Get healthier, fuller eyelashes naturally

Every lady out there wishes for those Long, thick, healthy eyelashes and didn’t you wish it fluttered like a butterfly.

Eyelashes help to protect your eyes from particles in the air, like dust and sand, and keep sweat and moisture away. They signal your eyelids when to shut to keep particles and bugs out, much like a cat’s whiskers sense danger.

Purpose and beauty aside, what happens if you didn’t get luscious lashes from the start, what are you to do?

Makeup companies have created all sorts of mascaras which promise thicker, fuller lashes. But mascara can be quite taxing on your lashes, especially if it’s not removed safely and properly. When the product dries out or gets clumpy, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, so you need to toss it every three months.

Then there is the option of eyelash extensions, but even that can get quite pricy and high maintenance. There has to be a better way!

The growth of eyelashes

Before we provide you with ways to promote eyelash growth naturally, let’s explore how eyelashes came to be those mini hairs which rest on our eyelids.

Just like the hair on our head, arms and basically anywhere on our bodies, eyelashes grow in cycles. The phase in which the eyelash grows is called anagen and it differs among individuals because of genetics and sex.

After the growth phase we enter catagen, or the short resting phase. Neither growth nor pigment occurs during this phase and it can last between two to three weeks.

Post the rest phase we begin the shedding phase – telogen. This is when new hair begins to grow and so the old hair starts to shed. These hairs are easily removed and won’t hurt if tweezed. This is the phase, for example, when the hair on your head easily comes out – and no, it’s not a sign of balding. Shedding occurs naturally so that new hair can emerge. Eyelashes can stick around between four to six weeks before a new one grows, unlike eyebrows which can take up to 64 days.

Lastly, if you’re concerned that your eyelashes tend to fall out more, once again this isn’t a sign that they won’t grow back. Once a hair leaves a follicle another takes its place in the same follicle. As you can see, hair growth, no matter where it occurs, is a continuous cycle that relies mainly on your genes, not your plucking.

Remedies for thicker, longer, healthier eyelashes: Natural versus artificial

As we mentioned, there are products you can purchase which can promote eyelash growth and thickness. For starters, there is the option of mascara. Although this is not a permanent solution, it can temporarily provide you with the look you desire.

Another option is lash extension. These come in a few forms. There is one option where you glue a row of lashes on your eyelid to create fullness and thickness. Another option is to get individual strands bonded on your eyelid to create a more natural look. Both products use a bonding agent, a type of glue, and can be quite costly depending on quality.

Lastly, there are prescription options to achieve longer, thicker eyelashes. These options take months before you begin to notice results and once again can be quite costly. But as with any prescription medication there are some side effects. Some listed side effects for a mainstream prescription eyelash medication are:

• Itchy, red eyes
• Dry eyes
• Darkened eyelids
• Darkened pigmentation of the iris (the colored part of the eye)
• Hair growth around the eye.

Unfortunately, some of these side effects can end up being permanent. And not to mention that whenever we ingest medications, whether orally or absorbed by the skin, it gets processed through our liver, potentially creating a health risk there as well. Although medications may be effective, sometimes the risks outweigh the benefits, therefore not making them a great option.

Natural remedies, on the other hand, are often much cheaper and readily available. They tend to be safer for individual use as well. So if you’re looking for how to promote eyelash growth, choose the natural route.

6 Best natural remedies for thicker, longer, healthier eyelashes

Most People Don’t Know How To Read A Sunscreen Label, According To Study

Source: Huffington Post (By: Elizabeth Palermo)

You know you should wear sunscreen, but do you know what to look for in a sunscreen? If you answered “nope” to that question, you’re not alone. Lots of people have trouble picking out a bottle of sunblock, a new study suggests.

Fewer than half of the 114 study participants could correctly identify how well a sunscreen protected against health problems such as sunburn, photoaging (premature aging of skin) caused by exposure to sunlight) and skin cancer just by looking at the product’s label, according to the researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago who conducted the study.

Only 49 percent of the participants surveyed knew what the letters “SPF” on a sunscreen bottle stood for. (It’s an acronym for “sun protection factor.”)

And it’s not just the small sampling of people who participated in the study who have trouble deciphering sunscreen labels, said Dr. Jennifer Stein, an assistant professor of dermatology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center who was not involved in the study.

