Showing posts with label Revathi Murugappan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Revathi Murugappan. Show all posts
Monday, 5 February 2024
Just clap your hands a few seconds a day for health
Clapping is one of the easiest ways to reduce stress levels. It can help you to control anxiety. It is because when you are clapping, you are sending positive signals to your mind which can help you to decrease depression symptoms. There are many people all around the world who are performing clapping as a part of their daily exercises just because it increases happy hormone production. 6- Improving heart health
#parshealthtv #parshealthclinic #pars_health_tv #pars_health_clinic #healthy_habits #happy_life #hand_clapping_therapy #clapping_therapy #how_to_be_happy #benefits_of_hand_clapping_therapy
Clap for health
Monday, 30 October 2023
How to lose weight without exercising
Physical activity or exercise has plenty of physical, emotional and mental benefits, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you will shed the kilos easily by partaking in it.
Some people hate exercising and are not motivated to push or challenge themselves – they simply don’t get the same endorphin release as others.
Reluctant exercisers need external motivators to keep going, like the promise of boosting their overall health, to look good, or because their physician has said they must do so to stay alive.
Our ancestors remained active out of necessity, not choice: they had to move to hunt for food.
Once fed, they rested to conserve energy because there was nothing much to do.
When food supply diminished, they’d be on their feet, hunting again.
Resting is a natural human tendency, so don’t beat yourself up if that’s what you like to do.
With advances in technology and labour-saving devices, the world is now accessible with our fingers, and even minimal movement seems to have taken a backseat.
That’s why we are blossoming sideways.
Is that bad?
It depends on how much weight you’re putting on.
One 2021 study published in the Annals of Epidemiology found that people who started adulthood with a body mass index (BMI) in the normal range, and became overweight – but never obese – in later life, tend to live the longest.
Adults in this category lived longer than even those whose BMI stayed in the normal range throughout their life.
However, those who started adulthood as obese and continued to add weight had the highest death rate.
So, a bit of extra weight is okay as long as you don’t balloon out of control.
Any healthy person can lose weight without exercising – you just need a lifestyle tweak and some discipline.
Prioritise what you enjoy doing instead of struggling to achieve unrealistic goals.
Try some of the following tips to help you trim down.
Chew your food thoroughly and savour every morsel before you swallow it to feel full faster. — AFP
> Hydrate with water
Make it a point to drink two glasses of water after waking up to help “activate” your internal organs.
The water will help to remove any toxins before your first meal of the day.
Water helps regulate body temperature, lower blood pressure, carry nutrients and oxygen to various cells, and maintain optimal kidney function.
Replacing sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages with water can help reduce your daily caloric intake.
Whenever you feel hungry, you may actually be thirsty, or even slightly dehydrated.
So don’t reach out for snacks, but drink a big glass of plain water first – and ideally wait 30 minutes before eating.
Drinking water prior to meals can help you feel fuller and reduce your overall food intake, which can lead to weight loss over time.
If plain water isn’t appealing, try adding fruit slices like oranges, or herbs like mint, lemon and rosemary, for extra flavour and nutrients.
> Eat slowly and mindfully
Instead of munching down solid food, especially poultry and meat, chew thoroughly.
Some time back, I attended a wellness retreat where we were told to chew every mouthful 27 times and savour all the flavours before swallowing.
The food almost turns to liquid by the time it goes down the throat.
Not only does this increase the amount of nutrients absorbed by the body, it’s also easier on the digestive process.
Additionally, longer chewing also helps develop a stronger jaw and chin, suppress hunger and gets you full faster, aiding in your weight loss journey.
> Load up on fibre and protein
You don’t have to eliminate all carbohydrates, just minimise overly-processed ones, such as white breads and pre-packaged foods like cookies and crackers.
This is because such foods are rapidly digested and converted into blood sugar.
Instead, consume more protein and fibre.
Protein takes longer to digest and decreases the level of the hunger-regulating hormone ghrelin, making you feel fuller for a longer period.
Fibre expands in your gut like a sponge, so it’s a natural appetite suppressant.
It also moves faster in your intestines, which signals to the brain that you are full.
Along with lean meats and poultry, add on a good mix of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains to make up the rest of the meal.
Even a five-minute break to take deep breaths at work can do wonders to bring down stress levels. — AFP
> Scale back on added sugar
Sugar itself doesn’t make the weighing scale jump up, but it tends to be in foods that have too many calories.
