1 baby is born every 8 seconds

105 boys are born for every 100 girls - worldwide

The population of the world is approximately 6.63 billion people. In 6 months it is estimated to be 6.67 billion. That's roughly 40 million more people! In essence: a lot of people!

The chance of having twins is about 3%.

The U.S. cesarean section rate is 33%.

The World Health Organization's goal is to reduce the c-section rate to 15% or lower by 2010. Ha! We wish! (Note the sarcasm.)

The U.S. cesarean section rate in 1970 was 5%.

The top 5 baby names in the U.S. for 2006 were (Boy.....Girl):

1. Jacob ..... Emily
2. Michael ..... Emma
3. Joshua ..... Madison
4. Ethan ..... Isabella
5. Matthew .... Ava

The top 5 baby names in 1900 were (Boy.....Girl):

1. John ..... Mary
2. William ..... Helen
3. James ..... Anna
4. George ..... Margaret
5. Charles ..... Ruth

From 0 to 6 months, one baby will go through 10-12 diapers - a day!

It seems men are adept at changing diapers, using only 1 minute and 36 seconds to quickly complete the task, while women take an average of 2 minutes and 5 seconds. Well then, I guess that means you guys will be changing diapers from now on!

Photo credit: redvisualg

Originally posted 2007-11-30 08:00:50. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Home Births May No Longer Be an Option Back in November, I viewed a screening of Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein's documentary, The Business of Being Born. Applauded by the American College of Nurse Midwives, I too agreed it was an excellent perspective of the more natural side to childbirth, without all the excess medical interventions that sometimes......
• Baby Development Stages in Week 3 Fertilization occurs at what is perceived as the third week of pregnancy, and this is when the baby development stages really begin. Fertilization is the process that occurs when a sperm and an egg connect, forming a single cell which is known as a zygote. Zygote is a Greek word......
• Runners - I Envy You I love to run. Always have, even as a little girl. And I was fast! Oh, I may have looked sweet and innocent, but I deceived the boys and beat them in races on the playground (much to their chagrin). No one could catch me in "boys chase girls," and......
• "Fun" Facts About Sugar How much sugar (cane sugar/beet sugar) do you think each person eats in a year? A lot! Each person the U.S. consumes about 70 pounds of sugar a year. An individual from Europe, about 92 pounds. Brazil had the highest consumption per person at 123 lbs for this last year!......
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Europe was introduced to chocolate when Christopher Columbus brought back cocoa beans from the Caribbean islands from his 1502 voyage.

Switzerland is one of the top countries when it comes to chocolate consumption. The Swiss eat roughly 22 lbs of chocolate per person per year. The U.S. consumes about 11 lbs per person each year.

The melting point of cocoa butter is just below 98.6 degree F. This is how chocolate so wonderfully melts in your mouth.

The best way to store chocolate is by wrapping it in foil and then placing it in plastic. Keep it at a constant temperature of 65 degrees F and 50% humidity.

Dark chocolate stored under perfect conditions will last for 10 years.

The largest box of chocolates contained 90,090 Frango mint chocolates and weighed 3,3226 lbs! It was made by Marshall Field's of Chicago on November 14, 2002.

Quality dark chocolate contains flavonoids which help reduced the risk of heart disease.

Eating a 1.6 oz (small) bar of dark chocolate can be good for you!

Chocolate is associated with the release of serotonin, the hormone that makes you feel relaxed, calm, and happy.

Research has shown that allowing chocolate to melt in your mouth produced brain and heart rate activity that was simliar to - and even stronger than - that produced with passionate kissing.

Cocoa Beans were used as currency among the Mayan and Aztec cultures (and who says money doesn't grown on trees)!

Hershey's is the oldest and largest chocolate company in the U.S.

Cadbury is the most popular chocolate in the UK.

Most cocoa comes from West Africa.

"Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands and then eat just one of the pieces."
~Linda Grayson

The most expensive chocolate in the world is a $250 creation, called the Madeleine, by Fritz Knipschildt of Knipschildt Chocolatier in South Norwalk, Connecticut. The Madeleine is a specially, handmade dark chocolate truffle complete with a rich ganache, cocoa dusting, and a French truffle inside.

With the price of $250, these chocolates cost approximately $2,600 per pound!

Want to see a pictures of it? Yeah, I did too! Here it is:

Knipschildt Chocolatier

Other delicious photo credits: letota, scottsnyde, machadow

Originally posted 2007-12-14 08:30:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• The Carnival of Nutrition and Fitness! Welcome to the New Year's edition of the Carnival of Nutrition and Fitness! This carnival is for you - to learn, get motivated, and become healthier, fitter, and leaner in 2008! Wow! Many articles were submitted making it extremely difficult narrowing them down to what the editors felt were......
• Another Breakthrough? Well here's an interesting bit of news. I ate a piece of cake at work. ...OK, that wasn't the interesting bit of news, but keep reading! I'm 'painting the picture.' Well, this piece of yellow cake was fluffy and moist with thick, chocolate frosting. My favorite combination in a cake!......
• The Great and Edible Pumpkin! Pumpkins aren’t just for pies (or decorations)! You can use this versatile vegetable in a variety of delicious recipes, whether savory or sweet. Check out the list below for some tasty pumpkin dishes: Pumpkin Pie: I like pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top- Mmm. But you could also add......
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1 calorie = the amount of energy (heat) required to increase the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

There are 3500 calories for each pound of body fat. To lose one pound of stored fat, technically you would need to burn 3500 extra calories.

A male athlete typically consumes upwards of 7000 calories a day!

Fidgeting can burn 350 calories a day.

The 2007 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion, Joey Chestnut, ate 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes. In that amount of time he consumed approximately 20,394 calories (1 hot dog = 309 calories).

Takeru Kobayashi, 6-time defending champion and placing 2nd in 2007, ate 53 3/4 hot dogs - about 16,609 calories.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV.

A few of the highest calorie fast food items can be found at Baskin Robbins:

• Chocolate Oreo Shake, large = 2360 calories
• Heath Bar Crunch Shake, large = 2160 calories
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Shake, large = 2160 calories

Know any food items higher in calories?  Please let me know!

Photo credit: vancanjay

Originally posted 2007-12-07 08:00:48. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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Knowing the ins and outs of your insurance plan is essential for future situations where you will need to use it. If you need insurance then you can contact an insurance broker and ask questions about what kinds of plans are available and which one would work best for you. A broker can also help you negotiate a good deal with an insurance provider and ensure that getting swindled. You can also go online and shop around for different plans that vary in coverage.

It’s probably a good idea to pick from a few different online health insurance quotes and contact each one, either through their web site or personally by phone. By doing this you’ll have a chance to have a more comprehensive discussion on your benefits and areas of coverage. When you start shopping you’ll find that there are two major types of insurance providers:

Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) –

This is usually one of the cheapest options. It’s a plan that provides coverage to patients through a network of doctors. Think of an HMO like a club of doctors and you can pick from anyone in that club to see to your various medical needs. A policyholder usually picks a primary care physician and then chooses from a specialist by referral or based upon need. HMO’s are more widely used but they can be very restrictive on who is covered. If you end up going to a doctor who isn’t apart of your HMO, you’ll end up covering all your costs out of pocket.

Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) –

A PPO is a network of physicians and specialists who personally work out and negotiate deals with health insurance providers. They establish a rate with your insurer and are preferred but they’re also more expensive. You get better care through a PPO and more flexibility but it also comes with higher co-payments. They do work, basically like a HMO, but the main difference between the two is you don’t need a primary care physician (PCP) for referrals.

It’s always important to know what you’re getting with insurance providers and the patient usually ends up looking out for themselves. This is because the doctors, providers, and company’s are already busy doing the same. Dealing with insurance companies is a necessary evil in order to ensure your health and well-being. So whether the government keeps, gets rid of, or improves upon the current healthcare plan, you’ll likely want to shop around for personal coverage while using some of these helpful tips.

