Monday, June 8, 2009

Tips to look Slim

HOW TO LOOK SLIM
There are times when you take a break from your sensible-eating and exercise regime and want to just lie back and enjoy all those forbidden foods. Well then you are bound to put on weight but until you have worked towards reducing the excess weight you can follow these few tips to look slim.

~ Stand comfortably erect and stick your stomach in. Good posture always makes you look slimmer.

~ Dark colours such as olive, black, charcoal grey, and navy help make areas appear smaller so wear them where you think you need it. For most women it's from the waist down.

~ Avoid shiny or heavily textured fabrics. Shiny fabrics reflect light, making any area appear larger. Heavily texture fabrics only add extra weight.

~ Sewn-down pleats in skirts and blouses can both create a slimming effect. Include vertical lines in your accessories, such as long chains worn around the neck.

~ Avoid extensive use of horizontal lines - belts, boat-collar blouses and border print skirts. These styles can add extra width to your body frame.

~ Your best asset is your face; so draw attention to it with scarves and jewellery worn around the face. ` Introduce simple lines, such as A-line skirts, tailor-notched, collared blouses and blazers. The oversized blazer is a great solution for camouflaging large derrieres and hips. Double-pleated skirts and trousers mask protruding stomachs and provide comfort as well.

~ If you want to appear thinner incorporate dark, cool and dull colours and textures. Dull textures absorb the light like wool or cotton. Some very slimming colours include black, navy, olive, violet, charcoal grey, chocolate brown, plum, eggplant and burgundy.


Stay beautiful and keep rocking!!!

How to improve ur memory 'n' exercise ur brain


Everyone can take steps to improve their memory, and with time and practice most people can gain the ability to memorize seemingly impossible amounts of information. Whether you want to win the World Memory Championships, ace your history test, or simply remember where you put your keys, this article can get you started. Scientists believe that exercising your brain can create a cognitive reserveĆ¢ that will help you stay sharp as you age.

1. Convince yourself that you do have a good memory that will improve.
Too many people get stuck here and convince themselves that their memory is bad, that they are just not good with names, that numbers just slip out of their minds for some reason. Erase those thoughts and vow to improve your memory. Commit yourself to the task and bask in your achievements hard to keep motivated if you beat yourself down every time you make a little bit of progress.

2. Keep your brain active.
The brain is not a muscle, but regularly exercising the brain actually does keep it growing and spurs the development of new nerve connections that can help improve memory. By developing new mental skills ‘especially complex ones such as learning a new language or learning to play a new musical instrument"and challenging your brain with puzzles and games you can keep your brain active and improve its physiological functioning.

3. Exercise daily.
Regular aerobic exercise improves circulation and efficiency throughout the body, including in the brain, and can help ward off the memory loss that comes with aging. Exercise also makes you more alert and relaxed, and can thereby improve your memory uptake, allowing you to take better mental pictures.

4. Reduce stress.
Chronic stress, although it does not physically damage the brain, can make remembering much more difficult. Even temporary stresses can make it more difficult to effectively focus on concepts and observe things. Try to relax, regularly practice yoga or other stretching exercises, and see a doctor if you have severe chronic stress.

5. Eat well and eat right.
There are a lot of herbal supplements on the market that claim to improve memory, but none have yet been shown to be effective in clinical tests (although small studies have shown some promising results for ginkgo biloba and phosphatidylserine) . A healthy diet, however, contributes to a healthy brain, and foods containing antioxidants"broccoli, blueberries, spinach, and berries, for example"and Omega-3 fatty acids appear to promote healthy brain functioning. Feed your brain with such supplements as Thiamine, Vitamin E, Niacin and Vitamin B-6. Grazing, eating 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 large meals, also seems to improve mental functioning (including memory) by limiting dips in blood sugar, which may negatively affect the brain.

6. Take better pictures.
Often we forget things not because our memory is bad, but rather because our observational skills need work. One common situation where this occurs (and which almost everyone can relate to) is meeting new people. Often we don’t really learn people’s names at first because we aren’t really concentrating on remembering them. You’ll find that if you make a conscious effort to remember such things, you’ll do much better. One way to train yourself to be more observant is to look at an unfamiliar photograph for a few seconds and then turn the photograph over and describe or write down as many details as you can about the photograph. Try closing your eyes and picturing the photo in your mind. Use a new photograph each time you try this exercise, and with regular practice you will find you’re able to remember more details with even shorter glimpses of the photos.

7. Give yourself time to form a memory.
Memories are very fragile in the short-term, and distractions can make you quickly forget something as simple as a phone number. The key to avoid losing memories before you can even form them is to be able to focus on the thing to be remembered for a while without thinking about other things, so when you’re trying to remember something, avoid distractions and complicated tasks for a few minutes.

8. Create vivid, memorable images.
You remember information more easily if you can visualize it. If you want to associate a child with a book, try not to visualize the child reading the book that’s too simple and forgettable. Instead, come up with something more jarring, something that sticks, like the book chasing the child, or the child eating the book. It’s your mind make the images as shocking and emotional as possible to keep the associations strong.

