As we are trying to survive the next eating binge from here to CNY, it is helpful to remind ourselves that humans are designed so that they eat to live. Then read the latest research from Tufts University researchers. They have updated their Food Guide Pyramid for Older Adults to correspond with the USDA food pyramid, now known as MyPyramid. The Modified MyPyramid for Older Adults continues to emphasize nutrient-dense food choices and the importance of fluid balance, but has added additional guidance about forms of foods that could best meet the unique needs of older adults and about the importance of regular physical activity. This will be published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Nutrition.
Here’s a link
http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Nutrition-Vitamins/7-12-20-SenCitGetTheirOwn.htm
There is no substitute bto reading the whole paper if you are interested to find out how to avoid eating to an early grave. There are many enlightening snippets. I’ll nibble at some to help those hard-of-reading.
The main message is the old one re-emphasized with a fresh sense of urgency – take more fluid (the water-kind, not alcohol) and exercise.
"food and beverages with high water content, such as lettuce, vegetable juice and soups, are important contributors of fluid in an older person’s diet."
"The need for calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12 can increase as we age and some people find it difficult to get adequate amounts from food alone, especially when calorie needs go down,"
"However, we continue to emphasize that the majority, if not all, of nutrients an older adult consumes should come from food rather than supplements."
If you must live to eat, watch the swill before you shove them in. Eat well, sleep well.
Merry Christmas.
The Secret of Eternal Youth is hinted in the quote from Tufts paper
“….some people find it difficult to get adequate amounts from food alone, especially when calorie needs go down.”
It is just not enough taking more food and/or supplements. For the body to ingest the required essential nutrients, the body must have a need for it first. It burns with the calories that you use in your body.
Take the analogy of lubrication oil in a car. If you don’t run the engine enough the oil will not circulate and the car will not be optimally lubricated. After some time the stagnant lub may even clog up the engine.
So it is with the body. Taking more vitamins than your body can burn up is probably adding toxicity to your body. Have you ever thought why anti-tox program is normally added to a supplement rich regieme eg slimming course? If you don’t burn it up in your body, you simply throw away good money. You buy expensive supplements only to pay more to remove it. It’s like flushing old lubs from your car.
To build up the body capacity for an enriched supplemented diet, you need to excercise. How much excercise. Much more than you think. That is why for the average person, supplements are normally not receommended. Normal food intake is sufficient for the average person’s workload.
So beware of the warning on the pack. If you force feed supplements without a complementary increase in an increase in excercise workload, the only thing that you should be enhancing is your medical insurance.
So we have it. The Secret of Eternal Youth is therefore simply to excercise a few times harder than you probably do now and make sure that you have a complementary healthy diet. Selected natural food, not supplements. Not an easy call for most otherwise all of us will look like randy teenagers by now. Instead of a goreng pisang way past expiry date.
Yes, what you said is right. Don’t take supplements unnecessary unless you really needs it. Best is to eat a balance diet with plenty or fruits and Greens. Plus regular exercise…this way you won’t go wrong. What exercise to start off leh? Start off with what you love to do, like dancing lah…swimming lah…cycling lah……he…he…this is the Secret of Eternal Youth. :)
Ah Nee
Youthfulness & good health is essentially genetic; religiously observe a balanced diet with regular exercises help……….heee, reading that book or whatever book can confuse the ageing me so yes, I’ll rather raid the shop for booze than for that book (or other books) unless the books tastefully show all sizes of boobs minus botched bloopers…..
We all know that eating rite & exercise are the best way of keeping ourselves fit & healthy & youthful!…but it is more of descipline, that’s the ‘devil’ to always make us weak!..its difficult to refrain from all the sedap food around, we r so spoilt!..sigh..
New year is just round the corner..maybe I should watch more on my diet carefully..hehe..
can anybody tell me how to?..eat more fruits & greens…ah nee u r rite, but when lunchtime we always order nasi padang…hhmm so shiok!…then we lack of exercise..so we shud go to the gym now…yoga class once a wk, where got enough ah?…most weekends go briskwalk & swimming…also still gemok leh!…apa macam?..so its true, maybe blame on genetic lor..hahaha!
Im so free now at home do nothing..but so lazy to do yoga..which we can do at home, no need to go out..so again its descipline!..
how to be like Molly ah?..everyday go here there, either dancing, tennis ,etc..not tired ah?..tell us yr secret of being so energetic leh..
Hi All
On top of wat Ah Nee hd said in Comment #2, imptly we must always dun wori n b happy.
Supplements r gd but nvrtheless, it may b harmful in e long run. Its one truth tat is nvr stated n only urself knows wen e time comes.
As far as eating is concerned, I believe we cd eat wat we want but always moderate, that is not 2 much of e craving stuff we want 4 a prolong period.
