Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Banana Diet?

I like banana, it's tasty, a good energy food and yes, a great fruit.

Lately, there're way more people getting into eating bananas...where is it? The answer: Japan.

According to Telegraph.co.UK, the banana sales has risen by as much as 70% in some supermarkets, thanks to a publication that talks about a "Morning Banana Diet".

The Banana Diet suggested that by only having banana and water for breakfast, you will be able to loss weight.

What's more that added to the craze are that TV programmes, books, and news are all claiming banana a super diet food.

I am not sure about the effectiveness of this diet. However, I have been eating banana in the morning everyday ~ just because it feels good!

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Eat more fish, protect your child!

Fish is known to be a good source for most diet. It is full of protein and vitamins. Most importantly, it is a prime source for omega-3 fatty acids, an important ingredient to help protect you from heart disease. According to American Heart Association, it recommends us to eat fish at least twice a week!

There's more positive news about eating fish. BBC News, Washington Post, Science Daily and many more presses are reporting the findings of a Swedish study, in which child whom are introduced with fish into their diet are having better protection from developing Eczema, a condition that can cause itchy, red, dry, painful skin issues.

According to wikipedia, "Eczema (from Greek έκζεμα) is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis. The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions. These include dryness and recurring skin rashes which are characterized by one or more of these symptoms: redness, skin edema (swelling), itching and dryness, crusting, flaking, blistering, cracking, oozing, or bleeding. Areas of temporary skin discoloration may appear and are sometimes due to healed lesions, although scarring is rare. In contrast to psoriasis, eczema is often likely to be found on the flexor aspect of joints."

For those who are having babies and who plan to have one, you may want to consider and incorporate fish as a regular source for your diet!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Eat the nuts!

It has been known that a small doze of nuts that incorporated into your diet is beneficial to your health. Well...more researches are reconfirming the statement.

A Marshall University pilot study has published an issue saying that a small quantity of walnuts show slow cancer growth in mice. The study aimed to see if the mice incorporatiob of walnuts as part of their diet would slow breast cancer growth. The findings was exciting, claiming that the growth rate of tumors was significantly reduced.

Also, according to a research by Penn State, it suggested that a small portion of pistachios in your diet would help reduce risk for potential heart disease.

These researches/studies further reiterate the potential benefits of nuts, which have been known to help lower bad cholesterol.

So, why wait, get yourself nuts today!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

China Tainted Milk Scandal...Pt.2

More incidents, more recalls, more bans...

The China tainted milk scandal continues. A continuation not only about food safety, but also about human integrity. Just like the statement issued by World Health Organisation and UNICEF, it was "particularly deplorable" for anyone did deliberate contaimnation of food, especially on children and infants!

So far, countries are either censoring or banning the importation of milk or milk products from China. More than that, it has extended to other raw materials that require investigation before entering certain countries.

It is simply a sad story and I hope China is going to live up to its words - to punish "anyone" who is responsible for the tragedy

Monday, September 22, 2008

China Tainted Milk Scandal

It has been over a week since the China tainted milk scandal exposed to the press. The scandal is about that the milk produced by different dairy producers may contain melamine, a compound that is used in making plastics and tanning leather.

According to Bloomberg, the scandal has spreads outside of China, where a girl in Hong Kong got sick (developed kidney stone) due to the drinking of milk made by Yili. The girl is only a three-year-old kid, who has been drinking the milk for the past 15 months.

So far, the milk has caused death of 4 poor child. And the number of people got sick because of the milk powder is over a staggering 12,000 people.

From Bloomberg's news, "China's milk-contamination scandal was exposed on Sept. 11 when the Beijing-based Ministry of Health said it found melamine in baby formula made by Sanlu Group Co., a domestic producer that's 43 percent owned by Auckland, New Zealand-based Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. It's since widened to include 21 other Chinese dairy producers after tests found the chemical in 69 batches of formula and 24 batches of liquid milk and yogurt......China's three biggest dairy producers by market value -- Yili, China Mengniu Dairy Co. and Bright Dairy & Food Co. -- are among companies whose products contain melamine, according to the government."

China has promised to punish anyone who is responsible for the disheartening problem.

I honestly don't care if those companies earnings will get eroded because of the scandal. I only hope that no more child have to suffer from these irresponsible manufacturers, who have devastated a lot of families and child's future.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

In the wake of Hurricane Ike

I live in Houston and am still feeling the devastation everywhere since Hurricane Ike attacked us.

