terça-feira, janeiro 12, 2016
What People With Food Allergies Want You to Know
Food allergies are on the rise. A 2013 Center for Disease Control and Prevention study, announced that food allergies in children increased by 50% between 1997 and 2011. People are also developing food intolerance in adulthood, often because of digestive issues which develop slowly over a lifetime.
There are a lot of theories as to why food allergies are increasing. Some believe there is a link between the highly processed foods Western countries consume. This belief is founded on a higher intake of foods with lower nutritional value, and even synthetic food products which our bodies see as foreign, causing inflammation and a host of other issues depending on the individual biology, immune system, and environment of the person.
Processed foods also typically contain some of the top offenders such as milk, eggs, peanuts, soy, and wheat. A person’s body may never develop the immunological and mechanical barriers to fight off allergens, or a low level of tolerance can be worn down over time when the immune system is constantly overburdened.
The only way to deal with food allergies is to strictly avoid trouble foods, which can be a complicated and difficult endeavor both strategically, logistically and emotionally. If you know someone who suffers from food allergies, or if you are an allergy sufferer yourself, here are some things the allergic would like you to know.
1. We don’t wish you had food allergies too
It can be tough being “the allergic one.” As annoying as it can be for us to have to tiptoe around ingredients and play 20 questions with the waiter, we really don’t wish the same on you. So don’t feel self-conscious for your love for gluten-filled pizza, or ice cream brimming with lactose. Eat what you like. We’re not looking down on you, or resenting (too much) your ability to digest whatever your fully functioning stomach desires. We’ll be fine.
2. We don’t want to cause a scene
There are times when we wish we could just spin the Yelp globe and blindly pick a restaurant based on its ratings and originality rather than its allergy-friendly options. But as it is, it’s hard to drop in just anywhere. So many restaurants come with pre-made ingredients laced with allergens, or even freshly prepared menu items include seemingly innocuous ingredients that could send our bodies into a fit. We’re not trying to be dramatic, we don’t like having to be picky, so please bear with us in the extra-long search for somewhere to grab a bite.
3. We wish we could partake like a normal person
A lot like the desire to be low key when our allergies make us stand out as “weird”, we wish we could be normal and take part in what everyone else is doing. When we pass along the peppermint bark at the company gift exchange without securing a piece for ourselves, or pass on your open box of cronuts, still crystallizing with sugar coating, we don’t mean to disrupt tradition or look down our noses at anyone who does partake. Please don’t take our abstinence as a reflection on you.
4. An allergy or sensitivity is different from “being good”
We’re not avoiding certain foods to “be good” or because we’re “health nuts.” It’s not a matter of naughty or nice, it’s a matter of healthy or sick, or in some cases life or death. It’s not like being on a diet and allowing yourself just one tiny sliver of a triple fudge cake. If we indulge, we get sick. The repercussions are a far cry from putting on a few holiday pounds.
5. We could use some help preparing foods
Since most allergic reactions come from eating in restaurants, where controlling or even knowing what’s in certain foods can be nearly impossible, that means eating at home a lot. Obviously cooking at home takes a lot more preparation, planning, shopping and chopping. Just keeping up on the dishes or helping with the meal prep can really go a long way in making life easier.
6. Food Allergies Can Be Alienating
You might not even realize just how closely linked food, social norms, and festivities can be. For the most part social events and even simple workplace interactions revolve around food. When you want to catch up with someone, you might ask if they want to grab dinner or coffee sometime. Business meetings are often held over the lunch hour. Family gatherings and parties generally revolve around the snack table.
When we have to be picky or even pass up the offerings altogether, it’s uncomfortable. We’re aware and we wish we didn’t have to. Please don’t make it weirder by commenting on how “sensitive” or “healthy” we are.
Food allergies can be frustrating, but with a little creativity and support they can be managed and life can be just as fun, sweet, and varied as it should be.
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The Purpose Of Meditation — It’s Not What You Think
Nico is the son of a friend of mine. We’ve only recently gotten acquainted, but I find his background fascinating.
We sit with our coffees in a garden restaurant in central Mexico. We see the volcanically formed mountains with their strange shapes in the distance. Nico and I discuss various healing modalities, and then we focus on meditation.
