As we age, our bodies deteriorate both physically and mentally. Even many experts and researchers, however, believe that we can do something to slow down the aging process and that is to have a healthy diet.

Did you know that just by changing some of the foods you eat, you can increase your energy, improve your lifestyle, and be more motivated each day?

Would you like to know how making simple changes in your eating habits that can make your life more enjoyable and live longer?

Then, sign up now for your 52 Weekly Healthy Eating eCourse to Start Feeling Healthier and Enjoy Your Life More!

Inside this eCourse on how to improve your health are:

* Tips for healthier eating habits

* How to eat right for a healthy heart

* Foods for strong bones

* How to keep your cholesterol in check

* Foods to keep your energy up

* Super cancer fighting foods

* The truth about vitamins, minerals and amino acids

* and more….

Don’t you agree that we should take charge of our health NOW when it is still in good form and not until it is too late?

“Prevention” is a potent agent which is more powerful and much more effective than “Cure” which is invoked after the ailment has set in.

So, let’s preserve our most precious of nature’s gift now - Our Health!

Remember to sign up for your 52 Weekly Healthy Eating eCourse to Start Feeling Healthier and Enjoy Your Life More!

This one is for my blog friend Henry, who is also into healthy living posted a comment in my last post ‘What Are The Four Types of Fat in Your Diet?’ asking “…Is the fat contained in that fruit good for you?

“Oooh…, I love avocados for its awesome creamy texture and taste in this enzymatically-alive-alkalinizing fruit, but only recently can I afford to eat them as often as I want to because the price has dropped… think I started including avocado in my diet a couple of years back.

Before that, I frequently hear people saying we should avoid eating avocados because of the fat and cholesterol issues and so, I didn’t give much thought about it then.
Anyway at that time, we could get avocados occasionally and they were very, very expensive. For the price of one, we could order two plates of chicken rice over here!

Later, I learnt that in actual fact avocado is a healthy alternative to saturated fats in the diet. It was just a misunderstand about their high fat content and after all, like all fruits it doesn’t contain any cholesterol too.
The fat content in an avocado is actually the ‘good’ fat or known as monounsaturated fat and according to research it helps in lowering blood cholesterol levels.

Avocado is popular with vegetarians because it is rich in protein providing the essential amino-acids. It is fiber-rich and found to contain fatty acids like Omega 3 and 6, packed with nutrients like vitamins, minerals and some trace elements.

So how do Avocados benefit you:

1. If you are recuperating from an illness, eat an avocado daily to regain your strength.

2. Avocado helps in healing from digestive and circulatory problems.

3. Helps in healing of skin disorder due to the rich antioxidants.

4. Aids the brain to make dopamine due to the rich source of Vitamin B6.

5. Make a paste out of avocado and apply it to rashes and rough skin.

6. Rub gently with the flesh of an avocado over sunburnt skin to soothe the affected areas.

7. Avocado spread has fewer calories when compared to butter, margarine or mayonnaise.

Did You Know: You need about 6 medium avocados to get the daily recommended 3mg of copper.

So, it would be great to consider adding avocado to your healthy eating plan too!

Diet Info Care’s Tip: Do place a banana or apple with the avocado in a paper bag to speed up the ripening process.

We learned that FAT is an essential nutrient for a healthy body because it provides energy and helps our body absorb, transport and store fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E and K.

Fats can be obtained from plants which are the kernels, seeds and nuts, and in animals - fats under their skin, meat tissues and fish oils.

But we are also warned that fat provides more than twice the number of calories in an equal amount of protein or carbohydrate. So, you will put on weight and may become obese over time if you regularly consume more calories than your output of physical activities!

The Four types of Fat & Where They are Found

Trans Fat is produced through the manufacturing process of vegetable oils being hardened or commonly known as hydrogenated fat for use in commercial deep frying and in processed food products. Examples of hydrogenated vegetable oil found are in fast food restaurants, factory made cakes, biscuits, potato chips, etc.
Trans Fat tends to raise blood cholesterol levels.

