Good Nutrition

Good Nutrition

Empower your child to make the right food choices and practise healthy eating habits.

By Dr Tee E Siong

As your child begins to adjust life at school and gets closer to his new friends, you may notice a change in his food preferences and eating habits. For instance, he might be skipping meals, eating very little or snacking excessively on sweets or junk food.

These changes are a result of the increasing freedom and sense of independence a school – going child enjoys. Many parents feel that since their child is big enough to attend school, he or she is mature enough to pick and choose their own food. This is where the real trouble begins.

Your school – going child is at an age when he is easily influenced. He now spends more time with friends at school and during extra – curricular activities. The TV or computer is his constant companion when he gets home. Chances are that these are his main sources of influence, instead of the most important person in his life during this time – you.

Keep in mind, however, that your child still looks up to you as a role model. Make full use of this fact to teach him about the benefits of good nutrition, healthy eating habits and physical activity. Bu doing so, you are influencing his food choices when he is away from home. More importantly, you are also influencing his food choices in the future.

You can empower your child to make sensible choices when it comes to food by:

Empowering yourself

Seek advice from a nutritionist / dietician or your family doctor and pick up the basics of good nutrition and how best to feed your child. You can also read up on good nutrition to arm yourself with the right information. You are more inclined to teach and empower your child when you are confident with the knowledge you have.

Becoming a Role Model

Because your child is impressionable, you should strive to be an example of healthy eating and living. This includes practising good eating habits, enjoying and active lifestyle and keeping good personal hygiene. For example, when eating your veggies, make it a point to tell your child how delicious they taste and how healthy they are. Chances are that your child will follow suit and go for his green, too.

Starting them young

Inculcate healthy eating habits in your child from young. Start with some with something simple, yet important. For example, make sure he eats breakfast every day before going to school. You can also prepare meals in healthy ways so that he will acquire good eating habits from young. Or you can explain to him how important his meals help him grow into a strong, smart boy. This will increase your child’s chances of practising healthy eating habits throughout his life.

Don’t give up

One of the keys to instilling good nutrition knowledge is patience. Your child may refuse to eat his veggies after being told for the fifth time, but keep trying. When you coax and reason with him enough, he will eventually come around to eating them.

Practical, fun tips

Learning about good nutrition does not have to be boring. Here are some tips to make it fun for you and your child.

Shop together

This is a great opportunity to educate your child about food in its raw form so that he is better acquainted with their scent and texture. Children are curious about things around them, and this makes it easier for you to point out how beneficial some foods are. It is never too early to start teaching them about what is listed on food packages. You can pick up a box of wholegrain cereals and tell them about the benefits of eating wholegrain cereals.

Cook together

For starters, you can prepare breakfast together on weekends. Primary school children are at the ideal age to learn about good nutrition. They are interested to learn new things. They are also eager and capable enough to help performing simple task like washing fruits or tearing veggies into pieces. They will be more interested to taste the food they helped prepare as it will give them a chance to tell the rest of the family about it.

Eat together

Make it a habit that your family has a meal together every day. This is an excellent time for you to bond with your child, ask him about his day and share how yours was like. Always keep family mealtime’s fun and casual. Your child is more likely to eat and enjoy his meals in a positive atmosphere.

Play together

Playing with your child is a great way for both of you to enjoy physical activity. You can take him to the park or play ground, or you can play team games such as badminton. Going on a picnic or hiking are also fun family outings.

Communicate together

Always make time to talk and listen to your child. Ask him what his classmates eat, if he likes the same foods and whether he enjoys his physical education sessions at school. It does not need to be only child about all sorts of things brings you closer to him. Keep in mind that there should be two – way communication, so let him talk as much as you do.

The decision to start teaching your child about good nutrition begins with you. Remember that you only have a small window of opportunity to do so because your child grows rapidly and needs good nutrition now. So get started today; feed your child right, educate him about the right foods, and inculcate a love of physical activity.

What is Allergic Rhinitis?

Allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, is a condition due to allergy that mimics a chronic cold.

The nose is an important structure of the body. Apart from aesthetics, it is an organ of smell and it is through the nose that air gets into the lungs.

Air is filtered, humidified and warmed in the nose. During this filtration process, foreign particles and pollutants are removed. These processes ensure that lung function is optimal.

Allergic rhinitis

This is a condition in which the nose produces a response to an allergy – producing substance (allergen). The body recognises the allergen as a harmful substance and produces antibodies, which are proteins the body produces to fight off harmful viruses and bacteria.

When the allergen comes into contact with the inside of the nose and throat, an antibody called immunoglobulin E (lgE) is released. Lg E causes the release of chemicals like histamine, leukotrienes, and prostaglandins, which together, cause the symptoms of allergic rhinitis.

