Category Archives: Uncategorized

Mel Thomassian’s Advice on Getting Started With Exercise

Here’s her post.  A snippet:

4. Change Your Mind Set

I’m not going to lie, it is a long, slow process to change how you think about some things. But, you need to begin somewhere.

If you’re always telling yourself that you’re no good at exercising, or you never have time to exercise, you will never be able to change for good.

It is imperative that you believe you can change, to actually see change.

So, start believing you can enjoy exercise.

Start believing you could fit it in to your schedule a few times each week.

Start believing you could even enjoy it.

There’s a saying that goes, fake it till you make it! Well, that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about here;

  • Self belief in your ability to perform well in a particular activity.
  • Congratulating yourself for your efforts.
  • Reinforcing the fact that you are doing something really good for your body.

On the other hand, Ken Hutchins says, “Do not try to make exercise enjoyable.  Do not try to make recreation exercise.”

Not So Fast: Sugar Consumption May Not Be a Cause of T2 Diabetes

Remember that recent report implicating sugar intake as a cause of type 2 diabetes?

GI News weighs in on its validity:

“A new study in Plos One reports an association between global sugar availability and diabetes prevalence. Despite the headline hype, this study does not in fact provide any strong new evidence that sugar causes type 2 diabetes. Many other better designed studies already provide much stronger evidence that sugar does in fact not cause diabetes. The glycemic and glycemic load are much more powerful predictors of type 2 diabetes risk.”

Sean Preuss on Fasting: Effects On Weight Loss, Health, and Longevity

Sean writes: 

“I do not recommend fasting for people who are pregnant, have eating disorders, or demonstrate unstable blood glucose. On the other hand, fasting can be an effective tool for weight loss and health improvement. Based on the research above, I think fasting with days of absolutely no calorie intake should be avoided to prevent muscle loss. When using other fasting techniques, pay extra attention to your daily protein intake to prevent or minimize muscle loss.”

Sean may be getting a little ahead of the science on this one.  I’m skeptical about his reference No. 4.  We clearly need more human research.  But that’s not going to help those who want to take action today.

Cellulitis Is Often MisDiagnosed

…according to an article at MedPageToday.  It’s not under-diagnosed, it’s over-diagnosed.  The problem instead may be stasis cellulitis or contact dermatitis, among others.

Drug Overdoses Below Age 50 Are a Major Contributor to U.S. Deaths

…in men, compared to other modern countries.  From the MedPageToday article: 

“Ho noted that 64% of deaths before age 50 were from accidental poisoning and among those, 91% were drug overdoses.”

Anaphyllactic shock from a dose of penicilin is one kind of accidental poisoning.  Miscalculating the dose of heroin you need to get high is not quite comparable.

Poor Sleep Quality? One Expert Says Avoid Caffeine For Entire Eight Hours Before Bedtime

Click for details at the Wall Street Journal.

Life Span for U.S. Women May Be On the Decline

From the Wall Street Journal:

The latest research found that women age 75 and younger are dying at higher rates than previous years in nearly half of the nation’s counties—many of them rural and in the South and West. Curiously, for men, life expectancy has held steady or improved in nearly all counties.

The study is the latest to spot this pattern, especially among disadvantaged white women. Some leading theories blame higher smoking rates, obesity and less education, but several experts said they simply don’t know why.

Researchers also don’t know exactly how many women are affected. Ms. Montez says a good estimate is roughly 12%.

It’s time to get serious about a healthy lifestyle.  May I suggest The Advanced Mediterranean Diet?

Heavy Smoker? Drink Too Much? Don’t Exercise? Then Gaze Into the Crystal Ball

I know it’s tough, but change is possible.  Read this before it’s too late.  An excerpt:

“The thing they say about a man like my father, and a great many sportswriters match the description, is that he “did not take care of himself”. I cannot think of more than one or two conventionally healthy things that he did in my lifetime, unless I were to count prodigious napping and laughter. In addition to the chain-smoking, he drank a lot, rarely ordering beer except by the pitcher and keeping an oft-replaced bottle of whiskey on top of the fridge, though he showed its effects – when he showed them at all – in only the most good-natured way. He also ate badly and was heavy, at times very heavy, though strangely, especially taking into consideration a total lack of exercise, he retained all his life the thin legs and powerful calves of a runner. He was one of those people who are not meant to be fat, and I think it took him by surprise when his body at last began to give up: it had served him so well.”

Walnuts Linked to Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Risk in Women

…according to an article at Diabetes.co.uk.  The healthful walnut dose is two servings a week.

QOTD: The Dark Side Of Google Glass

“The key experiential question of Google Glass isn’t what it’s like to wear them, it’s what it’s like to be around someone else who’s wearing them. I’ll give an easy example. Your one-on-one conversation with someone wearing Google Glass is likely to be annoying, because you’ll suspect that you don’t have their undivided attention. And you can’t comfortably ask them to take the glasses off (especially when, inevitably, the device is integrated into prescription lenses). Finally – here’s where the problems really start – you don’t know if they’re taking a video of you.”

—Mark Hurst

Read the rest.