i first watched this movie while i was in Melaka for BTN 13th-17th August.. tonight on the eve of 31st August.. the 52nd independence of Malaysia.. i am watching it again on RTM 2.. it as basicly a reenactment on how Malaysia achieved its independence.. Everybody who had a role during the period is potrayed in the movie, the late Tunku Abdul Rahman, Dato' Onn Jaafar, Tun Dr. Ismail, Saadon, Tan Cheng Lock, HS. Lee, Sambanthan just to name a few...
i sincerely hope at least 20% of the population of Malaysia is watching this movie.. this based on history movie, should provide a better understanding on how Malaysia became an independant country, why the Malays obtain special priveleges, how the Chinese and Indians became citizens, and the sacrifices made..
if anyone who reads my blog missed the movie.. please do get urself a copy.. understand and digest what the movie is about.. God willing Malaysians will be more harmonious.. 1 Malaysia - People First, Performance Now..
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Benefits of fasting especially in the month of Ramadhan
Most Muslims do not fast because of medical benefits but because it has been ordained to them in the Quran. The medical benefits of fasting are as a result of fasting. Fasting in general has been used in medicine for medical reasons including weight management, for rest of the digestive tract and for lowering lipids. There are many adverse effects of total fasting as well as so-called crash diets. Islamic fasting is different from such diet plans because in Ramadan fasting, there is no malnutrition or inadequate calorie intake. The caloric intake of Muslims during Ramadan is at or slightly below the national requirement guidelines. In addition, the fasting in Ramadan is voluntarily taken and is not a prescribed imposition from the physician.
Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self-training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, it is beneficial for one's entire life. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any selective criteria of crash diets such as those which are protein only or fruit only type diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate quantities.
The only difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water during this period is not bad at all and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.
The physiological effect of fasting includes lower of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity and essential hypertension. In 1994 the first International Congress on "Health and Ramadan", held in Casablanca, entered 50 research papers from all over the world, from Muslim and non-Muslim researchers who have done extensive studies on the medical ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted; however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients' health or baseline medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from severe diseases, whether diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not try to fast.
There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan. Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases. This psychological improvement could be related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia after eating, aggravates behavior changes.
Recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and mind, but improves the memory. Healthy adult Muslims should not fear becoming weak by fasting, but instead it should improve their health and stamina.
Ramadan is a month of self-regulation and self-training, with the hope that this training will last beyond the end of Ramadan. If the lessons learned during Ramadan, whether in terms of dietary intake or righteousness, are carried on after Ramadan, it is beneficial for one's entire life. Moreover, the type of food taken during Ramadan does not have any selective criteria of crash diets such as those which are protein only or fruit only type diets. Everything that is permissible is taken in moderate quantities.
The only difference between Ramadan and total fasting is the timing of the food; during Ramadan, we basically miss lunch and take an early breakfast and do not eat until dusk. Abstinence from water during this period is not bad at all and in fact, it causes concentration of all fluids within the body, producing slight dehydration. The body has its own water conservation mechanism; in fact, it has been shown that slight dehydration and water conservation, at least in plant life, improve their longevity.
The physiological effect of fasting includes lower of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity and essential hypertension. In 1994 the first International Congress on "Health and Ramadan", held in Casablanca, entered 50 research papers from all over the world, from Muslim and non-Muslim researchers who have done extensive studies on the medical ethics of fasting. While improvement in many medical conditions was noted; however, in no way did fasting worsen any patients' health or baseline medical condition. On the other hand, patients who are suffering from severe diseases, whether diabetes or coronary artery disease, kidney stones, etc., are exempt from fasting and should not try to fast.
There are psychological effects of fasting as well. There is a peace and tranquility for those who fast during the month of Ramadan. Personal hostility is at a minimum, and the crime rate decreases. This psychological improvement could be related to better stabilization of blood glucose during fasting as hypoglycemia after eating, aggravates behavior changes.
Recitation of the Quran not only produces a tranquility of heart and mind, but improves the memory. Healthy adult Muslims should not fear becoming weak by fasting, but instead it should improve their health and stamina.
'10 AMALAN YANG TERBALIK'
Marilah kita bermuhasabah atau menilai dan menghitung kembali tentang amalan harian kita. Kadang-kadang kita akan dapati amalan kita adalah terbalik atau bertentangan dari apa yang patut dilakukan dan dituntut oleh Islam. Mungkin kita tidak sedar atau telah dilalaikan atau terikut-ikut dengan budaya hidup orang lain. Perhatikan apa yang dipaparkan dibawah sebagai contoh amalan yang terbalik:-
1. Amalan kenduri arwah beberapa malam yang dilakukan oleh keluarga simati selepas sesuatu kematian (malam pertama, kedua, ketiga, ketujuh dan seterusnya) adalah terbalik dari apa yang dianjurkan oleh Rasulullah di mana Rasulullah telah menganjurkan jiran tetangga memasak makanan untuk keluarga simati untuk meringankan kesusahan dan kesedihan mereka. Keluarga tersebut telah ditimpa kesedihan, terpaksa pula menyedia makanan dan belanja untuk mereka yang datang membaca tahlil. Tidakkah mereka yang hadir makan kenduri tersebut khuatir kalau-kalau mereka termakan harta anak yatim yang ditinggalkan oleh simati atau harta peninggalan simati yang belum dibahagikan kepada yang berhak menurut Islam?
2. Kalau hadir ke kenduri walimatul urus (kenduri kahwin) orang kerap salam berisi (hadiah wang yang diberi semasa bersalam). Kalau tak ada duit nak dikepit dalam tangan, maka segan ia nak pergi makan kenduri. Tetapi kalau ia menziarah orang mati, tidak segan pula salam tak berisi. Sepatutnya kalau menziarah keluarga si matilah kita patut memberi sedekah. Kalau ke kenduri kahwin, tak bagi pun tak apa kerana tuan rumah panggil untuk diberi makan bukan untuk ia menambah pendapatan.
3. Ketika menghadiri majlis pemimpin negara kita berpakaian cantik kemas dan segak tetapi bila mengadap Allah baik di rumah maupun di masjid, pakaian lebih kurang saja bahkan ada yang tak berbaju. Tidakkah ini suatu perbuatan yang terbalik.
4. Kalau menjadi tetamu di rumah orang dan di beri jamuan, kita rasa segan nak makan sampai habis apa yang dihidangkan kerana rasa segan dan malu, sedangkan yang dituntut dibanyakkan makan dan dihabiskan apa yang dihidang supaya tuan rumah rasa gembira dan tidak membazir.
5. Kalau bersolat sunat di masjid amat rajin, tapi kalau di rumah, sangat malas. Sedangkan sebaik-baiknya solat sunat banyak dilakukan di rumah seperti yang dianjurkan oleh Rasulullah untuk mengelakkan rasa riak.
6. Bulan puasa adalah bulan mendidik nafsu termasuk nafsu makan yang berlebihan tetapi kebanyakan orang mengaku bahawa dalam carta perbelanjaan setiap rumah orang Islam akan kita dapati perbelanjaan di bulan puasa adalah yang tertinggi dalam setahun. Sedangkan sepatutnya perbelanjaan di bulan puasa yang terendah. Bukankah terbalik amalan kita?
7. Kalau nak mengerjakan haji, kebanyakan orang akan membuat kenduri sebelum bertolak ke Mekah dan apabila balik dari Mekah tak buat kenduri pun. Anjuran berkenduri dalam Islam antaranya ialah kerana selamat dari bermusafir, maka dibuat kenduri, bukan kerana nak bermusafir, maka dibuat kenduri. Bukankah amalan ini terbalik? Atau kita mempunyai tujuan lain.
8. Semua ibubapa amat bimbang kalau-kalau anak mereka gagal dalam periksa. Maka dihantarlah ke kelas tuisyen walau pun banyak belanjanya. Tapi kalau anak tak boleh baca Quran atau solat, tak bimbang pula bahkan tak mahu hantar tuisyen baca Quran atau kelas khas mempelajari Islam. Kalau guru tuisyen sanggup dibayar sebulan RM20.00 satu pelajaran 8 kali hadir tapi kepada Tok Guru Quran nak bayar RM15.00 sebulan 20 kali hadir belajar pun menggeletar tangan. Bukankah terbalik amalan kita? Kita sepatutnya lebih berbimbang jika anak tidak dapat baca Al Quran atau bersolat dari tidak lulus periksa.
9. Kalau bekerja mengejar rezeki Allah tak kira siang malam, pagi petang, mesti pergi kerja. Hujan atau ribut tetap diharungi kerana hendak mematuhi peraturan kerja. Tapi ke rumah Allah (masjid) tak hujan, tak panas, tak ribut pun tetap tak datang ke masjid. Sungguh tak malu manusia begini, rezeki Allah diminta tapi nak ke rumahNya segan dan malas.
10. Seorang isteri kalau nak keluar rumah samada dengan suami atau tidak, bukan main lagi berhias. Tetapi kalau duduk di rumah, masyaAllah. Sedangkan yang dituntut seorang isteri itu berhias untuk suaminya, bukan berhias untuk orang lain. Perbuatan amalan yang terbalik ini membuatkan rumahtangga kurang bahagia.
Extra
11.. Kita cukup teruja untuk meng'forward' kan sms atau emel dalam bentuk gossip2 artis kepada kawan2. Malah kebanyakkan sms emel tersebut tidak benar dan boleh menjatuhkan maruah org lain. Tapi kenapa susah sangat nak forward peringatan sebegini kepada kawan2 kita??.....
Cukup dengan contoh-contoh di atas. Marilah kita berlapang dada menerima hakikat sebenarnya. Marilah kita beralih kepada kebenaran agar hidup kita menurut landasan dan ajaran Islam yang sebenar bukan yang digubah mengikut selera kita. Allah yang mencipta kita maka biarlah Allah yang menentukan peraturan hidup kita. Sabda Rasullullah SAW: 'Sampaikanlah dariku walaupun satu ayat.' (Riwayat Bukhari)
1. Amalan kenduri arwah beberapa malam yang dilakukan oleh keluarga simati selepas sesuatu kematian (malam pertama, kedua, ketiga, ketujuh dan seterusnya) adalah terbalik dari apa yang dianjurkan oleh Rasulullah di mana Rasulullah telah menganjurkan jiran tetangga memasak makanan untuk keluarga simati untuk meringankan kesusahan dan kesedihan mereka. Keluarga tersebut telah ditimpa kesedihan, terpaksa pula menyedia makanan dan belanja untuk mereka yang datang membaca tahlil. Tidakkah mereka yang hadir makan kenduri tersebut khuatir kalau-kalau mereka termakan harta anak yatim yang ditinggalkan oleh simati atau harta peninggalan simati yang belum dibahagikan kepada yang berhak menurut Islam?
2. Kalau hadir ke kenduri walimatul urus (kenduri kahwin) orang kerap salam berisi (hadiah wang yang diberi semasa bersalam). Kalau tak ada duit nak dikepit dalam tangan, maka segan ia nak pergi makan kenduri. Tetapi kalau ia menziarah orang mati, tidak segan pula salam tak berisi. Sepatutnya kalau menziarah keluarga si matilah kita patut memberi sedekah. Kalau ke kenduri kahwin, tak bagi pun tak apa kerana tuan rumah panggil untuk diberi makan bukan untuk ia menambah pendapatan.
3. Ketika menghadiri majlis pemimpin negara kita berpakaian cantik kemas dan segak tetapi bila mengadap Allah baik di rumah maupun di masjid, pakaian lebih kurang saja bahkan ada yang tak berbaju. Tidakkah ini suatu perbuatan yang terbalik.
4. Kalau menjadi tetamu di rumah orang dan di beri jamuan, kita rasa segan nak makan sampai habis apa yang dihidangkan kerana rasa segan dan malu, sedangkan yang dituntut dibanyakkan makan dan dihabiskan apa yang dihidang supaya tuan rumah rasa gembira dan tidak membazir.
5. Kalau bersolat sunat di masjid amat rajin, tapi kalau di rumah, sangat malas. Sedangkan sebaik-baiknya solat sunat banyak dilakukan di rumah seperti yang dianjurkan oleh Rasulullah untuk mengelakkan rasa riak.
6. Bulan puasa adalah bulan mendidik nafsu termasuk nafsu makan yang berlebihan tetapi kebanyakan orang mengaku bahawa dalam carta perbelanjaan setiap rumah orang Islam akan kita dapati perbelanjaan di bulan puasa adalah yang tertinggi dalam setahun. Sedangkan sepatutnya perbelanjaan di bulan puasa yang terendah. Bukankah terbalik amalan kita?
7. Kalau nak mengerjakan haji, kebanyakan orang akan membuat kenduri sebelum bertolak ke Mekah dan apabila balik dari Mekah tak buat kenduri pun. Anjuran berkenduri dalam Islam antaranya ialah kerana selamat dari bermusafir, maka dibuat kenduri, bukan kerana nak bermusafir, maka dibuat kenduri. Bukankah amalan ini terbalik? Atau kita mempunyai tujuan lain.
8. Semua ibubapa amat bimbang kalau-kalau anak mereka gagal dalam periksa. Maka dihantarlah ke kelas tuisyen walau pun banyak belanjanya. Tapi kalau anak tak boleh baca Quran atau solat, tak bimbang pula bahkan tak mahu hantar tuisyen baca Quran atau kelas khas mempelajari Islam. Kalau guru tuisyen sanggup dibayar sebulan RM20.00 satu pelajaran 8 kali hadir tapi kepada Tok Guru Quran nak bayar RM15.00 sebulan 20 kali hadir belajar pun menggeletar tangan. Bukankah terbalik amalan kita? Kita sepatutnya lebih berbimbang jika anak tidak dapat baca Al Quran atau bersolat dari tidak lulus periksa.
9. Kalau bekerja mengejar rezeki Allah tak kira siang malam, pagi petang, mesti pergi kerja. Hujan atau ribut tetap diharungi kerana hendak mematuhi peraturan kerja. Tapi ke rumah Allah (masjid) tak hujan, tak panas, tak ribut pun tetap tak datang ke masjid. Sungguh tak malu manusia begini, rezeki Allah diminta tapi nak ke rumahNya segan dan malas.
10. Seorang isteri kalau nak keluar rumah samada dengan suami atau tidak, bukan main lagi berhias. Tetapi kalau duduk di rumah, masyaAllah. Sedangkan yang dituntut seorang isteri itu berhias untuk suaminya, bukan berhias untuk orang lain. Perbuatan amalan yang terbalik ini membuatkan rumahtangga kurang bahagia.
Extra
11.. Kita cukup teruja untuk meng'forward' kan sms atau emel dalam bentuk gossip2 artis kepada kawan2. Malah kebanyakkan sms emel tersebut tidak benar dan boleh menjatuhkan maruah org lain. Tapi kenapa susah sangat nak forward peringatan sebegini kepada kawan2 kita??.....
Cukup dengan contoh-contoh di atas. Marilah kita berlapang dada menerima hakikat sebenarnya. Marilah kita beralih kepada kebenaran agar hidup kita menurut landasan dan ajaran Islam yang sebenar bukan yang digubah mengikut selera kita. Allah yang mencipta kita maka biarlah Allah yang menentukan peraturan hidup kita. Sabda Rasullullah SAW: 'Sampaikanlah dariku walaupun satu ayat.' (Riwayat Bukhari)
ramadan bazaars as tourist attraction
The Ramadan bazaar is practically a showcase, a one stop center. You can find all sorts of food there. Through aggressive promotion, Ramadan bazaars might just become another tourist product for local and foreign tourists. Malaysia could attract more tourists from Muslim countries to experience Ramadan festivities here.
