Is This Why High-Fiber Diets Help With Weight Loss?

Jesse Emspak, LiveScience Contributor

Published: 04/30/2014 02:25 PM EDT on LiveScience

Nutritionists have long known that eating more fiber is a good idea. It helps digestion, and evidence suggests it curbs appetite.

Now, new research on animals suggests that one reason fiber makes you less hungry is because after you eat it, your body produces a chemical called acetate — also found in vinegar — which changes brain cells that control hunger.

In experiments, mice and rats that were fed a high-fiber diet had more acetate in their guts, and those given acetate directly into the colon ate less than animals not given the compound, according to the study. [10 New Ways to Eat Well]

"There's a big body of literature that suggests metabolic activity of [gut bacteria] releases [hunger-suppressing] hormones," said study researcher Gary Frost, a professor of nutrition and dietetics at Imperial College, London. "Our paper shows that it's the short-chain fatty acid acetate, produced by biota in the colon."

In mammals – both rodents and humans – fiber is digested by bacteria in the colon, which release various chemicals as they work. Fiber gets broken down into acetate, among other things.

In one set of experiments, the researchers fed a group of mice a diet that was high in a type of fiber called inulin (not to be confused with the hormone insulin), which is found in foods such as bananas and garlic. Another group of mice was fed a diet low in that type of fiber.

After two months, the mice with the high-inulin diet had gained less weight, and an analysis of their colon content showed more acetate compared with the mice on the low-inulin diet.

Other studies suggested that fiber affects hunger by changing hormone levels, but Frost's team noted that their own previous work had found certain kinds of brain cells in the hypothalamus fired more often after high-fiber diets, and the hormones involved in appetite suppression actually suppress this kind of neuronal activity.

So in a second set of experiments, the researchers gave mice and rats acetate intravenously and via the colon. The acetate was tagged with radioactive carbon, so the researchers could track its path through the body with a PET scan.

About 3 percent of the acetate stayed in the bloodstream, and made its way to the brains of the mice, specifically their hypothalamuses, which regulate appetite.

This shows that acetate affects the brain and regulates hunger, the researchers said.

So does this mean drinking vinegar can help you lose weight? Frost noted that to get the same effect as eating fiber, a person would have to drink a lot, because vinegar is digested and much of the acetate in it breaks down. "You'd have to drink enough for it to get to the brain," he said. Drinking so much vinegar would be unhealthy — the chemical is quite acidic.

Frost said he and his team plan to do more research to tease out exactly how big the effect of fiber on hunger is. "With dietary fiber the actual effects are complex, it's one of a number of systems that have effects on appetite, and there are others."

Follow us @LiveScience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science .

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Can Doctors Thrive?

Arianna Huffington has a new book out called Thrive , and the subtitle begins to explain, "the Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder."



And sure, there's a conflict of interest by writing about Huffington's work on here; she is the CEO and president of this website. And yes, it's easy for a woman in her shoes to tell the rest of us to get more sleep, to worry less about things like job security and to spend more time meditating. Watching a group of privileged women on stage chatting about the benefits of relaxation can be off-putting.



With that said, I love the point of Thrive , as obvious as it may be, and I choose to write on it. The book, which Huffington has dedicated to her mother, reminds us to slow down and take care of ourselves. I believe this message has value for men and women, in many stations of life. Huffington's point is that we undervalue how we feel as we churn through our days. We limit ourselves, and our sense of satisfaction, by defining success in terms of money and power.



Thriving involves health and wellness. Huffington suggests that we might all draw more, and benefit, from our innate gifts of wisdom, generosity and kindness. Those are valuable qualities, indeed.



Now, you might ask: Why write, or read, a book like this? Most of us already know that it's wise to get more rest, to make time for those we care about, to hit the pause button and not drive ourselves crazy trying to meet deadlines or untenable standards of thoroughness and perfection. But most working people in my community haven't yet met their ambitions. We work too hard and too much. Even though we know, in principle, that we should be mindful, enjoying life hour-by-hour, finding value in each human interaction, we rush and focus on what's next.



And if we examine the third metric, "thrivefullness," among health care providers, we'll find the condition serious. Many doctors I know, and as I used to be, offer a concerning example of failure to thrive (in the Huffington, not medical, sense). Unless you're a radiologist or emergency room physician with limited hours, choose a physically "easy" field (forgive me, dermatology friends), practice concierge medicine, make a fortune by stopping medical practice altogether and working for an investment company or something along those lines, it's hard to be a good doctor and not be stressed out -- to get enough sleep, do yoga, whatever. All that Huffington says applies to most doctors, too.



Physician burnout, which is a huge problem, results in many (and probably most) cases from overwhelming demands on doctors' time and the enormous level of responsibility they face every day. And while doctors may genuinely want to take it easy, the reality is that most in middle age are running around, seeing more patients than is prudent, not having time to examine them properly or answer calls, not reading sufficiently about their patients' conditions, and for themselves, they are lacking time to go for a run, to read a novel, to prepare a healthy meal. The hours don't add up to 24.



I do believe that most patients want their physicians to thrive. I, for one, want my doctors to be well-rested and content. Because in those circumstances, they are most likely to provide thoughtful and compassionate care.



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Face Transplants Should Be Offered to More Patients, Surgeons Say

By Megan Gannon, News Editor

Published: 04/30/2014 02:25 PM EDT on LiveScience

Face transplants promise dramatic results for people left disfigured after animal attacks, fires, shootings and other grisly incidents, researchers say.

But the procedure is still in its infancy. It can cost well over $300,000 and is not covered by insurance companies. The surgery raises ethical dilemmas, too, because it's not life-saving like a liver transplant. Just 28 known full or partial face transplants have been performed worldwide since 2005, when doctors restored a French woman's nose and lips that had been chewed off by her pet Labrador.

In a new review of those 28 cases, a group of plastic and reconstructive surgeons says face transplants should be offered to more patients, as long as they meet certain criteria, because the operation is relatively safe and increasingly feasible. [The 9 Most Interesting Transplants]

For any kind of transplant, one of the greatest risks is rejection. To prevent the immune system from attacking new body parts, transplant patients often have to be put on an intense regimen of immunosuppressive drugs, which in turn leaves them more susceptible to illness and infections.

Of the 22 men and six women whose face transplants were reviewed, all experienced complications with infections, and there was at least one episode of transplant rejection, the doctors said. However, none chronically rejected their new organs or tissues.

Of the three patients who died since their transplants, the cause of death in each case was not directly linked to the surgery, but rather due to an unrelated infection or cancer, the doctors reported in The Lancet on April 27.

Most of the people who received face transplants, especially the seven patients in the United States, are "thriving" — speaking, chewing and rekindling their social lives, the researchers said.

"By far, the overriding factor in the success of face transplantation has been in selecting patients most likely to benefit from and succeed through what can best be described as the most complex of medical-surgical procedures," Dr. Eduardo Rodriguez, chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center, said in a statement. "This is a life-changing treatment that can take years to prepare for, and one that hopefully endures for the rest of the patient's life."

Rodriguez was part of the team that performed an extensive face transplant in 2012 on Richard Lee Norris, a then-37-year-old man from Hillsville, Va., who was mutilated in a gun accident nearly two decades ago. By 18 months after his surgery, Norris reported an improvement in the quality of his life, his body image and symptoms of depression, Rodriguez and colleagues wrote.

"People who volunteer to undergo this procedure do so for very serious health and psychological reasons," Dr. Rodriguez said in a statement. "It goes far deeper than looks. People willing to undergo facial transplantation are highly motivated to do so. Without facial transplantation as an option, many of these people would be at serious risk for severe depression, even potential suicide."

Rodriguez and colleagues noted that because a face transplant isn't a life-saving procedure, the surgery has been criticized for exposing otherwise healthy people to potentially lifelong risks of immunosuppression, which can include infections, cancer, graft loss and death. The doctors said ethical dilemmas can be avoided as long as the right patients are selected for surgery.

