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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Therapies For Stress

Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives. One of the keys to health and long life is learning to manage stress so the detrimental effects of stress are minimized or eliminated.


Massage_therapy : acupressure face massage

Massage_therapy : Serene woman enjoying a massage 
Massage
Massage_therapy : massage foot female close-up isolated on white background Stock PhotoMassage is an ancient healing art, which works on the basis that when the body is calmed and relaxed, mental anxiety is lessened. Perhaps the earliest mention of massage as a therapy for mental and physical stress is found in the ayurvedic tradition of India. It is a common feature in most of the traditional therapies. Massage has been applied daily as a physical and mental relaxant in Indian lifestyles. In Japan, shiatsu practitioners regularly visit people from house to house, asking "Shiatsu today?" Acupressure is the Chinese variation of Indian marma massage techniques, which deals with the acupoints (marmapoints) but without the application of needles. Malay massage makes extensive use of herbal oils. Massage is urut in Malay language. The idea of massage is to relieve pain and  help to revive blood circulation. During the massage, plain coconut oil or that boiled with rempah ratus and roots is used..It is a great stress reliever and additionally, very user-friendly.

Massage_therapy :   indian doctors doing traditional ayurvedic oil back massageOf late, the West has also recognized that massage could be an important part of stress management. Oriental massage has been modified further in the West to expand its application as a therapy.

Traditionally, specific massage techniques, using hands, forearms, elbows, or even feet are applied to a patient`s body for loosening the muscles and to locate areas of tension and other soft-tissue problems. Practitioners learn to develop a sense of touch to determine the right amount of pressure on specific parts of the body.

Under severe stress, when muscles are over-worked, the body shows many weakening symptoms such as soreness, stiffness, and even muscle spasms. Heightened stress responses accumulate lactic acid in the muscle and waste air inside the body. It exhausts the body and de-motivates the mind to remain energized and active.

Why Massage is Rejuvenating:
• Massage improves circulation of blood and lymphatic fluids. Increased blood flow brings fresh oxygen to body tissues.

• Increased oxygen flow eliminates waste products from inside the body, and enhances recovery from diseases.

• Therapeutic massage boosts circulatory and immune systems to benefit blood pressure, circulation, muscle tone, digestion, and skin tone. It also improves the performance of the lungs.

• As muscle tone improves, so do the nerves that connect them, including the spinal cord, and the brain.

• Therapeutic massage can promote general well being, enhance confidence, and self-assuredness.

There are many variations of massage therapy and bodywork, which are often confused with each other. The term `bodywork` refers to therapies that combine massage, such as Shiatsu, Trager, Rolfing, Polarity, and Reflexology.

Contemporary Western massage includes methods based primarily on modern Western concepts of anatomy and physiology, using a wide variety of muscle manipulative techniques. Those are broadly used for personal growth, emotional release, and balance of mind-body-spirit. They include Esalen or Swedish/Esalen, neuromuscular massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, and manual lymph drainage.

Massage is an excellent relaxant that also increases health and well being.

Acupressure
Acupressure is the needle-less variation of the Chinese healing system?acupuncture. When acupoints or meridians (energy pathways) become blocked or congested, a person experiences pains or discomfort on a physical level. On emotional or mental level one may become frustrated or irritable, and on a spiritual level one may experience a sense of feeling ungrounded, vulnerable, and indecisive about life.

In acupressure, practitioners use deep but gentle finger pressure on specific acupoints to release the blocked energy and to facilitate its smooth flow. In effect, this allows your body/mind to relax. As your body/mind relaxes, you have an opportunity for mindful exploration of your disturbing thought patterns and memories. You may find space to transform your belief systems that are troubling you. This way you experience less discomfort and stress in addition to an elevated sense of well being.

Acupressure is, perhaps, the most convenient as well as a skillful healing art for stress and a host of related diseases. It is convenient because it can be applied anywhere? in workplaces, on transition or at home, whenever the exigencies arise. It is all about acquainting yourself with the important acupoints, and learning the skill of using your fingertips to put the required amount of pressure on them.

