British News

We all know that a hot pair of high-heeled boots makes Mondays a little easier and Fridays a lot more fun. So, how to get the most out of your look? We’re taking you through the ins and outs of this classic shoe to share the newest trends, best deals, and hottest brands.

For the past year or two, pointed toes were in; this year, the tide has shifted. With a much stronger emphasis in rounded and boxed toes (as influenced by designers like Zac Posen, Christian Dior, Dolce and Gabbana,) high-heeled boots just got a little more comfortable. Franco Sartre has a fabulous solution for those seeking a really great pair of classically designed, round-toe, high-heeled boots. His cool ‘Moon’ line showcases a three-and-a-quarter inch heel in sleek suede or patent black. These upper calf-length boots are topped with a cute ornamental button. For a reasonable price (between one and two hundred,) you can purchase this fashion forward take on a classic high-heeled boot.

Or, if you’re looking for an even more ‘next gen’ version of the rounded tow, check out a popular European-inspired trend: the slouchy high-heeled boot. By adding a little casual looseness at the shoe’s top, designers certainly give an extra ‘je ne sais quoi’ to your style. A fabulous example in this ephemeral mode that blends casual with class is Jean-Michel Cazabat’s Volcana High Heel Stretch Bootie. These sexy, yet sophisticated, high-heeled boots are available in ever-classic black or brown suede. The three-and-a-half inch heel and Italian leather certainly set this trendsetter over the top.

If you’re looking for a steal, look no further than Journee’s Anne Michelle Mid-Calf High-Heeled Boots. Classic shape, available in black, dark brown, and chestnut for a mere $29.99, these puppies are most definitely the best bang for your buck. Just shy of a three-inch heel, these solid, wooden heels are comfortable and versatile. Quite simply, the price just does not get much better for a classic everyday high-heeled boot.

For those of you putting price out of your mind and hot, quality brands to the forefront, please, please peruse the Frye ‘Penelope’ Line of high-heeled boots. These round-toed, knee-high buckle-detailed, rich leather high-heeled boots are class and comfort and quality all in one. This stacked heel available in mocha and tan, is absolutely classic. Strut your stuff in these beautiful British-inspired, timeless high-heeled boots. Another, shorter option from Frye is its Adrienne Lace High-Heeled Boot. This lace-up, three-inch, just above the ankle shoe has character without shouting it at you. Perfect to be paired with skinny black pants, or dark denim jeans, these round-toe, high-heeled boots will last you season after season, but won’t lose their luster.

Let’s round up this round-toe inspired high-heeled boots season. For the best buy, you can do no better than Journee’s (Target-stocked) Anne Michelle Mid-Calf Boot. For the epitome of classic chic, Franco Sartre is your answer; but, if memorable and remarkable is your goal, Frye will not fail to deliver the absolute best time, and again.

Originally published here.

Diet and Cancer Research

Of the many diseases that affect people these days, cancer is among the most feared. But despite a wealth of scientific data, most people remain unaware of how they can reduce their risk of developing cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, as much as 80 percent of all cancers are due to identified factors, and thus are potentially preventable. Thirty percent are due to tobacco use, and as much as 35 percent to 50 percent are due to foods. It is easy to control these and other risk factors.

What Is Cancer?

Cancer begins as a single abnormal cell that begins to multiply out of control. Groups of such cells form tumours and invade healthy tissue, often spreading to other parts of the body. Carcinogens are substances that promote the development of cancerous cells. They may come from foods, from the air, or even from within the body. Most carcinogens are neutralized before damage can occur, but sometimes they attack the cell’s genetic material (DNA) and alter it. It takes years for a noticeable tumour to develop. During this time, compounds known as inhibitors can keep the cells from growing. Some vitamins in plant foods are known to be inhibitors. Dietary fat, on the other hand, is known to be a promoter that helps the abnormal cells grow quickly.

