Young women more vulnerable to STI

According to data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA), there were 482,696 new cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) diagnosed among young people (ages 18-23) in the UK in 2009. This was a rise of three per cent on the previous year. Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of the HPA's STI section, said: "These latest figures show that poor sexual health is a serious problem among the UK's young adults. These figures also highlight the vulnerability of young women. Many studies have shown that young adults are more likely to have unsafe sex and often they lack the skills and confidence to negotiate safer sex."

Chlamydia cases among both sexes increased by seven per cent across all age groups between 2008 and 2009, while cases of gonorrhoea rose six per cent. Genital herpes cases were up by five per cent while genital warts cases stabilised with a 0.3 per cent drop. Sexual curiosity aside, young women lose their inhibitions after drinking alcohol, and in that state are less likely to insist on their partner using protection. Condoms are the only protection against teen pregnancies and STI. Dr Kirsty Foster, health protection consultant with the HPA, spoke of what vulnerable young women need: "It’s crucial we communicate messages about safe sex, including condom wearing, and the importance of getting checked out at their nearest GUM (genito- urinary medicine) clinic if they have had unprotected sex with a new partner."

Read More......

Social drinking impossible?

Drinking alcohol is seen as a socially acceptable way to relax, unwind, and celebrate special occasions. In theory a single glass of beer, wine, or liquor may be good for you, but in practice alcohol is addictive. Social drinking leads to daily drinking, which in turn leads to alcohol addiction. Alcohol is a depressant that affects the functioning of the central nervous system and reduces our ability to think, speak, and react. Inside the body excessive alcohol erodes the functioning of the liver, causing a fatty liver or cirrhosis. Other health problems caused by alcohol abuse include brain damage, heart disease, stomach ulcers, mouth and throat cancer, and problems in the pancreas. Binge drinkers may suffer high blood pressure, nerve damage, mental impairment, and high cholesterol.

Responsible social drinking is rare. In countries like the US where laws are strict and people under 21 are not permitted to buy or consume alcohol, fake IDs and binge drinking on college campuses are routine. Additional danger for girls: according to numerous studies over 90% of date rapes on college campuses involve the use of alcohol. Drinking wine is associated with sophistication and it is common in Europe for families to enjoy some wine with their meals. But with every other kind of alcoholic beverage, social drinking is impossible. And the alcohol industry is marketing things like alcopops to lure and addict younger people. The best way for curious teenagers to discover the true effects of alcohol, good AND bad, is to try drinks under supervision of their parents during family meals.

Read More......

Nina Dobrev positive and confident

Nina Dobrev believes in the power of positive thinking. The star of the hit show Vampire Diaries told Seventeen magazine: "I remember watching all these movies and thinking, I'm going to be an actress one day. And now it's become a reality. Now I purposefully just sit and imagine specific things that I want, or that I want to do, and it's scary how often it actually happens." But even a pretty girl with the world at her feet, has to deal with stress, and Nina Dobrev uses sport and exercise to recharge mentally: "When I'm not on set, I'll play volleyball, or go to the beach and surf or wakeboard. But yoga is my thing now. I do hot yoga three times a week at least. It's a physical workout, but it's really good to calm me down from the craziness in my life."



Nina Dobrev doing a yoga stretch before a bit of jogging. Nina tells Seventeen magazine why she prefers to run outside: "You don't have a number in front of you [like on a treadmill] that tells you how far you've gone or how many calories you've burned. It's not about that."

Nina Dobrev was born in the East European county of Bulgaria and grew up in Canada in a financially modest environment: "If I wanted the things everyone else had, I had to earn them myself." She worked her ass off delivering newspapers and working at the mall, while sticking to her school routine, going for auditions, and becoming a competitive gymnast! "When I wanted to do gymnastics, it was all me, and my parents just signed me up. And when I wanted to do the acting thing, I would take an hour bus ride downtown for auditions and classes. When you love something, you want to be successful. I guess it's the Capricorn in me. I've always been driven."



5'6.5" tall Nina Dobrev wears workout clothing at the 1st Annual 'Muscle Milk Light' Women's Fitness Retreat on June 18, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. 21-year old Nina Dobrev doesn't have time for boyfriends: "I'm very confident in being single until I find someone who I'm extremely crazy about and who I want to devote my time and love to. Until then, I will just be on my own and I am totally fine with that."

Read More......

