Sun protection from a young age is important

Damage to skin from unprotected UV exposure builds up year after year, so the exposure we get during childhood increases our chances of skin cancer later in life.

UV exposure during childhood and adolescence appears to set the stage for the development of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers in later life.

Sun Protection

 Sun protection is really all about limiting your exposure to UV rays in order to minimize your chance of sunburn, skin cancer, and eye damage. How you choose to protect yourself will depend on the activity you are doing, you're personal preferences, and UV levels at the time, but here are the basic four options:

1) Staying in the Shade

 Staying in the shade is the best Sun protection you can get and sometimes it's the smartest option when UV levels are extreme. Keep in mind though that whilst shade reduces UV by more than 50%, it does not give total protection. If you are in the shade but close to a reflective surface, such as a swimming pool or white plastic outdoor table, you may still be exposed to UV rays that bounce off these surfaces. As a general rule of thumb, anything that causes a glare in the Sun (e.g. snow, water, white surfaces) has the potential to increase your UV exposure by reflecting and scattering radiation from any direction - including beneath you.

 Parasols, Umbrellas, and Beach Tents These are all about providing shade.  There is still the risk from UV reflected off other surrounding surfaces, like water for example, so keep this in mind if you are beside a pool.

 2) Cover up with UV Protective Clothing & Swimwear

UV protective clothing, hats, and swimwear is a good way to protect your skin and, unlike sun lotions, it doesn't wear off or need to be re-applied. Certain fabrics, colors and styles are better at blocking UV radiation than others. UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) is the amount of sun blocked by fabric.

 Loose-fitting designs tends to give better protection against UV.  Long sleeved tops help to protect your arms.  Close-woven fabrics give the best UV protection. Less UV passes through tightly woven or knitted fabrics. Cotton and linen fabrics provide good protection. Heavier weight fabrics usually block more UV radiation than lighter fabrics of the same type. Darker colours give more protection from UV.

 Hats are very important in proper Sun protection as the face, neck and ears are common sites for skin cancer. Hats can provide excellent protection for your face, eyes, nose, lips, ears, neck, and even shoulders if the hat creates enough shade. The type of hat you choose will determine the level  Arm protectors fit snuggly around the arm from the hand up to the bicep area and stop uv damage.

3)  Wearing UV Protective Sunglasses

 Sunglasses are a great fashion accessory, they are also an easy way to prevent cataracts, eye cancer, and snow blindness. Some sunglasses offer better UV protection than others depending on the materials used, their shape, and fit. Because snow, water and higher altitude can dramatically increase UV strength and exposure, good quality well fitting UV-protective eye wear are especially essential if you are skiing, hiking, sailing, fishing or doing anything near water, snow or at higher altitudes.

 Large, wrap-around style frames may provide more efficient UV protection because they cover the entire eye-socket and block UV rays from sneaking in from the side or from below when reflected off of surfaces such as water or snow. This is especially important when doing activities around or on water or snow because UV is reflected from all directions off of the these surfaces.

Always check the sunglasses label to make sure they protect against UV-A and UV-B. The closer to 100% protection a pair of sunglasses provide, the safer your eyes will be from damage.

4) Using Broad Spectrum Sunscreen

 If you plan to be in the Sun then a good quality sunscreen should give you the protection you need. Sunscreen products come in all different formulations, but in terms of UV protection all you need to know is how well a product will block UVA AND UVB radiation. When a product blocks both UVA and UVB it is referred to as having 'broad spectrum' protection. Products marked only with an SPF value are only telling you how much UVB they block, and may leave you fully at risk of UVA exposure.

It's official Ladies- Grab your umbrella !!!!

According to a United States (US) study published in JAMA Dermatology, any fully-functioning handheld umbrella can block more than three-quarters of ultraviolet (UV) light on a sunny day.

 Black ones do even better, blocking at least 90 per cent of rays.

According to  Dr Suephy Chen and colleagues at Emory University in Atlanta.

The umbrellas blocked between 77 per cent and 99 per cent of UV radiation!!!!

The Origin of Santa Claus

1. Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra.  He died in 345 CE on December 6th.  He was only named a saint in the 19th century.

2. Nicholas was among the most senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and created the New Testament.  The text they produced portrayed Jews as “the children of the devil”[11] who sentenced Jesus to death.

3.  In 1087, a group of sailors who idolized Nicholas moved his bones from Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy.  There Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children's stockings with her gifts.  The Grandmother was ousted from her shrine at Bari, which became the center of the Nicholas cult.  Members of this group gave each other gifts during a pageant they conducted annually on the anniversary of Nicholas’ death, December 6.

 4. The Nicholas cult spread north until it was adopted by German and Celtic pagans.  These groups worshipped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw.  Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn.  When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.

