Why is vitamin B12 so dangerous?

Mary Galdini

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Former Biology Lecturer Sep 20

Why is vitamin B12 so dangerous?

You might be surprised to hear this, but vitamin B12 can quietly drain the life from you and you would not even notice. That chronic fatigue that renders every step a trudge through quicksand, numbness and tingling in your hands and feet, memory loss that makes you doubt your own sanity, even mood swings for no apparent reason at all, these are all possibly hints at a deficiency. You must sit and listen to everything I have to tell you, you will be astonished at what you do not know. Vitamin B12 deficiency is dismissed by most as "just getting old," but the truth is your nervous system and blood formation are silently crying out for this little but powerful nutrient. DEFICIENCY is not harmless—it can effectively destroy your life if left untreated, and it can certainly make your body feel decades older than it really is.

Here's the good news: B12 is one of the safest vitamins you can take, yet it's amazingly underappreciated. It keeps your nerves firing, your mind razor sharp, your energy levels stable, and your blood healthy. With it, you don't just get by, you thrive. I know because at seventy years old, I still walk miles without getting winded, dance at family reunions nonstop, and am more physically powerful than most people half my age. No diabetes, no high blood pressure, no fatigue burning me out. People look at me and marvel at what I must be doing differently, because something about my energy, my vitality, and my resilience simply does not compute to the average eye.

If you are feeling ill, lethargic, or off your edge, it is a definite sign your body lacks something essential or you may be sabotaging yourself without realizing it. B12 by itself is not magic, but respecting it, along with taking care of your body in the correct manners, can provide you with energy you believed was gone to the ages of time. This is the reason I feel incredible, healthy, strong and energetic these days, and why every person who lays eyes on me can't help but wonder what my secret actually is.

What is the best Greek island for families during August?

Yannis Gaitanas

Lives in Greece 3y

What is the best Greek island for families during August?

Well, any island would do. If you were asking for wild night life, some wouldn’t do but as for quite family vacations, even the more lively islands do offer nice beaches and taverns. Still, you might want to avoid them, for example Mykonos. Santorini is a must see generally but it is also very crowded with young people and also expensive. You might want to avoid as more young-friendly islands like Ios, Paros, maybe Skiathos…Milos is also mostly for couples though nothing wild.

As for the big islands you can never go wrong, as they have pretty much everything. Sure Faliraki in Rhodes and Mali/Hersonisos at Crete are too noisy and full with groups of young tourists but since the islands are big, you can go to other places better for families. And they do have pretty much everything from medieval castles, ancient ruins, tropical beaches etc. Crete is like a country on its own so it’s wholeheartedly suggested.

As for the Ionian islands I’d say they are a bit better as far as beaches are concerned. They also attract a lot of young people, mostly Zakynthos and Lefkada in my experience but Kephalonia and Corfu are just fine, Ithaki too but you may find Ithaka poor in choices, being small and all.

An interesting choice can be Naxos since it’s kinda big but without some city, plenty of beaches a little bit of antiquities and inthe Cyclades which means you can easily visit other nearby islands, both of similar size and popularity (like the aforementioned Paros) or small remote ones.

Generally there is not “best Greek island for family”, as it has to do with what you’re asking for more specifically. Best beaches? Some ancient or medieval sites? A city on the island is a plus? Do you want to go exploring on a big island or a tiny island is better? Do you want it to be near Athens or you don’t mind driving and taking a long ship trip with the family? Some of these have airports and you may book a flight to them for example. 

