General
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Cutting down on sugar
UPDATE: The group has been deleted (details below). Last week I was browsing online and saw a post on a group regarding gluten-free foods to eat when out and about, and someone mentioned a group for those interested in finding out what restaurants and shops have gluten-free foods. And that’s when I realized that a group to support those trying to reduce their sugar intake might be useful. At some point, a few weeks ago, I was browsing through the shelves of the local library and found two books about sugar. I borrowed and read them. And while reading them I realized that sugar can be quite tricky: it is…
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Thoughts on the business of alternative medicine
I’ve never been a fan of alternative medicine. One day, while browsing at the local library, I saw a book called “Suckers: How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All“. I took it off the shelf and borrowed it. I didn’t need to be convinced of the inefficiency of homoeopathy or magnet therapy. Yet I was just curious about what I would learn from this book. Now I’ve reached page 43 and it is too early to talk more about this book. Yet I’ve read some mind-blowing information so far and I felt the need to share it here. The author writes that “the total UK annual spend for Complementary and…
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My son’s pre-school graduation
So, the day has arrived. Today is the last day my son goes to pre-school. In September he will enter Reception/School. You can read 6 tips on getting kids ready to start school here. On his first day of pre-school, he was 2 years and 8 months old. He seemed ready to take the big step but still, he was so tiny. He was used to the location as we had spent there several days during the previous year. We both liked the team and the place and I knew he was going to be in very good hands. Yet I still cried when I left him there for his…
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The unexpected cause of stained teeth
My teeth had always been pretty healthy. Small fillings here and there but nothing too serious. I never had the terrible tooth pain I hear a lot about. Hopefully, I will never do, especially since I decided to reduce my sugar intake (I wrote about my reasons to do so here). I used to drink coffee and eat chocolate, especially dark chocolate. In the years prior to getting pregnant with my son, I had also started having a small glass of red wine in the evening. I never smoked, not even out of curiosity. Therefore, even though my teeth were never shining white, they have always been good enough when…
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One simple step to spend less time on your phone
When I learned how to tell the time, there were no mobile phones (though there were computers, as I am not THAT old). We had an analogue clock in the house and my parents used analogue watches. As I grew up, mobile phones entered our lives and now we can use them to know what time it is. I can’t really remember my first mobile as I was never really fond of this technology. At some point though, in my mid-twenties, I relied on my phone to tell the time and completely forgot about my analogue watch. I had my phone everywhere at any time, in the pocket of my jeans, and…
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F**k it, I won’t read this book
Spoiler alert: this post is about why I decided to stop reading John C. Parkin’s book, “F**k it, Do what you love”. It’s not a review, but if you plan to buy/read this book, you might not want to read the following lines. I was in Waterstones Picadilly a few months back and I was looking at the Parenting section. After writing down the title of a book, while heading back to the books for kids section my attention was drawn onto a table. There was a black cover with a fried egg on it. The book title read “F**k It – Do What You Love“. Being in a time…
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How does sugar intake influence our dental health?
Reducing sugar in our everyday diet is still a challenge. We have no medical condition that forces us to do so though. Then how come we made this decision? Let me start by saying that it was a sudden decision and it all started with a book. Note: when saying “sugar”, I am referring to “table sugar” also known as “sucrose”, extracted from sugarcane or beet sugar About eight years ago I started reducing the amount of salt in my diet, replacing salt with mixed herbs. After becoming a mum and reading books about baby weaning, I decided to reduce, as much as possible, the sugar intake my kids would have. I…
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What’s this all about?
Welcome to Zagura’s blog. I meant to say “world” but I know someone’s world can never be fully written on a blog, not even in a really big book. Therefore what I try to do here is just talk about ideas and experiences that I have while surrounded by my family (consisting of my husband, our son and our daughter) and living in South-East London. Having two pre-school kids means having wonderful and hectic days, filled with love, smiles, hugs, tantrums and adventures. We moved here in 2014 and have been exploring the area since then. In 2015 we bought a car and started to travel here and there on short distances. Yes,…
