Red means:
Yellow means:
Green means:
Here's a link to our Division of Air Quality Website that explains it more. I'm glad I checked the site today, because the air looks terrible, but the tiny particles in the air that can cause damage to the lungs are still in the "good" category. It can be a little confusing. But it's good to know that the hazy days aren't going to cause any problems to me right now. Some days we have a hard enough time as it is just breathing. I don't need dirty air making it worse.
It's looks like we're in the green zone today, so I think I'll take a walk during lunch to stay awake. Then it's back to the computer!
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How much do genes affect your health? | |||||||||
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| By Jonathan Wong Do you know people who can eat pizza and drink beer every day, yet have a slim physique? Or perhaps they even have "six pack abs" despite a less than ideal lifestyle? While others have to train and eat healthy almost all the time to get the same result? We all probably know a few of each kind of person. So what is my point? There can be big differences in how we respond to training and nutrition depending a lot on our genes. Why does a high carbohydrate diet work for some people? While a high protein, low carbohydrate diet works well for others? While some of it has to do with our activity level, much of it has to do with our genetics. A person following a lifestyle that is not suited to their genetics would end up with poor results, and a lot of frustration. At my fitness centre in Singapore, I have a male client who weights about 75kg, has sub 6 per cent body fat (veins popping out in his thighs and calves and a nice 6-pack of abs), is strong and has a very nice looking physique. He eats only two meals of unhealthy food per day or sometimes one. He trains with average consistency, and he sleeps only 4-5 hours per night. Most people who live a lifestyle like this would be 26 per cent body fat (i.e. obese), and have less energy than a person with a bad hangover! How come he can get away with that? Simple. Genetically, he is more gifted. Some Can, Some CannotSuch a person has a better ability to use carbohydrates instead of storing them as fat. They also usually have strong stress management systems, and a good ability to detoxify many harmful hormones and chemicals.The rest of us probably need to do a lot more planning, and training to get a similar result. It can be done, but it just takes more love - love of being healthy, strong and fit. At the Olympics, the world record holder in the 100m, Usain Bolt, was known to eat a meal of McNuggets before the race. This is by no means an ideal meal, but for a person of his ability, its just fine. He won the gold medal of course. Michael Phelps eats a high-refined carbohydrate, high-starch, 12000-calorie per day diet and wins multiple medals in Olympic swimming. (He also has long arms and flipper-like double jointed, big feet). But You Have Some ControlBut not to fear, genetics do not determine your destiny. You still have some control. Genetics (despite what some over-enthusiastic media reports claim) are not the only determining factor on your life.Genes only express themselves (turn-on) in the correct environment. So if we create a good environment, good genes have a tendency to express themselves more, and bad genes express themselves less. I'll give an example. Most of you know Yao Ming, the 7 1/2 foot tall Chinese basketball player. He is married to a member of the China national women's basketball team. If I asked you, do their children have the genes to be tall? The answer is "Of course!" However, what if, for example, the child was brought up in a place like sub- Saharan Africa where famine is a common occurrence. Would the child be tall? Or rather, would the child be as tall as his genes allowed him/her to be? The answer is: "Of course, not." The environment of malnutrition would not allow the full expression of the "tall" genes. The same holds true for you and me. Your ancestors may have been obese, had diabetes, had high blood pressure, had cancer, had this and that. It may even be true that you have the genes for such disease Cultivate good habits to combat 'bad' genesBut if you do your best to put your body in the right environment, the chance of such unfortunate illnesses happening to you can be reduced greatly.It is hard for a bad gene to express itself in a well nourished, well exercised, emotionally healthy person with a positive outlook on life. A way that one PhD scientist explained it, was that when you put yourself in a good environment, the parts of your genes that are "bad" and likely to cause problems are "skipped" when your body is reading the genes. This makes them unable to assert their bad influence on your health. So, as in many things, actions are way better than simply thinking or worrying! Maximise your health with good habits and positive relationships and keep those bad genes from being read. This article was contributed by Jonathan Wong, a personal trainer and weight loss coach. Coach Jon, as he is known to his clients, owns Genesis Performance Center, a private health and fitness centre that offers personal training and fitness bootcamps in Singapore. To find out more, visit www.coachjon.com. | |||||||||
| Fruity cocktails count as health food, study finds | |||||||||
