Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/hrhXqe6ULJA/

“Grief can be the garden of compassion.” ~Rumi

Have you ever had lower back pain? I once wrenched my back and walked at snail’s pace for weeks, crippled by pain. Lower back pain troubled me for years, until I found an exercise that reliably switches off the pain.

Have you ever lost a loved one? The anguish can seem unbearable.

Abolishing pain might seem a good idea, but please pause to consider this story.

I was once the doctor and scientist on a health “mission” with a major international organization. Our team included a vivacious and intelligent young lady called Sheryl Sandberg (now the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook). One of the diseases in our “portfolio” was leprosy.

Peripheral nerves of people with leprosy become infected by a germ. The skin supplied by such a nerve becomes anaesthetic. Lack of pain might seem like a blessing, at first glance.

A leprosy patient with an anaesthetic hand can, unfortunately, hold their hand in a flame. They keep injuring themselves unknowingly, gradually eroding their fingers, feet, and eyes.

It can be worse: there’s a Swedish province where some people feel no pain anywhere. That condition is inherited. People suffer severe deformities because they unknowingly twist and batter their own joint…

Source: http://www.thefitbits.com/2015/10/this-girl-can-ambassador-for-sussex.html

I’m really excited to be partnering with Active Sussex as This Girl Can Sussex Ambassador. I’ve written about TGC before when Sport England first launched the campaign at the beginning of the year. Since then it’s really taken off and inspired lots of us across the country to not give a damn about what anyone thinks and just get active.

This is the perfect opportunity for an endorphin-fiend like me and I can’t wait to embark on some new-found fitness escapades across Brighton and Sussex, hopefully inspiring a few people to get stuck in along the way.

Every day, I’m reminded why I love keeping active so much. For me, it’s about more than losing or gaining weight, slimming into those size 8 jeans, or general health and wellbeing.
It’s about the mesmerising early morning sunrises and sunsets under the chalky clifftops of Brighton. Those things you’d never normally see unless you were out running or cycling at that very moment in time.

A video posted by @fitbits_tess on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:49pm PDT

The supermassive dose of endorphins that flood my system after a tough run, gym or swim workout.
Exploring new places, new feelings and reaching new goals.

<img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blo…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/meditation/sleep-cycles/

“Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” While the phrase coined by Benjamin Franklin dates back to his book series, Poor Richard’s Almanack, in 1735, it still sums up how many people think about sleep today. The typical recommendation from doctors is that adults get about eight hours per night and follow a regular sleep schedule, laying down and waking up at consistent times each day.

Renowned sleep coach Nick Littlehales, who has been working in the field of sleep for more than 30 years with top sports teams, including the soccer stars of Manchester United and Real Madrid, recognizes those rigid recommendations leave a lot of people out, especially folks in sleep-deprived professions, like pilots and nurses. Which is why Littlehales has developed a different approach to bedtime. Rather than track hours, he and his athletes focus on cycles. This innovative take on sleep, which is based on what happens within your body when you’re conked out, might just help you feel more well-rested, too.

The Sleep Cycle, Explained

First, a quick biology lesson: When you’re asleep, you progress through five distinct stages, where your body and brain behave differently in each.

Stage 1 is called light sleep. This is when your eye movement and muscle activity slow down. If you’ve ever felt an arm or a leg suddenly jerk or twitch…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/16/459981099/how-the-food-industry-helps-engineer-our-cravings?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

The food industry has processed lots of foods to hit that “bliss point” — that perfect amount of sweetness that would send eaters over the moon. In doing so, it’s added sweetness in plenty of unexpected places – like bread and pasta sauce, says investigative reporter Michael Moss.

Yagi Studio/Getty Images

It is no secret that the rise in obesity in America has something to do with food. But how much? And what role does the food industry as a whole play?

As part of Here & Now’s series this week on obesity, America on the Scale, host Jeremy Hobson spoke with investigative reporter Michael Moss of The New York Times.

For Moss’s book, Salt Sugar Fat, he went inside the industry and spoke with food inventors and CEOs about how the industry has shaped what people eat and capitalized on how American eating habits have changed — for the worse and, maybe now, for the better. Highlights from their conversation follow, edited for brevity and clarity.

Interview Highlights

On the food industry’s level of responsibility for the obesity epidemic

I was really struck by how many people inside the industry itself hold their industry totally accountable, tot…

Source: http://www.livelifeactive.com/2015/12/19/hilarious-hello-parody-youve-gotta-watch/

So this video is just hilarious so I had to share it with y’all.  It’s a Hello Parody from Adele’s song called “Hello”, but this one is more like “Hella cravings for some fries”  that will relate to each and every one of us with the struggle we all have with making it to the gym and eating healthy.

