OK: So How Happy Are You? World Wisdom

[Abu-Salman]

One of my favorite Somali writer on WardheerNews.com (his rendering of their very frugal yet rewarding life back in Mogadishu, in a serie of articles, was quite captivating):

 

 

"In his book, Happier, Tal Ben Shahar provides an eloquent summation of how one should approach the topic of happiness. Happiness can best be attained by:

 

-‘Creating rituals around the things we love,

 

-Expressing gratitude for the good things in our lives,

 

-Setting meaningful goals that reflect our values and interests,

 

-Playing to our strengths instead of dwelling on weaknesses, and

 

-Simplifying our lives—not just the stuff, but the time’.

 

Imam Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111) was a Muslim philosopher and the author of Kimiya-as-Sacaadah (The Alchemy of Happiness), a practical guide to happiness. He basically called for leading a purposeful life. Al-Ghazali prescribed a life of self-discipline and spiritual purity. To Ghazzali, self-realization is very important. “He who knows himself is truly happy.” The aim of moral discipline is “to purify the heart from the rust of passion and resentment till, like a clear mirror, it reflects the light of God.” Unhappiness is when one becomes slave to his desires. “In short, man in this world is framed in infirmity and imperfection. But if he desires and wills to free himself from animal propensities, and ferocious satanic qualities, he may attain future happiness.”

 

Personal growth and helping others are more likely to prompt happiness than money and status. According to Kennon Sheldon, professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, people pursue two types of goals, intrinsic and extrinsic. “Intrinsic goals are about personal growth and self-knowledge, connections and social intimacy with other people, and wanting to help the human community for altruistic reasons,” Dr. Sheldon said. “Extrinsic goals are about money, luxury, appearance, attractiveness, status, popularity, looks, and power.” Individuals driven by intrinsic goals are “significantly happier” than those pursuing extrinsic goals.

 

In a seventy-two year study, conducted by Harvard University’s psychiatrist Dr. George Valliant, looked at what makes men happy over their lifetime and discovered that happiness encompasses having good relationships, especially with their siblings and friends; adapting to crisis, and having a stable marriage. Moreover, avoiding smoking and chemical dependency, getting regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight further brighten the prospects of individual happiness.

 

Professor Chris Peterson of the University of Michigan suggests simply making strong personal relationships as top priority in order to ward off life’s daily trials and tribulations."

 

 

By Hassan M. Abukar

 

 

Read The Rest Here: "OK: So How Happy Are You?"

 

 

 

 

 

PS: The Health Challenges in Cold Countries by Dr Ahmed Omar Abdi is another absolute must read (how important sunshine or Vitamin D3 are and why many of us should indeed be very worried etc).

[Bluelicious]

I feel happy and sometimes shit happens but hey that's life and you gotta keep smiling and make the best out of it. Never let the challenges of life defeat you or affect your happiness

 

I just finished a whole research on vitamin D. It's amazing how many processes in the body are running on vitamin D it's so much more then just for your teeth and bones. Did you know that having good vitamin D levels help prevent cancer and diseases such as heart disease diabetes etc..

[Abu-Salman]

Indeed.

 

I must confess that this work in particular was quite an eye-opener on how destructive is the discounting of some "common wisdom" by not-so-scientific experts: "Vitamin D and cholesterol: the importance of the sun" by Dr David Grimes (published by York Tennison Pub 2009).

 

 

"Since its discovery in the early years of the 20th Century, and its use as the treatment of childhood rickets, vitamin D has become neglected. Cholesterol has developed as the thing to avoid, as responsible for so much disease. This book sets out to explain why these things have happened, explaining how the benefits of vitamin D extend beyond healthy bones to a vital role in the development of immunity. The deficiency of vitamin D, particularly in inadequate exposure to the sun, suppresses immunity and makes people susceptible to a number of diseases, including heart attack, stroke, several cancers, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The book also points out the misdirected obsession with cholesterol, which is not bad for us in the way that is generally portrayed. In fact vitamin D and cholesterol share the same precursor, a high cholesterol in the blood being the result of inadequate exposure to the sun. But the causes of so many modern diseases remain obscure. They are usually not the result of faulty living but due to the micro-organisms, the identity of which is not clear. It is the lack of sunlight and the resultant deficiency of vitamin D that makes people particularly susceptible to heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancer etc. The geography of disease within different countries, different parts of the UK and Europe, different socio-economic groups and different ethnic groups is also explained by varying levels of exposure to the sun. This is particularly true for immigrants in this country from South Asia, and even more so for their children. The importance of vitamin D for the developing foetus is explained. This books draws upon a wealth of information published in leading medical journals, and displays it clearly. It gathers together bits of information that have previously been published in isolation, and draws them together to form a coherant picture of health and illness."

