HOW TO STAY HEALTHY THIS SUMMER

 

Summer is identified as the hottest season of the year. People feel healthier and happier during summer than they do in winter.

Have you been aspiring to get in shape and stay fit all year long?  Summer is the best season for that. Most people need to look sexier in summer, the best season for vacations and picnics, recreational activities. People want to have fun in the sun and enjoy summer, but they forget that “scorching summer sun is not as kind on the skin as the winter rays are” says Lata Srinivasan in her article staying healthy in summer. “Extreme hot weather can pose a dangerous threat to people’s health, it can lead to brain damage, organ failure or even death” added getreadyforflue.blogsport.com. Staying healthy in this sizzling weather is possible by strictly following four steps, you are sure to maintain your heath.

1. Eat raw and wild food - summer comes along with several fruits and vegetables, it is a great time to utilize them. Raw foods are much better than cooked food because they contain important nutrients that help you stay healthy. “Cooked food tends to add chemicals into the body that were not there. The perfect season to introduce more raw food in your diet is summer” says Dr. Adele Van Den Berg, a dietician at netcare waterfall city hospital. He added that raw salads and smoothies will help maintain good health all through the summer. There are food as well that grow by themselves in the wild which are full of nutrients such as berries.  Sheryl walters in her article, 5 ways to stay healthy in summer added that “berries are great for health and can give great nutrient and antioxidants”.

2. Protect your skin – according to probioticsmart.com, spending hours in the sun puts the skin at a risk of cancer and other unpleasant skin conditions. It can cause early aging of skin and undesirable sun sports. Sunscreen is one of the best ways to protect your skin in a scorching summer sun. Umbrellas can also be used to protect the skin from the hot sun. Shades (sun glasses) can be used as well to prevent the burning sun from hitting directly to your eyes in summer.

3. Drinking water – staying hydrated during summer is vital says Walter because people sweat more often in the sizzling summer.  She added that heat stroke can lead to Dehydration. Drinking water helps you feel well and stay vibrant, same way as a wilting plant comes to life when it gets watered, that’s how important water is for human in summer. Although sunlight provides vitamin D but you only need 10minutes of sun.

4. Exercise – summer is the best season to put you in shape. Exercising does not just make feel good and confident about yourself but helps you stay healthy. Use the weather to your advantage and spend some time outside. According to probioticsmart.com, there are many physical activities that can be done outside at this time of the season (running/jogging/walking, biking, swimming etc.). All these can help improve your mood this summer. Spark

By following these four steps, you can get in shape, less sick and feel more energized all summer long, but it all comes down to personal motivation. You need to be willing to, and strive for a better healthy. It is advisable to be diligent at this season to maintain a healthy summer.

TRUE LIFE STORY

At the age of eighteen, there was no sign of menstruation, she was worried. “What is happening to me? Am I really a woman?” Oncele Biba, a 2nd year Graphic Design student at Midrand Graduate Institute kept asking herself but no sensible answers was coming. She was then about to write her matric at Kinshasa commercial secondary school Congo. Amazed that her menstruation cycle was contrary to what she read about female reproductive system in Biology and what her mother Florence Biba thought her about what happens to a woman’s system every month.

Biba couldn’t live anymore with her mother’s frequent opinion that “it happens in some women, there is no need to worry” she goes berserk each time her mother sounds that way, because it seemed to her that her mother had no idea what she was feeling.  According to her, she felt as if something was missing, listening to her friends talk about buying sanitary towels every month made it worse. Biba visited Kinshasa general hospital Congo. The doctor suggested that it was early to worry, unless she was ready to get pregnant.

As God may have it, on the 13 of July 2007, Biba was in class, she felt something wet in her underwear, rushing to the toilet, behold, it was her menstruation. She couldn’t believe it, she was ecstatic, for the first time, Biba bought sanitary towel. Unfortunately, the menstruation came for 2days and stopped, that was not normal but that gave her hope that all might still be well. Biba was then 21, graduated from high school but the menstruation never came again and she doesn’t ovulate. This time, she was not the only one worried, her mother was more worried. They decided to seek serious medical attention. Biba was taken to a private hospital, after several questions from the gynecologist (Dr. Jim Martins), she was asked to take an ultra sound.

