The Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet first rose to prominence sometime in the middle of the 1990’s.  It was presented at the School of Public Health of Harvard University by Dr. Walter Willet.  This is a diet that is mostly based on the diet patterns consumed by people living in Crete and most of Greece and people living in southern Italy during the 1960’s.  Contrary to its name though, the Mediterranean diet is not characteristic of all cuisines in the Mediterranean area. For example, lard or butter is the common oil used in Northern Italy not olive oil as used in the Mediterranean diet.  Olive oil is usually used as salad dressing and for flavoring cooked vegetables.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes the abundance of plant foods as a major part of a daily diet.  For dessert, the Mediterranean diet proposes the choice of fresh fruits over other typical desserts such as snacks, candies, and sweets.  It also promotes the choice of olive oil as the main source of fats.

Dairy products, such as yoghurt and cheese, are consumed only in small to moderate amounts in the Mediterranean diet.  The same goes for fish and poultry products.  A maximum of only 4 eggs are to be consumed on a weekly basis while red meat is to be consumed only in low minimal amounts.  Red wine is a part of the Mediterranean diet and it is to be consumed in small to moderate amounts.

The Mediterranean diet is supposed to contain a maximum fat content of no more than 35% of the total calories with the saturated fat going no more than 8% of the total calories.

It should also be noted that aside from these foods, the Mediterranean diet also emphasizes the importance of regular exercise or physical activity in the pursuit of better health. Furthermore, this diet stresses how small portions of food can help greatly in improving eating habits and how essential it is to have fresh foods and a balanced eating habit.

One of the major aspects of the Mediterranean diet is its focus on the high consumption of olive oil, legumes, and different kinds of unrefined cereals.  It also promotes the high consumption of fruits and vegetables.  On the other hand, the Mediterranean diet encourages only small amounts of meat and other related meat products.  While fish and fish products, dairy products, and wine are to be taken in moderate amounts.

The Mediterranean diet is commonly associated with beneficial health effects due to its characteristic as having very low contents of saturated fat ( the “bad” fat) while having generous amounts of monounsaturated fat (the “good” fat) and dietary fiber.  Additionally, the moderate presence of red wine in the diet also makes it beneficial health wise because red wine is a very good source of powerful antioxidants that are good for the health of the body.

There have even been studies on the Mediterranean diet in the field of psychiatry that concluded that most of the people who were following the diet were a lot less probable to develop depression in their lives.

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Rhythmic Gymnastics

The sport of rhythmic gymnastics is a combination of different elements: gymnastics, ballet, handling of apparatus, and even dance.  The competition can be between individuals or between teams that have 2 to 6 members.  There are two types of competition: “free” and “with apparatus”.  The “free” competition is also called the “floor routine” of rhythmic gymnastics.  It does not involve any sort of apparatus at all.  The “with apparatus” competition on the other hand involves different kinds of equipment.  Participants can use rope, a ribbon, a hoop, a ball, or clubs. 

During competition, participants are only allowed to use or manipulate 1 type of equipment at a time.  In group competition where multiple gymnasts are doing their routines in concert, the types of allowed equipment are limited to 2.  These two types of equipment are distributed among the performers.  This equipment however may be passed from one member of the team to another at any time during the course of their routine. Thus, during the routine, any team member may be able to handle up to 2 different types of equipment.

The winner in rhythmic gymnastics is determined by a panel of judges.  These judges award points to the participants according to their performance regarding jumps, pirouettes or pivots, balance during the performance, leaps, artistic impression, and skill in the manipulation of their equipment.

Before the year 2001, judging of rhythmic gymnastics was the same as the judging for artistic gymnastics which was on a scale of 1-10.  Between the years of 2001 and 2008 however, this judging scale underwent several revisions.  In 2003, the scale was changed to a 30 point system.  Then in 2005, it was changed into a 20 point system.  In 2008, it was again changed back into the 30 point system.  These changes were made to reduce the subjectivity element in the judging and focus more on the technical merits of the performances.  To come up with the final points, the judges add up the scores from three different elements: the artistic aspect, the technical aspect, and the execution of the moves. 

The official governing body of rhythmic gymnastics is the international gymnastics or FIG.  They are responsible for the changes that have been implemented regarding the code of points of the sport.  They are also responsible for determining the types of equipment that are used in official competitions.  Out of all the possible equipment that can be used in rhythmic gymnastics, only four of them are sanctioned by the FIG. These are the rope, the ball, the ribbon, and the hoops.  The clubs have been removed from official competition at the more senior levels.  As of 2011, the rope will be removed from the senior national level and then it will be dropped from the junior national level in 2012.  It will be dropped from one level every year until eventually it will be removed from official competition leaving only three official apparatus for official rhythmic gymnastics events.

