Archive for October 2017

Pneumonic plague in Madagascar.

Outbreak of pneumonic plague in the port city of Tamatave in the East coast of Madagascar.

“The plague is understandably a scary disease, but quick, hands-on action can drastically lower the number of fatalities and bring the outbreak to an end.”

   “Pneumonic plague is treatable and patients have 100% chance of making a full recovery when treatment is started in time. Moreover, people at risk of infection can take prophylaxis treatments that will prevent them from falling ill.“
The port city of Tamatave, also known as Toamasina, is home of about 300,000 people and has one of the highest concentrations of cases of pneumonic plague in the country with 261 cases and 10 fatalities since the beginning of the outbreak.

While the bubonic plague is spread through infected fleas from common mammals, pulmonary plague is transmitted from human to human.

Madagascar records cases of bubonic plague every year in its highland plateaus, where the disease is carried by rats, but Tamatave city has no natural animal vector present and no regular cases of plague in recent years.

Since 1st August according to official data, by October 17th Madagascar had recorded a total of 1032 cases of plague, including 695 cases of pulmonary plague, and 89 deaths.

 

DANCE ABILITY AND CONFIDENCE

Dance Ability Linked to Your Level of Confidence

“Self-confidence is the human ability to believe in
oneself, to know that you can accomplish any
task or challenge, no matter the odds, the
difficulty, or the adversity.”
The belief in yourself will definitely have a major positive impact on what you are trying to achieve.

It’s not something that comes easily to us.
It takes time, passion, and the willingness to push oneself to overcome the hardships that come along the way.

How and why confidence has an impact on ballroom dancing:

First of all, you should not mistake this with the ego.

Confidence
is trust in yourself, but it’s not centered on the self.

Focus on the dancing and let go because I trust that I will be able to face whatever may come. This is how confidence gives you the necessary space to enjoy the dance and be present.

Let’s say that you have a long-term goal that extends over a few years.

We describe success by whether we satisfy the goals we set or not.

It may happen that if you don’t feel like getting close to it, you lose confidence, question yourself, and reach a point where you give up.

So, rather than defining the limitations that we have by setting long-term goals, why not just commit to continual improvement?

Dancesport is also about the relationship that you have with your teacher and your partner. Dancers that have a low level of confidence can develop defeatist attitudes. This leads to an unproductive relationship with their teacher. They end up taking it all too personal and that is a barrier to self-improvement. Remember and accept that you are a human being with imperfections like everyone else.

“If you have a strong sense of self and you offer everything you got at any given moment, you will also trust your partner and thus strengthen the bond that is formed between the two of you.”

This is the practical side of confidence and it comes from hard work, experience, and improvement.

Confidence is an unwavering state of mind that results from the combination of a realistic self-assessment and a strong desire to reach new heights, that you constantly develop and work on.

Ballroom dancers with confidence don’t dwell on what the audience thinks about them. They feel good even though they know that they are not perfect. In this way, they don’t form an image of themselves based on the perception of others which would risk the quality of their dance.

Observe how top dancers carry themselves on the dance floor and in real life.
They exude confidence through their voice, posture, eye contact and gestures. They have strength and resilience on their quest for “gold”. What matters here is their attitude. Every ballroom dancer has it’s own unique style. Thank

A professional knows that without discipline, the level of self-esteem will decrease.

You have to let go of instant gratification and have the courage to abstain from short-term pleasure.

If you want to feel good about how you’re thriving as a performer in the world of dancesport, you need to know exactly where you are in relation to where you want to be.

Further, you must elaborate a plan with the exact steps that you need to take in order to reach that point. Stick with it no matter what and remind yourself to focus on what you can control. There will be circumstances upon which you’ll have no power other than how you react and your attitude.

By being disciplined and working on self-management you will grow as an excellent dancer.

Always keep in mind what’s driving you to dance: without your passion, you will become too dependent on other people’s opinion.

BRAIN FOODS

What does the food you eat have to do with how your brain functions? While we’ve always known that what we eat affects our bodies and how we look, scientists are also learning more and more that what we eat takes a toll on our brains. Yes, brain foods matter (especially for our gray matter).

When we’re stressed out — whether it’s physical, like someone jumps out at you from a dark alley, or mental, like you have a major project due at work — our bodies release inflammatory cytokines. These chemicals prompt the immune system to kick in and fight back against the stress through inflammation, as though stress is an infection. While inflammation helps protect us against illnesses and repairs the body when you do something like cut yourself, chronic inflammation is a different animal. It’s been linked to autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, anxiety, high blood pressure and more.

