Organic Food No More Nutritious Than Non-Organics

Organic produce and meat typically isn't any better for you than conventional food when it comes to vitamin and nutrient content, although it does generally reduce exposure to pesticides and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, according to a US study.

"People choose to buy organic foods for many different reasons. One of them is perceived health benefits," said Crystal Smith-Spangler, who led a team of researchers from Stanford University and the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care.

"Our patients, our families ask about, 'Well, are there health reasons to choose organic food in terms of nutritional content or human health outcomes?'"

She and her colleagues reviewed more than 200 studies that compared either the health of people who ate organic or conventional foods or, more commonly, nutrient and contaminant levels in the foods themselves.

The foods included organic and non-organic fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, poultry eggs and milk.

According to US Department of Agriculture standards, organic farms have to avoid the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics. Organic livestock must also have access to pastures during grazing season.

Many of the studies used, though, didn't specify their standards for what constituted "organic" food, which can cost as much as twice what conventional food costs, the researchers wrote in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Always Full = Positive Thinking

Take it from this picture, that logical and scientific minds alike would agree, that no matter what it is, the glass is always full - be it half full of water and half full of air. 

The glass has never been empty, or half empty, if that's the case, then there is a vacuum we cannot account for. 

Morons would suggest that if you see the glass always full or half empty, you're either in denial or delusional, do NOT believe them! 

They would rather have you see it as half of something they cannot comprehend or be optimistic/pessimistic about, do NOT let them bring you down to your level.

The glass is ALWAYS FULL is the best way to think positively, no matter what you do! 

Which Is The Right Camera For You?

Your camera doesn’t matter. 

If you can shoot well, all you need is a disposable, toy camera or a camera phone to create great work. If you’re not talented, it doesn’t matter if you buy a Nikon D3X or Canon EOS 1D. Your work will still be uninspired.

It’s always better to spend your time and money on learning art and photography, not by spending it on more cameras. I’ve seen friends who have purchased very high-end cameras but do not know how to operate any of the great functions on the camera. Here are a few factors you should look at.

PURPOSE OF BUYING

If you are not shooting Tyra Banks, there is absolutely no reason for an amateur to purchase a camera system that is worth more than maybe $5000? $10000? Unless you are rich, then I have nothing to say.

If you just want to purchase a camera for your daily purposes or traveling, then perhaps it is recommendable to get something light/small, easy to fit into your bag. Through some photography guidance, you still are able to achieve great award winning shots while enjoying the convenience of having a light-weighted camera. 

And if you are a tech geek or photography lover like me, no harm investing slightly more in better cameras/DSLR to obtain better functionalities and effects. 

SPECIFICATION - THE MEGAPIXEL MYTH

Many people always think buying the camera with the highest MEGA PIXEL will get you the best picture. Today, even the cheapest cameras have at least 5 or 6 MP, which enough for any size print. Sharpness depends more on your photographic skill than the number of megapixels, because most people’s sloppy technique or subject motion blurs the image more than the width of a microscopic pixel. There are more than things to look at such as lens, sensor, flashes and memory storage capability. 

Comfort & Liking

Hold the camera and see if you like the grip. Or even try taking a few shots to hear if you like the shutter sound. Compare and contrast different cameras. You must “like” your cameras in order to produce great award winning pictures. Be proud of your chosen camera. 

Here are some of the cute and favorite gadgets I would to introduce to everyone.

Canon G12

Pros: 10MP sensor with superior image quality in low light and higher ISO values, an optical viewfinder, a fully articulated LCD monitor, many dedicated external controls, Raw format, reasonably fast autofocus even in low light, and a powerful flash. 

Cons: Sluggish at times. Controls might be difficult. 

Overall a great traveling toy!

Fujifilm FinePix X100

Featuring a retro design that bears more than a passing resemblance to the Leica M-series, the X100 is a blend of old and new, bringing together a very traditional control system with some distinctly cutting edge features. At the heart of the X100 is a 12.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, a 23mm fixed focal length F/2 lens, and a newly developed Hybrid Viewfinder. This cleverly combines an optical viewfinder and an electronic viewfinder together, with the former similar to those found in rangefinder-type film cameras but overlaid with vital shooting information. 

Retro….but kinda exp

Rollei Telephoto Lens for iPhone 4

Rollei has announced an add-on telephoto conversion lens for the Apple iPhone 4. With an angle of view of 16°, the manual-focus Rollei telephoto lens allows the iPhone camera to capture distant subjects in great detail. Focusing is by way of a traditional focus ring, and is helped by a distance scale that goes from 3m to infinity, with markings at 10m, 20m, 30m and 40m.

Leica M9

Buying Leica is like buying Hermes Birkin Bag instead of a prada bag. This is so far the most expensive camera system I know and adore.

This system (camera + lens) can worth more than $20000. The brand is famous for their M series for their small form factor, light weight and minimalist design.

You might want to check out their website to find out why their camera so expensive: http://us.leica-camera.com/home/

*Leica is not just a camera it’s a way of life.

Choosing a camera is important because it can affect how you produce your pictures. A pricey camera must comes with a great skill set. There is no harm or shame in buying a cheap non-DSLR camera as you still can produce awesome looking pictures.

Always remember… Don’t blame it on your camera. Blame it on you.

Garlic

Adding garlic to chicken pate could reduce the chances of getting food poisoning, research indicates.

Scientists have found a compound in garlic 100 times more effective at fighting common type of bacteria tha causes food poisoning, called Campylobacter, than two types of antibiotic.

Campylobacter is commonly found both on the surface of poultry and inside the flesh. Cases of related food poisoning have been rising in recent years, due partly to an increasing fondness for serving 'pink' chicken liver pate.

Now researchers at Washington State University in the US have found that a compound derived from garlic, called diallyl sulphide, is particularly effective at penetrating the slimy film that protects colonies of Campylobacter.

They found that, in a laboratory setting, it was 100 times more effective than the antibiotics erythromycin and ciprofloxacin, and would often work in "a fraction of the time".

Barbara Rasco, associate professor of food science, said,"Diallyl sulphide could make many foods safer to eat. It can be used to clean food preparation surfaces and as a preservative in packaged foods like potato and pasta salads, coleslaw and deli meats."

The study is published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. However, the authors said that while eating garlic was generally a healthy thing to do, they could not be sure it would help prevent Campylobacter-related food poisoning.

There were 18 outbreaks of Campylobacter poisoning reported last year, causing 443 people to fall ill. Most were from eating out. There are certain to be many more unreported cases from normal kitchen cooking.

Levels of Campylobacter in most raw chicken are high, so it's really important that chefs cook livers thoroughly to kill any bacteria, even if recipes call for them to be seared and left pink in the middle.

 

The only way of ensuring the pate or parfait will be safe to serve to guests or customers, is by cooking the livers the whole way through.

However, the article didn't conclude whether or not diallyl sulphide, while effective against Campylobacter poisoning, was any good against other types of food poisoning like Vibrio, Salmonella or Shigella-related food poisonings.

With more research in the future, I'm confident that researchers will be able to find more interesting compounds that will be organically effective against these types of food-poisoning bacteria.

How to Survive the 10 Grueling Levels of Office Hell

Even those of us that love our jobs can have days where office life just seems like a terrible punishment from the beyond. If your job is crushing your soul piece by piece, here are some ways you can deal with the pain and suffering of office life.]

10. The Mild Annoyance of Eating at Work

The need to eat at the office doesn't really feel like hell—at least not the eternal-pain-and-agony kind. It's more like the constant splinter in your skin that just keeps annoying you all day. You have to deal with the always-unappealing brown bag lunch, eat at your desk, and deal with nasty coworkers stealing your food. Of course, there are ways to deal with this problem—specifically, make your brown bag lunch more appealing, make it something that's keyboard friendly, and if you really can't deal with the office thieves...just stick some laxatives in the food and call it a day. 

9. The Challenge of Staying Awake

The next level of hell, slightly more annoying than food, is the sheer boredom of your job. Between meetings, mundane tasks, and listening to your coworker's all-to-detailed story about her cat Mittens, it's like your job is trying to put you to sleep. There are a few things you can do to help keep yourself awake, both at your desk and during excruciatingly boring meetings, but you can also give into the temptation and sneak yourself a nap at work. Power naps are the best way to go, and with a few strategies, you should be able to get through a quick nap without anyone the wiser.

8. The Constant Paranoia of Being Monitored

Whether your office has a simple web filter on your computer or they're monitoring your every move, it can make life very difficult. Here's how to tell if you're being monitored at work, and what to do about it if you are. And if its web filters that are the problem, you can always bypass them with your own proxy server, or by grabbing some portable apps and turning a thumb drive into a tiny privacy toolkit to browse without a trace.

7. The Temptation of Constant Distractions

There's always something nagging at you to ignore your work and do something to take your mind off the slave driving, whether it be browsing the web, talking with a coworker, or push notifications from all directions. If you really want to focus while you work, we've got some tips to help you out. If you can't figure out exactly what's distracting you all day, I really recommend using a time tracking program like RescueTime to find out—it'll make it a lot easier to crush those distractions once and for all.

6. The Exhaustion of Long Hours

If you haven't actually counted how many hours you work in a week, it's time to start—and if that number's over 40, you may have a problem. Not only is it exhausting, but it can even lead to health problems like depression, so you need to take charge. At the end of the day, go the f**k home. If you need more motivation than that, there are a few things you can do to make leaving your work behind easier, too.

5. The Sacrifice of a Not Getting Paid

You'd think a hellacious office job would at least pay well, but sadly, that's just not the case. If you're unhappy with the money you're making—and remember, the new salary happiness tipping point is about $50,000—it's time to see if you can get a raise. Don't be tough, be honest, and do your homework beforehand. You're a lot more likely to get paid what you're worth with a well thought out negotiation than going in angry.

4. The Nagging Pain of RSI

You sit at a desk all day, and not only is it making you fat, but it's destroying your eyes, wrists, back, and the rest of your body, slowly and meticulously. The best thing you can do? Take some time to ergonomically optimize your workspace and change your habits for pain-free office work. And if you're having a problem with eye strain, there are a few things you can do in that area too—including trying out these Lifehacker-tested computer glasses.

3. The Stress of Problematic Coworkers

Distracting coworkers is a mild annoyance, but the truly difficult people are a whole new level of hell. You can't change other people, so the best thing you can do is focus on your own triggers to deal with difficult people. And, if things get really out of hand, you can complain about them to management without getting them in trouble. Of course, you could always just tell them you don't like them, too (without being an asshole).

2. The Agony of a Horrible Boss

If your office is hell, your boss is the devil, slowly driving you into madness faster than everything else. Maybe he steals your ideas, or maybe you just dream about killing them because they're so bad at managing. We've talked a lot about how to deal with every kind of crazy boss, and how to effectively complain about them on the off chance you can actually get them to change.

1. The Frustration of Quitting with Your Sanity Intact

Deep in the bowels of office hell, the thing that nags you the most as you endure hours and hours of torture, is whether your job is actually so bad that you should quit. After all, jobs aren't growing on trees these days. If you've gotten so miserable that you just can't survive your job anymore, it may be time to quit. Take some time to prepare yourself for the jump, and make sure you do it with all your contacts and class intact—you may hate everyone at your current office, but they can still be helpful to you in the future (and they're a lot less horrible when you aren't with them all day long). Lastly, if you're looking to get out of the office gig entirely and start freelancing, you may want to wait a bit—you can start freelancing without quitting to see if it's really right for you—because sometimes, it's really, really not, and being jobless is an entirely new type of hell.

