Having lots of snack choices is important. Contrary to intuition, having lots of snack choices around doesn’t promote overeating. When you have options, your brain gets over the, “I must eat” mantra and focuses on the variety instead. Check out our weight management tips for more ideas on snacking.

Fewer and fewer people are washing their hands before they eat. In part, this decline in personal cleanliness is due to the convenience and availability of food, lack of education in the classroom and oversight or forgetfulness.

If you’re sitting in a classroom or at a computer workstation all day, you might think, “I don’t have germs on my hands, so why should I go into a dirty washroom to wash my hands? I’ll just get them dirtier by doing so! Besides, I worked hard all morning, and I want to eat now!”

Several studies published in The Lancet and more widely popular serials such as The New York Times indicate the average school water fountain/drinking fountain has more bacteria and mold on the handles and the spout than the average public washroom (in a school).

Washing your hands will rid you of graphite from pencils, dirt and bacteria on keyboards, metals and paint coatings from door handles, and bacteria that got onto your hand when you sneezed. Ridding yourself of these sources of poor digestion will make vitamin and mineral absorption more efficient while reducing the amount of blood needed to be diverted from the brain to the stomach. Good deal, huh?

If you have to eat on the go, make it something that’s easy to digest. Smoothies are popular for this reason, but try going for whole-grain cookies and dried or fresh fruit too. Also, if you eat a water-rich food, like celery (93 per cent water), you’ll be getting your nutrients, fiber and water all at the same time. Now that’s almost Jem’Hadar-like! Notice Captain Picard never ate his croissants in the turbolift? Smart bloke, that one. Croissants are high in fat content and low in fiber and nutrients, making them difficult to digest even if you drink lots of juice with them. If your stomach has to put more energy into digesting, again, it’s diverting blood away from your brain. See, you always knew there was an explanation why his diplomacy worked most of the time against all odds.

More eateries are now offering more slurp-able soups in slurpee-like containers with extra-wide straws, so you can really eat on the go. Try them out some time. Better yet, try a homemade soup-sicle. If you have lots of leftover soup that’s pretty homogenous, like split pea soup or a gazpacho, freeze it in a popsicle maker. Both of which taste great cold, by the way. Remember that, for runny soups, you have to let the liquid turn semi-hard before sticking the popsicle stick in, otherwise it won’t be a very stable popsicle.

Eat a tuna salad sandwich
Tuna is packed with lots of goodies: vitamins B6 and B12, omega-3 fatty acids to protect your heart, immune-boosting selenium and bone-building magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin D. All of these nutrients also help you deal with stress more easily. With celery, plain yogurt or mayonnaise, whole-grain bread or pita, this super sandwich is filling and easy to throw together, not fattening.

Steam some broccoli
These crunchy little guys pack in calcium, folic acid, and cancer-fighting ingredients called isothiocyanates that’ll get those damaging chemicals before they start vandalizing. Broccoli gets you a double the bang for your buck with vitamin A and C, fiber and iron, magnesium to boot. Try them with a bit of cheese, salsa, nutritional yeast or lemon juice. They cook in 3 minutes.

Heat up some soup
Water-based foods fill you up fast to help you maintain or lose weght, according to a study by Barbara Rolls, professor of nutrition at Pennsylvania State University. Her research found that women who ate soup as a first course at lunch consumed 26 percent fewer calories at that meal. Choose a low-sodium soup chock full of veggies for maximum nutrient absorption.

Nibble on nuts
Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and others pack a lot of nutritional punch. Nuts are a cheap source of protein, those great omega-6 fatty acids, and minerals. THese help hormone production, healthy skin and strong blood vessels. The protein also makes you feel full for a longer time. Raw unsalted nuts are the healthiest choice.

Brew some green tea
Those polyphenols in green tea have a powerful antioxidant effect, which reduce chances of heart disease in your late twenties if you’re overdosing on pizza and junk food, and is linked to cancer prevention. The alkaline qualities of green tea also make it a great mouthwash, and certain polyphenols help you burn more calories in your regular activities.

Inspect your skin, hair and nails
Most of us do it anyway, but try looking for signs of nutritional duress. It’s also a good thing to look for signs of skin cancer. The most common kind of cancer cna be caught early; look for moles that have become irregular-shaped, changed color, bleed or change in dimensions.

