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Health: Want to boost your metabolism? Trick your body.

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Health Magazine has an interesting article on ways to boost your metabolism.  For those of us who sit in front of a computer every day, this is definitely a challenge.  The "spare tire" tends to continue increasing with the lack of exercise and a somewhat poor diet from snacking, rather than sitting down to a real meal.

None of these are especially surprising, but could have been forgotten. I find this article interesting, because it give some easy tricks to boost your metabolism in areas you might otherwise neglect. The tips are geared toward women, but of course it won't hurt for the guys to use try the same tips.

Here's a summary:

• Kick it up a notch

The next time you run, swim, or even walk, ramp up the intensity for 30-second intervals, returning to your normal speed afterward.

• Get your omega-3s

Omega-3s balance blood sugar and reduce inflammation, helping to regulate metabolism. They may also reduce resistance to the hormone leptin, which researchers have linked to how fast fat is burned. In other words, eat lots of fish.

• Make some muscle

Not only does muscle weigh more than fat, but it uses more energy, too.

• Turn to (green) tea

Green tea has long been heralded for its antioxidant polyphenols. But new evidence shows the active ingredient, catechin, may crank up metabolism.

*Read my article posted a short time ago on the effects of drinking Green Tea.

• Enjoy the afterburn

Exercise is a gift to yourself that keeps on giving. In a phenomenon known as excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), your body can take hours to recover from a robust workout (one intense enough that you can't hold a conversation) and return to its previous resting metabolic rate. The windfall: Your body is actually burning more calories than it normally would—even after you've finished exercising.

• Don’t slash those calories

It's one of the most frustrating realities of dieting—if you cut out too many calories, your metabolism thinks times are lean and puts the breaks on fat-burning to conserve energy

• Get started in the a.m.

Make sure you eat breakfast. Eating a nutrient-rich morning meal (like oatmeal with almonds and berries, or a spinach-and-feta omelet with a slice of whole-grain toast) shortly after getting out of bed literally wakes up your metabolism.

• Go ahead and graze

Noshing throughout the day is a proven strategy to help you curb hunger and eat fewer calories overall. Now, experts are promoting nibbling versus gorging as a way to keep metabolism running by holding blood sugar levels steady and preventing weight-gain-promoting insulin spikes.

• Trim the trans fat

You’ve heard they're bad for you. But trans fats also slow down your body's ability to burn fat.

• Go organic

If you're on the fence about whether to buy organic, this news may sway you: Fruits, vegetables, and grains grown without pesticides keep your fat-burning system running at full-tilt because they don't expose your thyroid to toxin.

• Think protein

Your body digests protein more slowly than fat or carbs, so you feel full longer (this is especially true when you have it for breakfast). Plus, it may also give your metabolism a bump.

Read the tips in their entirety at Health.com

Great reasons to drink Green Tea

I started drinking Green Tea in the afternoons a few months ago, in lieu of those couple of extra cups of coffee.  I'm not going to claim that it has done wonders for me, but I will say this.  My wife was very sick with a bad cold for over a week.   I usually catch colds easily when I'm around others who already have it, but this time I didn't and have not been sick at all since.

Yahoo Food has an article that breaks down 7 great reasons to drink Green Tea.  I think this give me more reason to keep drinking up.

Here's the quick list:

• CUT YOUR CANCER RISK.
• SOOTHE YOUR SKIN
• PROTECT YOUR SKIN
• STEADY YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
• PROTECT YOUR MEMORY
• STAY YOUNG
• LOSE WEIGHT

Head over to Yahoo to see a full explanation of the claims.  You can also read more about it on the "trusty" Wikipedia.

Are you getting enough sleep?

According to this ABC news story (and it's no great surprise), most Americans do not.  Many people are falling asleep, or snagging a few ZZZs at the office.  Since I work from home, that's not a major problem, but I still have to discipline myself to sleep during normal times.

The article states that roughly one-third of those surveyed said they had fallen asleep or become very sleepy at work in the past month.  It goes on to say the average wake up is at 5:35 a.m. and it's followed by about two hours and 15 minutes at home before heading out to work, according to the survey. Average bedtime is 10:53.  This is very on-target for my typical routine, except I start closer to 5:00 am and end closer to 11:30 pm.

Read the entire story and you can also watch a short video on the topic here.

A Breathalyzer that does much more than detect alcohol...this is why education is extremely important!!

A laser functioning breath analyzing apparatus is a fantastic step in the possible early detection of cancer, asthma, diabetes, and kidney malfunction. According to Jun Ye, who lead the research at the University of Colorado, "his team used their methods to analyze the breath of several student volunteers and found they could trace signatures of ammonia, carbon monoxide, and methane in breath. Their volunteers breathed into an optical cavity, which is a space between two mirrors. When a pulsed laser light was shone into this space, it bounced back and forth multiple times, striking all the molecules in the sample, Ye's team said." It is so encouraging that their minds out there that are able to manifest the creations of their mind into reality. I can barely speak and walk at the same time, thank goodness I don't have to talk and type at the same time either. Read

It's Satan! It's A Bowling Ball! No It's A Prehistoric Frog!

