Stay Positive


"In the midst of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."

- Alert Camus








Wednesday, October 31, 2012

A Recipe for Success | Marnie McBean / The Power of More

Marnie McBean The Power of More book


About the Book

The Power of More shows readers how to accomplish their goals, big or small. Whether you are a novice runner who wants to run a 10k race, a sales rep who wants to increase market share, or an elite athlete trying to conquer the world stage, you can achieve your ambition by believing in the importance of doing a little bit more.

With humour and insight, three-time Olympic champion Marnie McBean discusses the importance of breaking big goals down into manageable bits of “more.” For example, when she decided to run to the top of the CN Tower in Toronto for a fundraising event, she focused not on running all 1,776 steps but on running up one step and then one more step. The Power of More is not about concentrating on the more you can get but the more that you can do. Even when you think you’re done, you aren’t—chances are you have a bit more to give.

McBean discusses the importance of setting goals, the role of communication and teamwork, and the need for motivation, commitment, and accountability. Finally, while she encourages people to strive to be perfect she punctures the myth that we should expect to be perfect and stresses that both confidence and success are the result of preparation.


30 May 2012
A Recipe for Success


Olympic gold medallist Marnie McBean outlines a strategy for setting and achieving goals that can be applied to business – or any aspect of life

By George Hartman | June 2012 for Investment Executive

 How often have you set a goal and achieved it? Chances are this has happened to you a number of times. Feels good, right? Now, how often have you set a goal that others have said was too high for you – beyond your grasp and capabilities – and achieved that one? Not as often, I bet. But how good would that feel?


Marnie McBean, three-time Olympic gold medallist and winner of numerous other championships, knows all about setting audacious goals and, more important, what it takes to defy the limits that are imposed on us, either by ourselves or by others.

In The Power of More: How Small Steps Can Help You Achieve Big Goals, McBean describes her journey to world dominance in the sport of rowing – the dreams, the challenges, the pinnacles of success and the depths of disappointment. Part autobiography and part confessional, the book also is invaluably instructional and inspirational for anyone who has set their sights on personal accomplishment in sports, business or life.

As the title suggests, the book’s theme is about breaking large goals into smaller pieces and doing “just a little bit more” when the task seems too difficult. That is, pushing yourself one notch closer to your goal, whether it is connecting with that elusive new prospective client, perfecting an important presentation, completing a tedious project, climbing the CN Tower or running your first 10-kilometre race. (Which, coincidently, I did one week after reading this book, with McBean’s words – “Just one more step” – carrying me to setting a personal-best time.)

McBean follows a logical path from goal-setting through preparation, teamwork, commitment and accountability to the actual “test” that determines success. Here are just a few of this book’s many memorable insights that stand out for me.

- Grains of rice in a cup. This metaphor runs through many parts of the book, beginning early in the process – that is, in our preparation for a task. McBean likens preparing for a goal to filling a cup with grains of rice, with each grain representing some time and effort that we contribute toward that goal. The contributions could be in the areas of physical conditioning, mental awareness, emotional well-being or health. The more grains of rice we add to our cup, the greater the likelihood of meeting our objective.

It’s also important to know there will be times when we take grains out of our cup through failure to maintain a development plan, lack of commitment or reduced focus.

- Cable vs chain. In the chapter on teamwork, McBean notes that great teams come together not because the individual members are similar to each other but because they complement each other’s strengths and have shared goals. Almost inevitably, however, as we become more comfortable in our own role within the team structure, we begin to look more critically at the strengths and weaknesses of our teammates. If we allow ourselves to focus too much on the perceived weaknesses of others, we begin to think of them as “weak links in the chain” and anticipate failure if they falter in any way.

At times like this, it is important to think of the team working as a cable rather than as a chain. In a cable, every strand does not have to be perfect. Winding all the strands together is what gives the cable strength and, even if one strand breaks completely, the cable can still withstand great strain.

- Can I? Will I? In the chapter that deals with the test that proves whether we will achieve our goal, McBean suggests we will be confronted regularly by moments when we question our ability and our commitment. She describes three possible reactions to these moments of challenge: we quit; we close our eyes and pray that things work out; or we attack the challenge with all the vigour, skill and intensity we have.

The first choice is the easiest to make and to justify. Perhaps, we argue, the goal was too big in the first place or circumstances beyond our control have made it more difficult to achieve. Whatever the rationale, we give ourselves permission to quit. And the more often we do that, the easier it becomes to quit again.

The second option is somewhat more difficult because it doesn’t allow us to let go of the goal – just our accountability for achieving it. In other words, we begin to rely on luck and fate to determine our success. The problem with this choice is, in the end, we are left wondering, “What if?”

The third choice is, of course, the most difficult. It means driving forward, breaking our self-imposed limits and giving more.

The Power of More is much more than a motivational story about a great athlete. It is an opportunity for all of us to look inside ourselves, decide what we want to achieve, big or small, and plot a path to get there. We may not aspire to be Olympic gold medallists; but that doesn’t preclude us becoming champions in our own lives. IE

The Power of More: How Small Steps Can Help You Achieve Big Goals

by Marnie McBean,

Greystone Books;

251 pages,

Marnie McBean holds three gold medals and a bronze medal from Olympic rowing competitions and is Canada’s most successful Summer Olympic athlete.

She is now a Specialist, Athlete Preparation and Mentoring with the Canadian Olympic Committee.

She has a degree in Honors Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario as well as three honorary doctorates. She is a member of Canada’s Sport Hall of Fame and an ambassador for Right to Play, Fast and Female, and Plan Canada’s Because I am a Girl initiative. She lives in Toronto.


About Marnie

Marnie McBean

Marnie McBean is one of Canada’s most decorated Olympians, and an expert in turning potential into performance. As one of only two Canadians ever to win three Gold medals in the Summer Olympics, she is used to performing under pressure. Her 12 World and Olympic medals bear witness to this.

