The Colourful Diet

Does your diet contain the essential colours?

RED

Tomatoes, strawberries, cranberries, apples, red onions, pink grapefruit, watermelon, pomegranates.

Good for

• Protecting against heart disease, cancer and urinary infections.

• Red foods are among the richest sources of antioxidants called flavonols, which may protect against heart disease. Tomatoes, watermelon and pink grapefruit are also important providers of lycopene – a pigment in plants thought to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, according to a report by the World Cancer Research Fund.

• Cooking or processing tomatoes is even better as it increases the amount of lycopene you absorb, so include tinned, pureed and cooked versions as well as raw.

• Cranberries contain proanthocyanidins – plant chemicals that may help prevent infections of the urinary tract by stopping harmful bacteria such as E.coli sticking to the bladder walls.

Smart ways to get more

Toss some red kanda into your salad, use tomato puree in sauces or have a daily glass of cranberry juice.

GREEN

Cabbage, cauliflower, peas, spinach,  broccoli, asparagus, green peppers, peas, kiwi fruits. Sweet corn also fits in this group, even though you eat the yellow kernels, not the green husk.

Good for

• A strong immune system, healthy eyes and skin, plus protection against cancer and heart disease. Spinach, peas and sweet corn are rich sources of lutein – a pigment in the eye that filters out damaging UV rays. A recent study found that a high intake of spinach was associated with a substantially reduced risk of age-related blindness.

Filling up on greens, including kiwi fruit, will also give you plenty of immune-boosting vitamin C, also necessary for great skin, and folate – a B vitamin that protects against birth defects.

Green vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, sprouts contain glucosinolates, thought to protect against cancer by encouraging the self-destruction of pre-cancerous cells.

Smart ways to get more

Try the sweetcorn on pizzas, throw some asparagus in your sandwiches and subs, and have spinach soups. Check packaged soups for added salt to make a healthy choice.

ORANGE & YELLOW

Papaya, carrots, mangoes, sweet potatoes,  oranges and peppers.

Good for

• Cancer and heart disease prevention, healthy skin and immunity. Orange fruits and vegetables are typically rich in alpha and betacarotene, which can help bolster our body's defences.

• Foods high in these nutrients are thought to reduce the risk of various gut and lung cancers, according to the World Cancer Research Fund.

• Betacarotene is also used by the body to make vitamin A, which is vital for eyes, skin and the health of mucous membranes in the nose and throat (so bacteria and viruses are less likely to penetrate).

• Orange citrus fruits are also a good source of vitamin C.

Smart ways to get more

Have a handful of chopped dried apricots with your breakfast cereal, use sliced carrots and peppers for a snack, serve baked sweet potatoes as a change from normal aloo. Drink orange juice with a meal.

WHITE

Onions, garlic, bananas, cucumber, celery, fennel and mushrooms.

Good for

• Lowering cholesterol, detoxing the body, preventing cancer, and keeping blood pressure healthy. Vegetables in the onion group contain sulphur compounds, which increase the activity of enzymes that remove toxic substances from the body.

• Sulphur compounds may also help to lower cholesterol and keep the arteries flexible, lowering risk of heart disease. White fruit and veggies are also good sources of potassium, which regulates blood pressure.

Smart ways to get more

• Make onion soup, bake onions as a vegetarian side-dish, add spring onions to salad and stir-fries. Spread celery sticks with butter and have them as a snack. Chop a banana over your breakfast cereal.

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15 Spectacular tricks to teach your body

1.) If you've got an itch in your throat, scratch your ear. When the nerves in the ear get stimulated, they create a reflex in the throat that causes a muscle spasm, which cures the itch.

 2.) Having trouble hearing someone at a party or on the phone? Use your right ear…it's better at picking up rapid speech..  But, the left is better at picking up music tones.

 3.) If you need to relieve yourself BADLY, but you're not anywhere near a bathroom, fantasize about RELATIONS.  That preoccupies your brain and distracts it..

 4.) Next time the doctor's going to give you an injection, COUGH as the needle is going in. The cough raises the level of pressure in your spinal canal, which limits the pain sensation as it tries to travel to your brain..

