Boost your chances of having a baby with two cups of tea a day 每天兩杯茶 可提高懷胎機率

(Our Mother's Day 母親節 Series Part 1: Fertility 生育能力 Yoga)

Villagers pick green tea leaves at a field in the southeastern South Korean city of Hadong.
南韓慶尚南道河東郡村民上週二在田地裡採綠茶茶葉。

Photo: EPA
照片：歐新社

Two cups of tea a day may help boost a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant, but steer clear of fizzy drinks, according to a study. It found women were 27 percent more likely to become pregnant if they regularly drank tea compared with those who did not.

However, the same research found consuming two carbonated fizzy drinks daily seems to reduce a woman’s prospects of conceiving — and it makes no difference if the cola is a diet or sugary version. Women who drank these soft drinks at least twice a day reduced their chances of becoming pregnant by 20 percent. There was no effect on the chances of pregnancy for women who preferred to drink coffee.

The findings were based on a group of 3,600 women who were actively trying to have a baby. The study’s author, Professor Elizabeth Hatch, of Boston University in the United States, wanted to determine if caffeine intake had any effect on women trying for a baby.

Hatch said, “We found that women who drank tea two or three times a day did have a 27 percent increased chance of becoming pregnant. We don’t know how they took the tea or if they added milk or lemon, but they had this increased chance of getting pregnant over women who did not drink tea at all.”

(Liberty Times)

 

Yoga for Fertility by Pulling Down the Moon

Yoga for Fertility Moon Salutations are a flowing sequence of yoga poses especially designed for fertility.

根據研究，每天兩杯茶或有助提高女性懷孕機率，但要避免氣泡飲料。研究發現，女性規律喝茶，懷孕機率比不喝茶者高百分之二十七。

但同份研究發現，每天喝兩份可樂一類的氣泡飲料，似乎會降低女性懷孕的可能，而且不管是喝減肥可樂或含糖可樂都沒有差別。每天至少喝兩次這些軟性飲料者，會降低百分之二十的懷孕機率。女性喜歡喝咖啡，對懷孕機率沒有影響。

這份發現是根據三千六百名積極嘗試想懷寶寶的女性為研究對象，研究作者、波士頓大學的伊莉莎白‧海區，希望了解攝取咖啡因對想懷孕的女性是否有影響。

海區表示：「我們發現每天至少喝兩到三次茶的女性，懷孕機率確實增加百分之二十七。我們不知道她們怎麼喝茶，或是有沒有加牛奶或檸檬，不過她們懷孕機率比完全沒喝茶的女性增加。」

（自由時報／翻譯：國際新聞中心）

1. Yoga to cure infertility Video

   

   ► 17:47► 17:47

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Watch Yoga to cure infertility Video on NDTV.com. Yoga is the most natural and effective way to deal with ...
2. 
   

   Using yoga for fertility - CBS News

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   CBS News video: Using yoga for fertility - CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports on how some women ...

Poor sleep linked to heart failure 睡不好與心臟衰竭有關：挪威研究

People who have trouble drifting off to sleep may be at increased risk of heart failure, researchers say. The study followed more than 50,000 people for 11 years. Scientists found those who suffered several nights of poor sleep were more likely to develop the condition, in which the heart fails to pump properly.

Scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology looked at more than 50,000 people aged between 20 and 89. At the beginning of the study, none of them were known to have heart failure.
In this condition the muscles of the heart are often too out of shape to do their job properly — they may be too weak or too stiff to pump blood around the body at the right pressure. People with the disorder may feel increasingly breathless and exhausted.

And as heart failure worsens, it can be difficult to get a full night’s rest - but the Norwegian study is one of few to investigate whether poor sleepers without the condition are at risk of getting it in later life.

