How to Fight Dementia?

Most of us start worrying about dementia after retirement - and that may be too little, too late. Experts say that if you really want to ward off dementia, you need to start taking care of your brain in your 30s and 40s - or even earlier.

"More and more research is suggesting that lifestyle is very important to your brain's health," says Dr. Paul Nussbaum, a neuro-psychologist and an adjunct associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "If you want to live a long, healthy life, then many of us need to start as early as we can."

So what can you do to beef up your brain - and possibly ward off dementia? Nussbaum, who recently gave a speech on the topic for the Winter Park (Fla.) Health Foundation, offers 20 tips that may help.

1. Join clubs or organizations that need volunteers. If you start volunteering now, you won't feel lost and unneeded after you retire.

2. Develop a hobby or two. Hobbies help you develop a robust brain because you're trying something new and complex.

3. Practise writing with your non-dominant hand several minutes everyday. This will exercise the opposite side of your brain and fire up those neurons.

4. Take dance lessons. In a study of nearly 500 people, dancing was the only regular physical activity associated with a significant decrease in the incidence of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. The people who danced three or four times a week showed 76 percent less incidence of dementia than those who danced only once a week or not at all.

5. Need a hobby? Start gardening. Researchers in New Zealand found that, of 1,000 people, those who gardened regularly were less likely to suffer from dementia! Not only does gardening reduce stress, but gardeners use their brains to plan gardens; they use visual and spatial reasoning to lay out a garden.

 

6. Walking daily can reduce the risk of dementia because cardiovascular health is important to maintain blood flow to the brain. Or... buy a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day. 

7. Read and write daily. Reading stimulates a wide variety of brain areas that process and store information. Likewise, writing (not copying) stimulates many areas of the brain as well.

8. Start knitting. Using both hands works both sides of your brain. And it's a stress reducer.

9. Learn a new language. Whether it's a foreign language or sign language, you are working your brain by making it go back and forth between one language and the other. A researcher in England found that being bilingual seemed to delay symptoms of Alzheimer's disease for four years. And some research suggests that the earlier a child learns sign language, the higher his IQ - and people with high IQs are less likely to have dementia. So start them early.

10. Play board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly. Not only are you taxing your brain, you're socializing too. Playing solo games, such as solitaire or online computer brain games can be helpful, but Nussbaum prefers games that encourage you to socialize too.

11. Take classes throughout your lifetime. Learning produces structural and chemical changes in the brain, and education appears to help people live longer. Brain researchers have found that people with advanced degrees live longer - and if they do have Alzheimer's, it often becomes apparent only in the very later stages of the disease.

12. Listen to classical music. A growing volume of research suggests that music may hard wire the brain, building links between the two hemispheres. Any kind of music may work, but there's some research that shows positive effects for classical music, though researchers don't understand why.

13. Learn a musical instrument. It may be harder than it was when you were a kid, but you'll be developing a dormant part of your brain. 

14. Travel. When you travel (whether it's to a distant vacation spot or on a different route across town), you're forcing your brain to navigate a new and complex environment. A study of London taxi drivers found experienced drivers had larger brains because they have to store lots of information about locations and how to navigate there.

15. Pray. Daily prayer appears to help your immune system. And people who attend a formal worship service regularly live longer and report happier, healthier lives.

16. Learn to meditate. It's important for your brain that you learn to shut out the stresses of everyday life.

17. Get enough sleep. Studies have shown a link between interrupted sleep and dementia.

18. Eat more foods containing Omega-3 fatty acids: Salmon, sardines, tuna, ocean trout, mackerel or herring, plus walnuts (which are higher in omega 3s than salmon) and flaxseed. Flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and walnut oil are good sources too.

19. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants in fruits and vegetables mop up some of the damage caused by free radicals, one of the leading killers of brain cells. 

20. Eat at least one meal a day with family and friends. You'll slow down, socialize, and research shows you'll eat healthier food than if you ate alone or on the go.

