STILL ON HIATUS

Sorry, people. Come back another time. :)

IMPROVE YOUR PAGE RANKING

***From the BISEAN Blog

Google would be releasing their PageRank updates very soon. And there are hundreds of link trains out there -- just add your site and five others -- (and hopefully) your readers will do the same. The more bloggers we get invovled the more links we would get and boost our page rankings on Google. What are you waiting for? Let's go for it!


*** Start Copy Here ***

We all know how important getting link backs is and with this chain, you can get the ball rolling! You don’t have to be an established blogger to take part in this chain.

Here are the rules:

1. Copy this post from the point where it says “Start Copy Here” to the point where it says “End Copy Here”

2. Add yourself and 5 of your favorite bloggers to the end of the list.

3. Post this on your blog.



Windows Tips, Tricks and Hacks Enkay Blog Ms. Danielle Cash For Comments BetShopBoy JohnCow Mr.Gary Lee Jon Lee Dosh Dosh Some Make Money The King Kong Blog RomanDock Michael Kwan Ed Lau Jane May Sam Breadstone ProBlogger The Beef Jerky Blog The Prize Blog Online Coupon Codes digitalnomad 2Perfect Derek Semmler dot com Everyday Weekender iffect B I S E A N The Lost Boy Bangkok Mom Oh See What the Cat Drags In I'm Sanne Dummies Guide to Google Blogger Bangkok Bugle The Transcendent Emperor Don In Beijing Samurai Invation Vic2x Programming Laces&Roses Trim&Fit


***End Copy Here***

Foods that pack a nutritional punch: Calcium

Calcium is key to strong bones and teeth, as well as proper nerve and muscle function, and while milk is instantly considered as a source of calcium, there are many other foods that can help you get the calcium you need:

Milk, other dairy products
Cornmeal
Wheat flour
Collards
Rhubarb
Sardines
Spinach
Soybeans
Turnip greens
Salmon, canned with bone
Kale

SUPER SPORES

An Asian mushroom may prove to be nature’s new nontoxic weapon against prostate cancer. Researchers at Boston University treated cancerous prostate cells with a small dose of the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin and an extract of Phellinus linteus, a Korean mushroom. The duo was as effective at killing cancerous cells as larger doses of chemo, but didn’t harm healthy tissue. Further studies are planned.

The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007

This is in response to my friend Eddie from Malaysia. A wonderful blog from the Philippines called Reflective Thinking taking on a project to determine the new influential blog around. This is my entry:


1. Searching For Love - Malaysia

2. Stuck in Cutoms - Thailand


3. Somehwere in this World - Japan

4. BISEAN - Thailand


5. Bitchy Mikey Mike - Malaysia


If you want to join and help find who are really the emerging influential blogs, click this: The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007 and let’s have fun!

Stay healthy!

FLIGHT RISK

A new Lancet study has revealed that men are twice as likely as women to suffer from deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially deadly blood clot that can develop on long plane trips. If you have a family history of DVT and plan on taking a long fl ight, ask your doctor for a thrombingeneration test (just developed by Austrian researchers). If your level and risk are high, a prescription blood thinner - such as warfarin - should help you touch down safely.

LOW Z’S, HIGH BP

Something else to keep you up nights: A new study reveals that lack of sleep can permanently raise your blood pressure. Columbia University researchers examined survey data on 4,810 people, excluding those who were overweight or suffered from sleep disorders, and found that logging less than 5 hours a night increased the incidence of high blood pressure by 60 percent. Sleep deprivation stimulates stress hormones, which cause short-term spikes in blood pressure. Miss sleep regularly and you may suffer lasting damage to heart valves. “Sleeping less Some environmental hazards are obvious: tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes, for instance. But the land you live on may be endangering your health in ways you don’t recognize. Check your local landscape and the chart below to derail the natural disasters that could be lurking in your backyard. raises average 24-hour blood pressure and heart rate, which, through increased strain, can set up the cardiovascular system to persistently operate at an elevated pressure,” says James Gangwisch, Ph.D., the study’s lead author. Evening exercise can lower your core body temperature, which may help you fall asleep faster.

