The Dorm Room Diet Disaster
Late night study binges, sports events with endless junk food, more sitting than ever before... there's little wonder why college kids gain weight. And so Daphne Oz, now a junior at Princeton University, wrote The Dorm Room Diet Planner, an illustrated planner to help readers follow their own healthy diet and lifestyle and a follow-up to her first book called The Dorm Room Diet.
This planner is jam-packed with tips, checklists and sidebars on topics such as:
shopping for food on a college budget
game plans to help avoid disaster
tips on choosing vitamins and supplements
exercise and how it reduces stress
danger zones at school (like the cafeteria)- and how to avoid them
When in high school, Daphne successfully worked to change her school's lunch menu from processed cafeteria food to include whole grains and raw foods. She's the daughter of Lisa and Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of the bestsellers You: The Owner's Manual, You: The Smart Patient, and You: On A Diet.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Dating During The Playoffs
HOW TO DATE DURING THE PLAYOFFS
(MSN.com)
ADVICE FOR THE GUYS:
Use travel days. Maybe Wednesday isn't usually a big date night, but if it's an off day for the series, you could win lots of brownie points. "I'm a rabid Red Sox fan," admits Tony Caputo of Bellevue, Washington. "But I've never dated one. So to make up for missing 'date nights' because of a game, I plan dinner at the best restaurant in town or something she really likes that I don't. It's a way of showing her that I do still care -- and that I appreciate her understanding about my sports addiction. It seems to work."
Help her learn the game. "Nothing's worse than watching the game with your girlfriend and having her ask stupid questions," says Cardinals fan Paul Garrison of St. Louis, Missouri. "I teach her a little about the game. You know, the difference between strikes and balls. What the catcher's signals are about. Small stuff. It'll help both of you enjoy the game more."
Buy her a little present. Everyone likes a gift... why not have it be baseball-related? "There are fun things like lingerie for women in baseball logo lines now," says Paula Duffy, founder of Incidental Contact, a sports learning site for women. That will get her in the mood for... a lot of things.
Plan a romantic movie night. Make some hot dogs, get some good beer, and rent some movies that give her the right idea about baseball, suggests Kevin Magon of San Luis Obispo, California. "Watch the movie Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon." Or Bull Durham. These movies have great baseball action and a touch of romance to keep both of you interested.
ADVICE FOR THE GIRLS:
Watch your mouth. "Make comments about the players' attractiveness sparingly," advises lifelong Dodgers fan Charles Small of Washington, D.C. "You have to realize that you are kind of in a frat-boy environment where the last thing on a guy's mind is whether Derek Jeter is cute or not. And root against your boyfriend's team if and only if you are OK with being heckled and if you are actually a real fan of the team."
Know the score. "The one stat that is critical to know is how many games out of playoff contention is your guy's team as you move into playoff season," Duffy says. "Why? Because it's all about winning, and to win the World Series you have to be in the playoffs."
Figure out the keys to the game. Search any of the network or sports Web sites for the latest information and analysis. "Learn the roster of your sweetie's favorite team and share some obscure fact, which will amuse and even impress the guy," suggests Jeff Louderback, founder and editor of Sox and Pinstripes (www.soxandpinstripes.com), a blog/Web site dedicated to the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry. "If my girlfriend told me something like, 'I really think that Jason Varitek is the catalyst for the Sox's success because his leadership and ability to call a game outweigh his batting average,' I would be impressed and turned on!"
Get in uniform. Show you care by sporting some team apparel. "A hat is good as long as it isn't a pastel color," Duffy counsels. "A tee shirt, tank top or something else particularly feminine will get you the hard stares, especially at a game or a sports bar. He might stop sipping his beer for a moment... who knows?"
(MSN.com)
ADVICE FOR THE GUYS:
Use travel days. Maybe Wednesday isn't usually a big date night, but if it's an off day for the series, you could win lots of brownie points. "I'm a rabid Red Sox fan," admits Tony Caputo of Bellevue, Washington. "But I've never dated one. So to make up for missing 'date nights' because of a game, I plan dinner at the best restaurant in town or something she really likes that I don't. It's a way of showing her that I do still care -- and that I appreciate her understanding about my sports addiction. It seems to work."
