5 Huge Health Benefits Of Spicy Foods

By Jena Pincott



Surprise! They can help slim you down, clear your mind and -- a whole lot more.




They Can Kickstart -- and Keep Up -- Any Diet



The spice: Hot peppers (including cayenne, chili, jalapeño)



How they do it: Pass the Tabasco! People consume about 75 fewer calories after eating red chili peppers compared to after eating bland food, a new meta-analysis of several studies concluded. Researchers at Purdue University also found that chemicals in peppers called capsaicinoids (the origin of the burning sensation) reduce cravings for fatty, salty and sweet foods. (The catch: This was true only for people unaccustomed to the heat, not die-hard chiliheads.) If that's not enough, consider the mounting evidence that when the capsaicinoids reach the gut, they signal receptors to increase the number and activity of the body's "brown fat" cells, which increase core temperature and burn calories faster than usual.



How much to use: At least 1/2 teaspoon of hot peppers per serving.



What to try: Quinoa-Black Bean Chili and Nigella Lawson's Choc Chip Chili



They Can Help You Breathe More Easily



The spice: Turmeric (or, more precisely, the yellow pigment in it called curcumin)



How they do it: For centuries, Ayurvedic doctors have used turmeric (curcumin) to treat respiratory problems. Now, Western medicine is finally catching up, finding evidence -- at least in animal studies -- that it protects the lungs from irritants, pollutants and infectious agents in the air such as cigarette smoke, exhaust, dust and viruses. The result: a potentially lower risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, asthma, laryngitis, bronchitis and other lungs diseases, due to curcumin's ability to prevent infection and to suppress a protein called NF-kB, which causes inflammation and mucus in the airways.



How much to use: For medicinal purposes, 2 to 3 tablespoons of turmeric three times a day are commonly prescribed. To ramp up your body's ability to absorb the spice, combine it with fat (oils) and black pepper, as in a curry.



What to try: Lisa Oz's Indian Spiced Cauliflower



They May Clear Your Mind (Literally)



The spices: Rosemary, spearmint, cinnamon



How they do it: Although the research is still in its earliest stages, there's promise that these spices could delay the onset -- or reduce symptoms -- of Alzheimer's disease. In one study, high-dose rosemary and spearmint extracts improved memory in mice suffering from age-related decline. (The antioxidants they contain may reduce stress in brain regions that control memory and learning.) In in vitro lab studies, naturally occurring chemicals in cinnamon (also known as cinnamaldehyde and epicatechin) prevented neural "tangles" similar to those in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.



How much to use: Undetermined. Since the research is in its earliest experimental stages, researchers recommend using only amounts commonly used in cooking. (Stay tuned.)



What to try: Couscous with Raisins, Cinnamon and Pine Nuts



They Can Reduce the Damage of a High-Fat Meal



The spices: Turmeric, oregano, cinnamon, rosemary, cloves and paprika



How they do it: Nobody is going to rat you out, but let's say you down a plate of chicken smothered in coconut sauce, rice and cheese bread, plus a biscuit for dessert (49 grams of fat!). Your levels of triglycerides (associated both with heart disease and diabetes) surge, as does your insulin, which stores unused glucose as fat. Not so when that same fatty meal is seasoned with the spices above, found a small study at Pennsylvania State University. When volunteers ate the same chicken (this time with curry added to the coconut sauce) and the same breads (this time seasoned with herbs and cinnamon), their triglyceride response and insulin decreased -- by 31 and 21 percent, respectively -- as compared to consuming the meal unspiced. Why? These spices -- especially the turmeric and cloves -- are particularly high in antioxidants that improve insulin sensitivity, says, Ann Skulas-Ray, PhD, a research scientist and an author of the study.



How much to use: About 2 teaspoons of spices per serving.



What to try: Curried Chicken Sandwich



They Cut Down the Carcinogens in Your BBQ



The spices: Rosemary, Thai spices (turmeric, fingerroot, galangal)



How they do it: Grilling and barbecuing at temperatures above 375 degrees leads to the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs) -- toxins linked with colorectal, stomach, lung, pancreatic, breast and prostate cancers. (Crispy, burnt bits are the highest in HCAs.) But a study at Kansas State University found that marinating or dry-rubbing beef patties with rosemary cut HCAs by 61 to 70 percent and that Thai spice preparation reduced HCAs by 40 to 42 percent. Credit (again!) goes to those antioxidants, which block formation of the toxins. Note: Avoid sweet BBQ sauces or marinades because HCA levels can double or triple when sugar is exposed to high temperatures.



How much to use: Enough extract or marinade to cover both sides of the meat before cooking. (Note: Rosemary extract doesn't impart much flavor or aroma.)



What to try: Grilled Lamb Chops with Orange-Rosemary Rub and Grilled Vegetables





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Meditation: Are Scientists Missing the Point?

Reposted from RestorativeHealth.org



It's no secret that scientists are abuzz about the benefits of meditation. Thousands of researchers, academics, and practitioners subscribe to a Mindfulness Monthly Newsletter that catalogues the almost daily publication of scientific journal articles on meditation. Dr. Rick Hanson's book Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love and Wisdom -- which analyzes neuroscientific findings of meditators -- has been translated into 25 languages and sold hundreds of thousands of copies.



Meanwhile, evidence piles up that meditation works with an unbelievable array of conditions and ailments. The American Heart Association recommends it for preventing heart disease and stroke. It has been found to help treat psoriasis, diabetes, insomnia, and (are you ready for this?) it may even help prevent the common cold. More pressingly, a just-published meta-analysis in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found meditation to be as effective as medication in treating those with depression or anxiety disorders.



Interestingly though, the JAMA study found mixed evidence that meditation helped the positive dimensions of wellness. Basically, meditation made people feel better, but did it make people feel well? That question remains unanswered. But, maybe the scientists are missing something.



Perhaps, it is that some things inherently elude scientific observation. Spirituality is one of them. Maybe meditation, rather than being a clearly marked road to wellness, is more of an open door -- an invitation toward a greater sense of meaning, purpose, and connectedness. Science, always demanding answers, might have missed a deeper and more fundamental question. What is beyond suffering? What is my connection to this world? Who am I deep down?



I don't claim to know the answers, but I might have an idea of where to start.



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Mystery Pain Explained: Your Screen Obsession Could Be Giving You 'Text Next'

Texting is a literal pain in the neck.



HuffPost's Executive Lifestyle Editor Lori Leibovich has used computers and smartphones often over many years, and after visiting the doctor she found out her technology use was to blame for the perpetual pain she had been suffering.



"I couldn't ignore the shooting pains anymore in my neck, and there was numbness and tingling in my arm," she said. "I'm getting an MRI next week to figure it out."



Leibovich told HuffPost Live's Caitlyn Becker that she deduced the cause of the pain when she realized that it was triggered by the motion of swiping across her phone's screen and using her thumb to scroll.



Chiropractor Dean Fishman has seen that before. He recalled an appointment with a 17-year-old girl who was experiencing headaches and neck pain. As he was reviewing the x-rays, he noticed the patient was texting in the corner.



"We put the pieces of the puzzle together and we found that the repetitive stresses of having her head in a forward, titled posture for long periods of time was the contributing factor," he said.



See the full HuffPost Live conversation about how technology hurts our bodies in the video below.








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But Procrastination Feels So Right...

We've all been there: opening up a new document file with every intention of writing our essays, papers, or any assignment. A word or a sentence is formed, then something else catches our attention. Maybe it's an email, a text, or a habit to check the latest news online. Before we know it, an hour has flown by and it's time to have lunch. We may find ourselves repeating a similar dance for days until a deadline creeps closer and the consequences of not completing an assignment lead to anxiety and feeling stressed, pushing us to pull an all-nighter. Once completed, we feel a sense of relief of having closely averted a negative consequence, and we vow not to procrastinate in the future. Somehow as we reflect back, we can't pinpoint where the time has gone and why a seemingly doable task wasn't so doable after all.



The Anxiety Connection



Procrastination, when we put off doing something we are supposed to, is a form of avoidance. Like other forms of avoidance, procrastination can feel right or justified. Unlike social anxiety, phobias, and other forms of avoidance, however, it can be difficult to pinpoint when it is happening. We naturally gravitate toward doing things that feel more pleasant or neutral. So, if opening up that file and staring at it cause you to feel even a slight discomfort, you are likely to find other things to do or be distracted by. We clean up our workspace, answer emails, read the newspaper, text a friend, or work on less emotionally low-priority taxing tasks instead of doing what we planned on doing.



