Lifestyles Ideas Management - Abundant Life Christian!

Self-sufficiency
The human pride in his own ability to get things done prevents him from relating to God. Such pride prevents God from sending us, enabling us and empowering us to do His will. Missing out on the abundant life!

Exposing the Heart
Jeremiah 17:9 “the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?’ It is sad thing to lose sight of how evil our hearts can be
It is wise to pause constantly to evaluate and return back to God’s way. God can use a broken heart for His glory. The beginning of an abundant life!

God sufficiency
Knowing that God is the source and resource of our life
Living by that knowledge gives abundant life!

God’s desire through Jesus Christ is to give us abundant life!

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Drink Wine

The latest study on red wine as a weapon against obesity.
Resveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine appears to inhibit the development of fat cells and have other anti-obesity properties. Resveratrol
Prevented the pre-fat cells from converting into mature fat cells; they also hindered the fat storage in the cells. The compound reduced production of certain cytokines, substances that may be linked to the development of obesity-related disorders like diabetes and clogged coronary arteries. Resveratrol also stimulated the formation of a protein called adiponectin. The substance known to decrease risks of heart attack is diminished by obesity. The study support the idea that drinking a small amount of alcohol each day – no more than one to two servings – is better for you than not drinking, but the findings don’t apply to everyone. Even small amounts can increase risks for certain health worries, like breast and colon cancer. Although those risks are generally offset by the extra heart benefits, some people may decide it is not worth it. The New York Times

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Some eye problems

Just that afternoon, one of our church friends, David was sharing on cataracts on one of his eyes. He mentioned that the doctor recommended stronger glasses for reading. And I thought that was funny remarks from a doctor. He should at least recommend a follow up on his eye and not to mention a surgery to remove the clouding. His mother passed a remark that surgery is so expensive these days and told him to opt out for surgery. That is a strange remark from a doting mother perhaps thought that a slip in the surgery will lead to blindness.
I just read an article on UV rays that have been linked to the following eye ailments:

Pterygium
Growth of tissue on the surface of the eye
Redness and feeling of having a foreign body in the eye
Who it affects: More common in tropical climates and among those aged between 20 and 40.
How it is treated: Steroid eye drops and surgery

Macular degeneration
Deterioration of the sensitive retina centre
Some patients have no symptoms, others many experience a blind spot or patch of blurred vision. Who it affects: elderly
Laser treatment can only prevent further damage but not correct the problem.

Cataracts
Clouding of the eye’s lens
Blurring of vision that cannot be corrected by glasses, dull colors, halos around lights.
Who it affects: elderly
Stronger glasses, artificial tears, tinted lenses and cataract surgery

Melanoma
A dangerous form of skin cancer
Moles that is irregular in color or shape
Who it affects: Risk is higher for those with family history and with increased sun exposure. Can be surgically removed; best if detected early.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Cervical Cancer

About 70 percent of woman still do not know about the cause of cervical cancer despite extensive public education on the disease. The study showed that not only did the women not know that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) was the cause of cervical cancer but that 70 percent of them still thought that the use of condoms during sex could protect them from the cancer. Many though that HPV was a virus causing ulcers, sores and blisters but not cancer and thought that it were contracted from toilet seats.
However, good news is that more women are willing to be educated about cervical cancer and to go for a pap test and to consider vaccination as well. Every week, one woman dies of this cervical cancer, but this is preventable through vaccination and early detection. Women should be screened three years after their first sexual activity and go for regular pap tests. Even those who ceased sexual activity may still be at risk.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - About eggplant

The eggplant is also known as aubergine, melanzana garden egg or brinjal. These comes in a variety of shapes and sizes – white, green, yellowish, purple or purple-black. It is actually a fruit – a berry and part of the nightshade family includes potatoes and tomatoes. Eggplants originated in India and have been cultivated there, in China and neighbouring counties since pre-historic times according to foodreference.com.

Eggplant are very perishable and becomes bitter with age and should be stored in a cool dry place and used within the same day or next day after purchase. Store in plastic bags if refrigerator as stated bellybytes.com. They are low in calories and fat. Eggplant is a nutrient dense food which will help you feel full. They contain in almost no calories, one cup cubed about 80g has just 20 calories.
Eggplant is a good source of dietary fibre, potassium, manganese, copper and thiamin (Vitamin B1). It is also a good source of Vitamin B6, folate, magnesium and niacin and contain phytonutrients (organic compound of plants thought to promote health).

