Secrets of Long life
I was on a long holiday and that was the longest for over a decade. One week holiday for me is very long and holidays any longer than that would kill me of boredom. In my profession there is nothing called “Long Holidays” and even on holidays people would approach you with some bizarre problems and I pretend not to be a doctor and amazingly some even have questioned my credentials confused as they often are.
I only get bemused in such an occasion and pretend not to be, aggravating their own confusion further.
I have digressed and delayed this writing so long, it is time for me to get to the job at hand.
Nobody seems to have addressed this issue of long life of our yesteryear Buddhist monks and their secrets.
I have a list of reasons and they are listed not in any order of merits.
However, I would like to address one or two of them in detail.
1. Simple Monastery Life
2. Vegetarian Diet
3. Meditation Practice
4. Rituals like Recitation of Stanzas by Heart
5. Multi-language Capability (as many as six to eight)
6. Wondering life style (No fixed aboard)
7. Village Life Style
8. Simple exercises like walking from temple to temple
It is now emerging in the West that not only physical activity but also mental activity and alertness enhance long life.
The key elements on recent research are
1. Speed of Action (mental activity),
2. Reasoning
3. Memory
Even though, the memory scores low in the above study mentioned, yesteryear Buddhist monks in meditation practiced these activities very well and that would have been the secret of their long life.
For the mind which is always active and to freeze its attention and to hold this attention to whatever the element of meditation, the speed is the vital element.
The focus of attention is something they were adept at and the speed at which they went into trance states are probably a testament to their devotion to task at hand.
The core elements of Buddhism are based on reasoning of ones happiness or suffering they were brought up as seasoned thinkers.
Even though, they avoided argumentation (not all) they were thinkers of a different kind with a focus on one object i.e. The Nibbana.
Memory power needs no elaboration since stanzas were handed down for many centuries by heart till they were documented later. Even then they practiced verbal tradition without books for a long time. Putting the verses down on ola leaves was more difficult (before the print media) than remembering them by heart.
I have my own analysis of the medical matters.
It is quite evident most of the strokes occur on the left side in patients with dominant right hand. The right hand dominance may have contributed to the premature atrophy and low flow of blood to the right side (activities are represented on the opposite side of the brain) of the brain with atherosclerosis.
My interest is more on the ability of these monks on many languages. It is emerging that the mother tongue is localized to one side of the brain and the second and third languages are localized to the other side in general terms. So they have been using both sides of the brain throughout their life and the meditation especially the "Metta Meditation" brings a balance of blood flow to both sides of the brain especially to the deep hidden parts of the brain.
That probably was their secret for long life.
My adaptation for the current century with IT and computer technology are as follows.
1. Start playing computer games (which require manual -ambidextrous-dexterity) when young and continue to play them when old
2. Learn many languages as possible other than ones mother tongue
3. Metta Meditation
I often wonder whether the present day monks practice any of those practiced by the yesteryear monks.
23rd of December, 2006
Monday, February 29, 2016
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Sri-Lankan Prehistoric Data
Sri-Lankan Prehistoric Data
Millions and millions of years ago, the continents of Antarctica, Australia, Africa, South America, and India formed a single landmass, situated somewhere near Antarctica.
This landmass, named Gondwanaland, then broke up.
India with Sri Lanka and Madagascar attached moved upward into Asia.
My theory proposes a different context to the above mentioned statements.
Today, India and Sri Lanka stand on the same ocean shelf. The continental shelf has an average width of about 12 miles around the island, where the mean depth of water is only about 200 feet, beyond which there is an abrupt drop to 3000 feet roughly two miles from the shore. Within 10 miles it drops further to 6000 feet and eventually plunging deep to 18,000 feet.
About 12 million years ago, Sri Lanka started to separate from the Indian subcontinent due to fluctuations in the sea level. Siran Deraniyagala says that the sea level would have dropped on at least 17 occasions within the last 700,000 years.
The last separation from India would have occurred about 10,000 years ago.
During the Stone Age, Sri Lanka was linked to India by a wide land bridge across Palk Strait.
Today, the sea is barely 100 feet deep in the Palk Strait due to limestone deposition.
Prehistoric data are rudimentary in our context and a global picture cannot be made from the available archaeological data.
There are many reasons but for completeness, sake I would briefly mention only a few.
Number one is we never had the scientific inclination to record events accurately. The period before 2500 years is only a folklore and romantic tales of many inaccuracies.
The prehistoric man probably lived in caves. They had to share these caves with the big cats, if there were any. It was probably the battle between the man and the beast. Probably the man won most of the battles due to their shear numbers and the winning outcome provided meat for subsistence.
When the last of the colonizers arrived from India, there would have been pitch battles which were deliberately deleted from our history books.
Probably our real ancestors retreated and few probably survived as Vaddhas in the jungles and caves.
The colonizers probably brought in diseases with them including small pox, which would have wiped out many natives (almost to extinction).
I have some reservation about the current Veddhas.
There is hardly any difference from the main race except their rudimentary language. I believe they were drifters from the main stream who preferred hunting as opposed to rigidly imposed Buddhist way of life.
Then of course some of the Buddhist monks with the inclination for meditation practices occupied most of the accessible caves as their birth right.
They of course destroyed any evidence of or any remnants of prehistoric life for good.
Another conjecture here is that most of the caves of prehistoric importance have taken the name of Alu Lena meaning caves with ash.
What it means may be that the prehistoric evidence were torched to ashes before converting them to temples by the occupants (mostly Buddhist monks).
I am puzzled why the new colonizers, the rulers, monks and civilians destroyed these artifacts.
One possibility was that they were scared of the demons in these caves and pulverized everything that was prehistoric.
I do not want to believe that scenario since Buddhist monks have Pirith or vocal recitals to protect them.
I am inclined to believe the destruction of any artifacts left, going back to 10,000 years was a deliberate act to conceal or suppress the unwritten history probably, the most intense warfare in Ceylonese history, the ancient man had with the new visitors from India.
They would have left bony evidence of violence and multiple fractures and pulverizing them to ashes was the only option left for the victors.
When the colonizers of the West came in 2000 years later they did not have any on record of the ancient man to write about.
The archaeological collections I have extracted from various sources are stated below.
One must take them with a pinch of salt.
The interpretations, if not biased may be largely exaggerated.
They are not my interpretations.
My Interpretations
However, I would like to go back to my theory of the Origin of Ceylon with some slant to the prehistoric findings.
There were evidence of sea shells found in the interior of the country such as Kitulgala (2000 feet above sea level) and Balangoda (2000 to 3000 feet above sea level) plain.
If I repeat the three uplifts of the landmass of Ceylon, it would appear that present Kitulgala and Balangoda would have been under sea water many million years ago.
The first peneplain formed after the original uplift due to the meteorite hit remained at 500 to 1000 feet.
This is probably the current lower plains of the coastal region from sea to the foothills.
The second uplift contributed another 1000 to 2000 feet making the second peneplain at a level of 1500 to 2500 feet. Kandyan Plateau at a higher level and Balangoda Plateau at a lower level.
The third or fourth uplift made the hills in the middle of the country with rugged peneplain that rose up to 8000 feet forming mountain ranges.
What it mean is that the final and the massive uplift due to the last meteorite contributed 4000 to 5000 feet of height to the landmass.
Now Kitulgala is around 2000 feet above sea level which is close to Ginigathhena Gap through which the road enters the hill country. This region could have been under water before second uplift of the landmass. The second uplift would have brought the seabed with it sea shells up and some of which got trapped between the two peneplains.
Kitulgala and Balangoda are located in the border zone where the gaps that leads to the upcountry are formed due to erosion.
Of course Ginigathhena was where the trade passed through from the coast to the upcountry. Any trader would have brought sea shells there. That is the explanation given by the archaeologists (see below).
My counter argument is by the time the sea shells were brought in from the sea (unless very well preserved) they would be rotten (once in Kitulgala).
Far better one eats them where they originated, in the coastal zone, instead of trading with the hill country folks.
Of course sea salt was one ingredient that came up through the pass even in the prehistoric time (for preserving food).
The word Bellan in Sinhala means shells.
The word Alu means ashes.
Archaeological excavations indicate that there were prehistoric settlements in Sri Lanka about 300,000 or even 500,000 years ago. There is firm evidence at present that there were prehistoric settlements in Sri Lanka about 127,000 years ago. The evidence comes from excavations in coast of Bundala, at Patirajawela, and Wellegangoda. Settlements of the prehistoric period, known as the Stone Age, dating between 125,000-1000 BCE, have been found at Pidurangala, Patana, Dambulla and Mapagala. Settlements of the proto-historic period known as the early Iron Age, dating from 1000-500 BCE have emerged at Ibbankatuwa and Pansalgodella. Other possible sites for early iron age settlements are Kadurugoda, Mantota, and Kelaniya.
People first settled in the coastal zones, and then moved up to fertile tracts and to locations, in the central hills where there were mineral resources.
Evidence of settlements could be found in Kitulgala, Karadupone and Ravana Ella, all entry points to the hills.
The central hills were mined for gems in the prehistoric period. There are remnants of camps, and caves in the wet zone. The camps were small, suggesting occupation by not more than a couple of nuclear families at most. Almost all were close to a stream or spring or were at the confluence of the tributaries with the main river. The network of footpaths that link the existing Purana villages today, pass through most of the sites identified. So it is possible that many of these footpaths were in existence during early times. The earliest villages may have been about 3 hectares each.
The occurrence of marine shells at inland sites such as Batadomba Lena (Diva Guhava) points to an extensive network of contacts (Batandomba lena is a pre historic cave system in Sudagala, 5 km away from the town of Kuruwita) between the coast and the hinterland. There is evidence from Belilena that salt had been brought in from the coast at a date more than 32,000 years ago.
The earliest form of cultivation was chena and kurakkan was the earliest food. Kurakkan came here in 10,000 BCE. It is a very hardy grain and was used as a substitute for rice.
There were many varieties of kurakkans.
Rice cultivation can be seen from about 250 BCE. Wetland rice cultivation in its early form was an indigenous development.
Excavations at Fa Hien Lena near Bulathsinhala, Batadomba lena, near Kuruwita, Belilena, at Kitulgala (Belilena is a famous large cave in Sri Lanka. It is located 8 km from the town of Kitulgala. It holds evidence of a lost generation of Sri Lankans some 12,000 years old.), Alu lena at Attanagoda near Kegalle, Bellan Bandi Palassa near Embilipitiya and Bandarawela, provided information on the early settlers and their habitat.
Fragmentary remains of an extinct race of Neanderthal Man were found. Fa Hien Lena yielded the earliest evidence of anatomically modern man in South Asia.
He was labeled Balangoda Man.
Balangoda Man was at an estimated height of 174 cm for males and 166 for females. The bones were robust, with thick skull bones. The teeth were conspicuously large. Balangoda Man appears to have settled practically every nook and comer of Sri Lanka ranging from the damp and cold high plains such as Maha Eliya (Horton Plains) to the and lowlands of Mannar and Wilpattu and the equatorial rain forests of Sabaragamuwa.
The camps were invariably small thus suggesting occupation by not more than a couple of nuclear families at most. They have eaten a very wide range of food plants and animals. They ate wild breadfruit and wild bananas.
They have gobbled up every conceivable animal, from elephants to snakes, rats, snails and small fish. Tortoises and terrapins probably had been consumed. The diet has been well balanced judging by the robust skeletal remains.
Balangoda man, like stone age man elsewhere, had succeeded in domesticating the dog, about 7500 years ago.
