Alcohol's Effects on the Body and Guidelines for alcohol consumption

When people drink alcohol, it travels through the body in their bloodstream. Alcohol reaches every organ and distributes throughout the water in our bodies. Organs such as the brain, which contain a lot of water and need an ample blood supply to work, are particularly affected by alcohol. Other organs, including the liver, the heart, the pancreas, and the kidneys, are also affected by alcohol within minutes after it enters the bloodstream.

However sexist it may sound, it's a fact that alcohol affects women more quickly than men:

Women are generally smaller and weigh less than men, and have less tissue to absorb alcohol.
Women's bodies are made up of more fat and less water than men's. So if a man and a woman are the same size and drink the same amount, the alcohol is stronger in the woman's blood than in the man’s and she will get drunk more quickly and feel the effects for longer.
Women have lower levels of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol, so alcohol will stay in their system longer and have a greater effect.
Women also feel the effects of alcohol more quickly than normal just before a period and during ovulation. The contraceptive pill can have the opposite effect – it takes longer for the alcohol to leave the body and a woman may drink more than she realises before she feels the effects.
Women who drink heavily on a regular basis are more likely than men to damage their health. That's why the recommended drinking guidelines are different for men and women.


For men:

Reduce your long-term health risks by drinking no more than:

Three standard drinks a day and no more than fifteen standard drinks in any one week. Sticking to this level or below will reduce the risk of harm from alcohol related injury or disease over your lifetime.
avoid drinking more than five standard drinks in any one session.  This reduces the risk of alcohol related harm or injury on a single occasion.

a minimum of two alcohol-free days in any one week

For women:

Reduce your long-term health risks by drinking no more than:

Two standard drinks a day and no more than ten standard drinks in any one week.  Sticking to this level or below will reduce the risk of harm from alcohol related injury or disease over your lifetime.
avoid drinking more than four standard drinks in any one session.  This reduces the risk of alcohol related harm or injury on a single occasion.

a minimum of two alcohol-free days in any one week

Ways to beat boredom in your relationship

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/Ways-to-beat-boredom-in-your-relationship/articleshow/35844789.cms

If you've been in a relationship too long, boredom is bound to creep in at some point. Here's how to keep boredom away from your love

Let's be practical, just because you love each other does not mean that it doesn't get boring between the two of you, in fact, many smooth sailing relationships can fall prey to boredom and go kaput.

Here are some fun ideas you can use to bring the spark back in.

1. Learn something new, that neither of you have ever done. It could be dance classes or even paragliding, snorkeling, rifle shooting or anything! Just has to be something the two of you learn from scratch together. It will make you feel like a team and strengthen your bond.

2. Take to the road and go someplace new. Traveling and holidaying together can reinvent your relationship like nothing else. And what better way to rediscover love than taking a road trip and creating new memories! Instead of flying out to some exotic place, the two of you could just drive down to the nearest holiday spot. The journey should be just as much fun as the actual vacation would be.

3. You might be bored of hanging out with the same circle of friends, its either your friends or his/hers that you make plans with on every weekend. Well, this time try making new friends, getting to know a newer set of people. You will together have a chance to share the lives of strangers.

4. Try staying away from each other for a bit - for real! Just take a weekend off from each other - no texts no calls no mails either - and when you find yourself missing your favourite person, you might want to just run back to them. You will appreciate why you love them.

5. Read the same book and have a discussion over it - a lot of couples with a long healthy relationship do this to keep things interesting. When you find it hard to strike up a conversation, steer clear of the mundane everyday life details of each others' lives and get into a hot discussion about something you both really feel strongly about

Top 10 foods to reduce belly fat

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/Top-10-foods-to-reduce-belly-fat/articleshow/20941670.cms

A bloated stomach not only hampers your personality but also makes you uncomfortable.

The best way to get rid of such a disgruntled belly is by following a low-calorie diet and practising regular exercise. Nutritionist and Freelance Writer at Travellers Dietition - Kara Landau shares a list of food that aids in getting a flat stomach

 1: Almonds

This tiny food is not only rich in skin-boosting vitamin E and protein, but their richness in fibre content helps you to stay full for a longer duration. Even though they are slightly high in calories but that will not contribute to belly fat, so keep swapping a handful of almonds as snacks to curb your hunger.