Malaysia is not just well known for its multi racial society, it is also well known for its variety of food. Anybody who has been to Malaysia that i have met just loved our food. Even the number of Malaysians who are away from their hometown either local or abroad either studying or working have introduced the Malaysian menu to their friends.
I have heard "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Food tourism should be one of the things that the Tourism Ministy of Malaysia should market seriously to anyone who wants to visit Malaysia. Maybe when the stomach loves Malaysian food, the person may love Malaysia.
Malaysia is not just well known for its multi racial society, it is also well known for its variety of food. Anybody who has been to Malaysia that i have met just loved our food. Even the number of Malaysians who are away from their hometown either local or abroad either studying or working have introduced the Malaysian menu to their friends.
I have heard "a way to a man's heart is through his stomach". Food tourism should be one of the things that the Tourism Ministy of Malaysia should market seriously to anyone who wants to visit Malaysia. Maybe when the stomach loves Malaysian food, the person may love Malaysia.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Medical Benefits of Taraweeh Prayers By Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed, Ph.D
My thoughts: Only Allah knows what the true benefits of Tarawih is.. We, humans try to derive what the benefits are from our own understanding.. Hopefully by spreading this article, we will have a better understanding..
Muslims perform five daily contact prayers (Salat) and voluntary prayers (Sunnah, Nafl) throughout the year and Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramadan. This results in moderate physical exercise particularly to every muscle in the body.
Muslims derive therapeutic and spiritual benefits starting from the Wudu to the physical movements in the Salat - Takbir, Qiyam, Ruku, Sajda, Jalsa, and Tasleems. Muslims perform five daily contact prayers (Salat) and voluntary prayers (Sunnah, Nafl) throughout the year and Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramadan. This results in moderate physical exercise particularly to every muscle in the body. Some muscles contract isometrically (same length) and some contract in approximation or isotonically (same tension). The energy needed for the muscle during exercise is met by a process known as glycogenolysis. The rate of muscle metabolism increases during the performance of Salat, resulting in a relative deficiency of oxygen and muscle nutrients. In turn this deficiency causes vasodilation - an increase in the calibre of blood vessels - thereby allowing blood to flow easily back to the heart. The temporarily increased load on the heart acts to strengthen the heart muscle and to improve the circulation within the heart muscle.
During the month of Ramadan, additional prayers are performed after salatul Ishaa, called Taraweeh prayers which vary from 8 rakat (unit of prayer) to 20 rakat with a few minutes break after every 4 rakat for chanting and extolling the Majesty of Allah. After Iftar (breaking of fast) the blood glucose level continues to rise from the food ingested. Just before the Iftar meals, the blood glucose and insulin levels are at their lowest level. After an hour or so after the Iftar meal, the blood glucose begins to rise and also plasma insulin. Liver and the muscles take up the circulating glucose. The blood sugar reaches high levels in an hour or two and the benefits of Taraweeh prayers come into effect. The circulating glucose is metabolised into carbon dioxide and water during the Taraweeh prayers.
Hence the Taraweeh prayers help in expending the extra calories and improve flexibility, coordination, reduce stress-related autonomic responses in healthy persons, and relieve anxiety and depression.
Physical and Emotional Well-Being
The gentle exercises performed in Taraweeh prayers improve physical fitness, emotional well-being and increase the longevity of the Namazi (one who performs the Salat or Namaz). When a little extra effort is made, as in performing the Taraweeh prayers, there will be a betterment in the endurance, stamina, in flexibility and strength. It was noted that the five daily prayers (Salat) produce the same physiological changes without any undesirable side effects as those produced by jogging or walking at about three miles per hour. Recent research studies performed on 17,000 Harvard alumni who entered college between 1916-1950 give strong evidence that only moderate aerobic exercise, equivalent to jogging about 3 miles a day, promotes good health and may actually add years to life. Men who expended about 2000 kcal of energy on a weekly basis (equal to a daily 30-minute walk, run, cycle, swim, etc.,) had one-quarter to one-third lower death rates than classmates who did little or no exercise. In addition to the health-boosting qualities of the Salat, the Namazi will be trained to be ever ready for any unexpected physical exertion such as sudden lifting of children, chairs, or catching a public transportation vehicle. The elderly will accomplish this more securely and efficiently. Hence this is an advantage for the elderly to maintain their physical fitness for a longer period of time. It has been observed that those who fast and perform the Taraweeh prayers report feeling much convalescing and robust.
The Elderly
As human beings grow older, their physiological activity diminishes, as a result their bones become thinner and if not taken care of will suffer from osteoporosis (which causes the fractures of the bones when they fall in the elderly due to a loss of bone mineral content and consequent sponginess of the bones. The bone then becomes structurally unstable, brittle and susceptible to fractures). Primary osteoporosis is most common among postmenopausal (due to reduction in oestrogen) women or those who have undergone a bilateral oophorectomy (both the ovaries removed). Women are six times more likely than men to develop Type I osteoporosis. The three major prevention strategies of osteoporosis are a high dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D, regular exercise and oestrogen replacement in postmenopausal women. The skin also becomes fragile and crinkled. The repair processes of the body become slower and immune responses are decreased. In the elderly their physical activity is reduced as a result they have lower levels of Insulin Growth Factor 1. Reserve functions of all vital organs decrease and the elderly are more susceptible to mishaps and ailments. Because of repeated and regular movements of the body during Salat the muscle strength, tendon power, joint flexibility and the cardiovascular reserve are improved. Hence Salat and Taraweeh prayers enable the elderly to enrich the quality of life and to meet with unforeseen difficulties such as falls which could injure their bodies. Therefore Taraweeh prayers will improve their endurance, self-respect and self-confidence in being self-reliant.
Adrenaline is secreted even by minor activity. The secretion outlasts the incitement. Even after the Taraweeh prayers are over the effects of adrenaline and noradrenaline are manifest. (Adrenaline also called epinephrine is produced by the adrenal glands. The middle part of these glands, the adrenal medulla, secretes the hormone, which is chemically almost identical to the transmitter substance noradrenaline produced at the ends of sympathetic nerves. Adrenaline secretion into the bloodstream in stress causes acceleration of the heart, constriction of arterioles, and dilation of the pupils. In addition, adrenaline produces a marked increase in metabolic rate thus preparing the body for emergency.) Even the thought or the intention of performing the Taraweeh prayers is sufficient to activate the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathetic nervous system (thoraco-lumbar nervous system) is one of the two division of the autonomic nervous system, which supplies motor nerves to the smooth muscles of internal organs and to the heart muscle. Sympathetic nerve fibres arise via spinal nerves in the thoracic and lumbar regions. Their endings release mainly adrenaline, which increases heart rate and breathing rate, raises blood pressure, and slows digestive processes, thereby preparing the body for "fight or flight" and antagonising the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. The adrenaline would redistribute the blood in the body to the active muscles, would mobilise liver glycogen if necessary in order to provide glucose for the active tissues, would diminish fatigue in skeletal muscles and would facilitate alveolar ventilation relaxing bronchiolar muscle, and would initiate cardiovascular changes. Exercise induces a more effective functioning of beta-adrenoreceptors located on cell membranes.
Beneficial effects of Gentle Exercise
The Taraweeh prayer is considered to be gentle exercise. The beneficial effects of gentle exercise on the body are many which are elaborated here.
Effects on Skeletal Muscle
Once muscles atrophy inspite of the availability of ample proteins. During the Salat and Taraweeh, every muscle in the body contracts isotnically and others isometrically. This gentle exercise also enhances endurance and diminishes tiredness. It helps the incapacitated to make the most of their remnant capabilities. The blood flow in strung muscle is low. During the prayers the blood flow is greatly increased to the muscles. Blood flow sometimes increases even before the start of Taraweeh prayers, with just the thought of performing the Taraweeh prayers. In addition to needing fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, the human body requires minerals such as Potassium for nerve and muscle activity. It is found in fruits, meats, seafood and milk. Potassium deficiency leads to muscular and neurologic disorders. Potassium is also important in the transmission of nerve impulses and is a major positive ion in intracellular fluids. Potassium is involved in cellular enzyme activities, and it helps regulate the chemical reactions by which carbohydrates is converted to energy and amino acids are converted to protein. Also Potassium ions cause vasodilation of arterioles. During the Taraweeh prayers, systolic Blood pressure may rise (the larger number in B.P.) a little and the diastolic Blood Pressure(the lower number in B.P.) may remain unchanged or even fall. However after the Taraweeh prayers are over, the B.P. may drop to just below normal levels which is a welcome sign. Taraweeh prayers improve respiratory efficiency; circulation in the capillaries surrounding the alveoli, or air sacs, is increased, and this brings about enhanced gas exchange and deeper breathing. The increase in the maximal consumption of oxygen is what makes the Namazi feel better. Those who perform the Taraweeh prayers, apart from the prescribed Salat, are more alert and active than those who do not perform the Taraweeh prayers, even after the age of retirement. Taraweeh prayers improve physical strength and joint stability and reduce the risk of injury to the tendons and connective tissues. After age 40, the bone mineral density falls with age. Taraweeh prayers increase bone mineral density in both menopausal and in elderly women and prevents osteoporosis and maintains normalcy in bone structures. Osteoporosis results in hip fractures in women after menopause and in elderly men. The risk of osteoporosis is substantially reduced by regular Salat and Taraweeh prayers. The prayers improve lubrication of joints, movement, and maintain flexibility. Deep vein thrombosis (the most common cause of ulceration of the legs in the elderly) is prevented by performing Salat and Taraweeh prayers.
Metabolic Effects
Salat improves body weight control and expend calories without proportionate increase in appetite. A combination of moderate dietary restriction, both at the Iftar and Sahur (early morning breakfast before the start of fast) meals, accompanied by the Taraweeh prayers, should achieve weight reduction. This will also reduce both fat and body weight, but fat-free weight will remain constant or may even increase slightly. Hence during Ramadan one should not overeat at the Sahur and Iftar meals and continue to perform Salat and Taraweeh prayers in order to lose some of the excess weight.
It is well known that exercise prevents coronary heart disease (CHD), increases high density lipo-proteins (HDL or healthy Cholesterol), increases maximum oxygen uptake, slows the heart, lowers the B.P. slightly, decreases ventricular ectopic activity, enlarges the lumen of the coronary arteries and increases cardiac output. Exercise also improves carbohydrate tolerance and improves late-onset diabetes, and helps cases of chronic respiratory diseases. Beneficial changes have been recorded in the lipid profile, B.P., clotting factors, weight reduction and insulin sensitivity of muscles and other tissues in persons who exercise regularly. Growth Hormone secretion is elevated by fasting and it is further elevated by Taraweeh prayers. As Growth Hormone is necessary for collagen formation, this may be an important factor as to why the skin of those who fast regularly during Ramadan and perform the Taraweeh prayers do not get wrinkled, even when they grow old.
Mental Health
It is a known fact that exercise improves mood, thought and behaviour. Exercise improves the quality of life, induces greater sense of well-being and energy, reduces anxiety and depression, influences mood favourably and contributes to self-esteem and an aura of confidence; improves memory in the elderly especially with constant repetition of the Ayaat (verses) from the Glorious Quran and other Ayaat which exalt His Glory. This constant repetition of the Quranic Ayaat would help to screen the mind from the incoming thoughts. It has been found by a Harvard University researcher, Dr. Herbert Benson that repetition of a prayer, Ayaat of the Quran or remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah or muscular activity coupled with passive disregard of intensive thoughts causes a "relaxation response" that leads to the lowering of Blood Pressure and decreases in oxygen consumption and a reduction in heart and respiratory rates. All these are combined in the Taraweeh prayer which is an ideal condition for "relaxation response." It combines repeated muscular activity with repetition of Salat, chanting of words of glorification of Allah and of supplications. The Taraweeh prayer puts the mind in a relaxed state. This calm state of the mind may be partly due to the release of encephalins, beta-endorphins (endogenous morphines) and others into the blood circulation. Endorphins are any one of the neuropeptides composed of many amino acids, elaborated by the pituitary gland and acting on the central and peripheral nervous systems to reduce pain. Endorphins are categorised as alpha-endorphin, beta-endorphin, and gamma-endorphin which produce pharmacologic effects similar to morphine. Beta-endorphin found in the brain and GI(gastro-intestinal) tract is the most potent of the endorphins and is a powerful analgesic(pain killer) in humans and animals. For example during childbirth many women release endorphins reducing a woman's sensation of pain. The release of endorphins is associated with an euphoria. During childbirth, women who give birth with little or no medication sometimes label this euphoria a "birth climax."
Conclusion
Islam is the only religion where physical movements of Salat and Taraweeh prayers are combined with spiritual exercise. When Salat and Taraweeh prayers are practised throughout a person's life, recurring every few hours or so, trains a person to undertake the difficult task of meditation during physical manoeuvres of Salat and Taraweeh prayers, so that the Namazi(one who performs the Salat) benefits both from spiritual as well as physical exercise. Salat and Taraweeh prayers are unique in that tension builds up in the muscles during physical manoeuvres on the one hand, while tension is relieved in the mind due to the spiritual ingredient, on the other hand. The following benefits have been noted among those who perform the Taraweeh prayers: burning off calories and losing weight, maintaining muscle tone and body composition, joint flexibility (stiff joints are often the result of disuse, not arthritis), increasing metabolic rate, improving circulation, improving heart and lung function and aerobic capacity, decreasing heart disease risk profile, increasing your sense of self-control, reducing your level of stress, increasing your ability to concentrate, improving your appearance, reducing depression and resistance to depression, helping you sleep better and suppressing your appetite. Evidence is also accumulating that those who perform regular Salat along with voluntary prayers can conserve and actually retard the loss of bone mass in the elderly, thus staving off the ravages of osteoporosis that afflicts both men and women. It is also possible to retard the aging process and confer some protection to health in later life. Those who have performed Salat (Fard and Wajib), Sunnah and Nafl and Taraweeh prayers throughout life get protection and a positive effect in terms of health and longevity. They reverse the life-shortening effects of cigarette smoking and excess body weight. Even people with high blood pressure (a primary heart disease risk) reduced their death rate by one-half and their risk of dying from any of the major diseases is reduced. They also counter genetic tendencies toward an early death.
Hence Salat (Fard, Wajib), Sunnah, Nafl and Taraweeh prayers are necessary for Muslims to preserve life and their desirable qualities into old age.
Muslims perform five daily contact prayers (Salat) and voluntary prayers (Sunnah, Nafl) throughout the year and Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramadan. This results in moderate physical exercise particularly to every muscle in the body.
Muslims derive therapeutic and spiritual benefits starting from the Wudu to the physical movements in the Salat - Takbir, Qiyam, Ruku, Sajda, Jalsa, and Tasleems. Muslims perform five daily contact prayers (Salat) and voluntary prayers (Sunnah, Nafl) throughout the year and Taraweeh prayers during the month of Ramadan. This results in moderate physical exercise particularly to every muscle in the body. Some muscles contract isometrically (same length) and some contract in approximation or isotonically (same tension). The energy needed for the muscle during exercise is met by a process known as glycogenolysis. The rate of muscle metabolism increases during the performance of Salat, resulting in a relative deficiency of oxygen and muscle nutrients. In turn this deficiency causes vasodilation - an increase in the calibre of blood vessels - thereby allowing blood to flow easily back to the heart. The temporarily increased load on the heart acts to strengthen the heart muscle and to improve the circulation within the heart muscle.
