MARCHÉ

Marché, that's the name of the restaurant where I had lunch with a friend on Monday.

Berdasarkan hasil meng-google, ternyata "Marché"adalah nama sebuah daerah di Italia Tengah di benua Eropa sana. Dan tidak heran suasana itulah yang terasa saat berada di restoran ini. Suasana yang sangat berbeda dari kebanyakan restoran dan absolutely refreshing.

Terletak di lantai 3 A West Mall, Grand Indonesia Jakarta Pusat, restoran bercita rasa Eropa (Swiss & Italia) ini memang menampilkan konsep yang belum familiar bagi kebanyakan masyarakat Indonesia. Dari luar, dinding restoran didominasi oleh kayu dan jendela-jendela kaca ala "cabin" atau rumah gaya Eropa. Selain itu terdapat area serupa patio atau teras yang cukup luas berisikan meja dan kursi tempat para pengunjung makan.

Saat memasuki pintu restoran, seorang staff akan memberikan kita sebuah "passport" berbentuk card. Rupanya dengan card inilah pesanan kita "dicatat" ke dalam database atau komputer restoran, dengan cara "digesek". Sistem seperti ini juga diterapkan di restoran Urban Kitchen di Senayan City.

Suasana di dalam restoran Marché benar-benar unik dan berbeda. Setiap jenis makanan diwakili dengan stand atau gerai. Ada macam-macam pizza, pasta, steak, grilled meat, salad, soup, beverages, and so much more. Tapi yang semakin membuat restoran ini tampak menarik adalah apa yang didisplay di setiap gerai makanan. 

Pada setiap gerai, dibuat rak-rak yang diisi bahan-bahan untuk membuat makanannya. Seperti misalnya pada gerai salad, rak-rak di gerai diisi dengan bahan-bahan membuat salad, seperti, selada, cheese, tomat, and a lot more.

Untuk gerai pizza ada bahan-bahan untuk membuat pizza seperti jamur, all kinds of vegetables, pepperoni, ham, sosis, dan lain-lain. Seluruh bahan-bahan makanan itu disusun pada rak-rak seperti layaknya di pasar.

Dan sepertinya memang inilah yang ingin ditunjukkan oleh pengonsep Marché. Suasana ala pasar di Swiss dan negara Eropa. Selain itu, meja dan kursi tempat tamu menikmati makanan juga tersebar di beberapa bagian restoran. Tidak disatukan seperti di kebanyakan restoran. Sekali lagi, suasananya benar-benar unik.

Kami akhirnya memesan small Vegetarian Pizza with mushroom, tomato and egg-plant (terong) for the toppings. Kita juga memesan Ceasar Salad and Grilled Marinated Chicken with Mashed Potato. Dan rasanya... hmmmmmmm..... Nggak rugi deh. Enak banget. Pizzanya dibakar sampai crunchy dan rasanya sangat enak. Jauh dengan pizza di restoran pizza terkenal yang "you know what" lah. Apalagi kejunya benar-benar terasa. Nikmat banget.

Ceasar Saladnya is to die for. It was so delicious. Walaupun kita memesan yang small portion but it was still very much enough for two people. Dressingnya nggak sekedar mayonaise botolan yang selama ini juga dihidangkan di restoran pizza itu tuh. Ada sedikit campuran olive oil di dalamnya. And it tasted heavenly. 

Grilled Marinated Chicken-nya juga nggak kalah lezat. Dilengkapi dengan mushroom gravy yang mantap, membuat lidah nggak bisa berhenti mengunyah. Waduh, excellent deh pokoknya. Bagi pecinta juice, juice di Marché tidak perlu diragukan originalitas-nya. Fresh from the fruits, yang juga didisplay di depan gerai juice.

The food is a bit pricey, but it's worth it. Especially for those who enjoy European food. But I wouldn't recommend it for those who are accustomed with spicy and seasoning-filled foods like Indonesian food. Karena memang bumbunya sesuai selera Eropa. And for me who basically have a very wide range  of taste in food ;-), it was really a delightful tongue experience.

