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The Amazing Cucumber
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their “Spotlight on the Home” series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

Photo credit: xenia from morguefile.com Read the rest of this entry »

TAMIFLU/NUTRIFERON COMPARISON CHART

The chart on this page shows

Tamiflu and Shaklee’s Nutrireron

compared as to usage restrictions up to and including efficacy.  Of special interest is the "Active Ingredients category".  Note the use of synthetic compounds versus natural ingredients in

Shaklee’s Nurtiferon.

There are five phases of sleep: stages 1, 2, 3, 4 and REM (rapid eye movement). Usually when you are sleeping, you begin at stage 1 and go through each stage until reaching REM sleep, and then you begin the cycle again. Each complete sleep cycle takes from 90 to 110 minutes. Your brain acts differently in each stage of sleep. In some of the stages, your body may make movements, but in others your arms and legs will be immobile. Having good sleep habits will make sure you get each type of sleep that you need.

Stage 1

Stage 1 sleep is light sleep. You experience a drifting in and out of sleep. You can be easily woken up. Your eye movement and body movements slow down. You may experience sudden jerky movement of your legs or other muscles. These are known as hypnic myoclonia or myoclonic jerks. These “sleep starts” can give a sensation of falling. They are caused by the motor areas of the brain being spontaneously stimulated.

Stage 2

Around 50 percent of your time sleeping is spent in stage 2 sleep. During this stage, eye movement stops and your brain waves (a measure of the activity level of the brain) become slower. There will also be brief bursts of rapid brain activity called sleep spindles.

Stage 3

Stage 3 is the first stage of deep sleep. The brain waves are a combination of slow waves, known as delta waves, combined with faster waves. During stage 3 sleep it can be very difficult to wake someone up. If you are woken up during this stage, you may feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes.

Stage 4

Stage 4 sleep is the second stage of deep sleep. In this stage the brain is making the slow delta waves almost exclusively. In this stage it is also very difficult to wake someone up. Both stages of deep sleep are important for feeling refreshed in the morning. If these stages are too short, sleep will not feel satisfying.

REM Sleep – Rapid Eye Movement

REM sleep is the sleep stage in which dreaming occurs. When you enter into REM sleep, your breathing becomes fast, irregular and shallow. Your eyes will move rapidly and your muscles become immobile. Heart rate and blood pressure increase. Men may develop erections. About 20 percent of sleep is REM sleep for adults.

REM sleep is also the phase of sleep in which you dream. This sleep phase begins about 70 to 90 minutes after you fall asleep. The first sleep cycle has a shorter phase of REM sleep. Toward morning, the time spent in REM sleep increases and the deep sleep stages decrease.

Researchers do not fully understand REM sleep and dreaming. They know it is important in the creation of long-term memories. If a person’s REM sleep is disrupted, the next sleep cycle does not follow the normal order, but often goes directly to REM sleep until the previous night’s lost REM time is made up.

Napping can be a great way to catch up on sleep, increase productivity and become more creative. Napping puts the body in a relaxed state, which counteracts the effects of daily stress. Studies have shown that napping can actually decrease risk your of dying from heart disease.

How Naps Work

If your nap takes you from stage 1 sleep (just drifting off) to stage 2 (brain activity slows), you will wake up feeling energized and more alert. If your nap takes you into stages 3 and 4 (deep sleep), you will not wake easily and will feel groggy and tired. Sleep stage 1 typically lasts about 10 minutes and stage 2 lasts another 10 minutes. That makes the 20-minute nap ideal for most people (your time will vary to some degree, experiment to learn what works best).

