Although it is often a big mystery as to what an antioxidant is specifically, it may be surprising to know that we consume antioxidants in many of the foods that we eat, especially if we are following a balanced diet.

With this knowledge, it is important to understand that antioxidants are vitamins, phytochemicals and some nutrients that help protect our bodies from free radicals that are found in our bodies as a result to pollutions in our environment, whether those are through smoking, pesticides or radiation.

Antioxidants are proven to help protect the heart and may also reduce the risk of some forms of cancer.

Some foods that contain antioxidants are:

• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Raspberries
• Garlic
• Tea
• Tomatoes
• Pomegranates
• Soy
• Red Grapes
• Spinach
• Whole Grains
• Carrots

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Tags: antioxidants, cancer, free radicals, health, health and wellness, heart, heart disease, pollution, What are antioxidants?

If you have even been a child, you have probably held a snail in your hand as you tried to figure out if there was some way to smuggle the snail into your house without your mom finding out. I know I did and I loved the designs that I could find on the shells but I also knew that my mom would have a fit if she found one in the house so I would leave them outside.

My kids, on the other hand, only need to ask and suddenly I am rushing for a container, a mister and everything else that I need to set the snails up into the lap of luxury. They eat well when they visit and many because so used to being handled, that they stretch out each time we pick them up.

So the first time I brought snails into the house, I had to figure out how to make the snails visit enjoyable not only for us but for them. One of these was figuring out what they eat and is a question often asked by many impromptu snail owners.

So what do you feed a snail?

One of the first things that I would like to mention is Cuttle Bones. You can find these in the bird section of any pet store and are very cheap. Without a cuttle bone, snails will not receive the proper nutrients and their shells will harden. This isn’t really what they eat but it is essential to their diet.

When it comes to food, you can feed snails a variety of things including plants, vegetables and fruit. They tend to eat everything and anything that is plant matter and this also includes decaying vegetation. They aren’t very picky and I have had snails that love apples. As soon as an apple plopped down in the terrarium, even with other food, the snails would be all over the apple.

If you are keeping snails in a terrarium, it is better to plant a small houseplant into the terrarium. The snails will curl up onto the plant and come down when food is out. If there is an abundance of vegetables and fruit, you will find that the snails will leave the plant alone - well, for the most part that is.

Lastly, snails need water to survive. They should be misted with a spray bottle several times a day but don’t worry too much if you miss a spritzing. In times of drought, snails will seal up the entrance to their shell with a thick mucus and go into hibernation. To revive your snail, simply mist it a few times and the snail will be back out and being its usual snailish self.

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Tags: caring for a snail, cuttle bones, feeding snails, fruit, plants, snail, snail food, snails, vegetables, vegetation, what do snails eat

Although this question could be very difficult to answer, especially if you want to look at history, political geography and everything else that goes into explaining a country, for the purpose of this post, I will keep the explanation very short.

The Czech Republic is found in Central Europe and is a very unique country with several different eco-regions.  It is landlocked and has the distinct trait of being bordered by four countries.  These countries are:

• Poland, which nestles against the Northern Border of the Czech Republic
• Slovak Republic, which is found on the Eastern Border.
• Austria, which is the Czech Republic’s Southern Neighbour
• Germany, which shares a large border that covers the Western edges of the country as well as the North Western border.

Although it is not necessarily important in answering this question, per say, it is interesting to note that the Czech Republic has 4 neighbors and is also divided into 4 eco-regions.  These are:

• Pannonian Mixed Forests
• Carpathian Montane Conifer Forests
• Central European Mixed Forests
• Western European Broadleaf Forests.

Tags: Austria, countries sharing borders, Czech Republic, Germany, landlocked, Poland, Slovak Republic

This is actually a question that does not have a definite answer.  The cost of spaying/neutering your puppy depends on many factors such as the age of your puppy, your location, the types of vets in your area and if your puppy has ever whelped a litter (been pregnant).

In many towns and cities, you can contact the local animal shelters to find out if they offer spaying/neutering at a lower price.  Some shelters do and will offer spay/neutering for as low as $25.  Others do not offer the service and you will need to go to a regular veterinarian clinic for the service.

