Food Facts

Get to Know the Different Types of Cheese

Cheese has been a favorite food for 4,000 years. People love it so much that there are more than a thousand types of cheese around the world. Most are made from cow’s milk, but others are from goat, sheep, reindeer, buffalo, yak and camel too. Below is a list of some cheeses based on the type of milk.

Buffalo’s Milk
1. Mozzarella is made using the pasta filata method, a traditional recipe in which the cheese goes through a plascticising and kneading treatment in hot water.
2. Burrata is made by wrapping cream and stracciatella with a shell of mozzarella, sugar and/or butter. It’s a type of cheese that has to be served fresh.

Camel’s Milk
1. Caravane is a camel’s milk cheese which is curdled using enzymes. Camel milk doesn’t contain proteins for natural curdling. Camel’s milk cheese is difficult to produce because the females have to be at least 4 years old before they can start breeding.
2. Kadchgall is a type of hard cheese made in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The camel’s milk and sometimes sheep’s milk is allowed to clot using yogurt.

Donkey’s Milk
1. Pule is made from endangered Balkan donkey’s milk. This cheese in particular comes from donkeys in the Zasavica Special Nature Reserve in Serbia where they also produce donkey milk liqueur. Pule needs 25 liters of the milk to create 1 kg of cheese.

Goat’s Milk
1. Buche de Chevre is ripened for at least 7 days. It’s produced in the Poitou-Charentes region.
2. Capra al Pepe looks like a black wheel because it has black pepper and aged for at least 4 months.

Mare’s Milk
1. Kumis or Ayrag is the cheese and yogurt made from fermented mare’s milk. It’s ideal for people who are lactose-intolerant. Mare’s milk is high in lactose, but it’s fermented by combining yeast and lactic acid bacteria in a horse-hide container.

Moose’s Milk
1. Moose Milk Cheese is difficult to create because extracting milk takes time and patience. Two liters of milk takes at least 2 hours to get, that is why it’s also expensive. Most of the cheese is produced today in Sweden.

Reindeer’s Milk
1. Reindeer’s Milk Cheese was first made in Kainuu and Northern Finland. Besides reindeer’s milk, the leipajuusto is also made from cow’s beestings and goat’s milk. Juustoleipa means “cheese bread” while Leipajuusto means “bread cheese.”

Sheep’s Milk
1. Azeitao is made from unpasteurized milk cured for 21 days. The flower of the cardoon is used as a coagulant.
2. Swaledale is made in North Yorkshire, England. It should be consumed between 4 to 6 weeks old so you can enjoy its taste.

Water Buffalo’s Milk
1. Bufala Soldier is a blend of cow and goat milk and water buffalo cream. It’s produced only during winter.
2. Caprese di Bufala is a combination of dried tomato flakes and pasteurized buffalo milk.

Yak’s Milk Cheese
1. Tibet is a type of cheese is produced primarily in that region. For thousands of years they have been dependent on yaks for food, milk and other supplies.
2. Chhurpi or Durkha is made in Tibet and Nepal. This is the hard variety of cheese made from cured curds dried in the sun or oven.

Games

First-Person Shooters You Should Try

Some gamers would argue that first-person shooters can be good entry points for beginners in gaming. Here are the best in the genre that you should try.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
This three-part classic centers on the conflict between the US and an ultranationalist movement from Russia and another group from the Middle East. The story is told from the point-of-view of several characters, particularly Soap MacTavish.

Battlefield
In the first game of the series, Battlefield 1942, the player gets to fight in the major battles during World War II. The player must choose from one of the five infantry classes and control aircraft, ships and submarines, tanks and jeeps, and many more.

BioShock
The game was inspired by the works of Ayn Rand and George Orwell. It is set in the underwater utopian city of Rapture. The player controls Jack, who discovered the site after his plane crashed near it.

Counter-Strike
The first game was released in 2000. The objective of the game is simple: pick one side, either the terrorists and counter-terrorists, and win as many rounds as possible to defeat the other team.

Destiny
This game can only be played online. The player controls one of the Guardians who wield the Light power. The Guardians have to protect the Earth from the aliens as well as try to revive the Traveler.

DOOM
The first game in the series was released in 1993. The player controls a space marine who has to survive an onslaught of hellish demons on Mars after he was sent there when he attacked his commander.

Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem is said to be the grandfather of first-person shooters because it popularized the genre. This addition to a classic franchise allows players to explore the environment and advance in a non-linear fashion.

Halo
In the first game of this renowned series, Halo: Combat Evolved, the player controls Master Chief who has to discover the secrets of the Halo world with his companion A.I. Cortana.

