OneHealthyGirl.com - Carla Golden's Get Healthier! Blog

Make your own household cleaners and avoid health risks

From NoImpactMan.com:

Here's a no-brainer: One way to stay healthy is to stay away from poison.

For years environmentalists worried about the effect on aquatic wildlife and our drinking water of the toxins that go down our drains in the form of household products. The funny thing is, no one spoke much about the fact that if it was poison to the fish who swam in the tainted water, it was probably poison to the people who used them, too--another no-brainer.

Well, there was a story in the New York Times on Thursday about how Women's Voices for the Earth is both publicizing the health concerns of using conventional cleaners and promoting a way around using them. Women's Voices is organizing house parties all over the country to teach people how to homemake cleaners from products like Borax, baking soda, Dr. Brommer's and vinegar.

You can read about how certain chemicals in common cleaning products have been associated with increased prevalence of asthma, exacerbations of asthma symptoms, and respiratory ailments here. You can also read about how chemicals used in common cleaning products have been associated with reproductive harm such as alterations in sexual behavior, decreases in fertility, menstrual changes, changes in the onset of puberty, cancers of reproductive organs, miscarriage, premature birth and other effects here.

There are, of course, "green" brands on the market but Women's Voices' rationale is: Why pay $5 for a bottle of cleaner from a "green" brand that won't tell you the ingredients when you can make your own for pennies and now exactly what's in it (if you're a business person trying to be eco, you now see why transparency is important).

As you may know, we began making our own household products during the No Impact project, both to avoid the toxicity to both people and the environment but also to avoid buying the same throwaway plastic bottles over and over again. You can find my recipes here and here, but I thought it would be fun to list Women's Voices' recipes.

But first, if you want to join in their countrywide house-party promotion of homemade household products, go here. I've cut and pasted their recipes from here.

All-Purpose Cleaner
suggested uses: hard surfaces like countertops and kitchen floors, windows and mirrors

2 cups white distilled vinegar
2 cups water
20-30 or more drops of essential oil (optional)

Tip: Warming in microwave until barely hot will boost cleaning power for tough jobs. Only microwave in a glass container.

Creamy Soft Scrub
suggested uses: Use this creamy soft scrub on kitchen counters, stoves, bathroom sinks, etc.

2 cups baking soda
½ cup liquid castile soap*
4 teaspoons vegetable glycerin (acts as a preservative)
5 drops antibacterial essential oil such as lavender, tea tree, rosemary or any scent you prefer (optional)

Mix together and store in a sealed glass jar, shelf life of 2 years.

Tips: For exceptionally tough jobs spray with vinegar first—full strength or diluted, scented—let sit and follow with scrub.

Dry soft scrubs can be made with baking soda or salt (or combination of both) with 10-15 drops essential oil to scent

Furniture Polish
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white distilled vinegar
20-30 drops lemon essential oil

Shake well before using
(2 teaspoons lemon juice may be substituted for lemon oil but then must be stored in refrigerator)

Dip a clean, dry cloth into the polish and rub wood in the direction of the grain.  Use a soft brush to work the polish into corners or tight places.

Tips: To remove water spots rub well with toothpaste.  To remove scratches use 1 part lemon juice and 1 part oil, rub with soft cloth.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Option 1

Sprinkle toilet bowl with baking soda, drizzle with vinegar, let soak for at least 30 minutes and scrub with toilet brush.

Option 2

Put ¼ cup borax in toilet bowl and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Swish with a toilet brush and then scrub. A few drops of pine oil can be added for increased disinfecting. (Note: some people are allergic to pine oil.)

Tip: Let ingredients soak for a while to make for easy scrubbing, especially on persistent stains like toilet bowl rings

Drain Opener

½ cup baking soda
½ cup vinegar

Pour baking soda down the drain and follow with vinegar. Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes. Flush with boiling water.

Tip: Prevent your shower form clogging by using a drain trap to catch hairs.

Laundry Detergent

1 cup soap flakes
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup Borax

Soap flakes can be made by grating your favorite pure vegetable soap with a cheese grater.  Mix ingredients together and store in a glass container.  Use 1 tablespoon per load (2 for heavily soiled laundry), wash in warm or cold water.