As I sip the foam off my cappuccino, I ask Nico what he’s been up to. He tells me he graduated with a dual major in psychology and neurobiology. Our discussion about meditation, from his dual major background, takes an unusual turn.
The History of Meditation
Riding the Ox Home: A History of Meditation from Shamanism to Science, by Willard Johnson, describes hunting as the first meditation. When humans acquired fire, they could sit by it. It provided warmth and protection from predators. This was the beginning of sitting meditation.
Shamans later discovered soma. Ingesting this substance provided visions — an altered state and a connection with the Infinite.
The archeological record shows that meditation goes back to at least 3000 BCE. Patanjali recorded yoga and meditation techniques around 200 ACE. This practice took the place of soma, allowing the meditator more control.
Patanjali lists three requirements for success in meditation:
- time
- persistence
- devotion
Mediation As Healing
There’s a lot of science-based evidence on the healing qualities of meditation.
Clinical studies show that meditation helps treat disorders like depression, anxiety, addictions, and chronic pain. Dr. Judson Brewer of the Yale School of Medicine used an fMRI brain imaging study to identify functional changes in the brains of experienced meditators. He demonstrated the impact of meditation on brain function and connectivity.
The meditative state brain may become a normal resting function with continued meditation practice.
Experienced meditators can turn off areas of the brain. These are associated with daydreaming and psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. It’s been suggested meditation decreases daydreaming and egoistic thinking.
The Individual Meditator
The author shows the history of meditation duplicates the life history of individual meditators. Many people lead frantic lives, hunting for happiness, or working hard just to survive. They may use psychedelics to gain access to ecstatic states. When they begin with sitting meditation, this usually replaces the use of drugs.
Riding the Ox Home is a series of picture koans that portray the history of meditation. In the first image, the master is chasing his ox. The last image depicts the master in meditation while riding the ox. The ox knows the way home. The images show the meditator controlling his body and his passions to finally arrive at Nirvana.
The Purpose of Meditation
Nico tells me that when Western culture adopted meditation, they got it wrong. In the East, meditation was not centered on healing. Its purpose was to experience the emptiness of the Infinite — the ground of being.
What science discovered about meditation and its healing qualities is true, though this was not its original intent.
Boomeritis by Ken Wilbur describes the different levels of consciousness. It’s an informational novel. He explains how our focus has been on “me” or “I”, neglecting to honor our past as part of who we are. He says that until we can do that, we cannot progress to the next higher level of consciousness.
My feeling is that the same is happening with meditation. We are so caught up in what we can get out of meditation that we do not consider its founders or foundation. This missing part is the devotional aspect mentioned earlier as one of the three keys to successful meditation.
Meditation can be a trap, isolating us in our ivory towers while we sit. Or it can be a substitute for taking action in the world. Balance is important.
Meditation is experiencing the basic form of reality. All the benefits follow from that.
Featured photo credit: Pray/Belgianchocolate via imcreator.com
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10 Time Management Hacks Every Entrepreneur Needs To Know
Entrepreneurs lead a busy and overwhelming life, whether you’re just starting out or already leading a company – you know how much your time is worth to you. But do you know where your time goes? Turns out, most people don’t, we all end up staring at our phones way too often and wondering just how we spent all day working without really achieving much. With life getting out of hand daily, everyone wants more control over their time. This is where time management comes in, a topic much raved about but still rarely practiced. Here are ten tips to get you started:
1. Track your time
The more you know about where your time goes, the more you’ll be able to hold yourself accountable. If you’re into time sheets, block out your day in a notebook and start writing down what you spend time on. If however, you’d rather save time tracking time, try one of the time tracking tools available out there and finally get a sense of your time. Time management expert, Laura Vanderkam suggest tracking all of your time for a week (precisely, 168 hours) to get a better sense of your habits. It’s a great start and the results are bound to dazzle you.
