We have all had a craving for raw cookie dough from time to time, or we want cookies but are too lazy to actually bake them. Hearing that it is unsafe to eat in its raw form has been repeated over and over by everyone, but what is the reason for this?

Raw Cookie Dough

Eating raw cookie dough alone is not automatically dangerous. A great deal of valid sites advise against consuming it in its raw state, predominantly cookie dough that is homemade. The explanation behind this has to do with essentially only one additive that is usually in homemade cookie dough but not always in the cookie dough you find on the shelves– raw eggs. While overeating any kind of cookie dough in the raw may cause you nausea or a stomach pains, it will not cause you any real harm unless it has raw eggs. Overall, raw cookie dough should be intended for baking in your oven, not your mouth.

Cookie Dough Ingredients

So what is the factor that is so dangerous within eggs? Salmonella, the harmful bacteria found in raw eggs, is one of the most prevalent causes of food poisoning in the United States. Generally, symptoms occur 4-7 days and most people recover without any treatment, but in some cases this illness can require hospitalization. But, Salmonella can cause more serious illness in older adults, infants, and persons with chronic diseases. Salmonella is killed by cooking and pasteurization. Symptoms of Salmonella include diarrhea, fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting; all things people generally do not desire.

Unfortunately, Salmonella does not create noticeable symptoms from the hens that then lay the eggs we consume. This, in turn, explains why eggs containing Salmonella go through hen houses undetected and onto our grocery store shelves. When the reoccurring complaints of ailments such as nausea and vomiting began to lead to hospitalization, people began to realize what was causing their sicknesses.  “This is what occurred in the 1980s, when egg-associated salmonella outbreaks in the northeastern United States killed dozens of people and sickened hundreds of others.” After these outbreaks, hen houses began to follow protocols to avoid the transmission of salmonella. Pennsylvania, particularly, helped in extinguishing this illness most of all by creating The Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program. This is a program that obligated farms that were participating in this movement, to test all of their baby hens for salmonella, and increase the sanitation in hen houses by stopping their hens from ever coming in contact with any rodents or other animals that may possess the bacteria, as well as refrigerating eggs at all times to prevent the multiplication of bacteria.

The Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program

Now I’m sure you are all wondering the same question: how likely is it for me to get Salmonella from raw eggs? In the 18 years since the The Pennsylvania Egg Quality Assurance Program began, the percent of harmful hen houses has decreased from 30 percent (from 38 percent to 8 percent). “In 1992, 26 percent of samples from Pennsylvania hen houses tested positive. Today, that’s down to 1 percent.” The risk of Salmonella from one egg was always very low. “just 2.6 per 10,000 eggs from infected flocks tested positive for salmonella in 1992.” In the present due to the help of this program that number has decreased over 50 percent (1.2 eggs in 10,000). And even so, within this 1.2 eggs many of the infected ones are found before placed on shelves for consumption.

So overall, the chance of Salmonella from raw cookie dough, or any other product containing raw eggs, is really low. You should still take precautions when going for a spoon full of cookie dough from the tub, but the chances of contracting Salmonella are very low. To stay on the safe side, I would recommend baking your cookies before you eat them… It tastes better and is safer.

Baked Cookies

When you look at another individual, what is the first thing you see? I know I always look at peoples smile, and most importantly their teeth. Good teeth can completely change a person’s appearance, and white teeth makes a great impact on how you look. So we all want to look attractive, but at what cost? Does whitening your teeth damage them? Are millions of dentists lining you up for financial disaster by whitening your teeth and then filling your cavities? Will you need to install crowns or veneers to hide damaged deteriorated teeth due to teeth whitening? I hope not, this information will be helpful when and if you take the plunge to whiten your smile.

