Dragon Fruit atau Buah Naga : The superfruit of 2013

Do you know doctors in Taiwan urge diabetic patients to eat this cactus fruit to regulate their blood sugar level?

Do you know the fruit is also known as Queen of fruit and voted as superfruit in 2013, in which put this fruit at the highest rank,defeating  other superfruit such as acai berries and pomegranates?

Below are some Infos copied from internet for my own future reference...:)

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus), a tropical fruit popular in Southeast Asia, belongs to the climbing cacti (Cactaceae) family. Vietnam is the main commercial producer of dragon fruits in this region. The fruit, apart from being refreshing and tasty, has loads of vitamin C and is said to aid digestion.

Origin and distributionThe fruit is native to Central America. It is known as Pitahaya in Mexico and as Pitaya roja in Central America and northern South America. Pitahaya is the Spanish name for fruiting vines of Central America. The fruit was introduced in Vietnam by the French over a hundred years ago. According to some, the French took the fruit from Nicaragua and Colombia while others said they brought it from Guyana (South America) in 1870 as an ornamental plant. For its large attractive flowers which bloom only at night, the flamboyant plant is also known as "moonflower" or "lady of the night".

When the Vietnamese discovered the plant's tasty fruit, they cultivated it for food, just as the Mexicans did. The Vietnamese now regard this fruit as indigenous, especially the white flesh variety, Hylocereus undatus, or called Blue Dragon or thanh long by the Vietnamese Only of late was the fruit grown in Vietnam on a large-scale as a commercial crop. As one of Vietnam's most profitable crops, it is exported to markets all over the Southeast Asia. The commercialisation of the crop is also catching up in Thailand, New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii.

The plant gets its genus name Hylocerus from the word cerus derived from the Latin word cera, meaning "wax" or "torch-like".

Description
The plant is a climbing cactus vine that grows well in dry areas. Because of its epiphytic nature, it grows best in soil with a high level of organic materials. The flowers are white and large, measuring 30 cm long or more. They are ornate and produce a sweet fragrance when in bloom. The flowers bloom for one night only. Pitahaya plants can have between four to six fruiting cycles in one year. It can be propagated by seed or by stem cuttings.

The dragon fruit has a dramatic appearance, bright pink or yellow skinned (from Columbia) with green coloured spine-like scales. The scales turn yellow as the fruit ripens while the skin peels easily. The fruit is oval shaped, elliptical or pear-shaped. Inside, the flesh has subtly flavoured sweet taste or sometimes slightly sourish. The flesh is either white or red with black seeds dotted all over. The seeds resemble sesame seeds and taste like cactus seeds. It imparts a crunchy texture. Dragon fruits are also called cactus fruits. They are closely related to the orchid cacti or epiphyllum. Epiphyllums are known for their large and impressive flowers. The pitahaya can be cross pollinated with the epiphyllums.

Usage and potential
Food
The fruit is popularly eaten raw and tastes better chilled. It is also served as a juice. The flesh is sweet and sometimes served with mango in a tropical sorbet. The fruit is also used to flavour drinks while syrup made of the whole fruit is used to colour pastries and candy.The pulp of the fruit is used in producing an alcoholic beverage. The fruit makes a wonderful cocktail on its own or mixed with other tropical fruits. It is sometimes used in cooking. Unopened flowerbuds can be cooked like vegetables.

Medicine
Dragon fruits reputedly improve eyesight and prevent hypertension. The seeds of the fruit supposed help in controlling blood glucose levels in people with non-insulin-dependent hyperglycaemic conditions (a kind of diabetes). It is also used to treat stomach and endocrine problems.

Other uses
The plant is popularly planted as a climber to cover chainlink fencing. Parts of the pitahaya plant can be used to produce food colour.

Variant names
Common name: Dragon Fruit or Dragon Pearl Fruit.
Scientific name: Hylocereus undatus, or its synonym, Cereus triangularis.
Malay name: Kaktus madu.
Chinese name: Long guo (Mandarin).
Vietnamese name: Thanh long.
Other common names: Pitahaya, Strawberry Pear, Cactus fruit, Night blooming Cereus, Belle of the Night, Cinderella plant.

	Hylocereus polyrhizus (Red-fleshed pitahaya)	Hylocereus undatus (White-fleshed pitahaya)
Myristic acid	0.2%	0.3%
Palmitic acid	17.9%	17.1%
Stearic acid	5.49%	4.37%
Palmitoleic acid	0.91%	0.61%
Oleic acid	21.6%	23.8%
Cis-vaccenic acid	3.14%	2.81%
Linoleic acid	49.6%	50.1%
Linolenic acid	1.21%	0.98%

 
Summary for Nutritional & Health Benefits of Red Dragon Fruit (100 g)*

Nutrients*	Nutritional Value*	Nutritional & Health Benefits*
Calories	50 Cal	Provide good source of energy
Carbohydrates	1.48 g	Provide good source of energy
Protein	0.16 g	Enhances the body’s metabolism
Fat	0.23 g	Provide good source of energy
Crude Fiber	10.1 g	Enhances digestion in our bodies & helps in weight lost
Calcium	5.7 mg	Reinforces bones and aid in formation of healthy teeth
Magnesium	28 mg	Helps in transmission of nerve impulses, body temperature regulation, detoxification, energy production and the formation of health bones and teeth
Potassium	57 mg	Helps to regulate blood pressure and heart function
Lycopene	14.35 mg	Helps keep the body healthy and protect against harmful damage caused by free radicals
Retinol (Vit A)	120 µg	Provides detoxification to your body, skin health and improve night vision
Thiamine (Vit B1)	48.9 µg	Assists in production of energy as well as metabolizing carbohydrates
Riboflavin (Vit B2)	40.8 µg	To recover and improve loss appetite
Niacin (Vit B3)	0.5 mg	Lowers bad cholesterol level, detoxification and enhances the appearance of the skin by moisturizing and smoothening the skin
Ascorbic Acid (Vit C)	500.0 mg	Ensures bruises and cuts heal faster and improves the general immune system of the bodies
Vitamin E	106 µg	Acts as a powerful antioxidant by neutralizing free radicals in the body that cause tissue and cellular damage. It also provides healthy circulatory system to our body and aids in proper blood clotting and improves wound healing.
Cobalamin (Vit B12)	16 µg	Helps to maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells and is needed to make DNA.
Phosphorus	23.0 mg	Aids in tissue formation
Iron	3.4 mg	Provides your body with energy
Zinc	14 mg	Helps fight infection, improves brain function, helps to control your appetite and improves your immune system
Copper	31 µg	Reduces tissue damage caused by free radicals and provides bone and tissue health. Keeps thyroid gland functioning normal
Pyridoxine	21 µg	Enhances immune system function, prevents cancer and helps to reduce water retention

