New strategic plan for NIH obesity research seeks to curb epidemic

More than one-third of adults in the United States and nearly 17 percent of the nation's children are now obese, which increases a person's chance of developing many health problems, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, and some cancers. In 2008, obesity-related medical costs were an estimated $147 billion. Government, nonprofit and community groups, businesses, health care professionals, schools, families, and individuals are taking action to address this public health problem – and research can provide the foundation for these efforts.

Read . . .

March 17, 2011

AM Supplements:
Fish Oil 2000 mg
Lecithin

Lunch Supplements:
Flaxseed Oil 2000 mg
Cayenne

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	4		5		295
	Calories	Fat	Chol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Protein
Goal	1396	45g	211mg	1688mg	211g	18g	35g
Actual	1019	58g	106mg	1194mg	57g	7g	41g

AM Supplements:
Fish Oil 2000 mg
Lecithin

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	4		7		295
	Calories	Fat	Chol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Protein
Goal	1396	45g	211mg	1688mg	211g	18g	35g
Actual	1387	84g	438mg	1498	178g	14g	22g

9 Tips to Treat Colds and Flu the 'Natural' Way

With no cure in sight for the cold or the flu, current treatments can at best bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those symptoms. You can take one of a variety of medications that may help relieve your symptoms. Or you can take the natural approach. WebMD went to Charles B. Inlander, president of The People's Medical Society, for some home remedies that may help you feel better along the way.

Read more at WebMD . . .

Health News Round Up

How Depression Dulls the World—Literally

A sad person who says that the world looks dull and gray and that flowers no longer smell so sweet may not just be speaking figuratively. Two recent studies from Germany provide evidence that sensory perception is diminished in depressed individuals.

To determine if depression has an effect on vision, neuropsychiatrist Ludger Tebartz van Elst of the University of Freiburg hooked up depressed patients and control subjects to a pattern electroretinograph, a device that measures electrical signals in the retina. When viewing black-and-white checkerboard images, people with depression showed markedly reduced electrical responses.

Read more . . .


Forget the cot, sleep with your baby according to SIDS researcher Doctor James McKenna

NEWBORN babies who share a bed with their parents are safer than those in cots, says a leading baby sleep expert.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome researcher Doctor James McKenna said that as long as co-sleeping is carried out in a responsible manner - not on a waterbed or couch and not by parents affected by drugs or alcohol - then babies up to 12 months old will reap the long-term benefits.

If parents are not able to sleep in the same bed as their baby then they should at least be in the same room, Dr McKenna said. "Co-sleeping is humankind's oldest and most successful method of mother and baby sleeping," he said.

Read more . . .

I totally suppose co-sleeping.  My eldest daughter, now 28 years old, died several times in her first week of life.  The red tape on getting a monitor for her meant none was available until she was 2 months old.  Fortunately my instincts told me to let her sleep on my stomach, which it turns out stimulates them to breath, and she survived. 

For mental health, bad job worse than no job

With unemployment still high, job seekers who have been discouraged by a lack of work might be inclined to take the first opportunity they're offered. That will help pay the bills, but it could cause other problems: A new study suggests that some jobs are so demoralizing they're actually worse for mental health than not working at all.

The findings add a new wrinkle to the large body of research showing that being out of work is associated with a greater risk of mental health problems. In the study, which followed more than 7,000 Australians over a seven-year period, unemployed people generally reported feeling calmer, happier, less depressed, and less anxious after finding work, but only if their new jobs were rewarding and manageable.


U.S. Has Highest Bipolar Rate in 11-Nation Study

About 2.4% of people around the world have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at some point in their lifetime, according to the first comprehensive international figures on the topic.

The United States has the highest lifetime rate of bipolar disorder at 4.4%, and India the lowest, with 0.1%.

Read more . . .

AM Supplements:
Fish Oil 2000 mg
Potassium
Midday Supplements:
Flaxseed Oil 2000 mg
Cayenne

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	6		6		297
	Calories	Fat	Chol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Protein
Goal	1396	45g	211mg	1688mg	211g	18g	35g
Actual	751	37g	438mg	1251	46g	6g	47g

Physical Leveling: Gamer Style

For a long time I've been toying with the idea of trying to create a "game plan" for increasing physical fitness that allows a person to "evel up".  Of course, I'm not a professional trainer . . .and I'm obviously not in shape, YET, myself.  But I keep worrying at the idea, slowly accumulating ideas and information. 

I would love to know someone I could consult to work on this more.  And with no money, it's unlikely I will be able to find someone who wants to spend the time working with me.  Although there would be potential for . . .fame, money, notoriety?? . . . for it to be to their benefit.  Ah well, just another thing I keep simmering on the back burner.  If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

I'm really liking LiveStrong. It's easy to use.  The ads are low key.  No one bothers you.  Although I wouldn't mind a few friends.

