Owner: A Better Living URL:http://selfobliged.com Join Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 11:27:12 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A self improvement blog for a healthier and informative choice. Site statistics:Click here
Very Full? Take A Walk 2007-08-31 04:25:03 After you had a high fat meal, your body's natural antioxidant system is temporarily overwhelmed. It allows the "free radical" molecules to start damaging your endothelium cells, which plays an important role in maintaining the health of your heart and arteries.However, researchers at India University found that exercising after your meal may reverse this process. A 90 minute to 2 hours of walk after your meal is recommended. The British Heart Foundation has also run similar studies and found that exercising after a high fat meal can reduce the harm inflicted by 15%.
A Tattoo Is Forever 2007-08-30 06:18:39 Some people consider tattoo as a form of body art. The pigments are inks that are used in drugs, cosmetics, food and even medical devices.A study led by a team in Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, found that when encapsulated in microscopic polymer beads, the inks can be injected into skin to form the tattoo.To remove the tattoo, a single laser treatment splits the beads open, dump the dye into the skin, and thus it is safely absorbed and fades away.Till now, removing tattoos has been costly and painful. It can take about a dozen laser treatments to bleach away conventional tattoo pigments.According to stater.kent.edu.sg,"I don't like where I had it placed," she said. "It's higher than I would haveliked it. It's too noticeable."After only a few days of kicking herself in the head, Koberna decided to have the tattoo removed, and she soon realized that the $45 she paid for it was nothing compared to the high cost of removing it."Every time I went it was $300 because they had t Read more:Forever
Does Aromatherapy Works For You? 2007-08-30 00:33:19 Aromatherapy was first introduced in France, in 1928. It started with scented oil, followed by massages to help you feel better physically, and emotionally. Certain oils are targeted for certain problems.Lavender, for relaxation and restful sleep.Vanilla, to reduce anxiety.Chamomile, to soothe.Rosemary and Citrusy of Lemon and Orange, for alerness.If you would like to proof that aromatherapy delivers on its promises, unfortunately, you won't find much. Some scientists draw a line between aromatherapy and "aroma-chology". Aromachology is a new scientific name of odours' effects on mood, emotion and behaviours. But what they've learnt so far seems to confirm some of the claims for aromatherapy.Lavender can boost your mood and may improve the quality of sleep, usually for women.Vanilla scents relaxes anxious patients who are undergoing MRI scans.Lemon balm oil which is dabbed on faces and arms of elderly home patients, particularly with dementia, can be calming.Rosemary can perk you up Read more:Aromatherapy
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You Are What You Eat 2007-08-28 06:39:15 Changing your eating habits could help cut down your risk of digestive illnesses.Eat early. A good breakfast kick-starts your metabolism for the day. Eating late at night can lead to bloating. I'm sure you don't wish to have a bulging stomach.Don't miss meals. Some people avoid meals claiming to be on a diet. But they are WRONG. You will tend to eat more the next meal cause you get more hungry. A lack of food in the system can cause excessive gas.Chew your food. Chewing releases enzymes that aid thorough digestion.Eat slowly, take your time. This gives a better chance of digesting the food. Sitting upright will also help. Sip drinks to avoid swallowing air.Take meals seriously. Treat them as sections of the da. It is not meant to be slotted in activities as you like. Make a meal out of these....The health benefits of pecans/nuts are rich. According to The British Dietetic Association, add a handful of nuts will do, as they are high in calories. Eggs are source of protein, and other
Choosing The Right Jeans 2007-08-26 01:20:39 For those who are....Bootylicious. Create the illusion of a shapely butt with fitted, stretch jeans with cargo pockets on the hips or thighs, rear and legs. high heels also perk up your derriere.Minimise the curves (for those who has a wide hip). Choose dark denim, boot cut style with a slight flare at the hem to balance your curves. Full butt. Minimise your butt with small back pockets that sit higher up towards the waist band. Tall and thin. For those who have a lean figure, look with straight-leg jeans that fit like a skin.Long legs. Wear straight-leg jeans with pointed toe heels to extend the visual line.Want to find your pair? Go to zafu.com Read more:Right
