According to him forming tribes, not money, building factories or manufacturing, are what will change the world. I heartily agree. In this short lecture on TED (www.ted.com), Seth talks about the importance (and the necessity) of creating tribes, becoming a leader and connecting people to their passion. You may look at your business, your friends, your community and your relationship to them in an entirely new way after watching this.

Worst Light Beer
Samuel Adams Light (12 oz bottle)
124 calories,
10g carbohydrates

Not a bad beer, but don’t think you can sit around sipping these for four quarters without eventually paying the price in belly fat. With tasty beers like Beck’s 64-calorie Premier Light readily available, why throw away 60 calories every time you twist the top?

Worst “Healthy” Drink
Glaceau VitaminWater (20 oz bottle)
130 calories,
33g sugar

Vitamins and water might sound like the ultimate nutritional tag team, but what the label doesn’t say is that a bottle of this stuff carries nearly as much sugar and calories as a can of Coke. Makes sense, though, since this so-called functional beverage is produced by our often-sugar-crazy friends at The Coca-Cola Company.

Worst Soda
Sunkist (12 oz can)
190 calories,
52g sugar

Sweetened soft drinks account for about 10 percent of the average American’s calorie consumption-about 200 completely unnecessary calories a day. For someone looking to lose 10 pounds fast, there is no simpler, quicker way to do it than by canning the soda.

Worst Beer
Sierra Nevada Stout (12 oz bottle)
210 calories,
20g carbohydrates

A full-flavored beer, no doubt, but one that packs a hefty caloric wallop. Switching out a sixer a week for a lighter beer would save you 9 pounds of extra flab this year. Cheers to that!

Worst Iced Tea
Lipton Iced Brisk Lemon Iced Tea
(20 oz bottle)
325 calories,
81g sugar

Iced tea is loaded with metabolism-boosting, cancer-fighting compounds called polyphenols, but Lipton does its best to undo any potential healthy benefit you might derive from the tea’s antioxidants by drowning them in 20 teaspoons of sugar. Your tea of choice should carry no more than 15 grams of sugar per 20-ounce serving.

Worst Coffee Alternative
Starbucks Venti White Hot Chocolate
640 calories,
23g fat (15g saturated),
76g sugar

Caffeine abstainers will find little nutritional refuge in Starbucks’ hot chocolate concoctions. This one packs an entire day’s worth of saturated fat, with more than enough sugar to set you up for a dramatic mid-afternoon energy crash. Stick with the Steamed Apple Juice instead.

Worst Hot Coffee
Starbucks Venti 2% Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha
660 calories,
22g fat (14g saturated),
95g sugar

Important Rule of Thumb: Avoid holiday-themed items from coffee shops at all costs. From peppermint to egg nog to pumpkin, these are often the most sugar- and fat-packed drinks you’ll find at places like Starbucks. Make your own flavored drinks instead, using skim milk, sugar-free syrups, and, of course, skipping the whip.

Worst Smoothie
Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo’d Power Smoothie (30 oz)
1,170 calories,
169g sugars

Jamba Juice calls it a smoothie; we call it a milkshake, with more sugar than an entire bag of chocolate chips. (Note: We’re pretty sure this is the drink Hollywood actors rely on when looking to put on 20 pounds for the role as a heavy!)

For the complete list of the 20 unhealthiest drinks, including the #1 unhealthiest drink in America (coming in at a whopping 2,310 calories and 108g of fat!) visit Eat This, Not That from Men’s Health on the web.

Anyone want the rest of my smoothie….and could you pass me that Beck’s Premier Light?

FDA warns about line of nutritional supplements

Lance Williams, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers Tuesday that a line of nutritional supplements containing BALCO-era steroids poses a serious health risk.

The supplements Tren Extreme and Mass Extreme, whose alleged distributors are the targets of a federal criminal probe, could cause liver injury, stroke or kidney failure, said Mike Levy, director of the FDA’s division of new drugs and labeling compliance.

The FDA also issued a warning letter to American Cellular Laboratories Inc. of Pacifica, declaring that the company was violating federal law by distributing the products, which are sold online and in sports nutrition stores.

Last week, federal agents raided a Max Muscle outlet in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood and the Pacifica home of Maurice Sandoval, who the government says owns American Cellular.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned consumers Tuesday that a line of nutritional supplements containing BALCO-era steroids poses a serious health risk.

The agents were seeking evidence of drug dealing, court records show. No arrests were made. Sandoval declined a Chronicle request to be interviewed.

