How Did You Spend Your Holidays?

I just back to work today. The 5-days long holiday just over. I'm sure most of you spend your very good time over the Raya festival. You would either go for an enjoyable trip, good shopping time to grab some promotion item, or relaxing at home with loves one. I really really jealous you all.

Last Saturday and Sunday was good to us. At least to complete all the necessary task. But, the nightmare started on Monday evening. Both hubby and I fell sick after our afternoon tea. He had diarrhea and I vomited. I suspect the food that we took for the afternoon tea was not clean. So, we got the food poisoning. That's the risk for dining out.

Late at night he started to run to toilet. I have no symptom until I went to bed. I had stomach pain like gastric feeling. I ignored it and went to sleep. In the midnight, I woke up when I felt the terrible stomach upset. I ran to toilet straight away to throw up. Arghhh......I really hate vomiting. It was so disgusting.

We felt so sick. We lose our appetite and we run out of energy. We spend most of the time to sleep. That's the way to spend our holiday. :(

Support Yvonne Foong

Yvonne Foong, a courage girl that is currently fighting for Neurofibromatosis. She's been through 4 surgeries, and she'll undergo Trigone Meningioma surgery this coming December. The surgery will take about RM154,704.42, and up to date the fund raised is RM75,602.11. She still needs about RM80k. To support her on the fund raising, please drop by here before the dateline on 23rd Nov 2009. Contribute your support to her!

Loke Kai Xin Needs Your Help

Loke Kai Xin was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia when she was three months old and a Kasai procedure (hepatoportoenterostomy) was done way back in February 2009. Unfortunately, the procedure did not cure her condition and she was advised to go for a liver transplant as her last and only option.

Due to under weight, she was advised by UM Specialist Centre (UMSC), Malaysia to seek medical help from Singapore. After the first pre-assessment at National University Hospital of Singapore (NUH), both parents were found to be suitable candidate donors for Kai Xin. Both parents were in NUH on 1st of June 2009 for the second pre-assessment to confirm and determine their suitability to be the donors.

The total cost including post-operations and follow up is expected to be around RM500K which is equivalent to 200K Singapore Dollars (pre-assessment, liver transplant, post operations, follow ups & etc) or more due to her age.

This amount is just too expensive for them to bear in full; therefore they are appealing for your help. They have also contacted News Strait Times (NST) but NST has a condition before publishing their plight, that is to get the confirmed donor information and operation date - which Eric (the father) could only provide after the second pre-assessment.

A fund has been set-up for Kai Xin with following bank account details. For those who are keen, kindly deposit your donations (cash or cheque) in favour of:

Name: Loke Kai Xin


Maybank Berhad
A/C No.: 1-14013-213313

Note: If you use maybank2u or ATM, you'll see Lee Huey Jing stated there for confirmation

For further details, please visit to kaixin.sos blog and KaiXin development.

Blood Screening Once A Year

Photo courtesy of http://www.johnderrick.com/

Every year our company will have the blood screening promotion package for just RM45. It includes 18KS health screen. You can add on some other test too if you like.

Pathlab 18KS Health Screen comprises tests on Haematology, Renal function, Diabetes screening, Thyroid profile, Liver function, Lipid profile, Tumour marker, Infectious diseases, Serology, Urinalysis. I took the 18KS test plus the breast and ovary cancer screening. The total cost is just RM45 + RM20 + RM20 = RM85.

The result was out last week. I feel relieved when I know everything is fine. Every adult should go for blood screening once a year. The reading is important for yearly monitoring. Any abnormalities or disease found at the early stage will alert you for early treatment or care.

What a Shocking News!

It's really a shocking news to me. 阿桑, the Taiwanese singer passed away because of breast cancer. She's just 34 years old!

Lately I read on a few English and Chinese nutritional and detoxification books. I learned about how dangerous if our body failed to detox naturally. I gained some knowledge on the effects of the accumulating toxic in our body. Besides, there is another study explains on how the oxidation stress damage the human body.