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Red Bull The Energy Drink? 2007-08-25 23:10:32 Red Bull contains 27g of sugar and almost as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. Do you know that drinkers who mix it with their booze wants to party longer? It followed by sleep reduction and increased sensations of pleasure.However, a Brazilian study found that alcohol and Red Bull is a potential dangerous combination. According to Federal University of Sao Paolo, mixing the two significantly reduces headaches, weakness, and dry mouth. this means that drinkers have less sense sense of being impaired by drunkenness. Even though this is so, any drink that heightens a person's perception of being in control, when they are NOT, could increase the risk of harm.So...who wants a Red Bull? Read more:Energy
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Lost On buying A Laptop? 2007-08-25 02:56:37 Don't be seduced by super fast processor speeds. Unless you are running graphics, intensive applications such as games or web designs.If you want to watch DVDs on the move, buy a laptop with an internal DVD drive. External drive can be a nuisance if you travel alot.Buy a spare high-capacity battery if you are not near a plug socket.Microsoft Office is absent from many packages. Therefore, be prepared to pay extra.Since we tend to live in a rough life, the laptops are more prone to failure. Make it a habit to bake up the data. External hard drive can come in handy. To upload digital pictures, you will need a memory card slot.Buy a a decent laptop bag to protect your computer. Read more:Laptop
Where Are Your Phone Manners? 2007-08-23 12:29:25 Do you agree that mobile phones not only change the way we communicate, but develop bad behaviour as well? Especially when handphones were not turned off during meetings or seminars. Imagine you were so focused on the meeting, and it got diverted by someone's ringing tone. There goes your momentum.Here are some tips to share on phone ettiquette.Missed calls. Calls are meant to be returned as soon as possible, no later than the following day. Otherwise, the call should be accompanied by an apology and a reason for the delay. SMS. Text messages should be made brief, and go to the point. Anything longer than 4-5 lines, call or e-mail instead. SMS to lovers/spouse, that will be a different story. Short forms should also be confined to close friends and family members, but not work wise.Talk at the appropriate volume. Do not talk as if he/she lives across your block or street. Speak as if someone is next to you. If you are facing a bad reception, avoid raising your voice in order to be hea Read more:Manners
Making Google As Dictionary 2007-08-21 18:48:16 Google is not just a search engine to look up on a specific information. But also a good tool for an online dictionary. For example, you want to find the meaning of clew. According to about.com, if you just type in define clew, Google would return with the keyword search and list of long articles regarding clew.The tip is, type in define: clew. The information is coming from a variety of dictionary related Web sites, and there's a link to the full entry for each Web site. We can also instantly see that a clew is the lower corner of a boat sail. An example of the links returned are as below... Read more:Google
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Download MP3 Using Google For Free 2007-08-21 01:24:59 Do you know that you can download ur favourite songs just by Googling? Let's say you want to download songs from Akon, just type in the phrase below in the Google
search box.?intitle:index.of? mp3 AkonHowever, Google will prompt with a warning when you click on the first link of the returned search...Warning - visiting this web site may harm your computer!You can learn more about harmful web content and how to protect your computer at StopBadware.org.I guess you could click on the link above to continue with the downloads. Update me if this trick works for you =) Read more:Download
Exam Fever 2007-08-20 19:30:45 I won't update much till Friday due to the exam week. Do check out these top posts in the meantime...Want to view deletubed YouTube videos?How to load YouTube videos fasterFaster way to download youTube videosStress in the danger zoneMaking Google as dictionaryEasy fixes for a glower face Read more:Fever
YouTube Video Converter 2007-08-19 04:48:15 YouTube videos are viewed using FLV player, like I had mentioned in my previous post. I was browsing through sgForums, and stumbled upon a request for FLV converter. Do you know that you could extract the video's audio as well? I tried it, and the quality is good.Simply go to the online converter, vixy.net. Copy and paste the video's URL, or even the FLV file, in the space provided. Remember to "save to disk" in order to save the file in your computer. Hope it works. Good luck. Read more:YouTube
How To Load YouTube Videos Faster 2007-08-18 06:51:45 If you are using a slow internet connection, you might want to download the freeware SpeedBit Accelerator. SpeedBit Video Accelerator makes your videos stream faster and play smoother by reducing buffering problems and video interruptions or "hiccups".It not only accelerates videos from YouTube
, but from other sites as well. Such as MySpace, Tudou, ESPN, Bebo, Break, Heavy, CNET TV and LiveVideo. It bookmarks video for easy replay too. It may speed up up to 10 times faster! However, if this programme does not work for you, you can try the original method by downloading the videos and view it using FLV player.
