Soft drinks contain little to no vitamins or other essential nutrients. However, it is what they do contain that is the problem: caffeine, carbonation, simple sugars � or worse, sugar substitutes � and often food additives such as artificial coloring, flavoring, and preservatives.
A lot of research has found that consumption of soft drinks in high quantity, especially by children, is responsible for many health problems that include tooth decay, nutritional depletion, obesity, type-2 diabetes, and heart disease.
Why the sugar in soft drinks isn't so sweet
Most soft drinks contain a high amount of simple sugars. The USDA recommendation of sugar consumption for a 2,000-calorie diet is a daily allotment of 10 teaspoons of added sugars. Many soft drinks contain more than this amount!
Just why is too much sugar so unhealthy? Well, to start, let's talk about what happens to you as sugar enters your body. When you drink sodas that are packed with simple sugars, the pancreas is called upon to produce and release insulin, a hormone that empties the sugar in your blood stream into all the tissues and cells for usage. The result of overindulging in simple sugar is raised insulin levels. Raised blood insulin levels beyond the norm can lead to depression of the immune system, which in turn weakens your ability to fight disease.
Something else to consider is that most of the excess sugar ends up being stored as fat in your body, which results in weight gain and elevates risk for heart disease and cancer. One study found that when subjects were given refined sugar, their white blood cell count decreased significantly for several hours afterwards. Another study discovered that rats fed a high-sugar diet had a substantially elevated rate of breast cancer when compared to rats on a regular diet.
Swine flu has caused at least 19 more children's deaths � the largest one-week increase since the pandemic started in April, health officials said Friday.
At least 114 children have died from swine flu complications since the spring, up from 95 reported a week earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to release the last of its stockpile of liquid Tamiflu for children because of reported shortages of the swine flu treatment. Enough to treat some 234,000 children is being released.
"We didn't see a reason to keep it in reserve when we have so much illness in children now," CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden said at a news conference.
The government sent some of the stockpile to states in the spring and more earlier this month. To replenish the supply, the government has ordered more from Tamiflu's manufacturer, Switzerland-based Roche Holdings, he added. But that medicine is not expected to come in until early next year.
Pharmacies are able to convert adult Tamiflu capsules � which are in good supply � to pediatric doses, he added.
The 19 new deaths in children under 18 represent lab-confirmed cases reported in the week ending Oct. 23. The CDC also received three other reports of children dying from flu. Those are also believed to be swine flu fatalities but those cases didn't undergo full lab-testing to confirm that.
The increase probably reflects the rise in illnesses that have been seen in many parts of the country this month, and the numbers are expected to get worse, Frieden said.
In the past two months, health officials have seen more reports of flu hospitalizations in non-elderly people than they normally do in entire six-month flu seasons, he added.
Swine flu is more widespread now than it's ever been, with 48 states now reporting widespread flu activity. The only states without widespread flu are Hawaii and South Carolina.
Except for children, CDC officials do not keep an exact count of all U.S. swine flu deaths, but say the number has surpassed 1,000. They don't have a tally of all swine flu illnesses, either, but say many millions have been at least mildly sickened by the virus since it was first identified in April.
Each year 50 to 100 American children die from complications of seasonal flu, which tends to hit the elderly the hardest. Seasonal flu kills an estimated 36,000 Americans annually.
The swine flu vaccination program that began Oct. 5 is picking up, Frieden said Friday. Initially there were only a trickle of doses, frustrating worried people cross the country. But manufacturers have been releasing more doses, and now nearly 27 million doses are available for shipment, up from 16 million a week ago.
According to preliminary information, about half of those vaccinated so far are children and half are non-elderly adults. A very small percentage are elderly. That's appropriate, because many elderly people seem to have some immunity to the virus and so are not considered a priority group for the limited vaccine doses.
At the first house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the second house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the third house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the fourth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the fifth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!