(Liberty Times)

難以進入夢鄉者心臟衰竭風險可能較高，研究人員說。這份研究追蹤五萬多人長達十一年。科學家發現，那些晚上睡不好的人，比較可能出現這種心臟無法正常跳動的疾病。

挪威科技大學科學家研究年齡在二十到八十九歲的五萬多人。研究之初，這些人都沒有心臟衰竭。

心臟疾病患者的心肌往往嚴重變形，以至於無法正常運作，它們可能太衰弱或太僵硬，無法以適當的壓力將血液送到身體四處。有這種疾病者，可能會越來越覺得無法呼吸與精疲力竭。
而且隨著心臟衰竭加劇，可能無法一夜好眠，但這份挪威研究是少數調查沒有心臟疾病但睡不好的人，生命後期是否有心臟衰竭之虞的研究之一。
（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. drift off v. phr.
漸漸入睡 (jian4 jian4 ru4 shui4)
例: I couldn’t help drifting off in the middle of that lecture — it was so boring!
(聽演講時我不由自主地漸入夢鄉，因為實在太無聊了！)

2. failure n.
衰竭 (shuai1 jie2)
例: He died of heart failure.
(他死於心臟衰竭。)

3. disorder n.
疾病 (ji2 bing4)
例: The family have a history of mental disorder.
(這個家族有精神病史。)

Marriage is good for the heart 研究：婚姻對心臟有益

Married people are less prone to heart attacks than singletons and more likely to recover if stricken, according to a Finnish study.

Researchers collected data on 15,330 people in Finland between the ages of 35 and 99 who suffered “acute coronary events” between 1993 and 2002. Just over half of the patients died within 28 days of the attacks.

The team found that unmarried men in all age groups were 58-66 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack than married ones. For women the nuptial benefit was even greater — single women were 60 to 65 percent more likely to suffer acute coronary events.

For both genders, wedlock also considerably lowered heart attack mortality. Unmarried men were 60-168 percent and unmarried women 71-175 percent more likely to die of a heart attack within 28 days, compared to their unhitched counterparts.

(AFP)

根據芬蘭研究，已婚者比單身者不容易心臟病發，就算心臟病發，也較容易恢復。
研究人員在芬蘭蒐集一萬五千三百三十名三十五至九十九歲，在一九九三至二○○二年間罹患「急性冠心症」者的資料，正好超過一半病患在心臟病發的二十八天內死亡。

團隊發現，在所有年齡層，未婚男性心臟病發的機率，比已婚男性高百分之五十八至百分之六十六。對女性來說，婚姻的好處甚至更大，單身女性罹患急性冠心症的機率，高約百分之六十至百分之六十五。

對兩性來說，婚姻也可顯著降低心臟病死亡率。心臟病發二十八天內死亡的機率，未婚男性比已婚男性高百分之六十至百分之一百六十八，未婚女性比已婚女性高百分之七十一至百分之一百七十五。

（法新社／翻譯：國際新聞中心）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. prone to adj. phr.
有...傾向的 (you3 … qing1 xiang4 de5)
例: I’ve always been prone to headaches.
(我常常頭痛。)

2. nuptial adj.
婚姻的 (hun1 yin1 de5)
例: The couple exchanged nuptial vows during their wedding.
(新人在婚禮上交換婚姻誓言。)

3. gender n.
性別 (xing4 bie2)
例: Gender equality is yet to be achieved in many nations.
(性別平等在許多國家仍有待落實。)

Backbending From The Base: Intermediate Class

39:28 

Intermediate

Above all else, guard your heart,
    for everything you do flows from it. (Proverbs 4:23)

你要謹守你的心，勝過謹守一切，

因為生命的泉源由此而出。

因為生命的泉源由此而出。 (箴言 4:23)

“No proof” vitamin D stops colds 維他命D擋感冒「沒有證據

Scientists say they can find no convincing evidence to show that taking vitamin D supplements will fend off a cold. The 161 people who took daily vitamin D for 18 months caught as many colds as the 161 who took fake pills.

The study was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
But a leading UK cold expert said vitamin D was useful. Prof Ronald Eccles, of the Common Cold Center at Cardiff University, said it can give the immune system a much-needed boost during winter when vitamin D reserves may be low.

