Arsenic in Food

Arsenic is considered as dangerous chemical and major public health concern. According to WHO, (2012), the recommended limit intake for arsenic in drinking water is not more than 10μg per liter. There are two forms of arsenic; inorganic and organic. Inorganic can be found in water and it is highly toxic. While, organic is less harmful and can be found in seafood. 

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Manage Your Diabetes Medications

Most patients have tendency to forget taking their medications every day. Remembering to take medications is not as easy as ABC. Patients who have multiple health problems, they need to take many medications per day. This increases the tendency to forget taking medications. Medications are very important to all patients especially for diabetic patients.

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Coconut

Coconut is often called the “tree of life”. It is used extensively in tropical countries such as Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka etc. The coconut is famous with the production of coconut oil and it becomes so popular. However, the production of corn oil and soy oil against coconut oil because coconut oil is believed to cause harmful to human because of high saturated fat content.

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Do We Need Supplement?

Supplement is defined as a thing that is added to something in order to make it complete or enhance the functions. In dietary supplement, mostly it consists of vitamins and minerals. Nowadays, there are many supplement products selling in the market in forms of tablets, capsules, softgels and gelcaps. Do you think that you are the one who really need supplement? Do you know supplements can cause side effects and toxicity?

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Hypertension and Sodium

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It is very dangerous and very famous to be called as ‘silent killer’. The normal reading of blood pressure is 120/80. If the reading is above 140/90, it is categorized as hypertension. As reported by the Center of Disease Control, 67 million of Americans suffer with high blood pressure. In Malaysia, as been reported by Ministry of Health, 32.3% of Malaysians have hypertension. It should be treated as soon as possible to prevent complications or even death.

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Prevent Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in colon and rectum. It can start either in the inner lining of colon or rectum and grows toward center. In 2002, colorectal cancer was the third most frequently reported cancer in West Malaysia. In 2006, it was reported that male (56.5%) was higher with colorectal cancer compared to female (43.5%). In addition, Chinese had the highest reported to suffer with colorectal cancer. Most colorectal cancer begins in polyps and they can grow to form cancer. Thus, it is important to get early detection and remove the polyps.

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Goat Milk As A Substitute For Cow Milk

Some food products like yoghurt, cheese and milk powder, are made from goat milk. Other than cow, goat also is a main supplier of dairy and meat products. The demand of goat milk is increasing because of the growing population of people. The old says “goat being the cow of the poor people” could be relevant to people with low economy status due to the price is cheaper than cow. The increasing demand of goat milk in many developed countries is because of the increasing production of yoghurt and cheese. Some people prefer goat milk instead of cow milk. This is because cow milk can cause allergy and gastrointestinal problems to some people.

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Cholesterol and Exercise

What are the tricks to reduce cholesterol? When we are talking about cholesterol, we have to know that there are two main types of cholesterol; bad cholesterol and good cholesterol. We are hoping that bad cholesterol will be reduced and good cholesterol will be increased. Instead of healthy eating, exercise can be a vital tool in lowering bad cholesterol. There are many ways of exercise such as walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking and yoga which appear to give impact in lowering bad cholesterol.

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Mangosteen

Mangosteen is a queen of fruit. In Malaysia, mangosteen is called manggis. The mangosteen consists of five to eight soft segmented fleshes. According to NutriWeb Malaysia, 3 big whole of mangosteen contain 33Kcal, 83.9g of water, 0.6g of protein, 1.0g of fat and 5.4g of carbohydrate. It can be eaten like other tropical fruit or made into juice. The juice consists of the whole fruit of the mangosteen pureed or combination with other fruit juice such as apple, blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, pear and strawberry.

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Healthy Gut For Infants and Children

Gut microbiota is also known as gut flora which is microbe population living in intestine. There are more than trillions of microorganisms with at least 1000 different species. Few gut microbiota is common to most people and the rest is specific to individual. Diet has shown to affect the composition of gut microbiota composition. Different people have different composition of gut microbiota due to different diet.

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Fasting and Ramadan

Fasting in Ramadan can improve person’s health. But, if people are not following healthy diet, it can possibly worsen it. Healthy diet should be taken into account to gain full benefits from fasting. Type and quantity of food should be monitored well. Overeating can harm the body and person’s spiritual growth during Ramadan. The diet should be simple and it is not differ too much from non-fasting diet. It should contain all the major food groups include carbohydrate, protein and fat.

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Diet For Diabetes During Ramadan

Fasting during Ramadan is a must for all healthy Muslims. Sick people like diabetes are exempted from the duty of fasting. However, many Muslim diabetic patients wish to fast during Ramadan.

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Diabetes and Ramadan

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food, drink, use oral medications and smoking during daylight hours, before fajr (dawn) to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory upon every sane, healthy Muslim whose reached puberty and is not traveling during the time of fasting. But how can Muslim diabetic patients restrain from eating their drugs? What are the complications that they may face during Ramadan? 

