Y7 Humanities June

Y7 Humanities JUNE 2018

 WORLD CUP 18

OLE! OLE! OLE! OLE!

World Cup Histeria Who will win?

10 GLOBAL SUMMER SPORTS Heath Saunders

10 BEST PLACES TO VISIT IN RUSSIA! Y7 Staff

UNDER THE LENS - EXPLORING THE KALASH Maria Ali

CRISTIANO RONALDO IN NUMBERS!!! (P4)

Contents: Cristiano in Numbers World Cup Histeria is Back -- This Time in Russia for 2018!!

Nigeria’s World Cup Stylishness Celebrity Suicides Highlight Troubling Trend in Midlife Owning a Dog May Lower Your Blood Pressure Top 10 Summer Global Sports This Is All You Really Need to Know About Staying Hydrated Seasonal Allergies: Nip Them in the Bud 10 New Space Discoveries With Crazy Cosmic Consequences The Miracle of Vitamin D: Sound Science, or Hype?

10 Best Places to Visit in Russia How to Book the Cheapest Flight Possible to Anywhere The Health Benefits of Prayer and Meditation 9 Realistic Ways to Kick Your Sugar Cravings What are binaural beats and how do they work?

What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?

10 healthy snacks you can make in minutes How to spot (and avoid) these Facebook and social media prize scams 6 questions help reveal if you’re addicted to social media

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Cristiano in Numbers!

Y7 Humanities

You asked and we got the answers! We pulled the most popular questions and compiled all of the answers here about your favorite footballer – Cristiano Ronaldo!

How much money does Ronaldo have?

Much of his net worth comes from his annual salary of $45 million. He also rakes in a large stipend from endorsements of Nike sneakers, Sacoor Brothers suits, Monster headphones and Tag Heuer watches. Ronaldo will make $93 million this year, according to Forbes, making him the fifth highest-paid celebrity in 2017.

How many international goals has Ronaldo scored?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time top goal scorer for the Portugal national football team and has the most goals among currently active players. As of 26 March 2018, he has scored 81 goals in 149 appearances since his debut on 20 August 2003.

How many goals has Ronaldo scored with his left foot?

326 of his goals have been right-footed, while another 90 were left-footed and 83 headed.

He has scored 45 direct free-kicks, too.

Where is Ronaldo right now?

Real Madrid C.F. #7 / Forward Portugal national football team #7 / Forward Cristiano Ronaldo/Current teams How many goals has Ronaldo scored in his life?

Why Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 399 goals for Real Madrid, not 400. Cristiano Ronaldo once again delivered on the big stage as he scored a hat-trick to put Real Madrid in the driving seat in their Champions League semi-final with Atletico – but there is confusion over just how many goals he has scored for the club.

Who has scored the most hat tricks between Ronaldo and Messi?

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 34 La Liga hat-tricks, making him the player with the most hattricks in La Liga history. He is followed by Lionel Messi, with 30.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Lionel Messi: The Rivalry

Cristiano Ronaldo player profile: Age: 33 Clubs: Real Madrid (2009-present); Manchester United (2003-09); Sporting Lisbon (2002-03) Nationality: Portuguese Ballon d’Or wins: 5 (2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2008 – at Man Utd) The Best Fifa Men’s Player: 2 (2016 and 2017) Champions League wins: 2007–08 with Man Utd; 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 with Real Madrid Lionel Messi player profile:

Age: 30 Clubs: Barcelona (2004-present) Nationality: Argentine Ballon d’Or wins: 5 (2015, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) Champions League wins (with Barcelona): 2005–06, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2014–15

Ronaldo vs. Messi: The statistics Here’s how the pair compare in terms of goals, hat-tricks and goal ratios as of 30 May: All-time career (club and country, but excluding club friendlies) Ronaldo: 654 goals and 207 assists in 910 appearances Messi: 616 goals and 250 assists in 761 appearances Hat-tricks: Ronaldo 50; Messi 46 Career goal ratio: Ronaldo 0.72; Messi 0.81 Club career (excluding friendlies) Ronaldo: 573 goals and 180 assists in 761 appearances Messi: 552 goals and 212 assists in 637 appearances Hat-tricks: Ronaldo 45; Messi 41 Club goal ratio: Ronaldo 0.75; Messi 0.87 International career (friendly and competitive matches) Ronaldo: 81 goals and 27 assists in 149 appearances for Portugal Messi: 64 goals and 38 assists in 124 appearances for Argentina Hat-tricks: Ronaldo 5; Messi 5 International goal ratio: Ronaldo 0.54; Messi 0.52

Ronaldo vs. Messi in European Football Statistics according to Uefa.com: Champions League goals (group stage to final): Ronaldo 120 (including 15 for Man Utd); Messi 100

Champions League hat-tricks: 7 each Both players have scored 60 all-time group stage goals Did you know? Ronaldo is the only player to score in three Uefa Champions League finals and the first to score in 11 successive Champions League matches !

Ronaldo vs. Messi: Trophies Won Ronaldo club Honours • Premier League titles: 3 • FA Cup: 1 • English Football League Cup: 2 • La Liga titles: 2 • Copa del Rey: 2 • Spanish Supercup: 2 • Uefa Champions League: 5 • Uefa Super Cup: 2 • Fifa Club World Cup: 4 Ronaldo International Honours • Uefa European Championship titles: 1 (2016) Messi Club Honours • La Liga titles: 8 • Copa del Rey: 6 • Spanish Supercup: 6 • Uefa Champions League: 4 • Uefa Super Cup: 3 • Fifa Club World Cup: 3 Messi International Honours • Fifa U-20 World Cup: 1 (2005) • Olympic Gold Medal: 1 (2008)

World Cup Histeria is Back -- This Time in Russia for 2018!!

Who will win?

Y7 Humanities Staff Here’s EVERYTHING our readers wanted to know about the history of the World Cup! Q: Who is hosting the 2018 World Cup? A: On 2 December 2010, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced the winning bids at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich. Russia was chosen to host the 2018 World Cup, and Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. Q: Which country has won the most World Cups?

A: Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina and inaugural winner Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France and Spain, with one title each.

Q: Who won the first World Cup in football?

A: In the first World Cup final, held on July 30, 1930, 93,000 spectators looked on as

Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in a rematch of the 1928 Olympic gold medal game.

Uruguay went on to win its second World Cup in 1950 with a 2-1 win over Brazil in Rio de Janeiro.

Q: How many teams are involved in the World Cup? A: 32 teams The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which will play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts.

Q: Who is the youngest player to play in a World Cup final?

A: International career. Whiteside broke Pelé’s record as the youngest player to appear in a World Cup, when he debuted for Northern Ireland aged 17 years and 41 days at the 1982 World Cup in Spain.

Q: Who invented FIFA game?

A: Known as EA Soccer during development and sometimes subsequently also known as FIFA ‘94, the first game in the series was released in the weeks leading up to Christmas 1993.

Q: Who is the oldest player to win the World Cup? A: Among them is Northern Ireland’s Pat Jennings, who played at 41, the England goalkeeper Peter Shilton, who played at 40, and Italy’s Dino Zoff. Zoff is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the aged 40.

Q: Who is the only player to have scored a hat trick in a World Cup final?

A: As BBC Sport marks the 50th anniversary of England’s historic World Cup 1966 win, Sir Geoff Hurst relives his hat-trick for England in the final. He remains the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final.

Q: Who holds the record for most goals in a single World Cup? A: The record for the most goals at a single World Cup is 13 by Frenchman Just Fontaine in 1958, which he achieved in six games. The overall top goal scorer in the Wolrd Cup is German player Miroslav Klose, who has scored 16 goals overall.

Q: Who was the youngest person to score a goal in a football World Cup final?

A: The youngest player in World Cup history to have scored a goal is Pelé of Brazil when he scored against Wales in 1958. He was then only 17 years and 239 days old. The only players to have scored from three headers in a single match are Tomáš Skuhravý in 1990 and Miroslav Klose In 2002.

Q: What is the biggest win in Premier League?

A: The record for the biggest win is Manchester United’s 9–0 victory against Ipswich Town at Old Trafford on 4th March 1995. Tottenham Hotspur are the only other club to have scored

nine goals in a Premier League game - in their 9–1 victory over Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane on 22 November 2009.

Q: Oldest Combined Ages for Two Coaches?

A: 135 years and three months will be the combined age of Oscar Tabarez and Fernando Santos if Uruguay and Portugal meet in the Round of 16 – the oldest combined age for two coaches in a World Cup game. The current record is the 133 years and nine months Greece’s Otto Rehhagel and Nigeria’s Lars Lagerback had between them at South Africa 2010.

Q: World Cup Winning Nations A: The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different nations. Brazil has won the most titles, five. The current champion is Germany, who won the title in 2014.

World Cup-winning nations Titles Team Year(s) 5

Brazil 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002

4

Germany[n 1]

4

Italy 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006

2

Argentina 1978, 1986

2

Uruguay

1930, 1950

1

England

1966

1

France

1998

1

Spain 2010

1954, 1974, 1990, 2014

Nigeria’s World Cup Stylishness

Today, Salisu Yusuf’s side joined several other nations in making the trip to the Russia for the month-long showpiece, with Nigeria looking ahead to their first game against Croatia in Group D on 16 June.

While the majority of squads have jetted to Eastern Europe in their designer suits, obviously Nigeria were never going to follow the mold and made sure their travel attire stood out from the rest of the pack.

Just look at what John Obi Mikel and the rest of the lads have turned up in. They’ve worn the style/fashion contest yet again by embracing their culture: traditional Nigerian dress and trilby hat being the outrageous but utterly superb combination.

We’ll try and go easy on the Nigeria style craze for the next few days but we can’t exactly promise anything when they are busting out so much spice...

Celebrity Suicides Highlight Troubling Trend in Midlife Y7 Humanities

Preventing Suicides The deaths of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade highlight a troubling trend — rising suicides among middle-aged Americans.

Mental health problems, often undiagnosed, are usually involved and experts say knowing warning signs and who is at risk can help stop a crisis from becoming a tragedy.

Bourdain, 61, and Spade, 55, died three days and a continent apart this week amid a new U.S. report showing an uptick in suicides rates in nearly every state since 1999. Middle-aged adults — ages 45 to 64 — had the largest rate increase, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Previous studies have suggested economic downturns and the nation’s opioid crisis contributed to the rise in middle-aged suicides.

Dr. Christine Moutier, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said Friday it’s important for everyone to know the warning signs and to intervene when family members, friends or co-workers appear troubled. Asking if they’ve had suicidal thoughts is not harmful and lets them know you care, she said.

Behavior that may indicate someone is suicidal includes: • Talking about feeling hopeless, trapped, a burden to others or wanting to die.

• Unusual mood swings or withdrawing from family, friends and usual activities.

• Giving away important possessions.

• Increased use of alcohol or drugs.

This week’s report found that many suicides were in people with no known mental illness.

But Dr. Joshua Gordon, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said that contradicts years of data, suggesting many have “gone undiagnosed and untreated. It’s very troubling.”

Gordon said doctors need to ask patients at every opportunity about their mental health and evaluate their risk for suicide.

“When you ask everybody and not just people you might suspect, you double the number you detect,” he said.

Gordon noted that psychotherapy and certain psychiatric drugs have been shown to reduce suicidal tendencies.

Moutier of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said that suicides can be “contagious” — hearing about one may make others who are already at risk turn to selfharm. She said celebrity suicides also typically prompt an increase in calls to suicide help lines.

“People should know that suicide is preventable. Anyone contemplating suicide should know that help is available, and that there is no shame in seeking care for your mental health,” Dr. Altha Stewart of the American Psychiatric Association said in a statement.

IS THERE A SUCH THING AS SUICIDE CONTAGION? Following these two tragic events, some experts have expressed concern about suicide contagion, which can happen after the death of a celebrity or person in one’s familial or social circle. According to the US Department of Health and Human services, “direct and indirect exposure to suicidal behavior has been shown to precede an increase in suicidal behavior in persons at risk for suicide, especially in adolescents and young adults.”

