Fetal Position: This is the most common sleeping position, adopted by 41% of people out of which most are women. Curled up on their side, holding the pillow, the major personality traits displayed by these sleepers are shyness and a lot of sensitivity, at the same time presenting a rough and tough exterior to the world. Health Effect -It is recommended that when lying on your side in the fetal position with your knees bent, you have a pillow tucked between your legs to take as much stress as possible off your back. Use a full-length body pillow if you prefer. This position may be particularly helpful if you have osteoarthritis in the spine, spinal stenosis–a narrowing in the spine–or hip pains

Log Position: In this the person lies down on their side with both arms down by the side. This position indicates an easygoing personality to the point of being gullible. They are social people who like being part of the in-crowd, and most likely to trust strangers .Around 15 % of people adopt this sleeping position. Health Effect-Sleeping with one’s side on one’s hand causes the head and neck to be awkwardly positioned. Hence, Log sleepers generally have a difficult time finding a pillow that provides them adequate head and neck support while simultaneously remaining soft and comfortable for the side of their face to rest upon.

Yearner Position: It’s similar to the log position, as the yearners sleep on their side too however with their arms outstretched. It’s said to indicate an open natured person, though suspicious and cynical. They are slow and very careful to make up their minds, but once they have taken a decision, they are unlikely ever to change it. Around 13 % of people adopt this sleeping position. Health Effect-Yearners may have trouble finding a good pillow because most pillows are not designed to support the head and neck evenly throughout the pillow.

Soldier Position: The name says it all, flat on one’s back with arms at the sides. The soldier indicates a quiet and reserved personality who set high standards for themselves and people around them. They are the least fussy of people and around 8 % of people adopt this sleeping position. . Health Effect-Soldiers should have firm support for the back of the head and neck. Soldier sleepers can have difficulty deciding between soft and firm pillows because both have their advantages for this sleeping position: the softer pillows provide a more comfortable support for the neck, while a firmer pillow tends to feel more comfortable on the back of the head. Professor Idzikowski concluded that soldier were more likely to lead to snoring and a bad night’s sleep.

Freefall Position: Free fallers comprise of people who sleep flat on their stomach and the head turned to one side. The arms usually rest on the head or ears or around the pillow. This position indicates a person with a brash and gregarious exterior who is internally very nervous and sensitive and   don’t like criticism, or extreme situations. Around 7 % of people adopt this sleeping position. Health Effect-It is recommended that you do not sleep on your abdomen. Sleeping facedown can exaggerate the arch at the base of your spine and cause strain. If you can’t sleep comfortably any other way, you should reduce the strain on your back by placing a pillow under your pelvis and lower abdomen. Use a pillow under your head if it doesn’t place too much strain on your back. If not, try sleeping without a pillow under your head. It is challenging to find just the right pillow firmness for Freefallers. However, this position may be helpful if you have degenerative disease or a herniated disk in the central portion of your spine.

Starfish Position : A rare position to sleep in these sleepers make good listeners and therefore good friends .They offer help to others when needed and usually do not like to be the centre of attention. In this position the person lies on the back with arms and legs outstretched. Around 5 % of people adopt this sleeping position. Health Effect-The Starfish position can be bad for your back. If you must sleep on your back, prop a big, fluffy pillow under your knees to maintain the normal curvature and reduce the pressure on the sciatic nerve in your lower back. A small, rolled towel under the small of your back may be helpful to provide additional support. You may support your neck with a pillow. Like the Solider position, Professor Idzikowski concluded that starfish was more likely to lead to snoring and a bad night’s sleep.

Extra virgin olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil is rich in nutrients and is good for your skin whether included in your diet or applied on skin during a massage. Even healthy fat is high in calories and you don’t need more than two tablespoons a day.

Berries

Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and cranberries are high in their antioxidant content. Antioxidants and other phytochemicals in berries can protect the skin cell and prevent premature aging.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants can protect the skin cells from free radical damage and prevent premature aging. Foods with high antioxidant capacity include berries, black beans, red beans, prunes, and pecans can help in maintaining a good complexion.

Walnuts

Walnuts contain omega 3 fatty acids that are vital for healthy and strong cell membranes that act as a barrier for toxins and facilitate nutrient passage. Omega 3 food sources are salmon, tuna, or flaxseeds.

Rice

Biotin a B-vitamin found in rice and eggs supports healthy skin through proper fat production that is required for healthy cell membranes. Even a mild biotin deficiency often causes an itchy, scaly skin.

Water

Water  is essential for a good looking and healthy skin as water helps cells move nutrients in and toxins out, and helps skin look youthful.