Antioxidants

The red pigments in dragon fruit contain powerful flavanoid antioxidants which, it is believed, may help to prevent cancer and inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, diabetes and gout, although research has just begun to support the health claims.

Summary of Flavanoids Content of Red Dragon Fruit (100 g) and benefits.#

Type of Flavanoid#	Amount (μg)#	Benefits#
Kaempferol	3.09	This compound has been associated with reducing the risk of heart disease This compound may reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer by 23%
Myricetin	7.23	It is an antioxidant that is capable of eliminating cancer causing free radicals within the body. It may be able to lower high cholesterol levels It may reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men
Quercetin	6.81	It may help to relieve allergic symptoms and asthma symptoms The anti-inflammatory properties may help to reduce pain from arthritis. It may help to reduce fatigue, depression and anxiety.
Apigenin	2.01	It has potential to reduce the risk of cancer due to its anti-tumor activity. It also could potentially be used in allergy conditions due to its anti-inflammatory properties
Luteolin	1.06	It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties
Rutin	1.03	It has strong antioxidant properties. It strengthens capillaries and can help to stop venous edema which is an early sign of chronic venous disease of the leg It has anti-inflammatory effects. It may inhibit some cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions

Reduce Cholesterol
The high levels of soluble and insoluble fibre, which enhances digestion, speeds transit through the bowels and reduces dietary cholesterol are also beneficial. Reports from a clinical trial in which persons with elevated cholesterol saw a remarkable reduction in total cholesterol over a five week period during which Red Dragon Fruit was consumed daily{The seeds of dragonfruits are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids) that reduce triglycerides and lower the risk of cardiovascular disorder}

Comparison with other Studies in Tropical Fruit Intake on the Effects of Tropical Fruits on Human Lipid Profile

 

Tropical Fruits	Changes in Lipid Profile (%)
	Total Cholesterol	LDL Cholesterol	HDL Cholesterol	Triglyceride
Guava Papaya Watermelon Star Fruit Pineapple Red Dragon Fruit	8.19 ↓ 1.62 ↓ 7.85 ↓ 3.9 ↓ 8.38 ↓ 13.3 ↓	9.55 ↓ 2.31 ↓ 5.09 ↓ 0.60 ↓ 11.40 ↓ 5.94 ↓	No change 0.75 ↑ 1.10 ↓ 10.65 ↓ 14.80 ↑ 10.00 ↑	- 0.92 ↑ 16.93 ↓ 15.90 ↑ 9.74 ↓ 23.52 ↓

Buang...Saintis Melayu yang hilang

Salam...

Hari saya lihat dokumentari pendek tentang Buang: The Lost Malay Scientist.

 Buang bin Mohammed Ali, bukan sahaja pembantu kepada scientist terkenal Alfred Wallace,pengarang The Malay Archipellago, malah dia sendiri adalah scientist

My first impresssion..Subhanallah!  Ni cerita baru ni... sungguh ketinggalan zaman aku ni.. Video pendek selama 6 minit ini  di kongsikan di Vimeo dan internet , oleh seorang artist, Isabelle Desjeux . Ini videonya :

Link asal di sini ; http://vimeo.com/16263098
Credit sepenuh untuk   Isabelle Desjeux.
Gambar adalah credit kepada  Isabelle Desjeux.

Jangan lupa luangkan masa membaca the Malay Archipellago versi Inggeris secara percuma ini. 

Cellphones/Handphones bad to health???

Few years back in 1999,about 12 years ago, I still remember fresh in my mind, my humble, funny and down to earth physics teacher taught me about wave. He asked my class, what is wave? Then students had given a few answers, and then silence for few minutes. He broke the silence by saying ' All of you answers are almost correct', and he continued by saying actually wave is disturbance, then he repeated twice and he laughed. I was wandering what was so funny about wave.
Then I asked my classmate about his personal life history. My friend said my physics teacher was a brilliant and genius student who got scholared by government to study abroad in England in 1970s. He studied there until Phd(Physics) if I'm not mistaken but didn't finish it. Why? As according to my friend, while my teacher doing Phd, he was no more a practicing muslim. He almost become an atheist and overwhelmed by his studies. Oneday, a tabligh (Muslim preacher) guy came to him and asked him to go to the path of Allah. Started from that moment he realized he had deviated away from the Islam and later he decided to quit the Phd and returned to Malaysia with his Master qualification only . The reason why he gave up his Phd is remained his . Later I concluded that the reason of his laugh was related to his life as student. He taught us about the danger of wave used by handphone  back then, in which handphone was not popular and rarely seen used by people, and it was famous in 2000/01, about  1-2 years later when NOKIA 3310 hits the technolgy market. He said the wave used in handphone is almost similar to the wave used in microwave, thus our brain slowly will be cooked. Then he laughed again. We also laughed.