Photo Credits: @alviseni

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White tea, oolong, and black tea are also made from the Camellia sinensis leaves, but for green tea, the leaves are steamed immediately after picking, thus reducing oxidation.

Green tea has about ¼ the caffeine of coffee.

Green tea is chock full of polyphenols, antioxidants that are very helpful in ridding the body of free radicals - unstable molecules that damage our cells.

Green tea has been claimed to help:

• Prevent cancer
• Lower LDL levels (bad cholesterol)
• Lower blood pressure
• Decrease the risk of harmful clot formation causing heart attack and stroke
• Decrease inflammation
• Raise metabolism and burn fat
• Regulate blood sugar levels
• Ease Inflammatory Bowel Disease
• Eliminate bad breath

Don't use boiling water to brew green tea! The water should be just below the boiling point.

Loose leaf green tea likes to expand when steeped, so allowing for enough room is important. Investing in a tea pot specifically made for green tea is the best way to accomplish this.

Usual steeping times for green tea is 2-3 minutes. However, high quality teas, like the Japanese Gyokuro, require a shorter amount of time and cooler temperatures. Steep too long or too hot and your tea will taste bitter.

And the best green tea... sorry, but it can't be found in those little pouches sold at the grocery store (my opinion). You have to get it in Asia. I've had "real" Japanese green tea in Japan, and it was soooo good! Unfortunately, now I'm spoiled, and I can't drink the stuff in the tea bags here in the U.S.! 'Sigh'

Sources: Green tea, Wikipedia, Teanobi

Photo credit: alaasafei

Originally posted 2008-01-11 08:00:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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• Fun Facts about Chocolate "Chocolate" comes from the Aztec word, "xocolatl," which means "bitter water." Europe was introduced to chocolate when Christopher Columbus brought back cocoa beans from the Caribbean islands from his 1502 voyage. Switzerland is one of the top countries when it comes to chocolate consumption. The Swiss eat roughly 22 lbs......
• Fun Facts about Calories A calorie (or kilocalorie) is a measurement of energy. 1 calorie = the amount of energy (heat) required to increase the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). There are 3500 calories for each pound of body fat. To lose one pound of stored fat,......

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A lot! Each person the U.S. consumes about 70 pounds of sugar a year. An individual from Europe, about 92 pounds. Brazil had the highest consumption per person at 123 lbs for this last year! To say we like our sugar is an understatement!

Pros/Cons: Sugar might make foods taste better and give that temporary "sugar high" which makes one feel pretty good. However, increased sugar consumption is associated with obesity, diabetes, and cavities, not to mention crashing after your "sugar high." Some people argue that sugar affects the brain like a drug and can be addictive to certain individuals. Also, sugar has no nutritional value whatsoever. In sum, we could do very well without even eating a bite of the refined stuff.

How much do you eat? Do you know how much refined sugar you eat in a typical day? To put it in perspective, let's take a look at some foods/drinks and their sugar content.

g = Grams; 14 Grams = 1 Tablespoon

• Peanut Butter, 2 Tbsp = 2.5g
• Ketchup, 1 Tbsp = 3.1g
• Graham Crackers, 2 = 7g
• Honey Nut Cheerios, ¾ Cup = 9g
• Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut = 10g
• Edy’s Slow Churned Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, ½ Cup = 13g
• Fruit Loops, 1 Cup = 14g
• Hershey Kisses, 9 kisses = 21g
• Starbucks Nonfat Café Mocha, Tall = 25g
• Reese Peanut Butter Cups, 1 package = 25g
• Ben And Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream, ½ Cup = 28g
• M&Ms, 1 package = 31g
• Slim Fast, Milk Chocolate, 1 can = 34g (and people drink this to lose weight!!!)
• Dr Pepper, 12 fl oz = 40g
• Mountain Dew, 12fl oz = 46g

Tips:

In the days to come, see how you can decrease your sugar intake. You might feel all the better for it too!

