Rahasia Cantik dan Tubuh Langsing Bidadari Victoria's Secret

Karli Kloss

Kecantikan bidadari Victoria's Secret memang tak perlu diragukan lagi. Wajahnya yang bebas keriput, tubuhnya yang langsing sampai kaki jenjangnya. Untuk mendapatkan kulit dan bentuk tubuh sempurna, mereka melakukan serangkaian latihan dan perawatan.

Behati Prinsloo, Doutzen Kroes, Karlie Kloss, Lindsay Ellingson, dan Adriana Lima membocorkan beberapa tips untuk mendapatkan kulit sehat. Tak cuma kulit sehat, mereka juga memberikan tips untuk mengencangkan bokong dan berfoto selfie. 

Dikutip dari Style, berikut rahasia mereka:

Gerakan apa yang paling dibenci saat olahraga?

Adriana Lima: "Coba saya pikir. Saya tidak suka planking."

Behati Prinsloo: "Squat. Pernahkah Anda melakukan squat di mana kaki Anda sedikit keluar dan tiba-tiba Anda bertahan dengan satu kaki sampai akhirnya turun, turun dan turun. Ini membunuhku, tapi ini yang terbaik."

Doutzen Kroes: The bridge (latihan dengan posisi tubuh membentuk seperti jembatan). Latihan ini baik untuk paha bagian dalam, paha luar dan bokong. Latihan ini bekerja sangat baik tapi ini menyakitkan. Anda tahu, ini harus dilakukan."

Karlie Kloss: "Olahraga yang paling dibenci dan dihindari adalah burpee. (Burpee adalah gabungan dari gerakan squat, kick feet back, push-up, squat dan melompat). Saya benci itu karena membuat saya ngeri."

Apakah kalian pergi ke gym setiap pagi?

Behati Prinsloo: "Tidak, saya tidur. Saya butuh tidur lebih karena saya punya hari yang sibuk dan sering mengalami jet-lag. Sampai di rumah sudah malam dan masih harus menyemprotkan tan."

Karlie Kloss: "Saya berolahraga malam hari."

Lindsay Ellingson: "Saya berolahraga setiap pagi. Saya membawa beban di pergelangan kaki saya dan melakukan olahraga mengencangkan bokong setiap pagi selama 10 menit. Ini adalah hal yang menyenangkan karena kami tidak punya waktu untuk latihan di luar. Saya sangat senang bisa membawa mereka setiap saat dan bisa berolahraga di kamar.

Caranya, letakkan tangan di lutut, kemudian angkat kaki belakang sebanyak 50 kali di setiap sisi. Bobot di lutut adalah 2,5 kg. Lakukan dengan intens."

Apa rahasianya untuk mendapatkan kulit halus dan mulus?

Karlie Kloss: "Saya memiliki spray tan sehingga saya merasa jadi lebih cokelat (kulit). Anda harus bercukur sebelum menyemprotkan tan, ini adalah sistem pemeliharaan yang terjadwal. Anda harus berhati-hati saat scrubbing dan mengoleskan losion."

Doutzen Kroes: "Minyak kelapa sangat membantu. Saya menggunakannya untuk berbagai macam hal, misalnya hair mask dan eye make-up remover."

Lidnsay Ellingson: "Saya melakukan dry brushing sekali setahun. Anda melakukannya sebelum mandi dan ini akan membantu eksfoliasi kulit. Selain itu akan membantu memperlancar sirkulasi darah."

Adriana Lima: "Terima kasih Tuhan untuk laser!"

Bagaimana cara kalian memanjakan diri? Makanan apa yang jadi favorit?

Karlie Kloss: "Saya harus mengakui, saya bekerja keras dan sangat disiplin untuk fitness. Dan saya harus mengaku kalau seringkali curang sebelum show, saya sarapan biskuit. Setelah show saya tenggelam dalam semangkuk besar kentang goreng."

Doutzen Kroes: "Kentang goreng. Ini adalah ngidam saya yang terbesar. Saya bukan seorang penggemar cokelat."

Behati Prinsloo: "Saya pikir, saya akan makan pizza setelah show. Ini seperti tradisi yang selalu saya lakukan. Jadi, hanya menjaga tradisi tetap hidup."

Adriana Lima: "Saya memanjakan diri setiap saat. Semua orang berpikir bahwa model itu tidak makan dan selalu rela melaparkan diri. Tidak seperti itu. Untuk bisa berada di panggung Victoria's Secret, Anda harus sehat. Anda harus olahraga. Lihatlah semua model di sini, semuanya cantik. Dan jika melaparkan diri, Anda tahu, Anda akan kehilangan cahaya wajah dan kecantikan." 

[Source : cnnindonesia.com]

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Bau Mulut, Ketakutan Terbesar Saat Kencan

Masalah bau mulut, sering menjadi masalah ketika berhadapan dengan pacar.

Kencan bersama pasangan, apalagi kencan pertama rasanya bikin was-was. Takut tampil jelek dan lebih takut lagi ternyata kalau bau mulut. Apa Anda juga demikian?

Sebuah survei baru-baru ini menelusuri apa saja ketakutan yang dialami pasangan ketika menjalani kencan pertama. Diketahui kemudian di urutan teratas ada masalah bau mulut, lalu diikuti dengan bau badan, busana yang dikenakan dan takut tampak gemuk.

Lebih dari separuh responden mengakui kalau masalah bau mulut menjadi perhatian mereka sebelum menghabiskan waktu bersama pasangan. Selain itu, nafas segar bebas bau ternyata menjadi penentu dan menambah kepercayaan diri dalam menjalani kencan. Ketika mendapati calon pasangan bermasalah dengan hal yang satu ini, maka bisa jadi tak ada kencan lanjutan.

Selain masalah bau mulut, ada beberapa ketakutan lain yang membuat kencan menjadi tak berkesan. Diantaranya masalah bau badan, keringat berlebihan, dan gigi tak terawat.

James Preece, konsultan asal Inggris yang kerap dimintai saran untuk hal-hal berkaitan dengan masalah cinta, mengungkapkan adalah alami ketika seseorang merasa cemas atau was-was saat berkencan. Apalagi bila itu menjadi kencan pertama yang ingin berkesan.

“Masalah bau mulut merupakan masalah yang kerap membuat kencan berantakan, dan sebagian besar tak lagi berlanjut,” ujarnya.

Tapi dengan hadirnya banyak produk untuk mengatasi bau mulut, harusnya setiap orang sudah tak lagi takut berlebihan. Tinggal bagaimana menyiapkan diri dengan prima sebelum melangkah keluar dari rumah.

Ditambahkan James, bau mulut erat kaitannya dengan rasa percaya diri. Ketika merasa tak percaya diri maka sudah jelas membuat diri tak nyaman, dan akhirnya obrolan tak nyambung dan lebih parah lagi kehilangan momen yang harusnya dilewatkan dengan baik.

Dari survei yang dilakukan, setelah bau mulut, bau badan, dan busana yang dikenakan, masalah lain yang membuat kencan berantakan adalah masalah kulit tak terawat, make up berlebihan, kuku tak cantik, serta merasa gaya rambut berlebihan.

