Food is Remedy, Food is Medicine

Skin, Vitamin C, E and Pycogenol

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:28:16 +0000

Here are some of my favourite points on skin, vitamin C, E and Pycogenol:

They work great when consumed but also ‘can have a more dramic effect on the outside’.
Skin is essential ‘for the production and storage of Vitamin D, which is necessary for the absorbtion of calcium’.
“… epidermal surface is the outer layer that is visible to the eye… dermis is the underlying layer we cannot see… epidermis consists of cells that are mature and ready to be replaced.”
“…demis is made primarily of collagen… provides the scaffolding that supports the outer epidermis.. there is an age-related decline in collagen production…”
“At the same time, there is a gradualbreakdown in the microcirculation: the tiny vessels delivering blood and nutrients to the skin cells do not work as efficiently… skin cells are not receiving adequate nourishment.”
“The most dramatic changes to skin - the kind that make us look years older than we need to - are caused by photoaging, or exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays…”

“…taking oral supplements will help to boos the amount of antioxidants in your skin, the direct apllicationof antioxidants to the skin is a mush faster way to increase the lvel of antioxidants.”
“… three key antioxidants… skin-care regimen: vitamin C, vitamin E and Pycogenol.”
“Recent studies suggest that vitamin C applied externally to the skin may do what was once considered impossible: stimulate the growth of new collagen.”
“Applying vitamin C directly to the skin will help to restore skin tone, plump up wrinkles, and fill in small lines… improves blood supplyto the skin.”
“…topically applied vitamin C can prevent one of the most dangerous effects of UV exposure: the suppression of the immune system.”
“…[vitamin C] serums are stonger than the cream..” But they may be too harsh for some.
As a general guide, look for those that contain the key ingredients you are looking for as the first few items in the ingredient list.

You Must Drink To This

admin — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:29:00 +0000

A cup of tea a day keeps the doctor away. Yes, I borrowed an old saying but the message is literal. It takes that little amount of tea, drinking sustained for a long time, to bring you health benefits.

“The humble tea has awesome powers, much to our delight…”

I am a coffee lover, by the way. But I now drink more tea after knowing the benefits I am going to write about here. I am STILL a coffee lover; I loooooove the taste of all kinds of coffee. Blue Mountain is my personal favorite. A coffee lover who drinks more tea, I am a living testimony that no matter whom you are, it should not get in the way of your health.

Make tea a part of your healthy lifestyle. Much of the negativity surrounding tea owes to its caffeine content. Just like honey, which has health benefits, it has a negative side because of its ‘sugar’. Make tea a simple and available ADDITION. An addition to the other healthy habits you are already practicing. Having said that you just need a cup a day, you need as much as four cups daily to get the risk of cancer significantly reduced.

The family of catechin flavonoids in tea, Epigallocatechin galate, is said to be a more powerful and effective antioxidants than vitamins E and C. This was revealed in a test tube research. In green tea, a laboratory test revealed that it is twenty times more powerful as an antioxidant than vitamin C. In short, the catechins in tea:

Thwarts cell mutation.
Neutralizes some carcinogens.
Reduces the growth of cancerous cells.
Hampers the growth of blood vessels that tumors need thrive.
Lowers the especially damaging LDL (bad) cholesterol in animal studies.

As for the caffeine, there is evidence that it has antimutagenic properties linked to having an anticancer effect. It also aids in hampering the development of Parkinson’s disease. People who are sensitive to caffeine can limit tea to early in the day. Alternatively, drink green tea which is generally lower in caffeine. Boiling hot tea or those heavily salted (as in some cultures) can actually encourage cancer.

For those who exercise, boost up your antioxidant before you exercise in the morning by drinking green or black (normal) tea. In about 30 minutes, the favonoids will appear in your blood giving you that boost.

What I like about tea, is its availability. Some people aren’t too bothered with taking specialized health products, organic food and the sort. It takes too much of their time, money and effort. But tea, well, how much time, energy and money does it take to get and drink some. I am not finished with tea yet. More glad tidings in my next revelation.