How to Nap Effectively

There is some controversy in the best way to take a nap. It may be that different people have different nap styles. You can experiment with some of the napping techniques below and see what works for you. The best nap is the one in which you fall asleep quickly and stay asleep for the shortest amount of time, while still waking refreshed. Napping too long may actually leave you feeling more tired. Read more about napping techniques below:

• Nap Time: Prime nap time is from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., when your energy level dips due to a rise in the hormone melatonin at that time of day.
• Darkness: Use a face mask or eye pillow to provide daytime darkness and make your nap more effective.
• Not Too Late: Napping within three hours of bedtime may interfere with nighttime sleep.
• Quiet Place: Assure that you will not be disturbed for the duration of your nap.
• 30-Minute Maximum: When taking a nap longer than 30 minutes, you run the risk of heading into deep sleep, which will leave you feeling tired and groggy. Naps as short as 1 to 2 minutes could be effective for some people.
• Set an Alarm: You will eventually train yourself to nap for the amount of time you set aside. Until then, set an alarm or ask someone to wake you up.
• The Caffeine Nap: Some people claim that drinking coffee and then taking an immediate nap works well. The caffeine kicks in somewhere between 10 and 20 minutes, waking them up. They feel extra energy from both the nap and the coffee. Researchers in Japan found that subjects using a caffeine nap rated highest in decreased sleepiness and increased productivity when compared to subjects taking a nap and washing their face, or taking a nap and being exposed to bright lights.

Healthy Snacks

Healthy summer snacks are a must for keeping kids happy and active during time off from school. Snacks provide energy, prevent overeating, and keep blood sugar stable throughout the course of the day. Check out these ideas for healthy summer snacks for kids:

1. White or red grapes (Try freezing them for a new spin!)

2. Frozen blueberries on top of low fat yogurt

3. Fruit “kabobs” (Just line up diced fruit on wooden     skewers.)

4. Baby carrots and a small side of hummus

5. Sliced raw vegetable assortment with a small side of guacamole

6. Diced melon on top of cottage cheese

7. Banana pop (It’s just a frozen banana!)

8. Banana sliced, topped with natural peanut butter, on top a whole-grain English muffin

9. Unsalted almonds or walnuts over a fruit cup

10. Baked tortilla chips with bean dip

11. Celery sticks with whipped cream cheese as dip

12. Homemade “yogurt-sicle” (Just insert a popsicle stick and freeze!)

Bonus Tips: With all these tasty snacks, and summertime activities kids will certainly be thirsty, but resist the urge to serve an ice-cold soda and instead:

* Make an effort to keep water as the main beverage for your kids all summer long.
* When serving fruit juice, choose varieties that are 100% juice (Some kid-friendly boxes and pouches contain about 10% juice, so it pays to compare!).
* Fat-free milk is a nutritious, lower-calorie alternative to whole milk and some kids actually find it more refreshing than the regular kind.

You can also give your kids vitamins to keep them healthy from all the pathagens that are going around these days.

I have to admit I have a sweet tooth.

Always have.

My parents had lots of dental bills to prove it too.

But according to new research I got off easy by consuming goodies that contained sweeteners that at least naturally originate in nature.

Not so for a certain artificial sweetener called sucralose (brand name Splenda®).

Read the rest of this entry »

Physical Activity Recommendations Really Do Matter

By Mark Stibich, Ph.D., About.com

Updated: May 08, 2008

About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by our Medical Review Board
Every time you turn around, it seems like some organization is coming out with a new recommendation about how much exercise you need: 1 hour, 3 times a week; 30 minutes a day; so much aerobic, strength, flexibility — on and on. These recommendations are based on a combination of science, common sense and “best guess.” What happens when you look at a large group of people over a long time and see how the people who followed the guidelines did in terms of longevity and life expectancy?

In a giant survey of 252,925 men and women aged 50 to 71 years, researchers did just that. They examined reported physical activity levels (compared those to current recommendations) and looked at health outcomes. Over the course of the study, 7,900 participants died. Researchers compared those that died to the rest to determine the impact of exercise. Here is what they found:

* People who exercised moderately at least 30 minutes most days of the week were 27% less likely to die over the course of the study.
* People who exercised vigorously at least 20 minutes, three times a week were 32% less likely to die.
* This benefit existed even in sub-groups like smokers, the overweight, the obese, and people who watched more than 2 hours a day of television.
* People who engaged in less than the two levels of recommended activity also showed a reduction in mortality compared to those that did no exercise.

Exercise is Good For You
Bottom line, exercise is good and will help you live longer. The current recommendations seem accurate. You should try to either exercise moderately for 30 minutes most days (that means at least 5 out of 7) or vigorously for 20 minutes at least three times a week.

For help on exercise, read How To Make Exercise Fun