America’s Healthiest Grocery Stores

From superfresh local produce to on-site dietitians, these 10 standout supermarket chains are leading the way to healthier food shopping. And surprise: Many are the traditional, affordable grocers close to your home!

Let’s face it: Your weekly (or daily!) run to the grocery store is the foundation for your good health. So it’s thrilling news that the supermarket industry is on a health kick—these days you’ll likely find organic produce and “natural” packaged foods at almost any store you go to. But which chains are outdoing themselves to deliver the freshest and healthiest foods to you? And which ones provide the best tools to help you make smart choices? We asked six prominent health experts (see “Meet our Judges”) to help us pick the top 10 healthiest grocery stores out of the nation’s largest chains. Here are the true standouts. Happy, healthy shopping! View the winners in this slideshow.

Suggestions for Sleeping at Work

Blame it on the shoes

Make it to looks like you have to tie your shoes.Put your head on your desk and with both hands hold your shoeties.

Cabinet

Choose a cabinet in the office that opens rarely. Move the content of it in one side - on the left or on the right.This is very useful for longer breaks.

Copy machine

Get nervous infront of everyone because there is no more paper in the copy machine.
Open the machine and put your head inside.
Caution: carbonite dust causes cancer.

Absolute concentration

A perfect position for a nap: print some important documents and put your hand between your desk and your head, so the papers are in the area of your eyesight.
Caution: every five minute turn another page.

Coma in a toilet II

Don't put your head back, but move it forward to the toilet door.
To prevent making an unpleasant red circle on your forehead, put a role of a toilet paper between your head and the toilet door.

Go underground

If your working place can't be seen directly from the entering door, just lay and relax under your desk.Before that, put your jacket on the chair to look like you are at the work but at that moment out of the office.

Coma in a toilet I

Sit on the toilet with your head on the toilet tank and relax.Use a role of toilet paper like a holder for your head.
Important: you have to hold a set of keys in your hand, wich will drop on the floor and wake you up when you fall a deep sleep.

Cool kamuflage

Use some make up and draw eyes on your eye-lid.First use some white colour and after that draw a pupil with an eyeliner and shadow.Fake hairs will simulate an open eye.

Ladgers

Put one big ladger underneath your chin.Advantage: you can keep your regular working position and stay unobtrusive.
Disadvantage: all your collegues that you share the office with, must be in front of you with turned their back on you.

Learn to Love Your Vino (Without Being a Wine Snob)

I recently had the good fortune to spend some time in Napa at a class at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). And even though I’m pregnant, I did my fair share of swirling and sniffing (and even a wee bit of sipping).

Wine is pretty easy to enjoy on its own. So is food. But for some reason, putting the two together can flummox people. I’ve taken wine seminars and classes before, but CIA’s Sophisticated Palate program explained pairings to me in the most basic, easy-to-understand way.

First we took a look at the aroma wheel and did a sniff test of eight wines. Our task? Determine the main aroma in the wine simply by smelling it. I’d recommend trying it at home on a cold night with a bunch of friends. You can even turn it into a game—like we did—and make the losers wash the dishes. Good thing my team won!

Then Chef John Ash walked us through some typical pairings using the principle of similarity—pairing food with wine that has a similar flavor profile. Keep these tips in mind when dining out or cooking at home. I’ll bet you’ll impress the pants off all your guests.

Gewürztraminer
Flavor profile: Flavors of fresh fruits like white peach, plus honey and a bit of spice
No-fail food pairing: Dried apricots bring out the subtle acidity in this wine, so try it with a dish of grilled pork with apricot chutney.

Sauvignon Blanc
Flavor profile: Grassy, fresh, with lemony undertones
No-fail food pairing: Sauvignon Blanc is amazing with the tangy creaminess of goat cheese. It’s ideal with a goat cheese tart, or a salad or pasta dish with goat cheese.

Chardonnay (if it’s aged in oak barrels)
Flavor profile: Buttery, toasty, vanilla aromas
No-fail food pairing: Working off the nuttiness in chard, go for something like an almond- or pistachio-crusted fish. If you’re dealing with an unoaked Chardonnay, you’ll have a lot more flexibility with the food pairing.