During the month of Ramadan, additional prayers are performed after salatul Ishaa, called Taraweeh prayers which vary from 8 rakat (unit of prayer) to 20 rakat with a few minutes break after every 4 rakat for chanting and extolling the Majesty of Allah. After Iftar (breaking of fast) the blood glucose level continues to rise from the food ingested. Just before the Iftar meals, the blood glucose and insulin levels are at their lowest level. After an hour or so after the Iftar meal, the blood glucose begins to rise and also plasma insulin. Liver and the muscles take up the circulating glucose. The blood sugar reaches high levels in an hour or two and the benefits of Taraweeh prayers come into effect. The circulating glucose is metabolised into carbon dioxide and water during the Taraweeh prayers.
Hence the Taraweeh prayers help in expending the extra calories and improve flexibility, coordination, reduce stress-related autonomic responses in healthy persons, and relieve anxiety and depression.
Physical and Emotional Well-Being
The gentle exercises performed in Taraweeh prayers improve physical fitness, emotional well-being and increase the longevity of the Namazi (one who performs the Salat or Namaz). When a little extra effort is made, as in performing the Taraweeh prayers, there will be a betterment in the endurance, stamina, in flexibility and strength. It was noted that the five daily prayers (Salat) produce the same physiological changes without any undesirable side effects as those produced by jogging or walking at about three miles per hour. Recent research studies performed on 17,000 Harvard alumni who entered college between 1916-1950 give strong evidence that only moderate aerobic exercise, equivalent to jogging about 3 miles a day, promotes good health and may actually add years to life. Men who expended about 2000 kcal of energy on a weekly basis (equal to a daily 30-minute walk, run, cycle, swim, etc.,) had one-quarter to one-third lower death rates than classmates who did little or no exercise. In addition to the health-boosting qualities of the Salat, the Namazi will be trained to be ever ready for any unexpected physical exertion such as sudden lifting of children, chairs, or catching a public transportation vehicle. The elderly will accomplish this more securely and efficiently. Hence this is an advantage for the elderly to maintain their physical fitness for a longer period of time. It has been observed that those who fast and perform the Taraweeh prayers report feeling much convalescing and robust.
The Elderly
As human beings grow older, their physiological activity diminishes, as a result their bones become thinner and if not taken care of will suffer from osteoporosis (which causes the fractures of the bones when they fall in the elderly due to a loss of bone mineral content and consequent sponginess of the bones. The bone then becomes structurally unstable, brittle and susceptible to fractures). Primary osteoporosis is most common among postmenopausal (due to reduction in oestrogen) women or those who have undergone a bilateral oophorectomy (both the ovaries removed). Women are six times more likely than men to develop Type I osteoporosis. The three major prevention strategies of osteoporosis are a high dietary intake of calcium and vitamin D, regular exercise and oestrogen replacement in postmenopausal women. The skin also becomes fragile and crinkled. The repair processes of the body become slower and immune responses are decreased. In the elderly their physical activity is reduced as a result they have lower levels of Insulin Growth Factor 1. Reserve functions of all vital organs decrease and the elderly are more susceptible to mishaps and ailments. Because of repeated and regular movements of the body during Salat the muscle strength, tendon power, joint flexibility and the cardiovascular reserve are improved. Hence Salat and Taraweeh prayers enable the elderly to enrich the quality of life and to meet with unforeseen difficulties such as falls which could injure their bodies. Therefore Taraweeh prayers will improve their endurance, self-respect and self-confidence in being self-reliant.
Adrenaline is secreted even by minor activity. The secretion outlasts the incitement. Even after the Taraweeh prayers are over the effects of adrenaline and noradrenaline are manifest. (Adrenaline also called epinephrine is produced by the adrenal glands. The middle part of these glands, the adrenal medulla, secretes the hormone, which is chemically almost identical to the transmitter substance noradrenaline produced at the ends of sympathetic nerves. Adrenaline secretion into the bloodstream in stress causes acceleration of the heart, constriction of arterioles, and dilation of the pupils. In addition, adrenaline produces a marked increase in metabolic rate thus preparing the body for emergency.) Even the thought or the intention of performing the Taraweeh prayers is sufficient to activate the sympathetic nervous system. Sympathetic nervous system (thoraco-lumbar nervous system) is one of the two division of the autonomic nervous system, which supplies motor nerves to the smooth muscles of internal organs and to the heart muscle. Sympathetic nerve fibres arise via spinal nerves in the thoracic and lumbar regions. Their endings release mainly adrenaline, which increases heart rate and breathing rate, raises blood pressure, and slows digestive processes, thereby preparing the body for "fight or flight" and antagonising the effects of the sympathetic nervous system. The adrenaline would redistribute the blood in the body to the active muscles, would mobilise liver glycogen if necessary in order to provide glucose for the active tissues, would diminish fatigue in skeletal muscles and would facilitate alveolar ventilation relaxing bronchiolar muscle, and would initiate cardiovascular changes. Exercise induces a more effective functioning of beta-adrenoreceptors located on cell membranes.
Beneficial effects of Gentle Exercise
The Taraweeh prayer is considered to be gentle exercise. The beneficial effects of gentle exercise on the body are many which are elaborated here.
Effects on Skeletal Muscle
Once muscles atrophy inspite of the availability of ample proteins. During the Salat and Taraweeh, every muscle in the body contracts isotnically and others isometrically. This gentle exercise also enhances endurance and diminishes tiredness. It helps the incapacitated to make the most of their remnant capabilities. The blood flow in strung muscle is low. During the prayers the blood flow is greatly increased to the muscles. Blood flow sometimes increases even before the start of Taraweeh prayers, with just the thought of performing the Taraweeh prayers. In addition to needing fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, the human body requires minerals such as Potassium for nerve and muscle activity. It is found in fruits, meats, seafood and milk. Potassium deficiency leads to muscular and neurologic disorders. Potassium is also important in the transmission of nerve impulses and is a major positive ion in intracellular fluids. Potassium is involved in cellular enzyme activities, and it helps regulate the chemical reactions by which carbohydrates is converted to energy and amino acids are converted to protein. Also Potassium ions cause vasodilation of arterioles. During the Taraweeh prayers, systolic Blood pressure may rise (the larger number in B.P.) a little and the diastolic Blood Pressure(the lower number in B.P.) may remain unchanged or even fall. However after the Taraweeh prayers are over, the B.P. may drop to just below normal levels which is a welcome sign. Taraweeh prayers improve respiratory efficiency; circulation in the capillaries surrounding the alveoli, or air sacs, is increased, and this brings about enhanced gas exchange and deeper breathing. The increase in the maximal consumption of oxygen is what makes the Namazi feel better. Those who perform the Taraweeh prayers, apart from the prescribed Salat, are more alert and active than those who do not perform the Taraweeh prayers, even after the age of retirement. Taraweeh prayers improve physical strength and joint stability and reduce the risk of injury to the tendons and connective tissues. After age 40, the bone mineral density falls with age. Taraweeh prayers increase bone mineral density in both menopausal and in elderly women and prevents osteoporosis and maintains normalcy in bone structures. Osteoporosis results in hip fractures in women after menopause and in elderly men. The risk of osteoporosis is substantially reduced by regular Salat and Taraweeh prayers. The prayers improve lubrication of joints, movement, and maintain flexibility. Deep vein thrombosis (the most common cause of ulceration of the legs in the elderly) is prevented by performing Salat and Taraweeh prayers.
Metabolic Effects
Salat improves body weight control and expend calories without proportionate increase in appetite. A combination of moderate dietary restriction, both at the Iftar and Sahur (early morning breakfast before the start of fast) meals, accompanied by the Taraweeh prayers, should achieve weight reduction. This will also reduce both fat and body weight, but fat-free weight will remain constant or may even increase slightly. Hence during Ramadan one should not overeat at the Sahur and Iftar meals and continue to perform Salat and Taraweeh prayers in order to lose some of the excess weight.
It is well known that exercise prevents coronary heart disease (CHD), increases high density lipo-proteins (HDL or healthy Cholesterol), increases maximum oxygen uptake, slows the heart, lowers the B.P. slightly, decreases ventricular ectopic activity, enlarges the lumen of the coronary arteries and increases cardiac output. Exercise also improves carbohydrate tolerance and improves late-onset diabetes, and helps cases of chronic respiratory diseases. Beneficial changes have been recorded in the lipid profile, B.P., clotting factors, weight reduction and insulin sensitivity of muscles and other tissues in persons who exercise regularly. Growth Hormone secretion is elevated by fasting and it is further elevated by Taraweeh prayers. As Growth Hormone is necessary for collagen formation, this may be an important factor as to why the skin of those who fast regularly during Ramadan and perform the Taraweeh prayers do not get wrinkled, even when they grow old.
Mental Health
It is a known fact that exercise improves mood, thought and behaviour. Exercise improves the quality of life, induces greater sense of well-being and energy, reduces anxiety and depression, influences mood favourably and contributes to self-esteem and an aura of confidence; improves memory in the elderly especially with constant repetition of the Ayaat (verses) from the Glorious Quran and other Ayaat which exalt His Glory. This constant repetition of the Quranic Ayaat would help to screen the mind from the incoming thoughts. It has been found by a Harvard University researcher, Dr. Herbert Benson that repetition of a prayer, Ayaat of the Quran or remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah or muscular activity coupled with passive disregard of intensive thoughts causes a "relaxation response" that leads to the lowering of Blood Pressure and decreases in oxygen consumption and a reduction in heart and respiratory rates. All these are combined in the Taraweeh prayer which is an ideal condition for "relaxation response." It combines repeated muscular activity with repetition of Salat, chanting of words of glorification of Allah and of supplications. The Taraweeh prayer puts the mind in a relaxed state. This calm state of the mind may be partly due to the release of encephalins, beta-endorphins (endogenous morphines) and others into the blood circulation. Endorphins are any one of the neuropeptides composed of many amino acids, elaborated by the pituitary gland and acting on the central and peripheral nervous systems to reduce pain. Endorphins are categorised as alpha-endorphin, beta-endorphin, and gamma-endorphin which produce pharmacologic effects similar to morphine. Beta-endorphin found in the brain and GI(gastro-intestinal) tract is the most potent of the endorphins and is a powerful analgesic(pain killer) in humans and animals. For example during childbirth many women release endorphins reducing a woman's sensation of pain. The release of endorphins is associated with an euphoria. During childbirth, women who give birth with little or no medication sometimes label this euphoria a "birth climax."
Conclusion
Islam is the only religion where physical movements of Salat and Taraweeh prayers are combined with spiritual exercise. When Salat and Taraweeh prayers are practised throughout a person's life, recurring every few hours or so, trains a person to undertake the difficult task of meditation during physical manoeuvres of Salat and Taraweeh prayers, so that the Namazi(one who performs the Salat) benefits both from spiritual as well as physical exercise. Salat and Taraweeh prayers are unique in that tension builds up in the muscles during physical manoeuvres on the one hand, while tension is relieved in the mind due to the spiritual ingredient, on the other hand. The following benefits have been noted among those who perform the Taraweeh prayers: burning off calories and losing weight, maintaining muscle tone and body composition, joint flexibility (stiff joints are often the result of disuse, not arthritis), increasing metabolic rate, improving circulation, improving heart and lung function and aerobic capacity, decreasing heart disease risk profile, increasing your sense of self-control, reducing your level of stress, increasing your ability to concentrate, improving your appearance, reducing depression and resistance to depression, helping you sleep better and suppressing your appetite. Evidence is also accumulating that those who perform regular Salat along with voluntary prayers can conserve and actually retard the loss of bone mass in the elderly, thus staving off the ravages of osteoporosis that afflicts both men and women. It is also possible to retard the aging process and confer some protection to health in later life. Those who have performed Salat (Fard and Wajib), Sunnah and Nafl and Taraweeh prayers throughout life get protection and a positive effect in terms of health and longevity. They reverse the life-shortening effects of cigarette smoking and excess body weight. Even people with high blood pressure (a primary heart disease risk) reduced their death rate by one-half and their risk of dying from any of the major diseases is reduced. They also counter genetic tendencies toward an early death.
Hence Salat (Fard, Wajib), Sunnah, Nafl and Taraweeh prayers are necessary for Muslims to preserve life and their desirable qualities into old age.
25 diet tips
1. Add just one fruit or veggie serving daily. Get comfortable with that, then add an extra serving until you reach 8 to 10 a day.
2. Eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.
3. Resolve never to supersize your food portions-unless you want to supersize your clothes.
4. Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it, and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.
5. Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.
6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit at both lunch and dinner.
7. Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.
8. When dining out, make it automatic: Order one dessert to share.
9. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
10. See what you eat. Plate your food instead of eating out of the jar or bag.
11. Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.
12. Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lb in a year.
13. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.
14. Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.
15. Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.
16. Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are eight-tenths full."
17. Use mustard instead of mayo.
18. Eat more soup. The noncreamy ones are filling but low-cal.
19. Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of
Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.
20. Take your lunch to work.
21. Sit when you eat.
22. Dilute juice with water.
23. Have mostly veggies for lunch.
24. Eat at home.
25. Limit alcohol to weekends. (for non muslims)
2. Eat at least two servings of a fruit or veggie at every meal.
3. Resolve never to supersize your food portions-unless you want to supersize your clothes.
4. Make eating purposeful, not mindless. Whenever you put food in your mouth, peel it, unwrap it, plate it, and sit. Engage all of the senses in the pleasure of nourishing your body.
5. Start eating a big breakfast. It helps you eat fewer total calories throughout the day.
6. Make sure your plate is half veggies and/or fruit at both lunch and dinner.
7. Eating out? Halve it, and bag the rest. A typical restaurant entree has 1,000 to 2,000 calories, not even counting the bread, appetizer, beverage, and dessert.
8. When dining out, make it automatic: Order one dessert to share.
9. Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate.
10. See what you eat. Plate your food instead of eating out of the jar or bag.
11. Eat the low-cal items on your plate first, then graduate. Start with salads, veggies, and broth soups, and eat meats and starches last. By the time you get to them, you'll be full enough to be content with smaller portions of the high-calorie choices.
12. Instead of whole milk, switch to 1 percent. If you drink one 8-oz glass a day, you'll lose 5 lb in a year.
13. Juice has as many calories, ounce for ounce, as soda. Set a limit of one 8-oz glass of fruit juice a day.
14. Get calories from foods you chew, not beverages. Have fresh fruit instead of fruit juice.
15. Keep a food journal. It really works wonders.
16. Follow the Chinese saying: "Eat until you are eight-tenths full."
17. Use mustard instead of mayo.
18. Eat more soup. The noncreamy ones are filling but low-cal.
19. Cut back on or cut out caloric drinks such as soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. People have lost weight by making just this one change. If you have a 20-oz bottle of
Coca-Cola every day, switch to Diet Coke. You should lose 25 lb in a year.
20. Take your lunch to work.
21. Sit when you eat.
22. Dilute juice with water.
23. Have mostly veggies for lunch.
24. Eat at home.
25. Limit alcohol to weekends. (for non muslims)
SHRINK YOUR STOMACH - SWEETENER
I want to touch on a topic that is in virtually everything we eat or drink and yet we never question it at all.
I want to talk about artificial sweeteners today because I've noticed that there's a lot of confusion and misconceptions revolving around these non-caloric sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and the huge list of products sweetened with them are marketed to you relentlessly as "healthy foods" or "healthier" than sugar or corn syrup sweetened products. But are they really?
Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:
Splenda (sucralose)
Aspartame
Saccharine
Acesulfame Potassium (aka - acesulfame K)
These artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in almost every "diet" drink, "lite" yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most "low-carb" products, and almost all "reduced-sugar" products. Heck, even most protein powders are loaded with
artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you'll usually see one or more of them).
Splenda is probably one of the worst offenders of claiming to be "healthy" as they say that it's made from real sugar. Don't be fooled! It's still an artificial substance. What they don't tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it
more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking.
The truth is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and as you'll discover in a minute, can easily be just as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar or corn syrup. Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the "diet" drinks or "lite" yogurts compared to the
sugar-laden versions, but the problem is that you're exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.