 

 

Vitamin D and Cholesterol: The Importance of the Sun (Author: Dr David S. Grimes, 2009, York Tennison Pub 2009 )

 

 

 

 

 

PS: It is extraordinary that such vital information and knowledge are commonly overlooked as it lacks commercial potential but for those interested by Biology (and everyone should be), Vitamin D is also crucial in epigenetics.

 

Epi means "in addition to, upon" in Greek so epigenetics means all the phenomena around genes and their expressions as genes are not supreme deciders as usually thought, but thoughts as well as lifestyle influence genes and their expression (in short be positive, helpful to others and healthy: this will directly affects your genes, hence your biology and children).

 

Here is another masterpiece that must be in every shelf:

 

Nature Via Nurture: Genes, Experience, and What Makes Us Human(Matt Ridley, 2003).

[Blessed]

Thnaks for sharing these articles and must say that I loved reading The Alchemy of Happiness by AlGhazzali or anything by AlGhazali, really speaks to the soul. Need to read it again, InshaAllah.

 

On vitamin D deficiency, he suggests that sunblock should be avoided but then you're dealing with the potential of skin cancer caused by sun damage. hmmm. Speaking of happiness, the sun instantly cheers me up..

[Wiil Cusub]

Thnaks for sharing these valuable information. We know now that black ppl needs more vitamin D than white and my advice to every black person just use extra Vitamin D

[wyre]

[Abu-Salman]

Actually, sunshine may prevents or help with skin cancer; that is what Dr David Grimes demonstrates in his book (cosmetic creams and other chemicals sellers will of course deny it).

Skin cancer could actually be caused by the lack of sunshine as Australia has lower rates than the UK;

this debate is irrelevant for Somalis, South Asians and other groups with darker skins anyway.

That is why the kind of superficial science litteracy in societies dominated by commercial marketing, who even influence education or Doctors prescribing, could be more destructive than helpful.

It is so pervasive that medical training and clinicians literally promote the kind of "science" that fit along those commercial priorities.

Here are other topics adressed very convincingly through careful data analysis (as studies in themselves are easily manipulated):

 

Why are there high morbidity and mortality rates in the UK and northwest Europe?

Why do the populations of north-west England, Scotland and Northern Ireland have reduced life-expectancy compared to that of south-east England?

Why does living at a high altitude improve health and life-expectancy?

Why do poor people in north-west Europe have worse health and shorter life-expectancy than the wealthy?

Why do South Asian immigrants in the UK have a particularly high incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and end-stage renal failure?

Why do their children born in the UK have an even worse health profile?

Why do they share these risks with immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean?

 

Blog of the Book "Vitamin D and Cholesterol: The importance of the sun" by Dr David Grimes

 

I intuitively observed that too many Somalis suffered chronic conditions but now experts put them in the same category as those highly Vitamin D deficient South Asians disproportionally affected by diabetes etc, particularly whith pollution and chemicals, processed food, and the much lower levels of physical activity in Northern latitudes.

Children born from already highly deficient mothers in Northern latitudes also tend to be particularly unhealthy with many conditions much more common.

 

Vitamins and other artificial supplements may do more harm than good in general (not equivalent to natural vitamins, disturbances in the digestive system etc) and Vitamin D3 do not fully replace sunshine as Vitamin D3 is only part of the many benefits of sunshine, albeit a crucial one.

But the case of Vitamin D3 is very different (it is actually an hormone) and experts now recommend these following doses: an average of between 4000 and 10 000 IU (dark skinned individuals in Northern latitudes need the highest doses, likewise requirements increase from around 35 years of age and with illness (the commonly available form of vitamin D2, sold in tablets or added to regular food, is much less effective than D3).

Fat persons may need even more (up to 3-4 times more than the regular dose, as the Vitamin D3 hormon is fat soluble, to get similar blood concentration as others).

 

(how no sunshine and direct sun radiations, no gardens/open sky homes, buildings and pollution, wholly covered bodies combine into absolute local health disaster, especially among immigrants).

At the 33 th minute, the chapter 58 about pregancy is quoted as the most interesting of Dr David Grimes Book: women wanting to get pregnant are advised to go on holiday in the sun (the child share the mother reserves, which may often be already too low).

This is your child's best gift and as important as proper nutrition or fish omega 3 for his brain.

Additional presentations by renowned medical professors are also available online.

It is possible and common to be very deficient in Vitamin D even in tropical countries (covered housing, fully covered bodies etc).

 

Caution: Taking 50,000 international units (IU) a day of vitamin D for several months has been shown to cause toxicity[...]Doses higher than the RDA are sometimes used to treat medical problems such as vitamin D deficiency, but these are given only under the care of a doctor and only for a short time.

Although vitamin D toxicity is uncommon even among people who take supplements, you may be at greater risk if you have health problems, such as liver or kidney conditions, or if you take thiazide-type diuretics. As always, talk to your doctor before taking vitamin and mineral supplements

(mayoclinic.com)