White teeth make a difference

Let’s face it; you want family and friends to experience your true beauty every time they see you. First off, whitening your teeth is safe when used as directed. The American Dental Association suggests you consult with your dentist before whitening, but I always think that dentists would like to take your hard earned cash before buying cheaper products from the store, let’s face it, it’s a business being a dentist. You can pay hundreds of dollars for a professional to whiten your teeth or you can use an “at home kit” that can cost $15 to $80. Here’s what you can expect as far as side effects or complications from teeth whiteners, this goes for at home whiteners or products applied or bought at the dentist’s office. As mentioned in an article from the Cleveland Clinic, two common issues related to whitening your smile are mild gum irritation and tooth sensitivity. People often ask if whitening their teeth can damage enamel, and if used as directed, the answer is no. Most teeth whitening products work in minutes or even days, you can look at www.powerswabs.com or http://crest.com/en-us/3dwhite to see how whitening is quick and easy for any consumer.

A clinical trial was done to evaluate a light-enhanced in-office tooth whitening system in order to assess tooth color and safety, and they determined that after the treatment was completed, the use of light enhancement for in-office whitening leads to immediate color change, along with moderate-to-severe tooth sensitivity during and after treatment. There was increased tooth sensitivity during the treatment and for a short period following the treatment. There was no sign of any safety hazard, when used in small portions, although many people experienced sensitivity.

So go get that pearly white smile, walk down the street and show off your bright white choppers, because in the end, when you smile, it’s proven you improve your own mood and make other people smile back, making everyone who sees you happier.

Be Happy With a Bright White Smile

Everyone loves a delicious candy bar, but no one loves the repercussions: weight gain, tooth decay, over-intake of sugar. Why is it so difficult to engage in a guilty pleasure without the guilt? Despite popular belief, it’s not all that difficult if you stick to the right candy: dark chocolate!

Dark Chocolate

Chocolate is derived from the seeds found in cocoa trees. In turn, dark chocolate is derived from the same beans, though containing significantly larger percentages of cocoa, without the additional sugar and milk that are found in milk chocolate. It’s known as the “healthy chocolate” for a reason. Dark chocolate that contains over 60% of cocoa reaps the greatest benefits.  Now you’re probably wondering what these benefits are.

According to a study conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture, dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure in those with abnormally high blood pressure. Dark chocolate also contains flavonoids, the compound that positively impacts cell-signaling pathways. Through these polyphenols (a group of antioxidants), the risk for chronic disease decreases. Additionally, dark chocolate may help lower blood pressure and provide the body with necessary minerals including Potassium. Low-density lipoproteins, otherwise known as LDLs can pose major health risks. Luckily, dark chocolate reduces these LDL’s while tightening the HPL’s (which the body proves useful).

A Study was published in the BMJ journal Heart, where the researchers looked at long-term health data on nearly 21,000 adults in England. The study showed that participants who consumed the greatest amount of chocolate (up to 100 grams a day, which is proportionate to about two and a half whole hershey bars) were “11 percent less likely than those who ate no chocolate to have a heart attack or stroke, and 25 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Results stayed consistent after researchers adjusted for a number of dietary variables including smoking, age, alcohol consumption and physical activity level.”

Although these statistics may make you want to take a stab at that piece of chocolate cake in the fridge, or buy the pudding you have been craving in the grocery store, it is important to know that flavanol is the most beneficial ingredient in chocolate and some of the unhealthy forms of chocolate may not contain these high levels of this ingredient. “Cocoa naturally has a very strong, pungent taste, which comes from the flavanols. When cocoa is processed into your favorite chocolate products, it goes through several steps to reduce this taste. The more chocolate is processed (through things like fermentation, alkalizing, roasting, etc.), the more flavanols are lost.” Most commercial chocolates are highly processed. In the past, most people thought that dark chocolate always contained the highest levels flavanols, but studies more recently show that, depending on how the dark chocolate was processed, in some instances this may not be the case. Most major chocolate manufacturers want to keep this rich flavor with the high levels of flavanol, and are continuing to look for better ways to reduce the outtake of flavanol while their products are being processed. In the present, your best choices are most often dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate (especially brands of milk chocolate that are highly processed) and unprocessed cocoa powder.

