Portugal

Towards a Healthy News Diet News is to the mind what sugar is to the body We are so well informed and yet we know so little. Why? We are in this sad condition because 200 years ago we invented a toxic form of knowledge called “news.” The time has come to recognize the detrimental effects that news has on individuals and societies, and to take the necessary steps to shield yourself from its dangers. At core, human beings are cavemen in suits and dresses. Our brains are optimized for our original hunter-gatherer environment where we lived in small bands …

The Algarve depends mostly on the tourist industry; in order to achieve growth, it has developed rapidly to the point where the beauty of the coast has been destroyed and the very reason most people come here on holiday is in danger. The Algarve desperately needs to diversify its economy, to open up and widen the market for farm produce and to attract new businesses producing modern, high-tech products. The Algarve does not need heavy industries but it does need to become a centre for innovation, engineering and technological research to encourage the development of new ideas, designs and the …

A holistic view of economics, which puts it in its rightful place, in the service of people with skilful hands, who are guarantors of expertise and quality, working in partnership with nature in order to offer people unique experiences, appears to be a successful way of boosting regional production. As AMO – Produto Local can attest. Regional products in lotion containers? Passers-by cannot fail to notice the black packaging with its modern design bearing the brand-name AMO, where no detail is left to chance. Even if these do not go unnoticed and remind one of lotion pots, what they contain …

The company “Sabores da Geninha” devotes itself to the manufacture and processing of the typical products of the region of Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo. The company is only four years old but Maria Eugénia Torres has been making sugared almonds, cakes and jams for years. In December 2012, the sugared almonds won the Gold Medal at the “National Competition of Traditional Portuguese Fruit Confectionery”. It is said that the almond tree was the only tree that managed to deceive the devil. He was feeling hungry as he was crossing the region, saw a tree in blossom in March and, thinking …

Monchique. She calls it Jelly of Love and Jam for Lovers. A small jar holds 250 grams and costs four euros. The mixture is at once wonderfully sweet and spicy, with piri-piri chilli. Two versions, two flavours, both with 60% fruit and 40% sugar, one with red forest fruits and the other with lemon and almonds. Maria Julia Inácio harvests the fruit in her own garden and the nearby uplands of the Algarve: handmade jams, a few hundred jars a year. Once they’re sold, that’s that. Julinha is 43, and she works for the local town hall, where she drives …

2002. We’re now living with the euro. But are there other things that unite us? After all, since the second Schengen agreement, we’ve been able to travel all over Europe without any controls. Our dreams of mobility appear to be boundless. Icarus and the flying carpet have become normal. But the maiden voyage of the Titanic showed us how vulnerable we humans make ourselves when we continue to strive for new records and ignore the laws of nature. The moon landing in 1969 was a temporary climax. A short time later, we are amazed to discover that things don’t appear …

In the heart of the Lower Alentejo, an ecological village, practically self-sufficient, plans to show the way and offer local solutions for global problems, in harmony with the environment. A community which wants to do more and better, at a time when resources are increasingly hard to come by. The bell rings. Once, twice, three times. It’s the signal that lunch is ready. It’s time to rest one’s body and placate one’s stomach. Gradually, the people who have been involved in different tasks throughout the community start to arrive for lunch. Their faces, flushed from working in the scorching heat, …

Carob, the fruit of the carob tree, is part of the history and traditions of certain regions in Portugal, especially the Algarve. These days, despite its huge potential, its use is practically limited to animal fodder. Characteristics of carob Carob is recognised as being very rich in anti-oxidants, with a 2011 study (1) having found them in carob flour. It also has anti-carcinogenic activity, and has shown a capacity to attack cervical cancer cells and to assist in repairing damage caused by free radicals. Another investigation (2) dating from 2010 compared two groups of people with high cholesterol; one group …

O importante não é apenas a atitude interior. A perda de peso não deve estar em primeiro plano. É fundamental uma preparação adequada. Abstenha-se do consumo de álcool uma semana antes do início do jejum. Três dias prévios de renúncia a todas as proteínas de origem animal como carne, peixe ou produtos lácteos são recomendados. Ao invés, consuma arroz, batata ou fruta. A limpeza dos intestinos é aconselhada, por exemplo, através de um clister. Se necessário, um bom suco de chucrute, com o estômago vazio, é o suficiente. Escolha uma altura conveniente. Durante esse período, não aceite convites, viva com …