The gathering and sale of pig’s ear fungus

The gathering and sale of pig's ear fungus

The name for the pig’s ear fungus, also known as Gomphus clavatus, originates from the pale pink to violet colored funnel-shaped and wrinkle-edged cap, which looks like a pig’s ear in shape and texture. The stem is short and thick. The fungus usually grows on big trees. Pig’s ear fungus forms a mycorrhizal relationship with coniferous trees such as fir spruce and also with beech trees. This species is also found in Asia and North America. According to study, pig’s ear fungus population is declining in central Europe and is under threat from the disturbance of its habitat by humans. One of the factors that can lessen the threat to pig’s ear fungi is the reduction in air pollution it is currently facing .

Here are the names of pig ear’s fungus in other countries:

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-Nigeria: Erobelebele Nti

-Thailand: hed hunu

– Indonesia: kuping jamu

-Japan: kikurage

-China: mo-ei; wun yee

-Malaysia: kuping tikus, cendawan telinga kera

Pig’s Ears mushrooms are considered to be a very good condiment and they’re occasionally used for main dishes. You should clean the mushrooms to remove any bacteria and larva. Once cooked, it’s meaty texture adds aromatic taste in soups or sauces. It can also be used as a side dish for beef or lamb. But be reminded that many species of fungus are poisonous. Always check what to pick and only eat the species of fungus that you are sure about and can recognize. It is also used in some herbal medicines.

The trade for pig’s ear fungus had become popular in other parts of the country like Whitford, where it became a supplemental source of income for struggling farmers on poor land. It has lots of medicinal benefits due to the nutrients it contains such as vitamins, protein, fat, iron and polysaccharides. Black fungus is said to be able to increase the fluidity and circulation of the blood, and is beneficial to those with anemia. It also helps eliminate skin pigmentation.

10 Things Only a Pregnant Woman Would Understand

10 Things Only a Pregnant Woman Would Understand

Being pregnant is not easy as you experience strange feelings such as morning sickness, insomnia, an ever-growing belly, and the long, agonizing wait of labor. However, it’s all worth the wait! Here are the 10 things only women that have experienced enduring the nine-month journey of pregnancy would understand.

1. What it feels like to be completely terrified and excited at the same time: as the woman has just discovered that she is bearing a child into her womb. Excitement is present yet she’s also terrified, especially when it’s her first time to conceive.

2. Morning sickness that lasts. This is one of the critical stages of pregnancy where the pregnant woman keeps on vomiting every morning or any time she feels nausea.

3. That panty liners aren’t just for periods. Usually, girls begin to use them when they are having their monthly periods. But, women who are pregnant for the first time discover that they have to use it even without their periods during pregnancy.

4. What Dolly Parton must feel like. When women are pregnant, their breasts become soft and tender as the mammary gland develops milk making women’s breast feel slightly heavy.

5. The awesomeness that is the ability to grow a human being. In this stage where an upcoming mother feels the heartbeat of her child inside her womb she realizes how amazing it is to bear a child for nine months. When, or if, the mother has a fetal gender test, the reality of having a baby will really sink in.

6. Being willing to allow the worst pain of your life so that the baby comes. Monitoring how many days it will take for you to deliver a child lets you feel mixed emotions. Excitement, being tense, worried if you can handle the worst pain of your life, among others.

7. How you can be hot when there is ice dripping from the air conditioner. A pregnant women feels weird sometimes. Usually, they feel hot even if there is an electric fan and an air-conditioner present in front of her or where she keep on using a manual fan despite of activating these cooling appliances.

8. What it is like to have to urinate every 15 minutes, sometimes all night long. This may sound weird but it really happens especially when you as a pregnant woman approach your fourth trimester and are waiting for you to deliver your little one.

9. Crying because the fast food worker got your order wrong. This is the weirdest part of pregnancy because most pregnant women crave for something to eat in the middle of the night, that her husband needs to find and get unseasoned fruits elsewhere. This is the conception stage. And she feels bad or sulky if you do not do what she wants you to do in favor of her.

10. What it feels like to be punched in the stomach from the inside. It really hurts when you feel this because it usually hits you in a most unexpected time.

However awful some of these may sound, bearing a child is one of the most wonderful experiences that a mother could have in her entire life. If you are a pregnant women looking for further support during your pregnancy, more information can be found here.

