The average person spends a majority of their time inside the home or office. In these enclosed spaces where people rest or work, a high standard for indoor air quality must be maintained for overall good health. When a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system gets compromised, it can cause discomfort and health issues among the those who use the space. So what exactly could happen? For one:

Mold and Bacterial Growth
Leaks and non-draining moisture can encourage the growth of mold and other pollutants, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. When these conditions are present in the HVAC system, bacterial and mold colonies could develop. From these habitats, microspores are spread through the airflow.
When left unchecked, mold colonies appear in dark and damp spots, and typically emit a distinct moldy odor. Maintaining the HVAC system ensures that these hidden spots are checked for any growth. If necessary, remediation and removal of the problematic spots follow detection.



Compromised Respiratory Health
Harboring a mold or bacterial colony typically leads to a host of respiratory and other health-related conditions. An alert document from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) described the issues that could potentially affect occupants of buildings with a problematic HVAC. According to NIOSH, there is a connection between exposure to mold and other microorganisms with hypersensitivity pneumonitis or lung inflammation, asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis.

Check the Guidelines when having HVAC Checked
The US Environmental Protection Agency provides a set of guidelines for those who are planning to have their HVAC system checked.  The guide describes the process of mold detection, removal, and remediation. The USEPA also has an entire section on indoor quality monitoring.

When a property owner makes a decision to hire a professional HVAC company, they should ensure that the services follow the guidelines established by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA). A comprehensive cleanup that follows set standards could help avoid further contamination of the HVAC system.

• You need to make realistic goals and not go over the top with expectations. Remember that slow and steady wins the race, especially in this type of case. 
• Exercise for thirty to forty minutes a day for the best results. You can't expect to lose weight by only working out for ten minutes or by simply being a lazy couch potato.  Exercising plays a very large part in losing weight and is very beneficial to your overall body image.
•  Your meals play a part in your diet as well. Choose to eat clean and increase your intake of vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts. Try to stay away from foods and drinks that are high in calories and sugars. Food and drink that are high in calories or sugar will surely taste good but can be very draining and damaging to your overall health. 
• And don't forget your 8 glasses of water a day. Your body is made up of 70% water. You need it for vital organs to function. Commit in 2019 to drink at least 6 glasses a day.

If you have ever worked in retail at Christmas time then you know that it can be difficult. The number of customers that walk through the store doors are not stop. The shop is always busy giving both staff and customers little room to take a breather. Shelves become empty very easily and staff are filling the shelves constantly. And of course, stress levels can rise for both customers and staff.

But there are certain things you can do to decrease the stress levels. First, remember to be patient. There's nothing worse than customers barging into one another just to get a product that the store will undoubtedly have in abundance. If the product you're after isn't there, ask a member of staff to find out if they have any in the storage areas. Of course, the customer assistant may be already overwhelmed, but they still have a duty to meet your needs and sometimes they just might enjoy the a break off the store floor.

If a customer barges into you, try to resist the temptation to barge them back. This could make the situation worse, which in turn could ruin the shopping experience for others. That's not to say you shouldn't do anything, though. Challenging them on barging into you is acceptable, as is demanding an apology. If they get aggressive as you may see on a super savings day like Black Friday, let a member of the staff know. Customer service is every store's priority. Who wants nasty customers like that in the store ruining the experience for others.



Because the shelves can get empty pretty quickly, you will have isles where the staff will be filling more frequently. This means you will see plenty of stackers that contain the products that you want. Don't rush. Just wait for the customer assistant to put out the stock while giving him or her the space they require to do so. To hinder the assistant means it will take longer for the stock to be put on the shelf  forcing others to wait. Sometimes you can just kindly ask for what you need and he will get it for you.

Finally, have the mindset that the staff is doing all they can. We have all seen it before where an associate is scanning products on the register while being shouted at by a customer for not packing fast enough. It's not productive and it's not pleasant. And it's the opposite of what Christmas should be about. Relieve some stress and remind yourself of what the season is all about.

