Amazon Book Description:

Psychologist Eugene Kennedy and psychiatrist Sara C. Charles have brought this already popular book up to date with the medical and psychological advances over the past ten years. This book continues to provide counselors with all the essential tools they need to respond to people’s problems with intelligence and compassion.

http://www.amazon.com/On-Becoming-Counselor-Nonprofessional-Counselors/dp/0824519132/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375283051&sr=8-1&keywords=on+becoming+a+counselor

Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier

Thoughtfully choreographed series of skill drills — practiced in the mindful spirit of yoga — that can help anyone swim more enjoyably

A holistic approach to becoming one with the water and to developing a swimming style that’s always comfortable

Simple but thorough guidance on how to improve fitness and form

A complementary land-and-water program for achieving a strong and supple body at any age

Based on more than thirty years of teaching, coaching, and research, Total Immersion has dramatically improved the physical and mental experience of swimming for thousands of people of all ages and abilities

http://www.amazon.com/Total-Immersion-Revolutionary-Better-Faster/dp/0743253434/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373906249&sr=8-1&keywords=total+immersion

Maggie Fox  NBC National News – July 10, 2013

Everyone knows that fish oil is good for you, right? It’s a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are marketed to reduce the risk of just about everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s.

But a startling study shows men who have the highest levels of these compounds – the kinds found in fish but not in vegetable sources — have a higher risk of prostate cancer. Men with the very highest levels had a 71 percent higher risk of high-grade prostate cancer – the kind most likely to spread and kill, they report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

It might be a sign that popping a pill is not only possibly a waste of money – it might be downright dangerous. And eating fish too often might be, also.

“These fish oil supplements in which some men getting mega, mega doses…in our opinion that is probably a little bit dangerous,” said Theodore Brasky of Ohio State University Medical Center, who worked on the study with a team from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

The same team published a study in 2011 that showed men with the highest levels of one omega-3 fatty acid called docosahexaenoic acid, DHA for short, had double the risk of high-grade prostate cancer. Other studies have had similar findings.

To try to confirm their work, the team looked at data from a different prostate cancer trial called SELECT, for Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial. That study showed 17 more cases of prostate cancer among men who took vitamin E alone for about five years compared to men taking placebos.

The effect was even stronger when they looked at omega-3 fatty acids – specifically, the kinds found in fish oil as compared to those found in vegetable oils.

Brasky’s team looked at 834 of the men in the SELECT trial who developed prostate cancer, and 1,393 randomly chosen others from the trial who didn’t have cancer. They divided the men into four groups based on their blood levels of three omega-3 fatty acids – EPA, DPA and DHA.

Those with the highest blood levels had a 71 percent higher risk of high-grade prostate cancer, compared to those with the lowest levels. Overall, their risk of any kind of prostate cancer was 44 percent higher.

The difference between the group with the highest levels of omega-3s in their blood and those with the lowest works out to about what someone would get by eating salmon twice a week, the researchers said.

Fatty acids found in vegetable oils, flaxseeds and other vegetable sources – including alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) – did not affect prostate cancer risk, the researchers found.

“A 70 percent increased risk in high-grade prostate cancer, given it’s the No. 1 cancer in men and fish is a commonly consumed thing and is thought to be a healthy food, I think it’d be a concern for people,” Brasky said in a telephone interview.

The American Cancer Society projects that 240,000 U.S. men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2013, and about 30,000 will die from it.

“We’ve shown once again that use of nutritional supplements may be harmful,” said Alan Kristal of Fred Hutchinson, who also worked on the study.

Brasky, who says he still eats fish “but in moderation”, says the study cannot answer the question of how fish oil might cause cancer. They took into account other factors that might be associated with eating fish and Brasky notes that mercury, which can be found in fatty fish, doesn’t cause prostate cancer.

The study also doesn’t say anything about the effects of fish oil on men who already have cancer. “This study is not about men with prostate cancer,” Brasky said, noting that some studies have suggested fish oil might be beneficial in men who already have cancer.

Men might be at a loss for what to do, as omega-3 fatty acids were also believed to lower the risk of heart disease, which is far more common than prostate cancer.  The American Heart Association recommends that people with heart disease eat fish twice a week and people with heart disease might need fish oil capsules.

But the researchers point out that recent studies have shown taking extra omega-3 has little effect on heart disease – including a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in May 2013.

Lasting satisfaction and peace of mind are more likely to come from inner growth and physical development; but the majority of us spend the bulk of our time seeking things and acting on things that won’t make us any happier or any healthier.

