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Healthy Notes
Is decaf healthier than regular coffee?
Many people drink decaffeinated coffee because they believe that it is better for them than drinking regular coffee. But is that belief true? Over the years coffee has been exonerated from most of the health problems that have been attributed to it, and of late, there is much talk of some of the benefits that regular coffee can have on people. Other questions have arisen about decaffeinated coffee, such as does the process to decaffeinate the beans have any harmful effects on the drinkers.
Coffee is decaffeinated by using either methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, carbon dioxide or the water method. In the past there has been concern when methylene chloride has been used in the decaffeinating process. However, studies have found that there is almost no leftover residue from the process, and further studies showed that methylene chloride is not harmful when it is drunk-though it can be harmful when it is inhaled.
Regular coffee and decaf have been blamed for many health problems over the years. But studies have cleared both of almost all the allegations and concerns that have been raised. There can be some effects in some people though, for instance coffee and decaf can cause heartburn or irritate stomach ulcers in those who are susceptible.
-adapted from the University of California, Berkley, Wellness Letter: The newsletter of nutrition, fitness and self-care
How to deal with that old enemy-self-criticism
Are you too self-critical? If you are, you may be preventing your own happiness. Probably the happiest, most successful people are the ones who don't spend a lot of time trying to figure out what's wrong with them. They just accept that they have strengths and weaknesses -- then they focus on the strengths and forget about the weaknesses. Most of the things people criticize them-selves for are the same problems that everyone has. The first step to eliminating self-criticism is to realize you're normal and that everyone has to deal with these kinds of problems. The rest of the things you criticize yourself for-well, you just have to understand that if you could have solved these problems, you would have. And maybe the best thing to do is to forget about them and move on.
-adapted from energyforwomen.com
Burning calories: Now you can find out how fast you do it
The rate of calories burned by a person often determines how much that person can or should eat to maintain a certain weight. Traditionally the number of calories burned was determined by estimates based on age, weight and height. The trouble is, those estimates are often off by hundreds of calories, according to Richard Gordon, an exercise physiologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical
Center in Los Angeles. The rate at which a person burns calories often is the difference between someone who can eat just about anything and not gain weight and someone who seemingly only looks at a piece of cheesecake and starts packing on the pounds. Now though many clubs are using portable devices that determine a person's resting metabolic rate. The RMR is the number of calories burned while the body is at rest. Knowing this number can help you know what your calorie intake should be if you wan to lose weight. To use one of these devices, you just breathe into a face mask or tube and the device measures how much oxygen you breathe in and how much carbon dioxide you breathe out. The results of the new devices are much more accurate than the traditional estimates that people have relied on.
-adapted from Health magazine
Why you should wash your hands
If you want to keep from getting sick, you should wash your hands-often. When you wash your hands, you wash away germs you have picked up from other people or from surfaces that have been contaminated. When you pick up germs and do not wash your hands, you can infect yourself when you touch your eyes, nose or mouth. This is one of the most common ways that people catch colds, by rubbing their noses or eyes after they have been in contact with contaminated sources. And don't forget that if you have a cold, you can infect other surfaces and people if you do not wash your hands frequently. Other more serious illnesses and disease can be spread this way, too, like hepatitis A, meningitis and infectious diarrhea. The bottom line is you should probably be washing your hands more often than you do now. In a phone and observational survey by Wirthlin Worldwide research firm the following findings were reported.
- People don't wash their hands as often as they think they do. Even though 94 percent of those surveyed claimed they always washed their hands after using the restroom, observational surveys of 6,333 adults in restrooms in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, New Orleans and San Francisco found that only 68 percent in fact did so.
- Women washed their hands more often than men did (68 percent versus 61 percent).
- In the telephone survey most people said they washed their hands after changing a diaper (78 percent) and before handling or eating food (81 percent). But fewer said they washed their hands after petting an animal (48 percent), coughing or sneezing (33 percent) or handling money (22 percent).
- A study of schoolchildren in Detroit found that children who washed their hands four times per day had 24 percent fewer sick days due to respiratory illness, and 51 percent fewer absences because of upset stomach
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-adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food Safety Web site
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