If you have any of your own tips for dealing with a hellacious job, be sure to share them in the comments section below. And for those of you that love your job...why don't you just go sit in the corner quietly, alright?

Hygiene Claims Just Won't Wash

Proper hand washing is key for removing unseen bacteria.

Using a hand dryer after washing your hands “is so unhygienic that it might be better to not wash at all”, according to The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper said that the moisture left after only partially drying your hands with an electric dryer makes the spread of bacteria more likely.

The news comes from a laboratory study which compared different hand-drying techniques in 14 volunteers who washed their hands in standard ways. It suggested that ultra-rapid hand dryers and conventional warm-air hand dryers removed similar amounts of bacteria from the hands as long as the dryers were used for an adequate length of time. It also suggested that rubbing your hands together while drying them may release more bacteria from the surface of the skin after washing. These results do not mean that using hand dryers is “unhygienic”, or that not washing your hands is better.

Effective hand washing is very important for reducing the transfer of bacterial and viral infections, so studies identifying the best hand hygiene methods are useful. Larger studies, and studies under normal hand-washing conditions, would be helpful to confirm the findings of this study. While the Telegraph seems to imply that avoiding hand washing may be a better idea, this is unlikely to be the case, and the best option is likely to be simply washing and drying your hands thoroughly.

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Bradford and the Microbiology Department of Dyson Limited. The study was also funded by Dyson Limited, the company that manufactures the ultra-rapid hand dryer tested in the study. It was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Applied Microbiology.

This research was reported by the Daily Express and The Daily Telegraph. The Express suggests that “the safest options are paper towels or modern dryers that rapidly strip off moisture”, but the study suggests conventional warm-air dryers can perform as well as these methods if the hands are dried for the full amount of time that the airflow continues. The Telegraph said that using a hand dryer after washing your hands “is so unhygienic that it might be better to not wash at all”. This statement is not supported by this study, which did not assess the amount of bacteria on the hands without any hand washing.

What kind of research was this?

This laboratory study in human volunteers compared a conventional warm-air hand dryer with the Dyson Airblade, a newer ultra-rapid hand dryer manufactured by the company that funded the study. It was specifically interested in whether the dryers differed in how much bacteria they left on the hands, which could be transferred to other surfaces. The researchers were also interested in whether rubbing hands during drying affected the amount of bacteria left on the hands that could be transferred.

The researchers reported that although certain aspects of hand washing (such as types of antibacterial handwash used or hand-washing techniques) have been extensively studied, less research has looked at the contribution of hand drying to the effectiveness of hand washing.

The study used standardised laboratory conditions, and each volunteer used each of the drying methods, with the different methods tested in a random order. These were appropriate methods for testing the effects of the different hand dryers. The effects of the dryers in real-life situations, where conditions are not as controlled, may differ to some extent.

What did the research involve?

Two types of warm-air hand dryer were studied in this research, one operated with a push button and one automatic, as these are typical of hand dryers in common use. These dryers blow warm air downwards to dry the hands, which are also rubbed under the airstream. The manual dryer stays on for 30 seconds and the automatic dryer for 35 seconds.

The study compared the two warm-air hand dryers to an ultra-rapid dryer. The researchers say the ultra-rapid dryer uses two high-pressure “knives” of filtered room-temperature air to blow water off the hands, which are held apart and drawn through the airstream. The manufacturer’s recommended drying time for this dryer is 10 seconds. New dryers were used for this test to avoid any microbial contamination in a used dryer being transferred to the hands.

The researchers recruited 14 adult volunteers to take part in their two-part study. In the first part, volunteers handled fresh raw chicken and then washed their hands in a standard way using an unmedicated liquid soap. They then dried their hands in a variety of ways with conventional warm-air hand dryers, the newer ultra-rapid hand dryer or by allowing the hands to air-dry naturally.

