You can count me as one of the 30 percent of people who don’t get enough sleep every night, so when Lark sent me their silent alarm clock ($100) to test a couple months ago, I was all about it. Since then, I’ve been using it pretty regularly, here’s what I think of the alarm clock. First, here’s what it is: The Lark is part app (compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad only at the moment, but an Android version seems imminent ), part motion-sensing wristband that vibrates to wake you up and tracks your sleep quality throughout the night. It promises to both help you wake up more naturally and without disturbing your bedmate and change your personality from sleep-deprived night owl to well-rested morning lark. Included in the package is the Lark sensor, wristband, and charging dock where you plug your wristband into when you wake up – both to shut off the vibrating alarm and ensure that your wristband has enough juice to monitor your sleeping stats for the next night. The charging dock includes a USB port to connect your iPhone charger to it, so you don’t have to use two sockets for each. Who it’s for: The Lark is useful if you have a partner and you both wake up at different times. Since it’s a silent alarm clock, it rouses you with a series of vibrations through your wristband, so if your normal wake-up call is earlier than your bedmate’s, your partner can snooze away without being disturbed. That may or may not be valuable enough for you to justify the $100 price tag, but it is an effective solution. Besides the alarm clock portion, the Lark app tracks several sleeping stats: how many hours you slept as well as how many times you woke up during the night and how long it took you to fall asleep (both based on your movements). Keep reading for my thoughts on the Lark alarm clock.

Glenn Keller is one of seven CNN viewers training to race the Nautica Malibu Triathlon with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This weekend, the team and Dr. Gupta will head to Hawaii for a training trip. Keller just completed a 5k held in his honor in his hometown of Burleson, Texas. I heard it said that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame in their lifetime. If this is my 15 minutes, it is creating a lifetime of memories. On Saturday May 5, 2012, there was a 5k race in Burleson, Texas. This 5k was different from every other 5k that I had ever heard of. The distance was the same. The rules were the same. The difference is this 5k was called “Let’s get started with Glenn.” Mayor Ken Shetter has a health initiative that he put into place in Burleson. When he got the news of a local resident being selected for The CNN Fit Nation Challenge , he and the administration started planning The Be Healthy 5k. Nothing so far has compared to having family, friends and neighbors come together and do something of this magnitude in my honor. More than 100 of my neighbors registered and turned out to participate. The race started only a few blocks from my home. I left home an hour and a half before things were scheduled to get started. When I got to the corner of my block I saw a lawn sign that said “Nothing is impossible with God." That was very encouraging and inspiring. I was the first to arrive at the race location and it was unbelievable. Signs were being put up, cones were marking the course and people were gathering to support me. One of my neighbors and I started some idle talk about running and how long it had been since he ran. I told him this was my first 5k. Just before race time Mayor Shetter called me up to the platform to address everyone that had arrived. The very first thing I did was thank God for this unbelievable moment and then I continued to address my family, friends and neighbors. I expressed my disappointment in having an injury but went on to explain how it in no way was going to preventing me from starting and finishing this 5k. I said, “This was going to be a no excuse day!" After all, it was excuses that allowed my weight to balloon to over 300 pounds. We were there to get started and that was exactly what we were going to do. I talked about how in order the become a Fit Nation we were going to have to start with fit individuals. As those individuals would have to share it with their families, then spread it to communities, churches, employers, our cities, then states, and eventually we would be a Fit Nation. When I stepped down from the platform the neighbor I had been talking to approached me and said “Glenn, you didn’t tell me you were the man!” That was a moment. I was the man. Wow! Do you recall my blog after we went to Atlanta for kick-off of The Fit Nation Challenge? I talked about how as I was attempting to hike Stone Mountain, it seemed an angel came out of no where just when I needed encouraging most.Well on race day the angels were everywhere. First there was Joann, who has been a runner for more than 20 years and who I’m sure would have done extremely well in this race. However every step of the 3.1 miles she was right by my side coaching me and giving me tips and encouraging me. From the starting line to the finish line she was right there. When the race was over Mark, a police officer, introduced himself and invited me to part of a running club that meets every first Saturday of the month, and said everyone in the group would help me. Then there was Frank, the director of the Burleson Recreation Center, that offered all the resources of his center, including swim coaches, to assist me in this endeavor. The movie "Akeelah and The Bee" was about a young lady who was selected to participate in the national spelling bee. When her community found out that she had been selected, they were ecstatic. As she would be walking or riding her bike through her neighborhood, people all along her route would call out spelling words to help her get prepared for the championship. This is exactly how I felt on the day of the 5k. In Atlanta it was a pulled hamstring that slowed me down, and now I think it is a strained tendon. There will always be some obstacle, and I understand that. But whatever this is, and what ever the next thing will be, I am refusing to allow anything to prevent me from achieving my ultimate goal of crossing the finish line with my six teammates in Malibu, California – each of whom I’m able to draw inspiration from. I’ve learned life is full of challenges, obstacles and stumbling blocks, but none of them in my life are going to ever be allowed to stop me. I pray that whatever your life’s challenges, obstacles and stumbling blocks, they won't stop you either. Filed under: 2012 Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge , Diet and Fitness , Glenn Keller Tagged: Glenn Keller – Fit Nation Participant

