A left-brain, right-brain quiz with 26 questions

In this brain quiz you will be asked several questions in order to determine if you are more right-brain dominant or left-brain dominant. Try to answer the questions in this brain quiz as honestly as you can.

Strongly disagree=0 disagree=1 agree=2 strongly agree=3

1. I like to study in a quiet room ________

2. I prefer to receive written instructions rather than verbal instructions ________

3. I am good at understanding the meaning of symbols _______

4. I don’t like to do things in sequence ________

5. I prefer to read non-fiction _________

6. I like to write stories about far-away places _________

7. People tell me I explain things very well so they can understand them _________

8. I’d rather be a poet than a math teacher ________

9. Hypnotism is silly. ________

10. On a clear night I love to lie on my back, stare at the stars and wonder “what might have been?” _______

11. My office is tidy ________

12. I often can’t find where I put my keys _________

13. I like to be precise in what I say ________

14. People often say to me, “A penny for your thoughts.” _________

15. I prefer to act on reason rather than on emotion _________

16. I don’t know how I do it, but I’m always getting lost _________

17. If you want to ask me something-don’t be vague. ________

18. I cry easily, but I laugh easily too ________

19. I love to make New Year’s resolutions and stick to them _________

20. People like to sit next to me at the dinner table because I make them laugh _________

21. I love to get all the details straight when I’m listening and when I’m talking __________

22. I prefer art classes to science classes __________

23. I would rather watch an action movie than some mystery movie ________

24. I don’t easily trust others; I usually think they have an ulterior motive _________

25. I prefer to work alone rather than have others disturb my thought process _________

26. There’s always another way to do something; a way that hasn’t been thought up yet. _________

Now add up all the points for the even numbered questions in this brain quiz. This will be your right-brain score. Add up all the points for the uneven numbered questions in this brain quiz and this will be your left-brain score.

Now set up the two final scores as a ratio. The greater the difference between the two scores in this brain quiz, the greater the one side is dominant over the other. The closer the two scores are, the more balanced you are. Realizing your dominant half through a brain quiz like this one is the first step to recognizing how to become more balanced in your thinking.

Recipe Which Is Good For Your Eyes

Recipe Which Is Good For Your Eyes
This easy recipe is made with all fresh ingredients. Spinach is high in Vitamin A and very good for eyesight.

Spinach Delight
Fresh noodles (any kind)
1/2 onion
garlic 1 clove
leftover meat you have in the fridge
chopped olives (approx. 10)
diced tomatoes (1/2 cup)
fresh basil chopped (a handful)
fresh spinach chopped (one or two handfuls)
pepper and salt (you may want to be careful with the salt because the olives are already quite salty)
fresh parmesan  

Boil a pot of water and cook fresh noodles for 3 minutes. While they are cooking you will fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until brown.
Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until they’re ready (a few minutes).
Toss over the noodles. Add fresh parmesan. Serve immediately.

Recipe Which Is Good For Your Bones

Recipe Which Is Good For Your Bones
This healthy recipe is delicious and even your young children will love it.  The broccoli and cheese are rich in calcium and good for your bones.

Delicious Brie Pasta
Ingredients:
 2 packages of linguine
 Half of a full stalk of Broccoli
1 Yellow pepper
1 Green pepper
1 red pepper
2 or 3 full size carrots
Two packages of creamy Brie cheese..
Olive oil as needed
Half of full garlic
Garlic salt

Directions: 
Julienne the peppers and carrots and cut up the broccoli.
Press the garlic.
Pour oil in deep frying pan.
The garlic and the olive oil are going to be your sauce.
Start with 3/4 cup of olive oil. You want to have enough to cover the pasta.
Heat the oil with the garlic on high long enough for the garlic to start to brown and then turn the heat down. Keep stirring the oil and garlic.
Add the carrots. When they start to soften, add the broccoli, and then add the peppers.
Start boiling the water for the linguine. You have to time the pasta so that it is ready one or two minutes before the veggies are done to preference.
Once all the veggies are in the garlic olive oil sauce you will add garlic salt to taste. Keep stirring the veggies till the veggies are ready.
While the veggies are simmering, start cutting up the brie cheese into small pieces.
When the pasta is ready put the pasta on dinner plates. While the pasta is still hot put the brie cheese into the pasta so that it starts melting.
When you are done putting the brie cheese into the pasta pour the veggies and olive oil sauce over the pasta so it further melts the brie cheese. Mix well.
You can serve with baguette.

