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Coffee Break... February,
2008
| Public
Service Announcements |
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Can Coffee Aid Weight Loss?
February 15, 2008 - The caffeine in coffee
is one of the world's most studied elements, and it's
received a lot of good press lately. A central nervous
system stimulant, caffeine may act as an appetite
suppressant and increase your body's ability to burn
calories by stimulating thermogenesis, the process of
generating heat and energy from digesting food,
according to the Mayo Clinic. It helps boost metabolism
and promote fat breakdown, rather than the loss of
muscle mass.
As most nutritionists will
tell you, the best path to weight loss is to eat well
(plenty of fruits, vegetables and fiber), get lots of
regular exercise, get the proper rest, and have
patience! However, modest amounts of coffee work well to
keep the mind alert, the body revved up, and when we use
that energy to exercise more and do it more frequently,
weight loss can occur.
When studies reveal that
one to three cups of coffee can aid weight loss that
comes with a caveat: plain coffee, sans sugar and cream.
And, certainly, not lattes and cappuccinos, no coffee
drinks with sugary syrups, and no 500 to 700 calorie
donuts or scones with to go with the coffee. Sigh, who
said life was fair?
The good news is that
coffee consumption can reduce the risk of Type 2
Diabetes; it does indeed give you more energy for a more
demanding workout that lasts longer, enabling you to
burn more calories. Best of all, caffeine speeds up your
metabolism to burn more calories --- even while at
rest.
Consuming caffeine prior
to aerobic exercise can help toward weight loss, because
it reduces fat-cell size and decreases fat-storing
tissue weight through a process called thermogensis. In
both lean and previously overweight individuals, 100 mg
of caffeine has been shown to increase resting metabolic
rate by three to four percent.
Caffeine is also an
effective ergogenic aid to enhance exercise performance.
Exercise physiologist, David Costill, Ph.D., first
reported on the positive relationship between caffeine
and exercise in the 1980s. Following the ingestion of
caffeine, the subjects were able to perform an average
of 90 minutes of cycling as compared to an average of 76
minutes in the placebo trial. Subjects burned more fat
(lipolysis) as shown by measurements of plasma free
fatty acids, glycerol and respiratory exchange ratios.
Fat oxidation or burning was significantly higher (107%
greater) during the caffeine trial (118 g or 1.31 g/min)
than in the placebo trial (57 g or 0.75 g/min).
In both young and older
men caffeine ingestion resulted in similar increases in
both the old and young men for plasma caffeine levels.
Metabolic rate or energy expenditure increased similarly
by 11% in young and 9.5% in the older men. Older and
younger men show a similar thermogenic response to
caffeine ingestion, yet older men show a smaller
increase in fatty acid availability.
Lee, SJ; Hudson, R.;
Kilpatrick, K; et al.: "Caffeine Ingestion Is Associated
With Reductions in Glucose Uptake Independent of Obesity
and Type 2 Diabetes Before and After Exercise
Training." Diabetes Care 28:566–572, 2005. Falk, B;
Burstein, R; Rosenbloom, J, et al:" Effects of caffeine
ingestion on body fluid balance and thermoregulation
during exercise." Can J Physiol Pharmacol 1990;
68(7):889-892 Gordon, NF; Myburgh, JL; Kruger, PE, et
al:"Effects of caffeine ingestion on thermoregulatory
and myocardial function during endurance performance." S
Afr Med J 1982; 62(18):644-647 Graham, TE; Spriet, LL:
"Caffeine and exercise performance. Sports Science
Exchange" (Gatorade Sports Science Institute)
1996;9(1)
Solinas, M; Ferre, S; You,
ZB; Karcz-Kubicha, M; Popoli, P; Goldberg, SR: "Caffeine
induces dopamine and glutamate release in the shell of
the nucleus accumbens" by Section of Preclinical
Pharmacology, Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National
Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health
Intramural Research Program, Baltimore, Maryland 21224,
USA. J. Neurosci 2002 Aug 1; 22(15):6321-4
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Public
Service Announcement ~ Thanks to Mr. Rick
Epps
Answer
10 questions with your personal opinion and find out
which candidates agree/disagree with
you.
www.votechooser.com
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Public Service Announcement ~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Ward
Having trouble deciding who to vote for in
2008?
This
will compare your answers with ALL
candidates. I found this to be of
interest ... It selected the candidate I had
expected! Of even more interest was which
were way down the list - and why.
A politician is a man who thinks of the next election; while the statesman
thinks of the next generation.
-James Freeman Clarke, preacher and author (1810-1888) |
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The
following is from President Theodore Roosevelt in a
letter to the American Defense Society in 1919, 10 years
after his presidency.
