And an update just for you, you know who you are Miss K Thursday 8 May 2008 - 8.25pm

Well, a couple of weekends ago I went to Homegrown with Jevon, and we met up with Leash and Simon. We saw some break dancing which was pretty cool. We have some pretty talented break dancers in Welly. We also saw So So Modern, Kora (which are fucking wicked, they sound like a cross between dub, rock and drum and bass), Shihad (who keep getting better and better), The Feelers, Elemeno P, and Pluto. I almost fell asleep during Kora (who played from 10 til 11pm) because I was sooo fucking tired. Me and Jevs had planned to meet up with Diana and Ryan (my awesome ex flatties), but we ended up going home at 1am cos I was exhausted. I feel stink about cos I really wanted to hang out Last weekend, I took a bus to Palmy and it took 4.5hours instead of 2 hours because there was a nasty accident on our side of SH1. A truck drove right into a house, or at least what I heard, I'm going a little deaf you see. Anyway, I got to chill out with Mental, Misty (the two resident cats), Ryan and Diana, so that was cool. The next day, I had a little driving lesson. No accidents, 'twas good. Then we drove to Aucks. We stopped several times for caffiene. On our way we, visited Kelly in her new home in Hamiliton it was very nice to see her. Then we saw Tom and his new flatties. It was also nice to see him And we learnt a new drinking game, which involved making animal noises, nothing dodgy I promise. On Sunday we went to Slyvia Park because I was bored and wondered why everybody seemed to make a big fuss about it. It has some cool shops but most of them are in every other mall in NZ. On Monday we went to the zoo and saw some elephants, meerkats, otters, giraffes, baboons, seals and penguines. Then went shopping. And then we went to see The Foo Fighters which I really enjoyed. The Foos are amazing performers. Dave, the singer, was very talkative which is always really cool. They played for 2 hours. And half way through the show a platform came down from the ceiling into the middle of the audience and they played their for a bit. It was pretty cool because me and Jevs were about 2 or 3 metres away from the band. EEE! Tuesday we drove back to Palmy and on Wednesday morning I headed off to Welly for work. Mood: None entered

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And another Sunday 20 April 2008 - 5.10pm

My top 10 health sites  Food and Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Adults: A Background Paper - http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/07BC6DBE764FDABBCC256DDB006D9AB4/$File/foodandnutritionguidelines-adults.pdf This is a site I use quite often. It is what says it is. It gives you guidelines on eating healthily to help avoid obesity, diabetes, and various types of cancer, with a bit of background explaining why you need certain nutrients and where you can find them.   New Zealand Food Safety Authority - http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/ This gives you all the information you need to know about the safety of your food. It includes updates on what NZ is doing about certain food issues, such as toxic honey and iodine fortification.   Food Standards Australia and New Zealand - http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/ This website includes information on food labeling, the effects of certain food additives, and the requirements of imported food etc. T The National Heart Foundation - http://www.nhf.org.nz/ This is the NZ Heart Foundation website. It filled with neat things like the Cardiovascular Risk Quiz (http://www.nhf.org.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145828144), heart friendly recipes (http://www.nhf.org.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145826929), things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease (http://www.nhf.org.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145828138), details of how the heart functions (http://www.nhf.org.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145828141) and nutrition guidelines for good cardiovascular health (http://www.nhf.org.nz/index.asp?pageID=2145828145).   About.com: Walking - http://walking.about.com/ This website has everything you need to know about walking to keep fit. It has advice on losing weight, how to walk correctly, and treatments for Plantar Fasciitis (sore feet). Everybody: Health Information for New Zealanders – http://www.everybody.co.nz This website covers every health topic under the sun, including information on how to start an exercise programme (http://www.everybody.co.nz/page-3421c679-caf0-4a3d-8df8-fd4de9f7a94b.aspx) and tips on improving brain function (http://www.everybody.co.nz/page-1b85e91a-943f-47d7-94e0-4315b7b39707.aspx). Diabetes New Zealand – http://www.diabetes.or.nz This is a neat little site which is aimed at informing people about diabetes and supporting people with diabetes. It contains useful information such as how to deal with diabetes (http://www.diabetes.org.nz/living_with_diabetes), risk factors for type two diabetes (http://www.diabetes.org.nz/about_diabetes/are_you_at_risk), and a guide on products used to control diabetes (http://www.diabetes.org.nz/product_guide).   NHI: Health Information - http://health.nih.gov/ This site also contains a lot of useful information on health and related topics, such as guides to finding reliable health and medical information on the internet (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html and http://www.genome.gov/11008303), nutrition, and women’s health.   Young People: New Zealand Youth, New Zealand Young People, New Zealand Teenagers - http://www.headspace.org.nz/young-people/index.htm This site based on giving young people information and advice on mental health issues, for example, depression, anxiety, stress and drugs.   Nutrition Mad – http://www.nutritionmad.com This is my website and it’s, well, about nutrition. It’s more like a blog than a conventional website. It is a bit random, sometimes I’ll post some recipes or I’ll rant about some nutrition issue. You should have a look!  If you have any questions, then please email me at nutrition.advice@gmail.com.  Krissi Mood: None entered

