Nurture Your Own

To avoid sickness eat less; to prolong life worry less.

~Chu Hui Weng

Does Chocolate have “aphrodisiac” effects?

According to Steve Carter

First on the list of “love drugs” is phenyl-ethylamine (PEA), which also occurs naturally in the brain. PEA naturally reaches peak levels during orgasm, and administering PEA increases dopamine levels, stimulating the pleasure centers. PEA is chemically similar to amphetamine (leading to its nickname “chocolate amphetamine”), and has been shown to have similar effects: feelings of attraction, excitement, and giddiness. As a possible aphrodisiac, PEA is seen as a strong candidate by neurologists and dieticians.Second on the list of love-drugs in chocolate is tryptophan. You may be familiar with tryptophan as the reason you fall asleep after Thanksgiving dinner. Your brain uses tryptophan to make serotonin. In addition to sleepiness, serotonin can produce feelings of elation. The street drug Ecstasy works by increasing serotonin levels. Tryptophan in chocolate may induce similar feelings, albeit at a lower intensity.

Third on the list is anandamide (which means “internal bliss”). Anandamide binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, mimicking the effects of cannabinoid drugs, such as heightened sensitivity, euphoria and a sense of well-being. Cacao also contains two N-acyl-ethanolamines (NAEs) which slow the breakdown of anandamide, prolonging it’s effect. Some researchers have decried the small amounts of Andandamine in chocolate as insufficient to cause any effect. However, PEA and Andandamine may interact with each other, and the stimulants caffeine and theobromine found in chocolate. The overall effect may be romantic or sexually stimulating.

So far there is no conclusive study that chocolate has “aphrodisiac” effects, so studies concede that chocolate does make people felt a little more relaxed and joyful.

Additional Reading

World’s #1 Chocolate Cake Recipe for only $5

First Chocolate Recipe School On Video

When the head aches, all the body is the worse.

~ English Proverb

By Savannah Francis

So you’ve been single with herpes for a little while, none of your friends are aware of the fact that you have herpes – but insist that it’s time for you to get out and start dating again. Being the caring friends that they are, they set you up on a blind date. Now in your mind, this is the worst thing that could possibly happen – however you decide to go on this date anyway as to not embarrass your friends. The date seems to be progressing well, but now you are faced with one question – should you tell your date that you have herpes?

First, let’s get a few herpes facts out of the way:

1. Herpes is spread through skin to skin contact, this includes kissing as well. If you have herpes of the mouth, you can spread it by kissing.

2. Herpes can be spread even when you show no outward signs of an outbreak.

3. Herpes of the mouth can be transmitted to the genitals during oral sex.

Now that you have been reminded of how herpes is spread, let’s answer the question of how and if you should tell your date. Although the herpes virus poses no threat to life, the disease is still very much misunderstood and demonized. Herpes is often the butt of the joke amongst the younger generations and this can make disclosing your status very uncomfortable. Unless and until you are very comfortable with the fact that you have herpes, it is not necessary to out yourself on the first date.

Before you consider telling a potential new partner about your herpes status there are a few things that you may want to think about:

1. Trust: Can you trust this person? No matter how comfortable you are with your herpes situation, not everyone needs to know that you are infected with the virus. If you tell this person, can you trust that they will keep it in confidence and not try to humiliate you amongst mutual friends or strangers?

2. Is there a future: Even though it’s just a first date, you have to ask yourself if you really see any future dates with this person. If you’re pretty certain that there won’t be any more dates, then save yourself the trouble. However if you believe there will be multiple dates afterward know that you will eventually need to tell your new friend about your oral or genital herpes.

Not every date leads to a relationship or intimacy, so you should not feel compelled to talk about herpes until you have really confirmed whether or not there is any long term potential. If the idea of dating outside of the herpes community scares you – there are dozens of online herpes dating sites available. Visit herpes dating advice today for more tips.

Additional Reading:

Positive Single – Support site for herpes members.

Stop Herpes Now and From Coming Back For Good by Dr David Hoggs

According to a previous study, about 1-in-3 American adults have high blood pressure.

Interesting, not so for the  Kuna Indians who live on a group of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Even at 60 years old or older, the average blood pressure for Kuna Indian islanders is a good 110/70.

If you think it’s because the Kuna Indians eat less salt. Well, they consumed as much, if not more salt, than the Americans.

