Hot girl + ugly man = happiness

Experts say happier marriages result from attractive women who wed uglier men. Just ask Sienna Miller and Rhys Ifans.
HE'S had many an unkind comment about his looks when set against the radiant beauty of girlfriend Sienna Miller.

But Rhys Ifans seems likely to have the last laugh because psychologists reckon that happier marriages result from attractive women who wed uglier men.

And women who marry handsome men had better watch out. Men who saw themselves as better looking than their wives were more likely to be disgruntled and have negative feelings about their marriage, experts found.

Opposites attract: Hollywood beauties and their unsightly fellas
The University of Tennessee study leaves 40-year-old Ifans set fair if, as expected, he marries 26-year-old Sienna this year, and it might also explain a few other couples such as Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas and Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller.

The Tennessee team tested 82 newlywed couples for facial attractiveness and the quality of their marriage.

Their results, in the Journal of Family Psychology, suggested most men who married attractive women were happy to bask in the glory of their partner's beauty.

But Professor Jim McNulty reported: "Men who were more attractive than their partner demonstrated a tendency to offer less emotional and practical support to their wives."

He said "evolutionary perspectives" offered an explanation.

"Attractive men have available to them more short-term mating opportunities.

"This may make them less satisfied and less committed to the marital relationship."

Strathclyde University psychologist Alastair Ross said many men enjoyed the prestige of having a beautiful wife.

"Men are rated as more likeable and friendly when they have a wife who is very attractive," he added.

Scientists are beginning to uncover evidence that meditation has a tangible effect on the brain.

There is evidence that meditation changes brain structures
Scientists probe meditation secrets
Scientists are beginning to uncover evidence that meditation has a tangible effect on the brain.

Sceptics argue that it is not a practical way to try to deal with the stresses of modern life.

But the long years when adherents were unable to point to hard science to support their belief in the technique may finally be coming to an end.

When Carol Cattley's husband died it triggered a relapse of the depression which had not plagued her since she was a teenager.

"I instantly felt as if I wanted to die," she said. "I couldn't think of what else to do."

Carol sought medical help and managed to control her depression with a combination of medication and a psychological treatment called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

However, she believes that a new, increasingly popular course called Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) - which primarily consists of meditation - brought about her full recovery.

It is currently available in every county across the UK, and can be prescribed on the NHS.

One of the pioneers of MBCT is Professor Mark Williams, from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford.

He helps to lead group courses which take place over a period of eight weeks. He describes the approach as 80% meditation, 20% cognitive therapy.

New perspective

He said: "It teaches a way of looking at problems, observing them clearly but not necessarily trying to fix them or solve them.

"It suggests to people that they begin to see all their thoughts as just thoughts, whether they are positive, negative or neutral."

MBCT is recommended for people who are not currently depressed, but who have had three or more bouts of depression in their lives.

Trials suggest that the course reduces the likelihood of another attack of depression by over 50%.

Professor Williams believes that more research is still needed.

He said: "It is becoming enormously popular quite quickly and in many ways we now need to collect the evidence to check that it really is being effective."

However, in the meantime, meditation is being taken seriously as a means of tackling difficult and very modern challenges.

Scientists are beginning to investigate how else meditation could be used, particularly for those at risk of suicide and people struggling with the effects of substance abuse.

What is meditation?
Meditation is difficult to define because it has so many different forms

Broadly, it can be described as a mental practice in which you focus your attention on a particular subject or object.

It has historically been associated with religion, but it can also be secular, and exactly what you focus your attention on is largely a matter of personal choice.

It may be a mantra (repeated word or phrase), breathing patterns, or simply an awareness of being alive.

Some of the more common forms of meditative practices include Buddhist Meditation, Mindfulness Meditation, Transcendental Meditation, and Zen Meditation.

The claims made for meditation range from increasing immunity, improving asthma and increasing fertility through to reducing the effects of aging.

Limited research

Research into the health claims made for meditation has limitations and few conclusions can be reached, partly because meditation is rarely isolated - it is often practiced alongside other lifestyle changes such as diet, or exercise, or as part of group therapy.

So should we dismiss it as quackery? Studies from the field of neuroscience suggest not.

It is a new area of research, but indications are intriguing and suggest that meditation may have a measurable impact on the brain.

In Boston, Massachusetts, Dr Sara Lazar has used a technique called MRI scanning to analyse the brains of people who have been meditating for several years.

She compared the brains of these experienced practitioners with people who had never meditated and found that there were differences in the thickness of certain areas of the brain's cortex, including areas involved in the processing of emotion.

She is continuing research, but she believes that meditation had caused the brain to change physical shape.

Buddhist monks

In Madison, Wisconsin, Dr Richard Davidson has been carrying out studies on Buddhist monks for several years.

His personal belief is that "by meditating, you can become happier, you can concentrate more effectively and you can change your brain in ways that support that."

In one study he observed the brains of a group of office workers before and after they undertook a course of meditation combined with stress reduction techniques.

At the end of the course the participants' brains seemed to have altered in the way they functioned.

They showed greater activity in the left-hand side - a characteristic which Davidson has previously linked to happiness and enthusiasm.

This idea that meditation could improve the wellbeing of everyone, even those not struggling with mental illness, is something that is exciting researchers.

Professor Williams believes it has huge potential.

"It involves dealing with expectations, with constantly judging ourselves - feeling we're not good enough," he said.

"And, that is something which is so widespread in our communities.

"All of these things are just thoughts. And, they will come up in meditation and learning to recognize what they are as thoughts, and let them go, can be enormously empowering for anybody."

There is, of course, a distinct possibility that this research will come to nothing and that interest in meditation will turn out to be a passing fad, but for now this ancient discipline is being taken seriously by scientists as a tool with potential to make each one of us happier and more content.

Turner paintings head for Moscow

Norham Castle, Sunrise, will be among the paintings which travelling to Moscow
An exhibition of the works of JMW Turner is to go ahead at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow later this year.
Tate Britain is lending over 100 of the artist's works for the show which will run from November until February.

The Pushkin exhibition, which is being sponsored by billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov, will feature over 100 of Turner's works.

It marks the first time any of Turner's paintings have been seen in Moscow since the 1970s.

"The generations have changed since Turner was last in Moscow and it's important that the young see him," said Ainaida Bonami, the Pushkin's deputy director.

The paintings on loan will include Norham Castle, Sunrise, one of Turner's most popular works, and a self-portrait.

Diplomatic row

The exhibition follows the wranglings over the loan of Russian-owned art for a British exhibition at the Royal Academy earlier this year.

Russia eventually allowed the loan after the UK passed a law to ensure the paintings could not be seized.

It feared they could be confiscated because of disputes about their ownership.

Some of the 120 paintings included in the exhibition were taken from private collections after Russia's 1917 revolution.

It was thought some of them could be seized to settle private legal claims.

Both the British and Russian governments denied the clash related to the fallout from the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, which prompted strained relations between the two countries.

A spokeswoman for Tate Britain said there was no connection between the two exhibitions and that the Turner loan had been in the pipeline for some time.

Turner, who lived from 1775 to 1851, bequeathed much of his work to the nation. Most of his paintings are on display at Tate Britain in London.

The key to keeping a bright, healthy smile

How do I best care for teeth as an adult?
The key to keeping a bright, healthy smile throughout adulthood is to practice proper oral hygiene. Even adults can get cavities, as well as gum disease, that can lead to serious problems. Throughout your adult life, it's important to continue to:


Brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque – the sticky film on your teeth that's the main cause of tooth decay.

Floss daily to remove plaque from between your teeth and under your gumline, before it can harden into tartar. Once tartar has formed, it can only be removed by a professional cleaning.
Limit sugary or starchy foods, especially sticky snacks. The more often you snack between meals, the more chances you give the acids in plaque to attack your tooth enamel.
Visit your dentist regularly for professional cleanings and checkups.
What special dental issues should I be aware of as an adult?
Even if you brush and floss regularly, you may face certain oral health issues as an adult. Luckily, your dentist can help you meet most of these challenges quite successfully.

Gum disease begins as gingivitis, which at this early stage is still reversible. Symptoms of gingivitis include red, swollen or tender gums that tend to bleed when you brush them. If you notice any of these symptoms, see your dentist – before serious problems develop. Advanced stages of gum disease may lead to tooth loss.

The health of your gums can also affect your overall health. Recent studies have shown a possible link between periodontitis (a form of gum disease) and other diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and a possible link to premature births. To prevent gum disease from getting started in the first place, be sure to brush twice a day, floss daily and schedule professional cleanings every six months.

