I just got a new electric toothbrush, DiamondClean, bought from Sonicare. I got it at dental professional price (meaning, cheaper) which convinced me to buy one. I never had the problem of taking care of my teeth. I brushed diligently and flossed often. I still had to go into the habit of rinsing with mouthwash. But so far no new cavities have cropped up since I was a kid so good job for me. Initially I was against using an electric toothbrush and the primary reason was the vibration it produces caused me headache. The Sonicare rep told me that I should give it 2 weeks to get used to the vibration which I did and I eventually learned to ignore the soft rattling of the electric toothbrush.

       vs

Myth: Electric toothbrush cleans the teeth better than manual toothbrush.

Yup it’s a myth! There’s no difference between the electric or manual toothbrush. The most important factor is the THOROUGHNESS of brushing the teeth. And this also applies to frequency – even if you brush three to four times a day, if it’s not very thorough then it doesn’t make a difference. The plaque is still there and if not remove causes gum infection and possibly cavities. Electric toothbrush is very advantageous to people with dexterity problem. However if you achieve a good oral hygiene using manual toothbrush, then stick with it.

Using this electric toothbrush, I get to brush my teeth longer which ensures that all of my teeth get some attention. I usually go beyond the two minute set program. However I noticed that it’s not as simple as placing the bristles flat against the tooth surface. I needed to position the bristles at a 45degree angle pointing towards the gum for a better clean. Because when I do the former I could see there’s still plaque remaining on my teeth particularly near the gums even though I completed the 2-minutes brushing duration. Another thing I like about this toothbrush is the small brush head with its very soft bristles. I believe that soft bristles are important because electric toothbrush with its numerous vibrations/rotations can harm the gums especially if the person has a firm grip.

I couldn’t care less about the 5 cleaning modes of this brush. I couldn’t see any difference among them except for the Gum Care mode which had a slower or softer vibration. An issue I had with the electric toothbrush is it causes me sensitivity when the back of the brush head bangs and rattles my teeth. Sonicare also pioneered the  on-the-go usb charging technology for this model which lets me bring my toothbrush with me and then charge it conveniently like I charge my ipod. It’s very innovative but for me nothing is more portable and convenient than a manual brush. 

I have become an electric toothbrush convert. I’m satisfied with this purchase and I truly love the feeling of clean teeth after using this product. Oh yeah, I’m not endorsing this product.

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Alzheimer’s disease is something I have believed would not touch our lives. It’s a disease I just watch from TV, something I just hear and forget. To be racist and ignorant, I thought only white people get Alzheimer’s. My mom would joke about having Alzheimer’s because she has a tendency to forget where she puts things. I am praying that she wouldn’t get it and that playing sudoku daily will maintain her mind sharp and keep the disease very far from her.  Unfortunately my favorite grandma has acquired it. According to my aunt, a psychologist, my grandma has Alzheimer’s or a more general condition called, dementia. When I heard this I was terrified. Dementia for me is something worse like someone who has gone insane. In Filipino language, an apt and harsher description is “nasiraan ng ulo”. Because of these terrifying terms, I quickly researched what Dementia and Alzheimer’s are all about.

I love my grandma. I have aspired to be like her when I get into old age. Up until now she has always been independent, hard working, and active in her life. She doesn’t like to inconvenience anyone and always try to do things by herself. She is very caring, selfless, and generous about her time, efforts, and money. When I lived with her for the first time I came to the US, she was the one who showed me around. Teaching me how to get around using the public transportation. She has cooked me delicious meals and even gave me allowance. It should have been the other way around. I should have been the one taking care of her.

Now she is weak and forgetful. At first I have thought that it’s only old age. I would get slightly annoyed that she would forget and confuse simple things. But now I have been enlightened of her condition, I should be more patient with her. As my aunt said, even if she asks the same question again and again, we should answer the same answer again and again patiently. I’ll keep praying for the best for my grandma.

Source: New York Times, WebMd, EMedicineHealth

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I love eating vegetables. I couldn’t relate to advertisement where kids hate eating their veggies well because, I love eating them. My most favorite vegetable is squash or kalabasa while my least fave is radish or labanos. Every time we shop at the oriental grocery store, we always stock up on vegetables because it’s cheaper there compared to Lucky or Safeway and it has the asian-type vegetables that we love to cook.