Don’t toss your pumpkin seeds: five ways to cook your jack-o’-lantern extras – Blisstree Drink up! Find a juice to fight what ails you – Shape A lighter, healthier pumpkin scone for your Fall brunch – Health How to eat to heat up your sex life – Prevention You just can’t beat the beet when it comes to nutrition – Fit Bottomed Girls 10 healthy foods that cost under a buck – Real Simple Make your own Mounds bar! – Vital Juice Twisted yet healthy Halloween recipes – DailySpark

“Gluten free” products are becoming a regular fixture in health food stores and super markets throughout the world. But, why are so many manufacturers going out of their way to omit this inexpensive, grain-based protein? The current scientific literature offers several compelling reasons: 1) gluten intolerance is increasingly associated with the development and progression of Related posts: Gluten Free Bread Gluten Free Snacks Gluten Intolerance and Schizophrenia Sugar Free Blueberry Cheesecake Sugar Free Soda Alternative

In his latest print column and blog post , the WSJ’s Numbers Guy digs into the debate over Eli Lilly’s test to detect in live patients the presence of beta-amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The test involves injecting a radioactive substance called florbetapir F 18, or Amyvid, followed by a PET scan. But as the Numbers Guy points out, reading this and other imaging studies is not always as straightforward as you might think. In the Amyvid study, physicians who read the scans gave them a numerical score pegged to the level of amyloid detected. But researchers reported “the median, the middle number when a group of figures are put in numerical order. In this case, that amounted to discarding the high and low scores on each patient’s brain scans,” essentially getting rid of the outliers, the Numbers Guy says. He continues: But outliers can contain useful information, such as showing the potential for disagreement or confusion around the test. When publishing the results in the Journal of the American Medical Association in January, [Lilly unit] Avid didn’t include the range of scores given by the test readers. In the Alzheimer’s study, this range sometimes was substantial. The three doctors rated patients’ scans on a scale of 0 to 4. Two patients whose autopsies revealed no major buildup got scores on their scans of 0 or 1 from two doctors—but a score of 3 from the third. And one patient whose autopsy yielded a positive result for Alzheimer’s got a score of 4 from one doctor but just a 1 from the other two doctors. An FDA advisory committee recommended in January that Lilly set up a training program for physicians who’d read the scans and then demonstrate that the images are consistently interpreted. The company said in March its response from the agency indicated the need for such a program “for market implementation that helps to ensure reader accuracy and consistency of interpretations of existing Amyvid scans.” (Lilly is working to supply the FDA with more information in the hopes of getting approval.) Furthermore, the CEO and president of Avid tells the Numbers Guy, if the test is approved, physicians won’t likely assign the scans a numerical score, but a straightforward thumbs up or down. Using that method “showed much better agreement among the scan readers and far fewer false negatives,” the WSJ says. Even if Amyvid is approved, it’s important to note its limitations. It’s actually not intended to be used to diagnose or monitor the progress of Alzheimer’s, but to rule out the disease in people who have symptoms. As the WSJ has noted , some experts say between 15% and 20% of those labeled as Alzheimer’s patients actually don’t have the disease. Currently available treatments for Alzheimer’s can’t slow the disease’s progression but can ease symptoms in some cases. Image: iStockphoto