If left unchecked, procrastination can become an incapacitating habit, fueled by anxiety, which in turn can fuel more procrastination. A vicious cycle ensues. Hence, it is no wonder that many people who suffer from anxiety disorders also struggle with procrastination.



One way to tackle the problem of procrastination before it gets out of hand is to be more mindful of our feelings and behaviors, however subtle or innocuous they may seem. Here are a couple of suggestions to combat procrastination.



1. Set reasonable, achievable goals. This requires an honest review of your past behaviors and patterns. If you've never been able to write five pages in one sitting, then that's probably not an appropriate goal for you. Try two pages and designate the time to complete it. Similarly, it can help to break down projects like papers into outlines, paragraphs, sections. Working on a project is more daunting than working on an outline. Estimate how long it will take you to complete each task. Now double the amount of time. This will ensure that you do not underestimate how long each goal will take. Once you complete the task, you are more likely to feel good and this positive feeling will motivate you to continue.



2. Keep a prioritized to-do list and a schedule. Write down specific tasks and organize them by priority. Also, schedule when you plan on tackling specific tasks. This way, you won't forget to deal with less pleasant high-priority tasks by keeping yourself busy with low-priority tasks. If you find yourself repeatedly not tackling these tasks or running out of time, you'll be able to revise your goal settings and scheduling.



3. Eliminate distractions. Were there times when you felt you tackled an assignment well? Identify factors that helped and hindered your work. Do you work better in a quiet place? At home? In the morning? Afternoon? Perhaps it would help to disable the Internet on your computer or tablet, or turn off your cellphone so you are not reading the news or answering emails instead of working. It can also be a good idea to let others know that you do not want to be disturbed during this period.



4. Review tasks accomplished and reward yourself. Take stock each day of what you are able to accomplish and document this. If you are able to meet your goals, reward yourself with a small treat or a kind word. This will help generate more positive feelings associated with the task.



Don't underestimate the effort it takes to break the habit of procrastination. If it were easy, it wouldn't be one of the popular items on a New Year's resolution. As I mentioned in my previous post, by embracing challenges and reducing avoidance (of which procrastination is a form), we improve our self-efficacy, feel more content and capable, and feel less anxious. Visit the Anxiety and Depression Association of America at www.adaa.org to find a mental health professional to help you with anxiety, procrastination, and related avoidance challenges.



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Take It From Sushi Dealer, Buying Weed Off The Street Can Be Fishy (VIDEO)

The first yellow tail's free.



A funny ad for MarijuanaDoctors.com, which hooks up patients with doctors who can recommend medical marijuana, imagines a street drug dealer hawking sushi instead.



The imagery of the sushi stuffed into the actor's coat is pretty goofy, as is the guy's patois: "I'll throw in some rice paper, man." But the point is, buying anything from this guy is fishy.



The ad is running 800 times over a span of two weeks on late-night cable channels in New Jersey, a Medical Cannabis Network spokeswoman told The Huffington Post.



The commercial was made in 2010 but it sat on YouTube, she said. Now with at least 20 states and Washington, D.C., able to legally sell medical weed, the spot is rolling out, with a run in Massachusetts also scheduled.



But when it comes to street sushi, you bogart that California roll at your own risk.



(h/t AdAge)



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Life Without Ed, 10 Years Out

I have never been married, but I am happily divorced. Ed and I lived together for more than 20 years. He was abusive, controlling and never once hesitated to tell me what he thought, how I was doing it wrong and what I should be doing instead. I hated him, but I could not leave him. Ed convinced me that I needed him and that without him I was worthless, nothing special, and worse. He told me that he was looking out for my best interest -- that his way was for my own good -- but he always turned on me. He made promises that he never kept. When I hit bottom physically and emotionally, I finally decided to divorce him.



Let me tell you a little more about Ed. He is not a high school sweetheart. Ed is not some creep that I started dating in college. And Ed is not a guy that I met in the supermarket checkout line (although he does hang out a lot in grocery stores). Ed's name comes from the acronym E.D. -- as in eating disorder. Ed is my eating disorder.



You might recognize Ed as the little voice inside that says, "You just need to lose a few more pounds," or, "Do you know how many calories are in that?" Ed is the one who stares back at you in the mirror and says that you should be dissatisfied with your appearance. Ed talks to all of us. While some of us are deeply embroiled in a relationship with him, others are just casually dating him. Maybe you are just meeting Ed for the first time. Whether you are married to Ed or just flirting with him, this book is for you.



I broke free from Ed, my eating disorder, through a therapeutic approach I learned from psychotherapist Thom Rutledge, which involves thinking of the eating disorder as a distinct being with unique thoughts and a personality separate from my own. In one of my first therapy sessions with Thom, he pulled up an extra chair and asked me to talk to the chair as if it were my eating disorder. Thom ignored the you-must-be-nuts look I gave him and continued, "If your eating disorder was sitting in this chair right now, what would you say to it?" Well, he was the professional; I was paying this man to help me, so I decided to give it a try. I looked at the chair and said, "Why do you try to control my every move? Why won't you just leave me alone?" In the few moments that it took me to ask those two questions, I felt a little separation from my eating disorder, and it felt so good. Throughout that therapy session, I continued this conversation with my eating disorder. By the end of the hour, I was referring to my eating disorder by a man's name, and for the first time, I had a feeling that I had just taken a significant step toward freedom.



***




"In ten years, will Ed still come around?" I asked in the first edition of Life Without Ed. Well, it is 10 years later, and I am happy to tell you that the answer is no. To get to this point, I never had to change Ed, but I kept changing my responses to him. Ultimately, I began to just ignore his incessant banter and, losing his power, his voice faded away. Ed and I don't even talk anymore.



The idea of a complete recovery may seem unrealistic to you, and I get that. To get to where I am today -- experiencing a freedom I was never quite sure existed -- I had to remain open-minded (maybe I can fully recover) and keep walking. My hope for you is that you'll do the same.



Thanks to recovery, my eating disorder has been among the best gifts in my life -- albeit one that arrived in the absolute ugliest package. Words cannot adequately describe the pain and frustration that come alongside an eating disorder, and, similarly, nothing can possibly depict the true miracle of recovery. Don't quit before this miracle happens for you.



Adapted from Life Without Ed by Jenni Schaefer, reprinted with permission from McGraw-Hill. Copyright 2014.



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Here's Why Those 'Marijuana Deaths' Don't Change The Debate On Weed

Recent news reports describe doctors blaming the deaths of three people in the past few years on marijuana, a drug renowned for its low toxicity and used regularly by millions of people around the world. Those doctors suggested that marijuana can kill in extremely rare circumstances.



The broader scientific community appears split on whether pointing the finger at pot made sense. But whatever led to those three tragic deaths, it doesn't change two important truths about marijuana.



First, for the vast majority of people, marijuana poses a minimal physiological risk, especially when compared to alcohol and cigarettes, which cause tens of thousands of cardiac deaths each year. According to a 2009 study published in American Scientist on the relative toxicity of recreational drugs, consuming 10 times the "effective" dose of alcohol is potentially fatal, while a user would need to ingest 1,000 times the effective dose of marijuana to risk of death.



Second, there has still never been a documented overdose death due to marijuana. Cannabis may have triggered an underlying heart problem in the three recent cases, but the amount of marijuana those individuals consumed was not the issue.



The initial report of a cannabis death came last month, when 31-year-old Gemma Moss was found by a U.K. medical examiner to have died from cardiac arrest triggered by cannabis. Moss, reportedly a regular marijuana user who had suffered from depression, had smoked only half a joint the night she died. Doctors could find no other cause for her death, so the coroner concluded it was "more likely than not that she died from the effects of cannabis."



Then this week, German researchers released a study arguing that the unexpected deaths of two men in their twenties had also been triggered by smoking weed. The researchers noted that one of the men had a serious undetected heart problem and the other had a history of drinking and using cocaine and other amphetamines.