We got to take care of ourselves by eating the right food. Taking an adequate amount of reliable nutrition supplements as antioxidant is very important. This is the better way to prevent chronic degenerative diseases. It'll be good if you able to follow the natural detoxification program on timely basis.

Home Cooked Food

It has been almost 3 weeks since our last dine out. This is unbelievable! :) Not only save us a lot of money, but most importantly is we got our precious home cooked meal. Home cooked, home cooked and home cooked, that's what I'd like emphasize. Home cooked food always contain less food additives, and high in nutrition value.

I choose to consume more fresh vegetables and organic food. Organic brown rice, organic noodle and extra virgin organic olive oil become essential at home. I apply simple cooking method like steam, boil, and stir fry. Not even a single deep fried dish, cuz I replace it with pan fry. :)

Of course I have to sacrifice some time for cooking after every long working day. I fall in love with my hobby - cooking. I find that it is one of the efficient method to relief my tension. :)

Important Info Regarding Diamond Water Filter

Diamond water filter user, please take note of this piece of info. The news reported that water filtered by Diamond water filter contain some sort of chemical which exceeded the limit. Consumer may face kidney problem.

Personally, I prefer to use simple and cost effective water filter like Panasonic. My aim is to filter chlorine and the bigger molecule dirts. The mineral content must be untouched as it plays an important role in our body. Nobody can grow healthy with just distilled water. Bear in mind, our body itself already borne with natural immune system to keep it healthy. Some unproven advanced technology may ruin one's body instead.

Do you have a Diamond water filter?

Woke Up Late

This morning I woke up late. I suppose to wake up at 6.10 am on weekdays as I start work on 7.30 am. Who knows, again, I'm so "dai tau har" (forgetful). I used to set the alarm to 7.30 am over the weekend, but somehow I forgot to shift it back to 6.10 am. :(

In our body, all the cells are going through metabolism, except brain cells, heart cells and nerve cells. That's why brain, heart and nerve function will degenerate when we grow older. So, is my forgetfulness a phenomenon of aging? Sob sob :(

Safeguard Your Health!

Last Saturday, FIL was invited for a visit to a friend's organic farm at Jitra. He bought us some organic vegies. :-) Let's see what we got: Osyter mushroom, Enoki mushroom, lady's fingers, water convolvulus (kangkung) and a bottle of Ganoderma Lucilium 灵芝 tablets.

Nowadays eating fresh vegies is no longer safe. Most vegies contain a high amount of pesticides and residues from the use of chemicals. And now there's news reported about melamine was found is vegies imported from China. Does it sound scary? A friend of my brother who is the owner of a farm confirmed that pesticide is not avoidable to ensure a healthy growth of the plants. Indirectly, I interprete his words as "with the usage of pesticide, his income will be increased". An important piece of info: French beans contain the highest pesticide. My brother always emphasise this. Whenever he's around, we'll never get a chance to taste a single French bean.

On and off, hubby and I take an option to go for those vegies that are believe to have less or no pesticides like sweet potato leaves and watercress. I'll take another step to soak the vegies in a big pot of water with little bit of dilluted Amway dish drops added. Just soak for 1 to 2 minutes and rinse well. The third option, which is to follow the trend now - to go for organic vegies. I have another last option, which is to prevent dining out too frequently. Hehe, I don't believe the vegies served at hawker stalls or fine dining restaurant are properly washed and soaked. I trust home cooked meals more than anything else. Just dine out once a while occasionally during those lazy days. Opsss....does it sound like excuses?

Ok, we admit we are both "kiasi" human beings.

Panic Over The Technologies

Technology brings to us a comfortable living, but at the same time it brings danger to humankind. This is so called pros and cons.

Plastic container enable us to store food and drinks. Who knows plastic raisins that contain BPA is dangerous? As a "kia si" human being, I screened through all the plastic container at home. Those with #1, #3, #6 and #7 were thrown away. If can, I'll just use glass and clay container only.