If you’re gonna read a label, do it right.
Many of you’d be surprised, for example, at how few breads feature whole-grain flour as the first ingredient. We usually just look at the big words on the front. It’s worth looking for breads with whole wheat flour as the first ingredient, because nutrient- and fiber-dense carbohydrates help us have more energy, sleep better, eat less, lower our risk for heart disease and help the body to absorb nutrients from non-carbohydrate food sources.

When you choose a container for your kit, make sure that you pick one that’s durable. For my container, I employed a band-aid tin. This has been successful without adding any additional cost. It should be easy to fill your kit because the drug store offers many things suitable for supplying your kit.

Adhesive bandages—It’s a good idea to pack stick-on bandages and make sure you include different sizes. Butterfly-style adhesive bandages are also a good choice to have on hand. I would suggest keeping the kit stocked with five each of three different sized bandages and also three butterfly bandages. Cloth rather than plastic bandages are preferable. I think they stick better, even though I’ve been carrying them around in my handbag forever. Having a variety of different bandage sizes will make it easier to cover a wound, whether you need just one or several to cover a larger injury.

Anti-bacterial cream—There are several small sizes of anti-bacterial creams available, including sample sizes, that will fit neatly into your kit. There are single use sizes available. Protection will be given from infection during the use of the cream, while the healing is beginning.

Wet wipes—Make sure to include individual, single use wet wipes available at your pharmacy. These wipes are available with anti-bacterial cream already in them. These will be necessary for cleaning the wound. Do this by gently cleaning the wound as much as possible before applying the anti-bacterial cream.

Pain relievers—You can keep a small plastic container in the kit filled with a pain reliever, that can be refilled after it’s used. Though small, single use packets are available and convenient, it is more economical to have a larger, cheaper size available in which to refill the small containers.

Optional items—If there is any room left in the container, it’s a good idea to fill this space with any medical or first aid items specific to your family’s health care needs. Antacids, allergy medication, eye drops, tweezers, and a small scissors are also very good additions to your kit.

Once filled, the kit in a can should be stored in an easy to locate place in your luggage. Putting this kind of first aid kit together is good practice for older children.

Make an extra kit and add some decoration, and it will make an inexpensive and useful gift for family member, friend, coworker, or your child’s teacher. Plus, who knows when you might have the chance to “be ready”!

Drugs and the FDA
First the drugs. Once a prescription drug is FDA approved, it can only be prescribed by a licensed physician and only dispensed by a licensed pharmacist. You then have a three level check system to ensure safety: the FDA, the medical doctor or physician, and the pharmacist.

Supplements
On the other hand, we have natural food supplements. The FDA does not regulate these substances and they don’t require a physician or pharmacist to purchase them. The only quality check is the manufacturer, which is required to ensure that the food supplements they produce are safe.

Now that I have you really concerned, let’s look at the safety track record of drugs verses food supplements. In 1998, a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that adverse reactions to prescription drugs were killing about 106,000 Americans each year, almost three times as many as killed by automobiles (4). Of these 106,000 people, 41% (43,000) were hospitalized due to an adverse drug reaction; the other 59% (63,000 people), developed a fatal reaction to prescription drugs they received while in the hospital. The most disturbing fact about this report is that the study only included drugs that were given properly and under normal circumstances, and excluded drugs that were administered in error or taken in attempted suicides. Wow! It just keeps getting better and better for those prescription drugs, doesn’t it?

Now let’s look at food supplements. In 1997, approximately 40% of the United States population (267,743,595 people) took dietary supplements, of which 18,000 had adverse reactions (5). However, these 18,000 poisonings were in children under 5 years of age that overdosed or took excessive amounts of vitamin supplements. So we see that life threatening adverse reactions to vitamins, mineral, and herbal supplements rarely occur in the adult population. Clearly, food supplements are much safer than prescription or non-prescription drugs any day of the week!

