Healthy Food for This Weekend

Did you have a stressful week at work? Tried to finish 5 days worth of work within 4 days?

Time to recharge yourself with this super health food!

Article as below

5 superfoods for better health

These five nutritional powerhouses should be in everyone's diet, says nutritional therapist Pooja Vig. Here's why eating them will give your body the boost it may need. Curry and other spices If you often season your food with spices, give yourself a pat on the back now. Spices, like turmeric (found in curry powder) and cinammon, are superfoods which are rich in active, health-giving compounds. "Turmeric contains curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory properties and is a powerful antioxidant," says nutritional therapist and microbiologist Pooja Vig. "It protects the heart and brain from the effects of ageing and is believed to be a powerful cancer fighter." Cinammon may lower blood sugar levels for people with type 2 diabetes, say some preliminary studies. Ms Vig, who heads The Nutrition Clinic in Singapore, recommends using spices liberally in foods. However, in some instances, it may be more beneficial to take spices via a concentrated source like a tablet or tea. "Commercially available powdered cinnamon may not be as powerful if it has been sitting on the shelf for some time, so making a tea by using cinnamon stick and boiling it in water, becomes a good way of taking the spice," she says. Fenugreek, which is good for heart health, can be quite hard to stomach because of its bitter taste and taking it in capsule form makes it easier to get the level of dosage. Berries They are great, low-sugar fruit with numerous health-promoting substances. One good example is cranberries, which are excellent for preventing and relieving urinary tract infections (UTI) she says. Recurrent UTIs are dangerous as pyelonephritis - when infection has reached the pelvis of the kidney - can occur if the damage spreads. For those suffering from recurring UTIs, Ms Vig suggests taking pure cranberry extracts that are completely free of sugar, artificial colouring and preservatives. "Pure cranberry juice is sour and can be difficult on the palate, so many cranberry products have added sugar in them," she cautions. Besides supplements, berries can also be easily incorporated into food by adding them to salads, cereals and smoothies, or just consuming them as a snack on its own. Salmon Healthy omega-3 fats in salmon can help to lower the risk of heart disease and retard memory loss and arthritis, says Ms Vig. Ms Vig recommends consuming three servings of salmon a week, together with a daily fish oil capsule. "Look out for a brand that thoroughly removes environmental toxins such as mercury while also giving high enough levels of the two (omega-3) active oils - eicosapentatonic acid (EPA) and docosohexanoic acid (DHA). "For most healthy adults, a combined EPA and DHA of around 500mg is good," she says.

Probiotics

These healthy bacteria are excellent for gut health and for boosting immunity. They work by restoring the balance of gut bacteria and raise resistance to harmful germs.

Ms Vig recommends taking a probiotic supplement over food sources of probiotics.

"There is the issue of knowing if the healthy bacteria levels have been maintained during transport and when on the shelf," she says.

However, Ms Vig warns to start slowly if taking probiotic supplements for the first time.

"Some people do react and find that they experience constipation, bloating and diarrhoea. If that happens, lower the dose you are taking," she previously wrote in The Straits Times.

Fiber

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has raised the recommended daily servings of wholegrains from one to three

Wholegrains are a good source of fibre, which helps to relieve constipation and lower LDL - or "bad" - cholesterol, says Ms Vig.

Other benefits of fibre include its ability to control diabetes - by reducing the post-meal rise in blood sugar - and weight gain as it helps you to feel full longer.

Besides wholegrains, fibre is found mainly in fruits, vegetables and legumes.

Unfortunately, 80 per cent of Singaporeans are not meeting their recommended daily fibre needs, which HPB says is 26g for men and 20g for women.

To meet these needs, Ms Vig suggests adopting a two-pronged approach of increasing fibre intake through supplements and food.

Article Source :http://health.asiaone.com/Health/Eat%2BRight/Story/A1Story20091125-182204.html

Health Benefits of Fish Oils

Do you know what is in your fish?

I did not know that fish was so healthy til i read it.

read more

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Fish oil certainly contains one main benefit which is omega3 fatty acid. This is certainly the discovery of the century by scientists. And this single omega3 oil ingredient which exists only in fish oil brought a lot of health benefits to human.

Pregnant women, infants, patients with heart / brain diseases benefits greatly from the effects of fish oil.

Fishes that contains high levels of omega 3 fatty acids oil are ice cold water fish such as salmon, herring, sardines, anchovies and mackerel.

Fish oil health benefits are come from 3 components of the omega 3 fatty acids which are Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Builds up immune system

Regular intake of fish oil build up the immune system. Hence increasing your body resistance against common diseases such as cough and flus. Fish oil was given to human and injected in mice in a research. Results shown that mice with fish oil in their diet have stronger resistance than those than do not have.

Studies shown that taking fish oil reduces breast, colon and prostate cancers in elderly people.

Keeps the heart healthy

Another important health benefit of fish oil. Heart diseases are shown to be reduced when fish oil is implemented into their diet. Triglyceride level is reduced, when fish oil is absorbed, which is the cause for heart diseases.

However, by mixing a high saturated fat diet with omega 3 fish oil, the health benefits of fish oils are cancelled and become negligible.

