Suspend-It

Our thanksgiving party turned out to be the best one yet. We kinda miss everyone because most of my cousins work in different cities already. It is so fun because we were the ones who cooked for the oldies. Ha-ha.

We still had the traditional roasted turkey, which by the way was perfectly done by muah, but we revised the decade old dinner course to a modern, healthy, guilt-free menu. Instead of deep fried nuggets, buttered tenderloin, and the ever famous grilled burger, we made tofu-lettuce salad, sautéed seafood, and mixed vegetables in oyster. Everyone loved it. As for desert, banana-mango crepe and coffee frappe brewed from our coffee makers!

Although it’s a special occasion, we must not forget to have a balanced diet. Better to have more greens and less grease. Fatty foods will make our body feel heavy after the holiday, whereas fruits and veggies will definitely re-energize us when vacation is over. Hope you enjoyed the holidays as much as I did!

Hello there. Since we’re all talking about health, let’s not concentrate on the health of us humans. We should also be concerned with the health of our environment, specifically our pets. They’re around us most of the time, and of course, we love them dearly. So I guess we have to show our affection to them by taking care of them well.

There are various supplements out there in the market to help your pets stay healthy. There are horse supplements out there for well.. horses. You get the drift, right?

So let’s also think about others, not only ourselves. Ha ha.

I’m recently addicted to chicken. All kinds of recipes on chicken tastes great! I especially love chicken curry. I’m so addicted to it that I even ignore vegetables when they’re lain on the same table. In fact, I also asked my friend to teach me how to cook chicken curry. I know it’s too much, but I just can’t resist their awesome taste! I might grow some feathers and two wings, someday. Ha ha.

It’s okay to have cravings sometimes. But DO eat healthy!

Canned goods sure are handy. Not only are they tasty, but you can also have them in an instant! You could just heat them and poof! Hello, food!

Even if they really are very tasty, we should lower our canned food intake because too much of anything is bad for your health! Alright? Remember: Rule of moderation.

Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables–that’s what my mother always says. She’s never been wrong, so I live up to what she says, and I can say I’m a better person now because of her!

We all know that they don’t all taste good, so I tried tasting each fruit and vegetable out there and I chose some that I like. I personally like apples and leafy vegetables.

Try it yourself. Explore the wonderful world of greenery! I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed.

While helping out my sister with her assignment in Chemistry, I was surprised to find out that Magnesium (Mg), as defined by Nutrition Data, “is an essential mineral for the human body. It is needed for protein, bone, and fatty acid formation, making new cells, activating B vitamins, relaxing muscles, blood clotting and forming adenosine triphosphate (ATP).” It is even the 11th most abundant element by mass in the human body.

I was more fascinated when I learned that magnesium is a very important mineral in the body since it activates over 300 different processes in our body – from digestion, energy production, muscle function, and bone formation, to muscle relaxation, and heart function. This is why when people suffer from magnesium deficiency, their body goes out of balance.

According to studies, an average person needs around 350 to 450 mg of magnesium each day. To replace the magnesium levels which were depleted via exercise or just your normal routine, you can either to increase your caloric intake by over 50% or take magnesium supplements or magnesium vitamins.

For those checking their calorie intake, I suggest you check your magnesium intake as well.

When my sister asked help in her assignment as regards to food supplements, I visited some websites that deals on vitamin supplements. As I was searching, I came across the site LiquidVitaminStop. The site’s name really caught my attention and I found this intriguing.

At first, I told myself, why stop taking liquid vitamins? Is it because we are no longer babies? As such, I took time to read and discovered that the site instead is encouraging everyone, young and old to take vitamins and minerals in liquid form. It is actually a one-stop shop for all your vitamin needs, thus the word “stop” in their website name.

During Easter in our parish, the priest keeps on reminding the faithfuls of this biblical verse, “Remember man, that you are from dust and from dust you shall return”. Relatedly, in one of the forums I attended, the speaker said, “to be healthy, a person should be very careful with the foods they eat”. He strongly recommended to consider the following in the selection of foods: 1st priority, the produce from the soil like the fruits and vegetables; 2nd priority, those foods from the sea and bodies of water such as the fish; 3rd priority, the two-legged animals such as the birds and chicken; 4th priority, the four-legged animals with horns like the cows, deer and goats; and the last group that everyone has to avoid are those four-legged animals with horns like the pig.

These two beautiful reminders are not only on the aspects of man’s spirituality but on man’s physical and health concerns too. Thus, the first priority, the organic food coming from the soil is highly recommended for man, being an organic creature. From this produce come organic products such as organic health products, organic vitamins and organic skin care. In conclusion, organic is best for organic.

“Food is an important part of a balanced diet” - Fran Leibowitz

Food, as in REAL food, not the kind that skinny people eat, IS an important part of a well-balanced diet. As I mentioned in my previous post, dieting need not be just palatable. That is, healthy food nowadays no longer means “not tasty food” and it doesn’t have to be expensive. Dishes like Greek Feta Cheese Soufflés and Mushroom and Broccoli Stir-Fry are examples of healthy but tasty food.

You can actually browse over several chefs recipes page online so you can prepare and cook those healthy, tasty foods for you and your family, and even friends. That way, you are sure that they are eating right, happily, and with great gusto. After all, “The true cook is the perfect blend, the only perfect blend, of artist and philosopher. He knows his worth: he holds in his palm the happiness of mankind, the welfare of generations yet unborn (Norman Douglas, 1868-1952).”

Who said mushrooms is just for cooking and for some “fun-high-time” with friends?

Mushrooms can actually be used as an alternative medicine. In fact, a mushroom called Reishi, also known as the “herb of good fortune”, is one of the most-widely used herbal remedies in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Also called lingzhi in Chinese, meaning “herb of spiritual potency”, reishi has also been described as “mushroom of immortality”. And because of its presumed health benefits and apparent absence of side-effects, it has attained a reputation in the East as the ultimate herbal substance.

According to Reishi at LongevityHerbs.com, it has been used since the 2nd Century B.C. but for a long time was restricted from anyone outside of royalty. With regards to its medicinal uses, lingzhi has been found to be “anti-inflammatory, antiviral, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-diabetic, anti-hypotensive, and protective of the liver. It has also been found to inhibit platelet aggregation, and to lower blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar.” With these properties, this mushroom Because of these properties, lingzhi has been regarded as blood pressure stabilizer, antioxidant, analgesic, a kidney and nerve tonic. Moreover, according to an article in Wikipedia, “It has been used in bronchitis prevention and in cardiovascular treatment, and in the treatment of high triglycerides, high blood pressure, hepatitis, allergies, chemotherapy support, HIV support, and even for fatigue and altitude sickness.”

So the next time you find a mushroom, I hope that with this information, you’ll be looking at it in a different light.