Overwatch
This is a multiplayer FPS where the player picks a hero and then is assigned to one of the two teams. You can choose from 24 heroes who have unique move sets, skills and attributes that define their class.

Quake
The player has to figure out how to get out of the mazes in this game while fighting the monsters with any weapon imaginable. The player will control Ranger while looking for Quake who is responsible for connecting the government’s teleportation system with another.

Half-Life
The game requires both skill and reflexes in taking down enemies as well as the ability to solve puzzles to advance. It is set in a research facility where an experiment opened a dimensional rift, allowing aliens from the Xen to enter.

Team Fortress 2
This is the sequel of the famous mod game from Quake. The player has to pick from one of the two teams and compete with one another. These members are hired by two brothers who are at odds with each other.

Chocolate Indulgence

Dark Chocolate: 5 Convincing Benefits to Eat More of This Bittersweet Treat

Dark chocolate contains an array of health benefits to the body —if taken in moderation, that is. This bittersweet treat is among the top comfort food of many. It has become a consistent source of consolation when life throws lemons our way, and it is even one of the common gifts given to the beloved during the romantic season of Valentines. It’s indisputable how effective it is in lifting our spirits up, but it is so much more than just that.

There are medically-backed reasons as to why dark chocolate is good to consume moderately. If it has a cocoa percentage of roughly seventy percent or higher, it can be good for blood circulation, as well as proper heart and brain function. Research has also suggested how it may help in major health issues such as obesity, autism, and even diabetes. Aside that, there are other established health benefits to eating dark chocolate.

• Good for the heart, blood circulation
One benefit to eating dark chocolate is that it is good for the heart and blood circulation, primarily because it improves the flow of blood and decreases blood pressure. It has been also found out to help restore the flexibility of arteries and prevent the white blood cells to accumulate and stick to the blood vessel walls, which are both usual causes for the clogging of the arteries.

• Rich in essential nutrients
Dark chocolate contains a generous amount of vitamins and minerals which can help improve your body’s biological functions. Specifically, it has high levels of potassium, iron, copper, and magnesium. Magnesium is known to be effective in preventing the occurrence of high blood pressure, type-2 Diabetes, and other forms of heart diseases. Meanwhile, Iron protects the body from anemia.

• Improves your skin
If you want to improve the condition of your skin, help yourself to a healthy amount of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids, which can increase the density of your skin and keep it hydrated. Aside from maintaining your skin’s natural vigor, it also improves the skin’s blood flow. It may even protect the skin from the harmful UV rays to a certain extent.

• Anti-aging properties
Dark chocolate contains antioxidants which can ward off toxins and other free radicals in the body, preventing potential damage on your skin cells. These antioxidants slow down the body’s aging process. Not only that, antioxidants in dark chocolate such as Polyphenols and Flavanols are also capable of eliminating certain cancerous cells before they begin to grow and worsen.

• Mood booster
Chocolate stimulates the production of serotonin and endorphins, which are the body’s feel-good hormones. As a result, you begin to feel pleasure and happiness when eating it. Eating dark chocolate is also one good way to relieve stress, so don’t forget to enjoy a generous amount of this bittersweet treat over the weekend. What a perfect way to unwind!

Alcohol Consumption

The Dangers of Excessive Alcohol Consumption

It is common for young adults to socialize with their peers over alcohol especially during their years at college, and even those who are in the workforce also opt to grab a cold beer or two with their colleagues after work. Alcohol has been undoubtedly one of the factors which made a lot of our Friday nights and weekends fun — but there are certain risks involved in consuming excessive amounts of this drink.

As much as it has become a part of our lives while growing up, drinking is a personal choice which no one can take hold over but you. Regardless of what you choose, ensure that you understand the risks that may come along with it. Keep this in mind so as not to put yourself in a position which will jeopardize your health in the long run.

Risks
• If you have a certain heart condition, it is important to limit your alcohol intake to the minimum. There were cases of drinkers who suffered a heart attack and other form of heart-related seizures in the middle of excessive drinking with peers, hence it is important to know the healthy amount of alcohol you are allowed to take according to your situation.

• Nonetheless, large amounts of alcoholic drinks can put just about anyone at risk of landing a liver disease, high blood pressure, reduced fertility, and increased risks of cancer. Some of them do not show any symptoms even after a long period of time, thus they remain hidden for many years.

• Alcohol can also affect the liver’s function. It may interfere with how your body absorbs some medications, therefore hindering them from fulfilling their prescribed function. In some cases, it may also lead to arrhythmias.

