Hello English learners. Here is this week’s DLP for you to solve. Good luck and keep learning!
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Month: November 2020
4 Spider Plant Benefits (Plus, How to Make Sure They Thrive)
By letters@purewow.com (Sarah Stiefvater)
© Veena Nair/getty images
4 Benefits of Spider Plants
1. They remove pollutants from your living space
According to NASA’s Clean Air Study, the spider plant is extremely effective at removing carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, Xylene, and toluene from the air (even more so than many of the other indoor plants that participated in the study). It is better than many indoor plants that participated in that experiment. Per the National Wildlife Foundation, spider plants removed 95 percent of the toxic substance from a sealed plexiglass chamber in 24 hours.
2. They can speed up recovery
According to a study by researchers at Kansas State University, adding the spider plant to hospital rooms can speed up the recovery rate of surgical patients compared to patients in rooms without a plant. The researchers found that the patients in rooms with plants required less pain medication, didn’t suffer from blood pressure or heart rate issues, experienced less anxiety or depression and were released from the hospital sooner.
3. They’re safe for young children and pets
The spider plant is non-toxic and safe for humans (yes, even little kids), dogs and cats.
4. They’re hard to kill
If you can’t seem to keep a plant alive for any substantial period of time, the spider plant might be right for you. In fact, this fabulous green thrives on neglect and can adapt to various climatic conditions easily. It’s a forgiving houseplant that won’t mind the occasional overwatering and underwatering.
How to Care for Your Spider Plant
Convinced you just need one of these little guys in your space? Here’s what you need to know about caring for your new spider plant, according to the folks at Bloomscape.
1. Your spider plant will tolerate lower light conditions. However, they prefer bright indirect light where they will flourish. The striping on the leaves will be more prominent with indirect lighting. Avoid direct sunlight as it will scorch the leaves.
2. Water it well, but don’t allow the plants to become soggy. This can lead to root rot. Spider plants prefer to dry out between watering. If you notice browning leaf tips, it can be from chemicals found in water, which cause build-up. If this is the case, allow the water to sit out overnight before watering or use filtered water.
3. Your spider plant will do well in low humidity environments. But it will really thrive with a bit more humidity. Brown leaf tips may indicate the air is too dry, so mist your plant regularly.
4. Your plant prefers temperatures between 60 to 80 degrees during the day. Come nighttime, they prefer temps above 55 degrees.
5. Fertilize up to twice a month in the spring and summer. However, avoid over-fertilization, which can lead to brown leaf tips. No need to feed in the autumn or winter when plant growth naturally slows. Always make sure the soil is damp before applying any fertilizer.
Source: 4 Spider Plant Benefits (Plus, How to Make Sure They Thrive) (msn.com)
November 28 Zodiac is Sagittarius
As a Sagittarius born on November 28th, you possess an amicable personality and don’t let yourself down by any hardship.
You have deep, internal motivations and although these may not always become apparent in your actions, you guide yourself after them and after your very strong life principles throughout your life. Get ready to better understand your horoscope personality below.
People born on November 28 dislike ordinary more than anything in this world thus they try to get themselves involved in as many enterprises as possible. They are unhesitating but also poised and seem to know when to play one card or another. They are avant-garde and can be quite enduring when they really want to finish something. Their most beneficial setting is the great outsides, the more active the activity the better.
Positive traits: These natives are amicable individuals who prove to be very empathetic with those around them and quite ready to throw them a helping hand especially if their help regards something in which they are involved as well. They are funny and eager beings who prefer to keep things straight with everyone and not hide behind words.
Negative traits: Sagittarius needs to learn to accept that even the best people make mistakes and disappoint others, it’s just, if and how they try to repair their mistakes, that matters. Those born on this day are impractical and boastful. They are set to change the world but in the same time they don’t even once consider they may lose some battles on the way there. Their reluctance to accept defeat is a recipe for disaster. They are sometimes inconsistent and impatient.
