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Lifestyle Too
A Breath of Fresh Air in September?!
A couple of eyebrows were raised when we read this information in Kathimerini about the country-wide ban on smoking due to be imposed in public places in Greece on September 1st. But we’ll try and tell it to you straight (and in any case the editor who is herself a recidivist fumigating pollutant does not want to be accused of being a hypocrite). Greece is gearing up for the blanket ban on smoking in public places by enlisting the help of Harvard University. The university has just been commissioned to give advice on the best way to develop the government’s anti-tobacco policies and to give assistance in mounting publicity campaigns (not a last minute initiative then!). The Harvard School of Public Health is apparently also going to help Greece conduct research, organize conferences and train the officials who will be involved in imposing the ban, and will try to develop strategies to foster an anti-smoking culture, particularly among children (in four weeks?!!!! Sorry, just couldn’t resist the dig). It is of course a sorely needed step in the right direction in terms of improving public health in Greece, and we shouldn’t be too cynical. But in terms of law enforcement here on Crete? We’re thinking about mopeds and crash helmets….
The Best Thirst Quenchers for the Summer Heat!
As ever, thanks go to our local nutrition expert Uta Wagner who writes: ‘The ideal drink should taste good, be cool and refreshing and not have too many calories. The all-time number one drink you probably already know about! With a splash of lemon or orange, you can ‘tune up Adam’s Ale’ (In German when we are doing this we say “Wässerchen”= little water! It is a funny phrase! Perhaps in English: tasty water?!). Teas are also excellent thirst quenchers. The caffeine in tea is a gentle pick-me-up and the tannins have a calming effect on stomach and the intestines. Herbal teas are available in so many different choices that there is something for every taste. One of the most popular options is mint tea, and this is great because it also stimulates the body's ‘cooling receptors’. Pure fruit juices contain too much sugar to quench one's thirst. So mix your favorite juice with water: 1/3 juice and 2/3 water is a good combination - and you’ll have an energy drink which will compensate for the electrolytes that you lose with your sweat. You’ll find equally good thirst quenchers in the form of water-rich fruits and vegetables such as melons, grapes, cucumbers and tomatoes. The watermelon which consists of 98% water is especially good.. What we should
not drink is ice-cold cola, industry soft drinks, energy drinks or commercially branded iced tea. These contain so much sugar (in one glass of a soft drink there is up to eight cubes of sugar) that the blood sugar concentration rises so high that it requires
the body to use liquid resources to reduce it which makes us even more thirsty! And if we consume drinks that are ice cold, initially they may be refreshing, but in fact, the discrepancy between the body temperature and the cold drink is so large that the circuit is overloaded and the organism compensates for the apparent drop in temperature by producing additional heat - which is exactly the opposite of what one really wanted to achieve! So it’s far better to bite into a watermelon, or make your own lemonade and orangeade.’
Where Can I Recycle Waste Items?
Apart from using the blue and yellow recycling bins for household waste other items can be recycled as follows:
Disposal of broken electrical goods. There is a depot just outside town which will take anything ‘that had a plug on it’ (including washing machines and fridges). Drivers, take the National Road towards Heraklion in Misiria. Turn off the highway after about
100—150 metres, hang a right and you should soon see recycling bins etc. The depot is open from 6am to
3pm on weekdays, and from 6am to
12 noon at weekends. For further information call
28310 57940. For large objects that need collection call
195 from any phone.
Old telephones and small telecoms items. There is a green bin in the entrance of the main OTE office..
Batteries. various places in town including OTE, DEI, Germanos, Marinopoulos and Champion.
Old cars. DRAKOS on the left hand side of the National Road a short way out of Rethymnon (going towards Hania). They even pay you as they recycle the spares and give you a paper for tax purposes!
Used cooking oil: Four containers for used cooking oil have now been placed in Rethymnon. They are located at: the entrance to the industrial port (near old harbour); the South entrance to the municipal park; Agios Giorgos Church (Kallithea) and Kapodistriou street (also in Kallithea). Just open the lid on the top and pour your used oil into the container. The recycled cooking oil is going towards producing bio-fuel and soap.
