Eat and be happy at the same time!

It's a well known truth that by doing exercise we liberate endorphins and that makes us happy. Sadly, most of us deny doing it since we are condemned to be sedentary. Let’s face it, we prefer watching TV or sitting around the computer instead of jogging or running. Fortunately, there is something that we all can do and be happy at the same time: eat!

I’m not talking about eating just for the pleasure of it. Well, that makes us happy, but is not my point. I want you to know that there are certain food that give us different nutrients which contribute to our spiritual and physical balance. At the end that’s the key to our happiness.

Dark chocolate is good to
reduce  anxiety.

Eggs contain Zinc, vitamin B, Omega-3 Fatty acids and protein which keep you not only energized but full of energy too. This ordinary food is internationally proved to be good for our health and mood; that’s why a few months ago the Chilean Heath Ministry started a campaign named: “Eggs, the best protein,” in order to encourage people to eat it.

Let's eat a spinach salad to
increase our energy
and balance our mood!

Dark chocolate (yes, chocolate!) has benefits that the regular ones do not have. Its high levels of magnesium calms your muscles pain, reduces your anxiety levels and provides an instant increase in concentration and mood. It is also proved that the tryptophan on it helps to reduce symptoms of depression. Keep calm; you just need a small portion of it each day to feel its benefits.

Spinach vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B) boost your mood and its antioxidants protect your brain cells from free radicals, which provokes low energy and mood swings.

These three foods help you to stabilize your system and forget the tiredness. Forget about taking “happy” pills to treat your stress, anxiety and depression. Mother Earth has plenty elements to lend you a hand with your problems.

Do you know other products that help us to lead with these problems? 

There are planty more "happy foods." For further information, click here!

Eyes are the window to the soul

Knowing about people’s health through eyes has always been useful for doctors. Moreover, people often say that eyes are the window to the soul. It seems that Professor Jin Zhang, from University of Western Ontario, has taken that into account, he created new contact lenses that might be a release for diabetic patients. The lenses are made by embedded nano-particles into hydrogel. The great part in this is that the nano-particles react to the blood found in the tears. According to the level of sugar in the blood, the lenses change colors, warning the wearer that his or her levels of glucose have changed.

Thank to this new device, diabetic people will have the opportunity to avoid the uncomfortable process of self-monitoring and taking blood samples throughout the day. Regarding this, professor Zhang points out that “There is a need for a non-invasive measure to detect the levels of glucose, instead of taking a blood sample,”

Personally, I think that the device is great since it improves people’s quality of life. The only problem that can come up with the lenses is the cost. Maybe, people with low incomes will have to wait for months or even years until the can get their pair of contact lenses. 

In this video you can learn more about contact lenses technology in general. And from minute 1:44 you will find specific information about this topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK9F221JF48 

Mr. Quaker, our best friend!

Summer is coming and everybody is worried about their weight and health. Diets to reduce the percentage of fat and cholesterol are very popular among population but, most of the time they represent a risk to our health (think about the apple diet, crazy! Isn’t it?). The easiest solution is a really simple meal present in most of the kitchens around the World: the oatmeal!

A nutritionist said: “If you eat more oatmeal you can drastically improve the quality of your life.” The truth is that plenty studies prove that she is right. In fact, the regular consumption of ¾ cup of oatmeal at breakfast (or whenever you want) may reduce the risks for many diseases (type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and cholesterol), to help to lose weight and to reduce high blood pressure. Apply it directly to the skin also helps to reduce the acne and several skin problems, as well as the huge relief that a bath of it may produce to your stress.

Oatmeal amazing power comes from its high content of soluble fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. Eating a bowl of oatmeal also produces satiety and contributes just with a few calories, which helps us to lose weight! It is delicious (you can combine it with many elements such us honey and fruits) as well as healthy. So, stop feeling starving and start eating a bowl of oatmeal to feel strong and sexy! That’s the best diet ever.

As you could see, oat is a complete meal. By eating it regularly we can not only reduce a size, but do it in a healthy way. Its higher levels of fiber helps us to decrease the possibilities to have cholesterol and heart problems, as well as diabetes in the future. I think that is increadibly easy. You can prepare it really quickly and save a lot of money. At least I will try to it my oatmeal and from now on Mr. Quaker will be my best friend.