Cigarette Smoking is OKAY…

admin — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 15:43:00 +0000

Or is it? Read and decide. They say if nicotine from a single cigarette goes direct into your bloodstream, you will die. And since you don’t die from smoking a single stick, it also shows how much your lungs take the beating for you. I was with a dear friend yesterday and he voiced to me his concern that, of late, his cigarette consumption has increased. He asked me what he could do about it. I don’t smoke but I supposed he wanted a piece of my insight on how to change habits. Just as he said that, he lit a cigarette and started smoking. I smiled. My response to his question was something to the effect of, ‘I see’.

The reason I’m writing about this is because smoking reduces the effects of taking vitamin supplements or eating healthful foods. Often, health professionals would advice people who smoke to take extra doses of supplements, eat more healthful foods or… the most obvious but most difficult (perceived or real), stop burning the stick.

Changing a comfortable routine (or addiction or habit or bondage or whatever you can term it), very often requires a multi-pronged approach. It requires you to know yourself too. Are you the kind who gives up easily at the first sign of failure? If so, it helps to work on your expectations. Are you the kind who needs to go with the group you are in? If so, it helps to work on your view of acceptance. The behavior of smoking looks simple but the underlying drive can run deep. Often, the person has lost sight of his or her own underlying issues that support the habit. It has partially become, well, automatic. I am one who proposes that you need to become aware of your behaviors, thoughts, environment and triggering cues when you want to change certain things. When you first started to learn something, you are aware of everything that you do – go back to when you first drive a car, or ride a bike. Then, it becomes automatic and second nature. In learning NOT to smoke, you may need you go back and become that much aware again of your internal and external conditions surrounding your habits and act or think differently. Is lighting that cigarette a certain way giving you a kick? Is it the exquisite lighter? Why that brand? Does the way you put that stick in your mouth add to the pleasure? Such questions may not even come across the mind of the doer, but it can reveal that hidden demon, bring it into the light and then you can slay (or tame) it. Whichever way, it is difficult if it’s hiding in the dark.

One tactic that I came across from a fellow blogger (

Ways to Stop Smoking) is, delay. This is, perhaps, more about reducing the number of sticks smoked. I realized that I had unknowingly used it when I was experimenting with losing weight. During the morning break at work, I often have the urge to munch on toast but I tell myself: ‘Great. I’ll have it for lunch’. Then, I settle for a cup of tea with milk for breakfast.

Okay. Enough of some background information. So, is smoking okay? If you don’t think so, then you’ll receive more practical tips which you can put into action here:

Ways to Stop Smoking.

Eat Like Our Forefathers

admin — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:54:00 +0000

If any readers can recall, in one of my previous writings, I talked about buying two books at a crazy low price. One of them is the weight-loss book I was trying to disprove, and failed – I lost weight. The other is about juggling our oh-so-busy daily schedule. I got this one at a fantastic US$ 4.00 (I’m guessing the usual price is about US$ 19.90 – woweee!). Apparently, it was only this last copy which they had trouble selling, lucky me. The rest sold like hotcakes.

In one section of this fantastic book, the author wrote about – you may have guessed it – food. Specifically, food as a stress-reducer. Yes, we all use food to keep ourselves content at one time or another. Oprah Winfrey (hands up, those who don’t know her), together with Bob Greene, an exercise psychologist and fitness trainer, calls it ‘Emotional Eating’ in one of her shows. I am not above and beyond this phenomenon. MANY times, I still do get the urge. One tactic I use is, delay, which I talked about in one of my writings. Incidentally, this tactic is more mentioned in quit smoking tips. Sometimes, in the quest for health, we just need to be creative and try to apply things from across the board. If you find that you are not creative enough, well, this is what blogs such as this one is for – to share information and creativity and apply it to healthy living.

Anyway, I love the simple yet marvelous tips in one half-page section. She titled it ‘Glorious Food’. The author, like us at FoodIsRemedy, believes in the holistic and you will see it in her tips. I particularly liked the tip that says ‘Boycott fast food’. Boycott – nice word to use. I still do eat fast food, though, but only if I’m dead hungry or it has become very inconvenient to interrupt what I am doing to look for ‘slow’ food. Again, you need to be honest when doing this and not mask your ulterior motives with seemingly ‘legitimate’ reasons. If you are serious enough, you would compensate for it by eating more appropriately after that. By the way, if you eat only when you are dead hungry, it’s a sign that you need to tweak your schedule next time. I also acknowledge that sometimes, other people (your job?) who do not give a da*m about health, mess it up for you.