Efficacy?
Now that you feel comfortable again in regards to the safety of food supplements, there is the issue of effectiveness, or what we in the biz like to call “efficacy.” In essence, do food supplements do what you think they are doing?
This is where being informed really comes in handy. Remember that the FDA holds manufacturers responsible for the safety of their products? Well, that doesn’t mean that their products will do you any good. For example, I’m sure you have all heard or read about the benefits of Glucosamine Sulfate and Chondroitin Sulfate for joint pain and mobility, and rightly so. These food supplements have been clinically shown to improve joint function. However, the manufacturers of products that contain these substances are not really being honest with you. What they are not telling you is that oral Chondroitin Sulfate is too large (molecularly) to be absorbed by the body and that, in clinical trials, the injectable form of Chondroitin Sulfate was used, not oral (6). Yes, that’s right my friends, the pill form of Chondroitin Sulfate that you are taking is doing absolutely nothing for you. Yet, there are hundreds of food supplements out there that have oral Chondroitin Sulfate in their products, imagine that!

The moral of the story is that you are responsible for the food supplements that you take. Yes, food supplements are very safe if taken in accordance with the label instructions (or as instructed by a healthcare professional), but you don’t take them just for the fun of it. You take supplements to improve or maintain your health. So, unless you like spending money on products that do nothing for you, or don’t do what you think they’re doing, it is important to research and understand the products that you are taking. And hey, don’t always believe what the manufacturer tells you, research it for yourself. Food supplements can be a very valuable tool in the quest for optimum health, but they need to be used wisely. So don’t fall for all the media hype! Become an informed consumer. You’ll be better off and save some money to boot! Can’t beat that!

Modern medical science now acknowledges the potential benefits in addition to the dangers of taking food supplements. Taking food supplements is now considered common and is recommended by many physicians. In fact, approximately 40% of those over 2 years of age take some sort of dietary supplement (1). Based on these facts, it should not shock anyone to learn that the food supplement business is a billion-dollar industry.

THE FDA’s Influence
On the other hand, we have the dreaded Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Currently, the FDA does not regulate the food supplement industry other than ensuring that the product label accurately reflects the product composition. The FDA also monitors health claims in relation to product labeling. At this time, the FDA has graciously given its blessing for manufacturers to use the following health claims: Calcium and Osteoporosis; Sodium and Hypertension; dietary fat and cancer; dietary saturated fat/cholesterol and coronary heart disease; fiber containing fruits, grains, vegetables and cancer; fiber-containing fruit, grains, and vegetables and heart disease; folate (a “B” Vitamin) and neural tube birth defects; and dietary sugar alcohol and dental caries (cavities).

In addition, the FDA requires that supplement manufacturers ensure the safety of their products, but does not require them to register or receive FDA approval before producing or selling dietary supplements.

With consumers left to determine if a food supplement is safe and effective, many may and have said that the FDA should regulate food supplements the same way they regulate drugs. However, people with this opinion clearly have a false sense of security in regards to the FDA. If the FDA regulation of drugs is any indication of the FDA’s capabilities to ensure safety, placing natural food supplements under the FDA would serve no useful purpose.

Case in point: in September of 1997, the FDA took the diet drugs fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine off the market due to reports of heart valve damage in 31% of those who took the drugs in combination with another diet pill, phentermine. Fenfluramine was also shown to damage heart valves when taken alone. By the time the FDA acted and banned fenfluramine, this drug had been on the market for over 24 years (2). Now combine that bit of news with the fact that an estimated 51% of FDA approved drugs have serious side effects that are not detected prior to approval (3) and you have one scary mess. So, the idea of placing food supplements under the FDA for “safety reasons” doesn’t quite fly, does it?

Now that I have thoroughly scared you about prescription drugs, let me reassure you as to the safety of natural food supplements. To illustrate this point, let’s contrast the safety of FDA regulated prescription drugs with that of food supplements.

As we will see, these organs are critical to detoxification. The liver and kidneys are involved in detoxification of chemicals, so they are what detoxification programs target. The liver essentially filters out extraneous and waste products from one’s blood. One’s kidneys filter foreign substances into the urine and one’s lungs filter out volatile gas from our breath.

The body was made for natural substances like foods and herbs. Extraneous substances stimulate the immune system, whose job it is to remove them. Some chemicals are more toxic than others, but the liver reduces them all to compounds the body can eliminate — as sweat through the skin, urine through the kidneys or feces from the bowels. In order to stay in good health, these organs need to be in good shape.

