Top 5 Morning Juice Choices

The Best Morning Juice Choices to Start Your Day Off Right

It's probably already a part of your morning routine – you reach into the fridge and pour yourself a nice, refreshing glass of juice. If you're like most people, the juice in your fridge is OJ. But did you know that there are lots of other juice choices that could be pouring many more nutritional benefits into your glass?

From HealthCastle.com:

Top 5 Morning Juice Choices

• Concord Grape Juice: You've heard about the French Paradox and the health benefits red wine offers. Red wine might not be the ideal way to start off your morning, but you can get the same benefits by drinking a glass of concord grape juice. Concord grape juice ranks the highest in antioxidant activity among 13 juices tested, according to a study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in March 2007.
  
  
• Wild Blueberry Juice: Wild blueberry juice also packs a serious antioxidant punch. The USDA's database of antioxidant values for various foods places blueberry juice at the top of the list among more than a dozen juices tested, and wild blueberries have been shown to have even more antioxidant capacity than cultivated blueberries. Blueberries also have anti-inflammatory properties.
  
  
• Cranberry Juice: A new study from Tufts University and Boston University suggests that two servings of light cranberry juice cocktail can increase artery dilation and blood flow immediately after consumption because of the natural flavonoids cranberry juice contains. The study also suggests that cranberries may have beneficial effects on cholesterol, blood pressure, and the prevention of blood clots, all risk factors for heart disease. Since cranberries are naturally tart, most cranberry juice products are indeed "juice cocktail" with added sugar. Choose "non added sugar" juice if possible.
  
  
• Cloudy Apple Juice: "Cloudy" apple juice is a form of this popular morning juice that contains more apple solids that the usual clear kind. The extra apple solids mean that cloudy juice has up to four times more polyphenols, a group of antioxidant plant compounds, than clear juice. And in a study reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture in January 2007, cloudy juice was shown to be a more effective "scavenger" of harmful free radicals.
  
  
• Fortified Orange Juice: If you prefer to stick with the old stand-by - OJ - look for a kind that'd fortified with calcium, or plant sterols, which help lower cholesterol. There are many different options available, so shop around until you find an orange juice that packs maximum nutritional punch while getting your morning off to a sunny start.
  

The Bottom Line

There are many more options for your daily morning juice routine than just orange juice. However, keep in mind that no juice will ever match the nutritional punch of whole fruits. Whole fruits are higher in fiber and antioxidants, and lower in calories than juice. So if you have some extra time one morning, try giving up the morning juice entirely and grabbing an orange or apple, or a handful of blueberries, cranberries, or concord grapes instead!

Tricks Restaurants Use to Protect Their Bottom Line

From AOL.com:

You’ve seen it all over the news lately: Food prices are up while dining budgets are down. So what’s a struggling restaurant to do? Many restaurant owners know there’s a limit to how much they can cut back on portions or raise prices before they drive customers away. So, here are some sneaky tricks they’re using to cut corners and protect their bottom line!

• Chefs are tweaking their recipes. That means, if a dish calls for two sticks of butter, they might use two sticks of cheaper margarine instead. Also, steak dinners may no longer feature the finest cuts of beef. Instead, you might get a less pricey flank steak – that’s been marinated and pounded into submission, to make it easier to cut into.
  
  
• Another sneaky new restaurant trick is serving food that’s not as fresh. Just as you’ve been paying more at the pump lately, restaurants are now paying “fuel surcharges” on all their food deliveries. So, one easy way to save money is to order more food, fewer times each week. That means you can’t expect to eat meat and produce that was delivered fresh that day. Instead, the salad you order on Wednesday might include veggies that arrived over the weekend.
  
  
• Recycling. We're not talking about the cloth napkins that get washed and reused each night. Efficient chefs know how to use every last scrap of food – even if it means turning last night’s leftovers into tonight’s chef’s special! So last night’s hamburger becomes tonight’s chili and yesterday’s meat and veggies wind up in tonight’s Soup Of The Day.
  
