Bacon Linked to Heart Failure & Diabetes...
A new Harvard study that found no increased risk of heart disease among meat eaters is generating a lot of buzz for red meat. “A Guilt-Free Hamburger,” reads one headline. “Order the Steak,” begins another. But the research, published this week in the journal Circulation, is not so much a celebration of red meat as it is an indictment of processed meats like bacon, sausage and deli meats. Eating one serving of those foods a day was associated with a 42 percent higher risk of heart disease and 19 percent increased risk of diabetes. But there was no increase in risk associated with eating unprocessed red meat. The findings come from a broad analysis of several studies tracking...
Eating Bacon Can Harm a Man’s Fertility...
Men who eat just one rasher of bacon a day could be reducing their chances of becoming fathers. Half a portion of processed meat such as a rasher or a small sausage can significantly harm sperm quality, scientists believe. Those who want to boost the odds of having a child should eat fish instead – with species such as cod or halibut appearing to have a particularly dramatic effect on fertility. The findings add to the growing evidence that a couple’s chances of having children is strongly governed by their lifestyle – with smoking, alcohol and stress having a detrimental effect and exercise and diet enhancing it. Experts are still unclear why certain foods can harm or promote...
Halal Products Exports Growth on Uptrend in Malaysia...
KUALA LUMPUR: The government expects the growth of Malaysia’s halal export to increase in line with the country’s total trade expansion which is projected at three per cent this year. International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said up to June this year, Malaysia had exported halal products worth RM15.7 billion. “Out of this figure, 14.4 per cent or RM1.6 billion was contributed by halal certified Bumiputera companies,” he said to reporters after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of collaborative arrangement between Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), SME Bank and Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju) here yesterday. Mustapa said based on export statistics, Malaysia was the biggest halal product exporter among the countries in the...
Can Islamic Finance Feed a Sustainable Economic System?...
Is your mortgage halal? How about your pension? Islamic finance has been a significant global force for the past few decades, but in recent years sharia-compliant saving and investing have become more common in the United States. For example, in June, Goldman Sachs provided a loan to Arcapita Bank, an Islamic investment company, that in compliance with sharia law did not charge interest. In July, a US-based trade association, the World Council of Credit Unions, published a manual explaining to would-be community financiers in developing countries how to operate sharia-compliant credit unions. Western discussions of sharia law often focus on extremist groups imposing brutal interpretations of these legal codes on unwilling populations. But sharia law, which derives from the Qur’an and the religious teaching...
The Mercy Behind Halal Slaughter Methods...
Like many religions, Islam is often misunderstood not only by non-Muslims but even by many Muslims as well. This is partly to do with how Islamophobic media sources portray Islam, and partly to do with how Muslims misrepresent their own religion. On the other hand, misconceptions of Islam, particularly in the west, by simply be down to a miscommunication between the two civilizations. However, when the two sides discusses these perceived differences through respectful and informed dialogue, they often find that they have more in common than they might have thought. One of many areas where this breakdown in understanding exists is the rituals surrounding Eid ul-Adha. On this day, millions of Muslims all over the world sacrifice...
Islamic finance ready to move into fast lane...
Ethical banks could grab half of regional market within years Islamic banks are set to have the same share of the Middle East’s banking industry as their conventional rivals by the end of the decade, a major international lender has said. Leading executives at global institution Standard Chartered say Sharia-compliant banks are on track to boast around half of the region’s banking assets by 2020 – on the back of surging growth which has seen the industry expand by 30 per cent in the region in just two years. Standard Chartered say Islamic banking now accounts for 25 per cent of the UAE banking industry. “It’s not niche any more – it’s becoming part of regular banking,” Khalid...
Quick Links