“At least half of the patients I see — especially this time of year — ask me questions about sunscreen,” Stein told Live Science. “Very frequently, people are confused about the different kinds of protection they can get from sunscreen. And everybody wants to know what to look for.”

One of the reasons people might have trouble deciphering sunscreen labels could be that, prior to 2012, these labels looked a bit different from how they appear now. In the past, sunscreen manufacturers were required to display only one bit of information — the SPF rating, which shows how well a product protects against ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. UVB rays are the kind that can ruin a day at the beach, causing sunburns and, by extension, skin cancer.

SPF ratings are pretty straightforward, said Dr. Roopal Kundu, an associate professor of dermatology at Northwestern, who supervised the study.

“An SPF of 30 will filter about 97 percent of UVB rays. An SPF of 50 will filter about 98 percent of UVB rays,” Kundu told Live Science.

Although most of the participants in Kundu’s study didn’t know what SPF stood for, or how the number was related to UVB rays, most did understand that sunscreens with higher SPF ratings offered more protection against sunburns and skin cancer than sunscreens with lower SPF ratings, Kundu said.

However, what’s still confusing to people is that a high SPF rating doesn’t mean a sunscreen will protect your skin against the ultraviolet A (UVA) rays that cause photoaging and can also lead to skin cancer. (Only 29 percent of study participants knew this.)

So, how can you find a sunscreen that protects you from all the rays that can damage your skin? Look for one labeled “broad spectrum,” Kundu said. Under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current sunscreen labeling guidelines, only products that protect against both UVA and UVB rays can receive the “broad spectrum” label.

In addition to choosing a sunscreen that protects your skin from both kinds of damaging rays, there are a number of other steps you can take to reduce your risk of skin damage from the sun this summer, according to both Kundu and Stein:

• Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or after every dunk in the pool or ocean.
• Limit your exposure to the sun, especially during the middle of the day, when the sun’s rays are strongest.
• If you have to be outside midday, find some shade, like an umbrella or a tree.
• Cover up with long sleeves, pants, a hat and sunglasses whenever possible.

If covering up completely seems too extreme, consider at least wearing a shirt to cover sunburn-prone areas like the chest and shoulders.

“It’s been a long, cold winter, and people are really excited to be outside,” Stein said. “There’s no reason to be a vampire. You just have to do it in such a way that’s a little safer.”

The results of the sunscreen survey were published on June 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Association Dermatology.

Natural ways to beat seasonal allergies

Tired of the congestion, itchy eyes and fatigue that plague you? Symptoms of seasonal allergies can really take the joy out of summer. While friends and relatives are attending barbecues and garden parties, you’re staying indoors, grumpy and sniffling.

It shouldn’t be this way! You don’t have to resort to over-the-counter drugs or injections to find relief. There are tips and natural remedies for allergies that you can do right at home. But first, let’s understand allergies a little better.

Allergies happen when your immune system reacts to a foreign substance that doesn’t cause a reaction in most people. Pollen, ragweed, bee venom or pet dander are common ones. On red alert, the immune system then produces antibodies that remain on guard for that particular allergen. When you’re exposed to the allergen again, these antibodies can release a number of immune system chemicals, such as histamine, that cause allergy symptoms.

Severity to allergies varies from minor irritation to anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening emergency. The key is to find out what is causing your symptoms and be smart about how to handle them. You don’t want to make them any worse than they are.

Signs and symptoms of seasonal allergies

When you’re considering a natural remedy for allergies, it’s important to spot the signs. Don’t confuse these symptoms with the common cold:

• Sneezing
• Itching of the nose, eyes, ears or roof of the mouth
• Runny, stuffy nose
• Watery, red or swollen eyes (conjunctivitis).

5 Tips to prevent seasonal allergies

Home remedies for seasonal allergies start with some basic know-how and prevention, including these tips:

1. Don’t leave your windows open. Warmer weather has arrived and you’re tempted to let the fresh air in, but this is a complete misfire for pollen season. Instead, close all windows and keep the air-conditioning on. If it’s not hot, set the AC to filter mode just to keep the air moving. And use the AC in your car as well – it can cut down on the pollen you breathe by 30 percent, experts suggest.

2. Don’t ignore suspicious symptoms. Allergies to pollen or pets can happen at any point for adults, even after years of living without allergies. You can develop symptoms that are subtle, but chronic. If you suspect you may have allergy symptoms that seem to just hang on, get it checked out.

