Friday, November 19, 2021

 

Black Friday Then and Now

The true origin of the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday lies in the sense of black meaning “marked by disaster or misfortune.” In the 1950s, factory managers first started referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because so many of their workers decided to falsely call in sick, thus extending the holiday weekend. About 10 years later, Black Friday was used by Philadelphia traffic cops to describe the day after Thanksgiving because they had to work 12-hour shifts in terrible traffic. Soon, the term caught on among shoppers and merchants in Philadelphia, and from there it took off nationwide.1

The 1980s brought the mythology of Black Friday as we know it today. While the phrases in the black and in the red are used in the business world to describe profits and losses, this explanation for one of the busiest shopping days of the year only came about in the 1980s, about 20 years after the phrase Black Friday was in regular use.2

In more recent years, global retailers have adopted “Black Friday” as the term and date to market their holiday sales. Here are some interesting facts about Black Friday:

  • Canadians often traveled over the border into the U.S. for Black Friday bargains. To curtail this, Canadian retailers began holding Black Friday specials of their own. The year 2012 saw the biggest Black Friday to date in Canada.3
  • Traditionally, Boxing Day had been considered the biggest shopping day of the year in the UK. In the 2010s, several American-owned retailers began to hold U.S.-style Black Friday promotions. As a result, more and more British retailers adopted the concept.4
  • In Welsh, Black Friday is known as “Dydd Gwener y Gwario Gwirion” (Silly Spending Friday).5
  • In Mexico, Black Friday was the inspiration for the government and retailing industry to create an annual weekend of discounts and extended credit terms. Known as El Buen Fin, meaning “the good weekend” in Spanish, it began in 2011. It takes place on November in the weekend prior to the Monday in which the Mexican Revolution holiday is pushed from its original date of November 20.6
  • In Germany, the term “Black Friday” was registered as a wordmark in December 2013. Black Friday GmbH is the exclusive licensee of the wordmark in Germany.7
  • Traditionally Black Friday is now a regular event in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Africa, Benelux, Sweden, Brazil, Mexico and increasingly many other parts of the world.8

This year, as a way to express our gratitude, Nikken is offering Nikken Consultants and Registered Customers free ground shipping on all orders through December 17, 2021. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

For ordering and more information contact:   

www.nikken.com/na/jsj

Friday, October 15, 2021

 

Bones and Joints Work Together

Walking, jumping, typing, wiggling our toes, bending, pointing, drawing, sitting, sleeping—what do these and virtually all activities have in common? They require our bones and joints to work together. The world acknowledged the importance of healthy joints with World Arthritis Day on October 12, and healthy bones will be the focus on World Spine Day on October 16 and World Osteoporosis Day on October 20.

Our bones and joints truly make great teammates. Did you know:1

  • The adult human body has 206 bones, with 26 of them in the foot and 54 of them in the hand, including the wrist.
  • The femur, or thighbone, is the longest and strongest bone of the human skeleton. In contrast, the smallest and lightest bone is located in the middle ear and called the stapes.
  • The hyoid is a V-shaped bone located at the base of the tongue. It’s the only bone in the human body that is not connected to another!
  • Bones are composed of calcium, phosphorus, sodium and other minerals, as well as the protein collagen. Making up the skeleton of the body, bones protect organs as well as produce red and white blood cells.
  • The place where two bones meet or connect are joints, which are formed by short bands of tough fibrous connective tissue known as ligaments.
  • Some joints move and others don’t. For example, joints in the skull do not move, while synovial joints do. Synovial joints are located mostly in our arms and legs.
  • Hip and shoulder joints are the most mobile and known as ball and socket joints. They enable our arms and legs to move in multiple directions.
  • Ellipsoidal joints allow our fingers to bend and stretch; hinge joints enable knees and elbows to move; gliding joints work in the ankles and wrists by gliding against each other.

The more we practice Active Wellness, the healthier our bones and joints are and the longer they’ll last. Consistent physical activity, a balanced diet and getting plenty of sleep will help us stay healthy and keep our bones and joints working together our entire lives.