Whether it’s soft drinks, teh tarik or desserts, it should be the first thing to go if you’re trying to lose weight.
The sweet stuff is also hidden in all sorts of foods from salad dressing to sauces to canned fruits, so don’t be deceived that you’re eating a healthy salad when you’ve doused the greens with salad dressing.
ALSO READ: You wouldn't expect to find sugar in these foods
When it comes to caffeinated beverages, skip the sugar, honey and creamer if possible, as these can quickly add to the calories.
Having your tea or coffee black is best, but if like me, you need to add some milk, opt for skim or low fat over full cream.
By eliminating sugar, you can lower your risk of heart disease dramatically because too much sugar in your diet heightens your risk of high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes – the three main risk factors for heart disease and cardiovascular decline.
ALSO READ: What you can do to reduce heart attack and stroke risk
> Manage stress levels
This is hard for everyone, but we’ve got to try.
When the body is under pressure, it releases the hormone cortisol, which is linked to increased appetite and fat storage.
Excess cortisol levels can increase appetite and cravings for energy-dense, comfort foods.
High cortisol levels over time have also been linked to abdominal fat gain.
Take time daily to do something to lower the stress levels: laugh, read a good book, play with a pet or just take deep breaths.
Find a quiet corner at work, close your eyes and spend five minutes mid-morning and in the afternoon to do a few rounds of deep breathing by inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth or nose.
Do this again in bed, just before you sleep.
> Get proper sleep
Your body relies on sleep to restore and repair itself, and getting enough rest can also benefit your weight-loss efforts.
There is mounting evidence that people who get too little sleep have a higher risk of weight gain and obesity than people who get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.
Sleep deprivation changes your endocrine function and metabolism by affecting your production of the hunger-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin.
This can make you feel hungrier than usual, increasing the likelihood of craving for unhealthy snacks.
It’s no surprise that when you’re exhausted, it’s harder to control your impulses for comfort food like cookies, chocolates and ice cream.
Practise good sleep hygiene by sleeping at the same time every day, switching off all gadgets two hours before bedtime and ensuring the room temperature is comfortable.
By Revathi Murugappan who is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
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Friday, 2 December 2022
Inflammatory bowel disease can significantly disrupt a person's daily life
Getting the occasional abdominal pain and diarrhoea is common for all of us, but if these symptoms consistently recur, do get yourself checked. You could have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – a term used to describe two conditions: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). Like its name suggests, IBD patients have an inflamed gut, and present with pain at the site that is inflamed. UC only affects the colon (large intestine), while CD can affect any or several parts of the digestive tract. Other symptoms may include bloody stools and loss of appetite. As the symptoms are non-specific, patients are normally treated for acute gastroenteritis or misdiagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – a functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by abdominal pain and altered bowel habits. “IBD is an autoimmune disorder, where your immune cells attack your bowel. “Our prevalence is low compared to Caucasian or East Asian populations, with less than 10 per 100,000 population; Australia has 125 per 100,000 population. “But it is still a concern, in line with other growing autoimmune disorders,” says Universiti Malaya Medical Centre professor of medicine Dr Ida Normiha Hilmi. The senior consultant gastroenterologist adds: “We don’t know why it happens or what triggers it, although there are many postulations. “These include something in our environment, something we’re doing, changes in our diet that has become more Westernised, one too many courses of antibiotics, stress, smoking, pollution, lack of breastfeeding or a childhood virus. “Or it could be related to the hygiene hypothesis. “Your immune system is meant to be exposed to a lot of bacterial pathogens at an early age, but if the environment has been sterile, then it doesn’t know how to process all these things later on and processes them in an abnormal way. “Once that occurs, it doesn’t switch itself off and there’s no way to reset it.” One of Prof Ida’s colleagues in India has performed mobile colonoscopies in rural areas of that country and found no cases of IBD; however, the locals there had a lot of worms in their guts. “Worms are protective against IBD – they sort of modulate the immune system and there is a symbiotic relationship,” she points out. Late diagnosis IBD a disease that is diagnosed in the young (ages 15 to 40), with a median age of 29; however, there is an increasing trend in the paediatric population.
.An endoscopic image of a normal, healthy colon.>>
It’s not always easy to identify whether the patient has CD or UC, although UC is more common than CD.
