Grab Bag May 31st Fascination:

Amazing how we have been led to believe that “Third World countries” need aid, for instance, but real world data, when properly examined, reveals some very interesting details about global health, wealth and welfare. When you have 20 minutes, this is an EXTREMELY entertaining presentation by Hans Rosling on global data:

(Click the little TV screen icon in the upper right corner to view this in full screen mode.)

Grab Bag “Weiling Away the Years”:

Andrew Weil, M.D. is an Integrative Medicine specialist (this is a simplified way of saying he practices medicine using many different schools of thought). With both his undergrad and medical degrees from Harvard, he has the paper to back his reputation as a leading physician. Time magazine voted him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world in 2005.

I’m a fan, and many of Weil’s thoughts have found their way into this blog. A recent interview in Allure magazine posed a number of questions to Weil on the topic of aging. Here is his advice:

1) Exercise 20-60 minutes every day.

2) Get about 8 hours sleep every night.

3) Eat an “anti-inflammatory” diet daily, which includes:

1. At least FOUR servings of fruits and vegetables
2. THREE to FIVE servings of whole and cracked grains
3. A couple of servings of beans or legumes
4. FIVE to SEVEN servings of healthy fats (avocado, walnuts, olive oil)
5. A couple of servings of whole soy foods (tofu, edamame)*
6. TWO to FOUR cups of tea
7. Unlimited amounts of healthful herbs and spices (garlic, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon)
8. Several servings WEEKLY of omega-3 rich fish (wild salmon, sardines)
9. No sweets (except for a small piece of dark chocolate)
10. No alcohol (only an occasional glass of red wine or high-grade sake)
11. Daily Supplements: multi-vitamin, THREE GRAMS of fish oil, and 1,000 IU of Vitamin D * *
12. If skin is dry or dull, 500 mg. 2x a day of black currant oil or evening primrose oil.

Notes from LK:

* As I mentioned in a post a few weeks back, soy is attracting more controversy than ever before. Reader Nabila K. sent in these two links for further reading: Soy Online Service and Weston A. Price Foundation. I guarantee there will be more mainstream information on this topic in months to come.

** VITAMIN D IS A HUGE ISSUE RIGHT NOW. Reports from every corner of the medical field are building evidence that the vast majority of us may be Vitamin D deficient, and that previously “recommended” levels are woefully low for optimum health. NEXT WEEK I WILL DEVOTE AN ENTIRE SECTION TO THIS ISSUE AND WHERE IT STANDS RIGHT NOW.

4) Practice anti-stress techniques. One of Weil’s favorites is the 4-7-8 breathing exercise:

1. Sit with back straight, place tip of tongue against ridge of tissue just behind front teeth.
2. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
3. Close your mouth and INHALE through your nose to a slow count of FOUR
4. HOLD your breath for a count of SEVEN
5. EXHALE through your mouth, whooshing the breath past your tongue and teeth for a count of EIGHT
6. Repeat cycle at least THREE times, TWICE a day.

Grab Bag Product Highlight:

Love this product… it will give you guaranteed bigger….. hair. Shame on you… you look disappointed. You won’t be when you try this ceramic brush… really smoothes hair and gives lots of body. I just ordered it and used it today for the first time, and I’m sold. Warning: this gets very hot, so be aware and don’t tattoo your pretty little neck with it 🙂 Comes in many sizes. Click on name for a link to buy:

SPORNETTE PREGO CERAMIC STYLING BRUSH

Grab Bag Every Monday Matters:

From the Every Monday Matters book and website:

Support a Global Cause

FACTS

In the world:

• Every 3.5 seconds someone dies of hunger.
• Every 11 seconds someone dies of AIDS.
• Every 15 seconds a child dies from a waterborne illness.
• 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS.
• 1 billion have no access to clean water.
• 2.6 billion live without basic sanitation.
• 5 million live in refugee camps.
• 1.08 billion live on $1 or less per day.
• 2 million children die each year from diseases that inexpensive vaccines could have prevented.
• 11 million children worldwide die before they reach their 5th birthday. That’s as if every child under 5 living in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany were to die in a single year.
• The world produces enough food to feed everyone.
• Every year more than 16 million people—the equivalent of one hundred 747 jets crashing every day of the year—die from:
• Hunger  9,125,000
• HIV/AIDS  2,900,000
• Pneumonia  2,000,000
• Diarrhea 1,600,000
• Malaria  1,000,000
• Poverty is the common denominator

TAKE ACTION TODAY

• Pick a global organization that interests you. The needs are many and obvious.

YOU MATTER

The numbers are unbelievable, but they reflect a truth we cannot ignore. This is OUR world. You, your friends, your family, your co-workers ALL matter when it comes to changing the statistics.  Each one of you can make a huge difference. Every day we put off helping our world, we lose tens of thousands of people … many of whom died while you were reading this page.

Grab Bag Brain Game:

Possible Pairs is an interesting game where you can test your left-brain/right-brain strengths… 10 pictures can be paired from each of the left/right perspectives… see which perspective you find easier to solve.

Grab Bag Funny Stuff: