Pandan Leaf

My mum gave me a bundle of pandan leaves last saturday just before she went for her mahjong session. She asked me to boil them to make some juice. The pandan leaves juice is believed to have anti-diabetic properties. The leaf come from screwpine tree, it is widely used in our local delicatessen as well as in Thailand. It is also said to be able chase away crocoaches by having some pandan leaves around the house.

Caffeine good for Asthma??

Asthma, one of the serious and potentially fatal diseases suffered by many people out there, including my dad. Because of my dad's condition, it leads me wanting to know more about the nutritional blockbusters that fight asthma. The treatment that my dad receives from the hospital are mainly using medications to control the disease rather than on how to protect or make him stronger to fight the disease.

A very useful book entitled "Eat and Heal" by the Editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, that I bought few months back has provided me with the basic nutritional knowledge needed to fight asthma. In summary, the nutritional blockbusters that fight asthma are:

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin A
• Lycopene (such as tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and watermelon)
• Magnesium and selenium (broccoli, oysters, beans)
• Water (at least 6 glasses a day)

and interestingly surprise that Caffeine is useful to fight asthma as well. Reseach shows that caffeine helps relax bronchial tubes so that airways stay open as such it can help improve the symptoms for up to four hours. Therefore, it would be helpful to start the day with a fragrant cup of coffee. I do not know whether my dad would like to have a try on starting his day with a cup of coffee!!?? I should try to convince him.

No No to Vitamin

After taking a week of the doctor's prescriptions from our last visit to the clinic, Pearl did not seem to get any better; she still having sinus and heavy phlegmy cough.  Estellar dropped by our home the day after she arrived from Australia, after having a look at the prescriptions that Pearl has been taking, she recommended Polaramine syrup for Pearl for a change.  There saw some improvement after the 3rd dosage but she still having wet nose and cough, hope she will get better soon.  Thanks a lot, Estellar.  

I headed to the pharmacy to buy a bottle of Polaramine the other day and I remember SIL, Catherine was giving her little daughter, Anneliese, the Vidaylin Minibear gummies with garden vegetables vitamin and she likes it very much, keep coming back for more.   The Minibear gummies is packed with 5 garden vegetables and Vitamin C that provides a good source of important antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta carotene, calcium, iron & zinc for children who do not eat enough vegetables. I thought it would be a good supplement for my girls coz they refuse to take vegetables. The taste of the minibears gummies are yummy just like any other gummy candies that they love to eat but I was totally wrong, they rejected the minibears altogether, making me speechless.

I was thinking whether I should return the remaining to the shop and get my money back. Referring to the tag that comes together with the product, it says if we are not pleased with the "yummy" taste of the product after consuming 10% of content, we could return them and get my RM18.00 back. Should I go through the trouble in getting the reimbursment or consume all by myself?  Mostly likely I will do the later like what I have done for other stuff that I bought for them previously; it would be easier for me in a way and I also get to consume some vitamins at the same time.  *sigh* the girls are hard to predict, probably I should have told them that the minibear gummies are candies instead of vitamins.  

Is that true??

Most of you must have seen this plant before or even have one or more pots place inside the house as indoor plants. They are feng shui plants according to many. They are easy grown greenery without much care. I had four pots of them in front of my house until a few days ago one of my friends told me that there was an article in one of the local Chinese newspaper saying that these plants are actually producing certain toxin at night which is detrimental to human body. O..O..I have not seen the article myself. Is that true? Anyone knows about it? Please share. But better to believe than sorry, we decided to move all four pots of these plants to the side of the house, since they are said to be harmful to our body and they do not seem to bring any good luck or fortune to us as far as I can remember :( The position has been replaced with another plant with fan like leaves.

These plants are said to produce certain toxin, is that true???
Replacement.

Wordless Wednesday - Rejuvinating Health Drink

The weather is extremely hot, hot & hot today. It makes me craving for a bowl of cold coconut fresh in coconut water/juice. They are not just delicious but have so much benefits to our body too. Coconut water is more nutritious than whole milk, healthier than orange juice and better than processed baby milk!? :O Just take a look at this article, you will appreciate the many benefits of what this natural fruit has to offer.

SIMPLY DELICIOUS

Don't we just love eating nice food? Forget about the calories, cholesterol, fats, that kind of stuff once in a while?! :> Restaurant Sri Rezeki at Lintas that we went to is known to serve nice Malay Cruisine by many. I finally got the chance to taste its Soto Ayam and Rojak myself this week. The Soto ayam is simply superb. Crystal and Pearl love it too. The Rojak is nice too but is a bit too sweet for my taste buds.

Soto Ayam
Rojak Mee

If you know places that sell nice food and yummy snacks around KK, please let me know I would be pleased to try them out some days :D.. EATING IS ONE OF THE GREATEST ENJOYMENT IN LIFE... :))

DON'T SLEEP LATE - LIVER DAMAGE

I received this email message from my SIL, Alice some days ago thought might be useful for our fellow bloggers whom like me blogging away till wee hours most of the time at the expense of good nights sleep.

"Good rest and sound sleep is very Important... if you don't sleep well, the toxic in your body will accumulate.. Affecting your health and your mood... The main causes of liver damage are:

1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are the main cause.

2.Not urinating in the morning.

3.Too much eating.

4.Skipping breakfast.

5.Consuming too much medication.

6.Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring, and artificial sweetener.

7.Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit.
8.Consuming overly done foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store.

We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our body to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule." Because:

Evening at 9 - 11pm : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/ toxic chemicals (de-toxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on her health.

Evening at 11pm - 1am : The de-toxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 - 3am : de-toxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 - 5am : de-toxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the de-toxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.

Morning 5 - 7am : de-toxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9am : Absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 -10am rather than no meal at all.

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late."

Sharing Is Caring! Please share this message and take care..

It's about 2am now, I better go to sleep. Good night...ZZZZZ...

ALBERTO VO5 SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER

There are so many hair care products in the market nowadays that sometimes you just do not know which ones to choose from. There is one friend of mine whose friend is a shampoo manufacturer in Peninsular once told me that all shampoos and conditioners ingredients are more or less the same, the only difference are in their individual packagings, I really do not know how true his statement is, what do you think?? And it's funny enough that this friend of his is baldheaded, scary yeah!! I should have asked which shampoo and conditioner his company is producing just in case....

I went to shop for groceries at Merdeka Supermarket the other day, there I got a shampoo and conditioner each as they had run dry at home. I feel a bit adventurous to try something different this time since there are so many brands to choose from. After comparing their pricing and the scent of the products (let alone the ingredients I do not know a thing of it), I decided to try the Alberto VO5® products this time . Here there are:

Alberto VO5® Moisture Milks with Passion Fruit Smoothie shampoo which contains soy milk proteins and luscious passion fruit extracts; 443ml (RM8.90)

Alberto VO5® Herbal escapes sun kissed raspberry with chamomile extract balancing conditioner; 443ml (RM8.60).

It's always been a nice feeling to try some new stuff :Q. I had tried them on the day itself and they are equally good and smell nice too..

(Note: this is not a paid post merely my own opinions.)

MCDONALD SUNDAE CONE

We were hanging out at Complex Karamunsing after a nice chicken rice lunch with SIL & BIL, there goes Crystal nagging to have ice cream while passing by Macdonald. I opposed to the idea as I do not want her to dirty her school uniform but the daddy said OK. We proceed to the the counter and was told that the sundae cone is on Promotion, ONLY 55 cents per cone on every 1st of the month. Normally it is RM1.55 per cone. Apa lagi, we ended up having one each, that's 6 altogether. Will definitely go get some on the 1st of May again.

APRIL FOOL'S DAY

April Fools' Day falls on April 1. Its origins are uncertain till today. Most people take chances to play a joke or some involve hoaxes as long as they are harmless. Many people fall into the jokes of others without realising it. In the Museum of Hoaxes, there list a "Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Times", I've selected #8 and #36 for your reading pleasure which I too find them to be real.

#8. The Left-Handed Whopper. In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left-Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburgepatty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested their own 'right handed' version."

#36: Big Ben Goes Digital In 1980 the BBC reported that Big Ben, in order to keep up with the times, was going to be given a digital readout. It received a huge response from listeners protesting the change. The BBC Japanese service also announced that the clock hands would be sold to the first four listeners to contact them, and one Japanese seaman in the mid-Atlantic immediately radioed in a bid.