The conventional driers were used either for 10 seconds (the same time as the ultra-rapid drier) or for their recommended length of drying time (30 or 35 seconds, the full length of time the airflow remained on after a single activation). Each volunteer used each drying method on a separate occasion, and the order in which they used the different methods was randomly assigned. After drying, volunteers pressed their fingertips onto sterile foil, and tests were carried out to assess the number of bacteria transferred.

The second part of the study aimed to see whether hand rubbing affected the results of hand washing and drying. In contrast to the first part of the study, it did not use deliberate contamination of the hands with raw meat, and soap was not used during hand washing as the researchers thought it might hide the effects of hand rubbing. This part of the study compared the two conventional warm-air hand dryers (with and without hand rubbing), the newer ultra-rapid hand dryer, and drying the hands with paper towels. All drying methods were used for 15 seconds. The amount of bacteria on palms, middle of the fingers and fingertips before and after washing and drying was compared for the different washing methods.

People with sores or cuts on their hands were not eligible to participate, nor were people who were being treated for skin problems or who had recently used antibiotics or antibiotic creams, which are used to kill bacteria.

What were the basic results?

In the first part of the study, the researchers found that the average amount of bacteria transferred to the foil sheets after the ultra-rapid dryer was lower than after use of the conventional warm-air hand dryers used for 10 seconds or unassisted air drying for 10 seconds. There was no statistically significant difference in bacterial transfer after using the conventional dryers for 10 seconds and air drying hands for 10 seconds.

Using the conventional warm-air hand driers for their recommended amount of time (30-35 seconds) improved their performance, and the levels of bacteria transferred after drying in this way were not significantly different from after using the ultra-rapid dryer.

In the second part of the study, the researchers found that if people rubbed their hands while using the conventional hand driers for 15 seconds, fewer bacteria were removed than if they kept their hands still during drying. If the hands were kept still while using the conventional dryers, the amount of bacteria removed was similar to the amount removed using the ultra-rapid drier for all regions of the hand tested.

Using paper towels to dry the hands removed a similar amount of bacteria from the middle of the fingers as using the dryers, and removed more bacteria from the fingertips than the dryers, although it was not clear whether this difference was statistically significant.

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers concluded that effective hand drying is important to reduce the transfer of remaining bacteria from the hands onto other surfaces after hand washing. They say that rubbing hands during warm-air hand drying removes the benefits of hand washing.

They also suggest that the ultra-rapid hand dryer, manufactured by the company that funded this study, was “superior” to the warm-air dryers. They say that its faster drying time means that people are more likely to dry their hands, and therefore reduces bacterial spread.

Conclusion

Overall, this study suggests that newer ultra-rapid air dryers and conventional warm-air hand dryers perform similarly if used for the recommended lengths of time. It also suggests that rubbing hands together while using a conventional warm-air dryer may reduce the effects of hand washing. There are a few points to note:

• New hand dryers were used in this study, and volunteers used standard methods of hand contamination, hand washing and drying. This is an appropriate way to compare the potential effects of different hand dryers. However, these conditions may not be representative of what happens when people wash and dry their hands in real-life settings.

• The ultra-rapid hand dryer was only better than the conventional warm-air hand dryers if the latter were used for shorter periods than intended by the manufacturers (10 seconds as opposed to 30-35 seconds). This suggests that, for maximum effect, the hands should be left under the drying airstream of warm-air dryers for the full length of drying time.

• It was unclear whether researchers were blinded to which hand-drying method the subjects used. Ideally, the researchers would not have known which drying method was used to provide each sample being tested for bacteria.

• Many bacteria are harmless. However, the type of bacteria found on the hands, and therefore whether they might be harmful, was not assessed in the study.

• The second part of the study, which assessed the effects of hand rubbing, only used the conventional driers for 15 seconds. Had they been used for the recommended 30-35 seconds, the results might have been different.

• The study was relatively small. For each drying method, there was variation between individuals in the amount of bacteria transferred after hand drying. Testing in larger groups of people would be helpful to confirm results.