Dan bagi mereka yang prefer to seek new atmosphere in dining or eating out, I'm telling you, this place is worth the try. Kita bisa makan dengan santai di sini. Oh, I almost forgot. There's also a playground for children. Jadi bagi siapapun yang mau ke sana sambil membawa keluarga terutama anak-anak, don't worry if your kids will get bored easily. They can spend their time on the playground while waiting for the food to arrive.

THE DELICIOUS ICE CREAM

Ice cream. Who does not like the cold and sweet sensation that this dish produces once it enters our mouth? Most people from wide range of ages love it. However, there are several issues regarding ice cream. There are opinions saying that it can cause coughing, and even obesity. Another opinion claims that it is good for the bones. 

Ice cream is basically a semi-solid form of dish, which is made of milk-fat, non-fat skim milk, sugar, stabilizer ingredients, emulsion, and flavors. According to Indonesian National Standard, ice cream is a semi-solid food made by freezing the ice cream flour/ powder or the mixing of milk, animal or vegetable fat, sugar, with or without other edible ingredients. While the wikipedia describes ice cream as a frozen dessert made from dairy product such as milk and cream, combined with flavorings and sweeteners, such as sugar, and possible other ingredients.

It is said that ice cream came from China. It was during the Tang period (618-97 AD) when a dish similar to ice cream appeared in the region. The ice-cream-like dish was made especially for the King using buffalo milk, flour, and camphor. Then around 2000 BC, ice cream showed up in the country with the form of a soft milk and rice mixture packed in snow, which made it solid. One of the earliest records of ice cream was during the 54 AD when the Emperor Nero ruled. He would serve “sweet snow’, snow from the mountain that flavored with honey, wine or fruit, for his guests at the palace.

Ice cream is probably the most popular dish through out the world.  In 2003, the production of the world’s ice cream had reached up to one billion liters and was consumed by billons of consumers per year.

There are several opinions develop these days by media that ice cream is actually healthy, unlike what has been said before. There are researches that said that ice cream is one of the dishes with high values of nutrition. The high-value of nutrition inside ice cream very much depends on the nutrients inside the ingredients.

The nutrition contained inside ice cream was supported by its main ingredients, non-fat milk and skim milk. It is safe to claim that milk is an almost perfect food due to its almost perfect complete nutritional substances content. Scientists had found more than 100.000 kinds of molecule contained inside milk. Other than water and fat, the molecules include protein, carbohydrate, mineral, enzymes, vitamin A, C, and D. Some scientists even proclaimed that milk is included in the group of functional foods, which own other health effects beside the nutritional effects.

One expert, Dr Ali Khomsan, an expert in nutrition from Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), once stated that ice cream is actually has higher nutritional value compared to other kind of beverages, because it is made of milk. The dominant nutritional components in 100 gram ice cream are the amount of calorie (207 gram), protein (4.0 gram), and fat (12.5 gram).

There are several “stories about ice cream that being misinterpreted. It is said that there has been a misconception among people regarding the idea that ice cream can cause obesity. The truth is, there are only 10% calorie and 15% fat contained inside ice cream, which are a very small amount to be able to cause obesity. The obesity is more caused by over consumption of calorie, lack of physical activities, and genetic.

What about the belief among people that ice cram can also cause a person, who consume it get cough and cold? This is also said to be a misunderstanding. People most-likely believe in this due to the cold sensation of ice cream. On the contrary, once ice cream enters the mouth, it will immediately melt because of the influence of body temperature. When ice cream got inside the throat, its temperature would no longer be as cold as cold water. Unlike when we drink cold water or cold orange juice, where the cold water went straight through the throat.

So consuming ice cream is actually quite safe and healthy. As long as we do not consume it more than what we supposed to. And another thing is that we have to be cautious with unbranded ice cream, which is a homemade industry ice cream. Because the process of making the ice cream in this kind of industry cannot be monitored by the authorized party. Moreover, the hygienic quality of the ingredients they use cannot be guaranteed.

 

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com

http://www.cnn.com

http://www.NaturalNews.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com

http://www.sinarharapan.co.id

http://honeybunnyyummy.blogjurnalistikonlain.com

http://en.wikipedia.org

A Doll for My Sister

This is something I read from http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2046005/princess_bella_edward..

It's a very touching story about a little boy trying to buy a doll for his sister... I hope this story will touch your heart dearly...

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, "I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll."