At the sixth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the seventh house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
7 candied apples,
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the eighth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
8 chewy caramels,
7 candied apples,
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the ninth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
9 orange gumdrops,
8 chewy caramels,
7 candied apples,
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the tenth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
10 shiny pennies,
9 orange gumdrops,
8 chewy caramels,
7 candied apples,
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the eleventh house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
11 creamy nougats,
10 shiny pennies,
9 orange gumdrops,
8 chewy caramels,
7 candied apples,
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
At the twelfth house on Halloween my neighbor gave to me...
12 cherry bonbons,
11 creamy nougats,
10 shiny pennies,
9 orange gumdrops,
8 chewy caramels,
7 candied apples,
6 peanut clusters,
5 POPCORN BALLS!!!,
4 peppermints,
3 sticks of gum,
2 lollipops &
a large piece of chocolate taffy.
Using butter or margarine, lightly grease the sides and bottom of a medium saucepan.
Place the sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in the saucepan.
Stir constantly over medium heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 12 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the baking chips and marshmallows until melted.
Stir in the nuts and vanilla.
Pour into an 8-inch square pan that has been lined with foil and greased.
Chill mixture until set.
Cut into small squares to serve.
WASHINGTON � President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect noninfected patients.
The declaration, signed Friday night and announced Saturday, comes with the disease more prevalent than ever in the country and production delays undercutting the government's initial, optimistic estimates that as many as 120 million doses of the vaccine could be available by mid-October.
Health authorities say more than 1,000 people in the United States, including almost 100 children, have died from the strain of flu known as H1N1, and 46 states have widespread flu activity. So far only 11 million doses have gone out to health departments, doctor's offices and other providers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials.
Administration officials said the declaration was a pre-emptive move designed to make decisions easier when they need to be made. Officials said the move was not in response to any single development.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius now has authority to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers if hospitals seek permission.
Some hospitals have opened drive-thrus and drive-up tent clinics to screen and treat swine flu patients. The idea is to keep infectious people out of regular emergency rooms and away from other sick patients.
Hospitals could modify patient rules � for example, requiring them to give less information during a hectic time � to quicken access to treatment, with government approval, under the declaration.
It also addresses a financial question for hospitals � reimbursement for treating people at sites not typically approved. For instance, federal rules do not allow hospitals to put up treatment tents more than 250 yards away from the doors; if the tents are 300 yards or more away, typically federal dollars won't go to pay for treatment.
Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the Fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death.
Jack o' Lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday.
Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings!
Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes.
Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America.
The ancient Celts thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human.
Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States.
Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers #1.
Halloween is the 2nd most commercially successful holiday, with Christmas being the first.
Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the roman harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.
Black cats were once believed to be witch's familiars who protected their powers.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup water
salt to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn
DIRECTIONS
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, corn syrup, butter and water. Stir and heat to hard-crack stage or 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Remove from heat, add vanilla ; mix well.
Pour slowly over popped popcorn while stirring. Wait 5 minutes and shape into 3 inch round balls.
"Samhain was the Celtic God of the Dead, worshipped by the Druids with dreadful bloody sacrifices at Halloween."
As for Samhain being the "lord of the dead," this is a gross fallacy that seems to have been perpetuated in the late 18th and 19th centuries. There is no historic or archeological evidence of any Celtic deity of the dead named "Samhain." The names of about 350 Celtic deities are known and Samhain is not found among them. The Dictionary of the Gaelic Language says that "samhuinn" (the Scots Gaelic spelling> means "summers end."
"Halloween is a rite with pagan, demonic roots."
Halloween did not originate as a Satanic festival, but was religious in nature (the Celtic faith of the ancient Druids). The Celts did not actually have demons or the devil in their belief system. Halloween's association with Satanic worship is a modern phenomenon. There is a big difference between Paganism and Satanism. Pagans are people who believe in more than one god. Some modern day pagans call themselves "Wiccans." Pagans do not worship Satan or the devil. Pagans believe in powers (spirits and gods) which they "ask" to do things.
Satanists are worshippers of Satan. They believe in Satan and demons which they "demand" to do things. The Celts were pagans, not Satanists. There is no original evidence to indicate that Samhain was any more Satanic than pagan harvest festivals of other religions, like the Romans or the Greeks. The Celts did believe in gods, giants, monsters, spirits, fairies, and elves, but these were not considered evil ... so much as they were dangerous. The fairies, for example, were often considered hostile and menacing to humans because they were seen as being resentful of men taking over their lands. On the night of Samhain, the fairies would sometimes trick humans into becoming lost in the numerous fairy mounds, or "sidhe," where they would be trapped forever.