“If the doctors don’t know, these patients are placed in the IBDU (IBD unclassified) category,” says Prof Ida, whose youngest IBD patient is 12 years old.
“You’ll be surprised at how many people wait for a year or two before getting treated – the inconsistent pattern of pain often confuses patients and it is normal for them to lose up to 20kg.
“They may go to the general practitioner, get some antibiotics and don’t seek further help.
“Or after several episodes, they finally decide to go to a specialist – maybe all diseases are like that in Malaysia – hence, awareness is very important.
“What they don’t realise is that if the disease is not treated, there is an increased risk of developing colon cancer.”
UC patients can also experience back and knee pain, skin rashes, and liver abnormality – every system can be affected – while CD patients tend to have specific areas affected.
The IBD specialist explains: “The whole gastrointestinal tract is very long, and in a lot of cases, when a CD flare-up happens, it tends to be in the predominant location, i.e. the common location, which is the lower right side (terminal portion of the ileum) – almost the same area as the appendix, which initially raises the suspicion of appendicitis.”
She adds: “There is some old data that shows patterns where if you get IBD once, you will never get it again, but from my experience, it’s rare.
“The disease will recur without treatment.
“It’s not a cure, but with treatment, you can remain in remission.”
Therapy for life
Treatment involves two therapies: induction and maintenance.
This endoscopic image shows deep longitudinal ulcers in the colon of someone with CD >>
The induction therapy is intended to act fast to provide symptomatic relief, with the mainstay being steroids.
Prof Ida says: “It’s cheap, it works and it works fast, but there are long-term side effects – it thins your bones and causes obesity.”
She notes that the energy boost from the steroids also makes some patients feel better.
However, she adds: “Your adrenal glands that are producing your own steroids are suppressed with chronic steroid use and we have seen patients with Addison’s crisis, where the body is not able to produce steroids any more.
“We never want to give steroids as long-term therapy – we try to stop it within three months.
“If you taper it down and don’t give time for the other immunosuppressive drugs to work, especially slower-acting ones, the symptoms will return, so it’s a balancing act.”
For maintenance, a new group of drugs called biologics work well and have a good safety profile.
The drawback: they’re expensive and range from RM20,000 to RM50,000 annually.
“That’s the difficulty I face with my IBD patients,” Prof Ida laments, “because I’ve to think of costs all the time, especially for the ones without insurance.
“For this reason, I take part in a lot of clinical trials as that allows me to put patients on free drugs.
“Usually, when we get the drugs, we’re already on phase three trials and there are not many concerns as we are not guinea pigs.
“Or we seek funds from charities, non-governmental organisations, etc – that’s the reality.
“The Health Ministry hospitals also have their own free quota, e.g. five patients a year – the rest have to pay.”
For those on clinical trials, the good news is that they can get free drugs for quite a long while.
One of Prof Ida’s patients took part in a landmark IBD study and got free drugs worth about RM48,000 a year for a decade.
Most clinical trials entail a three-month induction and 12-month maintenance timeline.
Every patient usually wants to know when he or she can stop treatment; they think the diarrhoea should resolve with a course of antibiotics.
“The concept of long-term treatment is difficult for them to understand.
“I guess it’s hard when you’re young and have to be on drugs forever, but older people are more accepting,” she says.
“The patient’s function is very much affected as IBD occurs amongst young professionals in high-performing jobs, hence I try to normalise their lives as much as possible.”
For those who don’t succeed with medical therapy, they have to undergo surgery to resect their bowel.
In the past, the figure was 70%, but with better medications these days, the figure has gone down to about 20-30%.
What about foods?
“Before, we didn’t really know what to tell our patients in terms of diet, except to have a low-fibre diet, because when your colon is inflamed, the bowel is narrowed, and if you take too much fibre, it may block your passage.
“Now, we’re looking at anti-inflammatory diets, although we’re still far from anything concrete.
“My paediatric colleagues practise entero-nutrition (delivered into the digestive system as a liquid) for six weeks, but maintenance is difficult as you can’t be on liquid nutrition for the rest of your life,” says Prof Ida.
She suggests, however, that patients try to reduce pro-inflammatory foods, such as those with high fat content.
When it comes to herbs, she says turmeric might help, but the dose has to be right.
“If you have a bad case of UC, you still need biologics as turmeric is not going to save you.
