Quit smoking, get diabetes

Image courtesy of m.a.r.c. on flickr

Ok, seriously…Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up in the air and give in to the inevitable tide of “nothing you do is good for you anymore.” Seems like every time we get our heads around the right way towards healthy living someone has to come along and throw a monkey wrench in the works. It seems as though the list of food and drink you should or should not consume fluctuates wildly week to week, and sometimes the exercise du jour turns out to be more damaging to your body than beneficial. It’s maddening!

One thing we can all agree on, though, is that smoking is bad for you and that if you smoke quitting the habit is probably the best thing you can do for your health.

Right?

Not so fast, sparky.

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“Couch Potatoes” have shorter lifespans

Image courtesy of oddsock via Flickr

We here at ShrinkGeek walk a fine editorial tightrope when it comes to sermonizing about the “evils” of the sedentary activities we all share a common love for. Let’s face it, folks. The chips are stacked against us in the whole healthy lifestyle realm. You aren’t very likely to see an elevated heart rate for extended period as a result of playing games or watching movies. That being said, we also recognize that it’s perfectly acceptable to indulge in the things that we love if we do so sensibly and take the time to balance out other activities that aren’t quite so…passive.

The main problem with this issue is that it is hard to quantify just how “bad” for you sedentary activities are. We all should be able to recognize that someone who never exercises and spends all their time in front of a computer or television is not likely to be a healthy person, but it’s never been easy to put a finger on how much is “too much” when it comes to these activities. Is two hours of television or computer use a night too much? Three? What if you spend all day in front of a computer for your job? There are a lot of hard questions revolving around these scenarios and no easy answers to be found.

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Video Game Aims To Teach Diabetics to Manage Their Blood Sugar

The Magi And The Sleeping StarWhen you think “educational software” what comes to your mind?  If you’re a parent like me you might think of the amazing Reader Rabbit series.  Maybe you think of language education software like Rosetta Stone or the supplemental DVD-Rom that came with one of your college text books.

I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t think of a an adventure game with a diabetic main character.

Well, the folks over at Game Equals Life have decided to try and change that particular perspective with The Magi and the Sleeping Star.

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