Bus travels, Tour and transport

Researchers are putting a tag on obesity. Doctors have known that medical bills are higher for the obese, but a report from George Washington University finds that's only a portion of the real-life costs.

The researchers added in factors such as employee sick days, lost productivity, even the need for extra gasoline-- and found the annual cost of being obese is $4,879 for a woman and $2,646 for a man.

That's far more than the cost of being merely overweight -- $524 for women and $434 for men.

The study's co-author Christine Ferguson says the difference found between the sexes suggests that larger women earn less than skinnier women, while wages don't differ when men pack on the pounds.

Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, and childhood obesity has tripled in the past three decades.

What do you think is the key to good health? Good eating habits are not enough to bring in good health. It has to be complemented with a regular workout routine. But the sad fact is that most of us don’t realize this and end up making poor lifestyle choices. This leads to a handful of illness and health issues like heart diseases and diabetes. But there are instances where certain health conditions become unavoidable. However you need to make wise choices and do everything to stay fit and healthy.

• A healthy person would surely have a healthy body mass index. There are chances of getting heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers if you become obese or overweight. Hence it becomes necessary to maintain a healthy weight. At fit camps, people are taught to stay healthy with a stable BMI.

• People try to break away from doing workouts putting the blame on time constraints. But you have to overcome the sluggishness and start an exercise routine. Boot camps insist on proper exercise and as the end result weight loss follows. Apart from the weight loss beneficial factor, the cardio workouts contribute to a healthy heart and lungs functioning. The exercise routine should include 30 minutes workouts three times a week.

• Healthy habits make a man fit and fine and it is absolutely a personal choice to remain in good shape. A variety of health conditions can be attributed to smoking and alcohol abuse like lung cancer, liver cirrhosis etc. the golden rule of thumb is to quit smoking and make the alcohol intake in moderate quantities.

• There is a saying that a man is what he eats. This is true as on the whole the health of a person is determined by his eating habits. If you wish to stay fit and healthy, evaluate your eating habits and modify them. High fat foods, fried foods and fast foods are an absolute ‘no-no’. Trade in unhealthy snacks like cookies, potato chips and candy. All this should be replaced by fruits, vegetables, nuts and wheat crackers.

• It has been proved that detoxification is an excellent way to flush out the harmful toxins from the body. You can begin a detoxification program as there are many herbal detox teas are available. Furthermore, water has the immense capability to remove toxins from the body. So make it a point to drink at least eight to ten glasses of water per day.


source:http://www.prlog.org/10851321-how-to-stay-fit-and-healthy.html

Shrek, Dora the Explorer, and other lively TV and movie stars beloved by children have been moonlighting as junk-food pitchmen in recent years. And they're good at it.

Fifty percent of children say that food from a package bedecked with a cartoon celebrity such as Shrek tastes better than the same exact food from a plain package, according to a new study.

And when given a choice, the vast mass of kids pick the food from the cartoon-adorned package as a snack, the study found.

The use of TV and movie characters on food packaging is "premeditated to access certain feelings, memories, and associations," says Dr. Thomas Robinson, M.D., a professor of child health at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. "If you associate certain products with things that are otherwise considered fun, it's going to make those products seem more desirable."

Cartoon characters tend to appear on junk food, which makes health experts even more concerned about the magnetic effect they have on kids. Although characters such as Dora and SpongeBob SquarePants have been used to market fruits and vegetables, they are most often used on chips, candy, and other unhealthy snacks. SpongeBob has even hawked Kentucky Fried Chicken.


"Parents may not set out to buy unhealthy products," says the lead author of the study, Christina Roberto, M.S., a doctoral student at Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, in New Haven, Connecticut. "But kids can be really, really persuasive. They see them and they want them, and it gets difficult to have that battle in the grocery store."

In the study, which is in print this week in the journal Pediatrics, Roberto and her colleagues presented 40 children ages 4 to 6 with paired samples of graham crackers, gummy fruit snacks, and baby carrots. Each pair of sample foods was identical down to the clear packaging, except that one of the packages had a sticker of Shrek, Dora the Explorer, or Scooby Doo on it.

Between 50 percent and 55 percent of the children said that the food with the sticker on it tasted better than the same food in the plain package. (The percentage varied with each food.) And between 73 percent and 85 percent selected the food in the character packaging as the one they'd prefer to eat as a snack.


