Let's talk about rice nutrition facts: White or Brown, which is better?

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Let's talk about rice nutrition facts: White or Brown, which is better?

Rice is consumed worldwide thanks to its nutritional properties and versatility to prepare delicious dishes such as traditional Chinese rice, rice puddings, rice pancakes, Risotto, and more. It is part of the diet of millions around the world today.

Different types

For those who are not cooking experts, in the world, it can be said there are five types of rice: white, brown, red, blue, and black (also known as forbidden rice because it could only be eaten by the emperors in ancient China).

Each of these types of rice has different nutritional values and the two most widely accepted and popular are the brown and white ones.

However, a long time debate has settled about which of those is better. In this post you will learn about these two types of rice, the use given to each of them and how one differs from the other in terms of composition, nutritional values, and use.


White rice vs Brown rice

Before explaining the difference between both types of rice, it is necessary to know some information: rice is made up of germ, bran, and husk and all kinds of white rice are brown at its beginning.

Both white and brown rice provide high levels of carbohydrates to the required daily intake (about 16 g on average).

However, white rice is processed. In this process, the germ, bran, and husk are removed to increase its durability and prevent it from going rancid, leaving only the endosperm and, so part of its nutrients are removed. That is why usually white rice is enriched with vitamins and nutrients to make it more marketable. This process is what makes the main differences between the two arise.

One perfect example of a processed rice is Enriched Extra Long Grain White Rice | Carolina® Rice, a long grain white rice very recommended for making your favorite meals.

Below you’ll see some positive aspects of each one of them.

Characteristics of white rice

Enriched white rice has a high folate content. One cup of white rice contains about 200 micrograms of folate, which is equivalent to half the daily dose a person needs. The creation of DNA in cells needs this component, which also aids in cell division. It is an essential nutrient for pregnant women.

White rice, including worldwide known Jasmine and Arborio types, has a greater market share than brown rice. It lends itself very well to all kinds of dishes: Cajun food, Asian food, risottos, etc., which is not the case with brown rice.

White rice can be an excellent choice to accompany almost all your meals, but make sure the fiber and protein come from other foods.


Characteristics of brown rice

Brown rice is a cereal in itself that includes germ, bran, and endosperm when processed to market.

Brown rice, since it undergoes less processing than white type, becomes the healthiest alternative. Its glycemic index (GI) is lower than white rice, so it is suitable to be consumed by people suffering from type II diabetes since it does not contribute to the increase of glycemia. In addition, it has more nutrients and fiber than white rice.

Due to its high fiber content, this rice produces a high satiety sensation, much more than white rice.

It has a higher manganese content than white rice, which is a nutrient necessary for energy absorption and serves as an antioxidant.

The selenium content in brown rice aids in the production of hormones in the thyroid gland, provides antioxidant protection and works with vitamin E to protect cells from cancer.

A ½ cup of brown rice provides 11% of the body's daily intake of magnesium.

Magnesium is necessary for good blood clotting, muscle contraction, cell production, and bone development.

Last, but not least, brown rice helps to reduce cholesterol levels and the consequent risk of heart diseases.

Conclusions

It has been stated that brown rice has more nutrients than white rice, however, and thanks to its versatility, white rice could perhaps be the rice of choice if you want to prepare a variety of dishes.

If you do not know how to choose which type of rice to consume, consult your nutritionist and according to your glycemic levels and nutritional requirements, the expert will give you the best recommendation.

Know a little more about the different Italian rice varieties

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For most people, Italian cuisine usually evokes a copious dish of pasta or a mouthwatering pizza. But Italian gastronomy not only relies on these two dishes. It includes a wide range of regional ingredients for making typical Italian food, with rice on the top of the list.

Italy has an ancient tradition of using rice as its main staple food. Nowadays, that country is the major rice producer in Europe with the most important crops located in Lombardy and Piedmont regions, near the French border.

Rice tradition goes back to the middle of the 15th century. There are two main theories of how rice reached Italy. One indicates this grain arrived by the Crusaders or by the Arabs. Some others believed rice came from the Middle East and the Far East through merchants.

Wherever its origins, Italians have improved rice cultivation by creating an ingenious irrigation system, which allows settling rice as a popular and affordable crop. That is the reason why rice has become one of the main staples of Italian gastronomy.

Italian rice

There are more than 160 varieties of Italian rice with unique characteristics and uses in countless rice preparations. This wide range of quality Italian rice allows Italy to represent 5% of total world rice production.

Most known varieties include Arborio, Sant’Andrea, Roma, Carnaroli, Baldo, Balilla, and Vialone Nano. Surprisingly, lots of people cannot yet recognize the different types of Italian rice and keep wondering what is Arborio rice or which one is Carnaroli.

Here you have the answer; let's learn all about them and how to cook with the right type for properly making delightful rice dishes.

Arborio: It is super fino rice with a short oval shape. It is preferred for cooking risotto and salads.

Sant’Andrea: A bit larger grain with high starch content. It has a good absorption characteristic which makes it ideal for risotto, soups, arancini, and puddings.

Roma: This rice type is long, round, and compact. After cooking, grains remain well separated. It is used for cooking risotto, arancini, Paniscia, and soups.

Carnaroli: Known as “The King of Italian Rice” because of its outstanding characteristics for making risotto. It is a smaller grain with a pearl core; it releases low starch content when cooking which results in al dente risotto.

Baldo: This is a crystalline grain with low starch content. It remains separated and consistent after cooking. It is perfect for preparing salads and risotto due to its good cooking resistance.

Balilla: It is known as common rice. This grain is fat and round. When cooking, it results in sticky rice, and it is used for soups and minestrones.

