Wellness Tip: Men's Sexual Health

"1. Check under the bonnet. While your car has an MOT only once a year, you should check your own tackle more frequently! Testicular cancer affects around 2000 men in the UK every year. Men should check about once a month, feeling for any lumps or bumps that were not there before.

2. Unexpected leak? Bacterial sexually transmitted diseases (STI’s) such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhoea and Syphilis are more common in men. There may be no symptoms at all, or discharge, pain when passing urine, or painful testicles. These STI’s can be treated with a simple course of antibiotics.

3. Full Service History. There is not always a quick fix for STI’s. Viral STI’s such as HIV, Herpes, genital warts have no cure, although we can treat some of the symptoms which differ depending on the infection.

4. Bumpy road ahead. Mental health problems affect one in four people and both men and women suffer from it equally. Depression is the most common mental health problem, and men are half as likely as women to seek help if they are suffering."

for more info: visit site: Do you need a good servicing? Your car gets an MOT once a year - so should you! (From This is Hampshire):

Wellness Tip: for Couples: Key to Better Sex

Key to Better Sex Revealed in New Study - FoxNews.com:

"Studying sexual satisfaction

Respondents answered questions meant to gauge levels of autonomy, self-esteem and empathy, along with their sexual health and satisfaction. Autonomy is defined as the strength to follow personal convictions even when they go against conventional wisdom, which usually increases as adolescents age and enter adulthood, Galinsky said. Self-esteem is a belief in one's self-worth, which also increases with age. Empathy is the ability to take another's perspective, to see things from their angle and understand and respond to their emotions.

The study found that men were more likely than women to report having orgasms most or all of the time during sex, with 87 percent of men saying so, compared with 47 percent of women in the study. Men were also more likely to enjoy giving oral sex to their partner more than women were, the study found."

Wellness Update: Australia: Love life

One wedding in 2011 enough: PM's beau: "The couple met in a salon in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy in 2006.

Mr Mathieson said at the time he had no idea what Ms Gillard did for a living.

'It was the first time I saw her. I thought, what a wonderful lady,' he told 60 Minutes.

Chatting led to their first date.

Just in case it was an awkward first date, both had exit strategies.

One of Mr Mathieson's mates phoned to tell him someone was interested in looking at a Mercedes that was up for sale, while one of Ms Gillard's friends advised of a work-related emergency.

'Of course it was both set up in case we needed quick exits,' Mr Mathieson said.

A sneak peek at the official prime minister's residence in Canberra, The Lodge, revealed Mr Mathieson's special hide-out - a shed at the back of the home.

For Ms Gillard, the shed is a no-go zone.

'No girls allowed,' she laughed, adding later, 'I'm hanging on the outside of the shed, as instructed'.

As patron of the Australian Men's Shed Association, a federal plan to deal with men's health, Ms Gillard says her partner has 'gone and looked at things and talked to people on the ground'."

Wellness Tip: Check the Colors of the Food in Your Plate, Guard Our Nutrition & Fight Obesity

From food pyramid to My Plate | SeacoastOnline.com:

"The USDA and Obama administration have teamed up to give a new look to the food pyramid. This recently released educational tool, which is in the form of a plate, has been created as an easier to understand and apply model than the various forms of food pyramids that have been used for about two decades.

The design of the plate makes the nutrition message easy to understand for all ages — children through adults — and various cultures and ethnic groups. Even without exact measuring, we get the message as to what our meals should include and in what proportion — at least half the plate fruits and vegetables, a quarter of the plate from the protein group, and the remaining quarter of the plate from grains (preferably whole grains). Next to the plate is a serving of dairy (which can be a dairy product or fortified soy milk).

Besides being aware of the image of the plate, it is important for Americans to read about the more specific guidelines that come along with the image — the image is just the tip of the iceberg. Similar to the previously released food pyramid, a lot of nutrition information and interactive tools are available online (www.choosemyplate.gov). The site gives a summary of the key recommendations that coincide with the revised 'Dietary Guidelines for Americans' released several months ago."

Climate Change Update: 21st World Conference on Disaster Management

World must face climate change: expert:

"21st World Conference on Disaster Management:

According to Lester Brown, the world is ill-prepared and may not survive an impending colossal natural disaster such as flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts or recordbreaking heat waves that are triggered by climate change.

'At some point, these disasters will be unmanageable at the societal level,' said Brown, who recently wrote a book on the topic, World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse.

Furthermore, a number of recent weather-related incidents should act as a warning for the world to wake up and to spring into action.

For instance, Brown cites that one of the most troubling impending disasters is the current 'irreversible' rapid melting of the Greenland ice sheet. If temperatures continue to rise, it is feared the ice sheet will melt completely and raise sea levels by a projected seven metres, which will disrupt rice production in the river deltas in Asia, where 60 per cent of the world's population lives.