Remember that Christmas is supposed to be the time of year when we can be merry. It's a time of year where ideally we should be generous to one another, providing each other with some respite from the all-year struggles of hard work and careful eating. So give be a good customer and give good customer service. Have a good Christmas.

Chocolate is delicious. No one's going to debate that. Candy bars and treats of many varieties are available at virtually every store. There are chocolate clusters, bars, and chews, not to mention the sheer variety of gummy candies. Who can blame you for being unable to resist something you encounter every time you check out at your local grocery store?

For those of you on diets, it can be downright unbearable. But don't panic! There are foods that can alleviate your craving without the guilty pleasure of sugar and saturated fat from candy or chocolates.
Are you ready? Fruit!

They are not only a natural source of sugar and free of a lot of the detrimental things in chocolate and candy, but also a great way to get your vitamin C. Peaches are one of the best options around. Low in calories, and quite filling depending on how big of one you get. They also provide a great dose of potassium. You can also expect a burst of juiciness if you're lucky enough to get a ripe one; they are quite well known for being thirst-quenchers. And the best part is, aside from a good rinsing off, there's no prep time involved.



Pineapples, on the other hand, require some preparation. There's the top to worry about cutting off, the skinning to do, and the coring to worry about. And even after you get done with all of that--there are more downsides. Yes, the pineapple is a very sweet fruit, and yes, it will provide you with a LOT of vitamin C and dietary fiber. Along with that, though, comes a heaping helping of carbohydrates. However, this is only if you intended to eat an entire pineapple, which is unlikely for most people.

Strawberries are probably some of the easiest to get on your own, as they are fairly easy to grow. They're also some of the healthiest! A ripe strawberry will give you a decent amount of vitamin C with a little potassium on the side.

Apples, of course, are much bigger, and while they do come in many varieties, they also tend to overall still be good. Sure, there might be a few carbs to worry about, but the potassium and fiber content will more than make up for it. Plus, they're very versatile! You can make juice or applesauce, or if you're feeling indulgent, even pie!

So the next time you're craving something sweet, pick up a piece of fruit instead of that chocolate bar. The scale, and your stomach will both thank you.

A fundamental concept of investing is that money adds up. A dollar today could be worth a million dollars in a decade. Consequently, investing early is essential. This is why it is of paramount importance to teach a child how to invest. Now, this doesn’t mean you have to teach a child how to trade securities and buy bonds; it simply means that children should recognize that money adds up and can grow organically.

The best way to teach a child to invest is to incorporate the idea of ‘adding up or compounding’ into his or her daily life. This way the child will have a constant reminder of the principle and the principle will be instilled into his or her daily lives and habits.

So for example, instead of giving the child a slice of cake for dessert today, give him or her the option of having one slice of cake today, or saving that slice and having one and a half slices of cake tomorrow (fair warning, using desserts is probably not the healthiest option). For play time, offer a child ten minutes of play time this week, or fifteen minutes of play time next week. By infusing this concept of adding up into the child’s daily life, the child gets a firsthand look at the benefits of investing.



Teaching a child the importance of waiting and saving up also has other benefits. In the early 1970’s, an experiment was conducted at Stanford in which children were given the option of having one marshmallow immediately, or waiting fifteen minutes and having two marshmallows. The researchers followed these children throughout their lives and found that those who waited for the two marshmallows were generally more successful. This is because the children learned self-control and understood the benefits of delayed gratification at a young age. Thus, teaching children to invest can pay off in more ways than one.

Investing money is a smart move that can greatly pay off in the future, and the best way to reap greater rewards from investing is by starting early. These are values that every home should instill in their children. 

Does dieting have you down? Well you are not alone. Many people get discouraged when trying to diet, and you know what? You really don't have to be. Some people will tell you that you can't eat this. You can't eat that. But that's not true. It's really all about moderation. Let's get rid of that thought process and let's take a look at three common food myths, along with a fool-proof way to lose weight that you can use no matter what you eat.

