People turn to high-calorie food first after fasting

Friday, Jun 29, 2012
Reuters

People who haven't eaten for many hours turn to high-calorie foods like starches and proteins - not vegetables - once they can satisfy their hunger, a new study suggests.

And, researchers found, fasters ended up eating extra of whatever foods they chose to chow down on first at that meal.

The findings carry a message for anyone who goes for long spans of time without eating, researchers said. That includes patients fasting before a procedure or blood test, some dieters and medical interns working long shifts without a snack break, for example.

"I think this really pushes the importance of what (food) options you have in your environment," said Aner Tal, one of the study's authors from the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in Ithaca, New York.

Tal told Reuters Health that if he knew he wouldn't be able to eat for long periods, he would pay extra attention to what types of food he kept at home.

"It would be important to not overstock on unhealthy options," he said.

For the study, published as a letter in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Tal and his colleagues recruited 128 students from Cornell University.

The students were randomly assigned to one of two groups. One group was told not to eat or drink anything after 6 p.m. the day before the lunchtime study. The other group, which acted as a comparison, was able to eat normally.

By the time students sat down for lunch on the test day, the fasting group had not had anything to eat for about 18 hours.

Each student was offered a buffet lunch of dinner rolls, French fries, chicken, cheese, carrots and green beans, while under video surveillance.

Using the video logs, the researchers recorded which foods the students ate off their plates first. They also measured how much students ate by embedding scales in the lunch table.

Forty-three of the original students didn't follow their assignment and so weren't included in the main analysis.

Of the remaining 40 fasters, 30 first went for the dinner rolls, French fries, chicken or cheese, compared to 20 of 45 students in the comparison group.

Participants ended up eating almost 47 per cent more calories of their first-choice food compared to other menu items.

The study cannot say why some students went for the starches and proteins first, but Tal told Reuters Health it may have something to do with an internal drive to seek high-fat foods after a period of deprivation.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

The researchers suggest hospitals and cafeterias who serve people going long periods of time without food should consider these findings and make vegetables and other healthy foods "more convenient, visible, and enticing."

That, they say, may encourage people to pick healthier foods if they haven't had a chance to eat for several hours.

In a commentary published with the study, two nutrition researchers suggest the findings may apply to settings outside of hospitals and cafeterias.

They say this type of research is important for people who are experiencing hunger and food insecurity.

"I think we're just starting to understand some of these factors with obesity, food insecurity and related factors as things that interrelate. I think it will be a missed opportunity if we don't (look into this)," said Amy Yaroch, one of the commentary's authors and the director of the Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition in Omaha, Nebraska.

New drug treatment for constipation sufferers

Friday, Jun 29, 2012
YourHealth, AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - A new treatment is now available in Singapore that can potentially treat chronic constipation sufferers by helping to restore normal bowel function.

Called Resolor, the drug works by activating chemical receptors in the digestive system.

"Resolor is the first of a new class of drugs available that specifically targets the source of the problem and can, therefore, offer more comprehensive normalisation of the bowel function than the more commonly used over-the-counter remedies such as laxatives," said Professor Jan Tack, Professor and Head of Clinic, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium.

A recently published survey of Singaporean women with chronic constipation revealed that one in every two women were dissatisfied with current treatment options, with non-effectiveness being the most common reason.

Sufferers of chronic constipation usually complain of symptoms that include straining, bloating, feeling "plugged up" and difficulty in passing stools.

However, doctors do not typically confirm a diagnosis based on these symptoms without knowing the frequency of stools, said Janssen, the pharmaceutical company distributing the drug.

As patients are usually more concerned about their symptoms and not stool frequency, there is a significant disconnect that often results in a delayed diagnosis, leaving sufferers frustrated.

Laxatives are currently the most widely used treatment for constipation and readily available as over-the-counter remedies, almost half of people who try them report inadequate relief of symptoms.

A multinational study of 14,000 patients found a higher rate of persistent symptoms among those taking laxatives versus those using non-laxative treatment approaches.

In placebo-controlled studies, almost twice as many patients taking Resolor achieved normalisation of bowel movements compared to those taking the placebo.

The drug also alleviated constipation symptoms, including bloating, straining, stomach pain and discomfort.

The drug has demonstrated a good safety profile. In one study, nearly 90 per cent of elderly nursing home patients with a history of heart disease demonstrated good tolerability towards Resolor.

The most common side effects reported in clinical studies have been headache (22 per cent) and nausea (17 per cent), but these mostly appear at the start of treatment and disappear after a few days of continued treatment, Janssen said.

Resolor is currently approved for use in Australia, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, and more than 40 countries across Europe, Central & South America and the Middle East.

People who walk a lot have lower diabetes risk: Study

People who walk a lot have lower diabetes risk: Study

 

Among people at high risk for diabetes who get very little exercise, those who manage to walk more throughout the day are less likely to actually develop the blood sugar disorder, according to a United States study.

(REUTERS) - Among people at high risk for diabetes who get very little exercise, those who manage to walk more throughout the day are less likely to actually develop the blood sugar disorder, according to a United States (US) study.

Earlier studies have shown that walking more is tied to a lower risk of diabetes, but few studies have looked into precise measures of how many steps people take each day, said Ms Amanda Fretts, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle.

'Our finding wasn't surprising given that other studies have shown that even light activity is associated with a lower risk of diabetes,' Ms Fretts wrote in an email to Reuters Health.