Microwave oven is one of the most convenient kitchen helper in preparing meals. I heard of too many scary true stories. There are too many precautions need to be aware of. As such a lazy bug, I just keep it in the store room. I'll never use it.

Instant noodle, for instance, is one of the popular food among those who are lazy or too busy to prepare their food. I understand wax is used in the instant noodle manufacturing process. Wax is use to prevent the noodles stick to each other when it's cooked. Such a health freak, I would rather choose to use organic noodle. Recently I discover that angle hair spaghetti is so convenient to use in cooking my healthy and simple dish. I'm satisfied with it's texture. It's suitable for preparing a noodle in soup, home made sauce, wantan mee style, or mee goreng style.

With the recent Melamine scare, shall I stop any dairy product intake? Sigh...

On the other hand, I rely on internet technology very much. I can't imagine to live without it. I need to phone through Skype. I need to watch movies through PPLive. I want to blog through Blogger and I want to read news online..... I can't really live conveniently without internet.

I'm not going to give up the air conditioner too... Malaysia is definitely too hot without it.

Safe Drinking Bottle (Part 2)

As per what I mentioned in Safe Drinking Bottle, my target now is to find safe and reaiable drinking bottles.

My dear and I are so eager to complete the mission since this is related to health. We shopped at a department store last evening. After inspecting each of the models, we found all felton bottles that available there are marked with #7. I managed to find some kid's drinking bottles marked with #5 and #6. The worst is some bottles do not even contain the plastic code. Bear in mind #3, #6 and #7 are no longer exist in my list. I hope you've cancel those in your list too. So, for safety purpose, I choose #2, #4 and #5 only. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to find any. Very disappointed! :(

I did my task at home as well. I found that #2 material is mostly used in the supplement bottles. I'm not sure about yours, but my Amway branded supplements' bottles are proudly marked as #2 at their bottom. :)

As for #5 it's mostly used in the transparent food containers that marked with "SUITABLE FOR USE IN MICRO-WAVE OVEN".

We did a quick search on Google, and the result of the safest water bottle is - the Aluminium bottle.

If we really can't find reliable plastic bottles, we will proceed to find our Aluminum bottles.

Meanwhile, I'm back to my old Tupperware.

Safe Drinking Bottle

Felton drinking water is very popular in the recent few years. It's not only convenient to use and cheap, the color range is very attractive as well. Hubby and I use it too after abandoned the old Tupperware containers. He owns the blue and I own the pink. So romantic hor?

I just received a circulation email from my colleague regarding the plastic coding system. The number listed from 1 to 7, and the worst are 3, 6 and 7!

So, I faster inspect the bottom of my bottle. OMG! It's 7! How? What am I going to do? All the while we've been not paying attention on this piece of number molded on our bottle. Is this forgivable? Huh? I can't imagine how much chemical I've consumed and how much is circulating in my blood stream. Oh no!

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle.

Summary on the information picked from http://trusted.md/:

#2 = HDPE (high density polyethylene)

#4 = LDPE (low density polyethylene)

#5 = PP (polypropylene)

If your bottle are with # 2, 4 and 5, then it's fine.

#1 = PET (Polyethylene terephalate)

# 1 is the type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold. It is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it.

#7 = Undefined material, may consist Nylon and Acrylic.

#7 is the most dangerous one. Mostly those fabulous colourful hard plastic lexan bottles are made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol. It may leach BPA (Bisphenol A), a xenoestrogen. BPA is a known endocrine disruptor. It disturbs the hormonal messaging in our bodies. Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes.

My next action will be to screen all the plastic containers at home, and to pass this information to everybody. Of course, I'll go to shop for reliable drinking bottles.

By the way, I can't see any recycling symbol embedded on the Tupperware water container. And through their website, they just confirmed baby bottles and baby toys do not contain polycarbonate. So, shall we use baby bottle as our drinking bottle?

Pills, pills, and more pills

Reading an article - Pills, pills,pills on the Star, make me think of my MIL.