I know you're probably frustrated by all of the contradicting messages you hear each day about which foods are good for you and which are bad. I'm sure just today you probably saw some clever ad or commercial somewhere screaming health benefits for
a food product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners. Don't worry. Just stick with me and I'll get past the marketing hype for you and decipher the truth. I'll also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners as well as
alternatives to sugar or corn syrup sweeteners.
The fact is, artificial sweeteners vs. sugar or corn syrup is really just a battle between two evils. Which evil is worse?
I'm sure you already know the problems with sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened products. The excess empty calories, blood sugar spike, and resulting insulin surge this creates in your body not only promotes fat gain, but also stimulates your appetite further, making things even worse.
On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there's growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don't really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can
stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.
All of the 4 artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far,
other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:
* some have been linked to potential cancer risks
* negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
* stimulating cravings
* gastrointestinal problems
* developmental problems in children and fetuses
* headaches
* and too many more issues to list
Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don't know about you, but I'd rather protect myself and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.
Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe and they have studies that prove that they are safe. The bottom line
is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners. Take my word on that one.
So what are your options for alternatives? Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either raw honey, organic maple syrup, or even a little-known high antioxidant syrup called sorghum syrup (common in the southern US). Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup... honey, organic maple syrup, and sorghum syrup actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it's not just empty calories. Empty calories stimulate your appetite
more because your body is lacking nutrients.
Now you're probably thinking that you'd like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners. Good news...
You can!
You've probably seen me reference this natural sweetener in a lot of my recipes. It's called Stevia. I've been using it for years as an alternative sweetener when you still want to save a little on calories and sugar.
Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb. It is a South American herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar. Something
interesting that I heard recently was that artificial sweeteners are banned in Japan, and therefore Stevia is a very popular alternative over there.
One problem I've noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I've found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia
powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.
I've yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits. I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.
One of the best products I've found over the years is made by a company called Steviva. They have an excellent stevia product blended with another natural sweetener called erythritol. I suggest giving it a try! Just look for the "Steviva Blend". You can use it in your coffee or tea, to sweeten up plain yogurt, added to smoothies for extra sweetness, on cereals or oatmeal, in baking, or where ever else you might need a sweetener but want to reduce the sugar content.
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this important discussion.
I want to talk about artificial sweeteners today because I've noticed that there's a lot of confusion and misconceptions revolving around these non-caloric sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners and the huge list of products sweetened with them are marketed to you relentlessly as "healthy foods" or "healthier" than sugar or corn syrup sweetened products. But are they really?
Just to clarify, some of the most popular artificial sweeteners on the market today are:
Splenda (sucralose)
Aspartame
Saccharine
Acesulfame Potassium (aka - acesulfame K)
These artificial sweeteners are used in abundance in almost every "diet" drink, "lite" yogurts, puddings, and ice creams, most "low-carb" products, and almost all "reduced-sugar" products. Heck, even most protein powders are loaded with
artificial sweeteners too (just look on the ingredients and you'll usually see one or more of them).
Splenda is probably one of the worst offenders of claiming to be "healthy" as they say that it's made from real sugar. Don't be fooled! It's still an artificial substance. What they don't tell you is that Splenda is actually a chemically modified substance where chlorine is added to the chemical structure, making it
more similar to a chlorinated pesticide than something we should be eating or drinking.
The truth is that artificial sweeteners are not even close to being healthy, and as you'll discover in a minute, can easily be just as bad for you, if not worse, than sugar or corn syrup. Most people think that they are doing something good for themselves by choosing the "diet" drinks or "lite" yogurts compared to the
sugar-laden versions, but the problem is that you're exposing yourself to a whole new set of problems with the artificially sweetened drinks and foods.
I know you're probably frustrated by all of the contradicting messages you hear each day about which foods are good for you and which are bad. I'm sure just today you probably saw some clever ad or commercial somewhere screaming health benefits for
a food product that is loaded with artificial sweeteners. Don't worry. Just stick with me and I'll get past the marketing hype for you and decipher the truth. I'll also give you some ideas for great alternatives to artificial sweeteners as well as
alternatives to sugar or corn syrup sweeteners.
The fact is, artificial sweeteners vs. sugar or corn syrup is really just a battle between two evils. Which evil is worse?
I'm sure you already know the problems with sugar or high fructose corn syrup sweetened products. The excess empty calories, blood sugar spike, and resulting insulin surge this creates in your body not only promotes fat gain, but also stimulates your appetite further, making things even worse.
On the other hand, artificial sweeteners save you calories, but there's growing evidence that they can increase your appetite for sweets and other carbohydrates causing you to eat more later in the day anyway. Therefore, you don't really save any calories at all. Also, studies have shown that artificial sweeteners can
stimulate high insulin levels in your body too, which again can promote fat storage.
All of the 4 artificial sweeteners listed above are nasty chemicals that the human body is simply not meant to ingest. However, most of us are ingesting a whole lot of these chemicals on a daily basis. Aside from the problems I touched on so far,
other health issues that have been related to artificial sweeteners in scientific studies as well as observations are:
* some have been linked to potential cancer risks
* negative effects on the liver, kidneys, and other organs
* stimulating cravings
* gastrointestinal problems
* developmental problems in children and fetuses
* headaches
* and too many more issues to list
Now some of the above potential health problems are definitely not proven as fact in studies. However, some of them have been shown in animal studies given high doses. Regardless of the fact that any real health problems for actual human use are not proven yet, I don't know about you, but I'd rather protect myself and steer clear of these possibly dangerous artificial chemicals.
Of course, despite all of the health issues potentially associated with artificial sweeteners, the companies that sell the products will continue to claim that they are fully safe and they have studies that prove that they are safe. The bottom line
is that the body was not designed to deal with foreign substances like artificial sweeteners. Take my word on that one.
So what are your options for alternatives? Well, your best alternatives for sugar or corn syrup are either raw honey, organic maple syrup, or even a little-known high antioxidant syrup called sorghum syrup (common in the southern US). Even though these alternatives still have the same amount of calories as sugar or corn syrup... honey, organic maple syrup, and sorghum syrup actually provide some nutrients and antioxidants, so it's not just empty calories. Empty calories stimulate your appetite
more because your body is lacking nutrients.
Now you're probably thinking that you'd like to still save on calories but avoid the nasty artificial sweeteners. Good news...
You can!
You've probably seen me reference this natural sweetener in a lot of my recipes. It's called Stevia. I've been using it for years as an alternative sweetener when you still want to save a little on calories and sugar.
Stevia is not artificial like the other chemical sweeteners I mentioned above. Stevia is a natural non-caloric herb. It is a South American herb and when dried into a powder, has a sweetness about 200-300 times stronger than sugar. Something
interesting that I heard recently was that artificial sweeteners are banned in Japan, and therefore Stevia is a very popular alternative over there.
One problem I've noticed with using Stevia is that the pure powder is a very powerful sweetener, so you can easily use too much. However, I've found some good Stevia products that use a bulking agent added so that you can measure out the stevia
powder in direct comparison to measuring sugar.
I've yet to see any negative reports or health concerns regarding stevia and only positive potential health benefits. I definitely give Stevia my seal of approval. Do yourself a favor (and your family), and if you are currently an artificial sweetener junkie, please consider switching to stevia.
One of the best products I've found over the years is made by a company called Steviva. They have an excellent stevia product blended with another natural sweetener called erythritol. I suggest giving it a try! Just look for the "Steviva Blend". You can use it in your coffee or tea, to sweeten up plain yogurt, added to smoothies for extra sweetness, on cereals or oatmeal, in baking, or where ever else you might need a sweetener but want to reduce the sugar content.
Well, that's it for today. I hope you enjoyed this important discussion.
10 awesome strategies for health weight loss
I want to share with you 10 awesome strategies for health weight loss
1. Exercise is essential for weight loss
It's nothing new, but exercise is probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long term weight loss and weight loss maintenance. In order for
exercise to be helpful in weight loss, you should strive for a minimum of five 30 minute sessions per week. The good news is that recent research has shown that three 10 minute sessions in a day are as good as one 30 minute session.
Having trouble getting a workout in? Why not try one of these programs:
* 15 minute boot camp workout
* Power workout for busy executives
* 10 minute workout for busy moms
2. Weight loss and weight training
We chose to list this separately from the "exercise" category because of the significant weight loss benefits attached to weight training in and of itself. The basic equation is this: the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you will burn. This is why world class weight lifters must eat thousands of calories a day to maintain their weight.
3. Keep a diary for triggers that hinder weight loss
Keeping a food diary can be a huge asset in successful weight loss. Devote some time each day to record what you have eaten and how much, your hunger level prior to eating, and any feelings or emotions present at the time. A food diary can provide a large amount of self-awareness. It can identify emotions and behaviors that trigger overeating, foster greater awareness of portion sizes, and help you discover your personal food triggers.
4. Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin
Many people become more successful at long term weight loss when their motivation changes from wanting to be thinner to wanting to be healthier. Change your mindset to think about selecting foods that will help your body's health rather than worrying about foods that will affect your body's weight. The Food Pyramid offers a basic outline of the types and amounts of food you should eat each day to give
your body the nutrients it needs for optimal health.
5. Find out why you overeat
All too often overeating is triggered by stress, boredom, loneliness, anger, depression and other emotions. Learning to deal with emotions without food is a significant skill that will greatly serve long term weight control. The Solution, a book and national program developed by Laurel Mellin, RD, helps participants to identify their eating triggers and respond to them without food. A research study
showed that the participants in this program demonstrated a better rate of long term weight loss maintenance than those who simply diet and/or exercise and don't address behavioral and emotional issues. Chronic over-eaters and "emotional eaters" can be significantly helped by learning new behavioral skills such as those Mellin presents. You can also seek help with behavioral and emotional eating issues
from a licensed counselor or psychologist in your area.
6. Weight loss support: join a weight management group
A big key in long term weight control comes from receiving encouragement and support from others. You can check to see if groups such as Jenny Craig offer programs and resources in your areas. You may also wish to check with your local hospital to see if their registered dietitian conducts group weight loss programs.
7. Weight loss and portion control
With the advent of "super-size" meals and increasingly huge portions at restaurants, our concept of normal serving sizes is a distant memory. Be mindful of the amounts of food you consume at a sitting. When necessary, divide your food in half and ask for a take home bag. It is all too easy to be a "plate cleaner" even when served enormous portions. Learn to pay attention to your hunger level and stop eating when
you feel comfortably full, not stuffed.
8: Lose weight slowly with small changes
Try to remember that "losing 15 pounds in two weeks" is nothing to celebrate. It is important to realize that the more quickly weight is lost, the more likely the loss is coming from water and muscle, not fat. Since muscle tissue is critical in keeping our metabolism elevated, losing it actually leads to a decrease in the amount of calories we can each day without gaining weight. Fat loss is best achieved when weight is lost slowly. Strive for a weight loss of no more than 1-2 pounds per week.
9. Eating slowly can lead to weight loss
Did you ever notice that thin people take an awfully long time to eat their food? Eating slowly is one method that can help take off pounds. That's because from the time you begin eating it takes the brain 20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. Fast eaters often eat beyond their true level of fullness before the 20 minute signal has had a chance to set in.
10. Weight loss through eating less fat - but do it wisely
We've known for some time that limiting high fat foods in the diet can be helpful with weight loss. That's because fats pack in 9 calories per gram compared to only 4
calories per gram from proteins or carbohydrates. To many, the message to limit fats implied an endorsement to eat unlimited amounts of fat-free products. Just to clarify, fat-free foods have calories too. In some cases fat-free foods have as many calories as their fat laden counterparts. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Eating less fat will help you to lose weight. Eating less fat and replacing it with excessive amounts of fat-free products will not.
I hope that at least one of these tips helps you to achieve
your weight loss goals.
1. Exercise is essential for weight loss
It's nothing new, but exercise is probably the most important predictor of whether you will succeed at long term weight loss and weight loss maintenance. In order for
exercise to be helpful in weight loss, you should strive for a minimum of five 30 minute sessions per week. The good news is that recent research has shown that three 10 minute sessions in a day are as good as one 30 minute session.
Having trouble getting a workout in? Why not try one of these programs:
* 15 minute boot camp workout
* Power workout for busy executives
* 10 minute workout for busy moms
2. Weight loss and weight training
We chose to list this separately from the "exercise" category because of the significant weight loss benefits attached to weight training in and of itself. The basic equation is this: the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories you will burn. This is why world class weight lifters must eat thousands of calories a day to maintain their weight.
3. Keep a diary for triggers that hinder weight loss
Keeping a food diary can be a huge asset in successful weight loss. Devote some time each day to record what you have eaten and how much, your hunger level prior to eating, and any feelings or emotions present at the time. A food diary can provide a large amount of self-awareness. It can identify emotions and behaviors that trigger overeating, foster greater awareness of portion sizes, and help you discover your personal food triggers.
4. Stay focused on being healthy, not on becoming thin
Many people become more successful at long term weight loss when their motivation changes from wanting to be thinner to wanting to be healthier. Change your mindset to think about selecting foods that will help your body's health rather than worrying about foods that will affect your body's weight. The Food Pyramid offers a basic outline of the types and amounts of food you should eat each day to give
your body the nutrients it needs for optimal health.
5. Find out why you overeat
All too often overeating is triggered by stress, boredom, loneliness, anger, depression and other emotions. Learning to deal with emotions without food is a significant skill that will greatly serve long term weight control. The Solution, a book and national program developed by Laurel Mellin, RD, helps participants to identify their eating triggers and respond to them without food. A research study
showed that the participants in this program demonstrated a better rate of long term weight loss maintenance than those who simply diet and/or exercise and don't address behavioral and emotional issues. Chronic over-eaters and "emotional eaters" can be significantly helped by learning new behavioral skills such as those Mellin presents. You can also seek help with behavioral and emotional eating issues
from a licensed counselor or psychologist in your area.
6. Weight loss support: join a weight management group
A big key in long term weight control comes from receiving encouragement and support from others. You can check to see if groups such as Jenny Craig offer programs and resources in your areas. You may also wish to check with your local hospital to see if their registered dietitian conducts group weight loss programs.
7. Weight loss and portion control
With the advent of "super-size" meals and increasingly huge portions at restaurants, our concept of normal serving sizes is a distant memory. Be mindful of the amounts of food you consume at a sitting. When necessary, divide your food in half and ask for a take home bag. It is all too easy to be a "plate cleaner" even when served enormous portions. Learn to pay attention to your hunger level and stop eating when
you feel comfortably full, not stuffed.
8: Lose weight slowly with small changes
Try to remember that "losing 15 pounds in two weeks" is nothing to celebrate. It is important to realize that the more quickly weight is lost, the more likely the loss is coming from water and muscle, not fat. Since muscle tissue is critical in keeping our metabolism elevated, losing it actually leads to a decrease in the amount of calories we can each day without gaining weight. Fat loss is best achieved when weight is lost slowly. Strive for a weight loss of no more than 1-2 pounds per week.
9. Eating slowly can lead to weight loss
Did you ever notice that thin people take an awfully long time to eat their food? Eating slowly is one method that can help take off pounds. That's because from the time you begin eating it takes the brain 20 minutes to start signaling feelings of fullness. Fast eaters often eat beyond their true level of fullness before the 20 minute signal has had a chance to set in.
10. Weight loss through eating less fat - but do it wisely
We've known for some time that limiting high fat foods in the diet can be helpful with weight loss. That's because fats pack in 9 calories per gram compared to only 4
calories per gram from proteins or carbohydrates. To many, the message to limit fats implied an endorsement to eat unlimited amounts of fat-free products. Just to clarify, fat-free foods have calories too. In some cases fat-free foods have as many calories as their fat laden counterparts. If you eat more calories than your body uses, you will gain weight. Eating less fat will help you to lose weight. Eating less fat and replacing it with excessive amounts of fat-free products will not.
