Natural Detoxifying Foods

Turmeric
While recent studies have hailed its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects on the body, Ayurveda has valued this spice for centuries for its staggering medicinal properties. What makes it relevant for those wishing to detox is its power to help the liver get rid of harmful compounds. Since the primary purpose of a detoxification exercise is to support the organs of elimination like liver, turmeric comes to the rescue and its antioxidants play a critical role in combating the cell damage that can stack up with age. So, a tablespoon of turmeric a day, is enough to considerably set your insides right.

Apples
Packed with fibre, and especially pectin which helps in cleansing the intestinal tract, apples can clear it of accumulated toxins and undigested food particles. This assumes more significance considering how essential it is to include a variety of fibres in the diet to maximise detoxification.

Garlic
Garlic's high sulphur content not only tones the skin and makes your hair more lustrous, it also fires up the detoxification process. The liver must neutralise toxins with sulphur until it is excreted in a process called sulfation. To smoothen this proc- ess, include more sulphurrich foods like garlic in your diet. Three cloves per meal should do you good.

Lemons
Never miss a chance to add some fresh lemon juice to the water you drink or the food you eat. Lemon gets a lot of credit for warding off the cold, but its ability to aid healthy digestion and elimination is often overlooked. It may be the lemon's tart taste that encourages bile flow which helps digestion. Even its peels are rich in antioxidants that support detoxification.

Flaxseeds
Fibre-powered flaxseeds can help keep many diseases at bay and its mix of nutrients helps internal cleansing. Since flaxseeds contain both soluble and insoluble fibre, they facilitate smooth bowel movement and prevent the re-absorption of cholesterol from the colon. Sprinkle a few tablespoons into your morning smoothie or salad.

Coriander
While the seed of coriander or cilantro plant can help digestion and maintain normal cholesterol levels, the leaves are said to detoxify heavy metals like lead and mercury that can accumulate in the body over time. So go ahead and throw a handful of coriander into salads, or as garnish on cooked vegetables, dals and curries.

Broccoli
To add to its reputation of being among the healthiest foods, these crucifers play their part in internal cleansing too. Upon digestion, broccoli releases a nutrient known to possess properties that help detoxify the 'bad' oestrogens in the body. One small cup of broccoli a day can fight them off, keeping you safe from weight gain, PMS and even cancer.

Artichokes
The heart and the base of the outer leaves, which are the edible portions of the artichoke, are known to boost liver health. Artichokes promote the flow of bile and fat to and from the liver. Since the role of bile is to emulsify fats and transport toxins and waste from the liver into the small intestine, be wise and toss in a medium artichoke into your next bowl of salad.

Beets
Beetroot is loaded with plant pigments that are known to have antioxidant and liver-supporting abilities. You may be relishing the beetroot, but the greens of the beet are often missed for their combined might of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. So put the greens through the mixer, instead of trashing them, for added detox benefits. Include half a cup of beetroot or one cup of greens in your juice, and you've done your system a huge favour.

Foods which should not be Refrigerating!

We're completely aware of how modern refrigeration is a substantial practice in every kitchen and household. It goes a long way in preserving our food and maintaining its quality.

But did you know, despite popular belief, refrigerating certain foods can actually change their flavor (not in a good way). This is not it. It can even reduce their nutritional quality, or accelerate the spoiling process. Keep reading to find out the food items you are never supposed to refrigerate. We bet some of these are sitting in your fridge right now!

1) BREAD
It is perfectly fine to freeze bread, but keeping it in the fridge causes it to dry faster. And you end up eating dry bread. Instead, keep what you'll eat within four days at room temperature and freeze the rest. Store in a cool cupboard or bread box for a fresh slice.

2) HERBS
It's natural instinct to stuff the fresh herbs, you just bought from the grocery, right onto the fridge. But did you know herbs wilt faster in the fridge? You could place them in a water-filled glass jar on your kitchen counter to to keep it fresh and crisp.

3) POTATO
Refrigeration adversely affects the flavour of potatoes; therefore it is best to store them in paper bags. Remember, plastic bags promote moisture and speed decay process.

