Superfoods
I read this interesting article about superfoods that contain many anti-oxidents and lower cholesterol. The foods are:
1. Pomegranate - high in antioxidants, may prevent skin cancer, reduces chance of developing alzheimer’s.
2. Kiwi- Lowers risk of heart disease, has a lot of lutein and vitamin E
3. Barley- Lowers cholesteral
4. Cranberries- prevents clogged arteries. My grandparents take a cranberry pill everyday.
5. Broccoli Sprouts- Kills tumors, raises good cholesteral
6. Kefir- Good for people who are lactose intolerant like me! It also lowers food allergy reactions.
These superfoods are real common in different Asian and Eastern European countries. That is why I think mixing up cuisines in an interesting way to eat healthy. Pomegranates are popular in Korean and Central Asia. One of my favorite drinks was this pomegranate tea in Korea. Kiwi is a great snack or great in a Polynesian style tropical drink. Barley tea (a “chistni chai”, approved for LDS) is also common throughout Asia. Russia is the top producer of barley in the world. (Canada is number two!) I was given barley tea every morning in Korea. You can also throw some barley in soup. Cook for thirty minutes. Kefir is actually not bad. I think you can buy it in health food grocery stores like Whole Foods. You can definately get it at European and Russian stores.
Cranberries are truly American. The Native Americans introduced them to starving English settlers. Companies now offer the goodness of cranberries in a pill. Broccoli is from Italy but is now popular (or shall we say infamous) in the USA. Most if the world’s broccoli is now grown in China. Broccoli sprouts can be thrown in any soup or salad.
My Daddy Lives in Iran?
It compares the GDP’s of individual states in the USA with countries of comparable GDP’s. It is a bit misleading because the population of countries like Pakistan and Russia have over 100 million people way more than Arkansas and New Jersey. Look at Alabama, Mississippi, and West Virginia! I live in Portugal. Portugal is run by Socialists currently. Wow! That sounds like Kentucky. It is very difficult here because taxes are so high. My rule is that if I am going to pay a fortune in taxes, I want a view of the ocean. (like New York or Hawaii) Where do you live?
Breast Feeding Fatwa
In Islam, a woman cannot associate with men who are not related to them. I know in Saudi Arabia if men and women must work together they divide the office or have men and women work in separate rooms. Some companies in Iran allow women to do their jobs at home. A mullah in Egypt came up with a creative solution to the problem. A man becomes part of a family if a woman breast feeds him. So why mot have female co-workers breastfeed the men so they can be one big happy family and work together!!
“The breast-feeding fatwa came in mid-May. A religious scholar, who headed a department that studies the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings at the Foundation of Religion College of Al Azhar University, wrote that there had been instances in the time of the prophet when adult women breast-fed adult men in order to avoid the need for women to wear a veil in front of them.
“Breast-feeding an adult puts an end to the problem of the private meeting, and does not ban marriage,” wrote the scholar, Izat Atiyah. “A woman at work can take off the veil or reveal her hair in front of someone whom she breast-fed.”
It is not surprising that this Fatwa did not catch on. . .
Burkha Blue
Ok, one more weird video. This is probably the weirdest video I have ever seen.