The inside lining (mucous membrane) of the nose swells and blocks the airway. This causes congestion and excess mucous production and gives rise to sneezing and runny nose. Other symptoms include itchiness and watery eyes. Most of the symptoms are due to histamine.

Allergic rhinitis is a common condition worldwide. It is estimated that about a quarter of people have allergic rhinitis at some stage in their lives.

Some people get allergic rhinitis at particular times of the year because certain allergens are produced seasonally. Other people get allergic rhinitis throughout the year because the allergens are non – seasonal.

Those who suffer from allergic rhinitis frequently have other allergic conditions, such as asthma, or allergic conjunctivitis.

Alcohol Linked to Breast Cancer in Older Women

A large study was conducted in US which relates alcohol consumption to the increased risk of the most common type of cancer, breast cancer among postmenopausal women.

Jasmine Lew, the study's lead investigator and a researcher at the National Cancer Institute said, that, this was the biggest of the three major studies conducted by analyzing more than 184,000 women has concluded that drinking alcohol raises the risk of breast cancer among older women.

Researchers found that women who has one or two small drinks per day were 32 percent more likely to develop a hormone sensitive tumor. The risk is raised by 51 percent among those who had three or more drinks per day.

"Regardless of the type of alcohol, the risk was evident," said Lew, presenting the findings here at a meetthe meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

70 percent of the women who were diagnosed with breast cancer have tumors that were positive to both the estrogen and progesterone receptors.

Lew said results from NCI study lend credence to the theory that alcohol's interference with the metabolism of estrogen raises the risk of cancer.

She said that it was too early to make a public health recommendation, but suggest that women should talk about this to their doctors to assess risk factors and consider a lifestyle changes.

Other studies show that a light consumption of alcoholic drinks, especially red wine, protects the heart.

Breast cancer is the second most common killer cancer among women, after lung cancer. It wil be diagnosed in 1.2 million people globally this year and kill 500,000.

Cells in Mouth May Predict Lung Cancer

Cells lining the mouth reflect the molecular damages that is caused by smoking to the lining of the lungs, researchers at The University of Texas M.D Anderson Cancer Center reported today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Senior Researcher Li Mao, M.D., professor in M.D. Anderson's Department of Thoracic / Head and Neck Medical Oncology said, that, by examining the oral tissues lining the mouth to gauge the cancer inducing molecular alterations in the lungs could spare patients and those at risk of lung cancer from more invasive, uncomfortable procedures used now.

"We are taking about just a brush in side of the cheek to get the same information we would get from lung brushing obtained through bronchoscopy," said the study presenter and first author Manisha Bhutani, M.D., a post doctoral fellow in Thoracic / Head and Neck Medical Oncology.

The team examined the oral and lung lining tissues - called the eepithelium -  in 125 chronic smokers enrolled in a large, prospective lung cancer chemo prevention study. the status of two crucial tumor suppressing genes was analyzed. The genes, p16 and FHIT, are known to be damaged or silenced very early in the process of cancer development. "There is substantial damage long before there is cancer," Mao said.

Study participants gave both an oral and lung sample twice, one at the beginning of the study and another 3 months later. The researchers tracked whether either p16, or FHIT or both had been silenced by methylation -  the attachment of a chemical methyl group to crucial spots in a gene that shut down its function. Patterns of methylation were compared between the tissues.

The baseline tissue comparison in the lungs tissues showed methylation of p16 is 23 percent, FHIT is 17 percent and either of the two genes were 35 percent of the study participants. These percentages were similar in the oral tissues, with p16 methylated is19 percents, FHIT is15 percent and one of the two is 31 percent.

A strong correlation were observed between methylation patterns in both the lung and oral tissues. When methylation of either gene was considered positive, 37 of the 39 individuals (95 percent) with p16 and / or FHIT promoter methylation in the oral samples had promoter methylation is at least one matched brochial sample. Thus compared with only 59 of the 86 (69 percent) individuals without the promoter methylation in the oral samples. Similar correlations were seen on the sample analysis obtained three months later.

"Our study provides the first systematic evidence that accessible tissue, the oral epithelium, can be used to monitor molecular events in less accessible tissue,: Bhutani said. "This provides a convenient bio monitoring method to provide insight into the molecular events that take place in the lungs of chronic smokers."

"Our study opens the door to enhancing our ability to predict who has higher probability of getting tobacco related cancers," Mao said. " Not only lung cancer, but pancreatic, bladder and head and neck cancers, which were also associated with tobacco use."

Spring Clean Your Diet

Have you ever thought that improving your eating habit is just like a spring cleaning job?

Just as how you give your house and garage a thorough clean up once, every year, you should do the same with your diet. 

Here is how you can do it.

