Health Benefits of Cincau

Black cincau (black grass jelly)
Image from wikimedia

Cincau, an Indonesian famous ingredient commonly used for beverages, turns out to have many health benefits. Other common names of cincau, include, grass jelly (English), khruea ma noi, chao kuai (Thailand), cao, juju, kepleng (Javanese), camcauh, tahulu (Sundanese), xian cao, hsian tsao (Taiwan).

Cincau is made traditionally by first washing the leaves, finely crushed, and added with warm water. The water soluble is then separated from the leaves, left until it is cold, and turned into a jelly.

It might also simply by soaking the leaves into water, for about five minutes, and then squeeze them. The leaves will stick together like glues. The more sticky means better quality of Cincau leaves.

Moreover, the gel content in cincau, is affected by the altitude. The highest content of the gel is found in the leaves, which are planted at minimum of 2000 meters asl. (Widyaningsih TD, et al. 2012)

According to Kooiman P, 2006, the solubility of such a pure, and highly esterified pectin, from cincau plant cell walls, in cold water, seems to occur only in a restricted number of plant species.

Different varieties of cincau, whether they are derived from the leaves of Mesona palustris, Mesona chinensis, Mesona procumbens, or Cyclea barbata, all them possess the same health benefits.

Cyclea barbata Miers.

Green cincau is made from the leaves of Cyclea barbata, in which is reported to be originated from Silent Valley, Kerala, India. Cyclea barbata is commonly used, as a medicinal plant by Javanese people, for stomach troubles, and as a prophylactic against fever. (Manilal KS, et al. 1985)

Five bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids, in which among them, tetrandrine, limacine, thalrugosine, homoaromoline, and cycleapeltine, were extracted from the roots of Cyclea barbata, had demonstrated cytotoxic, and antimalarial activities. (Lin LZ, et al. 1993)

Mesona palustris
Image from sito

Black cincau is made from the leaves of Mesona palustris, or other Mesona family plants. Black cincau has been reported to possess antioxidant, antibacterial, antimutagenic, hepatoprotective, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, immunomodulatory and cancer preventive properties. Black cincau is believed can be used to treat fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, cough, mouth sores, high blood pressure, diabetes and liver disease.

Recent study was aimed to demonstrate the immunomodulatory property of a black cincau, in a form of instant tea powder, using Salmonella thypimurium induced mice. The beverage, in which was added with cinnamon and pandan leaves extracts, had the ability to increase interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and immunoglobulin G (IgG), in Salmonella thypimurium induced mice, at dose of 18,2 mg/20 g body weight, and 36,4 mg/20 g body weight. (Widyaningsih TD, et al. 2013)

Black cincau, which is tasteless in nature, is easily found to be sold, whether in a traditional market, or in a supermarket. Even though cincau beverages possess many health benefits, but another ingredients to make cincau beverages more tasty, might be questionable for health.

The use of sugar in a large amount, or artificial sweetener that is used by traditional cincau beverages seller, will make cincau no longer healthier. Even worse, if the seller made his own cincau, by adding the soluble water of the leaves with borax, to make it more gummy, and lasts longer to be sold.

Ding Fong Black Grass Jelly Powder	Nutrijel Jelly Powder Rasa Cincau (Pack of 6)

Related articles:

• Bread Cancer Trigger
• Borax in Food Products
• Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes
• Formaldehyde Chicken Satay
• Formaldehyde on Food Products
• Healthy Labelled Foods

Obsessive Corbuzier's Diet

Deddy Corbuzier in 2009, before doing OCD

Deodatus Andreas Deddy Cahyadi Sunjoyo, or known as Deddy Corbuzier, an Indonesian mentalist, actor, and host of a TV program Hitam Putih, in Trans7, who received the prestigious Merlin Award from the International Magicians Society, in 2010. Also with Rizuki, the winner of The Master season 3, a magic talent show, in which Corbuzier became one of the judges, also received the Merlin Award, in 2010.

Merlin Award is like the magicians's Oscars. Previous winners include, David Copperfield, Criss Angel, Peter Marvey, Max Maven, and etc. OK, back to topic! In August 2013, Corbuzier wrote an ebook about a healthy diet, which titled Obsessive Corbuzier's Diet (OCD). Instead of calling it as a healthy diet, Corbuzier considered OCD as an ancient sacred way of life.

A Forgotten Ancient Chinese Secret

Corbuzier described that OCD was based on a forgotten ancient Chinese secret. It was a cab driver in Hong Kong, who had opened Corbuzier's point of view on how to be forever young and healthy. Corbuzier realized that his struggle, on losing his weight, using healthy diets, and supplements, along with physical exercises at a gym, was completely wrong.

A 68 years old cab driver, who had spent 39 years of his life, in Chinese Buddhist temple, as a Shaolin monk, had amazed him. The cab driver, whom Corbuzier thought that he aged of 40 years, believed that healthy diets, supplements, and physical activities, will not make you stay young, healthy, and having an ideal body by losing weight.

As a Shaolin monk, the cab driver was used to follow the Vinaya, the rules of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, by doing an evening fast, or not to eat a meal in the evening, so that, he will be aware of good health, being without illness, having strength, and living in comfort.

OCD Means Fasting

Deddy Corbuzier after doing OCD

Corbuzier said that OCD means fasting, by eliminating breakfast in the morning, or at least three hours after wake up. He believed that breakfast means break fasting, and not eating in the morning. In his ebook, Corbuzier said that, Eating at 2 pm will be considered as breakfast, if you just wake up. But, not if you had already woken up since 8 am.

There are four levels of OCD fasting, 16 hours, 18 hours, 20 hours and 24 hours. When doing the OCD fasting, drinking water, tea, or coffee without sugar are allowed, as long as there are no calories intake, or calorie restriction, such as drinking milk. Corbuzier had tried the OCD fasting for three months before he wrote the ebook.