The best candidates for a face transplant will be patients who fully understand the consequences of immunosuppression and will be motivated and committed to complying with the intense post-operative rehab, psychological treatment and immunosuppression protocols, the doctors wrote. What's more, these patients should have a strong social support system — friends and family who can help them to address challenges, ranging from media exposure to body image adaptation.

Follow Megan Gannon on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science.

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How Stress Changes The Brain After A Disaster

By Bahar Gholipour, Staff Writer

Published: 04/29/2014 01:56 PM EDT on LiveScience

How well a person recovers from traumatic events may depend on in part on their self-esteem, according to researchers who examined the effects of a major earthquake on the survivors' brains.

The researchers had conducted brain scans of university students for a study before the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in 2011. After the earthquake, they repeated the scans on 37 of the same people, and tracked stress-induced changes in their brains in the following months.

"Most importantly, what these findings show, is that the brain is dynamic — that it's responding to things that are going on in our environment, or things that are part of our personality," said Rajita Sinha, professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine, who wasn't involved in the study. [Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind]

In the brain scans taken immediately after the incident, the researchers found a decrease in the volume of two brain regions, the hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex, compared with the scans taken before the incident.

One year later, the researchers repeated the scans and found that the hippocampus continued to shrink, and people's levels of depression and anxiety had not improved.

However, other changes in the brain had reversed, the researchers found: The volume of the orbitofrontal cortex had increased. Moreover, this increase was correlated with survivors' self-esteem scores soon after the earthquake, according to the study published today (April 29) in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.

The findings suggest that structural changes in the brain following a stressful event are not static, but dynamic, throughout one's lifetime, study researcher neuroscientist Atsushi Sekiguchi and his colleagues wrote in their study.

It is possible that people with higher self-esteem, which is important to a person's resilience in the face of stressful life events, can regulate emotional distress more successfully, and this is reflected in their brain changes, the researchers said.

The researchers noted that the study cannot show a cause-and-effect relationship, and it is difficult to know whether it really is higher self-esteem that results in better recovery from trauma, or something else that is related to self-esteem has a role.

Also, more research is needed to confirm that the stress-induced alterations in brain structure are indeed reversible, the researchers said.

But previous studies have found that highly stressful events can cause structural changes in both the orbitofrontal cortex and hippocampus.

"These regions are part of the network that takes the hit in a traumatic event, said Sinha, who studies the effects of stress on the brain.

The reason why the hippocampus and orbitofrontal regions are vulnerable to stress may lie in their biology.

"These regions are more affected because both respond to neurochemicals that are involved in the stress response, like cortisol, and also norepinephrine, which is our fight-or-flight neurochemical," Sinha told Live Science. "So when there's high impact of stress or trauma, you can imagine that there's a flooding with these neurochemicals, and that can affect the brain cells."

Email Bahar Gholipour or follow her @alterwired . Follow Live Science @livescience , Facebook & Google+ . Original article on Live Science.

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Is It Serenity or Just Not Giving a Damn?

At 59 years of age, I am well aware that a lot more than half my life has been lived. I find myself bemused by this fact, as well as interested in the process of aging as a whole. This "being a person of age" isn't quite what I expected.



Somehow as I was walking -- and often running -- through my younger years, I thought that I was on my way to arrive at some "place." This place was the goal, and there would be a "grown up" Robin there waiting to welcome me into the full wonder of maturity and adulthood. This place would be where all the answers rested and I would somehow know what the whole shebang was all about.



Well, surprise! This "arrival point" has not shown up. I am still on my way, and there doesn't seem to be a prescribed destination at all. There is just a series of adventures -- some outrageous, some sorrowful and many hilarious -- that I get to explore and contemplate. These years under my belt have given me greater discernment and a choosing curiosity about life. I now survey the world around me and then decide whether I want to participate in it -- or not. What freedom!



As I move through these later years of my becoming, I realize that I have taken in, gone through and learned quite a bit. My body, heart, mind and soul are the repositories of many experiences -- good and bad -- that have seasoned me. I have a "been-there-done-that" mindset that provides a slowing down and a more thoughtful attitude about much that before would have made me itchy, bitchy and twitchy.



This longer-lived perspective allows me to take a deep breath and a larger view, as I consciously step back from things. The only person I can ever really change or do anything about is myself. I must choose my own path and live my own life. Experience and "hard knocks" have driven this point home to my brain and my being -- often and painfully. What can I actually do about the national debt? Do I really want to bend my grey matter and energy in concern over the latest fashion? Is there any real purpose to my losing sleep over who the next president will be?



With the widening of my life span, it seems there is a narrowing of my sense of immediacy and need to control. There is a sloughing off of the desire to be intimately involved in the "new and improved" and "oh my God this in important!" stuff that yammers for my attention. There is a feeling of serenity -- of letting things take care of themselves.



Ah, but another thought now raises itself to my consciousness. Is this behavior the result of my becoming centered and realizing a sense of peace with the "who" of who I am? Or, is it that I have seen enough and been through enough, that I just simply no longer give a damn?



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Experiment Grows New Muscle In Men's Injured Legs Using Material From Pigs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists implanted thin sheets of scaffolding-like material from pigs into a few young men with disabling leg injuries — and say the experimental treatment coaxed the men's own stem cells to regrow new muscle.



The research, funded by the Defense Department, included just five patients, a small first step in the complex quest for regenerative medicine. But the researchers described some of the men improving enough to no longer need canes, or to ride a bicycle again, after years of living with injuries that today have no good treatment.



"The real rush for someone like myself is to see this patient being able to do these things and not struggle and have a smile on his face," said Dr. Stephen Badylak of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He led the study, which was reported Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine.



Muscles have some natural ability to regenerate after small injuries. But if too much is lost — from a car accident, a sports injury or, for soldiers, a bomb blast — the body can't heal properly. Hard scar tissue fills the gap instead. Called volumetric muscle loss, a severe enough injury can leave an arm or leg essentially useless.



The new experiment combines bioengineering with a heavy dose of physical therapy to spur stem cells that are roaming the body to settle on the injury and turn into the right kind of tissue to repair it.



First, surgeons remove the scar tissue.



Then they implant something called an "extracellular matrix" derived from pigs. It's the connective scaffolding that remains after cells are removed from a tissue. (Without cells, the immune system doesn't reject it.) Such material has been used for many years as a kind of mesh in treatments for skin ulcers and in hernia repair.



What's new here: The matrix temporarily fills in the injury, between edges of remaining muscle. As the scaffolding slowly degrades, it releases chemical signals that attract stem cells to the site, Badylak said.



Then physical therapy puts tension on the spot, in turn signaling the stem cells that they need to form strong, stretchy muscle tissue, he said. Without the exercise, Badylak cautioned, those cells won't get the message to boost muscle mass, and scar tissue could return.



To start proving that's what happens, Badylak's team first removed chunks of leg muscle from mice and administered the treatment. In-depth tests showed which cells moved in, and showed that they created working muscle.



Then it was time for human testing, with three military veterans and two civilians. Each had lost between 60 percent and 90 percent of an affected leg muscle — two from the thigh, the rest from the lower leg — anywhere from about a year to seven years earlier.



The men, in their 20s and 30s, underwent a few months of customized physical therapy to get their muscle function to its maximum capacity.



Then they received the implants, followed by more physical therapy that began within 48 hours after surgery.



Six months later, biopsies and medical scans showed some new muscle grew in all the men. Three patients were officially deemed a success because their legs were stronger by 20 percent or more after the surgery. They had dramatic improvements in tests showing they could hop or squat on the injured leg. Badylak said the two other men had some improvement in balance and quality of life, but not enough to meet the study's definition of success.



Nick Clark, 34, of Youngwood, Pa., suffered severe muscle loss after he broke his lower leg in a skiing accident. He had a hard time balancing and taking stairs, and sometimes needed a cane. He tried to ride his bike but his left leg was too weak to pedal far.



He received the experimental therapy in 2012. It didn't restore him to normal, but he now reports biking "quite a distance" and playing pingpong, his left leg finally strong enough to pivot around the table.



