Grab Bag Good to be Green:

Yes, friends, it’s that time again. Time to check in with yet ANOTHER recent finding of the benefits of green tea. This one confirms that the process of  digestion not only doesn’t harm the goodies in green tea, but it might even add to them! Thank God. From the sound of this, I’ll be able to remember each of the dozen trips to the loo I make every morning …..  I exaggerate, but not by much 🙂

This from Dr. Andrew Weil:

Green Tea and Alzheimer’s
Intriguing new findings from England suggest that the compounds responsible for the health protective properties of green tea become even more effective against triggers of Alzheimer’s disease once the tea is digested. What’s more, the same research team found that after these substances are digested they also exhibit anti-cancer properties – they slowed the growth of tumor cells in the laboratory. The investigators noted that polyphenols, compounds present in green tea and black tea, have neuroprotective properties – that is, they can protect brain cells from toxins that can trigger Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

The British team wanted to investigate whether these compounds survive digestion and still provide these benefits. In the study, cells were exposed toxins and then to digested green tea compounds. The results suggest that these polyphenols are possibly even more protective after being digested in the body. The researchers worked with new technology that simulates the human digestive system. Now, they’re going to look whether the same beneficial products of digestion are produced in the bodies of healthy human volunteers. The study was published online on Dec. 21, 2010, by the journal Phytomedicine.

Grab Bag Calorie Counter:

A service provided by RealAge.com, this quick calculator let’s you know how many calories you truly need…. and it’s kinda fun to do it a few times, making different choices for your activity level, just to see how much of a difference exercise can really make. My advice? Don’t exercise yourself thin… eat less, and exercise realistically for health, not weight.

RealAge Calorie Calculator

Grab Bag Illuminatti:

For all you Angels and Demons fans, or those who just like cool stuff, I have discovered something pretty unique. What may have taken a monk on a hilltop weeks to design now comes to you in a few seconds.

The folks at Flipscript.com have designed a program that can take two names and form an Ambigram out of them…. a calligraphed (I think that’s a real word) version of a word that can be flipped upside down to see the same name OR the other half of two names.

They can print this very personal Ambigram on a variety of items; doormats, playing cards, coasters, dominoes… fun stuff that can be read from both directions and shows off the magic! They can even engrave it on a ring. Here is how they have blended “Joseph” and “Melissa”:

One way it reads Joseph:

But flip it upside down and it shows where Melissa has been hiding:

Not all names can be joined as one. Brad and Angelina, for example, will have to make room for a larger tattoo. Still intriguing, though:

 

Grab Bag No Place Like Home:

For a long time I have bemoaned how ethnocentric we Americans are… assuming OUR way is the BEST way. And many times, we’re right. But in recent years those instances are just all-too-often not the case.

Where do we stand on the world stage, really? What’s good about America? What sucks? These questions are only meaningfully answered by comparison.

So here ya go….

IfItWereMyHome.com shows how we compare to foreign countries in many different categories (family, health, wealth, etc.). Just might come in handy when you get tired of paying U.S. taxes and threaten to move to New Zealand– you can check out a few bases of comparison before you jump on a plane.

Grab Bag Brain Game:

Love BOGGLE….now it’s online …you do need to register your email address to play, which I did. They score 1 point for a 4 letter word, 2 for a 5, 3 for a 6, etc. I’ve got a long way to go… I only scored 19 points on the opener…

WORDSPLAY.NET

Grab Bag Funny Reflection:

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