The Zestzfulness Calendar gives you a complete list of festivals, public holidays, school holiday in Malaysia in 2012.
It also incorporates the Chinese, Muslim and Tamil calendars.
And if you are into turf horse racing, you can find the race dates and venue in the Zestzfulness Calendar too .
Get your FREE copy of the Zestzfulness Calendar from anyone of our three pharmacies TODAY.
Offer valid whilst stocks last!
Women who seldom or never eat fish may be increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease by 50 percent or more, according to the first population-based study among younger women reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Those who ate fish most often, especially fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids, had 90 percent lower risk than those who ate little or no fish.
Fish oil contains long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are believed to protect against heart and vascular disease. Few women in the study took fish oil supplements, so these were excluded from the analyses and the results were based on the dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids, not intake from supplements.
Most previous studies that found cardiovascular benefits of omega-3 fatty acids have focused on men.
“Men and women share many cardiovascular risk factors, but some studies have shown that there might also be gender differences. For example, inflammation, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels may have a more negative influence among women,” said Marin Strøm, Ph.D., lead researcher and post doctoral fellow at the Centre for Fetal Programming, at Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark
“Our study shows that for younger women, eating fish is very important for overall health, and even though we found cardio-protective effects at relatively modest dietary levels, higher levels may yield additional benefits,” Strøm said.
The most common fish consumed by women in the study were cod, salmon, herring, and mackerel.
<<< * >>>
The above story is extracted by The Zestfulness Team from materials in the American Heart Association news release of December 5, 2011
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era. More details HERE.
For a glimpse of the Baba-Nonya customs and tradition visit the opulent Pinang Peranakan Mansion
Here’s the list of what Alvin’s Sayang (love) gave to him for Xmas:
1. The Main Wayang Company is Singapore’s first professional Peranakan cultural arts & community theatre, group.
2. Cincalok is made of fermented small shrimps or krill. It is usually served as a condiment together with chillis, shallots and lime juice. It is similar to Bagoong Alamang in the Philippines. HERE Baba Ee, a cincalok and belacan expert, gives us a few pointers on what to look out for when picking good quality cincalok.
3. To secure a blouse, the Nyonyas used two types of Kerosang. The first was a set of three circular brooches, used for the baju panjang. The more elaborate designs usually featured a heart-shaped kerosang ibu and two kerosang anak. The second type of kerosang also consists of three brooches. They were to be worn with the baju kebaya. The shapes of the kerosangs were elongated rather than round and the individual brooches were joined together by ornamental chains to form a kerosang rantai. More details HERE.
4. Buah Keluak is a black seed from Pangium edule (Indonesian: keluak or keluwak; Malay: kepayang), a tall tree native to the mangrove swamps of Southeast Asia. The fresh fruit and seeds contain hydrogen cyanide and are deadly poisonous if consumed without prior preparation. The seeds are first boiled and then buried in ash, banana leaves and earth for forty days, during which time, they turn from a creamy white colour to dark brown or black. The method relies on the fact that the hydrogen cyanide released by the boiling and fermentation is water soluble and easily washed out. In Singapore and Malaysia, the seeds are best known as an essential ingredient in ayam (chicken) or babi (pork) buah keluak, a mainstay of Peranakan cuisine. More details HERE.
5. Cherki, a card game which consists of many Hokkien and Baba Malay words. It has 60 cards (30 different patterns, each one repeated twice), each measuring approximately 60mm X 24mm in size. To play the game, 2 packs/decks are required, so that each single card will be repeated four times. How to play, visit Peranakan Life
6. Gula Melaka, otherwise known in English as Palm Sugar or 'Malacca Sugar', was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm, the date palm or sugar date palm (Phoenix sylvestris). Now it is also made from the sap of the sago, arenga pinnata and coconut palms. Gula melaka is made by first extracting the sap from the flower bud. Several slits are cut into the bud and a pot is tied underneath the bud to collect the sap. Then, the sap is boiled until it thickens after which, in the traditional way, it is poured into bamboo tubes between 3-5 inches in length, and left to solidify to form cylindrical cake blocks. Gula melaka is used in some savoury dishes but mainly in the local desserts and cakes of the Southeast Asian region.
7. Sambal Belacan consists of chilies, belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste), kalamansi lime (limau kasturi), and salt and sugar (to taste or optional). Myfoodilicious has uploaded a recipe or you can simply purchase a Gimson off the shelf.
8. Kasut Manik refers to beaded slippers worn by a nyonya to complete her Sarong Kebaya outfit, together with chained brooches (kerosang) and a silver belt (tali pendeng). Craftpassion shows how to bead your own kasut manik. My wife, Mei, simply picked up a pair from Joyce of J. Manik at Jalan Hang Lekir (Jalan Jonker Street), Melaka
9. Kain Sarong – a garment consisting of a length of printed cloth wrapped about the waist that is worn by men and women in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Pacific islands.
10. Otak-otak is a cake made of fish meat. It is widely known across Southeast Asia, where it is traditionally served fresh, wrapped inside banana leaf. Otak means brains in Indonesian and Malay, and the name of the dish is derived from the idea that the dish some what resembles brains, being grey, soft and almost squishy.
11. Congkak is a mancala game played in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand, and some parts of Sumatra and Borneo. We’ll let Rachelle, Lutfiyya and John show you how to play this game.
