Reliable online shop to buy disposable 3-ply non-woven face masks and disposable plastic gloves

It is a crucial practice to maintain good hygiene during current critical time against the COVID-19 corona virus.

To prevent infection, it is essential to wear a 3-ply non-woven face mask whenever we go outdoor, or whenever there is any sick family member in the house.

As the global demand for face masks is very high at this moment, there are not much stocks available in the market. Worse still, there exists quite a lot of scam face mask sellers in the Internet trying to cheat the buyers.

As such, it is very important to know where can you buy face masks online of:

• with reasonable price
• of reliable quality
• from trustworthy seller
• that promised to deliver to you within a short period of time

One of the online shop that fulfil all of the above requirements is the online JDX Presto Concept Store in PrestoMall.

JDX Presto Concept Store is a renown O2O store with a 50,000 square-feet physical shop located in Quill City Mall. PrestoMall, formerly known as 11Street, is one of the larger and popular online marketplace in Malaysia.

The URL to buy disposable 3-ply non-woven face masks from them is:
https://www.prestomall.com/productdetail/3ply-disposable-face-mask-50pcs-3-69407527

 

 



According to a research done by University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), the COVID-19 virus can stay active for more than 3 days on certain surfaces including plastic and stainless steel.

If you touch on the following (but not limited to) objects, you might carry the bacteria and virus on their surface to your hand, which might include the COVID-19 virus as well:

• Petrol pump
• Lift buttons
• ATM machine buttons
• Door access keypad buttons
• Door handle
• Bus / train handle bar or handle strap
• Shopping trolley cart handle
• Fingerprint scanner
• ... and many more

Then, the bacteria and virus would spread out from your hand to all the other surfaces that you touch on, and might also enter into your own body if you touched your eye, nose, mouth, body wound, etc.

Therefore, it is highly advisable to wear a disposable plastic glove before you touch on any of such objects, especially in public places, and immediately throw away the glove into dustbin after use.

You can buy the disposable plastic gloves from Shopee. According to my own experience, the plastic gloves arrived at my doorstep within 24 hour of purchase.

The URL that I bought my disposable plastic gloves is:
https://shopee.com.my/product/12837901/986704474

The same shop also sell alcohol-free hand sanitizer spray as well.

Take care. If you find this article useful, please bookmark and share its link to your friends.

Huawei Watch GT 2 46mm (LTN-B19) and 42mm (DAN-B19)

Recently, 2 smart watches have entered into my family life, one for my wife and another for myself.

Due to the size difference, the larger, 46mm Huawei Watch GT 2 (LTN-B19) is more suitable for gentlemen, while the smaller, 42mm Huawei Watch GT 2 (DAN-B19) is more suitable for ladies.

There are a lot of similarities in terms of features and functions between the 2 of them. However, the Huawei Watch GT 2 46mm is slightly more expensive than the 42mm version. Other than a larger screen size, the Huawei Watch GT 2 46mm (LTN-B19) contains several features more than the 42mm version. The key differences are:

• 46mm LTN-B19 (41 gram) is 30% heavier than the 42mm DAN-B19 (29 gram).
• 46mm LTN-B19 has a slightly wider strap (22mm) than the 42mm DAN-B19 (20mm).
• 46mm LTN-B19 has longer battery life (typically 14 days) than the 42mm DAN-B19 (typically 7 days).
• 46mm LTN-B19 supports making phone calls through favourite contacts list and also receiving incoming phone calls, while the 42mm DAN-B19 doesn't have this feature.
• 46mm LTN-B19 can play music on the watch itself as well as through connected ear buds, while 42mm DAN-B19 does not have built-in speaker to play music on the watch itself, but able to play music through connected ear buds.

The Huawei Watch GT 2 is more than a smart watch. When connected to a smartphone with Bluetooth and working together with the Huawei Health mobile app, you will realize that it can function as a personal digital coach for health, exercise and lifestyle.

