This food unit helped a lot in learning of some healthy and unhealthy foods that human body consumes on daily basis. It is really hard to conclude the whole unit with some most important points. I have learned a lot about food and how it effects our health in positive or negative way. I realize that people around me have been playing an important role in providing benefit and profit to some industries which produce junk food and fast food. We discussed about different graphs showing obesity rates, income vs availibility of supermarkets.This entire learning through graphs helped in great understanding of how each thing is related to every other thing in case of food and health.

Everyone has different role in their food systems. My role is simply to eat that food which can benefit me health wise and also provide enough energy, vitamins, calciums etc. If I would be eating just junky and fast food that could make me unhealthy and cause diseases ( just like we learned about diseases that can be caused by eating unhealthy food), then I won’t be a healthy person anymore. It would also contribute in providing more benefits and profit to supermarkets because people would be leaned to go and buy healthy food including fruits and vegetables to keep obesity and other fatal diseases away from themselves. For my role, I would conclude this by saying that in order to become a role model, I eat fruits, vegetables and drink enough water to provide minerals to body and to stay away from diseases. 

I think there can be made a lot of changes in food choices for society but for me I don’t need to make a lot of changes in food choices because my family has already been eating organic and healthy food from years. And I learned this same thing from my family that eat natural, organic and cooked food instead of junk food. I lived in village which is one of reasons that why my family has been eating organic food from own fields. From my childhood to now, I have eaten a small amount of junk food. But still some changes are needed to make. I can say that I would eat more fruits and drink milk because I personally don’t eat too much fruit and drink milk. So changes in food choices can be concluded by saying that I would eat more fruit and drink milk to provide necessary calciums to my body in order to make my bones strong. This means I would definitely eat fruits because my uncle brings a lot of fruits in house and I have easily access to fruits and milk. 

                    Recepie and analysis of SHEER KHURMA

Cook time: 10 minutes

Serves: 1 medium sized bowl

Ingrediants:

milk 1 liter

shan sheer khurma mix 1 pack 

 Ingrediants in above pack:

Sugar

vermicellies 

raisins 

dry dates

pistachio

green cardamom

saffron

Directions

Boil milk and add Sheer Khurma mix. 

Keep stiring.

Keep boiling for about 10 minutes so that vermicellies are cooked and milk becomes thick.

Ready to go. Serve hot.

 For adding different tastes

Add one cup condensed milk in the boiling milk in above recepie.

OR

Make the Sheer Khurma cold, then add one cup of fresh cream and serve cold. 

 Analysis of recepie

This dessert has nothing to do with processed food on one side, although the “Sheer Khurma mix” pack is found in market but it has no artificial ingrediants or flavours. All ingrediants including nuts and dry fruit are just meant to put together in one pack so that people could buy and make the whole recepie in 10 minutes instead of 20-30 minutes. Ingrediants are produced and found naturally, without any other manufacturing processes. On the other hand, milk is processed because it is pasturized and that is why it is considered among processed food. 

 Nutrition Facts

Calories 232

Fat 5g

Carbohydrates 51g

Proteins 3g

Cholestrol 0 mg

 *232 calories in 1 serving

Calories Breakdown: 17% fat, 78% carbohydrates, 5% proteins 0% cholestrol 

 It is a traditional dish for muslims and is made especially on Eid ul Fitar. It is a healthier, satisfying and mouth watering dish which is a dessert but is not too sugary because it contains enough sugar with healthy dry fruits. If a person consumes this dish, his body would definitely respond in positive way because of balanced calories breakdown in recepie. It can be eaten in every season but I think if it is consumed in winter season, poeple would be able to feel energetic and warmed becaused of dry fruits and nuts in it which is considered as an important part of winter season. Eating this food daily wouldn’t be healthy because of the fact that amount of sugar would exceed in the body which would be bad for health.

 The “Shan Sheer Khurma mix” is a Pakistani brand of recepies and this pack came from Pakistan. While the gallon of milk is US brand and it was processed in the country (not sure of which state because it wasn’t mentioned). So obviously “Sheer Khurma mix” travelled farthest. As I said, milk is pasturized to kill bacteria responsible for many diseases which is obviously good for our health because it is a safer way to keep yourselves away from bacteria. The process of pasteurization requires energy and ultra pasteurization requires a lot more energy than simple method. It does use energy which is not good for the environment but if clean energy source is provided then it could not be bad.