After a record-breaking rowing career, the Canadian Olympic Committee has hired her as a Specialist in Olympic Athlete Preparation and Mentoring. She has worked closely with the last 4 Olympic teams, including the very successful Vancouver 2010 Olympic Team and the recent London 2012 Olympic Team. She works with athletes to prepare them emotionally and psychologically, helping to transform their potential into reality. Her job, simply, is to ensure the highest performance possible.

At the London Olympics, her 8th Olympic Games, she worked in studio with Brian Williams as an analyst on CTV’s primetime Olympic program. A member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Guinness Book of World Records, and a recipient of the Governor General’s Medal, McBean, concurrent to her Olympic career, also managed to finish a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario. She is also actively involved in helping to promote the safety, health and activity of Canada’s youth as well as many sport and athlete development groups.



Source:
A Recipe for Success | Marnie McBean / The Power of More

 LINK: http://marniemcbean.ca/a-recipe-for-success/


.............................................

A renowned motivational speaker and Olympic champion shares strategies for realizing your ambitions.

The Power of More shows readers how to accomplish their goals, big or small. Whether you are a novice runner who wants to run a 10k race, a sales rep who wants to increase market share, or an elite athlete trying to conquer the world stage, you can achieve your ambition by believing in the importance of doing a little bit more.

With humour and insight, three-time Olympic champion Marnie McBean discusses the importance of breaking big goals down into manageable bits of "more." For example, when she decided to run to the top of the CN Tower in Toronto for a fundraising event, she focused not on running all 1,776 steps but on running up one step and then one more. The Power of More is about concentrating not on the more you can get but the more that you can do. Even when you think you're done, you aren't -- chances are you have a bit more to give.
McBean discusses the importance of setting goals, the role of communication and teamwork, and the need for motivation, commitment, and accountability. Finally, while she encourages people to strive for perfection, she punctures the myth that we should expect to be perfect and stresses that both confidence and success are the result of preparation.



Review

"Marnie combines the lessons and parallels of the rowing world in such a way that makes it easy to apply them to any other challenge. It's obvious why she is both a world-class athlete and great athlete mentor and a businessperson all in one. I'm jealous!" (Sir Matthew Pinsent, four-time Olympic rowing champion 20120322)

"...many memorable insights that stand out...The Power of More is much more than a motivational story about a great athlete. It is an opportunity for all of us to look inside ourselves, decide what we want to achieve, big or small, and plot a path to get there. We may not aspire to be Olympic gold medalists; but that doesn't preclude us becoming champions in our own lives." (Investment Executive 20120529)

"A truly entertaining and inspiring read. I loved it!" (Hayley Wickenheiser, three-time Olympic ice hockey champion 20120322)

"Marnie's insight has changed the way I approach training, competition, and life. She has been a difference maker to me, and I consider her a part of our gold medal success." (Tessa Virtue, World and Olympic figure skating champion 20120322)

"McBean's book is crammed with such nuggets -- unique, often off-the-wall anecdotes and life lessons." (Neil Davidson Canadian Press 20120516)

"If anyone is entitled to be writing about achieving goals, it would be a three-time Olympic rowing champion with three gold and one bronze medal. In The Power of More, Marnie McBean translates her infectious energy into a book that is the equivalent of verbal Red Bull...Need a hand to hold? A big nudge? A cheerleading squad? Listen to McBean. Four Olympic medals are proof that her plan and idealistic thinking works." (Jules Torti Vancouver Sun 20120804)

About the Author

Steve Nash, OC, OBC is a Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns. In 2001, Nash founded the Steve Nash Foundation, which aims to foster health in kids by funding projects that provide services to children affected by poverty, illness, abuse, or neglect, and create opportunity for education, play, and empowerment. It's efforts focus in both Phoenix, Arizona and Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2007, Nash received the Order of Canada in honour of his philanthropic efforts.

Marnie McBean holds three gold medals and a bronze medal from Olympic rowing competitions and is Canada's most successful Summer Olympic athlete. She is now a specialist in athlete preparation and mentoring with the Canadian Olympic Committee. She has a degree in Honors Kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario as well as three honorary doctorates. She is a member of Canada's Sport Hall of Fame and an ambassador for Right to Play and Plan Canada's "Because I am a Girl" initiative. She lives in Toronto.






Source Amzon:
 http://www.amazon.ca/Power-More-The-Small-Achieve/dp/1926812646/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335133851&sr=1-1




Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Just one fatty meal can damage arteries, studies say | CTV News

 Breakfast sandwich


Perhaps there are no exceptions when it comes to indulging in “just one” fatty meal.

A single junk food meal is all it takes to damage your arteries, according to two Canadian studies, one by researchers at the Montreal Heart Institute’s EPIC Center and another by researchers at the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.

The first study, out of Montreal, reached that conclusion after enlisting the help of 28 non-smoking men and getting them to eat two very different meals.

The first was a Mediterranean-style meal of salmon, almonds and vegetables cooked in olive oil. Just over half the calories in the dish came from fat, mainly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.

A week later, the men were given a second meal. This time, the dish consisted of a sausage sandwich, an egg, a slice of cheese and three hash browns -- a meal similar to some fast-food breakfasts.

The second meal was loaded with saturated fat, and contained no Omega-3 fats.

The participants received ultrasounds after each meal so researchers could monitor how the foods had affected their vascular endothelium, the inner lining of the blood vessels.


Researchers, led by the University of Montreal’s Dr. Anil Nigam, found that the arteries of the study participants dilated 24 per cent less after the junk food meal.

By comparison, the researchers found that participants’ arteries dilated normally after the Mediterranean-style meal.

“We believe that a Mediterranean-type diet may be particularly beneficial for individuals with high triglyceride levels, such as patients with metabolic syndrome, precisely because it could help keep arteries healthy," Dr. Nigam said in a statement issued Tuesday.

The research has been published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

The second study tested how the blood vessels reacted when a group of non-smoking university students began their day with a 900-calorie breakfast sandwich that had a whopping 50 g of fat.

Two hours after the students ate the sandwiches, the researchers found that their arteries’ ability to increase blood flow under stress had decreased by 15 to 20 per cent.