Said is easier than done but ultimately, tat calls 4 gd self-discipline. In tis way, U r assured of keeping urself not just healthy but oso youthful.
In SHC, there r lots of activities 2 keep U going. They r e results of continued efforts put in by volunteer members 2 lead 4 ur sake. But if U choose 2 stay away, it will b ur loss.
yes Yew Kwong, we r greatful to hv a lead volunteer like yrselves to keep us going all the time,tku so much!
i’m always very sceptical abt supplements,doono why?only pop tablets when sick..otherwise like to eat real food..how come nowadays we need supplements when our mother’s time, they dont need to?is it bcos now its different environment?…doesnt make sense to me leh?sori..
yep..don wori b happy..its all in the mind..b in control,always b optimistic..don wori too much when ppl say negatives abt u…take it as an alternative ‘supplements’ lor…hehe
Hi Nor,
If you follow Molly’s method of eating you will definitely lose weight. She has only one main meal a day.
When you eat that nasi padang, share it with Ah Nee. Half is more than sufficient. The other meal can be a salad. Breakfast, have cereal and yoghurt.
And as for exercise, cannot just do briskwalking (not so brisk if you talk more than you walk). Must do cardio exercises to loose weight. That means anything to get your heart rate up. Yoga is for flexibility. Not so much to lose weight.
Most of all, it is what you eat. If you eat more than you exercise how to lose weight? Will give you more tips at SGCC this afternoon.
Lina @ #7
What’s with SGCC? What is SGCC?
Don’t underestimate talking. Try to joke as you talk, gestulating and laughing heartily. You can have the best of all psycho/physio workouts without walking a single step. By comparison, brisk walking is brain dead.
Eating once a day is excellent. But also watch what you eat in that one meal. Taking CKT (char kway teow) once daily is less healthy than if you eat in controlled portions (eg yoghurt salad and fruits) few times daily.
Don’t let “once-a-day” be an excuse for eating badly. Rubbish In, Rubbish Out. Makes it all the worse if its only rubbish in once a day.
Every individual have their own optimal program. There is not one plan for all. You know your own body best.
Start by monitoring your relative BMI and look at yourself regularly in the mirror in the buff. Once you see what you don’t like, you need only largely commonsense to guide you what to take out or put back in.
Dear Lina & WKT
Tku so much for your advice…hhmmm make me feel really guilty!
Lina..sharing my nasi is brilliant idea!..but must think of the other meal..bcos at hawker centre,no salads lah..unless we bring our own..apa macam? hehe
actually i also hv bad habits of not eating breakfast.. by lunchtime, so hungry leh..not enough if share…so now..must eat breakfast,must be descipline!
another habit..i always eat late dinner…so thats where all the fats settled…susah hor!
Mr Wong
i must also confess, i like to eat rubbish foods like kropok,sweets,sengbuay etc..very sinful!…again now must descipline!
U r rite…i usually look at my face in the mirror…now also must look at figure & fats!…aiyo!
btw..what u mean briskwalk is brain dead?
Wei wei KT, Lina is in the Kitchen busy cooking. SGCC? (Serangoon Garden Country Club)we, SHCians have regular gathering there to exercise. 3-in-1 , Talking, Laughing & dancing…not a bad deal huh. Why not you join us this afternoon, 2.00 pm to 5.00 pm, Ron Lee, Lina, Norlinda & myself will be there practicing our dance steps. Hello Lina, what you cook? must be a healthy meal ok and Nor, what are you doing now? tido huh?
Ah Nee
Hi Nor, Ah Nee, KT,
Thanks for the explaination Ah Nee.
KT, I think must let the girls cut their food portions first, then slowly introduce healthy foods, otherwise the sudden switch would intensify their cravings.
Nor, breakfast is a definite must. Not nasi lemak or fried bee hoon. Have cereal, yougurt and a fruit. Then you won’t be so hungry at lunchtime. Share your lunch with Ah Nee if the portion is big. Finally, shift to eating a soup based lunch – less oil. You can have salads for dinner when you go home – veg., raisins, walnuts, tuna, etc.. For snacks, only eat one or 2 small fruits (not a whole durian)! You must use your discretion.
For exercise, you must be discipline and do it regularly. Best of all, buy a smaller dress size and put it on once a week until you can get into it. Not a bigger dress size like Ah Nee said this afternoon! Then all KT’s and my advice would be wasted. Start tomorrow, OK.