"In the first place we should insist that if the
immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an
American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be
treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it
is an outrage to discriminate against any such man
because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is
predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an
American, and nothing but an American...
There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who
says he is an American, but something else also, isn't
an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the
American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which
symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization,
just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation
to which we are hostile...We have room for but one
language here, and that is the English language...and we
have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty
to the American people."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1919
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How to Be
Less Dozy
How sharp is
your memory? Do you have trouble recalling names and PIN
numbers? In the second of two extracts from a new book,
Carol Vorderman reveals the foods, exercise and sleep
habits that will boost your brainpower ...
Although we all lose some of our
powers of recall with age, there is a lot we can do to
make sure our memory remains as razor-sharp as possible.
A good diet is vital in helping
delay mental decline and keeping your brain in the best
shape possible. Just making sure you eat the right sort
of foods can make a huge difference.
It will boost your energy levels,
your mood and the levels of neurotransmitters, the brain
chemicals that determine how well your brain functions.
Some of the best foods for
boosting your neurotransmitters are listed below.
You could also try my simple
daily eating program, which ensures you have the right
mix of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, essential for
optimum brain function.
Within just four weeks you should
not only be feeling brighter and sharper, you may well
have lost excess pounds. But
nutrition is just one part of the picture; there are
other important factors, too. U.S. research shows that
only about 5 percent of memory impairment is due to
brain disorders such as Alzheimer's.
Stress, depression, lack of
exercise and poor nutrition are far more common causes.
The good news is that addressing these can make a big
difference to your life.
Exercise
There's a
wealth of evidence to show the link between exercise,
brain and mood. One recent study from the Journal of
Gerontology found that exercise triggers a measurable
growth of brain volume in older people. In three months,
people who exercised had the brain volume of people
three years younger.
Other research found that even
three 15-minute sessions of exercise a week can help
protect you from dementia later in life.
There are various reasons for
this.
Exercise is thought to help boost
cerebral blood flow and stimulate the growth of new
cells in the brain.
What's more, staying active can
help keep you slim, which is another important key to
keeping your brain in good condition. Research has found
that obesity is linked to a decline in mental ability.
Researchers think this is
connected to the hormone leptin, secreted by stored fat.
High leptin levels may affect learning and memory. The
link between obesity and memory decline doesn't just
affect older people; even 30-somethings with high BMIs
are thought to be at risk of accelerated mental decline.
There are all sorts of other
benefits of regular exercise: It helps elevate mood,
boosts your metabolism, can alleviate premenstrual
syndrome and period pain, and reduces your risk of heart
disease.
Experts recommend three 20-minute
sessions of vigorous activity (where you become out of
breath) per week, or five weekly 30-minute sessions
(such as a gentle walk).
Sleep
Sleep -- or lack
of it -- also affects our brains. If you've ever had to
concentrate hard or perform at your best the day after a
poor night's rest, you'll know all too well how
important sleep is for optimal brain power.
Sufficient sleep is vital for
maintaining healthy brain cells and it also plays an
important role in regulating your mood and sharpening
concentration.
As you pass through the stages of
sleep, your body produces hormones to repair and
regenerate cells. Sleep also enables our mind to process
the day's events and activities (dreams facilitate
this).
So getting a good night's sleep
can boost memory and help newly-formed memories and
skills get organized in the brain. Some studies have
shown that losing just 1 1/2 hours' sleep for one night
can reduce your alertness in the daytime by as much as
32 percent.
Another study showed that people
who went to bed six hours later than their normal
bedtime performed as badly in attentiveness and reaction
tests as those who were drunk!
So, are you getting enough sleep?
Research shows the optimum amount for an adult is
somewhere between 6 1/2 and 8 1/2 hours a night.
Sleep experts say the best gauge
of how much you need is to ask yourself if you're waking
up each morning feeling refreshed. Are you able to
function at your best? If so, you're probably getting
enough.
Try keeping a sleep diary to
assess how you're feeling each day.
If you need a stiff coffee to
liven you up first thing, then you may need more sleep,
and could do well to improve your sleep pattern.
Here are some tips for improving
your sleep:
- Take an early-morning stroll
(it can boost the body's production of the hormone
melatonin, which helps regular sleep).
- Get up at the same time every
day -- even weekends.
- Do mind exercises for 30 to 45
minutes during the day.
- Take a warm bath at bedtime.
- Wind down with relaxing music;
studies show that listening to soft music 45 minutes
before bedtime for three weeks can improve your sleep
by 35 percent.
- Try yoga.A U.S. study
found that a 20-minute session at bedtime helps reduce
insomnia. Patients fell asleep more quickly and slept
longer.
