SANDWICHES GET A BAD WRAP

 

Daily sandwich eaters consume more sodium calories than non-sandwich eaters, study says Published October 07, 2014 FoxNews.com Quizno's veggie sub on wheat. On any given day, nearly half of American adults eat at least one sandwich, which accounts for one-fifth of the recommended daily sodium intake, reveals a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics . The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans is 2,300 mg of sodium for most Americans. For people over age 50, as well as African-Americans, and people with high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or diabetes, it's 1,500 mg of sodium per day. Excessive sodium consumption can result in high blood pressure, a cause of heart disease and stroke- two leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Depending on the person, sandwiches can contribute 30 to 46 percent of daily sodium intake recommendations. In the study, about 5,760 adults over age 20 recorded what they ate and drank the previous day, Medical News Today reported. Participants listed exactly what was on each of their sandwiches, and researchers assigned each food and beverage one or more food codes to assess their nutritional content. Previous studies didn't take specific ingredients into account, but rather considered sandwiches based on a single code. Based on those studies, scientists believed that sandwiches were responsible for only 4 percent of daily sodium intake. Some of the sandwiches in this study were still given a single code, specifically fast food items- such as a turkey submarine sandwich with cheese, lettuce, tomato and spread. "In 2009-2010, only about 20 percent of all sandwiches were represented by a single food code," said study co-author Rhonda Sebastian, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research Service (ARS) nutritionist. "For that reason, previously published estimates of sandwich contributions to sodium intake that were based on only single-code sandwiches are considerably underestimated. Researchers from the USDA and investigators at the Food Surveys Research group also found that those who ate a sandwich also consumed about 300 more calories than those who did not, Medical News Today reported. Those who reported having a sandwich also ended up consuming around 600 mg more sodium per day than those who didn't. Study co-author and ARS nutritionist Cecilia Wilkinson Enns said these findings don't suggest that sandwiches should be out-ruled as a lunch choice, but that consumers should consider ingredient choices when opting for the fare. "The unanticipated finding that sandwich consumption is associated with higher overall intake of energy underscores the importance of making healthful choices of sandwich ingredients," Enns said. "Many sandwiches, such as burgers and franks, and common sandwich components, such as yeast breads, cheese and cured meats, are among the top contributors not only to sodium but also to energy in the diets of adult Americans.

 

IPAD TRAINING UPDATE

GOOD MORNING ALL:

 

Hope everyone’s week is going well.  We have been enjoying the nice cool fall evenings. 

For those of you in Hot Springs Village don’t forget our iPad training at 10:00 AM on Saturday morning, October 11^th.  If you need to be picked up, please call Krystal at 501-664-7100 by tomorrow, the 9^th to let her know.   Looking forward to seeing all of you there.

 

Until tomorrow

 

CURIOSITY DIDN'T KILL THE CAT, IT JUST GAVE HIM A BETTER MEMORY

Being curious can boost your memory By Tanya Lewis Published October 06, 2014 Everyone knows it's easier to learn about a topic you're curious about. Now, a new study reveals what's going on in the brain during that process, revealing that such curiosity may give a person a memory boost. When participants in the study were feeling curious , they were better at remembering information even about unrelated topics, and brain scans showed activity in areas linked to reward and memory . The results, detailed Oct. 2 in the journal Neuron, hint at ways to improve learning and memory in both healthy people and those with neurological disorders, the researchers said. "Curiosity may put the brain in a state that allows it to learn and retain any kind of information, like a vortex that sucks in what you are motivated to learn, and also everything around it," Matthias Gruber, a memory researcher at the University of California, Davis, said in a statement . "These findings suggest ways to enhance learning in the classroom and other settings. Gruber and his colleagues put people in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and showed them a series of trivia questions, asking them to rate their curiosity about the answers to those questions. Later, the participants were shown selected trivia questions, then a picture of a neutral face during a 14-second delay, followed by the answer. Afterward, the participants were given a surprise memory test of the faces, and then a memory test of the trivia answers. Not surprisingly, the study researchers found that people remembered more information about the trivia when they were curious about the trivia answers. But unexpectedly, when the participants were curious, they were also better at remembering the faces, an entirely unrelated task. Participants who were curious were also more likley than others to remember both the trivia information and unrelated faces a day later, the researchers found. The brain scans showed that, compared with when their curiosity wasn't piqued, when people were curious, they showed more activation of brain circuits in the nucleus accumbens, an area involved in reward. These same circuits, mediated by the neurochemical messenger dopamine , are involved in forms of external motivation, such as food, sex or drug addiction. Finally, being curious while learning seemed to produce a spike of activity in the hippocampus, an area involved in forming new memories, and strengthened the link between memory and reward brain circuits. The study's findings not only highlight the importance of curiosity for learning in healthy people, but could also give insight into neurological conditions. For example, as people age, their dopamine circuits tend to deteriorate, so understanding how curiosity affects these circuits could help scientists develop treatments for patients with memory disorders, the researchers said.