In his first week, Corbuzier skipped the OCD fasting to the second level of 18 hours of fasting, due to the first level was too easy for him. At the six hours of eating time, he started at 3 pm for breakfast, and stopped eating at 9 pm.

At the second week, Corbuzier moved to third level of 20 hours of fasting. Breakfast at 3 pm and started fasting at 7 pm. He once failed of doing the third level of fasting, and back to second level, by starting to fast at 9 pm.

At the third week, Corbuzier managed to combine the third and forth level of OCD fasting. Once in a week, he did a full day fast. For example, start fasting at 4 pm until the 4 pm of the next day.

By the forth week, Corbuzier did the same as the third week, but he did a full day fast, for twice a week.

The Health Benefits of Fasting

OCD is considered to be an intermittent fasting technique, an alternate day fasting, a pattern of eating between periods of fasting, and non fasting. The fasting usually means calorie restriction, and to consume only water, or low calories drinks, such as, black coffee.

A study found that by eating less, and more than needed on alternate days, will prolong life. This is another secret of extending life, just like in my previous post. By restricting calorie intake, up to 70% of normal adult weight maintenance requirement, will confer a perfect health, and prolong lifespan up to 50%.

The study had observed several health benefits starting as two weeks, in insulin resistance, asthma, seasonal allergies, infectious diseases, tonsillitis, chronic sinusitis, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis (autoimmune disorder), osteoarthritis, cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat, or abnormal heart rhythm), menopause related hot flashes (a sudden feeling of warmth spreading all over the face and upper body), and symptoms due to CNS (central nervous system) inflammatory lesions, such as, Tourette syndrome (neurological disorder), and Ménière's disease (hearing disorder).

The study also hypothesized that other conditions would be delayed, prevented or improved, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, brain injury due to thrombotic stroke atherosclerosis, NIDDM (non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, form of diabetes, in which insulin production is inadequate, or the body becomes resistant to insulin), and congestive heart failure (condition when the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body). Moreover, the study believed that this pattern of eating has proven to be a good method of weight control. (Johnson JB, et al. 2006)

Fasting and Chronic Diseases

Another study reviewed animal and human evidence concerning alternate day fasting, and the risk of certain chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer. The following are the review results:

In term of diabetes risk

• Animal Studies find lower diabetes incidence, lower fasting glucose, and insulin concentrations, effects that are comparable to those of calorie restriction.
• Human trials have reported greater insulin mediated glucose uptake, but no effect on fasting glucose, or insulin concentrations.

In term of CVD risk

• Animal studies show lower total cholesterol, lower triacylglycerol concentrations, a lower heart rate, improved cardiac response to myocardial infarction, and lower blood pressure.
• Although there are limited in human evidences, alternate day fasting suggests higher HDL cholesterol concentrations, and lower triacylglycerol concentrations, but no effect on blood pressure.

In term of cancer risk

• Animal studies found decreases in lymphoma incidence, longer survival after tumor inoculation, and lower rates of proliferation of several cell types.
• There is no human evidence.

The findings in animals suggest that alternate day fasting may effectively prevent chronic diseases, in which similar to that of calorie restriction. (Varady KA, et al. 2007) Moreover, other study which published in 2009, by Johnson JB, et al., hypothesized that a pretreatment of two to three weeks with the alternate day modified fast, will improve outcomes in cancer chemotherapy, decreasing morbidity and raising cure rates. (Johnson JB, et al. 2009)

I had done once in my lifetime, a full day fast, in order to open my sixth sense, by my uncle's Guru, in Bantul, Yogyakarta. My fast was started after the sunset, until break fasting with only using a white chicken egg yolk, that I brought from home, and a cup of water, in the next day sunset. I ate an hour later, after we both left the Guru's house.

I also did several fasting when I was young, especially at my weton day (Javanese day) of birth, for three days, the day before until the day after. The fasting was started after the sunset, until break fasting after sunrise, or called as an evening fast.

I had read the ebook, and found that it was very reasonable to try. You can download the ebook for free by visiting here on web archive. The book is written in Bahasa Indonesia, and in English for the reference sources.

All photos are private collections of Deddy Corbuzier.

Disclaimer: This information is not a medical advise, and based on personal experience of Deddy Corbuzier, a non medical practitioners. The OCD fasting technique is not advised for pregnant women, breastfeeding mom, workers at heavy labor, and people who are very sick, where fasting would be considered dangerous. You must consult with your doctor before doing OCD fasting to lose weight, in regarding to your medical records, and for your own safety!

Borax in Food Products

Perjuanganku lebih mudah karena mengusir penjajah, tapi perjuanganmu akan lebih sulit karena melawan bangsamu sendiri.

Soekarno
1st President of The Republic of Indonesia

The quote above when translated in English means, My fight was easier, because fought the invaders. But, yours would be more difficult, because of fighting your own nation. The word nation here means, my fellow countrymen, in other word, the invaders are the Indonesian people themself.

For examples, some bussiness owners slaved their employees, by not paying the salary, or by paying the salary, below the government minimum payment regulations. Terrorism acted by some Indonesian, who had made other Indonesian, and foreigners in Indonesia, died or suffered.

The freedom of having a faith or religion is still in chain. It is so easy to build a mosque in Indonesia, but way too hard to build a church. Even just to build a fence for church's parking-lot, must wait for the IMB (Ijin Mendirikan Bangunan), or a building permit by the local authority. Food products made by small home industry, which contain toxic substances, such as, formaldehyde and borax.

In my earlier post, I had already described the use of formaldehyde in food products. In this post, I will describe how my fellow countrymen used borax, which freely sold in the traditional market, as food additive.

Borax

Borax, or also known as sodium borate, dissolve easily in water. According to Peraturan Menteri Kesehatan Republik Indonesia (Regulation of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia) No. 722/MenKes/Per/IX/88, Indonesian government forbade the use of borax, and its derivatives (boron and boric acid), as foods additive. However, borax is easily found to be sold in nearest traditional market.