Lead study author Dr. Todd Anderson said if the arteries’ decreased capacity to increase blood flow under stress becomes a chronic condition, there is an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

“The message is that completely normal individuals with no risk factors, these things can cause problems in the short term,” Anderson told CTV News. “And we should think more about what we put into our bodies.”


The findings were presented Tuesday at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.

Dr. Yoni Freedhoff of the Bariatric Medical Institute said he supports the underlying message that one high-fat meal can have an impact on the body.

However, he said his biggest concern is how people eat day in and day out.

“My advice to people all the time is, eat at home, make food at home,” Freedhoff told CTV.

“The food we eat when we purchase it outside the home contributes greatly to our weight and chronic disease.”


With a report from CTV’s medical specialist Avis Favaro and producer Elizabeth St. Philip

 Source:
Just one fatty meal can damage arteries, studies say | CTV News

 http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/just-one-fatty-meal-can-damage-arteries-studies-say-1.1017405

Why NFL players are turning to Adderall: Decoder - YouTube




''PEP"  PILL for Narcolepsy, ADHD and M.S. Drug... book writers use to concentrate... students use it to study.........







Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NL30OrbKYHs


Why NFL players are turning to Adderall: Decoder - YouTube



Online Community : National MS Society


Connect with others whose lives are affected by multiple sclerosis. We provide a variety of exciting online tools and we want to invite you to be a part of them.

MS Connection

MS Connection is an online community that allows you to find, store and share meaningful updates, posts, videos, articles and other content about MS and the topics you care about most. Connect with people, groups and discussions that relate to the topics that shape your world.

Social Networking

Connect with others whose lives are affected by multiple sclerosis using Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter.

MSWorld

MSWorld®, Inc., global virtual community, support people living with multiple sclerosis, place for people to meet, share ideas, gain resources, manage, cope. official chat room, message board for National MS Society.

Personal Stories

Inspiring stories of people living with MS or committed to the MS community


































 Source:
Online Community : National MS Society


Local Researchers Release Important Findings : National MS Society

 
Aug 09, 2012
Researchers Suggest Immune B Cells from People with MS May Produce Substances That Are Toxic to Brain Cells
Jul 17, 2012

Researchers have found evidence that immune cells known as B cells from people with MS may produce toxic factors that harm brain cells, in particular, cells that make myelin, the key substance needed for nerve transmission. If this factor (or factors) can be identified and confirmed to play a role in MS disease progression, it may serve as an important target for developing new MS therapies. Robert Lisak, MD, and colleagues at Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) and collaborators in Montreal, Canada report their findings in the Journal of Neuroimmunology. The study was supported by many sources including a National MS Society Collaborative MS Research Center Award, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the MS Society of Canada.





 READ MORE:
Local Researchers Release Important Findings : National MS Society
 
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/MIG/chapter-news/chapter-news-detail/index.aspx?nid=6743




Elavil (amitriptyline) : National MS Society

Brand Name Chemical Name
Elavil (U.S. and Canada) Amitriptyline (a-mee-trip-ti-leen) 
Primary Usage in MS Generic Available
Pain (paresthesias) Yes (U.S. and Canada)

Description

Amitriptyline is a tricyclic antidepressant used to treat mental depression. In multiple sclerosis it is frequently used to treat painful paresthesias in the arms and legs (e.g., burning sensations, pins and needles, stabbing pains) caused by damage to the pain regulating pathways of the brain and spinal cord.
Note: Other tricyclic antidepressants are also used for the management of neurologic pain symptoms: clomipramine (Anafranil-U.S. and Canada), desipramine (Norpramin-U.S. and Canada), doxepin (Sinequan-U.S. and Canada), imipramine (Tofranil-U.S. and Canada), nortriptyline (Pamelor-U.S.; Aventyl-Canada), trimipramine (U.S. and Canada). While each of these medications is given in different dosage levels, the precautions and side effects listed for amitriptyline apply to these other tricyclic medications as well.

Precautions

Amitriptyline adds to the effects of alcohol and other central nervous system depressants (e.g., antihistamines, sedatives, tranquilizers, prescription pain medications, seizure medications, muscle relaxants, sleeping medications), possibly causing drowsiness. Be sure that your physician knows if you are taking these or other medications.
This medication causes dryness of the mouth. Because continuing dryness of the mouth may increase the risk of dental disease, alert your dentist that you are taking amitriptyline.
This medication may cause your skin to be more sensitive to sunlight than it is normally. Even brief exposure to sunlight may cause a skin rash, itching, redness or other discoloration of the skin, or severe sunburn.
This medication may affect blood sugar levels of diabetic individuals. If you notice a change in the results of your blood or urine sugar tests, check with your physician.
Do not stop taking this medication without consulting your physician. The physician may want you to reduce the amount you are taking gradually in order to reduce the possibility of withdrawal symptoms such as headache, nausea, and/or an overall feeling of discomfort.
Studies of amitriptyline have not been done in pregnant women. There have been reports of newborns suffering from muscle spasms and heart, breathing, and urinary problems when their mothers had taken tricyclic antidepressants immediately before delivery. Studies in animals have indicated the possibility of unwanted effects in the fetus.
Tricyclics pass into breast milk. Only doxepin (Sinequan) has been reported to cause drowsiness in the nursing baby.