DOING ALL 20 THINGS LISTED ABOVE AND YOU WILL NOT FIND ENOUGH TIME IN YOUR LIFE TO FIT IN DEMENTIA AS WELL: IN OTHER WORDS, "CONTINUE TO DO ALL THE THINGS THAT YOU ALREADY DO AND YOU WILL HAVE COVERED MOST OF THE THINGS LISTED!"

A1 Chicken Curry

Yesterday, I had a sudden craving for curry and yet I didn't want to fuss around with all the poundings of curry paste .  Fortunately, I still had a packet of A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce in my pantry but no coconut milk.  So, I whipped up my no-fuss style curry (without the coconut milk) in less than 30 minutes! 

Ingredients :

  

- 1 packet of A1 Instant Chicken Curry Sauce
- 1 kampung chicken - cut into small pieces
- 4 potatoes - peeled and quartered
- 5 stalks of lemongrass (serai) - cut into 4cm to 5cm lengths, slit and crushed
- 4 sprigs of curry leaves
- 8 shallots - peeled and minced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 800ml water
- Salt - to taste
- 2 tbsp of Cooking oil

Methods :

1) Heat oil in a medium-sized wok and fry the shallot until slightly browned.  Add curry sauce and cinnamon stick.  Stir fry until fragrant.

2) Add chicken, potatoes, lemongrass and curry leaves. Stir and mix well.  

3) Add water and mix well.  Simmer with lid covered until chicken is cooked.

4)  Reduce heat.  Add salt to taste.

5)  Serve with warm rice or with bread.

I prefer thicker curry gravy and if coconut milk is added, wow...... you will get a richer curry gravy too....  Unfortunately, I was quite lazy to go out and buy the coconut milk.  Hence, the end result is chicken curry minus the coconut milk but the taste is still yummy yummy....

Should you want to add the coconut milk, you can add it at step no. 4.  In fact, you can also substitute the coconut milk with either yogurt or milk powder.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts(Taugeh) with Chinese Chives (Kuchai)

I still have some Chinese chives from my previous dish, Scrambled Egg with Chinese Chives .  So, here's another simple dish to share with those who love taugeh!

Ingredients :

- Bean sprouts - washed

- 1 bunch of chinese chives - washed and cut

- 2 meat rolled (I bought it from the wet market) - sliced

- 1 garlic clove and ginger (washed and crushed)

Seasonings : (to taste)

- salt              

- soy sauce    

- fish sauce

cooking oil

Method :

1.  Heat wok  with some oil. 

2.  Fry garlic and ginger until aromatic.
3. Add in meat roll.
4. Throw in the taugeh and chives. 

5.  Add in seasonings and quickly stir the ingredients a few times.  Don't over cook the bean sprouts if you want to keep that crunchiness. 

6.  Serve hot.

Well, this is a very simple dish to prepare but well loved by those who like crunchy vegetable such as Taugeh (Bean Sprouts).  In addition,  Kuchai (Chinese Chives)  makes a perfect combination!

Vegetable Stock

Today I 'ransack' my refrigerator to see if there is still any available veggies which I might have forgotten to cook or any remaining veggies.  There I found  :

- 2 ears of corn 

- 1 small stick of burdock 

- 2  carrots 

- 2 big tomatoes 

So, I decided to cook vegetable stock.  I washed and cut everything and put them into  a big pot.  I also add :

- 2 big bombay onions

- 3 potatoes

- a handful of red dates

Seasonings :

- some crushed white peppercorn

- salt to taste

Then,  fill the pot with water.  Bring to boil and simmer for about an hour or until the stock is reduced to half.

Remove the pot from heat. 

My main intention is to keep the stock for noodles soup but my girls and I had almost finished the soup (I call it soup cos' it turned out very delicious!) during lunch.  Well, I am not going to keep this stock and might as well finish it later during dinner!

Again there is no rule on how to make this stock. Just throw in whatever you have in your fridge. It will be a delicious basis for your soups.  Moreover,  it is much cheaper than buying veggie stock and it is homemade!

Try it and you will not regret!!!  You may strain and freeze the stock for future use.

Scrambled Egg with Chinese Chives (Kuchai)

This dish is so simple easy and  yet tasty. It only takes 5  minutes to prepare it! 