He said echinacea supplements may also help ward off coughs and colds, but added, “Supplements do not work for everybody because people’s immune systems are different. It’s not a case of one size fits all.”

(Liberty Times)

科學家說，他們未能發現具說服力的證據，顯示吃維他命補充品可對抗感冒。一百六十一名每天吃維他命D連吃十八個月的人，與吃安慰劑的一百六十一人感冒機率相同。
這項研究發表在《美國醫學協會期刊》。
但英國知名感冒專家說，維他命D很有用。卡地夫大學感冒中心主任愛爾柯斯教授說，維他命D能在冬季給予免疫系統非常需要的幫助。
他說，紫錐菊補充劑或許也能對抗咳嗽與感冒，但「補充劑不是對每個人都有效，因為免疫系統因人而異，並非一體適用。」
（自由時報／翻譯：自由時報國際新聞中心）

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. convincing adj.
具說服力的 (ju4 shui4 fu2 li4 de5)
例: I didn’t find the ending of the film very convincing.
(我不覺得這部電影的結局非常有說服力。)
2. fend off v. phr.
對付 (dui4 fu4))
例: Somehow she managed to fend off the awkward questions.
(她不知怎麼地設法應付了奇怪的問題。)
3. one size fits all
idiom 一體適用 (yi4 ti3 shi4 yong4)
例: He advocates a one-size-fits-all approach to education.
(他提倡教育一體適用的方法。)

Tara Stiles: Treat Colds - 

► 2:37► 2:37

Regular yoga practice reduces sickness, but if you do get a cold follow this quick routine from yoga expert Tara Stiles to treat your symptoms. 

 Yoga for Colds | YOGAmazing Episodes ... - Blip

► 26:53► 26:53

Episode 198 - Yoga for Colds 

                                                    (more advanced practice)

Be wary of smartphone games damaging eyesight 低頭瘋遊戲小心眼力不保

Candy Crush Saga is the most popular game being played on smartphones as of late. No matter whether you are riding the bus, waiting for the bus or eating, so many people have their heads down, preoccupied “crushing candy” as soon as they have even a moment to spare. Eye doctors have discovered that the number of young patients visiting their clinics has been increasing, with symptoms that include sore, swollen eyes and rapidly worsening nearsightedness. They surmise that this mainly is occurring because people are playing cellphone games and staring at computer screens excessively.

Chen Ying-shan, head of ophthalmology at Cathay General Hospital’s Hsinchu branch, says that the vast majority of his patients in the past were elderly people, and that people between the ages of 20 and 60 only accounted for around 10 percent of his patients. In recent years, however, that number has risen to 30 percent.

The symptoms among this group of people are quite similar, including sore, swollen eyes, as well as dryness and discomfort, while another group of patients consists of young people showing signs of presbyopia and nearsightedness inexplicably getting rapidly worse.

For example, one 30-something woman was told by an eyeglasses retailer to see a doctor because her nearsightedness was quickly degenerating and had caused her to switch glasses twice in 6 months. After the doctor questioned her further about her daily routine, he found that her eyesight was probably getting worse due to looking at her cellphone too often, which had caused her pseudomyopia — temporary nearsightedness — to get much worse.

Chen says that looking at cellphones is worse for your eyes than looking at computer screens or watching television. The cellphone screen is typically only around 30cm from your eyes, and since the screen is so small, both eyes move inward toward each other to maintain single binocular vision — convergence — which is a huge strain on the eyes’ ciliary muscles, he says.

Playing games on your cellphone in poorly lit areas is similar to taking a small flashlight and shining it directly in your eyes, which fatigues your eyes and can cause macular degeneration if sustained for an extended period of time. In the end, although you may not have poor eyesight, the quality of your overall eyesight can be negatively affected and may in severe cases necessitate surgery.

(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)

TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

1. preoccupied adj.

