"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" - wise words from the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates. The truth is, we would all benefit if we started eating for our health rather than just eating what's around us at the time.
By being conscious of what we eat and making decisions about food based on health and well-being, we tap into the ultimate purpose of food: our survival. What's more, if we choose wisely, we thrive, individually and collectively.
Numerous studies demonstrate food's power to protect us from - and in some cases, even to cure - disease, and there is a strong correlation between eating naturally healthy foods and living a long, healthy life. The Blue Zone research, which found that eating a diet rich in locally grown (rather than processed) foods is the secret to longevity, is an excellent example of this.
Recognising the power we have to protect ourselves from disease is encouraging, but the information about what we should and should not be eating can be confusing.
Luckily, two issues get to the core of our well-being: pH balance and immune system. By paying attention to these powerful protectors of health, we can be thriving in no time.
Restore your pH balance
Our pH balance is a delicate matter that can mean the difference between life and death, wellness and disease. In fact, pH balance is at the root of cellular health.
"Every single person who has cancer has a pH that is too acidic," said the Nobel Prize-winner Dr Otto Warburg. His work proved that cancer can't survive in an alkaline, oxygen-rich environment but that it thrives in an acidic, low-oxygen environment.
Bacteria, disease, fungi and parasites all flourish in acidic environments but cannot do so in alkali. This knowledge revolutionises the way we can safeguard our health and suggests that keeping our pH balance in place is the most powerful thing we can do to protect against disease. Dr Robert O Young says to aim to be slightly alkali, between pH7.1 and pH7.5.
Unfortunately, many of us are stressed and fill our diets with acid-forming foods and drinks instead of the alkali-forming ones. Ideally, we should be eating only 20 per cent of the acid-forming foods and 80 per cent of those that create alkali. Actively reducing these acid-forming foods while increasing the amount of alkali food and drink in our diets is the first step in protecting our health.
Boost your immune system
Our immune systems are our defence against disease and infection. Protecting them is the second vital step to good health. They need to be fed with ingredients that encourage optimal function. Luckily, all of these ingredients are found in food, so we can eat our way to a strong immune system.
Dr William Sears and Harvard Health Publications have detailed the top nutrients that we need in our diets to allow our immune system to fight and protect. Here are the top foods to begin eating now.
Vitamin C: camu camu, chilli peppers, guavas, bell peppers, dark leafy greens, broccoli, kiwi, papaya and strawberries.
Vitamin E: sunflower seeds, almonds, pine nuts, peanuts, dried apricots, green olives, cooked spinach, wheatgerm and flaxseeds.
Beta-carotene: sweet potato, kale, carrots, turnip greens, mustard greens, spinach, butternut squash, lettuce and collards.
Zinc: wheatgerm, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate, cacao powder, peanuts, almonds, seafood and chickpeas.
Selenium: Brazil nuts, shellfish, fish, sunflower seeds, bran, asparagus, mushrooms, pinto beans and spinach.
Omega-3 fatty acids: flaxseeds, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, avocado and oily fish.
Other notable foods and plants that have been proven to boost the immune system: garlic, acai and maqui berry, aloe vera, ginseng, astragalus, echinacea, liquorice root.
Acid-forming foods (reduce intake)
Meat
Fish
Dairy
Tomato
Aubergine
Refined carbohydrates
Sugar
Processed foods
Fast foods
Fatty foods
Caffeine
Carbonated drinks
Alkali-forming foods (increase intake)
Avacado
Coconut water
Celery
Cucumber
Leafy greens
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Wheatgrass and spirulina
Sea greens
Vegetable juices, soups and broths
Papaya
Fig
Banana
Quinoa
Millet
Buckwheat
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The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
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Name: Mariam Ketait
Emirate: Dubai
Hobbies: I enjoy travelling, experiencing new things, painting, reading, flying, and the French language
Favourite quote: "Be the change you wish to see" - unknown
Favourite activity: Connecting with different cultures
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Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
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Safety 'top priority' for rival hyperloop company
The chief operating officer of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Andres de Leon, said his company's hyperloop technology is “ready” and safe.
He said the company prioritised safety throughout its development and, last year, Munich Re, one of the world's largest reinsurance companies, announced it was ready to insure their technology.
“Our levitation, propulsion, and vacuum technology have all been developed [...] over several decades and have been deployed and tested at full scale,” he said in a statement to The National.
“Only once the system has been certified and approved will it move people,” he said.
HyperloopTT has begun designing and engineering processes for its Abu Dhabi projects and hopes to break ground soon.
With no delivery date yet announced, Mr de Leon said timelines had to be considered carefully, as government approval, permits, and regulations could create necessary delays.
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The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
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How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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