helps

Thousands of people suffer from motion sickness while travelling in a car, on a ferry, by train or on a plane, and it can cause some unpleasant symptoms but one 30p item could help

Your bags are packed, and you’re on route to your anticipated getaway, but the excitement is overshadowed by the nuisance of feeling travel sick. Thousands of Brits go through the ordeal, whether that’s travelling by car, plane, train or boat, yet there’s one cheap item a travel expert swears by.

Travel sickness, also known as motion sickness, occurs when the brain receives conflicting messages from parts of the body that sense movement. Symptoms vary from case to case but typically include nausea, vomiting, dizziness, a headache, feeling cold and going pale or sweating.

It can be an uncomfortable feeling, particularly during a lengthy journey, with symptoms lasting up to a few hours in some cases. In a bid to avoid that dreaded feeling, there’s a clever but simple remedy you can take before travelling, and it costs just 30p.

Forget the tablets, patches, and travel bands – all you need is a cup of peppermint tea. “People are always surprised by how effective it is,” travel expert Yasmin Pekel from Blue Cruise explained. “You don’t need expensive tablets or special wristbands. A peppermint tea bag from your local supermarket can cost 25 or 30p, and it genuinely helps settle the stomach before you travel.”

Due to its natural compounds, peppermint tea can help relax the stomach and relieve nausea. Not only this, but it’s a great alternative to other expensive medications that can often come with some unsettling side effects.

The travel expert explained further: “When your eyes and ears send mixed messages to the brain, that’s when travel sickness starts. Peppermint helps smooth out that response and stops the feeling of motion building up.

“Peppermint has stood the test of time. It’s safe, it’s easy to find and it works for adults and children. A lozenge or mint sweet can help too, but tea is the best option because it keeps you hydrated and the smell alone helps people feel less queasy.”

While travelling is the cause of that nauseous feeling, stuffy and warm environments, like being packed on a crowded coach, can often make us feel even worse. Yasmin added: “Thick coats, stuffy cabins and early starts can all make nausea more likely. A small change like sipping peppermint tea or sucking on a lozenge before you board can make a big difference.”

The expert advises having a peppermint tea before your journey. Alternatively, you can try a mint sweet during your journey, which could help ease your symptoms as well.

Additionally, if you’re in a car, keep some air flowing so you avoid that stuffy feeling, and keep your eyes on the horizon. It is also best to avoid reading or strolling on your phone while in motion, and where possible, choose a seat with the least noticeable movement, such as the wing on a plane or the middle section on a ferry.

“For less than the price of a mince pie, it’s worth a go. If you’re heading abroad for mulled wine and Christmas lights, pack a few peppermint tea bags or a bag of mint sweets. They might be the best thing in your suitcase,” Yasmin expanded.

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SALT LAKE CITY — The Lakers won their fourth consecutive game Sunday, holding off the Utah Jazz 108-106 in Delta Center behind 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Doncic.

The Lakers (12-4) nearly squandered a 10-point lead in the final six minutes and 36 seconds, allowing the Jazz to cut the lead to one with 41.3 seconds remaining on a three-pointer from Lauri Markkanen. The Utah Jazz crowd that had been cheering loudly for the Lakers finally erupted for the home team when the Finnish forward knocked down the shot.

Markkanen could have given the Jazz (5-11) the lead with a 17-foot shot in the key, but the midrange jumper rattled out with 11.4 seconds to go. After Doncic split a pair of free throws, the Lakers forced Jazz guard Keyonte George into a contested three at the buzzer to seal the win.

LeBron James, playing in his second game of the year, had 17 points with eight assists. Austin Reaves had 22 points with 10 rebounds and four assists.

Starting center Deandre Ayton missed the second half because of a right leg contusion. He had just two points on one for two shooting in the first half while Doncic still powered the Lakers to a seven-point lead.

