The Bitter Side of Diet Soda: Strokes

Drinking diet soda is associated with a 50-percent increase in stroke risk, according to a study presented earlier this month at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles.

Not surprisingly, reaction to the news among dieters has been disparaging and defensive, as each person cycles through the Kubler-Ross five stages of grief, from denial and anger to bargaining, depression and acceptance.

If it’s any consolation for diet-soda fans, the results presented at the meeting — based on preliminary analysis from a 2,500-person subset of the ongoing Northern Manhattan Study (NOMAS) — are far from definitive. There’s no way to tell yet, for example, what ingredient would be associated with strokes or whether lifestyle choices among drinkers are the real cause.
That said, is drinking diet soda safe? Of course not, especially when it is the main source of liquid refreshment every day. You’re drinking copious amounts of phosphoric acid, artificial colors, artificial flavors, and some laboratory-crafted chemical that tricks your brain into perceiving the sensation of sweet.

Diet soda is an alternative to regular soda, but neither is healthy. You are merely trading calories from sugar for chemicals of questionable nature – Read full article…

Forever Foods: 9 cooking staples that can outlast you

Most weeks, you make a big grocery list and head to the store, prepared to buy loads of fresh food to make your family’s meals. We often don’t give a thought to stuff sitting in the kitchen cupboard or we automatically throw out anything that’s been in there longer than we can remember.

But Janice Revell, co-founder of StillTasty.com, says “Look in your pantry and your cabinets and check whether the items really do need to go. You’ll be shocked by what you really don’t need to throw away.”

So before you throw out that years-old sugar or replace that bottle of vanilla that’s been gathering dust, consult this list of “forever foods.” You may be surprised how many of your kitchen staples have a shelf life of decades — even after they’ve been opened.

1. Sugar
Regardless of whether your sugar is white, brown, or powdered, it will never spoil because it doesn’t support bacterial growth.

The challenge with sugar is to keep it from hardening into chunks. To keep sugar fresh, store it in an airtight container or seal it in a plastic bag. If your brown sugar is more like a brown rock, you can revive it with just a minute in the microwave on low heat.

3. Rice
White, wild, jasmine, arborio and basmati rice all keep forever so there’s no need to throw them out. Brown rice is the one exception because it has a higher oil content so store it in the refrigerator or freeze it to maximize its shelf life. Once you’ve opened a bag or box of rice, move it to an airtight container or resealable freezer bag to keep it fresh.

5. Honey
Whether you use it in your tea, on your toast or as an alternative sweetener, that jar of pure honey is good forever. It may get grainy or change color, but it’s still safe to eat — and delicious — because its antibiotic properties keep it from spoiling.

You can help keep it fresh by storing it in a cool area, and you can improve the quality of crystallized honey by placing the jar in warm water and stirring it until the grainy parts dissolve.

8. Maple syrup
What good are pancakes or waffles without maple syrup? Luckily, this flavorful syrup will never spoil if you refrigerate it or freeze it. For long-term storage, seal it in an airtight plastic container and freeze it. “The freezer is such a useful tool that can really save you money because there are very few foods that don’t freeze well,” says Janice Revell of StillTasty.com.

See the full list…

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Dreams

Everyone dreams—every single night—and yet we tend to know so little about our dreams. Where do they come from? What do they mean? Can we control them and should we try to interpret them? We spoke to the dream experts to bring you nine surprising facts about dreams. Read before snoozing.

1. Dreaming can help you learn.

If you’re studying for a test or trying to learn a new task, you might consider taking a nap or heading to bed early rather than hovering over a textbook an hour longer. Here’s why: When the brain dreams, it helps you learn and solve problems, say researchers at Harvard Medical School. In a study that appeared in a recent issue of Current Biology, researchers report that dreams are the brain’s way of processing, integrating and understanding new information. To improve the quality of your sleep—and your brain’s ability to learn—avoid noise in the bedroom, such as the TV, which may negatively impact the length and quality of dreams.

2. The most common dream? Your spouse is cheating.

If you’ve ever woken up in a cold sweat after dreaming about your husband’s extramarital escapade with your best friend, you’re not alone, says Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, a dream expert, author and media personality. “The most commonly reported dream is the one where your mate is cheating,” she says. Loewenberg conducted a survey of more than 5,000 people, and found that the infidelity dream is the nightmare that haunts most people—sometimes on a recurring basis. It rarely has anything to do with an actual affair, she explains, but rather the common and universal fear of being wronged or left alone.

3. You can have several—even a dozen—dreams in one night… Read full article…

Top Compilation of the Best Android Apps and Sites

We did the work so you don’t have to…

Top 5 All-Time Most Popular Android Apps
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Top 5 Most Popular Android Apps of All-time
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10 Hottest Free Android Apps This Week
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Best Android Apps
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Best of the Best! 12 Essential Android Apps
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Insanely Cool Android Apps: The Best On Androids Marketplace
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Eazy Cheezy’s Five Free Apps
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Just some funny stuff…

This is Not a Phone, It’s a Fax Machine – A very upset man with a thick foreign accent leaves this insightful voicemail explaining that the phone he is calling from is not a fax machine, SO DON’T CALL BACK!

Officer & Wife Eat Marijuana Brownies & Call 911 – A police officer confiscates marijuana, bakes it in brownies to share with his wife. He calls 911, since he thinks he’s dead…

911 Dispatcher Makes a Career-Ending Joke – This Dispatcher decides to make an inappropriate joke. This was definitely his last call…
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PApP8-geSeo]

Funniest 911 Calls – Collection of funny 911 calls. Embedding was disabled, so click the link to watch this excellent compilation – Listen now

“Classic” – I Need a Bambulance – Joe hits a dear. Thinking it’s dead, he puts it in his backseat, then gets bit. He is in dire need of a Bambulance and dials 911.
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BQW-0dpNrA]

Source

Tired of Drinking Water? Read This!

