I have been sharing a lot about this to my friends and relatives lately so I thought why not I just share it out here.
There are 4 pillars to health:
(E) Exercise
(A) Attitude
(R) Rest
(N) Nutrition
1. Exercise - Try to exercise as much as you can. I think you already know this part :). Note however, if you exercise your body produces a lot of free radicals and these free radicals will in turn harm your body cells and makes your body work harder to repair itself. This is the reason why some people do fall sick after a heavy exercise. Do remember to take a diet or supplements containing a lot of anti-oxidants and drink a lot of water. After exercise, you should drink until your urine becomes clear :)
2. Attitude - This is basically your discipline and how determined are you to stick to your exercise regime, staying off late snacks etc
3. Rest - Ensure you get enough rest every night. If possible, sleep and wake-up at the same time each day. If you need 8 hours sleep, make sure you get that EVERY night, else your sleep debt will be paid in kind by your health. Irregular sleep patterns affects our hormone production and hormone imbalance might in turn causes problems like acne and hair loss. In addition, insufficient rest results in the body not repairing itself properly and inefficiency in disposing of toxins from our body
4. Nutrition - You could be doing all the above right but if this is lacking then it could be the cause of your illnesses There could be 2 potential causes:
i) Lack of nutrition
Whatever nutrition that we get from our food are first channeled to our 4 key organs - heart, liver, kidney and lungs. Whatever leftovers are then channeled to the rest of the organs. Whatever left over from there goes to the non-vital stuffs like our nails and hair. Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals through your diet. In this day and age, it is difficult to get sufficient all the required vitamins and mineral through diet so you might want to consider taking supplements. You may want to research on vitamins and minerals that acts as anti-oxidants (A,C,E, Zinc, Selenium, Omega 3 + 6 etc). If we are squeezed dry of water, our body is actually made up of 80% protein. Yes, our hair, organs, immune systems etc are made of protein. Think of it as the main composition of our body - a very good analogy would be sand (used to make bricks, cements etc) as the main composition of a building. Our daily protein intake should be (1.1 x body weight in kg)g. So if you are 70kg then you should take around 77g of protein. Whenever possible try abstaining from taking protein from red meat - the best source is from vegetables, beans and also from fish.
ii) Body is clogged up
Excess hormones in our body are channeled by our blood to the kidney. However, if the kidney is clogged up with toxins then this process could be slow. You should have regular bowel movement. The fecal in our intestine contains toxin waste and if left too long it would seep back into our body in a process called autotoxification. In short - have a regular toilet habit. Stay off food that contains hormones. Cow's milk and chicken are some of the food you should be aware of. The hormones injected to cows and chicken do get passed on to us and its effect is magnified if it gets into our bloodstream.
How does the EARN works in synergy?
I believe every should start from nutrition. If we eat right and have all the right and complete nutrition our body needs to function optimally then we would be able to function optimally as well. For one, we would be able to sleep right this is especially true for people who have insomnia or other sleep problems. When we have enough rest, we would have the energy to exercise after each day and would be able to recover from fatigue faster hence less tired after a day's work. Through exercise we enhance our body's bloodflow rate enabling the transportation of nutrition to our organs. Exercise also enable us to sweat - aiding in the detoxification process. To do all the above, we need to have positive attitude. Self discipline and a positive outlook plays an important role to keep you going.
This article is a lil incomplete. I'll update this again soon.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
10 Superfoods That Should Be in Your Daily Diet
10 Superfoods That Should Be in Your Daily Diet
Supercharge your diet with these doctor-approved upgrades
As Told to Max Alexander, Best Life
Supercharge your diet with these doctor-approved upgrades
As Told to Max Alexander, Best Life
My interest in what is now known as integrative medicine began many years ago when I was a teenager and witnessed my grandmother battle a breast-cancer recurrence. In those days, it was typical for patients receiving chemotherapy to be confined to a hospital bed. Nothing was done to stop her decline—not nutritionally, not physically, not really medically—and she eventually wasted away and died in her bed.
A few years later, in medical school, I began suffering from ulcers and migraines. None of the physicians I visited provided any significant relief. Month after month, I tried to find a cure. Hypnotherapy, acupuncture, Rolfing massage—nothing worked. Out of desperation, I stopped eating the roast beef, burgers, and fried chicken I'd been raised on in favor of whole grains, legumes, and fruit. The idea that nutrition could help fight pain and illness was, in the medical community of the 1970s, unheard of. Yet within weeks, my ulcers and migraines disappeared.
As the medical director of the Block Center of Integrative Cancer Treatment, nutrition now plays an important role in the individualized treatment plans we develop for our patients, as well as for those patients interested in the prevention of other diseases. There is a significant amount of research that shows that eating the wrong fats and proteins, primarily from animal sources, but also including omega-6–rich vegetable oils, can actually inflame cells and create a perfect environment for cancer, like a dry forest waiting for a spark.
By contrast, diets based on plants and cold-water fish or omega-3 supplements lead to a "wet forest" that can affect the cells by reducing inflammation and work toward extinguishing the cancer spark. In patients who already have cancer, the right diet can help them tolerate chemo and radiation. At the grocery store, kale, tomatoes, and mushrooms probably won't have a single label touting their nutritional benefits, but that's only because fresh produce doesn't have much of a marketing department.
Here are 10 superfoods to integrate into your daily diet.
Garlic
This is a powerful organosulfate that's important in detoxification. It will help clean your body of leftover chemical residue from drugs or pollutants, secondhand smoke, and metabolites from alcohol.
Tofu
It's made from soybeans, which have all the benefits of other beans, including stabilizing blood-sugar levels to prevent diabetes. Try stir-frying it.
Mushrooms
Maitake and shiitake mushrooms are among the best sources of beta-glucan, which is known to stimulate the immune system. They also contain the protein lectin, which hinders cancer-cell growth.
Blueberries
These have an extraordinary amount of anti-oxidants, but many people are surprised to learn that one of their compounds, flavonoids, makes you smarter by boosting neuron signals in your brain. Look for wild varieties, which pack more antioxidants.
Kale
Possibly the healthiest food on earth, kale is rich in isothiocyanates, a phytochemical that suppresses tumor growth. Kale also contains indoles, nitrogen compounds that prevent lesions from converting into cancer cells.
Flaxseed
"In addition to omega-3 fatty acids, flaxseed contains lignans, which are antioxidants that suppress tumor growth. If you can't find flaxseed cracked, buy it whole, grind it, and then sprinkle a teaspoon over cereal.
Beans
Like other legumes, kidney and garbanzo beans are high in saponins, which are compounds that shield your DNA from invasion by so-called free radicals—unstable atoms that damage tissue and are associated with cancer.
Carrots
Besides beta-carotene—which helps prevent many types of cancer—carrots contain falcarinol, a chemical that slows the growth of cancer cells.
Tomatoes
Eat ripe tomatoes every summer. They're loaded with lycopene (an important phytochemical with antioxidant properties) and glutamic acid (an amino acid), which work together to prevent prostate cancer. Shop for organic varieties with a deep red color at your local farmers' market.
Strawberries
If you do a lot of grilling, eat strawberries. They're high in folic acids that scavenge the carcinogenic amines that are created when meat is cooked over high temperatures. They're one of the most important foods to buy organic, because they have a unique capacity for leaching pesticides.
Keith Block, M.D., 54, is the author of the forthcoming Life Over Cancer. He lives in Illinois and surfs Lake Michigan year-round.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Fact Sheet
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1. What are antioxidants?
Antioxidants are substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Free radical damage may lead to cancer. Antioxidants interact with and stabilize free radicals and may prevent some of the damage free radicals otherwise might cause. Examples of antioxidants include beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins C, E, and A, and other substances.
2. Can antioxidants prevent cancer?
Considerable laboratory evidence from chemical, cell culture, and animal studies indicates that antioxidants may slow or possibly prevent the development of cancer. However, information from recent clinical trials is less clear. In recent years, large-scale, randomized clinical trials reached inconsistent conclusions.
3. What was shown in previously published large-scale clinical trials?
Five large-scale clinical trials published in the 1990s reached differing conclusions about the effect of antioxidants on cancer. The studies examined the effect of beta-carotene and other antioxidants on cancer in different patient groups. However, beta-carotene appeared to have different effects depending upon the patient population. The conclusions of each study are summarized below.
• The first large randomized trial on antioxidants and cancer risk was the Chinese Cancer Prevention Study, published in 1993. This trial investigated the effect of a combination of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium on cancer in healthy Chinese men and women at high risk for gastric cancer. The study showed a combination of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and selenium significantly reduced incidence of both gastric cancer and cancer overall. (1)
• A 1994 cancer prevention study entitled the Alpha-Tocopherol (vitmain E)/Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study (ATBC) demonstrated that lung cancer rates of Finnish male smokers increased significantly with beta-carotene and were not affected by vitamin E. (2)
• Another 1994 study, the Beta-Carotene and Retinol (vitamin A) Efficacy Trial (CARET), also demonstrated a possible increase in lung cancer associated with antioxidants. (3)
• The 1996 Physicians' Health Study I (PHS) found no change in cancer rates associated with beta-carotene and aspirin taken by U.S. male physicians. (4)
• The 1999 Women's Health Study (WHS) tested effects of vitamin E and beta-carotene in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease among women age 45 years or older. Among apparently healthy women, there was no benefit or harm from beta-carotene supplementation. Investigation of the effect of vitamin E is ongoing. (5)
4. Are antioxidants under investigation in current large-scale clinical trials?
Three large-scale clinical trials continue to investigate the effect of antioxidants on cancer. The objective of each of these studies is described below. More information about clinical trails can be obtained using www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials, www.clinicaltrials.gov, or the CRISP database at www.nih.gov.