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Snacks for Type 2 Diabetes

Snacks have to be included in the dietary menu planning for people with Type 2 Diabetes. Most people think that food for snacks contain high in sugar and fats. Or else, when it comes to snacking, people often think it should be taken to help curb hunger. But, what is the right definition of ‘snacks’ for people with Type 2 Diabetes.

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Dates Nutrient Composition

The water content in dates decreases as they are ripened. The average water content of dates are 83.6%, 65.9%, 43% and 24.2% in the ‘Kimri’ stage, ‘Khalal’ stage, ‘Rutab’ stage and ‘Tamr’ stage respectively. 

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Dates for Ramadan

It’s holy fasting month of Ramadan for 2014. Date palm is very familiar during this month. It is an important plant in the scorched regions of South Asia, Southwest Asia and North Africa. In Malaysia, dates are not an integral part of Malaysians' diet but it could be essential during month of Ramadan. For Muslim, dates are customarily used to break the day long fasts. In Middle East countries, dates become staple food of Arabian diet and known as low cost food. Egypt, Saudi Arabian, Iran, Algeria and Pakistan are the countries which produced million tones of dates each year. 

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Vegetables Prevent Cancers

Numerous previous studies revealed the benefits link between eating vegetables and protection against cancers. Eat vegetables is one of the recommendations for a healthy diet and reduce the risk of many diseases. Phytochemical can be found in most vegetables and it can act as anticancer.

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Roles of Vitamin C

Vitamin C has many other names including L-Ascorbic acid, L-xyloascorbic acid, 3-oxo-L-gulofuranolactone, L-3-ketothreohexuronic acid lactone, antisorbutic vitamin, ascorbic acid and ascorbate. It is a water soluble vitamin which synthesized from glucose by many animals. In some mammals, it is synthesized in liver while birds and reptiles, it is synthesized in kidney. However, human and several species are unable to synthesize vitamin C. Insufficient vitamin C in diet can cause scurvy and lack of enzymatic functions.

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An Introduction of Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate contains sugar that can provide primary energy for human being. It consists of monosaccharide, disaccharides and polysaccharides. Monosaccharide is a single component and cannot be broken down into simple sugar, while disaccharides and polysaccharides can be broken down into simple sugar. Carbohydrate can be found mostly in plant. It has many functions including act as storehouse of chemical energy (glucose and glycogen), as part of plants’ structures (cellulose), make up cell walls of fungi and exoskeleton of insects (chitin) and components of nucleic acids. 

A summary of photosynthesis to make carbohydrate

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Use Vegetables to Manage Your Weight

Vegetables have low in calories which can help you to lose weight. Vegetables are very important as a part of healthy diet. They provide a bundle of vitamins and minerals for your body. There is no single vegetable provides all nutrients that we need everyday. Eat plenty of varied vegetables everyday to get sufficient vitamins and minerals for healthy body. There are many ways to lose or maintain body weight. Using more vegetables with grain products, lean meats, beans and nuts is a safe healthy diet. Including vegetables into your meals not only help you to reduce weight, but it also helps to reduce the risk of cancers, heart diseases, strokes, eye and digestive problems. 

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Who Needs Bariatric Surgery?

An increase number of people who are overweight and obese makes the clinicians to work harder to prevent the occurrence of obesity-related diseases. Bariatric surgery helps extremely obese people to lose weight. But, it is not a guarantee of successful weight loss and maintenance. It is not cheap. The procedures need expertise and specialists from many areas that need to be paid. Having bariatric surgery is a serious decision and it should be decided wisely.  

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Measuring Obesity

We are getting busy due to more working hours and cause less time to do physical activity. Otherwise, technology has changed our lifestyle to be less active. Television and computers make us to stick on the chairs for longer time without help us to reduce weight. Most of us know if we are overweight, it is either by looking in mirror or tightness of our clothes. Or else, you may take a look at the chart below to check your weight and height.

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Don’t Give Up to Lose Weight

Did you know, research shows that it takes 12 weeks or average to form new habits? So, try not to give up with your losing weight program. Just continue and believe that you will get ideal body weight with less risk of getting any health problems. The end of the 3rd month, healthy eating and regular exercise will become habits which are the key to losing weight and keeping it off. 

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Reducing Cholesterol With Oats

Cholesterol is important to our body but it should be at normal levels. If the level is too high, it becomes danger that puts us at very high risk of heart attack. The main functions of cholesterol are as part of making cell walls, producing vitamin D and making certain hormones.

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Roles And Responsibilities Of Sport Dietitians

Since 1989, the Center for Sport Nutrition at the National Sports Institute of Malaysia (Institut Sukan Negara Malaysia) has expanded its roles and functions in terms of providing appropriate nutritional advice to athletes. Nutrition is very important to every athlete. All athletes from different sports require dissimilar energy and nutrients based on their respective sports. Here are the roles and responsibilities of sport dietitians:

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Goals of Sport Nutrition

Sport dietitian is a person who provides daily individual or group nutrition counseling and education to enhance the athletes’ performance. He or she uses the latest scientific evidence as part of counseling session, provides particular and specific food services for coaches and trainers as well as offers sports nutrition education to athletes and interested community.