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''

The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.''

Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look a round. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

"It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her."

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. "No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there."

His eyes were so sad while saying this. "My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.'' My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: "I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall." Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing.

He then told me "I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me. I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister." Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. "Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''

"OK" he said, "I hope I do have enough."

I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said: "Thank you God for giving me enough money!"

Then he looked at me and added, "I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!''

"I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses."

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.

I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever.. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

The Musing of My Life

Sudah beberapa waktu terakhir ini aku bertanya pada diri sendiri...
Kenapa aku ngga merasa apa yang seharusnya dirasakan orang yang sedang berada di dalam situasiku
Aku baru lepas dari beban yang telah lama menderaku
Beban yang kalau ku pertahankan bisa membuatku kehilangan jati diriku yang sebenarnya
Membuatku menjadi manusia yang tidak punya rasa selain teror
Manusia yang tidak punya hidup selain rutinitas yang menjadi kewajibanku hampir setiap waktu
Masalahnya beban inilah yang memastikan aku dan orang-orang yang kusayangi bertahan hidup
Beban inilah yang bisa membiayai kebutuhan hidupku
Dengan melepasnya, hilanglah kepastian hidup itu

Tapi kalau kupikir-pikir lagi, inti kehidupan itu adalah ketidakpastian
Kalau kita sudah tahu pasti apa yang bakal terjadi di masa depan,
Atau kita sudah "nyaman" dengan rutinitas hidup
Bagiku itu bukan lagi hidup

Hidup adalah menanti sesuatu yang tak terduga
Hidup adalah mencari apa yang kita inginkan, walau tidak pasti bisa menemukannya
Hidup adalah kebebasan, yang walaupun pasti ada beban namun tidak lantas membuatku harus kehilangan keceriaan dan kebahagiaan

Mungkin ini pulalah yang membuatku tidak merasakan kesedihan atau kebingungan yang harusnya kurasakan setelah kehilangan kepastian itu...
Dan alasan mengapa aku tidak begitu berambisi, terburu-buru mencari gantinya..
Karena aku ingin menikmati saat sekarang
Aku ingin menikmati kebebasan yang kurasakan saat ini
Karena setelah mengalaminya beberapa waktu terakhir ini...
Aku justru menemukan apa yang menjadi impianku
Apa yang menjadi kemauanku
Dan apa yang kuinginkan dalam kehidupanku, sekarang dan di masa depan
Aku mulai menggenggam jati diriku..

Hope is on the horizon

The Wonders of Chocolate

What comes in your mind when you hear the words “Chocolate”? Obviously you will think of something sweet, milky, and delicious. Moreover, for some people who are fanatics with this delicacy, consuming chocolate can make them feel as if they are in heaven on earth. So, what chocolate really is? And is it true that chocolate, which some opinions claimed can be fattening, actually has the beneficial factors for human’s health? 

Chocolate probably is one of our favorite delicacies. However, there are pros and contras regarding to this delicacy. The contras said that chocolate can caused several health problems, such as high cholesterol, acnes, and many more. On the other hand, the pros claimed that chocolate actually has beneficial factors for human’s health.

Chocolate is a food produced from the seed of cacao tree. The cacao itself natively grew on the lowland area of South America. It has been cultivated for 3000 years in Central America and Mexico. The Aztec and Maya Tribes believed that chocolate is the foods of the Gods, and the God of agriculture had sent it from heaven to them.

Chocolate, in the beginning, commonly consumed as beverage. Even the word “chocolate itself came from the word “xocoatl” (Aztec language) which meant “bitter water”. However, in its development chocolate expand not only becoming beverage but also snacks like we know today, that loved by people from different ages.

For those who love chocolate, however, it seems like there is this “guilty feeling” they feel after consuming it. It is caused by general assumption about chocolate itself among people, that no matter how delicious it tastes, it has negative effects to health. Chocolate is claimed to have the effect to cause obesity because of its high level of cholesterol, to cause the growth of acne, and more. But do you know that chocolate actually has beneficial factor for human’s health?

