*Drool* (Picture: Grumpy Panda/Instagram)

Some national foods are more vegan-friendly than others.

While a vegan curry is hardly difficult to imagine, totally-meaty, totally-cheesy dishes are something weve come to accept are out of bounds.

In other words, most British and American food.

Until now, as a vegan American-style diner is opening in the UK.

Grumpy Panda is opening its doors in Gateshead, Newcastle for the first time tomorrow and claims to be the North Easts first entirely vegan diner of its kind.

Serving up full fry ups featuring Pigless Pudding, Baecon and Eggz as well as waffles with a variety of animal product free toppings, the restaurant isnt messing around.

It also sells The Mac n Stack (vegan mac n cheese), Chikin n Waffles, Chili Cheez hotdogs and Pastramee grilled sandwiches

The wacky names are thanks to the fact that they make their own eggs cheese and meats on site, so they know exactly whats gone into them.

And while their coffee bar is vegetarian rather than vegan friendly, they keep prep areas, fridges and equipment separate to eliminate the chances of cross contamination.

We started out as an events catering company and found the North East was lagging behind on the vegan scene, the restaurants website reads.

So out popped our lovely little diner, right in the heart of Gateshead town centre,

15 children's party food items ranked worst to best

You can now buy dairy-free Hagen-Dazs ice cream

Oreo's making avocado, unicorn and carrot flavours because we asked for them

As it comes, everything on our diner menu is served 100% vegan!

Oh, and if you havent bought your ticket to Newcastle already, its dog friendly too.

MORE: A new vegan burger bar is opening in London next month

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MORE: Rejoice, for Pizza Express will soon give you the option of vegan cheese on all their pizzas

MORE: A vegan meatball joint has opened up in East London

MORE: Top 10 vegan dishes to devour in Mexico City

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A vegan American diner is opening in the UK - Metro

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A local vegan restaurant has been closed in the wake of this weekend's shooting at a downtown club that left 25 people with gunshot wounds.

The Veg LLC sub-leased ground floor space in the same building where the shooting took place along W. 6th Street.

Owner Shiem Swift says his beloved restaurant that employs four will be back in business soon.

I fully understand why the city of Little Rock has to close this building, and I am now searching for a new location to bring healthy and humane dining options back to Little Rock, Swift says in a news release. My heart and thoughts are with all who were injured.

Swift says the closing has left Little Rock without a full-time vegan restaurant.

He is eager to start services again soon and is appealing to the city or any private individuals to assist in opening his restaurant again in a new location.

The Veg on Facebook.

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LR Vegan Restaurant Closed Due to Mass Shooting - KARK

Music is an integral part of human cultures around the world. Common wisdom suggests that listening to music has an affect on mental states, for better or for worse. Rock and roll music can pump you up, while soothing classical piano can mellow you out. However, are these effects real? What is really happening in the body when you listen to say, a track of relaxing music? Is it any different from simply listening to pleasant sounds or resting quietly? Scientists in a collaborative team in the US, Germany, and Switzerland ventured to find out.

Previous studies on the effects of music on the body usually only tested the music on very small groups of people, which can lead to bias. Many also failed to measure actual biochemical markers of stress, making it difficult to determine if changes in the body are actually occurring. In this study, the researchers tested various types of sounds on 60 healthy people, all female, between the ages of 20 and 30 and then measured actual biochemical stress indicators from the womens saliva. The researchers explained that, because the stress response differs by sex, they wanted to confine their group to only one sex in order to avoid variation in results from drowning out any real changes in stress levels. It is worth noting that applicants who had clinical depression, tinnitus, or music training, as well as those who drank alcohol and smoked regularly, were not accepted as study participants.

Prior to the experiment, the participants were given standardized tests that measure depression, anxiety, and emotionality. They were also given a survey to determine their music preferences, and it is worth noting that preference for classical music was high in this group. These measures were taken to ensure that depression and music preferences did not play a role in how relaxed the women became as a result of the study. For example, an anxious person might have a more difficult time becoming relaxed despite any intervention, and a person who hates classical music may not feel relaxed while listening to it.