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Oregano in Food

Oregano is a superb herb with many health benefits and a very flavorful herb that is used in culinary especially in Italian cooking. The scientific name of oregano is Origanum vulgare. It is also known as Suganda (Tagalong), Torongli de Limon (Spanish) and Zuo shou xiang (Chinese). Traditionally, oregano is used as herbal remedy for skin burns, cuts and bruises. The minty flavor from oregano is used for treating sore throat, asthma, colds, flu and cough.

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Diet Tips for International Women’s Day

It is 8^th March, Happy International Women’s Day to all women in this world and it is the time to inspire them and celebrate their achievement. By the way, women need to maintain healthy and beautiful body by eating the right food. Women have different daily nutritional requirement to men. Usually, men need more calories compared to women. Here are 3 important nutrition tips for women just to let them be more gorgeous and attractive to celebrate their inspiring International Women’s Day. 

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Glycemic Index (GI) for Hyperglycemia

High blood sugar is much known as hyperglycemia. It is a condition of too little insulin or inefficient use of insulin in the body. The 3 most common symptoms of hyperglycemia are frequent thirst (polydipsia), frequent urination (polyuria) and hungry often (polyphagia). Long term of hyperglycemia can cause heart problems, blurred vision, blindness, nerves damage and kidney problems. It should be treated as soon as possible before complications happen among people with diabetes.

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About Mint

Mint can be a refreshing image comes to our mind and well known as mouth freshener. It is a cool herb belonging to family Lamiaceae. More than 20 species of mint including pineapple mint, ginger mint, Japanese mint, corn mint, spearmint, peppermint and horsemint, to name a few. Mint leaves are not only used for cooking, but it also can be used for medical purpose.

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Capsaicin from Chili Peppers

There is a substance known as capsaicin which can be found mainly in chili peppers. It gives chili peppers the characteristic pungent flavor producing mild to intense spice when eaten. Many benefits of capsaicin had been reported in obesity, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, cancers and dermatological. 

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Nutrition and Diet for Dengue Fever

In Malaysia, dengue fever has become a main public concern when more than 12,000 Malaysian have been infected so far this year. Dengue infection is transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Dengue is only spread through the bite of infected mosquito. The dengue can cause serious complication if it is not well controlled and treated. Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever is a potentially dead infection spread mainly by Aedes aegypti. The sign can be seen with the presence of collected blood under the skin in a very large bruised area.

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Tomato and Its Benefits

Tomato is one of the most consumed vegetable in Malaysia. It is easily digestible with bright color to excite appetite. It is typically being consumed as salad in sandwiches. According to NutriWeb Malaysia, it is estimated that 1 medium tomato with 55g has 10.5kcal. Tomato contains large quantities of water in proportion to its weight which is almost 82%. When it is eaten, the water from tomato will be absorbed by the body.

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Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA)

There are two type of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); omega-3 fats and omega-6 fats. These fats are essential fatty acids means that the body cannot produce them. PUFA has more than one double-bonded (unsaturated) carbon in the molecule. PUFA food are liquid at room temperature and when chilled. There are many examples of food high with PUFA such as corn oil, soy oil, regular safflower, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil and flaxseed oil. Many fish also contains PUFA including salmon, mackerel, herring and trout. 

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Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA)

Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) is called as a ‘good fat’. MUFA has one double-bonded (unsaturated) carbon atom. Foods made up mostly of MUFA are liquid at room temperature and changed to solid when they are chilled. There are many examples of MUFA including vegetable oils such as olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, avocado and nuts such as almonds and peanuts.

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Autism and Nutrient Deficiencies

The most common problem in children with autism is eating behavior. 90% of children with autism have problems in increased food selectivity, food refusal and disruptive mealtime behaviors. Many children with autism dislike the tastes and textures of certain food which can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Some parents may describe their children as ‘picky eaters’. Picky eating varies and includes the eating limited variety or quantity of food which may be associated with frequent food refusal.

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Reduce Gut Inflammation in Children With Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder affecting the functions of brain with the presence of difficulties in three areas including social deficits, communication problems and restricted behaviors. The exact causes of autism are still unknown. Most autism children have trouble engaging the social interactions such as less eye contact and little sharing their enjoyment of activities.

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Great Benefits of Strawberry

In Malaysia, Cameron Highland is a center of strawberry production. It is commercially and widely consumed fresh or in processed forms such as juices, ice creams, jellies and jams. According to NutriWeb Malaysia, it is estimated that 5 whole strawberries with average size have 11kcal. It is not a good main source of energy, but it contains 44g of water which is considered high.

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