For a quick stir-fry and dinner, some suggestions of green leafy vegetables that you can easily saute with garlic are Asparagus, Kangkong, Yam Leaves, Spinach, Broccoli, Chili leaves, and Bok Choy. To prepare it: as much as possible serve the leaves and cut the hard part of the stems. Immerse in cold water to make the vegetable look fresher. For asparagus and broccoli, cut in thin slices so that it’s easy to cook. To cook: pour 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a pan and saute the chopped garlic first. In just one batch, mix the greens into the pan and stir-fry quickly over medium to high heat. Add salt to taste. Remove from heat after 2-3 minutes, serve it hot.

This stir-fry method is most favorite way to cook my greens. It’s easy and delicious and gives me the most consumption of the vegetable. As we all know green leafy vegetables are important to our health. The darker color the better. Among the nutritional benefits of the vegetables I mentioned are:

The moral lesson of this blog I would say is, it’s really easy to make healthy and nutritional dinner when you have garlic and greens.

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When my mom was recuperating in the house from a major surgery, we made sure that she ate food that would help her get well quickly. Chicken in sibut soup was one of the food that has been tried and tested. I remembered when she had surgery before back in the Philippines, a relative came bringing this weirdly aromatic soup. The soup contained native chicken cooked in a dark-colored liquid. Aside from the odd smell, I found it slightly bland but still spice-flavored. I didn’t know if this was an ancient mysterious Chinese herb/medicinal soup.

Yesterday I simmered a whole Cornish game hen (I don’t know where to find a native chicken here in the US) and then my mom put the Sibut spice when the chicken was tender. This was our lunch and dinner today. I also ate it even though I wasn’t sick which made me think, what will I gain from it since all I know it was for sick people? So researching from the internet brought me this answer:

Sibot is actually a 4 herb from Fujian or Hookien Chinese style of cooking. Adding Chinese herbs to soups has been a tradition and distinct of Cantonese cuisines. Chinese herbs are known for their curative functions for the human body. A common way to incorporate the herbs is brewing them together over slow fire for 2 to 3 hours. This releases the essences and nutrients of the ingredients into the soup. This then allows for the human body to easily absorb the nutrients of the soup. This soup is famous for restoring energy and strengthening the immune system and is very good for men and women of all ages.

A packet of sibot/sibut composed of (among other things):  Shu Di or Chinese foxglove,Tang Gui or Angelica Sinensis,  Chuan Xiong or Ligusticum, Bai Shao or Peony Alba, Chinese wolfberry or Guo Qi Zi:

Well I hope my mom gets well soon from eating this.

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I’ve been very bad lately when it comes to food. I’ve been indulging myself with chocolates and other sweet stuffs. For the past nights, I’ve been snacking on homemade s’mores, tootsie roll, ice cream, and softdrinks. Foods that are highly cariogenic. I’ve not neglected my oral hygiene though. I brush regularly and thoroughly and I use Sensodyne and Colgate Enamelpro to protect my teeth from too much acid in the mouth.

I usually have self-control over foods. I don’t eat sticky and sweet stuffs to prevent cavities. I stay away from hard stuffs to avoid the risk of fracturing my teeth and I stay away from softdrinks because it’s very acidic and can cause demineralization of teeth. But as I’ve said, I’ve been bad.

To counteract my uncontrolled eating habit, I bought a mouthwash that can keep the tooth decay away. I normally don’t believe in mouthwash. Listerine doesn’t do anything except make you feel your breath is fresher. Chlorhexidine mouthwash is for people with gum disease, which I don’t. And other concentrated rinses are only prescribed by dentists. Then I discovered ACT mouthrinse.

ACT Total Care Anticavity Fluoride Rinse has the daily recommended dose of  Sodium Fluoride (0.05% in rinse) which can help with making teeth stronger against cavity. Fluoride changes the enamel composition of the tooth to make the tooth more resistant against bacterial attack. And those teeth with incipient (or very tiny) cavity forming in the ENAMEL (if it’s dentin, then it needs filling) can be remineralized and stop the progress of the cavity. But as your dentist will inform you, this mouthrinse can only be a supplement to your oral hygiene. It is still important to brush thoroughly and floss regularly to remove the plaque which contains the bacteria that causes cavity.

In conclusion, I don’t really need to stay away from sweets to get out of having tooth decay. I just need to be meticulous with my oral hygiene. But when it comes to combating weight gain, it’s a different matter.

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I’ve just received this email from my uncle. We are so cancer-conscious now because one of my uncles have Stage 4 colon cancer. I don’t know if the article here is true but for those who are fighting cancer and wants to know any means to fight it, read on.