Remains of early iron age man had been found in just one site, Pomparippu. The biological anthropology of this Early Iron Age man is different to that of Balangoda Man.
Fossils of animals and plants from the Jurassic period (I have my doubt about dating this far into 65 million years) have been found at Tabbowa wewa. Fossil bones of rhinoceros were found in Ratnapura. Tigers inhabited Sri Lanka about 135,000 years ago. Their bones and teeth were found at Batadomba Lena recently. Fossils of hippopotamus, the ridge browed elephant, the Asian elephant, the buffalo, the gaur, (The gaur, Bos gaurus, also called Indian bison, is the largest extant bovine, native to South Asia and Southeast Asia)and the rhinoceros have also emerged.
The island appears to have been colonized by the Balangoda Man (named after the area where his remains were discovered) prior to 34,000. They have been identified as a group of Mesolithic hunter gatherers who lived in caves.
Fa Hien Cave has yielded the earliest evidence (at 34,000 years) of anatomically modern humans in South Asia.
Several of these caves including the well known Batadombalena and the Fa Hien Cave have yielded many artifacts that points to them being the first modern inhabitants of the island. There is evidence from Beli-lena that salt had been brought in from the coast earlier than 27,000 years.
Several minute granite tools of about 4 centimeters in length, earthenware and remnants of charred timber, and clay burial pots that date back to the Stone Age Mesolithic people who lived 8,000 years ago have been discovered during recent excavations around a cave at Varana Raja Maha vihara and also in Kalatuwawa area.
The skeletal remains of dogs from Nilgala cave and from Bellanbandi Palassa, dating from the Mesolithic era, about 4500 BCE, suggest that Balangoda People may have kept domestic dogs for driving game. The Sinhala hound is similar in appearance to the Kadar Dog, the New Guinea Dog and the Dingo. It has been suggested that these could all derive from a common domestic stock. It is also possible that they may have domesticated jungle fowl, pig, water buffalo and some form of Bos (possibly the ancestor of the Sri Lankan cattle which became extinct in the 1940s).
The Balangoda Man appears to have been responsible for creating Horton Plains, in the central hills, by burning the trees in order to catch game. However, evidence from the plains suggests the incipient management of Oats and Barley by about 15,000 BCE.
The transition in Sri Lanka from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age has not been adequately documented.
A human skeleton found at Godavaya in the Hambantota district, provisionally dated back to 3000 - 5000 BCE was accompanied by tools of animal bone and stone.
Iron Age
A large settlement appears to have been founded before 900 BCE at the site of Anuradhapura where signs of an Iron Age culture have been found. The size of the settlement was about 15 hectares at the beginning but it expanded to 50 hectares, to a 'town' size within a couple of centuries.
A similar site has been discovered at Aligala in Sigiriya.
Millions and millions of years ago, the continents of Antarctica, Australia, Africa, South America, and India formed a single landmass, situated somewhere near Antarctica.
This landmass, named Gondwanaland, then broke up.
India with Sri Lanka and Madagascar attached moved upward into Asia.
My theory proposes a different context to the above mentioned statements.
Today, India and Sri Lanka stand on the same ocean shelf. The continental shelf has an average width of about 12 miles around the island, where the mean depth of water is only about 200 feet, beyond which there is an abrupt drop to 3000 feet roughly two miles from the shore. Within 10 miles it drops further to 6000 feet and eventually plunging deep to 18,000 feet.
About 12 million years ago, Sri Lanka started to separate from the Indian subcontinent due to fluctuations in the sea level. Siran Deraniyagala says that the sea level would have dropped on at least 17 occasions within the last 700,000 years.
The last separation from India would have occurred about 10,000 years ago.
During the Stone Age, Sri Lanka was linked to India by a wide land bridge across Palk Strait.
Today, the sea is barely 100 feet deep in the Palk Strait due to limestone deposition.
Prehistoric data are rudimentary in our context and a global picture cannot be made from the available archaeological data.
There are many reasons but for completeness, sake I would briefly mention only a few.
Number one is we never had the scientific inclination to record events accurately. The period before 2500 years is only a folklore and romantic tales of many inaccuracies.
The prehistoric man probably lived in caves. They had to share these caves with the big cats, if there were any. It was probably the battle between the man and the beast. Probably the man won most of the battles due to their shear numbers and the winning outcome provided meat for subsistence.
When the last of the colonizers arrived from India, there would have been pitch battles which were deliberately deleted from our history books.
Probably our real ancestors retreated and few probably survived as Vaddhas in the jungles and caves.
The colonizers probably brought in diseases with them including small pox, which would have wiped out many natives (almost to extinction).
I have some reservation about the current Veddhas.
There is hardly any difference from the main race except their rudimentary language. I believe they were drifters from the main stream who preferred hunting as opposed to rigidly imposed Buddhist way of life.
Then of course some of the Buddhist monks with the inclination for meditation practices occupied most of the accessible caves as their birth right.
They of course destroyed any evidence of or any remnants of prehistoric life for good.
Another conjecture here is that most of the caves of prehistoric importance have taken the name of Alu Lena meaning caves with ash.
What it means may be that the prehistoric evidence were torched to ashes before converting them to temples by the occupants (mostly Buddhist monks).
I am puzzled why the new colonizers, the rulers, monks and civilians destroyed these artifacts.
One possibility was that they were scared of the demons in these caves and pulverized everything that was prehistoric.
I do not want to believe that scenario since Buddhist monks have Pirith or vocal recitals to protect them.
I am inclined to believe the destruction of any artifacts left, going back to 10,000 years was a deliberate act to conceal or suppress the unwritten history probably, the most intense warfare in Ceylonese history, the ancient man had with the new visitors from India.
They would have left bony evidence of violence and multiple fractures and pulverizing them to ashes was the only option left for the victors.
When the colonizers of the West came in 2000 years later they did not have any on record of the ancient man to write about.
The archaeological collections I have extracted from various sources are stated below.
One must take them with a pinch of salt.
The interpretations, if not biased may be largely exaggerated.
They are not my interpretations.
My Interpretations
However, I would like to go back to my theory of the Origin of Ceylon with some slant to the prehistoric findings.
There were evidence of sea shells found in the interior of the country such as Kitulgala (2000 feet above sea level) and Balangoda (2000 to 3000 feet above sea level) plain.
If I repeat the three uplifts of the landmass of Ceylon, it would appear that present Kitulgala and Balangoda would have been under sea water many million years ago.
The first peneplain formed after the original uplift due to the meteorite hit remained at 500 to 1000 feet.
This is probably the current lower plains of the coastal region from sea to the foothills.
The second uplift contributed another 1000 to 2000 feet making the second peneplain at a level of 1500 to 2500 feet. Kandyan Plateau at a higher level and Balangoda Plateau at a lower level.
The third or fourth uplift made the hills in the middle of the country with rugged peneplain that rose up to 8000 feet forming mountain ranges.
What it mean is that the final and the massive uplift due to the last meteorite contributed 4000 to 5000 feet of height to the landmass.
Now Kitulgala is around 2000 feet above sea level which is close to Ginigathhena Gap through which the road enters the hill country. This region could have been under water before second uplift of the landmass. The second uplift would have brought the seabed with it sea shells up and some of which got trapped between the two peneplains.
Kitulgala and Balangoda are located in the border zone where the gaps that leads to the upcountry are formed due to erosion.
Of course Ginigathhena was where the trade passed through from the coast to the upcountry. Any trader would have brought sea shells there. That is the explanation given by the archaeologists (see below).
My counter argument is by the time the sea shells were brought in from the sea (unless very well preserved) they would be rotten (once in Kitulgala).
Far better one eats them where they originated, in the coastal zone, instead of trading with the hill country folks.
Of course sea salt was one ingredient that came up through the pass even in the prehistoric time (for preserving food).
The word Bellan in Sinhala means shells.
The word Alu means ashes.
Archaeological excavations indicate that there were prehistoric settlements in Sri Lanka about 300,000 or even 500,000 years ago. There is firm evidence at present that there were prehistoric settlements in Sri Lanka about 127,000 years ago. The evidence comes from excavations in coast of Bundala, at Patirajawela, and Wellegangoda. Settlements of the prehistoric period, known as the Stone Age, dating between 125,000-1000 BCE, have been found at Pidurangala, Patana, Dambulla and Mapagala. Settlements of the proto-historic period known as the early Iron Age, dating from 1000-500 BCE have emerged at Ibbankatuwa and Pansalgodella. Other possible sites for early iron age settlements are Kadurugoda, Mantota, and Kelaniya.
People first settled in the coastal zones, and then moved up to fertile tracts and to locations, in the central hills where there were mineral resources.
Evidence of settlements could be found in Kitulgala, Karadupone and Ravana Ella, all entry points to the hills.
The central hills were mined for gems in the prehistoric period. There are remnants of camps, and caves in the wet zone. The camps were small, suggesting occupation by not more than a couple of nuclear families at most. Almost all were close to a stream or spring or were at the confluence of the tributaries with the main river. The network of footpaths that link the existing Purana villages today, pass through most of the sites identified. So it is possible that many of these footpaths were in existence during early times. The earliest villages may have been about 3 hectares each.
The occurrence of marine shells at inland sites such as Batadomba Lena (Diva Guhava) points to an extensive network of contacts (Batandomba lena is a pre historic cave system in Sudagala, 5 km away from the town of Kuruwita) between the coast and the hinterland. There is evidence from Belilena that salt had been brought in from the coast at a date more than 32,000 years ago.
The earliest form of cultivation was chena and kurakkan was the earliest food. Kurakkan came here in 10,000 BCE. It is a very hardy grain and was used as a substitute for rice.
There were many varieties of kurakkans.
Rice cultivation can be seen from about 250 BCE. Wetland rice cultivation in its early form was an indigenous development.
Excavations at Fa Hien Lena near Bulathsinhala, Batadomba lena, near Kuruwita, Belilena, at Kitulgala (Belilena is a famous large cave in Sri Lanka. It is located 8 km from the town of Kitulgala. It holds evidence of a lost generation of Sri Lankans some 12,000 years old.), Alu lena at Attanagoda near Kegalle, Bellan Bandi Palassa near Embilipitiya and Bandarawela, provided information on the early settlers and their habitat.
Fragmentary remains of an extinct race of Neanderthal Man were found. Fa Hien Lena yielded the earliest evidence of anatomically modern man in South Asia.
He was labeled Balangoda Man.
Balangoda Man was at an estimated height of 174 cm for males and 166 for females. The bones were robust, with thick skull bones. The teeth were conspicuously large. Balangoda Man appears to have settled practically every nook and comer of Sri Lanka ranging from the damp and cold high plains such as Maha Eliya (Horton Plains) to the and lowlands of Mannar and Wilpattu and the equatorial rain forests of Sabaragamuwa.
The camps were invariably small thus suggesting occupation by not more than a couple of nuclear families at most. They have eaten a very wide range of food plants and animals. They ate wild breadfruit and wild bananas.
They have gobbled up every conceivable animal, from elephants to snakes, rats, snails and small fish. Tortoises and terrapins probably had been consumed. The diet has been well balanced judging by the robust skeletal remains.
Balangoda man, like stone age man elsewhere, had succeeded in domesticating the dog, about 7500 years ago.
Remains of early iron age man had been found in just one site, Pomparippu. The biological anthropology of this Early Iron Age man is different to that of Balangoda Man.
