Queen Mary I, first queen of England, also known as Bloody Mary for her persecution of Protestants was born in Palace of Placentia, Greenwich. She ruled from 1553 until her death in 1558.
1930: Pluto is discovered
Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Initially considered the ninth planet in the Solar System, it was reclassified as a dwarf planet by International Astronomical Union in 2006.
2001: Dale Earnhardt dies in crash
Seven-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., considered as one of the greatest car racers, died at the age of 49 in an accident during the 43rd Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida.
2003: South Korean subway fire
South Korean rescue workers inspect a subway train destroyed by a fire at a subway station in Daegu, 200 miles southeast of Seoul, South Korea. About 120 people were killed and at least 135 injured after a man ignited a milk carton filled with flammable material.
Aloe vera is often called the “plant of immortality” because it can live and bloom without soil.
It is a member of the Liliaceae family, along with more than 400 other species of aloe.
Aloe vera has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years, and studies have linked it to various health benefits as well. For example, the plant is used to treat sunburns, fight dental plaque and lower blood sugar levels.
In addition, aloe vera is rich in nutrients with more than 75 potentially active compounds, including vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, fatty acids and polysaccharides (1Trusted Source).
However, you may wonder whether the plant is safe for consumption.
This article tells you whether you can eat aloe vera — and whether you should.
Aloe vera leaves are comprised of three parts: the skin, the gel and the latex. They’re best known for their gel, which is responsible for most of its health benefits
While most people apply the gel to their skin, it’s also safe to eat when prepared right.
Aloe vera gel has a clean, refreshing taste and can be added to a variety of recipes, including smoothies and salsas.
To prepare the gel, cut off the spiky edges on the top and alongside the aloe vera leaf. Next, slice off the skin on the flat side, remove the clear gel and dice it into small cubes.
Make sure to wash the gel cubes thoroughly to remove all traces of dirt, debris and residue. Latex residue can give the gel an unpleasant bitter taste.
The latex is a thin layer of yellow liquid between the skin and the gel of the leaf. It contains compounds with powerful properties, such as aloin .
Eating too much latex can have serious and potentially fatal side effects
In contrast, the aloe vera skin is generally safe to eat. It has a mild flavor and a crunchy texture, perfect for adding variety to your summer salads. Alternatively, the skin can be enjoyed by dipping it in salsa or hummus.
To prepare the skin, cut off the spiky edges on the top and alongside the plant and slice off the skin on the flat side. Make sure to wash the skin thoroughly to remove any dirt, debris and latex.
You can soak it in water for 10–20 minutes before eating it if you find it too tough to chew.
It’s very important to choose leaves from the aloe vera plant and not from other aloe species, as these may be poisonous and therefore unfit for human consumption.
Summary It’s generally safe to eat the gel inside the aloe vera leaf, as well as the skin. Wash the skin or gel thoroughly to remove traces of latex, which can have unpleasant and potentially harmful side effects.
Aloe vera skin care gels and products are not meant to be eaten.
Instead, they’re manufactured to help soothe sunburns, reduce inflammation, moisturize, relieve itchiness and treat a variety of other
Many commercial aloe vera gels contain preservatives to extend their shelf life, as well as other ingredients to improve the smell, texture and color. Many of these ingredients are not meant to be ingested
In addition, processing methods can strip away aloe vera gel’s active ingredients, which are otherwise responsible for the health benefits that come from eating the gel
Summary Many aloe vera skin care products contain preservatives and other ingredients that are not meant to be ingested. Stick to eating the aloe vera plant and not commercial skin care products.
Consuming aloe vera gel from the leaf has been linked to potential health benefits. Other parts of the plant have been linked to benefits as well.
Here are some potential benefits of eating aloe vera:
May reduce blood sugar levels: In human and animal studies, aloe vera gel helped reduce blood sugar levels by increasing insulin sensitivity
May suppress inflammatory signals: In animal and test-tube studies, aloe vera extract suppressed inflammatory signals such as TNFα, IL-1 and IL-6 .
Reduce dental plaque: If used as a mouthwash, aloe vera juice may be as effective as a regular mouthwash in reducing dental plaque build-up
May boost memory: In one animal study, consuming aloe vera gel helped enhance learning and memory while also reducing symptoms of depression
Rich in antioxidants: Regularly eating aloe vera gel may raise blood antioxidant levels. Antioxidants help combat the damage caused by free radicals, which are compounds linked to many chronic diseases
Summary Aloe vera has been linked to potential health benefits, such as reduced blood sugar levels, inflammation and dental plaque, as well as improved memory and antioxidant defenses.