 

Ingredients :

 

- 1 cup of chinese chives - cut into 2-3cm long
- 1 cup of carrot - cut into strips
- 2 tablespoon dried shrimps - minced
- 4 large eggs 

Seasonings :
a) a pinch of salt
b) ground white pepper to taste
c) soy sauce to taste
2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Method :

1) Lightly beat the eggs. Add salt and pepper.

2) Heat wok on medium high heat. Add cooking oil.

3) When the oil is hot, add dried shrimps, chives and carrots. Stir fry briefly.

4) Then add the beaten egg mixture. Gently scramble the eggs.

5) Add in soy sauce and give it a quick stir.

6) Dish out while it is still slightly moist. Serve hot.

Stir Fried Eggplant with Chili Paste

Eggplant, brinjal,  aubergine, terong or whatever it is called, is one of my favourite veggies.  Be it a simple stir-fry with taucu or miso or just with soy sauce, I just love it.  However, today I decided to cook it with homemade chili paste which my sister-in-law gave me.  It is a simple dish and yet our favourite too.

Ingredients :
 
- 3 medium-sized eggplants (sliced)

- 2 tablespoons of dried shrimps (minced)

- 2 tablespoons of Homemade chili paste

- 1  garlic clove (crushed)

- 1 piece of ginger (crushed)

Seasonings : 

- salt, soy sauce and sugar to taste

cooking oil

Method :

1)  Heat cooking oil in a wok.  Fry garlic and ginger until fragrant and add in dried shrimps.

2)   Add in eggplant and chili paste.  Add in water if too dry. Stir fry until soft. 

3)  Add in seasonings and stir well.

4)  Serve with steamed rice.

A simple dish but satisfying!

Homemade Orange Jam

Well, today I decided to make Orange Jam as we have almost finished the Strawberry Jam that I made earlier.  Ehmm... I am quite happy with the outcome!

Ingredients

a) 10 oranges and 1 grapefruit - wash thoroughly, remove seeds and cut into small chunks

b) 1 lemon - (juiced)

c) 2 cups of orange peels - finely sliced

d) 1 cinnamon stick

e) 3 cups of granulated sugar

f) some pandan leaves
  

Method :

 

1)  Blend ingredients (a).

2)  Transfer the puree to a medium-sized pot.

  
3)  Add ingredients (b, c, d and e).
4)  Cook the puree on medium low heat for about an hour or when it begins to thicken.

 

5) Add in pandan leaves and keep stirring for about 20 minutes or until it thickens.
6) Remove pandan leaves and cinnamon stick.
7) Let it cool completely before transfer to an airtight container.
8) Store in the refrigerator. It stays good for 2 to 3 weeks.

 
Enjoy your Homemade Orange Jam with toasted bread or your favourite cream crackers!

What is a 710??????

A few days ago a mechanic was having some work done at his garage. A blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred- ten.

All the mechanics there looked at each other and another customer asked, 'What is a seven-hundred- ten?'
She replied, 'You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one..'

She replied that she did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there.

The mechanic gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like.

She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710. He then took her over to a car just like hers which had its hood up and asked 'is there a 710 on this car?'.

She pointed and said, 'Of course, its right there.' the mechanic fainted

If you're not sure what a 710 is ...................
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WOMAN DRIVERS.......Good for a laugh....
Okay guys you can stop laughing now!!

Empurau : The Most expensive fish in Malaysia

I received this article from a friend via e-mail :
Perhaps ikan kembong goreng crispy with sambal belacan good enough for us poor??
Or perhaps a good Tilapia or a Patin would taste better!!

A Fish Fit for the King
This is the most expensive fish in Malaysia and is only found in Sarawak. It's called the Empurau Fish and it cost RM 500.00 per kilogram. I (definitely not me, the writer) tasted the fish only once at my friend's restaurant in Selayang Jaya. Never tasted fresh water fish that good..

The picture was taken from Photo Malaysia by one of the photographers and he said that the fish weighs 25 kilograms so it means that fish costs RM12,500.00 in the market.

You may say it's crazy, but in Japan, some tunas cost a few hundred thousand dollars. And yes there are people still willing to pay for such delicacies.