I assume that the freely sold borax is meant for other uses, such as, for making glass, pottery, and ceramics. Borax possess antifungal properties, which is useful to treat fungal foot disease, Athlete's Foot, and candidiasis, by soaking the foot in the mixture of water and borax. Borax is also used as disinfectant to kill bacteria, and germs.

Borax may use as natural ant killer. To make your own ant traps, mix a tablespoon of honey, borax and sugar. Place the mixture in a bottle. Then, place the open bottle, in open area where there are ants. The ants will take the mixture back to its nest as foods, and will kill the entire colony. ([PDF] Pesticide Alts Eng)

Borax in Lontong

Lontong

Lontong, an Indonesian rice cake, is made by compressing rice cake which wrapped using banana leaves. Lontong is widely known as traditional Indonesian cuisine. But, some lontong makers add borax as a preservative, to make lontong more chewy, or elastic, and last long to be sold.

The original lontong which is made without borax, will be watery after a day period. But, last week, my mom ordered 100 pieces of lontong, in traditional market, for the 68th Indonesian Independence feast. Curious with the lontong that my mom bought, I kept a piece of lontong, in dining table, to be left for three days. You know what, it did not even watery, infact when I touched it, the lontong was harder in the outer skin.

A study using the spectrophotometric method was demonstrated to examine ten samples of lontong, which was sold, in Setu district, Bekasi, West Java. Amazingly, all ten samples were contained with borax at the levels between 220.23 parts per million (ppm) and 314.58 ppm. The study suggested that the Indonesian government should provide more information about the danger uses of borax as food additives. (Nugroho A J, 2011)

Borax in Tempe Chips

Tempe Chips

Tempe, a traditional soy product origin from Indonesia, is made by a fermentation process of soybeans. Tempe iCompressed rice cakes popular ingredient for many Javanese dishes, foods, and snacks, such as, oseng tempe, kering tempe, tempe bacem, tempe mendoan, and tempe chips.

Last Sunday news from Reportase Investigasi, a local TV news program, in TransTV, was informed that all six samples of tempe chips, which were randomly bought, including a sample that was bought in a snacks store, were contained with borax.

Just like borax in bread, in my previous post, all six tempe chips were also tested in laboratory. Small pieces of all samples, when added with a flame produced a green color.

From the interview with a naughty tempe chips maker, and also supported with the video record, it was shown that the maker mixed borax into the flour, which used to cover the tempe before being fried.

Moreover, the scientist who tested the samples, at Sucofindo laboratory, was found that some tempe chips samples were also contained with plastic material. It was shown that some tempe chips maker had melted the plastic container of the frying oil, in the frying pan, before frying the tempe.

The melted plastic in the frying oil, will make the frying oil able to be used many times, and also make tempe chips more crispy. That makes double poison additives inside the tempe chips, borax and plastic.

Image credit: SquareSpace.com & Wikimedia.org

Related articles:

Bread Cancer Trigger

Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes

Formaldehyde Chicken Satay

Formaldehyde on Food Products

Healthy Labelled Foods

Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes

Bad news for seafood lovers. I am not fond of seafood dishes, but oyster is one of my favorite dish.

Report from Reportase Investigasi, in TransTV, Dec 1, 2012, titled Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes, had found an astounding fact. The initial aim of the report was to determine the contents of chemical substances in seafoods such as shrimp, oyster, and fish in the waters of the Java Sea.

10 samples were obtained by TransTV crew from traditional markets and supermarkets. All of them were tested in a laboratory of Padjajaran University. The result, all of them had been contaminated by chemical substances.

Although the chemical level still in the normal threshold, but if it accumulates continuously will adversely affect to the people's health.

The further tests had found another results. 7 out of the 10 samples were also contained with borax and non food grade dye.

The TransTV crew than went to see Joni, the oyster seller, who had sold oyster which contained with borax and textile dyes. Joni had beed committed fraudulent practices to his costumers for years.

He used to have formaldehyde in all seafoods sold on his kiosk. Since getting formaldehyde were difficult, he then used borax which easier to get.

Since 1979, the Indonesian Government had banned the use of borax in all food products. But in order to preserve the goods and to attract buyers, has resulting in fraudulent behavior of the merchant.

That night in his kitchen, Joni soaked oyster, fish and shrimp in a bucket filled with water that had already mixed with borax and textile dyes.

After having soaked for about an hour, he then dried it, and ready for sale early in the morning.

Joni claimed that many his customers who complained about the fish which was bought from him tasted bitter. He then only answered by saying that all the seafoods were bought directly from fishermen.

Tips to distinguish seafoods which safe to eat

TransTV Crew used two types of shellfish, the one was purchased from Joni (dishonest seller) and the other from an honest sellers named Asep, and brought them into the open.

Shellfish which bought from Joni attracted less flies than the shellfish which bought from Asep.

Shellfish stench on Asep owned more sting than stink on Joni owned shellfish.

Color of the shellfish which were sold by Joni more striking, while the one which were sold by Asep pale.

Bread Cancer Trigger

Image from recipetineats.com.

I am shock to see these facts while I saw Reportase Investigasi, a TV news program in TransTV, May 27, 2012. 6 out of 10 white bread sold in Indonesia, turned out to be contained with borax. Preservative that should not to be used in food, just like formaldehyde, in which nearly quite known the same as borax.

Borax has known for its wide variety of uses in many manufactures industry, but not for food industry. It is used as component of detergents, cosmetics, and enamel glazes. Indonesian government had prohibited its used for food industry, but what had been shown by TransTV seems to be scarred the face of Indonesian Directorate of Consumer Protection (FDA). The Indonesian FDA had already warned the risk of liver cancer with high consumption over a period of 5–10 years.

