Sunny Health

Research indicates that what you eat is a greater determining factor for weight loss than exercise.

Here are some types of food that are not only low in calories, but are fat burners! They’re also easy to incorporate into your daily diet as well.

Whole grains

The body burns more calories to break down whole foods as compared to processed foods. Examples of whole foods include oatmeal and brown rice. If rice is a staple food for your dinner, replacing white rice with brown rice is half the battle won!

Lean meat

Watching your diet doesn’t mean cutting down on meat. Yes you should cut down on fatty meat, but proteins are essential to growth and repair, and meat is a good source of protein. Additionally, protein has a high thermogenic effect. You burn calories digesting it!

Low-fat dairy products

Dairy products are rich sources of calcium, and they help to preserve and build muscle mass from the food you consume. Strong muscles also promote higher metabolism, which is essential in turning fat into energy. Just be sure to stick to low fat ones!

Green Tea

According to an article published in the “Journal for Nurse Practitioners" in 2010, green tea supports weight-loss efforts through reducing appetite and boosting metabolism. This is further supported by a report by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which states that drinking four cups of green tea a day helped people shed more than six pounds in eight weeks. They probably accomplished a calorie deficit with a healthy diet including green tea and ample physical activity though, so don’t assume you can simply chug green tea to get the figure you want. Sugarless hot green tea is much more effective than processed green tea with sugar added.

Spice

Contrary to what some advocators of spicy food for weight loss believe, it is not quite possible that spicy food helps with weight loss by ‘melting’ fat away. But it does curb hunger pangs and reduces your desire for salty, sweet and fatty foods. Additionally, heat and energy often go together, and spicy food helps to increase energy expenditure. Go for pure spices like chilli peppers and capsicum, which you can easily include as a side dish, not chilli sauce or chilli paste. This is not an excuse to binge on laksa and curry, whose calorie content outweigh the benefits of spice.

“I’ll just exercise more tomorrow.”

This is a favourite excuse to resort to when we can’t curb our inner devil to resist sinful delicacies. Unfortunately, the British Journal of Sports Magazine has negated the effectiveness of this solution by publishing an article that an unhealthy diet consisting of high levels of sugar and carbohydrates is the main reason for obesity. The main way to effectively lose weight is to maintain a healthy diet.

This journal was published in reiteration to the food industry’s shaping of public perception that obesity is entirely due to lack of exercise. The constant trumpeting on how it is all right to eat unhealthy treats with regular exercise has also been misleading.

If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. If exercise alone was so effective for losing weight, athletes and celebrities, who often train under a strict regime, would not have to adhere to a an equally strict diet to maintain their fitness levels and figures. Meanwhile, we had professional footballers like Brazil’s Ronaldo, who, despite having undoubtedly spent a lot of time on football training, managed to get a paunch and chubby appearance due to his partying ways. That would also solve the mystery as to why some people who don’t seem very physically active remain svelte.


Of course, that is not to say that one should stop exercising. Between physical inactivity and eating unhealthily, the latter is the greater of both evils, and contributes more towards weight gain. However, exercise reaps many benefits like emotional wellness, reduces the risks of cardiovascular diseases, some chronic illnesses and cancers, and keeps your body in a better shape and condition, allowing you to safely enjoy a greater range of physical activities. Exercise will also increase metabolic rate (ability of the body to use up your carbs), and high-intense activities will divert fat cells towards muscle repair and growth. These will indirectly stimulate weight loss.

Keep doing those fitness plans to be fit and healthy, but don’t use them as an excuse to go on an eating binge.

Stay tuned for the next post for advice on healthy eating. It’s not as unpleasant or difficult as you might imagine!

It's one thing to once in a while forget a couple of meetings, leave your car keys at home or forget whether you had lunch during a hectic period. However, if these acts of forgetfulness are happening so frequently that they are impacting on your life, it could be a sign of early onset of dementia.

Common symptoms include:

• Memory loss that affects daily life
• Having extra trouble with planning and problem solving
• Difficulty in completing daily tasks that you never had problems with
• Constant confusion over time and venue
• Difficulty reading, judging distances and determining colours and images
• Problems with speaking and writing
• Frequently misplacing things or forgetting directions to places you have been to before
• Withdrawal from work and social activities
• Alterations in mood and personality.

Symptoms for early onset of dementia are often similar to that of depression, and coupled with widespread disbelief that dementia could never happen to a young person, this complicates the diagnosis of early onset dementia.

Early onset of dementia is typically said to occur between 30 and 65 years old. It is not known how many are affected by this problem in Singapore. However, this illness is gaining attention in other parts of the world, and there are dedicated websites and health organisations to help them. In Canada, 1 person in every 1,000 under the age of 65 develops dementia, according to Alzheimer Society. In Australia, younger onset dementia affects approximately 24,500 Australians. In the UK, about 42,325 people are plagued by this illness.

Due to low awareness and lack of research, risk factors are not known, however, people with a learning disability tend to be at greater risk of developing dementia at a younger age.

If you have the above symptoms, don't panic and assume that your brain is definitely degenerating. Do see your doctor, and don't be afraid to suggest to your doctor your concerns about possible dementia if he doesn't bring it up. This is especially so if he diagnoses stress or depression while you have not experienced any recent triggers.

As with most health issues, the earlier you get your diagnosis and begin treatment, the greater your ability to slow down the effects of the illness. Dementia is not the end of your life, and you should seek treatment, not hide from it.