The guard continued to struggle with his three-point shot, missing seven of his first eight shots from beyond the arc Sunday, but dazzled with his playmaking again. He intercepted a pass, bounced the ball between Kevin Love’s legs while running the fastbreak and scooped up a lob pass to Jaxson Hayes. The roar from the pro-Lakers road crowd was just as loud as anything the Jazz did.

When Doncic attracted a triple team in the paint, he fired a two-handed, no-look pass backwards over his head to Marcus Smart who knocked down a three that put the Lakers up 55-49.

The Lakers entered the game shooting 33.8% from three, ranked 24th in the league. Doncic and Austin Reaves, the team’s highest volume shooters, have struggled the most. Reaves was one for eight from three on Sunday. Doncic was three for 12, including shots so off course that they barely grazed the rim.

When he finally got a shot to trickle over the rim in the third, Doncic held both arms out in disbelief and relief as the ball bounced up high and then through the net in the third quarter.

Kara Dunn held her right wrist aloft for an extra beat. Just to be sure.

It had been a while, by that point in the second quarter, since USC had seen a deep jumper drop. As Dunn lifted off from behind the arc against Portland on Tuesday, 19 of the Trojans’ previous 20 three-point attempts, going back to Saturday’s battle with South Carolina, had missed, a stretch of futility strange to a team that mostly scored at will a season ago.

But before any of those early concerns grew too glaring Tuesday night, Dunn watched as her jumper safely found the bottom of the net. Within a few minutes from there, USC found its offensive mojo again, bouncing back from Saturday’s South Carolina loss to beat Portland, 78-51.

It hasn’t been the smoothest ride for USC this season as it tries to fill the void left by injured superstar JuJu Watkins, who averaged 24 points last season.

Jazzy Davidson has done an admirable job stepping into that leading role early on. She led the way again Tuesday, stuffing the stat sheet with 19 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The question through four games has been who might step up alongside the Trojans’ talented freshman. Londynn Jones scored 12 while Kennedy Smith overcame an inefficient start to score 13 on five-of-14 shooting.

There have been no such concerns this season about USC’s defense, which forced a stunning 29 turnovers. It was the most turnovers forced by the Trojans since last November, when they tallied 42 against California State Northridge.

It looked bleak through the first quarter Tuesday. USC opened the game one for seven from the field, with its offense looking out of sorts, and scored a meager 10 points in the first 10 minutes. Portland, fresh off an NCAA tournament invite last season, opened an early eight-point advantage and led for most of the first half.

Until Dunn’s three-pointer at the 5:42 mark of the second quarter, USC had hit just one shot outside of the paint.

But the mere sight of a long-distance jumper was apparently enough to jump-start things on that end. Davidson snagged a steal on the next possession, the third turnover of the quarter she’d turn into a breakaway lay-in. Kennedy Smith followed with a steal and a lay-in. Then, Jones pulled up from three-point range and sunk one.

By the end of the barrage, USC had turned an eight-point deficit at the start of the second quarter into a 13-point lead, just seven minutes later. It finished the half on a 24-5 run.

Davidson was the spark plug. She scored 14 on seven-of 10 shooting in the first half. The rest of the team was eight of 24 in that span.

Portland cut USC’s lead to just seven points midway through the third quarter. But the Trojans kicked into high gear again. A few minutes into the fourth, Smith hit a three-pointer. Then Jones followed with two more.

By that point, USC had buried Portland for good.

As Trent Perry made his first collegiate start, he stepped into a familiar role.

The UCLA sophomore always plays point guard in practice, going head to head against star counterpart Donovan Dent. Whenever they play together in games, Perry has to shift his approach, becoming more aggressive in trying to grab rebounds.

But with Dent sidelined as a precaution because of a muscle strain Monday night at Pauley Pavilion, the Bruins needed Perry to assume the role of lead facilitator.

Finding out that he was going to start only shortly before tipoff, Perry received encouragement from his sidelined teammate.

“He really just said, ‘Keep going,’” Perry said of Dent. “Just kept giving me confidence throughout the entire game. You know, keep going right now, you’re the engine and just keep your team moving. Just be a leader.”