Our gut helps keep our body’s immune responses and inflammation under control. Gut hormones that enter the brain or are produced in the brain influence cognitive ability, like understanding and processing new information, staying focused on the task at hand and recognizing when we’re full.

Brain foods rich in antioxidants, good fats, vitamins and minerals, provide energy and aid in protecting against brain diseases. When we focus on giving our bodies whole nutritious foods, benefiting both the gut and the brain we’re actually benefiting our minds and bodies while keeping them both in tip-top shape.

15 Best Foods For The Brain
1. Avocados
This fruit is one of the healthiest ones you can consume. While avocados often get a bad report because of their high fat content, it’s important to note that these green powerhouses are packed with monosaturated fats or the “good” kind, keeping blood sugar levels steady and your skin glowing.

Containing both vitamin K and folate, avocados help prevent blood clots in the brain (protecting against stroke) as well as help improve cognitive function, especially both memory and concentration.

They’re also rich in vitamin B and vitamin C, which aren’t stored in your body and need to be replenished daily. Plus, they have the highest protein and lowest sugar content of any fruit. Avocados’ creamy texture makes them a smart addition to smoothies and a replacement for fats in baked goods.
2. Beets reduce inflammation, are high in cancer-protecting antioxidants and help rid your blood of toxins. The natural nitrates in beets actually boost blood flow to the brain, helping with mental performance. Plus, during tough workouts, beets actually help boost energy and performance levels. I love them roasted or in salads.
3. Blueberries
For starters, it’s one of the highest antioxidant-rich foods known to man, including vitamin C and vitamin K and fiber. Because of their high levels of gallic acid, blueberries are especially good at protecting our brains from degeneration and stress.
4. Bone Broth is the ultimate food for healing your gut and, in turn, healing your brain. This ancient food is full of health benefits, ranging from boosting your immune system, overcoming leaky gut, improving joint health and overcoming food allergies.

Its high levels of collagen help reduce intestinal inflammation, and healing amino acids like proline and glycine keep your immune system functioning properly and help improve memory.

5. Broccoli
Thanks to its high levels of vitamin K and choline, it will help keep your memory sharp. It’s also loaded with vitamin C — in fact, just one cup provides you with 150 percent of your recommended daily intake. Its high-fiber levels mean that you’ll feel full quickly, too.
6. Celery
For a vegetable with such few calories (just 16 per cup!), celery sure does offer a lot of benefits. Its high levels of antioxidants and polysaccharides act as natural anti-inflammatories and can help alleviate symptoms related to inflammation, like joint pain and irritable bowel syndrome.

Because it’s so nutrient-dense — packing loads of vitamins, minerals and nutrients with very little calories — it’s a great snack option if you’re looking to shed pounds. And while we often eat celery stalks, don’t skip the seeds and leaves; both provide extra health benefits and taste great in things like stir fries and soups.
7. Coconut Oil
Coconut oil works as a natural anti-inflammatory, suppressing cells responsible for inflammation. It can help with memory loss as you age and destroy bad bacteria that hangs out in your gut.
8. Dark Chocolate
Not all chocolate is created equal; in fact, dark chocolate can actually be good for you! Chocolate is chockfull of flavonols, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They can also help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow to both the brain and heart. The rule of thumb is the darker the chocolate, the more health benefits. Skip milk and white chocolates and opt for a minimally processed dark chocolate with at least 70 percent of cocoa. This ensures you’ll get your choco fix and its brain benefits!
9. Egg Yolks
On the nutritional naughty list for years, egg yolks are finally experiencing their well-deserved day in the sun. If you’ve been eating only egg whites, the yolk’s on you. Yolks contain large amounts of choline, which helps in fetal brain development for pregnant women. It also breaks down bethane, a chemical that produces hormones related to happiness. That’s right, eggs can make you happy!

If you’ve kept away from eating eggs whole because of cholesterol concerns, there’s good news. Studies show that eating eggs had no effect on the cholesterol levels of healthy adults and might, in fact, help raise good cholesterol levels.

It’s also one of the most inexpensive sources of protein out there; just be sure you’re buying organic, free-range eggs.
10. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Real extra virgin olive oil is truly a brain food. Thanks to the powerful antioxidants known as polyphenols that are found in the oil, including EVOO in your diet may not only improve learning and memory, but also reverse the age- and disease-related changes. The oil also helps fight against ADDLs, proteins that are toxic to the brain and induce Alzheimer’s.