Psychiatrist and neurochemist John Mann, who studies the causes of depression and suicide at Columbia University, told Business Insider that he is well aware of that risk.

“Contagion is a real concern, and we worry about that especially when it’s a public figure with a highly publicized suicide,” he said. “Two famous people committing suicide within a few days of each other makes one think about, was one aware of the other and did that have any effect?”

Experts don’t all agree on a working definition of suicide contagion, and there’s a strong debate about whether the term should be used at all. But here’s what we know.

Clusters of suicides have been observed among young people A study of Canadian teenagers in 2013 found that the youngest among them (12- and 13-year-olds) were the most at risk of attempting or thinking of attempting suicide after the death of a classmate. This was especially true for kids who’d lived through “previous stressful life events,” the researchers wrote. Whether the teens knew the person who died personally wasn’t important — a finding that suggests exposure to irresponsible media coverage of suicides can be harmful for the very young (among others).

Madelyn Gould, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, has written and spoken extensively about the dangers of suicide contagion. In a 1990 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, Gould and four co-authors found that so-called “suicide clusters” seem to happen mostly among teenagers and young adults. But they noted the phenomenon can occur at other ages as well.

Because of those age-specific risks, concerns about suicide contagion were raised after

the release of Netflix’s series “13 Reasons Why.” In the finale of the show’s first season, a teenage girl takes her own life in graphic detail — a portrayal that contradicts guidelines from mental-health experts about how to depict suicide in a way that doesn’t encourage others to follow suit.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association after “13 Reasons Why” came out last year found that Google searches for the phrase “how to commit suicide” were 26% higher in the two weeks after the show’s release than would have been expected. Searches for “commit suicide” and “how to kill yourself” were 18% and 9% higher, respectively.

Factors that may contribute to suicide contagion Mann emphasized that not glamorizing suicide is important in any news coverage of, conversations about, or fictional portrayals of suicide.

Gould has also written about the ways that media can have an impact. She suggests that showing “rewards” of suicide, like a grieving family member or partner, can foster revenge motivations, especially among angry and dejected youth.

Don Mordecai, Kaiser Permanente’s national leader for mental health, previously told Business Insider that a similar problem was at play in “13 Reasons Why”.

“There was a kind of romanticization, and at the core of the story was this idea that you can kill yourself and be dead and yet not really be dead,” he said.

Gould has also noted other approaches that don’t help, including repeated or sensationalized news coverage of the same story, framing suicide as stemming from a single issue (like losing a job or partner), and descriptions of suicide as something that is “unavoidable” with insinuations that “someone will be next.”

Both researchers — Gould and Mann — have also stressed the need to highlight that suicide is preventable, suicidal thoughts don’t last forever, and people can feel better after getting help from trained professionals.

“The most effective prevention has been improving the diagnosis and recognition of depression — by the public, and by primary care physicians,” Mann said.

While only a trained professional can diagnose mental health issues, listening to a friend, or giving someone the opportunity to talk about how they’re feeling in a non-judgmental, open way can mean a lot. One 2017 study from the Journal of the American Association of Suicidology found that nearly 80% of people who called the free National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-8255) said a follow-up call from an operator saved their life, and 90% said the call kept them safe.

Experts at the CDC say there is more everyone can do to prevent suicide and reduce stigma, and celebrities like Debra Messing have been moved to share their own struggles with mental health using the hashtag #mystory, and to rally for better, more affordable and accessible mental health coverage for all Americans.

According to CDC data, Kate Spade’s and Anthony Bourdain’s deaths come as a worrisome trend continues to unfold across age groups: suicide rates in the US have risen 28% in less than 20 years.

“I’m a big Anthony Bourdain fan as a lot of people are,” Mann said. “I’m human, I’m shocked, and tremendously saddened by what’s happened.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations.

Owning a Dog May Lower Your Blood Pressure Kenneth Landsbury • In the study of 1,570 peopled aged 60 years or over, owning a dog was associated with a 3.34 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure.

• The reduction in blood pressure could, in turn, lower dog owners’ risk of stroke, heart disease and premature death.

• Even the American Heart Association has stated that pets, particularly dogs, may help reduce your risk of heart disease.

When most people think about adding a dog to their family, it’s probably the cuddles and companionship that you think of first. The benefits of pet ownership extend far beyond this, however, including leading to physical benefits to your health.

Researchers from Oregon State University even conducted a pilot study that found owning a dog may lead to lower levels of systolic blood pressure in older adults.

What’s more, the benefit wasn’t solely due to increased activity, such as taking the dog for a walk, which suggests there’s another way your furry family member might be benefiting your health.

In the study of 1,570 peopled aged 60 years or over, owning a dog was associated with a

3.34 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure. Dr. Ragavendra Baliga, a cardiologist and professor of internal medicine at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center, told The Columbus Dispatch: “To put that into perspective, even a 2 mm reduction in systolic blood pressure is associated with a 6 percent reduction in stroke, a 4 percent reduction in coronary heart disease and a 3 percent reduction in overall mortality.”

It’s not the first time pet ownership has been linked to better heart health. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that pets can decrease your blood pressure and triglyceride levels, for instance.

In 2013, the American Heart Association even announced that pets may help reduce your risk of heart disease. They cited research presented at the 22nd Annual Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. The study involved 30 patients with borderline hypertension (high blood pressure) who either adopted a dog from a shelter or put off adoption.

In follow-ups at two and five months, those who went ahead with the adoption had significantly lower systolic blood pressure than those who did not. When all 30 had adopted a dog, the drop in blood pressure was similar for both groups.

Separate research involving nearly 50 stockbrokers with high blood pressure also found that owning a pet led to fewer increases in blood pressure, heart rate and plasma renin activity during periods of mental stress.

That study, which was published in the Journal Hypertension, concluded, “increased social support through pet ownership lowers blood pressure response to mental stress.”

Older Pet Owners May Enjoy Enhanced Health There’s a persistent dogma that older people shouldn’t necessarily own pets, but fortunately this myth is being challenged by an increasing number of Baby Boomers who are choosing to enjoy pets in their lives.

Pets provide companionship, help you overcome loneliness and encourage you to stay active. One of the greatest benefits is that pets also help you stay focused on the present moment. Pets provide a focal point for your attention and help provide a routine to your day, something that many miss following retirement.

Dogs can also act as social icebreakers, helping you to make friends and may help to boost your mood and relieve depression.

Not to mention, pets give you a sense of purpose and add humor to your day, which is always welcome. The physical presence of a pet, providing a warm body to touch, also lends comfort to many pet owners who live alone.

Pet Owners Visit the Doctor Less Often Researchers from George Mason University (GMU) conducted a study for The Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation, which found Americans save $11.7 billion annually in health care costs due to pet ownership.

Part of those health savings come from reduced doctor visits. Pet owners — 132.8 million in all — visited a doctor 0.6 times less than non-pet owners.

The study found the average cost of a doctor visit is $139, which led to savings of $11.37 billion annually in health care costs. About 20 million dog owners also walked their pet five or more times a week, which led to even greater benefits.

The extra pet-related activity lowered the incidence of obesity in this group, leading to another $419 million in health care savings. The study didn’t even account for the stressrelief aspect of pet ownership, or the benefits of knowing you have a trusted companion waiting for you at home. Benefits such as these are priceless.

There Are Many Considerations to Pet Ownership The American Heart Association concluded that pet ownership (particularly dog ownership) “is probably” associated with a decreased risk of heart disease and even may have a causal role in the reduction.

However, they pointed out that you shouldn’t go out and adopt a dog for the primary purpose of boosting your heart health.

Instead, think of it as an added bonus. The decision to add a pet to your family isn’t one to take lightly — or make solely based on potential health benefits. That being said, if you have the time, resources and desire for a new lifelong friend, the health gains represent the icing on the cake.

Top 10 Summer Global Sports

By Heath Saunders Summertime is marked as one of the most eventful times of the year. With the need to get to out and enjoy the long days and sunny skies, many people find the most joy surfaces when people – masses, crowds, even hoards of people – gather together for a single unifying event. These could be political rallies, concerts, and at the starting lines of 5ks, marathons and mud runs. But one of the most unifying events people congregate for are sporting events.

Whether you’re in town, looking to travel, or bound to stay home or at the bar to catch games, these events are sure to draw huge crowds and create connections wherever you are!

Here are the Top 10 global sports for the summer: Association Football / American Soccer – Played by over 250 million players in more than 200 countries, football (or soccer in the U.S.) is known as one of the most popular sports globally.

Biggest event is the FIFA World Cup (FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association; in English: International Federation of Association Football) World Cup.

The men’s competition was last watched by an estimated 600 million people total in 2014 and the 2015 women’s peaked at 22.86 million TV viewers in the U.S. for the U.S. vs. Japan finale, becoming the highest viewed soccer event in the U.S. The World Cup takes place every four years and features both women’s and men’s leagues.

Soccer is dominant in South America, Europe, and Africa but is also a major sport in the U.S., India, Australia, China, Japan and Canada. Soccer also holds some of the highest paid sportsmen such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Soccer is typically played yearround, but the FIFA World Cup tournament typically takes place in the month of July.

Tennis – Originating in England, Tennis has been gradually rising to becoming one of the top global sports. Most of the popular competitions taking place from May to September, including the the U.S. Open, the French Open and Wimbledon (the other major event is the Australian Open, which takes place between January and February).

Tennis is most popular in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America.

Tennis also holds some of the world’s highest paid athletes seen during the biggest tennis event, Wimbledon.

Wimbledon is one of the top 10 most watched events in the summer with players representing more than 40 countries.

Swimming – This sport not only qualifies as a great summer sport because of how crisp and refreshing the water is, but also because swimming is ranked as the second highest sport of interest in the Summer Olympics.

The competitive season takes place from April to September, Swimming is most commonly known in the U.S., South America, Asia, and Europe.

Golf – Rising in fame as a global sport during the Ryder Cup between the U.S. and Europe, many of the most popular golf tournaments takes place between April and August.

The Fedex Cup has made this sport popular with winners acquiring a $10 million prize.

Golf is not only gaining popular interest in the U.S. and Europe, but also Japan, UK, Australia and South Korea.

Cycling – With the Tour de France finale rating as one of the top events watched globally, cycling has gained popular interest around the world.

The most popular interest lies in Europe with the major Tours taking place in Spain, Italy, and France, and can also be classified as a summer sport in Australia, Mexico, . There is minor popularity in the U.S. and Asia.

The typical season for cycling takes place during May and June where millions of events and races take place every year globally.

Track and field – Along with swimming, track and field is also a popular summer global sport due to the Summer Olympics. During the Summer Olympics, track and field has been noted as top-watched sport worldwide.

With the season taking place from May to August, track and field has the highest popularity in Europe, Asia, and South America, but has risen to be a major sport in the North America.

Boxing – Although matches take place year- round, boxing has been challenged at the Summer Olympics every year.

Boxing is a major global sport with world champions ranking in from every continent, however, the majority of the popularity is in Japan, Russia, the U.S., the U.K. and Mexico.

This sport hosts some of the most popular athletes such as Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather and is rapidly gaining popularity worldwide.

Baseball – Although baseball has the most popularity in two major countries (the U.S. and Japan), baseball has also been deemed as a major sport in other parts of the world such as: Europe, and South America.

Although American baseball’s big event, the World Series, typically takes place in the fall/ winter, the majority of the baseball season begins during the summer in the months April to to October. It has also been noted that MLB and Nippon League are two of the highest attended leagues in the world.

For tournament-styled baseball, consider watching the Little League World Series. The series features the youth of the world, ages representing both the U.S. and other countries from various regions of the world, including Asian-Pacific, the Caribbean, South America, EuropeAfrica and several others.

Horse racing – With the most interest being in the U.K., Australia, U.S., and Japan, horse racing, to non-horse racing enthusiasts, has been known to be a gambling sport, but, it is an entertaining summer sport, no doubt.

The popular time for horse racing falls between March and June with major events taking

place sole where the sport is very popular.

