Launching of Trivia Questions!

Trivia questions will be posted on this page and a gift certificate worth P100.00 will be given away monthly!

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Trivia question for the month of July will be posted on July 16, 2009.

Pointers to Lift a Bad Mood

Going Up! 7 Pointers to Lift a Bad Mood

By Dr. Maoshing Ni

No one can live a long and healthy life without the will to go on; sometimes mood swings can make us feel that life is too much for us. A bad mood not only gives you a gloomy outlook, it also lowers your immune function, leading the way to illness. Here are some suggestions to lift your mood, your spirit, and your health.

1. A Laughing Matter

"Laugh Therapy," pioneered by Norman Cousins, has turned out to have real substance. Research has discovered that laughter and joy boost immune functions, especially the production of the natural killer cells that help defend the body from illness and cancer. Laughter also increases the release of endorphins - compounds that give you a sense of well-being - in your brain. Without a doubt, joyful people liver longer and healthier lives. So read your favorite comics, watch your favorite comedies, and laugh it up!

2. Amino Acid for Restored Mindset

When an imbalance or deficiency is creating a bad mood, the Europeans use supplements of a natural compound found in human cells to regulate mood and restore a healthy mindset. SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine) is produced from methionine, an amino acid that plays a role in the production of uplifting neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. One study indicated that SAMe worked on patients who had unsuccessful results with conventional antidepressants. To get a boost from SAMe, take a supplement combining it with vitamins B6 and B12.

3. Hands-On Healing

Human touch increases the production of endorphins, growth hormone, and DHEA, all of which lengthen your life span and lower the negative impact of stress. Studies have found that patients who are regularly touched recover faster than those who are not touched. So give someone a hug and feel both of your moods improve.

4. Boost Your "Youth Hormones"

You don't need pills to flood your body with a rejuvenating flood of growth hormones. Research has found that doing squats and leg presses will greatly increase your natural production of the "youth hormone". Increased growth hormone translates to an elevated mood, among other physical benefits. Keep it up with weight training, knee bends, push-ups, and rowing.

5. Take a Bracing Breath

Breathing correctly is important for dispelling the toxins and wastes from your body; in fact, it is estimated that we expel only about 30 percent of toxins in our bodies through the bowels and bladder-the rest is all respiratory. Breathing is also a great way to clear your mind, boost your energy, and improve your mood. Practice deep, slow, rhythmic, breathing daily with mind-body disciplines such as tai chi, yoga, qigong, and meditation.

6. Smell the Joy

Research has shown that smell has a definite impact on our bodies and minds. When you stimulate the olfactory nerves inside your nose, you activate the limbic system of your brain, which is associated with moods and memory. This concept is instrumental to aromatherapy, a natural health tradition that makes use of the healing powers of plants with strong scents.Aromatherapy recommends treating depression with jasmine, eucalyptus for exhilaration, and grapefruit to increase alertness and joy. Just put a dab of the essential oils from these plants on your temples, back of your neck, or acupressure points. Another option? Boil the herb in water and inhale the steam through your nose.

7. Feel Fine with Flowers

There is a reason that flowers are the traditional get-well gesture. Colorful flowers have a powerful influence on moods; they can uplift a patient's mood and even combat stress. One study found that during a five-minute typing assignment, people sitting next to a flowering bouquet were more relaxed than those who sat near foliage-only plants.

I hope these tips help the good feelings flow! I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me. May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

-Dr. Mao

Reference:

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/6715/going-up-7-pointers-to-lift-a-bad-mood/

Best and Worst Brain Foods

Best and Worst Brain Foods

by David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding a Yahoo! Health Expert for Nutrition

If you want to make the right decisions in confusing times—Time to refinance? Explore a different career? Root for the singing spinster or the 12-year-old?—you need to pay special attention to what you eat. That’s right: Your grocery list can help with your to-do list. That’s because the right foods are a kind of clean-burning fuel for your body’s biggest energy hog: Your brain. A study in the Journal of Physiology makes the point that, though your brain represents only 2 percent of your body weight, it makes 20 percent of the energy demands on your resting metabolism.

On our new Eat This, Not That! Web site, we rounded up the best foods to munch on when you need a mental boost—and found studies that show, in fact, that you can be up to 200 percent more productive if you make the right eating choices. Stock up on these items to halt mental decline, jog your memory, sharpen your senses, improve your performance, activate your feel-good hormones, and protect your quick-witted sharpness, whether you’re 15, 40—or not admitting to any age whatsoever!

