The Earth is Sick

Yes, it is a horrible inconvenient truth. We must listen to the environmentalists more. This is not just about global warming or running out of resources. It is affecting us more intimately.

Many pollutants or chemicals or radioactive waves or whatever that your great-grandparents never heard of are toxic to our cells. When the normal cells are hit with these, they mutated (a change in DNA level occurred) to survive. Later they develop more survival skills then become rebellious and cancerous. Do you get it? The cancer cells are survivors. That's why it is sooo difficult to destroy them. That's why the chemotherapy agents are supertoxic (to kill clever, survivor cells) .

The things that can change these normal cells to become cancer cells are called carcinogens. Here is a list of known carcinogens from American Cancer Society if you want to check it out. The count is at around 900 now and probably growing (fast). These chemicals are everywhere, preservatives in food, cosmetics, drugs, etc etc.

Then maybe you will ask, if they already know that these substance can cause cancer, why they are not banned? The problem is, a lot of the substance are still termed as 'probable' meaning no clear cut correlation yet. And can you really ban cigarettes? what about the million dollar taxes the tobacco companies pay to the government? We are a poor nation without the tobacco companies! (We can be stupid and ill but we cannot be poor :P)---of course it is not that simple.

Ok, my point is, carcinogens are everywhere. To run or hide from them means you have to be out of this world. But we can surely make an effort to minimize the exposure. (It's the thought and effort that counts :P).

1. Don't smoke-lah of course. And to smokers, please respect us who are trying hard not to kill ourselves by this infamous method of slow suicide. Please smoke in your own private cubicle that has no window or any holes and make sure all the carcinogenic particles stay there. Make sure there are no children in 500 meters radius. To all smokers, you are certainly not welcomed in my house and around my children. By the way, to Muslims, smoking is haram.

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2. Limit your consumption of processed food (preservatives, trans-fats, synthetic flavourings, colourings anti-caking agents etc etc). They are daily insults to our cells. Eat fresh.

3. Eat organic. I'm not sure why the organic things are more expensive. It sure does put off anyone with small earnings. But the difference in the concentration of pesticides in the urine of a person who eats organic and another who does not is really significant. Instead of petrol, the government should really subsidize organic fruits and veges- in the long run it is cost-saving because there will be less cancer (less medical burden) and heart disease and obesity and type 2 diabetes (because people will walk / cycle more to work). Just my two cents.

4. Don't use plastic containers in microwave ovens. Even though it is written 'microwave oven safe', it is only safe for the container, but not for you. Only use glass or porcelains. Chemicals in plastic containers are released when in contact with heat, so don't put warm food in plastic containers too. And don't leave your bottled water baking under the sun. You can google about bisphenol-A (found in many plastics) and the stir it caused in the scientific world. A lot of studies conclude that although it is alarming but it is still safe to use (??)-when are they going to make up their minds?

Maybe we really should go back to mangkuk tingkat. Save the planet from more plastics, and save ourselves from the chemicals. Click here if you are interested to order daily mangkuk tingkat, to be delivered straight to your office or home. (Mangkuktingkat.com is a daily catering service for lunch or dinner, cooked by housewives trained by Yayasan Pembangunan Nurhikmah. It is a bit expensive but it is fresh home cooked food). Our government hospitals still use mangkuk tingkat for on call doctors.

A housewife preparing the meals. Photo taken from mangkuktingkat.com

photo taken from mangkuktingkat.com

5. All the rules apply especially if you are pregnant.

6. Fish is a very important source of omega-3 fatty acid, an essential fat for health. But the floors of the oceans are concentrated with toxics and it is polluting the sea life. This can be demonstrated by the high level of pollutants in a polar bear (even though you might think polar bears' system is safe because they live in the Artic-no). Because polar bears eat big fishes, and big fishes eat smaller fishes, the concentration of pollutants build up in the one highest in the food chain ie the polar bears and humans. So limit your consumption of fish to small fishes eg bilis, kembung, bawal. Errr what about other fishes that do not live in the sea?-this I don't know, yet.

7. Live closer to country side for fresher air and less toxic fumes? Probably.

8. Use cosmetics that are made from plants with minimal chemicals/synthetics (yang dijamin bersih dan suci- betul ke bersih?). Body Shop says they don't use phtalates. Nutri-metics says they only use nutritions to make their cosmetics. It's your choice. I'm not advertising anything.

9. Sunblock lotions? This is controversial. Homo sapiens started using sunscreens since around 1970s and yet melanoma (skin cancer) is still increasing year by year. The least we can conclude is that probably they don't work? Allah has created our skin colours as such that people who live in the tropical countries (hot climate) have darker skin (to block out some UV rays). This is a protective mechanism. So don't bleach your skin with all the whitening creams. And we dark-skin coloured people absorbs less vitamin D from the sun if we live in temperate climate countries (lack of vit D is now being studied as a probable cause of cancer).

10. Detoxify your system regularly. How? Later. I'm tired. 4 boys need my attention.