So, no matter where you happen to be in the world on April 1, that's tomorrow, don't be surprised if April fool's jokes or hoaxes fall upon you. Just be prepared.

TALKS ON "THE LOVE AND TENDERNESS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD"

The Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah is cordially inviting members of the church to attend a twice weekly talks on "the Love and Tenderness of The Good Shepherd" as follows:
Commencement date : 31st march, 2008
Days : every Monday and Thursday
Time : 7:30pm
Venue : Conference Room (above Blessed Sacrement Chapel)

At some stage of our lives we do experience some what down and out moments, some feel wounded or broken in life and don't seem to go anywhere no matter how much we try with our own strength and do not know where to turn to. Do you know it is the brokenness that we most often realize our helplessness without God? Without him and without doing his will, we ultimately end up lost and broken.

Have you heard about the ancient shepherd tended to the wounded sheep whose front legs were broken by him to avoid it to wander and lead the rest of the flock astray? He would then carry that sheep on his shoulder until the legs healed. During that process it created a strong bond between them. Jesus too will lovingly carry us through and heal our wounds in the same way like the ancient shepherd.

Many of our Parish have experienced this action of grace and come to realize that God has the power to take the most broken life and mend it for his glory. Many are looking for this experience in the midst of their own suffering. Let a team of catechists who has had a measure of this experience share with you so that you too may see peace and joy in your life.

Pass this invitation to whom you think may want to come and listen to the talks.

CRANBERRY JUICE FOR GOUT

While already suffered from gout, Clet irresistably feeding himself with Chinese mushrooms and lamb satays at cousin's house on Monday night. His ankle became even swollen and pain started to set in after that. Thanks to his sister, Rosalind, who came by to visit us and telling him that taking berries juices would help in gout; strawberry, cranberry, blueberry, just to name a few of berries that are common to us and just by drinking their juices will see the result.

A pack of 1 litre Sunfresh apple cranberry juice drink

Clet was really worried that he couldn't walk the next day and out of curiosity he went to find some berries juices at Merdeka Supermarket just before it closes. Among other berries juices, he chose the "Sunfresh Apple Cranberry Juice Drink" for RM4.90 per 1 litre pack. It is made from reconstituted apple and cranberry juice, sugar, citric acid and flavouring. Believe it or not, the swell as well as the pain have obviously reduced and he felt much relieve the night itself.

Study has showed that cranberries had high antioxidants contain than any other fruit. Several of cranberry's polyphenol antioxidants are procyanidins, the same family of pigments that make cherries red. However, because cranberries are so tart, their juice has to be diluted and sweetened to be palatable. A diluted Cranberry-juice cocktail contains just 27 percent of berry juice is still the second-most potent source of antioxidants after grape juice. As such it is a good source of antioxidant for the prevention of urinary tract infections as well as to fight cancer, heart related diseases, diabetes, and also help to increase the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol—the so-called good cholesterol too.

Gout sufferers should try this out to feel results.

PUBLIC AUCTION SALES

Thinking of buying properties for investment or self occupancy? Why not look into properties put up for public auction sales? There are chances that the values of the properties are cheaper than market prices especially those that have been put up for auction sales for more than two times.

Just yesterday morning from 10.00am to 11.00am, there were four properties auctioned by Mega Auction House at 1st Floor, Bangunan 1120, Sunny Garden, Mile 1.5, Jalan Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. One of the properties had been successfully bid and sold at the drop of the hammer while the other three properties has no bidders therefore the sales were not successful. Here are the properties concerned:

1. A 3-room 1st floor corner apartment unit at City Apartments, Off Jalan Bantayan-Minitod, Inanam, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The floor area is more or less 705 square feet. The reserve price was RM108,000.00 while the estimated market value : RM120,000.00;

2. A 2-room ground floor intermediate apartment unit at Melinsung Summer Bay Apartment Phase B, Papar. The floor area is 440 square feet. The reserve price was RM44,000.00 while the estimated market value: RM67,000.00;

3. A double-storey intermediate terraced house at Taman Kuala Menggatal Phase 2, Off Jalan Sepangar, Menggatal, Sabah. The reserve price was RM63,000.00 while the estimated market value:RM70,000.00 (This property had successfully been sold through auction);

4. A 2-room ground floor intermediate apartment unit at Melinsung Summer Bay Apartment Phase B, Papar. The floor area is 440 square feet. The reserve price was RM78,000.00 while the estimated market value : RM78,000.00;

As quoted by the "Home Finder" magazine on its July - September 2006 issues with regards to auction sales as saying that "There is a very high chance of succeeding in buying the property that you want at a bargain price as the reserve price of the property can often be below the current market price once it has gone through a few rounds of auctions and especially when you are the sole bidder for the property".

