Check the Results of PBIM 2009
http://www.penangmarathon.gov.my/download/PBIM2009Results.zip
Samantha
www.wellnessnrecreation.com
Just a reminder, coming up is the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2009 on 22 November 2009.
Adapted from Yen Ang published writings.
I have been away from Malaysia for a long time, close to 30 years. Now that I am back, it is not shocking that I am facing some culture shock. Among the things that shock me is the fact that Malaysians now are so similar to the Americans in terms of our health status and diseases pattern. This is bad news.
Take a look of our health profile as a nation: • 32% of us are overweight • 11% of us are diabetes • 53% of us have high cholesterol • 60 % of us don’t exercise • And a whopping 73% of us don’t eat enough vegetables and fruits
No wonder the two diseases that kill the most number of people in Malaysia in 2006 were heart disease and cancer.
I’m sure the nation health status was not like that some 30 years ago. How did we get into this mess?
We are eating and living more and more like the Americas: McDonald, KFC, pizza, donuts, Starbucks, lattes, and lots of time on internet, twitter, facebook and TV watching. And so we are suffering and dying like the Americans. That’s how.
But we really don’t have to. We want to learn and import the best technology from the Americans and the West, but we don’t have to eat and die like them.
One way to stop this worrisome trend is to go back to the way our grandma and grandpa lived and ate: A plant-based diet, and more physical activity. Spend more time in nature, walk in the botanical garden, look at the Penang Bridge, breathe in some fresh air, and eat less processed food.
Get out of this mess now.
Yours in wellness,
Yen Ang DrPH, RD, ACSM Lifestyle Intervention consultant Adventist Wellness Center
Happy reading
Diabetes and Barley
November 14th is World Diabetes Day. So we’re taking this time to remind consumers that a whole grain, high fiber diet may help control and even prevent Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. Barley is an excellent grain choice because it has a high concentration of dietary fiber, including beta-glucan soluble fiber which is shown in studies to be effective in promoting healthy blood sugar, reducing cholesterol, promoting healthy blood pressure and helping control weight, all conditions associated with diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes affect over 2 million Malaysians. Health and nutrition professionals remind us, however, that this disease can be controlled and even prevented. It’s a matter of making some simple but important lifestyle choices including losing weight, increasing physical activity (like hiking Penang Hill lah) and including plenty of whole grain, high fiber foods such as barley in the daily diet.
Barley is an excellent food choice for those concerned about type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes because the grain contains essential vitamins and minerals and is an excellent source of dietary fiber, particularly beta-glucan soluble fiber.
Research shows that barley beta-glucan soluble fiber promotes healthy blood sugar by slowing glucose absorption. For example, findings from a clinical trial published in the December 2006 edition of Nutrition Research showed that mildly insulin-resistant men who ate muffins containing barley beta-glucan soluble fiber experienced significant reductions in glucose and insulin responses, compared to responses after eating muffins made with corn starch. In a clinical study reported in the August 2006 edition of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, data showed that subjects who ate cookies and crackers made with barley flour enriched with beta-glucan soluble fiber also experienced significant reductions in glucose and insulin responses compared to responses after eating the same products made with whole wheat flour. A long-term study published in the August 2007 edition of the Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice journal reported a 30-percent decrease in HbA1c (average blood glucose level) in type 2 diabetics who consumed a healthy diet including pearl barley that supplied 18 grams of soluble fiber a day. Regardless of the form of the grain, there is always a ready source of beta-glucan soluble fiber in barley. Unlike many grains which contain fiber only in the outer bran layer, barley contains fiber throughout the entire kernel. So whether it’s whole grain or processed barley products, dietary fiber, including beta-glucan soluble fiber, is available in amounts that have a positive impact on improving blood glucose levels.
It’s easy to include barley in a healthful and delicious diet. Choose barley flakes for a hardy cooked breakfast cereal. Add pearl or whole grain barley kernels to your favorite soups, stews, casseroles and salads. Or use cooked pearl or whole grain barley kernels as a fiber-rich addition to your favorite stir-fry.
Adapted from Dr Dicky NG Teik Kee published writings.
