How We Survived COVID-19 in India

Hi friends, I have here a link to a video of a young couple ( a New Zealander and his Indian wife)in India who contracted Covid-19. Although the situation in India may not be the same as in your country, the tips which he gives with regard to nutrition are useful.It appears roughly half way through the video. Hope you find it useful.

Should I Adopt a Dog?

It makes sense — in an era of "lockdowns", "circuit breakers" and social distancing, many of us long for a little companionship (and a reason to see the light of day). Before you rush into adopting a canine companion, here are five things to know before adopting a dog. 

Although the video is more for an American audience, a lot of it makes sense for people living outside the US.

Humble Bananas

Hi everyone. In tough times like this we need to watch what we eat. Here's a great value added fruit.
Did you know that bananas are one of the most popular fruits worldwide? They contain essential nutrients that can have a protective impact on health. Here are some of the benefits:

• Blood Pressure - The American Heart Association (AHA) encourage people to lower their intake of salt, or sodium, and increase their consumption of foods that contain potassium. Potassium can help manage blood pressure and reduce strain on the cardiovascular system.
• Asthma - A 2007 study suggested that eating bananas might help prevent wheezing in children with asthma. One reason for this could be the antioxidant and potassium content of bananas.
• Cancer - Laboratory investigations have suggested that lectin, a protein that occurs in bananas, may help prevent leukemia cells from growing.
  
• Heart Health - Bananas contain fibre, potassium, folate, and antioxidants, such as vitamin C. All of these support heart health.
  
• Diabetes - The American Diabetes Association recommend eating bananas and other fruit as they contain fiber. They note that eating fibre can help lower blood sugar levels.
• Digestive Health - Bananas contain water and fibre, both of which promote regularity and encourage digestive health. One medium banana provides approximately 10% of a person’s fibre needs for a day.
• Preserving Memory and Boosting Mood - Bananas contain tryptophan, an amino acid that may help preserve memory, boost a person’s ability to learn and remember things, and regulate mood.

These are just some of the benefits of eating bananas. However, take note that there are some risks in eating too many bananas in some groups of people:

• Bananas contain potassium and can be harmful to those whose kidneys are not fully functional.
• Bananas may trigger an allergic reaction in some people. Anyone who experiences itching, hives, swelling, wheezing, or difficulty breathing should seek medical help at once.
• Bananas may trigger migraines in some people.
  
  

The above was a summary of an article from Medical News Today - https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/271157  I hope that's been helpful, let me know what you think.

Play the drums!

Hi friends, hope everybody is keeping safe. For a change of pace, why not try something new? Maybe you've always wanted to play the drums? Whether you want to do this for fun, the health benefits or starting a new hobby....here's the video that can help you. (You don't need a drum set by the way nor do you need to have any experience).....enjoy!

Gratitude

Hi friends, in my previous post one of the things suggested there was to be grateful. To reinforce that, take a look at this video. This happened on the 26th of March 2020 in India. The country wide lockdown was announced and it left many people who sometimes live hundreds of kilometres away stranded!

This poor lady had to bring her 3 young children from Delhi to their home in Kanpur, a distance of 475 Km!
For most of the journey they walked!

So, moral of the story is, even though most of us are going through hard times right now being cooped up and unsure of what lies ahead, after watching this video, we have lots to be grateful for!

How to stay positive

Hi friends, most of us around the world are in some sort of movement restriction or another. That makes feeling positive a challenge.

Here are some tips from Meditation and Life Coach Donny Starkins on how to stay positive during tough times.

In brief he says:

• Do simple gratitude practice each morning
• Establish a routine to build positive momentum
• Help others
• Move your body
  

Safe Grocery Shopping

Hi everyone. Today I'm going to share CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta's tips on how to shop safely at grocery stores:

In essence some of his suggestions are:

1. Make a list of things that you want
2. Gloves is a good idea but don't touch your face!
3. Bring along hand sanitizer (just in case)
4. Get in there and don't waste time longer than you have to
5. Be focussed don't let yourself be distracted
6. Limit your trips to the grocery store
   

Visit a Museum!

Yes, that's right - visit a museum - virtually of course. Just because you're stuck at home it doesn't mean you only have to browse the internet or watch Netflix all the time!

These are 12 Museums listed on Google Arts & Culture’s collection which include the Guggenheim Museum in New York,Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, British Museum in London and the The Museu de Arte de São Paulo which is Brazil's first modern museum.

To see more of Google Arts & Culture’s collection of museums, visit the collection’s website.

We are Warriors!

This is a very apt song for tough times! Very encouraging song from Avril Lavigne.

