The brain can be trained to prefer healthy food over unhealthy high-calorie foods, using a diet which does not leave people hungry, suggests a study from the US.
Scientists from Tufts University used brain scans to determine that such addictions were conditioned over a long period of time and can be changed through those same reward centers.
The MRI scans showed that food preferences had changed.
(READ the story from BBC News)
Photo credits: (front) TheFoodJunk, (top) Sal Falko, via CC licenses
While on his day off so no one would know, Morris Froscher replaced an 8-year-old boy’s piggy bank. The Florida sheriff’s deputy (pictured above, center) also topped it off with $20.
“The child was very upset so I just wanted to do something that would make him feel better,” said the Volusia county deputy in a recent interview.
His boss got a note from the boy and discovered it wasn’t the first time Froscher had helped while off duty.
Froscher’s file was full of numerous commendations from citizens for deeds like, mentoring an out-of-control child and placing a confused 88-year-old man in a hotel room and calling his family instead of charging him for not having a driver’s license.
(READ the feature story from the Daytona Beach News-Journal)
Story tip from Chrissy Daugherty – Sheriff’s Department Photo
Megan Bratten is not pressing charges against an apologetic thief who stole her van while she was shopping in a K-Mart.
She knew there was a phone in the vehicle so began texting the thief describing how she needed the van for work so she could provide for her five children.
For three hours Bratten continued texting, reports KCTV-5 who interviewed the woman. On her final text, she desperately pleaded.
“OMG car thief people can you just give me my van back!,” she wrote. “It would be epic, the miracle I need right now.”
Then, Bratten was given specific directions to pick up the van, a vehicle she described as leaking transmission fluid.
When she found the van, there was an empty bottle of transmission fluid in the van that had been used to fill it up.
She didn’t have the heart to go to police, saying that “in the end, he really did the right thing.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KCTV-5)
When 14-year-old Victoria Czech competes in shows with her horse, Skip, spectators are amazed to learn that Skip is completely blind. They’re even more surprised to learn that it was Victoria herself who trained Skip to live and thrive without his sight — long before he lost it.
When Victoria was 10 years old, her parents gave in to her pleas for her own horse. They found Skip, a former show horse, through a vet near their home in Chippewa Falls, Wis. The family knew the friendly horse was special. “He was supercool, with lots of spunk,” remembers Victoria.
But, two years after the golden palomino came to live with them, the Czechs noticed that one of Skip’s eyes was cloudy and swollen. After a series of vet visits, the 23-year-old horse was diagnosed with primary glaucoma and, his vet warned, would eventually lose his sight in both eyes. The family was faced with a choice: daily medications to help Skip keep his sight as long as possible, and most likely eventual surgical removal of his eyes, or put Skip down.
Over the next two years the family spent thousands of dollars on Skip’s medical care. They worked to keep Skip’s eyes healthy and pain-free, with Victoria religiously delivering drops and ointment into Skip’s eyes three times a day.
But within a year Skip lost vision in one eye so the vet removed it.
While Skip could still see with his other eye, Victoria trained him to be ready for complete blindness. “She knew she had to bond with him even more,” says Mary. “She rode with him every day, building more and more trust. We didn’t know how long it could be before he lost his sight.”
Victoria says she and her parents read up on how to care for blind horses and brainstormed ways to prepare Skip. They reconfigured the horse’s stall to be easier to navigate, and even bought a horse named Zipper to be Skip’s “pasture buddy.” Zipper wore a bell so he could lead Skip around once he could no longer see. To teach Skip where the edges of the field were, Victoria put paper bags on fence posts so the horse could hear them crinkle in the wind and know where the fence was located.
Above Skip’s trough, Victoria hung wind chimes so he’d know where his water would be.
A True ChampionAs expected, the day came when Skip lost sight in his other eye and it, too, was removed, leaving him completely blind. But he was ready; Victoria had seen to that.
Skip rebounded quickly from his surgery and began exploring his new world without sight. “He didn’t seem like anything had really changed that much,” says Victoria. Within a week, she climbed on Skip’s back to see how he would respond to a rider. “The first time I rode him, I knew he’d be just fine,” she says.
And he was. As Skip and Victoria grew accustomed to a new way of life together, Skip proved he was still a show horse, and then some.