Its basic functions as a smart watch including:

• Time and calendar
• MP3 music player
• Barometer
• Compass
• Make and receive phone calls (46mm version only)
• SMS and notifications sync from smartphone
• Weather reporting
• Stopwatch
• Timer
• Alarm
• Flashlight
• Find my phone
• Monitoring and recording of steps, heart rates, calorie burning, etc.
• Workout recording

In terms of MP3 music, it can play music streamed from the connected smartphone, or play music directly stored in its storage. For 46mm version, the watch can play the music by itself. Both 46mm and 42mm versions can play the music with connected ear buds. It supports MP3 information written in Chinese.

For the coaching functions, this smart watch can work together with Huawei Health mobile app to provide comprehensive report about your night sleep quality with improvement suggestion.

The watch can also vibrate and remind you to move your body when you are detected to be sitting at the same place for a long time.

It can continuously monitor your heart rate and alert you when your heart rate is too high or too low.

It can also monitor and provide report to your stress level.

It has comprehensive work-out programmes, able to record down your body condition during exercise, and come out with work-out report and coaching advice.

When connected to a digital weighting scale, it can also monitor your weight change and provide advice accordingly.

There is even a simple breathing exercise to guide you to breath and relax.

One thing I want to emphasize is that, its sensors and data measurements are more accurate than most of the cheaper smartwatches and smart bands in the market.

Boost x Prudential free special COVID-19 life insurance coverage

Boost e-wallet has just launched a "Boost Cares for you" campaign to provide free special COVID-19 life insurance coverage by Prudential, made available to Boost Premium e-wallet users who enrolled for it in their app.

This free COVID-19 insurance coverage is eligible to Boost users who are:

• having Premium e-wallet with verified personal details.
• aged between 18 to 55.
• limited to the first 200,000 enrolments only.

The coverage will start from the date of successful enrolment until 30 April 2020. The coverage is funded by Boost and free for members who successfully signed up for this campaign.

To sign up, open Boost app, then tap on the Boost (second) icon on the top menu, tap on More, scroll down the page to Insurance section, and select COVID-19 with the Prudential logo. Then, accept the terms & conditions and submit for processing.

The coverage of this special COVID-19 life insurance include:

• RM1,000 payout to your family upon death (all death reasons are covered, except suicide)
• RM5,000 coverage upon diagnosis of COVID-19

You will be entitled to this coverage despite having an existing medical condition.

For existing Prudential insurance policy holders, if you are already covered for the special RM5,000 COVID-19 coverage under Prudential insurance, you cannot claim double with the COVID-19 coverage under this Boost campaign.

Register for mySalam free national health protection insurance

The mySalam national health protection scheme is an initiative started by the Pakatan Harapan Government that aims to provide B40 and M40 citizens with free takaful health insurance protection.

You are eligible to online register for the mySalam national health protection scheme if you are inside one of the following categories:

• Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, married, age between 18 and 65 (both inclusive).
• Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, single, age between 40 and 65 (both inclusive), yearly income less than RM24,000.
• Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH) recipient, OKU, age between 18 and 65 (both inclusive), yearly income less than RM24,000.
• Non-BSH recipient, yearly income less than RM100,000.

Basically, if you have already received your e-Tunai Rakyat 2020, there is very high possibility that you are also eligible for this mySalam national health protection scheme.

This Scheme covers 45 types of critical illnesses and provides an income replacement of RM50 per day for a maximum of 14 days, or RM700 per annum, to those who are hospitalized at government, university or military hospitals.

Registered BSH recipients will receive a one-time RM8,000 cash payout upon diagnosis of one of the 45 Critical Illnesses, while non-BSH recipients will receive RM4,000 cash payout instead.

All registered citizens under this scheme will also receive RM50 daily hospitalization income replacement up to RM700 per annum at any government, military or university hospitals. This include hospitalization to receive treatment of the Covid-19 virus.

You can click here to find out what are included in the list of 45 critical illnesses covered under this scheme.

To register yourself for the scheme, click here before the deadline of 31 March 2020.

My electronic UV light mosquito trap

There has been increased dengue fever cases in my residential area. As a preventive measure, I have bought some electronic ultraviolet light mosquito traps to capture the mosquitoes found in my house.

