Nature reserve campaign kicks off in honour of Finland's centenary.

Private land owners founded a campaign in January to devote some 3,600 hectares of land to nature reserves in honour of Finland's 100th anniversary. The campaign is off to a good start, with many people gifting parcels of land that are important to them personally.

Nature reserves like this one in Kurikka are a valuable gift to 100-year-old Finland. Image: Leo Kinnari.

 A campaign calling for land owners to create new nature reserves begun in January has started off well, with some 270 hectares of land already conserved in honour of Finland's centenary year.

 The Environment Ministry says that the overall target of 3,600 hectares by the end of the year will likely be reached.

 "A total of 273 new hectares of land from seven regions have now received nature reserve status," says Päivi Gummerus-Rautiainen from the Environmental Administration. "Applications from six other regions are in the works, representing an added area of a couple hundred hectares."

 The campaign means to preserve at least 100 hectares of land from each of mainland Finland's 18 regions. The government pledges to preserve an equal amount of land for each donation.

 "In terms of the actual numbers things are looking good. We still need to wait and see if all the regions pitch in. Most of the donations have come from Lapland," Gummerus-Rautiainen says.

 Beloved landscapes:

 The criteria for areas eligible for the campaign are more lax than those for more official preservation programmes. As long as the land in question adheres to the stipulations in the 10th paragraph of the Conservation Act, the campaign will consider it for inclusion.

 The characteristics of the donations have been varied.

 "Land owners are not being offered any compensation for the areas they donate, so it's safe to assume that most of the areas will hold some personal significance for the owners themselves. Areas may also include idyllic cabin environs or hiking trails that would not be cut down regardless," Gummerus-Rautiainen says.

 So far the largest single donation has come from Inari in northern Lapland, at 150 hectares. The smallest so far is from Joensuu, with a nature reserve of just 0.15 hectares.

 Author donates 2.6 hectares:

 In Mikkeli, in South Savo, one of Finland's most celebrated living authors Eeva Kilpi has pledged 2.6 hectares of densely wooded coniferous forest to the campaign. The area features varied terrain types, from lush wetlands and wooded meadows to rocky forests with boulder clay cliffs.

 Kilpi says her decision came from her own love for Savonian nature, which has been a boon for her prose and poetry since the 1970s. Many of her works have been inspired by or written in the locations she has donated to the campaign.

 http://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/nature_reserve_campaign_kicks_off_in_honour_of_finlands_centenary/9530668

Foods that can fight pain – How your diet can change your pain levels.

 We all know that a healthy diet is important for over all wellness.  But did you know using certain foods can have a real impact on your pain levels?   A healthy diet may therefore be a great way of supplementing your medications as a way of managing your pain.

So what should you include?  We thought that we would research the matter and give you a list of ten great food stuffs which are not just healthy but a great weapon in the war against pain.

 1)      Cherries seem to be the number one in many nutritionists’ lists.  Cherries contain a chemical called anthocyanin which can reduce both pain and inflammation.  Tart cherry is particularly recommended.  Tart cherry extract is also recommended as the best way of using cherries.

 2)      Turmeric is also great for pain.  Find out other reasons to use turmeric in your cooking in our blog exclusively about this wonder spice – http://patienttalk.org/?p=260

 3)      Walnuts.  Both fresh walnuts and walnut oils are rich in omega oils which help fight pain.

 4)      Salmon and other oily fish.  For the same reasons.

 5)      Ginger.  Turns out that ginger may have similar properties to ibuprofen.  You can use ginger tea as well.

 6)      Yogurt.  A great way off fighting the pain caused by irritable bowel syndrome.  This is because of the bacteria contained in live yogurt.

 7)      Coffee.  Good news for must espresso fans.  Dilated blood vessels can cause headaches which in turn can be narrowed by caffeine.  It may also amplify the effects of other pain medications.

 8)      Chilli peppers.  Capsaicin (the active ingredient) simulates our nerve endings and this helps to stop some of the chemicals which cause pain.

 9)      Green tea.  Green tea helps reduce pain by being an anti-inflammatory!

 10)   Wine.  This is great news at least for me.  The resveratrol in wine (and in fact in grapes) operates in a way not dissimilar to aspirin.  Hooray!

So all in all pretty good because we don’t need to go the path of “worthy food” to alleviate pain through diet.

 Now it’s over to you.  Can you help at all?  Do you have any recipes which you think may be great ways of using food to fight pain?  Have you tried an anti-pain diet?  How did it work? Do you have any recommendations for foods which can be part of our reader’s pain management practice?

 http://patienttalk.org/foods-that-can-fight-pain/