News 1

New Delhi, Feb 3: There have been numerous rhetoric doing the rounds on the ill-effects of mobile radiation for a while. The results are out and they are not pleasing at all. It has been found that radiation from mobile towers pose grave health risks including memory loss, lack of concentration and digestive disturbances. The fact was revealed by an Inter-ministerial committee formed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to study the hazards posed by mobile phones.

If the damages are not lethal for humans, its even worse for birds and insects as well. The committee has attributed the radiation effects to the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows.

Oooo...My world 2011!!! - 1

Recently there are a lot of things happen around the globe.
1- Cyclone in Australia. Cyclone Bianca in Western Australia not cause so much damage and Cyclone Yasi following Cyclone Anthony in North Queensland  had caused devastated damages to properties(thousands of houses were wrecked, shops had been destroyed and the worst is for banana lovers whereby  90% of banana tress were down but no worries if you still have other fruits or if you are taking banana for the potassium, then just take potassium supplement then from nearby pharmacy. The banana tree will regrow since they all not uprooted like palm tress).
Read the chronology event here :

Cyclone Yasi was the largest and most powerful cyclone to hit Queensland in living memory. 

 
Cyclone Yasi made landfall in North Queensland about 1am (AEDT) on February 3 and continues to make its way inland. The key developments:

• The first Yasi-related death was announced today after a 23-year-old man was found dead in his home last night. Police said he was killed by fumes from a generator he was running inside a closed room after the storm knocked out electricity.
   
• Police are looking for two men not seen since the cyclone, one of whom was reported missing by his sister in Brisbane and the other by an overseas friend on Tuesday after speaking by phone from his yacht at Port Hinchinbrook.

• Cyclone Yasi weakened to a tropical depression overnight and the cyclone warning for inland towns including Mt Isa was cancelled, though locals were warned winds could still reach 90km/h.

• The hardest hit communities are Cardwell, Tully, Innisfail and Mission Beach. There are major concerns of flooding in Townsville, Ingham and Giru. Police will search today for a man last seen moving his boat before the cyclone struck.

• The cyclone has left 150,000 homes without power. Premier Anna Bligh says thousands will be made homeless. Disaster relief payments have been activated for residents affected by the cyclone. There are concerns about water supply in Townsville and Magnetic Island.

2.15pm Victims of Cyclone Yasi returning to their homes should beware of contact with asbestos, the Asbestos Diseases Foundation (ADFA) of Australia said.
ADFA President Barry Robson said "heartbroken families sifting through the remains of their houses searching for valuables may unwittingly expose themselves to asbestos contamination."
"Asbestos is found in many Australian houses built before 1984, as well as in outbuildings and sheds on farms.
2.07pm Queensland's Hamilton Island is welcoming guests back, in an early sign the state's tourism industry is beginning the recovery process after Cyclone Yasi.
Residents, holiday-makers and staff were evacuated on Tuesday as a precautionary measure as the cyclone approached.
Ferry services to the island resumed yesterday, all regularly scheduled flights returned today and all tour operators and other outlets on the island have reopened.
Any guests affected by the evacuation can rebook with the island without incurring any penalties.
1.56pm Cairns.com.au is running a live blog now. 
1.45pm The Courier Mail has an impressive multimedia package showing how a low pressure system became one of the biggest storms in Queensland's living memory. You can have a look at it here.

1.38pm Food and other shortages are looming in north Queensland, with the premier on her way back to Brisbane to tackle the critical issue.
Premier Anna Bligh has been in the region touring the devastation left by Cyclone Yasi, but is heading back to Brisbane for high level talks about resupplying the north.
"We have major cuts to the Bruce Highway, so we're working with retailers to get supplies, particularly north of Townsville," she told reporters in Cairns.

1.32pm Compare a drive down Tully's main street in 2007 with today after Tropical Cyclone Yasi, in this video.

Quite-Quite Quiet

It has been a while I've not post anything or even opening my blog. Yeah, a while. Few year back when I was in standard 3 in 1991, there was an enthusiastic Mathematics teacher, who loved to ask a lot of questions about multiply. Before at the end of first semester, I mean the first 6 months of the standard 3, she asked us to remember all multiplication from 2 to 12 and give some advices. Yes, we did heard what she said, but you know what a standard 3 student do when there is holiday ahead? Yeah, we had listened but from the right ear, all the voice containing tasks given by her did passed through our right ear canal, drummed the ear drum a bit, vibrated the 3 ossicles bones but when the wave of advices reached the stapes of the middle ear, it didn't went to the the inner ear straight away. It went to Eustachean tube and straight away entered to the pharynx and we swallowed the waves. Not interesting right? The waves didn't even had a chance went to the left ear like people like to say " masuk telinga kanan, keluar di telinga kiri". Pity us. Guest what, when the school had started after 2-3 weeks later, all of us were badly scolded  and everyday we were the latest students to go home. Anyhow, thank you teacher for you help. May Allah bless you.

Jaundice(Demam Kuning) pada bayi dan Autisme

"Para bayi yang dirawat untuk demam kuning lebih cenderung untuk mendapat autisme berbanding bayi yang lain, walaupun peratusan untuk mendapatnya adalah rendah", kata Rikke Damkjaer Maimburg dari Universiti Aarhus  di Denmark dan rakan-rakannya. Maimburg dan rakan-rakannya telah membuat kajian keatas semua bayi yang lahir di Denmark antara tahun1994 dan 2004. Mereka mendapati bahawa 2.37 peratus  bayi yang  lahir cukup bulan dan dirawat sebagai pesakit demam kuning telah mendapat autisme berbanding 1.4 peratus bayi yang tidak mempunyai demam kuning. Penjelasan samada demam kuning adalah penyebab atau akibat berlakunya tingginya risiko mendapat austisme masih tidak diketahui. Mereka merasakan bahawa bilirubin, iaitu toxin yang terkumpul pada pesakit demam kuning  berkemungkinan menyebabkan kerosakan tisu otak, dan mengganggu tumbesaran otak seterusnya menyebabkan autisme.