For more information on nutrition and sleep to allow your bones to improve go to

www.nikken.com/na/jsj

Blessings to you this day,

jsj

Friday, September 17, 2021

 

Lungs are Vital in Our Amazing Human Bodies

Breath gives life, so breathing is one of the most important things our respiratory systems accomplish. The most vital components of breathing are our lungs.

Here are some facts about our lungs1 that are notable:

  1. In humans, the right lung is larger than the left to accommodate the heart.
  2. Exhalation is just as important as inhalation. The air we breathe contains 21% oxygen, of which only 5% is used—the rest is exhaled.
  3. We think of our digestive systems as being in charge of waste disposal; however, 70% of waste is eliminated through our lungs in the form of up to 17.5 milliliters of water exhaled each hour!
  4. Children and women breathe at a higher rate than men.
  5. Lungs are the only organs in the human body that are capable of floating on water.
  6. A person inhales an average of 13 pints of air every minute!
  7. Imagine this: If we were to open up the lungs and lay them flat, they would be so large that they would cover an entire tennis court!

So many physical activities we do naturally are the work of our respiratory systems. For example, coughing, sneezing and yawning are ways to rid our lungs of unwanted substances that we unknowingly inhale. Yawning also helps us intake more oxygen, especially when the brain senses a shortage of needed air! 2

Similar to our digestive tracts, our lower respiratory tract is colonized by diverse groups of bacteria. On the other hand, unlike the bacteria in our digestive tracts, studies have shown that the flora or microbes in the respiratory tract do not cause disease.3

As we inhale and exhale, there’s a small amount of air, called residual volume, that always stays inside our lungs.Our amazing lungs keep at least 1,200 ml of air in the lungs at all times! Even after we do a good exhale, there’s always more that can be pushed out.

Residual volume actually helps keep smaller airways and air sacs (known as alveoli) open a little at all times, so that the next breath and the next and so on, comes easier. The tiny but powerful alveoli cover a surface that measures more than 1,076.4 sq. ft. or 100 sq.m. This large surface area is necessary to process the huge amounts of air involved in breathing and getting oxygen to our lungs.Alveoli are responsible for three overall processes6 involved in breathing:

  1. Ventilation: moving air in and out of the lungs
  2. Diffusion: oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange
  3. Perfusion: pumping blood through the lungs

When we take deep breaths in and exhale slowly, we are helping our lungs do their best work! It’s all part of Active Wellness and getting to know the intricacies of our remarkable bodies.

Thursday, April 8, 2021

 

Healthy Feet Propel Active Wellness

April is Foot Health Awareness Month—good foot health is essential for an active life. With 26 bones plus 33 joints, feet serve as the foundation for the rest of the body. If the feet are not mechanically sound, it can affect the knees, hips and even the lower back.

We carry approximately four to six times our body weight across the ankle joint when climbing up stairs or walking steep inclines. We need our feet to carry us an average of 115,000 miles in our lifetime; therefore, avoiding foot problems should be a priority.1

The importance of feet serves as the foundation for reflexology, which studies how one part of the body relates to another. Practitioners of reflexology rely on a “map” of the foot, where each part corresponds to another body part, notably the internal organs. Pressure applied to different parts of the foot is believed to stimulate or activate corresponding parts of the body.2

Food is a great enabler for foot health. What we eat can help avoid swelling and other discomforts of the feet. For example, eating food with diuretic properties may help prevent fluid retention.3 Incorporate watermelon, asparagus, parsley, beets, grapes, green beans, leafy greens, cucumbers, pineapples, pumpkins, onions, leeks and garlic into your diet.3

Foods to avoid (or least to partake of infrequently) include alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, dairy products, animal protein, dried shellfish, fried foods, gravies, olives, pickles, salt, soy sauce, tobacco, white flour and white sugar.4 Fortunately, what we should incorporate and what we should reduce in our diet correspond to basic healthy eating, Mediterranean style.

Other ways to maintain foot health include:

• Stretching the feet, ankles and lower legs every day and before exercising. This helps to keep the muscles strong and to avoid injury.

