MORE FROM ITALOEUROPEO TWO – L'ItaloEuropeo – Independent Magazine in London

GIANLUCA MECH – The guru of personal wellness

(by Stefania Del Monte)

Gianluca Mech is the only heir to an ancient tradition that has seen his family at the centre of the arts and secrets of herbal medicine in Italy for centuries. In 1987, as soon as he was of age, he took over the reins of the company: thanks to the teachings of his father Giovanni and his grandmother Adelaide, and thanks to the experience gained in the field of food and herbal medicine, he managed to give new strength and impetus to the company, even beyond national borders.

We met him to find out more about his story.

Gianluca, what is Phytotherapy?

The term “Phytotherapy” derives from the Greek “Phytòn”, which means “plant”, but at the same time also “creature”. This twofold meaning encompasses the essence of phytotherapy: plant and man. In a general sense, it is the practice that involves the use of plants or plant extracts for the care and maintenance of mental and physical wellbeing.

Your company has been operating since 1911 and you have been part of it for over thirty years. What exactly do you do?

It is a herbal company, whose strength is precisely that of using the properties of plants in our proposed weight loss programs. In particular, we are producers and distributors of products obtained from Decottopia, or the therapy of the “ten plants”. It is an ancient process of officinal herbs processing, handed down over the centuries from father to son, up to me, the current custodian of the industrial secrets that are the heart of the company activities: extracts that base their uniqueness and exclusivity thanks to their absence of alcohol, sugars, preservatives and gluten. From the experience gained in the Decottopia, specific dietary foods were then developed which constitute the innovative “Global Tisanoreica diet program”, developed and tested in collaboration with the Mech Lab of the University of Padua.

Can you tell us more about both Decottopia and Tisanoreica?

Of course! My family has a 500-year-long tradition of observing, experimenting and using the properties of plants. Our green ketosis has allowed us to enhance, through the detoxifying properties of plants, the slimming effects of the diet proposed by us, reducing side effects to zero. From the decottopia, according to the method already explained above, decottopyrics are obtained: food supplements proposed to improve the nutritional status, optimizing the general well-being condition and promoting, at the same time, the normal physiological functions of the body. These can be combined with the diet but also taken outside of a real diet program. You can also drink pure or diluted with water.

The products of Decottopia are fundamental throughout the whole journey of the Tisanoreica diet protocol. Our body, in fact, in addition to needing to lose weight, needs to cleanse itself every day to keep fit and above all to give us that feeling of wellbeing that we seek so much. Associating Decottopia with the Tisanoreica diet phases means choosing extraordinarily pure and totally natural products not only in the formulation, but also in the processing and conservation processes.

The absence of preservatives, alcohol, sugars and gluten also makes Decottopia ideal for different categories of people such as diabetics, children over 5 years, celiacs, the elderly and vegans.

We recently saw you on television with Ricette all’italiana (Rete4) and L’ingrediente perfetto (LA7). What did you draw from those experiences?

These are experiences that have allowed me to get to know and collaborate with great personalities from the world of entertainment such as Davide Mengacci, Anna Moroni and Roberta Capua, who have also proved to be generous and helpful people. Thanks to these two programs, moreover, I had the pleasure of sharing the set with producer Elio Bonsignore, a professional who always favours quality. On the basis of all this, it is easy to guess that both broadcasts have helped to consolidate my television path too.

Would you like to repeat them?

Obviously yes, since both experiences are part of my present. For example, with the perfect ingredient, together with the excellent Roberta Capua, I will return to La7 at the end of March. Recently, with Roberta, we also shared a beautiful event at Casa Sanremo, during the Sanremo Festival, focused on the importance of plants for the voice, which was also attended by conductor Claudio Guerrini and specialist in Otolaryngology and Audiology Marco De Vincentiis, and it was a great success. Now, however, I can’t wait to embrace her again on the set to enter, once again, into the homes of many viewers who continue to follow us with affection and interest.

Your company profile describes you as the ‘personal wellner of the stars’. We could therefore define you as a kind of wellness guru. What exactly is the role of a “personal wellner“?