3. Pay attention to pollen counts. It comes down to information – the more you know, the better prepared you’ll be. You can find pollen count information online or reported on TV weather channels, which you may have just overlooked in the past. Pay attention to these ratings of low, moderate and high, and plan your day.

4. Time your outdoor activities accordingly. Grasses and trees start releasing their pollen at sunrise, peaking in the late morning and early afternoon. If you want to take a walk, visit with a friend on a patio, or do your gardening, plan to do it later in the afternoon or early evening. This way, you’ll avoid pollen’s primetime exposure. If you’re a runner and pollen counts are going to be high on a given day, plan to do a less strenuous exercise.

5. Manage your stress. Stress makes allergy symptoms worse. A study published in 2014 in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology found that allergy sufferers who had more stress in their lives also had more allergy flare-ups. Makes sense; simply having allergies themselves can be stressful for a lot of people, considering how the condition can affect your ability to sleep, concentrate and breathe properly.

The reason for this connection is largely because of histamine, one of the hormones your body releases when you’re stressed. Histamine is also the hormone that causes allergy symptoms like sneezing and nasal congestion. So if you have increased levels of histamine in your body because of stress, and then are exposed to something that causes an allergic reaction, your symptoms can be worse than usual. Find coping mechanisms to relieve stress that work for you. Laughter always helps, so keep those funny video clips handy. Exercise can do wonders, too, along with deep breathing and meditation, and connecting with friends and family.

 

4 Natural remedies to prevent allergies

When it comes to home remedies for seasonal allergies, there are several to try. We’ve rounded up a few of our top picks here:

1. Honey is known for its antibacterial properties and boosting the immune system – all good! People are also consuming it as a natural remedy for allergies. Try local honey. The idea is the bees eat the pollen that’s in your region of the country, then they produce the honey and you consume that, so it’s kind of like a mini allergy shot.

2. Onions. Eat more onions! They provide flavor and important phytonutrients such as flavonoids, which is one category of antioxidant compounds that help delay or slow the oxidative damage to cells and tissue of the body. Other dietary sources of flavonoids include apples and tea, but studies at Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands, have shown that the absorption of flavonoids from onions is far more substantial than that from tea and apples.

3. Reishi mushrooms. Hong Kong researchers have studied reishi mushrooms, examining the antioxidant properties that may help protect against cancer and other chronic diseases. In particular, it’s the protection of cellular components from oxidative damage, which may lead to the decreased risk of mutations. Antioxidants combat against this free-radical damage, boosting immune cells so your body can maintain good health, which comes in handy as a natural remedy for allergies.

Researchers suggest the reishi muchroom can be used in a wide range of applications. It’s important to note that the reishi is not the kind of mushroom you can throw on a pizza or salad, it must be used in capsule or liquid form. While studies of this type of mushroom are scarce, the reishi has been used in Asia as traditional herbal remedies for their overall health benefits.

4. Probiotics. The “good” bacteria, like the kind found in plain yogurt, is well associated with digestion, but probiotics also play a role in keeping your immune system strong well balanced. Choose plain yogurt, kefir, miso soup and sauerkraut.

A natural remedy for seasonal allergies can help you avoid over-the-counter drugs and relieve your symptoms. Some commonsense household strategies and diet choices can get you back to enjoying the outdoors and making the most of summer.

Kefir: health benefits

You can’t walk into a health food store without seeing promotional signs for probiotics. That’s because probiotics are considered one of the best things you can do for your digestion – right up there with stress relief and getting enough fiber and water to stay regular.

Probiotics are found in yogurt and kefir, another cultured milk product that’s getting a lot of attention. We’d like to talk about the extraordinary health benefits of kefir to encourage you to get this tangy drink into your diet, but let’s start with probiotics.

Probiotics are the live organisms, including healthy bacteria, which are naturally found in our digestive tracts. These organisms help stem the growth of harmful bacteria and boost our immune systems. Our gut has just as much a say in our overall outlook as our brain does, studies show, so keeping our digestion humming along makes us both healthy and happy.

