Red Cross Offers Flu-Prevention Tips for Kids

Red Cross Offers Flu-Prevention Tips for Kids

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 —

As parents and teachers know, children have a way of picking up colds and other illnesses at school. As the number of swine flu (H1N1 Flu Outbreak) cases increases in the U.S., it becomes even more important to teach kids how to stay healthy.

Teach Good Health Habits
Proper and consistent hand washing is one of the easiest ways to prevent the spread of flu. Teach kids by example by showing them proper hand washing technique:

* Wet hands with water and apply an amount of soap recommended by the manufacturer to hands.
* Rub hands together vigorously for at least 20 seconds, covering all surfaces of the hands and giving added attention to fingernails and surfaces where jewelry is worn.
* Rinse hands with water.
* Dry thoroughly with a disposable towel.
* Use towel to turn off faucet.

For younger children who may rush their hand washing, have them sing a short song such as "Row Row Row Your Boat," or the "Happy Birthday"song, which will ensure they wash for at least 20 seconds. Placing hand-washing reminders at children's eye level will also help them become consistent hand washers.

Teach kids to adopt these other healthy habits in order to prevent the spread of germs:

* Avoid sharing objects such as utensils, cups, and bottles.
* Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and wash your hands afterwards. If tissue-less, cough or sneeze into your elbow or upper arm, not your hands.
* Keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth to keep germs from entering your body.

Parents should also prepare for the potential spread of swine flu by talking with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick. Also ask your child's school or day care if there are plans to encourage sick children to stay home to reduce the spread of the disease.
The Scrub Club

Educational Tools
Parents and teachers can reinforce kids' hand-washing habits by using tools such as The Scrub Club®, an interactive Web site that offers free materials to raise awareness about the benefits of hand washing to fight germs and prevent illness. The fun, Web-based experience is complete with educational materials, music, games and cartoon "Webisodes."

The Scrub Club® is being used by hundreds of schools nationwide, and teachers continue to integrate the Scrub Club educational activities into their daily curriculum. These educational materials are currently available in French, English and Spanish.

The American Red Cross and NSF International (NSF) have collaborated to help protect public health. Collectively, NSF, the Red Cross and seven "soaper-heroes"are teaching children the importance of proper and consistent hand washing through the Scrub Club®. Through this partnership, the two organizations are helping educate communities across the nation about the benefits of handwashing to fight germs and prevent illness.

Keep Hydrated!

With swine flu worries all over the world, we are all reminded of the importance to keep healthy. Keeping hydrated is one extremely important aspect of staying healthy. For the past few days it has been cold and rainy where I live, and I unfortunately became lazy about drinking. I woke up rather nauseous today and remembered again that- I need water!

It's funny how sometimes we tend to overlook the importance of water and tend to just go for the "tastier" (and more fattening!) alternatives which are not necessarily better than water.

Keep Hydrated
If you've been doing yoga asanas, you've probably noticed that they can cause you to perspire a lot, especially in hot climates. But don't worry, sweating is good for your health. It cools down the body and eliminates toxins. However, if you perspire a lot without drinking enough fluids, your body can dehydrate, and this can cause both minor and major health problems.

In general, you should drink between 6 to 10 glasses of water each day. If it's hot and you plan to exercise vigorously, you can drink more. Some yoga asanas should not be done too soon after drinking. But an hour or two before you exercise, you can drink a couple of large glasses of water. Then, around 20 minutes before you begin your session, you can have another small drink. For example, if you drive to a class or to a park to do yoga, it's more sensible to drink well before you leave so you're not thirsty when you arrive. If you forget, though, a few sips of water right before you start won't hurt.

If you do yoga outside, the best times are in the morning and late afternoon when it's not too hot. Practicing in the hot midday sun may dehydrate your body and drain your energy.

Just remember that before you do asanas, you should empty your bladder. And if while practicing you feel the urge to go, go right away. Otherwise, you'll feel uncomfortable and won't be able to relax.

Be Beautiful Naturally with Wai lana

There are countless tips and advice from health and beauty experts all around the world. Some people say, wash your face a few hours before bed, go to sleep with conditioner in your hair, sleep on your back to prevent extra wrinkles on one side of your face, etc. But one thing that is important is also to make sure that your attempts to be beautiful physically will not be a cause of cancer or other diseases later on in your life. That's why I, a long time fan of Wai Lana, am absolutely thrilled that she has come out with a line of beauty products. I've been using her shampoos and soaps, and it's definitely helped get rid of some of my stubborn skin allergies!

Do try Wai Lana's natural beauty products to stay beautiful and healthy.

Japan's 'Exam Hell' Hits Preschool

Wen ids are this stressed out, they should also balance out the pressure and the fun. The best way to let them loosen up and relax - which in turn, will help them do better in their studies, is through Wai lana's Little Yogis Daydream kit. Happy learning! Happy resting!

Japan's 'Exam Hell' Hits Preschool

By YURIKO NAGANO
TOKYO, April 26, 2009

It's a quiet afternoon in suburban Tokyo as a well-dressed boy and his mother enter Nikken, a cram school for kindergartners and preschoolers. The mother bows to staff, confirms a pickup time, and drives off in her Mercedes as the boy hunkers down at that most iconic of Japanese institutions: the cram school.
Japan's 'exam hell' now reaches into preschool
In Japan, the pressure to get onto the right path in life now extends all the way down to preschools. Parents and kids stress over exams and suit up to make a good impression and get onto the right track early.

Japan's juken, or "exam hell," has long evoked images of stressed kids competing for slots at top universities in an all-or-nothing exam. But this approach has increasingly moved down the ladder.

