Monthly Archives: May 2012

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Enjoy That Cup Of Joe … You’ll Live Longer #coffee #longevity #health

Coffee Drinkers May Live Longer
By Tara Parker-Pope, NY Times, May 16, 2012

Your morning cup of coffee may start to taste even better after a major government study found that frequent coffee drinkers have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases, compared with people who drink little or no coffee.

The report, published online in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, analyzed the coffee-drinking habits of more than 400,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, making it the largest-ever study of the relationship between coffee consumption and health.

Previous studies have offered conflicting results on the relative benefits or harms associated with regular coffee consumption. While coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that may temporarily increase heart rate and blood pressure in some people, coffee also contains hundreds of unique compounds and antioxidants that may confer health benefits. Further confusing much of the research into coffee is the fact that many coffee drinkers are also smokers, and it has been difficult to untangle the relative health effects of coffee and cigarettes.

To learn more, researchers from the National Institutes of Health analyzed diet and health information collected from questionnaires filled out by 229,119 men and 173,141 women who were members of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) between 1995 and 1996. The respondents were followed until 2008, by which point 52,000 had died.

As expected, the researchers found that the regular coffee drinkers in the group were also more likely to be smokers. They ate more red meat and fewer fruits and vegetables, exercised less and drank more alcohol – all behaviors associated with poor health.

But once the researchers controlled for those risks, the data showed that the more coffee a person consumed, the less likely he or she was to die from a number of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, infections and even injuries and accidents.

Over all, the risk of dying during the 14-year study period was about 10 percent lower for men and about 15 percent lower for women who drank anywhere from two cups to six or more cups of coffee a day. The association between coffee and lower risk of dying was similar whether the coffee drinker consumed caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee.

Neal D. Freedman, the study’s lead author and an investigator for the National Cancer Institute, cautioned that the findings, based on observational data, show only an association between coffee consumption and lower risk for disease, so it isn’t known whether drinking more coffee will lead to better health. As a result, Dr. Freedman said that people should be conservative in interpreting the data, but that regular coffee drinkers can be reassured.

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Is coffee good for you? Join in the discussion below.
“It’s a modest effect,” he said. “But the biggest concern for a long time has been that drinking coffee is a risky thing to do. Our results, and some of those of more recent studies, provide reassurance for coffee drinkers that this isn’t the case. The people who are regularly drinking coffee have a similar risk of death as nondrinkers, and there might be a modest benefit.’’

The researchers also looked at death rates from cancer during the study period and found no link between coffee consumption and cancer risk among women. There was a slightly higher risk of cancer death among men who drank several cups of coffee a day, but Dr. Freedman said the effect was small and may be due to chance. Additional research will analyze associations between coffee drinking and various types of cancer.

Dr. Freedman said the next step is to learn more about the various compounds in coffee and how they may be related to improved health.

“It’s estimated there are 1,000 or more compounds in coffee,’’ said Dr. Freedman. “All of these could affect health in different ways. It might be due to one of the many compounds in coffee, or a number of them working together.”

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America Is Running On Fear #psychology #courage #fear

“
Fear is the father of courage.” – Henry H. Tweedy

America’s courage is running on empty…and because of the high cost at the pumps, it doesn’t look like we’ll be refilling it anytime soon. We used to be a people who could look any problem in the eye, stare it down, and overcome it. But that was when times were better; and we had confidence in ourselves, in our institutions, and in our government. That was before the repercussions of our many failures punched us in the stomach and knocked us to the ground. Now we feel and look every bit our 236 years, suddenly too tired to get up and fight back.

Worse than being down, we are distrustful of those around us whom we perceive to have caused our problems and who seem to have emerged from them unscathed. We have divided ourselves into two groups: the 1% and the 99%, the haves and the have-nots. We are suspicious of others who think differently, often perceiving them as the enemy. At the government level this plays out as a standoff, where both parties remain diametrically opposed to each other and where our leaders fear acting ethically or telling the truth because it might cost them an election.

Social networks like Twitter and Google+ aren’t immune from this paranoia where sometimes humorous political observations or alternate ideas can stir up a barrage of angry responses, including comments like “Take a hike!” or actions like Unfollowing, Uncircling, or Blocking, virtual slaps in the face. It seems we have lost our openness to other types of thinking and our tolerance for anything different, qualities that enable creativity, growth, and greatness.

It is often said that we can change this world one person at a time, but to do so means more than just the utterance of this platitude. It requires respect of differences, especially those differences that make us uncomfortable or angry. It requires staying power, the ability to stick out interactions that challenge our beliefs. It requires the courage to believe in the goodness of others. Fellow Americans are not our enemy…our fear is.

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#HighHeels … #Booty … #Eatpants … TWG’s #TopTweetsoftheWeek …

10. Lawrence Bland ‏ @LawrenceBland
“Never mistake motion for action.” – Ernest Hemingway

9. QuoteHive ‏ @QuoteHive
“Nothing will work unless you do.” – Maya Angelou

8. Nina L. Diamond ‏ @ninatypewriter
Dear North Carolina, I sure hope your next step isn’t to
try to get your slaves back.”

7. yourJester ‏ @Loli_Sug
Wait! Do people actually live in Idaho?

6. Booty Whisperer ‏ @ConfusedLush
I cannot stand the way a crying baby reminds me that sex
has consequences.

5. Al D’Amario ‏ @aldamario
Nothing says “patriot” like a Swiss bank account.

4. DrunkBastard ‏ @DrunkBastard
You’re calling them by the wrong name. The word
“sweatpants”implies sweating and exercise. What you’re
wearing are “eatpants.”

3. Chaise Candie ‏ @ChaiseCandie
Intelligence is sexy. Don’t play stupid.

2. Southern Princess ♛ ‏ @countryystrong
I own heels higher than your standards, sweetheart.

1. Booty Whisperer ‏ @ConfusedLush
It doesn’t really matter how you do Twitter; if you’re
here, then you’re doing life wrong.

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Different Is Not Spelled W-R-O-N-G. #Street Art

The quick-witted cleverness, raw candor, and straightforward freedom of expression seen in the street art that’s being created around the world today is often captivating; after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Many are quick to argue that street art is nothing more than graffiti that’s been created by vandals, and there is little doubt that sometimes street art has been created in violation of laws. That being said, one has nothing to do with the other. The criminal act should not extinguish the fact that what’s been created is art. Painting defined is: The process, art, or occupation of coating surfaces with paint for a utilitarian or artistic effect. 2. A picture or design in paint. Therefore, whether in compliance with the law or not, if the painter completing the process is doing so for an artistic effect, it is art, albeit controversial. Should a street artist be arrested for violating the law, he/she remains an artist, in spite of being a lawbreaker. So, as far as the TWG are concerned, street art is art, controversy notwithstanding.

Photos: http://www.streetartutopia.com/