"Day to day, that's had a pretty big impact just to be able to walk that much better," Clark said. "It's been a significant difference. I was hoping for more improvement when I first did it, but yeah, I'm definitely still pleased with it."



Researchers around the country are exploring different ways to spur the regeneration of various body parts, and many focus on injecting stem cells or tissues grown from them. Wednesday's approach is more novel.



"This strategy obviously has some merit," said professor George Christ of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, who wasn't involved with the new study. While larger studies must verify the findings, "the concept of physical therapy coupled with these regenerative strategies is going to be really important."



The Pittsburgh study is continuing, and Badylak would like to test as many as 50 more patients. He said that the technique probably would work better after a recent injury but that researchers needed to begin with old injuries to prove that physical therapy alone couldn't explain the muscle regrowth.



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The Tech Company That's Hard-Coded To Put People First

At SPARC, employees aren't allowed to have two bad days in a row. Here's how a little homegrown technology helps make sure it doesn't happen.



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How These 6 Busy Leaders Find Time To Give Back

Between work, family and financial obligations, busyness has become a full-blown epidemic, leaving scores of men and women feeling stressed out, dissatisfied with their lives and utterly zapped of energy.



The antidote? Giving, it turns out.



"Research has proven that compassion and giving are a short cut to happiness," HuffPost President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington explained at The Huffington Post's Thrive conference last week. "If you give people an opportunity to be generous, their happiness increases."



But finding that time isn't always easy.



We asked several of the panelists at the Thrive event -- very busy people in their own right -- for their take on how people can find time to give back to their communities in a meaningful way. Here's some of their best advice.



We all find time to do the things we love. So rather than trying to do something charitable for the sake of being charitable, find what you love and are good at, and share it with other people. That's the best kind of charity.

--Andy Puddicombe, Headspace co-founder



Think of something that feels frictionless. Don't say "I'm going to go build a community garden," when you have no idea how to do that and your mornings are busy with kids. My first love was to go to the gym and jump on an exercise bike, so I got involved with Cycle for Survival. Be authentic to yourself and give the gifts you have in abundance. And if it ain't cash, don't worry about it. You've got other stuff to give.

--Lucy Danziger, former editor-in-chief, SELF magazine; well-being lifestyle expert



The role of business is not to make as much money as possible; it's to give back. Every business has a role to play in that, and if your company isn't giving back, if they're not playing a role in the community in a way that is meaningful for you, then maybe it's not the right place to work.

--Dr. David Agus, M.D., professor, USC Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering; CBS News contributor



Try and pick one thing you can really stand for, especially because it seems like the busier you are, the more people want from you, and it can get hard to say "yes" to all your friends, and all their causes. I've found that when I started standing for one main thing that I give back to, it became so much easier to know what to say "yes" and "no" to.

--Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO, Zuckerberg Media; editor-in-chief, Dot Complicated



Busy people can easily give back by making introductions. A well-done introduction can be life changing for the people who receive it.

--Adam Grant, author and professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania



You're never too busy to find one hour a week that you dedicate to giving back.
--Maysoon Zayid, actress, professional standup comedian and writer



These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity and length.





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Savor the Moment

You can remember the past and dream about the future, but the only time you experience life is right now. Savoring this moment is of utmost importance, since perspective of the past and future is often biased and attention in the present is often scattered. This is how life is missed. Research shows that we are bad at predicting what will make us happy in the future and skewed towards the negative with the natural tendency to remember what went wrong in the past. You can learn to savor the moment and by extension savor your well-lived life by practicing SAVOR: sense, appreciate, vitalize, open your heart, and rest.



First, completely engage your senses. As you read, notice what you are seeing... the letters, the screen, and what is in your peripheral vision. What sounds do you hear? Perhaps you hear the hum of the refrigerator or the chirping of birds outside. What are you touching? Are your hands on the smooth mouse or keyboard or resting on the soft fabric of your pants? What do you smell? A co-worker's perfume, lunch, or perhaps the absence of smell altogether? What do you taste? The lingering coffee sensation in the mouth, peppermint gum or toothpaste, or just a smooth mouth with a no-taste sensation?



Next, cultivate gratitude. Just listing what you are grateful for or telling someone how much you appreciate them increases happiness. There is no reason to wait if your aim is to savor this moment. Right now, what are you thankful for? It can be as simple as air to breathe or the chair you are sitting on. It can be as large as life itself or the earth that supports you.



Third, notice the level of your vitality when you consciously pay attention to savoring the moment. Being distracted decreases positive emotions In contrast, notice the impact of being mindful. To whatever extent possible, congratulate yourself on your ability to savor, and recognize the role you play in heightening the awareness of the vital life you are living. Acknowledge the choice you are making to focus your attention towards a savoring mindset. How has that intention affected you?



Next, open your heart and wish this good feeling for yourself more often, and wish it for others as well. Mentally spread the goodness, extending the felt sense of savoring within you and outwardly for family, friends, community, or those that are right next to you now that you may not even know. Most health advice calls for more exercise, eating more fruits and veggies, and decreasing stress, smoking and drinking. Recent science shows us that sharing micro moments of savoring, love, or other positive emotions improves physical health, too. Strengthen the life-giving power of opening your heart.



Finally, rest. The above steps take a certain level of deliberate mental focus and sustained effort. As you complete your savoring moment, surrender. Sink into the experience, softening the need to do, notice, or direct anything. Give yourself a breath or two to just steep.



No one wants to waste life. We all want to experience the richness and beauty of living. Why wait? This moment, here and now, is ready to be savored.







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Kentucky Derby 2014 TV schedule

Kentucky Derby 2014 TV schedule features live coverage of the 140th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3, at 4pm ET on NBC from Churchill Downs in Louisville, for the first leg of horse racing’s elusive Triple Crown (sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes). Santa Anita Derby winner California Chrome is the favorite. Other contenders include Danza, Intense Holiday, Vinceremos, We Miss Artie, General a Rod, Harry’s Holiday, Vicar’s In Trouble, Hopportunity, Chitu, Dance With Fate, Wicked Strong, Samraat, Wildcat Red, Ride On Curlin, Tapiture, Medal Count, Candy Boy, Uncle Sigh and Commanding Curve. Pablo Del Monte is … Continue reading →

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Supernatural recap: “Bloodlines”

On this week’s episode of The CW’s Supernatural, the show is a little different, serving as a backdoor pilot for a possible Supernatural spinoff called Bloodlines. The show has come away a little bit from what’s been happening with the fallen angels and Metatron (Curtis Armstrong), and instead opens up with a lovely scene of a couple at dinner. It’s one of those special dinners where you just know the man, Ennis (Lucien Laviscount), is about to propose. That gets interrupted, though, when two other strangers walk in. In the back of the restaurant there seemed to be a sort … Continue reading →

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The 5 Keys to Living a Happy and Successful Life

I recently I lost my grandfather. He was 85, and although he put up a heck of a fight against brain cancer, he eventually lost the battle. I know that's not a typical way to start a piece that's supposed to be about happiness, but read on.



My grandfather wasn't an ordinary man. He was pretty extraordinary. A child of the depression he realized early on that he wanted to be in control of his own destiny. He was an entrepreneur and ran a successful business for many years. And he was a writer.



I always remember him talking about the latest play he was working on. Getting published was a lot more difficult without the digital age to aid him, but he did manage to get a play published in the "Best Short Plays of 1959-60."



A few days ago we found something when we were going through some paperwork, which I am going to share with you. It shouldn't come as a surprise to me that he wrote it -- I always knew he was brilliant. But what was surprising was just how relevant it was to me, and to everyone I've shared it with since finding it. So I wanted to publish it; to share it with you, and to give the most fitting tribute I know how to give to a great man -- getting published one last time. At the end of the day we are all just visiting here, but it's what we leave behind, our wisdom, that is the best legacy of a full life. My grandfather had wisdom in no short supply.