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Breathe to get smarter

A study has shown that breathing activity not only reduces stress, it may also make you smarter. Daily practice of breathing thickened the parts of the brain’s cerebral cortex responsible for memory, decision making and attention. And in another study by the University of Kentucky, test subjects were divided into three groups and each told to breathe, sleep or watch TV as a way to rejuvenate their minds. Those who do the breathing activity did the best in psychomotor vigilance tests that required them to hit a button whenever a light flashed on a screen. So the next time you feel your brain crashing, close your eyes, visualize a scenic place in your mind, slow your breathing and relax for 20 minutes.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Mind your Diet

You can eat your way to a sharper healthier brain.
Fill your supermarket basket with oily fish like Salmon, sardine, herring and mackerel are some of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids – the main constituent of cell membranes in the brain. A research study has confirmed a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids promoted less mental decline in ageing patients. A diet lacking in this essential brain nutrient could weaken the brain and leave it vulnerable to disease. Vegetarian sources of omega-3 fatty acids include walnuts and flax.
American mustard and Indian curies are rich in turmeric, the spice that gives them their yellow color. This relative of ginger is being studied for its potentially potent medical benefits. It is believed that turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory properties which may help ward off Alzheimer’s disease. India has the world’s lowest rate of Alzheimer’s and experts believe turmeric could be a factor.
Gingko biloba and ginseng supplements is popularly used to enhance one’s memory and has been found to improve microcirculation in the brain, thus helping to reduce our risk of Alzheimer’s. Ginseng boosts alertness, clarity and reduces fatigue. New studies help protect the brain from breaking down as a person ages.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Heart

The average adult heart is about the size of a clenched fist and weighs about 300g.
Heart disease is the world’s number one killer and in Singapore one in three die from heart disease and stroke.
Here’s how you can reduce your chances of decreasing your blood cholesterol by 10 percent and reduce your risk of heart disease by 20 to 40 percent. Cut out unhealthy fats and offal from your diet. Quit smoking for two year and your risk of heart disease becomes comparable to that of a non-smoker. Prepare your vegetable sticks and chomp on one whenever the urge to light up hits you. Drop your blood pressure by 5mmHg and your heart disease risk goes by 20 percent. Ask for fries unsalted.
Healthy lifestyles ideas of food do not have to be hard to swallow.
Cinnamon and cloves – your spice cupboard could hold the key to a healthy heart. Studies have shown that cinnamon and cloves improves insulin function and help lower cholesterol and triglycerides by up to 30 percent. Just add a pinch of cinnamon powder to your yoghurt or coffee. Coffee had a 24 percent lower risk of dying of heart disease, however drinking too much caffeine can make you nervous so try to restrict your coffee to three cups a day. Opt for something healthy in the morning, milk and cereal. Breakfast eaters consume few calories and less saturated fat and cholesterol than non-breakfast eaters. It is also believed that the lack of calcium in your diet can contribute to the buildup of artery clogging plaque.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - How to make them work better

The liver and the kidneys are the organs responsible for expelling toxins that result from the body’s metabolism. Here are some ways you can help them.
A diet rich is salt strains the kidney.
Go easy with dips, ketchup and gravy!
Drinking too little fluid concentrates urine, increasing the risk of mineral salts forming stones and interrupting the filtering mechanisms. Drink to liters of water daily to reduce the risk of urinary infections. Reduce foods likely to stimulate kidney stones, such as red meats, seafood, spinach, rhubarb and chocolate. Get a hepatitis vaccine or an immunoglobulin shot to prevent hepatitis A or B. Drink alcohol in moderation. Eating a high protein diet puts a strain on liver as can the regular use of headache remedies and antibiotics. Most medications are metabolized or eliminated by the liver and some of them may even cause liver injury in susceptible individuals.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Not giving up on life

No matter what happen, do not give up on life.
It happened again many times when we heard news about people found dead after having jumped from a block of flats, or jumped on the passing train track. The statistics of suicide rate stand one a day. While walking to lunch with my colleagues, we saw a very angry faced woman walking toward our direction. She must have been very stressed up with problems on her mind. We are all living a stressed up life here in Singapore so we should be more concerned about people in distress, to offer a helping hand to explore ways for living with stress of life. Suicide is an easy way out of everything but need not be the only way out from our daily problems.

