Consumer Reports Health Blog: Indoor tanning booths can quadruple your skin cancer risk

Consumer Reports Health Blog: Indoor tanning booths can quadruple your skin cancer risk

The most impactful quote from this article:

"Eager to soak up the sun, or at least look like they have, some folks are getting their bronze on early—indoors. But indoor tanning beds can increase the risk of melanoma up to four times, according to a new study released by the American Association for Cancer Research. The bottom line: Melanoma risk goes up with frequent indoor tanning, regardless of how old people are when they start using tanning beds.
According to the report, the pursuit of a bronzed body has become so popular that the indoor tanning industry estimates that some 30 million Americans visit tanning salons each year. That figure is nearly double that of the early 1980s. Last year the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified tanning devices as carcinogenic."

The real bottom line is that in a pursuit of a "perfect" tan, we are increasing our risk of skin cancer and premature death. All just to look good.

10 deadliest fast food meals

ThatsFit.com list of 10 worst fast food meals

The top 10 deadliest fast food meals:

1. Wendy's Baconator Triple, 1330 calories and 38 grams of saturated fat
2. Sonic's SuperSonic Cheeseburger, 980 calories and 24 grams of saturated fat
3. Burger King's BK Quad Stacker, 930 calories and 28 grams of saturated fat
4. Domino's Bread Bowl Pizza, 670 calories and 22 grams of saturated fat
5. In & Out Burger's Double Double With Onion, 670 calories and 18 grams of saturated fat
6. Arby's Large Beef n' Cheddar, 650 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat
7. Popeye's Breast-Leg-Biscuit, 640 calories and 15.5 grams of saturated fat
8. Taco Bell's Chipotle Steak Taco Salad, 900 calories and 11 grams of saturated fat
9. White Castle's Sack of 4 Cheeseburgers, 680 calories and 16 grams of saturated fat
10. Jack in the Box's Jumbo Jack With Cheese, 620 calories, 15 grams of fat

I love it when you find unusual uses for common items.  The folks at Gomestic.com have put together a top 10 most unusual ways to use soap.  Read more on each of these uses at Gomestic.com:
1. Fish With It

2. Unscrew A Light Bulb With It

3. Keep Pest Away From Garden

4. Keep Pest Off Flowers

5. Deodorize Your Space

6. Clean Someone Else With Your Soap - donate soap to needy around the world

7. Fingernail Guard

8. Flea Trap

9. Remove Wallpaper

10. Detect Gas Leaks

Video Fireflight "For Those Who Wait"

Video: Stephanie Smith "Back To Innocence"

Clean your tub with grapefruit and salt

Here is a great tip from Re-Nest.com to clean your bath tub with nothing more than salt and two halves of a grapefruit.  Read the entire article at Re-nest.com.


Materials
1 Grapefruit
1/4 cup kosher salt

Instructions

1. Halve Grapefruit: 1 medium to large grapefruit will clean your entire bath or shower from top to bottom, including all the fixtures. Simply cut it in half with a knife and you'll be all set.

2. Sprinkle With Salt: Using 1 grapefruit half at a time, sprinkle liberally with salt. Wet your bathtub and sprinkle the remaining salt around the bottom.

3. Scrub your grapefruit around your shower or tub, making sure to slightly "juice" the citrus over each fixture and lifting it every few seconds to pick up fresh salt from around the tub instead of just pushing it around.

4. Rinse: When all is said and done, simply rinse away the pulpy bits and the salt and your shower is as good as new. 

National Bike To Work Day

Today, May 21st, is National Bike To Work Day.  Use this link to find out how much you can save by Biking over driving to work from Klippinger.com.

Walmart recalling coffee makers

Walmart is recalling over 900,000 General Electric coffee makers that have the potential to overheat, smoke, melt, burn and catch fire.  Three incidents reported caused minor burns.  The coffee makers were sold at Walmart stores in the US from march 2008 to January 2010 for about $30.  You can return the coffee maker to any Walmart for a full refund.  Call Walmart with questions at 1-800-925-6278 or visit Walmart.com for details of the recall.

A safe way for your young kids to use the computer

Zoodles is a new Kid friendly way to introduce kids 2 to 8 to using the computer. It is a free browser that runs on Mac and Windows computers that allows parents to scale the computer for each age group.  For kids who can't read yet, there is a picture based interface and the parent can increase the word use based on the childs abilities.  And it does a great job of filtering what you don't want the little eyes to see.  The basic version is free and a premium version is available for $7.95 a month.  Get details at Zoodles.com.

Look for a doctor based on reviews

With Doctor Finder, you can search for doctors and dentists in your area and read other peoples reviews.  This can be a great way to find out about a doctor or dentist before you see them.  And you can add your reviews too.  Find the Doctor Finder at Insidepages.com.

Free song from Tenth Avenue North

Tenth Avenue North has come out with a new CD called "The Light Meets The Dark" and our friends over at ITickets.com have a free song from the CD for you.  You can get your free download of Healing Begins at ITickets.com.

Children's Bracelets recalled

This "best friends" charm bracelet set from Claire's Boutiques is being recalled because of high levels of cadmium. Cadmium is toxic if ingested by children and can cause adverse health effects.  For additional information, contact Claire's toll-free at (866) 859-9281 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at http://www.claires.com/.  Click here to read the recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site.

How much sugar is in that?