 This meal cost about $5 or $6 because the pack is for $2 or $3 and milk for $3. It is close to cost of fast food. The reason why it is so cheap than other meals because it doesn’t require to buy all the ingrediants separately unless you buy for  decoration of recepie. All the ingrediants are placed in pack which is not so much expensive to buy. Pakistani brand and shoprite both make money off of it and also the dairy farms, food company, where milk was processed and ingrediants were packed or produced, respectively. 

 Companies do pasteurization to kill bacteria which can cause diseases. It is also done based on the reason that the milk would be refridgerated for some time and so that it would not cause any harm to the body. I think drinking fresh milk or using fresh milk (without pesteurization) is more healthier than this one. My family does not consider this milk more healthier than the one they had used to which is totally unpesteurized. 

Self Reflection 

        We read “The scarlet letter” and watched “Juno” in our sexuality and society class. Both stories portray the same themes and some messages but represents the different time periods of the world. “The scarlet letter” is a story of a women who becomes victim of public eye just because of committing an unforgettable sin of adultery. Many themes occur which directly relates to our sexuality and society class. “Juno” is other story of a teen girl who gets pregnant and reflects the story of modern Hestor Prynne. Both stories are not just congested in portraying the main ideas of sexuality and society but goes further and explains themes, ideas, symbols and messages which makes the reader enough flexible in understanding of sexuality and society and things beyond this. 

I chose the theme of Identity Vs Society, for this creative project. Identity and society are one of the main themes in both stories which are important because it explains how sometimes a personal identity actually looks like but how people are unaware of the real identity of an individual. In both stories, this theme is occurs as the prominent one. In Scarlet Letter, Dimmendale’s character was facing some inner destruction and he knew his identity but for people, due to his work and purity, Dimmensdale was a very young beautiful, genius and pure person who have served the community honestly. But she has shown wise enough to pull the situation on a right side so that she can solve the problem even though she was much younger than her perception and wise decisions. For her parents she was like a kid and in actual she was but her decision for making other's family happy was a proof of that she was not kid anymore. Here this shows a connection with The scarlet letter in a way that sometimes people think opposite of actual identity or stage where a person stands at that time. Although this does not directly relates with the Dimmensdale condition but shows the same idea behind them. For my final creative product, I could not put the situations of both them together but I chose to make a cage that could reflect the dimmensdale's situation but would be giving the same idea for both or any kind of situation like that. 

When I started to think about my creative piece, I decided to make a cage which would show my selected theme by representing a little piece of poetry and color selection which would be showing different meanings. I hanged a bird, broken feathers with poetry written on them, in the cage. I did not poetry by myself but I translated it from Urdu to English just to give a shape to my final piece. I chose to make feathers and bird all in red color because each color means something different. So the meaning of red or scarlet color is sin, flame and the things in this categories. For the outside of the look, I decided to choose green color because this color shows respect and honor. I put some flowers and butterflies to fully show what I wanted to present through it. So this whole piece describes an inner situation of a person and then how people are unaware of the internal destruction or internal happiness or things that portray the same idea behind something. I really tried to show the colors that mean something important in understanding of the theme and creative piece. 

For the picture of my final creative piece, I passed through different stages of thinking to finalize my thoughts. At first, i had a different idea about feathers and poetry. I thought I would just stick them inside the cage but that wasn’t enough for poetry so then i decided to hang them with string. Before hanging them, I had to arrange according to the lines of poetry. The making of whole piece was a fun for me but I faced some problems in making the cage with the paper. I think this was difficult and took more time because I made a craft like this first time. 