The 5 Keys To Living A Happy and Successful Life

By: Paul Goldman





1. Since part of life is struggle, the key resource in struggle is not to give up. Whether that struggle is with life threatening health problems or professional or personal problems, if one doesn't give up there is every chance of prevailing, and if one can't prevail then one can co-exist with the problem and still manage to have a good life.



2. Bring to everything you do your best. If it is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Bring a sense of importance and caring to what you do. Be proud of being thought of as a person who cared.



3. Avoid harsh judgments of others. The world and human beings are too complex to permit sweeping judgments. To deeply resent or hate another person is to partake of a certainty that doesn't exist. There are no certainties.



4. Take prudent risks. Without the capacity to run calculated risks there is no chance for enhancement. Avoid rash acts or risks. These can bring trouble, and if one can avoid trouble there will be plenty of room for a decent life.



5. Bring your best energies to contributing to helping others. It is among the few things that is truly fulfilling. I always think of what Rabbi Menachem Schneerson the revered leader of the Lubavitcher often said, "A single act of kindness changes the world forever."



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Accept Difficulity

Is it hard?

The Practice:

Accept difficulty.

Why?



Sometimes things are difficult. Your legs are tired and you still have to stay on your feet another hour at work. You love a child who's finding her independence through emotional distance from you. A long-term relationship could be losing its spark. It's finals week in college. You're trying to start a business and it's struggling. You've got a chronic health problem or a disability. Sometimes people don't appreciate your work. You're being discriminated against or otherwise treated unjustly. The body ages, sags, and grows weary.



Plus there are all the little hassles of everyday life. You're in an airport and can't get wifi (the injustice!). You're at home looking for the ice cream and someone ate the last of it. You're talking to your partner and realize he or she isn't really paying attention.



To observe that life contains unavoidable difficulty is not to minimize its impacts or to suggest that we should give up trying to make life better. But people -- me included -- add a lot of unnecessary frustration, anxiety, and self-criticism by resisting difficulty -- often with an underlying attitude of "it shouldn't be this way."



Try the attitude of accepting difficulty instead of getting aggravated by it. It's a lot more peaceful.



How?



How In the moment, start by acknowledging any stress, weariness, frustration, anxiety, or pain. Open to the impact on your body and mind of whatever is difficult. Let the experience be whatever it is. Try to step back from it and observe it. Let it flow... flowing through you... and flowing on out the door.



For sure have self-compassion, the simple wish that a being not suffer applied to yourself. Say to yourself things like: ouch, this hurts, I wish it didn't... may I not suffer.



Then step back. See if there is any resistance to things being difficult, and see if you can let it go. Perhaps there's a belief deep down that life should be fulfilling, peaceful, buffered from pain. Keep softening around the inherent difficulties in living, dealing with them as best you can but not struggling with them. Notice that when you stop resisting a difficulty, it starts feeling less difficult.



As appropriate, try on the attitude: I signed up for this. Not to blame yourself for things that have happened to you or to discount your stress or weariness, but to establish yourself in a relationship of choice toward whatever is difficult. For example, stuck in traffic toward work, remind yourself that this is part of making a living; awakened yet again by your baby, feel in your body yet again your choosing to be a parent; under any conditions you could recognize again your ongoing choice to be alive. Say to yourself: This is difficult and that's okay. I accept the difficulty here. Yes, it's difficult, and so what?



It's okay that things are difficult. That's part of what gives them their savor. Not all fulfilling experiences are grounded in some difficulty, but many are. Honor yourself for the hard things you're dealing with. And be aware of the things that are not difficult in your life, including the things that do support you.



In particular, keep up your personal practices during difficult times, such as exercise, meditation, moments of gratitude, protein at every meal, and doing things that nurture you. The more difficult your life, the more you need to take care of yourself.



Difficulties come and go. Meanwhile, your own good qualities and the good things in life persist and remain.



Rick Hanson, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologist and New York Times best-selling author. His books include Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence (in 13 languages), Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom (in 25 languages), Just One Thing: Developing a Buddha Brain One Simple Practice at a Time (in 13 languages), and Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships. Founder of the Wellspring Institute for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom and on the Advisory Board of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, he's been an invited speaker at Oxford, Stanford, and Harvard, and taught in meditation centers worldwide. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, his work has been featured on the BBC, NPR, CBC, FoxBusiness, Consumer Reports Health, U.S. News and World Report, and O Magazine and he has several audio programs with Sounds True. His weekly e-newsletter - Just One Thing - has over 100,000 subscribers, and also appears on Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and other major websites.



For more information, please see his full profile at www.RickHanson.net.



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The Truth About Protein: What You Need to Know

A study published in the journal of Cell Metabolism last month (March 4, 2014) found that diets consisting of moderate to high protein in adults over the age of 50 to be associated with increased diabetes-related mortality. This study was reported on in the Wall Street Journal under the title of "The Risk of High-Protein Diets" and also found that adults aged 50-65 who reported moderate to high protein intake had an increase in cancer deaths. However, the study also found that in those older than age 65, the same moderate or high protein intake was associated with lower cancer deaths. With regard to cardiovascular mortality (heart disease), reported moderate or high protein intake was associated with lower mortality in both age groups. The Wall Street Journal report lead many of my patients to question their protein intake and inquire whether protein as a macronutrient should be reduced in their own diets.



The most concise answer that I can give to this type of question is it depends on your present state of health, as well as the distribution of total calories consumed between protein, fat, and carbohydrates.



The data compiled in the recent study is scattered in its relevance, based on age, and does not provide any concrete evidence of health concerns due to high-protein diets. As a physician who has spent close to 20 years helping people lose weight for the primary purpose of health improvement, this new study is concerning and deserves attention. In my practice, protein plays a large role in helping people lose weight. Additionally, it should not be lost that countless studies have proven time and time again that being overweight increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.



Further analysis of this study shows it to have flaws, like many health-related studies, that should be taken into account when drawing broad conclusions such as those put forth by the study authors, and reported in the Wall Street Journal. The data used in the Cell Metabolism study is based on a self-reported study that asked 6,000 adults over 50 to cite an average day of their diet, and then subsequently tracked them through 18 years, with no follow-up dietary questions. Essentially, the method used to glean the information upon which the cautionary headlines about protein have been drawn was a one-time questionnaire and a follow up to assess health outcomes 18 years later. The authors clearly state in the study's limitations that this could result in less-than-accurate data collection. While this may be the only feasible way of conducting such a study and receiving as many results, we must question the sheer validity.



Another important limitation I found while looking at the study's participants as a whole is that the group reported eating 1,823 calories a day; 51 percent of the calories were from carbohydrates, 33 percent of the calories were from fat and 16 percent of the calories were from protein. This would support an under-reporting of food intake, which mirrors what is seen in clinical practice. Since the calorie count is lower than expected, based on many additional studies, the actual protein, carbohydrate and fat recorded could also be skewed. This is a threat to the internal validity of the study and questions the foundation upon which its conclusions are based.



In the study, researchers did an analysis that controlled for reported animal-based protein intake and the cancer mortality was eliminated or significantly reduced, but the same was not seen when plant protein intake was controlled for. The researchers stated this indicates that the animal proteins promote cancer mortality and not that plant-based proteins have a protective effect. Several studies have shown that red meat and processed meat intake is associated with increased cancer risk, especially colorectal cancer. Other studies show that cooking red meat at high heats increases the creation of carcinogens, but this is not found when cooking poultry or fish at high heats. In this study there was no analysis done to separate red meat from leaner animal protein sources such as poultry and fish, which raises the question of whether the conclusion that animal proteins as a total category lead to higher rates of cancer mortality is accurate. We simply do not know to what extent those who reported moderate to high protein intake chose red meat or other animal protein sources.



What do we know about protein?



Given the potential questions of validity in the recent study's conclusions, let's turn our focus back on what we actually know about protein. We know that protein plays a large role in weight loss, weight maintenance and an overall healthy lifestyle. From my research, and over 20 years of practicing bariatric medicine, I have also found that most of my patients struggling with weight and medical conditions do not eat enough protein, or importantly spread protein intake appropriately throughout the day for ideal utilization of important amino acids. In my practice, 89 percent of my patients have signs of Metabolism Dysfunction, one of the primary contributors to the medical condition that causes the majority of mortality in the United States. The biggest threats that patients face with Metabolism Dysfunction are heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, obesity, dementia and many types of cancer.



