If CHD develops in active or fit individuals, it occurs at a later age and tends to be less severe.

How exercise helps the heart “One of the key benefits of exercise is that it helps to control or modify many of the risk factors for heart disease,” says Dr Kerry J Stewart, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Exercise has benefits in and of itself, however, the best way to prevent heart disease is to combine exercise with a healthy diet. Exercise alone can help with weight loss over a long period of time. But a short-term approach is to reduce the number of calories you take in through diet, while increasing the calories you use through exercise.

Exercise has many positive effects on heart health. A regular exercise routine can: • Help lower blood pressure • Lessen risk of developing diabetes • Help Maintain healthy body weight • Reduce inflammation throughout the body • Improve the muscles’ ability to pull oxygen out of the blood, reducing the need for the heart to pump more blood to the muscles.

• Reduce stress hormones that can put an extra burden on the heart.

• Work like a beta blocker to slow the heart rate and lower blood pressure.

• Increase high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol and helps control triglycerides.

Researchers have found that patients who suffered heart attacks and who participated in a formal exercise programme, reduced the death rate by 20 to 25 per cent. In addition, patients with newly diagnosed heart diseases who participated in exercise programmes, reported an earlier return to work and improvements in other measures of quality of life, including a boost in their selfconfidence, lower stress, and less anxiety.

Ideal exercise for the heart The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine both recommend combining aerobic exercise (jogging, swimming, and biking) with resistance training (moderate weightlifting). Together, these two categories of exercise produce the greatest benefit for preventing and managing heart disease.

However, if you currently suffer from cardiovascular disease, you should get advice from your medical practitioner to assist in creating a workout plan that is tailored to your unique needs.

In assisting him in writing his autobiography, I recall how it pained him that although we had made some progress, we were not living up to our republican Constitution’s fundamental principles.

I am also concerned that we continue to act like ostriches and ignore the need, eg, for constitutional reform; to deal with our failing institutions; to develop effective plans/strategies/policies to address crime and violence, including corruption which diverts resources from the people.

The family is the bedrock of our society. We need to strengthen family life. Strong families build strong communities which, in turn, will build a strong nation.

Sadly, though, while many of those in TT ’s prisons may come from broken homes, one-parent or dysfunctional families etc, many of our white-collar criminals come from privileged backgrounds and have no qualms about stealing from that which belongs to the people of TT .

While more than 500 student nurses are protesting because they have not been receiving their monthly stipend of $800 for more than a year, citizens are aghast at the alleged acts of corruption in the country. “Fighting corruption is not just good governance, it’s self-defence. It’s patriotism,” (Joe Biden).

Are we moving away from the values that our parents tried to inculcate in us? Murder and mayhem continue apace in TT . We are indisciplined in so many ways. A few minutes of rain leads to floods in key parts of TT , partly due to our own actions.

As a republican State, power rests in us, the citizens. We must act responsibly.

We elect representatives whom we hope will be visionary, competent, and courageous; who will learn how to work across party lines to build the common good, creating conditions which will “enable individuals, families and organisations to achieve complete and effective fulfilment” (Pope St John XXIII). If TT is to progress, we need to ensure that people are at the centre of development.

After 41 years, there are too many on the margins of our society; too many who don’t have basic amenities. We need an overhaul of all our systems — healthcare, education, social services etc. And, as we engage in the Budget-making process for 2017-2018, let us not forget that effective diversification takes years.

Although we know that we can no longer rely on oil and gas to fill our coffers, we are not taking urgent steps to diversify. Effective diversification takes years. We have a yoke of growing debt around our necks because of years of Budget deficits. We continue to use the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund for recurrent expenditure. This is a recipe for disaster.

In June, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley had discussions with Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC’s executive secretary, who stated that there was a need for the English-speaking Caribbean island states to reduce their debts.

No knight in shining armour is coming to our aid. Let’s “band our own belly” before the IMF is called in.

In spite of our social ills, remember Dr Abdul Kalam’s (former president of India) words: “We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.”

LEELA RAMDEEN chair, Catholic Commission for Social Justice

Everything is destroyed. These people need urgent help if they are to survive. These are our CARICOM neighbours and a tragedy of this magnitude could happen to any country, even our beloved TT although in our complacency, we claim that “God is a Trini.” One, so called, religious leader is advising “his people” to close their doors to the displaced Dominicans.

