Intentionally International

Since our last blog post, Digital Mechanic is now established as a brand in Valencia province. With the recent addition of a 4x4 and a vehicle trailer, Digital Mechanic is now capable of vehicle recovery as well as diagnostics, servicing and repairs.

That's not all: Digital Mechanic continues to offer computer repairs (PC, laptop, Mac) plus excellent deals on refurbished equipment - and to the high standards of customer care for which Qryztal businesses are known.

We should also mention that Havannah (our handmade jewellery business) is starting to attract customers in Valencia. We hope to share more about this in another blog post.

Introducing El Arturo

¡El Arturo está ahora en Valencia!

(Or, in English, El Arturo is now in Valencia!)

El Arturo - not just a person, but a revolutionary concept in automotive and computer repairs.

Imagine if you had a single contact point for all things to do with your car, van or truck, and also your computer - one person who could deal with everything for you. Think how much easier your life would be.

That time has now come. El Arturo is in Valencia province and can service or repair your vehicle and your computer.

Arthur has glowing testimonials from delighted customers in the UK, and has a track record of being the best value for all things automotive and computer-related.

Get in touch via the El Arturo Facebook page

What can life coaching do for you?

Are you feeling stuck in a situation that's going nowhere?

Do you want a fresh sense of purpose?

Could you use a bit more motivation in your life?

Would it help you to have a clearer perspective?

Do you need to sort out what's important from what isn't?

If you've answered 'yes' or 'probably' to any of these, you'd benefit from life coaching.

It's not easy - it involves a lot of work and commitment. But the benefits are life-changing.

Qryztal offers face-to-face coaching, as well as coaching by phone and online. We work with people of all ages and backgrounds.

To find out more, email us - info@qryztal.com

or call, text or WhatsApp on 07398 200318

We're on Twitter and also on Facebook.

On our reading list - Fierce Conversations

We've just started reading 'Fierce Conversations' by Susan Scott (or, rather, Andrew has started reading it.

Here's the publisher's synopsis:

Fierce Conversations is a way of conducting business. An attitude. A way of life. Communications expert Susan Scott maintains that a single conversation can change the trajectory of a career, marriage or life. Whether these are conversations with yourself, partner, colleagues, customers, family or friends, Fierce Conversations shows you how to have conversations that count. Scott reveals how to:
*Overcome the barriers to meaningful conversations
*Express who you are and what you believe
*Confront tough issues with courage, confidence and sensitivity
*Overcome fear to get to the heart of the problem
*Inspire followers, attract believers and build visions that become reality
*Bring about real change through talking
*Encourage others to reveal their true opinions
Packed with exercises and questionnaires to help you have the best conversations possible, Fierce Conversations will revolutionise the way you communicate.

You can buy the book from Amazon here: 'Buy 'Fierce Conversations'

(Please use this link to buy the book: we earn a small amount of commission on every sale - thank you.)

Should human adults be drinking milk?

Lactose intolerance is often given as a reason why human adults in general shouldn't drink milk. This sounds plausible, but we went in search of some other views - and, ideally, some facts.

The most usual starting point for an argument against drinking milk is "adult animals are intolerant to lactose, so surely humans are too?". However...

Northern Europeans have evolved lactose tolerance - which means most of us who are ancestrally native to the UK or elsewhere in northern Europe should be able to digest milk and dairy products.

Dairy products contain:

• protein
• fats
• sugar (lactose!)
• calcium
• vitamin D

So, unless you have lactose intolerance or a milk allergy, go ahead and drink milk and consume dairy products. Except of course if you have a non-medical reason for not doing so.

For information on lactose intolerance, see the NHS Choices website.

5 a day - myth or truth?

The 'rule' about eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day was invented in 1991 by the American National Cancer Institute and a group of Californian fruit and vegetable growers. It was adopted by the UK Department of Health in 2003. Because we at Qryztal are wary of convenient numbers, we decided to look into it a bit further.

Five portions of fruit and vegetables will give you the water soluble vitamins. If you base your five portions solely on fruit, you'll also be eating (or drinking) quite a lot of sugar (up to 74 grams) - because fruits are rich in fructose. Note that this is just the water soluble vitamins, not the fat soluble vitamins. You could, for example, gorge yourself on fruit and yet be walking around with a vitamin D deficiency - because vitamin D is fat soluble.

There is an argument that we should instead be thinking of superfoods instead of fruit and vegetables. For instance, liver contains a higher level of vitamins and minerals than anything else we came across in our research for this blog post. If instead of five fruit and veg you think of five superfoods, the list we came across is as follows:

• Liver
• Oily fish
• Eggs or dairy produce
• Sunflower seeds (for vitamin E)
• A leafy green vegetable

If you want seven a day, you could add these:

• Steak (for zinc)
• Cocoa powder (or dark chocolate) for minerals

It's starting to sound like the typical British diet in World War 2:

• Offal
• Sardines
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Green vegetables (plus potatoes)
• Red meat (in small quantities)
• Chocolate (when available - on the sweet ration)

...which would explain why, anecdotally, people were healthier during the period of food rationing than they have been since.

But... should you take vitamin and mineral supplements as a safety net? That's another subject, for another time.

Five facts about immunisation

1. There is no mercury in UK vaccines.
2. There is no proof that the MMR vaccine causes autism (or that any other vaccine causes autism).
3. Immunisation programmes rely on herd immunity for their effectiveness.
4. Flu vaccine won't give you flu - although you might already have a 'flu-like illness' at the time of being immunised.
5. Some viruses (such as flu [influenza]) mutate too quickly to be eradicated by a single immunisation campaign.