• The Women's Health Study (WHS) is currently evaluating the effect of vitamin E in the primary prevention of cancer among U.S. female health professionals age 45 and older. The WHS is expected to conclude in August 2004.
• The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) is taking place in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada. SELECT is trying to find out if taking selenium and/or vitamin E supplements can prevent prostate cancer in men age 50 or older. The SELECT trial is expected to stop recruiting patients in May 2006.
• The Physicians' Health Study II (PHS II) is a follow up to the earlier clinical trial by the same name. The study is investigating the effects of vitamin E, C, and multivitamins on prostate cancer and total cancer incidence. The PHS II is expected to conclude in August 2007.
5. Will NCI continue to investigate the effect of beta-carotene on cancer?
Given the unexpected results of ATBC and CARET, and the finding of no effect of beta-carotene in the PHS and WHS, NCI will follow the people who participated in these studies and will examine the long-term health effects of beta-carotene supplements. Post-trial follow-up has already been funded by NCI for CARET, ATBC, the Chinese Cancer Prevention Study, and the two smaller trials of skin cancer and colon polyps. Post-trial follow-up results have been published for ATBC, and as of July 2004 are in press for CARET and are in progress for the Chinese Cancer Prevention Study.
6. How might antioxidants prevent cancer?
Antioxidants neutralize free radicals as the natural by-product of normal cell processes. Free radicals are molecules with incomplete electron shells which make them more chemically reactive than those with complete electron shells. Exposure to various environmental factors, including tobacco smoke and radiation, can also lead to free radical formation. In humans, the most common form of free radicals is oxygen. When an oxygen molecule (O2) becomes electrically charged or "radicalized" it tries to steal electrons from other molecules, causing damage to the DNA and other molecules. Over time, such damage may become irreversible and lead to disease including cancer. Antioxidants are often described as "mopping up" free radicals, meaning they neutralize the electrical charge and prevent the free radical from taking electrons from other molecules.
7. Which foods are rich in antioxidants?
Antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables, as well as in other foods including nuts, grains and some meats, poultry and fish. The list below describes food sources of common antioxidants.
• Beta-carotene is found in many foods that are orange in color, including sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, squash, apricots, pumpkin, and mangos. Some green leafy vegetables including collard greens, spinach, and kale are also rich in beta-carotene.
• Lutein, best known for its association with healthy eyes, is abundant in green, leafy vegetables such as collard greens, spinach, and kale.
• Lycopene is a potent antioxidant found in tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruit, blood oranges, and other foods. Estimates suggest 85 percent of American dietary intake of lycopene comes from tomatoes and tomato products.
• Selenium is a mineral, not an antioxidant nutrient. However, it is a component of antioxidant enzymes. Plant foods like rice and wheat are the major dietary sources of selenium in most countries. The amount of selenium in soil, which varies by region, determines the amount of selenium in the foods grown in that soil. Animals that eat grains or plants grown in selenium-rich soil have higher levels of selenium in their muscle. In the United States, meats and bread are common sources of dietary selenium. Brazil nuts also contain large quantities of selenium.
• Vitamin A is found in three main forms: retinol (Vitamin A1), 3,4-didehydroretinol (Vitamin A2), and 3-hydroxy-retinol (Vitamin A3). Foods rich in vitamin A include liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, milk, egg yolks and mozzarella cheese.
• Vitamin C is also called ascorbic acid, and can be found in high abundance in many fruits and vegetables and is also found in cereals, beef, poultry and fish.
• Vitamin E, also known as alpha-tocopherol, is found in almonds, in many oils including wheat germ, safflower, corn and soybean oils, and also found in mangos, nuts, broccoli and other foods.
References:
1) Blot WJ, Li JY, Taylor PR, et al. Nutrition intervention trials in Linxian, China: supplementation with specific vitamin/mineral combinations, cancer incidence, and disease-specific mortality in the general population. J Natl Cancer Inst 1993;85:1483-91.
2) The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study Group. The effects of vitamin E and beta carotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers. N Engl J Med 1994;330:1029-35.
3) Omenn GS, Goodman G, Thomquist M, et al. The beta-carotene and retinol efficacy trial (CARET) for chemoprevention of lung cancer in high risk populations: smokers and asbestos-exposed workers. Cancer Res 1994;54(7 Suppl):2038s-43s.
4) Hennekens CH, Buring JE, Manson JE, Stampfer M, Rosner B, Cook NR, et al. Lack of effect of long-term supplementation with beta carotene on the incidence of malignant neoplasms and cardiovascular disease. N Engl J Med 1996;334:1145-9.
5) Lee IM, Cook NR, Manson JE. Beta-carotene supplementation and incidence of cancer and cardiovascular disease: Women's Health Study. J Natl Cancer Inst 1999;91:2102-6.
Time to go beyond the old taboos
DPMs and PMs: Time to go beyond the old taboos
Written by Farish A. Noor
Monday, 17 March 2008
WHEN the opportunity presented itself for Malaysia to choose a Malaysian woman of South Asian origin to be made the country’s first astronaut, those responsible for the final decision stepped back before the seemingly-insurmountable wall of taboos and inherited petty wisdom. No, they opined, we should choose a Malaysian Male Muslim Malay instead, as this would reflect the demographic realities of the country. But by doing so, they not only reflected the demographic realities of the day, but also confirmed the hegemony of that reality and thus rendered it absolute and unquestionable.
Now think of the possible alternatives had the Malaysian-Indian woman be chosen instead: For a start it would point to the demographic realities many of us would have wanted to see; and it would have been such a powerful symbolic message sent to Malaysia and the world. Had the other candidate been chosen, we could have proudly proclaimed that this was a country where racial and ethnic divisions had been transcended, and where gender equality was within reach. It would also have been such an enormous boost to the pride and sense of self-worth of so many other marginalised minority groupings in the country, to see themselves mirrored in the national narrative and to be made to feel that they truly belonged to a Malaysia that was indeed a country for all races. But no: Sadly, once again, the powers that be did the familiar cop-out and conceded to their own misguided belief in the old taboos.
The debate over who should be made chief minister of Perak, which has been going on for a week now, points to the same sort of intellectual and psycho-social impasse that has kept Malaysia paralysed for so long. Despite winning the biggest number of state assembly seats in the state, the DAP was not allowed to nominate one of its own to the post. The grounds for this realpolitik consideration happens to be a legal provision in the Perak constitution that apparently precludes the possibility of a non-Malay and non-Muslim from assuming the post of chief minister, even if her/his party won all the seats in the state assembly.
That such a provision emerged in a specific historical context that was determined even before the struggle for independence got off the ground is known to historians and laymen alike. But the question is this: Are we forever to remain beholden to history and trapped by the circumstances of the past? Or are we finally going to admit to ourselves that this nation-state of ours – Malaysia – is an invented construct and as such is also open to deconstruction, revision, adaptation and subsequently evolution? Are we now ready to evolve a new Malaysian politics that will finally reflect the plural and multicultural reality of Malaysian society today?
The debate over who should be the Perak chief minister appeared archaic and totally out of touch with the realities of our time. Coming immediately after an election that demonstrated the possible emergence of a pan-Malaysian cross-racial electorate, the fact that the post of chief minister for Perak was determined not by merit, experience or acumen, but rather by the racial background of the potential candidate, was surreal to say the least.
But as the dust settles and as the country slowly regains its momentum in the wake of the results of the 12th general election, let us take this opportunity to stir up some other sleeping sacred cows and rattle some other popular taboos.
To begin with, let us ask the singular question that nobody seems to have raised thus far: If, as our politicians would lead us to believe, this is indeed a country for all Malaysians, then should it not be the case that Malaysian citizenship and the commitment to the ideal of a plural Malaysian Malaysia be the guiding principle and criteria for all appointments to high office? Should that premise be accepted, would it not be conceivable that one day this country may have as its prime minister or deputy prime minister a Malaysian of non-Malay, non-Muslim and non-Male background? In other words, can we even begin to imagine the day when we may have a prime minister who happens to be of Indian-Hindu background and a woman to boot? And if such a situation is deemed unthinkable by some at the moment, we need to ask: Why? What is holding us back from entertaining such contingencies and variables? Surely what matters most in the selection of any leader or administrator is the competence and sincerity of the individual concerned; and it’s not as if it is the colour of the person’s skin that is doing the governing! (We hope not at least.)
The following imponderable questions can be addressed to all the parties in the country today as well.
Umno considers itself the party that defends the interests of the Malays and bumiputeras, though as we all know, both of these ethnic-racial categories are artificial and were invented as part of the colonial census. Be that as it may, Umno still presents itself as the party of the Malays and bumiputeras, and so let us ask this question aloud: Can the Umno leadership and membership consider the possibility that one day the president of Umno may be of Kadazan, Bajau, Iban, Penan or Peranakan background? Could a Catholic Kadazan ever dream of rising to such a post, and if not, what does this say about the institutional and structural limitations of Umno itself that does not and will not open up such opportunity structures?
PAS on the other hand claims to have transcended the culture and praxis of race politics, and the elevation of its Chinese-Muslim leader (Datuk) Anuar Tan Abdullah in Kota Bharu is a case in point. Yet PAS still has a woefully small number of non-Malay Muslims in its ranks and it remains to be seen if the party can and will make that great leap to non-racialised politics by courting the support of non-Malay Muslims across the country. Now the leaders and members of PAS may wish to consider this imponderable question as well: Can and will a non-Malay Muslim ever become the president of PAS, chief minister of Kelantan or even assume the highest post of Murshid’ul Am (Spiritual Leader) of the party and its followers?