“Everyone is also asking about probiotics.
“Not all probiotics in the market are medical grade, but if my patients want to take it and it makes them feel better, I don’t stop them.
“Our gut consists of trillions of gut microorganisms and taking a tablet or two a day is not going to touch the diversity or repopulate the microbiome.
ALSO READ: Think you know all about probiotics? Then take this quiz
“When the colon is inflamed, the pathogenesis is very complex – we think something is happening at the gut level, maybe a breach of some bacteria into your gut wall – and sometimes, the immune system goes awry.
“But there is also something else that is causing this and we can’t quite pinpoint it.”
The inheritance pattern of this condition is unclear, although some studies show that having a family member with IBD increases the risk of developing the condition.
However, Prof Ida has two sets of identical twin patients.
In one set, only one twin has UC, and in the other, only one twin has CD.
They grew up in the same environment, ate the same foods, and have the same genes, which indicates that some other factor is playing a role in the disease.
Our gut microbiome is developed by the time we’re one-year-old and that’s the one we keep, with minor alterations over the years.
She says: “When you go to another country, it may change a bit, but when you go back to your own country, it generally goes back to your original gut microbiome.”
ALSO READ: The good gut bacteria in our microbiome might be disappearing
Storing and transferring poo
Stool samples being processed for screening during the gut microbiome donation process. — Amili
Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is the transfer of faecal material from a healthy individual to another person with the aim of treating a disease.
It can be described as a form of probiotics as it pumps in a much greater number and diversity of bacterial strains than any available probiotic.
The concept is not new and the use of FMT was first described in China in the 4th century by Ge Hong when “yellow soup” – a faecal slurry – was administered for the treatment of severe food poisoning and diarrhoea.
And in fact, this was a practice that continued for centuries.
Bedouin groups also consumed the stools of their camels as a remedy for dysentery.
“FMT is an option for patients with recurrent or refractory Clostridium difficile (an overgrowth of this bacteria, also known as C. diff) as it has a cure rate of over 90% and can repopulate the good bacteria.
“Sometimes, C. diff can be difficult to kill, especially in older patients – it causes inflammation, and in bad cases, even death.
“FMT can also be used as a therapy for IBD, but because it is unable to be sustained long term as your own gut microbiome returns after a while, the disease comes back,” explains Prof Ida.
FMT preparations can be delivered via capsules, colonoscopies, nasoenteric tubes and enemas.
In this region, Singapore is the only country that has a gut microbiome banking service, provided by a company called Amili.
According to Amili’s head of clinical affairs, product lead, Dr Saishreyas Sundarajoo, stool donors must undergo rigorous screening, which includes a lifestyle/health survey, interview with a clinician, blood testing and stool testing.
“In the final stool test, we screen for potential gastrointestinal bacteria, viruses and parasites.
“These include MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), C. diff, SARS-CoV-2 and more.
“The good bacteria we screen for include Bifidobacterium longum, which helps break down food, absorb nutrients and fight off bad organisms that might cause diseases, and Bifidobacterium breve, as studies have linked its shortage to antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, allergies, gas and IBS,” he says.
Applicants who pass the stool testing are qualified FMT donors for a span of eight weeks.
The samples are periodically tested in between the eight-week cycle for quality assurance,
The donor stools are then cryopreserved in Amili’s partner company Cordlife’s facility and shipped to other countries when there is a request.
Once the stool arrives at its destination, the doctor will thaw it out just before administering it into the patient via colonoscopy.
Prof Ida concludes: “Patients need to understand that disease control is important, and if all therapies fail, surgery, despite its drawbacks, is the only option.” - By Revathi Murugappan
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Wednesday, 17 August 2022
EXTRA BOOST IN YOUR FOOD: Healthier eating for all, Benefits of salt substitutes
Functional foods do more than just provide energy and nutrients; they also promote optimal health and help reduce the risk of lifestyle-related chronic diseases.
EVERYONE needs to eat – some more than others. There are so many food choices that picking something healthy may not always be on our mind. “Let’s say you don’t have a nutritional background – it can be daunting to navigate what’s good and what’s not good.“With this pandemic, I have noticed from friends, family and colleagues that the majority of us have become more health conscious.
“Covid-19 has put a different perspective on our health and we’re definitely putting more thought into what we eat.