Eating aloe vera latex, a yellow substance that is found inside the leaf, has potential risks.
In small doses, eating the latex may help treat constipation by promoting contractions. However, in 2002 the US FDA banned the sale of over-the-counter products containing aloe vera latex due to safety concerns
Long-term consumption of aloe vera latex has been linked to side effects, including stomach cramps, kidney problems, irregular heartbeat and muscle weakness
In high doses above 1 gram per day, prolonged use may even be fatal
Pregnant women should avoid eating the latex, as it may stimulate uterine contractions, which could cause a miscarriage
In addition, people with digestive disorders, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or Crohn’s disease, should avoid consuming aloe vera latex as it may worsen their conditions
Aside from the latex, consuming aloe vera gel is not advised for people taking diabetes, heart or kidney medications, as it may worsen potential side effects from the drugs
Avoid eating aloe vera skin care gels, as they do not offer the same benefits as the gel inside the leaf. Skin care gels may also contain ingredients that are not meant to be eaten.
Summary Aloe vera latex can be harmful, especially to pregnant women, people with digestive disorders and people on certain medications. You should also avoid aloe vera gel if you take diabetes, heart or kidney medications.
Most vineyards are sprayed with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to
protect their crops from insects and infection. These chemicals get in the
soil, the grapes, and ultimately in the wine you drink. Grapes are near the top
of the “Dirty Dozen” foods sprayed with the most chemicals. You avoid these
chemicals in your food (that’s why you shop for organic produce) and you should
avoid them in your wine.
And unlike other fruits, which have a protective rind you don’t eat… grapes
have a thin and porous skin. That means they absorb the chemicals sprayed on
them. And because wine is concentrated from so many grapes (600-800 per bottle)
– the end result is a condensed source of harmful cancer-promoting chemical
compounds.
Dump in the Additives
In the US, wine producers can use 76 different additives in wine without disclosing
any of them on the bottle. Things like:
defoaming agents
artificial coloring (virtually
every red wine under $20 has the colorant “mega purple”)
extra sugar
high fructose corn syrup
ammonia
GMO bacteria and yeasts
Fining and Clarifying Agents
like fish bladder, casein or polyvinyl-polpyr-rolidone (PVPP)
sulfites
and a lot more
There’s one additive called Velcorin that’s particularly insane. It must be applied by people with special training while wearing hazmat suits. It’s so toxic it will burn your skin if you touch it and will kill you if consumed before it’s broken down in the wine. But even after it breaks down, I’d rather not put that in my body…
What’s even worse than learning about all these additives used in winemaking is realizing that there is no labeling or transparency about their use. Wine has no ingredients label.
A wine can have 76 additives and you would have no idea!
Why do we passionately read the label for all foods we buy and only purchase items with organic, clean ingredients, and yet we don’t pay any attention to what’s in our wine?!
The Rise of Alcohol
The American Association of Wine Economists tested the alcohol levels of tens of thousands of wines between 1992 and 2009. They saw a surprising trend. Alcohol levels jumped from an average of 12.7% in 1992 to 13.8% in 2009. Today, it’s over 14%.
In fact, it is not uncommon to see 17%+ in commercial wines.
Remember – Alcohol is TOXIC!
While many of us still enjoy drinking alcohol, dosage matters.
Studies have consistently shown that alcohol consumption is highly dose-dependent – in lower doses, research shows many positive benefits; in excess, it’s harmful. A recent report in the journal, Nature, once again highlighted this. It’s crucial to drink lower alcohol wines.
As much sugar as a coke can?
A bottle of wine can have a surprising amount of sugar in it. Again, there’s no nutrition label on the bottle so you have no idea. Even red wines have higher sugar levels than you think. You won’t always taste it because the underlying acidity and tannins hide the sweeter notes.
If you’re trying to avoid sugar in your diet, you are likely still drinking sugar in your wine.
Super sweet wines can be as high as 300 g/L of sugar. A can of coke has 108g. To follow a healthy lifestyle, you should avoid both.
