Femtalks.com Blog

I think this message is just so true, and I think geniusbeauty.com is so genius about posting it =)
thank you for making people aware of it, especially those working closely in computer-related field such as myself & my husband.

I’m getting this message accross and telling all the workaholics out there to be aware that they endanger their very own relationship, perhaps their own happiness and well-being! Especially those that are so attached to their work that they can’t take a break or have a vacation with their family - ashame ashame…. don’t waste your life with just work there are so many precious things out there, so come to realize about that before it’s get taken away from you!

More and more often married couples take laptops with them when going for a vacation. British psychologists sound the alarm saying that this can lead to family break-ups. Studies have shown that over 40% of busy people can afford to “disconnect” themselves completely from the outer world for the vacation period by committing themselves to the relaxation time on the sea or ocean beach. Wi-fi spots are designed for those who can not afford internet-free vacation.

A professor from Lancaster University affirms that staff should not act like that. Job has to remain being a job, while vacation - a vacation. He focuses on the fact that spending time in front of the computer screen on vacation can lead to family conflicts, since the spouse would naturally hope to forget about work at least during the vacation.

The scientist believes that the company management has to insist that the employees go for their vacation without computers. This is the only way they can rest adequately and communicate with the family.

source: geniusbeauty.com

Condom is a common contraception method that are widely use and publicly available. But how far really are we taking precautions of safe sex?

According to a research done by Durex in 2003, the Chinese have the highest tendency to have sex with a new partner without the use of condoms (70%), the next are the Czechs (58%) and the British (34%). The French take the greatest care of their sexual safety - only 9% are ready to risk their sexual health.

Here are some info about condoms you might not know:

• The first mentioning of condom-like means used to practise safe sex is dated to Ancient Egypt, where they were made out of skins of various animals.
• 5 000 000 000 units are sold annually.
• There are more than 100 brands on the market.
• It is considered that the first condom that looked like its modern analog was found in 1564 by anatomist Gabriel Fallopius.
• Women buy 40-70% of all condoms on the market.
• In the 16th century condoms were made of flax fibre.
• In the 18th century they were made out of intestine of various animals or fish skins.

Thanks to geniusbeauty.com for providing such useful info.
So be safe and get yourself safesex by using condom.

For those unfamiliar with types there are many out there including:

Lamb Skin - made from natural lamb skin membrane!

Beyond Seven Aloe - using aloe lubricant for ultimate comfort.

Night Light - Glow in the dark condom.

Many more… All pictures and descriptions of condoms above are from condomdepot.com
Now that you already get access to obtain condom, how do you use it, find out at ehow.com

In 1844 Charles Goodyear took out the first patent to manufacture condoms made out of rubber.

After doing some research on Teflon non-stick cooking pans and equipments, I have decided to change to Cast Iron cooking pans.

Why spend so much money on “Copper” or “Three-ply” cooking equipment that is heavily advertised with professional chefs, as those pans use “aluminum” and “copper” which may not be good for human?

Instead just get a plain “cast iron” pan without the enamel, paints, or any other additions - I got mine for $30.00 .

Why Cast Iron pans?

• Teflon-coated aluminum contains perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a synthetic chemical used in its production, creating its soap-like slipperiness and non-stick finish. PFOA has become very controversial because of health dangers linked to it.
• In a laboratory and anecdotal experiences, vapor from Teflon-pan exposed to high heat produces vapor that kill birds instantly in vicinity.
• Aluminium cooking pans are also not recommended, because of the link between aluminium and Alzheimer’s desease. Aluminum is a strongly suspected causal factor in Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

Read more:
http://healthylazy.tribe.net/thread/5a500736-ecf0-43f8-adc6-c0570376961b

I enjoyed shabu-shabu for a long time, I always thought of it as a healthy food. Little that I know that shabu-shabu is quite similar of that called chanko-nabe, a type of clay-pot dishes that has been associated to be the sumo wrestler’s diet.

It’s just surprising to know lots of veggies and little thin pieces of meat can bulk us up - well perhaps the noodle that does it. I am not quite sure really how this type of food come to be the feast of the sumo wrestlers, I always thought they would do lots of junk food such as burgers and chips.

Interested to find out more? Visit here for more sumo stew and here for more about nabemono (clay-pot) style dishes.

By the way this is a really fun thing to read - Tips on how to increase your body weight:

1. Skip breakfast. By depriving their bodies of food after eight hours of sleep, their metabolic rates stay low.

2. Exercise on an empty stomach. If their bodies have
no food, their metabolic thermostats are turned down even lower to conserve fuel.

