It’s A Long And Winding Road

Learning something new can never be a time waster. You may find you’ve learned a new skill which gives you a great deal of enjoyment. However, you may find what you’ve learned to be useful, save money or down-right necessary at some time in your life. For example, learning just basic sewing skills can save money even if you are just making reusable grocery tote bags. Learning to garden, of course, will save money and offer you fresher, organic vegetables.

Learn to Crochet and/or Knit: Many people find knitting or crocheting relaxing and a way to use their creativity. However, it does same money and if times get really tough, you can pull apart an unused sweater for the yarn to make a new one. Lion Brand has an excellent knit and crochet learning section.

Learn to Sew: Start with simple projects once you learn the basics. Tote bags are a great first sewing project. Check out the free sewing lessons and tutorials at this site.

Learn to Quilt: In the last depression, unusable clothing was formed into beautiful quilts. Women made extra money selling these quilts. However, now it is a form of art and creativity that many people enjoy. If this interests you, try this site to learn how.

Learn to Garden: Growing your own food is not as hard as you might think. After all, people have been doing it for quite some time. See this website for a host of videos that will get you going from start to finish.

Learn to Cook: You’ll find instructions for basic cooking to elegant and complicated dishes. The videos make it easy to follow step by step and actually see how it’s done.

Learn About Herbs for Health: Add some herbs to your garden. Use them for culinary purposes, teas and for health remedies. Check out this site for information on herbs and how to use them.

200 Free Online Classes: Learn the fundamentals of physics, quantum Mechanics, calculus, basic French, modern poetry, first year Chinese, dance skills, intro to biology, intro to economics and more.

In wake of the new economic times we are all facing, future posts on this blog will share information on how to soften the blow. I’ll discuss ways to make extra income, how to save, reuse and recycle, and so much more. This blog will no long be about nutrition, alternative medicine and health issues. However, I will, on occasion, still hit upon those topics at my other site, http://gardendiva.today.com/. So, I hope you’ll stop by for a visit and leave a comment - please, if you so feel inspired.

I look forward to scouring the internet as well as other reference and news material to bring you the best and latest ideas.

The antioxidant benefits of blueberries have been reported enough, even on this page, that everyone should have added them to their diet by now. However, it was recently found that the plumb is equally packed with antioxidant power. New research from Texas AgriLife Research have discovered that many (if not all - 100 varieties were examined) fruits with stones are equal to or exhibit even more benefit that blueberries.

It is nice to know that some of the other fruits we’ve been eating were extremely healthy picks. It’s also good news to those who don’t like blueberries. Antioxidants are important to our good health because they bond to something called free electrons in our body which stabilizes the activity of free radicals. It is believed that this action prevents disease from developing.

Peaches, nectarines and cherries are all excellent choices. Next time you are shopping in the produce isle, buy what is in season for a better savings, but look for fruits with pits.

Blueberries are great on your morning oatmeal, in muffins and mixed in a bowl of fresh fruit. They are high in vitamin C, vitamin E, manganese, fiber and low in calories. But that’s not all, a recent study done by Tufts University found blueberries to be on the top of the list of 60 vegetables and fruits regarding antioxidant abilities. That means that this fruit is an excellent food to neutralize free radical damage. It was also found that blueberries deliver 38% more antioxidant anthocyanins than red wine which is a cardio protective food.

This fruit has been shown, through a animal studies, to protect the brain against from oxidative stress. Scientists say this means eating blueberries may effectively reduce symptoms of age related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. During the animal study they found that elderly animals were improved in their motor skills as well as their learning capacity.

The compound, ellagic acid, is found in blueberries. This is another type of antioxidant that block metabolic joining paths that may result in cancer. Strawberries also contain this ellagic acid. In addition blueberries contain a lot of soluble fiber pectin. This type of fiber is known to lower cholesterol.

Further studies showed compounds in blueberries exhibited protection against colon cancer and ovarian cancer.

For a great dessert idea, layer blueberries (and strawberries), in fluted wine glasses, along with vanilla yogurt. Top with a sprinkle of ginger. They are great on oatmeal or in oatmeal muffins.