Now, onto the experiment. The participants were divided randomly into three groups. One group listened to Miserere by Gregorio Allegri. The second group listened to a recording of flowing water. The third group rested quietly with no music. Each groups session lasted for ten minutes. Saliva was sampled from each participant before and after the intervention to establish a baseline. This would be used later to measure various stress markers. Then, the participants were put into a stressful situation a mock job interview. This particular scenario was chosen because it is a common stressful experience, and thus, stress could be induced ethically. After the stress test, a third saliva measurement was taken. The participants also filled out a set of questionnaires reporting how stressed they felt after the mock interview.

This begs the question how do we measure stress anyway? Simply asking a person if they are stressed can lead to bias since stress is different for everyone. It is also a very general term describing many different experiences. Researchers decided to accompany the self-reported stress levels of the participants with actual biochemical and physical measurements cortisol levels, salivary amylase, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

Cortisol is a hormone that is commonly elevated when a person is stressed. Salivary amylase is an enzyme produced by the digestive system, but it is also an indicator of the fight or flight response and another sign of stress. These chemicals are secreted in the saliva, making measurement convenient. Elevated heart rate and changes in what is called the Respiratory sinus arrhythmia or the syncing up of heart rate with breathing, can also change in response to stressful situations.

As it turns out, listening to relaxing music before a stressful event actually increased cortisol levels! This surprised the researchers. On the contrary, listening to relaxing music did seem to help the participants recover from this heightened fight or flight mode more effectively after the stressful event was over. Self reported anxiety, depression, and emotionality were not affected significantly by any of the interventions.

Despite doing their best to control for confounding factors and using objective stress measurements, they do mention that because the study was done on such a narrow demographic (young, female, healthy) that it may not be applicable to the general population. More research in this area would be needed, possibly on different groups of people with different preferences, genders, and health statuses.

Nevertheless, the study was well designed and produced provocative results that corroborate past research on music and stress. The major conclusion here is that the effect of music on human psychology is a highly individual experience and affects a symphony, pun intended, of hormones, enzymes, and cognitive processes that require many studies to fully understand.

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Relaxing Music May Not Be a Useful Stress-Reduction Strategy - Sciworthy

SIERRA VISTA For pets, Independence Day can be a stressful time as the loud pops and sudden bangs of fireworks sound off in the dark of the night. The holiday makes for one of the busiest weeks for animal shelters across the nation because of the amount of dogs that get out of their yards during firework shows.

Dogs get frightened with fireworks and escape, so pretty much that whole week, we are taking in strays, said Arleen Garcia, the animal control supervisor at the Nancy J. Brua Animal Care Center.

Nationally, July 4 is the busiest day of the year for animal control in general. Animal shelters experience a 30 percent increase in stray population right after the Fourth, according to Pet Amber Alert, a pet recovery service. On average, only 14 percent of lost pets are returned to their owners.

Last year, the Huachuca City Animal Shelter took in a few animals related to July 4 escapes and all were returned to their owners.

It was a little unusual, but good, said Nikki Haines, the Huachuca City animal control supervisor. Im really glad about that.

These animals were lucky, most dont make it back home. Pet Amber Alert reports between 30 to 60 percent of July 4-related strays are euthanized in the U.S.

Loud noises can be distressing to some dogs, prompting them to make a quick getaway. Other dogs might get the urge to find their owners during the loud blasts, Haines said.

There are, all of the sudden, these loud noises that dont normally occur and [the owners] are not there, so [dogs] arent able to protect their owners, she said. Youre part of the pack and they cant protect you when youre not there.

Leaving pets indoors is the best way to ensure that they dont escape. Both Garcia and Haines said, for some animals, a kennel or crate inside a secure room can do the trick.

Unless theyve had their dogs around firearms, like hunting dogs, most people should keep [their dogs] at home or possibly inside, Haines said.

To help drown out the noise, both Garcia and Haines suggest leaving relaxing music or the television on to distract their pets from the noise. Leaving on sounds that dogs are often around also helps with stress, Haines said.

If a dog or cat is extremely stressed out by loud noises, Haines suggests seeking help from a veterinarian for medication to alleviate anxiety. She said pet parents can also find over-the-counter medication but they should follow all directions and check with a pet professional before administering it to their furry friend.