Victoria began training Skip to compete again. She introduced him to Trail Class, which is an obstacle course competition. “Most horses spook with stuff like this,” says Mary. “But he can’t spook. He has to trust you.” And he trusts Victoria. Today, Skip and Victoria are winning championships in the trail class and leaving spectators incredulous.
“He goes through the obstacles like no tomorrow,” Mary says. “And people are floored when they discover he has no eyes.”
Victoria expects a lot from Skip and doesn’t let his disability get in the way. “I don’t let him get away with anything,” she says with a chuckle.
Mary believes the experience has helped Victoria mature and learn important life lessons. “It’s taught her to follow through on commitments. You made a commitment to this animal, and you follow through on that at all costs.”
Vetstreet.com is a pet website written by top veterinarians, pet health experts and professional journalists dedicated to giving you the most accurate information possible, so you can keep your dogs and cats healthy. The author, Caroline Golon, blogs about cats and raises money for rescue groups.
More Stories from Vetstreet:
How Our Dog Lost Her Sight — But Kept Her Love of Life
Miracle Workers: Therapy Horses at Work
10 Things Your Pet Won’t Tell You
A century and a half after Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, one of the most fabled attacks in American history, a 22-year-old Union officer whose heroics helped stop the rebels and turn the tide of the Civil War will finally receive the Medal of Honor.
One woman’s persistence in nominating the young man finally paid off.
The White House has announced that Lt. Alonzo Cushing will receive the award, ending a near three-decade campaign begun by a Wisconsin woman, now in her 90s, who lives on what had been the family farm where Cushing was born.
(READ the story from NPR News)
On Labor Day, 17 years ago, I first hit the UPLOAD button to offer my new website to the world. (In 1997, “blogs” weren’t even invented yet!)
We are celebrating the Anniversary later this month with a midday Meet and Greet in Chicago, Illinois on Sunday Sept. 28.
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Contact us if you would like to be informed of the Chicago details by email. I’ll have some gifts for those in attendance.
Have you been eager to support the Good News Network, but waiting for the right time? This may be it! We are giving away FREE BUMPER STICKERS to everyone who buys a $24 membership. Choose from 3 cool designs. That equals $2 per month for the good news you receive every day. Also included are the inspiring free downloads on the MEMBERS page, once you’ve signed up.
Check out my blog for details.
Thank you for your love and generosity!
A Pittsburgh man whose wedding was called off decided to turn the lemons he was dealt into “LemonAID”, a charity fundraiser for an organization that provides free surgery in developing countries.
32-year-old Phil Laboon, who is a marketer by trade, sold tickets to his pre-paid reception for $75. He expected to raise about $50,000 from the sold-out Saturday event, and from raffle ticket sales on items donated to the cause — all for the benefit Surgicorps International.
(WATCH the video or READ the story from the NY Daily News)
60 veterans stood as honor guard at a cemetery in the town of Gardiner, Washington during a ceremony to replace three special military coins that were stolen from veteran Marvin G. Shields’ graveside earlier this month.
Bill Pletcher led the effort to replace the ornate brass medallions earned during the Vietnam War, even securing a new admiral’s coin, a request expedited by the Pentagon.
Other visitors to the cemetery left coins before the ceremony, and now there are more than two dozen challenge coins, which bear various military insignias, resting on Marvin’s headstone.
Shields earned a Medal of Honor for saving lives during a 1965 battle in South Vietnam, that claimed his life.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KOMO-TV)
Daily fruit consumption cuts the risk of cardiovascular disease by up to 40%, according to Oxford researchers. The findings from the seven year follow-up study of nearly a half million people in China found that the more fruit people ate, the more their risk of cardiovascular disease declined.
“Our data clearly shows that eating fresh fruit can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke,” said Dr. Huaidong Du. “And not only that, the more fruit you eat the more your CVD risk goes down.”
Over the seven year follow up period there were 19,300 cases of heart disease and 19,689 strokes. The researchers found that compared to people who never ate fruit, those who ate fruit daily cut their CVD risks by 25-40%.
The researchers also found that people who consumed fruit more often had significantly lower blood pressure.
In a separate analysis, the researchers examined the association of fruit consumption with risk of death in more than 61,000 patients from China who had CVD or hypertension. They found that compared to those who never ate fruit, daily consumers of fruit cut their overall risk of death by 32%. They also reduced their risks of dying from heart disease by 27% and from stroke by around 40%.