Note that hard water is especially healthy for skin as it is high in minerals.

Green tea

Green tea helps remove toxins and other waste products from the body, giving your skin the perfect glow and shine. Green tea contains polyphenols or anti-inflammatory agents and help soothe irritated skin.

Vitamin C in cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is rich in antioxidant Vitamin C that helps fight free radicals that damage cells. If your diet lacks Vitamin C you will have a saggy looking skin as vitamin C helps in collagen production.

Poultry and lean meat

Mineral zinc rich poultry helps regulating oil production and may help control acne lesions. Zinc is effective in controlling the formation of acne lesions or helps those already on your skin to clear sooner.

Cheese

Vitamin A in cheese helps in the formation of new skin cells and this keeps our skin looking supple and young. Vitamin A deficiency will make your skin look dry and flaky. Even low fat cheese will be rich in vitamin A.

Plums

Vitamin C in plums helps fight free radicals and helps in collagen (protein) production thus reducing skin problems and giving you a healthier skin. Free radical damage results into wrinkles and sagging

Spinach

Alpha lipoic acid in spinach is a unique and powerful antioxidant that is a super boost for aging skin and hundreds of times more potent that either vitamin C or E.

Antioxidants in fruits

Antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, and nuts help protect from oxidative stress that leads to many premature skin aging, skin conditions and skin cancer. Example: Berries, black grapes, papaya, raisins, Brazil nuts…

Low fat yogurt

Low fat yogurt is rich in calcium that helps you bone up and contains a good amount of vitamin A that helps in the formation of new skin cells and this keeps our skin looking supple and young.

Tuna

Niacin or vitamin B3 helps skin retain moisture, so tuna that is rich in niacin helps your complexion look plumper and younger. Niacin also has anti-inflammatory properties so helps soothe dry, irritated skin.

Tomatoes

Free radicals gobble up collagen and elastin, the fibres that support skin structure, causing wrinkles and other signs of aging. Tomatoes are rich in antioxidant vitamin C that helps fight free radicals.

Cauliflower

Cauliflower contains vitamin C that is essential for the production of collagen, the elastic tissue in our skin that declines with age. Stress and smoking drains vitamin C from your body.

Peanut butter

Peanut butter contains vitamin E that protects your skin from premature aging and helps it retain its moisture. Lack of vitamin E may result in premature wrinkles, easy bruising and slow wound healing.

Lean meat

Lean meats contains iron which helps reduce dark circles under your eyes and is good for skin health. Anaemia (iron deficiency) may give you a pale complexion and dark circles under your eyes.

Eggs

Eggs contain zinc that helps manufactures collagen and speeds up healing in our bodies, including skin. Zinc deficiency produces a dull complexion, and white spots on fingernails, stubborn blemishes.

Cranberries

Cranberries are rich in antioxidants bioflavonoids that destroy free radicals which destroy skin tissue; Bioflavonoids strengthen the cells that make up blood vessel walls, increasing blood circulation.

Avocado

Avocado is rich in niacin and omega 3 fatty acids that are anti-inflammatory, that soothes irritated skin and red, blotchy skin; plus vitamin C and vitamin E in itself is a powerful skin anti-aging combo.

Mangoes

A mango gives you about 80 per cent of your daily requirements for vitamin A, which is essential for skin health. Vitamin A maintains and repairs skin cells and fights free radical damage that can prematurely age the skin.

Bell peppers

Both vitamin C, E in bell peppers help fights skin damage and wrinkles. Vitamin E helps moisturize dry skin; vitamin C is vital to the production of collagen, the structural protein of your skin.

Strawberries

Strawberries, blueberries and blackberries are all berries that are rich in anti-oxidants and just a serving will keep your skin healthy through the day. Eat berries in a salad or include them with low fat yogurt.

Cottage cheese

Selenium in cottage cheese is an essential mineral that teams up with vitamin E as a powerful free radical-fighting anti-oxidant duo.

Plump baked potato

Potatoes contain vitamin C, copper and zinc together they produce elastin that supports skin structure. Eat one baked potato (with the skin) to get about 75 per cent of your daily copper need.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms are rich in riboflavin, a B vitamin that’s vital to your skin as it is involved in tissue maintenance and repair. Riboflavin is especially important if you have a burn or a wound or are undergoing surgery.

Flaxseeds

Flaxseeds contain Omega 3 fatty acids that help hydrate your skin and unclog pores that lead to acne. Just one teaspoon of flaxseed oil per day provides about 2.5 grams of omega 3 fatty acids.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes contains powerful anti-oxidants beta-carotene (vitamin A), vitamin C and E which help protect your skin. One medium sweet potato provides about 262 per cent of beta carotene required daily.