• Those who are on medication such as Warfarin or other anticoagulants are on high risk if they happen to consume too much alcohol. The drink triggers an increase in the medicine’s effects, which then results to thinning the blood further and increasing the risks of bleeding.

• Excessive alcohol consumption can also cause your heart rate to speed up beyond what is normal, thus decreasing the heart’s efficiency. This may put your heart at risk, regardless of whether you already have an existing reduced heart function or you have a perfectly healthy heart.

The risks may sound scary, but this isn’t to discourage you from enjoying an alcoholic drink every now and then. What matters is that you are keeping yourself safe first. As the old saying goes, prevention is always better than cure — hence consult your doctor to be aware of your recommended maximum weekly alcohol intake.
This would allow you to impose limits on your consumption. Remember that each person has different cases, hence what your body can handle in terms of alcohol might be different than that of your peers.

Health and Fitness

What to Do When You’ve Eaten Too Much

Okay, maybe you’ve had a little too much during your family dinner. Maybe you’ve become way too full and start feeling a little bit drowsy. This is commonly expected during the holidays. When you’re with your friends and family, sometimes you can’t help yourself but eat a little too much especially since the food is usually too good to be true.

Struggles of Eating Too Much
When you’re having a good time, you usually end up eating too much and only realize it when it’s too late. Now what do you do? Well, there are a lot of things you can do for you to go back to your normal state when you can freely move your body and won’t have to sit down too much.

What exactly happens here? Well, what happens is you’ve gone a bit past your limit that your stomach is starting to expand and as you are trying your best to digest your food, your body ends up focusing your blood circulation on your stomach.

The Dangers of “Food Coma”
When you overeat, instead of a healthy circulation, your body then exerts extra effort on digesting all the extra food on your stomach. Now, this really depends on your metabolism. Some people can eat quite a number of plates and won’t have a hard time digesting their food because their body is constantly burning and digesting the food inside your stomach. Now, some food digest faster than the others while some food might take quite a bit of your time just for it to digest.

How do you avoid food coma? Well, one technique would be to work out about an hour before you actually eat something to keep your body pumped. Go for a little jog or some basic cardio exercises just for you to activate and accelerate your metabolism. Accelerating your metabolism is a great way for you to be able to eat more than you usually do.

Metabolism and Food Intake
The main goal is for your body to keep up with what you eat and not the other way around. Once you’re full, your metabolism goes down. A great way to activate it again is to eat fruits like pineapple for you to be able to energize your body again.

This helps normalize the flow of your blood throughout your body even after you’ve had way too much. Don’t let anything slow you down this holiday season, make sure you are in shape for any festive celebration you are to attend with your family and friends. Don’t spoil the fun, make sure your body is ready to eat a bit more than you are used to.

Tech Buzz

Dangers of Keeping Your Devices Charging Overnight

A lot of us spend most of our time using our phones than actually taking care of them. Well, in our defense, we don’t always have the time to take care of our gadgets because of the fact that we have better things to do. Now, recharging our devices can take a while depending on the type of device we own with some of them requiring a great many number of hours for it to be fully charged.

Well, here’s the most important question we should ask ourselves, should we charge overnight? There have been countless cases when our carelessness gets the best of us. Sadly, most of these cases are true and a lot of people have been harmed just because of carelessness. Either accidents happening or the quality of their device diminish, there are consequences in which people relate towards the overcharging of their device.

Machines run somewhat like living things, the performance of our machines deplete as we fail to take care of our devices. The condition of our hardware is very important as it is what protects and holds our systems. Keeping a certain device running requires electricity but how much is too much? There is an obvious indication within our devices as to when our device needs to be charged and when it does not. There are a great many deal of things we can do for our device but it is most entirely up to us to choose which measures we are willing to follow.

Some devices are better than others with a built-in function that allows our device to stop storing energy and shutting off the charger since it is not needed. For these devices, charging overnight is perfectly fine, but put into mind that not all of our devices have this feature installed in them.

Charging takes a great deal of our time and the best thing to do is to time our device and make ourselves aware of how much time our devices should actually spend to charge. Sadly, charging overnight will always be a terrible idea. The life of your device also depletes every time you abuse it. The temperature of your device also gets hotter the more it is charged which is not good at all for the performance of your device. There can only be little room for abuse that a device can take and once you have over abused your device, it might even shut down.

Our devices are obviously of great importance to us and it is only fair that we treat them with the same respect. Consistency and discipline is a hard trait to cultivate but once it is regularly practiced, taking care of your device would become much easier.