Carbohydrates Make Me So Fat

No they don't. Many carbohydrates that are considered "simple" (i.e., sugar, honey, fruit juice) are broken down by the body easily. They take no time to digest, and they have a high calorie content. It can be very easy to go overboard with sugar; Just a soda and a slice of cake per day can add in hundreds of calories. These foods are high in carbohydrates because they are high in sugar. Therefore, it is a common misconception that the carbohydrates themselves are to blame for the weight gain.



However, scientists have realized that this a myth. It doesn't really matter what you eat in the end, scientists suggest, but instead, it matters how much you eat. Calories in and calories out (CICO) determines how much weight you will gain. If the amount of calories you are eating, the calories in, match the number of calories you are burning (via just existing or exercise), the calories out, you will stay the same weight. If you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight. The amount of carbohydrates you eat will not affect this.

Butter is Not Good For You. Choose Margarine.

Not really. Butter has been blasted in recent years for having cholesterol and saturated fat. Margarine which is considered the “healthy” alternative without those bad things in it, found its way into the market on that myth. However, where margarine is lacking in cholesterol and saturated fat, some margarines make up for it in trans fats.



 Trans fats have even worse effects on your heart health than cholesterol will. Additionally, many margarines are made of chemicals, preservatives, and filler products, while you can buy butter with just two simple ingredients: cream and salt. At the end of the day, both butter and margarine have the same amount of calories. Butter isn’t all that bad.


You Have to Give Up all Your Favorite Foods to Lose Weight

No you don't. As mentioned earlier, scientists have narrowed dieting down to a more or less exact science. It’s all about calories in and calories out (CICO). Essentially, you can eat whatever foods you want, as long as your calorie count is equal to what you burned that day, and you’ll never gain a pound. One scientist, to prove this point, went on a diet of Twinkies and junk for 10 weeks. He lost a whopping 27 pounds by the end, and all he had had to eat was pure junk food. It wasn't what he ate but the calories in was less than what he had been eating.  He attributes his success to CICO.

So keep eating what you want. Carbs, butter, all the “bad’ things. As long as you eat in moderation, and take in fewer calories than you burn, you’ll be losing weight in no time.

Almonds are among the most nutritious of nuts. They are naturally high in protein, vitamin B, vitamin E, calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus. A few edible seeds of the almond tree, which is peach-like in appearance, go a long way as the almond nut is a highly concentrated food. Almond nuts are consumed by many vegetarians as a meat substitute. The almond milk, on the other hand, is widely used as a dairy alternative.

Almond Milk is Made 

Almond milk is made from crushed almonds. In the olden times, the nuts were blanched, ground, and then mixed with boiling water. The watery mixture would then be poured through a sieve. This simple process created a high-fat milk alternative that was easy to make and did not spoil on the shelves. Today almond milk is produced in larger quantities at high-end facilities in many places of the world. Almond milk in cartons can now be easily bought at supermarkets and vegan food stores, and they come in plain and flavored varieties.



History of Almond Milk

During the medieval times, almond milk was a common ingredient for cooking and proved vital due to the lack of refrigeration. Fresh cow’s milk was a luxury often not available to those who lived in the cities or who didn't have a cow and many cooks depended on nuts, predominantly almond. Almond milk was an essential ingredient of European delicacy. It was also useful during Lent when the consumption of dairy products was forbidden to many on religious grounds.



Dairy Replacement

Almond milk can be used as a replacement for dairy milk consumption and as a milk substitute in any recipe. Adding almond milk to your baked goods adds a rich, sweet nutty flavor without sacrificing the quality of taste. Almond milk may also be used to flavor beverages that can be enjoyed by both the young and the old. Every time you include almond milk in your diet and cooking, you know you get a regular dose of protein, vitamins, and essential minerals for better health.