Saturated Fat is firm or solid at room temperature. It is mainly found in animal products like the skin and fat of poultry birds and fatty cuts of meat or lard and also in high-fat dairy products like full cream milk, butter and other milk products.

Besides these, others like coconut milk, coconut cream and cooking oils that are blended together with mixed vegetable oils are full of saturated fat. Like Trans Fat, Saturated Fat would raise your cholesterol levels.

Note that cholesterol is found only in animal foods.

Monosaturated Fat & Polyunsaturated Fat are known as the Unsaturated Fats or the good healthy fats.

Monosaturated Fat stays in liquid form at room temperature but will solidify in the refrigerator. This fat is mainly found in most nuts, avocados and oils from canola, olive and peanuts.
For Polyunsaturated Fat the liquid form remains unchanged at room temperature or in the refrigerator. It is mainly found in vegetable oils such as corn, cottonseed, safflower, soy and sunflower.

Diet Info Care’s Reminder: Do not keep fried foods too long for they turn rancid due to oxidation.

Diets are akin to fads and they promise results in practically a blink of an eye. But in the long haul, even though some of them are beneficial, they could still be harmful to your health!

So what really are the Myths and Truths about Dieting?

Myth: Low fat or non-fat means no calories.
Truth: Many low fat and non-fat foods contain high sugar content to improve their taste so in actual fact, they are definitely not low in calories.

Myth: High protein and low carbohydrate diets are a healthy way to lose weight.
Truth: A drastic reduction in carbohydrates can in fact cause some problems. An example, fluid loss that at may make you feel faint and dehydrated.

Myth: Certain foods like grapefruit, celery or cabbage soup can burn fat and lose weight faster.
Truth: There is no scientific evidence yet that these food will make any difference, except making your diet very tedious.

Myth: Starches are fattening and should be limited when trying to lose weight.
Truth: Complex carbohydrates are very important to our body as they provide us with fibre to prevent constipation and are vital nutrients to maintain our overall health.

Therefore, dieting is not the real full answer to permanent weight loss. The best way to keep to your ideal weight would be to make your own plan and design it the way you want it, instead of following someone else’s plan. Besides your well customized plan, choosing the correct food is of utmost consideration in a balanced diet.

One of my fave vegetables - the Bitter Gourd. It is well-known in Asian countries that the juice of bitter gourd is a traditional remedy for controlling diabetes and lowering blood pressure. It is best to use the smaller variety which is much more bitter, and to increase its potency, the leaf tips and seeds are sometimes added in.

For their health benefits, bitter gourd is rich in Vitamins A and C and is an excellent source of carotenoids such as lutene and beta-carotene. This bitter cucumber as is sometimes called, contains Vitamin E that’s supposed to help keep you look young. Vitamin K, the fat-soluble phylloquinone assists in blood calcium regulation and clotting. Besides that, this nutrient also plays an important role in bone health.

In many Asian countries, bitter foods are believed to contain the disease-fighting phytochemicals, have anti-bacterial and cleansing properties of which may be beneficial to health as believed. It is also considered a “cooling” food. Therefore, we would add ginger and meat to balance the cooling effects in our dishes.

There are many ways to cook bitter gourd but the most popular method is to boil the gourd in soup with lots of meat bones. The minerals potassium from gourd and calcium from the bones would leach out into the soup and therefore this makes the soup nutritious and easy absorption.

Diet Info Care’s Tip: To reduce the bitterness, soak in saltwater before cooking.

Eating disorder is conventionally seen as a lifestyle disease, with worrying consequences. Females seem to appear more vulnerable to eating disorders than males. Self-starvation is one of the salient features of eating disorder, denies the body of nutrients it needs to function optimally, as it is forced to conserve energy. So how does one detect a sufferer’s eating disorder?