The Melbourne Cup, the Grand National, and the Kentucky Derby are three of the biggest horse racing events that take place annually.

NASCAR – Although the majority of the popularity for this sport lies in the U.S. where it originated, NASCAR has been recently gaining popularity in European countries, and also Canada and Mexico.

The Sprint Cup the final major event for the NASCAR season, taking place from May to November.

This Is All You Really Need to Know About Staying Hydrated

NICOLE MCDERMOTT Not drinking enough water before a morning run, sweating a ton at the gym, forgetting a water bottle to sip during spin class, and steamy temps are surefire ways to put us on a path to dehydration doom. Staying hydrated while exercising is important because of the added sweat loss (compared to day-to-day activities like working at a desk or watching TV). Tossing back some H2O while working out can also help us fight fatigue and prolong endurance.

Before you turn into a raisin inside and out, check out these 10 ways to prevent midworkout dehydration.

1. Drink!

Good old H2O is critical for rehydrating when the body experiences fluid loss, such as when we sweat. Even though many gyms like to keep pricey sports drinks and protein shakes stocked on their shelves, most of the time, water will do the trick just fine. Shoot to sip seven to 10 ounces of fluid every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise to stay properly hydrated. If you’re working out for longer than an hour or doing a particularly intense exercise (like running a marathon or participating in a tough training session), you will probably need to replace electrolytes too—this is where a sports drink or electrolyteenhanced water comes in handy. However it’s also important to be wary of overhydration:

Too much water can lead to hyponatremia, which is when excess water in our bodies dilutes the sodium content of our blood. “It is most often caused by long duration exercise and either drinking fluid at a rate that is more than fluid losses or only replacing fluid losses with hypotonic fluids like water,” CamelBak hydration advisor, Doug Casa, says.

2. Sip on sports drinks and coconut water.

When we sweat, we lose electrolytes, which are minerals found in the blood that help to regulate (among other things) the amount of water in the body. Research suggests sports drinks can help prolong exercise and rehydrate our bodies because they contain electrolytes, which plain old water does not. While an ordinary workout may not require electrolyte-replenishing, those participating in longer and more intense periods of exertion, such as running a marathon or going through a particularly intense workout, will benefit from a good dose of electrolytes mid-workout. Not into sports drinks or want a more natural alternative? Water-enhancing electrolyte tablets, coconut water, or a homemade sports drink could be potentially effective substitutes.

3. Turn to fruit.

Many fruits are a great source of both electrolytes and fluids, though the dose of electrolytes can differ from fruit to fruit. Bananas and dates are known for having high levels of the electrolyte potassium, making them a great option for refueling during an intense workout (for example, a long run). To stay hydrated while keeping up electrolytes, it’s important to drink water while munching on fruit (fruit contains some water, but not as much as your water bottle).

4. Weigh yourself.

Hop on the scale before and after exercise. For each pound lost during activity, drink an additional 16 ounces of fluid. If your body weight change is three percent or more, you may be experiencing significant to serious dehydration. Losing a few pounds of body weight after exercise can put strain on the body and result in uncomfortable side effects like muscle cramps, dizziness, and fatigue. To prevent sweating away the water that keeps us hydrated, have a water bottle at the ready.

5. Check the toilet.

If you’re taking a mid-set break to hit the loo, check on the color of your urine to make sure you’re staying hydrated. When properly hydrated, urine should be pale yellow in color.

Though it may be tricky to keep an eye on it, try to watch the urine stream, since the color of urine will dilute when it hits the toilet water. Store this handy, dandy urine color test in your phone or wallet to make sure your piddle is up to snuff—dark yellow urine may indicate dehydration.

6. Tame thirst.

Whatever you’re drinking, be it water, juice, or sports drinks, make sure to take a sip or two whenever you feel thirsty. Even if you’re not feeling totally parched, mild thirst is still a sign of impending dehydration.

7. Pay attention to your muscles.

Lean muscle tissue contains more than 75 percent water, so when the body is short on H2O, muscles are more easily fatigued. “Staying hydrated helps prevent the decline in performance (strength, power, aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity) during exercise,”Casa says. When your muscles feel too tired to finish a workout, try drinking some water and resting for a bit before getting back at it.

8. Pinch yourself. (No, really.)

Go ahead, pinch yourself! Skin turgor, which is the skin’s ability to change shape and return to normal (or more simply put, it’s elasticity), is an easy way to check your hydration (though not 100 percent reliable for everyone). Using your pointer finger and thumb, simply pinch the skin on the back of your hand (not too hard!) and hold for a few seconds.

When you let go, if the skin takes a while to return to its normal position, you may be dehydrated.

9. Keep dry mouth at bay.

One of the first signs of dehydration is dry mouth. If your mouth starts feeling like the Sahara, head to the water fountain (or take a sip from your reusable water bottle!). A short water break between sets or during quick breaks from cardio can help stave off exerciseinduced dehydration.

10. Stop if you get the dizzies.

Feeling lightheaded during a workout is a sign of dehydration and a signal to tone it down a notch. Though willpower sometimes makes us want to push ourselves through a few more reps or another mile, feeling dizzy is an indicator that it’s time to hydrate.” Due to the decreased plasma volume with dehydration during exercise,” Casa says, “the heart must work harder to get blood to the working muscles.” When there’s not enough water in blood, both blood volume and blood pressure drop, resulting in dizziness.

Next time you plan for a sweat sesh, keep these tips in mind for a safe, hydrated workout.

Seasonal Allergies: Nip Them in the Bud Relieve seasonal allergies with these tried-and-true techniques.

By Y7 Staff Spring means flower buds and blooming trees — and if you’re one of the millions of people who have seasonal allergies, it also means sneezing, congestion, a runny nose and other bothersome symptoms. Seasonal allergies — also called hay fever and allergic rhinitis — can make you miserable. But before you settle for plastic flowers and artificial turf, try these simple strategies to keep seasonal allergies under control.

Reduce your exposure to allergy triggers • To reduce your exposure to the things that trigger your allergy signs and symptoms (allergens): • Stay indoors on dry, windy days. The best time to go outside is after a good rain, which helps clear pollen from the air.

• Delegate lawn mowing, weed pulling and other gardening chores that stir up allergens.

• Remove clothes you’ve worn outside and shower to rinse pollen from your skin and hair.

• Don’t hang laundry outside — pollen can stick to sheets and towels.

• Wear a pollen mask if you do outside chores.

Take extra steps when pollen counts are high Seasonal allergy signs and symptoms can flare up when there’s a lot of pollen in the air.

These steps can help you reduce your exposure: • Check your local TV or radio station, your local newspaper, or the Internet for pollen forecasts and current pollen levels.

• If high pollen counts are forecasted, start taking allergy medications before your symptoms start.

• Close doors and windows at night or any other time when pollen counts are high.

• Avoid outdoor activity in the early morning when pollen counts are highest.

Keep indoor air clean There’s no miracle product that can eliminate all allergens from the air in your home, but these suggestions may help:

• Use the air conditioning in your house and car.

• If you have forced air heating or air conditioning in your house, use high-efficiency filters and follow regular maintenance schedules.

• Keep indoor air dry with a dehumidifier.

• Use a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter in your bedroom.

• Clean floors often with a vacuum cleaner that has a HEPA filter.

Try an over-the-counter remedy Several types of nonprescription medications can help ease allergy symptoms. They include: Oral antihistamines. Antihistamines can help relieve sneezing, itching, a runny nose and watery eyes. Examples of oral antihistamines include loratadine (Claritin, Alavert), cetirizine (Zyrtec Allergy) and fexofenadine (Allegra Allergy).

Decongestants. Oral decongestants such as pseudoephedrine (Sudafed, Afrinol, others) can provide temporary relief from nasal stuffiness. Decongestants also come in nasal sprays, such as oxymetazoline (Afrin) and phenylephrine (Neo-Synephrine). Only use nasal decongestants for a few days in a row. Longer-term use of decongestant nasal sprays can actually worsen symptoms (rebound congestion).

Nasal spray. Cromolyn sodium nasal spray can ease allergy symptoms and doesn’t have serious side effects, though it’s most effective when you begin using it before your symptoms start.

Combination medications. Some allergy medications combine an antihistamine with a decongestant. Examples include loratadine-pseudoephedrine (Claritin-D) and fexofenadinepseudoephedrine (Allegra-D).

Rinse your sinuses Rinsing your nasal passages with saline solution (nasal irrigation) is a quick, inexpensive and effective way to relieve nasal congestion. Rinsing directly flushes out mucus and allergens from your nose.

Look for a squeeze bottle or a neti pot — a small container with a spout designed for nasal rinsing — at your pharmacy or health food store. Use water that’s distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered using a filter with an absolute pore size of 1 micron or smaller to make up the saline irrigation solution. Also be sure to rinse the irrigation device after each use with similarly distilled, sterile, previously boiled and cooled, or filtered water and leave open to air-dry.

Interested in alternative treatments? Consider these: A number of natural remedies have been used to treat hay fever symptoms. Treatments that may help include extracts of the shrub butterbur and spirulina (a type of dried algae).

However, the benefits and safety aren’t clear.

Some people claim acupuncture can help with seasonal allergy symptoms. There’s some evidence that acupuncture works, and there’s little evidence of harm.

Talk to your doctor before trying alternative treatments.

When home remedies aren’t enough, see your doctor For many people, avoiding allergens and taking over-the-counter medications is enough to ease symptoms. But if your seasonal allergies are still bothersome, don’t give up. A number of other treatments are available.

If you have bad seasonal allergies, your doctor may recommend that you have skin tests or blood tests to find out exactly what allergens trigger your symptoms. Testing can help determine what steps you need to take to avoid your specific triggers and identify which treatments are likely to work best for you.

For some people, allergy shots (allergen immunotherapy) can be a good option. Also known as desensitization, this treatment involves regular injections containing tiny amounts of the substances that cause your allergies. Over time, these injections reduce the immune system reaction that causes symptoms. For some allergies, treatment can be given as tablets under the tongue.

10 New Space Discoveries With Crazy Cosmic Consequences IVAN FARKAS Discoveries that comply with cosmological models are like a scientific pat on the back. But the ones that don’t hold up to previous standards excite the imagination the most because they imply a more mysterious, dynamic, and maybe even scarier universe. Sometimes, we get a little too sure of our scientific knowledge. These latest discoveries show us just how much we don’t know and how much we’ll have to rethink our previous theories about the final frontier.

10. Every cosmic catastrophe is just the birth of some other phenomenon.

A supernova, for example, might spark a solar system into life. Our solar system. The solar system began as a debris cloud, which coagulated into countless bodies that drifted together or apart to form the eight planets and miscellaneous rocks we call home. But that process needed a catalyst. Like a supernova. The evidence comes from isotopes in ancient meteorites. One of these is iron-60, which decays into nickel-60 and is produced by certain stars and supernovae. The meteorites contained this telltale nickel-60, suggesting a supernova shock wave punched the solar system to life. This implies that supernovae across the universe could be continuously birthing new solar systems.

9. Proxima b Is Probably Scorched And Barren Only 4.2 light-years away, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri is our closest stellar neighbor.

And it harbors an Earthlike habitable zone planet, Proxima b.But it’s probably barren. In March 2017, astronomers watched Proxima Centauri grow 1,000 times brighter over a 10-second span, suggesting either a catastrophic flare or extraterrestrial weapons testing.

In spite of the star’s small mass, the eruption was 10 times larger than the Sun’s mightiest outbursts.[2]At 4.85 billion years old, Proxima b has probably been absorbing similar hits for eons now. Its atmosphere and water would have long been stripped away by the intense radiation. So the relativistic probes of the future are unlikely to find any interesting biology at their first destination.