Read more on Diabetes
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/food_nutrition/diabetes/diabetesmellitus.php
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/food_nutrition/diabetes/common_consequences_diabetes.php
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/food_nutrition/diabetes/economic_burden_diabetes.php
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/food_nutrition/diabetes/activities_manage_diabetes.php
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/food_nutrition/diabetes/diabeticdiet.php
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/food_nutrition/diabetes/worlddiabetesday.php
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com/news_articles/diabetes_footcare.php
Alzheimer’s disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906.
http://www.wellnessnrecreation.com
8 October 2009
World Sight Day is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October, to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year, it focuses on gender and eye health–equal access to care.
World Sight Day is the main advocacy event for “VISION 2020: The Right to Sight”, a global effort to prevent blindness. VISION 2020 is coordinated by WHO, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness and public and private partners.
27 September 2009
Cardiovascular diseases are the world’s largest killers, claiming 17.5 million lives a year. Risk factors for heart disease and stroke include raised blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, smoking, inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables, overweight, obesity and physical inactivity.
In partnership with WHO, the World Heart Federation organizes awareness events in more than 100 countries - including health checks, organized walks, runs and fitness sessions, public talks, stage shows, scientific forums, exhibitions, concerts, carnivals and sports tournaments.
BRAS AND BREAST CANCER by Nguyen Phawk Yu, M.D.
For years, a lot of articles with regards to the causes of breast cancer point to an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise as the major links to this disease which happens to be the biggest killer among women during these last two decades. These studies would have been almost credible if it were not for the fact that several women (including Linda McCartney) who have been religious vegetarians and exercise-freaks have also been unfortunate in suffering breast cancer. Perhaps the most convincing article I have ever read with regards to this matter, published in Chinese, is one which links breast cancer to the wearing of bras.
In the “Bra and Breast Cancer Study” in the United States, it was discovered that women with breast cancer had a history of sporting tighter and longer bra-wearing than did the women who had not (yet) developed the disease. In fact, virtually all of the cancer group wore bras over 12 hours daily with 18% even sleeping with their bras which means they wore bras 24 hours daily. In contrast, the comparison groups had 25% of the women either bra-free or wearing bras less than 12 hours daily. Only 3% of this group slept with their bras on. This study revealed a significant link between bras and breast cancer that is three times greater than the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer!
There was a 125 fold increase in breast cancer incidence between women who were bra-free and those who wore bras 24 hours daily. Wearing a bra over 12 hours daily conferred a 113 fold increase in breast cancer incidence! Bras apply pressure to the breasts, especially to the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system consists of tiny, thin-walled vessels that drain from the breast tissue, removing toxins, cell debris, cancer cells, viruses, bacteria, and other products from the breasts. All of our tissues drain through the lymphatics, which is essentially the circulatory pathway of the immune system.
However, unlike arteries and veins, these vessels have no internal pressure. As a result, they are easily compressed by external pressure (a bra, for instance) leading to the congestion of the tissues that would otherwise have been drained.
When a woman wears a tight bra, she subjects her breasts to pressure, closing off the lymphatic pathway from the breast to the nodes. This causes fluid build-up, swelling, tenderness and cyst formation. Toxins must be flushed out via the lymphatics. However, a bra-constricted breast cannot adequately perform this cleansing process, resulting in toxin accumulation in the breast.
Truthfully, bras are creating droopy, weak breasts…the breast relies on the bra for artificial support, the body loses its ability to support the breast by itself. This is why many women feel uncomfortable without a bra. What is the solution to breast cancer then? DON’T WEAR A TIGHT BRA! And maybe sleep without them. There is a remarkable success rate for recovery from fibrocystic breast disease within 10 days to two weeks of going bra-free. Many women have tried going bra-less and recorded a miraculous improvement in their health! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you for your kind attention,
Nguyen Phawk Yu, M.D.
Adapted from Nguyen Phawk Yu, M.D. Articles
Continue reading http://www.expatica.com/be/news/local_news/Glass-of-wine-a-day-can-stave-off-Alzheimer_s_-study-finds_54756.html
