Nutritional Immunology

Most people claim that they are already healthy when they are not in hospital suffering from a crippling disease and do not need to rely on medication regularly. But what they do not realize is that human beings are constantly bombarded by a myriad of harmful substances daily like pollutants in the air and water, metals, pesticides, food chemicals and preservatives, alcohol and caffeine. We may not suffer its effects immediately, but the consequences can be dire in the long run.

A healthy immune system begins from a healthy diet ~ Without doubt, healthy diet plays an important role to our health. Vegetables, fruits and meats from the last generation are healthier than present due to less usage of weed control, pesticides, hormone injection and so on.

But time has changed and the foods we eat these days contain many kind of sugar of unknown chemical substances. Moreover, we are not educated enough of its harmful side effects.

Hence, dietary habit has become the most modern human’s health issue. Our health is like a depository, when we eat unhealthy foods, it could disturb our system and the body cannot function properly. When the depository becomes empty, various kind of degenerative disease such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, kidney problems and cancer could appear…

We’ll discuss about some of the good preventive measures in the coming posts..

Related Posts:

Nutritional Immunology in a few short videos

10 Tips to age happily

10 tips to take back control of your health and get on the path to wellness

Posted on June 18th, 2008 by Jacklyn
Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Ageing into our golden years doesn’t mean we have to be a burden to our children and grandchildren. Here are 10 tips you can work on to enjoy your retirement.

1. Balanced diet ~ We must control our diet. Do not eat excessively. Watch the nutritional intake and keep a regular dietary habit. Avoid oily, high calorie foods such as sweet pastries, deep fried snacks, etc. Take adequate portions of various nutrients such as antioxidants, polysaccharides and phytochemicals, which help prevent the ageing precess and optimize the body’s immune system.

2. Regular work and rest ~ Sleep and wake up early. Do not overwork.

3. Stable emotions ~ Always maintain good emotions. Do not take things too seriously, and always remain joyful.

4. Adequate exercises ~ Do some simple exercises in the morning such as taking a slow walk. Take a stroll at the park after dinner. It will not only strengthen our body, it will also allow us to make new acquaintances.

5. Regular check-up ~ Health checks are very important. We must go for regular health checks to detect any problem and go for early treatment if required.

6. Self-improvement and learning ~ Attend a language or drawing class during spare time. While broadening our knowledge, it also provides a source of spiritual solace as we partake in the fun of lifelong learning.

7. Leisure activities ~ Pick up some hobbies or nurture some sense of humour. This helps relieve our tension. Activities such as chess-playing, calligraphy and traveling are excellent pastimes.

8. Social welfare activities ~ If we have the time, why not spend some of it on social welfare activities or voluntary jobs. Regular meetings not only help kill the extra time, but will also keep us abreast of the latest happenings in the community, exchanging views, sharing our experiences and keeping in touch with younger people, so that we feel remarkably younger.

9. Retirement planning ~ The greatest principle among old people would be to preserve our wealth and sense of security.

10. Great time with grandchildren ~ Spend more time with family, and make arrangements for common activities. If staying with children, we must learn to understand the minds of the young people so that we can enjoy harmonious family life.

Posted on June 17th, 2008 by Jacklyn
Filed under: highpertension | 3 Comments »

05:44 mins

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Posted on May 21st, 2008 by Jacklyn
Filed under: high blood presssure | 6 Comments »

Posted on May 21st, 2008 by Jacklyn
Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

The most valuable and prized possession is our health. Without our health, we wouldn’t be able to achieve the things we want to in our life, go places we want to go and do things we want to do.Over the last few decades, as more and more junk food places have opened and lots of artificially enhanced products created, more and more people have turned to them and forgotten about their bodies. These poor habits along with their living standards have created an increase in illness and lack of peak performance in the body. Due to all of this, we have literally lost control of what goes on in our body and in our health.

For many years, I have been interested in healthy living and getting my body back into its natural state and how it should function. I prefer to focus on ‘prevention’ rather than cure and wellness over illness.

Here are ten tips to take back control of your health and get on the path to wellness:   Read more…

Posted on May 19th, 2008 by Jacklyn
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This is a video clip that can help people to stop indulging in unhealthy eating habits. It may be a bit offensive to some people who might find it too crude and rude. However, as Anthony Robbins has mentioned, to make a lasting change, which in this case is health, we must associate so much pain in it that the very thought of not changing will put us off. If it has a great impact on you, congratulation. It means that there is a pattern interrupt in your choice of food.