Vialone Nano: It is a semifino rice. Its grains are small with a plump shape. Its high starch content and excellent absorption properties make it also perfect for risotto.

Using the right rice variety in your Italian dishes

Italian cuisine is very simple and its extraordinary flavors depend on the quality of the ingredients used. The most common are tomatoes, potatoes, cheeses, rice, corn, meat, pork, and fish. All these meals are well seasoned and slightly spiced for creating the most delicious dishes.

If you choose to cook with some Italian rice varieties, you must consider that every type of Italian rice is used for specific dishes. Try the following recipes and discover the true Italian flavors.

Risotto all'amatriciana (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of Carnaroli rice.
• 5.3 oz (150 grams) of guanciale (Italian cured pork).
• 14 oz (400 grams) of peeled and crushed tomatoes.
• 2/3 cup of pecorino romano cheese.
• 2 liters of vegetable broth.
• 3 tablespoons of dry white wine.
• Black pepper to taste.
• Salt to taste.
• 
  

Preparation:

In a saucepan, pour vegetable broth and keep it warm.

Cut guanciale into 0.5 cm strips.

In a saucepan, cook guanciale until it gets crispy and brownish.

Incorporate white wine, and cook until the alcohol starts to evaporate.

Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and add them to the saucepan. Cook this sauce covered at medium-low heat.

In another saucepan, toast the rice and add to the sauce. Stir very well.

Pour warm vegetable broth little by little.

And continue adding a few amounts of broth each time until rice is tender.

Take out rice from the heat, and add cheese.

Rice and milk pudding (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of white Baldo rice.
• 1 liter of milk.
• ½ cup of sugar.
• 1 tablespoon of butter.
• Vanilla extract to taste.
• Ground cinnamon to taste.
• Raisins to taste.

Preparation:

In a saucepan, pour milk, butter, and rice. Mix very well.

Add sugar and cook at medium heat. To avoid the mixture from sticking you must stir the mix carefully.

Reduce heat, and continue stirring.

When it gets creamy, remove it from heat, and add vanilla extract.

Serve with raisins and cinnamon on the top.

A simple and tasty rice dish when you are short of time

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Due to the fast-paced lifestyle of today, it is understandable that cooking is not the priority for many people, and it could even be considered by some as an arduous time-consuming task. Certainly, in a world full of responsibilities, spending time in the kitchen may not be feasible for everyone.

However, we all deserve a moment of peace in our homes and a well-cooked meal to enjoy, better if it is made by ourselves, and that is not an unattainable mission: there are quick and tasty recipes that can help anyone in those moments.

The recipes detailed below are microwave-based and are made to create easy and quick dishes as you have never thought before.

If you are interested in more recipes for rice with egg in the microwave you can see them here: minuterice.com/recipes/microwave-egg-fried-rice/

Vegetarian microwave eggs and rice recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 white eggs.
• 4 cups of brown rice.
• 1 large red grated onion.
• Salt.
• Provençal nutmeg.
• 4 perita tomatoes.
• Brown sugar.
• Neutral oil.

The first step is to do is cooking the rice, in this case, brown rice, so mix it with the water, the salt and the olive oil in a microwave-safe container (this is very important), that should be large enough, since the rice will increase in volume and it could overflow if the container can’t handle it.

If the container lid does not have a vapor vent, do not close it completely, try to leave a space for the steam to escape, and cook at maximum power (800 W) for 12 minutes.

When time is up, take the container out of the microwave, uncover it, stir it well with a spoon or a fork, and put it back in the microwave, also at maximum power for another 10-12 minutes.

Let it rest for a few minutes to finish cooking, so it can be used later. To further separate the grains, use a strainer and cool running tap water to drain it well.

Then place the rice on a deep plate and open the 2 white eggs on top of the rice, place it in the microwave for a minute and a half without adding any oil or butter.

The final touch will be the sliced tomatoes, so place it on the rice, then you can rectify the salty or sweetness of the dish using salt or sugar, and voila you can present it.

Microwave fried rice recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of butter.
• 1 chopped onion.
• 4 slices of bacon, chopped.
• 1/2 cup chickpeas.
• 2 cups of rice.
• 3 cups of hot water.
• 2 cubes of shredded chicken broth.
• 1 red bell pepper.
• 1 cup of mushrooms.
• 1 tbsp of mixed herbs.
• 1 pinch of salt and pepper.

In a microwave-safe saucepan, put the bacon, the onion and the peas along with the butter. Set the M/O on high for 6 minutes. Take it out carefully and stir.

Rinse the rice under tap water and pour it onto the pan with 3 cups of hot water and the vegetables. Stir it again.

Add salt, pepper and the herbs to taste, and microwave on high for 10 more minutes. Stir the rice.

Set another 10 minutes on high and when done, remember to stir again before serving.

Recipe for rice with vegetables and ham in the microwave

Ingredients:

• 2 glasses of vegetable or chicken broth.
• 1 cup long or round grain rice.
• 2.5 oz (75 g) serrano ham chopped pieces.
• 2 carrots cut into brunoise.
• 1 tsp of the spice you like, curry, cumin or any other.
• 130 gr. frozen peas.
• A good drizzle of olive oil.
• Salt.

In a microwave-safe bowl, put the drizzle of oil and then the rest of the ingredients. So let's try to integrate everything by stirring them well.

Including the rice which we have previously cooked with the microwave. To do this, put the salt, the rice, and the water together with just another splash of oil, in this case, a cup of rice and a cup of water, in a microwaveable bowl, for 12 minutes is enough for it to be ready.

Microwave uncovered on full power for 20 minutes. Once it beeps, don’t open the door and let it stand for 5 minutes.

Then you can serve and enjoy it.

The origins of Spanish Paella

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Have you ever learned about the origins of Spanish paella?

