Penny for My Thoughts by April Gerard

There's something about following
what you always felt you should do with yourself,
that brings out a confidence thats hard for others to shake off. 

If I had a penny for all the times I said to myself,
"I'm gonna do these things; these things I've set out to do",
I'd have already made myself a millionaire.

It takes a certain courage to do what others deem crazy, irrational, 
or what some even call irresponsible.  Don't give up.

Don't you give up! You keep your faith solid 
and your mind on the road ahead of you.

just 'cause you got to keep telling yourself
day in and day out where your going- 
don't you dare try to take the easy way, you hear me?

Don't let others make your destiny for you. 
Dream Catching is not an easy road,

"A dream is something that doesn’t awake until you drag it out of bed, get it dressed and feed it your desires. And when it is fully awake, it can make the sunrise in your eyes and the sunset in your heart. It is not enough to dream if you don’t breathe air into it's nostrils and watch it come to life."

~Alexys Fairfield

"Heaven wheels above you,
displaying to you her
eternal glories,
and still your eyes
are on the ground."

~Dante Alighieri 

“Do not spoil what you have

By desiring what you have not.

Remember that what you now have
Was once among the things
You only hoped for.” 

~Epicurus

Dream Catchers

My Future Car

A Must See. Hope and faith never Fails

Coffee reduces stroke risk in

            women

Is there such a thing as a good addiction? You just found one: coffee

If you enjoy your coffee and feel some kind of remorse, here is the reason to not feel the guilt. According to a new study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, drinking coffee reduces the risk of stroke in women. This study reported that women who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day had a 20% reduced risk of stroke when compared to women who had less than 1 cup per month. Moreover, drinking 2 to 3 cups per day reduced the risk by 19% and drinking a cup 5 to 7 times a week reduced the risk by 12%.

This was an observational study, meaning that the participants were not assigned to drink coffee or not to drink coffee. The analysis was done using data on 83,076 women who participated in the Nurse’s Health Study, which recruited women with no history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer. The coffee intake was first assessed in 1980 and repeated the assessment every 2 to 4 years with follow-up until 2004, by filling out a food frequency questionnaires about their diet. Throughout these 24 years, the authors documented 2,280 strokes.

Women who never smoked and drank 4 cups or more a day was associated with a 43% reduction in stroke risk, while women who smoked and drank 4 cups or more a day was associated with only 3% reduction in stroke risk, suggesting that the benefit of coffee in nonsmokers is more significant than smokers. Interestingly, decaffeinated coffee consumption also reduces the risk of stroke in women, indicating that the reduction of stroke risk is not due to caffeine. To further confirm, women who drank tea and caffeinated soft drink did not experience the reduction in stroke risk, suggesting that other components in coffee are responsible for this beneficial effect.

The authors of the report concluded that “long-term coffee consumption was not associated with an increased risk of stroke in women. In contrast, the data suggest that coffee consumption may modestly reduce risk of stroke”. The biological mechanism still unknown, therefore further investigation is needed prior to be considered a clinical practice.

If you’re looking to lower your risk of stroke, you may utilize standard practice such as: discontinue smoke, maintain a healthy weight by implementing daily physical activity, control high blood pressure (lowering your dietary salt intake, medication), control high cholesterol (lowering fat intake), control diabetes (maintain healthy weight by lowering your dietary fat intake,  increase physical activity and lowering your alcohol intake).