Cavities around existing fillings (called recurrent decay) and decay on the root surfaces of the teeth become more common as we age. So it's important to brush with a fluoride toothpaste, floss daily and see your dentist regularly.
Sensitivity can be an increasing problem as one ages. Your gums naturally recede over time, exposing areas of the tooth that are not protected by enamel. These areas are particularly prone to pain due to cold or hot foods or beverages. In severe cases cold air, as well as sensitivity to sour and sweet drinks and foods, can occur. If you experience sensitivity, try an anti-sensitivity toothpaste. If the problem persists, see your dentist, as the sensitivity may be an indication of a more serious condition, such as a cavity or a cracked or fractured tooth.
Crowns are used to strengthen damaged teeth. A crown entirely covers or "caps" a damaged tooth. Besides strengthening a damaged tooth, a crown can be used to improve its appearance, shape or alignment. Implants and bridges are used to replace missing ones. Dental implants replace one or more teeth or are used to attach full or partial dentures. Consult with your dentist to see if implants are right for you. Bridges are commonly used to replace one or more missing teeth. They span the space where the teeth are missing.
Bridges are cemented to the natural teeth or implants surrounding the empty space.
How can I help make my teeth look whiter?
Thorough cleanings by a dental professional will remove most external staining caused by food and tobacco. Using a whitening toothpaste can also help remove these surface stains between dental visits. If stains have been present for years, you may need to have your teeth professionally whitened to remove these more stubborn external stains.

Internal stains can be bleached, bonded or capped (crowned). While each of these methods is safe and effective, your dentist will recommend which treatment is appropriate for you depending on the state of your teeth and the results that you wish to achieve.

What effect does diet have on my oral health?
In addition to greatly affecting your overall health, proper nutrition is necessary for healthy teeth and gums. Eating a well-balanced diet gives your gum tissues and teeth the important nutrients and minerals they need to stay strong and resist infections, which can contribute to gum disease. In addition, firm, fibrous foods such as fruits and vegetables tend to help clean the teeth and tissues. Soft, sticky foods tend to remain on the grooves and between teeth, producing more plaque.

Each time you consume foods and drinks that contain sugars or starches, the bacteria in plaque produce acids that attack your teeth for 20 minutes or more. To reduce damage to your tooth enamel, limit the number of between meal snacks and drinks. And when you do snack, choose nutritious foods such as cheese, raw vegetables, plain yogurt or fruit.

Stressed Parents Equals Sick Kids

Couple arguing, girl (12-13 years) covering eyes with hands, waist up

STRESSED parents aren't just damaging their own health - they may also be making their children more vulnerable to illness.

Stress is well known to affect a person's own physical health, but the effect on their children's health was unclear. To investigate, Mary Caserta and her colleagues at the University of Rochester in New York asked the parents of 169 children aged between 5 and 10to monitor their child's health over three years, recording symptoms of illnesses and taking their temperatures.


Every six months, the parents took a test designed to assess their own psychiatric health, noting markers of stress such as anxiety or depression.

Caserta's team found that the total number of illnesses, both with and without fever, was significantly higher in the children of parents who reported high levels of emotional stress. The team also measured the levels of immune cells in the children, and found those with highly stressed parents were much more likely to have heightened immune activity - a sign that they were working hard to fend off infection (Brain, Behavior and Immunity, DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2008.01.007)

David Jessop at the University of Bristol in the UK calls the results fascinating, and thinks that future studies should aim discover which stress factors have the biggest impact on children's immunity.

FDA Warns of Cantaloupes Linked to Salmonella Outbreak

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put out an alert for consumers in the U.S. on Saturday. They have stated that people should throw away all cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer named Agopecuaria Montelibano.

They have been working very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try and pinpoint the origin of the latest salmonella outbreak, and they believe they have found the source in cantaloupes.


Cantaloupes Recalled over Salmonella Outbreak Concerns.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning that cantaloupes from Agropecuaria Montelibano, Honduras appear to be associated with Salmonella Litchfield outbreak in the United States and Canada.

Salmonella is a common bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail in elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of salmonella include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Most people recover from salmonella illness without special treatment, but cases of severe diarrhea require medical attention and there’s a risk of infection spreading from the intestines to the bloodstream, a condition that could turn fatal.

The warning comes as some 50 people across 16 states, including Colorado, and nine people in Canada have fallen ill following melons’ consumptions. There haven’t been reported any deaths, but the FDA says 14 people have been hospitalized, the Associated Press wrote.

Groceries are being urged to remove cantaloupes from the Agropecuaria Montelibano manufacturer from store shelves and consumers are being advised to check with their local stores to see if any recently purchased cantaloupes came from Honduras.

The states affected by salmonella outbreak include California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

The FDA also recommends consumers purchase cantaloupes that are not bruised or damaged, wash hands with hot, soapy water before or after handling fresh cantaloupes, scrub whole cantaloupes by using a clean produce brush and cool tap water immediately before eating, cut away and not eat bruised or damaged areas of the cantaloupe and discard leftover cut cantaloupes if left at room temperature for more than two hours.

The FDA is further investigating this outbreak in cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state partners.

more....
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put out an alert for consumers in the U.S. on Saturday. They have stated that people should throw away all cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer named Agopecuaria Montelibano.

They have been working very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try and pinpoint the origin of the latest salmonella outbreak, and they believe they have found the source in cantaloupes.

The FDA has also stated that all grocery stores must remove the cantaloupes from their stock immediately.

They are also trying to intercept any cantaloupes which are being shipped to the United States from that particular manufacturer.

They believe that the cantaloupes may be to blame for the recent outbreak of salmonella.

The widespread salmonella outbreak has now stretched across 16 states, as well as into Canada. The states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Georgia, New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah.

There have been over 50 people who have become sick thus far.

FDA Warns of Cantaloupes Linked to Salmonella Outbreak

FDA detains Honduran producer's cantaloupes
The Food and Drug Administration warned that cantaloupes from a Honduran producer may be tainted with salmonella and it detained all shipments of cantaloupes by the company.
The agency also advised stores to pull from their shelves any stock of the cantaloupes produced by the company, Agropecuaria Montelibano. And it urged consumers to check with stores about the origin of any cantaloupes they might have recently purchased and to throw away any that came from the company.
As of the Saturday announcement, the FDA had received reports of 50 people becoming sick in 16 states and nine in Canada linked to eating cantaloupes. Fourteen people have been hospitalized; no deaths have been reported, the FDA said.
Food-borne salmonella infection can cause nausea, vomiting, fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, the agency said.

more....
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put out an alert for consumers in the U.S. on Saturday. They have stated that people should throw away all cantaloupes from a Honduran manufacturer named Agopecuaria Montelibano.

They have been working very closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try and pinpoint the origin of the latest salmonella outbreak, and they believe they have found the source in cantaloupes.

The FDA has also stated that all grocery stores must remove the cantaloupes from their stock immediately.

They are also trying to intercept any cantaloupes which are being shipped to the United States from that particular manufacturer.

They believe that the cantaloupes may be to blame for the recent outbreak of salmonella.

The widespread salmonella outbreak has now stretched across 16 states, as well as into Canada. The states include Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, Georgia, New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah.

There have been over 50 people who have become sick thus far.

Tips for Traveling Abroad

Register so the State Department can better assist you in an emergency: Register your travel plans with the State Department through a free online service at https://travelregistration.state.gov. This will help us contact you if there is a family emergency in the U.S., or if there is a crisis where you are traveling. In accordance with the Privacy Act, information on your welfare and whereabouts will not be released to others without your express authorization.


Sign passport, and fill in the emergency information: Make sure you have a signed, valid passport, and a visa, if required, and fill in the emergency information page of your passport.


Leave copies of itinerary and passport data page: Leave copies of your itinerary, passport data page and visas with family or friends, so you can be contacted in case of an emergency.


Check your overseas medical insurance coverage: Ask your medical insurance company if your policy applies overseas, and if it covers emergency expenses such as medical evacuation. If it does not, consider supplemental insurance.

Familiarize yourself with local conditions and laws: While in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws. The State Department web site at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html has useful safety and other information about the countries you will visit.


Take precautions to avoid being a target of crime: To avoid being a target of crime, do not wear conspicuous clothing or jewelry and do not carry excessive amounts of money. Also, do not leave unattended luggage in public areas and do not accept packages from strangers.


