Friday, January 29, 2010

Eating too full in reunion dinners!!!

Chinese New Year is just two weeks away.As with any merry making, there are lots and lots of food to eat.Eat moderately and things will be fine with your body system as over-indulging in ten course reunion dinner or buffet lunch/dinner may do more harm than good.Ronnie forwarded this article by Dr. Lee for your consumption to quote:

WHAT'S WRONG IN EATING TOO FULL?

Don't overeat and don't encourage your family members and friends to overeat - unless you wish to shorten their healthy living and perhaps die younger!

"The more you eat, the sooner you die. The lesser you eat, the longer you live." This is what Dr Lee always says in his health talk. He also mentions, "Eating too full causes all sort of health problems such as hypertension, diabetes, stroke, etc."

Why eating too full is so harmful to your health?
What can you do about it?

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Mice experiment
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To see how eating habit affects life span, a professor from University of Texas did an experiment on mice.

For the first group of 100 mice, he let them eat without any restriction, just like a buffet meal. The second group was fed only 60% full. And the third group was given food without restriction too. But this time, he reduced protein content to half. After 2.5 years, guess how many mice were still alive out of 100?

* First group (eat without restriction) - only 13 mice was alive.
* Second group (eat 60% full) - 97 mice was still alive. Only 3 mice died.
* Third group (eat without restriction with protein cut half) - 50 mice still alive.

What can we learn from these results?

Firstly, eating too full is really harmful to your body. Secondly, eat 60% full if you want to live longer and healthier. Thirdly, taking too much protein is harmful to your body too. We don't need so much protein after all.

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Overworked body
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Imagine having a small family car. Instead of using it for short travel between home and office, you use it for long distance travel between different cities every day. Instead of using it 1 hour a day, you use it for 10 hours a day. Instead of driving at 70 km/h, you always speed up to 170 km/h, hitting engine's red line.

Can you estimate your car life span? Do you expect having various problems with your car after a short time?

Driving your car at high speed for a long time is like always eating too full. You force your body to always work at its red line.

Do you know digestion is the most demanding work for your body? Think about the organs involved such as your mouth, stomach, liver, pancreas, duodenum and intestine. Think about the length of digestive tract from your mouth to intestine.

Eating too full zaps up much of your body energy for digestion. Otherwise, this energy may be used for other purpose such as enhancing your immune system.

Do you realize you become very tired easily after a big meal? That is the sign of your body working hard to digest all the food you take in.

If you eat an extra bowl of noodle, your pancreas has to produce extra insulin hormone to process the extra carbohydrates you take.

Your liver, stomach and intestine also have to produce extra enzymes to digest and process specific nutrients from that bowl of noodle.

Therefore the more you eat, the harder your body has to work to process it. Of course, we must eat to survive. But we don't have to eat that much!

If you drive your car slowly and handle it gently, you can use it for a long time. But if you always floor the accelerator and drive like a rally driver, you know the consequence on your car life span.

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Side effect of eating
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Your car engine burns fuel to move your car and bring you to anywhere you like to go. As a result, the engine produces exhaust smoke which is toxic. It must be dispersed out from your car.

Similarly, your body cell burns nutrient for energy to survive. In the process, it produces free radicals. Since free radical is toxic to your body, it has to be neutralized and expelled.

"Just metabolizing food especially fatty and carbohydrate-rich fare causes the body to produce free radicals, which attack cells and can promote the development of chronic conditions including heart disease, diabetes and cancer," says Ronald L. Prior, Ph.D.

Of course, your body can control free radicals in small quantity. But the more you eat, the more free radicals your body produces. Without adequate control, these free radicals easily attack your body cells and eventually cause all sort of diseases.

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Good eating habit
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After knowing the harmful effect of eating too full, what's your choice? Do you want to live longer, just like the second group mice in the experiment? Or do you want to risk ending your life earlier, just like the first group mice?

If you wish to live longer, here are some tips you can follow:

1. Always eat until 70% full. Do not exceed 80% full. You may want to stop eating when you feel slightly full.

2. Avoid having buffet style meal which makes it harder to control how much you eat. Instead, prepare the food you want to eat in a plate. After finishing it, don't add anymore food.