Amazon Book Description:

How does therapy work? Can “talking” truly precipitate a change in behavior? Why do therapists rely so heavily on childhood experiences? Does the past really affect the present? Drawing on more than 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist, analyst, and teacher, Dr. Gaylin addresses the fundamentals of the therapeutic process in How Psychotherapy Really Works, an enlightening tour through one of the most misunderstood sciences of our times.

http://www.amazon.com/Psychotherapy-Really-Works-Willard-Gaylin/dp/0809294753/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372955013&sr=1-1&keywords=willard+gaylin

When we find ourselves depressed, we’re most likely caught within a negative feedback loop in which dark thoughts, ideas and negative feelings are continually recycled and recirculated; we can break this cycle of depression by simply changing our current negative ideas and thoughts.

For example, positive social interactions can interfere in this process of recycled depression; appropriate daily physical activities can optimize positive chemicals breaking the cycle as well; constructive well written books and movies can provide new ideas and thoughts that change our mental and emotional perspectives; even changing our immediate environment can work wonders on our overall mindset as well.

There are many ways in which to break the cycle of depression and we can work on that here. 

If you want to predict how happy someone is, or how long she will live (and if you are not allowed to ask about her genes or personality), you should find out about her social relationships. Having strong social relationships strengthens the immune system, extends life (more than does quitting smoking), speeds recovery from surgery, and reduces the risks of depression and anxiety disorders. It’s not just that extroverts are naturally happier and healthier; when introverts are forced to be more outgoing, they usually enjoy it and find that it boosts their mood. Even people who think they don’t want a lot of social contact still benefit from it. And it’s not just that “We all need somebody to lean on”; recent work on giving support shows that caring for others is often more beneficial than is receiving help. We need to interact and intertwine with others; we need the give and the take; we need to belong. An ideology of extreme personal freedom can be dangerous because it encourages people to leave homes, jobs, cities, and marriages in search of personal and professional fulfillment, thereby breaking the relationships that were probably their best hope for such fulfillment.” ~ Jonathan Haidt from The Happiness Hypothesis 

The Greek philosopher Aristotle stated it clearly many years ago, that we’re similar to archers who require a clear target in which to aim.

Not only do we require a target in which to aim… we need a target that’s worth aiming at.

What’s the benefit of running?

Here are 5 ways it boosts your brain power (Written by Prevention Magazine).

Don’t worry  — we’re not talking bursting-through-your-skull growth. Running stimulates the  creation of new nerve cells and blood vessels within the brain, an organ that  tends to shrink as a person ages. Also, studies have shown that running may help  increase the volume of the midbrain (which controls vision and hearing) and the  hippocampus (which is linked to memory and learning).

2. Running helps  your brain age better.

In addition to preventing or reversing age-related  shrinkage, running affects brain chemicals in a way that sets runners up to have  healthier-than-average brains later in life. A study last year measured neural  markers and cognitive function in middle-aged athletes and non-athletes, and  while the cognitive function scores were the same, researchers found the  athletes’ brains showed greater metabolic efficiency and neural  plasticity.

3. Running boosts your  ability to learn and recall information.

Another 2012 study found that at  least moderately fit people did better on memory tests than those who were less  fit (or not fit at all). This adds to earlier research that links running to a  better ability to focus, to juggle multiple tasks, and to make  distinctions.

4. Running conditions your brain to store more  fuel.

You already knew that training conditions your muscles to store more  fuel, but a recent study suggests that your brain adapts in the same way.  Researchers believe these larger glycogen stores in the brain may be one of the  reasons running boosts cognitive function.

5. Running,  especially in nature, helps keep your brain full of feel-good  chemicals.

Exercise promotes the release of the feel-good chemicals called  endorphins. Additionally, like many antidepressant medications, running helps  your brain hold on to mood-boosting neurotransmitters serotonin and  norepinephrine. For best results, run in quiet, green spaces instead of on  crowded streets — a study last year found people in parks experienced brain  activity similar to that seen during meditation, while people on streets  experienced frustration

The majority of us devote ourselves to daily pursuits that will not and cannot make us happy long-term…

When these banal pursuits and their superficial effects wear thin, we begin to question the pointlessness of our once important activities; the mid-life crisis has officially begun.

Inner wisdom and outer strength is the antidote and we can work on that here.

Who we’re today stems primarily from our previous thoughts and ideas; therefore, who we’re becoming stems primarily from our current thoughts and ideas.