3. Take a nap after eating. The Sumo secret for gaining weight is that, after eating, they sleep for at least four hours.

4. Eat late in the day. Going to bed with full stomachs means that their bodies must respond to the huge flood of nutrients with a rush of insulin, forcing their bodies to store some of it in the cells as fat instead of in the muscles and organs as nutrients.

5. Always eat with others in a social atmosphere. According to leading researchers, a meal eaten with others can be at least 44 percent larger and with 30 percent more calories and fat.

source-link.

I have to agree that high heels certainly make women look more attractive, not just because it elongates their legs but high heel also shaped, designed and colored to make an impact on improving one’s look.

However getting pretty doesn’t come in easy, some might experience consequences of wearing heels such as foot-pain, ankle pain, joint problem, etc. So how far should you go on wearing heels?

As a woman myself, I enjoy wearing heels. But after graduating from college, I paid more attention to my health, it’s good to do this because we’re all growing older, not younger. So should women wear heels? well, I started to wear heels in this manner:

1. high heels like 3 inches or above will only be wear for occasions that will allow me to sit for a long period of time (such as movie theaters, dinners, meetings, etc)
2. I made a rule that I have to wear on my flat shoes/flip-flop for the in between time (meaning if I’m going to a wedding, I’ll drive with my flip-flop and walk with it till I arrive at the venue, and make a quick change)
3. Don’t wear high heels on a daily basis.

I don’t know if that way will help but I’m certain everything that’s too much just isn’t good. Here’s a chart I got just to get rough idea about high heels’ effects. Hope it’s good to know.

here’s other say bout shoes & heels:

So my crazy week culminated with running around like a chicken-with-its-head-cut-off in all day. In high heels.

I had a conference to work at, and I wanted to look ‘professional’ but practical would have been wiser. My feet hurt so bad by the end of the day, I was tempted to walk home barefoot. From now on sneakers are professional.

What amazes me are the outragous high heels some people wear.

Here’s an article on ‘how to walk‘ in high heels which mentions some of the many foot problems associated with heel wearing. Not mention the possible knee problems related to high heels.

Sonya Bata apparently claimed that “Shoes hold the key to human identity” . If so, my identity is going to be flat soled.

link

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I’m digging more info on celery diet due to that confusing part of celery on my celebrity diet post last time which is commented by chikwendu. Some people refer to taking celery as giving you negative calories intake. Here’s more information on celery diet, whether you should go ahead on doing it or not, read more and find out:

Something you shouldn’t go on. Celery has next to no nutritional value… people eat celery because they actually get “negative” calories. Celery itself doesn’t contain many calories, and in the process of chewing the celery, you actually burn off more calories than you take in. If you’re thinking about dieting, diet sensibly with proportion control and adequate cardio.

The reason a celery diet works is because celery does not give you any nutrition but by digesting it you burn calories so you could call it a workout with out pain.

more to read:

Celery is much more than a traditional summer salad ingredient. Available throughout the year, a little research on celery shows this versatile vegetable has very real health benefits and is worth adding to your weekly diet.

Research has shown that celery contains blood pressure reducing properties. Celery contains active compounds called Pthalides which relax the muscles of the arteries that regulate blood pressure allowing these vessels to dilate. Pthalides also reduce stress hormones which can cause blood vessels to constrict.

Celery is an excellent source of Vitamin C with all its health benefits. Vitamin C can help to reduce cold symptoms or the severity of cold symptoms during the winter months. This important Vitamin helps to support the immune system and is a cold fighter!

Celery also provides fibre (see High Fibre Diet), and essential minerals such as Folacin and Potassium.

Nor surprising then that Celery has a long history of use, first as a medicine and then later as a food.

Celery can obviously be eaten on its own but is also a tasty addition to many cooked dishes: stir fry dishes, soups, stews and casseroles.

Nutritional Information from the WLR database
Celery, Raw, Average
1 Med Stalk/40g

Calories 3.1
Protein 0.3
Carbs 0.4
Fat 0.1
Fibre 0.6
Fruit/Veg 0.5

source1&2, source3. related post.