6 bread out of 10 samples containing borax was the result on laboratory test by Padjajaran University of Bandung. 2 of them are well-known branded bread, in which one of them can be found in every supermarkets in Indonesia, while the other well-known branded bread is obtained from a mall in Jakarta.

Based on interview by the crew of Reportase Investigasi TransTV with an employee of a baking factory. In the bakery where he worked, used of borax as a preservative for baking bread. Also using margarine that had already expired, artificial sweeteners, as well as using eggs that have been damaged. According to the informant, the use of borax will make longer shelf life, from 4 days normal time of expiring to 2 weeks.

Hygiene is no longer ignored by the factory in pursuit of revenue targets. The TV crew's hidden camera revealed that a bread dough that had been fallen to the dirty floor, picked up again, and mixed into the dough, when he entered the factory. That makes the informant who is also employee of the factory did not want to eat bread anymore.

Rate of 60% of 10 samples of bread made from dangerous cancer trigger preservative should be questioned. Where is the Indonesian FDA during this? I've written about this before. But it is unavoidable to not to eat this healthy labelled food, because my job required shift work and my work began at 6 am. So, I chose white bread with jam for breakfast in a hurry, due to at 5.15 am I must leave the house to go to work. (Breakfast at 5 am. Have you try it before?) But after watching TV yesterday afternoon made me think twice for breakfast with bread again.

Here are tips on choosing a safe to eat bread and free of preservatives, from a Chef who also interviewed:

The Longer The Harder
If it kept for a week, safe to eat bread texture would be harder, but the bad ones will stay soft.

Butter Smell
A safe to eat bread will have more fragrant smell of butter or margarine, while the bad one has no smell at all, or a stinky smell.

Yellowish Color
The color of the white bread that is safe to eat, is a slightly yellowish color. If you usually think of white bread has only white color, you should be more careful. Because the white color comes from bleaching agents that were added during the bread baking.

Try To Twisted The Bread!
The best eaten bread will fall out easily when pinched or torn into small pieces, and if you twisted the bread, it will be back shaped like the bread dough.

Source : Reportase Investigasi, TransTV, May 27, 2012, 5.15 pm (UTC+7).

5 Natural Dietary Supplements

Holiday Chocolate, Nuts & Fresh Fruit Gift Basket

Many dietary supplements claim can restrain your appetite. But you should be careful, because not all supplements are safe to consume. There are even some of them which contain hazardous chemicals, and not listed by the Food and Drug Administration.

Keeping your appetite actually is not the right solution for slimming. Just like when you are doing a full day fasting, the desire of eating will be greater than before. Instead of taking healthy risk consuming drugs that have not clear safety, you better rely on natural ingredients that can be control your appetite. These 5 natural dietary supplements can help you to prevent from over-eating.

Avocado

Avocados Hass Fresh

A fruit in which is rich in fiber and mono-unsaturated fat. The best natural food for retaining your eating desire, if taken in a reasonable amount, and in the proper way. Avocado is also used as a facial mask for a dry skin, and you may find it in some beauty products. Fat contained in avocados can send signals to the brain, and then inform you that your stomach is full. Limit the consumption of avocado by maximum of one fruit per day. Avoid of mixing avocado with milk chocolate, sugar or any other ingredients.

Apple

Gala Apples Fresh

Eating this fruit of evil is the most appropriate way to control the appetite. Apple contains lots of fiber, and low in carbohydrates, which are believed to be natural appetite control. The nutritionists recommend eating apple right away without cutting its skin first. Eating apple directly makes you harder in trying to eat and chew. The brain has more time to submit a sign that the stomach is full. The apple's crunchy texture is also capable of regulating glucose levels and improve energy level.

Tofu

Mori-Nu Silken Tofu

Tofu is a source of protein and contain isoflavones called genistein. This substance is also useful for retaining your eating desire that is not harmful, when compared with the pills, or supplements sold in the market. You can use tofu as a salad dressing to mix it with other vegetables.

Green Tea

Uncle Lee's Organic Green Tea

Green tea can also help you to prevent excessive eating. The catechins in green tea can slow down the formation of glucose into fat cells. When the blood sugar is decreased and become stabilized, the appetite is automatically controlled.

Dark Chocolate

Lindt Excellence Supreme Dark Chocolate 90% Cocoa

Please keep in mind, the kind of chocolate with 70% levels of chocolate powder. The original chocolate, not milk chocolate, or white chocolate. This food of the Gods is considered to be a natural barrier of appetite. Its bitter taste sends signals to the body, so that appetite can be controlled. Other benefit by eating dark chocolate, despite can help you lose weight, increasing libido, it also can slow premature aging, due to its content of high antioxidant.

Also keep in mind to drink a lot of water after consuming above natural supplements! Drinking water will also help you to lose your weight, to prevent you of becoming obesity, and to stay healthy without any drugs, or medications.

Formaldehyde on Food Products

Formaldehyde, or commonly called formalin, has been used in daily needs, just like a diary products. Even though formerly it is used as disinfectants, and for preservation of biological specimens.

The use of formalin as foods preservative are not only here in Indonesia, but also in China and some other Asian countries. Beside the food industry, formalin was also used in the beauty industry, especially for nail paint products.

Foods, such as noodle, tofu, meatballs, and salted fish, are commonly used formalin as a preservative. Formalin contains several advantages for foods products manufacturer, especially for home industry.

Beside the price of formalin is cheap, but also its benefit to extend the life of food. Formalin can also improve the external appearance of food, and protect the food from the attack of fungi and bacteria.

The problem is that the content of formalin preservative will immediately react quickly in the digestive tract and organs, when the condition of the stomach is empty. The use of formalin in the diet can cause toxicity in a functional organ of the human body.

It is characterized by symptoms, such as difficulty of swallowing, poor appetite, nausea (as a reaction to the rejection of the stomach), acute abdominal pain (as a reaction to the rejection of the liver, stomach and colon), diarrhea and eventually accompanied by vomiting. At the worst level, symptoms may lead to severe depression in the nervous system, or circulatory disorders.