This standard recipe can be adjusted for soft water by using 1 cup soap flakes, 1/4 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup borax.  For hard water, use 1 cup soap flakes, 1 cup washing soda, and 1 cup borax.

Note: Borax should not be ingested.

Tips: Add 1/2 cup white distilled vinegar to rinse as a fabric softener.  For a whitener, use hydrogen peroxide rather than bleach. Soak your dingy white clothes for 30 minutes in the washer with 1/2 cup 20% peroxide. Launder as usual.

For more great recipes, visit care2.com

Some great recipes (pdf) from the Association of Vermont Recyclers

Do homemade cleaners work?  Learn more about the properties of these cleaners!

The Trans Fat Lie!

Are partially hydrogenated oils and trans fat the same thing?

Partially hydrogenated oil is not the same as trans fat. "Partially hydrogenated" means that hydrogen gas has been bubbled up into the oil to increase its degree of saturation and shelf life. The process of hydrogenation causes several chemical changes to occur in the oil. One of these changes (only one, but an important one) is the creation of trans fat. There is some naturally occurring trans fat in many foods - but not nearly as much as we get from hydrogenated oils. Some of us get about 20 grams of trans fat per day solely from consumption of hydrogenated oils. From natural foods, we would only get several grams. From World'sHealthiestFoods.org

"On a per-calorie basis, trans fats appear to increase the risk of coronary heart disease more than any other macronutrient, conferring a substantially increased risk at low levels of consumption (1 to 3 percent of total energy intake). In a meta-analysis of four prospective cohort studies involving nearly 140,000 subjects, including updated analyses from the two largest studies, a 2 percent increase in energy intake from trans fatty acids was associated with a 23 percent increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease."

If the label says zero trans fats, don't believe it. If the words "partially hydrogenated" or "shortening" are in the ingredients list, it DOES contain trans fat.       

Under FDA regulations in effect in the United States, "if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero." Suppose a product contains 0.4 grams per serving and you eat four servings (which is not uncommon). You have just consumed 1.6 grams of trans fat, despite the fact that the package claims that the product contains zero grams of trans fat per serving. From BanTransFats.com

This illustrates how being a savvy label reader can help you to make healthier food selection choices. Don't fall prey to the prevalent "no trans fat" lie! Read the nutrition and ingredient labels for the food you buy for yourself and especially for the food your purchase for your children. Avoid ordering fried foods in restaurants and read salad dressing labels when available in restaurants. Once you start this habit you'll be shocked by how many foods contain trans fats and hydrogenated and/or partially hydrogenated oils.

Live Light, xo-C.

Vitamin D for Dig-Out-Your-Bikini!

I've written about the importance of vitamin D before, and here is some new information from the RealFoodsThatHeal.com newsletter:

Recent scientific publications have connected vitamin D deficiency with a very broad list of serious health conditions: cancers of the colon, breast and prostate; osteoporosis (silent risk of hip and vertebral fractures), and osteomalacia (painful bones and muscles); types 1 and 2 diabetes risk; an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis; increased risk of multiple sclerosis; and decreased immunity to infectious diseases such as influenza.  Almost every cell in the body has a receptor site for vitamin D activity; that's why its regulatory function is so critical in preventing serious disease.

But could you be deficient?  How is a basic vitamin deficiency possible in people who eat a healthy diet daily?  The answers are: yes, deficiency is very common in the US and around the world; and it is possible because vitamin D is actually fairly rare in foods.  One study estimated that at least 30% of US adults over 50 years have vitamin D deficiency at the end of August, and the numbers are higher in winter and for people with darker skin. This is really a problem of inadequate sun exposure.  Humans are designed to make vitamin D in the skin in response to sun exposure.  Being outdoors in sunlight in a swimsuit at noon, for 15-20 minutes, WITHOUT sunscreen, will give you the equivalent of 20,000 IU of an oral vitamin D dose, without any risk of toxicity or sunburn, and it's free!  This is harder to do the closer you live to the poles, or in the winter.  But because most of us will not do this on a daily or even weekly basis, a daily supplement of 1000 IU (international units) of vitamin D3 is recommended to maintain healthy blood levels, or 400 IU per day in infants and children.  Recommended doses are higher for people who are already deficient, so I recommend you ask your doctor for a blood test to find out your level.