 5.) Clear a stuffed nose or relieve sinus pressure by pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth…then pressing a finger between your eyebrows. Repeat that for 20 seconds…it causes the vomer bone to rock, which loosens your congestion and clears you up.

 6.) If you ate a big meal and you're feeling full as you go to sleep, lay on your left side.  That'll keep you from suffering from acid reflux…it keeps your stomach lower than your esophagus, which will help keep stomach acid from sliding up your throat.

7.) You can stop a toothache by rubbing ice on the back of your hand, on the webbed area between your thumb and index finger.  The nerve pathways there stimulate a part of the brain that blocks pain signals from your mouth.

 8.) If you get all messed up on liquor, and the room starts spinning, put your hand on something stable.  The reason: Alcohol dilutes the blood in the part of your ear called the cupula, which regulates balance. Putting your hand on something stable gives your brain another reference point, which will help make the world stop spinning.

 9.) Stop a nose bleed by putting some cotton on your upper gums…right behind the small dent below your nose…and press against it hard.  Most of the bleeding comes from the cartilage wall that divides the nose, so pressing there helps get it to stop.

 10.) Nervous?  Slow your heart rate down by blowing on your thumb. The vagus nerve controls your heart rate, and you can calm it down by breathing.

 11.) Need to breathe underwater for a while???  Instead of taking a huge breath, HYPERVENTILATE before you go under, by taking a bunch of short breaths. That'll trick your brain into thinking it has more oxygen, and buy you about 10 extra seconds.

 12.) You can prevent BRAIN FREEZE by pressing your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much surface area as possible. Brain freeze happens because the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, so your brain thinks your whole body is cold. It compensates by overheating…which causes your head to hurt. By warming up the roof of your mouth, you'll chill your brain and feel better.

 13.)  If your hand falls asleep, rock your head from side to side.

That'll wake your hand or arm up in less than a minute.  Your hand falls asleep because of the nerves in your neck compressing…so loosening your neck is the cure.  If your foot falls asleep, that's governed by nerves lower in the body, so you need to stand up and walk around.

 14.) Finally, this one's totally USELESS, but a nice trick.  Have

Someone stick their arm out to the side, straight, palm down. Press down on his wrist with two fingers.  He'll resist, and his arm will stay horizontal.  Then, have him put his foot on a surface that's half an inch off the ground, like a stack of magazines, and do the trick again. Because his spine position is thrown off, his arm will fall right to his side, no matter how much he tries to resist.

 15.)  Got the hiccups?  Press thumb and second finger over your eyebrows until the hiccups are over usually shortly.

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The Five Deadly Sins of Time (mis)Management

Keeping Too Many Things in Your Head

A common time management mistake is trying to keep track of all the things you need to do and places you need to be at.  The fact is that you simply cannot rely on memory alone to keep track of all these details without getting overloaded.  Use technology, or simply a piece of paper.  Most urban officers think the overload is part of their life, but they can be more productive only if they manage a well-designed productivity system to conquer this.

Doing Whatever Grabs Your Attention Next

Many people dont stop long enough to even think what to do next when one task is accomplished, they jump right in and do whatever grabs their attention (experts call it "tyranny of the urgent").  Working on impulses may be cool enough for your personality, but the company might like you more if you prioritise smartly.  Instead of doing whatever grabs your attention next, use your plan to figure our the best way to use your time basd on your top priorities for the day/week.

Doing Very Efficiently That Which Need not be Done at All

Surely, one of the worst ways you can waste your time, experts say.  Having a to-do list and a weekly plan really helps because you automatically assign more time to important thigns and less time to trivial ones.  And if you say that's the way 'you are', dont expect any improvement.

Poor Planning

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Poor planning is one fo the main reasons projects fail, fall behind schedule or miss their deadlines.  The best way to escape the practice of poor planning is to learn how to plan effectively, and to do it consistently.  If you don't want to read those fat 'help yourself manuals' simply start emulating a meticulous planner at your workplace!

Inability to say no

The worst culprit of all.  You encourage people to come and talk to you and waste your time just because those people have nothing better to do.  You love being a 'sounding-board' and think you are doing a great job by listening to everyone expounding on various things from politics to office gossip to personal problems.  The fact that you cannot say no means you want to keep them happy, at your cost.