Laughter The Best Medicine 2007-08-16 06:57:57 Members of the laughter clubs discovered that simulated laughter can turn to giggles, next is side-splitting guffaws that could benefit your body and spirit. For group laughter, the content does not matter. You can even laugh at the person's facial expression, or even over nothing, and still gives you the benefits.The group laugher colaborates with yoga, rhythmic breathing and meditation. Of course alot of playfulness will spice up the group. It starts with rhythmic hand clapping along with the energetic chants of "ho ho ha ha ha." Dr Madan Kataria was interested in health benefits of laughter. The positive results on healing and relieve stress led to 5000 laughter clubs created internationally. Countless studies support the health benefits of laughter. A research in Loma Linda University of California suggests that humour can cut down your stress level and increase your immune system. So if you are feeling down or stress over examination fever or others, hang out with your friends o Read more:Medicine
Stress In The Danger Zone 2007-08-16 06:56:58 After my personal encounter of working in Tan Tock Seng Hospital for 1 year, I had mixed emotions trying to overcome the overwhelming stress. Imagine the people there who has been working longer than me. Not only in healthcare, but other job industries as well. In a recent poll at CareerBuilder.com, more than half of workers said they are under a great deal of stress. 77% reported feeling burnout sometimes. No one is immune, be it gender, age or job. That includes teachers, managers, a mother, fligh attendant, customer service operators, and so on. They feel the heat of too much and can't meet people's satisfaction."If you don't recognise what's going on and then make some changes, hecautions, your health suffers, the quality of your work suffers,and you spiral downward."-Stephen Hinshaw, PhD University of CaliforniaSo what cause stress?Perhaps you are not satisfied with your job, or the constant pressure your boss or colleagues are giving. Or too much work, too little control, no Read more:Danger
Do You Lose Temper Easily? 2007-08-16 06:56:58 If you are always in an angry mode, BEWARE! Being angry can make your lungs go weak. Havard School of Public Health, made a study on the hostility of 670 men. They were rated 3 times over the past 8 years. In the final study, those who had high levels of hostility, their lungs became significantly worse compared to those with low rating."When you are angry, you produce hormones to help your body prepare for a fight"-Dr John MooreAnger release chemicals that can cause cells in your bronchial tube to flame. Your tubes will tend to narrow, and ended up feeling breathless. But this type of lung damage is not as severe as smoking. However, looking at the long-term, it may cause irreversible damages. Therefore, if you are driver and somebody cuts into your lane, just let it be. Take a deep breath in...and calm yourself. Previously, I had a family problem for a certain period of time, which leads me to an unhealthy path. With the high amount of pressure and stress added in, it made me more mi Read more:Temper
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Are Men Fertile Forever? 2007-08-15 03:48:01 Charlie Chaplin, he fathered children when he was in his 70s. So is it true that men can make babies their whole lives? But there's increasing evidence that men can have their own version of a biological clock.A study in University of California, the researchers found that the quality of sperm decreases with age. This leads to failed pregnancies, and genetic diseases in babies. Therefore, men are advised to start early. No doubt men can make sperm throughout their lives. But as they reach 40, their sperm may be half as healthy as at age 25. In addition, the quality also worsen. This shows that, successful pregnancy rates do not only implies to women, but also men. Read more:Forever
Chocolate Gets Tastier 2007-08-14 06:19:17 Want to bake cakes and brownies even tastier? Good news for chocolate lovers. Make a switch to the new gourmet dark chocolate baking bars. They are made from premium cocoa beans. According to peter Greweling, professor of baking and pastry arts at Culinary Institute of America, cocoa beans have higher content in cocoa butter, which improves texture.The higher the percentage of cocoa, the lesser sugar the chocolate has. and stronger the flavour. Unsweetened cocoa contains 99% cocoa, whereas a dark chocolate candy bar has 45%.Use chocolates which is used for rich cakes and pies (the ones that come in chips, chunks and bars), rather than those used for chocolate chip cookies. But be caution, too much is also not good food your health. Avoid baking as a weekly activity.Recipe to share...Chocolate