Contact us in an emergency: Consular personnel at U.S. Embassies and Consulates abroad and in the U.S. are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to provide emergency assistance to U.S. citizens. Contact information for U.S. Embassies and Consulates appears on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website at http://travel.state.gov. Also note that the Office of Overseas Citizen Services in the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs may be reached for assistance with emergencies at 1-888-407-4747, if calling from the U.S. or Canada, or 202-501-4444, if calling from overseas.

How to Have a Safe Trip

Register Your Travel So We Can Contact You in an Emergency

Why It’s Important
How to Register (It’s Easy)
Planning Your Trip: Know Before You Go!

Information Resources
The Consular Information Program
How to Obtain Country Specific Information, Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts
Background Notes .

Other Resources
Customs and Import Restrictions .
Customs Restrictions of Foreign Destinations – What You Cannot Take to Other Countries .
U.S. Customs Restrictions – What You Cannot Bring Back With You
Taking a Pet Overseas .
Places to Receive Mail.

Health: What You Need to Know in Advance of Travel
Vaccination, Infectious Diseases, Pandemic Influenza, Foot & Mouth Disease, Chemical/Biological/Nuclear Incidents
Insurance, Medicare & Medicaid, Medical Evacuation
Bringing Medications or Filling Prescriptions Abroad
Doctors and Hospitals
Special Planning Considerations
Student Travelers
Senior Travelers
Traveling With Disabilities
Required Travel Documents and Other Important Documentation.


Passport Requirements & How to Apply for a Passport
How to Apply for a U.S. Passport
If You Need to Obtain a New Passport While Abroad
Adoption Abroad .
Entry Requirements of Foreign Countries.
Work Authorization, Residence Permits .
Additional Fees .
What to Take With You on the Trip, and What to Leave Behind.

Valuables
Leave Copies of Documents and Itinerary With Relatives in the U.S.
Plan for the Unexpected.
Emergencies: Consular Assistance and Crises Abroad.

Assistance from American Consuls .
How to Contact the Embassy or the State Department in an Emergency
What You Should Know If You Are a Victim of Crime.

Passport Fraud
Scams
International Child Custody Disputes .
Arrests Abroad .
Special Warning About Drug Offenses Abroad .
Death of a U.S. Citizen Abroad .

Terrorism
Hijacking/Hostage Situations.
How to Access Funds in the U.S.
How to Get Your Passport Replaced .
What You Should Know If You Are Residing Abroad or Are Planning to Reside Abroad.

Marriage, Birth, Divorce and Death Abroad
Marriage Abroad
Birth Abroad of a U.S. Citizen
Divorce Abroad
Death Abroad
Federal Benefits Services Abroad .

Driver’s License
Absentee Voting in U.S. Elections .
Selective Service Registration .
Be Prepared for Emergencies .

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Today is the first day of Spring! Wohoo! I think in the future I will turn the first day of Spring into my own personal holiday. Today was an especially beautiful day to be the first day of Spring. The skies were intermittently cloudy and sunny, and occasionally divulged a light sprinkle...all of which created a rainbow that arched over the lake and into the mountains. I was so glad to have been driving from Springville to American Fork to see it. My heart smiled.
YOU Don't have to look far to see signs of spring. From the budding of the trees and the warming of the temperatures to the animals coming out of their winter hideouts, there seems to be a promise of new birth and color in the springtime air.

The first day of spring is around March 20 or 21, depending on what day the vernal equinox occurs. This is when the sun sits directly above the equator on its apparent trip northward. Of course this sun isn't moving; Earth is. As Earth revolves around the sun, the top half, called the Northern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more toward the sun as winter turns to spring. Meanwhile the bottom half, the Southern Hemisphere, becomes tilted more away from the sun. The beginning of spring for us is the beginning of autumn for people in Australia and the southern parts of Africa and South America.

Unequal equinox

The word "equinox" comes from Latin and means "equal nights." Around March 20, sunrise and sunset are about twelve hours apart everywhere on Earth. Because of that, a lot of people think that day and night are of equal length on March 20. But actually the day is a little longer than the night on this date. There are a few reasons for that. Sunrise occurs when the top of the sun (not the center) is on the horizon. But the sun actually appears to be above the horizon when it is in fact still below it. That's because Earth's atmosphere refracts or "bends" light coming from the sun, so we see the sun a couple of minutes before it actually rises over the horizon. If you add the daylight that persists after sunset, you'll find the day on the equinox is several minutes longer than the night.

Variety in Spring Weather

In the United States, spring is a time of transition not only for plant and animal life, but for the weather too. It can mean weather extremes from very cold and snowy days to humid and stormy days. Some of the country's biggest snowfalls have occurred in March, and the period from March to May is the time of year when much of the south is most likely to get severe thunderstorms with hail and even tornadoes. This is why the beginning of spring is a good time to put together a plan for what you and your family would do in case of a severe thunderstorm or tornado. Go here for some ideas on how to do that.

The Yolk's on You!

Has anyone ever told you that you can balance a raw egg on end on the first day of spring? They think that somehow the pull of gravity is more equal on this day because the sun is more directly overhead. There is no scientific support for this. The egg legend apparently got its start in 1945 when a reporter for Life Magazine wrote a story about a Chinese ritual in which people stood eggs on end on the first day of spring. But the Chinese recognized the first day of spring in early February, or about six weeks before the spring equinox! Later, in 1983, one hundred New Yorkers got together on March 20 to balance eggs, and an article about the event appeared in the New Yorker magazine. A year later, five thousand New Yorkers repeated the tradition on the first day of spring, and the egg legend grew.

The truth is that if you can get a raw egg to balance upright on the spring equinox, you can get it to balance any other day of the year. The pull of gravity or the position of the sun in the sky has nothing to do with it. So don't spread this unscientific rumor, or you'll end up with egg on your face!

What day does spring start?

It's snowing but according to the Met Office spring has sprung. Others disagree. So what day does spring start?

Much of the country is in the grip of icy winter weather but according to the Meteorological Office spring is here.

It classes the first day of spring as 1 March, saying March, April and May are regarded as the spring months. But traditionally spring has started on the night of 20/21 March and a row has erupted over the official date.

"You would not regard the first three weeks of June as spring, yet historically summer does not start until 21 June," says a spokesman for the Met Office. "Equally, the bulk of people now regard 1 March as the first day of spring."

Bloom

But disgruntled MPs are questioning "on whose authority" the date has been changed.

"They may say that 1 March is the first day of spring - which it is not - but it certainly doesn't feel like it," says the seasonally named Sir Nicholas Winterton, Conservative MP for Macclesfield.

He is supported by Stuart Bell, Labour MP for Middlesbrough, who says: "Spring starts on March 20/21 and if the Met Office are not aware of this simple fact, it reflects a casual approach to facts, which is all too inherent today."

Historically spring starts on the day of the vernal equinox, which usually occurs on the night of 20/21 March.

Vernal comes originally from the Latin word for bloom and refers to the fact that, in the northern hemisphere, this equinox marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

An equinox is a time when the nights are as long as the days and the vernal equinox is recognised the world over as the start of the new astrological cycle.

But does that necessarily make it the start of spring? After all, summer is commonly decreed to start on 21 June - the Summer Solstice - yet the following day is known as MID-summer's day.

And since when has the prevailing weather had anything to do with it? Parts of the country may be ankle-deep in snow but cast your mind back three months and the talk was why, in mid-December, the weather felt like spring.

The Met Office, meanwhile, has little time for celestial patterns and historical precedent. It picked 1 March for simplicity's sake, choosing to slot the four seasons neatly into the 12 months... June, July and August are the summer months; September, October and November autumn, and so on.

Technorati : Earth, HAPPY FIRST DAY SPRING, LIFE, NATURE, SEASON

Your Perfect LifeStyle can change corporate jungle and "rat race

Are you tired of the corporate jungle and "rat race"? Do you want to simplify your life? Now you can

You’re in your car on your way home from work. You are relieved, happy, and confident, because you just told your boss you’re not coming back.

No more bosses, no more nine to five, no more lousy salary, and no more "Rat Race".

The ride home with bumper-to-bumper traffic surrounding you, and several stoplights, doesn’t bother you one bit. Because you won’t have to do it ever again—no more commuting!

The money and time you save will be put to much better use—starting a new life.

In a nearby smaller city, you found a condo close to everything you love. First thing Monday morning, you and your spouse will be working from home. Your spouse will be telecommuting working on the Internet helping people save and make money with an international discount program.