Pinot Noir
Flavor profile: Spicy, peppery, blackberry, earthy flavors
No-fail food pairing: Nothing is earthier than a mushroom, which makes a mushroom risotto or mushroom pizza the perfect companion to a glass of Pinot. This wine is also fantastic when you’re serving a cheese plate.

Cabernet Sauvignon
Flavor profile: Leathery, oaky, flavors of licorice, black cherries, and other dark fruits
No-fail food pairing: Cabernet has lots of tannins—the compounds that cause the dry and puckery feeling in your mouth—and acid, but the richness in the olives helps to temper that intensity. Try a big glass of Cab with pasta puttanesca or another richly flavored dish like eggplant Parmesan.

My top three wine and food-pairing tips
1. Chew with your mouth open. Miss Manners may not approve, but you can smell the flavors in food better.
2. Pair low-sodium food with low-tannin wine. The less salty your food is, the more the tannins in red wines will come out. Try a low-tannin red like Pinot Noir.
3. When in doubt, just pick up your glass and enjoy it!

Horatio, the Upside - Down Goldfish

This is the incredible story of Horatio - the golden fish that has swam around the last five years with his white belly pointing upwards and his eyes staring down.

Richard Gordon took over the ownership of the Japanese cold water fish, six years ago, from his grandson Christopher. After a year, the 63-year-old was bemused to find him floating on his back in his 12 inch wide glass tank.

The marine electrician said: "The first time I saw him I thought he was dead and I was going to flush him away.
"But I flicked the glass and he started swimming again.sim-fish.jpg
Strangely, when I put food in he'll always swim up to it the right way round, he then swims back down again and rolls over and floats upside down once more.
"At first I was worried but he seems happy enough and is able to swim around just fine."


Fish expert Ian Marshall, thought it most likely that Horatio had a problem with his swim bladder.
Maybe he just preferes backstroke than free style swimming? Or maybe he's simply an eccentric :)

Want to Ace the Interview? Offer a Warm Handshake

It’s an old saying that cold hands equal a warm heart. But a new study suggests you’re better off giving a warm handshake to someone you’re trying to impress.

People who have their hands warmed—for example, by holding a cup of hot coffee—are kinder and more generous toward others and view other people in a more flattering light than they do after holding an icy-cold beverage, according to a study in Science.

Don’t laugh. Although it seems like a deceptively simple—even silly—finding, the researchers say the study sheds light on a part of the brain known as the insula, which registers temperature and feelings of trust and empathy, as well as social emotions like guilt or embarrassment.

Our brains may be hardwired during infancy to associate warmth with trustworthiness, says John Bargh, PhD, a professor of psychology at Yale University who conducted the study with Lawrence Williams, PhD, from the University of Colorado.

“We have this almost direct connection in our brain between touching and physical temperature and trust in other people,” he says.

That connection was probably forged during infancy, or even during evolution, when having a tight bond to a caregiver could have been the difference between life and death.

“When you’re tiny and helpless, the ones that keep close to food-giving and warmth-giving and shelter-giving caretakers survive, and the ones who don’t, do not,” he says.

And when something goes wrong with the insula, it may affect the way we interact with others. There’s some research to suggest this happens in people with borderline personality disorder, a type of mental illness, Bargh explains.

“They can’t deal with anyone else, they don’t know who to trust, and they trust the wrong people,” he says.

Crazy Graffiti

Anyone interested in time travel meet me here last Thursday!!! :)))

We Use All 100 Percent of Our Brain

Homer: All right brain, you don't like me, and I don't like you.
But let's just get me through this, and I can get back to killing

you with beer.

Brain: It's a deal!

There are many myths about our brains, such as we use only 10 percent of our brain — and many other amazing facts, as revealed in a fascinating new book by Sandra Aamodt and Sam Wang, two leading neuroscientists.

They write in their book that not only that we don't use just 10 percent of our brain, but also that even simple tasks actually produce activity throughout the entire brain.

Many people like this old myth because it gives them a hope that they could do so much more if they could use even a tiny bit of that other 90 percent.

Yawning is often related to sleepiness and boredom but it actually wake up our brain activities. We get more oxygen into our blood system while yawning.