Perry eagerly complied, leading the No. 15 Bruins to an 83-62 victory over West Georgia that was far closer than the score indicated. The Wolves used a bombs-away approach that yielded a flurry of three-pointers and kept the game competitive for 25 minutes before Perry helped UCLA avoid embarrassment on its home court.

Making most of the highlight passes, including one in which he barreled into the paint before flinging the ball to teammate Eric Dailey Jr. in the corner for a three-pointer, Perry logged career highs across the board with 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds along with only two turnovers in 37 minutes.

It was a performance that pleased coach Mick Cronin, who said he was primarily concerned with Perry’s defense and ability to take care of the ball while finding his teammates.

“Off certain plays that we ran, he read the defense, did a good job with that,” Cronin said. “That’s what you’ve to do as a quarterback — calling the plays, if the quarterback can’t deliver the ball, you’re a pretty limited coach.”

With UCLA holding just a five-point lead against an opponent in only its second season in Division I, Perry ignited his team’s 10-0 push early in the second half that provided breathing room with an assist and a layup in transition. Eventually the Bruins (3-0) found themselves ahead by 20 points, leaving West Georgia (1-2) with no way to catch them even on a night when the Wolves made 13 of 25 three-pointers (52%).

UCLA also persevered thanks to forward Tyler Bilodeau’s 21 points on seven-for-12 shooting and Dailey’s 14 points. The Bruins were far more efficient on offense in the second half, making 14 of 25 shots (56%) to finish the game shooting 49.1%.

UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau, left, tries to drive past West Georgia forward Kenneth Chime during the first half Monday.

(Ethan Swope / Associated Press)

But the outcome wasn’t a foregone conclusion until there were about 10 minutes left thanks to West Georgia’s success from beyond the arc. The Wolves made nine of 13 three-pointers in the first half before cooling off considerably.

“We were losing shooters,” said Perry, who was pump-faked out of the way on one three-pointer in the game’s early going. “Our deflection [total] was really low. Coach said comfortable teams make comfortable players. And they were pretty comfortable in our home gym, especially in the first half.”

Cronin said he was grateful that his team was challenged by a third consecutive lesser-conference opponent after struggling to put away Eastern Washington and Pepperdine.

“It was great that they made us compete tonight — we do not need a false sense of security,” Cronin said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, so the worst thing you can have is [an opponent] that just lays down, doesn’t pass the ball, can’t make a shot, you’re running and dunking, the crowd’s going wild. It’s such a false sense of security for what we’ve got coming Friday.”

Cronin was alluding to an early season showdown against No. 5 Arizona at the Intuit Dome.

UCLA will need not just Dent back but also the defensive intensity that has made Cronin’s teams far more formidable than they looked for much of Monday night. Dent likely will play against the Wildcats, Cronin said.

“He’s banged up, got a couple of different areas he’s banged up,” Cronin said. “It was a great chance to get him some rest.”

And, in the process, learn that the Bruins have someone else capable of running their offense.

Marcus Smart couldn’t believe the stat line. Five steals and two blocks for who?

“Lukaaaaa,” Smart said, elongating Luka Doncic’s name while smiling toward his star teammate who was sitting with his feet in an ice bucket with ice bags wrapped around his knees.

Doncic matched his career high for steals in a regular-season game Wednesday. The guard averaging 40 points per game claimed his defense was the only thing he did well on a night when he finished one rebound short of a triple-double. While collecting 35 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, he was an inefficient nine-for-27 from the field and four-for-11 from three. He missed four free throws, turned the ball over four times and, after picking up his fifth foul with 7:58 remaining in the fourth, nearly fouled out.

The last fact took Rui Hachimura by surprise.

“I’ve never seen him like that,” Hachimura said. “But you know, he’s trying to be more aggressive [on defense] and that’s what we need from him, too.”

Redick said Doncic had a few games when he started slow defensively in terms of physicality and engagement, but has been overall “really good” this season. Even when he was switched on to Spurs star Victor Wembanyama or point guard Stephon Castle, Doncic still competed well.

