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One of the causes of migraine is food intolerance

Your favourite food may be making you ill, writes ROGER DAVIS DEUTSCH

YOU may probably have heard of lactose intolerance, a sensitivity to lactose in milk and other dairy products that affects as many as 75 per cent of adults around the world.

But lactose intolerance is just one of the many types of food intolerance.
Food intolerance occurs when your digestive system is irritated by something in the food you consume or when you are unable to properly digest or break it down.

A person’s sensitivity to certain types of food can have a wide ranging effect on one’s health that may include memory problems, mood swings, migraines, weight problems, narcolepsy, eczema, acne, aching legs, breathing difficulties, restlessness, ear aches and heartburn.

Is it food allergy? Food intolerance is not to be confused with food allergy, which can be triggered by even a small amount of the offending food.
Food allergy creates an instant and obvious response, while reactions from food sensitivity or food intolerance are usually delayed or hidden, with the symptoms not as recognisable.

Those with food allergies generally need to avoid the culprit food.

Food intolerance on the other hand is usually related to regular consumption and sufferers may not show symptoms unless they consume a large portion of the foods or eat them frequently. For example, a person who is lactose intolerant may be able to take milk with coffee or a single glass of milk, but reacts if he or she downs several glasses of milk at once.

It is also not the same as food poisoning, which normally happens when one consumes spoiled or tainted food and always affects others eating the same thing.

What can cause food intolerance? Our fast-paced convenient lifestyles often mean that we eat the same type of food groups repeatedly.

We also always eat with such speed that our stomachs do not have the time to properly digest food. At the same time, some people lack the necessary enzymes to break foods down.

Some show signs following consumption of food that have chemicals produced naturally such as caffeine, salicylates and histamine in foods like chocolate and cheese.

Additives that give food longer shelf life can also cause food intolerance. Any type of food can be a culprit as it varies from one person to the next.

It is also normal to be intolerant to several different foods at the same time.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Health_Dealingwithfoodintolerances/Article

FASHION and style are such subjective issues. Between the two there is a clear difference. Fashion is seasonal and subject to the whims and moods of the current time, generation and thinking. Therefore, it’s easy to pin-point and reference an outfit or look to a certain time frame.

Style however, rests solely on an person’s taste and is individualistic enough to mark the arbiter of it as something wholly personal.

The only thing that makes fashion and style similar is that both can be copied, (rather badly) but the difference, as Yves Saint Laurent said in the oft-mentioned quote, is that “fashions fade, style is eternal”.

A lot of people think they know what fashion is all about. In fact, everyone thinks they know what is fashion to the point that the current fashion is that anyone can be a designer, be it of clothes, shoes, bags or accessories.

What is so difficult about fashion? You look at what the current trends are, what people would most likely want to wear or buy, get a familiar face like whoever the darling of the masses is to wear or carry it, and there you go, you’re in fashion.

Now, if only it were that simple, everyone be the next big thing just like that.

No one wants to talk or think about the reality of the fashion industry – creativity, hard work, passion and commitment. Selling fashion on the Internet is something anyone can do, opening a boutique and stocking it with cheap and fast fashion from our neighbouring countries is child’s play.

Getting your best friend, the style icon to wear it and be photographed is no big deal, especially when you’re friends with people who are in the industry. But what does it take really to make it in the world of fashion? I love this quote from Karl Lagerfeld: “Ask yourself, are you sure this world is for you? And are you sure you are the right person to survive this world – the fashion world, a world with no rules, no laws?” – it puts everything in perspective.

by Dzireena Mahadzir.

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=senseofstyle&file=/2010/7/25/columnists/senseofstyle/6711264&sec=Sense%20Of%20Style

I refer to the article “No sex please, we’re students” (The Star, July 29) on abstinence from sex before marriage to be introduced in schools.

A similar programme was introduced in the US and students were encouraged to submit written pledges to abstain from sex until their marriage.

