What did you do last night? According to the Nielsen Company, there's a pretty good chance your answer is "watched TV." Nielsen reports that TV watching is more popular than ever among Americans -- up to an average of 151 hours a month. And we're not just watching television programming on TV, we're also tuning in on our computers and cell phones too.

Let's do the math: 151 hours a month, divided by 30 equals ... five hours a day. Ouch.

Here's the thing about TV: Unless you've got Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred in the DVD player, chances are you're watching that boob tube in the couch potato position. And if you're like me, there just might be a bowl of chips in your lap too. Five hours of that? A person just might start to grow roots.

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My son is starting soccer practice soon, and I can't wait. Last season, he had so much fun... and I did, too. Parents aren't required to stay at practices, but I attended every one. I think it was good for my son, because I got to observe the drills and skills the coach was teaching the kids. Then, my son and I practiced them at home. It's end up being extra practice for my son and great exercise for me!

Tournaments and games were fun, too. I loved seeing my son work so hard and excel at a sport. It's such a positive environment to encourage his love of sports, work on social skills, and bolster his self-esteem. And I had fun getting to know all the other parents and cheering on our team.

But, except for in the younger set, soccer doesn't have quite the following that other sports have in the US. Caught Offside lists seven reasons that Americans should learn to love soccer.

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My top five veggies are broccoli, peas, corn, squash, and spinach salad leaves. These aren't the five eaten by the majority of Americans, though. The overall top five in this country, according to Canyon Ranch's Connection magazine, are:

• Iceberg lettuce

• French fries

• Potatoes

• Potato chips

• Canned tomato

This is alarming, says the Ranch experts, because these foods have far fewer vitamins than other vegetables. Don't be part of the statistic, they say. Instead, make an effort to eat one new veggie per week so you'll get a wider variety of nutrients.

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You've heard the news and seen the headlines. Apparently us Americans are walking zombies getting less and less sleep every year. This is what organizations such as The Sleep Foundation will lead you to believe. But a study out of the University of Maryland counters this argument saying that citizens in the USA are actually getting plenty of sleep.

Whereas the myth of sleep deprivation claims we're getting less than seven hours of shut eye, the UM research says Americans are getting a healthy dose of eight hours. Why the discrepancy? Well interestingly enough, it may have more to do with funding than results.

The Sleep Foundation gets its money partly from pharmaceutical companies that manufacture sleep aids. See the connection? The University of Maryland, however, funded its research using tax dollars. Not only that, but the myth is dispelled using far more numbers -- there was a difference in over 30,000 individuals between the two surveys. It just goes to show you that not everything you see in the media is 100 percent accurate!

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As I write this post, I'm sipping on my third cup of coffee for the day. By the time I get to bed (much later tonight), I will have downed well over a pot of java. For many Americans, this is a common everyday occurrence. According to a new report from the Center for Disease Control, 70 percent of adults don't get enough sleep at night.

We should be striving to get at least seven hours of Z's, but a lot of times I feel lucky to get six. Around 50 million Americans are all lumped into the same boat though. Back in the 80's, this figure was significantly less.

What's the reason for this sleep deprivation? Lifestyle choices, work, and a myriad of other circumstances contribute to our restless nation. Coffee and energy drinks are peddled like water, and many people strive to put in as many hours as possible at the office. Will this trend continue, or perhaps get worse? It's hard to tell, but hopefully we can learn how to unplug and sleep in the not-too-distant future.

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Do you know there's a link between a variety of heart conditions and the risk for dementia? Most people don't.

A survey of more than 2,000 people nationwide, most of them African-American, shows most people don't know about this connection. Specifically, one-third of African-Americans surveyed reported having high blood pressure and one in five said they had high cholesterol. More than half of these folks recognized that these factors put them at risk for heart attack or stroke but only eight percent knew their conditions put them at risk for dementia, a general term for brain disease that causes confusion and memory problems. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia.

Since African-Americans are at greater risk for heart disease, stroke, and dementia, says a spokesperson for the American Stroke Association, they need to take action now to ward off these diseases. The key? The same key used to prevent all sorts of health problems: A healthful, low-fat diet and regular exercise.

A British friend of mine is always quick to point at America as being the nation spearheading the recent obesity crisis -- to him, most Americans live on little more than junk food. But if he wants to see an example of a gluttonous, junk-food-obsessed country, he needn't look further than his own home, according to this article from The Daily Mail.

According to research, 45% of Britons are addicted to junk food, compared with 44% of Americans and 35% of those from the United Arab Emirates (Emiritians?) The healthiest eaters? The French, not surprisingly.

Perhaps it's time we all picked up a copy of Why French Women Don't Get Fat?

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Sometimes I over-shop. I buy too many bananas, a loaf of bread my family never finishes, even ground turkey meat that sits in the fridge beyond it's expiration date. Sadly, these foods end up tossed in the trash. What a waste.

As first reported by Kristin Darguzas on ParentDish, American families trash, on average, 14% of the food they buy, mostly because it spoils. Never fear, though. According to this article, there are six measures we can take for storing our food for lasting freshness. Now these are some tips I can use. How about you?

• Refrigerate fruits and vegetables separately. Some fruits emit a gas that speeds the ripening of veggies.

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I was buying glucosamine tablets for my dog to cut down on arthritis inflammation. Then saw some in the drug store for people and thought I would give them a try for the pain in my joints from arthritis. I did not notice much change for either of us. Then I read an article today that glucosamine trials show little benefit against arthritis. The results of 15 trials of over the counter glucosamine vary so widely that industry bias may be a factor influencing the more positive outcomes, concludes a team writing in the July issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Click here to read the MSN health news article and you be the judge.

