Category: Body & Mind

2008 Will be a Blue Year

blue cloud heartThe colour blue is predicted to overtake green in the coming year, and I like it. Blue has bee chosen because it is calming and radiant, perhaps it really is the colour of the zeitgeist?

“From a color forecasting perspective, we have chosen PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris as the color of the year, as it best represents color direction in 2008 for fashion, cosmetics and home products,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “As a reflection of the times, Blue Iris brings together the dependable aspect of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast.”

Live 14 Years Longer

A new study has reached the conclusion that by making a small change in your diet you can live up to 14 years longer. Oh, you’ll have to exercise regularly as well. The key is to limit alcohol consumption, not smoke, exercise, and eat your veggies.

The study, published Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine, included about 20,000 healthy people in the United Kingdom between the ages of 45 to 79. Lead researcher Kay-Tee Khaw, of the University of Cambridge, said people who followed the four rules lived on average 14 years longer than their peers who continued to indulg
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“These results may provide further support for the idea that even small differences in lifestyle may make a big difference to health in the population and encourage behaviour change,” the study said.

Starbucks Actually Helps

Starbucks is a massive international coffee chain that is infamous for putting their own coffee shops across the street from one another. They also have a reputation that they drive local independent coffee shops out of business, it seems this reputation is undeserved.

Slate has an article examining how Starbucks helps small coffee shops by giving them new customers.

The first time Herb Hyman spoke with the rep from Starbucks, in 1991, the life of his small business flashed before his eyes. For three decades, Hyman’s handful of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores had been filling the caffeine needs of Los Angeles locals and the Hollywood elite: Johnny Carson had his own blend there; Jacques Cousteau arranged to have Hyman’s coffee care packages meet his ship at ports around the world; and Dirty Dozen leading man Lee Marvin often worked behind the counter with Hyman for fun. But when the word came down that the rising Seattle coffee juggernaut was plotting its raid on Los Angeles, Hyman feared his life’s work would be trampled underfoot. Starbucks even promised as much. “They just flat-out said, ‘If you don’t sell out to us, we’re going to surround your stores,’ ” Hyman recalled. “And lo and behold, that’s what happened—and it was the best thing that ever happened to us.”

Alberta Takes Smoking Ban to the Next Level

Canadian provinces and cities are sticking up to big tobacco and laying down the law to protect the health of people who choose not to smoke.

Alberta has followed previous examples of smoking bans and now has chosen to become the exemplar of smoking bans. The law came into effect on Jan 1, so smokers are obviously still adjusting to the change, and non-smokers are adjusting to cleaner air (I guess).

The new law, one of the toughest in Canada, will ban smoking in any public building, including restaurants and bars.

Many larger cities and towns already have bylaws that restrict smoking, but the new provincial law will ban smoking right across the province.

Anti-smoking groups say the new provincial legislation puts the province ahead of just about every other jurisdiction.

Wii Used for Rehab

Video games can be fun, and they can be educational, and they can also help with rebuilding muscles and control of said muscles. I must admit that I have a Wii and that after a long session of playing my arms can get pretty tired.

CNN has a video report on how the Wii is being used to rehabilitate patients. Unfortunately, CNN doesn’t let me embed the video so you’ll have to go to their site to watch it.