Now then, it is the weekend, and most of the day will be spent at home as Friday prayers are yet to be allowed in mosques (except for the Grand Mosque), though the five prayers a day started in a limited number of mosques under certain conditions and procedures. It is impossible to measure how happy people were to be able to pray in mosques. It was like someone who found his missing son, as described by a worshiper.

Well, the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is still with us, and it seems that it adopted our planet as its permanent home, so human beings are once again compelled to welcome an unwanted guest who will not go away and will join its ancestors of viruses who belong to the same ‘coronavirus’ family, like SARS and MERS.

I would like to express my sympathy to the World Health Organization (WHO), which seems to be under great pressure because of the criticisms it is facing. It made matters worse by announcing a few days ago that asymptomatic carriers of the virus do not infect others, only to come the next day and reverse the claim, saying that asymptomatic people were more likely to infect others at a higher rate than those who are symptomatic!

Enough of the pandemic and its fallouts and effects on all aspects of life. All of us with or without corona worry about health and wellbeing, and as I was reading a relatively long article about some types of foods, I was surprised by some information I was not aware of before, so I thought it would be good to share some examples with you.

Many of us keep food in the fridge to eat the next day being, unaware that this practice might actually be harmful, and could be among some reasons for food poisoning! There are foods that become toxic when they are reheated, though there are other foods that will not be harmful if heated several times.

Among the foods I read about are five items that drew my attention because of their popularity in this region. Those include spinach which should be eaten immediately after cocking, or if left for the next day, it should be eaten cold, because it contains nitrate, which becomes nitrite; a toxic element that can cause cancer. I was also surprised that potatoes lose their nutritious value when they are reheated, and can even become toxic.

Many of us eat eggs in many forms, yet if you reheat fried, cocked or boiled eggs, they become highly toxic and may adversely affect the digestive system!

It is very important for you to realize that chicken becomes highly dangerous if eaten after one or more days after cooking, because the protein structure changes when reheated. Mushrooms should be eaten immediately after cooking or without heating.

Having mentioned the foods and what happens to them, I should mention that each of our organs has a favorite meal of its own! Our hair prefers rocca, the brain loves grapes, coconut and fish, the heart craves for apples, while the liver goes for dates and grapes. Our digestive system and the intestines in particular prefer yogurt and apples. Kidneys love water and beans while the immune system is satisfied with garlic. Knees and articulates want cracked wheat and olive oil, and so on. The list is very long.

We must always thank God  for creating us and providing us with all that we need to lead a healthy life while we are on the face of this earth. God wanted us to use what we have, not abuse it.

Finally, Allah Almighty says in the holy Quran: “Have those who disbelieved not considered that Heavens and the earth were a joint entity, and we separated them and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe?” – 21-30.