2. Stop guesstimating
Now that you’re tracking time, you have a lot more insight into what tasks take the most of your time and how long certain tasks take. Set goals for every week and try to estimate how long will these take to accomplish. Your goal for next week will be bringing estimates as close as possible to reality. If you’ve ever worked in a management position, you know how hard it is for some people to estimate the time it’ll take for certain tasks. Now, try it for yourself and don’t worry if you’re way off – you’ll get better, that’s what time management is about anyway.
3. Plan ahead
Apparently, every minute you spend on planning saves you at least ten minutes in execution. If this sounds too good to be true – try it for yourself. Start your week on a Sunday, grab a pen and paper and think thoroughly about everything you want to achieve this week, think about bigger goals but also try to line up the steps needed. Make sure you’re ready to start work on Monday, rather than spending your morning trying to figure out where to start from.
4. Make a smarter to-do list
Don’t just list our everything that needs to be done and expect to cross things off the list as they come. Organize your list by priority, make your goals realistic, and set a daily focus for each day of the week. This will help you clear your head and make your to-do list a bit more bearable, it also will help focus and stop wasting your time on reorganizing the list.
5. Batch related tasks together
Since focus is key to productivity, be smart about the things you choose to dedicate your time to and what time of day you spend on these. If you try managing your company internal stuff while emailing investors and discussing new feature requests, you’re bound to lose focus on at least one if not all of those things. So try to divide your weekly tasks in categories – internal, fundraising, development etc. Your brain can’t do context switching full time, try to keep focus on similar tasks to stay on track and save time.
6. Schedule time for interruptions
You have a team of employees depending on you, you have a hundred unread notifications on your phone, you have meetings that require follow-ups, and the cleaners also need you to let them into the parking lot once they arrive. You’re an entrepreneur, you get interrupted a lot. This is why you should never schedule your day 100%, make plans for being interrupted. This might sound counterintuitive make sure you to optimize your schedule so the interruptions don’t disrupt your entire workflow.
7. Make use of prep time
Whether it’s a meeting or a phone call – anything that might go on forever and eat out your time while you helplessly try to get back to work – plan it out. Make an agenda for every meeting or phone call you have scheduled, make sure you lay out the goals you want to achieve with this, start with an introduction to everyone involved, be a leader of every conversation you’re in, and once everybody’s gotten what they wanted from it. Start with your exit strategy and don’t let small talk take over.
8. Take breaks
Contrary to popular belief and modern business culture, breaks are not a waste of time. Breaks help restore focus and give you a fresh start for any task you have on hand. Be generous to yourself and take breaks often, don’t let the feeling of burnout get to you. Whether it’s a walk to the nearby park or a quick round of Candy Crush, you’ll feel refreshed and as good as new when back to work. Alternatively, try the Pomodoro method and see how it fits into your workflow.
9. Make use of incubation
Incubation, in terms of psychology, is one of the four stages of creativity and it starts when you’re not actively thinking about whatever problems need solving or ideas you’re trying to develop. Don’t think about work all the time. I know it might seem hard for someone that is supposed to always be working toward their goals but you’re actually more likely to get new ideas and think of solutions to problems you’re facing when you’re not actively thinking about the solutions. Many entrepreneurs boast about not taking weekends off or bringing their work home. The truth is you’re far more productive when not constantly keeping busy.
10. Calm down
Have you ever noticed how time goes by so slowly when you just calm down, clear your head and stay in the moment? Yoga, meditation, mindfulness are all methods of taking back some control over present, rather than planning for the future or thinking about the past. However, you don’t have to turn into a zen guru to feel the moment. It’s enough to try and not think about anything for a few minutes, enjoy a view, play with a pet, enjoy artwork or simply gaze at the sky. Be present and don’t let your time be taken over by the numerous distractions of the modern world and you’ll be happier and more productive in no time.
Featured photo credit: Stokpic – Business Woman via stokpic.com
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Ten Tips For Interpreting Body Language
Learning how to read and interpret body language may be one of the most important things you can learn to become a better communicator.
According to Psychology Today, there have been two studies found to claim that 55% of communication is body language, 38% is tone of voice, and only 7% is the actual words spoken. What we say may not nearly matter as how we use our body language to present ourselves.
This is great news, especially if you’re an introvert, learning a new language, or traveling to a foreign country.
