Lively Women
(www.livelywomen.com) — Lively children grow up to be lively women, so check out this list of 80 things you can do to keep your child healthy, courtesy of Grace at Kids Health Notes. She covers healthy activity, healthy eating, and healthy choices to help your kiddo grow up to be well-rounded and, you guessed it, healthy! The best part? These all apply to you, too!
Do you have other tips? Leave a comment.
Contents Copyright 2008 by Kristen King
Tags: womens health blog, health information for women, advice, resources, child health day, ways to keep your kid healthy, ways to keep your child healthy, lively women, kristen king
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(www.livelywomen.com) — Who knew there were so many ways to reduce wrinkles?
This short slideshow features 9 gorgeous images along with tips on how you can cut down on wrinkles with small lifestyle changes, plus links to a ton of great skincare resources.
Check it out!
Contents Copyright 2008 by Kristen King
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 (www.livelywomen.com) — If you’ve ever dislocated your knee or otherwise had a major knee injury, you know how excruciating it can be. But did you also know that women are at much higher risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and dislocated knee injuries than men?
That’s just one of the facts I learned from an excellent publication and companion video called “Leveling the Playing Field: Knee Injury Prevention Strategies for Female Athletes.” The awesome thing is that these strategies aren’t just for athletes; they’re for regular women just like you and me.
Get informed and protect your knees from tears, dislocations, and other painful health events.
Do you find these resources helpful? Leave a comment with your thoughts!
(image: SXC.hu)
Contents Copyright 2008 by Kristen King
Tags: womens health blog, women, woman, health, knee, xray, dislocated, acl, anterior cruciate ligament, injury, hurt, prevent, treat, lively women, kristen king
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a guest post by David D. Clarke, MD
 (www.livelywomen.com) — Do you have an illness but your health care professional cant find the cause? The usual, and still essential, approach to this problem is to keep working with your doctor or obtain another opinion (possibly from a specialist). But it is also important to recognize that in up to half of people who go to a doctor, the symptoms are caused by one or more hidden stresses in the patients life. Complicating the situation is the fact that few clinicians have had much formal training in how to diagnose these. This article will help you understand this often overlooked problem.
There are five kinds of hidden stresses capable of causing real physical illness.
The first is stress is your life at the moment. Here are two ideas to evaluate for this:
- Make a list of everything in your life that causes stress, tension, worry, anger or fear. Ask yourself if you would feel sorry if a friend was coping with the same list.
- Ask yourself (or a loved one) if you are the kind of person who takes care of everyone else in your world before getting around to caring for yourself.
If the answer to either of these questions is yes then it is possible these sources of stress are contributing to your illness.
The second hidden stress is prolonged effects of difficulty in childhood. Childhood stress survivors often answer the second question above with a yes. Other possible indications that your early years were difficult enough to cause problems are that you:
- Would never want an innocent child to grow up experiencing what you did as a child.
- Have poor self-esteem and/or often find yourself in relationships where you are treated disrespectfully.
- Have an addiction (drugs, alcohol, nicotine, sex, food, shopping, work, exercise) or an eating disorder (anorexia nervosa or bulimia).
- Cut, burn or otherwise deliberately injure yourself.
The third hidden stress is depression. Surprisingly, many people with this disease dont feel particularly depressed and so dont recognize what is happening to them. Instead they may have one or more of the following:
- Have lost interest or pleasure in activity they previously enjoyed.
- Have a low general energy level.
- Cry easily or for no obvious reason.
- Have diminished appetite or eat because they should not because they want to.
Fourth is stress from a traumatic event. Often the event is recent but traumas from many years in the past are also capable of causing physical illness. You might have this problem if you:
- Are bothered by unwanted memories from a traumatic, terrifying or horrifying personal experience.
- Avoid certain situations or types of people because they remind you of the trauma.
- Have nightmares about the traumatic event.
Finally, the group of conditions known as the anxiety disorders can sometimes manifest in your life primarily as physical symptoms. Here are some clues:
- You are unable to control or stop feeling anxious, worried, on edge or nervous.
- You often feel that others are judging you.
- You often fear embarrassment, particularly in social situations such as public speaking, eating with others or simply being around large numbers of people.
- You suffer from panic attacks, which are sudden episodes of overwhelming fear often accompanied by shortness of breath or pounding heart.
- Your physical symptoms never occur when you are in a place you consider safe.
If some of these ideas seem to apply, you should bring them to the attention of your health care professional. The good news is that there is usually excellent treatment available for all of these issues. For example, if you are taking care of everyone but yourself, try adding yourself to the list of those for whom you care by taking 4-5 hours every week just for your own enjoyment. It may take you a few months to overcome your guilt and get skilled at this, but keep at it and you will see results.
When illness improves as a result of attention to hidden stresses, this provides good evidence that the diagnosis is correct and that you are on the right track.
***
 David D. Clarke, MD, is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, a Clinical Instructor at Pacific University, and a member of the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. He is board-certified in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine, and has practiced in Portland, Oregon, since 1984. For more information, see the book They Can’t Find Anything Wrong!: 7 Keys to Understanding, Treating, and Healing Stress Illness or the web site www.stressillness.com.
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 (www.livelywomen.com) — Scientists at Johns Hopkins think energy drinks (like Red Bull and Monster) should have clear labels that outline their caffeine content so consumers can make smart decisions about what they’re drinking.
“Many of these drinks do not label the caffeine content,” [says Roland Griffiths, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and senior author of a new report on the beverages], and some energy drinks contain as much caffeine as found in 14 cans of soda.
…Although the FDA limits the caffeine contents of cola-type soft drinks to 71 milligrams per 12 fluid ounces, no such limit is required on energy drinks, Griffiths tells WebMD.
“Makers of so-called “energy” drinks generally market them as dietary supplements,” says Siobhan DeLancey, an FDA spokesperson. Dietary supplements are regulated differently than food. The FDA does not approve or review the products before they are marketed. (source)
You won’t believe the amount of caffeine per ounce (rounded to the nearest 100th) in some of these energy drinks and so-called mainstream caffeinated beverages.
Energy Drinks
- Whoop Ass — 5.88 mg
- Bomba Energy — 8.93 mg
- Redbull — 9.64 mg
- Tab Energy — 9.05 mg
- Monster / Rockstar — 10 mg
- No Fear — 10.89 mg
- Wired X505 — 21.05 mg
- Fixx — 25 mg
Mainstream Beverages
- Canned or bottled tea — 1.67
- Coca-Cola Classic — 2.88 mg
- Pepsi Cola — 3.17 mg
- Dr. Pepper — 3.42 mg
- Mountain Dew — 4.5 mg
- Brewed tea — 6.67 mg
- Instant coffee — 11.67 mg
- Brewed coffee — 16.67 mg
Can you imagine drinking something with 25 mg of caffeine PER OUNCE? That’s insane. For amount of caffeine in a standard serving, check out the WebMD article Energy Drinks: Hazardous to Your Health? which contains the listing I used to calculate the per-ounce amounts.
Do you consume energy drinks? If yes, which ones? If no, why not?
Contents Copyright 2008 by Kristen King
(image: Amazon.com)
Tags: womens health blog, women, woman, health, energy drinks, redbull, wired, monster, fixx, whoop ass, bomba, coffee, tea, coke, pepsi, soda, cola, mountain dew, dr pepper, caffeine, how much caffeine is in, warning label, lively women, kristen king
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