The body of this mosquito trap is mostly made by plastic, which might be the reason for its cheap price selling at around RM25 only. Anyhow, as long as it works, I am happy with it.

The most important parts of this mosquito trap are its 6 LED lights on top which emit purplish visible light and ultraviolet light which function to attract the mosquitoes to fly to it, and a small fan to suck the mosquitoes down into the trapping chamber.

As you can see from the photo, the trapping chamber can be opened up like a drawer, and you can inspect the amount of insects trapped and died inside, wash it and put it back to the device.

Its fan will generate some noise during operation, not very loud, but still audible at close distance, especially during quiet time. It's suction is not very powerful, so probably can only able to suck in the mosquitoes which flied very near to it, and might not be strong enough to suck in larger insects such as flies, cockroaches, etc.

Now, this question is, does it really work? I really can find dead mosquitoes in the trap. There isn't much mosquito in my house all the while though.

So, it really works! It might not be as effective as those models that use electrocute to kill the insects, but at this price I think is a worth.

Blackmores Multivitamins plus Minerals tablets as gift and also for self consume

During this multiple-festive season of year-end, Christmas and new year, if you are wondering about what to give as gift to relatives and friends, perhaps you can consider health supplement such as Blackmores Multivitamins plus Minerals tablets.

Blackmores is named after its Australian founder Maurice Blackmore (1906-1977). The company (ASX:BKL) is public listed in Australia Stock Exchange since 1985. They are passionate about natural health and inspiring people to take control of and invest in well-being.

Blackmores Multivitamins plus Minerals tablet contains essential vitamins and minerals to provide your body and mind with all-round nutritional support and help maintain health every day. It helps supplement an unbalanced diet in one-a-day dose. Its active ingredient includes:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin B3
• Vitamin B5
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D3
• Vitamin E
• Calcium
• Choline bitartrate
• Iron
• Folic acid
• Inositol
• Manganese
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Zinc
• Biotin

Daily supplementation with a broad range of vitamins and minerals can provide "nutritional insurance" by helping to provide an optimum intake for the maintenance of good health. A Harvard review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2002 recommended that all adults should take a multivitamin daily. Statistics suggest that many people are not consuming optimal amounts of vitamins in their diets. Low levels of vitamins can contribute to the development of a range of conditions.

The most cost effective Blackmores Multivitamins plus Minerals is the gift pack as below, which consists of 1 bottle of 120 tablets, 1 bottle of 60 tablets, and 1 bottle of 30 tablets. Altogether there are 210 tablets in one pack. The price I bought is RM78.90, which is 37.57 sen per tablet.

The shelf life of this product is 3 years. Its manufacturing date and expiry date is printed on its label.

This product is formulated for adults to take one tablet per day. For children under 12 years old, there is another product called Blackmores Kids Multivitamins plus Minerals.

Blackmores Kids Multivitamins plus Minerals has the following active ingredient:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B1
• Vitamin B5
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D3
• Vitamin E
• Equiv. Thiamine
• Nicotinamide
• Folic Acid
• Biotin
• Calcium
• Iodine
• Magnesium
• Manganese
• Zinc

Blackmores Kids Multivitamins plus Minerals tablets are chewable with strawberry vanilla flavour with no artificial sweeteners, and not to be swallowed as whole.

This product is formulated for children of age 2-6 years to take 1 tablet per day, and for children of age 7-12 years to take 2 tablets per day.

The most cost effective Blackmores Kids Multivitamins plus Minerals is the twin pack as below, which consists of 2 bottles of 60 tablets each. Altogether there are 120 tablets in one pack. The price I bought is RM51.95, which is 43.29 sen per tablet.

The genuine products will have a Ministry of Health (Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, KKM) hologram sticker with a unique serial number for each bottle.

For the Muslim, this product is certified Halal by the Al-Iman Islamic Society Inc. of Australia as shown in the logo on its label.

My Snapware Eco Grip 600ml glass drinking water bottle

To keep myself well hydrated at work, I have bought a Snapware Eco Grip 600ml glass drinking water bottle at AEON department store. This drinking bottle with premium quality comes with a price slightly higher than normal plastic or aluminium drinking bottle. Luckily AEON was giving a 30% discount when I made the purchase.