Fossils of animals and plants from the Jurassic period (I have my doubt about dating this far into 65 million years) have been found at Tabbowa wewa. Fossil bones of rhinoceros were found in Ratnapura. Tigers inhabited Sri Lanka about 135,000 years ago. Their bones and teeth were found at Batadomba Lena recently. Fossils of hippopotamus, the ridge browed elephant, the Asian elephant, the buffalo, the gaur, (The gaur, Bos gaurus, also called Indian bison, is the largest extant bovine, native to South Asia and Southeast Asia)and the rhinoceros have also emerged.
The island appears to have been colonized by the Balangoda Man (named after the area where his remains were discovered) prior to 34,000. They have been identified as a group of Mesolithic hunter gatherers who lived in caves.
Fa Hien Cave has yielded the earliest evidence (at 34,000 years) of anatomically modern humans in South Asia.
Several of these caves including the well known Batadombalena and the Fa Hien Cave have yielded many artifacts that points to them being the first modern inhabitants of the island. There is evidence from Beli-lena that salt had been brought in from the coast earlier than 27,000 years.
Several minute granite tools of about 4 centimeters in length, earthenware and remnants of charred timber, and clay burial pots that date back to the Stone Age Mesolithic people who lived 8,000 years ago have been discovered during recent excavations around a cave at Varana Raja Maha vihara and also in Kalatuwawa area.
The skeletal remains of dogs from Nilgala cave and from Bellanbandi Palassa, dating from the Mesolithic era, about 4500 BCE, suggest that Balangoda People may have kept domestic dogs for driving game. The Sinhala hound is similar in appearance to the Kadar Dog, the New Guinea Dog and the Dingo. It has been suggested that these could all derive from a common domestic stock. It is also possible that they may have domesticated jungle fowl, pig, water buffalo and some form of Bos (possibly the ancestor of the Sri Lankan cattle which became extinct in the 1940s).
The Balangoda Man appears to have been responsible for creating Horton Plains, in the central hills, by burning the trees in order to catch game. However, evidence from the plains suggests the incipient management of Oats and Barley by about 15,000 BCE.
The transition in Sri Lanka from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age has not been adequately documented.
A human skeleton found at Godavaya in the Hambantota district, provisionally dated back to 3000 - 5000 BCE was accompanied by tools of animal bone and stone.
Iron Age
A large settlement appears to have been founded before 900 BCE at the site of Anuradhapura where signs of an Iron Age culture have been found. The size of the settlement was about 15 hectares at the beginning but it expanded to 50 hectares, to a 'town' size within a couple of centuries.
A similar site has been discovered at Aligala in Sigiriya.
Amazing Contrast of Ceylon
Amazing
Contrast of Ceylon
I
have just completed a book on Ceylon.
It
describes the amazing beauty with so many rivers and waterfalls.
I
have discussed the plight of our wild elephants briefly, where
Buddhist monks who preach Avihinsa (Metta) are involved in this
illicit trade of Baby Elephants Trade.
Not
only monks but some lower court judges involved.
Toady
I met my pharmacist who happened to be a Tamil gentleman.
He
told me he was fined Rs.25,000/= without any hearing after a visit by
the Flying Squad.
Offense
was having in the shelf for disposal, 5 tablets of date expired
medicine.
There
was no legal transaction at all.
I
can bet there is not a single pharmacy in this country, not having
drugs with expiry date in their shelves (including Government Stores).
What
is illegal is selling them not keeping it in a side shelf for
safe disposal.
This
Tamil gentleman was wrongfully fined.
Whereas
a monk who possessed illegally a baby elephant is protected.
The
corollary is, a Buddhist can violate common law with impunity but not
a Tamil Hindu.
This
is why I am against giving special status to Buddhism in the Constitution.
It
is the duty of the monks to protect the Dhamma, not Baby
Elephants illegally captured.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Palm Tree
Palm Tree
Torrential rains and inclement weather spared me some plant watching activity.
This time of course palm variety.
Looking outside from an advantage, a bird's eye view, I could see only one coconut tree about ten feet tall and probably of the same age with no signs of flowering.
Looking down the precipice a few out of the twenty odd palm trees that survived the dry spell has sprung into activity.
After a year long vigil and watering (when I had time) their survival was a bit of a miracle.
The soil not conducive and the water logging not possible (due to the incline) their survival may have been contributed by my vigil, perhaps.
Palms unlike the coconut (which loves the salty soil) are plants that love hot humid and muddy conditions, which support their roots with fungal symbiosis.
The torrential rain was the most conducive and for nearly a decade we did not have similar weather conditions.
I have tried all varieties including arecanut with no success over ten year period so my mind wondered the last time there was a spill over at Victoria Dam.
Incidentally this was after the elections and the change over from the previous regime to the present.
The saying prevalent at that time was “to wash the sins of the previous regime”.
This time whose sins I would not wonder or ponder!
Coming back to palm trees there are over 1000 ornamental varieties and they are very expensive and home delivered for the wealthy in United States.
In Sri-Lanka context, the “Cap Rukha”, the gifted plant is vandalized by the rich developers. Very soon they will be exported to US polythene wrapped. This is quite an irony.
I am not sure where the coconut, the arecanut and the Kithul tree's position in the merit order on the1000 palm trees of the gardener's guide to tropical trees.
I guess the Americans who are likely to be categorized very tall in the merit list of democracy do not like tall trees in their neighborhood.
Also their democratic nuts are not as hard as a coconut and they do not like the impact of coconut falling on their heads.
This is why the oil industry in America had a vicious campaign against coconut oil for nearly fifty years.
The real reason though is that they have lost their evolutionary talent like that of the monkeys in climbing trees and swinging from one tree to another.
Going from country to country and looking for ecological trouble spots is only a pastime.
This is where our politicians who have a coconut size head and arecanut (some of them peanut sized- the American variety) sized brains should explore the possibility of exporting the coconut trees to America.
The justification is that when the next tsunami hits our shores they can re-export them back as aid for the Sri-Lankans (tourists included) to climb and save their lives.
The coconut trunks well preserved would be a new form of life support system developed in America.
Few of the tourists of course saved their life hanging on to them a year ago. They could share the experience with the few tree climbers left in this country. We can promote this as a new millennium sport.
Since most of the tree climbers (party climbers) have joined the parliament over the past half a century they can act as trainers and referees in this sport of tree climbing.
One a lighter note and in a scientific sense the real reason for declining interest in coconut, arecanut and Kithul tree is that all three of them are labour intensive like the tea industry.
Only way to revive these flagging industries is to promote selective breeding of high yielding variety with short trunks so that harvesting is not labour intensive.
For some unknown genetic reasons the short plants and animals have the ability to withstand adverse environmental conditions and it is not a challenge to go for such a variety. One of the reasons that the tall trees and dinosaurs disappeared from this planet is their enormous size. They could not withstand the adversity.
One area we are far behind is the palm oil industry and our Asian giant in hibernation, Malaysia, pioneered the research in this.
They have gone for palm oils even destroying their rain forest. We have to learn a lot from them. Biodiesel is going to be an area we should explore instead of drilling for gas /oil in limited resources offshore.
For me looking down the plane and seeing the coconut trees spanning the landing site is a fascinating scene.
Sadly this scenery is not going to be there in another ten years.
The developers are eying every peace of land to plunder.
In the process they are developing social and economic disasters in the so-called palaces they are building. The coconut triangle is going to be zigzag in no time.
We have so many ministers and ministries in this country a Palm Ministry would not be a burden to the country. In any case some of the parliamentarians are coming from that back ground both in oiling the palms (heads included) and climbing the trees and this is a one sure way to climb the political hierarchy.
For the super market chains and range for this Christmas should include the imported artificial palm trees from India, which do not need any watering, plant care or plant watching.
For a change we could have Santa on a palm tree.
How about that?
21st December 2005
Torrential rains and inclement weather spared me some plant watching activity.
This time of course palm variety.
Looking outside from an advantage, a bird's eye view, I could see only one coconut tree about ten feet tall and probably of the same age with no signs of flowering.
Looking down the precipice a few out of the twenty odd palm trees that survived the dry spell has sprung into activity.
After a year long vigil and watering (when I had time) their survival was a bit of a miracle.
The soil not conducive and the water logging not possible (due to the incline) their survival may have been contributed by my vigil, perhaps.
Palms unlike the coconut (which loves the salty soil) are plants that love hot humid and muddy conditions, which support their roots with fungal symbiosis.
The torrential rain was the most conducive and for nearly a decade we did not have similar weather conditions.
I have tried all varieties including arecanut with no success over ten year period so my mind wondered the last time there was a spill over at Victoria Dam.
Incidentally this was after the elections and the change over from the previous regime to the present.
The saying prevalent at that time was “to wash the sins of the previous regime”.
This time whose sins I would not wonder or ponder!
Coming back to palm trees there are over 1000 ornamental varieties and they are very expensive and home delivered for the wealthy in United States.
In Sri-Lanka context, the “Cap Rukha”, the gifted plant is vandalized by the rich developers. Very soon they will be exported to US polythene wrapped. This is quite an irony.
I am not sure where the coconut, the arecanut and the Kithul tree's position in the merit order on the1000 palm trees of the gardener's guide to tropical trees.
I guess the Americans who are likely to be categorized very tall in the merit list of democracy do not like tall trees in their neighborhood.
Also their democratic nuts are not as hard as a coconut and they do not like the impact of coconut falling on their heads.
This is why the oil industry in America had a vicious campaign against coconut oil for nearly fifty years.
The real reason though is that they have lost their evolutionary talent like that of the monkeys in climbing trees and swinging from one tree to another.
Going from country to country and looking for ecological trouble spots is only a pastime.
This is where our politicians who have a coconut size head and arecanut (some of them peanut sized- the American variety) sized brains should explore the possibility of exporting the coconut trees to America.
The justification is that when the next tsunami hits our shores they can re-export them back as aid for the Sri-Lankans (tourists included) to climb and save their lives.
The coconut trunks well preserved would be a new form of life support system developed in America.
Few of the tourists of course saved their life hanging on to them a year ago. They could share the experience with the few tree climbers left in this country. We can promote this as a new millennium sport.
Since most of the tree climbers (party climbers) have joined the parliament over the past half a century they can act as trainers and referees in this sport of tree climbing.
One a lighter note and in a scientific sense the real reason for declining interest in coconut, arecanut and Kithul tree is that all three of them are labour intensive like the tea industry.
Only way to revive these flagging industries is to promote selective breeding of high yielding variety with short trunks so that harvesting is not labour intensive.
For some unknown genetic reasons the short plants and animals have the ability to withstand adverse environmental conditions and it is not a challenge to go for such a variety. One of the reasons that the tall trees and dinosaurs disappeared from this planet is their enormous size. They could not withstand the adversity.
One area we are far behind is the palm oil industry and our Asian giant in hibernation, Malaysia, pioneered the research in this.
They have gone for palm oils even destroying their rain forest. We have to learn a lot from them. Biodiesel is going to be an area we should explore instead of drilling for gas /oil in limited resources offshore.
For me looking down the plane and seeing the coconut trees spanning the landing site is a fascinating scene.
Sadly this scenery is not going to be there in another ten years.
The developers are eying every peace of land to plunder.
In the process they are developing social and economic disasters in the so-called palaces they are building. The coconut triangle is going to be zigzag in no time.
We have so many ministers and ministries in this country a Palm Ministry would not be a burden to the country. In any case some of the parliamentarians are coming from that back ground both in oiling the palms (heads included) and climbing the trees and this is a one sure way to climb the political hierarchy.
For the super market chains and range for this Christmas should include the imported artificial palm trees from India, which do not need any watering, plant care or plant watching.
For a change we could have Santa on a palm tree.
