应《网络安全法》要求，自2017年10月1日起，未进行实名认证将不得使用互联网跟帖服务。为保障您的帐号能够正常使用，请尽快对帐号进行手机号验证，感谢您的理解与支持！

24小时热门版块排行榜    

小木虫论坛-学术科研互动平台 » 科研生活区 » 外语学习 » 50 Ways to Improve Your Life
52/1返回列表
查看: 965  |  回复: 18
只看楼主@他人 存档 新回复提醒 (忽略) 收藏    在APP中查看
当前主题已经存档。
当前只显示满足指定条件的回帖，点击这里查看本话题的所有回帖

dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)

[交流] 50 Ways to Improve Your Life

1.Have a Daily Dose of Omega-3
From food to floss: how to stay in good shape in 2006 and beyond

What do my dog, horse, and husband all have in common--besides me? All three will toast the New Year with a sprinkle of omega-3 in their breakfast bowls. Maybe you will, too.

The animals are sublimely unaware that they consume it (in the form of flaxseed) or why (because of evidence it may ease arthritic aches and pains and put a shine on their coats). But my husband is on to the health benefits. He has a daily, 2-tablespoon, 3,500-mg dose of ground flaxseed on his granola. He says it has a "nutty" taste.

Cardiologists praise omega-3 fatty acids. Found in fatty fish like salmon and mackerel as well as in flaxseed, canola oil, and walnuts, they protect the heart against inflammation that can result in blocked arteries and can prevent irregular heartbeats that can lead to a sudden heart attack. And there's growing evidence that these polyunsaturated fats avert strokes, reduce inflammation and joint pain from arthritis, and promote brain and vision development in infants. Statistics even link omega-3s to broader health benefits--for example, they may ward off complications from diabetes. They're being used to treat depression and Alzheimer's disease. Better skin, stronger fingernails, and more energy are also possible perks.

Unfortunately, there are data to suggest that farmed salmon, the fish most of us trust as a great source of omega-3s, can pose a health risk. Farmed salmon are raised on fish oil pellets derived from local fish, which are often contaminated with cancer-causing PCB s. The most recent study, in the November issue of the Journal of Nutrition, reports that contaminant levels in farmed salmon from certain regions increase the risk of cancer enough to outweigh benefits.

The study concluded that as a whole, risks exceed benefits for farmed Atlantic salmon. Farmed salmon from South America, specifically Chile, had the lowest level of pollutants, followed by North America. Europe had the highest level, according to David Carpenter, coauthor of the study and director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany's School of Public Health. Pacific wild salmon also have contaminants, but at a low enough level that the benefits outweigh the risks.

If you're unsure where the salmon is farmed, or still wary, consider canned salmon, which usually uses wild fish. You can also find omega-3 fatty acids to a lesser degree in leafy green vegetables like broccoli, brussels sprouts, and spinach, as well as in tofu. And new sources are popping up on grocery shelves. These include free-range, grass-fed beef, which has omega-3 levels higher than those in grain-fed animals, and enhanced eggs, baby food, and cereal.

There are also omega-3 supplements from fish oil or flax. But high intakes of supplements could cause bleeding in some people, according to the American Heart Association. And more studies are needed to confirm the benefits of supplements. "Increasing omega-3 fatty acid intake through foods is preferable," says Alice Lichtenstein, professor of nutrition at Tufts University.

Acid dose. How much omega-3 is enough? The ideal amount isn't clear. The American Heart Association recommends two servings of fish a week, about 8 ounces total, along with other omega-3-rich foods in your diet. A quarter cup of walnuts, for example, supplies about 2.3 grams of plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, slightly more than found in 4 ounces of salmon. Even better, those two tablespoons of flaxseed supply 3.5 grams.