So there you have it, dear readers. That’s me if you believe in horoscope’s. As for me, I have no negative traits. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Source: The stars, Seriously, it’s: November 28 Zodiac – Full Horoscope Personality (thehoroscope.co)
November 30 is Cyber Monday
animationxpress.com image
Cyber Monday also known as Blue Monday is a marketing term for the Monday after the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. It was created by retailers to encourage people to shop online. The term was coined by Ellen Davis of the National Retail Federation and Scott Silverman, and made its debut on November 28, 2005, in a Shop.org press release entitled “‘Cyber Monday’ Quickly Becoming One of the Biggest Online Shopping Days of the Year”. Cyber Monday takes place the Monday after Thanksgiving; the date falls between November 26 and December 2, depending on the year.
Source: © Wikipedia
9 Ways to Make Pizza So You Won’t Get Fat
EatThis,NotThat! article by Jeff Csatari
Think you can’t eat pizza and lose weight? Well, you better start believing. All it takes is making sure you do it the right way. One Italian pizza chef did, which helped him shed pounds and significantly improve his health. Pasquale Cozzolino, a native of Naples, Italy, is executive chef and co-owner of Ribalta pizzerias in Manhattan and Atlanta. He knew he had to lose a lot of weight but realized he could not abandon his daily pizza habit. So he figured out how to lose weight by eating pizza.
“I’ve tried typical dieting strategies before with no luck,” says Cozzolino. “I was hungry all the time. The list of acceptable foods was depressingly limited, especially to a chef who loves flavor.”
Cozzolino decided to figure out how to lose weight and still eat pizza every day. He experimented with ways to make pizza healthier and lower in calories, using techniques from back home in Naples, including using a fermented dough that was higher fiber. He would eat one small pizza for lunch every day. The rest of his meals were based on the Mediterranean diet.
“I focused my meals on fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, and whole grains and using healthy fats like olive oil and avocado instead of saturated fats,” says Cozzolino. “That’s the way I used to eat in Italy before I came to New York and started eating fast-food and sugary processed foods.”
It worked. In 9 months, the chef lost 114 pounds without giving up his favorite food—pizza. Cozzolino documents his miraculous health transformation in his book The Pizza Diet. In it you’ll find 50 of the chef’s recipes for more pizzas with innovative, healthful toppings.
In addition to following the heart-healthy Mediterranean Diet, Cozzolino found simple hacks to help him lose weight while still eating pizza, including smart ways to cut calories from pies that you, too, can use for both takeout and homemade pizza.
1. Drink before you eat.
Water that is. “Often, people mistake thirst for hunger and reach for a fork instead of a glass of ice water,” says Cozzolino. “Have a glass of water before eating; it’ll keep you from overeating pizza.”
2. Don’t be plain.
You can lower any pizza’s glycemic index (GI), which is a measure of how quickly blood sugar levels rise in response to a certain food, by adding fiber- and protein-rich toppings. For example, while a simple cheese pizza scores an 80 out of 100 on the GI scale, a veggie pie clocks in at 49. Raw veggies and lean meats like chicken breast make for the best GI-lowering toppers. Tip: avoid toppings of veggies that have been cooked in a bath of oil.
3. See red.
Choose pizzas with tomato sauce over white pizzas. The redder the better because the tomato sauce is rich in lycopene, which studies show may be cardioprotective and reduce the risk of certain cancers.
4. Cut the cheese.
Ordering (or making) your pizza with “half cheese” is an easy way to cut the saturated fat (and calories) on plain- or vegetable-topped pies by 50%.
5. Bloat out the oil.
When you see a pool of oil floating on top of your cheese pizza, take a napkin and mop up the excess. You’ll save about 50 calories, and maybe keep the grease off your shirt.
6. Eliminate liquid calories.
When most people eat pizza, they pair it with soda, sweet tea, beer, or wine. Switch to water or unsweetened iced tea to delete the added calories.
“I completely cut out the liquid calories,” says Cozzolino, who had a three-can-a-day soda habit. “You don’t realize all the calories you’re consuming. When I stopped, I felt the difference.”
