List of the Most Unique Festivals in the World

List of the Most Unique Festivals in the World – Each country certainly has several festivals that can be held anywhere and can also benefit the audience very well.

In addition to choosing tourist destinations, organizing in a country is an activity that can attract tourist visits. Festivals are usually held to commemorate an event and are held at a certain time.

Well, it turns out that in various other parts of the world, there are celebration days that will make you gasp, ranging from tomato throwing festivals to being naked. Although it is quite strange, but this festival is very popular with tourists and attracts many visits every year.

List of the Most Unique Festivals in the World

1. Hadaka Matsuri, Japan
About 500 years ago, a unique festival appeared in . Named Hadaka Matsuri, this festival is now more popularly known as the Naked Festival.
Every year thousands of men come to join the Hadaka Matsuri to hunt for fortune. Compiled from various sources, although it is known as the Naked Festival, the participants who take part in it are not completely naked or not wearing barakfestival any clothes.

During the festival, the men who take part in the Hadaka Matsuri are required to wear a cloth known as Fundoshi. Fundoshi wrapped around the form of a loincloth to cover the vital parts. They also wear special white socks known as Tabi.
The Hadaka Matsuri is generally held on the third Saturday in February. For 2020, the Hadaka Matsuri was held on February 15, exactly the day after Valentine’s Day. Usually these times are the coldest times in Japan.

The initial procession has the meaning of cleansing oneself from worldly sins. So that they will be considered worthy and clean from sin when they want to enter the temple complex. The initial process of cleansing sins lasted for approximately two hours.
Approaching 22.00 local time, the exciting stage of the new Naked Festival will begin. Shrine priests will begin throwing hundreds of twigs and two sticks dubbed as Shingi at participants.

The two Shingi sticks are considered a symbol of prosperity and well-being. Japanese people believe that the person who can get the stick will receive good luck throughout the year.
Shingi sticks are considered to have higher strength than twigs. Because the stick can be taken home and used as a talisman.

2. La Tomatina, Spain
Every Wednesday, the last week of August, Spanish residents, especially those located in Bunol City, will flock to Plaza del Pueblo. In the city, which is about 38 km west of Valencia, residents and tourists will throw tomatoes at each other together, without feeling annoyed between them for three days in a row.
Hundreds of tons of overripe tomatoes came to Bunol, Spain, to satisfy the cravings of war-ridden residents and tourists alike and create a pool of red tomatoes around the venue. No wonder this festival is one of the most popular festivals that must be attended while in Spain.

According to the official website of the La Tomatina Festival, this tomato war was started by accident. It started with the irritation of a young man who fell during a parade with a group of musicians, because he was too excited to participate in a series of parade events.

The annoyed young man raged and pelted the surroundings with tomatoes from a nearby vegetable stall. The tantrum then became a kind of annual ritual that should not be abandoned.
Although it was banned in the 1950s, in fact, in 2002, the La Tomatina Festival was included in the Festivity of International Tourist Interest by the local Tourism Secretariat General.

Here’s How to Maintain Lung Health Properly

Here’s How to Maintain Lung Health Properly – As many of us know that there are more and more things to be afraid of. One of them is disease.

Lungs play a vital role in human survival. Without it, how would we be able to breathe? Therefore, we must take care of his health as best we can.

According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017, tuberculosis or TB in Indonesia is the third highest in the world. Meanwhile, according to data from Globocan in 2018, the number of lung cancer sufferers in Indonesia is the highest in Southeast Asia.

Currently, the world is facing the COVID-19 pandemic. We are required to implement health protocols and maintain the best possible immune system to prevent transmission and serious infections. Well, lung health is one that should be a concern.

Here's How to Maintain Lung Health Properly

Starting from the pattern of daily life, here are some ways to maintain lung information health.

1. Quit smoking before smoking kills you
Nothing good comes from smoking. Smoking is definitely harmful to the lungs. Not only tuberculosis or lung cancer, smoking can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to asthma. For those who already have the disease, smoking can worsen the condition.

When smoking a cigarette, thousands of chemicals enter the lungs, such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar. The effect is destructive! The lungs become slimy, making it difficult to clear themselves, irritated, and inflamed. Gradually, the airways become narrow, making it difficult to breathe.

The chemicals in cigarettes are also carcinogenic, so they make the lungs age faster and turn normal lung cells into cancer! In fact, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says 90 percent of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking.

The dangers of smoking are not only felt by active smokers, but also non-smokers who inhale the smoke, aka passive smokers.