To get a better sense of the potential benefits of walking, Ms Fretts and her colleagues asked more than 1,800 people to wear a pedometer for a week to tally the number of steps they typically took each day.

Motivating healthy eating the easy, tasty way

Motivating healthy eating the easy, tasty way

A couple of years ago, Chaiyatas Atisiriboon was a top young executive at one of the country's leading hospitals. Today his schedule is even busier with a health project that keeps him occupied almost 20 hours a day.

Chaiyatas Atisiriboon, founder of Veggio, a homegrown brand specialising in pure fruit and vegetable drinks.

Sourcing, blending and tasting have become a new routine that the new entrepreneur hopes will help motivate Thai people to eat more healthily.

"Most Thais want a lifestyle that promotes wellbeing but they're not very committed. When we try to eat healthily, we do it on and off. One thing is because so-called healthy food is usually not quite palate pleasing. Apparently, it doesn't encourage people to continue their health-conscious diet regime," said the 38-year-old founder of Veggio, a homegrown brand that specialises in pure fruit and vegetable drinks.

Raised in a food-orientated, Thai-Chinese family, Chaiyatas, the youngest of seven siblings, has observed the benefits of a good dietary regime (and also the harm of a bad one) for all his life. His septuagenarian mother, whose diet is comprised mostly of fish, tofu, fresh vegetables and fruits, is still very healthy and active, giving him great inspiration why people should eat well.

"My mother is avidly health-conscious. She always avoids salt, sugar and oil and she drinks plenty of unseasoned vegetable broth everyday because it's rich in vitamins and minerals."

During his years as a marketing guru in the medical field, Chaiyatas realised that, outside his home, eating habits of most people are dire.

"When I was in the hospital business, I had to study clients' health statistics. Regardless of age or financial status, everyone has serious health problems hidden inside their body.

"And it's very scary to see that the number of young people afflicted with a terminal disease is rising.

"Terrifyingly, the number is almost catching up that of elderly people. I believe that's due to their unbalanced eating habits," said the business graduate who is also a regular gym-goer.

With a dream of seeing healthy food products outnumber their less-beneficial counterparts in the market, Chaiyatas decided to launch Veggio.

The brand actually started off at the beginning of 2011 with a variety of homemade fruit-based salad dressings. This was followed by a distinctive line of vegetable soup, which is made with 32 kinds of certified organic vegetables and without any flour or dairy products.

Coming in a bottle and intended to be consumed chilled, the drinking soup simply presents cold-crushed vegetables, flavoured with natural seasoning formulated to satisfy the taste buds of most consumers.

"The feedback for the vegetable soup was amazing. It's confirmed my belief that Thais are health-conscious.

"Many customers love it because they believe it helps complement their insufficient intake of vegetables. It serves those who don't like to eat vegetables, especially young children.

Veggio products are available at Seri Market on the ground floor of Paradise Park shopping centre and at Siam Paragon’s food hall. For more information, call 081-615-2992.

"I don't mean to say that it is as wholesome as eating whole fresh vegetables, but at least for people who normally don't consume vegetables, it's better drinking this than not.

"The soup was made according to a basic nutritional understanding that people should eat various types of vegetables daily.

"For me, it's like eating jub chai [Chinese-style braised vegetable soup] but without the meat and oil."

At the end of last year, Chaiyatas launched a colourful collection of drinking yoghurts made with organically grown vegetables and fruits and homemade yoghurt.

With various choices of flavours including kiwi, apple, mangosteen, berries and passionfruit, the lusciously thick smoothie proved a great success.

The yoghurt line was followed by a lighter and more refreshing selection of homemade fruit cider, which is also very popular especially among women.

"I think people should lead a healthy lifestyle everyday," the emerging entrepreneur said. "But if they cannot do it on a daily basis, at least they should have a well-balanced diet four or five times a week."

 

 

Evacuation time!!!!

Follow up from Monday's post. I was ABSOLUTELY NOT going to send my daughter to girl's camp. There is a 40,000 acre fire in the area around the campsite, and I wasn't worried about the fire getting close to the camp-it's the smoke that gets you when you have asthma.

My friend called from the campsite and said that it was clear of smoke, and that we should consider sending daughter Kitty up to the camp. She also assured us that Kitty could call every night and let us know that she was okay. We decided to drive up to the campsite-2 hours away. We drove through a lot of smoke, but when we reached the camp, it was clear.

I met with all of the leaders, and made sure they would keep a close eye on Kitty. Then I met with the camp nurse, who works in the ICU and explained all the medications Kitty was on. She assured us that Kitty would be fine, and that if she needed to leave, they would quickly send her out with one of the leaders.

I was still very nervous as we drove away, and couldn't eat dinner last night. We watched all three news channels, plus checked the hotline concerning the fire and the smoke proximity to the camp. We tried to call numerous people at the camp to make sure she was okay, but there was limited cell coverage.

I woke up to a phone call at 6:30 this morning that the girls were being evacuated!!!!

That actually saved me a trip, because I was feeling so uneasy, I decided to drive down and pick her up.

Imagine my relief when she got off the bus! I ran up to her and gave her a big hug to which she responded, "Mooooom!! Jeez!!" as she rolled her eyes.

Looks like everything is  back to normal. 