We must acknowledge that this is an imperfect world and problems are part and parcel of life. We must expect disruptions in life and learn to come in terms with problems as we face them. We must come to prepare to expect the unexpected since we can never predict when problems will come our way. We can learn to equip ourselves to respond to distressing incidents as well being informed of the possible impact of unfortunate events so that we can heal from them. We can learn problem solving strategies by being open to reaching out for help from family, friends and other social support groups. We learn to be resilient by building on the conviction that problems need not destroy our belief in the value of life and our right to live, learning the meaning of suffering. We must always remember that help is always available and there is no shame asking for help. Nobody will laugh at us when we are helpless unless we choose to be prideful. There are professionals who can offer a listening ear, an assessment to our problem situation and offer problem solving solution.

It is easy say than done as some may say. But to give up on life without trying to work out the problem and choose the easy way out is hurting yourself and others.
Suicide is not the only way out, help is near and what matters is the will to live no matter how bad the situation is at this moment.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - About Papaya

The Papaya or paw paw is believed to be southern Mexican and Central American in origin and now grows in all tropical and subtropical countries as the plant need warmth around the year. These trees may be male, female and bisexual says www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/papaya.html.

Papayas are the only natural source of papain, an effective natural digestive aid,which breaks down protein and cleanses the digestive track. This means less food settles into the metabolism and becomes fat.

In additional to aiding in digestion, papaya are rich in Vitamin C, folate and potassium. They are also good sources of fibre, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, the eye saving carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, and lycopene according to health.learninginfo.org.
They have 33 percent more Vitamin C and 50 percent more potassium than oranges and have fewer calories. They have 13 times more Vitamin C and more than twice the potassium of apples says health.learninginfo.org.
Slightly green papayas ripen quickly at room temperature, especially if placed in a paper bag. Once they’ve turned from green to yellow you can store the ripen fruit in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to a week, but it is best to use them without a day or two, says www.foodreference.com

Lifestyles Ideas Management - In Season fruit

Persimmon, generally a winter fruit but persimmons from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are currently available. The ones from Down Under and New Zealand tend to be larger and crunchier, while South African ones are smaller with a more intense orange color.
Berries are one of the best things to eat. The market is now flooded with blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. They are juicy and flavorful.
Kiwi known from their high Vitamin C content, there are two varieties of kiwi fruit – green and golden. While green kiwis from New Zealand will continue into December, the golden variety will end by October. These are generally sweeter and less tangy then green ones which are also cultivated in China.
Stone fruit are cherries, apricots, nectarines, white peaches, donut peaches, plums – you name it, there is stone fruit everywhere in the market. Most of the fruits in the supermarkets are from California. The stone fruit season is very short and will end next month. The Australian season will begin in December and last through March.
Tamarillo is native to South America, but many fruits in supermarkets now are from New Zealand. This season fruit will end next week.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Cellar Tips

If you are planning to turn a room into a cellar, consult a sommelier (a french word for a wine steward) or interior designer first. Here are some tips from the experts:-

Temperature
Cooling system set at between 12 and 15 degree C with a humidity of 50 to 60 percent

Door
Insulated and sealed to maintain low temperatures and humidity. Glass doors must be double-paned.

Walls, Ceiling and floor
Lined with insulation such as polyurethane, a hard sponge like material to minimize heat or cold transfer, ensure constant temperature and humidity constant.

Lighting
Use incandescent lights. A cellar should be dim. Ultraviolet light will damage wine, breaking down the organic compounds which contribute to its aroma and flavor.

Storage
Lie bottle horizontally so wine is in contact with the cork. If the cork dries up, air will come in contact with the wine, turning it into vinegar.