8. Super-Gigantic Stars Are Surprisingly Plentiful The universe appears to be far more spangled with massive stars (10 or more solar masses) than formerly indicated. Astronomers surveyed the 180,000-light-year-distant Tarantula Nebula (aka 30 Doradus), a prominent stellar nursery, and found 30 percent more “extremely, extremely massive stars” than expected.And the most massive stars are getting upgraded. It was believed that 200 solar masses was the upper limit, but astronomers are raising that figure to 300 solar masses. This implies a much more violent universe with 70 percent more supernovae and an 180 percent increase in black hole formation.[3] 7. The Universe Is Teeming With Synestias Planetary bodies came in about two flavors, planets and ringed planets. But that family just expanded with the addition of the synestia, a much bigger cloud of vaporized rock shaped

like a red blood cell.These wispy monsters are the result of catastrophic crashes between two rapidly spinning, planet-sized chunks. The angular momentum from each body is conserved and whips up their shattered remains into a puff of molten debris “with no solid or liquid surface.”It’s crazy to think that there’s a theoretically super-common, entirely new type of planetary body that we haven’t directly observed yet. Probably because it doesn’t last very long, maybe only 100 years, a hilariously infinitesimal span in cosmic terms.[4] 6. Stars Can Be Smaller (And Colder) Than Planets We picture even the wimpiest stars being far more substantial than, say, a planet. But astronomers have just discovered the cutest, littlest star ever, EBLM J0555-57Ab.It’s only 600 light-years away, and its radius and mass are only about 8 percent that of the Sun. In fact, it’s so small that it’s only a hair larger than Saturn. So it wouldn’t even be the largest planet in our solar system thanks to Jupiter. It’s even colder than some gas giant exoplanets.

EBLM J055557Ab really straddles the threshold of stellar mass, just barely beefy enough to fuse hydrogen into helium and avoid a fate of undignified brown dwarfiness.[5] 5. TRAPPIST-1 Is Too Old For Life The seven-planet TRAPPIST-1 system discovered in February 2017 is a prime suspect in the search for alien life, with multiple potentially habitable planets. At least it was when its age was estimated at 500 million years old. But new criteria, including the system’s speed around the center of the galaxy, the star’s metal content, and chemical absorption lines, suggest that the TRAPPIST family is at least as old as our solar system and potentially twice as old at 9.8 billion years. So it’s unlikely to host life as it was probably sterilized by flares long ago, a cosmic tragedy and reminder of how rare life may be.[6] 4. Dark Matter May Be Disappearing Dark matter seems immortal and ever present, but a new monkey wrench in the gears paints dark matter as an unstable entity. Fluctuations detected 300,000 years after the big bang didn’t match the speed of expansion of the universe given by models. This can be explained by decaying dark matter, which existed at the dawn of time but has since decayed into neutrinos or hypothetical particles.The analysis says the current universe is 5 percent poorer in dark matter because some of it decays and some of it doesn’t. These unstable constituents may have all died out after the first several hundreds of thousands of years.

Then again, maybe they didn’t because they may still be decaying and constantly changing the layout of the future universe.[7] 3. The First Exomoon?

The spaceborne Kepler spacecraft has discovered thousands of exoplanets but no exomoons, which might be because they’re hiding around the planets farthest out from their stars. Recently, Twitter broke the news that astronomers may have detected the first extrasolar moon. They discovered a planet candidate, Kepler-1625 b, which obscures a curious amount of light from its star. The lopsided light dip outlines Kepler-1625 b as a heaving Jupiter-size body with a Neptune-size companion moon. Astronomy is finally on the brink of glimpsing alien moons. This means a significant boost in the search for habitable bodies, though further review with Hubble is necessary to consolidate the claim.[8]

2. Dark Energy Is Acting Up The universe is expanding more quickly than it should, and no one knows why. Astronomers have been using Hubble for the past six years to improve the accuracy of expansion parameters. They calculated that the universe is expanding at a rate of 73 kilometers (45 mi) per second per megaparsec. So two galaxies separated by 3.3 million light-years, or one megaparsec, are flying apart at 73 kilometers (45 mi) per second.That’s an irreconcilable 9 percent discrepancy compared to Planck satellite predictions, with only a 1-in-5,000 chance of error.[9] The study implies that dark energy is even more confounding that previously thought. Maybe it’s growing stronger. Or maybe it’s more “sociable” than thought and is interacting with the universe in a novel way. Or an entirely new type of particle could be at fault.

1. All Sunlike Stars Have Siblings Lots of stars have companions, potentially even the Sun. A new study says that it does because all Sunlike stars are born binary. Astronomers surveyed young single stars and binaries in the Perseus constellation 600 light-years away, but the math makes the most sense when all Sunlike stars are born as “wide binaries” approximately 500 astronomical units apart (1 AU = 150 million kilometers (93 million mi)).But the partnerships either shrink or break apart early in their lifetime, after only about a million years. And a long-lost sibling could better explain the current state of our own solar system. Though the universe is still an overwhelmingly lonely place and the model suggests that 60 percent of these pairs eventually split up, the remaining stars shrink into “tight binaries.” Meanwhile, our Sun’s theoretical companion, Nemesis, may be lost among the other stars in our galaxy.[10]

The Miracle of Vitamin D: Sound Science, or Hype?

Stuart Bradford Imagine a treatment that could build bones, strengthen the immune system and lower the risks of illnesses like diabetes, heart and kidney disease, high blood pressure and cancer.

Some research suggests that such a wonder treatment already exists. It’s vitamin D, a nutrient that the body makes from sunlight and that is also found in fish and fortified milk.

Yet despite the health potential of vitamin D, as many as half of all adults and children are said to have less than optimum levels and as many as 10 percent of children are highly deficient, according to a 2008 report in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

As a result, doctors are increasingly testing their patients’ vitamin D levels and prescribing daily supplements to raise them. According to the lab company Quest Diagnostics, orders for vitamin D tests surged more than 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, up from the same quarter a year earlier. And in 2008, consumers bought $235 million worth of vitamin D supplements, up from $40 million in 2001, according to Nutrition Business Journal.

But don’t start gobbling down vitamin D supplements just yet. The excitement about their health potential is still far ahead of the science.

Although numerous studies have been promising, there are scant data from randomized clinical trials. Little is known about what the ideal level of vitamin D really is, whether raising it can improve health, and what potential side effects are caused by high doses.

And since most of the data on vitamin D comes from observational research, it may be that high doses of the nutrient don’t really make people healthier, but that healthy people simply do the sorts of things that happen to raise vitamin D. “Correlation does not necessarily mean a cause-and-effect relationship,” said Dr. JoAnn E. Manson, a Harvard professor who is chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“People may have high vitamin D levels because they exercise a lot and are getting ultraviolet-light exposure from exercising outdoors,” Dr. Manson said. “Or they may have high vitamin D because they are health-conscious and take supplements. But they also have a healthy diet, don’t smoke and do a lot of the other things that keep you healthy.”

Dr. Manson is leading a major study over the next five years that should provide answers to these questions and more. The nationwide clinical trial is recruiting 20,000 older adults, including men 60 and older and women 65 and older, to study whether high doses of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids from fish-oil supplements will lower risk for heart disease and cancer. (Learn about taking part in the study at www.vitalstudy.org.)

Dr. Manson said fish-oil supplements were included in the study because they are another promising treatment that suffers from a dearth of clinical trial evidence. In addition, both vitamin D and fish oil are known to have an anti-inflammatory effect, but each works through a different pathway in the body, so there may be an added health benefit in combining them.

Study participants will be divided into four groups. One will take both vitamin D and fish oil pills. Two will take either a vitamin D or a fish-oil supplement and a placebo. The fourth will take two placebo pills.

Vitamin D is found throughout the body and acts as a signaling mechanism to turn cells on and off. Right now, the recommended dose from food and supplements is about 400 international units a day for most people, but most experts agree that is probably too low.

The Institute of Medicine is reviewing guidelines for vitamin D and is expected to raise the recommended daily dose.

Study participants will take 2,000 I.U.’s of vitamin D3, believed to be the form most easily used by the body. The study will use one-gram supplements of omega-3 fish oil, about 5 to 10 times the average daily intake.

The vitamin D dose is far higher than what has been used in other studies. The well-known Women’s Health Initiative study, for instance, tracked women taking 400 units of vitamin D and 1,000 milligrams of calcium. The study found no overall benefit from the supplements, although women who consistently took their pills had a lower risk of hip fracture. Even so, many experts think 400 units is far too low for any additional health benefits.

Another study, of 1,200 women, looked at the effects of 1,500 milligrams of calcium and 1,000 units of vitamin D. Women who took both supplements showed a lower risk for breast cancer over the next four years, but the numbers of actual cases — seven breast cancers in the placebo group and four in the supplement group — were too small to draw meaningful conclusions.

Although consumers may be tempted to rush out and start taking 2,000 I.U.’s of vitamin D a day, doctors warn against it. Several recent studies of nutrients, including vitamins E and B, selenium and beta carotene, have proved disappointing — even suggesting that high doses do more harm than good, increasing risk for heart problems, diabetes and cancer, depending on the supplement.

Despite the promise of vitamin D in observational studies, research into other supplements shows it’s difficult to document a benefit in otherwise healthy people, and virtually impossible to predict potential harms, notes Dr. Eric A. Klein, chairman of the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Klein recently worked as national coordinator for Select, a study of vitamin E and selenium for prostate cancer. The study seemed promising, but in the end it showed no benefit from the supplements and a potentially higher risk for diabetes in selenium users.

“My sentiment is that the lesson we have learned form large trials with other vitamin supplements, including Select, is that there is no proven health or preventative benefit for dietary supplements in nutritionally replete populations, which accounts for most of the people who enter this sort of clinical trial,” Dr. Klein said. “It makes more sense to me to study dietary supplements or vitamins in populations who are deficient.”

People most at risk for vitamin D deficiency are older, have diabetes or kidney disease, stay indoors or have darker skin. African-American teenagers are at particularly high risk, possibly because in addition to their dark skin, they are less likely at that age to drink milk or play outside.

The scientific community continues to debate the optimum level of vitamin D. In general, people are considered to be deficient if they have blood levels below 15 or 20 nanograms per milliliter. But many doctors now believe vitamin D levels should be above 30. The ideal level isn’t known, nor is it known at what point a person is getting too much vitamin D, which can lead to kidney stones, calcification in blood vessels and other problems.

People’s vitamin D levels are influenced by whether they have light or dark skin, where they live, how much time they spend outdoors and by fish and milk consumption. To raise vitamin D without supplements, a person could increase sun exposure for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Eating more fish can help — a 3.5-ounce serving of wild fresh salmon has 600 to 1,000 I.U.’s of vitamin D — but it would take a quart of milk a day to get the recommended dose of vitamin D. “What we know is that there are a lot of people who are vitamin D deficient based on estimates from national surveys,” said Dr. Michal L. Melamed, assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. “But we don’t know what happens when the curve shifts to the other end. There probably is a risk to having too much vitamin D in the system.”

10 Best Places to Visit in Russia

Y7 Humanities Russia, once the largest and most powerful member of the former USSR, nonetheless remains a fascinating country to visit. It is a country of contrasts, from great subtropical beaches to bitterly cold winter regions in the north. The east may have fewer people, but its lovely cities are among the most popular places to visit in Russia and can hold their own against the west. Russia is steeped in history everywhere a traveler goes, from vicious battles to great classical music and literature. And almost everywhere visitors can see examples of magnificent art, not only in museums but also in its churches.

10. Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg is an industrial city in the Ural Mountains that has many things going for it.

It is, however, largely remembered as the place where Tsar Nicholas, the last tsar of Russia, and his family were executed in 1918 during the Russian Revolution. Today’s Yekaterinburg has a vibrant cultural scene, home to many libraries, theaters and playwrights, and dance companies as well as popular Russian rock bands. Russia’s fourth largest city also has more than 30 museums, including the oldest wood sculpture in the world at the Shigir Collection; another museum houses more than 300 Nevyansk icons.

9. Sochi Sochi on the Black Sea is a great winter sports destination and, in fact, hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics. Skis aside, Sochi also hosts the Russian Formula 1 Grand prix and will be a host city for the 2018 Fifa World Cup. Despite winter snow, Sochi offers a subtropical climate and great beaches, making it a key part of the Russian Riviera. The resort city makes a great summer (and winter) getaway for Russians. Strolling along the pedestrian-only sea embankment is a pleasant experience. Environmentally conscious travelers may want to visit the Caucasus Biosphere Reserve. Sochi also is home to the area’s northern most tea plantations.