Popeye is right: Spinach makes you stronger, study shows

Tuesday, Jun 26, 2012
AFP

STOCKHOLM - Famous cartoon character Popeye is right to down a can of spinach when he wants his biceps to bulge, according to a Swedish study presented on Monday showing why the leafy vegetable makes us stronger.

Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said on Monday they had conducted a study showing how nitrate, found naturally in spinach and several other vegetables, tones up muscles.

For the study, which will be published in the Journal of Physiology, the research team had placed nitrate directly in the drinking water of a group of mice for one week and then dissected them and compared their muscle functions to that of a control group.

'The mice that had been on consistent nitrate had much stronger muscles,' they said in a statement.

The nitrate used 'was equivalent to a human's consumption of about 200 to 250 grammes of spinach a day, so it's a very easily obtained amount,' one of the researchers at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Dr Andres Hernandez, told AFP.

'Well, it is if you eat spinach. For people who don't eat their vegetables it will be more tricky,' he added.

While no effect could be seen in the so-called slow-twitch muscles used for moderate exercise and endurance, the scientists saw a clear change could be seen in the fast-twitch muscles used for strength and more high-intensity exercises, Dr Hernandez said.

The tricky question, he said, was determining why this happened.

The researchers discovered that the nitrates had prompted an increase in two proteins, found naturally in the muscles, that are used for storing and releasing calcium, which is vital to making muscles contract.

The protein increase in turn led to higher quantities of calcium released in the muscles, Dr Hernandez said, pointing out that 'if you have more calcium released, you have a stronger contraction.'

Translated into human terms, consuming nitrates from for instance spinach increases the muscle strength available for things like lifting weights or sprinting up a steep hill.

It could also increase endurance, Dr Hernandez said, pointing out that when stronger, the fast-twitch muscles, which fatigue faster than other muscles, do not need to contract as frequently.

This is not only good news for exercise buffs looking to improve their performance.

'The really exciting part is to go ahead and look at people with muscle weakness, with muscle diseases, and even aging, and see if this can actually improve their muscle function,' Dr Hernandez said.

He said the research team aimed to conduct a few more studies on mice but hoped to also carry out studies on humans soon.

Fires ruin everything!

(Spenser Heaps, Provo Daily Herald)

No sooner is Friday's fire out than another one is started. This one just happens to be near Girl's Camp where daughter, Kitty, is supposed to be going tomorrow morning. It's several miles away from the campsite itself, but we all know how smoke can travel. To say I am stressed out is an understatement.

I sent an email to our local meteorologist to ask about the fire and see if they could track the smoke with their Doppler radar. She said the smoke is traveling north now, but will shift the day the girls head to camp and will most likely drift into the camp. She also said canyons act very differently with wind flow, they have their own sort of "current". So the fire can be miles away, but the smoke can drift all over the mountains and fill the canyons. We have had BAD experiences with smoke from forest fires. There was a fire here about 10 years ago that almost cost Son #2 his life. So the smoke + asthma makes me a VERY scared.

This fire has burned about 40,000 acres and is only 10% contained. They have evacuated several small towns around the fire, and it has burned 25-30 homes so far. To read more about the story from the Provo Daily Herald, click here.

My question is, how do you evacuate Girl's Camp, with hundreds of girls? The buses drop the girls off on Tuesday and don't return until Saturday. What happens in the meantime? There is no way to evacuate all those girls out of the camp. Many of the leaders drive to the camp, but they still can't fit all of the girls in the leader's cars in an emergency evacuation.

Needless to say, unless they can come up with another place for the girls to camp that is FAR away from the fire, daughter Kitty won't be going to camp. Yes, she is packed. All the food and supplies are bought, but she won't be going. Is she disappointed? Yes. Are we? Yes.

Hubby and I are trying to head out of town for an anniversary trip. We haven't been anywhere alone for 5 years. The last time was  trip to Hawaii, during which Son #2  became VERY sick and his lung partially collapsed. He didn't end up in the hospital, but it was a close call.

We can't go anywhere, asthma ruins every trip we try to take. I don't know why we try anymore.....

A brief but worthy moment

  Okay, so this weekend has been very action packed (this seems to be the norm anymore). We had a birthday party, graduation party, and a do-over fathers day trip to Pennsylvania. It was all very fun; we laughed and talked and just had a good time.
  But, amongst all the hustle bustle there is one precious moment that stands out in my mind. It happened during our impromptu movie theater trip. Daddy and I decided at the last minuet ( and by last minuet I mean five minuets after the movie was scheduled to start) to take you to the theater to see Madagascar Three.
  About half way through the movie you scooted from your booster seat and onto my lap. You snuggled up to me whispered " i love you so much, mama" and very gently reached your little hand back and found your Daddy's hand, and just held it.
   These tiny brief moments are the important ones that life is made of. The tiniest of moments that I want to never let pass me by.

New pill for advanced prostate cancer patients

Friday, Jun 22, 2012
YourHealth, AsiaOne

SINGAPORE - For the first time in Singapore, a new oral treatment is available for advanced stage prostate cancer patients who are not responding well to chemotherapy.

Approved by the Health Sciences Authority, the pill Zytiga (Abiraterone acetate) is to be taken once a day.

Zytiga has been shown in global clinical trials to extend the survival of test subjects by 4.6 months, said its developer Janssen, a pharmaceutical company under Johnson&Johnson.

It was also shown to improve the quality of life in patients whose cancer has spread beyond the prostate gland after failed chemotherapy.