But since this bulletin is Real FOODS that Heal (and not real vitamins that heal), I'll end with a food recommendation.  We're back to our good friend salmon.  A 3.5 ounce serving of wild caught salmon has between 500 and 1000 IU of vitamin D, in addition to all its other health benefits (bulletin 7: Feb 18, 2008).  Caution: farm raised (virtually all Atlantic salmon sold is farm raised) has only 10-25% of the vitamin D level of wild caught.  That's another great reason to enjoy wild Alaskan salmon on a regular basis.  AND take your vitamin D3 1000 IU daily.

----------------------------
I personally prefer the 15 minutes of sun a day - it's the Attitude Vitamin for me! Fellow health-nut and friend of a friend, Karen Knox, author of Forget the Die-its: Learn to Live-it!, recommended to me and I recommend it to you, Mexitan natural sunscreen for when your 15 sunny minutes are up. Don't be afraid of the sun, just learn how to work with it. It'll do your body good....in safe moderation!

Live Light, xo-C.

Aspartame is Poison. Period.

I see a lot of people around me drinking Diet Coke. Still! Don't they know the dangers? Surely they care about their long-term health. If you're a Diet Coke drinker or ingest other products containing aspartame, please, for your health, consider making an immediate change. And by all means, do not let your children eat, drink or chew anything containing aspartame - ever. Their precious little brains are still developing. Give that process a healthful chance at getting it right.

Live Light, xo-C.

From Mercola.com:

Aspartame is a poison that does not belong in your body, and this is not an exaggeration. Yet, this toxic substance is consumed by over 200 million people around the world and is found in more than 6,000 products.

Everything from soda and chewing gum to desserts, yogurt, and even some vitamins and cough drops contain it.

When you drink, say, a can of diet soda sweetened with aspartame, what are you REALLY consuming? Here’s a breakdown of aspartame’s three chemicals: the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine, and methanol.

1. Aspartic acid (40 percent of aspartame)

Aspartate acts as a neurotransmitter in your brain by facilitating the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. Too much aspartate in your brain kills certain neurons by allowing the influx of too much calcium into your cells. This influx triggers excessive amounts of free radicals, which kill your cells.

The neural cell damage that can be caused by excessive aspartate is why Dr. Russell Blaylock refers to them as "excitotoxins." They "excite" or stimulate your neural cells to death.

Now, when aspartic acid is consumed, it significantly raises your blood level of aspartate, which leads to a high level of those neurotransmitters in certain areas of your brain, where they slowly begin to destroy neurons.

Your brain cells could be dying right now, but you likely would not notice the symptoms until 75 percent or more are gone. Then, chronic illnesses such as the following, which may by caused by long-term exposure to excitatory amino acid damage, may occur:

• Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease
• Memory and hearing loss
• Hormonal problems
• Epilepsy
• AIDS
• Brain lesions
• Neuroendocrine disorders

2. Phenylalanine (50 percent of aspartame)

Phenylalanine is an amino acid normally found in your brain, however people with the genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) cannot metabolize phenylalanine. This leads to dangerously high -- and sometimes lethal -- levels of phenylalanine in your brain. It has been shown, though, that ingesting aspartame, especially along with carbohydrates, can lead to excess levels of phenylalanine in your brain even if you do not have PKU.

Even consuming aspartame one time has been found to raise your blood levels of phenylalanine. What’s the risk of this?

Excessive levels of phenylalanine in your brain can cause the levels of serotonin in your brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression. It can also cause schizophrenia or make you more susceptible to seizures.

3. Methanol (aka wood alcohol) (10 percent of aspartame)

Methanol/wood alcohol is a deadly poison, and the absorption of methanol into your body is sped up considerably when free methanol is ingested. Well, free methanol is created from aspartame when it is heated to above 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 Centigrade). This would occur when an aspartame-containing product is improperly stored (in the sun, for instance) or when it is heated, such as part of a "food" product like Jello.

Meanwhile, methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde -- a deadly neurotoxin -- in your body.

Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic."

They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day, but a one-liter aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily -- or 32 times the EPA limit!