This is a powerful truth that we work for or against us!

Generally speaking, as our bodies sit stationary, whether at the office or on the couch, our positive chemicals slope downward in our minds; creating moods and thoughts that are frequently not in our best interest. As our bodies get up and become active, whether on a treadmill or playing with our children, our positive chemicals slope upward in our minds; creating moods and thoughts that are frequently in our best interest. Our mind controls our body, but our body controls our mind as well.

Book Description:

Using the wisdom culled from the world’s greatest civilizations as a foundation, social psychologist Haidt comes to terms with 10 Great Ideas, viewing them through a contemporary filter to learn which of their lessons may still apply to modern lives. He first discusses how the mind works and then examines the Golden Rule (“Reciprocity is the most important tool for getting along with people”). Next, he addresses the issue of happiness itself–where does it come from?–before exploring the conditions that allow growth and development. He also dares to answer the question that haunts most everyone–What is the meaning of life?–by again drawing on ancient ideas and incorporating recent research findings. He concludes with the question of meaning: Why do some find it? Balancing ancient wisdom and modern science, Haidt consults great minds of the past, from Buddha to Lao Tzu and from Plato to Freud

http://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Hypothesis-Finding-Modern-Ancient/dp/0465028020/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372221982&sr=1-1&keywords=the+happiness+hypothesis

We have numerous coping mechanisms that we employ in our lives, some positive and some negative, the key here is that every single one of our coping mechanisms should be either positive or neutral in there overall effects upon us – as well as others.

Negative coping mechanisms (such as smoking, too much shopping, infidelity, over-eating, excessive drinking or reckless behavior) eventually have negative effects upon our lives; they eventually fail as coping mechanisms. On the other hand, positive coping mechanisms (such as exercising, talk therapy, enjoying your pet or family, reading, taking personal time or cooking) may fail at times to help us cope, but not by damaging our lives.

Employing positive coping mechanisms, instead of negative coping mechanisms, is a personal choice and we can work on that here.

Although many will never admit it to themselves – especially men – there’s a real biological need to understand ourselves more fully and to be more fully understood by others; this is a skill that we can work on here.

We know, due to research, that happiness and life satisfaction are much higher in those who direct their primary attention to the positive aspects of life.

Many health and fitness specialists (including those in the field of medicine) who are hired and paid to push their clients to expand, to grow, to improve and to thrive are simply not capable; they’re hired and paid to perform services they cannot do for themselves.

Book Description:

Money and success are not synonymous, there are plenty of unsuccessful people with money; rather success is more likely to be synonymous with a wise mind and a strong body.

For those who would like to swim to music, here’s a product that might interest you; a waterproof iPod Shuffle with matching waterproof earphones.

This Bundle includes: (1) Genuine Apple iPod Shuffle, waterproofed by Underwater Audio (1) pair of extra-short cabled Waterproof headphones

Underwater Audio’s iPod shuffle will go with you from land to sea and everywhere in between. Designed for swimmers, water lovers, and runners in the rain, this sleek and lightweight music player has all the features of the latest 2 GB iPod Shuffle, with the added bonus of being waterproof! Underwater Audio uses a proprietary process that is unique to the industry to waterproof your iPod from the inside out, giving you a 100% watertight music player.

http://www.underwateraudio.com/

Our appetite is more controllable after a good workout; our stress is managed more effectively after a good workout; thinking is clearer and more lucid after a good workout; decision making and judgment are greatly improved after a good workout; we feel better about ourselves and our lives after a good workout; our focus and patience is improved after a good workout…

Each workout matters – don’t miss the opportunity to improve yourself!

“In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection.”- Plato

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

Book Description:

Release date: January 1, 2013

http://www.amazon.com/Spark-Revolutionary-Science-Exercise-Brain/dp/0316113514

Mental exploration is a lifelong human necessity; regardless of age! Kids take to it naturally throughout their entire childhood while adults frequently fall into boring patterns and daily routines that eventually diminish this necessary characteristic; stagnation, depression and pessimism soon follow. In order to thrive and maintain good health, we must mentally explore new ideas and thoughts throughout our entire lives. The child building sand castles and digging holes on the beach, is in no way different than the adult hiking a new trail, after finishing a good book; that’s mental exploration!

Resistance training, as well as aerobic training, have a dramatic effect on our overall daily mood. Chemical regulating systems, found within our brains, that are less then optimal in many of us, are easily regulated, without medication, simply by exercising.