Having fun while exercising, now that sound good to me. It gets even more fun to be able to exercise with close friends and family and compare results - in a healthy competitive way. You can do wii to play with your kids at the same time taking them excercising. And if you’re like me who kinda lazy to go to gym maybe wii will help, even just a lil bit to burn those extra calories. Wii fit from nitendo has been introduced since May 21st, although it is quite new it has gain quick popularity that makes over 2 millon sales up till now, the question many new non gamers curious is: does will fit really working the way it suppose to work? find out more and read the review here. And discover more from the global wii fit experience website (in english) here.

I found more info bout wii fit while browsing ebay =) here goes the info, hope will be helpful:

Wii fit balance board

The primary tenet of Wii Fit is balance. Your center of balance (the point between your left and right sides when you stand upright) has a lot to do with your health. Those without an even center of balance will be unnaturally compensating for this imbalance, which causes their posture to become misaligned, increasing the possibility of putting unnecessary strain on their bodies. This is where the Wii Balance Board comes in.

Similar in appearance to a step aerobics board, the Wii Balance Board is much, much more. Easily capable of supporting weights up to a maximum of 300 pounds, it is sturdy and precise, able to measure weight and register pressure accurately when placed on a variety of flat surfaces. This advanced level of sensitivity allows for both the wide range of activities found in the Wii Fit software as well as the board’s amazing ability recognize individual players by their weight alone.

Special Features

• Body Mass Index (BMI): A weight evaluation based on a ratio of weight to height.
• Wii Fit Age: The Wii Fit Age is measured by factoring the user’s BMI reading, testing the user’s center of gravity and conducting quick balance tests.
• Wii Fit includes more than 40 types of training activities designed to appeal to all members of a household. Training falls into four fitness categories: Aerobic Exercise: 10-minute exercises that are designed to get the heart pumping. Muscle Conditioning: Controlled motions using arms, legs and other body parts. Yoga Poses: Classic poses that focus on balance and stretching. Balance Games: Fun activities, such as ski jumping and heading soccer balls, that challenge the player’s overall body balance.

source

and here’s a wii trailer, enjoy

Do you really think carefully when you pick a soap off that retail shelves for your handwashing needs? If not, maybe need to re-think over. I used to ignore all ingredients listed at the back of each item however I just googled up the word “Triclosan” - a common antibacterial and antifungal agent - I found at the back of the antibacterial soap and figured out it’s not really prefarable for use. Here’s why:

Overuse of chemicals like triclosan has been suggested to cause sensitive bacteria to evolve resistance to its antibacterial action. Should any antibiotic be discovered that works similarly to triclosan, this antibiotic’s effectiveness to combat infections will be reduced because people will be hosting resistant bacteria already due to their use of soaps containing triclosan.

And further more by Victoria Times Colonist

Whether you’re washing your hands or the kitchen countertops, it’s best for your family’s health and the environment to pass up antibacterial products in favour of plain soap and water, a University of Victoria researcher has found.

UVic molecular biologist Caren Helbing found while triclosan — common in soaps, clothing, toys and other items having antibacterial properties — isn’t lethal in small quantities, it can potentially affect the human thyroid gland. The thyroid plays a role in development, body temperature and metabolism.

“For most things, regular soap is just fine. In terms of children’s products, they shouldn’t have triclosan in them at all,” Helbing said in an interview.

Helbing’s research, published last week in the online journal Aquatic Toxicology, found triclosan to be harmful in the development of frogs and potentially humans. At the molecular level, the chemical compound is similar to vertibrates’ thyroid hormone. Helbing found triclosan at levels found in the environment disrupted a tadpole’s transition into a frog.

“Frogs serve as a very sensitive sentinel species for chemicals that can actually disrupt thyroid hormone action,” said Helbing. “Triclosan at levels measured in our waterways can actually affect how thyroid hormones works in frogs.”

The chemical compound is man-made for the purpose of killing bacteria and is showing up in more consumer products. Easy-clean items marketed as containing “Microban” contain triclosan, said Helbing.

But Helbing said triclosan is not necessary to clean up most household spills, and other scientists agree.

“When you ask a qualified microbiologist, they’ll tell you that it’s being overdone and there’s probably a greater chance of creating bacterial resistance than preventing problems,” said Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University’s Office for Science and Society. “Washing with soap and water is enough, except in a hospital environment … You don’t want to use a jackhammer to kill an ant when stepping on it will do.

“The reason why the triclosan story is interesting is it’s so pervasive — it’s in so many products. Even (though) the risk (of ill effects) is small, the exposure is too large.”

Helbing agrees the prevalence of triclosan in the environment can make the fight against antibiotic-resistant illnesses more difficult.