Untuk itu, James Preece punya lima tips yang mungkin bisa diterapkan jika ingin menghabiskan waktu berkesan bersama pasangan. Pertama, pilihlah waktu yang tepat misalnya akhir pekan atau Jumat siang. Pilihan menjelang akhir pekan akan memungkinkan untuk kencan berlanjut.

Kedua, jika Anda menginginkan pasangan tampil sempurna, maka mulailah dari diri sendiri untuk juga tampil sempurna. Persiapan matang baik fisik juga mental, beri kesan yang pas dan mengesankan.

Ketiga, bisa siasati dengan nafas segar mint yang siapa tahu Anda punya kesempatan untuk melakukan ciuman yang mungkin tak terlupakan.

Keempat, pastikan nafas Anda segar karena berciuman erat kaitannya dengan tiga indra, yakni sentuhan, rasa dan bau. Dengan memastikan nafas segar semuanya akan baik-baik saja dan mungkin lebih dari yang Anda harapkan.

Kelima, senyum yang meyakinkan, ini termasuk barisan gigi yang putih terawat. Bagaimanapun satu senyum bisa membuat semuanya menjadi lebih mudah.

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Kelainan Pada Payudara yang perlu di Waspadai

Pemeriksaan rutin merupakan langkah tepat untuk mengantisipasi lebih dini risiko kanker payudara. Jika cukup jeli, tanda-tanda kanker bisa dideteksi sendiri dari kelainan-kelainan yang terdapat di sekitar jaringan payudara.

Dikutip dari Shine, berikut ini adalah 7 kelainan yang perlu diwaspadai sebagai gejala kanker payudara.

1. Benjolan
Gejala kanker payudara yang paling mudah dikenali adalah munculnya benjolan yang tidak normal. Benjolan itu bisa umumnya diraba sendiri, meski kadang-kadang hanya bisa diketahui keberadaannya lewat pemeriksaan mammograph.

Benjolan yang keras dengan bentuk tidak teratur lebih perlu diwaspadai dibandingkan benjolan yang lunak dan bulat. Benjolan lunak biasanya dipicu oleh adanya kista, meski kista juga bisa mengeras jika mengalami pengapuran.

2. Pembengkakan
Meski tidak ada benjolan, payudara yang membengkak atau terasa berat perlu diwaspadai. Kehamilan dan retensi (penumpukan) cairan akibat terlalu banyak konsumsi garam sebenarnya juga bisa menyebabkan payudara membengkak, namun pembengkakan akibat kanker biasanya tidak simetris antara payudara kiri dan kanan.

3. Iritasi kulit
Gejala kanker juga bisa diamati dari kulit payudara atau puting yang memerah, tebal dan bersisik. Jika tanda-tanda itu muncul meski tidak sedang mengalami infeksi kulit dan tidak memiliki alergi terhadap bahan kimia pada pakaian, sabun dan lotion, sebaiknya segera diperiksakan ke dokter.

4. Nyeri di bagian puting
Kista di payudara juga bisa menyebabkan rasa nyeri di bagian puting. Untuk membedakannya dengan kanker payudara, periksakan segera dan mintalah dokter untuk melakukan pemeriksaan ultrasonik yang bisa membedakan kista dengan sel kanker.

5. Puting tenggelam (nipple retraction)
Meski jarang, pertumbuhan sel kanker payudara di sekitar areola juga bisa menyebabkan puting tenggelam. Jika gejala ini muncul tiba-tiba dan bertahan hingga beberapa pekan, ada kemungkinan terjadi traksi atau pengencangan kelenjar susu yang terjadi karena terdesak oleh sel tumor.

6. Cairan aneh di puting
Selain susu, cairan apapun yang keluar dari puting perlu diwaspadai terutama jika berwarna merah atau coklat. Biasanya dokter akan melakukan ductogram yakni sejenis mammograph untuk memeriksa kelainan kelenjar susu, lalu mengamati cairan yang keluar dengan bawah mikroskop untuk mengetahui adanya sel kanker di dalamnya.

7. Pembengkakan kelenjar getah bening
Kanker payudara selalu ditandai dengan pembengkakan kelenjar getah bening di daerah ketiak. Periksakan segera untuk mengantisipasi kemungkinan tersebut, meski kadang-kadang infeksi juga bisa menyebabkan bagian ini membengkak.

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Working long hours doubles depression odds

Working long hours appears to substantially increase a person's risk of becoming depressed, regardless of how stressful the actual work is, a new study suggests.

The study, which followed 2,123 British civil servants for six years, found that workers who put in an average of at least 11 hours per day at the office had roughly two and a half times higher odds of developing depression than their colleagues who clocked out after seven or eight hours.

The link between long workdays and depression persisted even after the researchers took into account factors such as job strain, the level of support in the workplace, alcohol use, smoking, and chronic physical diseases.

Although the findings are "consistent with previous studies, the degree of increased risk was surprising," says Bryan Bruno, M.D., chair of the psychiatry department at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York City, who was not involved in the research. "The biggest condition that I work with is depression, and it is often related to work stressors."

Overworked junior and mid-level employees appear to be more prone to depression than people higher up the food chain, the study suggests. The length of the workday didn't have a perceptible impact on the mental health of higher-paid, top-level employees such as cabinet secretaries, directors, team leaders, and policy managers.

That's likely due to the amount of control higher-ups have over their own work, says Alan Gelenberg, M.D., who, as the chair of the psychiatry department at Pennsylvania State University, in University Park, is a higher-up himself.

"We have more control over what we work on; we can choose the fun stuff," says Gelenberg, who was not involved in the study. "I do mostly what I want to do, and when I put in an extra hard week, it's my choice."

For those lower on the totem pole, the researchers say long hours at the office could contribute to depression in several ways—by creating family or relationship conflicts, for instance, or by elevating levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

Job insecurity and sleep deprivation also may help explain the increased risk of depression, Bruno says, noting that previous research has shown that poor sleep is a key ingredient in work-related depression. "I often really focus on that symptom," he says, referring to his own patients.

Recent studies on overtime and depression have reported similar results, but most used a less rigorous standard for measuring depression. The new study included face-to-face consultations and used the American Psychiatric Association's official criteria for clinical depression, making it one "one of the rare studies" to do so, says lead author Marianna Virtanen, Ph.D., a researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, in Helsinki.

The new research, which appears in the journal PLoS ONE, drew upon data from a long-running study, known as Whitehall II, that includes employees from 20 London-based branches of the British civil service.

The study participants Virtanen and her colleagues focused on were all deemed mentally healthy when they were first evaluated between 1991 and 1993. Six years later, slightly more than 3% of the employees were found to have experienced clinical depression within the previous year. The more overtime they worked, the more likely they were to be depressed.

The majority of the study participants (52%) worked a normal seven- or eight-hour workday. Thirty-seven percent averaged nine- or 10-hour days, and 11% worked 11 hours or more.

The study had several shortcomings. The authors looked only at white-collar civil servants, for example, so it's not clear whether the results would apply to blue-collar workers or to employees in the private sector.

