Much is made these day of the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables in our diets for healthy bodies. Pomegranates have a lot of health benefits, and that’s not just the flesh, a new study which has just come out from England has shown. Pomegranates have been proven to contain significant levels of antioxidants, and research has suggested that pomegranate juice can help lower blood pressure and slow the increase of bad cholesterol. Normally you wouldn’t think of using the skin of a pomegranate, you would just throw it away, but here is another way that a God-given natural fruit can be used for our benefit, not just taken internally, but externally as well. According to new research at Kingston University in London, scientists have found that pomegranate rinds combined with metal salts and vitamin C, can be turned into an ointment that is useful in treating methicillin-resistant staphylococuss aureus (MRSA) and other common hospital infections, which have become resistant to many common antibiotics. MRSA is a strain of "staph" that's resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it; this is a 'bug' which can be fatal and puts many people at risk, especially in hospitals and nursing homes where many times people's resistance is lowered due to weakened immune systems through illness or aging. It is known as healthcare associated MRSA, but recently, another type of MRSA has occurred among otherwise healthy people in the wider community which is responsible for serious skin and soft tissue infections and for a serious form of pneumonia. So, start putting pomegranates on your shopping list - they may do you good in more ways than one!
 I had never heard or hartebeest, so I looked them up on the internet and this is what Wikepedia says about them: "The hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) is a grassland antelope found in West Africa, East Africa and Southern Africa. It is one of the three species classified in the genus Alcelaphus." I have posted a photo of one, so you can see what they are like. Hiking around Mount Longonot sounds as if it stands up to its name - it sounds like a long and very tiring hike to get to the rim. If I was younger, I would probably like to do it!
Following on from my previous blogs on 'Body Trivia', there still a things left that we can do to releave pain or stress in our bodies: Some people suffer from a condition called claustrophobia, which causes them not to be able to go into confined spaces for fear of a panic attack. The 'apple a day keeps the doctor away' saying does more for your health than just eating it apparently! People with claustrophobia should take a green apple with them when they go anywhere they think will be a challenge. If you sniff a green apple, it will give you the feeling of the countryside and wide open spaces, thereby making you less likely to feel closed in! This is one of the scents Real Estate agents use when they are showing a house, because green apples give the illusion of the house seeming bigger. Baking bread and fresh coffee just add an ambient atmosphere, but the smell of green apples apparently works on the brain in a different way! Thumbs are wonderful digits - here is another use for our thumb. If you feel your heart racing because of anxiety, blow on your thumb and it helps get your heart rate back to normal. When you get pins and needles in your hands, don't shake them, just rock your head from side to side and the pins and needles will go within a minute! Lastly, to cure brain freeze when eating ice cream: press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth and apply as much pressure as you can - your brain will thaw out, even if you don't! Well, there you have it - several different trivia for the comfort of your body.
Betty Lou's website gives some good ideas for gifts, or electronic gadgets. The Nintendo Wii is definitely something that can bring the family together, unlike other electronic games which only one player can enjoy, but the Wii can be used for a single player also. It is certainly better than the Xbox 3, although I do not know about the Playstation 3. You can also buy a Wii Fitness for the Nintendo Wii, which, if you are disciplined, can really give you a whole body aerobic work out. It will weigh you and chart your daily progress, so you can use it in conjuction with a weight reducing diet to see how you are doing.
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Good news for those of us who don’t like to, or can’t swallow pills or capsules, or who just simply prefer to eat what seems like candy - we can now get our daily servings of fruits and vegetables AND enjoy special treats!