I hope that at least one of these tips helps you to achieve
your weight loss goals.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
THE SUPER FOOD THAT MOST THINK IS JUNK
I wanted to expose another super-food that some people don't realize. In fact, some
people mistakenly think of this food as "junk food".
It's pistachio nuts.
We should all know by now that although nuts are composed of mostly fat, they are all healthy fat and loaded with tons of vitamins, trace nutrients, and ntioxidants. And pistachios are definitely loaded with nutrition.
Yes, these should be part of your guilt-free "approved" list of snack foods. Not only are they great for you, but they're delicious too!
I recently saw a study done on pistachios that divided the subjects into a control group, a group eating 1.5 oz of pistachios daily, and a 3rd group eating 3 oz of pistachios daily. It was a controlled university study done by Penn State
researchers.
The results were impressive... Both of the pistachio groups reduced significantly LDL bad cholesterol, decreased non-high density lipoproteins (another heart disease risk factor), and improved all LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol ratios respective to each other.
The reason pistachios do a body good... They are loaded with a unique balance of healthy fatty acids and antioxidants.
So don't fear pistachios anymore if you thought they were fattening... Eat up and enjoy!
Want a BONUS superfood?
It's Nasi lemak ayam goreng. Okay, maybe not but I wish it was . . . darn :-(
There you have it - something that many dismiss as a bad food but it helps you to lose weight!
Please ignore my nasi lemak ayam goreng recommendation by the way :-)
people mistakenly think of this food as "junk food".
It's pistachio nuts.
We should all know by now that although nuts are composed of mostly fat, they are all healthy fat and loaded with tons of vitamins, trace nutrients, and ntioxidants. And pistachios are definitely loaded with nutrition.
Yes, these should be part of your guilt-free "approved" list of snack foods. Not only are they great for you, but they're delicious too!
I recently saw a study done on pistachios that divided the subjects into a control group, a group eating 1.5 oz of pistachios daily, and a 3rd group eating 3 oz of pistachios daily. It was a controlled university study done by Penn State
researchers.
The results were impressive... Both of the pistachio groups reduced significantly LDL bad cholesterol, decreased non-high density lipoproteins (another heart disease risk factor), and improved all LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol ratios respective to each other.
The reason pistachios do a body good... They are loaded with a unique balance of healthy fatty acids and antioxidants.
So don't fear pistachios anymore if you thought they were fattening... Eat up and enjoy!
Want a BONUS superfood?
It's Nasi lemak ayam goreng. Okay, maybe not but I wish it was . . . darn :-(
There you have it - something that many dismiss as a bad food but it helps you to lose weight!
Please ignore my nasi lemak ayam goreng recommendation by the way :-)
HOPING FOR FAT LOSS INSTEAD OF EXPECTING IT
We all know that there is a huge abundance of information out
there these days on workouts and nutrition for fat loss and
muscle building.
With so much vast information available these days, why is the
entire world still getting fatter every year? Each year that
goes by, the overweight and obese percentages of the population
continues to go up steadily. It's a scary trend!
One of the reasons is that there's a missing link that most
people completely overlook in their quest for their dream body.
------------------------------------------------------------
Hoping for Fat Loss vs Expecting It
There is a huge difference between hoping to reach your fat loss
goals and expecting that you will achieve them. The major
difference is that those who expect to be living in their dream
body have programmed themselves to succeed and those who are
simply hoping are holding doubts about their chances for
success. So how can you avoid falling into the 'hoping'
category?
>>>>Eliminate doubt by seeking role models
If you have any doubt in your mind that achieving your fat loss
goal is possible, if you think that you've got to many obstacles
and challenges in your way, if you've failed before and are
worried that it's going to happen again… find proof that it
won't!
I guarantee there are many people in this world who have faced
greater challenges than you have and still they accomplished
their fat loss goals. I guarantee that these people failed many
times before achieving their dream bodies, but they refused to
give up. I guarantee that they 'expected' to succeed.
Map out a plan – Now that you have role models who have
achieved fat loss success, apply the blueprint that they've laid
out for you. Model their behaviors, attitudes, and actions.
When you have a plan, you know what it's going to take in order
to develop your dream body; What workout programs you are going
to follow, what foods you are going to eat, how much sleep you
should get, how often you write out your goals and visualize
your dream body, what you should record in your journal, how to
overcome obstacles and challenges, and everything else that is
required to achieve fat loss success.
Now that you have your plan all mapped out, you've got to know
why you want to achieve this goal. It's time to get fired up
and passionate about how your life is going to change once you
are living in your dream body.
When you reach your fat loss goal, it's not just going to be
your dress size that's going to change. Your self-confidence
will blow through the roof, you may land your dream job or gain
a promotion, you may attract the love of your life, you will
have the energy to play with your children, or even try new
activities that you never thought of trying when you were
overweight. The possibilities are endless.
Now all you have to do is "Just do it!"
>>>>Be willing to do whatever it takes
This doesn't mean that you need to go to the gym for 2 hours 7
days a week. It doesn't mean that you have to be perfect with
your diet plan. Being willing to do whatever it takes means
that you have an understanding of what needs to be done in order
to achieve your dream body. It could mean that you schedule in
rest days, reward meals, days where you do fun activities rather
than go to the gym.
It means that when are faced with a challenge or setback, you
pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and drive forward with even
greater effort. The journey towards achieving your dream body is
not easy. Accepting these challenges and setbacks as being a
natural part of the processes and realizing that it is not an
opportunity to give up, but an opportunity for growth, will
place you among the people who expect fat loss success no matter
what.
It's easy to hope and dream for a lean and desirable body. Most
of us do that on a daily basis. But it takes a special kind of
person to expect the dream to come true. You now know what it
takes to expect success. Take action and apply these strategies
and I expect to see you living in your dream body very soon.
there these days on workouts and nutrition for fat loss and
muscle building.
With so much vast information available these days, why is the
entire world still getting fatter every year? Each year that
goes by, the overweight and obese percentages of the population
continues to go up steadily. It's a scary trend!
One of the reasons is that there's a missing link that most
people completely overlook in their quest for their dream body.
------------------------------------------------------------
Hoping for Fat Loss vs Expecting It
There is a huge difference between hoping to reach your fat loss
goals and expecting that you will achieve them. The major
difference is that those who expect to be living in their dream
body have programmed themselves to succeed and those who are
simply hoping are holding doubts about their chances for
success. So how can you avoid falling into the 'hoping'
category?
>>>>Eliminate doubt by seeking role models
If you have any doubt in your mind that achieving your fat loss
goal is possible, if you think that you've got to many obstacles
and challenges in your way, if you've failed before and are
worried that it's going to happen again… find proof that it
won't!
I guarantee there are many people in this world who have faced
greater challenges than you have and still they accomplished
their fat loss goals. I guarantee that these people failed many
times before achieving their dream bodies, but they refused to
give up. I guarantee that they 'expected' to succeed.
Map out a plan – Now that you have role models who have
achieved fat loss success, apply the blueprint that they've laid
out for you. Model their behaviors, attitudes, and actions.
When you have a plan, you know what it's going to take in order
to develop your dream body; What workout programs you are going
to follow, what foods you are going to eat, how much sleep you
should get, how often you write out your goals and visualize
your dream body, what you should record in your journal, how to
overcome obstacles and challenges, and everything else that is
required to achieve fat loss success.
Now that you have your plan all mapped out, you've got to know
why you want to achieve this goal. It's time to get fired up
and passionate about how your life is going to change once you
are living in your dream body.
When you reach your fat loss goal, it's not just going to be
your dress size that's going to change. Your self-confidence
will blow through the roof, you may land your dream job or gain
a promotion, you may attract the love of your life, you will
have the energy to play with your children, or even try new
activities that you never thought of trying when you were
overweight. The possibilities are endless.
Now all you have to do is "Just do it!"
>>>>Be willing to do whatever it takes
This doesn't mean that you need to go to the gym for 2 hours 7
days a week. It doesn't mean that you have to be perfect with
your diet plan. Being willing to do whatever it takes means
that you have an understanding of what needs to be done in order
to achieve your dream body. It could mean that you schedule in
rest days, reward meals, days where you do fun activities rather
than go to the gym.
It means that when are faced with a challenge or setback, you
pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and drive forward with even
greater effort. The journey towards achieving your dream body is
not easy. Accepting these challenges and setbacks as being a
natural part of the processes and realizing that it is not an
opportunity to give up, but an opportunity for growth, will
place you among the people who expect fat loss success no matter
what.
It's easy to hope and dream for a lean and desirable body. Most
of us do that on a daily basis. But it takes a special kind of
person to expect the dream to come true. You now know what it
takes to expect success. Take action and apply these strategies
and I expect to see you living in your dream body very soon.
Lailatul Qadar - The night of power
Qadar means honour and dignity. Lailatul Qadar means the night of honour and dignity. It is this night in which the first Divine Revelation of the Quran came to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, when he was in prayer in the Hira Cave. Since this night enjoys the honour of having the first revelation brought to the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, it has been named Lailatul Qadar.
This is one of the holiest and most blessed nights, which is likely to occur on one of the odd nights on the last ten days of Ramadhan and most likely to be the 27th. The reward of worship on this night is better than the worship of a thousand months of worship, equivalent to a person's lifetime. So, on this night one should pray, recite the Quran, Tasbih, Zikir, Doa, etc as much as possible.
This night had already opened its gates of treasures when the malaikat for the first time had come with the Divine Message in the Hira Cave, but its auspiciousness has continued to be with us. Every year during the month of Ramadhan, this night is given to the Ummah. Muslims engage in prayers, recitation of Quran and praying to Allah, as the Prophet s.a.w said: "The person who offered prayers to Allah in the night of Dignity with faith and with hope of reward from Allah, all his past sins have been forgiven." (Bukhari)
As the rainy season is suitable for farming, similarly for the attainment of nearness to Allah, specific times , specific days and specific nights are most suitable, e.g. the time of Tahajjud prayers, Friday prayers, month of Ramadhan, the Day of Arafah, etc. So also the Night of Power is the most suitable night for attaining nearness to Allah.
In the Hadis, we have been asked to seek it in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadhan. Aishah r.a narrates that the Prophet s.a.w has said, 'Seek the night of Dignity in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan'.(Bukhari).
By odd nights, the reference is made to the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th night of the month of Ramadhan. No one night has been fixed so that the yearning to find it may increase and people may spend more nights in worshipping Allah. From this aspect, the importance of Iktikaf (seclusion) during the last ten days of Ramadhan is clear.
This is one of the holiest and most blessed nights, which is likely to occur on one of the odd nights on the last ten days of Ramadhan and most likely to be the 27th. The reward of worship on this night is better than the worship of a thousand months of worship, equivalent to a person's lifetime. So, on this night one should pray, recite the Quran, Tasbih, Zikir, Doa, etc as much as possible.
This night had already opened its gates of treasures when the malaikat for the first time had come with the Divine Message in the Hira Cave, but its auspiciousness has continued to be with us. Every year during the month of Ramadhan, this night is given to the Ummah. Muslims engage in prayers, recitation of Quran and praying to Allah, as the Prophet s.a.w said: "The person who offered prayers to Allah in the night of Dignity with faith and with hope of reward from Allah, all his past sins have been forgiven." (Bukhari)
As the rainy season is suitable for farming, similarly for the attainment of nearness to Allah, specific times , specific days and specific nights are most suitable, e.g. the time of Tahajjud prayers, Friday prayers, month of Ramadhan, the Day of Arafah, etc. So also the Night of Power is the most suitable night for attaining nearness to Allah.
In the Hadis, we have been asked to seek it in the last ten nights of the month of Ramadhan. Aishah r.a narrates that the Prophet s.a.w has said, 'Seek the night of Dignity in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadhan'.(Bukhari).
By odd nights, the reference is made to the 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th, 29th night of the month of Ramadhan. No one night has been fixed so that the yearning to find it may increase and people may spend more nights in worshipping Allah. From this aspect, the importance of Iktikaf (seclusion) during the last ten days of Ramadhan is clear.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Tarawih Prayer - Solat Sunat Tarawih
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, "Whoever establishes prayers during the nights of Ramadan faithfully out of sincere faith and hoping to attain Allah's rewards (not for showing off), all his past sins will be forgiven."
Tarawih Prayer is a special Prayer Muslims perform only in the month of Ramadan. It is a sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which means that it was his practice to perform Tarawih and Muslims are encouraged to do likewise, but it is not obligatory.
Tarawih is performed after `Isha’ (Night) Prayer. It can be performed at home, alone or in congregation, or at a mosque. In many mosques, one juz’ (30th part) of the Qur’an is recited each night in Tarawih. Thus performing Tarawih in the mosque imparts a special flavor to Ramadan, especially if one is able to do so every night and hear the whole Qur’an recited during the month.
Note that the Islamic day begins at sunset. Thus the first Tarawih Prayer of Ramadan will be performed the evening before the fast actually begins. Likewise, after the fast on the 29th day of Ramadan, the Tarawih Prayer is delayed until it is determined whether the new moon has been sighted, marking the end of Ramadan, or whether there will be one more day of fasting. If the new moon is sighted, there is no Tarawih Prayer.
How to Perform Tarawih
Tarawih does not have to be performed immediately after `Isha’. Muslims can postpone it till later, but in a mosque it is performed after the people have prayed two rak`ahs of Sunnah following `Isha’ Prayer.
Tarawih consists of an even number of rak`ahs, performed two by two (as Fajr Prayer is performed). The number of rak`ahs is not fixed, but it usually is either 8 or 20. It is recommended to take a short break after every four rak`ahs. In a mosque, there may be a short religious talk or du`aa’ (supplication) or dhikr (remembrance of Allah) at this time.
Tarawih Prayer is recited aloud. Muslims who are praying alone or leading others and can read Arabic, may hold the Qur’an in their hands and read aloud from it during Tarawih. (But during the fard [obligatory] Prayers Muslims must recite Qur’an from memory, although exception is made for new Muslims who are still learning how to pray.) If you cannot read Arabic, you may recite Qur’an from memory.
Tarawih may be as long or short as you like, depending on your ability to read or recite, and on your energy level. In a mosque, if one juz’ is recited, the Tarawih will last for one and a half or two hours, but some mosques recite less than that. You can inquire how much they recite in each Prayer and how long it takes. If there is more than one mosque in your area, you can choose which one to attend.
After the Tarawih, there is the Witr Prayer of three rak`ahs. In Ramadan, these can be performed in congregation and aloud. In a mosque, short surahs are usually recited during these rak`ahs. After the ruku` (bowing) of the last rak`ah, it is a Sunnah for the imam to supplicate aloud before prostrating. The congregation should answer “ameen” after each line of the du`aa’ (supplication). This supplication after ruku` is known as qunoot.
The Witr should be the last Prayer performed before dawn. So if you are praying Tarawih in congregation and wish to perform additional Tahajjud (optional Late Night) Prayers later, you may skip the Witr in congregation and perform it after Tahajjud.
Tarawih Prayer is a special Prayer Muslims perform only in the month of Ramadan. It is a sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which means that it was his practice to perform Tarawih and Muslims are encouraged to do likewise, but it is not obligatory.
Tarawih is performed after `Isha’ (Night) Prayer. It can be performed at home, alone or in congregation, or at a mosque. In many mosques, one juz’ (30th part) of the Qur’an is recited each night in Tarawih. Thus performing Tarawih in the mosque imparts a special flavor to Ramadan, especially if one is able to do so every night and hear the whole Qur’an recited during the month.
