Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Plan your daily menu for a healthy living.

I have always been aware of the importance of health since I was young. I have “never taken my health for granted” because I believed that “Health is wealth” and “you are what you eat”. The latest trend is to “Eat what you are”. I will go into this later. But how do you maintain a good health.

What is health?

Unlike animals and plants we need a certain amount of food, clothing and shelter to survive in this ever changing world. Your body needs proper nutrients to grow and glow. Beside food, human being also requires other basic needs, such as love and companionships for our emotional, physical and spiritual development.

When you are young and strong, your body resistance is still strong. The antigens and antibodies in your system, helps you to regulate and control your heath system, including your emotional and spiritual well being. Thus you are not easily weakened by minor ailments such as colds and flu. It will usually go off after a few days rest. But as you age, your body resistance can no more take the slightest jerks; the bones become more brittle; your heart becomes weaker and the blood pressure rises alarmingly.

Food and health

With the advancement of food technology and the variety of food available to us today we are spoilt for choice. But how does our body react to all these good food that is being swallowed into our digestive systems? Will the amount of food we consumed has any influence on our health and optimal well being?

How do we make the right choice? Which food is best for us? Where do we go for advice? Are we eating correctly? Do we need to count calories every time we eat? These are some of the pertinent question that needs to be addressed as we are exposed to the all type of health risks. It is very depressing to know that as the medical knowledge progresses, more and more new diseases are discovered. More and more people suffer from all sorts of medical complications such as heart diseases, diabetics, liver and other ailments which were unheard off in the olden days.

Indeed every living thing needs the daily supply of food to survive and flourish.
Malaysia being multicultural and multi-racial her food choices are a fantastic spread of variety of taste and color.

Malaysia is indeed a food heaven. If you are in Sarawak you will fall in love with her Umai ( the raw fish mixed in asam kelubi or asam paya as the local called it).You go to an Indian Restaurant you will want to indulge yourself in their special banana leaf spreads. Not forgetting the various specially prepared rice dishes such as Nasi lemak, Nasi kerabu, Nasi dagang, Nasi berlauk, Nasi tumpang and all the other sweet desserts such as Jala emas, kueh kelompang, pelepat pisang and hundreds of other specialties from each of the 14 states in Malaysia.

The best part about all these food is that, one need not spend valuable time in the kitchen preparing them. They are easily available all year round in restaurants, market place, and hawker stalls near you. Not forgetting the various fast food restaurants mushrooming all around you.

Controlling your eating habit

We must now learn to control our eating habit. We should know what food is good for our body and what is not. The latest theory is that you should be eating food according to your blood type. This is an interesting discovery because at least everyone should be aware of their blood type.

A book on this subjects has been written by Peter J.D’Alamo,ND entitled “eat right for your type” and “the Answer is in your Blood type” by Steven M.Weissberg. explained what we should eat according to your blood type.

Dr.D’Alamo has classified “food into beneficial, neutral and avoid which are further classified into fifteen types of foods namely; meat, fish, oils, beans, cereals, breads, vegetables, fruits, juices, condiments .etc.”

For further readings please go to http;//www.innerself.com/health/eating _according_to_ancenstry.htm.

One interesting feature about these theories is you should eat according to your blood type which is amazing. I have never bothered about my blood type before. I know it is
type “O” but has never considered it as an important factor in my daily life.

I have been suffering from IBS for more than five years now. I discovered that I cannot take dairy products and had been avoiding cheese cakes (one of my favorite) and carbonated drinks because I will have stomach upset and had to run to the nearest toilet as soon as I consumed these food.

Now I know the reason better. These are the food are under Avoids for people with type “O” blood. But my favorite drink has always been coffee and tea. Now I am supposed to avoid them. Oh! My Gosh! Life is indeed becoming more difficult as you grow older. But I am so happy. It is still not too late to change. I hope?