Drug policy reformers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany have responded that blaming marijuana obscures the real medical problems these people had and worried that these cases are being used to make exaggerated claims about the perils of pot. Others, like British neuropsychopharmacologist David Nutt, said that "people with vulnerable hearts should be informed of this risk." Still, even Nutt argued on his blog Drug Science that it would be an overreaction to paint marijuana as a killer drug based on cases like these:

Taking any amount of cannabis, like all drugs, like so many activities, puts some stresses on the body. Cannabis usually makes the heart work a little harder and subtly affects its rate and rhythm. Any minor stress on the body can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, the butterfly’s wingbeat that triggers the storm. Ms. Moss had suffered with depression, which itself increases the risk of sudden cardiac death. It is quite plausible that the additional small stress caused by that cannabis joint triggered a one-in-a-million cardiac event, just as has been more frequently recorded from sport, sex, saunas and even straining on the toilet.

Other studies have shown that smoking pot can increase users' heart rates, decrease the blood's ability to carry oxygen and increase the risk of heart attack -- as can a variety of other day-to-day activities. As the National Institute for Drug Abuse points out, these risks may be heightened in people with existing cardiac conditions.



So these medical findings suggest a certain caution regarding marijuana use by people with serious heart conditions. But they don't do anything to trump decades of conclusive scientific research showing that marijuana doesn't pose a danger to millions of other individuals who use it. As the nation considers broader legalization of marijuana from a medical standpoint, it's important to weigh the real risks and rewards.



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Postcards From Lebanon: Part 16 in a Series of Cancer-Related Commentary (Post-Chemo)

"Drivin down the wrong side of the road..." Ricky Riddle



Going through chemotherapy isn't easy -- at least it hasn't been for me. I began this journey with the top down and windows open hoping that I would be the lucky one who didn't have any side effects. But no matter how hard I tried to prevent or ignore them, they have materialized nonetheless -- there have been times it felt like I was driving down the wrong side of the road. In the greater scheme of things, I have been very fortunate, indeed. Others have been hit a lot harder, and my heart goes out to them.



It appears that I had the flu after the last round of chemo. I was having issues, which I reported in an earlier post, and although neither the emergency room nor the hospital took a swab to analyze, I'm told the illness I had was due to a nasty flu virus. I was literally out of commission for two weeks after cycle 6 of chemotherapy.



Following this illness I found myself to be extremely weak, unable to do most activities other than to bathe and dress myself; exceedingly dizzy when I stood up from a lying, sitting or bending position; forever blowing my nose as my sinuses were being overactive which in turn had led to a mostly dry, but sometimes yucky, cough; and as for my memory -- what was I saying? I did spend the last weekend in January with my ski buddies at Jay Peak, but simply being physically there was about all I was capable of at the time.



Back at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's Norris Cotton Cancer Center on 27-Jan. for a follow-up visit, I provided blood for analysis. Leaving the cafeteria I ran into my doctor, and after we climbed one flight of stairs I was so out of breath and dizzy that we had to stop until I could steady myself and breathe close to normal. The blood test results showed that my hemoglobin (the part of the red blood cells that carries oxygen to the organs) was down to 7.4, while the normal range is 13.7-17.5. I ended up having two units of red blood cells infused the following day which was anticipated to bring my count up to around 9.5.



I had planned a trip with some dear friends (angels, actually) for six weeks after my last cycle -- it was to be a treat I was giving to myself for having completed chemo. While I did go on the trip, and spending time with these friends was one of the best doses of medicine I could have had, I found myself still unable to do much; I was weak and short of breath; the dizziness was ever present; the sinus issue and cough didn't seem to want to go away; but I did notice that my recall was slowly returning -- at least I could have a meaningful conversation without constantly interrupting it with, "What are we talking about?" "What was I saying?" Yet while my ability to converse had improved, my memory was still hidden in fog.



My most recent blood test and check up on 17-Feb showed that my hemoglobin was at 10.4. While it is still not in the normal range, it is improving. Both my white blood cells and platelets are also low, but I'm told they are not so irregular as to be concerning. As such, all of my blood markers are abnormal -- no wonder I've been feeling so bad.



Due to my recollection playing tricks on me, I had been under the impression that I would feel better within six to eight weeks after my last chemotherapy cycle. What I had actually been told was that the effects from the flu, my sinus condition and cough, should be better in that amount of time. As for my getting "back to normal," it will take between three to six months from the last cycle. Three months is the end of March, and I am currently scheduled to come off long term disability at that time and to return to work.



As for how I'm feeling two months out, I'm still weak, but getting stronger daily; I'm only getting dizzy now when I stand from having been bent over for any length of time; my cough is still with me, and my runny sinus keeps flowing like the Hudson River; my memory still fails me, but I have no issues with public discourse -- just don't ask me to remember details or names as they dissolve like cotton candy. Even so, I can happily say I'm improving, and hope to be "back to normal" closer to the three month time frame instead of the six month prospect.



In terms of my returning to work, the job I had no longer exists. My employer "discontinued" my job shortly before I started chemotherapy, even though my bosses knew that it was about to begin. But that story is for another post. Suffice it to say that I will go back to work for a brief period before I retire. Yes, I'm going to retire from marketing in the financial industry. I plan on writing full time. Please wish me well.



As for what I wish for you, I hope you have found these postcards educational and informative. If so, I will have reached my goal of letting others know what they might expect should they, or know someone who will, need to be treated for CLL. The unknown can appear frightening. If I have shed any light on this for you or a loved one and possibly eased that fear, then I'm happy to have been of help. But do keep in mind that what I experienced doesn't happen to everyone -- and that I did opt for the harshest protocol.



It's time to get back in the correct lane, and to race with the wind. This part of my journey is coming to a close. The light at the end of the tunnel is shining brightly and has enveloped me. May all your trips come to as promising a conclusion.



Timing: Check-in at Dartmouth 31-March & back to work 1-April (April Fools Day). Do look for future posts on: 1) My experience with an insurance company and Social Security regarding disability; and 2) helpful "dos & don'ts" when you are faced with supporting a friend with cancer.



Oh, and a hearty thank you to all the angels walking among us who helped me, and others.



"Racin' with the wind ... and explode into space." (Mars Barnfire)



Postcards From Lebanon: Part 1 History

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 2 Vincristine Study

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 3 Prep for Chemo

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 4 Cycle 1

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 5 Neutroponic Fever

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 6 Nadir Charts

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 7 Cycle 2

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 8 How People Respond

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 9 Cycle 3

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 10 Medical Marijuana

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 11 Cycle 4

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 12 The Infusion Room

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 13 Cycle 5

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 14 Christmas with Cancer

Postcards From Lebanon: Part 15 Cycle 6



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Rachel Maddow to host “Why We Did It,” new MSNBC special about Iraq War

Last year, MSNBC aired a successful documentary special about the Iraq War called Hubris: Selling the Iraq War , hosted by Rachel Maddow and based on the book by Michael Isikoff and David Corn. That program documented the false public case for the war.

Now, MSNBC will be airing a new, related program called Why We Did It, which the network says will “show a whole new, never-before-told story of what was happening behind that public case.” Newly obtained documents from the U.S. and abroad, as well as interviews with key players involved in the planning process and invasion, will feature in the new reporting for the documentary, again hosted by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.

Among those interviewed in Why We Did It are former Ambassador L. Paul Bremer; Robert Ebel, former CIA Energy Analyst; Gary Vogler, retired Exxon-Mobil Executive and Defense Department Adviser; Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell; General Jay Garner, Director, Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance; Meghan O’Sullivan, former Bush Administration Deputy National Security Adviser on Iraq; Rob McKee, former vice president of Conoco Phillips and Defense Department Adviser; Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Cal); Dana Milbank of the Washington Post; Ron Suskind, author of The Price of Loyalty; Greg Muttitt, author of Fuel on the Fire; and Steve Coll, author of Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power.

Why We Did It premieres March 6 at 9pm ET on MSNBC.

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Meditation: Ending the Tug of War Between Mind and Heart

In meditation, we watch our thoughts. We notice body sensations. We find the space of no thought, no sensation. In the space between thoughts we find the seat of joy, the seat of our soul. Meditation stops the race in our head bringing us to the finish line where we experience the presence of our heart. Here is our inner well of being and so much more.