The symptoms of methanol poisoning are numerous and varied. They include:

• Vision problems
• Headaches, ear buzzing, dizziness
• Nausea and gastrointestinal disturbances
• Weakness, numbness and shooting pains in your extremities
• Behavioral disturbances
• Memory lapses

Do You STILL Believe Aspartame is Safe?

I could literally go on for days about the many problems plaguing this artificial sweetener; both the dangers it poses to your health and the blatant greed and manipulation that got it on the market.

That is why I spent years researching and writing Sweet Deception. It is the most comprehensive book on the market addressing this issue, and if you or your loved ones drink diet beverages or eat diet foods, please read it sooner rather than later.

I also highly recommend watching Sweet Misery, which is part documentary, part detective story that sheds much-needed light on the controversy surrounding aspartame.

Folks, aspartame is not your friend. It is actually responsible for 80-85 percent of the food complaints registered with the FDA!

Aside from the damage it can do to your brain, aspartame can cause cancer. One well-controlled, peer-reviewed, SEVEN-year study even found that as little as 20 mg per day can cause cancer in humans.

One 12-ounce diet soda contains about 180 mg of aspartame, so you do the math on that risk!

If you have NutraSweet or Equal packets in your home, I urge you to get rid of them. About the only good use for them I’ve heard about is using them to kill ants in your kitchen.

And if you’re consuming diet foods or drinks of any kind, toss those as well. Your health will be much better off for it.

If you find you’re still having sweet cravings or are having a hard time giving up your diet soda, Turbo Tapping is a simple tool to help you get rid of your soda addiction in a short period of time. And in the case of aspartame, getting it out of your diet can’t come fast enough.

Why You Should be Worried if Your Kids' Cereal is Widely Known

From Mercola.com:

Breakfast cereals marketed the most aggressively to kids have the worst nutritional quality, according to a new analysis of 161 brands.

Children's cereals were classified as those that had a character on the box, toys or games inside, or the company's Web site listed the brand as a children's cereal.

Kids’ cereals had more sugar, sodium, carbohydrate and calories per gram than non-children's cereals, and less protein and fiber. Sugar accounted for more than one-third of the weight of children's cereals, on average, compared to less than one-quarter of the adult cereals.

Sources:

• Reuters April 23, 2008
• The Journal of American Dietetic Association April 2008; 108: 4(702-705) (Free Full Length Article PDF)

Why Should Your Foods Be Colorful?

In the world of processed food, you cannot judge the quality of a food by the way it looks. Artificial colors, mechanical processing techniques, and genetic engineering can create foods that look fantastic, but have very little nutritional value. Don't judge your processed foods (and in many cases, even your non-organic, unprocessed foods) by their color! It's sometimes the 2 parts per million of citrus red dye number 2 that gives the orange peels their rich color - but this artificial dye cannot be legally used on organic oranges.

When eating the World's Healthiest Foods that have been organically grown, the situation is exactly the opposite. The more colorful your meal, the greater likelihood you will receive a rich diversity of nutrients. The World's Healthiest Foods are NATURALLY colorful. They are rich in phytonutrients that provide them with a rainbow of colors. The combination of phytonutrients in colorful fruits and vegetables have a variety of actions: they act as powerful antioxidants, have anti-inflammatory effects, help the way neurons communicate in the brain and help reduce the effects of aging.

These phytonutrients give carrots and winter squash their rich orange-red color, make beets a brilliant red and green leafy vegetables, such as kale, a deep green. In fact if you eat the leafy greens like mustard greens or chard or kale, you should also think about what happens to leaves in the fall of the year, as they change to yellow or orange or red. These colors are actually in the leaves year-round, but just get overshadowed by the green. You're actually eating a variety of colors when you eat a green leafy vegetable! Enjoy the World's Healthiest Foods for their colors and you will be also be enjoying them for their unique nutritional richness.

From World'sHealthiestFoods.org

New Bones in Ninety Days!

It amazes me that so many people will believe that Bill Gates will send them money if they forward an email to 10 friends, but that they will not believe that the quality of their food will make or break their state of health.