For both women and men of all ages, cardiovascular disease is considered the main killer. It kills more and more people than ALL kinds of cancer tumors grouped together. If you are black or older sixty-five, your risk of heart disease is greater, however it’s an equal opportunity destroyer. Any individual, any where, every time may have a heart attack [1].
____________________________________________________
Myth #1: Solely mature persons need to be concerned about their cardiovascular system.

Things that can certainly result in heart disease build up in time. Being a couch-potato, boredom over eating and not performing exercises are commonly improper habits that might begin in child years. Increasingly more doctors are starting to see victims of heart attacks in their twenty’s and 30′s rather than victims typically in their 50′s and sixty’s.

Simply being in shape and at the proper weight doesn’t make you safe from heart attacks. However, both exercising regularly and having the right body weight does help. In the end you have to check your bad cholesterol and blood pressure level. A really good cholesterol (or lipid profile) number is lower than 200. The best blood pressure is 120/80.

Myth #2: I’d feel sick if I had high blood pressure levels or high cholesterol levels.

They consider these, “silent killers” because they present NO signals. 1 / 3rd of all mature people have high blood pressure. Of those, one-third don’t know they have got it.

High cholesterol levels is a way of measuring the fats stocked through your bloodstream. Fats can be dropped anywhere in your physique, but sometimes congregate all around body organs. As well as your heart. This inclination may run in family members. So, even if you’re at a good body weight and don’t smoke, have your blood cholesterol and blood pressure levels checked constantly. And once isn’t sufficient [2].

Myth #3: Both women and men DON’T see the same symptoms.

Males and females CAN have the same indicators and symptoms, but they typically do not. Ladies are more inclined to get the subtler signs while males more frequently experience the kind of strokes you can view in the movies. But, either gender CAN have any signs or symptoms.

These subtler signs, as well as jaw achiness, nausea, breathlessness and significant fatigue, have a tendency to get defined away. “My jaw hurt because my lunchtime sandwich was on whole-grain bread and I had to chew very, very hard,” or , while clutching their stomach, “I should not have had that extra piece of pizza.” “Half of ladies have no chest pain in anyway,” states Kathy Magliato, a heart specialist at California’s St. John’s Health Center. Put all the little signs to each other and listen to your system.

Not surprisingly, both men and women could experience the “grab-your-chest-and-fall-down-gasping” type of heart attack, however you no doubt know, that is not the only way.

Myth #4: When my blood glucose level is under control, Being diabetic is just not a heart threat.

Though trying to keep your sugar level with a normal range (80ml-120ml) will keep you healthier and stronger, just having the excess blood sugar in your system takes its toll on arterial blood vessels. You will be performing exercises and eating more healthy to help take control of your type 2 diabetes, bear in mind to measure your blood pressure level and bad cholesterol, too.

Myth #5: My physician would order medical tests if I were vulnerable to heart disease.

Typically, every one of us ignore to inform the doctor the little pains we’re feeling. The physicians, not knowing some of the things we deem as insignificant, may pass over heart tests.

“Mammograms and Colonoscopies are often prescribed,” says Merdod Ghafouri, a cardiologist at Inova Fairfax Clinic in Va, [3] “and are important, but heart tests usually aren’t regularly conducted.” A cardiac scan can find plaque build-up inside the arteries even before you find out you’ve got problem.

Do you have the motor oil pressure and transmission liquid inspected in your vehicle? Have other preventive routine service done? Doesn’t your only heart merit as much attention as your motor vehicle?

Links to Supporting Information About Heart Disease:

- [1] The Web MD is a nice source for good and timely medical and health facts and information. They have a good quality page covering coronary heart misconceptions. LINK

- [2] Mediterranean Book is the National Board for the preservation of the Italian healthy eating traditions. It’s a non-profits weblog managed by Italians that promote the Mediterranean Diet. They render reports and health related research connected to the advantages of the Mediterranean sea diet program and heart healthy diet. LINK

- [3] Circulation is the section of the American Heart Association linked to cardiac journals, they have a really good file in .pdf that discusses the link between triglycerides and cardiovascular disease. LINK

__________________________________________________________

AUTHOR

Millie Mary Bruce (@millie_bruce on Twitter.com) was born in Banffshire, Scotland on August 2, 1944. She did her basic college  diploma in Meds from University of Glasgow in the year 1962. She has done nourishment therapy and taught adult nutrition in Adult Daycare Centers. She labored for scientific reporters and testers that published publications for the New England Journal of Medicine. Now she’s retired and from the year 2005 to the present she has been a guest copy writer for health related web sites and blogs.

