Health A-Z

7 Reasons Vegetarians Live Longer

There’s nothing wrong with eating meat if you’re doing so in moderation (I for one, will never give up the occasional cheeseburger), but research does show that vegetarians tend to be healthier overall, and even live longer.

Now there’s another health perk vegetarians can boast about. A new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine looked at data from seven clinical studies and 32 other studies published between 1900 and 2013 where participants kept a vegetarian diet and found that vegetarians have lower blood pressure compared to people who eat meat.

Here are some other reasons vegetarians may outlive meat-lovers.

1. Low blood pressure: In the latest study, researchers found that not only do vegetarians have lower blood pressure on average, but that vegetarian diets could be used to lower blood pressure among people who need an intervention.

2. Lower risk of death: A 2013 study of more than 70,000 people found that vegetarians had a 12% lower risk of death compared with non-vegetarians. With none of the saturated fat and cholesterol that clogs arteries, vegetarians may be at a lower risk for chronic diseases overall.

3. Better moods: A 2012 study randomly split participants into a three diets: all-meat allowed, fish-only, and vegetarian no-meat. The researchers found that after two weeks, the people on the vegetarian diet reported more mood improvements than those on the other two diets.

4. Less chance of heart disease: Another 2013 study of 44,000 people reported that vegetarians were 32% less likely to develop ischemic heart disease.

5. Lower risk of cancer: Researchers at Loma Linda University in California studied different versions of the vegetarian diet and cancer risk among people at a low risk for cancer overall and discovered that a vegetarian diet may have protective benefits. Although the study is not the final say on the matter, vegans had the lowest risk for cancers, specifically cancers most common among women, like breast cancer.

6. Lower risk of diabetes: Studies have shown that vegetarians are at a lower risk for developing diabetes. While the diet won’t cure the disease, it can lower an individual’s risk by helping them maintain weight and improve blood sugar control.

7. Less likely to be overweight: Research shows that vegetarians tend to be leaner than their meat-eating counterparts, and that they also tend to have lower cholesterol and body mass index (BMI). Some data suggests that a vegetarian diet can help with weight loss and be better for maintaining a healthy weight over time.

People who don’t eat vegetarian can still be very healthy, and a vegetarian diet comes with its own health risks. For instance, research has also shown that vegetarians are at a higher risk for iron deficiencies, and some experts question whether children who are raised vegetarian get the right amount of nutrients for their growing bodies. Making sure you get the right amount of nutrients is important, and keeping your physician in the loop about your eating habits can make sure you’re meeting all the requirements for good health.

Source: health and Time

Camels Linked to Spread of MERS Virus in People

A new study suggests that camels are the major source of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, a viral disease that has sickened 182 people and killed 79 of them since it was first detected in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The animals are most likely to infect people through respiratory secretions — from coughing, sneezing, snorting or spitting — that travel through the air or cling to surfaces.

People with chronic illnesses like diabetes, lung disease or kidney failure, or other conditions that weaken their immunity, seem to be most susceptible, and should avoid close contact with camels, researchers say.

Saudi Arabia has had the most cases, other Middle Eastern countries have had a few and a handful of travelers from that region have taken the disease to Europe. There have been no cases in the United States. Although people have infected one another, the disease is not highly transmissible among humans, so researchers say that unless the virus changes to become more contagious in people, the risk of global spread does not seem high.

The new study provides the first evidence that the virus is widespread in dromedary camels (the kind with one hump) in Saudi Arabia, and has been for at least 20 years.

Younger animals are more likely than older ones to be infected and contagious. The virus invades the camels’ nose and respiratory tract, but does not kill them. It is not known whether it even makes them sick.

“It would be very difficult to know if they were ill, since these are creatures that slobber a great deal,” said Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, the senior author of the study and a virus expert at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York.

Genetically, the virus found in camels matches samples from infected humans.

The disease was not detected in people until 2012. It is not known whether the cases in humans are a new phenomenon, or whether they have been occurring but were not recognized. Some people develop mild respiratory infections, but in others the disease turns deadly, with worsening fever, cough and shortness of breath.

