Sugar is without question one of the most dangerous substances on the food market today. The health dangers which ingesting sugar on a habitual basis creates are certain. Simple sugars have been observed to aggravate asthma, move mood swings, provoke personality changes, muster mental illness, nourish nervous disorders, deliver diabetes, hurry heart disease, grow gallstones, hasten hypertension, and add arthritis.

Nature has given us plenty of choices – sweetening alternatives to sugar. Here is a list of natural alternatives to sugar substitutes:

1. Stevia – Stevia with FOS is a very sweet herb from South America that’s available in powder and liquid form. FOS stands for fruit ogiliosaccharides, which are beneficial for and support healthy intestinal bacteria. Stevia has shown promise in medical research for treating conditions such as obesity and high blood pressure. It has negligible effect on blood glucose, which makes it attractive as a natural sweetener to diabetics and others on carbohydrate-controlled diets. It contains zero calories.

2. Brown rice malt syrup consists of maltose, glucose, and complex carbohydrates. It is an amber hued syrup resembling honey, but it is not as sweet as honey. It can be substituted cup per cup for granulated sugar, but the liquid ingredients should be reduced by 1/4 cup per cup of rice syrup. Enzyme treated syrup, as opposed to malted syrup, will tend to liquefy the batter of a baked product. Use the malted syrup for best results.

3. Frozen fruit juice, fruit concentrate, and canned fruit juice. Concentrated juices should be diluted with three parts water and must be pure juice. Use them quickly after thawing. Frozen concentrated juices are denser than regular fruit juices and should be let stand for 12 hours. Canned juice can be used as a sweeter for fruit and can be several fruits combined together. Just make sure that there isn’t any sugar added.

4. Honey. Can be used as a natural alternative for sugar in most recipes but as it is sweeter than sugar. Almost one fifth of honey is water; the liquid content of a recipe should be reduced by the same amount. Honey also adds a subtle flavor to many savoury dishes such as meat casseroles, sauces and dressings. Honey strengthens the heart, is a natural and gentle laxative, is a blood purifier, prevents cold, cough and fever. Honey not produces acidity or flatulence.

5. Sweet Spices. Adding certain spices to a recipe can sweeten it without calories or sugar. Adding spices such as: allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, mace, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, catsup spice, and mixed pickling spice. She says that mint and vanilla flavoring also will sweeten food. Read more

Questions begin the minute the interview does, and you’ll need to demonstrate that you are a perfect candidate. You must to be prepared to answer not only the typical questions, but also the unexpected, difficult questions. You can wait for questions regarding your experience, your academic preparation, career interests, qualifications, and ones that assess your personality.

Review these typical interview questions and think about how you would answer them:

1. Tell me about yourself
The most frequently asked question in interviews. You need to have a short speech prepared in your mind. Be careful that it does not sound rehearsed. Limit it to work-related items unless instructed otherwise. Talk about things you have done and jobs you have held that relate to the position you are interviewing for. Start with the item farthest back and work up to the present.

2. Why did you leave your last job?
You should always address an interview question with honesty. However, you should also always try to frame your honest answer in the most positive way possible.
Never refer to a major problem with management and never speak ill of supervisors, co-workers or the organization. Keep smiling and talk about leaving for a positive reason such as an opportunity, a chance to do something special or other forward-looking reasons. Read more

 Foreign Policy and Britain’s Prospect magazine selected their top 100 Public Intellectuals, and invited readers to vote for their top 100.The majority of the names that I recognized in their top 100 list are lefties. However there is a criterion for writing in a candidate. The criteria are: “Although the men and women on this list are some of the world’s most sophisticated thinkers, the criteria to make the list could not be simpler. Candidates must be living and still active in public life. They must have shown distinction in their particular field as well as an ability to influence wider debate, often far beyond the borders of their own country.” This list is about public influence, not intrinsic achievement. And that is where things get really tricky. Judging influence is hard enough inside one’s own culture, but when you are peering across cultures and languages, the problem becomes far harder. Obviously our list of 100 has been influenced by where most of us sit, in the English-speaking West.
“Prospect and Foreign Policy”  www.foreignpolicy.com

Voting ends on May 15. More than 20,000 people voted in this poll. See results below:

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“Research suggests that as many as 8 out of 10 employed adults are in the wrong job or career!”

Career goal setting is an excellent way to motivate yourself and achieving your career dreams. They keep you motivated to live life to the fullest and to get what you want out of it.

Here are 7 successful - strategies to help you set career goals:

1. Start with a positive attitude.  Hope, optimism and enthusiasm have a magical effect on goal setting and the way you think.

2. Set realistic goals.  Try to achieve them with the help of a real career plan that will meet all your needs. Be explicit about what you want and have it thoroughly reviewed to ensure achievability factors. To manage your expectations, set reasonable goals that can be worked on and achieved.

3. Analyse and evaluate professional skills.       If you are employed, unemployed, considering a career change, re-entering the job market or recently graduated, the first step to identifying your career potential needs an objective analysis and evaluation of your capabilities.

4. Sell yourself. Learn the fine art of self-promotion. You need to implement an effective marketing strategy to increase your visibility and gain a competitive edge. If you have had major accomplishments or created successful programs, make sure people know about it — especially those in influential positions who could help you advance professionally. Let it be known that you are seeking a promotion or the next step up in your career. Read more

Many kids are naturally curious about the Earth and taking care of the environment. You can do good green habits as a family. You can make small, simple, easy habit changes that all add up to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Here is 10 ways to teach your kids how to be green:

1. Keep your kids busy with activities that don’t promote consumption or waste: walks on the beach, bike rides to a public playground, bus trips to a museum and regular stops at the public library.
2. Make gardening a family activity. Eating means no gas is required to ship those blue-ribbon tomatoes.Good for you: “Kids with exposure to gardening programs do better on science tests, do better socially and develop a sense of responsibility,” says Charlie Nardozzi, senior horticulturist with the National Gardening Association. “And they develop better eating habits.”
3. Take the green lead. Your children will pick up habits from you, so try to conserve .Your kids learn the most from you. If you would like to see certain traits in your children, then lead by example. Take quick showers - you can use a timer - turn off lights, televisions and appliances when you leave the room, and switch to more efficient light bulbs.
4. Participate in cleanup days at a beach or park. Use those outdoor trash cans! Never litter. Keep our waterways clean. When you visit a park or beach, be sure you deposit your trash in containers and volunteer at some state and national cleanups. Read more