7. Think thin.
Most of the evils of pizza lay in the empty calorie, yet highly caloric crust, typically made from refined white flour.
“It spikes your insulin levels, causing you to crave more,” says Cozzolino. “I use a more nutritious flour called type 1 stone-ground flour and allow my dough to ferment for at least 36 hours.”
Most pizzerias don’t use that expensive dough, so Cozzolino advises ordering thin-crust pizza, to reduce the carbohydrate impact on your blood sugar.
8. Turn up the heat.
You can trick yourself into eating less and boost your calorie-burning metabolism by adding a little spice to your pizza pie. A study by Canadian researchers found that men who ate spicy appetizers consumed 200 fewer calories than those who skipped the hot sauce. Top your pizza with a few grinds of fresh black pepper, red chile flakes, or if you’re really brave, jalapeno slices.
9. Go green.
A series of well-cited Yale University studies suggest eating a salad appetizer can reduce total calorie intake over the course of a meal by up to 20%. So, start your pizza dinner with a big garden salad. Top your greens with a scant tablespoon of vinaigrette. Research suggests vinegar may aid weight loss by keeping your blood sugar steady. One study among prediabetics found that the addition of vinegar to a high-carb meal (like pizza) reduced the subsequent rise in blood sugar by 34%.
What Really Happens to Your Body When You’re Dehydrated
Livestrong.com article by Emma Steven
With all the advice out there about leading a healthy lifestyle, staying hydrated is one of the basics that’s repeated again and again. But you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. If you get everything else right, how important is hydration, really? In a word: very.
“From a structural or functional standpoint, water is a detergent and cleaning agent for our bodies,” says Zach Bush, MD, a physician who specializes in internal medicine, endocrinology and hospice care. Water is needed by every cell in your body to function properly, he explains, and is vital in helping our bodies work through the toxins we all breathe and eat every day.
Read on to discover dehydration’s effects on your body and tips on how to keep your fluid intake where it needs to be.
Your Brain
When your body becomes dehydrated, your cells send a signal to your brain, which tells you that you’re thirsty. But dehydration affects your brain in more surprising ways, too.
Although the mechanism isn’t fully understood, dehydration is linked to a decrease in mood and cognitive performance. A June 2013 review in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition revealed that a dehydration level of just 2 percent was enough to impair performance in tasks that required attention, psychomotor and immediate memory skills.
And although it was small, a February 2012 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that even mild dehydration was enough to cause mood disturbances.
Dehydration can also cause problems in the brain when electrolyte levels fall too low. Electrolytes are minerals like potassium and sodium that help the electrical signals pass between cells. If you are too low in electrolytes, you can experience a breakdown or disruption in these signals, which can cause involuntary muscle twitching and even seizures, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Tip
Young children and older adults have lower water levels and are more at risk for dehydration, according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
our Kidneys and Urinary System
When you’re dehydrated, your cells send a signal to your hypothalamus, which releases a hormone called vasopressin, known as the antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This hormone tells the kidneys to remove less water from the blood, which leads to peeing less and a darker, more concentrated urine.
The kidneys are the main filter for your blood, and without adequate fluid, they can’t expel the natural breakdown products and toxins from your bloodstream, Dr. Bush says. “Amazingly, your kidneys are capable of moving as much as 55 gallons of fluid a day.”
If you are consistently dehydrated over long periods of time, your kidneys have to work extra hard. This can cause something called acute kidney injury, a form of damage that puts you at higher risk for kidney disease, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
What’s more: “Lack of fluid intake can be a major contributor to kidney stone formation,” Julie Stefanski, RDN, LDN, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics, tells LIVESTRONG.com. People who live in warm, dry climates and those who sweat a lot may be at higher risk than others, according to the Mayo Clinic.
our Blood
Your body needs fluid to make blood, so when your fluid levels drop, so does your blood volume.
