What is it about this celebrity couple which has got everyone talking? Are they playing a game with Big Brother? Are they playing a character for the show? Or is [...]
Archive for February, 2012
Tomato and Carrot Soup
A fast and speedy soup that is hearty and delicious . Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes. Serves: 2 Ingredients: 2 medium carrots diced 8 tomatoes diced 1 potato diced 2 cups water 1 bay Leaf 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Method: 1. In a microwaveable bowl add [...]
Stem Cell Technology Reveals Clues to Alzheimer’s
Scientists in the US have used stem cells from patients to overcome the challenge of obtaining live brain cells, allowing them to learn more about the causes of Alzheimer’s. The study, published online today in the journal Nature, provides new opportunities for scientists to model the complex disease. Induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSCs, are [...]
Letter to Mr YouTube
I’m sat in front of my computer, trying to figure out why everywhere I turn, there are multiple ads trying to sell me goods, or an idea that I do not want or need. I don’t have a problem with advertising as such; in fact some adverts are legendary (look at all the ads that [...]
Nan Khatai – Indian Spiced Shortbread
This week, Jagruti Dhanecha presents her new recipe on City Connect. Nan Khatai (Nan-khat-aa-ee) eggless biscuits originate from South Asia. They are extremley popular in India and Pakistan. Light, slightly crispy and nutty flavoured cookies; they just melt in your mouth and they are perfect with your tea or coffee. Delicate enough that it just crumbles … [...]
The Artist – Silence is Golden
Silent cinema has made a big noise at this year’s awards ceremonies with The Artist winning a whole clutch of awards and receiving numerous nominations. Already gaining 7 awards at the 2012 BAFTAs, including the coveted Best Film prize, and proving that silence is definitely golden as the movie’s leading actor Jean Dujardin won Best Actor [...]
Banish Those Bad Habits Forever
Many of my clients come to me and ask how they can have more self control in breaking what they perceive as a bad habit. This could be in the form of smoking, eating too much, laziness including lack of exercise and even things such as personality disorders. We all know what it’s like to [...]
How Important is Your Happiness to You?
Unfortunately, life can be stressful. Worries over money, especially in these economically challenging times, can often divert focus of the things that are truly important in your life. By questioning your current focus and how happy you are, it is possible to save yourself a lot of pain down the line. Money is vitally important [...]
Style Tips from Star Designers
Need some celebrity inspiration for your digs? Check out what some of Hollywood’s biggest names in interior design have to say. Go Green Kari Whitman is the designer who decorated Jessica Alba’s Los Angeles home. Both Alba and Whitman are environmentalists and Whitman says, “I incorporate the green aesthetic into my home designs as much [...]
Does Doing Detox Make You Dirty?
Guido Masé also known as @herbalist on Twitter, has provided many a fascinating riposte to complementary medicine conversations with @sciencebase and others. Much of it seems to home in on the same conclusions despite the perceived polarity of the debate. One such point of agreement is in the myth of “detox”. Here, Masé discusses why even a herbalist is [...]
Happy Birthday Pierre-Auguste Renoir
On 25 February, City Connect celebrates the anniversary of the birth of French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, Renoir has been described by art critic Herbert Read as “the final representative of a tradition which runs [...]
Can Your Thoughts Can Heal Your Body?
Since opening my mind to interventions outside of nursing within the NHS, there have been a few barriers for me. I never really believed that the worlds of energy medicine and personal development were so easily accessible. In this week’s video I offer you an entry that I made last year in Zakynthos that encapsulates [...]
Bath Scientists Secure £220k Funding Boost for Dementia Research
A major research project into the role of iron in dementia with Lewy bodies is getting underway in Bath, thanks to grants worth £220,500 from two charities dedicated to funding dementia research. Alzheimer’s Research UK and Alzheimer’s research charity BRACE have teamed up to fund a unique three-year project that could bring new understanding of [...]
The Optimum Health Clinic Research Paper published
We are very proud to be able to share with you the first published paper for the OHC Research Department. It was published in the Journal of Integral Theory and Practice in the USA in December 2011, and has received excellent feedback. It outlines the OHC approach to ME, CFS and Fibromyalgia in academic terms, [...]
Cucumber Raita
Raita is a yogurt condiment flavoured with grated or finely chopped vegetables, fruit or herbs and mustard to enhance the flavour. In Gujarati mustard is called “rai”. “So a raita without mustard isn’t a raita” according to the Gujaratis. I used the ready made English mustard which is fairly mild. You can add as much [...]