Strawberry DelightPrep Time5 minutesIngredients1t cocoa1c fat free whipped cream3T Splenda3 strawberries4 Quaker Chocolate Crunch Rice CakesInstructionsMix cocoa, whipped cream and splenda togethe
Longing For Beauty Sleep? 2007-08-12 03:30:32 According to a studies from Wright State University in Dayton, at least 1/3 of adults have problems related to sleep loss. 40% of Asians go to bed after midnight. Sometimes, we are not aware of our sleeping problems.Dr Patrick Gerard offers these suggestions:Ensure your room is dark and quiet, and comfortable.Get up and goto bed at the same time everyday.Cut down on your caffeiene consumption and nicotine. try to eat dinner at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. It's harder for you to sleep if your body is still digesting what you just ate. However, very light snack before bed maight be helpful.Do regular exercise. Physical activity done in the early mornings may promote deeper, better quality sleep. Too vigorous exercises before, may delay your sleep.If you have trouble going to sleep...Do not toss and turn for more than 1/2 hour. Get up and do something calming such as reading. Have a glass of warm milk, herbal tea, or take a warm bath. Consult your doctor if you have medical problems t Read more:Longing
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Fighting Fat 2007-08-11 23:22:54 Globally, there are more than 1 BILLION overweight adults. This topic has been greatly emphasized due to the serious sickness that could occur when you reach your golden years, or earlier. So do prevent early. There are many ways to change your shape by changing your lifestyle. Here are the basics.Record your behaviour. Be more aware of the habit you want to change. Follow these 3 simple steps. Weigh dailyRecord what you eat.Track your exerciseDoesn't matter what exercise you do. Any form of exercise is good for you. Even walking down the road, forth and back. Take it slow. I know most of us are fast eaters, who can even finish a meal in 10mins. Try to avoid that. Think about what you are eating, chew properly, and enjoy it bite by bite. Treat yourself better. Let's say you like to eat those oily and fried foods, would you give someone else what you feed yourself?Determination. Most of us make rules when we go on a diet. If you make a slight mistake, the diet plan is off. Therefore, Read more:Fighting
Want To View Deleted YouTube Videos? 2007-08-11 06:28:10 For those YouTube
freaks, I'm sure you've across this message, “This video is no longer available." But don't worry, It is possible to watch deleted YouTube vids as long YouTube keeps the videos on their servers. It also allows you to view random deleted ones. Here's how.Go to Delutube and type the YouTube's videos ID, and Delutube might retrieve it for you!How to get ID: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID_HEREEnjoy!
Diet and Your Good Health 2007-08-11 05:33:54 A study in Australia showed that a pregnant mother's diet affects the gene's behaviour in her children and grandchildren. Those who are undernourished, most likely to have their children develop stroke, diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases.The team from Cardiac Research Institute used the study of mice for some clues. The mice which is fed with a special diet during pregnancy, tend to silence a gene for light fur in their pups. Although the pups followed a regular diet, the light-fur gene remained suppressed in their offspring. Our genes not only inherit from our parents and grandparents, but also the information telling the body whether or not the genes are switched on. Even though, the researchers have not seen diet switch human genes on and off, the result would mostly to occur. Therefore, avoid smoking and drinking during pregnancy, as this may affect our future generations. Also, avoid chemical usage, an example is hair spray or hair dye. Read more:Health
An Hour Glass Figure With No Effort? 2007-08-11 05:33:54 I'm sure you have seen the OTO FLABeLOS advertisement, whereby you just stand on the machine and the vibration within the body will move to achieve the workout. All you have to is to stand on the vibrating platform and get a superstar body? Do you know that Madonna reportedly love the gadget.The vibration produces contractions that lead to to firmer muscles and better balance, flexibility and circulation. Rodney Corn of National Academy of Sports in the US, thinks vibration can help as part of the routine. He actually used it squates, push-ups and other form of exercises.However, you won't get in a supermodel shape by just standing on the machine. The platform is mainly for those who can't exercise at all. That explains why the advertisement only showed the obese women. I doubt the exercise machine will make an average person fit. If you want a strong muscle, go through a resistance training.The long-term effects of the exercise machine is unknown. Best if you seek approval from you Read more:Glass