You will have your own business, as a Fitness/Wellness Coach to local businesses. You also work part time at a nearby spa, conducting classes and consultations.

A relaxed morning with breakfast together is appreciated while you discuss your day. You have appointments with a couple local companies who want to set up health programs for their employees, then a talk with a local spa manager to conduct some classes. Your spouse reminds you that both of you have a meeting with a local council member to starting fundraiser to build a playscape. Your spouse will be on the Internet working all morning.

That evening you’re both invited to a neighbor’s for a "welcome to the neighborhood" dinner. There you meet some new friends who are involved in the community theater group. You and spouse are very much interested.

You and your spouse’s daily schedules are flexible to get involved in the community; social activities, arts, theater, and volunteering with the elderly and youth groups.

You are living your ideal life, close to home, just being together and planning for the future.

Yes, this scenario is possible. Hundreds of people are doing it.

more .....



4 Simple Steps To The Good Life
Would you like to live the good life? This article shows you the four simple and incredibly powerful steps you need to follow to create a life filled with more achievement, prosperity and happiness than you could now imagine.

Enlarge ImageIf you want to create the good life -- a life filled with more achievement, prosperity and happiness than you could now imagine -- all you really need to do is faithfully follow four simple steps. Really.

By following these four incredibly powerful steps, you'll be able to create and attract whatever the "good life" means to you, be it optimum health, vast wealth or greater overall happiness.

Are you ready?

1. Define and Clarify Your Vision

Step one is simply to write down everything you would really love to have in your ideal "good life". Yes, write it all down and let your imagination flow. Ask yourself: "If I had all the time, money and resources and I could be or have anything at all in life, what would bring me the most happiness?

Think on paper. Develop a vivid and detailed description of what the good life would look like for you and put it down in writing.

Put a date at the very top of the page that's 2 or 3 years out in the future, but otherwise write out your good life description in the present tense, first person. Presume that it is guaranteed to happen but only if you could be crystal clear about exactly what you want and what the good life would look like for you.

Clarity is essential. You can't hit a fuzzy target or one you can't see.

2. Visualize and Feel It as Real

Here's step two. In your mind, project forward 2 or 3 years and create a clear mental image of what the good life looks like for you. Imagine the kind of life that would be ideal for you in every way. Visualize the end-result (and only the end-result) in your mind's eye. Get a clear mental picture of it.

Here's the key: As you visualize, enjoy the feelings you would have if you were already living and experiencing the good life right now. How would it feel? Feel your intention as if it's already been achieved.

As you visualize your ideal end-result you should literally be smiling as you relish the intense happiness generated by this 'virtual experience'. It should feel like you are radiating bliss from every cell of your being each time you close your eyes and visualize.

Spend five to ten minutes of quiet time every day visualizing your good life and feeling the happiness associated with it. First thing in the morning and last thing at night is ideal. Consistency and repetition gives this process amazing creative power.

3. Ask "HOW?"

Once you have a crystal clear vision of what the good life looks and feels like, continually ask yourself, in an open- minded state of wonder: "OK, now how can I achieve this?"

Think of this as an open-ended question to the universe.

Do not dwell on or worry about the fact that you don't know all the answers to this question. That's absolutely OK.

In fact, it's not your job to know all (or even any of) the "how's" at this point. It's much more important for you to clearly define your target. That is, to clearly define and describe the good life in your mind's eye in every detail and continually immerse yourself in the happiness it generates for you.

So just keep asking yourself "how" and be open to whatever insights and intuitive nudges you receive. Doing this will allow you to tap into your unlimited creative resources. The more you do this, the more insights, ideas and inspiration you will get to move you forward toward the good life you've envisioned.

4. Follow Through With Inspired Action

This is the action step. Trust and allow yourself to be guided by the insights, ideas and inspirations you receive. Resist the ego-driven urge to force things to happen. Instead, begin taking 'inspired action' to make your vision of the good life a reality.

What this means is you should do whatever you feel nudged internally to do -- and do it immediately.

So there you have it. You have learned in a few short paragraphs an awesome creative process that will literally magnetize you to whatever vision of the good life you've clearly defined. You'll be drawn to it and it will be drawn to you.

If you follow these four steps, you will literally begin to attract into your life the ideas, plans, contacts, resources and opportunities (many of them unforeseeable at the outset) you need to manifest your vision of the good life into reality.

And don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of this process. The truth is always simple. It's our ego that loves to needlessly complicate things.

There's one caveat, however. Clearly defining your vision of the good life may take some time. That's perfectly natural. You need to figure out what the good life really means to you -- what it would entail, and what it would look, feel and taste like. So do take the time you need to get it perfect in every sensory detail.

Your vision of the good life has to be a 'perfect 10.' Once you've got that down, though, I challenge you to do steps 2 to 4 of the process daily for 30 consecutive days, without fail.

An ancient temple discovered by archeologists in Peru may predate the ancient Inca Empire.

Archeologists Discover Pre-Inca Temple in Peru

An ancient temple discovered by archeologists in Peru may predate the ancient Inca Empire.

The temple found in the Andes mountains measures 2,700 sq feet and consists of 11 rooms that may have held mummies and idols, the Associated Press reports. It was found around a mile from the zig-zagging Sacsayhuaman fortress, and it includes ancient roadway and irrigation systems, the experts informed. They believe the irrigation system was built by the Ayarmaca, who lived in the area between 900 and 1200.

The structure is made of stone and adobe and contains a structure in the shape of Chacana, which is an Incan religious symbol.

Archeologists concluded the ruins are part of an ancient adoration center, but they are still trying to carbon-date it. Until now, researchers have only based their calculations on the analysis of ceramics and construction style.

"It's from both the Inca and pre-Inca cultures; it has a sequence," Washington Camacho, director of the Sacsayhuaman Archaeological Park, told the Associated Press on Thursday. "The Incas entered and changed the form of the temple, as it initially had a more rustic architecture."

The Incas, dominated South America during the 1400s, until the arrival of the Spanish in the 1500s. Today, the ancient Incan capital Cuzco is the main tourists' attraction, hosting the ruins of Machu Picchu.

A part of the newly discovered temple was destroyed nearly 100 years ago by dynamite blast at a rock quarry situated in the area, so the scientists were lucky to find it.

Technorati : An ancient temple, Peru, ancient Inca Empire., archeologists, discovered, history, news

Imagine you and your favorite travel partner dangling in your own private little gondola, gliding silently for 40 minutes as you cross the Mer de Glac

From France to Italy over Mont Blanc

You just left the last stop in France. On your right is the pillowy summit of Mont Blanc -- Europe's tallest mountain. On your left are jagged rocks called "dents" or teeth -- each famous among the world's best rock climbers. And, ahead of you, the next stop is Italy. You're near where Switzerland, Italy and France come together to "high five" the sky. Miles (literally) above Chamonix, you're riding Europe's highest lift.

Your Alpine adventure starts in the touristy French resort town of Chamonix. From there, Europe's ultimate mountain lift, the Aiguille du Midi, zips you by cable car to the dizzy 12,600-foot-high tip of a rock needle. This lift is Europe's highest and most spectacular. The cost is $58 round trip from Chamonix (you can avoid the notoriously long lines by making a reservation up to 10 days in advance at www.compagniedumontblanc.com).

The modern gondola is big enough for dozens of people. With its scratched-up interior, you can imagine it filled with stylish European skiers. But today, it's full of families -- moms rubbing suntan lotion on cherubic cheeks, kids' pint-sized rucksacks and ruddy seniors laced into their ancient boots gripping trusty walking sticks.

Chamonix shrinks as trees fly by, soon replaced by whizzing rocks, ice and snow, until you reach the top. Up there, even sunshine is cold. The air is thin. People are giddy. Fun things can happen on top, if you're not too winded to join locals in the Halfway-to-Heaven tango.

From the viewpoint, the Alps spread out before you. In the distance is the bent little Matterhorn (called "Cervin" in French). You can almost reach out and pat the head of Mont Blanc, at 15,771 feet, the Alps' (and Europe's) highest point.

To both save a little money and enjoy a hike, you can buy a "Rambler" ticket to the top of the Aiguille du Midi, but only halfway back down. This gives you a chance to look down at the Alps and over at the summit of Mont Blanc from that lofty lookout. Then, you descend on the lift only to the halfway point (Plan de l'Aiguille), from where you're free to frolic in the glaciers and hike to Mer de Glace. From there you can catch a train at Montenvers back to your starting point, Chamonix.