If you're craving something sweet, try fresh fruit which has nutrients, fiber, and fewer calories. Or you check out Healthier Sweet Snacks for other ideas on how to satisfy your sweet tooth.

photo credit: lusi
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Originally posted 2007-11-09 08:00:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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• An individual of normal weight has roughly 20-35 billion fat cells. Someone who is overweight has 75 to even 300 billion!
• One gram of fat cells = approximately 900 calories (kcal). Figure a relatively fit, 150-lb man at 15% body fat has over 10,000 grams of fat in his body. That's 90,000 calories! All that fat would provide enough energy to walk about 900 miles! How's that for gas mileage!
• Fat cells are extremely accommodating. They start off microscopically tiny but can expand up too 100 times their size (about the size of this dot . )
• Fat cells are very loyal, so loyal, in fact, that they never want to leave you. Once you've got 'em, they're with you forever.  You can shrink those fat cells through exercise and healthy eating, but they'll still be there, ready to plump up again if needed. The only way to get rid of fat cells is to have liposuction!
• Yes, the number of fat cells can increase, but his usually occurs when the individual is grossly overweight.  The body produces more fat cells to allow for more storage.

Perhaps getting on my elliptical trainer this weekend isn't such a bad idea. In fact, it suddenly sounds rather appealing.

Originally posted 2007-11-02 08:00:20. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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• Fun Facts about New Year's "Auld Lang Syne" was written by Robert Burns in 1741 and literally means "old long since," or "days gone by." This song is traditionally sung in many countries at midnight, January 1st, signaling the beginning of the New Year. "Syne" is pronounced like the word "sign," not "zyne." Some cultures......

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Yoga revisited – Last month I checked out a yoga DVD just for a change of pace. I was in the mood for something a little more low key. That half hour flew by, and I felt so refreshed! I felt good. Optimistic. Woodland creatures came to greet me and clean my kitchen. Seriously.

Now I make a point to fit in a yoga session once or twice a week. This may not fit the definition of a true yogi, but it works for a beginner like me.

What I like most about yoga is the stretching. I enjoy improving my flexibility, and it’s something I need to pay more attention to, especially for protecting my injured knee. Somehow I feel longer after a yoga session; I have better posture.

I also enjoy working on my strength and balance, both of which yoga provides, and in a way that is less stressful to the joints. Again, my knee approves. Plus, being someone who constantly stumbles, improving balance is always welcome! (I always trip, but I never fall - probably thanks in part to dance classes as a child - otherwise I’d be a lot more up close and personal with the pavement.)

I find yoga to be energizing. I wouldn’t have thought this since there’s no running, jumping, or groove thing shaking. But it gets the blood circulating, and I feel I have a lot more energy just to tackle everything in daily life.

Yoga is also a great stress reliever. That’s pretty much well known. I don’t use yoga as a form of meditation as some may do. I do find the held poses and the deep breathing calm the body. It's a great way to clear the mind and organize your thoughts, as many other exercises can do.

And I love the names for all the yoga poses. My favorites are the downward facing dog (oh, yeah, feel it in the calves) and the sun salutation (oh yeah, that’s a good one. I think my back just popped). I’ve actually done a few sun salutation-type stretches before an audition to shake away some of the nerves and tension. It counteracts that fight-or-flight syndrome.

I may never be a true yogi as my heart is still in to the more traditional cardio workouts, but I still feel yoga is a great addition to my overall workout program. Incorporating flexibility, balance, and strength along with cardio just makes for a balanced fitness program AND body anyway!

I leave you with an excellent instruction of the sun salutation poses:

.

Trying to find a good yoga video?

These are worth a look:

Yoga for Every Body

Fat Free Yoga

Crunch - Super Slimdown: Pilates Yoga Blend

Denise Austin Power Zone

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"Syne" is pronounced like the word "sign," not "zyne."