Another question the study doesn't answer is how long an employee can maintain 11-hour workdays before the risk of depression begins to rise: One month? One year?

"When we talk about working short increments of overtime versus long-term [overtime], we don't know what's too long," Gelenberg says. "When do things tip over?"

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Healthy two-headed baby born in Brazil

A Brazilian woman has given birth to a two-headed baby boy and doctors say the newborn appears to be in good health. Maria de Nazare has decided to name the pair, who share a heart, lungs, liver and pelvis, Emanoel and Jesus.

"When doctors scanned her they realized that the baby had two heads and that a normal birth would be a great risk both for mother and baby," hospital director Claudionor Assis de Vasconcelos told Brazil's O Povo newspaper. "The caesarean took an hour because the baby was sitting down."

"Despite all the problems we have as a small interior hospital we managed to save both mother and baby, which was our aim," he said. "And for us it was a great surprise to find out that the child was in really good health."

De Nazare was expecting twins and only found out about the two-headed child minutes before doctors advised her to have a caesarean birth in order to save both her life and that of her baby. Along with two heads, the 9.9 pound newborns have separate spines.

In some two-headed births where one brain is less developed, one head is removed in order to save the child's life. But rarer cases like this one, where there are two functioning brains, complicates the decision making process for doctors.

"If both their brains are functioning, how are we going to choose which head to remove?" said Neila Dahas, director of the Santa Casa hospital. "We are not considering the possibility of surgery. What we've got to think about at this moment is to maintain the children in good condition and see how they will develop."

Conjoined twins sharing a body, but with separate heads, are extremely rare but not without precedent. This is the second such birth in Brazil this year. However, the other child died after a few hours because of a lack of oxygen to one of the child's heads.

There have been at least 14 dicephalic conjoined twins born over the past 200 years.

In the United States, 21-year-old Abigail and Brittany Hensel were the subject of a 1996 documentary from The Learning Channel and appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

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Need more sleep? Blame your genes

Some people may need more sleep than others because they carry a certain gene variant, scientists have discovered.

The study found that those with a variation of the gene ABCC9 need almost 30 minutes more sleep each night than those who do not have it.

One in five Europeans carry a variant of ABCC9, which is involved in sensing energy levels of cells in the body.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh and Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich made the discovery by studying human sleep patterns and genes in flies.

They found that flies without ABCC9 slept for three hours less than normal.

The scientists said that in humans, presence of the gene variant explained the need for some people to sleep longer than eight hours, the length of time the study classed as average.

"Humans sleep for approximately one-third of their lifetime," said Dr Jim Wilson, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences.

"A tendency to sleep for longer or shorter periods often runs in families despite the fact that the amount of sleep people need can be influenced by age, latitude, season and circadian rhythms.

"These insights into the biology of sleep will be important in unravelling the health effects of sleep behaviour.

"Too much or too little sleep is associated with health problems such as high blood pressure, obesity and heart disease.

"Trying to understand the relationship between sleep and these diseases is a very important area."

More than 10,000 people throughout Europe took part in the study and provided information on how many hours they sleep each night, along with a blood sample to analyse their DNA.

Their sleep was measured on days classed as "free", when they did not need to get up for work, take sleeping pills or work shifts.

Researchers also found that seasonal changes in daylight at different latitudes appear to have an effect on how long people sleep, but more research is needed to fully understand how time of year and geography are involved.

The paper, published in Molecular Psychiatry, looked at data from Orkney, Croatia, the Netherlands, Italy, Estonia and Germany.

[Source : thewest.com.au]

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Is the changing role of women in our society behind the rise in autism in the past 30 years?

The autism epidemic seen in most Western countries in the past 30 years is one of the great medical mysteries of our time.

The cause cannot be some great genetic shift – there simply hasn’t been enough time for this to have happened.

Our diets are not hugely different and there is nothing to suggest any other aspect of our lifestyles might be to blame.

One rather bizarre hypothesis, that certain combinations of vaccines given to toddlers might be to blame, has now been thoroughly discredited.

One ‘explanation’ is certainly over diagnosis; fifty years ago ‘autism’ was quite narrowly defined, a serious mental impairment which normally prevented sufferers taking a place in mainstream society.

Now children who are simply a bit obsessive or who show signs of social dysfunction are routinely labelled ‘autistic spectrum’ or ‘Asperger’s’.

But over diagnosis cannot explain all the rise – from one-in-2500 in the United States to around 1 per cent today (and similar rates in the UK).

For some years now Professor Simon Baron-Cohen (cousin of the comedian and actor Sacha), a psychologist at Cambridge University, has been developing his theory that something called ‘assortative mating’ may be at least partly to blame for the spectacular rise in autism diagnoses.

Associative mating: Professor Simon Baron-Cohen has said when two people who aspire to be doctors, surgeons or engineers get married, they are magnifying the chance of their child being autistic (posed by models)

The theory states that when people with strongly ‘systemising’ personalities – the sort of people who become engineers, surgeons, computer experts and who shine in some aspects of business – marry each other and produce children, the effects of this kind of ‘male brain’ are genetically magnified, increasing the chances of producing an autistic child – a child with what Prof Baron-Cohen suspects is an ‘extreme male brain’.

Strong ‘systemisers’ are often slightly obsessive, perfectionist and make great scientists and are often extremely talented at music. But they sometimes have difficulties socially interacting with other people – a combination of traits that can blend into the milder end of the autism spectrum.

Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre is now asking members of the public who are graduates and parents to take part in a survey which will investigate any links between educational achievement, what kind of job they have and how their children develop.

Specifically, the new study will attempt to find out whether two ‘strong systemisers’ do indeed have a higher chance of producing autistic children.

Prof Baron-Cohen’s theory is certainly plausible.

Some of the sharpest increases in autism diagnoses have been found in Silicon Valley, in California – home to perhaps the largest population of successful systemisers on Earth, the tens of thousands of technicians, engineers and programmers who work in the computer industry. Inevitably, many of these people marry each other (there are now plenty of women working in IT, not the case a generation ago) and this is good (although circumstantial) evidence of the systemising-autism link.

But what about other places? Why the rise in autism just about everywhere? One answer could be the changing role of women in general seen in the last 100 years.

Equal opportunities: Now it is commonplace for women to become doctors or surgeons and marry

Until relatively recently in our history, being exceptionally bright was not much use to you if you were female. In Victorian Britain, for example, the opportunities for a woman to earn her living through brainpower alone were extremely limited.

According to the 1901 Census, there were fewer than a hundred registered female doctors in the whole of the United Kingdom.

Going to university was difficult and expensive – most did not even allow girls to study. There were certainly few opportunities for careers in engineering or the sciences.

You could become a teacher or a governess, or maybe, of you were exceptionally talented, earn your living writing or in the arts. Most of the professions were closed, as was the world of business.

Brainy women were not even seen as particularly desirable partners. Clever or rich men chose brides on the grounds of looks, ‘breeding’ or both.

Having an IQ in the 140s probably counted against you if anything. The traditional image of a ‘dumb blonde’ hanging off the arm of the successful politician or businessman was a horrible cliché but it had an element of truth.