But for the ultimate Alpine joyride, grab a private gondola at Aiguille du Midi and continue on to Italy for what must be Europe's most breathtaking border crossing. In the tiny red gondola, you venture south. Open the window. Explore every corner of your view. You're sailing a new sea. Cross into Italy at Helbronner Point (11,371 feet) and descend on another lift into the remote Italian Valle d'Aosta. It's a whole different world -- where a dash of France and a splash of Switzerland blend with the already rich Italian flavor and countless castles to give you an easy-to-like first taste of Italy.

The town of Aosta, your best valley home base, is a two-hour bus ride from the base of the lift in La Palud (hourly departures, change in Courmayeur). If a fellow cable-car passenger has a car parked in La Palud, charm a ride to Aosta.

"The Rome of the Alps," as Aosta is called, has many Roman ruins and offers a great introduction to the fine points of Italian life: cappuccino, gelato and an obligatory evening stroll. An evening here is a fine way to ease into la dolce vita.

If you don't go on to Italy, you can return from Helbronner Point back to Chamonix. The resort town, a convenient train ride from Paris or Nice, is packed in August but surprisingly easy and affordable the rest of the year. Like Switzerland's Interlaken, Chamonix is a launch pad for mountain worshippers. The town has an efficient tourist information center and plenty of affordable accommodations.

From Chamonix, there are days of hikes and cable car rides. The best hikes are actually opposite the staggering Aiguille du Midi on the Gran Balcon Sud. This is a high-altitude world of pristine lakes, great Mont Blanc range views, and hang-gliders lunging off the cliff from the Brevent lift station. Watching these daredevils fill the valley like spaced-out butterflies is a thrilling spectator sport.

If you like the Alps, you'll love Chamonix, where hikers and non-hikers alike can enjoy vast mountain vistas with little effort.

Bill Gates Wants More Highly Skilled Immigrants

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, in a hearing Wednesday before members of Congress, pledged for more flexibility in employing foreign specialists. Currently, our country has an annual quota of 65,000 temporary H-1B visas for skilled workers and 20,000 for foreign students.

"It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, and then insist they return home," Gates told the House of Representatives Science and Technology Committee during a two-hour hearing, CNET reports. Instead, H-1B visas and green cards should be issued for those who are found useful to the United States economy.

Gates said that there are not enough scientists and computer specialists in the United States to fill demand. Microsoft employs 7 percent of its workforce through H-1B visas and for other high-tech companies the percentage is much higher. Microsoft plans a software-development center in Vancouver, B.C., whose role is also to help the Redmond company "recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.," Gates said.

He also pushed for increasing investments in federal research programs and focusing on ways to improve the educational system, particularly in the math and science fields, where the U.S. is apparently trailing other countries.

The former Microsoft chairman has also said before a Northern Virginia technology group that the government needs to free up more of the spectrum previously used by analog television broadcasts for wireless communications. "We're hopeful that that will be made available so that Wi-Fi can explode in terms of its usage, even out into some of these less dense areas (of the United States) where distance has been a big problem for Wi-Fi," Gates said, quoted by Reuters.

Technorati : Bill Gates, Highly Skilled, Immigrants, news, research programs

Pitt Drops Louisville 76-69 to Advance

Sam Young had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and hit a pair of free throws with less than a minute left in overtime to help Pittsburgh beat No. 13 Louisville 76-69 Thursday night and advance to the semifinals of the Big East tournament.

The seventh-seeded
The Pittsburgh Panthers fancy themselves as New York City’s basketball team.

So it is only fitting that they modeled their 2008 Big East tournament title run after the football team that stole New York and the country’s attention this season.

The seventh-seeded Panthers defeated top-seeded Georgetown, 74-65, on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden to give the Panthers their second tournament title. The Panthers also won in 2003.

They did it by following the story line and game plan that the Giants used to shock the Patriots in the Super Bowl last month.

“Levance Fields is a huge Giants fan and he came out and told the team, follow the Giants’ model,” said Pittsburgh guard Ronald Ramon of the Bronx, referring to the Panther point guard, who is a Brooklyn native. “They came out and played hard and came to win.”

The Panthers outworked and outhustled Georgetown, outrebounding the Hoyas by 41-29 and beating them in dives on the floor, loose balls corralled and the typical blue-collar nuances that have come to define Pittsburgh basketball.

The Giants’ comparison runs deep. The Panthers (26-9) had a solid but unspectacular regular season, just as the Giants did. Because Pittsburgh was only a No. 7 seed, it did not receive a bye and needed to win four games in four days. The Giants were a wild-card team and needed to win four games to win the Super Bowl. Georgetown (27-5) was not undefeated, as the Patriots were, but the Hoyas did enter the game a perfect 14-0 as a No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament.

Fields and New Jersey’s Brandin Knight, a former Pittsburgh star and now an assistant, hatched the analogy at the team hotel Friday night. Knight and Fields are the team’s resident Giants fans and got a laugh at recalling the similarities.

“Just like the Giants, nobody expected it to happen,” Fields said. “And obviously, we had the situation to do it and we did it.”

So it was fitting that when time expired Saturday night, it was Fields who chucked the ball in the air in jubilation. But the victory was a team effort, as five Pittsburgh players scored in double figures.

“Everyone stepped up,” Coach Jamie Dixon said. “Every guy made plays. I don’t even know where to start.”

The Panthers (26-9) have seemingly been annual Garden bridesmaids, making six of the previous seven Big East finals, but were 1-5 in those games. This title proved particularly sweet for the seniors, who had never won a Big East championship.

Heavy legs did not slow the Panthers, who became the second team to win four games in four nights to win the Big East tournament. They joined the 2006 Syracuse team, who rode Gerry McNamara to the title.

“We were in this situation my freshman year, but we ran into Gerry McNamara, and it was his time,” Fields said. “Now, this is our third trip here, and it my time and my teammates’ time.”

Ramon led the Panthers with 17 points and Sam Young added 16 to earn the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award. DeJuan Blair scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Georgetown got 17 points from Roy Hibbert, who was limited by foul trouble. He had only one rebound at halftime and sat for long stretches of the game.

For two teams that do not play particularly aesthetically pleasing basketball, the final minutes were straight out of central casting. After building a 13-point second-half lead, Pittsburgh hit just enough free throws to stave off a Georgetown comeback. The Panthers finished the game 22 of 44 from the free-throw line, including a hideous 19 of 36 in the second half.

The Panthers showed that they had coalesced as a team since the recent return of Fields, their starting point guard, from injury. They showed that they would be bringing their typical brutish, bullying style of basketball to the N.C.A.A. tournament.

“It definitely gives us a confidence booster going in,” Young said. “It definitely gives us a lot of motivation going in. And I feel like right now we’re playing our best basketball.

Georgetown came into the Big East tournament with some stigma as to whether their regular-season conference title was more serendipity than good play. The Hoyas were the beneficiaries of so many fortunate bounces and whistles that Louisville Coach Rick Pitino called them “lucky” after the Hoyas beat the Cardinals to clinch the regular-season title on the season’s final weekend.

They again showed that their deliberate style of play makes them vulnerable when they fall behind by double digits. When asked how the loss would impact the N.C.A.A. tournament for the Hoyas, John Thompson III said, “I got to digest it before I can answer that question.”

The Panthers were more direct in their N.C.A.A. tournament assessment.
“We’re not done yet,” Fields said. “We want more.”
Just like the Giants.

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Levance Fields, who had six assists Saturday night, is one of the nation's steadier hands at the point.

Panther Revival: From Nearly Dead to a No. 4 Seed
It was 86 days ago, on Dec. 20 of a young and promising season, that Pitt upset an undefeated Duke team here at Madison Square Garden. Junior point guard Levance Fields hit what would go down as one of the most cold-blooded shots of the year, a step-back three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in overtime, to beat the Blue Devils 65-64. It established the Panthers as a legitimate top-10 team -- they jumped from No. 11 to No. 6 in the next Associated Press poll -- but coach Jamie Dixon called it "the most bittersweet night in my coaching career."

The reason: senior forward Mike Cook, who might have finished as the team's second-leading scorer, had crumpled to the floor during the win with a torn ACL, lost for the season. There was speculation that after beating Duke, the rest would be downhill for the hobbled Panthers. What happened nine days later in their next game only strengthened that theory: Fields fractured his left foot in an 80-55 loss to Dayton and did not return until Feb. 15. The basketball gods were being especially cruel to Pitt -- said Fields, "We were mad, and we didn't understand why things were happening to us like that" -- and did not relent even after Fields was back in the fold. By Feb. 24, Pitt had fallen to 7-7 in conference play, all the way out of the polls, and on the fringe of NCAA tournament bracket projections.