Help her learn the game. "Nothing's worse than watching the game with your girlfriend and having her ask stupid questions," says Cardinals fan Paul Garrison of St. Louis, Missouri. "I teach her a little about the game. You know, the difference between strikes and balls. What the catcher's signals are about. Small stuff. It'll help both of you enjoy the game more."
Buy her a little present. Everyone likes a gift... why not have it be baseball-related? "There are fun things like lingerie for women in baseball logo lines now," says Paula Duffy, founder of Incidental Contact, a sports learning site for women. That will get her in the mood for... a lot of things.
Plan a romantic movie night. Make some hot dogs, get some good beer, and rent some movies that give her the right idea about baseball, suggests Kevin Magon of San Luis Obispo, California. "Watch the movie Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon." Or Bull Durham. These movies have great baseball action and a touch of romance to keep both of you interested.
ADVICE FOR THE GIRLS:
Watch your mouth. "Make comments about the players' attractiveness sparingly," advises lifelong Dodgers fan Charles Small of Washington, D.C. "You have to realize that you are kind of in a frat-boy environment where the last thing on a guy's mind is whether Derek Jeter is cute or not. And root against your boyfriend's team if and only if you are OK with being heckled and if you are actually a real fan of the team."
Know the score. "The one stat that is critical to know is how many games out of playoff contention is your guy's team as you move into playoff season," Duffy says. "Why? Because it's all about winning, and to win the World Series you have to be in the playoffs."
Figure out the keys to the game. Search any of the network or sports Web sites for the latest information and analysis. "Learn the roster of your sweetie's favorite team and share some obscure fact, which will amuse and even impress the guy," suggests Jeff Louderback, founder and editor of Sox and Pinstripes (www.soxandpinstripes.com), a blog/Web site dedicated to the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry. "If my girlfriend told me something like, 'I really think that Jason Varitek is the catalyst for the Sox's success because his leadership and ability to call a game outweigh his batting average,' I would be impressed and turned on!"
Get in uniform. Show you care by sporting some team apparel. "A hat is good as long as it isn't a pastel color," Duffy counsels. "A tee shirt, tank top or something else particularly feminine will get you the hard stares, especially at a game or a sports bar. He might stop sipping his beer for a moment... who knows?"
Cold medicines and young children
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel began two days of hearings to consider banning the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children. Such a ban already has the support of safety experts at the FDA, who published a 365-page review last month that showed decongestants and antihistamines have been linked with 123 pediatric deaths since 1969. Many outside experts are also in favor of restricting children's access to cold remedies. Last Thursday, leading drug makers announced a voluntary withdrawal of oral cough and cold medicines marketed for use in infants.
Ease morning sickness
When you're pregnant, it's important to eat healthy, regular meals to provide plenty of nutrients for your developing baby. But morning sickness can make that a tough task.
Here are some suggestions when you're dealing with morning sickness, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:
Get enough rest.
First thing in the morning, eat a few pretzels, crackers or some dry cereal.
Eat small meals frequently throughout the day.
Stay away from greasy, fried or spicy foods.
Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Try to drink them between meals instead of just with them.
If you don't feel like you can eat anything and can't drink water, try some ice chips, fruit juice or fruit juice popsicles.
Steer clear of offensive odors.
Here are some suggestions when you're dealing with morning sickness, courtesy of the University of Michigan Health System:
Get enough rest.
First thing in the morning, eat a few pretzels, crackers or some dry cereal.
Eat small meals frequently throughout the day.
Stay away from greasy, fried or spicy foods.
Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Try to drink them between meals instead of just with them.
If you don't feel like you can eat anything and can't drink water, try some ice chips, fruit juice or fruit juice popsicles.
Steer clear of offensive odors.
Get flu shots in Miami
Flu season is knocking on our door, and as usual, the young and the elderly run the biggest risk of suffering the virus's most severe effects. Experts recommended you don't wait until the last minute to get your flu vaccine.