One of the traditional meals in Spain is paella, this preparation has an incredible history that is worth knowing. Besides, it is an easy meal to prepare at home, with simple, easy-to-get ingredients, and not too much cooking experience needed to enjoy a delicious dish.

Converging cultures

Paella is the favorite dish of the Spanish people, and even international high quality rice manufacturers offer recipes to prepare it, as you can see in mahatmarice.com/recipes/authentic-Spanish-paella-seafood/. So making a good paella today is not a difficult task.

The paella as it is known in Spain today comes from two different cultures, the Roman for the pan, and the Arabic for the rice. There is even a story that tells that the servants of the Moorish kings created rice dishes by mixing all the leftovers from the royal banquets. Moreover, there are those who claim that the term paella comes from the Arabic word baqiyah, which means leftovers.

The truth is that it refers to the pan where the rice is prepared, according to the Roman culture that used words like patella or patera, to refer to containers with different culinary functions. Nowadays, the paella pan where the food is prepared has two opposite handles and is made of a steel alloy to withstand intense heat.

A little bit of history

In Valencia, the paella originated sometime between the 15th and 16th centuries, when farmers and day laborers rested for lunch and used the remains of food from the celebrations cooking them on an open fire.

According to some historians, no dishes were used to eat the rice. Instead, it was consumed directly from the pan, since each one used his own wooden spoon.

At first the paella was prepared with poultry, field rabbit or hare, as well as with fresh vegetables. They mixed all together with the rice and olive oil, and cooked over low heat. Fires were made with orange tree wood, whose smoke gave the paella a characteristic taste and smell.

It is possible to find paellas in different presentations depending on the region where it is prepared, such as the Valencian, with beef, lamb, seafood, vegetables or mixed, so you can enjoy it in many ways.
How is paella prepared?

There are many ways to make a delicious paella, but the following is the traditional Valencian recipe, so you’ll enjoy preparing an old-style meal.

Ingredients:

• A cup of peas.
• Four tablespoons of olive oil.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Lemon juice.
• Two strands of saffron.
• A branch of marjoram.
• A branch of parsley.
• A nice chopped onion.
• Two cups of rice.
• A green pepper and a red pepper, both cut into strips.
• 17 ounces of shrimp.
• 17 ounces pre cooked mussels.
• 35 ounces of clams.
• 7 ounces of sliced chorizo.
• 17 ounces of pork chops.
• A chicken cut into pieces.

Method of preparation

To start, you should remove the chicken’s thighs, breast, and legs. The rest of the pieces must be cooked together with the parsley, salt, pepper and marjoram to prepare a broth, then strain and reserve.

In a paella pan add the oil to heat it, and fry the reserved pieces of chicken, as well as the pork chops. When everything is golden, remove the pieces of chicken and the pork chops, and reserve.

In the fat released by those ingredients, fry the chorizo and the onion. Then remove the excess fat and add the rice. Mix well so that the rice becomes soaked in fat, then place the fried chicken, chops and vegetables.
Add the saffron and stir with a spoon for the broth to acquire color.

Pour the broth over the rice, add a few drops of lemon juice, and finally add the seafood. Cover the preparation with foil, reduce heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

After 10 minutes of cooking, add more salt and pepper to season the paella, add the chorizo and let cook until the rice is soft.

Following this recipe, you can prepare a meal that has been preferred by Spaniards for many years. The paella is a delicious dish that is worth trying at home, since its preparation in any of its versions is simple, and you’ll surely end up with a delicious result.

Gwyneth Chua and our poor implementation of Covid-19 health and quarantine protocols

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"Department of Tourism, pinagpapaliwanag ang Berjaya Makati Hotel kung bakit pinayagang makalabas ang isang hotel guest na naka-quarantine sa kanila noong Disyembre 23." 

"Just heard of the young lady, Gwyneth Chua, who skipped the required quarantine after coming home from the US and then went to parties and ate in Poblacion, Makati and now 12, maybe more, are sick. She had Omicron but paid a facility in the province to lie for her."

Lol trending na yung babaing nagbakasyon sa US, then pag-uwi ay infected ng omicron variant pala, pero nag skip ng quarantine at nagparty possibly infecting a whole bar. 

Let our response be: Tang*na niya!?

Gwyneth Chua is not some isolated (no pun intended) case. She is, at best, a representation of the messed up system here in the Philippines. The rich are able to get away with skirting around the rules because they have the money to do so.

Though there is nothing wrong with being privileged. What is wrong is when people use that privilege and (knowing or unknowingly) hurt those around them.

Recognize your privilege. Use your privilege RESPONSIBLY.

FOMO is not a valid reason to leave quarantine and infect not just her friends but the owners and workers at the restaurants. 

Given that we hate the pandemic response of this administration... so come on, her actions had MAJOR consequences.

It's people like her who make it hard for everyone else who are following proper protocol when it should be easy enough to just not party with friends if you are in mandatory quarantine.

She has been outed and called out profusely on social media. The government should make sure she gets penalized for her violations. We hope we could get that action ASAP.

If the Philippines goes to lockdown again because of this privileged and irresponsible individual, ya’ll better hunt her down. 

All the effort and pagtitiis wasted because of a girl who can’t handle living in a hotel room for a week.

We’re flattening the curve and a bitch like this one needs to be taught a lesson the hard way.

I AM LIVID.

Meanwhile, netizens should stop throwing hate and insults aimed at her. Let's just pressure DOT, IATF, and other government agencies to do their job since they're supposed to be the ones responsible for the implementation of strict health and quarantine protocols.

This is DOT and DOH’s last chance to actually show people they mean business and showing they have a proper contact tracing system in place by cracking down ALL the parties involve in this mess. Regardless kung mayaman sila or hindi.

Did you know? When we name drop Poblacion girl in a witch hunt, the DOH, the hotel, the whole system gets a pass for being mediocre and designed for the more privileged — 2 YEARS into the pandemic. 

Yes she broke quarantine but how is it that our contact tracing still sucks

Not keeping my hopes up.

The potential of benefits of VoIP phone systems

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Voice Over IP (VoIP) technology, often known as VoIP, is becoming more popular for companies worldwide as they discover the numerous uses and advantages of these systems.

Over time, the VoIP phone system San Antonio has developed from a device that can answer calls and take messages to a production server that combines calls, workstation communication, emails, project management, chat, presence, and mobility into one application. Employees may now operate from anywhere, at any time, and maintain continuous contact with internal and external clients thanks to the latest generation of VoIP phone systems. Whether you want to buy software for your company, host a solution in your data center, or use Hosted/Cloud VoIP, Business VoIP phone service providers can offer you a unified set of tools to boost productivity and deliver better customer care to your customers.

San Antonio Businesses Can Benefit From VoIP Technology


VoIP works by turning existing voice technology into conventional IP packets. Voice traffic, once transformed, may flow over any or all VoIP-enabled networks. One advantage of this technology is that traditional voice/data networks may now be integrated on a single web, resulting in much lower monthly expenditure with a local dial tone carrier.


Here are some of the cost-cutting advantages of phone systems, San Antonio:


Dial Tone Services: 

You may save a lot of money on dial tone services such as interoffice communications, fax, internet, and long-distance, as well as other monthly costs connected with local carriers.

Increased Mobility: 

VoIP technology may be utilized to incorporate mobile phone usage into your company's system. Users might, for example, be able to check their voicemails from their mobile phone, or a call could be routed to an offside line. As more people work from home, this technology may be beneficial in keeping all of your workers available and connected.

Application Integration: 

Connect your VoIP phone system to many of your computer programs, such as email, fax, video/audio, or web conferencing.

Save money: 

VoIP technology has lower cost than traditional landline phone systems.

VoIP allows for mobility

Mobility is more important than ever for any company, enabling workers to remain connected and customers. Today's technologies will allow the smartphone to function as a simple extension of the VoIP phone system, providing unrivaled mobility. A desktop phone is not even needed for individuals who are ready to make the switch. You may have phone calls to the workplace or ring your direct number to your smartphone while passing the original caller's Caller ID.

Furthermore, teleworking is becoming more popular in a variety of sectors. This enables workers to work from home, lowering real estate expenses for companies and improving the talent pool for recruitment. Through the many uses of VoIP technology, your company may participate in this positive trend.

Is VoIP a Good Fit for Your Business?

While VoIP technology provides many possibilities for expansion, complete adoption may not be appropriate for every company. Business VoIP phone service providers aim to establish trusting relationships with their customers, which is why they provide complete and comprehensive assessments of each client's requirements and capabilities before entering into any agreements. If you want to discover a solution for your company that is tailored to your specific requirements and possibilities, look for the best phone systems San Antonio company.

Selecting VoIP for Your Company


The potential of VoIP may help your San Antonio phone systems company grow and flourish. We wish to investigate the specific ways in which VoIP may help your company and its workers. Contact business VoIP phone service providers now to talk with a member of their experienced teams.

The United States is Facing Housing Crisis: Maxwell Drever Says What Can You Do About It?

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The United States is struggling with the massive affordable housing crisis. As there is not enough affordable housing available in the country, the families are paying more for their housing as well as renting. Due to the expensive price tag, homeownership is like an untouchable dream for many Americans. Those who work decent jobs are also finding financial difficulties while purchasing a new home.

The process of home building has been collapsed more than a decade ago. Not to mention, there are any intentions of recovering the problem. Construction of luxurious and expensive homes is recovered fast. However, there are also issues of oversupply in some areas across the United States.

However, the development of affordable housing in the United States that is priced for people who belong to the lower-income group and middle-income group to rising for the past couple of years. But, remember that the downfall is also massive and it would consume extra construction years to achieve a modest pace.

 

Affordable Housing Crisis is a Massive Concern

The undersupply share is primarily concentrated in some specific areas of the United States that develop significant economic growth opportunities. Maxwell Drever says this also drives the rent and housing price for low and middle-income families as per their choice of where they want to live.

The prices of properties that have been sold in the bottom fourth of the economical market are up by more than 8%. This is also doubled for affordable housing as the top fourth. Additionally, rents for families who are not capable of purchasing a house due to their weak financial structure have been increased more than 4% per annum over the last decade. This rise also grew rapidly during the pandemic.

Due to the rising rents, more and more renters are making less money to cover their basic living. Nowadays, more than 20% of renters use half of their monthly salary to pay the rent. This is why they face financial difficulties to cover the basic living expenses such as clothes, food, health care, education, etc. As per reports, an average renter saves less than $1,000 a year. This amount of money isn’t sufficient to cover financial or health emergencies.

 

The Rising Costs of House

The rising house costs are also making the economic opportunity for homeownership out of reach for more and more families, especially those of color. Today, the rate of homeownership for black is 42%, whereas the rate for Hispanics is 48%, says Maxwell Drever.

The shortfall of affordable housing in the United States is not only depressing the savings of millions of people but also increasing the wealth gap. The rate is also forcing the people from the bottom of the economic ladder to stay further away from the people who stay at the top. Many cities are only affordable for wealthy families, while many families are forced to live in modest areas.

 

Conclusion

The economy of the United States regarding the development of affordable housing has been skyrocketed recently. Not only the price of the houses, but also the rents creating massive profit margins to complement the investment. However, the fact is that the economies of developing affordable housing are still a precarious process as the mortgage rate is rising every day.