12. Ondeh-ondeh is sweet potato or glutinous rice flour dough infused with pandan (screwpine leaf) juice, filled with Gula Melaka. These are boiled in water and then coated with fresh grated coconut. Here’s Baking Mum’s recipe.
Elevated blood sugar levels are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer, according to a study led by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.
The Einstein study involved women who were enrolled in the National Institutes of Health's landmark Women's Health Initiative study. For these women, fasting blood sugar and insulin levels had been measured at baseline (i.e., the start of the study) and then several more times over the next 12 years.
By the end of the 12-year period, 81 of the women had developed colorectal cancer. The researchers found that elevated baseline glucose levels were associated with increased colorectal cancer risk—and that women in the highest third of baseline glucose levels were nearly twice as likely to have developed colorectal cancer as women in the lowest third of blood glucose levels. Results were similar when the scientists looked at repeated glucose measurements over time. No association was found between insulin levels and risk for colorectal cancer.
Obesity—usually accompanied by elevated blood levels of insulin and glucose—is a known risk factor for colorectal cancer. Researchers have long suspected that obesity's influence on colorectal cancer risk stems from the elevated insulin levels it causes. But the Einstein study suggests that obesity's impact on this cancer may be due to elevated glucose levels, or to some factor associated with elevated glucose levels.
"It's possible that elevated glucose levels are linked to increased blood levels of growth factors and inflammatory factors that spur the growth of intestinal polyps, some of which later develop into cancer" said Geoffrey Kabat, Ph.D., a senior epidemiologist at Einstein and lead author of the paper.
<<< * >>>
The above story is extracted by The Zestfulness Team from materials in the Albert Einstein College of Medicine news release of November 29, 2011
The article has been published in the online edition of British Journal of Cancer: G C Kabat, M Y Kim, H D Strickler, J M Shikany, D Lane, J Luo, Y Ning, M J Gunter, T E Rohan. A longitudinal study of serum insulin and glucose levels in relation to colorectal cancer risk among postmenopausal women. British Journal of Cancer, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2011.512
Read our other posts on colorectal cancer and prevention tips here:
Zestzfulness: Light Your Grills Without Fear "The good news is that you can do something to reduce your risk of colorectal cancer," said Sally Scroggs, health education manager at M.D. Anderson's Cancer Prevention Center, in a news release from the center. "And ...
Zestzfulness: 'Good' Cholesterol May Cut Colon Cancer Risk Researchers led by Dr. Bas Bueno-de-Mesquita of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment in the Netherlands compared 1238 people with colorectal cancer to 1238 healthy people. Of those with cancer, ...
Zestzfulness: Cancer Prevention Steps In the US , 16 per cent of bowel cancer cases in men and 17 per cent of breast cancer cases in women could be prevented by just by being in the healthy weight range. ...
Health Sciences Authority in Singapore warns of four adulterated herbal products
Health Sciences Authority in Singapore has issued a press release warning the public of four adulterated health products which are sold as traditional Chinese and Malay medicines.
ATHRI-Eze [ 人参活络舒筋丸 ] - is marketed as a traditional Chinese medicine and packaged in a bottle of 20 white capsules
SEAR HEANG TIENCHI TU CHUNG WAN [ 麝香田七杜仲丸 ] - claims to treat rheumatic pain and backache and is sold in a bottle of 40 black pills with a red label.
CAP WIJAYA KUSUMA (AN KI IT) and WIKU JAHE KENCUR (AKUR MUJARAB) - are promoted as Malay Jamu (postnatal) medicines, which are packed in foil sachets of brown powder and are labelled to treat rheumatoid and arthritic conditions.
These four products have been found to contain undeclared pharmaceutical medicines.
Ingredients found include: dexamethasone furosemid (also known as frusemide) paracetamol chlorpheniramine (also known as chlorphenamine) phenylbutazone allopurinol prednisolone.
There are various side effects to these products which can include insomnia, tightness in the chest, puffed face, severe nausea, low blood pressure, dizziness, tinnitus and kidney damage. CLICK HERE for further details.
It is possible that these products may be available across the causeway (in Malaysia) and consumers are warned to be cautious.
4 Things You Might Not Have Known About Your Cell Phone
(This should be printed and kept in your car, purse, and wallet)
There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.
Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival.
Check out the things that you can do with it:
FIRST (Emergency) The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
SECOND (Hidden Battery Power) Imagine your cell battery is very low. To activate, press the following keys: *3370#. Your cell phone will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell phone next time.
THIRD (How to disable a STOLEN mobile phone?) To check your Mobile phone's serial number, key in the following keys on your phone: *#06# A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe, eg your car, purse, and wallet. If your phone is stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can't use/sell it either. If everybody does this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
FOURTH (Free Directory Service for Cells) Cell phone companies are charging us $1.00 to $1.75 or more for 411 information calls when they don't have to. Most of us do not carry a telephone directory in our vehicle, which makes this situation even more of a problem. When you need to use the 411 information option, simply dial: (800) FREE411 or (800) 373-3411 without incurring any charge at all. Program this into your cell phone now.
Retired pharmacist Wai Yin sent us these tips which he got from McDonald's. Apparently the kids behind the fastfood counter must have considered their 2012 pin-ups calendar too raunchy for his heart (see below).
Here are some suggestions
Going to KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s or anyone of the many fast-food restaurants around town doesn't mean your healthy diet has to take a nose-dive.
The American Diabetes Association offers these suggestions for healthier fast-food choices:
