| ST. JOHN: Fasting friend inspires action
I'm not talking about a not-eating-meat-on-Friday fast, or an I'm-gonna-give-up-red-wine-for-40-days-but-still-drink-white-wine fast. No, he's doing an honest-to-goodness, Mahatma Gandhi-type fast- nothing but water. Fasting is a method of religious observance, penitence and purification which is practiced in several religious faiths. I am of the Protestant persuasion, so I will focus mostly on Protestant fasting. Fasting was an option for the early Christians, and later became a requirement. In the early church the typical fast lasted 40 hours. It was later changed to 40 days. The 40-day fast in the early Christian church allowed one meal per day. My friend is not allowing himself even one meal. He is on a nothing-but-water fast for the entire 40 days. As I write he is in the 20th day of the fast and seems to be doing well.
Who needs Paris when we have Hanoi?
All we have to do is get across the street. Think about what it would be like to walk across Highway 99 at rush hour, and you start to get an idea of what it means to be a pedestrian in Hanoi. Take out the median and most of the traffic lights. Replace most of the cars with motorbikes, all honking their horns at the same time. Then start walking. Don't hesitate. Don't stop in the middle of the street. Keep going. Somehow, it all works. Are cars on the way? "Five or six years ago, all you could see in the streets were bicycles," says Cuong Nguyen, 29, a guide for a local travel agency. If the trend continues, Hanoi's streets will be clogged with cars in another five or six years, just like Bangkok and Beijing.
Rx: 2 lab-tested chicken soups
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Did you know... that bad nutrition can turn on viruses? Certain viruses can be activated to spread disease if you lack vitamin E and/or selenium, rich in whole grains, seafood, garlic and Brazil nuts, say U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers. Vitamin alert! A typical one-a-day vitamin-and-mineral pill boosted certain immune responses in older people by 64 percent, according to researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. This should lower the risk of colds and other infections, they said.
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