Monday, August 30, 2010

Beijing Here I Come! 北京我来也!

The blogger is going to travel to Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China, for the first time from September 1 (night flight) to September 8, 2010. Companions of the trip include wife Soh Ai, SGM’s friends Mr. Yong Yew Khoon and his wife Mdm Tan Kan Pian @ Kah Bean, Mdm Tang Li Na and her sister Tang Ma Li, and ex-colleague (in MCA HQ 1986-1988) Anthony Kon, his uncle Mr. Chong Chin (an Australian PR) and his lawyer cousin & family of four.

Brief Details of the tour are as follows:

Tour Agency: Yangtze Cruise & Tour Sdn Bhd
Tour Fare per head: RM 2,812.00
Tour Leader: Ms. Linda
Group Size: 20 persons

The places that we are going to visit are as follows:

Day 1 第一天 02/09/2010 (周四) 吉隆坡/北京
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1. 天坛 Temple of Heaven

2. 颐和园 Summer Palace

3. 皇家御河 Imperial River

4. (晚) 传统杂技表演 Traditional Acrobatic show

Day 2 第二天 03/09/2010 (周五) 北京

5. 天安门广场 Tiananmen Square

6. 故宫博物馆National Palace Museum

7. 世贸天阶 The Place Beijing

8. 国家大剧院 National Theatre

9. 中央电视台 CCTV

10. (晚) 什刹海酒吧风情街Shichahai Bar Style Street

Day 3 第三天 04/09/2010 (周六) 北京

11. 万里长城 Great Wall

12. 明定陵Ming Ding Tomb

13. 鸟巢 Bird’s Nest

14. 水立方 Water Cube

15. (晚) 大型歌舞节目“圣水观音”表演Holy Water Guanyin show

Day 4 第四天 05/09/2010 (周日) 北京/承德

16. 北京老胡同Beijing Hutongs

17. 恭王府Prince Gong's Mansion

18. 承德 Chengde

Day 5 第五天 06/09/2010 (周一) 承德/北京

19. 避暑山庄Mountain Resort

20. 普陀宗乘Putuo Zongcheng Temple

21. 天街御道---前门商业街Qianmen (Front Gate) commercial street

Day 6 第六天 07/09/2010 (周二) 北京/天津/北京

22. 天津食品街Tianjin Food Street

23. 天津古文化街Tianjin Ancient Culture Street

24. 北京王府井大街、东华门夜市小吃街Beijing Wangfujing Street, Donghua Gate Night Market Snack Street

Day 7 第七天 08/09/2010 (周三) 北京/吉隆坡

25. 雅秀市场Ya Show Market

Friday, August 27, 2010

Rub to Reduce your Waistline/Beer Belly

Did You Know...

... that you can rub your stomach away effortlessly using nothing but your hand -- for only 2 minutes a day?


This may sound hard to believe, but Dr. Stephen Chang, an M.D. and Ph.D. who's trained in both Western and Chinese medicine, states that this simple 2-minute internal exercise, which does not come from Western medicine, but rather from the wisdom of ancient Chinese sages -- has bee
n used successfully as a self-healing mechanism for over 6,000 years.

Whatever you do, don't confuse this internal exercise with the external exercises of the Western world, such as sit-ups, crunches and other movements that only firm up the underlying stomach muscles ... but do nothing to melt the fat surrounding those muscles.

According to Dr. Chang, losing weight is a simple matter of increasing the efficiency of the digestive system. If you've ever wondered why you fail to shed pounds even when you reduce your food and/or caloric intake -- the reason is because your digestive and eliminatory systems are not functioning efficiently.

The following 2-minute exercise works like a gentle colonic irrigation that helps speed up a sluggish digestive system (which usually carries at least 5 pounds of fecal matter within it), and this elimination of useless sludge has the effect of burning off excess fat. The exercise effectively metabolizes the fatty tissues around the stomach and intestines, and flushes them out of your body through blood, sweat, urine, and feces.

Here's how to do the stomach-rubbing exercise:

1) Lie flat on your back on your bed or on the floor. Take your top off or pull it up so that your abdominal area is bare.

2) Rub your hands together vigorously for about 15 seconds, or until they feel hot.

3) Place one of your hands directly on your belly button and begin to rub in small circles around your belly button, and gradually make the circles larger. Use fairly firm but comfortable pressure and rub at a slow, even pace, approximately 1 circle per second.

4) Concentrate on the heat building up in, around and throughout your stomach.

5) Do about 40 to 50 circles, or for an approximate duration of 2 minutes or more.

Note: It is important to keep the abdominal area warm while doing the exercise, especially during winter months when even heated indoor air tends to be cool.