Blind people hear better - this is also a myth, because, when tested, blind people are not better at detecting faint sounds. But they do have better memory. Since they can't rely on their vision, they constantly rely on their memory and it seams that this improves some other abilities by taking advantage of brain space that isn't being used for vision.

Playing video games practices multi-tasking and this increases one's abilityto pay attention to many things at the same time. In one study, college students who played action games regularly processed information more quickly, could track more objects at once, and had better task-switching abilities. So, allowing your children to play computer games may not be such a bad thing after all.

Another myth about our brain is that we are more intelligent if our brain is bigger - after all, Einstein's brain was no larger than the average person's.

Exercise helps keep your brain fit. Not sudoku or crosswords. In fact, exercise is the single most useful thing you can do to maintain your cognitive abilities later in life; elderly people who have been athletic all their lives do much better mentally than sedentary people of the same age.

Stupid tunes are hard to forget. There's nothing more annoying than the line of a song playing over and over again in your head. Blame it on your brain's ability to recall sequences. We need to remember sequences every day, from the movements involved in signing your name or in making coffee, to the correct route you need to take off the motorway to get home.
One way is to introduce other sequences that interfere with the reinforcement of the memory. So find another infectious song, and hope the cure doesn't become more annoying than the original problem!

10 Best Foods for Your Heart

Oatmeal
Start your day with a steaming bowl of oats, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. This fiber-rich superfood can lower levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clear.

Opt for coarse or steel-cut oats over instant varieties—which contain more fiber—and top your bowl off with a banana for another 4 grams of fiber.


Salmon

Super-rich in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon can effectively reduce blood pressure and keep clotting at bay. Aim for two servings per week, which may reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third.

"Salmon contains the carotenoid astaxanthin, which is a very powerful antioxidant," says cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, MD, the author of Lower Your Blood Pressure In Eight Weeks. But be sure to choose wild salmon over farm-raised fish, which can be packed with insecticides, pesticides, and heavy metals.

Not a fan of salmon? Other oily fish like mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines will give your heart the same boost.


Avocado

Add a bit of avocado to a sandwich or spinach salad to up the amount of heart-healthy fats in your diet. Packed with monounsaturated fat, avocados can help lower LDL levels while raising the amount of HDL cholesterol in your body.

"Avocados are awesome," says Dr. Sinatra. "They allow for the absorption of other carotenoids —especially beta-carotene and lycopene—which are essential for heart health."

Olive oil

Full of monounsaturated fats, olive oil lowers bad LDL cholesterol and reduces your risk of developing heart disease.

Results from the Seven Countries Study, which looked at cardiovascular disease incidences across the globe, showed that while men in Crete had a predisposition for high cholesterol levels, relatively few died of heart disease because their diet focused on heart-healthy fats found in olive oil. Look for extra-virgin or virgin varieties—they're the least processed—and use them instead of butter when cooking.


Nuts

Almonds, walnuts, and macadamia nuts are all full of omega-3 fatty acids and mono- and polyunsaturated fats.

Almonds are rich in omega-3s, plus nuts increase fiber in the diet, says Dr. Sinatra. "And like olive oil, they are a great source of healthy fat."

Berries

Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries—whatever berry you like best—are full of anti-inflammatories, which reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer.

"Blackberries and blueberries are especially great," says Sinatra. "But all berries are great for your vascular health."

Legumes

Fill up on fiber with lentils, chickpeas, and black and kidney beans. They're packed with omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and soluble fiber.

Spinach

Spinach can help keep your ticker in top shape thanks to its stores of lutein, folate, potassium, and fiber.

But upping your servings of any veggies is sure to give your heart a boost. The Physicians' Health Study examined more than 15,000 men without heart disease for a period of 12 years. Those who ate at least two-and-a-half servings of vegetables each day cut their risk of heart disease by about 25%, compared with those who didn't eat the veggies. Each additional serving reduced risk by another 17%.

Flaxseed

Full of fiber and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, a little sprinkling of flaxseed can go a long way for your heart. Top a bowl of oatmeal or whole-grain cereal with a smidgen of ground flaxseed for the ultimate heart-healthy breakfast.

