Benefits of Dark Chocolate

1) Dark Chocolate is Good for Your Heart

Studies show that eating a small amount of dark chocolate two or three times each week can help lower your blood pressure. Dark chocolate improves blood flow and may help prevent the formation of blood clots. Eating dark chocolate may also prevent arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). 

2) Dark Chocolate is Good for Your Brain

Dark chocolate increases blood flow to the brain as well as to the heart, so it can help improve cognitive function. Dark chocolate also helps reduce your risk of stroke. 

Dark chocolate also contains several chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health. Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), the same chemical your brain creates when you feel like you're falling in love. PEA encourages your brain to release endorphins, so eating dark chocolate will make you feel happier.

Dark chocolate also contains caffeine, a mild stimulant. However, dark chocolate contains much less caffeine than coffee. A 1.5 ounce bar of dark chocolate contains 27 mg of caffeine, compared to the 200 mg found in an eight ounce cup of coffee.

3) Dark Chocolate Helps Control Blood Sugar

Dark chocolate helps keep your blood vessels healthy and your circulation unimpaired to protect against type 2 diabetes. The flavonoids in dark chocolate also help reduce insulin resistance by helping your cells to function normally and regain the ability to use your body's insulin efficiently. Dark chocolate also has a low glycemic index, meaning it won't cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.

4) Dark Chocolate is Full of Antioxidants

Dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants help free your body of free radicals, which cause oxidative damage to cells. Free radicals are implicated in the aging process and may be a cause of cancer, so eating antioxidant rich foods like dark chocolate can protect you from many types of cancer and slow the signs of aging.

5) Dark Chocolate Contains Theobromine

Dark chocolate contains theobromine, which has been shown to harden tooth enamel. That means that dark chocolate, unlike most other sweets, lowers your risk of getting cavities if you practice proper dental hygiene.

Theobromine is also a mild stimulant, though not as strong as caffeine. It can, however, help to suppress coughs.

6) Dark Chocolate is High in Vitamins and Minerals

Dark chocolate contains a number of vitamins and minerals that can support your health. Dark chocolate contains some of the following vitamins and minerals in high concentrations:

• Potassium
• Copper
• Magnesium 
• Iron

The copper and potassium in dark chocolate help prevent against stroke and cardiovascular ailments. The iron in chocolate protects against iron deficiency anemia, and the magnesium in chocolate helps prevent type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. 

Amazing Tricks for Healthy, Glowing Skin

What to eat:

Take 160 milligrams of soy isoflavones per day or pour soy milk over your cereal. Soy consumption may support skin health by supplying high-quality protein needed for building and maintaining collagen, the material essential to connective tissues, says Aaron Tabor, M.D., CEO and medical research director at Revival Soy in Kernersville, North Carolina. Soy isoflavones may also act as antioxidants to protect collagen from damage caused by free radicals, highly reactive molecules that can weaken or destroy cell membranes. Free radicals can also damage DNA, create age spots and wrinkles, and depress the immune system, increasing the risk of skin cancer. Good sources of soy isoflavones include soy milk (20-35 mg soy isoflavones per serving) and tofu (20-30 mg soy isoflavones per serving). 

Grill salmon brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with toasted, crushed walnuts. There, you've just gotten a skin-healthy dose of poly- and monounsaturated fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids, which studies suggest may affect the amount of sun and aging damage your skin experiences. By extension, make sure olive oil is the primary source of fat in your cooking each and every day, and try to have salmon twice a week or more.

Cook with garlic every day. A 1996 Danish study found that skin cells grown in a culture dish and treated with garlic had seven times the life span of cells grown in a standard culture. They also tended to look healthier and more youthful than untreated cells. Plus, garlic extract dramatically inhibited the growth of cancerous skin cells.