The food you choose to put into your mouth today will become the building blocks for the cells you create tomorrow. How often does the body renew itself? Older wisdom had it estimated at around seven years. Deepak Chopra, quantum biologist, has revised that estimate downward to roughly one year for an approximately 98% totally renewed body. Based on the estimates of quantum biology, you have a brand new stomach lining every 4 days, new skin every 30 days, a new liver in 6 weeks, and even the skeleton is replaced every 3 months.

What does this mean? It means if you put junk (ie: processed, fast or otherwise artificial) food into your body, the rate and quality of cell renewal will be diminished. If you put whole, real foods and top grade supplements into your body, the rate and quality of cell renewal will be enhanced.

Your food matters. Your drink matters. Your air matters. Your body matter is made from these. If you want to be vibrant, healthy and youthful eat colorful, healthful and fresh foods. Read labels - if you don't recognize or can't pronounce ingredients, be wary. Say "no" to absolutely all partially hydrogenated oils, artificial colors, artificial sweetners and high fructose corn syrup. These four additive categories to avoid will keep you away from most boxed and bagged shelf items in the grocery store and practically all menu items available in a drive-through.

You are what you eat. Make it real. Be real. Eat what you want to become. Live light, xo-C.

Fifty Habits of Highly Successful People

The definition of success is an individual enterprise. All that matters is how we, ourselves, define success and how well we are doing to achieve the descriptors we've chosen. If you're looking to increase your success quotient - family, work, exercise, health, spirituality, etc. - try on more of these fifty habits.

Live Light, xo-C.

Fifty Habits of Highly Successful People by LifeHack.org:

So I thought that I might write a quick review of every self-help book ever written all right here in this one little article. Simple enough. I love the easy jobs. Surely it couldn’t be that hard, could it? I figured that maybe I could take the important lessons from every self-help book I’ve read and every life experience I’ve endured, condense all that into fifty key points and save everybody a whole bunch of reading time. Sure, global book sales in the self-help field might take a down-turn for a decade or so, but I’m willing to take that chance and put in a solid sixty minutes (or so) work for the good of humanity; my gift to mankind.

Selfless I know.

I thought that perhaps I could follow Stephen Covey’s lead (the Seven Habits) and come up with my own list of say… Fifty Habits (in truth, some of them are more qualities, than habits). It couldn’t be too difficult to distill all those millions of words, tens of thousands of books and that vast well of information, inspiration, wisdom and insight which has been collated over the centuries into one teensy-weensy article by the ex-fat kid (me). Who else could be better qualified?

Don’t answer that.

Habits of successful people….

1. They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.

2. They find a lesson while others only see a problem.

3. They are solution focused.

4. They consciously and methodically create their own success, while others hope success will find them.

5. They are fearful like everyone else, but they are not controlled or limited by fear.

6. They ask the right questions - the ones which put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.

7. They rarely complain (waste of energy). All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative and unproductive state.

8. They don’t blame (what’s the point?). They take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof).

9. While they are not necessarily more talented than the majority, they always find a way to maximize their potential. They get more out of themselves. They use what they have more effectively.

10. They are busy, productive and proactive. While most are laying on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, they are out there getting the job done.

11. They align themselves with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships.

12. They are ambitious; they want amazing - and why shouldn’t they? They consciously choose to live their best life rather than spending it on auto-pilot.

13. They have clarity and certainty about what they want (and don’t want) for their life. They actually visualize and plan their best reality while others are merely spectators of life.

14. They innovate rather than imitate.

15. They don’t procrastinate and they don’t spend their life waiting for the ‘right time’.

16. They are life-long learners. They constantly work at educating themselves, either formally (academically), informally (watching, listening, asking, reading, student of life) or experientially (doing, trying)… or all three.

17. They are glass half full people - while still being practical and down-to-earth. They have an ability to find the good.

18. They consistently do what they need to do, irrespective of how they are feeling on a given day. They don’t spend their life stopping and starting.

19. They take calculated risks - financial, emotional, professional, psychological.

20. They deal with problems and challenges quickly and effectively, they don’t put their head in the sand. They face their challenges and use them to improve themselves.

21. They don’t believe in, or wait for fate, destiny, chance or luck to determine or shape their future. They believe in, and are committed to actively and consciously creating their own best life.

22. While many people are reactive, they are proactive. They take action before they have to.

23. They are more effective than most at managing their emotions. They feel like we all do but they are not slaves to their emotions.