Acupressure has been found to be extremely helpful in the following stress induced disorders:

• The relief of daily stress
• Headaches
• Neck & shoulder pain
• Aches and pains
• Allergies
• Migraines
• Menstrual difficulties
• PMS
• Menopausal imbalances
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Digestive problems
• Nausea
• Gastro-Intestinal problems
• Eye strain
• Back pain
• Chronic conditions



Acupuncture
Though acupuncture, the most widely applied Chinese therapy, is best known for control of pain, it can actually treat a wide variety of common and uncommon disorders. Acupuncture is based on the concept of maintaining balance and harmony within the body by facilitating the flow of life energy in it. When chi/Qi (life energy) inside the body becomes stagnant and congested, all kinds of mental
and physical illness follow. In order to restore chi distribution, needles are inserted into acupoints along the meridians (energy pathways) of the body. According to the science of acupuncture there are more than 350 acupoints on the meridians of the body.

A large number of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders induced by stress are being successfully treated by acupuncture. According to World Health Organization data, the following list of disorders relating to stress can be effectively treated by acupuncture:

• Headache and migraine
• Trigeminal neuralgia
• Paralysis following stroke
• Meniere`s disease
• Neurogenic bladder dysfunction
• Nocturnal enuresis (bed wetting)
• Intercostals neuralgia (pain in ribs)
• Cervicobrachial syndrome (pain radiating from neck to arm)
• Frozen shoulder or tennis elbow
• Sciatica
• Low back pain

Acupuncture is also found to be effective for the treatment of acute and chronic stress induced disorders such as anxiety, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, hypertension, insomnia, PMS, menopausal symptoms, and depression.

It is also applied for treating chronic pain associated with dysfunction of immune system such as psoriasis (skin disorders), allergies, and asthma as well as in the treatment of disorders such as alcoholism, addiction, smoking, and eating disorders world over.

The principle here is to clear the blocked energy in the muscles and nerve channels, as well as facilitating the flow of fresh energy (extra in-flow of oxygen) in them. This ensures relaxation of muscle and mind, and relief from stress and tensions.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Less Stress, More Living

Stress is a virtually universal feature of midlife. We're all spread way too thin by our busy lives and many of us feel that we just can't keep up with all the demands on our time. There is encouraging news, however, from recent studies showing that it is possible to take control over your time, resources, and energy, and lower your stress levels. Here, I'll highlight specific ways that 50- and 60-somethings can live a more stress-free existence.
We begin with the fascinating concept that stress begets stress, a process called "stress generation." UCLA researchers Nicole Eberhart and Constance Hammen, writing in the April 2009 Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, tested the notion that we cause at least some of our own stress, particularly the kind that relates to conflicts with other people. Often, these are some of the most stressful situations we face. Eberhart and Hammen found that women with a tendency to become depressed drove away their romantic partners by constant needs for reassurance. The more they drove their partners away, the more stressed they became which, inevitably made them even more depressed.
The women in the Eberhart and Hammen study were college-aged, and so the findings might not apply to people in their midlife years. However, a 2012 study by University of Texas psychologist Marci Gleason and her collaborators, published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology, showed that even in midlife, some individuals still create their own stress by causing strife in their relationships.
Gleason and her collaborators tested over 1,200 people ages 55-64 at one point in time on measures of personality traits, or long-standing dispositions, and personality disorders, which are long-term maladaptive ways of behaving, feeling, and understanding yourself and others. Six months later, they asked participants to report on their major life events. If stress generation is a valid concept, the people with chronic personality malaise should have reported a greater number of undesirable life events.
The life events that Gleason's participants reported as occurring within the 6-month period ran the gamut from death of a spouse, parent or child to major financial problems, difficulties with the police or courts, getting fired, having something stolen, and breaking up a long-term relationship. The most frequently reported event was death of a close friend or another relative (16%), followed by serious illness or injury to another person (15%) or to oneself (11%). Then, putting stress generation to the test, Gleason and her team calculated the relationship between the 11 personality qualities they studied and the total frequency of stressful life events. Two of the personality attributes stood out as generating the most stress: high scores on "neuroticism" (the tendency to be anxious and worry excessively) and borderline personality disorder, a chronic instability of self-concept accompanied by a tendency to have extreme emotional reactions. In other words, among these midlife adults, being anxious or highly unstable at Time 1 predicted having a greater number of stressful life events at Time 2.
We can conclude that being constantly on edge, prone to riding an emotional roller coaster, and worrying that things will go wrong can set the stage for more things in your life actually to go wrong. Once what you fear begins to occur (people become ill and die, relationships end), your emotional equanimity further deteriorates, and a negative cycle becomes set into motion. Although other research shows that people become better able to cope with stress as they get older, this study shows that your personality can still cause complications in your life.
People's personalities can change at any point in the adult years, and just because you're neurotic now, it doesn't mean you have to stay neurotic forever. From the Gleason et al study you can see why this might be important, particularly as you get older and the odds increase that one of these negative life events will happen to you.
To keep stress from generating more stress in your life, you can start with these 4 basic steps:
1. Recognize how much you may be contributing to your own daily stress levels. Without getting into a blame the victim mentality, there may be ways you can minimize your stress levels by keeping your emotions in check when you're around the people who are important to you in your life.
2. Build your mental health by building your physical health. Moving your body can alleviate your emotional burden. You don't have to be an exercise fanatic, but spending some of your day getting your blood flowing will help boost your mood, which will further break the stress-life event cycle.
3. Engage your sense of humor. One of the most under-rated coping methods, a good laugh (even if it's just to yourself) can recharge your emotional gas tank. Research on humor and coping shows that the non-hostile kind of humor (that doesn't poke fun at other people) can help you cheer up, and cheer up the other people around you at the same time.
4. Recognize the difference between a hassle and a major life event. Many of the participants in the Eberhart and Hammen study tended to blow out of proportion the extent to which a life event had actually occurred to them. Once you're in the "I'm stressed" mindset, you tend to magnify even small problems way out of proportion. By then, you're feeling overwhelmed and unable to manage what now seems like an insurmountable problem.
These four steps to minimize stress may not make all your problems go away, but they can provide a great touching off point. We know that stress is in the mind of the beholder, and by adjusting your mindset, you can also improve your mood, and ultimately, your relationships.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Health Benefit of egg~