As soon as word spread that little Sarah Murnaghan needed a lung transplant, the offers started rolling in.

Not from the families of deceased donors who might save the life of the 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl with cystic fibrosis, but from concerned strangers who saw or heard the child’s plight in national news stories and wanted to do something — anything — they could.

“I was looking at her picture and that just touched my heart and I got tears,” said Daniel Barr, 60, an ex-Marine from Cecil, Ark., who offered to volunteer his own lung for Sarah. “I just wanted to jump up and say, ‘Here, take it!’”

Hundreds of people shared Barr’s sentiment, even though the girl’s family said that she wasn’t suitable for a living lung donation. What many may not have shared is Barr’s longtime designation as an organ donor — and not just for Sarah.

“I’ve been one just about forever,” said Barr, who lost his own daughter, Kelly Nichole, in 1991, and donated her heart and eyes. “I wish more people would. You could really cut the backlog of people waiting – and dying.”

Only about 45 percent of adults in the U.S. — nearly 109 million people — are organ donors, a figure that donation and transplant experts say seems tragically low when the public’s attention is riveted on the lack of organs for a child such as Sarah.

“We have millions of people that are concerned or outraged about this particular situation, yet 55 percent don’t sign up to donate,” said David Fleming, the president and chief executive of Donate Life America, a transplant advocacy agency that tracks U.S. donors.

The proportion of adults signed up as organ donors varies surprisingly widely across the U.S., from Montana, where 82 percent of people older than 18 are designated donors, to New York, where 20 percent are signed up. In Vermont, the figure is only 5 percent.

The biggest barrier to registering is procrastination — tempered with a little denial, said Sharon Ross, a spokeswoman for the San Diego affiliate of Donate Life.

“I think we, as a nation, as a whole, don’t think about death or want to think about death,” she said. “Many of our deaths are unexpected and sudden and we just don’t take the time to sign up.”

But when a situation like Sarah Murnaghan’s arises, it suddenly commands attention.

“It really puts a face on the need,” said Fleming. “I have a 10-year-old daughter. If my 10-year-old daughter needed an organ,  I would be doing anything in my power to save her life.”

More than 118,000 people are waiting for organs, including nearly 76,000 who actively need them now, according to OPTN. About 18 people die every day awaiting transplants.

“People sometimes believe that organ allocation is the primary issue, when in reality, the crisis is the lack of supply of organs for transplant,” Fleming said.

Indeed, the focus for two weeks has been on the complicated two-tier system that governs the way children and adults receive organs. Created by the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, or OPTN, it limits kids younger than 12 to organs from other children of similar age and size and gives teens and adults first chance at adult organs – even if the youngest kids are sicker.

Transplant experts say the 2005 rule replaced a first-come, first-served system and cut waiting list deaths by 40 percent.

But Sarah’s parents challenged the rule, saying it denied their child the chance to compete for an adult organ based on the severity of her illness instead of her age.

They launched a massive PR campaign that garnered headlines, political backing and, on Wednesday, a judge’s rule ordering Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to direct OPTN to put the child on the adult list.

By Thursday, another child awaiting a lung transplant, 11-year-old Javier Acosta, had been bumped up by the court as well.

Surgeons and ethicists objected to the move, saying it undermined a system designed to be impervious to individual cases and that it allowed non-doctors to make medical decisions.

“The whole point of having rules is to avoid special pleading,” said Art Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center and a frequent NBC News contributor.

Making exceptions to the system also reinforces a common suspicion that celebrities, the wealthy and people with the right ties have an inside track on organ transplant, Fleming said. “If it continues on this path, it is setting a dangerous precedent.”

Donation advocates say there’s one certain way to avoid what Sebelius described as the “incredibly agonizing” situation of having to ration organs: Get people to donate.

“We certainly believe that if everyone were a registered donor, it could double the number of transplants each year,” said Fleming, noting it would boost last year’s 28,000 transplants to more than 56,000.

No one knows for sure the size of the pool of potential donors, Fleming said. Organs are harvested from people who are brain dead, or in certain cases, whose hearts have stopped, but conditions from disease to the manner of death can render many potential transplants useless.

Less than 1 percent of the 2.5 million people who die each year in the U.S. may provide viable organs, experts say. That makes it even more crucial to encourage every possible registration, a task that has occupied transplant centers and donation advocate for decades.

They work hard to rebut common myths about organ donation designation, including this one: ER doctors won’t work as hard to revive potential donors in a crisis.

