December 15, 2023 | Awake & Dreaming

1. Cottage Cheese : Cottage cheese, made from curds that form when milk curdles, originated in farmhouses and cottages as a way to use up excess milk that’s about to turn sour. Cottage cheese fortified with vitamin D is an unexpected but good source of the sunshine vitamin. Since vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium, which is plentiful in cottage cheese, the addition of D can help these two crucial vitamins work together.

2. Egg yolks : Egg yolks are a stellar source of natural vitamin D, which some studies have linked to protection against memory loss and forgetfulness. Aside from fatty fish, eggs are one of the only natural sources of vitamin D in the diet. The form of vitamin D present in egg yolks may be more potent than previously thought

3. Sardines : We all need vitamin D to help keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. The body absorbs calcium, the primary component of bone, only when vitamin D is present. The best food sources of D are oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines. Other foods rich in D include red meat and liver.

4. Salmon : Salmon’s been widely publicized as a good source of vitamin D, but there’s a variation in vitamin D content between wild and farmed salmon. Some research comparing the two found that wild salmon had twice as much D as farmed salmon. Whichever you opt for, salmon can be a healthy part of your diet because it benefits both the heart and brain. A 6-ounce serving of wild Atlantic salmon, for example, provides nearly a day’s worth of D. Cook up a couple of servings tonight and save one for a lunchtime sandwich tomorrow.

5. Mushrooms : Are mushrooms a good source of vitamin D? Sometimes. Most mushrooms sold in supermarkets are grown in dark mushroom caves and have little or no vitamin D. However, according to several studies, if you place white button mushrooms in the midday sun for as little as 15 to 20 minutes, they’ll form sufficient vitamin D to provide the recommended amount you should have each day. To up the D content, place them gills up. Some grocery stores also sell mushrooms that have been treated with UV light to increase their D levels.

Battery life continues to be one of the biggest complaints of laptop users, so understanding what you can do to help prolong the life is important. Technically speaking, keeping any relatively current laptop plugged in and charged at 100% for extended periods of time shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s best not to do so for a number of reasons. For optimum battery use, and to get the most life out of your laptop battery, keeping it charged between 40% and 80% has been seen as optimum.

Here are some tips to extend your laptop battery life:

Avoid discharging your laptop completely after charging it.
Make sure that your laptop doesn’t get too hot and your cooling fan is working properly.
Overheating can reduce battery life, check the laptop’s cooling system is functioning correctly and use it on a flat surface to allow for proper airflow.
Customize your laptop’s power plan settings to favor battery life over performance when running on battery.
If you’re not using your laptop on battery power for an extended period, store it with the battery at around 50-80% charge to reduce long-term stress on the battery.

It is suggested to maintain your laptop’s battery level within the range of 40% to 80% charge. By doing so, you can effectively double the number of recharge cycles, increasing them from 300-500 to a substantial 1,000-2,000, ultimately extending the overall lifespan of your laptop.