Monthly Archives: February 2011

Health Benefits of Chinese Parsley (Cilantro)

Sherilyn and Baby have weird taste buds. I say weird as they love eating several pungent food that most kids will never even want to try. Of all the vegetables, they love ‘yim sai’ (Chinese parsley). They love sprinkling heaps of chopped Chinese parsley and spring onions onto their porridge. And I’m very glad that they love Chinese parsley as it is chokeful of nutrients and health benefits.

Sherilyn’s bowl of chicken porridge, heavily topped with chopped Chinese parsley and spring onions…

… enjoying her bowl of good stuff!

Monkey see monkey do… Baby also followed suit and threw in a handful of Chinese parsley into her bowl of porridge…

Food For Thought:
Article extracted from http://herbs.ygoy.com/2010/01/29/what-is-cilantro-health-benefits-of-cilantro/

Cilantro is also called as “Chinese parsley”, is the name of the coriander plant, but both plant and seeds are traditionally called as coriander. Many people who use cilantro are not aware of the other herb and refers the entire plant as cilantro. Cilantro is another herb and is some times mistaken for coriander leaves. Coriander plant belongs to the Apiaceae family.

Health benefits of Cilantro:
Cilantro and coriander leaves have several health benefits and everyday researchers are finding more benefits.

# This is an anti inflammatory and alleviates the arthritis symptoms.
# Prevents nausea.
# Lowers blood sugar levels.
# Protects from Salmonella bacteria. It is very effective than the antibiotic drug, gentamicin in killing Salmonella.
# Protects against infections of urinary tract (good for Cassandra!).
# Relieves from intestinal gas.
# Good source of iron.
# Aids indigestion and helps in settling stomach and prevent flatulence.
# Rich in flavonoids and phytonutrients.
# Excellent source for dietary fiber.
# It works as a natural chellation treatment. It also gives a great support to dental problems.
# Good source of magnesium.
# Lowers bad cholesterol levels and increases good cholesterol levels.
# It fights against the free radicals and inflammation.
# It also has antimicrobial properties.
# It is also a natural cleansing agent.
# It is used to remove toxic agents and other heavy metals from the body.

After finding out that Chinese Parsley is such a powerful plant, I think I’m going to include lots of it into our porridge and dishes from now onwards, just like my mil who is a big fan of it!

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As Long As I Am With My Loved Ones

I wonder what my hubs will give me for my birthday next month. I have hinted to him many times that I want a DSLR camera badly. But I think a DSLR will be out of his budget as it can be very costly for a good one. Even if I don’t get what I want, I will still be very happy if I can celebrate my birthday with my 3 girls and hubby. I would not mind getting just a cake, a box of chocolate or a shari’s online coupon as long as I am with my loved ones on my very special day.

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Urine Leakage

Baby is still wetting her panties and because of this urine leakage problem that she has, I find it extremely hard to wean her off diapers. I think she is not even aware of the problem as she would tell me in frustration all the time that she did not pee in her panty. Her surgeon told us that he has many patients with similar conditions as Baby and they too had urine leakage. Only time will tell when she will outgrow this problem. He has a patient who had to be in diapers until he was 8 years old and the problem just corrected by itself one fine day. Oh gosh, I cannot imagine how much we would have to spend on diapers if Baby’s problem will only resolve on its own when she’s 8 years old. The MAG3 scan that she has to do in April will give us more answers to her problem. I hope she does not need another surgery, ever.

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Getting Enough Sleep Is A Luxury For Me

What is considered a luxury for me? Not diamond rings, not a pedicure or a manicure or a hair do in the saloon. If I could lie in bed and rise at 8am without having to worry about the kids or work, now that’s luxury in my own term. When you have kids, gone are the days where you can tuck inside your warm blanket and sleep in until it’s bright and shiny outside. I have not done that ever since the girls came along. I used to suffer from insomnia once in a while before the girls came along but I have not used the word ‘insomnia’ for aeons now. Getting sleep aids will be the last thing I ever need now.

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Craving For Chocolate Cakes

Not me! It’s my dear hubs! He has been having an unusual strong craving for chocolate cakes lately. Ever since he tried the chocolate cake from Food Foundry, he has been craving to indulge in those decadent chocolate cakes all the time. He would be crazy enough to pack us all into the car at 10:30pm just to make a trip to this bakery to grab his favorite chocolate cake. On Valentine’s Day, we had coffee and cakes (rich and creamy cakes!) at Alexis Bistro (another place for superb cakes) at 11pm with a group of friends. Gosh, I am so sick of cakes now. Thankfully I don’t need pills for weight loss just yet. All I need to do is to sacrifice half an hour of beauty sleep each morning to work out in the gym.