Health Benefit of egg~

1- Egg cotains 6 gram of proteins which r useful to body and all essential amino acids..

2- Regular use of egg prevents the w0man from breast cancer and w0men which use egg regularly they have 40% l0wered chances of breast cancer..

3- Egg is very important to treat macular degenrati0n because it cotains caroteinoids and zeaxanthine and leutin which r present in excess amount in egg..

4- Egg is also used to treat cataract due to the presence of zeaxanthine and leutine..

5- Egg is the only source which contains naturally occuring vitamin-D...

6- Egg yolk contains 3 microgram of choline which is useful for brain, nervous system and cardiac system..

7- Regular use of Egg also prevent stroke and heart attack...

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Bill Gates Offers $100,000 For High Tech Condom



Bill Gates Offers $100,000 For High Tech Condom



Through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is offering $100,000 for someone to develop the so-called next-generation condom.
Condoms, according to Gates, save lives but are underutilized in part because men prefer sex without using them, which puts their partners disproportionately at risk for STDs and unplanned pregnancies. As part of the foundation’s Round 11 Grand Challenges Explorations initiative, the Microsoft founder is looking for someone to come up with a technologically improved condom that can address these shortcomings by making it more enjoyable to use regularly.
Beyond the initial $100,000 grant, additional funding up to $1 million for an innovative, radically different condom design that has real potential may be available. Apparently the basic condom technology has stayed the same for the past 50 years.
Here’s the background on the challenge from the Gates Foundation:
“We are looking for a Next Generation Condom that significantly preserves or enhances pleasure, in order to improve uptake and regular use. Additional concepts that might increase uptake include attributes that increase ease-of-use for male and female condoms, for example better packaging or designs that are easier to properly apply. In addition, attributes that address and overcome cultural barriers are also desired.  Proposals must (i) have a testable hypothesis, (ii) include an associated plan for how the idea would be tested or validated, and (iii) yield interpretable and unambiguous data in Phase I, in order to be considered for Phase II funding.”
The winner will be selected by the Gates Foundation and an independent group of reviewers, and proposals will be accepted through May 7.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has sponsored initiatives all over the world primarily with regard to health and fighting poverty and hunger.
Do you think you could build a better condom? The initial application form for the condom proposal (as well as for four other projects) is only two pages.



Saturday, March 23, 2013

When Is It The Right Time To Eat Healthy And Exercise?

http://sharebabytopics.blogspot.comWe all want to eat healthier and exercise, but can't find the motivation to get started. Article includes 15 helpful tips to get you looking and feeling better.

