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Focus – the differentiating factor

On the 29^th of June, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake beat world record holder Usain Bolt by 0.11 seconds at the Jamaican national championships. It’s still anyone’s race, and there are at least 5 sprinters out there who can potentially dethrone Bolt.

That being said, it’s not that far out to wonder what would happen if you lined up 10 different sprinters with matching genetics and technical skill to boot, and race for a winner? Who would have the edge? What pushes one competitor to outperform or out last his or her opponent when it comes down to the white line?

It’s been proved time and time again by champions that their edge, that one advantage that they leverage the hell out of, that spark, sits deep inside their conscious beings.

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We’ve all felt it at some time or the other! Feeling blue is a colourful (pun intended) way used to describe a low mood. It’s indicative of a depressed state of mind and though it may not be severe, being aware of such a state is the first step towards overcoming it.

Sometimes we unconsciously get past the state and are able to get back to normal, but sometimes we need a little help seeing the sunnier side of life again. People have different ways of dealing with ‘the blues’. Finally, doing something that will make you feel good and positive is the simplest route to happiness. Careful though! Resorting to any unhealthy or unnatural way of dealing with the feeling might have serious health and social implications.

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Colorful vegetables are often promoted as top nutrient sources, but leading nutrition scientists have revealed that potatoes and other white vegetables are just as important to a healthy diet as their colorful cousins in the produce aisle.

Authors of a scientific supplement published in the peer-reviewed journal, Advances in Nutrition, explore the state of nutrition science on white vegetables, especially potatoes, in supporting a healthy, well-balanced diet.

“It`s recommended that the variety of fruits and vegetables consumed daily should include dark green and orange vegetables, but no such recommendation exists for white vegetables, even though they are rich in fiber, potassium and magnesium,” said the supplement’s editor Connie Weaver, PhD, distinguished professor of nutrition science at Purdue University.

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Yogacharya Sandeep, a yoga instructor and a yoga psychologist, is from Bihar Yoga Bharathi, a yoga educational institution, dedicated to the study and practice of yoga, in the gurukul tradition.

He has developed specific corporate training programs to meet the requirements of the modern professionals, customised modules for schools and also personal training programs. A few modules are on stress management, improving productivity, managing work life balance, healing spondylitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, managing acidity etc.

Yogacharya Sandeep answered Sify readers’ queries related to the above in an exclusive chat. Read the transcript below.

How many times kapalbhati can be done.

First of all why are you opting for Kapalbhati? Are you inspired or do you really need it? Kapalbhati is a heating pranayama which boosts up the blood circulative system and thereby you experience extreme heat in the body, and you are not aware your body can withstand this amount of heat.So my advice would be not to opt for Kapalbhati without expert guidance. All the best!! : )

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Australian scientists believe that the South Pacific kava plant could be an effective and safe treatment for anxiety.

In an eight-week Australian study, 75 patients with clinically diagnosed generalised anxiety disorders (GAD) were given kava or a placebo.

Results published in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology showed a significant reduction in anxiety for the kava group compared with the placebo group, the Herald Sun reported.

Kava was most effective in patients diagnosed with moderate to severe GAD.

Lead researcher Jerome Sarris from the University of Melbourne Department of Psychiatry stated that they”ve been able to show that kava offers a potential natural alternative for the treatment of chronic clinical anxiety.

Compared with some other options, Sarris said, it has less risk of dependency and less potential for side effects.

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A recent research at the University of Missouri has discovered that an individual can indeed successfully try to be happier, especially when cheery music aids the process.

This research points to ways that people can actively improve their moods and corroborates earlier MU research.

“Our work provides support for what many people already do – listen to music to improve their moods,” said lead author Yuna Ferguson, who performed the study while she was an MU doctoral student in psychological science.

“Although pursuing personal happiness may be thought of as a self-centered venture, research suggests that happiness relates to a higher probability of socially beneficial behavior, better physical health, higher income and greater relationship satisfaction,” she explained.

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Nothing can be as scary as knowing that enjoying some of the taken for granted popular edibles like the potato chips and French fries may expose you and your family to the risk of developing certain kinds of cancers.

There has been a spate of studies done to find out if there is a correlation between fries and human cancer ever since Swedish scientists tumbled upon acrylamide in foods. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, say that there is a link between the chemical compound acrylamide formed in foods and cancer. One may be exposed to acrylamide through the skin, inhalation or by ingestion (eating). There are several sources of contamination by Acrylamide like through water containing it, cigarette smoking, or workers inhaling it in factories because acrylamide is used in a whole lot of industries like cosmetics, oil, paper, water treatment, plastics, mining, etc, but our concern here is its presence in certain foods.

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One of the world’s most glamorous women had an operation that once was terribly disfiguring — removal of both breasts. But new approaches are dramatically changing breast surgeries, whether to treat cancer or to prevent it as Angelina Jolie just chose to do. As Jolie said, “the results can be beautiful.”

Jolie revealed on Tuesday that she had a double mastectomy and reconstruction with implants because she carries a gene mutation that puts her at high risk of developing breast cancer.

For women who already have the disease, the choice used to be whether to have the lump or the whole breast removed. Now there are more options that allow faster treatment, smaller scars, fewer long-term side effects and better cosmetic results. It has led to a new specialty — “oncoplastic” surgery — combining oncology, which focuses on cancer treatment, and plastic surgery to restore appearance.

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Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie announced on Tuesday that she had a preventative mastectomy after learning she had a gene that significantly raised her risk of breast cancer. Here’s a crash course in the procedure Jolie had and why.

Q: What kind of surgery did Jolie have?

A: Jolie had a preventative double mastectomy, meaning she chose to have both her breasts removed even though she had not been diagnosed with cancer.

Q: Why did she have the mastectomies?

A: Jolie says that she has a “faulty” version of the BRCA1 gene that means she has an 87 percent chance of getting breast cancer. By having both breasts removed as preventive measure, she said her breast cancer risk drops to 5 percent.

Q: How many women have this faulty gene?

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Spending 8 hours or more of your day in office? Then you should definitely be reading this!

A commitment to health has to be a 24-hour thing. And with so many of us spending the majority of our day at work, we cannot ignore the health pitfalls that come with being in an office. Follow these health tips and make your workplace a healthier place to be in.

1. Keep walking. Sitting in front of the computer for hours on end is nothing short of a modern-day curse. It’s bad for your posture, bad for your blood circulation, bad for your eyes and in general bad news all round. Combat this by making it a point to get up off your desk once every hour and going for a short stroll around the office. If you can, get a couple of full body stretches in as well!

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