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The Islamic Stock Exchange

2011-08-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

IN THE CONTEMPORARY corporate world, the stock exchange plays an important role as financial intermediary between those who have surplus funds, and those who need the money. The former are the investors while the latter are the entrepreneurs. Therefore, the stock exchange is playing the role of a middleman or intermediary between these two parties. The Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) is an organized market, and the two parties have to pay transaction costs for the services provided.

This chapter intends to

Analyse the current practices at the KLSE as a financial intermediary and identify the main beneficiaries;
Investigate whether Islam can bring an alternative to the current practices to create a healthy and conducive environment to the stock exchange; and
Propose the establishing of a small Islamic stock exchange (SISE) to cater for the needs of small-and medium-sized enterprise to enable them to raise funds for business expansion.

The KLSE is divided into two boards, namely, the Main Board and the Second Board. For the former, the requirement for a company to be listed is a minimum of RM20 million while for the later it is between RM5-20 million.

We must question whether this division of two main boards serve the needs of small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with less than RM5 million, whose main objectives are to raise funds (through KLSE) to expand their businesses. As far as we can see, the mechanism prevailing at the stock exchange does not only help the rich get richer but also make corporations bigger, more powerful, and monopolizing the wealth of the nation. Such practices, if not rectified by the relevant government authorities will sooner or latter make the stock exchange more alien to the society rather than part of it. This fact enhances the argument that we are indeed living in a world of unfairness and injustice: the world of the giant corporations where the "bigger fishes swallow the smaller ones."

In the KLSE, there are also two main players, namely, the genuine investors and the inside traders. For the former, the main reason for their involvement in the stock exchange is simply either to raise funds for business expansion or to make quick profits. Therefore, the investors have to work harder and study the macro-economic fundamentals as their starting point. They have to analyse the various factors that will affect their investment decisions at the second stage. These factors are unemployment rate, inflation, business cycle, rate of growth, interest rates, etc. Once a thorough assessment has been made (by themselves or by their investment consultants) on the macro-economic fundamental, the second stage starts: analysing the micro fundamentals of the chosen companies among which are, their growth rates and past records, dividends, sales turnover, profitability and other financial ratios.

For the latter (the inside traders), they are known to spread rumours in the stock exchanges. This kind of people ;usually do not work hard compared with their counterparts (the genuine investors). Their main objective is to make a fortune over a short period at the expense of others. They would release false information and cause panic to the whole stock exchange, and more specifically, to the genuine investors, to make them quickly sell off their shares. Moreover, we suspect that these rumours are usually started by some of the big corporations in the stock exchange to manipulate the market and force the genuine investors to go out of the stock market forever. Many investors think that the inside traders are a group of people who will be able to buy the shares at a bargain price at the expense of the investors. This is why large number of investors refuse to raise funds from the stock exchange (perhaps also for moral and ethical reasons) for business expansion while others feel that current stock exchanges are becoming more like casinos or gambling dens, and according to their beliefs and ethics, such practices are unlawful and should be avoided. Ironically, such a practise does not only prevail at KLSE but also in other stock exchanges (like the New York Stock Exchange) all over the world. It is indeed based on speculations and manipulations (internal and external factors) rather than economic and financial fundamentals.

The question should be asked: should we continue to have such unfair practices in the stock exchange where few are monopolizing the wealth of the nation at the expense of the others? Or is it the right time for the policymakers in the corporate sector to restructure the stock exchange by bringing changes and introducing new rules and regulations to safeguard the small investors and entrepreneurs. If such changes were introduced and enforced (by the relevant authorities) they will undoubtedly create a healthy environment for the whole financial market to exist. For the small investors, it will bring new hope and they will again be keen to be active players in the stock exchange either in buying or selling shares or by raising funds for business expansion.

An Islamic Alternative

Islam as a way of life can bring an alternative and create a healthy environment to the stock exchange. The most fundamental teaching that Islam advocates in any financial transactions is "you should not do harm to others while others should not do harm to you."

At the macro level, this dynamic concept has its own grass-root Islamic foundation. It is based on ethical and moral values rather than materialism. It is focused on the role of man in the society as vicegerents (khilafah) of God (the main Creator and the real owner of wealth and natural resources of the universe) on earth. God has given man the responsibility to test him; the life we are in is indeed a test by God to mankind. Everything in life is planned and well monitored by the Creator, and man will be a accountable for his deeds and actions he has made in this life. According to Chapra, God-given resources are indeed a trust and it should achieve the following objectives:

The resources are for the benefit of all, not just a few. They must be utilized equitably for the well-being of all.
Everyone must acquire resources rightfully and in accordance to the Quran and the Sunnah.
No one is authorize to destroy or waste the resources that God has given. To do so is equated by the Quran to the spreading of fasad (mischief and corruption) which God abhors.

If man fully understands the real massage of Islam in life, he will live peacefully and in harmony with others based on the universal brotherhood.

Prophet Mohammad (May the peace and blessing of God be on him) said: "All human beings are dependents of God and the most beloved of them before Him are those who are best to His dependents."

He should be honest in dealing with others (realizing that God is monitoring him and there will be accountability afterwards) especially in any financial transaction. His main mission in life is hard work, responsibility, time management and sharing and caring for others. This is why Islam has given importance to the concept of universal brotherhood which implies unity, co-operation and co-ordination rather than hatred, selfishness and greed which is prevailing in the conventional corporate world.

Islam encourages people to compete with each other in every aspect of life-in business and commerce, education and research and development--to help develop a solid and healthy society. Competitions raises efficiency and helps promote human well-being, the overall objective of Islam. A society of trust, moral and ethical values. Undoubtedly, for investors, an improvement in the quality of production means that they will have a market for their product not only for the local but also foreign market to sell their products. Ultimately, the consumers (who are the main target) will benefit, so does the society as a whole. Therefore, competition will create a healthy environment and encourage the investors and entrepreneurs to work harder to have a market for their products.

This is why Islam is in favour of competition and against monopoly. The latter can bring harm to mankind and to the society as a whole. The resources will be wasted and he used unproductively and ultimately it will be monopolized and controlled by a few hands at the expense of others. Monopoly usually means selfishness, greediness, and oversized institutions. This is why Islam advocates the concepts of "small is beautiful." If the small business is well managed, closely monitored and followed up, it can bring benefit to the society. Once these entrepreneurs are motivated through partnership financing they will work harder and improve their standard of living. They have a mission in life, the first and foremost, being to seek the pleasure of the Creator (who has given them the opportunities and the responsibilities) and to bring happiness not only to their families but also to other people and prosperity to the whole society. These investors (or entrepreneurs) are keen to be bigger and their main objectives are maximization of social benefit rather than maximization of the profit.

In Islam, savers and investors are considered as one body. Once a viable project is submitted to them (for financing) by an Islamic investment company (IIC), who will identify and select the projects based on economic and financial merits, the savers will automatically become the investors of those projects. This dynamic formula explains why Islam encourages us to go for partnership financing and venture capital. It is a challenge, and life without it is indeed meaningless. Muslims should face the challenge to survive in the new economic order set in a world of injustice, exploitations, and hatred between those that have and those that have not. Therefore, Islam has advocated planning for long-term financing for the development of human beings rather than short-term gains to please only some of the rich.

Such a long-term mission will require the need to establish an Islamic consultancy house (ICH) to cater for the needs of the development of human resources. The strategy of the ICH relates to firstly, identification of the interrelated functions that should be performed in a certain sequential order for an effective and efficient promotional role; secondly, a mechanism for making effective decisions; and thirdly, the institutional machinery required to perform the various functions identified.

The ICH identifies the interrelated functions essential for its promotional role as follows:

a. Identification and selection of the project;

b. Preparation of the preliminary feasibility study;

c. Identification of entrepreneurs to undertake these projects;

d. Provision of training to potential entrepreneurs;

e. Preparation of detailed project reports;

f. Provision of technical and financial assistance for projects ready for implementation;

g. Monitoring and following up of projects;

h. Managerial and technical assistance for operating enterprises with problems; and

I. Technical appraisal of projects requiring future financial assistance.

Once a viable and feasible project has been identified by a competent Islamic practitioner (or the ICH), based on economic and financial merits, it can be sold directly to the savers (who will be automatically investors) without any intermediary. A profitable project with a high rate of return will automatically find its market in the corporate sector (through the computer networks and information technology) without any financial intermediary.

From the above analysis, one can say that in Islamic economics, the financial intermediation will have a limited role to play in the society. Through financial intermediary, transaction costs will ultimately be paid by the society and the cost of capital will be expensive for many small entrepreneurs who want to start their venture capital. The current economic and financial crisis in the Western world have undoubtedly demonstrated that in the age of recession many small entrepreneurs cannot survive and they have to close down their workshops and factories. Such persistent economic and financial problems will have an adverse affect on the society as a whole. The main causes for such a situation are transaction costs and interest rates. These people in the corporate world cannot grow simply because they cannot provide the collateral to the financial intermediaries (like the banks and other financial institutions).

Proposed Establishment of a Small Islamic Stock Exchange

From the above analyses, we are of the opinion that the policymakers in the government as well as corporate sector should study the proposal of establishing a small Islamic stock exchange (SISE) to cater for the needs of those small companies with smaller amounts of market capitalization requirement. Such a proposal is in line with the leadership Vision 2020 to promote the SMEs and make them more competitive and efficient. This proposal of establishing a SISE goes in line with Islamic principle where monopoly is prohibited and competition from all parties are encouraged. It is also important for the relevant authorities to set up a Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the market so that a healthy environment will be created so that the "bigger fishes will not swallow the smaller ones." Therefore, the government should consider the following steps.

First, It should impose very strict rules and regulations concerning speculation generated by rumours. Those who buy shares, must retain it at least for six months before they can sell them, and if they do sell those shares before the due time, higher tax or levy would be imposed on them. This will gradually reduce the role of rumours in the stock exchange. Recently, it was revealed that a few people were caught for this act in the Union Paper Holding short-selling scandal. According to Islamic values a person is not allowed to sell something which he does not possess. It is indeed unlawful and unethical to do such a thing.

And second, to reduce the role of the stock exchange as the financial intermediary between the investors and the entrepreneurs. For an entrepreneur to mobilize funds, computer networking and information technology can bring the two parties together without any intermediary. The new formula will be partnership financing between the investors on the one hand, and the entrepreneurs on the other. The transaction costs will be removed an the profit and loss sharing will be introduced as an alternative. We cannot deny that partnership financing will bring stability not only to the financial sector but to the whole economy. This new formula of business enterprise known as partnership will forgo the role of the stock exchange as a financial intermediary, and can benefit not only the new parties but also the whole nation.

Conclusion

Islam is not against speculation if it is made by genuine investors who have worked hard and analysed the macro-and micro-economic and financial fundamentals, and therefore have the right to speculate once the environment at the stock exchange is conducive to do so. On the contrary, what Islam is against is insider trading and the role of rumours, whose main interests are to manipulate the market and force their counterparts (the genuine investors) to sell of their shares at lower prices, Islam categorically condemns that, because such actions will undoubtedly bring harm to others and to the society as a whole.

Islam has clearly emphasized that for any financial transaction between two parties or more, a person should not do harm to others while others should not do harm to him. It is for the policymakers to examine the above proposal to promote the SMEs and make them competitive and efficient to achieve Vision 2020.

Notes

The views expressed in this paper are entirely mine and should not be taken to represent any official views or policies of any organization.
M.U. Chapra, Islam and the Economic Challenge, The Islamic Foundation and the International Institute of Islamic Thought, London, 1992, p.207.
Quran 2: 205
Saad Al-Harran, Islamic Foinance: Partnership Financing, Pelanduk Publications, Petaling Jaya, 1992, p.337.

