A Key to Beautiful Skin - Wonders of Flaxseed 2

So what is Flaxseed? It is linen seed. Due to its health benefits, it is considered the modern miracle food. Flaxseed contains omega-3 oils, omega-9 essential fatty acids, B vitamins, potassium, lecithin, magnesium, fiber, protein, zinc and 50% more omega-3 oils than taking fish oil. It will not be an understatement to say flaxseed is the secret to health and beautiful skin, nails and hair.

The following are part of the benefits of flaxseed:

1. Rich source of omega fatty acids and lignans (a number of studies suggest that lignans are could be helpful cancer fighters).
2. Boosts the immune function.
3. Weight Management.
4. Stabilize hormone levels.

Ground flaxseed with a coffee grinder to break the skin and attain its full benefits. Eating it by itself does not taste very nice, but I suggest mixing it with apple juice or pineapple juice. ?

Two things should be put in mind when consuming flaxseed:

1. Do not heat it. The essential oils with heat turns into harmful ones.
2. Do not grind the seeds and leave it. Grind it everyday fresh. This is because flaxseed becomes oxidized very fast.

Flaxseed should be taken on average one tablespoon a day. For those suffering from eczema, 2-3 large spoonfuls is advised. 

If you are unsure of its effects, consult your physician. Add flaxseed to your diet and enjoy its effect!

For more information:

Flaxseed health benefits

For more flaxseed recipes:

Flaxseed Recipes

A Key to Beautiful Skin - Wonders of Flaxseed 1

For the past year and a half, I have been trying to find a solution for eczema. 

After tons of research, I reached to one very effective method - taking the appropriate vitamins to heal. 

Each person uses up their minerals and vitamins differently. Especially those who suffer from eczema are lacking in Omega 3. Omega 3 is known to improve skin tone, moisturize the skin, and above all decrease inflammation. 

Due to the shift in life styles, the amount of Omega 3 in our diet has decreased tremendously. Instead, the amount of Omega 6 is increasing which is present in oils such as sunflower oil, corn oil, soybean oil and cotton seed oil.

It will become slightly scientific so bear with me:

Omega 3 contains Alpha-linolenic acid which converts to good eicosanoid. Omega 6 contains linoleic acid which converts to bad eicosanoid. Bad eicosanoid causes blood vessels to narrow, inflammation to increase and hence worsens the eczema.

The ideal proportions for omega 3 and 6 is: 1 Omega 3 : 2 Omega 6 (1:2). However, due to the unhealthy lifestyles, the proportions people are taking has shifted to 1:16 (In the US). 

So what is crucial is to decrease the amount of Omega 6 and and increase the Omega 3 - and hence comes flaxseed. 

Our Amazing Ancestors

                 Picture of Kom Ombo temple taken by me.

This Eid vacation, I had the privilege to tour Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. I knew that Egypt contains thousands of priceless artifacts, but to see them with my own eyes was a completely different experience. The Ancient Egyptians had an empire with highly developed health care, language, living standards and above all religion. Their religion was polytheism, and they beautifully carved their Gods and Kings on the stone walls. 

Some people say the Pharaohs ruled Egypt as dictators. But how could anyone create such a great Kingdom without trust for their Kings and their religion? So what I think is this - they must have truly loved their King and believed strongly in their religion. How could the thousands of hieroglyphs and drawings be carved into the stone walls out of hate? It is way too beautiful. 

However, there is something that disturbs me  -  it is the lack of interest and knowledge the current Egyptians have for their history. It is ironic how soo many egyptians have never been to the Pyramids or other historical places, while millions of foreigners travel thousands of miles to see what we can see in just a few hours drive. This neglect towards our history is extremely disappointing. 

I must repeat again - Egypt has an truly priceless artifact. Because of these artifacts, Egypt’s toursim industry blooms creating a major source of income for the country. The scale of its greatness! Even after the Kingdom fell, the Kings dead, religion replaced and temples buried, our country is being blessed by what the Ancient Egyptians have left us. More respect and gratitude for our history is the least we can do. Perhaps this Eid vacation, reading a book about Ancient Egypt could be a good way to spend your free time. 

More information about Ancient Egyptian History:

Ancient Egypt explanation by the British Museum

Ancient Egypt Video

End of Oprah Winfrey Show!

Oprah announced today the end of her talk show.  She told her audience that after prayer and careful thought "25 years seems right in my bones and right in my spirit". Her last show is to be broadcasted at the end of 2011 season.

Oprah has been a famous talkshow icon not just within U.S but also around the world. Her show has been syndicated to 200 markets throughout US and 140 countries around the world.

What is ultimately attractive about Oprah? It is perhaps her straightforwardness. She lead a difficult childhood, suffered abuse, survived teenage pregnancy, but still over came it all became a television superstar. She has power that generates from within her, words with feelings, and brings about positive outcomes in society that makes her so loved.

