Month: July 2014

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Weight Loss Exercise

Disinfecting a kitchen sponge

About a year ago my wife switched us from using regular sponges in the kitchen to some kind of strange rubber cloth that we can throw out after a month or two. The reason for the change?

Bacteria and the problem with sponges being a haven for bacteria that can cause disease. There is a story out on MSNBC today that seems to give a solution to these spongeborne bacteria and apparently microwaving is the answer.

Disinfecting a kitchen sponge

Disinfecting a kitchen sponge

Disinfecting a kitchen sponge

Two minutes in a microwave oven can work for disinfecting a kitchen sponge, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

A team of engineering researchers at the University of Florida found that two minutes of microwaving on full power killed or inactivated more than 99 percent of bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as spores, on a kitchen sponge.

“People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave,” said Gabriel Bitton, a professor of environmental engineering who led the study.

Writing in the Journal of Environmental Health, Bitton and colleagues said they soaked sponges and scrubbing pads in raw wastewater containing fecal bacteria such as E. coli, viruses, protozoan parasites and bacterial spores.

Then they used a common household microwave oven to heat up the sponges. It took four to 10 minutes to kill all the spores but everything else was killed after two, they said.

The researchers suggest wetting the objects—water being heated by the microwave seems to play a role in the sterilization—before zapping them every other day or so.

“The microwave is a very powerful and an inexpensive tool for sterilization,” Bitton said.

At least 76 million Americans get sick from food borne microbes every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 5,000 people die from them.

Kitchens are a common source of these illnesses.

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Weight Loss Exercise

Vitamin E And Your Body

We all know that oxygen is a primary component that is needed for life. This very same oxygen, once inside of the body, becomes very reactive through certain molecules and will start to cause damage through the free radicals, which is known as oxidative stress.

As an antioxidant, vitamin E will help to prevent this type of stress, which will prevent the cells from aging or sustaining any type of permanent damage as well.

Vitamin E and Cholesterol

vitamin eCholesterol, which is a fatty substance found in many foods, is absorbed by the body then transferred from the liver to be stored by tissue as fat.

This is carried through the bloodstream by molecules known as LDL (Low Density Lipoproteins). When the LDL is oxidized, it reacts to the cholesterol and a fat substance known as plaque begins to get deposited on the artery walls, which causes the blood flow to stop.

Vitamin E will stop cholesterol from forming into plaque, which will allow the blood to flow properly.

If you don’t use vitamin E, in this situation, the blood will stop flowing and the arteries will begin to get backed up. As most of us know, this is the main cause of heart attacks, high blood pressure, and other serious diseases.

Vitamin E to prevent Cancer

Even though many researchers and doctors have linked vitamin E to preventing cancer, this hasn’t been conclusively proven. There are many doctors that have said in the past that vitamin E can indeed prevent cancer, although no documentation or proof has been given to back up such statements. We all know that it is a very important vitamin, regardless.

Vitamin E to protect Skin

There are studies however, that have proven vitamin E to be very effective in protecting the skin against UV rays. Vitamin E has been shown on numerous occasions to shield the skin from the harmful rays of the sun, which as we all know, can lead to skin cancer. If you include sources of vitamin E, or supplements in your diet you can help to prevent the damage of UV rays to your skin.

Along with these types of benefits, vitamin E can also protect against Alzheimer’s disease and inflammation of the pancreas.

This vitamin can also be very beneficial with reducing scars, and healing many types of burns and wounds. Included in your diet, vitamin E can help your skin to heal from many discrepancies over time.

Sources of Vitamin E

When included with vitamin C, vitamin E can be one of the most important vitamins for your body. It offers many different benefits, besides the ones listed above. You can find it in many different forms, including fruits and nuts.

Fruits are excellent sources of vitamin E, especially oranges. Oranges have always been known to be rich in this vitamin, whether you are consuming whole oranges or just drinking orange juice.

If you are drinking orange juice that contains pulp, you’ll be getting plenty of vitamin E in your diet.

All things aside, you should always make sure that you include vitamin E in your diet. Along with fruits and nuts, you can also find this vitamin plentiful in vegetables as well.

You can include it into your diet, or take supplements that provide it. You should be getting around 1,000 mg of the vitamin a day, which isn’t hard to do if you eat the right foods.

If you consume the right amount of vitamin E in your diet, you’ll notice that your body will perform much better – and you’ll be well protected against numerous diseases as well.

Vitamin E And Your Body, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

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Beating Yourself Up

I got the following Question by email last week and it really struck a cord within me. I know that people are always trying to improve themselves and often it is a pretty difficult thing to do. I have trouble just like you and it is time that we all bare our souls and admit that yes, it is tough, and yes I will continue to push myself.

Here was the email.

I was just wandering how do you stay on the wagon as I call it. I will exercise for a few days and eat healthy but then one morning I will wake up and I am just eat something I shouldn’t for breakfast and then it ruins my day because I feel guilty about it and then I don’t exercise for a few days or go back into my bad eating habits.

This is all results in me gaining wight back and then I have to start all over again. Please help.

Will

Here was my response.

I fall off the healthy wagon too, and often. The thing is that a bad breakfast or a snack at night does not other me as a real failure. I make sure that whenever I eat something bad I know that I have already done a lot of good things.

So if I have a chocolate bar I know that I am eating and exercising everyday and doing the right things so I am not feeling guilty for the bad stuff that I eat.

I think the most important thing to do is to make sure that you are building lots of good habits so that they will outweigh the bad  mistakes. I find that people beat themselves up way to much for the things that they do wrong and because of this acceptance for the guilt or feeling bad about the guilt that they use this as an excuse not to move forward.

Make sure that you are doing the right things all the time so that when you slip up you will not worry so much about it and know that you are still moving forward.

I hope this helps

Do you agree?

Do you fight your own head and heart, wanting to get in the gym and eat better and feel like you have failed everytime that you cheat or miss a workout?

Don’t do it!

There is always another meal and another workout. Make sure you always do your best so that when you do mess up once in a while you do not dwell and beat yourself up about it.

Beating Yourself Up, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

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