“The bloodstream needs adequate fluid within the body to maintain an appropriate blood pressure,” says Stefanski. Dehydration can lead to hypotension, or low blood pressure, which can cause you to faint.
At an extreme level, this can lead to an emergency condition called hypovolemic shock, where low blood volume leads to a big drop in blood pressure and the amount of oxygen in the blood, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. The heart is unable to pump enough blood around the body, which can lead to organ failure.
As your blood gets thicker, your body increases your heart rate and respiratory rate to compensate, essentially putting the body into a stress state.
“It’s not unusual to then experience things like headache, fatigue, eye strain, decreased sex drive and decreased sleep quality, because the brain is in the fight-or-flight state,” Dr. Bush says.
Your Digestive System
Your gut needs adequate hydration to function properly. Water is needed for optimal motility (the movement of waste through your digestive system) and gut health. “Without regular intake of fluids, bowel movements can be hard and difficult to pass,” Stefanski says.
Dehydration can also damage the mucosal lining of the gut and your microbiome, which are important to both your digestion and your overall health.
Your Skin
Although you may not realize it, your skin is actually the largest organ in your immune system, Stefanski says. Healthy skin acts as a natural barrier against germs from our environment, but insufficient fluid intake can cause cracked lips and dry skin, where pathogens can enter.
So, How Much Water Do You Need?
A typical adult woman needs 11.5 cups of water a day, while a man needs 15.5 cups, per the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The average person takes in around 20 percent of their water needs through food, which means women should drink about 9 cups a day and men should drink 12.5.
Hydration Tips
1. Don’t Wait to Be Thirsty
Stefanski says everyone has differing levels of thirst instinct, which can mean you drink less than you need. “Rather than relying on thirst, schedule times throughout the day to drink a large glass of water,” she says.
Remember: If you feel thirsty, you’re already dehydrated.
2. Check Your Pee
Take cues from your bathroom breaks.
“Experts recommend that we should all be drinking enough to urinate every three to four hours. Urine should be a light yellow color,” Stefanski says. “If you’re not urinating at all or your urine is dark in color, you may not be drinking enough.”
3. Jazz Up Your Water
Any fluid counts toward your overall fluid intake, so if you don’t like plain water, mix it up. Add lemon slices and cucumber to plain water to make it more interesting, or make a cup of tea. Herbal tea makes a good replacement for plain water, but Stefanski warns that it’s important to check for interactions if you take medications or have a chronic medical condition.
4. Watch Out for Caffeine and Alcohol
Although that cup of coffee or cocktail technically count towards your daily quota, caffeine and alcohol are diuretics, meaning they can cause you to actually lose water. So make sure to balance your boozy drinks with at least the same amount of H2O.
5. Eat Your Water
It’s not just about water. “A lot of the effective hydration we get is actually through our food,” says Dr Bush. “So things like cucumber, celery — these are powerful ways to get water into the body more effectively than a glass of water.” Consuming water-rich fruit and vegetables is a good way to increase your hydration levels while boosting your vitamin, mineral and fiber intake.
6. Paleo or Keto? Add More H2O
High-protein diets can be dehydrating, so it’s especially important to hydrate regularly if you’re following a paleo or keto plan.
“If you are on a protein-rich diet, you need to really work to increase the amount of water-carrying veggies in your diet to offset the potential dehydrating effect of protein,” Dr. Bush says.
7. Track It
Tracking your water intake on an app like LIVESTRONG.com’s MyPlate can help you make sure you’re getting enough.
Source: Dehydration Effects: What Happens When You’re Dehydrated | Livestrong.com
The Hovet Ikea Mirror
Popsugar© article by Allison Ingrum
© POPSUGAR Photography / Allison Ingrum
Influencers Convinced Me to Buy the Hovet Ikea Mirror, and I Don’t Regret It at All
If your social media looks anything like mine, you’ve seen the HOVET Ikea mirror all over your timeline for the past year. I didn’t pay much attention to it at first, riding it off as yet another influencer product I truly didn’t need. After all, cheap, over-the-door hanging mirrors that slightly warped my reflection usually got the job done anyway, so why would I need this one?