So what does one make of the scene at the Garden late Saturday night, after Pitt's fourth win in four days to take the Big East tournament title as a No. 7 seed? There was Fields, dribbling out the clock on a 74-65 win over Georgetown in the championship game, then launching the ball skyward before his teammates, including Cook, mobbed him on the floor. And there was junior forward Sam Young, the tourney's MVP after scoring 16 points in the finale (and 70 since Wednesday), soaking in the celebration. Young said later that it "felt like I just won a million dollars."

What the Panthers had done was return to their comfort zone on 7th Avenue and 32nd Street and revive their season, going on a surprise run that may elevate them all the way to a No. 4 seed in the NCAAs when the field is announced Sunday night. With this Big East tourney crown, the win over Duke, and the argument that their 26-9 record would be 28-7 or even 29-6 had Fields not been sidelined for a month and a half, Pitt has a compelling case to jump onto the bracket's fourth line. Such a position would have seemed unfathomable as of a week ago.

This rise was not built on a new style of play, but rather a return to the blue-collar identity that had faded during the Panthers' swoon. On Saturday against the Hoyas, that grittiness was on full display: Pitt barreled its way to the foul line for 44 attempts compared to Georgetown's nine, and the Panthers won the offensive rebounding battle 19-7, with freshman forward DeJuan Blair grabbing 10 on his own. Young even had three blocks -- all of Roy Hibbert shots -- to go with his MVP-clinching night. "For whatever reason, I didn't think we were playing as aggressive as we needed to, say 10 games ago," said Dixon. "But when we got all our guys back, we have just been more physical, more aggressive, and just more like we normally are, I mean, more like Pitt."

At the center of this renaissance is Fields, the stocky Brooklyn floor general who earned 13 attempts at the charity stripe en route to scoring 10 points. He may never get mentioned in the same breath as North Carolina's Ty Lawson, Texas' D.J. Augustin or UCLA's Darren Collison, but Fields is one of the nation's steadier hands at the point. Over four games in the Big East tournament, he had 22 assists against just four turnovers -- an incredible 5.5-to-1 ratio -- making it clear just how much better Pitt is when Fields is running the show.

While standing outside of his locker room around midnight, with a piece of the championship net stuck behind his right ear, Fields mentioned that he had the option to heal for the remainder of this season rather than return in February. "I knew the risks and consequences of sitting out," he said, "but I chose to come back even earlier than projected, and that turned out to be a good thing."

Good indeed, for without Fields this hometown party would not have been possible. The question now is, was this celebration just that -- a nice streak of wins in a friendly setting for a team heavily populated with New York-area players -- and nothing more?

The Big East tournament title game is not new territory for Pitt; it has reached the final round in seven of the past eight years. Nor is the NCAA tournament a foreign place; the Panthers have been in the dance for each of the past six seasons. What they haven't managed to do this decade, however, is make it past the Sweet 16. The possibility here is that this Pitt team is uniquely on the upswing, haven already taken its beating from the basketball gods and built itself back into a contender. This time, they left the Garden with no bittersweet emotions, only hope that their best work is still ahead.

After all, keeping your blood sugar level within your target range can help you live a long and healthy life with diabetes

Diabetes management: How lifestyle, daily routine affect blood sugar
When it comes to diabetes management, blood sugar control is often the central theme. After all, keeping your blood sugar level within your target range can help you live a long and healthy life with diabetes. But do you know what makes your blood sugar level rise and fall? The list is sometimes surprising!

Food
Healthy eating is a cornerstone of any diabetes management plan. But it's not just what you eat that affects your blood sugar level. How much you eat and when you eat matters, too.

What to do:

Be consistent. Your blood sugar level is highest an hour or two after you eat, and then begins to fall. But this predictable pattern can work to your advantage. Simply eating about the same amount of food at about the same time every day can help you control your blood sugar level.
Even out your carbs. Carbohydrates have a bigger impact on your blood sugar level than does protein or fat. Eating about the same amount of carbohydrates at each meal or snack will help keep your blood sugar level steady throughout the day.
Coordinate your meals and medication. Too little food in comparison to your diabetes medications — especially insulin — may result in dangerously low blood sugar (hypoglycemia). Too much food may cause your blood sugar level to climb too high (hyperglycemia). Your diabetes health care team can help you strike a balance.

Exercise

Physical activity is another important part of your diabetes management plan. When you exercise, your muscles use sugar (glucose) for energy. Regular physical activity also improves your body's response to insulin. These factors work together to lower your blood sugar level. The more strenuous your workout, the longer the effect lasts. But even light activities — such as housework, gardening or being on your feet for extended periods — can lower your blood sugar level.

What to do:

Get your doctor's OK to exercise. This is especially important if you've been inactive and plan to start exercising regularly.
Adjust your diabetes treatment plan as needed. If you take insulin, you may need to adjust your insulin dose before exercising or wait a few hours to exercise after injecting insulin. Or your doctor may suggest other changes to your diabetes treatment plan.
Exercise good judgment. Check your blood sugar level before, during and after exercise, especially if you take insulin or medications that can cause low blood sugar. Drink plenty of fluids while you work out. Stop exercising if you experience any warning signs, such as severe shortness of breath, dizziness or chest pain.

Medication

Insulin and other diabetes medications are designed to lower your blood sugar level. But the effectiveness of these medications depends on the timing and size of the dose. And any medications you take for conditions other than diabetes can affect your blood sugar level, too.

What to do:

Store insulin properly. Insulin that's improperly stored or past its expiration date may not be effective.
Report problems to your doctor. If your diabetes medications cause your blood sugar level to drop too low, the dosage or timing may need to be adjusted.
Be cautious with new medications. If you're considering an over-the-counter medication or your doctor prescribes a new drug to treat another condition — such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol — ask your doctor or pharmacist if the medication may affect your blood sugar level. Sometimes an alternate medication may be recommended.

Illness

When you're sick, your body produces hormones to help fight the illness. These hormones raise your blood sugar level by preventing insulin from working effectively. This can help promote healing — and wreak havoc with your diabetes management plan.

What to do:

Plan ahead. Work with your health care team to create a sick-day plan. Include instructions on what medications to take, how often to measure your blood sugar and urine ketone levels, how to adjust your insulin dosage, if you need insulin, and when to call your doctor.
Stick to your diabetes meal plan. If you can, eating as usual will help you control your blood sugar level.
Check the sugar content of over-the-counter medications. Many cough syrups and other cold preparations are high in sugar. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

Alcohol

The liver normally releases stored sugar to counteract falling blood sugar levels. But if your liver is busy metabolizing alcohol, your blood sugar level may not get the boost it needs. If you take insulin or oral diabetes medications, even as little as 2 ounces of alcohol — the equivalent of two drinks — can cause low blood sugar.

What to do:

Get your doctor's OK to drink alcohol. Alcohol can aggravate diabetes complications, such as nerve damage and eye disease. But if your diabetes is under control and your doctor agrees, an occasional alcoholic drink with a meal is fine.
Choose your drinks carefully. Light beer and dry wines have fewer calories and carbohydrates than do other alcoholic drinks. If you prefer mixed drinks, stick with sugar-free mixers — such as diet soda, diet tonic, club soda or seltzer.
Tally your calories. Remember to include the calories from any alcohol you drink in your daily calorie count.

Hormone levels

As your hormone levels fluctuate during your menstrual cycle, so can your blood sugar levels — particularly in the week before your period. Menopause may trigger fluctuations in your blood sugar level as well.

What to do:

Look for patterns. Keep careful track of your blood sugar readings from month to month. Soon you may be able to predict fluctuations related to your menstrual cycle.
Adjust your diabetes treatment plan as needed. Your doctor may recommend changes in your meal plan, activity level or diabetes medications to make up for monthly blood sugar swings.

Stress

If you're stressed, it's easy to abandon your usual diabetes management routine. You might exercise less, eat fewer healthy foods or test your blood sugar less often — and lose control of your blood sugar in the process. The hormones your body may produce in response to prolonged stress may even prevent insulin from working properly, which only makes matters worse.

