As easy as ABC! Anticipate; Be in control of your CHOLESTEROL level

How many of you already had your cholesterol level checked? Cholesterol had always been mistaken that it will be high only for those who are overweight or obese, and not for those who are thin. This is absolutely NOT true. Although whose who have a higher BMI are often said to have higher risk for hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol level in blood), but it does also occurs in those who have a low or normal BMI.

What is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a soft, waxy, fatty compound that is a type of steroid. It is an important nutrient that is essential in the formation and maintenance of cell membranes, and in the production of the sex hormones. It is also used by the body to produce bile salts that are used in the digestive process to break down food. Its last major task is its conversion into vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Clearly, cholesterol is not completely bad. It is something that the human body needs. Nearly 80% of the cholesterol was produced by our liver. Therefore, we need to limit the amount of cholesterol that we ingest from food to keep the cholesterol level in control.

If you had high cholesterol level, normally doctor will give a period of 3-6 months for lifestyle intervention. Taking care of your diet and physical activity will be your only turning point. Be sure to have at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. To take care of daily diet, you must comply with a low fat, low cholesterol, and high fiber diet. Let’s take a look at foods to avoid and food to increase! 

Food to AVOID

Visible animal fat/skin	Trim off those fats and skin before cooking. If you are eating out, you can just easily remove those unwanted fats and skin. Easy yet healthy.
Egg Yolk	Limit egg yolk to not more than 2 in a week.
Red meat	Intake of red meat such as beef, lamb and pork should be minimized. Fish and poultry would be a healthier choice as they are leaner and lower in fat.
Internal organs	Internal organs are high in cholesterol. Limit to only once a month
Seafood	Seafood such as prawn, crab, oyster, clams and squids should be limited to once a month. Remove those head (prawn, anchovies, and squid) prior to cooking and eating.
Coconut milk	Coconut milk is high in saturated fat which will increase the bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) level. Limit to 2 tablespoon, twice in a week
Chips	Potato chips and keropok are high in trans fat which will increase 4x your cholesterol level. Choose snacks which are trans fat free.

Food to INCREASE

Soluble fiber	Soluble fiber acts as a sponge to absorb the bad cholesterol (LDL) to be excreted. Example of soluble fiber includes oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, mangos, citrus fruits (including the pulp, not just the juice), strawberries and apple pulp. To get 6g of soluble fiber, go for ½ cup of oat bran daily!
Plant sterol	Plant sterol had been proven to be able to reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) level. Plant sterol occurs naturally in small amounts in many grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Soy product	25g of soy product a day had been proven to aid in the reduction of bad cholesterol level (LDL). Soy products include soy milk, tau fu fah, tauhu, and tempeh
Polyunsaturated fat (PUFA)	Substitute saturated fat with omega-3 and omega-6 rich food such as deep sea cold-water fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna), walnut, flaxseed, corn oil, sunflower oil, soya bean, nuts and seeds.It is proven to be able to reduce LDL cholesterol and triglyceride (TG) level.
Monounsaturated fat (MUFA)	The good source of MUFA includes canola oil, olive oil, peanut oil and nuts. However these oil are only suitable for dressing and quick stir fry, but NOT deep frying

Breakfast is a MUST

This is so funny and so true to most of us! And this reminds me of the question:

Well, what is the first thing that you will do when you wake up? Do you dread yourself to work and wait for lunch time? Or will you do some workout before going to work? Or, will you be having breakfast?

According to some published studies, children who eat breakfast had a better performance at school and have a longer attention span. This is a good evidence to show that how important "BREAKFAST" mean to us. As u can see the word itself, BREAK-FAST means that we should stop our body from fasting after a long night sleep. When we wake up, our body system and those little cells expect us to refuel them so that they could do their job. This will certainly maintain your metabolism rate and prevent those increasing pounds which are hard to shed.

Our digestive system also had their own schedule where they work at their top most efficiency. It is well accepted and proven that our digestive system will be the most active between 7am-9am or it is best that we could have our breakfast 1 hour after we wake up to boost our energy level for the rest of the days. Furthermore, if we were to skip breakfast, our body will turn into starvation mode and do more harm than good for our metabolism. If we skip breakfast, we will be so hungry during lunch that we would eat even more and crave for those unhealthy snacks to satisfy our appetite.

Breakfast doesn't need to be a complicated one. Healthy and simple breakfast will do wonders to you. here are some options that you can choose to start off your day:

1) Wholemeal Bread (2 slices) + 2 tbsp of tuna in water/ 1 hard boiled egg + lettuce/tomato/cucumber + 1 glass of low fat milk

2) Oats (3 tbsp) + 1 tbsp of raisins + 5-6 pcs of nuts + low fat milk (1 glass)

3) Yoghurt (1 cup) + cut fruits (own preference)

4) Cereals (1 cup) + low fat milk/ skim milk (1 glass)

5) Homemade fruit juice (1 Apple + 1 carrot) - Its best that you could drink with the fiber! 