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Are You Always In A Rush? 2007-08-08 22:15:17 Are you always in a rush? Seldom chasing the train everytime it's going to arrive in 1-2 mins? I bet most of us do, including me. Urban populations around the world are walking faster than ever before. In 1994, California State University made a research that thos who move faster, tend to have higher risk of getting coronary heart disease. Unfortunately, Singapore was the most frenetic city timing at 10.55 seconds, an increase in 30% since the previous study made in 1990. Overall, the world's spped increase by 10%.As people get more hurried, lesser time spent with friends, no exercise, unbalanced meal, drink and smoke. These factors build up in the risk of heart disease. So why the rush? The increased pace of life is driven by technology, such as e-mail, the internetmobile phones or 24 hour jobs. People tend to be less patient and try to cram more into the day. If you find it hard to wait in a queue, or sit for a long time, you can relax yourself by listening to your MP3 or chatting
Insomnia = Depression? 2007-09-23 05:01:55 I think I've not had a good night's sleep for the past few months. I tend to wake up in the middle of the night and knowing its only 3 am. Could it be signs of depression?According to Michael Perlis, director of University of Rochester Sleep & Neurophysiology Research Laboratory, "Insomnia
can be a major contribution to depression." In his first 1st study of 147 healthy elderly people, women who woke up often during the night were about 6 times more likely to become depressed than those who slept well.For the 2nd study, 1221 elderly people being treated with depression, those with insomnia were about 12 times more likely to still be depressed 6 months later than those who slept well.The researchers are still conducting whether treating insomnia, could also treat depression.In the meantime, if you are worried about persistent sleeping problems, like I do, consult your doctor.
For Hot Dog Lovers 2007-09-22 01:21:00 Attention to all hot dog, luncheon meets, sausage lovers, there's a bad news! Scientists from University of Hawaii studied on 190,545 people. The found that heavy consumption of processed meat, raised the risk of pancreatic cancer by 67%.Carcinogens from UK seem to be introduced on how the meat is processed, distinct from the meat itself. In addition, more test has to be conducted on these processed meat.However, smoking still remains the confirmed source for pancreatic cancer.For more information on this issue, go to BBCnews.co.uk. Read more:Lovers
Want To Be Rich? Quit Smoking 2007-09-21 05:43:07 The Canadian Cancer Society's online smoking calculator shows you how much a smoker gains. Be it physically, and financially.For example, if you smoke 1 packet ($9 per pack) a day, which contains 25 cigarettes, and after 2 weeks of quitting, you will save $126. In addition, your health improves too.After 1 year, your risk of heart attack is reduced by half and you are $3285 richer!To try the smoking calculator, go to this website http://www.cancer.ca/files/cw/calculator/cw_popup.html Read more:Smoking
Desperate Migraine Relief 2007-09-20 03:22:38 Desperate Housewives Marcia Cross's character, Bree Van De Kamp, has a story to share. She has been suffering from migraines since the beginning of secondary school. Just like her acting character, she has always kept in control.During her interview with MSNBC, she explains about her recurring migraines."My fingers would start to tingle and I'd have a very odd thing in my vision.The pain was so bad one day on the set of 'Melrose Place’ that I had to go home.I was so embarrassed. From that day I knew I needed to be in control - Icouldn't go through that at work again." She's on a medication plan to ease her migraines. She started a food diary, to point out what triggers the bad headaches, such as chocolate, red wine or cheese. She also reduce stress with Yoga.For more information on her interview, visit desperateblog.com.If you want to know whether your headaches are actually migraines, take the headache quiz at headachequiz.com Read more:Desperate
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Got Heart Problems? Take A Nap 2007-09-19 08:04:40 Afternoon naps may be good for the heart. Harvard School of Public Health had a study on 23,681 healthy men and women, and tracked them for more than 6 years. The results showed that those who took afternoon naps at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week, were 37% less likely to die from heart disease.According to Professor Dimitrios Trickopoulos,"The relationship between stress and coronary mortality is well-established. And we know napping may be a stress-releasing process."So for those who likes to snooze during midday, this is absolutely good news for you. Read more:Heart
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