Next time your sweet tooth is aching for a fix, pick up that dark chocolate bar (with high levels of cocoa, of course) and engage in the guilty pleasure. Although some types of dark chocolate may be better than others, It is still a delicious and healthy snack. It shouldn’t make you so guilty after all!

Back in elementary school, my mom would repetitively tell me to take a shower and wash my hair well every night. As I got older I began to question if this habit my mom created in my brain were actually good for my hair. My hairdresser began to tell me my hair was unhealthy and I needed to stop washing it so much. So which is correct, should we or shouldn’t we wash our hair regularly?

washing your hair

The consumer goods company found that Americans shampooed their hair on average 4.9 times a week which is twice as often as the people of Spain and Italy. Even more interestingly, 40 percent of American women report shampooing their hair daily. Angela Lamb, MD, an assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City states, “Shampoo traps oils, so if you do it too frequently, you may dry your hair out, leaving it prone to breakage. Hair produces natural oil called sebum, and shampoo is an emulsifier that captures and traps excess oil, dirt, and product residue, which you then rinse out to clean the hair.” These oils that the shampoo removes are essential for healthy hair.

Two studies were conducted by Dr. Raymond F. LeRoy, MSc published in The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine testing the negative side effects of washing hair. In the first study, ten randomly‑selected samples which were analyzed prior to washing were chosen.  Each sample of hair was split into two equal portions and cut into lengths of 1 mm or less before the experiment had begun. The samples were then washed for 10 minutes in deionized running water, drained and then dried for three hours at 110 degrees Celsius.  The samples were then taken out of the heat and were covered overnight. In the second study ten randomly‑selected samples which were uncut, were analyzed prior to washing  were chosen. The samples followed the same procedure as in the first study, but there was no cutting involved.  Directly after  the washing and drying had occurred, the samples were cut into 1.0 mm lengths, or less, and then put through evaluation. These studies showed excessive loss of calcium, sodium, and potassium in the hair, and the results were even greater for females. In Study 1, females on average lost 21.6 percent of the calcium in their hair, 35.3 percent of the sodium in their hair and 25 percent of the potassium in their hair. Males lost significantly lower calcium, only loosing 10.5 percent, but they were similar in the results with sodium and potassium, loosing on average 31.75 percent sodium and 20.75 percent potassium.

One of the things I did not expect was that there is a drastic difference on the loss of minerals in your hair depending on when you cut it. In study 2, cutting the hair following washing it, women on average lost 49.5 percent calcium content in their hair and 36.5 potassium in their hair, although they lost less sodium on average, with a 22.5 percent loss. Males mineral loss were again much lower, with 15.83 percent loss of calcium, 18.83 percent loss of sodium, and 19.83 percent loss of potassium in their hair. This makes me question why hair salons wash your hair before they cut it.

Getting Your Hair Cut While it is Dry

Overall, It is important to decrease the amount of times you wash your hair, if you want to reduce breakage and have lively, healthy hair. Also, next time you go to get a hair cut, try asking your hair dresser to cut it before they wash it. This will conserve minerals in your hair and you will ultimately have a better outcome. Hair is essential to defining ones self, it is important to keep it healthy and lively!

People often question if taking multivitamins have a positive impact on their health or if they are just flushing their money down the toilet.  It’s a controversial topic since most medical trained professionals have little training in the field of nutrition. In the article titled, “ADA responds to med school nutrition failings“, the American Dietetic Association shows that medical schools often fail to give adequate nutritional education to doctors.  So who do we ask for advice if we can’t rely on our trusted family medical professionals?  I’d like to believe that the average consumer these days are smarter than they were 20 years ago. We have access to knowledge at our fingertips and with knowledge we make intelligent decisions.  When you dive down deep into multivitamins, you find that there are conflicting studies; so how do you sort through them?