Based on formalin's carcinogenic nature, if the body contains with a high concentration of formalin, the body will react chemically with almost all the body's cells, causing cell damage, and even cell mutations that lead to the development of cancer, after accumulated for relatively long time in the body.

There are several ways you can do to reduce the formaldehyde content in foodstuffs, without any additional cost. It just by how the food treats before consumption. Only by good knowledge on how to treat the foods before consuming, the formalin levels would reduced, though we could not eliminated entirely to 100%.

But, it is not saying that it is safe to use formalin as a preservative, by reducing formaldehyde levels in the foods material, is the most important to know and understand.
At least three ways of handling to reduce levels of formaldehyde, such as, soaked in plain water, hot water, boiled in boiling water, steamed, and then stewed in boiling water, followed by the frying process.

Noodles and fresh fish deformalinisasi by soaking in hot water for 30 minutes, where the result can eliminate the formaldehyde levels up to 90%. As for the fresh fish, can be done by soaking in a solution of 5% vinegar for 15 minutes.

Typically, foods that contain formaldehyde has a perfect physical appearance. The formalin coated meat was not too chewy, and the smell of chemical substance. By increasing the consumption of healthy food supplements, will help blocking toxic particles that trying to enter the body, improves the body immunity to face the worst environmental conditions.

The body immunity plays a key role in blocking the attack of toxic compounds in formalin. If the body's immunity in a low condition, it is possible that low concentrations of formalin be able to have an effect on human health.

The recent news I saw this morning on the local TV, couples of kids were poisoned by a bright light orange snack called stik balado, a snack with balado spicy. One of them were get killed after taking to the hospital yesterday.

So, in order to live healthy and safely with formalin coated foods, we must pay more intention to the quality and condition of the item and its price. Carefully before eating any foods, especially home made industry foods products. Please do check the nutrition facts label and the expired date!

Reference:

Cara Mengurangi Kadar Formalin by Nina Wardhani, S.Tp (archive)

Related articles:

Bread Cancer Trigger

Danger Threatened in Seafood Dishes

Formaldehyde Chicken Satay

How Famous Junk Food Marketed to Your Children

Do your kids love McDonald's? My daughter loves McDonald's is not because of its toys embedded on their Happy Meal offers. McDonald's fried chicken and fries are what she loved most. Thank God my younger son is not following his sister habits.

All restaurant foods in my own opinion are considered to be junk foods, especially those which offers fast food products. It will be better for you to cook your own home made fried chicken, and fries from a fresh potatoes. You may then wondered? What are healthy labelled foods based on your own perspective?

Below infographic will tell you what are the benefits your kids get from McDonald's Happy Meal, despite of the toys they are marketing.

Though my daughter loved McDonald's fried chicken so much, but now her grand mother, my mom, is always paid attention on her. By providing a home made fried chicken for my daughter, which is more healthy, and delicious than any restaurants's fried chickens. The infographic above is courtesy of frugaldad.com

Diseases in Which Diet Therapy is Important

In diabetes melitus diets may be used to control the carbohydrate intake, and particularly the patient's weight, since it has been shown that obesity can aggravate diabetes.

Diets of bland foods, such as milk, cream, and soft boiled eggs, are prescribed for peptic ulcer to avoid stimulating the secretion of gastric juice. In cirrhosis of the liver, a diet rich in protein foods is important.

Many physicians recommend weight control, and low-fat diets, in controlling arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. It's suggested that the intake of saturated fats may be reduced, and increased the polyunsaturated fats. It may be accomplished by eating less of the visible fats on meat, more lean meats, more fish and fowl.

It may also by subtituting skim milk for whole milk, using corn oil, soybean oil, and cottonseed oil in cooking and baking. Reduction of the cholesterol intake is not believed to be of great importance in controlling the diseases. Low sodium diets also have been used in treating high blood preasure and kidney diseases.

In gout, a form of arthritis, compounds called urates are deposited in and about certain joints. Urates are derived from uric acid, and ultimately from purines. Limit the purine intake by omitting from the diet purine-rich foods, such as liver, kidney, sweetbreads, brains, heart, anchovies, sardines, gravies, and herring. It may also be minimize by drinking lots of water to lower the purine level.

Diet rich in iron, proteins, and vitamins are prescribed for patients suffering from anemia to provide the raw materials needed for the manufacture of red blood cells. In allergic conditions, using an elimination diet to isolate the allergy producing food.

Source Encyclopedia International by
S. O. Waife, M.D.,
Professor of Medicine, Indiana University Medical School.

Healthy Labelled Foods

Many foods processed products turn out to be unhealthy. Many fast foods, and variety meat processed products whether they come from factory, or small home industries are contain preservatives, or artificial sweetener in their food products.

Using artificial sweeteners may seem like a smart idea to avoid extra calories. But you may be exposing yourself to a diet sweetener commonly used in food products. An artificial sweetener that you should be watch out for is aspartame. Aspartame has been identified as the cause of several fatal diseases, and it is derived from genetically modified bacteria.

By labelling food processed products with Fat Free or Healthy, many people are interested and believed that the foods are healthy. Here are some would say healthy foods, but apparently they were not:

• Fat Free Labelled Foods

  Fat-free doesn't mean calorie free. Simply because it contains no fat, does not mean, it is good for your health. There are many healthy foods and fat free, such as apples, chocolates, or any others fruits, vegetables and delicious foods for diet.

• Sports or Energy Drinks

  Energy drinks may contain important electrolytes such as potassium and sodium, which is required in the sport intense, or endurance training. While energy drinks contain a lot of corn syrup with fructose, added sugar, and saturated fat.

  Most energy drinks contain 125 more calories per 20 lbs, and some energy drinks contain at least 350 more calories than other snacks. However, the drinks were not required on light activity. For daily activity, choose only water to avoid dehydration.