 2: Watermelon

The name says it all - this giant fruit contains 82 percent water, which helps to keep you full for a longer duration and also removes excess sodium present in the body. This super sweet fruit, is also rich in vitamin C and contains barely 100 calories in one cup. So start eating this delicious fruit as a snack, if you wish to have a body like your favourite celeb.

 3: Beans

Consuming means on a regular basis helps to get rid of the body fat, develop body muscles and improves digestion. Beans also help to feel full for a longer duration, thus avoiding over indulgence. Add beans to your diet, if you want your middle to be sexy and firm.

 4: Green leafy vegetable

Want to get a flat tummy instantly? Then fill for plate with green leafy vegetables. All types of green leafy vegetables are extremely low in calories, full of fibre and offer several vital vitamins and minerals that help to ease water retention without causing the bloating and tummy discomfort.

 5: Cucumber

Cucumber is an extremely refreshing and low-calorie food. They contain approximately 96 percent water content, which makes it a cooling food. One full cucumber contains just 45 calories, making it sexy stomach food.

 6: Avocado

This is a truly magic fruit, due to their richness in various vital nutrients. Avocado is rich in fibre, which helps to keep hunger at bay and the presence of monounsaturated fatty acids helps to burn belly fat easily.

 7: Oats

The best way to start your journey to sexy stomach is by having oats for your breakfast. Oats are filling and thus help you to lose weight. Besides, it is also low in calorie and provides energy to your body slowly. It is a very good source to provide energy to your body all throughout the day, which keeps you feeling fuller for longer and can even lower your cholesterol.

 8: Water

The best way to avoid stomach bloat is by keeping yourself very well hydrated. Drinking ample amounts of water helps to flush excess fluid and toxins out of your system.

 9: Apples

Apples are packed with fibre, which makes your belly feel full. Thus, avoiding over eating; besides it also fills your body with maximum nutrients.

 10: Peppermint

Peppermint has great healing and calming digestive properties. It is also good for removing belly fat. The easiest way to do this is to drink it in tea form. Besides, it also helps in cleansing your skin.

10 Leadership Nuggets from Maya Angelou

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.*
Maya Angelou has passed and I'm left with a feeling of deep sadness but also with gratitude. Reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as a young person had a profound impact on me, as she wrote about things I'd never experienced and yet I was the same age as those in the book. Like all of her work, it challenged me, expanded my mind and was relatable and yet unknowable.
To see her speak was to see a woman with such presence, such depth - the embodiment of dignity and inner strength. She commanded attention - when she spoke you simply couldn't look away.
Her legacy is strong and shall provide inspiration for years to come, as she was both a woman of her time and also timeless.
She has spoken and written so many important words, but here are 10 of my favorite short quotes:
1. The only thing is, people have to develop courage. It is most important of all the virtues. Because without courage, you can't practice any other virtues consistently.
2. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
3. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
4. Those of us who submitted or surrendered our ideas and dreams and identities to the 'leaders' must take back our rights, our identities, our responsibilities.
5. If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.
6. All of us knows, not what is expedient, not what is going to make us popular, not what the policy is, or the company policy - but in truth each of us knows what is the right thing to do. And that's how I am guided.
7. I'm convinced of this: Good done anywhere is good done everywhere. For a change, start by speaking to people rather than walking by them like they're stones that don't matter. As long as you're breathing, it's never too late to do some good.
8. All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened.
9. If you are always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be
10. Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.
As usual, I've found that 10 was not enough. Here are 8 more:
11. The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.
12. One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.
13. Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
14. Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.
15. I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.
16. I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.
17. At 50, I began to know who I was. It was like waking up to myself.
18. How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
Maya Angeou embraced life and gave a lesson in how to do that well:

What is a fear of living? It's being preeminently afraid of dying. It is not doing what you came here to do, out of timidity and spinelessness. The antidote is to take full responsibility for yourself - for the time you take up and the space you occupy. If you don't know what you're here to do, then just do some good.

When Nelson Mandela passed, Maya Angelou tweeted: "We thank him for coming, we thank him for teaching, we thank him for loving us." Now we can say the same thing about Maya Angelou herself.



Which are your favorites? Are there others that you like? I'd love to hear how reading Maya Angelou's work has touched you. Share your thoughts below or let me know via Twitter - I'm @lucymarcus
*This verse is from Still I Rise. Take a moment to read the whole thing - you won't regret it.
Photo by Michael Brennan/Getty Images
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