Chia seeds have gotten quite the hype in the last few years. In the running and endurance athletics community they have definitely become a hot commodity since their introduction in the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. In the book, the super-athletic Indians in Mexico consumed chia seeds while on their desert runs and were provided with surges of energy during and after. So are chia seeds really the next promised super food? 

    When looked at scientifically, chia seeds do have a lot of benefits. To start with, Chia seeds have a high amount of protein, and they contain the minerals calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium, all of which are essential for keeping our bones strong. Of the many plants that we eat for food, chia seeds have the highest amount of Omega-3 fatty acids, which are beneficial for brain health. In addition to this, they are rich in antioxidants, which may protect our bodies from diseases like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

     Chia seeds are definitely nutritious, but some dieters may expect more than that. The seeds are extremely high in fiber. The fiber content soaks up water and causes them to expand, and this expansion is believed to make stomachs full, so chia seeds are believed to help people lose weight. However, there are few published studies that prove chia seeds’ benefit for weight loss, so stories about their weight-loss properties should be taken with a grain of salt.

     If you’re thinking about trying chia seeds for nutritional purposes, how do you add them to your diet? The easiest way is to add them to everything and anything. The seeds are tasteless so they won’t affect the flavor profile of your food. They can be sprinkled whole on top of salads or toast or added milled to smoothies and even to ice cream. 

Chia seeds may not look like much, but _______________.

    With the plethora of payment options, greater security and improved delivery, 96 percent of adults with internet access and a bank account now shop online, which is almost the entire customer base. Online shopping is now as popular as shopping in store (or even more so), as customers can save time, avoid the crowds and select products at their leisure without stepping outdoors.

    But e-commerce isn’t perfect. It’s not uncommon for people to place an order online only to be disappointed by delayed delivery, or receiving an item that fails to meet expectations. Perhaps they want to ask an extra question before clicking the purchase button, or to feel an affinity with your brand. Millennials, in particular, increasingly need to identify with your brand and message, before committing to buy. Experts stated that humanizing the e-commerce experience will lead to higher sales and improve customer retention. In fact, it’s not just a good idea; it’s imperative.

    With online shoppers notoriously fickle, many business owners find themselves faced with a quandary. How do they take their businesses online without sacrificing their brand’s customer service differentiation, delivered through personal touch? It’s all about creating an online experience that surpasses the customer’s expectations. Investing in the right technology is a necessary start. A tech-enabled business is the first step towards building a product or service that is measurable and sustainable. Delivering a superlative user experience online means ensuring that your site functions to perfection. It’s imperative that your shopping cart is fast and secure, your customers aren’t left with any doubts, and there are no broken links or error messages.

    In addition, the purchasing experience should be as simple as possible. One of the main reasons for shopping cart abandonment is forcing users to create a new account or jump through too many hoops in order to complete a purchase. 60 percent of consumers are less loyal to brands after just one poor experience with their website or app. In the evolving world of online e-commerce, customer satisfaction is as much about competitive differentiation as it is about evolving with the times. To provide an exceptional customer experience as well as to keep your online brand strategy focused on the user experience is critical. Only by doing this, can a business execute the ‘human’ touch for their product or service. 

      Finding a new lemur species is rare because many of the tiny creatures have become extinct. The recent find means that there are now 49 known species of lemurs in the wild.

       It is believed that dreams sometimes help us solve problems. It is also proposed that a critical aspect of dreaming lies in the processing of memories.

       Researcher Erin Wamsley designed a study in which participants explored a virtual maze, trying to learn its layout. Then she let them take a 90-minute nap. After their nap, she asked them whether they remembered dreaming about the task and then tested them on the maze again. The results were astonishing. Participants who had no memory of dreaming about the task took, on average, one and a half minutes longer to find their way out of the maze after their naps. However, those who reported that they had dreamed about it found their way out two and a half minutes faster than before. Erin then repeated the experiment by actually waking subjects to collect dream reports and identify those whose dreams were related to the task. She found that the latter showed almost 10 times more improvement after their naps compared with the participants who reported no related dreams.

       What exactly did they dream about? One participant reported: “I was thinking about the maze…, and then that led me to a cave trip I had a few years ago. The cave is maze-like.” Another recalled hearing the music played in the background while exploring the maze.

       Dreams like these seemed unlikely to help participants enhance their memories of the maze’s layout. And yet they were reported by the very participants who showed the greatest improvement. The sleeping brain was both enhancing its memory of the maze layout and creating related dreams. So, these dreams must be serving some other function. But what?

       Perhaps some strategy you learned while exploring a cave will help you the next time you try the maze task. Conversely, maybe something you learned from the maze task will help you next time you’re down in a cave. Your brain suddenly realizes, hey, exploring mazes and caves is really the same thing. It is a perfect example of the function of dreaming that researchers like Erin Wamsley propose: the extraction of new knowledge from existing information through the discovery of unexpected associations.

       Cosmetics have existed throughout human history. The ancient Greeks, the Egyptians, and Romans all used various kinds of makeup. Some of these cosmetics were used to improve one’s appearance, while others were used to protect one’s skin. However, in some cases, things used for makeup were dangerous or even deadly! Skin care treatments including perfumes, lotions, and cosmetic masks were common in ancient Egypt by rich and poor alike. As the inventor of some of the earliest sunscreens, Egyptians also developed oils and creams for protection against the sun and dry winds. Egyptians, as well as other ancient cultures, used various powders on their skin for beauty as well. Thousands of years ago, Egyptians wore black kohl around their eyes, Romans put white chalk on their faces, and Indians painted red henna on their bodies.

       Even though most of the ancient cosmetics were harmless, however, in the name of beauty, some people apply hazardous chemicals and toxic materials to their skin. During the Italian Renaissance, women wore white powder made of lead on their faces. Of course, doctors today know lead is like a poison for our bodies. Also around the time of the Renaissance, women in Italy put drops of belladonna in their eyes. These belladonna drops were made from a plant whose poison affects the nerves in the body. By putting belladonna drops in her eyes, a woman’s pupils will become very large, which was thought to make women more beautiful. Actually, this is where the plant’s name comes from. In Italian, belladonna means “beautiful woman.” 

       When Elizabeth I was queen in the late 1500s, some rather harmful cosmetics were also being used by women in England. In particular, women were using special hair dye made with lead and sulphur. The dye was designed to give people red hair, the same color as the queen’s hair, but over time, the dye made people’s hair fall out. Finally, just like the queen, women using this dye ended up bald and had to wear wigs.