We learned about this neat piece of information here: Healthline

10 Things Only Someone With a Gluten Sensitivity Would Understand

10 Things Only Someone With a Gluten Sensitivity Would Understand

Gluten sensitive individuals have to deal with related disorders triggered by gluten. These include celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Common symptoms include headaches, migraines, bloating, gut anxiety or stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, muscular disturbances, severe acne, low energy, and bone and joint pain.

Whether you have celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, common encounters with friends can be uncomfortable for them. Take a look at the following:

1. When your circle of friends is enjoying exciting food options that are scrumptious gluten-packed dishes, you would want to excuse yourself that you need gluten-free dishes. And while your friends are thrilled to try new meals offered in a famous diner, you are feeling uneasy and you have to tell them that you can only take gluten-free meals.

2. When you are in a party, everyone is going around the serving table and taking big slices of creamy cake and tasting every food variant, you are embarrassed of being asked why gluten is bad for you and what really happens if you eat gluten.

3. When it’s already annoying for the waiter and chef to reassure you that the food that you order is gluten-free.

4. When you are shopping for your grocery items in the supermarket. You need to read the labels twice before making a purchase.

5. When you are offered a hot, cheesy pizza and you need to say “No, thanks, not for me.” You don’t want to beg off but it’s not worth eating it when you need to stay on bed for a week.

6. When you are looking for desserts at the fridge and your mom has not taken home any piece fruit from the market. So, you feel upset that you cannot relish the sweet chocolaty desserts that are ready for tasting and biting.

7. When you need to taste the irresistible freshly baked cookies of your best friend, you have to tell her that it’s already perfect even just by the sweet smell.

8. When you have to be honest and tell people that you cannot take anything with gluten, they will think you have celiac disease and their eyebrows go high and their eyes become big. You know that they are having concern on you and you feel uneasy that they need to consider your ailment. So, you would want to just say “I don’t have celiac disease.” But by saying so will lead them to a conclusion that you are just losing weight.

9. When you are confronted with people who think that gluten intolerance is just in your mind. They stand for the belief that everything is just in the mind. You have to run and avoid their presence because you cannot explain to them the gory experience of your ailment.

10. When you were unaware before and your friends remember those days when you ate tons of gluten-packed foods in cafes and they feel you seemed all right. So, you have to explain them that it’s different now.

We learned about this neat piece of information here: Prevention

Top 10 Things Only People Who Work Out Get Annoyed By

Top 10 Things Only People Who Work Out Get Annoyed By

There are many things that annoy people that work out a lot. To others, it’s just another random thing that happens in their everyday lives. However, if you spend almost everyday working hard to get fit, it is certainly a big deal. There are a lot of things that annoy you, and that people who don’t work out would never understand. It’s their loss, not yours, though. Here’s a quick list of annoying things you really would rather avoid if you’re working out:

1. Annoying Grunts

You understand he’s really into his workout, but you really would prefer not to get distracted by his every grunt. You would rather he get his own room to workout in, is that were possible.

2. Forgetting Workout Clothes

You wouldn’t want to sweat it all out in your warmers and jeans, right? It just takes a moment to prepare your things so you can come to the gym ready to work out more comfortably.

3. Having the Most Popular Gym Instructor…

You want him or her just for yourself, no matter how selfish it sounds. If he or she is everyone’s instructor, it’s going to be difficult to get onto his or her schedule.

4. ….or if the instructor doesn’t recognize you

You have been with the instructor for quite some time and he still hasn’t familiarized himself with your face. That makes you feel like you’re invisible or something, which can be very annoying.

5. Annoying Gym Buddies

The gym doesn’t belong to only you, so you don’t have a choice but to share it with some gym buffs who keep on blabbering or bragging while working out. You’d prefer for him to just keep it to himself.

6. When working out becomes partying out

Sometimes you want to grab your earphones and lend it to that guy next to you who plays loud music while working out. Not everybody wants to hear loud music in the gym. You are allowed to listen to your music at home, if this something you are interested in take a look at these cheap bluetooth speaker under 50. However when it comes to the gym, why not enjoy the party all by yourself with your own earphones?

7. Being too girly

Sometimes you notice other women who seem to spend more time on their own appearance than on the equipment. Nope, you can’t maintain your well-polished nails while working hard with all the equipment in the gym.

8. Using sweaty equipment

It’s gross to use workout equipment that have become wet and sweaty because of the sweaty hands of previous users. Can’t they try to use tissue paper or a towel to wipe them down?

