Sadly, the majority of people just do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. A lot of research have been carried out on these powerhouse fruits and vegetables and suggested that people would get the most disease fighting benefits if they opt to make them the main choice in their diet. Powerhouse fruits and vegetables are very colorful and tend to have higher levels of vitamins like folic acid and vitamin c, and phyto-chemicals which are beta-carotene and flavanoids.

Phyto-chemicals is the plant pigment which gives out the different colors in fruits and vegetables. Phyto-chemicals has a natural bioactive compound, an antioxidants and when combine with nutrients would help to slow the aging process and reduce the risk of many chronic or lifestyle diseases.

As not all fruits and vegetables are created equal, hence it is important to eat in variety of at least two servings of fruits and two servings of vegetables everyday. The best way to keep track of which fruits and vegetables are better choices, is to identify them by their colors.

Here are some of the powerhouse fruits and vegetables :

Orange/Yellow : Carrot, papaya, pumpkin, mango, bananas, orange, jackfruit, maize, cantaloupe,

Green : All dark green leafy vegetables example spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts, water cress, kiwifruit, cucumber, green grapes or asparagus

White : cauliflower, cabbage, radish, turnip, bean sprouts,

Red : tomato, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, red grapes, watermelon, red peppers, wolfderries, red dates,

If you are concern about your oral health or still want to keep your teeth intact and healthy as long as possible, listen to this video. Dr Nancy Rosen, one of New York City’s leading dentists talks about how your favorite snacks like sour candies, pickles and sweet beverages can cause a lot of damage to your teeth . To play, click on the arrow in the small picture box.

In supermarkets of today, a consumer has a choice to choose from a wide variety of eggs lined up on the shelves according to budget and beliefs.

Would you prefer the ordinary egg or the designer egg? Would you pay a premium for designer eggs?
Examples of these designer eggs or supplemental eggs are Beta-carotene Eggs (an antioxidant that prevents cell damage), Selenium and Vitamin E Eggs (an essential mineral and vitamin that helps prevent cancers of breast, colon and prostate), Zeaxanthin, Lutein and Vitamin E (prevent eye diseases and free-radicals damage), and now Cordyceps Eggs.

This is latest addition to the fold and is known as ‘medicinal’ eggs as well. Apparently, this concept came about because of antibiotics used in the animal feed as additives.
The hens are fed with animal feeds enhanced by Cordycepin, a biochemical needed by the human body for energy transfer in the cells. The hens are fed six times a day and each hen would take about 27 hours to lay an unfertilised egg.

Briefly, Cordyceps or cordyceps sinensis is a type of parasitic fungi that invades the insect larvae, a species of vegetable caterpillar in winter and feeds off their insides.
Cordyceps is one of the most valued medicinal herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is claimed to be more powerful than ginseng in helping to clear health problems.
There are many studies shown that it can reduce tiredness, promote health and slowing down aging process, enhance energy and an analgesic. It also promotes health liver function, fight against tumor, detoxification, improve blood circulation. Cordyceps can alleviate asthma and also reduce cough phlegm.

DietInfoCare Tips: If you soft boil your egg, it has lower cholesterol than sunny eggs or fried eggs

Everybody knows that exercise will help you physically, making you strong, fitter and giving you more stamina. It will also help raise your metabolic rate, which will help you loose weight and keep weight lost. But not many people know the mental effects of exercise.

Exercise gives a natural ‘high’, this is because it makes the brain release different chemicals, serotonin, dopamine, nor epinephrine and endorphins all of these are known to have strong effects on your mood, they can help to reduce feelings of anxiety, stress and they can also help stop you feeling depressed. One of the main benefits of using exercise to help lift depression is that you can start to feel the effects instantly, where as drugs can take several weeks to have an effect. Also if you are more active you will be able to sleep better, since a lot of sleep problems are linked with depression which will certainly help straight away.