Correcting metabolism dysfunction is quite often the means to the end in helping my patients lose weight, and protein plays a key part in this process. I recommend a dietary plan that includes 25-30 grams of protein at each and every meal, as well as snacks rich in 10-15 grams of protein. By the standards of the recent Cell Metabolism study, that would be regarded as a high-protein diet.



Protein is helpful in correcting Metabolism Dysfunction because it does not signal the same type of rapid insulin release as carbohydrates do. I find that meals or snacks consisting of primarily carbohydrates tend to cause blood sugar to rise too quickly and then fall too rapidly in my patients with Metabolic Dysfunction. This rapid rise and fall produces a hunger that is not like typical hunger. Symptoms such as feeling weak and shaky, headachy or significant irritability are often present. My patients feel they need to eat and eat fast. Usually the types of food they reach for are more carbohydrates or sugars which only lead to further hunger and the net effect of more calories consumed over the course of the day. This dietary plan for metabolism correction with the regular intake of lean protein, along with a balance of complex carbohydrates and healthy fats helps in reducing body fat and reducing the risk factors for obesity-related diseases. This begs the question: How is it possible that in one study, moderate to high protein intake was linked to increased diabetes mortality as well as an increased rate of cancer mortality in certain groups, but not others, when in regular interactions and follow ups with my patients, it reduces both across all age groups?



Where do we go from here?



So after all this, where am I with my dietary recommendations for my patients for weight loss and weight maintenance afterward? I find it is most critical for overall improved health, to correct the metabolic dysfunction that makes weight gain so easy and weight loss so challenging. That involves the intake of a lower calorie diet that contains adequate lean protein, controlled carbohydrate and controlled fat intake. Lean protein means poultry, fish, low fat dairy, vegetable sources such as non-GMO soy or pea based protein powders and limited red meat. I will still recommend the intake of animal-based protein in the weight loss process because of the balance of higher protein coupled with the lower carbohydrate content level it contains compared to vegetarian based dishes such as beans and rice, which have three or four times as much carbohydrate content as protein. In the weight loss process, controlling carbohydrate intake is critical to reverse the physical symptoms of hunger and sweet cravings that sabotage sincere willpower.



Metabolic dysfunction is treatable and reversible with the metabolism correcting diet and weight loss. Once metabolic dysfunction resolves, my patients still need lean protein but can replace animal based proteins with more vegetarian options because their tolerance for carbohydrates has increased with correcting the metabolic dysfunction. We can look at lab work today and see improvements in blood sugar, cholesterol levels, triglycerides that equate with better long term health. We can see improvements in body composition testing which shows loss of body fat, decreased readings on the scale and a smaller waist circumference that we know is also associated with improved health outcomes. To date, there are not markers in lab testing that show our future risk of cancer mortality. To stack the odds in my patient's favor, I recommend correcting the metabolic abnormalities we know are associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and many cancers, and then transition this successful meal plan to one that incorporates more non-GMO vegetarian protein and less animal protein for long term weight maintenance.



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One More Year: Please May I Have Another?

Jennifer over San Diego




"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." -- Mae West



This month I turn 51. A year ago I wasn't sure I'd have another birthday. Thinking about the significance of the day, I've been reflecting on a few memorable birthdays:



2013: I turned WTFifty. I had just finished chemo and radiation. I was bald, and tired of being punctured, poisoned, bruised and burned. I wanted and needed something joyful. Harlan threw me a fabulous all-day party in our home. Friends came from every facet of our lives, and I was touched and grateful to see each one. My first ever birthday as a married person. My first ever birthday with cancer.



2007: My 44th birthday was spent with a group of 20 friends at Chateau Villette near Paris, thanks to my friend Ann Stephenson. Ann introduced me to the motto, "Have red dress, will travel," and showed me that, even suffering from severe illness, you can throw one hell of a party with the right guests and the right chateau.




Jennifer and Kenji at Chateau Villette, France, 2007




2003: I celebrated 40 with a SanFranTastic black tie soirée at the Top of the Mark, overlooking the glittering City by the Bay.



1997: On holiday in the U.K. before starting my exciting new job at Oracle, I stayed with the ever-effervescent Sarah Kinnoch who plied me with champagne and gave me a boozy birthday bash in London.



1995: While backpacking through Latin America, I got stranded in Nicaragua over Semana Santa, Holy Week. None of the buses ran and everything was closed. Managua was hot and horrible. A depressing, post-apocalyptic sort of place. But I was able to hitch a ride into the countryside and spent a quiet 32nd birthday in a pretty mountain village, with Isabel Allende's "Eva Luna" for company.



1993: For my 30th birthday I went to Tibet and Nepal with two friends. Traveling overland through Tibet, we slept in our coats and boots we were so cold. There was no running water in the little guest houses, and one night I discovered mouse poop in my bed. We arrived at a beautiful, luxurious hotel in Kathmandu on my birthday. Hot shower, warm dinner, then dancing to the Fine Young Cannibals late into the night, at the top of the world.



1992: I had just moved to Hong Kong and didn't know a soul apart from my new flatmate, Ann, who kindly offered to take me out to the Lan Kwai Fong nightlife district. Late in the evening, we met a charming young Brit named Chris, who after that first night became Ann's boyfriend, our sometime roommate, and eventually Ann's husband. Ann and Chris Reilly have been my dear friends now for more than 20 years, and it was wonderful to spend time with them in France and Spain last fall.



1991: My dad was in Tokyo for business and came to visit me in rural Kumamoto, where I taught English for two years. We taught a class together at my school, and had a picnic under the cherry blossoms at Kumamoto castle.




Jennifer and Alex teach an English class in Kumamoto, Japan, 1991.




1983: I can't say for certain, but I would bet that my 20th birthday included an all-night game of quarters on the 10th floor of the Danielsen dorm at Boston University.



And I remember many childhood birthday parties when my mother would bake nickels into chocolate cake. Chewing carefully, each bite was a thrill, and I was always pleased to have a few nickels on my plate when I had polished off my slice of cake.




Jennifer and Joanna, 1967.




Looking back I realize that I'm quite fond of birthdays. Please, may I have another?





This column originally appeared on parade.com. For more by Jennifer Glass, click here. "Like" Jennifer's Facebook page here. See her video, A Photo a Day: One Year with Cancer.



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I Am a Kind Mama

I have something very important to tell you, so I need you to listen up.



Are you ready for it?



Celebrities are not experts on anything other than being a celebrity.



They're not.



They're not doctors. They aren't psychologists. They aren't researchers, or social workers, or childcare providers. They aren't chefs (although they have them). They aren't home organization gurus (although they employ them). And they definitely aren't pediatricians (although they take their kids to them).



So why are we taking advice from them?



Now, don't get me wrong. I would love for Alicia Silverstone to tell me the secret to an amazing audition. Or what it was like acting in one of the biggest teen movies of all time. Or how to get the perfect beachy blow-out (scratch that, I'm sure her hairstylist did it). And let's be honest. If Jenny McCarthy could tell me exactly how to get a body like that, I might even let her convince me to pose somewhere in a bathing suit. But why would I ask these ladies how to parent? They're no more of a parenting expert than the lady behind me in the Starbucks line, and we all know what happens when you take parenting advice from nosy strangers. And yet Alicia Silverstone and Jenny McCarthy, both actors, have written books about parenting. The internet is buzzing right now about Silverstone's book, and her (non-professional, completely subjective) opinion on how being a "kind mama" can save mothers everywhere from things like postpartum depression, infertility, even disposable diapers and cancer.



And some people are buying it.



Why?



Because moms like you and me are terrified.



We're terrified that we're doing it wrong. We're terrified that someone knows better than we do, that someone out there can see right through us. We stay awake at night wondering if we listened enough, made them wash their hands enough, turned off the TV enough, made healthy enough dinners, answered enough questions about death and bugs and where poop comes from and why flowers need sunlight. We re-live every moment of every day, as we question if we are good enough, nice enough, patient enough, crafty enough, kind enough mothers.