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Here's chaff column for ya Sunday 20 April 2008 - 5.00pm

Anti stress nutrients and foods    A diet high in carbohydrates (for example, rice, bread, breakfast cereal, and pasta) can REDUCE feelings of depression. After having a carbohydrate rich meal the levels of blood tryptophan increase. This tryptophan then makes its way into the brain to form serotonin, which is thought to improve mood.  Chocolate can produce feelings of pleasure and relief, which is probably due to the texture and taste rather than the small amounts of psychoactive ingredients that it contains (for example, caffeine). You would need to eat approximately 20kg to feel the effects of these psychoactive ingredients.   A diet with adequate levels of selenium can reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and general negative moods. Selenium rich foods include Brazil nuts, kidney, liver, and shellfish. However, there is such a thing as having too much selenium. Excessive selenium intakes can lead to hair loss and bad nails. The RDIs for men and women are 70µg and 60µg respectively.   Foods rich in vitamin C are known to reduce stress. Stress Foods high in vitamin C include, citrus fruit, potatoes, broccoli, red peppers, berries and most other fruits and vegetables and the RDI is 45mg. Stress leads to the release of hormones from glands, which are also store vitamin C. When these glands increase hormone production, they begin to lose vitamin C. Since immune cells and tissues rely on vitamin C for repair and function, this lack of vitamin C makes you more vulnerable to infection. Vitamin E, like vitamin C is an antioxidant, found in foods such as wheat germ and spinach, can also reduce stress. The daily adequate intake (AI) of vitamin E is 7mg and 10mg for women and men, respectively, but this may not be enough to have an anti stress impact. Magnesium is thought to decrease stress. The idea is that magnesium is required to make calming brain hormones, and it is loss when stress hormones are released, thus we need more magnesium when we are stressed. Magnesium is found in bananas, kidney beans, lentils, and green leafy vegetables. The current RDIs for magnesium are 400mg and 310mg for men and women, respectively. On the other hand, caffeine and alcohol can increase stress. Caffeine is probably the most widely used drug. It’s found in tea, coffee, energy and soft drinks and in chocolate. In small amounts, it can increase feelings of alertness and energy. However, at high amounts it can increase anxiety. You can also become addicted to caffeine and when cut out caffeine you may experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and irritability. If you have any questions, then please can email me at nutrition.advice@gmail.com.           Mood: None entered

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Getting fit online - http://www.nzgirl.co.nz/articles/9411 Saturday 5 April 2008 - 2.40pm