“Functional foods and ingredients are becoming popular,” says Goh Peen Ern, dietitian and Beneo Asia Pacific’s manager of nutrition communication.
Functional foods are ingredients that offer health benefits that extend beyond their nutritional value (i.e. calories and nutrients).
The simplest examples include whole foods such as nuts, seeds, grains, fruits and vegetables. Foods that have been fortified, enriched or enhanced with nutrients, phytochemicals or botanicals, as well as dietary supplements, also fall within the realm of functional foods. The concept was believed to have originated in Japan in the 1980s when Japanese government agencies started approving foods with proven benefits in an effort to better the health of its general population. Advances in technology have helped to identify which ingredients would enhance the nutritional value of foods. Nutritional ingredients are generally perceived as safe, and this assumption of safety has often been used for branding purposes. Because consumers are aware of nutritional benefits and consider food safety important, food and beverage producers are positioning their products to reflect the health advantages that their ingredients offer. Carbs: Good or bad? While functional ingredients can help promote better health, there are still certain factors about us that are not modifiable, e.g. genetics, family history and age. Goh says: “The good news is that nutrition is one of the most powerful tools that can modify and improve our health. “In Asian cultures, food is also used as medicine.”Healthier eating for all
Many think Carbohydrate as bad, but we should not forget that they are essential for brain functions such as thinking. memory and learning, among others.
She gives carbohydrates as an example: “Carbohydrates have been getting a lot of bad rap and people think it is the source of all ailments, but remember that the human body and brain’s main source of energy is from carbohydrates that have been broken down into glucose.
“All health bodies promote eating carbohydrates, which should comprise around 50% of our caloric intake.” Just like fats, the quality of carbohydrates differs and not all are created the same. With the number of diabetics in the country and region, choosing the right type of carbohydrate is important in achieving long-term metabolic health. Fast-release carbohydrates, or high glycaemic index (GI) foods, release glucose into the bloodstream rapidly, causing a spike in blood sugar levels. These include breads, cereals, sugars, fruits and some starchy vegetables. A constant high blood glucose level will cause damage to organs such as the eyes, heart and kidneys. However, fast-release carbohydrates are extremely beneficial when eaten after exercising, as the rapid rise in blood sugar is critical for restoring glycogen – i.e. the sugars stored for energy – in the muscles and liver. Slow-release, or low GI, carbohydrates foods provide a slower and more sustained release of energy. These include most vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, beans, peas and legumes. If you choose foods with slow-release carbohydrates for your meals throughout the day, you’ll have energy for an extended period of time. Asian body type Sugar is not necessarily the culprit leading to diabetes. “About 60% of diabetics live in Asia. “We have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes compared to Caucasians due to our genetic makeup. “Asians appear to have a distinct ‘thin-outside-fat-inside’ (TOFI) characteristic phenotype. “We wear small or medium size clothes, but inside we are ‘fatty’. “If we do a body scan, our belly fat is much higher compared to Caucasians with the same body mass index (BMI),” says Goh. Even if our BMI is lower than our Caucasian counterparts, we actually have a higher risk of developing diabetes. She adds: “Abdominal fat is the worst kind to have as high levels of it is associated with increased inflammation – if the fat is on your arms, it is fine. “So, Asian waistlines are actually bigger. “We can’t change that, but we can change our diets by eating slow-release carbohydrates to reduce the risk of getting diabetes. “Instead of going on a rollercoaster ride, let the blood sugar climb up the hill gently.” Goh used to work as a dietitian in a hospital, but realised she was only helping the sick. So, to prevent a larger group of people from getting sick and filling up hospital beds, she moved on to the food industry. “The food industry is like an ecosystem consisting of companies that manufacture the end product and companies that produce the ingredients. “If you look at the finished product sold in supermarkets and read the ingredient list that says sugar, it doesn’t mean the manufacturer has its own sugar plantation. “They may be sourcing it from elsewhere and adding it to the product,” she explains. Sugar substitute
A good slow-release alternative sweetener is isomaltulose, which is extracted from the sugar beet plant that is grown in the Palatinate region in Germany.