Maintenance
Service cooling system such as an air-conditioner unit.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Coffee forgiveness

Ivo Markovic, a Franciscan monk from Bosnia, was caught in the whirlwind of war in the mid-1990s in which the Croats, Bosnian and Serbs were fighting each other with blood. Bosnians had massacred twenty one men from Susanj, the village in which Markovic was born. Nine of them were members of his family – all feeble senior citizens, innocent of any crimes, and the youngest of whom was his seventy one years old father.
Three years after the massacre, Markovic visited Susanj. Occupying the house in which his brother used to live was a fierce Muslim woman. He was warned not to go there because she brandished a rifle to protect her new home.
He went anyway. As he approached the house she was waiting for him, cigarette in her mouth and rifle cocked. She barked:” Go away, or I will shoot you.” “No, you won’t shoot me,” said Markovic in a gentle but firm voice, “You will make a cup of coffee for me.” She stared at him for a while and then slowly put the rifle down and went to the kitchen. Taking the last bit of coffee she had, she mixed in some already used grounds to make enough coffee for two cups. And they, deadly enemies began to talk as they partook in the ancient ritual of hospitality: drinking coffee together. She told him of her loneliness, of the home she had lost, of the son who never returned from the battlefield. When Markovic returned a month later she told him: “I rejoice at seeing you as much as if my son had returned home.”
Did they talk about forgiveness?
I don’t know. And in a sense, it doesn’t matter.
He, the victim came to her asking for hospitality in his brother’s home, which she unrightfully possessed. And she responded. Though she greeted him with a rifle, she gave him a gift and came to rejoice at this presence. The humble, tenuous beginnings of a journey toward embrace were enacted through a ritual of coffee drinking. If the journey continues, it will lead through the difficult terrain of forgiveness. Anyone care for a cup of coffee?

Lifestyles Ideas Management - The Lighthouse

Sometimes we are sad and broken hearted
And our pain’s so hard to bare.
We may feel our life is shattered
With pieces strewn here and there.

We may feel our lifeboat’s sinking
In the storm that’s raging high
We may rah out for safety
And find there’s nothing nigh.

Christ is our lighthouse
With its lights shinning bright
S to Him just throw your anchor
And He will fight your fight.

He will fight your battle
And calm your greatest fear
Tell Him of your sorrows.
And He’ll wipe away your tears
By Myrtle Poor

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Natural Pain Killers

If you suffer from aches and pains – from headaches to joint pains – there are foods you can eat them which may help. This is because most aches and pains are caused by inflammation. This is the body’s way of telling you that something is out of balance by triggering pain, redness or swelling. The average person takes over 300 painkiller drugs each year. The trouble with painkillers is that they can damage the gut and increasing the risk of food allergy. They also do not deal with the underlying cause which for headaches and joint aches can be spinal misalignment. The possibility that allergies may be contributing to your joint aches or other chronic conditions is well worth investigating. A study based on interviewing 5,000 people who had an allergy test from York test laboratories found that an impressive 76 percent of those patients who rigorously followed their allergen free diet as determined by a pin-prick blood test had a noticeable improvement in their condition, with two in three feeling better within three weeks.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Where Vitamins are found

Vitamin C
Fresh fruit or pure juice from fruit such as orange, kiwi and honeydew

Vitamin A, E, K and folic acid
Dark green leafy vegetables or red/orange vegetables or fruit such as spinach, broccoli, carrots, tomato, papaya and mango

Thiamine and riboflavin
Cereal or grain products (preferably containing unrefined riboflavin) such as brown rice, oats, barley, breakfast, cereals, muesli and wholemeal bread or biscuits.

Vitamin B
Meat, fish, chicken, liver, egg , milk or cheese. Beans and bean products such as bean curd, fermented soya beans, baked beans, chickpeas or dahl.

Vitamin A, D and riboflavin
Milk and diary products

Vitamin E
Oil, margarine, nuts and seeds

Lifestyles Ideas Management - About Kiwi

Kiwi fruit is always associate with New Zealand as most people perceive, but it will be a surprise to most people that kiwi has its origins in China’s Yangtze River valley. The fruit has been around for over 700 years and was a favorite in the courts of the great Khans. No wonder they were known as Chinese gooseberries till the 1960s.
In the early 1900s, New Zealand missionaries took the seeds home where the plant was named for the indigenous bird. Plants were later sent to the US, Italy, South Africa and Chile. There are 400 varieties of kiwi fruit.