What to drink:

Brew a pot of tea, chill, then store in the fridge and drink throughout the day. Tea, as you probably know, is a great source of antioxidants, molecules that fight the free-radical damage caused by sun exposure and cigarette smoking. One Arizona study, for instance, found that the more tea people drank (particularly tea with lemon) the less likely they were to develop squamous cell skin cancer.

Stop with one glass of wine or one alcoholic drink. Overdoing it enlarges the blood vessels near the surface of your facial skin.

The Earth

The earth is the planet given to us by God to live on. Despite what scientists might have us believe, it is the only planet in our solar system that can humanity can comfortably inhabit. The earth is a paradise for the creatures that live on it. Every species on earth has its place in the circle of life. Human beings need food, clothing, shelter to survive. All of these are provided in ample supply on God's green earth. It is an unfortunate fact the we have not taken good care of the land that has been placed in our guardianship. Hopefully, it is not too late.

Can earth be Earth when all it’s trees are gone,
And sudsy waters have become unfit,
And poisoned life no longer greets the dawn
With raucous sounds that death has caused to quit?
Will trees no longer wave, with limbs unfurled,
On hapless earth, that ever in orbit roams?
Will human ego sacrifice the world
To satiate its lust for pompous homes?
Will distant space look down on orb that’s bald.
I now can hear the mother say,
“I was once called Earth.
But now , bereft of mirth, I weep. 
That treeless orb’s no longer Earth”

 

(Don't) Let it burn

This summer, Forest Service firefighters are stomping out wildfires they might have let burn in other years. A 'temporary' policy change requires local foresters to get permission from their regional supervisors for anything but full suppression, owing to fears that the current hot, dry conditions could cause remote fires to rage out of control. And too many large, expensive firefighting efforts might break the agency's reduced budget.

Critics say this could delay the ecological restoration of many fire-deprived Western forests and resembles the agency's pre-1995 full-suppression policy. They also note that the budget conditions that led to the decision are unlikely to change soon and may actually get worse, meaning that the temporary policy might become permanent. Firefighting dollars have always been variable, but since the recession Congress has given the agency less each year. "If you're looking to push fire management in a new and ecologically enlightened direction, it is not a positive sign," said Greg Aplet, a forester for The Wilderness Society.

Mooncakes are eaten during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, also sometimes called the Mooncake Festival. This popular festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar and celebrates the moon and the abundance of harvest.This year(2012) the mooncake festival falls on today (30 September 2012).

 People eat mooncakes to express their love for their family and their hope for a happy life. It is associated with the autumn equinox when the moon is supposed to appear at its roundest. The roundness of the moon symbolises family unity and harmony. 

Mooncakes are eaten during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, also sometimes called the Mooncake Festival. This popular festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar and celebrates the moon and the abundance of harvest. People eat mooncakes to express their love for their family and their hope for a happy life. It is associated with the autumn equinox when the moon is supposed to appear at its roundest. The roundness of the moon symbolises family unity and harmony. 

Risiko Minuman Berkarbonat

Rasanya remaja hari ini gemar dengan minuman berkarbonat seperti Coca-Cola,Pepsi,Sprite dan sebagainya.Tetapi adakah anda terfikir bahawa minuman-minuman berkarbonat ini sebenarnya tidak berkhasiat.

Mari kita melihat apakah risiko dan bahaya minuman berkarbonat.

Menurut sekumpulan penyelidik dari Universiti Harvard menegaskan pengambilan 1 gelas minuman berkarbonat setiap hari boleh memberi kesan terhadap serangan jantung.





Pengambilan gula yang berlebihan akan menghasilkan lemak simpanan dan sesetengah daripadanya tidak baik untuk jantung.

Mereka yang mengambil minuman bergula berpotensi memiliki protein serta lemak yang tinggi dalam darah dan boleh dikaitkan dengan serangan jantung. Paras kadar kolestrol yang baik pula akan menjadi rendah.