Back in the day, before frogs were cute and could fit into a 20 pound fish tank, they were the size of bowling balls, had teeth and armor and had a ferocious croak.

Recent unearthed fossils in Madagascar show frogs so big that they are dubbed Devil Toad. Why? I have no idea. Why do they have to be devils just because they're huge? Flies were much bigger back then. The fossils are believed to be up to 70 million years old.

The discovery raises a few questions because the fossils reveal them to be close relatives to normal sized frogs (I'll call them Angel frogs) that reside in South America, which is a long way from Madagascar. The normal sized frogs are most often called Pacman frogs, and are quite tame, I myself had a few.

It's believed that this frog was so powerful that it could have taken down hatching Dinosaurs. Who knew the natural enemy of the baby T-Rex was a big fat frog? But never the less the question is how did this frog migrate so far from it's natural prehistoric habitat?

One answer could be, if the frogs were that big and that strong they could have jumped in a single bound all the way to South America, although that's highly unlikely.

But from this artist rendition I'm beginning to think the scientist are off base with this one. I'm not sure they found a huge frog at all. What we may have here is "Early Sumo" or, Hominin Neanderthalensis Sumo Wrestler.

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A great use for Super Bowl paraphenalia from the losing team!!

Have you ever wondered what became of the losers merchandise in the Super Bowl? Well a great humanitarian organization named World Vision, set up the donation in which 290 hats and 290 team jerseys that read, "Super Bowl Champions 19-0," went to impoverished children from San Gregorio and Buena Vista, Nicaragua. Mind you, this doesn't answer for all the years of discarded clothing for Stanley Cups, World Series', and NBA Championships, most of that stuff is probably destroyed, what a waste! But at least this stuff has gone to good use, and Super Bowl history is a little different in Central America.

Two New Planets Found In Distant Galaxies

Astronomers have found two new planets that resemble Jupiter and Saturn in a far away galaxy. They are now coming to the conclusion that other solar systems may mirror our own. Which could mean at this moment some guy on a planet the third rock from the sun is doing a post about a two new planets found in a far away galaxy. (It may be to early in the morning for that, you'll get it later).

This is the first discovery of a multi-planet system. They have deduced both planets are gaseous.

If they can find far away planets and figure out the make-up of said planets, why can't they find the stereo some butthole stole out of your car?

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An Implant To Lose The Weight?

Instead of a campaign that focuses on teaching people how to eat right, or showing folks just how bad fast food is for the human body, scientist are focusing their energy on a get thin quick shock therapy gadget.

An implant pacemaker device is being developed to to shock the nerve systems related to feelings of hunger and feeling full.

---MSNBC) A St. Paul, Minn.-based company called EnteroMedics Inc. is testing an implantable device called Maestro that periodically blocks transmission on the digestion-controlling vagus nerve. Limited study data suggests it may trigger significant weight loss. A bigger, yearlong randomized study that's enrolling over the next six months could put the company on track for U.S. approval in the middle of 2010, if things go well.----

This whole diet thing never ceases to amaze me. If you want to lose weight, stop eating things the human body wasn't designed to consume, and exercise. It won't cost you a dime, in fact you'll save money.

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Bluetooth, Not Just For Phones, For Walking Too

Meet Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua Bleill. Bleill is but one of thousands of Marines who have lost limbs fighting in Iraq. While on patrol, Cpl Beill's Humvee was blown apart by a IED that was placed underneath the truck. The explosion took both of his legs.

Along with losing both limbs, he now has 32 pins in his hips and a screw holding his pelvis together.

But now, along with one other amputee, Cpl Bleil is walking again with the help of the same technology that lets you sync your MP3 player with your car stereo. Although in his words "it's not pretty" computer chips in both legs send signals to motors that move the mechanical limbs. Both legs are embedded with Bluetooth receivers that tell each other what the other is doing by mimicking each other. That is freakin COOL.

There are no rechargeable batteries as of yet, so the limbs must be charged every night. But this is a classic example of great minds putting great technology to greater use.

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100,000 Year Old Skull Found In China. Peking Man Just Appetizer

A nearly 100,000 year old skull was found in the central provence of Henan.

The two archaeologists found the fractured skull parts just as they were about to pack it up for the Lunar Spring Festival. Along with that find, 30,000 animal fragments have been found.

But the most important find is fossilized membrane on the inside of one of the skull fragments, giving scientist a chance to track the nerves of the person and ancestors who once dawned skin over the skull.

The community believes that this is the most important discovery since Peking man in the 20's.

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