LETS ADD COLOUR TO OUR FOOD AND LIFE!

I don’t know about the rest of you but I am a big procrastinator when it comes to making a few changes to my daily lifestyle in having a more healthy diet. Yes! I have a whole range of excuses. After all these years of excuses, it was time for a REALITY check of my eating habits here in India.  I had the perfect reason to think about this seriously as I was ill this past 10 days and I realized I needed to do something to help myself. I was getting ill one time too many and my favourite doctor is in Singapore. So it is best I stay healthy here!

Well, I did some soul-searching. Frankly, I am not going to be cooking regularly or be going to bed early. But there is one thing I can do with just a little more effort. I can eat more fresh fruit and drink fresh fruit juice! I decided to do some research which will spur me to start and keep up this good eating habit.

Here are some interesting facts about some of the easily available year-round fruits instead of just popping multi-vitamin tablets. Made me think how silly I am – God creates all these natural healthy, colourful fruits for me to eat – and I keep thinking I should buy multi-vitamins…which usually end up just being in their packaging in my room. Yes! I am very bad at taking tablets of ANY kind - be it medicine or vitamins. I need my Mum here who is good at lecturing me daily to take my vitamins and medicine since my childhood!

WATERMELON

I always enjoyed watermelon juice but I had NO IDEA that  watermelon is also a source of the potent carotene antioxidant called lycopene that travels throughout the body neutralizing free radicals. Free radicals are substances in the body that can cause much damage to us.  Watermelon is the only fruit that contains higher concentrations of lycopene than any other fresh fruit or vegetable.  

What’s more it helps lower blood pressure (Potassium), prevents leg cramps (Magnesium). Aids in Digestion (Thiamine), Helps Fight Depression (Vitamin B6) and helps Fight Stress (Pantothenic Acid)!

MANGOES

No one needs to persuade me to eat mangoes ever! I could probably live on mangoes if I had to. Well, for someone who spends long hours in front of the PC, I had no idea that mangoes are good for eyesight! Apparently, One cup of sliced mangoes supplies 25 percent of the needed daily value of vitamin A, which promotes good eyesight. Eating mangoes regularly prevents night blindness, refractive errors, dryness of the eyes, softening of the cornea, itching and burning in the eyes.  

What’s more Mangoes have great cancer-preventing properties (Phenols and abundant enzymes), also combats acidity and soothes the stomach, and surprisingly is a diabetic homemade remedy! Boil a few mango leaves in water and allow it to saturate through the night. Consume the filtered drink in the morning.

APPLES

We all know the adage – an apple a day keeps the doctor away! Well, the pectin in apples helps prevent  heart disease.

More importantly, the natural chemicals and vitamins in apples help to protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease.

Apple juice is truly refreshing and is my favourite juice during long flights.

ORANGES

 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research in Australia found in reviews of scientific studies that a daily extra serving of citrus fruits, which includes oranges, reduces the chances of suffering a stroke by nearly 20 percent.

What I did not know was that oranges have enough Calcium for maintaining strong bones and helping to protect bones from injury, including possible breakages. Well, we all know oranges are high in Vitamin C which provides us with many health benefits and immunity aganst illnesses. Did you know that Vitamin C helps the body to fight against building up a hardening of the arteries known as arteriosclerosis, which can lead to heart attacks? The abundance of flavonoids in oranges help to lower stress and combat bad cholesterol levels too! And did you know that the fibres in oranges works with our body to keep blood sugar levels low? Well, I did not!

BANANA

Now , if there is one thing in great abundance in Kerala, India, it Is the many different varieties of bananas here! I have always known bananas are a good source of energy booster. I was made to eat bananas during athletic events during my schooldays. Well, that Is not all – the potassium in bananas helps prevent cramping too. In fact, the iron in bananas helps stimulate the growth of hemoglobin and helps with those who suffer from anemia.

And the really good news is that you can get a natural high from eating bananas – as it can lift our moods! It seems bananas contain  tryptophan, a mood leveling protein which can help us relax AND the Vitamin B in bananas can help calm our nervous system too.

Well, I have learnt quite a bit just reading up on the Internet the health benefits of my favourite fruits.

Many of us have good intentions to eat more healthily but we are engrossed in other areas of our lives. Well, perhaps putting aside our health is not too smart a thing to do! When we are healthy, our quality of life is good – and that actually adds joy to our lives and all our loved ones.

My 1st week has not started off too well - and I have had 50 percent success only. But this time, I am determined not to give up so easily. The 1st item I am going to buy  on my home trip is a compact juicer! If you are like me, why don't you join me? We just might end up healthier by year end...