Philippines to remain under Alert Level 2 despite rise of Covid-19 cases

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Not to alarm anyone but the positivity rate's increasing. Omicron, holiday season and alert level 2. Something could be brewing.

Yet the Philippines is to remain under Alert Level 2 until January 15; New county risk classification was released.

The IATF on Dec. 29, 2021, approved  to maintain all provinces, highly urbanized cities, & independent component cities under Alert Level 2 from January 1, 2022 until January 15, 2022.

The IATF likewise released an updated country risk classification effective January 1, 2022 until January 15, 2022.  

Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Spain shall be under the Red List.

Under the Green List are Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, China (Mainland), Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Fiji, The Gambia, Guinea, Hong Kong (Chinese Special Administrative Region), Indonesia, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Montserrat, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Uganda and United Arab Emirates. 

All other countries/territories /jurisdictions not mentioned above shall be under the Yellow List.

Meanwhile, the IATF, upon the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs, approved the acceptance/recognition for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols as well as for interzonal/intrazonal movement the national COVID-19 vaccination certificate of Armenia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Kuwait, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United States of America and Oman.    

This is in addition to such other countries/territories/ jurisdictions whose proofs of vaccination the IATF already approved for recognition in the Philippines, and without prejudice to such other proofs of vaccination approved by the IATF for all inbound travelers.

In this connection, the Bureau of Quarantine, the Department of Transportation – One Stop Shop and the Bureau of Immigration are directed to recognize only the proofs of vaccination thus approved by the IATF. 

Everyone's outside and the cases are growing rapidly AGAIN, why are we still on alert level 2?

To Philippine government, if you think this is not serious, think again! Do you really want a version 4 of ECQ?!? Please act now! Alert level 2?! 

Haist! If you have no mercy to yourselves, have mercy to the people and health workers! 

Omicron is more transmissible but less deadly

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Omicron cases are on the rise, but it’s clear that vaccines and boosters are making a difference. Vaccines and boosters help prevent severe illness and death — if you haven’t already, go get your vaccine and booster. 

The country will remain under Alert Level 2 from Jan. 1 to 15 despite the uptick in COVID-19 infections and growing concerns over the Omicron variant, Malacañang announces.

Don't be scared, omicron is more transmissible but is less deadly than all the strains that came before, the kids are safer than anyone else and vaxed or not so long as people are staying healthy I've heard it's about as bad as a head cold. Possible endemic in the future I hope.

Omicron is less deadly than previous coronavirus strains, and results in a quarter of the deaths recorded in earlier waves, data from South Africa suggests. 

As per the current data, Omicron is a mild infection...Oxygen requirement may not be that much...I would request everyone to refrain from hoarding oxygen cylinders, medicines. 

It sure is looking that this variant has less virulence, less chance of inducing Covid pneumonia.

Added to our immunity wall and T cell defense, this is all good. 

There’s no guarantee that Omicron is the worst this virus will throw at us. We must get past partisanship and pandemic fatigue and use the tools we have to fight Covid: vaccines, masks, ventilation, testing, effective treatments.

Although Omicron is very capable of evading antibodies and causing reinfections/breakthroughs, it barely evades T-cells at all, meaning vaxxed or recovered people are likely to retain very good protection against severe disease.

We have new results on T cell responses to Omicron, and its good news! 

Most of your T cell responses from vaccination or previous infection still recognise Omicron. 

Why did we do this study? 

Omicron has more than 30 mutations in its Spike protein, and many studies now show that this knocks out a lot of the neutralising antibody binding sites. 

We wanted to check if other parts of the immune system - T cells - still recognise Omicron Spike. 

We describe T cell responses to #Omicron compared to original SARS-CoV-2 in ppl vaxxed with JnJ (1x and 2x) and Pfizer (2x). We also studied Omicron-infected patients and compared their T cells to patients hospitalised in previous waves (n=138 participants in total). 

Unlike antibodies, which bind in hotspots, T cells can target the whole of Spike - shown as a mountain range, with Omicron mutations in red.

So we expect that T cells would still be able to target Omicron- even though it has lots of changes, there is lots of Spike NOT mutated.

 Why is this important?‼️👇🏾

While antibodies block infection, T cells come in and kill infected cells, preventing the virus from growing & spreading more & causing worse disease

They can't prevent you from getting infected, but they can minimise the damage that comes afterwards.. 

How did we do this study? 

We measured T cell responses using peptides -small chopped up bits of proteins that T cell recognise. 

We compared a pool of peptides based on the original (“Ancestral”) SARS-CoV-2 and Omicron spike protein. 

Thank you Sette Lab for sending us the peptides.

We isolate white blood cells from patient samples, mix the cells with the peptides, and then use a technique called intracellular cytokine staining and flow cytometry, to check for a T cell response. 

We measured both CD4 ‘helper’ cells and CD8 ‘killer’ cells. 

Results - First CD4 T cells: 

Compared to ancestral virus, there was a small decrease when tested against Omicron spike. 

This was a consistent decrease across all study groups.

However, most of the CD4 T cell response was still there and cross-recognised Omicron. 

Next, CD8 T cells:

Here too, compared to ancestral virus, there was a small decrease when tested against Omicron spike for some of the groups, no major change for most people. 

If we plot fold-change of Omicron responses compared to ancestral, we see that 70-80% of T cell responses are preserved.

This means that most people who were vaccinated with 1x / 2xJnJ, 2xPfizer & those who had COVID 1-6 mo ago, still have T cells that can recognise Omicron. 

Important to point out - there were a minority of CD8 T cell “knockouts”.

These represent people who may have had a narrower response targeting only a few regions in Spike, that happened to coincide with mutations in Omicron and a specific HLA bkg – we’ll be following up on these.