Rising sea levels will also impact real estate values along coastal regions in North America and communities such as New Orleans, which has only since recovered from hurricane Katrina in 2005, will be threatened and could disappear, he added."

Wellness Update: Africa: Mobile health offers hope to patients in Africa

Mobile health offers hope to patients in Africa | Alex Duval Smith | Global development | guardian.co.uk:

"Mobile health is already firmly established enough for the WHO to have set up a special unit five years ago, the Global Observatory for eHealth, staffed by four people in Geneva.

Its manager, Misha Kay, estimated that up to 40 African countries are using mobile health services. He said large countries with several phone operators – such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya – are leading the way. 'The momentum is huge. What is happening is important. Millions of people in Africa still do not have access to any healthcare. With mobile technology they can at least have some,' he said.

The report says there are now more than 5bn live mobile phone subscriptions and that 85% of the world's population is covered by a wireless signal. In Africa, mobile penetration exceeds infrastructure development – including paved roads, and access to electricity and the internet.

The report praises an initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where Population Services International (PSI) supports a free hotline to complement its family planning campaigns. In Ghana, funding from a US university provides free mobile-to-mobile voice and text services between the 2,000 GPs who serve the country's 24 million population."

Wellness Update: Antarctica: Mission to convince today's leaders the land should remain untouched

Slideshow: Ottawa native travels to Antarctica on environmental mission - MyWebTimes.com:

"McGann, a 1989 graduate of Marquette High School, spent two weeks in March on an expedition to Antarctica, a mission that aimed to not only share the landscape of a continent that few ever see, but also to convince today's leaders the land should remain untouched.

McGann works as the sustainable information technology leader for KPMG LLP in Minneapolis. His job is to track how the firm uses technology, determine the environmental impact the company has and offer ways to reduce the company's carbon footprint.

With that kind of background, McGann was a natural fit for the International Antarctic Expedition. KPMG agreed to pick up the expenses for McGann to go on the expedition as a representative for the company.

'It's kind of a global niche,' McGann said of his job. 'Only a few people do what I do specifically.'

Antarctica does not belong to any nation, but an international treaty has set the continent apart, free from military outposts, mining and drilling while allowing only limited scientific research. That treaty expires in 2041 and the organizers of the International Antarctic Expeditions want to keep the land pristine.

'It's the fifth-largest continent, twice the size of (North America). It has the harshest conditions on the planet, the driest and most remote place on Earth,' McGann said."

Wellness Update: North America: To raise 5 Million Dollars, Family running across North America

Family running across North America:

"Chicoine and his family of eight stopped in Regina on Monday. Their journey, called the Marathon of Health, started in Vancouver on May 8 and they are hoping to be done in February 2012.

The goal of the run is to inspire people to be more active and to live healthier.

'In Canada, the health care system is based a lot on treating disease and not much really on health and wellness,' said Chicoine. 'When it comes to health, people just seem to see the status quo. Part of our mission as well is to try and get people to understand that if all of us, everyday, took a few steps to improving our health ... just think of how much money we could save.'

They are concerned that, every year, billions of dollars are spent on treating disease, primarily through drugs and surgery.

'It's very frustrating to see the medical system and how it's set up,' said Ben. 'If we made even the slightest impact that would be a great thing.'

With the exception of their son Jake, no one in the family had significant long-distance running experience.

Injuries crept up during training but they said stem cell nutrition from one of their sponsors allowed them to recover faster."

Wellness Update: South America: New Study on Summer Heat

AFP: Say goodbye to cool summers: climate study:

"By 2050, the coolest summers in the tropics and parts of the northern hemisphere will still be hotter than the most scorching summers since the mid-20th century if global warming continues apace, according to a new study.
Tropical regions in Africa, Asia and South America could see 'the permanent emergence of unprecedented summer heat' even within the next decades, said the study, to be published later this month in the journal Climatic Change Letters.
Such dramatic changes in temperature would have a major impact on human health, food supplies and biodiversity, warn the researchers.
'Large areas of the globe are likely to warm up so quickly that, by the middle of this century, even the coolest summers will be hotter than the hottest summers of the past 50 years,' said lead author Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor at Stanford University's Woods Institute for the Environment.
Scientists have long predicted that climate change driven by greenhouse gas emissions would cause more frequent heat waves, such as struck Europe in 2003, or the United States this week."

