Saturday, December 31, 2011

Male Baby Boomers' New Year Wish List





Chris Chew of Bukit Mertajam sent us his 2012 wish list.

I have taken a preview of his extensive WISH LIST and, OMG, I don't know if my heart can last until end 2012.

On the other hand, it can be a great motivator too. And it should be!

I want live until I have honoured* all these sweet but not so young (at my age I should be grateful for runner-ups) things who have devoted themselves to us.

So, here's wishing all DOMs# Many, Many Happy New Years!

* Honourably, of course!

# If you think women don’t sit around fantasizing about very naughty things, think again.

10 Female Sex Fantasies


Women do sit around fantasizing very naughty things too!

Women are experts when it comes to dreaming up the sauciest of fantasies, and they don’t bother limiting themselves to the traditional.

The top 10 female sex fantasies covers everything from fetishes to threesomes, and you may be surprised to know that many women want to do more than just fantasize. Some women spend just as much time hoping their men will help put their female sex fantasies into practice.

Sound interesting? ASKMEN gives you the inside scoop on the top 10 FEMALE SEX FANTASIES, and what she’s really daydreaming about when you least expect it.

So. let's wish all lady baby boomers Many, Many Happy New Years too!


"Lie back and think of England" is an English saying with roughly the same meaning as "grit one's teeth", i.e. put up with what is happening, though this comparison is complicated by the statement's seemingly sexual undertone. It was used both in England and among expatriates outside the country when conditions were difficult.[1] It is given as encouragement to do something unpalatable. Wikipedia


How to Make Your 2012 Quit-Smoking Resolution Stick


Picture credit: http://triblocal.com

Tips from the American Lung Association

Quitting smoking is one of the most common New Year's resolutions, but it's easier said than done, with six of 10 smokers requiring multiple attempts before successfully kicking the habit, according to the American Lung Association.

However, preparing a quit-smoking plan can greatly improve your chances of success.

"Quitting smoking is the single most important step smokers can take to improve their health," Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the lung association said in an association news release. "The start of a fresh New Year is a great time for smokers to implement their plan to quit smoking and reap the health and financial benefits of a smoke-free lifestyle."

Here are some proven tips and resources that have helped thousands of people quit smoking, the lung association said.

1. Various types of treatments and different over-the-counter and prescription medications are available to help people quit smoking. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist or visit the American Lung Association website.

2. Pick your quit day a few weeks ahead of time and mark it on the calendar. Try to choose a quit day when you won't be under a great deal of stress. As the day approaches, gather the medications and other quit aids you require and plan how you're going to deal with situations that make you want to smoke.

3. Exercise every day. This will help improve your energy levels and mood, as well as help prevent weight gain. Walking is an ideal way to reduce the stress of quitting. You also need to eat a balanced diet, drink lots of water and get plenty of sleep.

4. Ask for support from family, friends and co-workers and consider joining a stop-smoking program so that you don't have to quit alone.

More information

The American Cancer Society offers a guide to quitting smoking

Health Tip: Choose Your Day to Quit Smoking


Picture credit: http://ndalomedia.preditor.co.za


Suggestions to help you stop

Your desire to stop smoking is a major decision, and shouldn't be taken lightly.

The Cleveland Clinic offers some suggestions:

Set your quit date a few weeks in advance. Slowly cut down and create a plan for quitting. Avoid places where you once liked to smoke.

  • The day you quit, keep yourself busy. Toss out all your cigarettes.
  • Understand that nicotine replacements (such as gum or a patch) can help you quit, but you probably will still have to fight the urge to smoke.
  • Quit forever, and don't allow yourself an occasional cigarette.
  • Tell yourself that you cannot give in and smoke.
  • Seek help, such as a smoking cessation program, if you need it.
Story Source: HealthDay News

Health Tip - Car Seat Belt During Pregnancy



Picture credit: http://www.800bucklup.org


Wearing a seat belt is particularly important during pregnancy, when you're protecting for two.