How as a nation, we have become so callous and insensitive? The Dominicans are a proud people. I do not expect many will leave their country as they will want to stay and rebuild. They are highly educated and have a history of being skilled tradesmen. They are very resourceful. My grandfather, Arnold Johnson, a builder came from Dominica in the 1920’s and brought all his children including my mother, Anolia. He was an asset to this country and was a building contractor who employed and trained many Trinis in the field of carpentry, masonry and plumbing.

He worked on the Arima, Couva, Siparia and Chaguanas Health Centres in the 1920’s and 1930’s. He also built the Couva Roman Catholic Church’s Presbytery which is still standing. His sons carried on his legacy.

We, the second and third generation Dominicans/Trinis have contributed to our beloved Trinidad and Tobago. We are educators, tradesmen, nurses, doctors, bankers, lawyers, priests, housewives and much more. There are many Trinidadians of Dominican ancestry who are hurting for Dominica.

We are our brother’s keeper. It is time we change our mindset. We Trinidadians have a reputation for being “generous and caring.” We have opened our doors to thousands of Guyanese, Indian nationals and others who were not in crisis.

What makes this so different? I am confident that the people of Trinidad and TT will rise to the occasion and assist in whatever small way they can.

Janice Frederic k-Sealy Retired teacher Trini/Dominican, Couva

“This first event was inspiring and the feedback was tremendous,” says Ghenere of what she thought would be a one-time-only occurrence.

The response from this event was so great that she has since organised and hosted two events.

“God wanted us to expand to be consistent with multiple events, speaking engagements, counseling, motivational sessions, blogs, and apparel; women are to be reminded of their worth,” she says, highlighting that faith is a driving force of her organisation’s mission.

“Women of Elegance was birthed on the vision that it takes a healed heart to relate to a broken heart, helping and motivating women to understand their worth and who they are, with their foundation being Jesus Christ.” She continues, “Looking around in my personal life, I realised there were decisions that women and myself make that are sometimes not positive. The consequences of these decisions contribute to us questioning our worth and cause us to think that we are not in a position to represent or stand out and make a bold difference anymore.” However, it was the realisation that despite these decisions and life paths that she was still worthy enough to represent God and be an example for others that she felt encouraged to empower women everywhere, to help them revisit their worthiness and integrity, and lead them towards “the plan God [has] for their life”.

Ghenere also proposes that Women of Elegance is different than other women’s empowerment movements as it does not only concentrate on one area of empowerment, such as gender equality, feminism, or domestic issues, but also on a woman’s full identity and her personal foundations in life. “We believe that once a woman finds her worth, then her attitude, approach, and application changes in a holistic way affecting her entire life.” Her past three events have all focused on such empowerment. Titled Knowing Your Worth, Purified Beauty, and Royalty, these events have featured guest speakers such as media personality Golda Lee Bruce, former Miss World and Public Affairs and Communications Manager Giselle Laronde West, and entertainer Denise Plummer among others.

“Every event has a title and every title draws on a life lesson. This life lesson then affords me an opportunity to reach out and share with other women.” Her next event, to take place October 1 at Green Meadows, Santa Cruz, will be themed Purposeful Woman. “First, we want women to understand it does not matter how we came to be, what matters is who created us to be; knowing who we are is the beginning of knowing where we are going,” she expands on the event’s subject. She points out that in today’s society, women are at a marked disadvantage in terms of crime, socioeconomic standing, and abuse.

“When a woman goes through a season in her life where her purpose or destiny may have been threatened, the emotional creature that she is sometimes goes into a cocoon and takes a long time to transform,” Ghenere says of what Purposeful Women will address.

The mission of the event, she says, is to share real life experiences and stories with attendees of the journey the guest speakers have been on. Her guest speakers for this event are Debra Jean Baptiste and Sharon Oliver.

“This [sharing of experiences] is needed in our society because once women understand their purpose they will soon be able to allow God to complete what He has started. This will in turn impact their families and lead to impacting our nation,” she shares of her hope for women attending the event.

The core values of Women in Elegance events are to engage women in life changing experiences, maintain a standard of elegance, and seeking comfort in a firm foundation in Christ.

