Also read
When do you need water? » Continue reading
Read more on Health
Tired? Water Works
Fatigue is an early sign of mild dehydration, according to experts. Staying on top of your liquid intake will keep you fresh. Though you can get a third to a half of your daily water needs from food, you still require eight-plus cups of fluid to feel right. Make sure at least five of them are water, say experts, and add a cup every time you down diuretics -- beverages that drain body fluids -- like coffee or liquor.
Also read
When do you need water? » Continue reading
Also read
When do you need water? » Continue reading
Breakup Predictors
Want to know if a relationship will last? Ask the woman's friends. According to Christopher R. Agnew of Purdue University, USA, they're particularly astute. His team studied 74 couples and their friends. All were asked to judge the couple's commitment. Her friends proved better at predicting outcome than anyone, including couples themselves.
» Continue reading
Read more on Relationships
Healing Power of Forgiveness
Forgive and forget. Most of us find the forgetting easier, but maybe we should work on the forgiving part. "Holding on to hurts and nursing grudges wears you down physically and emotionally," says Stanford University psychologist Fred Luskin, author of Forgive for Good. "Forgiving someone can be a powerful antidote."
In a recent study, Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, an assistant professor of psychology in Michigan, USA, and colleagues asked 71 volunteers to remember a past hurt. Tests recorded steep increases in blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tension -- the same responses that occur when people are angry. (Research has linked anger and heart disease.) When the researchers asked volunteers to imagine empathizing and even forgiving the people who had wronged them, they remained calm by comparison.
What's more, forgiveness can be learnt, insists Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project. "We teach people to rewrite their story in their minds, to change from victim to hero. If the hurt is from a spouse's infidelity, we might encourage them to think of themselves not only as a person who was cheated on, but as the person who tried to keep the marriage together."
Two years ago Luskin put his method to the test on five women from Northern Ireland whose sons had been murdered. After undergoing a week of forgiveness training, the women's sense of hurt, measured using psychological test, had fallen by more than half. They were also much less likely to feel depressed and angry. "Forgiving isn't about condoning what happened," says Luskin. "It's about breaking free of the person who wronged us."
The early signs that forgiving improves overall health are promising: In 2001 a survey of 1423 adults by the University of Michigan's Institute for social research found that people who had forgiven someone in their past also reported being in better health than those who hadn't.
However: While 75 percent said they were sure God had forgiven them for past mistakes, only 52 percent had been able to find it in their hearts to forgive other. Forgiveness, it seems, is still divine.
Also read
Healing Power of Laughter
Coming shortly...
Healing Power of Music
Healing Power of Sleep » Continue reading
In a recent study, Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet, an assistant professor of psychology in Michigan, USA, and colleagues asked 71 volunteers to remember a past hurt. Tests recorded steep increases in blood pressure, heart rate and muscle tension -- the same responses that occur when people are angry. (Research has linked anger and heart disease.) When the researchers asked volunteers to imagine empathizing and even forgiving the people who had wronged them, they remained calm by comparison.
What's more, forgiveness can be learnt, insists Luskin, director of the Stanford Forgiveness Project. "We teach people to rewrite their story in their minds, to change from victim to hero. If the hurt is from a spouse's infidelity, we might encourage them to think of themselves not only as a person who was cheated on, but as the person who tried to keep the marriage together."
Two years ago Luskin put his method to the test on five women from Northern Ireland whose sons had been murdered. After undergoing a week of forgiveness training, the women's sense of hurt, measured using psychological test, had fallen by more than half. They were also much less likely to feel depressed and angry. "Forgiving isn't about condoning what happened," says Luskin. "It's about breaking free of the person who wronged us."
The early signs that forgiving improves overall health are promising: In 2001 a survey of 1423 adults by the University of Michigan's Institute for social research found that people who had forgiven someone in their past also reported being in better health than those who hadn't.
However: While 75 percent said they were sure God had forgiven them for past mistakes, only 52 percent had been able to find it in their hearts to forgive other. Forgiveness, it seems, is still divine.
Also read
Healing Power of Laughter
Coming shortly...
Healing Power of Music
Healing Power of Sleep » Continue reading
Read more on Health
Gentle Slovenia
"Slovenia?" a would-be tourist might remark, "I don't think so. Haven't they just had a war?"Well no, actually. Except for ten days in 1991 when Slobodan Milosevic sent troops in a futile bid to stop his smallest child from leaving the collapsing federal Yugoslav nest, this doughty little nation nestled on the sunny side of the Alps has seen no fighting and no terrorism.
Slovenia is the golden goose that got away. But in truth, it never really felt part of Yugoslavia. A thousand years of Austrian and Venetian domination have left their cultural imprint on its towns and villages; and with three distinct microclimates crammed into its 20,000 square kilometres, it can be an eerily convincing Italy, a bona fide Bavaria, even a plausible Provence, with the culinary trimmings to match.
In the markets of the tiny capital, Ljubljana (population, 270,000), bosomy grandmothers selling mounds of pale sauerkraut, pumpernickel and sausage vie with wiry peasants toting the lighter far of the Mediterranean world: goat's cheeses, aubergines and forest mushrooms. And all plucked form a countryside that runs the topological gamut from snowcapped mountains, through south-facing slopes awash in grape vines and wide plains smothered by sunflowers, to a sandy strip of Adriatic coast. "It's Europe in miniature," exults Steve Fish, an expatriate London businessman who markets golfing holidays.It's actually a kinder, gentler Europe, which has long since disappeared elsewhere. In Ljubljana there's a refreshing lack of commercialism and a surfeit of civic pride. Baby spires and turrets peek up from postage-stamp squares and pocket handkerchief promenades. The river Ljubljanica is criss-crossed by a series of tiny white stone bridges and flanked by terraces of oversized dolls' houses whose pastel facades soothe strollers and waterside diners.