AM Supplements:
Fish Oil 2000 mg
Potassium
Midday Supplements:
Flaxseed Oil 2000 mg
Cayenne

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	6		6		297
	Calories	Fat	Chol	Sodium	Carbs	Fiber	Protein
Goal	1403	45g	211mg	1688mg	211g	18g	35g
Actual	1584	69g	179mg	1503mg	166g	19g	77g

Why Guinness really is the black stuff. Scientists say stout makes you bitter

The adverts always said Guinness is good for you. But it may be that drinking the black stuff makes you bitter as well as better.

In an intriguing study, scientists have linked tart tastes with an unforgiving  mind.

And the more conservative a person’s views, the more their thoughts are  affected by their tastebuds.

The findings suggest that drinks such as stout, bitter and gin and tonic should be  drunk carefully among friends

Read more . . .

WOW!

Today I walked around the center of our complex ten times (around 150 steps per cycle).  TEN TIMES!  Six months ago, when I started this current attempt to lose weight,  I was lucky to get around it once . . and I would hurt for days.   I admit, by round 8 I was pretty tired.  But I had a goal.  And I did it!!  Yay me!

This are moving along

Things are going quite nicely.  The weight is starting to come off steadily.  If you want to track my progress, here is my Livestrong profile.  This morning I thought that I should, belatedly it seems, take some measurements.

bust 53 1/2
under bust 48
waist 48
upper arm 19.5
thigh 29
hips 54

I'm pretty sure my waist was more like 52 a while back.  I'll have to look it up and see.

Why late to bed, early to rise is a recipe for a heart attack

It is the stuff of nightmares for those whose hectic work schedule or busy family life means getting up early and staying up late.

Sleeping for less than six hours a night greatly increases the risk of dying from a heart attack or stroke, a study has found.

Scientists claim that the modern tendency to delay going to bed in order to get through more of the items on the ‘to do’ list has serious health consequences.

Read more . . .

Writing Everything Down Sucks!

Actually, the writing down is okay.  It's the totaling.  But today I found a great website with very little advertising.  That was what I disliked about SparkPeople.  Tons of ads.  So now I'm using LiveStrong, sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Easy to use.  No annoying ads, or popups.  So I will be using it instead of my cute food diary.

Here are my totals for today.

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	6		7		303
	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
Total	79	1830	153	92	603g	20
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

Depression: Here's a gene that may make some folks more susceptible

Depression strikes a huge number of Americans at one time or another of their lives -- and studies show that genes are involved in susceptibility to this awful “Black Dog,” as Winston Churchill used to term his struggle with the mood disorder.

But what are the genes involved? A study in the journal Archives of General Psychiatry implicates one. It directs the formation of a small peptide in our brains, Neuropeptide Y.

Neuropeptide Y is found all over the place in our brains, and prior studies had shown that the levels in our bloodstreams and spinal fluid seem to correlate with how resilient we are to life’s stresses: the more NPY, the more resilient.

Read more . . .

Totals 2/2/11

Not sure about these totals . . . but I double checked my information.

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	4		7		303
	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
Total	118	1638	341	81	486g	12.8	.5
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

Totals 2/1/11

Happy Imbolc.  I'm feeling the Spring.  All antsy and wanting to organize stuff.  Had an egg today, which totally blew my cholesterol out of the water.  But stuff like that is gonna happen, I guess.

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
11p	7a	8	4		4		303
	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
Total	57	1934	291.8	119.6	453g	67.2	17.8
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

Here's my stats from blood letting last weekend:
Total Cholesterol: 170
Pulse: 65
BP: 146/84
Hemoglobin: 13.7

Totals 1/31/11

Better today.  I'm quite please.  I was also surprised that an half sandwich and soup had less fat.  I'm guessing the salad would have been better without the dressing but I wasn't in the mood for a naked salad. 

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	7a	7.5	4		6		303
Total	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
.	57	1828	251	62.2	252	28	13.5
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

Totals 1/30/11

Another not motivated to really comment. 

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
1130p	8a	7.5	5		5		302
Total	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
.	60	1400	45.5	103	198	6	15.5
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

Totals 1/29/11

Today was blood donation day.  So feeling a bit unmotivated

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
12p	7a	7	5	144/80	4
Total	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
.	97.4g	2145	300	79.8	135.5	7.1	24.5
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

Totals for 1/28/11

Not as good a day as I might have hoped.  I was right on track all day, but then we got take out for dinner and . . .well, it's not pretty.  Here we go:

Daily Health and Food Log
Bed	Up	Hrs	AM Pain	AM BP	PM Pain	PM BP	Weight
11p	7a	8	4		6	`146/84
	Fat	Cal	Carbs	Protein	Chol	Fiber	S Fat
Total .	110g	2440	391	93g	236mg	10	23.5
Goal	53g	2000	300	65g	300mg	17g	18g

So, the only place I succeeded was with saturated fats.  A start I guess.  Tomorrow is another day.  Perhaps I can do better now that I'm tracking it better.