If you do a lot of exercise you will not only look fitter and healthier you will feel healthier and fitter. Exercise will help you gain a more positive image of yourself; in turn this will boost your self-confidence and your self-esteem. This also means that you will be able to socialize with more ease. Regular exercise will also help reduce your stress and tension levels. It will also help you clear your mind, which in turn will help you relax and unwind in the evenings rather that dwelling on those problems you might have. Another helpful factor of exercise is that it will boost your energy levels, a lot of people who are depressed often lack energy. When you forced yourself to go and do some exercise a few times you will soon see the difference in how energetic you feel.

Researchers at Duke University, Carolina, USA, studied people who were suffering from depression for four months. The found out that 60% of the participants who exercised for 30 minutes, three times a week, overcame their state of depression without using any antidepressant drugs. It was the same percentage rate as those who only used medication to help treat their depression. Another survey carried out by the charity Mind in 2001 found out that 83% of people who have mental health problems looked to exercise to help them lift their mood or to help them reduce their stress and tension levels. Two thirds said that exercise helped them to reduce stress and anxiety. 6 out of 10 of the respondents said that physical exercise helped them to improve how motivated they were. 50% also said it boosted their self-esteem and 24% said it help improve their social skills and they were able to interact with more ease.

Before you start on any exercise program, it is always highly prudent to check with your physician that there are no underlying illnesses.

Today I have finally purchased my personal pedometer and it doesn’t come cheap…cost me about SGD41 or US$29! I was told there are many cheap ones from China in the market which cost about US$10 but they also conked off very fast and most of them are not accurate in their readings due to their mercury movement detection mechanism. Upon weighing my options I decided to invest in the OMRON HJ-113 Walking Style at a reputed chemist, its still made in China, no warranty, but under the well-known Omron company. It is even endorsed by the Singapore Heart Foundation.

It also detects whether your steps are normal or aerobic and thus capture accordingly and their duration taken. I was too excited to complete the rest of the settings, so tomorrow I’ll report back again.

About the features of my Omron HJ-113 Walking Style pedomter :

• has an aerobic step counter, besides the regular step counter.

• uses a new sensor technology called accelerometer which means you can either put it in your pocket shirt, front trousers pocket, put it in your bag or hang it from your neck and it will calculate your steps automatically.

• can differentiate whether your steps are normal or aerobic by detecting the rhythmic pattern of your steps.

• has the ability to count your calories and fats burnt

• can review your full week of exercise because of the stored memory.

• can also set the time, weight and stride length.

Now no more mentally calculating my steps or rounds for an estimation when I go for my daily brisk walking again which is limited to the track path in the park. I can’t wait to carry my new pedometer with me knowing I can track my steps whenever I walk.

My challenge now is to achieve the 10,000 steps a day! Anyway, I have a Walker Tracker’s widget installed in my blog for easy tracking which I highly recommend anyone who wants to keep fit to join this community…. See ya soon & Happy Walking!

I bet if you were to ask the average person on the street what they thought eating raw foods meant, you will be surprised at the answers you get. Many would reply back with a common answer that raw food had to do with eating raw meat, and this couldn’t be further from the truth. You may be wondering if this is safe, rest assured that eating uncooked fruits, nuts and vegetables is quite safe given the proper precautions.

Eating raw foods is about vitality, health, choice and enjoying your life, quite simply it is about a healthy lifestyle. I am a great believer of the many delicious things to eat that don’t need to be cooked or boiled or grilled. Nature has supplied us with the perfect nutrition for our bodies!

Some of you might be asking yourself how a raw food diet differs from a vegetarian one. While it is true that both are plant-based diets, only the raw food diet requires that the things you eat not be cooked. There is a very specific reason for this and it has to do with how plant-based foods are structured.

Fruits, veggies, and all other plants are living food and have efficient ’storage batteries’ filled with energy and nutrition. When you apply heat to plant-based foods they tend to rupture and breakdown releasing all of their nutrients and enzymes. By the time you get to eat them, the food has become dead food for it has lost a major portion of their nutritional value rendering them inadequate.