Obesity epidemic in minority girls

A new study finds that living in neighborhoods where there is less access to natural produce, and no space to exercise, causes obesity among minority girls. To be published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the study finds that girls from minority groups like African-Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans have two to three times higher odds of having a high body-mass index (BMI) compared to white girls. Study author Dr. Kristine Madsen, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco reviewed data on more than 8 million fifth, seventh, and ninth-grade students in California.

White girls have become more informed on the dangers of obesity and are likely to eat healthy and exercise. But minority girls are increasingly becoming victims of the obesity epidemic due to conditions outside their control....in the neighborhoods where they live it's not safe to exercise outside. For such girls psychologist Carolyn Landis recommends dancing inside the house for one hour as good exercise. In those localities fast food is more available than fruit and vegetables, and people living there develop a junk food habit. To tackle this problem Dr. Kristine Madsen suggests a tax on sugary colas. "There are many pediatricians that would really support a soda tax."

Read More......

Nutrition benefits from fruit and vegetables

There's this Kansas City article which claims that watermelon has more nutritional and antioxidant content than other fruit and vegetables like tomatoes. Both come under the "red" category of fruit and vegetable colors, and contain the potent carotenoid lycopene, which protects against prostate cancer and keeps the heart and lungs healthy. The National Watermelon Promotion Board claims that the watermelon is more beneficial than the other red natural produce like tomatoes or cranberries:

Kansas City: "The watermelon board also has funded some studies by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service looking into watermelon's levels of lycopene: 1 1/2 cups of ripe, red watermelon contains 9 to 13 milligrams of lycopene. That's about 40 percent more than raw tomatoes, which were previously thought to be the leading fruit or vegetable source."



Another article claims that Korean researchers have discovered new nutritional benefits from pomegranates. Ellagic acid, a polyphenol commonly found in berries and pomegranate, has received attention as an agent that may have potential bioactivities preventing chronic diseases. As a result, researchers examined the photoprotective effects of ellagic acid on collagen breakdown and inflammatory responses in UVB irradiated human skin cells and hairless mice.

Such research will keep happening and fresh nutritional claims will be made for different fruit and vegetables. We should consume all kinds of natural produce. Eat whatever kind of fruit is tasty, in season, cheap, locally grown, and preferably organic.

Read More......

Dry body brush

Millions of women waste their money on treatments for skin beauty problems like cellulite, when the solution is natural, healthy, but more long-term. Avoid eating processed food and stuff like meat, cheese, eggs, which are high in saturated fat and eat more fruit and vegetables, which contain phytonutrients and antioxidants. Smoking cigarettes and drinking too much coffee can also make cellulite worse. So for a beautiful glowing skin, we should drink water, exercise, and eat healthy. But one of the most important anti-cellulite weapons is to give yourself a dry body brush.

Dry body brushing stimulates blood circulation and boosts the lymphatic system, which helps to remove cellulite causing toxins. Dry body brush regularly in areas affected by cellulite using long, sweeping strokes, starting from the feet upwards and always towards the heart. It also removes dead skin cells, which are replaced by glowing new skin, and it takes care of ingrown hairs.

"While no cream will magic your cellulite away, regular massage and body-brushing will help to break up fatty deposits, making your thighs look smoother," says Charmaine Yabsley, author of new book How To Look Good Naked. "Use a natural bristled brush, and always brush towards the heart as this helps to increase your circulation. The better your circulation the less likely you'll suffer from the dreaded orange peel." In the UK the Origins Raffe Body Brush costs only £10 and is made from natural sisal fibres. Remember to dry body brush before taking a shower; starting with the legs first and then moving up to the belly, arms, back, and chest.



In an interview with the March 2010 issue of Good Health, lovely supermodel Miranda Kerr says: "Finally, my all-time best beauty tip — one I will always swear by — is to dry body brush every day. It promotes movement of the lymphatic system, improves circulation, and leaves your skin feeling softer and smoother (it helps keep cellulite at bay too). It really promotes an all-over glow!"

Read More......

Walking with poles

Nordic walking is increasing in popularity around the world. Originating in the Nordic countries of Finland, Norway, and Sweden, as a way for skiers to keep in shape during summer, Nordic walking is now recognized to be a low-impact exercise which works out the whole body. A World Nordic Walking Federation (WNWF) has been formed with membership from many parts of the globe. Nordic walking programs have been started even in the desert nation of Saudi Arabia!!

Walking with poles is a good workout for the whole body. The arms have to push the poles with the same intensity as the legs propel the body forward. Another term for this fitness regimen is "Balance Walking" and the poles provide good balance and stability when you are hiking on uneven trails.