And in any case, very clever women would have often been mad to get married.

"Fifty years ago, male airline pilots typically married stewardesses; now they marry other pilots. Doctors used to marry nurses; now they marry other doctors."

Until the 1880s British women who wed could not even own their own property.

If they she did have a job, many employers would automatically sack a girl the moment she turned up with an engagement ring. So many clever, ‘systemising’ women simply did not marry, or married late – and probably had fewer children when they did.

Now everything has changed. Not only have the legal and social barriers to women entering the workplace as equals been largely dismantled, we also have the phenomenon of the desirable ‘alpha female’. Fifty years ago many men were scared of smart women. Now, increasingly, alpha males want someone their equal or eve superior.

Fifty years ago, male airline pilots typically married stewardesses; now they marry other pilots. Doctors used to marry nurses; now they marry other doctors.

The wives of successful politicians are, increasingly, successful in their own right – and of course many successful politicians are women.

Prof Baron-Cohen points out that ‘alpha females’ are not necessarily strong systemisers.

Being a brilliant politician or writer may not require the sort of geeky ‘male brain’ that may lie behind the autism rise.

But the phenomenon of like-marrying-like may be having completely unexpected consequences that go far beyond mere equal opportunities for women.

It is a fascinating theory and we await the results of the new study with interest.

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Boxing great Joe Frazier in hospice with liver cancer

Boxing great Joe Frazier, who went toe to toe three times with Muhammad Ali, including the famous "Thrilla in Manila" fight, is seriously ill with liver cancer and is in a hospice, his personal and business manager said Saturday.

Frazier, 67, is in a Philadelphia facility, manager Leslie Wolff said. The former heavyweight champion was diagnosed just four or five weeks ago.

"He's a true gentleman," Wolff said. "Along with Muhammad Ali, (he is) one of the two most recognizable athletes in the world."

Frazier, nicknamed "Smokin' Joe," used his devastating left hook with impunity during his professional career, retiring with a 32-4-1 record.

Frazier, the son of a South Carolina sharecropper, boxed during the glory days of the heavyweight division, going up against greats George Foreman, Oscar Bonavena, Joe Bugner and Jimmy Ellis.

But it was his three much-hyped fights against Ali that helped seal his legend.

Frazier bested Ali at 1971's "Fight of the Century" at Madison Square Garden. In the 15th round, Frazier landed perhaps the most famous left hook in history, catching Ali on the jaw and dropping the former champ for a four-count, according to Frazier's bio at the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Frazier left the ring still the champ after handing Ali his first professional defeat.

Ali won a 12-round decision in a January 1974 rematch, setting the stage for the classic "Thrilla in Manila" just outside the Philippine capital in 1975.

Ali took the early rounds, but Frazier rebounded before losing the last five rounds. By the end of the 14th, Frazier's eyes were nearly swollen shut, and his corner stopped the bout, according to the biography.

Later, Ali said, "It was the closest I've come to death."

Fans and well-wishers were encouraged to post their thoughts and prayers at joefrazierscorner.com.

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Beyond Vaccine Politics to Biopolitics

The most intensely personal and revealing encounter at the Tea Party/CNN debate this week in Tampa was not about the state of the economy or jobs or immigration. It was about vaccinating girls to prevent cervical cancer. Even in an election cycle that is dominated by the economy, feelings about cultural issues continue to be the most raw, especially where the power of modern medical science seems to conflict with tradition values.

Welcome to the era of biopolitics.

Biopolitics refers to the ways that issues raised by biology enter the political process. The most longstanding of these issues in America is of course abortion. Then in the last ten years evolution re-entered the picture with the advent of "creation science," a dubious tip-of-the-hat to science if ever there was one. That happened around the same time presidential candidates needed to take a position on embryonic stem cell research. A more recent addition to the biopolitical list is climate change, and more recent sill, vaccination of girls to prevent cervical cancer.

In my new book, The Body Politic: The Battle Over Science in America, I discuss the simmering popular anxiety about the power of science, especially the implications of modern biology. Although many on the left share these concerns, cultural conservatives are especially troubled by the way that the ability to understand and manipulate life threatens traditional values and the social order. Like any political trope, the "pro-science/anti-science" theme should be read as a signal about how deeply certain politicians identify with those who worry about the values being transmitted to future generations. Those values have to do with the ways scientists might be able to control the very nature of humanity. The fundamental cultural divide between those who see science as a boon or as a threat has already appeared several times in the political season.

For example, a few weeks ago a fourth grader asked Texas Gov. Rick Perry how old the Earth is. In response, Perry told the student that "in Texas we teach both evolution and creationism in our public schools, because I figured you're smart enough to figure out which one is right." Less widely noted, his mother reportedly asked the governor "why he doesn't believe in science." The media frenzy over the exchange then prompted former Utah Gov. John Huntsman, another Republican presidential hopeful, to say "The minute that the Republican Party becomes the party--the anti-science party--we have a huge problem." Huntsman repeated this line in the debate at the Ronald Reagan Library, though it undoubtedly contributes to the widespread view that he is a relative moderate in this group of candidates.

At the Reagan Library event Gov. Rick Perry was hammered about his executive order that approved a program to vaccinate girls against the virus that can cause cervical cancer, which cultural conservatives fear will entice them to be sexually active. The fact that Perry followed the medical advice of experts on public health provided him no shelter in this debate. Rep. Bachmann followed up by arguing that it's wrong to impose vaccination on "innocent young girls" and their parents (though like all such regulation Perry's program had a parental opt-out clause). A few weeks later at the Tea Party/CNN debate Bachmann hammered Perry on the issue, accusing him of "crony capitalism" in order to gain campaign contributions from the drug company, Merck. Underlying the emotions behind the vaccination issue is the fear that a combination of powerful forces -- government, the pharmaceutical industry, and the science establishment -- are conspiring to undermine traditional values.

At the Tea Party Forum in South Carolina, one of the panelists was Robby George, a popular Princeton University professor who is a leading conservative thinker. George served on President Bush's bioethics council. George raised the question whether congress can reverse Roe v. Wade based on that part of the 14th amendment of the constitution that is generally known as the "equal protection" clause, which refers to "any person."

The question whether fetuses or embryos are "persons" reaches into practices well beyond abortion, especially the stem cell controversy. While he was a member of President Bush's bioethics council George engaged in a debate with another member, Harvard professor Michael Sandel, about embryonic stem cell research. In 2004, while he was a member of President Bush's bioethics council, Sandel published a widely read piece in the New England Journal of Medicine on "Embryo Ethics." Does respect for the human embryo rule out using it in research that might provide important medical advances? Sandel argued that it does not, that those who ground respect for the human embryo in the fact that all persons came from embryos commit a logical error. Embryos are not necessarily equivalent to persons any more than acorns are equivalent to oak trees. "Human life develops by degrees," Sandel argued. In response, George, coauthored a paper in the conservative journal The New Atlantis in which he deprecated Sandel's analogy. George wrote that Sandel used a false analogy because human beings have an intrinsic value that acorns and oak trees do not have.

