Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts

03 November 2008

The Benefit of Green Tea


Much has been written and said about the amazing health benefits of tea. So much in fact, that it's often difficult to separate fact from fiction. What are the scientifically recognized benefits of tea?

Among the most widely held beliefs are the following:
Green Tea lowers the risk of cancer
Green Tea lowers the risk of stroke and heart diseases
Green Tea lowers blood pressure
Green Tea prevents tooth decay
Green Tea inhibits viruses


The ability of green tea to prevent cancer is so well established that new studies are testing green tea as a potential cancer therapy. Green tea may be especially protective against lung cancer in former and current cigarette smokers.Green tea has been shown to counteract both the initiation and promotion of carcinogenesis. Some studies have shown that green tea blocks the formation of certain tumors. If green tea's only benefit were to reduce the risk of cancer, it would be well worth taking as a beverage or supplement.

Green Tea Lowers Cholesterol and Thus, The Risk of Stroke and Heart Diseases.Green Tea has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and serum triglyceride levels. The potent antioxidant effects of green tea inhibit the oxidation of LDL cholesterol in the arteries. It plays a major contributory role in the formation of atherosclerosis.

Green Tea blocks the effects of angiotension-converting enzyme (ACE), an enzyme secreted by the kidneys, which is a significant cause of hypertension. By blocking the effects of ACE, blood pressure is reduced significantly, and with it, the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

It said the study raised the prospect of adding tea extracts to toothpaste and mouthwash to protect teeth. So the drinking tea can prevents tooth decay.

Green tea has been known to lower blood sugar levels. It can also kill certain bacterias and is effective against staph. Green tea inhibits several viruses including viral hepatitis. Green tea, via catechins and theaflavins and its gallates, have shown antibacterial properties.

The health benefits of green tea have been studied and enjoyed for years in Asian cultures such as China and Japan and now this information is much more widely available in the west. We can all now enjoy green tea health benefit and at the same time if we choose to actually drink the teas we can have a fun and interesting time trying different teas.

Related articles in my blog:Chinese Tea Culture in My Eyes

09 September 2008

Please Save Water in Your Life


Everyone knows that water is important to human and other beings in the earth.Water is a precious resource. Most living things are made up of at least 60% water, including humans who are made up of approximately 70% water. We need water – our lives depend on it.

More than two thirds of the Earth is covered by water but less than 1% is freshwater – 97% is too salty and the rest is ice. It is important that everyone makes an effort to conserve water.

However,we often find water flowing without anybody using. Some people consider it as a unimportant thing, because the water is so cheap. They are optimistic excessively. If every do as this, the water will be used up before long.

Tips for saving water:

1.Install a three-star rated water efficient showerhead. (see showerhead exchange)
2.Take shorter showers.
3.Turn off the sink faucet when brushing your teeth.
4.Install flow control valves to further reduce water use.
5.Insulate hot water pipes. This avoids wasting water while waiting for hot water to flow through.
6.When replacing your old washing machine choose one with a four-star rating.
7.Only wash when you have a full load.
8.Fix any dripping taps or leaking toilet cisterns.
10.When waiting for running water to warm up in the kitchen or bathroom collect it and put it in the fridge or use it to water the garden.

In the garden:
1.Rainwater is better for plants - collect it! Only use mains tap water as a last resort. Watch the weather forecast and save washing-up water for gardening on dry weekends.
2.Water plants in the evening to avoid the water evaporating. Always use a watering can rather than a hose - you can measure more easily how much water each plant receives. A hosepipe left running for one hour will use as much water as most of us need during a whole week!
3.Use a bucket to wash your car rather than a hose.

03 September 2008

Mosiac Art


Mosaics in the ancient world

goes back some 4,000 years or more, with the use of terracotta cones pushed point-first into a background to give decoration. By the eighth century BC, there were pebble pavements, using different coloured stones to create patterns, although these tended to be unstructured decoration.By 200 BC, specially manufactured pieces ("tesserae") were being used to give extra detail and range of colour to the work.With the rise of the Byzantine Empire from the 5th century onwards, centred on Byzantium (now Istanbul, Turkey), the art form took on new characteristics.Roman images were absorbed into the typical Christian themes of the Byzantine mosaics, although some work is decorative and some incorporates portraits of Emperors and Empresses.In the west of Europe, the Moors brought Islamic mosaic and tile art into the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century, while elsewhere in the Muslim world, stone, glass and ceramic were all used in mosaics.