• Keeping a healthy weight. Excess weight puts pressure on the feet, leading to foot pain, stress fractures, circulatory issues and possible arthritis.

• Making sure shoes fit properly. Avoid rubbing or squeezing toes, and try to maintain a half inch space between the longest toe (usually the big toe or the second toe) and the end of the shoe.

• Replacing worn out shoes. Some of us have a favorite pair that are especially comfortable; however, if they are worn out inside or outside, they can cause foot strain.

• Keeping feet clean and dry in between the toes. This will help prevent fungus, otherwise known as athlete’s foot.

Feet are one of the more complex parts of the human anatomy, so they are prone to a wide variety of issues, such as ingrown toenails, neuropathy, bunions and more. In addition, it’s fairly common to have one foot be slightly larger than the other, so always wear shoes that favor the larger foot in fit.5 We also need to be aware that our feet may not stay the same size—as we age, they tend to flatten out, and some pregnancies may cause feet to enlarge.

Two of the Nikken flagship products are the insoles. Founder Isamu Masuda developed the magnetic insoles to simulate the therapeutic pebbles in the Japanese public hot baths. The Kenko mStrides® and Kenko mSteps® can both be cut to size to fit right into your shoes. The magnetic nodules massage the soles of the feet and act similarly to the acupressure practiced as part of reflexology. People who work while standing find Kenko insoles particularly helpful in keeping feet energized and stable.

The KenkoGround® is a Nikken product that can work in tandem with bare feet. Simply place the KenkoGround in direct contact with bare feet while seated or sleeping, and experience a reconnection with nature to help feel more relaxed, and less stressed.

For more information about Nikken products go to our new website at https://jsj.nikken.com

Grace and peace to each of you this day.

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Using less plastics by all countries will help our planet...Check out this post

 

What Can We Do To Decrease Plastic Pollution?

There are many misconceptions about the plastic pollution problem, but there is no question that in its many forms, plastic is killing ocean wildlife that is vital to the ecosystem. In addition, plastic pollution is sickening land flora and fauna, including humans.

Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao were two of the youngest scientists ever to win the Perlman science prize in 2016 for developing a bacterium that may transform plastic into CO2 and water. Although they were not the first ones to discover that bacteria can break down phthalates, they were the first to find a possible solution to a local problem by looking into their own river system in Vancouver, Canada when they were still in high school.1

The two have since won numerous other science awards and established their company, BioCellection. Years of research later, their company is still focused on taking a main type of plastic, polyethylene, and turning it into chemical building blocks for new products that don’t end up in oceans as waste. The firm takes dicarboxylic acid it generates from polyethylene and transforms it into high-performance materials, such as photopolymers or polyyrethane.2

 “It is such a waste when materials that are perfectly good to be reused or repurposed end up as pollution,” Yao says. “Not only are we turning this currently wasted carbon into new materials that are high performing, but BioCellection is also making new products that can be recycled over and over again.”3

Since 2016, a product called the SeaBin has been available for purchase around the world. Created by two Australian surfers, the SeaBin is a bucket with a pump and water filtration system that is designed to suck in any floating trash into a removable mesh bag. The bucket includes an optional oil-water separator system that will pull oil right out of the ocean, then spit out cleaner water through the other side of the pump. The SeaBin can be installed at any floating dock to suck up trash or oil floating in nearby harbors.4

Since 2017, the SeaBin Project has removed over 1,400 tons of plastic pollution from the world’s oceans with SeaBin units in 53 countries. Each unit has the capability to collect 90,000 plastic bags, 35,700 disposable cups, 16,500 plastic bottles and 166,500 plastic utensils each year.5

Removal of plastic from the ocean is only one piece of the pollution puzzle. What happens to all the plastic that is collected? Not all of tons and tons of plastic can be transformed into usable products in the way of BioCellection. Much of the plastic waste has to decompose. Just as plastic was a wonderful invention due to its durability, it’s also a nightmare when it comes to decomposition, as it can take 1,000 years!