The result indicated that Biba was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). Betterhealth.com explained it as “poly (many), cystic (small collections of fluid). When the eggs in the ovaries do not develop to maturity, many small "follicles" (small fluid-filled sacs containing immature eggs) develop and can be seen on ultrasound underneath the surface of the ovaries”. Betterhealth.com also added that women with PCOS have either increased circulating amounts of or increased responsiveness to male hormones like testosterone. Biba was placed on contraceptive pills called Yaz to correct the menstruation cycle and also reduce male hormone level.

“Women with PCOS have ovulatory dysfunction or absent ovulation. If the egg is not released from the ovary each month in a regular fashion, and when ovulation manifests itself by infrequent or irregular menstrual cycles, this can apparently lead to infertility” said Dr. Dimitrios Roussot, a gynecologist at Netcare waterfall hospital. PCOS affects 1 in 15 women he added.

Infertility was what Biba feared most. “I was always scared that I might never be able to have my own baby” she said. Martins assured her that taking the contraceptives pills will help with the correction of the cycle but must be balanced it with healthy food (fruits and vegetable) and regular exercise. Biba was disturbed about her situation.

“She was always depressed” says Nanou Biba, a younger sister to Biba. No one knew her problem because she never spoke to anyone.  “My sister never confided in us, even mom couldn’t” she added. Gatho Sukula, Biba’s cousin, said he tried talking to her but she refused to open up, she requested to be left alone.

According to Biba, she was determined to carry the cross alone. She is a devoted Christian and while taking the contraceptives, she believed that the God she served is a healing God and he will heal her someday. She added that she did not want to speak to people who had no solution to her problem. Her faith was overwhelming. “I spoke to the one who has solution to all problems” she says.

She continued to pray while taking her medication, eating a balanced diet and engaging in the necessary exercises. She was visiting her gynecologist every month to get the contraceptives pills. The pills made her menstruate every month but according to Roussort, that is not a real menstruation. The cycle can be corrected after several months of taking the pills and the pill has to be stopped. Biba had taken the birth control pills for eight months.

While taking the pills, she experienced a gain in her weight, but according to her, she was told by her gynecologist that it was not a problem. At the eight months, Biba decided to discontinue with the pills. The next month, on the 21st of May 2008, Biba had her first normal menstruation. She didn’t believe, until it happened again the following month and that was how Biba was complete free from polycystic ovarian syndrome.

“I feel like a woman” she said. Biba believes, her dedication and faith in God corrected her menstruation cycle and encouraged women going through the same problem to stay strong and never stop believing in God

DANNY DECKCHAIR (MOVIE REVIEW)

Film: Danny Deckchair

Director: Jeff Balsmeyer

Featuring: Rhy Ifans, Mirando Otto, Justin Clarke, Rhys Muldoon

Rating: 6/10

At some point in our lives, almost everyone has an urge to move away from our predictable routines and duties and start over somewhere else. Danny Deckchair explores this idea with some interesting twists, although not that fascinating. Director-writer Jeff Balsmeyer is the innovative force behind this Australian romantic comedy.

Danny Morgan (Rhys Ifans) is an easily distracted, Sydney construction worker and lives with his self-centered, bossy girlfriend Trudy (Justine Clarke) who aspires for more affluent lifestyle and takes Danny for granted. He gets bored easily, and when he is bored, he hatches strange schemes, like when he made a slingshot big enough to catapult a full-grown person.  He looks forward to camping with Trudy. However, she is trying to close a real estate deal with Sandy Upman (Rhys Muldoon), a popular TV sports reporter. Trudy forces Danny to suspend the vacation. He was angry and even more berserk when he sports Trudy in a car with upman, revealing a major plot line.