Coronavirus: Doctor demonstrates breathing technique

A British NHS doctor has developed a breathing technique that he says can help coronavirus patients.
Renowned author JK Rowling also claimed Dr Sarfaraz Munshi’s technique, which he devised while helping his mother, helped her when she was suffering from coronavirus symptoms.
Dr Munshi has warned, “The point here ... was that it’s not formal advice, but it’s a simple breathing technique that you can use that can help to oxygenate the lungs and open up the small airways."

Coping with Covid-19 anxiety

The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting a huge number of people around the world. Some of us more than others. Here is a useful video and if it doesn't help maybe you could share it with a friend that does need help. Here Washington Post reporter Nicole Ellis speaks with a mental health expert about ways to cope with anxiety, stress, and adjusting to how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing our everyday lives.

How to make canned food more nutritious

In these challenging times. most of us would have stocked up on canned foods; just in case.
While they're not completely lacking in nutrients, a fair bit of salt and sugar is in most of them. Along with sodium nitrate which is used for canned meats they also use food stabilisers and flavour enhancers in the manufacturing process.
So if you’re considering adding some canned food to your meals occasionally, there are ways to make them healthier:

1. Corned Beef (or luncheon meat)
   Chop up that hunk of corned beef or luncheon meat, and stir-fry with corn kernels or frozen corn nibblets for a hit of Vitamins A and B6, niacin and fibre. Or you can stir-fry the meat with frozen peas for Vitamins A and C, folate, manganese and fibre.
   Either way, you’ll only need pepper or sliced green chillies for seasoning as luncheon meat and corned beef already has a lot of sodium. Serve the stir-fry with warmed-up frozen chapatti (it’s low in fat and carbs) for a snack or meal.
2. Curry Chicken
   Add canned chickpeas for fibre, protein and potassium to balance out the high-sodium content of the curry and rendang. You could also add frozen carrots and French beans for fibre, potassium and Vitamin A. 
3. Sardines (Or Tuna, Mackerel)
   Instead of the usual chopped onion, frozen vegetables are also the perfect accompaniment to your canned fish. and broccoli (folate, cancer-fighting sulphoraphane and bone-protecting manganese) for a complete dish.
   To make it even healthier: Pour away the liquid as most of the sodium is found there. If you can, opt for fish canned in water or olive oil instead as you can discard the liquid easier and rinse it in water for good measure.

I hope that's been helpful. It's a summary of an article which can be found here

Stop Reading the News?

According to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the COVID-19 outbreak is proving to be stressful for most people. During an infectious disease outbreak, the CDC says stress can include changes in sleep or eating patterns, worsening of mental health conditions, fear and worry about your health and difficulty concentrating.

Compounding this stress is the constant stream of news about COVID-19 that we are exposed to on a daily, hourly, and even minute-by-minute basis.
So what do we do? To strike the balance of moderation while staying informed, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends seeking news about COVID-19 mainly so that you can take practical steps to prepare your plans and protect yourself and your loved ones. Once you have that information, it’s time to turn the news off. 

Self-help writer Rolf Dobelli is ‘calmer and wiser’ since going ‘news free’. He has taken a more radical step of eliminating news entirely. Watch his video below:
Dobelli's stance may be a bit radical for some. However what could be done is to limit the amount of time spent on watching the news to say, half an hour each day. 

How to clean your smartphone safely

This is a BBC video showing Dr Lena Ciric, a microbiologist from University College London who explains how you can effectively clean your phone using just household soap and water without damaging the device.

Muisc to cheer you up

Music is always good for the soul. In tough times like this what better way to get your spirits up?
Here's a track from PostmodernJukebox who take modern hits and give it a twist:

Feeling Bored?

These can be boring times with almost the whole world in some form of "lock-down".
New York author Gretchen Rubin says, “When you are bored, time feels heavy on your hands, and it's easy to get pulled into irritation and annoyances, so people don't want to be there for very long. "
So, here are some ways to fight this:

1. Declutter your stuff. There's nothing like having a neat tidy home where you can find anything without having to go through tons of stuff. Here's a good video on that:
   