Recipe Which Is Good For Your Heart

Recipe Which Is Good For Your Heart
Salmon contains Omega 3 fatty acids which are excellent for improving your heart health. If you crush the salmon bones and include them in this paste your bones will also benefit from the added calcium. This makes an excellent healthy snack because it is low in calories and fat.

Salmon delight
Ingredients:
1 can salmon
1/3 cup capers
1/3 cup finely chopped celery
2 tbsp low-fat yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Optional-add fresh dill instead of parsley

Directions:
Combine salmon and well-mashed bones in a small bowl. Add capers, finely chopped celery, low-fat yogurt, and lemon juice. Mix well with a fork. Spoon onto crackers or toast and sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy your light-hearted snack or lunch!

Recipe Which Is Rich in Iron

Kalamata Olive Paste This is the most delicious paste that pairs nicely with a glass of red wine. Olives are high in fibre, iron and copper, and they are low in cholesterol. If you are on a sodium –restricted diet you may want to avoid olives because they are high in salt. Kalamata Olive Paste Ingredients: 2 cups pitted Kalamata olives 3 Green onions 1 or 2 Garlic cloves Your ads will be inserted here by Easy Plugin for AdSense. Please go to the plugin admin page to Paste your ad code OR Suppress this ad slot. Dash of balsamic vinegar Dash of white sugar Dash of lemon juice

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until paste forms. You will need to scrape down the sides once in a while. You may have to add more or less lemon juice to get the right consistency.

Serve with crackers. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

How to Prevent a Heart Attack

How to Prevent a Heart Attack
If you want to know how to prevent a heart attack, then you must know what causes heart attacks, who are at risk of a heart attack, what the signs and symptoms are, and how to prevent a heart attack by watching your lifestyle, diet and environment.

Causes of a Heart attack
If blood flow to a part of the heart muscle becomes blocked, then a heart attack may occur. If the blood is blocked for a longer period of time, then that part of the heart that isn’t receiving enough oxygen will die. A heart attack most frequently occurs as a result of coronary artery disease (plaque build up in the major arteries and consequently blood clots form).  It can also be caused by micro vascular disease (affecting the microscopic blood vessels), and less frequently, by a spasm of a coronary artery.

How to Prevent a Heart Attack- Know the risk factors
You can learn how to prevent a heart attack by controlling your risk factors.  Most of the risk factors can be within your control.

• Hypertension:

The guidelines on what is a safe blood pressure vary greatly. The confusion is due to how many complicating factors are you  experiencing. If you have diabetes and a high blood pressure, for  example, your risk increases. Manage your blood pressure with  daily exercise, a sodium reduced diet, and proper weight control,   and if necessary, medication.

• High Blood Cholesterol:

This is mainly controlled through a low fat (especially a low Tran’s fat diet) and exercise and possibly medication.

• Obesity:

If your body fat is greater than 25% for males and 30% for females of your total body weight, then you are considered obese. Obesity leads to coronary artery disease which leads to heart attacks.  Obesity is really a direct result of ingesting more calories than you are burning.

• Diabetes:

Monitor your blood sugars and control your diet and manage your insulin (if required).

• Out Of Shape:

Exercise at least 30 minutes every day.

• Smoking:
• Smoking increases the likelihood of death from heart attack 2 -3 fold.

How to prevent a heart attack- know the warning signs
There are several warning signs of an impending heart attack. Know how to prevent a heart attack by paying attention to these signs:

• Pain, pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest. These symptoms may come and go, or they may last more than several minutes.
• Pain in one or both arms, back, jaw, neck and/or stomach.
• Shortness of breath
• Some people experience nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness or fainting, or they break into a cold sweat.