Cereal Chocolate Crispies
Crunchy cereal, dry fruits & coconut all coated in a golden syrup and scrumptious chocolate. Preparation time – 20 minutes Yields 24 Ingredients: 480 grams / 16 oz of Kellogg’s special fruit and nut cereal. 30 grams /1 oz butter 60 grams / 2oz desiccated coconut or coconut flakes 120 grams / 4oz mixed chopped nuts [...]
10 Body Myths Debunked by Science
Myth 1: Calories Counting Is All That Matters for Weight Management – Calories are the energy content as measured by complete combustion of the food. But, our bodies don’t burn food, they digest, ingest and metabolise it, so different foods even if they have the same “calories” can have a very different effect on our [...]
Who Wants to Live Forever? – Part 1: The Origins of Celebrity
If one had to name or describe the dominant theme of our cultural epoch, it would almost certainly be celebrity, and the public’s obsession with fame; what we have come to call the cult of the personality. Never before has a culture been quite so fixated with fame: the quest for it; the acquiring of [...]
Life Unexpected
When one thinks of the Alps, several things come to mind. Skiing, vin chaud, fondue, beautiful scenery… For the most part, these visions become reality, give or take a few groups of rowdy British students. However, should you ever find yourself in Courchevel 1850, the Alpine ‘norm’ and what you’re actually confronted with are worlds [...]
Cambridge Scientists Use Down’s Syndrome Stem Cells to Model Alzheimer’s
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have developed a new and innovative way to study Alzheimer’s disease in the lab. The stem cell technique, which allows researchers to track the disease over a matter of weeks, could provide a valuable tool for scientists to unravel the complexity of Alzheimer’s and test potential new treatments. The [...]
Two Food Wines from Bordeaux
I have recently been reviewing my way through a number of wines being promoted as part of the Good Food Would Choose Bordeaux campaign, aimed at promoting mid-priced, easily-available wines typical of Bordeaux. The wines were selected by the Association of Wine Educators and details of all can be found on the GFWCB website. However, [...]
The 3 Keys of Transformation
It is hard to believe that we are over a month into the New Year already! We hope 2012 is developing for you as planned? If you haven’t already checked out Alex’s brand new online programme Conscious Transformation, we strongly encourage you to do so ASAP as it is nearly 1/2 full already. You can [...]
Uk Scientists Uncover New Clues for Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s
Scientists in Nottingham have found abnormal levels of seven different proteins in spinal fluid could act as markers for detecting Alzheimer’s disease. The study, which was part-funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK’s leading dementia research charity, could lead to the development of a new test to detect the disease in its early stages. Researchers [...]
Life or Death?
This may sound like a strange question to ask since you are alive enough to read this but why did it capture your attention? Did you know that many people are more dead than alive in their daily existence? Having worked as a nurse for over 13 years, studying health and wellbeing for over 18 [...]
First Date Fashion Tips
Valentine’s Day has been and gone but what happens if you’re still single after February 14? The prospect of first dates and meeting Mr Right is still very much on the single girl’s agenda. Personal Stylist Katie Bowen has some top fashion tips for first date outfits… When you’re single, deciding what to wear for [...]
Is Antioxidant Luteolin an Anticancer Super-nutrient?
A flavonoid compound found in fruit and vegetables, luteolin, was recently hailed as an anticancer supernutrient by the tabloid media. Aside from the fact that over-dosing on antioxidants could be detrimental to one’s front-line immune response to pathogens, the research was purely laboratory based and said nothing about whether or not luteolin might actually prevent [...]
Banana Chocolate Pancakes
Light, soft and fluffy pancakes, served with sweet bananas and chocolate sauce. Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients: 75 g plain flour Pinch of salt 2 large eggs 150 ml milk Sunflower oil for frying 2 bananas sliced Chocolate sauce 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar for dusting. Method: 1. Place [...]
Ask City Connect
Favourite iPhone Apps
Our readers asked us if we could do a list of the most popular iPhone apps. Mobile phone technology has become an integral part of everyone’s live and smart phones [...]
Style
Five Easy Ways to Revamp Your Home
There comes a point when most people want their home to have a completely new look, but it is not always the case that there is a lot of time [...]
Relationships
Dating Etiquette – Keeping Your Man
Now you have got your man, the next important step is to keep him which means traversing the potential minefields such as meeting his friends, going on your first mini-break, meeting the parents and behaviour [...]