"Marketers know that cartoon characters sell food products; that's why they use them," says Marion Nestle, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. "This study really nails it down. Now we have evidence for asking--no, requiring--food marketers to stop using cartoons to market junk foods to kids."

The American Psychological Association and other organizations have likewise called for the abolition of all marketing of food products to children, a stance that Robinson says is reasonable.

"Young children, particularly under the age of 7 or 8, really don't understand the persuasive intent of marketing," he says. "That seems inherently unfair, and something we should protect children from, just like we protect them from other things we think are beyond their cognitive ability, like pornography."

new ways to deal with picky eaters

Using the power of cartoon characters for good--to market healthy foods--may be less effective than restrictions on junk-food marketing, Roberto says. The cartoon characters had the least influence on children's preferences when they were on the package of baby carrots, she notes.

"It might be that they're not used to seeing [the characters] on vegetables," Roberto says. Or it might be that kids already know that "a carrot is a carrot is a carrot," she adds, whereas they're not sure how a specific brand of graham cracker or gummy snack will taste.

Is it Baby Fat or Obesity?

Food and beverage companies in the U.S. spend more than $1.6 billion each year to attract children's attention, and 13 percent of that is spent on character licensing and similar cross-promotion efforts, according to Federal Trade Commission data cited in the study.

But the calls for reform have had some impact. The use of licensed characters on food products declined between 2006 and 2008, according to research conducted by the Rudd Center.

"It's good to see the voluntary work on this," says Roberto. "But we'd like to see more."

When Hayley Okines arrives home after a serious day at school she would have more reason to complain than most. The 12-year-old suffers from the quick aging disease progeria, an extremely rare condition that affects one in eight million people.

But despite suffering from arthritis, having little hunger and intriguing a cocktail of pills morning and night, the youth refuses to be beaten.

Her mother Kerry, told the Mail Online: 'I'm so proud of Hayley. No matter what life throws at her she just gets on with it. She doesn't let her arthritis stop her and runs around with her friends and she is very good at taking her medication.'

Hayley's life story is the subject of a documentary to be broadcast on Five tonight. When she last featured in the channel's 'Extraordinary People' series in 2007 she was about to take part in a pioneering medical trial in America.

Her parents from Bexhill, East Sussex, were hideously aware that the average lifespan for a child with progeria is only 13 years old and Hayley was devastated when she lost her best friend to the disease in 2006.



Hayley was well enough to attend her local secondary school and astonished her family by how well she adapted to her new surroundings.

Kerry said: 'We were worried because of the sheer size of the school and of rough and tumble because Hayley is quite fragile. But she settled in quickly and has made a couple of new friends as well. She is particularly good at science and maths.

'She also had her first sleepovers this year and the girls enjoyed chatting and playing on the Nintendo Wii and doing all the usual girly things.'

Kerry who has two other children - Louis, 8 and Ruby, 5 - is now hoping to organise a UK reunion for children with progeria, after the annual U.S event was cancelled due to a lack of funding.

Although they have managed to raise £4,000 to host the event they are still £14,000 short of their target.

'We're desperate not to cancel the event and have even looked at getting a bank loan,' Kerry said.


'We've already had families of 18 children with progeria say they would like to attend and we're hoping that a sponsor might come forward to help.

'It means so much to the children to meet others with the same condition.'

Kerry and her husband Mark will be taking Hayley back to Boston in July for another check-up and are confident Hayley will continue to deal with whatever life throws at her.

'Hayley just gets on with her life,' Kerry said.

'She is a fighter and has achieved a great deal in a short time.'

The riskiest foods

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has issued a list of the top 10 FDA-regulated foods linked to outbreaks since 1990. (That includes produce, seafood, egg, and dairy products, but not meat.)

Be aware of the risk, but don’t avoid these types of food. “They are everywhere and are part of a healthy diet,” says CSPI staff attorney, Sarah Klein.

Leafy greens

Yes, they’re you’re favorite go-to salad greens—lettuce, escarole, endive, spinach, cabbage, kale, arugula, and chard.

But they also caused 363 outbreaks involving 13,568 reported cases of illness since 1990. (Remember bagged spinach in 2006?)

Greens can be contaminated by manure, dirty water rinses, or unwashed hands before you even purchase them.

To avoid getting sick, wash produce and prevent cross-contamination (improper handling of meat in the kitchen can spread bacteria to other types of food, including greens) by washing hands and using separate cutting boards.