“We hear that all the time,” said Fleming. “I have friends who are registered donors who wink and say, ‘Will they really try to save me?’”

Minority groups including blacks, Hispanics and Asians are often reluctant to donate, primarily because of religious or cultural reservations, experts say. White people account for about two-thirds of all organ donations.

There are strong regional leanings as well. All across the rural West — Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana — organ donation designations are high, 74 percent or higher.

“There are some areas of the country that have a very strong sense of community and commitment to your neighbor,” Fleming said. “In some urban centers, you may not know your neighbor.”

OPTN executive members plan to meet Monday to consider the way pediatric lungs are allocated. The outcome may or may not help Sarah Murnaghan and other children like her, but organ experts say one thing will.

“The real message is this,” Fleming said. “If you feel discomfort or outrage for this young woman, the real response, the way to provide hope to people like Sarah is to become an organ donor.”

In order to find motivation to live well, we need to seek meaning in our lives, yet we happen to live in a world that’s nearly devoid of any intrinsic meaning at all. If we want to live well then, we need to give ourselves a reason; we must assign value and importance to the people, things and actions in our lives that matter to us.

Give your life meaning! The meaning of life is indeed slippery… but it’s still defined by each of one us.

Book Description

http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Ape-Zoologists-Study-Animal/dp/0385334303/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370837985&sr=1-1&keywords=naked+ape

In order to be coachable, we need to be secure enough to listen intently to guided instruction while simultaneously being secure enough to suppress our need to interject unneeded remarks and what little we think we already know.

Our goals, interests and ambitions are generally commiserate with our age and they change predictably over time. For instance, we begin life preoccupied with our own personal needs and remain so – albeit to a slightly lesser degree – for many years to come. Later in life, as we mature and gain wisdom, we turn our attention and concern to the next generation, and to those whom we share strong empathy with; many of our thoughts and actions are simply part of the life cycle and where we find ourselves within it.

Book Description

http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Therapy-Generation-Therapists-Patients/dp/0061719617/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370368913&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gift+of+therapy

Anxiety frequently has a primary cause, and because it has a primary cause, it can be controlled and even prevented in many cases.

1. If we know the cause, we can either remove it, or we can learn strategies in order to control or even prevent the anxiety in the first place.

2. If we don’t readily know the cause, the reason can still be uncovered with some work, and then met with the same approach as stated above.

Anxiety does not descend upon us from a mysterious source… it’s simply instigated by our thoughts.

In other words, our approach to something, or way of thinking about something or someone, causes the anxiety.

We can train our minds to do otherwise.

By Melissa Dahl at NBC Today Health

If you carry a purse, you are essentially toting a big bag of bacteria around with you everywhere you go. That’s the finding of a new study, which claims that women’s handbags hosted more bacteria than the average toilet flush.

We should note that the research was conducted by a cleaning and “hygiene services” company called Initial, which sells hand sanitizers and surface wipes and has a pretty clear financial incentive here. (The press release helpfully suggests that you purchase their sanitizers and wipes to keep your nasty handbag clean.) But  your purse is still coated in germs, microbiologists not connected to the study confirm.

“About a third of them have fecal bacteria on them,” confirms Charles Gerba, a University of Arizona microbiologist who has studied bacteria living on handbags, plus all sorts of delightfully disgusting things like E. coli on shopping carts and germy office break rooms. Gerba’s research found that the bottoms of handbags were the nastiest, likely because women placed them on the bathroom floor (that is what the little hooks on the back of the doors are there for, people!).

The study found that the handle was a bacteria hotspot, and the stuff in the inside of the bag like makeup or hand cream had the toilet-flush levels of bacteria.

Bacteria, of course, are all around us all of the time, and most of the germs are helpful for us in keeping our immune systems strong and warding off dangerous diseases. But there is a chance that your bag could be picking up something nastier, like norovirus — such was the case last year, when an entire youth soccer team came down with norovirus, and the bug was traced back to reusable grocery bags.

To keep your bags clean, you can always use a disinfectant wipe if it’s plastic, leather or a hard surface, Gerba says. Cloth bags are tougher, so be sure to practice good hand hygiene — and don’t put your bag on the bathroom floor!

We have a dual nature within us; we must think of ourselves and our immediate family first in order to survive but we require getting outside relationships right between ourselves and others in order to thrive.

Peace of mind and long-term happiness stem from ALL of our relationships.

Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion

Book Description:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Righteous-Mind-Politics-Religion/dp/0307455777/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369542809&sr=8-1&keywords=the+righteous+mind

Maggie Fox, Senior Writer, NBC News April 4, 2013

Walking really is just as good for you as running – but only if you compare it in terms of calories burned and not merely on time spent, researchers reported on Thursday.

Studies have gone back and forth on the question for years – is a stroll as good as a run? Does a brisk walk strengthen your heart as much as a pounding jog?

Paul Williams of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California and Paul Thompson of Hartford Hospital in Connecticut think they’ve answered the question, finally. They did it in the best way possible, by comparing tens of thousands of runners to tens of thousands of walkers.

The answer is what common sense would dictate – it’s how much a person exercises in terms of energy spent, not how long he or she spends exercising, that matters.

“It takes longer to walk a mile than to run a mile. But if you match them up on the energy expended, they are comparable,” Williams said in a telephone interview. “If you do the same amount of exercise – if you expend the same number of calories – you get the same benefit.”

They studied 33,060 runners taking part in the National Runners’ Health Study and 15,045 walkers in the National Walkers’ Health Study. They measured their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol at the beginning, and then watched for six years to see who got diagnosed with high blood pressure, unhealthy cholesterol or diabetes.

People who exercised equally in terms of energy output got the same benefit, regardless of whether they ran or walked, Williams and Thompson report in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Williams said it made sense to study dedicated walkers and runners, because they usually keep careful track of distance and time spent running or walking. Most other people have trouble accurately estimating how much time and effort they spend exercising, he says.

They used a measurement called a MET. “One MET is how much energy you expend when you are sitting,” Williams said. Walking at a brisk pace burns 3.8 METS, or 3.8 times as much energy spent sitting for the same time. Running burns anywhere between 7 and 12 METS.

One MET of walking is roughly equivalent to a kilometer, or just over half a mile, Williams estimates. But running is less efficient than walking, so runners do tend to burn more calories over the same time.

“A person would need to walk 4.3 miles at a brisk pace to expend the same amount of exercise as running 3 miles, and it would take about twice as long (an hour and 15 minutes by walking instead of 38 minutes by running),” Williams says.

In general, the runners were younger and fitter than the walkers were. The male runners were 48 on average, versus 62 for the walkers; female runners were about 41 on average versus 53 for the walkers. The runners were 38 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure, 36 percent less likely to have high cholesterol and 71 percent less likely to develop diabetes than the walkers.

But this all seemed to be because the runners actually exercised more than the walkers did, Williams said.

“We have sort of known this all along,” said Dr. Gerald Fletcher, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., who was not involved in the study.

Running can burn more calories in a shorter time, so it’s good for people who are crunched for time. “But walking is certainly easier than running,” Fletcher said. “As long as people get out there and do it.”

The Institute of Medicine says Americans should try to get at least an hour of moderate exercise such as brisk walking every day to stay healthy. The Heart Association has similar guidelines.

People may realize that fast food isn’t health food, but they don’t realize just how fattening it really is, researchers report.

They surveyed people eating at 10 burger, chicken, sandwich and doughnut chains and found they greatly underestimated just how much they were chowing down. The worst was Subway, which promotes itself as a healthier alternative, the researchers at Harvard Medical School found.

“At least two thirds of all participants underestimated the calorie content of their meals, with about a quarter underestimating the calorie content by at least 500 calories,” Harvard’s Jason Block and colleagues wrote in the British Medical Journal.

People ate a lot. Checks of the receipts showed adults ate on average 836 calories in a meal, while teens and children ate more than 700.  But they estimated, on average that they were getting 175 calories less.

“The mean underestimation of calorie content was larger among Subway diners than those at other chains for adults,” Block’s team wrote.

The average U.S. adult needs about 2,000 calories a day, and kids need less. So people were getting more than a third of their day’s calories in a single fast-food visit. And studies show that eating just 100 calories in excess a day can add up to several pounds of extra fat over a year.

Many states and cities have passed tough calorie and fat-labeling laws. The 2010 health reform law will require major restaurant chains to provide clear calorie labels on menu boards.

Consumer advocates have complained for years that Americans don’t get the information they need to make healthy food choices. Not only are fatty, sugary foods everywhere, but it’s often hard to find out how many calories and how much fat  and sugar these foods pack.

Chain restaurants often list their nutritional information on websites or on menus kept behind the counter. What advocates want – and what governments are starting to require – is information listed right next to the food items on the menu board, so people are forced to see it when they order.