ISLAMIC MONEY AGAINST THE EURO AND DOLLAR

2011-08-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

On January 1, 1999, Europe celebrated its momentous event of a single currency for its eleven participating members that have qualified to join the European Monetary Union according to its Convergence Criteria. Following this, it is likely that Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Greece that have either opted out or were not qualified according to the Convergence Criteria at this time, will join by the year 2002. By the year 2002 a single currency called the Euro will become the commercial medium of market exchange in Europe for the participating countries.

By establishing a single currency for the exchange of goods and services domestically and internationally, the Euro will become a determining factor of a unified monetary policy, fiscal policy, exchange rates, interest rates, and thereby, also of productivity and technological consequences of these economic changes in the participating countries. Internationally, global capital markets and investment outsources will see the rise of two competing currency mediums, the U.S. Dollar and the Euro. Countries around the world will be holding their foreign reserves and transacting their tradables in terms of these two currencies. International currencies will thus become convertible in terms of two competing units.

At such a juncture, the Muslim mind must recount as to what position the Muslim World holds in the midst of the global division of capital markets between these two competing super-currencies? What would be the state of her own resource valuation in the global scene? Do the Muslims have an agenda for change? If they do have an Agenda for change, what are the constructs of that Muslim future?

Until the end of World War II the Western Hemisphere has been engaged in the most heinous kinds of wars and civil strife within itself. Yet through the Bretton Woods Institutions established in 1944, followed by a number of economic and monetary unions between the members of the Western Hemisphere, these same warring nations could rise to a social contract that eliminated wars and political dissensions between them. It was indeed a civil accord enacted within the institution of democracy that did the work for the Western Hemisphere.

The Muslim World -- with its teeming millions, vast resources, and above all with the greatest miracle, the Qur'an, along with the guidance of the Prophet Muhammad, Sunnah, the great Islamic legacy of Shura (consultation, discourse and interactions), Ijtihad (epistemological inquiry) and Ijma (consensus), all of which are premised on the exercise of deep Islamic knowledge, tolerance and discourse -- could not realize its unity. What are then the structural issues according to which Europe could unite and the Muslims could not?

It will be too shallow an answer to this question to differentiate the Western World in respect to its democracy and the Muslim world as being bereft of democracy. Democracy is a political philosophy that flourishes on the principles of conflict guiding markets in the form of competition and capitalism that thrives on the power of corporations and the acquisitive passion for wealth. Politically, democracy thrives on the back of institutions that muster power and hegemony by majority rule. Any moral value of doing things and of directing economic resources is subsumed within market consequentialism.

There is no other premise from which democracy derives its rules of conduct than the collective power of individuals let loose in a world of competing behaviour. Such is the nature of individualism that aggregates itself from the level of individuals to institutions, to governments and to the global capitalist order. On such an utilitarian world view thrives the Western meaning of democracy.

Now take away from democracy the ultimate supremacy of the individual, the powerful lobby groups and thus of governments so formed. We will find that democracy and capitalism weaken into dysfunctional states. With this weakening comes about the collapse of the entire economic, social and political edifice on which democracy, capitalism and western institutionalism confiscate on others to survive.

Thus the imitation of Western democracy is as self-defeating as is the present days' Muslim political vacuity in the absence of a well-defined Muslim social contract. On the other hand, the divide between Islam and the West is based on two polar world views that cannot cross lines for a permanent convergence. Any cross-fertilization between the two can only be in terms of mechanical methods that we can share. It can never be in terms of the core methodology of understanding and conducting life in comprehensive ways. When Muslim forgot this subtle difference for a long time now they became blind to the many trappings of Western ways of thinking while being unable to understand this inimical culture, and thereby, being unable to adapt to it. When rulers and demagogues in the Muslim World imitate the Western designs and prevail over their citizenry, they try to lock nations into expensive bottlenecks of development, costly technological change, unequal distribution of power, deprivation of freedom and rights to the masses. Western lobbying is perpetuated through this machinery of autocratic governance as also by the Muslim World's lethargy and subservience to the costly technology, de-equalizing market processes and the concomitant governance of the West genre. To live a day in such inhuman bondage is yet another moment of increased slavery of the Muslim mind, body and soul to Western masters.

The European Monetary Union on which is premised the Euro was greatly financed by Petro-dollars that were held as assets by the wealthy Muslim rulers in EMU. By the same token, when the capital surplus Arab countries bought assets in the International Monetary Fund, they in turn tightened the grips of the IMF over these assets by securing Arab capital in Western capital markets instead of in the Muslim Countries.

Consequently, the double whamy fell on the Muslim World. On the one hand, the absence of any expectations for good financial support could not generate the investment climate in the Muslim World. On the other hand, there was never enough liquidity available to support investments in the Muslim World. Finally, when global capitalism in its oppressive attire of global governance over markets and institutions arose from the West, investment capital entered Muslim countries as speculative short-term capital. These were riddled and driven by interest rate instability and proved to be unsustainable both in terms of projects and in capital markets.

Thus the alienation of the Muslim World from its own fundamental roots of understanding and doing things and its enslavement to the alien culture drifted the Muslim World from its solidarity, which could otherwise have seen the rise of parallels like the Euro and the Dollar in terms of the Islamic Money, Islamic Currency, Integrated Islamic Capital Markets and a Globally Interlinked Islamic Common Market. Herein, would be solved the present days problems of economic instability, currency run-off, investment needs, political subservience, inequity and poverty, all of which plague the Muslim World today. Along with this reconstruction would arise the political stability and organization for the spread and practice of Islamic Transformation. Thus would arise the Muslim march toward the Ummah as the Islamic globalization process.

The Islamic globalization process of Ummah as the goal of the Muslim World would look at markets in ways contrary to the capitalist greed and human deprivation now being unleashed upon the Muslim World. The irony is abhorring that in the face of exorbitant wealth possessed by a few, wealth that lies in the hands of and are controlled by Western masters, there continues to be abject deprivation and impoverishment among the majority of Muslim populations..

Islamic Money would be based on the 100 per cent reserve requirement linking monetary valuation with real sectoral activities and not with speculation or promissory notes. The productive yield arising from such a real monetary mobilization would solve the problem of low productivity among factors of production. The participatory enterprises in the midst of these transformations and real monetary linkages would remove the relevance of interest rates. Such a system would replace interest transactions with resource mobilization into participatory enterprises. Consequently, economic efficiency, distributive equity, ownership, property rights and empowerment would increase across participatory enterprises. Poverty would be eradicated and alleviated through the force of such participatory entrepreneurial activity and by the direct linkages between money and real sectoral activity.

This freedom of participatory decision-making and ownership of assets would mean the rise of the Islamic Social Contract based on the process of Shura (discourse and interaction) which is organized and realized by the understanding and application of the Precept of Unity of Allah (Tawhid) in all walks of life and thought. Such a focus will turn away the Muslim global order from the anthropocentric character of conflict, competition and individualism that grounds democracy as a political philosophy in the West. The reversal will instead be towards ethical governance of markets and exchange under the enlightened process of learning by doing by discourse, complementarity and integration as created by Islam.

The Islamic Common Market and the Islamic Capital Market would be a global integration of various regional Islamic blocs on the basis of the coordinating mechanism of the Islamic Social Contract in terms of the money-real sectoral linkages, inter-communal trade and institutional guidance of these across the Muslim World. The effect of this interrelated monetary and real sectoral activity would be the formation of the Islamic currency revolving around the financial and economic instruments that establish the money-real sectoral linkage. Thereby, an increase of spending in the Islamically recommended good things of life would create the environment of abundance in life-fulfilling goods. This in turn would generate income and wealth from real returns.

The abolition of speculation and its replacement by long-term Islamic investments in diverse Islamic opportunities, complementary possibilities and technological outlets, in government and consumer spending across the populous Muslim World, will bring about the much needed stability in markets for financial instruments and real goods and services. Hence a productivity linked stable exchange rate will emerge from such a stable market order. The enhancing effects of stable exchange rates and prices will revert to further resource mobilization, wealth, growth, development and social well-being.

Zakat will arise from the growing wealth of such a dynamic social economy and would be increasingly chanelled into productive outlets for ameliorating the poor and guaranteeing them human resources and basic needs. Institutions for mobilizing Zakat as an international resource will create microenterprises and human resource development for poverty alleviation. The great institutions of social well-being based on the mobilization of Zakat into human development for achieving security, dignity and productive transformation of the recipients, while always allocating a part of it in current consumption, for the destitute, the sick and the old, would generate industry and enterprises around such uses of the Zakat Fund. Gross unemployment and income disparity will thus be eliminated. With social security thus returning to the Muslim nations, social malaise will also decline. Much will be saved for directing into the higher pursuits of life.

With such momentous changes in the Muslim World towards the Ummah, the Dollar and the Euro will prove to be weak currencies before the Islamic Money and Islamic Currency, for they will continue to be engulfed in instability caused by interest rate movements. These will permanently disturb their currency values. The Dollar and Euro will thus continue to be simply monetary units governed by uncertain interest rate and exchange rate mechanisms. Monetary policy will remain independent of real sectoral activities. Price movements will thus be affected by the uncertainties ensuing from the monetary sector. Such an adverse effect of the monetary sector on the real sector will cause instability in both the real and the financial sectors.

Such instabilities will remain as the great predicament of the Euro and Dollar. The contrary is true of a competing monetary system and its currency that can deliver a 100 per cent reserve requirement while interconnecting money with real sector activities. Here then lies the ultimate financial architecture by means of Islamic Money, Islamic Currency, Islamic Capital Market and Islamic Common Market .These mark the worldly model of the Ummah. In it the lure for wealth is strategically replaced by the goals of production and distribution of wealth through the money-real sector linkages. This abolishes interest rates from economic transactions and premises human well-being on resource mobilization into Islamic possibilities.

Let Muslim around the world, nationally, sub-nationally and collectively take up serious work in this direction of Islamic Transformation toward the Ummah in the new millennium. Let this invocation remain our Ramadhan Resolution 1419H for its active emulation into the new Islamic millennium. May Allah help us in our rightful endeavour.

This paper is copyright of Dr. Masudul Alam Choudhury, Professor of Economics and Director of the Centre of Humanomics, University College of Cape Breton Sydney, N.S. B1P 6L2. mchoudhu@sparc.uccb.ns.ca; Fax.902-562-0119; Tel. 902-539- 5300. We are grateful to Dr Choudhury for permiting us to "use it at will with due acknowledgement".

10 Tips for Good Digestion

2011-08-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

1. Eat in a relaxed way in a pleasant setting, and take your time.
Chew your food until it is liquid. If you are under emotional pressure or in a hurry, take simple food – fresh juice, a fruit, yogurt, a few sunflower seeds, or a protein bar.

2. Keep up your exercise regimen.
Walking and yoga are both particularly good for digestion. If you want to do any type of strenuous exercise, wait at least two hours after eating any significant amount.

3. Drink enough water (6 to 8 cups a day)
But not with meals unless you're on a weight-loss diet trying to lower food intake. Minimize ice cold drinks and consume more soothing warm drinks such as hot lemon water or herb teas.

4. Get enough fiber in your diet
Wwhether from vegetables and fruits, bran or psyllium, and an adequate amount of whole grains and fresh sprouts (or cooked legumes if digested well).

Dealing with Digestive Problems:

5. Remove food allergens from your diet.
Learn which foods cause reactions and affect how you feel. See The False Fat Diet by Cameron Stauth and myself. You may need a blood test to check out your food sensitivities.

6. Minimize toxins and irritants; eat organic foods whenever possible, and eat simply.
People who have digestive disorders should avoid additives, such as fluoride often added to toothpaste) and carageenan (found in cottage cheese and other foods), both of which can act as irritants.

7. If you have chronic indigestion, try supplementing your meals with enzymes and/or hydrochloric acid.
If that doesn't help, ask your doctor to test you for these factors. Then, supplement as needed with enzymes (to aid digestion), bicarbonate soda (for excess acid), or betaine hydrochloride capsules (for deficient stomach acid). For more information, see the article: Causes and Remedies for Common Digestive Problems.