I think I will lose the ‘spirit’ of her writing if I simply reported what she said in her book. I had the honor of getting permission from her just a few days back to reproduce it (Thanks, Jane!). So here is the small but important section in its entirety. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, accomplished journalist and writer, Jane Alexander:

Glorious Food

Slow food is real food – healthy food. In the time it takes you to heat up a microwave ready meal you could have made a great salad, some warming soup, an omelette or real pasta sauce
Buy organic food from local producers or subscribe to a weekly organic box.
Boycott fast food. It’s packed with potentially dangerous chemicals, makes you fat and encourages you to gorge your food, rather than savoring it.
Eat at a table. Say some form of Grace. [I thoroughly agree with this. It re-focuses eating as receiving with thanks. Not gorging with gluttony.] Concentrate on your food. Don’t distract yourself with books or TV. Chew thoroughly – it will improve your digestion and prevent you piling on pounds.
Eat together as a family.

I can’t say that I buy into all the tips 100% but generally, it does make good health sense if we can practice the most part of it. In short, eat as our wise forefathers did.

How to Gain Back Excess Fat By Accident…

admin — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 12:10:00 +0000

Not too long ago, I wrote a five-part post on How to Lose Fat By Accident. In it, I talked about my quest to disprove a weight loss system which backfired. The system actually gave me results despite my almost ten-year trial to find a good way to shed excess flab. I had made up my mind that nothing is worth the effort and turned quite cynical - but this one worked.

At the time of this writing, I gained back some fat - visibly. This gave me an insight on how fast and what one must do to gain that all back. Only this time, I know what I must do do shed it again, if I want to. But I think there is a danger in the lose-gain cycle if one yoyo-ed between losing and gaining continuously - correct me if I’m wrong.

In short, what did I do to gain back the flab? The answer - let down my guard. A week and a half before this, I started to consume a bit more carb and sugar than I did while I was trying to disprove the weight-loss system. Reason: I was too tired to go shopping for groceries and cook. Plus, I was preoccupied with some thinking and making continuous decisions on where and what to eat became a chore. So, I ate whatever I could find, half-trying to avoid what I think was way out of bounds. As mentioned, it is very difficult to find healthful food which is convenient. Then, 3 days ago I sort of let down my guard quite a bit. Just one day. My meal was:

Breakfast
Tea with milk, sweetened with sugar.

Lunch
Breaded fish fillet burger together with all the usual ingredients (mayonnaise, lettuce etc.), potato fries and hot tea sweetened with SUGAR (again).

Dinner
Fried batter-and-bread-crumb-coated chicken fillet, potato fries and a very popular soda.

After-Dinner Snack
I forgot. It was something healthful but not as healthful as before.

The very next day, I could feel it in my belly. The heaviness again. Not to mention, a slight but visible and obvious return of the bulge. I recognized that because I was like that before. That remained till now and I could see my neck puff up too. The weight-loss book I was trying to disprove did warn about the body’s over-reaction if you suddenly get back on a carb-loaded diet. And, I mentioned earlier, there might also be a negative effect if you keep yoyo-ing between gaining and losing excess fat - anyone can verify this?

So, that’s it folks. For me, a week and a half of letting down my guard including a day of going overboard is all it takes.

How to Lose Fat By Accident (Final)…

admin — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:07:00 +0000

Captain’s Blog, Stardate 7964.9. We have left the Kavis Alpha sector en route to Starbase 133 for the inter-galactic conference at which, against my better judgement, I am to represent Starfleet. Nevertheless, I am determined to do my best, and represent the ideals of the Federation… hehehe… sorry .. I just HAVE to do that :-D.

Anyway, as promised in my last post, I will share my daily meals menu. As you know, disproving the weight-loss system, there are a lot of foods in the avoid and control list. Still there are quite a variety of others allowed in the menu. So here is my typical day’s menu:

Breakfast
No breakfast. My job do not require much physical movements, so, without breakfast I can still function adequately. Besides, I’m always in a rush to arrive at work on time in the morning.