How about that?
21st December 2005
Lady's Only
Lady's Only
This happened in
A royal suite
Of an elite hotel in Colombo
A partially sighted
Gentleman of ill repute
Having poor sight
Due to bilateral upper quadrant hemianopia
Ventured into
A ladies toilet
Quite fortuitously
He was almost finishing
His nature's call
When a lady of a high society
Dock in to drop anchor
Seeing the man's posterior
Aghast,
Exclaimed
" This is ladies only facility"
The man in turn
Turned round zipped up
"This was a ladies specialty"
And zipped away
The lady did not know
Whether to agree or disagree
In hindsight the
Man knowing that
He had tertiary
Or the neurosyphilis
To be precise
And his prompt exit
From the facility
Did secure
No further embarrassment
To his integrity
5th October 2006
This happened in
A royal suite
Of an elite hotel in Colombo
A partially sighted
Gentleman of ill repute
Having poor sight
Due to bilateral upper quadrant hemianopia
Ventured into
A ladies toilet
Quite fortuitously
He was almost finishing
His nature's call
When a lady of a high society
Dock in to drop anchor
Seeing the man's posterior
Aghast,
Exclaimed
" This is ladies only facility"
The man in turn
Turned round zipped up
"This was a ladies specialty"
And zipped away
The lady did not know
Whether to agree or disagree
In hindsight the
Man knowing that
He had tertiary
Or the neurosyphilis
To be precise
And his prompt exit
From the facility
Did secure
No further embarrassment
To his integrity
5th October 2006
Monday, February 22, 2016
Beautiful Mind
Beautiful Mind
Can the mind be beautiful?
Yes of course.
How do you do that?
When the mind is detached from both the convergence and divergence strategy of a dogma, the turnaround is the beautiful mind.
It flows into the unconquered and the blissful state.
One has to work on it.
It does not come automatically.
Can the mind be beautiful?
Yes of course.
How do you do that?
When the mind is detached from both the convergence and divergence strategy of a dogma, the turnaround is the beautiful mind.
It flows into the unconquered and the blissful state.
One has to work on it.
It does not come automatically.
State of Conversion
State of Conversion
Lack of imagination and insight leads to a state of mind called conversion.
It is a fix or rigid state of mind filled with prejudices, be that it may be religion, nationality, race or any cultural dogma.
I believe this is where the cultural instinct get ingrained, if the population is isolated and not exposed to the rest of the world.
This is probably residing in our genome.
Religion apart from black and white race dogma is the result of this conversion strategy of mankind.
Any other dogma falls within this frame work.
The existence of god and a creation of an almighty wisdom are byproducts.
Once inside this dogma, science takes a back seat.
Albert Einstein put this succinctly.
Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind.
Lack of imagination and insight leads to a state of mind called conversion.
It is a fix or rigid state of mind filled with prejudices, be that it may be religion, nationality, race or any cultural dogma.
I believe this is where the cultural instinct get ingrained, if the population is isolated and not exposed to the rest of the world.
This is probably residing in our genome.
Religion apart from black and white race dogma is the result of this conversion strategy of mankind.
Any other dogma falls within this frame work.
The existence of god and a creation of an almighty wisdom are byproducts.
Once inside this dogma, science takes a back seat.
Albert Einstein put this succinctly.
Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind.
Saturday, February 20, 2016
Lack of Imagination
Lack of Imagination
Children are born with imagination to make up for their lack of conceptualization of a given situation.
Many adult who can conceptualize a given problem unfortunately loses the ability to think imaginatively.
The religion uses this lack of creativity to insinuate with bizarre concepts.
The god created this world is one such concept.
Unfortunately, “Big Bang Theory” of creation of the universe has fallen into this same trap of a dogma.
We have not put an alternative theory to counteract it.
This has made the science to ignore the Dark Matter and its hidden physics.
Children are born with imagination to make up for their lack of conceptualization of a given situation.
Many adult who can conceptualize a given problem unfortunately loses the ability to think imaginatively.
The religion uses this lack of creativity to insinuate with bizarre concepts.
The god created this world is one such concept.
Unfortunately, “Big Bang Theory” of creation of the universe has fallen into this same trap of a dogma.
We have not put an alternative theory to counteract it.
This has made the science to ignore the Dark Matter and its hidden physics.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
The Elephant Corridor It is a myth.
The Elephant Corridor
It is a myth.
Yala, Wagamuwa, Wilpattu and Uda Walawe are not connected by a corridor for the elephants to move freely, since the rest of the land is densely populated and there is not even a hypothetical corridor.
My calculation is that not even one percent of the land is reserved for the elephants.
If I assume 10% (ten) of the land is allocated in a hypothetical space on this island as a zoological garden and all the elephants are relocated inside it for the people to see them as exhibits, and only 0.1% of the total population come to the zoo, to see them in one go (again hypothetical), there will be one man or woman standing every 10 feet (3.3 meters) of the perimeter and no elephant can move out without touching a human being.
If we get 1% to visit the zoo, one can stand and won’t be able to stretch the hands without pushing and shoving.
Elephant will have to trample 10 of them to get out of the perimeter and see the man’s world, which is fully developed.
One may wonder, why I used 10% which is high land mass in commercial concepts.
It is very simple.
My estimate is that there should be 35% (it is less than 25% and we will be like Dubai in about 50 years of development from now and then we might even have to import water) of total land to be reserved for rain forest, if we are to maintain at least 10% of the perennial rivers.
So if we roughly have 30% for the rain forest, elephants should take the major share of at least one third of it which will be 10%.
That is why I state that there is not even 1% of land left for our elephants.
So the natural selection will let 500 elephants to survive in the this land and in that estimate it is really endangered species.
Stating that we have 5000 elephants in the forest is a mythical figure concocted by our Mega Media Men (M.M.M) to satisfy the politicians. I think each elephant is counted ten (10) times in making that mythical figure, sometimes by reputed NGO's.
Development of the man’s world is also a big myth in the same stretch of imagination, since only a very few with patronage will be able to enjoy it.
I have made the calculation confusing and difficult so that politicians won’t be able to understand my logic of it but the figures are below for one to work out.
Human Population density in Sril-Lanka averaged out but in reality it is much more than that because people congregate on socio-economic reasons.
The population density in Gamphaha is more than Decca and Calcatta.
Kandy has 10 times the population density of Gaza Strip.
Beauty is nobody talks about population control.
I have used the total population projected in another 10 to 50 years for my calculation since total square miles is roughly 25,000.
1000 in a square mile
400 in a Square Kilometer
400 x 2.4=1000
Reserve only 10% 2500 Sq Miles(6500 Sq. Meters)
0.1 of population 250,000
Every 10 feet or 3.3 meters there is a man/woman standing.
Location Indian Ocean Coordinates 7°N 81°E
Area 65,610 km2 (25,332 sq miles)
Area rank 25th
Coastline 1,340 km (833 miles)
Highest elevation 2,524.13 m (8,281.27 ft)
Highest point Pidurutalagala
Water bodies 870 km² of water =400 square miles (only about 1%)
( If Water body is 1.5 % it equals to 1000 Km)
Population density 1000 sq miles
Population density 400 km
Hypothetical Elephants population is 1000 and it is exaggerated to 5000 by local media giants (Biggest lie in this country).
Reserve 2500 Sq miles 50x50=2500;10feet
Reserve 6500 Km 80x80=6400: 3.3 meters
It is a myth.
Yala, Wagamuwa, Wilpattu and Uda Walawe are not connected by a corridor for the elephants to move freely, since the rest of the land is densely populated and there is not even a hypothetical corridor.
My calculation is that not even one percent of the land is reserved for the elephants.
If I assume 10% (ten) of the land is allocated in a hypothetical space on this island as a zoological garden and all the elephants are relocated inside it for the people to see them as exhibits, and only 0.1% of the total population come to the zoo, to see them in one go (again hypothetical), there will be one man or woman standing every 10 feet (3.3 meters) of the perimeter and no elephant can move out without touching a human being.
If we get 1% to visit the zoo, one can stand and won’t be able to stretch the hands without pushing and shoving.
Elephant will have to trample 10 of them to get out of the perimeter and see the man’s world, which is fully developed.
One may wonder, why I used 10% which is high land mass in commercial concepts.
It is very simple.
My estimate is that there should be 35% (it is less than 25% and we will be like Dubai in about 50 years of development from now and then we might even have to import water) of total land to be reserved for rain forest, if we are to maintain at least 10% of the perennial rivers.
So if we roughly have 30% for the rain forest, elephants should take the major share of at least one third of it which will be 10%.
That is why I state that there is not even 1% of land left for our elephants.
So the natural selection will let 500 elephants to survive in the this land and in that estimate it is really endangered species.
Stating that we have 5000 elephants in the forest is a mythical figure concocted by our Mega Media Men (M.M.M) to satisfy the politicians. I think each elephant is counted ten (10) times in making that mythical figure, sometimes by reputed NGO's.
Development of the man’s world is also a big myth in the same stretch of imagination, since only a very few with patronage will be able to enjoy it.
I have made the calculation confusing and difficult so that politicians won’t be able to understand my logic of it but the figures are below for one to work out.
Human Population density in Sril-Lanka averaged out but in reality it is much more than that because people congregate on socio-economic reasons.
The population density in Gamphaha is more than Decca and Calcatta.
Kandy has 10 times the population density of Gaza Strip.
Beauty is nobody talks about population control.
I have used the total population projected in another 10 to 50 years for my calculation since total square miles is roughly 25,000.
1000 in a square mile
400 in a Square Kilometer
400 x 2.4=1000
Reserve only 10% 2500 Sq Miles(6500 Sq. Meters)
0.1 of population 250,000
Every 10 feet or 3.3 meters there is a man/woman standing.
Location Indian Ocean Coordinates 7°N 81°E
Area 65,610 km2 (25,332 sq miles)
Area rank 25th
Coastline 1,340 km (833 miles)
Highest elevation 2,524.13 m (8,281.27 ft)
Highest point Pidurutalagala
Water bodies 870 km² of water =400 square miles (only about 1%)
( If Water body is 1.5 % it equals to 1000 Km)
Population density 1000 sq miles
Population density 400 km
Hypothetical Elephants population is 1000 and it is exaggerated to 5000 by local media giants (Biggest lie in this country).
Reserve 2500 Sq miles 50x50=2500;10feet
Reserve 6500 Km 80x80=6400: 3.3 meters
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
Cigar or Pipe
I had the pipe dream of abolishing the post of presidency but now I have stopped even smoking a cigar in desperation.
a pipe dream
To think that the new constitution would bring sanity into our corrupt political system is a pipe dream
Wise Counsel
Wise man counsel is to weigh the pros more than the cons
Why do I say so!
The pros with their circular logic may con you to believe a religion is good for you
Or hashish (any mood elevating drug) makes you to be a saint
Why do I say so!