But more importantly, reading body language can help you get in the mind of the person you’re speaking with.
Understanding how to read body language can show you if someone is feeling uncomfortable, interested in you, or even lying to you. It’s a powerful tool that applies to anything we do in our personal and professional lives.
So how to interpret body language? This infographic from Business Insider shows the most common facial gestures, expressions, and body positioning you’ll face in your daily encounters.
Featured photo credit: Unsplash.com via images.unsplash.com
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30 Popular New Years Resolutions From Around The Web
It’s easy making a New Year’s resolution – the hard part is sticking to it. And yet, every year people renew their efforts to set fresh goals for themselves. To truly embrace the year, however, you have to find a resolution that appeals to your identity.
Thankfully, the internet has so many suggestions that it shouldn’t be difficult for you to pick a resolution you would enjoy. Here are 30 popular resolutions this year from around the web:
- Travel more. See the world and gain new experiences. You might still only have a vague idea of where you want to go, but there’s nothing more tempting than wanting to get out and see more of the world.
- Quit smoking. Lots of people want to escape their addiction to tobacco. While there are many books, products, and systems out there that can help you with your struggle, it remains up to you to take the bull by the horns and quit!
- Be healthier. People want to eat healthier and improve their overall health.
- Appreciate your personality more. There’s no point in hating yourself while letting critics have the last laugh.
- Read more books. More importantly, pick quality material that will help you become successful.
- Stop procrastinating. Start taking action and getting things done rather than making excuses or waiting for everything to be perfect.
- Learn something new. It could be a skill that has always intrigued you. The new year is time to evaluate your abilities and find something new that you enjoy and deeply pursue it.
- Learn to persevere. Discipline yourself as you stick to keeping a new habit (or kicking an old one).
- Say no. You can’t help everyone. You have to be more selective about the things you pursue.
- Get educated. These days, educating yourself can be cheap if you take advantage of the online platforms available to you.
- Get a mentor. Find someone that can help you grow and bring out the best in you.
- Be more aggressive. Strive for what you want and go after it.
- Stand up for something.
- Be more positive and optimistic about the things you enjoy.
- Prioritize. Stop putting your energy into things that don’t matter to you.
- Work. Don’t be idle. Take action and make valuable contributions to your life.
- Network. Professionally and personally. Find ways to meet more people. LinkedIn can assist you in this regard.
- Improve your communication skills.
- Take care of your mental and physical health.
- Update yourself with the latest market trends and opportunities.
- Exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.
- Share your knowledge with others.
- Broaden your horizons. Seek new interests. Don’t be too rigid: Find new hobbies and pastimes that will make you feel alive.
- Learn a new language. There are many apps that can help you with including Duolingo.
- Adopt a pet. Find an animal you want to spend some time and communicate with.
- Contribute to a cause. Giving back to the world around you could mean so much for our existence here on earth.
- Reduce stress. We live in a busy world. If you can find a way to clear out your work schedule and leave time to relax, the better it can be for you.
- Pay off your debt. It can be student loans, a mortgage, or even credit card payments.
- Get organized. There is no better way to get more done, manage your time, and live stress-free.
- Embrace the unknown. Take more risks. Find value in what you have never tried before.
With these popular New Years resolutions, we wish you the best of luck in attaining everything that you want this year.
Featured photo credit: http://www.photopin.com via photopin.com
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Common Plants That Are Actually Toxic And Can Kill Your Cats And Dogs
We love our furry four-legged friends like family, and do everything we can to keep them happy and healthy. Just like little children, they can get themselves into trouble through sheer curiosity. Kids often put things into their mouth that they shouldn’t, and our pets can occasionally eat something or taste something which isn’t good for them.
The infographic below by Patrick Allan and referenced from Pots, Planters, and More shows common plants, and which part of the plants are poisonous to Fluffy and Rover. What better way to keep your pet safe than to avoid any temptation they might have to eat something dangerous to them. Toxic plants can be found in the most basic of plants.
The infographic below can be used as a resource if you’re in the stage of looking to possibly bring home a new pet, or if you are thinking about adding some foliage to your home. There is no time like the present to check out the current plants you have around the house to make sure any toxic plants or potentially toxic plants can be moved safely away from your pet’s reach.