Block’s team looked at the biggets national chains: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Dunkin’ Donuts  and Subway. “We excluded pizza restaurant chains (such as Pizza Hut) because of the difficulty in determining the quantity that an individual bought for personal consumption,” they wrote.

About two-thirds of the adults taking part were overweight or obese – reflecting the actual U.S. population, the researchers found.  About a third of the teens were, while 57 percent of the school-age children were.

“Over 40 percent of participants in each sample ate at the chain restaurant where they were interviewed at least once a week,” the researchers wrote.

Fewer than one in five had even noticed any calorie information, and only 5 percent said they used that information to help them choose meals.

Subway advertises itself as a healthier option. “Branding could be an important component of Subway’s ‘health halo’,” the researchers said.

They believe the new labeling requirements will do a lot to help people understand how much food they really are getting in a fast-food restaurant. “Previous research has found that information can be most powerful when it contradicts previous expectations (in this case, improper estimation of calorie content of foods with a ‘health halo’),” they wrote.

Arizona’s Largest Rock Gym!

Their climbing walls and routes are crafted to provide a rewarding experience, one that is fun and challenging; they’re designed to be effective as both an introduction to climbing for beginners and for honing the skills of the seasoned climber as well. Check them out if you’re looking for something different! Stay Active!

Location:  1330 W. Auto Drive, Suite 108  Tempe, AZ 85284 Phone:  480.626.7755

http://www.climbmaxclimbinggym.com/

V.S. Ramachandran is a neuroscientist known for his work in the fields of behavioral neurology and visual psychophysics. The author of The Tell-Tale Brain, He is the Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition, and is currently a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Neurosciences Graduate Program at the University of California, San Diego.

This delightfully accessible yet intellectually rigorous book transcends traditional boundaries between neuroscience, psychology and philosophy, to tackle the riddle of the unconscious mind. Freud bashing is a popular intellectual pastime these days (I myself have been guilty on occasion) but Mlodinow shows that by emphasizing the unconscious he was on the right track: we are completely unaware of the vast majority of events going on inside our brains. The book presents compelling evidence gleaned from a variety of sources to show that much of our behavior is governed not so much by our conscious mind – which is prone to claim credit – but by a cauldron of motives, drives and unconscious propensities of which we are largely oblivious. Indeed, most of our actions are carried out by the unconscious mind (or minds ) which exists in peaceful harmony with the conscious person “inside” your body.  The question of why we are conscious of the tip of the iceberg of neural activity continues to remain elusive but, perhaps, the answer can be found by asking what you can do without being conscious; What’s the IQ of the unconscious mind?  Here Mlodinow offers dazzling new insights into what the unconscious can and does do, to influence our lives.

http://www.amazon.com/Subliminal-Unconscious-Rules-Behavior-Vintage/dp/0307472256/ref=sr_sp-atf_image_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368844751&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=howyour+unconciosu+mind

By Maggie Fox at NBC News:

Aging parents can certainly be a huge burden; this article shares poignantly in this experience.

Atlantic Monthly Magazine “Daddy Issues”

“Why caring for my aging father has me wishing he would die”

Recently, a colleague at my radio station asked me, in the most cursory way, as we were waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, how I was. To my surprise, in a motion as automatic as the reflex of a mussel being poked, my body bent double and I heard myself screaming:

“I WAAAAAAAANT MY FATHERRRRRR TO DIEEEEE!!!”

Startled, and subtly stepping back to put a bit more distance between us, my co-worker asked what I meant.

“What I mean, Rob, is that even if, while howling like a banshee, I tore my 91-year-old father limb from limb with my own hands in the town square, I believe no jury of my peers would convict me. Indeed, if they knew all the facts, I believe any group of sensible, sane individuals would actually roll up their shirtsleeves and pitch in.”

The remainder of the article can be found here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/daddy-issues/308890/

A great on the run snack or treat! Currently at Costco for best price.

Check them out at Amazon as well:

http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Bakery-Whole-Wheat-24-Ounce/dp/B006BHRV1W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368736386&sr=8-1&keywords=fig+bar

Foreword Magazine Review:

Several times per week I’ll hear someone complain that “healthier” food (vegetables or beans for instance) cause personal digestive pushback.

Well, produce requires considerably more mastication (chewing) than highly processed foods because of their natural indigestible fiber walls.

If you still recognize a food item after a bowel movement… you certainly aren’t chewing your food enough.

Physical work, without mental work, is a waste of time!