“Please read about this miracle fruit that can kill cancer cells 100,000 times, more effective than chemo that gave you side effects.

Guyabano,… The SourSop Fruit

The SourSop or the fruit from the Graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo. Why are we not aware of this?
Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale.

This tree is low and is called Graviola in Brazil , Guanabana in Spanish and has the uninspiring name "Soursop" in English. The fruit is very large and the subacid sweet white pulp is eaten out of hand or, more commonly, used to make fruit drinks, sherbets and such. The principal interest in this plant is because of its strong anti-cancer effects. Although it is effective for a number of medical conditions, it is its anti tumor effect that is of most interest.

This plant is a proven cancer remedy for cancers of all types. Besides being a cancer remedy, graviola is a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent for both bacterial and fungal infections, is effective against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used for depression, stress and nervous disorders.

Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree it now may be possible to:
* Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss
* Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections                              * Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment                * Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life

The source of this information is just as stunning: It comes from one of America’s largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970′s! What those tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing…

Extracts from the tree were shown to:
* Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including Colon, Breast, Prostate, Lung and Pancreatic cancer..
* The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
* What’s more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells. It does not harm healthy cells!

One of America ‘s biggest billion-dollar drug makers began a search for a cancer cure and their research centered on Graviola, a legendary healing tree from the Amazon Rainforest. Various parts of the Graviola tree–including the bark, leaves, roots, fruit and fruit-seeds- -have been used for centuries by medicine men and native Indians in South America to treat heart disease, asthma, liver problems and arthritis. Going on very little documented scientific evidence, the company poured money and resources into testing the tree’s anti-cancerous properties– and were shocked by the results. Graviola proved itself to be a cancer-killing dynamo.

But that’s where the Graviola story nearly ended.

The company had one huge problem with the Graviola tree–it’s completely natural, and so, under federal law, not patentable. There’s no way to make serious profits from it. It turns out the drug company invested nearly seven years trying to synthesize two of the Graviola tree’s most powerful anti-cancer ingredients. If they could isolate and produce man-made clones of what makes the Graviola so potent, they’d be able to patent it and make their money back.

Alas, they hit a brick wall. The original simply could not be replicated. There was no way the company could protect its profits–or even make back the millions it poured into research. As the dream of huge profits evaporated, their testing on Graviola came to a screeching halt. Even worse, the company shelved the entire project and chose not to publish the findings of its research!

Luckily, however, there was one scientist from the Graviola research team whose conscience wouldn’t let him see such atrocity committed. Risking his career, he contacted a company that’s dedicated to harvesting medical plants from the Amazon Rainforest and blew the whistle.

Miracle Unleashed
When researchers at the Health Sciences Institute were alerted to the news of Graviola, they began tracking the research done on the cancer-killing tree. Evidence of the astounding effectiveness of Graviola–and its shocking cover-up–came in fast and furious…..

….The National Cancer Institute performed the first scientific research in 1976. The results showed that Graviola’s "leaves and stems were found effective in attacking and destroying malignant cells." Inexplicably, the results were published in an internal report and never released to the public…

Since 1976, Graviola has proven to be an immensely potent cancer killer in 20 independent laboratory tests, yet no double-blind clinical trials- the typical benchmark mainstream doctors and journals use to judge a
treatment’s value- -were ever initiated..

A study published in the Journal of Natural Products, following a recent study conducted at Catholic University of South Korea stated that one chemical in Graviola was found to selectively kill colon cancer cells at "10,000 times the potency of (the commonly used chemotherapy drug) Adriamycin.. ."

….The most significant part of the Catholic University of South Korea report is that Graviola was shown to selectively target the cancer cells, leaving healthy cells untouched.

Unlike chemotherapy, which indiscriminately targets all actively reproducing cells (such as stomach and hair cells), causing the often devastating side effects of nausea and hair loss in cancer patients.

…A study at Purdue University recently found that leaves from the Graviola tree killed cancer cells among six human cell lines and were especially effective against prostate, pancreatic and lung cancers…

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY ….

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.

3. When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc., and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

WHAT CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells.. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal,Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells are being starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water–best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc..) to enable the body’s own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor. Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit.. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

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Lately, I’ve noticed that I get indigestion more frequent than before. Twice now eating at home during my 1 hour lunch break, I will return to the office with a bloated and uncomfortable stomach. It’s an indigestion attack again. I usually pride myself of having a good metabolism. Before, I could eat a very big meal during dinner and still be able to sleep comfortably in the night and having no after effects in the morning. But now it’s a different story. I get indigestion. My body is starting to fall apart. I’m old!!!!!