It remains as a fact that you cannot think of a party or a social get-together without non-vegetarian items! However, you should be able to make healthy meat choices to protect yourselves from the harmful effects of unhealthy meats.

On the following are the five meats which are rated as the most unhealthy of all meats.

CATFISH:

Catfish are contaminated with toxic chemicals like mercury and lead. These toxins are likely to be consumed by the catfish which feeds on the bottom or almost near the bottom of the water.

You can consider catfish as delightful treats during the summer, but at the same time you should note that you might fall sick due to the presence of toxins. The toxins might lead to gastrointestinal problems apart from causing damages to your internal organs.

Relishing a catfish dish in the fried form is even more harmful due to the presence of neurotoxins and carcinogens which are formed by cooking under high temperatures. These substances can cause cancer and diabetes.

BACON:

You should restrict your consumption of bacon to special occasions, just a few times a year. This meat is available in the processed form and contains a carcinogen called sodium nitrite, which acts as a preservative.

Additionally, the meat is also high in fat and sodium contents. Normally, high levels of sodium in processed foods help in the preservation process and bacon contains an excessive amount of sodium chloride.

It is the fatty part of bacon which is cherished by majority of the eaters. The presence of animal fat and carcinogens make bacon an unhealthy meat option. Regular intake of bacon can cause serious health issues.

ORGAN MEATS:

The most common organ meat you love including in your meals is the liver. Organ meats have high cholesterol content and this is related to the possibility of heart diseases.

High flavour organ meats such as tongue, liver, brain and heart are considered as integral parts in certain recipes, but these parts should not be included for regular consumption.

Liver is an excretory organ which flushes out toxins from the body. So when you eat liver, you are ingesting toxins as well.

People with high cholesterol or heart diseases should keep themselves away from organ meats.

HOT DOGS:

This is yet another form of processed food. Hot Dogs are loaded with high levels of sodium nitrite and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) which performs the role of an additive and a flavor enhancer.

The presence of high levels of sodium nitrite in hot dogs is believed to have carcinogenic effects. Additionally, high levels of carbohydrates, fat and sodium in hot dogs can lead to heart diseases, diabetes and high cholesterol.

Hot Dogs might be an easy option to consider for supper or for your child’s lunchbox, but you should restrict its consumption, taking into view ill-effects in the long run.

REGULAR GROUND BEEF:

This is the most contaminated form of beef. There are greater chances of contamination with bacteria E. Coli.

Ground beef or mince gets contaminated with the bacteria after it comes into contact with fecal matter. There is a possibility that you would carry a low quality ground meat to your home.

Often, the meat can be cut from certain parts of the cow where there are greater risks of contamination. Further, high fat and grease contents make ground beef eaters prone to high cholesterol and heart diseases. Buying lean versions can help you out to some degree, but the chances of contamination with bacteria would still exist.

A 10-year study conducted by the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) found that people who ate red meat every day were a third more likely to develop colon cancer than those who didn’t.

According to researchers, two compunds (hemoglobin and myoglobin) found in all red meat may react with chemicals in the gut to create cancer-causing agents. Another study conducted on rats by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center found that a chemical compound that’s created by cooking meats at high temperature promotes prostate cancer.

So to minimize the cancer-causing chemicals that form when meats are charred, cook the meat at low temperatures with indirect heat and avoid charring.

It’s true that you would love to indulge in meaty delights in every occasion and in your regular meals. But animal protein has been considered as the leading cause of heart diseases and cancer.

And most of the meats discussed above are available in the processed form which further increases the health risks. If you cannot deny your taste buds then you can help yourselves out by regulating the amounts and the frequencies of intakes.

If you have decided to lose weight, that’s good for you. You might be eating healthy now, working out on a regular basis and using all trades of the weight loss book to achieve your goals.

But for some reason, the scale refuses to go down. You are trying very hard to lose weight and might be following instructions to weight loss, but the needle just doesn’t budge.

Here are the top reasons why you are losing your battle with weight:

…………………………………………………………

1. You eat too little

Some people often think that by having a light breakfast and lunch they will be losing weight as their calorie intake is going to be less. There is a misconception that skipping any meal saves calories.

Skipping meals and fasting results in your metabolism slowing down, and your body stops metabolizing fat to lose weight. You should never consume less than 1,200 calories per day.

Strive for atleast three meals a day and always start your day with a healthy breakfast.

2. Liquid calories

When counting calories, we often ignore calories from alcohol, smoothies, coffee with cream and sugar, sweetened juices, teas, and soft drinks which can easily make or break your weight loss plans…..