Eggs

This breakfast favorite has been linked to 352 outbreaks since 1990, most often due to Salmonella bacteria.

The bacteria can lurk inside the egg, so proper cooking is key (which kills the germs). Avoid eating any products containing raw eggs, including cookie dough.

“Our food supply is safe,” says Craig Hedberg, PhD, of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in Minneapolis. “There is roughly one illness for every three to four thousand meals served,” he says.

Still, “raw food items like eggs may have contamination and need to be handled properly.”

Tuna

This type of fish can be contaminated by scombrotoxin, which causes flushing, headaches, and cramps.

If it is stored above 60 degrees after being caught, fresh fish can release the toxin, which cannot be destroyed by cooking (and is unrelated to mercury contamination or other problems related to tuna and other fish).

Tuna has been linked to 268 scombroid poisoning outbreaks since 1990.

“You just can’t cook out all the things wrong with food supply right now,” CSPI's Klein says.

Oysters

Before being transformed into a pricey delicacy, oysters lurk on the ocean floor doing what they do best—filter feeding.

And if the water they are filtering is contaminated, so are the oysters. (Or they can be contaminated during handling.)

If served raw or undercooked, oysters can contain germs—mostly a gut-churner called norovirus and a bacterium known as Vibrio vulnificus—that can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Potatoes

A freshly scrubbed spud that’s properly cooked is unlikely to cause illness. But watch out for potato salad.

Cross contamination—the transfer of germs from one type of food, usually meat, to another—can be the source of the problem.

Potato-related outbreaks of illness have been traced to germs like Listeria (which can live on deli counters ), Shigella, E. coli, and Salmonella.

Cheese

While restaurants are a key source of other food-related outbreaks, most people who get sick from cheese do so from products consumed at home.

Cheese can be contaminated with bacteria like Salmonella or Listeria, which can cause miscarriages.

Ice Cream

I scream, you scream. We all scream from ice cream? Ice cream has been linked to 75 outbreaks caused by bacteria like Salmonella and Staphylococcus since 1990, according to the CSPI.

The largest outbreak occurred in 1994, when a batch of pasteurized ice cream premix was transported in a Salmonella-contaminated truck, and then used to make ice cream without re-pasteurizing.

“People are making ice cream at home and using raw eggs in the household,” explains Hedberg.

Tomatoes

Although tomatoes were found “not guilty” in a 2008 outbreak that sickened thousands (the culprits were jalapeno and Serrano peppers), this summer favorite has been linked to at least 31 outbreaks.

“Lettuce or tomatoes may be contaminated, but once they enter a household, you can make sure that you don’t allow the bacteria to grow and multiply,” says Hedberg.

To do this: wash hands for 20 seconds with warm water and soap before and after preparing fresh produce; wash fruits and vegetables under running water just before eating, cutting, or cooking, even if you plan to peel it before eating; and keep fruits and vegetables that will be eaten raw separate from other foods.

Sprouts

While sprouts are practically the poster child for healthy food, they can also be vulnerable to bacterial contamination.

The seeds used to produce the sprouts can be contaminated in the field, and water and warm growing conditions that encourage germination can also boost bacterial growth.

The FDA and CDC recommend that the elderly, young children, and those with weakened immune systems avoid eating raw sprouts.

Berries

Another common source of food poisoning is berries, including strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

A 1997 outbreak that sickened thousands of children via school lunches was traced to hepatitis A-contaminated frozen strawberries (possibly from a farm worker in Baja California, Mexico).

Other cases—linked to imported raspberries from Chile and Guatemala—have been caused by a germ called Cyclospora, which causes severe diarrhea, dehydrations, and cramps.

Seventy miles off of Key West the Dry Tortugas is the site of Fort Jefferson built with 16 million bricks in the 1840’s and surrounded by breathtaking coral reefs just off the beach.

You can get to the Dry Tortugas on a 2 hour cruise aboard the Yankee Freedoom II.

Dry Tortugas National Park

PO Box 6208
Key West, Florida 33041
Phone: 305-242-7700

The Inside Florida Scoop:

• A comfortable 2 hour cruise gets you to Dry Tortugas
• Breakfast, lunch, and snorkeling gear are provided on the Yankee Freedom II
• Fort Jefferson is impressive, very photogenic, and huge
• Snorkel right off the beach in a few feet of water
• The water is crystal clear turquoise
• You will see many types of tropical fish, live coral, and other sea life
• Bring sun protection - sunscreen and a sun shirt work well

Dry Tortugas Name and History

The name for the cluster of islands comes from Ponce de Leon who visited in 1513 and was in awe over the abundance of sea turtles. He named this area “Tortugas” which means turtles in Spanish. The most common is the loggerhead sea turtle but you can also see green, hawksbill, and leatherback sea turtles nesting and swimming in the area.