Note that the Islamic day begins at sunset. Thus the first Tarawih Prayer of Ramadan will be performed the evening before the fast actually begins. Likewise, after the fast on the 29th day of Ramadan, the Tarawih Prayer is delayed until it is determined whether the new moon has been sighted, marking the end of Ramadan, or whether there will be one more day of fasting. If the new moon is sighted, there is no Tarawih Prayer.
How to Perform Tarawih
Tarawih does not have to be performed immediately after `Isha’. Muslims can postpone it till later, but in a mosque it is performed after the people have prayed two rak`ahs of Sunnah following `Isha’ Prayer.
Tarawih consists of an even number of rak`ahs, performed two by two (as Fajr Prayer is performed). The number of rak`ahs is not fixed, but it usually is either 8 or 20. It is recommended to take a short break after every four rak`ahs. In a mosque, there may be a short religious talk or du`aa’ (supplication) or dhikr (remembrance of Allah) at this time.
Tarawih Prayer is recited aloud. Muslims who are praying alone or leading others and can read Arabic, may hold the Qur’an in their hands and read aloud from it during Tarawih. (But during the fard [obligatory] Prayers Muslims must recite Qur’an from memory, although exception is made for new Muslims who are still learning how to pray.) If you cannot read Arabic, you may recite Qur’an from memory.
Tarawih may be as long or short as you like, depending on your ability to read or recite, and on your energy level. In a mosque, if one juz’ is recited, the Tarawih will last for one and a half or two hours, but some mosques recite less than that. You can inquire how much they recite in each Prayer and how long it takes. If there is more than one mosque in your area, you can choose which one to attend.
After the Tarawih, there is the Witr Prayer of three rak`ahs. In Ramadan, these can be performed in congregation and aloud. In a mosque, short surahs are usually recited during these rak`ahs. After the ruku` (bowing) of the last rak`ah, it is a Sunnah for the imam to supplicate aloud before prostrating. The congregation should answer “ameen” after each line of the du`aa’ (supplication). This supplication after ruku` is known as qunoot.
The Witr should be the last Prayer performed before dawn. So if you are praying Tarawih in congregation and wish to perform additional Tahajjud (optional Late Night) Prayers later, you may skip the Witr in congregation and perform it after Tahajjud.
Wonders of Ramadhan
in a few minutes muslims in KL will be breaking their fast.. even though this is not the first day of my life fasting.. i feel this year is a little different.. usually i feel hungry and thirsty by lunch time.. thank god.. i always love Ramadhan..
i first started fasting when i was 4 years old.. but i didnt complete the whole month.. when i was 6 i fasted for the whole month.. till today i have never missed a day.. it has been 26 years since i first started fasting the whole month of Ramadhan..
the best Ramadhan so far was back in 1999.. i was in Mekah doing the umrah.. even celebrated Eid there.. it is hard to tell how it was in words.. u gotta experience it for urself how i felt.. wow that was like 10 years ago.. how time flies.. i wish to be there again for Ramadhan..
Allah the all mighty i wish to be your guest again.. amin..
i first started fasting when i was 4 years old.. but i didnt complete the whole month.. when i was 6 i fasted for the whole month.. till today i have never missed a day.. it has been 26 years since i first started fasting the whole month of Ramadhan..
the best Ramadhan so far was back in 1999.. i was in Mekah doing the umrah.. even celebrated Eid there.. it is hard to tell how it was in words.. u gotta experience it for urself how i felt.. wow that was like 10 years ago.. how time flies.. i wish to be there again for Ramadhan..
Allah the all mighty i wish to be your guest again.. amin..
first day of ramadhan.. the first day of fasting for a muslim
it has only been a few hours since i began fasting.. i already feel dehydrated.. maybe i should have taken in more water last nite.. about another 8 hours to go..
Friday, August 21, 2009
Ramadhan Al-Mubarak - pahala/dosa? nafsu/syaitan?
tinggal hari ni saja untuk kita menikmati makan dan minum di hari siang.. esok hari sabtu adalah hari permulaan puasa.. 1 Ramadhan telah tiba.. malam ini adalah malam mulanya solat sunat tarawih.. syukur alhamdulillah..
tetapi adakah berpuasa di bulan Ramadhan ini hanya utk berlapar dan dahaga? mmg saya bukan seorang ustaz yang mempunyai ilmu yg mendalam dalam bidang agama namun dari perhatian saya mmg kebanyakan manusia yg beragama islam berpuasa hanya setakat lapar dan dahaga..
untuk masa sebulan ini syaitan akan dibelenggu.. maka tiadalah hasutan.. nafsu yg beroperasi dalam diri manusia masih dibiarkan untuk berleluasa.. manusia yang beragama islam kononnye tetap akan berjudi, meminum arak, melakukan zina, membunuh dan meninggalkan puasa dan solat.. itu yg berat.. yg ringan pun ada juga dilakukan.. tak kiralah ringan ke berat ke kalau dah salah tu mmg salah la juga dari segi agama..
disinilah kita akan lihat pada pendapat saya.. manusia ini sebenarnye bukan dikuasai atau dihasut syaitan.. nafsu manusia itu sendiri yg sebenarnye lebih memusnahkan dirinya.. keengkaran syaitan pada masa Nabi Adam tercipta pun mungkin berkait dgn nafsu.. hanya Allah yg lebih tau..
saya tidak berniat untuk menyinggung sesapa tapi hanya untuk mengingati diri saya dan saudara-saudara islam saya.. janganlah puasa hanya sekadar berlapar dan dahaga.. takat nak diet, turunkan berat badan jer xyah la nak tunggu bulan puasa.. semoga Allah yang maha pemurah dan maha mengasihani memberi rahmat dan nur hidayahnya kepada kita pada bulan ini.. amin..
tetapi adakah berpuasa di bulan Ramadhan ini hanya utk berlapar dan dahaga? mmg saya bukan seorang ustaz yang mempunyai ilmu yg mendalam dalam bidang agama namun dari perhatian saya mmg kebanyakan manusia yg beragama islam berpuasa hanya setakat lapar dan dahaga..
untuk masa sebulan ini syaitan akan dibelenggu.. maka tiadalah hasutan.. nafsu yg beroperasi dalam diri manusia masih dibiarkan untuk berleluasa.. manusia yang beragama islam kononnye tetap akan berjudi, meminum arak, melakukan zina, membunuh dan meninggalkan puasa dan solat.. itu yg berat.. yg ringan pun ada juga dilakukan.. tak kiralah ringan ke berat ke kalau dah salah tu mmg salah la juga dari segi agama..
disinilah kita akan lihat pada pendapat saya.. manusia ini sebenarnye bukan dikuasai atau dihasut syaitan.. nafsu manusia itu sendiri yg sebenarnye lebih memusnahkan dirinya.. keengkaran syaitan pada masa Nabi Adam tercipta pun mungkin berkait dgn nafsu.. hanya Allah yg lebih tau..
saya tidak berniat untuk menyinggung sesapa tapi hanya untuk mengingati diri saya dan saudara-saudara islam saya.. janganlah puasa hanya sekadar berlapar dan dahaga.. takat nak diet, turunkan berat badan jer xyah la nak tunggu bulan puasa.. semoga Allah yang maha pemurah dan maha mengasihani memberi rahmat dan nur hidayahnya kepada kita pada bulan ini.. amin..
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Lagu Menara Bangsa - Lagu Tema Kursus Biro Tatanegara
nak berkongsi dengan rakan-rakan lagu yang berkali-kali dinyanyi semasa kat BTN Ayer Keroh... ntah berapa kali pun xtau.. agak2 tahun depan punya Jangan Lupa Lirik akan masuk tak lagu ni ek? susah woh lirik dia..
Pertahan kontrak sosial - dari Utusan Malaysia
Oleh MOHD. SHARIZA ABDULLAH
utusankedah@utusan.com.my
ALOR SETAR 18 Ogos – Sultan Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu‘adzam Shah (gambar ) bertitah, negara akan berhadapan dengan bencana dan huru-hara jika kontrak sosial terus dipertikaikan serta dijadikan bahan untuk berpolitik.
Baginda khuatir tamadun dan kemerdekaan akan runtuh sebagaimana berlaku terhadap banyak negara apabila api kemarahan akar umbi tidak dapat dikawal.
Titah baginda, perkara-perkara yang terkandung dalam kontrak sosial sebagaimana termaktub dalam Perlembagaan merupakan sesuatu yang dianggap suci dan tidak harus dipersoalkan bagi menjamin kerukunan negara.
‘‘Jika perkara-perkara ini dijadikan bahan perbincangan umum dan berpolitik, ia akan membawa bencana kepada masyarakat dan negara.
‘‘Kontrak sosial tidak wajar dipertikaikan, apatah lagi disemak semula atau diubah kerana ia adalah asas pembentukan negara ini yang menjadikan rakyat pelbagai kaum hidup aman dan damai,’’ titah baginda.
Baginda bertitah demikian ketika merasmikan Seminar Khas Perlembagaan Persekutuan peringkat negeri di Dewan Seri Negeri, Wisma Darul Aman di sini hari ini.
Bekas Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan, Datuk Mohd. Noor Abdullah menyampaikan ceramah pada seminar khas berkenaan yang dihadiri pegawai-pegawai kanan kerajaan negeri dan Persekutuan serta ahli-ahli politik di Kedah.
Titah baginda, sejak kebelakangan ini keharmonian yang wujud sekian lama mula terjejas ekoran adanya pihak tertentu yang berani mempertikaikan peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Tuanku Abdul Halim bertitah, pertikaian tersebut telah menimbulkan rasa marah di kalangan pemimpin Melayu dan beberapa pertubuhan bukan kerajaan.
Baginda bertitah, antara sebab yang dikenal pasti berlakunya pertikaian mengenai peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan adalah kedangkalan pihak-pihak tertentu terhadap latar belakang sejarah mengapa ia dimaktubkan.
Selain itu, titah baginda, ia juga disebabkan pengaruh prinsip kesaksamaan dan keadilan yang cuba diaplikasikan di negara ini tanpa bertunjangkan latar belakang sejarah dan keadaan sosial negara.
“Situasi ini jika tidak dibendung boleh membawa kepada ketegangan kaum,’’ titah baginda.
Justeru Sultan Kedah menasihatkan semua pihak khususnya ahli politik, pegawai kerajaan dan rakyat supaya memandang serius serta mengambil iktibar mengenai perkara itu.
Baginda mahu pembuat dasar kerajaan memahami dengan jelas Perlembagaan Persekutuan supaya kepentingan kaum-kaum lain di negara ini terjamin dan terus menikmati hak mereka sebagai warga negara.
Titah baginda, keamanan yang dikecapi pada masa ini tidak datang bergolek kerana ia dicapai hasil permuafakatan, toleransi dan pengorbanan pemimpin-pemimpin terdahulu.
‘‘Mereka duduk semeja berbincang bagi menuntut kemerdekaan. Perbincangan ini mewujudkan peruntukan perlembagaan yang menjamin kedudukan raja-raja Melayu, agama Islam dan hak istimewa orang Melayu serta bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak dan kepentingan sah kaum-kaum lain yang dikenali sebagai kontrak sosial.
‘‘Kontrak sosial ini merupakan pengorbanan besar orang Melayu kepada kaum lain.
“Oleh itu, tidak wajar kontrak ini dipertikai, disemak semula atau diubah kerana ia adalah asas pembentukan Malaysia,’’ titah baginda.
utusankedah@utusan.com.my
ALOR SETAR 18 Ogos – Sultan Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu‘adzam Shah (gambar ) bertitah, negara akan berhadapan dengan bencana dan huru-hara jika kontrak sosial terus dipertikaikan serta dijadikan bahan untuk berpolitik.
Baginda khuatir tamadun dan kemerdekaan akan runtuh sebagaimana berlaku terhadap banyak negara apabila api kemarahan akar umbi tidak dapat dikawal.
Titah baginda, perkara-perkara yang terkandung dalam kontrak sosial sebagaimana termaktub dalam Perlembagaan merupakan sesuatu yang dianggap suci dan tidak harus dipersoalkan bagi menjamin kerukunan negara.
‘‘Jika perkara-perkara ini dijadikan bahan perbincangan umum dan berpolitik, ia akan membawa bencana kepada masyarakat dan negara.
‘‘Kontrak sosial tidak wajar dipertikaikan, apatah lagi disemak semula atau diubah kerana ia adalah asas pembentukan negara ini yang menjadikan rakyat pelbagai kaum hidup aman dan damai,’’ titah baginda.
Baginda bertitah demikian ketika merasmikan Seminar Khas Perlembagaan Persekutuan peringkat negeri di Dewan Seri Negeri, Wisma Darul Aman di sini hari ini.
Bekas Hakim Mahkamah Rayuan, Datuk Mohd. Noor Abdullah menyampaikan ceramah pada seminar khas berkenaan yang dihadiri pegawai-pegawai kanan kerajaan negeri dan Persekutuan serta ahli-ahli politik di Kedah.
Titah baginda, sejak kebelakangan ini keharmonian yang wujud sekian lama mula terjejas ekoran adanya pihak tertentu yang berani mempertikaikan peruntukan dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Tuanku Abdul Halim bertitah, pertikaian tersebut telah menimbulkan rasa marah di kalangan pemimpin Melayu dan beberapa pertubuhan bukan kerajaan.
Baginda bertitah, antara sebab yang dikenal pasti berlakunya pertikaian mengenai peruntukan Perlembagaan Persekutuan adalah kedangkalan pihak-pihak tertentu terhadap latar belakang sejarah mengapa ia dimaktubkan.
Selain itu, titah baginda, ia juga disebabkan pengaruh prinsip kesaksamaan dan keadilan yang cuba diaplikasikan di negara ini tanpa bertunjangkan latar belakang sejarah dan keadaan sosial negara.
“Situasi ini jika tidak dibendung boleh membawa kepada ketegangan kaum,’’ titah baginda.
Justeru Sultan Kedah menasihatkan semua pihak khususnya ahli politik, pegawai kerajaan dan rakyat supaya memandang serius serta mengambil iktibar mengenai perkara itu.
Baginda mahu pembuat dasar kerajaan memahami dengan jelas Perlembagaan Persekutuan supaya kepentingan kaum-kaum lain di negara ini terjamin dan terus menikmati hak mereka sebagai warga negara.
Titah baginda, keamanan yang dikecapi pada masa ini tidak datang bergolek kerana ia dicapai hasil permuafakatan, toleransi dan pengorbanan pemimpin-pemimpin terdahulu.
‘‘Mereka duduk semeja berbincang bagi menuntut kemerdekaan. Perbincangan ini mewujudkan peruntukan perlembagaan yang menjamin kedudukan raja-raja Melayu, agama Islam dan hak istimewa orang Melayu serta bumiputera Sabah dan Sarawak dan kepentingan sah kaum-kaum lain yang dikenali sebagai kontrak sosial.
‘‘Kontrak sosial ini merupakan pengorbanan besar orang Melayu kepada kaum lain.
“Oleh itu, tidak wajar kontrak ini dipertikai, disemak semula atau diubah kerana ia adalah asas pembentukan Malaysia,’’ titah baginda.
Perlembagaan Persekutuan (Perlembagaan Malaysia): Perkara 10. Kebebasan bercakap, berhimpun dan berpersatuan.
Perkara 10. Kebebasan bercakap, berhimpun dan berpersatuan.
(1) Tertakluk kepada Fasal (2), (3) dan (4)—
(a) tiap-tiap warganegara berhak kepada kebebasan bercakap dan bersuara;
(b) semua warganegara berhak untuk berhimpun secara aman dan tanpa senjata;
(c) semua warganegara berhak untuk membentuk persatuan.
