I was wondering if anyone out there can recommend a good detox. I have been really sluggish lately, and my skin is suffering. I drink loads of water and stay away from refined carbs, but that is just not helping. I need to lose a lot of weight this year, and I thought I would kickstart it with a good, proper detox for at least a month.

Any ideas/recommendations??

How many of you participate in box schemes?

For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is a system whereby organic farmers provide you with a box of fresh, seasonal veggies and fruit on a weekly or bi-monthly basis. The produce is delivered direct to your front door and is locally grown.

Now I have unashamedly stolen this idea from another site, but thought it would be interesting.

Miy first album ever was

Paranoid by Black Sabbath,

I've still got the old vinyl in fact, and transferred it to MP3 for my 15 yr old daughter ( She thinks her toppie is cool for liking metal) :confused: :haha:

My daughter bought the behind blue eyes single today, and after listening realsied that I had heard the words somewhere before.

After doing the search ... imagine my surprise to realsie it was originally done by the Who..

Must say I like the cover though!!!

CT SCANS CAN DAMAGE INFANT BRAINS
Swedish researchers have found that using computed tomography scans to search for brain injuries in babies can lead to brain damage. The researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, studied more than 3,000 men who had scans before they were 18 months old found many went on to develop learning problems. Because of the findings, the researchers called for new guidelines to warn doctors of the risk. CT or computed tomography scans use ionizing radiation to take pictures of the inside of the body.
They are more detailed than conventional X-rays and are used on patients with a wide range of suspected problems, from cancer to suspected brain injuries. In recent years, doctors have started to use CT scans on young infants and the researchers found that the higher the dose of radiation the more likely these men were to suffer learning problems later in life. They were also more likely to have dropped out of school.

EAR DROPS MAY BOOST HARDY BACTERIA
Eardrops, a staple treatment for children's ear infections, can lead to an increase in resistant bacteria and fungi in the ear, doctors caution. Dr. Glenn Isaacson, professor and chair of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at Temple University School of Medicine, told a medical meeting resistant bacteria develop when antibiotics are used inappropriately. In 1998 eardrops containing the broad-spectrum antibiotic fluoroquinolone were introduced, replacing the traditional oral antibiotics as treatment of choice for ear infections. Recently, experts have raised concerns about the drops' and the development of resistant bacteria. In the new study, the scientists discovered a significant increase in resistant bacteria and fungi in children who had used the eardrops, compared to those who had not. To combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, experts recommend prescribing antibiotics judiciously, targeting them specifically to individual types of bacteria.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CELIAC DISEASE
Women should learn more about celiac disease -- an intolerance of gluten -- which doctors say is more common than first believed. Gluten is a protein in wheat and other grains, and researchers had thought intolerance to it was rare in the United States. A recent Mayo Clinic study, however, found a dramatic increase in the number of cases of this disorder and women in their 40s, 50s and 60s were most affected. Symptoms including sporadic diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating and foul-smelling or grayish stools. It's not uncommon for people to have symptoms for many years before a diagnosis is made because of the wide range of symptoms and the belief the disease is rare. Celiac disease is diagnosed by a blood test and confirmed by taking a tissue sample from the small intestine. Once diagnosed, removing gluten from the diet and avoiding bread, pasta, cookies or anything containing wheat, barley or rye is essential. After a few weeks on a gluten-free diet, people typically see improvement in symptoms.

As books can be expensive and if u guys are like me, i plough thru as many as 3 on a slow month... we can swap books and if anybody wants to give them away....that is fine too.....

People interested in sharing a book or books with the club can do so by contacting me, on here or via PM. I will then post up the name and author of the book, and invite submissions of interest from members.

Is anybody interested so we can gauge how many want to take part and get going on this??????

Feel free to ask questions-should anything not be clear to you.