The Miami-Dade County Health Department is providing flu vaccines that are free of charge for some and cost $30 for others. If you are between the ages of 6 months and 18-years-old, you can get vaccinated for free. Also, if you are 65-years-old, or older, you get the vaccine for free. Adults between the ages of 19 and 64 must pay the $30 fee for their vaccines.
For a schedule of locations and dates providing the flu vaccine CLICK HERE.
The Miami-Dade County Health Department is providing flu vaccines that are free of charge for some and cost $30 for others. If you are between the ages of 6 months and 18-years-old, you can get vaccinated for free. Also, if you are 65-years-old, or older, you get the vaccine for free. Adults between the ages of 19 and 64 must pay the $30 fee for their vaccines.
For a schedule of locations and dates providing the flu vaccine CLICK HERE.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Scientists explain chocolate cravings
Scientists Explain Why You Crave Chocolate Deep Down - Right Into Your Gut
By SETH BORENSTEIN
The Associated Press
If that craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that's because maybe it is.
A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure.
That may be the case for other foods, too. The idea could eventually lead to treating some types of obesity by changing the composition of the trillions of bacteria occupying the intestines and stomach, said Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study. It appears Friday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Proteome Research.
Kochhar is in charge of metabolism research at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. The food conglomerate Nestle SA paid for the study. But this isn't part of an effort to convert a few to the dark side (or even milk) side of cocoa, Kocchar said.
In fact, the study was delayed because it took a year for the researchers to find 11 men who don't eat chocolate.
Kochhar compared the blood and urine of those 11 men, who he jokingly called "weird" for their indifference to chocolate, to 11 similar men who ate chocolate daily. They were all healthy, not obese, and were fed the same food for five days.
The researchers examined the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups. For example, the amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine (an active ingredient in energy drinks) was higher in people who didn't eat chocolate. Also chocolate lovers had lower levels of the bad cholesterol, LDL.
The levels of several of the specific substances that were different in the two groups are known to be linked to different types of bacteria, Kochhar said.
Still to be determined is if the bacteria cause the craving, or if early in life people's diets changed the bacteria, which then reinforced food choices.
How gut bacteria affect people is a hot field of scientific research.
Past studies have shown that intestinal bacteria change when people lose weight, said Dr. Sam Klein, an obesity expert and professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
Since bacteria interact with what you eat, it is logical to think that there is a connection between those microbes and desires for certain foods, said Klein, who wasn't part of Kochhar's study.
Kochhar's research makes so much sense that people should have thought of it earlier, said J. Bruce German, professor of food chemistry at the University of California Davis. While five outside scientists thought the study was intriguing, Dr. Richard Bergman at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, had concerns about the accuracy of the initial division of the men into groups that wanted chocolate or were indifferent to it.
What matters to Kochhar is where the research could lead.
Kochhar said the relationship between food, people and what grows in their gut is important for the future: "If we understand the relationship, then we can find ways to nudge it in the right direction."
By SETH BORENSTEIN
The Associated Press
If that craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that's because maybe it is.
A small study links the type of bacteria living in people's digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave daily chocolate show signs of having different colonies of bacteria than people who are immune to chocolate's allure.
That may be the case for other foods, too. The idea could eventually lead to treating some types of obesity by changing the composition of the trillions of bacteria occupying the intestines and stomach, said Sunil Kochhar, co-author of the study. It appears Friday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Proteome Research.
Kochhar is in charge of metabolism research at the Nestle Research Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. The food conglomerate Nestle SA paid for the study. But this isn't part of an effort to convert a few to the dark side (or even milk) side of cocoa, Kocchar said.
In fact, the study was delayed because it took a year for the researchers to find 11 men who don't eat chocolate.
Kochhar compared the blood and urine of those 11 men, who he jokingly called "weird" for their indifference to chocolate, to 11 similar men who ate chocolate daily. They were all healthy, not obese, and were fed the same food for five days.
The researchers examined the byproducts of metabolism in their blood and urine and found that a dozen substances were significantly different between the two groups. For example, the amino acid glycine was higher in chocolate lovers, while taurine (an active ingredient in energy drinks) was higher in people who didn't eat chocolate. Also chocolate lovers had lower levels of the bad cholesterol, LDL.