8. Learn your best personal remedies for digestive upsets.
You can learn to minimize constipation and diarrhea by using foods, herbs, and nutrients that help to prevent these common ailments and cope with them when they do occur.

9. Occasional indigestion, heartburn, bloating after you eat, and flatulence are normal, or at least quite common, and they can be remedied.
But, if you have ongoing symptoms of digestive upset, get tested to see if you have food allergies, low or high stomach acid, yeast overgrowth, or bad bugs. Your health care practitioner can order these tests from a specialty lab.

10. Support and repair the digestive tract with the right nutrients, such as glutamine and other vitamins and minerals. Remember:
Eat a low allergenic diet, find the best foods that feel right to you, and chew your food well.

The Glory of Batik

2011-07-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

thejakartapos. Batik is enjoying a new lease of life, resurrected in the country’s fashion industry.

Batik now comes with colorful and cutting-edge designs, perfect for all. Its past stigmas — formal attire for the older generation, boring motifs and colors — have disappeared into thin air.

Stories of a slow batik business, with factories declared bankrupt, were also out of the picture.

Batik Danar Hadi from the Central Java town of Surakarta is one of the country’s prominent batik producers that has survived the slow days and is shining, as shown in its latest fashion show, attended by Jakarta’s socialites and public figures, from former president Megawati Soekarnoputri to Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo.

For the new collection presented at the fashion show, the company — built by Santosa Doellah and his wife Danarsih Santosa in 1967 — challenged five designers to translate their fine fabric into dozens of premium and limited designs, called Danar.

The designers — Oscar Lawalata, Carmanita, Ghea Panggabean, Hutama Adhi and Sapto Djojokartiko — translated the challenge into stunning evening gowns, casual and elegant outfits.

Head of the marketing communication division at PT Batik Danar Hadi, Hoshi Mitchel Hutabarat, said the company had been working together with top designers for the past three years.

Any reproduction of the collection would differ in designs, colors and motifs, he added.

“Our challenge in batik development is to ensure the designs are perfect and fully applied in our fabrics because we don’t want to lose the heritage elements,” he says.

The hard work paid off.

Surakarta-born designer Sapto showcased his 16 signature evening gowns, with green, red and yellow dominating the tone. He also chose simple patterns, with sequins and drapery details to accentuate his designs.

One gown was a sparkling green short-sleeved batik shirt combined with a long yellow batik skirt cut open in the middle. Other designs had cheongsam styles, one-shoulder dresses, ruffle accents, sleeveless and short-sleeve cuts and various necklines.

Carmanita used casual and asymmetric cut approaches in her designs while Ghea’s chic and modern batik style are shown in the combination of black pants and long-sleeved batik tops, including a high-waisted tulip batik skirt combined with a black low-cut top and batik cardigan.

Hoshi applauded the designers for beautifully applying the company’s request to fully showcase batik in their designs.

“We have worked together with them several times. They understand what we want,” he says.

Danar Hadi is among a few business enterprises in Surakarta that survived the hard time between the 1980s and 2000 at the time Chinese batik, which used printing technology, swarmed the Indonesian market — affecting the handmade batik or batik tulis in other cities.

Batik Kudus, for example, almost stopped some years ago as the Central Java city only relied on Mikmah to produce the exquisite batik.

In a recent fashion show presented by NGO Rumah Pesona Kain at the Dharmawangsa Hotel, Kudus businesswoman Yuli Astuti promoted local motifs of batik from her city.

The organization collaborated with designer Barli Asmara and Inne S. Nurbani to present some 25 ready-to-wear collections that mostly used Yuli’s batik product.

In the collection, called Lady Look, Barli presented a mix and match of different fabric with batik, combining a batik classic dirndl skirt with a lace cardigan, which was inspired by the “New Look”, a design introduced by Christian Dior in 1947.

“Batik Kudus is rich in colors. Before designing the outfit, I would take a look at the colors of the batik cloth first,” Barli says.

He said he chose a certain color from the batik as the basis for the cardigan and top. After that, he used the batik’s basic color to choose the application color for the top and cardigan.

Barli said he treated the handwritten batik very carefully, knowing the intricate process to make the fabric.

“I didn’t cut the cloth for the skirt. It’s still authentic,” he said, adding that the skirt owner could just undo the seam if she wanted to try another style

Yuli said she was proud to introduce batik motifs from her town to a bigger audience in Jakarta.

She did not initially think to start a batik business. She was involved in a family embroidery business until she met Mikmah, an old woman that made her realize that handwritten batik was dying in her town and the young generation was unwilling to continue the cultural heritage.

She refused to sit back and watch. Instead she began learning about batik to preserve the heritage.

“In 2005, I decided to develop Batik Kudus because I realized there was only one artist who was already 80 years old,” Yuli said.

She started her quest by researching philosophy and knowledge on the classic motifs that had existed in her town a long time ago in the hope to popularize the motifs once again.

Some motifs, she says, have their own stories, including the one inspired by Jodhipati fruit, popular among Kudus residents.

“People in Kudus believe that if a seven-month pregnant mother eats the fruit, her baby will be good looking,” Yuli says.

Other classic motifs include beras utah (spread out rice), Chinese love story Sam Pek Eng Tay, the bitter melon flower, a stranded ship, calligraphy and a parijoto (showy Asian grapes) bouquet.

The stranded ship motif was based on an old story of a ship from China that was stranded near Kudus. The ship’s survivors later lived around Mount Muria or Kudus.

New motifs inspired by local icons in Kudus such as the Kudus tower and cigarette maker tool, have also been created.

A few numbers of batik entrepreneurs were born after the Kudus administration paid attention by providing workshop and soft loans.

Yuli said she hopes Batik Kudus gains more prominence once again, with those buying the fabrics curious to learn more about the motifs and stories behind them.

Positive Affirmations

2011-04-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

One example of a positive thinking technique used in life coaching or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is to make a list of your strengths, qualities, achievements and abilities. You may then find it helpful to read through the affirmations on a daily basis, perhaps in the morning first thing or else at the end of the day.

This can help to boost your self esteem and help you to focus on positive thoughts rather than being preoccupied by negative self criticisms or negative thinking patterns.

Dealing with a Negative Self Image

I have also found in work with clients experiencing issues with negative self image or self confidence difficulties that it can be helpful to provide an example or other evidence to support each daily affirmation. This helps the affirmation to feel real rather than just an abstract concept.

You may also find it helpful to put a favourite photo of yourself at the top of the affirmations so that you can associate the positive thoughts with yourself and your own self image.

An example of how someone might create a Daily Affirmations list is given below:

Daily Affirmations List - Example

Affirmation of strength, skill, quality, ability or achievement	Illustration or Supporting Evidence where applicable
I am independent and adventurous	I go on walking holidays on my own
I am good at my work	My manager has given me a good appraisal and says that my work is very helpful
I am a good listener	My friends say that they find it easy to talk to me about difficult issues because I don't judge them
I am determined and conscientious	If I get stuck on a problem, I keep looking for different ways round it until I find one
I dress well	People quite often ask me where I have bought items of clothing and comment that they look good on me

"Life With Woody" 10 inspirational quotes than can improve yourself

2011-04-29T22:45:00.000-07:00

It might take a little coffee or probably a few rounds of beer or any other booze you could get your hands on when it comes to relaxing after a hard day's work. Well, yeah I'm guilty about that one as well, unless I'm caught dead wearing a lampshade over my head after a few rounds of vodka… half-naked! Okay, bad example and I apologize to everyone reading this after getting nightmares about me in that state of drunken stupor.

Just don't ask how it happened, please.

But what's really interesting is that how do people go through the usual part of life when faced with vein-popping stress? I mean, the new age thing like Zen or yoga is one of the good things and it actually works. Is there room for the intellectual side of people who can actually smell the roses-in-a-can while on the move? It kind of had me thinking that there really must be something in this 'mind-over-matter' thing.

Humor is indeed the best medicine there is whenever you are. I mean anyone can pay good money to listen to a comedian just to make you wet your pants after laughing so hard. Despite of what's been happening, and to those who has gone though the ordeal, it's better to just laugh while facing the troubles with a clear mind than anger with a clouded vision. One of my favorite celebrities of all time may have to be Woody Allen. Now this is one guy who gives you the in-your-face bluntness that he pulls out with gusto, even without even trying. You can talk just about anything with a man, and he's bound to mock the subject and you'll end up laughing rather than being upset about it.

Woody Allen has this to say:

1. "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." It sounds good to me, I mean the practicality of all things does involve money but it doesn't have to take an arm and a leg to get it.

2. "I believe there is something out there watching us. Unfortunately, it's the government." 'Nuff said.

3. "There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman?" This happens to be one of the classic ones. I mean the issue about life's little problems isn't all that bad, until 'he' shows up.

Sure, relationships can get complicated, or does have its complications that probably any author about relationships is bound to discover it soon. We follow what our heart desires, unless you're talking about the heart as in the heart that pump blood throughout your body.

4. "Love is the answer, but while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions." And if you want more, just keep on asking!

5. "A fast word about oral contraception. I asked a girl to go to bed with me, she said 'no'." It sounds, 'practical', I think.

And when it comes to everyday life, he really knows how to make the best out of every possible scenario, and it doesn't involve a lawsuit if he strikes a nerve.

6. "Basically my wife was immature. I'd be at home in the bath and she'd come in and sink my boats." I never had a boat in my bathtub before. Just staring at it while soaking in hot water makes me seasick already.

7. "I am not afraid of death, I just don't want to be there when it happens." If it rains, it pours.

8. "I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose." It could get worse when you're guzzling on beer… or mouthwash, and it happened to me once!

9. "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." At least he doesn't smite us with lightning, and I'm thankful for that.

And despite of what may happen to all of us in the next ten, twenty, or even thirty years, I guess we all have to see things in a different kind of light and not just perspective. I can't seem to imagine life without any piece of wisdom that could guide us. Whether we're religious or not, it takes more courage to accept your fears and learn how to deal with them is all that matters when it comes to even just getting along.

And to sum things up, here is the last nugget of wisdom to go by… however, whenever, and wherever we may be.

10. "The talent for being happy is appreciating and liking what you have, instead of what you don't have."

Sources http://www.emailcashpro.com/?r=ipank78

Powerful Steps To Abundance

2011-04-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

BE GREAT!

I recently received an email from a busy attorney that said simply, “Lynnea, help! I need abundance! Contact me.” Hmmm. What’s wrong with this picture? He’s busy, but he doesn’t feel like he has abundance in his life. How often do you feel that way? I believe that most of us yearn to feel “filled up” and overflowing with the greatness that life has to offer. If you feel this way, I have a question for you: What would greatness in yourself, your life, and your business, look like?

In order to achieve greatness, and be truly satisfied with yourself and your life, it’s important to cultivate abundance thinking.

You see, we can manifest abundance in our lives. “How?”, you ask. Well, it’s simple, because it’s already within us and around us. But, it’s difficult, because it means doing some work on ourselves. Below are 10 ways to begin creating abundance in your life.

Creating Abundance

Be grateful for what you have; all of it. Can you see? Can you read? Can you hear? Are there people who love you? Do your legs work? Do you have someplace to sleep tonight? There are myriad things for which we can be grateful; and we need to BE grateful before we can be entrusted with more.

Acknowledge abundance; be open to it as it occurs every day in little ways. Did someone give you free tickets to something, or treat you to lunch? That’s abundance. Did you receive an “atta-boy” or a compliment? Did you find a penny on the ground? That’s abundance. Look for it, be attuned to it in your life.

Practice being happy for what others have. There’s no shortage of success, love, money, possessions. Just because someone else has something doesn’t mean there’s less for you.

Be generous. Coming from a “scarcity mentality” only creates scarcity. Give others your praise, help others succeed by sharing your knowledge, your network, your caring, your time, talents, and treasures.