Professor Zhengming Chen, the principal investigator of the China Kadoorie Biobank, said: “Patients with CVD and hypertension should also be encouraged to consume more fresh fruit. Many western populations have experienced a rapid decrease in CVD mortality during the past several decades, especially stroke mortality since the early 1950s, for reasons that are not yet fully explained. Improved access to fresh fruit may well have contributed importantly to that decline.”
The researchers concluded that policies are needed to “promote the availability, affordability and acceptability of fresh fruit through educational and regulatory measures.”
Source: European Society of Cardiology
Photo (c) Sun Star
It wasn’t just the rooftop pool, the indoor basketball court or the 24-hour concierge that made Mara Pillinger want to sign a lease at 2M, a new apartment building in Washington, D.C.
Rather, one wrinkly, adorable four-legged tenant was “95 percent of the reason I moved in,” says Pillinger, a 29-year-old Ph.D. candidate in international relations at George Washington University.
Emmy, a nearly 1-year-old English Bulldog, is the building’s communal pup.
“I spend time with Emmy twice a day every day — it’s study breaks,” says Pillinger. “I just go in and plop down on the floor and play with her.”
Assistant property manager Kaitlyn Luper says at least one resident a day comes by to take the pooch for a walk in the pet park.
Pillinger first heard about the building when her friends sent her news stories about the communal dog.
“A lot of our residents either saw information on Emmy through various media outlets or met her when they toured the building,” says Luper. “While it might not be the deciding factor for them to move into 2M, she has definitely given the building a lot of attention.”
For Pillinger, Emmy provides the perfect balance of enjoying the company of a dog without the responsibility of caring for her own pet while she’s busy with her studies.
“She’s the sweetest thing ever. She’s always happy to see you, always wants to play. She’s always sort of puzzled when she’s not the center of attention — not that that happens very often for her,” Pillinger laughs.
Like Pillinger, new resident Carolyn Belcher, 22, would like to get a dog of her own someday. But she and her boyfriend just moved to the area from North Carolina and know it will take a while to establish their schedules so they know they’ll be home to take care of a dog.
When her boyfriend’s brother told them about Emmy, they thought a building dog was the next best thing.
“It’s kind of nice because it’s like having a dog without having to take care of a dog every day,” Belcher says. “So you have all the benefits of the dog without all the responsibility.” And if Belcher and her boyfriend decide to get a pet of their own, their new addition will be welcome in 2M’s pet-friendly environment.
More From VetStreet.com:
10 Brainiest Dog Breeds
5 Shelter Pet Myths Debunked
Hero Dog Defends Owner Against Bear
Vetstreet.com is a pet website written by top veterinarians, pet health experts and professional journalists dedicated to giving you the most accurate information possible, so you can keep your dogs and cats healthy. The key is a well-informed owner and an expert veterinary care team.
Photos via Instagram: 2Mpup
Tommy Bensko went on the road to primarily in low-income neighborhoods, fixing kids’ bikes for free and giving them a hands-on education about bike repair.
“It’s been amazing,” said 12-year-old Eric Austin, who hasn’t been able to ride for months since his bike’s tire popped. “It’s been like the best feeling I’ve had for a long time.”
He feels pride too, because now he knows how to fix the flat himself.
(WATCH the lovely video above or READ the story from the San Francisco Chronicle)
Story tip from Mike McGinley
At the Elephant Nature Park juveniles regularly engage in cute behavior. Watch Faa Mai enjoying her playtime with a steaming ribbon.
The action starts at 35 seconds into this precious video.
For more information: www.saveelephant.org
I would really love to share our good news story with you.
We are a large family living in Cape Town, South Africa. My husband and I have 5 children – 4 biological and an adopted son, Noah.
Noah was abandoned at birth. He was found wrapped in his mother’s jacket and left under a tree in a field outside a nearby shanty town.
At around the same time, I was pregnant with twins, but sadly at 12 weeks, tragedy struck and I lost them through a traumatic miscarriage which nearly took my life in the process. As devastating as it was, this experience left us changed in a rather profound way.
Talk about love at first sight! When we met him, we just knew that it was meant to be. Three weeks later, we brought him home. He is now four years old and the most beautiful blessing to our family – we couldn’t imagine life without him!