 5. In a bid for pagan adherents in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas cult and taught that he did (and they should) distribute gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.

 6. In 1809, the novelist Washington Irving (most famous his The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle) wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History.  The satire refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.

 7. Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read Knickerbocker History, and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.  The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…”  Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.

 8.  The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast almost completed the modern picture of Santa Claus.  From 1862 through 1886, based on Moore’s poem, Nast drew more than 2,200 cartoon images of Santa for Harper’s Weekly.  Before Nast, Saint Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock.  Nast also gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children of the world.  All Santa was missing was his red outfit.

 9.  In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa.  Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face.  The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red.  And Santa was born – a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol.

Best Christmas Movies

If you've no where to go this Christmas, dont worry, I've compile a list of the best Christmas movies for you!!! If you could think of others - please feel free to include them here!!!!

1. The Santa Clause

My Favorite Christmas movie

When a man inadvertently kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place. Starring comedian Tim Allen, this is the first of a light-hearted Christmas trio of movies. Don’t waste your time (or money) watching the sequels – this is by far the best of the three Santa Clause films. I seriously love this movie!!!!

2. Nightmare before Christmas

When Jack Skellington, the bored Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, stumbles upon Christmastown, he decides to change Christmas into another Halloween. He kidnaps Santa Claus then delivers some alternative gifts to the children. A stop-motion animated classic directed by Tim Burton, it has all the dark and dazzling Burton magic you would expect, full of twisted characters and stunning imagery.

3. Home Alone

When 8-year-old Kevin McCallister is accidentally left behind while his family flies to France for Christmas, he has to defend his home against idiotic burglars. Child star Macaulay Culkin stars in this black comedy for kids that is super charming.

4. The Polar Express

On Christmas Eve, a doubting boy boards a magical train that's headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus's home. An animated film voiced by Tom Hanks, this is as spectacular to look at as it is touching and enchanting.

5. The Grinch

Inside a snowflake is the magical land of Whosville, populated by the ‘Whos’. All the Whos love Christmas – except for The Grinch, a nasty creature who plots to steal Christmas away forever. Jim Carey stars in this live action film that brings the Dr Seuss classic children’s book to life

6. Bad Santa (2003)

Rude, crude and surprisingly touching, Bad Santa is a dark comedy starring Billy Bob Thornton as a con man masquerading as a mall Santa. Out to rip off stores full of Christmas goodies, this bad Santa’s plans come unstuck when he befriends a troubled kid who needs his help.

Some fun Christmas facts

Christmas is just round the corner. Just cant resist lsiting some of the fun Christmas facts that you might not know:

Get your Vit C from the Christmas tree!!!!
It turns out that you can actually eat parts of your Christmas tree and that the needles from your tree are a great source of Vitamin C. If you want to tuck into your tree after Christmas then dry out the needles before grinding. You can then use the dried needles as a garnish on soups.

Santas Magic
Obviously we all know that Santa has magical powers, but researchers have calculated just how magical Father Christmas really is. The researchers found that in order to deliver all of his presents on Christmas Eve Santa would need to travel at 650 miles per second and visit 822 homes a second ....lol.......

Most expensive Christmas tree
You think Christmas ornaments are getting expensive?????  Well, hopefully hearing this shocking Christmas fact will help you feel a little better about your Christmas spending splurge. One man, Yves Piaget, spent a whopping £10.4 million on decorating his Christmas tree. The tree was lavishly decorated with 83 pieces of jewellery in Tokyo. Hmmm..... Wonder what Warren Buffet put on his tree????...lol...

Christmas Break-ups
You would think that Christmas is one of the best times of the year. Mistletoe, open fires and endless parties, gifts swapping, yet by looking at Facebook posts researchers has discovered that lots of couples break up two weeks before Christmas. In fact this period is the second most common time of the year for couples to split!!!! Shocking!!!!

Which fruit has the best source of Vit C, oranges?

I always thought it is ....but NOPE!!!!

A friend who's a self proclaim expert in this told me, gram for gram, kiwi fruit actually packs more Vit C than oranges!  they are also packed with fibre, potassium & Vit E. A single kiwi is almost enough for the suggested daily intake! So if you take 2, you're done for the day!

 

She told me kiwis are actually giant berries!!!!! Strange isnt it? But I do like them. I eat them by cutting them in half , use a small tea spoon to scoop the 'meat' out! like the sweet sourish, fresh taste. But try to get those from New Zealand.

Someone sent me a scary clip - it's about a farmer in China dipping the kiwi ( while it's still on the tree) into a bowl of "something" to enhance the growth !!! It looks really bad- the chemicals & all..... But then again we dont know how true this clip is, still better to be sure than sorry!