The pros with their circular logic may con you to believe a religion is good for you
Or hashish (any mood elevating drug) makes you to be a saint
Elephant Myths
Elephant Myths
The myth propagated by our Hashish Growers is to say elephants vandalize their vegetable gardens (of heaven)
The truth is they grow hashish in their migration pathway
If elephants consume hashish and go haywire in a country which is a center of drug trafficking is to eliminate bad "Selfish Genes" of our ancestry
The myth propagated by our Hashish Growers is to say elephants vandalize their vegetable gardens (of heaven)
The truth is they grow hashish in their migration pathway
If elephants consume hashish and go haywire in a country which is a center of drug trafficking is to eliminate bad "Selfish Genes" of our ancestry
Sanity, Vanity and Dignity
Sanity has no expiry date (Voter Perception)
Vanity only has shelf value and loses its value moment it is taken out of the shelf
Or when taken out of (constitution) context
Insanity (politicians) is always current
Dignity is something (Good Governance) That cannot be sustained in real life
Vanity only has shelf value and loses its value moment it is taken out of the shelf
Or when taken out of (constitution) context
Insanity (politicians) is always current
Dignity is something (Good Governance) That cannot be sustained in real life
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Cellphones
Cellphones takes your field of influence well beyond the sphere of activity but come to think about it, it is a hindrance to creativity.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Virgin Coconut Oil
Virgin Coconut Oil
Coconut Experience
It is now believed that coconut oil is the healthiest of oils on earth.
Some even say, it is the miracle oil if only prepared as virgin oil free of harmful contaminants.
It is the virgin coconut oil that has this unique property.
My intention is to revive the age old tradition of extracting coconut oil for domestic consumption.
Virgin coconut oil is an extract of pure coconut oil free of polychlorinated biophenols. All industrial coconut oils except virgin coconut oil are contaminated with certain amount of these chemicals during industrial processing.
PCBs
PCBs are known to increase the incidence and risk of breast cancer. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are a class of chemicals with a variety of industrial and commercial applications. Because of their health concerns these chemicals (PCBs) are banned in the US and Canada but they still linger in the environment and are present in the food chain, particularly in fatty foods.
The major culprit of the production of this chemical is the chlorination of water before the so called purification (only from bacteria).
Our doctors forget about the chemical contaminants in our water because of their allopathic inclination to produce and distribute in mass scale, chemicals of dubious nature in the name of treatment of modern diseases.
The propagation of these chemicals with the help of the pharmaceutical companies is only a side industry.
PCBPs
I have renamed these items (PCBPs) in a generic descriptive term of polluted when processing (P), chemically contaminated (C) while preserving and biologically bombarded (degrading) for storage and mass scale production (P) by commercial chains and companies (including hydrogenation of natural oil for long storage life).
Much research on the nutritional and medicinal benefits on coconut oil has surfaced in recent years.
Much of that research has been done by Dr. Mary Enig who has classified coconuts as a "functional food," which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. She has specifically identified lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut products.
Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-protozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid."
Coconut oil has been used for centuries as a vital source of food for health and general wellbeing in traditional communities in the tropics including Sri-Lanka.
Recent research verifies traditional wisdom and beliefs that the coconut palm is "The Tree of Life" and that, just like any other pure, whole food, coconuts and coconut virgin oils have a significant role to play in a well balanced, nutritious diet.
Abandoning unhealthy lifestyles and reverting to natural foods can help to reverse many of the diseases that manifest through the unhealthy living styles in the modern society and the consumption of highly refined foods in our diet.
Our daily food intake should contain various combinations of fats or oils.
However, the structures of different oils are as diverse as nature itself.
A basic knowledge of how fats are classified by their chemical nature is necessary to understand the logic of recommended foods for consumption but I am not interested in teaching biochemistry but to educate the masses how to prepare virgin coconut oil and consume a healthy meal.
However, this classification is important when choosing oil to augment and support a healthy lifestyle for our children and families.
Research shows that replacing other cooking oils with virgin coconut oil generally creates a more favorable HDL/LDL ratio.
This oil has antiviral, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-protozoal properties and, like all whole foods, contains nutrients for a healthy body.
A Case for Coconut oil
Coconut oil is in many ways a unique gift of nature.
It contains 92% saturated fatty acids, giving coconut oil important properties often lost under the dusty political cloud of the cholesterol debate. Quasi immune to light oxidation and highly resistant to rancidity the oil is functional as a safe nutritional source in most climates without the need for refrigeration or special storage conditions.
However, the fact that is lost in the furor over cholesterol is the differentiation of the different sub-groups of fatty acids and in particular the importance the of Medium Chain Fatty Acids.
Modern researchers have discovered important health benefits and critical bodily functions that are supported by the pool of MCFAs available to the human body.
The high concentration of Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) of 62% is the critical aspect of why this tropical oil not only behaves differently to any other saturated fat, but is also deemed healthier than most unsaturated oils, the latter often having a much higher concentration of long chain fatty acids.. Generally MCFAs are of a smaller particle size thus requiring less energy and fewer enzymes for absorption, placing less strain on the digestive system.
This is further enhanced by the fact that short and medium chain fatty acids are made soluble and absorbed in the aqueous phase of the intestinal contents and transported directly via the portal vein to the liver where they are consumed as an energy source similar to carbohydrates. MCFA have also been shown to assist the absorption and retention of calcium, magnesium and some amino acids as well supporting the healthy functioning of the thyroid.
Notwithstanding, all the bodily functions that may be enhanced by the consumption of MCFAs the most outstanding finding of modern research has been the capacity of certain MCFA to enhance the human immune system and actively participate in the capacity of the human body to fight virus, bacteria and fungi.
The most important of these MCFAs that enhance and boost the bodies immune system are Caproic Acid, Caprylic Acid, Capric Acid and Lauric Acid and Myristic Acid.
It is however the powerful capacity of Lauric acid to immobilize harmful invaders of our body, which has excited researchers the most.
Although Dr Jon Kabara had already noted the antimicrobial activity of lauric acid in 1966, it has been only in the last 10 years that the potential of all MCFA in fighting bacterial and viral infections has been realized.
Furthermore, in addition to their capacity to inactivate pathogenic organisms, the use of MCFAs has shown no negative toxicological or pharmacological side effects.
If anything MCFA have shown to weaken viruses or bacteria that show antibiotic resistance to such an extent that these drugs can actually function against these organisms, while the use of MCFAs over time has not shown any build-up of resistance by microbial organisms to these fatty acids.
In practical terms, the consumption of MCFAs would not only boost the human immune system without fear of negative side effects, but also that they could be consumed to compliment the functions of general antibiotic treatments when their effectiveness is decreased by built up resistance found in bacteria. MCFAs are effective mostly in their digested form or in the case of lauric acid: monolaurin. The effectiveness of monolaurin is based on the small size of the particle and the similarity in substance to the lipid (fat) membranes coating harmful microorganisms. Monolaurin is attracted to the virus and is then easily absorbed into its quasi fluid membrane weakening it to such a degree that it literally splits open, killing the organism and allowing the bodies own white blood cells to effectively clean and dispose of the remnants.
These research results have lead to the incorporation of especially Caprylic, Capric and Lauric Acid into many accepted anti-viral/anti-bacterial pharmaceutical treatments today.
The fact is that over 62% of coconut oil is made up of these three major fatty acids.
In addition the majority, around 48%, is lauric acid, the fundamental building block of our bodies immune system and the most effective anti-pathogenic of all MCFAs.
Now how to prepare Virgin oil at home
It is very simple and can be accomplished in a few steps but I would give a summary of the tradition way of preparation of coconut oil.
My mother used to prepare coconut oil at home from a recipe that come down for generations.
She added lot of medicinal leaves and the aroma of a bottled prepared by her was refreshing.
Even though I hated it being put on my head before combing the hair >The aroma was probably added to entice me.
Traditional Way
8 coconuts for a bottle of one coconut oil bottle.
1. Scrape and grate 8 coconuts
2. Boil the same till the smell of the coconut oil emanates
3. Then squeeze the milk from the scrapings
4. Ground the same in a mortar with pestle
5. Simmer in a container till water evaporates
6. Collect coconut oil once concentrated to about one bottle
My Method
1. Squeeze the milk of a grated coconut (one) with a little water
2. Separate the Miti Kiri (the first fistful of coconut milk)
3. Put it in the fridge
4. Separate the top layer of oil when cooled
5. Do this every day and once separated can be put in the freezer
6. In the alternative the liquidizer can be use for extracting the first portion of the milk which is fairly water soluble
7. Use extra water to prepare for Dee Kiri (Diluted watery milk)
8. Use the same (Dee Kiri) for cooking
9. Dry the remaining Pol Kudu (kernal remnants) in sunlight
10. Once an adequate amount is collected go to the nearest grinding mill and ask them to extract the oil for you
11. If not interested use the same to polish the floor
12. Or I am thinking whether it could be utilized as manure or chicken feed with conservation in mind.
Now to extract the virgin oil one has to take the lot that were collected over time and heat it in low fire to evaporate the water and concentrate the coconut oil.
If one is interested one can add various medicinal leaves for preservation and for invigorating smell.
In the traditional way a lot of energy is wasted in boiling the grated coconut.
By putting in the fridge the initial preparation is made simple (energy saving too) and the separation of oil is made easy.
Use this oil for frying.
Mind you stir frying.
It is that simple that is why our housewives are not taking any interest on this virgin oil.
One does not have to pay a fortune for the commercially prepared and imported virgin oil.
Please do not deep fry, use only Chinese method of stir fry and the woks.
7th December, 2006
Coconut Experience
It is now believed that coconut oil is the healthiest of oils on earth.
Some even say, it is the miracle oil if only prepared as virgin oil free of harmful contaminants.
It is the virgin coconut oil that has this unique property.
My intention is to revive the age old tradition of extracting coconut oil for domestic consumption.
Virgin coconut oil is an extract of pure coconut oil free of polychlorinated biophenols. All industrial coconut oils except virgin coconut oil are contaminated with certain amount of these chemicals during industrial processing.
PCBs
PCBs are known to increase the incidence and risk of breast cancer. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are a class of chemicals with a variety of industrial and commercial applications. Because of their health concerns these chemicals (PCBs) are banned in the US and Canada but they still linger in the environment and are present in the food chain, particularly in fatty foods.
The major culprit of the production of this chemical is the chlorination of water before the so called purification (only from bacteria).
Our doctors forget about the chemical contaminants in our water because of their allopathic inclination to produce and distribute in mass scale, chemicals of dubious nature in the name of treatment of modern diseases.
The propagation of these chemicals with the help of the pharmaceutical companies is only a side industry.
PCBPs
I have renamed these items (PCBPs) in a generic descriptive term of polluted when processing (P), chemically contaminated (C) while preserving and biologically bombarded (degrading) for storage and mass scale production (P) by commercial chains and companies (including hydrogenation of natural oil for long storage life).
Much research on the nutritional and medicinal benefits on coconut oil has surfaced in recent years.
Much of that research has been done by Dr. Mary Enig who has classified coconuts as a "functional food," which provides health benefits over and beyond the basic nutrients. She has specifically identified lauric acid as a key ingredient in coconut products.
Approximately 50% of the fatty acids in coconut fat are lauric acid. Lauric acid is a medium chain fatty acid, which has the additional beneficial function of being formed into monolaurin in the human or animal body. Monolaurin is the antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-protozoal monoglyceride used by the human or animal to destroy lipid coated viruses such as HIV, herpes, cytomegalovirus, influenza, various pathogenic bacteria including listeria monocytogenes and helicobacter pylori, and protozoa such as giardia lamblia.
Some studies have also shown some antimicrobial effects of the free lauric acid."
Coconut oil has been used for centuries as a vital source of food for health and general wellbeing in traditional communities in the tropics including Sri-Lanka.
Recent research verifies traditional wisdom and beliefs that the coconut palm is "The Tree of Life" and that, just like any other pure, whole food, coconuts and coconut virgin oils have a significant role to play in a well balanced, nutritious diet.
Abandoning unhealthy lifestyles and reverting to natural foods can help to reverse many of the diseases that manifest through the unhealthy living styles in the modern society and the consumption of highly refined foods in our diet.