What to do:

Look for patterns. Log your stress level on a scale of one to 10 each time you log your blood sugar level. A pattern may soon emerge.
Take control. Once you know how stress affects your blood sugar level, fight back. Learn relaxation techniques. Prioritize your tasks. Set limits. Most importantly, take good care of yourself.
The more you know about factors that influence your blood sugar level, the more you can anticipate fluctuations — and plan ahead accordingly. If you're having trouble keeping your blood sugar level in your target range, ask your diabetes health care team for help.

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Diabetes nutrition: Including sweets in your meal plan
Diabetes nutrition focuses on healthy foods, but sweets aren't necessarily off-limits. Here's how to include sweets in your meal plan.
Diabetes nutrition focuses on healthy foods. But you can eat sweets once in a while without feeling guilty or interfering with your blood sugar control. The key is moderation.

The scoop on sugar
For years, people with diabetes were warned to avoid sweets. But what researchers understand about diabetes nutrition has changed.

It was once assumed that honey, candy and other sweets would raise your blood sugar level faster and higher than fruits, vegetables or foods containing complex carbohydrates. But many studies have shown this isn't true, as long as the sweets are eaten with a meal and balanced with other foods in your meal plan. Although different types of sweets can affect your blood sugar level differently, it's the total amount of carbohydrate that counts the most.

Of course, it's still best to consider sweets only a small part of your overall plan for diabetes nutrition. Candy, cookies and other sweets have little nutritional value and are often high in fat and calories. You'll get calories without the essential nutrients found in healthier foods.

Have your cake and eat it, too
Sweets count as carbohydrates in your meal plan. The trick is substituting small portions of sweets for other carbohydrates — such as bread, tortillas, rice, crackers, cereal, fruit, juice, milk, yogurt or potatoes — in your meals. To allow room for sweets as part of a meal, you have two options:

Replace some of the carbohydrate in your meal with a sweet.
Swap a carb-containing food in your meal for something with fewer carbohydrates.
Let's say your typical lunch is a turkey sandwich with a glass of skim milk and a piece of fresh fruit. If you'd like two cookies after your meal, look for ways to keep the total carbohydrate count in the meal the same. Trade your usual bread for low-calorie bread with fewer carbohydrates or eat only half the sandwich. Adding the cookies after your meal keeps the total carbohydrate count the same.

To make sure you're making even trades, read food labels carefully. Look for the total carbohydrate in each food, which tells you how much carbohydrate is in one serving of the food.

Consider sugar substitutes
Artificial sweeteners offer the sweetness of sugar without the calories. Artificial sweeteners may help you reduce calories and stick to a healthy meal plan — especially when used instead of sugar in coffee and tea, on cereal or in baked goods. In fact, artificial sweeteners are considered "free foods" because they contain very few calories and don't count as a carbohydrate, a fat or any other food in your meal plan.

Examples of artificial sweeteners include:
.Acesulfame potassium (Sweet One, Sunett)
.Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)
.Saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet'N Low)
.Sucralose (Splenda)
But artificial sweeteners don't necessarily offer a free pass for sweets. Many products made with artificial sweeteners, such as baked goods and artificially sweetened yogurt, still contain calories and carbohydrates that can affect your blood sugar level.

The same goes for sugar alcohols, another type of reduced-calorie sweetener often used in sugar-free candies, chewing gum and desserts. Check product labels for words such as isomalt, maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol and xylitol. Although sugar alcohols are lower in calories than is sugar, sugar-free foods containing sugar alcohols still have calories. And in some people, as little as 20 to 50 grams of sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea, gas and bloating.

Reconsider your definition of sweet
If you're craving sweets, ask your registered dietitian to help you include your favorite treats into your meal plan. He or she can also help you reduce the amount of sugar and fat in your favorite recipes. And don't be surprised if your tastes change as you adopt healthier eating habits. Food that you once loved may seem too sweet — and healthy substitutes may become your new idea of delicious.

Aetna Announces New Online Tool for Customers

Aetna Inc. has launched a brand new search site for its customers. It will allow customers to find search results based on their own health records. They will be able to get information on medical costs, diseases, local doctors, and more, all pertaining directly to their own medical records.

The new search site is called SmartSource, with the software coming from Healthline Networks.

In step toward personalized online medical information, Aetna plans to announce Wednesday a new service that draws upon a patient's own medical history to help answer questions about symptoms and treatments.

The Aetna offering, called SmartSource, has been tested by the company's 35,000 employees. It will be offered to employers that provide worker health benefits through Aetna, in a gradual introduction across the country that will begin in August.

The company, which has 16.8 million enrollees, plans to provide the service free to its customers, saying it wants to help people manage their own health care. Aetna hopes the service can help it recruit and retain employer-customers worried about the costs of care.

With the online offering, Aetna will be entering an arena in which WebMD is the leader for consumer medical information and where medical providers like the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard Medical School are also players. The Web giants Google and Microsoft are also laying plans to let consumers link electronic medical records and online research.

But one of the biggest challenges in linking online research to personal health data has been a widespread reluctance to share health information that might fall into the wrong hands or be abused, affecting job opportunities and insurance premiums.

"The underlying challenge is - 'Do you trust the insurance companies?' " said Mike Davis, a health technology analyst with the HIMSS Analytics consulting firm.

Addressing the trust issue, Meg McCabe, Aetna's vice president for online programs, said, "We make sure the information is secured and shared, based on the member's purposes."

The information will not be used to raise or lower premiums or reject membership applications. "That would not be a good business decision," Ms. McCabe said. "We need to develop a relationship with our members based on trust."

Using a medical search engine developed by Healthline, a medical database software developer, Aetna is piecing together medical profiles that are based on records of each insured member's illnesses and diagnostic tests and that also make assumptions about their health concerns as reflected in their search topics.

Andrea Rosenberg, a quality supervisor in an Aetna call center in Phoenix, said she had used the system to conduct research about her 5-year-old daughter Hayley's ear infections and her own allergy symptoms.

Like the millions of working mothers - a segment who are major online searchers for health information - Ms. Rosenberg said she had searched other health Web sites but found that the Aetna site provided information that was "more specific" to her situation. After looking it over, she took Hayley to see the family pediatrician. As for her allergies, she decided to stick with nonprescription medicines from the drugstore.

Health plan members have been slow to add their information to personal health records offered by many insurers, at least until a family member gets sick. But Aetna and some other health insurers, including UnitedHealth and WellPoint, have made an end run around this obstacle by creating rudimentary health profiles based on medical claims data.

Aetna says it has gone further by using the profile to help tailor the SmartSource searches.

"I don't know of anybody else who is matching members' claims information with a search engine to help them look for medical content," said Julie Snyder, a technology and health care analyst at Forrester Research.

But some industry experts say that medical claims data have limited utility, providing only "an echo of the events that go on in your care," according to Wes Rishel, a senior health care analyst at the Gartner Group technology consulting firm. "Also, at any time, the information is 15 to 45 days old."

Dr. Rishel said more useful data would eventually come directly from the person's doctors and hospital visits. Google and Microsoft are trying to get that information, although he predicts it will take "about two years" to reach that goal.

more..........
About: Aetna Inc..

Aetna, Inc is an American diversified health care benefits company, providing a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care, and disability plans, and medical management capabilities. it is a Fortune 100 member.

Extra...........

Aetna Inc. announced Wednesday that it has partnered with a San Francisco's Healthline Networks Inc. to offer to its members a pilot version of a search engine that personalizes database search results.

The tool mines information from Aetna's databases and delivers search results based on a patient's gender, age, ZIP code, health care plan and employer.

The search engine is available for use only by Aetna members and can provide information about local doctors participating in the plan, treatment options and medications that would make sense given the searcher's medical history and estimated health care costs.

Aetna (NYSE: AET), which is based in Hartford, Conn., and has operations in Pleasanton, made made the application called Aetna SmartSource available first to its own 35,000 employees. It will be rolling out to large employer groups throughout 2008.

to make sure you are as engaged as possible in managing your health care."

Technorati : Aetna, New Online, San Francisco's Healthline Networks Inc

Aetna Announces New Online Tool for Customers

Aetna Inc. has launched a brand new search site for its customers. It will allow customers to find search results based on their own health records. They will be able to get information on medical costs, diseases, local doctors, and more, all pertaining directly to their own medical records.

The new search site is called SmartSource, with the software coming from Healthline Networks.

In step toward personalized online medical information, Aetna plans to announce Wednesday a new service that draws upon a patient's own medical history to help answer questions about symptoms and treatments.