Posted on March 25th, 2008 by Jacklyn
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By Danielle Frascone.
Do you or someone you love take SSRI drugs? If so, then perhaps you have been informed of the possible side effects. Most people have heard that SSRI drugs may affect their sex drive or cause weight gain but what they may not have heard is that these drugs can do far more damage to the body than the effects of the initial depression alone. The truth is SSRI drugs are not as safe as the pharmaceutical company would like you to think.   Read more…

Posted on February 14th, 2008 by Jacklyn
Filed under: highpertension | No Comments »

Dr. Jau-Fei Chen recently gave an interview for Healthy Living, a television show carried on Supreme Master Television, a satellite channel operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Supreme Master Television is a worldwide channel seen primarily in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, therefore, the interview contains subtitles in twelve languages. Click this link to view Dr. Chen’s interview. The whole interview is about 30 minutes. Hope you’ll gain more insight of the preventive Science ~ Nutritional Immunology.

Posted on January 6th, 2008 by Jacklyn
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Before we touch on what kind of food is more desirable for a diabetic person, we should understand a bit of the Glycemic Index (GI).

Glycemic Index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrate foods and is a measure of how fast a food raises your blood glucose levels. This index may help in better management of blood glucose levels. Carbohydrate foods that are rapidly broken down during digestion have the highest glycemic loads, while carbohydrate foods that are broken down slowly and release glucose gradually into the bloodstream have low glycemic loads. Glycemic Index may seem to make meal-planning easier and improve after-meal blood glucose levels but GI is dependent on the following few factors too:

(A) The GI of a food is dependent on the ripeness of the food, the time it was stored and  how the food is cooked. That means a fully ripen banana has a higher GI than a green banana.

(B) The GI of a food is expressed as a single value when eaten alone but may differ when eaten with other foods as part of a complete meal.

Now, let’s look into how we can choose the best dialy foods from the 3 different category of food: Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat.

Carbohydrates include the starch and sugar in foods. Simple carbohydrates in candies, cookies, etc are responsible, in a huge way, for any increase in blood glucose levels. Choose more complex carbohydrate sources such as oat, bran, whole-wheat products, cereals are rich in fiber and slow down the passage of absorption of carbohydrates, thus releasing glucose at a slower pace and helps control bloood glucose levels.

Protein is digested at a slower rate than carbohydrates. However, it is recommended to choose protein sources from plants instead of animals, as plant protein sources are generally cholesterol-free and low in fat. Soy protein is beneficial in keeping blood sugar levels under control. Soy also contains soluble fiber, the kind of fiber that helps t lower blood sugar levels.

Fat is a concentrated form of energy. It is digested at the slowest rate amongst the three main nutrients, so it is important to have an appropriaate combination of the three nutrients (carbohydrate, protein & fat) at every meal. Healthier fat options are best recommended. Examples include fatty fishes (salmon, tuna, etc), nuts, seeds and use of cooking oils such as olive or canola oils.

Lastly, not forgeting one very important necessity in our food, Fiber, especially of soluble fiber has been shown to help reduce blood sugar levels and facilitates blood sugar management. Some examples of foods rich in soluble fiber are chickpeas, guava, oatmeal, psyllium husk and barley.

My special recommendation ~ Ginseng Berry

The ginseng plant’s tiny red berries contain a powerful phytochemical called ginsenoside Re. Researchers have proven that ginsenoside Re is a reliable appetite suppressant that can also help to counter diabetes and obesity. This, in turn, helps us to fight other diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure. Ginseng berry also contains isoflavones, antioxidants, estriol, estrone, beta-estradiol, saponins, amide, tannins, resins, folic acid and vitamins A, B, C, E and K — making it a potent protector against high cholesterol, fatigue and other ailments.

Posted on December 3rd, 2007 by Jacklyn
Filed under: healthy living | 2 Comments »

From the last few video post, we learn that most of the diseases are caused by malfunctioning of our immune system. Today I would like to share on one of the scary chronic disease, Diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus is a complex and chronic disease characterized by high blood glucose levels resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Insulin is a hormone that takes up glucose during digestion; glucose is used for energy or stored for future use.

Diabetes is a growing worldwide health concern with over 177 million people, suffering from the disease. According to the World Health Organization, worldwide statistics show that 366 million people will have some form of diabetes by year 2030.

In Singapore, according to the National Health Survey in 2004, diabetes is ranked as the eighth leading cause of death, with 3% of all deaths being linked to diabetes. Diabetes mellitus can result in death and disability with long-term complications such as blindness, kidney impairment, stroke and heart disease.

With such complications and mortality rate, the best way is still to start preventing it before it has a chance to strike. One of the way we can do is to Modify Your Lifestyle! Few suggestions for you..

1. Achieve and maintain a desirable weight.

2. Eat more greens and less fat. Increse consumption of friuts, vegetables and fiber (especially soluble fibre). Limit sugar intake and foods containing lots of saturated fats, trans-fats and cholesterol.

3. Exercise. Moderate levels of fitness are recommended for most healthy adults and I would say 3 to 5 times a week of about 30 minutes.

4. Stop smoking. This is an obvious one.

5. Avoid alcohol.

Hope all these tips can help you understand diabetes better and start taking actions for prevention.

Posted on December 2nd, 2007 by Jacklyn
Filed under: healthy living | 4 Comments »