Health News. Lots of resources and information

When the new day dawns, do not hurry agitatedly into the unknown, wondering what new worries it will bring. Try to remember that it has been given to you completely new, to do with it what you will. After all, should we really take it for granted that light and sunshine return day after day for our benefit? So thank your Maker for these important gifts of everyday life, as thankfulness always fills the heart with joy and this happy frame of mind will never nourish the hard-hearted attitude that there is no divine Power interested in our welfare. On the contrary, it will prompt you to express thanks to your Maker for the wonderful gift of light and warmth. Full of joy, your first step in the new day will be a happy one. Whatever problems that arise to worry you can be dealt with more easily; in fact, you will look at them in a different light, giving you a better chance of success, whereas sadness and discontent will rob your time and drain your strength, or they may even lead you into further trouble. Those who begin their day in a happy frame of mind are more likely to end it in the same way.

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Let us now consider the television, an invention that most of us could not imagine being without. This is no exaggeration, for no sooner has it cast its spell than people rush out to buy a set, whether it is necessary or not and whether they have the means or not. Those who can ill afford a television set are often the ones most interested in acquiring this costly form of entertainment come what may.

Let us now examine this desire to be entertained by what we watch on the screen from the point of view of our health. No doubt it is a marvellous invention that can transmit much valuable knowledge and broadcast many important world events. Could one ever forget observing the animals in Kruger National Park? We are amazed at the giant lizards on the Galapagos islands, those surviving animals that give us an idea why legends tell of dragons. Although we may be sitting comfortably in our armchair, television transfers us to those distant shores, making us believe we are actually there, so engrossed do we become in the life of some strange creature. And what about the presentation of a heart operation in a well-equipped modern operating theatre – a gripping experience for anyone who is interested in the human body. Such educational programmes can fill many a gap in our knowledge and give us pleasure and enjoyment. At the same time, moderation is called for if we do not want to run the risk of losing time and control and suffering as a consequence.

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I became aware of the ruthless manner in which some enterprises are conducted through some friends in Guatemala. For years, our contact in that country, a Canadian married to an Indian woman, has produced honey for us. One day, quite unexpectedly, a powerful cotton company established itself in his neighbourhood and began to clear vast forest areas and plant cotton. Without any real necessity, only because of habit, the owners had their cotton plantation dusted, not manually of course, but on the generous lines the Americans are accustomed to, by plane. The finely distributed poison was intended to prevent supposed pests from settling on the cotton plants. It did not worry the commercial giant that various other insects, including bees, were killed as a consequence of their dusting. In fact, our contact lost 300 colonies of bees! Moreover, he was forced by these circumstances to pick up what was left and move to another area.

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Oils and fats do not have a highly complicated chemical formula: on the contrary, they consist of the common elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. All fats and oils used for food contain one or more of the three types of fatty acids, the saturated, the unsaturated and the polyunsaturated. If we consume an excess of saturated fatty acids, as found in refined fats and oils, too much energy is required to digest them and for this reason we feel tired and sleepy after a meal.

The saturated fatty acids are chemical compounds that are exceedingly poor in oxygen and their consumption would require us to exercise and breathe deeply – something we feel no inclination to do after eating such foods. These heavy fats, are mainly of animal origin and have a high melting point, while the unsaturated oils occur chiefly in seeds and have a low melting point. Vegetable oils are richer in unsaturated, even highly unsaturated fatty acids. For this reason natural, unrefined oils are better for you than others. Oils with a low melting point are hardened or hydrogenised because transporting and stocking them in bottles is more difficult and costly. So the oil industries prefer the method of hardening because firm slabs of fat can be more easily packed and transported than liquids.

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This juice contains betaine, which stimulates the function of the liver cells and protects the liver and bile ducts in cases of disturb-

ance. Every 100 g of beetroot juice contains 5 mg of iron, in addition to a number of trace elements, which, it is believed, encourage the absorption of the iron in the blood. A healthy body needs plenty of iron, especially in the first two years of life, during puberty, in pregnancy, when breast-feeding and during the menopause. Beetroot juice is highly recommended for these crucial periods of life. If your child is pale, do not forget to give him or her a small glass of beetroot juice before meals every day, morning and evening. In the case of infants (six months to two years) one teaspoonful will suffice.

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