Lunch
Two pieces of toast with butter and a thick spread made from eggs, coconut milk and sugar called Kaya. For drink, I have tea with milk sweetened with artificial sugar alternative. As you can see, this is a BIG transgression of the weight-loss rules. As mentioned, I did not really stick to the rules to the letter. I wanted to see if it yields SOME results at all.

Dinner
Dinner is taken at 7 pm. The menu will consist mostly of a mix of the following ingredients either stir fried, steamed in microwave or boiled in a stock-based watery soup. The ingredients are: fish fillet (unbreaded), chicken breast or chicken fillet (both without skin), prawn or shrimp, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, baby carrots, baby spinach, garlic, onion, egg cooked with psyllium husk (get this from the organic store) and mushroom. Dip: sour cream dressing or dip make from yogurt. I also add a little bit of apple cider vinegar sometimes and use liberal amounts of crushed black pepper and other herbs. Olive oil is an integral part of the preparation. At times, I add some olives into the dish. Other times, I grate some cheese over the dish - very little.

After-Dinner Snack
A smaller portion of dinner.

Going by these menus, in about thee weeks, I was visibly slimmer. I did not realise this but people commented. A few weeks after that, I noticed that my pants we significantly loose at the waist. On the waist, I lost about 1.5 - 2 inches but the fat loss was on other parts of the body too. For one thing, people start noticing that I have a neck. My upper arm is now smaller in radius than around the elbow joint - it used to be bigger. You may have noticed that I did not even mention the bathroom scale - never used it. I am not into the habit of doing that. Even without it, the change is noticeable. The initial change was not noticed by me, but by others. Yep, the weight-loss system that I was trying to disprove worked. I expected it to work only slightly and bounced back to my original weight or not to work at all. But it definitely went BEYOND my expectation. Even with me breaking the rules here and there and not exercising - it worked noticeably. Why did I NOT exercise? If I did, I wouldn’t know whether it was the exercise or the system. But now I know that if I had added in the exercise dimension, it might have worked better.

I must also mention that even before I embarked on the mission I took supplements and continued doing it while on the system. This is my supplement mix:

Vitamin-C (Non-acidic) - 500mg
D-Alpha Tocopherol (Vitamin E) - 400iu
Selenium - 200mcg
Lipoic Acid - 250mg
Gingko Biloba (Extract) - 30mg
Ubiquinone (a.k.a CoQ10) - 60mg
EPA/DHA (Marine derived Omega-3) - 720mg

If I were to say what I think would be the ONE SINGLE POINT that might have made this work it would be - be very, very unrelenting about ZERO carbs and ZERO sugar. Eat ANYTHING BUT carbs and sugar. You might have noticed that I still do consume them. I might add that this amount is significantly, significantly less than what I usually eat. This non-conformance is not exactly cheating. Unknowingly, I might be practising a variation of what some call the three-bite rule. Be also wary of hidden carbs. Once, my friend suggested chicken nuggets as this would still be compliant to my low carbs-sugar endeavour. But you see, chicken nuggets are batter and bread crumbs coated and the meat is mixed with some sort of flour to make the patty. So beware - hidden carbs are sneaky.

So that’s it folks. Finally, the end of a five part rambling on Losing Fat By Accident. NO CARB, NO SUGAR! What’s my next phase? Dunno. Maybe to disprove the theory that exercise can give a better result together with the system [SMIRK].

How to Lose Fat By Accident (Part 4)…

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:40:00 +0000

Carbs, carbs, everywhere… but not a morsel to eat.

As I mentioned in the last post, the book proposed a controlled intake of carb (carbohydrate) and sugar. For those who are tuning in the first time, I was in a quest to disprove a weight-loss system. However, finding food conveniently with the required carb and sugar content is like finding half a needle in a hay mount. And so, I decided to adapt a little. I rationalized that even if I did not follow the system to the letter, I should still see SOME results IF the system worked at all. Even if I gained back some weight I was willing to admit that I did not manage to disprove the system adequately.