3. Too much stress

Being under constant stress can increase the production of the hormone cortisol that can increase your appetite and make you store more fat (especially around the abdominal region).

The simplest way to overcome the overeating is to find a way to manage your stress more effectively. Simple ways to manage stress include taking a few minutes a day to relax or meditate, listening to your favorite music or taking a walk outside.

4. Hypothyroidism

If thyroid hormone levels decrease, everything in your body slows down including metabolism, a condition called hypothyroidism.

All of the extra calories that you are consuming become stored as fat resulting in weight gain. The right medications will get you back on track towards losing weight.

5. Cheating in your diet plan

Being too restrictive can result in binge-eating, and you’ll be less likely to sustain your diet. You can eat what you like once a week but you should seriously restrict the quantity.

6. Irregular meal timing

If you’re juggling a job and a family, it’s hard to eat at regular times. Eating infrequently can also cause weight loss plans to stop working. Your eating habits are directly proportional to your weight loss.

7. Lack of sleep

When you don’t get enough sleep, it may affect the secretion of the hormone cortisol that regulates appetite. Studies have shown that lack of sleep could increase appetite and compromise insulin sensitivity which can contribute to weight gain.

Furthermore, a new study suggests that even getting too much sleep (nine or more hours a night) may also lead to weight gain. To be an efficient fat-burning machine, your body requires at least eight hours of sleep a night.

8. Not eating enough protein

Lean protein helps you stay satisfied for longer and it boosts metabolism to help you burn more fat. Protein also happens to require the most energy for the digestion process so your total net calories are lower.

9. Gaining muscle

Weighing scale doesn’t tell the whole story always. For example, it doesn’t measure the fat mass and muscle mass.

Weight training along with proper diet will lead to fat loss, but it also promotes muscle gain and better bone density. So, if you don’t see any improvement although you feel good, it’s most likely extra muscle and stronger bone from weight training.

You can measure your body fat percentage to get a more accurate progress from your weight loss efforts.

10. Insulin resistance

Chronically elevated blood sugar levels result in greater metabolic dysfunction. This is called Syndrome X. If you suspect that you might be insulin resistant, see your doctor for a simple test followed by proper medication.

Obesity is a very complex medical problem in our society and achieving an ideal weight requires a multifaceted approach. Despite what you might hear, fat loss is not just about diet and exercise.

Most people tend to shift from one diet or exercise program to the other when they do not see immediate results. When it comes to weight loss, Patience is a virtue.

Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.,

Lifescript Nutrition Expert

You’re no slacker when it comes to your health: You exercise, watch what you eat, use portion control, and can resist Ben & Jerry’s without a problem.

Yet the scale needle still won’t budge.

Why are so many dieters destined to regain lost weight or never lose anything at all? Here are 10 reasons your body isn’t behaving:

Physical Factors
1. You don’t have enough muscle.
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Fat and muscle tissues consume calories all day long whether you’re running, reading or sleeping. No matter what you’re doing, muscle rips through more calories than fat.

That’s why men burn calories a lot faster than women; they have more muscle.

What to do: Lift weights. You don’t have to get huge, but building and maintaining muscle week after week, year after year makes a difference in the long run.

Registered dietitian and certified personal trainer Marci Anderson has her clients alternate between strength exercises and heart rate-raising cardio in each session.

“That way, their strength training includes the calorie-burning effect of cardio.”

2. Genetics: The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
If both parents are obese, you are much more likely to be obese, says Jill Comess, M.S., R.D., food science and nutrition program director at Norfolk State University in Virginia.

“Researchers estimate that your genes account for at least 50% – and as much as 90% – of your stored body fat,” she says.

What to do: You’re not doomed. Your weight-loss challenge is just 10%-50% greater.

“Losing even just a few pounds makes you healthier and less likely to develop diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and cancer,” Comess says. “So you don’t have to be super-slim to improve your health.”

If an overweight woman loses even 5%-10% of her total body weight, she has a greater chance of reducing or getting off her high blood pressure or other meds, she adds.

3. You’re getting older.
A sluggish metabolism is a common aging problem. And we encourage it by sitting in traffic, long hours at the office and in front of computers.

All this inactivity means we gradually lose muscle and increase body fat, resulting in a metabolic slump. But it’s not unbeatable.

What to do: First, lift weights. But don’t underestimate the power of just moving. You faithfully walk the treadmill for an hour each day or go to yoga class, but what are you doing the other 23 hours?

