Best Food for Your Heart

Health.com gives us some great examples of food that is great for your heart. In order to prevent heart disease or even a heart attack, keep these foods in mind for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

1. Avocado—By adding a slice or two into your sandwich would help lower LDL levels (bad) while raising the amount of HDL cholesterol (good) in your body. They also allow carotenoids to be absorbed which are antioxidants that are vital for your heart.
2. Spinach (vegetables)—A study found out that those who ate at least two-and-a-half servings of vegetables everyday reduce their risk of heart disease about 25% compared to those who don’t eat vegetables at all.
3. Olive Oil—It is full of monounsaturated fats that lowers LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. Try using this instead of butter and use extra virgin olive oil (it is less processed).
4. Oatmeal—Used as a snack or breakfast, a small bowl of oatmeal is full of nutritional goodness like omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. Try the coarse oats instead of instant as it contains more fiber. Try adding berries, bananas or other fruit to get more nutrition out of your bowl.

Click here for more food to keep in mind—courtesy of Health.com

What other food do you suggest?

People with High IQs are More Likely to Take Drugs

According to a new study from the U.K, people who have high IQs are more likely to take illegal drugs like marijuana. It was more profound in women as those who were in the top third of the IQ range at age 5 were twice as more likely to take illegal drugs, specifically marijuana and cocaine, by the age of 30 compared to the bottom third. As for men, those who had the highest IQs were almost 50% more likely to already tried amphetamines and 65% more likely to have tried ecstasy compared to those with lower scores.

 

This study was based on 7,900 British people who were born in early 1970. The researchers measured the people’s IQ at age 5, 10, 16 and 30. What was most compelling was the potential reason why people with high IQs are more likely to take drugs. They found that “people with high IQs are more likely to score high on personality scales of openness to experience.” There is still more research to be done to confirm their reasons.

Read the original article here–courtesy of Times Health Land

One of 5 Americans take Medication for a Mental Disorder

In the last 10 years, Americans been through a lot: 9/11 attacks, two wars & a depression. This could be one of the reasons that medication to treat health disorders are rising among U.S.adults.

A survey conducted by Medco Health Solutions who asked 2.5 million insured Americans from 2001 to 2010 found that twenty percent of all who surveyed took at least one medication to treat a mental disorder. For women, it was found that 20% of those who said yes to taking medication were using antidepressants. Also the number of women on ADHD was 2.5 times higher in 2010 than in 2001.

There was also a large drop in use of antidepressants among those 19 and under and a drop of prescriptions for anti-anxiety medication among the elderly 65 and older.

What do you think of this news?

 

Click here for the original article—Courtesy of LA Times

 

Congress Turns Away from Healthier School Lunches

The House and Senate committee recently announced their final draft of a bill that includes $11 billion National School Lunch Program. The congress decides to deny many of USDA’s suggestions to make school lunches healthier. Apparently, ketchup and tomato sauce is still considered as vegetables and they are going to keep food such as pizza and French fries as lunch options.

Below is what they decided to NOT pass:

-Limiting starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, and potatoes to two servings a week while requiring weekly minimum of leafy veggies and vitamin rich veggies.

-Having two tablespoons of tomato paste count as a serving of vegetable.

-Reducing sodium amount in school meals.

-Requiring half of all grains and breads to come from whole grains.

Currently, a third of American children are obese.

What do you think of this new bill?

Read original article here—courtesy of Times Healthland

New Procedure that can Turn Brown Eyes Blue

There is a new laser procedure that was discovered by a California company that can change brown eyes blue permanently. It only takes 20 seconds for the whole procedure and is estimated to cost $5000. The procedure is still under testing and could be available in other countries within 18 months and three years for U.S.

The laser kills the natural brown pigment melanin that is in the iris, and would reveal the blue color that is underneath. It is not suppose to affect your vision at all. There are already reported potential complications such as pigmentary glaucoma which can cause you to go blind because of a disruption of the iris pigment called epithelium.

Would you want to turn your brown eyes blue?

Read original article here—courtesy of USA Today

Some Parents Favor their Kids to Suck on Chicken Pox Lollipops

There are some parents that avoid giving their children vaccines, therefore turn to “natural immunity” against the disease by allowing their kids to suck on mail-ordered lollipops already licked by sick kids. There was a Facebook page called “Find a Pox Party in Your Area,” which displayed parents advertising to ship infected lollipops around the country. The Facebook page has been shut down. There was about 1,000 “likes” for this page.

There are many risks to allow your kids to suck on lollipops by other kids. Who knows how many other bacteria, germs, diseases, etc is on the lollipops? Dr. Bill Schaffner, chair of the Depart. Of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University of Medicine, says it’s not even a good way to transmit chickenpox, because usually the virus has to be breathed in.

Only about 6% of parents don’t vaccinate their children with the chickenpox vaccine.

What do you think of this news?

Read the original article here—courtesy of CNN.com

Home Remedies that Work

AARP found great home remedies that could help you stop motion sickness to soothing your coughs. Also, there is scientific proof that they work!

1. Honey—it is great to use when you have a cough that you want to get rid of. A study inPennsylvaniafound that it worked with a group of 100 kids they tested. The honey coats and soothes an irritated throat.
2. Tart cherry juice—it seems that the juice is able to prevent gout attacks by reducing the joint inflammation that causes it. A study found that patients who took a tablespoon of tart cherry juice twice a day for four months were able to reduce their attacks in half.
3. Dish washing soap—if you accidently get into contact with poison ivy or poison oak, finding dish washing soap near by will be helpful. Within the two hours of contact, wash the affected area with dish washing soap could prevent you from getting the red itchy rash.
4.  Ginger—taking a bite out of this is helpful to relieve motion sickness and lower the chance of nausea. Eating one or two pieces of crystallized ginger before traveling will decrease motion sickness. Studies also show that taking a gram of ginger an hour before surgery can help reduce nausea during the first 24 hours of surgery.
5. Water—by gargling just plain tap water can reduce the numbers of colds and respiratory infections you may get this winter. Try it with lemon and honey or salt as well. The salt helps take out the excess fluid from throat’s inflamed tissues.

 

What are some of your ways?

 

For more tips and original article, click here!—Courtesy of AARP.com