So when it comes to a healthy new year, you might just want to eat like my horse. -Kerry Hannon
回复此楼

» 猜你喜欢
1楼2005-12-25 21:11:54
已阅   回复此楼   关注TA 给TA发消息 送TA红花 TA的回帖

dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
11.Tomorrow's Phones for Yesterday's Cost

Until now the joy of frugal geeks and early adopters, Internet phoning is finally ready to connect with just plain folks. It's inexpensive, fairly easy to set up, and cuts out the phone companies without forcing you to depend on a fritzy cellphone.

The Internet can bring crystal-clear conversations to your standard telephone for as little as $10 a month plus pennies more per call, or $20 to $25 for unlimited service. Some "voice over Internet protocol" companies even allow international calls free. You also get a bevy of services--like voice mail and three-way calling--that would push the cost of your telecom line to $40 or more. We've tried a variety of the services and have been impressed each time by call quality, including those at vonage.com , voicepulse.com, packet8.net, and broadvoice.com.

The companies send you a start-up kit, or you can buy one in some electronics stores, which includes a small box that plugs into a broadband modem or home network router. (You need broadband Internet service to make the phone calls.) Your phone then plugs into that little box. It's simple, but if you're still intimidated, many cable companies sell a similar service, and they'll send someone to install it.

Eternally busy. Internet phones also offer features that traditional phone service can't, like making your voice mail available on the Web or forwarding messages to your E-mail address. Or how about electronic screening that sends certain callers straight to voice mail or forever delivers them a busy signal? And if you take that little service box with you on the road, so goes your phone number.

Two caveats: Internet phones go down when the power goes out, unlike traditional lines. And not all companies relay 911 calls to emergency centers, or they can't relay an address and phone number. But most, under pressure from federal regulators, will have better 911 capabilities in coming months. -David LaGesse
赞一下 回复此楼
18楼2005-12-30 11:10:53
 已阅   回复此楼   关注TA 给TA发消息 送TA红花 TA的回帖
查看全部 19 个回答

dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)

50 Ways to Improve Your Life

2.Be Tenacious About Soaking Up Vitamin D

Even in an age of fortified milk and cereal, some doctors worry that we're short on vitamin D--to our detriment.

Historically, most people have gotten their quota from the sun, which stimulates the cells in the skin to produce it. But now that we're either slathered in sunscreen or parked in front of the computer, vitamin D deficiency appears to be fairly common. One study in Boston found that of 307 adolescents tested, 75 were vitamin D deficient. African-American kids were more likely to be low, since the pigment in dark skin acts as a sunblock.

The National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine currently recommends that adults get 200 international units, or IU s, a day of vitamin D, which the body needs to absorb calcium. But some scientists argue for even more, since studies now suggest that extra might help prevent fractures in elderly people and that a shortage could even play a role in cancer, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis.

Most light-skinned people can get enough sun in just a few minutes a day outdoors without sunscreen. But that might not do it for people who live farther north or who have darker skin. And even short periods without protection make dermatologists nervous; such exposure may increase your risk of skin cancer. Endocrinologist Bess Dawson-Hughes, a professor at Tufts University, recommends supplements to her patients, for a total of 1,000 IU s a day. Don't go overboard--too much D can be toxic.
赞一下 回复此楼
2楼2005-12-25 21:13:39
 已阅   回复此楼   关注TA 给TA发消息 送TA红花 TA的回帖

dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
3.A Little More Pedaling Pays Off

It's easy to come up with an ambitious, eight-days-a-week exercise plan for the new year--and even easier to get discouraged by Groundhog Day.

Instead of going for more workouts each week, make smaller, incremental changes: Add a bit more time to your current workouts. "In 10 minutes you could burn another 75 to 100 calories," says Cathy Mullooly, an exercise physiologist at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. If you worked out three times a week, you'd lose an extra 4-plus pounds over a year.