People are meditating for all kinds of reasons, but most of us know there is something profound calling us. We don't talk about it, but we know we are finding steps to real joy, the seat to the part of us that is eternal. Once the mind stops, the experience of our limitless heart begins.



It's amazing how small we can feel, closed down, concerned only with me. And then a short time later after meditation we find our heart again. Meditation and we can suddenly be a giant of tolerance and giving. Meditation is our ticket from all the noise of our world to the freedom of inner silence. Our judgments and concerns pounding, we meditate and almost like super heroes, we are full of understanding and gentleness. It's amazing how certain we can be in our difficulty and minutes later wonder, where did our difficulty disappear to? Meditation and we feel seemingly bulletproof in our ability to recover, renew, to be once again in love.



The question becomes how long do we fight this tug of war between mind and heart? What can we do to end the tension of the limits of our personality and our unlimited inner being? How long does our resistance lasts to the vast realm of heart essence? At what expense must we suffer the highs and lows of our mind battling true awareness? Is meditation just an aspirin for our stress? Or is it a path to something permanent and true?



When we leave our meditative peace, we can feel we have failed. Our sense of unity gone, we feel guilty. We can quickly lose our sense of expansion and be in contraction. Our ocean of being can become an ocean of doubt, as if all the energy that was boundless in meditation is now working against us.



It is important that we understand the process. As our awareness steps beneath our personality, underneath our thoughts, we realize something more. After exploring this ocean of being, no thought, no self, we are not wrong for coming back, for having once again worldly self, the thoughts and feelings which make us function. Making peace with the transition from one state to the other and back again, we are making peace with the many parts of our being. This making peace with the many parts of who we are, is not appeasement but victory.



Slowly, meditation actually changes our lack of tolerance and concern as our awareness spreads in the space discovered. Intolerance grows into compassion not because we think about it. Our awareness grows in compassion as it spends time in our inner vastness. Understanding and acceptance are not things to try hard to master. Understanding and acceptance build in our awareness as we spend time in our heart essence.



The tug of war between mind and heart lessens. Slowly, surely, our heart wins as our awareness absorbs our true state while abandoning fear and worry. In meditation we are receiving, actually becoming our inner essence. Our awareness strengthens in the fixed beauty, the pervasiveness of our direct experience. As our awareness is anchored in our heart presence, our personality does not have so much weight and control. The war is over.



Compassion, joy, soul, words which as a personality we often cannot really connect with become meaningful as we practice meditation. In the space between thoughts, our view of everything and everyone changes. We can think about forgiveness, gratitude, and peace. But the experience of these qualities is very different as we find this body of something immense inside of us.



In meditation we learn we are not going someplace, something is opening within us. There is nothing to accomplish but a unity to experience. There is a difference between trying to make something happen and being very present and feeling all that is. We can be in harmony with our daily world and the cosmos.



Meditation ends the struggle. The inner wrestling match is over. Hope and hopelessness are both of our mind or personality. Inner peace is now. Love is in the presence and quality of our being. Success and disappointment are both products of our mind. Equanimity is the fruit of knowing our deep heart, one of the many gifts of simple awareness.



With meditation, the mind can becomes the servant of our heart instead of the other way around. Life becomes a garden to enjoy rather then to manage. Meditation is much more than just thinking less. We are releasing the filter, taking off the mask, dissolving the structures we have built in our awareness. We are discovering the yoga of life. Consciousness from our unfiltered awareness is like a fresh wind full of garden fragrance. Awareness free of so much thought is a joy that keeps on giving.



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The Harmful Reality of Restricting Drug Choices

The recent news that Medicare will be restricting the choice of drugs doctors can prescribe has raised widespread concern among patients and doctors. In fact, this news is not at all surprising; drug choices are already increasingly restricted by the various health care plans. It is a serious concern. I'd like to convey my thoughts, reflecting my perspective as a physician, and specifically a hypertension specialist.



Clearly the goal of reducing the enormous cost burden of prescribed drugs is a legitimate one. If a drug that costs $200 a year is just as good as one that costs $2,000, restricting the latter makes sense. But the situation is not that simple.



Generic drugs

Generic drug manufacturers are regulated and required to demonstrate rough equivalence to the branded drug. In general, physicians are comfortable prescribing generic drugs, and the cost saving does not conflict with good care, although regulatory vigilance is clearly a necessity. Some patients insist on the branded drug, and will not trust or even try the generic. Some others claim reactions to differences or to "fillers" in the generic drug; some are true reactions; some are not. Here, the physician may need to prescribe the branded drug; the higher cost may or may not be borne by the patient.



Different drugs from the same drug class

Here we are talking about substituting one drug for another within the same drug class. Examples of drug classes are beta-blockers, angiotensin antagonists, and many others. Drugs from the same drug class can differ substantially from each other. Bureaucrats who look at costs don't allow for these differences, or for the fact that different patients respond differently to different drugs.



When forced to switch to an "approved" drug, the right dose often cannot be predicted from the dose of the previous drug, due to differences in drug metabolism. Selecting the dose can be a guessing game, with consequences. Also unmentioned, most doctors tend to prescribe the drugs they are most familiar with, and whose nuances they know best. Restrictions force doctors to prescribe drugs with which they are less familiar.



Loss of underused terrific older drugs



A terrible, yet unmentioned consequence of restricted choices could be the loss of some terrific older drugs. These drugs are best known to specialists and to practitioners with decades of experience, and some of them are better than the newer drugs, but are lost in the avalanche of promotion of the newer drugs. Their value is not appreciated by health care plans or Medicare. Although they are older and generic, they can be expensive because their sales volume is much lower and few manufacturers produce them. Restrictions against their use will threaten their modest sales, with the likelihood that some of these truly great drugs will no longer be manufactured, and their use will be lost to us, permanently.



Here are a few examples of harmful consequences of recent drug restrictions. As I describe in Hypertension and You , I prefer prescribing a couple of the old beta-blockers that have important advantages over the newer best-selling one. They achieve a much more predictable blood level and effect. They also don't get into the brain, and in my experience are less likely to cause mental dullness. I don't want to prescribe the best-seller, but might have to.



A patient whose hypertension was uncontrolled on five drugs responded to my switching him to a newer more expensive angiotensin antagonist (ARB) that has been shown to be more effective than the other ARBs. The result: fewer office visits, reduction of other medications, and a reduced risk of future hospitalizations or stroke. I can no longer prescribe that drug to him. Penny-wise, pound-foolish.



The appeal process



When a drug I want to prescribe is rejected, I am of course invited to appeal the rejection, meaning a member of our staff must sit on the phone for a half hour or more (I assume the long wait is intentional, to discourage appeals) and/or I have to take the time to write an essay defending the use of the drug. Since so many prescriptions are rejected day after day, there is no way we can appeal every case we want to, and the drug plan administrators know that.



Although restricting very expensive drugs is certainly understandable and necessary, the impact on care of restricting drugs that are only modestly more expensive is less justified. Between patients changing drug plans, and drug plans changing their "preferred" drug lists depending on slightly better prices they negotiate with manufacturers, a patient's medication has to be changed, again and again. In this respect patients are being treated like pawns.



Another blow to patients occurred when the Medicare drug program was initiated under George W. Bush -- Medicare was not allowed to negotiate lower prices with manufacturers! The priority went to corporate profit, at the government's expense.



Recognizing that restricting drug choices has economic merit, and is necessary, are there ways to minimize its disruption and harm to medical care? Here are some suggestions:



1. Limit drug restrictions to instances where the cost lowering is substantial, rather than disrupting care for smaller differences in cost.



2. Streamline the intentionally time-consuming appeal process that greatly discourages appeals.



3. Reduce the volume of rejections and appeals, for example, by not harassing doctors who prescribe the more expensive drug in fewer than 5 percent (or whatever selected percentage) of their prescriptions.



4. If a doctor strongly believes that a restricted drug is better than the "preferred" drug and wishes to prescribe it regularly, allow the physician to submit a comprehensive letter, once. If the argument is valid, he need not be harassed each time he tries to prescribe it.



5. The grave threat of the permanent loss of valuable older drugs needs attention and action.



There are certainly other and better ideas. Hopefully cost-cutting, which is necessary, can be achieved with less harm to patients. Meantime, the unfairness of how drugs are restricted is a serious concern.



