Thursday 29th April 2010 INSIDE INSIDE E ating chilli peppers can help dieters to lose weight by rais- ing their metabolism and burn- ing away fat, according to scientists Researchers have found that the heat generated by peppers can actu- ally increase your consumption of calories and “oxidise” layers of fat. And for those that don’t like the “burn”, they have discovered that an equivalent of the main ingredient “capsaicin” occurs in some non-hot varieties of the fruit The heat of pepper evolved to put animals off eating them, but humans have come to like them and they have been a staple of many diets around the world for thousands of years. Scientists – intrigued by the abili- ty of the fruit to make you sweat – now believe they can help as part of a diet. There are plants that make a non- burning version of capsaicin called dihydrocapsiate (DCT) that could have the benefits of peppers without the pungency, it has been discovered. Researchers at the University of California recruited 34 men and women who were willing to consume a very low-calorie liquid meal replacement product for 28 days. The researchers, led by Dr David Heber, then randomly chose the sub- jects to take either placebo pills or supplements containing the non- burning DCT pepper. Their data provided convincing evidence that, at least for several hours after the test meal was con- sumed, energy expenditure was sig- nificantly increased in the group con- suming the highest amount of DCT. In fact, it was almost double that of the placebo group. They were also able to show that DCT significantly increased fat oxida- tion, pushing the body to use more fat as fuel. This may help people lose weight when they consume a low- calorie diet by increasing metabo- lism. Dr Heber and his research team will present their results at the Experimental Biology annual confer- ence. The Shocking disaster’ of Aral Sea saga worsens “T he drying up of the Aral Sea is one of the planet’s most shocking environmental disasters”, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday 04th April 2010 as he urged Central Asian leaders to step up efforts to solve the prob- Thereís gold in the old I was in a naturopathy centre for a week. A fellow starver was a woman who claimed that she spent all day, every day, gardening in her 500 yard patch. She pulled out every “weed “, killed every insect, poked and snipped every plant. As a person who has a totally wild forest for a garden (converted from a cemented car parking lot 7 years ago) glo- ries in weeds, never cuts grass, is interest- ed in every insect and lets every plant grow itself, I was appalled. I asked her whether she knew which insects were beneficial. Nope, she killed them all. And spent each evening attending meditation classes. She had lost a young son to cancer. One reason for her obsessive behaviour. As we spoke, I asked her to think of each insect and plant as her son reborn. How would she behave? Would she still maim and kill? Why not leave the garden alone and concentrate on her husband and other son both of whom had been neglect- ed for years? I’d like to think I changed her mental pattern – but maybe her time of killing had simply come to an end and I was an instrument of change. How many of you kill the insects in your gardens? Or know the beneficial ones? I find all insects beneficial. Even the aphids who feed the ants and the caterpil- lars who eat the leaves but turn into the pollinating butterflies to create more plants. Knowing what insects to encour- age into your garden and what benefits they can provide will help your garden. The problem with pesti- cides is that they not only kill the “bad bugs,” they rub out the “good bugs,” too. A garden without natural predators means there’s nothing left to keep pest levels in check. In fact, chemicals mean double trouble because although you wipe out the first wave of pests, another insect moving into the area can cause even greater losses than the insects you were trying to get rid of in the first place .”Hire” some beneficial insects and you won’t have this problem. They provide long-term control and will help when insect pests arrive.. The word “fly” usually inspires the thought of flyswatters. Hover flies, how- ever, are a gardener’s friend. a. The Hover Fly, also known as the Syrphid Fly or Flower fly, is a black and yellow insect mistaken for a bee or a wasp. They don’t sting or bite. The largest are only three-fourths inch long, though many are so small they are rarely noticed. If you look closely, they can be seen hov- ering like helicopters above flowers and plants with aphids. What I thought were bees on the bhang plants that grow wild in my garden are actually hoverflies A Hover Fly larva feeds on aphids small grubs, worms or mealy bugs. The mature Hover Fly feeds on nectar helping with pollination. There are 6000 varieties and each has its own characteristics including preferred climate, location, and menu For example, 49 species only eat a peach aphid. Some consume fungi. Some hoverflies scavenge refuse from the nests of bees, wasps, and ants. Others assist decomposition by preying on decaying materials. Brightly colored larger flowers are