Fiber Fights Cancer

In 1970, British physician Dennis Burkitt observed that a high-fiber diet reduces diseases of the digestive tract. He observed that in countries where diets are high in fiber (that is, plant-based diets), there were fewer cases of colon cancer. Around the world, this has proven true. The highest fiber intakes are found in non-industrialised nations where meat is scarce and plant foods fill the menu. Animal products contain no fiber. The U.S. and other Western nations whose diets are based upon animal products have the highest rates of colon cancer.

While no one is certain exactly how fiber protects against digestive tract disorders, there are several possibilities. By definition, fiber cannot be digested by humans early in the digestive process. It moves food more quickly through the intestines, helping to eliminate carcinogens. It also draws water into the digestive tract. The water and fiber make fecal matter bulkier, so carcinogens are diluted.

Bile acids are secreted into the intestine to help digest fat; there, bacteria can change the acids into chemicals that promote colon cancer. Fiber may bind with these bile acids and evict them from the intestines.1 Also, bacteria in the colon ferment the fiber creating a more acidic environment which may make bile acids less toxic.

Fiber is also protective against other forms of cancer. Studies have shown that stomach cancer and breast cancer are less common on high-fiber diets.2,3 Fiber affects levels of estrogens in the body. Estrogens are normally secreted into the intestine, where the fiber binds with the hormone and moves it out of the body.4 Without adequate fiber, the estrogen can be reabsorbed from the intestine into the bloodstream. High levels of estrogen are linked to a higher risk of breast cancer.

In the U.S., the average daily fiber intake is 10 to 20 grams per day. Experts recommend 30 to 40 grams per day. The best sources of fiber are whole grains, beans, peas, lentils, vegetables, and fruits. Foods that are closest to their natural state, unrefined and unpeeled, are highest in fiber.

Fat Raises Cancer Risks

Cross-cultural studies have revealed that the populations with the highest levels of fat consumption are also the ones with the highest death rates from breast and colon cancer. The lowest rates are in groups with the lowest consumption of fats.5 Migration studies help to rule out the influence of genetics.6

Many studies indicate that fat in foods increases one’s risk for cancer, and it may also adversely affect breast cancer survival rates for those who have cancer.7

Although the total amount of fat one eats is of concern, there is evidence that animal fat is much more harmful than vegetable fat. One study noted a 200 percent increase in breast cancer among those who consume beef or pork five to six times per week. Dr. Sheila Bingham, a prominent cancer researcher form the University of Cambridge, notes that meat is more closely associated with colon cancer than any other factor.8 Meat and milk are also linked to both prostate and ovarian cancers.9

How Fat Affects Cancer Risks

Fat has many effects within the body. It increases hormone production and thus raises breast cancer risks. It also stimulates the production of bile acids which have been linked to colon cancer.

The average diet in the United States is about 37 percent fat. The National Cancer Institute suggests that people lower that percentage down to 30 percent; however, studies have shown that fat intake should be well below 30 percent to have an anti-cancer affect. Ten to 15 percent is more likely to be helpful.

The Importance of Vegetables

Not only are vegetables low in fat and high in fiber, they also contain many cancer-fighting substances. Carotenoids, the pigment that gives fruits and vegetables their dark colors, have been shown to help prevent cancer. Beta-carotene, present in dark green and yellow vegetables, helps protect against lung cancer and may help prevent cancers of the bladder, mouth, larynx, oesophagus, breast, and other sites.

Vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, kale, turnips, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts contain flavones and indoles which are thought to have anti-cancer activities.

Vitamin C, found in citrus fruits and many vegetables, may lower risks for cancers of the oesophagus and stomach. Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing cancer-causing chemicals that form in the body. It also blocks the conversion of nitrates to cancer-causing nitrosamines in the stomach.

Selenium is found in whole grains and has the same antioxidant effects as vitamin C and beta-carotene. Vitamin E also has this effect. Caution is advised in supplementing selenium, which is toxic in large doses.