24. They are good communicators and they consciously work at it.

25. They have a plan for their life and they work methodically at turning that plan into a reality. Their life is not a clumsy series of unplanned events and outcomes.

26. Their desire to be exceptional means that they typically do things that most won’t. They become exceptional by choice. We’re all faced with live-shaping decisions almost daily. Successful people make the decisions that most won’t and don’t.

27. While many people are pleasure junkies and avoid pain and discomfort at all costs, successful people understand the value and benefits of working through the tough stuff that most would avoid.

28. They have identified their core values (what is important to them) and they do their best to live a life which is reflective of those values.

29. They have balance. While they may be financially successful, they know that the terms money and success are not interchangeable. They understand that people who are successful on a financial level only, are not successful at all. Unfortunately we live in a society which teaches that money equals success. Like many other things, money is a tool. It’s certainly not a bad thing but ultimately, it’s just another resource. Unfortunately, too many people worship it.

30. They understand the importance of discipline and self-control. They are strong. They are happy to take the road less traveled.

31. They are secure. They do not derive their sense of worth of self from what they own, who they know, where they live or what they look like.

32. They are generous and kind. They take pleasure in helping others achieve.

33. They are humble and they are happy to admit mistakes and to apologize. They are confident in their ability, but not arrogant. They are happy to learn from others. They are happy to make others look good rather than seek their own personal glory.

34. They are adaptable and embrace change, while the majority are creatures of comfort and habit. They are comfortable with, and embrace, the new and the unfamiliar.

35. They keep themselves in shape physically, not to be mistaken with training for the Olympics or being obsessed with their body. They understand the importance of being physically well. They are not all about looks, they are more concerned with function and health. Their body is not who they are, it’s where they live.

36. They have a big engine. They work hard and are not lazy.

37. They are resilient. When most would throw in the towel, they’re just warming up.

38. They are open to, and more likely to act upon, feedback.

39. They don’t hang out with toxic people.

40. They don’t invest time or emotional energy into things which they have no control of.

41. They are happy to swim against the tide, to do what most won’t. They are not people pleasers and they don’t need constant approval.

42. They are more comfortable with their own company than most.

43. They set higher standards for themselves (a choice we can all make), which in turn produces greater commitment, more momentum, a better work ethic and of course, better results.

44. They don’t rationalize failure. While many are talking about their age, their sore back, their lack of time, their poor genetics, their ‘bad luck’, their nasty boss and their lack of opportunities (all good reasons to fail), they are finding a way to succeed despite all their challenges.

45. They have an off switch. They know how to relax, enjoy what they have in their life and to have fun.

46. Their career is not their identity, it’s their job. It’s not who they are, it’s what they do.

47. They are more interested in effective than they are in easy. While the majority look for the quickest, easiest way (the shortcut), they look for the course of action which will produce the best results over the long term.

48. They finish what they start. While so many spend their life starting things that they never finish, successful people get the job done - even when the excitement and the novelty have worn off. Even when it ain’t fun.

49. They are multi-dimensional, amazing, wonderful complex creatures (as we all are). They realize that not only are they physical and psychological beings, but emotional and spiritual creatures as well. They consciously work at being healthy and productive on all levels.

50. They practice what they preach. They don’t talk about the theory, they live the reality.

So there you have it, your days of reading self-help books are done!

Okay, maybe not. I may have missed a few. Feel free to add a habit or two of your own to the list.

Craig Harper (B.Ex.Sci.) is a qualified exercise scientist, author, columnist, radio presenter, television host, motivational speaker and university lecturer. For the past 25 years he has been a leading presenter, educator, motivator and commentator in the areas of personal and professional development. You can visit Craig's blog at Motivational Speaker.

Don't Worry, Pee Happy!

From Mercola.com:

Your urine holds many clues about your health, which is why physicians in ancient times studied its color, smell and taste as a way to diagnose disease.

What exactly is your urine? It’s a byproduct of blood filtration from your kidneys. A pigment called urochrome, which results from the breakdown of hemoglobin, a protein in your red blood cells, is what makes it yellow.