Zytiga works by uniquely blocking an enzyme involved in the production of testosterone in the testes, adrenal glands and the tumor itself.

Prostate cancer is the third most common cancer and the sixth leading cause of death among Singaporean men.

Research shows that Singapore men have a one in 37 chance of developing prostate cancer in their lifetime and that more than 500 men are diagnosed with this disease each year.

The cancer is usually found in ageing men, aged 60 years and above. By 2030, the number of patients diagnosed is expected to increase as one in five Singaporean residents will be aged 65 and above.

Hence, Singapore doctors are encouraging ageing men to seek early medical advice if they experience pain, discomfort or other symptoms during urination.

Dr Sim Hong Gee, Director of Urologic Oncology at the Singapore General Hospital, expressed concerns that there is still a worrying trend of ageing men in Singapore delaying their first diagnosis to only after their prostate cancer has advanced.

"Unfortunately, they are only coming to us at the advanced stages of prostate cancer," he said.

Dr Sim advised that early detection and treatment can prevent the advancement of the cancer and avert the painful and debilitating impact of late-stage prostate cancer.

Men should have on-going discussion with their health care providers as when prostate cancer is diagnosed early; it is often confined to the prostate gland itself and may be easier to treat, say doctors.

If delayed, the cancer may metastasise, or spread, to other parts of the body such as the bones, lungs and liver.

Bone metastases are a common, painful and potentially debilitating consequence and can severely impact the patients' qualify of life.

When combined with prednisone or prednisolone, Zytiga has been shown to effectively reduce pain and symptoms in certain men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Dr Chau Noan Minh, Medical Oncology Consultant at the National Cancer Centre Singapore, said that local patient experience has been largely positive.

"We have observed that the side-effects of abiraterone were well-tolerated, and where they occurred, were manageable. Those patients who responded felt an improvement in their quality of life," said Dr Chau.

Fires, evacuations-what would you take?

I knew this day would be coming- fires! We have had a very pathetic winter and spring, which means everything is bone dry. There's a lot of brush on the mountains, and it burns like crazy. I can't get a good photo of the fire from my house, if I get a better one, I'll add that to the blog.

Even though they have been warning people on the news to NOT TARGET SHOOT, some people decided to shoot their guns anyway. And of course they started a fire. This isn't the first fire this month, there was one a few weeks ago-also caused by someone target shooting. That fire was quickly put out. Then the TV news stations aired reports urging people to not to go into the foothills and target shoot with their guns, but they obviously didn't listen.

I can see the plums of smoke from my house, but luckily I am far enough away that we don't have worry about being evacuated. But so far this morning, they have evacuated 8,000 people so far (in the first 24 hours). But the fire keeps shifting, so I'm sure more people will be evacuated.

They are interviewing people on the news and talking about people with asthma. They are warning them to stay inside and not go outside to watch the fire. The weatherman just said to stay inside, keep the windows closed, and use central air (or something with a filter system) Sorry for all of you that still use swamp coolers.....

For those that are evacuated, what are they taking? The newscaster just interview Noel Pikus-Pace, an Olympic "skeleton" medalist. She actually took her kid's stroller out of the car and put her Olympic flag in! She said she can buy a new stroller, but she could never replace the Olympic flag. 

Others interviewed had said they would take birth certificates, titles to their homes and cars, photos, etc.

What would you take? Asthma medication? Nebulizer? Oxygen saturation monitor? After all, we have a harder time keeping our kids breathing anyway! Then add a little smoke on top, and we need our asthma medication and equipment.

There are multiple fires all over the U.S., hopefully none near you. But if there is one close by, talk to your family members and make plans about what to take if you are evacuated. Many people think it will happen to "someone else" - but who is "someone else?" It has to be someone, it may be you one day. So prepare-just in case.....

Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce recipe

Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce recipe

 

Chef Zam | The Star/Asia News Network | Thu Jun 21 2012

The recipe is from the cookbook 'Everything Rice and Nice' by Chef Zam.

Malaysia, June 21, 2012

INGREDIENTS
2 onions , peeled
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 candlenuts
50g dried chillies, soaked in hot water, seeded and drained
5-cm (2-in) knob galangal (lengkuas), peeled
5-cm (2-in) knob ginger, peeled
1(about 1.5 kg /3 lb 4½ oz) chicken, cut into 12 pieces
2 tsp turmeric powderv
200 ml (6½ fl oz/¾ cup) cooking oil
5-cm (2-in) length cinnamon stick
5 cardamom pods
2 lemon grass, lightly bruised
2 tsbsp tomato paste/ketchup
100 ml (3½ fl oz/2/5cup) evaporated milk/coconut cream
Salt and sugar to taste

METHOD
Grind or blend onions, garlic, candlenuts, dried chillies, galangal and ginger. Set aside.
Season chicken with turmeric powder and salt for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a wok. Deep-fry chicken pieces until browned and cooked. remove and drain.
Leave 4 tablespoons of oil in the wok. Sauté cinnamon, cardamom pods and lemon grass. Add ground ingredients and fry until fragrant.

Add fried chicken, tomato paste/ketchup and evaporated milk/coconut cream. Stir well to coat chicken and simmer until gravy thickens slightly. Season to taste with salt and sugar.

Garnish as desired and serve with Special Tomato rice.

