This'll Mac Your Day

Diet dreams are made of this. What is high in fat but reduces bad cholesterol? Is packed with kilojoules but is unlikely to stack kilos? It's the macadamia nut. Researchers asked a group with high blood cholesterol readings to eat a handful of macadamias each day for four weeks. Their bad cholesterol levels fell by 5.3%; good cholesterol levels rose up to 7%. Macadamias have a very high level of monosaturated fats and a large amount of plant sterols, which limit cholesterol absorption.

Don't Cough Cash

Next time you need to treat a tickle in your throat, reach for the kettle, not your wallet. Based on research that reviewed 15 studies of over-the-counter cough medicines, involving over 2000 people, and found no solid proof the pricey potions were anymore effective than a placebo. Try this remedy first: lemon and honey in a mug of hot water.

10000 Steps to Healthier Living

It fits in your hand, doesn't cost the earth and will make you feel great. Give up? It was a Pedometer. About 500 people wear a pedometer and taking 10000 steps a day. By the end of eight weeks 56% reported having more energy, 47% improved their mood and 50% loss weight. They reported that seeing their total step count motivated them to take more.

Make Your Home Mosquito-Free

An area of standing water as thin as a coin is all mosquitoes carrying the deadly dengue virus need to breed, so checking regularly for standing water in following areas:

1. Ponds and fountains.
2. Open and closed drains.
3. Tree holes and areas between branches.
4. Litter bins.
5. Flower troughs, plant boxes and pots.
6. Air conditioners.

For area where water accumulates regularly, try applying sand granular insecticide. And make sure that the insecticide is not used in areas where the water might be consumed by pets.

The Low-Down on Laundry

The average person generates more than 200 kilos of dirty duds a year, here are simple steps for cleaner loads:

• Let the water fill  a few centimeters, add detergent and then the clothes. Only about 40% of us do it in this order, it can make a difference as large as using premium detergent over budget.
• Wait five minute to add chlorine bleach, cause detergent and bleach fight each other when added together.
• If you're using more than one product, make them all powders or all liquids. Powder and liquid are different chemically, and they may inhibit each other if used together.

Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh

Make beautiful bloom last longer with these dos and don'ts :

• Do use coloured glass vases, not clear ones. The darker the container, the harder it is for that unsightly, smelly slime (actually algae) to grow. Be sure containers are scrupulously clean.
• Do cut dried stem bottoms immediately before putting them into water.
• Do use a commercial floral preservative. Homemade concoctions don't work as well.
• Do clean the vase, completely replace the water and add new floral preservative every three days.
• Don't shock flowers with cold water. Cut stems response best to warm water (about 43 degrees).
• Don't put flowers near a bowl of fruits. especially apples, pears and plums, which emitting ethylene gas that cause wilting.

"Look What I Made!"

If your home is overloaded with art from a budding Picasso, try these space-savers:

1. Starts a rotating gallery. Hang paintings in plastics frames or pin them to clothesline along one wall, then replace old works with new.
2. Create an object d'art. Have a photocopy shop laminate a favourite painting as a place mat. For a matched set, make colour copies first.
3. Decorate the Net. With a PC and a scanner , you can set up a web site to display your kid's masterpieces. Relatives can even visit the virtual gallery from afar.

Seat Belts Save Lives

Safety belts on seats were first used in aircraft as early as as 1910, and by the 1940's, tests demonstrated that these belts could  substantially reduces injuries in car accidents. By the 1970s, many countries passed legislation making it compulsory for motorist to use belts. Ever since, they've proved to be lifesavers. After seat-belt legislation was introduced in the state of Victoria in 1971, the number of people wearing belts rose from around 20% to 80%, while road fatalities dropped by about 25%. In the year after Hong Kong made the wearing of seat belts in the back seat of private cars compulsory in 1996 "(people in the front seat have had to buckle up since), road accidents casualties fell by 17%. Buckling up can reduce fatalities anywhere from 30 to 50 percent, depending on the complexity of the car crash. When you're inside a moving car, both you and your vehicle are moving at the same speed, if the car stops suddenly you will be thrown forward. If you're not restrained, you will hit whatever is in front of you, a seat belt is designed to prevent you from being thrown forward and this can save your life. Most modern seat belts comprise a lap band and a shoulder band, held in place by a single buckle and bolt fastened to the car's body. They can either be "non-retracting" or "automatic-retracting". The first, an older design, doesn't adjust to the wearer's movements and is less convenient. The second which is more common,allows you to move around more freely, but has a mechanism that restrain you when the car hits something or stops suddenly. It's not only front seat passengers who risk life and limb in an accident. If back seat passenger aren't buckled in, they, too,can get thrown about and be killed or seriously injured.