Walaubagaimanapun, Maimburg menekankan bahawa para ibubapa tidak perlu bimbang tetapi sekiranya ada  tanda-tanda yang menunjukkan demam kuning pada bayi, bayi tersebut perlu dirawat segera.

Journal reference: Pediatrics, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2010-0052 

7 REASONS WHY A SCIENTIST BELIEVES IN GOD

(This article of Mr A. Cressy Morrison, former President of the New York Academy of Sciences, first appeared in the "Reader's Digest (January 1948); then on recommendation of Professor C. A. Coulson, F. R.S., Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University, was republished in the Reader's Digest November 1960) - It shows how science compels the scientists to admit to the essential need of a Supreme Creator.

We are still in the dawn of the scientific age and every increase of light reveals more brightly the handiwork of an intelligent Creator. In the 90 years since Darwin we have made stupendous discoveries; with a spirit of scientific humanity and of faith grounded in knowledge we are approaching even nearer to an awareness of God.

For myself I count seven reasons for my faith.

First:

By unwavering mathematical law we can prove that our universe was designed and executed by a great engineering Intelligence. Suppose you put ten coins, marked from one to ten, into your pocket and give them a good shuffle. Now try to take them out in sequence from one to ten, pulling back the coin each time and shaking them all again. Mathematically we know that your chance of first drawing number one is one in ten; of drawing one and two in succession, one in 100; of drawing one, two and three in succession, one in a thousand, and so on; your chance of drawing them all, from one to number ten in succession, would reach the unbelievable figure of one chance in ten thousand million.


By the same reasoning, so many exacting conditions are necessary for life on earth that they could not possibly exist in proper relationship by chance. The earth rotates on its axis at one thousand miles an hour; if it turned at one hundred miles an hour, our days and nights would be ten times as long as now, and the hot sun would then burn up our vegetation during each long day, while in the long night any surviving sprout would freeze.


Again, the sun, source of our life, has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and our earth is, just far enough away so that this 'eternal fire" warms us just enough and not too much! If the sun gave off only one-half its present radiation, we would freeze, and if it gave half as much more, we would roast.
The slant of the earth, tilted at an angle of 23 degrees, gives us our season; if it had not been so tilted, vapours from the ocean would move north and south, piling up for us continents of ice. If our moon was, say, only 50 thousand miles away instead of its actual distance. Our tides would be so enormous that twice a day all continents would be submerged; even the mountains would soon be eroded away. If the crust of the earth had been only ten feet thicker, there would be no oxygen without which animal life must die. Had the ocean been a few feet deeper, carbon dioxide and oxygen would have been absorbed and no vegetable life could exist. Or if our atmosphere had been thinner, some of the meteors, now burned in space by the million evey day; would be striking all parts of the earth, starting fires everywhere.


Because of these, and host of other examples, there is not one chance in millions that life on our planet is an accident.

Second:

The resourcefulness of life to accomplish its purpose is a manifestation of all-pervading Intelligence. What life itself is no man has fathomed. It has neither weight nor dimensions, but it does have force; a growing root will crack a rock. Life has conquered water, land and air, mastering the element,


compelling them to dissolve and reform their combinations.
Life, the sculptor, shapes all living things; an artist, it designs every leaf of every tree, and colours every flower. Life is a musician and has each bird to sing its love songs, the insects to call each other in the music of their multitudinous sounds. Life is a sublime chemist, giving taste to fruits and spices, and perfume to the rose changing water and carbonic acid into sugar and wood and, in so doing, releasing oxygen that animals may have the breath of life.


Behold an almost invisible drop of protoplasm, transparent and jelly-like, capable of motion, drawiug energy from the sun. This single cell, this transparent mistlike droplet, holds within itself the germ of life, and has the power to distribute this life to every living thing, great and small. The powers of this droplet are greater than our vegetation and animals and people, for all life came from it. Nature did not create life; fire-blistered rocks and a saltless sea could not meet
the necessarv requirements. Who, then, has put it here ?


Third:

Animal wisdom speaks irresistibly of a good Creator who infused instinct into otherwise helpless little creatures. The young salmon spends years at sea, then comes back to his own river; and travels up the very side of the river into which flows The tributary where he was born.


What brings him back so precisely? If you transfer him to another tributary he will know at once that he is off his course and he will fight his way down and back to the main stream and then turn up against the current to finish his destiny more accurately.

Even more difficult to solve is the mystery of eels. These amazing creatures migrate at maturity from all ponds and rivers everywhere - those from Europe across thousands of miles of oceans - all bound for the same abysmal deeps near Bermuda. There they breed and die. The little ones, with no apparent means of knowing anything except that they are in a wilderness of water; nevertheless find their way back not only to the very shore from which their parent came but thence to the rivers, lakes or little ponds - so that each body of water is always populated with eels. No American eel has ever been caught in Europe, no European eel in American waters. Nature has even delayed the maturity of the European eel by a year or more to make up for its longer journey. Where does the directing iruptilse originate?
A wasp will overpower a grasshopper, dig a hole in the earth, sting the grasshopper in exactly the right place so that he does not die but becomes unconscious and lives on as a form of preserved meat. Then the Wasp will lay her eggs handily so that her children when they hatch can nibble witliout killing' the insect on which they feed, to them dead meat would be fatal. The mother then flies way and dies; she never sees her young. Surely the wasp must have done all this right the first time and every time, or else there would be no wasp. Such mysterious techniques cannot be explained by adaption; they were bestowtd.

Fourth:

Man has something more than animal instinct - the power of reason.