But the programme failed and, despite the pledge, a higher number of pregnancies was recorded. The students were not prepared and they let their guard down. The fact is that most pregnancies were not planned; they happened because the students failed to take precautions.

Telling students to abstain from sex these days is like telling them not to smoke. Those of us in the front line have a tough time telling girls and boys not to get close. But, alas, our advice falls on deaf ears. Sometimes they think they are in love and give in easily without taking precautions.

Adults are equally vulnerable, but what really keeps us away from trouble is the family. For some, the thought of disappointing their parents deters them from doing anything wrong.

Next is the spiritual development. Children need to be taught the fear of God.

by James Nayagam,

Read more @ http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/30/focus/6760368&sec=focus

PENAMPANG: Students from SM St Michael here have brought their environmental awareness out from school and spread it to family members.

For Kimberly Perera, 14, who is in form two, the campaign to reduce the use of plastic bags is one of the main priorities for her family, especially when going out to the market or grocery shops.

“My family and I will use recycled bags each time we go out to shop or buy things from groceries because we want to make the campaign a success.

“I have learnt many things about pollution caused by plastics and we, the students are trying to spread awareness to everyone, including villagers near the school,” she said.

According to science and physics teacher Jennifer Asing who is involved in the school’s environmental activities, students of SM St Michael are also collecting rubbish from houses near the school every morning.

“Apart from collecting rubbish, we also have students from our school’s Kelab Pencinta Alam and Kelab Kebajikan cleaning the rivers of Putaton and Kibambangan once a month.

“We started the program to clean the rivers in April as one of the environmental activities to educate students and the people around both rivers,” she said at the launching ceremony of  the No Plastic Bags campaign at the school yesterday.

Jennifer said the school welcomed any environmental activity that would better educate the younger generation.

by Mariah Doksil.

Read more @ http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=53762

PAPAR: Most unemployed youths, including graduates, in the state are found to be only keen on working for the Government, according to Assistant Minister of Human Resource and Information Technology Datuk Jainab Ahmad Ayid.

Instead of remaining jobless, they should change their mindset by not being too choosy, as not all people can secure their dream jobs, Jainah said after launching the Youth Entrepreneurship and Excellence Seminar at National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) here yesterday.

She said they should open their mind and avail themselves of the ample employment opportunities in tourism, hospitality and plantation sectors.

“At the same time, the employers in these industries should at least offer a higher salary to local employees than foreign workers,” she said.

Jainab pointed out that if the total cost of hiring foreign workers, including levy and accommodation, is calculated, it would be much higher than the basic pay.

As such, there is no reason why the employers cannot offer a higher salary to local workers, as they would not have to pay levy and even accommodation for many, she said

Jainab urged jobless local youths to register with the Sabah Job Centre to avoid being cheated by irresponsible recruitment agents.

“If the unemployed youths register with Sabah Job Centre or Malaysia Job Centre, at least our ministry could help them to identify which companies offer the right jobs,” she said.

by Suraidah Roslan.

Read more @ http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=53751

SETTING the minimum age for marriage at 18 seems the enlighted and modern thing to do, but that and other demands of the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (Cedaw) could go against long established Muslim conventions. A solution to this dilemma may be found through the concept of maqasid, or higher goals, of the syariah.

With child marriage, Muslims who believe that syariah is a blessing to the world are forced to embrace a few lecherous old men who want to marry defenceless young girls. They inevitably have to hear that Aishah, wife of the Prophet, was married at a young age. While there are historical pieces of evidence that she was anywhere from 9 to 19 or older when she was married, the real issue is not the age of the girl, but maturity, and together with maturity, a guarantee that her interests are defended.

Aishah, in any case, is sui generis, and famous for her sense of right. Whatever her age, she was never one to be pushed around.
On the other side, Cedaw originates from an idea that there are universal truths, which just happen to have arisen in a secular, Western context. In this context, the focus of providing for women’s rights in marriage is age. Right now, the syariah court has the opportunity to assess marriage applications, conduct interviews, and take time to decide whether a young female is fit for marriage. The worldview of Cedaw says we should fix an age, and that’s the end of the story.