The Aetna offering, called SmartSource, has been tested by the company's 35,000 employees. It will be offered to employers that provide worker health benefits through Aetna, in a gradual introduction across the country that will begin in August.

The company, which has 16.8 million enrollees, plans to provide the service free to its customers, saying it wants to help people manage their own health care. Aetna hopes the service can help it recruit and retain employer-customers worried about the costs of care.

With the online offering, Aetna will be entering an arena in which WebMD is the leader for consumer medical information and where medical providers like the Mayo Clinic and the Harvard Medical School are also players. The Web giants Google and Microsoft are also laying plans to let consumers link electronic medical records and online research.

But one of the biggest challenges in linking online research to personal health data has been a widespread reluctance to share health information that might fall into the wrong hands or be abused, affecting job opportunities and insurance premiums.

"The underlying challenge is - 'Do you trust the insurance companies?' " said Mike Davis, a health technology analyst with the HIMSS Analytics consulting firm.

Addressing the trust issue, Meg McCabe, Aetna's vice president for online programs, said, "We make sure the information is secured and shared, based on the member's purposes."

The information will not be used to raise or lower premiums or reject membership applications. "That would not be a good business decision," Ms. McCabe said. "We need to develop a relationship with our members based on trust."

Using a medical search engine developed by Healthline, a medical database software developer, Aetna is piecing together medical profiles that are based on records of each insured member's illnesses and diagnostic tests and that also make assumptions about their health concerns as reflected in their search topics.

Andrea Rosenberg, a quality supervisor in an Aetna call center in Phoenix, said she had used the system to conduct research about her 5-year-old daughter Hayley's ear infections and her own allergy symptoms.

Like the millions of working mothers - a segment who are major online searchers for health information - Ms. Rosenberg said she had searched other health Web sites but found that the Aetna site provided information that was "more specific" to her situation. After looking it over, she took Hayley to see the family pediatrician. As for her allergies, she decided to stick with nonprescription medicines from the drugstore.

Health plan members have been slow to add their information to personal health records offered by many insurers, at least until a family member gets sick. But Aetna and some other health insurers, including UnitedHealth and WellPoint, have made an end run around this obstacle by creating rudimentary health profiles based on medical claims data.

Aetna says it has gone further by using the profile to help tailor the SmartSource searches.

"I don't know of anybody else who is matching members' claims information with a search engine to help them look for medical content," said Julie Snyder, a technology and health care analyst at Forrester Research.

But some industry experts say that medical claims data have limited utility, providing only "an echo of the events that go on in your care," according to Wes Rishel, a senior health care analyst at the Gartner Group technology consulting firm. "Also, at any time, the information is 15 to 45 days old."

Dr. Rishel said more useful data would eventually come directly from the person's doctors and hospital visits. Google and Microsoft are trying to get that information, although he predicts it will take "about two years" to reach that goal.

more..........
About: Aetna Inc..

Aetna, Inc is an American diversified health care benefits company, providing a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life, long-term care, and disability plans, and medical management capabilities. it is a Fortune 100 member.

Extra...........

Aetna Inc. announced Wednesday that it has partnered with a San Francisco's Healthline Networks Inc. to offer to its members a pilot version of a search engine that personalizes database search results.

The tool mines information from Aetna's databases and delivers search results based on a patient's gender, age, ZIP code, health care plan and employer.

The search engine is available for use only by Aetna members and can provide information about local doctors participating in the plan, treatment options and medications that would make sense given the searcher's medical history and estimated health care costs.

Aetna (NYSE: AET), which is based in Hartford, Conn., and has operations in Pleasanton, made made the application called Aetna SmartSource available first to its own 35,000 employees. It will be rolling out to large employer groups throughout 2008.

to make sure you are as engaged as possible in managing your health care."

Technorati : Aetna, New Online, San Francisco's Healthline Networks Inc

Staying Young

5 Medical Tests That May Keep You Well

Like a scene out of Star Trek, someday our doctors may simply wave a handheld device over our bodies and instantly diagnose any malady. In the meantime, however, it's important to keep abreast of the latest tests that can help us stay healthy - especially those that uncover risks before symptoms actually occur.

The following five tests are not yet considered as routine as cholesterol or blood-sugar tests, but chances are your doctor already is familiar with them. Not every test is necessary at every visit, and your insurance company may not pay unless it considers a particular test "medically necessary." Still, ask about them. Here's why they may be important to you.

CRP, or C-reactive Protein

This is a simple blood test that measures the amount of inflammation in your body. In many ways, CRP is the best "crystal ball" of health ever devised in a single blood test. Elevated CRP levels have been shown to precede and predict heart attack, stroke, colon cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer's disease, aneurysms, sudden cardiac death, abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation and even macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness.

CRP is a protein made by our immune system that fuels the fire of inflammation in our bodies. The higher your CRP level, the more at risk you are to develop problems. Optimal levels - less than 0.7 milligrams per liter - predict good health.

It's important to understand that CRP doesn't diagnose any particular conditions - it's not specific. It just identifies whether you're at risk for illness. It's best to check your CRP during your routine annual physical, when you feel fine. If you're sick with something, your CRP probably will be elevated.

The good news is that CRP levels can be lowered by exercise, modest weight loss, taking a multivitamin, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and certain medications such as aspirin and statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs).

Vitamin D Level

Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones because it's needed for calcium absorption. But new research also is identifying an important role for vitamin D in the immune system and in the prevention of cancer, including breast and prostate.

Studies show that more than half of American women don't get enough vitamin D. It's known as the "sunshine vitamin," because your skin makes it when you're out in the sun. That's why people who lack daily sun exposure or who use sunblock when outdoors may be deficient in the vitamin. It's almost impossible to get adequate amounts from foods, despite fortification of dairy and some soy foods. All multivitamins contain vitamin D, but for most people even that is not sufficient. You may need to take a vitamin D supplement. Most people should get between 1000 and 1500 IU of vitamin D3 daily. (D3 is the natural form of vitamin D. It's more easily absorbed and stays in the body longer.) The best way to know if you're getting enough vitamin D is to get a blood test.

H. pylori Test

About 20% of Americans may unknowingly be infected with the bacteria responsible for stomach cancer, heartburn, ulcers and even eye disorders. The discovery of H. pylori (Helicobacter pylori) infection as the primary cause of stomach ulcers worldwide earned Australian researchers Robin Warren and Barry Marshall the Nobel Prize in medicine for 2005. The bacteria also have been found to cause stomach cancer.

H. pylori is a chronic, potentially lifelong infection of the stomach. It can cause stomach pain, heartburn or indigestion, but it's often silent, causing no symptoms. Infection typically occurs when a person eats contaminated food and ingests the bacteria. The infection can be cured with a combination of antibiotics and antacids.

A blood-antibody test can show if you've ever been infected, and a stool test or breath test can identify if you currently have an active infection. Fortunately, successful treatment of H. pylori eliminates the increased risk of stomach cancer, ulcers and related disorders.

Aspirin Check

Aspirin has been shown to be a powerful preventive measure for people at risk for heart attack and stroke as well as for colon cancer, and it's estimated that as many as 50 million Americans take aspirin daily to prevent a heart attack. What's not clear is the optimal dose of aspirin for prevention. Most people are taking a baby aspirin (81 milligrams), but research has shown that 10% to 20% of people are resistant to aspirin and require higher dosages in order to benefit from its protective effects.

An aspirin check is a test that determines the effectiveness of the daily aspirin for an individual. This is important for people who are taking aspirin therapeutically for cardiovascular disease as well as those at increased risk for heart disease who are taking aspirin for prevention. The test can be ordered by your doctor but also is available directly from an online lab.

Insulin Level

Type 2 diabetes is characterized by an excess of insulin production in response to eating. The glucose tolerance test has long been the standard way to identify someone with diabetes. Until recently, glucose tolerance tests measured only blood sugar, or glucose levels, which are raised when a person has diabetes. But measuring your body's insulin-production levels improves the test by being able to identify your risk of diabetes long before symptoms emerge.

Typically, to do the test, your blood is drawn twice - first after fasting, then again two hours later after a glucose drink. Your insulin levels are recorded. If the results indicate that you're at a higher risk for diabetes, the good news is that you also have time to take action. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by adopting a lifestyle that includes daily exercise, weight control and a low-glycemic diet that reduces the intake of sugar, refined grains and starches.

Technorati : Aspirin, H. pylori, Insulin, Protein, Vitamin D, Young