Here is where vitamin supplements comes into play in our diet (which incidentally are mostly insoluble and are discarded, this is why urine changes color after ingesting them) to make up for these deficiencies. Eating raw foods helps to maintain the optimum levels of nutrients found naturally in all plant-based foods. The nutrition found in raw foods is completely usable and efficiently dispersed throughout the body due to our eating ‘live food’.

It is actually easy to incorporate raw foods in your diet. Search online for raw food websites which will give you all the information you’ll need to begin. Infact, there are plenty of message boards or forums dedicated to eating raw food diet with plenty of people ready to share their experiences and helpful advice. Also, check out your local bookstore or library to find raw food cookbooks that are chock full of easy and delicious meal ideas!

Last but not least, get your creative juices flowing - come up with your ideas and customize your own dish to make it a part of your meal.

Diet Info Care Tip: When you next visit a fast food joint, it would be a good idea to either buy from the supermarket or bring along a tub of your favorite raw veggies to go with your meal.

HERE’S WISHING EVERYONE HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

During the recent Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, I have come to note that the food we eat does have an effect on our overall health, mood and well-being. Food can make or break your life. Most people do not realize how much good or damage the food that they consume can do to them. I really feel it is important that we need to pay attention to what we eat to ensure we will be in good stead for a long time to come.

Benefits of healthy eating to our health and overall fitness are many. When our body does not receive its minimum requirements in the correct proportion, it is sure to upset not only our mood but also our overall health and fitness. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, you are sure to be in a grumpy mood all day long if you do not eat right, of which I have been experiencing recently.

Therefore, a good quality of life throughout is one of the benefits of healthy eating. This is key to realize that the quality of life is very important to each one of us. When we have age by our side, our body may not show drastic results of a little abuse. However, prolonged abuse of the body in terms of eating oily food, junk food etc makes it very unhealthy. Over a period of time like any machinery that is not taken care of, your system will also crash. With advancing age, this can greatly affect our quality of life making it very difficult to go on with daily activities on our own.

However, bear in mind that the benefits of healthy eating are not visible within a day or two, but when the results begin to show, the long lasting positive effects that would not only add to your life in terms of years but also improve the quality of your life. Make eating right your key to happiness in life. Your body is a gift to you and it is your duty to take care of it and ensure that it is kept in the best condition.

Cheers to Healthy Eating & Stay Happy

Wishing all my friends and readers A Happy, Healthy & Prosperous Lunar New Year!
The lunar new year is celebrated for 15 days which means there will be more eating, visiting and drinking. As for me, am flying my white flag already. In a typical Chinese home, meat dishes of pork, chicken and duck are the main attraction starting from the Eve’s reunion dinner onwards and so don’t get much vegetables being served. Today, am staying put at home for a vege and fruit diet plus drink more water.

And here, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Fatiah who blogs at SEW MY NAME for her beautiful gifts that she handmade for me. What did she make for me? Have a look at her nice gifts. Not sure how she does it - she maintains her beautiful home with her handicrafts, takes care of her four children, cooks, blogs and sews. Recently I heard from her, she will be going into jewellery making too. I take my hat off to you, Fatiah and wish you all the best! Do take care of your health, too!

Another mention, would be a blogger friend, Waliz who works as a counsellor from Malaysia. Do visit her YUMMY RECIPE blog, she has a good range of recipes that I love to try out when I have the time. Besides this, she also has an interest in health and so check out her health blog too!

Being so busy the last few weeks, I have yet to purchase a pedometer for myself. I love walking and I have recently signed up at WalkerTracker, a community site where pedometer fans can log in and keep track of their steps. Iowa Avenue of which I am also a member recommended this site. IA is a weight management community and its main purpose is to bring like-minded people together to promote a healthy lifestyle in a meaningful way. I would encourage those of you who are into a healthy lifestyle to join this awesome community too!

I also plan to improve my blog which is already six months old. Any feedback would be very much appreciated….