8. Veliky Novgorod Founded in the 10th century, Veliky Novgorod is one of the oldest cities in Russia’s far north.

Veliky Novgorod claims to be the birthplace of Russia since its early residents invited the

Scandinavian Prince Rurik to rule Russia, creating a ruling dynasty that lasted 750 years. Top sights include the Saint Sophia Cathedral and Bell Tower, the oldest in Russia; the Hanseatic Fountain, said to return 1,000 rubles for every one thrown into it; and a host of museums, including ones on iron, porcelain and history. Located on Lake Ilmen, Veliky Novgorod is a good place to eat borscht and buy bio-honey.

7. Vladivostok Mountains and bays surround Vladivostok, making it a stunning beautiful city in Russia’s east. The last stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway, Vladivostok is the country’s largest port on the Pacific Ocean; it is just a hop, skip and a jump away from North Korea and China.

The city offers many cultural attractions from theaters to museums to concerts; actor Yul Brynner was born here in 1920. Travelers may want to stroll through some of the city’s lovely parks, including Minny Gorodok, which was once a military base. The city’s main square is Admiralsky Skver, with a museum devoted to a submarine nearby.

6. Nizhny Novgorod (Where to Stay) Russia’s fifth largest city sits at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers. The town began as a fortress in the 13th century; at one time it was known as Gorky, after Maxim Gorky who was born here. The old town is walled in, though the Archangel Cathedral was about the only thing standing after the city was devastated by Bolsheviks. Nizhny Novgorod is a good place to immerse oneself in Russian art and architecture, with more than 600 monuments and statues, and at least 200 art museums, concert halls and the like.

5. Irkutsk (Where to Stay) The de facto capital of Eastern Siberia, Irkutsk is by far the most popular stop on the TransSiberian Railway between Moscow and the east. With Lake Baikal only 45 km away, the city is the best base to explore the lake’s western shoreline. Travelers who visit historic Irkutsk may be pleasantly surprised by what they find. Decorated wooden houses stand beside standard Soviet block apartments, plus wide boulevards with not too much traffic for a city of more than 500,000 souls. Irkutsk was the site of many bloody clashes between Russian factions in various revolutions. It also served as a place of exile for intellectuals, artists and others, which may be why the city has five universities. Several churches, including Ascension Church, and geology and history museums call Irkutsk home.

4. Kazan (Where to Stay) Kazan is sometimes referred to as the Istanbul of the Volga because it is a city where European and Asian cultures meet. The capital of Tatarstan is a lovely city where church tower and minarets fill the skyline. Also known as the third capital of Russia, after Moscow and St. Petersburg, Kazan residents enjoy one of the highest standards of living in Russia.

Sights to see include the remains of the Kazan Kremlin that was destroyed by Ivan the Terrible; the Kul-Sharif Mosque, named after a man killed defending Kazan from Ivan; and Bauman Street, a pedestrian shopping street.

3. Golden Ring The Golden Ring strings together several cities outside of Moscow that fill the senses with awe. Picturesque countrysides filled with cherry orchards, quaint cottages, onion-shaped

domes and iconic churches that contain the country’s oldest art make this region a special place to visit. One of the oldest regions in Russia, today it is very popular with Russian tourists who want to experience a bygone era. The traditional way to view the cities and towns makes a counter clockwise loop beginning and ending in Moscow: Vladimir, Suzdal, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Rostov Velikiy, Pereslavl-Zalesskiy and Sergiev Posad. White stone churches, monasteries and fortresses are only some of the sights to see.

2. Saint Petersburg (Where to Stay) Russia’s second largest city may be known as Leningrad, but most people refer to it by its birth name, St. Petersburg. Founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great, St. Petersburg was once the imperial capital of Russia; its name was changed to Leningrad in 1924. Because of its location on the Neva River, which feeds into the Gulf of Finland and then into the Baltic Sea, the city is a popular northern cruise destination and one of the most popular places to visit in Russia. Known as the cultural capital of Russia, the city boasts one of the finest art collections in the world at the Hermitage, with churches adding to the city’s magnificent art.

Nevsky Prospekt is the city’s famous shopping and dining street.

1. Moscow (Where to Stay) #1 of Best Places To Visit In Russia As the capital of Russia, Moscow is the most important city in Russia, but not just for political reasons alone. This city of more than 12 million is also well known for its artistic endeavors, including ballet, symphonies and art. Onion-shaped domes of historic churches fill the skyline. The stately Kremlin and impressive Red Square, one of the largest squares in the world, are sights not to be missed, as are statues of Lenin and Stalin, controversial leaders in the 20th century. Further evidence that Moscow’s past wasn’t always squeaky clean can be seen in the Gulag and Cold War museums.

How to Book the Cheapest Flight Possible to Anywhere JEN AVERY

We’ve all experienced the tiresome, repeated searching when trying to book the cheapest possible flights to any given destination. With endless search engines and continually fluctuating prices, the approach to frugal flight booking is overwhelming. Here’s some key tips that will save you time, frustration and most importantly money when booking your next flight.

1. Keep your searches top secret You’re not crazy for thinking that a flight price has changed after searching it a few times in your web browser. Based on the cookies in your browser, flight prices do increase when a particular route is repeatedly searched, as the site wants to scare you into booking the flight quickly before prices get even higher. Always search for flights in incognito or private browsing mode to see the lowest prices.

In Google Chrome or Safari, incognito is enabled by hitting Command (or “Control” if using PC), Shift, “N”. For Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer, hit Command (or “Control” if using a PC), Shift, “P”. This will open a new browser window where your information is not tracked, thus not inflating prices as you search. Note: if you’re using an older version of OS X, open Safari then click “Safari” in the menu bar, and select “Private Browsing”.

Your cookies are reset each time you re-open an incognito window. So if you want to start

with a clean slate for each flight search (so your previous searches aren’t “remembered”, potentially inflating costs), close all your incognito windows, open a new one, and then perform your flight search.

2. Use the best flight search engines All search engines have inflated flight costs as part of taking a cut from the airlines. Some search engines (e.g. Expedia) consistently inflate much higher than others (listed below). It pays to familiarise yourself with sites that offer the best prices.

Use These to Book • Skyscanner (or download the app) (our #1 choice) • AirFare Watchdog (good at finding sale & error fares – see tip #8) • Momondo (a broad search engine that sometimes shows cheaper fares than Skyscanner) • Kiwi.com (combines all airlines to create routes that are cheaper than booking with just 1 airline – see tip #5) • Cheapoair • AirWander (lets you extend layovers into stopovers to visit 2 destinations with 1 trip – see tip #5) • JetRadar (includes budget airlines, which many search engines don’t) • Google Flights (good tool to quickly compare flight dates – not usually the best prices) As of 2018, most budget airlines will now appear in the broad search engines we are recommending. If you want to be 100% sure though, you can do an additional search for regional budget airlines (we’ve listed as many we know of further below).

Finally, no single search engine is consistently perfect (though we find Skyscanner to be the best). As such, you may need to try a combination of search engines to ensure you’re not missing any results. There doesn’t seem to be one that gets the cheapest flight 100% of the time.

3. Identify the cheapest day to fly out While many theories exist around booking specifically on a Tuesday to save money, the reality is there is no consistent truth to exactly which days are cheapest to fly. Most of the time it is cheaper to leave on a weekday, though this isn’t always the case. Your best strategy is to get a quick visual of prices for a whole month to see what days are cheapest for your specific route. Here’s how: Step 1. Hop on the Skyscanner website or download the app Step 2. Enter your departure & arrival cities Step 3. Select “one-way” (even if flying round trip – you’re just determining the cheapest days to fly out first)

Step 4. On a computer: click “Depart” but instead of entering a date, select “Whole Month”, and then “Cheapest Month” so you can browse all dates to see which is cheapest. Hit “Search flights” to easily see which date is cheapest.

In the mobile app: Tap the departure date, then change the view to “Chart”. You can easily swipe left and right to find the cheapest date, and tap on one of the bars to see the price.

Repeat these steps for your return flight if applicable. You can still book a round trip in one booking, but doing these steps first will let you see which dates are generally cheaper to fly in/out on for your round trip.

Kiwi.com and Google Flights work similarly to Skyscanner, plus they have map views as well, so you can see where the airport is. For tracking when and where is cheapest to fly, Hopper also offer price analysis and track fluctuations (i.e. when is best to fly).

4. Befriend budget airlines Budget airlines offer significantly cheaper tickets than their full-service counterparts. It should be obvious, but this comes with compromises such as less leg room and no “free” food/drink on-board (which by the way, is normally covered in your higher-priced ticket with full-service airlines).

If you are considering flying budget, which in our opinion is a great way to save, I’d highly recommend reading our guide on 7 must-know facts about budget airlines.

Below is a comprehensive list of budget airlines around the globe. Red indicates true budget airlines while blue implies the cheapest companies available where budget airlines don’t exist or aren’t plentiful.

But First… A NOTE ON BOOKING BUDGET AIRLINES. Always read the fine print and do the following: Check where the airport location is (some budget airlines fly to airports further out of town).

Ensure you’ve booked & paid for your luggage allowance. Adhere to restrictions on weight, height, and # of bags allowed. Some airlines (e.g. Ryanair) will charge hefty fee if you’re over. Remember, paying only for the exact luggage space/weight you need is how budget airlines keep their prices lower than traditional airlines!

Read the fine print. The best example is that Ryanair WILL CHARGE A FEE if you do not print your own ticket or adhere to their strict luggage weight and dimensions. A warning of this fee is clearly stated in all capital letters in the first sentence of your e-confirmation. In a nutshell, always read and follow instructions!

Remember, if you want to book the cheapest flight possible (not service-of-the-year-awardwinner), be adaptable, do your research, and know the budget airline’s requirements & restrictions.

• Canada

• Flair Airlines • Swoop • Jetlines (launching in 2018) • Air Canada Rouge • WOW Air (cheap flights to Europe from Toronto/Montreal) • Spirit Airlines (cheap flights from Niagara Falls and Plattsburgh which are just across the border) • Porter • Air Transat • United States • Southwest • Allegiant Air • Frontier • Spirit Airlines • Sun Country Airlines • WOW Air (cheap flights to Europe) • Jetblue • Porter • Australia • Jetstar • Tiger Air • Scoot • New Zealand • Jetstar • Air New Zealand • Asia • Air Asia • Tiger Air • Jeju Air • Jetstar

• Hong Kong Express • Scoot • Peach Air • Dragon Air • Spice Jet • Spring Airlines • Vietnam Airlines • Nok Air • T’Way Airlines • Vanilla Air • Europe • Vueling • Ryanair • Easyjet • Aer Lingus • Aigle Azur • Wow Air • Eurowings • Flybe • Norwegian Air (great rates for flying between Europe/North America) • Wizz Air If you’re heading to any of these parts of the globe, start stalking these airlines. Use Twitter, Facebook or regularly check budget airline webpages to keep you in touch with specials before they sell out. Air Asia, Jetstar, Tiger Air and Ryanair are especially good at having regular deals.

On a side note, Wikipedia has a more detailed, comprehensive listing of low-cost airlines down to specific countries here, though I don’t find all of them to be actual discount airlines. If you’re going to a specific country, it’s worth checking so you know all your options.

5. Book connecting flights yourself for less If you’re flying somewhere that involves a transfer, say from Canada to Australia which

typically involves Canada to LA, then LA to Australia, consider that it may be cheaper to book these two legs separately on your own by adding another destination to your trip. It should go without saying that in doing this, you should not book tight layovers. I repeat: do not book layovers that are hours apart! This approach is for those who want to create an additional destination of a few days or more, before catching their next flight. The one exception is when booking with Kiwi.com, who offer their own guarantee on making connecting flights even when not with the same partner airlines.