Danny, who finds it hard to express his emotions, comes up with a clever way to convey his feeling of betrayal. It is clear to him that Trudy considers him a loser who is incapable of giving her what she wants. At the barbecue at his home with friends and neighbors, Danny and his friends fill balloon with helium, attach them to a deckchair into the summer sky. He goes up the sky and quickly disappears from sight. Trudy and his friend as well as the whole country through media coverage are throb with speculation and worry about what becomes of him, revealing a major plot development.

He lands in a tree owned by Glenda Lake (Miranda Otto), a local cop with no friend in a small town called Clarence.  However in Clarence, everyone is at least friendly whether, they are actually friends or not. For Danny being in the new town is like starting a new life, one where his ideas are respected and treat him with neighborliness. He found new love as well. Embraced by the town people of Clarence, where his identity remains a mystery, Danny emerges from his comfort zone and become a local hero, revealing plot development. He never bothers to go home, and since the locals are unable to recognize him because the TV news for some reason never shows a recent photo of him.  This is where the screen play becomes a bit incomplete because the TV news failed to include the new photographs of the missing man.

Back in Sydney, Trudy turn Danny’s disappearance into an opportunity to become someone, thereby shifting our attention from Danny’s disappearance.

One problem with Danny Deckchair is that Balsmeyer does not bring anything new to the formula.  The best scenes in the movie are those involving Danny and Glenda, who make a pleasant romantic couple. Attractive as well are the scenes of Danny floating high in the sky.

Balsmeyer is an experienced and wonderful story teller with some attention grabbing ideas; he’s just not sure what to do with them.

Like many present Australian movies. Danny Deckchair is a comedy with a script that needed more work, more laughs and importantly, a fresher and more unique approach to the material.

HOW TO BECOME A GOOD JOURNALIST

Journalism is, in most respects, the backbone of the media industry. Therefore many media jobs require some aspect of journalism. The type of writing a journalist does depends largely on the subject they cover. Another thing which affects a journalist's job is the outlet they produce news for: TV, the Internet, a newspaper, etc

Working a Beat
A beat is a media term for the area, or topic, a journalist covers. So a beat could be anything from local crime, to national news to Hollywood movies. Beats can be very specific, or broader, depending on the kind of publication you’re working for. A mid-size daily newspaper, for example, will have reporters covering everything from local police goings-on to local sports.

Why You Need a Beat
A journalist’s job is to report the news. To find the news, you need to understand the subject matter and the people you’re writing about. Let’s say you’re working a crime beat for a newspaper in Chicago. One morning the police report that there’s been a murder in a posh neighborhood of the city. Now, in order to write about that murder, you need to know what’s been going on in the city. Is this an isolated incident? Was there a similar crime two weeks ago? Two years ago?
People always discuss the five pillars of journalism or the Five Ws -- who, what, where, when and why -- and, the “why,” section can only be filled out by someone with a background and knowledge of their beat. If, for example, you were asked to write about the aforementioned murder in Chicago, and didn’t know anything about the city or the recent criminal activity there, you wouldn’t be able to cover the story in the best way. Because, let’s face it, the story is very different if it’s a random act instead of a potential sign of a crime spree or, let’s say, a serial murderer.

Developing Sources
The other big reason journalists work beats, aside from developing a deep knowledge of the subject they’re covering, is to develop sources. Sources are people you talk to report a story. Now some sources are obvious. If we continue with the example of working as a crime reporter in Chicago, you would have regular sources in the police department. Now some would be obvious -- you would likely speak to a spokesperson for the department whose job it is to handle reporters (a kind of publicist) -- but other contacts might be developed from relations you foster over years of covering a beat.

TAKING CARE OF YOUR SKIN

Don't have time for intensive skin care? Pamper yourself with the basics. Good skin care and healthy lifestyle choices can help delay the natural aging process and prevent various skin problems. Get started with these five no-nonsense tips.

