E471 - Halal Or Non-Halal?

Ever heard of  HARAM emulsifiers? Well, it's actually is a list of non-halal additionals in food, which is used in most food nowadays to make the food taste better and enhance its flavours. Some are use to make the food last longer. Now, JAKIM has given out the lists and you can find it in their website I think. But what I want to give away today is one of the emulsifiers : E471. E471 is one of the most famous HARAM emulsifiers, but...there is one exception. My mother and I watched Tanyalah Ustaz on TV9 a few days ago, and the ustaz that morning is someone from JAKIM. He informed that, E471 is haram internationally, which means if the product is imported from another country and does not have the JAKIM halal logo, it is HARAM. But...if it is a local product, and have the JAKIM halal logo, muslims can eat it as it is halal. Why? Because the substance used to make this emulsifier in Malaysia is from a HALAL source, thus it is HALAL, the ustaz informed us. Whereas in other countries, the source of the emulsifier is unknown and possibly HARAM. So take a good look in the ingredients, and watch out for the emulsifiers.

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Vegetable Frittata! Try It Out!

       Does it looks delicious to you? It does to me! Yumm!! For someone like me, I will know just by looking at it that it needs milk and eggs and cheese to prepare. No wonder its so yummy. My mother decided to try this recipe that she came across in the newspaper yesterday. It sounds healthy, and looks healthy too, with mix vegetable, capsicum, potatoes, and pumpkins...sounds like a whole bunch of vegetable eh? You don't give it a try, you won't know the taste! Here's the recipe :



Vegetable Frittata


2 potatoes, cooked and cubed
1 red capsicum, seeded and chopped
1 cup baby spinach leaves, chopped
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup cooked cubed pumpkin
1/2 cup grated cheese
3 eggs, beaten
Dash of paper and salt or to taste
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules
1/2 cup milk or cream
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp plain flour

Combine vegetables and cheese in a large mixing bowl.
Add in eggs, cream or milk, flour, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix well.
Spoon mixture evenly into lightly greased pie dish or casserole.
Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 30-35 minutes or until firm to the touch. Leave to cool slightly then cut into wedges or slices. Done.

       Hahaha! But my mom decided to save time so she only put a spoon in before we dine, so that we have to spoon it by ourselves. Hoho! I love it! Try it!

yummy!

  

 

near the fillings...get a look.

from above

                                                       

                                                                  one spoonfull for me!!

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Parkinson Alert!!! Weight Loss Drugs' Users Beware!

      My mother came across this article just a few hours ago, and as she suspected that I may have the disease, she showed me the article from The Star.

      

       "New research shows people who have used amphetamines such as benzedrine and dexedrine appear to be at an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study released a few days ago that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 9-16, 2011.

       Benzedrine and dexedrine are amphetamines often prescribed to increase wakefulness and focus for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy, a disorder that can cause excessive daytime sleepiness and sudden attacks of sleep. They are also used to treat traumatic brain injuries.

        The study involved 66,348 people in northern California who had participated in the Multiphasic Health Checkup Cohort Exam between 1964 and 1973 and were evaluated again in 1995. The average age of the participants at the start of the study was 36 years old. Of the participants, 1,154 people had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease by the end of the study. The exposure to amphetamines was determined by two questions: one on the use of drugs for weight loss, and a second question on whether people often use benzedrine or dexedrine. 

        Amphetamines were among the drugs commonly used for weight loss when this information was collected. According to the study, those people who reported using benzedrine or dexedrine were nearly 60% more likely to develop Parkinson's than those people who didn't take the drugs. There was no increased risk found for those people who used drugs for weight loss. 'If further studies confirm these findings, the potential risk of developing Parkinson's disease from these types of amphetamines would need to be considered by doctors before prescribing these drugs as well as be incorporated into amphetamines abuse programmes, including illicit use,' said study author Dr Stephen K. Van Den Eeden, with the Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland, California, US.

         Van Den Eeden explained that amphetamines affect the release and uptake of dopamine, the key neurotransmitter involved in Parkinson's disease. He explained that more research needs to be completed to confirm the association and learn more about possible mechanism.

        The study was supported by Kaiser Permanente Northern California.-HealthNewsDigest.com"

        So that's the article,complete. The ones I highlighted shows that amphetamine is associated with weight loss drugs and that these amphetamines may trigger the risk of developing Parkinson's. But the study also said that other drugs does not increase the risk. Only the two amphetamines. Still, it is under research, so our best way now is to avoid these amphetamines until a conclusion is made. 

         Parkinson's disease is no joke. My grandmother suffers from it, and she could barely keep her arm still. It keeps moving throughout the day without stopping, and she could hardly do most things on her own. Her arm will jerk violently. Trust me, you wouldn't like it. I have a brief experience with my arm jerking violently non-stop for minutes and it almost freak me out. Even my friend's hand, who's holding my jerking hand, couldn't stop my hand from jerking. Instead, her hand were also jerked from holding my hand. Its strong, the jerks. It's not fun. It's scary.