Wellness Update: Europe: Germany confirms source of E.coli outbreak

AFP: Germany confirms source of E.coli outbreak:

"German officials said Saturday that bean sprouts had led to a deadly bacteria outbreak across Europe, but that the farm producing the toxic vegetable was not to blame.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) confirmed test results announced on Friday that identified bean sprouts from an organic farm in the northern village of Bienenbuettel as carrying the virulent E. coli strain EHEC-0104, ending a frantic two-week probe.
Although the farm has since closed down, regional farm minister Gert Lindemann said that it 'had, according to his knowledge, done nothing wrong'.
'It has high hygiene standards,' he told the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung daily.
The killer bug claimed at least 33 lives and has left some 3,000 people ill across 14 countries and led to several bans on vegetables grown in Europe, which have cost farmers millions of euros (dollars) in losses."

Wellness Update: Asia: Healthcare Sector concern: June 10, 2011 Swine Flu up in Asia

Healthcare Sector Update: June 10, 2011 | FINANCIAL NEWS NETWORK ONLINE: "BioCryst (NASDAQ:BCRX) is up after media reports said a novel variant of swine flu has emerged in Asia with a genetic adaptation giving some resistance to Roche's Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE:GSK) Relenza, the two mainstay drugs used to tackle the disease. However, there was no significant reduction in sensitivity to peramivir, an experimental flu drug from BioCryst."

Wellness Tip: "Expand Emotional Elasticity thru deep breathing & meditation

smmirror.com | Dr. Mao’s Wellness Central: Five Ways to Balance Emotions:

"Expand Emotional Elasticity

Use deep breathing and rest to restore your metabolic equilibrium. Sometime during your busy day find time to close your eyes and take ten deep breaths. Even better, meditate on a daily basis to head off emotional extremes before they start. Studies show that people who meditate are calm, slower to anger, and better able to find their way through problems to good outcomes. Try spending 10 to 15 minutes in meditative relaxation each day and watch your emotional elasticity expand! There are many meditation guides and CDs that can help you learn the practice. You may want to try my guided meditation CD called Meditation for Stress Release."

Wellness Tip: Learn to Balance Emotion by Recognizing them

smmirror.com | Dr. Mao’s Wellness Central: Five Ways to Balance Emotions:

"The Chinese healing tradition groups emotions into five predominant states: joy, rumination (including worry), sadness, fear, and anger. Experiencing these emotions is a normal part of life, and you usually shift naturally from one to the next in reaction to events that pop up in your day. However, when one single emotion dominates, it brings your entire body out of balance and can produce illness. Learning to manage your emotions is essential for your happiness, health, and longevity."

Wellness Tip: A healthy body starts in what we put in our mouth

A healthy body starts at the top - SentinelSource.com: Little Kids: child, health, tooth, pediatric dentistry, tooth brushing: "Healthy snacks for your child, along with proper brushing and flossing, promote health and greatly reduce the chance of tooth decay, or cavities.

Sweet, sticky snacks, like soda, candy or raisins, contain a lot of sugar which causes acid to form in the mouth. The acid then breaks through the tooth surface and causes a cavity.

Starchy snacks, like crackers and pretzels, tend to stick to the teeth and also can cause cavities. The more snacking your child does (frequent sipping or nibbling throughout the day), the greater the chance of cavities forming.

Think of each snack as a 20-minute acid attack on the teeth. So limit the frequency of snacks, supervise your child's brushing twice a day and choose healthy snacks whenever possible."

Wellness Tip: Eat fermented foods like soy beans, produce good bacteria, prevent cancer

Arirang | Korea for the World, The World for Korea - Arirang.co.kr: "'People who live in farming villages tend to have good bacteria which come from the regular intake of fiber. But city people generally have more of the bad bacteria that grows from eating fat.'

Eating fermented foods, including soy bean paste, produces good bacteria and increases activity in the large intestines which can help prevent cancer and obesity.
But consuming too much greasy food stimulates bad bacteria growth.


[Interview : Kim Eun-jung
Korea Food & Drug Administration] 'If you eat greasy food, the stomach can't absorb the food properly and this disrupts the stomach's healthy food absorbing pattern.'

So the answer to a healthy body is quite simple, just start from padding out your meals with food such as soy bean paste, red pepper paste and kimchi.
Lee Ji-yoon, Arirang News."

Health Foods more accessible at AHS Canada

AHS to make healthy food more accessible - Edmonton - CBC News: "Alberta Health Services is taking steps to make it easier to eat healthier foods in the province's hospitals, clinics and personal care homes.

AHS is bringing in a healthy food policy province-wide, but won't ban salty or sugary foods.

AHS vice-president Sharon McKay said they will gradually make it easier to find salads, fruit and low-salt foods in vending machines and cafeterias, as well as in the meals of patients.

'There's lots of work that needs to be done. There's also lots of opinion about how far should we go and how much junk food should be available within the facilities,' she said.

'That's why we're going to engage our public and our staff and physicians about what they would like to see in the facilities that would support healthy eating.'"