Indigestion aka dyspepsia is a stomach problem. Indigestion takes the form of gas, bloating, heartburn and abdominal pain and can cause a great deal of discomfort for the sufferer. What causes indigestion? Ruling out any pre-existing medical condition (meaning for healthy people), indigestion can be brought about by: eating too much, eating too fast, eating high fat foods, eating during stressful situations, and swallowing air. It is aggravated by smoking before meals, exercising after meals, and drinking large amounts of alcohol.

Cure/Prevention for indigestion the bloated kind (Note: some doesn’t have medical basis but it works!):

1. Avoid smoking after meals – smoking increases the air you may swallow and can cause bloating.

2. Exercising after meals – wait at least 2 hours before exercising as 2 hours is the gastric emptying time. One morning I decided to go jogging and because I was hungry, I ate half a donut. During my jog, my stomach starts to hurt and all I could say was next 20 minutes on the way home was so uncomfortable. Not going to exercise again. hehehe.

3. Drink warm tea/water when eating or after meal – warm beverage (not the alcoholic or soda kind) can cause blood vessels to dilate and make the stomach work better. During an indigestion, warm water/tea can cause the air to expel.

4. Don’t take antacids for bloating because bloating is not caused by hyperacidity.

5. Lay flat on your stomach – this was very helpful and effective advice from a friend. Lying on the stomach can cause air to expel easier and faster.

6. Put hot compress or liniment oil on your stomach to alleviate the discomfort.

7. Chew gum to facilitate burping. But if you don’t have indigestion, beware chewing gum can cause swallowing of lot of air.

8. Avoid overeating, especially high fat content foods. These are difficult to digest and are likely to cause some degree of discomfort. Overeating causes the stomach to work harder and makes digestion more difficult. The result may be bloating, gas, or heartburn.

9. Avoid eating too quickly. Your stomach needs time to adjust to the food that is being eaten. Eating quickly can also trap air in the stomach causing excessive gas and bloating.

Have a happy stomach!

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What’s in a winter melon? As post-script to the winter olympics, I decided to blog about this intriguing vegetable. I tried cooking this dish when my grandmother served this soup to us. She said that she imitated the recipe from a Chinese restaurant. The soup was simple, delicious and high in nutritional value. It was perfect when you’re sick or when the weather is so cold. 

Winter melon is a variety from the family of melon (of course). Its other names are ash gourd or wax gourdWe are familiar with watermelon and cantaloupes which are great summer fruits. Melons in general (applies to winter melon) are rich in potassium and vitamin C. They are fat/cholesterol free and its high water content aids in proper digestive and elimination process. Recent study show that they contain Superoxide Dismutase, an antioxidant enzyme which helps relieve people of stress and fatigue. The SOD also helps against cell damage which can reduce skin aging. Other mineral contents are calcium, phosphorus, thiamine, iron, riboflavin and niacin.

In addition to the benefits, this winter melon soup recipe is a perfect comfort food for the soul. Move over chicken noodle soup.

Winter Melon Soup

1/2 cut of winter melon

5 pcs shiitake mushroom, sliced

1 cup shredded chicken breast, uncooked

2 pcs of chinese eggs (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut the winter melon into small squares/rectangle. Remove the rind/skin. Slice the shiitake mushroom at about 1/4 of an inch.

2. Marinate the shredded chicken with a little bit of salt for 15 minutes.

3. Boil a pot of water. Toss in your shredded chicken and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Put in the mushroom and winter melon and cook for 5 minutes or until melons are slightly tender (not mashed tender)

4. Cut the chinese egg into quarter and toss into the pot stirring to break the white of the egg. The chinese egg will give saltiness to the soup. But you can also add salt and pepper to taste if you don’t want to add the egg.

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Almost every after dinner, our main dessert would be fruits. My dad loves to eat fruits. He abides by the rule “One apple a day keeps the doctor away”. So every grocery shopping, he buys lots of fruits: banana, avocado, apple, oranges, and watermelons. He shops at Costco where the fruits are reasonably priced and is bought in bulk. Although sometimes, some fruits go into waste because there are just too many consume all at once.