The kiwi fruit’s black seeds can be crushed to produce kiwi fruit oil which is very rich in Alfa-Linoleic Acid (an important omega-3 essential fatty acid) as mentioned in kiwi-fruit.info. This kiwi fruit is high in the antioxidant vitamin C and is good source of fibre, vitamin E and potassium. It is fat-free, sodium-free and cholesterol-free says www.foodreference.com. Kiwifruit contains an enzyme called Actinidin, it can also be used as a natural meat tenderizer. Just cut one in half and rub the fruit over the meat, or peel and mash with a fork then spread it on meat surface. Stand for 10 to 15 minutes or longer. One cup (about 180g) of the fruit contains 108 calories.
Most of the kiwi fruit in Singapore is either too ripe or never get to ripe, so we put them in the blender to crushed them juice which served as a sauce over chicken and pork dishes.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - A responsible drinker

Please keep these rules in mind to avoid over-indulgence, band after effects or the danger of becoming addicted in the long term.

It is common to see youngsters drinking in the Pub after a hard day’s work and getting drunk and suffering a hangover coming in the office the next morning.
Drinking is an over-indulgence activity and most of them are addicted in no time.
Drinking should be at your own pace. One way to get out of the binge drinking behaviour is to not try to keep with other drinkers. It is not drinking but drowning.
Avoid eating salty foods or snacks as this will encourage you to drink more quickly. Limit yourself by setting and stick to them for example, having no more than two drinks during the whole evening, this can correct binge drinking behavior. Drink water or other non-alcoholic beverages in between cocktails or beers. This will slow down your rate of alcohol consumption, as well as make you feel fuller faster. Set regular “non-alcohol” days during the week and stick to them. Do not allow your drink to be filled up as you may lose track of how much alcohol you have consuming. Instead, finish a drink slowly and with food. Take along a non-drinking buddy or a non-binge drinker as having like-minded company helps in resisting pressure to join in.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - The Poor Rich

Does it matter that your neighbor earns more than you? Yes it does as the problem we face today in our society is that the balance of our lives can all too easily become shifted too much towards the acquiring of positional goods, salaries, houses and cars. We assume that getting a pay rise, or moving into a new apartment, or trading up to a better care will bring us increased levels of happiness and satisfaction.
We work longer hours, earn more and spend more, more and consume more. We tend to compare ourselves with others on things like salary, house and a car.

There are people who complained that the demands of working full-time and looking after a family left her feeling stressed out and exhausted. She often talked about retiring and going on part-time. Since her husband earned a good salary and she could have afforded to do so. Then, an opportunity came with a part-time job available near her home. To my surprise she did not apply for it – she had decided to build an extension to her house and needed to work full-time in order to pay for it. It seemed to me that she had traded quality of life for a double-glazing. It is a trap that we can all easily fall into.

We just like to keep up with the Joneses.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Live Longer

We can add a few more years just by following a few simple rules, an article in Men’s health magazine.
Choose salad over soup – eating just one cup of raw vegetables daily can add two years to your life. Raw is better because cooking can deplete up to 30 percent of the antioxidants in vegetables. Exercise to rid of excess fat as fats raises your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke and colon cancer. There’s no way out but to exercise.
Go nuts – researcher discovered that those who snacked on nuts five days a week lived 2.9 years longer. Choose your nuts wisely, though. Researchers found that those who have a wide network of friends had the longest lease on life. Friendship provides more protection than peril. So stay in touch with your old friends. And it is never too late to make new friends. There is life after retirement; people with a positive outlook on ageing process lived more than seven years longer than those who felt doomed to deteriorating mental and physical health.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Osteoporosis