Now there are some parts I where I did good as well as some parts where i don’t think I did well. Well done parts include choosing of a theme and idea of how to present it. I think I was creative in doing this project as a whole because main parts of the project include the well presentation of ideas through various creative techniques. I took more time to finalize the product than choosing theme and idea. I did this crafts thing for the first that’s why it took me more time to stand the structure of this cage. I have a better idea of this project if I do this again because  this piece have some mistakes done by me. First one include small size of feathers which lead to small font size of my poetry. If I do this once again, I would focus on large size of feathers so that it would be easier to read the little piece of poetry. Also redoing would expand my mind and hands to do better to present the idea of theme based on colors and poetry.

the heart's desire 

was left ignored

and so this love madness grew

between us 

were these distances 

i know know what compelled us

a bit of my heart was drowning in sorrow

and a bit of it was a love madness

there were lonely nights 

and they stayed just so 

in these colorful tides

my eyes drowned 

what was unsaid, unheard

all that was to be said, my gestures articulated 

a bit of my heart was drowning in sorrow

and a bit of it was a love madness

Enemy of the state is a kind of interesting movie because as i was watching it i was learning about the government. in this movie, government is portrayed as intelligent as well as evil too. They were also a kind of superior to other American people. When we talk about the privacy of citizens in this movie, then i think citizen's privacy is not being respected in this movie as i saw they were putting some camera and all that showed me that citizens privacy in not being respected in this movie. 

I think government should have all access to our personal information because i believe that if government is not having any kind of personal information of any citizen, how would they be able to find terrorists living around us ( which is their responsibility to protect citizens from any suspicious or threatening activity). So in this case, government should have every kind of access to any kind of personal information of citizens. Also i don't think so that any individual's freedom should be restricted for safety of community because its citizens right and may be it can be restricted in some cases like when someone is doing any kind of suspicious activity being in a community of freedom, then in this case freedom can be restricted.

Do We Still Need the PATRIOT Act?

 USA PATRIOT ACT is about providing security and safety to citizens of USA and to prevent any national r foreign criminal activity or terrorist attacks. Also, it was created in response to 9/11 which was a definitely a big reality and a threat to all citizens of America. As this law provides safe and secure life to the people of its country, i think it still need to be in state of law because terrorism has not reached to its end in USA and people living in America still have right to live their life freely without fear of being targeted by any terrorism attack. Also it is the responsibility of Government to make such anti terrorism laws which can assure citizens of their safe lives. In this case, it is definitely true that this law is the need of people because they want there secure lives and no one in USA want to see any other attack similar to 9/11 and no one want to loose lives of their loved ones. 

So in conclusion, i would say PATRIOT ACT should remain in the state of LAW as it promises secure lives of Americans and protects people from domestic or international terrorists.

The Human Heart

Your heart is a muscular organ that pumps blood to your body. Your heart is at the center of your circulatory system. This system consists of a network of blood vessels, such as arteries, veins, and capillaries. These blood vessels carry blood to and from all areas of your body.

An electrical system controls your heart and uses electrical signals to contract the heart's walls. When the walls contract, blood is pumped into your circulatory system. Your heart is vital to your health and nearly everything that goes on in your body. Without the heart's pumping action, blood can't move throughout your body.

Your blood carries the oxygen and nutrients that your organs need to work well. Blood also carries carbon dioxide (a waste product) to your lungs so you can breathe it out.

A healthy heart supplies your body with the right amount of blood at the rate needed to work well. If disease or injury weakens your heart, your body's organs won't receive enough blood to work normally.

The heart is one of the most important organs in the entire human body. It is really nothing more than a pump, composed of muscle which pumps blood throughout the body, beating approximately 72 times per minute of our lives. The heart pumps the blood, which carries all the vital materials which help our bodies function and removes the waste products that we do not need. For example, the brain requires oxygen and glucose, which, if not received continuously, will cause it to loose consciousness.

The heart is essentially a muscle(a little larger than the fist). Like any other muscle in the human body, it contracts and expands. Unlike skeletal muscles, however, the heart works on the "All -or-Nothing Law". That is, each time the heart contracts it does so with all its force. In skeletal muscles, the principle of "gradation" is present. The pumping of the heart is called the Cardiac Cycle, which occurs about 72 times per minute. This means that each cycle lasts about eight-tenths of a second. During this cycle the entire heart actually rests for about four-tenths of a second.