Soy

Soy may lower cholesterol, and since it is low in saturated fat, it's still a great source of lean protein in a heart-healthy diet.

Look for natural sources of soy, like edamame, tempeh, or organic silken tofu. And soy milk is a great addition to a bowl of oatmeal or whole-grain cereal. But watch the amount of salt in your soy: some processed varieties like soy dogs can contain added sodium, which boosts blood pressure.

6 Simple Tricks for Saving Money Without Tipping the Scale

These days, your wallet sure feels slimmer, but what about your waistline? Stress over your bank account and mortgage payments may make you want to reach for a big bowl of gooey mac ‘n’ cheese, but a faltering economy doesn’t have to derail your diet. When times are tough, people want high-calorie comfort foods. When the craving hits, try my favorite tricks first: take a bath, do some stretching, or take some deep breaths. But if you still feel the urge, be sure to invest your calories wisely. Here are some of my figure-friendly comfort foods.

• High-volume, low-calorie foods like soups and stews fill you up fast. Add potatoes, veggies, and low-sodium broth, and you have a week’s worth of meals for only a few bucks. Plus, studies show that dieters are less likely to overindulge if they start their meal with a low-fat soup.

• Eggs are easy on your diet and your budget. Two large eggs have around 150 calories. Combine with a sprinkle of low-fat cheese and whatever veggies are on sale, and you have a gooey treat that won’t break your calorie bank.

• Frozen veggies can bulk up your dinner while slashing your supermarket bill. Add them to a hearty pasta dish for minimal calories but maximum satisfaction.

• Don’t fret if you find yourself reaching for less expensive cuts of darker meat. They may be fattier than what you’re used to, so just scale back on portion size.

• Hit up bulk stores with a group—but be sure to bring only your healthy-minded friends along. It’s hard to beat prices at retailers like Costco and BJ’s Wholesale, but few families can go through a big bushel of bananas before they go bad. You won’t feel guilty loading up on your favorite fresh produce if you’re splitting the cost. But steer clear of processed-food aisles: Just because there’s a deal on an economy-size box of Oreos doesn’t mean you should fork over the cash.

• Nix that expensive Starbucks habit. Instead of ordering a $4 cappuccino, make yourself a cup of coffee at home. Use a whisk to whip up some steamed skim milk on your stove top, and add a dash of cinnamon. Spices like cinnamon are low-cal and low-cost, plus they’re full of antioxidants and anti-inflammatories, making them a great investment for your long-term health.

Use your scaled-down budget to focus on healthy foods you really enjoy, instead of masking your anxieties with handfuls of M&Ms. Even if your bank account is in bad shape, that doesn’t mean your body has to be too.

New Body Kits for your Smart Car

The Smorvette!



The Smerrari!

The Smorsche Targa!

The Smorsche!

To one of these!!!!

The Smaudi A3 AWD!

And last, but n ot least, The Smamborghini!

Potential Side Effects of Prescription Sleep Drugs

Consider other treatments

Sleep experts agree that behavior therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are still the most effective treatments for long-term sleep problems. In therapy sessions, you’ll learn habits and behaviors that will help your body get used to sleeping again—at the right time and for the right amount of time. And unlike a pill, you can recall and practice those routines every night, for free.








Cost of medications

Getting a good night’s sleep can cost a pretty penny. It’s not exactly a side effect, but the high price of sleeping pills is definitely a downside. Insurance typically picks up part of the tab for prescription sleep drugs, but for medications that are only approved for short-term use, your provider may decide—even before your doctor does—when you’ve had enough. After a few months, patients may need to switch to cheaper generic medications or turn to long-term behavioral treatments.








Augmentation

Another consequence of taking drugs for restless legs syndrome is that after an extended period of time, they may lose effectiveness. In fact, symptoms can return more severely, more frequently, and earlier in the night than before medication was started—a process called augmentation. Taking higher doses won't usually help, and patients may need to switch to a different class of drug or take a few weeks off from medication altogether.








Compulsive behaviors

If you suffer from severe restless legs syndrome, you may be prescribed a dopamine agonist such as ropinirole or pramipexole. Side effects include nausea and dizziness, but these medications have also been linked to compulsive gambling, eating, and sexual habits. A 2005 Mayo Clinic study found 11 cases of patients who had developed gambling habits while taking dopamine agonists for Parkinson's disease. In 2007, three RLS patients (including a woman who lost more than $140,000) were cited in another report.