There are advantages to living in a time warp. There's no smiley theme park ethos in these parts. "Why try and improve on what God gave us?" asks a local cabinet minister. "It would be like sticking Disneyland on top of Everest." » Continue reading
Read more on Travel and Holiday
Better B-ware
You may be at risk of a vitamin B-12 deficiency. According to an American survey, scientists tested the blood of 2999 participants; 510 had B-12 levels low enough to put them in danger of suffering anaemia and nerve damage over time. Most multivitamins contain B-12. Good food sources include fish, eggs, dairy products and fortified breakfast cereals.
» Continue reading
Read more on Health
Will the Lady in Red Get Away With It?
Test your sleuthing skills by reading the Five-Minute Mystery below from bestselling author Ken Weber. The solution is at the bottom.
"This letter proves that the government owes us, so when do we get the money? Can't you just tap something into your computer there and take care of it?"
The woman standing over Walter Banks wore a vivid red dress set off by an elegant gold necklace. As she spoke, her strident voice carried far down the hall of the Veterans Administration building.
Walter tried to compensate by speaking softly. "Can you tell me how you obtained this letter, Mrs..."
"Porch," the woman said. "Eviana Porch. I've told you that already." She paused to rein in her irritation. "The letter was written to my grandmother. I found it yesterday when I was cleaning out the attic."
She reached across Walter's desk and tapped the paper. "Take a look at the signature. It was sent to her by Pershing himself."
Walter had definitely noticed the name: Gen. J. J. Pershing (Ret). He'd been commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, and his name was all over the VA building. The signature was authentic, or else the best imitation he'd ever seen.
"Now read this paragraph here," Eviana said, tapping the paper again. Walter did.
"I guess you owe us big-time," Eviana said. "With interest, too, because my grandmother never got one cent of pension."
Walter looked up at her. Clever, he thought, but not clever enough. The letter clearly was a fake.
How does Walter Banks know that Mrs Porch's letter is a fake?
Answer
Pershing allegedly wrote this letter in 1926, two years after his retirement. Not until World War II was the "Great War" of 1914-18 referred to as World War I. » Continue reading
"This letter proves that the government owes us, so when do we get the money? Can't you just tap something into your computer there and take care of it?"
The woman standing over Walter Banks wore a vivid red dress set off by an elegant gold necklace. As she spoke, her strident voice carried far down the hall of the Veterans Administration building.
Walter tried to compensate by speaking softly. "Can you tell me how you obtained this letter, Mrs..."
"Porch," the woman said. "Eviana Porch. I've told you that already." She paused to rein in her irritation. "The letter was written to my grandmother. I found it yesterday when I was cleaning out the attic."
She reached across Walter's desk and tapped the paper. "Take a look at the signature. It was sent to her by Pershing himself."
Walter had definitely noticed the name: Gen. J. J. Pershing (Ret). He'd been commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces, and his name was all over the VA building. The signature was authentic, or else the best imitation he'd ever seen.
"Now read this paragraph here," Eviana said, tapping the paper again. Walter did.
Mustard gas was used at Argonne in 1918, as it was elsewhere during World War I. If your late husband was at Argonne as you say, with 91st division of Cameron's V Corps, then in my opinion you are eligible for a pension. It has been my custom to act on behalf of veterans' widows in these cases, but I have been retired from active service now for two years, since 1924, and therefore suggest you pursue this matter with your Congressman.
"I guess you owe us big-time," Eviana said. "With interest, too, because my grandmother never got one cent of pension."
Walter looked up at her. Clever, he thought, but not clever enough. The letter clearly was a fake.
How does Walter Banks know that Mrs Porch's letter is a fake?
Answer
Pershing allegedly wrote this letter in 1926, two years after his retirement. Not until World War II was the "Great War" of 1914-18 referred to as World War I. » Continue reading
Read more on General Knowledge, Humour
Purr-ly White Care
We wouldn't dream of not brushing our own teeth. So why aren't more of us brushing our pets' choppers? According to the veterinary scientist, oral disease is very common among older dogs and cats. It can lead to serious health problems, as well as painful tooth loss or gum disease. Yet it is easily preventable with home and vet care.
Start by dipping a baby toothbrush in warm water or in a vet prescribed mouthwash before brushing. Or you could dip a piece of cloth in salt and rub it over your pet's teeth. If the pet doesn't let you do either of these, hold a brush and allow it to chew on its bristles. Keep changing the direction of the brush at interval's.
Vets recommend that you clean your pets' teeth at least once a week. » Continue reading
Start by dipping a baby toothbrush in warm water or in a vet prescribed mouthwash before brushing. Or you could dip a piece of cloth in salt and rub it over your pet's teeth. If the pet doesn't let you do either of these, hold a brush and allow it to chew on its bristles. Keep changing the direction of the brush at interval's.
Vets recommend that you clean your pets' teeth at least once a week. » Continue reading
Read more on Pets
Newer Posts