On that happy note, we’ll introduce you to kefir (pronounced kee-fer), the fermented milk drink that originates from the Caucasus Mountains in Eastern Europe. The name has been traced to the Turkish word “keif” which means good feeling. Happy gut, happy feeling! The flavor, if you haven’t tried it, is naturally sweet and mildly tangy as well.

Nutritional value of kefir

Kefir health benefits are many. Kefir is a rich source of calcium, protein and B vitamins. It packs more probiotics than even yogurt, because kefir is made by fermenting milk with 10 to 20 different types of bacteria and yeasts, where yogurt usually is fermented with a handful of types, giving kefir a higher probiotic count in the final product.

When you’re buying kefir, go with the plain version to avoid added sugars – then you can add your own pureed fruit for flavor at home. Have a look at the nutrition breakdown for nonfat kefir here.

How to make kefir at home

Milk kefir

Kefir is made from gelatinous white or yellow particles called “grains.” They aren’t an actual grain like wheat, but are made of bacteria and yeast, clumped together with casein (milk proteins) and complex sugars. They look like small clumps of cauliflower!

The grains ferment the milk, incorporating their friendly organisms to create the cultured product. The grainy clumps are removed with a strainer before drinking.

How to do it yourself is easy: Add about a teaspoon of kefir grains to a cup of milk in a glass. Cover and let sit out at room temperature for about 24 hours. The bacteria and yeast in the kefir grains ferment the milk, preventing it from spoiling while turning it into kefir.

The grains work best with whole-fat animal milk, but if you’re looking for a non-dairy option, try coconut milk – also good!

When it’s done, the drink will have thickened to the consistency of buttermilk. Strain out the grains so you can use them in another batch, and your kefir is ready to drink to your health.

Water kefir

Water kefir, too, makes for refreshing good health. Basic water kefir is made by dropping a teaspoon of kefir grains into a cup of sugar water – water sweetened with cane sugar and molasses – and allowing it to ferment on the counter for a few days. Then strain and drink or keep in the refrigerator for later.

7 Top health benefits of kefir

Let’s take a look at the benefits of kefir and why you should incorporate it into your diet:

Improved digestion. Kefir can help re-establish a healthy bacterial balance in the digestive tract that may have been disrupted by poor diet, illness or medications.

Cholesterol control. Helps increase HDL “good” cholesterol and decrease the ratio of LDL “bad” to HDL cholesterol with long-term, daily intake. This may stem from the fatty acid distribution and the type of fats in the milk rather than the probiotics.

Helps with lactose intolerance. Kefir helps improve the digestion of lactose in people with lactose intolerance, when eaten in small doses over time. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2003 found that kefir improved lactose digestion over milk, with reduced or no symptoms of lactose intolerance. The fermenting process changes some of the protein structures in the milk, making it easier to digest.

Get your B vitamins here. Kefir is a source of several B vitamins, which are essential for your blood and nervous system, including thiamine which is important for helping you combat stress. Kefir also contains biotin, a B vitamin that helps your body utilize other B vitamins effectively.

Boost calcium intake. Each 175-gram serving of kefir provides about 20 percent of the daily RDA for calcium, important for bones and teeth. Try replacing a regular dairy serving with kefir to get the calcium you need and the added probiotic benefits.

Increase phosphorus. The second most abundant mineral in our bodies, phosphorous is found in significant quantities in kefir. It helps us use carbohydrates and proteins for cell growth and energy. Who doesn’t want more energy?

Keep calm and carry on. Kefir contains tryptophan, an amino acid that can have a relaxing effect. Let the “good feeling” last and help manage your stress.

Are the health benefits of kefir quite extraordinary? Yes, we’d like to think so. Drink up!

ey look like small clumps of cauliflower!

Can e-cigarettes really help you stop smoking?

Smoking leads to one thing and one thing only: Poor health.

Smoking cigarettes has been shown to impact all the body’s major systems – cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive – and lead to many forms of cancer. Smoking causes one in five deaths in America, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With this in mind, there is a strong push to quit (or there should be).

There are numerous ways you can quit smoking, from therapy to hypnosis to wearing a nicotine patch. But one means of quitting smoking that’s on the rise is simply switching one evil for another. We’re referring to e-cigarettes, and as their popularity grows among smokers and non-smokers alike, the negative health effects of these devices continue to come to light.