Our daily food intake should contain various combinations of fats or oils.
However, the structures of different oils are as diverse as nature itself.
A basic knowledge of how fats are classified by their chemical nature is necessary to understand the logic of recommended foods for consumption but I am not interested in teaching biochemistry but to educate the masses how to prepare virgin coconut oil and consume a healthy meal.
However, this classification is important when choosing oil to augment and support a healthy lifestyle for our children and families.
Research shows that replacing other cooking oils with virgin coconut oil generally creates a more favorable HDL/LDL ratio.
This oil has antiviral, antibacterial, antimicrobial, and anti-protozoal properties and, like all whole foods, contains nutrients for a healthy body.
A Case for Coconut oil
Coconut oil is in many ways a unique gift of nature.
It contains 92% saturated fatty acids, giving coconut oil important properties often lost under the dusty political cloud of the cholesterol debate. Quasi immune to light oxidation and highly resistant to rancidity the oil is functional as a safe nutritional source in most climates without the need for refrigeration or special storage conditions.
However, the fact that is lost in the furor over cholesterol is the differentiation of the different sub-groups of fatty acids and in particular the importance the of Medium Chain Fatty Acids.
Modern researchers have discovered important health benefits and critical bodily functions that are supported by the pool of MCFAs available to the human body.
The high concentration of Medium Chain Fatty Acids (MCFAs) of 62% is the critical aspect of why this tropical oil not only behaves differently to any other saturated fat, but is also deemed healthier than most unsaturated oils, the latter often having a much higher concentration of long chain fatty acids.. Generally MCFAs are of a smaller particle size thus requiring less energy and fewer enzymes for absorption, placing less strain on the digestive system.
This is further enhanced by the fact that short and medium chain fatty acids are made soluble and absorbed in the aqueous phase of the intestinal contents and transported directly via the portal vein to the liver where they are consumed as an energy source similar to carbohydrates. MCFA have also been shown to assist the absorption and retention of calcium, magnesium and some amino acids as well supporting the healthy functioning of the thyroid.
Notwithstanding, all the bodily functions that may be enhanced by the consumption of MCFAs the most outstanding finding of modern research has been the capacity of certain MCFA to enhance the human immune system and actively participate in the capacity of the human body to fight virus, bacteria and fungi.
The most important of these MCFAs that enhance and boost the bodies immune system are Caproic Acid, Caprylic Acid, Capric Acid and Lauric Acid and Myristic Acid.
It is however the powerful capacity of Lauric acid to immobilize harmful invaders of our body, which has excited researchers the most.
Although Dr Jon Kabara had already noted the antimicrobial activity of lauric acid in 1966, it has been only in the last 10 years that the potential of all MCFA in fighting bacterial and viral infections has been realized.
Furthermore, in addition to their capacity to inactivate pathogenic organisms, the use of MCFAs has shown no negative toxicological or pharmacological side effects.
If anything MCFA have shown to weaken viruses or bacteria that show antibiotic resistance to such an extent that these drugs can actually function against these organisms, while the use of MCFAs over time has not shown any build-up of resistance by microbial organisms to these fatty acids.
In practical terms, the consumption of MCFAs would not only boost the human immune system without fear of negative side effects, but also that they could be consumed to compliment the functions of general antibiotic treatments when their effectiveness is decreased by built up resistance found in bacteria. MCFAs are effective mostly in their digested form or in the case of lauric acid: monolaurin. The effectiveness of monolaurin is based on the small size of the particle and the similarity in substance to the lipid (fat) membranes coating harmful microorganisms. Monolaurin is attracted to the virus and is then easily absorbed into its quasi fluid membrane weakening it to such a degree that it literally splits open, killing the organism and allowing the bodies own white blood cells to effectively clean and dispose of the remnants.
These research results have lead to the incorporation of especially Caprylic, Capric and Lauric Acid into many accepted anti-viral/anti-bacterial pharmaceutical treatments today.
The fact is that over 62% of coconut oil is made up of these three major fatty acids.
In addition the majority, around 48%, is lauric acid, the fundamental building block of our bodies immune system and the most effective anti-pathogenic of all MCFAs.
Now how to prepare Virgin oil at home
It is very simple and can be accomplished in a few steps but I would give a summary of the tradition way of preparation of coconut oil.
My mother used to prepare coconut oil at home from a recipe that come down for generations.
She added lot of medicinal leaves and the aroma of a bottled prepared by her was refreshing.
Even though I hated it being put on my head before combing the hair >The aroma was probably added to entice me.
Traditional Way
8 coconuts for a bottle of one coconut oil bottle.
1. Scrape and grate 8 coconuts
2. Boil the same till the smell of the coconut oil emanates
3. Then squeeze the milk from the scrapings
4. Ground the same in a mortar with pestle
5. Simmer in a container till water evaporates
6. Collect coconut oil once concentrated to about one bottle
My Method
1. Squeeze the milk of a grated coconut (one) with a little water
2. Separate the Miti Kiri (the first fistful of coconut milk)
3. Put it in the fridge
4. Separate the top layer of oil when cooled
5. Do this every day and once separated can be put in the freezer
6. In the alternative the liquidizer can be use for extracting the first portion of the milk which is fairly water soluble
7. Use extra water to prepare for Dee Kiri (Diluted watery milk)
8. Use the same (Dee Kiri) for cooking
9. Dry the remaining Pol Kudu (kernal remnants) in sunlight
10. Once an adequate amount is collected go to the nearest grinding mill and ask them to extract the oil for you
11. If not interested use the same to polish the floor
12. Or I am thinking whether it could be utilized as manure or chicken feed with conservation in mind.
Now to extract the virgin oil one has to take the lot that were collected over time and heat it in low fire to evaporate the water and concentrate the coconut oil.
If one is interested one can add various medicinal leaves for preservation and for invigorating smell.
In the traditional way a lot of energy is wasted in boiling the grated coconut.
By putting in the fridge the initial preparation is made simple (energy saving too) and the separation of oil is made easy.
Use this oil for frying.
Mind you stir frying.
It is that simple that is why our housewives are not taking any interest on this virgin oil.
One does not have to pay a fortune for the commercially prepared and imported virgin oil.
Please do not deep fry, use only Chinese method of stir fry and the woks.
7th December, 2006
Chocolates and Coca Cola
Chocolates and Coca Cola
Yes to chocolates but no to cola is my motto!
This is the message that I should bring to the young and the old.
First, with some personal experiences of us as young parents in UK and the encounter we had with coca cola. My children were addicted to cola and my British colleague who opened my eyes to the addictiveness of (derivative of cocaine) cola drink and its (natural permitted ingredients) constituents.
That made me to do some search on the cola leaf.
Even, the tiny bit of coca extract in the syrup has cocaine and it continued to be an ingredient in the syrup in order to protect the trade name "Coca-Cola" for a long time so that the company became a house hold name in Americas.
Things have changed significantly but during the promotional campaigns, I have reason to believe the promoters increase the concentration of the syrup so that some would get addicted to the brand name.
That much is enough for cola and the Americanism and their market principles.
Now Bolivians are asking for free franchise of cocaine as a national industry.
Now to the cocoa nut.
Whenever, I get a new job abroad and whenever, I have a friendly discussion over the dinner table I always raise the issue that the westerners have a sweet tooth and eating chocolates is bad for two reasons.
One is because of the sugar content and the other my own Sri-Lankan secret invention (my April fool, long before the April fool's day) of cocoa.
I tell them in a very scientific way, that we suck the seeds of cocoa before drying them on sunlight. The scientific secret is that the digestive enzymes in our saliva digest the outer coat in such a way to get the best quality cocoa to be produced in Sri-Lanka for export.
I do not think any cocoa trees left (imported from Africa) in this country.
And I go on to say we have hepatitis in Sri-Lanka and it is risky to eat chocolates. Whenever they offer me chocolates I flatly refuse the offer reminding of them of hepatitis.
This is the way, I take my turn for the rigmarole that I have to go through of all the vaccinations and medical check ups whenever I get a new job abroad and before commencing work.
Little they suspect that it is a made up story and I go onto say that during coca cola campaigns the company imports a special brand of essence from America that the company chairman himself prepares it in his private bath. I go onto say the essence is put in the tub and the chairman does the tempering with his feet (like vine making) and the real taste of coco cola is from the sweat of the his feet.
I go on to say the sweat he shed for his company is phenomenal judging by the company's sale figures.
This is something, I got from Arthur Buchwald’s writing and a slight hint for my friends that there is some exaggeration and pun involved in my scientific story (if they have had read him sometimes).
Arthur "Art" Buchwald (October 20, 1925 – January 17, 2007) was an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post, which in turn was carried as a syndicated column in many other newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982 and in 1986 was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
So within a week I put them off of two of their favorite food items.
I have taken my revenge for the extra medical checks they have gone through myself and my family every time we go out.
No wonder I have not gone out for a long time now.
For about three month I carry on this ploy religiously and in due course I get caught eating chocolates somewhere in a supermarket or an open place.
YOU are a cheat and I find YOU eat chocolates, surreptitiously.
I would say this is a special brand and it is hermetically (I don't understand the meaning of the word) prepared or something similar so as to avoid getting caught.
Finally, I bare open, the truth when enough people start suspecting me.
Then I buy them loads of chocolates for being good sport.
The chocolates and a sample of its virtues is given below.
Properties of Cocoa
Pick your choice and enjoy chocolates in the festival time of April.
All chocolate is made from powdered cocoa beans usually mixed with some kind of sugar, some butter or lard or vegetable oils, some milk products, and various other ingredients. While you may have heard that chocolate is "bad for you", it is not the cocoa that is unhealthy, but the other ingredients in the kinds of chocolate made from refined sugar combined with various kinds of cheap animal fats like lard, or cheap and unhealthy hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Cocoa -The Super Healthy Fruit
Cocoa beans come from the fruit of a tree which grows in tropical rain forests. The official scientific name of the cocoa tree is Theobroma Cacao. "Theobroma" is Latin for "food of the gods".
Strictly speaking, cocoa is a nut, the seed of a fruit, but is most commonly called cocoa beans, cocoa seeds, cocoa nuts, chocolate seeds, chocolate beans, or cocoa nibs.
Cocoa may also be spelled as "cacao" and pronounced "ka-cow". All of these terms refer to the dried fruit or nuts of the cacao tree and the most popular term, cocoa beans.
Cocoa beans contain over 300 chemically identifiable compounds.
This makes cocoa one of the most complex food substances.
Chocolate consumption represents one percent of the American diet, yet most Americans have never tasted "real" chocolate -the natural cocoa bean in its raw form.
When healthy and high quality natural ingredients are used, it is possible to make a "healthy chocolate" from natural cocoa beans. Or one can simply sprinkle crushed cocoa beans onto whipped cream, ice cream, puddings, or other desserts for a natural chocolate flavor from the original "chocolate chips".
The raw cocoa beans taste like unsweetened dark chocolate.
Next to raw cocoa, it is unsweetened and dairy free dark chocolate that is the healthiest chocolate; while the least healthy chocolate is milk chocolate which includes dairy products and refined sugar and possibly hydrogenated oils or lard.
Studies indicate that dairy products block the absorption of the many antioxidants found naturally in cocoa and dark chocolate!
How Healthy Is Dark Chocolate?
Cocoa beans and organic dark chocolate are one of the best food sources of this heart supporting minerals, magnesium.
Cocoa is a potent source of serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. These are three well known neurotransmitters which help alleviate depression and are associated with feelings of wellbeing.