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers these suggestions for moms-to-be while traveling in the car:

  • Wear your seat belt properly, with the lap belt beneath your belly and the shoulder strap positioned between the breasts and to the side of the belly.
  • Move your seat back as far as possible if you have airbags. Tilt the seat to give your belly more space.
  • If you aren't driving, sit in the back seat.
  • Always see your doctor immediately after a car accident, even if you don't feel like you are hurt.

Future Visioning Meditation

Link

Picture “Cockatoo Landing” by Lee Meng Hock of Teluk Intan

Here’s a gift from Kevin, Matt and the rest of the Team at The Mind-Body Training Company.

Please download yourself a copy of their ‘Future Visioning’ meditation. This short meditation is reported to be a great way to manifest anything you desire. Try it!

Download The ‘Future Visioning Meditation’ Here
(Right Click & Select Save Target As/Save Link As)

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wishing You a Happy New Year


We thank bazichic.com for this inspirational message; it took the words right out of our mouths.


Don't Believe Us?

Ok-lah, here’s our mouthful, in alphabetical order :

We wish you

Beauty

Compassion

Confidence

Courage

Creativity

Curiosity

Discovery

Dream

Faith

Family

Forgiveness

Freedom

Friends

Gratitude

Happiness

Hope

Inspiration

Joy

Laughter

Love

Luck

Memory

Motivation

Muse

Patience

Peace on Earth

Prosperity

Success

Thoughtfulness

Trust

Wisdom


The Zestzfulness Team thank you for your support throughout 2011


PS. Noticed the emphasis on “Memory”? It’s for all you baby boomers!

......on hindsight, we're sure you are going forget all 31 of our good wishes anyway.

So, let's just KISS and wish you Mindfulness and Loving Kindess.

10 ways to control high blood pressure without medication

Amidst the high spirits, don't ignore your BP!

If you've been diagnosed with high blood pressure (a systolic pressure — the top number — of 140 or above or a diastolic pressure — the bottom number — of 90 or above), you might be worried about taking medication to bring your numbers down.

Lifestyle plays an important role in treating your high blood pressure. If you successfully control your blood pressure with a healthy lifestyle, you may avoid, delay or reduce the need for medication.

The Mayo Clinic recommends 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down.

1. Lose extra pounds and watch your waistline

2. Exercise regularly

3. Eat a healthy diet

4. Reduce sodium in your diet

5. Limit the amount of alcohol you drink

6. Avoid tobacco products and secondhand smoke

7. Cut back on caffeine

8. Reduce your stress

9. Monitor your blood pressure at home and make regular doctor's appointments

10. Get support from family and friends

CLICK HERE for details of these recommendations from Mayo Clinic

Blood Pressure Monitoring: Room for Improvement

Picture credit: http://www.yourhealth.net.au

Inaccurate blood pressure measurements due to faulty technique impact hypertension treatment decisions

Routine blood pressure monitoring measurements taken at clinics (and pharmacies) are frequently inaccurate and can affect treatment for high blood pressure, according to a new study.

The incorrect measurements occur because some health care providers don't follow official American Heart Association AHA recommendations for accurate and consistent blood pressure measurements, the researchers said in a journal news release.

Body position, arm position, differences between arms, and blood pressure cuff size and placement can all affect the measurements.

The researchers compared blood pressure measurements of 40 people taken using the AHA-recommend method and the traditional methods routinely used in clinics. The two measurements were different for as many as 93 percent of the patients.

There were multiple technical errors during blood pressure measurements taken at clinics. Out of 10 possible errors as defined by the AHA, the average number of errors per patient during blood pressure measurements at clinics was four. The most common was not taking readings from both arms.

Hypothetical treatment decisions provided by three physicians suggested that 45 percent of the patients would have received different treatments based on the two different blood pressure measurements.