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| WASHINGTON, April 19 (Reuters) - A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday. Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found. Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Dr. Korakot Chanjirakul and colleagues at Kasetsart University in Thailand and scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture stumbled upon their finding unexpectedly. They were exploring ways to help keep strawberries fresh during storage. Treating the berries with alcohol increased in antioxidant capacity and free radical scavenging activity, they found. Any colored fruit or vegetable is rich in antioxidants, which are chemicals that can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of compounds called free radicals. Berries, for instance, contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. People who eat more of these fruits and vegetables have a documented lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases. The study did not address whether adding a little cocktail umbrella enhanced the effects. | |||||||||
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| You are also what you drink | |||||||||
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| Pooja Vig for Mind Your Body The writer, a microbiologist, has worked in health care for 12 years. She is pursuing a degree in nutritional medicine. Fruit is healthy. Fruit juice is made from fruit. And so, it follows, that juice must be healthy. Right? Not always. It is one of many common misunderstandings that surround the link between health and what one drinks. A recent Australian study found that primary schoolchildren who regularly consume fruit juice and other fruit drinks are about twice as likely to be overweight. That???s not all. Last month, a pair of students in New Zealand found that Ribena has almost no vitamin C. Tests done on the Ribena sold here, we are told, do in fact contain the levels required to be classified as a ???rich in vitamin C??? product. We expect to be able to drink to our health. There are historical reasons for this ??? along with some hefty misconceptions. It all started harmlessly with natural spring water. Our ancestors bathed in it and drank it for good health, and soon after, started adding herb and fruit extracts to it. The first carbonated soft drink ??? created by a doctor to be sold at pharmacies as a health drink ??? was an evolution of the same concept. Watch out for sugar Fast-forward to today, and soft drink companies are scrambling to get beyond their tainted image to offer healthier options, especially for children who now get rationed amounts of soft drinks. All this makes fruit juice just so ripe for the picking. But, if fruit juice requires caution, how do you differentiate liquid wellness from liquid candy? Start by looking out for sugar levels. Then, look at what other benefits the drink might offer. Top of the list ??? as expected ??? is water. No sugar or calories but many benefits. Expect to see water fortified with nutrients but as much as possible, stick to the pure, simple variety. When it comes to fruit juice, the image is health and wholesomeness. But, in reality, a 250ml serving of 100 per cent apple juice without added sugars has around seven teaspoons of sugar ??? about the same as the sugar content of a regular-size Snickers bar. The same amount of grape juice contains 13 teaspoons of sugar, making it sweeter than most carbonated drinks. Aside from the empty calories from sugar, beverages do not curb the appetite. As a result, drink or no drink, one still eats as much. What about getting vitamins? Vegetable juice is the answer (with a little fruit added for taste). It packs in the nutrients without the sugar surge. Fresh is best and most juice stalls have tomatoes and celery on hand. If you must go for the packaged variety, look out for brands that do not push beyond four or five grams of sugar per 100ml. Drinks with benefits Some drinks offer the added benefit of antioxidants. Tea, for example, is rich in disease-fighting flavonoids, and the stronger the tea, the better. Earlier suspicions about coffee have been put to rest by studies that have linked coffee???s antioxidants to a reduced risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer and even cavities. Except for pregnant women who should limit their intake, most can enjoy a couple of cups a day. But, please hold the whipped cream and caramel syrup. It is hard to miss the many dairy-free milk options available. Look out for low or no sugar added soya and oat milk. Soya milk should ??? in general ??? be taken in moderation. Oat milk makes for an interesting option ??? it contains beta-glucan fibres found in the grain, which have been found to balance sugar levels and reduce cholesterol. That red wine is healthy is old news. But, we now know more. A specific substance, resveratrol, found in red wine helps the heart and immune systems and may even help manage weight. But, the chemical structure of resveratrol is similar to that of the female hormone, estrogen, and we still do not know what exactly that means for women. Some studies point to cancer protection, but there is also evidence that resveratrol may increase the risk of breast cancer. So, with new evidence, the old advice about moderation holds. Choose your drinks wisely. For thirst, stick to water; for nutrition, juice some vegetables, and for enjoyment start the day with a brew you are partial to, and if you like, end it with a perfect glass of wine.