 The Cardio Debate For Fat Loss: High Intensity Versus Low Intensity

 When is the right time to start a healthy eating and exercise plan? With the millions of dollars spent on diet books, drinks, pills and other diet aids you would think that anytime is the right time. Well, from what I hear from potential clients there is no right time.
They can always find an excuse. Some of the excuses I hear are “school is getting out for the summer, my kids have ball games, we have to go on vacation, it’s Bible School week, it’s State Fair week, school is starting, my kids play sports, it is the Holidays and I know I will overeat, the weather is bad and I can’t get out, I’m just too busy”.
The real truth is that no one wants to be accountable for their own actions. No one wants to do the work. No one can say no, to themselves or others. All I hear are weak excuses.
How many times have you ate poorly and then promised yourself to do better tomorrow? You are only one person, who are you making the bargain with? It’s a child’s game that we play with ourselves. We all do it and we need to stop.
Do you promise yourself to do better and offer yourself bribes if you do? Don’t bribe or reward yourself for acting appropriately.   You use the reward method to train a dog (or maybe a child) not yourself. The reward is the satisfaction you feel for acting like an adult and making the correct choices for yourself. Don’t play “Let’s Make a Deal” with yourself, “I’ll eat this fast food meal today but I’ll be good tomorrow”. When you play this game tomorrow never comes.
Special occasions are another problem area. “It’s my Sons Birthday, an anniversary, a night out, etc” are all excuses to overeat.  Think about it, there is always going to be a “Special” occasion. What makes it special, the food or the people involved?
You may have to change the way you celebrate special occasions or skip them all together. If you miss a special occasion or arrive after the meal has been eaten you will survive and there will always be another time.
Another pitfall is the “all or nothing” concept. Have you ever contemplated starting a diet and then ate everything in sight because you are “never” going to get to eat that way again? Do you think the food companies are going to stop making the foods you love just because you are on a diet?
No, that donut, candy bar or French fries will always be available and at some point in the future you might be able to indulge, just not now. Rest assured your favorite foods are not going away but their hold on you will lessen as you gain control and become healthier.
Time is also a factor. There are always 24 hours in a day no matter if it is Monday, Wednesday or Saturday.  How many times have you started a diet and failed and then two weeks later you say “if only I had stuck to my diet!” Well the time passed regardless of what you did. Don’t look at the total length of time, just take one hour at a time and soon it will be a lifetime.
Ok, now for the payoff. What do we eat? We eat protein (meat, poultry, eggs, and fish), vegetables, fruit and some healthy fats.  We use little dairy, just one or two servings per day. We limit the fruit to one or two per day. We limit corn, peas, and potatoes.   We try to cut out all sugar and white flour products. We don’t use highly processed foods and we try to use one ingredient foods as much as possible.
Examples of one ingredient foods are carrots, eggs, beef, green beans etc. anything that has not been processed or added to, is a one ingredient food. You can combine any number of one ingredient foods to make recipes and that is not the same as factory processed foods.

You can control you blood sugar by eating several small meals per day that contain protein, carbohydrates from vegetables or fruit and healthy fats. If your blood sugar is under control you won’t feel nearly as hungry.
You need to educate yourself on calorie, carb and fat gram counting. If you have just been counting points you have missed the basic lessons you need to eat healthy. Study basic nutrition and how the various food groups can work for you.
You need to understand the difference between complex and simple carbohydrates. Don’t just expect someone else to figure it out for you. The way to lifelong weight control is truly in understanding.
Once you learn how to effectively count calories you can keep a running total in your head and the whole ordeal becomes much easier.
Another trap is perpetrated by the big food companies and advertisers. I like to think of them like the big tobacco companies. For years the tobacco companies tried to convince us that smoking was a good thing! Look what the tobacco companies did to our parents and grandparents.
The food companies are doing the same thing to us and our children. They spend billions to study us and advertise on a way that will make us buy their products, no matter how poor the nutritional value.
If you look at a super market advertisement nearly all of the products are processed, sugar loaded items that carry no health benefits. When you are cutting calories everything you eat needs to be nutrient dense. And remember “if it is not good for you to eat then it is not good for your family either”.
The saying that “there are no bad foods if eaten in moderation” is also a trap. This statement may be true in some cases but only if all of your health indicators are at optimum levels. But, if you are overweight, diabetic, hypertensive etc. that statement is false.
If you are eating unhealthy foods in the belief that there are “no bad foods” you are replacing nutritious foods with empty calories. When you cut calories you need every calorie to be nutrition dense. You can be overweight and malnourished at the same time. If you are not getting the proper macro nutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) vitamins and minerals, you will be hungry all of the time.
If you limit your choices to the nutritious natural food listed above you have eliminated the problematic processed foods. Many “diet” plans let you eat anything you want as long as the “points” don’t go over a prescribed amount. You could eat all donuts and not go over your point allotment but do you think that would be healthy!
Too much freedom can be a bad idea. If you choose healthy meats, vegetable and fruits your servings are larger and more filling as well.
Change the way you perceive food. Think about real money and Monopoly money. If you were going to cash your paycheck which one would you want the bank to give you? Food is also either real or fake and which one do you want for your money?
Processed foods are fake foods and have little food value. Spend your real money on real food that nourishes your body. Don’t waste your hard earned money on products that give you nothing in return.