DECADENT CHOCOLATE MOUSSE:

Ingredients:

24Egg Yolk
24Egg White
400g Castor sugar
400ml Semi whipped Double cream
800g Dark Belgian chocolate
150ml Kahlua

Method:

Sabayon the egg yolk and castor sugar together. Add the Semi whipped cream to this mixture.
Add the alcohol to the melted chocolate.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff.
Add the Sabayon/Cream to the chocolate and mix in thoroughly.
Fold in the egg white carefully to this mixture.
Leave to set for 6-12 hours in the fridge

I am looking for a band who sang the song fear.

It goes something like this:
I knew a man who lived in fear
It was huge It was angry
It was drawing near... Cant remember the rest

This is part of a review I had to do on the Noorder Dierenpark in Emmen, The Netherlands. Thought it might interest a few people here:

Emmen Zoo is located in the centre of a small town and is built on 32 acres of land plus an extention on the outskirts of town. With approximately 1.800,000 visitors per year, it is one of the most popular zoos in Europe.

The approach of Emmen Zoo is to keep fewer species of animal and to keep them in large, sometimes very large, natural groups. Striking examples were a group of several hundred sacred baboons, a herd of fifteen Asian elephants with numerous calves of different ages and an African Savannah exhibit with a large herd of giraffes mixed with white rhinos, zebras, ostriches, gnu, impala, springbok, Elipsen waterbuck, crowned cranes and guinea fowl. The new penguin exhibit with a flock of hundreds of Humboldt penguins was also very impressive. The husbandry challenges and solutions were of great interest to the Dublin team.

Emmen Zoo is also a zoo that communicates with its visitors in an innovative, informative and fun manner. Throughout the Zoo there are cheerful signs, interactive information points and fascinating objects relating to the animals exhibited. Information is provided in a very enjoyable manner, yet maintains integrity. The Zoo was very much designed with children in mind.

A visit to Emmen Zoo was time well spent. The biggest lesson learnt was that budget and space are not necessarily the only ingredients for a successful, exciting and challenging zoo, innovative design and a willingness and ability to think outside the box are of equal importance.

Hi Folks,

Being an avid vegetable gardener, I have planned my gardening for the next three years (give or take) to take into account the different types of plants I want to try and bearing proper crop rotation in mind.

Listed below are the plants that I will be growing during the course of this and the next two years (all organic and selected for the damper climate we get here).

I don't know how many of you enjoy growing your own food, but if you do, don't let a small garden deter you - I am making use of my backyard, the neighbour's backyard, a friends place, and whatever unused patches I can find at work.

In the UK you are blessed with allotments - make use of them!

If anyone is interested in trying out some of the veggies, herbs or fruits listed here, please send me a PM as I mostly have more than enough seed to share (Cubbie, your chillies are almost ready to post).

The list:

Roots, Tubers and Rhizomes:

Japanese Burdock
Salsify
Scorzonera
Parsnip
Skirret
Carrot
Florence Fennel
Swede
Turnip
Celeriac
Beetroot
Jerusalem Artichoke

Alliums:

Spring Onion
Onion
Leek

Legumes:

Asparagus Pea
Snap Pea
Climbing French Bean
Runner Bean
French Beans: Pole
French Beans: Bush
Broad Bean

Leaf Greens, Herbs, Brassicas:

Cima di Rapa
Brussel Sprout
Savoy Cabbage
Broccoli
Purple Sprouting Broccoli
Calabrese
Cauliflower
Kohl Rabi
Green Perilla
Red Perilla
Quillquina
Papalo
Mixed Leaf Amaranth
Kerala Red Amaranth
Huauzontli
Liscari sativa
Erbette
Perpetual Spinach
Swiss Chard
Strawberry Spinach

Cucurbitae:

Butternut Squash
Cobnut Squash
Gemsquash
Cucumber
West Indian Gherkin
Carosello Di Polignano

The rest:

Aubergine
Tomatoes
Tomatillo
Melon
Alpine Strawberry
Strawberry
Chlli Peppers