No other animal has ever left a record of its ability to count ten or even to understand the meaning of ten. Where instinct is like a single note of a flute, beautiful but limited, the human brain contains all the notes of all the instruments in the orchestra. No need to belabour this fourth point; thanks to the human, reason we can contemplate the possibility that we are what we are only betause we have received a spark of Universal Intelligence.
Fifth:

Provision for all living is revealed in phenomena which we know today but which Darwin did not know - such as the wonders of genes. So unspeakably tiny are these genes that, if all of them responsible for all living people in the world could be put in one place, there would be less than a thimbleful. Yet these ultra-microscopic genes and their companions, the chromosomes, inhabit every living cell and are the absolute keys to all human, animal and vegetable characteristics. A thimble is a small place in which to put all the individual characteristics of two thousand million human beings. However; the facts are beyond question. Well then, how do genes lock up all the normal heredity of a multitude of ancestors and preserve the psychology of each in such an infinitely small space? Here evolution really begins - at the cell, the entity which holds and carries genes. How a few million atoms, locked up as an ultra-microscopic gene, can absolutely rule all on earth is an example of profound cunning and provision that could emanate only from a Creative Intelligence - no other hypothesis will serve.

Sixth:

By the economy of nature, we are forced to realize that only infinite wisdom could have foreseen and prepared with such astute husbandry.

Many years ago a species of cactus was planted in Australia as a protective fence. Having no insect enemies in Australia the cactus soon began a prodigious growth; the alarming abundance persisted until the plants covered an area as long and wide as England, crowding inhabitants out of the towns and villages, and destroying their farms. Seeking a defence, the entomologists scoured the world; finally they turned up an insect which exclusively feeds on cactus, and would eat nothing else. It would breed freely too; and it had no enemies in Australia. So animal soon conquered vegetable and today the cactus pest has retreated, and with it all but a small protective residue of the insects, enough to hold the cactus in check for ever. Why have not fast-breeding insects dominated the earth? Because they have no lungs such as man possesses; they breathe through tubes. But when insects grow large, their tubes do not grow in ratio to the increasing size of the body. Hence there has never beetn an insect of great size; this limitation on growth has held them all in check.
If this physical check had not been provided, man could not exist. Imagine meeting a hornet as big as a lion!

Seven:

The fact that man can conceive the idea of God is in itself a unique proof.

The conception of god rises from a divine faculty of man, unshared with the rest of our world - the faculty we call imagination. By its power, man and man alone can fmd the evidence of things unseen. The vista that power opens up is unbounded; indeed, as man is perfected, imagination becomes a spiritual reality. He may discern in all the evidence of design and purpose the great truth that heaven is wherever and whatever is; that God is everywhere and in everything, but nowhere so close as in our hearts. It is scientifically as well as imaginatively true; in the words of the palmist; The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone o_Ó

Studies Show Fajr Prayer is Healthy

 

 

By Karima Burns, MH, ND

"And He it is Who made the night a covering for you, and the sleep a rest, and He made the day to rise up again" (Qur’an 25:47).

Certainly sleep is one of the blessings from Allah. At the end of a busy day a person looks forward to sleeping and regaining enough energy for the next day. Sleep is also important for good health and safety reasons. However, studies vary as to how much sleep is enough. Some studies claim 8-10 hours is a requirement for everyone. However, the Prophet Mohammad (saws) used to sleep very few hours in the night and used part of the night for prayer. Recent studies confirm that this may actually be healthier for some people.

Sleep is important for health and safety reasons. Lack of sleep can lead to mental illness, relationship problems, absence from work and even traffic accidents.

Researchers have found that people with chronic insomnia are more likely than others to develop several kinds of psychiatric problems, and are also likely to make greater use of healthcare services (Yang). Lost productivity due to sleepiness has been estimated to cost the national economy as much as $100 billion annually and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated more than 100,000 auto crashes annually may be fatigue related (Yang). Because of this, some studies claim that 8-10 hours should be required for everyone. However, recent studies have confirmed what the prophet Muhammad did may be healthy for some people.

"…the Prophet slept for a part of the night, (See Fateh-al-Bari page 249, Vol. 1), and late in the night, he got up and performed ablution from a hanging water skin, a light (perfect) ablution and stood up for the prayer (Bukhari)."

Modern studies show that this may actually be the best advice for many people. In fact, many studies are showing that less sleep or even lack of sleep can be healthier in some cases.

A six-year study of more than a million Americans shows that a good night's sleep lasts seven hours. It also showed that people who sleep for eight hours or more tend to die a bit sooner. Study leader Daniel F. Kripke, MD, says,"You really don't have to sleep for eight hours and you don't have to worry about it. It is evidently very safe to sleep only seven, six, or even five hours a night (DeNoon)."

Kripke and co-workers analyzed data from an American Cancer Society study conducted between 1982 and 1988. The study gathered information on people's sleep habits and health, and then followed them for six years. Study participants ranged in age from 30 to 102 years, with an average starting age of 57 years for women and 58 years for men. In the study the death risk for people with too much sleep was 34% as compared to only 12% for those who slept 8 hours and only 22% for those who had too little sleep.

These findings are similar to those in the dietary realm that show that eating too much food is much more harmful than not eating enough (of course massive extremes such as starvation and not sleeping at all are not included in this discussion). Kripke even noted that, "For 10-hour sleepers, the increased risk of death was about the same as that for moderate obesity."

Some studies have even experimented with sleep deprivation to cure depression. Up to 60% of depressed people will show a 30% improvement after just one night awake, according to a review article published in the January 1990 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry. People who feel the most depressed in the morning and improve later in the day seem to benefit the most from a night without sleep (Yang). However, keeping people up all night is not a long-term solution and researchers often found a relapse in people once they went back to "normal" sleeping hours.