Even though eating disorders are difficult to detect, actually, there are many signs to be aware of, especially if it concerns our loved ones and close friends that something seems not right in that person as we already know them well.

Here are some of the give-aways to look out for:
1. Obsession with information regarding or related to food.
2. Changes in eating habits, such as being particular about the type or amount of foods or the cooking methods.
3. Changes in mood, interaction or communication
4. Signs of hiding or throwing foods away.
5. Feelings of anger, anxiety, depressed, guilty feelings and moody after each meal.
6. Being anti-social, avoiding gatherings and parties where food is involved.
7. Weakened physical conditions such as feeling sick, lethargic, losing weight, dropping hair and dry skin.
8. Frequent visits to the toilet after meals or using laxatives when there is no such need.
9. Sudden changes in sleeping patterns
10. Having distorted and low self-esteem.

Early detection by psychological intervention and nutritional counselling will greatly reduced the sufferer from further deterioration. In a severe case, medical treatment is required to stabilise the sufferer.

Importantly, we must bear this in mind, we must never use force but be there for them to show our concern and love, give support, encouragement and best of all - a listening ear whilst the sufferer to find a mode of recovery that is suitable for themselves.

I was sitting in a cafe today taking a break when I came across an article about cooked rice in a tattered magazine that caught my attention. Now let me share this info which I think it is important to you. It said that this Bacillus Cereus, (Here is what it looks like) a bacterium found in soil loves to hitch a ride on this staple grain - RICE and spread bacteria among the grains to produce spores.

Here I was taken by surprise — that cooking the rice won’t destroy these spores! And so, if the cooked rice is left out for more than a couple of hours the bacteria will continue to multiply. This emits poisons that will cause severe stomach cramps, nausea and diarrhea. Interestingly, all this while, I have always kept my leftover cooked rice overnight in the rice pot but I usually use our local unpolished red rice and they look the same the next day. Now, when come to think of it, most probably this may concern polished white rice? At times, when I cannot buy unpolished rice, I have no choice but to settle for white rice and in the mornings I would find the cooked white rice soggy and very soft which left me puzzle each time. Now I think I know the cause of it.

So it is advised to refrigerate the leftover rice immediately, ideally at a temperature below 5 degrees. At the same time, make sure that the container is clean when you store the cooked rice and properly covered to prevent cross-contamination.

Health & Wellness Today’s Tip :
I put cinnamon sticks in my rice bin to keep away weevils and other insects.

When I read this article, it reminded me instantly of my sister-in-law who brought back packs of chewing gum recently from a neighbouring country and my niece happily helping herself to them. You see, chewing gum is banned in Singapore!

According to the latest issue of the British Medical Journal, doctors at Berlin’s Charite Hospital found that consuming too much of this sweetener, SORBITOL, widely used in “Sugar-free” “Low-calorie” chewing gum and sweets can cause serious bowel problems.

This warning came about due to the unusual cases of two patients, one a 46-year old man and the other a 21-year old woman who were suffering from chronic diarrhoea, abdominal pain and severe weight loss. But the german doctors were stumped when they conducted their blood tests, colonoscopies, ultrasound and computed tomography scans which resulted that the patients were otherwise healthy.

The patients were then asked about their dietary habits and the woman said she chewed more than 12 sticks of sugar-free chewing gum each day, while the man chewed about 20 sticks plus another 200g of sweets each day. What an interesting diet! But when they stopped this habit, their bowel function returned to normal in a year. By the way, it is also found that Sorbitol can also cause considerable unintended weight loss by about 20 percent of the usual body weight!

What is Sorbitol?
It’s a white, odorless, sweet-tasting powder and has a smooth mouth feel with a sweet, cool and pleasant taste. It has two thirds the calories of sugar and is about 60 percent as sweet as sucrose.

