subject: What Have You Done For Yourself Lately? [print this page] You could drink red wineYou could drink red wine. According to MyHealthNewsDaily, it's good for your teeth. The grape stems, seeds and skins used to make red wine contain polyphenols, which block molecules made by streptococcus bacteria in our mouths. Polyphenols prevent the bacteria from breaking down sugar and making molecules called glucans, which let bacteria stick to our teeth and cause cavities. Unfortunately, drinking enough red wine to protect our teeth could stain them. That's why scientists want to find a way to add polyphenols to mouthwash, toothpaste and chewing gum. And no, you wouldn't have to be 21 to use these products.
You could get more sleep. According to a Swedish study, sleep improves our looks. Researchers photographed 23 students ages 18-31 after 8 hours sleep and after they'd been up 31 hours with only 5 hours sleep the previous night. Sixty-five people then rated the photographs. The sleep-deprived students looked 19% more tired, 6% less healthy and 4% less attractive. When we sleep perspiration moisturizes our skin, more blood flows to our face and more human growth hormone is produced. It seems the 20% of Americans who regularly get less than 6 hours sleep should take a "good look" at this information.
You could adopt a positive mood. A study published in the journal Psychological Science found a positive mood increases task performance and creativity. Volunteers were exposed to stimuli to put them in specific mood states. A video of a laughing baby created a positive mood, the "Antiques Roadshow" television program created a neutral mood and a news report about a Chinese earthquake created a negative mood. When volunteers had to learn a rule to categorize a particular pattern after watching 1 of the 3 clips, the positive volunteers did it best. Thinking positive positively has positive effects.
Finally, you could move. Men's Health and Women's Health magazines annually rank 100 U.S. cities to find the best and worst places to live. The health and wellness rankings include such categories as fruit and vegetable consumption, obesity, smoking and mortality rate. In 2010 Plano, Texas ranked #1 for women, partly because of its having 139 single men for every 100 single women. For men Madison, Wisconsin ranked #1, partly because of its high proportion of doctors. For women Philadelphia was #100. St. Louis was #100 for men and Philadelphia was #99. Maybe the city of "Brotherly Love" is better for families.