4) FRUITS like ....
Avocado, apples, bananas, citrus fruits, berries, peaches, apricots, and nectarines should be stored out of the fridge. Refrigerating these fruits will result in loss of flavors and textures. However, you can refrigerate these fruits for 30 minutes prior to eating if you want a crisp bite. Store oranges, lemons, and limes at room temperature on your kitchen counter. Just be careful not to bunch them too closely, or they will tend to mold. Don't store an underripe avocado in the fridge, but an already ripe or cut avocado can be refrigerated.

5) ONION
The best way to store onions is in a paper bag in a cool, dark spot, away from potatoes. Potatoes tend to release moisture and gases that can cause onions to rot. They soften and impart an oniony scent on nearby foods. The moisture of the fridge softens the onions and moldy.

6) SALAD DRESSINGS
Just like other condiments, most salad dressing, especially ones that are vinegar or oil-based, are just fine stored outside the fridge. However, cream, yogurt, or mayo-based dressings should be stored in the fridge.

7) TOMATO
Tomatoes lose their flavor and start becoming mushy when stored inside the fridge. In order to ripen the tomatoes faster, however, store them out of the fridge in a paper bag. Once ripe, they'll last for about three days.

8) KETCHUP, SOY SAUCE
Thanks to the vinegar and preservatives, the saucy ketchup and soy sauce will be just fine without refrigeration, even after it has been opened.

9) CEREAL
Your morning cereals will be fine and happy outside the fridge. So don't upset them.

10) OILS
Pretty much all oils are safe to store at room temperature. If the oil has a lower saturated-fat content, such as safflower or sunflower, it will benefit from being kept cool, so store it in a dark cabinet or the fridge door. The only oils that you must refrigerate are nut-based oils.

11) COFFEE
You all know this. Coffee fares best in an airtight container. In fact, refrigeration condenses coffee and reduces the flavor.

12) PICKLES
High on preservatives, pickles will stay fresh outside the fridge. Store it in an open space, so air can move around it.

13) MELONS
Melons normally do best outside the fridge. Once refrigerated, they tend to break down and become powdery and grainy. So to keep the flavour intact, melons need to be stored at room temperature. However, after cutting, you should store the melons in the fridge for three to four days.

14) PEANUT BUTTER
No need of refrigeration, just keep it stored in a cool, dark spot and your peanut butter will be just fine.

15) HONEY
Refrigeration will cause the luscious honey to harden. That's why you should be storing it at room temperature and out of direct sunlight.

16) BERRIES
Fresh berries already have a short shelf life, so leave them out of the fridge and eat them within a day or two of purchasing.

17) JAM
Due to the high amount of preservatives in jams and jellies, it is acceptable to store without refrigeration, even after opening.

18) STONE FRUITS
Stone fruits such as peach, cherry and plum aren't exactly good friends with the fridge, therefore it's best to keep them aside in the kitchen until they're ripe, and ready to eat.

19) GARLIC
Refrigeration reduces the flavor of garlic and affects its lifespan as well. The refrigerated environment can actually cause mold to develop. Store garlic in a paper bag in a cool, dark spot.

20) SPICES
Ground spices need no refrigeration whatsoever.

21) NUTS & DRIED FRUITS
There's no need to refrigerate them. Nuts will be fine stored in a cool, dark spot.

22) WINTER SQUASHES
Butternut squash, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, delicata and pumpkins are just some of the many varieties of winter squash we find in the market. These vitamin A and C rich veggies do best when stored at room temperature. On top of that, squash can last for about a month or longer out of the fridge.

23) PACKED TUNA
You might not be sure, but that tuna has been sealed, just like in a can, so it's more than fine stored at room temperature.

24) PEPPER
Whether red, green, yellow, and even chili peppers, they're going to be just fine without any refrigeration. Store them in a paper bag in a cool space.

Do you check the color of your urine?

Do you check the color of your urine? If you don't, you probably should because it could hold vital clues about the state of your health.

According to The Cleveland Clinic, the shade of your urine can tell a lot about a person's health, and they've produced a helpful chart to aid people when checking.

