Eat Slowly & Stay Thin

With the festive season around the corner, new research suggests a simple way to avoid packing on a few holiday kilo’s: eat more slowly.

Heavier people eat faster than slim ones, and men chow down faster than women, two new studies find. (more…)

Why Steve Jobs Always Wore His Signature Black Turtleneck

For those that were fortunate enough to meet Steve Jobs during his lifetime, there’s a pretty high chance that he was wearing his famous black turtleneck with blue jeans. (more…)

Simple ways to get more sleep

Of all the 21st century health complaints, lack of sleep is perhaps the most common; according to the Sleep Council, only one in 10 of us say we always sleep well, while one in five suffer from lack of sleep and two thirds say they get less sleep now than they did in years gone by. (more…)

What Your E-mail Address Says About Your Computer Skills

Guess What? Most “Buttons” You Push Only Exist to Make You Feel Like You Have Control Over Your Life

From fake door close buttons on elevators to non-functioning thermostats, placebo buttons are everywhere, but the cause-and-effect we think we see is made-up by our brains. (more…)

8 Tips on How to Boost Energy Instantly

How to boost energy is a question many of us ask ourselves. We all feel the strain of everyday life; not enough sleep, too much work. However we need to learn of some ways of how to boost energy levels in our bodies that are not time consuming – let’s face it, none of us have much time to spare. Here are my 8 Tips on How to Boost Energy Instantly that will surely leave you feeling exhilarated, removing the tired feeling. (more…)

Elvis fans mark singer’s death at Graceland

Their candles flickering in the warm Tennessee night, fans quietly stood vigil over Elvis Presley’s grave early Tuesday to mark the 34th anniversary of the singer’s death.

“Thank you so much for being here and continuing to honor the legacy of my father,” said a message from Lisa Marie Presley that was read to fans at the gates of Graceland. (more…)

Women smokers have more heart risk than men

Women who smoke cigarettes are more likely to develop heart disease than men who smoke, with the risk for women increasing every year that they smoke, according to a study.

The authors, led by Rachel Huxley of the University of Minnesota, reviewed studies published between 1966 and 2010 on 2.4 million people, including 44,000 cardiac events. (more…)

The Beetroot Secret

New research has shown that beetroot might be the newest secret weapon in sports nutrition

Winning margins in the Tour de France can be incredibly close and professional cyclists need every edge they can get. New research from the University of Exeter has shown that beetroot juice may be a surprising new addition to cyclists’ nutrition regimes.

“The researchers monitored athletes’ VO2 levels (showing the amount of oxygen consumed) during exercise to ensure that the cyclists worked at maximum effort on each occasion.

Results showed that when the cyclists drank ordinary beetroot juice they had a higher power output (measured in watts) for the same level of effort — suggesting their muscles and cardio-vascular system were being more efficient.

On average, riders were 11 seconds (2.8%) quicker over the 4km distance and 45 seconds (2.7%) faster over the 16.1km”

Bottom Line: A beetroot smoothie every morning can really help your training

Red Wine Exercise?

You may have heard that a glass of red wine at night might actually be good for you. Well research has shown that the key healthy ingredient may actually protect against the effects of sedentary lifestyles – good news for those of us who spend the day in front of a computer.

“As strange as it sounds, a new research study published in the FASEB Journal, suggests that the “healthy” ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, may prevent the negative effects that spaceflight and sedentary lifestyles have on people. The report describes experiments in rats that simulated the weightlessness of spaceflight, during which the group fed resveratrol did not develop insulin resistance or a loss of bone mineral density, as did those who were not fed resveratrol.”

Bottom Line: A moderate intake of red wine can actually help you (but , of course, it doesn’t replace exercise and healthy eating).

5 Ways To Fuel Your Brain

Sharpen up with these top mind-boosters

Best For Healthier Brain Matter… Fish Oil

Omega-3s nourish the mind’s communication strands. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recommends 400mg of fish oil capsules a day.

Best For Writing Tests… Creatine

“Creatine increases the amount of energy that is available to the brain for computational tasks, improving general mental ability,” says Dr Caroline Rae of Macquarie University, Sydney.

Best For Short-Term Focus… Nicotine Gum

Studies suggest that chewing on a two milligram tab can fire-up electrical impulses between nerve cells that help focus attention.

Best For Better Memory… Caffeine

A regular Americano stimulates the frontal lobe. As a result, you will retain every profanity the boss fires at you about your extended coffee breaks.

Best For Sharpness… Vinpocetine

A periwinkle plant extract, it increases blood flow to the brain. Studies from Japan suggest that 40mg a day raises mental alertness.

Negative Influences To Remove From Your Life

Other people can often bring a negative influence to our lives, both those who should be close to us, and others who should be less important. In many cases these people only have an effect on us because we allow them to do so, and with a little effort on our part we can reduce their impact on us or even remove it altogether. Here are some tips on how to remove negative influences from your life.  (more…)

7 Signs that you are a Cheapskate

Of course it is getting more and more expensive by the day and we all want to use our money wisely and avoid spending unnecessarily. In times like these, it’s not uncommon for families and individuals to cut back on expenses, come up with innovative ideas to re-use existing stuff, and pinch a little bit here and there. However, people do tend to go overboard with their money-saving endeavors and end up acting really stupidly. There’s a fine line between a judicious person and a cheapskate and it’s easy to forget the difference.  So, how do you know which is which? Well, here are some Signs That you are a Cheapskate. (more…)

Atlantis space shuttle launch

On Friday 08/07/2011,  Atlantis  launched off from the Kennedy Centre on the 135th and final mission of a 30-year programme marked by triumph but touched by tragedy.  It is days like this that I am struck most forcibly by our conspicuous lack of flying cars.    Here are some awesome pics: (more…)

The Worst Pick-Up Lines Ever

Baby, if you were words on a page, you’d be what they call FINE print!

Dang baby are your legs tired? Cuz you been runnin’ through my mind ALL day!

Is your dad a terrorist? Cause you’re the bomb!

Was your father the Hamburglar because you have some nice buns.

Were you arrested earlier? It’s gotta be illegal to look that good.

Do you do Karate, cause YOUR BODY’S KICKINNN!

So I have this thing called contact list in my phone and the only letter I’m missing is (first letter of her name goes here ). Do you mind filling it in?

Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?

I’m not going to ask for your phone number cause I know you’d say ‘no,’ so can I have your e-mail address?

Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?

Was your mother a beaver? (“No, why?”) DAAAAMN

Would you prefer a Gin & Platonic, or a Scotch & Sofa?

I’ve got oysters back at the house that are waiting for ya!