Much like alcohol, the substances in cola acts as fantastic leaching agents throughout the body. Cola such as Pepsi and Coke, should only be given to the drain.

Study finds the link

A study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found a link between women who consume colas and the risk of acquiring brittle bone disease (Osteoporosis). The study was conducted on 2500 men and women who where just under 60 years of age. Essentially, the more cola consumed, the lower the mineral bone density found in the test subjects. An important note is that this occurred regardless of the amount of calcium (vitamin D) intake, alcohol, age, cigarette or alcohol consumption. Oddly enough, it isn’t the carbonation that seems to have caused a decrease in mineral bone density as other types of soda pop didn’t produce a decrease in density.

What is Cola anyhow?

Colas are a product category invented by Coke, hence why you see Coca-Cola on many of their products. They where once promoted as a “health supplement” leading to optimal health and wellbeing… I hope this rings a very loud bell in your head regarding “health and wellbeing” products being sold today. The base ingredients in most types of cola are citrus, lime, orange, lemon, cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg along with a host of sweeteners. The name originally comes from the kola nuts that where once used as a base component but has since fallen out of favor.

What does Cola do to your body?

There is nothing healthy about the ingredients used to produce a cola beverage, put a steel nail in a glass of coke for 24 hours and this will give you an idea of what occurs inside of you when you drink these products. They are extremely acidic, hence, your body must use minerals from throughout your body to neutralize the acidity level for further processing.

The Bottom Line

Colas, like alcohol, can be easily replaced with other liquids such as water, juices and teas.

Buzzvia
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2536421&page=1
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=162805

I enjoy a good quote or two every once in a while… here are a few I found online that should make think a little about your priorities on keeping yourself as healthy as possible.

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~Doug Larson

It’s no secret that a diet high in meat products is a risk factor for many types of cancer. Next time you eat a very meaty meal, down it with a cup of green tea and about an hour later as many vegetables and fruits as you can eat. Not only will this help your intestines both clean and push the meal bulk away but the added benefit is the fiber will absorb a lot of the “not so healthy” components of the meat you have just eaten.

He who takes medicine and neglects to diet wastes the skill of his doctors. ~Chinese Proverb

Very true, I am still astounded at how many people fail to realize that you literally are what you eat. Nothing is as anabolic as food, no amounts of supplements, pills and potions will replace the damage done by a bad diet. Diets are not a bad thing, they are a good thing, if you have sound knowledge behind your actions. The weight loss industry has made billions selling useless (sometimes harmful) products, don’t be a lemming, read about food yourself (this blog is a good start) and make lasting changes.

If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want. ~Elbert Hubbard

Happiness is a state of mind, the mind and body are linked, let me explain. You cannot have a healthy mind without a healthy body anymore then you can have a healthy body without a healthy mind. If somebody is sick, obese or diseased, their mind is affected whether they realize it or not. Push both your mind and body daily by learning new things or hitting the gym, that is the true secret to living a very rewarding life. Wealth is a state of mind.

Fresh air impoverishes the doctor. ~Danish Proverb

Think of your body as a filtration system, you give it food, it takes out the nutrients it needs and expels the rest. You breath in air, your body takes in the oxygen and expels the carbon dioxide along with other waste products. What happens when you feed your body junk and breath in polluted air? Well, you are pushing your body into overdrive, giving it a less then optimal environment to thrive in. If you smoke, quit. If you eat any type of processed food, stop. If you live in a polluted environment, move. Your health should be your number one priority in life, as without health, you have nothing.

We drink one another’s health and spoil our own. ~Jerome K.

Just about every fall, like clockwork, there is a new study, often funded by the wine industry stating how healthy it is to drink a glass of wine everyday. What they neglect to tell you is that it isn’t the alcohol that is good for you (which wine contains), it’s the anti-oxidants in the grapes used to make the wine that are. In other words, grape juice is HEALTHIER then wine, but let’s face it, why promote grape juice when you can promote a product that has a far higher profit margin? No amount of alcohol is good for you, alcohol is a toxic substance. If you want to have a party, give out grape juice instead of wine, you won’t need to worry about drunken behavior and better yet, improving the health of your mates.

The Bottom Line

Quote are but the tip of the educational iceberg, but an important one.

Outdoor grills have evolved quite a bit from the days we had to use a stick over a raging fire to have a cooked meal. Take the Onfalos for instance.

Features

• having no corners makes the Onfalos Grill both safe and more efficient at heat distribution (fire always grows in a circular, not rectangular fashion)
• combustion chamber is within the Onfalos Grill itself, improving safety and decreasing heat loss
• stainless steel construction, as such no need to worry about rusting and extremely easy to clean-up
• tripod wheels for increased sturdyness
• modern design fits into any setting

Onfalos Grill feature wishlist

I think it would be great if the Onfalos Grill had a digital display to indicate cooking time and temperature of the grill plates, otherwise, this product is pretty cool.

The Bottom Line

I am happy to see alternatives to the traditional outdoor grill.