Designed to establish whether one is drinking enough water, it can also indicate urinary tract infections or other health issues.

The color also shows up traces of certain foods and prescribed medications. A clinic spokesman said, "Human urine has been a useful tool of diagnosis since the earliest days of medicine. The colour, density, and smell of urine can reveal much about the state of our health." Have a look at this basic guide as a starting point:

NO COLOUR

If your urine is clear, like water, then it is likely to be a sign that you're over-hydrated. It could also indicate you've ingested a diuretic, a substance found in coffee which forces the body to get rid of water.

PALE TO DARK YELLOW

The lighter the shade of yellow, the more hydrated a person is. As the color darkens, one is recommended to drink more water.

AMBER OR HONEY

If your urine is in a deep golden yellow then your body isn't getting enough fluid. In such cases, pour yourself a large glass of H20.

SYRUP OR BROWN

This colour could indicate liver or kidney problems. It could also just mean you've been gorging on aloe or fava beans. If drinking more water doesn't change the brown colour, visit your GP.

PINK TO REDDISH

You should visit a doctor immediately if your urine is pink. It could be traces of blood, which could mean kidney disease, prostate problems, urinary tract infections, kidney or bladder stones or even cancer. Less worrying, the colour could also indicate that you've had beetroot or blackberries.

ORANGE

Apart from dehydration, it could be caused by laxatives and chemotherapy drugs, as well as blood thinners. Food dyes, carrots or too much vitamin C can also cause an orange tint.

Reset VSS Writers

VSS writers are application-specific components for Microsoft's Volume Shadow Copy Service, which ensure the consistency of application data when a shadow copy is created. That's quite useful for creating consistent backups of a system. However, some of these writers go into error states more or less frequently. And Microsoft did not deem it necessary to document how to reset writers without rebooting the entire system (or at least I didn't manage to find that piece of information).

Since this burnt me once too often, I started compiling a list of VSS writers and the services that need to be restarted to reset each of them. Some are rather obvious, others (System Writer for instance) not so much.

VSS Writer	Service Name	Service Display Name
ASR Writer	VSS	Volume Shadow Copy
BITS Writer	BITS	Background Intelligent Transfer Service
COM+ REGDB Writer	VSS	Volume Shadow Copy
DFS Replication service writer	DFSR	DFS Replication
DHCP Jet Writer	DHCPServer	DHCP Server
FRS Writer	NtFrs	File Replication
FSRM writer	srmsvc	File Server Resource Manager
IIS Config Writer	AppHostSvc	Application Host Helper Service
IIS Metabase Writer	IISADMIN	IIS Admin Service
Microsoft Exchange Writer	MSExchangeIS	Microsoft Exchange Information Store
Microsoft Hyper-V VSS Writer	vmms	Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management
NTDS	NTDS	Active Directory Domain Services
OSearch VSS Writer	OSearch	Office SharePoint Server Search
OSearch14 VSS Writer	OSearch14	SharePoint Server Search 14
Registry Writer	VSS	Volume Shadow Copy
Shadow Copy Optimization Writer	VSS	Volume Shadow Copy
SPSearch VSS Writer	SPSearch	Windows SharePoint Services Search
SPSearch4 VSS Writer	SPSearch4	SharePoint Foundation Search V4
SqlServerWriter	SQLWriter	SQL Server VSS Writer
System Writer	CryptSvc	Cryptographic Services
TermServLicensing	TermServLicensing	Remote Desktop Licensing
WINS Jet Writer	WINS	Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)
WMI Writer	Winmgmt	Windows Management Instrumentation

This list is far from complete. It merely contains those writers I already had to deal with and some contributions from fellow administrators.

You can use PowerShell for listing failed writers:

& vssadmin list writers | Select-String -Context 0,4 '^writer name:' | ? {

  $_.Context.PostContext[2].Trim() -ne "state: [1] stable" -or

  $_.Context.PostContext[3].Trim() -ne "last error: no error"

}

or the state of a particular writer:

$name = [Regex]::Escape('writer name')

& vssadmin list writers | Select-String -Context 0,4 "^writer name: .*$name"