Also, we find a tendency to want to push age limits up — to try to make laws stricter, in order to accomplish other things that may be desirable. We know that children born to girls just after puberty are not as healthy, and we know that marriage is difficult in modern societies and requires the resources (financial, psychological, etc) that generally come later in life rather than earlier.

by Dr. Eric Winkel, a principal research fellow at the International Institute of Adanced Islamic Studies Malaysia.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/17chide/Article/

THE dour-looking participants trooped into the cavernous hall at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre and arranged themselves around a large oval table for the roundtable.

It was an overcast Tuesday morning and they were there for the second and final session organised by the Education Ministry to glean feedback on whether the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah and Penilaian Menengah Rendah examinations should be scrapped.

Thirty-three of the 100 attendees were picked by Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom, who chaired the session, to present their arguments. Most spoke over the allotted time and had to be “ding-dinged” off by a warning bell. The rest were told to fill in their thoughts on a form. The time given to each participant to speak might have been short but their message was clear — retain both exams.

The prevailing sentiment was why fix something that ain’t broke.

Some of the participants shared what they said during the session. Among them:
- “If the exams are scrapped, what kind of creature are we going to replace it with?”;

- “Set up a royal commission of inquiry on education”;

- “Are teachers ready? No, they are not.”;

- “We were shown several slides by the ministry of the new school-based assessment system in full detail before the session began. Does this mean there is already a decision to abolish?”;

- “We must first have a competent teaching workforce. If we do not, it does not matter what policy is introduced. It just won’t work. I’ve asked several teachers how events in World War 1 led to World War 2 and none of them could give me the answer. But ask them the dates and they have it.”;

- “I was called a Bengali (by some teachers). They can’t even tell the difference between Bengali and Punjabi.”;

- “The ministry is to be blamed to a certain extent for fanning the obsession with As. These days, we even have A+.”;

- “Students are not participating in sports not because the system is exam-oriented but because there are not enough facilities in schools.”;

- “Publishers will not be able to cope if school-based assessments are suddenly introduced. We need at least until 2012 to be ready.”; and,

- “Shouldn’t this question be answered by the experts and not all of us?”

Participants at the first roundtable on July 19 did not share the same views and said that the two exams should go. The composition of attendees differed vastly, however, and comprised senior officials of the ministry, state education directors, teachers unions and associations, principals, headmasters and school counsellors.

by Chok Suat Ling.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/17sli/Article/

THE move to allow graduate teachers to participate in politics has been met with a mixed response. As schools are for education, not for politics, and it would be unprofessional and unethical for those at the chalkface to use the schoolyard as a political barnstorm, the understandable concern is that these teachers cum politicians would not be able to leave their political hats at the school gate and behave as professionals in the classroom. Clearly, it’s legitimate to expect teachers not to be partisan or prejudiced, racist or sexist, unfair or unjust.

As a general rule, civil servants must refrain from any activity which is likely to interfere with the impartial discharge of their duties or which could give rise to the impression of bias in the eyes of the public. Indeed, in line with the ethos of political neutrality, regardless of changes in the legislative branch of government, the public rightly expects those working in the civil branches of government to offer objective advice to the elected leaders and conscientiously implement their policies.

However, this is an argument for strictly excluding the bureaucratic branch from partisan political activities rather than a blanket ban on the entire body of those employed in the civil service. Certainly, the statutory intent of Regulation 21 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 was to ensure political impartiality and prevent divided loyalties and prejudiced service. However, the principle seems to have been to impose political restrictions on those in the higher levels of the hierarchy who could influence policy and affect implementation but to exempt those in the clerical grades and support staff who carry out the routine work as directed by the higher-level administrators.

NST Editorial.

Read more @ http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Teachersinpolitics/Article/
Read more: Teachers in politics http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/Teachersinpolitics/Article/#ixzz0v7Q0Z7VP