Health Benefits of Cucumber

This is one of my favorite past time snacks...

Health Benefits of Cucumber

HEALTHY!

Healthy… what is the meaning of healthy? Healthy means “hale and hearty” or in laymans term we always say “in good shape”. However, obtaining good health cannot be regarded only from the physical aspect; it must be emphasized at the environment, mental and spiritual aspects as well. Imbalances will lead to illnesses be it physical or non-physical.

Let us start with the Physical Health… begin with our eating habit, do we really eat only when we are hungry? Injuries always happen when the person is hungry hence it is advised to have small snacks handy i.e. fresh raisin or nuts to munch or for a meal when you are running late.

Often we choose to skip our meal and adopt the wrong diet for ourselves. This will lead to digestive problems such as intestinal gas. If you have been experiencing such, kindly seek medical attention, to identify if you are allergic to or if any of the digestive organs are not functioning well.

Be more choosy in terms of consuming your foods, try as much as possible to consume foods that is fresh, organic, natural, no preservatives, free from GMO, no harmful chemicals, free from coloring and artificial flavors and etc..

Bare in mind, you can never go wrong with the eating method of 4 Ls and 1 H. So, what are the 4 Ls? The 4 Ls simply means, low in sugar, low in fat, low in protein and low in salt. As for 1 H, it stands for high in fiber.

Everyone seems to understand the principle of avoiding or consuming less of foods such as white rice, white bread, white salt, white sugar and white flour, but why? All these are unnatural resources as it has gone through highly refined processes; imbalance nutrient will cause our body to be acidic. Same goes with meat, cow milk and egg.

What would be the healthy food pyramid? It is advisable to have 60% of grains (any types, best to have mixture), 15% each on vegetable and fruit, and 10% of protein (bean, seed and nut). Grains can help one to lower the risk in getting heart disease, obesity, cancer as it has more nutritious, and supply balance nutrient as it is lower in fat, high fiber and cholesterol free. Common type of grains consists of barley, wheat, oats, corn, brown rice, buckwheat, rye, millet and spelt. There is no hard and fast rules on how to consume the grains, you can explore and experiment it to your preferences and liking.

As I have posted an article on how to consume fruits the right way, let us see how we can practice healthy eating procedure. We all know that fruits must be consumed before foods as it will be oxidized before its get digested if we consumed it after meal. We used to have juices, water or soup during our meal, this will cause digestion and gastric problem periodically as the liquids is diluting together with the digestion enzymes that is release out to digest the foods. So, try to drink juices, water or soup before meal or half an hour after meal. Raw vegetable contain enzymes that helps in digestion processes, adopt the habit of eating some raw vegetable before meal will help to ease the digestive problems as well.

Remember, this is just part of the basic information about how to become healthy. There will be more to understand and learn, let us start with one-step at a time. There is no magic pill to cure the illnesses but ONLY YOU!

Ecosystem - Slow Food & Organic Farming

Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. This organization strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and promotes farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader Slow movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 132 countries.

Slow Food began in Italy with the founding of its forerunner organization, Arcigola, in 1986 to resist the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome. In 1989, the founding Manifesto of the international Slow Food movement was signed in Paris, France by delegates from 15 countries and has expanded to include over 100,000 members with chapters in over 132 countries. The organizational structure is decentralized: each convivium has a leader who is responsible for promoting local artisans, local farmers, and local flavors through regional events such as Taste Workshops, wine tastings, and farmers' markets.

Their efforts at publicity include the world's largest food and wine fair, the Salone del Gusto in Turin , a biennial cheese fair in Bra called Cheese, the Genoan fish festival called SlowFish, and Turin's Terra Madre ("Mother Earth") world meeting of food communities. In 2004, Slow Food opened a University of Gastronomic Sciences at Pollenzo, in Piedmont, and Colorno, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy with Carlo Petrini and Massimo Montanari leading the University, whose goal is to promote awareness of good food and nutrition.