In some cases, patients were known to have been around camels, but until recently it was not clear whether the animals might be the source. Other cases have been complete mysteries, with no known exposure to animals or ill humans. Sick people have infected family members, health workers and nearby patients in the hospital, but the virus is not considered highly contagious among humans.

Researchers do not know how camels become infected, but they suspect that the virus may have originally come from bats. MERS belongs to the coronavirus family, like SARS, the deadly and more contagious respiratory infection that began in China and caused a global outbreak in 2003. Bats are a host for SARS and other coronaviruses, and studies have found evidence linking MERS to bats.

Source: The New York Times

Night Eating Disorder Signals More Dangerous Mental Issues

Do you eat a lot of food at night, even after you feel full? Then you may want to see a specialist. Researchers have discovered a fairly rare eating disorder whose signature is excessive eating may just signal other mental health issues.

“Night eating syndrome is characterized not only by eating at night–certainly many college students might have a late night study fest with eating–but it’s also characterized by other things, like feeling that you can’t eat in the morning, and feeling like you have to eat in order to go back to sleep,” said Rebecka Peebles

The new findings are important amidst National Eating Disorders Week, which began on Feb. 23. The week brings awareness to devastating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

“Eating disorders are complicated and vexing problems and we don’t exactly understand the pathophysiology of them,” said Aaron Krasner, Director of the Adolescent Transitional Living Program

The latest study reveals a new type of disorder. While it overlaps with binge eating, though, it’s not the same. It occurs in just under 3 percent of students after controlling for binge eating, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t a problem that shouldn’t be examined further. In fact, those with night eating disorders were also more likely to have a history of depression and self-injuring.

“Often times these people are eating throughout the night,” said Cristin Runfola,

“They might even be waking up and feeding multiple times throughout the night, so if you’re frequently hearing that someone’s getting out of bed throughout the night and you’re noticing that food is missing there might be something going on.”

The findings help reveal a bit more about this disorder, and also about binge eating disorder. By learning as much as possible about these disorders, researches can better treat individuals who suffer from them.

Source: Food world news

Homemade Energy Drink : Natural energy drinks

The intention of coming up with a recipe for a homemade version of the store bought energy drinks, but after doing some research and discovering how unhealthy they are for us

A system of three drinks and some energy boosting ideas that are going a long way to helping us keep energy up all day long! Here’s the good on the drinks:

The Fire Hydrant – 3-4 8oz glasses throughout the day

  • filtered water
  • 1 slice lemon
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper

Other than getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night, staying hydrated is the most important thing you can do to help keep your body functioning at optimum levels. So this drink is just water with a squeezed lemon slice and a pinch of cayenne pepper. The lemon not only tastes good, but is also super alkaline* which helps your body maintain a healthy pH level. The cayenne pepper helps raise energy levels naturally and provides protection for your heart by helping to maintain proper cardiovascular movement throughout the body. Combining this with 4-5 glasses of regular water will bring you up to your recommended 8 glasses of water per day!

*For an explanation of lemons’ miraculous transition from acidic outside of the body, to alkaline once ingested, visit this link: http://phbalance.wikispaces.com/Lemons+Alkaline%3F

The Quick Fix  – as needed, during the day
(I don’t recommend drinking it at night as it might keep you up)

  • hot water
  • 1 1/2 – 2 tsp honey (to taste)
  • 1 inch of fresh ginger root
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp tumeric

Cut off two thin slices of ginger and place in your cup or mug.
Use a garlic press to juice the remaining ginger into your mug.
Add both spices and fill your mug with hot water and stir.

This is the closest thing I found to a non-caffeine/refined sugar pick me up! And I find it pretty delicious. Ginger speeds up metabolism and increases circulation. It also aids in the digestive process which can help stave off the post lunch coma that contributes to the afternoon slump. Turmeric, a cousin of ginger, also helps speed things up in the body, including energy levels! And Cardamom has long been valued medicinally for its ability to increase circulation and improve energy. Honey is mother nature’s equivalent of an energy shot and is one of the best kinds of sugars for your body.