Goh says: “This is a functional ingredient that is a fully-digestible, slow-release carbohydrate, which comes in powder form and has been used to replace the sugar in food and beverage products.” Isomaltulose is fully, yet slowly, digested and absorbed, resulting in a lower blood glucose rise and less insulin release in the body when consumed. “Unlike high-intensity sweeteners such as saccharine, isomaltulose has half the sweetness of table sugar. “If I’m using a lot of brain work or playing sports, I need carbohydrates, and drinks containing isomaltulose are an excellent choice. “Food manufacturers can use this as an ingredient in their products,” she says. This low GI ingredient is already the number one sugar substitute in hard-boiled candies worldwide. It can also be used as a bulk sweetener in confectionery, baked goods, cereals, dairy products, sports nutrition products and special nutrition products and so on. Goh cites the example of canned herbal tea – people want it to be both tasty and healthy, meaning that they don’t want sugar in it. However, when the manufacturer takes out the sugar, the tea will become unpalatable. “The manufacturer has to put back something to get a better-tasting tea, so they can put in isomaltulose, which tastes really nice and is not as sweet. “Many people also don’t check the sugar content and think if the product is not so sweet, it is healthier!” says Goh. Another functional ingredient with plenty of benefits is chicory root fibre (a prebiotic), which comes from the chicory plant. Prebiotics are non-digestible dietary fibres that promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the intestine. Unlike probiotics, prebiotics are non-living organisms and aid the intestinal bacteria to flourish. Chicory root fibre is derived from the chicory plant, which belongs to the dandelion family (and looks like radish), and is primarily composed of inulin. Inulin is extracted from chicory root through a gentle hot water diffusion process, similar to the process used to extract sugar from beets. The first step consists of obtaining a liquid concentrate from the chicory root. This juice will then be refined into fibre in liquid or powder form. Goh explains: “Back then, companies making cereal and nut bars used sugar syrup to bind the bar together, but now, some manufacturers have started using the liquid version to bind the ingredients so that the product is healthier. “The chicory root fibre has plenty of healthy benefits and has been linked to improved blood sugar control and digestive health as it selectively increases the good gut microbiome. “With isomaltoluse, it is slowly broken down by the body, but chicory root fibre is considered a prebiotic, so it is not broken down in the body and doesn’t affect blood sugar.” In food packaging, some manufacturers will list the item as “having prebiotics” or a “sustained energy product”. “What you can do is look at the ingredient list to see if it contains any functional ingredients. “Food companies will usually use generic names, e.g. oligofructose, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), plant sterols, isomaltulose, beta glucan, etc. “These functional ingredients are not just for diabetics, but for everyone to keep themselves healthy. “And no, these ingredients are not sold to individuals, but to food manufacturing companies,” she says. Prioritise food intake To lead a healthy life, Goh ranks nutrition as top of the priority list, followed by exercise, adequate sleep and controlling stress. She points out: “If you do the first three things right, then the fourth is not a problem.” When it comes to the affordability factor, Goh says not all foods with functional ingredients are expensive. “Maintaining good health is not expensive. “If you cannot afford these foods, go for home brands, cook your meals with lots of onion and garlic, choose lean meats for protein, and eat your fruit and veggies, but make sure they are rainbow-coloured.” There are those who think eating healthy once in a while is good enough. “Health eating is a daily thing!” Goh emphasises. “It’s not only reserved for special occasions. “You should be eating healthy 80% of the time and the 20% remaining, you can indulge in junk food, fast food, chocolates, etc – why not? “In the end, it boils down to habit. “If you’re eating healthy, it’s very hard to undo. “If your habit is not so healthy, put your mind to it and consciously eat healthy again and again – you can change your habits. “Just do one thing consistently until it becomes a habit two or three months later, then work on another thing,” she advises.More importantly, you have to eat to feel good.
She says: “You can try it yourself, eat junk food one day and healthy food the next, and observe the difference.
Benefits of salt substitutes
Dietary salt substitutes can help lower the risk of heart attacks, stroke and death in those with high blood pressure.
