Month: August 2014

Bedroom decor should have a romantic essence to it, don’t you think? Considering that we spend a major part of our lives in our bedrooms, we should make it one of the most comfortable zones in our homes. It should be a room that spells romance and makes you feel good as soon as you step inside — a space that stimulates your senses. So, what do you need to make your boudoir a cosy love nest? Read on to find out some tips…

Make it look great

The way your bedroom is lit, can make or break the look you want to create. Interior designer Ketki Passi says, “The right kind of lighting can help create a romantic ambience.”

Candles can work wonders

They are what romance is all about. the mysterious light and shadow effect of a candle can give a very special aura to your bedroom. Bright, harsh bulbs are a big no-no. For the ideal romantic look dim, soft lights are key. Use heavy curtains to escape the glare of harsh street-lights. Of course, table and floor lamps are indispensable.

Make it comfortable

A bed that looks comfortable is a basic essential here. Four-poster beds look romantic. Use light fabric drapes in pastel shades around the bed to get a soft look. When it comes to bedspreads and covers, avoid rough and uncomfortable fabrics — soft, smooth and comfortable ones like satin, silk and very good quality airy cotton are essential. Using sexy colours makes your room look, well, sexy. Choose bright bold colours like red, orange or rust. Place plush pillows on the bed of different sizes to make it look comfortable and inviting. Two large pillows, four medium rectangular pillows and around four to five smaller square cushions. A fluffy and soft comforter can add to the romantic look.

Prioritise privacy

Curtains spell romance — pretty, flimsy, sheer curtains that sway with the breeze, light ones in lovely pastel shades that leave you feeling calm and relaxed. Of course, you should also have those heavy drapes to guard your privacy.

Indulge the senses

Romance is about titillating the senses and the sense of smell is important. Spraying room freshener is passe. Opt for fragrances of incense sticks, scented sachet, aromatic candles in lavender, vanilla, and camomile etc. Go and have fun doing up your bedroom!

Did you know that tomatoes can give you fresh and healthy skin? Not just that, tomatoes can also be effective when it comes to curing pigmentation and removing stubborn acne marks. Rubbing raw tomatoes on your face not only helps reduce sun tan and damage, it also helps you get back your lost glow. Here is how you can make a quick face pack using tomatoes. This pack is helpful in removing those stubborn dark circles. All you need is a tomato and a lemon. Squeeze the juice from the tomato and lemon into a bowl. Mix them together really well with a spoon. Apply this mixture carefully under your eyes before you wash your face.

While you can’t prevent the deteriorating effects of ageing, you can slow down memory loss in the long run through brain-driven activities. One of the frightening things about ageing is the loss of memory that comes with it. While one cannot prevent the cognitive decline that comes with age, one can slow them down or even reverse them through productive brain-boosting activities.

TALK TO YOURSELF: Having conversations with yourself isn’t stupidity. Studies have shown that people who talk to themselves are at lower risk of developing dementia. In fact, telling yourself stories might delay memory loss and help you stay focused on important details of day-today living. LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE: Knowing how to speak and write in a new language will add one more feather to your talent cap, boost your confidence and even reverse memory loss.

Learning a new language leads to a better understanding and recognition of objects and words. It leads to improved vocabulary and grammar, as well as more mental and verbal fluency. SOLVE PUZZLES & WORD GAMES: Get cracking at that Sudoku puzzle in the morning paper, the cryptic or classic crossword in your Sunday read or that game of scrabble gathering dust in your top drawer.

Anything that stimulates your mind with new words and word associations helps prevent memory loss. USE MELOTHERAPY: Music therapy, commonly referred to as melotherapy, is an enjoyable way to enhance mental focus. Studies have shown that listening to classical music boosts the brain capacity and verbal skills of babies and teens, music is also a great healer for memory loss. All you have to do is to listen to your favourite genre of music and try to remember the melody or lyrics.

Sing along if you want to! READ MANY BOOKS TOGETHER: Read as many books as you can and try to remember their plots. It doesn’t matter if you are drawn to books, a magazine article or a newspaper report. Use the spare time you get while commuting to work or during breaks to read something other than work-related material

Say goodbye to protein shakes and other power ups. The ingredient that’s creating a buzz in several health forums and amongst researchers, lies in a new drink — camel drink. It is new here, because unlike in the Middle East and other countries where it is had, India has only just woken up to its benefits. It is still to be legitimised here unlike the West, where it is being touted as a ‘superfood’.

