Ikaria-1...

 

The inhabitants of this tiny Greek island live so long. 

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Almost every ancestor of Alekos Pylaras has lived past 100. His aunt Despoinou died at 125. “If you had come to Ikaria two days earlier, you would have met my other aunt, Xeni. She was 107.”  

Forty miles off the European coast of Turkey, in Greece’s eastern Aegean Sea, there is an island named Ikaria where, if you are in your 30s, you’re still a child, and if you are in your 90s, even then you could have a long road ahead. 

Living to 100 is commonplace on Ikaria, and one in three inhabitants lives past the age of 90. Because of this, the island is considered a world “blue-zone”—a designation for places of exceptional longevity, and one of only four across the globe.   Just a "young' thought.

Hygiene...

 

In the words of the Harvard University researcher, there is no specific time when we should shower, but for most people, several times a week is enough. In fact, he also assured that it is necessary to reduce showers to less than five minutes focused on the groin and armpits.

Of course, if the person is dirty or sweaty for other reasons, the ideal is to shower as soon as we feel that our body odor has soured a little.

However, when it comes to health concerns, it’s not at all clear that a daily shower accomplishes much. In fact, a daily shower may even be detrimental to your health,» the doctor wrote in his article.

Precisely, he assures that for the skin to be healthy, it needs to maintain a layer of fat and a balance of bacteria and microorganisms, which are lost when washing and scrubbing the body with hot water, as happens in all showers.

Just a "washable" thought.

Privacy...

 

Patience...

 

Speed kills," goes the saying. In times of crisis, it can feel like every situation is an emergency, and the choice to speed things up can actually lead to more chaos and confusion. 
When people get sucked into a vortex of urgent and impulsive decision making without slowing things down, often things get worse, not better.

Exercising a higher level of patience, processing your emotions, and getting varied input from different people in the organization will actually produce better outcomes in the long term.In one 2012 study, researchers found that people exhibiting patience made more progress toward their goals and were more satisfied when they achieved them (particularly if those goals were difficult) compared with less patient people. 

Other research also found that patient people tend to experience less depression and negative emotions and can cope better with stressful situations. 

Additionally, they feel more gratitude, more connection to others, and experience a greater sense of abundance.

Just a thought.

Forgiveness...

 

Have you ever been hurt by the actions or words of someone at work? Nearly everyone has. Anger, bitterness, anxiety, or even vengeance are common behaviors that come with being stabbed in the back or thrown under the bus. But if these feelings linger and persist, it can have devastating consequences for the one holding the grudge.

In one research study involving more than 200 employees, forgiveness was "linked to increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, and fewer mental and physical health problems, such as sadness and headaches."

When we learn and master this virtuous practice as an organizational value, forgiveness can be an effective way to restore trust and set things right with colleagues and bosses alike so you're running on all cylinders again.

Forgiveness also extends outwardly to impact others not involved in the conflict. When colleagues observe others practicing forgiveness, research says it often "fosters positive emotions that can improve decision making, cognitive functioning, and the quality of relationships."    Just a thought.

Kindness...

 

Many people are good at being kind to others but will neglect to be kind to themselves. Science now tells us that being kind to yourself is good for your mental health.

Psychologists in England conducted a study by examining brain scans of over a thousand people who practiced kindness. They found that when you're being kind towards yourself, certain regions of your brain light up like a Christmas tree -- as if receiving kindness from others or giving kindness to someone else.

Science says you can literally train your brain to be happy and optimistic if you journal three things daily for which you are grateful, and you do it for 21 days in a row. According to the research, when you raise your level of positivity, your brain performs significantly better than when negative, neutral, or stressed.  Just a thought.

Beets...

 

Beet is a vegetable of reddish color with a peculiar flavor, its scientific name ‘Beta Vulgaris’. 

Beets are a source of vitamin C, potassium and folic acid, rich in phosphorus, and provide a low amount of calories to the organism. In addition,  its content in vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6; and minerals such as iron and iodine.

All these good properties of beet generate a series of an ideal vegetable for heart health, due to its good proportion of antioxidants, which stimulate cardiovascular well-being, help cleanse the blood and improve the functioning of blood vessels.

Different scientific studies have been able to confirm the virtues of beet juice to promote cerebral blood flow and stimulate the area of the brain responsible for memory or cognitive processes.

In addition, it is also help to improve the defenses and enhance the function of the immune system. 

Beet is also a superfood its composition rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and carbohydrates is ideal to provide the energy we need during the day to develop daily activities.

Goal ..

 

What strategy are we using to combat Covid infection.

One plausible goal is to focus on minimizing COVID-19’s impact on hospitals. A collapsed health-care system means more people will die, not just of COVID-19 but from other treatable diseases and injuries. 

Elsewhere in the world, like in the U.K. and Germany, leaders have explicitly tied their policies to containing hospitalizations rather than all cases. But in addition to hospitalizations, Gounder suggests we should also consider the risk of long COVID. 

“I think for people that is the big question. We just don’t know enough,” she says. Preliminary data suggest vaccines do reduce the risk of long COVID, but exactly how much is unclear given the uncertainties in diagnosing it.

Once we’ve defined what we are trying to prevent, we can define thresholds for lifting and, if necessary, reinstating COVID-19 measures. This can actually be quite tricky if the goal is minimizing hospitalizations, a lagging indicator that gives you a picture of the past rather than the present. 

By the time hospitalizations start to rise, a bigger increase may already be baked in with people already infected but not yet sick enough to see a doctor. What to track instead?

Ikaria-2...

 

Ikariots typical weekly menu reads like a how-to guide for the popular Mediterranean diet: Olive oil 5–7 times a week, fruits and vegetables 4–5 times per week, fish twice, meat once, and a cup of coffee and a glass of wine on either end of their day—essentially moderation as a form of cultural expression. 

Eighty-five percent of the island’s residents engage in moderate physical activity, taking long walks or working the fields. Half of them observe religious fastings, requiring long periods without eating meat and dairy at certain times of the year, and most take a midday siesta. 

Men between 65 and 99 report at least moderate self-confidence during sex, and depression is somewhat exotic. 

Average Ikariots also share strong communal bonds and a disregard for money, even tourist money (a shocking contrast to other Greek islands like Mykonos, 90 minutes away by ferry, which is marketed as a hotspot for billionaires and the upper crust).

Ikariots throw themselves into their world-renowned “panigiria,” which are traditional feasts that celebrate the name days of Christian Orthodox saints or other religious holidays and take place all around the year.  . 

Ikaria-3 ..

 

Siegfried Hekimi, a biology professor at McGill University, says he is impressed not only by the fact that Ikariots live longer, but that they also look much younger. Their younger appearance is what seems to predict whether they will live longer. 

As we get older we are ravaged by the loss of homeostasis, the ability of our body to restore a functional, stable, internal environment. “This gradual loss is also what kills you when it becomes very severe at an old age,” 

When people look young for their age, it means their rate of loss of good homeostasis is slower than average, he continues. “Which suggests it will take a longer time for the processes to be so degraded that they will kill you. Thus, the logical conclusion is that, on average, people who look good for their age will live longer than people who look worse at the same age.”