I heard from my sister in law an incident of a lady of thirty years of age who was working under contract employment in the bank. After working for a couple of days, she tripped and fell over the carpet and cannot move her whole body. This little fall caused her bones to break and fracture and it was so painful that she screamed and groaned in pain. The ambulance came and they have to slowly and fractionally remove her into the stretcher. She suffered from
Osteoporosis a form of bone loss whereby the deterioration of the micro-architecture of the bone is so rapid that the bone’s density is reduced. Mid to moderate bone loss is called osteoporosis. Women begin to lose bone mass in their late thirties while men only start to do so in their late forties. Women who suffer from early menopause, have a family history of osteoporosis, smoke or drink heavily, lack of calcium or exercise or are underweight are most at risk, When bones are weakened by osteoporosis they become more susceptible to fractures.
The risk of wrist fractures climbs steadily for a woman above 55 and spine and hip fractures are more common in women 65 years and above. The chance of an elderly person suffering a second fracture increased exponentially after the first. The risk is four times higher in someone who has already sustained a spine fracture compared to someone who has never had such an injury. A fracture can kill and elderly people die within the first year of a hip fracture as there’s a reduction in the quality of life of an elderly person as he may not be able to move freely or may become bedridden. The maxim our bones stand on is “use it or lose it”. Bones respond to the demands we place on them so weight-bearing exercises like running, hiking or walking helps a lot.

The formula involves subtracting one’s weight in kilograms from one’s age in years.
If you get a number less than zero, you are at low risk of osteoporosis. If you get a number between zero and 20, you are at moderate risk. If your resultant figure is more than 20, your are at high risk and should see a doctor soon. Osteoporosis is a preventable condition.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Nosebleed

The claim – Tilt your head back to treat a nosebleed
That is what most people claim to know how to stop a nose bleed; lean back and apply pressure to the nose area. Medical experts say that what most people know about nose bleed is wrong. Tilting the head back is improper first aid and can create complication by allowing blood to flow into the esophagus (breathing tube). This will choke the esophagus and cause blood to travel to the stomach and possibly leading to vomiting and irritation. The best method is to sit down and lean forward by keeping your head above your heart which lessens the bleeding. The leaning forward movement helps to drain the blood from the nose and keep it from the esophagus.
In order to stop bleeding by using your thumb and index finger to squeeze the soft tissue just below the bridge of your nose for 5 ~ 10 minutes. A cold compress or ice pack placed across the bridge of the nose can also help. If all these two methods fails and the bleeding lasts for more than 20 minutes or the nose bleed was caused by a blow to the head, seek medical attention immediately.

My most terrible nosebleed happened long ago while I am about ten years old, the bleeding happened while I was sleeping and the whole pillow was stained heavy in red. This happened because I ate one big durian fruit during the evening. My father bought the whole basket from the wholesaler at a low price. And each one of us have one fruit to ourselves. Then did I knew that I cannot eat too many durian fruit at one sitting.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Building Solid Bones

Are your bones like solid bricks which can ensure a strong foundation?
The three little pigs fable tale, you will know not to make a house of sticks or straws.
For strong healthy bones, you need lot of calcium for the building of solid bones, plenty of exercise and sunshine. Our skin makes Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight and Vitamin D is required for the absorption of calcium. And if calcium is the source of building solid bones then eating the right types of food is important. If you do not have enough food for your body it is not likely to build muscle and bone. Bone mass and strength is related to a child’s growth. If the nutrition is poor, the child is most likely to be skinny and small for his age. His bones will be thin and poorly built and it’s likely that he will suffer osteoporosis in future. In puberty, bones grow very fast and keep doing so until 30 years of age. After that it starts to drop off.

Foods that are high in calcium are diary products like milk, cheese and yogurt as well as fish like salmon, herring and trout. Calcium can also be obtained from other sources like green leafy vegetables, ikan bilis and tofu.

Regular exercise is also the way to make your bones stronger. Bones are like your muscles or brain. If you do not exercise them, it does not matter how much nutrition you give them, they will not get stronger. Weight bearing exercises is good for building stronger bones, like running, brisk walking and cycling.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Brain Food

Many studies are going on to find out whether some food can improve your memory.
Vitamin C
This antioxidant plays a key role in maintaining healthy nerve cells in the brain and other parts of the body. It is found in oranges, strawberries, kiwi fruit, cabbage, red peppers and potatoes.

Vitamin E
It can reduce oxidative damage to tissue caused by free radicals. A rich diet in Vitamin E can protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Vitamin E deficiency is believed to be linked to poor performance on memory tests. It can be found in broccoli, mangoes, avocado, almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts and Brazil nuts.

