HEALTH AND WELLNESS

          Does it make any health difference whether you exercise by hiking up or down a steep incline? Researchers say that in some ways it might.   Taking the stairs regularly is a simple and practical means to improving health. Researchers asked 69 sedentary employees to use the stairs at their place of work instead of the elevators. After 12 weeks, the workers aerobic capacity had increased by 8.6 percent, which gave them a 15 percent reduction in all-cause mortality risk. The workers also saw significant improvement in their blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, fat mass, and waist circumference. A study conducted on a mountain in the Alps where for two months 45 volunteers hiked up the 30-degree slope and rode a cable car back down. Then, for two months more, they did the opposite. While hiking in either direction helped lower bad cholesterol, the study suggested that hiking uphill was more effective for lowering levels of fats called triglycerides, [while] hiking downhill

  [1]         GERMS IN THE OFFICE: University of Arizona microbiologists measured bacteria in offices in a number of U.S. cities. They found that the five most germ-contaminated spots were [in order] phones, desktops, water fountain handles, microwave door handles and keyboards, says the Globe and Mail newspaper. According to the report, the average desktop is home to 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen table and 400 times more than the average toilet seat.   [2]          CHRISTIANS ONLY IN WORDS: The Philippines has been referred to as the only Christian nation in the Asia. However, Bishop Efraim Tendero of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches stated: most of us are Christians only in words but not in our actions. As stated in the Manila Bulletin, part of the blame rests with church leaders, who fail to create awareness and appreciation of the Bible. Some church sermons are said to highlight politics rather than the Scriptures.   [3]        HUMANS AND ANIM