Cultivate a positive environment. Norman Vincent Peale said, “Change your thoughts and you change your world”. Thoughts are fed by everything around us: what we listen to, read, and watch; and by the people we hang out with.. You have the right to create an environment of abundance thinkers, books, tapes, pictures, words, and thoughts. Do it.

Get rid of what you don’t need. Holding onto “stuff” we don’t need feeds our fear of scarcity. Open up space in your physical, mental, and emotional environments for good stuff to flow in.

Help others less fortunate. Personally reach out to those who have less than you do…those who can’t see, read, hear, or walk, who have nowhere to sleep tonight. This helps put things in a bigger perspective, it expands your experience, it expands your world; it expands your gratitude.

Be gentle with yourself and others. Choose to assume the best– that you, and others, are doing the best they can, even when they’re not. Forgive yourself for what you don’t have, for what you haven’t done, and move on to the good stuff waiting for you. Being stuck in regret and guilt wastes your energy and talents. Be grateful for the lesson learned, and get over the rest.

Get your personal needs met. We each have individual, personal needs. These are not options. They are as necessary to us as water or air. They keep us emotionally and spiritually alive. If a need is not being met, a void exists within us, and we’ll look for things to fill the void. We may end up grasping for many things, feeling that we live in a world of scarcity. There are many assessments to help define your unique set of personal needs (if you are interested in using one of these, contact me). Once you know what you need to be and feel your best, you can start creating ways to have these needs met. The voids will disappear.

Daily affirm that you are a worthy and deserving person, who brings unique gifts and value to the world; and that the things you want are flowing to you. Every day, focus on what you want (NOT on what you don’t have!) Visualize it, plan for it, see it in Technicolor®, feel it, talk to it, make it come alive for you. Rev up your passion for it, and in time, you’ll joyfully experience “your cup running over”.

There truly is an abundance of all we want and need. Believe it, manifest it, be fully open to receive it. Because life’s too short to live it half-way!

by Lynnea J. Hagen posted under Manifesting Abundance

Self Improvement And Success

2011-02-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

Everything that happens to us happens in purpose. And sometimes, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures, treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self improvement and success.

I remember watching Patch Adams – its my favorite movie, actually. Its one great film that will help you improve yourself. Hunter “patch” Adams is a medical student who failed to make it through the board exams.

After months of suffering in melancholy, depression and suicidal attempts – he decided to seek for medical attention and voluntarily admitted himself in a psychiatric ward. His months of stay in the hospital led him to meeting different kinds of people. Sick people in that matter. He met a catatonic, a mentally retarded, a schizophrenic and so on. Patch found ways of treating his own ailment and finally realized he has to get back on track. He woke up one morning realizing that after all the failure and pains he has gone through, he still want to become the a doctor. He carries with himself a positive attitude that brought him self improvement and success. He didn’t only improved himself, but also the life of the people around him and the quality of life. Did he succeed? Needless to say, he became the best damn doctor his country has ever known.

So, when does self improvement become synonymous with success? Where do we start? Take these tips, friends…

Stop thinking and feeling as if you’re a failure, because you’re not. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept YOU?

When you see hunks and models on TV, think more on self improvement, not self pitying. Self acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.

When people feel so down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don’t go down with them. They’ll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.

The world is a large room for lessons, not mistakes. Don’t feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on a science quiz. There’s always a next time. Make rooms for self improvement.

Take things one at a time. You don’t expect black sheep’s to be goody-two-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self improvement is a one day at a time process.

Self improvement results to inner stability, personality development and dig this …. SUCCESS. It comes from self confidence, self appreciation and self esteem.

Set meaningful and achievable goals. Self improvement doesn’t turn you to be the exact replica of Cameron Diaz or Ralph Fiennes. It hopes and aims to result to an improved and better YOU.

Little things mean BIG to other people. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying “hi” or “hello”, greeting someone “good day” or telling Mr. Smith something like “hey, I love your tie!” are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we’re being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.

When you’re willing to accept change and go through the process of self improvement, it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. The world is a place where people of different values and attitude hang out. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, she would most likely decline an invitation for self improvement.

We should always remember that there’s no such thing as ‘over night success’. Its always a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have now, realizing that those are just one of the things you once wished for. A very nice quote says that “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors… they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self improvement, we increase our chances to head to the road of success.

3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online

2011-02-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.

There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing.

Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers.

If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product.

Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.

Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.

Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…

Want to lose weight? Get some sleep

2011-02-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

Getting too little sleep might prevent dieters from losing as much body fat as they otherwise would have, a small study suggests.

The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, add to evidence that sleep habits play a role in weight regulation. They also suggest that people embarking on a weight-loss plan may want to make sure they are catching enough shut-eye each night, researchers say.

The study included 10 overweight men and women who lived in a sleep lab for two separate two-week periods. During both, they were kept on the same calorie-restricted diet; but for one period, the participants slept for 8.5 hours per night, while during the other, they got 5.5 hours.

Researchers found that the dieters lost the same amount of weight under both conditions -- just under 7 pounds, on average. But during the sleep-restricted period, they mainly lost muscle rather than fat.

When participants got 8.5 hours of sleep, more than half of their weight loss came from shedding fat; when they got 5.5 of sleep, only one-quarter of their weight loss came from fat -- translating to a 55 percent reduction in fat loss.

Instead, the majority of people's weight loss during the sleep-restricted period came from lean body tissue, which refers to muscle and any other body tissue that is not fat.

"So they lost the same amount of weight, but the composition was different," said senior researcher Dr. Plamen Penev, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

Successful dieters always shed a certain amount of muscle, Penev noted in an interview, but ideally one wants to limit that loss in favor of shedding excess body fat. Insufficient sleep, the current findings suggest, might interfere with that.

The study has a number of limitations. Besides its small size, it also looked only at short-term weight loss. More research is needed to see how sleep duration might affect dieters' body composition over time, Penev said.

It's also unclear how well these findings from a tightly controlled sleep-lab setting might translate to the "real world," according to Penev.

Still, the findings do add to a body of research linking sleep habits to body weight. A number of studies have found that self-described "short sleepers" -- typically defined as those who get less than 6 hours of sleep each night -- tend to weigh more or gain more weight over time than people who get seven to eight hours of sleep per night.

Those studies do not, however, prove that sleep differences are the reason for the weight differences. Small sleep-lab studies such as the current one help researchers zero in on the effects of sleep itself.

Lab studies have suggested, for example, that sleep loss may alter people's levels of the "hunger hormones" leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is secreted by fat cells; low blood levels of the hormone promote hunger, while increases tell the brain that body is full and encourage calorie burning. Ghrelin is secreted by the stomach to boost appetite.

In their study, Penev and his colleagues found that under the sleep-restricted condition, participants reported greater hunger during the day compared with the 8-hour sleep condition -- even though they consumed the same number of calories during both periods. They also had higher blood levels of acylated ghrelin, one form of the appetite-boosting hormone.

This, Penev said, raises the question of whether, outside the tight control of the lab, the sleep-deprived dieters would have eaten more.

"The study suggests that if you are trying to lose weight by restricting your calories, it may be more difficult if you are sleep deprived," Dr. Shahrad Taheri, of the University of Birmingham in the UK, told Reuters Health in an email.

As for how much sleep is enough, "I don't think at this stage we can recommend a specific number of hours of sleep, as sleep is very individualized," said Taheri, who co-authored an editorial published with the study.

"But what we can do," Taheri added, "is pay more attention to our daily routines of eating, physical activity, and also sleep."

Penev agreed that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for sleep. He suggested that people try to notice how much sleep they generally need to feel refreshed the next morning; for some people that may be 6 hours, for others it may be 8.

Both Penev and Taheri said that more studies are needed in real-world settings. According to Penev, a study might, for instance, follow patients at a weight-loss clinic to see how their typical sleep habits correlate with their weight-loss success.

As for why fewer hours in bed may cause the body to preferentially lose muscle over fat, Penev said he and his colleagues can only theorize. Their guess is that the extra waking hours increase the need for glucose (sugar) in the brain and other parts of the nervous system -- and they get that extra fuel from breaking down muscle.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39509907/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/

Breast cancer and treatment options

2010-11-16T05:24:00.000-08:00

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women throughout the world. The common signs and symptoms of breast cancer are breast lumps, bloody nipple discharge, skin changes over the breast, itchy rash involving the nipple and breast pain.

However, not all breast lumps are cancerous. Indeed, eight out of 10 lumps felt by a woman are not cancerous. Common benign (not cancerous) breast lumps include fibroadenoma (especially in women in their twenties) and fibrocystic disease (affecting women in the thirties and forties).

But regardless of a woman’s age, a lump that is hard and irregular, often painless, with changes to the overlying skin or nipple, should not be ignored.

There are various risk factors associated with breast cancer although the exact cause of the disease remains unknown. By modifying some of these risks, one can help reduce the chance of getting breast cancer.

The risk factors include older age, being female, a positive family history of breast cancer, prolonged exposure to estrogen, diet (too much red meat and animal fat) and weight gain, especially in post-menopausal women.

Breastfeeding can alter prolonged exposure to estrogen and hence reduce a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Based on studies, the relative risk of breast cancer is decreased 4.3 percent for every 12 months of breastfeeding, in addition to 7 percent for each birth.

Breast cancer occurs when normal cell growth is no longer regulated and starts to divide in an uncontrolled manner. The disease usually originates from the cells lining the milk ducts and glands.

Ductal cancers (i.e. arising from the ducts) are more common that lobular cancers (i.e. arising from the breast lobules).

At the early stage of breast cancer growth, the malignant cells are confined within the milk ducts and glands and do not invade into the surrounding breast tissue. When breast cancer is detected at this early stage, it is known as in-situ or non-invasive cancer. Treatment of in-situ breast cancer gives very good results and patients live longer.

However, when the cancer cells have broken out of the milk ducts and lobules invade the surrounding breast tissue, the cancer is now classified as invasive. Invasive breast cancer can penetrate the surrounding lymphatic and blood vessels to spread to lymph nodes and the bloodstream. The organs most commonly affected by cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream are the lungs, liver and bones.

Diagnosis of breast cancer is usually made after a clinical examination by doctor, followed by imaging. A mammogram is the most important way to image a woman’s breast. Occasionally, a breast ultrasound and/or a MRI scan of the breasts may be required too. Histological confirmation of cancer will ultimately require some form of breast biopsy, either as fine needle aspiration cytology, core biopsy or open surgery.

The treatment of breast cancer is basically divided into two aspects: Loco-regional treatment, consisting of surgery to the breast and axillary lymph nodes (in the armpit) — with or without radiotherapy to the breast tumor bed — and systemic treatment consisting of chemotherapy to target clumps of cancer cells that may be circulating in a breast cancer patient’s blood stream.

The mainstay of treatment of breast cancer is surgery.

Traditional surgical techniques include mastectomy, which is the removal of the whole breast and nipple, and wide excision or breast-conserving surgery, the removal of the cancerous lump, protected within a rim of normal tissue, while saving the rest of the unaffected breast.

There are newer surgical techniques like skin-sparing mastectomy, which involves removing the whole breast while maintaining an adequate skin envelope — and nipple-sparing mastectomy, which preserves even the nipple, in selected cases where the tumor is situated far away from the nipple. Both these techniques require immediate breast reconstruction by a plastic surgeon during the same operation.

During the operation, the surgeon may also check the lymph nodes in the axilla (i.e. armpit) for the presence of cancer through a procedure known as sentinel lymph node biopsy.

It is absolutely necessary for patients who have undergone breast-conserving surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence in the breast tumor bed. It is also indicated in some patients following mastectomy when the risk of recurrence is high (large number of lymph nodes involved with tumor spread or tumor size larger than 5 centimeters).

The need for systemic treatment after breast cancer surgery is based on the information obtained from microscopic analysis of the tumor and the axillary lymph nodes. There are three main forms of systemic treatment: Cytotoxic chemotherapy, which involves giving toxic drugs intravenously to target the cancer cells which are potentially circulating within the bloodstream; hormonal manipulation; and ovarian ablation, which applies to pre-menopausal women with hormone-positive breast cancers to induce early menopause in order to reduce the estrogen drive.