Heredity as a risk factor
Heart attacks are still the leading cause of death in both men and women. In determining your family history it is important to know the age of your ancestors when they first experienced a heart attack. If you have a family history of early (age 55 for men, 65 for women) heart disease, then you are at a greater risk of developing a heart attack yourself and you’ll definitely want to know how to prevent a heart attack.
You may ask yourself, how to prevent a heart attack if your family history puts you at risk? Then, it is of utmost importance that you follow everything you can on how to prevent a heart attack by lowering or eliminating the controllable risk factors.

How to Prevent Cancer

How to Prevent Cancer
The media frequently pours out new information on how to prevent cancer or the causes of cancer, and then later dismisses the advice. It is confusing for the average person to know what the truth is on how to prevent cancer. Only scientifically proven information will be discussed in this article on how to prevent cancer.
The scientific evidence states that 80% of all cancers are caused by identified factors: 30% is caused by smoking; 35-50% is caused by the food we eat. This scientific evidence is backed up by the National Cancer Institute. Knowing these risk factors and doing something about it is the best way to know how to prevent cancer.

How to prevent cancer-diet
 Certain foods contain higher amounts of nutrients and chemical substances that our bodies need in order to delay or prevent some cancers.  Knowing which foods are anti-carcinogenic will help you know how to prevent cancer.

How to prevent cancer- Eat fruits and vegetables                       
This is first on the list because it is probably the most important. They contain hundreds of ingredients including vitamins and minerals, fiber and phytochemicals. Dark colored fruits and vegetables have a pigment that is called Carotenoids and these have been scientifically proven to help prevent cancer.

The substance present in dark green and yellow vegetables is called beta-carotene, a known anti-carcinogencic.  Equally healthy are vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnips, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. Vitamin C helps neutralize cancer-causing chemicals.

How to prevent cancer- High fiber diet
Grains and dry beans are good sources of fiber, minerals, vitamins and other plant compounds.
Whole grains contain selenium which also fights cancer.  Countries with diets high in fiber have fewer cases of cancer. Fiber moves through the digestive tract quickly, helping the body to get rid of carcinogens. It’s important for the prevention of breast cancer because the fiber helps to move the estrogen out of the body more quickly.

You can get your fiber from whole grains, lentils, beans, fruit and vegetables. If you know how to prevent cancer in your diet, and you still aren’t getting enough fiber, you may want to consider taking a supplement.

How to prevent cancer- Reduce fat in your diet
Scientific evidence shows that cultures with higher fat diets have a higher cancer rate. Animal fat is more deadly than vegetable fat. Fat increases hormone production and therefore increases the chances of some types of cancer. It also increases the bile production in the body which increases the chance of colon cancer.

How to prevent cancer-reduce/ eliminate toxins from your life

How to prevent cancer- Reduce or avoid alcohol and avoid smoking
It’s very simple: excessive alcohol intake increases the risk for breast, mouth, pharynx and esophagus cancers. If you smoke and drink, then your risk multiplies. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths and most of these cancers (80-90%) are directly linked to smoking. Knowing how to prevent cancer by quitting smoking is well known and documented.

How to prevent cancer- Reduce exposure to toxins
When our bodies are exposed to toxins they eliminate these toxins through our kidneys, liver, cardiovascular system, lungs, bowels and skin. Toxins damage our cells and rob our bodies of oxygen. Toxins are everywhere and they are hard to avoid, but if you want to know how to prevent cancer, then you’ll need to reduce your exposure to these toxins.

While the methods mentioned in this article is great advice on how to prevent cancer, following the advice to the letter doesn’t guarantee that you won’t get cancer. It will decrease the likelihood that you will, and/ or decrease the likelihood that you’ll die from cancer. Knowing how to prevent cancer is your first line of defense, and the second is trying your best to follow these recommendations on a daily basis.

How to Prevent a Stroke

How to Prevent a Stroke

It’s important to know the causes of a stroke in order to know how to prevent a stroke. The most common cause of a stroke is a blockage of a blood vessel in the neck or the brain resulting in the death of brain cells due to the lack of oxygen to that area. This is caused by a stationary clot (stroke caused by a thrombosis) or a clot that moves from another area of the body to the neck or brain (stroke caused by an embolism).This type of stroke is called an ischemic attack and accounts for 80% of all strokes.
The other 20% of strokes are caused when the blood circulation to the brain fails. This type of stroke is caused by bleeding in the brain.