Beyond the old and familiar biopolitics of abortion, the new biopolitics results from the potential of experimental biology for remarkable knowledge and control over the nature of human beings. At the same time, Americans face global competition for new products through biotechnology in this "biological century." As the U.S. economy continues in the doldrums, this potential source of new wealth poses an interesting challenge for politicians who identify themselves as cultural conservatives.

After the economy, biopolitics might just be the item that most challenges the 2012 candidates' policy prescriptions.

[Source : huffingtonpost.com]

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6 Tips for Choosing a Meditation Practice

When I started practicing meditation in 1995, I didn't tell too many people about it for fear they would think I had joined a cult or turned into some kind of new-aged oddball. If I mention it today, however, I'm more likely to be greeted by comments like, "I just came back from a 10-day silent Vipassana retreat," or "Yes, my doctor told me I should meditate to stabilize my blood pressure." I knew that this ancient practice had officially entered our culture when I saw a billboard advertising a new sleeping pill called Zazen. It's here.
Now, we're faced with a plethora of choices for developing a meditation practice. I say go for it! Explore the practice of "Vipassana" or "Insight Meditation." Ask your doctor to refer you to a clinic where they teach mindfulness based stress reduction, which is connected to Vipassana. Visit your local Shambhala center or another Tibetan Buddhist center and learn "Shamatha" or the practice of tranquility. Try "Zazen" (the Zen meditation practice, not the sleeping pill).
There are many other forms of meditation practice, but as a Buddhist, these are the ones I am familiar with and can vouch for. And as you do your research, I suggest you consider these parameters:

1. Choose a practice that is rooted in a lineage that is older than, say, 2,500 years. Not saying you have to adopt another culture or act Eastern, just that it's good to find something time-tested and honed. Thus, you can have confidence. Confidence in the practice is always step one along the spiritual path. When you know it is genuine, you relax and listen more closely.
2. Learn the technique from someone who has been trained to teach it. Teaching meditation is more than an explanation, it is a transmission. It is passed down from one who has learned from his teacher, who learned from her teacher, and so on. The longer the chain, in some sense, the greater the power of the practice. 
3. Don't accept anything watered down or instant. There are many skillful and intelligent ways to present the practice of meditation simply, and I'm not referring to any such attempts. Just that meditation takes effort and will at some point be uncomfortable and boring. Any practice that promises otherwise should be investigated especially carefully. Stay away from things that can be done in five, seven or 57 steps. It's just not that simple.
4. Don't make stuff up. This is one area of life where it's really important to follow the instruction very closely and exactly. At some point in your practice, maybe you'll figure out some personal tweaks to the technique, but hold all tweaks for months, years and lifetimes. The thing with practices that are this long-standing is that they are soaked in wisdom. All the tricks you can think of to avoid looking at your own life have already been tried by countless individuals in all sorts of cultures. The practice has been built to foil all such trickery. Thus, no detail is casual. It's all there for a reason. Respect and love the technique and it will respect and love you back.
5. Make it very, very personal.At the same time, whatever practice you do, it will only come to life when you make it personal. There are wonderful guides who can help you enter the practice, and maybe at some point you will even find a teacher. In any case, at every step, you are on your own and charged with bringing what you have learned into your own life. You have got to figure it out on your own. Don't take anyone's word for anything. Trust, verify. Trust, verify. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Your experience is the path; there is no other path. So stick with practices that encourage deep inward looking and personal responsibility.
6. Avoid practices that suggest the point is transcendence or bliss. The point of practice is to be here. If you don't know how to be here, how are you supposed to know what you're transcending to or away from? And no one even knows what bliss is, anyway. I don't. All I know is that it's something other than feeling super happy and untouched by anything. (When asked what bliss felt like, Tibetan meditation master Choygam Trungpa said, "To you, it would probably feel like pain.") Practice makes you more human, not less. This may not get you to a perfectly peaced-out state, but it will do something way better and, let's face it, more practical: It will make you more authentic. More human. More open and tender and thus of far more use (and interest) to your fellow humans.

Welcome to your life! Practice introduces you to the brilliant, confused, grumpy, joyful and deeply tender person that you already are and opens door after door for this amazing being to enter the phenomenal world -- for her benefit, yes, but also for the benefit of all sentient beings. So look for a practice that appreciates happiness and lightness, sure, but doesn't turn away from sadness or darkness. Look for something emphasizes compassion, love, tenderness and dedication to becoming fully human.
Definitely try things out; however, at some point it is important to choose one path (or no path -- this is best for some folks) and stay with that way.

Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Please post below.

[Source : huffingtonpost]

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New Research Finds Diabetes Can Be Reversed

I have recently spent more time in drugs stores than I would like helping my sister on her journey through (and hopefully to the other side of) cancer. Rite Aid, CVS and Walgreens all had large diabetes sections offering support for a "diabetes lifestyle" -- glucose monitors, lancets, blood pressure cuffs, medications, supplements and pharmacy magazines heavily supported by pharmaceutical advertising. Patients are encouraged to get their eye check ups, monitor their blood pressure, track their blood sugars, have foot exams and see their doctor regularly for better management of their blood sugars -- all apparently sensible advice for diabetics.

But what if Type 2 diabetes could be completely reversed? What if it weren't, as we believe, an inexorable, progressive disease that has to be better "managed" by our health care system with better drugs, surgery and coordination of care? What if intensive lifestyle and dietary changes could completely reverse diabetes?

A ground breaking new study in Diabetologia proved that, indeed, Type 2 diabetes can be reversed through diet changes, and, the study showed, this can happen quickly: in one to eight weeks. That turns our perspective on diabetes upside down. Diabetes is not a one-way street.

We used to believe that once cells in your pancreas that make insulin (beta cells) poop out there was no reviving them and your only hope was more medication or insulin. We now know that is not so.
Continuing misconceptions about what causes diabetes and our unwillingness to embrace methods know to reverse it have lead to a catastrophic increase in the illness. Today one in four Americans over 60 years old has Type 2 diabetes. By 2020, one in two Americans will have pre-diabetes or diabetes. Tragically, physicians will miss the diagnosis for 90 percent with pre-diabetes or diabetes. (Below I tell you exactly what tests to ask your doctor to perform and how to interpret them).

From 1983 to 2008, world-wide diabetes incidence has increased seven-fold from 35 to 240 million. Remarkably, in just the past three years from 2008 to 2011, we have added another 110 million to the diabetes roll call. And increasingly small children as young as eight are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes (formerly called adult-onset diabetes). They are having strokes at 15 years old and needing cardiac bypasses at 25 year old. The economic burden of caring for these people with pre-diabetes and diabetes will be $3.5 trillion over 10 years.

If we have a known cure, a proven way to reverse this disease, shouldn't we be focused on implementing programs to scale this cure? Unfortunately despite this extraordinary new research, the findings will likely be pushed aside in favor of the latest greatest pill or surgical technique because behavior and lifestyle change is "hard." In fact, with the right conditions and support, lifestyle diet and lifestyle change is very achievable.

What did research show?

Reversing Diabetes: Can it Be Done in a Week?