Anyhow, its price is still comparatively cheaper than glass drinking bottle for some other brands.

This drinking bottle is FDA compliant, totally free of Bisphenol-A (BPA), and dishwasher safe too. It can be used to contain either hot, cold or warm water and beverage.

I prefer glass bottle than plastic or metal as glass is non-toxic and has non-porous surface that won't accumulate bacteria or residual. Besides, the glass is transparent in nature, easier for us to detect any contamination or change to the liquid inside the bottle. Glass material also won't have chemical reaction to the liquid it contains, which could be neutral, alkaline or acidic in nature. It also won't melt or release harmful chemical under direct sunlight.

The type of glass used for this Snapware product is borosilicate, which has higher resistant to thermal shock and less dense (weight lighter) than normal glass. Borosilicate glass is commonly used in laboratory glassware, medical devices and cookware. Its working environment can go as low as -20 degree Celsius to as high as 400 degree Celsius. However, being a glass material, it is not recommended for it to undergo a sudden huge temperature change within short period of time (don't take it out from a freezer and directly heat it up in a microwave oven).

Being a glass bottle, it is easy to break if not handled with care. The Snapware Eco Grip comes with a Neoprene sleeve with nylon strap. This non-slip sleeve covers most part of the glass bottle, protecting it from accidental breakage to a certain extend. It also provides a comfortable and easy grip, couple with the ergonomic bottle design.

Neoprene is the same material used in diving suit and certain swimming suit. It is waterproof and heat resistant in nature. This means you can hold the bottle without much problem even if the water inside is cold to freezing point or hot to boiling point.

The cap of this bottle is very easy to open and close, without the need of much twisting and turning compared to normal bottle cap. It is designed to be leak proof too.

Its size is just right, easy to put in bag and carry along. With only 600ml capacity, it won't feel heavy even when fully filled with water. Some people might prefer bigger capacity such as 1 litre, 1.5 litre or even 2 litre container, which will be heavier to carry. However, 600ml is not enough for whole day drinking. It needs refilling during half-day.

Snapware has another similar product called Eco Flip which is taller but thiner. Take note that the Eco Flip drinking bottle has even smaller capacity of 500ml only.

My NutriBullet Pro 900 Series 900W Superfood Nutrition Extractor - more than just a blender

I purchased this NutriBullet Pro 900 Series 900W Superfood Nutrition Extractor online at the price of slightly more than RM200 a few months ago.

Its packaging box is quite thin, therefore you can see its corners got dented a bit along the way with the courier service when the online merchant sent it to me. Anyhow, the content inside is not hurt.

Unboxing this NutriBullet Pro 900 Series, you will find...

• 1x high-torque NutriBullet power base
• 2x tall cups (24 oz), one with handled lip ring and another with regular lip ring
• 1x short cup (18 oz)
• 1x colossal cup (32 oz)
• 1x flip-top to-go lid
• 2x stay-fresh resealable lids
• 2x stainless steel extractor blades

You can also find 3 books inside...

• 1x NutriBullet Pocket Nutritionist
• 1x NutriBullet User Guide & Recipe Book
• 1x NutriBullet Life Changing Recipe Book

This NutriBullet is not like other blender or juicer in the market.

Firstly, it is equipped with a much more powerful 900-watt (1.2 HorsePower) motor, which is able to spin its specially designed stainless steel extractor blade at the speed of 25,000 RPM. This fast action can break down, while pulverizing, all the thick and tough skins, stems and seeds of the nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables which contains all the essential nutrients hidden within it.

Secondly, its bullet-shape design with overturned cup in action produces a cyclonic action that break the pulp, skin, seeds, and stems of the plants down into tiny drinkable particles.

Therefore, its chewing, juicing, or blending result can't be rival by ordinary blenders. Ordinary blender just able to mix all the food items you put in it without breaking down into finer particles or smoothening it. This makes it to leave out pulp and fiber as a waste when you run the mixture through a strainer. The blender is fit to make a thinned out smoothie. NutriBullet on the other hand, leaves no residue of the food particles when you run the juice through a strainers as it pulverizes the food particles and converts it into a pulpy rich smoothie that is filled with nutritional value. It offers you a Nutriblast drink that is rich in fiber and nutrition.

