Tag Archives: light

Woman attempting to live on nothing but water and sunlight for 6 months

A Seattle woman is attempting to live without food for six months -- planning to sustain herself on water and sunlight alone. Navenna Shine is calling her experiment “Living on Light.” “This is a paradigm for living in which we as human beings do not have to ingest any kind of food whatsoever into our stomachs in order to thrive,” Shine said. Shine, 65, says her experiment is an attempt to follow an obscure group of yogis called The Breatharians, who for thousands of years have claimed they have the ability to live on light alone. “At 'Living On Light' we propose that we have a nutritional source already embedded within our body/mind/spiritual systems that can give us exactly what we need to be healthy and well,” Shine wrote on her website. “Since we do not yet know exactly what that source is I am symbolically calling it Light.” Thursday marked Shine’s 33rd day without food, although she has lost more than 20 pounds. In order to verify that she is indeed sticking to the diet, Shine has placed several cameras throughout her house to keep a record of the experiment.  She also hopes to begin live-streaming her experience within the next few weeks. Click for more from My Fox 8. To follow Shine's updates, visit her Facebook page.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/07/woman-attempting-to-live-on-nothing-but-water-and-sunlight-for-6-months/

Government approves nutritional labels on alcoholic drinks

WASHINGTON – & Alcohol beverages could soon carry nutritional labels like those on food — but only if the producers want to put them there. The Treasury Department, which regulates alcohol, said this week that beer, wine and spirits companies can place labels on packages that include serving size, servings per container, calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat per serving. Such labels have never before been approved. The labels are voluntary, so it will be up to beverage companies to decide whether to use them on their products. The decision is a temporary, first step while the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau, or TTB, continues to consider final rules on alcohol labels. Rules proposed in 2007 would have made labels mandatory, but the agency never made the rules final. The labeling regulation issued May 28 comes after a decade of lobbying by hard liquor companies and consumer groups, with clearly different goals: the liquor companies want to advertise low calories and low carbohydrates in their products, while the consumer groups want alcoholic drinks to have the same transparency as packaged foods, which are required to be labeled. “This is actually bringing alcoholic beverages into the modern era,” says Guy Smith, an executive vice president at Diageo, the world's largest distiller and maker of such well-known brands as Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Jose Cuervo and Tanqueray. Diageo asked the bureau in 2003 to allow them to add that information to their products as low-carbohydrate diets were gaining in popularity. Almost 10 years later, Smith said he expects Diageo to gradually put the new labels on all of its products, which include a small number of beer and wine companies. “It's something consumers have come to expect,” Smith said. “In time, it's going to be, Why isn't it there?” Not all alcohol companies are expected to use labels, however. Among those who may take a pass: beer companies that don't want consumers counting calories and winemakers that don't want to ruin the sleek look of their bottles. The Wine Institute, which represents more than a thousand California wineries, said in a statement that it supports the ruling but “experience suggests that such information is not a key factor in consumer purchase decisions about wine.” Spokeswoman Gladys Horiuchi said the group knows of no wine companies that plan to use the new labels. The beer industry praised the agency for acknowledging that labels should take into account variations in the concentration of alcohol content in different products. The industry has opposed the idea of defining serving size by fluid ounces of pure alcohol — or as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor — on the grounds that you may get more than 1.5 ounces of liquor in a cocktail depending on what else is in the drink and the accuracy of the bartender. The ruling would allow the labels to declare alcohol content as a percentage of alcohol by volume, the approach favored by the beer industry. “We applaud the TTB's conclusion that rules be based on how drinks are actually served and consumed,” said Joe McClain, president of the Beer Institute. McClain said the beer industry is also pleased that the ruling provides “substantial flexibility” in terms of the format and placement of the disclosure on packaging. It is unclear whether beer companies will actually use the labels, however. Consumer advocates criticized the regulation. “It doesn't reflect any concern about public health,” said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Including fat and carbohydrates on a label could imply that an alcoholic beverage is positively healthful, especially when the drink's alcohol content isn't prominently labeled.” Consumer advocates have also said that listing alcohol content should be mandatory. Jacobson and others support having calorie counts on labels, but they said the labels should not include nutrients that make the alcohol seem more like a food. Current labeling law is complicated. Wines containing 14 percent or more alcohol by volume must list alcohol content. Wines that are 7 to 14 percent alcohol by volume may list alcohol content or put “light” or “table” wine on the label. “Light” beers must list calorie and carbohydrate content only. Liquor must list alcohol content by volume and may also list proof, a measure of alcoholic strength. And wine, beer and liquor manufacturers don't have to list ingredients but must list substances people might be sensitive to, such as sulfites, certain food colorings and aspartame. Tom Hogue of the TTB said the aim of the ruling is to make sure alcohol labeling is more consistent. “The idea here is we are trying to make it easy for the industry to communicate this with consumers if they want to do so, and if their consumers want them to do it,” he said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/01/government-approves-nutritional-labels-on-alcoholic-drinks/

How to become a morning workout person

Even if you're an early bird, getting up before the sun rises to go sweat your butt off can be seriously daunting. The good news: It's possible to become a morning workout person (with relatively little pain). Just follow these steps Pack a Bag Every night when you get home from work, put your dirty gym clothes in the hamper and set aside a crisp, new exercise outfit. Having to dig through your dressers drawers at 6 a.m. is no fun. It's much easier to have an outfit ready to go, so you don't have to fully wake up before you get dressed. Force Yourself Out of Bed Move your alarm clock across the room. That way you can't sleepily snooze-button your way through your morning sweat session. By forcing yourself to jump out of bed to silence the dreaded buzzer, you're forcing yourself to wake up quicker. And once you're already up... might as well go work out, right? More: Rev Your Metabolism in 8 Minutes Have a Light Snack Eating a full meal in the morning before your workout can make you feel sick. Instead, try something light (half a pita, a banana, etc) before your workout (so you're not starving), and then another light snack after. Skip the Booze Sure, a glass of wine (or two) at dinner can be a great way to unwind, but even small amount of alcohol can make you sluggish in the morning. If you do end up having a drink with friends the night before, just make sure to drink extra water before you go to bed. Otherwise, you could be dehydrated during your routine. More: The Worst Drinks At The Supermarket Go to Sleep Early Once you start getting in to the routine of waking up early, you will automatically start going to bed earlier. In the beginning, however, you will need a little coaxing. Try this: Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime Extra tea as bedtime drink. It contains valerian, trusted as a natural sleep aid since the days of the Greeks and Romans because of its mild sedative properties.  Make Friends After the initial two months of keeping up a morning workout routine, it can be easy to slip up and “forget” to go to the gym for a week. Something that will keep you motivated? Making friends at the gym who will help you stick to your routine. Set regular gym dates with a friend, or get to know another gym-goer who you know will be looking for you in the mornings—works like a charm. More: How to Motivate Yourself to Work Out Plan Your Routine Here's something that'll make early-morning gym-going much easier: Make a plan the night before. Either sign up for a spin class, or have your entire exercise routine mapped out. Bring any of our printable workout guide for inspiration. They guarantee a super intense workout—and visible results, fast!source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/24/how-to-become-morning-workout-person/