Thanks to Martin and Heidi from Doyles’ Physio Therapy in Pyrmont for permission to pass these tips along.
Sit in a good quality, adjustable chair. Pull your chair close to your desk, adjust the seat height so your elbows hips and knees are at 90 degrees. Forearms should be parallel or sloping down the desktop and feet should be on the floor.
Adjust your chair’s back support, so it is in the lower part of your back near your hips. It should gently tilt your pelvis forward.
Have the screen straight in front of you at arm’s length away.
Ensure your screen is easy to see. Make sure there are no light sources behind it, and tilt the screen to eliminate reflections.
Don’t use a laptop for extended periods. If you must plug in a full sized keyboard and mouse.
Limit continuous computer use. Take breaks every 30 minutes and do neck and shoulder stretches – shoulder rolls are great! Focus on a distant point to give your eyes a break. Get up and walk around hourly.
Take notice of early warnings. If you feel and ache or discomfort in any part of your body, check your posture, take a break and if the problem persists see a physiotherapist.
Sugar Contributes To 35 million Deaths A Year
“We are now seeing the toxic downside [of eating excessive amounts of sugar]. There has to be some sort of societal intervention. We cannot do it on our own because sugar is addictive. Personal intervention is necessary, but not sufficient.” These are the words of Dr. Robert H. Lustig, a professor of clinical paediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco Centre for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment, who led the latest research on the dangers of eating too much sugar.
As expected, sugar industry groups like the US Sugar Association were quick to respond when asked to comment on the latest research findings. Prof Charles Baker, chief scientific officer of the Sugar Association, said: “When the full body of science is evaluated during a major review, experts continue to conclude that sugar intake is not a causative factor in any disease, including obesity.”
This kind of reaction is to be expected, I guess, as sugar (especially given its addictive nature) is big business. There’s no escaping it, sugar is literally everywhere and trying to find food that contains little or no sugar on a supermarket shelf is not only near-impossible, but when you do get it, it costs an arm and a leg. So not only is sugar regulation necessary but people’s choices must actually be increased by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar easier and cheaper to find.
Currently, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for sugar is 120 grams for men and 90 grams for women. However, this allowance is very easy to exceed, even for those who believe they’re making so-called healthy choices. For example, a loaf of bread contains 3.5 grams of sugar, an Innocent smoothie 10.5 grams, Special K red berry breakfast cereal 23 grams and a Starbuck’s skinny muffin 43.6 grams, to mention but a few foods that many may consider to be healthier options.
Questioning quantity and quality
In his article, Dr Lustig writes that excess sugar in the diet does not just add calories, but has been linked to numerous health problems, which occur even in people who are a normal weight.
According to Lustig, too much sugar can cause:
* High blood pressure (fructose raises uric acid, which raises blood pressure)
* Diabetes
* Increase in the blood fats (triglycerides)
* Obesity
* Liver problems
He concludes that sugar has the potential to be abused and like tobacco and alcohol, can lead to addiction.
Lustig is talking about added sugars and not naturally occurring sugars in foods like fruit or milk. He defines added sugar as ”any sweetener containing the molecule fructose that is added to food in processing.”
Sugar consumption has tripled in the past 50 years and it’s probably no coincidence that obesity rates have shot up over this same period too. If Dr. Lustig’s commentary is not a wake-up call to policy makers and regulators, I don’t know what would be.
It’s safe to say it’s time to turn our attention to sugar in the battle against obesity, diabetes and heart disease despite the uphill battle we’re facing against sugar lobbyists.
A good first step for anyone trying to reduce their sugar intake is to cut back on, or better still, cut out sugary drinks… and on a much higher level of intervention, governments around the world should consider taxing foods high in sugar, in addition to providing subsidies for fruit and vegetables, in order to promote healthier diets.
Article from HSI newsletter. Sources:
Sugar ‘is toxic and must be regulated just like cigarettes’, claim scientists, published online 02.02.12, dailymail.co.uk
Americans Sweet on Sugar: Time to Regulate? Published online 02.02.12, webmd.com
Sugar tax needed, say US experts, published online 02.02.12, bbc.co.uk
Your Good Health
Your good health is a spectacular asset.
Don’t undervalue it.
Most people do – until they no longer have it.
Pause for a moment today and imagine your life without good health.
Then answer this question for me.
“What are you going to change this week to preserve and enhance your health?”
Exercise triggers stem cells in muscle
Researchers have determined that an adult stem cell present in muscle is responsive to exercise, a discovery that may provide a link between exercise and muscle health. The findings could lead to new therapeutic techniques using these cells to rehabilitate injured muscle and prevent or restore muscle loss with age. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120206143944.htm
Filling Foods
Eggs, Berries, Vegetable Soup, Whole Fruits, Fish, Black Beans, Broccoli, Nuts, Oats and Quinoa. http://www.losethebackpain.com/blog/2012/01/12/most-filling-foods/
Message from Jim Carrey
Love it! Hope you do to.
Soy? No Thanks!
Soy contains trypsin inhibitors that inhibit protein digestion and affect pancreatic function.
Soy contains phytic acid, which reduces absorption of minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
Soy increases our requirement for vitamin D, which 50% of American are already deficient in.
Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body’s requirement for B12.
Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods to mask soy’s unpleasant taste. Soy can stimulate the growth of estrogen-dependent tumors and cause thyroid problems, especially in women.
https://www.facebook.com/BellatrixNutrition/posts/364345703592859
Change Your Thinking
It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking..
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end.
They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..
Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene. One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.
Although the other man could not hear the band – he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.
It faced a blank wall..
The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.
She said, ‘Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.’
Epilogue:
There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.
Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present.
The origin of this letter is unknown, but you may share it with others for who knows, it may change their way of thinking…..
Dog Show
Wonderfully talented, smart, happy dogs & what a trainer! A fabulous example of dogs and trainer having fun.
Saving Food From The Fridge: It Will Taste Better, May Even last Longer, And Reduce Your Energy Bills
Fridges are a recent invention; for thousands of years, people lived without them, but had many low-tech ways of making food last. Today most fridges are filled with stuff that would last just as long and probably would taste a lot better if it was never lost in the back of the fridge. They are expensive air conditioned parking lots for what Shay Salomon called “compost and condiments.” http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/saving-food-fridge-it-will-taste-better-may-even-last-longer-and-reduce-your-energy-bills.html