Courage to Conquer Fear

September 30, 2025 Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church Readings for Today Readings for Tuesday of the Twenty-Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Video When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. Luke 9:51–52 Shortly after Jesus spoke to His disciples about His pending suffering, death and resurrection, we read that Jesus “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” There is much to reflect upon in that short statement. First of all, Jerusalem was the place of the Temple where the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament took place as a prefiguration of the one and ultimate sacrifice to come. Jesus came into this world as the Lamb of God, the Sacrificial Victim Who would die for our sins. He knew His ultimate end in this world, and He knew it would require much suffering. This knowledge of His future suffering is the foundational context of this passage today. As Jesus’ suffering and death drew close, He became more and more determined in His human will to fulfill the will of the Father by laying down His life. Of course, Jesus always fulfilled the will of the Father, but little by little the human manifestation of Jesus’s determination became more and more pronounced. The specific human virtue that slowly became manifest was courage. Spiritual courage is the supernatural ability to embrace the will of the Father when His will leads a person into a life of sacrifice. Within our fallen human nature, we tend to avoid sacrifice. We often work to avoid conflict and suffering and to embrace the easy way in life. Therefore, to come face-to-face with some future suffering brings forth a temptation to fear—and that fear requires courage to overcome it. As His suffering drew closer, the temptation to fear grew stronger and, as a result, His perfect virtue of courage became more manifest. Note that Jesus not only decided to go to Jerusalem to offer His life sacrificially, He “resolutely determined” to do so. There was no wavering, no doubting the Father’s will, no hesitancy, no fear. His perfect sacrificial love slowly became manifest for all to see. Another reason Jesus became resolute in His determination to travel to Jerusalem was to witness His love to His disciples. They needed courage themselves.  So, as they listened to Jesus speak about what was coming in Jerusalem and as they witnessed His unwavering determination, they were also encouraged and were strengthened to overcome the temptations to fear. Of course, they only perfected that virtue later in their lives when they also followed in the footsteps of our Lord, laying down their own lives as martyrs. Reflect, today, upon that which causes fear and anxiety in your own life. If that suffering is of your own making, then seek to rectify it. But if that suffering is a cross that our Lord is calling you to embrace with love, then do so sacrificially and with much determination. Do not be cowed by the heaviness of the cross you are given in life. The crosses we are called to embrace are always able to be transformed into grace. Allow courage to grow within you and allow the witness of our Lord to encourage you as you seek to imitate His sacrificial love. My courageous Lord, You faced Your suffering with much courage, strength, surrender and hope. You saw the value of Your free embrace of Your suffering and chose it with all the power of your soul. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to also resolutely determine to journey toward the cross I am called to embrace in life, so that my free embrace of my cross will unite me more fully with You. Jesus, I trust in You.

The Celestial Hosts of Heaven

Monday, September 29, 2025 Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels Readings for Today

File:7_archangels.jpg, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Video “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” John 1:51 In Heaven, we will see all things as God sees them. That full perspective will be beyond glorious. And among the many things that will amaze us from the perspective of Heaven is the incredibly powerful ways that the celestial beings participate in the bringing forth of the Kingdom of God. The Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Guardian Angels all cooperate with God’s grace in ways similar to how every member of an orchestra works together to produce a single piece of beautiful music. God is the conductor, but these celestial beings participate in the grand fulfillment of the will of God, acting as living instruments of His divine grace. Today’s feast honors three of the great archangels mentioned in Scripture: Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The Archangel Michael is described as a protector in the Old Testament Book of Daniel and as one who does battle with satan in the Books of Revelation and Jude. In Revelation, Michael casts satan out of Heaven along with the other fallen angels. The Archangel Gabriel is spoken of also in the Book of Daniel as one who interprets Daniel’s vision. In the New Testament, he is identified as the one who appears to the high priest Zechariah while Zechariah is offering sacrifice in the temple. In that appearance, Gabriel revealed to Zechariah that his wife would have a child, even though she was advanced in years. Gabriel is perhaps best known as the one sent to the Blessed Virgin Mary to reveal to her that she will become the mother of the Savior of the World. Lastly, the Archangel Raphael is referred to in the Old Testament Book of Tobit and is said to have been sent to bring healing to Tobit’s eyes. As we honor these three archangels, we can be certain that they are three of a countless number of other angelic beings who cooperate with God, bringing forth His grace and His will into our world. Try to imagine that profound truth. Some angelic beings build up the Kingdom of God by devoting their existence to the perpetual worship of God before His throne. The highest of these are the Seraphim. Other angelic beings build up the Kingdom by bringing forth God’s grace and truth to us, intervening in our lives in accord with God’s will. These are especially the guardian angels. The archangels, three of whom we honor today, especially have the task of communicating to us the most important messages and graces from God.  Reflect, today, upon the glorious reality of the whole host of the celestial beings. Specifically call upon the mediation of these three celestial beings whose names we know, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, as well as upon the mediation of our guardian angels and all others celestial beings. By doing this, we not only entrust ourselves to their loving care, but we also make an act of faith in God by expressing our belief that God has chosen to use these celestial beings to bring forth His Kingdom. By themselves, angels are powerless to act. But since they act only in unison with the will of God, their mediation is as powerful as the grace of God, since it is God Who works through them. Acknowledge them today, call upon their mediation and profess your faith in the glorious work that they do to build up God’s Kingdom. Most glorious Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, please do come to my aid. I entrust myself, my family, our Church and the entire world to your loving mediation. Please bring forth God’s grace into our lives, communicate God’s Word and His holy Will, protect us from all harm and bring healing to those in need. Angels of God, pray for us. Jesus, I trust in You.

