Tuhan
Bila masih ku diberi kesempatan,
Izinkan aku untuk menCINTAInya,
Namun bila waktu ku telah habis dengannya,
Biarkan CINTA ini,
Hidup untuk Sekali ini sahaja...
-JePP-
Grik,KDN.MY
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
How to fast healthily during Ramadan
How to fast healthily during Ramadan
With the month of Ramadan upon us it is useful to look at ways of trying to maintain a healthy diet whilst fasting. Fasting for 12 to 24 hours or more can lead to dizziness and fatigue and a lowering of metabolic rate as a means of conserving calories or energy. Here are some simple guidelines to make sure that your diet remains balanced and healthy during this fasting period:
Don't skip breakfast (Suhoor)
Even though sleep may seem far more appealing than waking up to force down some food, don't skip breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Research has shown that breakfast provides the essential energy and nutrients needed for concentration, while keeping hunger symptoms like headaches, fatigue, drowsiness and restlessness at bay. In addition, it speeds our metabolic rates. It is therefore vital to ensure an adequate intake at breakfast time.
Eat a wide variety of foods
When your daily intake is limited to two meals per day, you need to put extra effort into including foods from all the food groups. Our bodies need at least 40 different nutrients daily, to ensure that we grow properly and maintain good health. Although most foods contain more than one nutrient, no single food provides all the necessary nutrients. Moreover, foods have benefits that can't be replicated by a pill. So it is important to eat a wide variety of foods every day, to ensure that we get all of these nutrients. Select foods each day from each of the five food groups:
· Breads, cereals and other grain products
· Fruit and vegetables
· Meat, fish and poultry
· Milk, cheese and yoghurt
· Fats and sugars (these are low in nutrients & high in calories, so limit intake!)
Eat low glycaemic (GI) foods at breakfast to help control blood sugar levels
Carbohydrates are classified according to their glucose response or glyceamic index (GI). The GI measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the GI, the slower the food is converted to sugar and the longer it satisfies your hunger. Selecting low GI foods helps maintain normal blood sugar, minimises hunger pangs & satisfies appetite without providing excess calories. Also, by controlling blood sugar levels, you prevent excessive eating binges as a result of low blood sugar levels. Remember to include low GI foods at each meal, and to avoid eating high GI foods on their own, but rather to mix them with low GI foods, which will give an intermediate GI overall.
Be aware of your cooking methods
By making small changes in your cooking habits, you can create great-tasting foods that are also healthy for you. Many of those treasured family-favourite recipes have a very high fat content for today's health-conscious living. Don't give up on your favourites – just convert them! Here's how:
· Always trim off excess fat from before cooking, or use venison, chicken and soya as lower fat options. Remove poultry skin & choose light meat (eg. breast).
· Cut down on fat intake during cooking:
- cook onions in a little water or vegetable stock rather than oil or butter
- use non-stick frying pans & non-stick sprays rather than oil or margarine
- bake, grill or roast foods rather than frying
- cook roasted meat or poultry on a wire rack so that the fat can drip off
- Steam or boil vegetables
- when preparing rice, noodles & other grains, season with herbs, spices & broths rather than added fat
- prepare soups, gravies & sauces in advance, so that they can be refrigerated, allowing you to remove the layer of fat that forms on top.
- Use herbs and spices to add flavour & zest to low-fat cooking. Basil, bay leaf, oregano, & rosemary add distinctive flavours & colours to meat & vegetables. Spices, like cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg enhance the sweet taste of foods, & seasoning blends, such as chilli powder, curry powder provide a complex array of flavours
· Avoid taking in too much salt
- Use garlic, dry mustard, pepper, onions, mushrooms & tomatoes to add flavour to meat and vegetables
- Add sliced lemon or lemon juice to white meats & fish
· Make healthy changes to recipes
Cut the fat in half - if a recipe requires cream or whole milk, use evaporated or fresh skim milk. If a recipe requires a whole egg, use two egg whites, etc.