Help affording asthma medicine

I spent $200 at the pharmacy last week-and that wasn't including Son #2's epi pen that they had to order in. Pharmacist wisely suggested ordering an epi pen, because it would have a longer shelf life. If I'm going to pay $50 for an epi-pen (and most likely not have to use it) I would rather have it last as long as I can.

But buying prescriptions for our family adds up. Hubby and I and all three kids have allergies, and the kids and I all have asthma. So things get a little expensive. Add to that a monthly fee for Xolair injections ($150 copay on the $1000 injection), and we really spend a lot on medicine!

Singulair is supposed to be going generic this year, but until it does, the co-pay seems to be going up and up. I used to pay $28 for Singulair, now I am paying about $45 a month (times three-for my three kids). I found a $20 off coupon on the Singulair website. To print your own coupon, click here.   The coupon says, "Limit 1 coupon per patient for the duration of the program." We used a coupon when my kids first started on Singulair. But it seems like we printed one off to use again the next month, and the pharmacy wouldn't accept it. (This was several years ago) I called the pharmacy today and they said every coupon program is a little different. The pharmacy tech said to use a coupon the first month, then print one off for the next month and see if your insurance accepts it.

Advair is also expensive, my co-pay for it is almost $60. To print off a $10 off coupon that can be used once a month , click here. 

Needymeds is another great resource, here is a link for other coupons. They are a website where you can "find help with the cost of medicine". Countless companies are listed on their website that can help people pay for prescriptions-and it can be any medicine, not just asthma medicines. To check out Needymeds, click here.  

Hopefully these website help you with your budget. I offered to just sign my paycheck over to the pharmacy, just to make things a little easier. Some days if FEELS like I spend my whole paycheck there. But, it could always be worse, right?!

How can I prevent wrinkles the natural way?

Tuesday, Jun 19, 2012
Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network
By Cory Quirino

 

Most dermatologists agree that the best skin-saving advice is to stay away from the sun. Here are more things you can do.

Q: How can I prevent and/or erase wrinkles?

The skin is often referred to as your first defense. And because it is in the line of fire, it acts like a shock absorber. But after all the wear and tear, all the pulling and rubbing, the laughter and the crying, plus exposure to the elements as well as stress, the skin begins to show signs of having undergone several battles.

If only we could get brand-new skin! Most dermatologists agree on one thing: the best skin-saving advice is to stay away from the sun. Sun exposure damages the skin. So here are some skin-saving tips:

1) Get out of the sun whenever possible.

2) Drink loads of water. Challenge yourself to 12-15 glasses daily. Some people complain that they feel like choking after drinking so much water. It's all in the mind. Sip it slowly.

3) Increase vitamin C intake from 1,000-3,000 daily. Vitamin C is essential to collagen formation. Drink up on citrus fruit juices-oranges, limes, lemons.

4) Minimise alcohol. Too much alcohol dehydrates you.

5) Apply vitamin E oil directly on the skin, especially after sun exposure. Yes, you can puncture the Vitamin E capsule and use the oil sparingly.

How can I lose weight naturally?

Tuesday, Jun 19, 2012
Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network
By Cory Quirino

 

If diets have uniformly failed you, look for the common denominator. Perhaps they've been too drastic and unreal.

Q: Please help me lose weight the natural way. All the diets I have tried have failed me.

If diets have uniformly failed you, look for the common denominator. Perhaps, they've been too drastic and unreal, or you didn't take them seriously.

Here's my own story. Through the years I have discovered that if I want to lose a few pounds, there are a few rules I need to follow:

1. Midnight snacking is a no-no. If you're truly hungry, eat a low-calorie food like apples, kiwi, singkamas (sweet turnips). But never anything sweet like cakes and pastries, chocolates, ice cream.

These are best eaten during the day and only after meals. In short, do not make any dessert your main meal or snack.

2. Go vegetarian if you need to lose weight in 30 days. It works. And if you want to speed it up, go on a raw food diet. That's right. Nothing cooked.

3. Exercise daily, at least 30-45 minutes of any cardiovascular exercise regimen.

4. Take chromium picolenate, a supplemental form of chromium, a mineral which helps increase lean tissue and reduce fat. But this is only effective if you exercise.

A daily dose of 50-200 micrograms should be enough. Natural sources are black pepper, cheese, whole-grain cereals and brewer's yeast. So, this is good news for cheese lovers. With one precaution - try not to finish the whole cheese platter!

5. Take zinc, 15-30 mg daily. This is recommended for people on low-calorie diets. This also addresses hair loss, brittle nails and bleeding gums. Best taken with copper. Remember: 1 mg of copper for every 10 mg of zinc. Natural sources are seafood, nuts.

6. Magnesium supplements improve the efficiency of the heart. Take 400 mg daily, but best to consult your doctor first. Natural sources are seafood, green vegetables, low-fat dairy products.

7. The most common ailment of dieters is borderline anemia due to iron deficiency. Symptoms include heart palpitations, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath. To get iron from natural sources, go for tofu, soybeans, bitter gourd (ampalaya), moringa olifera (malunggay).

8. Load up on calcium, at least 1,500 mg daily (especially if you have menopaused). Natural sources are dairy, green leafy vegetables, nuts.

Diet foods are not neccessarily good for you

Diet foods are not neccessarily good for you

 

Amanda Ng | The New Paper (Singapore ) | Tue Jun 19 2012

Here are three common food myths which do not help your diet at all.