Sorting through Different Vitamins

I’m hoping to make it easy for you.  In an article written in the journal “Appetite”, they discussed the effects of multivitamins on mood and general well being measured in adults.  They found a possible benefit of decreasing stress, anxiety and physical fatigue in a home setting when supplements were consumed as normal.  In another study published in the journal “Ophthalmology” , they studied the effects of multivitamins on cataract and age-related macular degeneration in male physicians, I particularly like this study since it was conducted with doctors, helping lend better credibility to the results.  In this study they showed that the incidents of cataracts were reduced while taking a multivitamin regularly; however, age related macular degeneration was not affected.  I think the biggest problem with the negative reporting on multivitamins are that they select particular studies that may disprove certain claims that people make about multivitamins and make wide negative assumptive remarks that cover proven positive benefits.

One of the best articles written to support the benefits of supplements is found in “NutraIngredients-usa.com” showing exactly why most studies and articles written disproving the effects of supplementation are faulty by design.  Multivitamin supplements are not meant to cure disease; they’re meant to help support your body’s ability to fight off disease.

Nutrition in a Capsule

We know that people don’t have perfect diets, we know that most people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables to keep their immune system in order, that’s what multivitamins are intended to do, fill the gap of missing nutrition.  So go to the health food store, buy that multivitamin, and feel confident that you are taking a proactive step towards improving your health.

I’m sure we’ve all experienced those gut wrenching moments of anxious anticipation before delivering a speech or performing on stage. When butterflies overtake your stomach, and it’s suddenly difficult to breath. You’re sweating uncontrollably and are fearful of what is to come. You can consider these tedious and unwanted emotions symptoms of a panic attack.  Throughout my childhood, I unfortunately battled with acute anxiety. Taking drugs such as Xanax on the rare occasion of a panic attack would completely calm me down as soon as it kicked in. I unconsciously took the medication my doctor provided for me, however, I never really understood the true scientific components of the drug that helped relieve my symptoms. How could swallowing a small pill relieve all of my stress?

One Little Stress-Relieving Pill

Surprisingly, nearly one in five Americans suffer from some type of anxiety disorder. A commonly prescribed drug, Alprazolam (also known as Xanax) is used to relieve symptoms of short-term extreme anxiety. “Xanax produces its calming effects by suppressing the inhibitory receptors in the brain and central nervous system to decrease the abnormal excitement in the brain that leads to anxiety symptoms.” (This medication blocks the benzodiazepine site on the brain, and by doing this it is able to hyperpolarize neurons.) When in the middle of a panic attack, your brain fires neurons that is the cause of the symptoms that you experience. The hyperpolarization of these neurons stops it from firing as often.

In a controlled study testing the effectiveness of Alprazolam, a randomized 72 subjects all dealing with excessive anxiety were either given a placebo or the medication. The  test results showed that the people taking the medication had significant decreases in anxiety levels while the people taking the placebo did not change at all. This hints towards the fact that anxiety related medication does indeed help to alleviate one’s symptoms.

In a similar study, Two research groups working independently in Ohio and Colorado sought out  test the CRH levels in rats, ultimately arriving at similar results. In the experiment, research leaders Gray and Lim manipulated the endocannabinoid levels in rats. At Kent State University, neuroscientist Lim Gilman blocked the CRH receptors in mice, ultimately shutting out the stress-inducing component, which enabled them to more easily approach unfamiliar mice.

Similarly, University of Colorado-Boulder professor Gray wondered how the brain responds to constant social defeat. For instance, what happens when a kid gets tormented by his peers over and over again? He mimicked this by placing a rate into the home of another rat, immediately, the newcomer was forced to surrender to the dominant force. In the study, rats who faced repetitive social defeat produced more CRH progressively, which resulted in increased emotions of fear in later encounters. In conclusion, both Lim and Gray understand that some animals deal with anxiety better than others, however, it’s unknown how these differences manifest in the brain.