DIETARY salt substitutes lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and death from all causes and cardiovascular (heart) disease, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence. Published online in the journal Heart, the beneficial effects of these substitutes are likely to apply to people all around the world, say the researchers. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and high blood pressure is a major risk for an early death. A diet high in sodium and low in potassium is known to drive up blood pressure. Around 1.28 billion people around the world have high blood pressure, although more than half of these are undiagnosed, say the researchers. Salt substitutes, in which a proportion of sodium chloride (Nacl) is replaced with potassium chloride (KCL), are known to help lower blood pressure. A recently published large study from China, called the Salt Substitute and Stroke Study (SSASS), found that salt substitutes cut the risk of heart attacks, stroke, and early death. But it was unclear whether these benefits would apply to other parts of the world. In a bid to shed light on this, the researchers trawled research databases looking for randomised clinical trials published up to the end of August 2021, which reported on the effects of a salt substitute on blood pressure, cardiovascular health and early death. Blood pressure, which is measured in mmhg, is made up of two numbers: systolic, which is the higher number that indicates the force at which the heart pumps blood around the body, and diastolic, which is the lower number that indicates arterial pressure when the heart is filling with blood. They pooled the results of 21 relevant international clinical trials involving nearly 30,000 people, carried out in Europe, the Western-pacific region, the Americas and South-east Asia. The study periods lasted from one month to five years. The proportion of sodium chloride in the salt substitutes varied from 33% to 75%; the proportion of potassium ranged from 25% to 65%. The pooled data analysis showed that salt substitutes lowered blood pressure in all the participants. The overall reduction in systolic blood pressure was 4.61mmhg and the overall reduction in diastolic blood pressure was 1.61mmhg. Reductions in blood pressure seemed to be consistent, irrespective of geography, age, sex, history of high blood pressure, weight (body mass index or BMI), baseline blood pressure, and baseline levels of urinary sodium and potassium. And each 10% lower proportion of sodium chloride in the salt substitute was associated with a 1.53mmhg greater fall in systolic blood pressure and a 0.95mmhg greater fall in diastolic blood pressure. There was no evidence that higher dietary potassium was associated with any health harms. A pooled data analysis of the results of five of these trials involving more than 24,000 participants showed that salt substitutes lowered the risks of early death from any cause by 11%, from cardiovascular disease by 13%, and the risks of heart attack or stroke by 11%. The researchers acknowledge certain limitations to their findings, including that the studies in the pooled data analysis varied in design and that there were relatively few data for people who didn’t have high blood pressure. But they nevertheless highlight that their findings echo those of the SSASS – the largest ever trial of a potassium-enriched salt substitute to date. “Since blood pressure lowering is the mechanism by which salt substitutes confer their cardiovascular protection, the observed consistent blood pressure reductions make a strong case for generalisability of the cardiovascular protective effect observed in the SSASS, both outside of China and beyond,” they write.“These findings are unlikely to reflect the play of chance and support the adoption of salt substitutes in clinical practice and public health policy as a strategy to reduce dietary sodium intake, increase dietary potassium intake, lower blood pressure and prevent major cardiovascular events,” they conclude.
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Wednesday, 14 July 2021
Think forward, walk backwards
https://youtu.be/rMxGVVBUSIc
Walking Backward: Benefits for Mind and Body - Healthline
LAST month, I wrote about how it is not strictly necessary to walk 10,000 steps a day for better health (Walking 10,000 steps a day, Two Fit, StarHealth, June 13).
Due the way our human brains are wired, we all assume walking always refers to forward motion.
Today, on a reader’s request, I’m going to discuss the effects of walking backwards, also known as retro walking or reverse walking.
Walking as a physical exercise has plenty of benefits: it’s easily accessible (though not in all areas, such as those under the enhanced movement control order), doesn’t require registration fees, and can be done any time at your convenience, indoors or outdoors.
However, walking in reverse makes the heart pump faster and circulates more blood and oxygen to the muscles and organs, including the brain.
Because it places a greater challenge on your body, walking backwards gives you a better cardiovascular workout, and perhaps, faster weight loss if that’s what you’re aiming for, compared to walking forward.
Apparently, 100 steps of backward walking is equivalent to roughly 1,000 steps of conventional walking, which explains why you can burn calories quicker.
Walking backwards also heightens your sense of balance and hearing, as you cannot depend on vision alone to steer you.
It’s great for people involved in a sport where they need to change directions rapidly or run backwards.
If you notice footballers in training, their coaches will include drills that include backward running and jumping.
Backward walking training is becoming a popular treatment method for people with musculoskeletal disorders, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy, as well as post-stroke patients.
Brain and pain
If you notice footballers in training, their coaches will include drills that include backward running and jumping.
Backward walking training is becoming a popular treatment method for people with musculoskeletal disorders, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and cerebral palsy, as well as post-stroke patients.