3. Leaving the dining table earlier may prevent you from picking some extra food to eat.

4. It is always a good idea to prepare lesser food in the first place. Some people are afraid of having not enough food for everyone. Actually, lesser food is beneficial for everyone..

In a restaurant, order in small amount first. You can always add in some extra order if necessary. But if you can get by with the original smaller order, that's great.

Remember this: You have higher chance of overeating if you serve more food on the table. You have better chance of not overeating if you serve less food.

5. Avoid stuffing your fridge with ice cream, chocolate or other dessert. You cannot eat what you do not have.

6. When someone prepares a big plate of food for you, look at it first. Ask yourself, "Do I want to stuff it all into my stomach?"

If your answer is no, just put aside some food to another empty plate first. After finishing your food, look back at the extra food on that new plate. Say to yourself, "Phew! Luckily I didn't stuff that portion into my stomach."

7. When you get too hungry before your meal time, just take some fruit instead of heavy meal.

The tendency to overeat is very high for modern people. Do you know most monks only eat twice a day?

They wake up at 4am, meditate and say their prayer. Later they have their simple breakfast at 7am. Before 12pm, they have their lunch. That's all for them. They eat no more after that. No tea break. No dinner. No supper. They still look strong and energetic.

Of course, we don't have to eat like them. But it reminds us we can eat less and stay healthy. So remember to eat only 70% full if you want to stay healthy.Unquote.

So to all my friends, a very happy and prosperous Chinese New Year to all as we welcome the year of the tiger.May the God of Prosperity smile on you all on this auspicious occasion!

"KEONG HEE HUAT CHAI"

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

EATING FRUIT...........

EATING FRUIT...
It's long but very informative
We all think eating fruits means just buying fruits, cutting it and just popping it into our mouths. It's not as easy as you think. It's important to know how and when to eat.
What is the correct way of eating fruits?
IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUITS AFTER YOUR MEALS! * FRUITS SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.
If you eat fruit like that, it will play a major role to detoxify your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.. Let's say you eat two slices of bread and then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it is prevented from doing so.

In the meantime the whole meal rots and ferments and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil....

So please eat your fruits on an empty stomach or before your meals! You have heard people complaining - every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats up, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet etc - actually all this will not arise if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. The fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas and hence you will bloat!

Graying hair, balding, nervous outburst, and dark circles under the eyes all these will NOT happen if you take fruits on an empty stomach.

There is no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruits become alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruits, you have the Secret of beauty, longevity, health, energy, happiness and normal weight.

When you need to drink fruit juice - drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT from the cans. Don't even drink juice that has been heated up. Don't eat cooked fruits because you don't get the nutrients at all. You only get to taste. Cooking destroys all the vitamins.

But eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit fast to cleanse your body. Just eat fruits and drink fruit juice throughout the 3 days and you will be surprised when your friends tell you how radiant you look!

KIWI: Tiny but mighty. This is a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E & fiber. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange.

APPLE: An apple a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants & flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C thereby helping to lower the risks of colon cancer, heart attack & stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits & protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

ORANGE : Sweetest medicine. Taking 2-4 oranges a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent & dissolve kidney stones as well as lessens the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher.. Composed of 92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. They are also a key source of lycopene - the cancer fighting oxidant. Other nutrients found in watermelon are vitamin C & Potassium.

GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene; this is good for your eyes.

Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer! Can u believe this?? For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE': (THIS IS NOT A JOKE!) Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack . Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive...

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

Read this....It could save your life!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Staying out of H1N1 trouble!

