The Bottom Line
Use a Healthy Eating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid that are based on the latest and best science.
Friday, 9 December 2011
The Nutrition Source
Healthy Eating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid
The Bottom Line
Use a Healthy Eating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid that are based on the latest and best science.
The Bottom Line
Use a Healthy Eating Plate and Healthy Eating Pyramid that are based on the latest and best science.
Healthy Malaysia Food
No matter what people say, we can make healthy eating choices
HEALTHY Malaysian food ... is there such a thing? You may wonder sometimes whether you can find any healthy Malaysian food. However, with some common sense, you can make appropriate choices in selecting well-balanced meals. But I do agree that it is harder to monitor the fat content of meals when someone else is doing the cooking!
The key to making healthier choices when eating out is to learn to decipher the menu. Deep fat fried, thick curry, creamed and breaded are examples of some menu lingo that tells you the meals are high in fat and calories. If your taste buds are really tickling for some of these dishes, then it is best to select smaller portions or share with your friends and eat less often.
Sensible tips for healthy eating
Variety, moderation and balance are key to healthy meals. Remember, there is no such thing as good or bad foods but good or bad eating habits. If you need to change, then change your negative eating habits.
Some healthier breakfast choices include:
•Mee or meehoon soup with lean meat or chicken and green vegetables and bean sprout
•Chapatti with dhal curry
•A medium bun with lean meat or chicken
•Plain chee cheong fun with less gravy
•Iddlis or thosai with dhal curry and a small amount of coconut chutney
•Sandwiches with tuna egg or lean chicken filling with lots of tomatoes, cucumber and salad.
•Nasi lemak (1 small packet) with more cucumber and kangkung
•Putumayam with curry or small amount of coconut scrapping and brown sugar
•Stir fried noodles with sawi, carrot, bean sprouts and lean meat or chicken
•A small serving of bah kut teh soup with lean meat and a small bowl of rice
•Cornflakes or muesli with low fat milk and fresh fruits
•Wan tan noodle soup
•Meehoon soto
For lunch and dinner, healthier choices include:
•A medium bowl of rice, ½ cup cooked vegetables, 1 cup ulam or salad, a medium serving of lean meat, or fish or skinless chicken with a serving of fruit and lots of water.
•A medium bowl of rice with stir fried green leafy vegetables, chicken curry and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice, with chicken tikka, tomato and carrot raita with vegetable curry and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with a variety of ulam, assam pedas fish with fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with stir fried long beans and tempe, fish pindang with fruits
•Two small chappatis with minced meat peas curry and vegetables with fruits
•A plain naan with dhal curry and mint chutney , a piece of chicken tandoori and fresh fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with stir fried mixed vegetables, with ginger chicken and spring onions and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with ikan bakar, stir fried bean sprouts and mixed vegetable soup and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with steam tofu, stir fried beans, stir fried bean sprouts and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with tomato dhal curry, stir fried lady’s fingers, carrot raitas and fruits
•A medium bowl of mee , meehoon or kway teow soup with lean meat or chicken with more green leafy vegetables and a small serving of cendol (occasional dessert)
•A bowl of meehoon with seafood tom yam soup and fruits
•A small plate of spaghetti with chicken bolognaise and a small amount of cheese
•Four pieces of tuna sandwich with salad and vingarette dressing and fresh fruits
Some healthy snack choices include:
•Sandwiches with tuna, sardine or egg filling with tomatoes and cucumber
•Chicken, lean meat or red bean bun
•A piece of plain jelly
•About 20 cashew nuts
•Two to three pieces plain biscuits
•One chicken or lean meat pau
•½ corn on cob
•Two pieces of kuih appam
•Fresh fruits
Some sensible beverages choices include:
•Barley water, sweetened lightly
•Plain water
•Plain coffee or tea with low fat milk
•Ice lemon tea with less sugar.
•Chinese tea
•Unsweetened fruit juices
•Unsweetened soya bean milk
•Coconut water without added sugar
•Malted drinks with low fat milk and no added sugar
When choosing meals while eating out, it is helpful to understand some basic low fat cooking techniques. However, the cooking methods will depend on the individual hawker or cook.
1. Baking means food is cooked in a pre-heated oven to seal the juices with very little fat. Food may be wrapped in a foil or waxed paper.
2. Roasting is another way of cooking with dry heat. This method is used for large cuts of meat, such as a roast or a whole bird on a rack which drains off fat during cooking.
3. Braising and stewing are very similar except that braising uses less liquid. Food is cooked in a very small amount of liquid or gravy over a very slow fire in a pot to develop flavour from spices and herbs.
4. Grilling retains all the juices and flavour of the foods because it seals them in with dry heat. The temperature of the grill should be very hot before placing the food.
5. Barbecue is cooking food over hot charcoal. The coal should be glowing and not burning. Foods are cooked slowly over the glowing coals until done. It is important to prevent burning or charring of the food.
6. Parboiling or blanching is a way of partially cooking ingredients. This is usually done to extract bitterness form vegetables. This is done with large amounts of salted boiling water.
7. Steaming is used to cook vegetables or fish with moist heat and helps to retain their nutrients, flavour and texture.
8. Stir frying means adding little oil and stir frying quickly over hot fire to seal the juices.
In summary, choose wisely when it comes to food choices. Choose as you would when you invest in a property or saving unit trust. Be flexible and allow some variations occasionally.
