Sunny Health

Breakfast has always been touted as the most important meal of a day. Not eating breakfast may incur many unpleasant problems, including feeling lethargic, being unable to concentrate, and even putting on weight due to overeating at lunch.

Why is it then that some people may feel that their lives haven’t changed for the better even with regular breakfast? Some find themselves asking, “Why do I still feel hungry?” “Why do I still feel tired?”

Breakfast isn’t a magical time when anything you consume becomes a healthy meal or an appropriate one.  It is just like any other meal, only more important because it takes place at the start of your day, after the longest break between meals – more than 10 hours if you finish dinner around 8 pm! As such, breakfast is often referred to as fuel for the day. If the fuel is of inferior quality, your car is not going to be able to travel smoothly or for long distances without refuelling  Similarly, if you’re not getting sufficient nutrition, your breakfast will not be very good fuel for the rest of the day.

Like all other meals of the day, food for your breakfast should be selected based on the food pyramid. You might think that that’s too much work for a morning meal, but a wholemeal bread with egg and lettuce sandwich, a banana and a glass of milk easily gives a decent breakfast without taking up too much time! The trick is to prepare food that can be kept overnight, so that you can make part of or all your breakfast the night before and not have to wake up especially early to prepare it.

Protein and fibre are good choices of nutrients for breakfast as they are filling and digest slowly, giving your energy that lasts longer.

Avoid refined grains and go for whole grains. Refined grains, usually found in white bread, some cereal, and bakery products, while tastier, often have most of their nutrients removed, and are very quickly digested by the body. Go for wholemeal bread and whole wheat cereal instead.

Refrain from food and drinks with high sugar content. Sugar gives you a short burst of energy, but consequently, this causes your energy levels to dip, leaving you fatigued for the rest of the morning. In addition, they cause you to put on weight. Refrain from oily foods like char kway teow and fried bee hoon as well for health reasons. For drinks, choose low-fat milk or pure fruit juice instead to supplement calcium and fibre.

Tired of boring old sandwich and cereal? Eating healthily doesn’t mean eating blandly. Mayoclinic has some ideas for unconventional but healthy breakfasts not unlike those you may find in cafes:

Vegetarian pizza – Supermarkets have microwave ones
Fresh fruit topped with low-fat yogurt and crispy whole – grain cereal

Vegetables, salsa and low-fat shredded cheese wrapped in a tortilla

Whole-wheat crackers with low-fat cheese. Kraft has liquid cheese in some supermarket outlets, and it’s quite a delectable alternative for fans of the popular Nachos cheese dip. Just don’t douse your crackers in it or it could become fattening.

Microwaved baked potato topped with broccoli and grated Parmesan cheese

Make your breakfast a fun and delicious affair, and you’ll soon be looking forward to making your own healthy meals for the morning!

Sources:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/318502-what-makes-a-healthy-breakfast/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/23/healthy-breakfast-mistakes_n_2877800.html

If you’re a night owl, a taxi driver doing the wee hour shift or enjoy driving up to Malaysia, you’ll be thankful for several cups of steaming hot coffee. According to the British Medical Journal, Australian investigators have found a correlation between the percentage of crashes and the percentage of people who drink coffee and drive heavy good vehicles. The likely reason is caffeine, a stimulant that helps to boost alertness.

In addition to this, coffee does have other attributes that are beneficial to health. 

Research has found that coffee helps to decrease the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes, though if you’re diabetic, you’d want to avoid drinking it due to its effect on blood sugar as mentioned above.

The coffee bean is a type of plant, and like all plants, it contains phytochemicals. Phytochemicals are antioxidants that combine with free radicals, preventing free radicals from harming our cells.

Studies have also shown that coffee prevents certain types of cancers like liver cancer, endometrial cancer and colon cancer, and also reduces the incidences of Parkinson’s disease and gall stones.

In fact, the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that increased coffee consumption is linked to a longer lifespan, as habitual coffee drinkers are being spared from heart or respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, injuries, accidents and infections. The percentage in decrease of risks from these causes is 10 to 16 percent, compared to someone who doesn’t drink coffee.

Nevertheless, other studies oppose the finding of coffee being beneficial for the heart, claiming that those with a gene variant that metabolises coffee slower could experience higher blood pressure and increased heart attack risk from drinking coffee. This, with other common criticisms about coffee, cause this beverage to come into frequent association with negativism. “Don’t drink too much coffee,” my mum used to say. “Your teeth will become yellow.” And then when I was older, the reason became “you’ll shrink when you’re my age”.