“We envision a world where all women, regardless of position in life, understand that their worth is tied to their identity in Christ,” Ghenere says.

The organisation also stands behind the five components of women’s empowerment: women’s sense of selfworth, their right to have and determine their choices, their right to have access to opportunities and resources, their right to have the power to control their lives, and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order.

In the future, she hopes to host events outside of Trinidad to expand her organisation’s mission regionally. Her sixth event will be held in Tobago, and she has already made connections with regional organisations in Guyana, Jamaica, and Barbados ahead of her 2018 event goals.

Her final words are those of encouragement and a reminder to women that they are not alone. “As young as I am, I learn from other women and their experiences.

“Remember your worth and remember it’s an everyday challenge to accomplish and maintain your image and integrity.

Do not give up because our life is not our own. I encourage all women: do not forget your women of elegance smile.”

They make my job significantly easier. But what would happen if I didn’t have access to them? Over time, I’ve learnt that necessity really is the mother of invention.

Working with your hands is not only possible, but surprisingly beneficial for doing your makeup.

Your hands are great because they don’t cost you anything and you won’t encounter the stress of having to clean any brushes or sponges. A lack of tools doesn’t have to stop you from doing your makeup. There is, however, a golden rule: Always ensure that your hands are clean before you touch your face.

You can create various effects by using your hands.

Backstage at fashion shows, you see a lot of artists using their hands to apply makeup to models. This is because their hands are readily available and can melt products into skin for the perfect “no-makeup” makeup.

Usually, you use your hands to apply moisturiser and primer, so why not use your hands for the rest of your face makeup? Since your fingers won’t absorb product, you’ll find that you can use less product and achieve more coverage.

When it comes to concealer, you should apply it using patting motions to spread and blend it seamlessly.

I like to apply cream blush using my thumbs since they are the perfect size to deposit and blend the right amount of colour on the cheeks; the luminosity from the blush also creates a naturally radiant finish. Liquid and cream highlight also melt right into the skin when applied with fingers.

Using your index and middle fingers together, tap the highlight onto the high points of your face like the cheekbones, forehead, down the bridge of the nose, the cupid’s bow and the chin, for a litfrom- within glow.

If your eyeshadow doesn’t usually apply well with a brush, try applying it with your fingers.

A patchy finish is common with some frosty, shimmery, glittery or textured eyeshadows. Pat the color on to deposit it, then swipe your finger back and forth to crush and spread the pigments for a more foil-like finish. You will get a more concentrated application with your finger and thus, better colour payoff. In the same manner that you’d use a brush or a cotton bud to smudge eyeliner, you can use your little finger to blur it and create a smoky, smoldering effect.

Lastly, y o u c a n create a lip stain by dotting lipstick onto your lips and using your index finger to blot the color and spread it out for a sheer, flushed effect.

This is especially great if you have a colour that is too dark, bright or unwearable. For example, you can create a subtle berry stain from a vampy, wine red lipstick.

Some creamy products work best on normal or dry skin, so what should you do if you have oily skin? Unless you keep your brushes separate, the dusty, dirty brush at the bottom of your makeup bag should not touch your face. If you’re careful, you can use the sponge that comes with a powder compact to blot and mattify your skin.

Use it sparingly because the sponge can really pack the powder on, which will create a cakey appearance. If you don’t have a compact, then blotting papers or tissue paper will lift away any excess moisture, leaving you with a semi-matte finish. If you favour an eco-friendlier option, a reusable blotting sponge such as a blotterazzi by Beautyblender will remove excess oil and freshen the appearance of your makeup.

With the result, North East extended their lead to four points over W Connection (24 to Connection’s 20), while Central stayed in sixth spot with 10 points from as many games.

Earlier, ex-national midfielder Hashim Arcia converted a penalty, to the right of ex-Central FC goalkeeper Javon Sample, in the 84th minute as Defence Force edged San Juan Jabloteh 1-0 in the opening game of the double-header.

But the evening would be remembered for the insipid performance of the once star-studded Central FC, as well as the performance of national great Stern John, who tried his best to roll back the years (in his new role as player/ coach of Central), but looked a pale imitation of himself.