Folate
New research suggests that if can stave off age-related memory loss, as well as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. But keep in mind that folate is lost when you keep fresh produce for too long. Also steam or stir-fry vegetables as folate is lost if you cook them in water. It is found in broccoli, leafy green vegetables, liver, oranges, grains and legumes.

Zinc
A regular intake of this mineral will maintain proper nerve cell functioning. A low zinc intake is linked to an onset of dementia and memory problems. It is found in barley, wheat, beef, lamb, chicken, oysters and crabs.

Flavonoids
Its antioxidant properties are believed to protect against, and even reverse, some age-related memory loss. This is done by preventing degenerative free radical damage and by improving blood circulation. It is found in oranges, apples, broccoli, carrots, onions, tomatoes, chocolate and soybeans.

Iron
A deficiency in iron has been shown to be linked to short-term memory loss. Iron helps to build brain neurotransmitter activity. It is found in beef, lamb, clams, crab, prawns, pumpkin seeds, tofu and prunes.

Omega-3 fatty acids
These protect nerve cell membranes in the brain. Proper nerve functioning has a direct impact on mental functions. It is found in salmon, tuna and trout.

Gingko Biloba
It is believed that gingko antioxidant properties like Vitamin C and E, helped to cleanse the body of damaging free radicals caused by ageing, smoking and pollution among other things.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Daughter fails math's exam, Dad gets jail

As a father to a young daughter, that headline in a recent article in Today caught my attention. Apparently a father in Ohio who has been ordered by a judge to keep a close eye on his daughter’s education has been jailed after she failed a mathematics examination. He was sentenced to 180 days in prison for “contribution to the delinquency of a minor.”

His daughter, now 18, had a history of school truancy (“You take her to school and she would go out the other door”) and a judge warned her father to make sure she passed her General Education Development tests. Her family said that she passed four of the five parts except for maths, which she has failed several times. The judge’s ruling seemed particularly harsh to the father because, even though he had sole custody of his daughter, she was living with her mother at the time.

”It was my wrong doing, not his. He should not have to go to jail for something I did,” said the daughter, who has an 18-month-old daughter. She described the ruling as “ridiculously wrong.”
The father is appealing and his daughter has promised to retake her tests. The judge has said that if she passes, her father could be freed early. Court officials said that the severity of punishment was rare and reserved for extreme cases where court orders were not met.

When I read the article, I agreed totally with what the daughter said, i.e. that the ruling was ridiculously wrong. What if, instead of appealing, the father willingly goes to prison until his daughter gets her math’s right? But that does not sound like a right thing to do.

I know of one Father who did just that and for an offence much worse than failing in mathematics. Written by Pastor Richard Lim.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Strawberries

What’s shaped like a heart, look nice and good to eat and is good for health?
Strawberries say an article on health website webMD.com.
This little berry can protect your heart, increase HDL (good) cholesterol, lower your blood pressure and guard against cancer. It is also packed with vitamins and fiber and contains very high level of antioxidant known as polyphenols.
Strawberries are sodium cholesterol and fat free, a good source of manganese and potassium and a low-calorie food that is rich in antioxidant. Just one serving – about eight strawberries provides most vitamin C than an orange.
This member of the rose family is not technically a fruit or a berry but the enlarge receptacle of the flower. Strawberries first cultivated in ancient Rome are now the most popular berry fruit in the world. They do not ripen once they are picked so buy the ones that are a deep red, firm and plump. Some people regard them as an aphrodisiac so they could be good for your heart in more way than one.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Shattered Lives

Those survivors of the Myanmar cyclone and the Sichuan earthquake face long term emotional anguish for a long time. They may lose a family member, a friend or their livelihood and are left with shattered lives that cannot be rebuilt with financial aid. The grief of the natural disaster is different from other types of grief. While the death of a parent from old age or disease may seem “natural” order of life but earthquakes and tsunamis go against the “natural order” of things. They create situations where a parent will have to bury a child, or where entire villages are wiped out. The sudden and unexpected nature of a natural disaster will also affect the grieving process.

Five stages of grief:
Survivors of a natural disaster may also go through a “cycle of grief” which according in Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross who developed the theory takes five stages:
Denial – refusing to accept what has happened.
Anger – bitterness that life has been unfair
Bargaining – survivors hope and seek in vain to reverse what has happened.
Depression – This stage is characterized by despondence and perhaps passivity when life has become meaningless for the survivor.
Acceptance – last stage of the cycle where the survivor is ready and actively involved in moving on to the next stage of his life.