Harvard researchers found that they ftake around 5 cups of cocoa every day. According to the study,  flavonols that are present in cocoa will  stimulate one’s body production of nitric oxide. This means, increase blood flow to your heart, brain and other organs. Interestingly, one study reported that cocoa will thin your blood just as well as low-dose aspirin!

Additional Reading
Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook by Antonia Valladores and Jamie Larose

My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass.

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Here are 10 benefits why you should dance:

1. To de-stress and let loose
2. Lose weight fast
3. Strengthens bones
4. Improve muscle tone & coordination
5. Increase energy
6. Improves cardiovascular system
7. Lowers risk of heart disease
8. Reduce blood pressure & cholesterol levels
9. Improves blood circulation
10. Increase flexibility and balance

Additional Reading:

Burn the Fats Feed the Muscles

Fat Loss Secrets

Illness is the most heeded of doctors: to goodness and wisdom we only make promises; pain we obey.

~Marcel Proust

By Andy Clerk

Dating someone with herpes might be a little off particularly to those who do not have herpes at all. But how do you exactly know if you have herpes or not? According to studies, almost 90% of herpes infected individuals do not exactly have the awareness that they already incurred the disease. Since mild herpes do not actually have symptoms, unless the outbreak comes out or you have yourself tested, this will be the only time you will know you have one.

As herpes can be transmitted in many different ways, the big question falls on this? “Is it safe to date someone with herpes”? In actual fact, dating someone with herpes requires the identification of the severity of the disease itself. Although it is awkward to ask someone concerning this type of infection, a thin line between taking heed and curing herpes and those people that do not provide treatments at all will all determine the disparities.

If someone you are dating has herpes for a long period of time and is undergoing medical treatments, doing the deed with a protection will somehow make a difference weigh against sleeping with someone who doesn’t have an inkling of having herpes and definitely is not doing anything to cure it.

Dating someone with herpes need not be a big issue. Even if this disease is tagged along with a dim-witted stigma for it being a form of a sexually transmitted disease, do you think you have laid yourself open to greater risk without the discernment between sleeping with a person curing herpes and the one who have unconsciously acquired the disease without providing any treatments at all? You choose.

Additional Reading:

Positive Single – Support site for herpes members.

Our body runs on glucose. Glucose is derived from the digestion of sugar and starch in carbohydrates in noodles, pasta, bread, rice and even vegetable and fruits.

When we consumed carbohydrates, digestion begins in the mouth. An enzyme called salivary amylase is produced which converts the starches in the food to sugars like dextrins, maltose and maltotriose.

Further digestion occurs in the small intestine. The pancreas secrets the enzyme amylase which breaks carbohydrates into simple sugar like maltose, lactose and sucrose.

As these sugars move down the intestine, the enzymes maltase, lactase, and sucrase respectively break maltose, lactose and sucrose down into smaller molecules. These are eventually converted to the simplest form of sugar – glucose – and absorbed through the intestinal walls into the bloodstream.

Source: Mind Your Body, The Straits Times, 17 Dec 2009

Additional Reading
Healthy Urban Kitchen Cookbook by Antonia Valladores and Jamie Larose

Here is a very interesting article that I found at the NY Times website. It basically talks about how bad manners in children today is becoming a common condition.

The article is titled “A Pediatrician’s View of Rude Children” and is really a timely reminder for all of us who have children or are care-givers to children.

Here is an interesting quote from the article:

Dr. Barbara Howard, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an expert on behavior and development, told me that a child’s manners were a perfectly appropriate topic to raise at a pediatric visit.

Imagine that. Not only do you talk about allergies, and shots, manners (or the lack thereof) seems to be a problem fit for the attentions of an expert. Many problems we face as adults can be traced back to things that took place when we were children.

If you have no manners as a child, will you grow up to be a well mannered adult? How will that affect your social life, your mental well-being, acceptance in social groups, and ultimately, your happiness?

Let us not add to the stress of this world, rather, we need to learn how to build and nurture a child properly so that they can grow in a healthy, well-adjusted manner. In a well-mannered manner. Isn’t that interesting?

To feel keenly the poetry of a morning’s roses, one has to have just escaped from the claws of this vulture which we call sickness.

~ Henri Frederic Amiel