Monday, May 31, 2010

Up Next: Canola Oil

Pure Wesson Canola Oil - 1.25galI've been looking at some articles and have been finding out some facts about canola oil - the next best thing to olive oil. That is currently what we use in our cooking, and since what we usually find in our grocers here in our locality is extra virgin olive oil, we'd just stick to using canola oil than make the mistake of using olive oil for cooking - for frying, specifically.

In the meantime, do enjoy life and the best that it can offer.

Be healthy. And be free to eat and live to a long, good life.

Till then.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Which country will I spend my golden years? Even earlier?

I'm Retiring, Now What?!: Get Your Finances in Order/ Decide Where To Retire/ Healthy LivingLooking for a place to spend the rest of your lives in? I mean, there are many places int he world that is financially fit and stable to be working and earning, but to grow old there as well? No.

Quite a few places to spend the golden years nice and slow - and good and old at that. Here's some countries to consider.

A culture usually dictates the type of food you eat, and it is almost always a national plague that a certain type of disease or illness strikes - conversely, it is not only individuals, but a locality, that benefits, from the food and pastime that is prevalent in that locality.

Choose your place, and choose well.

Read on...
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World’s Healthiest Places to Live
Allison Van Dusen and Ana Patricia Ferrey , Forbes.com

There are lots of reasons to envy residents of Northern Europe. Each day they get to take in raw, dramatic landscapes, stunning architecture and world-class shopping.

But, more important, they know a thing or two about health and wellness.
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Forbes.com has found that the region is home to some of the world's healthiest countries, including top-ranking Iceland, Sweden and Finland.

Others that fared well include Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Denmark, Canada, Austria and the Netherlands.

Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating"Historically, these countries had an ethic of having more of a nationalized health care system," says Kate Schecter, a program officer for the American International Health Alliance, a nonprofit that works to advance global health by helping nations with limited resources build sustainable infrastructure. "There's this mentality that health care should be a given right for citizens."

Despite the fact that an estimated 47 million Americans lack health insurance, the U.S . ranked 11. Rounding out the list, were Israel, the Czech Republic, Spain and France.

Behind The Numbers
To determine our list of the healthiest places to live in the world, Forbes.com looked at the latest available health and environmental statistics for every nation, from sources such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the UN.

What the Bible Says About Healthy Living: Three Biblical Principles that Will Change Your Diet and Improve Your HealthBut due to incomplete data, we ranked only the 138 nations with statistics in every measure. That's why you don't see countries such as Monaco, Norway, Malta, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Ireland and Andorra--all of which had a shot of cracking the top 15 were they not missing information.

The statistics we examined included estimated air pollution in world cities; the percentage of a country's population with access to improved drinking water and sanitation; infant mortality rates; the rate of prevalence of tuberculosis; the density of physicians--generalists and specialists--per 1,000 people; undernourishment rates; and healthy life expectancies for men.

Beyond high marks for drinking water, sanitation and nourishment, which many countries achieved, Iceland and Sweden had some of the lowest levels of air pollution, infant mortality and rates of tuberculosis prevalence. They also both had the highest healthy life expectancies for men: 72 years.

Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: A Proven Plan for Healthy LivingHealthy life expectancy statistics, in particular, say a lot about the welfare of a country's inhabitants, says Yohannes Kinfu, a statistician for the World Health Organization. Those nations with the highest numbers tend also to have high gross domestic products, as well as accessible health care systems and lower rates of infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS.

Research has shown that long-term exposure to air pollution can affect lung function and lead to premature death. Other nations with estimated low particulate matter concentrations, according to the World Bank, include France and Australia.

Countries' success in combating pollution is likely due to a mix of policies addressing the problem, enforcement of standards and the use of clean fuel, says Kiran Pandey, a senior environmental economist for the Global Environment Facility, an organization affiliated with the World Bank, and an author of the research. But some places, such as those located along coastlines, are simply luckier than others, since crosswinds can dilute air pollution, Pandey says.

Healthy Living Made Easy: The Only Things You Need to Know about Diet, Exercise and SupplementsLow infant mortality rates are indications of socioeconomic factors, such as household incomes, which can influence the kind of nutrition and health care a child receives and whether a family is knowledgeable about protection against infection, Kinfu says. The Czech Republic also had one of the world's lowest infant mortality rates.

And while a high number of doctors located in an area might not necessarily mean its residents are healthy, due to questions of access, it's generally a positive sign. Israel has a relatively high doctor density rate, according to the World Health Organization's World Health Statistics 2007.

While the average resident of any of these countries might take for granted or pay little attention to something like access to health care, these factors make a healthy nation, says Jen Kates, vice president and director of HIV/AIDS Policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit, private foundation focused on major U.S. health care concerns, as well as global health.

Shopper's Guide to Healthy Living"Everyone," Kates says, "needs to be aware that how we provide health care to people in a country is a critical issue."


From ChannewNewsAsia.com; source article is below:World’s Healthiest Places to Live
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When drinking isn't that so glamorous

Breast Cancer Survival Manual, Fourth Edition: A Step-by-Step Guide for the Woman With Newly Diagnosed Breast CancerYes, women are fragile creatures. And all the more the reason that as men care for them, they should be exerting care for themselves doubly as well.

Men has all sorts of problem with women, but simply, men cannot live without women.

Ladies, do avoid that drink, if at all possible - for your own good. Merci!
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Oestrogen linked to benign breast disease: study


Drinking 22 to 27 drinks over the course of a week increases risk by 130 per cent.
WASHINGTON - Postmenopausal women undergoing a common oestrogen replacement regimen have more than twice the risk of developing benign breast disease than women receiving no treatment, according to a new study.

The study, first posted Tuesday in the online edition of The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, tracked some 10,739 postmenopausal women.

Some of the subjects in the study were given conjugated equine oestrogen, a commonly-prescribed form of oestrogen, while others received a placebo.

Just Get Me Through This!: The Practical Guide to Breast CancerAfter a median follow-up of seven years, the researchers found a total of 232 cases of benign proliferative breast disease -- 155 among the women who took oestrogen supplements, and about half as many, 77, in the placebo group.

The study noted that while not a harmful condition, benign proliferative breast disease often is a precursor to malignant breast cancer.

"Although the women taking conjugated equine oestrogen have not yet shown a significant increased risk of breast cancer ... they might show increased risk
later," the authors concluded.

Chicken Soup for the Breast Cancer Survivor's Soul: Stories to Inspire, Support and Heal (Chicken Soup for the Soul)"Ongoing follow-up of the study participants may help to resolve this issue," they wrote. - AFP/ra


From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Oestrogen linked to benign breast disease: study
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