Alicia Silverstone is smart enough to know that scaring people sells books. People like to be told what to do when they're scared. People want to feel like they belong. Never mind celebrities being "just like us." We want to be "just like them." So to my kind mama neighbors, listen up. This is a big one.



You were kind already.



You are kind because you wake up seven times at night to feed your tiny baby, the best way that you know how.



You are kind because as soon as the baby goes back to sleep, your toddler wakes up. And instead of pretending that you don't hear her, you climb into bed with her for one more snuggle. Even though it cramps your neck to squish into her little bed.



You are kind because you made breakfast, lunch and dinner for three kids and your husband, and did the dishes after the kids went to bed.



You are kind because you drove two friends in the carpool today, and you only yelled once.



You are kind because you recognized your postpartum depression, and you asked for help.



You are kind because you wipe noses and water spills and bottoms.



You are kind because you look out for other mamas, and offer hugs in the preschool parking lot.



You are kind because you survived IVF, and you're waiting white-knuckled for a birth mother to choose you.



You are kind because you listen to your 4-year-old sing "Let It Go" thirteen thousand times a day, and you try really hard not to roll your eyes or wince. Mostly.



You are kind because you were on bed rest, and you brought your baby safely into this world.



You are kind because you are fighting addiction one step at a time, so that you can be present for your kids each day.



You are kind because you are wearing a stretched-out bra and jeans from six years ago, because every last penny pays for field trips and school supplies and a surprise ice cream cone when your fourth grader aces a math test.



You are kind because you knew what type of birth experience was best for you, and you fought like hell to have it.



You are kind because you remember to take your medication every day.



You are kind because you do your best. Over and over and over again.



You are kind because you hold my baby when I have to pee.



You are kind because you pay attention, and ask questions, and trust your instincts, and do your research.



You are the gatekeeper for your family. You. You are the memory-maker, the argument-settler, the cheerleader, the security guard. You are the cuddler, the lover, the forgiver, the leader. You are beautifully flawed in all of the right ways, and perfect whenever you need to be.



So put the book down, Mama. You don't need it. You've got this. I see you -- we all see you. And your kindness shines brighter than the shooting star of celebrity. Trust yourself. Trust your experience. Trust that the love that you have for your children is stronger than the fear that you have of failing. Don't let the airbrushing and the designer clothes fool you. The real expert is behind the wheel of your minivan, scarfing down a sandwich in the carpool line. Actors get paid to pretend. Your worth is measured in the kindness that you share with your children. You know what you can do with the money that you were going to spend on that book? Give it to the real expert. You deserve it, Mama.








This post originally appeared on Mama By The Bay







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We're Pretty Sure Brukwine Is The Sexiest Workout Ever, Wowzas (VIDEOS)

Just when we thought the Beyoncé Dance Class was the sexiest way to sweat off those extra pounds, we stand corrected. Enter Brukwine.



The Dancehall-inspirired workout is a body-moving, sweat-inducing, twerk-filled class and after watching nearly every video on the company's Instagram account (@brukwineaddiction), we can't wait to try. With that said, it's no surprise that the word Brukwine is the Jamaican term for "breaking out and letting loose."



SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEOS



The sultry workout was created in 2012 by professional dancers Tamara Marrow and Autavia (Tavia) Bailey, who became friends while touring with and starring in videos for reggae star Sean Paul. The ladies have also busted a move with music icons like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, so it's clear they are beyond qualified to get folks whipped into shape.



"Brukwine is very sexy, and very feminine. We use a lot of waist movements that really tone your legs and give you a great cardio workout," Bailey told Racked. "People come to our class and think they are just going to dance but they finish drenched in sweat. You can burn up to 1000 calories."



And it's not only the dance moves that are hot, class participants usually wear booty shorts, high heels (or wedge sneakers) and full faces of makeup to the workshops. "You want to look sexy when your watching yourself move in the mirror the whole time," Bailey explained to Racked.



Right now the classes are primarily offered in New York City, however the ladies also travel around the country spreading their hip-winding workouts. Come June the routine will add one permanent home to its schedule at Miami Crunch gyms.



Here's a look at the sexy workout. Would you sign up for a class? Tell us in the comments section below























And if you're into other sexy, fat-burning activities...





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University Of Miami Students Learn To Unplug And Recharge With Puppies And Massages

Tuesday was a mostly normal day at the University Of Miami, except that students spent their afternoon getting massages, playing with puppies and blowing bubbles.



The Huffington Post partnered with the university to set up an oasis on the Foote Green area of campus, offering a chance to take a break from cramming for finals to relax in the sun. Students were able to pet animals, get chair massages courtesy of the UMiami wellness center, partake in meditation sessions or just grab a nap in a hammock.



There were iPads preloaded with the HuffPost app "GPS For The Soul." Cold juices were provided by JugoFresh. The dogs came from a local adoption center.



Everything was complimentary, including the healthy snacks from Kind, beauty treatments and yoga. The goal, as Arianna Huffington likes to say, is to help learn to unplug and recharge. An inspiration board allowed students to share how they destress in their own lives.



Why dogs though? Because research shows interacting with animals can releive stress and anxiety.



The college oasis is an extension of what HuffPost brought to the national political conventions in 2012. These campus visits are being timed to help ease stress close to final exams.



The Huffington Post plans to bring these college oases to other campuses as well. You can expect to us at New York University's campus in mid-May and at the University of California-Los Angeles in early June.



Check out photos of the University of Miami oasis below:












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'Jeopardy!' Contestant Arthur Chu Just Schooled His Critics

We'll take "You just got burned" for 1,000, Alex.



The "Jeopardy!" contestant everyone loved to hate is shutting down his critics on Twitter with, what else, a workout selfie. Arthur Chu, the 30-year-old trivia whiz, who won 11 times on the show, is back for his next 15 minutes of fame. Chu's unapologetic style of jumping around the board rather than using the traditional method of knocking out a single category didn't gain him many fans during his time on the game show, but their dislike of Chu went beyond the scoreboard.



After dealing with plenty of tweets about his weight -- none of them positive -- Chu took to the social media site to address the negative feedback. And he did it in a very Chu kind of way.

Against my better judgment here's a #workoutselfie so you can see the result of all the Twitter fat jokes http://ift.tt/1ftBORU

— Arthur Chu (@arthur_affect) April 30, 2014

Apparently, the former "Jeopardy!" contestant has been hitting the gym and has lost 25 pounds since New Years. Take that, haters!



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Celebrities Join The White House In PSA Against Sexual Assault (VIDEO)

The White House released a new "1 is 2 Many" PSA Tuesday, featuring President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and actors Daniel Craig, Benicio Del Toro, Dulé Hill, Seth Meyers and Steve Carell delivering a powerful message against sexual assault occurring on college campuses and elsewhere.



The video was posted in conjunction with the release of a report from a White House task force on college sexual assault this week. The report, as Biden made clear in remarks at a White House event Tuesday, emphasizes men's role in ending sexual violence.



The White House writes about the campaign on their website:

Despite the significant progress made in reducing violence against women, there is still a long way to go. Young women still face the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault. In the last year, one in 10 teens have reported being physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend. One in five young women have been sexually assaulted while they’re in college. While men compromise a smaller number of survivors, male survivors are no less important.



In response to these alarming statistics, Vice President Biden is focusing his longstanding commitment to reducing violence against women specifically on teens, students, and young women ages 16-24. The Vice President pushed for the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, and he remains committed to supporting all survivors.



Vice President Biden also joined President Obama when he created the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, co-chaired by the Office of the Vice President and the Council of Women and Girls. The Task Force is releasing a new initiative, Not Alone, which provides resources to students, advocates, and universities. By targeting the importance of changing attitudes that lead to violence and educating the public on the realities of abuse, the Vice President is leading the way in an effort to stop this violence before it begins.