An ovarian ablation is achieved by surgical removal or radiation to the ovaries or by drugs like Goserelin to stop estrogen secretion at the level of the brain.

http://www.thejakartapost.com

Georgette Chan is a breast consultant and general surgeon at the Breast Surgery Center, a one-stop clinic that manages a full range of breast concern. The Breast Surgery Centre, 290 Orchard Road #07-13A Paragon (Lift Lobby C), 3 Mount Elizabeth, #11-09 Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, 24-hour Answering service (65) 6535 8833.

Yoga poses and breathing for insomnia

2010-10-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

Do you have trouble falling asleep at night? Do you toss and turn a lot in bed, or is your sleep disrupted every hour or so? Do you wake up in the morning exhausted?

Plough pose: Keep your back as straight as possible, once you are in that position.

You are not alone; insomnia affects many people. Over 50 percent of adults in the US suffer from it, and more than 30 percent are affected by insomnia for more than six weeks at some point in their lives, affecting their memory, mood and making them more susceptible to illness.

Turning to pills does not get rid of the problem, it only makes you become addicted to them. Drugs only treat the symptom, not the underlying problem; as soon as you stop taking them, the insomnia often returns.

Insomnia is often caused by anxiety, fatigue and stress. Experts recommend going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, doing regular exercise, avoiding big meals before going to bed, and limiting the intake of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol.

You can also create a more inducing atmosphere to relax in your bedroom by keeping it at a moderate temperature (not too hot or too cold) and only using it to sleep, by doing relaxing activities like reading, taking a hot shower or bath, or playing soothing music.

But if none of those help, you can try restorative yoga poses, known to reduce muscle tension, and breathing techniques, which slow the heart rate. A 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that participants who reduce stimuli in the bedroom and learn relaxation techniques like yoga have a better quality sleep than those who are taking drugs.

Here are a few yoga postures that may work to deal with insomnia. It’s best to do these poses in your bedroom, so you can get right in bed when they start to work.

Note: the first two poses (shoulderstand and plow) should only be done by regular yoga practitioners who have learned to do the poses with the instruction of a qualified teacher. If you’ve never done these inversion poses or never done any yoga, you can skip them; and do the reclining side twists, the wind-releasing pose, the corpse pose and the 2-to-1 breathing.

Yoga practice for insomnia

Shoulderstand (Sarvangasana)

Skip this posture if you’re not familiar or comfortable with it. Or use a wall for support. Otherwise, lie down on the mat on the floor, inhale and while using the momentum of a roll-up, push your body up in the air so that your shoulders rest on the floor and your legs are in the air. Support your hips with your hands. At first, only do a half shoulderstand. To do this, create a “jack-knife” with your body. Place your body at a 45-degree angle, and your legs at the opposite 45-degree angle. Keep your back and legs as straight as possible. Don’t forget to breathe.

Feel your shoulders and back unwind and stay there as long as possible. Pay close attention to your breath. This is a more difficult pose than it seems, so stay focused.

Plow (Halasana)

You can move directly into Halasana from Sarvangasana. Synchronize your movement with your breath. Once you feel the tightness in your muscles has unwound sufficiently, allow your legs to go over your head and to the floor behind you. Don’t push yourself too far. Keep your back as straight as possible. Breathe.

Stay there as long as you can.

Reclining side twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)

Lying on your bed, inhale and pull your right knee into your chest. Leave the other leg straight. Take the knee in the opposite hand. As you exhale, turn your entire body to the left. Stretch your right arm out to the right and if possible, turn your head to the right but keep your eyes closed. Breathe. Repeat the pose on the other side of the body.

Double wind releasing pose (Pavana Muktasana)

This yoga posture helps to release gas, as well as relax the lower back and shoulders.

Inhale, and draw your knees to your chest. Then as you exhale, lift your body up toward your knees.

Draw your shoulders down toward your feet. Breathe. Stay here as long as you feel comfortable.

Corpse pose (Savasana)

Lie down on your bed on your back. Allow your arms and legs to splay outward. Turn your palms up.

Relax your body and your mind, and breathe. Don’t try to control your thoughts. Simply let them flow, and observe them quietly.

2-to-1 breathing

As you lie in savasana, try the 2-to-1 breathing technique. This breathing relaxes the body by subtly stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, inducing a state of relaxation.

As you lie in bed, gently slow down the rate of exhalation until you exhale for twice as long as you inhale.

Don’t try to fill or empty the lungs completely — you are simply changing the rhythm of your breathing.

In the beginning it may help to count to three on the inhalation and six on the exhalation, or four on the inhalation and eight on the exhalation, or any other 2-to-1 ratio that you are comfortable with. Focus on the smoothness and evenness of you breath, gradually eliminating all jerks and pauses.

Once you’ve become accustomed to this breathing, start to keep a count of the breaths to bring your mind to a soft, effortless focus. Take eight breaths lying on your back, 16 breaths lying on your right side, and 32 breaths lying on your left side. You may not even be able to complete the whole round before you fall asleep.

Sweet dreams and Namaste.

Devi Asmarani, The Jakarta Post

How to Blog Effectively

2010-10-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

By: Jenney
CheeverSo you've decided to start a blog! While blogging is certainly not rocket science, there are a few things you do need to know about how to blog effectively and how to set up a blog site. Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can start a blog, but if you want your blog to stand out from the crowd, it helps to do your homework first.

What Will You Say?

Effective blogging begins before you even type your first word. Really think about the image you want to present and the topics you will discuss. Think about your own personality and writing style. What do you hope to accomplish with your blog? Once you've answered these questions for yourself, you are ready to begin actually setting up your blog.

Choose a Look

Make sure your blog is visually appealing. The layout of your blog is the first thing your readers will see, before they even read a word. Try to keep it uncluttered, yet still interesting. Including photos in your posts adds some visual interest. Try to make the look of your blog compatible with the tone of your blog, and keep your formatting and fonts consistent from post to post. This makes it easier for readers to recognize the different elements in your blog.

Once you start writing, keep in mind that in order for your blog to be successful, you must write well. Beware of typos, poor spelling and grammatical errors. These things make you look like an amateur. Worse, they make you look less credible. Use that spell check, and don't forget to proofread.

Add Some Personality

Don't forget to let your personality shine. While you do want your posts to be well written and grammatically correct, you don't want your blog to read like a term paper. Keep the tone of your writing friendly and casual. You want your readers to feel like you are having a conversation with them, as it's that personal element that makes blogs appealing.

If you want to get people to read your blog and to keep reading your blog, you must keep your content fresh and interesting. Posting frequently will help new readers find your blog, and will keep the readers who are already interested coming back for more. Daily posting is best, but don't push yourself to write if you don't have anything to say. Posting a few thoughtful entries a week is a better way to attract readers.

Source http://www.life123.com

20 Causes of Intertile in Married Couple

2010-10-16T20:32:00.000-07:00

Based on the data, infertility due to wife factor includes 45% who mempunyau problem in the oviduct, ovulation, perotenium / endometriosis, and uterine cervix. While infertility because of the husband about 40%, including abnormal sperm expenditure, production and maturation of sperm abnormalities, sperm canal narrowing due to congenital infections, immunologic factors / antibodies, antisperma, as well as nutritional factors. Meanwhile, due to unexplained factors of about 10-15%. Explains dr. NC Indra Anwar, Sp.OG., and dr. Irsal. Yan, Sp.OG., from Lotus Fertility Clinic Gading Pluit Hospital, the conference & S some time ago. Theresa Puspayanti

1. LIFE STYLE FULL OF STRESS

Lifestyle turned out to hold a large role in contributing to the incidence of infertility, which is equal to 15-20%. Serbacepat lifestyle and today's competitive make a person susceptible exposed to stress. Yet the tumultuous state of mind can lead to disruption of ovulation, impaired spermatogenesis, spasm of the fallopian tubes, and the decreased frequency of sexual intercourse.

2. OBESITY

Fat deposits can interfere with the performance of organs, including reproductive organs. High cholesterol levels would disturb the hormonal balance, among others, lead to the disruption of the menstrual cycle; can include menstrual late, do not come at all within a few months if not pregnant, or otherwise just get out and hold but not regular. Whereas menstrual disturbances had a direct impact on the calculation of egg maturation, while sex outside the fertile period to produce a thin chance of conception. In men chubby fat deposition occurs where - ¬ where, including in the area pubis (part of the genitalia), so that his penis looks shorter and smaller. As a result, can inhibit sexual contacts. In addition, obesity also affects the metabolism of testosterone. Though these hormones ensure the development of reproductive organs, the emergence of secondary sex characteristics of boys prior to puberty and duration of spermatogenesis (sperm formation) and to keep their sexual function after puberty.

3. TOO SKINNY

Menstrual cycle disorders commonly experienced by women who are very thin, for example on women's distance running athletes, models, ballet dancers, or their who experience significant weight reduction and sudden. It is understandable because in the body, fat among other things smooth functioning metabolism.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

One of them, air pollution due to smoking and lead emissions from motor vehicles. They are exposed to pollutants found decreased sperm quality. So is the use of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin was allegedly causing a disturbance and prolactin secretion of gonadotropin hormones which led to the inhibition of release of eggs in women.

5. FAMILIAR WITH ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Consumption of alcohol in women would suppress the production of hormones estrogen and progesterone but increased prolactin, which will hinder the process ovulation. In men, alcohol will reduce the size of the testes, the volume of semen (semen), and the concentration (density), mobility (moving speed), and normal morphology of spermatozoa.

6. MEDICINES
Certain drugs, including narcotic as well as medical drugs, such as some types of antibiotics, high blood pressure medication, pain medication mag, antikejang drugs, or drugs that are used dalarn, therapies against cancer, women can reduce fertility and affect sperm quality.

7. FAKTOR AGE
In women, after entering the age of 35 years, fertility will decline and more drastic decline in the age of 37 years to finally get into the menopause over 40-45 years. Reserve the egg will continue to decrease setup times women menstruate and will eventually run out during menopause. Conversely, age does not limit the level of male fertility in which "sperm factory" will continue to produce sperm cells during normal anatomy.

8. EXCESSIVE EXERCISE
In women, excessive exercise can cause difficulty conceiving because they interfere with the menstrual cycle. Allegedly due to decreased production of gonadotropins and increased production of endorphins and cortisol.

9. STOPPAGE IN VAGINA
These blockages create delays the delivery of semen. The first type is a blockage blockage psikogen also called vaginismus / dyspareunia. The second is anatomical obstruction in the form of vaginitis or inflammation of the vagina that can be caused by Candida albicans or trichomonas-like bacteria that live in the vagina may inhibit the movement of spermatozoa.

10. RCERVICAL DISORDERS
Normally, the cervix leads to the front (antefleksi), so face to face with the back wall of the vagina. This condition allows the sperm to the cervical canal that connects the vagina and uterine cavity. Deviation from its normal position, such as retrofleksi (rear-facing position of the uterus), can inhibit the occurrence of pregnancy.

11. UTERINE DISORDERS
Uterine cavity abnormalities because of adhesions, myomas or polyps, inflammation of the endometrium and uterine contraction disorders, may interfere with sperm transport. Even until a pregnancy is usually the pregnancy will end prematurely.

12. EGG LINE DISORDERS
Most often ditemukandalam infertility problems. Among the tubes are enlarged or thickened entirely because of the damage to the tube wall due to infection or endometriosis, tubal shortened due to previous inflammation, fibrosis / connective tissue formation, and tubal adhesions that interfere with the movement of fimbria ((forms such as tassels and irregular located on the tip of the cervix.

13. OVARY DISORDERS
Disturbances in the ovary (ovarian), such as tumors or cysts, endometriosis can lead to no ovulation. How would a pregnancy when there is no fertilized egg is ready?