First, do your research: are there budget airlines unique to the country you’re flying out of and where you’re headed to? Booking with a budget Australian airline (Jetstar) from Sydney to Honolulu, then an American one from Honolulu to Montreal saved us over $400 each when flying back from Australia to Canada earlier this year. This allowed us to create a thrifty five-day stopover in Hawaii on our way back, which was less exhausting and a lot cheaper! Kiwi.com and AirWander are both great search engine for revealing cheaper routes like this that involve multiple airlines.

You can even book your own multi-day layovers, essentially allowing you to see 2 destinations for the price of 1. Rather than spend a day sitting in the airport, you can spend multiple days exploring the city you are laying over in. AirWander is a specialized search engine for doing exactly this. Put in your origin, final destination, and number of days you want to stopover. AirWander will return a list of places you can visit on your stopover, often even cheaper than a regular flight search engine! To learn how to do this, read our guide on How to Get Free Extended Layovers & Hack One Trip Into Two. 6. Find the cheapest place to fly Whether you know exactly where you’re going or you just want to find to the cheapest possible country to fly into, Kiwi.com is a great tool to get the wanderlust going and save some big bucks. Hop on their site and enter your departure city, then select a date range to fly. Approximate costs then appear over hundreds of countries around the globe from your departure point, while the list of destinations is sorted by price, allowing you to see the most cost-effective place you can fly.

Where Kiwi.com really shines is the way in which it mixes and matches airlines in order to find the cheapest price. For example, maybe you want to go to Rome, Italy from Washington, USA. A typical flight search engine will only suggest routes coming from a single airline and its partners. An example search on Expedia shows the cheapest route as $631.20 USD via TAP Portugal.

Kiwi.com, on the other hand, will mix and match airlines (including budget airlines) in order to find you the very cheapest route. For long-haul flights especially, this can make a huge difference. The same search on Kiwi.com returns a route at $459.80 USD via JetBlue, Norwegian Air, and Vueling. That’s a savings of $171.40 USD, and the travel time is even shorter!

Kiwi vs Expedia flights Typically, booking a whole trip with different airlines would be risky. For example, let’s say your first flight with JetBlue was delayed, and you missed your connecting flight with Norwegian Air. Because the airlines have no association with each other, Norwegian Air has no obligation to reschedule your flight for free, so you would just lose your money. Kiwi.

com instead offers their own guarantee, which covers schedule changes, flight delays, and cancellations. As long as you contact Kiwi.com as soon as you’re aware of the delay, they will provide you with an alternate connecting flight, or a full refund, at your discretion. We haven’t used this guarantee ourselves, but it certainly sounds like an appealing way to take the risk out of a thrifty flight hack!

7. Buy flights in bulk As a general rule, you will get better value on your flight tickets if you buy more at the same time, but only if they are with the same airline, or airlines in the same alliance (e.g.

Star Alliance). For example, flying a return ticket from New York City to London with United Airlines will be cheaper than 2 one-way tickets.

You can also take advantage of this on multi-city flights. For example, Virgin Atlantic has routes from New York City to London, London to Shanghai, and Shanghai to New York City.

If you book all these at the same time using the multi-city search function on Skyscanner, you’ll save some serious cash.

Another way to bulk buy flights for less is with round the world tickets and regional passes.

These are special tickets offered by airline alliances that let you go around the world, a continent, or a country at a discounted rate. To learn how to book these, be sure to check out our ultimate guide to round the world tickets.

All this said, sometimes a few separately booked flights with budget airlines is still cheaper than what partner airlines can offer. The only way to be sure is to use a site like Skyscanner, punch in your destinations, search as multi-city or return vs multiple one-way bookings, and compare yourself.

8. Search for airline error and sale fares Airlines sometimes make mistakes when posting their fares, leading to seriously discounted flights. This can happen for various reasons – currency conversion mishaps, technical glitches, or human error. If you’re in the know-how on where to find airline error fares, you can save yourself some serious bucks on a ticket.

Our detailed how-to guide spells out how to find mistake fares easily on your own. Basically, AirFare Watchdog and Secret Flying are great resources to stalk for finding mistake and sale pricing as they conglomerate slashed ticket rates all in one spot. Another great approach is to search for flights for an entire month using Skyscanner (Tip #3 in this article). This will allow you to easily spot a significantly reduced fare against what’s displayed that month, and has twice helped us stumble on error fares ourselves.

Below is a real-time list of today’s top fares from AirFare Watchdog.

9. Don’t forget about local airlines While the above search engines are great, they do not always include small airlines, especially in less popularly booked routes and/or in remote regions. If you’re flying somewhere obscure, Google search and ask around if there exists a local airline. While in South America we learnt that the LADE Air in Argentina (run by the military) has cheap flights to Patagonia, which is of course not listed in mass search engines online.

When you do find small airlines, even if they are listed in a search engine results, it often pays to check the company site which may reveal exclusive online offers not found in a regular search engine. For example, when flying in Western Canada, I found that Hawk Air, a small and local company offers weekly deals on certain days. Be sure to double check!

10. If you know when and where you’re going, don’t wait to book Rarely ever do airline tickets get cheaper as your departure date approaches, especially if you need to fly on a certain date. Budget airlines typically offer low rates as a baseline price, and as these tickets sell, the remaining ones increase in cost. This is very typical in Europe and Australia. If you know when and where you’re going, don’t wait on an unknown sale.

More often than not, your biggest savings come from booking far ahead when you can.

11. Check if it’s cheaper to pay in other currencies Before booking a flight, consider if the rate is cheaper if paid in another currency. Often budget airlines will make you pay in the currency of the country you’re departing from, but this isn’t always the case. An important note when doing this: make sure you’re using a credit card that is free of foreign-transaction fees, otherwise your attempts to save money doing this will be lost! Our article on money matters for world travellers can help steer you in the right direction for the best credit cards for travel.

12. Consider hidden city ticketing Travellers long ago discovered a trick known now as “hidden city” flights. In a nutshell, sometimes a flight that connects in a city you want to go to is cheaper than flying directly to it. So instead, you book that cheap flight which connects in your desired city and hop off there, not taking the ongoing connection.

It should go without saying this is risky for many reasons. Here are some factors to consider: If your luggage is checked, it may go on to the final destination. For this reason, with hidden city ticketing it’s best to have carry-on luggage only.

You may not be allowed off the plane (if the same plane is continuing onward to its final destination).

Airlines may detect that you did not take your connection. The consequences of this are hard to say, especially since people miss flights all the time.

There is now a web search engine which finds hidden city tickets for you. It’s called Skiplagged and is currently being sued by United Airlines who is angry about this debatable hack. We have never used the hidden city approach, but I know several who have, and they’ve scored some thrifty savings. Use at your own risk!

13. Use flight points when possible If you’ve inadvertently forgot about those Aeroplan or Air Miles points you’ve been racking up for years, now’s the time to use them! For Canadians using Air Miles, the best bang for your buck is to use your points for in-country travel, as this uses the least amount of points for the distance, though if you are swimming in points (company credit cards can be a

goldmine for this), this is a good way to save serious bucks.

THE GIST: Use the right search engine for booking flights – Skyscanner (download the app) is our favourite and can help you stumble on error fares Always search incognito for consistent pricing Consider booking multiple legs of a long-haul flight individually to slash costs, or even extend your layover to visit 2 places for the price of flying to 1 Buy flights in bulk – return and multi-city tickets are usually cheaper than multiple one-way tickets Don’t wait on seat sales – your savings are generally bigger the further ahead you book

The Health Benefits of Prayer and Meditation

Y7 Humanities Staff Prayer and meditation are used in complementary medicine to improve health. Both practices come from religious and spiritual traditions. The NIH and WebMD state that people who practice prayer and meditation experience greater physical and mental health benefits. Prayer can be used for a variety of purposes such as finding inner strength or requesting help from some form of a higher being. Meditation has been shown to increase calmness, improve psychological relaxation, cope with illness, and enhance health and wellbeing. It must be noted that although there are benefits to prayer and meditation, they are not substitutes for conventional treatment.

The Benefits and Uses of Prayer and Meditation Studies show benefits for both prayer and meditation when used during regular treatment. Prayer appears to have positive health effects, although most studies have been inconclusive. Similarly, researchers are unsure of the changes in the body caused by meditation, or which diseases it might be best for, but the effects appear to be positive.

Some health benefits of prayer and meditation are: • Lower blood pressure • Sense of Inner Peace • Increased longevity • Reduced symptoms of depression • Alleviation of anxiety, stress, and pain

• Help with insomnia and physical symptoms associated with chronic illnesses such as heart disease, HIV/AIDS, and cancer Prayer and meditation are often seen as something specific for people who are religious.

However, even non-religious people have said that prayer can bring on a strong sense of inner strength or power.

It must be emphasized that prayer can be useful when used alongside treatment, but a physician should always be when it is used. Meditation helps individuals focus their attention and become aware of their thoughts and feelings in a non-judgmental way.

This usually results in a state of calmness, physical relaxation, and psychological balance.

Although beneficial, prayer and meditation should not be used in place of medicine to treat illnesses; but used in conjunction with a with therapy and support groups as a complete approach to recovery.

9 Realistic Ways to Kick Your Sugar Cravings

By Melissa Rudy Visions of sugar plums dancing in your head is a cute concept and all, but if you’ve been cursed with a persuasive sweet tooth, you know the damage it can do to your healthy living goals. If you have a weakness for the sweet stuff and feel powerless to pass up cookies, candy and cola, you’re not alone—and you’re not imagining it.

Is Sugar Truly an Addiction?

Medically speaking, no, sugar isn’t considered to be addictive according to the technical definition, but that doesn’t mean its consumption should be taken lightly. Some preliminary research shows that sugar can stimulate the brain’s reward center in a manner that is similar to recreational drugs. Plus, it doesn’t help that sugar makes an appearance in practically everything we eat and drink these days, even in seemingly innocent foods like pasta sauces, energy bars and yogurt.

Hand suggests monitoring your sugar intake and the impact it may be having on your wellness goals. “If sugar seems to be controlling your life, then make a plan to cut back,” she recommends. When you reduce your sugar intake, though, Hand warns that you could experience intense cravings for the first couple of weeks. As your taste buds adapt to less sugar, those cravings should start to subside.

When fitness trainer Kasey Shuler cut out caffeine and sugar, she experienced painful withdrawal headaches for around 10 days. “After that, it felt like my entire body and emotions calmed down,” she says. “I had fewer mood swings, was satisfied after meals and felt a greater sense of well-being.”

9 Tips from People Who Kicked the Sugar Habit Does the thought of saying sayonara to sugar have you feeling far from sweet? Difficult as it may sound, it is possible to kick the habit while keeping your sanity intact. Try these tips from real people who have succeeded at what may have initially seemed impossible.

1. Enjoy in moderation.

“I have to do with sugar what I do with every other food—I have to control it. I tried Sugar

Busters years ago and, like all the restrictive things I’ve tried, it was a big fail in the end.

As expert Dean Anderson points out, moderation is key to maintaining a balanced diet.

Although some foods do offer more nutritional value than others, you don’t necessarily have to cut out everything you enjoy. “Refined sugar isn’t evil or bad—it can have a place in a healthy diet,” says Anderson. “It’s important to know what you need nutritionally and where you can find it, so you can take charge of balancing your needs for pleasure, nutrition and fuel.”

2. Increase the frequency of meals.

“Skipping meals led me to crave sugar. Today, I aim for three to five meals per day.”

Registered dietitian nutritionist Gabriella Vetere, founder of MACROBALANCED While it may seem like the calories saved by skipping meals will cause you to lose weight faster, experts agree that this strategy usually backfires. When you deprive your body of food for an extended period of time, you’ll be more likely to crave the temporary boost from refined sugars and overindulge next time you eat.

3. Eat more protein.

“I increased my protein intake to 90 grams per day. Protein is helpful in maintaining consistent blood sugar and helps me feel full longer. When I go to protein first, I tend to stop thinking about sugar.” Gabriella Vetere Eating a protein-rich diet has been shown to reduce cravings for less healthy foods, including sugar. In one study, people who added protein to their breakfast reported fewer cravings for “savory and sweet” foods. The protein eaters also had higher levels of dopamine—which means they reaped the rewards of eating yummy foods, even when those foods weren’t loaded with sugar.