But now that I’m staying home more, I’ve decided to invest in my space by filling it with more thoughtful and useful pieces. They certainly don’t need to be expensive – in fact most are quite the opposite. Instead, I’m looking for quality, long-lasting pieces that improve my daily routines.
I recently moved and found myself in need of a new full-length mirror, so I no longer had to rely on self-timer photos to check my outfits. I scoured the internet for one that met these standards, only to find myself returning to that familiar mirror I’d seen far too many times. After reading dozens of glowing reviews, I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did.
I measured time and time again before its arrival, but nothing could have prepared me for how big this mirror actually is. At only 5’2″, I can barely reach the top of it when standing on the floor. I decided to lean it against my wall, but mounting fixtures are included if I later decide to hang the mirror vertically or horizontally. The only downside I’ve noticed so far is the mirror’s weight. Given that the mirror is 42 pounds and almost 6.5 feet tall, I’m thankful I don’t have to move it too often.
The mirror framing is made of aluminum, which gives it a modern look, but it can be easily upgraded with spray paint or string lights. A quick search of the mirror on Instagram or TikTok will take you days to scroll through and will leave you with endless inspiration.
In all honesty, I’m not sure a mirror of this quality and size exists for a better price. It makes my New York City bedroom feel so much larger than it is. Most importantly, I know it will last for years and through many more apartments.
At almost 6.5 feet fall and 2.5 feet wide, the Ikea HOVET Mirror ($129) makes the room feel much larger than it is.
The Ikea HOVET Mirror can be mounted vertically or horizontally.
Framed with aluminum, the Ikea HOVET Mirror gives off a sleek, modern look and goes well with any of your existing decor!
Ikea HOVET Mirror in a Room
Trust me, your mirror selfies will truly get an upgrade with the Ikea HOVET Mirror.
Source: Influencers Convinced Me to Buy the Hovet Ikea Mirror, and I Don’t Regret It at All (msn.com)
7 Side Effects of Taking a Multivitamin Every Day
Story by Lindsay Tigar for EatThis,NotThat ©
Everyone is always looking for the next best thing to improve their health. Whether it’s the latest fitness craze or the best-selling protein powder on the market, there are many ways to give a boost to our wellness. While you may have taken a chewable as a kid, if you haven’t upgraded your multivitamin as an adult, consider this your gentle reminder. If you’re not sure about the benefits or side effects of taking a daily multivitamin, we have you covered.
We spoke with nutrition experts to discuss the side effects of a multivitamin routine. Here’s what they had to say.
1. You fill in nutrient gaps in your diet.
First thing first: you should always try to eat a balanced, veggie-filled diet that provides the minerals and nutrients your system requires. In a dream world, we would all be able to get everything we need from our meals, but in reality, many of us have gaps that need to be filled. As author and nutritional expert Dr. Josh Axe, DNM, DCNS, DC explains, 70% of the average American diet comes from processed or ultra-processed foods, which are calorie-dense but light on vitamins and minerals. A daily supplement can’t erase the damage of the foods you eat, but it can point you in a better direction.
Dr. Axe says a study published a few years back in the Journal of Nutrition indicates that dietary habits of a large population of our nation consistently fail to meet even the minimal intakes recommended in the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for many vital nutrients.
“The study concluded that, without dietary supplementation and other ways of supporting proper nutrient intake, many Americans don’t achieve even the minimum recommended micronutrient intake levels they need,” he says.
2. You tailor to where you are in your life.
Lauren McAlister, a nutritional therapy practitioner and a wellness specialist for Mindbody, says while many in her industry believe in a ‘food-first’ philosophy, she is more realistic about everyone’s day-to-day routines. As much as we would like to receive all that we need from our plates, sometimes a high-quality supplement can come in handy, dependent on what we need right here and right now. That’s why she recommends thinking about your unique situation.
“Are you a vegan or vegetarian? Pregnant or nursing? Over the age of 50?” she says. “Your diet, lifestyle, and age may require specific supplementation.”
