Bad habits can age you by 12 years, study suggests

http://www.ap.org/ http://www.ap.org/
By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer - Mon Apr 26, 3:03 PM PDT
CHICAGO - Four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests.
FILE - In this Tuesday, June 3, 2008 file photo, an employee takes a drag on a cigarette at Morgan's Place bar and restaurant in Harrisburg, Pa. Four common bad habits combined — smoking, drinking too much, inactivity and poor diet — can age you by 12 years, sobering new research suggests. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
The findings are from a study that tracked nearly 5,000 British adults for 20 years, and they highlight yet another reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Overall, 314 people studied had all four unhealthy behaviors. Among them, 91 died during the study, or 29 percent. Among the 387 healthiest people with none of the four habits, only 32 died, or about 8 percent.
The risky behaviors were: smoking tobacco; downing more than three alcoholic drinks per day for men and more than two daily for women; getting less than two hours of physical activity per week; and eating fruits and vegetables fewer than three times daily.
These habits combined substantially increased the risk of death and made people who engaged in them seem 12 years older than people in the healthiest group, said lead researcher Elisabeth Kvaavik of the University of Oslo.
The study appears in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.
The healthiest group included never-smokers and those who had quit; teetotalers, women who had fewer than two drinks daily and men who had fewer than three; those who got at least two hours of physical activity weekly; and those who ate fruits and vegetables at least three times daily.
"You don't need to be extreme" to be in the healthy category, Kvaavik said. "These behaviors add up, so together it's quite good. It should be possible for most people to manage to do it."
For example, one carrot, one apple and a glass of orange juice would suffice for the fruit and vegetable cutoffs in the study, Kvaavik said, noting that the amounts are pretty modest and less strict than many guidelines.
The U.S. government generally recommends at least 4 cups of fruits or vegetables daily for adults, depending on age and activity level; and about 2 1/2 hours of exercise weekly.
Study participants were 4,886 British adults aged 18 and older, or 44 years old on average. They were randomly selected from participants in a separate nationwide British health survey. Study subjects were asked about various lifestyle habits only once, a potential limitation, but Kvaavik said those habits tend to be fairly stable in adulthood.
Death certificates were checked for the next 20 years. The most common causes of death included heart disease and cancer, both related to unhealthy lifestyles.
Kvaavik said her results are applicable to other westernized nations including the United States.
June Stevens, a University of North Carolina public health researcher, said the results are in line with previous studies that examined the combined effects of health-related habits on longevity.
The findings don't mean that everyone who maintains a healthy lifestyle will live longer than those who don't, but it will increase the odds, Stevens said.
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The Ant Philosophy by Jim Rohn

http://www.jimrohn.com/


Over the years, I’ve been teaching kids about a simple but powerful concept: the Ant Philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy.

Here is the first part: Ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over. They’ll climb under. They’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy—to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.

Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, “Don’t build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it is important to think ahead. In the summer, you’ve got to think storm. You’ve got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.

The third part of the Ant Philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.

And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow, what a great philosophy to have—the ant philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

Μαθήματα για θέματα διατροφής και μεταβολισμού μέσω email

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ΕRΤ3.GR
Παρασκευή 13:10

Μαθήματα για θέματα διατροφής και μεταβολισμού διοργανώνει μέσω Διαδικτύου, για πρώτη φορά στην Ελλάδα, η Πανελλήνια Ένωση Επιστημόνων Υγείας. Πρόκειται για το διαδικτυακό εκπαιδευτικό πρόγραμμα με θέμα «Μεταβολισμός και Διατροφή», που ξεκινά αύριο και θα ολοκληρωθεί στις 26 Ιουνίου 2019. Σκοπός του προγράμματος, όπως επισημαίνουν οι διοργανωτές του, είναι η σύγχρονη, απλή αλλά επιστημονικά πλήρης και τεκμηριωμένη προσέγγιση θεμάτων μεταβολισμού και διατροφής των φυσιολογικών ατόμων. Το συγκεκριμένο πρόγραμμα απευθύνεται σε γιατρούς, διαιτολόγους, γυμναστές, αισθητικούς και γενικά όλους τους επιστήμονες υγείας, μπορεί όμως να το παρακολουθήσει και οποιοδήποτε ενδιαφερόμενο άτομο, ανεξαρτήτως ηλικίας και επαγγελματικής ενασχόλησης.