My mission has always been to help others stay healthy, directing them towards a healthier lifestyle, which allows them to achieve a good quality of life. This healthy lifestyle is even more sought after among celebrities and the show business. The variety of our natural and scientifically tested products, combined with personalized suggestions, allows people to better face and manage the difficulties and stress during the change process, aimed at achieving psychophysical wellbeing.

Being a specialized nutritionist, what do you recommend to people who want to get in shape in time for the summer?

It’s simple: take care of yourself through good purification, take care of the quantity and quality of the food that you introduce into your body and, if necessary, follow a dietary path by being directed by specialized personnel. For example, our experts can help to achieve the established results, not only quickly but also in perfect health.

In the cover: Gianluca Mech
images courtesy of the interviewee

Discovering Eton College

London, Maria Vittoria Bognetti

Eton College was born in 1440 from by King Henry VI who desired to found an institution that would shape and educate the next british ruling class in the English Language, aiming at creating a natural ‘bridge’ between high school and university education level. It started as a charity school which provided free education for seventy poor boys in Windsor, Berkshire, who then continued their scholastic career in the exclusive 70 colleges between Oxford and Cambridge, leading universities in the world.

For the first time, Eton College opened his doors to an Italian production team, London One Radio, allowing us to perceive the unicity and the peculiarities of this institution in its whole beauty. Dr. Marco Liviero has been the voice who guided such tour in the numerous rooms of the college, by providing insights on what distinguishes them from other boarding schools. He explains that Eton College was love at first sight: he visited the school during an academic trip, and already passionate about the British culture, theatre and Shakespeare, he pictured himself in this institution. A dream that came reality as, for the past 19 years, he has been the Professor of English Literature at Eton College.

Eton is not like any other boarding schools, students are developed in toto. As Dr. Marco Liviero explains, “Excelling in school is not enough. Being passionate is an essential quality, and what is mot important is to be willing to invest effort and time in these”. The academic part is indeed just a small component of the education that student receive from Eton: they develop their passions, initiative spirit, and sense of responsibility through the many extracurricular activities from sport, to music and theatre.

The Farrer theatre, the creative heart of Eton College, is one of the most magical places in the boarding school. And the very essence of theatre allows Eton students to grow as human beings, touching the many spheres of an inclusive development: it allows to “understand who you are and who you can become”, key elements in the receipt to disclose the full potential of each student. It is not surprise that many brilliant actors passed from here, from Hugh Laurie, the Dr. House protagonist, to Eddie Radmayne, who recently won the oscar for his interpretation of Stephen Hawking in the Theory of Everything.

Eton’s traditions have been lasting for more than six centuries, and it is the combination of such solid and extraordinary background, academic excellence and a constant innovation that allows this school to be the most prestigious boarding school in the United Kingdom, if not the world.

“The school master’s skill is understanding the different talents of each pupils”, a quote by Quasiliano, found in a fresco in the Head Master Chamber, the office of the Head Master in XIII century, well embraces and expresses the spirit of this brilliant institution.

Skin-whitening creams are still hurting people, someone keep on selling them

London (Giulia Faloia) – Self acceptance is very hard to achieve and its lack can bring to devastating consequences especially if it involves the use of illegal substances.

That’s exactly what happened to women who used skin-whitening creams. This kind of products were banned from being sold over-the-counter in the UK since they contain hydroquinone and mercury that can cause liver, nerve and foetal damage.

However some business owners haven’t respected the ban and they have kept on selling the forbidden creams.

Some journalists visited 17 shop in London, Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester to see how many merchants are still selling the banned products.

Even if 6 of these shops had already been prosecuted for this reason, the under cover reporters found out that 13 shop keepers are still braking the rules and selling the creams.

The forbidden product was manufactured in Nigeria and it is called Funbeaut-A. It contained 3% hydroquinone, which is more than the strongest medicine containing hydroquinone licensed for prescription by UK doctors.

The clearest consequences of the skin-whitening creams are blisters and scars on the whole parts of the body on which people rub it. But unfortunately this isn’t the worst aspect.

In fact some victims of the creams developed a kind of addiction to them. Stop rubbing it on their skin was as hard as stop taking drugs.

Furthermore what makes the problem even bigger is that anyone could buy these products. Even a little girl could come in a shop and take it, without any kind of restriction.