Featured photo credit: Pots, Planters, and More via lifehacker.com
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Alert: 7 Signs You Have A Toxic Friend
Have you ever been in a toxic friendship? I have and it just about destroyed me. It took time before I finally ended the relationship and restored my health. I also learned some things in the process so I won’t make the same mistake.
Toxic friendships are bad for your health. By the time you enter your adult years you will have encountered one or more. Maybe you are the type who attracts toxic friendships. Some people are like that. They have an active rescuing chip in the brain and they cannot seem to help themselves. Is that you?
Toxic is synonymous with poisonous, deadly, unhealthy. Your system is not made to exist with anything toxic. If you listen to your inner self it will alert you that the friend you chose is bad for your mental health. Here are 7 signs you have a toxic friend.
Your friend needs to be the center of attention
Toxic people crave attention and they will get it in any form. They can be nice to be noticed. Or they create drama to draw attention toward themselves. Even negative attention accomplishes their goal.
A toxic friend can hijack your special event, like a birthday party or celebrating your recent promotion. When the focus of the moment should be on you, it somehow shifts to her. Why? Because toxic people struggle with insecurity and the way they cope is to keep the attention on them.
Your friend always takes and rarely gives
Toxic friends are always on the take. You are the “lending tree” and they are the “picker”. They want to borrow your car, clothes, money, and your precious time. When they call or text, the expectation is that you will respond immediately. If not, expect a flood of 911 messages to follow.
When it is your turn to need support, don’t count on a toxic friend to respond. Your needs are not as important as what they are doing at the moment. A litany of excuses (many untrue) are given and you’re supposed to understand. After all, their problems are more important than yours. In reality, toxic people lack empathy, an important friendship trait.
Your friend uses guilt to control your friendship
Toxic friends are experts in making you feel sorry for them. They play the victim role at an Oscar award winning level. Because they create a lot of drama, you are at their beck and call. Guilt is an underlying current that dictates the relationship. You never know what might happen if you don’t respond when they call.
Individuals with a tendency to “rescue” or “fix” others are susceptible to toxic friendships. You think you can turn this person around, yet in the end, you are the one being controlled. Guilt keeps you responding.
Your friend is impulsive and repeats bad behavior
Toxic people tend to be impulsive. They do not think about the outcome of their decisions. Instead, they just act in the moment. The problem is that often their impulsive behavior gets them in trouble.
Impulse control is a function in the brain that regulates behavior. It involves frustration tolerance, the ability restrain impulses and live within limits. People with poor and impulse control and lower frustration tolerance make decisions quickly and don’t factor in potential risks or consequences. At times you may feel like your banging your head against a wall trying to get a toxic friend to look at her behavior. It won’t work if she is ruled by her impulses. Which brings up the next toxic sign.
Your friend blames others for her faults
Have you noticed that your toxic friend creates a lot of problems? But does she accept responsibility for them? Toxic people usually blame others and rarely take ownership for their actions. It’s always someone else’s fault. If you have a toxic friend then you’ve likely been blamed too!
It is difficult to feel safe in a relationship with a friend who blames others for her problems. It can be like walking on eggshells around her. You know they are the problem but somehow they make you feel like you are. So here’s another sign.
Your friend makes you doubt yourself
A toxic friend can get into your head and make you doubt yourself. Suddenly, you’re questioning yourself and wondering what you’re doing wrong in the relationship. You may feel responsible for her problems. Some toxic people are so convinced in their minds about things and state their case with such conviction, it can mess with your head.
You want to end the friendship but feel trapped
As I mentioned earlier, guilt is one of the toxins that controls the relationship. Toxic people are very manipulative in friendships. It feels a little like Hotel California, “you can check out anytime you want but you can never leave.”
Good friendships don’t come with traps. You should have the freedom to be yourself and not be overburdened by drama. If this is not how it feels with your friend, it is likely because she is toxic. You may feel trapped but it doesn’t mean you are. Do not allow guilt or fear control you. You are free to walk away.
Featured photo credit: Dollar Photo Club via dollarphotoclub.com
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