"Inaccurate blood pressure assessment is common and may impact hypertension treatment. Clinic staff need to be educated on the AHA recommendations for accurate blood pressure measurement, and encouraged to follow them in order to obtain a more accurate reading. More accurate blood pressure measurement could result in improved hypertension-management decisions," concluded Gretchen Ray and colleagues from the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, in the release.

<<< * >>>

The above story is reprinted with editorial adaptation by the Zestzfulness Team from the Journal of General Internal Medicine press release of December 12, 2011. The Journal of General Internal Medicine is the official journal of the Society of General Internal Medicine.

The article has been published online December 8, 2011: Ray GM, Nawarskas JJ, Anderson JR (2011). Blood Pressure Monitoring Technique Impacts Hypertension Treatment. J Gen Intern Med, DOI 10.1007/s11606-011-1937-9

The full-text article is available HERE

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute explains the causes and dangers of high blood pressure.

Improving BP in Middle Age Pays Off Later


Maintaining a healthy diet, combined with exercise and weight control, can help reduce blood pressure levels and, consequently, your risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), later in life, a new analysis of data pooled from seven cohort study shows.

In other words, an increase or decrease in your blood pressure during middle age can significantly impact your lifetime risk for CVD.

Researchers, using data from 61,585 participants in the Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project,

Reasearchers, led by Norrina Allen, tracked blood pressure changes of 61,585 participants in the Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project, starting with baseline blood pressure readings from an average of 14 years before and until age 55. They then continued to follow the patients until the occurrence of a first cardiovascular event (including heart attack or stroke), death or age 95.

They found people who maintained or reduced their blood pressure to normal levels by age 55 had the lowest lifetime risk for CVD (between 22 percent to 41 percent risk).

In contrast, those who had already developed high blood pressure by age 55 had a higher lifetime risk (between 42 percent to 69 percent risk).

Researchers also found:

  • Almost 70 percent of all men who develop high blood pressure in middle age will experience a CVD event by 85.
  • Women who develop high blood pressure by early middle-age (average age 41) have a higher lifetime risk for CVD (49.4 percent) than those who have maintained normal blood pressure up to age 55.
  • Women, in general, had higher increases in blood pressure during middle age.
  • At an average age 55, 25.7 percent of men and 40.8 percent of women had normal blood pressure levels; 49.4 percent of men and 47.5 of women had prehypertension.
  • The overall lifetime CVD risk for people 55 years or older was 52.5 percent for men and 39.9 percent for women, when factoring in all blood pressure levels.
  • The lifetime risk for CVD was higher among Blacks compared with Whites of the same sex, and increased with rising blood pressure at middle age.

Thus prevention efforts should continue to emphasize the importance of lowering BP andavoiding or delaying the incidence of hypertension in order to reduce the lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease

<<< * >>>

The above story is reprinted with editorial adaptation by the Zestzfulness Team from materials in the online edition of Circulation published by the American Heart Association.

The article has been published online December 8, 2011: Allen N, Berry J, Ning H, et al. Impact of blood pressure and blood pressure change during middle age on the remaining lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease the cardiovascular lifetime risk pooling project. Circulation 2012;DOI:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.002774.

The full-text article is available HERE

Jump in Resting Heart Rate Might Signal Higher Death Risk


Resting heart rate may be an important prognostic marker for ischemic heart disease and total mortality.

Among men and women without known cardiovascular disease, a rise in resting heart rate over a 10-year period was associated with an increased risk for death from all causes and from ischemic heart disease, new research indicates.

Javaid Nauman and researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway set out to determine whether RHR changes influenced the risk of death from ischemic heart disease in a sample study of 13,499 adult males and 15,826 females - none of them had any history of cardiovascular disease.

Resting heart rate was measured on 2 occasions around 10 years apart. The second RHR measurement was obtained between August 1995 and June 1997, with subsequent mortality follow-up until December 31, 2008. A total of 60 participants were lost to follow-up, all due to emigration from Norway.