Η ενέργεια των τροφίμων, τα θρεπτικά συστατικά, οι θερμίδες και άλλες μονάδες μέτρησης, τα λίπη τα Ω3 και Ω6 λιπαρά οξέα, η χοληστερίνη και άλλες στερόλες καθώς και τα trans λιπαρά θα αποτελέσουν το αντικείμενο του πρώτου μαθήματος, που θα πραγματοποιηθεί αύριο. Στα μαθήματα της δεύτερης εβδομάδες περιλαμβάνονται θέματα σχετικά με τις πρωτεΐνες, τους υδατάνθρακες, τις διαιτητικές ίνες, τα ανόργανα άλατα, τα ιχνοστοιχεία, τις βιταμίνες, το νερό και το οινόπνευμα, ενώ το μάθημα της τρίτης εβδομάδας είναι αφιερωμένο στον μεταβολισμό και τους παράγοντες που τον επηρεάζουν. Στη θεματολογία των μαθημάτων των επόμενων εβδομάδων, περιλαμβάνονται, μεταξύ άλλων, θέματα σχετικά με τη λιπομέτρηση, τα πρόσθετα των τροφίμων, τα γενετικά τροποποιημένα τρόφιμα, τα βιολογικά τρόφιμα, τα συμπληρώματα διατροφής, τη διατροφή του φυσιολογικού ενήλικα, τη χορτοφαγία, τη μεσογειακή δίαιτα, τις διατροφικές ανάγκες κατά την εγκυμοσύνη και το θηλασμό, τη διατροφή παιδιών και εφήβων, τη διατροφή στην τρίτη ηλικία, την παχυσαρκία (αίτια και θεραπεία), τις διαταραχές της όρεξης (ανορεξία, βουλιμία, επεισοδιακή πολυφαγία αίτια και θεραπεία) και διαιτολόγια απώλειας και διατήρησης σωματικού βάρους.

Οι συμμετέχοντες θα λαμβάνουν κάθε Σάββατο, επί 12 εβδομάδες, ως συνημμένο αρχείο Microsoft Word σε email, ένα μάθημα και ένα φύλλο με ερωτήσεις επί του μαθήματος, το οποίο θα πρέπει να επιστρέφουν συμπληρωμένο. Με τον ίδιο τρόπο θα μπορούν να υποβάλουν και τις ερωτήσεις που έχουν, οι οποίες μαζί με τις απαντήσεις θα κοινοποιούνται σε όλους τους συμμετέχοντες. Έτσι δημιουργείται μια εικονική αίθουσα διδασκαλίας, χωρίς όμως τον περιορισμό της αυτοπρόσωπης παρουσίας σε καθορισμένο τόπο ή χρόνο για τους εκπαιδευόμενους. Σε όλους τους συμμετέχοντες θα σταλεί δωρεάν, μετά την ολοκλήρωση του προγράμματος, ένα βιβλίο και ένα CD-ROM με τα μαθήματα, τα απαντημένα φύλλα ερωτήσεων και σχολιασμένη βιβλιογραφία. Σε όσους παρακολουθήσουν κανονικά και απαντήσουν σε τουλάχιστον 10 από τα 12 απλά τεστ πολλαπλών απαντήσεων θα απονεμηθούν πιστοποιητικά επιτυχούς παρακολούθησης. Πληροφορίες για τα μαθήματα παρέχονται από την Πανελλήνια Ένωση Επιστημόνων Υγείας, στο τηλέφωνο 210 5018913 ή στο Διαδίκτυο στη διεύθυνση www.asda.gr/peey

The Daffodil Principle

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MY FRIDAY STORY


~Anonymous~

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

" But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by on e woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ...

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching.

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special.
I just did!

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day!

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.


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Υψηλά επίπεδα διοξινών στο 8% των τροφίμων και ζωοτροφών στην Ευρώπη

Η ΕΕ προειδοποιεί


http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=1122198&lngDtrID=252

Associated Press
Τα ζωικά λίπη και το συκώτι συσσωρεύουν περισσότερες διοξίνες
Βρυξέλλες

Υψηλές συγκεντρώσεις καρκινογόνων διοξινών ανιχνεύθηκαν στο 8% των δειγμάτων τροφίμων και ζωοτροφών που εξετάστηκαν στην Ευρώπη από το 1999 έως το 2008, προειδοποιεί την Τετάρτη η Ευρωπαϊκή Αρχή Ασφάλειας Τροφίμων (EFSA).

Στην κατηγορία των τροφίμων, τα υψηλότερα επίπεδα διοξινών καταγράφονται σε προϊόντα από συκώτι ζώων και ψαριών. Στην κατηγορία των ζωοτροφών, το πρόβλημα είναι εντονότερο στα ιχθυέλαια.

«Η μακρόχρονη έκθεση σε υψηλά επίπεδα διοξινών έχει αποδειχθεί ότι προκαλεί μια σειρά επιπτώσεων, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του καρκίνου» υπενθυμίζει στην έκθεσή της η EFSA.

Η συσσώρευση των διοξινών, ιδιαίτερα στα ζωικά λίπη, «συνεχίζει να προκαλεί ορισμένες ανησυχίες για την ασφάλεια» προσθέτει η αναφορά.

Η έκθεση εξέτασε περισσότερα από 7.000 δείγματα που συγκεντρώθηκαν από 21 ευρωπαϊκές χώρες.

Το υψηλό ποσοστό των παράνομων επίπεδων διοξινών στα δείγματα προέκυψε εν μέρει για λόγους μεθοδολογίας, και συγκεκριμένα από την «επικεντρωμένη δειγματοληψία κατά τη διάρκεια συγκεκριμένων συμβάντων ρύπανσης».

Newsroom ΔΟΛ, με πληροφορίες από ΑΠΕ/Reuters

http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=1122198&lngDtrID=252