15 Helpful Hints and Tips

1. Say no to eating out except on rare occasions. Don’t save up calories to eat out and don’t go hungry. Saving you calories up for one big meal is a mistake. You will almost always exceed your calorie allotment for the day in just one big meal. It’s better to eat a few small meals throughout the day and cut down on the “special” meal.
2. Poor nutrition leads to more hunger.
3. Uncontrolled blood sugar causes many health problems and also out of control cravings.
4. Learn to say no and mean it, to yourself and others. There will always be just one more “just this time”.
5. Time is relative; it passes whether you are doing positive or negative behaviors.
6. If it is not good for you it is not good for your family. Don’t let your loved ones live with poor nutrition. Think about a cold winter day. If you need a coat you kids also need their coats. If you need nutritious food your family does also.
7. Everything you spend your money on needs to have nutritional value, unless you like to throw you money away.
8. Keep foods as close to their natural state as possible. No boxes or frozen prepared foods. Frozen and canned vegetables are ok.
9. No soda, fruit juice or drinks. Use milk as a snack or for cooking not as a beverage with a meal.
10. Read food labels, the fewer ingredients the better.
11. No fried foods.
12. Use milk as a snack or meal, not with a meal or as a beverage.
13. No sugar or white flour, or products made with either.
14. Move you body, aim for one hour of exercise at least five days per week.
15. Keep food journals everyday until you are comfortable and in control of you calorie count.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Treatment for Diabetes

Successful treatment makes all the difference to long-term health, and achieving balanced diabetes treatment can be the key to living with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Treatment varies for each individual, not simply on the type of diabetes that they have, but also more individual-specific diabetic treatment differences.

Treating your diabetes

Your diabetes treatment and management strategy should be agreed between you and your health care team.
The aim of diabetes treatment is to keep, within reason, blood glucose levels as near to normal as possible.
Training in self management of diabetes forms an essential part of diabetes management.
Treatment should be agreed on an individual basis and address medical, pychosocial and lifestyle issues.

Balanced diabetes treatments

A variety of different factors have a role to play in treating diabetes, but the importance of balanced, co-ordinated diabetes treatment for all diabetics cannot be underestimated.
Regular and successful treatment decreases the risk of each patient developing diabetes complications.
 The basics of diabetes treatment are broken down into each diabetic type below.

Treatment of Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes treatment is a daily task.
Lack of insulin production by the pancreas makes Type 1 diabetes is particularly difficult to control.
Treatment requires a strict regimen that typically includes a carefully calculated diet, planned physical activity, multiple daily insulin injections and home blood glucose testing a number of times per day.

Treatment of Type 2 diabetes

Treatment typically includes diet control, exercise, home blood glucose testing, and in some cases, oral medication and/or insulin.
Approximately 40% of people with type 2 diabetes require insulin injections.