John, at age 40, is also the assistant coach of the TT team and one wondered if he was trying to earn a place on Dennis Lawrence’s squad for forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against the United States and Mexico next month.

In his second game since making a comeback a week ago, John played the entire match, and he spent most of his time pulling up his socks, gesticulating with his teammates, walking short distances and, inevitably, getting an offside call in the dying minutes.

After a mass exodus of players, as well as supporters and even previous coach Dale Saunders, only one substitute (of the six available) was used by Central FC, while John’s son Tyrik sat on the bench throughout. Oh how the mighty has fallen!!! Elton John started the bombardment of goals in the third minute, sending goalie Kern Caesar the wrong way from the penalty spot after he was bundled over, inside the box, by rightback Rhondell Gibson.

A fantastic midfield exchange, involving Akeem Garcia, Winchester and veteran Densill Theobald ended with a neat left-footed finish by Neptune, in the 13th, while, eight minutes later, Winchester got between two defenders to side-foot Villaroel’s ball past the beleaguered goalie.

Villaroel and Neptune had a field day on the left flank, and the two combined to tee up Winchester to finish home in the 40th.

Stern John was the recipient of a crunching tackle by James in the 49th, but Central FC held firm until the 81st, when substitute Felix sent his curling left-footed free, from the right, to the top right-hand corner.

And Winchester duly got his treble in the 85th, beating the offside trap to head home Duane Muckette’s freekick.

His lawyer, Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC, yesterday described Baksh’s feelings to the media during a press conference which the oilman did not attend.

“He feels let down, he feels that there has been a grave injustice done to him and his company.

He feels that he has worked hard and honestly, is not corrupt, is not dishonest and he feels very strongly about that and I don’t think Mr Baksh, from what I have seen, is, at this stage, ready to be able to talk about this matter,” Maharaj said at his law office on Irving Street, San Fernando.

It was the second occasion on which Baksh did not face the media, as he was also absent for a tour of his company’s facilities in Penal last Thursday, which most media houses boycotted over attacks on journalists who sought interviews there since the story broke two weeks ago. Police are investigating a case of physical assault against a Guardian photojournalist.

Maharaj, on Baksh’s behalf, had issued a statement of apology, inviting the media to the tour, which was led by Canadian industry expert Jim Krissa and A&V Oil and Gas Limited drilling manager Nazir Ali.

On September 10, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar had disclosed at a UNC congress that a Petrotrin audit report alleged A&V Oil had defrauded the State-owned oil company of almost $100 million by inflating its oil production output for the Catshill fields.

She branded it as a “fake oil” scandal.

Media coverage of the story led to reports of Baksh’s friendship with Prime Minster Dr Keith Rowley who had appointed his daughter Allyson Baksh as a Government senator in 2015. Allyson was a director in her father’s flagship company A&V Drilling and Workover Co Ltd but stepped down as she joined the Senate.

Rowley, who was abroad when the story broke, disclosed he had called Baksh, who was also overseas at the time, asking what it was all about, saying, as his friend, there was nothing wrong in doing so.

Maharaj yesterday said Baksh’s friendship with the Prime Minister was not relevant to the allegations in the Petrotrin report.

“Whether Mr Baksh has any connections with the Prime Minister or not, I don’t think that has any relevance,” he said. “What is relevant here is, in our view and we have advised Mr Baksh that, what is relevant here is the allegation contained in the report but in addition, these defamatory allegations made against Mr Baksh have had very adverse effects on him.” Maharaj said his client has not given any instruction to initiate legal action against Petrotrin despite issuing a statement on September 14 demanding the company declare the report to be preliminary and inconclusive.

“We are hearing now clearly is there is no evidence,” Maharaj said yesterday.

However, Baksh is pressing on with a lawsuit against Persad-Bissessar, who last week denied defaming him or his company in response to his pre-action protocol letter.

Asked if Baksh had denied involvement in the media attacks, Maharaj said, “There is nothing for Mr Baksh to deny because there has been no allegation made against him, there is an allegation made against another person of interest and the police have interviewed that person.” However, he said A&V should be prepared to compensate anyone who was injured.

“The company in this matter has a duty to ascertain what occurred between the media and anyone who was on the property of the company at the material time.

Notwithstanding any legal defences which may be available to that person of interest, the company would have a duty subject to the police investigations to see that any person who suffered loss or injury be properly compensated.”