Medieval to modern mosaics
In the rest of Europe, mosaic went into general decline throughout the Middle Ages. However a flourishing tile industry led to mosaic tiling patterns in abbeys and other major religious buildings.In the 19th century there was a revival of interest, particularly in the Byzantine style, with buildings such as Westminster Cathedral (left) and Sacre-Coeur in Paris.

Modern mosaics
Mosaic is in a healthy state in the early 21st century, despite a tendency for it to be thought of as more the work of craftspeople than artists. Perhaps this is a difficulty in accepting the fact that mosaics often have a dual function, for example as flooring, and also because it is a very accessible, non-elitist form of creativity.

Mosaics arts In our life
Mosaic art is becoming increasingly popular - with a renaissance as an art media, but also in the home improvement industry. Whether you are piecing together mosaic tiles and glass beads for the sheer guilty pleasure of creating a piece of art - or if you are putting your skill to work as a craftsman - mosaic art is certainly a thing of beauty.

Tips for your mosiac tile
1.) Weldbond for indoor mosaics - This stuff is a great all-purpose adhesive for your mosaic tiles and glass beads to stay securely fastened to their base. It is water-resistant, but also water based (no bad fumes), and it dries clear so you won't see any nasty residue on your creation.

2.) Seal outdoor mosaics - The sun, wind, rain and all of the other elements can play havoc with both the mosaic tiles and the tile grout that you use in between them. After your grout has cured for 2 full days, seal the outdoor mosaic with tile and grout sealer from your local building center.
3.) Mosaic material is heavy - Try to avoid using lightweight or breakable material as a base for your design.

4.) Take proper safety precautions - When you build your mosaic with tiles and glass beads, there is going to be some cutting, scraping and possibly breaking involved. You may even need to use tools that break or snap the different pieces to achieve the shape that you want. It is always best to use glass cutting gloves, and use protective eyewear when you do this.

5.) Use thinset for outdoor mosaics - Thinset is a concrete-based adhesive - essentially a sticky concrete - that is the best for outdoor mosaics. Sometimes the basic adhesives can breakdown with the constant battering from the elements - unlike thinset, which is an outdoor application.
6.) Use Leponitt glass mosaic cutters - Leponitt is the number one choice in cutters for cutting glass mosaic tiles, their cutters makes cutting glass tiles easy. Leponitt is preferred by both the craft enthusiast and the professional mosaic artists.

Tips for Saving on Wedding Costs


In morden times, the young is wild about individuation, so they would like to hold a special and wonderful wedding. At the same time, the cost of wedding is going up.How to saving the cost while holding a great wedding?

First, you should make a plan.Set a total budget amount that the parties can afford for the wedding, and live within the budget.If one expense goes over budget, another one must come in under budget by a similar amount Provide some contingency in your budget for the unforeseen.

1.Limit the number of guests. Inviting 150 people instead of 200 automatically cuts your wedding costs significantly.

2.Cut back on clothing costs.We know a smart woman who wore her college roommate's wedding dress,wedding gloves, and even recycled the bridesmaid's dresses from her roommate's wedding for her own wedding. She ended up buying one bridesmaid's dress instead of a wedding dress and three bridesmaid's dresses. Borrow or make a headpiece instead of paying a couple of hundred dollars for one. Men can opt to wear their own, nice suits instead of tuxedos, saving rental costs.

3.Be nontraditional with the food. Not every wedding reception needs to feature sit-down dinner with a fruit cup and full meal.

4.Consider the timing of the wedding. Wedding caterers—the good ones at least—are booked a year or more in advance for Saturdays in June, and often charge more for their services during these busy times. The same caterers in November, however, may be looking for business and willing to give you a break on their costs.

5.Say no to the extras. You really don't need wedding bubbles. Or a picture frame for each guest to take home. You don't need embossed matchbooks or napkins, or elaborate flower arrangements on every table. Keep it simple and you can save significant money.