When we compared the cross-reactivity of T cells to Omicron with Beta and Delta variants, we found that they were very similar, even though Omicron has 3-4x more spike mutations than Beta and Delta.

This emphasises just how robust the T cell response is. 

This is consistent with what we recently published on cross-reactivity of the T cell response to the Beta variant:

https://www.science.org/doi/epdf/10.1126/scitranslmed.abj6824

To get a full picture of immunity,  they measured neutralising antibody responses in the same participants. 

You can see that while neutralisation is substantially decreased in most people, overall their T cell responses are only impacted in a small way. 

South Africa’s COVID epidemic is characterised by virologically distinct waves, each dominated by a different form of the virus – first original, then Beta, Delta and now Omicron. 

Next we tested blood samples from each wave & compared them to patients from the 4th wave (Omicron).

We measured T cell responses to Spike, Nucleocapsid and Membrane proteins (viral proteins most targeted by T cells when you become infected).

Omicron-infected patients had T cell responses in the same range as patients hospitalised with ancestral, Beta or Delta virus infection. 

Finally, we also tested some Omicron-infected patients with ancestral and Omicron Spike, and there was hardly any difference between them, showing that most of the parts of Spike that people make T cell responses to are conserved - parts that are not affected by the mutations. 

Finally, we also tested some Omicron-infected patients with ancestral and Omicron Spike, and there was hardly any difference between them, showing that most of the parts of Spike that people make T cell responses to are conserved - parts that are not affected by the mutations. 

The limited effect of Omicron’s mutations on the T cell response suggests that vaccination or prior infection may still provide protection from severe disease.

Well-preserved T cell immunity to Omicron is consistent with early clinical observations from South Africa, UK and Scotland of lower severity - a decoupling of case loads from hospitalisations, and shorter hospital stays, which may be due to this remaining T cell immunity.

Finally: The resilience of the T cell response demonstrated here also bodes well in the event that more highly mutated variants emerge in the future.

We still need to see how long T cell immunity lasts, but after SARS1 it was still detectable after 17yrs..

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2550-z

Who did the work? 

Dr Roanne Keeton is the amazing researcher who generated much of the T cell data, along with my lab team, and I co-led this work with the brilliant Dr Catherine Riou.

This work was also made possible by wonderful collaborators, and many others who contributed to this work.

Thank you to all the volunteers and patients who made this work possible, and our funders.

Shout out to Biocair for all their efforts in getting critical reagents to us when they were stuck in Dubai because of NONSENSICAL TRAVEL BANS.

From the Virus Monologues

If you're considering going to some sort of indoor event – a concert, a movie, dinner – and you're wondering how to "make it safe" – and by "safe" you mean avoid omicron?

In simple terms, the answer is "don't go to indoor events"

This incorrect, false notion has persisted that SARS-CoV-2 spreads only by droplets – but the truth is it also spreads via aerosol that can hang around in the air for quite some time.

So going to eat inside that restaurant after the lunch rush? It's probably not all that 'safe'

In order to make the kind of risk assessments I see folks trying to do? You'd need much more information about the venue than is likely available - information about indoor air quality as it relates to SARS-CoV-2, things like "air changes per hour" and "equivalent ACPH"

If the restaurant is opening up gigantic windows in December to completely change out the air? That will lower risk, sure

But if the movie theater was full for the showing before the movie you want to go to? I'd assume that the air has aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 floating around in.

That may be within your risk tolerance, but I want you to be aware of the level of risk you're actually accepting.

The only way to stop this rise is for the national government to raise the alert level in NCR. LGUs are not monitoring the people anymore. What if omicron is circulating already? 

Vaccine mandate for everyone who wants to move around. Only the vaccinated should be allowed to travel except those who have conditions who are allowed to avoid the vaccine.

It is quite saddening that data scientists did their best to provide predictions but the government seems like to wait first for the prediction to really happen before they act.

Amazing 10 Tips For Taking Care Of Older Adults

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As people grow old, their body begins to slow down, making them prone to some health conditions forcing them to adapt to a new lifestyle. Although it is difficult, they may require friends and family to help them navigate old age.

Taking care of older adults requires you to offer a lot of love, care, and attention. It may be stressful sometimes, but you will help increase their lifespan and make them feel happy. You need to familiarize yourself with the best tips to be successful in taking care of the elderly, and they include;

Buy them Essential Items

While visiting the elderly, you can go shopping for essentials they may require. Older adults may face mobility issues, and you can get them a wheelchair to help them move around.

Moreover, you can also get other essentials like the Tena Adult diapers, which prevent them from soiling their clothes if they can't reach the toilet in time. 

Visiting Them Frequently

Older adults require frequent social interaction to help them feel like part of society. Besides, it is also suitable for their mental health. You can also check on their physical health if they are suffering from an underlying condition that may need tending.

Furthermore, during your visit, you can search for any problems in the house like leakages or things that require fixing. Visiting the elderly will give you time to catch up and learn some of the issues they are going through.

Get in Care Home-services

Since it is difficult for older adults to move around, you can get in care home services. You can hire a nurse or doctor to give hospital services at home. It will reduce the number of hospital visits which may be an inconvenience.

You can coordinate all the health care providers' visits to ensure your loved ones get frequent check-ups; this will help prevent them from missing out on essential visits.

Enable Social Inclusion

Sometimes, the elderly are given minor roles, making them feel neglected, resulting in emotional distress. To prevent your loved one from experiencing seclusion, you can provide them significant roles in family-like decision-making.

You can also involve them in family vacations and activities. However, you need to consult their doctor before organizing any vacation or training to know whether it will affect their health.