Possible Side Effects

Side effects that may go away as your body adjusts to the medication and do not require medical attention unless they continue for more than two weeks or are bothersome: dryness of mouth; constipation*; increased appetite and weight gain; dizziness; drowsiness*; decreased sexual ability*; headache; nausea; unusual tiredness or weakness*; unpleasant taste; diarrhea; heartburn; increased sweating; vomiting.
Uncommon side effects that should be reported to your physician as soon as possible: blurred vision*; confusion or delirium; difficulty speaking or swallowing*; eye pain*; fainting; hallucinations; loss of balance control*; nervousness or restlessness; problems urinating*; shakiness or trembling; stiffness of arms and legs*.
Rare side effects that should be reported to your physician as soon as possible: anxiety; breast enlargement in males and females; hair loss; inappropriate secretion of milk in females; increased sensitivity to sunlight; irritability; muscle twitching; red or brownish spots on the skin; buzzing or other unexplained sounds in the ears; skin rash, itching; sore throat and fever; swelling of face and tongue; weakness*; yellow skin.
Symptoms of acute overdose: confusion; convulsions; severe drowsiness*; enlarged pupils; unusual heartbeat; fever; hallucinations; restlessness and agitation; shortness of breath; unusual tiredness or weakness; vomiting.
*Since it may be difficult to distinguish between certain common symptoms of MS and some side effects of amitriptyline, be sure to consult your health care professional if an abrupt change of this type occurs.




Elavil (amitriptyline) : National MS Society


 http://www.nationalmssociety.org/about-multiple-sclerosis/what-we-know-about-ms/treatments/medications/amitriptyline/index.aspx




Monday, October 29, 2012

Stem cell therapies for multiple sclerosis, other myelin disorders expected soon

 

Stem Cell Therapies for Multiple Sclerosis, Other Myelin Disorders Expected Soon

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2012) — When the era of regenerative medicine dawned more than three decades ago, the potential to replenish populations of cells destroyed by disease was seen by many as the next medical revolution. However, what followed turned out not to be a sprint to the clinic, but rather a long tedious slog carried out in labs across the globe required to master the complexity of stem cells and then pair their capabilities and attributes with specific diseases.
In a review article appearing October 25 in the journal Science, University of Rochester Medical Center scientists Steve Goldman, M.D., Ph.D., Maiken Nedergaard, Ph.D., and Martha Windrem, Ph.D., contend that researchers are now on the threshold of human application of stem cell therapies for a class of neurological diseases known as myelin disorders -- a long list of diseases that include conditions such as multiple sclerosis, white matter stroke, cerebral palsy, certain dementias, and rare but fatal childhood disorders called pediatric leukodystrophies.

"Stem cell biology has progressed in many ways over the last decade, and many potential opportunities for clinical translation have arisen," said Goldman. "In particular, for diseases of the central nervous system, which have proven difficult to treat because of the brain's great cellular complexity, we postulated that the simplest cell types might provide us the best opportunities for cell therapy."

The common factor in myelin disorders is a cell called the oligodendrocyte. These cells arise, or are created, by another cell found in the central nervous system called the glial progenitor cell. Both oligodendrocytes and their "sister cells" -- called astrocytes -- share this same parent and serve critical support functions in the central nervous systems.

Oligodendrocytes produce myelin, a fatty substance that insulates the fibrous connections between nerve cells that are responsible for transmitting signals throughout the body. When myelin-producing cells are lost or damaged in conditions such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, signals traveling between nerves are weakened or even lost. Astrocytes also play an essential role in the brain. Long overlooked and underappreciated, it is now understood that astrocytes are critical to the health and signaling function of oligodendrocytes as well as neurons.

Glial progenitor cells and their offspring represent a promising target for stem cell therapies, because -- unlike other cells in the central nervous system -- they are relatively homogeneous and more readily manipulated and transplanted. In the case of oligodendrocytes, multiple animal studies have shown that, once transplanted, these cells will disperse and begin to repair or "remyelinate" damaged areas.

"Glial cell dysfunction accounts for a broad spectrum of diseases, some of which -- like the white matter degeneration of aging -- are far more prevalent than we previously realized," said Goldman. "Yet glial progenitor cells are relatively easy to work with, especially since we don't have to worry about re-establishing precise point to point connections as we must with neurons. This gives us hope that we may begin to treat diseases of glia by direct transplantation of competent progenitor cells."

Scientists have reached this point, according to the authors, because of a number of key advances. Better imaging technologies -- namely advanced MRI scanners -- now provide greater insight and clarity into the specific damage caused in the central nervous system by myelin disorders. These technologies also enable scientists to precisely follow the results of their work.

Even more importantly, researchers have overcome numerous obstacles and made significant strides in their ability to manipulate and handle these cells. Goldman's lab in particular has been a pioneer in understanding the precise chemical signals necessary to coax stem cells into making glial progenitor cells, as well as those needed to "instruct" these cells to make oligodendrocytes or astrocytes. His lab has been able to produce these cells from a number of different sources -- including "reprogramming" skin cells, a technology that has the advantage of genetically matching transplanted cells to the donor. They have also developed techniques to sort these cells based on unique identifying markers, a critical step that ensures the purity of the cells used in transplantation, lowering the risk for tumor formation.
Nedergaard's lab has studied the integration of these cells into existing neural networks, and well as in imaging their structure and function in the adult nervous system. Together, the two labs have developed models of both human neural activity and disease based on animals transplanted with glial progenitor cells, which will enable human neural cells to be evaluated in the context of the live adult brain -- as opposed to a test tube. This work has already opened new avenues in both modeling and potentially treating human glial disease.
All of these advances, contend the authors, have accelerated research to the point where human studies for myelin disorders are close at hand. For instance, diseases such as multiple sclerosis, which benefit from a new generation of stabilizing anti-inflammatory drugs, may be an especially appealing target for progenitor-based cell therapies which could repair the now permanent and untreatable damage to the central nervous system that occurs in the disease. Similarly, the authors point to a number of the childhood diseases of white matter that now appear ripe for cell-based treatment.

"We have developed a tremendous amount of information about these cells and how to produce them," said Goldman. "We understand the different cell populations, their genetic profiles, and how they behave in culture and in a variety of animal models. We also have better understanding of the disease target environments than ever before, and have the radiographic technologies to follow how patients do after transplantation. Moving into clinical trials for myelin disorders is really just a question of resources at this point."