Both the DAP and Gerakan on the other hand are ideologically-defined parties that have foregrounded their ideologies in the course of their struggles. But with the demise of Ahmad Noor, it has become an imperative for the DAP in particular to expand the racial spectrum of its leadership and membership. Already efforts are being made to undermine the hard work that the DAP has put into winning back Penang and those crucial state assembly seats in Perak and Selangor. Barbed comments about the DAP being a Chinese-dominated party may upset the sensibilities of DAP stalwarts who have laboured for so long to fulfil their leftist ambitions, but the fact remains that this perception of the DAP as a Chinese party is real for many and resonates with others too. In the same way that PAS places Islam at the forefront of its struggle, so should the DAP keep its Democratic-Socialist course, but surely the time has come when we can and should imagine the possibility of the DAP being led by a leader who may be of Malay or Indian background?
In the wake of the election, many of us have celebrated what may well be the first signs of a nascent Malaysian nation where citizenship counts the most in defining ones identity. A rupture has been opened up at last in the collective mindset that determines the conduct of our politics, and perhaps for the first time since 1957, we are in a position to collectively redefine the terms of Malaysian politics.
We need a new Malaysian politics that would breathe new life and faith in the political system, and where all of us – mainly on the basis of our universal citizenship – can claim to be stakeholders in the nation-building process. But for this to be the case we have to be brave enough to think out of the box and to imagine what was once deemed unimaginable. Our sacrosanct taboos and sacred rites have held us back too long, and kept us in a state of limbo where political superstitions ruled the day. For so long, we assumed that Malaysians would not vote for change; that the Malays would never support the DAP; that non-Muslims would never vote for PAS. But these certainties have been shattered and we now see that we are a mature, adult nation after all.
So perhaps all we need to do is push the envelope a little further, set our targets a little higher, wish and work a little harder; and our dreams for a truly democratic Malaysia that is the nation for one and all may eventually come true. We failed to send a Malaysian-Indian woman to space, but that doesn’t mean we can’t send her to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya!
Written by Farish A. Noor
Monday, 17 March 2008
WHEN the opportunity presented itself for Malaysia to choose a Malaysian woman of South Asian origin to be made the country’s first astronaut, those responsible for the final decision stepped back before the seemingly-insurmountable wall of taboos and inherited petty wisdom. No, they opined, we should choose a Malaysian Male Muslim Malay instead, as this would reflect the demographic realities of the country. But by doing so, they not only reflected the demographic realities of the day, but also confirmed the hegemony of that reality and thus rendered it absolute and unquestionable.
Now think of the possible alternatives had the Malaysian-Indian woman be chosen instead: For a start it would point to the demographic realities many of us would have wanted to see; and it would have been such a powerful symbolic message sent to Malaysia and the world. Had the other candidate been chosen, we could have proudly proclaimed that this was a country where racial and ethnic divisions had been transcended, and where gender equality was within reach. It would also have been such an enormous boost to the pride and sense of self-worth of so many other marginalised minority groupings in the country, to see themselves mirrored in the national narrative and to be made to feel that they truly belonged to a Malaysia that was indeed a country for all races. But no: Sadly, once again, the powers that be did the familiar cop-out and conceded to their own misguided belief in the old taboos.
The debate over who should be made chief minister of Perak, which has been going on for a week now, points to the same sort of intellectual and psycho-social impasse that has kept Malaysia paralysed for so long. Despite winning the biggest number of state assembly seats in the state, the DAP was not allowed to nominate one of its own to the post. The grounds for this realpolitik consideration happens to be a legal provision in the Perak constitution that apparently precludes the possibility of a non-Malay and non-Muslim from assuming the post of chief minister, even if her/his party won all the seats in the state assembly.
That such a provision emerged in a specific historical context that was determined even before the struggle for independence got off the ground is known to historians and laymen alike. But the question is this: Are we forever to remain beholden to history and trapped by the circumstances of the past? Or are we finally going to admit to ourselves that this nation-state of ours – Malaysia – is an invented construct and as such is also open to deconstruction, revision, adaptation and subsequently evolution? Are we now ready to evolve a new Malaysian politics that will finally reflect the plural and multicultural reality of Malaysian society today?
The debate over who should be the Perak chief minister appeared archaic and totally out of touch with the realities of our time. Coming immediately after an election that demonstrated the possible emergence of a pan-Malaysian cross-racial electorate, the fact that the post of chief minister for Perak was determined not by merit, experience or acumen, but rather by the racial background of the potential candidate, was surreal to say the least.
But as the dust settles and as the country slowly regains its momentum in the wake of the results of the 12th general election, let us take this opportunity to stir up some other sleeping sacred cows and rattle some other popular taboos.
To begin with, let us ask the singular question that nobody seems to have raised thus far: If, as our politicians would lead us to believe, this is indeed a country for all Malaysians, then should it not be the case that Malaysian citizenship and the commitment to the ideal of a plural Malaysian Malaysia be the guiding principle and criteria for all appointments to high office? Should that premise be accepted, would it not be conceivable that one day this country may have as its prime minister or deputy prime minister a Malaysian of non-Malay, non-Muslim and non-Male background? In other words, can we even begin to imagine the day when we may have a prime minister who happens to be of Indian-Hindu background and a woman to boot? And if such a situation is deemed unthinkable by some at the moment, we need to ask: Why? What is holding us back from entertaining such contingencies and variables? Surely what matters most in the selection of any leader or administrator is the competence and sincerity of the individual concerned; and it’s not as if it is the colour of the person’s skin that is doing the governing! (We hope not at least.)
The following imponderable questions can be addressed to all the parties in the country today as well.
Umno considers itself the party that defends the interests of the Malays and bumiputeras, though as we all know, both of these ethnic-racial categories are artificial and were invented as part of the colonial census. Be that as it may, Umno still presents itself as the party of the Malays and bumiputeras, and so let us ask this question aloud: Can the Umno leadership and membership consider the possibility that one day the president of Umno may be of Kadazan, Bajau, Iban, Penan or Peranakan background? Could a Catholic Kadazan ever dream of rising to such a post, and if not, what does this say about the institutional and structural limitations of Umno itself that does not and will not open up such opportunity structures?
PAS on the other hand claims to have transcended the culture and praxis of race politics, and the elevation of its Chinese-Muslim leader (Datuk) Anuar Tan Abdullah in Kota Bharu is a case in point. Yet PAS still has a woefully small number of non-Malay Muslims in its ranks and it remains to be seen if the party can and will make that great leap to non-racialised politics by courting the support of non-Malay Muslims across the country. Now the leaders and members of PAS may wish to consider this imponderable question as well: Can and will a non-Malay Muslim ever become the president of PAS, chief minister of Kelantan or even assume the highest post of Murshid’ul Am (Spiritual Leader) of the party and its followers?
Both the DAP and Gerakan on the other hand are ideologically-defined parties that have foregrounded their ideologies in the course of their struggles. But with the demise of Ahmad Noor, it has become an imperative for the DAP in particular to expand the racial spectrum of its leadership and membership. Already efforts are being made to undermine the hard work that the DAP has put into winning back Penang and those crucial state assembly seats in Perak and Selangor. Barbed comments about the DAP being a Chinese-dominated party may upset the sensibilities of DAP stalwarts who have laboured for so long to fulfil their leftist ambitions, but the fact remains that this perception of the DAP as a Chinese party is real for many and resonates with others too. In the same way that PAS places Islam at the forefront of its struggle, so should the DAP keep its Democratic-Socialist course, but surely the time has come when we can and should imagine the possibility of the DAP being led by a leader who may be of Malay or Indian background?
In the wake of the election, many of us have celebrated what may well be the first signs of a nascent Malaysian nation where citizenship counts the most in defining ones identity. A rupture has been opened up at last in the collective mindset that determines the conduct of our politics, and perhaps for the first time since 1957, we are in a position to collectively redefine the terms of Malaysian politics.
We need a new Malaysian politics that would breathe new life and faith in the political system, and where all of us – mainly on the basis of our universal citizenship – can claim to be stakeholders in the nation-building process. But for this to be the case we have to be brave enough to think out of the box and to imagine what was once deemed unimaginable. Our sacrosanct taboos and sacred rites have held us back too long, and kept us in a state of limbo where political superstitions ruled the day. For so long, we assumed that Malaysians would not vote for change; that the Malays would never support the DAP; that non-Muslims would never vote for PAS. But these certainties have been shattered and we now see that we are a mature, adult nation after all.
So perhaps all we need to do is push the envelope a little further, set our targets a little higher, wish and work a little harder; and our dreams for a truly democratic Malaysia that is the nation for one and all may eventually come true. We failed to send a Malaysian-Indian woman to space, but that doesn’t mean we can’t send her to the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Diabetes
Diabetes are conditions caused by high blood sugar. There are two(2) types of diabetes: child-onset diabetes and adult-onset diabetes. Child on-set diabetes is thought to develop through cross reaction between the a protein in milk and beef and a protein in the pankreas. This can occur if genetically susceptible infants are fed dairy products or beef in their first few months, before their digestive tract and immune system are fully matured. Adult-onset diabetes is usually a consequence of poor eating habits (too much sugar and stimulants), often proceeded by hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Diabetes is an extreme form of blood sugar imbalance. This condition arises when the body can no longer produce sufficient insulin, a hormone that helps carry glucose out of the blood and into the cells. The net result is too much glucose in the blood and not enough for the cells. One of the telltale signs is continuous raging thirst as the body tries to dilute excess blood sugar by stimulating us to drink. Ensuring that adrenal hormones, insulin and glucose tolerance factor are properly produced by the liver is fundamental in dealing with all forms of glucose intolerance and diabetes. Particularly important are vitamin C, B3, B5 and zinc and chromium.
Diet advise
The key to a diabetic diet is to keep the blood sugar level even. This is best achieved by eating little and often, choosing foods that contains slow releasing carbohydrates plus some protein. This means eating some nuts with fruit, "seed" vegetables like corn, peas, green beans, or while grains, beans or lentils, which contain both slow-releasing carbohydrates and protein. Avoid all sugars and all forms of concentrated sweetness, such as concentrated fruit juice, and even excesses of faster releasing fruit such as dates and bananas or of dried fruit. Also avoid too many adrenal stimulants such as tea, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes and salt.