“There wasn’t matador defense,” Redick said. “He still guarded. And that was huge. The reason we won the game is because we guarded in the fourth quarter. Our fourth-quarter defense was the No. 1 reason we won the game.”

The Lakers limited the Spurs to 36.8% shooting from the field during the fourth quarter while forcing six turnovers. Wembanyama was held to 19 points on labored five-for-14 shooting with eight rebounds. He was nine-for-11 on free throws and fouled out with 1:40 remaining when he bowled over Hachimura.

Nov. 5 (UPI) — The disruption of federal benefits that help feed families spurred a Pittsburgh man to create a front-yard food bank to help others as the federal government remains shut down.

A.J. Owen. 36, resides in the Pittsburgh suburb of Whitehall, and initially started his ad-hoc food pantry after completing a $150 food run with his two sons about a week ago, according to TribLIVE.

Owen has large plastic bins containing canned goods and other foods placed on portable tables in his front yard for those who need food and for others to leave food donations.

“The amount of donations we received and the amount of people coming and getting food is both so gratifying and so horrifying,” Owentold TribLIVE.

“So many people need help,” he added, “and I’m so happy to be a resource for them.”

Owen said he initially started the food pantry to teach his sons about the need to help others, but it has become a much greater endeavor, as affirmed by a recent visit from Good Morning America and its cameras.

The single father notified others of his effort on social media, which resulted in additional food donations — including one donation that he said was thousands of dollars’ worth of $100 bills from an anonymous person.

He found the money stuffed in an envelope inside his mailbox with a note saying, “May God prosper and bless your food pantry,” Owen told ABC News.

“My body started shaking,” he said. “I started crying.”

He also said, “This was the best cry ever because whatever you want to believe, an angel truly came down and blessed us that day. And we’ve been good ever since.”

Owen didn’t say how much money was in the envelope, other than it added up to “thousands” of dollars.

He posted a video of the anonymous donation on social media, which drew millions of views and prompted others to visit and donate more food.

Among them were Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Yahya Blackand his fiancé, who donated “tons of food,” Owen said on social media.

Owen did not say if his food pantry effort might outlast the federal government shutdown, which entered a record 36 days on Wednesday and temporarily disrupted funding of the federal government’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Norman Powell added 21 points in his return to Southern California and the Miami Heat held off the Clippers 120-119 on Monday night.

Powell was a key member of the Clippers for three seasons before being traded to the Heat before this season.

Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points and Kel’el Ware added 16 to help the Heat end a two-game losing streak and win on the road for the second time in five games. Miami is 1-2 to open a four-game trip.

James Harden scored 29 points and Kawhi Leonard added 27 as the Clippers lost at home for the first time in four games this season.

Ivica Zubac had nine points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers. Derrick Jones Jr., Bradley Beal and John Collins each scored 12 points.

The Heat shot 54.2% from the field and made 12 of their 25 three-point attempts to 50% for the Clippers, who were 17 of 41 from long range. The Clippers had 21 turnovers that the Heat turned into 37 points.

Miami led 120-116 after two free throws from Adebayo with 56 seconds remaining. Adebayo missed a shot inside with 26 seconds left and Harden made a three-pointer on the other end with 20 seconds left to pull the Clippers within a point.

The Clippers had a chance to win it, but Leonard missed a 26-foot step-back three-pointer at the buzzer.

The Clippers trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter before getting even 105-105 with 9:55 remaining on a three-pointer from veteran Chris Paul.

TORONTO — Beneath his feet, confetti decorated the turf. Behind him, the video boards congratulated his team on its latest championship.

The Dodgers owner who lives and breathes championships smiled broadly. Magic Johnson always does, of course. This time, he had an impish twinkle in his eye.

“They said we ruined baseball,” Johnson said. “Well, I guess we didn’t.”

If you are not in Los Angeles, you might be screaming in frustration. The team with all the gold makes the rules, and the new rule is that the Dodgers win every year, and now their most famous owner is mocking you?