  
• Also, have you heard enough about the bad economy yet? Restaurants haven’t! In fact, one of the latest trends is for owners to post dire newspaper articles about high food prices near the waiting area. You might also see a sincere looking sign that says: “In order to maintain the high quality you expect, the chef has no choice but to raise prices.” It sounds sincere, but it’s really a subtle way to earn your sympathy – so you don’t think twice about spending more money. Believe it or not, it works!

The Caffeine Debate: Yay or Nay?

From HealthCastle.com

Caffeine's Role in Our Health

Pure caffeine is a bitter, white, crystalline substance that acts as a stimulant drug. That's not exactly the kind of ingredient you would want to see listed on the side of a Starbucks coffee mug. Yet caffeine is a big part of our lifestyles, and has recently become an even bigger topic of interest in research studies, which have drawn a wide range of conclusions on its effects. One day caffeine is shown to be a great antioxidant; the next day we're told to avoid it altogether. The constant debates and studies can cause a great deal of confusion, especially for those of us who are not only concerned about our health, but hate to think of giving up our morning cup of coffee.

Caffeine: The Positive Side

On the plus side, studies have shown that regular consumption of caffeine can reduce the chance of developing Parkinson's disease. Caffeine has also been linked to protecting the body against gallstones and improving alertness. In addition, it appears to enhance mood, temporarily improve physical stamina, and relieve headaches. These are all benefits that most people would love to enjoy from a common, everyday beverage. Keep in mind, however, that participants in these studies drank 2-3 cups or less of coffee or other caffeinated beverages to yield these positive results. More isn't necessarily better.

Caffeine: What to Beware Of

On the flip side, caffeine can interfere with certain other aspects of your health. It has been reported that sleep patterns are definitely disturbed when you drink caffeine a few hours before bedtime. That makes sense, of course: if caffeine is meant to keep you alert, then you can probably forget about trying to fall asleep quickly after a cup or two of java. Furthermore, contrary to its reputation, caffeine does not effectively help "wake" us up after a poor night's sleep or diminish the effects of alcohol. You may feel more alert, but a cup of coffee will not help you drive better or improve your judgment.

Unfortunately, sleep isn't the only thing that caffeine can disturb. Fertility rates and miscarriages are reported as being negatively impacted by as little as 1 cup of coffee per day. Health Canada states that women who may be trying to conceive should have no more than 300 mg/day of caffeine.

Limiting caffeine intake can be difficult these days because of an explosion of products with caffeine additives. A quick check of grocery shelves will reveal caffeine in energy drinks, in chewing gums, and even in non-consumables such as soap!

Beverage	Caffeine (mg)
Coffee, generic brewed (8 oz.)	133
Starbucks Brewed Coffee (Grande - 16 oz.)	320
Tea, brewed (8 oz.)	53
Diet Coke (12 oz.)	47
Dr. Pepper (12 oz.)	42
Pepsi (12 oz.)	38
Coca-Cola Classic	35
Monster Energy (16 oz)	160
Red Bull (12 oz)	114

Source: Center for Science in the Public Interest (Sep. 2007)

The Bottom Line

Caffeine is going to continue to be a big topic of interest among researchers and consumers. Many studies indicate that having caffeine in moderation as part of a healthy diet can be beneficial to your health. In excess amounts, caffeine could lead to health concerns, especially for women of child-bearing age and people who have difficulty sleeping. Large studies claim that caffeine is not a significant health concern for people with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure or osteoporosis. A recent large-scale study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in June 2008 found that regular coffee drinkers, especially women, didn't suffer any negative health effects. However, researchers warned that if you are not a coffee-drinker, the result of this study is not a reason to start drinking it. Check with your family doctor about what's best for you, and in the meantime remember that moderation is always the key to staying healthy.