The Heavy Lifter– 1 glass in the morning

  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup raw almonds or 2 tbsp almond butter
  • 1 scoop of high quality whey protein powder (low sugar content)
  • 2 washed kale leaves
  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1 cup milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)

According to Dr. Oz, sixty percent of women don’t get enough protein in their diets and that is often the number one reason for fatigue! (http://www.doctoroz.com/media/print/11196) A morning protein shake is a really easy and delicious way to make sure that you’re starting the day off well fueled. Pair this with a piece of whole grain toast and you have everything you need to give you a solid energy foundation for the day.

Source: stumble upon

The 5 jobs most likely to make you sick

Talk about an occupational hazard: 40 percent of Australian workers may be exposed to chemicals that boost their risk of developing cancer, according to a team of Aussie researchers. Solar radiation, tobacco smoke, and diesel engine exhaust topped the list of the most common disease-causing culprits.

While some jobs, such as logging and power line repairing, are inherently dangerous–they rack up some of the highest fatalities each year–your career could be making you sick without you realizing it. Keep clicking for the five jobs most likely to put your health on the line.

#1: Agriculture

Although farmers tend to have lower death rates due to heart disease and cancers of the lung, esophagus, bladder, and colon–likely thanks to lower smoking rates and a physically active lifestyle–they have an exceptionally high risk of other conditions, according to the National Cancer Institute. Among them: leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, soft tissue sarcoma, and cancers of the skin, lip, stomach, brain, and prostate. Why? Farmers are exposed to a wide range of hazardous chemicals including pesticides, engine exhaust, fertilizers, fungicide, and fuels, as well as animal viruses and dust.

#2: Construction workers

Falling objects and machines that turn digits into stumps aren’t the only on-site dangers. Roughly 1.3 million construction workers are currently exposed to asbestos, according to the American Lung Association. Small fibers of asbestos build up in your lungs over time, causing scarring that can stiffen your breathers–a condition called asbestosis. The kicker: Asbestosis and malignant mesothelioma–a fatal cancer also caused by asbestos–can take as long as 40 years to develop after you’ve been exposed to the toxin. If you’ve worked in construction, talk to your doctor about whether you should receive a lung cancer screening, which can also detect these conditions.

#3: Firefighters

Trauma and smoke inhalation must be the most serious threats, right? Nope: Firefighters are seven times more likely to die of a heart attack than smoke inhalation and nearly twice as likely to kick the bucket because of ticker trouble than trauma, the U.S. Fire Administration reports. Blame physical and psychological stress: Firefighters’ risk of heart attack increases up to 100-fold while battling a blaze, suggests a Harvard study.

#4: Pilots

The saying, “don’t fly too close to the sun” takes on a whole new meaning when it comes to airline pilots. Researchers at the University of Iceland found that airline pilots have 25 times the normal rate of malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Cosmic radiation may be partly to blame, but researchers suggest lifestyle factors play a role in pilots’ susceptibility to skin cancer, too. These include excessive sunbathing when they’re not up in the air–hello, free flights to tropical locales–and disrupted circadian rhythms when crossing multiple time zones, which could affect the body’s ability to fight off disease.

#5: Anything at a desk

Despite your cushy chair and ergonomic keyboard, your desk-bound career is hardly harmless. A sedentary job is associated with an 82 percent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared to those who spend less than four hours per week sitting on the job, suggest new University of South Carolina research. In addition to the obvious–inactivity means burning fewer calories–excessive sitting causes changes in how well your muscles gobble up glucose and burn fat. Fortunately, researchers discovered that regular exercise significantly chips away at desk jockeying’s damaging effects.

Source: fox news

Man Has Skin Reaction to Tattoo — 20 Years Later

There have been many cases of people having allergic reactions just after getting a tattoo. But for one man in England, the reaction was delayed, coming 20 years after he got his tattoo, according to a new report of his case.

The 54-year-old man had recently completed chemotherapy for the blood cancer lymphoma, and had just undergone a bone-marrow transplant using his own cells. Six days later, when his immune system was still suppressed because of the procedure, he developed a fever.

Looking for the cause of the fever, doctors found newly formed skin lesions on the red-ink parts of his old tattoo, resembling the allergic reaction that some people experience when they get a new tattoo.