Largest consumers of e-cigarettes reportedly are the United Kingdom, with 2.6 million users of e-cigarettes. Nearly half a million of them switched from regular tobacco use. Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reported that 22 percent of e-cigarette users say that switching from tobacco to e-cigarettes is a way to quit the habit.

Further studies, however, are starting to show that users who switch aren’t quitting at all. Worse still, e-cigarettes now pose their own health risks which are nearly as bad as tobacco smoking. E-cigarettes have become another trendy bad habit for kids, teens and adults.

E-cigarettes versus traditional tobacco: Do they really live up to the hype?

As we’ve mentioned, smoking can take a serious toll on your health. Tobacco use has been linked to the following diseases and illnesses:

• Stroke
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Effects on reproduction and erectile dysfunction
• Reduced immune function
• Respiratory diseases and infections, such as pneumonia
• Vision problems like cataracts or vision loss
• Cancer – liver, lung, throat, kidney, bladder, colon.

The health effects of smoking are serious, so it’s no wonder people are trying to quit. And although e-cigarettes are billed as a safer alternative, they come with their own risk.

Read more here

Feeling stressed? 3 techniques for quick relief

You forgot to pick up the dry cleaning. You left the stove on when you left the house. You completely forgot about a coming occasion and now triple-booked yourself! What do all of these things have in common? They all produce stress.

These are just some examples, among a slew of others, which can send our bodies into overdrive. They can make our heart race, our hands sweat and even raise the tone of our voice.

While these may seem like temporary stressors, they are leaving a mark on your health. And if you encounter stress daily, you’re allowing stress to make a permanent indent to your overall health. Finding effective ways to manage stress are more important than you may realize.

In this day and age, many of us are suffering from chronic stress where we deal with threats every day and so our bodies react to protect us. And without proper stress management and relief, we’re setting ourselves up for serious health consequences.

Chronic stress: How to know if you are suffering from chronic stress

We all face daily stressors, but how can you know for sure if you have chronic stress? Well, by recognizing the symptoms of chronic stress disorder as well as the causes and signs, you’ll have a better idea if you have chronic stress.

Chronic stress is the result of repeated exposure to stressful situations where your body releases stress hormones. Unlike acute stress, which is our body reacting to a specific situation, chronic stress can cause serious damage to our mind and body. With chronic stress our bodies tend to remain in a stressful state keeping us at high alert or in the “fight or flight” state.

Chronic stress symptoms include increases in heart rate, blood sugar and blood pressure, and a decrease in our immune system.

Read more here

Unknown Benefits of this Common Food

To live a long healthy life, food plays a main role. We know that fast-food and too much sugar are bad for us, and lean protein and vegetables are ideal.

But there’s one food item that can actually reduce mortality – whole grains.

Although bleached and white breads are not good for us, whole grains on the other hand offer us many nutritional benefits. Whole grains contain all the essential nutrients from the grain and have undergone little to no processing.

When foods go through processing and refining, many of the nutritional benefits become lost or devalued, so keeping the grain intact is essential for good health. In fact, a single serving of whole grains can help lower your risk of dying – of cardiovascular disease in particular – by up to 10 percent. That’s according to new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Looking into whole grains and cardiovascular disease
Harvard School of Public Health recently examined the health data of more than 2.7 million people: About 74,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study and more than 43,000 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. They completed questionnaires about their diet every two or four years between the mid-1980s and 2010.

Researchers adjusted for a variety of factors, such as age, smoking, body mass index, physical activity and overall diet except for whole grains. Over 25 years, they compared participants’ whole grain intake with mortality data.

They learned that for every daily serving of whole grains you eat – roughly 28 grams – your risk of death declines by as much as 5 percent. What’s more, that same kind of healthy eating every day decreases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease by as much as 10 percent. Even swapping refined grains and red meats with whole grains can help lower mortality, according to researchers. All it takes is replacing one serving of refined grains or red meat each day with one serving of whole grains.

Swapping out refined grains could mean an 8 percent lower mortality; swapping out red meat could lead to a 20 percent lower mortality. On the other hand, researchers found no link between eating whole grains and lowered cancer-related deaths.

Previously, eating more whole grains was linked to a lower risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, but there haven’t been many studies on whole grains and mortality.

Whole grains versus refined grains
So why is consuming whole grains considered healthy eating? Well, whole grains fill you up without ever increasing your blood sugar and insulin levels. Generally, whole grains are made up of fiber, magnesium, phenolic acids, and other nutrients and phytochemicals. They’re quite different from refined grains like the ultra-processed ones you find in white bread, crackers and pretty much all snack foods.

