Yeah! They Have Everyright to be Proud - They have lived a good life. Have they?
by Joe Chelliah
Most people today seem to be very health conscious. It is a normal survivalist reaction to the living environment often based on newly acquired information and circumstances. It is normal for people to be over-reactive to food intake, exercise and life styles. Such modes of reaction need not always be right of course.
Take for example our reaction to food consumption. Most people take less sugar and fatty foods and think they are eating healthy. This may not be the best of ways to counter your health problems related to diabetes or heart attacks. For starters, some foods are just meant to be sweet, creamy or salty and were created as such. Chocolates and any one variety of Indian sweets can serve as examples. Our actual problem is obesity and lack of physical activity. Just look at our kids.
Most humans end up being over-weight unless nature has given them a natural metabolic rate that burns up what you do not need. Such people remain slim on the outside but may have clogged arteries in which case friends and dear ones wonder how this “so thin” chap suffered a massive heart attack.
It is my belief that it is better to limit our food intake. Actually we eat a lot more than we need unless of course you happen to be a poor peasant in Biafra. But I believe that we must have the food as it was originally intended to be and as developed by our forefathers. Cooking nasi briyani without ghee, for example, is shortchanging yourself as is a preparing good fish curry without enough salt, coconut milk or chilly rendering it tasteless. In this matter I would therefore suggest eating half of the food stuff instead of say a whole piece of “kurang manis” (less sugar) chocolate, ladu or jelebe. This is definitely better than eating food where the taste is halved instead. I have lost 10 kilograms by doing this ( especially with rice) over a period of time.
It is my belief that it is better to limit our food intake. Actually we eat a lot more than we need unless of course you happen to be a poor peasant in Biafra. But I believe that we must have the food as it was originally intended to be and as developed by our forefathers. Cooking nasi briyani without ghee, for example, is shortchanging yourself as is a preparing good fish curry without enough salt, coconut milk or chilly rendering it tasteless. In this matter I would therefore suggest eating half of the food stuff instead of say a whole piece of “kurang manis” (less sugar) chocolate, ladu or jelebe. This is definitely better than eating food where the taste is halved instead. I have lost 10 kilograms by doing this ( especially with rice) over a period of time.
The solution is therefore to halve the sugar, salt, coconut or oil intake by simply lessening the amount consumed. In this way food is eaten in the original taste as it was intended to be. Then you still eat with the original taste but the food intake is halved – half a doughnut, half a proper nasi lemak and so on. Get the drift. The same argument is equally cogent for eating durians, teh tarik etc. I am sick and tired of eateries and restaurants that serve food with less salt, less sugar, less coconut milk and less of this or that. By the way we drink teh tarik in beer mugs and not in proper cups these days. The saying "a cup of tea" has become obsolete one might conclude.
Lack of exercise is also not seen as a health hazard at all by most of us. This is especially so amongst Malaysians of the Indian and Malay varieties. Just vist parks and gyms and you will see the Chinese variety ( young and old) laboriously exercising. But most people will talk endlessly about the menace of smoking, passive smoking, chicken fat etc. etc. Such people may not actually walk more than 50 meters in a day and would prefer to double park right in front of their destination such as a shop or even a mosque on Fridays. They do not wish to park a little further away and yes, walk. Lying in front of a TV or being glued to a computer screen for hours is not seen as a health hazard by such loud mouths lament about smoking or having a sweet and creamy cup of cendul.
In reality we are exposed to so many other even more deadly hazards in modern day living which most people do not seem to be aware of. The list can be endless.
Lack of exercise is also not seen as a health hazard at all by most of us. This is especially so amongst Malaysians of the Indian and Malay varieties. Just vist parks and gyms and you will see the Chinese variety ( young and old) laboriously exercising. But most people will talk endlessly about the menace of smoking, passive smoking, chicken fat etc. etc. Such people may not actually walk more than 50 meters in a day and would prefer to double park right in front of their destination such as a shop or even a mosque on Fridays. They do not wish to park a little further away and yes, walk. Lying in front of a TV or being glued to a computer screen for hours is not seen as a health hazard by such loud mouths lament about smoking or having a sweet and creamy cup of cendul.
In reality we are exposed to so many other even more deadly hazards in modern day living which most people do not seem to be aware of. The list can be endless.
- Carbon monoxide rich fumes from cars,
- industrial gases emitted by factories,
- vegetables and ground water infected with pesticides and fertilizers.
- Air conditioners damaging the earth’s ozone layer too.
Would people who vehemently complain about smoking willingly switch off their own air conditioners in their homes or cars?
Waste from homes, pig farms, factories and what not are indiscriminately disposed off into our once pristine rivers. Management of waste from even private homes are not well managed and dumped here and there. Are there any laws that are enforced with equal vehemence on these compared forms of environmental pollution to anti-smoking laws and campaigns? Are there more to the above mentioned hazards that even doctors may not be aware off?