We need to thank God for for all the marvellous fruits He has created and ask His Blessings at each meal He provides!

Let’s add colour and zest to our food and daily life!

WE ARE NEVER TOO OLD!

"First say to yourself what you would be;

then do what you have to do."

Epictetus

Do you feel like you are living in a rut at times/ That you are too old to make a change and follow your passion? Well, think again! We should always live our lives full of passion regardles of our age. I think that this is partly what keeps one young-at-heart, jovial and ready to face challenges!

So if any one of you are thinking we are now in a boring middle age phase that will go on till our golden years, it's time to apply the brakes on these thoughts! I came across this 2 short videos in the Vitality section of Yahoo News called Second Act:  Real stories celebrating life, passion and reinvention.

 

Donald Arthur had been given 6 months to live when he received a heart transplant. Now, with a new passion and purpose, he’s trying to complete a marathon in all 50 states. I was just amazed at his willpower. (Yes, I have a healthy heart but I can't imagine running these days...and to think I used to represent my school in the sprint events till I was 15). 

The next video certainly cheered me up! It will probably make us ladies give a silent cheer for her...to see a lady in her 50's still willing to pursue her Olympic dream! And I think my men friends will now think back to all their youthful sporting dreams. I do not know if she will achieve it. But how wonderful to see her willingness to give it her best shot! Once an Emmy Award-winning television producer, Lisa Fisco is now training to be the oldest female weightlifter ever to compete in an Olympic Games.

There are a few people who have truly personally inspired me in my life. The one thing they all have in common are these few qualities: they have an inner peace, a generous spirit, a deep sense of thankfulness of life and a great sense of joy that makes other people want to be around them - to feel their quiet joy, the optimism and the hope and faith they inspire! What is more they are inspirational leaders - they seem set apart and willing  to achieve big goals - despite many obstacles. They really "walk the talk". Age is never a barrier to them!

One bible verse I pray every morning and remind myself a few times daily helps me to strive for this in my life  (Yes...I hope to achieve it in this lifetime) :- 

"Be joyful always; pray constantly;

be thankful in all circumstances for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus"

(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

THE POWER OF OUR DREAMS WILL LIVE ON!

Over the weekend, the tragic news of 6 people being killed and 13 others wounded including the Democratic Congresswoman in Tucson, Arizona, USA who was shot in the head, Gabrielle Giffords, by a 22-year old gunman really disturbed me. What was the world coming to? The acts of mass murders seem to be happening in many countries around the world.

I imagined how devastating and shocking these killings must have seemed to the bereaved families of the youngest victim, Christina-Taylor Green who was born Sept. 11, 2001 – another date with such a tragic event – the 9/11.

I kept thinking repeatedly, "What has the world come to? Is it worth it to pursue one’s dreams in life these days?" Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was doing what she truly enjoyed – meeting her constituents. Nine-year old Christina who had just been elected to her school student council, wanted to learn more about serving in government. She was just a little girl wanting to learn how to live her dream.  

I reflected upon a number of discussions I had shared with some friends over Christmas and New Year. We had spoken about our youthful dreams and of our actual life now. Life had not been plain, easy sailing for any of us – there has been hard knocks, betrayals and pain amidst the many moments of joy in achieving  cherished goals in our lives.

Strangely, I had all five of my friends who were with me during the Christmas/New Year period asking me a similar question – “How can you live like this? How can you do this for nearly 7 years?” I do not think my friends meant that my life now was a step backwards - it was just that my present life seemed a drastic change from what it was before. They probably wanted to understand what made me make this choice and to know if I was happy. I believe every one of us do face important life choices at some point in our lives – whether to pursue the dream of our heart. We have all made our life’s choices or some of us may even be contemplating on some important ones now. 




 To pursue the dream of our heart is never easy. It is taking a step in faith and being willing to take risks – to live for what we truly believe in regardless the cost. For little Christina-Taylor Green, her life might have been tragically shortened by a senseless act…yet her dream and what she aimed for will always live in the hearts of her parents, her brother, her grandparents and all her loved ones. I truly hope Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords will return soon to a life of public service – a commitment she truly believed in.  That is one thing evil can never wipe out…"Good will always overcome evil." (Romans 12:21)

 Dreams will always live on - for in the midst of pain and tragedy, we often see hope and courage being born!

When the world seems full of senseless violence, let us all be willing to add joy to this world – by refusing to cower in fear but to each lead our lives to the full…for the power of our dreams will make THE difference!