Ever wonder how much sugar is in the things you eat.  SugarStacks.com is a great site to show you.  Did you know that 20 oz Coke has the equivilent of 16 1/2 in it?  Wow.  Plus check out how much sugar your other favorite foods have in them at SugarStacks.com.

Another Crib Recall

C & T International is recalling more than 170,000 cribs because faulty hardware could allow the drop side to disconnect from the crib.  104 incidents have been reported.  The do have repair kit that is available.  The cribs were sold under than C&T International name as well as Sorelle and Golden Baby.  They were sold over the past 10 years.  You can call 1-877-791-9398 to receive the repair kit or go to their website: http://www.candtinternational.net/.

How Rich are you?

Every years we see lists of the "richest" people in the world.  And we might think we don't make much and may even consider ourselves "poor".  But how does what you earn compare to what other people make in the world?  Go to GlobalRichList.com, type in your income and see where you fall on the Global Rich List.  It may shock you how "rich" you are.

Spicing up your burger can make it healthier

With spring upon us, who doesn't like a juicy hamburger?  New research shows that the way you season your burgers can help make it healthier for you.  A recent study compared a burger seasoned with just salt and a burger that was seasoned with a variety of seasoning.  The one with the variety of seasoning had 70% less "Lipid Peroxidation products".  These "products" are thought to play a role in heart disease and cancer.  Read the entire article at Nutriondata.com.  Here is the recipe for the "healthy burgers" from the article:

Add this amount per pound of ground beef:
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Listen to "The Generous Mr. Lovewell" by Mercy Me

"classic" Petra reunion

I came to Christ as a teen in the mid 80's.  The first Christian Concert I went to was Petra on the Beat The System tour and saw these 5 guys place Christian music that rocked.  They were unashamed of their faith.  So, it makes me excited to hear that the Petra of the 80's is getting back together.  Hey if groups like the Rolling Stones and other can still do it why can't Petra.  They are working on re-recording some of their hits of the 70's and 80's along with new music.  A tour is also planned.  you can read more at their website: ClassicPetra.com.

Childrens medicine recall

McNeil Products is recalling several childrens over the counter medications including childrens Motrin, Tylenol, Zyrtec and Benedryl.  The products are being recalled because they don't meet the necessary quality standards.   Some of the products may contain more of the active ingredient than listed.  Here is a list of all the products involved in the recall:

You can get more details on the recall at McNeilProductRecall.com or by calling 1-888-222-6036.

Home made pop tarts

used to love Pop tarts! But with the cost and how much preservatives and sugar they put in them, I have been reluctant to give them to my kids (too often). But today I found a recipe for making your own home made pop tarts. This recipe is from SmittenKitchens.com where you can find the complete article.


Here is the basic recipe from their site:

Pastry

2 cups (8 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into pats
1 large egg
2 tablespoons (1 ounce) milk

1 additional large egg (to brush on pastry)

Cinnamon Filling (enough for 9 tarts)
1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, to taste
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 large egg, to brush on pastry before filling

Jam Filling
3/4 cup (8 ounces) jam
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water

Alternate fillings: 9 tablespoons chocolate chips, 9 tablespoons Nutella or other chocolate-hazelnut paste or 9 tablespoons of a delight of your choice, such as salted caramel or a nut paste

To make cinnamon filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and flour.

To make jam filling: Mix the jam with the cornstarch/water in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool. Use to fill the pastry tarts.

Make the dough: Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Work in the butter with your fingers, pastry blender or food processor until pea-sized lumps of butter are still visible, and the mixture holds together when you squeeze it. If you’ve used a food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Whisk the first egg and milk together and stir them into the dough, mixing just until everything is cohesive, kneading briefly on a well-floured counter if necessary.

Divide the dough in half (approximately 8 1/4 ounces each), shape each half into a smooth rectangle, about 3×5 inches. You can roll this out immediately (see Warm Kitchen note below) or wrap each half in plastic and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Assemble the tarts: If the dough has been chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and allow it to soften and become workable, about 15 to 30 minutes. Place one piece on a lightly floured work surface, and roll it into a rectangle about 1/8″ thick, large enough that you can trim it to an even 9″ x 12″. [You can use a 9" x 13" pan, laid on top, as guidance.] Repeat with the second piece of dough. Set trimmings aside. Cut each piece of dough into thirds – you’ll form nine 3″ x 4″ rectangles.

Beat the additional egg and brush it over the entire surface of the first dough. This will be the “inside” of the tart; the egg is to help glue the lid on. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling into the center of each rectangle, keeping a bare 1/2-inch perimeter around it. Place a second rectangle of dough atop the first, using your fingertips to press firmly around the pocket of filling, sealing the dough well on all sides. Press the tines of a fork all around the edge of the rectangle. Repeat with remaining tarts.

Gently place the tarts on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick the top of each tart multiple times with a fork; you want to make sure steam can escape, or the tarts will become billowy pillows rather than flat toaster pastries. Refrigerate the tarts (they don’t need to be covered) for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake the tarts: Remove the tarts form the fridge, and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes, until they’re a light golden brown. Cool in pan on rack.

X Prize Auto update

The testing phase is continuing at Michigan International Speedway for cars that will get 100 miles per gallon or higher.  Watch this educational video about the X Prize and how some of the cars are doing.  This could be the future of automobiles as we know them.

The Rend Collective Experiment video and free song

The Rend Collective Experiment is a great new worship group out of England.  After watching their video for their song Movements, you can download the song for Free from their website: http://www.rendcollectiveexperiment.com/