The Healthy Dark Chocolate

Recent studies show that dark chocolate or cocoa might have certain good effects on human’s health.  Dark chocolate has high content of cocoa, which is rich with flavonoids; the naturally occurring compounds found in plant-based foods recognized as exuding certain health benefits. Flavonoids provide crucial protective benefits to plants, such as in repairing damage and shielding from environmental toxins. It is believed to have the antioxidant power. Several studies have indicated a slight reduction in blood pressure and flow-mediated dilation after consuming about 100 grams of dark chocolate per day.

It is said that small but regular amounts of dark chocolate reduced the possibility of heart attack, caused by cholesterol imbalance. This could happen because of two-thirds of the fat in the chocolate comes in the forms of saturated fat called stearic acid and a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid. Unlike other saturated fats, stearic acid does not increase the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the bloodstream. It seems that consuming relatively large amounts of dark chocolate and cocoa don’t raise serum LDL cholesterol levels. On the other hand, some studies indicate that it could reduce them. Small but regular amounts of dark chocolate can lower the chance of heart attack.

 Chocolate is also known to function as aphrodisiac. It has been found recently, that substances in chocolate (theobromine and other chemicals), work as mild sexual stimulants. There is no solid proof about this function, however chocolate is commonly chosen as gift for a familiar courtship ritual.

Moreover, research done by Harvard School of Public Health’s researchers found that people who eat chocolate and sweets for three times per month live almost one year longer than people who eat too much or who stay away from junk food altogether. Also, dark chocolate is believed to have the ability of lowering blood pressure and improving insulin sensitivity. The study of this, was done in Italy, and showed that three and a half ounces a day of dark chocolate over several weeks can do exactly that.

Just like quoted from what Chef Benty Diwansyah said, “chocolate alone does not cause obesity. But inside a bar of chocolate that sold in the market today, there are additional ingredients that can cause obesity. Ingredients such as sugar and full cream milk. For you who care so much about this issue, you should choose dark chocolate with high amount of cocoa. The dark chocolate has lesser sugar amount and does not contain full cream milk.”

However, although now you know that chocolate, particularly dark chocolate is beneficial for our health, it does not mean that you have to consume chocolate all the time and eat more chocolate products. Chocolate bars and candies are mostly high in fat, sugar, and calories. Just consume it wisely, not too much. And, do not depend your antioxidants sources from chocolate only. No matter what, consuming foods with high fiber is much better for our health. Do not replace the common healthy foods with chocolate.

Sources: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate
http://www.immunesupport.com/
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/ 
http://www.bellaonline.com/ 
http://www.healthcastle.com/chocolate-cocoa-benefits.shtml
http://www.priuk.com/forum
more

Walking Down The Memory Lane

Sebenarnya aku mau menulis ini sejak kemarin. Hanya saja, karena kecapekan, jadi ngga sempat buka blog lagi.

Anyway, kemarin itu ceritanya aku jalan-jalan ke Mal Kelapa Gading (MKG) dengan seorang teman. Sebenarnya tadinya ngga ada niat untuk ke sana. Jam 10 aku sengaja jalan ke salon langganan. Biasalah untuk perawatan rambut dan sekalian potong rambut juga. Setelah dari sana renacananya aku mau ke Arion. Mau ambil kartu MCC ku.

Sekitar jam 13.30 an, ketika lagi finishing, pas lagi di blow, aku iseng SMS temanku.

"Lagi di mana?"

Nggak lama dia balik SMS, "Lagi on the way ke MKG."

Akhirnya, kita pun janjian ketemu di sana. Secara, aku juga belum makan siang. Jadilah dari salon aku langsung berangkat ke sana.

Setelah sampai di sana, dan ketemu, kami pun makan bareng di Secret Recipe. Karena dia sudah lunch duluan, jadi temanku itu hanya memesan sepotong blueberry cheese cake & oreo milkshake. Sedangkan aku memesan grilled barbeque chicken & orange squash. Sambil menikmati makanan kita pun ngobrol macam-macam. Mulai dari makanan di situ, kegiatan hari itu, anak & keluarga dia, dan teman-teman.

Perbincangan soal teman teman inilah yang kemudian membawa ingatanku kembali ke jaman ABG dulu. Dan tempat kenangan terindahnya tak lain dan tak bukan adalah MKG. Tempat kami biasa hang out dari pagi sejak mal buka sampai sore hari menjelang maghrib.