With it, I can make delicious soups, juices, dressings, desserts, ice-creams, dips, sauces, peanut butter, baby foods, etc. There are quite a lot of NutriBullet recipes available in the Internet. There are also a few NutriBullet cook books available in the bookstores.

Visualized map of real-time air quality index and forecast of air pollution level

It has been for quite some times the haze resulting from huge forest fires in Indonesia has created a cloud of smog over itself and the neighbouring Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and southern Thailand.

Here is a website that gather official data of air quality index (AQI) or air pollution index (API) from all around the world, and publish the information in a visualized map and charts. Its URL is: http://aqicn.org/map/

From the website, you can immediately know the current and also forecasted air quality level of a country, region or city.

The URL for Malaysia AQI map is:
 http://aqicn.org/map/malaysia/

(Screen captured on 15 September 2015)

The URL for Singapore AQI map is:
http://aqicn.org/map/Singapore

(Screen captured on 15 September 2015)

The URL for Kuala Lumpur AQI map and chart is:
http://aqicn.org/city/kuala-lumpur/

(Screen captured on 15 September 2015)

Colour indicators in the map and chart:

• Green = healthy
• Yellow = moderately unhealthy
• Orange = unhealthy
• Red = very unhealthy
• Purple = extremely unhealthy

My Sharp IG-DC2E-B Plasmacluster ion generator (in car air purifier)

I applied a new HSBC Amanah Credit Card in March 2015 and was promised with a Sharp in car air purifier (worth about RM350) as signing free gift by meeting the required terms and conditions.

After waited for about half a year, I finally received this free gift from HSBC.

As a car ionizer, this Sharp IG-DC2E-B functions in my car to:

• Purify air by settling airborne particles and dust
• Disinfect viruses
• Deodorize bad smell
• Remove adhered mold and suspend further mold
• Remove allergens from dead dust mites and dust mite faeces

The unit is cylindrical in shape, looks like a typical water container, and fit in the cup holder in the car.

Installation is pretty easy, just need to remove its back cover to plug in the power connection cable, route the power cord to come out from either one of its two outlets (one near its middle, and another near its bottom) , then cover back the back cover. Plug the other end of the power connection cable to the car's lighter socket, and it is ready to operate.

There are 3 available operation modes:

• Low: ion density of 7,000 ions per cubic centimetre, quiet, consume less power (1.1 watt).
• High: ion density of 25,000 ions per cubic centimetre, noisier, consume more power (1.8 watt).
• Turbo: ion density of 50,000 ions per cubic centimetre, noisiest, consume most power (2.7 watt).

The IZ-C75CE Plasmacluster ion generating unit can be seen after removing the back cover of the IG-DC2E-B. It has a lifespan of approximately 19,000 hours (more than 6 years) and need replacement upon end of life.

Now my car has 2 ionizers, the existing Medklinn mobile ionizer (I've already made an upgraded to Medklinn Asens Auto from the one shown in the linked article) and this new Sharp Plasmacluster ion generator. The Medklinn claims to be able to produce much more ions (2 millions per cubic centimetre) than the Sharp.

I have no problem connecting both of them to the car's lighter socket, as I have an  HSC YC-401 Car 1-to-3 Cigarette Lighter Sockets with 2 USB ports in my car.

New type of insurance plan to get early payout for 36 critical illnesses

If you have bought an insurance plan, or have been approached by insurance agent before, I'm sure you might have been known about the kind of health/medical insurance that covers 36 kinds of critical illnesses.

However, you might not be awared that the coverage on the 36 kinds of critical illnesses is at the terminal stage, which is a serious stage that is hard to recover or already close to death. Before reaching such a serious situation, although you might unluckily caught by one of the 36 kinds of critical illnesses, you still can't make any claim from your critical illnesses insurance policy.

Recently, I was informed by my insurance agent about a new type of insurance plan (well, actually not that new now as it has been launched for quite some times) that can complement the traditional 36 critical illnesses insurance plan with an early payout condition.