Further research showed that one reason staying up all night worked was because sleep inhibits the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) that helps control our metabolism and, indirectly, our levels of energy. An estimated 25% to 35% of depressed patients have low TSH levels. Recent research has shown that while sleep inhibits the release of TSH, staying awake through the night and the early morning hours boosts it. This "new" scientific research is completely in accordance with the habit of the prophet (saws), which was to sleep shortly after Eisha prayer (earlier than most people sleep nowadays), and wake in the very early morning hours (sometimes as early as midnight) again to pray.

Ibn 'Abbas said, "The Prophet slept till he snored and then prayed (or probably lay till his breath sounds were heard and then got up and prayed)." Ibn 'Abbas added: "I stayed overnight in the house of my aunt, Maimuna, the Prophet slept for a part of the night, (See Fateh-al-Bari page 249, Vol. 1), and late in the night, he got up and performed ablution from a hanging water skin, a light (perfect) ablution and stood up for the prayer. I, too, performed a similar ablution, then I went and stood on his left. He drew me to his right and prayed as much as Allah wished, and again lay and slept till his breath sounds were heard. "

This is similar to the therapy given to depressed patients in Europe who are told to sleep early for a week, awake at midnight and then ease back into a "normal" sleeping schedule by waking a bit later each morning, but no later than sunrise (Yang).

If you already feel you don’t have enough sleep you may wonder, though how less sleep can make you feel better. Oftentimes sleep problems are related to sleep quality rather than length of sleep. Things a person can do to improve their sleep quality is: eat at least two hours before bedtime, change to healthier dietary habits, check with a doctor about possible sleep apnea, snoring issues, or TMJ, sleep on your side, avoid alcohol and sedatives, lose weight and find a comfortable mattress.

So how do you know how much sleep you need? Many people instinctively feel what is right for them. If you feel great after 7 hours, but feel tired if you get five hours or nine hours then you know that seven is your "ideal sleep" time. However, sleep requirements may also vary with life events. During travel or personal trauma or illness sleep requirements may increase.

John McDougal, author of several dietary books, offers a further distinction between people who need more or less sleep. He says in his book The Quick McDougal Cookbook, that healthy people usually need only 5-7 hours of sleep a night. This, in fact may be the reason many people think they need more sleep. Bad dietary habits can cause sleepiness. One such example is the heavy feeling one gets after eating a large meal or the drug-induced state that bread causes in some people. Dr. McDougal says that as long as a person is healthy they should need less than 8-hours of sleep. Medical science seems to be saying that if you need more that 8 hours of sleep you need to work on some dietary issues and strive to need less sleep. Even the prophet (saws) spoke against extremes in sleep deprivation and told men who stayed up all night for days on end praying, that they needed to moderate their habits and also get some sleep.

Sources:

• www.webmd.com

• Yang, Sarah. "Staying Up to Beat the Blues."

• DeNoon, Daniel. "Are you Sleeping Enough – Or Too Much?"

• Durgan, Amy. "Tips to Sleep More Soundly."

Mushrooms & The Vitamin D Link

For one of the sunniest, most temperate countries in the world, Australia has an increasingly high rate of Vitamin D deficiency. A shortage of this important fat soluble vitamin has been linked to a number of health issues such as diabetes, arthritis, hypertension, depression and certain cancers. While the warnings of excess sunshine have been well and truly heeded, many Australians are going so far to slip, slop, slap that we are actually blocking benefits of regular time spent outdoors. According to research, 41 per cent of people in South East Queensland, 67 per cent of Tasmanian women and 58 per cent of aged care residents in Melbourne were Vitamin D deficient, not to mention 83 per cent of dermatologists in the winter time!

The good news is that the sunshine is not the only way to receive Vitamin D - it may be the major source but we must still look to food to supply any extra the body may require. Surveyed Australians consume around 25 per cent of the recommended 10 mcg of Vitamin D per day - and by the time we reach age seventy the body needs 15 mcg per day, so it's important that good habits are put in place now.

Calcium and Vitamin D are also linked - Glenn Cardwell, an Accredited Practising Dietitian with 30 years in clinical and public health nutrition says "If there is not enough calcium and Vitamin D in the diet or, in the case of vitamin D, insufficient sunlight exposure, then not enough skeletal bone is created [in childhood]. Our bones reach peak mass by the age of 30 years and thereafter decline. The rate of the decline is greatly dampened if adequate calcium is consumed, you remain active, don't smoke and get all your vitamin D needs through diet or sunshine. Cardwell also notes that "a greater calcium intake slows down the rate of bone loss in the later decades, while the kidneys become less able to activate vitamin D so more D is needed."

Mushrooms and Vitamin D

The humble mushroom has the potential to provide the daily Vitamin D requirements in a single serve, along with a host of other health benefits. Research has shown that mushrooms growing naturally in the wild contain Vitamin D, with the action of sunlight on their surface converting ergosterol to Vitamin D2. Commercially grown mushrooms, however, have little Vitamin D as they tend to grow well in darkness and extra light increases running costs and growing temperature.

As a result of these findings, the Australian Mushroom Industry began a small trial in Dubbo in 2007 "to test the effect of UV lights during the growing stage. The University of Western Sydney also did a trial using light exposure and found that mushrooms can easily reach the Adequate Intake levels of vitamin D in a single serve. They also showed that the vitamin D is stable and well absorbed from the mushroom (Koyyalamudi 2009)." The stability of the vitamin means that mushrooms can be used particularly in the catering sector to hospitals and nursing homes where deficiency is rife.

The resulting mushrooms in the study had Vitamin D levels at least ten times greater than the recommended 10mcg per day for adults less than 70 years. The University of Western Sydney is conducting further studies to refine the process for commercial application. "In the US, mushrooms providing the daily needs for vitamin D have been now available on the market since 2008."

Very few foods naturally contain Vitamin D - mainly oily fish and some fortified foods such as margarine, various milks, juices and cereals. We look forward to new and improved mushrooms in the future!