14. MUMPS
Although chances are relatively small (approximately 20 30%), mumps should not be taken lightly because it can cause fertility problems in men. Weight ¬ least fertility problems depending on how severe damage to the testes as a "plant" sperm. If severely damaged, he can have asthenozoopermia, namely the number of sperm nil. This damage is permanent alias could not be corrected in any way.

15. INFEKSI
Generally characterized by the emergence of whiteness that should receive serious attention. if allowed to continue and not get proper treatment, these infections will be creeping up into the uterus or even to adneksa consisting of fallopian tubes, ovaries, and ligaments or the muscles supporting the uterus. Adequate therapy with drug delivery ¬ drugs appropriate antibiotic class. But it takes patience from the patient to undergo this treatment for the infection is completely healed ¬. Prevention of infection can be done for example by maintaining personal hygiene during bowel movements. Especially when forced to defecate in public places that are less, clean, rinse immediately so as far as possible to find clean water. Note also the washing pattern, ie, from top to bottom. never vice versa, from the anus to the vagina, because the chance to "carry" germs that may fester in the anus to the vagina.

16. ENDO METRIOSIS
A woman said to get endometriosis when endometrial tissue / lining of the uterus grows not in the proper place. Presumably the appearance of endometriosis is stimulated by the hormone estrogen excess, until the treatment is essentially a hormonal treatment, namely the provision of anti-estrogen hormone progesterone at least 2 months. With the given antinya, expected growth of endometrial tissue could be inhibited up to does not grow everywhere. Unfortunately, the ovaries become an easy target who most often overgrown with endometrial tissue. As a result, there could be adhesions to the intestines, uterus, fallopian tubes, or to the surrounding organs. When with the hormone there was no improvement, it is usually recommended laparoscopic surgery with minimal incision or laparotomy similar to Caesarean section.

17. KURETASE RECURRING
When done repeatedly in the near term could allegedly lead to adhesions of the uterus, especially if kuretnya not sterile. Endometrial cavity should be shaped so close, so that the concerned so hard to have kids or even barren.

18. PLACENTA DISORDERS
Normally, the placenta will come out by itself about ¬ about 30 minutes after birth. if after waiting for 30 menu does not come out, inevitably have taken manual action to remove it, although one of the risk is bleeding because the blood vessels that participate terjebol certainly more than if no adhesions. if the condition is severe, the alternatives is removal of the uterus to minimize bleeding. This then makes the condition so profanity uterus, causing infertility.

19. OPERATING HISTORY
Especially caesarean section and appendix operation that has been severe, because every action must be left open wound surgery. adhesions are very likely to occur on faults that are not true, a lot of blood left, or the lack of good wound healing, such as the week has not been dry. This is where the importance of control to the physician in charge. While the second fault and so increase the chance of adhesions between the uterus with the abdominal wall, as well as with bowel and bladder.

20.VARIKOKEL
Ie, varicose veins or widening of the venous valves (veins) that occur in the scrotum. Widening of blood vessels at the site of the testicular vein is certainly going to disrupt testicular function as "factories" sperm, both in terms of both quantity and quality production.

Sources http://ruly.blogdetik.com/2008/11/16/20-penyebab-kurang-subur-pada-pasangan-suami-istri/?l991101blog

Dictionary - View detailed dictionary

When gossip is actually healthy

2010-10-02T06:04:00.000-07:00

Gossip Good For Your Health?
Michelle Konstantinovsky

Whether it happens around the water cooler, in the locker room, or via text message, we're all guilty of a little gossip now and then. Even the most virtuous do-gooders fall prey to some behind-the-back chitchat once in a while. And as technology advances, social networking sites, celebrity blogs, and handheld e-mail devices make it easier than ever to transmit scandalous tidbits through the rumor mill. Though at face value, gossip seems to do nothing more than damage someone's reputation and self-esteem, some experts say that the spreading of gossip may actually be healthy. Read on to learn more.

Gossip isn’t all bad

Swapping salacious stories can be thrilling, but can also leave behind a guilty conscience. But what if some of your rumor remorse could be alleviated? Recent studies suggest that under certain circumstances, gossip can be beneficial – even healthy. And while this research doesn’t necessarily excuse spreading the sordid details of a friend’s love life, it does ease a bit of the shame that accompanies a Perez Hilton addiction.

Gossip defined

The very notion of gossip can be tricky to define. How does a snarky comment about a coworker compare to a random celebrity-centered rant? In a recent issue of Scientific American Mind, Professor Frank T. McAndrew offered this widely accepted definition: “the practice [of gossip] involves talk about people who are not present and this talk is relaxed, informal and entertaining. Typically, the topic of conversation also concerns information that we can make moral judgments about.”

Gossip actually a sign of evolution

Why exactly do all humans seem to have such a lust for gossip? Blame it on our ancestors. According to McAndrew, our predecessors lived in intimate groups in which members had to rely on each other, but also engage in competition for limited resources. Those who had the savvy to gather information about their fellow group members achieved more success and passed their knowledge-seeking genes on to subsequent generations. Hence, our desire to get the scoop on friends, colleagues and enemies may be innate.

Gossip ironically is moralistic in nature

McAndrew, along with other researchers believes that when controlled, gossip can be a major asset to humans. Individuals not only forge bonds by sharing information, but they effectively maintain the norms and tenets of their group culture. When one person is the target of gossip, the group quickly identifies him or her as a violator of its standards. After all, by McAndrew’s definition, gossip is usually characterized by information we can evaluate on a moral level. So by outing those who defy social ethics, the group as a whole can prosper and thrive.

When gossip isn’t good

So does this mean distributing photocopies of your rival’s diary is a clever way to climb the social ladder? Not exactly. Because our modern society no longer deals with the perils of prehistoric civilization, today’s information grapevine can be quite damaging. Although we no longer rely on the primitive functions of gossip to inform and protect our social groups, we continue to engage in it. In his article, McAndrew asserts that “in its rawest form [gossip] is a strategy used by individuals to further their own reputations and selfish interests at the expense of others.”

Gossip brings people together

And what about the barrage of celebrity-focused magazines, entertainment shows, blogs and tell-all books? If humans evolved to gossip as a method of protecting one’s social status while eliminating threatening outsiders, why do we salivate over the latest celeb scandals?
According to McAndrew and other researchers, our brains simply haven’t evolved to make the distinction between the next-door neighbor and Angelina Jolie. Both faces are familiar, and we may be equally informed about each individual’s intimate life details. Besides being recognizable, famous faces can often serve as conversation starters or provide a common ground for people with little else in common. McAndrew believes celebrities “facilitate the types of informal interaction that help people become comfortable in new surroundings.”

Some gossip may result in shame

But just as with any other kind of gossip, celebrity-focused rumors and scandals can be detrimental as well. “I stopped reading [celebrity gossip blog] Perez Hilton about five months ago, and let me tell you, I couldn't feel better about it,” says San Francisco native, Erin Shea. “I started realizing the way he writes is so negative and judgmental, it made me feel like a bad person after reading it.”

Successful – healthy – gossiping is about being a team player

So it seems the gossip rule of thumb is to acknowledge it as a basic adaptive skill that shouldn’t be repressed, but to engage in the rumor mill with caution. McAndrew concludes his article with the assertion that “successful gossiping is about being a good team player and sharing key information with others in a way that will not be perceived as self-serving and about understanding when to keep your mouth shut.”
And perhaps for those like Shea who can’t get enough of the latest scoop, the best bet is to be choosy about the source. She says, “The gossip I want gives me the pictures and the story, does it in a funny manner, and never once tries to pass on moral advice.” Like anything else in life, to keep gossip from being detrimental, moderation is key. Whisper wisely.

Hard Work? No Thanks!

2010-09-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

They are the 'entitled to it all' generation to whom hard work is an alien concept. Today's young workers, it appears, believe they deserve jobs with big salaries, status and plenty of leisure time - without having to put in the hours.

A study spanning three decades concluded that those born in the late 1980s - the so-called 'Generation Y' - expect to 'have their cake and eat it'. They were found to value leisure time far more highly than older members of the workforce and were much more likely to want a job with an easy pace and lots of holidays. They were also less likely to want to work overtime.

Generation Y are much more likely than previous generations to see work as simply a means of paying the bills. And they saw work as less central to their lives and were more likely to agree that 'work is just making a living'.

But they place great importance on salary and status. In other words, said the researchers, the younger generation wants to 'have their cake' in big salaries and 'eat it too' by retaining a healthy work-life balance.

For the study, published in the Journal of Management, researchers compared the work values of three generations and found distinct differences.

The Generation Y tag refers to those growing up in the internet age, the most technologically-savvy generation yet. Before them came Generation X, born in the 1970s, and often called 'Thatcher's children'.

They grew up in an era of increasing equality for women, a struggling economy and increasing divorce rates. Their attitude is typically described as 'work hard, play hard'.

Baby Boomers were born in the late 1940s and 1950s. As children of the post-war years, they are associated with prosperity and optimism.

They were wealthier and healthier than any generation before but were prepared to work hard to achieve their success. They can be loosely described as the 'live to work' generation.

For the study, 16,507 Americans across the generations were asked to complete surveys to gauge their attitudes as they were finishing secondary school. The 'biggest change' in values was the increased desire for leisure time among Generation Y, analysis found.

'The combination of not wanting to work hard but still wanting more money and status verifies the sense of entitlement many have identified among Generation Y,' the study said.

It also found that the desire to find work with 'meaning' had declined, with younger workers more likely to see jobs as a means of funding their lifestyles. And no differences were found in preferences for jobs that helped others or were worthwhile to society.

Lead author Jean M Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University and author of the book Generation Me, said: 'Young workers are now entering the workforce with different values, on average, from those of the young workers of 15 and 30 years ago, which may affect recruitment and management.'

The research echoes findings by the Association of Graduate Recruiters which identified a new breed of graduate 'divas' who expect everything to fall into their laps.

They consider themselves in great demand in the job market but are described by bosses as 'unrealistic', 'self-centred', 'fickle' and 'greedy'. Many firms said they were turning to overseas recruitment to find staff with a stronger work ethic.

The AGR report, based on responses from 211 graduate employers including investment banks, law and accountancy firms, cited a warning that Generation Y graduates are often accused of being 'divas at work who expect everything to fall into their laps'.

In one case, a transport company recruit was overheard on the phone to his mother saying: 'I have got to go to London tomorrow and they haven't even told me how to get there.'

How to Battle Boredom at Work

2010-08-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

You know the scene: you arrive at work and you see the same people, you’ve heard the conversations so many times before. It’s like the same song playing over and over again, caught in a loop. You sit down at your desk and check your emails from the same people writing in. Same old, same old. You start working and then you have to attend a meeting which seems to go forever. And so your day drags on. How often do you get bored at work? And what are the most boring jobs?

It’s an important question for two reasons. First, because boredom might be a health hazard. According to Psychology Today, scientists reckon you can die of boredom, quite literally. The report cites a study in the 1980s when 7500 British civil servants were interviewed. During that conversation, they were asked whether they got bored at work over the past month. The researchers then tracked them down last year and found that those who reported being bored were 2.5 times more likely to have died of a heart attack. So boredom at work is a problem. How bored are you?

Mind you, one has to take these sorts of studies with a grain of salt. It might be a chicken and egg situation with those British civil servants. Bored people are probably less likely to look after themselves by exercising, eating well and staying stress free. Still if nothing else, these sorts of studies highlight how much of a problem workplace boredom might be.

Part of the problem might be about the boredom of routine. The Oxford Dictionary defines routine as a sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed unvarying programme. That’s actually about working in an office and goes to the heart of management which is about doing the same successful thing over and over again. If it gets results, you just keep repeating it.

Some research, picked up by the Houston Chronicle, suggests that overqualified people stuck in jobs they regard as a waste of their education and know-how are more likely to get bored. Which brings us to the second reason why boredom is a problem. If this research is right, then boredom might also reflect the state of economy and job market. Last week, I did a blog entry on the growing army of underemployed workers who have been forced to take jobs with not enough hours, jobs that are not actually utilising all their skills and experience. How many of them would be bored?