Being a stroke patient, like MIL, polypharmacy is occurred very commonly. She has more than 10 types of medication prescribed by different specialists, such as orthopaedic and cardiologist. FIL acts as caregiver to MIL. He is the one that brings MIL for medical check-up. Also, he is the one who measure MIL's blood pressure daily basis and monitor MIL's sugar level on weekily basis. He needs to know and understand the purpose of every single medicines prescribed by doctors, including when to take and how much is the dossage. Now, he can remember all the description of the medicines.

He has big responsibility to take care of MIL, and he does well. One point that he highlighted to us - MIL is just depends on the medicine to continue her body function. If any medicine is missed, her life will be threathening for sure. Oh, sad........ :(

How much water do you need a day?

Water is an important structural component of skin cartilage, tissues and organs. For human beings, every part of the body is dependent on water. Our body comprises about 75% water: the brain has 85%, blood is 90%, muscles are 75%, kidney is 82% and bones are 22% water. The functions of our glands and organs will eventually deteriorate if they are not nourished with good, clean water.

The average adult loses about 2.5 litres water daily through perspiration, breathing and elimination. Symptoms of the body's deterioration begins to appear when the body loses 5% of its total water volume. In a healthy adult, this is seen as fatigue and general discomfort, whereas for an infant, it can be dehydrating. In an elderly person, a 5% water loss causes the body chemistry to become abnormal, especially if the percentage of electrolytes is overbalanced with sodium.One can usually see symptoms of aging, such as wrinkles, lethargy and even disorientation. Continuous water loss over time will speed up aging as well as increase risks of diseases.

If your body is not sufficiently hydrated, the cells will draw water from your bloodstream, which will make your heart work harder. At the same time, the kidneys cannot purify blood effectively. When this happens, some of the kidney's workload is passed on to the liver and other organs, which may cause them to be severely stressed. Additionally, you may develop a number of minor health conditions such as constipation, dry and itchy skin, acne, nosebleeds, urinary tract infection, coughs, sneezing, sinus pressure, and headaches.

So, how much water is enough for you? The minimum amount of water you need depends on your body weight. A more accurate calculation, is to drink an ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

Here is the calculation for your minimum water need per day:

=[(Your weight in kg*2.2)/2/15]*450

So, if your weight is 50kg, then you require 1,650 ml of water per day.

Green Tea for Health Benefits

I got a power point slide show from a friend's email. It's regarding the benefits of drinking green tea. For me, I seldom drink tea. I will take green tea only when I dine in Japanese restaurant. I bought a packet of green tea quite some time ago, but was never make it into hot drinks. Just keep it in the kitchen permanently. ;P

The slide show is about "25 Reasons Why You Should Start Drinking GreenTea Now". Ok, let's see:

1. Green Tea and Cancer

Green tea helps reduce the risk of cancer. The antioxidant in green tea is 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times better than vitamin E.This helps your body at protecting cells from damage believed to be linked to cancer.

2. Green Tea and Heart Disease

Green tea helps prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering the level of cholesterol. Even after the heart attack, it prevents cell deaths and speeds up the recovery of heart cells.

3. Green Tea and Anti-Aging

Green tea contains antioxidant that is known as polyphenols which fight against free radicals. It helps you fight against aging and promotes longevity.

4. Green Tea and Weight Loss

Green tea helps with your body weight loss. Green tea burns fat and boosts your metabolism rate naturally. It can help you burn up to 70 calories in just one day. That translates to 7 pounds in one year.

5. Green Tea and Skin

Antioxidant in green tea protects our skin from the harmful effects of free radicals, which cause wrinkling and skin aging. Green tea also helps fight against skin cancer.

6. Green Tea and Arthritis

Green tea can help prevent and reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. It has benefit for your health as it protects the cartilage by blocking the enzyme that destroys cartilage.

7. Green Tea and Bones

The key to this is high fluoride content found in green tea. It helps keep your bones strong. If you drink green tea every day, this will help you preserve your bone density.

8. Green Tea and Cholesterol

Green tea can help lower cholesterol level. It also improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, by reducing bad cholesterol level.