“While acute red-ink tattoo reactions are well documented, a case of a tattoo reaction with a delay of more than two decades has not been previously described,” said Dr. George Chapman, who treated the man.

Although most people who get such reactions to tattoo ink are allergic to one of the ingredients in the ink, this was likely not the case for this patient, said Chapman, of Churchill Hospital in England.

“Given this was a bone-marrow transplant of the patient’s own bone marrow, his immune system should be near identical (in terms of what his immune system reacts to, and what it has seen before) both before and after the transplant,” Chapman told Live Science in an email.

“I believe that immune-system suppression was the trigger for the reaction, Chapman said.

Most likely, the tattooing done decades ago had introduced bacteria into the man’s body, and those bacteria were held at bay by a healthy immune system, Chapman explained. But once the immune system was compromised by chemotherapy, those bacteria found an opportunity to cause problems.

In fact, three days later, when the patient’s immune system returned to normal, the lesions healed, leaving only peeling skin behind [Image of the tattoo reaction]

The patient declined a biopsy, so it remains unknown which bacteria may have caused the reaction.

However, it is also possible that the reaction was not due to an infection, Chapman said. Rather, an ingredient in the ink might have interacted with one of the chemotherapy drugs to form a new compound. This new molecule could have then appeared new to the immune system, and caused a reaction, Chapman said.

The report was published Jan. 10 in the journal BMJ Case Reports.

Source: Live science

Drops Are Best Treatment for Ear Tube-Related Dripping

For children with ear tubes, topical antibiotic drops treat the leaky discharge caused by an ear infection much more effectively than oral antibiotics or observation, according to a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday.

Each year, roughly 670,000 children in the United States have tiny plastic tubes placed in the eardrum in one of the most common surgeries of childhood. If the ear gets infected afterward, clear or bloody discharge can drip out, and a foul smell may be noticeable. This condition of drippy ears, which may or may not be painful, is known as tympanostomy tube otorrhea. In a 2013 study, 67 percent of children who had ear tubes put in experienced one or more episodes of otorrhea in the year after the procedure.

Smaller trials with different designs have found that ear drops are more effective than systemic antibiotics for this common problem. But the new study is the first to include a no-treatment, wait-and-see group, and provides the best evidence to date for the superiority of ear drops for children with tubes.

“This is a big study, very high quality and very rigorous. It’s more of a definitive study,” said Dr. Richard M. Rosenfeld, chairman of otolaryngology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, who was not involved in the research. Putting drops into the ear canal, he said, is akin to “dropping a Scud missile on the bacteria.”

There are two benefits, he said. “It resolves the otorrhea more effectively and faster than oral medicine,” he said. “More importantly, you avoid the problem of resistant germs, which is a major, major problem.”

In the new study, 230 children ages 1 to 10 with acute tube discharge were randomly assigned to three groups: some got ear drops, some got oral antibiotics, and some were simply observed.

At two weeks, 5 percent of the children treated with drops still had discharge from an infection, compared with 44 percent of those treated with oral antibiotics and 55 percent of those who were only observed.

The study suggests that drippy ears in children with tubes might take two weeks or longer to resolve without treatment — a long time if the child has trouble sleeping or cannot participate in activities.

“No previous study assessed the actual need to treat these children,” said Dr. Thijs M.A. van Dongen, the lead author of the study and an epidemiologist at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands.

In a six-month follow-up, the study found that children who were not treated for the first two weeks had a median total of 18 days of discharge, compared with five days for those who got ear drops, and 13.5 days for those given oral antibiotics.

“It’s better to start treatment quickly after onset of symptoms,” Dr. van Dongen said. “They improve more quickly, and they have less recurrence in following months.”

But Dr. Rosenfeld said it was not clear that all children with tube otorrhea should promptly start ear drops. Watching and waiting is an option, he said, if the drainage is not profuse and causes no discomfort, and the child still sleeps and acts normally. Drops can be expensive, and if used excessively they can cause hard-to-treat yeast overgrowth.

Last July, practice guidelines issued by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery strongly recommended that clinicians prescribe only topical antibiotic ear drops for children with uncomplicated cases of tube discharge.