HEALTHY Malaysian food ... is there such a thing? You may wonder sometimes whether you can find any healthy Malaysian food. However, with some common sense, you can make appropriate choices in selecting well-balanced meals. But I do agree that it is harder to monitor the fat content of meals when someone else is doing the cooking!
The key to making healthier choices when eating out is to learn to decipher the menu. Deep fat fried, thick curry, creamed and breaded are examples of some menu lingo that tells you the meals are high in fat and calories. If your taste buds are really tickling for some of these dishes, then it is best to select smaller portions or share with your friends and eat less often.
Sensible tips for healthy eating
Variety, moderation and balance are key to healthy meals. Remember, there is no such thing as good or bad foods but good or bad eating habits. If you need to change, then change your negative eating habits.
Some healthier breakfast choices include:
•Mee or meehoon soup with lean meat or chicken and green vegetables and bean sprout
•Chapatti with dhal curry
•A medium bun with lean meat or chicken
•Plain chee cheong fun with less gravy
•Iddlis or thosai with dhal curry and a small amount of coconut chutney
•Sandwiches with tuna egg or lean chicken filling with lots of tomatoes, cucumber and salad.
•Nasi lemak (1 small packet) with more cucumber and kangkung
•Putumayam with curry or small amount of coconut scrapping and brown sugar
•Stir fried noodles with sawi, carrot, bean sprouts and lean meat or chicken
•A small serving of bah kut teh soup with lean meat and a small bowl of rice
•Cornflakes or muesli with low fat milk and fresh fruits
•Wan tan noodle soup
•Meehoon soto
For lunch and dinner, healthier choices include:
•A medium bowl of rice, ½ cup cooked vegetables, 1 cup ulam or salad, a medium serving of lean meat, or fish or skinless chicken with a serving of fruit and lots of water.
•A medium bowl of rice with stir fried green leafy vegetables, chicken curry and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice, with chicken tikka, tomato and carrot raita with vegetable curry and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with a variety of ulam, assam pedas fish with fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with stir fried long beans and tempe, fish pindang with fruits
•Two small chappatis with minced meat peas curry and vegetables with fruits
•A plain naan with dhal curry and mint chutney , a piece of chicken tandoori and fresh fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with stir fried mixed vegetables, with ginger chicken and spring onions and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with ikan bakar, stir fried bean sprouts and mixed vegetable soup and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with steam tofu, stir fried beans, stir fried bean sprouts and fruits
•A medium bowl of rice with tomato dhal curry, stir fried lady’s fingers, carrot raitas and fruits
•A medium bowl of mee , meehoon or kway teow soup with lean meat or chicken with more green leafy vegetables and a small serving of cendol (occasional dessert)
•A bowl of meehoon with seafood tom yam soup and fruits
•A small plate of spaghetti with chicken bolognaise and a small amount of cheese
•Four pieces of tuna sandwich with salad and vingarette dressing and fresh fruits
Some healthy snack choices include:
•Sandwiches with tuna, sardine or egg filling with tomatoes and cucumber
•Chicken, lean meat or red bean bun
•A piece of plain jelly
•About 20 cashew nuts
•Two to three pieces plain biscuits
•One chicken or lean meat pau
•½ corn on cob
•Two pieces of kuih appam
•Fresh fruits
Some sensible beverages choices include:
•Barley water, sweetened lightly
•Plain water
•Plain coffee or tea with low fat milk
•Ice lemon tea with less sugar.
•Chinese tea
•Unsweetened fruit juices
•Unsweetened soya bean milk
•Coconut water without added sugar
•Malted drinks with low fat milk and no added sugar
When choosing meals while eating out, it is helpful to understand some basic low fat cooking techniques. However, the cooking methods will depend on the individual hawker or cook.
1. Baking means food is cooked in a pre-heated oven to seal the juices with very little fat. Food may be wrapped in a foil or waxed paper.
2. Roasting is another way of cooking with dry heat. This method is used for large cuts of meat, such as a roast or a whole bird on a rack which drains off fat during cooking.
3. Braising and stewing are very similar except that braising uses less liquid. Food is cooked in a very small amount of liquid or gravy over a very slow fire in a pot to develop flavour from spices and herbs.
4. Grilling retains all the juices and flavour of the foods because it seals them in with dry heat. The temperature of the grill should be very hot before placing the food.
5. Barbecue is cooking food over hot charcoal. The coal should be glowing and not burning. Foods are cooked slowly over the glowing coals until done. It is important to prevent burning or charring of the food.
6. Parboiling or blanching is a way of partially cooking ingredients. This is usually done to extract bitterness form vegetables. This is done with large amounts of salted boiling water.
7. Steaming is used to cook vegetables or fish with moist heat and helps to retain their nutrients, flavour and texture.
8. Stir frying means adding little oil and stir frying quickly over hot fire to seal the juices.
In summary, choose wisely when it comes to food choices. Choose as you would when you invest in a property or saving unit trust. Be flexible and allow some variations occasionally.
Thursday, 8 December 2011
Habits definisi
Understand What a Habit Is
It is always important to know what you are getting into. Knowing what a habit is can ensure you set up your good habit without any glitches.