9. Green Tea and Obesity

Green tea prevents obesity by stopping the movement of glucose in fat cells. If you are on a healthy diet, exercise regularly and drink green tea, it is unlikely you'll be obese.

10. Green Tea and Diabetes

Green tea improves lipid and glucose metabolisms, prevents sharp increases in blood sugar level, and balances your metabolism rate.

11. Green Tea and Alzheimer's

Green tea helps boost your memory.And although there's no cure for Alzheimer's, it helps slow the process of reduced acetylcholine in the brain, which leads to Alzheimer's.

12. Green Tea and Parkinson's

Antioxidants in green tea helps prevent against cell damage in the brain, which could cause Parkinson's. People drinking green tea also are less likely to progress with Parkinson's.

13. Green Tea and Liver Disease

Green tea helps prevent transplant failure in people with liver failure. Researches showed that green tea destroys harmful free radicals in fatty livers.

14. Green Tea and High Blood Pressure

Green tea helps prevent high blood pressure. Drinking green tea helps keep your blood pressure down by repressing angiotensin, which leads to high blood pressure.

15. Green Tea and Food Poisoning

Catechin found in green tea can kill bacteria which causes food poisoning and kills the toxins produced by those bacteria.

16. Green Tea and Blood Sugar

Blood sugar tends to increase with age, but polyphenols and polysaccharides in green tea help lower your blood sugar level.

17. Green Tea and Immunity

Polyphenols and flavenoids found in green tea help boost your immune system, making your health stronger in fighting against infections.

18. Green Tea and Cold and Flu

Green tea prevents you from getting a cold or flu. Vitamin C in green tea helps you treat the flu and the common cold.

19. Green Tea and Asthma

Theophylline in green tea relaxes the muscles which support the bronchial tubes, reducing the severity of asthma.

20. Green Tea and Ear Infection

Green tea helps with ear infection problem. For natural ear cleaning, soak a cotton ball in green tea and clean the infected ear.

21. Green Tea and Herpes

Green tea increases the effectiveness of topical interferon treatment of herpes. First green tea compress is applied, and then let the skin dry before the interferon treatment.

22. Green Tea and Tooth Decay

Green tea destroys bacteria and viruses that cause many dental diseases. It also slows the growth of bacteria which leads to bad breath.

23. Green Tea and Stress

L-theanine, which is a kind of amino acids in green tea, can help relieve stress and anxiety.

24. Green Tea and Allergies

EGCG found in green tea relieves allergies. So, if you have allergies, you should really consider drinking green tea.

25. Green Tea and HIV

Scientists in Japan have found that EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) in green tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells. What this means is that green tea can help stop the HIV virus from spreading.

Painkillers Cause Misscarriage

Info from Clean Air Council :

Women who take ibuprofen, aspirin and other similar painkillers around the time of conception may have an increased risk of miscarriage, according to a new study.

Researchers at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco and South San Francisco interviewed 1,055 women who had recently gotten a positive pregnancy test, 75 of whom reported taking aspirin, ibuprofen (such as Advil or Motrin) or naproxen (such as Naprosyn) since their last menstrual cycle. Of those, 24 percent miscarried by their 20th week, versus a miscarriage rate of 15 percent in the women who didn't take the drugs. The study was published in Friday's edition of the British Medical Journal.

The Kaiser study adds support to an earlier Danish study that also found a link between the drugs and pregnancy loss. The March of Dimes already advises against aspirin and related drugs during pregnancy except when suggested by a doctor.

The theory is that the drugs cut down on the production of prostaglandins, hormone-like substances involved in pain signaling that are also needed for an embryo to successfully take hold in the uterus, according to Dr. De-Kun Li, a Kaiser epidemiologist in Oakland and the study's lead author.

