Issue Date: August 26, 2007
Is that game for kids?
With the average age of gamers rising to 33, retailers are allotting more shelf space for grown-up fare, like the coke-dealing adventure "Scarface: The World Is Yours" and the forthcoming "Manhunt 2," a game so violent it received an Adults Only rating. That's why it's important for parents to pay close attention to what kids are playing.
Mature games aren't always easy to spot. The rhythm game "PaRappa the Rapper," for example, has a cartoon dog on its game cover but features a graphic scene of intestinal distress.
Proactive parents wanting do a little research before shopping should go to GamerDad.com. At the bottom of each review is a "Kid Factor" section that tells you in plain English what you need to know. Is Resident Evil 4 on the Wii too violent? Kid Factor says, "If your kids watch horror movies without flinching, there's no reason to avoid this game."
Another site to bookmark: commonsensemedia.org. Here, you'll find suitable titles by age group, as well as insights. A review of "Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories" says, "Much of the story is told through text, which encourages reading and imagination."
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The hottest cancer fighter
Vitamin D is the most exciting anti-cancer nutrient today.
Many studies suggest that higher blood levels of vitamin D and greater intake of vitamin D in food and supplements cut odds of several cancers, including colon, breast and prostate.
Find anti-cancer vitamin D in fortified cereal.
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For example, older women who took 1,400-1,500mg calcium and 1,100 IU of vitamin D daily were significantly less apt to develop any cancer than women who only took calcium. And men with the highest blood levels of vitamin D had half the risk of colon cancer as men with the lowest blood vitamin D, a new Harvard study says.
Good sources of vitamin D are fatty fish and eel, fortified milk and cereals, and sunlight, as well as supplements.
3 More Fighters
Getting more fiber from whole grains (but not from other foods) helps block colon cancer, according to a large National Institutes of Health study.
Eating more omega-3 fat in fish might reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by 37%, prostate cancer by 43% and kidney cancer by 74%, say new studies.
Garlic lovers have lower rates of esophageal, colorectal, breast, ovarian, prostate and kidney cancer, says recent Italian research. Tip: To maximize anti-cancer chemicals, chop or crush garlic and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, says the American Institute for Cancer Research.
Contributing Editor Jean Carper's most recent book is "Jean Carper's Complete Healthy Cookbook."
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Travelers, pack your jump-ropes
Whether you're traveling for business or pleasure, we all know how hard it can be to get enough sleep, let alone squeeze in a workout.
But a few accessories and a little bit of planning can make staying fit on the road easier than you think, points out Suzanne Schlosberg, author of "Fitness for Travelers."
"For a great cardio workout, you can't beat a jump-rope," she says. "It's ideal when you can't get to a gym, or it's too dark or unsafe to go walking outside. [Just take] a few weeks before your trip to build up jump-rope fitness a few minutes at a time."
"Speed ropes" are thin, lightweight and easy to pack. Also, bring some exercise tubes for strength training, and pack your pedometer to encourage walking.
Most important, keep it simple. "There's no need to try to duplicate your home workout program when you're on the road," Schlosberg says.
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Pay off your house faster
I have a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and would like to pay it off in 15 years or less.
Brenda Archambault, Milton, Fla.
The best way is to make regular, extra principal payments, plus your normal payment. And that takes discipline.
Did you get an offer from a lender to make payments every two weeks instead of monthly, allowing you to save thousands in interest? Sounds great, but often there's a fee. The reality: You can't reduce a 30-year fixed-rate loan to 15 years by making biweekly payments alone. Say you now pay $1,136 a month with a $200,000 balance on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 5.5% interest. By paying $568 biweekly, you are making 13 months' worth of payments yearly, saving $43,000 in interest and retiring the loan in 24 years.
Check bankrate.com's biweekly mortgage calculator to see how long it will take you.
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