Extra Credit- Herbs, Botanicles (Aloe Vera)

Aloe Vera was originally discovered in Northern Africa and has always been considered as a healer plant in many countries.  Even in todays society, it is used in various skin products and herbal medicines.  Aloe Vera are widely used in the cosmetics and alternative medicine industries, being marketed as variously having rejuvenating, healing or soothing properties. This plant is very easy to grow and maintain because it can live under harsh and dry conditions.  Aloe Vera is said to soothe and relax the skin, it is used for burns or any other skin irritations.  It is also viewed as a herbal medicine that can be consumed as also a soother to the body. Aloe Vera is a soothing plant overall to the individual and is quite useful for various purposes.

Final Health Blog

After doing all of these blogs, it has made me a little more open to writing about other topics that do not necessarily have to deal with school.  It was a fun experience reading other individual's blogs and seeing their perspective on things compared to your very own. I definitely got a feel for the diversity in personalities among the classroom and also some similarities.  Although I may not ever use Blogger again after this class, it is nice to know that I have the account and could get on and write about anything that comes to mind.

Marriage Experts

As my previous post mentioned, I have great grandparents that live in LA and I decided to ask them about their marriage.  They have been married for a longer period than I can even remember and were the first people I thought of for this exercise.  When I asked them for techniques to go through marriage for that long and how to overall keep it going strong, they both had lots to say.  They mentioned that first you must accept your partner for who they truly are, do not judge them, but guide them if they ever fall short.  My grandma commented on how my great grandpa would always make her mad but she said that it is no way to handle a marriage, she learned to forgive my grandpa for the small things he did to make her mad everyday and still does it to this day.  Overall, they said to just learn to appreciate each others company, even if your just in a room not saying one word.  Always be there for your partner because they are with you for life and express your passion for that person day to day.  It was quite an overwhelming experience but I loved to hear about strong marriages, especially in modern times like these where the divorce rate is about 50-55%.

Elderly Visit

Whenever I go visit my family in LA, I almost every time, try to visit my great grandpa Nacho.  He is a 82 year old man that is just full of life and still very active for his age.  The story behind his life interested when he first told me about it.  My grandpa had fought through many struggles and basically raised himself since he was a kid and his parents got killed.  I enjoyed the time I spend with him and even get inspired when I see him because he is still very healthy for his age.  He always tells me how he really enjoys my visits, even if they are only for limited periods of time.  Elderly people are full of many memories and lessons that many people should listen to at times. Overall, sharing a talk with an elder is something remarkable.

Stress Reduction Technique

With the current weather, I found that a good stress reduction technique would be swimming.  After a long day at work, I went to a friends house to go swimming and talk for a bit.  We mainly just floated around and babbled on about random issues here and there but mainly just relaxed and stayed quiet. After spending around 3hrs in the pool, on this hot summer day, I felt rejuvenated and at peace.  I had no worries on my mind and my body was relaxed.  My only intentions after the swim were to just enjoy the rest of the day and sleep that night. That is exactly what I managed to do. I went through the whole day feeling good and relaxed and got a great nights sleep.  This technique definitely helped my meditate and stay at peace with my emotions and I would surely do it again, especially during these nice summer days.

Kids Off Drugs

Drugs are a big negative influence that many kids come across during their lifetime.  As a parent, one must think of various methods to keep your children away from drugs.  These are some positive methods I would use to prevent my children from drug use.

• Educate them about the negative effect that drugs have on people.
• Show extreme real cases of people affected by drugs as a scare tactic.
• Avoid showing movies or shows were drug use is considered "cool."
• Show alternate ways to dealing with extreme emotions such as sadness if ever encountered so that your children will not refer to drug use.
• Be a positive role model and not show any lineage towards acceptance of drugs but do not be too overwhelming.  
• Show drugs (medical) as last resort to problem solving, not solutions to everything.

5 Love Languages Quiz Results

									I was not surprised with the results that I got because to me I really enjoy spending Quality Time with a loved one. Whether its just lounging around or taking a trip, the time spent together is what matters due to the memories created in this time.  Acts of service and Physical Touch were tied for second place because I feel they are both important ways of expressing your love for a person without words.  Finally, I knew I was not going to be rated high at all for receiving gifts because I prefer acts instead.  To me, I am more of the type of person that enjoys giving gifts rather than receiving them. Overall, the test was a pretty fun test to take to just open your eyes to the type of connection you have with other close individuals.

Food Inc.

After watching the truly information packed video, Food Inc., I truly saw the other side behind the food consumers buy.  It revealed to me what was behind the mask of food processing and truly where it came from.  What I found to be shocking were the fact that there are 4 major companies running the food industry like a big monopoly.  But the other case that I found shocking was the process of genetic modification in common foods that are produced.  I was not aware that 70 % of processed foods came from a genetically modified ingredient and that ingredient could be owned such as the genetically modified soy beans.  This video helped me get a better understanding on what exactly I am eating and has impacted me in a way to make smarter and healthier decisions when it comes to food purchasing.  I would definitely recommend this to a friend, not just to scare them, but to give them a piece of knowledge in everyday consuming.  I would point out the impact that our eating habits are producing on everybody and how it can be changed.