Ingredients:

2/3 cup light margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup walnuts or pecans (chopped)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Cream butter, brown sugar and vanilla together in a mixing bowl.
Add eggs to above mixture one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well until blended.
Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts or pecans.
Place level tablespoon size of cookie dough on a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 350F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

And the cookies are ready to eat.

Almost everyone sweats as a normal reaction to stress such as heat, exercise, emotional factors. However, some people sweat excessively at armpits, on the hands or feet, causing severe social and psychological embarrassment. These people suffer from a condition known as primary focal hyperhidrosis. It affects one in twenty people worldwide. Some people are so embarrassed by this condition that they never seek help from their medical doctors.

Hyperhidrosis can either be generalised or localised to specific parts of the body. Hands, feet, axillae and the groin area are among the most active regions of perspiration due to the relatively high concentration of sweat glands; however, any part of the body may be affected. Primary hyperhidrosis is found to start during adolescence or even before.

Excessive sweating impedes the performance of many routine activities. Things like driving, taking tests and simply grasping objects are severely hampered by sweaty hands.

Some hyperhidrosis sufferers feel they have to avoid situations where they will come into physical contact with others. Interviews, a common source of anxiety for many people, are particularly distressing for hyperhidrosis patients. Most often, it is the handshake before and after the interview that they will be stressing most about. Hiding embarrassing sweat spots under the armpits limits the sufferers arm movements and pretense. In severe cases, shirts must be changed several times during the day.

Many careers present challenges for hyperhidrosis sufferers; cooks and chefs, doctors and people working with computers can be affected by the social aspect of their condition. The risk of de-hydration can limit the ability of sufferers to function in extremely hot conditions without reasonable access to a source of hydration as well as cause a risk of mineral and salt imbalance from excessive sweating.

Many cases of excessive sweating can be controlled by applying products such as Drysol (20 percent aluminum chloride in alcohol) on your armpits and wrapping plastic wrap over them before you go to sleep If your armpits itch or burn, remove the plastic and wash the area with soap and water. This process reduces sweating for six to eight days. You can repeat the procedure when you start to sweat heavily again. Most antiperspirants contain aluminum, which is safe for external use.

In 1998, Dr Walter Shelley of the Medical College of Ohio developed a breakthrough treatment for severe hand sweating when he injected botulinum toxin (Botox) into patients’ palms. The patients stopped sweating on their palms for 4 to 12 months.

Another possible treatment for sweaty hands is a device called Drionic, where you place your hands on a special wet pad and have a weak current run through your hands. Scopolamine can also help to prevent sweating, but it can make you dizzy so you must take it in very low doses. Propanthelin 15 mg pills will reduce sweating for a few hours, but it can also make you feel dizzy.

Many people sweat profusely because they are nervous about appearing before an audience. A propanolol pill taken one half hour before public speaking or any other high-pressure event can prevent the sweating, shaking and other effects of stage fright. Propanolol is a beta blocker commonly used to control blood pressure; it is a safe and very effective way to get rid of even the worst stage fright. Check with your doctor.

A Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables — already known to protect against heart disease — also appears to help ward off diabetes, Spanish researchers said recently.

The study published in the British Medical Journal showed that people who stuck closely to the diet were 83 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not.

The World Health Organisation estimates more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes — a number likely to more than double by 2030 as more nations adopt a Western lifestyle.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 percent of all cases and is closely linked to obesity and heart disease. The condition accounts for an estimated 6 percent of all global deaths.

For their study the Spanish researchers recruited 13,000 former students at the university with an average age of 38 who had no history of diabetes. They tracked their dietary habits and health over an average four years.

The volunteers also initially completed a food frequency questionnaire to measure the kinds of food they ate. The list included questions on the use of fats and oils, cooking methods and dietary supplements.

People who strictly adhered to a Mediterranean diet full of vegetables, fish and healthy fats such as olive oil, and low in red meat, dairy products and alcohol had lower odds of diabetes.
Only about 40 people in the study developed diabetes but Martinez-Gonzalez added in a telephone interview that further study is needed to confirm the diet’s protective effects.

But the fact that the protection appeared to extend to older people, smokers and volunteers with a family history of diabetes — a group all the more prone to the disease — shows the diet works, Martinez-Gonzalez said.