There are possibilities that the above three properties would be auctioned again in the near future with a reduction in reserve prices. The advertisement of the Proclamation of Sale for any public auction sales by Mega Auction House will be published in the New Sabah Times from time to time. So interested buyers please look out for the forthcoming GRAND auction sale advertisements and give yourself a chance to save on thousands of Ringgit on investment in properties.

INSTANT NOODLE

Feel like having a bowl of hot and yummy soup noodle? How about this one? Would it make you hungry just by looking at it? Hmm..it’s so delicious. It is just like the one served by the restaurant which could easily cost up to RM5.00 per bowl. Well, it is only a home cooked MAGGI Asam Laksa soup base Instant Noodle, yum..that’s my favourite. I added lots of tomatoes, some green vege and an egg to enhance the taste and nutrition to my breakfast on last Sunday since I was craving on having one. Sometimes I could finish two packets myself.

I am sure as a typical Malaysian, you could find a packet or two or more instant noodles some way in your kitchen ready to fill up our hungry stomach anytime. Besides the well known MAGGI brand, there are other brands which are equally delicious, it also depends on how it is cooked. Mi-Sedap, Myojo and Mamee brands of instant noodles are also well-loved by both Malaysians and Singaporeans. A study conducted by the World Instant Noodles Association (WINA) shows that malaysians are among the top 11 on the demand of instant noodles while China, Hong Kong being top on the list.

Though instant noodles are usually eaten at home, they are also becoming increasingly popular at Kopitiam, cafe, Indian coffee shop and mamak stall. These meals are usually modified according to the customer's or chef's taste.

Health Concerns

When we talk about instant noodles, the nutrition factors come into being, generally they are often criticized as being unhealthy or junk food. Studies show that A single serving of instant noodles is high in carbohydrates but low in fiber, vitamins and minerals, high in saturated fat and trans fat due to fried as part of the manufacturing process. It is also high in sodium and contain monosodium glutamate (MSG). They could also contain other harmful substances like dioxin, oxidized fat and oils that are health hazard substances which induce neurotoxins and which make neurocells hypoactive.

Whatever it is, instant noodles are not to be consumed excessively due to major concerns on health drawback.

Another MLM Opportunity

Merely a few days ago I reminded Clet that from now on whatever it is we are not going into any Multi Level Marketing (MLM) businesses again for reasons that we know best. With the exceptional that if the products are really good and pricing are reasonable then it would be fine to join as product user only rather that business builder. There was no answer from him and I construed as No answer means Agreed.

And barely 72 hours from my reminder to Clet, I was introduced to yet another MLM company called ZHULIAN by my valued customer at her office today. Her sponsor did a health check on me as soon as I arrived there by using a weighing machine similar to the one used by HerbaLife besides this one has got a little digital reader that I have to hold up straight while the machine is “downloading” information from my body. Glad to know that my biological age (ie. an organism's physical state as it ages) is 5 years younger than my actual age.

I was told that ZHULIAN is a Malaysian owned direct selling company whose products include fashion jewellery, food & beverages, home care, nutritional health, personal care, beauty care, home tech and accessories. Most of the products are manufactured in house. The rewards to the achievers are similarly good if not better; however, what I am looking for now is a truly working from home business that I enjoy doing which eventually allows me to have more time for my family without having to worry about money. I never enjoy doing MLM business (it gave me so much stress mentally, physically and financially) and so for that matter this is not a business for me I must say.