This Independence Day, Haines wants pet parents to remember that a fear of loud noises can come with an age, Haines said. She said some animals mightve been able to handle the noise while they were young but developed a fear as they got older.

You should know your pet, she said. You may want to leave them home at this time and make sure that they feel safe.

More here:

Fido fears fireworks - Sierra Vista Herald

Charlotte Observer

Old Jail Art Center in Texas offers Andy Warhol exhibit Charlotte Observer The majority of the images are black and white, typically with artists performing or relaxing with friends. They capture a time in Austin's history when music and the people who made it felt more accessible. There's an immediacy present in many of the ... and more »

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Old Jail Art Center in Texas offers Andy Warhol exhibit - Charlotte Observer

Olivia Myeza has recently taken up the post of CEO at Birth for HumanKIND, a not-for-profit organisation that supports women experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage on their journey to motherhood. She is this weeks Changemaker.

Myeza, who is originally from Melbourne, is a wearer of many hats wife, mother, sister, leader, singer.

After leaving the world of corporate PR she spent a decade living and working in South Africa at the coalface of community development and the fight against HIV/AIDS.

During her time there, she was CEO of Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, a not-for-profit organisation that responded to the HIV/AIDS crisis in the region, where one in three people were HIV positive.

Prior to this her roles in South Africa included resource mobilisation manager for GOLD Peer Education Development Agency; fundraising and marketing manager for McCord Hospital and South Africa director for The Oaktree Foundation.

Myeza has now relocated back to Melbourne with her family to take on the role of CEO at Birth for HumanKIND.

The Melbourne-based not-for-profit organisation provides women in need often young mums and recently arrived women with refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds with free support and education during pregnancy, birth and early parenting.

In this weeks Changemaker Myeza talks about her work in South Africa, how a musical collaboration led to her marrying into a black Zulu community and how birth unites us across borders, cultures, incomes, languages and race.

What attracted you to the not-for-profit sector?

I had worked in the corporate PR sector and got really tired of making rich men richer, to speak frankly. That just isnt something that motivates my heart much.

Once I got connected with the not-for-profit sector and started doing volunteer work for Oaktree Foundation, first here in Melbourne and then in South Africa, my heart and soul came alive.

For three years in Australia and then two years full-time in South Africa I was an unpaid volunteer, raising funds to cover my living costs. It was really liberating to be able to do something for reasons other than money, but unfortunately it wasnt sustainable.

Its amazing to put your skills, time and energy into something that helps others and makes a difference in our world its a million times more inspiring and motivating than making the richer richer, and I found endless passion and energy for it. Ive never looked back and cant imagine, at this point, leaving the not-for-profit sector.

Youve returned to Melbourne after 10 years in South Africa. Can you tell us about your work there?

It was through a volunteer role for The Oaktree Foundation that I first visited South Africa in 2005 and I completely fell in love with the country. I had lost my mum to cancer as a teenager and always felt pretty sorry for myself about that, but when I got to South Africa and learnt that there are 4 million orphans in the country, mostly orphaned due to their parents dying of HIV/AIDS, I realised I was the lucky one. I had support, I never wondered where my next meal was coming from, I had access to counselling these kids dont have any of that and so many of them are growing up in child-headed households without a safe roof over their head, without enough food and without their parents.

A good friend had told me that with privilege comes great responsibility, so I followed my heart and committed to doing whatever I could in the fight against poverty, HIV/AIDS and the orphan crisis in South Africa.

And that led you to work at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust?

Yes, I led a team of 160 staff and 50 volunteers to implement prevention, care, community outreach and economic empowerment projects that impacted thousands in semi-rural, poverty-torn communities the majority of them women and children.

It wasnt just work that kept you in South Africa, was it?

Not quite. On my first visit to South Africa in 2005 I met an amazing Zulu choir and ended up collaborating with them and recording two albums with them and a few other Australian musicians.

It was through the music collaboration projects that I met the man who is now my husband. I married into a black Zulu community and together we have three beautiful children, Asanda, 8, Lwazi, 4, and Eli,1, who represent whats called the rainbow nation of South Africa.

What was it like giving birth in South Africa?