Native Americans have used cayenne pepper as both food and medicine for at least 9,000 years. It has also been used as a topical remedy for arthritis and muscle pain. So I think I will pull one of my favorite spices out of the cabinet and give it a try to remedy the knee joint pain the natural way. The University of Maryland Medical Center has an article on the healing powers of cayenne pepper. Click here to read their report.

Vitamin D is a nutrient that is crucial to bone health. Older Americans greater than age 50 are thought to have a higher risk of developing vitamin D deficiency. It is found naturally in only a few foods like the oily fish salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines and fish liver oil. It is often added to milk, cereals, and orange juice. But sunlight is the main source for most people. The ultraviolet rays from sunlight stimulate the skin to produce vitamin D. Many Americans don't have enough vitamin D in their bodies.

During the winter, sun exposure is considerably less for the average person and vitamin D blood levels are usually lowest from October to April. Many individuals don't spend much time outdoors, even during the summer, and are using sunscreen as a safety measure for skin cancer. But are we at more risk for vitamin D deficiencies or skin cancer. Sunscreens block vitamin D manufacture and decrease natural production even more. In addition, individuals with darker skin make less vitamin D after the same level of sun exposure as a person with lighter skin. Sunscreens decrease natural production of vitamin D even more.

vitamin D lowers the risk of many autoimmune diseases and also lowers the risk for cancers like colon, breast, lung, pancreatic, and endometrial. Taking a daily 15 to 30 minute walk in the sunshine without sunscreen is recommended for your body to produce natural vitamin D.

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80 percent of all cancers are due to identified factors according to the National Cancer Institute. Which means a lot of cancers can be preventable. So why is the disease increasing and why don't Americans pay more attention to the facts?

30 percent of cancers are due to smoking. Up to 50 percent of cancers are due to the foods we eat. Drinking excessive alcohol raises the risks for breast, mouth, pharynx, and esophagus cancers. Drinking alcohol and smoking makes cancer risks skyrocket as well as raises the risks for stomach, liver, and colon cancers.

In my humble opinion the following basic food facts should be taped to every refrigerator in this country.

Some vitamins in plant foods are known to be cancer inhibitors and dietary fat is known to be a promoter in cancer by helping the abnormal cells grow quickly. Especially animal fat. The best diet for cancer prevention points to a low fat, high fiber diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans and also minimizes or excludes alcohol and eliminates smoking. The best diets are pure vegetarian diets.

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A new study reveals that Americans are less happy today than they were 30 years ago. The research comes from Italy of all places, but it looks at data collected from 1975 to 2004. Can you guess the leading causes of this drop in happiness? The culprits are longer working hours and diminishing personal relationships.

It seems obvious: just look at the drastic rise in medical treatments for depression nowadays! How did we get to this point? While it's safe to say not everyone is a walking puddle of misery, our culture has become increasingly competitive. Not only that, but many people perceive others to be untrustworthy and keep their distance. An interesting note in the study states that it's easier to drop from the middle class to the poor in America than in Europe. Because of this insecurity, Europe's "happiness trends" have remained relatively constant over the years.

However there is hope. For those who think money can buy happiness, the good news is that an extra $320,000 in income will bring the same level of joy as someone who has plenty of friends and social interactions. If you buy into that, then good luck. For everyone else, the fix is simple. Try curbing the occupational binge and start spending more time with friends and family! Finding a happy balance is not as hard as it may appear. Here's to the next 30 years-

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Americans have historically been the tallest people in the world, but a recent paper reveals that this may not always be the case. While many European populations are getting taller with each generation, Americans, quite simply, are not.

So what could cause such a shift?

According to the team of Princeton/Munich scholars that published the paper in Social Science Quarterly, the difference is healthcare. They surmise that the universal healthcare system and greater degree of social security throughout Europe "provide better conditions for growth than the American health system, despite the fact that the system costs twice as much." The scholars also point to American diets as an additional factor.

Whatever it is, it's fairly significant. Today, the average Dutch man is 6 cm taller than the average American -- which is a complete reversal of how it was in the 19th century.

[via Boing Boing]

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Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic-depressive illness, is a condition that affects more than two million Americans. The symptoms of bipolar disorder are thought to be caused by an imbalance of key chemicals in the brain. Although there is no cure for bipolar disorder, medicine can play a key role in helping to manage symptoms and extreme mood swings. It can help make behavior more even and predictable.

Bipolar disease also has an impact on millions of family members and friends. It is tough watching someone you care about struggle with emotional and physical stresses. Depression affects everyone in the house. So what can you do to help out someone that you care about or live with, that has a bipolar condition?

Number one is to know the disease and that it is a chemical disorder and you nor your loved one can control it all the time even with medication. Recognize the symptoms and mood changes so that you can encourage them to see their professional health care provider. Encourage the person to stick with their prescribed treatments no matter how good they feel at the moment. Learn the difference between a good day and a manic day and let them recover at their own pace. Take advantage of support groups. There are several resources available for families and friends of people with bipolar disorder. Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) is the nation's leading patient-directed, illness-specific organization. The organization's mission is to improve the lives of people living with mood disorders.

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In the cover story for the December 4th edition of Time magazine, Jeffrey Kluger exposes the the types of things Americans are worrying about. And we're apparently not very realistic, since we worry much more about things like mad cow disease instead of cholesterol, and the avian flu instead of the regular influenza. Shoppers are now avoiding spinach for fear of ecoli, but then don't think twice about filling their carts with saturated fat, empty calories, and alcohol.

The full article is pretty lengthy, but worth a read. The author gives some interesting history and insight as to why our brains tend to latch onto the bigger, more dramatic (yet much less likely) dangers than the common ones that are killing thousands of Americans every day.

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