The biggest events for the sport of rhythmic gymnastics include the summer Olympic Games, the rhythmic gymnastics world championships, and the grand prix rhythmic gymnastics tournaments.

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Protect your eyes from the sun

The sun emanates harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays every day.  While most people know that these rays are harmful to the skin, most are not aware that UV rays are also harmful to the eyes.  Over exposure of the eyes to the sun’s UV rays can ultimately cause severe damage to the retina of the eyes and may also help in the development of cataracts which could lead to the weakening and blurring of eyesight and also to blindness.

The sun’s harmful effects on the eyes occur over different periods of time.  A sudden glance directly at the sun can cause as much harm to the eyes as prolonged indirect exposure to its harmful UV rays.  Furthermore, because the effects of these UV rays are cumulative, getting exposed to them on a regular basis even in small amounts would eventually add up to cause sufficient damage to your eyes.  Thus, it is always prudent to take care of your eyes and do what you can to protect them from the harmful effects of the sun.

The first thing you can do to protect your eyes from the sun is of course to stop yourself from looking at the sun directly and to minimize the time you spend outside.  But then, spending all of your time indoors is no fun at all, so the next best thing you can do to protect your eyes is to wear protective eyewear every time you go out into the beautiful but harmful rays of the sun. This means you should wear your eye protection not just on bright and sunny days but even on cloudy days and even during winter.  As long as it is not dark and gloomy, you be sure that there are UV rays around and so you should continue to protect your eyes. 

Some people use contact lenses that offer UV protection; however, it is recommended that in conjunction with these lenses, you should still wear UV protective glasses because contact lenses do not cover the whole eye.

When choosing which eye protection to wear, look for sunglasses that offer protection from UVA radiation as well as UVB radiation.  Almost all of the quality sunglasses available on the market today offer as much as 99% protection from these harmful UV rays.  Other sunglasses however, like those made out of polycarbonate lenses, offer 100% protection.  The additional protection however comes at a higher price.

But you don’t have to spend much to get good quality protection from your sunglasses.  What you need to do though is to thoroughly inspect your sunglasses before making the actual purchase.  Do not automatically assume that because you are paying a higher price that the sunglasses you are buying are of better quality.  Always check the label to see why the sunglasses are priced that way.  Sometimes, sunglasses are priced higher than others because they are of a more popular brand than that of another and not because they offer better protection for your eyes.  Also, physically check that the sunglasses you are buying fit you well and that it looks good on you.  Its 100% protection is useless if you end up not using because it rarely fits your wardrobe.

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Positive attitude and good mood: positive effects on your organism

The mood you are in usually determines the state of your health.  Conversely, your health can directly affect the mood that you are in.  For example, if you feel sick and weak your mood will usually be grumpy and irritable.  If you have a fever or if your nose is running like a river, you would usually be ill-tempered and even grouchy and sulky.  On the other hand, if you are constantly in a foul mood, angry with yourself or with other people, you would undoubtedly have high blood pressure which is not good for your health.  Or, if you are always sad and depressed, your immune system would not be as strong and you would be susceptible to more diseases than happy and active persons.

Thus, to help yourself stay healthy and stay happy, try to put yourself in a good mood as much as you possibly can.  It all starts with your mood.  As soon as you get up in the morning tell yourself you are going to have a good day and that you are not going to be grumpy.  This simple trick will help you get through a lot of stressful days in your life.

You should always keep yourself in a positive mood in whatever circumstance you might find yourself in.  If you keep focusing on the negatives, such as your debt, the next month’s bills, and other problems, you will be robbing yourself of the joy of thinking about all the wonderful things in your life.  You would also be leading your body towards getting sick and this would only give you more problems.  So instead on spending time thinking about the bad things in your life, think about the good things.  Even in times when the bad things far outnumber the good ones, thinking about the positive things will at least help you keep your health.

If you are having trouble getting yourself into a good mood during the day, try to simply smile.  Smile at yourself in the mirror and smile at the people you meet even though you are not in a particularly happy mood.  Smiling can usually trigger happy thoughts in yourself which will help you get into a better mood.  What’s more, once you see other people react to your smile and smile back at you in return; you will certainly feel a lot better.

If you are the type of person who always has a hard time getting into a positive attitude, you should get yourself into the company of people who already have positivity oozing out of them.  This way, they will be able to help you cope with the negative mood that you always find yourself in.  Having a positive attitude is very contagious, thus being around positive people will most certainly get you to having a positive attitude as well.  Just as important though, is that you should try to stay away from people with negative attitudes.  Given that you are more susceptible to negativity, if you are around both positive and negative minded friends, chances are the negative ones would have a more powerful influence on you.

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