Some cultures believe various foods bring good luck and prosperity if eaten on New Year's Day. Some examples are:

• Donuts (Dutch Oliebollen pictured right)
• Black-eyed peas and other legumes
• Cabbage
• Hog's meat
• Rice

Making New Year's resolutions dates back to the Babylonians.

The Tournament of Roses Parade started in 1890 which celebrated blossoming California orange crops.

The first post-Rose Parade college football game was in 1902 between Stanford University and University of Michigan. Michigan won with a score of 49-0.

The Chinese New Year, a very important Chinese holiday, begins on the new moon of the first lunar month, usually between January 21 and February 21. February 7, 2008 is the first day of the Chinese New Year.

Each year is symbolized by one of 12 animals. 2008 is the Year of the Rat, also known as "Wu Zhi."

1907 - New York's famous ball drops for the first time from Times Square on New Year's Eve. It was a five foot ball made out of wood and iron, weighed 700 lbs, and included 100 25-watt bulbs.

Today, the ball is a 6-foot globe made out of Waterford crystal and weighs 1,070 lbs. It contains 9,576 LEDs (light emitting diodes) and uses relatively little energy (as much as about 10 toasters). Its decent starts at 11:59 PM and reaches the bottom at the stroke of midnight. The ball is sometimes referred to as the "Big Apple."

The ball has been dropped every year, except in 1942 and 1943 due to wartime lighting restrictions.

Relive that last minute before midnight again and get a view of the 2008 New Year's ball:

Sources: Wilstar.com, Chinese New Year, Tournament of Roses History, New Year's Eve Ball

Photo credits: Hiden84 , susankers, m constant

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December 22 is the first day of winter for all the folks in the Northern Hemisphere! The sun is the furthest away from the equator, shining directly over the Tropic of Capricorn (Alice Springs, Australia and Sao Paulo, Brazil are just a couple of cities along the Tropic of Capricorn.) The first day of winter is the shortest day of the year (meaning it gets dark pretty darn early)!

More interesting winter-related info:

Antarctica is the coldest place on earth (kind of a no-brainer here) with the coldest reported temperature being -89.4 C (or) -129 F.

The coldest place in North America: Snag, the Yukon Territory of Canada with a recorded temperature of -81.4 F on February 3, 1947.

Living on the East Coast of America? The 2008 weather forecast from The Farmer’s Almanac predicts a very cold and snowy winter.

Living out West? Your winter is expected to be mild.

Snowflakes are really ice crystals in various patterns.

According to the International Commission on Snow and Ice (seriously), snowflakes have these general forms:

1. Plates
2. Stellar crystals
3. Columns
4. Needles
5. Spatial dendrites
6. Capped columns
7. Irregular forms

Some snowflake researchers use 35 shapes.

The world’s largest snowflake was 38 cm wide and 20cm thick and was found at Fort Keogh, Montana on January 28, 1887.

The most snowfall within 24 hours in the U.S. was 63 inches and occurred in Georgetown, Colorado on December 4, 1913.

Folklore, err weatherlore:

The first frost in autumn will be exactly six months after the first thunderstorm of spring.

As many days old as is the moon on the first snow, there will be that many snowfalls by crop planting time.

We'll have a cold winter if:

• Animals have thicker coats of hair or fur.
• Squirrels build their nests low in trees and gather nuts early.
• Ants build their mounds high.
• Larger numbers of spiders are seen in the fall.
• A heavy crop of berries are found on holly and dogwood trees.
• Birds are seen migrating early or huddling on the ground.
• Woolly worms have heavy coats and they have a wide black band

A different perspective:

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, just different kinds of good weather.
~ John Ruskin

Finally, always remember...

The trouble with weather forecasting is that it's right too often
for us to ignore it and wrong too often for us to rely on it.
~ Patrick Young

Photo credit: jodocusd

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