Know What You Want to Make a Habit
Here is where morality or ethics come into play. What makes this habit good? Will it really benefit me in a positive way and how will it do that?
Example: I want to learn to play the flute. An appreciation of music will make me a better person and I will enjoy exploring my musicianship.
Know the Proper Way to Perform That Activity
This is where you can get into some problems. A small thing over a long period of time can have some massive unintended consequences. If you have gotten into the habit of dropping your shoulder during your forehand on the tennis court you may be in trouble –- less accuracy, repetitive stress injuries of the shoulder, back pain.
Example: After six years of study with inadequate instructors my new flute teacher noticed my embouchure is crooked. This is why I don’t sound as good as I should. I have gone as far as I can unless I take the next year to completely break it down and relearn it the right way.
Provide Incentives
Habits are best formed when they are rewarding. It gives you something to work towards before the habit is formed. Unconscious rewards are the best (like a better forehand smash), but if it they are not available invent some.
Example: I love the sound of the flute so I enjoy my practice sessions even more when I improve my embouchure.
Schedule the Habit Forming Process
Perform the habit activity over a 2 to 4 weeks. Two weeks should establish the habit and an additional two weeks will provide good reinforcement strength. Ensure you repeat the habit activity at least 3 times a week, daily is better. Make sure there are no disruptions from the schedule.
After the habit is formed, you can skip a session, take a break for vacation, or even stop the activity for years and it will still easily come back to you upon request.
Example: I have not played my flute for five years. I pulled it out the other day and it was just like riding a bike (another habit). I am not as good as I use to be, but I was not that far from it.
It is always important to know what you are getting into. Knowing what a habit is can ensure you set up your good habit without any glitches.
Know What You Want to Make a Habit
Here is where morality or ethics come into play. What makes this habit good? Will it really benefit me in a positive way and how will it do that?
Example: I want to learn to play the flute. An appreciation of music will make me a better person and I will enjoy exploring my musicianship.
Know the Proper Way to Perform That Activity
This is where you can get into some problems. A small thing over a long period of time can have some massive unintended consequences. If you have gotten into the habit of dropping your shoulder during your forehand on the tennis court you may be in trouble –- less accuracy, repetitive stress injuries of the shoulder, back pain.
Example: After six years of study with inadequate instructors my new flute teacher noticed my embouchure is crooked. This is why I don’t sound as good as I should. I have gone as far as I can unless I take the next year to completely break it down and relearn it the right way.
Provide Incentives
Habits are best formed when they are rewarding. It gives you something to work towards before the habit is formed. Unconscious rewards are the best (like a better forehand smash), but if it they are not available invent some.
Example: I love the sound of the flute so I enjoy my practice sessions even more when I improve my embouchure.
Schedule the Habit Forming Process
Perform the habit activity over a 2 to 4 weeks. Two weeks should establish the habit and an additional two weeks will provide good reinforcement strength. Ensure you repeat the habit activity at least 3 times a week, daily is better. Make sure there are no disruptions from the schedule.
After the habit is formed, you can skip a session, take a break for vacation, or even stop the activity for years and it will still easily come back to you upon request.
Example: I have not played my flute for five years. I pulled it out the other day and it was just like riding a bike (another habit). I am not as good as I use to be, but I was not that far from it.
Turn Bad Habits into Good Habits
How to Turn Bad Habits into Good Habits
Humans are creatures of habit. Think of your daily routine. Every weekday I get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and drive to work. Always in the exact same order. The details might vary, but I usually do the exact same thing every single day. I like it that way.
I like it because it makes me feel in control and because I don’t have to do unnecessary planning. A predictable routine is extremely comforting. The problem is that we get comfortable with bad habits. When a bad habit becomes a part of your daily routine, you lose consciousness of it. You just keep doing it without thinking.
Becoming accustomed to a bad habit makes that habit seem much harder to give up than it really is. You don’t want to change. When you try to give up a bad habit, it leaves a void in your routine that leads to restlessness and urges. The best way to fill this void is with a good habit.
The first step in the process is deciding to give up the bad habit. You can’t decide to give it up because other people say you should. The drive to change must come from within. This drive is created by understanding how the bad habit is harmful.
Decide to Stop Hurting Yourself
Consider the bad habit of going out drinking. It’s absurd when you think about what you’re actually doing. You pay hard earned money to feel hungover and exhausted. Would you pay someone to hit you on the head with a wrench? Getting drunk is basically the same deal.
Once you realize the harm that you do yourself, bad habits become much less appealing. But giving them up still isn’t easy because most bad habits aren’t all bad. Going out drinking satisfies a need for social interaction and excitement. These desires themselves aren’t bad, but we need a better way to satisfy them.
Substitute a Good Habit
Giving up a bad habit shouldn’t be unpleasant, but it is when we feel like we’re denying ourselves. We need to fill the void in our daily routine with something that isn’t as harmful, and we also need to reward ourselves to maintain our motivation.
Suppose you want to stop drinking. It’s tough because you miss the excitement of going out and interacting with other people. Fortunately, there are other ways to fulfill these desires that aren’t as destructive or expensive.
