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Posted: 02 Feb 2013 10:15 PM PST

Protein is found in every single cell in the body. An important building block for bones, muscles, cartilage, skin and blood, high quality protein provides all of the essential amino acids needed by healthy adults and growing children. People who don't get enough of this important macronutrient will lack energy, and they will see their muscles and immune systems weaken.

To help people meet their daily protein needs, leading direct selling company Amway is introducing NUTRILITE™ All Plant Protein Powder which helps to load up your day's essentials by unlocking more goodness from nature. The unique tri-blend of soy, wheat and pea provides the right combination of proteins and amino acids to keep you feeling healthy and energetic, without animal products or dairy side effects.

"As one of the macronutrient foundations of a balanced diet, protein needs to be consumed each day to maintain health," says Gene Maly, Senior NUTRILITE Research Scientist. "Most people have difficulty consuming the recommended amount of protein in their diet, which is why adding a high quality protein source, like NUTRILITE All Plant Protein Powder, helps people give their bodies the fuel to power their cells, provide energy to their bodies, and with the recommended amount of 25 grams of soy protein per day, also helps to reduce cholesterol."

But most people associate protein with meat, poultry, eggs and dairy. In today's world, that isn't always what people want to hear. Many people want to incorporate as many plant-based options as they can into their diets.

A simple observation Many of the essential amino acids found in NUTRILITE's previous version of Protein Powder came from dairy, essentially from cows.

In the history of NUTRILITE, observing the diet of cows signified an "ah-ha" moment for its founder, Carl Rehnborg. After a return from China in the early nineteen hundreds he made a simple observation that the healthiest cows ate a diet of alfalfa and water -- they had shinier coats, they produced the most milk, and they gained the most weight. He realized that for cows to thrive, they needed the essential nutrients found in plants like alfalfa.

Today, NUTRILITE scientists have taken Carl Rehnborg's observation one step further by going back to the natural source, creating a plant-based protein powder that provides all of the essential amino acids people need in their diets to maintain cellular health throughout their body. This simple idea has resulted in NUTRILITE All Plant Protein Powder.

Protein keeps us feeling healthy by acting as a cell repair nutrient, it provides energy by producing hemoglobin – the red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout our bodies, it builds lean muscle, and it supports the immune system by manufacturing antibodies, the substances that fight off illness.

- This article is brought to you by Amway

Plants over meats

Posted: 02 Feb 2013 03:41 PM PST

A nutrient-dense, wholefood, plant-based diet can save your life.

IF you are health-conscious, and you have not yet seen the documentary film Forks over Knives, then I highly recommend that you do so.

The film is being screened on the international screen of one of the cinema chains in Kuala Lumpur, and they have promoted it through frequent advertisements.

The title is meant to convey the message that a healthy diet can help you avoid chronic diseases, medical treatments and surgeries. Indeed, the film provides compelling evidence that a whole-food, plant-based diet is able to prevent, control or even reverse obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

In contrast, it is a well-established fact that much of the health problems afflicting affluent modern Western society is due to their diet, which is animal-based, replete with all sorts of processed foods.

The film follows the work of several US doctors, scientists and nutritional experts that prove the effectiveness of the whole-food, plant-based diet in preventing and reversing the chronic diseases.

It is a documentary film filled with facts and real-life testimonies of those who have benefited from following the recommendations, and will be enjoyed only by those who have interest in the subject.

Nutrient-dense, whole-food, plant-based diet

The diet promoted by the film is in line with what I recommend. It is based on whole or minimally processed plants, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, tubers, and legumes.

It excludes or minimises animal-based foods such as meat (including poultry and fish), dairy, and eggs, as well as refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil.

However, I disagree with the exclusion of fish. There will always be controversy whether a vegetarian or even a vegan diet would even be better than a plant-based diet that allows some meat intake.

There are many promoters of vegetarianism for various reasons – religious, spiritual, health, eco-sustainability, etc – but I will restrict my discussion only to the health aspects.

It is a fact that vegetarians are generally healthier than meat eaters, as it is also a fact that meat consumption is linked to obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease, cancers and other diseases.