Supplements
Diet advise
The key to a diabetic diet is to keep the blood sugar level even. This is best achieved by eating little and often, choosing foods that contains slow releasing carbohydrates plus some protein. This means eating some nuts with fruit, "seed" vegetables like corn, peas, green beans, or while grains, beans or lentils, which contain both slow-releasing carbohydrates and protein. Avoid all sugars and all forms of concentrated sweetness, such as concentrated fruit juice, and even excesses of faster releasing fruit such as dates and bananas or of dried fruit. Also avoid too many adrenal stimulants such as tea, coffee, alcohol, cigarettes and salt.
Supplements
- 2 x multivitamin and multimineral
- 2 x vitamin C, 1,000mg
- Zinc 15mg
- Chromium 200mcg
Nutritionist Suggestions
- Vegetable protein
- B Complex
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
- Omega 3
- Multivitamin + multimineral
Liver
Anatomy of the liver: The liver is located in the upper right-hand portion of the abdominal cavity, beneath the diaphragm, and on top of the stomach, right kidney, and intestines. Shaped like a cone, the liver is a dark reddish-brown organ that weighs about 3 pounds. Liver is the biggest and the most complex organ in the body with more than 500 functions. The liver is an "incredible chemical factory," producing many important chemical compounds needed to survive, such as bile, albumin, blood clotting factors, cholesterol, Vitamin E
There are two distinct sources that supply blood to the liver, including the following:
- oxygenated blood flows in from the hepatic artery
- nutrient-rich blood flows in from the hepatic portal vein
The liver holds about one pint (13 percent) of the body's blood supply at any given moment. The liver consists of two main lobes, both of which are made up of thousands of lobules. These lobules are connected to small ducts that connect with larger ducts to ultimately form the hepatic duct. The hepatic duct transports the bile produced by the liver cells to the gallbladder and duodenum (the first part of the small intestine).
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Functions of the liver:
The liver regulates most chemical levels in the blood and excretes a product called bile, which helps carry away waste products from the liver. All the blood leaving the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. The liver processes this blood and breaks down the nutrients and drugs into forms that are easier to use for the rest of the body. More than 500 vital functions have been identified with the liver. Some of the more well-known functions include the following:- production of bile, which helps carry away waste and break down fats in the small intestine during digestion
- production of certain proteins for blood plasma
- production of cholesterol and special proteins to help carry fats through the body
- conversion of excess glucose into glycogen for storage (glycogen can later be converted back to glucose for energy)
- regulation of blood levels of amino acids, which form the building blocks of proteins
- processing of hemoglobin for use of its iron content (the liver stores iron)
- conversion of poisonous ammonia to urea (urea is an end product of protein metabolism and is excreted in the urine)
- clearing the blood of drugs and other poisonous substances
- regulating blood clotting
- resisting infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream
When the liver has broken down harmful substances, its by-products are excreted into the bile or blood. Bile by-products enter the intestine and ultimately leave the body in the form of feces. Blood by-products are filtered out by the kidneys, and leave the body in the form of urine.
In a nutshell, liver's functions:
- Stores the iron reserves that the body needs as well as a lot of vitamins and other minerals
- Produces bile for food digestion
- Detoxifies poisonous chemicals that includes alcohol, wine and drugs (prescribed and OTC) as well as illegal substances
- Stores energy by stockpiling sugar (carbohydrates, glucose and fat) until the body needs it
- Makes the blood in the system before a child is born
- Manufacture new proteins that the body needs to stay healthy and grow
- Remove poisonous toxins from the air, exhaust smoke and chemicals that we breathe
- Makes clotting factors that stop bleeding
- Defend the body against germs going into our body all the time by knocking them dead or at least weaken them
- Don't drown in alcohol. Even one drink is too much for some people and could scar the liver for life
- What ch the drugs you take. All drugs are chemicals and when mixed without doctor's advise could create something poisonous that could damage the liver badly. In short, stay off drugs as best as you can. Liver scars easily and those scars, called "cirrhosis" are permanent
- Be careful with aerosol sprays! The liver has to detoxify what you breathe in too. In short, be careful of what you breathe in
- Watch what get on your skin! Those insecticides that you put on trees and shrubs not only kill bugs they can get to the liver through your skin and destroy its cells. Remember they are all chemicals. Cover your skin with gloves, long sleeves , a hat and mask every time insecticides are in the air or when you are handling them
- 5. Do not eat too much fatty food. The liver will make the cholesterol the body needs and it'll try to make the right amount. Give your liver a break. Eat a well balanced diet.
The liver has no pain nerves and it will not tell you that it's in trouble until it's almost at the end of its rope..and yours.
Remember: The liver is a non-complainer. Overloading it with drugs, alholhol and other junk serves to destroy it. This might be the only warning you will ever get
Heart Attacks And Drinking Warm Water
This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your meal, but about Heart Attacks . The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals, not cold water, maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating.
For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
Common Symptoms Of Heart Attack...
A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting . Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line .
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.
For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you. It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.
Common Symptoms Of Heart Attack...
A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting . Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line .
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.
Guess Who's Back? (^___^)
Anwar's popularity adds to ruling party's fear and loathing
JAMES CHIN
28/08/2008 10:15:00 AM
Former deputy prime minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim won a crucial by-election for the parliamentary seat of Pemantang Pauh on Tuesday. That Anwar was going to win was never in doubt. He was first elected to the seat in the early 1980s and his wife became MP when he was jailed in 1988. Last month, she resigned from the seat so Anwar could get back into Parliament.
What was unexpected was the huge margin of victory. Anwar's wife won the seat in the March general elections with slightly more than 13,000-vote majority. Many had expected Anwar to win by about 10,000 votes rather than the nearly 16,000 votes he took on Tuesday.
The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition poured everything it had into the campaign. Led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, the BN promised nearly 60million ringgit (about $A20million) worth of development.
Almost every minister visited the constituency offering more goodies if Anwar was defeated. The BN has spent millions in trying to discredit Anwar, using the mainstream media and giant video screens spread all over the constituency, to remind voters that Anwar is under criminal indictment for sodomy.
Sodomy is a serious offence under Islam and more than 60 per cent of Pemantang Pauh's voters are Malay Muslims. The BN showed a tape of Anwar's accuser swearing on the Koran that he was sodomised by Anwar. Malay voters were told also that Anwar was a race traitor.
Anwar champions the removal of the New Economic Policy, or NEP. Under the guise of affirmative action, this policy discriminates against the non-Malay population in all areas of political and economic life.
Special scholarships, bank loans, contracts and even a university were established exclusively for the Malays. While it was initially popular among the Malay population and deeply resented by non-Malays, in recent years, the younger, better educated, Malays have become critics of the NEP.
It is a known fact that the NEP has enriched only those with link to the United Malays National Organisation, the ruling party, and that poorer Malays have benefited much less. Some Malays who supported opposition parties were even denied access to the NEP.
Younger Malays are starting to realise that the NEP, far from helping them, is actually a tool for UMNO to manipulate and buy its political support from the Malay community. The culture of corruption created by the NEP has reached the plateau that a large segment of the Malay community has decided that the only way to get rid of the corruption is to get rid of the NEP and UMNO. They also want an end to racial politics in Malaysia pioneered by the BN, and UMNO in particular.
UMNO's ideology of ''Ketuanan Melayu'' or Malay Supremacy has meant open and blatant racial discrimination against the non-Malay population.
One senior Chinese minister described UMNO's relationship with its non-Malay parties in the BN parties as akin to a ''master-slave'' relationship. Race relations are now much worse after 50 years of independence.
Anwar has promised to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Policy, or MEP, which does not have racial criteria. The overwhelmingly majority of the younger population sees this as the only real long-term solution to racial polarisation.
Anwar has promised that he will engineer the defection of about 30 MPs from the BN by the middle of September, and he will take over as prime minister then. There is every reason to believe that Anwar is capable of doing this, although the BN will still try to do its best to stop him. The BN will do its best to make sure that Anwar is convicted of sodomy.
It does not matter that more than 80 per cent of the population thinks that the sodomy allegations are politically motivated. The only political game Malaysia now, at least among UMNO, is to stop Anwar. The security apparatus will also be used against Anwar's allies. Several leaders in Anwar's parties have been arrested for corruption, and bloggers who are sympathetic to Anwar are being sued for defamation and publishing false reports on the internet.
The Government is also expected to pass laws that restrict political chatter on the internet, and crack down harder on civil society groups. The BN is still a powerful political machine and when it is threatened, it moves back to its authoritarian mode.
There is every reason to believe that there will be mass arrests under the Internal Security Act to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister.
There are too many vested interests that will stop at nothing to make sure that their corruption and past misdeeds are not exposed by Anwar's new administration.
They have every reason to fear the consequences of an Anwar ascendancy. When Anwar's party took power in several states after the March general elections, they exposed shady land deals and government contracts worth millions. A Morgan Stanley report published a few years ago says that corruption has cost Malaysia the equivalent of more than $110billion in the past 30 years. The NEP was promulgated about 30 years ago and it was only after the NEP came into being that ''money politics'' became synonymous with UMNO.
If Anwar eventually becomes Malaysia's prime minister, it will be one of Asia's most remarkable political comeback tales. The closest one to it is that of Kim Dae Jung. Sometimes called the Nelson Mandela of Asia, Kim was nearly killed by South Korea's intelligence service in the 1970s, imprisoned, put under house arrest, sentenced to death for sedition and banned from politics. Kim managed to overcome all these obstacles before becoming South Korea's president from 1998 to 2003.
James Chin teaches at Monash University's campus in Malaysia.