Singapore, June 19, 2012

The "five-second rule" says that if you pick up dropped food quickly, its safe to eat. This is false.
I've heard that eating chocolate gives you pimples. This, too, is false.

Our eating habits are so often governed by hearsay that it is important to ascertain if these sayings are the result of actual science or acute silliness.


Myth #1: Diet foods are better for your health.
Theory: Eating low-fat, low-sugar or sugar/fat-free food helps you lose weight because your fat and sugar intake is reduced.

Reality: Manufacturers compensate for the lack of taste with high-calorie artificial fillers and flavourings.

Tip: Instead of low-fat/fat-free salad dressing, ask for vinaigrette dressing and toppings like nuts, seeds, dried fruit or avocado to add flavour and texture.

Consuming a full-fat item can also be more satisfying than a non-fat one, leaving you fuller and less likely to over-indulge.


Myth #2: Fresh fruiits and vegetables are always more nutritious than frozen ones.
Theory: Frozen fruits and veggies are usually picked ripe and flash-frozen immediately, preserving the maximum amount of nutrients. 'Fresh" supermarket items have probably spent days being handled and subjected to temperature and light fluctuations, causing the loss of many nutrients.

Tip: Don't refuse that smoothie just because of its frozen-fruit content; you can still get a good amount of vitamins and anti-oxidants from that serving.


Myth #3: Eating anything after 8pm makes you gain weight.
Theory: Calories taken at night sit in your system overnight and turn into fat while your body isn't active.

Reality: Your body uses calories the same way at any time of day. What matters is the total amount you consume and its nutritional value.

Tip: Instead of potato chips, try some microwaved popcorn for a fulfilling serving of complex carbs; just omit the butter and salt.

Whole grains of truth

Tuesday, Jun 19, 2012
New Straits Times
By Syida Lizta Amirul Ihsan

 

Whole grains are food that seem good on paper and bad on the dinner table. Whole grains retain the entire grain seed, packed with vitamins and dietary fibre which are lost in the refining process.

But most people are quick to dismiss foods made from whole grains as coarse, tasteless and hard to chew. So despite its goodness, whole grain foods have only a handful of fans.

The modern bombardment of high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets preached by celebrities and diet gurus alike have pushed this excellent source of energy even further to the back of the food shelf.

The only people who will choose whole grains are those who care about what refining does to the good parts of the grain.

Whole grains include unpolished brown rice, whole wheat, oats, corn, rye, buckwheat and dehulled barley.

"Parents should know what is good for them and their families, nutrition-wise. We may be a society of highly educated people but nutrition knowledge is still lacking," says nutritionist Fatimah Salim, 50, who has been instilling the love for whole grains in her children for more than 20 years.

"Most people think food and nutrition are not something that is important enough to know,"

SNEAK ATTACK

One way mothers can get their children to eat whole grains is to sneak these into their food without the kids being aware of it.

"I use a lot of oats at home. I used to make oatmeal and kept them refrigerated, so when my children (now aged 20 and 25) wanted a quick snack, they just added milk and fruit to the cold oatmeal," she says.

"Always remember that children love cold food, so chilled oatmeal is a good option. Mothers must also remember that kids want food instantly so there have to be ready-to-eat healthy snacks available," she says, suggesting that mothers stock up on digestive biscuits and oat cookies instead of chocolate and ice-cream.

"Oats can be used as a binder for burger patties and cutlets instead of flour,"

Some people, Fatimah adds, don't even know what whole grains are. "Corn is a whole grain, so you can replace fries with that.

"When buying pasta or noodles, opt for whole grain versions so children are used to the taste from young," She understands that many people complain that unpolished rice is tasteless. "But do you know that brown rice works best for fried rice and chicken rice? The rice doesn't clump and tastes so much better," she says.

CHANGE YOUR HABITS

While children need to slowly be introduced to whole grains, adults, meanwhile, need to make a conscious decision to choose whole grains for their health benefits.

"It makes you full faster, so you eat less. Logically, it is a good option for those wanting to lose some weight,"

It may be daunting for your tastebuds to switch to brown rice from white rice overnight, so Fatimah suggests going slow.

"Add one part brown rice to four parts white rice. You have to make brown rice palatable otherwise, you will not be able to sustain the change. When you are used to the taste, add more brown rice."

Adults, she says, are not brave in trying new foods but if they change their habit, they can improve their health.

She says mothers should also take their children grocery shopping so the young ones know why some products are bought.

"Interactive and informal sessions like these teach kids what they need to know about diet and nutrition," she says.

MAKE THAT MOVE

Fatimah says where there is an alternative to refined grains, pick that option.

"With so many products on the shelves, consumers should read the nutrition information panel to find out what are better options. Don't be swayed by advertisements.

"Sometimes a product claims to be whole grain when the whole grain content is only five per cent, which does not really qualify," she says. Finally, I ask her: Between whole grain and processed foods, how do we choose?

"It is not easy to make lifestyle changes. They have to be made in small steps," she replies. "Like it or not, modern society eats processed food, so what it can do is pick the better choice. Having whole grain (in good quantities) is better than nothing at all."