As Del Toro clearly states during the video, "If she doesn't consent or can't consent, it's rape. It's assault."



Click play to watch the "1 is 2 Many" PSA for yourself above. Afterwards you can learn more information about the campaign at their website here.



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Half Of The Residents In These 2 States Wish They Lived Somewhere Else

Would you relocate if you had the choice?



A new Gallup report shows that residents in some states are more apt to leave than others, with the most residents in Illinois and California saying that they would move if they could.







Meanwhile, Montana, Hawaii and Maine had the fewest residents who said they would leave their states if they could. Not surprisingly, residents in Montana were also the most likely to say that their state is the "best or one of the best possible states to live" in another recent Gallup survey.



Overall, about one in three people in the Gallup survey said they would want to move out of their state.



The findings are based on interviews with at least 600 adults in each of the 50 states. The participants were asked, "Regardless of whether you will move, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move to another state, or would you rather remain in your current state?"



As for whether people were actually planning to move, the most people in Nevada -- 20 percent -- said that they were extremely, very or somewhat likely to move within 12 months, followed by 19 percent of people in Illinois and Arizona each, and 17 percent of people in Maryland, Louisiana, Idaho and South Carolina, each.



Meanwhile, the fewest residents in Maine, Iowa and Vermont -- 8 percent -- said that they were extremely, very, or somewhat likely to move within 12 months.



Overall, the biggest reasons people gave for wanting to move were work or business (31 percent), family/social reasons (19 percent), weather/location (11 percent), and seeking improved quality of life or a change (9 percent).



So which residents are happiest with where they're living now, and who would leave if they only had the chance? Check out the findings from Gallup below:



The states with the most residents who said they would move if they could:

1. Illinois - 50 percent

2. Connecticut - 49 percent

3. Maryland - 47 percent

4. Nevada - 43 percent

5. Rhode Island - 42 percent

6. New Jersey - 41 percent

6. New York - 41 percent

6. Massachusetts - 41 percent

9. Louisiana - 40 percent

10. Mississippi - 39 percent



The states with the fewest residents who said they would move if they could:

1. Montana - 23 percent

1. Hawaii - 23 percent

1. Maine - 23 percent

4. Oregon - 24 percent

4. New Hampshire - 24 percent

4. Texas - 24 percent

7. Colorado - 25 percent

7. Minnesota - 25 percent

9. South Dakota - 26 percent

10. Wyoming - 27 percent



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Conan Reviews Stress Relief Apps, Is NOT Impressed

It's no secret that Conan O'Brien can have a temper, especially when it comes to dealing with his arch-nemesis producer, Jordan Schlansky.



So when Conan decided to try out some of the best new "stress-relieving" apps available, it seemed like a pretty good idea. That is, until the plan backfired. Badly.



Watch the video above to see Conan's experiment go from bad to worse -- like, smashing lightbulbs worse. Deep breaths, Conan. Deeeeeep breaths.



Via Daily Picks And Flicks







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7 Reasons Your Body Wants You To Plan A Beach Trip Right Now

Ah, the beach. Is there anything better? There's just no place quite as relaxing, beautiful or pleasant, and no place that combines the simple pleasures of unplugging and enjoying nature in our otherwise tech-heavy and work-driven realities. The beach helps us recharge -- and we need to be making A LOT more use of it.



We know most jobs already offer vacation time, but considering these specific health benefits of the beach, maybe it's time they carved out days for their employees to spend in the sun and sand.







Sunshine is a great source of vitamin D.







Sure, that milk your drinking is fortified with vitamin D, but the truth is most people get 80 to 90 percent of their daily dose from sun exposure. According to information provided by the Harvard Medical School, the most natural and substantial source of the vitamin depends on how much UVB light gets through to you. That light reacts with a cholesterol-related compound and metabolizes into vitamin D, which is essential for bone health, creates healthy skin and may even help improve mental health.



The sun's role in both health-promoting vitamin D and in the sun damage that can lead to skin cancer makes things confusing. Since sunscreens block the vital UVB rays needed for Vitamin D production within the body, most doctors advocate "responsible sun exposure" to get what you need. About 10 to 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure does the trick for most people, after which protection in the form of a sunblock with 30 SPF or higher (along with additional preemptive measures) is essential for the skin's longterm health. That said, everyone's needs are different and it's best to talk to your doctor about a sun plan that best benefits you.



Sand is a natural exfoliant.







Do you ever wonder why it feels so good to walk on sand? It's because there are somewhere between 3,000 and 7,000 nerve endings in each foot that awaken when you walk across those tiny grains. Wet sand acts as a natural exfoliant and peels off dead skin cells from your feet (and really, anywhere else on your body), leaving them renewed and much softer.



To take full advantage of sand's rejuvenating qualities, take a walk near the water where the sand is "looser" and can wash over your feet. If you're thinking exfoliation is a luxury and not a health essential, think again. Your skin sheds about 50,000 skin cells every minute and sometimes they stay attached to your body, which can cause your pores to clog and lead to blackhead and acne. Exfoliation keeps the skin clean, healthy and rejuvenated.



So, what are you waiting for? Take a walk on the beach, if only to get rid of all those dead skin cells. Actually, you'll probably want to just start rolling around in wet sand at this point.







It could help rheumatoid arthritis patients feel better.







The minerals in the ocean could help reduce symptoms for those with rheumatoid arthritis. According to a study, patients who used bath salts made from Dead Sea minerals also experienced fewer symptoms, like morning stiffness and trouble with hand gripping. You know what else can help relieve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis? Getting enough vitamin D, that's right.







Also, sunlight has been shown to decrease depression.







Common sense would tell us that people tend to be happier in the warmer months and less so in the gloomier months, but it's been scientifically proven that sunshine can make us happier. A study conducted by the Baker Heart Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia found that the amount of sunlight participants' received directly affected their mood. The team also noticed that with increased sunlight exposure, their levels of serotonin increased, having a positive effect on factors such as stress, sleep and appetite.



Now, we're not claiming that a lack of beach outings in your life will lead to symptoms of depression. However, as with the previous points, the beach has got a lot of what your body needs, all in one beautiful place.



In the study's own words: "More sunlight meant better moods; less sunlight lead to symptoms of depression."









Seawater preserves elasticity of skin.







The ocean is full of anti-aging minerals that can counter the decline of your skin's elasticity among other things... this is great, great news!



As we grow older, our skin, as well as other things, tends to lose its tightness and suppleness. And while some people will do almost anything to look young, what we're recommending is far less invasive and expensive. Treating your body to a little bit of saltwater every now and again will obviously not have the same dramatic effect as cosmetic intervention, but it can aid in the process of keeping everything a little bit tighter.







A day at the beach gets you moving without even trying.







We're chalking this one up to probability more than scientific fact, simply because going to the beach usually involves some sort of physical activity, right? Whether you're swimming, jogging, surfing, playing soccer or beach volleyball or simply walking through the sand to find a nice spot to lay out, rare is the day when you go to the beach and do absolutely no exercise. Walking on the beach is already a better workout than walking on concrete, "walking on sand requires 1.6-2.5 times more mechanical work than does walking on a hard surface at the same speed."



Plus, it's not like you're just sitting pretty when engaging in some of these activities -- you're burning major calories by just going for a swim, for example. A leisurely swim can burn about 200 calories. Surfing? Just over 100. Frisbee? About the same. And beach volleyball is nearly 300. So ditch the gym -- the beach is your new fitness friend.



And with a much, much prettier view.







And perhaps most importantly, the beach decreases your stress level by helping you unplug.







Unplugging is good for the mind, body and soul. According to a study from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, staying constantly plugged in has been associated with stress, loss of sleep and depression.. Let go of the tablets and smartphones and allow yourself a technology-free escape to this oasis every once in a while to help you re-center. Seriously, don't even try to bring your devices to the beach -- as everyone knows, sand gets everywhere.



A study conducted by the University of Exeter took it a step further and found that simply living near the beach can also be beneficial to your health and well-being. They took into account people's proximity to the beach and their self-reported health to conclude that living seaside may actually result in better health.