• Restaurant Baking Potato

  A baked potato is very healthy. Potatoes are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. Medium-sized baked potato contains about 160 calories.

  However, if you bought it from a restaurant, do not assume those baked potatoes are a healthy choice. Many restaurants serve baked potatoes which contain butter, cream cheese, meats, and other materials that can add up to about 600 calories and 20 grams of fats.

• Salad

  Salad of tuna, chicken or shrimp often laden with fats, and contains as many calories as high mayonnaise content. Tuna sandwich contains 700 calories and 40 grams of fats. Choose a salad which made with low fat mayonnaise and pay attention on your salad portion.

• Low-Fat Peanut Butter

  Low-fat peanut butter doesn't always mean a healthy version of regular peanut butter. Regular or low-fat peanut butter contains the same calories, but the low-fat butter contains more sugar. Regular peanut butter is a natural source of good unsaturated fats. Look for regular peanut butters that are not containing added oils.

• Dairy Products

  Many cows in the United States are injected with bovine growth hormone in large number to stimulate the production of milk. Cheese may also made using cow's milk that produced from genetically modified cows. Cheese is also produced from a genetically modified enzyme called chymosin.

• Muffin

  Muffins made with healthy materials, but the problem is on the portions. Some muffins that are sold in many coffee shops and restaurants are contained with a portion more than 350 calories.

  Muffins that are sold in some famous bakery shops could contain 600 mg sodium, approximately one-third of the maximum limit of sodium per days. Healthy food if consumed excessively can be unhealthy. Eat only half portion of muffins and keep the rest for the afternoon.

• Fruit Juice

  All kind of fruit juices are healthy if they are only added with less sugar, or without it. But if fruit juices are added with too many sugar, ice cream, and chocolates can lead to very high calories.

• Packaging Processed Turkey

  Turkeys are a source of protein without fats, and a good choice for lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, a sliced of processed turkey loaded with sodium. 2lbs of processed turkey contains nearly one-third of maximum daily sodium intake. Be sure to buy a fresh turkey.

• Wheat Labelled Bread

  Sometimes not a lot of wheat bread is made from healthy grains, in which are good for the heart. Wheat bread products often are labelled with Seeds and Wheat. In fact it was made with refined grains, or even worst if it produced using genetic modification. So, it doesn't contain nutrients from whole grains. Read carefully on the nutrition fact labels. If the wheat flour in the ingredient list is refine, then it is not 100% whole wheat bread.

  The shocking news was, six out of ten bread sold in Indonesia, turned out to be contained with borax. Preservative that should not to be used in food, because it can lead to cancer if it accumulates for a long time. While two of them are from well-known branded bread which easily be found in nearest supermarkets.

Despite all unhealty foods above, you can still minimize the risk for your body. Drink only water after you eat all those foods. It will purify your body. Eating from an organic foods perhaps will be a very good choice. Foods that are grown without the use of any chemical fertilizers and pesticides, will make your healthy life evens better. Healthy life is priceless and that is the fact.

Reference :
Ways to Avoid Eating Genetically Modified Foods By Urvashi Pokharna
https://www.buzzle.com/articles/ways-to-avoid-eating-genetically-modified-foods.html (Web Archive)

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Food of The Gods

Recently, I just arrived at a blog that shows photo of a woman bites a huge of chocolate candy bar. That picture gives me an idea to write this post. In this post, I write about the benefit that you can get from chocolate.

Chocolate has played a special role in Maya and Aztec cultures. Aztec priests usually presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods, and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. You know why? It all because chocolate latin name Theobroma cacao, the term of Theobroma, which in Greek roots Theo (God) and brosi (food), meaning ' food of the gods '. So it's natural for Maya and Aztec priests to offer chocolate to their gods, its food.

The word chocolate itself is origin from Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, which is xocolatl, made up from the words xococ (bitter), and atl (water or drink), meaning ' bitter drink '. Chocolate also contains the alkaloid theobromine, which has a stimulating effect on the nervous system, but has lesser impact than caffein.

Although theobromine is not an addictive, but it is possible causing addiction to chocolate. Theobromine is also consider as an aphrodisiac. Theobromine has been used to treat high blood pressure, due to its ability to dilate blood vessels.

Theobromine can cause sleeplessness and will increase your urine production. So, if you want to awake all day, it is better drink hot chocolate than arabican coffee. Because arabican coffee contains less theobromine than chocolate. Other side effects that sometimes occurs are loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting, if you consume chocolate excessively.

But the bottom line is that, if you consume chocolate, especially dark chocolate regularly, and not excessively, it will reduce the risk of some diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and lower the risk of having heart attack. Dark chocolate is also consider as delicious food for diet.

Delicious Foods for Diet

Desire to lose weight or maintain the body shape doesn't mean you can only eat fruit or vegetables throughout the day. There are some delicious foods that can still be eaten.

Here are delicious and nutritious foods, but still be able to control your weight.

• Eggs
  Eggs are not only making you become more powerful, these foods are also rich in protein. Among other benefits, when we breakfast with eggs, it can reduce appetite. So you'll feel full longer. To cultivate it, can be boiled or fried eggs with a little olive oil.
• Cheese
  Choose cheese made from goat's or cow's milk. Because, animals that eat grass contain conjugated linolenic acid (CLA) which can assist weight loss.
• Salmon
  Recent research states, protein intake can prevent weight gain. Salmon are rich in protein, more than meat. Research in Sweden shows, respondents who had lunch with salmon intake 11 percent fewer calories.

• Skim Milk
  One cup of skim milk has only 86 calories. Proteins in milk (whey and casein) can be filling the stomach than beverages containing sugar. The content of CLA in milk also helps fight obesity.

