Using a computer has obvious personal and professional benefits, but there are some physical issues that arise when you sit in front of a computer (or tote one home —
save your back!). You can do basic
exercises to avoid carpal tunnel, but you can use technology to prevent injuries caused by technology:
Workrave!
Workrave is a free download (for Linux and Windows) that provides all kinds of handy tools to ensure that you don't hurt your eyes, back, wrists, or neck while you're working (read: perusing Sugar sites). My favorites are the timers for breaks it prompts you to take — and one break even walks you through simple exercises.
Many of you admit that you go to work sick because
you're too busy to miss work, but
for 46 million US workers it's not the workload that's keeping them from taking time off, it's that they don't have the benefit of paid sick leave. Advocates of proposed state bills mandating paid sick leave are hoping legislation would expand existing benefits and add new ones.
Come November, voters in 12 states, including California, Connecticut, Minnesota and West Virginia, will have the chance to share their feelings about proposed state laws that would enforce businesses to offer paid sick leave.
I was at a friend's house the other day and noticed that she had three different types of toothpaste. I gave her a hard time about it, and she explained that she has an everyday toothpaste, which she sometimes combines with a sensitivity toothpaste or a whitening toothpaste. I started to wonder how common this is.
We all know that
LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) is no good for us, and one of the leading risk factors for heart disease is high
cholesterol levels in the blood. So use these
five tips from the Cleveland Clinic on ways to help lower your cholesterol:
- Avoid high-fat or fried foods. When you do eat foods with fat, look for unsaturated, not saturated, fat.
- Reduce the amount of red meat that you eat, and eat more fish and poultry.
- Get enough soluble fiber by eating plenty of fruits, beans, peas, and oats.
- Don't eat more than three egg yolks per week.
- Get plenty of exercise, maintain a healthy body weight, and stop smoking.
Fit's Tip: If you haven't had your cholesterol checked, you may want to ask your doctor to run a blood test — especially if high cholesterol runs in your family.
At one of my daughter's earliest doctor appointments, her pediatrician told me to keep her on her belly for tummy time whenever she was awake. I was in disbelief as my tot hated being on her stomach. The doc said it was important for her development and that the babe would eventually get used to it and may even enjoy it.
Yesterday
DrSugar answered the
health related portion of this question.
Dear DrSugar,
I have a problem that might seem a little odd, but I am not dieting and I am losing too much weight. I am training for a marathon, and exercise daily about 2 hours Monday through Friday (running outside mixed with swimming, spin class, body pump, and running on Treadmill). My Saturday workout is always a long run, and my Sunday workout is a short run.
DrSugar is in the house and answering your questions.
Dear DrSugar,
I have a problem that might seem a little odd, but I am not dieting and I am losing too much weight. I am training for a marathon, and exercise daily about 2 hours Monday through Friday (running outside mixed with swimming, spin class, body pump, and running on Treadmill).
Somewhere between leaving home after high school and graduating college, I toyed with the idea of giving up
gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. So many people I knew were living gluten free lives and claimed to feel so much better for giving it up. In fact, gluten free living seems to be on the rise.
When you feel like you're burning the candle at both ends, you might want to light some incense. Long associated with religious ceremonies and ashrams, researchers at
Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem found that incense lowers anxiety and can create antidepressive-like behavior.
Although the study was performed on mice, researchers believe the effects of incense translates to humans and activates the poorly-understood and under-researched ion channels of the brain to alleviate both anxiety and depression.
Since the research focused on burning the Biblical frankincense, your best bet for inhaling a little antianxiety smoke is to pick up a package of that type of incense.
Some food combinations create nutritional synergy, like
plums increasing iron absorption. On the other side of the spectrum are food pairings that block absorption of vitamins and minerals. Calcium, a vital mineral for bone health, can be negatively affected by seemingly innocent foods.