Instead of going out at night, try getting out during the day. Get up early and do something you enjoy. Take a walk around the neighborhood or hang out in a coffee shop for a couple hours. When Friday and Saturday night come around, you won’t feel as restless and the urge to go out drinking will be easier to resist.
Different things work for different people. The key is finding a better way to satisfy the desires you used to satisfy with the bad habit.
If you can replace a bad habit with a positive, enjoyable habit, the change is much more likely to stick. Once you are able to feel satisfied without harming yourself, you’ll wonder how that old bad habit seemed so enjoyable.
Humans are creatures of habit. Think of your daily routine. Every weekday I get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and drive to work. Always in the exact same order. The details might vary, but I usually do the exact same thing every single day. I like it that way.
I like it because it makes me feel in control and because I don’t have to do unnecessary planning. A predictable routine is extremely comforting. The problem is that we get comfortable with bad habits. When a bad habit becomes a part of your daily routine, you lose consciousness of it. You just keep doing it without thinking.
Becoming accustomed to a bad habit makes that habit seem much harder to give up than it really is. You don’t want to change. When you try to give up a bad habit, it leaves a void in your routine that leads to restlessness and urges. The best way to fill this void is with a good habit.
The first step in the process is deciding to give up the bad habit. You can’t decide to give it up because other people say you should. The drive to change must come from within. This drive is created by understanding how the bad habit is harmful.
Decide to Stop Hurting Yourself
Consider the bad habit of going out drinking. It’s absurd when you think about what you’re actually doing. You pay hard earned money to feel hungover and exhausted. Would you pay someone to hit you on the head with a wrench? Getting drunk is basically the same deal.
Once you realize the harm that you do yourself, bad habits become much less appealing. But giving them up still isn’t easy because most bad habits aren’t all bad. Going out drinking satisfies a need for social interaction and excitement. These desires themselves aren’t bad, but we need a better way to satisfy them.
Substitute a Good Habit
Giving up a bad habit shouldn’t be unpleasant, but it is when we feel like we’re denying ourselves. We need to fill the void in our daily routine with something that isn’t as harmful, and we also need to reward ourselves to maintain our motivation.
Suppose you want to stop drinking. It’s tough because you miss the excitement of going out and interacting with other people. Fortunately, there are other ways to fulfill these desires that aren’t as destructive or expensive.
Instead of going out at night, try getting out during the day. Get up early and do something you enjoy. Take a walk around the neighborhood or hang out in a coffee shop for a couple hours. When Friday and Saturday night come around, you won’t feel as restless and the urge to go out drinking will be easier to resist.
Different things work for different people. The key is finding a better way to satisfy the desires you used to satisfy with the bad habit.
If you can replace a bad habit with a positive, enjoyable habit, the change is much more likely to stick. Once you are able to feel satisfied without harming yourself, you’ll wonder how that old bad habit seemed so enjoyable.
Daily Habits
I have previously written about how the habit of exercising every day has helped me tremendously. Doing something every day is such a powerful way to form a habit that I thought I would make a list of 24 habits that are worth doing on a daily basis. Note: I have divided these into morning, day and night although some could obviously be under different headings.
The Morning
1. Wake Early: I am a big fan of waking at 5am and spending time working on myself before going to work. I have written more about this habit here.
2. Exercise: when I had the goal of exercising 4 times a week I found it was very easy to tell myself I will exercise tomorrow instead. Setting the expectation of daily exercise removed this as a potential excuse and I have since reaped the benefits of this daily habit.
3. Review or (even better) Rewrite Your Goals: each day I try to get closer to achieving my short, medium and long term goals. Starting the day by reviewing or rewriting my goals means that I have better awareness of them throughout the day. As Robin Sharma says:
With better awareness you can make better choices and when you make better choices, you will see better results.
4. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material: in the morning a whole day of endless possibilities lies ahead. I motivate myself to play my best game by reading and listening to inspirational books/ audio books.
5. Visualise the Day Ahead: I like to take a few minutes to shut my eyes and visualise what I want happen in the coming day. It’s amazing how often my desires become reality when I do this.
6. Write a “To Do” list: I like to write out a list in my diary of the important tasks I need to do that day. As they are completed I put a line through them. So simple, yet so effective.
7. Check the News Headlines: I think it’s important to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. Also if don’t at least check the main stories, I find it is easy to feel left out of conversations throughout the day.
8. Take a Multivitamin: I try to eat a well balanced diet, but taking a multivitamin daily reassures me that I obtaining the proper amount of vitamins and minerals that I need (**Update: see comments).
9. Tidy Up: a cluttered house can lead to a cluttered mind and fuzzy thinking. I find it’s best to stay on top of things by tidying up each day.
10. Take Time to Look Good: it’s a reality of life that people judge us by our appearance. I take a few minutes each morning to ensure I go out into the world looking the best I can.
The Day
11. Put First Things First: Many people have their day controlled by tasks that are urgent , but not necessarily important. Examples include interruptions, some email and some phone calls. The habit of putting first things first is about organising and executing your life around your deepest priorities.
12. Connect with Nature: I find spending time outdoors in nature is great for my sense of wellbeing. I have written about this here.
13. Blog: blogging makes me think and write – two things that I can’t get enough of each day. I have written more about the benefits of blogging here.