Sugar
The system was extremely strict on sugar intake. I decided I can do this. I told myself, ZERO sugar. For the first three days, it felt like I was perpetually eating bitter medicine. The system proposed sucralose as an alternative. This substitute was virtually non-existent where I live. So I researched a little bit and found that given the health pluses and minuses, saccharin (sodium saccharin, to be exact) is the next best alternative. But I limited myself to 3 pellets per day or go without it some other days.

Carbohydrate
I told myself - ZERO carbohydrate also. It was like a resolve. Every now and then, some carb would creep into my dishes, but with the resolve, the amount that creeps in would be significantly less than what I would usually eat. In particular, I would not consume rice, noodles, pasta, all forms of pastries, all forms of flour based food, all kinds of grains and potatoes and similar tubers (is that what they call it?)… at least for now.

Vegetables, Tubers and Fruits
There are only a select few vegetables that are allowed liberally. The rest are limited. I was not any more excited about counting carbs than counting calories, so I decided not to go by this strictly. However, my greens were limited to broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, regular tomatoes, purple cabbage, iceberg lettuce and spinach. Every now and then, I would also add in mushrooms.

Milk and Yogurt
Milk is prohibited. The reason: not fat but lactose - a sugar ‘family’. I am lactose intolerant but I can still tolerate small amounts of milk. I did not really hold back on this but I consumed about two helpings per day as a creamer in my tea and decaff. Some days not at all. I would like to add here that by drinking tea, I am actually going against one of the rules of the system.

Other Ingredients
These ingredients can be used in rotation in dishes: meat (beef), chicken, turkey, egg, fish, prawn and shrimp, egg. I used these as main course with larger than normal portions of vegetables, tubers and fruits.

Seasoning
I used half the amount of salt I usually do. The book did not say much about salt as the main focus is about controlling carbs and sugar at this point. At times, I substitute salt with liquid aminos. And I usually dowse my food with herbs and spices for taste.

Drinks
Mostly water and tea - either hot or cold. Occasionally bottled and canned drinks using substitute sweetener - very occasionally as a treat. Again, bottles and canned drinks, especially sodas are frowned upon by the system. But since the main issues are carbs and sugar, and these drinks a extremely low on both, I used them as occasional treats to break the lack of variety. Though I went against the rules, I must emphasize that I still read the ingredients and the nutritional facts label and picked the ones that broke the rules LEAST. Now, you need to be honest on this and not deceive yourself into making choices that are overboard.

Cooking Method
I would stir fry in olive or canola oil, steam in microwave with a little water or boil in a stock based watery soup. I am not a cook so I can only do simple cooking. For those of you who can cook better, well, I guess you are luckier.

Much of the restrictions apply to the first two weeks of the ‘Induction’ phase. After that, there is some loosening up. I must emphasize the word ’some’. In the next entry, I will list down my typical menus from breakfast to after dinner snack.

How to Lose Fat By Accident (Part 3)…

admin — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 00:32:00 +0000

A crude diagram showing how the body gains excess fat

In my last post, I talked about buying a fat-loss book and I was all set to disprove the system. So I began reading the introductory chapters and surprisingly, it taught me a few new things. I guess some of you must be thinking how green I am to fat-loss theories as soon as you see the crude diagram above. As I soon found out, more than half the globe have probably heard of it. The theory proposed that a carbohydrate loaded diet causes the body to prefer burning carbohydrate instead of fat to produce energy. The same diet also increases the body’s secretion of insulin which causes the body to store fat. Since the body does not prefer fat-fuel at this juncture, fat will just be stored and added to in due time. This cycle also produces a craving for carbohydrate when the body needs fuel. So the person will look for more carbohydrate-laden foods and the vicious cycle continues. Liberal intake of sugar also leads to more insulin secretion and, you guessed it, more stored fat. In short, to break this cycle, control carbohydrate intake and, two, control sugar consumption.