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Healing Vigilante: 7 Ways to Own and Trust in the Crap

There are several underground therapeutic terms that circulate in the counseling biz. "CRAP" is one of them. It represents your issues, challenges, unresolved conflict, and unfinished business that tend to interfere with having a good day and a fulfilling life. It can show up as insecurity, fear, anger, addiction, jealousy, conflict, depression, body issues, trust issues, anxiety, and much, much more.



But it all filters down appropriately into one very scientific and professional term: CRAP.



"You're crap is getting in your way."

"Aren't you tired of being stuck in the crap?"

"You are taking on other people's crap."



These are common phrases that have come out of my mouth. There are two primary types of personal crap: (a) that you are experiencing in that moment, and (b) that is leftover from your past. Regardless of what type of crap you are in, the healthiest thing you can do is own and trust in it. When you take accountability, and trust the crap is there to help you grow, that is when the magic happens. Here are seven ways to do that:



1. Admit you have crap. The first step in persevering and growing from your crap is to know you are in it, or that you have it. Without the accountability or awareness, you will usually project and blame others for it, and most likely push them away. Or you will walk away from many interactions feeling regretful or unsatisfied.



2. Get to know your crap in two ways:



(a) In the crappy moment. What does it look and feel like when you are in your crap? In your body? What are you feeling? What are the thoughts that come up? Really get to know your "crappy movie" so that when it starts to play, you know to do Step 4. Write it down.



(b) In your overall life. Look for the patterns/common threads in your history that have been crappy. Have you consistently sabotaged jobs, friendships, or relationships? Do you have trust issues? Past trauma? Are you a blamer? Do you doubt yourself constantly? Are you a worry wombat? Do you shut down? Do you keep your feelings inside? When you want to cry do you bust a vein trying to keep it inside? Are you given nicknames like "Negative Norm?" or "The Ice Queen"? What would each of your exes say was the one thing about you they did not like? Write it down.



3. Don't be a victim of your crap. Look your crap in the eye and say, "I see you, and I'm going to thrive from you!" or "I'm going to chew you up and spit you out!" (okay maybe not that one). Make a choice to change what you do not want and accept that it may be challenging. Changing old patterns can be tough, so take some time to give yourself lots of patience and compassion (like you would a child). And keep going, even when you feel like giving up (remember Step 7).



4. Learn how to take care of your crap internally. Do something other than nothing. FYI: "biting the bullet" is not considered a therapeutic method. The moment you notice that you are in the crap: shut up, stop what you are doing, and breathe. Slow the moment down by taking long, deep breaths. Give yourself time to take care of it. Ask yourself, "What am I feeling right now?" And get the answer (mad, sad, glad, or worried). Then ask, "What do I need to take care of myself right now internally?" Here's one way to do that (look for the more fulfilling, provocative version in the future):



Go to a private area, even a bathroom stall or your car, and practice the *Stress Relief Breath (SRB): (1) Inhale all of the negative feeling (stress, worry, frustration) up into the throat, and (2) Let it go on the exhale with a long sigh (about three times longer than the inhale). Repeat until you feel a shift. Practice one now.



5. Introduce your crap to others... in advance. You teach others about how to be with you. Part of that teaching has to do with your not-so-incredibly-awesome side. Get vulnerable -- it is the glue in all relationships -- open up and share what you learned in Steps 1 and 2. When you own, understand, and support your crap others will be more open to do the same. If you have scars from your past, let your partner know how that might show up in your relationship. If you know that you tend to be short-tempered or have trust issues, put out a public safety announcement. And then...



6. Take ownership of your crap when it shows up. Even it if just shows up a little. The more accountability you have, the more likely you are to take care of it, especially during a conflict. If there are a 1000 people in the room watching and they agree that your part was 20 percent -- still take ownership of that 20 percent.



7. Trust in the crap. Practice trusting in how life unfolds. Your crap is a powerful mirror for you. Look a little deeper when your crap comes up. Ask yourself: What is my lesson? Why was this challenge brought to me? How can I grow and persevere? Write down the answers.



Next post: Day One of my prison sentence



*Stress Relief Breath © 2011 No Stress Foundation



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Fourteen Percent Of Americans Believe AIDS Might Be God's Punishment: Survey

All signs point to the fact that, on the whole, the U.S. is moving toward a much more tolerant stance on same-sex marriage and LGBT issues, in general.



A recent survey released by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) delineated the ways in which Americans' beliefs surrounding LGBT issues have shifted. Included in this was the fact that far fewer Americans today believe AIDS might be a punishment from God.



Believe it or not, in 1992, a whopping 36 percent of Americans believed AIDS might be God’s punishment for immoral sexual behavior. Only 57 percent strongly disagreed. In 2013, 14 percent of Americans believed AIDS might be punishment from God, while a full 81 percent actively disagreed with this notion.










Americans are also considerably more judgmental toward those living with HIV or AIDS in the U.S. than they are toward those living with HIV or AIDS in the developing world. Sixty-five percent of Americans believe those living with HIV or AIDS in the U.S. became infected due to irresponsible behavior, while only 41 percent say the same about those living with HIV or AIDS in the developing world.



Since the outbreak of AIDS in the early 1980s, some conservative religious groups have come forward to loudly blame so-called "immoral" lifestyles for the epidemic. In 1987, Reverend Jerry Falwell famously said, “God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah primarily because of the sin of homosexuality. Today He is again bringing judgment against this wicked practice through AIDS.”



Today, such antagonistic attitudes toward homosexuality are turning younger members of religious groups away from their congregations. The same PRRI survey found that nearly one-third of Millennials who left the faith they grew up with did so in part due to "negative teachings" or "negative treatment" related to gays and lesbians.



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How Contaminated Is Your Doctor's Stethoscope, Really?

Sure, your doctor makes a point to wash hands before and after examining you. But have you ever wondered how often his or her stethoscope gets cleaned?



A new study in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings shows that the stethoscope can also be a source of bacterial contamination -- and some parts of the stethoscope can be even more contaminated than the back of a doctor's hand.



"By considering that stethoscopes are used repeatedly over the course of a day, come directly into contact with patients' skin, and may harbor several thousands of bacteria (including MRSA) collected during a previous physical examination, we consider them as potentially significant vectors of transmission," study researcher Dr. Didier Pittet, M.D., MS, who is the director of the Infection Control Program and WHO Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety at University of Geneva Hospitals, said in a statement. "From infection control and patient safety perspectives, the stethoscope should be regarded as an extension of the physician's hands and be disinfected after every patient contact."



The study involved looking at bacterial contamination on three doctors' hands and their stethoscopes after examining 71 patients; hands and stethoscopes were sterilized before coming into contact with the patients.



The researchers looked specifically at contamination of the tube and diaphragm (which is the metal piece at the end of the tube that comes into contact with the patient) of the stethoscope, as well as the fingertips, back, thenar (ball of the thumb) and hypothenar eminences (palm of the hand above the little finger) of the doctors' hands.



They found that the diaphragm of the stethoscope was more contaminated than all parts of the doctors' hands, with the exception of the fingertips. The tube of the stethoscope had more contamination than the back of the doctors' hand.



In addition, the more contaminated a doctor's hand, the more contaminated the stethoscope was. "This observation suggests that the patient's skin and immediate surrounds are the common denominators and determinants of both physicians' hands and stethoscope contamination," the researchers wrote in the study.



The researchers also pointed out that previous studies show that most doctors (70 to 90 percent) don't disinfect their stethoscopes after every patient contact.



"By considering that stethoscopes are used repeatedly over the course of a day, come directly into contact with patients' skin, and may harbor several thousands of bacteria (including MRSA) collected during a previous physical examination, we consider them as potentially significant vectors of transmission," the study said. "Thus, failing to disinfect stethoscopes could constitute a serious patient safety issue akin to omitting hand hygiene."



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New Dove Billboard Tells New Jersey It Is Indeed The Armpit Of America

Dove's marketing strategy of encouraging women to see their "real beauty" is one of the most talked about of the decade. However, it turns out advertising your products as a metaphorical solution to a state-specific stereotype isn't exactly a wise application of the "self-acceptance" mantra.



The company's latest billboard features a woman proudly displaying her armpit and reads:



“Dear New Jersey, When people call you ‘the Armpit of America,’ take it as a compliment. Sincerely, Dove.”