Yes, we are slowly getting our power and water back. However, our lives will never be the same.

Thousands of people lost their homes and memories overnight.
Thousands of people are queueing up for food and water.

It has never occurred to me how important health and life themselves are. It also reminds me how grateful that we can have simple basic food everyday, especially when times we are trying for survival merely.

I wish every and anyone in Houston a safe and peaceful day.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Soy Milk?

I used to drink a lot of soy milk. I mean...a lot. It is like couple glasses of soy milk a day.

It is one of the favorite drinks when I was living in Hong Kong. We would have it for breakfast, complement with sticky rice or some dim sum.

I have not been drinking much since moving to Houston. Not that I don't like soy milk any more. It is only that I can not really find some decent soy milk. Well, to clarify one thing, I drink the sweet soy milk, not the blend soy milk that most places offer.

So, what is soy milk? I bet not many people have really tried it before.

According to Wikipedia, soy milk is "Soy milk (also called soya milk, soybean milk, or soy juice) and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soy beans. A stable emulsion of oil, water and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans, and grinding them with water. Soy milk contains about the same proportion of protein as cow's milk~ around 3.5%; also 2% fat, 2.9% carbonhydrate and 0.5% ash. Soy milk can be made at home with traditional kitchen tools or with a soy milk machine."

Why is soy milk good for you?

Simple. It is good to our health in various great aspects:
1) A great source of Vitamin E
2) Good source in lecithin
3) An alternative to cow milk
4) An alternative to those that are lacotse intolerance
5) Contains isoflavones, plant chemicals that can help lower your bad cholestrol
6) Can help some to reduce heart disease risk

There can be plenty of articles to refute the benefits of soy milk. But I honestly believe it is a mile (that derives from plant- soy beans) that is absolutely good for everyone!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Organic Food World

My workplace has a very good administrative assistant. She helps order a food basket for the floor every morning, so we always have great fruit everyday. There are nice apples, oranges, bananas, pears, peaches...

I sure encourage all companies adopt the nice "policy" of having some fruits for the staff everyday.

I found the following video from YouTube. The title is "Organic Food Garden". It's a series of snapshots that sure remind us of making good choice when it comes to food!

Enjoy!


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Pushing unhealthy food in economic downturn?

Just read an article from news.scotsman.com, claiming that supermarkets in UK are trying to push and sell more unhealthy food during credit crunch periods.

The article said that the National Consumer Council (NCC) in UK found in-store promotions for supermarkets contain over 54% of fatty and sugar foods, contradicting what the health suggestion from the government, which should only be about 7% of the items.

There are disagreements regarding the subjectivity or accuracy on the comparable figures.

Well, in Houston, I receive supermarkets' newspaper promotion every week. I have to say, though, they have been doing a pretty good job in balancing their promotional food items. There is always a section on produce, one on protein, some on carbonhydrates.

And more than often, there are promotions on some healthy snack food that make them very appealing and affordable comparing to any regular discount food.

Monday, September 1, 2008

McDonald vs. Burger Kind - Calories Battle!

Ok! It's the labor day weekend! Cheer for all those hard working people having a day off!

And usually in these days are the time when we take a back seat, relax, eat and drink some great food, or some food that we normally crave but don't want to eat too often.

Yes, I had my burgers! Yes, it's more than one!

Since child, McDonald is such a brand fast food chain that I'm kinda addicted to it (have to say their commercial/marketing strategy on child is one of the best!)...

McDonald has been having the dollar value menu, which you can get a double cheese burger for only a $1. Wow...what a deal!

And other fast food chain has came to the battle for a while. Burger King chooses to have its Burger King Whooper Jr as a competitior.

So, (ignore the fact that they are fast food) what are the nutritional value of having a filling burger?

Here is the comparison data:

Calories
Double Cheeseburger: 440 vs. Whopper Jr.: 410 (WIN)

Total Fat (g)
Double Cheeseburger: 23 vs. Whopper Jr.: 23 (TIE)

Cholesterol (mg)
Double Cheeseburger: 80 vs. Whopper Jr.: 50 (WIN)

Protein (g)
Double Cheeseburger: 25 (WIN) vs. Whopper Jr.: 18

Carbonhydrate (g)
Double Cheeseburger: 34 vs. Whopper Jr.: 32 (WIN)

Well, base on the comparison, Burger King Whopper Jr. seems better in the few main nutritional categories!

Well, I had three McDonald Double Cheeseburger...what can I say, it's a weekend - a long weekend!