The weight-loss plan goes on to propose that for the first two weeks or so, one needs to go on a carbohydrate and sugar fast. As the body still needs a little carbohydrate, it is limited to at most, 20 grams of net carbohydrate per day. That excluded a lot of convenient foods, as I found out. But, if you control your menu, there are still lots of delicious ingredients for your meal. What you actually forgo, for my case, is convenience. The book goes on to list out menus from breakfast to after-dinner snack for the first 14 days that totals from 18 to 20 grams of net carbohydrate. This saves the dieter from having to do his own counting. I think this part is neat. It also proposes vitamins and minerals supplement for this period to make up the loss as the dieter is only eating certain foods. Also, not to mention, exercise is prescribed as part of the lifestyle. This whole plan is geared towards shifting the body to prefer burning fat and not carbohydrate for energy.

So folks, in my next post, I will describe how I adapted the methods in the book to my circumstances. For one thing, diet bars and the sort, that meets the criteria of this plan is hardly available where I am. If available, it will cost you an arm AND a leg. Secondly, as Asians, our staple is full of carbohydrate. It is EVERYWHERE. So if I were to disprove this system, I need to REALLY put in some action. More on that coming your way.

How to Lose Fat By Accident (Part 2)…

admin — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 01:42:00 +0000

For those of you who are tuning in, and wondering what was it I discovered in my last write-up, it was a book. [YAWN] But wait! Ordinarily, I would not buy it. Just another one of those stupid how-to-eat-right books. I had made up my mind that nothing worked for me as far as fat reduction is concerned, remember? (Well, maybe liposuction will.) This one was different. It was CHEAP. I am guessing that it would probably cost US$ 19.90, AT LEAST, under normal circumstances. This one was offered at US$ 5.30! Still, it did not entice me to make a purchase. But it did make me curious. How can such a book can be offered so cheaply, even if it was on a sale? So, I flipped through it. Page 1 - 10: yeah, those rubbish again. Page 11 - 20: yeah, more of those rubbish. What caught me was, the layout of the book. (Book writers, take note.) The font and line spacing was pleasingly easy on the eye. Secondly, the organization. It is logical and has a good flow from one idea leading to another. Thirdly, it was organized this way: a short yet comprehensive theoretical explanation on the system followed by pages of DAY to DAY action plan. I told myself: Hmmmm. This is easy to follow. And cheap.

I reached into my pocket and found that I still have US$ 7.00 of my daily spending budget left. Hmmm… This is a good opportunity (cheap and easy to follow) for me to buy it, read it, put it into action and PROVE IT WRONG! Then I can write about it or blog on it. PERFECT! I looked around further on the spread of books on sale. I wanted to finish off my US$ 7.00. After finding another book at bargain price, I went to pay for my purchase with a smirk on my face. Little did I realise, that the petite red paperback was smirking back at me.

More on the contents of the book in my next entry.

How to Lose Fat By Accident (Part 1)…

admin — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 07:27:00 +0000

For almost ten years of my life, I was at the borderline between overweight and ideal. It started off with fat visibly accumulating little by little on my tummy area. The fat deposit grew month by month but I was neither trim nor large size. I was in between - in a no man’s land but my belly was clearly bulging. At one point, one of my longtime friend, whom I had not met for some time then, commented: “Yes. You have attained it.” But every time I went for a BMI calculation, the figure will always show as mildly overweight at 25-26. That is a consolation but the bulge was OBVIOUS. It was so clearly visible.

I must make it cleat that, I have nothing against bulges. What’s wrong with it anyway? The only thing that worried me was - was that a sign of compromised health? Was it an omen of a health going down the drain in the future? If so, then I have to do something about it. I don’t mind having bulges here and there as long as I can be assured that I am healthy. I started to experiment on how I can trim down the fat. I went vegetarian for a while. About 4-5 months. Not much difference. Then, I tried this routine: a day of 4-mile jog followed by a day of 2-mile jog, followed by a day of swim and then rest. I repeated the whole cycle again everytime. After a month, I lost half an inch on my waist. Not too bad. But I gained it back all too soon. I supplemented the whole thing with a fat burner with no significant difference. Still, for health’s sake, I persisted with the routine for some time. Finally, I decided that nothing worked for me. So, I just watched what I eat and be content with my figure, reminding myself that it’s health that I want.

One boring day, (good things always happen on a boring day, I guess) I was just walking around town and what I came across gave me an insight on losing those few extra pounds. It was one of those eureka moments when you are not expecting anything and answers just drop from the skies. It shows visible results. More on this in a later post. Stay tuned folks.