FOR SHORT-TERM MEMORY

Drink This!: COFFEE

Fresh-brewed joe is the ultimate brain fuel. Caffeine has been shown to retard the aging process and enhance short-term memory performance. In one study, British researchers found that just one cup of coffee helps improve attention and problem-solving skills.

Not That!: ENERGY DRINKS/TOO MUCH COFFEE

Ever heard of the concept “too much of a good thing”? If you OD on caffeine—too many cups, a jolt of caf from the late afternoon onward, a Red Bull cocktail—it can mess with your shuteye schedule. Sleep is reboot time for your mental computer, and you don’t want to mess with it.

FOR LONG-TERM MEMORY

Eat This!: BLUEBERRIES

Antioxidants in blueberries help protect the brain from free-radical damage and cut your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. They can also improve cognitive processing (translation: thinking). Wild blueberries, if you can find them, have even more brain-boosting antioxidants than the cultivated variety, so book that vacation in Maine now. The berries will ripen in July.

Not That!: THE UNRIPE AND UNREADY

Here’s a cool tip: if your favorite berries are out of season, buy them frozen. The freezer locks in peak flavor and nutrients, so the berries’ antioxidant capacity is maxed out. Those pale, tough, and expensive off-season berries usually ripen on a truck, rather than on the bush, so they’re nutritional imposters compared to the real thing.

TO THINK FASTER

Eat This!: SALMON OR MACKEREL

If the Internal Revenue Service picks you for some up-close-and-personal auditing, you’ll want to be on your toes when they vet your deductions list. So put salmon or mackerel on the grocery list. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fishes are a primary building block of brain tissue, so they’ll amp up your thinking power. Salmon is also rich in niacin, which can help ward off Alzheimer’s disease and slow the rate of cognitive decline. Not That!: FULL-FAT ICE CREAMNot all fats are created equal: Beware foods high in saturated fats, which can clog blood vessels and prevent the flow of nutrients and blood to the brain. Ice cream is not a brain-health food.

TO ENERGIZE:

Eat This!: HIGH-PROTEIN SALAD WITH VINAIGRETTE

The oil in the dressing will help slow down digestion of protein and carbs in the salad, stabilizing blood-sugar levels and keeping energy levels high. Build your salad on a bed of romaine and spinach for an added boost in riboflavin, and add chicken and a hard-boiled egg for more energizing protein.

Not That!: PANCAKES OR BAGELS

MIT researchers analyzed blood samples from a group of people who had eaten either a high-protein or a high-carbohydrate breakfast. Two hours after eating, the carb eaters had tryptophan levels four times higher than those of the people who had eaten protein. The tryptophan in turkey is one of the reasons you crawl off for an afternoon nap after Thanksgiving dinner. So watch what you gobble.

TO CALM DOWN

Eat This!: LOW-FAT YOGURT OR MIXED NUTS

Scientists in Slovakia gave people 3 grams each of two amino acids—lysine and arginine—or a placebo, and asked them to deliver a speech. Blood measurements of stress hormones revealed that the amino acid-fortified guys were half as anxious during and after the speech as those who took the placebo. Yogurt is one of the best food sources of lysine; nuts pack loads of arginine. Not That!: SODAA study from the American Journal of Public Health found that people who drink 2½ cans of soda daily are three times more likely to be depressed and anxious, compared with those who drink fewer. So Mountain Dew is a Mental Don’t.

TO CONCENTRATE

Eat This!: PEPPERMINT TEA

The scent of peppermint helps you focus and boosts performance, according to researchers. Need to reach Chicago before nightfall, and you’re stuck in traffic around Cleveland? One study found that peppermint makes drivers more alert and less anxious. Not That!: CANDYSugary foods incite sudden surges of glucose that, in the long term, cause sugar highs and lows, leading to a fuzzy state of mind. So you’ll need to avoid all the attention-busting sugar bombs on this list of the.

FOR GOOD MOODS AND GRINS

Eat This! ARUGULA OR SPINACH SALAD

Leafy greens—arugula, chard, spinach—are rich sources of B vitamins, which are key components on the assembly line that manufactures feel-good hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. According to a study published in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing, a lack of B6 can cause nervousness, irritability, and even depression.