Semakin banyak minuman manis yang diambil seseorang, termasuk jus buah-buahan diawet yang ditambah gula, ia boleh meningkatkan risiko serangan jantung sama seperti minuman berkarbonat. Keadaan menjadi lebih buruk apabila seseorang itu mempunyai amalan yang kurang sihat seperti merokok, pengambilan alkohol dan sebagainya.

management tips for college students

Track in

Track your spending for two to four weeks to find out where your money is going. Are four trips to Starbucks a week really necessary?

Get a Plan

The best way to manage your money over the course of a semester is to sit down and map out a budget. List sources of income such as scholarships, loans, money from summer jobs and cash from your parents as well as expenses, such as tuition, books and groceries.

Good time money

If you know you need to buy a new CD or go to concert or a party every week, make room for that in your budget.

"You need some entertainment," Hampton says. "A student is going to get really burned out if you don't do anything fun."

Pace yourself

If you spend, spend, spend at the beginning of the semester, you could be tapped out later. Give yourself a spending limit for each week. Stick to it and you won't have to eat macaroni and cheese every day in December.

Go easy with the credit cards
"One quick way to spend beyond your means is to charge it," says Mallary Tytel, president of Healthy Workplaces.

Use credit cards sparingly. Once you get into the habit of reaching for a Visa, it can be hard to stop.

"I saw a student pick up a bag of chips and charge it," Tytel says.

Who wants to pay interest on a bag of Doritos?

Set your own credit line
Just because you have a credit card with a $2,000 credit line doesn't mean you have to spend $2,000. If you know you can only pay back $500, then just spend that.

Afraid you'll spend as long as there's room on the card? Call your credit card company and request your credit limit be lowered. Keep at it. Card companies will try boost up your credit lines so you spend more. Tell them "no" each time they try.

Get real
You can do what you want, but you can't do everything you want. You're going to have to make some choices. Whatever you choose is going to cost some money. Be realistic.

"You need to understand you can't have everything and you have to understand there are consequences," Tytel says. "At some point there needs to be a reality check in terms of what things cost. Most kids have no idea."

Stuff happens
If you bust your budget on something you really, really want to do this week, make up for it next week.

If you find that you must go out to dinner and a movie one week, spend the money; be satifisfied with the decision, and commit to staying home, eating at home and not making any other purchases the following week.

Look ahead
Whether it's a road trip with friends or an auto insurance bill, if you know a big expense is coming, start putting some money aside to pay for it.

"It's a lot easier to set aside $50 every month than to come up with $300 when the bill is due," Oleson says.

Get in touch with your roomie
Contact your roommate before the semester starts and divvy up expenses. Chat about who will bring a refrigerator and who will bring a microwave.

This way you avoid duplicating purchases and excess spending, but will still have all the conveniences to make college life easier.

Spread it out
"Most of the big expenses are at the beginning of the school year," Tytel says. "Buy books as you need them. That will spread out expenses."

Don't forget to check out prices from online bookstores. They may give you a better deal than the campus bookstore. Buy used books whenever possible.

Ask for help when you need it
"It's very difficult to say 'I'm in trouble and I need $2,000' or 'I spent my student loan money'" Tytel says.

Screw up some courage and phone home. The longer you put it off, the worse things get.

COFFEE not good to pregnant women !

Pregnant women are advised not to drink too much coffee. In 2010, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) put out a statement that said drinking less than 200 mg of coffee a day (which they equate to 12 oz of coffee), doesn't seem to increase risk of miscarriage, or premature delivery, but above this level it is not clear what the risks might be.

William H Barth, Jr, chair of ACOG's Committee on Obstetric Practice, told the press:

"After a review of the scientific evidence to date, daily moderate caffeine consumption doesn't appear to have any major impact in causing miscarriage or preterm birth."

"Given the evidence, we should reassure our pregnant patients and let them know that it's OK to have a cup of coffee," he added.

The ACOG statement pointed out that caffeinated tea and soft drinks also contain caffeine, although less than coffee, and so do chocolate candy bars.