The new campaign, which promotes Dove's newest deodorant line Dove Advanced Care, is slated to arrive in the Garden State this July.



Senior marketing director of Unilever, Dove's parent company, told The New York Times he doesn't anticipate New Jersey residents will be up in arms over the billboard's message.



“I don’t expect that there will be a lot of people who misunderstand, but to the degree that they do, we’ll be open about what we’re really trying to say,” McCarthy told the Times. “The message that we want to get out there is that the armpit is not a bad thing, and that we stand for caring for the armpit.”



But Dove executives probably weren't expecting to launch the campaign in the midst of Bridgegate either. Governor Chris Christie's traffic scandal has reinforced the state's long-held stereotype as one of the most corrupt in the nation.



"It just feels unnecessary and like it's kicking New Jersey when it's down," New Jersey resident and research executive Jen Drexler told the Times.



The billboard is part of a wider brand effort to elevate the armpit from a beleaguered chore to a more pleasant beauty and hygiene experience. We're skeptical, and so is New Jersey.



[h/t Jezebel ]



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What's New and Cool in the Fitness Sphere?

As we enter the third month of 2014, the fitness landscape is booming with innovation, from new cloud, performance, and social apps and technology to boutique fitness online group membership platforms.



Inspired to write this post on innovation, by a post on my favorite blog a few weeks ago, A VC written by Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, where he was talking about innovation in health and fitness, specifically the iWatch and Apple's new IOS8. I wanted to share a quick overview of trends I have noticed and a few cool noteworthy happenings in the fitness world. I have broken them out into four categories: fitness tracking, gym memberships re-envisioned, the social networking of fitness and mobile workouts.



Starting with my inspiration for the post by A VC on IOS8, Fitness and Health Data, and Open Data, here are some of the new and innovative developments in fitness tech:



• iWatch & IOS8

Apple is planning to release a new operating system with health and fitness tracking integration built into the operating system. Apple plans for iOS8 to include an application codenamed "Healthbook." The software will be capable of monitoring and storing fitness statistics such as steps taken, calories burned, and miles walked. The app will also have the ability to manage and track weight loss. The software will be a pre-installed challenger to offerings such as those from Nike and Fitbit.



• Technogym recently announced that some of their treadmills and other exercise products will work with Google Glass. Users can interact with their treadmill and receive info and feedback on their Glass display including workout statistics and exercise moves.



Technogym also announced a wellness tracking cloud-based ecosystem, called My Wellness Cloud that allows users to engage and connect with others on any piece of Technogym equipment, anywhere in the world. My Wellness Cloud also aggregates data from third party devices and apps including, but not limited to Fitbit, MapMyFitness, and RunKeeper.



The features are designed to provide each user with a fully personalized experience for their personal training program, data and favorite entertainment options. UNITY is part of "Wellness on the Go" and is the first and only console in the fitness industry that offers users the ability to communicate with their personal trainer or friends via webcam.



Gym Memberships Re-Envisioned For Boutique Fitness Lovers

More fitness lovers are getting the opportunity to explore new workout classes through online platforms that aggregate and group boutique fitness class into packages, similar to the concept of gym memberships.



They can sign up for their favorite Spin, Yoga, CrossFit, TRX, Barre, Bootcamp, and now Rowing classes, in lieu of their gym membership. Here are a few things you should know:



• FITiST is a members-only, luxury online fitness and wellness platform offering one-stop access to the best of the best boutique studios in New York City and Los Angeles. Members can create their own fitness and wellness plan or select a plan curated by FITiST experts. And, it's not just classes, its personal training, off-site fitness programming with triathlon clubs and more. Of course, I love the Triathlete package- 4 Yoga, 2 Core, 2 coached outdoor runs, 1 Open Water Swim clinic.



• ClassPass f.k.a. Classtivity is an online monthly boutique fitness subscription service that offers significantly discounted prices for classes at boutique studios in NYC. Users can work out at a variety of fitness centers around the city-including Pure Barre, Uplift, Revolve, and more.



Are You Socially Fit? If you are a fitness lover like I am and enjoy connecting with friends over fitness, sharing workouts, or training in groups, here are a few online social platforms you should connect with:



• SweatSync -- Social Network for Fitness aka Facebook For Fitness Lovers

Launched by the Founders of Fitmapped, the GPS for fitness/directory of fitness studios in NYC and LA, SweatSync is an online social network where fitness enthusiasts can share, connect, and coordinate workouts.



• Training Peaks -- Online and mobile fitness tracking, workout planning, and social sharing for endurance athletes. Coaches can log workouts weeks in advance or athletes can individually upload workouts. There are lots of fun statistics, dashboards, and charts.



• Burn This -- BurnThis gives users the ability to connect their boutique fitness classes with their social networks, creating a unique social fitness experience. Users can download the app to discover the best classes in New York and Los Angeles, book on the go, track their booking progress and easily coordinate their workouts with friends.



Mobile Fitness Tracking Apps



• Run Keeper -- is a mobile app that turns a user's phone into a personal trainer for running, walking, or cycling. Users can measure their heart rate with connected devices and get stats on pace, distance, time, and calories. Music plays through the app and the app also offers programs for detailed fitness plans and coaching.



• Strava -- is the running and cycling app that lets users track their runs and rides with GPS, analyze their performance, join challenges and compare with friends. Users can run or ride a segment (specific section of road or trail) and compare their effort against past efforts, as well as other athletes who've run or ridden the same segment. The user can see where he or she ranks and start moving up the leaderboards.



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Getting Ready to Go Off to College When You Have a Chronic Disease Like Type I Diabetes

A Huffing Post reader recently emailed me this question:

I have been thinking about my son as he considers colleges to apply to next fall. Because he has diabetes, I'm not sure what college will be like for him. What should he be looking for? What challenges will he face? How can his father and I help prepare him to live away from home?

I happen to know something about this because my daughter, Marejka, was diagnosed with type I diabetes five months before she left home to attend Stanford University. Needless to say, that was a challenging time for both my daughter and our family. After college, she completed a Master's Degree in Health Psychology at the University of Utah, the focus of which was on coping mechanisms for people with chronic illnesses. Since then, Marejka has been very active helping teens (and parents) manage life with diabetes; so I asked for her input to help answer the above query.



According to WebMD, approximately seven percent of young people live with a chronic disease, whether diabetes, Crohn's disease, arthritis or other conditions. Clearly, it makes sense for these students and their parents to think ahead about how they can best prepare for the transition from home to college.



The following is a summary of a conversation Marejka and I had about how to answer the above question. Friendly disclaimer: This is not to be construed as medical advice or in any way a promotion for underage drinking. You'll understand why I'm saying this as you read the rest of this blog.



Marjorie: Do you have any recommendations for students with diabetes regarding what to look for in a college?

Marejka: First, I think that a school with a strong, supportive residential system is a good idea. For example, it was very useful to be a part of Stanford's residential community where resident fellows and resident assistants were focused on individual students and generating a cohesive sense of community (as opposed to a college where RF's and RA's serve mainly as policy enforcers). My freshman dorm had three diabetic students; that had a dramatic effect in terms of casually educating other residents about the disease and building a collective awareness for how they could be helpful to us. Fellow residents went so far as when there was a Jello shot party, they made sugar-free Jello shots for us. That might sound minor, but I think it was a wonderful sign of support and it made us feel really included.

Marjorie: Besides Stanford, other colleges with strong residential systems are Middlebury, Michigan, UC Santa Cruz, Rice, Yale, Willamette, Vanderbilt and Vassar. There are more.

Marejka: Second, when students visit colleges and go on campus tours, they should see about stopping by the Student Health Center to find out what kind of diabetes support they offer. While there, they could also ask about other campus resources. For example, the University of Oregon Student Health Center offers a class for diabetic students, where they learn skills related to transitioning to living on your own with diabetes.

Marjorie: That's really useful information.

Marejka: Third, as diabetic students research colleges, I recommend they check out the college's disabilities resource center (DRC) on campus. Outside of student health, they're probably the next best place for help and support. Through them students can find out if there are special accommodations that cover exigencies associated with their illness: e.g., access to dining halls with healthy meal options or individualized testing if they need it. I recently spoke with a student who had to take an important exam when her blood glucose (BG) level was 350. (For readers who don't know, a normal BG level is between 70 and 120.) That was really difficult for her, because at that level her ability to think -- let alone solve problems -- was severely impaired. Some colleges may offer accommodations for known and documented health situations like that.