Cheers^^

Lunar New Year’s eve is tomorrow and I am looking forward to “lo-hei” (meaning tossing) raw fish salad, a very popular and must-have dish at the reunion dinner.

This dish originally from Jiangmen in Guangdong province of China is called “Yu Sheng”. It was introduced here in 1963 by very closed friends who were chefs in their own restaurants during Chinese New Year. The act of “lo-hei” or tossing the ingredients as high as possible for good fortune and mixing them altogether was developed by the people only recently. It is a noisy activity and each person would try to outplay each other over who can toss the highest and saying all the auspicious phrases at the same time.

Traditionally eaten on the seventh day of the Lunar New Year as this day is also known as everybody’s birthday but nowadays we get to eat this special raw fish salad for sixteen days of the festival.

Here’s a list of ingredients and their individual significance:

• Raw fish symbolizes increasing abundance. Salmon is commonly used

• Sesame oil for a smooth year glowing with wealth

• Peanut crumbles symbolizes a household filled with gold and silver (Peanuts are grinded coarsely)

• Lemon or lime for a productive year

• Rice crackers represents the entire floor being paved with gold

• Peanuts symbolizes eternal youth

• Plum sauce for a sweet life ahead (Mixed with rice vinegar, sesame oil and kumquat paste)

The rest of the ingredients to make up for this dish include shredded carrots, radish, pickled ginger, toasted sesame seeds, pomelo, cinnamon and pepper.

So get your chopsticks ready and do the “Lo Hei” - for this ritual signifies Good Luck and Prosperity for the Lunar New Year! ……… “GONG XI FA CAI” everyone!

So you have got your diet clean and healthy and you have been following your exercise program for a month now but you are getting discouraged with the results of your weight loss so far.

Now WHY you may ask yourself?
The fact is you MAY NOT be consuming enough water.
It sounds rather stupid really because all you ever read about to maximize your weight loss is to - follow a good calorie controlled clean diet and exercise, but not many people mention the important element - WATER. I, for one never give it a thought anyway until now.

Water is in fact one of the most important aspects in any weight loss plan and it is A VITAL FUEL for your body’s vital organs to not only work but to recover quickly. As most of us know, the hard part is sticking to your new diet plan and exercise program and even though, you may have achieved this already. However, by not consuming enough water you could actually be hindering the process and not optimize your results.

Let me explain… most probably, you may already know the process and system that takes place inside your body called “metabolism”. Well there is in fact many forms of metabolism inside your body but in this case, the most important one when it comes down to weight loss is your metabolism of fat. Now one of the vital organs within your body known as the liver. Liver is the main component in metabolising the fat which means taking your stored fat and making it available as energy to be burned away. So with this process that the liver carries out, it allows you to effectively burn away all that excess fat in your body thus producing weight loss.

Now you might be thinking what water has to do with this. Well, another vital job for your liver is to help out the kidneys within your body and effectively help do their job properly. Think filtration, your kidneys actually thrive on water and when they are deprived of any fluid they slack off and your liver is left to pick up where they left off thus preventing the liver from metabolising your stored fat. So by keeping your body well watered, would provide your vital organs including your kidneys with the water they thrive, which then assists each and every organ to focus on there own jobs to keep your body ticking over nicely. Deprive it and the organs within your body will not work to their maximum potential which in this case is to assist you in your weight loss journey.

Besides including water in your weight loss program, it also helps in your health and wellness in the long term and is great for the skin and keeping a clear mind. Sacrifice that cup of coffee in the morning for a glass of water, preferably tepid water and see if you can feel the difference. The main point to remember is that water is your friend and is there to help your body, deprive it and you will hinder the process of weight loss so by applying this simple rule it just adds more armory to your arsenal in the fight against fat.

Don’t forget to aim for at least 8 glasses(8 fl.oz) of water a day into your body which isn’t a lot when you think about it. If you are currently overweight a further 8 glasses per extra 25 pounds worth of body weight is advisable. Cheers!