JAMES CHIN
28/08/2008 10:15:00 AM
Former deputy prime minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim won a crucial by-election for the parliamentary seat of Pemantang Pauh on Tuesday. That Anwar was going to win was never in doubt. He was first elected to the seat in the early 1980s and his wife became MP when he was jailed in 1988. Last month, she resigned from the seat so Anwar could get back into Parliament.
What was unexpected was the huge margin of victory. Anwar's wife won the seat in the March general elections with slightly more than 13,000-vote majority. Many had expected Anwar to win by about 10,000 votes rather than the nearly 16,000 votes he took on Tuesday.
The ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition poured everything it had into the campaign. Led by the Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, the BN promised nearly 60million ringgit (about $A20million) worth of development.
Almost every minister visited the constituency offering more goodies if Anwar was defeated. The BN has spent millions in trying to discredit Anwar, using the mainstream media and giant video screens spread all over the constituency, to remind voters that Anwar is under criminal indictment for sodomy.
Sodomy is a serious offence under Islam and more than 60 per cent of Pemantang Pauh's voters are Malay Muslims. The BN showed a tape of Anwar's accuser swearing on the Koran that he was sodomised by Anwar. Malay voters were told also that Anwar was a race traitor.
Anwar champions the removal of the New Economic Policy, or NEP. Under the guise of affirmative action, this policy discriminates against the non-Malay population in all areas of political and economic life.
Special scholarships, bank loans, contracts and even a university were established exclusively for the Malays. While it was initially popular among the Malay population and deeply resented by non-Malays, in recent years, the younger, better educated, Malays have become critics of the NEP.
It is a known fact that the NEP has enriched only those with link to the United Malays National Organisation, the ruling party, and that poorer Malays have benefited much less. Some Malays who supported opposition parties were even denied access to the NEP.
Younger Malays are starting to realise that the NEP, far from helping them, is actually a tool for UMNO to manipulate and buy its political support from the Malay community. The culture of corruption created by the NEP has reached the plateau that a large segment of the Malay community has decided that the only way to get rid of the corruption is to get rid of the NEP and UMNO. They also want an end to racial politics in Malaysia pioneered by the BN, and UMNO in particular.
UMNO's ideology of ''Ketuanan Melayu'' or Malay Supremacy has meant open and blatant racial discrimination against the non-Malay population.
One senior Chinese minister described UMNO's relationship with its non-Malay parties in the BN parties as akin to a ''master-slave'' relationship. Race relations are now much worse after 50 years of independence.
Anwar has promised to replace the NEP with the Malaysian Economic Policy, or MEP, which does not have racial criteria. The overwhelmingly majority of the younger population sees this as the only real long-term solution to racial polarisation.
Anwar has promised that he will engineer the defection of about 30 MPs from the BN by the middle of September, and he will take over as prime minister then. There is every reason to believe that Anwar is capable of doing this, although the BN will still try to do its best to stop him. The BN will do its best to make sure that Anwar is convicted of sodomy.
It does not matter that more than 80 per cent of the population thinks that the sodomy allegations are politically motivated. The only political game Malaysia now, at least among UMNO, is to stop Anwar. The security apparatus will also be used against Anwar's allies. Several leaders in Anwar's parties have been arrested for corruption, and bloggers who are sympathetic to Anwar are being sued for defamation and publishing false reports on the internet.
The Government is also expected to pass laws that restrict political chatter on the internet, and crack down harder on civil society groups. The BN is still a powerful political machine and when it is threatened, it moves back to its authoritarian mode.
There is every reason to believe that there will be mass arrests under the Internal Security Act to stop Anwar from becoming prime minister.
There are too many vested interests that will stop at nothing to make sure that their corruption and past misdeeds are not exposed by Anwar's new administration.
They have every reason to fear the consequences of an Anwar ascendancy. When Anwar's party took power in several states after the March general elections, they exposed shady land deals and government contracts worth millions. A Morgan Stanley report published a few years ago says that corruption has cost Malaysia the equivalent of more than $110billion in the past 30 years. The NEP was promulgated about 30 years ago and it was only after the NEP came into being that ''money politics'' became synonymous with UMNO.
If Anwar eventually becomes Malaysia's prime minister, it will be one of Asia's most remarkable political comeback tales. The closest one to it is that of Kim Dae Jung. Sometimes called the Nelson Mandela of Asia, Kim was nearly killed by South Korea's intelligence service in the 1970s, imprisoned, put under house arrest, sentenced to death for sedition and banned from politics. Kim managed to overcome all these obstacles before becoming South Korea's president from 1998 to 2003.
James Chin teaches at Monash University's campus in Malaysia.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
11 Featured Nutrients: Why You Need Them
Featured Nutrient: Beta Carotene
By Sylvia M. Geiger, M.S., R.D. , EatingWell.com
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My friend once turned a yellowish tinge after being on a crazy diet where she ate loads of baby carrots. The culprit? Beta carotene, the compound that makes carrots and sweet potatoes orange. (Leafy greens, such as spinach, also contain healthy doses of beta carotene.) In the body, beta carotene is converted to vitamin A, a nutrient essential for healthy vision, immune function and cell growth. It also acts as an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals.
More carrots, less cancer?
After early research linked diets rich in beta carotene with reduced risk for cancer, scientists supposed that beta-carotene supplements might also help prevent cancer. Unfortunately, two large clinical trials in the 1990s revealed that taking mega-dose beta-carotene supplements increased rates of lung cancer in smokers. Test-tube research shows that, in high doses, beta carotene can act as a pro-oxidant (boosting free-radical production and risk of disease) and this might happen in the body, too, says Robert Russell, M.D., director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Skip supplements; eat your veggies, says Russell; "there doesn't appear to be any health risk to getting plenty of beta carotene from foods." (Yellow skin is temporary and harmless, say experts.)
Can beta carotene keep you sharp?
A study in the December 2006 Journal of Gerontology linked high blood levels of beta carotene with a lower risk of cognitive decline in people predisposed to Alzheimer's. "Beta carotene may counter free radical damage involved in the development of Alzheimer's in some people," says Peifeng Hu, M.D., the study's author and an assistant professor at UCLA School of Medicine.
How much?
There's no RDA for beta carotene. Eat plenty of dark green vegetables and orange vegetables and fruits (papaya, mango) weekly to meet your vitamin A needs and reap beta carotene's potential antioxidant benefits.
Featured Nutrient: B12
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
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Blame it on the law of unintended consequences. As soon as the food industry began to fortify foods like breads and breakfast cereals with folate, nutrition researchers found a new worry. They were concerned that people with vitamin B12 deficiencies—a hidden cause of nerve damage, depression and perhaps even mental decline in older people—might now go undiagnosed. In the past, many cases of B12 deficiency were first recognized when people developed a specific type of anemia that can be caused by either low folate or low B12 levels. Getting extra folate can mask the symptoms of B12-related anemia, making people feel fine even when levels of this crucial vitamin are low enough to cause significant nerve damage.
And then there is the antacid dilemma. B12, which is typically bound up with protein in food, is broken down by stomach acids. The widespread use of antacids for heartburn and gastric reflux has some experts fretting that the pills and liquids could block the absorption of this crucial nutrient. "At the moment we don't really know how serious that issue is," admits University of California-Davis nutrition researcher Lindsay Allen, a leading vitamin B12 expert who helped draft the current federal guidelines. Still, it's clear that a significant percentage of people aren't getting enough. According to one recent survey, 6 percent of Americans are frankly deficient; another 22 percent are borderline deficient.
What it does:
Vitamin B12 is used in making DNA, the building block of genes, and in maintaining healthy nerve and red blood cells. Early signs of trouble include fatigue and dizziness. Over time the consequences of B12 deficiency are more serious, including nerve damage, severe anemia and even dementia. Several studies have linked low B12 levels to depression. Too little may also be hard on hearts. Researchers have discovered that when B12 levels dip, levels of the amino acid homocysteine rise, which is an important risk factor for heart disease.
Older people are most likely to fall short, according to Allen. As we age, the stomach produces less gastric acid, making it harder for the body to absorb B12 from food. Between 10 and 15 percent of people over 60 are thought to be deficient. Because B12 is found mostly in meat and dairy products, some vegetarians and especially vegans may not get all they need.
How much you need:
Most experts think the current recommended daily allowance of 2.4 micrograms a day for people 14 and older provides all the body needs—although some researchers have argued that a daily intake of 6 micrograms would ensure that even people who don't absorb B12 efficiently will get enough. Luckily, it appears you can't get too much B12, as no upper limit has been set. What's more, the body effectively stores the vitamin for a couple of years. So you can fall short now and then and make up the difference later without hardship.
B12 is bound to protein, so foods like meat, fish, eggs and dairy products like yogurt and milk are the principle sources. If you're a vegetarian, it's wise to include plenty of milk, yogurt, or cheese on the menu—and to consider taking a daily multivitamin. If you're a vegan, popping a multi is particularly important. Several brands of multivitamins contain 25 micrograms of B12, more than enough to ensure that you get all you need.
Food sources of B12:
Beef liver, braised (3 oz.) = 60 mcg
Clams, baked or broiled (3 oz.) = 47 mcg
Complete Wheat Bran Flakes (1 cup) = 8 mcg
Nutritional yeast flakes (1 Tbsp.) = 4 mcg
Lobster, steamed (3 oz.) = 3 mcg
Tuna fish, light (3 oz.) = 3 mcg
Salmon, cooked (3 oz.) = 2 mcg
Beef, ground, 90%-lean (3 oz.) = 2 mcg
Milk, 2% (1 cup) = 1 mcg
Cottage cheese, low-fat (1/2 cup) = 1 mcg
Source: ESHA database 2005
Featured Nutrient: Chromium
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
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After its discovery in the 1950s, chromium languished in relative obscurity. Most people seemed to get plenty of this essential nutrient without giving it a second thought. Now suddenly chromium supplements—usually in a form called chromium picolinate—have become superstars of the dietary-supplement aisle, touted as an easy way to shed fat, build muscles, prevent diabetes and even lower heart disease risk. Is it just hype?