(2) Parlimen boleh melalui undang-undang mengenakan—
(a) ke atas hak yang diberikan oleh perenggan (a) Fasal (1), apa-apa sekatan yang didapatinya perlu atau suai manfaat demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya, hubungan baik dengan negara-negara lain, ketenteraman awam atau prinsip moral dan sekatan-sekatan yang bertujuan untuk melindungi keistimewaan Parlimen atau mana-mana Dewan Undangan atau untuk membuat peruntukan menentang penghinaan mahkamah, fitnah, atau pengapian apa-apa kesalahan;
(b) ke atas hak yang diberikan oleh perenggan (b) Fasal (1), apa-apa sekatan yang didapatinya perlu atau suai manfaat demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya atau ketenteraman awam;
(c) ke atas hak yang diberikan oleh perenggan (c) Fasal (1), apa-apa sekatan yang didapatinya perlu atau suai manfaat demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya, ketenteraman awam atau prinsip moral.
(3) Sekatan-sekatan ke atas hak untuk membentuk persatuan yang diberikan oleh perenggan (c) Fasal (1) boleh juga dikenakan oleh mana-mana undang-undang yang berhubungan dengan perburuhan atau pendidikan.
(4) Pada mengenakan sekatan-sekatan demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya atau ketenteraman awam di bawah Fasal (2)(a), Parlimen boleh meluluskan undang-undang melarang dipersoalkan apa-apa perkara, hak, taraf, kedudukan, keistimewaan, kedaulatan atau prerogatif yang ditetapkan atau dilindungi oleh peruntukan Bahagian III, Perkara 152, 153 atau 181 melainkan yang berhubungan dengan pelaksanaannya sebagaimana yang dinyatakan dalam undang-undang itu.
Ulasan ringkas:-
Sebagai rakyat Persekutuan ataupun sebagai rakyat Malaysia, kita memang mempunyai hak untuk bersuara namun setiap warganegara harus memahami perlembagaan. Ada had dan batasnya kebebasan itu. Apabila seseorang atau satu kumpulan itu melampaui had dan batas dengan itu wujudlah Akta Hasutan dan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri. Jika ada yang tak bersetuju mengapa Akta-akta itu diwujudkan, sila baca dan fahami dulu Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Boleh beli dimana-mana kedai buku, harga baru RM10.
(1) Tertakluk kepada Fasal (2), (3) dan (4)—
(a) tiap-tiap warganegara berhak kepada kebebasan bercakap dan bersuara;
(b) semua warganegara berhak untuk berhimpun secara aman dan tanpa senjata;
(c) semua warganegara berhak untuk membentuk persatuan.
(2) Parlimen boleh melalui undang-undang mengenakan—
(a) ke atas hak yang diberikan oleh perenggan (a) Fasal (1), apa-apa sekatan yang didapatinya perlu atau suai manfaat demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya, hubungan baik dengan negara-negara lain, ketenteraman awam atau prinsip moral dan sekatan-sekatan yang bertujuan untuk melindungi keistimewaan Parlimen atau mana-mana Dewan Undangan atau untuk membuat peruntukan menentang penghinaan mahkamah, fitnah, atau pengapian apa-apa kesalahan;
(b) ke atas hak yang diberikan oleh perenggan (b) Fasal (1), apa-apa sekatan yang didapatinya perlu atau suai manfaat demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya atau ketenteraman awam;
(c) ke atas hak yang diberikan oleh perenggan (c) Fasal (1), apa-apa sekatan yang didapatinya perlu atau suai manfaat demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya, ketenteraman awam atau prinsip moral.
(3) Sekatan-sekatan ke atas hak untuk membentuk persatuan yang diberikan oleh perenggan (c) Fasal (1) boleh juga dikenakan oleh mana-mana undang-undang yang berhubungan dengan perburuhan atau pendidikan.
(4) Pada mengenakan sekatan-sekatan demi kepentingan keselamatan Persekutuan atau mana-mana bahagiannya atau ketenteraman awam di bawah Fasal (2)(a), Parlimen boleh meluluskan undang-undang melarang dipersoalkan apa-apa perkara, hak, taraf, kedudukan, keistimewaan, kedaulatan atau prerogatif yang ditetapkan atau dilindungi oleh peruntukan Bahagian III, Perkara 152, 153 atau 181 melainkan yang berhubungan dengan pelaksanaannya sebagaimana yang dinyatakan dalam undang-undang itu.
Ulasan ringkas:-
Sebagai rakyat Persekutuan ataupun sebagai rakyat Malaysia, kita memang mempunyai hak untuk bersuara namun setiap warganegara harus memahami perlembagaan. Ada had dan batasnya kebebasan itu. Apabila seseorang atau satu kumpulan itu melampaui had dan batas dengan itu wujudlah Akta Hasutan dan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri. Jika ada yang tak bersetuju mengapa Akta-akta itu diwujudkan, sila baca dan fahami dulu Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Boleh beli dimana-mana kedai buku, harga baru RM10.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Back to the office
it is tuesday 18/8/09.. i am back in the office.. still tired from my Biro Tatanegara course.. my body still aching.. well work is work.. no work no pay.. no pay no money.. but how to start work.. where do i start.. so much paperwork on my desk..
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Takziah Buat Keluarga Uztaz Mohd Asri
Terkedu bila mendengar berita kematian ini. Terbayang senyumannya. Beliau nampak jujur dan ikhlas. Suaranya merdu. Umurnya juga masih muda. Tp itu ketentuan Illahi. Kita pergi bila sudah sampai masanya.
Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya.
Takziah untuk keluarga Uztaz Mohd Asri dan Kumpulan Rabbani.
Semoga Allah mencucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya.
Takziah untuk keluarga Uztaz Mohd Asri dan Kumpulan Rabbani.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Kursus Kenegaraan (Sistem Saraan Malaysia) - Biro Tatanegara
hari khamis ni 12/08/09, saya akan pergi berkursus di Melaka sampai 17/08/09. kursus ini adalah sebahagian dari sistem saraan malaysia. dah lulus kursus ni boleh la naik pangkat gamaknye.. ;)
Kursus Kenegaraan (Sistem Saraan Malaysia)
Kursus Kenegaraan adalah bertujuan untuk mencapai objektif-objektif berikut:
Untuk memberi pendedahan dan pembentukan ketahanan diri anggota perkhidmatan awam dari segi fizikal dan mental bagi meningkatkan patriotisme kepada negara dan kerajaan;
Untuk memberi penjelasan tentang pengurusan disiplin dan pembentukan sahsiah anggota perkhidmatan awam dalam menjalankan tugas;
Untuk memupuk sikap, nilai-nilai murni dan etika kerja cemerlang di kalangan semua anggota perkhidmatan awam; dan
Untuk memenuhi sebahagian daripada Tahap Kecekapan 1 di bawah Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan bagi skim perkhidmatan yang berkaitan
Kursus Kenegaraan (Sistem Saraan Malaysia)
Kursus Kenegaraan adalah bertujuan untuk mencapai objektif-objektif berikut:
Untuk memberi pendedahan dan pembentukan ketahanan diri anggota perkhidmatan awam dari segi fizikal dan mental bagi meningkatkan patriotisme kepada negara dan kerajaan;
Untuk memberi penjelasan tentang pengurusan disiplin dan pembentukan sahsiah anggota perkhidmatan awam dalam menjalankan tugas;
Untuk memupuk sikap, nilai-nilai murni dan etika kerja cemerlang di kalangan semua anggota perkhidmatan awam; dan
Untuk memenuhi sebahagian daripada Tahap Kecekapan 1 di bawah Penilaian Tahap Kecekapan bagi skim perkhidmatan yang berkaitan
Monday, August 10, 2009
mama and abah's 34th wedding anniversary - dinner at Sri Ayutthaya
on 8/8/9 my parents celebrated their 34th year of marriage.. went for dinner at sri ayutthaya in medan damansara.. the food there is nice.. didnt order too much as i fear that my will power is not that strong when good food is served right in front of my eyes.. LOL!!!!... below are what we ordered.. maybe some of you who love thai food can give it a try..
pla sam rod - ikan 3 rasa
chicken in lotus leaf - ayam balut daun lotus
butter prawn - udang goreng mentega
fried baby kailan in fish sauce - hmm.. apa ek dalam bahasa melayu.. anak kailan goreng sos ikan??? LOL!!!!!
my never smiling face..
people always say when i take pictures i never smile.. well this picture was the latest taken on 8/8/9.. i dont know why but i think i was smiling when i was taking the picture.. but the end result always look like i am putting on a sour face.. no wonder sometimes people dont smile back when i smile.. is there something wrong with the nerves on my face?
Sunday, August 9, 2009
writers block again!!!
i am having a problem writing again.. my mind is so full of things from the work place.. i would love to talk about it.. but since i am a government officer i cant just talk about my work as some of it falls under the Official Secret Act.. hence that is why i am having a writers block.. its hard to think about anything else other than work..
Friday, August 7, 2009
Pakej Ransangan Ekonomi - Project Management
i have been so bz with work.. maybe should have thought about project management to handle the projects.. below is something about project management
Risk Management is a good management practice. Project Risk Management consists of multiple processes in establishing the risk factor, analyzing the risk levels and responding to the project risks. The Risk Management Plan will be created before and after you create the Project Schedule, as you will be looking at the tasks in the Project Schedule and other factors in the Project Management Plan for potential risk items. Continuous assessments, monitoring, and managing risks actively until the risks are resolved or turned into problems to be handled.
A strong risk management process can decrease problems on a project by as much as 80 or 90 percent. There are different types of Risk Management and different uses that include calculating credit-worthiness, planning for events (i.e. disasters), determining period of warranty, calculating insurance rates, and many more.
Before embarking on a risk management process, one must have an understanding of some key definitions. Project risks as defined from a PMI perspective are unknown events. These events can be positive or negative. Most of the time and focus is spent handling negative project risks, rather than positive project risks.
Often, organizations that perform a risk management process on a fairly typical multi-month project will identify and manage possibly five to ten easily recognized project risks. However, that number should in fact be much higher. With a high number of project risks identified early on, a team's awareness of what to look for is increased, so that potential problems are recognized earlier and opportunities are seen more readily.
The Risk Management Life Cycle is comprised of the following:
Risk Planning Life Cycle
• Preliminary Risk Management Plan is implemented in the Project Initiating Phase
• Approved Risk Management Plan is implemented in the Project Planning Phase
• Updating the Risk Management Plan is implemented through the rest of the Project Life Cycle
Risk Identification and Response Planning
• Done at regular intervals, throughout the entire project life cycle
• When changes are made to the deliverables, project plan, or the baseline(s)
• Upon completion of major milestones or schedule check points
Risk Monitoring and Control
• Done at regular intervals, throughout the entire project life cycle
• In Reports, Status Meetings, Executive Briefings
• In Quality Control Reviews
It may seem that project risks cannot be managed without taking away from the actual work of the project. However, this can effectively be accomplished with the four major risk management processes that can be utilized and modified with each project.
1. Risk identification allows individuals to determine risks which may affect the project so that the team becomes aware of any potential problems and documents each problem characteristics.
2. Risk quantification to assess the evaluated risks and risk interactions estimates for a possible project outcome.
3. Risk response development uses the information obtained from risk analysis to formulate strategies, plans, and actions.
4. Risk response control monitors the status of specific risks and documents and executes the progress in their respective action plans.
Different application areas often use different names for the processes. Risk identification and risk quantification are sometimes considered as a single process and called risk assessment or risk analysis. Risk response development is sometimes called risk planning or risk mitigation. Risk response development and risk response control are sometimes considered as a single process and called risk management.
Risk identification determines which risks are likely to affect the project and documenting each problem characteristics. Risk identification is performed throughout the project on a regular basis. Internal and external risk should be addressed in risk identification. Internal risks are things that can be controlled or influenced where as external risks are things beyond the control or influence of the project team.
Risk identification may be accomplished by identifying causes and effect or effect and causes.
Risk quantification evaluates risks and risk interactions to assess the range of possible project outcome. It is complicated by a number of factors not limited to:
• Opportunities and threats can interact in unanticipated ways
• A single risk event can cause multiple effects
• Opportunities for one stakeholder can be a threat to another
• The mathematical techniques used can create a false impression of precision and reliability.
Risk response development involves defining enhancement steps for opportunities and responses to threats. Response to threats:
• Avoidance
• Acceptance
• Mitigation
Risk response control executes the risk management plan in order to respond to risks over the duration of the project. When risks changes, the process to identify, quantify, and respond is repeated. Even the most thorough and comprehensive analysis cannot identify all risk and probabilities correctly; control and iteration are required.
Risk Management is a good management practice. Project Risk Management consists of multiple processes in establishing the risk factor, analyzing the risk levels and responding to the project risks. The Risk Management Plan will be created before and after you create the Project Schedule, as you will be looking at the tasks in the Project Schedule and other factors in the Project Management Plan for potential risk items. Continuous assessments, monitoring, and managing risks actively until the risks are resolved or turned into problems to be handled.
A strong risk management process can decrease problems on a project by as much as 80 or 90 percent. There are different types of Risk Management and different uses that include calculating credit-worthiness, planning for events (i.e. disasters), determining period of warranty, calculating insurance rates, and many more.
Before embarking on a risk management process, one must have an understanding of some key definitions. Project risks as defined from a PMI perspective are unknown events. These events can be positive or negative. Most of the time and focus is spent handling negative project risks, rather than positive project risks.
Often, organizations that perform a risk management process on a fairly typical multi-month project will identify and manage possibly five to ten easily recognized project risks. However, that number should in fact be much higher. With a high number of project risks identified early on, a team's awareness of what to look for is increased, so that potential problems are recognized earlier and opportunities are seen more readily.
The Risk Management Life Cycle is comprised of the following:
Risk Planning Life Cycle
• Preliminary Risk Management Plan is implemented in the Project Initiating Phase
• Approved Risk Management Plan is implemented in the Project Planning Phase
• Updating the Risk Management Plan is implemented through the rest of the Project Life Cycle
Risk Identification and Response Planning
• Done at regular intervals, throughout the entire project life cycle
• When changes are made to the deliverables, project plan, or the baseline(s)
• Upon completion of major milestones or schedule check points
Risk Monitoring and Control
• Done at regular intervals, throughout the entire project life cycle
• In Reports, Status Meetings, Executive Briefings
• In Quality Control Reviews
It may seem that project risks cannot be managed without taking away from the actual work of the project. However, this can effectively be accomplished with the four major risk management processes that can be utilized and modified with each project.
1. Risk identification allows individuals to determine risks which may affect the project so that the team becomes aware of any potential problems and documents each problem characteristics.
2. Risk quantification to assess the evaluated risks and risk interactions estimates for a possible project outcome.
3. Risk response development uses the information obtained from risk analysis to formulate strategies, plans, and actions.
4. Risk response control monitors the status of specific risks and documents and executes the progress in their respective action plans.
Different application areas often use different names for the processes. Risk identification and risk quantification are sometimes considered as a single process and called risk assessment or risk analysis. Risk response development is sometimes called risk planning or risk mitigation. Risk response development and risk response control are sometimes considered as a single process and called risk management.
Risk identification determines which risks are likely to affect the project and documenting each problem characteristics. Risk identification is performed throughout the project on a regular basis. Internal and external risk should be addressed in risk identification. Internal risks are things that can be controlled or influenced where as external risks are things beyond the control or influence of the project team.
Risk identification may be accomplished by identifying causes and effect or effect and causes.
Risk quantification evaluates risks and risk interactions to assess the range of possible project outcome. It is complicated by a number of factors not limited to:
• Opportunities and threats can interact in unanticipated ways
• A single risk event can cause multiple effects
• Opportunities for one stakeholder can be a threat to another
• The mathematical techniques used can create a false impression of precision and reliability.