The Nutrition Society of Malaysia and Nestle Breakfast Cereals have launched a booklet, Wonders Of Whole Grain, to create better awareness on this food type. • Since 2008, Nestle Breakfast Cereals uses whole grain in all its products • The booklet can be downloaded at www.nutriweb.org.my

Here's how

Take small steps to add whole grains into your diet:

1. Introduce brown rice to your family. Try out brown rice by mixing half of it with your white rice or adding various ingredients to it to make it tastier. You could even use brown rice to make a nice all-in-one dish!

2. Oats are versatile. Besides oat porridge, add oats to dishes, to thicken soup or gravy or add to cakes, muffins and cookies.

3. For a tastier oatmeal, add fruits like apples or dried apricots.

4. If you are in a hurry, take five minutes to make a sandwich using wholegrain bread with healthy fillings such as sardine, tuna or egg. Wholegrain breads add flavour and texture.

5. Kids love biscuits and yummy drinks. Why not try adding wholegrain cereals to these? Blend the cereal with your kid's favourite fruit and turn it into an attractive smoothie or biscuit.

6. As whole grains absorb more water than refined grains, here's a tip: Add more water during cooking. To shorten cooking time, soak whole grains before cooking.

Is your city one of the 10 worst for asthma?

(Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America)

Is your city one of the 10 worst cities for asthma? What makes your city get on the list? The 100 biggest cities in America are evaluated in 12 different areas, some of those are:

• No public smoking bans
• High pollen counts
• Frequent ozone days
• Poor air quality
• High use of asthma medication
• Poverty levels

After displaying the Top 10 cites, the Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America tells people not to move, but improve where they are living. If you live in one of the cities listed, can you push for smoking bans in parks and public places? Can you use public transportation? Can you meet with your doctor to make sure you are on the right medication?

My asthma doctor said, "there is no safe place to live with asthma." Everywhere you go, there will be allergens (trees, flowers, bushes, grass, animals, etc.) There will also be irritants (cigarette smoke, cleaning sprays, scented candles, bad air quality, etc)

There's no where to run and hide when you have allergies and asthma. But you can take steps to make your home a little safer.Here's a link to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "Asthma Trigger: Gain Control"

And to find out the Top 10 cites, click here. 

Bak Chang (Rice Dumpling) recipe

Bak Chang (Rice Dumpling) recipe

Pauline D Loh | China Daily, ANN | Sun Jun 17 2012

This Southern China style dumpling is flavoured with red bean paste and chillies for a more robust treat.

China, June 17, 2012

In the markets and on the Web, the sale of zongzi, or rice dumplings, is now white hot, with the Duanwu Festival just around the corner. Pauline D. Loh looks at a very tasty tradition and how it is being carried forward.

Many stories surround Duanwu, the mid-summer festival that also commemorates the death of the patriot Qu Yuan (339-278 BC). This year it is on June 23.

True to the trusted Chinese farmer's almanac, Duanwu usually marks the time when temperatures soar and pests and pestilence are out in full party.

That is why this is also the time when mugwort bunches are hung on doors and xionghuang (realger) wine is drunk and splashed on floors, to fumigate pests inside and out.

The more active will now take to the nearest body of water and engage in vigorous rowing contests in dragon boats. Apart from giving those involved a good workout, this activity also gave the festival its other name, the Dragon Boat Festival.

My colleague Wang Linyan remembers her childhood memories of celebrating Duanwu.

"Duanwu is my favorite festival. It involves family, friends and even the whole neighborhood," she says.

"Several days before Duanwu, my mom would already set the festive mood, preparing raw materials for rice dumplings like green bamboo leaves, white glutinous rice, marinated meat cubes with preserved vegetables, red dates (for sweet dumpling).

"Every year, she makes three kinds of zongzi: with meat fillings (my favorite), with red dates and those with no filling but are eaten with sugar. These are the jianshui zong, or alkaline water dumplings, made by boiling them in water filtered through newly burned straw ashes."

Making zongzi is more than a family event, she says. It's a neighborhood affair.

"During the week before Duanwu, my mother would share some of her handmade zongzi with neighbors and friends, as well as help them make their own zongzi in their kitchens," she says.

"This is relatively rare now as people live in the high-rises more often than not, and they don't get to see or mix with their neighbors anymore."

Linyan also describes some traditions from her hometown of Wenzhou, in South China's Zhejiang province.

"Everyone must eat salted duck eggs on Duanwu. From then on, throughout summer, homemade salted duck eggs begin to appear in daily meals - as it gets hotter, it's refreshing to have a salty duck egg to go with porridge."

The eggs were also part of fun and games.

"On the day of Duanwu, the local children will hit hard-boiled eggs against one another. The egg that survives intact is the winner."

The children will wear their eggs in a prettily spun cotton bag, made of macrame, around their necks.


But Duanwu is still best known, and loved, for its rice dumplings, in all parts of China and the rest of the world. In fact, dumplings are popular everywhere the Chinese have chosen to settle. In Singapore and Malaysia, they are an important part of the Duanwu festivities.

Rosa Tan, 64, is currently in Beijing with her older daughter, who is working in the capital city. She is the daughter of Chinese emigrants who settled in the southern Malaysian state of Johor and grew up in a community of mainly Chaozhou Chinese.

Her rice dumplings reflect her own culinary heritage.

She doesn't call them zongzi, but "bak chang", which means meat dumplings in the southern Chinese dialects of Chaozhou and Fujian. Her recipe also reflects her family's taste.

"We replaced the dried prawns in the original recipe with heibi hiam, a spicy pounded prawn with chili," says her daughter, Valerie Ng. Rosa also picked up many tricks from her sister, who used to make the rice dumplings to sell.