Cocoa contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO Inhibitors) which help improve our mood because they allow serotonin and dopamine to remain in the bloodstream longer without being broken down. Cocoa also contains amandamide which stimulates blissful feelings.
Cocoa also contains B vitamins, which are associated with brain health.
Antioxidants in Dark Chocolate
Scientists have known for years that cocoa contains significant amount of antioxidants, but no one knew just how rich they were in comparison to those found in two other healthy foods, red wine and green tea.
Recent research has demonstrated that the antioxidants found in cocoa beans are highly stable and easily available to the human metabolism. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals and keep them from damaging the DNA and mitochondria of the body's cells, which is a major cause of many degenerative diseases, cancer and premature aging.
By comparison, 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate delivers as many antioxidants as five ounces of red wine.
That makes cocoa one of the richest sources of antioxidants in any food.
The liqueured chocolates is a bonus with vasodilator properties of alcohol added to the antioxidant effects.
Compare the cocoa bean to processed cocoa powder (defatted and roasted cocoa beans treated with potassium carbonate) and chocolates -which range in flavonol content from the more common concentration of 500mg per 100 grams in normal chocolate bars -to a concentration of 5,000 milligrams in some commercial preparations.
Theobromine and Caffeine
Cocoa can substantially increase a person's energy level, since it contains two stimulating methylxanthines -a significant amount of theobromine and a small amount of caffeine.
A cup of hot chocolate usually contains about 4 to 5 milligrams of caffeine, which is about 5% of the caffeine found in a cup of coffee.
A cup of coffee may contain 50 to 175mg of caffeine, a cup of tea may contain 25 to 100mg, and a cup of cocoa beverage may contain zero to 25 milligrams of caffeine.
Can Chocolate Help Us Be Happy?
We have all heard how chocolate can be a "comfort food" to help us cope with stress and depression and general unhappiness. There might actually be some connection between chocolate and happiness, when we look at certain chemicals which are found naturally in the cocoa bean and which affect parts of the brain.
Chocolate as an Aphrodisiac
The peoples of Central American in the pre-Columbian era often spoke in metaphors composed of words or phrases which had a hidden meaning when uttered in sequence. This is common in many languages, including English. One of these ancient metaphors was yollotl, eztli, meaning "heart, blood," -a phrase which referred to cocoa.
Chocolate is the heart's "blood" due to its magnesium, antioxidants, love chemicals and esoteric properties.
Chocolate truly is "food for the heart".
Chocolate is a symbol of sensuality, pleasure, and sexuality.
Some writers have claimed that 50 per cent of women actually prefer chocolate to sex!
That percentage might even rise if the women were offered real chocolate in the form of organic cocoa!
Chocolate is a favorite gift from a lover to the beloved one.
Chocolates are always given as love offerings.
A box of chocolates is one of the most popular gifts for Valentine's Day. Cocoa, because it is natural and unadulterated, has an even stronger love energy than manufactured chocolate candy.
In ancient Aztec wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom would exchange five cocoa beans with each other.
Yes to chocolates but no to cola is my motto!
This is the message that I should bring to the young and the old.
First, with some personal experiences of us as young parents in UK and the encounter we had with coca cola. My children were addicted to cola and my British colleague who opened my eyes to the addictiveness of (derivative of cocaine) cola drink and its (natural permitted ingredients) constituents.
That made me to do some search on the cola leaf.
Even, the tiny bit of coca extract in the syrup has cocaine and it continued to be an ingredient in the syrup in order to protect the trade name "Coca-Cola" for a long time so that the company became a house hold name in Americas.
Things have changed significantly but during the promotional campaigns, I have reason to believe the promoters increase the concentration of the syrup so that some would get addicted to the brand name.
That much is enough for cola and the Americanism and their market principles.
Now Bolivians are asking for free franchise of cocaine as a national industry.
Now to the cocoa nut.
Whenever, I get a new job abroad and whenever, I have a friendly discussion over the dinner table I always raise the issue that the westerners have a sweet tooth and eating chocolates is bad for two reasons.
One is because of the sugar content and the other my own Sri-Lankan secret invention (my April fool, long before the April fool's day) of cocoa.
I tell them in a very scientific way, that we suck the seeds of cocoa before drying them on sunlight. The scientific secret is that the digestive enzymes in our saliva digest the outer coat in such a way to get the best quality cocoa to be produced in Sri-Lanka for export.
I do not think any cocoa trees left (imported from Africa) in this country.
And I go on to say we have hepatitis in Sri-Lanka and it is risky to eat chocolates. Whenever they offer me chocolates I flatly refuse the offer reminding of them of hepatitis.
This is the way, I take my turn for the rigmarole that I have to go through of all the vaccinations and medical check ups whenever I get a new job abroad and before commencing work.
Little they suspect that it is a made up story and I go onto say that during coca cola campaigns the company imports a special brand of essence from America that the company chairman himself prepares it in his private bath. I go onto say the essence is put in the tub and the chairman does the tempering with his feet (like vine making) and the real taste of coco cola is from the sweat of the his feet.
I go on to say the sweat he shed for his company is phenomenal judging by the company's sale figures.
This is something, I got from Arthur Buchwald’s writing and a slight hint for my friends that there is some exaggeration and pun involved in my scientific story (if they have had read him sometimes).
Arthur "Art" Buchwald (October 20, 1925 – January 17, 2007) was an American humorist best known for his long-running column in The Washington Post, which in turn was carried as a syndicated column in many other newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Outstanding Commentary in 1982 and in 1986 was elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
So within a week I put them off of two of their favorite food items.
I have taken my revenge for the extra medical checks they have gone through myself and my family every time we go out.
No wonder I have not gone out for a long time now.
For about three month I carry on this ploy religiously and in due course I get caught eating chocolates somewhere in a supermarket or an open place.
YOU are a cheat and I find YOU eat chocolates, surreptitiously.
I would say this is a special brand and it is hermetically (I don't understand the meaning of the word) prepared or something similar so as to avoid getting caught.
Finally, I bare open, the truth when enough people start suspecting me.
Then I buy them loads of chocolates for being good sport.
The chocolates and a sample of its virtues is given below.
Properties of Cocoa
Pick your choice and enjoy chocolates in the festival time of April.
All chocolate is made from powdered cocoa beans usually mixed with some kind of sugar, some butter or lard or vegetable oils, some milk products, and various other ingredients. While you may have heard that chocolate is "bad for you", it is not the cocoa that is unhealthy, but the other ingredients in the kinds of chocolate made from refined sugar combined with various kinds of cheap animal fats like lard, or cheap and unhealthy hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Cocoa -The Super Healthy Fruit
Cocoa beans come from the fruit of a tree which grows in tropical rain forests. The official scientific name of the cocoa tree is Theobroma Cacao. "Theobroma" is Latin for "food of the gods".
Strictly speaking, cocoa is a nut, the seed of a fruit, but is most commonly called cocoa beans, cocoa seeds, cocoa nuts, chocolate seeds, chocolate beans, or cocoa nibs.
Cocoa may also be spelled as "cacao" and pronounced "ka-cow". All of these terms refer to the dried fruit or nuts of the cacao tree and the most popular term, cocoa beans.
Cocoa beans contain over 300 chemically identifiable compounds.
This makes cocoa one of the most complex food substances.
Chocolate consumption represents one percent of the American diet, yet most Americans have never tasted "real" chocolate -the natural cocoa bean in its raw form.
When healthy and high quality natural ingredients are used, it is possible to make a "healthy chocolate" from natural cocoa beans. Or one can simply sprinkle crushed cocoa beans onto whipped cream, ice cream, puddings, or other desserts for a natural chocolate flavor from the original "chocolate chips".
The raw cocoa beans taste like unsweetened dark chocolate.
Next to raw cocoa, it is unsweetened and dairy free dark chocolate that is the healthiest chocolate; while the least healthy chocolate is milk chocolate which includes dairy products and refined sugar and possibly hydrogenated oils or lard.
Studies indicate that dairy products block the absorption of the many antioxidants found naturally in cocoa and dark chocolate!
How Healthy Is Dark Chocolate?
Cocoa beans and organic dark chocolate are one of the best food sources of this heart supporting minerals, magnesium.
Cocoa is a potent source of serotonin, dopamine, and phenylethylamine. These are three well known neurotransmitters which help alleviate depression and are associated with feelings of wellbeing.
Cocoa contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO Inhibitors) which help improve our mood because they allow serotonin and dopamine to remain in the bloodstream longer without being broken down. Cocoa also contains amandamide which stimulates blissful feelings.
Cocoa also contains B vitamins, which are associated with brain health.
Antioxidants in Dark Chocolate
Scientists have known for years that cocoa contains significant amount of antioxidants, but no one knew just how rich they were in comparison to those found in two other healthy foods, red wine and green tea.
Recent research has demonstrated that the antioxidants found in cocoa beans are highly stable and easily available to the human metabolism. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals and keep them from damaging the DNA and mitochondria of the body's cells, which is a major cause of many degenerative diseases, cancer and premature aging.
By comparison, 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate delivers as many antioxidants as five ounces of red wine.
That makes cocoa one of the richest sources of antioxidants in any food.
The liqueured chocolates is a bonus with vasodilator properties of alcohol added to the antioxidant effects.
Compare the cocoa bean to processed cocoa powder (defatted and roasted cocoa beans treated with potassium carbonate) and chocolates -which range in flavonol content from the more common concentration of 500mg per 100 grams in normal chocolate bars -to a concentration of 5,000 milligrams in some commercial preparations.
Theobromine and Caffeine
Cocoa can substantially increase a person's energy level, since it contains two stimulating methylxanthines -a significant amount of theobromine and a small amount of caffeine.
A cup of hot chocolate usually contains about 4 to 5 milligrams of caffeine, which is about 5% of the caffeine found in a cup of coffee.
A cup of coffee may contain 50 to 175mg of caffeine, a cup of tea may contain 25 to 100mg, and a cup of cocoa beverage may contain zero to 25 milligrams of caffeine.
Can Chocolate Help Us Be Happy?
We have all heard how chocolate can be a "comfort food" to help us cope with stress and depression and general unhappiness. There might actually be some connection between chocolate and happiness, when we look at certain chemicals which are found naturally in the cocoa bean and which affect parts of the brain.
Chocolate as an Aphrodisiac
The peoples of Central American in the pre-Columbian era often spoke in metaphors composed of words or phrases which had a hidden meaning when uttered in sequence. This is common in many languages, including English. One of these ancient metaphors was yollotl, eztli, meaning "heart, blood," -a phrase which referred to cocoa.
Chocolate is the heart's "blood" due to its magnesium, antioxidants, love chemicals and esoteric properties.
Chocolate truly is "food for the heart".
Chocolate is a symbol of sensuality, pleasure, and sexuality.
Some writers have claimed that 50 per cent of women actually prefer chocolate to sex!
That percentage might even rise if the women were offered real chocolate in the form of organic cocoa!
Chocolate is a favorite gift from a lover to the beloved one.
Chocolates are always given as love offerings.
A box of chocolates is one of the most popular gifts for Valentine's Day. Cocoa, because it is natural and unadulterated, has an even stronger love energy than manufactured chocolate candy.
In ancient Aztec wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom would exchange five cocoa beans with each other.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Failed Taking Over Control-Mosquito Strategy
Failed
Taking Over Control-Mosquito Strategy
A
smart mosquito called in an important political conference.
His
bone of contention was that it a mosquito right violation, getting
killed in the middle of a feast.
Only
humans kill them and all the other animals simply oblige.
The
elder mosquitoes asked to plan a defense strategy.