Clean it up. Drink more water and less carbonate drinks. "Your drinks should not be sticky," says Pam Davis, R.D., L.D., dietitian and diabetes educator at Baylor Medical Centre, Garland.

Clean you plate. Davis recommends "cleaning" your plate by ditching cheesy casseroles in favor of simple, three part meals, consisting of meat, starch and vegetable. For example, a meal of pork tenderloin, brown rice and green beans would fit the bill.

Toss it out. Go through your pantry and freezer and toss anything that is old and unhealthy. Don't keep frozen meat any longer than six months. Label and date any left overs before you freeze them for later use.

Plan it. Planning you meals makes it less likely you will grab fast food on the fly. Sit down with you cookbook - or your kids, who will be more likely to eat what they have plan - and create a weekly menu.

Practice restaurant savvy. If you eat out, do so wisely. Most restaurant portions are bigger and usually with more sodium or fat. Split a single entree or order just a half portion if offered by the restaurant.

Chocolate’s good for you

A study has found that chocolate reduces the risk of stroke or heart attack by increasing the flow of blood around the brain and lowering blood pressure.

Chocolate lovers, rejoice. Research shows that regularly consuming as little as a square of chocolate a day helps to reduce your blood pressure and thus your chance of succumbing to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Scientist have found that people eating just 7.5 grams of chocolate daily were at a 39% lower risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared with those who ate just 1.7 grams.

The study, published in the European Heart journal, found that modest chocolate intake had a significant effect on people’s blood pressure. The benefits were more pronounced for a reduced risk of a stroke, but also brought less chance of a heart attack too.

Researchers led by Dr Brain Buijsse, a nutritional epidemiologist of Human Nutrition, made the link after studying the health of 19, 357 Germans aged 35 – 65 for at least 10 years. They believe that flavanols, substances in cocoa that boost the body’s supply of nitric oxide, contribute to the chocolate eaters’ lowered blood pressure.

The research confirms an association which other studies have made. The lower likelihood of stroke may be due to cocoa increasing the flow of blood around the brain, the authors say. Among 1,568 participants whose chocolate intake was tracked, 57% ate milk chocolate, 24% preferred dark and 2% ate white chocolate. The dark variety contains more flavonals, and so is thought to have a greater effect.

However, these findings should not lead to chocolate gluttony, said the authors. Further research is needed before small amounts of chocolate can be prescribed to prevent CVD.

“The amount consumed on average by even the highest consumer was about one square a chocolate a day or a half a small chocolate Easter egg in a week, so the benefits were associated with a fairly small amount of chocolate, “ said Victoria Taylor, the British Heart Foundation’s senior hear health nurse.

Those attempted to indulge should remember that chocolate contains large amounts of calories and saturated fats, which are related to weight gain and high cholesterol – two risk factors for heart disease. And people should also eat fruit, vegetables and oily fish and be active for at least half an hour daily, Taylor said

Guardian News & Media 2010

By Dennis Campbell 

Soy Compound Lowers Breast Cancer Risk

A new study suggests that, women with high levels of estrogen like compounds in their blood seem to have a lower risk of developing breast cancer. The compound in estrogen are similar to compound found in soy.

A research was conducted among more than 24000 middle age and older Japanese women to test the relation between genistein and development of breast cancer. Researchers found that those with higher level of the compound called genistein, in their blood, were only one third as likely as other women to develop breast cancer over 10 years.

Genistein is one of the major isoflavones. Isoflavones are plant compounds found in soybeans, chic peas and other legumes. Isoflavones are structurally similar to the hormone estrogen, which are believed to bind with estrogen receptors in our body.

Some studies are linked to soy consumption which lowers the risk of breast cancer. However, others have no profound protective effect. In fact, research conducted on animals have suggested that genistein migh spur tumor development and growth. However, the new findings, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, suggest that this is not the case in women, when genistein is consumed only via food.

Dr Motoki Iwasaki of the National Cancer Centre in Tokyo wrote that, " This findings suggests a risk reducing factor rather that a risk enhancing factor in isoflavones on breast cancer from dietary intake alone".

In this study, there were 24,226 women aged between 40 to 69 whose blood sample were taken and have completed a dietary assessment. They were monitored for an average of 10 years. During that time, 144 women were diagnosed with breast cancer.

At the beginning of the study, Iwasaki's team grouped the women base on the genistein level in their blood sample. The found that those with highest levels of genistein were 65% less likely to develop breast cancer compared to those with the lowest level of genistein.

However, the risk reduction capability was not seem among the women with moderate level of isoflavones in the blood samples.

In a conclusion to his past studies, Iwasaki said that the findings suggest that a high isoflvone intake from food may help to lower the risk of breast cancer. However, it is not clear whether the findings should be extended to women in Western countries. 