These higher risk participants with better adherence to the diet, however, had a lower risk of diabetes, suggesting that the diet might have a substantial potential for prevention.

Source: British Medical Journal

Differences with poor nations on curbing emission persist

Leaders of the world’s eight richest top industrial powers vowed yesterday to act to bring down soaring oil and food prices but failed to bridge deep differences with poor nations on how to fight climate change.

The Group of Eight wrapped up three days of talks in a secluded mountain resort in Japan by inviting leaders of growing emerging economies such as China and India for a special session summit on global warming.

US President George W Bush hailed the summit as “very productive” as he left the scenic venue.

But the final hours of the meeting were overshadowed by Iran’s testing
of its Shahab-3 missile that can reach Israel.

The White House denounced the test and warned the Islamic republic to
abandon its ballistic missile programme immediately.

The leaders of the G8 nations, which together account for two-thirds of the world’s gross domestic product, said in a joint statement that while global growth had moderated, they were positive on the future.

They called for efforts to bring down oil prices, which have jumped
five-fold since 2003, as well as the soaring cost of food which has set off riots in parts of the developing world.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told a news conference at the end of the summit with leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States that there’s a need to improve transparency on the oil market.

G8 leaders also called on all countries to end export restrictions on food, Fukuda said.

The summit was dominated by discussions on global warming amid growing concern that rising temperatures caused by carbon emissions are threatening entire species of plants and animals.

The rich nations’ club on Tuesday agreed on the need for a global emissions cut of at least 50 percent by 2050, a step praised by G8 leaders as a step forward after years of hesitation by Bush.

But developing countries slammed the statement as too weak, tussling with rich nations at a special expanded summit yesterday bringing together the G8 with eight other leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The deadlock between rich and developing nations has held up talks on reaching a new climate treaty by the end of 2009 in Copenhagen — a goal set in December at a UN-backed conference in Bali.

But their statement said only that rich countries would implement their own goals for cutting greenhouse emissions while developing major economies would also take action, without proposing any numbers.

European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso defended the summit outcome. Dan Price, assistant to Bush for international economic affairs, praised the US-initiated meeting Wednesday as useful.

But the so-called Group of Five — Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa — has demanded that rich nations take the lead, saying they were historically responsible for climate change.

Kim Carstensen, head of the WWF environmental group’s Global Climate Initiative, accused rich nations of trying to stall action by putting the onus on developing countries.

The United States is the only major industrial country to reject the Kyoto Protocol, with Bush arguing that it is unfair by making no demands of fast-growing emerging economies.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that Tuesday’s agreement meant the G8 “now has made a commitment” on cutting emissions but that emerging economies have not done the same, the United States is making a commitment, firmly and absolutely, with the condition imposed by their Congress that China and India also take action in a differentiated way.

As with most new parents, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban might have difficulty telling what day it is.

No matter. From here on out, they’ll have a little Sunday every day.

The Oscar-winning actress and her country-singer husband welcomed a baby girl last Monday, then named her after the day before.

“Earlier this morning Nic gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Sunday Rose Kidman Urban,” read the message posted on Urban’s Web site. “We want to thank everybody that has kept us in their thoughts and prayers. We feel very blessed and grateful that we can share this joy with all of you today.”

Sunday is their first baby. There was no immediate explanation for the name, though one thing is certain: She’ll never be upstaged by the likes of Suri, Apple, Moses, or Shiloh.

Sunday — not the day on which she was born, lest she be associated with the beginning of the work week — joins a long list of offbeat celebrity baby names, from Suri (of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes), to Apple and Moses (of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin) and Shiloh, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s most recent addition.

Kidman and Urban married in June 2006. She has two children, Isabella and Connor, from her marriage to Tom Cruise.

Kidman, 41, won an Oscar for her role in the 2002 film “The Hours.”

During a concert Saturday in Nashville, Urban said, “I’m going to dedicate a song to my very, very, very, very, very pregnant wife” before singing his hit, “Better Half.”

Urban, 40, won a Grammy in 2006 for best male country vocal.

The couple, who were both raised in Australia, have a home in Nashville.

