In the first half, Benjamin Fuchs, a registered pharmacist and nutritionist, shared tips on alternative health and supplements. We can change the condition of our body, he said, if we start incorporating various strategies to leverage good health, such as taking supplements, getting exercise, and drinking lots of water. Connective tissue is essential to the structure of the physical body, he stated, and building this up is the ultimate goal of nutritional supplementation and anti-aging. By improving connective tissue, he added, you'll end osteoporosis, reduce the risk of cancer, look better, have stronger musculature, and all the cells of your body will be performing more effectively.
He talked about the nutritional benefits of pectin, a carbohydrate fiber found in fruit (such as apples). "Pectin," he cited, "has got a lot of really interesting benefits for the digestive system, [and] the immune system," as well as for deterring colon and prostate cancer, diabetes, diarrhea, and GERD. Fuchs also recommended what he called "forest bathing"-- a practice in Japan where people lay down in a forest. However, you can get the same benefits by walking in nature, he noted, especially walking barefoot in the dirt. Deep breathing, and B vitamins are good for de-stressing, he added, while essential fatty acids (EFAs) help reduce inflammation, acting as a kind of natural version of aspirin.
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Author Charles Reichblum, nicknamed "Dr. Knowledge," has built one of the largest collections in the world of fascinating facts and stories that serve as a source for his "Knowledge in a Nutshell" book series. In the latter half, he presented odd facts and trivia about Christmas, New Year's traditions, history, names, and products. Christmas trees, he explained, didn't become a fixture in the United States till the middle of the1800s, and were spurred to popularity by a photo featured in newspapers of Queen Victoria with a huge tree in her palace. During that era, there were no lights on the trees-- instead, the decorations (as seen in Germany) featured red apples hung on the green branches. That is how the colors red and green became so associated with the holiday, he pointed out.
Initially, there were many variations of what Santa Claus looked like, but an ad for Coca Cola that debuted in 1931, portraying Santa as a jolly and chubby white-bearded man in a red coat, solidified the image that we still think of today. Originally, there was a different New Year's day-- March 25th (the beginning of spring), Reichblum revealed, but when the British adopted a new calendar in 1752 with January 1st marking the start, nascent America followed suit. He also shared a curious mathematical fact-- any set of numbers multiplied by nine, will always add up to nine-- for instance: 3 x 9 = 27 ( 2 + 7 = 9), or 152 x 9 = 1368 ( 1 + 3 + 6 + 8 = 18 = 1 + 8 = 9).
News segment guests: John M. Curtis, Steve Kates