For best results, do this routine twice a day for 2 minutes -- first thing in the morning (before breakfast) and just before you go to bed. Most people see noticeable results within 1 week of consistent practice.
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According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the stomach is the center of energy. Massaging the stomach in the manner described above therefore accomplishes more than just melting away adipose tissue (fat). It also ..

* stimulates the abdominal organs
* helps speed up slow digestion and remedies constipation
* increases blood circulation in the abdominal area
* helps heal indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and the adverse effects of overeating


(Courtesy of forwarded mail from Cheong Siew Chyuan)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Health Benefits of Eggs

(Courtesy of a forwarded mail)

1. Eggs are great for the eyes. According to one study, an egg a day may prevent mascular degeneraton due to the carotenoid content, specifically lutein and zeaxanthin. Both nutrients are more readily available to our bodies from eggs than from other sources.

2. In another study, researchers found that people who eat eggs every day lower their risk of developing cataracts, also because of the lutein and zeaxanthin in eggs.

3. One egg contains 6 grams of high-quality protein and all 9 essential amino acids.

4. According to a study by the Harvard School of Public Health, there is no significant link between egg consumption and heart disease. In fact, according to one study, regular consumption of eggs may help prevent blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks.

5. They are a good source of choline. One egg yolk has about 300 micrograms of choline. Choline is an important nutrient that helps regulate the brain, nervous system, and cardiovascular system.

6. They contain the right kind of fat. One egg contains just 5 grams of fat and only 1.5 grams of that is saturated fat.

7. New research shows that, contrary to previous belief, moderate consumption of eggs does not have a negative impact on cholesterol. In fact, recent studies have shown that regular consumption of two eggs per day does not affect a person's lipid profile and may, in fact, improve it. Research suggests that it is saturated fat that raises cholesterol rather than dietary cholesterol.
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8. Eggs are one of the only foods that contain naturally occurring vitamin D.

9. Eggs may prevent breast cancer. In one study, women who consumed at least 6 eggs per week lowered their risk of breast cancer by 44%.

10. Eggs promote healthy hair and nails because of their high sulphur content and wide array of vitamins and minerals. Many people find their hair growing faster after adding eggs to their diet, especially if they were previously deficient in foods containing sulphur or B12.

Below is a comment written by nutritionist Dr JB Lim:

Dear all,

Sometime back someone asked me the same question about eggs and its effect on health. I have already written and replied to him or her in a lengthy article supporting the nutritive and health benefits of eggs. I also gave scientific updates on more recent findings some of which are correctly given here as sent to me.

However the author of the article need to give at least some references of papers published in scientific journals to support the claims even though they are right.

But to super-summarize what I wrote last time in just 13 lines without me having to go all over again explaining the complexities of physiology, biochemistry, nutritional pathogenesis related to eggs and waste time and effort again, below are the yes points about eggs in human nutrition.

But I have to leave out some minor no points since the positive benefits far outweigh its negative values.

1. Eggs and milk are among the best foods for the body especially to a growing child.
2. Eggs do not cause an elevation of blood cholesterol.
3. Eggs do not clog up the coronary vessels as once thought. In fact the opposite is now true.
4. Eggs are low in energy value, and is a factor to consider in the formulation of a caloric-restriction diet.
5. Eggs protein quality is extremely high, and has a very high nitrogen-retention value. Hence it is extremely useful in post-surgical care, trauma, and in post-management of hypovolemic shock against negative nitrogen balance.
6. Eggs contain vitamin D in its natural form. The benefits of vitamin D require several chapters on human nutrition in medicine to discuss. And I refuse to repeat.
7. Eggs are cancer-protective, especially for breast cancer.
8. Eggs are very rich in sulfur-containing amino acids methionine which is a very crucial amino-acid in blocking damaging free radicals. These are directly linked to the pathogenesis of heart disease, cancers, DNA damage, all degenerative disorders, and accelerated aging.
9. Eggs protect against fatty liver, slow growth, macular degeneration (degeneration of the macula area of the retina in the eyes. This is responsible for central vision for reading, face recognition and detailed vision), edema (water retention), and various skin lesions.
10. Eggs promote healthy growth of nails, hair and skin.
11. Eggs are rich in tryphophan, selenium, iodine, and riboflavin (vitamin B2).
12. Eggs selenium content is cardio-protective against Keshan disease, cardiomyopathies (diseases involving the heart muscles, cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), myocardial dysfunction (poor heart function) and death from heart failure.
13. Eggs are protective against Kashin-Beck disease (osteoarthropathy), myxedematous endemic cretinism (mental retardation).
14. The list goes on…on!

Regards, and ask me no more on eggs. I have lots of other questions awaiting answers.

jb lim

4:35 a.m.
24 August, 2010

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Who is Handicapped? 谁是残障?

(Courtesy of forwarded mail from CK Cheong)

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