During an average 12 years of follow-up, 3,038 participants died. Overall, 975 deaths were related to cardiovascular disease and 388 to ischaemic heart disease.

They found that those with a resting heart rate that rose from under 70 beats per minutes to over 85 within ten years had a 90% increased risk for death from ischaemic heart disease compared with participants whose resting heart rates stayed below 70 throughout the whole study period.

Participants with resting heart rates between 70 and 85 beats per minutes at the first measurement and rose to over 85 beats per minute by the end of the ten years had an 80% increased risk for death from ischaaemic heart disease.

In general, a slower pulse is an indicator of better heart health. For people who'd like to improve their heart health, the standard advice still holds true. "It's always beneficial to increase your fitness level, so exercise more. Maintain a healthy weight, and eat healthier foods, and don't smoke," study senior author Ulrik Wisloff advised.

Wisloff said that people should know their heart rates over time. And, if you see changes, let your doctor know. "It's easy, free and it may be important to you," Wisloff said.

Reference:

Nauman J, Janszky I, Vatten LJ, Wisløff U. Temporal Changes in Resting Heart Rate and Deaths From Ischemic Heart Disease. JAMA. 2011;306(23):2579-2587.doi:10.1001/jama.2011.1826

More information

Visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine to learn how to take your pulse and find your resting heart rate.


健康提示:哺乳对妈妈也有好处

以下是母體潛在的好處 :
母乳已被證比嬰兒奶粉更有益,母体亦可间接受益
womenshealth.gov 網站說明了哺乳的潛在好處包括:

-減少奶期間所须付出的時間和精力,包括消毒瓶子及调配奶粉
-省錢,因為不必購買嬰兒奶粉。

-與嬰兒親近一起放鬆的機會。
-降低母體患病的風險,包括​​乳腺癌,卵巢癌,2型糖尿病和產後抑鬱症的風

險。
-寶寶更健康無需時常請病假

可以完全溶解的小麥製成品



纖維更容易服用
現在,
Benefiber纖維添加到您的飲食。由100天然成分製成,它幾乎可以與所有的東西混合使用(不推薦碳酸飲料)。 Benefiber不會改變食物或飲料的味道或質感。將它添加到你的咖啡,果汁,酸奶,甚至你最喜愛的食譜。你甚至不知道它的存在!
今天就試試吧!看看它是如何幫助你緩解便秘和享受健康的生活方式。
點擊這裡了解更多關於
Benefiber



Friday, December 23, 2011

Let's Have a Fabulous 50's Weekend

To listen, click on title
Away In A Manger
Loretta Lynn
Christmas Alphabet
The McGuire Sisters
Christmas Country Christmas
The Statler Brothers
Christmas Song
Alvin & The Chipmunks
Christmas Times A Coming
Bill Monroe
And The Bluegrass Boys
Christmas Waltz
Frank Sinatra
Christmas Without You
Kenny Rogers
Dolly Parton
Its Beginning To Look
A Lot Like Christmas

Bing Crosby &
The Andrew Sisters
Jingle Bell Rock
Bobby Helms
Jingle Bells
Roy Rogers
Most Interesting Middle!
Jingle Bells
Perry Como
Jingle Bells
The Jingle Bell Piggie
Joy To The World
Nat King Cole
Let It Snow
Andy Williams
Little Drummer Boy
Neil Diamond
O Christmas Tree
Nat King Cole
Please Come Home
The Platters
Pretty Paper
Roy Orbison
Santa Baby
Cynthia Basinet
Silver Bells
Bing Crosby/Peggy Lee
Silent Night
Dean Martin
Sleigh Ride
Johnny Mathis
The First Noel
Andy Williams
White Christmas
Bing Crosby
White Christmas
The Drifters (1954)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Season's Greetings



One beautiful December evening Ah Beng and his girlfriend Ah Lian were sitting under the Kota Lama bridge in Klang.