14. Snack Well: I substitute the chips, candy and chocolate with fruit, vegetables (carrots and celery are great to chomp on) and nuts.
15. Be Proactive: being proactive means showing initiative and taking the responsibility to make things happen. Whenever I want something to happen, I ask myself: what can I do to make this happen?
16. Ping a Friend: I try to send a quick email or text to a friend each day. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends when I am extremely busy.
17. Save: I save at least 10% of each paycheck. A great way to find the money to save is to break it down to a daily amount, for example $10-15. By taking account of the Latte Factor I find it easy to save this much.
The Morning
1. Wake Early: I am a big fan of waking at 5am and spending time working on myself before going to work. I have written more about this habit here.
2. Exercise: when I had the goal of exercising 4 times a week I found it was very easy to tell myself I will exercise tomorrow instead. Setting the expectation of daily exercise removed this as a potential excuse and I have since reaped the benefits of this daily habit.
3. Review or (even better) Rewrite Your Goals: each day I try to get closer to achieving my short, medium and long term goals. Starting the day by reviewing or rewriting my goals means that I have better awareness of them throughout the day. As Robin Sharma says:
With better awareness you can make better choices and when you make better choices, you will see better results.
4. Read and/ or Listen to Motivational Material: in the morning a whole day of endless possibilities lies ahead. I motivate myself to play my best game by reading and listening to inspirational books/ audio books.
5. Visualise the Day Ahead: I like to take a few minutes to shut my eyes and visualise what I want happen in the coming day. It’s amazing how often my desires become reality when I do this.
6. Write a “To Do” list: I like to write out a list in my diary of the important tasks I need to do that day. As they are completed I put a line through them. So simple, yet so effective.
7. Check the News Headlines: I think it’s important to have an idea of what is happening in our community and the world. Also if don’t at least check the main stories, I find it is easy to feel left out of conversations throughout the day.
8. Take a Multivitamin: I try to eat a well balanced diet, but taking a multivitamin daily reassures me that I obtaining the proper amount of vitamins and minerals that I need (**Update: see comments).
9. Tidy Up: a cluttered house can lead to a cluttered mind and fuzzy thinking. I find it’s best to stay on top of things by tidying up each day.
10. Take Time to Look Good: it’s a reality of life that people judge us by our appearance. I take a few minutes each morning to ensure I go out into the world looking the best I can.
The Day
11. Put First Things First: Many people have their day controlled by tasks that are urgent , but not necessarily important. Examples include interruptions, some email and some phone calls. The habit of putting first things first is about organising and executing your life around your deepest priorities.
12. Connect with Nature: I find spending time outdoors in nature is great for my sense of wellbeing. I have written about this here.
13. Blog: blogging makes me think and write – two things that I can’t get enough of each day. I have written more about the benefits of blogging here.
14. Snack Well: I substitute the chips, candy and chocolate with fruit, vegetables (carrots and celery are great to chomp on) and nuts.
15. Be Proactive: being proactive means showing initiative and taking the responsibility to make things happen. Whenever I want something to happen, I ask myself: what can I do to make this happen?
16. Ping a Friend: I try to send a quick email or text to a friend each day. It’s a great way to stay in touch with friends when I am extremely busy.
17. Save: I save at least 10% of each paycheck. A great way to find the money to save is to break it down to a daily amount, for example $10-15. By taking account of the Latte Factor I find it easy to save this much.
Vocabulary Five Senses
Vocabulary | Test
taste-----el sabor
sight-----la vista
smell-----el olfato
hearing-----el oído
touch-----el tacto
tongue-----lengua
eyes-----ojos
odor-----olor
loud-----fuerte
skin-----cutis
salty-----salado
shape-----figura
nose-----nariz
low-----bajo
rough-----áspero, a
sweet-----dulce
see-----ver
different-----differente
high-----alto,a
smooth-----liso, a
bitter-----amargo
color-----color
soft-----suave
ears-----oídos
hot-----caliente
sour-----agrio
size-----tamaño
weak-----débil
sound-----sonido
texture-----textura
cold-----frío
hard-----duro, a
same-----igual
strong-----fuerte
feel-----sentir
taste-----el sabor
sight-----la vista
smell-----el olfato
hearing-----el oído
touch-----el tacto
tongue-----lengua
eyes-----ojos
odor-----olor
loud-----fuerte
skin-----cutis
salty-----salado
shape-----figura
nose-----nariz
low-----bajo
rough-----áspero, a
sweet-----dulce
see-----ver
different-----differente
high-----alto,a
smooth-----liso, a
bitter-----amargo
color-----color
soft-----suave
ears-----oídos
hot-----caliente
sour-----agrio
size-----tamaño
weak-----débil
sound-----sonido
texture-----textura
cold-----frío
hard-----duro, a
same-----igual
strong-----fuerte
feel-----sentir
Anatomy and Structure of Human Sense Organs
Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) is credited with the traditional classification of the five sense organs: sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. As far back as the 1760's, the famous philosopher Immanuel Kant proposed that our knowledge of the outside world depends on our modes of perception. In order to define what is "extrasensory" we need to define what is "sensory". Each of the 5 senses consists of organs with specialized cellular structures that have receptors for specific stimuli. These cells have links to the nervous system and thus to the brain. Sensing is done at primitive levels in the cells and integrated into sensations in the nervous system. Sight is probably the most developed sense in humans, followed closely by hearing.