Totally short on time? Crank up the intensity, suggests Chris Imbo, managing director of health lifestyle company Welldome and a personal trainer for 17 years. "You have to put your body under stress, and when [your workout] becomes routine, it's no longer stress," he says. Treadmillers might up the intensity with stints on a steep incline to burn more calories and build strength. You can also get your body working harder by trying a new class or new machine at the gym. Finally, don't waste time by using machines incorrectly. Stand upright and don't lean on the equipment. "If you have to hold onto the treadmill for dear life," says Mullooly, "the treadmill is doing the work." -Katherine Hobson
赞一下 回复此楼
3楼2005-12-25 21:15:36
 已阅   回复此楼   关注TA 给TA发消息 送TA红花 TA的回帖

dqtznn

铁杆木虫 (著名写手)
4.Even in a Web-smitten age, a poll just last summer showed that Americans still rely heavily on newspapers, radio, and TV for health news. Trouble is, it's hard to know whether you're getting the whole story about that startling new study. For that matter, how good is the study itself? A few tips will help clear a path through the journal jungle in the year ahead.

Time is precious on radio and TV, and pressure to produce snappier stories has risen. "The average length of a TV report is decreasing, especially on local news--like the 60-second 'medical minute,' " says Tom Linden, a physician who spent years as an on-air medical correspondent and now runs the University of North Carolina's medical journalism program.

Linden considers 90 seconds the absolute minimum that will permit respectful treatment of a medical topic, so something's got to give. Even with more time, he says, "for broadcast you have to take one angle and stick with it." His advice to viewers: "Look at local health stories as a headline service, and then use the Internet and reputable publications to get the details."

Print reporters, too, are being pushed to write tight. Rarely do newspapers devote ample space to dissect a new study, as the Washington Post did in November to scrutinize long-awaited findings from a trial of supplemental glucosamine-chondroitin for relief of arthritic knee pain. The story built a case that the overall findings were disappointing. A long sidebar supplied concrete guidance for anyone using or considering the supplement.

Bogus. As for the worth of medical studies, "most claimed research findings are false," argued John Ioannidis, chairman of the department of hygiene and epidemiology at the University of Ioannina School of Medicine in Greece, last August in a paper in the online journal PLoS Medicine. Many studies, he observed, are small, biased, or badly designed.

And the hotter the field, he said, the less likely that results will hold up. Researchers in a pulsating, competitive new area stress positive findings, Ioannidis stated. In fact, the more breathtaking the claim, the sooner other studies will shower it with brickbats. People should be wary, Ioannidis wrote in an E-mail interview, if they see results "that claim to be the 'first ever' without any replication by independent teams of scientists. They should wait for the dust to settle."

Help should soon arrive--a website that judges coverage by top U.S. newspapers, TV networks, and weekly newsmagazines of major treatment-oriented studies and evaluates the studies themselves. Gary Schwitzer, director of the health journalism graduate program at the University of Minnesota and the project's head, is aiming for a February 1 launch. The site will be modeled after Australia's "Media Doctor" (box, Page 56).

Key questions to keep in mind when reading about a medical study are printed on cards that researchers at the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth like to hand out. For example: Is it the right study population? Is the effect big? Might the effect be due to chance? If media coverage doesn't supply answers, don your skeptic's hat.


WHEN IN DOUBT--GO ONLINE

These study aids will help sort out truth from sort-of truth.

Media Doctor. Rates recent studies (one to five stars) and identifies strengths and weaknesses (mediadoctor.org.au) .

Hitting the Headlines. Judges newspaper coverage of a study and evaluates the study (www.nelh.nhs.uk/hth/archive.asp) .

Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth. An E-mail to cecsweb@dartmouth.edu will get you a card in the mail with a list of skeptical questions to consider. -Avery Comarow
赞一下 回复此楼
4楼2005-12-25 21:16:40
 已阅   回复此楼   关注TA 给TA发消息 送TA红花 TA的回帖
查看全部 19 个回答
普通表情 龙 兔 虎 猫 高级回复(可上传附件)
信息提示
关闭
请填处理意见
关闭