The study, entitled Reversal of Type 2 diabetes: normalization of beta cell function in association with decrease pancreas and liver triglycerides, was exquisitely done. The bottom line: A dramatic diet change (protein shake, low glycemic load, plant-based low-calorie diet but no exercise) in diabetics reversed most features of diabetes within one week and all features by eight weeks. That's right, diabetes was reversed in one week. That's more powerful than any drug known to modern science.

We know from gastric bypass patients that with rapid changes in diet right after surgery, within just a few days, without significant weight loss, diabetes goes away -- fatty livers heal, cholesterol levels plummet. Some theorized it was because of changes in the stomach hormones related to the gastric surgery. Others, including the researchers of this new study surmised that maybe it was just the drastic change in diet. So they went about studying just the diet change without surgery.

They studied 11 people with diabetes and compared them to a control group. Through very sophisticated techniques including MRI imaging, they measured their blood sugar and insulin responses, cholesterol levels and fat in the pancreas and liver (some of the hallmarks of diabetes) before and after diet changes at one, four and eight weeks.

What they found was revolutionary. The beta cells -- the pancreas' insulin producing cells -- woke up, and the fat deposits in the pancreas and liver went away. Blood sugars normalized in just one week, triglycerides dropped in half in one week and reduced 10-fold in eight weeks. The body's cells became more insulin sensitive and essentially, in just eight weeks, all evidence of diabetes was gone and the diabetic patients looked just like the normal controls on all the testing.

While this may be surprising to most, it is something I see regularly in my medical practice. With focused, strategic, scientifically based nutritional intervention, combined with exercise, stress management and sugar and insulin balancing nutritional supplements, many of my patients completely reverse their diabetes. And the side effects -- more energy, better sleep, improved sexual function and weight loss -- are all good.

What most don't realize is that pre-diabetes and diabetes exist on a continuum and both dramatically increase the risk of heart attacks, stroke, cancer, infertility, sexual dysfunction, depression and dementia. You don't have to get diabetes to be at risk for all those problems. That is why it is so important to get your doctor to diagnose pre-diabetes early and implement an intensive lifestyle program to help you reserve it.

You may be at risk if you have extra belly fat, have a family history of diabetes, gestational diabetes, are in at risk ethnic group (Asian, Hispanic, African American, Native American, Middle Eastern), have high triglycerides (> 150 mg/dl) or a low HDL (< 50 mg/dl) or have high blood pressure.
If any of these apply to you or you have other cause for concern, here is what to do.

How to Reverse Your Diabetes

First, get your doctor to test the following:

1. A 75-gram glucose tolerance test measuring BOTH glucose and insulin fasting and one and two hours later. Your fasting blood sugar should be less than 100 mg/dl and your one and two hour sugar levels should be less than 130 mg/dl. Your fasting insulin should be less than 10, and your one and two hour levels should be less than 35.

2. Triglycerides should be less than 150 mg/dl and HDL (good cholesterol) should be over 50 mg/dl, and the triglyceride to HDL ratio should be less than four. These ranges are meaningful only if you are on no medication.
3. Newer cholesterol tests measure the size of your cholesterol particles and is very effective in diagnosing problems with pre-diabetes early. In fact, this is the only cholesterol test we should be performing.

And here's the program I use for my patients to reverse diabetes:

1. Eat a low glycemic load, high fiber, plant-based diet of vegetables, beans, nuts, limited whole grains, fruit and lean animal protein

2. Vigorous exercise (fast walking, running, biking, etc.) 30 minutes four to five times a week and strength training 20 minutes three times a week

3. Take a good multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D and blood sugar and insulin balancing nutrients (including chromium and alpha lipoic acid)

Remember, pre-diabetes and diabetes is not a one way street and the solution is not at the bottom of a pill bottle or the end of an insulin syringe, it is at the end of your fork and in the shoes on your feet!

To learn more about the real causes of diabetes and how to reverse it, see www.drhyman.com.

Now I'd like to hear from you ...

Do you think diabetes can be reversed? If so, how?

What methods have you tried to gain control of your diabetes or weight gain? How have those methods worked for you?

Why do you think accessible, scalable, lifestyle solutions like these that actually reverse chronic illness are not more frequently prescribed in conventional doctor's offices? How can we change this?

Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

To your good health,

By : Mark Hyman, MD

[Source : huffingtonpost]

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'Paedophilia is Hollywood's biggest problem,' explosive claim by former child star Corey Feldman

Actor Corey Feldman has sensationally claimed that his Lost Boys co-star Corey Haim was the victim of a paedophile who was also a Hollywood mogul.

The Lost Boys actor said he was 'literally surrounded' by paedophiles at the age of 14, but didn't realise 'until I was much older what they were and what they wanted.'

In a special report, 'Underage And Famous' for ABC's Nightline show, Feldman blamed former co-star Corey Haim's death at the age 38 on the abuse he suffered at the hands of a 'Hollywood mogul' he refused to name.

Victim of abuse: Corey Feldman has claimed that Hollywood is a playground for padeophiles and said they preyed on him and the late Corey Haim

The 40-year-old former child star said that paedophiles were 'like vultures' in the entertainment industry and alleged that the 'casting couch' even applies to children.

The pair were two the Eighties biggest child stars, alongside River Phoenix, and in addition to The Lost Boys, Feldman starred in iconic eighties movies The Goonies, Stand By Me and The 'Burbs.

He told Nightline: 'The number one problem in Hollywood was, is and always will be paedophilia," he said.

Exposé: He told ABC's Nightline that an abusive Hollywood mogul for the death of his friend Corey Haim

'It's all done under the radar... But it's the big secret.'

'There was a circle of older men that surrounded themselves around this group of kids. And they they had power or connections to great power in the industry.

'I was surrounded by them when I was 14 and I didnt even know it. It was only when I was old enough to know what they were.

'They all had either their own power, or connections to great power in the entertainment industry.'

Like brothers: Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in the 1987 film Lost Boys

In 2008, the pair who confronted each other on their reality show, The Two Coreys. Haim said to Feldman: 'You let me get f***** around in my life, raped, when I was about 14 and a half.

'So I'm asking you, what did you do when you saw that s*** going down?'

To which Feldman responded: 'I was being molested at the same time... what did you do about it?'

Like brothers: Corey Feldman and childhood friend, the late Corey Haim seen together in Feb last year

The 40-year-old previously revealed in an interview with GQ that he was molested by his assistant as a child.

Feldman says he believes the trauma of the abuse affected Haim for the rest of his short life. He died last year aged 38.

He said: 'The person that knows who did it and knows who he is is watching right now I guarantee it.

'There's a lot of good people in this industry and there's a lot of really, really sick corrupt people in this industry.

'And there are people that have got away with it for so long that they think there above the law and that's got to stop.'

Feldman, who married wife Susie on a reality show in 2002, said that he would not put is son, Zen, seven in movies.

He is also one of very few stars who won't allow his child to be photographed on the red carpet.

Haim's mother was contacted for comment but told Nightline she refused to respond to anything Feldman had to say. She added she wished he would only talk about himself.