A stroke can result in death, but it can also result in paralysis to parts of the body (the parts fueled by that portion of the resulting dead brain cells). A stroke often affects the person’s speech, or one side of the person’s body.  This paralysis can be temporary or permanent, depending on the severity of the stroke and the person’s recovery from the stroke through therapy.
Your best bet in knowing how to prevent a stroke is by knowing the risk factors:

Smoking:  Smoking builds up fatty tissues in the main artery in the neck which may result in a stroke. If you’re a chronic smoker you’ll want to talk to your doctor about the possible programs and medications available today. Smoking decreases the amount of oxygen in your body which further complicates the outcome of the stroke. If you are a smoker and you really want to know how to prevent a stroke- quit smoking immediately!

High Blood Pressure: Depending on how high your blood pressure is, you may want to talk to your doctor about anti-hypertensive medications to reduce your risk of getting a stroke. Adding a daily low dose of aspirin has been shown to decrease your blood pressure and your stroke risk. You’ll need to talk to your doctor about this. Daily exercise will definitely improve your blood flow, the state of your arteries, your blood pressure and therefore your chances of getting a stroke. How to prevent a stroke- lower your blood pressure!

Not Exercising: Exercise is important not just for reducing your chances of getting a stroke, but for your general health as well.  Daily exercise, at your fitness level- whatever that is- even if it means taking a daily short walk will decrease your chances of getting a stroke. How to prevent a stroke- exercise!

Diabetes: The body’s inability to use sugar properly affects the blood vessels and causes destructive changes that may result in a stroke. It’s important to control your diabetes through proper diet, exercise and possibly medication as prescribed by your doctor. How to prevent a stroke- control your diabetes!

High Cholesterol:   High cholesterol causes your blood vessels to work improperly and can cause blockage resulting in a stroke.  Proper diet- decreasing the Trans fats you ingest- will improve your cholesterol, and so will medication prescribed by your doctor. How to prevent a stroke- lower your cholesterol!  

The only two risk factors of stroke-prevention listed in the chart above that aren’t under your control are your family history and your age. You obviously can’t do anything about the aging process.  If one or both of your parents or siblings died from a stroke, you’re at a greater risk of having a stroke yourself. In this case you’ll definitely want to know how to prevent a stroke focusing in on the factors that you can do something about. Knowing how to prevent a stroke is your first method of defense.  

How to Improve your Memory

There are certain techniques and strategies that you can do in order to learn how to improve your memory.

The more frequently we repeat an action, the more dendrites in the brain grown and connect to new and to old memories. Eventually you will teach your brain how to improve your memory by beginning a sequence which results in all the remaining pieces falling into place. Because you are doing these actions by repetition, it allows you to do many activities on a daily basis without having to think about them.

Techniques and strategies can be used to keep you interested in what you are trying to commit to memory, and this helps you to move information from temporary working memory into memory storage. Using these techniques and strategies will teach you how to improve your memory by activating multiple senses and connecting new information to multiple brain pathways into your memory bank. Successful brain-based techniques and strategies build more connections and stronger circuits.

Techniques and Strategies

* Brain mapping: This technique is based on the principle that certain brain activities take place in predictable, tiny regions of the brain. Each of these locations is fed data from brain centers that collect information from the senses and emotions in the rest of the body. How to improve your memory: The working memory is built through a variety of activities and these help stimulate multiple sensory intake centers in their brains. Multiple pathways lead to the same memory storage box. Therefore, more brain connections are available when one needs to recall a memory. For example, if you practice memorizing something by using both your sight and your hearing, then you can recall that information later by sight or sound.

* Mnemonics: There are many techniques and strategies to improve your memory through using memory clues. How to improve your memory:

A) Put information into separate boxes in your brain. A phone number is remembered in blocks of three, three and four. Your brain has an easier time of processing information this way.

B) Remember information by having each letter of a word stand for something else. For example, if your license plate starts with DWP, you can remember it by saying “down with pollution.”