At the most basic level, the color of your urine can tell you two things:

1. If you have an infection
2. If you’re dehydrated

Ideally, your urine should be light yellow, so for the former, cloudy urine is often a sign of an infection (or kidney stones), while dark yellow urine is a sign that you need to drink more water.

What else can the color of your urine tell you?

• Red or Pink Urine: This could be caused by blood in your urine (due to urinary tract infections, enlarged kidney stones or even strenuous exercise), medications or eating lots of blackberries, beets or rhubarb.
• Orange Urine: If your urine is orange, you may be very dehydrated. This can also be caused by medications or eating lots of carrots.
• Fluorescent Yellow Urine: This happens when you take B vitamins.
• Blue or Green Urine: This can be caused by a rare condition that causes high levels of calcium. It can also result from eating a lot of asparagus or taking certain medications. Additionally, if you have ever eaten asparagus you will also know it imparts a very characteristic odor to your urine.
• Brown Urine: Medications and some liver disorders can turn your urine tea-colored, as can eating a lot of fava beans, rhubarb or aloe.
• Urine that is sweet-smelling is also a sign that you may have diabetes, as the sugary smell may be coming from a high concentration of blood sugar in your urine.

Ultimately, paying attention to the simple clues your body gives you -- and that includes the things your body excretes -- is something everyone should do.

Can You Catch Up On Lost Sleep?

From ScientificAmerican.com:

Let's do some sleep math. You lost two hours of sleep every night last week
because of a big project due on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, you slept
in, getting four extra hours. Come Monday morning, you were feeling so
bright-eyed, you only had one cup of coffee, instead of your usual two. But
don't be duped by your apparent vim and vigor: You're still carrying around
a heavy load of sleepiness, or what experts call "sleep debt" -- in this
case something like six hours, almost a full nights' sleep.

Sleep debt is the difference between the amount of sleep you should be
getting and the amount you actually get. It's a deficit that grows every
time we skim some extra minutes off our nightly slumber. "People accumulate
sleep debt surreptitiously," says psychiatrist William C. Dement, founder of
the Stanford University Sleep Clinic. Studies show that such short-term
sleep deprivation leads to a foggy brain, worsened vision, impaired driving,
and trouble remembering. Long-term effects include obesity, insulin
resistance, and heart disease. And most Americans suffer from chronic
deprivation.

A 2005 survey by the National Sleep Foundation reports that, on average,
Americans sleep 6.9 hours per night -- 6.8 hours during the week and 7.4
hours on the weekends. Generally, experts recommend eight hours of sleep per
night, although some people may require only six hours of sleep while others
need ten. That means on average, we're losing one hour of sleep each night
-- more than two full weeks of slumber every year.

The good news is that, like all debt, with some work, sleep debt can be
repaid -- though it won't happen in one extended snooze marathon. Tacking on
an extra hour or two of sleep a night is the way to catch up. For the
chronically sleep deprived, take it easy for a few months to get back into a
natural sleep pattern, says Lawrence J. Epstein, medical director of the
Harvard-affiliated Sleep HealthCenters.

Go to bed when you are tired, and allow your body to wake you in the morning
(no alarm clock allowed). You may find yourself catatonic in the beginning
of the recovery cycle: Expect to bank upward of ten hours shut-eye per
night. As the days pass, however, the amount of time sleeping will gradually
decrease.

For recovery sleep, both the hours slept and the intensity of the sleep are
important. Some of your most refreshing sleep occurs during deep sleep.
Although such sleep's true effects are still being studied, it is generally
considered a restorative period for the brain. And when you sleep more
hours, you allow your brain to spend more time in this rejuvenating period.

As you erase sleep debt, your body will come to rest at a sleep pattern that
is specifically right for you. Sleep researchers believe that genes --
although the precise ones have yet to be discovered -- determine our
individual sleeping patterns. That more than likely means you can't train
yourself to be a "short sleeper" -- and you're fooling yourself if you think
you've done it. A 2003 study in the journal Sleep found that the more tired
we get, the less tired we feel.

So earn back that lost sleep -- and follow the dictates of your innate sleep
needs. You'll feel better. "When you put away sleep debt, you become
superhuman," says Stanford's Dement, talking about the improved mental and
physical capabilities that come with being well rested. Finally, a
scientific reason to sleep in on Saturday.