The skin disease Psoriasis is linked to obesity by the hormone Leptin which is produced by fat. A new report shows that individuals suffering with psoriasis produce more Leptin than those without the skin disease. Psoriasis produces a red, scaly rash on the skin and is known to be an autoimmune condition. The condition required more tests and studies due to it’s higher association with hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.

A study performed by Yi-Ju Chen, M.D. in Taiwan at the Taichung Veterans General Hospital and National Chung Hsing University showed that, out of 158 test patients, those with Psoriasis were more likely than others to be obese and suffer from hypertension as well as elevated levels of glucose in their blood. High levels of Leptin were also found in the Psoriasis sufferers with the highest percentage in women who had the skin disease.

Body weight loss improves the conditions of Psoriasis and blood glucose levels. However, the additional Leptin makes it difficult to lose weight. It’s a “Catch 22.” Other studies have shown diabetic patients to have a high Leptin hormone production.

There are probably a million different resolutions you could make for the new year. People even come up with themes for their resolutions, most of the time it has something to do with our health, dieting, exercise, stop smoking, and so on. All of them are good choices. In addition, why not make a list of “green” resolutions.

1. Walk. As the weather improves into spring, if you live within a few miles of your workplace, choose at least one day of the week that you will walk back and forth to work. Maybe, if others in your workplace live along the way you can talk them into joining you. You could call it “Walking Wednesday.” If you live a little further, try biking one day a week.

2. Recycle. If you have been separating your newspapers, plastics, glass and metal for pickup, great. But, a new year is a great time to clean out closets, garages and cupboards. Box up all the things you not longer use or want and donate them so that someone else can make use of those things.

3. Water. By now we all know it’s good for us to remain hydrated, but those “throw-away” plastic bottles are just going to the landfill. Find a more permanent solution to your take-along water bottle, such as a permanent container.

4. No Meat Menu. Take meat off of the family menu for one day a week. It’s not that hard. Oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch, grilled cheese and potato or tomato soup for dinner. There are a million different options.

5. Grocery Bags. Keep canvas grocery bags in your trunk so you won’t need to use the plastic ones they give you at the grocery store.

Ivan de Araujo and his team of researchers altered mice as to their ability to taste sweetness in foods. They conducted a test with mice that had normal taste abilities and those with out the ability to taste sweetness. Both groups of mice chose the high calorie sweet water or the non-caloric sweet water. While analyzing the mice brains during the experiment, the researchers found that the mouse reward circuit turned on while drinking the sugar water. Neurons in the reward section of the brain activated with the sugar water. (I wonder if they just didn’t like the taste of the sugar-free solution).

The researchers believe they have found the answer to the human calorie-sensing system. They further believe that eliminating high fructose corn syrup from the diet of obese people would curb their need for the foods containing this product.

What are your thoughts on this study? I came out with a lot of questions that seemed unanswered. Mice may have an animal instinct that humans no longer or just do not possess regarding the ability to know which water had higher calories - a survival instinct. Secondly, we know that white sugar as well as high fructose corn syrup are both highly addictive to some people. Not only that, but those with a propensity towards diabetes may turn simple carbs readily into simple sugars within their body - acting as though they had just eaten sugar. This means that more and more foods on the market feed the sugar addiction in many people who are overweight.

In any sense, addiction of any kind is not easily put to rest. In my opinion, Araujo and his researchers have over simplified their findings.

A new study just released last month showed that eating grapes helped lower blood pressure and improve heart function. Previous studies had already shown grapes to have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory benefits. The study was conducted with lab rats while keeping them on an otherwise “high sodium” diet.

If you are choosing grapes, don’t purchase canned ones (I didn’t even know they came canned) as they will additional calories to your diet. Canned grapes, for 1 cup, totals 110 calories where 1 cup fresh Thompson seedless red or green grapes are only about 98 calories. Also, the canned grapes only provide 4% to fresh 29%.