Sight
The eye is the organ of vision. It has a complex structure consisting of a transparent lens that focuses light on the retina. The retina is covered with two basic types of light-sensitive cells-rods and cones. The cone cells are sensitive to color and are located in the part of the retina called the fovea, where the light is focused by the lens. The rod cells are not sensitive to color, but have greater sensitivity to light than the cone cells. These cells are located around the fovea and are responsible for peripheral vision and night vision. The eye is connected to the brain through the optic nerve. The point of this connection is called the "blind spot" because it is insensitive to light. Experiments have shown that the back of the brain maps the visual input from the eyes.
The brain combines the input of our two eyes into a single three-dimensional image. In addition, even though the image on the retina is upside-down because of the focusing action of the lens, the brain compensates and provides the right-side-up perception. Experiments have been done with subjects fitted with prisms that invert the images. The subjects go through an initial period of great confusion, but subsequently they perceive the images as right side up.
The range of perception of the eye is phenomenal. In the dark, a substance produced by the rod cells increases the sensitivity of the eye so that it is possible to detect very dim light. In strong light, the iris contracts reducing the size of the aperture that admits light into the eye and a protective obscure substance reduces the exposure of the light-sensitive cells. The spectrum of light to which the eye is sensitive varies from the red to the violet. Lower electromagnetic frequencies in the infrared are sensed as heat, but cannot be seen. Higher frequencies in the ultraviolet and beyond cannot be seen either, but can be sensed as tingling of the skin or eyes depending on the frequency. The human eye is not sensitive to the polarization of light, i.e., light that oscillates on a specific plane. Bees, on the other hand, are sensitive to polarized light, and have a visual range that extends into the ultraviolet. Some kinds of snakes have special infrared sensors that enable them to hunt in absolute darkness using only the heat emitted by their prey. Birds have a higher density of light-sensing cells than humans do in their retinas, and therefore, higher visual acuity.
Color blindness or "Daltonism" is a common abnormality in human vision that makes it impossible to differentiate colors accurately. One type of color blindness results in the inability to distinguish red from green. This can be a real handicap for certain types of occupations. To a colorblind person, a person with normal color vision would appear to have extrasensory perception. However, we want to reserve the term "extrasensory perception" for perception that is beyond the range of the normal. Another common misconception is that color blindness can be corrected with contact lenses. This is not the case.
Hearing
The ear is the organ of hearing. The outer ear protrudes away from the head and is shaped like a cup to direct sounds toward the tympanic membrane, which transmits vibrations to the inner ear through a series of small bones in the middle ear called the malleus, incus and stapes. The inner ear, or cochlea, is a spiral-shaped chamber covered internally by nerve fibers that react to the vibrations and transmit impulses to the brain via the auditory nerve. The brain combines the input of our two ears to determine the direction and distance of sounds.
The inner ear has a vestibular system formed by three semicircular canals that are approximately at right angles to each other and which are responsible for the sense of balance and spatial orientation. The inner ear has chambers filled with a viscous fluid and small particles (otoliths) containing calcium carbonate. The movement of these particles over small hair cells in the inner ear sends signals to the brain that are interpreted as motion and acceleration.
The human ear can perceive frequencies from 16 cycles per second, which is a very deep bass, to 28,000 cycles per second, which is a very high pitch. Bats and dolphins can detect frequencies higher than 100,000 cycles per second. The human ear can detect pitch changes as small as 3 hundredths of one percent of the original frequency in some frequency ranges. Some people have "perfect pitch", which is the ability to map a tone precisely on the musical scale without reference to an external standard. It is estimated that less than one in ten thousand people have perfect pitch, but speakers of tonal languages like Vietnamese and Mandarin show remarkably precise absolute pitch in reading out lists of words because pitch is an essential feature in conveying the meaning of words in tone languages. The Eguchi Method teaches perfect pitch to children starting before they are 4 years old. After age 7, the ability to recognize notes does not improve much.
Taste
The receptors for taste, called taste buds, are situated chiefly in the tongue, but they are also located in the roof of the mouth and near the pharynx. They are able to detect four basic tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. The tongue also can detect a sensation called "umami" from taste receptors sensitive to amino acids. Generally, the taste buds close to the tip of the tongue are sensitive to sweet tastes, whereas those in the back of the tongue are sensitive to bitter tastes. The taste buds on top and on the side of the tongue are sensitive to salty and sour tastes. At the base of each taste bud there is a nerve that sends the sensations to the brain. The sense of taste functions in coordination with the sense of smell. The number of taste buds varies substantially from individual to individual, but greater numbers increase sensitivity. Women, in general, have a greater number of taste buds than men. As in the case of color blindness, some people are insensitive to some tastes.
Smell
The nose is the organ responsible for the sense of smell. The cavity of the nose is lined with mucous membranes that have smell receptors connected to the olfactory nerve. The smells themselves consist of vapors of various substances. The smell receptors interact with the molecules of these vapors and transmit the sensations to the brain. The nose also has a structure called the vomeronasal organ whose function has not been determined, but which is suspected of being sensitive to pheromones that influence the reproductive cycle. The smell receptors are sensitive to seven types of sensations that can be characterized as camphor, musk, flower, mint, ether, acrid, or putrid. The sense of smell is sometimes temporarily lost when a person has a cold. Dogs have a sense of smell that is many times more sensitive than man's.