Tren Extreme and Mass Extreme are marketed as legal products, but FDA scientists say they are actually chemical clones of two banned steroids: trenbolone, a steroid created for beef cattle, and DMT, also called Madol, a banned designer steroid.

Both steroids figured in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative drug scandal, the government said in an affidavit. Trenbolone formed the basis of “the Clear,” the undetectable drug allegedly used by former Giants star Barry Bonds and other elite athletes who were BALCO clients early in this decade. Madol was synthesized by a chemist associated with BALCO.

E-mail Lance Williams at lmwilliams@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle

On the web at: SFGate.com

The way I see it, there are really only a few general groups of people in any society-
1.) The victims that complain and blame their situation on other people or circumstances.
2.) The zombies who don’t know and don’t care.
3.) Those that have the attitude that nothing matters because “they” (the ever secretive and mysterious “they”) are going to do whatever they want no matter what we think or do.
4.) Those that take responsibility for their own well-being, for their family and for the way the country is run.

Am I being too harsh? Oh I don’t know, take a look at average voter turnout in the U.S., especially in local elections.

Now the other thing is that generally the folks in the first three categories are also the people who are looking for someone else to fix things for them. Not surprising that they are rarely happy with the fix when it hits them.

I choose to take responsibility for everything that happens to me. I don’t always like it but I try to do it anyway. I will even take responsibility for things like some else’s bad attitude and the weather because I know in any situation, I can choose to change my relationship to that situation. I can always leave.

We all need take responsibility for what you are about to watch below because even though none of us appointed this woman, we elected and continue to elect those that make these appointments. However you interpret the video, be it incompetency or outright criminal conduct, know that we have a choice.

Friends, shift your consciousness and take control of your life. You can act and create your situation, or spend all your time reacting to situations created by others.

Create multiple streams of income to protect yourself no matter what the economy does.

Surround yourself with people that have a positive attitude and are creating prosperity in their lives. Learn from them!

VOTE!

Stop listening to and hanging around your victim, zombie friends and people that tell you it doesn’t matter, it matters.

This is not a dress rehearsal, this is your life. Start creating the life you want.

On the web at:The Daily Bail

Provided by: The Canadian Press
Written by: Maria Cheng, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON - International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming both to be as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.

For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as “probable carcinogens.”

A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 per cent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal.

The new classification means tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.

The research was published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology on Wednesday, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.

“People need to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds,” said Vincent Cogliano, one of the cancer researchers. “We hope the prevailing culture will change so teens don’t think they need to use sunbeds to get a tan.”

Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research.

The classification of tanning beds as carcinogenic was disputed by Kathy Banks, chief executive of The Sunbed Association, a European trade association of tanning bed makers and operators.

“The fact that is continuously ignored is that there is no proven link between the responsible use of sunbeds and skin cancer,” Banks said in a statement. She said most users of tanning beds use them less than 20 times a year.

But as use of tanning beds has increased among people under 30, doctors have seen a parallel rise in the numbers of young people with skin cancer. In Britain, melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, is now the leading cancer diagnosed in women in their 20s. Normally, skin cancer rates are highest in people over 75.

Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never used them. In the past, WHO warned people younger than 18 to stay away from tanning beds. The American Cancer Society advises people to try bronzing or self-tanning creams instead of tanning beds.

-

On the Net:

www.lancet.com

www.medbroadcast.com

During times of infection or stress, vitamin C concentrations in plasma and blood cells rapidly decline. Research has shown that vitamin C supplementation can improve several elements of the human immune system such as antimicrobial and natural killer cell activities, proliferation of lymphocytes (white blood cells), chemotaxis*, and delayed-type hypersensitivity. During an inflammatory response, adequate vitamin C contributes to the integrity and health of the cell membranes which protect against excessive free radical damage.

Inadequate zinc status is also known to impair cellular immunity by impairing phagocytosis and natural killer cell activity. Therefore, both nutrients play important roles in immune function and the healthy resistance to infectious agents, reducing the risk, severity, and duration of infectious diseases. This is particularly important in populations with insufficient intake of these nutrients, such as low-income families and the elderly.

A large number of randomized controlled trials with advanced intakes of vitamin C and zinc document that adequate levels of vitamin C and zinc may reduce symptoms and shorten the duration of respiratory tract infections, including the common cold. Research also indicates that adequate vitamin C and zinc reduce the incidence and improve the outcome of pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhea infections, especially in children in developing countries.

Ann Nutr Metab 2006;50(2):85-94.