You already know that drinking water is key to your health. Downing at least six cups of water daily can minimize bloating, prevent headaches, help prevent you from getting sick and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. But H20 isn’t the only sip that can safeguard your health. Coffee, which some people accuse me of being addicted to, is basically liquid gold. It may lower your risk for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, breast cancer, skin cancer, diabetes, gallstones, even oral cancer. P.S., java drinkers make half as many errors in daily life compared with decaf fans, according to a study from Cardiff University in Wales, because caffeine helps you process information quickly. It’s also linked to a reduced risk for depression. Those pit stops at Starbucks aren’t just perking me up—they’re protecting every part of me! Not a java junkie? Read on to learn the hidden health bennies of your favorite bevy:

Orange juice guards against heart disease. Antioxidants in OJ…

Chamomile tea can keep you calm. People who downed chamomile extract daily for two months felt significantly less anxious…

Cranberry juice may prevent gum disease and urinary tract infections…

Chocolate milk keeps your abs flat. A glass of skim chocolate milk delivers a great combo of carbs and protein, helping you recover after a workout. Athletes who drank it post-workout had lower levels of…

Green tea may keep your weight steady. Mice that exercised and drank green tea were 22 percent less likely to gain weight than …

Tomato juice may lower your cancer risk! The scarlet sip is loaded with vitamins and lycopene, which protect you against cancer….

Black tea may help fend off skin cancer. The classic brew is loaded with flavonoids, antioxidants that carry anticancer perks….

Read full article…

Man Tasered at Home for Refusing to Go to Hospital

A Marin County, California man has filed suit against the local sheriff’s department for an incident in which he says law enforcement officers went too far.

Watch the Video

On June 29, 2009 McFarland and his wife were returning home from a charity fundraiser just before midnight. McFarland says he injured himself as he stumbled and fell down the long steps to his front door.

His wife called paramedics, who helped him into the house and treated him. As the paramedics were leaving, two sheriff’s deputies arrived. What happened in the following minutes was captured on a camera mounted on the deputy’s Taser.

The deputy tells McFarland he is going to take him to the hospital because he may be suicidal. McFarland says it was just hyperbole. He says he was tired and in pain.

The deputy orders him numerous times to get up or else. The exchange goes on for about five minutes; his wife keeps pleading with the deputies not to tase him, saying he has a heart condition.

Then, McFarland tells the deputies in no uncertain terms to leave. As he gets up to go to bed, McFarland is tased, not once, but three times – Read full article…

Study: Heavy Drinkers Outlive Non-Drinkers

That’s the highly unusual conclusion of a new study which suggests that non-drinkers die sooner than heavy drinkers. Moderate drinkers fair the best.

Scientists, led by psychologist Charles Holahan of the University of Texas at Austin, filtered out “socioeconomic status, level of physical activity, number of close friends, quality of social support,” according to the site, and still found that nondrinkers just don’t live as long as their drinking compatriots. Over the 20-year period, 69 percent of the nondrinkers died, 60 percent of the heavy drinkers died and only 41 percent of the moderate drinkers died.

Moderate drinking, according to Time, was defined as one to three drinks per day. The findings are certainly confusing, since heavy drinking can lead to liver failure, mouth cancer and heart problems. And being a drunk can ruin friendships, career and family – Read full article…

10 Tricks for Improving Your Memory

What’s the name of your daughter’s teacher, and where did you put your keys again? If you’ve ever wished you could do some simple things to sharpen your memory skills, you can. We’ve talked to the experts and compiled the latest thinking on improving the muscles in your brain associated with memory.

1. Talk with your hands.
It may sound strange, but waving your hands and gesturing while trying to learn a concept may help your brain remember something important, says Jeff Brown, PsyD, ABPP, coauthor of The Winner’s Brain. “Gesturing in a meaningful way while you are learning may help you when recalling the concept,” he says. “The idea is that you are storing at least two different types of information about something you’ll need to recall later. A good example of this is…

8. Pay attention.
Duh, right? It may sound obvious, but according to experts, when most people think they’re having memory problems, it’s really because they were distracted or didn’t record the information in their brain properly to begin with…

Read full article…

Your Web Photos May Give Away Your Location

When one TV host shared a picture with his social network, he revealed exactly where he lived… When Adam Savage, host of the popular science program “MythBusters,” posted a picture on Twitter of his automobile parked in front of his house, he let his fans know much more than that he drove a Toyota Land Cruiser.

Embedded in the image was a geotag, a bit of data providing the longitude and latitude of where the photo was taken. Hence, he revealed exactly where he lived. And since the accompanying text was “Now it’s off to work,” potential thieves knew he would not be at home.

Security experts and privacy advocates have recently begun warning about the potential dangers of geotags, which are embedded in photos and videos taken with GPS-equipped smartphones and digital cameras. Because the location data is not visible to the casual viewer, the concern is that many people may not realize it is there; and they could be compromising their privacy, if not their safety, when they post geotagged media online.

Indeed, disabling the geotag function generally involves going through several layers of menus until you find the “location” setting, then selecting “off” or “don’t allow.” But doing this can sometimes turn off all GPS capabilities, including mapping, so it can get complicated.

The Web site ICanStalkU.com provides step-by-step instructions for disabling the photo geotagging function on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Palm devices – Read full article…