What it does:
Like most such claims, the extravagant promises made for chromium start with a kernel of scientific truth. Chromium is required by the body for the process that turns food into usable energy, helping insulin prime cells to take up glucose. In the 1970s, studies showed that patients given chromium-free intravenous feeding regimens developed abnormal glucose metabolism; once they were given the mineral, the problems vanished.
As Americans and people from other affluent countries began to put on excess pounds and become insulin resistant, however, researchers started to wonder if extra chromium might help give insulin a boost. If so, the mineral could lower the risk not only of diabetes but also heart disease—and might even help some people lose weight.
From the start, the evidence was shaky. Though some studies did show an improvement in glucose metabolism, insulin resistance and cholesterol levels when people took chromium, others turned up no benefit at all. So the National Institutes of Health decided to put chromium to the test. In a study conducted in Boston and in Sydney, Australia, 40 patients with impaired glucose were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Half took an 800-microgram (mcg) chromium pill every day; the others a placebo.
The results, published last year, significantly dimmed chromium's luster. "After three months, chromium didn't improve glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity or cholesterol levels," says lead researcher Jenny Gunton, Ph.D. And, while the chromium-takers lost a few centimeters around their waists, so did people in the placebo group—belying claims that chromium offers any special help in dropping pounds.
Other findings have tarnished chromium's image as a muscle-building miracle pill. Recent experiments that used the most sensitive methods to measure body fat and lean mass have shown no benefits from popping chromium supplements.
How much you need:
These disappointing findings with supplements don't mean the body doesn't need chromium. Some researchers still believe that falling short may add to the problem of insulin resistance and perhaps diabetes and heart disease. The National Institutes of Health's normal daily recommended intake for adults is 50 to 200 mcg. But because even the same food source can vary widely in how much it contains—and reliable measures of chromium in foods are hard to come by—tallying up your intake can be tricky (see box).
Where to get it:
Best sources of chromium are whole-grain breads and cereals, meat, nuts, prunes, raisins, beer and wine. If those don't show up frequently on your menu, taking a multivitamin/mineral combination, not a chromium supplement, is a wise move. One-a-day multis typically contain 150 mcg—more than enough to give most people all they need to stay healthy.
Food sources of chromium (mcg):
Since there's no large database yet for the chromium content of foods, use these values as a general guide rather than gospel.
Brewer's yeast (1 oz.) = 31.4
Whole-grain bread (1 oz. slice) = 11.8
Broccoli (1/2 cup) = 11.0
Beer (12 oz.) = 9-100
Grape juice (8 oz.) = 7.5
Turkey ham (1 oz. slice) = 3.5
Beef (3 oz.) = 2.0
Adapted from the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University, and www.healthyeatingclub.orgFeatured Nutrient: Vitamin K
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
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Vitamin K? What, you might well ask, ever happened to vitamins F, G, H, I and J?
In fact, when Danish researcher Henrik Dam discovered a substance essential to blood clotting in 1929, he jumped right over the intervening letters of the alphabet and named his new find vitamin K, for koagulation. For years afterwards, coagulation seemed to be the vitamin's only function. But now researchers are turning up evidence that vitamin K plays other crucial roles in the body, prompting some scientists to think the optimal intake may be higher than current guidelines recommend.
What it does:
Vitamin K is used by the body to produce an array of different proteins. Some of them are used to create factors that allow blood to coagulate—critical in stemming bleeding and allowing cuts and wounds to heal. Other vitamin K-dependent proteins are used for maintaining healthy bones and keeping arteries unclogged. "Vitamin K allows a protein called osteocalcin to bind to calcium in bone, for example, which helps maintain bone density," explains Sarah L. Booth, Ph.D., a scientist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University and one of only a small group of vitamin K nutrition experts in the world. There's also preliminary evidence that vitamin K-dependent proteins may have a role in preventing hardening of the arteries, which can constrict blood flow and trigger heart attacks.
How much you need:
The current recommended daily intake of vitamin K is 90 micrograms for women and 120 for men, based on the levels that are needed to maintain normal coagulation, and currently there is no set upper level intake. Booth and other experts suspect that the most effective level may be higher, based on what is being discovered about K's other roles. "At the moment, though, we don't have the data to say exactly what optimal intake should be," she admits.
Luckily, vitamin K deficiency is extremely uncommon. And since the main dietary sources of vitamin K are dark green vegetables, which are healthy for many reasons, the best advice is to help yourself to as much as you can. In a 10-year study of 72,000 women enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study, researchers found that those who consumed the most foods containing vitamin K had a 30 percent lower risk of hip fractures than those whose diets contained the least vitamin K. Whether the vitamin itself or other nutrients in the foods were responsible for the benefit isn't known. But in a small 2002 study at Osaka Medical College in Japan, researchers found that vitamin D and K supplements increased bone density in postmenopausal women.
Leafy green vegetables of all kinds, from spinach and kale to arugula and green leaf lettuce, are especially rich in the vitamin. "In plants, vitamin K is involved in photosynthesis, so an easy rule of thumb is the greener the leaf, the more vitamin K it contains," says Booth. Spinach has a lot, for example; pale iceberg lettuce much less. Vitamin K is also abundant in many vegetable oils, including soybean, canola, and olive oil.
A word of caution:
If you are taking an anticoagulant medication such as warfarin, your doctor may advise you to avoid overdoing foods rich in vitamin K, since the vitamin can interfere with the drug's action. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor before making changes to your diet.
Food Sources of Vitamin K:
Kale, cooked (1/2 cup) = 531 mcg
Spinach, raw (1 cup) = 145 mcg
Broccoli, cooked (two 5" spears) = 104 mcg
Asparagus, cooked (1/2 cup) = 68 mcg
Arugula, raw (1 cup) = 62 mcg
Green leaf lettuce (1 cup) = 57 mcg
Soybean oil (1 Tbsp.) = 27 mcg
Canola oil (1 Tbsp.) = 17 mcg
Olive oil (1 Tbsp.) = 8 mcg
Tomato, fresh (1 med.) = 7 mcg
Featured Nutrient: Potassium
By Joyce Hendley, EatingWell.com
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The word "ubiquitous" comes to mind with potassium, a mineral found in all the body's cells as well as in the fluid surrounding them. It's involved in almost every vital body process: maintaining blood pressure, heart and kidney function, muscle contraction, even digestion. And we humans were obviously meant to get plenty of it, since it's abundant in just about any fresh, whole food—from potatoes and peas to milk and fish.
Why, then, do surveys show that most Americans get less than half the recommended amounts of potassium?
Problem is, say experts, we haven't been eating many of those whole foods lately. When a food is processed—"whether it's cooked or put in a can, you lose potassium," explains R. Curtis Morris, Jr., M.D., a nephrologist at the University of California at San Francisco and a member of the advisory panel on Dietary Reference Intakes. Matters worsen when manufacturers add salt during processing, as they almost always do: when we eat those foods, we deplete our potassium stores to help us handle the excess sodium. Many researchers feel that the resulting sodium-potassium imbalance is one reason why the U.S. incidence of hypertension (high blood pressure) keeps climbing, —and with it, our risk of diseases related to blood pressure, notably stroke.
What would happen if we got enough?
If Americans increased their potassium intake to meet recommendations, says Morris, "we'd readily reduce the likelihood of people expressing hypertension." For evidence, we need look no farther than the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and Omni Heart trials—major studies in which people with confirmed or near hypertension saw significant drops in their blood pressure after eating a potassium-rich diet that included 9 to 10 daily servings of fruits and vegetables and ample amounts of low-fat dairy products.
More potassium would likely benefit our bones and kidneys too, says Morris, who is one of many who believe that our protein- and cereal-grain-rich western diet produces more acid than our bodies were designed to handle. Excess acid in the blood causes calcium and other minerals to leach out from bones to buffer it, causing bone loss and encouraging the formation of calcium-containing kidney stones. Potassium-rich foods, on the other hand, are alkaline, so eating more of them might help counterbalance this tendency, thus helping to preserve bones and prevent kidney stones.
How much you need—and how to get it
Because of potassium's health benefits, the recommended adequate intake of potassium for teens and adults is 4,700 milligrams (mg) daily. (The exception are people with kidney disease or severe congestive heart failure, who may have trouble getting rid of the mineral and must limit their intake.) While getting enough potassium through foods is doable, Morris readily admits it takes plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables and "organization" to pull it off. Those who have trouble can ask a doctor to recommend a potassium citrate or malate supplement.
The best potassium sources are foods that are closest to their original states, so be sure to choose whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible, especially fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish and lean meats. If that sounds familiar, it should; it's how nutrition guidelines have urged us to eat for years. Add potassium to the many compelling reasons why it's worth the effort.
Food sources of potassium (MG):
Sweet potato, baked, 1 medium = 694
Beet greens, 1/2 cup cooked = 655
Potato, baked, 1 medium = 610
Yogurt, plain, nonfat, 1 cup = 579
Halibut, cooked, 3 oz. = 490
Lima beans, 1/2 cup cooked = 484
Banana, 1 medium = 422
Milk, nonfat, 1 cup = 382
Cantaloupe, 1/4 medium = 368
Orange juice, 3/4 cup = 355
Source: U.S. Dietary Guidelines 2005
Featured Nutrient: Magnesium
By Rachael Moeller Gorman, EatingWell.com
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Long a wallflower in the field of nutrition, magnesium has recently drawn rapt attention. Harvard just released a study of almost 130,000 men and women reporting that those who consumed more magnesium in their diets were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Other studies show that it may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
Although crucial to health, magnesium has been sorely neglected by the American diet; some studies suggest that three-quarters of the population fail to get enough. Interestingly, even small increases in dietary magnesium helped lower the chances of diabetes, says researcher Ruy Lopez-Ridaura. Supplements, however, had no effect.