But some pediatricians and family physicians still routinely prescribe systemic antibiotics for these cases. Among otolaryngologists, the new guidelines are “fairly well accepted,” said Dr. Joseph E. Kerschner, a professor of otolaryngology and the dean of the medical school at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. “Still, there’s evidence that not all physicians have gotten the message.”

A 2013 survey found that 54 percent of emergency-medicine physicians used oral antibiotics to treat an ear infection in a child with ear tubes, compared with just 9 percent of ear, nose and throat doctors, almost all of whom used topical antibiotics.

Most children do not see ear, nose and throat specialists first, said Dr. Seth R. Schwartz, an otolaryngologist and the director of the Listen for Life Center at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, so “it’s important that all physicians who treat children with this condition are aware.”

The bottom line is that “oral antibiotics don’t work well” in these cases, he said, and they may cause stomach upset or diarrhea.

In an uncomplicated case of tube discharge, Dr. Kerschner advised parents to say to pediatricians, “’Hey, my kid has a draining ear, how about using topical antibiotics instead of oral antibiotics?’ The child will get better faster and more reliably.”

In children without ear tubes who get an ear infection, drops are not effective as they cannot get behind the ear drum. For those children, oral antibiotics are a common treatment. Lately, Dr. Schwartz said, “there’s a higher recognition that you can treat with observation initially with close follow-up.”

Source: New York Times

 

7 easy tips to get rid of constipation

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Constipation is an ailment that almost all of us have come across at some point or the other. ‘Pooping problem’ is a topic that one hardly likes to discuss.

Constipation basically refers to irritable bowel movements and is a common cause of painful defecation and can aggravate if not taken seriously.

However, there is nothing to feel embarrassed about. Here are a few simple homes remedies to ameliorate the irritation:

Lemon: Lemon is one remedy which most of the doctors recommend. Drinking a glass of warm water with lemon and a pinch of salt in it in the morning not only acts as a cleansing agent for the intestines, but also helps in smooth passage of stool.

Fiber: Consuming food rich in fiber can actually work wonders. So, it is advisable to start one’s day with food that has high quantity of fiber like dried beans, prunes, figs etc. as fiber rich food acts like a sponge thereby preventing crams and stomach bloating.

Raisins: Raisins are also high in fibre and help a lot in aiding digestion and relieving constipation.

Triphala powder: It acts as a great laxative. Just add one teaspoon of triphala powder in lukewarm water and a little honey and drink it just after you wake up empty stomach in the morning. It will work wonders.

Oranges: They are packed with Vitamin C and just one orange can supply 116.2% of the daily value of Vitamin C which provides instant relief from constipation.

Water: It flushes out all the toxins from the body and also provides fluidity for the flow of blood. It is advisable to to have at least 8 glasses of water for a smooth bowel movement.

Never ignore nature’s call: Yes, last but certainly not the least, one should never ignore a nature’s call as it is like inviting trouble for future.

Source: Zee news

 

Take folic acid before pregnancy to prevent birth defects

Folic Acid is An Important Vitamin

Folic acid is a vitamin found in many foods and multivitamin supplements. It’s especially important for women who could become pregnant because folic acid can help prevent birth defects.

Begin Each Day with Folic Acid

There are three ways women can get enough folic acid. They can choose to:

Take a vitamin supplement containing 400 micrograms of folic acid daily, or
Eat a fortified breakfast cereal daily which contains 100% of the recommended daily anount of folic acid (400 micrograms).
In addition, increase consumption of foods fortified with folic acid (e.g., “enriched” cereal, bread, rice, pasta and other grain products) in addition to consuming food folate from a varied diet (e.g., orange juice and green vegetables).
Folic Acid is Good for All Ages

No matter what your age, foods rich in folic acid are good for you.

Even young girls should try to get enough folic acid every day. That way, when you’re older and planning to become a mother, folic acid will already be a part of your diet.

Folic Acid Can Help Prevent Birth Defects

All women need folic acid because it works best for you and your baby early in the first month of pregnancy, a time when you may not even know you’re pregnant. Continued use of folic acid after the first month of pregnancy, and throughout your life, ensures the future good health of you and your family.