It’s a no-brainer: Folding laundry, walking to a co-worker’s desk and cooking dinner burn more calories than just watching TV, emailing your co-worker or driving to the pizza joint.

Thin people fidget and move (called non-exercise activity) more than obese people, research shows. In fact, such antsy behavior might burn as much as 350 more calories per day – the equivalent of two doughnuts.

4. Your body can’t keep up.
To survive in the days before supermarkets, your body evolved some complex starvation-coping strategies.

Now that food isn’t scarce, these processes can work against us, explains Jim Anderson, M.D., Professor Emeritus, Medicine and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Kentucky.

“The intestines make about two dozen hormones – some that stimulate eating and others that decrease the need to eat,” he says.

The sophisticated hormonal response can’t cope with our sedentary lifestyle and all those tempting Twinkies, potato chips and frozen dinners we gobble, he says. So it’s harder to maintain ideal body weight.

What to do: You can’t fight evolution, so you have to focus extra-hard on those things you can. Be active every day and fill up on low-calorie foods, such as broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, green beans and other non-starchy vegetables.

5. Your medicine cabinet is to blame.
A host of drugs that treat diabetes, depression, high blood pressure, inflammatory disease and more affect weight regulation. Some will make you hungrier and others stimulate your body to store fat. And if a drug affects the brain, there’s a good chance it affects weight, Anderson says.

What to do: Ask your health care provider if an alternate drug or a lower dose could work, but don’t change your medications without discussing it first.

Self-Sabotage
Are you your own worst diet enemy? It’s easy to let everyday life get in the way of making smart food choices. The drive-thru instead of a home-cooked meal is an obvious mistake. But you could be sabotaging yourself in some not-so-apparent ways too.

6. You underestimate portions and calories.
Even dietitians underestimate calories – and by huge amounts! One study found that women and overweight people miscalculate more than others.

Other studies suggest that the greatest underestimating occurs when the meals are the largest, and that it doesn’t have anything to do with how fat someone is.

What to do: Follow the portion guidelines at mypyramid.gov for several days. Use measuring spoons, measuring cups and a food scale to guide you. Then plug in your food choices on that site or another reputable one to calculate your calorie intake. And read every food label for serving size and calories.

7. You eat mindlessly or when distracted.
Do you eat dinner in front of the TV? Do you stop eating when you’re full or when the show is over? All too often, such distraction leads to more and more mouthfuls of pasta or potatoes.

If you’re munching from a bag of chips or a box of crackers, you can’t keep track of how much you’ve eaten.

And plenty of dieters report they didn’t even realize they had snacked from the candy bowl or nibbled from a child’s plate until it was too late.

What to do: Make it a house rule to eat from a dish. Always. No bags, cartons or fistfuls. Put it in a dish, sit down and savor the taste as you eat – without distraction. That means that if you’re going to grab the crust of your daughter’s grilled cheese sandwich, you have to put it on a plate first.

8. You deprive yourself.
Your list of can’t-have foods is so long, it rivals the nation’s tally of foreclosed homes. In fact, you’ve been so strict with yourself, you can’t remember the last time you ate a doughnut, candy bar or slice of pizza.

Then – like so many times before – you give in, scarf down something taboo, and now you’re mad at yourself.

So what the heck, you think: You’ll just eat everything on your forbidden list to get it out of your system. You’ll start your diet over again tomorrow – or next week.

Problem is, you can’t get it out of your system. It just doesn’t work that way.

What to do: No more setting yourself up for feeling deprived. In fact, no more dieting.

Take the focus away from that list of bad foods and emphasize those that are good for you. If 90% of the time you eat a wholesome diet of ample fruits and vegetables, some whole grains, lean meats or other sources of protein, then the other 10% doesn’t really matter.

So enjoy that glazed doughnut – but just one. If you want another, it will still be there tomorrow. After all, doughnuts or candy bars or pizza or whatever won’t drop off the face of the earth.

9. You’re usually good, but…
You always watch your portions. You start every morning with a healthful breakfast and eat only baked chicken, not fried.

Always that is, unless you’re on vacation or dining out. Or celebrating a birthday. Or sharing an anniversary. Or honoring your son’s first home run.

Consistency is key to dropping pounds. Researchers involved with the National Weight Control Registry found that those who eat similarly day after day are more likely to maintain weight loss than others.

One splurge meal in a restaurant can easily undo all the small calorie-saving tricks you employed the whole week before. Derail yourself every week and you’ll never get anywhere.

What to do: Again, stop dieting and start making small changes you can live with.

Find ways to celebrate that don’t involve high-calorie eating (like a manicure) or take half of that restaurant meal home to celebrate again tomorrow.