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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Rochester Medical Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


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Source:
Stem cell therapies for multiple sclerosis, other myelin disorders expected soon





This is your life:

Documentary on Broken U.S. Health Care System Features UCSF Health Researchers | www.ucsf.edu

Because of a late diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, you may not be a candidate for expensive drug treatments.  In that case, you will find that your neurologist and other caregivers will have little to offer you.  You are on your own to seek out alternative methods of staying healthy and hoping some treatments come available...and I'm talking about Canada, the Uniited States medical system seems far more onerous in general...

...................................






Documentary on Broken U.S. Health  

Care System Features UCSF Health Researchers

UCSF's Dean Ornish, Elizabeth Blackburn, Peter Carroll Appear in ‘Escape Fire,’ Which Opens Nationwide Friday, Oct. 5

October 4, 2012
 
Americans spent more than $2.6 trillion on health care last year, including $320 billion on pharmaceutical drugs, yet health outcomes are not improving.
Dean Ornish, MD Dean Ornish, MD

A new documentary, “Escape Fire,” tackles this issue and examines a broken U.S. health care system that’s “designed for quick fixes rather than prevention,” according to filmmakers. The film, directed and produced by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke, also highlights pioneering efforts to transform the system and bring effective, low-cost solutions to the public.

“Escape Fire” features compelling interviews with leaders and experts in health care, including Dean Ornish, MD, UCSF clinical professor of medicine and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute; Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, UCSF professor of biology and physiology; and Peter Carroll, MD, MPH, UCSF professor of urology.

The film highlights the UCSF researchers’ efforts to show that comprehensive lifestyle changes – such as maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly and reducing stress – can have a significant impact on disease outcomes. Ornish, Blackburn and Carroll conducted studies showing that those lifestyle changes may slow, stop or even reverse the progression of early-stage prostate cancer and severe coronary heart disease by increasing telomerase activity, which lengthens telomeres that control aging in human chromosomes.







Source:
Documentary on Broken U.S. Health Care System Features UCSF Health Researchers | www.ucsf.edu

 http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2012/10/12902/documentary-broken-us-health-care-system-features-ucsf-health-researchers



Sunday, October 28, 2012

Letting Go Of The Unfeasible Could Boost Well-Being: Study


 
Letting Go Well Being


Letting things go when they are no longer a feasible option could help to improve your well-being and fitness levels, according to a new study.

Researchers from Concordia University and McGill University found that among breast cancer survivors, letting go of unrealistic goals and making new, achievable ones is linked with a higher quality of life and an increase in physical activity.

"By engaging in new goals a person can reduce the distress that arises from the desire to attain the unattainable, while continuing to derive a sense of purpose in life by finding other pursuits of value," study researcher Carsten Wrosch of Concordia University said in a statement.  

"Abandoning old goals allows someone to invest sufficient time and energy in effectively addressing their new realities."

The study, published in the journal Psycho-Oncology, included 176 people, ages 28 to 79.

Everyone in the study had been diagnosed with breast cancer at least 11 months prior to the study, and had undergone treatment at least three months prior to the study.

At the start of the study, the researchers asked all the study participants to report how well they were able to change their goals based on feasibility. 

They were also asked to report their physical activity levels, their sedentary activity levels, daily health symptoms like pain or nausea and their general emotional well-being.

The researchers had the study participants self-report these same factors again after three months, and found that the people who were more likely to be able to change their goals were also the ones who got more exercise, had better well-being and had fewer health symptoms.

Previously, a study in the journal Science suggested that letting go of regrets is also mentally healthy. That's because regrets become less valuable as we age, and actually letting go of regret and not ruminating on it may be the more emotionally healthy choice.





Source:
Letting Go Of The Unfeasible Could Boost Well-Being: Study



Quotes

 What is the meaning of life?

Why are we all here?

Is there purpose to our existence at all?

Human beings have been asking these questions since the beginning of time.




“The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.”

-- Victor Frankl,  Man’s Search for Meaning



I have worked with countless teens and adults all searching for their mission and purpose and have spoken to hundreds of people on this very subject throughout the years.

-- Simon Jacobson who wrote “Towards a Meaningful Life.”




“Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
--Victor Frankl



“Don’t be on your deathbed someday, having squandered your one chance at life, full of regret because you pursued little distractions instead of big ideas.”

-- Derek Sivers writes in “Anything You Want”
 

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Women in wheelchairs ‘Push’ boundaries in real life, TV | Jewish Journal









June 6, 2012
Women in wheelchairs ‘Push’ boundaries in real life, TV


By Naomi Pfefferman


http://www.jewishjournal.com/the_ticket/item/women_in_wheelchairs_push_boundaries_in_real_life_tv_20120606/




Mia Schaikewitz. Photo courtesy of the Sundance Channel




Mia Schaikewitz parked her shiny black Mitsubishi Eclipse in front of her graphic design office in Pasadena, looking glamorous in her black leather jacket and purple eye shadow with matching fingernail polish. Then she opened her car door, lifted out a wheelchair and assembled it in 20 seconds flat. The chair was sporty, like her car, with a leopard-patterned seat that matched her purse.
 

The 34-year-old graphic designer is one of four women — all paralyzed from the waist or neck down — profiled on the Sundance Channel’s new documentary series, “Push Girls,” created by producer Gay Rosenthal (“Ruby”). 

Schaikewitz, who is Jewish, has used a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in her spinal cord when she was 15; her good friends Angela Rockwood, 37, Auti Angel, 42, and Tiphany Adams, 29, were all paralyzed in car accidents more than 10 years ago.

In a trend of reality television that includes the sensationalist “Housewives” franchises, “Push Girls” stands out for its non-sensational depiction of women who can’t walk but are also gorgeous, athletic and ambitious.

Rockwood is hoping to jump-start her former modeling career; Angel — reportedly the first professional hip-hop dancer to continue her professional career in a wheelchair — is trying to have a baby with her husband of five years; Adams is exploring a lesbian relationship after a bad breakup; and Schaikewitz is grappling with whether to stay with her boyfriend while reassessing her relationship with her mother and tackling competitive swimming for the first time since high school.