Dopamine agonists target receptors in the brain associated with motivation and reward; researchers suggest that anyone taking these drugs be screened for compulsive behaviors and monitored carefully for warning signs.

Sleep-walking, eating, and driving

Patients taking sleep medication have reported such automatic behaviors as walking, eating, and even driving in their sleep—and not remembering it in the morning. “The most problematic thing is not that they just eat. I have patients that will get up and cook and leave the gas on overnight,” says Downey. Zolpidem (Ambien) in particular has been linked to sleep eating, although this apparent trend may be a function of the large number of people taking zolpidem, rather than a specific quality of the drug.

Downey stresses that automatic behavior is relatively rare, however. “We’ve only had one person here do that, and we evaluate over 1,000 people a year.” Nevertheless, the Food and Drug Administration considered the risk serious enough to request that all sedative-hypnotic drug products carry a warning about the potential for sleepwalking and similar behaviors.

Sexual side effects

Although Downey hasn’t observed any significant problems at the doses at which Rozerem is prescribed, he says it is possible for this medication to interact with hormones. "[Rozerem] is a melatonin agonist, so it increases the level of melatonin by about 16 times what it would normally be in the brain,” says Downey. This increase in melatonin will put you to sleep, but could also alter testosterone levels. You could experience changes in your sex drive as well as your menstrual cycle.









Rebound insomnia

One of the most important things to know about sleep medication is how and when to stop taking it. Abruptly stopping the use of a sleep aid can cause rebound insomnia, meaning you may experience the same or even worse symptoms of your sleep disorder without medication. “To be safe, I assume that the effect may occur” in all patients, Downey says. That’s why he tells patients to never stop using a sleeping pill without first consulting a doctor. Many sleep experts will wean their patients off sleep medications by prescribing lower doses or different medications, until they’re ready to sleep on their own.



Dependence or addiction

Patients are often nervous about becoming addicted to or dependent upon sleeping pills. But studies show that the risk of sleeping pill abuse is decreasing as new medications are released. Researchers have found that Rozerem, a relatively new drug, may have the fewest side effects of all, and it seems to be non-habit-forming. However, addiction and dependence are still possible with other drugs, especially benzodiazepines.Taking sleep medications long-term can mask the real cause of insomnia—such as poor sleep habits or too much stress. Patients often tell their doctors that they're dependent on medication, but it's possible they haven't addressed underlying issues affecting their sleep, and that they don't really need the pills.
Hangover
Many people worry that, should they decide to take sleeping pills, they'll feel tired, fuzzy-headed, or dizzy; experience headaches or nausea; or have trouble waking up the morning after. These side effects are possible, but avoidable, says Ralph Downey III, PhD, director of the Loma Linda University Sleep Disorders Center in Loma Linda, Calif. If your doctor has prescribed the correct dosage, and you take the pill according to your doctor’s instructions, the medication should work effectively without any morning hangover, Downey says. Older drugs such as benzodiazepines are more likely to cause morning drowsiness or dizziness, because they have longer half-lives—meaning the effects take longer to wear off.

Should you worry?

If you’ve ever considered sleeping pills, you may have worried about how you’d feel the next day, whether you’d get hooked, and what other effects the medication might have on you. When used correctly, prescription sleep drugs are safe and effective, and can help you get through a patch of insomnia or fitful sleeping. In fact, doctors say they're more reliable than over-the-counter meds for any extended period of time.

Side effects can occur, however, especially if you’re not taking the best type of medication for you, at the right dosage. Here are a few problems you may experience, and what you can do to avoid them.

Listen Up: How Honest Communication Can Save Your Marriage

Throughout my career as a marriage coach and a marriage and family therapist, the number one issue voiced by most couples is “we have trouble communicating.” It’s a common complaint. And many couples think they would benefit from communication training.

Many seem to think if they could better express themselves or if their spouse would only listen and understand what they mean then things in the marriage would dramatically improve. “Maybe if I learned to be more assertive and use more ‘I’ statements we’d have less problems.” While the thought may be genuine and the results of actually implementing some of these techniques may improve the marriage a bit, in my experience the improvements won’t be lasting.