While raising a caution flag over painkillers with ibuprofen and aspirin, Li said there appears to be no association between the use of Tylenol and other acetaminophen-based painkillers and subsequent miscarriages. Acetaminophen-based painkillers only block prostaglandins in the central nervous system, not in the uterus, Li said.
In 2001, Danish researchers also reported finding an association between prescriptions for aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen and a greater risk of pregnancy loss in a group of women who had been hospitalized for miscarriage.

Dr. Alan Decherney, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA, said he was surprised by the latest findings, because many doctors now prescribe aspirin to protect against miscarriage in women who have a specific clotting abnormality that interferes with embryo development.
Decherney said the results suggest patients who don't have that condition may want to be cautious about using aspirin or ibuprofen in the early part of their first trimester. But he also said that more research is needed before a firm recommendation could be made.

Dr. Victor Fujimoto, director of the in vitro fertilization program at UCSF, prescribes low-dose aspirin for women who have miscarried in the past or who are taking part in IVF because studies have shown it actually increases the rate of successful conception. He said the small number of women in the study who took aspirin makes it hard to draw firm conclusions, but that the 81- milligram tablets he recommends aren't likely to trigger problems.

Antioxidants and the Oxygen Free Radical

If you want to understand the 'free radical' precisely, below is the explanation. Good health knowledge worth sharing. Information from John R. Pfeifer, M.D.Chairman, Medical Advisory Board. It's published in E-Club, Synergy Worldwide Malaysia.

To understand antioxidants, we must first understand the oxygen free radical.

A normal oxygen molecule has a proton nucleus with paired electrons orbiting around the nucleus. An oxygen free radical is an unstable oxygen molecule which results when one of the orbiting electrons is lost from orbit. On a global basis, when the oxygen is metabolized in the body, 2% of the oxygen molecules lose an orbiting electron. The loss of one electron from the pair of orbiting electrons crates electro magnetic instability which attracts another electron from an adjacent intact molecule.

The previously unstable molecule is now stable, but the molecule which suffered the loss of the stolen electron is now an unstable new free radical and it will capture still another electron. The original free radical which suffered an electron loss can create a chain reaction of 10,000 new free radicals. This unstable molecular environment, with rapid electron transfer (each in a billionth of a second) is called oxidation. Halliwell and Gutteridge’s textbook states that 100 diseases in the human body may occur from the oxidative process. For example, it may cause or accelerate cancer, arteriosclerosis and most of the degenerative diseases of the nervous system.

At the cellular level, oxygen is metabolized within the mitochondria to create cellular energy; this energy we know as life energy. Oxygen free radicals attack this most basic function. Since each new free radical creates a chain reaction of 10,000 free radicals and we have trillions of cells in the body, you do the math! The number is beyond our ability to compute, and the damage can negatively affect your health.

Dr. Ken Cooper (“The Antioxidant Revolution”) said, “No part of your body is sheltered from the destructive assaults of these molecular outlaws, which are known as free radicals. The bombardment that your system is sustaining every single day can be devastating. In fast, many experts believe that free radicals pose one of the greatest single threats to our public health, as we approach the brave new world of the 21st century.”

Dr. Cooper goes on to list the lethal enemies of your health and life. Research clearly shows the links between free radicals and the following:

1. Heart and blood vessel disease. Free radicals damage LDL, which then causes blood vessel obstruction by cholesterol plaques.
2. Cancer may be caused or accelerated.
3. Cataracts.
4. Premature aging may occur as free radicals attack DNA and longevity genes.
5. Nervous system, eg. Parkinson’s disease.

All free radicals are not harmful. The stable oxygen molecule is essential to sustaining life. Even some unstable oxygen molecules work to assist the body in fighting inflammation as they kill bacteria selectively. Stable oxygen molecules also control the tone of smooth muscle which regulates the function of internal organs and blood vessels.

Antioxidants
The key to the effective and safe operation of certain types of free radicals is balance. These delicately balanced mechanisms frequently get out of balance because of new excess free radicals. To correct imbalance, the human body produces free radical scavengers known as endogenous (internal) antioxidants which can neutralize extra free radicals and help prevent damage in the body. There are also exogenous (external) antioxidants taken in from outside of the body to bolster our defenses against excessive numbers of free radicals.