9. Slow moving people

You have to remind others that there are still people who want to use the same machine. Working out should be timed, don’t you think? After all, you’d rather not have to spend all day in the gym.

10. Naked people in the locker room.

This is a gym locker room, not some body-flaunting arena, for goodness sakes! Get some privacy for your body, please!

Plus, thanks to revolutionary storage solution technology such as elockers, there are no excuses for not bringing a spare pair of clothes to the gym! Losing your key or not having enough change to work the locking mechanism are a thing of the past after all…

These are just some of the annoying things you can’t help but encounter in the gym. Patience is a virtue, right? It’s also very helpful to have a sense of humor as well.


We learned about this neat piece of information here: DSF ONline Journals

Let’s compare fat and muscle

Let's compare fat and muscle

One classic argumentation you might have heard among gym enthusiasts which says “a pound of fat is heavier than a pound of muscle” continues to be uncertain. But don’t let this bother you. The truth is when you put it on a scale; a pound of fat is always equal to a pound of muscle. Just like a pound of stone weighs the same with a pound of cotton balls.

Muscle vs. Fat: Revealing the Truth

Although the reality says that a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, a remarkable difference appears between them in terms of density (muscles are about 18% more dense than fat) as fat takes up more space or volume than muscles. Inside the body, muscles appear to be smooth and lean, unlike fat which looks bulky and gelatinous. On another scale, a cubic inch of muscle weighs heavier than a cubic inch of fat. So as the body develops more lean muscles the tendency is a noticeable weight increase. However, weight scaling should not be the only way to monitor progress, especially when enrolled on a fitness program, but on remarkable markers of improvement.

On Metabolic Efficiency

Muscle boosts a person’s metabolism. A pound of muscles burns more calories at rest than a pound of fat. What does this mean? By having more muscles, you will burn more calories even when not exercising or even by just sitting or not doing anything at all. According to Wharton, 10 pounds of muscles would burn 50 calories in a day at rest. But this idea should not drive you to stop being active. The best way to ensure that your muscles are burning calories is to use them, says Pat Koch. There are lots of cardio workouts that are helpful for burning calories and achieving better health. Body weight training and exercising will also help your body burn calories. Developing strength during the process is also necessary.

If you’re interested in building muscle mass and shredding body fat, you might want to do some research into bodybuilding supplements like SARMs. You could also head to the SARMs for sale website if you’re looking for somewhere to buy SARMs online.

We learned about this neat piece of information here: A Pound of Fat Vs. a Pound of Muscle

How To Make This Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

How To Make This Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Cooking meals can feel like so much work. The key to making your meal preparation both feasible and desirable is finding mouthwatering meals that are simple to whip up, eat up, and clean up.

In this recipe, you will learn the “leftover makeover,” where we are going to use a leftover dish but we’re going to change it’s form. We’re going to make something new, a unique and inspiring meal that will make us feel that we’re not eating the same meal. This recipe is called a loaded baked sweet potato and it’s a healthy and a fulfilling dish. All you have to prepare are as is to follow these simple directions:

Large sweet potato, raw (mine was 10 oz. Make sure and weigh yours on a food scale to record the correct points if you’re following Weight Watchers!)

1/2 cup of my healthy turkey chili (I use leftovers)

2 tablespoons light sour cream

1/4 cup diced bell pepper (any variety)

fresh cilantro and scallions for garnish

hot sauce (optional)

Here’s how we make it:

1. Wash the raw sweet potato with clean water.

2. Put it in a baking sheet. Set the oven to 400 degrees and bake it for an hour (Note: baking time depends on the size of your sweet potato)

3. Remove it from the oven and divide it into two by cutting down the middle.

4. You may want to use a fork in order to poke it and to loosen up the potato; this should also decrease cooking time.

5. Pour the chili on to the potato base.

6. Top it with sour cream, pepper, cilantro, scallions and hot sauce. You may also choose among avocado, tomato, mushrooms, onions,

shredded cheese, salsa, jalapeños, guacamole, or with Greek Yogurt for additional toppings.

7. Serve and enjoy.

If you love cooking, you may try this at your home in your most convenient time.