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THE COST OF HOPE

Danielle sat down with a sigh, discouraged and exhausted. The day had proven frustrating. With only forty dollars left in her wallet, she desperately needed to find a bank to cash her paycheck. She was living in a new city with no local bank of her own, and even the banks were not eager to help her. For more than two weeks, she made attempt after attempt, but to no avail. With her cash supply dwindling fast, she had no other resources. How could she continue to support herself and her two children? She wondered just how much longer she and her children could get by on the little money they had left.

Taking a break from her struggles, Danielle decided to attend a meeting at the local women's resource center. The women there had been a strong source of encouragement since she fled her home in fear for her safety. Her thoughts were far away as she settled into a chair in the meeting room. In deep despair, she longed for renewed hope that she could make it as a single mom.

Live life more consciously by reaching out

"Good afternoon, everyone," a voice said, breaking Danielle's thoughts. It was the leader of her women's group. "Does anyone want to start?"

Sitting next to Danielle, Amy cleared her throat. "I would," she said. Amy began to share the details of her desperate situation. She had run into severe personal struggles and was just days away from losing her home and her car. Her phone and electric services were both scheduled for disconnection. Her husband had gambled away their money. What little she had tried to squirrel away, he had used to support his drug habit. Their relationship had deteriorated to the point where she feared for her very safety. The last of the money she managed to tuck away allowed her to buy food for her children and diapers for her baby. She had nothing left. Nothing.

As Amy described the extent of the situation, Danielle heard God's soft whisper in her heart: "After the meeting, give Amy twenty dollars." Danielle immediately thought, 'But I can't, I only have forty dollars.' She heard the order again, it was unmistakably clear this time. Danielle knew she needed to comply. When the meeting concluded, she reached into her purse and quietly slipped twenty dollars to Amy. Knowing Danielle's situation, Amy was reluctant to accept it at first. But as a crowd of women came to give Amy hugs of support, Danielle told her that God wanted her to have it. Then Danielle left.

As Danielle unlocked the door to her car, she heard someone call her name. She turned to find Amy walking toward her. Tears filled Amy's eyes as she began to speak. "How could you have known?" she asked. A large tear rolled down her cheek and dropped onto her shoulder as she reached into her purse. She pulled out a small amber prescription bottle. "I took the last one yesterday." She pointed to the bottom of the label. "I'm a medication-dependent diabetic. I need this medication every day. I had no idea what I was going to do." Another tear rolled down her cheek as she pointed to the refill cost printed clearly on the label: $20.00.

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It was at that moment that Danielle was renewed with a sense of hope and peace. She told Amy that she did not know, but God did. While Amy's situation seemed to be a mountain before her, God alone could help her navigate every step and meet every need to move beyond that mountain, one step at a time. The words of hope that Danielle spoke to Amy that day were the very words of hope she herself needed.

Now with just twenty dollars left in her wallet, Danielle decided to try cashing her paycheck at just one more bank before heading home. While she anticipated the rejection she had received at so many other banks, she was somehow filled with renewed confidence and optimism. With hope in hand, she walked into the bank adjacent to the women's center. Moments later, the bank cashed her paycheck with no questions asked.

Beaming, Danielle returned home. While she knew there would be days ahead that would certainly hold challenges, her newfound hope inspired her. She never did see Amy again, but she continues to rest confidently that God is still looking out for her and is meeting her daily needs, just as He continues to look out for Danielle and her two children. As for Danielle, it has been three years since that day. While she realizes true hope has no price tag, she continues to be thankful for the lifetime supply that she received for the price of just twenty dollars.

By: Susan Hamilton

Contributed by: INTL.PURCHASING @ sms.com.sa

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A Story of Appreciation

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".

The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.

The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said,

Join the Fastest Growing Group in this category

Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.

Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager.

I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.

You would have forwarded many mails to many and many of them would have back mailed you too...but try and forward this story to as many as possible...this may change somebody's fate...

Have a nice time..

Contributed by: bharathisarkar @ gmail.com

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