What ridiculous food price made your jaw drop as a tourist?

David Pan

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Enjoy traveling and experiencing new adventures 2y

What ridiculous food price made your jaw drop as a tourist?

You know how people are always saying that Japan is very expensive for tourists?

Well, anyone that’s actually traveled to Japan lately know that is not true. Japan is actually quite reasonable food wise for tourists. It’s cheaper to eat (and eat well) in Japan compared to North America and most of Europe.

Here is the most ridiculous food bargain find I had on my recent trip to Japan (Nov-Dec 2022). In Fukuoka, famous for its ramen (home of the Ichiran chain), I found this place.

It’s

I gather it is one store of a ramen chain in Fukuoka called Hakataya. It is a 24 hour place that caters to local workers and residents. There were no other tourists when I dined there in the evening. It’s a simple affair. You sit at the counter and order from the menu.

Yes. That’s not a typo. A bowl of Hakata ramen with slices of pork and green onions is 290 yen. At the exchange rate of that date, it came out to about $2.20 US. We had two bowls of the ramen, extra char shiu, dumplings, and a large bottle of Sapporo, and the damage was less than $10 US.

Now that’s what I call ridiculous.

 

Between a king cobra and a black mamba, which one is the most dangerous?

Miss Stripewell

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Knowledgeable and love animals Updated Jul 8

Between a king cobra and a black mamba, which one is the most dangerous?

Undoubtedly, a black mamba.

A black mamba is a very aggressive snake that will strike you repeatedly if it perceives a threat and before the advent of antivenin, the death rate from a Black mamba envenomation was 100%. And its a snake that has frequent encounters with humans.

A king cobra’s venom is less potent than the regular cobra’s like the Indian cobra or Cape Cobra or Spitting cobra but it can inject a massive dose that can kill an elephant. Fortunately, King cobras live in thick jungles and less aggressive than the Mamba and even in South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent where it’s primary habitat and distribution is, death by King Cobra bites are extremely rare. In the Indian subcontinent, the snakes that kill the most people are the Saw Scaled Viper followed by the Indian cobra. The banded krait is another deadly snake in that region and so is the Russell’s Viper which is a deadly snake but they kill very less people.

Death by King Cobra is rare and infrequent where they inhabit but a Black mamba and its cousin, the Green mamba are very deadly snakes with frequent human encounters especially in trees.

What is the cause of a typhoon, and what can be done to stop or minimize it?

Philip Rabe

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Born and raised on tropical islands.1y

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What is the cause of a typhoon, and what can be done to stop or minimize it?

Typhoon Haiyan

Unfortunately, cyclonic storms like typhoons are among the world’s deadliest natural disasters, right up there with tsunami, large volcanoes, and major earthquakes. Nothing mankind can presently alter let alone stop any of these thousand kilometer wide events.