The Brain and Sleep

Your Brain Doesn't Work As Well As It Should, When You Don't Get Enough Sleep

From WorldHealth.net:

Not getting enough sleep? Well, don’t rely on your BRAIN to get you through the day! Being deprived of good sleep even for ONE night makes your brain unstable and prone to sudden shutdowns – just like a power failure. David Dinges, Associate Director of the Center for Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, says after a poor night’s sleep, it’s as though your brain’s both asleep and awake, and it switches between both states rapidly.

Imagine you’re sitting in a room watching a movie with the lights on. In a stable brain, the lights stay on all the time, but in a sleepy brain, the lights suddenly go off. People who are sleep-deprived alternate between periods of near-normal brain function and severe lapses in both attention and visual processing. Dinges and his colleagues did brain imaging studies on 24 adults. The volunteers performed simple tasks involving visual attention when they were well rested, and again when they’d missed a night’s sleep. The results?

The researchers found significant, momentary lapses in several areas of the brain when the people hadn’t slept enough - but not when they were well rested. This suggests that when your brain is fatigued, it’s not capable of fully fending off the involuntary drive to sleep. Dinges says this makes it clear how dangerous sleep deprivation can be while, driving on the highway. Even a four-second lapse could lead to a major accident. Another great reason to treat yourself to enough shut-eye.

6 Tips For Kicking Bad Habits

From MedicineNet.com:

Eating all things in your line of sight because you just quit smoking? Drinking more coffee to try and slow down your overeating? Biting off people's heads in the morning because you've quit drinking coffee? When kicking bad habits, sometimes we "bite off more than we can chew." Whether you are trying to quit smoking, drinking, gambling or trying to eat better, kicking bad habits is a difficult and emotional process.

"New Year's Resolutions are a great motivator to shed unwanted weight, quit smoking or start spending more time with your family....But often, we see people take the 'cold turkey' approach to kicking a bad habit, which is not the most effective or healthy way of changing unwanted behaviors. In fact, this can often lead to new unwanted behaviors that take the place of the old ones." says Dr. Jeffrey Wilkins, Director of Addiction Medicine in the Thalians Department of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Defining goals and setting realistic time-lines for kicking habits is the key to changing unwanted behaviors like smoking, overeating and caffeine addiction. While cigarette smoking is a habit that many people prefer to stop "cold turkey," for many other habits this approach can be a set-up for failure because our mind and body are not programmed to adjust so quickly to abrupt changes.

Consistent with the results of scientific studies, Dr. Wilkins recommends the following tips to help identify, plan and eventually kick bad habits for a healthier, happier New Year:

1. Define your goals and then commit yourself to achieving them. People who acknowledge that they need to make a change in their life are more likely to achieve that change than those individuals who think that they may, or may not, have a problem. Taking active steps towards making that change (i.e., joining a self-help group) will move you closer to success in kicking the habit. Change is not easy and requires commitment. As a start, by defining your specific behavior goals, you can begin tailoring your activities and attitudes accordingly.


2. Don't do it alone. Get help. If you choose to discuss your goals with others, choose people who want you to succeed. Quitting bad habits is hard enough without having to watch the people near you enjoying what you have now deprived yourself of. If you want to quit smoking and your spouse is still smoking, your goal will be significantly more challenging. Find someone with the same goals, who wants to kick the same habit. Find support from friends, family, colleagues, or professional support groups.


3. Establish clear and realistic sub-goals and timelines. Rome was not built in a day - if it was that easy to kick a bad habit, we simply wouldn't have bad habits. Chart your progress in a diary or calendar that outlines a realistic amount of time to eliminate the bad habit. If you are drinking 5 cups of coffee in the morning and have a goal of cutting down to one, give yourself a few weeks to achieve this (i.e., one cup less a week). The first big hurdle is to achieve 90-days of the target behavior.