Touch
The sense of touch is distributed throughout the body. Nerve endings in the skin and other parts of the body transmit sensations to the brain. Some parts of the body have a larger number of nerve endings and, therefore, are more sensitive. Four kinds of touch sensations can be identified: cold, heat, contact, and pain. Hairs on the skin magnify the sensitivity and act as an early warning system for the body. The fingertips and the sexual organs have the greatest concentration of nerve endings. The sexual organs have "erogenous zones" that when stimulated start a series of endocrine reactions and motor responses resulting in orgasm.
Beyond the five sense organs
In addition to sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, humans also have awareness of balance (equilibrioception), pressure, temperature (thermoception), pain (nociception), and motion all of which may involve the coordinated use of multiple sensory organs. The sense of balance is maintained by a complex interaction of visual inputs, the proprioceptive sensors (which are affected by gravity and stretch sensors found in muscles, skin, and joints), the inner ear vestibular system, and the central nervous system. Disturbances occurring in any part of the balance system, or even within the brain's integration of inputs, can cause the feeling of dizziness or unsteadiness.
Kinesthesia is the precise awareness of muscle and joint movement that allows us to coordinate our muscles when we walk, talk, and use our hands. It is the sense of kinesthesia that enables us to touch the tip of our nose with our eyes closed or to know which part of the body we should scratch when we itch.
Synesthesia
Some people experience a phenomenon called synesthesia in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another. For example, the hearing of a sound may result in the sensation of the visualization of a color, or a shape may be sensed as a smell. Synesthesia is hereditary and it is estimated that it occurs in 1 out of 1000 individuals with variations of type and intensity. The most common forms of synesthesia link numbers or letters with colors.
Sight
The eye is the organ of vision. It has a complex structure consisting of a transparent lens that focuses light on the retina. The retina is covered with two basic types of light-sensitive cells-rods and cones. The cone cells are sensitive to color and are located in the part of the retina called the fovea, where the light is focused by the lens. The rod cells are not sensitive to color, but have greater sensitivity to light than the cone cells. These cells are located around the fovea and are responsible for peripheral vision and night vision. The eye is connected to the brain through the optic nerve. The point of this connection is called the "blind spot" because it is insensitive to light. Experiments have shown that the back of the brain maps the visual input from the eyes.
The brain combines the input of our two eyes into a single three-dimensional image. In addition, even though the image on the retina is upside-down because of the focusing action of the lens, the brain compensates and provides the right-side-up perception. Experiments have been done with subjects fitted with prisms that invert the images. The subjects go through an initial period of great confusion, but subsequently they perceive the images as right side up.
The range of perception of the eye is phenomenal. In the dark, a substance produced by the rod cells increases the sensitivity of the eye so that it is possible to detect very dim light. In strong light, the iris contracts reducing the size of the aperture that admits light into the eye and a protective obscure substance reduces the exposure of the light-sensitive cells. The spectrum of light to which the eye is sensitive varies from the red to the violet. Lower electromagnetic frequencies in the infrared are sensed as heat, but cannot be seen. Higher frequencies in the ultraviolet and beyond cannot be seen either, but can be sensed as tingling of the skin or eyes depending on the frequency. The human eye is not sensitive to the polarization of light, i.e., light that oscillates on a specific plane. Bees, on the other hand, are sensitive to polarized light, and have a visual range that extends into the ultraviolet. Some kinds of snakes have special infrared sensors that enable them to hunt in absolute darkness using only the heat emitted by their prey. Birds have a higher density of light-sensing cells than humans do in their retinas, and therefore, higher visual acuity.
Color blindness or "Daltonism" is a common abnormality in human vision that makes it impossible to differentiate colors accurately. One type of color blindness results in the inability to distinguish red from green. This can be a real handicap for certain types of occupations. To a colorblind person, a person with normal color vision would appear to have extrasensory perception. However, we want to reserve the term "extrasensory perception" for perception that is beyond the range of the normal. Another common misconception is that color blindness can be corrected with contact lenses. This is not the case.
Hearing
The ear is the organ of hearing. The outer ear protrudes away from the head and is shaped like a cup to direct sounds toward the tympanic membrane, which transmits vibrations to the inner ear through a series of small bones in the middle ear called the malleus, incus and stapes. The inner ear, or cochlea, is a spiral-shaped chamber covered internally by nerve fibers that react to the vibrations and transmit impulses to the brain via the auditory nerve. The brain combines the input of our two ears to determine the direction and distance of sounds.
The inner ear has a vestibular system formed by three semicircular canals that are approximately at right angles to each other and which are responsible for the sense of balance and spatial orientation. The inner ear has chambers filled with a viscous fluid and small particles (otoliths) containing calcium carbonate. The movement of these particles over small hair cells in the inner ear sends signals to the brain that are interpreted as motion and acceleration.
