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Bananas: Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana.

This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: the pills -- eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it the perfect way to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system

Overweight and at work: Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in "The New England Journal of Medicine, "eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

Patients missing out on menus

Patients at Norfolk's flagship hospital are failing to grasp what is on the menu at mealtimes and the heating and serving of food on the wards is inconsistent, a survey has found.

The Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital Patient & Public Involvement Forum's research into patient and visitor views on hospital food revealed a wide variation in responses.

The forum said the quality of food arriving from the suppliers, Anglia Crown, in Colchester, met all NHS nutritional and quality standards.

"However from that point on, the distribution, heating and serving of food is not consistent from ward to ward or patient to patient," the report said.

Older patients also wanted a list of basic ingredients included to give them a better idea of what to expect from dishes like moussaka.

"When menus were in lockers, patients were not aware of this and consequently had no idea of menu options until the trolley arrived at mealtimes," it added. "There were many instances when patients said that there were insufficient choice options left by the time the trolley reached them."

Other issues included a lack of awareness about specific dietary requirements, and a need to improve communication skills between ward hosts, patients and medical staff; presentation of food, and letting patients know that biscuits and drinks were available between mealtimes.

A public meeting about the forum's food report will be held at Norwich's Assembly House on Thursday, November 16, at 2pm.

from EDP

This is an outstanding gothic cathedral which I know so well. It looms over the city of Amiens, the cultural centre of Picardie, and focus of the Somme.
Battle-scarred by history it may be, but standing tall it continues to attract praise and reverie.

Please enjoy a European gothic gem...

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or just Amiens Cathedral, is the tallest complete cathedral in France with the greatest interior volume, estimated at 200,000 m³. The vaults ofsdv the nave are 42.30 m tall, the tallest nave vaults in France. This monumental cathedral is located in Amiens, the chief city of Picardy, in the Somme River valley a little over 100 kilometers north of Paris.

The paucity of documentation concerning the construction of the Gothic cathedral may be in part the result of fires that destroyed the chapter archives in 1218 and again in 1258, a fire that damaged the cathedral itself. Bishop Evrard de Fouilly initiated work on the cathedral in 1220. Robert de Luzarches was the architect until 1228, and was followed by Thomas de Cormont until 1258. His son, Renaud de Cormont, acted as the architect until 1288. The chronicle of Corbie gives a completion date for the cathedral of 1266. Finishing works continued, however. Its floors are covered with quite a number of designs, such as with swastika. The labyrinth was installed in 1288. Numerous excellent sculptures can be viewed at this cathedral. The cathedral contains the alleged head of John the Baptist. This relic was brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade.

Notre-Dame d'Amiens has been listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1981. A Son et lumière presentation illuminates its façade on summer evenings and at New Year's, approximating the original painted colors of its sculptures.

From wikipedia

"Amiens Cathedral in north-western France is a gothic masterpiece built before Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It is richly adorned with impressive sculptural décor. These sculptures depict biblical scenes such as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. They are collectively called "The Stone Encyclopaedia of the Bible". There are Sculptures of the Last Judgment on the main façade. The Archangel St. Michael is holding a balance. Above him Jesus is peering down at the sins of those entering the Cathedral. Below him are people who are to be sent to Hell after the Last Judgment. Those who are to ascend to Heaven are on the left. The Cathedral interior is built so that people can feel the magnificence of the divine world. The ceiling is 42 meters high.

Sunlight streams in …

Amiens Cathedral also houses a sacred relic from Jerusalem. This is the skull of the John the Baptist who baptized Jesus Christ. A road to God has been drawn on the Cathedral floor. It is a Sacred Maze. People would wander, stray and get lost until they reached the centre of the maze, a sacred place. The maze represents a long pilgrimage. Amiens Cathedral took 68 years to complete, an amazing feat for the time. The various parts of the sculptures decorating the Cathedral were made in many different workshops. The idea of distributing work that way was unheard of at the time.

Amiens Cathedral is a stunning example of Gothic architecture, a monument to the skills and techniques of the period."

link

Other useful links relating to Amiens and it's cathedral;
U-picardie
Unesco
Amiens Cathedral Project
l'Office de Tourisme d'Amiens Métropole

Your time set against mine
at times an imperfect line
from the falcate clock
defining times mental block
a ticking, ticking, ticking
the interlay of hours waiting
in the silence of watching words
falling to wrong hands interred
the earth of plebian thoughts;
pleonastic dreams soiled and overwrought
on the stroke of half-time
veins exsicate before the chime
such discord of the left to right
staggeringly short time to fight
one tablet dissolved to inquire
two to test the patience afire
three jumping into a house ablaze
four to find in the communique
a lethal concoction purported
in tablet form assorted
clinically proven on the one hand
paralising effect upon pituitary gland
stop!
...I breath again
in nature reborn, I trust
today, pharmaceuticals gain my distrust.

written by lauren6
after an appalling medical oversight allowed the mixing of my medication recently, to a near fatal degree.