I was lucky enough to have natural, doula-assisted births in a private hospital, which is not the case for the vast majority of women in South Africa. I witnessed, on too many occasions, the dire consequences of women not being supported through this important time of their lives. I will never forget crying with a mother who gave birth to her stillborn baby in an ambulance on the way to the hospital after having waited hours at a local clinic before any help arrived.

After 10 years at the coalface of the fight against HIV/AIDS, youve moved back to Australia. Tell us about your new role as CEO of Birth HumanKIND.

The role with Birth for HumanKIND jumped out at me as I saw it as a chance to continue using my skills to make a difference to society within a not-for-profit organisation with which I have shared values. Birth for HumanKIND runs a bunch of amazing birth support and education programs that help to catch women before they fall through the cracks in our maternal health system.

The majority of the women we work with are from migrant, refugee or asylum seeker backgrounds, recently arrived in Australia, dont speak English fluently and dont have a network of family and friends to support them. We also work with many young mums (under 25) and women experiencing domestic violence or homelessness. Broadly speaking, our clients are pregnant women who are experiencing socio-economic disadvantage which is obviously something that is close to my heart.

What is the ultimate goal through your work?

My ultimate goal is to use my skills and gifts, and make use of the great education I was privileged to have received and the benefits of having been born in a developed country, to help those who are less fortunate.

To see organisations growing in their impact and their sustainability, to see team members operating in their passions and giftings, and to see lives being improved through powerful programs that have deep and lasting impact on people and communities in need.

How do you find time for yourself?

Can I pass on this one? This is admittedly a work in progress and not something that Im currently the best role model for. Being a working mother of three kids, time for myself is something that doesnt come easily. In theory I do one yoga class a week for me time, but in reality this hasnt happened for the past year since I had my last born note to self: must find local yoga studio and commence classes!

I do enjoy hot baths at home after the kids are in bed and the house is relatively clean I set it up for full relaxation vibes, play quite relaxing music, light candles and use lots of bath salts. I really love my baths and try to get at least one per week.

I also love chilling out with my husband after the day is over and watching light-hearted series that allow for escapism and comedy such as Friends, thats our favourite. We have been through a really busy period having had a baby, moved continents, changes jobs, schools and houses and so on all in the past 12 months.

Once the dust settles, I will get back into a stricter routine of me time as its so important and its not something that anyone other than you can do for yourself. So watch this space!

Read more:

Helping Women on the Journey to Motherhood - Pro Bono Australia

Its Sunday night and you feel it creeping in that sense of dread as the working week begins. Come Monday morning, youll be bombarded with an overflowing inbox and endless calls. Seventy-eight per cent of people experience the Sunday Night Blues according to a Monster.com poll.

The idea of meditating might seem like an impossible task, but the ancient Eastern practice could be the answer to ending anxiety and sleepless nights. Meditation isnt just some complicated spiritual activity reserved for monks on mountain tops, as coach Will Williamsexplains. It can be as simple closing your eyes and focusing on the breath for 10 minutes.

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For Will, it all started in an East London bar. He was working in the city at the time in a stressful, high-powered job. I was out one night and my friend told me about this amazing meditation technique. He was a big shot himself. So I thought, if hes up for it, then maybe I should give it a go. Will had tried yoga and other relaxation techniques in the past to alleviate anxiety, but nothing quite clicked. Within two weeks, my stress levels totally lifted. I became happier and more productive, he says.

Will quit his high-flying career and spent two-and-a-half years travelling the world, practising with meditation masters, learning new techniques and gaining his first formal meditation coach training. I became aware that it was the West that needed meditation more than anyone else, says Will. Technology has taken over and removed us from who we really are. People are more directionless. They go to work each day, not really knowing why. Its just to pay the bills. Theres been a loss of connection. Meditation is great for lowering stress and reconnecting to who you are again.

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Meditation is also particularly good for anxiety - or quelling that pervasiveSunday Fear. In fact, vedic meditation has been shown to be 250 per cent more effective at reducing anxiety than other technique, according to a study by the Journal of Counselling and Development. More people come to me because of anxiety than any other situation, notes Will. In the vast majority of cases, meditation reduces anxiety.

Our brain restructures itself according to experiences. If we keep living life in this high-octane way, our brain starts programming in anxiety on a daily basis. It just gets worse and worse. Thats why anxiety sufferers find themselves more easily triggered. To offset that pattern, Will recommends meditating twice per day to encourage your brain back to its optimal state.

