and their historical position in opposing previous reform efforts by past presidents).

I also support the current reform efforts because I had personally faced difficulties from the broken health system, and because of insider understanding of certain things when I worked at UCSF (medical school and medical center.) I urge everyone to support Obama’s health care reform efforts, because what happened to me (when I had to deal with the broken health care system) can very well happen to you and to anyone, and it has happened to many in this country and some/many have died or become disabled because of the broken health system. Unfortunately, most people don't really know how bad things are until they actually go through such situations.

Don't wait until you are fighting an illness and facing death/disability before you support Obama's health reforms. It would be too late by then. We have a rare window of opportunity to change things now. Don't let it slip. Support Obama's health care reform efforts. Call or write to your senators and congressmen.

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Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Reliable Health and Medicine Customized Search Engine



If you are searching for information on health, nutrition, or medicine, a generic Google search may produce listings from unreliable sources. For example, I typed in the drug "Fentanyl" in the regular Google search. One of the first listings is from Wikipedia. Wikipedia is not necessarily a reliable source of information, especially when it comes to health and medicine.

I've produced a customized search using the wonderful technology of Google. My customized Google search engine below searches only reliable sources on the web (such as National Institute of Health, Mayo Clinic, and other reliable and reputable health and medical organizations.)

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Sunday, July 5, 2009

Drinking Water For Increasing Metabolism and Brain Function



Drinking enough water per day may (among other things) contribute to increasing your metabolism, improve circulation and circulation of blood and nutrients to the brain (indirectly helping with brain functions), and improve other various functions and repairs of the body.

Although I agree with many of the teachings of Dr. Oz and I even often learn from his wealth of medical knowledge, I will have to respectfully disagree with him when he said that we actually get enough water merely from the foods we eat. As a nutritionist and trainer who has trained athletes as well as common clients, I have to disagree with Dr. Oz. Although he may be correct in theory, he is incorrect here according to my observations of everyday real world experience. Although in theory, we are supposed to get enough water from the foods we eat, in practice I have observed that it’s not enough.

Dehydration impairs your metabolism. I think the simple traditional guideline of at least 8 glasses of plain water per day is still good. This would be in addition to other liquid beverages you may drink through out the day. For example, I would not count a glass of milk or a cup of tea as a glass of water.

You may drink water hot or cold. In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and in martial arts, it is taught that drinking hot water may be better for chi (or internal energy). However, from the standpoint of what’s known in science to increase your metabolism, drinking water hot or cold would be fine.

A good way of assuring that you drink enough water is carrying a water bottle with you. It is best to use a stainless steel body, as the safety of plastic bottles is still uncertain right now (with differing views among experts/scientists).

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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Skipping Breakfast Causes Gain in Body Fat



Skipping breakfast is the worst thing you can do to your metabolism. If you have the bad habit of skipping breakfast, you are giving your body the cue to slow down your metabolism. The effect is cumulative if you continue with such a bad habit over time.

Simply put, when there’s no food in the morning, the body has the tendency to save calories by slowing down your metabolism. Therefore, skipping breakfast trains the body to slow down your metabolism. This causes you to gain body fat.

Even if you are on the run and have no time, have at least a glass of low fat milk. I also find that the Boost Glucose Control milk shakes are good and it keeps me satiated and it keeps me from wanting to eat or from hunger. Of course, an actual meal of healthy solid food is better than these shakes. However, having just milk or a Boost Glucose Control shake is still better than not eating in the morning. Again, not having anything in the morning is the worst thing you can do.

Note: I have no affiliation with the company that produces Boost Glucose Control shakes or with any pharmacies selling them. I am an independent health and fitness writer and educator. For more information about my work and my service, feel free to click my profile on the right column of this blog.

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