The human ear can perceive frequencies from 16 cycles per second, which is a very deep bass, to 28,000 cycles per second, which is a very high pitch. Bats and dolphins can detect frequencies higher than 100,000 cycles per second. The human ear can detect pitch changes as small as 3 hundredths of one percent of the original frequency in some frequency ranges. Some people have "perfect pitch", which is the ability to map a tone precisely on the musical scale without reference to an external standard. It is estimated that less than one in ten thousand people have perfect pitch, but speakers of tonal languages like Vietnamese and Mandarin show remarkably precise absolute pitch in reading out lists of words because pitch is an essential feature in conveying the meaning of words in tone languages. The Eguchi Method teaches perfect pitch to children starting before they are 4 years old. After age 7, the ability to recognize notes does not improve much.
Taste
The receptors for taste, called taste buds, are situated chiefly in the tongue, but they are also located in the roof of the mouth and near the pharynx. They are able to detect four basic tastes: salty, sweet, bitter, and sour. The tongue also can detect a sensation called "umami" from taste receptors sensitive to amino acids. Generally, the taste buds close to the tip of the tongue are sensitive to sweet tastes, whereas those in the back of the tongue are sensitive to bitter tastes. The taste buds on top and on the side of the tongue are sensitive to salty and sour tastes. At the base of each taste bud there is a nerve that sends the sensations to the brain. The sense of taste functions in coordination with the sense of smell. The number of taste buds varies substantially from individual to individual, but greater numbers increase sensitivity. Women, in general, have a greater number of taste buds than men. As in the case of color blindness, some people are insensitive to some tastes.
Smell
The nose is the organ responsible for the sense of smell. The cavity of the nose is lined with mucous membranes that have smell receptors connected to the olfactory nerve. The smells themselves consist of vapors of various substances. The smell receptors interact with the molecules of these vapors and transmit the sensations to the brain. The nose also has a structure called the vomeronasal organ whose function has not been determined, but which is suspected of being sensitive to pheromones that influence the reproductive cycle. The smell receptors are sensitive to seven types of sensations that can be characterized as camphor, musk, flower, mint, ether, acrid, or putrid. The sense of smell is sometimes temporarily lost when a person has a cold. Dogs have a sense of smell that is many times more sensitive than man's.
Touch
The sense of touch is distributed throughout the body. Nerve endings in the skin and other parts of the body transmit sensations to the brain. Some parts of the body have a larger number of nerve endings and, therefore, are more sensitive. Four kinds of touch sensations can be identified: cold, heat, contact, and pain. Hairs on the skin magnify the sensitivity and act as an early warning system for the body. The fingertips and the sexual organs have the greatest concentration of nerve endings. The sexual organs have "erogenous zones" that when stimulated start a series of endocrine reactions and motor responses resulting in orgasm.
Beyond the five sense organs
In addition to sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing, humans also have awareness of balance (equilibrioception), pressure, temperature (thermoception), pain (nociception), and motion all of which may involve the coordinated use of multiple sensory organs. The sense of balance is maintained by a complex interaction of visual inputs, the proprioceptive sensors (which are affected by gravity and stretch sensors found in muscles, skin, and joints), the inner ear vestibular system, and the central nervous system. Disturbances occurring in any part of the balance system, or even within the brain's integration of inputs, can cause the feeling of dizziness or unsteadiness.
Kinesthesia is the precise awareness of muscle and joint movement that allows us to coordinate our muscles when we walk, talk, and use our hands. It is the sense of kinesthesia that enables us to touch the tip of our nose with our eyes closed or to know which part of the body we should scratch when we itch.
Synesthesia
Some people experience a phenomenon called synesthesia in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another. For example, the hearing of a sound may result in the sensation of the visualization of a color, or a shape may be sensed as a smell. Synesthesia is hereditary and it is estimated that it occurs in 1 out of 1000 individuals with variations of type and intensity. The most common forms of synesthesia link numbers or letters with colors.
Vocabulary Part Of Body
Vocabulary | Test
Learn how to say the parts of the body in French, and click the links to hear each word pronounced.
le corps -----body
les cheveux -----hair
la tête -----head
le visage -----face
un œil -----eye
les yuex -----eyes
le nez -----nose
la joue -----cheek
la bouche -----mouth
la lèvre -----lip
la dent -----tooth
une oreille -----ear
le cou -----neck
la poitrine -----chest
un estomac -----stomach
le bras -----arm
une épaule -----shoulder
le coude -----elbow
le poignet -----wrist
la main -----hand
le doigt -----finger
un ongle -----fingernail
le pouce -----thumb
le dos -----back
la jambe -----leg
le genou -----knee
la cheville -----ankle
le pied -----foot
un orteil -----toe
Learn how to say the parts of the body in French, and click the links to hear each word pronounced.
le corps -----body
les cheveux -----hair
la tête -----head
le visage -----face
un œil -----eye
les yuex -----eyes
le nez -----nose
la joue -----cheek
la bouche -----mouth
la lèvre -----lip
la dent -----tooth
une oreille -----ear
le cou -----neck
la poitrine -----chest
un estomac -----stomach
le bras -----arm
une épaule -----shoulder
le coude -----elbow
le poignet -----wrist
la main -----hand
le doigt -----finger
un ongle -----fingernail
le pouce -----thumb
le dos -----back
la jambe -----leg
le genou -----knee
la cheville -----ankle
le pied -----foot
un orteil -----toe
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