Reasons to reach for a salad today

SALADS are cool, crunchy, and fun to eat (lots of textures, colors, and flavors). Most people enjoy eating salads - even kids! You can customise them to include the fruits and vegetables that appeal to you the most, and whichever ones you have on hand.

Here are some of its health benefits

The Religion of Irreligiousness

Several authorities have proffered various definitions of religion, out of which we are going to consider a few. Webster’s 1913 Dictionary defines religion as “The outward act or form by which men indicate their recognition of the existence of a god or of gods having power over their destiny, to whom obedience, service, and honor are due; the feeling or expression of human love, fear, or awe of some superhuman and overruling power, whether by profession of belief, by observance of rites and ceremonies, or by the conduct of life.” Dictionary.com sees it as “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.” According to Wikipedia, religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence.

Help Kids Get More Vitamin D

Getting Vitamin D is pretty important to you and your children. About 70 per cent of children are not getting enough Vitamin D. Adults with low Vitamin D are at a higher risk for diabetes, cancers, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.

Dying in the Prison of Your Secret

There is a general illusion that we know whom we relate with. Spouses boast of knowing their partners. Friends proudly talk about how much they know their friends. The general notion seems to be

“I know him more than you think.”

The producers of the film Titanic, through their heroine, Rose, said “The heart of a woman is a deep ocean of secrets.” If I were to paraphrase the statement, I would say “The heart of human is a deep ocean of secrets.”

 

As we bask daily on the illusion that we know whom we relate with, we take for granted the fact that parents do not know all about their wards; spouses, no matter the depth of love between them, do not really know much about their spouses. Siblings as well have their well preserved mines of secrets they keep from one another. In fact we hardly know our fellow men beyond their face value. Everyone nurtures a well hid crypt of amazing secrets.

Often, we hear spouses say to their partners in utmost surprise, “So, all these years I’ve been living with a total stranger!” Such interjections come when they have stumbled into a particular piece of their partners’ well kept secrets. This reveals the fact that no matter how long you have known somebody, no matter the level of intimacy you share, you may not know about the part of his life, which he has chosen to conceal from you.

The odd side of the matter is that more often than not, these well kept secrets do more harm to the keepers than they do to those whom the keepers struggle all their life time to conceal the secrets from. There is a saying that “It is what you know that can hurt you.” Hence people have incarcerated themselves in maximum security prisons of their well kept secrets.

There is a kind of deliverance, or freedom, if you like, that comes when one boldly declares and owns up on his secret, no matter how ugly it has been. However, majority lack the courage to do so. They face a dilemma of either exposing their secrets to get freed or keeping it while exhibiting a make-believe that all is well. The irony they seem to forget is that conscience is an open wound; only the truth can heal it. They also have forgotten that there are two whom none can deceive: God and own conscience. Conscience is the most efficient warder; it keeps the prison with a single inmate: its owner.

Many have died, while luckier ones are nursing hypertension or chronic depression caused by angst of a nagging conscience. The scenes of crimes of yesteryears, and the screams of victims killed in secret decades away, cannot be erased. They remain visuals consistently replayed on the screen of the mind. Lies told and betrayals meted on friends assume anthropomorphic forms, pointing accusing fingers at those who, without qualms, have stained their consciences. Thus the Holy Book says “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.

There is no wisdom, whatever, in remaining jailed in the prison of own secrets. There is honour in taking the bull by the horns to expose ugly pasts. There is healing in self-forgiveness, which comes when we take the step to disgrace our secrets.

If afraid of scandal, the courage to brave the odds becomes elusive. The best way to condition the mind to own up the truth is to tell self that scandal will come, whether we do good or bad. In any case, it is nobler to tell the truth and own up to an ugly past. If a few ignoble minds choose to create scandal out of that noble gesture, take consolation in the fact that a fire built, no matter how wild it is, shall burn out sooner or later. And when the flames are out, honour shall sprout from the cold ashes of the scandal of yesterday.

Do not die in silence friend. Break out of the prison of your own secret today.

 

 
 

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Solutions for Anxiety

Anxiety: Worry dogs you constantly for no logical reason, and you imagine terrible things happening to you. Or maybe you're fearful about taking trips or going to parties or meetings.

 

If so, you might have generalised anxiety disorder. People with GAD experience "uncontrollable worrying," says Dr. Peter Norton, director of the Anxiety Disorder Clinic at the University of Houston. Symptoms include chronic nervousness, trouble sleeping, and fatique.

 

Massage

This heavenly therapy slows the release of stress hormones, such as cortisol, which are linked to anxiety, says Dr. Tiffany Field, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

 

Her research found that a month of weekly 20-minute massages lowers cortisol levels - "a very good objective index of anxiety," she says - by 31 per cent. Massage also causes a relaxation response, which eases anxiety.

 

Exercise

"Exercise makes you pay attention to its sensations, such as breathing faster, and the things around you," says Jasper A. J. Smits, professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. "It helps you disengage from worry." In one study, he found that exercise slashed anxiety in half.

 

Meditation

In anxious people, "we see a deactivation in areas of the brain that govern thought," so worries can spiral out of control, says Fadel Zeidan, a research fellow at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

 

Mindfulness meditation helps you stop the cycle of worry. In Dr. Zeidan's study, anxiety levels of meditators eased by up to 39 per cent.

 

 

Source: Prevention.com


"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8.

Six Ways To Ease Neck Pain

It is not everyday that life is kind to the neck. You may be all too familiar with that crick you get when you cradle the phone between your shoulder and ear, or the strain you feel after working at your computer.

 

Neck pain rarely starts overnight. It usually evolves over time.And it may be spurred by athritis or degenerative disk disease and accentuated by poor posture, declining muscle strength, stress, and even a lack of sleep, says Dr. Zacharia Isaac, medical director of the Comprehensive Spine Care Centre at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and director of interventional physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School.

 

The following six tips can help you take care of your neck

• Don't stay in one position for too long. It's hard to reverse bad posture, Dr. Isaac says, but if you get up and move around often enough, you'll avoid getting your neck stuck in an unhealthy position.
• Make some ergonomic adjustments. Position your computer monitor at eye level so you can see it easily. Use the hands-free function on your phone or wear a headset. Prop your touch-screen tablet on a pillow so that it sits at a 45 degree angle, instead of lying flat on your lap.
• If you wear glasses, keep your prescription up to date. "When your eyewear prescription is not up to date, you tend to lean your head back to see better," Dr. Isaac says.
• Don't use too many pillows. Sleeping with several pillows under your head can stifle your neck's range of motion.
• Know your limits. Before you move a big armoire across the room, consider what it might do to your neck and back, and ask for help.
• Get a good night's sleep. Sleep problems increase the risk for several different conditions, including musculoskeletal pain.

 

Source - www.healthharvard.com