When you get right down to it, communication in marriage is not about being understood by each other, communication is about handling what another person thinks and feels. You see, married couples don’t have trouble communicating. They communicate all too well.

In a committed relationship, you can not not communicate (pardon the double negative).

Communication problems happen because you don’t like what the other person has to say. For instance, you may want your spouse to be more emotionally open and share their feelings, but you interrupt them when they say things you find unpleasant or disagree with (in your view, you may just want to keep the conversation “accurate”). You want a more expressive spouse, but want to control what they express.

Even if you are not talking to each other, you’re still communicating. You each know you don’t want to hear what the other has to say.

Communication break downs occur because you don’t like what the other person is saying, or not saying, not because you can’t communicate. Communicating in marriage is all about being able to handle the message.

When two people are able to handle the message, honesty increases. And when honesty in a relationship increases, you grow more as an individual and closer together. Through this growth you are capable of reaching new levels of passion and intimacy.

So in an effort to grow closer to you loyal Zen Habits readers, I’ll be honest. I’m writing this guest post in the hopes that Simple Marriage’s message will spread and more people will discover ways to get more out of marriage and life. I also hope you’ll benefit from this post and the passion level in your relationships and life will increase… I feel closer to you already.

But being honest with you is not the same as being honest with a spouse. It’s more and more difficult to be honest in each relationship up the hierarchy of importance. As the importance of the person increases, often the level of deep honesty decreases. Largely because their reactions to what you truly think mean more to you and involve more risk.

So my wife calls me up and asks how my morning was. I respond with “good, just writing away.” When in reality, I wasted the entire morning reading other blogs and searching for the latest gadget that will change my life forever. I don’t want to admit to her that I’m lazy. That means I’m admitting it to myself as well.

Or you’re sitting on the beach with your spouse as an attractive member of the opposite sex walks by. At that moment your spouse asks you what you’re thinking, do you tell them?

Being honest brings about growth in yourself and your spouse. If your thoughts are totally inappropriate in the beach scenario, you probably don’t share them with your spouse. But what does your honesty, or lack of honesty, say about you?

So how do you increase the honesty in marriage?

1. Speak up. By speaking up I’m not saying that you remove the filter between your brain and mouth, but speak up more. How often do you avoid replying or bringing something up out of fear of your partner’s reaction? There are times when you need to speak up in order to help your marriage and each other grow.

Many couples fall victim to thinking “if my spouse really cared about me, they’d be able to figure out what I’m feeling or thinking.” What part of your vows stated you’d read each other’s minds for as long as you both shall live? I’m guessing that wasn’t part of the ceremony.

Stop sitting back waiting for your spouse to pick up on the fact that you’re frustrated, pissed, hurt, or lonely and speak up. Two things will happen. One, you will grow up a bit more because you’ve taken charge of your thoughts and emotions and two, your partner will grow up because you’re treating them like an adult who’s capable of handling your thoughts and emotions.

2. Make the obvious, obvious. If you’ve had a stressful day at work, when you come home you know it’s likely to be stressful there as well, right? So rather than letting the elephant in the room (the stress level in your life) walk around freely, point it out before you and your spouse get in to it.

A simple “hey honey, good to see you, (kiss), I’d like about 5 minutes to decompress from my day before I hear about your day, alright?”

Another way to make the obvious obvious is when the discussion starts to get heated, point it out. When you raise your voice in a conversation, it’s no longer about what’s best for all the people involved, it’s about your power and your pride.

3. Grow up. Many people go kicking and screaming into adulthood. I was one of them. I wanted things my way! Still do at times. I used to think that life was all about me. And problems occurred when other people didn’t know this.

Marriage grows you up. Living with another person forces you to grow up. And just when it seems your spouse is done growing you up, your kids take over. That’s a simple fact of marriage.

Recognize this and harness the energy it creates. Rather than seeing your spouse as someone who doesn’t get you, see them as someone who may want more from you. They may be looking for an erotic lover, a passionate friend, a warrior, a true supporter, or simply a partner in life’s adventure.