There are several detoxification regimens, but they have different focuses. Some detoxification regimens are solely for the bowels, while others focus on the liver, blood, kidneys, or skin. Incorporating detox programs like this into your health regimen can revitalize your health and help you regain your youth. Once toxins have been removed, a person becomes healthier and more energetic. There are several effective detoxification programs, which focus on different aspects of one’s health. Any detoxification program, however, will have health benefits. Detoxification involves other factors as well, such as nutrition, exercise, water intake, rest, sun exposure, and open air.

If the hurt has to do with nerves that have been damaged or are sore, like sciatica or shingles, pills that are normally used for seizures and anxiety are the treatment, normally. The central nervous system is affected by these pills.

The reason for taking a medicine is to maximize the quality of your life. Because every pain medicine has potentially dangerous side effects, you should perform an assessment of the risks involved.

Aspirin, Paracetamol, Codeine, Anti-inflammatory

Aspirin

Aspirin is not particularly good at relieving pain, although it works as an anti-inflammatory. Usually, aspirin is not ordered as a pain medicine, and it can be a dangerous choice for children who are less than 12 years of age.

Paracetamol

A safe dose of this medicine for adults is two tablets, which can be taken as many as four times daily. This rarely results in side effects, and this is a safe dose that can be taken regularly for extended periods of time. Overdosing on paracetamol can result in very serious side effects. This is typically used in the treatment of headaches and pains that are not related to nerve injury. If you begin to experience even more pain, do not take more of the medicine as this may only make things worse.

If your pain does not resolve within three days, it is imperative that you see your primary care provider.

Anti-Inflammation

Ibuprofen prescription drug seems to work most effectively when the pain is caused by an inflammatory response, such as that occurring with arthritis or an acute injury. Do not use them for long periods of time unless severe inflammation is present. People who take them for long periods of time have a greater chance of developing digestive problems, stomach bleeding and heart or kidney damage. If you take a dose that is higher than the one recommended, you have a much greater chance of developing serious side effects.

Codeine

Codeine by itself is not very effective. It works more effectively if it is combined with paracetamol, and paracetamol, as well as low doses of codeine or co-codamol, can be purchased without a prescription. High doses of codeine require a prescription, and other pain medicines that are of mid level effectiveness include Zydol and dihydrocodeine.

Each of these pain medicines sometimes cause dependency; therefore, if you quit taking them abruptly you may start feeling ill, it’s much like making a try to quit smoking. If you become addicted to these medicines, don’t be embarrassed to talk about your problem, and talk to your doctor about getting help, because an overdose of pain medicines can be fatal.

A great portion of today’s fragrances in the market contain pheromones optimized to elevate sexual attraction between the sexes. Pheromones are recognized as aphrodisiac and a love potion, as well. One of the initial fragrances that is known for this was the female’s fragrance Pheromone, recognized precisely for its enhancing properties. A powerful fragrance, it is intended to be applied sparingly and is best for use in cool weather. It is somewhat overpowering but it is known to be the most powerful level of pheromone. More than just an ingredient in female fragrances, pheromones are also present in some leading men’s colognes. A fascination thing, even though all females adore a man that smells good, Androstenone, which is the male human pheromone that attracts females, is released from males sweat glands.

As reported on ABC News in March 2007, research conducted at a University in San Francisco had a 54% higher rate of interest in women who put on perfume that contained pheromone. It also revealed that there is 50% more sexual arousal from males to females. In addition, an increase in petting, sexual intercourse, kissing, and sleeping closer to their partner, along with an increase in dating was reported by 78% of women.

Basically, we are able to be sexually aroused and excited when we encounter smells from some people of the opposite sex. Have you ever been drawn to that specific individual, whose skin odor, that particular scent, makes you helplessly enraptured? It appears that you just could not get enough of that person. Oh yes, that sensation. At that instant, you are firmly into the essence of that individual.

Thus the next time an individual’s aroma drives you to uncontrollable sexual captivation towards that person, be aware of what you are feeling. Go with the flow and take pleasure in it. The fact is that it is not something a person feels with just anybody. It is by not by choice. Anybody who has gone through this, knows. If you have yet to experience this, though, just continue with your life. The future will bring you the best.

But even this picture would capture few elements. A caption would be necessary to make note of the policy’s failure to specify whether innocence must be proven, or guilt demonstrated. Also in need of written explanation, the policy fails to specify a standard of evidence, whether it is beyond a reasonable doubt or some other measure entirely, to be employed in assessing whether the accused ought to be convicted.