This guy will teach you how to prepare the perfect bowl of oatmeal. Watch it, prepare it and enjoy it!

Here are other ideas to combine your oatmeal with healthy food and take this simple dish to the next level!

Interested? Look for more details here!

Are Good Looking People Selfish?

Most people when imagine their perfect dates have in mind someone with a beautiful face, but a recent study shows that good looking people may not be recommendable partners.

This is mainly because people with symmetrical facial features, which are socially considered more attractive, are not very cooperatives and most of the time give priority to their own interests, in other words, this study demonstrates that beautiful people are more selfish.

The investigation was in charge of Santiago Sanchez-Pages and Enrique Turiegano, both workers of Spanish universities, who came to the conclusion after applying the "prisoner's dilemma" game known as a model of behaviour. Two players were each given the option of co-operating for the greater good; or taking the selfish option, with a chance of gainining more if the other player chose to cooperate.
After the game ended, players' faces were analysed.

Here you can see a better explanation of the game

The research found that individuals with the prettier faces were more prone to act selfishly, they weren't interested in cooperate and didn't expect cooperation from the others.

A likely cause for this behaviour is "evolution". Earlier studies have suggested that people with symmetrical faces tend to suffer fewer congenital diseases, so on a subconscious level, we, as humans, used to like beautiful people because they reflect good health. Thanks to their healthy condition they become more self-sufficient and less needy for help.

What do you think about this study? do you think that your looks can shape your personality?
Do you someone who confirms or contradicts this result?

In this link there is a video that explains how attractiveness can affect your life http://bit.ly/REOlQs

Hey, pay attention to your diet!

    Most people do not care too much about their daily diet. In fact, people tend to think that eating in a fair amount carbohydrate, proteins, and fat is good for health. Most of the time, we do not realize what the implications of what we are eating are. Obviously, eating is a need for us as human beings, but there are a lot of food that are harmful for our body and system. Indeed, diet can have a notable impact on us, especially on our reproductive health.

    So, men, be careful with your diet, above all with dairy and carbs. A recent scientific research suggests that the more carbohydrates or dairy (milk) a man eats, the poorer the quality of his sperm. Similarly, two other studies focused on in vitro fertilization, and found that women who lowered their carb intake while upping their protein consumption stood better chances of becoming pregnant. In these studies, a dietary analysis revealed that carbs accounted for roughly half of all calories consumed among the participants who experimented with. The group of scientists found that carb intake did not appear to have any impact on sperm mobility or shape. However, they found that the more carbs consumed, the lower the man's overall sperm count. 

    Of course, we would indeed expect that something produced by the body would be affected by the quality of nutrition put into it. For one thing, we have known for years, from the female perspective, that the quality of nutrition that a woman takes in at the time of conception, or even before conception, has an influence on that child's health long term in all sorts of ways. So, it should not be surprising that nutrition would have an impact on men and the quality of their sperms, which are basically made by protein, or on in vitro pregnancy rates. You can read the article here and know how the experiment was conducted
    At some point, we realize that some things around can be dangerous for us — things that we consider good and important in our life. In this aspect, technology cannot do much, but science can; it has helped people to be aware of good things in order to have them in life, and has discovered damaging and hurtful aspects in order to avoid them and have a better way of living. What would happen if science did not exist? Would it be easy for us to take care of ourselves? What would happen if science did not discover how bad milk and carbs are for men? Sometimes small details in life are considered insignificant, but at some point can they affect people's life? 

Can Facebook worsen love relationships?

Can Facebook worsen love relationships?

Have you ever arrived home very tired of work or university, and wanting to have a break from problems of real life? Many times Facebook has played the role of our entertainment; however, we don´t know how much it can affect our personal relations. Recent studies have shown that there are certain features of Facebook that make it a source of problems among couples. Many people have confessed that they have had problems because of the information that is shared on Facebook.  One of its characteristics is related to time; not only the time that they spend on the social network, but also what are they really doing on it during that period of time. Another important aspect is the over-informative attribute that is related to Facebook. This means that you can control what you write; yet you can´t control what other people write about you, what they write on your wall, and what they read about you.  For instance, a girl notices that her boyfriend has accepted five friends requests of girls that she doesn´t know, so they have an argument.  Of course that jealousy itself as well as self-esteem and emotional health are starting points in these situations. What do you think is to blame? Is it technology that influences our relations, or is our own personalities that we can´t control? 