In the future, it is assumed that Oprah will be appearing on her personally owned network “The Oprah Winfrey Network.” But for those who are used to watching the “Oprah Winfrey Show” in front of the TV every night - perhaps it will take a little bit of getting used to. 

For more details, visit Oprah's Website:
Live Your Best Life

An Inconvenient Truth - A Must See Movie

We hear a lot about environmental issues but how many of you actually take part in saving it?

Our environment is in a critical situation - ice is melting, tornados are increasing, some are dying from floods while others die from drought. Its been reported that polar bears are actually drowning because the can’t find the ice to swim to. But here is what I think - the environment is in a critical state, but what’s even more disastrous is the attitude of people. 

Its obvious but let me remind you “just knowing doesn’t help.” What we take for granted today may not exist tomorrow. It is our responsibility to save our world and pass it on to the new generation. 

Don’t leave the tap open when you wash your face. Try not to use airconditioning when the weather is cool. Taking action is soo easy, yet WHY DON’T PEOPLE DO IT?

An Inconvenient Truth is a movie/documentary about the dangerous state of our environment. It is presented by Al Gore - who ran for president against George Bush. 

Just 2 hours of your day is enough - watch “An Inconvenient Truth”. 

Carbohydrate Diet - Friend or foe? Part 2

What’s the solution?

From experience I learnt that cutting carbs makes you gloomy, moody and irritated. Therefore, I decided to stop cutting carbs and find my own method. 

After trying out several combinations, I figured out that the best rebound-less diet is to EAT carbs in the following proportions: 

Breakfast: 

Something light:

Toast: yoghurt: fruits

2      :     1      :    1

Lunch: 

salad: main dish: soup: carbs 

   1   :       1     :     1  :   2

Dinner: 

Eat what you want but cut the carbs. 

The main point here is to eat a lot in the AFTERNOON. It keeps you full and energetic during the day.

Last but not least, my main advice is to “take it easy”. Eat chocolate once in a while, stop thinking about what foods to eat to lose weight. Eat healthy and don’t cut carbs.

Carbohydrate Diet - Friend or foe? Part 1

Diet, diet, diet....has anyone considered doing a carbohydrate diet?

Carbohydrate diet is a diet in which you cut all carbohydrates in your daily food intake - no rice, no bread, no potatoes - but unlimited amount of anything that is not a carbohydrate.

Now my point today is “Is Carbohydrate diet a truly successful method of loosing weight?”

I think everyone has heard all sorts of success stories about carbohydrate diet. I for one, heard a first hand success story of this diet. I was talking to my friend one day and apparently he lost 20 kg in just 2 weeks - an amazing number for those who are dreaming about losing weight. 

But the problem starts from here - the horrible REBOUND. Once you start eating carbs again, your body absorbs it vigorously causing weight gain. Furthermore, cutting on carbs causes excess accumulation of fats in the body and lethargy during the day.

Solution in Part 2.

Le Jeune Martyre

Have you ever met an artistic piece where you just can’t take your eyes off? I did.

 I personally believe that unless you say your ideas or opinions out loud, your feeling cannot be clearly expressed. Now what contradicts this point of view is ART. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE art - paintings in particular. If I ever travel abroad, one of my favorite ways of spending the day is going to art galleries. Louvre, National Gallery, Monet Exhibits,  you name it. I like going from picture to picture with an audio tour, getting to know the weird, inspiring and eccentric minds of artists. 

 For me, the audio tour plays an important aspect while looking at paintings. It provides me with a detailed background story of every piece which could be quite impossible to figure out by just looking at it.  But there was a piece that truly fascinated me without a single explanation - Le Jeune Martyre by Paul Delaroche. 

 I spotted the piece right after I saw the Mona Lisa, walking around the museum thinking about how big it is. It literally took my breath away. I don’t know if it’s the colors, or the way her hair and dress drifts in the water or the mysterious figure standing at the back. It looks a bit like ophelia  but there’s sadness and sort of “peace” to the picture. 

 It is striking how Delaroche can express soo much in a painting. A picture is worth a thousand words. But to me this painting was worth a million words. 

The ability of a painter to express everything in one painting is utterly amazing. 

CNN Controversies 3

On Jan 5th CNN criticized Arab media for airing images of injured Palestinians along with emotional music. It says that it is a one sided way of sending a story. CNN mentions that they are neutral since they bring the damage done on both sides – Israel and Palestine. Yes, it is crucial to bring both sides of a story, but CNN should not air Gaza's damage on the same level as Israeli loss. It is the role of the media to show the lives of those facing the biggest dangers – which are in this case the Palestinians. Priorities must not be switched.

