Keeping your hands busy

Many smokers find the rituals involved withsmoking calming and satisfying, and handle cigarettes as a way to feel lessself-conscious in public. But of course, there are many alternative things todo with your hands when you quit.

Find other objects to handle - forinstance, keep a pen and pad in your pocket or on your desk (pick this upinstead and write down your reasons for giving up smoking, or just doodle);hold a real cigarette if the touch is all you miss - but not if handling acigarette makes you want to light up; don't confuse hunger with the desire toput a cigarette in your mouth - eat regular meals and keep healthy snack foodson hand; and take up a hobby that keeps your hands busy, e.g. painting or wood carving.

What are unhealthy diets?

There is a great deal of controversy about what constitutesan unhealthy diet and how precisely to define ‘junk food’. In general, however,it can be stated that an unhealthy diet is one which does not contain a goodbalance of all the components of the diet which are necessary to health, orwhich is eaten in excess of the body’s requirements, or which places a strainon the body’s metabolic system by introducing toxins and chemicals such aspreservatives and colouring which interfere with the natural processes of theliver and intestine. Particularly toxic components of many people’s daily dietsare tea, coffee, and alcohol.

Both tea and coffee contain caffeine, which is a nervoussystem stimulant, and which can be habit-forming. Cola-based drinks alsocontain caffeine, and children in particular can become addicted to them.Alcohol on the other hand is a central nervous system depressant, which exertsits effects by loosening the inhibitions, which usually prevent us from actingin an anti-social fashion. Whether stimulants of depressants, all these agentshave two things in common - they all have a rebound effect (hangover) whentheir effects wear off, which can only be countered by waiting for them toeliminate themselves from the body , or more commonly, taking more of them;secondly, they are harmful to the body’s metabolism, particularly when taken inexcess.

Tip: A pleasant and satisfying hot drink can be made bysoaking a slice of lemon in hot water and drinking it. Alternatively, herb teassuch as rooibos tea, chamomile tea, or hibiscus tea or any of the herbal teamixtures can be pleasant and refreshing without being toxic to the body.

  The Importance of Protein to the Human Body

Six anti-ageing tips

Here are six tips to protect your skin against prematureageing:

1. Use sunscreen liberally.

For daily wear, choose a sunscreen with at least an SPF of15, if you do not expect to be outdoors or it is not a sunny time of year. If itis a sunnier season, step up to at least a 30 SPF.

2. Avoid tanning, whether from the sun or tanning booths.

It is one of the biggest mistakes that younger women make, whetherit is tanning indoors or outdoors, on purpose or accidentally during sports.

Damaging your skin with ultraviolet radiation will make itlook worse, and too much sun can also cause skin discoloration and damage toelastin and collagen.

3. Wear sunglasses.

Not only will you protect your eyes from the sun, but alsothe delicate skin surrounding your eyes. Furthermore, you will not be creatingmore wrinkles by squinting all the time.

4. Wear hats, visors, and sun-protective clothing.

The importance of physical protection from the sun, insteadof relying only on sunscreen cannot be overemphasized. Hats with a broad brimare a good choice, while visors look good with sportier or more casual outfits.

5. Don’t smoke.

Smoking harms the skin in many ways. For instance, it speedsup collagen breakdown and constricts blood vessels that carry oxygen andnutrients to your skin.

Smokers are more likely to develop premature wrinkles, suchas tell-tale lines around the mouth and crow’s feet from “smoker’s squint. Intime, nails and fingertips will turn yellow, too.

6. Avoid too much alcohol.

Drinking too much alcohol dehydrates your skin. Furthermore,alcohol dilates your blood vessels. If you drink to excess, you could developunsightly broken blood vessels and rosacea, a skin disorder marked by redness andtiny pimples.

Kid’s jokes

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Mutton pie

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