What it does:
Necessary for some of the body's most basic processes, magnesium triggers more than 300 biochemical reactions—most importantly the production of energy from the food we eat. It also generates a response to insulin, the hormone that ushers glucose into the body's cells, where it is used to make energy. It help make proteins in the body, maintains muscle and nerve function, sustains a steady heart rhythm, regulates blood pressure, and keeps bones and teeth strong.
How much you need:
Most Americans take in far less than the RDA of magnesium, says Lopez-Ridaura. "People should try to get around 300 mg/day (women) and 350 mg/day (men) to have an important reduction in their risk of diabetes." But too much supplemental magnesium is also not recommended, the National Nutrition Board has set the upper limit for supplemental magnesium at 350 mg.
Food sources of magnesium:
The mineral is abundant in avocados, nuts and leafy greens. "Magnesium is also very closely associated with fiber and whole grains," Lopez-Ridaura notes. "When grains get processed and refined, they lose a lot of magnesium. Western diets in general are bad for diabetes, and lack of magnesium could be one explanation of this increasing epidemic."
1 cup baked acorn squash = 105 mg
1 oz. toasted wheat germ = 90 mg
1 oz. dry-roasted almonds (24 nuts) = 86 mg
2 rectangular biscuits shredded wheat = 80 mg
1/2 cup cooked spinach = 65 mg
1 stalk broccoli = 59 mg
1 medium kiwi fruit = 23 mg
1/2 medium Hass avocado = 103 mg
Featured Nutrient: Vitamin C
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
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Vitamin C burst into prominence back in the 1970s, when Nobel Prize-winning scientist Linus Pauling claimed that high doses could stop cancer and might be the long-sought cure for the common cold.
Alas, neither claim has quite held up under scrutiny. Vitamin C doesn't prevent colds. Nor does taking large doses slow or stop cancer. But Pauling's instincts were not entirely wrong. There are still many sound reasons to get plenty of C.
What it does:
Researchers have long known that vitamin C is an essential building block of collagen, the structural material for bone, skin, blood vessels and other tissue. Failing to get enough vitamin C causes inflammation of the gums, scaly skin, nosebleed, painful joints and other problems associated with scurvy.
In addition, many studies show that eating foods rich in C can reduce the risk of developing cancer, particularly cancers that strike the mouth and digestive tract, according to Jane Higdon, a nutrition scientist at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant, able to neutralize unstable oxygen molecules that might otherwise damage DNA. Recent findings suggest it may also protect against Helicobacter pylori, bacteria linked to both stomach cancer and ulcers. A 2003 study at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center reported that people with high blood levels of vitamin C are less likely to test positive for infection by H. pylori. The vitamin appears to inhibit bacterial growth.
Vitamin C is also proving to be friendly to the heart and arteries. Analyzing data from more than 85,000 women in the Nurses Health Study, researchers at Children's Hospital, Boston, reported in 2003 that those with the highest intake of C had the lowest risk of heart disease over a 16-year period. Here, too, the antioxidant effect may be at work, preventing damage to artery walls that can promote cholesterol buildup. But vitamin C seems to protect in other ways as well. In 2004, scientists from the University of Oslo reported that after volunteers ate two or three vitamin-C-rich kiwis a day for 28 days, platelets in their blood were less likely to clump together and form small blood clots that can jam arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke. Eating kiwis also lowered triglycerides, or fats in the blood, by 15 percent, an effect that scientists credit to kiwis' vitamin C, E and polyphenol content.
Getting plenty of C may be especially important for pregnant moms and infants. Last year a study in Seoul, South Korea, reported higher birth weights among babies born to mothers with high vitamin C levels. This year a report in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that vitamin C in breast milk may reduce the risk of allergic dermatitis in predisposed infants.
How much you need:
The current recommended daily intake for men is 90 mg and for women it is 75 mg. "Don't waste your money on megadoses of vitamin C," says Higdon. A National Institutes of Health study showed that the body can only absorb a maximum of about 400 milligrams a day; more than that simply washes out of the system (the upper tolerable limit for vitamin C has been set at 2,000 milligrams per day). Follow the latest advice to eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day and chances are you'll get all you need—especially if you choose several foods high in C.
Food Sources of Vitamin C:
Virtually everything in the produce section boasts some vitamin C. Excellent sources (per 1/2 cup serving) include:
green bell pepper = 60 mg
orange = 48 mg
strawberries = 45 mg
broccoli = 39 mg
cantaloupe = 29 mg
tomato = 23 mg
turnip greens, cooked = 20 mg
sweet potato, baked with skin = 20 mg
okra, cooked = 13 mg
Featured Nutrient: Vitamin D
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
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By all rights, vitamin D should be the one essential nutrient we don't need to fret about. During the summer months, most of us need only about 10 to 20 minutes of direct sun on the hands and face for our skin to manufacture enough D for the whole day. To make up for any shortfall, especially in young children, milk has been fortified with D since the 1930s.
So it came as a shock a few years back when surveys found that a large number of Americans aren't getting nearly enough. In one study, for example, 32 percent of healthy young adults in Boston were found to be vitamin D-deficient.
What it does:
Early on, most of the concern focused on bones, since vitamin D, working along with calcium, helps build and maintain them. But now there are new worries. "Receptors for vitamin D are being found on all kinds of cells where we never expected to find them," says Hector DeLuca, M.D., professor and chair in the department of biochemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "That suggests it plays a much broader role in the body than we imagined." In fact, vitamin D regulates more than 50 different genes, affecting tissues throughout the body. Falling short may be risky in ways scientists never suspected.
The first disease to be linked to vitamin D deficiency was rickets, which occurs when children's bones don't get enough calcium to form normally. In adults, a shortfall in D can lead to soft and painful bones because D plays a crucial role in maintaining steady levels of calcium in the blood.
New investigations are turning up other essential functions: maintaining the immune system, controlling blood pressure, and ensuring the secretion of insulin in order to control blood-sugar levels.
Studies show that too little vitamin D is associated with a greater risk of several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Last year, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health reported that women who got at least 400 international units of vitamin D daily—the amount found in the typical multivitamin supplement—were 40 percent less likely to get MS than those not taking multivitamins.
Inadequate levels have also been linked to increased danger of several cancers, including colon and prostate cancer, and both insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, the constellation of conditions that dramatically increases heart-disease risk.
How much you need:
Guidelines on vitamin D are currently under debate. The official recommendations now call for 200 international units for children and 600 IU for people over 71, with other groups falling somewhere between. But many researchers reviewing the latest findings think most adults should be getting around 1,000 IU per day and some suggest even dramatically higher levels. Currently the safe upper limit is 2,000 IU, and until new recommendations are issued, people should not exceed this level unless taking the supplement under doctor supervision; too much vitamin D can be toxic.
One way to boost vitamin D levels is simply to catch some rays when the sun is high without putting on sunscreen. But that advice is extremely controversial, since too much unprotected sun exposure can cause skin cancer. And there's another problem. "In the northern part of the country, the sun isn't strong enough in the winter months to trigger vitamin D production," says DeLuca, even if you are crazy enough to sunbathe on a rooftop in Boston in December.
Food sources of vitamin D:
We rely on fortified milk and breakfast cereals to get most of our dietary vitamin D-an 8 ounce glass of milk has 100 IU. And apart from a few kinds of fish that are naturally rich in D, including herring and sardines, there aren't many natural food sources. "That leaves supplements," says DeLuca. Like a growing number of experts, he thinks supplements, especially during winter and spring when people are most likely to be deficient, are a good idea. Standard multivitamins contain 400 IU. If you don't drink much milk, it might be worth taking an additional 400 IU through a vitamin D capsule.
Featured Nutrient: Folate/Folic Acid
By EatingWell, EatingWell.com
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Long linked to the health of pregnant women and their infants, folate is growing in repute. Physicians now prescribe diets rich in folate and folic acid, its synthetic equivalent, to patients at risk for heart disease and stroke. Recent studies also suggest that this B vitamin may keep depression and certain cancers at bay.
What it does:
Folate is necessary for the production of new cells, including red blood cells. Fortification of grain products like cereals and flour in the U.S. began six years ago, but experts say that folate deficiency remains a major cause of spinal-cord defects in newborns. Estimates vary, but by one count the average American woman is getting only 278 micrograms of folate a day, far below the recommended 400 mcg. If you are deficient in folate, you are also likely to have higher levels of homocysteine in your blood, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. In one study, 800 mcg of folate per day reduced the risk of heart disease by 50 percent in nondrinkers. Other studies have shown that correcting a folate deficiency can sometimes reverse depression.
How much you need:
Many dietitians recommend taking a multivitamin with 400 mcg of folic acid (1,000 mcg per day is the safe upper limit for folic acid, which in excess can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency). People over age 50 taking folic acid are advised to take a supplement balanced with vitamin B12.
Food sources of folate:
Rich sources of folate include liver, dried beans and peas, spinach and leafy greens, asparagus and fortified cereals.
Kidney beans (1 cup cooked) = 230 mcg
Lentils (1 cup cooked) = 358 mcg
Asparagus spears 6 each = 134 mcg
Oatmeal (fortified) = 130 mcg
Spinach (1/2 cup cooked) = 121 mcg
Romaine lettuce (1 cup chopped) = 76 mcg
Peas (1/2 cup cooked) = 47 mcg
Featured Nutrient: Zinc
By Allison J. Cleary, EatingWell.com
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Complain of a head cold and stuffy nose and chances are some well-intentioned acquaintance will suggest a zinc lozenge, the very supplement that male would-be swingers were popping in the '70s to increase bedroom stamina. For a trace mineral, needed in only tiny amounts, zinc has garnered a lot of attention in recent years. Much of it is well deserved, although surprisingly not for the reasons many suspect.