The walls of the heart are made up of three layers, while the cavity is divided into four parts. There are two upper chambers, called the right and left atria, and two lower chambers, called the right and left ventricles. The Right Atrium, as it is called, receives blood from the upper and lower body through the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava, respectively, and from the heart muscle itself through the coronary sinus. The right atrium is the larger of the two atria, having very thin walls. The right atrium opens into the right ventricle through the right atrioventicular valve(tricuspid), which only allows the blood to flow from the atria into the ventricle, but not in the reverse direction. The right ventricle pumps the blood to the lungs to be reoxygenated. The left atrium receives blood from the lungs via the four pulmonary veins. It is smaller than the right atrium, but has thicker walls. The valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle, the left atrioventicular valve(bicuspid), is smaller than the tricuspid. It opens into the left ventricle and again is a one way valve. The left ventricle pumps the blood throughout the body. It is the Aorta, the largest artery in the body, which originates from the left ventricle.

The Heart works as a pump moving blood around in our bodies to nourish every cell. Used blood, that is blood that has already been to the cells and has given up its nutrients to them, is drawn from the body by the right half of the heart, and then sent to the lungs to be reoxygenated. Blood that has been reoxygenated by the lungs is drawn into the left side of the heart and then pumped into the blood stream. It is the atria that draw the blood from the lungs and body, and the ventricles that pump it to the lungs and body. The output of each ventricle per beat is about 70 ml, or about 2 tablespoons. In a trained athlete this amount is about double. With the average heart rate of 72 beats per minute the heart will pump about 5 litres per ventricle, or about 10 litres total per minute. This is called the cardiac output. In a trained athlete the total cardiac output is about 20 litres. If we multiply the normal, non-athlete output by the average age of 70 years, we see that the cardiac output of the average human heart over a life time would be about 1 million litres, or about 250,000 gallons(US).

Causes

Most heart attacks are caused by a blood clot that blocks one of the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries bring blood and oxygen to the heart. If the blood flow is blocked, the heart is starved of oxygen and heart cells die. A plaque can build up in the walls of your coronary arteries. This plaque is made up of cholesterol and other cells. A heart attack can occur as a result of plaque buildup. The plaque can develop cracks or tears. Blood platelets stick to these tears and form a blood clot. A heart attack can occur if this blood clot completely blocks oxygen-rich blood from flowing to the heart. This is the most common cause of heart attacks. The slow buildup of plaque may almost block one of your coronary arteries. A heart attack may occur if not enough oxygen-rich blood can flow through this blockage. This is more likely to happen when your body is stressed (for example, by a serious illness). The cause of heart attacks is not always known.

Heart attacks may occur:

 When you are resting or asleep

When you are active outside in cold weather

After sudden, severe emotional or physical stress, including an illness

Symptoms

The pain can be severe or mild. It can feel like:

A tight band around the chest

Bad indigestion

Something heavy sitting on your chest

Squeezing or heavy pressure

The pain usually lasts longer than 20 minutes. Rest and a medicine called nitroglycerin may not completely relieve the pain of a heart attack. Symptoms may also go away and come back.

Other symptoms of a heart attack include:

 Anxiety

Cough

Fainting

Light-headedness, dizziness

Nausea or vomiting

Shortness of breath

Sweating

Some people (the elderly, people with diabetes, and women) may have little or no chest pain. Or, they may have unusual symptoms (shortness of breath, fatigue, and weakness). A "silent heart attack" is a heart attack with no symptoms.

Citations:

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-symptoms

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/151444.php

 This story is actually about trials of Native Americans. This book is very interesting to read. It's about an indian boy (Junior)  who is born with a number of physical disabilities like water in brain. His parents are poor and always busy in their lives especially his father who is always drunk. He talks about his life and his parents lives that like him they also had a lot of dreams but there was no one to fulfill their dreams. Junior has his best friend who cares about him and protects him from other people who fights with Junior. Junior is a smart kid and always afraid of people but sometimes forget that he is afraid of those people and show a strong reaction to them. 

( i have not finished this book yet ) 

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a. What went well? 
We found a lot of resources, which helped in our understanding.
b. What did not? 
We could not use more infographics for a good visual.
c. What would you do differently next time? 
We would use more and unique infographics
d. Specifically comment on the 10 tips for effective infographics -

Be Concise : It was concise.