You Should Throw Away the Cotton in Your Pill Bottles
Believe it or not, that little ball of cotton that comes in your bottle of pills, which is there to keep pills safe during shipping, is meant to be removed. It can collect moisture because of its absorbent nature, which makes your pills deteriorate faster.
It’s Easy to Calculate a Tip Without a Calculator
Assuming you want to tip 20 percent for good service, move the decimal point one digit to the left and then double that number. It’s that easy! For example, if a bill is for $35.50, you move the decimal to the left, which gives you $3.55. Double that number, and you’ve got $7.10—a 20 percent tip calculated in seconds.
Sharp Knives Are Safer Than Dull Knives
Sharp knives aren’t actually as likely to cut you as dull ones. Because a sharp knife easily slices through food, you only have to apply a small amount of pressure when using them. This means that you’re more likely to cut the item you’re intending to cut, and not your hand.
Dull knives, however, can’t cut through food easily and often cause injuries when the resistance between the dull blade and the food’s surface suddenly gives way, at which point the knife flies out of control. Since you have to use so much pressure to cut with a dull knife, they often cause deep cuts and gouges, as opposed to the minor nicks a sharper knife might inflict. Keep your knives sharp and hone those skills for maximum safety.
There Are More Life Forms on Your Body Than People on Earth
You are a planet teeming with microbes. Trillions of them inhabit your body. In fact, 90 percent of the cells in your body are actually composed of microbes.
Babies Don’t Have Kneecaps
Well, they do. It’s just that they aren’t made of bone. They’re little bits of cartilage that have yet to ossify into bone.
You’re Tallest First Thing in the Morning
Intervertebral disks between your vertebra are filled with water. Over the course of a day, the weight of your body causes the water to diffuse out of the disks, and you can lose up to an inch in height by the time you go to bed at night. At night, while you’re sleeping, water can diffuse back into the disks.
So, if you’re feeling a bit on the short side, measure yourself when you first wake up. Another thing that could be making you shorter is bad posture from too much screen time.
Sometimes, if a movie or television show wants to communicate how unusual a character is, they’ll depict them pouring a box of cereal into a bowl and then adding some kind of disgusting liquid—orange juice, water, coffee, possibly alcohol. This is an easy way to illustrate someone’s eccentricity because everyone knows only milk goes in cold cereal. With no exceptions. Even warm milk, which a small number of individuals enjoy, has to be more palatable than the alternatives.
But is milk the acceptable choice for cereal because it’s the best, or because of something else? Is there a reason we don’t simply drown Frosted Flakes in water and call it a day?
The state of our cereal bowls can be traced to the origins of cereal itself. Back in the mid-1800s, Americans were enjoying very hearty breakfasts of bacon, eggs, meat, and other foods that could easily show up on their dinner plates. Many complained of gastrointestinal upset, a condition that health experts (many of them self-appointed) began to refer to as dyspepsia. This ill-defined malady was thought to be the result of consuming massive meals in the morning. Advocates argued that breakfast should be lighter and healthier, comprised of what they considered simple and easily digestible foods.
One such proselytizer was James Caleb Jackson, a vegetarian who ran a sanitarium called Our Home on the Hillside in Dansville, New York. At the time, sanitariums for health were considered retreats and a way to adopt healthier eating and exercise habits. Jackson was a follower of Reverend Sylvester Graham, the inventor of graham crackers and a man who believed the crackers could help curb sexual appetites that flamed in the meat-eating population. In the 1870s, Jackson began to market a product he called granula—graham flour that was baked, crumbled, and baked a second time. The tiny pebbles of flour were hearty and filling.
There’s some debate over whether it was Jackson or his mother, Lucretia, who actually came up with granula. In her son’s newsletters dating back to 1867, Lucretia published recipes for what amounted to the same thing. But whichever Jackson came up with it, there was a problem: Eaten dry, the granula was like trying to swallow construction rubble. In the newsletter, Lucretia cautioned that the cereal had to be soaked in milk or warm water, presumably to make it palatable. Other accounts of granula have consumers soaking it in milk overnight in order to make it chewable. People sometimes referred to it as “wheat rocks.”