Not That!: WHITE CHOCOLATEWhite chocolate isn’t chocolate at all, since it contains no cocoa solids. So it won’t stimulate the euphoria-inducing mood boosters like serotonin, as real chocolate does. Grab the real thing, the darker the better. More cacao means more happy chemicals and less sugar, which will eventually pull you down.

FOR SHARPER SENSES

Eat This!: 1 TBSP OF GROUND FLAXSEED DAILY

Flax is the best source of alphalinoleic, or ALA—a healthy fat that improves the workings of the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain that processes sensory information, including that of pleasure. To meet your quota, sprinkle it on salads or mix it into a smoothie or shake. Not That!: ALCOHOLThis one’s obvious, but worth mentioning anyway. A drink or two can increase arousal signals, but more than that will actually depress your nervous system. This makes you sloppy, not sharp. Want more of all of the best and worst foods in America? for the complete list of drinks, snacks, drive-thru foods, burgers, salads and everything else under the sun!

6 Natural Tips for Deep Sleep

6 Natural Tips for Deep Sleep

By Dr. Maoshing Ni

1. Relaxing Rituals to Rest Easy

In Chinese Medicine, nighttime is yin time—or, simply, when the body takes care of itself instead of your desires. Proper sleep is required for your body to repair itself and regenerate. To reach deep, restful sleep, your spirit and heart must be calm. Excessive worry, anxiety, and depression can all disturb the spirit and activate the mind—making it near impossible to fall asleep and stay asleep. Rituals to sooth your spirit and induce a sleep response before bed include soaking your feet in Epson salts for 15 minutes, writing all of your thoughts in a journal to get them out of your head, and practicing relaxation before bed, like the Stress Release meditation below.

2. When Food Disturbs Sleep

When you eat late, you wake up tired. Your body will be busy digesting your dinner while you are trying to sleep, so you won't feel rested in the morning. Do not eat anything for at least three hours before bedtime. Also, cut back on eating bacon, cheese, chocolate, ham, potatoes, tomatoes, and sausage, especially before bed. These foods contain tyramine, which inhibits neurochemicals like norepinephrine and can cause insomnia. And, of course if you have sleep problems, caffeine should be cut out.Eat for sleep! Try eating more grains at dinner; carbohydrates tend to make people sleepy. Another snooze snack is a warm cup of milk; because milk is rich in the amino acid tryptophan, it can sometimes aid in deep sleep. Mix in natural vanilla flavoring for a soothing snack. Or if you prefer, eat 1 cup of natural yogurt an hour before bedtime.

3. A Peaceful Place for Sleep

Your sleeping environment makes a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. Do everything you can to create a quiet and cozy atmosphere. Ideally, your bedroom should be located in the quietest area of your home. Keep the décor minimal. Lighting should be dim and any music that is played should be soothing. Research has found that lavender, vanilla, and green apple are among the best scents to help lower anxiety and induce sleep, making these smells a good choice for a scented candle or heated essential oil. Try to limit your pets to outside of the bedroom because their movements will keep with your body from fully relaxing into deep R. E. M. sleep. As much as possible, your bedroom should be only for sleep.

4. Exercise Enables Sleep

People with regular exercise routines often sleep better and have fewer incidents of insomnia than those don't get regular physical activity. Exercise promotes sleep and improves sleep quality by altering brain chemistry. Exercising moderately for 20 to 30 minutes three times a day, combined with meditation or tai chi in the evening, will not only help you fall and stay asleep, but will also increase the amount of time you spend in R.E.M. sleep. In fact, for some people, exercise alone is enough to overcome sleep problems. Exercise in the morning or afternoon, but do not exercise for at least two hours before bed.

5. Herbs to Sleep Tight

A calming tea before bedtime can ensure a good night's sleep. Drink valerian or passionflower (or passiflora) tea before bedtime every night for one month. Simply steep 1 to 2 tablespoons of the dried herbs in one cup of hot water and drink just before bed. Or look for one with the traditional Chinese herbs zizyphus or jujube seed, bamboo shavings, and oyster shell, which soothe the mind and spirit. You might also try Calm-Fort/Sleep formula with useful herbs like lily bulbs, polygala and turmeric that help manage stress and calm the spirit while relieving restlessness and insomnia.