Notably, research analyst Pam Maras sees evidence that differences in one’s resistance to anxiety occur early in life. In the study conducted above, the more nervous rats began developing excessive anxiety at 11 days old, which would transfer to a 5 week old infant. At this point in life, animals that had not yet experienced anxiety were more resilient to stress as they grew older. Researchers are unsure as to why some species are more susceptible to anxiety than others. In conclusion, scientists have a lot to learn and test before such a drug will be ready for clinical use.

Test Rat

So overall, if you personally struggle with thoughts of anxiety, the current medications available on the market have been proven to aid one’s symptoms effectively. Luckily, more research is being conducted as we speak to find even better forms of medication that will be available in the future!

People around the world love to do their nails. Whether they work in the industry, or are getting their nails done every so often, we are all exposed to the strong scent of nail polish. What is it really made of?

Ingredient lists show the varying toxins throughout nail polish brands. “Chemical ingredients in nail care products range from cancer-causing compounds such as formaldehyde to others that disrupt the endocrine system. Researchers have identified toluene, formaldehyde and dibutyl phthalate” These three ingredients developed the name “toxic trio” because they are the three most harmful substances found in polish and put people at risk.

The three hazardous components in nail polish:

Dibutyl Phthalate: this is the product that prevents your nail polish from becoming dry and brittle and is not only toxic, but is damaging to reproduction. Although the United States has no warnings against it, Canada has correlated it with kidney and liver failure in kids. Many moms polish their kid’s nails, unknowing of this substance, and then their kids suck of their fingers, absorbing this harmful chemical.

Formaldehyde: “The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen”. Formaldehyde can be up to five percent of the concentration of your nail polish, and is shown to have horrible side effects such as certain types of cancer.

Toluene: “Inhalation of toluene vapor can affect the central nervous system causing slight drowsiness and headache at low levels and Irritation of the nose, throat and respiratory tract at increased levels.”

One thing that really bothers me is that there are no warning labels on nail polish bottles; the ingredient list is so small you can barely even read it, and even if you were able to read it most people do not know what any of the ingredients actually are. Reading about these harmful ingredients would not only make them think twice about putting on nail polish, but also make them think about their children and loved ones being exposed to these substances. It is not worth the risk and the United States should ban these harmful chemicals from being in nail polish.

Works cited:

health risks

cancer causing agents

what you don’t know about nail polish

All throughout high school, I was best friends with two vegetarians who always tried to convince me that meat was bad for you. I would think to myself “how is that possible, if you get lean meat it is a great source of protein”. Now, at Penn State, my roommate has recently become a vegetarian, and not only is she not gaining the freshman 15, but she’s getting skinnier! So… is being a vegetarian really healthier for you?

SONY DSC

Being a vegetarian can go either way: It can either be really healthy or bad for you. When eating proportional meals along with balanced nutrition, you put yourself at a lower risk for developing Heart disease, colorectal, ovarian, and breast cancers, diabetes, obesity and hypertension (high blood pressure). This is particularly important for women because heart disease is the number one leading killer of women all over the world. It is harder to get a balanced diet with all the protein, vitamins, minerals, calcium and iron for a vegetarian, but it is possible to do so when you set your mind to it. As for athletes, it is very hard to consume the amount of calories they need in order to preform well and have energy. Being a vegetarian for intense athletes is not ideal, and can be harmful to your body.

7-12

“Heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are chemicals formed when muscle meat, including beef, pork, fish, or poultry”. When these chemicals are placed over heat at a high temperature, experiments have been conducted which show this can cause a change in DNA. This change may increase your chance of cancer. The studies of whether cooked meat and cancer has any correlation are not definitive, but studies have found this to be true through experiments with rodents. When these rodents were fed high doses of HCAs developed tumors of the breast, colon, liver, skin, lung, prostate, and other organs while rodents fed PAHs developed tumors, leukemia, and other sorts of cancer.