- Put your worries aside. Before
going to bed, make a list of the things you have to do
the following day. This way you'll feel more in
control and prepared for the challenges ahead.
- Aim for a clear, cool,
uncluttered bedroom decorated in muted colors. Your
bedroom should be well ventilated and completely dark
(so invest in blackout curtains in summer).
The Dishes That Feed Your Mind
- Neurotransmitters are
the brain's messengers; they help determine how well
your brain functions, plus your energy levels and
mood. Each has a different role and needs a good
supply of specific nutrients to work efficiently.
- Seratonin is a
feel-good chemical which can make us feel serene,
happy and calm. Promotes contentment and sleep. In
order for our bodies to manufacture serotonin, we need
to eat foods that contain the amino acid tryptophan --
turkey, chicken, fish, dairy products, bananas and
eggs.
- Dopamine is responsible
for our ability to "get up and go." It's also
important for assertiveness and sexual arousal and
muscle coordination. We need the amino acid tyrosine
to make dopamine. It is found in all proteins (meat,
fish, milk products, beans, nuts and soy products).
- Acetylcholine is needed
for attention, learning and memory. A deficiency is
directly related to impaired thinking. Your body uses
choline to produce acetylcholine eggs are a rich
source.
- Endorphins and
enkephalins make you feel happy and reduce stress.
They also reduce pain. Sweet foods, such as chocolate
and some junk food, boost the release of endorphins
and enkephalins. However, so can a brisk walk.
- Noradrenaline, like
adrenaline, livens you up. It's needed to stimulate
brain activity, for concentration and the formation of
memories. Protein-rich foods are vital for its
production.
Adapted from "Eat Yourself
Clever" by Carol Vorderman (Virgin
Books).
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Best Lawyer joke ~ Thanks to Ms. Diane
Marshall
Two lawyers had been stranded on a desert
island for several months. The only thing on the island was a
tall coconut tree that provided them their only food.
Each day one of the lawyers would climb to the top to
see if he could spot a rescue boat coming.
One day the lawyer yelled down from the tree, "WOW, I
just can't believe my eyes. There is a woman out
there floating in our direction."
The lawyer on the ground was most skeptical and said,
"You're hallucinating; you've finally lost your
mind."
But within a few minutes, up to the beach floated a
stunning red head, face up, totally naked, unconscious,
without even so much as a ring or earrings on her
person.
The two lawyers went down to the water, dragged her
up on the beach and discovered, yes, she was alive, warm
and breathing.
One said to the other, "You know, we've been on this
God forsaken island for months now without a woman.
It's been such a long, long time... So... do you
think we should... well... you know...
SCREW her?"
"Out of WHAT?" asked the other.
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Space Station
~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Knudsen
This is amazing
to see the changes to the configuration and the
progression of the space station. If you wondered
what they have built at the space station... have a
look... incredible animation!
This great
animation shows all the segments of the Space Station,
the modules and the international partners that have
helped create it.
Space Station |
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Minnesota
Luck ~ Thanks to Ms. Barbara Jones
Ole, a
furniture dealer from up at Brainerd MN , decided to
expand the line of furniture in his store, so he decided
to go to Paris to see what he could find.
After arriving
in Paris he visited with some manufacturers and selected
a line that he thought would sell well back home. To
celebrate the new acquisition, he decided to visit a
small bistro and have a glass of wine As he sat enjoying
his wine, he noticed that the small place was quite
crowded, and that the other chair at his table was the
only vacant seat in the house.
Before long, a
very beautiful young Parisian girl came to his table,
asked him something in French (which Ole couldn't
understand), so he motioned to the vacant chair and
invited her to sit down. He tried to speak to her in
English, but she did not speak his language so, after a
couple of minutes of trying to communicate with her, he
took a napkin and drew a picture of a wine glass and
showed it to her. She nodded, so he ordered a glass of
wine for her.
After sitting
together at the table for a while, he took another
napkin, and drew a picture of a plate with food on it,
and she nodded. They left the bistro and found a quiet
cafe that featured a small group playing romantic music.
They ordered dinner, after which he took another napkin
and drew a picture of a couple dancing. She nodded, and
they got up to dance. They danced until the cafe closed
and the band was packing up.
Back at their
table, the young lady took a napkin and drew a picture
of a four-poster bed.
To this day,
Ole has no idea how she figured out he was in the
furniture business!
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Don't let your kids see this... ~
Thanks to Ms. Florence
Pierson
Last April 1, at a high school in Montana, a group of
high schoolers played a prank on the school. They
let three goats loose in the school.