He is not.

He is, however, issuing a subtle warning to all of baseball’s owners: Don’t let your desperation for a salary cap destroy a sport on the rise — in no small part thanks to the Dodgers.

The NBA was not much more than a minor league 45 years ago. This is crazy to imagine now, but the NBA Finals aired on tape delay, on late-night television, most often at 11:30 p.m. The NBA audience was so small that advertisers would not pay prime-time rates for those commercials, so the games were not broadcast in prime time.

Johnson helped change that. The rivalry between his Lakers and Larry Bird’s Celtics revived the NBA, and then Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls became global sporting icons.

From 1980-88, either the Lakers or the Celtics won the NBA title in every year but one. From 1991-98, the Bulls won six titles.

The Celtics and Lakers and Bulls did not ruin the NBA.

“What the Celtics and Lakers were able to do, and Michael Jordan’s Bulls, was to bring in new fans — fans that were, ‘Oh, I don’t know about the NBA,’” Johnson said, “but the play was so good, and the Celtics and Lakers and Bulls were so dominant, people said, ‘Oh man, I want to watch them.’

“It’s the same thing happening here.”

The NBA leadership could not believe its good fortune. Baseball’s leadership appears intent on lighting its good fortune on fire.

“My phone was blowing up with people who hadn’t watched baseball for a long time,” Johnson said. “They were watching this series.

“This was good for baseball around the world.”

The World Baseball Classic is four months away. The World Series most valuable player, the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto, is from Japan.

So is the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, the closest baseball has ever had to its own Jordan. The Dodgers rescued him from purgatory in Anaheim and surrounded him with a star-studded roster, and now he makes more money from pitching products than pitching baseballs. To the Dodgers, he doubles as an All-Star and cash machine.

The league — and all the owners complaining about the Dodgers and their spending — happily profited from this traveling road show. The Dodgers get the same share of international merchandise and broadcast revenue every other team does.

The Dodgers led the major leagues in road attendance, again. The league sent the Dodgers to Seoul last spring and Tokyo this spring, meaning that, for two years running, they were one of the first two teams to report to spring training and one of the last two playing at season’s end. The league’s television partners rushed to book the Dodgers, even for games at times inconvenient to the team.

“MLB put us in every hard situation you can think about,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “We never complained. We were trying to come through for the fans, for baseball, and everybody should be recognizing what we are doing.”

With the Blue Jays in the World Series, Canadian ratings for the World Series increased tenfold. The Dodgers did not destroy the Jays. They survived them, and barely at that.

The Dodgers have not ruined competition, despite the spotlight.

“They have a great team,” Toronto infielder Ernie Clement said. “There’s no denying it. They’re one of the best teams probably ever put together, and we’ve taken ‘em to seven games, so that’s got to say something about us.”

Toronto manager John Schneider said his team, which won more games than the Dodgers this season, had chances to sweep the World Series.

“People were calling it David versus Goliath,” Schneider said, shaking his head from side to side. “It’s not even… close.”

The Dodgers make a lot of money, pour the money back into the team, and win. They give the people what they want.

“People want the best,” co-owner Todd Boehly said.

Granted, not every team can spend like the Dodgers. Most cannot, and baseball should be able to find ways to share the wealth without risking its tenuous but growing popularity by locking out players in pursuit of a salary cap.

After all, isn’t a compelling product with stars from home and abroad good for baseball?

“You bet,” controlling owner Mark Walter said. “I think they think so, too.”

It was time to go. The parade was 36 hours away, and Johnson had to rest his throat.

“I’m hoarse,” he said. “I’ve never been hoarse.”

So we’ll leave you with one bit of sports trivia, in response to the mistaken notion that a salary cap assures competitive balance: In the Magic, Bird and Jordan years, the ones that lifted the NBA into popular culture, did the NBA have a salary cap?

It did then. It does now. Onto the quest for a three-peat.

Highlights from the Dodgers’ 5-4 win in 11 innings over the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the World Series.