• Dark Chocolate
  In 100 grams of dark chocolate, contains only 170 calories. According to research from the University of Copenhagen, eating dark chocolate before a meal can make you eat less food portions. Compounds in dark chocolate slows down the digestive process and keep you full longer. A small piece of chocolate (about the size of business cards) can also resist the desire to eat salty foods, sweet and fatty foods.
• Citrus
  Citrus is one fruit that is able to give full effect in addition to apples, because the high fiber content. Many also eat fiber can fight obesity and generate a flat stomach.

Healthy Foods According to Your Zodiac

Fire Element

Aries, Leo, and Sagitarius

Fire elements can be easily against disease. If you find it to be quick-tempered, developing hypertension, heart disease, or inflammation, it means is not balanced, so you need a food that are cold, damp, heavy to balance it. Eat whole grains and vegetables from the root. Avoid spicy foods and red meat.

For treatment, use chamomile to become cold tea. However, when you experience bowel problems, consume flavorful and heat foods such as lemon, yogurt, green vegetables. Avoid milk based and meat products. For treatment, use a stimulant extract such as cayenne, mustard, cloves, cinnamon, garlic, ginger.

Air Element

Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius

People that belonging to the air element are more easily stimulated, because they are sensitive, but they are also very easy to lose balance. If there is an imbalance, You will feel overly active, restless, sensitive, tired, dry skin, insomnia, and senile. Therefore, consume only foods such as steamed vegetables and nuts, avoid raw foods, fermented foods and sugar.

For treatment, consume foods that helps the absorption of nutrients in the body. To strengthen the nervous system, you require different kinds of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. Therefore, consume gingko, red chillies, garlic, ginger, and yogurt.

Water Element

Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces

Water elements regulate the reproductive system, lymphatic, and body fluids, including blood, mucus, and lymph nodes. Water will clean and cool the body. Water elements are very sensitive to their environment, especially against fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Health problems that commonly occur in three zodiac generally have side emotional. They are usually easier absorb negative energy from their environment. Their health problems were tend to recur.

When there is imbalance, they tend to undergo a process of digestion and slow metabolism. It can also becomes the problem of overweight. To overcome this, they must reducing fluid intake, changing the diet by eating steamed vegetables, nuts and fruits, as well as reproduce water sports.

However, avoid greasy foods, milk, sweet foods, fermented, and salted. To speed up treatment, the consumption foods that are diuretics such as parsley, garlic, and olive leaf. If people starry Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces are having low water elements in the body, they will experiencing difficulties in destroying toxins in their bodies, dehydration, insomnia, dry skin and dry hair. Difficulty of absorption nutrition is a condition that often occurs.

To overcome this, take a bath, drink a lot water, and live near water. Consume fruits and vegetables that contain high water, wheat, seaweed, dairy products, and natural sugars. In addition, caution against extreme exposure to sunlight. Avoid natural diuretics such as carrots, cabbage, celery, and asparagus. For treatment, consume a fruit juice.

Earth Element

Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn

Earth elements set the system so that the bone is essential for growth, reproduction, and tissue repair. Earth elements tend to have problems with weight, gland disorders, and have a greater risk appearance of tumors. However, they have strong teeth and neatly arranged, and their immune system are very good.

Excess earth elements make them often experience fatigue, digestive and a slow metabolism, increased density of body tissue, and grew thick hair. Fruit salad, cabbage, steamed vegetables, and juice are best foods choices for them. Despite the weight problem, they also abstinence excess diet. To treat such problems, taking spices such as ginger, pepper, and cayenne, are very helpful.

Source:
Lobster for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns: An Astrology Lover's Cookbook by Sabra Ricci (Jan 3, 2012)

What is Diabetes Mellitus?

A disease characterized by a complete or partial inability of the body to burn sugar as a fuel. It occurs in all age groups, most diabetics are obese, or slightly obese, middle-aged women.

The tendency to diabetes may be inherited and in such cases the disease may be brought on by obesity, infection, emotional shock, surgery, pregnancy, or the onset of change-of-life. Diabetic women often bear abnormally large children some years before they develop the disease.

What Causes Diabetes?

Improper functioning of the pancreas is thought to be the key to diabetes. Diabetic pancreas may not produce enough insulin, a hormone that is essential to the utilization of carbohydrates as a food by the human body. Under certain circumstances, diabetes may develop even the pancreas produces normal amounts of insulin. In these cases there is apparently a relative deficiency of insulin.

Because the body unable to utilize sugar as a source of energy, it then draws upon protein and fat as energy sources. This results in a gradual wasting away of muscular tissue, which becomes evident as a loss of weight. The use of fats for fuel is potentially even more dangerous. For these are broken down into substances called ketone bodies, which upset the acidity-alkalinity balance of the body.

The result is a condition called acidosis, which may terminate in a coma. This coma is characterized by a fruity aroma of the breath, which is produced by the presence of acetone, one of the ketone bodies. Diabetic coma is distinct from the shock which develops when the patient takes too much insulin. Too much sugar enters the cells too quickly, resulting in a serious shortage of glucose in the blood.

The Symptoms

Diabetic may appear well and completely unaware of his condition until a routine examination of his blood and urine reveals an abnormally high concentration of sugar. The condition progresses until symptoms appear. These include: excessive urination, thirst, dryness of the mouth, weakness, loss of weight, and itching of the genital areas. Less frequent symptoms are excessive hunger and disturbances in vision.

Diabetics are susceptible to cataracts, arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and heart disease. In diabetics of long standing the kidneys and nervous system may be affected and blindness may be produced by hemorrhages in the eyes. Diabetics must maintain scrupulous care of their feet, avoiding ill-fitting shoes, harsh chemicals, and home surgery.

Diet is an essential aspect of treatment. It should be well-balanced, provide enough calories to maintain ideal weight, and restrict carbohydrates. Many older patients can be controlled on diet alone. Others require insulin or drugs to lower blood sugar. Caution must be observed to avoid insulin shock which may result from too little food, as well as too much insulin. With proper care and attention, diabetics can lead normal lives.