Then again, some jobs are more boring than others. I had a neighbour once who was a technical manager at a paint company. His job involved assessing his company’s products against rival brands. He had to watch paint dry, literally, and then test it scientifically by poking it with his finger. Boring jobs identified here include toll booth operator, librarian and security guard when there’s nothing happening. Bank tellers and envelope stuffers are mentioned here while mail sorters and actuarial specialists are cited here

Actually, I think this is unfair. It might be a case of each to their own. I know librarians who love their work and my paint-watching neighbour always told me he had one of the best jobs in the world. And I guess there are some people who get off on things like invoices, meetings, customer service and spreadsheets. They do exist, I’ve known some. Everyone is different.

So what do you do if you’re bored at work? Web Worker Daily has some terrific ideas: get those endorphin levels up with more exercise, change the way you do routine tasks, pick up some new and challenging role, find a new hobby or non-work related project, anything from music to cooking, set yourself some goals and use that as an exercise in self-improvement and get plenty of sleep.

If all else fails, I would recommend this list of fantastic web sites to visit. Some of these sites, like The Onion and Lifehacker are my faves. Then again, you can always quit your job and find something exciting to do. Like being a movie star or space explorer.

Do you get bored at work? How bad does it get? What’s the most boring part of your job? How do you deal with it? What strategies would you employ to fight workplace boredom?

Cancer-Preventing Foods

2010-07-17T16:29:00.000-07:00

by Angeline Oppenheimer

According to the National Cancer Institute, dietary factors play a significant role in cancer risks. A recent review estimates that 80 percent of cancers of the large bowel, breast and prostate are due to dietary factors. Clearly, what we eat affects our health. We can fight this dreaded disease by selecting foods that contain cancer-fighting agents.

Most doctors agree that a diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grain and low fat can help lower cancer risks. However, some categories lead the pack:

Cruciferous Vegetables

This group of vegetables includes cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts. They are rich in an antioxidant called sulforaphane. Antioxidants capture free radicals and prevent them from causing damage to the cell membrane and its DNA, both of which are linked to cancer risk.

Dark Green Vegetables

Beans and Peas What do these foods have in common? Folic acid. It's nature's built-in repair machinery at your disposal -- folic acid fixes damaged DNA and helps prevent cancer. Load your diet with these and you'll never be sorry.

Red, Orange, Yellow and Blue Fruits and Vegetables

When fruits and vegetables are endowed with bright colors, they don't just look pretty. They are gems of powerful antioxidants chock full of vitamins C and E, carotenoids, and fiber.
Carotene is the most widely known carotenoid and offers protection against lung, colorectal, breast, uterine and prostate cancer. How? Carotenes destroy oxygen-free radicals in lipids, enhance the immune system and protect cells against UV radiation. Examples include carrots, apricots, citrus fruits, squash and tomatoes.
Blue, red or purple foods contain anthocyanins. These powerful antioxidants protect capillaries from oxidative damage and are anti-inflammatory. Load your shopping cart with beets, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, grapes and purple cabbage and save yourself a doctor visit.

Green Tea

So you like your cup of green tea after a meal? That's a good habit to continue. Researches show that green tea is packed with natural phytochemicals that may help prevent normal cells from becoming cancerous.

Ginger

Ginger is more than a culinary spice. It contains a cancer-fighting phytochemical called gingerol, which has anti-inflammatory properties and is anti-carcinogenic. Fringe benefit: It can help soothe an upset stomach. Its cousin, turmeric (known in Asia as yellow ginger) is a popular ingredient in curries and Asian dishes. Used in traditional and Indian medicine since the 7th century, this root contains an ingredient known as curcumin. It has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties that can suppress cancer cells.

Soy

Soy products are known to be good for your heart and immune system. However, scientists have also uncovered its cancer-fighting properties. Full of phytochemicals, soy can prevent breast cancer and relieve menopausal symptoms. In addition, it is full of anti-estrogens, which can block estrogens that lead to breast cancer development. Consider adding tofu, soymilk, edamame and tempeh (fermented soy) into your diet.

Fish

Eating fish on a regular basis can reap lots of health benefits. Fish can boost brain power and lower cholesterol with its Omega-3 fatty acids. However, these fatty acids also have been proven to prevent colon and prostate cancer. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish like salmon, trout and herring.

Spices

Do you love to spice up your foods with natural herbs? Not only does it add favor to your food, but it also may add years to your life. It helps to ward off cancer and slow the growth of tumors. In a USDA review of 39 herbs, researchers found that oregano, dill, thyme and rosemary have some of the highest levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants. Other herbs to consider: sage, chive and chili peppers. They are also good cancer busters.

Cut Calories Without Counting

2010-06-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

Eating and sticking with a low-calorie diet is one of the biggest challenges for most dieters, and it's a plan that backfires for more than 90 percent of dieters. How can you lose weight without regaining the weight back in a few weeks? The answer is to cut calories slowly and to fill up on healthier foods that actually satisfy you.

There are plenty of healthy and satisfying foods available at your local grocery store, and all it takes is some planning and conscious food choices to cut out extra calories and maintain steady weight loss.

Simple Strategies to Cut Calories

Some of the most effective and simple ways to lose weight without counting calories include:

Exercising portion control. Learn about serving sizes and healthy portions so you don't end up eating more than your body really needs. You may need to measure and weigh your food when you first start learning this technique, but making a mental note of a "real" serving size will help you make better choices for a lifetime.
Eating high-fiber foods. Natural foods such as fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain high levels of fiber, which can fill you up quickly. When you're trying to lose weight, high-fiber foods can be a valuable addition to your daily menu and help you keep your appetite in check.
Eliminating junk food from the daily menu. Too many sugary, salty and processed foods can be the ultimate diet saboteurs. Make a conscious decision to eliminate junk food from your diet and reach for wholesome, nutritious and natural foods as often as possible.
Eating water-based foods. Eating foods that contain lots of water such as cucumbers, leafy greens, watermelon and other fresh fruit can balance out your diet and provide your body with essential vitamins and minerals.

More Weight Loss and Calorie-Cutting Tips

In addition to sticking with a consistent meal plan and making conscious decisions about your food choices, you can continue losing weight at a steady rate by:

Exercising on a daily basis -- Aim for just 20-30 minutes of medium to intensive exercise each day to give your metabolism a boost.
Drinking more water -- Water helps quench your thirst, reduces the sensation of hunger and keeps your metabolism running at peak efficiency.
Eating a healthy breakfast -- Starting your day off on a healthy track with a wholesome breakfast will keep hunger at bay and reduce your need to snack on unhealthy food.
Manage stress in a healthy way -- Avoid turning to food to manage your feelings or reduce stress; try natural relaxation techniques to help you cope in a healthy and fulfilling way.

There are plenty of ways to cut calories without obsessively counting calories; when you learn which foods to eat on a daily basis, how to exercise portion control and what foods to eliminate completely from your diet, the weight-loss process becomes much, much easier! Stick with your well-balanced diet plan long enough to make it a habit, and you will be able to lose weight and keep it off for a lifetime.

10 Tips For Fitness Success

2010-05-03T08:26:00.000-07:00

It is undeniable that most of us can not enjoy a fitness or exercise. Also a truth that every person in this world can benefit from the fitness and proper nutrition program. Here are 10 tips to get your exercise routine starting today.

1. Design Destination Ralistis And Real

Designing such a simple goal to lose weight is not effective. Buat yang lebih spesifik. Create more specific. For example, 'I want to lose 10 kg to 5 September.

2. Measure your improvement

Measure each improvement and do regularly. You can not measure how much weight you lose when you do not measure it at the outset.

3. Create Data For Every Exercise

Each and every training session should be in the data. Keep the size of your practice and create your own success journal.

4. Combine your Kardio

Create a cardio sessions vary in intensity and length. Try a new cardio and stick to keep them fresh.

5. Exercise Hard Not Just For Men

Everyone should practice hard. Rigorous training to build muscle and increase bone density. Train all major muscle groups every 1-3 times per week.

6. Cooldown

Enough sleep for seven to nine hours each night. Similarly, relax your muscles with no exercise for 1 to 2 days each week.

7. Warming

Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes before you perform core exercises. You should begin by raising body temperature first.

8. Refrigeration

Do perenggangan on the overall cooling of the body. This will help increase flesibelitas and reduces muscle soreness the next day.

9. Nutrition Is Half Of The Battle

With proper food consumption as a counterweight of your workout routine. Eat healthy foods and diets leave forever in your life

10. To Give Motivation

Invite a friend to participate in training or doing exercises with a personal trainer. Do anything to make you commit. If you start to loose, kick back the guilt and do your exercise routine as soon as possible.

Thus 10 tips for building the foundations of a fitness program that is safe and effective. Anyone can reduce the fats in tbuh with a realistic exercise and adequate nutrition alloys. If you have health problems, better contact your doctor before you start doing fitness. Do the exercises regularly and you will be more healthy and happy from the day to day.

Kuda Lumping: Traditional Art of Indonesia nuance Magic

2010-04-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Dance kuda lumping, which is still thriving in many communities across the archipelago. Traditional dance that is played by "no pattern" by the common people have been born and liked the community, especially in Java, since the existence of the ancient kingdoms doeloe tempo. Initially, according to history, art lumping horse that was born as a symbol of the people also have the ability (kedigdayaan) in the face of the enemy or against the power elite who have the royal army. In addition, also as a medium of entertainment which brings cheap but the phenomenal to the masses.

Now, art kuda lumping still be enough to make a show that captivated the hearts of the audience..Although the existence of these cultural relics began to compete strictly by the entry of foreign art and culture to their homeland, the dance is still showing high attractiveness. Until now, we do not know who or where that sparked community groups (creating) kuda lumping the first time. In fact, lumping horse art found in many regions, and each recognizes the arts as one of their traditional culture. Including, presumably some time ago, was recognized also by the people of Johor in Malaysia as his own in addition to Reog Ponorogo. Kuda lumping outbreak phenomenon of art in various places, with various and s type, can be an indicator that the beauty of this magical full-back impressed "rising star" as a noteworthy cultural arts as an original Indonesian art.

Dipecut, glass and sprinkles of Fire Eating

I do not know what his players can make it like a man possessed. Judging from the way his playing, the dancers like lumping horse has tremendous power, even seem to have supernatural powers. Art of dance that uses fake horse made of woven bamboo and are accompanied by gamelan music such as gongs, kenong, drum and trumpet, the reality can make the audience was amazed by all attractions penunggan (dancer) kuda lumping. Remarkably, a dancer of traditional lumping of the original horse is generally played by kids who dressed him like a princess royal soldiers. Currently, players kuda lumping more dilakoni by a boy.

The sound of a prod (whip) which intentionally bears great players of this art, the beginning of the game and the entry of a mystical power that can anesthetize the-players. With woven bamboo horse, the horse penunggan given his ankles began to rattle this pranced, jumping up rolling on the ground. In addition to jumping, horse dancers did lumping other attractions, like eating glass and peeling coconut husk with his teeth. Glass (glass) that is eaten as an ordinary light bulb that lights our homes. He ate like a starving man glass, not grimacing in pain and no blood at the time he ate the glass-shard.

If viewed from the overall game kuda lumping, sound prod endless series of attractions that appear to dominate. Presumably, each prod by sipenunggang against itself, which is on foot or other body parts, will give a magical effect. That is, when the crack length wicker swing and on the legs and body, the dancer lumping horse will feel stronger, more powerful, more digdaya. Typically, under the circumstances, he's getting wild, and the power to do things abstruse, and not enter diakal normal healthy human.