Risk response development involves defining enhancement steps for opportunities and responses to threats. Response to threats:
• Avoidance
• Acceptance
• Mitigation
Risk response control executes the risk management plan in order to respond to risks over the duration of the project. When risks changes, the process to identify, quantify, and respond is repeated. Even the most thorough and comprehensive analysis cannot identify all risk and probabilities correctly; control and iteration are required.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Asian Food Channel - a positive or negative??
i watch channel 703 "Asian Food Channel" often enough.. it shows everything that is related to food from all over the world.. great to watch as it adds variety to what i eat.. all up to me to choose.. do i wanna try a healthy meal or otherwise.. maybe try to cook what i see on the weekends.. yeah right i wish i had the time to cook..
the down side of the shows on AFC is that sometimes the language used by some show host are so vulgar.. yeah in Malaysia we do sensor it with the "BLEEPPP" sound but any one on earth knows he or she uses foul language..
another negative is when they cook on tv.. are the ingredients washed before throwing 'em in the pot or frying pan? in fact i dont even see the cooks wash their own hands..
the two negatives of AFC could be bad influence to the kids who are watching.. they are just learning.. who knows what future chefs or tukang masak gerai will be like if they keep on watching.. maybe we can just tolerate the foul language because we are being stuffed with good food huh..
the down side of the shows on AFC is that sometimes the language used by some show host are so vulgar.. yeah in Malaysia we do sensor it with the "BLEEPPP" sound but any one on earth knows he or she uses foul language..
another negative is when they cook on tv.. are the ingredients washed before throwing 'em in the pot or frying pan? in fact i dont even see the cooks wash their own hands..
the two negatives of AFC could be bad influence to the kids who are watching.. they are just learning.. who knows what future chefs or tukang masak gerai will be like if they keep on watching.. maybe we can just tolerate the foul language because we are being stuffed with good food huh..
Monday, August 3, 2009
BMR - Basal metabolic rate
i was viewing other peoples blogs on dieting.. and i saw this widget.. its a bmr calculator.. being curious i just filled it up.. it said..
"your bmr calories is 3261 Calories/day. The total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight is 3913. To lose 1 pound per week means that you have to consume 3413 calories/day"
so if i follow what this calculator suggested.. its going to take me almost 4 years to reach my ideal weight.. too long!!!! i want to reach my ideal weight or as close as possible by October so that i will be looking good for my birthday on the 5th of November..
"your bmr calories is 3261 Calories/day. The total number of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight is 3913. To lose 1 pound per week means that you have to consume 3413 calories/day"
so if i follow what this calculator suggested.. its going to take me almost 4 years to reach my ideal weight.. too long!!!! i want to reach my ideal weight or as close as possible by October so that i will be looking good for my birthday on the 5th of November..
im only 32++ and i have a lot of gray hair
no my head is still with more than 90% black/brunette hair.. but more and more white hair is creeping up.. i wonder why? is it because i am stressed out with work? is it because i am not eating a proper diet? so i googled it.. and what do u know?? there is an answer to it.. i do not know if it is medically correct or not.. why dont u read it urself and figure it out..
the portion below is not mine.. the author of the next section is stated at the end
The reason why your hair is going gray could be any amount of reasons. The hair fibers appear gray because they are lacking in pigment. Basically what has happened is that the hair follicle responsible for that hair fiber is no longer capable of coloring the hair that it secretes.
Hair is pigmented by the same mechanism that your skin is pigmented – through action of cells called melanocytes. Essentially hair is pigmented because these melanocytes travel to the follicle, and through various complex mechanisms that aren’t well understood, the hair (which is a protein) comes out with some color – in my case black (with a few of those grew hairs, too).
Why is your hair going gray? Well, the easy answer is that the melanocytes are either migrating away from the follicle, or they are inactive for some reason. Why would they inactivate? Any guess is a good guess here – this is still a bit controversial. But, I think that most scientists would agree that it has something to do with the DNA. People who go gray early (experiencing premature leukotrichia – leukotrichia means loss of pigment of the hair, or in other words, a condition where the hair is gray. “Leuko” means white; “trichia” is from the Greek meaning hair or tail) are most likely genetically predisposed.
Maybe I should explain that a little further, eh? Genetically predisposed means that you have the genetic make-up such that under the “right” set of circumstances, those genes will be activated. An example of a genetic predisposition would be certain kinds of cancers. In this example some people have certain genes that make it much more likely that they will develop a certain kind of cancer when they are placed in a certain situation. This means, a malnutrition state might trigger a certain kind of cancer. Or maybe a great deal of stress will cause some other phenotype.
So a genetic predisposition should be considered like potential energy in physics. If a book is sitting up on top of a shelf, it is said to have potential energy. The potential energy is the amount of energy produced by that book as it falls to the floor. The fact that it is stationary and not moving, or actually producing the energy, makes it “potential” and not kinetic energy. Once the book is moving, the energy produced is kinetic energy (energy of motion). A genetic predisposition is much the same – there’s potential for the phenotype encoded by that gene (or those genes if it’s part of a whole system of genes) to show up, but it’s not necessarily being shown/produced.
Back to the matter at hand – you were genetically predisposed to show gray hair. However, because something has happened, you are now showing gray hair. That event that happened to trigger this could be something that you could control, or it could be something beyond your control. In some people, going gray just happens, it happens at a certain time, and then it doesn’t proceed much beyond that.
Be that as it may, there’s nothing wrong with having gray hair. It’s just another thing that helps you be an individual. There are not any treatments that I know of, other than to dye your hair, that would make your hair less gray. Well, there are treatments, but they’re cost prohibitive, and I doubt they’ve been approved by the FDA yet.
However, you really should try to eat three meals a day if you can. Actually, it’s a little better to spread that out over 5 smaller meals if possible. Going through a quasi-starvation state is not necessarily good for the body. It’s a bit rougher on the body to go long stretches of time without eating. The body does strange things to compensate, so try to get back on a fairly normal schedule. And eat a nice healthy, balanced diet. I’m not saying that those things will stop the gray hair (it might, who knows!), but it certainly won’t hurt things any, and if anything, it might help out a bit!
Lyle D. Burgoon
Graduate Assistant
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
College of Human Medicine
National Food Safety and Toxicology Center
Michigan State University
the portion below is not mine.. the author of the next section is stated at the end
The reason why your hair is going gray could be any amount of reasons. The hair fibers appear gray because they are lacking in pigment. Basically what has happened is that the hair follicle responsible for that hair fiber is no longer capable of coloring the hair that it secretes.
Hair is pigmented by the same mechanism that your skin is pigmented – through action of cells called melanocytes. Essentially hair is pigmented because these melanocytes travel to the follicle, and through various complex mechanisms that aren’t well understood, the hair (which is a protein) comes out with some color – in my case black (with a few of those grew hairs, too).
Why is your hair going gray? Well, the easy answer is that the melanocytes are either migrating away from the follicle, or they are inactive for some reason. Why would they inactivate? Any guess is a good guess here – this is still a bit controversial. But, I think that most scientists would agree that it has something to do with the DNA. People who go gray early (experiencing premature leukotrichia – leukotrichia means loss of pigment of the hair, or in other words, a condition where the hair is gray. “Leuko” means white; “trichia” is from the Greek meaning hair or tail) are most likely genetically predisposed.
Maybe I should explain that a little further, eh? Genetically predisposed means that you have the genetic make-up such that under the “right” set of circumstances, those genes will be activated. An example of a genetic predisposition would be certain kinds of cancers. In this example some people have certain genes that make it much more likely that they will develop a certain kind of cancer when they are placed in a certain situation. This means, a malnutrition state might trigger a certain kind of cancer. Or maybe a great deal of stress will cause some other phenotype.
So a genetic predisposition should be considered like potential energy in physics. If a book is sitting up on top of a shelf, it is said to have potential energy. The potential energy is the amount of energy produced by that book as it falls to the floor. The fact that it is stationary and not moving, or actually producing the energy, makes it “potential” and not kinetic energy. Once the book is moving, the energy produced is kinetic energy (energy of motion). A genetic predisposition is much the same – there’s potential for the phenotype encoded by that gene (or those genes if it’s part of a whole system of genes) to show up, but it’s not necessarily being shown/produced.
Back to the matter at hand – you were genetically predisposed to show gray hair. However, because something has happened, you are now showing gray hair. That event that happened to trigger this could be something that you could control, or it could be something beyond your control. In some people, going gray just happens, it happens at a certain time, and then it doesn’t proceed much beyond that.
Be that as it may, there’s nothing wrong with having gray hair. It’s just another thing that helps you be an individual. There are not any treatments that I know of, other than to dye your hair, that would make your hair less gray. Well, there are treatments, but they’re cost prohibitive, and I doubt they’ve been approved by the FDA yet.
However, you really should try to eat three meals a day if you can. Actually, it’s a little better to spread that out over 5 smaller meals if possible. Going through a quasi-starvation state is not necessarily good for the body. It’s a bit rougher on the body to go long stretches of time without eating. The body does strange things to compensate, so try to get back on a fairly normal schedule. And eat a nice healthy, balanced diet. I’m not saying that those things will stop the gray hair (it might, who knows!), but it certainly won’t hurt things any, and if anything, it might help out a bit!
Lyle D. Burgoon
Graduate Assistant
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology
College of Human Medicine
National Food Safety and Toxicology Center
Michigan State University
Sunday, August 2, 2009
nothing to watch on tv if only i still had my bbq set
sunday morning 738 am.. hard to go back to sleep after morning prayers.. so i flicked thru the channels that i subscribe on astro.. and i end up on channel 703 "asian food channel" its showing "licence to grill".. makes me miss my BBQ set that i brought back from the USA.. now it has turned into a flower pot.. if only the malaysian weather wasnt so wet and humid maybe my bbq set could have lasted a lifetime..
grilling food is good for someones health.. it has a lot of benefits.. grilling doesn't sear in a lot of fats.. it's easier to trim any unwanted fat from the meat than it is when you cook meat on a stove or in the oven.. grilling foods requires less cooking time than cooking on a stove or in an oven.. grilling surfaces are made of metals which are excellent heat conductors.. many grills can also reach higher temperatures than household stoves or ovens..
grilling is also beneficial because grilling doesn't take away any of the natural tenderness and natural flavor of the meats.. propane and charcoal grills include vents which can be adjusted to allow meat to retain air and moisture, which make the meat more tender and flavorful.. grilled meat often preserves the intended flavor and texture of many meats and vegetables without sacrificing essential nutrients..
oh how i miss my bbq grill..
grilling food is good for someones health.. it has a lot of benefits.. grilling doesn't sear in a lot of fats.. it's easier to trim any unwanted fat from the meat than it is when you cook meat on a stove or in the oven.. grilling foods requires less cooking time than cooking on a stove or in an oven.. grilling surfaces are made of metals which are excellent heat conductors.. many grills can also reach higher temperatures than household stoves or ovens..
grilling is also beneficial because grilling doesn't take away any of the natural tenderness and natural flavor of the meats.. propane and charcoal grills include vents which can be adjusted to allow meat to retain air and moisture, which make the meat more tender and flavorful.. grilled meat often preserves the intended flavor and texture of many meats and vegetables without sacrificing essential nutrients..
oh how i miss my bbq grill..
Saturday, August 1, 2009
back home..
i just got back home.. thanks to the Lebuhraya Pantai Timur, driving to Indera Mahkota and back is not too tiring.. with my Garmin XT GPS working on my Nokia N86 it is impossible to get lost.. i found Dewan Wisma Belia easily.. it is just across the street from Kolej Shahputra..
when i got to the wedding, i parked the car and got out.. thats when the car alarm acted up.. everytime i press lock, the alarm would go off.. when i press unlock the alarm would go off too.. i was dumbfounded.. in the end i called up the car accessory shop manager and relayed to him my predicament.. he told me to press the bypass button and lock the door with the keys manually..
after all that i headed to the banquet hall.. the Sultan of Pahang was there as the VVIP guest.. maybe because i arrived like 1 hour behind schedule.. as soon as i wanted to start enjoying my nasi minyak lunch.. the Sultan was going to leave.. so it is protocol that when a VVIP guest is leaving u gotta stand up.. it took him like 10 minutes to leave the hall.. finally i get to eat.. thank god it wasnt going to be like yesterday.. u know.. "ambil bau sahaja" LOL!!!!!
when i got to the wedding, i parked the car and got out.. thats when the car alarm acted up.. everytime i press lock, the alarm would go off.. when i press unlock the alarm would go off too.. i was dumbfounded.. in the end i called up the car accessory shop manager and relayed to him my predicament.. he told me to press the bypass button and lock the door with the keys manually..
after all that i headed to the banquet hall.. the Sultan of Pahang was there as the VVIP guest.. maybe because i arrived like 1 hour behind schedule.. as soon as i wanted to start enjoying my nasi minyak lunch.. the Sultan was going to leave.. so it is protocol that when a VVIP guest is leaving u gotta stand up.. it took him like 10 minutes to leave the hall.. finally i get to eat.. thank god it wasnt going to be like yesterday.. u know.. "ambil bau sahaja" LOL!!!!!
lirik ni mcm sesuai je dgn aku kan.. dari wali band
Lirik lagu Wali Band - Cari Jodoh
Apa salahku apa salah ibuku
Hidupku dirundung pilu
Tak ada yang mau dan menginginkan aku
Tuk jadi pengobat pilu
Tuk jadi penawar rindu
Tuk jadi kekasih hatiku
*
Timur ke barat selatan ke utara
Tak juga aku berjumpa
Dari musim duren hingga musim rambutan
Tak kunjung aku dapatkan
Tak jua aku temukan
Oh tuhan inikah cobaan
**
Ibu-ibu bapak-bapak
Siapa yang punya anak
Bilang aku aku yang tengah malu
Sama teman-temanku
Karna cuma diriku yang tak laku-laku
***
Pengumuman-pengumuman
Siapa yang mau bantu
Tolong aku kasihani aku
Tolong carikan diriku kekasih hatiku
Siapa yang mau
Back to *, **, ***
Ibu bapak punya anak
Bilang-bilang aku aku yang tengah malu
Sama teman-temanku
Karna cuma diriku yang tak laku-laku
Back to ***
nak dengar go to my facebook atau cari je kat youtube
Apa salahku apa salah ibuku
Hidupku dirundung pilu
Tak ada yang mau dan menginginkan aku
Tuk jadi pengobat pilu
Tuk jadi penawar rindu
Tuk jadi kekasih hatiku
*
Timur ke barat selatan ke utara
Tak juga aku berjumpa
Dari musim duren hingga musim rambutan
Tak kunjung aku dapatkan
Tak jua aku temukan
Oh tuhan inikah cobaan
**
Ibu-ibu bapak-bapak
Siapa yang punya anak
Bilang aku aku yang tengah malu
Sama teman-temanku
Karna cuma diriku yang tak laku-laku
***
Pengumuman-pengumuman
Siapa yang mau bantu
Tolong aku kasihani aku
Tolong carikan diriku kekasih hatiku
Siapa yang mau
Back to *, **, ***
Ibu bapak punya anak
Bilang-bilang aku aku yang tengah malu
Sama teman-temanku
Karna cuma diriku yang tak laku-laku
Back to ***
nak dengar go to my facebook atau cari je kat youtube
kenduri di kuantan
1st of August 2009.. today i will have half an off day from my diet.. i'll be driving like 2-3 hours to kuantan to attend a wedding with my parents and grandma.. its not that i dont want to maintain my diet.. but u dont expect me to drive all the way.. go under the tent and ask the ushers "can i have about 400ml of cold water to make my jusmate?" now how rude would that be?
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