However, vegetarians are not totally free from the "meat-eaters diseases" mentioned above. So it is also important to look into what vegetarians actually eat.

Food provides us water (which we get mostly from our drinks), energy (calories) and nutrients. Most of us have too many calories in store, as evidenced form the high rate (and still increasing) of overweight/obesity in recent health surveys. Our sedentary lifestyle and the hormonal changes that occur as we age have made the majority of us fat and unhealthy. So we need to be conscious of eating excess calories when we eat.

We need lots of nutrients

It is the nutrients that we should concentrate on most when we eat. This is why I recommend the nutrient-dense, whole-food, plant-based (preferably organic) diet. Thousands of nutrients are required for our cells to function, to maintain health, to prevent disease, to fight invaders, and to recover from diseases and injuries.

It is my belief that current nutritional recommendations grossly underestimate the amount of many nutrients we need. Let us take vitamin C for example. Most official health institutions recommend that adults take 60-90mg of vitamin C per day, which is easily achieved in a diet which includes fruits and veggies.

A small orange contains about 50mg of vitamin, and many other fruits contain more vitamin C than oranges. But if you ask around, many health conscious people are taking 1,000mg of it daily. That is more than 10 times the official recommended intake!

Almost all vitamin C supplements for adults come in 1,000mg tablets/capsules, which means it is the "standard" dose for most who take vitamin C as a supplement. This also means that many people do not believe the official recommendation. The same may apply to other nutrients too.

However, it does not mean that you should just increase the doses of whatever supplements you are taking. You need to equip yourself with sufficient knowledge about these nutrients, and make an informed decision on your supplementation programme. Or you can get the advice of an expert you trust. Be aware that studies have shown that taking certain supplements actually increases cancers and death rates.

My aim here is not to promote supplementation, but to promote the nutrient-dense diet, ie getting more health-enhancing nutrients and less calories and "junk" from your diet. It is only when your diet cannot provide the desired amounts of certain nutrients that you should consider supplementation.

The nutrient-dense diet

Leafy veggies, grasses (eg wheat-grass) and sprouts are the basis of the nutrient-dense diet. They provide a whole range of important nutrients without much calories.

For example, you will lose weight when you eat spinach because you will spend more calories eating, digesting and absorbing the spinach than the amount of calories it provides.

I had mentioned previously that organic foods have much more life-force or qi than the non-organic variety, although studies on the nutrient content have so far shown no added advantage.

Unfortunately, when you cook these veggies, you destroy some of the nutrients (and the qi as well). And when you overcook them, you lose most of the nutrients.

The sad reality is this – if you go to most restaurants, you will find that the veggie dishes are mostly overcooked and soaked in unhealthy oils.

It is best to eat the veggies raw, or minimally stir-fried to preserve the nutrients. The only veggie that is better cooked is tomatoes (more lycopene is released if cooked).

Fruits and fleshy veggies are both nutrient-rich and calorie-rich, so while they provide plenty of nutrients, you have to be wary of the calories they contain.

You should go for a wide variety of fruits and veggies, but restrict the amount of each fruit and fleshy veggie.

This applies especially to those who are overweight and/or diabetic. In fact, one of the causes of childhood obesity is regular drinking of fruit juices (even those that are not sweetened) because of the high fruit-sugar content.

Apples, guava, pears and similar fruits that require a lot of munching can be put in a different category because it takes time to eat a lot of them; they are filling; and they contain lots of fibre and lots of nutrients (eg guava has more vitamin C than oranges).

Apples are part of many diet programmes because they can satisfy hunger without giving too many calories.

Avoid empty calories

Our problem lies in the rice, bread, mee, roti canai and other staple foods that bring in too much calories with scant nutrients.

The newly-harvested rice grain is full of nutrients, but the pure white rice that reaches our plate has been "polished" of much of its nutrients.

Likewise, sugar cane juice is full of nutrients and fibre, but the crystalline sugar that reaches our table has been "refined" off most of the nutrients.

In fact, white sugar is pure calories and nothing else. So, if you are health-conscious, you should avoid (or reduce) white sugar, white rice, white bread, white flour and other similar "empty calorie" foods.