2.  Learn something new: There are lots of on-line courses that you can study from your home. One good example is Udemy .  They have courses on business, design, photography, personal development and more. Their courses are priced around S$20.
   Another example is Coursera They have around 2000 courses over many subjects. Financial aid is also available.
   Learnthat is yet another - it offers free online classes for adults in four categories: business, lifestyle, personal finance, and technology. The tutorials are brief and are just the thing if you don't want a lengthy course of study.
   Another surprisingly good source is YouTube! All you have to do is type in the search box the course you want and chances are, there would be a number of options available. 
3. Rekindle a hobby - If you always had a hobby like sewing, drawing, tinkering with the car or repairing things around the house now is the time to refresh your talent and feel satisfied at the same time. There's always a "feel good" emotion after completing a small project and with almost all the time in the world it's a good time to start something.
4. Connect Virtually - During our previous normal working time there never seemed to be time to send messages to old friends and loved ones. Now is a good time to send short messages to find out how friends and family are keeping and social media is an excellent avenue for that. Aside from the tried and tested WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram give TikTok a try! As it says, it's the destination for short-form mobile videos. Their mission is to capture and present the world's creativity, knowledge, and precious life moments, directly. Even if you don't produce any short videos yourself there are thousands to watch. Many are hilarious and entertaining.
   Also, within WhatsApp and Facebook you can also join up with a group that shares your interest.
5. Dig out the Board Games - We're so connected and sometimes addicted with our TV, computers or mobile phones that we have forgotten the joys of board games, card games and puzzles.
   If you and your partner or family are feeling cooped up, now might be the prime time to dust off the old board games like Monopoly or Old Maid. If you're alone try "Patience Solitaire " with a deck of cards. Or go online to http://www.cardgamepatience.com/

At the end of the day it's important to remember that times like this shall pass. Of all the suggestions, I think, keeping in touch with friends and family is paramount. In trying times they are the most useful for bouncing ideas off, seeking an opinion or just someone you can tell your problems to. 

How to get to sleep during lockdown

Here's a link to an interesting BBC article on sleeping. I found it very thorough and it seems that with lockdowns and restrictions these days our sleep patterns have changed.
In essence it suggests:

1. Routine - Even if your life has changed recently, preserve your old sleeping pattern if you want a good night's sleep.  
2. Daylight - Try and get daylight. Our eyes need exposure to outdoor light because of a hormone in our body called melatonin - it regulates our sleep and wake pattern.
3. Park your stress - While it's OK to be worried, we should try not to take those worries to bed.
4. Think about your space - Avoid your bedroom. Don't go near the bed. Don't sit on it or lie on it - until you actually need to go and sleep
5. Alcohol - While alcohol can help us get to sleep faster, it's not good in the long-term. It ultimately just damages the structure and quality of our sleep

The link for the complete article is here:
https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-52311643

Managing Money - Wants and Needs

In my 40 plus years of working life I've always found managing my money to be most challenging. I learnt that in order to be on top of things it was necessary to get one thing fundamentally right in the first place - wants and needs.
Basically the difference between a want and a need is this - Ask yourself before buying something - do I really this? Would I die or get into serious difficulty if I didn't have this?
Take the example of our trusted companion - the mobile phone. Many of us would want the latest model - better camera, more efficient battery, sharper screen resolution and so on.
But, do we really need to get the latest model? What's so wrong about your present phone? Does it work? Are you able to do the things you normally do on it?
So unless you have a model that's, say 5 years old and your battery is getting weaker by the day and it keeps crashing on you when you need to so something important, don't buy a new one! Or at least postpone the purchase until you're sure your country is in better times.

I don't think we need reminding that times are tough now and every cent may count if this pandemic continues.
Another example is clothing - do we really need that new blouse or shirt? After all, a lot of us would be working from home and unless you're a television presenter, who would see what we're wearing?
Since you probably have more time on your hands right now, why now dig up your wardrobe to find something we've not worn for a long time? Chances are, your friends would think it's brand new!

Other examples are groceries and cosmetics- generic brands can be just as good. Blind tests have show a lot of people can't tell the difference between the two!
And the list can go on and on. So in order to save a good bit of money, always ask yourself whether something is a need or want.

Exercise

Let's face it - most of are stuck in a confined space which we're not really used to. But we still have to exercise our bodies to get rid of that lethargic feeling and to build up our body's resistance.
Although  this video is aimed at seniors, younger people who raely exercise will find this extremely useful. No gym equipment needed!

Watch your electricity consumption

In times like this, all over the world, much more people are staying home the whole day. Sometimes more than one person is working from home and or have kids that need something to do.
All of this staying at home results in higher electricity consumption and of course a higher utility bill come month end.
The common communication tool that's used for work purposes is the trusty laptop and for some of us, it doubles up as an entertainment centre outside working hours. So lets compare power usage for laptops, the alternative desktops and tablets.

A desktop typically uses between 60 -300 watts, a laptop 30 - 70 watts while a tablet uses 15 - 30 watts. These are average figures but it does show the difference between the less popular desktops, laptops and tablets.
So where you can, for example if you just need to check on the news, social media or send a simple email to a friend the tablet is clearly the best option. Better still, try and use your mobile phone which uses even less electricity.
The other electrical item that consumes a fair bit of electricity is our TV. On average a 42 inch LED television would consume about 80 watts. So here again, rather than watching news on television regularly (which tends to be repetitive I think), catch the gist of it on your mobile phone. Leave the TV for your favourite programs.