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Family Day Out: Grape Vineyard, Tasik Beris, Sik, Kedah.

        I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the exact address. I forgot to ask my farther. I'll add it soon. Ok. My father is a kind, loving guy, and he decided to take us out on 15th of February to this Vineyard. I knew nothing of it until the night before 15th, and nearly went mad because I don't know what to wear. Haha. But we did went there alright, and father used the route he always used when taking me to SMKAB. I got a glimpse of my old high school and the juniors. But he took a left turn, to Sik, and drove on. It took more than two hours as we don't really know where it is situated. We've never been there. As we arrived at our destination, all the stiffness and numbness that had grown on us on the journey vanished as we beheld the beautiful, peaceful scenery there. There's only a few cars running on the road there. If you stop in the middle of the road, no one will bother you for at least half an hour (which was what my dad do). It's really quiet.

         My father parked the car and we went through the opened gates, taking in everything. My father informed us that this is just a vineyard on show, that's why it's not so big, but big enough. The real vineyard which really produces grapes for sell and for making other stuff is in another part of Sik. We stumbled upon it later, without really looking for it. The first thing I saw reminded me strongly of classic French, and the terrace of a huge, expensive mansion. Whew. There's a lake at the other side of the vineyard, with crystal clear water and a perfect, calming scenery. My father bought the tickets : RM3 for adult, RM1.50 for children. So we went in right after that. It's not really modern, but okay, and if you expect to see a squirrel, or something fun and unexpected, or even something odd that you can goggle at, I say don't step in. It's not that kind of place. It's a vineyard, a real, normal vineyard with nothing else to see but grapes in it. And that's the truth. That's all that I saw that day, lots and lots of grapes hanging just a few inches above my head. There are three types of grapes there, if you count that different shapes meant different types. But only one type of red grapes. The others were green ones, one was small, rounded, seedless grape, while the other big, oval-shaped grape with seeds. My father also bought the two types of grape juice produced from these grapes. Too sweet for me, I don't like it, though my mother said the sweetness is okay, standard. We explored the vineyard, but visitors were confined to certain areas only, so there's not much walking. But you could see a lot of grapes and NO EATING & PLUCKING the grapes.

                After half an hour, we went out back onto the so-I-thought terrace. We went to the shop there, you buy tickets here too. There's a lot of stuff that used grapes sold in here. Soaps to shampoos to lotions to body baths to cakes...and of course, the grapes. My father bought some grapes, they're in packets, three for us and one for a friend who'd asked my father to bought it for him. We sat at a table and eat some of the grapes. They're really juicy, but our favourite is the green, seedless one. It's the sweetest grape I've ever tasted. Then we went to take a stroll at the lakeside. There's a cafe at this side, but it's close for today. I took some pictures of the lake. Then we went on to the road back, but didn't turn and head home. Instead, my father continue the road straight ahead and I took some pics. Only after relaxing and enjoying the scenery did we turn back and head home, stopping in the middle to have a simple, cheap lunch at a late morning market.

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Chicken Legs Got The Most Fats?!

          
            I often marveled at my mom's passion and care for a healthy life. Not that I did not suffer. All my family members did. But later on, I know we will be thankful to have an alert,health-care mother. We may not be strong or good-looking (count my brother out, he's got looks), but we were, and still are healthy, fit children. Exclude asthma, my siblings and I had suffered from it since our birth. So, back to business. I just had my dinner with my mom and dad and little sister, when my father suddenly asked my mother a question. "Do chicken legs contains a lot of fats?". 

             My mom scoffed at him and said,"How many times do I have to tell you that chicken legs is the part of chicken with the highest cholesterol level? I've told you a long time ago and asked you not to buy chicken legs too often." And she's right. I remembered her asking me,"Do you know why chicken legs contain the most fat? Strange isn't it, chickens often run about here and there and scratched something in the ground with their legs. How come the most fat are there? Shouldn't the fat wear away, as the chicken keep their legs busy?". My answer was only silence.

              Okay, here's solid fact. If you boil chicken meat, without the legs, you will find the fats are solid and easy to scoop up. Now try this. Boil some chicken legs (chicken legs only!) and see for yourself. What you will find floating in your pot is some sticky, jellyish stuff, and if you touch it, you'll know for certain those are the real fats the chicken carry, fats that threaten our life. Recently, my mom read a newspaper and come across an article with a quotation. And she quoted it to me. "You cannot choose your gene, but you can choose what you want to put into your mouth". Think about it. Health is more important that in what you relish. Sweet food proved to be unhealthy to our body, so eat a healthy diet, and live a healthy lifestyle.

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