Hello Parody http://www.livelifeactive.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Funny-Hello-Parody.mp4

(By Dustin and Genevieve Ahkuoi)

If you’re somewhere that you can’t watch it, here’s the lyrics so you can enjoy it as well.  It’s brilliant!

Hello Parody

Hello, it’s me.
I’ve avoided you forever while consuming calories.
I love donuts..
Mac and cheese.
They say kale has antioxidants but I’m anti leafy greens.
Hello, can you save me?
I’m in calisthenics dreaming about Netflix and Mickey D’s.
When I was younger
These jeans used to fit me,
Now my booty’s got them bursting at the seams.
There’s more circumference
To my gut
And no gap between my thighs.
Hello cravings for some fries.
I did one push-up and I cried.
And my glutes are shaking
Every time that I lunge
And this gluten free bread
Tastes just like a sponge.
Hella pizza late at night
I keep saying just one more slice.
And I feel so
HANGRY
Breakfast, dinner and lunch
A…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/16/459971675/1-in-10-people-around-the-world-get-sick-from-food-every-year?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

A woman washes dishes on the street in Hanoi, Vietnam. The World Health Organization says the burden of foodborne disease in Southeast Asia is one of the highest in the world.

Luong Thai Linh/EPA/Landov

A common nuisance of wandering the world is travelers’ diarrhea. Food in many regions of the world isn’t always properly handled, and that can put you in bed for several days.

Countries with strict (and regularly enforced) food safety regulations, like the U.S., still experience occasional, high-profile outbreaks of foodborne diseases. This fall, hundreds of unlucky diners at Chipotle restaurants around the country fell prey to outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus.

But foodborne illness cases here in the U.S. are few compared with countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where the disease burden of contaminated food is…

Source: http://www.sonima.com/food/sweet-potato-latkes/

Here’s the brilliant thing about latkes: Everyone loves them. Whether you’re celebrating Hanukkah or simply a potato enthusiast, latkes are the perfect addition to every meal. They’re just as stunning on the breakfast counter as they are as your holiday centerpiece, and are certain to bring family and friends together in the sweetest way possible.

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With these sweet potato latkes, you get the best of all umami worlds: The dense, mellow sugar of purple sweet potatoes, the earthy tang of onion, and the rootsy power of thyme infused apple sauce. Did I mention the creme fraiche on top? Use sour cream if you prefer, but the thick richness of creme fraiche lends itself particularly well to these potato pancakes.

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I chose to use vibrant purple sweet potatoes here, but yams or regular sweet potatoes will serve you just as well. 

Happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays, to all!

…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/17/460001377/movement-to-pay-it-forward-with-a-cup-of-coffee-spills-into-u-s?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

Kofenya Coffee in Oxford, Ohio, has been operating a token-based pay-it-forward scheme for around six months. Customers pay for a cup of coffee in advance for a stranger.

Courtesy of Tim Stiffler-Dean

On March 27, 2013, John Sweeney, a plumber from Ireland, started a Facebook page called Suspended Coffees. His message was simple: Buy a cup of coffee for a stranger, because an act of kindness can change a life. Eight hours later, the page had attracted more than 20,000 likes.

Suspended coffee, or caffe sospeso, is a tradition that comes from Naples, Italy, and dates to at least the turn of the 20th century. When customers buy coffee, they also pay in advance for a cup to be given to somebody else — usually someone who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

As The Salt has reported, the idea of “paying it forward” with a cup of coffee experienced a revi…

Source: http://www.thefitbits.com/2015/10/review-wedgie-free-runderwear.html

Right then. I hope you’ve had your dinner, as it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. I’ve been writing this blog for a couple of years now and I’m ready to talk about… my pants.

Whether you want to read about it or not is another matter, of course… but don’t try and tell me you’ve never had to urgently attend to a wedgie half way through a run.  

What do you do for running underwear? 

Do you, like me, go for the big comfy pants that you can tuck your belly (and house) into? Do you go minimal and opt for a thong, or maybe even commando because you’re sick of faffing about adjusting your pants every time they decide to disappear up your bum. For the men who are reading this, do you wear boxers under your running tights? Or pants or again, nothing?

It kinda ruins my vibe if I overtake someone all smug in a race but then let them see me reclaim my knickers from the abyss. 
Going commando is fine as long as you’ve got the right kit, i.e. either shorts with built-in pants or leggings that are sweat-wicking, breathable, with a proper gusset and thick enough to not be see-through.

No one needs to learn that the hard way… 

<img border="0" height="334" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p3r-XlaoCII/Vhu28sb5tVI/AAAAAAAADVE/aCEcJ6SeIj4/s640/tec…

Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/17/459203467/in-the-maine-woods-a-towering-giant-could-help-save-chesnuts?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=thesalt

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All Things Considered

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This is the tallest known American chestnut tree in North America, clocking in at precisely 115 feet. It’s an exciting find fo…