She agreed to participate in “Push Girls,” she said, “because I want to show people areas where they think we get stuck, and we don’t. But I also want to reveal the unsentimental realities of our lives, without being preachy. It’s answering all the questions people might be afraid to ask us: How do we go grocery shopping, go to the bathroom, go to clubs or the gym?”

In the premiere episode, we first see Schaikewitz as she is snuggling in bed with her boyfriend; the camera follows her as she nimbly transfers from her chair into the bathtub, where she showers sitting down with her knees hugged tightly to her chest. “The question people most ask is whether we can have sex, and the answer is definitely yes,” Schaikewitz told me. “And most people haven’t seen ‘sexy’ in a wheelchair, which is why they can’t fathom it.”

Schaikewitz attended a Jewish day school in Atlanta, where her father became Modern Orthodox after her parents divorced when she was 3. She still remembers her bat mitzvah speech at his synagogue, where she discussed Rabbi Akiva’s parable about how water can carve stone. It was a lesson in persistence Schaikewitz said she drew upon after she became paralyzed during her freshman year in high school.

The date was Oct. 27, 1993, when Schaikewitz, then a rising star on her school’s swim team, developed a pain in her side so sharp that it awakened her from sleep that night. By the time doctors took an MRI the next morning, she could no longer move her legs. The news was beyond unsettling: A defect in her circulatory system had caused a stroke in her spine, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.

“At first I was devastated; I thought my life was over,” she said. “I even wrote in my journal, ‘I’ll never go out in public again,’ and I cried for two weeks straight. But that was the best part of it — the darkest part, but also the catalyst for me to realize that’s not a way to live.” She was inspired when the doctors reassured her that she could live independently, have children and participate in adaptive sports.

“We do learn to be reborn again,” she said of her three months in a rehabilitation hospital.

“From sitting up in bed to getting dressed, you learn everything over again, and it seems daunting at first. But as you continue taking baby steps, you start to feel a sense of accomplishment.”

Her confidence grew as she was welcomed back at high school, then went on to become the first person in a wheelchair to join a sorority at the University of Florida, and, for a time, became religiously observant when a rabbi who shared her views about disability inspired her.

“It has a lot to do with still having choices and control over your life,” said Schaikewitz, who still attends synagogue and Jewish events in Los Angeles, where she has lived for the past dozen years.

The day she graduated from college, Schaikewitz loaded her wheelchair in the back seat of a friend’s Saturn and drove out to Los Angeles to start her career in media production; she’s now a project manager for a graphic design firm.

She met Rockwood — who was paralyzed on her way to a fitting for her wedding dress — when she enrolled in an acting class that met at the model’s Hollywood home.

“Angela is a quadriplegic, but she still does everything she can do and lives life to the fullest,” Schaikewitz said of their connection.

It was Rockwood who invited Schaikewitz to participate in “Push Girls”; Schaikewitz signed on, even though she describes herself as “an intensely private person,” partly to shatter stereotypes about the disabled. “People think we can only date people in wheelchairs, that we’re lucky to get any guy, that we can’t be picky,” she said by way of example.

On the show, she says she loves her freedom so much that she doesn’t want to settle down with just anyone, as well as frankly describing her preference for able-bodied men who can keep up with her.

Schaikewitz also decides on camera to swim again for the first time in 17 years; while she had previously participated in numerous adaptive sports, swimming proved too emotionally difficult, reminding her of the time she lost use of her legs. But her first trip to the pool proves triumphant. “I was just finally ready to do it,” she said. “It was time to just close the book, so to speak.”

“Push Girls” airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on the Sundance Channel.


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Source:

Women in wheelchairs ‘Push’ boundaries in real life, TV | Jewish Journal





Multiple Sclerosis has no cure but you must not let the facts defeat you.

 
When something of an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it.
- Rousseau



Or you learn to work around the obstacle, if it is an incurable disease like M.S. that is ongoing and causes systematically more disability.


It is important to take an attitude of adapting and thriving in spite of the disease.  

Leave the cure to the scientists and manage your life with the attitude that you can deal with the problems created by the disease. 

You will probably need to give up some activities,like the balance beam (LOL) and other athletic pursuits that require balance, strength or require being on your feet for too long. 


Focus on what you are still capable of doing and not on what you have lost.



 

 
Purpose:


You have -- within you -- the fuel to thrive and to flourish,

and to leave this world in better shape than you found it.
Sometimes you tap into this fuel – other times you don’t.
But the sad fact is that most people have no idea
how to tap into this fuel or even recognize it when they do.
Where is this fuel within you?

You tap into it whenever you feel energized and excited by new ideas.

You tap into it whenever you feel at one with your surroundings, at peace.
You tap into it whenever you feel playful, creative, or silly.
You tap into it whenever you feel your soul stirred by the sheer beauty of existence.
You tap into it whenever you feel connected to others and loved.
In short, you tap into it whenever positive emotions resonate within you.














source:

Positve Emotions: Barbara Fredrickson

 

 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

How to be Happy in 12 Simple Steps


By SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY






STEP 1 - Show gratitude 

(* There's a lot more to gratitude than saying "thank you." Emerging research shows that people who are consistently grateful are happier, more energetic and hopeful, more forgiving and less materialistic. Gratitude needs to be practised daily because it doesn't necessarily come naturally.)


STEP 2 - Cultivate Optimism


STEP 3 - Avoid overthinking and social comparison

(* Many of us believe that when we feel down we should try to focus inwardly to attain self-insight and find solutions to our problems. But numerous studies have shown that overthinking sustains or worsens sadness.)


STEP 4 - Practice kindnessChewbaaka and Koya



STEP 5 - Nurture social relationships


STEP 6 - Develop coping skills


STEP 7 - Learn to forgive 

(* Forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation, pardoning or condoning. Nor is it a denial of your own hurt. Forgiveness is a shift in thinking and something that you do for yourself and not for the person who has harmed you. Research confirms that clinging to bitterness or hate harms you more than the object of your hatred. Forgiving people are less likely to be hostile, depressed, anxious or neurotic.