My dad is diagnosed with Benign Prostate Cancer. The doctor has prescribed him to do surgery or take medicines. Because my dad doesn’t want surgery and medicines are expensive, he settles for the next best thing to moderate his PSA…eating watermelon.  I always eat meals with my dad so I always get to eat the fruits that he buys. Nowadays I’m just full of watermelons. I don’t know the health benefit of watermelons for me but for my dad it’s his cancer. With time in my hand,  I researched the health facts and benefits of watermelons.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF WATERMELON

1. The health benefits of watermelon are really great. No matter how it is sliced, it is packed with some of the most important antioxidants found in nature.
2. It is an excellent source of vitamin C and a very good source of vitamin A, particularly through its concentration of beta-carotene.
3. The beautiful red watermelon is also a source of the potent carotene antioxidant which is called lycopene. These antioxidants travel throughout the body neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are substances in the body that can cause much damage to us. They are able to oxidize cholesterol, making it stick to blood vessel walls and thicken them which can lead to hearty attack or stroke. The lycopene which gives fruits the attractive red color that we find in watermelon can help reduce the risks of prostate cancer.
4. It is a surprising fact that watermelon is the only fruit that contains higher concentrations of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable.
5. Watermelon is a fruit that is rich in electrolytes sodium and potassium that we lose through our perspiration.
6. Watermelon is rich in the B vitamins necessary for energy production. Food experts recommend watermelon as a very good source of vitamin B6 and a good source of vitamin B1 and magnesium. Because of its higher water content approximately ninety percent and calorie value it is ranked more valuable than other fruits.
7. Watermelon has a special cooling effect and is exceptionally high in citrulline, an amino acid that our bodies use to make another amino acid, arginine, which is used in the urea cycle to remove ammonia from the body.
8. The antioxidants help reducing the severity of asthma. It also reduces the risk of colon cancer, asthma, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and prostate cancer.
9. Watermelon is a good source of thiamin, potassium and magnesium which protect our body from so many diseases.
10. Watermelon is fat free but helps energy production. It protects against macular degeneration.

Fruits are the best way to go if you want to be healthy and eat your dessert at the same time. Although watermelons are best served in a hot summer day, I don’t mind eating it whole year round because it’s just delicious. Before heading straight to your nearest market/grocery store to buy a watermelon, here are some tips in selecting one:

“The best way to choose a flavorful melon is to look at the color and quality of the flesh, which should be a deep color and absent from white streaks. If it features seeds, they should be deep in color. Oftentimes, however, we do not have this liberty when purchasing watermelon since it is more common to buy a whole, uncut fruit. When choosing a whole watermelon, look for one that is heavy for its size with a rind that is relatively smooth and that is neither overly shiny nor overly dull. In addition, one side of the melon should have an area that is distinct in color from the rest of the rind, displaying a yellowish or creamy tone. This is the underbelly, the place that was resting on the ground during ripening, and if the fruit does not have this marking, it may have been harvested prematurely, which will negatively affect its taste, texture and juiciness. For the most antioxidants, choose fully ripened watermelon.” (source)

Happy healthy dessert!

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The past 2 nights were so frustrating. I’m on my bed with my eyes closed waiting for sleep to happen. For some unknown reason it won’t. Usually when I have insomnia, I would be awake until 2am in the morning. But this time it’s until 4am. And I don’t fall into a deep sleep. I will be readily awakened by a slight noise or a bad bed position. In the morning I would wake up early and try as I can to fall back to sleep, I couldn’t. By now I resemble a cranky panda bear.

I don’t know why I’m having trouble sleeping. I don’t drink coffee. I don’t have a strenuous exercise before I go to bed.  I don’t have my siesta time anymore. I tried drinking warm milk, or applying liniment oil on my head, or counting sheep, or listening to soft music, or tiring my eyes with reading (it just gave me eyestrain) – nothing seems to work. I don’t know if I’m just anxious about my upcoming classes or I’m worried about my sister who goes home at 3am in the morning – which maybe keeps me awake. I can’t seem to make my brain relax.

I also tried this herbal sleeping pill I bought over the counter in a pharmacy store. It’s called Sleepasil. I downed 2 capsules last night and it didn’t help with my insomnia.  My sister-in-law said that there’s no therapeutic claim on that pill and she was right. I’m feeling that I need professional help…or yoga?! Can yoga relax my body to sleep?

If you know any cure for sleeplessness, please advise me. Advance thanks!

zzzz...

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