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol or polyol and a sugar substitute. It is widely used in numerous food products, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals as a sweetener, humectant and texturing agent. It is commercially produced by the hydrogenation of glucose and is available in both liquid and crystalline form. It is poorly absorbed by the small intestines and is known to have laxative properties. It does not raise insulin levels as much as sugar and therefore useful to people with diabetes. It also does not promote tooth decay.

Anyway, I don’t think the majority of us adults would go to that extremes, would we? but what about the children though…?

According to statistics in 2005, there were already 20.3 million people in the UK who were aged 50 and over. This revolution of longevity has been largely due to better and improved measures on health, nutrition and medical care.

So what does this indicate as the population ages? Due to the ageing process, rising rates of chronic diseases and disabilities will be the main issue in long term health care and soon I will also be joining the statistics.

This has set me thinking that if I want better caring, the solution of a care home would be the best answer but there are so many different types of care homes for different types of specific needs. It is a daunting task for the family to search an ideal care home as there are so many things that have to take into considerations like, what kind of level care is needed, the budget, checking on the homes, the staff , making more enquiries and so many others. Most people do not have the time, energy and resources to look for an appropriate facility be it for self or their loved ones.

Therefore, to save myself and my family from more emotional stress, my best option is to consult an independent care home expert who can answer crucial questions about care, advice on the best care options that are available in the area, as well as search for care homes that fit special requirements. Take care.

Tired? Sleepy? Non-stop yawning? Bloated? Sluggish? Constipated?

Well, once again its the time of the year to go for a free of toxic weekend lifestyle, which means going for plenty of fresh natural raw foods and drinking plenty of fluids, cutting out all those junk foods,sugar, caffeine, canned foods and processed foods! Oh dear, do I hear the “oh oh’s” and “argh argh’s” but there’s also the guilty conscious lingering somewhere in the back of your mind… ?

If you are done with all those merry making, this weekend would be a good time to do the simplest body detox, nothing too drastic. It is better than not doing at all, right? I don’t think it would make much difference missing all those toxic foods just for 48 hours.

So, we’ll start the weekend taking it real easy.
On Saturday and Sunday morning, drink about 400ml of filtered tepid water upon waking up. It would be ideal if you could squeeze some lemon juice in the water to your acceptable taste, no sugar added. Fluids help to eliminate the toxins that have been accumulated over the holidays and at the same time this will give your digestive tract and organs a well -needed rest.
You could start doing some light exercises after that like stretching, breathing, any of yourfavourites as long as they are not strenuous. After 45 minutes or so, munch on your favourite fruit like apples, pears, bananas, etc

For lunch, prepare a salad of your favourite fresh raw vegetables and sprinkle some chopped up nuts and olive oil.

At the same time, some fluids or if you prefer your favourite herbal teas like rooibos, crysanthemum, mint, green tea, etc would be great, and they do not contain caffeine.

Fresh and natural whole foods contain the important different nutrients, fiber and enzymes. They are known to nourish the body cells and at the same fight free radicals. If your budget permits get all your stuff organic.

In the later part of the day, you should include juicing of fresh fruits and vegetables like apple, cabbage, carrot, cranberry, celery, pineapple and spinach for effective cleansing process.
Take 30 minutes and go for a walk in the open for some fresh air as this would help to clear the ‘cobwebs’ on your mind.

For dinner, you could make some vegetable broth, munch some more fresh fruits and drink more fluids of filtered tepid water or herbal tea.

Lastly, before you end the day with a shower, do some skin brushing as it removes old skin cells, stimulates the lymph system and draws out toxins through the skin. Skin brushing is also a gentle way of detoxing and a dry skin brush made of soft vegetable bristles is highly recommended.

By Monday morning, you will be able to feel much better, feeling more healthy and have higher energy levels. Your body will thank you for your efforts to change to a healthy way of life.
Now, it is not that hard is it?

There are many ways to detox the body. I always believe it’s up to individuals to customize what suits their lifestyle and preference because no one is the same.
Remember, we are not on prescription but if you do have any health concerns, it is better to consult your physician first!