My husband, Jeremy, is a professional musician and singer-songwriter. We often write together, and about a year ago, we felt inspired to write about our story: how two tragic events turned into something so beautiful. The response to this song has truly overwhelmed us. Jeremy has performed it on stages in Holland and Switzerland, as well as here in our own country and it always has the same effect: people seem to be not only moved, but inspired. We have just finished making the music video which tells the story and we are now in the process of releasing the song in SA.
“What you thought was lost can be found – and made beautiful.”
We are currently working with UNICEF SA on a new campaign called ‘Ending Violence Against Children and Women’ using this song and our story to raise awareness for the abandonment problem in SA. We would really love our story to bring a light to this problem and to motivate people to get involved in whatever way they can.
But more than that, we’d love to ignite hope in people who are experiencing their own form of brokenness. The truth is that we can be each other’s healing. If we are brave enough to reach out and be the solution for someone else in our own time of struggle, an amazing exchange takes place. In rescuing someone else, we ourselves were rescued!
Buy the single on iTunes/South Africa – or worldwide at CD Baby.
“Although Mike Devlin was trained as a lawyer, his love for gardening led him down an unexpected career path.”
Devlin lives and works in Camden City, New Jersey, an impoverished city with a lack of fresh food. As a new resident 30 years ago, he became involved in community gardening. Today his garden club and other neighborhood programs provide fresh produce to a significant number of people in a food desert with zero supermarkets willing to operate there.
Get involved with the Camden Children’s Garden & Camden City Garden Club, Inc on Facebook.
(READ the full story from the CS Monitor)
Today is Labor Day in the United States, for more than a century, a national holiday on the first Monday in September meant to honor the work — and economic achievements — of laborers and labor unions. The equivalent holiday in Canada, Labour Day, is also celebrated today.
Organizing by unions, and many workers losing their lives in the 19th and 20 century, helped win standards that most Americans enjoy and take for granted today, including the 40-hour work week, 8-hour day, and mandatory worker safety requirements.
The man in this photo, demonstrating in Madison Wisconsin in 2011, believes the right to organize and form a union is a sacred right — as “American” as baseball and apple pie.
Read about the history of Labor Unions on Wikipedia.
On Wednesday, an overflow crowd gathered at a groundbreaking for an innovative concept to take homeless people off of Austin streets. Alan Graham, president and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the social outreach ministry behind the effort, noted that the day culminated more than 10 years of hard work by people throughout the city.
Community First! is a 27-acre, master-planned project in East Austin designed to provide affordable, sustainable housing and jobs, including 100 lots for RVs, 125 micro-homes and canvas-sided cottages.
A large community garden, bee hives and chicken operations are already up and running on the site.
(READ the story from Culture Map) – Story tip from Linda Cox
A 34-year-old Halifax woman with Down Syndrome had a dream come true Saturday when, with the help of her parents, the Guardian newspaper of Nova Scotia, hotel executives who got her a room when everything was booked, and Shania Twain herself, she got to see her hero perform.
Shallen Jackson, who’s been listening to Twain since she was a teenager, reacted exactly the way her parents expected she would when she got the news that she was going to a concert.
“She just screamed.”
She and her parents didn’t know it at the time, but Shallen would actually get to meet her hero backstage at the private benefit concert for Twain’s charity for at-risk children, Shania Kids Can.
(WATCH the video at CTV or READ the background story at the Prince Edward Guardian) – Story tip from Mark
Here’s a video that will make you smile. A collection of babies laughing – each one different, and all adorable.
Rebel groups from northern Mali have agreed to end hostilities and present a united front ahead of negotiations with the Malian government that begin in Algiers next week.
With peace talks between the rebels and the Bamako government around the corner, representatives from two rebel groupings have signed an agreement to end fighting and work towards a sustainable solution for northern Mali.
(READ the story from Voice of America)
UN Photo
No one knows exactly who started it, but since spring, people who live in Oakland, California have been showing up Sunday afternoons for a pop-up picnic that is drawing families, boaters, runners and musicians to the once-neglected Lake Merritt, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.
Locals say such a display of Oakland pride hasn’t been seen for a long time.
A publicly financed $198 million makeover of the lake supported by a clean-water bond passed in 2002, has created “lush greenways, swaths of flowers, a widened walkway with benches and public telescopes to get a closer look at the scullers, kayakers, boats and birds gliding on the water.”
(READ the story in the San Francisco Chronicle) – Story tip from Mike McGinley
Photo of Lake Merritt in June by Scott Schiller (CC license)