However, if you are looking for the best antioxidant per 100 mgs red grapes, apples and bee pollen, choose the bee pollen. It has 31.78 mg quartering (a potent flavones which is the antioxidant property) while apples contain 7.37 and red grapes 3.98.

There are a lot of things in everyday life that can cause us to be sleepless. Stress and worry are two of the big culprits. However, new studies have shown how it is now more important than ever known before to get enough sleep. The old excuse of “I’ll catch up on my sleep this weekend” doesn’t hold true as we once thought it did. We now know that you can’t catch up on sleep and if giving sleep the short end of importance can effect your health over time.

1. 26% of children who don’t get enough sleep become overweight. Although this study related to children 2 ½ to 6 years, one has to wonder if a lack of sleep can effect this percentage of people, in this manner, in all age ranges. This was based on children of this age group getting fewer than 10 hours of sleep per night.

2. Lack of enough sleep can affects adolescents with both emotional and behavioral disturbances including ADHA. The results were ascertained through a study involving 882 high school students by reviewing their sleep habits in conjunction with their grades. As part of the study, students were also given psychological and behavioral testing.

3. Consider your overall fat intake (especially dinner fat intake) if you aren’t sleeping well. A study done at the Federal University in Brazil in which 52 healthy people’s food intake records were watched for three days. The study showed a higher fat intake matched up with a lower amount of REM sleep, a higher arousal and higher occurrence of apnea.

4. Cigarette smoking is linked with sleep disturbances. Research shows that smokers will report feeling unrested, in the morning, four times more than non-smokers. It turns out that smokers spend less time in a state of deep sleep than those that don’t smoke.

Things You Can Do to Sleep Better

1. Don’t sleep in. Set a schedule of going to bed and getting up at the same times, even on weekends.

2. Exercise between 20 and 30 minutes per day. However exercising late in the day may actually disturb sleep for some.

3. Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol especially late in the day and evening. Where stimulants keep you awake, depressants such as alcohol rob the body of deep sleep.

4. Find ways to relax before bedtime. Reading or taking a warm bath are good examples.

5. If you can’t sleep, don’t lie in bed. The anxiety of concentrating on being unable to sleep is worse than getting up and doing something else until sleepy.

An enlarged prostate can mean having to get up to go to the bathroom so many times at night that it is impossible to get enough sleep. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) most of the time is just plain annoying. One in five men older than 50 are affected and almost all of those in their 70s. You should always see your health care professional before embarking on any natural or other treatments. Once the diagnosis has been made, certainly listen to all the options available through your doctor. These are some options you may want to discuss with him.

1. There is a surgery option that should be discussed with your health care professional. Also, in Europe the common conventional treatment is to try beta blockers. These drugs normally are used for high blood pressure, but they can give some relief to approximately 60% of men.

2. In the Nashville Men’s Health Study showed a 9% lower PSA (prostate specific antigen) in men who took aspirin regularly as apposed to men who did not.

3. Saw Palmetto Berry Extract has been known to give relief within a 30 day period for some men. Make sure that the product used is of high quality. There are no known side effects and it is non-toxic. Studies conducted (with proof of benefit) have used 320 mg daily that contained 85% to 95% fatty acids and sterols. Divided in half and taken twice a day is the best formula.

4. Pygeum Africanum is not as effective as Saw Palmetto Berry Extract, it can be used in conjunction with it. Studies have shown it to have no side effects while reducing the symptoms of BPH. Choose a product that contains 13% sterols with a dosage of 50 mg to 100 mg per day.

5. Stinging Nettle when used in scientific studies has shown to improve BPH symptoms. This herb has also been used in Europe for conditions involving baldness, bladder infections, kidney stones and arthritis. Studies used dosages of 50 mg to 150 mg/twice a day. This herb can be used in conjunction with Pygeum Africanum and Saw Palmetto Berry Extract.

6. Zinc is accumulated by the prostate more than any other body organ. Studies have shown that a zinc supplement can reduce the size of the prostate gland. Studies used 30 mg supplements per day with the addition of 2 mg of copper for a balanced combination.