Outdoorsy

Monthly mood swings are not just women's business: the latest research shows that the boys are also prone to he monthly blues. A study by psychologists from England's University Of Derby suggests that men may experience cyclical symptoms similar to, or worse, than those suffered by premenstrual women.

Symptomps of this 'periodic male tension' or PMT include pain. loss of concentration, behavioral changes, physical reactions, negative feelings and loss of arousal. The reasearch team asked 100 men and women about symptoms usually realated to the menstrual cycle.

They were stunned when the men reported they suffered from similiar symptomps more severely than the women.Another hypothesis is that men have a lower pain threshold than women-and making a fuss about nothing.

JoHn HanD, of Hand Melon Farm in New York State offers tips on buying rock melon....

Be gentle: A melon should feel slightly soft. USe your hands to feel for bruises. If you hear or feel anything when you shake, it mike be overripe.

Better yet, use your nose: A sweet smell means the melon is ripe.

Take a look: It should not have any remnant of a stem. If it does, it was picked early.

Hit the road: The fruit is best when it's fresh picked, which you are more likely to find at a roadside stand.

Eathing a colourful diet-with green,red,blue,white and yellow fruits and vegetables-is healthy, and can lower the risk of some cancers. But not all foods pACK the same punch, says dietitian Marilyn Nanney. Add these powerhouses to your rainbow:

Yellow....

Protect the immune system, vision and heart health

Blue.....

Maintain the urinary tract health,promotes memory function

Red.....

Sustains memory function and urinary tract health

White.....

MAintains heart health and good cholesterol levels

Green...

Promotes vision, strong bones and teeth

If you would like your kids to eat healthy, start with your own diet. The more fruit and vegetables Mum and Dad eat, the more junior is likely to consume, according to a study of two-to six-year- olds at LOndon's University College. And youngesters who were introduced to these foods earlier tended to rearch for them more often. Those wo had been breastfed ate food and vegetables more frequently than bottle-fed kids.

Speaking of milk, reasearchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Penn State University found that girls who met calcium requirements had mums recommended amount of calcium at age five were nearly five times AS likely to do so at age nine.

Skip the fat-free salad dressing, and lose the guilt. Full-fat and redused-fat dressings help your body absorb nutrients from uncooked veggies better than fat-free,say doctors at lowa State University.

They gave seven people salads of spinach, romaine, carrots and tomatoes with dressings containing 0, 6 or 28 fat grams. After each salad, researchers took blood samples to measure the cartenoids, nutrients that may protect against cancer and other diseases. When people ate full-or reduced-fat dressings, they absorbed carotenoids far better than when they ate the no-fat, which allowed for virtually no absorption.

Don't think you can drown your salad in fatty dressing. Use reduced-fat, to maximise carotenoid absorption and limit fat intake.

Most teenagers will live through a plague of pimples at some time- usually just before an important date. But what should you do when acne grows from a few blackheads to large cysts?

Acoording to S.C.Yeung, a specialist at Singapore's National Skin Centre, you should consult your doctor rather than wait to 'outgrow' acne. Medical treatment can improve your appearance and prevent the development of scars.

To keep acne from getting worse, dermatologists recommend gently washing your face- not scrubbing or rubbing- no more than twice a day with a mild soap. And although there is no problem wearing make-up or shaving, oly and greasy cosmetics may make yhe condition worse.

Diet doesn't usually cause acne, but a few people find that their acne gets worse when they eat certain foods, particularly chocolate, fried food and chillies.

Gout was something people used to get from eating too much rich food, right?? That's why Henry VIII had the arthritic condition. True, but gout is still around today. And some foods do raise risk while others lower it.

When the kidneys are hit by too much food waste in the form of uric acid, the acid crytallises in joints, causing pain.

In a study of 47,000 healthy men by Mass-achusetts General Hospital and other institutions, those who ate four servings of seafood a week were 50 per cent likelier to develop gout. Those who had more than two servings of red meat a day upped their risk by 40 per cent.

Eating three or more servings of low-fat dairy a day cut risk by 44 per cent; one serving cut risk by 20 per cent.