Iwasaki said that a typical Japanese women consume soy isoflavones on regular basis since young age, which may result in the effect of the compound on the breast cancer development.

Source : Journal of Clinical Oncology, April 1 2008

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Do You Believe in Destiny?

Me? I am not sure... But, I think I believe in destiny... Looking at the things that are happening around me... I do definitely believe in destiny...

Why I am think of destiny now?


It has been more than 7 years I did not watch movies that are broadcasted live on television from my house. The most would about 1 or 2 hours when I visit my relative, parents or friends. That is the longest time I have spent on to watch programs live from television and most of the time they are musical programs.

I am not telling you that I don’t watch movies and programs… but I don’t watch them live on television. This is because most of the time, I don’t have the time to watch it live, or, there will not be any interesting movies on television when I wanted to watch it. 

So, I decided not to subscribe to any television programs.

I normally I buy dvd’s or watch a movie in the theater.

And, what happen now?

Two weeks ago, I subscribed for high speed internet access called UNIFI. They come in package with home line, a few television channels with unlimited access. However, for the movie packages, all the channels are free for the first month. Later, you can subscribe to what you want via remote control.

So, I seem to have access to live programs for the past two weeks and I watch it only last night at 1 am. Do you know what I watched?  Milenge Milenge… It is Hindi Film about destiny. And, the next show on the list was, Kismat Connection, another Hindi Film on destiny. Why tonight? Why I have to watch it when it is on air?

While the movie was unfolding, it was surprising to how it was connected to what was happening in my live. A lot of thing were going wrong and being delayed. But, I just don't understand why. Most of the things that were going wrong were not supposed to be going wrong. And, what is destiny trying to tell me?

I am a strong believer in terms of listening to what nature is trying to tell us. I like to take signals and incidents that is happening as a message from the universe to ride me through what I am doing.

With a lot of unnecessary delays, I believe that I am getting closer to a bigger success.

Whenever I hear, it can’t be done.

I know that I am closer to success.

~Michael Flatley

Every event is aligned very well around me. I just have to take it. However, it seems to be quite far. Maybe, I am just thinking it is far.

I think my faith in destiny is being tested. Whatever happens or happening, is always for a better tomorrow. This is what I believe. Therefore, whatever that is going to happen must also be the best. Hence, the best is on its way to me.

I will keep fighting even if it is overdue. That is what I learned as a sportsman. The sportsmen spirit…. You will never lose if you never quit. You will just finish late.

And I am ok to be late....Because I am always late for most of the things... I have a serious problem on punctuality... I working on in anyway... Punctuality is a habit, you have to replace a habit....You cant change it over night :-)))

Enjoy the video by necessity4failure....

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Poo Nee Poo from Moonu.

A Lesson from the Past

A song to listen when you just break up with your partner... It is good to cry for a moment because you will definitely feel better after that.... To shed of the long held pain in our heart... Listen to the lyrics... They are so soothing.... If you can enjoy the pleasure of being in love, then, you should enjoy The Pain of Love as well because you don't break up all the time…

Listening to this song brings me back to the moment when I broke off with Vijay on my birthday in the year 2009. It was seriously painful…. I spent hours roaming around in the darkness not knowing what to do… I went to all the places that we use to spent time... with a glimpse of hope that I will be able to see him… But, I only saw the memories of us… Floating around me…

Slowly, I started to change the sadness within me to a courage the lifts me up on a ray of hope. I spend time looking at things that I used to scribble in my note books…

I started to recover my dreams…. I dream to do great things for the world… to make a great discovery in the field of science…. I could not let the sadness within to zap out my energy…

The only thing I saw at that moment was hope… A little light and voice within me was telling me that everything will be fine. Things are going to turn out to be great…

Remember, life is a gift… We don’t have to sacrifice our happiness and dreams for other people. If they don’t want us, we should continue to move on… because life has to go on… and will go on… even if you choose to stop it.

Life is a great gift to all us and we are not supposed to live it like a curse because someone does not appreciate us. When we seek happiness from within, we will start to see that it was just a sun down for a moment, and sunrise is just around the corner… Hold on to the light, and you can make a great leap into the future…

So, I packed all my sadness inside a box and shoved it under the bed… and never opened it for a long time… This gave me the time I needed to change…

The Pain associated love can be diverted into positive energy to make us a better person…

Trust me, I am way off better today… It just took me one year to clear my mind and become the success I am. We just have to hold on, and keep fighting…. Keep fighting with our desire to give up….

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Sherene Subaasini - The Return ;-))

Hi,

I have started blogging after a long time. I enjoyed blogging when I was in school.
However, there was a lot things happened a long the way, and slowly i forgot how fun it was to blog and share information with friends.. and keep a record of the amazing things that happen in our life.

Fortunately, things are back on shape... And here we go again.....;-)))