Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Guide To Healthy Eating

Enjoying a variety of foods
  • Eat food based on the Malaysian Food Pyramid.
  • Vary the types of food from each level of the Food Pyramid.
  • You are encouraged to select different menu each day.
  • Try eating foods that you don't normally eat.
Enjoying more fruit and vegetables
  • Eat at least 1/2 cup of vegetables during each meal.
  • Eat at least one type of fruit during each meal.
  • Eat different types of fruits.
  • Choose meals with fruit and vegetables.
    • Example: nasi kerabu, nasi ulam, fruit pudding, fruit/vegetable salad, vegetable salad with peanut sauce.
  • Eat fruit as a snack.
  • Eat salad and ulam with your meal.

Reducing fried and fatty foods

  • Choose white rice instead of nasi beriani, nasi minyak and nasi lemak.
  • Choose roasted, baked, steamed or boiled foods instead of fried foods.
  • Reduce the intake of oily gravy by removing excess oil.
  • Limit the intake of internal animal organs (liver, brains, lungs, spleen, stomach) and egg yolk.
  • Eat lean meat and skinless chicken.
  • Choose foods that do not contain coconut milk.
  • Use less butter or margarine on bread/biscuit/corn.
  • When ordering food, request for less butter/margarine.

Enjoying whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds

  • Eat whole grain based foods for breakfast like oats, corn and capati.
  • Choose bread, pita bread and whole grain breakfast cereals and biscuits.
  • Replace or mix white rice with brown rice.
  • Eat legume based food like bean curd, soya bean cake and baked beans a few times a week.
  • Eat nuts/seeds a few times a week (Example: basil seed in drinks or cakes sprinkled with sesame seeds).
  • Source of whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
    • Whole grains
      1. Brown rice.
      2. Oats.
      3. Corn.
      4. Wholemeal bread/biscuits with rye, wheat, oat, corn and barley.
    • Legumes
      1. Mung beans.
      2. Dhal.
      3. Chickpeas.
      4. Red bean.
      5. Soya bean.
    • Nuts
      1. Peanut.
      2. Chestnut.
      3. Cashew nut.
      4. Almond.
      5. Pistachio.
    • Seeds
      1. Sesame seed.
      2. Dried seeds (watermelon/pumpkin/sunflower seeds).
      3. Lotus seed.
      4. Basil seed.
Reducing sugar intake
  • Replace sweet drinks, syrup, cordial and carbonated drinks with plain water.
  • Replace sweet cakes, biscuits, candies or chocolates with fresh fruit.
  • Choose foods with less sugar. Read label for sugar content.
  • When ordering drinks, request for less sugar or sweetened condensed milk.

Choosing safe food

  • Choose a clean eating place.
  • Make sure food handlers practise good personal hygiene.
  • Make sure the food is clean and safely handled.
  • Avoid eating contaminated foods.
  • Choose fresh or freshly cooked foods.
  • Avoid eating burnt food.
  • Make sure the food packaging, box and tin are in good condition.
  • Limit the intake of food containing preservatives.
  • Limit the intake of food containing artificial colouring.
  • Avoid foods fried using oil that has been repeatedly used.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Ministry starts disbursing RM100 allowance for students

Source: The Star Online, Thursday November 10, 2011
By A. RUBAN

KUALA LANGAT: The Education Ministry has started disbursing the RM100 allowance to some 5.5 million school students in schools nationwide.

Its minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, said the monies were currently being deposited in the schools' Bank Simpanan Nasional savings account.

The allowances are currently given to students from Year One up to Form Four of the 2011 session, the Deputy Prime Minister said.

"Allowance for students entering Year One and Form One of the 2012 session will only be given in January next year because we do not know which school they would go to," he told reporters when visiting lecturers and students at the Selangor Matriculation College here Thursday.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

[Science Form 1] Nucleus, vacuole & cell membrane

Cells have many structures in them called organelles. These organelles are like the organs in a human body and each of them has specific functions to help the cell it is in survive.

Plant cells and animal cells have different organelles to perform specific functions. For example, plant cells have chloroplasts and a cell wall, whereas animal cells do not have these two organelles.

Do you know the functions of each cell structure? To gain a better understanding of cell structures and their respective functions.


Cell structure and it's function

  • Nucleus
    Function - It is responsible for directing and controlling the activities of the cell, in the same way that your brain directs and controls the activities of your body.