Walking with poles is possible anywhere; from the green outdoors to stadium and indoor tracks as well as city streets and sidewalks. Walking on the beach with poles becomes fun because they don't let your feet sink too deep into the sand.

Read More......

Watching TV and weight gain

Watching TV is entertaining, relaxing, and educational. Nielsen's survey on global viewing habits showed that people in the United States spend more than five hours daily watching TV. Even when teens and tweens talk on their cellphones or surf the Internet, they spend a large amount of time discussing the shows and stars they watch on TV! This sedentary habit of watching TV does not cause weight gain, but the accompanying habit of eating unhealthy snacks and junk food while on the couch certainly does. According to a recent poll by Nutrisystem, three-quarters of men and women would be willing to give up watching TV for the entire summer, rather than gain weight. "What this shows is that people are highly motivated to not gain weight," says Bruce Daggy, vice president of research and development for Nutrisystem. "They recognize what it will do to their feeling of well-being and fitness."

But most people do not have the discipline to switch off their TV sets, or cut the cable connection, for an entire summer. And why should they? If you spend your days being physically active, then you deserve to have some time for relaxing in front of the TV. But if TV time is interfering with your workout schedule, then do some moderate exercise like Yoga or workout on a stability ball, while watching TV. And if you really need to eat while watching your favorite shows, prepare some healthy fruit and sliced vegetables as snacks!

Read More......

Chewing gum with probiotics

Chewing gum lowers stress and improves memory. What it does not do is improve oral health and freshen the breath.....you have to clean your tongue of the food deposits to get a fresh breath! The global chewing gum market is worth over $20 billion, and because chewing gums are mistakenly associated with oral health, some clever companies have begun selling "probiotic chewing gum" which contains artificially added probiotics. Swedish probiotics producer BioGaia, offers BioGaia Probiotic Chewing Gum, a sugar-free gum containing the healthy bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri, which fights against the bad bacteria that cause cavities.

A Canadian company, Cultured Care is also selling Probiotic Gum, which contains artificially added Streptococcus salivarius. Research by microbiologists at the University of British Columbia shows that this probiotic produces antibacterial substances that can kill certain bad bacteria, and hence protects against oral thrush, dental cavities, and bad breath. Yogurt is the one food that contains natural probiotics but Dr. Bob Hancock, professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia says: "I don't really like yogurt and there aren't necessarily enough of the right probiotics in yogurt to make a difference anyway. The thing about the gum is that it seems like a good way to introduce the healthy organisms to the oral cavity."

Read More......

Mental detox with meditation

Meditation is a great way to reduce stress, and it also improves concentration. A new study at the University of California had 30 participants attend a three-month retreat during which they practiced meditation for about five hours a day. Researchers then tested the ability of the participants to stay focused when confronted with a boring visual task.

The same boring task, identifying long and short lines that flashed on a computer screen, was given to participants three times in the study. Before they began the meditation, in the middle of the study, and at the end. According to lead researcher Katherine MacLean: "The changes that occur [during the meditation retreat] are still with you once you go back to daily life and help you function better. Purely mental training can improve your ability . . . to perceive things more clearly, and that can make it easier to pay attention." The study findings were published in the June issue of Psychological Science.



Meditation does not require spiritual teachers. Anyone can do it anywhere. Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen recalled how easy it was to give birth to her son Benjamin, thanks to a little meditation. "You want to go into the most intense physical experience of your life unprepared? That doesn't make any sense to me. Then I was ready and I thought 'OK, let's get to work'." Meditating for just ten minutes in a day helps to rid the brain of all toxic thoughts and worries, leading to a refreshing mental detox.

Read More......

Frozen fruit health and calories

Spring and Summer bring an abundant harvest of various fruit. In most western countries a large number of such fruit is processed and preserved, the methods usually leading to additional calories being added and the healthy antioxidants being reduced from such fruit. But frozen fruit is in a different category. Research by the British Nutrition Foundation shows that in some cases frozen fruit and vegetables actually retain more nutrients than fresh produce sold in the markets.

This is because frozen fruit are picked and frozen within hours of harvest, whereas fresh fruit are stored and transported for several days before reaching the consumer. Another way of preserving fruit is by drying them. Dried fruit may have more flavor but because they contain no water they become less filling and you end up eating more, which causes weight gain. And they usually have added sugar! For example, 1 cup of dried blueberries (with added sugar) has 600 calories, while 1 cup of fresh blueberries has only 84 calories. So it is best to eat fresh fruit or frozen fruit for good health. Most frozen fruit and vegetables will keep for up to six months in a properly set freezer.

Read More......