And that’s the reason why I start blogging :Q

FEEDING BOTTLE STERILISER TABLETS

We have been sterilizing feeding bottles and teats since Crystal was born. Initially we used the old method of boiling the bottles and teats but after a while we found out that the bottles and the teats do not last long under the repeated heat of the boiling water and I always get my fingers burned when taking them out from the hot water.
We then try to sterilize the bottles and teats by using the sterilising tablets from Boots. In fact at first I was not pleased with the smell of the solution and there is also doubt of any side effect for my baby by immersing the bottles in this "smelly" water. After reading the directions for use and the benefit of using this method, I am willing to give it a try for it says “Convenient, Safe and Proven Effective”. Guess what, I have been using the product since with that one try. Now I just clean the girls’ bottles and utensils with dish washing liquid and immerse them into the solution until the next feed. It is so much convenient for me. No worries about burning fingers and cracking bottles.

A box of Boots Feeding Bottle Steriliser tablets consist of 32 or 64 tablets, can be bought at any hypermarkets. The directions for use is very simple:

1. Thoroughly clean and rinse the bottle, cap and teat (I use dish washing liquid and brush to clean them).

2. Fully dissolve one Steriliser Tablet in 2 litres of water, using a non-metallic container (I use filtered water and a big Tupperware container).

3. Completely immerse the bottle, cap and teat in the solution for at least 30 minutes before using.

4. Drain the bottle and teat, without rinsing, and then fill with the feed.

5. Renew the solution just once every 24 hours.

That's it.

ANTIBACTERIAL HAND GEL

Kids tend to have “many” hands because of their curiosity in everything, they would touch just about anything that they see because by touching and feeling the things that they see would be the most satisfying. We can not stop them by doing so because these are the learning process of the children. Adults too, aren't we like to take a look at descriptions or ingredients on the shampoo bottles and cereal boxes in the supermarkets? We want to check them out before buying bah..

Since we know there is no way that we could stop our kids from touching and grabbing toys from the shelves at the departmental stores, touching the floor, or the table or chair at the eatery, where dusts and germs are everywhere only our eyes can not see. It is quite impossible to wash our hands immediately all the time, that’s when a bottle of Quicklean Instant Antibacterial hand Gel comes in handy. It can be placed in our bag everywhere we go, it can be used instantly on hands without rinsing. This bottle of Quicklean is given by my sister in law as she knows we have got two very curious daughters, especially Crystal with thump sucking habit and Pearl eating with hands habit.

A bottle of hovid Quicklena Instant Antibacterial Hand Gel with moisturisers costs RM10.50. It is a new rinse-free, safe and effective gel that kills 99% of most common germs. There are many other brands for sale at Watsons and Guardian stores. Check them out for more clean hands..!!

UMBILICAL CORD BLOOD STEM CELLS BANKING

I got to know about umbilical cord blood stem cells banking about 3 years ago when a sales representative was promoting this facility at my gynea’s clinic. She was handing out leaflets to the expecting mothers who were sitting patiently waiting for our monthly reviews. Like usual I would try to avoid any sales persons with my unapproachable look. I just took the leaflet as she distributed to me and that’s it, so she would rather share this opportunity with other expecting mothers.

The StemLife leaflet appeared in front of me while I was tidying up my bag a couple of months later. After browsing through the leaflet, I find this was something amazing and that I was eager to know more. We sought both our gynae and child practitioner's opinions on this and their responses are that if you could afford it why not...After much thoughts, I told myself that this is the best thing I could do for my daughter. I quickly get hold of a sales person to brief me through and signed up almost immediately. I was in my 34 weeks pregnancy that time. I told myself that if I don’t do it this time then I never will.

There are proven records show that stem cells are used to treat many prevalent diseases in the world nowadays, especially leukemia, thalassaemia, hear disease and diabetic ulcers. Studies are being carried out in finding the use of stem cells for the treatment of other deadly diseases. Countries like Korea and Taiwan have poured out millions of dollars by their governments in support of the research. I personally feel that this is the best protection that I can give to my child.

I would encourage parents to seriously consider taking this once in a life time opportunity to store the umbilical cord blood stem cells for their little ones and the family. IT COULD SAVE LIFE…..

There are two Stem Cell Banking companies that I know of in Malaysia. They are StemLife and Cryocord. Please view their websites at http://www.stemlife.com/ and http://www.cryocord.com.my/ for further information.

The fees involved then was RM2,500.00 (can be paid by 3 instalments). Annual storage fees is RM250.00.