Friday, September 07, 2007


I FELT SO BLESSED
A few days ago I was at Tengku Amir’s school when he sat for his UPSR exams. The night before he was making a last minute preparations for his science paper with me. He was very worried about it because during his trial exams he managed to get only a B in the subject. His mother was at the school the last two days, but she had to leave for Kuala Lumpur yesterday because of work commitment. So I replaced her to lend support for Ku Amir. Well, that was the least I could do. Maybe it will boost his confidence a little.

Tengku Amir is very intelligent and talks like an adult when he is not moody. He is only eleven years old but he is already sitting for his UPSR. He is very confident of himself. Despite his small size and made of skin and bones, he has already made up his mind to be a footballer. ‘I will represent Malaysia’, he said. He practices every evening with our neighbor’s children. He watched every live telecast of football matches over Astro (our local Satellite TV programs). He memorized all the team Players name and knew all their background and the number of scores for each team. His favorite team is of course Barcelona of Spain. His favourite player is Ronaldinho. He wears the Teams’ T-shirt whenever he practices football with his friends. I pray that one day he will achieve his dreams.

Last year his elder sister, Tengku Diyana Puteri, sat for her UPSR and she scored all A’s and Ku Amir is making sure that he will get 5A’ too. I am sure he is going to get his way judging from the way he emerged from the exams hall beaming from ear to ear. However, that is my Ku Amir, always confident of himself, sometimes overconfident.

When I was at the school, I noticed a few parents were also there to lend support to their children. A few parents were enjoying breakfast in the school canteen, while another group was at the school ‘surau’, praying, or reading the Quran quietly at the corner praying for Allah’s blessings.

I was the only grandmother there. Everybody was commenting how strong I look and how lucky for Ku Amir to have a strong grandmother. I felt so blessed.

Yes. I am still strong and healthy. I have always been a health freak. Never taking my health for granted. I was always looking for ways to stay young, slim and healthy. So far I have managed to maintain my 48.5 kg weight for as long as I remember- just great for my 5.2 ft frame.

I kept my figure the way I was 40 years ago. All my friend said so. I maintained my figure because I was always reminded by my grandmother ‘never take your food unless you tie your waist before eating and do not drinks until you have finished your food’. I was also a dancer in my younger days and I used to enjoy going to the Gym during my free time.

I could still slipped into my old clothes whenever I felt the urge to do so. The only problem is my hair. White strands of hair seemed to be cropping up in many places over my crown. Not much, but enough to make me felt old and unattractive. This is something that nature is telling me that age is catching up. But I still love my body. It is the best gift God has given me besides my six lovely children and all my eleven grandchildren. They are my greatest assets.
So I have discovered a new trick. I dyed my hair every two or three months. My friends think that I am a freak. They were saying that I am already old and should accept my look as it is. I should also dress my age. You know in the loose baju kurung or the baju kebaya, our national costumes. Or course! I am proud of my national costumes. But why should I be a follower? Why should I listen to my friends who are so old fashion and had bodies like a gunny-sacks?
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I have nothing to hide. I still have a great figure. I still looked smashing in my figure-hugging baju kebaya and elegant in my baju kurung. But they are too baggy and restricted my movements. The other day I tripped on my sarong and fell on the concrete slab in front of my neighbors’ house. I was lucky, not many people saw me. I got up with a minor scratch on my knee. I had trouble performing my prayer. I t hurts every time I bend my knee.

I am more confident in my pants and short blouses. They gave me freedom of movement, besides I think I looked more like an executive than a kampong makchik. I DO NOT WANT TO BE CONSIDERED like an ordinary women in the street. Why should I dress like everybody else? In Kelantan, for that matter, everyone in the street dress similar. There is no distinction between the old and the young. The only difference is their body shape. The young is slim and pretty, while the old shows their bulge and spare tyres everywhere. They allow their fats and muscle to protrude in the wrong places

I hate to see women who allowed their figure to bloat like balloons after marriage. It is so unbecoming to see women riding pillion on motorcycles with their husbands- their back looking like bags of potatoes.