This
is how its went.
1.
Start a Research Project.
2.
Hijack a human being for study.
3.
Find an anesthetic injection just like the anticoagulant that the
mosquito injects with its saliva.
4.
Make it more potent so that human goes into deep sleep
instantaneously.
They
could not make it potent enough.
5.
The decision was to go in swarms (teams) of ten to twenty.
6.
The first batch was send to the parliament.
The
reason was most of them sleep while on sessions.
7.
None of them returned.
Guess
why?
8.
All of them got drunk which was made worse by the additive effect of
the anesthetic in their system.
The
corollary of this is, if YOU have a problem with mosquitoes have a big
booze and go to sleep.
Our
anesthetic is more powerful than what mosquitoes found.
10.
Their research team is still working on anti-doping (alcohol) recipe.
Interestingly
Good Governance has already found a doping drug to stop all
investigations of corruption!
Mosquito Will
What would you find in a Mosquito Will?
Is it blood?
No.
Is it a Hypodermic Needle?
No
Skin Anaesthetic?
No
Would you believe it?
It is a map to the nearest Human Victim.
Is it blood?
No.
Is it a Hypodermic Needle?
No
Skin Anaesthetic?
No
Would you believe it?
It is a map to the nearest Human Victim.
Water and Motor Vehicles
The amount of water we waste in washing motor vehicles is enough to support a small forest.
Would you believe it?
Would you believe it?
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Mosquito Magic
Mosquito
Magic
On reflection, I have realized
that a killing a mosquito won't help my sleep.
I have to get into deep sleep
before they arrive or keep up waiting to thud them with both my hands
until the last one is sent to heaven by misadventure.
Both these strategies have misfired and
failed.
Also the mosquitoes have not
realized that easiest time to hit me is in my deep sleep.
Ideally of course when I am
dreaming.
That will make sure a good
meal and if I get up I have the luxury of creative ideas coming out
of my dreaming brain.
Bright ideas are resistant
medium in wakeful states.
The magic of Mosquitoes is
that most of my creative blog posts have come out after their stings.
So if you start a blog post
make sure there are plenty of mosquitoes around waiting to attack.
Every time you kill one the
bad ideas that ruminate in your mind without a brain wave disappears
instantaneously.
Your brains goes blank for a
second and starts recharging with a bright idea.
They help me to keep up a
night.
No alternative but start up
the computer browse a bit and sit down and finish an article or a book.
So all my books are dedicated
to these versatile mosquitoes of many species.
If not for them I would have
never started or finish a book.
Brave the mosquitoes, keep up
and give them the due credit for Mosquito Magic.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Role Models
What we need is not Big Role Models with little impact BUT lot of Small Models with emancipation!
Mosquito Logic
Mosquito Logic
What does a Male Mosquito says to a fiancée while mating?
I love sex.
You love blood.
The fiancée then suggests,
shall we change our roles?
The male says,
No. No Way.
I do not mind getting killed orgasmically BUT I hate getting,
Killed with a thud while I am feeding.
The male mosquito later worked on this for his PhD.
I suppose we should give him the Nobel Prize for philosophy!
What does a Male Mosquito says to a fiancée while mating?
I love sex.
You love blood.
The fiancée then suggests,
shall we change our roles?
The male says,
No. No Way.
I do not mind getting killed orgasmically BUT I hate getting,
Killed with a thud while I am feeding.
The male mosquito later worked on this for his PhD.
I suppose we should give him the Nobel Prize for philosophy!
in the middle of my mealFiancée
Monday, February 8, 2016
Formative years!
This is a glimpse of my book "Life Hacker International"
Formative years!
We tend to do lot of mistakes with preschool years.
Especially if both parents are working.
Often the children are left in crèche or with elderly grand parents.
Their is a booming industry for preschool children with or without proper guide lines.
I think most of our parents are devoted for their education specially in cities.
There is mass migration to the cities primarily for employment and secondarily for education.
I will not go into how these children get the school entry perfected by all illegal means.
Our children are made to lie in their formative years and they accept lie as an essential medium for upward mobility.
There is a stinking system where from lawyers, to doctors, to school principals and to politicians are involved in corrupt practices.
That is not the intention of this book but suffice is to say it is a money spinner and black money is exchanged freely.
Let me be open about the facts of life.
1. Children should stay in their family or the extended family in their formative years. This recommendation is in spite of the known scenario that children are abused by people close to them including teachers and priests.
2. The parents who abuse them should have punitive actions outside the courts of law.
3. We should have a mechanism like Case Conferences in United Kingdom to address the underlying problems (in camera).
4. Form of punishment should not be monetary but community service that helps the community they live in.
5. Prison is the worse place to rehabilitate because the prison management as at present is controlled by the Underworld.
6. Protective custody is the worse case scenario, since children are abused and molested once in custody systematically.
7. The social services should provide monetary support for specified period not extended (then the system is abused) with monitoring of activities at all level.
Any officer who abuses the system should be summarily dismissed with their names gazetted and publicly displaced. They should not be absorbed into services where public are at risk of exploitation.
This is a tall order but we need to act swiftly to regain control of these institutions.
There are many more issues but to save time and space, I would like to expand on the salient points.
Children acquire language from birth. May be even in utero. They respond to sound specially to music played in special baby care units.
The acquiescence of mother tongue is automatic and genetic. So if we upgrade the education of the mothers (parents or care givers) we have a good product even before entering the school.
There are few drawbacks.
Like right and left handedness these skills are mapped and fixed on one side of the brain.
Learning of a second language (Business Language like English) is made painfully difficult after 7 or ten years.
I am totally against children to be taught in one medium and separated from other languages in the formative years.
I am against FREE books, too.
I prefer, if children are exposed to preschool with proper guidelines and teachers with multi-language skills, and there should not be any language bias in instructions.
Then children as young as 3 years would start integrating well with different cultures.
They are born with this ability and we as parents by design and coerce to suppress their built in tendencies.
The up shoot of learning a second language is much more easier than the language skill they acquire.
The second language is fixed and located in the non dominant hemisphere of the brain.
That is the creative side of the brain when stimulated encourage them to be balanced adults.
Not only that, their ability to study a third or fourth language becomes easy.
One stream children can be brainwashed easily and become emotional and may be stupid in their orientation in a wider society.
We have ample example of them in the parliament.
The one who is exposed to two languages is not only creative but are intelligent enough to avoid brainwashing by religious sectors of all denominations.
This is what is happening in the this country and in the Middle East.
They will never use their creative brains.
Formative years!
We tend to do lot of mistakes with preschool years.
Especially if both parents are working.
Often the children are left in crèche or with elderly grand parents.
Their is a booming industry for preschool children with or without proper guide lines.
I think most of our parents are devoted for their education specially in cities.
There is mass migration to the cities primarily for employment and secondarily for education.
I will not go into how these children get the school entry perfected by all illegal means.
Our children are made to lie in their formative years and they accept lie as an essential medium for upward mobility.
There is a stinking system where from lawyers, to doctors, to school principals and to politicians are involved in corrupt practices.
That is not the intention of this book but suffice is to say it is a money spinner and black money is exchanged freely.
Let me be open about the facts of life.
1. Children should stay in their family or the extended family in their formative years. This recommendation is in spite of the known scenario that children are abused by people close to them including teachers and priests.
2. The parents who abuse them should have punitive actions outside the courts of law.
3. We should have a mechanism like Case Conferences in United Kingdom to address the underlying problems (in camera).
4. Form of punishment should not be monetary but community service that helps the community they live in.
5. Prison is the worse place to rehabilitate because the prison management as at present is controlled by the Underworld.
6. Protective custody is the worse case scenario, since children are abused and molested once in custody systematically.
7. The social services should provide monetary support for specified period not extended (then the system is abused) with monitoring of activities at all level.
Any officer who abuses the system should be summarily dismissed with their names gazetted and publicly displaced. They should not be absorbed into services where public are at risk of exploitation.
This is a tall order but we need to act swiftly to regain control of these institutions.
There are many more issues but to save time and space, I would like to expand on the salient points.
Children acquire language from birth. May be even in utero. They respond to sound specially to music played in special baby care units.
The acquiescence of mother tongue is automatic and genetic. So if we upgrade the education of the mothers (parents or care givers) we have a good product even before entering the school.
There are few drawbacks.
Like right and left handedness these skills are mapped and fixed on one side of the brain.
Learning of a second language (Business Language like English) is made painfully difficult after 7 or ten years.
I am totally against children to be taught in one medium and separated from other languages in the formative years.
I am against FREE books, too.
I prefer, if children are exposed to preschool with proper guidelines and teachers with multi-language skills, and there should not be any language bias in instructions.
Then children as young as 3 years would start integrating well with different cultures.
They are born with this ability and we as parents by design and coerce to suppress their built in tendencies.
The up shoot of learning a second language is much more easier than the language skill they acquire.
The second language is fixed and located in the non dominant hemisphere of the brain.
That is the creative side of the brain when stimulated encourage them to be balanced adults.
Not only that, their ability to study a third or fourth language becomes easy.
One stream children can be brainwashed easily and become emotional and may be stupid in their orientation in a wider society.
We have ample example of them in the parliament.
The one who is exposed to two languages is not only creative but are intelligent enough to avoid brainwashing by religious sectors of all denominations.
This is what is happening in the this country and in the Middle East.
They will never use their creative brains.
Mindful Strategy
Mindful Strategy
Vigorous and an integrated program to eliminate discrimination and enhance and uphold human dignity is the need of the moment.
Vigorous and an integrated program to eliminate discrimination and enhance and uphold human dignity is the need of the moment.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Ian Murdock-Sad Demise
Sad Story of Ian's Demise
Ian Murdock-Sad Demise
Ian was Debian Founder.
I think his wife Debra Coined the name Deb-Ian.
In this country if you cross the police YOU mysteriously disappear.
In America the way do it different.
It amounts to brutality.
Linux Community lost a Father Figure.
Linux community all round the world should mount a protest against this brutality!
It is Like TexStar Leaving (retiring, prematurely) from PCLinux.
Reproduction
A wealthy computer expert has been found dead following an
encounter with police which left him hospitalised.
Ian Murdock, a millionaire software engineer famed for his work on
a free operating system called Debian, took to Twitter before his
death and published a number of astonishing police brutality
allegations.
In a long series of social media posts, the 42-year-old father
claimed "uneducated, evil, and sadistic" cops attacked him.
But the San Francisco Police Department said he was drunk at the
time of his arrest, and was injured when he banged his head
accidentally.
Murdock was detained early on Sunday morning, before issuing a
tirade of tweets upon his release, which only stopped shortly before
he died.
His Twitter account has now been closed, but records of it are
being openly shared online and can still be found in Google's cache.
In his tweets, the tragic programmer threatened to commit suicide and claimed officers "beat the s*** out of him".
"My career is over now, so I'll be gone soon," he tweeted on Sunday.
Cops told the tech website The Register and a local newspaper site called SFGate
that the tragic tech mogul was arrested on Saturday December 26 after
police received reports of a man trying to break into a house.
Murdock
had allegedly been drinking and was aggressive with officers, later
sustaining a wound on his forehead which required hospital treatment.
San
Francisco police spokeswoman Officer Grace Gatpandan said this injury
happened when Murdock banged his head whilst struggling with officers in
the back of a police car.
He was then hauled out of the car "to keep him from harming himself", she alleged, before being taken to hospital.
Murdock
was then released and arrested a second time at 2.40am on Sunday
morning after banging on a neighbour's door, before being locked in jail
and bailed for $25,000.
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