Turn Down Your Radio Please

Why do all presenters of radio phone-ins ask callers to turn their radios down? If the sound of a caller is broadcast by a station and then comes out of his/her radio and back down the phone to be broadcast again, it creates a loop. A complex noise, such as voice , is made up of various sound waves of different frequencies that, on their own, sound like single whining tones. In a loop, one such frequency can become more prominent than the rest and as it is repeated it will overlay itself, getting louder and louder, until it's distinctly and unpleasantly audible. A second reason for turning your radio down is the seven second broadcast delay some stations use to avoid foul language or slander being aired. If such a system is in use and the caller can hear his radio, he will hear himself seven seconds ago while trying to have a conversation in the present. Obviously this will be very off-putting.

Tea Break for Nescafe Employees

"Workers on the production line are entitled to breaks, but they're not limited to specific beverages," says a company spokesman. "They can have whatever they choose, be it milk, tea, or even softdrinks. But Nescafe is available if they want to enjoy the fruit of their labour."

Fabulous Fish

Men who eat oily fish twice a week can halve then risk of developing prostate cancer and greatly reduce their chances of dying from the disease. Men who ate fish rely or never had a two to three fold higher risk of the cancer than those who ate two to three servings per week. Experts already now that fatty acids in oily fish inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells, but the Swedish scientist have shown just how protective fish can be: in men who developed the disease , the one regularly eating oily fish such as herring, salmon and mackerel were 70 % less likely to die.

Crazy for Nuts

Once shunned as a high fat, high kilo joule snacks, nuts are now staking claim to a reputation as health food for the heart. Researchers found that men who ate a couple of handfuls of nuts every week had a 47% lower risk of sudden death due to cardiac arrest than those who ate nuts less often. Why are nuts so heart healthy? It may be because they're high in unsaturated fats, magnesium and vitamin E. Munching nuts may also help protect against dementia. Scientist also found that people with a diet rich in foods containing vitamin E were less likely to develop Alzheimer's.

Camping Guides

Want a camping holiday to remember for all the right reasons? Follow this advice:

• Set up in daylight - you'll avoid unpleasant surprises , like ant nests.
• Level, firm ground is important, but remember that water will pool at the lowest spot when it rains.
• Biting insects breed around water. Set up your camp at least 100 m away.
• Take a doormat. It's great for removing sand and soil before entering the tent.
• Position your tent so you sleep with your head higher than your feet.
• Locate the campfire downwind from your tent.
• Minimize messy washing up with wrap-up meals. Tortillas taste great and make handy plates.
• Try mess-free eggs on an open fire. Cut an orange in half and eat the pulp. Crack an egg into an orange skin and put it in the embers.
• A first aid kit is a must for any camping trip.

Get Ready to the Beach

What is the attraction of a day in the beach? Is it the rhythm of the waves or the delicious salty smell of the sea? That's part of it, but the most powerful lure is the way the beach forces us into the here and now. We're forever trying to live five minutes in the future or worrying about the past. Beach living is so simple and unsophisticated. It's almost impossible not to relax and savour life at its purest. If you're planning a trip to the beach you'll probably remember your swimsuit, sunscreen and towel. Here are few other items you might want to keep in mind:

• Water! Soft drinks and beer are no substitute when it comes to keeping yourself hydrated.
• Disposable wipes to clean greasy fingers after applying sunscreen.
• Reef shoes, or an old pair of sneakers, to wear in the ocean in case there is sharp coral.
• Ziplock bags to keep it all dry and clean.

Hi-Tech Airport Crime

Millions of travelers never have trouble, but thieves are out there - especially in international airports. Watch out for some "shoulder surfers" one crook pretends to video tape friends while zooming in over your shoulder to steal your phone or credit-card numbers. Another trick : One thief stalls the metal detector line with keys, change and other metallic objects, distracting everyone while an accomplice steals carry-on from the other end of the conveyor belt.

