HEALTH
bits
Boost your brainpower by chewing gum
If you don’t have time for your morning coff ee or if you’re having an
especially busy morning and need to focus, try chewing a piece of gum
to improve alertness. Researchers at Coventry University have found
that chewing mint-flavoured gum can dramatically decrease feelings
of tiredness, while other studies have suggested that chewing gum can
improve memory by up to 35 percent.
Balance hormones with
spearmint tea
For ladies suff ering from hormonal problems,
including acne or facial hair, research has
shown that spearmint tea can be an eff ective
natural treatment that has anti-androgen
properties, which are often responsible for
hormone imbalances. Turkish researchers
found that drinking two cups of spearmint tea
a day reduced levels of male sex hormones in
the body, which could be good news for women
currently relying on medicine to help control
excessive hair growth or acne.
Mondays may be bad for your heart
Did you know heart attacks occur more often on Mondays than any other
day of the week? This fi nding comes from a European 10-year study that
found Mondays’ heart attack death toll is 20% higher than other days of
the week. The reasons for this are not clear, but some people consider it’s
stress associated with a return to work that causes the attacks.
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