Dip Into Honey Pot for Good Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding a little honey to your diet may do more than satisfy your sweet tooth. Honey may also boost levels of healthy antioxidants, new research suggests.


For centuries, honey has been known to have some beneficial effects, according to University of California-Davis researcher Dr. Heidrun B. Gross. In an interview with Reuters Health, Gross recalled her grandmother's advice to eat honey when she felt under the weather.


Now, Gross and her colleagues have provided scientific evidence to support what her grandmother knew all along.


"Honey is not just a sweetener," Gross said. It also has compounds called phenolics that have antioxidant properties, she explained. These substances quench free radicals, which are unstable byproducts of normal metabolism that cause damage to arteries, and to DNA that can lead to cancer and other diseases.


It is easy enough to take vitamin supplements that contain antioxidants, but Gross said she prefers "to look for foods, rather than compounds, that are already part of our diet."


In a study of 25 healthy adults, Gross and her colleagues showed that honey can boost antioxidant levels. For 29 days, participants added 4 tablespoons of buckwheat honey to their daily diet. The researchers tested two types of buckwheat honey with different amounts of antioxidants.


Blood samples taken at the beginning and end of the study showed that the total level of phenolics increased in both groups of volunteers.


Gross presented the results Sunday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California.


Previous research had shown that a single dose of honey can boost antioxidants, but Gross said that the current study is thought to be the first study of daily honey consumption.


"You can definitely increase the amount of antioxidants" by adding a little honey to your diet, Gross said. She noted that the study included only healthy people, so the jury is still out on the long-term health benefits of honey.


But for people interested in boosting antioxidant levels, the California researcher recommended adding 2 to 4 tablespoons a day to their diet. This amount of honey "definitely provides some antioxidants," she said, which may boost the body's defense system.


Gross advised people to consider substituting honey for other sweeteners that do not provide the same burst of antioxidants.


But not all honey is created equal in terms of antioxidants, Gross said. For the most part, the darker the honey, the more antioxidants it contains, she said.

what happens when you breathe in a bug

Q) I was riding my bike the other morning and accidentally inhaled a bug. Is there a big pile of assorted bug parts in my lungs? — Jeff Eisken, Fort Smith, Arkansas

A) IF INDEED YOU are worried, don't be. Your lungs, while prone to harboring an insect or two, have a built-in bug-removal process. Assuming the critter isn't a 2.5-ounce giant weta from New Zealand (considered by many to be the world's largest insect), rest assured that the hairlike structures in your airway, called cilia, will work in sequence to brush microscopic bug bits up the trachea so you can cough them out. It's unlikely that the little corpse will make it all the way down your windpipe, but if it does, your lungs will activate an emergency backup plan. "Your body recognizes the bug as foreign," explains Armando Huaringa, a pulmonologist and member of the American Association for Bronchology. "Your lungs encapsulate the bug with mucus, and over time the proteins get broken down by chemical processes." This pulmonary entombment leaves a small tumor on the lung, called a granuloma-but fear not, it's benign, more granola than melanoma. On the other hand, aspirant pneumonia is a remote possibility if the bug carried bacteria. Ideally, though, the pharynx-a trapdoor at the back of the mouth-has already diverted the errant bit of vermin down your esophagus and into your belly, away from your windpipe. "Your stomach is better equipped than your lungs for this kind of work," says Huaringa.

Q) Why is lichen put into natural deodorant? — Sarah Bovey, Sunderland, Vermont

A) PRESS YOUR NOSE against a lichen-covered rock, and you might detect a pleasant herbal smell. But the reason the crusty plant is used in deodorant has more to do with science and folklore than with its subtle perfume. First, the science: Every lichen is actually two organisms-a fungus and an alga-living in symbiosis and exchanging food, water, and minerals with each other. Among the dozens of chemicals that lichens produce (from naturally occurring sugars) are acids designed to kill invading microbes that might be harmful to the relationship-hence the theory, among some scientists, that these same acids are capable of killing the odor-causing bacteria that flourish around your sweat glands during a long trail run. It's not a new notion: For 2,000-plus years, lichens have been thought to wield curative powers. The lichen known as old-man's beard, which drapes the branches of oak and pine trees from North America to China, was used to treat whooping cough, cataracts, dropsy, and epilepsy, in addition to being considered an astringent, a tonic, a diuretic, a remedy for baldness, and a salve that could heal battle wounds. Today, you'll find this once-ubiquitous cure-all in homeopathic prescriptions for headaches-and as a key ingredient in Tom's of Maine deodorant.