They are virtually empty of nutrients, unless the manufacturers fortify them (as many foods are nowadays). Go for the brown varieties, which still have some nutrients in them.

So, even if you are vegetarian, but your diet consists mostly of white rice (or other "white" stuff) and overcooked veggies, and you consumed lots of sugar, you will not be as healthy as you should be.

Healthy and unhealthy fats

The unhealthy fats in our diet are major contributors to our poor health. These are the animal fats that are unavoidable if you consume meat (less if you take lean meats).

Unfortunately, many people actually enjoy eating both meat and fat. Plant fats/oils are generally healthier, but saturated and processed plant fats (eg trans-fats like margarine) are not, as they influence the body's fat production negatively (ie promotes increased levels of "bad" cholesterol and/or triglycerides).

You can get good fats from avocado, olive, oil palm, coconut and many other plants. If you consume commercial products, then the processing method is critical as heat will turn healthy oils unhealthy.

The best are the cold-pressed "virgin" or "extra-virgin" oils, which means that no heat is used and the oils are obtained during the first round of pressing/squeezing (the best quality is obtained this way).

One sad discovery from my research is that most commercially available "extra-virgin" olive oils are not what they claim to be.

Deep-sea fish and krill are the best known sources of health-enhancing omega-3 fatty acids, which are important nutrients if you wish to stay disease-free.

Although plants also provide omega-3 (eg flaxseed oil), there are some differences which make the marine source superior.

Our concern, however, is that even deep-sea fish can be contaminated by heavy-metals. That is why the omega-3 supplements made from them have to be "molecularly-distilled".

For those who are not vegetarian, but who espouse the nutrient-dense, whole-food, plant-based diet, adding deep-sea fish like salmon can provide most of the protein intake instead of chicken or red meats. And whenever you consume meats, make sure you balance it with lots of veggies/salads.

With the craze over burger bakar, and "double" or even "triple" burgers sweeping the country, it looks like only a minority of us chooses plants over meats. But it is definitely the right choice.

Dr Amir Farid Isahak is a medical specialist who practises holistic, aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine. He is a qigong master and founder of SuperQigong. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. The views expressed are those of the writer and readers are advised to always consult expert advice before undertaking any changes to their lifestyles. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

A woman’s brain

Posted: 02 Feb 2013 03:40 PM PST

Are women's and men's brains the same? It is not a question we would normally ask ourselves, but it actually provides important insights into a woman's moods and behaviours.

MEN often joke that women must be alien ceatures, as they simply cannot understand why women think or act the way they do.

There are, in fact, major differences in the brains of men and women. These differences are not only related to hormones, but also to the biological and cultural roles of women, as well as how they have been conditioned to respond to certain situations.

So here are 10 things that men need to know about women's brains.

10. Women are different every day

This can be quite frustrating to a man, who feels as if he is struggling every day to understand why a woman behaves one way today and another way tomorrow, even when the situation is the same.

What in the world is happening inside a woman's brain? The answer is hormones. There are many different hormones at play in a woman's body, and their levels change every day of the cycle, affecting her moods, responses and perspectives.

Ovulation takes place approximately 10 days after the menstrual cycle begins. It is during this fertile period that a woman's oestrogen and testosterone levels surge, and it is believed that she unconsciously dresses sexier at this time as she is looking for a mate.

A week later, her progesterone level rises, changing her emotions into an affectionate, relaxed mood. However, be warned – this does not last long!

The following week, progesterone levels dip, and the withdrawal effect causes the relaxed mood to disappear. Instead, the woman becomes irritable and prone to crying over minor issues.

The moodiness reaches its peak about 12 to 24 hours before menstruation begins. At the next cycle, it all repeats again.

As you can see, hormones play a big part in how women feel throughout their cycle.

9. Women have intuition

It is true that women are naturally intuitive and can sometimes tell or guess what someone will do before it happens.

However, this has nothing to do with magic or mind-reading. It is due to women's observational skills, which have evolved over time so that women can fulfil their maternal role.

As mothers, women have to be able to guess what their children need, even if their child or infant cannot communicate directly with them. They rely on non-verbal cues, such as facial expressions, body postures and tones of voice. In time, these skills have become instinctive to generations of women.