Anyway Trading Standards officer Cenred Elworthy said that some shop keepers stopped selling the products after being prosecuted. He added that “secondary offenders are often not selling things that are blatantly, obviously full of illegal products”.

On the other hand Elworthy also said that “no-one has actually served jail time for selling them” despite being caught still selling the illegal products while serving a suspended sentence.

For this purpose he suggested the application of “on-the-spot fines” for businesses selling the skin-whitening products, and clearer sentencing guidelines.

The problem is real and stricter rules are necessary. This is the only way nobody else gets hurt.

MEN B VACCINE – ONE YEAR ON AND MILLIONS STILL AT RISK

A YEAR after introducing the lifesaving Men B vaccine, millions of young children remain at risk from this devastating disease.

On Tuesday 1 September 2015, the UK became the first country in the world to introduce the revolutionary new meningococcal group B (Men B) vaccine, Bexsero to under 1s through the NHS.

Despite this, more than one child a month*¹ may have contracted the deadly Men B infection and up to five children may have needlessly died. Many of those who have contracted Men B will be living with life-changing after-effects.

Had the decision been made by the Government to vaccinate all under 5s, these tragedies could have been avoided.

Parents like Jenny Burdett, whose daughter Faye’s death sparked an unprecedented 823,346 signatures to a UK-wide petition, have renewed calls for the vaccine to be made available to all young children at risk.

Jenny said:

“As a family who has been through the devastation of meningitis, we feel that all children should be protected from this cruel disease that took our daughter. It’s not just about Faye’s death but also about the maiming of children that survive the disease; it is life changing for a child and their family. Prevention must be better.”

Until the decision is made to extend the age range of the vaccine, an estimated 2.1 million*² children under 5 remain at risk from Men B. Meningitis continues to kill more children under five than any other infectious disease.

Meningitis Now Chief Executive, Liz Brown, said:

“The introduction of the Men B vaccine was a milestone in the prevention of this killer disease – it’s such a shame that the Government didn’t have the courage to go that extra step and protect all children most at risk.

“The recent decision by the JCVI, not to vaccinate children up to the age of 2 years, due to vaccine shortages, exacerbates the need for the government to take action.

“We call upon Secretary of State for Health; Jeremy Hunt to mark today’s anniversary by taking that extra step now and introduce the vaccine for all of the nation’s children up to the age of 5.”

Meningitis Now is collecting signatures to add to a letter to the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, as part of its’ ‘Give Children A Voice’ campaign. The letter will be presented in Westminster by a child who has missed out on the vaccine in the coming weeks. To add your name visit:

https://www.meningitisnow.org/how-we-help/campaigns/give-children-voice/

For more information on the Men B vaccine, as well as the signs and symptoms of meningitis, visit www.meningitisnow.org

*¹ Public Health England Health Protection Report Vol 9 23 October 2015 shows 139 cases of Men B in infants aged 1-4 years. The incidence of death is in this group is 4%.

*² Based on an annual UK birth-rate of 700,000. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/datasets/birthsummarytables

Two million people in London at risk of food poisoning from pink burgers

LONDON – According to research released a few days ago by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), almost two million people in London are at risk of food poisoning from pink burgers at Bank Holiday Barbecues. The FSA is encouraging all those who are getting their BBQs this weekend to fully cook their burgers: this warning has been made because the research has shown that despite 71% stating they are concerned about food poisoning, nearly half of them would still eat a burger that is not fully cooked; moreover, 54% of them admitted that they even undercook burgers at home.

In order to help BBQs lovers enjoy their burgers safely, the FSA has teamed up with Phil Vickery, British rugby legend and Masterchef winner, who will give his contribution in raising awareness about best burger practice. He stressed that it is very important that people don’t try to cook burgers that are rare or medium at home: “Some restaurants can serve them this way because they have strict controls in place, covering how burgers are prepared and cooked, but cooking burgers that are rare or pink at home could really ruin your weekend.” In addition to these useful piece of advice, he shared his personal favourite way of cooking burgers: he likes his burger properly cooked through with a top of Romaine Hearts lettuce, tomato and English cheddar cheese.