4. Add, don't just subtract. Add competing desirable behaviors to compensate for the elimination of bad habits. We often need something to take the place of a habit to help us maintain focus to successfully kick a habit. By replacing bad habits with positive ones, like exercise, meditation, time with family, healthier foods and activities, you are less likely to replace old bad habits with new bad habits.


5. Allow for some slippage - but not constant slippage. If you have decided to give up sweets to lose a few pounds or protect against cavities, but decide to have a bit of your aunt's famous cheesecake, this is not an excuse to give up your goals and keep going. Plan ahead and set limits for yourself.


6. Reward yourself! Continue to acknowledge and reward yourself for the "baby-steps" you take in kicking a bad habit. Let the people around you reward your success and cheer you on the next step. This can be accomplished by setting up a "success amount" that continues to reward you as you continue to succeed. For example, you can treat yourself to a desired CD for every week of success and a DVD player for achieving 90-days of maintaining a target behavior. If you are going to buy these things anyway, you might as well do it in a way that helps you with your life goals.

Medical Myths Exposed

From Nancy Snyderman, the chief medical editor for the “Today Show”:

When it comes to your health, you can’t believe everything you hear. In fact, some advice passed down from your parents – or researched on a website – could actually kill you! Let’s bust open a few medical myths so you can live a longer, healthier life.

• Medical Myth #1: Vaccines are just for kids. Actually, there are very few vaccines that last a lifetime. As people get older, their immune system loses strength – especially after the age of 30. So some adults need “booster shot” vaccines even more than kids do – for diseases like tetanus, influenza, hepatitis A and B, shingles, and even chicken pox.
  Here are some other vaccinations and boosters that adults need:
  - Diphtheria and pertussis (DTP)
  - Human papillomavirus (HPV)
  - Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR)
  - Pneumococcal vaccine
  - Meningicoccal
  
  
• The next Medical Myth: Anything labeled “natural” must be safe! These days, about 25% of all prescription drugs come from “natural” sources – like trees, plants or herbs. Even aspirin comes from willow trees. A lot of people assume that a natural remedy is better than a drug prescribed by a doctor. Know this: Many “natural” substances are never tested by the FDA. So, if you’re taking any supplements, run them by your doctor to make sure they really are good for you. Remember: Just because something is “natural,” doesn’t make it good or safe. Case in point – both tobacco and arsenic are natural, but can kill you!
  
  
• Here’s a 3rd medical myth you can ignore: Only OLD people have heart attacks and strokes. The truth is, doctors are finding that many people who have heart attacks in their 50s and 60s start showing symptoms as early as their teen years! So, the American Heart Association recommends getting annual heart check-ups starting at age 20.
  
  
• Here’s the #4 medical myth: We’re losing the war on cancer. It’s true that cancer remains the #2 cause of death in the world – behind heart disease. Thanks to research over the past 4 decades, fewer than half the people now diagnosed with cancer will die from it – with many of those people being completely cured! We also know more about how to reduce our risk of getting cancer in the first place.
  
  
• Next medical myth: You can just ‘snap out’ of mental illness. We all hit bumps in the road throughout life, and we all handle these hard times differently. But many of us think people should be able to snap out of depression or anxiety because we don't recognize it as a treatable illness. But in the case of mental health, such attitudes can stand in the way of recognizing when things get off track and when it might be time for measures that help restore joy, energy and purpose to life.
  Here is an encouraging, empowering fact to take to heart: Mental disorders like depression and anxiety are illnesses, and you are no more responsible for them than you would be if you had diabetes — and if you did have diabetes, you would not hesitate to treat it. Mental health problems are not caused by the person suffering from them, either. Certainly, you need to take responsibility for the thoughts, feelings and behaviors associated with the problem, but you are not to blame for them. There is a difference between taking responsibility and accepting blame — and it's important to not confuse the two.
  There is no single cause for mental illness, but factors can include family history, stress, chronic illness, or brain chemical imbalances. Getting professional help will help you with your illness and make you stronger.
  One in five American adults will experience a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime. In fact, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the Unites States for people ages 15 to 44. According to a study published in the journal Lancet, depression can do more physical damage to someone's health than several long-term diseases.
  