Lively and festive games lumping horse becomes more complete with a display of attractions jet of flame. Bursts of fire coming out of the mouths of the other players, beginning with gasoline accommodate in their mouth and then sprayed on a fire that burns on a small iron spray tip is made in such a manner so that fire does not die before and after the gas was sprayed from his mouth. On lumping horse game, another meaning is contained in color. The colors are very dominant in this game, namely: red, white and black. A red color symbolizes the courage and spirit. White color symbolizes purity which also exist in the hearts of mind that can reflect all the senses so that it can serve as role models in black.

As a full-mystical and dangerous attraction, lumping horse dance is done under the supervision of a "supernatural leadership." Usually, this leader is a person who has a high unseen that can restore back to the consciousness of the dancer as usual. He is also responsible for the running of its attractions, as well as heal the pain experienced by lumping horse players in case something unwanted and cause illness or injury to the dancer. Therefore, although regarded as a folk game, lumping horse can not be played by anyone, but it must be under the guidance and supervision of the presidents.

It should be maintained and Developed

Broadly speaking, so much art and culture in Indonesia familial inherited from ancestors of the Indonesian nation to the current generation. Now, we as a nation is an heir to the heir of the traditional culture and art that has been properly keep and maintain it properly. Our job is to maintain and develop it, so from day to day not disappeared and the art treasures missing from our society.

One thing we must be aware that Indonesia is still colonized until now with the entry of foreign culture which tried to get rid of local cultures. Therefore, we as the next generation got together to restore the nation back from earlier cultures that exist and should not be swallowed extinct modern times. To that end, the Government and the community is expected to be constantly re-exploring the culture of what until recently was almost not heard from again, to then re-developed and preserved the values of Indonesian culture (Text & photos Yosef)

History of Wayang Kulit

2010-04-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wayang is a generic term denoting traditional theatre in Indonesia. There is no evidence that wayang existed before Hinduism came to Southeast Asia sometime in the first century CE brought in by Indian traders. However, there very well may have been indigenous storytelling traditions that had a profound impact on the development of the traditional puppet theatre. The first record of a wayang performance is from an inscription dated 930 CE which says "si Galigi mawayang," or "Sir Galigi played wayang". From that time till today it seems certain features of traditional puppet theatre have remained. Galigi was an itinerant performer who was requested to perform for a special royal occasion. At that event he performed a story about the hero Bhima from the Mahabharata

Wayang Kulit is a unique form of theatre employing light and shadow. The puppets are crafted from buffalo hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. When held up behind a piece of white cloth, with an electric bulb or an oil lamp as the light source, shadows are cast on the screen.

Wayang Kulit plays are invariably based on romantic tales, especially adaptations of the classic Indian epics, "The Mahabarata" and "The Ramayana". Some of the plays are also based on local happenings (current issues) or other local secular stories. It is up to the conductor or "Tok Dalang" to decide his direction.

The Dalang is the genius behind the entire performance. It is he who sits behind the screen and narrates the story. With a traditional orchestra in the background to provide a resonant melody and its conventional rhythm, the Dalang modulates his voice to create suspense thus heightening the drama. Invariably, the play climaxes with the triumph of good over evil.

Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from India even before the Christian era, and was slowly adopted as the local belief system. Sanskrit became the literary and court language of Java and later of Bali. The Hindus changed the Wayang (as did the Muslims, later) to spread their religion, mostly by stories from the Mahabharata or the Ramayana. Later this mixture of religion and wayang play was praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture. On Java, the western part of Sumatra and some smaller islands traditionalists continued to play the old stories for some time, but the influence of Hinduism prevailed and the traditional stories either fell into oblivion or were integrated into the Hinduistic plays.

The figures of the wayang are also present in the paintings of that time, for example, the roof murals of the courtroom in Klungkung, Bali. They are still present in traditional Balinese painting today.

When Islam began spreading in Indonesia, the display of God or gods in human form was prohibited, and thus this style of painting and shadow play was suppressed. King Raden Patah of Demak, Java, wanted to see the wayang in its traditional form, but failed to obtain permission from the Muslim religious leaders. As an alternative, the religious leaders converted the wayang golek into wayang purwa made from leather, and displayed only the shadow instead of the figures itself. Instead of the forbidden figures only their shadow picture was displayed, the birth of the wayang kulit.

The figures are painted, flat woodcarvings (a maximum of 5 to 15 mm thick -- barely half an inch) with movable arms. The head is solidly attached to the body. Wayang klitik can be used to perform puppet plays either during the day or at night. This type of wayang is relatively rare.

Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of puppet theatre in the world. Hundreds of people will stay up all night long to watch the superstar performers, dalang, who command extravagant fees and are international celebrities. Some of the most famous dalang in recent history are Ki Nartosabdho, Ki Anom Suroto, Ki Asep Sunarya, Ki Sugino, and Ki Manteb Sudarsono.

Internet Rehab Clinic for 'Screenager' Children

2010-03-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

KOMPAS.com - Children who are hooked on computer games, the internet and mobile phones are to be offered help at what is thought to be the first dedicated technology addiction service for young people in Britain.

The Capio Nightingale Hospital in central London - where singer Amy Winehouse was treated for drug addiction - launched the new service for patients as young as 12 following calls from parents concerned about their children's obsession.

Youngsters will be weaned off their gadgets in a residential unit and will also be taught face-to-face social skills. Consultant psychiatrist Dr Richard Graham said parents had told him their children flew 'into a rage' when they were asked to turn off their computers and police had even been called to settle the rows.

Dr Graham, who is leading the new addiction treatment, said rehab services need to 'adapt quickly' to help young people affected by technology addiction - who he dubbed 'screenagers' - rather than sticking with the same treatment models used for substance abuse.

'Mental health services need to adapt quickly to the changing worlds that young people inhabit, and understand just how seriously their lives can be impaired by unregulated time online, on-screen or in-game,' he said.

'We have found that many of the existing services fail to recognise the complexity of these situations, borrowing from older models of addiction and substance misuse to very limited effect.
'This is why Capio Nightingale Hospital has launched the first Young Person Technology Addiction Service, which we hope will address the underlying causes of this addiction to transform screenagers back into teenagers.'

The treatment aims to increase off-screen social activities and improve the person's confidence in face-to-face situations, the lack of which may have made them more susceptible to technology addiction.

It also encourages them to think about their relationship with their phone, computer games or social networking websites like Facebook and teaches them skills to help them to switch off.

The treatment package may also include a look at body image and physical health if the addiction has affected the child's confidence, activity levels or diet. Strategies to deal with online problems, like cyber bullying, may also be part of intensive in-patient care, group or individual therapy.

Dr Graham told the London Evening Standard the technology addicts - who he compared to gambling addicts - were hyper-stimulated so they were 'always on the alert' and could suffer withdrawal symptoms like agitation.

'I've been contacted by parents who see their children going into a rage when they're told to turn off their computer. Some end up having to call the police,' he said.

Dr Graham said children played some computer games for the social contact, adding: 'It gives them a sense of connection so they end up playing all the time.'
He said: 'What we need are official guidelines now on what counts as healthy or unhealthy use of technology.'

Other clinics, including The Priory, offer treatment for internet addiction but have no dedicated service for young people. A spokeswoman for Capio Nightingale Hospital said the service will be offered for children as young as 12 but those aged 15 to 17 are expected to be the main target group.

She said the service did not aim to make children give up technology use completely, instead they are encouraged to cut out any problem use - like computer games - and restrict the time spent using their phone or computer.

Health for the Liver

2010-03-13T01:40:00.000-08:00

Overview

A healthy liver is central to a body's ability to function. The liver consistently performs its vital tasks and is seldom noticed until it becomes diseased and is unable to operate. It's important not to wait until your liver becomes sick to pay attention to taking care of it. Learning a few basic guidelines involved in preserving the health of your liver will help you maintain the health of this crucial organ.

Environmental Toxins

One of the liver's main functions is filtering the blood and neutralizing toxins that enter the body. Be aware of your environment, and minimize the amount of harmful chemicals that enter your body. Protect your liver by wearing gloves when dealing with chemicals, such as household cleaners and garden chemicals. Beware of inhaled toxins, and make sure you have adequate ventilation when using aerosol products, such as hairspray or paint.

Ingested Toxins

Use caution with over-the-counter drugs, especially when combined with prescription medication. Your liver is responsible for dealing with these chemicals and can be damaged by them. Always consult your health care professional before taking over-the-counter treatments.

Alcohol is another ingested toxin that puts a heavy workload on the liver, and can lead to serious liver problems. Eliminate alcohol, if possible, or limit your intake to one drink a day for women or two drinks a day for men. Illicit drug use also taxes the liver and puts you at increased risk for infection and liver disease. Seek help to deal with unhealthy alcohol and drug use.

Lose Weight

Obesity can lead to serious liver complications. According to Northwestern University, obesity leads to a condition called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This disorder involves fat deposits in the liver that can lead to serious complications, such as liver cancer and cirrhosis. However, many of the symptoms of a fatty liver are hidden and the condition goes undiagnosed until it is serious. To avoid the devastating effects of a fatty liver, maintain a proper weight. Make exercise and a nutritious, balanced diet a priority in your effort to maintain a healthy liver.

Protection

Maintaining a healthy liver involves protecting it from possible infections. Hepatitis takes a severe toll on the liver, and the Mayo Clinic advises you to consider being vaccinated if you are at risk for developing hepatitis. Vaccines are available for hepatitis B and A. Additionally, avoid contact with other peoples' body fluids. Hepatitis can be transmitted through fluids from infected individuals, and it's wise to take precautions and protect your liver's health.

Diet

In addition to avoiding a high-fat diet, the Hepatitis Foundation International recommends evaluating your protein intake, especially if your liver is already fragile. Protein digestion creates byproducts that the liver must neutralize, creating a larger workload. The Mayo Clinic suggests a diet that focuses on plant sources--fruits and vegetables--for those wishing to prevent liver disease.

Good Food for Your Skin

2010-03-13T01:27:00.000-08:00

If you want to have healthy skin, you need to eat foods that contain vitamins known to contribute to beautiful, clear skin. A lack of certain vitamins can leave you with wrinkles, accelerated skin aging and/or pimples. Your skin may become rough and dehydrated as a result of not consuming foods that contain vitamins good for your skin. Take the time to learn which foods your skin will benefit from and include them in your diet if you want your skin to looks its best.

Vitamin A-Rich Foods

Eat orange vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin and yams if you want to consume foods good for your skin. Consume dandelion greens, red peppers (sweet), mustard and beet greens, cantaloupe, watermelon, pickled herring, liver and egg yolks as well. These foods contain vitamin A (also called retinol), which helps to prevent premature aging and dry skin.

Vitamin B3-Rich Foods

Include nuts such as almonds, legumes, whole-grain foods, avocados, brewer's yeast, fish, cheese, eggs, sesame seeds and lean meats in your diet for healthy skin. Niacin (another name for vitamin B3) is good for the skin and may prevent the skin from becoming dry. The development of dermatitis may also be a skin condition you can avoid developing by eating foods that contain vitamin B3.

Vitamin B-Complex-Rich Foods

Drink milk and eat foods such as kidneys, chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, eggs, nuts, legumes, tomatoes and grapefruit to avoid dry skin, dermatitis, eczema and dandruff. These B-complex-rich foods are good for your skin and beneficial to your hair as well.

Vitamin C-Rich Foods

Consume vitamin C-rich foods such as red (sweet) and green peppers, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, kiwis, citrus fruits, mangoes, cantaloupe and strawberries. Foods that contain vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid) help prevent premature aging. Vitamin C also helps to prevent rough skin.

Vitamin E-Rich Foods

Eat foods such as almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, safflower oil, canola oil, olive oil, corn oil, soybeans, tomato paste and sauce, spinach, avocados and seafood to help prevent pigmentation of the skin and to enhance the tone and texture of the skin.

Water

Drink six to eight 8-oz. glasses of spring water each day to hydrate skin and keep it clear and young looking. Water cleanses the body and the skin to keep it free of breakouts.