Marjorie: What advice do you have for parents about how to handle their diabetic son or daughter leaving home?

Marejka: Research that fellow University of Utah graduate students and I did on families with children who had diabetes showed that it's extremely helpful for parents to provide 'invisible support' to their kids in keeping their health and lives together. What this means is stay away from intrusively asking about or nagging your child if he/she is measuring blood sugar or what his/her A1c is. A better approach is to provide your teen with resources that make it easy to keep on top of their diabetes. For example, buy a medical identification bracelet (that they choose) for your teen to wear so that other people will know that he/she is a diabetic and who to call in an emergency. Parents can send care packages that contain diabetes supplies and glucose. They can also set up a mail-order system for getting prescriptions so the student doesn't have to worry about ordering and picking up insulin or test strip refills from drug stores away from campus. Another thing that parents can do is research endocrinologists in the college area should their student need to have a consultation. Also, either mom and/or dad can help establish relationships with and fax health records to doctors at the student health center and/or outside physicians.

Marjorie: Before you left for Stanford, I remember looking into the kind of coverage Stanford's health insurance offered diabetics.

Marejka: Right. Another practical tip is to make sure there is a small refrigerator in the student's dorm room, so he or she can keep their insulin close by and also stock the fridge with a good choice of healthy, diabetes-safe snacks and other food.

Marjorie: So what about the student? What can or should he/she do?

Marejka: The big thing is that a diabetic student needs to learn to be independent. He or she has to know (or learn very quickly) how to take care of him or herself. Having said that, it should not come as a surprise that I don't necessarily recommend that students stay close to home so that their parents can watch over them. Young people with diabetes need to experience the freedom and responsibility of doing everything on their own. And they should start practicing that way before they leave for college.



In addition, when they arrive at college, there are always new things students want to experiment with and do, if they haven't already: staying out really late, going on a freshman wilderness trip, drinking alcoholic beverages. The best thing IMHO (in my humble opinion) is if parents and the college community prepare kids to do those things in a safe way. Case in point: If a diabetic female is going out of town with a friend, make sure she takes along her insulin and glucose monitor, as well as let the friend know she has diabetes and they both have some candy with them in case the diabetic student's blood sugar gets very low. Also, roommates and RA's should know what and where a glucagon kit is and when/how to use it.



Finally, I suggest diabetics locate and talk with other diabetic students on campus, including how to do fun things and keep blood sugars in check, especially when it comes to exercise and recreation. A competitive field hockey player who also had diabetes lived in my freshman dorm; I learned a lot from her about how to manage diabetes amidst intense exercise. Last but not least, students really underestimate how important sleep is, both for surviving AND thriving at college, and especially for managing diabetes.

Marjorie: Great! Do you have any other advice for parents?

Marejka: Yep. Every diabetic needs the freedom to fail (meaning that there are going to be times when she or he does something and goes into an extreme high or low BG). A person with diabetes needs to know what to do when that happens, how to get themselves out of the situation, who to call to follow up and figure out how to prevent this from happening again.



At the same time, parents need to be able to set aside their own anxieties of what happens when those failures occur and not blame the student. It's so important NOT to get so wrapped up in their own fears that they can't support their child. Parents might practice saying things such as, 'Wow! That must have been really scary for you.' Or, 'So how do you think you'd want to do that differently next time?'



Also, the family might go through some test runs of different scenarios before the kid leaves home. Come up with situations like, 'You're heading out with your dorm mates to a frat party. You know that everyone will be drinking, and you probably will too. What are some things you need to think about and plan for before you go out the door?' If a student can think through a scenario ahead of time, he or she will be better prepared for when it really happens.



Of course, mom and dad won't be thrilled about a lot of things that take place on college campuses, but they should try to be realistic about what really happens and be willing to help their student plan for those realities.

Marjorie: Thanks for taking the time to chat with me about all of this. I have learned a lot about how you handled -- and continue to handle -- your diabetes. I can't imagine other people won't think the same.



PS: You might be interested to know that Marejka is now a veterinary student at Oregon State University, where she is learning about diabetes and other chronic diseases in animals.



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What Calico Cats Can Teach Us About Obesity

House cats -- in all their notoriously lazy glory -- may actually help scientists figure out how to control obesity in humans.



Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco are looking to calico cats, known for their orange and black patchwork fur, to better understand “gene silencing”, the ability of a cell to prevent the expression of a certain gene. Scientists hope the research may reveal how traits in humans -- like obesity -- may be turned on and off the same way color traits are controlled in the fluctuating pattern of a calico’s coat.



In a presentation earlier this month at the annual Biophysical Society Meeting in San Francisco, lead study author Elizabeth Smith explained that calico cats, which are nearly always female, have an orange fur color gene on one X chromosome and a black fur color gene on the other X chromosome. In a genetic anomaly, the chromosomes are turned on and off at random, creating the splotchy fur pattern.



Unlocking the mystery of the calico’s chromosomes could lead to advances in understanding how human traits are passed on and expressed, ultimately allowing us to exert control over them.



"Uncovering how only one X chromosome is inactivated will help explain the whole process of epigenetic control, meaning the way changes in gene activity can be inherited without changing the DNA code,” Smith said in a press release. “It can help answer other questions such as if and how traits like obesity can be passed down through generations."



Body fat distribution traits are associated with the X chromosome, according to Discovery News, as are several other disorders and diseases, including intersex conditions, breast cancer and hemophilia.







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Reflections on What the Olympics Can Teach Us About Going for Gold

The 2014 Winter Olympics were a source of warmth during an otherwise unrelenting winter. As I watched athletes compete and absorbed the media coverage, I found myself getting a refresher on childhood fundamentals. These lessons are worth remembering; they are just as important (and arguably more so) for adults as children.



• If you fall down, get up, dust yourself off, and try again. The Olympics teach us that performing at the highest level is not all about flawlessness. Many of the events are organized with multiple runs (e.g., slopestyle) and allow athletes to learn from their mistakes and course-correct. Losing your balance is expected, just like when you were a kid.



Even in a sport without do-overs, like ice skating, Olympians take pride in reaching the finish. When U.S. ice skater Jeremy Abbot fell attempting a quadruple toe loop during the men's short program, he struggled to his feet and resumed skating to the crowd's ovation, nailing the remainder of his routine. In an interview after the performance, Abbot stated, "I'm not in the least bit ashamed. I stood up and I finished that program and I'm proud of my effort and ... what I did under the circumstance." During his subsequent free skate program, he continued to rebound with elegance and achieved his season's best score.



• Sharing is caring. The 2014 Winter Games mark the introduction of two team events, the figure skating team event and luge team relay. Team performance requires a psychological shift from self-reliance towards tolerance of and trust in others. Across national lines, Olympians also consider themselves part of a larger team. This was evident when Canadian ski coach Justin Wadsworth jumped onto the race course to provide Russian cross-country skier Anton Gafarov with a replacement for his broken ski. The team events and overarching Olympic spirit underscore that our fates as individuals are tied to one another and remind us that thinking of ourselves as part of "Team Human Being" can foster an attitude of caring, support, and acceptance.



• Food does a body good. While children are encouraged to try new foods and focus on how big, strong, and able their bodies become with age, adults are often preoccupied with restricting foods (or food groups) and focusing on how they wished their bodies looked. The language around body image shifts such that "big and strong" sounds awful, while "skinny" or "muscular" sounds ideal for women and men, respectively. Watching an Olympian is a lesson in returning the emphasis to the body's strengths and its capacities. It's also a showcase of body diversity; the athletes featured throughout the games epitomize the notion that healthy comes in all shapes and sizes.



And a healthy Olympic body is a well-nourished one. Food is neither a reward nor a tool for coping with feeling badly; it is fuel. A testament to this mindset, the American women's hockey team brought an expert with them to Sochi to help them put adequate "gas in their tanks" throughout the competition.



• It's OK to be scared. Snowboarders Sage Kotsenburg and Devin Logan have both spoken publicly about their fear of heights, yet they are each going home with a medal in a sport defined by high jumps and aerial acrobatics. This shows us that it is not inherently bad to be scared. If you face your fears repeatedly, that which is scary might become tolerable... and possibly exciting.