  
• One final myth: Annual checkups are obsolete. Having ourselves checked on a regular basis is a vital step and if we all did it, diseases could be prevented or detected at an early stage, when treatment is most effective. Why? The annual checkup gives us a chance to establish and build a relationship with a doctor — a connection that can prove vital if you are ever ill. The annual checkup also gives your doctor a sense of where your health stands from year to year. This yearly conversation can also be used as a form of self-monitoring regarding your habits and lifestyle and is one of the most important talks you can have. Note: Each annual checkup should be tailored to your own personal needs, your health and your family history.

Science of the Sexes, Take 2

From AOL.com:

Mistakes Men Make When Trying to Meet Women

So you see the woman of your dreams across a crowded room. If she avoids you like last week’s tuna sandwich, obviously you’re doing something wrong! Here are the five biggest mistakes men make when trying to meet women.

• Mistake #1: Approaching without the go ahead. According to Dr. Galdino Pranzarone, a therapist from Roanoke College, contrary to what most people think, a woman always makes her interest known first. So you need to establish eye contact and give her a little smile. If you can’t get a smile back, it means she’s not interested, and you need to move on. If she smiles, go ahead and approach.
  
  
• Another mistake men make: Flirting with a woman’s friends. This may seem like a no-brainer, but men do it all the time. Basically, approaching a group and trying your smooth moves on the group as a whole, trying to see who bites. However, doing that is a deal-breaker for most women. Not only do you look like a jerk, but you’re also breaking the cardinal rule of impressing a woman: making her feel special.
  
  
• Mistake #3: Using a tired joke or pick-up line to introduce yourself. You need to be George Clooney to pull off a clichéd line like, “Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ‘ten I see’!” Most guys can’t make it work. Studies show that being sincere works the best. So try simply saying “Hi, I’m Bob”.
  
  
• The final mistake men make when they meet women: Not knowing when to walk away. There’s nothing worse than when a woman feels like she’s being ambushed by a lothario. So, don’t declare your undying love for a perfect stranger, or even be too insistent on getting a date. Instead, try saying, “It was nice meeting you. I’d love to see you again.” It shows that you’re not a threat. Or if you’re bold, you can just hand her your phone number and say “Call me” – and let her make the next move. Be cognizant of her body language – if her arms are folded, if she’s turned away from you, or keeps glancing around, take your lumps and move on.

click on the picture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIPklHggHFM

Science of the Sexes

From LifeWire.com:

Science Can Help Explain the Behavioral Differences Between Men and Women

While the differences between the sexes drive some couples crazy, they don’t HAVE to. Researchers say that science can explain a lot of the behaviors that are typically male or female – the ones that widen the gender gap. So, here are some of those behavioral explanations:

• Behavior #1: Women obsess about every little thing. They love to get into the details during conversations, while men seem a bit blasé to everything but the bottom line. Well, there’s a good reason according to Robert Schwarz, the director of the Mars and Venus Counseling and Wellness Center in Pennsylvania. He says women relieve stress by talking – so the more details they share, the better they feel. For women, conversation produces the hormone serotonin, which enhances mood and wards off depression. Men are action oriented and problem-solvers. So they tend to only talk about things or bring up a problem if they want to search for a solution. That “eureka” moment of problem-solving increases the level of dopamine in a man’s brain, a pleasure-inducing chemical. That explains why men will wait until it's absolutely necessary to stop and ask for directions. They’re waiting for the “eureka” moment.
  
  
• Next behavior: Men hate to go shopping. The truth is that men do enjoy shopping – when they get to “hunt” for a specific item. Schwarz says men are task-oriented. They buy what they want and leave. Women, on the other hand, enjoy “grazing” for things. That’s why men and women shopping together isn’t the best combination.
  