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| How sweet is that drink? | |||||||||
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| WANT to know how much sugar is in that can of juice you've just finished? Go to new website Sugar Alert. Launched by the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, it educates consumers about how much sugar they are really consuming. The site has a chart of several popular canned drinks and their sugar content: A can of carrot juice or soya bean milk, for example, contains seven teaspoons of sugar, just two teaspoons less than carbonated cola drinks. A survey of 26 vending machine customers by the school found that more than 70 per cent thought sports drinks, juices and teas were healthy. "People think carbonated drinks are unhealthy and sports drinks aren't, but this is an undesirable perception we hope to change so people can make more informed choices," said Associate Professor Rob van Dam, who conducted the study. Check out :- http://sugaralert.com/ | |||||||||
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| Don't be so sweet | |||||||||
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| Adding sugar to our drinks and food may make it taste oh-so-nice, but unfortunately, we Malaysians tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to this sweet substance. How many times have you asked your local mamak for teh tarik kurang manis, only to wonder after you sip your drink whether your server had actually heard the second part of the order (ie kurang manis)? Too much sugar is definitely not good for either our waistlines or our overall health. And it is not just the sugar that we consciously consume, for example, sweet snacks, chocolate, sugar in our drinks, but also "hidden" sugars in all sorts of food, like cake, fruit juice with added sugar, and sauces. Here are some tips on how to cut down on our sugar intake: Drink plain water instead of sweet drinks like carbonated drinks, syrups and cordials. Plain water does not contain sugar like sweet drinks. A can of carbonated drink usually contains seven teaspoons of sugar, while a glass of syrup or cordial contains about four teaspoons of sugar. Limit to one teaspoon of sugar/sweetened creamer for every cup of drink. One teaspoon of sugar contains about 20 kilocalories. To burn 20 kilocalories, you would need to climb 14 floors of stairs. Take only one teaspoon of sugar or sweetened creamer for every cup of drink. Less is better. Reduce added sugar in cooking. Food cooked with less added sugar contains less calories and is healthier. Avoid eating snacks and sweet food between main meals and before bedtime. Snacks high in sugar lead to excessive intake of energy. The energy, if it is not burnt by doing physical activity or exercise, will be turned into fat and contributes to obesity. Choose fruits instead of sweet cakes. Fruits, which are naturally high in fibre and vitamins, are a healthier choice than desserts like cakes and preserved food. Since the fibre content in fruits will make your stomach feel fuller for a longer time as compared to eating sweet desserts, you are more likely to eat less. Avoid food and beverage products where sugar is listed first. If sugar is listed first, this shows that sugar is the main component of the food item. Ingredients in an ingredient list on packaging are arranged in descending order by weight, ie the ingredient that is listed first in the ingredient list is present in the highest amount in the food, followed by the second highest, third and so on. The ingredient listed last in the ingredient list is present in the lowest amount in the food item. It is important to know how much added sugars there are in the foods and drinks you consume. Read the ingredient list and find their position in the list. Added sugars can have many different names, such as corn syrup solids, sucrose and glucose syrup solids. If an added sugar appears near the top of the ingredient list, or there are more than one added sugars present, then it is a strong indication that the food has high added sugars. 'Carbohydrate per serving' as declared in the nutrition information panel (NIP) of most foods provides a good way to estimate the level of added sugars. If you know the 'natural carbohydrate' level of the typical food type, then anything above this level is an indication of added sugar ingredients. Choose food and beverages labelled "less sugar" or "sugar free". The food industry has taken the initiative to reduce sugar in food and beverage products. Now, there are more products with less sugar in the market. Everyone should be aware of their added sugar intake. Remember, sugar can have many different names, such as corn syrup solids, sucrose and glucose syrup solids. Be aware of the different added sugars names in the ingredient lists of the foods you purchase. Find their names and take note of their position in the list. Be aware of claims about specific types of sugar as there could still be other types of added sugars in these products. For example, a product claiming "no added sucrose" or "sucrose free" could still contain other types of added sugars, such as corn syrup solids or glucose syrup solids. | |||||||||