High daily intake of omega 3 have shown to reduce high blood pressure in people and prevents blood vessels from hardening.

Anti Flammatory Properties

Anti flammatory properties exist in omega 3 in fish oil. Hence if you suffer from arthritis or other related diseases, eating fish oil brings great relief to your joints.

Asthma sufferers benefits from fish oil too. During asthma attacks, due to the anti flammatory functions of fish oils, there are reduced inflammation of the air pipes in the lungs.

Good for the brain

Regular consumptions have proved to reduce brain diseases such asParkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. High dosage of omega3 reduces the neurotoxin that exist in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

School children who are given omega 3 fish oil experience improved learning and focus when compared to children not given omega 3 supplements.

People with depression are given fish oil as part of their diet to cure depression and 'cheer' them up.

A research held in Germany shows that headaches and migraine reduced significantly when fish oil is added into the diet of the sufferers.

However, do not over consume fishes after reading this articles as there are other dangerous fish oil side effects.

Now you can proudly tell your friends that you know all about fish oil health benefits after reading thru this article.

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source Beneficial Fish oil health benefits

Health Risks of Shower Heads

You have one shower head at home? Well, almost everybody has 1 at home. Agree?

The next haunting question. How long have you not clean it?

1 year? 2 year? 5 years? or 10 years?

I moved house for around 1 year, hence i believe mine is a lot newer than yours.

Want to know about the health risks if shower head?

Read on!



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WASHINGTON – In what may be the scariest shower news since Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho," a study says showerheads can harbor tiny bacteria that come spraying into your face when you wash.

People with normal immune systems have little to fear, but these microbes could be a concern for folks with cystic fibrosis or AIDS, people who are undergoing cancer treatment or those who have had a recent organ transplant.

Researchers at the University of Colorado tested 45 showers in five states as part of a larger study of the microbiology of air and water in homes, schools and public buildings. They report their shower findings in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In general, is it dangerous to take showers? "Probably not, if your immune system is not compromised in some way," lead author Norman R. Pace says. "But it's like anything else _ there is a risk associated with it."

The researchers offer suggestions for the wary, such as getting all-metal showerheads, which microbes have a harder time clinging to.

Still, showerheads are full of nooks and crannies, making them hard to clean, the researchers note, and the microbes come back even after treatment with bleach.

People who have filtered showerheads could replace the filter weekly, added co-author Laura K. Baumgartner. And, she said, baths don't splash microbes into the air as much as showers, which blast them into easily inhaled aerosol form.

It doesn't seem as frightening as the famous murder-in-the-shower scene in Hitchcock's classic 1960 movie. But it's something to be reckoned with all the same.

The bugs in question are Mycobacterium avium, which have been linked to lung disease in some people.

Indeed, studies by the National Jewish Hospital in Denver suggest increases in pulmonary infections in the United States in recent decades from species like M. avium may be linked to people taking more showers and fewer baths, according to Pace.

Symptoms of infection can include tiredness, a persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath, weakness and "generally feeling bad," he said.

Showerheads were sampled at houses, apartment buildings and public places in New York, Illinois, Colorado, Tennessee and North Dakota.

The researchers sampled water flowing from the showerheads, then removed them, swabbed the interiors of the devices and separately sampled water flowing from the pipes without the showerheads.

By studying the DNA of the samples they were able to determine which bacteria were present.

They found that the bacteria tended to build up in the showerhead, where they were much more common than in the incoming feed water.

Most of the water samples came from municipal water systems in cities such as New York and Denver, but the team also looked at showerheads in four rural homes supplied by private wells. No M. avium were found in those showerheads, though some other bacteria were.

In previous work, the same research team has found M. avium in soap scum on vinyl shower curtains and above the water surface of warm therapy pools.

And stay tuned. Other studies under way by Pace's team include analyses of air in New York subways, hospital waiting rooms, office buildings and homeless shelters.

The research was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.

Virginia Tech microbiologist Joseph O. Falkinham welcomed the findings, saying M. avium can be a danger because in a shower "the organism is aerosolized where you can inhale it."

In addition to people with weakened immune systems, Falkinham also cited studies showing increased M. avium infections in slender, elderly people who have a single gene for cystic fibrosis, but not the disease itself.

Two copies of the gene are needed to get cystic fibrosis, but having just one copy may result in increased vulnerability to M. avium infection as people age, said Falkinham, who was not part of Pace's research team.

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On the Net:

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: http://www.pnas.org

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source : http://sg.news.yahoo.com/ap/20090915/twl-us-sci-germs-in-the-shower-ef375f8.html

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I summarize for you if the whole thing was a mouthful.

• For people with normal immune system, do not worry that much. If you are those that have weak immune systems or you have some immune system disorder or if you are the elderly, you will to take note
• Lesser bacteria exist in water from pipe are much cleaner than water passing through the shower head.
• Metal shower head are slightly safer than their non-metal counterparts

I did not bother about shower heads til i read the yahoo article. Make me cringle now.

After using body foam to wash off the physical dirt, i am covered by the mini algae and bacteria after i bath!

So now, we know about the health risks of shower heads!