Journey to Your Ideal Weight

Obesity is one of the increasing problems of revolutionized society. It increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. Moreover obsessed people are more susceptible to depression than normal.

For rapid weight loss most of people bully their body or use different weight loss products. 

Loose weight in 7 days!

Quick weight loss!
This herbal product, That weight loss supplement!

Above mentioned slogans are Ideal to grab attention of obesity victims but whats is result of these things?? A big ZERO..!! These things do not help you in long run to sustain your reduced weight.

Weight reduction and getting toned body is not is piece of cake! One has to adopt healthy life style to get ideally fit and healthy body. Skipping meals is not the solution for obesity. Following are few health boasting ideas to get rid of extra fat layer beneath your skin.

1. Set a healthy weight loss target by knowing your BMI. Now you know how many Kilograms or pounds you should loose.
   (BMI estimation is very simple, everyone can easily do it or mention your height and weight below to get your BMI calculation done by me)
2. Do not drink calories! Forget all soft drinks, crushes, colas, fruit drinks and alcohol.
   Substitutes: Switch to fresh juices, green tea, skim milk and drink plenty of water. If you can not manage to have fresh juice then go for sugar free juices.
3. Read labels carefully before purchasing. The term no added sugar on label do not indicate this product is sugar free, it do contain natural sugars. Similar is the case with salt and fats.
4. Say bye to all junk foods.
   Substitutes:  Give a warm welcome to fruits, vegetables, whole grains, pulses and legumes. Stock your kitchen with these healthy stuff. Help your snack craving with fruits and nuts.
5. Use less oil, less salt, less/no sugar and fresh produce.
   Substitutes: Instead of deep frying prefer shallow frying/ grilling/ steaming/ baking. Prefer unsaturated fat. Do not use fats which is solid at room/body temperature.Honey can be healthy substitute of sugar or use brown sugar.
6. Eat consciously and slowly. Study shows people tend to eat more who dine while watching T.V or engaged on phone. 
7. Manage your time effectively for workout. Join gym, do some physical activity or adopt any healthy hobby. Be sporty or groom your garden! Make the most of your valuable time.

Remember "slow and steady wins the race", stick to these rules and see the health spark in your life.

Image courtesy: Google

Eid-ul-Adha Special Safety Tips

Eid-ul-Adha mubrook everyone :)

While celebrating feast of sacrifice remember following steps and stay food safe.

• Wash your hands carefully with soap and warm water for at least 20 sec before and after handling raw meat.

• Store the meat in leak proof packages or sealed containers so the drippings do not contaminate other food stuff.

• Wash cutting boards, dishes, and utensils (including knives), and countertops with soap and hot water before and after they come in contact with raw meat.

• Keep the fresh meat and meat juices away from other foods, in both the refrigerator and during preparation.

• Do not taste the meat until it is completely cooked.

• when refrigerating meat place the package at the coldest part of refrigerator.

• While enjoying grilling place the grilled meat near by grill and keep it hot. Do not keep it over coals it might become overcooked. 

• Marinate the meat in refrigerator not at kitchen counter.

• Don't use leftover marinate that has been in contact with raw meat.

• Always thaw meat in cool water, in refrigerator and in microwave. Do not defrost meat at room temperature.

Enjoy safe and healthy meaty Eid!

Image source: Google

Food Safe Moms-to-be

Enjoy fish but thoroughly cooked! 

Pregnancy is one of the most exciting times of life. During pregnancy immunity level is lower than usual hence there is increased risk foodborn illness. By keeping your food safe and kitchen clean with good hygiene practice you can reduce the risk of foodborn infections.

If Moms-to-be are Eating Out

First of all consider the cleanliness of the place then check what's on the menu. Select the food carefully and make sure the food you have ordered is thoroughly cooked and do not contain raw eggs, raw sprouts, under cook fish, poultry or meat. Do not order swordfish, tilefish, king mackerel and shark because of high methylmurcurry level.

Request that sprouts not be added to your food 

Don't forget to wash your hands before eating. Happy dining out!

When Mom-to-be are Cooking and Baking

Avoid half fried eggs

You have to cook the food thoroughly to make sure the food is safe to eat. Cook eggs until yolk and whites are firm. Cook scrambled eggs until they are firm throughout. Do not taste batter, dough or any other filling having raw eggs. Also avoid sauces, homemade mayonnaise and dressings having raw eggs. You can have commercial mayonnaise and dressing as they contain pasteurized eggs. Go for cheese made with pasteurized milk. 

Wash your fruits and vegetable under clean running water, gently scrub the surface if required. Pregnant women should be aware of Toxoplasma, a parasite found over unwashed fruits and vegetables, undercooked meat, water and dust. Avoid having raw sprouts. Use pasteurized juices and if you want to have fresh juice then do wash the produce even if your planning to peal it. 