10. You overestimate your calorie burn.
Gym machines are notorious for overestimating the calories burned by exercisers, and dieters can easily out-eat their workouts. Your 30-minute power walk might burn 200 calories, but that won’t make up for your after-exercise power smoothie.

What to do: Exercise is an important tool in controlling your weight and maintaining good health, but stop rewarding your good work with food.

If you’re tempted to follow a sweat session with a smoothie or muffin, consider these numbers first:

* based on average 180-pound person

How Calorie-Conscious Are You?
Calorie-counting can be tedious, but knowing which foods will send you into a diet trap is easy.

Share it with your friends, and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!

(Health.com) — You’ve done all the obvious stuff — cut out late-night caffeine, made sure your bedroom is dark and cozy, avoided scary movies or struggling with your to-do list right before bed. So why are you still tossing and turning?

“Certain habits you’re unaware of could be sabotaging your sleep,” says Kristen L. Knutson, Ph.D., assistant professor and sleep specialist at the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine.

And, as you may know, lack of shut-eye doesn’t just leave you foggy the next day: Chronic, long-term insufficient sleep ups your odds of diabetes, depression, cardiovascular disease, even weight gain. So what to do? Try these unexpected tweaks, and wake up feeling incredibly well-rested.

Step 1: Halt your afternoon habit

It’s a no-brainer that drinking coffee or tea right before you hit the sack won’t do you any sleep favors. But you also need to watch your afternoon drinks, says Joan Salge Blake, RD, a clinical associate professor at Boston University.

Love your 4 p.m. peach tea? It’s got caffeine, and so do some flavored waters and even orange sodas, Blake warns. Check the labels on your favorite midday drinks — any that boast energy-boosting benefits are likely culprits. Then, if possible, stop sipping them by 2 p.m., so there’s time for their effects to wear off. Naturally, coffee drinks pack a real wallop, so stay away from them after lunch.

Health.com: 8 things that are keeping you awake at night

Step 2: Choose sleep superfoods

While it’s important to avoid a big, heavy meal right before bed (a full stomach will disturb your sleep), some foods may actually help you snooze, Blake says.

If you’ve had a few nights of restless sleep, make a light whole-wheat-pasta dish with fresh vegetables, a little diced chicken breast, tomato sauce, and a sprinkle of Parmesan for dinner. This meal contains a snooze-friendly combination of protein and tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to sleep-promoting serotonin in the body.

If your stomach’s growling late at night, try a small bowl of cottage cheese with banana slices, another dish that serves up tryptophan. Other combos of healthy carbs and protein, such as milk and graham crackers or yogurt sprinkled with cereal, will also do the trick.

Health.com: Sleep easier and avoid midday fatigue

Step 3: Sip wine sooner

Even though a nightcap may help you relax and fall asleep faster, it’ll make the second half of your sleep cycle restless and unsatisfying. Alcohol decreases deep sleep and increases arousals from sleep, says Dr. John E. Brown, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Maryland.

If you like a glass of wine in the evening, have it with dinner — around 6 p.m. rather than 11– and drink in moderation, so it’ll wear off by the time you lie down.

Step 4: Take an early soak

Like to unwind in the tub before you snooze? Surprisingly, a hot bath might make it harder for you to drift off: Doing anything that raises your body temperature too close to bedtime may actually hinder you from falling asleep, because your body needs to cool to a certain temperature in order to reach a sound slumber, says J. Todd Arnedt, Ph.D., director of the University of Michigan Behavioral Sleep Medicine Program.

That doesn’t mean you can’t soak after a rough day– when you get home from work, not right before turning in.

Health.com: Natural remedies that may help you sleep

Step 5: Stretch for sleep

You probably already know that exercising at night can disrupt sleep. (Brown recommends doing any intense workouts at least six hours before you slip between the sheets.) But getting in a little gentle, restorative yoga before you hit the sack can help put your mind at ease, steady your breath, and reduce muscle tension without revving up your heart.

Try this restful Reclined Butterfly pose from Tanya Boulton, managing teacher at Pure Yoga East in New York City: Lie on your back with the soles of your feet together and your knees bent and dropping toward the floor. Place your arms, palms up, by your sides, keeping your shoulders back and your chest open. Close your eyes and inhale through your nose while slowly counting to four, then exhale while counting back down to one. Continue for 10 minutes, or as long as it takes you to feel fully relaxed.