6. A Sleep-Friendly Meditation

I had one patient with insomnia who also felt anxious and even a little depressed. In addition to acupuncture and herbal therapies, I decided to teach her a stress release meditation that she could do before bedtime to help with her anxiety. I am happy to report that she is now sleeping like a baby.Try this Stress Release meditation, which works for the majority of my patients who have sleeping problems: Sit comfortably or lie down on your back. Slow your respiration to deep, abdominal breathing. Utter the word "calm" in your mind with every exhalation. Focus on relaxing each area of your body in sequence, from the top of your head to your toes. Starting with the top of your head, inhale and then exhale while visualizing your scalp muscles relaxing. Say "calm" in your mind. Repeat this with each body part as you move down through all body parts, front, back, and sides, in succession: your face, throat, chest, arms, stomach, abdomen, thighs, knees, legs, ankles, until finally you reach your feet. When you've relaxed your feet, visualize all the tension in your body leaving through your toes as dark smoke. Practice this for at least 15 minutes before bedtime.

Source: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/drmao/17735/6-natural-tips-for-deep-sleep/;_ylt=AjCiUy6HnOTM2qsQrxw3SP51kIV4

Saint Valentine's Day Love Tips!

How to Know if He Loves You?

Girls are a bit apprehensive when it comes to their relationship with a guy. It has been noted that men hesitate to express their love or feelings and end up laying a false belief for themselves. It is not only difficult but even more complex to analyze what a man desires and what is going in his mind. The question whether he loves me or not usually bothers every girl. But, with one ideal solution it is possible to know the actual love of the guy for you. Tips to Know if He Loves YouDon't worry damsels, here are some useful tips to know whether your mate/partner or lover really loves you or not:

• A very obvious one when he takes interests in your matters like work schedule, it means he is really concerned with you and loves you.
• Whenever a guy keeps a track on your habits, remembers whatever you do and say simply indicates his love for you.
• When a guy wants to spend more time with you, dates out with you at places of your choice and share the your favorite pastimes then he is madly in love with you.
• If he gives more importance to his friends even if you are sick or in need of him shows his lack of interest in you.
• Changing of topic when you discuss about your future with him is not a good sign of a healthy relationship with your love.
• If he doesn't want to spend time with you or don't ever want to go out with you in public and never introduces you to his friends mean he does not love you.
• When he calls you or message you just to chitchat with you means he deeply loves you and was finding any reason to talk to you.
• If he is really concerned about you and loves you then he would always take out time from his busy schedule.
• When he keeps looking you when you are around and suddenly takes off his eyes when you look at him shows he's in love with you.
• When he praises about you to his friends, family and others means he truly loves you.
• His every action will make you believe he loves you.
• If he changes his plans or cancels them last minute then he is surely avoiding you.
• If he is trying to be friendly with you and tries to make an effort to know more about you shows signs of love for you.
• You can make out from a person's eyes. The person in love with you has special shine in his eyes when he's talking to you.

How to Know if She Loves You?

Today, guys find it more difficult to know whether the girl whom they are dating or with whom they are seriously in love shares the same feeling for him or not. Now-a-days, girls have made it trend to flirt out with guys openly. In case your girl too is putting you in a confusing state of “she does” or “she does not” then here are some tips to figure out whether she really loves you or she is just being nice to you. Signs to Know She Loves You Given below are some ways to know if she likes you and want to carry on a long-term relation with you:

• If she cares for you and always take interest in your activities then she truly loves you.
• If you come to know from her family and friends that she often brags about you shows her love for you.
• If a girl tries to get closer to you by touching your hands, shoulders or cheeks means she likes you.
• If she keeps staring you when the conversation is on depicts that she likes you and want to say something but is shy of that.
• When a girl blushes on your talks and keep praising you in front of your friends then she loves you.
• When a girl does not respond to the messages or calls given by you it means she is trying to avoid you.
• If she doesn't want to declare it in public or make some excuses when caught by your close friend in public by saying, “ he's my friend”, shows her disinterest in you.
• If she never praises you and keeps counting flaws in you means she's trying to dissolve the relation by taking these flaws as the base.
• A girl is deeply in love with a guy is she accepts his family no matter how they are.
• When she talks to you very nicely after a long time means she is in need of you and is talking to you merely for your company as she has no other solution.
• If she always encourage and motivate you to go ahead with your plans then she is an ideal lover and is sincerely attached with what you want from your life.
• If she wants to spend some time with you and want to help you out in every project or assignment means her love for you.

  http://www.stvalentinesday.org/how-to-know-if-she-loves-u.html