Since the Columbia Senate, consisting of both faculty and students, ratified the now infamous Sexual Misconduct Policy a year and a half ago, University administrators defended the policy’s transgressions of civil liberties without misstep. All along, they pandered to student activists composed largely in part by the organization Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER), which vigorously lobbied the Senate on the policy’s behalf.

When Professor of Law and University Senator Gerard Lynch raised due process concerns on the floor, he was quickly rebuked. One of the student authors of the policy told the Columbia Daily Spectator, “the Task Force never really agreed with [Professor Lynch's] opinion” on the due process issue. She added, “Columbia’s disciplinary procedures have been held up in courts of law numerous times.”

The legality of the policy, however, is totally irrelevant. Because Columbia is not a public university, it need not protect Constitutional provisions guaranteeing many civil liberties. What lesson Columbia wishes to bestow upon its students about rights and justice is nevertheless pertinent to its legitimacy as a liberal arts institution. Priding itself for requiring undergraduates to attend several Great Works courses, the policy is totally inconsistent with any school championing the liberal tradition of tolerance and fairness.

When the Daily Spectator challenged popular opinion, editorializing against the policy, it was met with stark criticism from leaders of SAFER who conceded their disinterest in reforming the criminal justice system or voluntarily working within Constitutional constraints. A Columbia College junior at the time, Jeff Senter wrote, “Forcing an encounter between the accused and accuser in a sexual assault case is a flaw, not a virtue of the justice system …”

When Columbia’s administration was again confronted with the policy’s deficiencies, this time in a long letter from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), the University Counsel, Patricia Catapano, wrote to FIRE assuring the group that Columbia was confidant in the policy, as written. In October 2000, the Wall Street Journal responded with an editorial of its own, deeply critical of the kangaroo court.

In the wake of attacks on their beloved policy, statements from SAFER reveal a new course of action on their part. A reverse McCarthyism of sorts, employed to discredit the policy’s critics underlies their response. Among those targeted by SAFER was esteemed ACLU attorney Harvey Silverglate, who they branded “far right”—an unpopular label to wear at Columbia.

And in their press release responding to the Wall Street Journal editorial, SAFER dismissed criticism once again. They did so, not on factual grounds, but by simply asserting only an “ultraconservative minority” opposed the policy. The absurdity of this charge is magnified by the fact that Clinton appointed one of the two people who voted against the policy, Professor Lynch, to the federal bench in Spring 2001.

Despicably, they went further, saying that their critics were simply would-be rapists, attributing personal fear of exposure as the single motivation of those who spoke out against the policy. One SAFER email reads: “Increased recognition of campus sexual assault is, after all, a threat to many.”

When the Columbia ACLU hosted a panel with Silverglate and retired Columbia law professor Vivian Berger, SAFER was invited to send representatives to defend the policy. They refused. More cowardly, two leaders of the club ripped down posters advertising the event.

Further negative publicity, including a second Wall Street Journal editorial, sparked a rift within SAFER. Many of the organizations previous supporters acknowledged they were fighting a losing battle in the media, caused in large-part from the poor decisions of their leaders.

Evidently scared of losing support, Sarah Richardson began claiming that she had steadfastly been in support of civil liberties all along, and that it was the administration, not students, who posed the obstacle to fairness. She wrote: “activists should target the Administration, not individual students and student groups.”

Alas, yet another missing picture. Anarchic students, unconstrained by a complicit administration, governing. Ironically, while these activists used the slogan “Behind Closed Doors” to describe what the administration did next, they had engaged all along in a campaign to banish their critics to the shadows of Columbia’s campus, where they couldn’t be heard from.

Rowan was apparently outraged that the Boulder Public Library declined to hang a large American flag in the entryway-for fear that it might be construed as a political statement-and yet allowed CU student Susanne Walker’s art to be displayed.

Walker called Rowan’s action anti-American, describing it as “not only an attack on my freedom of speech, but the art space, the issue of domestic violence, women, and the victims of terrorism.”

The victims of terrorism?

Rowan defends his actions, saying “This just doesn’t belong here. I have never pulled off a crime before in my entire life and I have a lot of pride for what I did.” The case is now headed for trial, and a defiant Rowan, who has rejected all plea offers, is psyched. By the way, he’s also considering a run for Congress.