C) Rhymes and alliteration. You might remember your divorce lawyer’s name by saying to yourself, “Mary Mary quite contrary.”

D) “Method of loci.” You can learn how to improve your memory and remember longer amounts of material by associating each part of what you have to remember by using landmarks in a familiar route. For example, your first paragraph in your speech may have to do with unhealthy food, so you remember the fast food restaurant on your way to work; the next paragraph is about the healthy food you should be eating, so you think about the next landmark which is a body of water which you associate with fish, and so on.

* Exercising your Brain: First of all you must pay attention if you want to learn how to improve your memory. If you haven’t processed the information, you won’t be able to retrieve it. You should relate the information to what you already know and build from there. Over-learn the information and learn it again at a later date. Always stay motivated.

* Break your routine: The brain processes information more deeply if it is new sensory stimulation. At these times, the brain is fully engaged and new pathways are developing. This keeps the brain strong. How to improve your memory: Try to do your usual routine in a different way so that your brain doesn’t become lazy. This means you shouldn’t just learn more of what you already know, instead you should throughout your life, take on completely new challenges. Learn a new language, or start playing the piano for example.

Using these techniques and strategies, you can learn how to improve your memory. When you keep your brain active, learn things in new ways and stay attentive you can teach your brain how to improve your memory.

Success in Life

Your personal success in life largely depends on how you define success in life and what you are willing to do in order to achieve success in life. Though a lot of people may perceive attaining success in career as success in life, it is important to note that this alone does not guarantee having success in life. If you have a young family and you’re midway through your career, there are many other more important things which you must juggle to better guarantee your chance of success in achieving a happier life.

Having success in life often means managing your finances so that you can relax and enjoy your family life. Investing wisely is important, especially when you are young.

Invest Wisely

Having a healthy financial nest egg is essential to ensuring success in life. It certainly isn’t the only thing in life, but it is the basis for feeling safe and secure.
* Strive to pay off your debts, especially the ones with a high interest rate such as credit cards. There is good debt and bad debt. Good debt is things you own that don’t depreciate and only grow in value such as your house and your investments. Bad debt is things you have bought that only depreciate over time such as electronics (although some of them are necessary to do your job), cars, and toys.
* Invest in RRSP’s and the tax savings you receive you can reinvest or pay off your debts.
* Stop spending foolishly such as $20 here, $40 there on stuff you don’t need. Be wise, go to garage sales for your kids’ toys (they will only use them for a few years at best) and eat in restaurants and fast food counters only occasionally. Your pocket book and your health will thank you.
* Talk to an investment advisor and find an investment portfolio that works for you. If you are younger, you can have a low percentage of your investments in higher risk stocks, but the majority should be in blue chip stocks that are relatively safe. Once you have a portfolio set up for you, stick with it, don’t get too emotional when the market rises and falls. Don’t panic and sell everything. By the time you retire, you will have made a good profit.
* Diversify your investments so that you are spreading out your risk. In other words, don’t have all your eggs in one basket.
* Don’t rent if you can buy. If you buy your property then you will see a return on your investment.
* Do not dismiss insurance as unimportant. There are many plans that suit your different needs and the pay-out lump sum can come handy in rainy days, whether it is a life insurance or an endowment plan. In the long term, it can actually benefit your family and yourself.
* Have some of your investment money accessible should you need it in a crunch. Don’t lock everything away. You will need a few thousand dollars on hand should your car break down or your furnace die on New Year’s Eve.

Spend time with family

When we are mid-career we sometimes neglect the needs of our family. We may forget to enjoy our children and we forget that they are an integral part of our success in life. We may see them as a nuisance or an expense. Couples need time together and sometimes it is hard to squeeze in that time. However, so do the children. Success in life depends on how you spend your time. Kids don’t want to be interrogated every time we see them. They don’t want to be pushed out the door, and shoved into bed. They not only want, but they need play time, fun time, time to laugh with you. Take vacations with the children so that you can truly enjoy each other, and deepen the relationship so that when the difficult teen years hit, you will have a solid relationship to fall back on. When people get older and reflect on their success in life, they usually regret not spending enough time as a family. Success in life depends on how much time you spend with your family.