In the 1600’s and 1700’s many pirates made this area home base while waiting to attack ships as they sailed pass.

The Entrance to Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

The park is open year round with it subtropical climate the weather can change quickly. The winter season of December through March tends to be the windiest and have the roughest seas. April and May are very pleasant. June through November is considered hurricane season but you’ll also find the calmest seas while intense storms can come up at any time. During the summer months, it can get extremely humid and hot (drink lots of water, wear plenty of suntan lotion, and cool off in the turquoise waters.)

A tropical fish on the reef at Dry Tortugas

Mini Cruise

The Inside Florida team signed up for a full day excursion on the Yankee Freedom II to the Dry Tortugas. It was a fantastic trip aboard the Yankee Freedom with friendly and informative staff, air conditioned sections with table seating, breakfast and lunch buffets, and Captain Rick with his loyal yellow labrador, Salty.

The ferry has a 250 person capacity but Yankee Freedom limits it to 100 people so you don’t feel crowded at all. You can walk around the vessel’s decks, sit on on the upper deck with wide ocean views, and even hang out with Captain Rick during the 2 hour trip.

As you approach Fort Jefferson on the Yankee Freedom II, you’ll see how massive it is a few miles out. It’s architecture is impressive for a fort its size. The US Military started building Fort Jefferson in 1846 with the goal of protecting the waterways and ships headed for ports to the Gulf coast region.

After 16 million red bricks were laid into this 3 story, 6 sided fort, it was never completed. The development of more modern weapons made the fort obsolete. You’ll can take a 40 minute guided tour when you first arrive to Garden Key, home of Fort Jefferson.

Snorkeling in the Dry Tortugas

After a tour of Fort Jefferson, grab your snorkeling gear (Yankee Freedom provides it if you don’t have your own) and head to the beach. Make sure to also review one of Yankee Freedom’s snorkeling maps of the area.

Living coral reefs are typically 2 to 3 miles offshore from the Keys but at the Dry Tortugas you walk right into the white sandy beach and head to the wall around the moat to see beautiful brain coral, sea fans, schools of tropical fish, queen conchs, and huge sea urchins. It’s one of the most easy and beautiful places to snorkel. The depth is just a few feet to about 15 feet deep along the fort’s outer walls.

More experienced snorkelers can also enjoy the South Coaling Dock Ruins which are old metal pilings from the coal docks.

The arches of Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas Florida

Our friends loved camping at the Dry Tortugas on the island of Garden Key with Fort Jefferson. One of the most amazing experiences is sitting on top of the 3rd floor of Fort Jefferson during sunset (bring a camera!).

It is a primitive campsite so you must bring everything including water. Yankee Freedom provides ferry transport for campers and allows you to bring 60 pounds of gear. You can also bring a kayak or small canoe for an additional charge. There’s only 11 campsites so you need to make reservations early. The ferries head out around 3:00 pm so the island becomes pretty empty which give the campers lots of peace and quiet while exploring and snorkeling.

Fishing is allowed but spearfishing and lobstering is prohibited. The mosquitoes are minimal because there is no still water for them to breed in.

Bird Watching on Dry Tortugas
During the months of February through September, a close by island called Bush Key is closed for nesting Sooty and Noddy Terns. Between March and September more than 100,000 sotty terns nest in the area along with brown pelicans, brown noddies, roseate terns, and double crested cormorants.

There are several ways you can keep yourself from getting a cold or passing one on to others.

* Because cold germs on your hands can easily enter through your eyes and nose, keep your hands away from those areas of your body
* If possible, avoid being close to people who have colds
* If you have a cold, avoid being close to people
* If you sneeze or cough, cover your nose or mouth, and sneeze or cough into your elbow rather than your hand.

Handwashing

Handwashing with soap and water is the simplest and one of the most effective ways to keep from getting colds or giving them to others. During cold season, you should wash your hands often and teach your children to do the same. When water isn’t available, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) recommends using alcohol-based products made for disinfecting your hands.

Disinfecting

Rhinoviruses can live up to 3 hours on your skin. They also can survive up to 3 hours on objects such as telephones and stair railings. Cleaning environmental surfaces with a virus-killing disinfectant might help prevent spread of infection.