Savings Habits

Here are some ways to teach your children smart savings habits :

1. Problem Your kids say a low interest savings account offers them little incentive to save. Solution Agree to match 50-75% of their savings once their accounts reach pre-set goal.
2. Problem You give your children a generous allowance, but they still come to you for movie money and games purchases. Solution Establish expenses that your kids must cover.
3. Problem When you tell your kids to sink or swim with expenses - they sink. Solution Advance them funds for overlooked essentials, with a plan of repayment.

Do You Spank Your Child?

Spanking children is generally not a good idea. While spanking may stop a child in his tracks, you can't be sure what he has learned from the experience. A child might feel that he is unfairly punished. He might resent the person who spanked him; he might think that he isn't loved or might even harbour thoughts of revenge. Insidiously, the child may learn that might is right. With children of preschool age, the occasional spanking doesn't usually leave any long term psychological scar if in other ways the parent demonstrate warmth and caring. With older children, spanking causes shame, loss of dignity and a feeling of disgrace and should therefore be avoided entirely. When a parent resorts to spanking, he misses the opportunity to teach his child something important and will soon find that the more often he uses spanking to discipline, the more likely he will have to use it exclusively.

Ech - in - acea

This herbs has muscled its way into the top ten best selling supplements, with Australians downing around 200 millions dozes a year. Of course, because research shows echinacea can boost the immune system, shortening colds and the flu. The herbs doesn't seem to prevent viruses, so save money: take it only when you feel sick. People with immune related disorders such as AIDS, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis should avoid it. So too should anyone with asthma, eczema and other known allergies. Adverse reactions, although rare, can be life threatening.

Prepare Some Safe Food

It only requires a few precautions to ensure that the food you prepare in the kitchen is safe and sanitary. Follow these tips for healthy home cooking:

• Watch that milk. Keep dairy products refrigerated once opened and follow the expiration dates. Discard expired items even if they don't show signs of spoilage.
• Chill out. Thaw meat, fish and poultry on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator or under running potable water.
• Keep it clean. Wash chopping boards and knives before and particularly between cutting cooked and raw foods,
• Cook, don't freeze. Once meat, fish or poultry has been thawed, cook them immediately. Don't refreeze raw items. 

Warnings

As litigation increases, manufacturers of consumer product have to protect themselves with warning labels. But where do we draw the line?

• On a frisbee like flying disc, warning: may contain small parts.
• On a portable stroller, caution: remove infant before folding for storage.
• On a package of fireplace logs, caution: risk of fire.
• A musical birthday candle warns: do not use softwax as ear plugs or for any other function that involves insertion into a body cavity.
• On a dessert box: product will be particullarly hot after heating.
• On a hair dryer: do not use while sleeping.

How to Make a Toast

It's best to be sober when you make the toast, so try to do it early in the party. If you're nervous, tell people you're nervous. You don't do this for a living.
Always open with humor. If you make fun of your self, you're allowed to make fun of others. However I wouldn't take more than a couple of jabs at the guests of honor, placed one is all you need.
In the middle have some substance. especially if you have a story to tall about the person. One serious sentiments always good to throw in near the end, to show something real is happening.
The no.1 mistake people make is getting maudlin. I remember so many people breaking down in tears fueled by alcohol.
The wonderful thing about a toast is that you can't go on too long. Everyone is standing there holding their glasses.


     

Make Love Not Wrinkles

It'll do more than put a skip in your step. In several surveys done over a ten-year period, graduate students examined photos of thousands of men and women, mostly 45 to 55 years old, and had to guess their ages. Those judged to look youngest-up yo 12 years younger than their real age-had sexual intercourse 50 percent more often than those who looked their age.

Staying Healthy on the Road

The WHO offers these guidelines to stay healthy while on the road:

• Update your vaccinations four to six weeks before departure.
• While travelling, eat only thoroughly cooked foods, and drink only well-sealed bottled water or packaged cold drinks. Other water should be boiled.
• Bring a card or wear a bracelet showing your blood type and medical allergies in case of an accident.
• If you're taking prescription medication, bring enough to last for your entire stay.