Wednesday, June 23, 2010

[Peckers_Pics] Model Wars; June 24, 2010 - Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated G



Model Wars; June 24, 2010
Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated  G
 
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      Diet & Fitness:
      • Did you complete your Diet Journal today?  Get it done!
      • Did you do any physical activity?  If not, make a point of it by tomorrow! 
      • It is our hope that these photos shall inspire you!

      Today's Health/Excercise Tip:
      10 Tips to Lower Blood Sugar Naturally
       
      If you have diabetes, lowering blood sugar isn't just a short-term goal: Doctors believe that it consistently helps prevent or delay diabetes complications, including kidney, eye and nerve diseases.

      Most of these diseases require 10 or more years to develop, but "it's still worth aggressively managing blood sugar levels to slow the onset of complications," says Edward Deehr
      , M.D., Lifescript Chief Medical Officer.

      Here are 10 tips to keep your readings on target:

      1. Spread out your meals.
      "I always tell my patients to spread their food out over the day, keeping carbohydrates consistent," says Jill Weisenberger
      , M.S., R.D., C.D.E., and Lifescript's nutrition expert. "Don't eat small meals so you can save up for a big dinner."

      Avoid fasting or skipping meals, even on weekends or other days when your schedule is hectic. It'll give your body enough time to regulate blood sugar levels and keep them even.

      How many carbs per meal are ideal?

      "It's tailored to each individual," says Weisenberger, who factors in medication, hormones and other key information for each patient.

      A typical starting point is 45 grams per meal for women and 60 grams for men (15 grams per snack). From there, make adjustments according to your blood glucose readings.

      2. Eat more food with resistant starch.
      Resistant starch - found in some potatoes and some beans - bypasses the small intestine, gets metabolized by the good bacteria and then behaves as dietary fiber in the large intestine, Weisenberger says.

      "Even after your next meal, your blood sugar will be lower," she says. "It's called the `second-meal effect.'"

      You'll find it in a potato that has been baked and then cooled, but not in a warm potato. So a half-cup of potato salad will bring on better blood sugar readings than the same amount of warm mashed potatoes.

      Black and kidney beans also have natural resistant starch.

      3. Bring on the beans.
      Can something as simple and inexpensive as beans really help with diabetes control?

      Yes, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Beans digest slowly, resulting in only a small rise in blood glucose levels. Several studies have shown that eating 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 cups of cooked beans daily improves diabetes control.

      Beans also are an excellent source of folate, which is linked to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, a common diabetes complication. Eating 1-3 cups of cooked beans a day will lower total cholesterol 5%-19%.

      Sneak beans in soups and salads, or eat them as a side dish.

      But introduce them gradually into your diet, the ADA says. Chew thoroughly, drink plenty of liquids to aid digestion and take enzyme products such as "Beano" to avoid gastrointestinal distress.

      For convenience, go for canned beans, which require less preparation time and are as healthy as dried.

      4. Cook up cactus.
      The paddle-shaped nopal cactus (also known as "prickly pear") slows carbohydrate absorption and lowers post-meal blood glucose readings in people with type 2 diabetes, according to some studies. In Mexico, nopal is used for treating the disease.

      According to a 2007 article in the journal Diabetes Care, the cactus is very high in soluable fiber, and, when eaten with other foods, slows the rate at which sugar from the meal enters the bloodstream.

      Nopal, popular in central Mexico, is boiled, grilled, fried or mashed and added to soups and stews.

      It's available in supplements, but be careful: Some people experience gastrointestinal distress, and it hasn't been studied extensively in the U.S. as an oral extract. Always talk to your doctor before trying this or any other supplement.

      5. Get more sleep.
      Poor or limited sleep affects body chemistry and getting more shut-eye helps with blood sugar control, Weisenberger says.

      People who get fewer than 6 hours a night consistently are 4.5 times more likely to get abnormal blood sugar readings than those who slept longer, according to a study by the University at Buffalo, N.Y. Adults typically need 7-9 hours a night.

      Lack of sleep is also linked with other health conditions, including heart disease, stroke and cancer.

      More than a third of people with type 2 diabetes have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where a collapsed airway causes a person to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep, according to James Herdegen, M.D., director for Sleep and Ventilatory Disorders at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

      "Studies have demonstrated that type 2 diabetics who also suffer from OSA can dramatically reduce their glucose levels by getting treatment," he says.

      OSA can be treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a mask worn during sleep that sends air through the airway to keep it from collapsing.