 

GOOD INFORMATION TO KNOW

13 Things Urgent Care Centers Won't Tell You BY MICHELLE CROUCH ILLUSTRATION BY SERGE BLOCH 1. ER or urgent care? Always head to the ER for chest pain, severe bleeding, difficulty breathing, a neurological issue such as a seizure, or a serious head trauma with loss of consciousness. 2. The next time your regular doctor says it will be months before you can get an appointment, we may be able to help. Many urgent care centers offer STD tests, school and sports physicals, adult vaccinations, Pap smears, skin allergy treatments, and more. 3. Some primary care docs don't like us because they say we skim the easy work and avoid responsibility for more complex matters. For instance, we ' ll sew up the laceration on an inebriated person, but we won't address bigger issues like alcoholism and high blood pressure. 4. Sorry, you won't save money if you come here when you really need to go to the ER. If we transfer you by ambulance to the hospital, you may be responsible for co-pays at both places, plus the ambulance ride, which can double your fee. 5. All urgent care centers are not created equal. Some can handle only basic ailments: sore throats, simple wounds, colds, and coughs; they don't have an X-ray machine or a lab. Others can take on diagnoses and tests. 6. We're happy to give you a sample of the latest drug for your treatment. But that tends to be the most expensive. Ask for a less pricey but equally effective option so you can refill your prescription with ease. 7. If I suggest a specific test or procedure, ask whether you really need it and what it will cost. To protect us from potential lawsuits, our clinic guidelines may require us to suggest various treatments even when they're not really needed. 8. If you're paying cash, don't be afraid to negotiate on price. We may be able to reduce your bill, but there has to be a reason. Some urgent care centers even have special cards you can purchase that guarantee you a discount at every single visit. 9. To save time, call to see if you can get on the waiting list before you come. Some centers will send you a text message 30 minutes before someone can see you. 10. Very few of our doctors start in urgent care. Many are burned-out ER or primary care doctors looking for less stress and easier hours. 11. Because we're partially judged by patient-satisfaction scores, we're under pressure to please. So if you want a steroid shot or an antibiotic for your cold, we'll probably give it to you, even if it's not necessary. The one thing we're stingy about? Narcotic pain medications, since we know drug dealers can sell them. 12. Even if there's a doctor on-site, you may never see him or her. Most urgent care centers are staffed with physician assistants and nurse-practitioners; typically, a doctor is consulted for complicated cases. 13. We don't have time to sanitize our waiting room after every patient. If you're coming in at the height of flu season, stay safe by asking for a mask and using the hand sanitizer we have out.

 

A LITTLE TONGUE AND CHEEK PUMPKIN HUMOR

Pumpkin spice madness: Stop the insanity By Michele Mahone Published October 04, 2014 Print Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere. (Reuters) Fall has arrived. Let's talk about pumpkin spice. Back in the last millennium, when I was a kid, we didn't have pumpkin spice. The highlight of our season was picking out a plain old pumpkin. Find a round one (better for carving) with a flat bottom (so the candle wouldn't fall over), have a 'cup' of hot chocolate when you got home and call it a day. But that was then. That was before someone, somewhere, for some reason, decided glowing eyes just weren't enough anymore. Pumpkins were so 20th century; 21st century pumpkins needed spice. Fads come and go, but pumpkin spice is here to stay. Retailers are barely scratching the surface of this goldmine. You can't throw a rake today without hitting pumpkin spice. Every October, my mother buys a pumpkin spice candle the size of a small child, conducts a brief safety meeting and then grabs her blowtorch. It produces a spicy orange glow that fills the room and burns the eyes. Thanks for the hay fever, mom. But if a nice, warm house fire isn't your 'cup' of pumpkin spice tea, no problem; they make pumpkin spice scented oil, too. They sell it in 25-gallon drums. It's over in aisle 2, right next to the pumpkin spice placemats. (I'm taking their word for it. No way I'm sniffing a placemat.) Would somebody tell me, please . . . When did pumpkin spice become a holiday? I once had an entire relationship while waiting in line for a pumpkin spice latte. We met at the back of the line on a Friday afternoon, and by Saturday morning we had almost reached the counter. We liked art museums; he laughed at my jokes; we were making plans for Thanksgiving. And then came time to order. He let me go first. (All that and a gentleman, too!) I was a Tall, Non-Fat, Decaf. He was a Grande, Soy, Iced. It never would have worked. When we parted, he let me keep his 'cup' holder. But I can't date a man who drinks iced soy. I mean, really, it's the children who would suffer. This pumpkin nonsense has even made its way into our food. The other day I saw a winter squash trying to pass itself off as a spicy pumpkin. That's just sad. Even muffins aren't immune. Blueberry and banana are perfectly fine any other time of year. But when they bring out the pumpkin spice muffins, they become half-priced-day-old, way over there on the side, next to the bran. There's hope, of course. Come December, pumpkin spice will have to slide over to make room for cinnamon sprinkled and peppermint flavored. But it's that horrifying, endlessly long stretch of hours between the end of Thanksgiving and the first day of December that I'm worrying about. What to do then? How about pumpkin spice cinnamon candy canes? Coming soon to a store near you. For a limited time only. Be sure to buy in bulk. Fads come and go, but pumpkin spice is here to stay. Retailers are barely scratching the surface of this goldmine. Sure, there are air fresheners for your home and car, but where's the toothpaste? Someone has dropped the orange ball on that one. I say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