Icons: Corey Feldman and 80s popstar Debbie Gibson starred in Katy Perry's Last Friday Night video as her parents

Feldman was not invited to the funeral of his former co-star.

While his career has not reached the stellar heights of his child actor years, he recently starred alongside 80's pop star Debbie Gibson as Kathy Beth Terry's parents, Katy Perry's alter-ego in her Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) video.

Last year his rock group Feldman and Truth Movement released the Eco friendly album Titled "Technology Analogy".

[Source : dailymail.co.uk]

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Soy 'does not ease the menopause'

Soy appears to do nothing to relieve the symptoms of menopause, scientists say, despite the high hopes of many.

A controlled study involving nearly 250 US women going through "the change" found soy tablets did not abate hot flushes or bone density loss.

The tablets were no better than placebo over the two-year-long investigation, Archives of Internal Medicine reports.

But experts said other studies have shown soy can ease menopause symptoms.

The dose given in the latest trial was twice that normally ingested by people with soy-rich diets.

Soy products like tofu contain natural plant oestrogens and experts have suggested that these might help women going through the menopause whose own oestrogen levels are dwindling.

'Not a candidate'

Many women are already offered oestrogen in the form of hormone replacement therapy or HRT to help with menopausal symptoms.

“Start Quote

My advice would be that women should reconsider taking these products for menopausal symptoms”

Lead researcher Dr Silvina Levis

But following reports that prolonged use of HRT may carry a very small increased risk of other conditions, like breast cancer and stroke, some do not want to go on HRT and look for alternatives.

The researchers from the University of Miami say their work suggests soy is not a candidate, although they stress that they only looked at soy isoflavone tablets rather than other dietary sources of soy.

They recruited 248 menopausal women to take part in their study and randomly allocated them to one of two groups: soy or placebo.

The soy group received 200mg of soy isoflavone tablets daily for two years, while the women in the placebo group were given dummy pills.

During the follow-up, no significant differences were found between the two groups regarding changes in bone loss - a common side effect of the menopause.

Menopausal symptoms such as sleep disturbances affected both groups to similar degrees, although the soy group did appear to experience more hot flushes than the placebo group overall.

Lead researcher Dr Silvina Levis said: "My advice would be that women should reconsider taking these products for menopausal symptoms. We found soy isoflavone tablets did not provide any benefit.

"We did not look at soy foods but I suspect these too would probably not be helpful."

Dr Malcolm Whitehead, a menopause expert at King's College Hospital in London, said: "I'm not at all surprised by the findings. In my clinical experience, women say this doesn't work for them."

He said HRT could be a safe and effective treatment for most women.

A spokesperson from the charity Women's Health Concern said that other studies had shown soy could be helpful for treating symptoms of the menopause.

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Perils of Pregnancy: Obesity and Advanced Age

by : Susan Donaldson James

Preeclampsia -- out-of-control hypertension in pregnancy -- is the number-one cause of maternal death around the world. But another disease is taking a toll on mothers and babies, especially in the United States -- obesity.

"The number-one health condition that affects pregnancy is obesity," said Dr. Katharine Wenstrom, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Women and Infants Hospital at Brown University in Rhode Island. "It changes everything with an increased risk for all pregnancy complications."

More than half of all women in the U.S. are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, and most go on to gain more than the recommended amount during pregnancy, according to Kaiser Permanente.

Doctors now know that fat cells are not inert and can produce inflammation. For pregnant women, that inflammation affects the placenta, according to Wenstrom. Obese women have smaller babies, more pre-term labor, airway problems and chances of serious complications during a C-section.

"The chance of death is higher and it's a real risk," she said.

"Most women do just fine," said Dr. Maurice Druzin, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University.

But social changes such as women delaying childbirth are making pregnancy more complicated. Advanced reproductive technologies have allowed women "who are not supposed to get pregnant" to have children, said Druzin.

"If you left it to nature, they would not get pregnant at this age," he said. "There are big ramifications of infertility with more multiples. ... Women who are older tend to have more chronic medical illnesses like hypertension and diabetes and are at more risk of getting gestational diabetes and preeclampsia."

A 2010 report from Amnesty International, "Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Crisis in the USA," said "near misses" are increasing by 25 percent since 1998.

Of the 1.7 million American women who get pregnant, one third have medical complications, most of them among minority populations, according to the report.

Wenstrom said the report paints a somewhat distorted picture of prenatal health care in the United States, but several common conditions can make pregnancy more perilous.

Obesity

Obesity is defined as a higher-than-average and unhealthy body mass index (BMI). Adults with a BMI between 25 and 30 are considered overweight. A person with a BMI greater than 30 is obese, and anyone more than 100 pounds overweight and has a BMI of 40 or greater is morbidly obese, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"Obesity rates are spectacularly rising," said Druzin. "And it's not only the rate that's rising, but the type of obesity -- morbid obesity. What we are seeing today is astonishing -- huge people."

Those who are obese are more predisposed to hypertension and diabetes, have more dysfunctional labors and, if they need surgery (a Caesarian), are more at risk because their airways can be compromised as tissues swell more readily.

"You cannot get the same quality of image in a sonogram," said Druzin. "It's challenging, and there is pretty good data showing that no matter how good the machine or skill of the doctor is, you may not get adequate imaging. The chance of missing something is there."

[Source : abcnews.go.com/Health]

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On the healthful highway

One vegan/vegetarian couple sets out to discover some of the nation's hidden, healthful restaurants on a road trip to Florida and back. Along the way, they discovered creative dishes and passionate chefs. Oh, and they didn't gain any weight.

How to eat healthy on a road trip

By George Fuller Special to the Los Angeles Times

For the junk food junkie, a road trip can be a dream journey. Between the fast food outlets and the glop at gas station minimarts, travelers may find themselves on a never-ending sugar/trans-fat wallow.

But on a monthlong road trip from Los Angeles to Naples, Fla., to visit friends and family, my wife, Landry, and I decided to go another direction: We would eat healthfully. It was a challenge, but not an insurmountable one if you knew where to look. Our goal on this trip was to find those hidden, healthful dining oases. As a bonus, we hoped we wouldn't gain weight. Bye-bye, guilt.
About 18 months ago, in an effort to achieve a more healthful lifestyle, we made big changes in our diets. I became a vegetarian, and Landry became a vegan, cutting all animal products, including eggs and dairy, from her diet. As we laid out our plans for our 5,516-mile journey, we plotted our stops based on where we could find health-food stores, vegetarian and vegan restaurants and Whole Foods markets to stock up in between.

Our route directly followed major freeways: Interstate 10 from L.A. through Tucson; past El Paso and up Interstate 20 south of Dallas to Atlanta; and south on Interstate 75 to Naples.

We hit bumps along the healthful highway only twice: One night as we drove through Midland, Texas, the only healthful option we could find was a plain baked potato and salad at Wendy's. On another afternoon, we gave in to our grumbling bellies and ordered veggie sandwiches at a gas station Subway outside San Antonio. But overall, like modern-day explorers charting new territory, we made some notable discoveries that may serve as a new healthful road map for travelers who want to travel the green highway.

