De-stress and tone up with a good swim

Swimming is a great exercise because it involves lots of muscle groups. Also, as you're supported by water, you're less likely to get injuries such as sore knees from pounding the pavement as you jog or scrapes from falling over when you playing football.

To make the most of your swim, check out these tips.

1. Wear proper gear. You can go in a clean T-shirt and shorts but water will weigh you down. A swimsuit is designed to work efficiently in water.

2. Go when it's quiet. When there are many kids squeling and jumping. It's hard to do laps or relax. Figure out when you can get the pool to yourself.

3. Warm up by stretching. Swimming is a low-impact exercise but you'll be using lots of muscles, so prevent cramps and injuries by warming up before you take the plunge.

4. A front crawl looks great and feels energetic but actually, a breast stroke is generally more intensive - although not as impressive. An advantage is that you can keep your head above water and see where you're going.

5. Swim a couple of slow laps where you make a point of stretching to improve flexibility and then a few fast laps to get the blood flowing. Then work a few medium-faced laps to energise yourself and work on your muscle tone by keeping that workout glow going.

6. Finish by floating on your back for five minutes and meditating. If you're the type to doze off while you float, hook and ankle on the side so you don't bump into other swimmers.

P.S. Don't forget your waterproof sunscreen. Apply half an hour before going to the pool so it soaks in and stays on.

BEST RECOMMENDATION! Waterproof Sunscreen with BEST PROTECTION under the SUN

• Banana Boat Sunscreen Sport Family Size Broad Spectrum Sun Care Sunscreen Lotion - SPF 50, 12 ounce 
• NO-AD Water Resistant Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 85 16 fl oz (475 ml)
• Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen SPF 100, 3 oz., (Packaging May Vary)
• EltaMD SPF 50 UV Sport Water-resistant Sunscreen, 3 Fluid Ounce

Eating Tips for Weight Loss

Want to lose some weight and get back into the healthy shape of your younger years?

There is no substitute for a comprehensive diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fats and sugars. However, if you're looking to start a new life with bit of quick weight loss to boost your morale and motivation, check out these tips:

Sleep
If you're feeling tired, you tend to move about less during the day. This translates into fewer calories burned. Studies show that people who sleep fewer than six hours a night are 27% more likely to become obese, so make sure you get enough rest by sleeping an average of eight hours a night.

Eat a lot
If you starve yourself, you will find yourself loading up on junk food that is not only filing but also fattening. Make sure you have plenty of low-fat, low-sugar food and fill up on these whenever ou start to feel hungry.

Consider simple and tasty options such as whole wheat toast, unsweetened muesli, low-fat yoghurt, fruit salad made up of papaya, apple, banana and melon as well as raw vegetable treats such as carrots, cooked pumpkin nd tomatoes.

Eat with class
Restaurant owners have known for years that sitting in brightly lit places with high energy yellow and red furnture encourages people to eat and leave quickly.

On the other hand, low lights and soothing colours such as blue and fawn encourage customers to linger. Scientists have discovered that sitting down adn taking your time also leads to better portion contorl. So when you eat, sit down, relax and enjoy your meal. If you use a smaller plate, you can also fool yourself into being satisfied with less.

Poor Vision is no longer a geriatric health problem

Today's technology-driven society has exposed the younger generation to "Chronic Eyes Fatigue Syndrome", where they are constantly around the computer and video games.

Age-related eye diseases which are now afflicting younger adults may be linked to the effects of a technology-driven society and a lack of nutrition for eye protection.

Nutritional solution for healthier eyes

Numerous scientific and clinical studies have emphasised the importance of proper nutrition in the maintenance of eye health. The followings are some of the key nutrients which are well studied for the maintenance fo a good and healthier vision: -Bilberry: antioxidant for eye health

Bilberry's active constituent is the anthocyanosides, which provides a variety of protective effects for the eyes. These bioflavonoids strengthen the structural integrity of the tiny capillaries that deliver nutrients to the eyes, and help prevent free radical damage to the delicate structures within the eye.
-Natural source of lutein and zeaxanthin: marigold, wolfberry and dunalliela salina

Lutein and zeaxanthin are found exclusively in the macula lutea of the eye and protect the eyes against oxidative damage. Low retinal lutein and zeaxanthin concentrations are shown to be a risk factor for eye problems. -Eyebright

Eyebright is used for relieving eye problems such as eye strain or tired eyes.

Biogrow OPTIbrite offers you a nutritional solution for healthier eyes. It comes with a five-in-one comprehensive formulation which consists of marigold that provides you with the natural source of lutein and zeaxanthin, bilberry, wolfberry, eyebright and dunaliella.

It is beneficial for computer users, individuals who read a lot, drive long hours, exposed to UV rays, watch TV for long hours, and those with fatigue, strained and watery eyes.

Check out for more information: biogrow.com.my

Simple Swaps for better health

Processed food is easy and fast but it's often blended with extra, salt, and sugar. These ingredients make it taste great but too much can lead t health problems such as obesity, diabetes and tooth decay.

Here are some easy swaps that will improve your diet and general health. Make an effort at first to apply them and once they become a habit, you'll feel better for it.

Instead of chocolate chip cookies with your morning coffee, mash a banana into fresh yoghurt. The twist? Place in the freezer and stir with a fork when half frozen for a delicious treat.

You will be replacing sugar and fat with vitamins and fibre and cutting roughly three-quarters of the calories.

Replace fried noodles and fried rice with oats and fresh fruit for breakfast. You will be replacing fat and salt with healthy fibre and lots of vitamins.

Instead of drinking packaged iced tea that's loaded with sugar during lunch, go for fresh green tea that has none.

Alternatively, make your own iced tea so you can control the sugar. And don't use liquid sugar - it's too easy to overdo it.

For a simple treat, wash grapes, dry them, put them in a plastic bag and freeze them. Eat them instead of boiled or packaged sweets.

The fruit's just as sweet but contains less than a quarter of the calories and has vitamin C, too. For dinner, exchange white steamed rice with steamed brown rice.

The brown rice is unprocessed so it takes your body longer to digest, making you feel satisfied longer. And a bonus is that it has roughly half the calories.

Time will stop for one second 30 June 2015

2015 is not a leap year, but it does have a leap second, set to take place Tuesday (June 30) at 7:59:60 p.m. EDT (23:59:60 GMT). "Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down a bit, so leap seconds are a way to account for that," Daniel MacMillan of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said in a statement. Ask any person the length of a day, and she'll say 24 hours, which equates to 86,400 seconds. But the time it takes for Earth to rotate on its axis relative to the sun, called a mean solar day (or the average length of a day) is roughly 86,400.002 seconds. This happens because Earth's rotation is slowing down, thanks to a kind of braking force caused by the gravitational tug of war among Earth, the sun and the moon, researchers at NASA said.

The astronomers at the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service keep track of the difference between astronomical time and atomic time. They call for a leap second to be added whenever Earth's observed position is on track to be out of sync with UTC time by more than 0.9 of a second. Leap seconds traditionally are added on June 30 or Dec. 31. Because they are unpredictable, leap seconds can cause headaches for tech companies who cannot build them into their code the way they do with leap years. In the past, LinkedIn, Google and Reddit have all experienced problems caused by leap seconds. In addition, it is not clear that leap seconds are really essential. Even if the difference in astronomical time and atomic time grew by one second every year, in 100 years the gap would be less than two minutes. In 1,000 years, it would be off by less than 17 minutes. But it could be unsettling. Eventually. And besides, couldn't we all use a little more time?