STARVE HEARTBURN

Adopting a new diet could extinguish that fire in your chest. Cutting out carbs helps relieve heartburn, according to a recent study from the University of North Carolina. The scientists report that within 4 days of initiating a lowcarbohydrate diet, overweight patients experienced a 44 percent reduction in the severity of heartburnlike symptoms. What’s more, the pain-causing acid in each person’s esophagus decreased by an average of 60 percent. The scientists aren’t sure why reducing carbs worked but report that in a previous study, patients’ symptoms returned once they started eating a carbohydrateheavy diet again. We all know how low carbs can help you lose weight. There’s a dual benefit: Losing weight helps relieve heartburn, too.

BARE ASPIRIN FOR YOUR HEART

An aspirin a day keeps the ambulance at bay? Only if you swallow the right kind. Coated aspirin may not be as effective as plain aspirin at preventing coronary heart disease, according to a new study published in the journal Stroke. Researchers gave 71 healthy people different forms of aspirin to take for 2 weeks at a time, then tested their blood for thromboxane, a substance that contributes to blood clots. Levels were 87 percent lower among those taking plain aspirin than in those swallowing coated pills. “Doctors normally prescribe coated aspirin to protect the stomach lining,” says lead study author Dermot Cox, Ph.D., “but the coating may impede absorption.” Consider swallowing a 75- milligram uncoated pill. “It will provide all the benefits with the lowest chance of side effects,” he says.

A BETTER WAY TO REHYDRATE

St. Cloud State University researchers found that men who consumed a sports drink containing both carbohydrates and protein were able to rehydrate 40 percent faster after a hard workout than when they drank water, and 15 percent faster compared with drinking a carbohydrate-only solution. Why? “The protein acts like a magnet that pulls water in,” says lead investigator John Seifert, Ph.D. In the study, the scientists experimented with Accelerade, one of the few sports drinks infused with protein.

A PINEAPPLE PROBLEM

Like the convenience of buying precut fruit? There may be a trade-off you’re not aware of: Within just 3 days of being sliced, pineapples lose 25 percent of their carotenoids—healthy compounds that fight both cancer and heart disease. That’s what University of California at Davis scientists discovered when they compared whole and cut versions of the fruit stored under the same conditions. Interestingly, there was essentially no difference in the color or firmness of the pineapple pieces up to 9 days after they were cut. If cutting the fruit yourself is too much of a hassle, there’s an easy solution: Eat 25 percent more. Chances are, you don’t consume enough produce to compensate for the dip in carotenoids.

BROADEN YOUR WINE LIST

Red or white? Just say yes, according to a University of Connecticut study. Though previous research only touted the cardiovas cular benefits of drinking red varietals, sci en - tists discovered that white wine may protect your heart just as well as cabernet. To make the white variety, winemakers remove the grapes’ skins—which give red wine its color—before fermentation. The skin is the part of the grape that contains resveratrol, an antioxidant that improves bloodflow, so it was assumed that red was far healthier. Not so, says study author Dipak K. Das, Ph.D., whose lab determined that an uniden tified antioxidant in white wine offers similar heart protection. “Consump tion of one or two glasses of either red or white wine daily should be equally beneficial,” says Das.

PRODUCE: EAT LESS OF MORE

Go for the mixed vegetables: Colorado State University researchers report that when it comes to produce, variety may trump quantity. The scientists discovered that, despite eating one less serving daily, people who consumed a wider array of fruits and vegetables experienced more health benefits than those who chose from a smaller assortment. The protective mojo of plant foods comes from phytochemicals, compounds that guard cells against damaging oxidation—like Rust-Oleum for your DNA. However, phyto chemicals vary from one botanical family to another. “We saw more benefit from smaller amounts of many different phytochemicals than from larger amounts of a few,” says lead study author Henry Thompson, Ph.D. To see a list of the 18 botanical families you should be choosing from regularly— and the common fruits and vegetables in each.

STAY SHARP ALL DAY

If you’re feeling drowsy at work, don’t reach for a soda. British researchers discovered that people who downed a sugary drink containing 42 milligrams (mg) of sugar and 30 mg caffeine—the amount in a 12-ounce cola—exhibited slower reaction times and a greater number of lapses in attention for the next 70 minutes compared with those who sipped a sugarfree beverage. Although a sugar rush has been shown to boost cognitive performance, the effect is short-lived, lasting just 10 to 15 minutes. Your best option for a brain boost: a sugarfree drink that delivers at least 80 mg caffeine, says lead investigator Clare Anderson, Ph.D. A classic example: 8 ounces of black, unsweetened coffee.