Source : Encyclopedia International by Irving Solomon, M.D.

Perfect Diet

Diet often misunderstood with torturing the body by not eating at all. Though diet success key is by changing your bad lifestyle and habits. From many diet programs that you've been through, there are some little things that can actually accelerate weight loss. Try these following tips :

Walk More
This is certainly often you hear but feeling lazy and tired of always be a reason not to. Walk up the stairs burns calories high enough. 300 calories for 30 minutes. It also boost heart rate and stamina through leg motor movement, so it can reduce your risk of heart attack. Also park your car further, so you have time to walk more. But make sure the place you park is not a strange place for security reasons.

Smart Shopping
Avoid canned, processed or ready-to-eat foods when you shop at the supermarket. Choose fresh foods like fruits, vegetables, fresh bread or meat. Do not shop when hungry, because it all seemed to be purchased. Lastly, check the detail contents of food listed on the packaging. Avoid foods with high calories, fats and sugars.

Foods Journal
Making a journal about everything that you consume may sound silly and a waste of time, but it can motivate you. When you read it from day to day, you will be surprised with the fact that your diet has failed. Little things like eating sweets too much until your coffee is too much sugar lead to it. But remember, do not get obsessed with your scale numbers.

Foods from Home
It is useful to know what you eat and how many condiments are included. The portion that was brought from home were usually much less than the portion of the restaurant. And most importantly, you can save even more money.

Stop Your Bad Habits
Add sugar to drinks, beverages soda selection, ice cubes, until adding salt to your food. It much better to eat one teaspoon of peanut butter for snacking.

Brain Alarm
Did you know that your brain needs 20 minutes to remind you that your stomach is full? The best way to make you full faster is to drink a full glass of water 15 minutes before meals and another while you are eating. It's recommended to eat five small meals rather than three large meals.

Turn off your TV while Dinner
When eating, your body will process food focus and hard work to perform multitasking functions. Thus, during the time watching TV while eating, you will not realize how much you eat and forget the alarm when it's stuffed body.

Dance
This extra activity besides lowering the body stress levels, it also burns calories quite a lot. Do it with friends and it can prevent the coming depression. Your body will get used and stamina becomes more powerful and stable.

Sleep
Another fairly trivial thing that never bored repeated. Ideally 7-9 hours of sleep is good but it all varies depending on the needs of each person. Without enough sleep, your metabolism is compromised. It began to lose sharpness to process food more, so your fat will be buried without a chance to be burned.

" Let us not waste our health to look for treasure and then squandered our treasure to seek health "

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Healthy Life is Priceless pt.2

Habits vs Diets

Everyone will want to live a healthy life. But without knowing it, sometimes we made some mistakes in eating or handling food. Experts say, this error include the most commonly performed, it can even occur in people who care about healthy diet though. Here are the errors in eating food that you need to know :

Drinking Diet Soda

Diet soda drinks emerged as an alternative for soda lovers who want to maintain their weight. But in fact, diet soda is no different from regular soda. Diet soda is often attributed as a cause of weight gain. Diet sodas may be calorie free, but that doesn't mean you can be free from the consequences of weight gain.

A study at the University of Texas found that drinking two glasses or more diet sodas could increase a waist circumference of 500% greater in the next 10 years, compared to not drink diet soda. What causes this to happen? The major factor is the pattern of thinking.

Promising diet soda drinks as good as regular soda, but no calories. Frills 'zero calorie' is then misinterpreted and make people think, safe to eat lots of food. In fact, diet sodas also contain plenty of sugar. In addition, diet soda can increase the desire to eat more junk food. The content of sodium in the diet soda causes people to more easily thirsty. But the brain is often caught on the body's thirst signals as hunger signals. So the desire to eat is greatly increased.

The solution: Replace with drinking other that has more nutritious but low in calories and fat. Such as fat-free milk, green tea or fresh juice without sugar. Milk can give the effect of filling and helps build muscle. While green tea rich in anti-oxidants and increase metabolism.

Gave Too Much Extra on Salad Dressings

Selecting a mixture of various kinds of vegetables as an appetizer is a healthy choice. But the least healthy salad you ate, depending on what ingredients you add on top of it. If you add beef slices bacon, sunflower seeds, meat and cheese, the amount of calories and fat in your salad can equal or even more than a cheeseburgers.

The solution : If you want a healthy salad, get rid of all types of meat, dry bread, meat, tuna, eggs, pasta, potatoes and mayonnaise based dressing. Balsamic vinegar and olive oil is the best choice for salad dressings. If you wanted a more creamy taste salad, add the yogurt without the taste of low fat.

Eating While Working

Eating while working at a computer can cause us to overeat. Why? Because there was never any sense of satisfaction. We tend to eat whatever is on the plate without us remember what and how much has been eaten. So we tend to eat more.

The solution: Keep yourself from elektrobik devices while eating. Even if you are forced to eat at your desk, swivel chair position so that the view was not on the computer monitor. It could also put the computer on stand-by position. Just focus on food, will make you full faster and eat less food.

Storing Fresh Vegetables For a Long Time

Fresh vegetables are healthy. But only if eaten in a state of really fresh, not wilted. During this time, perhaps many of us are directly store fresh vegetables in the fridge or put it in the open air. But probably few know that vegetables are allowed to wilt will lose nutritional importance.

Therefore, if you do not intend using or consuming vegetables immediately after purchase, should be frozen and put in the freezer. Nutrition in frozen vegetables as much as fresh vegetables. This is because, frost can bind nutrients in vegetables. Place in an airtight container tightly so that the nutrients remain intact. There are many assumptions are wrong about frozen vegetables. But keep it in the freezer can store all the essential nutrients. You can save a maximum of one week.

Let us not waste our health to look for treasure and then squandered our treasure to seek health

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