Is a Meat Free diet good for you?

I’ve always felt a bit sorry for vegetarians. Even those “semi-vegetarians” who do eat seafood (technically called “pescatarians”).

They have to give up all those wonderful foods: beef, lamb, duck, chicken … chicken, can you believe it? How can you live without lovely fried chicken, chicken rice, chicken satay, chicken curry?

Of course, many people are vegetarians for religious even moral reasons, but why the heck would you want to do so for any other reason?

Health? Come on … where are you going to get your protein from?

And are we going to believe Kurma Dasa in Great Vegetarian Dishes who says:

“… when I switched from a predominantly meat-based diet to a vegetarian one … I was tested at the Percival Institute in Toronto [and] had the highest fitness index of any athlete in Canada!

… meat, fish, poultry, and eggs contain a high percentage of concentrated pure protein, along with high levels of cholestrol. When one eats pure protein, the body cannot use it in that form; it must break it down into amino acids, expending energy with this extra step. This drain on the body’s energy takes away from an athlete’s performance. Also these foods contain a lot of toxins …”

There are many arguments to the contrary, some are, of course, naturally funded by meat marketing boards and other lobby groups for the meat industry. But Kurma Dasa’s book is unashamedly highly supportive of the Hare Krishnas … so who should we believe?

Anyway, why my sudden ranting about vegetarianism?

You see, I have to admit, and I do it sheepishly, that I haven’t eaten meat for about 11 months now. I may soon go back to eating meat, but, for the moment, I’m a pescatarian, which means I eat seafood. What the heck’s wrong with me, you may ask?

Why on earth would I want to give up those delicious foods … roast duck, lamb stew, beef rendang?

I’ll tell you more in another post.

For the moment, I will say that I go to karate lessons twice a week … and, to my surprise, my fitness level has increased!

The Healing Curry

I had long suspected that curries are good for you. Not only do I find them delicious but I always felt good after such a yummy meal.

With all those wonderful spices in them, and with such a tantalising taste, how could they not be great for your health?

Of course, we all know what a curry is. But here’s a definition anyway:

curry 1 |ˈkərē; ˈkə-rē|
noun
1 ( pl. -ries) a dish of meat, vegetables, etc., cooked in an Indian-style sauce of strong spices and turmeric and typically served with rice.
2 curry powder.
verb ( -ries, -ried) [ trans. ] [usu. as adj. ] ( curried)
prepare or flavor with a sauce of hot-tasting spices : curried chicken.
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Tamil ka r i.

As I said, I always suspected that the mix of spices (and chili!) had special health benefits. This was corroborated on my earlier post about how star anise can combat swine flu.

So I was not too surprised when I read in the newspaper a few weeks back that turmeric can destroy cancer cells. Apparently, scientists at the Cork Research Centre in Ireland treated cancer cells with curcumin (a chemical found in the humble turmeric) and discovered that it began to kill cancer cells within 24 hours!

The humble turmeric

That’s great to hear, so we can now happily put more kunyit in our dishes!

It’s no surprise then that in the 15th and16th Century, spices were worth their weight in gold. That’s why Melaka was conquered by the Portuguese and, in fact, why the Dutch and British colonised Indonesia and Malaysia.

I know, I know … I just had to mention history, didn’t I?

Anyway, guess what’s for dinner?

By the way, I was interviewed recently by Eileen Lian for the Parenting Works website (Parenting from an Asian Perspective). Click here to have a read …

Here’s an extract:

“Inspired by his kids, Kristina and Adam, Halim set off to research and write A Children’s History of Malaysia in 2003 followed by History of Malaysia: A Children’s Encyclopedia in early 2009.

What was it like growing up? What do you remember most about your childhood?

Childhood was certainly a lot simpler then. I often tell my kids about how TV was in black and white and only came on after 5 p.m. The internet, even CDs, weren’t even dreamt about. There was only one channel, RTM. Childhood was a lot of fun too as my brothers and I used to cycle all around the neighbourhood creating mischief!”

Where Science Fiction & Horror Collide

You mentioned in an interview that you don’t like the term horror. How would you describe your own writing?

I don’t particularly like the term horror for my own writing because it creates an expectation on the readers’ part that the writing will scare them. If you’re a horror writer, then you necessarily have to write scary stories. It puts a box around you …

That’s from an interview I did with Charles Tan for the Apex Book Company (Where Science Fiction and Horror Collide) website and you can read the full interview here.

The Apex Book Company recently published one of my early but favourite short stories, “Biggest Baddest Bomoh”, in The Apex Book of World SF Anthology. In this volume you’ll discover 16 stories from the speculative fiction genre from many countries including Thailand, Netherlands, China and the Phillippines.

Publishers Weekly reviewed the book as a “medley of horror-tinged fantasy tales … focused and interesting are Dean Francis Alfar’s whimsical “The Kite of Stars,” which describes a journey across fantastical landscapes, and Tunku Halim’s “Biggest Baddest Bomoh,” where an office drone consults a deadly shaman for help with his love life.”

And what is in store for our office drone, you ask?

You may, if you’ve read my stuff, already know the answer … but there are other dark tales here awaiting your pleasure!