Ways to eat more whole grains and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease
Of course, oatmeal isn’t the only path to healthy eating. You can also try brown rice, whole grain bread and pasta, and quinoa. But if you really want to get the healthiest whole grains and lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, consider purchasing unprocessed grains, not those mixed or baked into other foods. That means whole rolled oats instead of sugary instant oatmeal. Basically, as I’ve mentioned, the less processing or preparation your whole grains have undergone, the better.

Interestingly, Harvard School of Public Health backs the current dietary guidelines that promote whole grains as one of the major healthful foods for prevention of major chronic diseases. Based on existing health research, your goal should be three or more servings, about 28 grams, daily.

So if you can add a big bowl of oatmeal, quinoa, or bulgur to your everyday diet, you’ll be on the right track to healthy eating and possibly a longer life.

Aspartame vs. Sugar – Are any of it Good?

If you’re focused on weight loss, counting calories may be something that you’re familiar with. In an effort to limit calories, most people cut out fast food and junk food. Many people turn to artificial sweeteners such as aspartame instead of sugar as another way to reduce calories. Which is better – sugar or aspartame?

The difference between sugar and aspartame

Aspartame was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974 but has been under controversy for many years.

Aspartame is one of the most common artificial sweeteners available, sold under the brand names NutraSweet and Equal. Aspartame is made by joining together the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are found naturally in many foods.

Aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar and is used in many beverages and foods. Because of this you can use much less of it and still achieve sweetness. A major selling feature of aspartame is that it contains far few calories (two calories per teaspoon) than sugar and can therefore help with weight loss. It tends to be found in diet sodas but because of health concerns and public perception, many companies – like Pepsi – are dropping the sweetener.

On the other hand, sugar is a carbohydrate and one teaspoon contains 16 calories. There are naturally occurring sugars found in fruits and vegetables, and added sugars which are found in many processed foods. We’re concerned about added sugars, hiding in everything from baked goods to packaged tomato sauce.

With the rise of obesity, cutting calories seems to be favored among dieters. The easiest way to cut calories then is to switch to sugar alternatives, like aspartame, which still offer sweetness without the added calories. Easy? Maybe, but not the best option for your health.

Why aspartame and sugar could both be bad

Over the years, much attention has been focused on a possible link between aspartame and cancer. However, research has not fully supported this. Claims have also been made that aspartame consumption may lead to a number of side effects. These include:

• Headaches
• Dizziness
• Digestive problems
• Mood changes.

Serious health issues have also been attributed to the use of aspartame, which include:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Birth defects
• Diabetes
• Attention deficit disorder
• Parkinson’s disease
• Lupus
• Multiple sclerosis
• Seizures.

However, the research does not fully support these claims either.

Expert agencies in the United States and elsewhere that have evaluated aspartame have found it safe for use. The FDA says aspartame is one of the most exhaustively studied substances in the human food supply, with more than 100 studies supporting its safety.

More recently, a government advisory committee for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s dietary guidelines said aspartame appears to be safe in the amounts consumed by Americans. But it added that there is still uncertainty about whether the sweetener increases risk for some blood cancers in men, the Associated Press reported in April.

When aspartame becomes dangerous

While research has not found that aspartame causes health problems in the general population, people with phenylketonuria (PKU) should limit their consumption of products containing aspartame. PKU is a rare genetic disorder where a person cannot break down phenylalanine.

High levels of phenylalanine in the blood can prevent important chemicals from getting to the brain, resulting in brain damage. Because phenylalanine is found in aspartame it is vital that people who suffer from PKU limit their consumption.

Aspartame in fast food

Aspartame is found in diet soda that is often sold in fast food restaurants. Fast food restaurants, as well as manufacturers, market these diet sodas as a healthier option to regular sodas. Many people will order a diet soda to reduce the calories they consume but will add a whole meal to this diet soda. This doesn’t help with weight loss at all. Staying away from fast food chains and junk food is the first thing you should do if weight loss is your goal.

Just like most things in life, moderation is the key when it comes to sweets. We advocate eating fresh whole foods and staying away from anything processed or artificial, aspartame included. Feed your sugar craving with fruits and dairy, which both have natural sugar.