These exogenous antioxidants include Vitamin C, Vitamin E and betacarotene. More recently, powerful antioxidants called bioflavonoids were found in brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Bioflavonoids are the most powerful antioxidants yet discovered.

We initially viewed these individual antioxidants as if they functioned alone. They do not! In fact, we now know that many antioxidants function synergistically and become much more powerful in neutralizing free radicals when they work together.

First, the free radical is engulfed by the antioxidant and begins the neutralization of the free radical. In so doing, the attacking antioxidant itself becomes a weak free radical. This complex is then engulfed by yet another antioxidant to complete the detoxification of the free radicals which may require several antioxidants to complete the process.

Our water is a toxic world, with polluted air and water. A great deal of the success in neutralizing free radicals is to recognize the myriad of external toxins which we are exposed to daily: you must go beyond the additive antioxidants, modify your environment and diet and exercise to give nature its best chance to protect you.

Above all, also avoid the worst of the external toxins:

1. Tobacco. It is the most deadly of all toxins.
2. Alcohol. As your nervous system is a key attack point for free radicals, minimize your exposure to alcohol. It destroys nerve cells and they cannot regenerate.
3. Obesity. This is a deadly toxin all by itself.
4. Not exercising. Exercising is one of the best protectors of your health.

It is your world and your body! Take your antioxidants every day (twice a day) and protect yourself from your toxic environment with good habits.

Folic Acid

Women who are planning for their pregnancies should know about folic acid. It's a kind of B- vitamin, which is crucial in the development of DNA. It carries the genetic information that controls the development and function of every cell in our body. For expecting mom, folic acid may reduce the incidences of recurrent miscarriages, pre-term delivery and low birth weight babies. For baby, folic acid protects baby against Neural Tube Defects which are birth defects of the spine and brain.

New evidence suggests that folic acid deficiency reduces fertility in men and may damage the DNA carried by sperm. According to the study, a folate-restricted diet made sperm counts plunge 90 percent in rats, and folic acid deficiency has a similar effect in men.

So, a couple should eat a folic acid-rich diet before they started to plan for a healthy pregnancy. Folic acid-rich foods include beans, peas, dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, asparagus, seeds, oranges, fortified breakfast cereals and maternal supplements.

Ladies, avoid eating chicken wings frequently!

I love to eat grilled or fried chicken wings, and my brother always warn me of doing so. He encourages me to eat chicken drumbsticks instead of chicken wings. I do not trust his theory until I read the email regarding this.

According to a forwarded email, chickens are injected with steroids to accelerate their growth in order to fulfill the high demand. Chickens that are injected with steroids are usually given the shot at the neck or the wings. Therefore, these places contain the highest concentration of steroids. The steroids have terrifying effects on our body as it accelerates growth.

In the presence of female hormones, the effect is even more dangerous. It leads to the growth of a cyst in the womb. So ladies, watch out your diets! Avoid eating chicken wings frequently.

Osteophytes and Osteoporosis

One of my friend's mom just passed away on last 2 weeks. She was aged 70 over, and suffered from Osteophytes (bone spurs) and also Osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue. It leads to increase bone fragility and risk of fracture. Osteoporosis can result in disfigurement, lowered self-esteem, reduction or loss of mobility, and decreased independence.

Osteophytes refers to abnormal bony outgrowth. It usually limit joint movement and typically cause pain.

According to research (Anlene™ Bone Health Check programme), 1 out of 2 Malaysian women who age 50 and above are at higher risk of developing poor bone health. To prevent bone disease, the following action can be taken:
1. to perform weight-bearing activity like jogging, brisk walking and sports like tennis and golf.
2. to include the important bone nutrients such as calcium, vitamin D, protein, zinc and magnesium in daily diet.

Bear in mind, prevention is better than cure. For those who are interested in Anlene™ Bone Health Check programme, kindly visit http://www.fonterra.com/ or call 1800-88 3122.