Eat enough carbohydrate foods - especially those rich in fibre
These foods provide the body with energy. They are rich in B vitamins, and are an excellent source of fibre. Hi-fibre foods also fill you up more than low-fibre counterparts. Foods high in fibre include brown rice, wholegrains, fresh fruit and raw veggies.
Remember your fruits and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables add colour and variety to the menu. They are "protective" foods as they help the body fight off sickness and disease. They are also rich sources of a variety of vitamins, minerals, and fibre, and are low in calories.
Drink sufficient fluid
Always include water in your diet, and cut down on caffeine-containing beverages. Caffeine is a diuretic and will not provide adequate hydration.
We all know that maintaining a balanced diet by eating healthily has a vital influence on your well being. Try following the above principles so that this fast period does not sway too much from the principles of good nutrition.
-JePP-
Grik, KDN.MY
With the month of Ramadan upon us it is useful to look at ways of trying to maintain a healthy diet whilst fasting. Fasting for 12 to 24 hours or more can lead to dizziness and fatigue and a lowering of metabolic rate as a means of conserving calories or energy. Here are some simple guidelines to make sure that your diet remains balanced and healthy during this fasting period:
Don't skip breakfast (Suhoor)
Even though sleep may seem far more appealing than waking up to force down some food, don't skip breakfast. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Research has shown that breakfast provides the essential energy and nutrients needed for concentration, while keeping hunger symptoms like headaches, fatigue, drowsiness and restlessness at bay. In addition, it speeds our metabolic rates. It is therefore vital to ensure an adequate intake at breakfast time.
Eat a wide variety of foods
When your daily intake is limited to two meals per day, you need to put extra effort into including foods from all the food groups. Our bodies need at least 40 different nutrients daily, to ensure that we grow properly and maintain good health. Although most foods contain more than one nutrient, no single food provides all the necessary nutrients. Moreover, foods have benefits that can't be replicated by a pill. So it is important to eat a wide variety of foods every day, to ensure that we get all of these nutrients. Select foods each day from each of the five food groups:
· Breads, cereals and other grain products
· Fruit and vegetables
· Meat, fish and poultry
· Milk, cheese and yoghurt
· Fats and sugars (these are low in nutrients & high in calories, so limit intake!)
Eat low glycaemic (GI) foods at breakfast to help control blood sugar levels
Carbohydrates are classified according to their glucose response or glyceamic index (GI). The GI measures how fast the carbohydrate of a particular food is converted to glucose and enters the bloodstream. The lower the GI, the slower the food is converted to sugar and the longer it satisfies your hunger. Selecting low GI foods helps maintain normal blood sugar, minimises hunger pangs & satisfies appetite without providing excess calories. Also, by controlling blood sugar levels, you prevent excessive eating binges as a result of low blood sugar levels. Remember to include low GI foods at each meal, and to avoid eating high GI foods on their own, but rather to mix them with low GI foods, which will give an intermediate GI overall.
Be aware of your cooking methods
By making small changes in your cooking habits, you can create great-tasting foods that are also healthy for you. Many of those treasured family-favourite recipes have a very high fat content for today's health-conscious living. Don't give up on your favourites – just convert them! Here's how:
· Always trim off excess fat from before cooking, or use venison, chicken and soya as lower fat options. Remove poultry skin & choose light meat (eg. breast).
· Cut down on fat intake during cooking:
- cook onions in a little water or vegetable stock rather than oil or butter
- use non-stick frying pans & non-stick sprays rather than oil or margarine
- bake, grill or roast foods rather than frying
- cook roasted meat or poultry on a wire rack so that the fat can drip off
- Steam or boil vegetables
- when preparing rice, noodles & other grains, season with herbs, spices & broths rather than added fat
- prepare soups, gravies & sauces in advance, so that they can be refrigerated, allowing you to remove the layer of fat that forms on top.