9. Repeat things you need to learn.
The more times you hear, see, or think about something, the more surely you’ll remember it, right? It’s a no-brainer. When you want to remember something, be it your new coworker’s name or your best friend’s birthday, repeat it, either out loud or silently. Try writing it down; think about it.

10. Group things you need to remember.
Random lists of things (a shopping list, for example) can be especially difficult to remember. To make it easier, try categorizing the individual things from the list. If you can remember that, among other things, you wanted to buy four different kinds of vegetables, you’ll find it easier to remember all four.

11. Organize your life.
Keep items that you frequently need, such as keys and eyeglasses, in the same place every time. Use an electronic organizer or daily planner to keep track of appointments, due dates for bills, and other tasks. Keep phone numbers and addresses in an address book or enter them into your computer or cell phone. Improved organization can help free up your powers of concentration so that you can remember less routine things. Even if being organized doesn’t improve your memory, you’ll receive a lot of the same benefits (i.e. you won’t have to search for your keys anymore).

12. Try meditation.
Research now suggests that people who regularly practice mindfulness meditation are able to focus better and may have better memories. Mindfulness (also known as awareness or insight meditation) is the type commonly practiced in Western countries and is easy to learn. Studies at Massachusetts General Hospital show that regular meditation thickens the cerebral cortex in the brain by increasing the blood flow to that region. Some researchers believe this can enhance attention span, focus, and memory.

13. Sleep well.
The amount of sleep we get affects the brain’s ability to recall recently learned information. Getting a good night’s sleep a minimum of seven hours a night may improve your short-term memory and long-term relational memory, according to recent studies conducted at the Harvard Medical School.

14. Build your memorization arsenal.
Learn pegs, memory palaces, and the Dominic System. These techniques form the foundation for mnemonic techniques, and will visibly improve your memory.

15. Venture out and learn from your mistakes.
Go ahead and take a stab at memorizing the first one hundred digits of pi, or, if you’ve done that already, the first one thousand. Memorize the monarchs of England through your memory palaces, or your grocery list through visualization. Through diligent effort you will eventually master the art of memorization.

Home Remedies for Food Poisoning

PRECAUTIONS & REMEDIES FOR FOOD POISONING



Keep the patient in bed and give nothing by mouth as long as the nausea and vomiting persist.


As the vomiting subsides, give sips of some warm drink, such as tea, barley or rice water.
Gentle heat may be applied to the stomach to relieve spasm or pain and also the tendency to vomit.



Wash your hands before preparing food to avoid passing on bacteria such as staphylococcus (commonly found on the skin and in the throat) or shigella (passed from fecal matter).


Don't let raw meat juice drip onto other food. It can taint otherwise harmless food.


Don't leave food at room temperature for more than two hours, and avoid eating anything that you suspect may have been unrefrigerated for that long.


Don't taste any food that doesn't smell or look right.


For food poisoning treatment drink fluids as much you can to combat the loss of fluids.


Scrub counters with warm, soapy water and bleach to combat countertop bacteria.


Use a plastic cutting board instead of a wooden one. Be sure to thoroughly clean the cutting board after you've finished using it.


Avoid foods that are fried, smoked or salty as well as raw vegetables, pastries, preserves, candies, alcohol and spices and condiments.


Mix a tablespoon of lemon juice or cider vinegar in a cup of hot water before a meal to prevent acid indigestion.


Add three drops of garlic oil to half a cup of Soya oil and rub onto the stomach after food.


For food poisoning treatment drink a herbal tea of mint, raspberry, chamomile and blackberry.


Drink one cup of ginger tea after meals to promote a good digestion and for heartburn, nausea, etc.


Cooking utensils and plates, as well as sponges and dishcloths that were used in the food preparation process, should also be cleaned appropriately.


Grind a lemon along with seeds and make a paste. Add some salt. Take 1 tsp of this paste 2-3 times.


Drink 1/2 tsp of dry ginger (saunth powder in 1 cup buttermilk (chhachh) 3 - 4 times a day.
Chew a few pieces of the inner lining of pomegranate with salt, and/or drink pomegranate juice.



Prepare a mixture by ading 1 Tbsp poppy seeds, 1 tsp edible gum, 1 tsp cardamom powder, 1/2 tsp nutmeg (jaiphal) powder, and2 tbs sugar, and grind to a powder. Take this powder every 2 hours.


Prepare a mixture by adding 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp ginger juice, and 1/4 tsp pepper powder and drink it.


Mix 5-6 chopped basil (tulsi) leaves, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and some black pepper in 3 Tbsp of curd, and eat it. Repeat this 4 times a day for one week. This is very useful home remedy for food pisoning treatment .


Roast 1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds and 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds (dana methi). Mix and powder it, add to 4 tsp of yogurt (curd). Take thrice a day. This is also very useful home remedy for food pisoning.


Grate one raw papaya. Add 3 cups water, boil for 10 mins, strain and finish the water in one day.