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).
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?
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…
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.
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.
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…
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?
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.
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.
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”.
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.
The American Cancer Society, the Official Sponsor of Birthdays, joined forces with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to reinvent the birthday cake. Because healthy living is key to creating a world with less cancer and more birthdays, the Society and CIA challenged CIA’s baking and pastry students to create a better-for-you birthday cake. The winner is now the official birthday cake of the American Cancer Society. “Ace of Cakes” Chef Duff Goldman joined the Society and CIA to select the winner, Chef Alexandra Mudry’s new take on red velvet cake, from a pool of five talented finalists.
Let’s talk about fear. Are You Afraid of Breast Cancer? If so, you’re not alone. Cancer is a scary thing…And all the pink in the world can’t change that. Sure, pink ribbons may be pretty, but breast cancer is ugly and scary. Here are some facts about breast cancer…
An estimated 182,800 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2000.
Approximately 42,200 deaths will occur in women from breast cancer in 2000.
One in eight women or 12.6% of all women will get breast cancer in her lifetime.
Breast cancer risk increases with age and every woman is at risk.
Every 13 minutes a woman dies of breast cancer.
Seventy-seven percent of women with breast cancer are over 50.
Many women are blogging about their breast cancer fears. From little fears to big fears. They have fears of mammograms, fears of treatments, fears or recurrences, fears of dying…and on and on. What are your breast cancer fears?
Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told… maybe not. How would you cope?
That’s the question the twenty young people in this book had to answer when they were diagnosed with childhood cancer. Perseverance shares life lessons learned through their stories and educates the reader on how to incorporate them into his/her life. It tells of their trials and tribulations, of their triumphs, and of the unique challenges that day-to-day life brings them. Perseverance also provides an intimate look at the lives and journeys of these young people and how their courage and strength have affected the lives of others.
I’m sure you’ve heard that October is breast cancer awareness month. The problem with breast cancer awareness is that being aware is only helpful if you can actually do something about it. And in the case of breast cancer, that something is getting a mammogram. Sadly, not every woman can afford to get a mammogram.
I’m honored to be a member of the American Cancer Society’s Blogger Advisory Council, a small group of volunteers that advises the Society on its social media strategy. Part of our mission is to help spread the word that we have power in the fight against cancer. And our first step is to build awareness and encourage women to get involved. Because…Visibility equals power! So we have started a blog “chain” to spread the word among women bloggers. We call it Bloggers for More Birthdays.
You can help…Join Bloggers for More Birthdays by dedicating a blog post to someone you love who’s been affected by cancer. It’s a simple way to celebrate those you love. Just write a post (like I’ve done here), host our badge, and know that whatever you write, you are helping to raise awareness and inspiring others to join American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer.
My contribution to this effort is about an angel named Becky…
Becky was my best friend. A wonderful mother. And a great mom-mom. Even though she’s been gone for over seven years, a day rarely goes by that I don’t think of her and wish she were here. Time has helped to replace some of my grief with many lovely memories, but it hasn’t healed my anger towards the disease that took her from us. Cancer.
I hate cancer, and I hate that my friend didn’t get a chance to be a survivor. Why her? She deserved to be a survivor, she deserved to have more birthdays. She fought this disease with every ounce of strength she had, but in the end cancer took away every ounce of strength she had.
Although I’m angry, I’m also grateful for the time I did have Becky in my life. She was there for me during some very tough times. I know I’m who I am today, partly because of her influence in my life. I only wish I was able to thank her for that.
No matter how much time goes by, I will never forget the angel she was…and still is.
If you’ve posted, let The American Cancer Society know so they can feature it! Just put a link to your post in the comments section here, or email your post to bloggersubmit@officialbirthdayblog.com. You’ll be showing your support for More Birthdays and bring visibility to your blog.
My name is Catherine Morgan, and I'm a writer, nurse, and mother. Above are links to my blogs, that also list many of the posts and articles that I've written for them.
I'm also at BlogHer Health & Wellness.
Can you imagine being in high school or college and suddenly learning you have cancer? You thought you had a lifetime ahead of you and the whole world at your feet, but suddenly you’re told… maybe not. How would you cope?