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Diabetes Symptoms & Warning Signs

Symptoms

For many people, symptoms for type 1 and type 2 diabetes may go unnoticed until the condition has progressed. You may experience nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and weakness before you realize that diabetes is causing your problems. At this point, it is crucial that you see a doctor as possible to keep your symptoms under control. Otherwise, you could be at risk for serious complications including heart problems, severe nerve damage, and death.
Routine physical exams can identify and diagnose diabetes before the condition is out of control. A doctor may prescribe a blood test or urine test to measure the levels of glucose and insulin in your body. High levels of glucose indicate that either type 1 or type 2 diabetes is prevalent. High levels of insulin coupled with high levels of glucose suggest the presence of type 2 diabetes.

Common symptoms of diabetes include:
  • Frequent urination
  • Increased thirst
  • Increased fluid intake
  • Feelings of extreme hunger
  • Severe fatigue
  • Unexpected weight loss (type 1 diabetes)
  • Skin irritation in the legs and genital area
  • Slower healing of superficial wounds
Blurred vision is another common symptom of diabetes. When blood glucose levels are high for an extended period of time, the shape of the lens of the eye can change and result in vision changes.
The symptoms for type 2 diabetes develop more slowly than the symptoms for type 1 diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, the symptoms may start to appear when people become older. You may notice that your symptoms disappear or improve when you change your diet or begin exercising. Even though type 2 diabetes is most common among older adults, young adults and adolescents are still sometimes affected, especially if they are overweight, living a sedentary lifestyle, and consuming a large amount of sugar.
People with type 1 diabetes tend to develop symptoms as children. You may, very suddenly, begin to feel exhausted, hungry, and thirsty. You might experience a frequent urge to urinate, and you may start to lose weight, even if you are not trying. Your eyesight might become blurry, and your feet might develop a tingling sensation or numbness. Many people with type 1 diabetes are hospitalized when they are first diagnosed with the condition because the symptoms are so severe.
If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and are taking insulin, you are at risk of developing low blood sugar. The symptoms of this condition include headaches, hunger, palpitations, trembling, sweating, and weakness. If you start to feel these symptoms, your blood sugar level might drop below 70, becoming dangerously low.
If you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes and your blood sugar is dangerously high, you may experience symptoms that include trouble breathing, dry skin, dehydration, flushing in the face, stomach pain, and nausea.

Warning Signs

When your body fails to produce insulin properly, you may feel weak and exhausted. The glucose will remain outside of tissue cells in the bloodstream, and you will feel tired because your body is not processing energy correctly.
If your vision is blurred, then you might have sustaining levels of high glucose levels in the bloodstream. Neurological damage can also occur as a result of diabetes. When glucose levels continue to remain high for a number of years, irreversible nerve damage can occur.
You can tell whether you have nerve damage if you start to experience tingling and numbness in the hands, legs, and feet. Numbness can cause problems by increasing your risk of injury and infection. You may cut yourself and developing an infection without noticing. You may not be able to notice heat or cold.
People with diabetes also develop foot problems. Your skin might change color, and you may develop calluses that eventually become ulcers. Poor circulation is another problem that can make it difficult for you to fight infections. If you have open sores, you can develop severe infections. Some diabetes patients, when they develop infections, need surgery to amputate the affected limbs.
If you have diabetes, it is important to be under the care of a doctor. If you start to develop any abnormal symptoms, you should consult a medical professional as soon as possible to prevent your symptoms from becoming serious.

Information on how to prevent diabetes

Warning!! to all womenhttp://secretkitche.blogspot.com

Sitting May Prompt Diabetes


 
Among women‚ being seated for long periods of time every day raises the risks of developing type–2 diabetes.

An emerging factor for chronic disease‚ sedentary behavior – marked by an obvious lack of routine physical activity‚ may prompt the onset of type–2 diabetes among women. Thomas Yates‚ from the University of Leicester (United Kingdom)‚ and colleagues assessed 585 men and women‚ ages 40 and over‚ for the amount of time they spend sitting during the course of the week. Additionally‚ the team collected blood samples to identify markers linked to diabetes and metabolic dysfunction. The researchers found that women who spent the longest time sitting have higher levels of insulin‚ as well as elevated levels of leptin (a chemical released by fatty tissue in the abdomen)‚ and higher amounts of inflammatory markers including C–reactive protein and interleukin–6. These correlations were not found in the male study subjects. Urging that women need to engage in 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity exercise a day‚ the study authors conclude that: “Total self-reported weekday sitting time was associated with biomarkers linked to chronic low–grade inflammation and poor metabolic health in women … independent of physical activity.”