Memang, MKG ini menyimpan banyak kenangan untukku pribadi. Pertama kali menginjakkan kaki di mall ini adalah ketika aku masih duduk di bangku SMA kelas 2. Sejak saat itu, MKG memang jadi tempat hang out favoritku & teman-teman.

Masih lekat dalam ingatanku gimana kita bisa menghabiskan waktu seharian di sana. Apalagi waktu jaman kuliah. Kalau lagi nggak ada kuliah, biasanya jam 10 kita sudah ada di sana. Bayangkan jam 10!! Kebanyakan toko di MKG juga belum buka waktu itu. Biasanya kami cuma jalan2 keliling mall. Kalau lagi ada film yang bagus kami sempatkan nontong bareng. Habis itu, biasanya kami makan. Terkadang di Bakmi GM, Wendy's (dulu Wendy's masih ada di gedung sendiri di sebelah MKG yg sekarang udah berubah jadi La Piazza), KFC (gedung yang ada di seberang MKG), atau Donner Kebab.

Habis makan, kami ngga langsung pulang. Biasanya kami langsung ke Gramedia. Kadang cuma liat-liat buku atau stationery yang lucu-lucu. Tapi favoritku ya ke toko kaset Disc Tarra. Karena memang hobiku beli CD (jaman dulu kaset hehehe...) dan film (dulu VCD). Habis itu kami keliling lagi. Kalau capek atau haus kami nongkrong di Cafe Excelso, atau beli ice cream New Zealand. Dulu kami memang masih bergantung pada uang jajan dari orang tua. Jadi belum kepikiran tuh yang namanya kehabisan uang. Beda dengan sekarang. Harus berpikir ribuan kali kalau harus menghabiskan uang di mall dalam sehari seperti itu.

Kangen juga rasanya melakukan apa yang kulakukan bersama teman-temanku waktu itu. Ingin mengulang lagi dengan teman-teman yang sama pula. Sayangnya ya jaman sudah berubah. Life goes on. Teman2 itu sudah menyebar dan sibuk dengan kegiatannya masing-masing, baik bekerja atau spend time dengan keluarga.

Ingin rasanya sehari saja menikmati waktu seperti dulu. Bebas tanpa beban. Tugas kami cuma belajar dan bisa lulus setiap mata kuliah.

Ahhh... indahnya memori.

URINE FOR YOUR HEALTH???

Is there any limitation for human being to find medicine for their health? Because this time, we are going to talk about something very unusual, maybe even disgusting for most people to consume as medicine.

Urine is the liquid waste that excreted by the kidneys, then released from the body through the process of urination. The urine excretion is needed to remove leftover molecules in the blood which is filtered by the kidneys and to maintain the homeostasis of body liquid. The main function of urine is to cast the leftover substances such as toxics or medications from inside the body.

The general presumption of urine is a “dirty” substance, is related to the possibility of the urine went out from the infected kidneys or infected urethra which make it contained with bacteria. However, if the urine came out from healthy kidneys and urethra, medically it is actually quite sterile and almost has no smell after it came out of the body. Only, for several moments after getting out of the body the bacteria would contaminate the substances inside the urine and produce the typical smell, particularly the ammonia smell.

The Use of Urine for Human Health

The use of urine for medication actually has been implemented for thousand of years. In India for example, the urine therapy has been done since 5000 years ago. In ancient India, people usually take care of their health by drinking 1 glass of urine every day. The custom is actually still being done by most of Indian people, even by important people, such as the former Prime Minister Morarjibhai Desai. He wrote his experience with urine therapy on the Time Magazine in the year of 1979.

In the ancient Chinese Literature, Shang Han Lung (Treatise on Febrile Disease) written by Chang Yi, during the Han Dynasty (1700 years ago), there is a note about urine therapy. It said that the therapy is very good for accelerating blood circulation, for tranquilizer, and healing fever, eye diseases, and wounds like bruises.

During the Aztec period, the Aztec healers use urine to wash outside wounds as prevention from infections. They also told their patients to drink it to heal stomachache and intestine diseases.

The ancient Romans used urine as bleaches for their clothes. While in Siberia, the Kroyak drank the urine of people who consumed “fly agaric” (one type of toxic fungus than can cause hallucinations, and even death) or something else of its kind to communicate with the holy spirits.