It can also affect normal human development: “There are a lot of different processes in the body that can be affected.”

In March, the Canadian Paediatric Society called for parents to stop buying antibacterial products, and instead use soap and water to wash toys, hands or household items.

Triclosant can also be find in soaps, deodorants, toothpastes, shaving creams, mouth washes and cleaning supplies.

Is it hard to believe that women having children are healthier? My dad always said to me that I better get married soon and bear a child so I would be healthier. It was funny to me when I was at a younger age, but I believe him, and I found this recently:

Women with children have better eyesight, coordination and memory. They are more energetic and stay so even at an advanced age, than their peers having no children. But what makes those women so?

Scientists at University of Richmond have found the described fact. The reason of these qualities of women with children is that during pregnancy and childbirth the woman’s body develops a significant amount of hormones, which cause changes in the mind. Due to them women having children can also see and remember things better. By the way, this also refers to animals. Thus, the advantages of pregnancy stay for long years.

So don’t hesitate to have kids, right? they make you into a healthy female being.

Source

All women acknowledge good things when it come to “hairless fashion trend” that become more popular these days in our society, especially when spring/summer arrives. Brazilian wax is quite a regular, at least for me and among my female friends, but when you have to do it every so often sometimes kinda wonder of that laser option that promise to have it permanently remove (so don’t have to bother with regular waxing). As I researched more with the topic I came across this article (that really makes me stick with the regular waxing option):

Popularized in an episode of Sex in the City, it involves removing all body hair.

At Spa Radiance, the hairless look is growing in popularity. Angelina Umansky, owner, Spa Radiance: “This year has been the biggest year for Brazilian waxing ever at the Spa.”

Twenty-year-old Stella Chung is a regular client. Stella Chung, hair waxing client: “I want to make sure it’s clean there, and for hygiene issues, too.

” What about the pain? Angelina Umansky, owner, Spa Radiance: “We don’t use a lot of numbing creams because they take awhile to kick in. But we do small patches.”

Stella Chung, hair waxing client: “Initially, when I first got it done, of course it hurt. It’s more like a stinging feeling. But it’s really fast and quick. But when you get it done everything, three weeks or not, you get used to it.” And Stella says her partners prefer it, too.

Stella Chung, hair waxing client: “Usually, the partners that I’m with, they prefer the bare because I think it’s a whole trend thing.”

In fact, for an entire generation, hairless is becoming the new standard of beauty. For almost any female between 15 and 25, the message seems to be bare is better.

Male, name withheld: “It shows they just try to take care of their bodies. You know, like it portrays them more like femininity when it’s not so, when it’s hairy.”

Male, name withheld: “I’m just not attracted to hair, I guess. I don’t know. It’s not something that is appealing.”

Female, name withheld: “I know a lot of guys prefer it, and I know a lot of guys joke about women not being hairless in certain areas, and it is kind of weird. So I think there are social pressures to conform to being more hairless these days, for sure.Even in high school - that’s where it started, and it’s just getting to the point where most women are.”

There are real concerns here. First, this body hair has lots of functions, including providing protection and lubrication for tender tissues. And while shaving or waxing all your body hair is one thing, many women are turning to lasers for hair removal. But with any laser, there is the potential for burns and serious infections, like triggering a herpes outbreak.

For Berkeley physician Christine Brozowski, the demand for total laser hair removal is skyrocketing.

Christine Brozowski, M.D., physician and laser specialist: “It’s just a very popular thing.” She cautions in untrained hands, patients could be harmed.

Christine Brozowski, M.D., physician and laser specialist: “I think that laser procedures in general are very safe. However, when used not in the proper hands there is a greater chance of having a complication such as hyper, hypo pigmentation (those are changes in the skin color), or infection, or burning.”

She routinely pre-treats a lot of patients with an antiviral medication to prevent a herpes outbreak. Laser hair removal requires several treatments, six weeks apart to destroy the hair follicles during their growth cycle.

That leads to one more caution: Christine Brozowski, M.D., physician and laser specialist: “Your hair is not going to grow back. So you need to know that. It’s not a six-week thing. It’s that your hair is not going to grow back.”

Even more than tattoos or piercing, this is one fashion trend you may be stuck with for life.

Further complicating the problem is that many teens and young adults are getting treated at spas or salons - not at dermatologist’s office. So the risk of infection and burns is far greater.

Link : ABC news by Dr. Dean Edell