MaoBah - Interesting Health Topics, Celebrity News and Informational News

My husband is a big fan of hot foods, especially curry. New research shows that eating curry once or twice a week can help prevent dementia and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The reason is because of a component of the spice called turmeric called curcumin.

Curcumin prevents the spread of amyloid protein plaques. Amyloid plaques together with tangles of nerve fibers contribute to the degradation of the wiring in the brain cells. There is evidence that people who eat a meal or two of curry twice to three times a week have a lower risk of dementia. Researchers are currently testing the impact of higher doses. There will be studies on the results if a person will go on a curry spree for a week, to know whether it can maximize the effect.

A four star hotel near Venice offered the ultimate low-cost vacation by mistake. It was a romantic weekend in the Italian lagoon city for 1 Euro cent. Not surprisingly, the Crowne Plaza in Quarto D’Altino which is 15.5 miles from Venice received bookings for the equivalent of 1,400 room nights on the night the rate was posted on its site.

The hotel first thought that the offer was posted by a hacker but it turned out to be human error at the Atlanta, Georgia offices of Intercontinental Hotels Group and this is acknowledged by the hotel’s mother company. The offer was supposed to be for a two-night stay at half price, because a night at the 151-room hotel would normally cost between $128 and $214. The 1-cent rate was up only Sunday night, but that was long enough for travelers to book dates running from October until next year. The hotel stands to lose 90,000 Euro or $129,000 and this is according to the hotel manager.

Monica Smith, media relations manager for the hotel group in the U.S. said Friday that some 228 guests made reservations for the equivalent of 1,400 room nights while the error was on the hotel’s site and that the reservations would be honored. According to the media relations manager for the hotel group in the U.S. although there was a pricing error, the hotel has committed to honoring the 1-cent rate for guests who have a valid confirmation, but the rooms booked at the low rate are non-transferable.

Playing is very important for children because it teaches them coordination, adult roles, basic problem solving skills and social interaction. Many people though, have fallen prey to the idea that it is only important for kids. Playing is important no matter what your age may be. For Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, playing is the defining characteristic of our species and humanity is notable not as Homo sapiens, which means “wise people” but Homo ludens, which means “playful people”.

Play is good for the health. A lot of play involves exercise and this in itself relieves stress and releases the feel-good chemicals in our brains. It lights up the entire right side of the brain, which creates a state of hyper-creativity that changes the way you see the world.

Play unites the mind and body, it bridges the gap between physical sensation and mental sensation. It creates social bonds as well and there is evidence that the earliest social bonds are primarily playful ones. As an infant develops a sense of its own identity and starts to recognize other people as beings with their own identities, he or she begins to learn to play and socialize at the same time.

Spending some non-serious time with yourself or with other people can make you better at all that serious stuff that’s been sucking at your soul and preventing you from having fun in the first place. If you focus more on enjoying your time, you’ll feel better, enjoy more creativity and be more relaxed. When you do this, this makes your life much better.

Excessive cola consumption, according to doctors, can lead to anything from mild weakness in the muscles or profound paralysis. This is because carbonated drinks can cause your blood potassium to drop dangerously low. An ostrich farmer in Australia needed emergency care for lung paralysis after drinking large amounts of soda.

Researchers believe that a lot of people risk problems due to their intake of the beverage. Dr. Clifford Packer says that people have every reason to think that having health problems because of drinking soda is not rare. With aggressive mass marketing and super-sizing of the soft drinks as well as the effects of caffeine tolerance and dependence, there is very little doubt that tens of millions of people in industrialized countries drink at least 2 to 3 liters of cola per day.

According to the doctor, “It follows that the serum potassium levels of these heavy cola drinkers are dropping, in some cases, to dangerously low levels." Excessive cola consumption has also been linked with tooth and bone problems, diabetes and obesity.