      6. Lose a little weight.
      Carrying around those extra pounds causes insulin resistance, keeping the blood sugar lowering hormone from working.

      Your weight-loss goals don't have to be enormous either, Weisenberger says. Some of her patients have seen improvements in blood glucose readings with only a 5-pound loss.

      7. Manage stress.
      When you're stressed out, your body creates a lot of stored energy – glucose and fat – so cells can use it when called into action.

      In diabetics, this extra energy doesn't make it to the cells, so glucose piles up in the blood and results in high readings, according to the ADA.

      How can you burn off tension?

      Yoga and meditation have helped lower blood sugar levels in her patients, Weisenberger says.

      The ADA also recommends creating your own stress-relieving routines: talking with a supportive friend, taking a warm bath or shower, watching an enjoyable movie, listening to music or taking a walk.

      8. Get moving.
      Exercise normalizes blood glucose in people with type 2 diabetes (but not type 1).

      "In type 2, exercise helps improve insulin resistance," says James Beckerman, a Portland, Oregon cardiologist. "The end result is lower blood sugars."

      But exercise is important for both types because it helps prevent heart attack, stroke or diminished blood flow to the legs.

      Because exercise can immediately reduce blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetics, work with your health care team to determine the right amount of activity and timing for insulin.

      A combination of resistance and aerobic exercise may be the most beneficial, Beckerman says.

      9. Fidget more.
      That's right. It's OK if you can't sit still.

      Mayo Clinic researchers studied how thin people burn calories and found that they have more "spurts" of daily activity, such as fidgeting, than heavier people. Just how much? Up to 350 more calories per day.

      Add these short bursts of activity to your daily routine:

      • Park your car at the back of the lot and walk to the store's door.
      • Return your grocery shopping cart to the supermarket door.
      • Walk to your neighbor's house instead of calling her.
      • Walk your outgoing mail to a farther mailbox.
      • Do some sit-ups or pushups during TV commercials.
      10. Eat breakfast.
      We've all heard that breakfast is the day's most important meal, and this is especially true for those who have diabetes. After fasting 8-12 hours, your body needs food to balance blood sugar levels and injected insulin from the previous night.

      Besides, eating breakfast can help overweight people with type 2 diabetes shed extra pounds.

      Of the 4,000 participants In the National Weight Control Registry who maintained at least a 30-pound weight loss for about 5.5 years, almost all said they ate breakfast daily.So what's the best breakfast? One with carbohydrate, protein and fiber, according to the ADA.

      Good options are cereal or an English muffin, low-fat milk or yogurt and fruit. (Save high-fat foods, such as bacon, sausage and eggs, for special occasions.)

      And think beyond the breakfast box: Leftover chicken breast with fruit is just fine too, the ADA says.

      What if you're not usually hungry for breakfast? Then make your previous night's meal smaller, so you'll wake up hungry, the ADA says. It will spread your carbohydrates more evenly throughout the day, leading to better blood-sugar control.

      And Now, Model Wars!

      This group is called "Peckers PICS."  The English -  slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health and Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues.  In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!"  Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?"  Warning: This may stoke you!
      [CLICK ME For Larger PIC]
      Books with gay themes for young readers take off

      At his Kentucky elementary school, kids taunted Brent on the playground about being gay, whatever that was. By eighth grade, he realized what they meant and came out to a friend -- and vice versa.

      She was an avid writer, he a voracious reader. They headed to their school library in search of stories that spoke to their lives: gay, gay in the South, gay and fearing stereotypes like "disgusting" and "worthless."

      "There were tons of books about gangs and drugs and teen pregnancy and there were no LGBT books. I asked the librarian about it and she was like, 'This is middle school. I can only have appropriate books here,'" said Brent, now 15 and heading into his sophomore year of senior high.

      So they went to their public library, where they discovered plenty of romantic gay steam between covers -- for adults. "We weren't complaining," said Brent, who asked that his last name and hometown not be used.

      Turning next to bookstores, they finally found what they'd been looking for -- a recent explosion in the publishing world of reads that speak to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens.

      First came a gem, a book for young people that made them cry: Martin Wilson's 2008 debut, "What They Always Tell Us," set in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The story about a troubled year for two brothers, one of whom finds solace in a relationship with a boy, made him feel less like an "alien on your own planet."