    It is also carries genetic information, or the blueprints on how cells and organisms should be structured.

  • Vacuole
    Function - Vacuoles are small sacs filled with food and water. They are used by cells as storage tanks. All plant cells have vacuoles, but not all animal cells do.

    The primary place where plants store water is within its vacuoles. When a plant's vacuoles are filled with water, they become plump, giving the plant its strength. What happens when you do not water a plant? It begins to wilt and become softer. This is because the vacuoles found inside the plant cells are running out of water.

  • Cell membrane
    Function - This is a thin layer that surrounds a cell.

    In order for a cell to remain healthy, it needs to be able to bring in food, and get rid of waste. The cell membrane has small openings or doorways that allow the cell to move materials in and out of it.

[Science Form 3] About Blood

The transport system in humans is called the circulatory system, which is made up of heart and blood vessels.

The functions of the blood circulatory system are to:
  • supply oxygen to all body cells and eliminate carbon dioxide,
  • transport waste products

Structure of the heart

Oxygen-rich blood (red color)
Oxygen-poor blood (blue color)
  • AO = Aorta
  • LA = Left atrium
  • LV = Left ventricle
  • PA = Pulmonary artery
  • RA = Right atrium
  • RV = Right ventricle

The heart is a muscular structure that contracts in a rhythmic pattern to pump blood. It si the size of your fist and has four chambers:
  • right atrium
  • right ventricle
  • left atrium
  • left ventricle

The space in the atrium is smaller than that in the ventricle. The wall of the ventricle is thicker and stronger than that of the atrium.

Valve TRICUSPID - Prevents blood in the right ventricle from flowing back to the right atrium.

Valve BICUSPID - Prevents blood leaving the heart from flowing back.

Monday, November 07, 2011

Learning in English to continue


Source: The Star
Saturday, 05th November 2011


PUTRAJAYA: Students who have started learning Science and Mathematics in English will continue to do so until they complete their studies in Form Five.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the decision was made by the Cabinet to ease the concerns of parents.

This meant that pupils from Year Two onwards would continue learning under the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) policy, he said.

Muhyiddin and Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong talking to each other at the ministry staff briefing in Putrajaya yesterday. - Bernama

“I am not interested in the PPSMI debate and I hope parents understand that the Government is responsive.

“A circular on the issue has already been prepared and we will send it out to schools very soon,” he told reporters after briefing ministry staff on the “soft landing” of the policy.

Muhyiddin said schools would have the option to teach Science and Mathematics fully in English, Bahasa Malaysia, or bilingually.

“Students will continue with whatever system they have in place now, be it in English, Bahasa Malaysia or both languages.”

The two subjects will be fully taught again in Bahasa Malaysia starting 2016 for primary schools and 2021 for secondary schools.

Muhyiddin said research had shown that most schools were already teaching both subjects in Bahasa Malaysia.


“Less than 5% of 7,495 primary schools use English to teach the subjects, and for secondary schools, less than 9% out of 2,192 use English,” he said.

When pressed for more information, Muhyiddin said this meant that the medium of instruction for the two subjects in schools would be based on the needs of children and teachers.

“The schools would know better than me,” he said.

The PPSMI policy was initiated by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and implemented in phases, beginning with Year One, Form One and Lower Six students in 2003.

It was then announced in 2009 that the Government would reverse the policy and revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and Chinese and Tamil in vernacular schools, while more emphasis would be placed on English as a subject.

At the time, it was also announced that Form Six students would not be affected by the reversal so as to help them in their transition to tertiary studies.

Muhyiddin said public examinations for the two subjects would continue to be bilingual until 2016 for primary schools and 2021 for secondary schools.

“It is up to students to choose to answer in any language they are comfortable in.

“They can even answer one question in English and another in Bahasa Malaysia in the same examination paper,” he added.




Muhyiddin also said the ministry had produced textbooks in Bahasa Malaysia to cater to schools which were already teaching the two subjects in that language, as they had been using translations of the present English textbooks.

He added that the abolition of the PPSMI policy did not mean that the Government was ignoring the importance of mastering English.

“Under the policy on Upholding Bahasa Malaysia and Strengthening English, the ministry is implementing new initiatives to improve the mastery of English among students,” he said.

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