The New York State Department of Health alerted hospitals and transplant centers Tuesday that an organ recipient recently contracted the virus that causes AIDS  from a live kidney donor in an unnamed city hospital. It’s the nation’s first documented case of HIV transmission via a transplant from a living donor since a sensitive test for the virus was approved and implemented for donor screening in 1985, according to the health department. A department spokeswoman tells the Health Blog that the hospital followed acceptable protocols in an initial screening of the donor, but that he apparently had “unsafe sex” after the test and prior to donating the organ. “Of course this is a rare case, but we felt like we needed to alert centers to this possibility so they can talk to potential donors about risks and do testing closer to the time of surgery,” she says. The state declined to name the hospital in the interest of protecting the privacy of the patient. The department is now recommending that hospitals test donors for HIV and the hepatitis C and B viruses within 14 days before the organ donation, using nucleic acid testing. NAT can detect viral infections weeks to months before antibodies are detectable by standard serologic tests. It hasn’t been recommended for testing organs from deceased donors because of the time pressure of transplanting the organs before they deteriorate, but that time crunch shouldn’t apply to potential living donors, the state notes in its advisory. Testing for infectious disease has all but eliminated the transmission of HIV through organ, tissue and blood donation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last issued HIV-specific organ-donation screening recommendations in 1994 and is expected to update its recommendation this year. The state is advising hospitals to question living organ donors about risky behavior, including the use of  non-medical injectable drugs. Compliance with the specific recommendation is voluntary but the department is urging all centers to update their policies for screening living donors as necessary. The transplant community’s most recent testing recommendations , which appeared in the American Journal of Transplantation last year, said that average-risk donors do not require NAT screening; they didn’t address the timing of screening. The health department says it doesn’t believe those recommendations are sufficiently protective because of the challenges of detecting behavioral risks and learning about the infection status of a donor’s sexual partners.

FitSugar reader hcaraway told our Yoga and Stretch and Tell community group that looking the part in stylish gear is motivation to work out – we couldn’t agree more ! When she posted a description of her favorite yoga outfit, we were inspired and handpicked a few items for her. Truly feel that the perfect workout gear involves a solid pair of black yoga pants with the foldover top that sit low on the hip, and a tank underneath a colorful t-shirt! I always rock out a headband that matches a color in my top and a sweatband. Looking the part at the gym definitely motivates my sweat session! From left to right: Beyond Yoga pant ($74), Roxy Shock City Tee ($19), Lululemon Slipless headband ($12), Athleta Switch Back tank ($59) Have a yogic question of your own or great advice to share? Join in on the conversation in the FitSugar Community .

Some of the best gifts you can dole out this holiday season are the kind that come straight from your oven. They can also, however, be the most dangerous kind. When whipping up a batch of whole wheat biscotti or chewy brownies, it’s best to be cautious of and prepared for any burns that may happen along the way. Take my quiz to see if you know the dos and don’ts of first aid for burns. Take the quiz

Sugar user fizzymartini is perplexed by the whole notion of training for a race and posted her query in the RunningSugar group. I must admit to being entirely puzzled by the concept of training for races, and the preparation that takes you up to the final days before a big race. Before my first 10K, I scoured the websites and researched preparation thoroughly. I tapered my runs following a plan I found online, did interval training, hydrated zealously in the days prior and “carbo-loaded” the day before. And the race was fine, I was able to run a decent time and was pleased that the prep had clearly paid off. For my next 10K about half a year later, I was much worse prepared. I didn’t train as frequently in the run-up, had a complete lack of plan and didn’t eat particularly well beforehand. Yet the race was fine, I beat my previous time and didn’t even feel as tired as the time before. My next race was one year later – a half-marathon – and I managed to kick it up a gear in the complete dopey unpreparedness. Not on purpose, mind . . . as far as I was aware, I had no plans at all and hadn’t run for at least five months prior. I had taken a break from running (merely down to laziness, admittedly) and had gone on holiday, where I proceeded to do no physical exercise, consumed copious amounts of alcohol and amp; “bad” food and very late nights. Then right on my return home, a friend handed me her place in a half-marathon, taking place in two days’ time. Now I’d never run more than 10K . . . has anyone ever watched the episode of How I Met Your Mother , where Barney just wakes up and runs a marathon? (Quote: “Step one, you start running. There is no step two.”) – I literally did that! Yet not only did I (miraculously!) manage to finish and feel fine, but I also managed a faster time than my extremely fit friend, who had been training for months on end (and was teetotal for weeks before). Which leads me to question the validity of training? Does it actually counteractively exhaust you? Or is it a mental boost? What does everyone think, and has anyone ever really seen a vast difference between training and not before a race? Always on the run? Then join and post on RunningSugar where the conversation just jogs along.

What’s a French fry – or a French fry alternative – without a dab of ketchup, or a slice of pizza without a dip in ranch? Some might say, it’s just enough. While the condiments may taste delish going down, they can also pack a hefty side of calories and high levels of sugar. Come check out some dressings that should be added with caution, or not at all. Flickr user greenkozi View Slideshow ›