heArtburn

Au, to those who still remember the Periodic Table or who dabble a little with bomoh, sinseh or black magic, is short for Gold. The Gold went to Italy.

Today's Post takes a break from The PLay of politics, intrigues and UMNO -- an overdose of it is a big NO! -- to prioritise the common man's woes, and it's not golden or even Ag -- for Silver. The Silver went o France.

Back in dear NegaraKu -- for all its shortcomings, warts, war and all, I still refer often to my homeland as "dear", like in addressing darlin', do you? -- I must face off with not too lifting a subject. A life-threatening malaise -- Generally, individually, and nationally.

HEARTBURN.
It has two meanings.

Meaning1 is scientific, so let me educate my EsteemedReaders, and I'm your obedient scribe no more using DDC. It's like Desi being watched over by hawkish Helen, working hand-in-hand with Mave SM, reminding me to keep my writing in the straight nd narrow path, and then working hand-in-glove with sister AM putting in a dagger buttered with peanut and jam (normally accompanied by tarts!) into Desi's tongue, tying it all up. So I hold my peace with raised OLice branches. The flowers and AMEX I left at home. No wonder this morning truly lives up to traditional Bluesy MONday.

Back to the topic, extracted like some herbs from The Star, historically date June 4, 2006:

Measning1

DESPITE its name, heartburn does not affect the heart.
Heartburn is a burning feeling in the lower chest, along with
a siour and bitter taste in the throat and mouth.
Heartburn is also called acid reflux disease, or
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Heartburn occurs when small amounts of acid secreted in the
stomach for the purposes of digestion rise up into the gullet
(oesophagus) -- the tube which carries food from the mouth
to the stomach. This is called reflux.
The gullet, unlike the stomach, does not have a protective lining.
So when it is exposed to the acid, it can become inflamed and painful.
You might get heartburn after eating a big meal or while you are lying
down. The feeling can last for a few minutes or a few hours.

If you only have heartburn once in a while, it is probably not a
serious problem. If heartburn continues to occur long enough,
it can lead to oesophagitis (inflamed lining of the eosophagus).
If the oesophagitis worsens, it might lead to narrowing of the
oesophagus resulting in bleeding or trouble swallowing.
Heartburn can also be a sign of ulcers.

Not everyone is prone to an acid reflux. This is because, at the bottom
of the gullet there is a muscle (sphincter) which, by its contraction,
acts as a barrier to keep the acid in the stomach. Reflux occurs only
when this sphincter fails to work. Some known factors that can lead to
heartburn include:
* Pregnancy
* Smoking
*Eating large meals, especially near bedtime
* Being overweight
* Excessive bending.
+ Watching too much football, and close-ups of Beckham's bending.
(VIP NOTE: +(THis last one only applies to Helen and Anak Merdeeka and the likes -- no, I did not use ilk! -- of the Helenic and clans.)

Nutrition also plays an important role. Fortunately, GERD is usually controllable with diet and lifestyle modifications, and failing that, medication. Most people get fast, short-term releif with antacids. Antacids neutralise the acid in your stomach. However, such antacids can cause diarrhoea or constipation.

Herbs, due to their multimodal mechanism of action, are priomising candiadtes in the treatment of GERD. Ayurvedic texts prescribe various herbs and herbal formulations to effectively ttreat heartburn.

The newspaper artcile goes on to describe the following herbs:
* Trikatu
** Maricha (Piper nigrum)
*** Pippali )PIper longum)
**** Sunthi (Zingiber officinalis)
***** Yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
****** Amalaki (Emblica officinalis)

Desiderata is no doctor Quek, only sometimes dabbling as loyar buruk.
But of all the exotic, can be erotica I don't know as I say I'm half an Ignoramus on medicine, with survival based mainly on Ignorance is Bliss policy, I will only ask thee to bear with me on one elaboration.

I'm priming for Miss Sunthi.

Sunthi has been used to aid digestion and teat stomach upset,
diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting for over 2,000 years. Unknown
by its scientic name of Zingiber officinalis, so romantic sounding!,
Sunthi is perhaps the best and most sattvic (that which
provides purity) of the spices; no wonder it is called
as "Vishvabheshaja", the universal medicine. Sunthi's medicinal properties stem from
its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial properties.


So my dear ER, this morning and the many days after, I offer you tehtarik
minus the sugar, but tinged with Miss Sunthi, whose common name is Miss Ginger.

Satu lagi, Teh-Ha!-lia, anyone?


The Common Man's heArtbUrn

AuAw, my hear is rent
my head is bent
where art thou my MP?
AuAw, off to get thy Mercedes Benz
And thy constituent
I can only say: Amen...



Meaning2 is absolutely mean, the most meanest of them all.
Ask pensioner N. R. SUNDARARAJ.
Ooops, you are two days late. But his survivors will tell you they inherit now
the pensioner's heartburn.

Dearly departed, WE KNOW ~~ how heartrending it is.
The heartburn eats into your body, soul and spirit.
It won't go away until you said your last farewell.
But then, the heartburn is passed on to your closet next-of-kin,
and that's not what you intended to bequeath in your will...
My brothers and sisters of NegaraKu, please say a prayer for
the late spirited Malaysian, though he could not attain his
wishes before breathing his last. You can't fault him for trying.
Lord, Blee=ss Sundararaj,
May his soul
Rest In Peace.

Amen. ~~ Desi

From theSUN frontpage today:

31-year quest for pension
EX-CLERK, 90, DIES WITH HOPE UNFULFILLED
"I shall fight
till my last breath" -- ASundararaj in his letters



PETALING JAYA: After 31 years and 300 appeal letters, a former Health Ministry clerk's odyssey in search of a pension came to an unfruitful closure with his passing on July 1.
N. R. Sundararaj, who was battling cancer, wrote letter No: 300 on May 30 to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi ­ just a month before he died at the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM).

Sundararaj, 90, was rushed to the hospital by his youngest son, S. Jayaram after collapsing in the bathroom of his Seri Melaka flats in Cheras on June 30.

Ironically his last letter to the prime minister carried the words Rayuan Terakhir (final appeal) in its heading ­ as if he had a premonition that the cancer of the tongue was closing in on him.

Sundararaj's problems began in 1971 when his application for absorption into permanent employment went missing.

He was among 23 temporary employees who were offered permanent employment in government service under a recommendation of the Royal Salary Commission (Suffian) 1968.

Although Sundararaj wrote numerous appeals to the Public Services Department (PSD), he was not called for an interview unlike the others.

Sundararaj retired in 1975 as a temporary clerk and had been appealing for a pension without success ever since.

His quest for justice took him to the offices of four prime ministers starting with Tun Abdul Razak, deputy prime ministers, presidents of political parties, the Chief Secretary, senior government officials and others.

It is the poignant conclusion of the pensioner's letter to Prime Minister Abdullah that speaks volumes:

"YAB, at least now I hope you will sympathise and do the needful on humanitarian grounds.

"Your sympathy will be able to get me a small sum of money as I am already in the last lap of my life, 90-years-old and very ill".

In his letter he had asked the prime minister for a personal response addressed to him ­ "so that, only then, will I be convinced that no one is able to help me, and have that letter cremated with my remains when I die".

However, Sundararaj's last wish was not fulfilled as he did not get a reply from the prime minister's office. His letter was directed back to the PSD ­ as had been all the other letters before this.

In the last 30 years Sundararaj's plight received much media attention from nearly all newspapers in the country several times over.

In an interview with theSun on May 22, 2001, he had said:

"If all the king's horses and all the king's men can't help me, then I will go to the king himself!"

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To be continued if the heart holds~~~~~~~