"You cannot do a butterfly knot when tying up the dumplings," she tells me. "They will get loose when the reed strings dry up and the dumplings will fall apart."

That is probably why many dumplings for sale in China and abroad are bound with string or raffia.

If you want to try making your own rice dumplings for next week's festivities, Rosa has kindly agreed to share her recipe, a savory treat that will please those who like it salty, sweet and spicy.
Contact the writer at paulined@chindaily.com.cn.


Recipe: Savory rice dumplings (Bak Chang)

Ingredients (makes about 30):
1 kg glutinous rice, soaked and drained

1 kg pork belly

200 g dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked

300 g ready-to-eat chestnuts

200 g dried prawns

500 g red bean paste (dousha)

50 g dried chilies

300 g garlic, minced

1 3-cm piece ginger

1 medium brown onion

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp five-spice powder

300 g shallots

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

3 tbsp dark soy sauce

Method:
1. Prepare spicy prawn paste. Pound the dried prawns in a pestle and mortar until fine. Grind together dried chili, ginger, garlic and onion and add to pounded prawns.

2. Heat up some oil in a wok and fry the mixture until fragrant.

3. Peel and slice the shallots and fry in oil over low heat until fragrant and crisp. Set aside.

4. Blanch the pork belly in boiling water for five minutes. Remove from heat and cut into smaller chunks.

5. Marinate the pork belly pieces in the light and dark soy sauce, minced garlic, pepper and five-spice powder. Leave to season for an hour or longer.

6. Place the marinated pork over low fire and cook for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside the gravy.

7. Add the glutinous rice to the gravy in the pan and fry and mix well. Take the rice off the fire and mix in the crispy fried shallots.

Vitamin D plus calcium tied to longer life

Sunday, Jun 17, 2012
Reuters

NEW YORK - Older adults who take vitamin D and calcium supplements may live a bit longer than their peers, a new research review suggests.

Researchers found that older adults who were given vitamin D and calcium supplements were 9 per cent less likely to die over three years than those given placebo pills.

Vitamin D on its own, however, showed no effect on death rates.

The findings are based on data from eight past clinical trials - where people were randomly assigned to take vitamin D (with or without calcium) or get inactive placebos for comparison.

Those types of studies offer the strongest kind of evidence on whether the supplements have health effects or not, said Dr. Lars Rejnmark, the lead researcher on the review.

A 9 per cent dip in death risk over a three-year period might sound small. To put it in context, Rejnmark's team - some of whom have connections to supplement makers that market vitamin D and calcium products - estimates that to prevent one death, 151 older adults would have to take vitamin D and calcium for three years.

But that effect is "at least as pronounced" as the benefits linked to cholesterol-lowering statins and blood pressure drugs, said Rejnmark, an associate professor at Aarhus University in Denmark.

"In my view, a 9 per cent reduced mortality in the general population of elderly is of major importance," Rejnmark told Reuters Health by email.

"Except for stopping smoking," he added, "there are not many other known interventions that are capable (of) such a reduction in the risk of death."

EIGHT TRIALS, 70,000 PEOPLE

Rejnmark and his colleagues report the findings in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

For their study, the researchers combined the results from eight clinical trials that involved more than 70,000 older adults altogether - mostly women.

In each trial, people were randomly assigned to take vitamin D or a placebo; some studies used a combination of vitamin D and calcium.

The doses varied, but most trials used a daily vitamin D dose of 10 to 20 micrograms. That's in the recommended range: in the U.S., health officials suggest that most adults get 15 micrograms (or 600 IU) of vitamin D per day, while people older than 70 should strive for 20 micrograms (or 800 IU).

In trials that used calcium, the dose was 1,000 milligrams per day. In general, women older than 50, and all adults older than 70, are told to get 1,200 milligrams of calcium each day.

Vitamin D and calcium are probably best known as bone-builders. Older women often take the supplements to ward off the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.

And some trials have found that the supplement combination can prevent falls and bone fractures in the elderly.

But that probably does not explain the lower death risk in this study. When the researchers factored in hip and spine fractures, they did not account for the dip in death risk.

Another possibility is that supplements curbed people's risk of dying from cancer. There's some evidence that calcium and vitamin D may lower the odds of colon cancer, Rejnmark said. But he added that the evidence is not yet "firm."

SUPPLEMENTS MAY CARRY RISKS

For now, Rejnmark said the findings support getting the recommended amounts of vitamin D and calcium.

But that doesn't mean supplements don't carry any risks.

In particular, Rejnmark noted, some research has linked calcium supplements (not calcium-rich food) to an increased risk of heart attack in older adults - though it's not clear if the supplement is to blame.

As for known side effects, calcium supplements may boost a person's risk of kidney stones. And very high levels of vitamin D can cause symptoms like nausea, vomiting, constipation and poor appetite.

In the US, the Institute of Medicine says people should get no more than 100 micrograms, or 4,000 IU, of vitamin D each day. The upper limit for calcium in older adults is 2,000 milligrams.

People can, of course, get calcium and vitamin D through food too. Dairy foods are rich in calcium; other sources include greens like broccoli and kale, and fortified juices and breakfast cereals. Food sources of vitamin D are relatively few, but include fatty fish like salmon and tuna, plus fortified milk, juice and cereals.