Now, in what is known as ojuken, nursery-schoolers are doing worksheets and attending special classes to secure a seat in primary school that their parents hope will ensure their long-term success.

The reasons for the shift are complex. Japan's youth population is declining, and many colleges are scrambling to fill seats -- something that should make it easier to get into all but the most exclusive schools.

Instead, many parents are ever more relentlessly seeking competitive advantages, especially as the economic downturn makes competition for jobs more intense.

"The low birthrate does seem to be pushing parents to give all they can to the one child," says Makoto Kobari, an associate professor at Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts in Kyoto. "It's an act of selective extravagance."

"There's definitely an ojuken craze heating up," says Naoki Ogi, head of the Practical Education Research Institute in Tokyo. But, he adds, "we're talking about a very limited part of society that this is happening in."

No formal data exist on the ojuken population. But the competition for the schools parents are targeting can be fierce: For the class entering Tokyo's Keio Gijuku Yochisha elementary school in 2008, for example, there were 2,468 applicants for 144 spots. In recent years, applicant numbers at Keio have steadily increased, up 10 percent over 2006.

The examination process itself takes place between November and December, with the school year starting in April. But ojuken is a year-round business. At Nikken, most families enroll children for two years and typically spend $22,000 on tuition.

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Jet lag

It is always nice to jump into the ocean after a long flight. It just brings balance to your whole body and helps negate the effects of radiation and etc that occurs in your body during a flight.

Here's an interesting blog post on how jet lag affects the brain:

How jet lag affects our brains

It’s funny sometimes how our work content crosses over into our real lives. A case of art imitating life? For the last several weeks, I have been jet lagged, big time. It started when I was in India a few weeks ago. The trip there wasn’t bad and I managed to get on a schedule pretty quickly once I hit the ground. Once I got back, though, I had a very hard time shaking it. About a week later, I was still lying awake at 3 a.m. feeling as if I had been run over by a Mack truck. Right when I getting back on track, I flew to the West Coast and started the whole process all over again. And, I just got in from LA late last night. No question, I do travel a lot, but I was always curious: What is really happening in my brain when I am jet lagged?

The area of the brain that is most crucial to all of this is the hypothalamus. It is a key area of the brain, and most specifically the suprachiasmatic nucleus (that’s a name to remember…) contains tens of thousands of neurons whose main function is to regulate our circadian rhythms, our body clocks. (read jet lag study) In neurosurgical terms, this area is completely “out of whack” when we travel. But, it is more than that.

There are two types of neurons that individually represent our deep sleep and REM sleep. The deep sleep neurons do synch up within a day, even after a significant overseas trip but it is those neurons overseeing REM sleep that take much longer. Without REM sleep, which is the type of sleep that allows you to dream, you are going to feel more fatigued, have lapses in memory and general decreased performance.

Now, as you might imagine, researchers who figured this out in rats have already told us they are looking into the possibility of a “jet lag” drug to target the suprachiasmatic neurons in the hypothalamus regulating REM sleep patterns (I feel smart just writing that). Yes, I am convinced that one day there will be a pill for everything, but I am not a big fan of pills, so here are some techniques I have learned over the years. (watch Sanjay’s personal tips)

I immediately change my clock to the new time zone when getting on the plane. If possible, I will try to go to bed an hour earlier each night for a couple of nights prior to the trip. As you might imagine, starting off sleep deprived is not a good idea. I take eye blinders and a heavy sweater on all flights, so I can sleep even during daylight. As I mentioned, sleeping pills aren’t really my thing, though I have a few frequent traveler friends who swear by melatonin. In case you can’t remember how to take this supplement, think of it as the “darkness hormone.” It is made when it is dark outside and suppressed by light. You take it about an hour before bedtime – of your new location.

Please excuse all typos – I was jet lagged when I wrote this. And, I was wondering if you had any more tips to ward off jet lag to help me and other travelers?

A Tropical Alternative to Almonds

This is interesting news aside from the fact that Macadamias are actually native to Australia, and not Hawaii:

A Tropical Alternative to Almonds

Have you grown tired of walnuts and almonds? Try this tasty nut Hawaii is known for: macadamia nuts.

Turns out they’re on the heart-healthy list -- even though they contain saturated fat. In a study, a diet enhanced with macadamias significantly lowered both total and LDL cholesterol.

Heart-Friendly Fats
The fact that macadamias are so rich in unsaturated fats -- more than almost any other nut -- appears to make up for the fact that they also contain some saturated fat. And here’s the heart-healthy proof: When people with moderately high cholesterol ate an average American diet for 5 weeks, then a diet with a handful of macadamia nuts mixed in daily for another 5 weeks, the nut diet lowered total and LDL cholesterol about 9 percent more than the nut-free fare. Check out how macadamias rank among other nuts when it comes to heart-healthy fats.

The Nuts and Bolts
But keep in mind that although the study diets were controlled so that they both had the same amount of total fat, the nut diet had less saturated fat and more monounsaturated fat. So if you eat macadamias, use them to kick out a source of unhealthy fat in your diet -- don't just add them to what you already eat. For example, use them in a healthier version of the classic shortcake dessert -- like Roasted Pineapple Shortcakes.

I LOVE macadamias.

Celebrate Earth Day with Wai lana

Earth Day – April 22nd
Wai Lana

Earth Day is a special day for me. It gives me a chance to remember Mother Earth and the wonderful gifts she constantly provides for us—glorious landscapes, majestic bodies of water, fresh air, immense beauty, and a wonderful and vast variety of fresh herbs, plants, and foods. It also gives me the perfect opportunity to introduce you to these new natural products that I have developed specifically with Mother Earth in mind.