The levels of several of the specific substances that were different in the two groups are known to be linked to different types of bacteria, Kochhar said.
Still to be determined is if the bacteria cause the craving, or if early in life people's diets changed the bacteria, which then reinforced food choices.
How gut bacteria affect people is a hot field of scientific research.
Past studies have shown that intestinal bacteria change when people lose weight, said Dr. Sam Klein, an obesity expert and professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.
Since bacteria interact with what you eat, it is logical to think that there is a connection between those microbes and desires for certain foods, said Klein, who wasn't part of Kochhar's study.
Kochhar's research makes so much sense that people should have thought of it earlier, said J. Bruce German, professor of food chemistry at the University of California Davis. While five outside scientists thought the study was intriguing, Dr. Richard Bergman at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, had concerns about the accuracy of the initial division of the men into groups that wanted chocolate or were indifferent to it.
What matters to Kochhar is where the research could lead.
Kochhar said the relationship between food, people and what grows in their gut is important for the future: "If we understand the relationship, then we can find ways to nudge it in the right direction."
Family Day a paid holiday
Canadians have come up with a really nice idea and possibly another way to get the whole family to sit down to dinner together.
The Canadian province of Ontario is getting a new holiday — Family Day to be observed the third Monday in February.
Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Thursday he was adding a ninth holiday to the province's official list, issuing an executive order to make good on a campaign promise.
"Families are busier than ever," McGuinty said. "That's why we committed to creating a new long weekend in February by introducing a new statutory holiday."
Most workers are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. Businesses that do open are obligated to pay holiday pay.
I think we need a "Family Day" holiday too...what do you think?
The Canadian province of Ontario is getting a new holiday — Family Day to be observed the third Monday in February.
Premier Dalton McGuinty announced Thursday he was adding a ninth holiday to the province's official list, issuing an executive order to make good on a campaign promise.
"Families are busier than ever," McGuinty said. "That's why we committed to creating a new long weekend in February by introducing a new statutory holiday."
Most workers are entitled to take the day off with regular pay. Businesses that do open are obligated to pay holiday pay.
I think we need a "Family Day" holiday too...what do you think?
Testing to start for airport body scan
Body scan
By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press
The federal government will begin testing a body-scanning machine that could eventually be used instead of the metal detectors passengers walk through at airports.
Tests were scheduled to begin Thursday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with passengers pulled out of the security line for secondary screening. Passengers may request the full-body scan — which blurs faces so the person being screened cannot be recognized — instead of the traditional pat-down used across the country. The new machine uses radio waves to detect foreign objects.
Since February, the Phoenix airport has been testing a similar machine that uses so-called backscatter radiation to scan the entire body. The backscatter uses a narrow, low-intensity x-ray beam that's scans the entire body at a high speed. The amount of radiation used during this scan is equal to 15 minutes of exposure to natural background radiation such as the sun's rays.
Officials are trying to determine if the body-scan machines are a more effective search tool than a pat-down. Both types of machines check for explosives, metal, plastic and liquids — anything hidden on the body, said Mike Golden, the Transportation Security Administration's chief technology officer.
The new type of device being tested, called a "millimeter wave" machine, doesn't use radiation, Golden said Wednesday during a demonstration for reporters at the agency's headquarters in Arlington, Va. Instead, it uses electromagnetic waves to create an image based on energy reflected from the body.
The millimeter wave machine works like this: A person walks into a large portal — nearly 9 feet tall and 6 feet wide — pauses and lifts his arms while the machine takes two scans using radio waves. The scans take 1.8 seconds, and it takes about a minute for the image to appear on a computer screen in a separate location.
To protect privacy, the image will be shown on screens in a completely different area than where the screening is taking place. The TSA officer doing the screening will never see the computer image, and images will not be saved, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said.
Reporters were only shown an example of a female body image, which was a three-dimensional image of a very fit woman in her brassiere and underwear. TSA describes this as similar to a "fuzzy photo negative."
Privacy advocates say the images are more graphic than that.
"If you want to see a naked body, this is a naked body," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's program on technology and liberty.