4. Stop using sugar as an energy boost.

“When feeling tired, I used to eat a leftover cookie on the counter or a piece of candy to help me feel more awake. To replace this habit, I poured myself a seltzer water with lime juice for a zip to my taste buds and walked around to get the blood pumping.” Personal trainer Kasey Shuler While sugar may give you a quick rush of energy initially, the ensuing “crash” can leave you feeling even more tired than before you consumed it, according to a 2006 study. You’re better off reaching for complex carbohydrates like veggies, fruits and whole grains, which pack plenty of nutrients in addition to energy-boosting glucose.

5. Reduce sugar intake gradually.

“As I slowly switched to less sugar and no artificial sweeteners, I was able to release the addiction and became more sensitive to the taste. I can now even taste the sugar in carrots!” Gabriella Vetere Although artificial sweeteners have the benefit of delivering the taste of sugar without adding calories to your diet, one concern is that that they could cause people to seek out the “lost” calories from other foods. Regular consumption also conditions your taste buds to expect the extra sweetness, rather than training them to enjoy clean, whole foods.

6. Identify hidden sugar sources.

“To help my body forget about sugar, I had to stop eating it without knowing it. That meant checking labels for hidden sources of sugar, like any type of syrups, sucrose, dextrose and maltose. I was surprised to find sugar in dressings, bottled sauces and the vast majority of packaged foods.” Kasey Shuler You might be surprised to find out how much sugar is lurking in your favorite foods. The typical American consumes around 31 teaspoons (124 grams) of added sugar every day, which is equivalent to 500 extra calories.

7. Reset your taste buds.

“The most important thing to do when trying to kick a sugar addiction is to stay away from sugar long enough to ‘reset your taste buds.’ Personally, I did this by eating mainly natural, unprocessed foods for a month. Most of the food I ate was bought in its natural form and cooked at home. Instead of focusing on not eating sugar, I focused on eating real, healthy foods, like lean steak, crunchy red bell peppers and sweet raspberries. By focusing on what you can eat instead of what you can’t, you’ll find it much easier to avoid the sugar.” Weightloss expert Neil O’Nova Candice Kumai, author of “Clean Green Eats,” recommends taking 10 days off processed sugar to start the process of resetting your taste buds. See her other tips for training your body to crave clean, whole foods instead of empty calories.

8. Replace sweet with savory.

“I threw my taste buds a curveball: When I craved something sweet, I ate something savory like a pickle or olive. This satisfied my need for something intense while not reinforcing the sugar craving.” Nutrition coach Phillip Barone When you’re overcome by sugar cravings, reach for something savory instead. These 10 savory recipes offer so much flavor that soon you’ll be saying, “Sugar who?”

9. Eat more fermented foods.

“A strategy I have used myself—and also recommend to clients trying to reduce sugar cravings—is to start including fermented foods in the diet. Foods like raw sauerkraut, fermented beets, kimchi and miso are good sources of probiotics. Probiotics help to improve gut health and can naturally diminish sugar cravings by working to restore the balance of bacteria in the gut. Fermented foods also have a naturally sour taste, so, often, having a forkful of raw sauerkraut would keep me from then wanting to grab a chocolate bar.” Nutrition coach Danika Schweim Fermented foods—such as yogurt, miso, kefir, sauerkraut, fermented tofu and pickled foods—contain probiotics, also known as the “good” bacteria that help achieve healthy digestion and diminish sugar cravings. Instead of reaching for candy or cookies, try incorporating some of these nine fermented foods into your diet.

With a few smart swaps and some good old-fashioned willpower, it is possible to cut back your sugar intake and curb even the strongest cravings.

What are binaural beats and how do they work?

LORI SMITH

How do binaural beats work? Benefits of binaural beats therapy How to use binaural beats Is there research to support binaural beats therapy?

Takeaway Binaural beats therapy is an emerging form of soundwave therapy in which the right and left ears listen to two slightly different frequency tones yet perceive the tone as one.

The binaural auditory beat that a person hears is the difference in frequency between the left and the right ear and should be at frequencies lower than 1000 hertz (Hz) for the brain to detect the binaural beat.

For example, if the left ear registers a tone at 200 Hz and the right at 210 Hz, the binaural beat heard is the difference between the two frequencies — 10 Hz. Fast facts on binaural beats: • Proponents of binaural beats therapy liken the effect to that of meditation.

• Binaural beats therapy is a self-help audio technology that is available to buy worldwide.

• There is a range of binaural beats available, each having a specific purpose.

• People should use binaural beats therapy when there are no distractions.

• More research is needed, but there is some existing research to support its use.

How do binaural beats work?

Binaural beats therapy requires a person to listen to different sound frequencies for a set amount of time, without any distractions, and in a comfortable space.

Research has shown that when a person listens to binaural beats for a recommended time, their levels of arousal change.

Researchers believe these changes occur because the binaural beats activate specific systems within the brain. An electroencephalogram (EEG) that recorded the electrical brain activity of people listening to binaural beats showed that the effect on a person’s body varied according to the frequency pattern used.

The four known categories of frequency pattern include: 1. Delta patterns: Binaural beats in the delta pattern are set at a frequency of between 0.1 and 4 Hz, which is associated with dreamless sleep.

2. Theta patterns: Binaural beats in the theta pattern are set at a frequency of between 4 and 8 Hz, which is associated with sleep in the rapid eye movement or REM phase, meditation, and creativity.

3. Alpha pattern: Binaural beats in the alpha pattern are set at a frequency of between 8 and 13 Hz, which may encourage relaxation.

4. Beta pattern: Binaural beats in the beta pattern are set at a frequency of between 14 Hz and 100 Hz, which may help promote concentration and alertness. However, this frequency can also increase anxiety at the higher end of the frequency range.

Benefits of binaural beats therapy Binaural beats therapy is primarily used to treat anxiety and stress, although it may also improve concentration and motivation as well.

Potential benefits include: • reduced stress • reduced anxiety • increased focus • increased concentration • increased motivation • increased confidence • deeper meditation • improved psychomotor performance and mood The purpose for using binaural beats therapy may differ between people. Some people may need help decreasing their anxiety, while others may want to increase their concentration or deepen their level of meditation.

What is the U.S. Opioid Epidemic?

Y7 Humanities Staff

In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to opioid pain relievers and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates.

Increased prescription of opioid medications led to widespread misuse of both prescription and non-prescription opioids before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive.

Every day, more than 115 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.

The misuse of and addiction to opioids—including prescription pain relievers, heroin, and synthetic opioids such as fentanyl—is a serious national crisis that affects public health as well as social and economic welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total “economic burden” of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.

How did this happen?

In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. This subsequently led to widespread diversion and misuse of these medications before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive. Opioid overdose rates began to increase. In 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died as a result of an opioid overdose, including prescription opioids, heroin, and illicitly manufactured fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid. That same year, an estimated 2 million people in the United States suffered from substance use disorders related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and 591,000 suffered from a heroin use disorder (not mutually exclusive).

What do we know about the opioid crisis?

• Roughly 21 to 29 percent of patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain misuse them.

• Between 8 and 12 percent develop an opioid use disorder.

• An estimated 4 to 6 percent who misuse prescription opioids transition to heroin.

• About 80 percent of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.

• Opioid overdoses increased 30 percent from July 2016 through September 2017 in 52 areas in 45 states.

• The Midwestern region saw opioid overdoses increase 70 percent from July 2016 through September 2017.

• Opioid overdoses in large cities increase by 54 percent in 16 states.

The graph shows that the Northeast had the highest rate of suspected opioid overdose in Q3 of 2017. Rates in the Midwest have increased largely between Q2 and Q3 of 2017.

Quarterly rate of suspected opioid overdose, by US region This issue has become a public health crisis with devastating consequences including increases in opioid misuse and related overdoses, as well as the rising incidence of neonatal abstinence syndrome due to opioid use and misuse during pregnancy. The increase in injection drug use has also contributed to the spread of infectious diseases including HIV and hepatitis C. As seen throughout the history of medicine, science can be an important part of the solution in resolving such a public health crisis.

In response to the opioid crisis, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is focusing its efforts on five major priorities: • improving access to treatment and recovery services • promoting use of overdose-reversing drugs • strengthening our understanding of the epidemic through better public health surveillance • providing support for cutting-edge research on pain and addiction • advancing better practices for pain management The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of HHS, is the nation’s leading medical research agency helping solve the opioid crisis via discovering new and better ways to prevent opioid misuse, treat opioid use disorders, and manage pain. In the summer of 2017, NIH met with pharmaceutical companies and academic research centers to discuss: • safe, effective, non-addictive strategies to manage chronic pain • new, innovative medications and technologies to treat opioid use disorders • improved overdose prevention and reversal interventions to save lives and support recovery In April 2018 at the National Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., announced the launch of the HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Longterm) Initiative, an aggressive, trans-agency effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis.

10 healthy snacks you can make in minutes

By Sarah Lienard

Curb your hunger the healthy way with a super-fast snack. We’ve got nutritious smoothies, dips and light bites, all ready in under 10 minutes.

10 healthy snacks you can make in minutes When hunger strikes, it’s good to know that there are easy, speedy options that are healthy too. We’ve put together our favourite snacks, all with the Good Food healthy stamp of approval. They take 10 minutes or less to make – ready, set, snack!

1. Peanut houmous with fruit & veg sticks Serves 2 Prep 10 mins No cook Drain a 380g carton chickpeas and reserve the liquid. Tip three-quarters of the chickpeas into a food processor with 3 tbsp of the chickpea liquid, then add the zest and juice ½ lemon, 1 tbsp tahini, ½ - 1 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts and 1 tsp rapeseed oil. Blitz until smooth, then stir in the remaining one-quarter of the chickpeas. Cut 4 celery sticks and 2 carrots into batons, then core 2 crisp red apples and cut into slices. You can use the remaining ½ lemon to squeeze over the apple slices to stop them browning if you like. Serve with the peanut houmous.

2. Avocado & strawberry smoothie

Serves 2 Prep 5 mins No cook Take ½ avocado, peel it, stone it and cut into chunks. Put the avocado, 150g halved strawberries, 4 tbsp low-fat natural yogurt, 200ml semi-skimmed milk and some lemon or lime juice and honey (if desired) into a blender and whizz until smooth. If the consistency is too thick, add a little water.

3. Apple & blueberry Bircher Serves 4 Prep 10 mins No cook Mix 200g porridge oats with ½ tsp ground cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in 500ml apple juice and 4 grated apples, then gently fold in 200g blueberries. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving – any leftovers can be popped in the fridge overnight to be eaten the next day for breakfast.

4. Smashed bean dip Serves 4 Prep 10 mins No cook Drain and rinse a 400g can of cannellini beans and a 400g can of chickpeas. Put 200g cannellini beans and 200g chickpeas into a food processor with the juice of 2 lemons, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tsp ground cumin and 100ml Greek yogurt, then whizz until smooth.

Tip in the rest of the beans and chickpeas and pulse once to get a very chunky dip. Stir in the zest of 1 lemon and plenty of seasoning, then sprinkle with toasted pumpkin seeds if desired. Serve with celery sticks. Leftover dip can be stored in the fridge.

5. Instant frozen berry yogurt Serves 4 Prep 2 mins No cook Put 250g frozen mixed berries, 250g 0% fat Greek yogurt and 1 tbsp honey or agave syrup into a food processor and blend for 20 seconds, until it comes together to a smooth ice cream texture. Scoop into bowls and serve immediately.

6. Salmon & chive bagel topper Serves 4 Prep 8 mins No cook Flake 1 cooked salmon fillet (about 100g) into a bowl. Add 200g reduced-fat soft cheese, the zest and juice of ½ lemon, 2 tbsp snipped chives and plenty of black pepper. Mash everything together with a fork. Split 4 multiseed bagels in half. Lightly toast the bagel halves, then spread with the salmon mixture and top each with a handful of watercress.

