Dignity

I like traveling. During the journey, I saw a lot of things and experienced a lot, both good and bad. Below are two incidences that impressed me much.
 

I was in a bus at the Peshawar bus station in Pakistan waiting for departure for Rawalpindi. As the bus still not yet moved, I looked around. Accidentally, I saw at some distant, some young boys were playing football. Suddenly I saw among them there was a boy playing happily. I looked closely. That boy had only one leg! Only one leg could play football! I was very surprised. To me, it was impossible!  A person with such incident could hardly walk easily, not even to mention playing football. I was very impressed by that scene. That boy could face his misfortune by living bravely and happily.

It was in Tibet. One day, I was walking around the city area. Suddenly I could not move. One of my feet was being stuck. When I looked down, I found a child of about five years old lying on the ground and holding my leg tightly. He asked me for money. When I intended to move, he tried to hold my leg even tighter. At that time, I was very angry. I was forced to give him money. I was sad also. The child at so young age had already lost his dignity. He could not look up and walk proudly. What would his future be?

The above are just individual cases only. It does not indicate any good or bad on the people of these two countries, nor any of my preference to Pakistan over Tibet.  

Dietary Fibre

Dietary Fibre is an element from plants that is essential for good health but not directly absorbed by our body. Only foodstuff of plant origin contains dietary fibres. Meat and other foodstuff of animal origin do not contain dietary fibres.

Dietary fibre is important because it:

1. Contains Vitamin B complex,Vitamins C and E, minerals and 2 types of carotenes. Thus it keeps us healthy.
2. Stimulates the colon lining to enhance peristalsis and therefore, bowel movement, to prevent or relieve constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulosis.
3. Slows down the entry of glucose and cholesterol from the intestines into the circulation, which helps in balancing blood glucose level to control diabetes.
4. Enhances the excretion of cholesterol and fat to reduce blood cholesterol level and prevent heart disease.
5. Helps in weight control because it is of low calorie content and gives us a full feeling.
6. Prevents colon cancer. This is because dietary fibre enhances peristalsis, thereby shortening the stay of carcinogens in digested food in the intestines.

How to increase fibre intake in our daily diet? 

Breakfast 

• Pick wholemeal bread which contains plenty of fibre instead of white bread.
• Mix milk with cereals for breakfast and serve with fruits.

Lunch and Dinner

• Have red rice or brown rice if possible, otherwise mix it with white rice.
• Have at least 240 grams of vegetables and beans everyday.
• Pick high-fibre toppings.
• Make soup with beans or vegetables or have them with the soup.
• For dessert, have fruits or bean-based ones.

Snack

• Pick wholemeal bread and high-fibre biscuits.
• Vegetables and fruits such as cucumbers, carrots, small tomatoes, apples and bananas can be taken as snacks.

How to prevent yeast infections?

Yeast infection, also known as Candidiasis or thrush, is a fungal infection (mycosis) of any of the Candida species (all yeasts), of which Candida albicans is the most common.

Candida is the scientific name for yeast. It is a fungus that lives almost everywhere, including inside the body. Usually, if you are healthy, the immune system keeps yeast under control.

Yeast infections affect different parts of the body in different ways:

• Thrush is a yeast infection that causes white patches in mouth.
• Esophagitis is thrush that spreads to the esophagus and so you would feel painful to swallow food.
• Women can get vaginal yeast infections, causing itchiness, pain and discharge.
• Yeast infections of the skin cause itching and rashes.
• Yeast infections in your bloodstream can be life-threatening. 

 Right diet plan is highly effective in preventing yeast infections and certain health problems:

1. Stop eating a refined sugar and carbohydrates. Refined sugar and other refined carbohydrates are all food for yeast. Consuming such foods can make yeast breed.
   
   To prevent yeast overgrowth, eating Stevia instead of sugar and eating whole grain non-gluten products (such as brown rice, buck wheat bread) to replace refined carbohydrates.
   
2. Using antibiotics can debilitate your immune system and kill off friendly bacteria. Therefore, stop using antibiotics and reduce intake of dairy products which may also contain antibiotics. Since strengthening the immune system is an integral part of preventing yeast infections, daily consumption of garlic can lessen the likelihood of recurrent yeast infections.
   
3. Dairy products and cow's milk products in particular should be avoided because they can lead to allergic reactions creating excessive mucus and taking longer to digest. Some of the main yeast infection factors can include allergies and digestive problems. Better alternatives to dairy products of Cow's milk are organic goat and sheep's milk products.
   
4. Our body functions best in the range of PH 7.35 and 7.45 for acidity in the blood. Any extra acidity makes for a context where yeast multiplies. An alkaline food plan, which is based on consumption of alkaline forming foods (foods with calcium, cesium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, almonds, green juices, and most fresh vegetables, etc.) with moderate consumption of foods that form acids (most meats, fish, dairy and grain products) can help you regain your alkaline quotient to better control yeast growth.
   