Never taste undercooked marinade or sacuce that you used to marinate raw poultry, meat or sea food. Cut away the damaged and bruised area of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Enjoy safely cooked food.

Consumers Food Safety and Quality Conference 2012

Today I attended a very meaningful and important event for the consumer's voice of Pakistan and their rights to have safe food with assured quality.

 Consumers food safety and quality conference was organized by Consumer Association of Pakistan (CAP). Mr. Kaukab Iqbal, Chairman and member of managing committee CAP and his skilled organizing committee raised the one of the most important issues of Pakistan in the conference held at Sheraton Hotel Karachi. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, the honorable speaker of Sindh assembly was the chief guest of the event. To bring the on ground facts of food safety and quality issues and suggestions to make the worst situation better by industries, consumer association, academia and other research institutes in the kind knowledge of Government representative was one of the key purpose of this event.

The event begun with the recitation of  Holy Quran by Mulana Mehmood Shah Yousufzai, Nation Anthem by all participants and Naat-e- Rasool by Ms. Tabinda Lari. Mr. Kaukab Iqbal warmly welcomed the guests. Conference was presided by Mr. S.M. Muneer, the leader of business community, Chairman Din group.

All the speakers represented their views over current food quality control and safety status of food in Pakistan. Dr.Ali Abbas Qazilbash, Office in-charge EU/UNIDO TRTA II programme enlighted the importance of human resource for the implementation and compliance of better food safe system in Pakistan. Senator Abdual Haseeb Khan raised the very basic issue of society which is honesty and humanity. People who adulterate the food with dangerous stuff or degrade the food quality by any mean for rapid profit are playing with lives. Speakers highlighted the issue how unqualified and less number of food inspectors can control fast growing quality issues in Pakistan. They mentioned the intense requirement of Food Ministry and qualified personal for food sector in Government of Pakistan. Technical Director from Tetra Pack Pakistan Ltd. highlighted the role of tetra packaging for safe food. Prof. Dr. Jehan Ara, Chairperson of Dept. of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi presented the academia's point of view for the production of farm to fork safe food for the consumers. Dr. Shahina Naz Asst. Prof. at Dept. of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi delivered a summarized presentation about possible contaminants, risks and other food safety concerns. Mrs Seema Ismat, the principal scientific officer at PCSIR presented her work on food color adulteration in beverages. Mr. Mubark Ahemd, the Director general, Southern Zone, (PARC) raised the awareness of pesticide poisoning in Pakistan and issues of contaminants like aflatoxin in post harvest produces. He discussed the effects of distrustful quality food products on Pakistan's exports too. Dr. Saghir Ahemd Sheik, Asst. Prof. at Institute of Food Science and Technology Tandojam delivered the presentation about working and research overview of the institute. Shan foods representative told the audience by keep quality as their first priority with their state of the art technology, they are representing Pakistan in 56 countries worldwide.

The Chief guest Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said Pakistan do have rules and all of us have to follow them with honesty; It is mentioned in law that adulteration is a crime. He said i'll work for this Nobel cause of food safety and quality even if i am not a speaker of assembly. Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro stated the realities of villages of Sindh where the clean drinking water facilities are still unavailable. According to him we all are consumers and we should work with government for the betterment of Pakistan instead of blaming.

The conference ended with the of token of appreciation and distribution of shields to the speakers.

Brain Eating Amoeba Outbreak in Karachi

Health officials in Pakistan believes that Naegleria fowleri commonly known as brain eating amoeba (singled celled living organism) is responsible for more than 10 deaths in Karachi. Naegleria Fowleri is thermophilic microorganism; it is found in fresh warm water, swimming pools that are poorly maintained, minimally chlorinated or unchlorinated and soil.

Primary amoebic meningitis (PAM) is the disease caused by Naegleria fowleri. Its a brain infection that leads to the destruction of brain tissues. Infection occurs when contaminated water enters in the nasal cavity usually during swimming when people submerged their head in water and practicing ablution. Naegleria fowleri then travels up the nose to the brain  where it damages brain tissues.

According to Center of disease control and prevention (CDC) people can not be infected with  Naegleria fowleri by drinking contaminated water. This infection can not be spread from one person to another. It is recommended to avoid getting water too deep while cleansing during religious practices and keep the head above water when taking part in water related activities. 

Similar sign boards should be placed at pool sides and river banks to raise awareness
image source: Google

Swimming behaviors like jumping into the water or diving and submerging head under water should be avoided. It is advised to use chlorinated or boiled water to rinse the nose and to clean out domestic water tanks and swimming pools where amoeba may flourish.