Swap out your soda for better beverage options like water (add citrus or cucumber for a nutrient and flavor boost), coconut water, tea and coffee (just don’t overdue the caffeine consumption, either).

If weight loss is your goal, reducing calories by eating a diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins and regularly exercising should become good habits in your routine.

Crazy Viral Imprint of Microbes on an 8 year old

Source:- Mashable

Your kid’s hands are filthy cesspools of bacteria. The good news: That bacteria makes for some pretty neat science photography.

Take for example Tasha Sturm, a microbiology lab technician at Cabrillo College, who shared this image of her 8-year-old’s hand-print on a petri plate filled with Tryptic Soy Agar.

Sturm shared the photo on Microbe World, writing in the comments that she’d taken the handprint just after her son returned from playing outdoors.

Several days and multiple rounds of incubation later, her son’s handprint had flowered into large — and strangely beautiful — colonies of staph, micrococcus, yeast, fungi and more.

Sturm tells Mashable that the hand print serves as an example for a microbiology lab class she teaches each semester.

“If I have large plates left over from the previous semester and I remember then I will let my kids do a ‘demo’ for me by making a hand print and bring it into the class to show the students,” she said. “My kids love it, as my son said it’s, ‘Cool!,’ and it is a good teaching tool all the way around.”

She added that her children have been making “hand prints” for the past five years, “and it never seems to get old.”

Behavioral therapy can improve insomnia without drugs

Source:- reuters.com

A new study confirms that cognitive behavioral therapy is an effective option for chronic insomnia, researchers say.

The researchers, who reviewed previously published data, expected that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) would be highly effective, said James M. Trauer of the Melbourne Sleep Disorders Centre in Australia, who led the new analysis.

“What surprises us is that there isn’t more awareness of this treatment’s effectiveness and that there haven’t been more attempts to make the treatment more available to patients,” Trauer told Reuters Health by email.

For the review, researchers considered 20 randomized, controlled trials of face-to-face behavioral therapy assessing its effects on overnight sleep for people with chronic insomnia not caused by an underlying medical condition.

Up to 15 percent of people have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep and meet the diagnostic criteria for chronic insomnia, the researchers write, which often also includes impairment of daytime thinking, mood or performance.

The researchers included studies that tested at least three of the five components of cognitive behavioral therapy, including (1) working with a therapist to identify and replace dysfunctional attitudes about sleep, like unrealistic expectations or fear of missing out, (2) instruction in sleep hygiene, (3) limiting time in bed to that spent actually sleeping, (4) controlling sleep stimuli, and (5) relaxation techniques like mindfulness or meditation.

Overall, the 20 studies included more than 1,000 patients. All the studies compared cognitive therapy groups to either a waiting list, an ‘education-only’ group, a sham therapy group or a group receiving placebo pills.

On average, people in the therapy groups reduced the time it takes to fall asleep by 19 minutes after treatment, spent 26 fewer minutes waking up in the night and slept for about seven more minutes per night, the researchers reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

This validates existing recommendations that CBT should be the first treatment option for chronic insomnia, Trauer said.

“Medications are associated with side effects and also the risk of tolerance,” he said.

“These are important drawbacks, but the biggest problem with medications is that they don’t get to the core of the problem,” he said. “Psychological treatments aim to understand what is driving the insomnia and reverse these processes, while medications just mask the symptoms.”

The review did not assess more important outcomes, like fatigue, psychological distress and quality of life, Charles M. Morin of Universite Laval in Quebec, Canada, noted in an editorial.

He writes that “a major gap exists between the current state of the science and actual clinical practice.”

Insomnia is often unrecognized and untreated, and when it is treated, it is often with over-the-counter products with unknown risks and benefits or prescription medications with known side effects, Morin writes. “Cognitive behavioral therapy is relatively unfamiliar to and underused by medical practitioners.”

CBT should be appropriate for most people with chronic insomnia, as long as they accept that some hard work is required, but it is not available to all patients, Trauer said.

“Although we do need to train more therapists to be able to deliver the treatment, even this is unlikely to be sufficient to meet the demand, given that around 10 percent of the population (has) chronic insomnia,” he said.

Internet-based treatment and group-based formats may give patients more access to CBT for insomnia, which needs to be tailored to the individual, he said.