Reference: www.mushroomsforlife.net
By: Amy Dusseldorp, Nutritionist

Apple Review 2009

An apple a day really can keep the doctor away - yet most of us are missing out on the health benefits with new consumer research showing that only 21 per cent of Australians are eating an apple a day, and nearly half of us only eat them once a week, less often or never.

In the latest scientific review on apples, apples are shown to be protective for cancer - particularly cancers of the colon, lung, and breast - as well as to reduce the risk of heart disease, asthma and type 2 diabetes. The high antioxidant capacity of apples is believed to be one of the reasons for their impressive disease fighting potential.

In the past year the protective role apples may play in cardiovascular disease has been built upon by new research. French scientists showed atherosclerotic lesions (fatty build-up) in the blood vessels of mice were reduced by 38 per cent following dietary supplementation with apple extracts rich in polyphenols and or fibre.

Two papers out of Cornell University show apple extracts can suppress the growth of human breast cancer cells in the test tube and reduce tumour size in rats. The team at Cornell University also isolated six flavonoid and three phenolic compounds from apple peels with potent antioxidant an antiproliferative activity in human cancer cell lines.

Apples and Asthma
Australian research in young adults found that eating whole apples was protective against asthma where total fruit and vegetable intake was not. The link between apples and asthma has also been observed by European researchers, where a Dutch investigation found that mothers who eat apples during their pregnancy may protect their children against developing asthma in later life. Apples have also been linked with better lung health in older adults, particularly among those consuming more than five apples a week.

Diabetes, Weight Loss and Apples
Consumption of apples has been associated with a reduction in Type 2 diabetes risk in research carried out in America and Finland. The US study on 38 000 women showed a 28 per cent reduction of diabetes risk with eating an apple a day or more. Eating an apple before a meal may also lead to savings in kilojoules, as the apple helps to fill the stomach and provide satiety, leading to a weight reduction over time.

Emerging areas of study
Research published by scientists in Japan has shown that apple phytochemicals may play a role in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Antioxidant Action of Apples
Apple phytochemicals have the greatest total antioxidant capacity of Australia's most commonly consumed fruits, as measured using ORAC, a technique adopted by the US Department of Agriculture to measure antioxidant levels.

However, the new research shows that while almost all Australians have heard of antioxidants (98%), and two thirds of the population (63%) feel that they know why it is important to eat foods rich in antioxidants, we are still confused about which foods contain antioxidants.

According to accredited practising dietitian Karen Kingham, apples are one of the best and cheapest fruit sources of antioxidants.

"An apple has more antioxidants than half a punnet of blueberries or a cup of strawberries, more than twice the antioxidants of a cup of tea, about three times the antioxidants of an orange or a cup of grapes, and almost eight times the antioxidants of a banana," said Ms Kingham.

Yet only 3 per cent of Australians correctly identified an apple as having more antioxidants than any of these fruits or a cup of tea.

The table below shows the high ranking antioxidant value of apples as compared to other commonly consumed fruits or beverages in Australia:

Food	Antioxidant Capacity
Apples (1 whole)	6669
Strawberries (1 cup)	5187
Blueberries (1/2 punnet)	4914
Brewed Tea (1 cup)	2820
Oranges (1 whole)	2219
Mandarins (2 whole)	1944
Grapes (1 cup)	1901
Bananas (1 whole)	879

"Australians just don't realise that the humble apple really is a superfood. The science suggests that regular apple consumption - an apple a day or at least several apples a week - can make a significant difference to health," said Ms Kingham.

The research found that 36 per cent of Australian people are most likely to mistakenly believe that half a punnet of blueberries has the highest amount of antioxidants, slightly ahead of a cup of tea - both strongly marketed for their antioxidant content but both lower in antioxidants than an apple.

"The concern is that Australians are missing out on an affordable, convenient source of antioxidants. You have to pay around seven times more to get the same antioxidant capacity from blueberries and around four times more to get the same antioxidants from strawberries," said Karen Kingham.

Apples are an inexpensive and super convenient superfood. And just one a day can keep the doctor away.



References:
1. Newspoll (March, 2009). Study conducted by telephone in March 2009 among a representative sample of n=1201 adults aged 18+ nationally.
2. Kingham, K. (2009) The Apple Review.
3. Landon, S. (2008) The Apple Report: A Nutrition and Health Review.

Eat Fat to Stay Slim - The Skinny on MUFAs

There's so much hype surrounding healthy fats these days - but it's usually Omega 3s we're hearing about. These fats are great of course, but there's other players on the fat team we need to be aware of - MUFAs, which can help us lose weight and keep it off.

Monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs are good fats found in certain foods such as nuts and nut oils, seeds, avocado, olives and olive oil, canola oil and even dark chocolate. They present as liquid at room temperature but may solidify when refrigerated, unlike polyunsaturated fats that are liquid at all times. This indicates that MUFAs are more stable than polyunsaturated fats, as well as being rich in nutrients and a good source of antioxidants.

MUFAs can help fire up the metabolism, helping the body burn energy faster and more efficiently. A breakfast high in MUFAs can stimulate metabolism for up to five hours, especially in those with a higher amount of stomach fat.

A report in the British Journal of Nutrition showed that a diet that replaced unhealthy saturated fats with MUFAs actually helped people lose weight and body fat without needing to reduce their kilojoule intake. So rather than attempting a fad low-fat diet, overweight people can see better long term weight results by following a moderate fat MUFA-rich eating plan.

In addition to its unique fat-burning abilities, monounsaturated fat also has several other benefits:

A healthy heart
MUFAs remain flexible in the arteries thus have no negative effects on the cardiovascular system, unlike saturated fats which tend to clog the vessels. Harmful LDL cholesterol levels are lowered and beneficial HDL cholesterol increases.