Top Five Ways to Get Fit Online If you want to get fit, stay right where you are – on your computer! It may seem a little strange, but the internet is a great place to start when it comes to researching, implementing and deciding on a fitness routine.   There are loads of sites out there that are dedicated to helping you get fit, whether it’s mapping out your runs, providing expert advice or offering support. Here are our five favourite fitness websites - we're sure you'll love them, and get as much benefit out of them as we have!   nikeplus.nike.com  If the colder, darker mornings are making it harder to get into your running routine, then you’ll be all over the Nike Plus running experience. The site allows you to zoom in on your area (thanks to Google Maps) and plot running routes around your hood and check out where other local Nike Plus users are also pounding the pavement, set running goals, tap into other people’s challenges and upgrade your daily run to a whole new experience!   activesmart.co.nz This neat website is all about helping people get active. The website costs nothing to join and once you do become a member of Active Smart, you can also sign up for a free tailored, expert-designed fitness and nutrition plan. The website sends you an email reminder for when you start your fitness plan and it has tips on boosting your fitness levels and improving your diet.   kiwichallenge.co.nz This website is all about the Kiwi Workplace Challenge. It’s a virtual 12-week race around New Zealand and Australia, which starts May 1. On this site, you can sign up your work team to compete against other teams in the challenge. To move around the course all you have to do is enter the number of steps you have taken and the activities your team has participated in. The more physical activity you and your team have completed in reality you do the further you can get your team around the virtual track. everybody.co.nz This website is full of health information, including a section on exercise. Everybody.co.nz is encourages us to get our butts off the sofa and to get exercising by making it easy and more appealing. The site gives you pointers on how to start an exercise programme, and it covers topics such as measuring your fitness levels, planning your exercise programme, unhealthy exercise and exercise equipment.   43things.com   43 Things is a goal setting, social networking website which encourages you to set goals and stick to them, including your fitness and health goals. It allows you to make a list of your goals based on the idea that if your write down your goals you will achieve them. You can also write a blog to keep track of your progress, and participate in a thing called Cheers. Cheers allows others to motivate and support your journey in reaching your goals.    Krystle Chester Mood: None entered

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jet lag Saturday 15 March 2008 - 5.08pm

Coping with Jet Lag When it comes to long distance travelling, we all know there's nothing worse than finally arriving at your destination only to be overcome by jet lag! We've got some great tips to help you prevent and cope with the annoying fatigue so you can focus on having fun while travelling...   So what is jet lag? It is a set of symptoms, which can make travelling a drag. It occurs when you travel across several time zones in an aeroplane, and it can result in symptoms such as fatigue, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and an inability to concentrate, which can last up to a week. But, never fear, there are ways to combat jet lag. According to 'Travel Fatigue and Jet-lag'  in The Journal of Sports Science a combination of exercise, timing of meals and diet, bright light, and melatonin can be used to make international travel more bearable.   Exercise Exercise can alter your body clock, but timing is crucial - it can either ease jet lag or make it worse. If you fly to a country which is a few hours behind New Zealand, exercise before 4-6am NZ time to allow the body to adjust more quickly to the new time zone.   Bright light Being exposed to bright light at certain times can alter the body clock and therefore lessen feelings of jet lag. Again, if you fly to a place, which is a few hours behind NZ, expose yourself to bright light before 4-6am NZ time to help your body adjust more quickly to the new time zone.   Timing and type of meals Timing your meals to match the local time may ease jet lag. For example if you fly from New Zealand to the UK, eat breakfast at 7am UK time rather than 7am NZ time, the effects of jet lag should be reduced. Eat protein rich meals (such as tuna, baked beans, or eggs on toast, or a yoghurt and milk based smoothie) in the morning to promote alertness, and carbohydrate rich meals for example pasta, rice, or bread based meals) in the evening to help induce sleep.   Melatonin Melatonin is a hormone, which induces sleep and reduces subjective feelings of jet lag, and it comes in pill form. Take it just before you need to sleep to help your body adjust to the new time zone. In New Zealand, melatonin is a prescription drug, so you need to see your doctor if you are interested in trying this option.   What not to do When flying across several time zones it may be tempting to try things like napping, sleeping pills, and pre-adjusting your sleep patterns in order to combat jet lag.  However, these methods can make jet lag worse or have no effect at all. Napping actually makes jet lag worse, and there is no convincing evidence that sleeping pills help the body adjust to a new time zone. Additionally, adjusting your sleep patterns before travel to match the new time zone is very ineffective because factors which influence your sleeping patterns (such as light and your work schedule) are almost nearly impossible to manipulate.   Krystle Chester  http://www.nzgirl.co.nz/articles/9262 Mood: None entered

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