What makes Steve Wearne, the Director of Policy at the FSA, worried is the general ignorance about the presence of bacteria in burgers. He said: “Burgers are not like steak. Harmful bacteria can be carried on the surface of cuts of meat. When a rare steak is seared these bacteria are killed, but burger meat is minced so bacteria from the surface of the raw meat gets mixed all the way through the burger. These bacteria can remain alive on the inside, unless the burger is fully cooked through, no matter how good quality and expensive the meat.” Moreover, many people – over a third of all people in London – incorrectly believe that eating a rare burger is the same as a rare steak when it comes to food poisoning risk and even those who wouldn’t usually choose a rare burger could get ill this weekend, since they said they would eat one if it was given to them.

What both Wearne and Vickery advise is for everyone to be cautious: cook your burgers through and fully enjoy your weekend, without having to worry about the consequences of an unhealthy BBQ next week.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are to divorce

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have announced they are to divorce after less than six years.Holmes’ lawyer Jonathan Wolfe has now confirmed that the Hollywood stars are to split. Holmesand Cruise started dating in 2005 and he proposed at the top of the Eiffel Tower in June of the same year. [Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes at the London premiere of Valkyrie in 2009. Photograph: Mike Marsland/WireImage.com]

They tied the knot at an Italian castle in November 2006, seven months after Holmes had given birth to their daughter Suri. Cruise has been divorced twice before – his first marriage to Mimi Rogers ended after less than three years together, while he split from Nicole Kidman in 2001 after 10 years as man and wife.Cruise, 49, and Holmes, 33, were married in November 2006 after a year and a half together.

He raised eyebrows by jumping on to a couch to declare his love for her on the Oprah Winfrey show, saying: “I can’t be cool. I can’t be laid-back. Something happened and I want to celebrate it.” Holmes revealed she had had a crush on the Top Gun actor as a girl.

Cruise had recently attended the premiere for Rock of Ages alone, and was also without Holmes when he picked up a Friars Club entertainment icon award this month. At the time, he said she was abroad and the family would reunite in time for Father’s Day.

BRAD PITT AND ANGELINA JOLIE ENGAGED!!!

Angelina Jolie, was seen wearing a massive diamond ring on her left hand, and sparking rumours that a wedding was on the horizon. “Yes, it’s confirmed. It is a promise for the future, and their kids are very happy.

There’s no date set at this time. Brad Pitt designed the ring,” the representative, Cynthia Pett-Dante, told CNN. The couple has six children, including three biological children together.

Pitt adopted two of Jolie’s children whom she had earlier adopted from Cambodia and Ethiopia, and they together adopted a boy from Vietnam. [photo en.wikipedia.org]

Their biological children include twins. Brad Pitt and Angelina had previously stated they would NOT get married until gay people could get married too — but admitted their children were pressuring them to tie the knot. This will be Brad’s second marriage and Angelina’s third. Angelina was previously married to actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton. Brad was previously married to Jennifer Aniston.

The difference between variable interest rate and fixed interest rate mortgage

There’s a high chance that before considering a mortgage application you have heard the terms ‘variable interest mortgage’ and ‘fixed interest mortgage’ at least a hundred times but it never really piqued your interest.

Now you want to know as much as possible about various types of mortgages and how can they work for you. Welcome to the wonderful world of financial jargon.

As you may already know the mortgages are in vast majority comprised of only two parts: the capital, which is the selling price of property and the interest, which is the amount bank earns over the whole period of your loan.

While the capital is very straightforward – it’s simply the negotiated price of property which mortgage covers, the interest can come in many flavours and lenders are offering customers a few ways to apply it depending on their financial circumstances and lifestyles. Interest rates tend to change on a monthly basis depending on various factors including the economy, situation in banking sector and lender’s business needs.

While in most cases the fluctuations are not very significant, the monthly repayments can clearly reflect major changes like, for example, the proposed increase of base interest rate by the bank of England. In order to provide more peace of mind and control over budget, lenders introduced fixed rate mortgage loans which freeze the amount of monthly repayments on one level typically for two to five years.

Photo by Adrian Short

You don’t really come across longer terms for fixed rates because it’s difficult to forecast the financial situation any further than five years ahead. Fixed rate loans are more expensive that their variable rate counterparts but offer protection against rapidly changing rates and give consumers the chance to plan their budget more accurately.