Ronnie was kind enough to post this short script on my e-mail relating to wearing masks to prevent H1N1.I too saw many people visiting the computer fairs and eateries wore masks in those crowded places.To quote what he had to say so far

RECENTLY, I saw photos in newspapers showing people wearing "surgical masks" at shopping malls, schools, mamak stalls and other public areas. I have even noticed people wearing them out in the open with no one around.
Because of this, I would like to explain why the mask may do more harm than good.
The H1N1 virus is not airborne. To be considered an airborne virus, the microorganism would have to survive or remain in the air for long periods of time. The H1N1 virus does not stay airborne.
I have noticed many people wearing masks in crowded places. However, places like airports, shopping malls and schools are full of germs and bacteria. If a small amount of bacteria gets into a hole in the mask, you will provide a breeding ground for the bacteria, which may lead to an illness or infection. The moisture you produce in your mask is perfect for bacteria and viruses, and may be a recipe for disaster.
The way to prevent exposure to H1N1 virus is to avoid physical contact with people who may be sick or infected. Also avoid commonly touched surfaces like escalator railings, poles and public toilet doorknobs.
The H1N1 virus usually spreads when someone touches surfaces with the bacteria and then touches his own nose, eyes or mouth.
Washing your hands frequently is the best defense against exposure.
And yes, the virus may travel from point A to point B in the air. But it will drop, not stay airborne.
Wearing a mask is only good at helping you not to spread your illness to others if you are infected

Sunday, June 21, 2009

You are the champion,Dad!

It was a Sunday yes, but this was not an ordinary day.So my wife and I decided to take a ride to our usual breakfast coffee-shop at Sungai Nibong.We both ordered our Hokkien Mee topped up with the usual drinks we normally ordered.Then it was time to also 'ta pau' for our lunch and so we ordered two packages of nasi lemak.I expected older people to serve us but here were three young entrepreneurs,one taking the order while the others help to 'bungkus' the rice.The last one apparently a cashier,gave a broad smile while changing the Ringgits back to me.I smiled and gave a thump-up!

Then while at Jaya Restaurant,I managed to greet my good friend,Muthu, with "Vhanakham" and he replied the same with hands clasped inwards towards the heart.We normally made it a point to visit the said restaurant for our usual Tosai Masalla or just plain Chapati.He is only below 35 years but running his family restaurant.Visit this restaurant at Jalan Tengah,Bayan Baru for a hassle free Lunch or dinner.They provide good service.

During this time of great recession,more and more young men will be out on the road opening stores selling Nasi Lemak, Roti Chanai or Char Koay Teow or even Ramli's burger.If I am not mistaken,some of them are fathers too,trying very hard to bring food to the table for their family.Let us patronize their stores whether new or small and encourage them to stand on their two feet rather then to accept handouts from the authority!

Happy Father's day to all of you and I dedicate this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to you, our Champions:

" A PSALM OF LIFE (WHAT THE HEART OF THE YOUNG MAN SAID TO THE PSALMIST)
TELL me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream ! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way ;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle !
Be a hero in the strife !
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant !
Let the dead Past bury its dead !
Act,— act in the living Present !
Heart within, and God o'erhead !
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time ;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate ;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Taming the monkey minds with bananas!

If you experience heartbreaks and shaky marriages in London,Glasgow,Manchester etc ,just call PISANG or the Professional Islamic Support and Nurture Group.They believe that the supernaturals or sorcery play havoc on the minds leading to family breakups, stress and depression. What is this so called 'pisang' in Bahasa Malaysia?Well, its just BANANAS in plain simple english!

I read somewhere that eating banana can give one a cool and calming effect to the mind!Don't believe me, then just try one especially the 'pisang tanduk' variety.There are other advantages of eating bananas,let us explore deeper on this issue to quote:

A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression “going bananas” is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Never, put your banana in the refrigerator! This is interesting. After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again.
Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.
Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.
PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.
Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.
Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration have just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit’s ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.
Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school (England) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.
Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.
Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.
Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.
Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.
Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.
Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found, the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.
Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a “cooling” fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.
Smoking and Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.
Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body’s water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.
Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!
Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!
So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe it’s time to change that well-known phrase now: “A banana a day keeps the doctor away!”

PS: I will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe…polish with dry cloth. Amazing fruit!

After reading this article,so please do not call "PISANG" before ever attempting to drown your culture shocks or whatsoever when reaching foreign land for the first time but just try to swallow some bananas for heaven's sake!