Alcohol

Excessive intake of alcohol raises one’s risks for cancers of the breast, mouth, pharynx, and oesophagus. When combined with smoking, these risks skyrocket. It also raises risks for stomach, liver, and colon cancers.10

Vegetarians Are Better Off

All the evidence points to a low-fat, high-fiber diet that includes a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, as being the best for cancer prevention. Not surprisingly, vegetarians, whose diets easily meet these requirements, are at the lowest risk for cancer. Vegetarians have about half the cancer risk of meat-eaters.11

Vegetarians have higher blood levels of beta-carotene. They consume more vitamin C, beta-carotene and fiber than meat-eaters. Vegetarians also have stronger immune systems. German researchers recently discovered that vegetarians have more than twice the natural killer cell activity of meat-eaters.12 Natural killer cells are specialized white blood cells that attack and neutralize cancer cells. Also, vegetarians tend to eat more soy products than meat-eaters. Soybeans contain many substances that are anticarcinogens, including lignans and phytoestrogens. A diet that is rich in soybeans may be one reason for the lower incidence of breast cancer in Asia.

Conclusion

A cancer prevention diet is one that is high in fiber, low in fat (especially animal fat), and includes generous portions of fruits and vegetables. It also minimizes or excludes alcohol. The best diets are pure vegetarian diets.

Bibliography:
1. Kritchevsky D. Diet, nutrition, and cancer: the role of fiber. Cancer. 1986;58:1830-6.
2. Risch HA, Jain M, Choi NW, et al. Dietary factors and the incidence of cancer of the stomach. Am J Epidemiol. 1985;122:947-59.
3. Lubin F, Wax Y, Modan B, et al. Role of fat, animal protein and dietary fiber in breast cancer etiology: a case control study. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1986;77:605-12.
4. Goldin BR, Adlercreutz H, Gorbach SL, et al. Estrogen excretion patterns and plasma levels in vegetarian and omnivorous women. N Engl J Med. 1982;307:1542-7.
5. Lan HW, Carpenter JT. Breast cancer: incidence, nutritional concerns, and treatment approaches. J Am Diet Assoc. 1987;87:765-9.
6. Minowa M, Bingham S, Cummings JH. Dietary fiber intake in Japan. Human Nutr Appl Nutr. 1983;37A:113-
9.
7. Wynder EL, Rose DP, Cohen LA. Diet and breast cancer in causation and therapy. Cancer. 1986;58:1804-13.
8. Bingham SA. Meat, starch, and non-starch polysaccharides and bowel cancer. Am J Clin. Nutr 1988;48:762-7.
9. Rose DP, Boyar AP, Wynder EL. International comparisons of mortality rates for cancer of the breast, ovary, prostate, and colon, and per capita food consumption. Cancer. 1986;58:2363-71.
10. Breslow NE, Enstrom JE. Geographic correlations between cancer mortality rates and alcohol-tobacco consumption in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1974;53:631-9.
11. Phillips RL. Role of lifestyle and dietary habits in risk of cancer among Seventh-day Adventists. Cancer Res. 1975;35(Suppl):3513-22.
12. Malter M. Natural killer cells, vitamins, and other blood components of vegetarian and omnivorous men. Nutr and Cancer. 1989;12:271-8.

Originally published here.

With the discovering of a new type of human, the light man, society has been surmounted by a period of decadency and extreme hedonism[1]. A light man is defined as a person who has lost its humanistic view of the world and someone who just gets satisfied with ephemeral and quick pleasures which do not provide any spiritual and intellectual improvement. Suppressing their goals and filled with unconscious fear, light men do not procure the well being of the community, they just want their own benefit. Hedonism and selfishness are the concrete words that are written with blood in the light man’s forehead and this very same behavior is the central edge of both John Le Carré’s The Constant Gardener’s and Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Respectful Prostitute’s scheme whose antagonists are leaders of this philosophy of decadency. With a moral background that both authors try to teach to the readers, both works represent the fight for justice and truth. However, even through both plots are virtually different; they may have found the same philosophical essence.