Serve immediately.

7. 10-minute winter fruit compote Serves 4 Prep 5 mins Cook 5 mins Put 500g mixed dried fruit, 200ml fresh orange juice, half a cinnamon stick, 6 cloves and 6 black peppercorns into a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on High for 4-5 mins, stirring halfway through until the juices become sticky and the fruits are plump. Leave the compote

to stand for a minute and serve in bowls with spoonfuls of yogurt or fromage frais.

8. Beetroot & mint dip Serves 4 Prep 10 mins No cook Put 250g vacuum-packed beetroot and ½ tsp ground cumin in the small bowl of a food processor, season and blend until smooth. Tip into a bowl, add 2 tsp chopped mint and a squeeze lemon juice, then gently stir through 3 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche to get a rippled effect. Sprinkle with a few extra mint leaves and a few pinches nigella seeds.

9. Carrot & houmous roll-ups Serves 4 Prep 10 mins No cook Spread 200g houmous between 4 seeded wraps. Coarsely grate 4 carrots and scatter on top of the houmous, finishing each wrap with a small handful of rocket leaves and some seasoning. Roll up and eat.

10. Egg & asparagus soldiers Serves 1 Prep 2 mins Cook 5 mins Steam 7 spears of asparagus until tender, and soft-boil an egg – follow our guide to get a perfectly runny yolk. Cut the soft-boiled egg in half and serve with the asparagus for dipping.

How to spot (and avoid) these Facebook and social media prize scams No, you didn’t win the Facebook Lottery — they don’t have one.

by Herb Weisbaum

Along with phone calls, letters and email, crooks are now using text messages, pop-ups and phony Facebook messages to lure their victims.

Prize scams are as old as the hills, but people keep falling for them — sending the fraudsters hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars to claim their cash, luxury cars or other nonexistent prizes.

Sweepstakes, lottery and prize scams “are among the most serious and pervasive frauds operating today,” according to a new report from the Better Business Bureau. And along with phone calls, letters and email, the crooks are now using text messages, pop-ups and

phony Facebook messages to lure their victims. In fact, social media is now involved in a third of the sweepstakes fraud complaints received by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

“Scammers are like viruses. They mutate and adapt and find things that work,” said Steve Baker, former director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Midwest region and author of the BBB report. “The crooks have discovered social media big time and since social media is free to use, they can easily do a whole lot of damage from other countries.”

The BBB study found that: Nearly 500,000 people reported a sweepstakes, lottery or other prize scam to law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Canada in the last three years.

Monetary losses totaled $117 million last year.

FACEBOOK MESSENGER LOTTERY FRAUD Scammers are creating bogus websites that look like a legitimate lottery or sweepstakes site.

Or they are reaching out to potential victims who don’t properly set their privacy settings on social media platforms such as Facebook.The BBB report says Facebook Messenger, the private messaging app, is a favorite way for fraudsters to find victims. They can use Messenger — with or without a Facebook profile — and contact people who are not Facebook friends.

In many cases, the bogus message appears to be from Publishers Clearing House (PCH) congratulating you on winning a big prize. To claim that prize, it says, you need to send them money.

“That’s a red flag warning,” said Chris Irving, a PCH assistant vice president. “If anybody asks you to send money to collect a prize, you know it’s a scam and it’s not from the real Publishers Clearing House. At Publishers Clearing House or any legitimate sweepstakes, the winning is always free — no purchase, no payment, no taxes or customs to pay.”

An imposter post that was found on Facebook using the name of Danielle Lam, a member of the well-known Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. Criminals use these pages to contact victims, making them believe they’re a winner. An imposter post that was found on Facebook using the name of Danielle Lam, a member of the well-known Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. Criminals use these pages to contact victims, making them believe they’re a winner.

The crooks also impersonate Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in some of their phony Messenger messages.

“They post a fake profile of Zuckerberg on Facebook,” Baker said. “Then they send you a message through the Facebook messenger system saying: ‘Hi this is Mark Zuckerberg. I’m delighted to be able to tell you that you have won the Facebook Lottery and here is the person you need to contact to get the money.’ ” Take the bait and click the link, and you’ll be told to send money to claim your winnings. Of course, there is no Facebook Lottery and Zuckerberg is not sending prize notices to anyone.

In a recent story on social media scams, the New York Times reported it found 208 accounts

that impersonated Zuckerberg or Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg on Facebook and Instagram. At least 51 of the impostor accounts, including 43 on Instagram, were lottery scams. (In 2012, Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion.)

Facebook says it’s working to stop the scammers who use its platform to trick people out of their money. In March, the company announced it was using new machine learning techniques that helped it detect more than a half-million accounts related to fraudulent activity.

“These ploys are not allowed on Facebook and we’re constantly working to better defend against them,” said Product Manager Scott Dickens. “While we block millions of fake accounts at registration every day, we still need to focus on the would-be scammers who manage to create accounts. Our new machine learning models are trained on previously confirmed scams to help detect new ones.”

The company has also posted a warning on how to avoid Facebook scams.

The BBB report calls on Facebook and other social media platforms to make “additional efforts” to prevent fake profiles and to make it easier for users to contact them about fraud.

6 questions help reveal if you’re addicted to social media

By Mark Griffiths and Daria Kuss Are you addicted to social media? Ask yourself these six simple questions: Do you spend a lot of time, when you’re not online, thinking about social media or planning to use social media?

Do you feel urges to use social media more and more over time?

Do you use social media to forget about personal problems?

Do you often try to reduce your use of social media, without success?

Do you become restless or troubled if you are unable to use social media?

Do you use social media so much that it has had a negative impact on your job, relationship or studies?

If you answered “yes” to a few of these questions, it’s likely that you are a fairly standard, habitual social media user. Like most of us, you would probably benefit from a “digital detox,” a strategy to force you to reduce the amount of time spent on social media. This can be achieved through a few basic steps such as turning off the sound function on your phone, only allowing yourself to check your phone every hour or so, and dedicating periods in the day as self-imposed no-screen time.

However, if you answered “yes” to most or all of these questions, then you may have or be developing an actual addiction to using social media. Like any psychological disorder or condition, the only way to confirm this is through a formal diagnosis from a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist.

Back in 2011, we were the first academics to systematically review the scientific literature on excessive social media use. We found that for a small minority of individuals, social media had a significant detrimental effect on many aspects of life including relationships, work and academic achievement. We argued that such signs are indicative of addiction similar to what people experience with alcohol or drugs.

Years later, “smartphone addiction” and “screen addiction” — closely tied to social media addiction — have become fairly common concepts. In a 2017 paper, we revisited the latest research on the topic and showed that social media use for a minority of individuals is associated with a number of other psychological problems as well, including anxiety, depression, loneliness and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

While a relatively small number of people are diagnosed as addicted, the negative impact of social media is apparent whether it’s deemed clinical addiction or not. Most people’s social media use is habitual enough that it spills over into other areas of their lives. It results in behavior that is problematic and dangerous, such as checking social media while driving.

While the majority of our behaviors around social media may be annoying rather than dangerous, they are nonetheless indicative of a societal problem. Steps need to be taken

now, while the number of social media addicts is still small. We shouldn’t wait to see if it becomes an epidemic.

Steps we should take Governments and organizations can help minimize and, in some cases, prohibit the use of mobile devices. Some such steps — such as banning smartphone use while driving — are in place in many countries already. But what about daily practices that impact our mental health, even if they don’t place us in the way of direct bodily harm?

Given the loss of productivity in both the workplace and educational settings, employers, schools and colleges need better policies to ensure that people are focused on their required tasks and activities. Many schools ban the use of smartphones in the classroom.

Prohibition in other contexts such as workplace settings (where practical) is also justified.

Some restaurants are now providing discounts to customers who refrain from using their smartphones during a meal. More positive reinforcement strategies like these may well be the way forward in trying to decrease time spent checking social media and to increase time spent engaging in real life.

Still, more digital literacy and awareness of the effects of excessive social media use need to be embedded in our work and educational institutions. More controversially, social media operators like Facebook could start using their behavioral data to identify excessive users and provide strategies to limit time spent on their products. This is already being used in the online gambling industry. Why can’t we apply it to social networking sites as well?

For the small number of individuals who are genuinely addicted to social media, treatment is warranted but unlikely to be funded by medical insurance or national health services because the disorder hasn’t been formally recognized. Consequently, those who need treatment are likely to need the services of specialist treatment centers such as reSTART, a facility outside Seattle that aids young people addicted to the Internet, video games, social media and more.

The goal of treatment for this type of addiction, unlike for many other addictions, should be controlled use rather than abstinence. In the connected world we live in, it is simply not feasible to prohibit someone from accessing all smart devices. The most successful type of treatment for online addictions appears to be traditional cognitive behavioral therapy, although there are relatively few published studies examining its efficacy in relation to social media addiction. We need more research, so that we can develop more and better solutions to what is likely to be a growing problem.

There is no magic bullet. Individuals are ultimately responsible for their own social media use. But policymakers, social media operators, employers, researchers, health care providers and educational establishments all need to play their part in reducing excessive use of social media, the “opiate for the masses.”

Under the Lens – Exploring the Kalash

By Maria Ali

To photograph means to capture the colors of life, the beauty that encompasses our daily lives, in a way that can be preserved forever. Photography has always been a passion of mine. Since I was 15 years old, I started off photographing everyday things with my point-and-shoot camera (until I got perfume in it and never worked again). As time passed, I upgraded to taking photos on my phone, and then finally, bought my first DSLR (the Nikon D3200) in College.

I sincerely believe that owning an expensive camera does not equate to better photographs; yes, the quality may be there, but a photographer sees the world in a different light, a different perspective. That is what I aspire to capture with my photos.

I had recently had the chance to go back home to upper Pakistan for vacation, notably by hometown Chitral.

As an Photography enthusiast and hobbyist, I was able to shoot and capture different forms of life during my travels. From the landscape to the people, going back to Pakistan after a 4 year hiatus has truly made me see the beauty in a whole new light.

Below are five photos of the Kalash people, a polytheistic tribe who reside primarily in Chitral. On my Journey, I had the opportunity to meet a kind Kalash woman who gave us a tour of her home in Bomburot, Pakistan. Their traditional brightly colored dresses and uniquely embellished hats can be seen worn by the women and young girls throughout the village.

Kalash boys halt their game of cricket while a tractor passes them by.

A man resting in the front of another man’s truck. This was taken right outside the Lowari tunnel, a tunnel that saves passengers on time, allowing them to safely pass under the Lowari Pass when traveling South. (Taken on iPhone 6)

Two children playing without a care outside a construction site in City Chitral

A little girl looking onward. I personally love the contrast between her bright pink dress and the foreground!

This is taken in the District of Drosh, Chitral, where my mother was raised. Chitral is a largely mountainous area, and traveling by car on the steep roads is the most common form of transportation. It is both terrifying and mesmerizing, but it allows me to appreciate the natural beauty of the area to its fullest extent.

A brother and sister duo taking shelter from the oncoming rain in a tractor. (Taken on iPhone 6)

It’s not uncommon for children to take charge of their family’s store (In Chitrali, we call them “Duukan”). Here is a picture of a young boy conversing with a potential costumer in his Duukan, taken en route from Chitral.

(Taken on iPhone 6).

Another landscape photo of the lush greenery found in Chitral.

The houses are sometimes built in the most unexpected of places. Take this one for example, situated literally off the edge of a mountain!

School children playing and running unsupervised after being dismissed from school.

Two boys (I assume brothers) playing outside their homes in the sand, also known as Chuuti in Chitrali.

A little girl playing in front of her home in City Chitral.

This photo was taken by my 7 year old cousin! This is my sister and I, with my mom’s village (Drosh) seen in the background.

I am not a professional Photographer by any means, but I truly enjoy taking pictures. I hope you liked these photos as much as I loved capturing them! Joie De Vivre!

To see more of my work, please follow me @_MariaDiamandis on Instagram! Thank you for viewing!