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Feeling Really Agitated

Today I feel very agitated, crabby and overwhelmed with work. Must also be my hormones wrecking havoc within me and partly caused by my 3 kids. Every Saturday I will be maid-less for half a day as my mil will take our helper to the wet market. Every minute of the morning I hear screams of “mummy, I want this, mummy, please come here, mummy mummy mummy……!” It’s impossible for me to attend to 3 demanding young girls single handedly. My kids, when they want something, they want it right away. If their demands are not met, they will nag me to no end with their constant whines. My mind is somewhere else too, worrying about my expiring online assignments, what to write on md clear and matters pertaining to my online store. I need to go somewhere to chill out.

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Which One?

The one gadget that I must surely buy this year is a new cell phone. My current cell phone is over 3 years old and always acting up. There are so many types of cell phones in the market ranging from iPhone to Blackberry, Motorola Xoom, Smart Phone and all kinds of android cell phones. I need a cell phone that is not too expensive and not too android as I only need it to make calls and perhaps one which has WiFi so that I can check my emails on the go. Which one should I get?

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Disturbing News

News from yesterday’s newspapers was pretty disturbing. There were 4 suicide cases within a day and 1 case involved a teenager. The teenage girl who jumped down from her school balcony was apparently lost in love and she had on many occasions posted in her Facebook wall that she had plans of committing suicide but her friends challenged her to do so. I cannot imagine the pain and heartache that her parents are facing now. To plan a funeral for your own child is something a parent never ever wants to go through.

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Foot acupressure

My hubs brought me for a foot acupressure session on the eve of Chinese New Year last week. This therapist claims that he is the best in Malaysia as he can even cure people of various ailments, including cancer at the initial stage, all from his massages and acu-pressure!   Anyway, for me, I felt no difference after the massage as I don’t have any major ailments (thank GOD!), apart from the occasional back pain and stiff shoulders from staying too long on the computer. But for hubby and his friend who have aches and pains all over their body (as a result of basketball game injuries), they told me that he is by far the best.

That’s my not-too-sexy legs being massaged…

We told the therapist about Cassandra’s urine leakage problem and he taught us how to massage the part of the foot that’s in connection to the ureters and bladder.  We have since been massaging her feet, though not easy as she will run away from us at times.

Here’s a little information on foot acupressure extracted from http://thespiritualhealth.com/chinese-health/foot-acupressure.html

Foot acupressure is mainly used for respite of foot and it came from china. The therapists consider that each and every part of the internal organ should respond it. By applying force to these points one not only repair the patient but also expands over all well being. Kneading is having the foundation of assumption of repairing all the internal organs of the body that has a linkage with the nerves which is located at the end of our foot. As per this assumption heavy patients should not experience any type of hurting when the force is pertained on the foot.

The theory of foot acupressure starts with patients foot dipped into hot water mixed with a solution of Chinese herbs. It is also known by foot bath. It is given for at least ten minutes. After this the therapist uses medicated lotion for moistening the foot by applying lubricant on it. The knuckles on the therapist hands apply strong force on it and smoothens it. The foot experts believe that the paining part of the patient truly reacts to it and cures the sickness of that organ and all the other pain related with that organ. The practitioner rubs the sick areas to break down the rough spots and accumulated crystals to boost the movements.

According to experts, there are three Yin and Yang meridians moving through and across our foot. Each of these points helps in controlling pain and any sort of discomfort in the body. Taibai point, Taichong point, Taixi point are the three Yin meridians while, Xiangu point, Zulinqu point and the Shugu point are the 3 Yang meridians.

The foot expert believes that a sickness is cured when the actual part of the foot are repaired and detached by massaging. According to this assumption few firms also produce footwear liners with pressure points to motivate the sole of the feet and also promoting superior well being. Some of the foot therapist also says that by this type of theory they can also cure aches and pains of migraine headaches and sinus difficulties by properly massing the exact points on the foot. Some of them also state that to get relieved from hormonal imbalances, breathing disorders, abdomen problems, back aches, circulatory problems and also from strain and harassment difficulties.

Kneading is also a combination of therapies as well as approach. For example acupressure, holistic practices as well as tai chi. These therapies not just include only hands but also other organs of our body parts or areas. Acupressure is known to shatter crystalline accumulation, avoids obstacles in our nervous system. Acupressure also progresses our blood circulation as well as aid detoxification. More researches about foot acupressure has not initiated in this field to prove its payback.


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Personal Injury Lawyer

This morning I had a scare of my life when I was working out on the Air Walker in the gym. As usual, I was reading the newspapers and working out simultaneously. About 15 minutes into working out, I thought I heard the sound of electric sparks coming from the plug point. I brushed it aside and did not give it much thought until several sparks were heard later. Though I had not finished the 1st cycle, I quickly stepped down from the Air Walker lest I got electrocuted!

Though there are some lawyers who would offer free initial consultations to advocate for recovery like the Austin Personal Injury Lawyer, I really do not want to go through the hassle of a lawsuit to sue the condo management.

If anyone of you have been injured through the negligence of a third party, you can get initial consultations without any charge from O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath. Here’s their address:
O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath – Personal Injury Lawyers – 808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701 – 512-494-9949

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