Getting Back To Primal

According to the Chek Institute there are seven movement patterns, called 'primal' because they were key to the development and survival of early man. They are essential to performing activities of daily living and in preventing injury. Incorporate a few at a time or all of them into your exercise program. They are: squat, lunge, bend, push, pull, twist, and gait (meaning three different speeds: walking, jogging, and sprinting). For example, combine two patterns to create a lunge with a cable pull or a squat with a push. This will better facilitate your upper body communicating with your lower body which is more functional to the way we live. You are better off never using a bench for exercises - so use it to hold your keys, phone, and towel. Instead, incorporate the physio ball (or Swiss ball) into your program which activates the stabilizers of the spine and pelvis (core) and improves motor skills and balance. For more information regarding functional exercises and primal patterns contact us at www.macrotherapy.com

Keep An Eye On Your Chicken

What is an AFO? Animal Feeding Operation. Industrial animal farms that keep and raise animals in confined situations. Feed is brought to them instead of them foraging for it. It also means that they eat, sleep, defecate, and die within a small area of land. As if that thought weren't enough to turn you off from massive inhumane farms here's another reason: Feeding arsenic is still standard practice on chicken AFOs because it helps the birds grow faster and controls a common intestinal disease. Lets carry this thought from farm to table (and beyond) to understand the horrible ramifications of their actions.
The chickens injest this cocktail and produce waste. This waste is spread over agricultural land every year (by the metric ton). We injest these chickens (and what they have eaten) and everything else that is raised on this 'waste' land and we contribute this waste to our groundwater and environment.
A step you can take right now is to find a local chicken farm that treats their animals humanely, allows them to roam freely and uses chemical free or organic feed. I found one at our local farmers market in Phoenix. The farm is called Prescott Valley Farms (http://www.prescottvalleyfarms.com/) and they have a store front in Phoenix and sell at the farmers markets. Support the local farms in your state and your health will thank you for it.

For the full article go to: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/23/what-to-know-if-you-ever-want-to-eat-chicken-again.aspx

Take Advantage of Your Brain's Best Times

Want to maximize your brain's rhythms? Pay attention to these following times for certain tasks:

• 7 to 9 AM: Best for Passion
• 9 to 11 AM: Best for Creativity
• 11 AM to 2 PM: Best for Tough Tasks
• 2 to 3 PM: Best for a Break
• 3 to 6 PM: Best for Collaboration
• 6 to 8 PM: Best for Personal Tasks
• 8 to 10 PM: Best for Relaxing
• 10 PM onward: Best for Snoozing

For more on each: http://online.prevention.com/brain-naturally-smart/index.shtml

7 Thoughts That Are Bad For You

The 7 most detrimental thoughts to health are:
1. Cynicism: increases the likelihood for developing heart disease
2. Lack of meaning: decreased life span for test subjects
3. Fretting: fretters in a study were more likely to smoke and thus died sooner on average
4. Lack of Self Control: shorter life span as compared to their study counterparts
5. Anxiety: increases likelihood for developing dementia
6. Gloom & Doom: increases arterial plaque formation
7. Stress: increases metabolic syndromes, heart disease, blood pressure....

For more info: www.livescience.com/health/090911-7-bad-thoughts.html

Calorie Restriction & the Immune System

Our immune system ages as we do. Caloric restriction(1/3 fewer calories) has a huge impact on immune system of monkeys. To see a short video from Live Science go to: http://www.livescience.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=pur1330_caloriesandimmpod_sc

Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Website

Another great link to bookmark: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group. Enter the names of all your hair, face, body products (as well as baby products) and immediately you will get a rating from 0 (low hazard) to 10 (high hazard) and an ingredient listing. You can also enter your e-mail address for free newsletters.

Quickies

According to the American Heart Association after quitting smoking one can experience these benefits in just one to nine months: shortness of breath decreases, cilia in lungs regrow, circulation improves, energy levels increase, and infection decreases.

The smallest bones in the body are in the ear.

Middle ear infections should decrease as a child ages because the eustachian tube changes from a horizontal to a slanting position; thus, fluid cannot pool and become infectious as easily.

Ligaments attach bone to bone and tendons attach bone to muscle.

Hand washing is considered the single most important method of infection prevention.

Foods that are labeled "organically grown" might still have pesticides if they cross a state border or country border due to agriculture laws. Foods that are from other countries are nutritionally deplete-buy local within 100 miles of where you live.

"Life is defined by movement and death-and the lack thereof" (unknown)

(sources: Outline Review for the Medical Assistant-2nd edition and Macrotherapy Nutrition notes)