It’s also worth noting that this type of loan has higher applicant requirements, which means that if your financial circumstances are not that great, you may be refused fixed interest but accepted for variable interest mortgage. Variable interest mortgages are less expensive in the initial period of time; lenders are often setting preferential interest rates for the first couple of years which leaves home buyers with extra cash to spend on their new property.

It’s also a popular option with customers who take a mortgage loan and hope to increase their annual income before the initial period ends and the rates rise. It’s certainly the more popular type of mortgage since the applicant requirements are lower than in case of fixed rate but keep in mind that variable interest loans may not be eligible for refinance during the first couple of years, or may require very high exit fees in order to remortgage.

High penalty fees make the whole process rather pointless considering the potential savings from refinance.

The choice of one or another boils down largely to currently applicable interest rates, applicant’s financial circumstances and lifestyle choices. Some people will appreciate the security fixed rate offers while others will go for variable rate in order to fully take advantage of favourable situation in mortgage market.

thank for collaboration with

mortgageinuk.co.uk

A Lady Gaga tour has been announced

London- A Lady Gaga tour has been announced, with 11 dates in Asia and Australasia set for this summer.

The Born This Way Ball tour kicks off in Seoul, South Korea, on April 27th at the city’s Olympic Stadium. Lady Gaga said: “The Born This Way Ball is an Electro-Metal Pop-Opera; the tale of the Beginning, the genesis of the Kingdom of Fame.

How we were birthed and how we will die celebrating.” Also it a last news of this day Lady Gaga has spoken out about her experiences with bulimia and being the object of bullying during her high school years.

The star – who this week confirmed the first of her 2012 world tour dates – appeared on US TV show It’s Our Turn and spoke openly to host Maria Shriver.

The next Gaga tour has been a source of speculation, with rumors abounding that it would number around 450 dates! Wouldn’t announcing such a trek in the coming days be the perfect way to wrest the spotlight away from Madonna and her Super Bowl halftime show? Oh, and speaking of the Super Bowl. Gaga is psyched about it, presumably because the team she roots for is the New York Giants and they are playing. The tour will kick off on April 27 in Seoul, South Korea.

The upcoming tour, which is described by Gaga, “The Haus of Gaga and I have worked for months conceiving a spectacular stage,” states Gaga. “The Born This Way Ball” is an Electro-Metal Pop-Opera; the tale of the Beginning, the genesis of the Kingdom of Fame.

How we were birthed and how we will die celebrating.” he star also took time to put some emphasis on the problems within the industry for modifying people’s images and ultimately affecting people’s perceptions of “real life”. “Every video I’m in, every magazine cover, they stretch you, they make you perfect. It’s not real life. “I’m gonna say this about girls: The dieting wars have got to stop.

Everyone just knock it off. Because at the end of the day, it’s affecting kids your age. And it’s making girls sick.” Gaga ended her passionate speech with a few encouraging words to let any sufferers know that they are not alone.

The ‘Bad Romance’ singer’s site Littlemonsters.com is currently invite only, and is said to be similar to sites like Reddit and Pinterest Lady Gaga‘s popularity and presence on such social platforms as Twitter is remarkable with the singer yesterday (9th February) reaching the 19 million followers milestone on the site.

She has over 47 million fans on Facebook and joined Google+ earlier this year gaining immediate attention.

Brad Pitt the revelations of the Hollywood star

Brad Pitt said: “Depression and drug abuse, Morocco has saved me ‘ I did the same thing every night and I am numb to being able to sleep. But a trip to Casablanca, Morocco, made me finally get off that couch in that country discovered the extreme poverty, one thing that I had never seen before, and I knew what my illness was unnecessary, because there people would only think to survive.

“Almost instantly Brad Pitt decided to do away with drugs and was held as invalidating only that of cigarettes, but left after the birth of the celebrities hiding figli. Mi struck me smoking too much grass I sat all day on the couch and I was turning into a donut. I was really angry with myself and wondered: “What’s the point? I know I can be better than that.”

Last week, the magazine OK! Had announced the pregnancy of Angelina, and a few days ago, the British tabloid Sun had published the photo of Jolie with her children around Los Angeles, with a tummy suspicion and a radiant smile. [photo celebguru.com]