 

KEEPING OUR MEMORY FRESH

How many memory slips are too many? By Markham Heid Published October 03, 2014 Everybody misplaces cell phones or forgets a name from time to time. But if you're older than 60 and feel like your memory is slipping, don't just ignore it--you may be at greater risk for brain diseases like dementia, according to new research from the University of Kentucky. The study team analyzed years of memory and health data on a large group of men and women age 60 and older--none of whom started out with dementia or memory impairment. Compared to those who reported no memory issues during the study, people who complained of worsening recall were roughly three times more likely to develop dementia later in life. How much later? Dementia set in an average of 12 years after a person first noticed memory problems, the authors say. Of course, memory slips can be as common with aging as sore knees. More than half of the people who participated in the study reported memory glitches, said study coauthor Richard Kryscio, of UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. But while those memory concerns signaled an increased risk for some brain diseases, "those memory complaints did not guarantee a person would develop dementia," Kryscio stressed. He also warns that an occasional memory hic'cup'--those lost phones or forgotten names--are not reasons to freak out. Instead, you should be on the lookout for a noticeable decline in your ability to recall things, Kryscio said. "Ask yourself what direction your memory is heading over a period of several months or years," he suggested. If you think your recall is definitely declining, that's a sign you need to notify your doctor, he adds. But what can your doctor do about it? "First of all, he or she can help you assess if the problem is real and getting worse," Kryscio explained. "Your doctor can also look for other things that might be causing your memory issues. He mentioned vitamin deficiencies--specifically a lack of B12--and poor sleep as two not-so-scary explanations for your muddled memory (if shut-eye is hard for you, these 20 ways to sleep better every night can help ). Unfortunately, there's no cure for dementia. But Kryscio said he's hopeful treatments will soon be available that can forestall or prevent the advance of the disease. By keeping on top of your memory issues with your doctor, you'll ensure yourself the best possible outcome, he added. MORE: Cut Your Risk For Dementia By 50 Percent

 

Brilliant idea or lazy effort -- you decide

 Zubits magnetic shoe closures let you keep your laces while ditching the chore of tying them. by Amanda Kooser @akooser 

October 1, 2014 

Doing your laces is a snap with magnets.  As of 2014, the Nike Air Mag self-lacing shoes from "Back the Future: Part II" have not yet been fully realized. Sure, we've gotten some replicas and a Nike designer has said he expects the laces to become reality by 2015, but most of us are still tying our shoes just like we always have, with big floppy loops hanging off the top. That could be about to change for the Kickstarter backers of the Zubits project. Instead of power laces like Marty McFly had, these are magnetic laces. The magnetic closures work with your existing laces. You thread them on, stick your foot in the shoe, adjust the laces to your liking, and then knot up or cut off the excess material. The magnets click together to hold your shoe in place or you can push your foot forward to break the connection and step out of the shoes. 

The Zubits come in three sizes, the smallest being suitable for children's shoes and the biggest being designed for "high activity by large individuals. The campaign has 35 days to go and is currently up over $8,700 in pledges toward a $29,000 goal. A set of Zubits for one pair of shoes is going for a $20 (£12, AU$23) pledge. 

There are a few questions floating around the project, like how well the lace closure would hold up to vigorous sports activities. Zubits acknowledges it can't possibly test every shoe on the market and that heavy or stiff-soled boots could cause the magnetic closure to pop open, but it looks like a pretty solid solution for everyday activities. Some people will tell you to just quit being lazy and tie your laces like normal, but other folks will appreciate the clean look, easy access and lack of laces flopping around. 

While $20 may sound like a high price for fancy laces, the Zubits will travel with you from shoe to shoe as your wardrobe evolves. It should at least tide you over until Air Mag power laces become reality.