黑糖薑茶 (Brown sugar ginger tea)

Chinese traditional treatment for women during menstrual cycle.

小時候，著了涼，一流鼻涕，母親就連忙用老薑加黑糖煮成薑湯給我喝。甜甜辣辣的，趁熱大口大口喝下去，再蓋著被子發一場汗，感冒便不藥而癒！我因生產多又密集，一年一個，有一年還生了一對雙包胎，把身體弄壞了。平常經常頭昏眼花，而每個月好朋友來了，頭痛、肚子痛，量又多一拖就是十天半個月。看了許多中西名醫，均束手無策。病看不好，花錢受罪，一氣之下，乾脆不理他了。

後來祖母教我在月經來時，不妨用黑糖和老薑煮水喝喝看，她特別強調多喝無害，黑糖能活血，薑是熱性的食物，在故鄉，婦女做月子都要吃些黑糖。老奶奶的話姑且聽之，月經來時，就猛喝黑糖和老薑煮的薑茶，想不到，小腹慢慢不痛了。好朋友量也少了，當然頭痛也消失了，比吃藥還有效呢！黑糖和老薑不但能治病，在寒冷的冬天喝上一碗，渾身冒汗、舒暢無比，這種偏方花錢少，又無副作用，何妨試試！

黑糖紅豆湯
女性的好朋友黑糖能活血，紅豆能補血，故婦女月經來時或前後吃一些黑糖紅豆湯，會讓經期更順及減少疼痛，比使用藥物控制效果好。這種偏方花錢少又無副作用，不妨試試。

The dangers of shopping carts

Shopping carts are considered one of the most important tools for shopping in supermarkets. It helps you buy all your household, including your personal supplies, and to transfer those purchases throughout the store and car parking space.

But do you have any idea about the dangers of shopping carts?

A study conducted in South Korea showed unexpected results about the public tools that cause contamination and transfer of bacteria. The study, conducted by the Korean Consumer Protection Board, found that handles of shopping carts in stores are the most polluted with bacteria among the objects that are frequently traded among people, and handles of public toilets are not as bad as expected.

Studies that have been conducted proved that there are 1 million germs on just one shopping cart handle.

Researchers stress that shopping carts handles are one of the most contaminated public surfaces, even dirtier than most public restrooms. The reason? Public restrooms are cleaned and disinfected regularly, but shopping carts are not. In fact, most stores clean their shopping carts only a couple of times each year.

Many consumers don’t realize the degree to which shopping carts have been exposed to bacteria and germs via sources such as meat or poultry, children while sitting in the carts and other consumers’ illnesses.

Did you know that shopping cart handles can harbor ten times more germs than almost anything else you touch during the day? Swabs taken from shopping cart handles have shown germs, viruses, bacteria and body fluids on these plastic handles.

In the meantime, with everyone touching the cart handles and babies being put into the seats, the typical shopping cart is continuously being contaminated and accumulating a startling range of germs and viruses.

To protect your self and baby from getting germs:

1. Wash your hands upon completion of shopping, especially your child’s hand if he was put on the chair of shopping cart.
2.Use anti-bacterial wipes to clean and disinfect the carts’ handles.

Do not light candle in air-conditioned room

A tragedy that happened by lighting an aromatherapy candle in an air-conditioned room. Read on and share with your love ones this important health information.

Heard of a bad news regarding Charleine, who studied in MSMKL with some of us. She passed away last weekend due to carbon monoxide poisoning. It happened when she lighted an aroma therapeutic candle for the night in a room with air-conditioning on and all windows closed.

Due to lack of oxygen in the room, the burning of the candle cannot fully burned and thus forming dangerous carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide will prevent oxygen exchange in the lungs, resulting the person dozing off to state of unconsciousness and eventually passed away in less than 1 hour, depending on the room size.

I am sending this e-mail out to all of you so that you will be aware of such danger when lighting aroma therapeutic candles in any unventilated rooms.

Read also:
1. Air out your car before turning on air conditioner
2. Think your indoor air is safe?
3. Perilous Printer?

Marco's comment:

Aroma therapeutic has become very popular among our communities. Personally I quite enjoy lighting up such aromatherapy candle in an air-conditioned room while I am trying to relax myself.

I will do this once a while staying in a hotel room. I am skeptical to the chemicals that used to produced such aromatherapy candles, it might just bring more harm than good.

Now, with the above forwarded email, where to me the fact of the Carbon Monoxide that produced due to lack of oxygen is seems to be very valid, I strongly urge all the readers to avoid such practice especially in air-conditioned room.

Painless cholesterol cure works in just 7 days

Want to lower your cholesterol so fast it'll make your head spin? It's a breeze, just eat guacamole or any dish containing avocados.

Most health experts and nutritionists will tell you this rich, delicious Mexican dish is banned from any cholesterol-watcher's menu.

But not Dr. Steven Pratt. That's because new research shows eating avocados can lower your cholesterol even faster than drugs without side effects.

One study found after just 7 days on a diet including avocados, LDL (bad cholesterol) and triglyceride levels dropped by 22 percents.

Meanwhile, HDL (good cholesterol) shot up 11 percents, something most cholesterol lowering drugs won't do.

Marco's comment: Anyone who has included avocados in the diet and found effective is encourage to share their experience by leaving comment.