Indeed, coffee could stimulate Osteoporosis, or loss in bone density, because caffeine causes more calcium to be loss through excretion. Too much coffee causes wrinkling of skin due to dehydration and the solution for it would be to drink a glass of water after you drink a cup of coffee.

Coffee also causes blood sugar fluctuations that a caffeine high produces, which could lead to hunger cravings, and should be avoided by diabetics or people who are trying to maintain or lose weight.

As for staining of teeth, coffee isn’t the only culprit; tea and colas are known to be cause teeth staining as well, so it is important to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth shortly after drinking.

Even as debates about whether or not to drink coffee continues, it is perfectly healthy to drink a few cups of coffee a day, paired off with water and other beverages, but do not drink it in excess. After all, even vitamin supplements can be detrimental in excess, much less a beverage.

People also develop different reactions to certain foods. Don’t hesitate to listen to your body and heart; some people claim that coffee makes them addicted and they get headaches when they reduce consumption, others complain of increasing pulses or inability to sleep. If you find that coffee is not for you, you may by all means choose another healthy beverage.

Do also bear in mind that the coffee discussed here is pure coffee, not coffee packaged in terribly unhealthy concoctions like caramel latte or mocha. Being high in calories and sugar, these could do you more harm than good!

Sources:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_risk

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/7-coffee-pros-cons.html

http://www.readersdigest.ca/health/healthy-living/coffee-pros-and-cons

http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/coffee-friend-or-foe

It is ironic how, on one hand, there are people who are perfectly content with growing wider year after year, while on the other, there are those who are so concerned about being thin that they would put their lives on the line.

Although obesity is becoming more prevalent with affluence, eating disorders remain a concern. In the United States, National Eating Disorders Awareness (NEDAwareness) Week is commemorated from February 24 to March 2, but despite outreach efforts, two recent surveys found that there has been an increasing percentage of college students in America struggling with eating disorders.

In Singapore, although no recent surveys have been released about eating disorders, the problem does exist among our youngsters and some adults. Contrary to what many people think, eating disorders are never just a personal problem or obsession with looks. They can be caused by depression, traumatic experiences, an emotional upheaval in life stemming from a negative experience, helplessness leading to a desire to gain self-control, or it could be an obsessive compulsive disorder. Rather than blame the media and social media (cue Photoshopping of untoned body parts) for embracing slenderness as an ideal perception of beauty, it is important to take responsibility, educate oneself on eating disorders and how to identify those who need help, and where to find help.

AWARE has an excellent page about the various types of eating disorders and their symptoms.

http://www.aware.org.sg/body-image-self-esteem/eating-disorders-faq/

Which brings me to the point that despite AWARE’s feature on eating disorders, commonly associated with women, this is one case where the men get it too. According to http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/issuesformen.php, it has been estimated that 8 million people in the United States are suffering from an Eating Disorder, and of that number, 10% are men. A news report in 2010 also revealed that the number of men in Singapore seeking help for eating disorders went up in prior years.

Some general signs of eating disorders include:

Behaviour:

Physical:

If you suspect that your loved one as an eating disorder, do not be too quick to pressure him or her to go to the doctor. This may backfire and cause the person to avoid you and even attempt to hide his symptoms. Eating disorder patients often have the tendency to be in denial. If the condition has not reached a life-threatening stage, it is essential to gain the person’s trust. Show that you care and provide a listening ear. Reassure them about the importance of inner beauty over outer beauty. Give useful advice about dieting healthily. Provide positive distractions by inviting them to engage in social activities.

Should medical help be required, there are several avenues in Singapore that you can turn to. Many hospitals have a dedicated Eating Disorder treatment programme. SGH has a full programme that includes counselling and dieting advice to ensure complete recovery.

Here are some helplines you can use to request advice and assistance:

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eating_disorder_self_help.htm

http://www.aware.org.sg/body-image-self-esteem/eating-disorders-faq/

If you're tired of bland traditional salads and veggies in your pursuit of a weight loss diet, try substituting with Kimchi instead. Riding on the waves of the K-pop fever, this Korean dish is making its name for itself worldwide with its delicious embodiment of spicy, sweet and sour. More importantly, it is chockful with health benefits!

A recent study,  published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, reveals that Kimchi may help to lower the amount of "bad" cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) in one's body. The experiment had been conducted on 100 healthy young men, who were required to eat Kimchi on a daily basis in one week. Those who ate a large amount of kimchi (about 200grams) daily experienced a greater reduction in cholesterol levels compared to those who ate a significant smaller amount (about 15 grams) every day for a week. However, both groups still saw benefits, noticeably in subjects with high LDL cholesterol levels. Granted, the attributes of the participants is narrow and does not include females or older adults. Nevertheless, it is a good sign, and hopefully, more research can be done to ascertain this benefit of Kimchi over a wider range of attributes. 