It was a romantic night... full moon and stars in the sky, Ah Beng looked lovingly at Ah Lian and said, "Oh darling, let's do Wee wee chu."

"Oh no, not now, let's just look at the moon!" said Ah Lian, very shyly.

Oh, c'mon darling, let you and I do the Wee wee chu. I love you and it's the perfect time,"

Ah Beng begged. "But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Ah Lian.

Please, darling Lian, do the Wee wee chu with me."

Ah Lian looked at Ah Beng and said, "OK darling only one time, we'll do the Wee wee chu."

Ah Beng immediately grabbed his guitar and they both sang...

"Weeweechu a Mely Kissma, Weeweechu a Mely Kissma,

Weeweechu a Mely Kissma, and a Happy New Year..."


Disclaimer: Steven Teoh, a patent "banana", is solely responsible for this "desecration"

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Health Tip: Help Prevent Exercise Injury



Don't forget to warm up and cool down

There's no surefire way to stay young, but plenty of regular exercise may be the closest way.

Nonetheless, you can over-exercise or work out incorrectly, increasing your chances of injury.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons offers these suggestions for proper exercise:

  • Take a few minutes to warm up with some light cardio exercise (walking or jogging) and gentle stretching before you begin your workout.
  • Always cool down after you're finished exercising.
  • Exercise consistently in a balanced way, instead of doing too much too infrequently.
  • Take lessons before you try a new exercise or sport, and make sure you have the proper equipment that fits well.
  • Pay attention to your body's warning signs, and adjust your workout accordingly. Don't just exercise "through the pain."
  • Don't increase your workout by more than 10 percent each week.

Cholesterol-lowering Drugs and the Flu


Picture credit : "Vampire cough"* as seen in http://sfbimages.s3.amazonaws.com

Statins may reduce mortality among patients hospitalized with influenza.

The role of statins, including Lipitor, Simvor and Zocor, in the reduction of serum lipids has been well documented. More recently, statins have been shown to modify intercellular interactions and cellular chemotaxis of the immune system and reduce the release of cytokines and acute-phase proteins.

Influenza viruses are potent inducers of many biological mediators of inflammation; several proinflammatory cytokines have been positively correlated with the symptoms of clinical illness of influenza, and cytokine dysregulation is regarded as a major contributor to the severe pathophysiologic changes seen in human disease caused by the avian H5N1 and the 1918 pandemic influenza viruses.

Although statins have a theoretical benefit in downregulating the immune response associated with influenza virus infection, only a few studies have investigated their effect on influenza, and these have found mixed results.

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center studied adults who were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed influenza from 2007-2008 to evaluate the association between patients who were prescribed statins and influenza-related deaths.

Among 3,043 hospitalized patients with laboratory-confirmed influenza, 33 percent were given statin medications prior to or during hospitalization. After adjusting for various factors, researchers found that patients not receiving statins were almost twice as likely to die from influenza as those who received the medication.

So if you are on a statin to lower your blood cholesterol level, this is a bonus.

However, William Schaffner, who co-authored the study led by Meredith Vandermeer, stressed that receiving the influenza vaccine each year is still the best defense against influenza.

<<< * >>>

The above story is reprinted with editorial adaptation by the Zestzfulness Team from materials provided by Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The article has been published in the December 13, 2011 online issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases: Vandermeer ML, Thomas AR, Kamimoto L, Reingold A, Gershman K, Meek J, Farley MM, Ryan P, Lynfield R, Baumbach J, Schaffner W, Bennett N, Zansky S. Association Between Use of Statins and Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Laboratory-Confirmed Influenza Virus Infections: A Multistate Study. J Infect Dis. 2012 Jan;205(1):13-9.

CLICK HERE for the complete paper.

Vampire Cough to prevent spreading the flu virus, CLICK HERE for the video presentation.