On Jan 7th, the top news was Israel's attack on a school run by UN. Israel claims that there were Hamas fighters hidden inside the school which was the reason for their attack. However, an UN official stated that he is 99.9% sure Hamas was not inside. He continued by saying to bring forward any fact to proof the 0.1%. CNN then aired a video sent by Israel which it claims show Hamas shooting rockets – an image that was not taken on Jan 7th. CNN mentions it is not a Jan 7th video – so the simple question is "why air it?"

Picture of UN school under attack

Medicine for the Society: Robert Fisk

Robert Fisk is the journalist for the Middle East section of The Independent. He's articles are what this current ignorant society needs. When crisis such as in Gaza occurs, and our governments and world leaders as always fails to reach our expectations, the people in the society needs to know what is REALLY going on. Especially issues concerning Palestine, where the war has been going on for the past 60 years, concrete facts are hard to find.

Robert Fisk's articles guide the readers to reach the correct decision and educate the society so people would not fall into the clever trap of the current wrong leaders. Clarity of reality will open people's eyes and this will help them to form correct opinions. It would become their compass for taking the right action – Correct Decision, Correct Action; and this is what our society needs.

Robert Fisk was born in 12 July 1946 (1946-07-12) (age 62) Maidstone, Kent, England

(155words)

Crisis in the Middle East: Media Coverage of Israel's Attack on Gaza

From the 26th of Dec. until today, the news hitting the head lines in every channel around the world is Israel's attack on Gaza. This news has become one of the most effective ways to compare news coverage among major news stations.

CNN for instance, reported the casualties and events with a tone very different from that of Al-Jazeera and BBC. Big part of its news talks about the objectives of Israel and the harm its people are in. It repeatedly brings Israeli officials explaining the situation with news anchor listening without retaliation. While mentioning that 620 Palestinians were killed, there is tone of hidden agenda, giving the impression that Hamas is the cause of war.

CNN also has a very different point of view of on what the world calls Gaza's situation as "occupation." While major channels such as Al-Jazeera and BBC air their news on the basis that Gaza is occupied by Israel, CNN indirectly shows a tone that they do not agree. (Further elaborated on "CNN controversies")

The reason to why many claim that Gaza is still under Israeli occupation is due to Israel's control of water, gas, electricity, food, medical supplies as well as the borders surrounding Gaza. Furthermore, any entering or exiting of Gaza is checked by Israeli officials. Reasons are enough to proof that Israel still continues to siege Gaza, a fact CNN fails to mention.

CNN Controversies

CNN mentions in their reports that:
…The ground push has resulted in mounting casualties on both sides, and the Israeli military on Sunday continued its air assault on the Palestinian territory…<http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/01/04/israel.gaza/index.html >
CNN writes mounting casualties on both sides when at the time 1 Israeli soldier died compared to the deaths of 507 Palestinians.(Jan. 4th 2009)

…Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian parliament member, flatly blamed the violence on the Israeli "occupation" of the Palestinian territories and dismissed Israeli claims that it is targeting only Hamas… <http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/12/29/gaza.israel.strikes/index.html>
The above article was aired on 29th of December 2008. CNN puts occupation between quotations, which reflects their opinion that Gaza is not occupied by Israel. News anchors in CNN do not mention that Israel occupies Gaza which shows that CNN airs on the basis that Gaza is independent.

Al-Jazeera Media Coverage

Al-Jazeera is commonly criticized for its ways of covering Arab events. For instance, the Arabic Al-Jazeera uses the term "Shahid" for those who died in Palestine –Arabic term for martyr. It is inevitable that sometimes Al-Jazeera's coverage show too much sarcasm towards Israel which leads to a slight loss of neutrality. Furthermore, their wordings during news and interviews clearly show the side they stand. Nevertheless, it is the most watched news channel, and has so far the best coverage of Gaza war. It is one of the few which has a correspondent located inside Gaza.

Another positive factor of Al-Jazeera is that its new anchors reflect the opinions of its viewers. Many of it anchors asks questions the general public wants to ask which is one of the major reasons for its popularity.
The following is an interesting interview on Al-Jazeera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhLw5atT7dg

Every media channel has its own agenda for the way it airs its news. What is expected of us is to always have an objective point of view for every matter. One must never forget the power of media – it can change a person's opinion for good or for worse.

Gaza Attack

Above is a latest map explaining the movement of Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
The Israeli army says it has hit 40 targets, including several tunnels and the homes of a number of Hamas officials. Hospitals say they are overwhelmed by casualties, mostly civilians including women and children. (BBC)




Gaza is currently living without electricity. The blaze from Israeli raid shows clearly in the pitch black city.

















Gaza is suffering from extreme lack of medical supply. If situation continues this way, there is a very high possibility of humanitarian catastrophe.
The baby is taken to the hospital, but there is absolutely no guarantee that she will receive proper treatment.

Palestinian medical officials say at least 90 people, including many civilians and 26 children, have died since Israel's ground assault began.