Although eating meat is a great source of protein and other necessary ingredients in your diet, being a vegetarian (except for athletes) is a healthier lifestyle when done the right way by receiving proper nutrition. Cancer and heart disease are very prominent in today’s society, so next time we eat meat we should take a second thought, and say to ourselves, “is it really worth it”?

Everyone has watched another person yawn; whether it be sitting next to someone in class, in an interview, or just having a regular conversation with them, and all the sudden you’re yawning too. There is nothing wrong with yawning, nor does it bother me, I have always just wondered why people yawn one after another.

As I began my research for this blog post, I came across a website with a picture of a man yawning, and instantaneously I yawned, too. The phenomenon of yawning one after another is known as “Contagious Yawning”. “A new study from Duke University suggests that contagious yawning is not strongly related to variables like empathy, tiredness, or energy levels”. This means that you’re yawning due to seeing another person yawn, not because of a lack of sleep or any other widely known causes of a yawn.

In 2010 there was a study conducted at the University of Connecticut showing that young children (under the age of four) with autism or autism spectrum disorders were highly unlikely to acquire contagious yawning.

“In a test, 26 children with autism and 46 controls wore eye-tracking devices while watching video clips of people either yawning or remaining still. The researchers asked the children to count how many people in the clips were wearing glasses to make sure they looked at the people’s eyes. The video showed the person yawning only when the eye tracker verified that the children had fixed their gaze on the eyes.” In a regular group of people, almost everybody would yawn seeing the other people yawn, but in the group of autistic children only around 30% of them yawned. This study shows that they are not yawning not because they don’t empathize with others (which was a belief in the past), rather they can only fixate on one thing at a time, not allowing them to pay attention to someone else’s yawn.

In conclusion, contagious yawning has nothing to do with how energized you are; “It’s autonomic in the sense that it stems from the brainstem, way down in the basement level of the brain where certain responses are so inbuilt they don’t even qualify as reflexes”. We have determined the reason autistic people are not susceptible to it, and determined the preconceived notion that they are not able to it because they are unable to experience empathy, to be false

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I have always wondered how people can concentrate while watching TV or listening to music. When I am studying, I need silence to concentrate, otherwise I do not retain information and I am unable to think to my best ability. My sister on the other hand has always been a great student, and she told me that she couldn’t study or do homework without the music on. When I heard this I was shocked because I didn’t think it was possible to be better at something while multitasking rather than concentrating solely on one thing. In 9^th grade, I had a teacher who played classical music when we took exams, thinking this would be beneficial. People have different views on this topic, but I cannot seem to understand how multitasking (listening to music while completing a task such as homework) can be better than focusing on one thing at a time.

When you listen to music with lyrics, you are activating language-processing centers of the brain. This means that while you are trying to concentrate on one thing, you may not even realize it but you are also concentrating on the lyrics to the song you are listening to. This can cause confusion and can lead to less concentration and difficulty retaining information.

I decided to take this matter into my own hands. I went down to our Penn State school library and asked a bunch of students with their headphones in, why they listened to music while they were studying. One student, Olivia, said “because it makes me relaxed and when I am relaxed I can focus better on my studies”. This was the only response that seemed logical to me. I then asked her if she knew that, through studies, it was shown that you retain less information while listening to music, if she would still continue to do so while doing work? She replied Yes, because I personally think it helps me.

For people, such as Olivia, who feel that music helps them relax, there are other alternatives to help soothe you than listening to music during your homework/study time. Perham explains that you should listen to music before getting to work, to engage what’s known as the “arousal and mood effect.” If you hare happy before you get to work, studies have shown that this can lead to positive results in studying and completing assignments.