Steinhardt also received a demonstration of the new machine, which he says shows the same graphic image as the backscatters.
"I continue to believe that these are virtual strip searches," Steinhardt said. "If Playboy published them, there would be politicians out there saying they're pornographic."
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the Alexandria, Va., federal courthouse use the millimeter wave machines, TSA said.
TSA purchased eight of the millimeter wave machines, which cost between $100,000 and $120,000, and is considering deploying them at John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles international airports during the testing period. The results of the testing will determine whether to use these machines for primary screening, Howe said.
By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press
The federal government will begin testing a body-scanning machine that could eventually be used instead of the metal detectors passengers walk through at airports.
Tests were scheduled to begin Thursday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with passengers pulled out of the security line for secondary screening. Passengers may request the full-body scan — which blurs faces so the person being screened cannot be recognized — instead of the traditional pat-down used across the country. The new machine uses radio waves to detect foreign objects.
Since February, the Phoenix airport has been testing a similar machine that uses so-called backscatter radiation to scan the entire body. The backscatter uses a narrow, low-intensity x-ray beam that's scans the entire body at a high speed. The amount of radiation used during this scan is equal to 15 minutes of exposure to natural background radiation such as the sun's rays.
Officials are trying to determine if the body-scan machines are a more effective search tool than a pat-down. Both types of machines check for explosives, metal, plastic and liquids — anything hidden on the body, said Mike Golden, the Transportation Security Administration's chief technology officer.
The new type of device being tested, called a "millimeter wave" machine, doesn't use radiation, Golden said Wednesday during a demonstration for reporters at the agency's headquarters in Arlington, Va. Instead, it uses electromagnetic waves to create an image based on energy reflected from the body.
The millimeter wave machine works like this: A person walks into a large portal — nearly 9 feet tall and 6 feet wide — pauses and lifts his arms while the machine takes two scans using radio waves. The scans take 1.8 seconds, and it takes about a minute for the image to appear on a computer screen in a separate location.
To protect privacy, the image will be shown on screens in a completely different area than where the screening is taking place. The TSA officer doing the screening will never see the computer image, and images will not be saved, TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said.
Reporters were only shown an example of a female body image, which was a three-dimensional image of a very fit woman in her brassiere and underwear. TSA describes this as similar to a "fuzzy photo negative."
Privacy advocates say the images are more graphic than that.
"If you want to see a naked body, this is a naked body," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's program on technology and liberty.
Steinhardt also received a demonstration of the new machine, which he says shows the same graphic image as the backscatters.
"I continue to believe that these are virtual strip searches," Steinhardt said. "If Playboy published them, there would be politicians out there saying they're pornographic."
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the Alexandria, Va., federal courthouse use the millimeter wave machines, TSA said.
TSA purchased eight of the millimeter wave machines, which cost between $100,000 and $120,000, and is considering deploying them at John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles international airports during the testing period. The results of the testing will determine whether to use these machines for primary screening, Howe said.
Is your child Autistic?
Some important information for people wondering if their child might be suffering from autism. A new Web site offers dozens of video clips of autistic kids, along with clips of children unaffected by the disease. The site gives parents a way to compare their kids' behavior to see if they might need to have a doctor take a closer look. The site is sponsored by two non-profit advocacy groups, Autism Speaks and First Signs. They hope it will promote early diagnosis and treatment, which can help young children with autism lead more normal lives.
If your child is diagnosed with autism, early intervention is critical to gain maximum benefit from existing therapies.
If your child is diagnosed with autism, early intervention is critical to gain maximum benefit from existing therapies.
5 Talented Women
Five talented women have been selected as winners of the second annual Acceleration Grant for Emerging Filmmakers competition, it was announced by the national organization of Women In Film (WIF) and the General Motors Corporation. The grant, awarded annually, is a program of the WIF/GM Alliance, the goal of which is to support talented filmmakers from under-represented communities.
The Women In Film/General Motors Alliance was created to support women in the entertainment industry and to expand Women In Film chapter programs across the country.
The Women In Film/General Motors Alliance was created to support women in the entertainment industry and to expand Women In Film chapter programs across the country.
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