As great as extra virgin olive oil is, remember that it’s not a good option for cooking, as it hydrogenizes and begins decomposing at high temperatures. The best way to get your fill is by eating it cold or at room temperature.
11. Green, Leafy Vegetables
Getting regular helpings of leafy green brain foods — like kale, Swiss chard and romaine lettuce — can help keep dementia at bay according to new research.

In the study, which evaluated the eating habits and mental ability of more than 950 older adults for an average of five years, those adults who ate a serving of leafy green veggies once or twice a day experienced slower mental deterioration than those who ate no vegetables, even when factors like age, education and family history of dementia were factored in.

Green, leafy vegetables are also loaded with vitamins A and K (just one cup of kale has more than 684 percent of your recommended daily serving!), which help fight inflammation and keep bones strong.
12. Rosemary
We already knew that rosemary oil has a variety of benefits, but did you know that the herb does, too? Carnosic acid, one of the main ingredients in rosemary, helps protect the brain from neurodegeneration. It does this by protecting the brain against chemical free radicals, which are linked to neurodegeneration, Alzheimer’s, strokes and normal aging in the brain.

It also helps protect eyesight from deteriorating, thanks to its high levels of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
13. Salmon
If you like seafood, get excited, because salmon is one of the most nutritious, brain food-friendly foods out there! It’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids to help keep your brain running smoothly and improve memory.

If you have kids, feeding them salmon can help prevent ADHD by improving their focus. And these same fatty acids can also help prevent cancer and kill tumors — not bad for a four-ounce serving of fish!

Please note that these benefits are for Alaskan wild-caught salmon — farm-raised and regular wild-caught salmon can be filled with mercury and toxins.
14. Turmeric is one of the most powerful (and natural) anti-inflammatory agents.

Turmeric also helps boost antioxidant levels and keep your immune system healthy, while also improving your brain’s oxygen intake, keeping you alert and able to process information.
15. Walnuts can improve your cognitive health.  Their high levels of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals also improve mental alertness. The vitamin E in the nuts can also help ward off Alzheimer’s.

 

FLUORIDE CAN HARM YOUR BRAIN BY CALCIFYING IT, 5 WAYS TO REVERSE DAMAGE

FLUORIDE CAN HARM YOUR BRAIN BY CALCIFYING IT, 5 WAYS TO REVERSE DAMAGE

Yes, fluoride can calcify your brain.

Actually, it’s a specific part of the brain called the pineal gland.

The pineal gland has always held an elevated status in the records of most ancient cultures. The pineal gland is located between the two hemispheres of the brain and is responsible for the synthesis and secretion of the hormones melatonin and serotonin.

Recent scientific discoveries have begun to reveal just how significant the pineal gland really is. Each family of glands in the endocrine system secrete hormones that stimulate certain aspects of bodily function: reproduction, metabolism, growth, etc.

The pineal gland secretes hormones that modulate the state of consciousness.
The hormone that stabilizes waking consciousness is serotonin – which is produced by several glands in the body. The pineal gland stores a high concentration of serotonin and converts it to melatonin, the hormone that stabilizes our sleeping state which is produced every night on a regular basis.

Using a similar conversion process, the pineal gland can also produce a more complex form of melatonin which we call METAtonin, a higher octave of melatonin.

Melatonin puts waking self-consciousness to sleep while the body continues to function, rest and repair; METAtonin goes one step further by allowing waking self-consciousness to remain awake but free from its connection to the resting physical body.

In the 1990s, a British scientist, Jennifer Luke, discovered that fluoride accumulates to strikingly high levels in the pineal gland and in fact calcifies the pineal gland. (Luke 2001).
Because an abnormal pineal function is implicated here, its role in several neurodegenerative disorders has received considerable attention in research.

Here’s What You Can Do to Decalcify

1. Don’t Drink Tap Water with Fluoride

You can reduce your exposure by taking matters into your own hands buying a water filter that specifically takes the fluoride out. Also, there are some spring water companies that are worth looking into.

2. Eat Organic Foods

Processed foods contain a lot of fluoride (in addition to other toxins) which can lead to further calcification. GMO foods also contain pesticides that are very harmful to the body and are another possible contributor to Pineal gland calcification.

3. Sleep in Pitch Black

Make your room as dark as possible at night while you sleep. Even lights as faint as that produced from an alarm clock can reduce melatonin creation.

4. Eat These Foods

Detoxify with agents such as Chlorella, MSM, iodine, and organic garlic.

5. Frankincense Essential Oil

Inhaling frankincense essential oil (we recommend this) will help to reduce calcification in your body and Pineal gland in particular. You can diffuse them or add a few drops to your shower or bath as you inhale the steam.

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