When in doubt, she says to ask your doctor what is best for you and your body.
3. You will feel energized.
If you’re feeling exhausted day-in and day-out, a multivitamin may be the motivation you’ve been craving to get going. Education Scientist at Life Extension, Dr. Vanessa Pavey, ND, explains taking a multivitamin provides essential water-soluble B vitamins that we need to release the energy that’s trapped inside carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
“This released energy can now fuel our cells and provide the power we need to carry out our daily activities,” she says. “B vitamins also encourage healthy organ function and cognitive health.”
4. You fight against cancer.
Wellness expert Emilie Perz says one of the most significant benefits of a multivitamin is how they reduce our risk for cancer. How so? The right one will provide a daily dose of folic acid, which helps carry blood cells around the body filled with oxygen. These work to fight fatigue and anemia, feed fetuses for pregnant women, and ward off diseases.
“Most people don’t consume enough leafy greens to intake the folate they need, so getting it through your multivitamin helps to keep all cylinders in the body running optimally,” she says.
5. You give your heart a boost.
Our heart: It keeps beating with each and every passing year, and yet, many people don’t have excellent cardiovascular health. Dr. Axe says this organ should be top of mind and high priority since it affects so much of our overall well-being. “Of course, eating a heart-healthy diet and following a heart-healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise, are primary. But finding a multivitamin that also helps to support heart health can be beneficial,” he explains.
When you’re deciding on what brand to select, Dr. Axe recommends looking for those that have vitamin D3, vitamin K2, folate, and vitamin B12 since they all support cardiovascular health.
6. You will have a better memory.
If you usually have a pretty amazing memory and you’re able to come up with creative ideas, but lately, you’re struggling; a multivitamin could prove beneficial. The B vitamins that are often in a multivitamin are warriors for our brains, explains Dr. Pavey. Here, she breaks it down, vitamin by vitamin:
Vitamin B5—pantothenic acid—is a cofactor that facilitates the creation of acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter associated with memory.
B6 and B9 work together to help produce serotonin and dopamine, our feel-good neurotransmitters.
B12 takes it a step further and supports the health of the myelin sheath, a protective coating along with our brain cells.
Vitamins B6, B9, and B12, along with B2 (riboflavin), help support cardiovascular health by balancing homocysteine. Homocysteine is an amino acid made in the body that can build up over time and eventually harm our cardiovascular system.
7. Your urine might turn yellow.
With all of these benefits, it’s hard to say ‘no’ to taking a multivitamin! But if you do and your urine turns yellow, don’t freak out! As celebrity chef and certified nutritionist Serena Poon explains, this is normal.
“Your body will automatically discard any water-soluble vitamin that your body does not need, turning your urine bright yellow,” she says. “Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate. I usually recommend that people get their vitamin levels checked before starting a multivitamin and only supplementing a deficiency or vulnerability.”
Source: 7 Side Effects of Taking a Multivitamin Every Day (msn.com)
Black Friday is Today
Photo by Belfast live
In 1966, the Black Friday name became famous in print. That’s when a story appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors’ magazine. The Philadelphia Police Department used the name to describe the traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores. For centuries, the adjective “black” has been applied to days upon which calamities occurred, but shopping hysteria ?
Why the traffic jams and crowding ? Historically, shoppers did half their holiday shopping on Black Friday, which in America is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since 2005. You can imagine mega-millions of people pushing, shoving, shortage of stock, all to be the one who gets the item, for which she must pay anyway.
It’s now firmly entrenched into our holiday tradition. Although, some stores which use to close or curtail their hours, now remain open thru the holiday or open at midnight Friday morning. It seems that shopping is pushing family for dominance of Thanksgiving.
So America, are you participating in shopping on Black Friday, where good deals on big-screen tv’s are everywhere ? Just remember to shop safely.
50 Years ago in a Place far away from Home.
Thanksgiving in war-torn South Vietnam.