Granula developed a following, but it wasn’t until another sanitarium owner named John Harvey Kellogg mimicked the recipe that it truly caught on. Kellogg, who owned the Battle Creek Sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, offered granula for its purported health benefits but referred to it as granola to avoid any legal entanglements with Jackson. By 1889, Kellogg was selling two tons of granola a week. By 1903, more than 100 cereal companies were operating out of Battle Creek. Kellogg, of course, became famous for his far more appealing Corn Flakes (which he invented because he thought they would curb masturbation).
Even as cereal became more processed and softer, the tendency to soak it in milk never left the public consciousness. Milk was the perfect way to add moisture to the dry food without turning it into a completely soggy mess. Like cereal, milk was also synonymous with health, full of vitamins and calcium. In a 1922 newspaper ad for Corn Flakes, Kellogg’s exhorted the wonders of the combination, offering that:
“With cold milk and luscious fresh fruit, Kellogg’s are extra delightful—so crisp, and appetizing.”
One scientific study published in the Journal of Food Science in 2011 even found that the fat in milk attached itself to the surface of cereal, helping to ward off moisture and keep cereal crunchier for longer than if it were immersed in water.
Of course, milk is no longer required to soften the bricks Lucretia and John Jackson were peddling. Culturally, we’re still predisposed to keeping milk and cereal part of a two-hand breakfast option. Had Lucretia advocated for coffee, orange juice, or something else, things might have turned out differently. And much soggier.
1st MayLabour Day: Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia. May Day: Bangladesh, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ghana, Gibraltar, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom. Women’s Day: Cuba, Tanzania. Workers’ Day: Burma, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Romania. 2nd MayKing’s Birthday: Lesotho. Still Labour Day in Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Romania. 3rd MayConstitution Day: Japan, Poland.Vesak Day: South Korea. 4th May 5th MayChildren’s Day: South Korea. South Korea’s day for children and youth. Children have picnics and celebrate with their parents. For working parents, this national holiday gives them the chance to have fun with their family in the open air. Cinco de Mayo: Mexico. Coronation Day: Thailand. Liberation Day: The Netherlands. 6th MayCorregidor Day: Philippines. Martyr’s Day: Lebanon, Syria. Samuel K. Doe’s Birthday: Liberia. 7th May 8th MayParent’s Day: South Korea. Three days after Children’s Day in South Korea, it’s the turn for the young to show their respect for the love received from their parents. Most Koreans buy their parents carnations and many children make paper carnations at school for their fathers and mothers. VE Day: France. 9th MayLiberation Day: Czech Republic, Slovakia. 10th MayMatsu (Goddess of the Sea): Taiwan. Independence Day: Micronesia. Vesak Day: Malaysia, Singapore. 11th May 12th MayIndependence Day:Israel. 13th MaySt. Mary’s Day:Colombia. 14th MayFlag Day: Paraguay. Kamuzu Day: Malawi. National Unification Day: Liberia. 15th MayIndependence Day: Paraguay. Teacher’s Day: South Korea. Teacher’s Day is the last official South Korean celebration in May. Students express their appreciation for their teachers through letters or flowers. 16th May 17th MayConstitution Day: Nigeria, Norway. Discovery Day: Cayman Islands. 18th MayBattle of Las Piedras Day: Uruguay. Flag Day: Haiti. Victoria Day: Canada. 19th MayAtaturk Youth Day: Turkey. Flag Day: Finland. 20th MayNational Day: Cameroon. Party Day: Zaire. 21st MayBuddha’s Day: South Korea. Navy Day: Chile. 22nd MayHeroes’ Day: Sri Lanka. Sovereign Day: Haiti. 23rd MayLabour Day:Jamaica. 24th MayBermuda Day:Bermuda. Culture Day: Bulgaria. Independence Battle Day: Ecuador. 25th MayAfrica Day: Liberia, Zambia, Zimbabwe.Independence Day: Eritrea, Jordan. The liberation of African Continent Day:Gabon. National Day: Argentina. Revolution Day: Sudan. 26th MayConstitution Day:Denmark. Holy Spirit Day: Greece. Independence Day: Guyana. 27th MayKataklysmos:Cyprus. 28th MayWaisak Day: Indonesia. 29th May 30th May 31st MayRegiment Day: Brunei. Republic Day: South Africa.
Note…
If you click on any of the links they will take you to that page. If you wish to stay on mine, you might not want to click on those. I tried to eliminate links added but my page malfunctioned before I could finish that. MwsR
Mws R Writings 