This was reported in a tweet from the Police Service account posted on Friday night.

Sources said the officers left a police station in Port of Spain, telling seniors they were going out on enquiries.

They then drove all the way to Cedros. At 5 pm, South-Western Division officers on mobile patrol, became suspicious when they spotted the PoS police vehicle escorting another vehicle which contained men known to be from the underworld.

The officers called on the two police officers to pull their vehicle to the side of the road but, instead, they sped off at high speed.

The police officers who were giving chase called for back-up and a roadblock was set up which eventually led to the PoS officers coming to a halt.

As the illegal items were found in the police vehicle, the two officers were ordered to surrender their sidearms and police ID cards. They were then arrested by Sgt Ali of the Southern Division Task Force.

No information was provided on when the two officers were scheduled to appear in court.

He was speaking yesterday at the PNM post-general council media conference at Balisier House, Port of Spain. He said Rowley’s address yesterday dealt extensively with the situation in Dominica from information he received first hand from the army, Air Guard and Dominican authorities.

He said there has been a lot of talking back and forth but a fellow Caricom country had been devastated and 95 per cent of the island had been completely destroyed including families, homes, infrastructure, hospitals, schools and churches.

“Obviously Trinidad has to play a helping hand in this exercise.” Khan noted Rowley’s appeal at the post-Cabinet media briefing this week to open our doors to Dominicans and allow them to free access to this country for six months and the support of services such as schools and healthcare.

On Friday, secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha told Newsday TT’s doors should remain closed because the country already has too many refugees.

Khan said the council was “most disturbed” by the comments from a section of the population who did not understand the gravity of the situation. “Some people in this country seem to have lost their humanity.” He said the council condemned the statements and actions of those appearing in the press and social media against the move “in the strongest possible terms.” He appealed to people to support our Caricom brothers affected by hurricanes, namely Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St Maarten and Anguilla.

On people who said locals did not receive adequate assistance following Tropical Storm Bret in June, Khan said Bret and Hurricane Maria are “worlds apart” and Bret was barely a tropical storm while Maria was a category 5 hurricane and did damage on a scale that was “unprecedented.” “Absolutely no comparison to Bret.”

The Paramin couple, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on February 15, will be featured in the documentary 70 Years Together at the TT Film Festival.

The documentary will be shown at MovieTowne’s cineplexs in Port-of-Spain, San Fernando and Tobago, beginning from 1 pm.

The Josephs’ grand-daughter, Cassandra, told Sunday Newsday her grandparents story was inspirational and felt it should be shown to the world as an example of how married couples should live in an age where, according to recent statistics, the average marriage lasts only three years.

Cassandra said she was grateful her grand-parents were still alive to celebrate the milestone.

“It is unheard of for both people to be alive because one partner is usually deceased. It is something we take fro granted because a lot of people do not have their grandparents around,” she said. Cassandra said her grandparents have led by example.

“They get up at a certain time and they don’t eat any fast foods, white chicken as they say. The use a lot of organic stuff and I believe their lifestyle is the secret to their longevity.” She said her grandparents, devout Catholics, were exemplars in the community and deserved to be featured.

“People always ask them about their secret to a long and happy married life and what advice they could give to young married couples.

So, we believe that reaching this blessing is really a milestone.” Married in 1947, at ages 23 and 19, respectively, Bertrand and Claudia wore traditional creole wear, a dress code they repeated when they celebrated their anniversary in February.

Bertrand is a retired senior nurse, who worked at St Ann’s Hospital, while Claudia managed the household.

The couple raised five children Today, the Josephs, who still live at their home in Paramin, are also the eldest married couple in the village.

On achieving their 64th wedding anniversary in 2011, the couple was recognised at Our Lady of Guadeloupe (Pararmin RC Church).

They also received an apostolic blessing from Pope Benedict XVI.

Had it been left to her grandparents, Cassandra said their wedding anniversary in February would have passed quietly with little or no fanfare. She said they would have never agreed to a celebration or an appearance at the TT Film Festival.

“They are not very material people. They have never been interested in celebrating anniversaries.

Their money has been to provide for the family.” Cassandra, speaking on behalf of the family, wished her grandparents many more years of wedded bliss.