Under this early payout for critical illnesses plan, we can make the claim upon early diagnosis of a critical illness covered under the plan, and make use of the money for medical treatment. Early treatment let us have higher chance of survival.

The payout will be a certain proportion of the total sum insured, depends on the type of the diagnosed illness and its severity level (early, intermediate, terminal). Multiple claims across multiple critical illnesses is possible as long as there is still balance in the total sum insured.

Anyhow, this kind of early payout insurance plan seems to be come as a rider in a regular premium investment-linked insurance plan, making it not so flexible for people who want to take this kind of insurance but not so interested in buying unit trust through insurance (which normally incurs high commission rate and high admin charges).

Do contact with your own insurance agent to find out more about such early payout critical illnesses insurance plan if you are interested.

Handy mini portable first aid kit

I got this mini portable first aid kit in a white box, as a door gift from the exhibition booth of ECS ICT Bhd in the Investor Expo 2010.

Seems like it is one of the "Happy Collection" gadgets from HP.

Opening the white box, is a cute black case.

And opening up the case, here are the items inside:

• 5x plasters
• 2x antiseptic wipes
• 4x gauze pads
• Small scissors
• Bandage
• Adhessive tape
• 3ml medicated oil (风油)

Pretty handy and useful, isn't it?

My Panasonic ER417 electronic nose & ear hair trimmer/clipper

How do you trim your nose hair? Or have you ever trimmed your nose hair? Normally we did it with a small scissors and a mirror, didn't we?

I've just found something considerably safer, trim better and faster. Here is it.

I redempt this battery operated Panasonic ER417 nose & ear hair trimmer with my credit card redemption points. This small and handy electronic device will provide you with a close and neat cut, thanks to its 60° blade.

Operated with one AA size battery, it trims with its stainless steel blades that never touch your skin, which is  comfortable and safer. Its cover cap has a small mirror, allowing you to see when you are trimming on the go.

The whole unit is water washable, but don't use boiled water.

Pretty cool isn't it?

Ho Yan Hor herbal tea in Drinho Tetra Pak cartons

Yesterday while I was looking for some Wong Lo Kat (王老吉) canned herbal tea in Tesco...

I discovered a Malaysian made alternative in Tetra Pak carton selling at cheaper price. It is a new product in the Drinho's family, herbal tea from Ho Yan Hor (何人可).

The Ho Yan Hor herbal tea comes in 2 flavours -- Lo Han Guo (罗汉果) and sour plum (酸梅, buah asam).

This Ho Yan Hor herbal tea is packaged into 6-pack cartons, and selling at the price of RM8.99 in Tesco. That will be equilvalent to about RM1.50 per pack. Each pack is 250ml, so price per ml is 0.6 sen.

Meanwhile, Wong Lo Kat herbal tea is selling at RM2.20 per can, each can in 310ml, and price per ml is 0.7 sen.

Ho Yan Hor is a traditional remedy since 1941, and similar to the function of Wong Lo Kat, it is traditionally used to relief body heat, common cold, indigestion and waning appetite.

Malaysian and Singaporean, especially the Chinese, should be very familiar with the Ho Yan Hor brand. They have been selling herbal tea in sachets for decades, and they are listed in KLSE as Hovid (7213). Now they are collaborating with Drinho to sell the herbal tea in ready made packs.

The packaged Ho Yan Hor emphasizes on "no preservatives, no flavouring and no colouring". However, I noticed that its sour plum flavour has one additive, which is food conditioner (Acid 330).

The ingrediants of Drinho's Ho Yan Hor Luo Han Guo herbal tea are: water, extract of Luo Han Guo and dried Longan, Ho Yan Hor herbal extracts and cane sugar.

The ingrediants of Drinho's Ho Yan Hor sour plum herbal tea are: water, cane sugar, Ho Yan Hor herbal extracts, Pu Erh (普洱) extract, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) and sour plum extract powder.

Both flavours are Halal certified and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certified.

Herbs to increase milk production for breastfeeding mother

It seems to be a common topic among the mothers, especially the first time mothers, about facing inadequate milk production problem, especially during the confinement period.