Youll start to see the benefits of meditating after just a few weeks. The results are astonishing. Meditation calms your nervous system, so youll see an improvement in your sleep quality. Youll find yourself less anxious and less reactive in demanding situations, says Will. After three months, youll find yourself having more stamina because the frontal cortex of your brain will be recharged with more physical, mental and emotional energy, explains Will. This means youll be more productive, more creative and your relationships will improve because you are in a good space. Youll feel happier and find more joie de vivre. There will be a spring in your step again.

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If youve struggled with meditation in the past, just keep trying different techniques until one sticks. Choosing a meditation style is like dating. Its not like you hook up with the first person you meet and decide to get married, says Will. You need space and time to actually start going out and dating other people to see where the chemistry is. Its the same for finding a meditation technique that works for you.

So next time you experience that sinking feeling on a Sunday night, try something new and sign up to a meditation course. Feel freedom from all that worry and soon the Sunday Fear will be a thing of the past and youll be ready to smash Monday when the alarm slams into action.

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How Unlocking The Benefits Of Meditation Can Help You Conquer Sunday Fear - HuffPost UK

A series of one-hour mindfulness and meditation classes will be offered at the Ridgefield Library this summer on four Mondays: July 10, July 17, July 31 and Aug.7 at 7 p.m. Meditation offers countless benefits, including improved emotional regulation, focus, resilience, compassion, and mental and physical health.

The library is pleased to host the Community Mindfulness Project a local, secular meditation group dedicated to the study and practice of mindfulness meditation for people of all religious backgrounds. CMPs teachings draw from a variety of meditation traditions, and in addition to regular, dedicated practice, the group supports new and veteran practitioners with discussion and peer-to-peer learning.

This program is part of theBody, Mind and Spirit: Holistic Health and Wellnessseries that is made possible thanks to the Noreen L. Papa Fund. This program is also part of the Build A Better World Adult Summer Reading program that is made possible thanks to the Friends of the Library. Registration is recommended for each class.

For more information visit ridgefieldlibrary.org or call 203-438-2282.

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Summer mindfulness and meditation classes - The Ridgefield Press

Next year marks the half-century of Dr. Kenneth H. Coopers best-seller, Aerobics, in which he told us to get off our duffs and quit our unhealthy ways, and set in motion a national guilt trip.

People around the world know Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper as the father of aerobics.

But theres another side to him: Ken Cooper, businessman.

Yes, hes still a physician first. But being a good businessman has been his great enabler.

Age: 86

Claim to fame: Got America focused on fitness with his best-seller Aerobics, published in 1968.

Start: Was as Air Force doctor responsible for the astronaut fitness program

Now: Chairman of family-owned company medical clinic and fitness operation with revenue close to $100 million.

Source: Dallas Morning News

Today, the Cooper Aerobics Center is a 30-acre urban oasis with a nonprofit research center, medical clinic, fitness center with a restaurant, spa, luxury hotel and conference center, swimming pool, tennis courts, walking trails, on some the priciest real estate in Dallas.

The company also sells vitamins and supplements and offers corporate wellness programs.

The family-owned company generates annual revenue that will approach $100million this year and is profitable, said his son Tyler Cooper, the companys CEO.

Once Ken Cooper was labeled a charlatan. Now at 86, hes considered an international treasure.

Next year marks the half-century of his best-seller, Aerobics, in which Cooper told us to get off our duffs and quit our unhealthy ways. He set in motion a national guilt trip.

To mark the 50th anniversary, Cooper is working on an updated version of his seminal book and his memoirs.

The course of Coopers life was changed by a water-skiing incident at Lake Texoma in 1960, when he was an out-of-shape, overweight 29-year-old Army medical resident.

Hed gained nearly 40 pounds over the course of med school, his internship and early marriage, and hadnt been on water skis in eight years.

Id gone to pot, like 80 percent of my medical-school colleagues, Cooper said.

Once behind the boat, Cooper got nauseated, his heart was racing and he thought he was having a heart attack.

It turned out to be temporary cardiac arrhythmia. But it was a permanent wake-up call.

He lost the weight in six months and ran his first marathon.