Leave it to yet another Canadian high school student to find a way to more quickly biodegrade plastic! Daniel Burd, a student at Waterloo Collegiate Institute won the Canada-Wide Science Fair in May of 2019. He created a process of immersing ground plastic in a yeast solution that expedites microbial growth, then isolating the productive organisms. After experimentation with different strains and interbreeding them, Burd achieved a 43% degradation of plastic in only six weeks!6

What makes Burd’s discoveries so exciting is that his method of decomposing plastic is organic. Other research on decomposing plastic have mainly focused on chemical additives made by scientists to cause plastic to vaporize.7 Testing needs to continue with Burd’s discoveries to ensure that byproducts of organic decomposition are not carcinogenic, but what a great starting point!

We can’t all be scientific entrepreneurs and make breakthrough discoveries, but every single one of us can help in decreasing plastic pollution by remembering to practice the 3Rs: reuse, reduce and recycle.

Water is Life and Nikken is doing its part to help people access clean water for Active Wellness—not only for drinking, but also for bathing. For the entire month of March, we are offering four Water Packs. Each pack has two state-of-the-art PiMag® products. You get one at the regular price and the second at 50% off! You have your choice of two PiMag MicroJet® Wall Mount Shower Systems, two PiMag MicroJet® Handheld Shower Systems, two PiMag® Sport Bottles of 100% recyclable biogreen materials, or two PiMag® Waterfalls.

For more information on eco friendly water products, go to :

www.nikken.com/na/jsj

Thursday, March 18, 2021

Innovations in Clean water technology for your drinking and shower.

 

Innovations in Clean Water Technology

We failed to take care of the environment and are paying dire consequences. Around one in three people worldwide, or 2.2 billion, lack access to safe drinking water near their home. By 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas, when resources in a region or country are insufficient for its needs.1 Fortunately, innovative youth are coming up with ways to de-contaminate water sources.

At only 14 years old, Deepika Kurup noticed children in India using plastic bottles to collect water so dirty that she wouldn’t go near it. Coming from the United States, it was not something she was used to seeing. She understood that the dirty water was the only water they had to drink, and it was also used for washing clothes and bathing. She learned that lack of access to clean water restricted the girls’ opportunity for an education, since they could not attend school during their period.

Deepika Kurup proceeded to create an affordable and effective water purification system composed of a cement-like composite material that is activated by sunlight to reduce the amount of bacteria in water. The material can be molded into different shapes: a rod in a bottle, a disc or pot for a water tank—molds that can be scaled up or down. Kurup says, “This solution alone isn’t going to be what solves the water crisis, but it will be more effective in sunny parts of the world.”2  Kurup has patented her technology and will be working to implement it.

Around the world, many of the 783 million people who don’t have clean drinking water also don’t have access to electricity.  In 2014, 17-year-old Cynthia Sin Nga Lam created her prototype – the H2Pro – a portable device powered only by sunlight. Dirty water goes in one end, and a titanium mesh, activated by the sun, sterilizes the water and sends it through an extra filter. The photocatalytic reaction also splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen—so someone can flip a switch and start feeding a hydrogen fuel cell to produce clean power. Detergent, soap, and other pollutants in the water help make more hydrogen. There are similar water purification technologies but her invention did not require an extra source of electricity; only sunlight and titania was required. Besides being low-cost and easy to maintain, the H2Pro also generated a very efficient source of clean energy.3

Lam is now working as a contract consultant at the World Health Organization and hasn’t continued working with the H2Pro project. However, the idea of her two-in-one machine lives on with the development of scientists.4

Gitanjali Rao, from Colorado, was just 12 when she was awarded the title of “America’s top young scientist” for designing a compact device to detect toxic lead in drinking water, which she believes can be faster and cheaper than other current methods. At 15 years old, Rao was selected from a field of more than 5,000 nominees to be TIME magazine’s first ever 2020 Kid of the Year.

“I was like 10 when I told my parents that I wanted to research carbon nanotube sensor technology at the Denver Water quality research lab.

(they are cylindrical molecules made of carbon atoms that are very sensitive to chemical changes, and thus are good for detecting chemicals in water, among other uses.] It was just that changing factor of, you know this work is going to be in our generation’s hands pretty soon. So if no one else is gonna do it, I’m gonna do it.