But although most people go through the five stage of grief but some people may go through them in a different order, or not at all.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - Truths about Lung Cancer

According to the Global Lung Cancer Coalition (www.lungcancercoalition.org)
Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the world – causing more deaths than breast and prostate cancers combined
Every 30 seconds someone in the world dies of lung cancer
About 40 percent of smokers who start smoking in their early teens and who continue to smoke risk early death from lung cancer.
Only one in 10 people with lung cancer live for more than five years after diagnosis.
Women smokers are twice as likely to develop lung cancer as male smokers. And even women whoa re non-smokers have a higher risk of developing lung cancer than men.

That reminds me of my father who picked up smoking at seventeen years of age and married at 27 with my mother, a non-smoker. All their years of marriage, father tried so hard to quit smoking with mother helping out by nagging each time he smoked. She would nag at the number of packs he smoked a day. Somehow, the nagging failed and mother started to steal a few sticks from each newly open pack which father will leave on the table. She would stuff the sticks all over the place, in the living room drawer, in the kitchen and anywhere she thought it was difficult for father to find it. Father will buy new pack and as time goes by, he will always put the pack near to him. These goes on until my father was 70 years old, one day he decided to quit just like that. He went for walk and sleep early in the evening. The quitting was successful alas! Five years later, he complained of chest pain and all kind of pains which was indescribable. It takes awhile for father to agree on a body check at the local hospital. He stayed there for first week with various tests, blood, urine and stool. I went daily to check with the doctor for any results but each time I did not get to see the house doctor. Well, after all no news was good news to me. Then the second week, I saw my father and how have he aged so fast just one week stay in the hospital. I took an off day just to make sure that I can get to meet the ward doctor. Later, the doctor told me that his left lungs has collapse and the right lung was just as bad, in short he just have a few days left.
My father asked me what the doctor says and I mumbled that he was doing well and if he took his medicine regularly he should be able to go home soon. But that was a big lie, I knew my father well enough as he was afraid of dying. That evening I did not know how I managed to arrive home by the MRT. My eyes were swelled with tears along the whole journey and I think a lot of commuter was looking at me during the train journey. But I was too sad.
When I reached home, it was so difficult to relate the bad news to my siblings especially my mum. But I did. Then the next day I went to the office and signed on for one week leave just to spent time with my father in the hospital. I went early before the doctor rounds at 8:00 am sat there without talking much. Even when my father was alive, we did not talked much other than the usual conversations. But this time my father will asked lot of questions like “please help to take care of your mother” ”asked her not to brew any traditional Chinese medicine”.
He will always ask me to go home early as it was late in the evening. Then one afternoon he told me to pray for him. He wished for peace in his heart as he mentioned that night time was the most torturous hour for him. I asked him whether he was willing to believe in Jesus as He can give him peace. He told me to take charge of his funeral wake and his cremation arrangement.
He believed in Jesus and there was peace throughout the time until he passed away peacefully at evening. His greatest wish which he requested for me to pray was that he will not suffered pain and truly he did not suffered pain at all. Even till the last minute of breath, he felt breathless and he left and slept forever.

For two years, our family (most of us who was close to him) went through the five stages of grief, denial, depression and later acceptance. After his funeral I changed my job as it was too much for me to cope and needed time to grieve through the “first loss”.

Lifestyles Ideas Management - About Watermelon

Watermelon is not a fruit but a vegetable and is of the same family as the cucumbers, pumpkin and squash. They were first harvested in Egypt about 5,000 years ago and now grown in 100 countries, says www.fabulousfoods.com
There are more than 50 varieties. Most have red flesh but there are orange and yellow-fleshed varieties according to www.foodreference.com.
Watermelon is an excellent source of vitamin A, C and B6. It is also rich in potassium extremely low in sodium and contains fiber and practically no fat.
This famous thirst quencher is 92 percent water and 8 per cent sugar.
Every part of the watermelon is edible, even the seeds and the rinds which are often pickled, fried as in Chinese cuisine (Shanghainese).