Cow calories ain't so bad...
Drinking three cups of milk a day is a good way to consume the calcium you need for strong bones and teeth. New research indicates consumption of dairy products may aid in weight loss. Researchers at the University of Tennessee recently studied the role of dairy foods in weight loss among a group of 32 obese adults over 24 weeks. Participants were divided into three different treatment groups: Low-calcium, low-dairy eating plan; High-calcium supplement coupled with a low-dairy plan; High-dairy eating plan. Each eating plan was designed to reduce the amount of calories each volunteer consumed per day by about 500. In addition, all participants received consultation from a registered dietitian, maintained a food diary and monitored their physical activity. The study found that the participants who followed the high-dairy eating plan lost more weight and body fat than the other two groups. Why? The researchers say calcium and protein in dairy foods may improve metabolism and burn body fat. [SOURCE]

Giving school lunch a whole new meaning...
Walk down the hallways of the Appleton, Wisconsin, Central Alternative High School, and you will see students focused on their education, interacting successfully with each other and with their teachers. Notice the calmness and purposefulness that sets these teens apart from others. You will notice that the hallways are different in another respect. They aren't lined with soft drink and junk food machines. Then check out the cafeteria. There is no smell of grease. Burgers, fries and burritos have been replaced with salads, meats prepared with old fashioned recipes, and whole grain breads. Fresh fruits and vegetables are offered and the students drink water. Grades are up, truancy is no longer a problem, arguments are rare, and teachers are able to spend their time teaching. What's going on in Appleton Wisconsin? In 1997 Natural Ovens of Manitowoc, WI initiated a five-year project to bring healthy food into area schools. The goal was to show that fresh, nutritious food can make a real difference in the student's behavior, learning and health. Just prior to the beginning of the program, Greg Bretthauer was offered the job of dean of students at the school. What he saw were teens who were "rude, obnoxious, and ill mannered" and he turned the job down. Because the school had so many problems with discipline and weapons violations a police officer was recruited to be on the staff. He found a school that was out of control. [MORE]

Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative...
Having negative thoughts really could make you more illness-prone, say scientists. A study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences links "negative" brain activity with a weakened immune system. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied people with high levels of brain activity in a region linked to negative thoughts. Those with the highest activity levels responded worse to a flu vaccine. Scientists already knew that pessimists - people rated as more sensitive to negative events - show more activity in a part of the brain called the right pre-frontal cortex. More activity in the left pre-frontal cortex is linked to positive emotional responses. A new study is the first to demonstrate a link between positive feelings, or “positive affect,” and reduced risk of AIDS mortality, said lead author Dr. Judith Tedlie Moskowitz, of San Francisco’s University of California. The study included information on the physical progression of HIV/AIDS and the emotional well being of 407 HIV-positive men from the San Francisco area between 1984 and 1993. More than half of the men died during the study. Dr. Moskowitz found that the men who scored highest on a scale used to measure positive affect had a significantly reduced risk of dying from AIDS at any point during the study. The power of positive feeling remained strong even when other factors were considered, such as high white blood cell counts and the use of antiretroviral medicine, she said. [FULL ARTICLE]

Use it or lose it...
As we get beyond retirement age, most of us will not be as mentally sharp as we once were. But a researcher at the University of Alberta says most people have the ability to reverse the mental declines that come with aging. "Can we reverse mental declines? Well, for most of us, the answer is yes, and I think that is definitely exciting and encouraging news," said Dr. Dennis Foth, a professor in the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension and the academic director of the U of A's Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education. There are many different types of classes and mental exercises that people can do to keep their minds vibrant, Foth said, but the trick to getting more people to maintain or even improve their cognitive abilities is "ecological validity". Ecologically valid activities are those that people do on regular basis as part of their daily lives, said Foth, whose paper with Thompson is published this month in Educational Gerontology. Examples of "ecologically valid" activities that can improve mental capacity include reading, traveling, memorizing poetry, playing card games, doing crossword puzzles, learning how to play a musical instrument, taking continuing education courses and surfing the Web. Foth and his colleagues are beginning to study these activities to determine which ones improve which cognitive skills. He believes this research can lead to the development of learning programs and activities that can isolate mental declines and reverse them. He added that attitude can play an important role in maintaining cognitive skills throughout life. "People often describe their memory skills as being far worse than they actually are, and this type of attitude can start a vicious cycle," Foth said. "These people won't enroll in a class that might be beneficial to them because they believe they wouldn't be good at it. We have to protect against that." [MORE]

Clean your house, clean the world...
Could your housecleaning actually be dirtying the environment? Here are some tips on choosing household cleansers that will help keep your home both clean and "green." Though they might not bear a warning label, many household cleansers contain ingredients that pose problems for the environment and public health: Petroleum: Many conventional detergents ("surfactants"), solvents, and polishes contain paraffin, mineral oil, diethylene glycol, perchloroethylene, or butyl cellosolve—all of which are derived from petroleum. Extraction and refinement of this nonrenewable resource contribute to air and water pollution. Phosphates/EDTA: Phosphates, which have traditionally been used in detergents to soften water and increase cleaning power, encourage algae growth in waterways, depriving marine life of oxygen. EDTA, a common substitute for phosphates, degrades slowly in the environment. Manufacturers of many cleaning products use phthalates to prolong their products' scent. However, these chemicals have been linked to cancer and disease of the reproductive system in laboratory animals. The use of cleansers containing antibacterials such as triclosan and benzalkonium chloride could be contributing to an increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, resulting in human illnesses that are more difficult to treat. Chlorine bleach: This popular whitener and disinfectant can harm the environment by contributing to the formation of organochlorines (chlorine-carbon compounds) such as the chlorofluorocarbons that damage Earth's ozone layer. Choose "greener" alternatives. It's possible to give your house an adequate cleaning without harmful chemicals. Look for products that contain environmentally friendly ingredients such as: Citrus- and plant-based oils. Natural oils can be used as degreasers (orange, lemon), disinfectants (tea tree, eucalyptus), and polishes (olive). They also freshen the air at the same time. Sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and sodium silicate. These compounds work like phosphates and EDTA to soften water, but without the harmful impact. Enzymes. Natural drain openers use digesting bacteria and enzymes to eat through most clogs. Non-chlorine bleach. These products use oxygen to whiten and brighten clothes. Make your own. Items on your kitchen shelves can serve as effective cleansers—-at a fraction of the cost of brand-name products. A paste of baking soda and water, for example, is good for scouring, while diluted white vinegar will clean windows and kill bacteria, mold, and viruses. [SOURCE]

Show me the money...
Money qi (chi) is the type of energy that can bring us financial opportunities: new job, promotion, payments, investments increases, windfalls, etc. Creating money qi in the house is a simple process but it is one that has to be repeated periodically because its potency. The qi energy in the world constantly shifts and moves. Sometimes it is strong in a certain location and sometimes it is weak, just like the tides ebb and flow. But if the qi energy is weak for a long time then it can affect the prosperity of the people living in that place. Stirring up the qi helps bring money qi as well as other kinds of energy to a desired location. [READ ON]