There are many things I learned in blog advertising. Who would have thought that the Internet would get us this far? Few years ago no such things exist and now it has become one of the most important part of any business, as almost every shopper and would-be client go online to check products and services. It is very beneficial then to advertisers’ companies and of course to bloggers who review their branding and services. This is one of the good things that the Internet explosion brought us. Through it I met many friends and new acquaintances from all over the world with similar interests. And on the process we learn new things from different fields or areas of trade as we also earn along the way each day. I heard about this blog advertising long ago through friends’ blogs and websites. It’s so good to earn right from home in the comfort of our own computer room. And because of this blog advertising I was able to help people and give them things I could not have done without this. If you search around, you will see legions of bloggers’ testimonies of how they earn great from blogging about the things they love, and if you’d want to try payperpost, sign up now.

During the first 30 years of life, our bodies undergo constant bone formation and bone loss (also known as bone resorption). However, around age 30, more bone loss begins to take place than does bone formation. This unfortunate cycle continues as we age, and when bone loss becomes quite severe, it is known as osteoporosis.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, low bone mass and osteoporosis are major public health threats for nearly 55 percent of the U.S. population age 50 and older. One out of every two women and one in four men older than 50 will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture in his or her lifetime.

What are some symptoms of osteoporosis?

Because osteoporosis causes bones to become brittle and weak, a broken bone is often the first sign of the disease. Other signs are curvature of the spine, and loss of height. Osteoporosis is often referred to as a “silent disease” because many may be completely unaware that their bone health is in jeopardy.

What role does estrogen play in the development of osteoporosis?

When a woman enters into menopause, the ovaries stop producing estrogen. The decrease in estrogen levels leads to an increase in bone loss that can result in osteoporosis.

Why is osteoporosis so dangerous for aging people and can it be treated or prevented?

Osteoporosis can affect males and females of all ages, but as a person grows older, his or her bones become weaker and thinner. People with low bone density are much more likely to suffer from fractures after a fall, and in severe cases, a slight bump, sneezing or even coughing may cause a bone to fracture. However, an active lifestyle, avoiding smoking and excess alcohol, and a proper diet may help to prevent the disease. If one has osteoporosis, those measures and medication can strengthen bones and reduce the risk of fracture.

What physical activities help?

Strengthen your postural muscles and improve flexibility to reduce the risk of falling.

Perform weight-bearing exercises or activities at least three times a week for 30 minutes.

What sort of diet or supplements should one take?

Consume foods that are rich and high in calcium, such as:

o Dairy products (skim milk, yogurt, low-fat cheese)

o Dark, green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli)

o Salmon and shellfish

o Tofu

o Almonds

o Limit alcohol consumption

Stop smoking and try to avoid caffeine, as both accelerate bone loss.

Calcium and vitamin D supplements are very important, as most adults do not get enough of these in their diet.

How can a person find out more about their bone density?

A bone density test, known as DXA, measures bone loss by X-ray technology. This painless procedure is today’s standard for measuring bone mineral density and helps in the diagnosis of osteoporosis and to assess an individual’s risk for suffering a fracture. DXA is most often performed on the hip and lower spine.

What medications might a physician prescribe for osteoporosis?

Medications used for prevention or treatment of osteoporosis are mostly “anti-resorptive,” meaning they slow the destructive phase of bone turnover, slowing bone loss yet allowing for new bone formation.

The first line anti-resorptive agents to treat osteoporosis are bisphosphonates, including Fosamax and Actonel, which reduce the risk of vertebral, hip and wrist fractures by 40 to 50 percent, and Boniva, which reduces vertebral fractures by as much as 50 percent. When taken properly, they are generally well tolerated, although their side effects may include stomach irritation.

Evista is a medicine that acts like estrogen in the bone but it does not affect the breasts and it reduces the risk of spine but not hip fractures. Calcitonin nasal spray is similar to Evista in its effect on bone and fractures.

Hormone replacement is still good for the bones but typically is not recommended because of the concern about its effect on the breasts and heart.

Finally, the “bone forming” medicine Forteo is used in severe cases of osteoporosis and in patients who have suffered fractures on other treatments.

Where can I go for more information?

Speak with your primary care provider and, if indicated, schedule a DXA test to help identify and treat this silent disease. Avoiding a fracture is the goal, as that is how one can remain active and independent.