- Use herbs and spices to add flavour & zest to low-fat cooking. Basil, bay leaf, oregano, & rosemary add distinctive flavours & colours to meat & vegetables. Spices, like cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg enhance the sweet taste of foods, & seasoning blends, such as chilli powder, curry powder provide a complex array of flavours
· Avoid taking in too much salt
- Use garlic, dry mustard, pepper, onions, mushrooms & tomatoes to add flavour to meat and vegetables
- Add sliced lemon or lemon juice to white meats & fish
· Make healthy changes to recipes
Cut the fat in half - if a recipe requires cream or whole milk, use evaporated or fresh skim milk. If a recipe requires a whole egg, use two egg whites, etc.
Eat enough carbohydrate foods - especially those rich in fibre
These foods provide the body with energy. They are rich in B vitamins, and are an excellent source of fibre. Hi-fibre foods also fill you up more than low-fibre counterparts. Foods high in fibre include brown rice, wholegrains, fresh fruit and raw veggies.
Remember your fruits and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables add colour and variety to the menu. They are "protective" foods as they help the body fight off sickness and disease. They are also rich sources of a variety of vitamins, minerals, and fibre, and are low in calories.
Drink sufficient fluid
Always include water in your diet, and cut down on caffeine-containing beverages. Caffeine is a diuretic and will not provide adequate hydration.
We all know that maintaining a balanced diet by eating healthily has a vital influence on your well being. Try following the above principles so that this fast period does not sway too much from the principles of good nutrition.
-JePP-
Grik, KDN.MY
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Life and relationship
I thought about you today, and for the first time it wasn't about the past, or the lies, it wasn't about the hurt, or the tears, it wasn't about my broken heart or what I used to wish the future would be. It was about the end to all that, and the beginning of a friendship. So, I don't know why people say love never ends in friendship because mine for you has. Life may lead me to new and different paths, meet new friends, learn new things ... but this will remain true - wherever life takes me, I'll always remember the path where I met you.
The path of a relationship with true love is like a trip together down an old dirt path in the woods - sometimes it'll be beautiful and easy, other times it will be a rough walk with its ups and downs, turns and twists. But when you think you're out of the woods and you look back, you are glad the journey took place, and in all, you are glad you and your special someone took it together. But the journey is not over, you have only just begun. So, don't loose faith; keep on walking. If your love is true, the path you two take will never end. It's not so much that we're afraid of change, or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear. It's like being between trapezes; it's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer ... there's nothing to hold on to.
It's not enough to have a dream, unless you're willing to pursue it. It's not enough to know what's right, unless you're strong enough to do it. It's not enough to learn the truth, unless you also learn to live it. It's not enough to reach for love, unless you care enough to give it. Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them, they will make them. Some things are not meant to last, they just take a place in your heart and make you smarter the next time ....Learn life's biggest lessons: love, forget and forgive.
In your darkest hour, never worry that there is no hope for the future. The most extraordinary thing about this life is that YOU are the author of your own destiny, and you get to decide what's in the next chapter...Cheers!
-JePP-
KDN.MY
The path of a relationship with true love is like a trip together down an old dirt path in the woods - sometimes it'll be beautiful and easy, other times it will be a rough walk with its ups and downs, turns and twists. But when you think you're out of the woods and you look back, you are glad the journey took place, and in all, you are glad you and your special someone took it together. But the journey is not over, you have only just begun. So, don't loose faith; keep on walking. If your love is true, the path you two take will never end. It's not so much that we're afraid of change, or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear. It's like being between trapezes; it's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer ... there's nothing to hold on to.
It's not enough to have a dream, unless you're willing to pursue it. It's not enough to know what's right, unless you're strong enough to do it. It's not enough to learn the truth, unless you also learn to live it. It's not enough to reach for love, unless you care enough to give it. Men who are resolved to find a way for themselves will always find opportunities enough; and if they do not find them, they will make them. Some things are not meant to last, they just take a place in your heart and make you smarter the next time ....Learn life's biggest lessons: love, forget and forgive.
In your darkest hour, never worry that there is no hope for the future. The most extraordinary thing about this life is that YOU are the author of your own destiny, and you get to decide what's in the next chapter...Cheers!
-JePP-
KDN.MY
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