The urine therapy is believed can cure numerous kinds of diseases, such as cancers, gastric problems, intestine infections, bronchitis, asthma, heart disease, high/ low blood pressure, rheumatic, osteoporosis, insomnia, headache, epilepsy, backache, hepatitis, and many more. It is also believed to soften the skin, to remove flexes, to make the gray hair becoming black again, and more.

Clinical studies have proved that the thousands of critical body chemicals and nutrients that end up in urine reflect an individual’s body function. When re-utilized, these chemicals and nutrients act as natural vaccines, antibacterial, antiviral, and antiarcinogenic agents, as well as hormone balancers and allergy relievers.

So, will all the explanations above motivate you to choose the urine therapy as another alternative to maintain your health?

Gathered from many sources.
 

DURIAN AND THE STROKE

Durian (Surio zibenthinus Murr) is one of the plants that grows on the tropical areas. The name “durian” was assumed coming from a Malay term “duri” (means thorn) and given the word “an” as the suffix, so it became “durian”. The word has come to the meaning of a fruit whose skin is filled with sharp thorns.

Durian is widely known in Southeast Asia as the King of Fruits. It is known to have been consumed since prehistoric time in the region, but has only been known to the western world for about 600 years.

Not only consumed fresh, durian flesh can also be processed into many kinds of dishes. We often see ice durian, durian flavored candy, and it even processed into one of Indonesian food ingredients called tempoyak. Tempoyak is some kind of paste made from durian flesh that has been salted and left for a few days before it is ready to be cooked.

The Nutrients in Durian

We have assumed that durian is quite a fatty fruit. It turned out that the fruit contains only 3% of fat. Even the content of fat inside avocado is about twice of it, around 6.5%. Durian also contains high amount of sugar, vitamin C, potassium, and the serotoninergic amino acid tryptophan. It is also a good source of carbohydrates, and proteins. The content of phosphor and iron inside the fruit are about 10 times of the same substances contained in bananas.

From the strong odor many believe that durian contained alcohol. Is it true? Several studies about the case did find alcohol, such as ethanol and methanol inside the fruit but the compound is known to be unstable, can easily evaporate and disappear. There are some people who hastily associate the strong odor of durian with the amount of alcohol contained inside it. They believe that the stronger it smells, the higher the amount of alcohol inside. However, up to this day there is still no agreement yet about the cause of the strong odor.

In 1995, Wong and Tie, in their research, had found 63 compounds that can easily evaporate (volatile compounds), including 30 esters, 5 ketones, and 16 sulfur compounds, which took the part on producing the odor of durian. But they never found any compounds of ethanol, methanol, ethyl metacrylate and other sulfur compounds, which had been mentioned by earlier researchers. From the researches can be concluded that consuming durian would not give the effect of intoxicated, unlike consuming liquors.

There is also a belief that consuming durian can make your body feel warm or sometimes even hot. This actually depends on how many durians a person consumes. Durian does produce pretty high amount of calories; 100 grams of durian flesh produces about 124-18805 calories. So, it is not a surprise if you consume durian in quite high amount, for example 300 grams, the calorie it produces can reach up to 500. This obviously will make the body feel warm or even hot. This fact has made many people believe that durian can also function as an aphrodisiac fruit.

What about the belief among people that durian can be lethal for people with high-blood pressure and a bad heart condition? The truth is, up to this day, there is still no scientific proof published claimed what substances contained in durian that can cause the stroke or heart attack. It is actually not the durian that causes the illnesses, but how many it is being consumed. Dr. Santoso Karo-Karo, SpJP, a cardiologist from RS Harapan Kita said that he had never forbid his patients from eating durians, as long as they eat it moderately, not too much.

So, once again, the key of consuming any food is moderation. Never consume anything more than we should. This obviously also works with durians. However, I left all the decision to you. I am not here to suggest you to consume durian whenever you want to. In the end, it is you and your doctor who know what is the best food for you to maintain your health.

 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://warintek.bantul.go.id

http://www.gizi.net

http://www.kompas.co.id

http://www.sedap-sekejap.com

http://id.answers.yahoo.com

http://www.rileks.com

http://www.juntak.com