Following are the objectives within its mission:-

• forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems
  
  
• developing an "Ark of Taste" for each ecoregion, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated
  
  
• preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their lore and preparation
  
  
• organizing small-scale processing (including facilities for slaughtering and short run products)
  
  
• organizing celebrations of local cuisine within regions (for example, the Feast of Fields held in some cities in Canada)
  
  
• promoting "taste education"
  
  
• educating consumers about the risks of fast food
  
  
• educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms
  
  
• educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties
  
  
• developing various political programs to preserve family farms
  
  
• lobbying for the inclusion of organic farming concerns within agricultural policy
  
  
• lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering
  
  
• lobbying against the use of pesticides
  
  
• teaching gardening skills to students and prisoners
  
  
• encouraging ethical buying in local marketplaces

In Malaysia, we have CETDEM founded in 1985, an independent, non-profit, training, research, consultancy, referral, and development organization. Committed to improving environmental quality through the appropriate use of technology and sustainable development.

In 1997, CETDEM was appointed to the National Steering Committee of the World Solar Programme and the National Climate Committee, in 1998, it became a founder member of the National Committee on Organic Farming.

One of their major projects is ORGANIC FARMING.

In September 1986 till September 1996 an organic farm was run in Sg. Buloh; June 1987 onwards, exposure and training events have been run at the farm and many different parts of the country. Since October 1996, the focus has been on nation-wide promotion & training that support the ecosystem embarked by Slow Food Movement.

For more detail, kind visit CETDEM website at http://cetdem.org.my/wordpress.

Resources and pictures for this article obtained from CETDEM website, Wikipedia and websites.

MY BREAKFAST, LUNCH, DINNER …..

I have never been so health conscious before until I noticed my surrounding friends have gone one by one due to illnesses.

I was worried and I told myself “What’s the point of having wealth when you don’t have the health to enjoy it?”… From then on, I started to switch to become a vegan and adopted organic diets.

Diligently every morning, I start my day with a glass of warm water mixed with freshly squeezed lemon juice (one lemon) or a glass of warm water mixed with two tablespoons of Bragg Organic Apple Cider.

Breakfast? I will have cup of organic oat milk/soymilk mixed with organic wheat & barley grass, organic soy lecithin granules and a green apple or red apple or any fruits that is available at home. Before lunch, I will have my mid-morning snack of toast whole meal bread (a slice) or some crackers.

During lunch, I will try to stay away from having rice or stuff which is high in carbo to avoid being sleepy after that, hence, it will be either an egg sandwiches, vegetable sandwiches or home made salad with/without apple cider dressing.

Throughout the day, I consumed approximately 5 liters and above of drinking water just to make sure I stay hydrated. Our brain and body needs water to function well.

The dinner will be the lightest meal of all unless I need to attend some dinner gathering or celebrating a special occasion. My preferences will be a glass of organic soymilk with fruits or salads.

In the evening, half an hour before going to bed, I will diligently have a glass of organic wheat and barley grass drink as it has a rejuvenating and detoxification benefit. On top of that, it will also help in repairing the body cells and make one look young.

Aside from the above daily practices, I try to make a point to go on “Water Fasting” for durations of 1 – 5 days every quarter (3 months) just to detox and allow my digestive system to do some self-repairing and rest.

By the way, I do indulge myself occasionally but make sure I stay within the limits.

YOU CAN BUY YOUR WEALTH WITH HEALTH BUT YOU CAN NEVER BUY HEALTH WITH WEALTH….

EATING FRUIT....

Some useful article to be shared ... I would have to admit....

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’s 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 you 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 to read this, please share with others, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

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

6 PRINCIPLES OF LIFE

It has been a while since I last updated my blog... lets' start it again with some positive notes to ponder and mark the opening of my blog for the Year 2010....

Following are some of the valuable pointers for each and everyone to ponder... ask yourself how true is this?... my answer will be TRUE... or else I will not bother to share it with you. Enjoy.

1. No point using limited life to chase unlimited money.
   
   
2. No point earning so much money you cannot live to spend it.
   
   
3. Money is not yours until you spend it.
   
   
4. When you are young, you use your health to chase your wealth; when you are old, you use your wealth to buy back your health. Difference is that, it is too late.
   
   
5. How happy a man is, is not how much he has but how little he needs.
   
   
6. No point working so hard to provide for the people you have no time to spend with.

Remember this -- We come to this world with nothing, we leave this world with nothing!
Forgiveness is the final form of love..