Lastly, there has been a study done referred to as the “Mozart Effect” which is “a set of research results indicating that listening to Mozart’s music may induce a short-term improvement on the performance of certain kinds of mental tasks known as ‘spatial-temporal reasoning’”. Listening to music without lyrics has a positive effect on your study habits, which is how the Mozart Effect was founded. If you are the kind of person who thinks that they cannot complete a task without listening to music, try switching to Mozart, or any other classical form of music without lyrics. Although the studies say that listening to Mozart while studying will help improve your grades, I personally feel that I benefit from silence; you need to enjoy what you are listening to and complete your own miniature study to see what is right for you. I have realized that what my 9^th grade teacher was trying to do was implement the Mozart Effect on us. Even though it was distracting to me, it improved the classes scores on tests overall.

Studying while listening to music is not beneficial when there are lyrics because it activates the language-processing centers of the brain but listening to music without lyrics can be quite beneficial to some people. What works for you?

As college has begun, the freshman 15 scare has gotten to our whole class, I started to think that it was time to begin jogging and exercising. I have never been into athletics, or any type of working out, but I have realized that it is not that I am unable to run a mile, but that the cramps in my side are getting in my way. While I was skimming through a magazine, I came across an article entitled “What Your Exercise Cramps Are Trying to Tell You About Your Body”. I learned that the sort of cramp I was experiencing is referred to as “Side Stitching”. There is no certainty of why these sort of cramps occur, but there are helpful tricks to relieve this pain.

Side Stitches are often occurring due to a lack of air within your body. “Stop, and raise your arms above your head to allow more oxygen to get to the muscle of the thoracic cavity, or apply pressure with your hands to the location of pain and inhale and exhale slowly and deeply.” Says Angelo Marsella, a weightlifting coach and athletic trainer. ”The side pain is a little alarm alerting you about your breathing” Jeff Galloway, a 1972 Olympian, says. I decided to test this theory in my own time. As I was jogging on the tredmill and, of course, a cramp came along, I attempted the technique suggested by Marsella. I had had relief on the first time around, but the cramp kept coming back. The technique was helpful, but was not sufficient in allowing me to complete my workout.

Another theory on how to prevent side cramps from occurring is to stop eating large meals or sugary drinks before or during exercise. This came as shocking information to me because I always drink Gatorade when I exercise, which is a possible attribute to my discomfort.

Lastly, it is thought that a potential cause for side stitches is that the person experiencing side cramps has irritation on their ligaments and their membrane. Because these hold your muscles together, it is possible that it can cause someone to experience side cramps. This is caused by eating anything too quickly before working out, and is only a prominent factor in certain types of exercise such as horse back riding.

Although it is uncertain the cause of a side stitch, there are many ways to help prevent and deal with them. It is important to not let these cramps keep you away from being fit and healthy, rather allow you to strive to overcome them.

Hi everyone! I’m Jessica Greenhut…

I am very interested in how the world is changing through science everyday; but I am not a scientist. I have always been fascinated by what a researcher is capable of and wish I had that sort of talent; however, my talents are strong suited within the creative field.

I have always been interested in developing new product ideas and how to expand upon, and market them. During my last two years of high school, I participated in a “Shark Tank” competition in which students pitched different inventions to a panel of judges. In my junior year, I had come up with the concept of a breathalyzer (called “Boozinga”) that connects to the user’s smart phone and not only measures his or her blood alcohol level, but uses an application to notify a select group of friends that the user needs help. Our team came in 1st place, the product is patent-pending, and we are now working to bring Boozinga to market.

Although I may not be suited for the field of science, I have other strong attributes in the field of communications. As an advertising major and potentially a business minor, I am able to receive an education within a field full of creative talent, which will allow me to strive for success. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I recognize how quickly our world is changing. But a progressive mass communications education, combined with an entrepreneurial education, will allow me to stay one step ahead.

Science is a field of new and innovative ideas, but it is not my passion and therefore that is why I am not a science major. This course will allow me to fulfill my general science requirement and let me move forward with my passions in life.

To sum this all up, I am not a science major because creating and developing new ideas has always been my calling.

.This is my Patent-Pending idea

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