Brain and pain
Basically, walking backwards helps fire up the neuromuscular pathways that tend to get sluggish as we age.
One way to keep these neural circuits active is to exercise and slow down the natural rate of their degeneration.
Tests with backward-forward walking are also used for diagnostic purposes as these tests show how well our brain and body can coordinate our balance and mobility.
In addition, geriatricians might use walking backwards as a diagnostic tool to predict the likelihood of a fall in elderly people and patients with dizziness.
By regularly walking backwards, you are exercising the same neuromuscular circuits that these doctors are checking with this test.
Ageing brings about a lot of challenges, especially to our natural ability to “automatically” do things.
You may have noticed older people appearing to concentrate as they lift their feet to walk; this is because it is more difficult for them to “walk without thinking”.
This happens to the best of us when we lose the automaticity of walking.
For those experiencing lower back and knee pain, backward walking is a good alternative as the motion places less strain on the knees.
It may be useful for anyone experiencing pain going up and down stairs, or doing lunges or squats.
Hikers can also give their overused muscles a break by trying something different.
According to a 2019 study published in the journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, a six-week retro walking programme resulted in greater reduction in pain and functional disability, and improved quadriceps muscle strength and performance in individuals with knee osteoarthritis, when compared to the forward walking or control groups in the study.
The subjects completed 10 minutes of supervised retro or forward walking training, in addition to usual care, three days a week for six weeks.
In another study published in the Journal of Biomechanics ,itwas also found that reverse or backward running reduced anterior knee pain.
From heel to toe
During a forward walk, most people will begin with the heel first gait as it is more efficient in transferring stored energy into motion so that our muscles don’t have to do as much work.
With each step, some energy of motion is lost when your feet hit the ground.
When you walk on the balls of your feet, you lose more energy due to these “collision forces” than you do if you walk heel first.
On the other hand, toe-walking, often used by ballerinas, requires activation of certain calf muscles that don’t need to be used in heel first walking, as your weight is directly supported by your heel.
In backwards walking, the toes have to contact the ground first and the heel is lifted off the ground last.
So, even if you have long legs, your strides can’t be too long unless you’re accentuating the movement.
If you’re an early riser (unlike me), you might be able to catch some backward walkers in action at our public parks.
They usually belong to tai chi groups, and while they walk, they will clap their hands as traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe the palms have many acupressure points that can be stimulated via clapping.
Improved memory 
Several studies also show that walking backwards can boost memory power and take you “back” in time.
In 2019, psychologist Dr Aleksandar Aksentijevic at the University of Roehampton, United Kingdom, and colleagues published a study called It Takes Me Back: The Mnemonic Time-Travel Effect in the Cognition journal.
They asked 114 volunteers to watch a video in which a woman has her bag stolen by a passer-by.
Ten minutes after watching the video, the participants were split into groups: one was told to walk forward 10m and another backwards 10m, while those in the control group stood in one place.
They were then asked 20 questions about the events in the video.
It was found that the backwards walking group got two more answers correct on average than the forward-walkers and the non-walkers.
The researchers also did another variation of the experiment, which tested several groups on how many words the volunteers could remember from a list.
One group walked backwards, while other participants simply imagined moving forward or backwards, or watched a video filmed on a train, which created the impression of moving forward or backwards.
In all scenarios, the backwards group or those who imagined walking backwards got the most answers right.
You don’t need to spend a whole lot of time walking backwards to reap its benefits. Just slot it in as a one-minute interval during your regular workout.
Check that the area behind you is clear so that you can walk confidently without bumping into anything.
Or find a partner so that he or she can keep an eye out for potholes and uneven surfaces, as our public roads and parks are full of them.
Better yet, grab a stick and have your friend lead you.
As muscles work in pairs and walking backwards recruits a new pair, you’ll inevitably feel some initial adjustments.
An added bonus is that your posture also improves while walking backwards as you tend to stand taller – it’s practically impossible to slouch while in reverse gear!
Combine both types of walking and add in some lateral walking as well to give all your muscles a workout.
As you get stronger and more confident, try walking backwards on an incline.
Having balanced muscles goes a long way towards reducing joint pain.
Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email starhealth@thestar.com. my. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
Related post:
Stroke survivor Betty Ng (centre) being
her usual active self at the Walk for Health event before the pandemic.
Photo: Nasam https:/...
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