Vaccine

Because so many different viruses can cause the common cold, the outlook for developing a vaccine that will prevent transmission of all of them is dim. Scientists, however, continue to search for a solution to this problem.

Unproven prevention methods

Echinacea

Echinacea is a dietary herbal supplement that some people use to treat their colds. Researchers, however, have found that while the herb may help treat your colds if taken in the early stages, it will not help prevent them.

One research study funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a part of the National Institutes of Health, found that echinacea is not effective at all in treating children aged 2 to 11.

Vitamin C

Many people are convinced that taking large quantities of vitamin C will prevent colds or relieve symptoms. To test this theory, several large-scale, controlled studies involving children and adults have been conducted. To date, no conclusive data has shown that large doses of vitamin C prevent colds. The vitamin may reduce the severity or duration of symptoms, but there is no clear evidence of this effect.

Taking vitamin C over long periods of time in large amounts may be harmful. Too much vitamin C can cause severe diarrhea, a particular danger for elderly people and small children.

Honey

Honey has been considered to be a treatment for coughs and to soothe a sore throat. A recent study conducted at the Penn State College of Medicine compared the effectiveness of a little bit of buckwheat honey before bedtime versus either no treatment or dextromethorphan (DM), the cough suppressant found in many over-the-counter cold medicines. The results of this study suggest that honey may be useful to relieve coughing, but researchers need to do additional studies.

You should never give honey to children under the age of one because of the risk of infantile botulism, a serious disease.

Zinc

Zinc lozenges and zinc lollipops are available over the counter as a treatment for the common cold; however, results from studies designed to test the efficacy of zinc are inconclusive. Although several studies have shown zinc to be effective for reducing the symptoms of the common cold, an equal number of studies have shown zinc is not effective. This may be due to flaws in the way these studies were conducted, or the particular form of zinc used in each case. Therefore, additional studies are needed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The H1N1 swine flu virus may have been new to humanity in many ways but in one key feature its closest relative was the 1918 pandemic virus, researchers reported on Wednesday.

Their findings could point to better ways to design vaccines and help explain why the swine flu pandemic largely spared the elderly.

"This study defines an unexpected similarity between two pandemic-causing strains of influenza," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement.

Two studies show an important structure called hemagglutinin is very similar in both the swine flu H1N1 and its distant cousin, the H1N1 virus that caused the 1918 pandemic. Hemagglutinin is used by viruses to infect cells and gives influenza viruses the "H" in their designations.

For one study, published in Science Translational Medicine, Chih-Jen Wei, Gary Nabel and colleagues at NIAID injected mice with a vaccine made using the 1918 influenza virus -- which killed an estimated 40 million to 100 million people.

When they infected the mice with H1N1 swine flu, the vaccinated mice survived, while many unprotected mice died.

The reverse also worked -- when they immunized mice using the 2009 H1N1 virus, and then infected them with the 1918 strain, the mice were protected.

"This is a surprising result," Nabel said. "We wouldn't have expected that cross-reactive antibodies would be generated against viruses separated by so many years."

The team also showed that as flu viruses circulate, they develop a kind of shield called a glycan that protects them from the body's immune system. That may allow them to become regular, seasonal visitors.

"It gives us a new understanding of how pandemic viruses evolve into seasonal strains, and, importantly, provides direction for developing vaccines to slow or prevent that transformation," Fauci said.

Green Tea Health Benefits Could Include Glaucoma Prevention. Green tea has been in the center of a study done by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The research indicated that antioxidants found in green tea could help protect against eye diseases such as glaucoma.

Green tea contains catechins which are absorbed by the eye. These catechins could have protective qualities against the oxidation that causes various eye ailments.

If the results of the study prove to be true over time, then the health benefits of green tea will be numerous. It’s currently known that green tea helps with weight loss, cancer prevention, and depression.

Green tea has its roots in ancient China. For over 4,000 years, Asian countries have drank green tea as part of their diet. Green tea is typically available at gourmet food stores and even in certain grocery stores.

Even though the beverage has been linked to various health benefits, drinking green tea alone isn’t enough to keep yourself healthy. You still need to visit your doctor regularly and speak with them about any supplements or regimens you use for your health.

source: http://cnmnewsnetwork.com/1817/green-tea-health-benefits-could-include-glaucoma-prevention/