Nanotechnology in food

Nanotechnology in food 

Many studies are being undertaken in the field of nanotechnology regarding food. For instance, scientist are embedding silver nanoparticles into the plastic in which bins are packaged, the particles will kill any bacteria stored in the bins that could be harmful to human body; scientists are also trying to develop nanosensors that could eventually detect unsafe elements in a package plant; nanocapsules are being developed in order to provide people with the nutrients they need. This nanocapsules might have the function of releasing nutrients inside of people´s body when nanosensors may detected that the organism is in lack of them.  But that is not all; experts are also working on “interactive food”. This could be possible with nanocapsule containing flavor and color booster which are activated when someone could eat the food. However, the method that will be used to activate the boosters has not been told, yet. With this, we can come to a conclusion that not only is technology a detonator when it comes to obesity, but also a collaborator if it is well-used. So, should be blame technology for the incredible risen in people obesity? Or should we introspect and think about our own habits and how they affect our body and health? Isn’t it all about taking technology as a “friend” instead of an “enemy”?

No more alcoholism

Alcoholism is one of the issues that most affects our society today. Many people have lost everything and end their lives living in the streets due to this addiction.

Nevertheless, nowadays the solution for this problem could go beyond psychological therapy. Do you know where is it? Here in Chile! A team of scientists from “Universidad de Chile” are working to produce an anti alcoholism vaccine. The vaccine injects a gene, already present in the 20% of the Asian population, which blocks the action of an enzyme, "dehyde dehydrogenase", this enzyme metabolizes the alcohol in our system. Without it, the unease provoked by the consumption of alcohol, such as dizziness, tachycardia or vasodilatation, is exacerbated. Therefore, patients react so violently to alcohol that it inhibits their addiction  Most current therapies against alcoholism block this enzyme, but as they are patches or pills they depend on the patient’s will to take the medication. The vaccine affects the liver cells directly, and one shot a month would be sufficient to help alleviate the addiction.

When testing alcoholic rats, they diminished their consumption of alcohol by 50%. They hope to reduce the consumption of alcohol in humans by a 90% to 95%. The process is slow because they need to pass many stages to get the final product, but if everything goes as planned the vaccine will be available in 2014. But is it good to depend on a vaccine? Might more people start drinking alcohol recklessly because they know that a vaccine exists that could cure their addiction?

 Here you can find some international news regarding this discovery

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2011/01/07/vaccine-alcoholism-works-chile/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1344971/Vaccine-alcoholism-works-making-feel-sick-drink.html
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/159226.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/chilean-researchers-to-test-vaccine-against-alcholism/story-e6frg8y6-1225983868771

improve your life with a cup of tea

It is no news that green tea has many benefits for our health, among which we can mention that it prevents diseases such as cancer, diabetes and also gives protection against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart attacks, prevents tooth decay , reduces bad cholesterol, the risk of high blood pressure and it is also famous for increasing the metabolism which has to do with weight loss.
 We are in front of a kind of "magic potion" related to our health and the list continues because a recent study   has shown that it would also help to maintain functional ability and improve working-memory, this is thanks to the great quality antioxidants that we can find in green tea which besides being useful for our skincare, it prevents cognitive decline as we age, avoiding brain disorders such as alzheimer or parkinson.
Because of all the reasons that i just mentioned green tea has become pretty popular so you can find it in any supermarket at a reasonable price. the only cons about it is that it contains caffeine so it is not advisable for people who are sensitive to this compound and i can't assure that you will find the taste pleasant, personally, i like it, but there is no accounting for taste. As you can see the benefits are superior than cons.

So what are you waiting to improve your health condition? it would only take you a couple of cups of tea a day. have you ever tried green tea? do you know about other nature gift with a lot of benefits?  

here is a tutorial about how to make a facial scrub with green tea, so it can also being applied to the skin.