5. Eating foods rich in betacarotene (a natural substance that's converted into vitamin A in the body) could offer some protection against yeast infections.

As a side benefit on this diet plan, you will feel more energized, healthier and vibrant. You will enjoy improved digestion, enhanced vision, and healthier hair, skin and nails.

10+ Healthiest Foods

Amongst the healthiest foods, the following are your top choices:

Broccoli

It contains vitamins such as B-6, A, folic acid and K.  It is also full of minerals like potassium and calcium. Broccoli has unique cancer-fighting properties, activated by phytochemicals indole-3-carbinol and sulforaphane.

Flaxseed

When eating together with cereal, they can lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) levels, help lower blood triglyceride and blood pressure and keep platelets from becoming sticky, therefore reducing the risk of a heart attack. 

Green Tea

It has high level of antioxidant, has cancer risk reducing properties and a potential in decreasing incidence of stroke and heart disease.

Walnut

Walnut is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. It has low saturated fat and may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

Salmon

Salmon is another healthy food superstar because it is low in calories, saturated fat, and rich in omega-3 fatty acids and protein. It has anti-inflammatory and cancer prevention properties and a key role in diabetes and Alzheimer's prevention plus cardiovascular benefits.

Blueberry

Blueberry has high level of antioxidant. It can help in lowering cholesterol, reducing diabetes risk and even slowing down the aging process. In addition, it improves our urinary and vision health.

Spices – Turmeric, Cinnamon and Cayenne

• Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and may reduce cancer risk and slow the progression of Alzheimer's. (In fact, Ginger also helps cancer prevention and is anti-inflammatory. The same for Onion, which contains phenols and flavonoids.)
• Cinnamon can help lower cholesterol and also stabilize blood sugar.
• Cayenne has appetizer, antiseptic, carminative, cardiac stimulant and circulatory tonic properties (Garlic also has antiseptic properties).

Pomegranate

Pomegranate helps reduce heart disease risk, lower cholesterol and blood pressure and reduce the risk of certain types of cancer.

Dark Chocolate

As mentioned previously, dark chocolate has benefits to our cardiovascular system as well as cancer-protective properties and mood-enhancing benefits.

Honey

Honey has many healing properties. It plays a role in digestive health and has anti-bacterial and anti-viral effects.

And of course, you won't miss these:

Antioxidants

Inside our body, a lot of chemical reactions take place. One of these is oxidation reaction which can produce free radicals (unstable oxygen molecules). In turn, these radicals start chain reactions. When the chain reactions occur in a cell, they cause damage or death to the cell, hence causing ageing, heart diseases, cancer as well as other diseases. Antioxidants terminate these chain reactions by removing free radical intermediates and inhibit other oxidation reactions. And so antioxidants are widely used in the prevention of diseases including cancer, coronary heart disease and even altitude sickness.   All types of fruits and green vegetables contain antioxidants. Examples of these foods include: Chinese Wolberry Gingko leaf Tomatoes Grapes, grape seed Nuts Cauliflower Blueberries class Spinach Oat Green tea Avocados Garlic Seaweed Pomegranate Mangosteen

How to survive a heart attack when alone?

nowadays, due to the change in the life style, heart attack is found among people of all age groups, not only the old age people, especially those who are obese and inactive.

Suppose you are alone and you find your heart is beating improperly and you begin to feel faint, then what would you  do?  How would you survive a heart attack?  

An email has been forwarded to me and recommend the following method:

Cough repeatedly and very vigorously. A deep breath should be taken before each cough. The cough must be deep and prolonged, producing sputum from deep inside the chest.

A breath and a cough must be repeated about every two seconds without let-up until help arrives or until the heart is felt to be beating normally again.

This is because deep breaths can get oxygen into the lungs and coughing movements squeeze the heart and keep the blood circulating. The squeezing pressure on the heart also helps it regain normal rhythm.

However, the American Heart Association says the only appropriate setting for this type of response is limited to “monitored patients with a witnessed arrest”already in the hospital. 

Actually, if a heart attack occurs, you can take a teaspoon of cayenne in a glass of hot water every 15 minutes until the crisis has passed. 

   
Cayenne has been known to stop heart attacks within 30 seconds.  Dr. John R. Christopher, a pioneer in natural healing with herbs, discovered that one teaspoon of cayenne powder in a cup of hot water, can stop a heart attack in under three minutes.

For example, it was said that once a 90-year-old man in Oregon had a severe heart attack and his daughter was able to get cayenne extract into his mouth, within a few minutes, he regained consciousness although he was pronounced dead by the medics. 

Also, according to Dr. Richard Anderson, using cayenne and hawthorn berries together will greatly strengthen the functions of the heart, and possibly prevent heart attacks.