"Evil Druids would go from castle to castle, seeking virgin princesses to rape and sacrifice to the "lord of death," leaving carved pumpkins illuminated by candles (made from human fat) for those who cooperated, and arranging demonic assassinations for those who refused to give them what they wanted."
There is absolutely "no" evidence anywhere (from tradition, Celtic texts, or archaeology) that these events ever occurred.
There is a general agreement among historians that the Celts did in fact practice some form of human sacrifice, but then, most cultures at that stage of development did. The Celts sacrifices seem to have been limited to criminals, prisoners-of-war, or volunteers. Today, we still sacrifice humans, mostly "criminals," but we now call it the "death penalty."
The finds in the peat bogs of apparent human sacrifices (or judicial killings) are mostly in Germanic territories, not Celtic.
The pumpkin is a New World plant that never grew in Europe until modern times, so it could not have possibly ever been used to make "carvings illuminated by candles."
What is a pumpkin? A pumpkin is a kind of squash, and a member of the gourd family. Technically, the pumpkin itself is a fruit, although we use it as a vegetable in our cooking.
Pumpkin seeds are planted in groups called hills. The pumpkins are green or yellow when they are immature. They are not harvested until the skin is orange and tough, about 120 days after seeding, and they must be picked before a heavy frost occurs.
Pumpkins grow on vines which crawl along the ground. Melons, cucumbers, zucchini and gourds also grow on vines.
Pumpkins have been around a long time. Pumpkin seeds dating back to 7,000 B.C. have been found in caves in Mexico. Pumpkins were eaten in Africa, China and India in the 6th century.
Among the first to raise pumpkins were the American Indians. They cut pumpkins into rings and dried them to keep during the winter.
Pumpkin has been made into soups, stews, bread, pickles, pies, puddings, ice cream, and even beer or ale!
According to the Guiness Book of World Records, Jerry Ayers carved a ton of pumpkins in a record-setting 7 hours, 11 minutes on Oct. 16, 1999, at Kickman Farms in Ohio. Each pumpkin featured eyes, ears, a nose, mouth and eyebrows.
Pumpkin Nut Bars
1 cup cooked pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
1/2 cup butter or margarine (melted)
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
2 cups oats
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped salted peanuts, pecans, or almonds
Preheat oven to 350�F. In a large bowl, beat egg whites slightly; add pumpkin and melted butter or margarine beat until smooth.
In another bowl combine oats, brown sugar, coconut, wheat germ, and nuts.
Fold oat mixture into pumpkin mixture to form stiff dough.
Press dough into a lightly greased 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 inch jelly roll pan.
Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. While still warm, cut into bars.
Orange and black are the colors of Halloween because orange is associated with the fall harvest and black is the color of darkness.
There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with Orange.
Turnips and Beets once served as the original Jack O' Lanterns.
Halloween is the second most commercially successful Holiday with Christmas being the first.
According to superstition if you stand in front of a mirror at midnight, you'll see the reflection of your future spouse just over your left shoulder.
You can sprinkle salt and oatmeal on your child's head to keep him or her from being possessed.
In England, white cats instead of black ones are thought to be bad luck.
Harry Houdini died on Halloween, in 1926 from peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix.
Burning a candle inside a Jack O' Lantern on Halloween is believed to keep demons and evil spirits at bay.
Put your clothes on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween night to meet a witch.
Gazing into the flame of a candle on Halloween night will allow you to see into the future.
If you hear footsteps behind you on Halloween night don't turn around, for it may be Death himself! And to look him in the eye is a sure way to hasten your own demise.
If a bat flies around a house three times, it is considered to be a death omen
Ingredients:
1 package 1 package yellow cake mix
1 can (16oz) solid pack pack pumpkin
1 can (12oz) evaporated milk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter
whipped topping
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Preparation Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease bottom of 9x13 pan.
Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in large bowl.
Pour into pan.
Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture.
Top with pecans.
Drizzle with melted butter.
Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden.
Cool
Serve with whipped topping.
TEHRAN, Iran � Iran's president hit back Saturday at President Barack Obama's accusation that his country had sought to hide its construction of a new nuclear site, arguing that Tehran reported the facility to the U.N. even earlier than required.
The Iranian president defended his government's actions as the head of the U.N.'s nuclear monitoring agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, arrived Saturday to arrange an inspection of the uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom.
The revelation that Iran has been building a new nuclear plant has heightened the concern of the U.S. and many of its allies, which suspect Tehran is using a civilian nuclear program as a cover for developing a weapons-making capability. Iran denies such an aim, saying it only wants to generate energy.
Obama and the leaders of France and Britain accused Iran of keeping the construction hidden from the world for years. The U.S. president said last month that Iran's actions "raised grave doubts" about its promise to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes only.
ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has also said Tehran was "on the wrong side of the law" over the new plant and should have revealed its plans as soon as it decided to build the facility.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad challenged that view in a speech Saturday, saying that Iran voluntarily revealed the facility to the IAEA in a letter on Sept. 21. He said that was one year earlier than necessary under the agency's rules.
"The U.S. president made a big and historic mistake," Iranian state TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. "Later it became clear that (his) information was wrong and that we had no secrecy."
Iran agreed to allow U.N. inspectors into the facility at a landmark meeting with six world powers near Geneva on Thursday that put nuclear talks back on track and included the highest-level bilateral contact with the U.S. in three decades.
Iranian officials argue that under IAEA safeguard rules, a member nation is required to inform the U.N. agency about the existence of a nuclear facility six months before introducing nuclear material into the machines. Iran says the new facility won't be operational for 18 months, and so it has not violated any IAEA requirements.
The IAEA has said that Iran is obliged under the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to notify the organization when it begins to design a new nuclear facility.
Iran says it voluntarily implemented the Additional Protocol for 2 1/2 years as a confidence-building gesture, but its parliament passed legislation in 2007 forcing the government to end such cooperation after the country was referred to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions over its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
The IAEA has countered by saying that a government cannot unilaterally abandon such an agreement.
Suspicion that Iran's newly revealed nuclear site was meant for military purposes was heightened by its location, at least partly inside a mountain and next to a military base.
Iran has said it built the facility in such a way only to ensure continuity of its nuclear activities in case of an attack.
"Some are allowing themselves to threaten our legal facilities with military attack, and so we are going to come up with security measures for our nuclear facilities," Iran's senior nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said Friday after returning from the talks in Switzerland. "One of them is that we need to have a facility for uranium enrichment with a higher level of security and that's why we decided to establish the new facility that is under construction."
An IAEA spokesman said that in addition to the new nuclear facility, ElBaradei will also discuss a plan to allow Russia to take some of Iran's processed uranium and enrich it to higher levels to fuel a research reactor in Tehran.
Western officials said Iran agreed to the plan at Thursday's meeting, a potentially significant move that would show greater flexibility by both sides.
Obama noted the deal in comments on the meeting. But Mehdi Saffare, Iran's ambassador to Britain and a member of the Iranian delegation at the talks, said Iran had not yet agreed to such a plan.
The Obama administration, together with the U.S. Congress, is drawing up plans for tough new sanctions if the talks with Iran show signs of faltering. Obama said the new penalties could target Iran's energy, financial and telecommunications sectors.
A congressional committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the possibility of expanding sanctions to cover a wider range of financial transactions, including a new ban on exporting refined petroleum to Iran
AP - Oct 2, 6:21 am EDT 1 of 99 Olympics Gallery Chicago was knocked out in the first round�in one of the most shocking defeats ever handed down by the International Olympic Committee�and Tokyo was eliminated in the second round.
Rio had played heavily on the fact that South America has never previously hosted the games, while Europe, Asia and North America have done so repeatedly. Now, only Africa and Antarctica remain as continents that have not been awarded an Olympics.
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