Reduces inflammation
A three year study by Italian researchers found that monounsaturated fats were able to reduce markers of inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation can lead to conditions such as arthritis and elicit ageing responses.

Type 2 diabetes
MUFAs can help improve blood sugar levels in those with Type 2 diabetes. They assist in slowing digestion, keeping energy levels steady and thus managing hunger, especially when eaten with complex carbohydrate.

Metabolic Syndrome
A cluster of disorders identified by several risk factors such as abdominal fat, hypertension and raised blood fats, MUFAs in the diet can improve insulin sensitivity and blood lipids and greatly diminish cardiovascular risks, even more so than if all fats were removed from the diet completely.

Cancer
Studies show that women with the highest levels of monounsaturated fat in their diets had an almost 50 per cent less risk of breast cancer.

How to reap the benefits

Try to include a MUFA with every meal, whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. Add avocado to your toast at breakfast, snack on almonds, Brazil nuts and hazelnuts mid-morning and choose olive or oil on a salad dressing at lunch. Sprinkle sesame seeds over stir-fried vegies at dinner and perhaps a small treat of dark chocolate in the evening and there's five serves in just one day. Control your overall kilojoule intake and you too can benefit from marvellous MUFAs!

By: Amy Dusseldorp, Nutritionist

Saiz Pinggang Besar Berisiko Tinggi Untuk Mati (Ajal maut ditangan Allah)

Baru-baru ini journal dari Perubatan Dalaman melaporkan bahawa individu yang mempunyai saiz pinggang yang besar merupakan orang yang mempunyai risiko kematian yang tinggi disebabkan oleh apa-apa jua penyakit dalam jangkamasa 9 tahun.
Kita sedia maklum bahawa orang mempunyai saiz pinggang yang besar , sebelum ini dikaitkan dengan penyakit radang@inflamasi, kencing manis jenis yang ke-2, masalah ketidaknormalan tahap kolesterol dan sakit jantung. Ini mungkin disebabkan oleh saiz pinggang yang sangat kuat dikaitkan dengan tisu lemak yang banyak di dalam Viscera(Viscera adalah satu lapisan yang meliputi organ-organ di dalam badan kita), dan tisu-tisu lemak ini berkemungkinan besar lebih mendatangkan bahaya jika dibandingkan dengan tisu lemak di bawah lapisan kulit kita.

Eric J. Jacobs, Ph.D., dan rakan-rakannya di Pusat Kanser Amerika yang terletak di Atlanta, telah memeriksa dan mengkaji tentang hubungkait antara saiz pinggang dan  risiko kematian di kalangan 48,500 orang lelaki dan 56,343 orang wanita yang berumur 50 tahun dan keatas (kebanyakannya berumur 69 tahun bagi lelaki dan 67 tahun bagi wanita). Kesemua mereka telah turut serta dalam Kajian Pencegahan Kanser melalui Nutrisi II secara Berkelompok, yang mana mereka telah menjawab pelbagai soalan melalui pos, berkenaan dengan demografik, perubatan dan tingkahlaku yang berlaku dalam tahun 1992 atau 1993, dan maklumat berkenaan berat badan dan saiz pinggang semasa tahun 1997. Semua kematian mereka dan puncanya dijejak rekodnya  melalui Index Kematian Kebangsaan sehingga 31 Disember 2006. Untuk pengetahuan, sebanyak 9,315 orang lelaki dan 5332 orang wanita telah mati sehingga penghujung 2006.

Selepas mengambilkira dan mengkaji kaitan antara body mass index(BMI)* dan lain-lain faktor risiko, didapati saiz pinggang yang sangat besar(120sentimeter atau 47 inci atau lebih besar untuk orang lelaki dan 110 sentimeter atau 42 inci atau lebih besar untuk wanita) sangat berkait rapat dengan sekurang-kurangnya 2 kali risiko kematian dalam jangkamasa kajian dijalankan.  Saiz pinggang yang lebih besar telah dikaitkan dengan risiko kematian yang lebih tinggi dalam semua tahap BMI, samada berat badan normal, lebih dari normal atau gemuk dan terlalu gemuk. Walaubagaimanapun, di kalangan wanita, kaitan ini sangat kuat di kalangan mereka yang berat badan normal. Kenapa ya? Alasannya masih kabur dan memerlukan kajian yang lebih terperinci untuk menjelaskan persoalan kadar kematian yang tinggi dikalangan wanita yang bersaiz pinggang besar tetapi berat badan yang normal(BMI rendah dan normal).

Mungkin akan ada perubahan dalam panduan klinikal kesihatan berkaitan dengan berat badan? Siapa tahu.


*

Total Memory Workout

Recently I've registered as a new member of Nedlands Library. The library just located of less than 5 minutes walk from my house. This link will lead you to some infos of the library http://www.nedlands.wa.gov.au/People_Community/Libraries/Library+Service. Interestingly, I can borrow up to 12 items including Dvds,Cds,Cdroms, books, magazines and posters. The duration of loan is 3 weeks. So, I've borrowed this book written by Cynthia R. Green, a specialist in memory enhancement, telling about her 8 easy steps to maximum memory fitness. Here are the 8 steps :

STEP 1 ; Meet your memory - Wake up your memory with the A.M. Principle

STEP 2 ; The lifestyle connection - 10 factors most likely to lower your memory potential and what to do about them.

STEP 3 ; Food for thoughts - A diet to boost your brainpower plus the scoop on supplements

STEP 4 ;Get organized - The best ways to remember what you need to do, what was said and where things are

STEP 5 ; Train your brain - 8 techniques to keep your memory sharp

STEP 6 ; Remember what you read and see - 7 ways to learn a list and how to SING for your stories

STEP 7 ; Remember the people you meet - Rev up your recall for names

STEP 8 ; Total memory Maintenance - Tips for maintaining your maximum memory fitness

Well, the steps might be useful for me in the future, so let's read the book.









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