Banging your head against a wall can burn up to 150 calories per hour.
It’s been estimated that an opera singer burns an average of more than 2 calories per minute during a performance.
Laughter Therapy
May 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
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Quotes:
Hearty laughter is a good way to jog internally without having to go outdoors.
~ Norman Cousins
Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.
-Cullen Hightower
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Memory Enhancement Foods
May 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The following are foods believed to improve memory function:
- Apples
- Apricots
- Black currents
- Blueberries
- Blueberry juice
- Bok choy.
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Cherries
- Cherry tomatoes
- Collard and mustard greens
- Eggplant
- Elderberries
- Fish
- Grapes
- Kale
- Onions
- Plums
- Red Beets
- Rhubarb
- Rosemary
- Spinach
- Swiss chard
Chewy Gingersnaps Recipe
April 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In my house, these disappear faster than chocolate chip cookies!
When baked with quality ingredients = “Ooohhh….ahhhhh…mmmmmmm…”
When baked with heap ingredients = “Hey, these aren’t half bad!”
- 4 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 4 teaspoons ground ginger (I usually add an extra teaspoon – I like strong ginger)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I use Saigon cinnamon – stronger flavor)
- 1 1/3 cup vegetable, canola or sunflower oil (I prefer canola oil)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (use quality sugar – yes, there’s a difference)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses (I use Black Strap Molasses – stronger flavor)
- Additional granulated sugar for rolling the cookies
Here’s whatcha do…
Preheat the oven to 325°F.
Lightly grease two cookies sheets with non-stick cooking spray or butter and line them with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon and set aside.
Using and electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil, sugar and eggs on medium speed until the mixture is smooth and light. Beat in the eggs, one at time, followed by the molasses, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. On low speed, beat in the dry ingredients to make a firm dough.
Place some granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Using lightly floured fingers, form the dough into 3/4-inch balls. Roll each ball in the granulated sugar to evenly coat them. Place the cookies on baking sheets, evenly spaced and inch apart, and lightly press them with your fingers to flatten them slightly.
Bake the cookies until they are puffed, cracked, and lightly golden brown, about 16 to 18 minutes, rotating the pans 180° halfway through the baking time to ensure even browning. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for two or three minutes, then use a spatula to gently transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store the cookies in an airtight container, kept in a cool, dry place, for up to a week.
How To Avoid The Swine Flu
April 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Practice the following very simple steps while you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection. Carefully following these practices can help prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections.
- Frequent hand-washing.
- “Hands-off-the-face” approach. Resist all temptation to touch any part of your face (and the face of others). The only portals of entry for the Swine Flue are the nostrils and mouth/throat.
- Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
- Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down the viral population.
- Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C such as citrus fruits. If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption
- Drink as much of warm liquid as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
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The above tips are adapted from some offered by Dr. Vinay Goyal, MBBS, DRM, DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist). He has more than twenty years of clinical experience, having worked in Hinduja Hospital, Bombay Hospital, Saifee Hospital, Tata Memorial and other health services institutions. Presently, he is heading the Nuclear Medicine Department and Thyroid clinic at Riddhivinayak Cardiac and Critical Centre, Malad (W).
Home Safety Tip
April 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
PUT YOUR CAR KEYS BESIDE YOUR BED AT NIGHT
If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies.
Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It’s a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house. It works if you park in your driveway or garage.
If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break in your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won’t stick around… After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won’t want that!
And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there.
This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or prevent a sexual assault. One woman insists that her husband carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn’t hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she’ll know there’s a problem.
Honduran Slaw Recipe
April 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Cabbage –shredded, or sliced real thin
1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
1 bunch of radishes, sliced thin
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
For a dressing, add the juice from 3-4 limes, a tablespoon or so of olive oil, ground cumin (tsp +), salt and pepper. Pour it on the slaw and toss until all is covered, sample and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Do You See What I See?
December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
The Christmas season is upon us and people are singing these words…
“Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky, little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
Unfortunately, all too many people aren’t seeing what everyone else is seeing because they think they do not have enough money for a new pair of eyeglasses. But . . .
Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
Have you heard that you can get a pair of eyeglasses straight from the manufacture for as little as $8? Check out this article about Zenni Optical.
Now that you hear what I hear about high quality eye-wear at reasonable and affordable prices, the next time you hear carolers sing “Do you see what I see?” you can say “Yes.”
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Chocolate Covered Health
December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
From time to time you will hear someone say that “everything that tastes great is bad for you.” Not true when it comes to chocolate.
- One plain milk chocolate candy bar has more protein than a banana.
- Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
- Dark chocolate contains flavonals that increase blood flow in the brain and makes you smarter.
- A new study suggests that chocolate lovers are less likely to die following a heart attack.
- Theobromine found in chocolate may be just as effective as fluoride at hardening tooth enamel.
- Moderate consumption of chocolate may lower blood pressure.
- Alkaloids in chocolate have been linked to serotonin levels in the brain and seems to promote mental health.
- Dark chocolate contains antioxidants associated with health improvement.
Something that improves cardiovascular health, prevents cancer, suppresses coughing, counters dementia, decreases the risk of heart attack, and improves ones mental health. Chocolate defies the old saw that if it tastes good it isn’t good for you.
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