Articles written by Olivia Elsom

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About me - Olivia Elsom

I'm originally from Scotland although at the moment I live in England, in the East Midlands. I have a grown up daughter and two beautiful grandchildren who all live nearby so I'm lucky enough to see them a lot.

I love to write although not creative writing,

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Health & Fitness > Digestive Diseases Living with colitis: 1 of 10
Colitis is a chronic condition causing inflammation of the colon, also known as the large intestine. In severe cases, ulcers form on the lining of the colon, which bleed and produce mucus and pus. Ulcerative colitis affects 1 in 160 people and is most common in those of European origin, particularly Eastern European. The caus... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Asian Culture Understanding the Chinese zodiac signs: 1 of 9
The Chinese zodiac is divided into twelve animal signs. There are a number of legends about how it came into existence, one of which is that Buddha invited all the animals to come and visit him on New Years Day. An alternative version is that he invited them all on the day he was to leave the earth. Anyway, only twelve of the... More..
Health & Fitness > Alternative Therapies A brief history of alternative medicine: 1 of 8
The term "Alternative Medicine" covers a wide range of therapies and treatments, each with their own origins. However, many of the practices commonly associated with alternative medicine originated from Asia. The ancient techniques of acupuncture and herbalism were practiced in China more than 4000 years ago, and in India the... More..
Health & Fitness > Diet Programs How to get through the first week of a low-carb diet: 1 of 8
The first week of any diet is always tough because it involves a change in your food intake and probably also in your eating patterns. Changing to a low-carb diet can be even tougher because you will likely be changing your entire way of eating. Of course the other way to look at this is that your enthusiasm for your new eati... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Asian Culture A guide to Chinese wedding customs: 1 of 7
As with many other societies it used to be the case that arranged marriages were very common in China, which sometimes meant that the bride and groom's first sight of each other took place at the wedding ceremony itself. Nowadays things are very different and people are free to marry whosoever they choose. However, there are ... More..
Style & Beauty > Shoes Worst shoes to wear for a job interview: 4 of 27
Research has shown that in interview situations the interviewer forms a judgement about a candidate within four minutes of the first meeting. That judgement is then very difficult to change and will generally affect their perception for the rest of the interview. 55% of that judgement is derived from physical appearance, how ... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Asian Culture Chinese New Year traditions: 3 of 15
The Chinese New Year falls sometime between the end of January and the beginning of February. As Chinese Festive dates follow the traditional Lunar calendar the date varies each year. In many respects the Chinese view of New Year is very similar to the Western one, it's out with the old and in with the new. The theme of "new ... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Asian Culture A guide to Chinese birthday customs: 1 of 5
In China the observance and celebration of birthdays is treated quite differently from the way it is in Western culture. Even the way that age is counted is different. Traditionally a child is deemed one year old as soon as they are born, and as soon as he/she enters the New Year another year is added making the child two yea... More..
Parenting & Pregnancy > Adoption Are celebrity adoptions helping or hurting international adoption relations?: 2 of 8
I believe that celebrity adoptions are hurting international adoption relations. I'm sure that the intentions of celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Madonna are good, and their desire to give a needy child a good home is admirable. However, I question whether this is the best course of action for the children who are adopted ... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Asian Culture Tips for learning Chinese: 2 of 7
Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, used by over one billion people in China and elsewhere in East Asia, including Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Chinese language actually contains a number of different dialects. Mandarin is the most widely spoken and is the official language of China and Taiwan, but Cantonese, Wu, X... More..