Monday, December 15, 2008

A little of everything-The Rojak!

ladies will swear that they are in seventh Heaven when they see a plate of rojak!It's more a lady's starter dish before the main course is eaten.I have seen many men too indulging in this mouth-watering delicacy though many will swear that its one of the 'must have' for the pregnant ladies!!!

What is this specialty that can make our saliva drool like there is no tomorrow?

Rojak, a Malay concoction comprising of a little bit of green unripe mango,nutmeg,cucumber,mankuang,,pineapple and other local fruits/vegetables mixed with thick Hae Kor( black prawn source)and roasted peanuts.Some enterprising stalls also add in small fried prawns and Ee Char Koay(a long piece of deep-fried ancient bread usually goes best with thick black coffee)

Almost all of the rojak sellers claim that theirs are the best but only an expert can tell where to go for such good titillating fruit/vegetable dish. My friend,Paul from Great Britain,dared not taste the thick prawn source or he would get high from it!For my two children, they must have generous amount of the thick black prawn source spilling onto the fruits/vegetables together with lots of fresh roasted peanuts to make the dish look very appertising!

I too have my 'Rojak king' on the island.Try the Hock Kee rojak stall right at the Mccallum Street flat and tell me what do you think?

Daniel's taste-bug was stirred up by GP Rojak at the Gurney Drive Hawker's complex while Paula's Ah Chye Rojak needs a GPS bearing to find him as he is all over the place!Mohan and wife prefer the Esplanade stall and Jong together with Paula concurred this fruit/rojak stall is rather good but pricey. Anyway to each his/her own but if you find a better rojak starter pack,just page me and I will be there!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Jong's Penang food bash!

Thank you Kensan for the breakfast! I just got back today, persuaded by friends and relatives for food food food. I never miss my hokkien mee in Presgrave St (Snar Teow Lorr). Ask for extra pai-koot or sio-bak, superb. The o-chean(oyster) and tauknua chen are also good. So is its kueh-kark. The wantan mee is also good. I also love the ice kacang.

The pek-kueh tng and heng jin char along Kimberly St are also nice. Too bad we don't have them here in Ipoh.

Amazing you have not visited Ipoh in 10 years? How come, afterall it's only 1.5 hr drive away? My friends and I used to drive all the way to Penang just for the day's food! Once we left at 7 am, returned home at 7 pm and we consumned 11 types of hawker food. We had wanted to eat more but the stomach could not take it anymore. That was years back. Today we are all comparing our middle-age spread, trying not to consume carbs after lunch!

Btw Presgrave St is Snar Teow Lor, not Cheet Teow Lor(7th st) which is Cecil St. That's my territory - I grew up in MacCallum St - Gor Teow Lor(5th st). That whole area used to be gangster haunts but ever since young I will fight to my last breath if anybody ever includes MacCallum St because that's the only one left "clean"! Why? - because that's a street of government/public servants and professionals. We were all so safe, being surrounded and protected by those gangs. They never ever touched us. We were left alone. Imagine walking the dark streets(our lightings were nothing to shout about) late in the night for supper. Not today, can't even walk safe in broad daylight without handbags being snatched!

The ice kacang too is superb!


Kiam-Chye Boey:

We should remember how our elders used to “tapau” every remnance of good festival food on the table to turn them up into favourite of everyone - the ‘kiam-chye-boey’ a chopsui dish in Cantonese it’s called “choy-keok”. Wow I remember how popular they were but today because of health awareness and hygiene to prevent spread of heppatitis, such practice is strongly discouraged and discontinued. Whenever I have cravings for “kiam chye boey”, I’d have to buy the ingredients to ‘artifitually’ churn out ‘kiam-chye-boey’ using half a bird of roast chicken, roast pork, cans of mushrooms, lemon grass, dried chillies, carrots and plenty of kiam-chye and kuah chye! Anyone for this dish? I have a suggestion, can we get Paula distracted from her ’stress’ and pass her this “assignment”? And we will all be there to test it out if she would do a good job of it?! :D


~jong.-Thanks to youu too for sharing!