Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Health Fact: Garlic Wards Off (Besides Vampires!) Many Health Threats

For thousands of years, humans have revered garlic as both food and medicine. Medical experts believe that regular consumption of garlic - as little as half a clove a day - may cut the risk of several significant health threats.

Chemists say that when garlic is crushed, chopped, or chewed, an enzyme is released that converts one of garlic's key sulfur compounds, called alliin, into allicin. Allicin gives garlic its unique odor (the reason why garlic is often called the "stinking rose") and provides much of its healing properties.

Garlic has been shown to have numerous beneficial effects. Consider the following:

1) Garlic kills many disease-causing microorganisms. Doctors say that although it is only about 1 percent as effective as penicillin, it works against a wide spectrum of bacteria, viruses, and fungi - including some that antibiotics can't destroy.

2) In test tubes, garlic inhibits the growth of 'Helicobacter pylori,' the bacterium that causes most stomach ulcers.

3) The numerous sulfur compounds of garlic may also protect against certain types of cancer. A major study conducted in Iowa showed garlic to be the single most powerful protector against colon cancer.

4) It's not only garlic's sulfur compounds that appear to fight cancer. Garlic increases the production of an enzyme known as glutathione peroxidase, which helps detoxify carcinogens. [Read Full Article]

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Review of the Movie "The Bourne Ultimatum"

I think this movie worked well despite the disturbing graphic scenes of violence. I guess it is a strategy used to lessen the cost of stunts in excitingly unusual locations. They began the sequence where The Bourne Supremacy left off, when Jason was wounded in Moscow. Driven to know who he is, Jason Bourne communicates with a journalist who seems to have a clue. However, the Treadstone is way too fast monitoring their track and using assassins to kill them.

The direction leads him to Madrid, to look for Neal Daniels, but happens to see Nicky Parson, his erstwhile handler, or is she not? “You really don’t remember do you?” -Nicky. Is she his girl before Marie Kreutz? Hmm… That’s another story! [Read Full Review]

Friday, August 17, 2007

Buying Hair Products 101

Hair is most attractive when it is kept clean, shiny, and shaped or styled to fit the individual face and head. A large part of the millions of dollars spent in the United States each year on beauty aids is spent for hair styling and care.

When buying hair products, you may consider the following:

Shampoos:

Regular shampoos contain seventy to eighty percent of water, detergent, perfumes and some conditioning oils. They may include harsh ingredients that could be harmful to your scalp like formaldehyde. So be wary what shampoo you must use.

Dandruff shampoos:

Dandruff shampoos may only help lessen the irritation. If your scalp is sensitive to dandruff shampoos' active ingredients, you should alternate them between sulfur-based and tar-based products.

Hair sprays:

Hair sprays can irritate your eyes, skin, and respiratory tract. They must be used in a well-ventilated area. It is much safer to use pumps than aerosols because they emit droplets which are less easily absorbed into your lungs. You may also consider styling foams, but they often contain alcohol, that may dry your hair. [Read Full Article]

Machu Picchu in Peru

An Agence France-Presse dispatch from Lisbon, Portugal says that nearly 100 million Internet and telephone voters selected the new seven wonders of the world. One of these is the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.

High in the Peruvian Andes, the citadel of Machu Picchu appears suspended in mountain mists. Perched precariously on a rocky outcrop with huge drops either side, this city of a long-dead race eluded discovery until the 20th century, some 400 years after its downfall. Travel records indicated that today, a traveler in Peru can make the 60-mile or 96-kilometer journey from the city of Cuzco to Machu Picchu in just a few hours by train and bus.

Historical records reveal that in 1911, the American historian and archaeologist Hiram Bingham toiled for five days along the valley of the River Urubamba before reaching now famous ruins. He believed that he had discovered the Inca stronghold of Vilcabamba - a city that had been razed to the ground during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire in 1572. Bingham's party chanced upon Machu Picchu largely by luck. They had made camp in a river canyon where they met a farmer who told them of the remains of an ancient city on a nearby mountain called Machu Picchu ('old peak'). Although skeptical, the next day Bingham and his party followed the farmer up the mountain through dense jungle. Near the top, 2,000 feet (610 meters) above the valley floor, they came across a stone-faced terrace hundreds of yards long and, beyond it, walls of pure white blocks of granite, covered in thick vegetation but remarkable nonetheless for their exquisite workmanship. Bingham's party found Machu Picchu to be an extraordinary place, "not least because the people who built it did not possess iron tools, draught animals or, indeed, the wheel." [Read Full Article]

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Simple Method to Beat Coffee Addiction

Coffee is the favorite hot drink in the United States (as tea is in Great Britain), and more than two billion pounds (1 billion kilograms) of coffee are consumed in the country every year. Those who drink coffee dote on its aroma and flavor. But taste and aroma alone do not account for the popularity of coffee. It gives a lift which so habituates its users that they cannot perform their usual activities without a cup or two. It becomes a crutch on which they depend for a starter in the morning, for a pick-me-up at the coffee break, for pep on social occasions, and for a stimulant to stay awake. A cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams (1.5 grains) of caffeine.

There are people who seem to be hopelessly hooked on coffee, but would like to beat their addiction to it just the same. A former habitual user has some suggestions that helped her kick her coffee-drinking habit: [Read Full Article]

Thursday, August 9, 2007

A Psychiatrist or a Psychologist: Which Professional is Better Concerning Mental Health?

The range of choices in the mental health marketplace can be confusing. Any physician can legally prescribe psychoactive medications, while almost anyone, even without a license or training, can profess to treat emotional disorders. Within the medical profession, psychiatrists have the training to deal with severe mental disorders. Yet a sympathetic general practitioner may prove just as effective in treating mild depressions and anxiety problems or may be able to refer you to an appropriate therapist. Your local community health center or public hospitals are alternative sources of information and treatment. Community health centers can arrange for psychiatric assessment and follow-up services, and in emergency situations a crisis team can be called upon. Psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and counselors all play a role in the delivery of mental health services. Only psychiatrists can prescribe drugs, but it should be recognized that while drug treatment may be necessary for serious illnesses, many conditions can be treated without drugs. [Read Full Article]

A Guide to Parent-Teacher Relationship

Though parents have chosen the best school their child, much will depend on the student's teacher.

Parents active involvement is an advantage that gives opportunity for the school to provide the best for your child. You must understand that the teacher's style and how it complements the learning techniques relevant to optimize your child's performance and well-being are taken care of very well. Instead, ask what you can do to help and take an active role in your child's school activities. [Read Full Article]