* Chemotaxis is the phenomenon in which bodily cells, bacteria, and other single-cell or multicellular organisms direct their movements according to certain chemicals in their environment. Vitamin C is known to influence neutrophil chemotaxis, or white blood cell movement in response to infectious agents.

This is who I am

by Phillip A. Gornail

I am the fruit delivered onto the branches of my ancestors; rooted firmly beneath & with outstretched limbs I was planted by my father’s seed and onto the nurturing love of my mother’s fertile soil.

I am the seed for another and many others indeed; for every word I share and every action I take are the seed for the birthing of an idea, an ideal, a promise, an intention or a curse. Every seed has the power within it to love or to invoke not love but the absence of it. I choose to plant seeds of unconditional love.

I am the root; for every moment that I die of my ego or a past experience that does not serve or support the positive intentions I hold for my journey, then I firmly and deliberately forge deeper onto the earth of my being. The deeper I journey to take hold of rock solid principles & universal laws that lay strong foundations, then the farther my branches can reach and the greater the impact of the fruits of my labor.

I am the tree; for every storm that passes to uproot the essence of which I am or to toss me to and fro in order to test my faith and beliefs, I stand firm and protect all those people & promises for which I represent. And when necessary because of the all-knowing wisdom of God & our universe I effortlessly accept the tornado, the hurricane or the chaos which lifts me from where I am to bring me to where I am needed.

I am the limb; each time that I stretch my thinking and change a habit and do something different from the last. I move myself and accept that I am the cause for my life and the greater I stretch and reach the more room I allow for another to do the same. When my branches have stretched as far as it appears they can go, I will yet again stretch by growing another limb.

I am the leaf; which provides the shade & the shelter for the knowledge making its way beneath me in the fertile soil of my mind. I am that shade and shelter for humanity as well, particularly when a friend needs to take rest at my side or to take a slumber while they meditate on the stories I share.

I am the fruit again with more seeds in me and I am at the end of my journey as I yearn to fall off of the limb and the stem which connects me to this story and this life. This yearning is motivated by the intention to live long after death. For unless a seed dies it can bear no fruit.

My fruit is for consumption. My fruit is for nurturing. My fruit is for learning. My fruit is for sharing. My fruit is for service to others. My fruit is for my children. My fruit is not for me or of me, but by divine design and purpose.

This is who I am.
Phillip Anthony Gornail

“Wow, uh, OK.” I said.
“Just remember, you’re number two!” he smiled.

Several times during the evening he would look at me and say, “Remember, you’re number two.” I would smile back and assure him I wouldn’t forget this important bit of information although I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, nor did anyone else apparently. But then, if you knew this very good friend of mine, you would know that it generally isn’t important to know what he’s talking about. With this man, all will be made known eventually and it’s all good, all the time.

The next day I got a text message from him, and I quote, “You’re #2″. I sent him a text back saying that I remembered, but what was he talking about? His text came back almost immediately:

“My second New Year’s resolution.”

I just sat looking at my cell phone for a minute with a smile on my face. Then I sent him a text back telling him that it was one of the coolest things anyone had ever said to me. Now keep in mind, I still have NO idea what this means to him or how this will manifest itself in the future. I only know how it made me feel to read it. It also made me stop for a minute and think about the resolutions we make at the end of every year.

Even if we don’t formally call them resolutions, most of us have an idea of what we want to accomplish in the coming year. Some make a resolution list, some design a new dream board or a prosperity collage. We all have our ways of setting goals for the coming year and keeping them where we can see them. But one thing they have in common, they are usually about us. We want to create more customers or take our business to a new level, take a family vacation, lose weight and take better care of ourselves. All noble goals and all things that we should focus energy on.

But what if this year we added another one very near the top? What if in spot # 2, we put a person’s name and made that someone, as opposed to something, our number two resolution for the new year? Someone that we want to reconnect with but it just doesn’t ever seem to happen because of how busy we get. What if we just pick one person- a child we need to spend more time with, and old friend we need to stay in contact with, a relative we need to reconnect with, and make them a top priority this year?

• Put their name in the number two spot on your list.
• Put their picture on your prosperity board.
• Put their picture on your refrigerator and on your bathroom mirror.

Put them on your calendar, in your computer and smart phone and schedule specific times to call, send an email, send a post card and schedule something like a dinner or happy hour once in awhile. Schedule the time to rekindle and strengthen that relationship.

I think by focusing on that one person you will automatically start being an even better friend to lots of other people you know. But pick one particular person you want to bring closer into your life. And make sure they know that they’re number two!

Whatever you celebrate this holiday season, make it joyful