Sharon Stone has been the daughter of controversy ever since she crossed or didn’t cross her legs in that notorious movie a couple of decades ago, which we all know. The smoking blonde has always managed to gain publicity whether negative or positive. This time however, she has gained a lot of negative publicity thanks to her bad mothering skills, which apparently are as much in mess as her. Californian officials have criticized and also rejected her request to change her child’s custody arrangements.

They have blamed her for overreacting to her son Roan’s medical issues. The court was especially infuriated with Stone’s suggestion that her son must be treated with botox as his feet were smelly. Now it has also come to notice that Bronstein will have complete custody over the boy and Stone may just have to worry endlessly if he would be taken care of by the jubilant father properly. The crux of the matter is not the custody of the child or Stone concern for her son’s health but the fact that celebrities usually end up over reacting to every tiny incident no matter what.

Probably, the entire attention and media glare showered and sometime forced upon them make them notice even small changes and worry about that endlessly. Probably the celebrities must be left alone and allowed to live a life in privacy. And the ones that like to be in the media glare are best avoided.

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Via: IMDB

The world of health is struck by news of anorexia hitting men. A medical condition usually associated with teenage girls has left experts dizzy as men have increasingly started to eat less to get the “ideal body.” Laying stress on the fact that most cases go unreported, Susan Ringwood, CEO of eating disorder charity beat, believes that rise in male anorexia is a much bigger problem because men traditionally are less likely to seek help. Psychiatrist Frances said that it was doubly humiliating for men to come forward because mental health and anorexia were seen as “girl problems”.
The rise in the focus in the body aesthetic has affected the masses deeply, men and girls in particular. Male magazines are also being blamed for this. Ringwood adds, “Clinics are seeing many more men, as well as children as young as eight. We know children are more likely to develop an eating disorder during puberty and puberty is starting on average five years earlier than it did 50 years ago.”
Via timesofindia

It seems California will emerge as the most eco-cum-health conscious state worldwide when a consensus would be drawn for green & healthy cities! First the city adopts a green building code and within days of that announcement comes this one that, trans-fats are now banned in California. Processed via hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils, trans- fats (solid product) are labeled as the culprits behind increasing number of CHD (coronary heart disease) patients.

Governor Schwarzenegger has announced that the new legislation employed henceforth is a “strong step toward creating a healthier future” and that it will take effect in 2010.

Trans-fats are used extensively in the baking industry for frying and baking processed foods like cakes, pastries, muffins, doughnuts (the average American’s breakfast-lunch-dinner and in-between snack option!). Hot chocolate preparation also uses trans-fat to some extent. According to US Food and Drug Administration, Americans (on average) consume 2.14kg (4.7lb) of this trans-fat which is affecting their health in form of increased heart diseases (by increasing ‘bad’ cholesterol levels) and rapidly increasing child-obesity. The latter pushes the risks of getting affected by ailments like diabetes even further up among kids!

Thankfully, the scenario is going to change now for as per the new legislation, any violation will incur strict fines between $25 (£13) and $1,000 (£502).
The use of trans-fat has been hotly debated for its unhealthy side effects in scientific circles from quite some time now but they are continued to be used because they are cheap, have a neutral flavor, add bulk to products, and most importantly give products a long shelf-life.

While I am glad to read about this development in California, my heart goes out for the Indian situation which perhaps is worse in terms of consumptions of trans and hydrogenated fat. We Indians are fond of eating traditional sweets made out of desi ghee! But with increasing consumption in festival season, marketing & business strategies and increasing corruption most of these desi ghee sweets are actually prepared in Trans-fats like Dalda..:(  The results are evident: the number of heart patients and diabetics has sharply increased in our country. I don’t know when we will see any such legislation in our country for the officials in food administration body are busy lending  support to chewing gums than worry about public health (sigh)!

Via: BBC

You have to go out in sun and you are worried about getting tanned. But the solution is at hand and before you step out, you apply a generous dose of the latest quick absorbing, lovely smelling sunscreen. And you think you are protected. Perhaps yes, from the sun but not from some chemicals present right inside your skin, courtesy- your sunscreen! While most of us fall for the flashy advertisements about plethora of sunblock creams/ anti-tan lotions, hardly a few would take the pain to read the content and component information provided on the products casing. As it turns out to be, like in every other sphere of our lives, we must be smart and vigilant so we should be while buying our favorite sunblock cream. In this post, I would like to remove the screen over sunscreens. These products can be categorized into two kinds: Physical sunscreens and Chemical sunscreens. The former type protects us by scattering or reflecting the UV radiation when we are out in sun. Our skin does not absorb these physical sunscreens. The second variety however, penetrates the layers of our skin (epidermis, dermis and hypodermis).

Chemical sunscreens work by absorbing UV radiation falling on our skin and then dissipate these radiations in form of either heat or light usually of longer wavelength that does not affect the skin. But unlike physical variety, these chemical sunscreens are known to cause skin allergies and sometimes even act as carcinogens (cancer causing substances). While the physical sunblocks have harmless zinc oxide and titanium dioxide in them. The constituents of chemical sunblocks usually comprise Oxybenzone, Avobenzone and Parosol 789. All of these are known to cause contact dermatitis to susceptible individuals and have some other side effects. Thus, it is very important that you must first check what your sunscreen is made up of and then make a decision to purchase it or not. Consumers must also realize that certain medications (like Ibuprofen, Doxycycline, Ortho-tricycle) render photosensitivity. Thus, such individuals should be extra conscious about the kind of anti-tan lotions/creams they should use. Afterall, skin is a vital organ of human body.

Via

Bill Cunningham’s column about fashion on the street gives a peek of rapidly evolving fashion styles among the urbane young male population of New York. The slideshow produced by Simone S. Bridges for his column is a must see to understand the philosophy of self expression of these young men who like to show off their boxer-clad buttocks. Clad in ultra-low pants dangling dangerously much below their waistline these men perfectly personify the meaning of being “cinched”!!

They like to tuck their about-to-fall pants with their colorful boxers / red hot undies / pristine white briefs…with studded belts of all kinds. How do they manage to walk around with such gawky adorations only they can answer! For mostly one would find them pulling their pants up for umpteen number of times in a attempt to keep’em from falling down. I don’t really understand what’s the motive behind such a clothing style?

Do they need to reassure everyone and moreover their ownselves that yes, they are wearing something (read underwear) to shield their booties from heat, dust, pollution and …ehh…..prying eyes? Who knows, but this might be one of the reasons behind such exhibitionism of the darker sex. Or perhaps wearing clothes is an obligation they must follow that they choose such rather clumsy and mocking attire! Well…to me, such a style sure spells out redundancy in fashion.

Agreed, I am not a fashion guru to understand the nitty-gritty’s behind it but it saddens me, to see so much cloth being produced by the mills of America and still those who can afford, choose purposefully not to wear the entire length of their pants!!

Via NYTimes