• New hand dryers were used in this study, so any bacteria found on the hands after drying would have come from the hands themselves or contact with meat in the first part of the study, not the dryer.

This study does not suggest that you are better off not washing your hands than using a hand dryer. It did not compare the amount of bacteria on the hands without any washing and after washing and drying. 

Effective hand washing is very important to reduce the risk of passing on infectious agents, so studies looking at the best way to reduce bacterial transfer are useful.

Understanding The 'Sneeze Effect'

Every time you flush the toilet, an invisible cloud of bacteria is projected out of the bowl to contaminate nearby surfaces.

Here is a little-known fact: Every time you flush the toilet, an invisible cloud of dirty water and fecal bacteria is projected out of the bowl to land on every exposed nearby surface. This includes the toilet seat, toilet paper, seat covers, handles and restroom floor up to an area of eight feet out. 

Not alarmed yet? This spread of bacteria can survive for up to 24 hours and cover the entire washroom in less than a minute.

This aerosol spray of bacteria all over the washroom with every flush was documented in a study by Dr Charles Gerba, and is known as the "Sneeze Effect."

The study found that large numbers of bacteria and viruses remain in the toilet bowl even after persistent flushing, due to the gradual absorption of micro-organisms into the porcelain surfaces of the bowl with each flush.

This results in a build-up of bacteria and viruses with regular usage, and the droplets produced subsequently by the flushing of toilets harbour these harmful bacteria and contaminate the surrounding area.

The detected to fall out onto restroom surfaces indicates they remain airborne long enough to settle on surfaces throughout the bathroom. Hence, there is a very real possibility that a person may acquire an infection from the aerosol produced by a toilet.

Germ hot-spots

Washrooms can contain harmful bacteria such as Salmonella, which can cause food poisoning; Streptococcus, which can cause throat infections; and Escherichia Coli, which is known to cause abdominal pain and diarrhea. 

Other commonly found bacteria include Hepatitis A and common cold and flu germs.

These bacteria can be found on the major 'hots-pots' of any washroom: toilet seats, walls, flush handles, taps, wash basins and door knobs.

The average person visits the toilet at least 3 times a day - that is about 1,200 times exposure to cross-contamination per year and thus potentially risk falling sick.

For public washrooms with heavy traffic, there is an increased risk of spreading unwanted viruses among the population.

Reduce the hygiene risks in your washroom

Washroom hygiene requires round the clock sanitation that can effectively prevent the spread of harmful bacteria.

Washrooms that are not sanitised properly become cross-contamination hot-spots that will quicken the spread of illness.

Read on below for pointers to how to keep your restroom germ-free.

Cubicle Hygiene

Invest in cubicle hygiene products such as toilet seat cleaners and surface sanitisers. Alcohol wipes and disinfectants work well, or simply use hot water and bleach.

Feminine Care

Ensure that you have a proper system in place for the disposal of feminine and nappy waste.

Floor Care

Protect the flooring with mats which can trap and retain dirt entering the washroom, as well as reducing slipping accidents.

Hand Hygiene

Bacteria often spreads into unwanted areas simply because people aren't washing their hands. After going to the loo, reduce the spread of disease and illness by engaging in some good hand hygiene.

Hand Dryers

Think of what the hand-dryer does, it sucks in air from the surrounding and blows it through a filter and onto your hands to dry it. Sure there is a warmer to warm the air, so that it drys your hands. 

Now think about where the warmer has been positioned, in the washroom itself. You have to remember that water (aka water mixed with urine) will evaporate into the air in a washroom. How else do you think the washrooms dry?

Now all this evaporate is circulating the air in the washroom. When you activate the dryer, the evaporate gets sucked into the hand-dryer and blown onto your hands. 

If you remove the filters from the hand-dryers, they are yellow. Why do you think they are yellow? Now think about that yellow filter, filtering air that blows onto your hands to dry it. 

Avoid using hand-dryers at all cost, and stick to a few pieces of paper towel to dry your hands.

Disgusting enough?