Love is often mistaken with sex, which represents the hedonic satisfaction of a light man. John Le Carré portraits this situation in Sandy’s character, a British gentlemen that most than anything, he desires his friend’s wife. In The Constant Gardener, Sandy believes he is in love with Tessa when, actually, he is just infatuated because of her body and poise “Woodrow makes reference to Tessa’s necklace recalling his intimate moments of flirting with her” (Le Carré, 50). Nevertheless, Sandy’s needs are transformed, through the novel continues, into an obsession that clouds his mind and reason, and brings issues among the main characters “Justin appeared not to like this question […] Or perhaps he didn’t take kindly to being pinned down on the subject of Tessa, when he couldn’t pin her down himself” (Le Carré, 21). Sandy’s demonstration of lust can be compared with Fred’s actions, one of the protagonists in Sartre’s play. Within The Respectful Prostitute’s argument, Fred professes love to Lizzie, the prostitute, which at the end turns out to be uncertain “What have you done to me? You stick to me like the teeth in my gum. I see your belly, your dirty whorish belly; I feel your heat in my hands, your smell in my nostrils” (Sartre, 279). Passing through the pages of Sartre’s play, one can get into account that what Fred is really doing is using Lizzie as a media to obtain his own benefit

“You dirty bitch! You are the Devil, and with the Devil you can’t win. He put his hand under your skirt, he shut down a dirty nigger; so what? You do things like that without thinking; they don’t count. Thomas is a leading citizen, that’s what counts” (Sartre, 259).

Nonetheless, even when it is true that both Sandy and Fred demonstrate their hedonism; there is a more concerning social criticism in both works: The authorities’ abuse.

Power and money have proved to boast the power of corrupting the human intellect and trigger the most egotistical hedonism. The government and the biggest enterprises can exploit recklessly their influence over the world’s decisions and this statement is deeply carved in Le Carré’s pages. Trying to multiply its incomes, ThreeBees uses its power to deceit Africa by testing a harmful medicine over the population in Nairobi

“KVH performed a similar public service in India, where two hundred children in the region of Madras allegedly died of related causes. The Indian court case court will be heard in about fifteen years, or longer if KVH continue to pay off the right people” (Le Carré, 252).

This egotistical enterprise do not seem to care about the humanistic damage it will cause; instead, it is shown in the novel how they just pursue the empty wish of getting more disgustingly rich “They’re also famous as front-runners in the pharmacy industry’s humanitarian campaign to prolong the life of their patents in the interest of suffering white billionaires” (Le Carré, 252). Similarly, the government can also “see not evil” at its own advantage, which is what the Senator does as the readers listen to his poisonous words of discrimination. Injected with a spice of racism, the Senator fools Lizzie to provide a fake testimony to the court, against the Negro who is completely innocent of the charges “Lizzie: The white man is guilty. Fred: He isn’t guilty. Lizzie: Since he killed, he’s guilty. Fred: Guilty of what? Lizzie: Of killing!” (Sartre, 255-256). The government achieves its goal and easily captures its light ideals as a leaf floating in the wind. Mostly, these two author attempt to point out how this injustices are made nowadays and to bring the spot lights to the constant and respectful quest for a humanistic solution against the big dogs’ hedonism.

Le Carré and Sartre use social criticism to expose nude the essence of social injustice and the menace of a light life. The Constant Gardener and The Respectful Prostitute believe in justice as they pound hedonism as the paradigm it is. In their original way and with a taste of a je ne sais quoi, both authors have achieved to make fun of the human shallowness and to propose a more complete and productive lifestyle; completely apart of the disadvantages and fake promises that the light life offers gently, as the sweet how of a hungry wolf. At the end, it is the public who decides who has the best option and as shown in both plays: unfortunately, when it comes to hedonism, majority rules.

[1] Extreme hedonism is the selfish seek of shallow pleasures like money, sex and drugs; each one without any spiritual value.

Originally published here.