Kimchi is also known for other health benefits. The Korean staple has been lauded by “Health” an American magazine about its namesake, as one of the world’s top five healthiest foods. Kimchi contains Lactobacillus, a probiotic bacteria also commonly found in other health foods like yogurt and milk, which aids digestion, as well as build up the body’s immune system. It is rich in essential vitamins A, B and C, fibre and low in calories.

With Korean pop-culture dominating the entertainment industry, authentic Korean food has been making their way to the stores of our supermarkets and convenience stores. It is easy to get a jar of pre-made Kimchi at affordable prices. The pungent taste of the dish can get some getting used to, so instead of attempting to waffle down an entire bowl of it, try adding it as side ingredients to your main dishes, such as sandwiches, rice and noodles. In fact contrary to misunderstandings about Korean food culture, the Koreans do not consume Kimchi as a main dish or snack. In fact, they eat a small dish with it at each meal, accompanied by other side dishes and staples.

In fact, consuming Kimchi in small amounts on a regular basis as part of your main diet would be a more sensible move. According to a reported titled "Kimchi and Soybean Pastes Are Risk Factors of Gastric Cancer.", published in the "Los Angeles Times" in May 2006, a correlation between excessive consumption of Kimchi and increased gastric cancer by as much as 50% was identified. The study was conducted by the Department of Preventive Medicine of Chungbuk National University in South Korea.

A small dish of Kimchi with each meal like how the Koreans go about it is reasonable, but don’t go on a Kimchi binge!

Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4347443.stm

http://www.livestrong.com/article/478382-health-benefits-of-kimchi/#ixzz2MqE8LB9N

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/jmf.2012.2563

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/kimchi-may-help-lower-cholesterol-165701314.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15929164

Considering how much potential damage sweet treats can do to your teeth, it’s a wonder that clinics are often packed with patients after Chinese New Year, but there is little talk about visiting the dentist.

In fact, according to an interview by Lianhe Zaobao, there is usually a 25-50% increase in number of people who go to the dentists after the festive season. Coating one’s teeth with sugar and sticky sweet substances has afterall never been healthy for teeth, and traditional Chinese New Year goodies, as well as sweet carbonated drinks often used for serving guests, are famed for their high levels of sweetness.

But dental problems do not stop at potential cavities from these sugary treats. Considering how hard some of the goodies are, this gives rise to trauma and damage to teeth and gums. Common problems include tooth sensitivity, tooth cracks and fractures, and even wisdom tooth problems when the area around the wisdom tooth becomes inflamed. Furthermore, during the Chinese New Year holidays when people are consuming food and drinks continuously at different social settings, the acidity level is retained in the mouth. Acid is harmful for the teeth as it leads to corrosion of the enamel.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the harm done to teeth usually do not show up overnight. In the case of tooth cracks, there are no symptoms, and they will only be detected at a thorough dental examination. If further stress is applied to the tooth, a tooth fracture could occur, and that leads to severe pain and possible permanent damage and loss to the tooth.

Regular check-ups with your dentist every half a year can help you to detect problems early. Visiting your dentist after the festive season for a check-up and thorough clean up can help to eliminate the fuses of many potential dental health problems in the near future.

Meanwhile, dentists offer the following advice on rejuvenating your teeth after the hectic Chinese New Year festival:

Drink lots of water and get ample rest.

Brush your teeth and rinse your mouth after food intake. It is all right to brush your teeth frequently, but not too hard so that you do not exert unnecessary pressure on your teeth. The golden time to brush and floss teeth is 10 minutes right after food intake. Yes, flossing is important too. Quoting a highly apt analogy I read, not flossing is like having an incomplete shower, because you aren’t getting to those hard-to-reach places where plague can build up.

Avoid sugary drinks and snacks. It’s very tempting to finish up all those leftover goodies, but for the sake of your teeth, don’t. Share them with your neighbours or colleagues instead of downing them all. Many New Year goodies have long shelf lives, so keep them until later. And remember not to buy too many next year!

Sources:

http://specialistdentalgroup.com/blog/media_coverage/chinese-new-year-dental-health-lianhe-zaobao/

http://www.yourhealth.com.sg/content/excessive-cny-munching-can-damage-your-teeth/page/0/2#sthash.jN9CCyoP.dpuf