Q) If lightning strikes the water while I'm scuba diving, how far away do I need to be to avoid getting hit? — Chris Wojcik, Point Pleasant, New Jersey

A) SINCE H2O IS a shockingly good conductor of electricity, it's wise to stay completely dry during an electrical storm. But if circumstances demand otherwise, you're better off scuba diving than, say, swimming, boating, or practicing your belly flop off the high dive. According to a law of physics commonly known as the skin effect, most of the electricity in lightning travels on the surface of an object-be it a copper wire, a metal mast, or a bay off the coast of Belize-as opposed to within it. Some of the lightning's zap will penetrate the water, perhaps ten feet directly below the strike, but otherwise the charge spreads out along the surface, dissipating by various degrees (depending on things like salinity and pollution levels) as it radiates from the point of contact. Since it takes only a few amps to fry a human's circuits and a bolt of lightning is about 25,000 amps, snorkelers and swimmers need to be at least 1,500 feet away from the point of impact to have a decent shot at survival. Scuba divers, as long as they're not surfacing at the strike zone, will be spared entirely.

RE: Upgrading from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed
a slow down in the overall performance, particularly in the flower
and jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under
Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable
programs,such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5, but
installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0 and NBA 3.0 . And
now Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system.
I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these
problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Desperate

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package,
while Husband 1.0 is an operating system.

Try to enter the command: C:/I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME and download
Tears 6.2 to install Guilt 3.0. If all works as designed, Husband
1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and
Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse can cause Husband 1.0 to default
to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0, or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a
very bad program that will create Snoring Loudly. WAV files.
Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 or reinstall
another Boyfriend program. These are not supported applications and
will crash Husband 1.0.

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have a
limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might
consider buying additional software to improve memory and
performance. I personally recommend Hot Food 3.0 and Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck.

YAWNZ...
SUPER TIRED TODAY
URGH

Frozen Lobster anyone?

Some Frozen Lobsters Return to Life

BOSTON - Call it cryonics for crustaceans. A Connecticut company says its frozen lobsters sometimes come back to life when thawed.



Trufresh began freezing lobsters with a technique it used for years on salmon after an offhand suggestion by some workers. It found that some lobsters revived after their subzero sojourns.


Now, Trufresh is looking for partners to begin selling the lobsters commercially. The company was scheduled to attend the International Boston Seafood Show, which began Sunday, armed with video showing two undead lobsters squirming around after being frozen stiff in a minus-40 degree chemical brine for several minutes.


Company chairman Barnet L. Liberman acknowledged that its lobster testing is limited and only about 12 of roughly 200 healthy, hard shell lobsters survived the freezing. In addition, the company hasn't researched how long a frozen lobster can survive — overnight is the longest period so far.


Liberman emphasized the company's goal isn't to provide customers with lobsters that always come back to life. He just wants to supply tasty lobsters.


But frozen lobster can't be much fresher than "still alive" and Trufresh hasn't hesitated to tout their lobsters' restorative qualities. For instance, the company plans to ship the lobsters with rubber bands on the claws, as a consumer protection measure.


"I wouldn't remove the rubber bands," Liberman said. "It's not worth the risk."


Bonnie Spinazzola of the Offshore Lobstermen's Association in Candia, N.H, had her doubts about Lazarus-like lobsters entering the existing frozen lobster market.


"I've never heard of it and I don't know if I believe it," she said. "It might be a robo-lobster."


Trufresh is based in Suffield, Conn., but has salmon operations in Lubec, Maine, a community on the Bay of Fundy that's the easternmost town in the United States. A few years ago, some workers with lobstering experience suggested freezing lobsters the same way they froze their salmon, which are far too dead (and filleted) to ever be revived.