Today hes 5 feet, 11 inches tall (having shrunk a couple of inches) and weighs 168 pounds exactly what he weighed in high school when he was running track and playing basketball.

I was prediabetic. I was hypertensive. All that disappeared after I lost that weight. Ive kept that weight for 56 years now.

That was divine intervention, Im sure it was. Otherwise I was right on the same pathway as my other medical colleagues and Id be dead already. Im sure of it.

In 1970, flush with $25,000 in savings and a 1968 paperback best-seller (Aerobics), the 39-year-old colonel and doctor left the Air Force in San Antonio, where he was responsible for the astronaut fitness program, and moved to Dallas to practice preventive medicine.

Most people thought Cooper was loopy.

People said, Theres no way you can make a living trying to take care of healthy people. People want physicians when theyre sick and not when theyre well, Cooper said. First couple of years, I thought they were right.

He set up the Aerobics Center in a two-room office with two employees: another doctor and a secretary.

Coopers dream began to manifest in late 1971, when he borrowed money to move to an old mansion on 8 acres.

The center prospered throughout Dallas go-go years. But things came to a screeching halt with Texas real estate and financial debacle. In 1988, he almost lost it all.

Cooper had borrowed $15 million to invest in expansion and still owed $9.6 million when the bank that lent him the money failed and was taken over.

The new out-of-state bank said the property was worth only $5.6million and called the loan even though Cooper had never missed a payment.

Cooper fought the bank for the next three years, had bankruptcy documents drawn up and spent $600,000 in legal fees.

I was under stress like you wouldnt believe, Cooper said. I got four foreclosure notices that last year of 91, always delivered by a messenger on a Friday afternoon at 5:30, threatening to lock the gates on Monday. I panicked the first time, didnt sleep for a weekend. The second, third and fourth time, it didnt bother me.

He finally was able to renegotiate his debt.

Fifteen years later, in October 2004, Cooper paid off the loan and burned the mortgage.

I dont think we saved the ashes, he said.

Cooper attributes the companys success to four things: divine intervention, an extraordinary staff that includes 24 physicians, proving to companies that wellness programs increase profits and providing service that keeps patients coming back.

Ive tried to impress upon our physicians that our patients dont have to come back. They pay big dollars to come here. We dont take insurance, he said. Yet, we have a 74 percent return rate. Fifty-four percent are corporate sponsored. Our patients come back because they are equally concerned about how much we care as they are about how much we know.

That is the secret to our success as an organization.

In 2014, Cooper became chairman and turned over the CEO reins to his son, who was born eight days after Ken saw his first patient at the center.

Cooper said the companys future is in Tylers hands particularly when it comes to the grand plan of establishing the Cooper brand internationally.

Does this signal that the patriarch is heading toward the corporate finish line?

The question draws equally incredulous responses from both.

Im confident that my dad will be thinking of something new and working on improving health around the world until the day he dies, said Tyler Cooper. Theres no last hurrah in my dads mindset.

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Aerobics pioneer still in the fitness business at 86 - The Seattle Times

The Randolph Senior Center recently partnered with Peak Physical Therapy & Sports Performance for a presentation on the benefits of tai chi to help improve balance and prevent falls.

Peak Physical Therapy & Sports Performance is a South Shore practice specializing in comprehensive treatment in orthopedic, spine and sports medicine specialties.

Presenters Katy Mercurio and Meghan Harrington addressed the many merits of Tai Chi, a soft martial arts discipline based on the principles of yin and yang.

Mercurio and Harrington demonstrated the ancient Chinese practice which involves soft, slow movements in opposite directions to increase strength and improve flexibility and concentration. Core principals of Tai Chi include upright posture, coordinated breathing, weight shifting, and slow, fluid, rounded movements. The measured, smooth and continuous movements help strengthen the internal muscles that support and bolster the spine. In addition to physical benefits, Tai Chi can calm the mind.

Tai Chi is a moving form of meditation that when incorporated into an exercise program can help reduce the risk of falls, particularly for the geriatric population, said Eric Edelman, owner of Peak Physical Therapy & Sports Performance.

For information, visit http://peaktherapy.com.

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Demonstrators show Randolph seniors benefits of tai chi - Wicked Local Randolph