You can't really cut down on the other electrical items in your home like refrigerators and washing machines but since most people are staying home there's less need to wash your office clothing. So do your washing in one big load rather than many small ones.

You can also save on lighting in your home. Once it gets bright in your part of the world, switch off unnecessary lights!

You can't save a huge amount of cash by following my suggestions but you definitely can save and in this uncertain employment climate - every cent will count.   

Don't cut your own hair

Unless you've done it before, don't cut your own hair. Here's what happened to CNN's Anderson Cooper:

Cute Covid-19 song

On a lighter note - here's something from Vietnam

Getting Back Pain While Working From Home?

Time magazine has identified some useful tips for those experiencing back pains whilst working at home. I've summarised the main points here:

1. View your computer screen with a straight neck - Put your screen in front of you at a comfortable viewing height. Don’t look down at your screen, like to a laptop on a table or to your phone.If you have a separate screen or if you are using a laptop, you might have to put it on a pile of books or on a cardboard box to raise it to a comfortable viewing position straight in front of you.
2. Put your screen sideways to a bright window - To minimize the chances of visual eye strain from glare or partial retinal adaptation, don’t work with your back to a window, as the light coming in will cause a glare on your screen, and don’t work facing a window, as you’ll be staring into the light. 
3. View any paper documents with a straight neck - Don’t read from an iPad or papers that are flat on your table or your head will constantly have to move up and down.
4. Put your keyboard and mouse or touchpad at a comfortable height in front of you. - If your laptop has been raised to get your screen to the right level, then use a separate keyboard and mouse. Make sure you can use the keyboard and mouse with your forearms and hands level and straight, and make sure your arm is close to the side of your body when you use a mouse.
5. Alternate between typing/mousing and using voice input - Voice recognition works for most text and emails. This gives your arms, wrists and hands time to rest.
6. Sit back in your chair -  Don’t try to sit upright and don’t hunch forward in your chair like a turtle.When you lean forward, the lumbar spine bends out and that puts a lot of pressure on the intervertebral lumbar discs. Make sure that you can sit back in your chair so some of your body weight is being supported by the chair back and sit close enough to comfortably reach your keyboard and mouse. If the chair does not have good lower-back support, use a cushion or rolled-up towel behind your lower back. It’s a cheap and less effective substitute for an ergonomic chair, but it’s better than nothing.
7. When sitting rest your feet on either the floor or a foot support - If your feet don’t reach the floor, use a box, pile of books, cushion or footrest. Don’t pull your feet back underneath the chair or let them dangle in the air–this puts pressure under the thighs, restricts blood flow to your lower legs and feet and increases your risk of a deep vein thrombosis.
8. Limit the time you work on your bed - A bed is even worse for you than a chair, because unless you sit on the side of the bed, your legs will be crossed or extended horizontally, acting as support for your laptop. That’s too low for optimal screen viewing, so you’ll have to hunch over. If a bed is your only option, put a pillow behind your back to rest against the headboard and put your laptop on a cushion in your lap. Or get a low table for the laptop to go over your legs so you can type at a comfortable height without straining your neck.
9. Avoid prolonged standing for computer work - The existence of standing desks makes many people believe standing is a better option for their bodies–and it’s true that it’s not healthy to remain sedentary all day–but ergonomists have long recognized that standing to work requires more energy than sitting and puts greater strain on the circulatory system and on the legs and feet. 

The complete article is here - https://time.com/5821252/back-pain-work-from-home-tips/

Look after your eyes

Experts say guarding your eyes — as well as your hands and mouth — can slow the spread of coronavirus. The American Academy of Ophthalmology said last week that limiting eye exposure can help.

• When a sick person coughs or talks, virus particles can spray from their mouth or nose into another person’s face. You’re most likely to inhale these droplets through your mouth or nose, but they can also enter through your eyes.
• You can also become infected by touching something that has the virus on it — like a table or doorknob — and then touching your eyes.

Dr Sonal Tuli from the Academy, says, among other things, that if you wear contact lenses, consider switching to glasses for a while. She said, "Consider wearing glasses more often, especially if you tend to touch your eyes a lot when your contacts are in. Substituting glasses for lenses can decrease irritation and force you to pause before touching your eye,” she advises.
She also added that corrective lenses or sunglasses can shield your eyes from infected respiratory droplets. But they don’t provide 100% security. The virus can still reach your eyes from the exposed sides, tops and bottoms of your glasses. If you’re caring for a sick patient or potentially exposed person, safety goggles may offer a stronger defence.

The complete article is here - https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/coronavirus-covid19-eye-infection-pinkeye