rec- ommended to draw in the Hover Fly.. Hoverflies, like other beneficial insects, succumb to pesticides; hence putting away the toxics is one of the best ways to attract these insects. Ladybirds/Ladybugs are red or orange with black dots. They feed on aphids, insect eggs, mealybugs, whiteflies, plant and spider mites as well as larvae from any other insect. Ladybugs eat up to 400 aphids per day. Any flowering plant that produces lots of pollen and nectar is sure to draw a Lady Bug’s attention. They tend to prefer cup-shaped flowers such as tulips, lilies and herbs such as fennel and dill. You can also spray a mixture of fresh water; yeast and whey around the plant’s leaves to further attract this pretty insect. The eggs are yellow and laid on leaves in small clusters. The Dragonfly has a long thin body, large eyes and two pairs of transparent, long lobed wings. They come in an amaz- ing number of almost metallic colors from emerald green to azure blue. Dragonflies eat aphids , mosquitoes and their larvae in the evening. If you have a pond or water you will attract Dragonflies as they skim across the water feeding on the mosquito larvae. The dragonfly feasts on around 600 insects per day such as gnats and flies and it is one of the main predators of mosquitoes. Dragonflies can be encouraged to visit by planting reedy plants. Assassin Bugs, have an elongated head with a narrowed neck, long legs, and a prominent, segmented horn for feeding. Most species are dark with hues of brown, black, red, or orange These long horned bugs eat mosquitoes, caterpillars, aphids, flies and beetles. Some have a strong and very nasty odor they release when they are threatened. Centipedes are many legged reddish- brown, flattened, elongated. The first pair of legs is modified into poisonous jaws located below the mouth to kill insects. They do not damage plants. They are fero- cious hunters and will kill caterpillars, grubs, slugs and fly larvae and pupae. Though Ground beetles vary some- what in their body shape and coloring, most are shiny black or metallic and have ridged wing covers. Common habitats are under the bark of trees, logs, rocks or sand by the edge of ponds. Ground beetles feed on pests. The head is narrower than the thorax which is narrower than the wings. Immature ground beetles are generally black or reddish brown. They are characterized by having the chewing mouthparts sticking out in front of the head. Many have two flexible short tails on the posterior end. Green Lacewings are beautiful little green or brown insects with large lacy wings and golden eyes whose larvae eat aphids, mealybugs, scales and white flies, spider mites and thrips. Pirate bugs have black flattened bodies with white wing patches like pirate flags, hence the name. They are about 1/16” long and feed on thrips, aphids, mites, scales, whiteflies and soft-bodied arthropods. Predacious mites prey on pest spider mites. They are spear-shaped and shiny, with noticeably long legs. They may be bright red, yel- low, green or transparent . Big Eyed Bugs are small gray- ish-beige, oval shaped bugs with large kidney shaped, reddish brown eyes.They feed on leaf hoppers, spider mites, insect eggs. Other beneficial insects are Damsel bugs, slender greyish or tan insects with elongated heads; Brachonid wasps, tiny slender creatures that feed on aphids; Praying mantises who feed on mov- ing insects; big hairy black and red Tachinid flies who para- sitize caterpillars, beetle larvae, and sawflies ; Lightning bugs, Soldier Beetles and tiny Trichogramma wasps who attack insect eggs. In fact these are so useful that many nurseries sell them. Spiders keep insect populations low. You can attract beneficial insects by planting early bloomers so that they come in before the pests do to feed on pollen and nec- tar. Low growing herbs like thyme and oregano give ground beetles a place to hide. Taller flowers, like daisies or cosmos, beckon to hover flies and parasitic wasps. Clustered flowers like fennel , wild carrots, dill attract parasitic wasps . Zinnias and sunflowers attract the larger pollinators, like robber flies and predatory wasps. These are some plants that work : Marigolds, nasturtiums, butterfly weed, clover, coriander, yarrow, angelica, lemon balm, caraway, catnip, golden marguerite, poppy, mallow, cosmos , Queen Anne’s lace, sun- flower, tansy, dandelion, bugleweed, but- terfly weed, buckwheat, cinquefoil, speedwell, hairy vetch, globe lily, master- wort, feverfew, statice, lobelia, sweet alyssum, lemon balm, pennyroyal, spearmint, bergamot, gloriosa daisy, stonecrop, goldenrod, zinnia . Insects need water. Put a saucer and some rocks, and keep it full. Why not let insects do all the work. They don’t cost anything and won’t ask for a pay check. In any case while insects are now resistant to chemical pesticides, no insects have shown immunity to being eaten. They can run, but they can’t hide! To join the animal welfare movement contact [email protected] Chilli peppers help burn away the fat T owering over her teacher and friends 16-year-old Marvadene Anderson stands six feet eleven inches tall making her the world’s tallest teenage girl. World’s tallest teenage girl