Health.com: How to cope with less sleep at work

Step 6: Set the mood for slumber

Keeping your room dark while you sleep is a great start, but bringing the lights down before bed is also important. “Bright light too close to bedtime can make it hard to fall asleep,” Arnedt says. That’s because dimness signals the biological clock that it’s time to wind down, while bright light says “daytime!” Swap out überbright bedroom bulbs for low-watt ones, or install a dimmer switch and keep it low. Like to read in bed? Do it in the lowest light that’s still comfortable.

Health.com: Turn your bedroom into a sleep haven

Step 7: Ban your BlackBerry

Need to send out one last e-mail before you “officially” turn in? Not so fast. Typing in bed can wind you up, so when you do unplug, it will be harder to fall asleep, Knutson says. “It’s possible that even the vibration of a BlackBerry could disturb sleep if a person is cued to hear or respond to it,” she says.

For tech-free zzz’s, disconnect an hour before bed, turn your smartphone off, and put any gadgets on an out-of-reach dresser or in another room so you won’t be able to grab it if you get the late-night urge. Also, invest in a real alarm clock (using your cell will only give you another excuse to keep it close)– and get ready to wake up feeling so refreshed that you won’t even need to press snooze.

Courtesy: CNN

Don’t fall prey to these fitness misconceptions, experts tell us…

Inspired by the numerous models flaunting their hot-bods in commercials on the small screen and by actors on the big screen, you finally decide to join your local gym. But before you step into the ‘fitness world’ there are a few workout misconceptions that you need to be aware of. Here’s busting some myths…

Exercising on empty stomach

According to fitness expert Nawaz Modi Singhania, one of the most common mistakes people make when they start to workout is by starting to exercise on an empty stomach. “Working out on an empty stomach could lead to fatigue, even before your body actually starts metabolising the fat,” she says. “But don’t exercise on a full stomach either.” The healthy thing to do is to not eat a heavy meal for at least an hour before you begin your workout. Instead have a light health snack. “A fruit or health biscuits are a good option,” she says.

Join a gym to get fit
This is another common misconception, point out health experts. Any form of activity that gives your body an overall workout including cycling, dancing, jogging or even swimming is just as good a way to get fit as joining a gym. As long as you get exercise in some form, being fit need not be synonymous with gymming.

Women bulk up like men if they do weights
“Regular workouts only make the muscles firm and taut. It’s a myth that women bulk up like men do,” clarifies clinical fitness specialist Namita Jain. “Unless a woman works towards achieving that look, it’s highly unlikely, that she will bulk up by default,” adds Namita.

Expecting miracles
The perfectly-sculpted bodies that you see on TV are not made over a day. It needs patience, dietary discipline and a lot of hard work. Fitness instructors who promise you otherwise in just a few weeks are exactly the ones you’d want to avoid.

Excessive sweating means you’re unfit
“Sweating is simply a mean to release the heat from the body to keep your body temperature normal. It just efficiently cools down your body and it’s perfectly normal,” say experts.

The more you exercise, the better it is
Yes, there is a thing as over-exercising, and it can cause injury. Your muscles need at least 24 hours to repair themselves. It’s important to rest your muscles too to avoid muscle fatigue.

Supplements are a must for fitness
Supplements cannot compensate for poor nutrition. “They can be an added, but never the main foods. Vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates work best for the body in their natural forms”.

Do not eat immediately after training
Post-workout nutrition is as important as what you eat before it. Include protein and carbohydrates in your diet and not just any one. Studies have shown that proper post workout nutrition increases protein synthesis, suppresses cortisol, replenishes glycogen, and enhances recovery.

A new study has found that smoking marijuana has therapeutic effects.

Cannabis, also known as marijuana, marihuana and ganja (from Sanskrit: गांजा gañjā, meaning “hemp”), among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug. The most common form of cannabis used as a drug is the dried herbal form.

Experts at the University of California”s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR) claim they have found “reasonable evidence that cannabis is a promising treatment for some specific, pain-related medical conditions.

CMCR director, Igor Grant, MD, Executive Vice-Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the UCSD School of Medicine, said: “We focused on illnesses where current medical treatment does not provide adequate relief or coverage of symptoms.

“These findings provide a strong, science-based context in which policy makers and the public can begin discussing the place of cannabis in medical care.”

The researchers have completed five scientific clinical trials, with more in progress.

All these studies show that cannabis can be helpful in easing pain in selected syndromes caused by injury or diseases of the nervous system and possibly for painful muscle spasms due to multiple sclerosis.

Senator John Vasconcellos, original author of The Medical Marijuana Research Act of 1999 (SB847), which led to the creation of the CMCR, said:

“These scientists created an unparalleled program of systematic research, focused on science-based answers rather than political or social beliefs.”

The study has been presented to the California legislature.