First, the lobster's metabolism is slowed in below-freezing sea water and then it's immersed in the minus-40 degree brine. Liberman said the lobster freezes so quickly that damage to muscle tissue cells from the formation of ice crystals is minimized.


The lobsters are then thawed in 28-degree sea water. A marketing video from the company shows the lobsters freely wriggling around after about two and a half hours.


The first time they tried it, Trufresh froze about 30 lobsters and two came back to life, Liberman said. But the company wasn't in the lobster business and never pursued it.


Now, Trufresh is trying to expand its product line as it launches a retail business on the Internet. If it can find partners to catch the lobster and process it, Liberman said Trufresh can be selling them within months.


Robert Bayer of the University of Maine's Lobster Institute said he was intrigued about the Trufresh process, but dubious. Seafood freezing methods similar to Trufresh's have existed for years, but there have been no reports of undead lobsters, he said.


"I'm guess I am skeptical about a lobster being brought back to life," Bayer said. "But I'm willing to be shown."

McDonald's Salad Has More Fat Than Cheeseburger

i know that McDonald's here don;t have the salad.. bt in the States and some other parts of the world, salad is available.
ironic but true.

LONDON (Reuters) - Global hamburger giant McDonald's latest line in healthy looking salads may contain more fat than its hamburgers, according to the company's Web Site.


McDonald's, plagued by health critics and flattening sales, has launched the biggest change to its menu in 30 years with its plans to get into the multi-million pound prepared salad market.


"You can choose your salad, topping and dressing. You can mix and match to suit your diet and lifestyle," said a McDonald's spokeswoman.


However, consumers hoping to lose weight by switching from burgers to salads may be disappointed, according to the Interactive Nutrition Counter on the McDonald's Web site.



For example, on the new menu to be launched at the end of this month, a "Caesar salad with Chicken Premiere" contains 18.4 grams of fat compared with 11.5 grams of fat in a standard cheeseburger.


The British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) told Reuters it welcomed the salad menu but warned that salad dressings bought in fast-food outlets or supermarkets could be very high in fat and calories.


BNF said the recommended daily fat intake for men is 95 grams per day and for women 70 grams per day.


McDonald's has 1,235 restaurants in the UK and serves three million customers per day.

Disney Yanks Janet's Mickey

Oh Mickey, you're so fine...You're so fine, you blow my--oh, wait, maybe you're not that fine after all.


A 6-foot tall, 700-pound gender-bending statue of Mickey Mouse costumed as Janet Jackson was yanked from a commemorative collection after Disney decided that perhaps Jackson wasn't Mickey's ideal role model.



Or perhaps there was a concern that the statue would suffer a wardrobe malfunction?


The statue, clad in a tight black number modeled after an outfit Jackson wore on tour, was part of an exhibit of 75 celebrity-inspired Mickey sculptures commissioned in celebration of the rodent's 75th birthday.


The sculpture was titled "Mickey's Nation 1928," in a nod to Jackson's album Rhythm Nation 1814; 1928 is the year of Mickey's "birth."


Additional celebrities mimicked by Mickey in the exhibit include Shaquille O'Neal (news)'s "Dunk Mouse," Andy Garcia (news)'s "Mambo Mouse" and Tom Hanks (news)' "Space Mouse."


Andre Agassi, Ellen DeGeneres (news) and James Gandolfini (news) also served as Mickey's famous muses, among a host of others.


The statues were unveiled by top Mouse House exec Michael Eisner at Walt Disney World in Orlando last November.


Last week, the statues were packed onto moving vans and shipped off to Philadelphia to greet Disney shareholders at the company's annual meeting--except for the Jackson-themed Mickey.


It seems Disney was concerned that the statue would serve as a reminder of Jackson's not nearly forgotten Super Bowl stunt.


"Considering all the controversy it drew, we talked it over for a couple of days and decided it would be best to replace hers with a new one," Disney spokesman Gary Foster said.


An in-house Disney artist created a new statue, which took the place of "Mickey's Nation 1928."


