Friday, 13 March 2009

BANANAs for Medical Uses

Received this in an e-mail, thought I would share it with all of you.

I had quite a lot of bananas when I was pregnant -- especially as my mid-night snack -- which I can eat hiding in my warm duvet on a wintery night 

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!

This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.
Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout.. No wonder the banana is the number one  fruit with the world's leading athletes.
But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure.
So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at wor k leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs.
The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by
coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking &Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"


PS: Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time! I
will add one here; want a quick shine on our shoes?? Take the INSIDE
of the banana skin, and rub directly on the shoe...polish with dry
cloth. Amazing fruit !

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

The woman in your life...Thought Provoking!!


T
he woman in your life...very well expressed....

Tomorrow you may get a working woman,

but
you should marry her with these facts as well.

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;
Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One who has dreams and aspirations just as
you have because she is as human as you are;

One who has never entered the kitchen in her life
just like you or your sister haven't,
as she was busy in studies and competing in a system
that gives no special concession to girls
for their culinary achievements

One who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters,

almost as much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that

-her home and people who love her- to adopt your home,
your family, your ways and even your family name

One who is somehow expected to be a master-chef
from day 1 while you sleep oblivious to her predicament
in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One who is expected to make tea first thing in the morning
and cook food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired
as you are, maybe more, and yet never ever expected to
complain;

to be a
homemaker, a cook, a mother, a wife;
and is learning just like you are as to what you want
from her;
and is clumsy and sloppy at times
like you
and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding,
or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends,
and that includes boys and even men at her workplace,
those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing

to put all that on the back-burner to avoid your irrational
jealousy, unnecessary competition
and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can,
but won't, simply  because you won't like it,
even though you say otherwise

One who can be late from work once in a while

when
deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One who is doing her level best and wants to make
this most important relationship in her entire life
a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One who just wants one thing from you,
as you are the only one she knows in your entire house
- your unstinted support, your sensitivities
and most importantly - your understanding,
or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this.......


Please appreciate "HER"


Tuesday, 10 March 2009

i got my FREE prints!

Received my FREE prints from eoe Online just now - 50 x 4R & 2 x 8R!!! 

... printed on Kodak paper (good!)
... very clear (even the 8R prints!)
... arrived through courier (safer!)
... properly packed (the 8R prints had a cardboard base, and nicely wrapped-up in plastic!)

Recommended to my sister-in-law, she said she'll check out the website later!!

Very happy to received my free prints (as promised!... actually a few days earlier than they mentioned), now need to buy photo albums & frames to "display" them!! 



50 x 4R

2 x 8R

Monday, 9 March 2009

my review has been accepted!

I'VE RECEIVED THE REPLY FOR MY REVIEW!!!!

eoe Online has accepted my review for their Blogger's Review Program - Ultimate, and I'll wait for my free prints to arrive!! 



Dear Tan Ju Ek,

Thank you for sending us your blog entry to participate in
the eoe Online Blogger's Review Program - Ultimate with
details available at
http://www.eoe.com.my/data/st/24/index.html . Your review
has been accepted.

The print order that you have placed will be printed and
delivered to you in within 3 working days. We hope you can
pass on a message to your blogger friends on our review
program too!

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any
questions.

Yours sincerely,
Samantha Siah
eoe Online team
www.eoe.com.my


Saturday, 7 March 2009

Private Piano Lesson at the Comfort of Your Home

Since I do blog from time to time, thought I would blog about my husband too 
(Yalah... promoting for him la... OF COURSE!!  Nothing wrong ma... Good things must share...)

He's giving private piano lesson at the students' house. 
It is very rare for piano teacher wanting to travel to teach in students' house, it's always students going to music centers or the teacher's house. 
That's why he's providing this "extra service" for the convenient of the parents & students...
  • parents can rest for that 1 hour, after driving their kids to & from school, and tuitions... especially parents with more than 1 child
  • students - whom now have like never-finishing homework - can get back to their homework after the lesson, no need to waste so much time on the road to & fro
He has a student in Nibong Tebal... that student said cannot find good teacher in mainland, all good ones are in Penang Island.

My husband has 7 years of piano teaching experience, and he just graduate from UK with his Masters Degree in music.

Please do check out his website, TYT musica, or call him at 017-4254693, for more details.

online photo printing in MALAYSIA

Thanks to Mei Yi's blog that I found this online photo printing service that's available in MALAYSIA  - eoe Online.

We're looking for online photo printing since we came back last Oct, 'cos we're actively using Snapfish UK when we're there -- they've lots of products, not only individual photo printing, they do posters, canvas prints, collage prints, calendar, mugs, etc., etc., etc.

Although eoe Online doesn't have as many products as Snapfish, but it's a really convenient, no need to go to store, everything delivered to your doorstep -- delivery is FREE for order of RM35.00 & above! 

At the moment, they're having promotion for prints (until 31.03.2009): -
  • 4R prints - RM0.30 each (normal price RM0.50 each)
  • 5R prints - RM0.50 each (normal price RM1.50 each)
They're also giving out FREE prints for bloggers -- 50x4R & 2x8R -- for joining their Blogger Review Program-Ultimate.

They also sell cameras & accessories.

The site is very user friendly, easy to upload & place your order too, they receive credit cards & maybank2u.com payments.

Oh ya... however, if you're an Apple use (like me), can only use the File Upload (select pictures 1 by 1), and NOT the Easy Upload (multiple photos). Hopefully they can improve on this.



For more widgets please visit www.yourminis.com

printing PHOTO BOOK online

While checking for other Malaysia online photo printing site, came across this - PIXART.
They don't print individual photos, but a Photo Book (eerr.... something like the wedding album). 
You can... add captions to your photos
          ... even write down the details of that particular photo
          ... have multiple photos in 1 page
          ... etc.
This is very common & very popular in UK & Europe (not sure about USA), but it's very very new in Malaysia.

They've 2 types of Photo Book - Coffee Table Photo Book & Pocket Photo Book.
They also do Photo Calendars, which you can put photo into individual dates (e.g. birthdays)!!

Their price is quite reasonable, as compared to the pricing I saw at President Photos.

I'm interested in getting one Coffee Table Photo Book that filled with my baby's photos (*grin*), especially they support iPhoto (YAY!!).

Do check out their site to find out why it's much more than just a photo album.