Yes, of course. We are not only surrounded by but also bombarded with an array of electro-magnetic sinous waves that go in and out of almost anything (including you) in all directions - handphone transmissions, GPS, TV braoadcasts, wirless devices, gamma rays, ultra vioplet rays, computer screens, electrical devices such as fans etc. etc. All these electro magnetic waves are not good for you.
I wear a quantum pendant these days (made from 70 types of volcanic rocks) that emit an almost unknown form of energy called scalar energy that travels in horizontal waves. This form of energy is awesome and was discovered by Tessla, a Russian scientist and physcist. It forms a sort of biosphere around your body and protects your body from these harmful waves to some extent in the way how an umbrella protects us from rain. It restores your body activity to normal levels as it is very effective with liquids and we must remember that our body mass is 70% fluid. These external electro-magnetic waves interefere with our body functions that work on electro-chemical impulses much like how handphones affect an aircraft's systems.
I am Type2 diabetic and also hypertensive. Since wearing the quantum pendant for over a year (and taking my usual medical prescriptions regularly) I find that my body functions better since then. I feel less lethargic and a little more energetic than before. My quarterly medical checks have also revealed this. My fasting blood test tells it all - blood sugar around 5, BP gravitates around 120/80, kidney, liver functions and cholestrol levels are good and so on. My doctor is happy too.
Talking about safety, we also often see young Malaysian parents riding on a motorcycle with a kiddie sitting in between them. More affluent parents ride in cars of course but often with the young mother huddling a toddler in the front seat (with or without the safety belt) instead of sitting at the back or using a baby seat. The wives probably do not want the father to look like a taxi driver not realizing the danger their kid is in.
Going to another level of civil awareness, noise pollution is not even thought of as a health hazard. It has been proven to cause premature loss of hearing acuity apart from aggravating stress in the daily life of a person.
The dangers from all the above sources are actually nothing compared to that of being a passive smoker. Yet, smokers are targeted and discriminated like in the West. These guys from the West have not always been right you know - democracy, dictatorship, socialism, communism and not forgetting anti-smoking stance are all of Western origin.
Malays and Indians, indeed most people in tropical countries, have been cooking with coconut oil for centuries but our Western human counterparts said that it was bad and we switched to corn and other vegetable oils. It was actually a commercial spin to market their corn oil. I know what a curry should taste like if cooked with coconut oil but sadly my children do not and would never know it. Now they are saying that coconut oil is not bad after all. People in Indian and Sri Lanka (not sure about Indonesia) still cook with coconut oil and have been doing so for ever since when. The same story applies to egg intake which is not seen as a hazard now. Come on lah. A whole and healthy chick comes out of an egg. How harmful can it be?
Philosophically speaking our heart and body parts are only good for a certain period of time and physical breakdown and degradation of our body will eventually take our life away even with the so called healthiest of life styles that we hear about so much today. A car has a life span and so has a human being. The Indians believe in thala elethe (or preordained fate or literally “written on the head”) which can also refer to the time, place and manner of one’s death. The Muslims have their own version of this known as takdir. Yes I do not want to jump off Twin Towers and blame it on fate and God but please we should get a life and enjoy it.
By the way are you drinking enough water before worrying about others smoking or drinking? There is research in USA that shows that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated in some form. It perhaps applies to half the world population as well. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters. Lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research also indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79% and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?
Malays and Indians, indeed most people in tropical countries, have been cooking with coconut oil for centuries but our Western human counterparts said that it was bad and we switched to corn and other vegetable oils. It was actually a commercial spin to market their corn oil. I know what a curry should taste like if cooked with coconut oil but sadly my children do not and would never know it. Now they are saying that coconut oil is not bad after all. People in Indian and Sri Lanka (not sure about Indonesia) still cook with coconut oil and have been doing so for ever since when. The same story applies to egg intake which is not seen as a hazard now. Come on lah. A whole and healthy chick comes out of an egg. How harmful can it be?
Philosophically speaking our heart and body parts are only good for a certain period of time and physical breakdown and degradation of our body will eventually take our life away even with the so called healthiest of life styles that we hear about so much today. A car has a life span and so has a human being. The Indians believe in thala elethe (or preordained fate or literally “written on the head”) which can also refer to the time, place and manner of one’s death. The Muslims have their own version of this known as takdir. Yes I do not want to jump off Twin Towers and blame it on fate and God but please we should get a life and enjoy it.
By the way are you drinking enough water before worrying about others smoking or drinking? There is research in USA that shows that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated in some form. It perhaps applies to half the world population as well. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is mistaken for hunger. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters. Lack of water is the number one trigger of daytime fatigue. Preliminary research also indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on the computer screen or on a printed page. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79% and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water you should drink every day?
The following tongue-in-cheek writing by an unknown person is an interesting read
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HEALTH QUESTIONS & ANSWERS SESSION
Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
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Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables right? So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
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Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!
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Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!
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Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
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Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
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Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO!!! Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel- good food around!
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Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
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Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!
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Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions that you may have had about food and diets. And remember: "Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways – Champagne in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming "WOO HOO!!! What a Ride”.