Soccer Lover’s Fundraising Trek Ends in Tragedy

A Seattle man who felt “destined” to go on a 10,000-mile fundraising journey to soccer’s World Cup in Brazil, dribbling a soccer ball along the way, has died just two weeks into his journey.

Richard Swanson, 42, was hit by a pickup truck in Lincoln City, Ore., on Tuesday morning, along Highway 101, Lincoln City police said. Swanson left May 1 on a trip that would have taken him through 11 countries before he reached Sao Paolo, Brazil, the site of soccer tournament.

For the full story follow the link below:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/15/18267898-soccer-lovers-fundraising-trek-ends-in-tragedy?lite

How you see things, is only one of many ways to see things; is it working for you or against you?

Make a conscious choice to control your thoughts, don’t let them control you.

The video below is worth your time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmpYnxlEh0c

Positive and productive people don’t see the “pie” as having a limited number of pieces. Instead, they see a pie with pieces enough for everyone, and it doesn’t bother them to watch others get their slice. While we cannot escape the fact that we live in a competitive culture—or that we are a competitive species—there’s quite a difference between healthy embodiment of competition, and petty pursuit of selfish ends. People who love what they do are competitive. They wouldn’t be able to reach their goals if they weren’t. But they don’t invest their time and energy in scheming and undermining; they don’t try to deny the other guy his piece of the pie. Loving what you do—no matter how competitive you have to be to attain your goals—does not require stepping on others to get there.

Excerpt from Psychology Today (Issue: June 2013):

I’ve spent the last two decades workng consistently on being well-rounded; I value my mind and it’s thoughts, as much as my body and its capacities. Today, this well-balanced approach serves me well as I deal with a knee that no longer functions as it should.

Indeed, I’ve lost two very close friends in running and biking… but, thankfully, I value more things in life than just running and biking. That’s what being well-balanced looks like when it’s achieved.

I personally have Grade 3 chondromalacia and can no longer run or bike as a consequence… I’m in the process of re-inventing my apporach to fitness. Everything below explains the condition:

Osteoarthritis is usually graded as different forms of chondromalacia (wearing down of the cartilage surface).  Grade 1 chondromalacia is some early damage to the cartilage surface, while grade 2 chondromalacia involves pitting and fissuring of the cartilage surface.  Further damage with fissuring down to the bone is called grade 3 chondromalacia, while complete wear of the cartilage and exposed bone is called grade 4 chondromalacia.  One should specifically avoid those activities which cause symptoms because the symptoms indicate that the arthritis is becoming worse.

Articular Cartilage Defects of the Knee Steve A. Mora, MD

Three bones meet within the knee joint: the femur (thighbone), the tibia, (shin), and the patella (kneecap). Like many other joints or “articulations,” the surfaces of these bones are covered with a durable slick lining called articular cartilage.  Articular cartilage different than meniscus cartilage.  Articular cartilage serves as the slick pearly white lining of the joint in contrast to the 2 menisci  that lie on  the surface of the tibia and which serve as shock absorbers between the tibia and the femur.  Articular cartilage has unique biochemical and physical qualities which confer nearly frictionless characteristics. When functioning properly articular cartilage has less friction than 2 pieces of ice sliding on each other.

Articular cartilage defects are common conditions affecting the knee. Articular cartilage resists wear quite well, but time and wear can eventually take their toll. When the joint surface extensively breaks down, the condition is known as degenerative arthritis or osteoarthrosis (OA). If a severe twisting or impact injury occurs, such as following an ACL rupture or fall, a focal area of cartilage injury may occur.  These traumatic lesions are referred to as an articular cartilage injury or chondral injury.   Since articular cartilage has such poor healing qualities, these injuries will rarely heal or regenerate spontaneously.   In addition to causing pain and restricted mobility, injuries to joint cartilage over time may lead to further deterioration.  A lesion which originated following trauma may take on a degenerative appearance over time. The symptoms of damaged articular cartilage may severely hinder normal activities and occupation, i.e. functional impairment.    The severity of the pain and dysfunction depends on the size and the depth of the injury.  Surgeons are able to “grade” the severity and complexity of articular cartilage defect based on the  depth of the injury.  Grade I- is very mild with softening, Grade II includes fissuring or crater depth less than half the full thickness, Grade III is a deep defect that is through most of the thickness of the cartilage, and the most severe, Grade IV is a full thickness defects with exposed bone.  The higher grade lesions such as the III or IV can have major negative impact on a person’s function.