Protect yourself from the sun
One of the most important ways to take care of your skin is to protect it from the sun. A lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and other skin problems — as well as increase the risk of skin cancer.
For the most complete sun protection:

• Use sunscreen. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. When you're outdoors, reapply sunscreen every two hours — or more often if you're swimming or perspiring.
• Seek shade. Avoid the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun's rays are strongest.
• Wear protective clothing. Cover your skin with tightly woven long-sleeved shirts, long pants and wide-brimmed hats. Also consider laundry additives, which give clothing an additional layer of ultraviolet protection for a certain number of washings, or special sun-protective clothing — which is specifically designed to block ultraviolet rays. 

 Don't smoke
Smoking makes your skin look older and contributes to wrinkles. Smoking narrows the tiny blood vessels in the outermost layers of skin, which decreases blood flow. This depletes the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health. Smoking also damages collagen and elastin — the fibers that give your skin its strength and elasticity. In addition, the repetitive facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — can contribute to wrinkles.
If you smoke, the best way to protect your skin is to quit. Ask your doctor for tips or treatments to help you stop smoking.

Eat a healthy diet
A healthy diet can help you look and feel your best. Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. The association between diet and acne isn't clear — but some research suggests that a diet rich in vitamin C and low in unhealthy fats and processed or refined carbohydrates might promote younger looking skin. 

 Manage stress
Uncontrolled stress can make your skin more sensitive and trigger acne breakouts and other skin problems. To encourage healthy skin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your stress. Set reasonable limits, scale back your to-do list and make time to do the things you enjoy. The results might be more dramatic than you expect.

HOW TO STAY HEALTHY IN SUMMER

summer is the season that everyone is waiting for. it is a hot season and it's good to enjoy it to the fullest. below are 5 ways to stay healthy and enjoy summer.

Raw FoodsEnjoy as many raw foods as possible. While cooked food tastes nice, especially on a cold winter’s day, vital nutrients are damaged and lost. Further, cooking adds chemicals that aren’t particularly natural to our bodies. Summer is the perfect time to introduce as many raw foods as possible in the diet.
Raw salads and smoothies will keep you going in the summer. A greater variety of fruits and vegetables means more nourishment for your body and is better for your health. It also means that you won’t waste valuable sunshine time standing over your cooker, and you may find that you look more gorgeous than ever in your summer clothes.

Wild Foods
By now, most of us know that blueberries are great for health. But there are plenty of berries that grow wild all over the world which can give us many of those same nutrients and antioxidants.
I find it funny when I see a small amount of blackberries on sale in the supermarket for quite a hefty price, and they are growing all around us for free. You may be surprised to discover that there are wild berries near where you live.
There may also be wild plants to use in salads, such as dandelion. Nettles can be used in tea, and they can also be juiced. Find out what foods grow wild in your area, and make the most of these free foods that are highly nutritious.

Sun Screen?
Sunscreen is a tricky subject. On the one hand we know that overexposure to sun causes aging skin and even cancer, we also know that the best way to get vitamin D, which is essential for our health, is through the sun. Studies are also continuously showing that many mainstream brands of sunscreen contain chemicals that are no good for our wellbeing. Here are a few ways to deal with the sun:

* Make sure your sunscreen is organic.

* Cover up -- a hat will not only protect you from the sun, it can add style and flare to your outfit!

* Studies show that lycopene is extremely beneficial in protecting us from the negative effects of the sun. Lycopene is a plant nutrient found primarily in tomatoes and tomato based products such as juice and puree, as well as watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya, and red bell pepper.

* There are also some interesting studies to suggest that broccoli sprouts (which you can sprout yourself or buy at a health food shop), are beneficial for warding off harmful sun rays.

Drink Water

It is crucial to drink plenty of water all year long, and no time is it as refreshing and necessary as in the summer months. We are primarily made of water, and drinking plenty of plain agua will ensure that we feel well and vibrant during the hot months. Just watch a wilting plant in the sun come alive when it gets watered.

Exercise
Summer is the time to get outside. If you have wanted to get in shape and get into some healthy exercising habits, there is no better time than now. Figure out what you enjoy doing, and do it 4-5 times a week.
Bicycling, skateboarding, running, or just walking regularly for 20 minutes can make us feel better and improve our health... not to mention how we look and feel with our winter jackets off.