When it comes to spaying and neutering, you will generally pay within a price range of $50 to $350.  I have heard of vets charging much more, some as high as $450 to $500 but generally you will not get much higher than $350. 

With males, you will find that vets offer the neutering service at a lower cost to pet owners.  That is of course if there are no other problems which will cause more surgery to the animal such as incidences where one or both testicles did not descend.

For females, you will find that they are slightly more expensive than males since the surgery is more invasive.  You will also find that the age range and the history of the female will cause a change in the price. 

If a female puppy is spayed before her first heat, usually between 6 months to 11 months, the cost will be at the lowest for a female.  After the first heat, many veterinarians will charge a bit more for the procedure.  If she happens to become pregnant with her first (or subsequent heats) a vet will increase the price of spaying significantly. 

In the end, it is better to spay your puppy before she has her first heat for both her sake and your wallets.  It is also important to be completely prepared for the cost before you bring a puppy home.  After that, you will only need to make a few phone calls to find the best vet for the best price.

Tags: dog health, dogs, neuter, neutering, puppies, puppy health, puppy's, spay, spaying, vet, veterinarian, whelping

Before I get into answering questions, I would first like to introduce myself since I will be a frequent visitor for the next several weeks or possibly longer.

My name is Sirena Van Schaik and I am a freelance writer.  I will be the first to admit that I may not know the answer to some questions but I am always willing to research a topic and find out everything that I can about it.  I am, if I may, an excellent researcher and I find that it is an enjoyable past time. 

So hopefully, after putting my research skills to good answers, I will be able to answer most of the questions that are sent in to me. 

With that, I would just like to say that I am looking forward to posting on the Savvy Cafe Answers and I would like to kick off my introduction with an answer to a question.  Please visit the next post since i have broken this up to avoid confusion between topics.

Sirena Van Schaik

Tags: freelance writer, introductions, questions, research, Savvy Cafe Answers, Sirena Van Schaik

Niagara Falls is located in Ontario and New York.  Niagara River is a set of massive waterfalls straddling the border of Canada and New York.  Niagara Falls is divided into the Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls.

Tags: American Falls, Canada, Horseshoe Falls, New York, Niagara Falls

Amsterdam is the capital of the country Netherlands.  It is located on the Province of North Holland.  The city is known for its historic port, the Rijksmuseum, its red-light distric, its liberal coffeeshops and its many canals.  With the vast amount of canals it has been called ”Venice of the North”

Tags: Amsterdam, Red-Light District, Rijksmuseum, Venice of the North

Neil Young was born on November 12, 1945 in Toronto Canada.  Young is an acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist and film director. Young is often thought of for his deep husky voice, poignant lyrics and unique music style.  Many prominent musicians all over the world attribute him for being their greatest source of inspiration.

Tags: Canadian, Film Director, Guitarist, Neil Young, Pianist, Toronto

Have you ever wondered where the strange and spooky day of Halloween originated?  It turns out that many customs we practice today in relation to All Hollows Day have origins that started in religious practices of the Romans and the Druids.  The Romans worshiped various gods on October 31 with a special feast.  Later the Druids made this feast even more elaborate by honoring Samhain, the lord of the dead.  These Druids believed that on the night of October 31st Samhain called together the wicked spirists which had been condemned to live in the bodies of animals during the year which had just transpired. Since they were afraid of these spirits, they chose October 31 as a day to sacrifice to their gods, hoping they would protect them. They truly believed that on this day they were surrounded by ghostly spirits, fairies, witches, goblins, and zombies.

Tags: All Hollow Day, Druids, Halloween, October 31st, Romans, Samhein

The biggest of all cats, tigers live in the forests of eastern and southeastern Asia.  Some subspecies of tigers are already extinct, and there are less than 10,000 tigers remaining in the wild.  They can be found in countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.  The Bengal tiger is the national animal of both India and Vietnam. 

Tags: Asia, cats, endangered animals, mammals