Help them Exercising

Exercise helps keep the body strong and makes you feel re-energized. Moreover, it enables you to bond with your loved ones. Besides watching entertaining shows to prevent boredom, Older people can engage in exercises to refresh their minds and keep their bodies fit. You can start by taking evening and morning walks to help stretch your muscles.

Furthermore, you can also organize yoga sessions at home to boost their energy and help them relax. You can also hire a gym instructor to help with the sessions.

Get them an Affordable Insurance Policy

Older people may get sick frequently due to weakening their immune systems. They may spend a lot of money on hospital bills making them broke and stressed; to prevent this from happening, you can get them a health insurance policy to cover their bills and expenses.

You need to ensure the insurance is affordable since they are retired. It would also help look for long-term insurance cover options to avoid extra costs.

Practice Mindful Communication

Communicating with the elderly helps you know more about them and what they want. You can hold tough conversations regarding their end-of-life care. You can utilize some resources from the internet to help them identify what they want.

Create a Safe Environment

Older adults may find it challenging to defend themselves when attacked by thieves; therefore, you need to ensure the area where your loved ones life is very secure. You can hire a security officer or install security cameras. Notably, you can also provide the elderly live in areas where many people can look after them.

Helping them Join Online Support Networks

Support networks consist of people experiencing similar problems. By allowing older adults to communicate with people sharing the same challenges, you will help them relieve any form of stress or tension they may be experiencing.

Stay Updated on the Latest Technology

Many ongoing technological advancements help in making life easier. An example is that you can now use skype to have a doctor's appointment; this prevents the elderly from traveling long distances to seek medical help.

Conclusion

You can use the above tips to help take care of your loved ones. You can also educate the community on ways to prevent older people from feeling neglected. Moreover, you can help them by looking for suitable support groups for the elderly they can join. Remember, some simple steps can go a long way to support your loved ones.

Kratom for Sustainable Living: Learn Everything

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Environmental and climatic change are two topics that are essential for human growth and development. Its effects on breathing organisms, such as plants and animals, are too obvious to ignore. People have made significant changes as a result of this concern. Owing to it, there has been a considerable movement away from excessive plastic and toward environmentally beneficial alternatives. In the same spirit, some people look up to kratom as a long-term solution to climate change.

Is kratom cultivation having any significant effects on the environment? If you're interested in saving the environment and finding out the truth about living an eco-friendly way of life with kratom, then you're at the right place. Read on to learn more about how kratom may help you live an eco-friendlier lifestyle.


What is kratom?

Kratom is an evergreen shrub whose roots are linked to coffee. The Mitragyna speciosa plant, which is native to Southeast Asia and Africa, produces kratom.

Because of its mood-altering qualities, the leaves of this plant have historically been utilized for medical reasons. Kratom leaves were initially used in a variety of ways, including:

· Chewing

· To combat exhaustion and boost productivity.

· As an opium replacement

· As a medication

· For religious rites


If you're living in Canada and trying to get a hold of kratom for your use, then you can get best deals on Gold Bali Kratom online.

 
Why does one need a sustainable lifestyle?

Sustainable living is crucial because the choices people make affect the future of the planet. People strive to create a world that is more welcoming for future generations. Transformation to a more ecologically friendly style of living also enables everyone to address some of the societies' major structural problems.

Environmental deterioration is one of the most notable instances. Who is the most vulnerable to a deteriorating environment? The poor and children are two groups who are disproportionately affected by poverty. More impoverished populations are more likely to reside in areas prone to natural catastrophes such as floods and drought. Climate change exacerbates these natural catastrophes, damaging food supplies and contaminating water sources for these poor people.



What are the positive impacts of kratom on sustainable living?

Kratom-based products contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle by promoting an environmentally friendly environment. Here are a few ways that kratom may help you live a more sustainable life:

1. Growing kratom in a sustainable way:

Kratom is a native plant that grows in Southeast Asia's jungles. Farmers here are ecologically aware and cultivate in a decentralized manner. Plantations and cultivation are not used in kratom farming; instead, it grows alongside the natural variety of the rainforests. As a result, farmers may still collect kratom from wild-grown trees rather than destroying land and establishing huge kratom forests.

Furthermore, kratom may be produced in agricultural pods in tiny backyard farms, with no significant environmental impact when harvested.

 
2. It doesn't interfere with trees' natural development:

Kratom leaves aren't picked until the shrubs are at least four years old, and only from fully grown trees are they collected. This technique allows the tree to retain its nutrition and natural development for a long time without being chopped down. As part of the kratom eco-friendly lifestyle, this is an important thing to remember.

Because these trees are seldom cut down, they benefit the environment as a whole. Furthermore, the older the plant, the higher the quality of the yield.



3. Controlling the palm oil market:

Palm trees are indigenous to Africa. It is used in extracting palm oil which poses challenges to a sustainable way of life. How?

· Palm oil plants emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

· The plantation of palm palms has increased global temperature.

· Palm oil production has a direct effect on 193 highly endangered species across the globe.

Furthermore, palm tree farming has a substantial adverse effect on the surrounding environment since its extraction results in considerable deforestation, and its production significantly impacts groundwater levels. Now, the kratom business in Southeast Asia is directly linked with palm oil plants. The majority of growers are involved in the palm sector for their profit. It provides them a higher financial benefit than any other plant. But now, kratom is becoming an alternative way to earn profits without causing detrimental effects to the environment.

As kratom's popularity grows, farmers in these tropical areas no longer choose between ecologically healthy, sustainable living and money. They can accomplish both with kratom cultivation, passing on the environmentally beneficial benefits to the customer.