* Forgive yourself for past wrongs. Recognising that you too can be a transgressor will make you more empathetic to others. )


STEP 8 - Find more flow

(* "Flow" was a phrase coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1960s. It means you are totally immersed in what you are doing and unaware of yourself. Happy people have the capacity to enjoy their lives even when their material conditions are lacking and even when many of their goals have not been reached.)


STEP 9 - Savour the day



STEP 10 - Commit to your goals 

(* People who strive for something personally significant, whether it's learning a new craft or changing careers, are far happier than those who don't have strong dreams or aspirations. Working towards a goal is more important to wellbeing than its attainment.)


STEP 11 - Take care of your soul

 (* A growing body of psychological research suggests that religious people are happier, healthier and recover better after traumas than nonreligious people. ...

* Find the sacred in ordinary life ...)

STEP 12 - Take care of your body

"The How of Happiness" Sonja Lyubomirsky - TalkRational



Sonja Lyubomirsky

link: http://lyubomirsky.socialpsychology.org/




 

Positive Emotions: Barbara Fredrickson


Purpose



You have -- within you -- the fuel to thrive and to flourish,

and to leave this world in better shape than you found it.
Sometimes you tap into this fuel – other times you don’t.
But the sad fact is that most people have no idea
how to tap into this fuel or even recognize it when they do.
Where is this fuel within you?

You tap into it whenever you feel energized and excited by new ideas.

You tap into it whenever you feel at one with your surroundings, at peace.
You tap into it whenever you feel playful, creative, or silly.
You tap into it whenever you feel your soul stirred by the sheer beauty of existence.
You tap into it whenever you feel connected to others and loved.
In short, you tap into it whenever positive emotions resonate within you.



















Source: http://www.unc.edu/peplab/purpose.html





Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Practice patience for it is the beginning of Mindfulness.

   

The key to everything is patience.  You get the chicken by hatching
the egg, not by smashing it.
- Arnold H. Glasgow


Talent is long patience.
- Gustavew Flaubert


The patience for waiting is possibly the greatest wisdom of all: the wisdom to plant the seed and let the tree bear fruit.
-John MacEnulty


A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains.
Dutch Proverb



Patience is the art of hoping.
- Lucky Luciano


Patience helps us live longer and with less Stress.
- David March


With time and patience the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
-- Chinese proverb


Patience is the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears.
- Michael Le Fan


Patience [is one of those] "feminine qualities which have their origin in our oppression but should be preserved after our liberation.
- Simone de Beauvoir


Patience furthers.
- Lama Surya Das


We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.
- Helen Keller


Awareness releases reality to change you.
- Anthony de Mello


If we love and cherish each other as much as we can, I am sure love and compassion will triumph in the end.
- Aung San Su Kyi


Long is not forever.
- German poverb


We can do no great things; only small things with great love.
- Mother Teresa


Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.
- Henry W. Longfellow


I think and think for months and years, ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false.
The hundredth time I am right.
- Albert Einstein



The thing with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
- Lily Tomlin



When people are bored it is primarily with their own selves that they are bored.
- Eric Hoffer


Keep cool: it will all be one a hundred years hence.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Waiting sharpens desire.  In fact it helps us recognize where our real desires lie.  It separates our passing enthusiasms from our true longings.
- David Runcorn



Faith is the belief in the unseen, the quietly held conviction that even though you can't imagine how, at some time, in some place, in the right way, the thing you desire will indeed come to pass.
- Daphne Rose Kingma




Patience is something you admire in the driver behind you, but not in the one ahead.
- David March



To practice patience, you need a real rascal to help you. It's no use practicing on gentle and kind creatures, for they require no patience.
- from "The Magic of Patience" a Jataka
tale written around 300 B.C.



If there is a defining characteristic of a man as opposed to a boy, maybe it is patience.
- Lance Armstrong




Folks differs, dearie.  They differs a lot.  Some can stand things that others can't.  There's never no way of knowin' how much they can stand.
- Ann Petry



Every moment a beginning.
Every moment an end.
- Mark Salzman



The shortest and the surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be; all human virtues increase and strengthen themselves by the practice and experience of them.
-- Socrates





Something happens when we don't resist, when we don't hate ourselves for what we are experiencing.  Our hearts open...
Sharon Salzberg



It's taken time and practice ... to appreciate that how [we] start the day sets the pace for
everything that comes next.
- David March



You must first have a lot of patience to learn to have patience.
- Bruce Lee


Patience... is cultivated through the rational process of analysis...
It is essential that we begin our training in patience calmly, not while experiencing anger.
-the Dali Lama



Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.
- Henry J. Kaiser


Nothing is more effective than a deep, slow inhale and release for surrendering what you can't control and focusing again on what is right in front of you.
- Oprah



When the crowded refugee boats met with storms or pirates, if everyone panicked, all would be lost.  But if even one person remained calm and centered, it was enough.  They showed the way for everyone to survive.
- Thich Nhat Hanh




He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty.
And he who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
Proverbs 1 6:32



You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What
you'll discover will be wonderful.  What you discover will be yourself.
- Alan Alda


Our nervous system isn't just a fiction, it's part of our physical body, and our soul exists in space and inside us, like teeth in our mouth.
- Boris Pasternak


You will be pleased to know that the heat in Lucknow has been really hot!... It is good to burn with the heat of God outside since we don't burn with the heat of God in our hearts.
- Mother Teresa



A great preservative against angry and mutinous thoughts, and all impatience and quarreling, is to have some great business and interest in your mind, which, like a sponge shall suck up your attention and keep you from brooding over what displeases you.
- Joseph Rickard



How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the strong - because one day you will have been all of these.
-George Washington Carver




When some misfortune threatens, consider seriously and deliberately what is the very worst that could possibly happen.  Having looked this possible misfortune in the face, give yourself sound reasons for thinking that after all it would be no such terrible disaster.
- Bertrand Russell



I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.
Margret Thatcher



We are all dangling in mid-process between what already happened (which is just a memory) and what might happen (which is only an idea).  Now is the only time anything happens.  When we are awake in our lives we know what's happening.
- Sylvia Boorstein






Life is so short, we should all move more slowly.
-Thich Nhat Hanh





Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Assistive Devices : National MS Society

"Give me a lever long enough and I shall move the earth" 

- Archimedes

An assistive device is a tool or implement that makes a particular function easier or possible to perform. An assistive device may be as simple as an electric toothbrush, or as elaborate as an environmental control system that can be operated with a mouth switch by persons who have lost the use of their limbs.

