【推荐1】We all know donating blood provides a vital lifeline to those in need, but a growing body of research suggests that it could have health benefits for the donor too.

Findings have shown that donating blood reduces the risk of heart attacks and even cancer.

It even burns quite a bit of energy — 650 calories (卡路里) for every pint (568 mL) given.

The news could come as a promotion (宣传) of British blood banks which use an average of 7,000 units of blood every day.

​It is thought that the benefits arise from lowering high iron levels.

Iron affects how thick and sticky the blood is. High iron levels cause the blood to be thicker.

Raised iron levels also keep blood from flowing smoothly.

Because donating blood removes some of its iron, it may therefore have a protective benefit if done on a consistent basis by helping thin the blood.

According to a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that those aged 43 to 61 had fewer heart attacks when they donated blood every six months.

A study of 2,682 men from Finland found they had an 88 percent reduced risk of heart attacks than those who didn’t donate, reported Medical Daily.

Likewise, a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute also links iron to an increased cancer risk.

The four-and-a-half-year study involving 1,200 people found those who made blood donations twice a year had a lower risk of cancer and death than those who didn’t.

However, these benefits depend on making donations on a regular basis, rather than once in a while.

Another side effect of donating blood is that it can burn a large number of calories too.

The University of California in San Diego says that for every one pint of blood donated, 650 calories are burned as the body must fill itself up.

Although this seems to be an attractive effort-free way to lose weight, the NHS Blood and Transplant centre still encourages people to donate for the benefit of others first, rather than for themselves.

【推荐2】Signs That You Are Growing

Growing is a lifelong process. Here are the signs that show that you are actually growing and not getting stuck in the process.

    1    

Often, we see how badly people look when they get overly upset due to unimportant things. So the first sign of maturity (成熟) is letting the small things go and not getting angry over a tiny detail that didn’t go as you planned.

You start forgiving and understanding other people

When we are young, we are often unforgiving. As we mature, we are better able to understand the world beyond black and white.     2    . It enables us to look beyond the obvious and let go of simple judgments. We begin to understand better that others have complex (复杂的) lives and personalities, and so we become more willing to forgive their mistakes.

You always complete things that matter

Immature people don’t know when to commit (承诺) themselves and their energy or resources are always not well employed.     3    . In this way, they can often keep their promises and honor their commitments.

You accept the possibility of being wrong

    4    . They are always able to accept the possibility that they are wrong, that they don’t know something, because there is always more to learn.

Being mature is knowing that you are always growing up. You are never done learning and developing. This means that you don’t set yourself up as the highest authority.     5    .