Folic acid can reduce certain birth defects of the brain and spinal cord by more than 70 percent. These birth defects are called neural tube defects (NTDs). NTDs happen when the spinal cord fails to close properly.

The most common neural tube defect is spina bifida. This occurs when part of the baby’s spinal cord remains outside the body. The baby may have paralyzed legs and, later, may develop bladder and bowel control problems. The most serious neural tube defect is anencephaly. The baby is born without part of its skull and brain, and eventually dies.

Folic acid also may help lower your chances of getting heart disease and some types of cancers. It may help protect you from having a stroke, as well.

Who Needs Extra Folic Acid?

All women need folic acid, especially women who have had babies with NTDs and want to become pregnant again. If you have had a baby with an NTD, talk with your doctor before planning your next pregnancy. He or she may prescribe a vitamin that contains a higher dose (4 mg) of folic acid.

Getting Folic Acid from Vitamins

Taking a daily multivitamin that has 0.4 mg of folic acid is another way of getting the recommended amount.

However, avoid taking more than one multivitamin per day. Too much of the other vitamins, especially vitamin A, could cause serious health problems.

Don’t be Confused by Labels

Read food and vitamin labels carefully to be sure you’re getting enough folic acid. On the labels, folic acid is also called “folate.” The amount of folic acid or folate in a vitamin or food may be given as either 400 micrograms or 0.4 mg. They are the same amounts.

Foods With Folic Acid

  • Enriched Breads and Grains
  • Fortified Cereals
  • Fruits and Vegetables
  • Beans and Peas
  • Protein Foods

Source: health.ny

 

Top 5 Reasons Why You Get a Headache

Having a headache is no fun. We have all been there. A small twinge can soon turn into a headache, that can be mildly irritating to excruciatingly painful. But what are some of the main causes of headaches? This article will explore some of the reasons why headaches occur.

#1 Lack of sleep

You can normally tell that if you have had insufficient sleep that a headache will start. I know that is how it usually is with me. I can almost guarantee that if I have not had a proper night’s rest, I will wake up and throughout the day, a headache will form. The solution is simple. Just try to get to bed a little earlier and get plenty of sleep so that a headache does not form in the first place.

#2 Dehydration

By the time you find out that you are dehydrated, you will already be quite dehydrated. One of the signs of this is the onset of a headache. So if you have dry gums, smarting eyes and you know you have not been drinking enough water, you are also likely to develop a headache. If you get a headache as the result of dehydration, it will be a more intense headache, and harder to just shake off. Drink water throughout the day. Even if you have already developed a headache, drink plenty of water with the painkillers and continue to do so. It will help the medication kick in quicker and the headache should soon subside.

#3 Eye strain

How long has it been since your last eye examination? If you wear glasses or contact lenses, your eyesight may have changed and you may require a new prescription. One of the first signs you will get is a headache, as your eyes strain to see what is before you.

#4 Stress or anxiety

Do you worry about a lot of things that are going on in your life? Do you find it hard to cope with anxiety? These are both reasons why many people have a headache. A tension headache will often occur after the muscles around the shoulders and neck become tense. It is not pleasant to have to deal with a headache on top of stress and anxiety as well. Try to relax the shoulders and neck and deal with the issues that are causing you so much stress and anxiety. Do not keep it all bottled up. It will only increase stress levels.

#5 Medical reasons

Concussions and side effects from prescription medications are another reason why a person may develop a headache. See your doctor if you feel that you cannot cope with the headaches and ask about changing to another medication that will not leave you with bad side effects. A concussion is not a condition that can be dealt with straightaway. It may take some time to overcome it. A persistent headache may indicate a more serious underlying cause. Again, consult your doctor and be specific about the kind of pain you feel and how long it has been going on. The doctor will then be more able to treat you properly.

It is not possible to avoid all headaches. But you can help to lessen the effects of a headahce by taking the appropriate action. Some headaches seem to just appear for no apparent reason and with no warning. Make sure that when you do feel a headache developing that you have a reliable form of painkiller on hand to deal with the pain quickly. Try to lie down and close your eyes for a few minutes until you feel the pain lessen. Headaches are a nuisance, but they need not take over your life.

Source: Yahoo voices