Before they let them go, they painted numbers on the
sides of the goats; #1, #2, #4.
Local school administrators, frustrated, spent most
of that day and the next looking for #3.
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Terry Fator ~ Thanks to
Mr. Jim Knudsen
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Gifted Artist ~ Thanks to
Mr. Paul Nyberg
A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of
children while
they were drawing. She would
occasionally walk around to see each
child's work.
As she got to one little girl who was working
diligently, she asked
what the drawing was.
The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."
The
teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God
looks like."
Without missing a beat, or looking
up from her drawing, the girl
replied, "They will in
a minute."
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The Crow and the Kitten ~ Thanks to Mr. Skip
Munson and Ms. Uzma Husaini
You won't
believe this video of a kitten and a
crow...
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Chicken Coop
~ Thanks to Prairie Home Companion
Why does a chicken coop have two doors?
Because if it had four doors it would be a
chicken sedan.
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Priorities
Change With Age ~ Thanks to Third
Age
Bill and
Sam, two elderly friends, met in the park every day to
feed the pigeons, watch the squirrels and discuss world
problems.
One day Bill didn't show up. Sam didn't
think much about it and figured maybe he had a cold or
something.
But after Bill hadn't shown up for a
week or so, Sam really got worried.
However, since the only time they ever
got together was at the park, Sam didn't know where Bill
lived, so he was unable to find out what had happened to
him.
A month had passed, and Sam figured he
had seen the last of Bill. But one day, Sam approached
the park and -- lo and behold! -- there sat Bill!
Sam was very excited and happy to see
him and told him so. Then he asked, "For crying out loud
Bill, what in the world happened to you?"
Bill replied, "I've been in jail."
"Jail?" cried Sam. "What in the world
for?"
"Well," Bill said, "You know Sue, that
cute little blonde waitress at the coffee shop where I
sometimes go?"
"Yeah," said Sam, "I remember her. What
about her?"
"Well, one day she filed rape charges
against me. And, at 89 years old, I was so proud that
when I got into court, I pled guilty and the judge gave
me 30 days for lying under oath."
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Hair Cut ~
Thanks to Ms. Barbara Jones
A guy stuck his
head into a barber shop and asked, "How long before I
can get a haircut?"
The barber looked around the
shop full of customers and said
"About 2 hours."
The guy left.
A
few days later the same guy stuck his head in the door
and asked, "How long before I can get a
haircut?"
The barber
looked around at the shop and said, "About 3
hours."
The guy left.
A week later the
same guy stuck his head in the shop and asked, "How long
before I can get a haircut?"
The barber looked
around the shop and said, "About an hour and a
half."
The guy left.
The barber turned to
a friend and said, "Hey Bill, do me a favour. Follow
that guy and see where he goes. He keeps asking how
long he has to wait for a haircut, but then he doesn't
ever come back."
A little while later, Bill
returned to the shop, laughing hysterically.
The
barber asked, "So where does that guy go when he
leaves?"
Bill looked up,
tears in his eyes and said, "Your house."
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Battle Hymn of the Republic ~ Thanks to Mr.
Jim Knudsen
This is beautiful Battle Hymn of the Republic
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| Featured Pictures ~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Knudsen |
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Now, here's something you don't see every
day! New airport runway on the Portuguese island
of Madeira.
The airport's runway has a length of 2781
meters, (9000 ft) of which 1000 (3000) are
supported by 180 pillars, each pillar 50 meters in
length (about 17 floors). The runway is designed
to accommodate 747s.
Note the cars parked below the
runway. It's a bit like landing on an aircraft
carrier. The 2nd picture best shows how high it is
-- and let's not even think about running off that
runway!
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 Before you go, remember your
comments, suggestions, and contributions
are always welcome. When you come across
something funny or informative and in good taste,
please send it along. I would love to include
it with your name and our thanks.
I leave you to ponder these golden
words a good friend shared with me:
"The happiest of people don't
necessarily have the best of everything;
they just
make the best of everything that comes along their way."
Be happy and and come back soon.
~
Joanne
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Joanne L. Gardiner,
Broker e-PRO Realtor®
Serving the San Francisco Bay
Area
since Fido was a pup!
Advantage
Realty
Clock Tower Commerce
Center
3205 Whipple
Road
Union City, California 94587
(510)
429-4800
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Our
primary services in the San
Francisco Bay Area are: East bay real
estate, Hayward real estate, Castro
Valley real estate, Danville real estate,
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estate, Pleasanton real estate, San Leandro
real estate, San Lorenzo real estate, San Ramon
real estate, Sunol real estate and Union
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The types
of real estate in which we specialize
are: houses, homes, condominiums, townhomes,
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