Of course, women apply these skills outside of motherhood as well, often being able to "read" the minds of other people close to them, such as their partners, colleagues or friends.

8. Women avoid aggression

Men are more aggressive, while women avoid confrontation. This is generally accepted as a major difference between both genders, although it is not as simple as the cliché "women are the gentler sex".

It is thought that women's avoidance of violence and direct confrontation can be traced back to their early roles as the caregivers of the family. As they needed to stay alive to nurture their young, they would choose strategic ways to deal with threats, including negotiation, manipulation or building alliances.

Until today, women and men rarely see eye-to-eye when it comes to facing down a threatening or challenging situation, as both have different ways of overcoming it.

7. Women need a response

Although women hate conflict, they hate the lack of a response even more. This may explain why women get frustrated when men choose to ignore certain situations or simply shrug when asked for their opinion on something.

One possible reason for this is because women are so sensitive to external and non-verbal cues – as explained earlier – that they find it unbearable to ignore them.

6. Women are more sensitive

Again, this is a widely acknowledged fact, seen in the way women respond more emotionally or strongly to upsetting situations or sad books and movies. It is also frequently attributed to the "gentler sex" rationale.

Women's brains actually respond to pain and fear differently compared to men's. Scans have shown that certain areas of women's brains demonstrate greater activity when faced with painful or frightening situations.

However, while women are more sensitive to even small amounts of stress, they are less able to deal with high levels of stress over a long period. This probably explains why women are more vulnerable to anxiety disorders, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

5. Women are more easily turned off

Men are probably very familiar with this characteristic! Yes, women are generally more sensitive to elements that disrupt sexual arousal.

It is more difficult for a woman to get into the mood, and to stay in it, during sex. Everything, from her mood, things happening around her, or even her physical surroundings, can affect her arousal.

If she has had a stressful day, has been ill or is feeling anxious about the next day, do not expect her to be in a sexy mood. As women tend to be more sensitive to stress factors, and generally have to cope with issues at home, as well as at work, it is no wonder that their sex drives tend to swing in the opposite direction from men's.

4. Women have 'pregnant brain'

Pregnancy changes everything about a woman – not only her body shape and size, but even her brain as well!

Pregnancy actually causes a woman's brain to shrink by about 4%, although the size reverts back to normal six months after delivery.

Remember when progesterone was mentioned earlier? It puts women in a "sedated" mood, and as progesterone levels increase up to 30 times during pregnancy, most pregnant women find themselves wanting to sleep most of the time.

Of course, there is also a strong belief that the hormone changes which occur during pregnancy have a great deal to do with the changes in women's behaviours and attitudes, including maternal feelings and memory problems.

3. Women have 'mommy brain'

First comes pregnancy, then comes motherhood. A woman will find that her attitude towards life and her expectations change drastically when she has a child, as she herself is facing enormous physical, emotional, mental and social upheaval.

Most significantly, women begin to behave in a way that indicates their need for a predictable routine and a support network around them, so that they can care for their children and be responsive to their children's needs.

2. Women have a second adolescence

It may sound like a second chance at youth, but unfortunately, it has more to do with menopause and ageing.

When women reach their 40s, they go through a phase of hormonal changes similar to adolescence, called perimenopause. It starts around age 43 and reaches its peak at the age of 47 or 48, before finally tapering off by the time they reach the early 50s.

During perimenopause, women get erratic mood swings, irregular periods and the dreaded night sweats.

1. Women get younger as they get older

In fact, the so-called second wind comes after menopause. From the time they hit their 50s, women tend to discover a new zest for life and a desire to experience new adventures in life, whether it is to travel the world, learn a new skill or meet new people.

These changes in a woman's brain dictate why she goes through so many different moods and attitudes in her lifetime.

No one remains the exact same person over the years. We all change, shaped by internal and external influences.

That is what makes life interesting.

Datuk Dr Nor Ashikin Mokhtar is a consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist (FRCOG, UK). For further information, visit www.primanora.com. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader's own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 3 Februari 2013

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Health

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