My wife's experience can testify that there are some herbs which can be taken by the mother to help promote lactation to breastfeed the baby. In fact, those herbs are categorized in a family with a Greek name: "galactagogues".

If you want to look for such milk supply enhancement herbs in the pharmacy or baby/mother specialty shop, just mention "galactagogues" to the shopkeeper. If you find it difficult to remember this name, you can also mention "nursing tea" or "milkmaid tea" instead.

The herbs which are traditionally used to increase milk production including:

• Alfalfa
• Anise
• Asparagus racemosus (a.k.a. Shatavari)
• Astragalus root
• Cnicus benedictus (a.k.a. Blessed thistle)
• Fennel (a.k.a. Foeniculum vulgare)
• Fenugreek
• Orange cinnamon
• Red raspberry leaf (a.k.a. Rubus idaeus)
• Stinging nettle

The nursing tea products sold in the shops are normally a mixture of the above herbs. Some of the brands are Joy Angel Nursing Tea, Earth Mama Milkmaid Tea, Autumnz Organic Nursing Tea, etc.

It is said that the effectiveness of herbal galactogogues can be increased by consuming together with marshmallow root at the same time.

Mothers who have used galactagogues products before are encouraged to share your testimonial here.

Air fresheners might contain toxic substances

Do you use air freshner in your office? living room? bedroom? toilet? car?

A report from the Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF) organization titled "Foul-smelling whiff from air fresheners!" alerted that air fresheners do not "purify" the ambient air, but on the contrary pollute it by releasing well-known toxic substances.

The European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) and 5 of its member organisations had tested on 76 air fresheners products, and found out many contain:

• Formaldehyde and benzene - which could cause cancer in humans
• Acetaldehyde or styrene - that irritates the respiratory tract, allergens and potential carcinogens
• Toluene, chlorbenzene, glycol ethers, phthalates and artificial musk - all known to be dangerous to health

Not to mention all the other chemicals not assessed in this test and about which we know nothing.

These products represent a real risk to health not only of allergy sufferers, asthmatics, pregnant or nursing women and children, but also to anyone using them continuously.

As a result, it is advisable not to use air fresheners to avoid exposure to those toxic substances. Perhaps air ionizer is a better alternative.

Done my comprehensive health screening @ Golden Horses Health Sanctuary

Today I've done my comprehensive health screening together with my wife at Golden Horses Health Sanctuary(GHHS) inside the Palace of the Golden Horses.

Seems like both of us need to reduce some of our body fat to make it fall back to the "normal range" from the current slightly high side.

Few years back, we joint the membership of this health screening programme at the price of RM5,000 and entitiled to use some of the Country Heights' facilities (such as swimming pool, gym, etc.) and 20 years of annual health screening service at the cost of RM3xx per year.

This is a really comprehensive health examination. The result of the following 99 items are included in my report:

• General inspection (10 items)
• Ophthalmic inspection (8 items)
• Physical examination (11 items)
• Electrocardiogram (ECG) (1 item)
• Hearing inspection (2 items)
• Pulmonary function inspection (3 items)
• Hematology profile (15 items)
• Blood group (2 items)
• Diabetic screening (1 item)
• Lipids profile (6 items)
• Liver function (9 items)
• Renal function profile (5 items)
• Calcium, phosphorus and iron (3 items)
• Gout screening (1 item)
• Hepatitis B screening and other serology test (3 items)
• Arthritis screening (1 item)
• Thyroid profile (2 items)
• Cancer screening (2 items)
• Urinalysis (12 items)
• Chest X-Ray (1 item)
• Ultrasound abdomen and pelvis (1 item)

My wife's report contains even more items, including ultrasound on breast and pap smear test.

We are given free voucher (transferable) to conduct bone test, recommended for people above 45 years old. As we are still at our young age, we plan to transfer the entitlement for the bone test to our parents.

It is a good practice to conduct comprehensive health screening to our body, so that if there is any health distortion, can be detected and rectified at early stage. We can also enjoy an income tax relief of up to RM500 per year for complete medical examination like this.


So, have you done yours?