GET A LEG-UP

When you hit the workout wall, will you have what you need to push through? A new supplement—betaalanine— may make it easier to conquer the most challenging parts of your routine. The amino acid helps maintain strength during your workout 70 percent better than creatine does, report researchers at Florida Atlantic University. “By delaying fatigue, beta-alanine allows you to train harder,” says Jeff Stout, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., the study’s lead author. This means your strength levels will last long enough to finish all your sets and repetitions. Our pick: timedrelease betaalanine supplement.

LONG AND STRONG

For too many men, hamstrings are hell. Badly tuned ones can lead to back pain, leg strains, and worse. So our thanks go out to the British researchers who discovered that men who add the glute-ham raise to their workouts suffer fewer hamstring strains than men who don’t perform the move. Here’s how to join the protected: Kneel on a stack of exercise mats and have a training partner press down on your lower legs. Lower your torso as far as you can, resisting gravity with your glutes and hamstrings. Catch yourself with your hands, then muscle back up to the starting position. (Push off with your hands if you need to.) Adding two or three sets of 10 repetitions to your workouts could stave off a world of trouble.

BIGGER ARMS, FEWER EXERCISES

Auburn University researchers have found that you can blow off boring wrist curls and extensions and still build your Popeye muscles. Simply holding barbells or dumbbells strengthens your wrists and forearms by as much as 25 percent and 16 percent, respectively, in 12 weeks, says lead study author David Szymanski, Ph.D., C.S.C.S. So stick to moves for larger muscle groups, and your arms will develop just fine. For another fast way to grow and show, Szymanski suggests using “fat bars”—the larger diameter places greater emphasis on your forearms. Can’t find fat bars at your gym? Roll a towel around the bar to make it thicker.

FUEL FOR FAT LOSS

Make sure you get the most out of your morning run. British scientists recently found that people who down a carbohydrate-rich, highfiber breakfast before working out burn twice as much fat while running as they do after a similar meal without the roughage. Why? Eating low-fiber, refined carbohydrates significantly raises the amount of insulin in your body, which limits your ability to use fat for fuel, says study author Emma Stevenson, Ph.D. Specifically, the study participants burned the most fat when they’d eaten about half a cup of muesli cereal with 1½ cups of milk and ½ cup of plain low-fat yogurt; they burned the least when they’d had cornflakes with milk and white toast with jam.

A NEW WEIGHT-LOSS REMEDY: HOT SAUCE

Eating fire could help you torch your gut. Australian scientists recently determined that overweight people are more likely to burn blubber after consuming a meal that contains chili peppers than after one that isn’t packing heat. That’s because study participants’ levels of insulin—a hormone that signals your body to store fat—were 32 percent lower following the spicy meal. Capsaicin, the chemical that makes chili peppers hot, may improve the liver’s ability to clear insulin from the bloodstream after a meal, says study author Madeleine J. Ball, M.D. Although the researchers used high amounts of capsaicin in the study, you can get some of the benefit simply by dousing your dinner with as much Tabasco sauce as you can handle.

JUMP UP AND SHOUT

Well, you don’t have to jump. But a bit of movement at your desk job would be nice for health purposes. Sedentary desk jobs are slowly destroying the health of cubed workers around the world. In a study commissioned by the American Council on Exercise, a pedometer on 98 workers in ten different occupations found that secretaries took just 4,327 steps, teachers 4,726 steps and lawyers 5,062 – all far short of the 10,000 estimated steps required for good health. Try standing the next time you’re on a phone call, it can be an effective way to fight the (office) bulge.

MELT YOUR MIDSECTION

Want to know the real secret to a South Beach body? Wake Forest University researchers discovered that people who diet and exercise shrink their abdominal fat cells twice as much as those who diet only—even when they lose the same amount of total weight. When scientists analyzed the body-fat distribution of study participants who had dropped an average of 22 pounds, they observed that those who included exercise in their weight-loss programs were able to specifically target belly fat. “Abdominal fat cells may have different amounts of metabolic enzymes than other parts of your body, causing them to be more responsive to exercise,” says lead author Tongjian You, Ph.D.

The V Up

1) Start position: Lie back onto floor or bench with knees bent and hands extended towards ceiling. Head should be in a neutral position with a space between chin and chest.

2) Leading with the chin and chest towards the ceiling, contract the abdominal and raise shoulders off floor or bench. Also raise legs up towards ceiling and attempt to touch your hands to your feet.

3) Return to start position.