全神貫注的；入神的 (quan2 shen2 guan4 zhu4 de5; ru4 shen2 de5)

例: Joan was too preoccupied to hear what her boss was saying during the meeting.

(開會時瓊想心事出神，沒聽到老闆講的話。)

2. flashlight n.

手電筒 (shou3 dian4 tong3)

例: I couldn’t find the flashlight when the lights suddenly went out, so I was tripping over all the furniture.

(停電時，找不到手電筒，所以我在家具間跌跌撞撞。)

3. necessitate v.

使成為必需；需要 (shi3 cheng2 wei2 bi4 xu1; xu1 yao4)

例: It has been said that war necessitates evil.

(有人說戰爭必然導致罪惡。)

近日最夯的手機遊戲就是「Candy Crush Saga （糖果大爆險）」，不管是坐車、等車、吃飯……，不少人一有時間就拿起手機低頭忙「消糖」。不過，眼科醫師也發現，近來眼科門診青壯年比例明顯增加，症狀包括眼睛痠脹不適、甚至近視度數大幅飆升，推斷多數都是因為玩手機、看電腦時間過長所致。

國泰醫院新竹分院眼科部主任陳瑩山分析指出，早年他的門診病患以老年人為大宗，二十至六十歲族群大概只占來診患者的一成，但近年已經占來診量三成。

這群人的症狀多半很類似，有些是眼睛痠脹、澀澀的、不舒服，另外一群則是年紀輕輕已經有類似老花症狀，或是近視度數莫名快速增加。

例如，一名三十幾歲的女性，因為近視度數快速增加，不到半年換了兩次眼鏡，在眼鏡行提醒下，來到門診就醫。醫師進一步詢問她的日常生活習慣發現，可能就是因為看手機看得太凶，才導致假性近視大幅增加。

陳瑩山指出，看手機比看電腦、看電視更糟。他解釋，民眾使用手機時，螢幕距離眼睛大約只有三十多公分，加上螢幕很小、眼球內聚力要很強，這使得眼睛的睫狀肌要更加用力。

若在光線不足下玩手機，則相當於拿個小手電筒一直直射眼睛。如此不僅眼睛疲累，長時間還可能造成黃斑部傷害，到時候視力雖然不差、但視覺品質可就大受影響，嚴重者甚至要動手術。

（自由時報記者洪素卿）

Happy Earth Day! 並讓您保持有穩定的重心 Be rooted and grounded

Yoga for Earth Day

The earth and our environment are all connected like a spider web or invisible thread. 地球和我們的環境互相關聯，就像蜘蛛網或看不見的線般地密切。

These simple poses encourage your connection with earth, and keep you rooted and grounded (See Well-Grounded).. 這些簡單的姿勢激發你與地球的連接，並讓您保持有穩定的重心。

Mountain Pose, Tadasana山形姿勢

The most basic of all poses in yoga is the Mountain Pose. 山姿是在瑜伽所有姿勢中最基本的Every yoga practice begins with this simple pose. 每一個瑜伽練習都從這個簡單的姿勢開始。The pose encourages your connection with earth, connects you with your own body, and grounds you in the present moment. 這個姿態鼓勵你與地球，以及你與你自己的身體的連接，而且讓你在此刻穩定重心。

1. Stand barefoot on your mat. Shoulders, neck, and upper body relaxed, yet straight. Your arms are at your side. 赤腳站在你的墊子上。肩膀，頸部和上身放鬆，但要伸直。你的手臂是在你的身體兩邊。

2.     Become aware of your breath. Inhale slowly into your belly and exhale. Continue taking deep slow breaths. 注意你的呼吸。慢慢吸氣到你的腹部，然後慢慢吐氣。繼續這樣慢慢地做深呼吸。

3.     Feel the ground underneath your feet. Spread your toes and lift them off the ground. Then relax and let them fall back on the mat. 感覺你的腳下方的地面。打開你的腳趾，並將腳趾離地。然後放鬆並讓腳趾回落在墊子上。

