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4 Reasons To Travel More

In addition to eating healthier, exercising more and getting more sleep, many people resolve to travel more at the dawn of a new year

Travel is much more than leaving one’s home. It’s about setting habits aside, escaping comfort zones and trying something different - and doing so in a different location.

In its latest World Tourism Barometer, the United Nations World Tourism Organization found that 1.184 billion tourists traveled outside their countries’ borders for at least one night in 2015. Europe, Asia, the Pacific, andtheAmericasallrecordedarounda5percentincreaseininternational arrivals that year. Europe was particularly popular, perhaps hedged by a weaker euro against the American dollar and other currencies. The U.S. TravelAssociationsaysthatdirectspendingbyresidentandinternational travelers in America averaged $2.7 billion a day.

Millennialsmaybeleadingthetravel-enamoredpack.TheUnitedNations estimates that 20 percent of all international tourists, or nearly 200 million travelers, are young people, and that the millennial demographic generates more than $180 billion in annual tourism revenue. The U.N. also reports that millennials are more interested than older generations in traveling abroad as much as possible.

Infrequenttravelersorthosewhohavenevertraveledmaynotunderstand why heading to parts unknown is so appealing to so many people. The following are just a handful of reasons why travel is so enticing.

1. Engage the mind. Staying mentally active over the course of a lifetime promotes long-term health. Navigating unfamiliar places or reading a foreign language while sitting in an international country can engage the brain and get synapses firing. The Mayo Clinic reports that higher cognitive activity endows the brain with a greater ability to fend off brain pathologies, such as disease and dementias.

2. Connect with new people. Travel opens a person up to not only new experiences, but also new people. English poet John Donne penned the famous line, “No man is an island,” which underscores the importance of having friends and making new acquaintances. Research conducted by the University of Michigan found the act of talking with people in a friendly way can improve a person’s memory, suppress external and internal distractions, and encourage people to see things from another person’s perspective. It doesn’t hurt to broaden one’s social network, either.

3. Build confidence. Leaving one’s comfort zone can be a great way to bolster one’s self-esteem. Navigating cultural boundaries and overcoming those boundaries may be initially intimidating, but doing so can make a person more confident and more adaptable to change.

4. Develop opinions. Until a person visits a place in person, he or she only has third-party information to form opinions. Visiting a city or country for the first time can offer a more complete perspective. Travel gives people the chance to rest, explore, meet new friends, and make lasting memories.

Upcycling: Transforming the ‘Old’ into a Better ‘New’

Turn old or discarded furniture, cabinets and doors into fresh new creations through “upcycling” -- high-end “recycling” that reduces trash at landfills by refurbishing or repurposing existing pieces, often enhancing the value.

Family furniture: Save chairs, tables, and other furniture passed down through the generations by doing repairs, if needed, and staining/painting to suit your current decor.

MORCILLA CON SETAS (BLOOD SAUSAGE WITH MUSHROOMS, SPRING PEAS AND MINT OIL)

Serves 4

1 pound morcilla blood sausage

1 pound mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, slivered

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons white wine

1 cup shelled spring peas

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons mint oil

Mint Oil

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup chopped mint

Pinch of salt

Cut the blood sausage into 12 slices. Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper for 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook for 2 more minutes. Boil the peas for 2 minutes and drain. When mushrooms are done, remove from heat and stir in the peas.

In a cast-iron skillet, sear the morcilla in a dry pan for 2 minutes per side. Arrange the slices of morcilla down the middle of a platter. Surround with mushroom/pea mixture and drizzle the plate with the mint oil.

For the mint oil: In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat olive oil to warm. Remove from heat and add the mint and a small pinch of salt. Allow to rest for 1 hour. Drain through a sieve. Reserve extra mint oil for other uses, such as vinaigrette.

Puzzle Answers This Week TYPES

To Your Good Health

By Keith Roach, M.D.