Health benefits

A news report quotes Anand Singh Bhati, a member of Rajasthan’s camelrearing community of Rebaris who owns these animals, as saying of a malaria outbreak, “Ten to 12 days of camel milk cures the person.” The milk is considered rich in potassium, magnesium, iron and other nutrients.

It also contains three times more vitamin C and 10 times more iron than cow’s milk, says city-based dietician Sheela Tanna. She shows different ways of adding it to your diet…

1). Camel milk supports and helps people with autoimmune conditions, including autism, says Tanna. Regular consumption of camel milk by autistic children may show improvements in symptoms.

They have better sleep, increased eye contact, better language and improved gastrointestinal function. Make these treats for your kids Camel milk chocolate burfi: How it’s made: This is prepared from camel milk, mawa and organic sugar by mixing them 4:1.5 ratio along with 10-15 % chocolate powder.

This powerpacked dessert is also full of nourishments and antioxidants, which is well tolerated and relished by children.

Rice pudding
How it’s made: Add cooked rice in camel milk, along with sugar, saffron, cardamom, almonds and pistachio. Cook it on a slow flame for 10 minutes. Let it cool down and refrigerate.

2. It contains insulin and is effective in diabetes and gestational diabetes too. Extremely versatile, camel milk can be used to make smoothies and kheer, which could make it part of the daily diet for diabetics.

Try this
Apple and avocado smoothie or strawberry milkshake: Apples and strawberries have their own sweetness and flavour. Having it with camel milk is doubly beneficial, as fruits help burn fat, boost short term memory, are low in calories, have anti-aging properties and is good for weight loss. It is also apt for pregnant women.

Anew cell study has mapped one of the most important proteins in cell division that has a fundamental process in life and the development of cancer, which might also help fight against it. A team from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge produced the first detailed images of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C).

Images of the gigantic protein in unprecedented detail would transform scientists’ understanding of exactly how cells copy their chromosomes and divide, and could reveal binding sites for future cancer drugs. The APC/C performs a wide range of vital tasks associated with mitosis, the process during which a cell copies its chromosomes and pulls them apart into two separate cells. Mitosis is used in cell division by all animals and plants.

Discovering its structure could ultimately lead to new treatments for cancer, which hijacks the normal process of cell division to make thousands of copies of harmful cancer cells. The resolution was so fine that it allowed the researchers to see the secondary structure, the set of basic building blocks which combine to form every protein. Alpha-helix rods and folded beta-sheet constructions were clearly visible within the 20 subunits of the APC/C, defining the overall architecture of the complex.

Dr Kat Arney, Science Information Manager at Cancer Research UK, said that shaping out how the fundamental molecular “nuts and bolts” of cells work was critical because better understanding about what goes wrong in cancer cells was required and figuring out more effective ways of tackling them. Revealing the intricate details of biological shapes was a hugely important step towards identifying targets for future cancer drugs. The research is published in Nature.

Did you ever count calories from the soft drink you usually order along with the dinner? Now is the time to factor those in. New research indicates that meals that include a calorific drink are expected to be more satiating than those served with water. “Our work adds important context to a broader ongoing debate about the dangers of liquid calories,” said professor Jeff Brunstrom from University of Bristol’s School of Experimental Psychology.

The researchers looked at whether people factor in liquid calories when they estimate the satiating effect of a meal. Participants completed a computer-based task that assessed the expected satiation of meals that included either a calorific drink, a non-calorific drink or a snack with the same energy content as the calorific drink. The researchers also explored the contribution of carbonation on expected fullness.

Meals served with a calorific drink were not considered to be any less filling than the same meals served instead with a snack. However, both the snack and the calorific drink caused only a small increase in expected satiation. “Calories in soft drinks and calories in snack foods have a small but comparable effect on the expected satiation of meals,” Brunstrom noted. The research was scheduled to be presented at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior Conference (SSIB 2014) in Seattle, USA this week.