4.     Imagine roots spreading from your feet deep down into the earth. Feel the connection and the stability that these roots offer you. 想像有根從你的腳，蔓延到地上。感覺這些根為您提供的連接性和穩定性。

Warrior Pose, Virabhadrasana 1戰士姿勢

This is a strong asana that makes a firm connection with earth and your body. 這是一個強有力的asana姿勢，讓地球和你的身體連接牢固。This pose strengthens your legs, can help with knee strength, lower back strength, and opens your hips. 這個姿勢同時強化腿、膝關節、和腰部的肌力，並可以開展你的臀部。

1. Stand in Tadasana (Mountain Pose). 站立成山的姿勢。Take a deep breath and on an exhale step your left foot back about 3.5 feet. 深吸一口氣，繼續呼氣，左腳往後離約3.5英尺。
2. Turn your left foot to about 45 degree angle. 你的左腳站立約45度角。Make sure your left foot is firmly planted and touching the ground. 確保你的左腳牢牢穩固地踏在地面上。
3. On an exhale, bend your right knee over the right ankle, so that your shin is perpendicular to the floor. 呼氣，同時彎曲你的右膝蓋，讓你的小腿與地面垂直。If you can, bring your right thigh parallel with the floor. 如果可以的話，把你的右大腿與地面平行。
4. Raise your arms above your head and touch the palms together (as in prayer position). 抬起你的雙臂舉過頭頂，觸摸雙手合十在祈禱位置。
5. Breathe deeply and hold the position for at least 5 full ujjayi breaths. 深呼吸並維持這個姿勢至少5 個ujjayi呼吸的位置。
6. Bend your knees and step your feet back together. Repeat on the other side. 彎曲你的膝蓋並把腳一起收回來。在另一側重複動作。

Corpse Pose, Savasana屍體姿勢

This is an excellent earth day pose because your whole body is in contact with the ground. 這是一個很棒的地球日的姿勢，因為你的整個身體與地面碰觸。

1. Lie on your back on the floor. 仰躺在地板上。
2. Stretch your legs, spread them comfortably apart (whatever feels good for you) and relax your lower body. 伸展你的腿，任意地打開兩腿（以自己感覺舒服為準），放鬆你的下半身。
3. Your arms should be by your side, palms facing up. 你的手臂應該是在你的身體兩側，手心朝上。
4. Breathe deeply and feel the connection of your body with the ground. 深呼吸，感覺你的身體與地面的連接。Sink into the ground, relaxing every muscle. 身體下沉到地面，放鬆每一塊肌肉。

As much as this pose looks simple, it is the most challenging pose. 這個姿勢看起來很簡單，它是最具挑戰性的姿勢。 Try not to wiggle or twitch for a good 10 minutes. 盡量不要搖晃或擺動維持10分鐘。When you are ready roll to your right side and help yourself to a sitting position. 當你準備結束這個動作，往右翻身，並讓自己變成坐姿。

Nice Earth Day inspired vinyasa

Benefits of the Earth Salutation地球致敬的好處

The Earth Salutation is a restorative series of postures that work to repair the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the gastro-intestinal system.  “地球致敬”是一系列恢復性的的姿勢，可以修復神經系統，生殖系統和腸道系統。Meant to be performed mid-day, this is a grounding salutation to help provide continual strength to face the day’s challenges. ，這是一個基礎的致敬姿勢，該要在中午實行，有助於提供持續的力量去面對一天的挑戰。 The Earth Salutation provides a wonderful stretch to your back, legs, and torso as it works to elongate and strengthen your spine. “地球致敬”的姿勢提供了一個極好的伸展，讓你的背部、腿部、和身體伸長和強化你的脊椎。

I found a youtube earth salutation but the quality is not good (too grainy and her shoulders were not pulled back), so I am thinking of making my own Earth Salutation video with some variations.

 Coming soon!

(Translated by Doreen Cheng)