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Month: October, 2009

The Cookie Diet: Does It Really Work?

31 October, 2009 (11:20) | BlogHer, Health, dieting, exercise, food, life, nutrition, weight loss, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

cookie diet

Is it possible to eat cookies and lose weight?  Well, Dr. Sanford Siegal would certainly like you to think so.  After all, at $56 for a week’s supply, Dr. Siegal is going to make an estimated $18 million this year selling his weight-loss cookies.   It’s called The Cookie Diet, and if you like cookies it may sound like a great way to lose weight.  But is it?

Usually, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.  And apparently the first deception about this diet is calling it a cookie.  The word “cookie” implies that it’s a yummy treat, but it seems everyone agrees they don’t taste very good.  Also, the meal-plan for the cookie diet restricts the dieter to only one meal a day, and less than 1000 calories.  Anytime you restrict calories that low, weight-loss is inevitable (with or without the cookie).

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Smile and Laugh Your Way To Better Health

29 October, 2009 (11:12) | Health, depression, family, heart disease, inspirational, life, positive thinking, thoughts, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

happy woman

Can You Laugh Your Way To Better Health?

Diet and exercise are important for good health, but did you know laughter is too? If you want to be as healthy as you can be, than laughter needs to be part of your healthy living regimen. Is it?

Here are some of the Health Benefits of Laughter:

  • Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases infection fighting antibodies. It increases our attentiveness, heart rate, and pulse.
  • People who laugh heartily on a regular basis have lower standing blood pressure than the average person. When people have a good laugh, initially the blood pressure increases, but then it decreases to levels below normal. Breathing then becomes deeper which sends oxygen enriched blood and nutrients throughout the body.
  • Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to the study at the University of Maryland Medical Center (cited above). The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

Here is a Humor Survey by the University of Maryland Medical Center…

How Well Does Your Sense of Humor Protect You From Heart Disease?

Are you someone who easily finds the humor in things? What advice would you give to your super serious counterparts?

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Depression and Anti-Depressants: Risks vs. Benefits

28 October, 2009 (19:12) | BlogHer, Health, depression, healthcare, life, news, thoughts, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

Anti-depressants have been in the news a lot recently.  There are new questions about anti-depressant use and the risk of suicide.  Questions about why anti-depressant use seems to be on the rise.  Questions about the risks of using anti-depressants during pregnancy.  And questions about the safety of using anti-depressants in adolescence.  Unfortunately, there are more questions than answers.

For me, these types of questions boil down to…Do the benefits outweigh the risks? And there is no right or wrong answer, I believe these questions need to be addressed on a case by case basis.

As with everything in life – Knowledge is power.  So in this post we will take a look at the latest news surrounding anti-depressant use, as well as links to information on diagnosis and treatment of depression.

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Yoga Can Reduce Stress & Curb Emotional Eating

26 October, 2009 (00:13) | BlogHer, Health, YouTube, dieting, exercise, life, weight loss, women, women's health, yoga | By: Catherine Morgan

Did you ever want to give yoga a try, but it seemed like too much of a commitment? Well if you’re like me, and you’re a bit of an emotional eater, learning a couple of yoga poses may be just what you need. Yoga can help you focus on what your body needs, reduce stress, and curb your emotional eating.

Here is a pose you can do in less than two minutes, it’s called Downward Facing Dog. Give it a try for a couple of days and see if you notice a difference.

Also See:

Yoga Poses For Weight Loss

My Yoga Online

*Re-posted from BlogHers Good Health-a-thon and 61 Days 2 Better Health

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New Research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

23 October, 2009 (13:56) | BlogHer, Health, YouTube, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, life, news, thoughts, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

The latest research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has it linked to a cancer-causing retrovirus…

Last week I was reading a lot about the latest research linking Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) to the XMRV Retrovirus.  Some of the articles even implied that people suffering with CFS (like myself) should be excited at the possibility that this news could lead to better diagnosis and treatment of CFS.  But, it’s not exactly good news for CFS patients, especially for patients hoping for a cure.  Here’s why…

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How Do You Feel About Chiropractic Health Care?

20 October, 2009 (01:16) | BlogHer, Health, healthcare, life, thoughts, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

October is National Chiropractic Month, and the American Chiropractic Association is encouraging families to consider trying chiropractic care as a treatment for several types of headaches.

How do you feel about chiropractic health care?  Is it something you would consider for yourself and family?  Did you realize that seeing a chiropractor could be helpful for people who suffer with migraines and other types of headaches?

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Healthcare Reform and Breast Cancer

17 October, 2009 (13:20) | BlogHer, Health, breast cancer, healthcare, life, news, politics, thoughts, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

Where do you stand on healthcare reform?  It’s a hot-button political issue that has strong opinions on both sides.  And with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it seems appropriate to address how healthcare reform could affect the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer.

The question is…Will it help or hurt?

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Avoiding Candy Cravings During Halloween

14 October, 2009 (21:09) | BlogHer, Health, dieting, food, life, nutrition, weight loss, women, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

halloween candy

I have been successfully off of sugar since my post Conquering Sugar Addiction: The First Step Towards A Healthy Diet (and the toughest), but I know I am always just one bite of a brownie away from falling off the wagon. And now there is another huge temptation – Halloween. It seems like everywhere I go I am faced with those giant bags of Halloween candy. The next few weeks are going to be a real test of my new-found willpower.

It’s nice to know I’m not the only one struggling with Halloween candy temptations.

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Find Happiness In The Present Moment

11 October, 2009 (19:23) | empowerment, forgiveness, happiness, inspirational, life, marriage, peace, thoughts | By: Catherine Morgan

Relaxing in jacuzzi

Four Steps To Living In the Moment

Are you only concerned with adding days to your life, and forgetting to add life to your days? If so, you are not alone. This is a problem many of us have, and the reason we should all try to make a conscious effort, to live in the present moment.

When we are living in the moment, we are totally immersed in what we are doing. I’m not suggesting in any way, that we should attempt to live in the moment 100% of the time, as much as it would be great if we could, it’s just not practical. To do that, we would be setting ourselves up for failure. What I want you to do, is just make an “attempt” at living in the present moment, this is a positive start, and in the right direction. So, how can you start? Well, you start with “awareness”.

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Breast Cancer Survivors: Stories In Words and In Video

10 October, 2009 (10:49) | BlogHer, Health, YouTube, breast cancer, healthcare, inspirational, life, mommy bloggers, news, positive thinking, thoughts, videos, women, women bloggers, women's health | By: Catherine Morgan

This is a post in honor of breast cancer survivors. They are women sharing their stories of hope, struggle, determination, and survival. Some are in words and some are in video.

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