We learned about this neat piece of information here: A Pinch of Healthy

The No-Equipment Workout

The No-Equipment Workout

Everyone desires to have a fit and healthy body, but due to certain reasons, exercise becomes an optional activity for some of us. I am definitely one of those people. Since we have so many things to do in our daily routine, it’s easy to not have enough time to exercise. We often overlook the importance of exercising our bodies. We need to have at least 10-20 minutes of exercise a day in order for us to keep energized, enthusiastic and productive. Here are some activities we can do to reduce excessive fat, enhance our blood and heart function and to improve our body’s overall condition. Take note that we can work out even without the use of any equipment or apparatus. All we need to do is to be ready and prepare to improve our body’s condition.

1) Curtsy Lunge – Move the left leg back behind the right while bending the knees and lowering the hips until the right thigh is almost parallel to the floor.

2) Squat – Stand with the feet parallel or turned out 15 degrees. Slowly start bending the hips and knees until the thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Make sure the heels do not rise off the floor. Press through the heels to return to a standing position.

3) Plank – Lie face down with forearms on the floor and hands clasped. Extend the legs behind the body and rise up on the toes, hold the position for 30-60 seconds.

4) Bear Crawl – Starting on the hands and knees, rise up onto the toes, tighten the core, and slowly reach forward with the right arm and right knee, followed by the left side.

5) Bicycle – Lie on your back with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor. With hands behind the head, place the chin down slightly and peel the head and shoulders off the mat while engaging the core.

6) Step-Up – Place the right foot on the elevated surface. Step up until the right leg is straight, then return to start.

7) Push-ups – Lie prone on the ground with hands placed as wide or slightly wider than shoulder width. Keeping the body straight, lower body to the ground by bending arms at the elbows. Raise body up off the ground by extending the arms. Repeat.

8) Stair climbing – Run up and down a staircase as many times as you can. Skip steps in-between if you can.

It is not important to fully devote your whole life to exercise; if you are too tired to work out then you should rest. Just enjoy every exercise and your improved health.

The Seven Best Strength Training Exercises For Runners

The Seven Best Strength Training Exercises For Runners

“Positive Addiction” is how William Glasser defined running in which you perform a repetitive activity without self-criticism that has a beneficial effect on your mind and body. According to one study, individuals who ran more than 50 miles per week had significantly greater increases in HDL cholesterol (the good fat) than individuals who ran less than 10 miles per week. Below are exercises that will enhance your strength for when you are running:

1. Plank

Start by lying on your stomach. Support your elbow with feet slightly apart, and keep your toes about hip distance apart with shoulders directly above the elbows. Straighten your whole body so it’s forming a straight line from the top of your head to the heels. Hold the plank position for 30-second to one full minute.

2. Russian Twist

Start by lying on your back with upper legs perpendicular to the floor, knees bents 90-degress. Hold the weight in front of your body while keeping the back straight. Twist your trunk as far as you can to the right side, tap the weight on the floor, and then reverse the motion to the other side.

3. Overhead Lunges

Hold a pair of dumbbells straight above your shoulder, with arms straight and elbow locked, feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Then, step forward with your right leg into a deep lunge position, bending both your knees and return to the starting position then repeat with left leg.

4. Squat

Stand with your feet hip distance apart with toes facing forward, with your arms out in front at shoulder height, squat down by bending your knees, leaning forward at the waist while keeping the back flat and knees tracking behind the toes. Squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground or to the point where you can no longer keep a flat back, then, press up through your heels to return to the starting position.

5. Single Leg Deadlift

Hold two dumbbells or a weighted bar in front of your body while standing tall, then shift your weight to your right foot. Hinge forward by bending your right knee and raising your left foot behind you in line with your upper body, letting the weights hang down. Lower the weight while keeping them very close to the tops of the legs until they go past your knees. Pause, then reverse the motion and return to the starting position

6. Pistol

Stand tall and balance on your right foot, squat down by bending at the knee and sitting your hips back. Once your right knee is at about 90 degree angle, push back up by extending your leg to starting position.

7. Rotational Shoulder Press

While standing tall with feet hip width apart, hold a pair of dumbbells outside your shoulders. As you press the weights up with your right hand, rotate your body to the right side. Lower the weights to your shoulder as you rotate back to the center, then rotate to the left as you press your left again upward this time.

If you perform these exercises correctly, you’ll quickly find that your ability to run longer and faster will be improved. Just make sure you don’t overdo it and workout too much too soon; take it easy at first, then gradually increase your workout time.