A recent research at the University of Missouri has discovered that an individual can indeed successfully try to be happier, especially when cheery music aids the process.

This research points to ways that people can actively improve their moods and corroborates earlier MU research.

“Our work provides support for what many people already do – listen to music to improve their moods,” said lead author Yuna Ferguson, who performed the study while she was an MU doctoral student in psychological science.

“Although pursuing personal happiness may be thought of as a self-centered venture, research suggests that happiness relates to a higher probability of socially beneficial behavior, better physical health, higher income and greater relationship satisfaction,” she explained.

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Mango belongs to the family “Anacardiaceae”. It has the scientific name “Magnifera Indica” and is widely found in India and south East Asia. Mango trees have deep roots and reach the height of 40 ft – 120 ft . Young mango leaves are copper in color and matured ones have deep green color. The flowers of mango tree are mostly male which supply pollens and few are bisexual which help in formation of fruits.

Bark, leaves, flowers, seed, raw and ripe fruits of mango have myriad medicinal uses. Texts of ayurveda mention various herbal preparations using different parts of mango tree. These preparations are used to normalize a variety of health conditions.

The Mango Bark, flower, leaves, and seed kennel are astringent and cause dryness of body tissues. Ripe mango fruit is sweet to taste and increases sliminess and mucous secretion. Raw Mango is sour in taste and vitiates all three doshas.

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Feel groggy when you wake up every morning? Here are a few quick tips, guaranteed for an energetic morning!

Breathe deep

Deep breathing has many benefits; that’s why it is an important part of yoga. Metabolically, it brings more oxygen into your body, satisfying every organ’s need and boosting immunity. Plus, it stimulates nerve relaxation and clears away stress, fatigue and depression. Set aside a couple of minutes before going to bed and practice deep breathing. You’re now more likely to get up feeling energetic than usual.

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In the fight against childhood obesity, video games are often seen as the enemy.

But a new study by researchers at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services (SPHHS) suggests that certain blood-pumping video games can actually boost energy expenditures among inner city children, who tend to be at the highest risk for becoming overweight.

“A lot of people say screen time is a big factor in the rising tide of childhood obesity,” says lead author Todd Miller, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Exercise Science at SPHHS.

“But if a kid hates playing dodge ball but loves Dance Dance Revolution why not let him work up a sweat playing E-games?”

Miller and his colleagues recruited 104 kids in grades 3 through 8 from a public school in the District of Columbia.

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Feeling exhausted by midday? Eat a fibre-rich breakfast of oats, sandwich made of whole wheat bread or ragi oothappam. The fibre slows down absorption of food in the stomach and keeps blood sugar levels steady to sustain energy.

Contrary to popular belief, cooked food provides more energy than its raw version, which is particularly true of meat.

The finding suggests humans are biologically adapted to benefit from cooking, which played a key role in driving our evolution from an ape-like being into one that resembles humans today.

Here’s a variety of delicious vegetables you can cook

`It is astonishing that we don`t understand the fundamental properties of the food we eat,` said Rachel Carmody, evolutionary biologist at Harvard`s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports.

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We have already seen the importance of calorie counting. Now we have to transfer that count to the food intake.

At this point, let’s look at the calorie content of foods.

In spite of all this flood of information on calorie requirements, I have come across this question, ‘Do we have to count calories’? Let me reiterate that calories are just a measure of the energy content of foods and they are a guideline to your intake and expenditure of energy. Do we not depend on weather reports for the environmental temperatures, the thermometer for body temperature, other heat regulators in ACs, microwaves, cooking ranges and ovens? Consider calories in foods, just like those. You do not carry around a body thermometer and measure your temperature constantly. Once you are aware, you do not need to measure all the time, do you? Similarly, it is good to know the calorie content of foods that you use frequently which will help you to choose your food carefully.

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