“Observe, brainstorm, research, build and communicate. I’m currently working on an easy way to help detect bio-contaminants in water—things like parasites. I’m hoping for this to be something that’s inexpensive and accurate so that people in third-world countries can identify what’s in their water.”5

As a new generation of innovators makes headway in cleaning up water systems that previous generations have contaminated, the Global Wellness Community will continue spreading the word about conservation, respecting nature and new ways to access clean water. As Rao says, “I recently hit my goal of 30,000 students who I have mentored, which is super exciting. It’s like creating a community of innovators. I really hope the work that all of these kids are doing identifies innovation as a necessity and not something that’s a choice anymore.”6

Water is Life and Nikken is doing its part to help people access clean water for Active Wellness—not only for drinking, but also for bathing. For the entire month of March, we are offering four Water Packs. Each pack has two state-of-the-art PiMag® products. You get one at the regular price and the second at 50% off! You have your choice of two PiMag MicroJet® Wall Mount Shower Systems, two PiMag MicroJet® Handheld Shower Systems, two PiMag® Sport Bottles, or two PiMag® Waterfalls.

For more information go to www.nikken.com/na/jsj  or call John St. John at 281-980-1070.


Thursday, January 28, 2021

 

Exercising but Not Losing Weight?

One fact about exercise that many tend to ignore is that when we work out, the calories burned only account for a tiny part of our total energy expenditure. “In reality,” says Alexxai Kravitz, a neuroscientist and obesity researcher at the National Institutes of Health, “it’s only around 10 to 30 percent [of total energy expenditure] depending on the person (and excluding professional athletes that workout as a job).”1

Exercise has another effect that actually deters us from losing weight. Many of us consume more calories after exercising vigorously than without a workout. We also might take on “compensatory behaviors” after exercising, behaviors that actually slow down the metabolism. Examples are lying down to rest, being too tired to cook, eating whatever food is at hand, whether it’s processed or not. These compensatory behaviors cancel out the calories burned during the workout.

Simply increasing physical activity won’t help us lose significant amounts of weight. While exercise is hugely important for Active Wellness, how much and what we eat helps determine our waistlines much more. It therefore would make sense for public health policies to prioritize fighting overconsumption of low-quality processed foods while educating the masses and improving the food environment.

The National Weight Control Registry has conducted a study with 10,000 enrolled members. The study analyzed the traits, habits and behaviors of adults who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off for a one-year minimum. The researchers behind the study found that people who have had success losing weight have a few things in common: They weigh themselves at least once a week; they restrict calorie intake; they omit high-fat foods and watch portion sizes; and they exercise regularly.2

Decreasing calorie intake is necessary to lose weight, even with an increase in exercise. Research suggests that a person may be able to lose weight with extremely high levels of exercise, but even then, losing more than 4.4 pounds (2 kilograms) is unlikely.3

When it comes to decreasing calories, omitting sugar and high-fat foods is basic. However, did you know eliminating or decreasing alcohol intake may help with weight loss goals? Alcohol tends to be high-calorie in general. For example, a 12-ounce beer has about 153 calories and a glass of red wine has about 125 calories. Evidence suggests that in most cases it is not necessary to avoid alcohol completely to lose weight; however, it is helpful to limit drinking to two or three per week, and to stick with low-calorie selections, such as vodka or whiskey.4

In a nutshell, the most important thing a person can do to lose weight and maintain the loss is to limit calories in a sustainable way and exercise moderately. That means focusing on eating healthful yet delicious foods as in an Active Wellness lifestyle, not only as a temporary way to lose weight. To help ensure adequate intake of fruit and veggies, try supplementing with Kenzen® Total Vegan Drink Mix. By substituting some meals with Kenzen® Vital Balance Meal Replacement Mix, you may help achieve weight management goals, as it is formulated specifically to help burn fat, boost metabolism and build muscle!

For more information on the Kenzen Total Vegan Drink go to 

www.nikken.com/jsj/na    The site is a few easy clicks from having the product on its way to you.   Grace and Peace.