      A world of books followed. Brent read his way through Tom Dolby, Robin Reardon, Julie Ann Peters and David Levithan. He soon realized there were lots of coming out stories but he also craved romance, fantasy and paranormal books with characters who just happened to be gay, like Damien in the "House of Night" vampire series he loves by the mother-daughter team P.C. and Kristin Cast.

      "I see the characters trickling into the mainstream genres. I really like that," Brent said. "It makes being gay feel natural, which it is, of course. Books give you hope."

      Reads that speak to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens have traveled light years since John Donovan's "I'll Get There. It Better be Worth the Trip" led the way in 1969, now long out of print. The book on the confused world of 13-year-old Davy and the jock he kisses will be reissued in September from Flux, an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide.

      "This book made Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) very nervous," said Brian Farrey, editor of the new edition. "They weren't sure how people were going to take to it. It was the one that said it can be done for teens and there won't be people with pitchforks and torches waiting for you at the door. It opened the closet to teens and said you are not alone."

      Well before gay characters began popping up in the mainstream on TV and at the movies, librarians embraced "I'll Get There," said Kathleen T. Horning, director of the Cooperative Children's Book Center of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Another important forerunner was Nancy Garden's 1982 "Annie on My Mind" and its unabashedly happy ending for two 17-year-old girls who fall in love.

      "Previous to that, there would be some awful car accident or one of the gay characters would die," Horning said, acknowledging that thread in "I'll Get There." "There was a sense that the gay character had to be punished somehow. They were kind of depressing."

      Still, until now few LGBT titles became blockbusters. That changed with two boys named Will Grayson and a very large, very GLEE-ful linebacker named Tiny.

      "Will Grayson, Will Grayson," by Levithan and John Green, debuted on the New York Times children's best-seller list and stayed there for three weeks after its April release. It's a first for a young adult novel with major gay themes and has delighted hungry teen readers -- fanboys and fangirls who were the likely reason the book became a trending topic on Twitter. Penguin has 60,000 copies in print.

      In alternating chapters, Green and Levithan write of two 16-year-old boys with little in common, living in separate Chicago suburbs. One's depressed and struggling to come out and the other is straight with a flamboyantly gay friend in Tiny Cooper, a football star on the hunt for love --- and stardom in musical theater.

      "I AM tiny," said 20-year-old Andrew Casasanta, an English major at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "It's still very frustrating. I don't think that there's many characters out there that I can personally relate to and they're generally more stereotypes. It's important that this book, while having gay themes front and center, was written well."

      It helps that Levithan is a prolific rock star in gay lit for young people with an acclaimed winner in 2003, "Boy Meets Boy." It also helps that Green is revered as a writer for teens, including his "Paper Towns" in 2008, and by fans of the adrenaline-infused videos he posts regularly online.

      "Landing as high on the New York Times list as we did with `Will Grayson, Will Grayson' made a big statement to the children's publishing world that gay characters are not a commercial liability," Green said. "This is an important statement to make."

      As gay-straight alliances spread in schools and kids reared by gay parents have kids of their own, books remain important survival tools for all young people trying to figure out who they are, said Lynn Evarts, a high school librarian in the farm country of Sauk Prairie, Wis.

      "Kids have for the most part become 'Will and Grace'-ified," she said. "Oftentimes I'll hand them a book that has a gay main character and tell them how funny it is, and they take it and like it. These are kids who wouldn't normally touch anything like that. I live in the land of rednecks, but they like it because it's funny and good."

      Funny and good is well and good for kids with access to LGBT lit. What about readers like Brent who don't have inclusive libraries, deep pockets or technology to download ebooks? Recent research in Texas, for instance, indicated a strong "I don't serve those teens" attitude among librarians.

      "It's the argument that drives me crazy," said Teri Lesesne, who teaches young adult lit in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

      "It's like, `Yeah, you do.' They might not be coming in and saying, `Hi, I'm gay or I'm bi or I'm transgender or I'm questioning my own identity,' because they're afraid," she said. "But they're there and they're looking for these books."

      "Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

      ....Jake

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       



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      All members of "Peckers PICS" are requested to join our "Obama Biden 2008" group as it runs in conjunction to this group.  Both groups shall not repeat articles from one group to another.  However, to gain full knowledge of Gay rights, members must belong to the Obama group as well as this group.  Therefore, please accept your invitation to join. 

      To join the Obama group please click (or copy and paste the link into your browser) @  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ObamaBiden2008/join

      Thank you!
       

      "Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."

      ...Jake (Moderator)






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