What it does:
Zinc is integral to almost every cell of the human body, it keeps the immune system healthy, helps heal wounds, aids in breaking down carbohydrates, fats and proteins, maintains the body's keen sense of both taste and smell, regulates testosterone and supports the body in growing and developing properly. In addition, scientists continue to investigate the role that zinc may play in preventing prostate cancer and diabetes, in regulating male fertility and in warding off macular degeneration—an age-related condition that can lead to blindness. As for preventing the common cold and enhancing sexual prowess, current research suggests that any benefit may stem more from a placebo effect than a true remedy, although the jury is still out on whether zinc can help shorten the duration of a cold. Health professionals are quick to warn, however, that people can easily harm themselves by taking too much supplemental zinc.
Although zinc is readily available through diet, about 20 percent of men and 40 percent of women in this country fail to get enough. True zinc deficiencies are rare in the United States, but health researchers are finding that low levels have a multitude of consequences: difficulty healing wounds, diminished appetite, low birth weight, possible infertility in men, muscle fatigue and diminished strength.
One study recently showed that young men's muscle strength and endurance dropped when they ate a low-zinc diet (4 milligrams/day) for 9 weeks, compared to a similar time period when they consumed a higher-zinc diet (15 mg/day). According to the researcher, Hank Lukaski, a physiologist at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota, zinc activates an enzyme that helps the body shed carbon dioxide, which is produced when we burn carbohydrates and fat. A buildup of carbon dioxide will cause the cells to malfunction, and make even simple physical chores more difficult. "We're talking about normal activities, nothing more than someone carrying two shopping bags out of the grocery store," Lukaski says.
How much you need:
As essential as zinc is, you don't need much for a healthy body. The recommended dietary intake for men is 11 mg/day, for women 8 mg/day (11 and 12 mg, respectively, if pregnant or lactating). Adolescents and the elderly are two populations at risk of getting too little zinc. Strict vegans, who don't eat meat, dairy or eggs, should also keep an eye on their zinc intake.
But unless you have a health condition that warrants zinc supplementation, most health professionals advise against it. While a balanced vitamin/mineral supplement is fine, too much zinc, near the upper limit of 40 mg/day and above, may affect the body's ability to absorb and store calcium and copper, and may eventually lead to a debilitating anemia.
Food Sources of zinc:
It's easy to enter the danger zone with supplemented zinc, so dietitians encourage most people to depend on diet instead. Oysters offer a particularly rich source, but lean red meats and chicken, along with legumes, whole grains and dairy products, also pack a tidy sum.
Oysters, steamed (3 oz.) = 30.0 mg
Cooked beef tenderloin (3 oz.) = 4.8 mg
Turkey, dark meat, roasted (3 oz.) = 3.9 mg
Chickpeas (7 oz.) = 2.8 mg
Roast chicken leg = 2.7 mg
Pumpkin seeds (1/4 cup) = 2.6 mg
Cooked pork tenderloin (3 oz.) = 2.5 mg
Plain low-fat yogurt (1 cup) = 2.2 mg
Wheat germ (2 Tbsp.) = 1.8 mg
Tofu (4 oz.) = 1.7 mg
Dry roasted cashews (1 oz.) = 1.6 mg
Swiss cheese (1 oz.) = 1.0 mg
Featured Nutrient: Vitamin E
By Rachael Moeller Gorman, EatingWell.com
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Caught in a quandary about how to handle vitamin E, consumers who have taken hefty doses for years are now rethinking their approach to the potent antioxidant. While research from the past decade claimed that vitamin E may prevent a litany of chronic diseases, other researchers argue that no strong evidence exists to support the claim; a new review of 19 studies contends that taking 400 international units (IU) or more of the vitamin per day might increase the risk of mortality. What's a conscientious consumer to do? For now, say many health professionals, stick to the natural delivery system of vitamin E: food.
What it does:
Scientists have not yet elucidated all of vitamin E's roles, but they hypothesize that it has a role in immune function, DNA repair, the formation of red blood cells and vitamin K absorption. They have confirmed that vitamin E acts as an antioxidant, particularly in protecting cell membranes from damage.
The debate lies in whether supplements can prevent future illness, and many observational studies have in fact linked vitamin E to a reduced risk of heart ailments, cataracts and Alzheimer's disease, as well as an improvement in immune function. Laboratory studies have also discovered that the vitamin can kill certain cancer cells.
But many scientists point to the fact that large-scale, randomized clinical trials—the gold standard of experiments—have yet to observe these benefits. Claus Schneider, a biochemist at Vanderbilt University, points out that aside from possible dangers, synthetic vitamin E supplements do not provide the same mix of alpha, beta, delta and gamma compounds found in natural foods (however, alpha tocopherol is the most biologically active form).
How much you need:
The RDA in men and women is 23 IU, or 15 milligrams, and because many E-rich foods come from nuts and oils, some low-fat diets may be inadequate in vitamin E. Because most foods have small amounts of vitamin E it's virtually impossible to get too much vitamin E through food, and some people may find it difficult to achieve the recommended dietary allowance through diet alone. As insurance, you may want to take a multivitamin that provides 100 percent of the vitamin E requirement, but use caution with high-dose supplementation- the upper tolerable limit for the vitamin is set at 1000 milligrams alpha tocopherol.
Food Sources of Vitamin E:
1 Tbsp. wheat germ oil = 20 mg
1/4 cup sunflower seeds = 12 mg
1 cup cooked spinach = 7 mg
1 ounce almonds (23 nuts) = 7 mg
1 Tbsp. safflower oil = 5 mg
1 ounce hazelnuts (21 nuts) = 4 mg
How qi works
By MASTER TAN SOO KONG
Exploring the healing fundamentals of qigong.
FROM the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the balance of Yin and Yang is vital. To achieve this balance, proper diet and qi flow to various organs must be healthy. In addition, both the physical body and the mind and spirit must be healthy and balanced as well.
Maintaining a perfect balance between Yin and Yang will result in optimal health. An imbalance of Yin and Yang causes disharmony and illness in the physical body. Energetic dysfunction at the physical level may be reflected by imbalances in the meridians of the body.
For every organ, there is energetic flow through a set of two meridians. The equal flow of qi energies through the right and left meridians of the body reflects the basic Yin and Yang concept.
It can be said that everything is composed of Yin and Yang in differing proportions; when the proportions are relatively balanced, harmony prevails. Yin and Yang imbalance is mainly caused by blockage or depletion of qi flow in the body, and this will cause sicknesses to occur.
Yin and Yang in the body
The Yin and Yang theory is based on the idea that all phenomena are the product of and influenced by the interaction between nature’s two polar tendencies. This polarisation is reflected in our daily lives, for example, by the union of man and woman; the mechanics of electricity; the merging of day and night.
Yin and Yang are complementary opposites and describe the process of change in the relative world. Below are some examples:
·Mind (Yin) and physical body (Yang)
·Acid (Yin) and alkaline (Yang)
·Blood flow to the heart (Yin) and from the heart (Yang)
·Solid organs (Yin) and hollow organs (Yang)
·Cold (Yin) and hot (Yang)
An example of Yin and Yang dynamics is the pH level (relative acidity or alkalinity) of the body. By changing breathing patterns, the lungs immediately compensate for a change in pH. Deeper breaths blow off carbon dioxide. This creates less carbonic acid in the buffer system. By simply breathing more deeply, the body becomes more alkaline. By the same token, shallow breathing allows carbon dioxide to accumulate, leading to a more acidic environment.
From the Western medical perspective, the body consists of 14 major systems. In anatomical and physiological terms, there are muscular, digestive, respiratory, circulatory, nervous, immune, reproductive, endocrine systems and so on. In general, the body is in homeostasis when its needs are being met and its functions are occurring smoothly.
Virtually every organ system plays a role in maintaining the constancy of the healthy internal environment. Communication within the body is essential for homeostasis, and this is accomplished primarily by the nervous and endocrine systems.
Healing fundamentals
In qigong healing, the body is perceived to consist of the physical and invisible body. In the invisible body, also known as the qi body, we believe there are three layers of qi bodies, namely internal qi, protective qi and external qi. These are also termed by some as the physical, emotional and spiritual aura fields. Any imbalance of qi flow at any of this levels will cause sickness.
Is qi or energy scientifically proven? There has been much research conducted in this field. Interestingly, scientists discovered some important and interesting facts related to qi:
1. The energy body has many energy channels through which qi flows. These energy channels are located at similar “routes” to the meridians.
2. The energy body has several energy centres that absorb, digest, and distribute qi and are responsible for the proper functioning of the whole body. These are located at a similar location to the Dan Tians and Chakras.
3. Some energy centres are related to psychic centres and emotions.
4. Qi can be activated internally and obtained from the environment through sunlight, air, and trees.
5. The visible physical body and its energy body are so closely interrelated that what affects one also affects the other.
6. A strong protective qi field acts as a protective shield against germs and infection.
7. Sicknesses in the physical body often starts from the energy body.
8. Medical qigong treatment is to heal the energy body, leading to the healing of the physical body.
There are many qigong systems and techniques. They use similar key principles to achieve the healthy flow and balancing of Yin and Yang. The key techniques in qigong practice are as below:
·Various qigong breathing methods to stimulate different types of qi flow.
·Special movements to stimulate the flow of qi to different parts of the body.
·Using special sound vibrations to stimulate and enhance the organs.
·Visualisation to achieve calmness of mind and nervous system.
I will introduce and discuss these techniques in subsequent articles.
Master Tan Soo Kong is the founder of Wellness Medical Qigong (WMQ). For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my.
The views expressed are those of the writer and readers are advised to always consult expert advice before undertaking any changes to their lifestyles. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information
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