Diary 43: Cautious of What You Eat

This is the experience of Nicole Tan who suffered food poisoning (The Star M14, 27 Feb 2010).

Accordingly, she spent the last two months being sick, eating almost nothing oily, dairy, or heavy for days.

The interesting thing to note is she experienced food poisoning twice this year (2010). I hope she will not experience any more food poisoning in the future.

What did she eat? Roti Suzuki! This is the first time I heard of this new type food served. Well, it is roti canai with sardine and mashed banana.

Nicole advised all to avoid taking roti Suzuki at all costs.

This is only part of the story.

Is the restaurant serving expired canned food? You should ask.

Is the food properly prepared?

Sometimes I just wonder why modern men and women still consume canned fish while fresh fish is available.

The next time you take canned food, just be cautious. Do not end up with food poisoning.

To be healthy, we should avoid canned food where preservatives are used.

Diary 42: What is the best medicine?

On 24 February 2010, led by our Director-General, we made a half-day trip to visit the senior citizens at Kompleks Penyayang BAKTI, Bandar Sri Damansara.

During interaction, I came to know that of the 14 senior citizens attended the gathering, two have heart problems and one is a diabetic.

A 70-year old Malay woman asked me if there is any medicine for her knee pain. I told her the best medicine is the health food.

She spends 4 to 5 hours a day cultivating vegetables using chemical fertilizers. I suggested to her that her medicine is the vegetables. What she needs to do is to make her own fertilizer and stop using chemical fertilizer.

I share my views on the senior citizens with her.

First, do not think that senior citizens are just waiting for death.

Second, they can contribute positively to the society. For example, she can start cultivating vegetables without using chemical fertilizer and herbicides. The vegetables cultivate would help to improve her health and other senior citizens. This would also enrich her life.

She said that she will try to change the way of cultivating vegetables.

I wished her all the best.

Diary 41: 36-Year Old Died of Heart Attack

Petaling Jaya: Ampang Puteri Umno chief Haslinda Mohd Zerain, aged 36, died of heart attack at 11.45am yesterday (The Star 25 February 2010).

Why did she have to die so young?

She could have avoided death at such a young age if she practices good eating habits. Heart attack is related to the consumption of high protein, high cholesterol and fat foods.

For those who are active in political activities, the need to choose health food is obvious. Political leaders and members have to attend endless functions which unfortunately serve foods that are mainly acidic in nature.

Choosing fruits at such functions is the most effective way of maintaining good health.

A few years ago, I attended a Chinese New Year celebration organized by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. Of course, all the nice and tasty foods were served as usual. When the Minister, Dato’ Seri Ong Ka Ting, arrived, he just took some fresh fruits. He told the guests that he just came back from another function which also served good food.

What a wise politician!

Diary 40: Save Your Money By Barefoot Walking

Reflexology (zone therapy) is an alternative medicine method involving the practice of massaging or applying pressure to parts of the feet.

There are many shops in the big towns and cities in Malaysia offering reflexology these days. The fee charged is about RM35 an hour.

Yesterday, I practiced a different form of reflexology –barefoot walking. What I did was to walk bare foot up FRIM’s canopy walkway from the foot hill.

How was the feeling? Great!

You may also want to give it a try – bare foot walking or running. When the feet touch mother earth, the feeling is indeed very special. I feel closer to nature.

Perhaps this is an alternative to reflexology. It is free. Just do it yourself.

What are the benefits of barefoot walking? Here are some of them obtained from the internet.
It helps the leg muscles pump blood back to the heart. This makes it beneficial for those who are suffering from the problem of varicose veins.

Walking barefoot helps relax tired feet. It has also proven beneficial for people suffering from flat feet, in many cases helping them overcome the problem altogether.

Walking barefoot in the summer season has been found to have a cooling effect on the body of a person, especially if he/she walks on morning grass, leaves or a piece of log in the garden.

In traditional exercises, like yoga, tai-chi and martial arts, it is believed that being barefoot helps a person absorb Chi, the life-force energy. As you walk with your feet bare, you increase your vitality. At the same time, it helps you think clearly and increases your capacity to work.

Walking barefoot in your garden or the local park will help you feel closer to the nature. This will not only take your mind off everyday tensions and relax your body, but also rejuvenate your mind and boost your energy levels.

Diary 39: A Simple test On Your Health Condition

This is a simple test all of us can perform to see our health is in good condition. The information is obtained from a health book.

Basically, urine offers clues to how your body responded to the food we ate.

All we need to do is buy some pH paper from the pharmacies.

After you wake up in the morning, catch some urine in a small clean container and test it with a strip of the pH paper.

The color of the pH paper provides indication on how healthy you are.

If the pH paper turns very dark:
You are not healthy even if you feed good, and
You must not engage in strenuous exercise.

If the pH paper does not change color at all:
You are headed for serious disease if you do not adjust your diet;
You can still exercise

If the color of the pH paper does change, but not to a deep dark color, your health is regarded reasonably good.

May good health be with you!

Diary 38: Which Hospital?

A medical doctor elaborated “which hospital” in a write-up published in The Star dated 21 February 2010.

I use the same title in today’s diary because it may be the concern to your family with members in the 50s and above?

Those below 40 years old are generally healthy and do not have to talk about hospital. But their parents do.

People over 50 years old are likely to associate with hospital as their health generally deteriorates over the years. They need information on the latest medicines, the best doctors and the most advanced medical technologies that could help improve their health.

By the time modern men and women are over 70 years old, many would have walk in and out of hospitals from time to time. Visiting hospitals has become a way of life.

It is a burden and it is costly to visit hospitals, both to the patients as well as those bringing them to the hospitals. Many families suffer in silence because of poor health and high medical expenses.

Can we avoid this situation?

Yes, to some extent, if you begin to understand how modern processed food can cause common diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart problems besides damaging your body organs such as eyes, ears, liver and kidneys.

The earlier you learn more about food and how health food actually helps reclaim your health, the better it is for your family members.

The information provided in this blog helps you to attain and reclaim good health naturally.

Explore.

Best health to all.

Diary 37: Modern Diseases Among the Aborigines

In January and February 2010, two aboriginal village heads, aged 70+ and 40+, in my research areas in Pahang and Perak, died of colon cancer.

I have been conducting socio-economic research among the Orang Asli, the aborigines in Peninsular Malaysia, for the last 21 years. The Orang Asli were known to be relatively healthy as they obtain much of their food sources from the natural forests.

In the 1990s, I hardly met any case of aborigine complaining about their health problems.
By the turn of the century, things begin to change. It was observed that obesity is an emerging phenomenon among the aborigines. The villagers are beginning to face modern diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and severe headache.

Since I was greeted as “Dr Lim”, some aborigines, thinking that I was a medical doctor, even requested modern medicine.

Why are modern diseases coming to the aboriginal villages?

First, natural food resources are depleting when the surrounding areas of the aboriginal villages are either logged or developed into commercial plantations. The rivers also do not produce much fish. It is now difficult to have wild meat and fish compared to 10 years ago.

Second, many aborigines have to purchase meat, fish, vegetables from retailers coming to the villages. In short, many aborigines are now adopting the modern eating habits which are often not healthy.

Like the majority of the people in our modern society, little does the aboriginal community realize that modern farmed and processed foods are jeopardizing villagers’ health.
The government is likely to spend more money taking care of the health of the aborigines in the years to come.

Health awareness and prevention activities need to be intensified among Malaysians, including the aboriginal communities.