Tucson

This Arizona desert city was our first major stop. We took a 10-mile detour off the freeway for lunch at Lovin' Spoonfuls (2990 N. Campbell Ave., [520] 325-7766, http://www.lovinspoonfuls.com). As we were driving through a not-so-nice part of town to arrive at its strip mall location, we wondered whether we had made the right choice. Once inside the air-conditioned restaurant, though, we found modern decor, friendly people and a tempting menu. The house specialty is the Route 66 bacon cheeseburger, a grilled soy patty topped with crispy soy bacon strips and melted vegan cheese. The highlight, at least as far as Landry was concerned, was the chocolate truffle cake. Divinely creamy and darkly fudgy. You'd never know it was vegan.

Arlington, Texas

In major metropolitan areas, we had no trouble finding a vegetarian restaurant or a grocery store that carried organic produce. In the hinterlands, salads are a fine choice, although they are not always organic. So we veered north on Interstate 20 near Midland the day after our Wendy's experience to stop at the huge Whole Foods store in Arlington (801 E. Lamar Blvd., [817] 461-9362, http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com). Whole Foods, founded 150 miles south in Austin, always felt like a homecoming. We stocked up on vegetarian and vegan dishes such as tofu curry over brown rice, spinach cakes and organic fruits and vegetables. We loaded our score into our cooler and hopped back on the highway, happy to have satisfied a craving.

Atlanta

Atlanta surprised us. This may be the land of deep-fat friers, but we also found several vegan and vegetarian restaurants. World Peace Cafe Atlanta (220 Hammond Drive, Sandy Springs, Ga.; [404] 256-2100, http://www.worldpeacecafeatlanta.com) is a haven in the midst of the bustling metropolitan area. Volunteers staff the café, which was built through donations. All tips go to create a meditation center. (In the tradition of the Buddhists, meditation contributes to world peace.) The tofu scramble was laced with turmeric, cumin and other tasty spices and was delicious, but my favorite dish was the vegan cranberry-orange pancakes. We ate here several times and felt good about doing so for reasons beyond the food. After all, how many places can you eat pancakes and contribute to world peace at the same time?

R. Thomas' Deluxe Grill (1812 Peachtree St. N.W.; [404] 872-2942, http://www.rthomasdeluxegrill.net) is a longtime Atlanta vegan favorite. Decorated with Chinese paper lanterns, bamboo curtains, seashell wind chimes and a chirping canary, the restaurant is more aptly described as outdoor seating in a heated tent. Its menu has offerings as diverse as tempeh (a soy-based meat substitute often used in things such as vegan burgers and bacon) and quinoa (a South American "supergrain" with a texture like couscous) served 24 hours a day. We showed up at 6 one morning and found that the Thai Express — a bowl of quinoa topped with sautéed broccoli, red cabbage, carrots, scallion and cilantro in a spicy peanut sauce — was a delicious breakfast choice. When we ordered, John Vo, a manager, who has been at R. Thomas for 19 years, said: "Laughter is still the best medicine, but quinoa is a close second." No argument from us.

Naples, Fla.

We weren't expecting many options in Naples, so we again stocked up on prepared vegetarian and vegan dishes at the local Whole Foods. But to our pleasant surprise, we found some notable options. Food & Thought Farm Market & Café (2132 Tamiami Trail, [239] 213-2222; http://www.foodandthought.com) brought us back several times during our visit for flavorful prepared and takeout dishes, organic coffees, smoothies and vegan desserts for breakfast and lunch. It offers both a market and cafe with outdoor patio seating under pleasant trees. Plus, the fruits and vegetables are picked daily from Food & Thought's own certified organic farm.

Our favorite dishes here included the Holy Yamoli sandwich, with yams, avocado, lettuce, tomato, onion and vegan mayo, and the Bunny Wrappit, a raw vegan lettuce wrap made with sprouts, avocado, tomato, vegan cheese and cucumber. Less adventurous souls can order a raw vegan Caesar salad and be safe and happy.

Austin, Texas

On the way home, we made a point of stopping in Austin. We figured that a city whose unofficial motto is "Keep Austin Weird" must have some good vegan and vegetarian food. Alternative eating, after all, often follows alternative thinking.

Here, we found a food truck called the Vegan Yacht that parks just a few blocks from Whole Foods' flagship store on 6th Street and around the corner from a tasty raw restaurant called Beets. The Vegan Yacht (1001 E. 6th St., Austin; [512] 619-7989, http://www.theveganyacht.com) menu includes mock chicken "sammies," organic "TLTS" (tempeh/lettuce/tomato) sandwiches, quesadillas and wraps, but what caught my eye was the mock chick'n wrap. One reviewer on Yelp recommended: "Get the fake chicken wrap thingy with the apples. I wanna bathe in it. It is not fast food. So much love and care is put into your meal — it will fill up your insides with joy and tenderness...mmm. It's like eating Al Green." Who could resist such a recommendation? This flour tortilla stuffed with mock chicken, diced apples, local sprouts, organic shredded carrots and creamy avocado was amazing.

We also chowed down at Beets Café (1611 W. 5th St.; [512] 477-2338, http://www.beetscafe.com). Beets is a "living foods" cafe that serves raw and yummy meals and desserts. It was the inspiration of Chef Sylvia Heisey, who worked for 16 years in the corporate world before opening Beets in late 2010. Nowadays, she can be found enthusiastically discussing the benefits of raw foods with customers and encouraging them to try her fruit or vegetable smoothies, fresh salads and nut milk "i-screams." We split a raw pizza rustica, with a sprouted sunflower seed crust topped with spicy almond nut cheese and tomato sauce and loaded with marinated mushrooms and other vegetables. The combination of crunchy/seedy crust and fresh vegetable toppings was so good that we contemplated going raw then and there.

Greater Phoenix

Green (2240 N. Scottsdale Road, Tempe; [480] 941-9003, http://www.greenvegetarian.com) is in a busy storefront near Old Town Scottsdale and the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. It serves some creative vegetarian dishes: The Apricot Miso bowl sounded tempting, as did the Singapore Tofu — curried tofu tossed in a spicy orange soy glaze over rice noodles. But we just had to try the Texas "Moo-Shroom" Po-Boy, a tangy mock meatball sandwich smothered in tomato sauce topped with melted mock mozzarella. Licking my lips, I thought, "Take that, Texas."

Los Angeles

We made one last stop before finding our front door. Since we were getting into town around dinnertime, Native Foods (now with seven locations; http://www.nativefoods.com) was calling our name; it was an ideal place to celebrate our four-week accomplishment.

The creativity and passion of chef Tanya Petrovna shows through on the menu. The sweet potato fries, the Very Voluptuous Veggie Pizza and chocolate Good Luck Cupcakes are daily staples, but the Gandhi Bowl is my standard order, which is perfectly blackened tempeh with steamed veggies, organic greens and curry sauce over brown rice.

We pulled into our driveway and reflected on our sojourn: We had not only maintained our weight over the journey but we also had discovered a growing health-food consciousness across the country.

For us, the road trip had evolved. It wasn't the junk food jamboree we remembered from our childhoods. It was better.

[Source : Los Angeles Times]

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