Assistive devices can help persons with disabilities perform many activities of daily living.
  • Bathing and Showering
    Tub and wall grab bars can help persons with MS get in and out of the bathtub and keep their balance while showering.
  • Grooming and Dressing
    Button and zipper hooks can be used to fasten clothes. Velcro on clothes and shoes or elastic shoelaces can make it easier to get dressed. Combs, brushes, and toothbrushes can be fitted with easier-to-hold handles.
  • Cooking and Housekeeping
    Devices such as electric can openers, rocker knives that minimize wrist motion and strength needed to cut, and cookware designed for those with limited hand, wrist, and forearm strength can make cooking manageable. The heavy lifting and bending often involved in housekeeping can be minimized by putting cleaning supplies and equipment on wheels and by using long handled dusters, brooms, and sponges. Reachers can help grasp objects on shelves or in closets.
  • Writing and Reading
    Special grips have been designed to enable a person to securely, yet comfortably, grip a pen or a drawing implement. Special lenses and magnifying devices may correct some visual problems associated with MS.
  • Mobility
    Braces, canes, or walkers can help those who have trouble walking. Wheelchairs and electric scooters can provide mobility for those who need additional assistance. Transfer boards and lifts can be used to help people with MS get in and out of a bed, tub, automobile, or wheelchair.
  • Driving
    After assessment by an occupational therapist, driving may be safely accomplished with the help of hand controls, low-energy steering wheels, and other aids.
Assistive devices are usually prescribed by a physiatrist, or by an occupational, physical, or speech/language pathologist, following referral by a physician. There are many catalogues and surgical supply stores that are excellent sources for assistive devices.
  • ABLEDATA
    National database of assistive services for people with disabilities.
The related PDF documents require the Adobe Reader and will open in a new browser window. Download the Adobe Reader.


Gaining a New Perspective on Mobility Aids

The use of any type of mobility device is often viewed as the hallmark of disability, the ultimate sign of defeat. Viewed from a different perspective, however, canes, walkers, motorized scooters, and wheelchairs help people live active lives. They promote independence, conserve energy, and generally make life easier.




 SOURCE: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/living-with-multiple-sclerosis/mobility-and-accessibility/assistive-devices/index.aspx

Assistive Devices : National MS Society




Using the Merlin LCD Desktop Magnifier - YouTube




Using the Merlin LCD Desktop Magnifier - YouTube

M.S has no cure, but don't let that defeat you.


"When something of an affliction happens to you, you either let it defeat you, or you defeat it."
- Rousseau


Or you learn to work around the obstacle.  If it is an incurable disease like M.S. that is ongoing and causes systematically more disability, you need to get creative and you need to do some research into how other people are managing the disease .


  A positive attitude is important to adapting and thriving, in spite of experiencing some down days because of the disease.  

Leave the cure to the scientists and manage your life with the attitude that you can deal with the problems created by the disease. 

You will probably need to give up some activities,like the balance beam (LOL) and other athletic pursuits that require balance, strength or require being on your feet for too long. 


Focus on what you can still do, not on what you have lost.



Mindfulness video Jon K-Z

Mindfulness with Jon Kabat-Zin | Montreal Gazette

 Jon Kabat Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Cenre for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

It’s not a new video, it was uploaded by Google several years ago when he was there for a session on mindfulness, but he explains it all very well.

As with most things, you’ve got to give it some time. Change does not happen overnight.  But even if it’s just a few minutes every day, it will be prove to be a step in a more calming direction.




Uploaded by on Nov 12, 2007
Jon Kabat-Zinn leads a session on Mindfulness at Google.

Category:

License: Standard YouTube License

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc


Family affair: Son's illness leads to bakery's sweet success

  
Sweet Success  

By Anne Geggis, Sun Sentinel


BOCA RATON – Giovanna Cimino and her family are helping to cure multiple sclerosis -- one biscotti at a time.

Cimino's son, Giuseppe Fausto, was diagnosed with the degenerative disease that attacks the nervous system in 2004 when he was 27. Faced with seeing a whirlwind of doctors, Cimino said she closed her full-service restaurant.

"There's a moment when you know you have to change and you don't know what to do," she said.

She worked for nearly two years at Whole Foods Market and then set up a bakery/café, Cosa Duci. Today, she donates a portion of the shop's profits – at least $1,200 a year -- to fund research into curing the disease, which has no known cure.

She and her family say they are hoping others don't have to endure the fight that has taken center stage in their lives.

"When we started going to different doctors, every one of them was saying something different," Cimino said. "All of it scary."



Searching for the best way to feed her son, Cimino, now 66, found herself on the forefront of a trend that now fills up even mainstream supermarket aisles:
-  baked goods gluten-free (protein found in wheat).


The sausage on his pizza became hummus. 


Vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, eggplant and asparagus began having a larger role in the cooking repertoire of his mother and sister. 

The baked goods were made with different kinds of flour, like almond flour.

But still, he says, being Italian on a gluten-free diet is not easy.


He unwittingly found a new avenue for the business while he was exercising at the local fitness club.

After regular stops for an espresso at Nordstrom's café, the people who ran that shop discovered Cosa Duci's gluten-free biscotti, he said.
Now the biscotti goes to
Nordstrom cafes nationwide as well as Milam's Market in Miami. Cakes, cookies and biscotti go to Whole Foods' Florida stores.

Still, the family is the heart of Cosa Duci, which means "sweet thing" in a Sicilian dialect. 






Source:
Family affair: Son's illness leads to bakery's sweet success - Sun Sentinel