6) High fiber biscuits (3 pieces) + low fat milk (1 glass)

7) Scramble eggs (1 whole) + asparagus/lettuce/cherry tomatoes

Here are just some simple examples of breakfast that you could prepare in less than 5 minutes. So why skip 5 minutes to add on those pounds which is hard to shed for 5 months? A breakfast which contains fiber and lean protein is said to provide satiety throughout the day and will definitely keep you far away from those high fat/sugar food during lunch and dinner. The protein can come from low fat dairy products, lean meats, fish, eggs or nuts. You can get fiber easily from fruits, vegetables and oats.

Yummy! How can you resist all these healthy choices of BREAKFAST?

Know Your Body

To love and care for our own health status, firstly we have know what is our current health status. Well, most of us would say : "Nah, i'm healthy and i'm still young..so why bother?" However, i always believe prevention is better than cure. Therefore, now i'm sharing with all of you on one basic simple calculation to know about your weight status. WEIGHT had always been a sensitive word for many to disclose about. So watch out those kgs and know your most ideal weight now by using a worldwide recognized calculation/formula namely Body Mass Index (BMI). It is just a very simple calculation, well you just need a calculator to sort it out :) No messy head cracking maths! I promise :)

So,

Step 1: Know your weight (in KG)

Step 2: Know your height (in meter) *** Pss: 1meter = 100cm (e.g 165cm = 1.65m)

Step 3: Grab a calculator

Step 4: Calculate it based on the formula below:

Body Mass Index (BMI) =         Weight (Kg)          

                                                        Height (m) x Height (m)

Step 5: Compare your BMI to the table below to know whether your weight suits your height!

(Based on World Health Organisation (WHO) Classification)

However, for Asian's population, there were research and studies who states that since we Asians had smaller body frame, therefore, the cut-off point for the BMI classification should be adjust accordingly. So if you're an Asian, the table below indicates your risk of diseases based on your BMI:

For those of you who are underweight, but are not starving, without any diseases or you're eating really well, there is not a major problem as some people may have higher metabolic rate, and therefore you're not gaining much weight. For those who are in the normal range, CONGRATULATION! Stay healthy and active to maintain your weight. For those who are overweight or obese, please do not feel sad or disappointed, it's not too late for you to shed those pounds! Better late than never! Go with a low calorie, low fat diet and most importantly, stay active physically! Feel the change for yourself.

If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end. 

-Julius Erving-

An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctors Away

"An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctors Away"

We had always heard about this quote somewhere, from someone. But is it really true? Well, apple normally will be the first word that every of us learn when we start speaking.

Mummy: A for what?

Baby: Apple!

Sounds familiar? Looks like Apple had been introduced to us since young. And when we are elder, we still did not manage to get away from Apple. Well, you know what i mean? 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Apple's Technology

Well, haha ok ok now focus on the REAL Apple.. What nutrition content does an apple has?

1. Apples are a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber. 

- Soluble fiber is well known to reduce the cholesterol level in our body. Imagine it as a dry sponge trying to absorb the water surrounding it. Yeah, that's how soluble fiber absorbs the excess cholesterol in our body to be excreted via our liver. On the other hand, insoluble fiber provides bulk in the intestinal tract, holding water to cleanse and move food quickly through the digestive system. Clean, clean away!!

2. Low in calories

- A serving of a medium sized apple has a only 60 calories. So when you are really craving for some sweet chocolate, muffins or cake, why not just grab an apple and snack away? It does more good than harm!

3. Rich in Vitamin C

- Apples are also rich in Vitamin C which is important for growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. One important tips lady! Vitamin C helps body to make collagen, an important protein used to make skin, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels. Also, it helps in wound healing too. Healthy skin is not impossible.

4. Cholesterol lowering

- Apples contain plant phenols. Phenols are broadly distributed in the plant kingdom. Based on research, plant phenols has a "bad" cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) lowering effect which is important in prevention of atherosclerosis (blockage of blood vesssel), cardiovascular diseases and stroke.   

Here is the nutrition facts of an apple.

  Low calorie, low fat, rich in fiber, rich in vitamins!

So what are you waiting for? Grab an apple now and start of with the spirit of 

"An Apple A Day Keeps The Doctors Away!"

I love life

Everyone of us is created for a purpose. For that purpose, we have to live it, love it and enjoy it! When life gives u lemon, you make lemonade out of it! I once went for a conference and the Dr told us a very touching story. He had experienced it in Japan itself. In the story, there was this little girl who had cancer and she was so disappointed with life that she wants to give up every treatment and medication being offered. One day, her father came to the Dr and told him how heart broken was him to see his daughter had gave up life. The father cried and tears rolled down as he was speaking to the Dr. Then, the Dr felt so touched and wrote a simple message to the father, and asked him to pass to the little girl. This was what he wrote:

There is something vaster than the wide open sky....

and that is, YOUR life

There is something deeper than the fathomless sea....

and that is, YOUR life

There is something more precious than all the treasures of the universe...

and that is, OUR lives

And guess what? The little girl was enlighten and was so brave to face all the treatments and medications which she needs to undergo to continue her precious LIFE. Sometimes,people around us just need some encouragement and motivation to face obstacles in life :) If each of us can do a little part of it, the world will be a better place :)

This is how me make love haha!