Similarly, it's OK to let yourself think about the worst-case scenario, like losing. In fact, telling yourself not to think about defeat might be the bigger problem. Per NBC's report, the sports psychologists working with U.S. Olympians are advising athletes to practice mindfulness -- notice the thought, acknowledge the fear, let it go and return to the present moment. They are also encouraging the athletes to mentally play out their darkest "what-ifs" to logical conclusions, namely that a disappointing showing need not eliminate their own sense of accomplishment or loved ones' pride in their achievement.



• Treat others as you would like to be treated. Despite appearing crushed with his fourth-place finish in the Snowboard Halfpipe final event, American Shaun White immediately hugged the Swiss gold medalist, Iouri Podladtchikov. When asked to comment on the course conditions, he acknowledged that whatever his opinion on its state, "it was the same for everyone and I'm happy for the guys that did well." His words modeled graciousness in the face of defeat and acknowledged the incredible efforts of his peers.



As Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince, "All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it." I find that when the rhythm of grown-up life drowns out lessons of childhood, it's important to tune back in with intention. To the 2014 Olympians: Thank you for reminding me of those lessons and for showing us all, by example, how to live by them.



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When Is the Best Time to Get Pregnant?

Having a baby is expensive. Considering hospital costs, prenatal care, diapers, carriages and cribs, many new parents anticipate paying a steep bill when expecting an addition to the family. Yet, when it comes to saving money, people often overlook an important variable: the season of conception. Not only can your baby's time of birth affect his or her health -- there may also be a big impact on your wallet.



Thinking About Having a Baby in Winter? Consider the Following:



Of course, everyone wants a healthy baby. Besides the obvious, a healthy newborn means less hospital care and fewer related expenses. When planning for a baby, you should consider the impact of the season your little one will be born into. Seasonal diseases such as the flu (for which newborns cannot be vaccinated) may be worth avoiding. Research has shown that May is the worst month to conceive, with a significant decrease in gestation length that corresponds to an increase in prematurity of more than 10 percent. This phenomenon coincides with the higher prevalence of influenza in the early months of the year -- when babies conceived in May are approaching full term. In the U.S., flu season occurs between October and March and peaks in February. Incidences of newborn influenza also peak during January and February.



Money is the last thing on a parent's mind when their child is born premature, but the bills from having a premature baby can be crippling. To get an idea of how much a preemie can cost, consider a March of Dimes report that estimates employer expenditures for the first year of life for a premature or low-birth-weight baby to be $54,149 -- as opposed to $4,389 for an uncomplicated birth. The cost of having a baby can vary greatly, but it is almost guaranteed that the bills from having a healthy baby will be lower.



So when should you plan to conceive? The study mentioned above indicates that the summer months are the best time to conceive, as conceptions occurring June through August lead to higher birth weights. Research reveals a strong correlation between birth weight and newborn morbidity and mortality -- so, statistically speaking, your chances of having a healthy baby may go up if you conceive between June and August. That puts your delivery between March and May. Of course, there are many other factors that will play into your baby's health, but avoiding the flu season may be beneficial to you and your newest addition.



How Should Health Insurance Coverage Factor Into Your Decision?



If you are looking to have a baby -- whether you are insured or not -- 2014 is your year. The Affordable Care Act has ushered in major changes in women's health care coverage and costs, including the addition of coverage for maternity and newborn care.



If you're uninsured, you should consider purchasing insurance before getting pregnant. Receiving prenatal care early and often is highly recommended, so it's not just the cost of delivery that you should be worried about. Keep in mind that if you purchase insurance close to the Affordable Care Act's March 31 deadline, access to preconception care will not be covered until May 1. Uninsured women are less likely to access health services in general -- so being insured is an important part of preparing yourself for pregnancy.



Any insured woman in 2014 has access to many benefits under the ACA, and many of those benefits apply to pregnancy. One feature of the law is that women are allowed to self-refer to an OB/GYN -- that is, to pick their own pregnancy provider without a referral from a primary care doctor. This can be useful for women who wish to shop around for a high-value pregnancy provider. Lastly, you should be sure to do your research as to which services are covered by your insurance plan. While the ACA mandates that pregnancy care be covered, the details of what "maternity coverage" includes are still subject to what individual states deem to be "Essential Health Benefits."



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Jada Pinkett Smith Handles Weight Gain In The Most Inspiring Way

With the immense amount of pressure the entertainment and fashion industries put on women to look a certain way, it is wildly refreshing to see an A-lister embrace her body in a real way.



Jada Pinkett Smith posted the following inspiring photo to Facebook earlier this week, from a Feb. 22 Las Vegas event she attended with husband Will and daughter Willow. Smith notes she gained a little bit of weight and loves her new look, and encourages her 5.8 million Facebook fans to accept themselves just the same.



Such motivating words, Jada. We think you're beautiful always!

Post by Jada Pinkett Smith.

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Move of the Day

Move of the Day: Side Plank With Leg Lift





Incorporate this move into your regular exercise regimen or just take a few minutes to give it a try. Each day will be a different move so you can perform each exercise back to back (forming a routine) or individually. By implementing these moves into your daily routine you will begin to see noticeable changes in your body and an improved mental focus!



Benefits:

• Improves core strength and shoulder stability.


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• Burns fat while toning the entire body.


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• Increases strength in hips, which can help to relieve low back pain.


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• Defines abdominal muscles.


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• Improves posture.

How to do it:

1. Come onto your side with feet stacked on top of one another and elbow directly below shoulder.
   
   
   


2. Lift hips off the ground and extend top arm directly above shoulder. Once you have found stability, lift top leg up. Keep your core engaged and maintain a straight back the entire time.
   
   
   


3. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute each side. Try to include this move into your daily routine.

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Dessert Is Delicious, But Not Sinfully So

While National Eating Disorders Awareness Week ends March 1, this is an ongoing issue facing girls and boys alike.



Given the nature of what I do for a living (taking care of teenagers with eating disorders), it shouldn't come as a surprise that I can be rather sensitive to the food messages that we send. The problem is, though, that many of those messages are unconscious habits -- we don't realize we are even sending them. This became obvious when my kids were little. Well-meaning and loving friends and relatives would routinely say things to them like "oh, you are such a good eater" or "you are so good for eating all your food, you should get some extra dessert," or they would say things to others like "I shouldn't eat this candy, but I'm going to go ahead and be bad." The best example was a family favorite called "sinfully delicious dessert." Don't get me wrong, it was delicious; but sinful? Not so much. My poor friends and relatives would then have to deal with me going on for a bit about how food is neither inherently good nor bad and how it's all about moderation and balance. They were kind enough to realize that I can be that way sometimes, and probably thought that this was just an intellectual discussion since, after all, I have two sons. And, after all, eating disorders are really a girl's issue, right?



Wrong. Although the majority of those with eating disorders are girls and women, eating disorders, body image problems, obsessive exercising, and other problematic behaviors also affect boys and men. We used to think that there were 10 girls affected by eating disorders for every boy, but more recent studies have shown that the ratio is not 10 to 1, but more like 3 to 1. Additionally, problems like anorexia athletica and muscle dysmorphia were only first recognized about 15 years ago. These are problems in which men obsessively exercise. In anorexia athletic, men pay excessive attention to diet and weight in an attempt to meet a specific weight goal to improve their athletic performance to a degree that their self-esteem can be adversely affected. Muscle dysmorphia is a problem in which men feel significant distress and inadequacy due to a perceived lack of musculature and a preoccupation with gaining muscle without fat. Men with muscle dysmorphia may be, to an objective observer, incredibly fit, but perceive themselves as thin and weak. While both of these disorders involve behaviors that could be considered normal to a certain extent, they are carried to such extremes as to become pathological and cause severe emotional distress.



So does calling a concoction of chocolate pudding, cookies, and whipped cream "sinfully delicious" cause eating disorders? No, of course not. But assigning such moral attributes to food perpetuates a culture that can be dangerous for those kids who are at risk. And we should all examine our own habitual messages that we give about food and exercise. Food in moderation keeps us healthy, and exercise in moderation keeps us healthy. These are the messages we should deliver to our kids, girls and boys alike.



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