Following their sojourn in Philadelphia, the statues will embark on a nationwide tour. Jackson's statue will not rejoin the tour.


"Mickey's Nation 1928" wasn't alone in getting dissed by Disney.


At the company's meeting Wednesday, 43 percent of stockholders expressed their discontent with Eisner's management of Disney by withholding their support for him in a vote. As a result, he was stripped of his chairman title though he will remain as CEO.

Women's worst dates

Want to feel more confident about your past dating blunders? Here are some of the worst dates women have experienced.

The cheapskate

Cecily, 38, met a physician at a holiday party. On the first date he took her to a Japanese restaurant using a two-for-one coupon. The second date, he took her to the same place, again on coupon. "On our third date, which I probably shouldn't have gone on, but he made me laugh, he conveniently forgot his wallet in his sports car."

Tessa, 29, considers Matt a friend who won't become a boyfriend because of his poor dating skills such as calling her at the last minute. "It's always like 'yo, you coming over to my place?'," she says noting that the only time they went out to dinner they went dutch.


The breakup

Rhonda, 20, was excited to rent a nice car to visit her long-distance boyfriend on his birthday — especially since they hadn't seen each other in two months. She accompanied him on errands, they saw a "strangler movie," and at dinner at a nice restaurant, he admitted to infidelity and pled for her forgiveness. Rhonda obliged. He called the next day and broke it off with her. "That was a total date from hell," she says.

The needy

Susan, 39, went on a date with a guy who couldn't stop talking about another woman. "He talked a lot about a lady friend of his, their emotional bond and admitted the woman was married and lived in another country." He kept talking about her the whole night. "It was obvious he was more comfortable with his quasi-fantasy relationships than face-to-face dating."

The embarrassment

Sarah, 33, was impressed when Phil told her how much his suit cost. "Later, we were at a nice bar when I reached over him to grab a napkin and accidentally spilled the entire glass of shrimp cocktail all over his chest and lap." Luckily this one still had a happy ending: Phil did ask Sarah out again.

The synchronicity

Mindy, 36, wasn't excited to go on a second date with a guy, and her instinct was confirmed when she took him to a barbecue given by her friends. The two were surprised when they walked into the party and he knew most of the guests, including her best friend — whom he had gone out with before. "I had too much information on him from my friend's description of her date with him."

The amateurs

Monica, 40, knew she wasn't interested in a guy she met at a speed dating event by the end of the date. "He insisted twice on cracking my back after our goodbye hug," she says, noting she declined his offer for a back adjustment and a second date.

Sheryl, 32, was thrilled when a hunky jock asked her out to a dinner theater. The date lost luster when he sang off key along with the musical production, louder than the actors on stage. The topper was his insistence at the end of the night to give her a "little kiss" which she obliged. "It was the worst, sloppiest, saliva filled kiss I ever hand in my entire life."

Patty, 41, found her blind date likeable and agreed to go to another restaurant with him for a change of atmosphere. "He ran into his ex-girlfriend, and then leaves for twenty minutes to chat with her. He came back and affectionately touched me, telling me to play along in front of her to make her jealous." Patty said no and left — quickly.

Julie, 39, knew when she first met her blind date that he must have lied about his age. That was enough for her. "The clincher was when he pointed to a young girl sitting down wearing low-slung jeans with a shiny thong and suggested I go ask her where she got her underwear!"

haiz.... there goes my pay from the centre i will work in..


USD 235 = SGD 470


USD 175 = SGD 350.. hm..... buy from this web cheaper.... 10 dollards cheaper than takashimaya..

this is what sg should have : GAP CLOTHES.. why singapore dun have GAP clothes? haiz.. its made in singapore. and no GAP clothes?

haiz... bt now cropped pants are back into the season of spring.. this is what i want from GAP..
bt come to think of it.. i have something very similar.. but its just the cropped pants which are not similar.. but i have something similar ar.. haiz..







erm.. prolly this looks cool








WAH.... THIS IS SOOOO COOLLLL... from kate spade... guess how much is this pair of mules?



USD 225 = SGD 450.