4. Wildlife habitats are well cared for:

Many species live in the rainforests and are destroying the forest cover for farming impacts these species. The natural order of the ecosystem is preserved with kratom fragmented farming, which does not disrupt the natural ecology or the habitat of these creatures.

What are the benefits of consuming kratom?

For hundreds of years, kratom has been utilized as a perfect home medicine throughout Asia. It's been natively used to treat tiredness, diarrhea, and even muscle spasms.

While contemporary science has backed up these and other claims made by traditional medicine, much more study is needed to discover what more this herb has to offer. Nevertheless, kratom is becoming a general medicine in the market that provides holistic, eco-friendly treatment. Besides the benefits as mentioned earlier, kratom also helps in:

 

1. Libido enhancement:

Kratom has been studied as a potential supplement for sexual enhancement. Researchers looked at a lot of clinical evidence and came to specific findings on kratom's aphrodisiac properties. They concluded that kratom is a potent plant-based sexual enhancer.

2. Relieving pain:

There are three strains of kratom, all of which are excellent pain relievers. By attaching to opioid receptors, white, green, and red vein variants offer pain relief. The kratom component 7-hydroxy mitragynine is 13 times more potent than morphine.

 

3. Mood-boosting:

Kratom is said to be an excellent therapy for opioid addiction. Kratom offers a wide range of mood-enhancing effects. It has been proven to alleviate the symptoms of morphine and ethanol withdrawal.

 

In conclusion

It may be challenging to live a sustainable lifestyle. With kratom, you may support the health and stability of the world for coming generations by living a sustainable approach. Just bear in mind that reducing waste and carbon emissions may help to create a cleaner world. Furthermore, utilizing natural products like kratom is grown using sustainable agricultural methods may help you reduce your carbon footprint.

Top Islands in the Philippines You Must Visit

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The Philippines is an archipelagic state that comprises 7640 islands on the west Pacific Ocean. This Southeast Asian country is geographically classified into three broad divisions, namely Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Manila is the capital of this country while Baguio is known as its summer capital. Tourists love to visit several islands of the Philippines, which are very popular for scenic beauty, comfortable weather, wildlife, and friendly environment. They may book flights of Emirates Airlines to land at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.


Most popular islands in the Philippines


Palawan – It is the largest island in the Palawan province of the Philippines. Geographically, it is located between South China Sea and Sulu Sea. Tourists find its pristine sandy beaches, mountains, hilly forests, and wildlife very attractive. Thus, Palawan was declared as the ‘most beautiful island in the world’ by some reputed travel magazines in 2016. Mount Mantalingajan is the highest peak in the mountain range covering the entire length of this island. The flora and fauna of Palawan is similar to that found in Borneo, Java, or Sumatra since this island biogeographically belongs to Sundaland region of Southeast Asia.


EL Nido – It is a densely-populated municipality area in Palawan province in the Philippines. This place is famous for white sandy beaches, limestone cliffs, ancient caves, waterfalls, and mangrove forests. It is rated among the best beaches of the world by some travel magazines and online platforms. Bacuit Bay has several diving spots from where people can expect a view of coral reefs, turtles, different kinds of fishes, and other members of marine life. Seven Commandos Beach is a camping site with cottages and tents. Many small islands comprise El Nido, among which Cadlao Island, Simizu Island, Vigan Island, Dilumacad Island, Matinloc Island, and Pinasil Island are the popular ones for their white beaches.

Luzon – It is the largest island of the Philippines, which is known as the 15th largest island in the world. It houses the capital city Manila and thus, it is the seat of politics and administration in this country. There are many small islands around the mainland of Luzon where tourists flock to enjoy serene scenic beauty. Cordillera Central Mountain range, Sierra Madre range, and Caraballo Mountains comprise major parts of Northern Luzon. Central Luzon is the flat plain containing the natural port of Manila Bay, long coastline, and vast agricultural lands. South Luzon houses the prominent urban areas, Taal Lake, Laguna Lake, and some mountain peaks.

Boracay – This is a resort island in the western part of the Visayas region in the Philippines. This island was renovated in 2018 and reopened for tourists with many added features. It is popular for the White Beach, coral reefs, hills, and the Amihan season dominated by trade winds. Tourists enjoy scuba diving, kitesurfing, diving helmet, snorkeling, parasailing, and windsurfing along this beach where the water is protected by the reefs. They can also opt for horse riding or play golf in a large golf course. There are restaurants, pubs, bars, nightclubs, and luxury 5-star resorts on this island.


Siargao – This small island of 437 sq. Km has the unique shape of a tear-drop and it is located in the Philippines Sea. The coastline of this island has beaches covered with white sand, coral reefs, and several small peninsular points. It is named after a type of mangrove tree that is widely available on this island. A major part of Siargao is covered with mangrove forests and wetlands. There are many other islands located off shore of Siargao, which are included in tour itineraries by travel agencies.


Cebu – This large island is called the Queen City of the South, as it is the oldest city and was the capital of this country earlier. It is surrounded by 167 small islands and islets. It is the capital of Cebu province in the Philippines and famous for its metropolitan facilities. It has mountains stretching over an area of 1000 meters. Several towns, like Bogo, Medellin, San Remigio, and Daanbantayan, are located on the northern part of this island. Tourists visit here for ring-shaped coral reefs, beaches, and fishing points along the sea water.


Dumaguete – This city is the capital of Negros Oriental province and it is the most populous city in the Philippines. It is called a university town due to the presence of 4 universities and several colleges here. Apart from students, it is also a destination for tourists who visit here to have a view of Rizal Boulevard containing many ancient houses and sugar mansions. St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral is the oldest stone church of this region. They also visit the National Museum and City Hall while relaxing in the Baywalk area.


Therefore, tourists flock to these islands of the Philippines where they can enjoy their vacations with various activities.