Cigarette smoke contains more harmful substances. Because the concentration of chemicals in cigarette smoke drops drastically in the outside air, secondhand smoke can inadvertently inhale harmful amounts of the chemical.

So, try to stop smoking, and if you can avoid smoking areas so you don’t have to inhale the smoke. Indeed, it is not easy to quit smoking. However, with determination, the help of drugs, and therapy, it is not impossible to get out of cigarette dependence.

2. Exercise regularly so that the breath is smooth
Exercise is very important to maintain lung health. In fact, those with lung disorders are also advised to exercise regularly so that their quality of life is more optimal. The recommended exercises are:

Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as walking, at least 150 minutes per week. If you engage in intense aerobic exercise, such as running, aim for 75 minutes per week.
Participate in activities that require muscle tone, such as weight training and lifting weights, at least 2 days a week.

Simple breathing exercises can also strengthen the lungs. Try following these breathing exercise tips:

Inhale through your nose. Then, exhale through pursed lips. Try to exhale twice as long as the inhale.
Practice abdominal breathing. Use the diaphragm to draw air deep into the lungs. Inhale and allow your stomach to expand, then exhale to contract your stomach.
Do both exercises while breathing normally for 5-10 minutes every day. When you are familiar with these techniques, you can try them when you experience shortness of breath.

3. Avoid inhaling pollutants outside the house
Exposure to airborne pollutants can damage the lungs and accelerate aging. When you are young and strong, the lungs can hold pollutants significantly. However, as they age, they lose some of that resistance and become more susceptible to infection and disease.

First, you can start by avoiding inhaling cigarette smoke or not coming out when the air quality is poor. Second, don’t exercise in a heavy traffic environment. Instead of being healthy, you are inhaling exhaust fumes that harm your lungs.

In addition to cigarette smoke and vehicles, pollutants can also come from the workplace. Occupations such as construction, mining and waste management can increase the risk of inhaling harmful pollutants. Always use personal protective equipment to maintain lung health.

Benefits of Starfruit for Body Health

Benefits of Starfruit for Body Health – As many of us know that the body needs a lot of good things to be able to fulfill it properly and correctly. Like eating fruit.

Sweet star fruit can be consumed directly or cut into pieces and then dipped into salad dressing. It can also be processed into pickles, blended into juice, or made into infused water. Everything is delicious!

Apparently, secretly sweet star fruit has a myriad of health benefits, as well as the leaves! Do not believe? Here are some of the benefits of sweet star fruit leaves and fruit for health.

Benefits of Starfruit for Body Health

1. Rich in antioxidants
Carambola has an important role in traditional medicine, especially in Southeast Asia. Research published in the journal Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in 2016 investigated the antioxidant potential of aqueous and methanolic extracts of the fruit, leaves, and stems of sweet star fruit. As a result, the methanol extract of sweet star fruit stems and leaves showed the strongest antioxidant activity.

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology in 2021 also reveals the same thing. It is said that sweet star fruit contains flavonoids, benzoquinone (derivative of phenolic compounds), and glycosides (alkaloid type compounds).

In addition, based on pharmacological studies, sweet starfruit crude extract shows several bioactivities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antihypertensive, antihyperglycemic, antitumor, antiobesity, antihyperlipidemic, and many more.

2. Potential as an anti-inflammatory agent
Maybe not many people know that star fruit is used in traditional medicine for several skin disorders. To confirm its efficacy, a study published in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine in 2011 evaluated the topical anti-inflammatory effect of a crude ethanolic extract of sweet star fruit leaves on skin inflammation.

To measure anti-inflammatory activity, the study used mice with ear inflammation. Then, the ethanol extract is applied to reduce edema (swelling of body tissues due to fluid buildup).

How is the result? It is proven that star fruit has potential as an anti-inflammatory agent and opens up new possibilities for use in skin disorders.

3. Effectively lowers blood pressure
Hypertension is dubbed the silent killer because it can cause heart disease and stroke. If not controlled, it can cause degenerative diseases, such as blood vessel disease, kidney failure, and congestive heart failure.

A study published in the Journal of Health Research Forikes Voice in 2018 found out whether sweet star fruit can be used as an effective complementary therapy in lowering systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with essential hypertension.

As a result, there was a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure after being given juice and sweet star fruit slices. Apparently, this is because flavonoids strengthen the capillary structure and reduce the fragility of blood vessels. So it can reduce the risk of heart and cardiovascular disease.