A short walk (on the beach, or anywhere else) is also known to decrease stress and help you reset. So, if you'd really like to feel at ease, unplug AND go for a leisurely walk on the beach -- you've just treated yourself to the ultimate de-stressing combination.



The beach is a magical place that can recharge you and help you stay fit physically, mentally and spiritually. For those reasons, we conclude that beach visits are seriously healthy, not to mention pretty pleasant. Just remember to wear your sunscreen.



All images Getty



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Albasini wins snow-affected Tour of Romandie stage

Albasini wins snow-affected Tour of Romandie stage; Kwiatkowski retains overall lead



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How I Thrive: Redefining Success in My Life

"Each suburban wife struggles with it alone: 'Is this all?'" -- Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique



The morning after the recent lunar eclipse, I experienced one of those idyllic moments that mothers dream of. My husband was away on a business trip, so I let my 8-year-old daughter climb into our bed after she had called out for me. I had promised she could have a sleepover with me during his absence, which coincided with her spring break. OK, it was 3 a.m., but I had neglected to bring her in when I went to bed after indulging in a few, luxurious glasses of Riesling and staying up late to watch the Blood Moon's slow-moving transformation in our backyard. Once in bed, she fell back to sleep quickly, as did I. At 5:30, my 5-year-old son came wandering in as he does nearly every morning. But instead of being his rowdy, loud self and waking his sleep-needy sister, he slid in on the other side of me and fell asleep.



I couldn't move, and I didn't want to, their legs and arms sprawled on me. I marveled at the exquisite silence and warmth of being snuggled in close, surrounded by both of them -- no fighting, no refereeing, just the absolute peace and calm of the morning. The only sounds were their breath and those adorable mouth noises little children make in their sleep. Then, the magic: My son began giggling in his sleep. A bit later, my daughter giggled in hers. They kept sleeping, and I reveled in love and awe, grateful for their health and happiness in slumber.



For the last eight years, I have measured my success in my kids' giggles, in my handling of their storms. In my imperfect-yet-always-honest attempts to be a "good enough" mother, I put my growing career aside. Oh yes, against Sheryl Sandberg's advice, I "leaned out" -- way, way out. And believe me, CEO of Bumwiping.com (while still important) is an under-celebrated and underpaid role.



But lately, that hasn't been enough for me (not nearly enough). As feminist icon Betty Friedan pointed out in 1963, as renowned Bad Mother author, novelist and mom of four Ayelet Waldman realized while pushing her firstborn on a playground swing and as do women who wrestle with the balance of mothering and self, I've reached my "Is this all?" phase and had my "No, this can't be all!" moment.



This past summer, I began to undergo a radical physical and personal transformation following a medically-necessary surgery. With my kids and husband gone for two weeks to let me recover, I thought about what had happened to the vibrant, connected journalist and writer I once was.



Over the last nine months -- the same amount of time as the human gestation period -- I have shed more than 35 pounds and uncovered parts of myself that have lain dormant since my 20s, the spark and chutzpah that propelled my early career. As part of my self-liberation, I chose to have my tubes tied in the fall. (No more kids! Better sex!) But it turns out, nine months after this transformation began, I am fertile in new ways and have given birth again -- this time to my true self, to the writer in me.



So now what? I am redefining success in my life by redefining myself.



I am redefining myself as a writer in a media landscape that has changed dramatically over the last decade -- in which self-revelation is nearly almost the rule rather than strictly taboo -- and dealing with the challenges of "leaning back in" after an eight-year career hiatus.



I am redefining myself as a mother by my happiness quotient. I have come to appreciate the notion of "happy mom." If I am not happy, then no one wins. Though it may mean more time away from them, refereeing less and letting them work out their own storms more and more, I believe I serve my kids best by choosing happiness and creative and personal fulfillment -- as well as family responsibilities. I hope they will, too, as teens, adults, parents -- when they are role models themselves.



I am redefining success in my life in the measurement of my kids' giggles and my own.



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Men May Stress Out Mice, Compromising Biomedical Research (VIDEO)

Jeffrey Mogil’s students suspected there was something fishy going on with their experiments. They were injecting an irritant into the feet of mice to test their pain response, but the rodents didn’t seem to feel anything. “We thought there was something wrong with the injection,” says Mogil, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The real culprit was far more surprising: The mice that didn’t feel pain had been handled by male students. Mogil’s group discovered that this gender distinction alone was enough to throw off their whole experiment—and likely influences the work of other researchers as well.

“This is very important work with wide-ranging implications,” says M. Catherine Bushnell, a neuroscientist and the scientific director of the Division of Intramural Research at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) in Bethesda, Maryland, who was not involved in the study. “Many people doing research have never thought of this.”

Mogil has studied pain for 25 years. He’s long suspected that lab animals respond differently to the sensation when researchers are present. In 2007, his lab observed that mice spend less time licking a painful injection—a sign that they’re hurting—when a person is nearby, even if that “person” is a cardboard cutout of Paris Hilton. Other scientists began to wonder if their own data were biased by the same effect. “There were whisperings at meetings that this was confounding research results,” Mogil says.

So he decided to take a closer look. In the new study, Mogil told the researchers in his lab to inject an inflammatory agent into the foot of a rat or mouse and then take a seat nearby and read a book. A video camera trained on the rodent’s face assessed the animal’s pain level, based on a 0- to 2-point “grimace scale” developed by the team. The results were mixed. Sometimes the animals showed pain when an experimenter was present, and sometimes they seemed just fine. So, on a hunch, Mogil and colleagues recrunched the data, this time controlling for whether a male or a female experimenter was present. “We were stunned by the results,” he says. The rodents showed significantly fewer signs of pain (an average of a 36% lower score on the grimace scale) when a male researcher was in the room than when a female researcher—or no researcher at all—was there.

Thinking back to his Paris Hilton experiment, Mogil wondered whether the rodents were responding to the sight of a woman or man or to something more subtle. So he told the people in his lab to place their worn T-shirts near injected animals and then leave the room. Even when the humans weren’t present, the results were the same. Rats and mice showed about a 36% lower score on the grimace scale when exposed to male versus female T-shirts, the team reports online today in Nature Methods. (Female mice were slightly more sensitive to the effect.) Placing a woman’s T-shirt next to a man’s T-shirt negated the impact. Bedding material from unfamiliar male mice and guinea pigs, as well as pet beds slept in by unsterilized male cats and dogs, produced the same response: Male odors seemed to act like painkillers.

Further testing showed that the rodents exposed to male odors were actually feeling less pain, rather than simply hiding the pain they were in. The male aroma ramped up their stress levels, which deadened the hurt. “It’s really astounding that such a robust effect could have been missed for so many years,” Mogil says.

He suspects the rodents are reacting to scent chemicals that male mammals have produced for eons. “It’s a primordial response,” he says. “If you smell a solitary male nearby, chances are he’s hunting or defending his territory.” If you’re in pain, you’re showing weakness.

Almost every animal behavior studied in the lab, from the effectiveness of experimental drugs to the ability of monkeys to do math, is affected by stress, notes Paul Flecknell, a veterinary anesthesiologist at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom who researches ways to alleviate pain in animals. “This could have an impact on just about everything.”

Male odor could even influence human clinical trials. If a male doctor injects you with a new kind of pain medication, do you feel better because of the drug—or because of his gender? “It’s not an unreasonable concern,” Flecknell says.

The findings may also suggest why some labs have trouble reproducing the results of other groups. “Sometimes pharmaceutical companies can’t replicate preclinical work,” says Bushnell, who came to NCCAM to develop a pain research program. “This could help explain that.”

Still, Mogil doesn’t think scientists need to redo decades of animal research. “It’s a confounding factor, but not a fatal one,” he says. But going forward, he advises, researchers should pay more attention not to just what experiments they’re doing, but also to who’s doing the experiments. “I joke that the solution is to fire all the male researchers,” Mogil says. “But at the very least, this is something teams should be noting in the methods sections of their papers. We can change the bath water without throwing out the baby.”

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