How Much Water Should I Drink?

Water is essential to stay alive, there is no doubt about that. About 60 to 70 % of our body is water. Blood is mostly water and your muscles, lungs, brain and other organs need water to be able to function properly. Water helps to regulate your body temperature and water makes is possible to provide nutrients to your organs and tissues. Water also transports oxygen and removes waste. It also protects you joints and organs.

We lose water thru urination, respiration and by sweating. We lose more water when we are active. Alcohol and certain medication will also increase the amount of water your body loses.

If we lose water from our body and we don't replenish it we can get dehydrated.  The symptom of dehydration is muscle and joint pain, lower back pain, headache and constipation. If your urine have a darker color and a strong odor, that's a sign that you are not drinking enough water.

If you are healthy you know when you have to drink water. Although some doctors say that you have to drink 6-8 glasses of water, there is no sense to "force" yourself to drink a lot of water. Many times water bottling companies want you to buy their product. Their claim that water cures or prevents illnesses and help you to lose weight are not well founded and often simply marketing gimmicks.

You don't always have to drink water to replace the water you lost from your body. At least 20 % of the water comes from the foods you eat. With soft drinks the problem is too much sugar and extra calories. Juices are good source with the added vitamins and sport drinks help keep your electrolytes in balance. Caffeinated beverages count too but too much caffeine is not necessarily good for you.

What Does the Prostate Do? – How Can You Reduce the Risk of Prostate Cancer?

The prostate gland is part of the male reproductive system. Its main function is to secrete prostate fluid, one of the components of semen during ejaculation. It surrounds the urethra just below the bladder. During ejaculation the prostate contracts, closing off the opening between the bladder and the urethra and releases fluid into the urethra and pushes semen thru.

Due to its location, a swollen prostate compresses the urethra and irritates the walls of the bladder causing abnormal urination. A growing prostate can be benign also called Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. It can also be cancerous.

You cannot prevent prostate cancer which is the most common cancer diagnosed in men but changing your lifestyle you can reduce the risk of developing prostate cancer.

Healthy diet is important. Below is a list of what you have to include and exclude from your diet:

• Avoid fatty foods. Low-fat diet has other benefits too.
• Stay away from animal fats as much as you can. Use olive oil, nuts or seeds in your diet.
• Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are also full of vitamins and nutrients. They not only reduce the risk of prostate cancer but have many other benefits too.
• Eat fish such as salmon, sardines, and tuna. Fatty acid from fish called omega-3 can also reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
• Reduce the amount of dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter and yoghurt from your diet.
• Green tea has a supplement which reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
• Tofu, soy beans, kidney beans, lentils and peanuts have a nutrient called isoflavones which reduces the risk of prostate cancer.
• Drink alcohol with moderation.

Maintain a healthy weight. This is something you have to watch anyways. Healthy weight is good for the overall health.

Exercise regularly. Include exercise in your daily life. Regular exercise will also help you to lose weight.

There is not enough proof that frequent ejaculation will reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

How Do We Manage to Survive in This Complex World?

As soon as we are born we start to experience life and we start to "survive". Our senses are filled with whatever surrounds us. These experiences are pleasant or unpleasant. By nature we are the kind of creatures who don't like to suffer, so we are constantly looking for pleasant experiences and trying to avoid unpleasant experiences. To be able to do that we carefully observe our environment.

There are certain things we can already observe in our environment from a very young age. To simplify things here I just talk about people and objects.

There are millions of people and objects surround us. We can notice that some of them are almost permanent or just slowly change. Think about your family or your neighborhood. Some of them constantly change. Think about what you see on television or passengers on a train. By recognizing this we learn to trust in those things which are more permanent. This gives a sense of security in "space".

Another thing we learn that we can "predict" the future to a certain level. This is because things don't change, at least most of the time suddenly. This gives a sense of security in time. If our environment would constantly and rapidly change that would be unbearable.

We also notice that there are many similar objects we don't have to learn about each individual person or object which belongs to a group. Think about a nation, or cars.

It also helps that we learn to imitate others around us. That's how we learn how to use a spoon. Sometimes we don't even know why we do things, we just follow others.

Since pleasant experiences give happiness and satisfaction we use our knowledge to get more of these experiences. We learn early that they don't come easy, it takes certain effort to get satisfied. Think about when you go to the gym or when you finish a project. At a very early age we also find out that there is always help you just have to learn how to ask for it. Think about a crying baby or visiting your doctor.

You Don't Have to Be Optimistic All the Time

In our society everything seems to make us believe that we have to be optimistic and happy all the time. Pessimistic people often pictured as losers. They expect from us to smile no matter what and to say that everything will be just fine. They make us believe that we are either born optimistic or pessimistic.

The one-size-fits-all optimism doesn't really work and can be harmful sometimes. Optimism and pessimism are feelings about the future. Both optimism and pessimism act like energizers in certain situations. If we were only realistic about our future we wouldn't even try to do things saying "it's just impossible".

Optimism and pessimism can also be a mind-set to adopt certain situations. In some situations it's better to be optimistic in others better to be pessimistic. Optimism can help us not to give up and cope with difficulties. Pessimism can help us to prepare ourselves if we won't succeed. Pessimism can help to better protect ourselves. This is also called defensive pessimism.

Of course in many situations it's much better to be optimistic. Some examples are when you are looking for a job, start to date, want to lose weight or start a business. Optimism can work against you when you gamble, when you are an investor, when you think that you can always get what you want.

Pessimism can be of course a negative feeling too. When you think that you will never get a job, never find a boy or girlfriend or never will be able to lose weight. Pessimism is bad when it makes you sort of give up.

Pessimism is good when it protects you, when it prepares you to the "what if" situation. Whit a pessimistic mind-set you will able to handle stress better. Pessimism is good when you don't over-expand because you are not 100% sure about your job and/or income or as an investor you diversify. Pessimism is also somewhat good when you or someone close to you have an illness. It helps you to prepare yourself to the worse scenario.

Why Is It So Hard To Do The Second Time?

I bought a desk for my son last year. The kind of desk which comes in parts and you have to assemble it. I enjoy doing things like this and we did it together with my son. When I do it the first time I carefully follow instructions. I organize all the parts and the tools I need for the task. Being organized and following every step in the instructions makes it much simpler.

I bought the same desk for my younger son this year. I thought that since I put it together a year ago this time it'll be a lot easier and faster too. I didn't spend that much time organizing the parts and later on I found out that some of the tools were missing too. I also tried to remember the step-by-step instructions without looking at the instructions. It turned out that it was a bad idea. I ended up putting together parts in the wrong order and had to take them apart. I realized that doing it the second time was much harder. I thought I would remember everything after a year but I didn't. We finally put the desk together, but it took longer and it was a real headache.

I head the same experience with directions too. When I drive somewhere I've never been I carefully plan the trip. I Google it and I print it out for reference. There is no problem if I have to go back the next day but a year later could be a problem. The second time I just try to remember the trip and on the way to my destination I realize that most of the details are pretty foggy.

It happens to me all the time with the computer too. When I have to fix a problem the first time I gather all the information I need and then I just follow instructions. The second time a few months later I just try to use my memory which very often fails. Many times I even forget where to start and I just remember bits and pieces.

I learnt my lesson in the past so when I do something now the second time I try to do exactly the same way I did it the very first time. No more frustration.