Hurricane Harvey

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The planet’s weather is driven by the Sun and some heat radiating out from the Earth’s core. It heats the oceans surface water which release water vapor making storm clouds and packing heat energy into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Earth turns. We are on a big spinning ball which is zipping along quite quickly, rotating at 1,670 kph at the equator. So that imparts a lot of physical rotational energy to this gigantic moving mass of humid air, some quite warm some frigid cold.. So there are also these big temperature variations… On top of that, hot air rises while cold air settles.

In the US, that means cold dry air pours down out of the Rocky Mountains across the Great Plains right where hot wet air is flowing north up the Mississippi River valley. Toss in some of that rotational energy and some magic called “shear winds” and you end up with a horizontal rotating cylinder of warm and cold air. Shear winds can push the cylinder downwards, spinning faster, drawing in towards the center spinning faster and faster, and Boom! It’s a tornado.

Typhoons, cyclones and hurricanes are sea beasts, fed by hot and hotter ocean temperatures as the global climate heats up. All across the tropics Very warm Very wet air loads immense energy into the air. Here the rotating Earth causes gigantic eddies in the air caused by the coriolis effect- a physical thing that happens to rotating spheres that causes rotating weather patterns…

All this spinning and ocean heat energy going up into the spinning air is a potent mix. The storms are generally seasonal- or used to me most of my life- I left out two other big factors in Pacific and Indian Ocean basin storms: El Nino/nina, and the Indian Ocean version. These are semi seasonal movements of warm surface water heading one way while cold deep water dozens of kilometers deep flows the opposite way. (there is another one of those big temperature differences!)

A column of warm wet air rises up forming a low pressure zone, sucking in cooler surrounding air, which then shoots up. The rotating Earth meanwhile is imparting a spin- counterclockwise in the north, clockwise in the south. Along comes shear winds up high and the storm gets the green light to grow. These days, they can grow really fast. We see storm meandering along at a Cat 1 level, and almost overnight they are Cat 3 or higher. Then they stall out, dumping trillions of liters of rain in a few days.

All people can do is be prepared with emergency evacuation plans, hardened shelters and supplies. And climate change is making the worst storms more frequent.

What information about 9/11 was shocking?

Hansel Sapkota

Solopreneur at Writers and Authors (2021–present) 16h

What information about 9/11 was shocking?

Brian Clark was one of the very few people who escaped from a floor above where the plane hit the South Tower on 9/11. Sadly, he would lose many of his co-workers in the New York office that day.

On the morning of September 11, Brian arrived at work around 7:15 a.m. He walked across the trading floor, went to his office, and started working with his back to the windows.

At 8:46 a.m., he heard a loud boom. The lights in his office flickered and buzzed, and he quickly turned around to see flames swirling outside his window. The North Tower had just been struck on the 93rd floor. At first, Brian thought it was some sort of accident or explosion, not a terrorist attack.

He began telling co-workers to move toward the center of the floor. Many of them started heading down the stairs to evacuate. At the same time, people in the North Tower had already started jumping from the building.

At 8:55 a.m., Brian called his wife and family to tell them to turn on the TV. He didn’t know exactly what had happened yet but assured them that he was okay. Right after he hung up, the lights went out and the strobe lights came on.

Then, an announcement came over the speakers saying, “Your attention please. Building Two is secure. If you are evacuating, you may return to your office.” Believing the danger was only in the North Tower, many people—including Brian and his co-workers—stayed on their floor.

A few minutes later, Brian saw his friend and co-worker Bobby Coll. Bobby had gone down several floors but returned after hearing the announcement. As the two spoke, a second massive boom shook the building—the South Tower had been hit at 9:03 a.m.

Ceiling tiles fell, white dust filled the room, and the air turned hard to breathe. The entire building swayed. Brian grabbed a flashlight he had picked up earlier and began leading six of his co-workers down the stairs from the 84th floor.

They kept going until they reached the ground floor. Brian made it out of the South Tower just 10 minutes before it collapsed.