  
• One last Mars/Venus difference: Men are impervious to cold, while women always want to turn up the thermostat. Well, yes. According to the Mayo Clinic, women are more sensitive to cold than men are. On average, women are smaller than men, so their metabolic rate tends to be lower. This means women’s bodies generate less heat than men’s. Women also tend to have less fat on their upper bodies and around their waists, so they have less insulation. They also have less muscle mass to help keep them warm. So guys, if you think your woman wants to cuddle up to you to get lovey-dovey, the truth is – she probably just wants to get WARM.

Kitchen Staples for Healthy Meals

From HealthCastle.com

Do you dread the feeling you get when you have minutes to spare before dinner? It's helpful to have some staples on-hand that will enable you to put together a healthy meal quickly.

Healthy Kitchen Staples

Pantry

• Grains: whole wheat pasta (linguine, penne, rotini, wide noodles, or spaghetti - thin spaghetti cooks faster than regular spaghetti); instant brown rice; low-fat whole grain crackers; brown rice cakes (unsalted or lightly-salted); quick-cooking oatmeal; low-fat, unsweetened, ready-to-eat whole grain cereal
• Baked tortilla chips
• "No salt added" or reduced-sodium canned tomatoes (whole, crushed, diced, tomato paste/sauce); other canned vegetables such as baby corn or mushroom.
• dried whole beans (kidney, black, pinto, etc.) or canned beans
• Low-fat, reduced-sodium soups your family enjoys
• Fruit canned in juice or extra-light syrup
• Spaghetti sauce
• Low-sodium tuna and salmon canned in water
• Bag of potatoes
• Reduced-fat baking mix
• Dried fruit (raisins, dried cranberries)
• Unsalted nuts
• Fresh garlic
• Dried herbs and spices, salt-free seasonings (Mrs. Dash)
• Olive oil, vinegars (apple cider, balsamic, red wine)
• Whole wheat flour

Freezer

• Meat: Lean chicken breast, extra-lean ground beef or turkey, fish fillets (salmon, shrimp with tails off (pre-cooked is most convenient; less expensive bagged in bulk)
• Garden burgers or other veggie burgers
• Fat-free 100% turkey or beef franks, extra-lean turkey bacon, lean smoked turkey sausage, or lean turkey kielbasa (all high in sodium; serve occasionally)
• Vegetables with no salt added: spinach, broccoli, green beans, stir-fry mix, peas
• Unsweetened frozen fruit
• Whole wheat or other whole grain bread, rolls, buns

Refrigerator

• Low-fat dairy products: milk, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, reduced-fat cheese
• Eggs, egg substitute
• Lean deli meat: if packaged, select "natural" varieties with minimal processing/preservatives, and less than 20% of the daily value for sodium
• Natural peanut butter, jam
• Hummus
• Fresh fruit, unsweetened applesauce
• Fresh vegetables: bagged salad greens, bagged chopped vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower), baby carrots, celery sticks, snap peas, tomatoes and mini tomatoes, green pepper, onion
• Whole wheat or other whole grain tortillas and pita pockets
• Condiments: salsa, low-fat salad dressing, low-fat vegetable dip, low-fat or non-fat mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce or other stir-fry sauce (often high in sodium; use sparingly), lemon juice
  

5 Healthy Dinner Entrees made with Staples

• Vegetable stir-fry with shrimp and brown rice
• Tacos, burritos, or nachos
• Tuna noodle casserole
• Macaroni and cheese casserole: add broccoli and hot dogs (get creative, the possibilities are endless)
• Wraps or stuffed pitas made with lean meat, reduced-fat cheese, and veggies - or BLT-style - and low-fat ranch dip or dressing
  

  The Bottom Line

  If you stock your kitchen with healthy items that you can throw together for a meal, your family is much more likely to eat healthfully, as well as spend less money on convenience foods and eating out.