Buzzvia
http://www.living-with-style.com/livingwithstyle_ENG/Products_Mobile_Cooking_ONFALOS_Medium.htm

Up until the Nintendo Wii came to market, the only real exercise you could get on a video game console, unless you where into dancing, involved primarily the use of your maximus thumbis muscles. After a few hours, these muscles would develop cramps that would signal to the avid gamer that it was time for a bathroom and lunch break.

History leading up to Wii

In my youth, which I still haven’t outgrown, Nintendo was THE console to have, as they progressed from the NES, SNES to the N64, the game play evolved very little. During this time, the other consoles games in the marketplace where also rather routine, they each had their “must have” games but generally, game control was via controllers. When the Wii came into the marketplace, there was a fundamental shift, Nintendo KNEW it couldn’t compete with the likes of Sony and Microsoft in the graphics department… so they decided to focus on the one area where they always lead the pack… FUN FACTOR. Unlike the other consoles, Nintendo decided that graphics where not the immediate area that required attention, it was, rightly so, the input device (aka: controller).

Wii… all the way to the bank!

I should point out that Nintendo has ALWAYS been interested in their bottom line, unlike the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360, the Nintendo Wii is not a loss leader. Nintendo makes money off each game and each console sold.

Video Games and Fitness

For a very long time, playing video games was an oxymoron of being physically active. Why go out and play ball when you can sit on your ass and play ball on the television! This is why I applaud the Wii, they have taken video games from mostly a static activity to one that requires physical movements. This philosophy continues with their newest game (likely to become a series) called Wii Fit which evaluates your physical fitness and improves it via game play using a balance board type device. Yes, you can now use a balance board to interact with a video game… cool!

What does all this mean to the video game industry?

While Sony and Xbox 360 are almost exclusively focused on better game play and improved high definition graphics, Nintendo has essentially created an enormous new marketplace for the video game industry as a whole. Before the Nintendo Wii came out, most people wouldn’t associate physical fitness with game play but now that this idea is slowly being adopted by the general public, I would expect demand for these type of games to exponentially increase. What the Nintendo Wii has done is put physical fitness back into the forefront, which I think is fantastic and will lead to an entire new segment of games not only for the consoles but PCs and Macs as well.

The Bottom Line

Physical fitness, no matter it’s origins, is always a positive thing.

Buzzvia
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-6196157.html?tag=cnetfd.mt

No matter how you cut it, being sick isn’t any fun and nothing to look forward to nor to brag about. If you happen to have a serious medical condition requiring you to carry around with you a medical device such as a wheelchair or asthma inhaler then we begin going down a slippery slope.

Treatments are not always followed

One of the toughest parts of being in the medical field isn’t the diagnosis, it’s the treatment. From parents that don’t run through an entire course of antibiotics to cure little Billys ear infection to the seventy year old grandmother who rations off medication to have enough to eat. Most medicines that you must ingest taste horrible, injections are never fun and for those with severe problems, daily regimens are rarely something to look forward too. Essentially, people find ways out of doing what is prescribed consciously or subconsciously to their detriment.

Why make medical devices cool?

Some medical devices such as wheelchairs have come a HUGE way, sure, the crappy ancient ones still predominate but at least there are alternatives sprouting. If I lost my legs, I would want a decked out, chromed and sleek looking wheelchair, it would make me feel better instead of the drab chair with wheels you see in the institutions. Another area of growth is with medical containment. If you suffer from asthma, you can now buy cool looking asthma inhaler cases and I am sure the light bulb has lit across the medical devices field as to the opportunities for additional revenues that charging a few dollars more for “cool” can bring in.

Problems associated with Cool medical gear

I already have a problem with the pharmaceutical company taking the helm to educate the public about health conditions that promote their brand name products (when far cheaper and just as effective generics are available). The results speak for themselves. It’s no mistake that the United States consumes more medication (necessary or otherwise) from controlling kids in school to treating depression in adults and the general acceptance of a drug culture (alcohol to tobacco). The government has clearly given control of public health issues.

I do see a class system developing between the “haves” and “have nots” within the patient community for a host of conditions. The cool kids will have all their latest Harry Potter Canes and hovering wheelchairs while the others will be stuck with rusty institutional chairs and a dowel. Don’t believe me? Simply compare the top of the line medical institutions in the USA vs the third world, this is what is already happening in the industrialized world.

It isn’t all bad

Now the flip side, if having a Harry Potter Cane makes little Billy more energetic to follow a course of therapy, then the extra cost is marginal compared to the emotional gain. If the mass marketing of medical devices becomes fashionable, then all the old, drab stuff will quickly make its way to the third world, filling up hospitals with essential equipment that will make a tremendous difference. Who knows, the extra profits earned by medical device manufacturers may even end up in R&D budgets, further improving treatment options for patients around the world.

The Bottom Line

Medicine and medical devices are necessities for those requiring them, not fashion statements for those who don’t.

Reference
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9741281-1.html