Raw red kidney beans contain a lectin called phytohaemagglutinin. According to the US FDA, as few as four or five raw beans can trigger violent vomiting a few hours later. Undercooked beans may even be more toxic than raw ones. The fix is simple: soak dried beans, discard the water, then boil them hard for at least ten minutes. A gentle slow cooker may not get hot enough.
Chlorine on its own is fairly gentle. But when it combines with urine, sweat and other grime from swimmers, it forms chloramines, which cause stinging eyes and that classic 'chlorine smell'. A well-kept pool barely smells at all. Shower before you swim and never pee in the water.
Muscle mass slowly shrinks with age, putting independence at risk. But in 1990, a study had nursing home residents aged 86 to 96 train their legs for eight weeks: their strength more than doubled. Muscle responds to training at any age. Getting up from a chair without using your hands is already an exercise.