Lina..
yestrdy after meet & joget at SGCC..we went shopping!cudnt resist wat u bot & told us…
but it was so crowded,so stuffy…so long Qs at cashier’s!..got headache!…only eat tuna salads 4 dinner, hehe like real!..
but b4 balek we grab a bottle of fruit juice & aiyo cant tahan…small pkt of japanese kropok!..u c…again not descipline!
this morning…as per yr advice..ate bfast..wholemeal bread with cheese,baby spinach,tuna & some grapes…drink tea w/o sugar..
alamak…im trying really hard to watch wat i eat,dont laugh leh..donno hw long i can tahan!..haha
today’s lunch…soup base…veg,fish,tanghoon& taukua…with a little rice boleh?
now must eat an apple b4 lunch..then maybe i can skip the rice …
tku my frens for everything!
Lina..
yestrdy after meet & joget at SGCC..we went shopping!cudnt resist wat u bot & told us…
but it was so crowded,so stuffy…so long Qs at cashier’s!..got headache!…only eat tuna salads 4 dinner, hehe like real!..
but b4 balek we grab a bottle of fruit juice & aiyo cant tahan…small pkt of japanese kropok!..u c…again not descipline!
this morning…as per yr advice..ate bfast..wholemeal bread with cheese,baby spinach,tuna & some grapes…drink tea w/o sugar..
alamak…im trying really hard to watch wat i eat,dont laugh leh..donno hw long i can tahan!..haha
today’s lunch…soup base…veg,fish,tanghoon& taukua…with a little rice boleh?
now must eat an apple b4 lunch..then maybe i can skip the rice …
tku my frens for everything!
alamak…got submitted twice!…waited too long..thot din get thru…so press again!..susah leh…
mr admin…ple delete one lah,paiseh!…tku vm
Hi Nor,
It is difficult in the beginning but you must persevere. It is OK to treat yourself now and again ‘cos I don’t expect you to change your diet overnight. The thing is to try eating healthily in the long haul.
Once you are used to this healthy diet, you will not crave for your nasi padang. Of course, it is OK to eat it once in a while. The reward will show in your dress size and figure. Then you will be even more determined to eat healthily. Of course, remember to drink lots of water. It fills you up too and make you not eat so much.
And if you stray, you can always start again. Btw KT makes his own yogurt. He believes that it is very good for our body.
Lina..tks
Yes!, must persevere & descipline!..these keywords must get into my nuthead lah!very susah!
oh ya..i also love nasi lemak,lontong & sardine epok2…aaarrrggg..!!wat must i do?eat 1/2 portion then eat an apple?…hhhmmm
I really envy…u not working but still keep fit & slim….unlike most housewives…ooopppss!…sori, maybe its genetic
but as u say…i actually bot a skirt..die2 also must buy fm BBK trip( cos its so cheap & pretty), but a bit tight on my hips..shud use it as my benchmark hehe
KT..u made yr own yogurt?…how?..not leceh ah?
can just buy fr supermkts, no good meh?
give us yr recipe pls
Yep Nor. Good idea to use a new dress or skirt to motivate yourself.
That was what I did last year and I could wear my ‘old’ clothes again. The only problem is that now I’m beginning to feel them tightening again, sob, sob. All because of the festive food. Must go and buy myself a new, tight, pencil skirt and work to fit into it, hehe. Then I can sashay to the SHC gathering in it, hahaha. Fat hope man, with New Year just round the corner. :-(
Nor @ #16
Thanks Lina for the ad. It is turning out to be a regular biz. I have passed out many successful clones to satisfied customers since my first posting. Hee-hee
Simple. Boil water and cool for 5 mins. Put in a spooful of live yoghurt. Cool to about 2 hours. Put in fridge to store. Should be nice and ready next morning.
I don’t use milk or coconut anymore. Its all now healthy and probiotic yoghurt.
KT, wow dat is simple but hor, wat is live yoghurt har, where 2 get??
Hi KT,
You mean you don’t heat up the milk, just water. Wouldn’t it taste horrible? Then it won’t taste like yoghurt anymore.
So, you are even more health conscious. No wonder you are so slim!
Oops. Boil milk not water. Hee hee.
Common mistake is to put live culture in when milk is too hot. You just killed your culture.
Free advice is like that lah. No quality control and can also utter nonsense.
If you can get anything like yoghurt by boiling water, let me know – horrible tasting notwithstanding. We’ll share the next Nobel prize for bio-chemistry 50:50. And save the world.
Nor @ #16
The Battle of the Bulge is fought in the mind and mind alone. There is a commonthread and a panacea to most ills of modern socity. It is the same with slimming, stop smoking, quit drinking etc. If there is one thing that you need to do before you join Annonymous Anything or the next slimming course is learn how to overcome a bad habit.
So put your mind to tackle a habit and see a life transforming experience in action.
If you can sort out your thinking you can be whoever and whatever you want to be.
Need a good starting point? Start with NLP.
Tim @ #3
Genetics is a pre-disposition at birth not a death sentence.
After your first suck of milk and your first pee, your life is at the mercy of the environment.
In a parallel universe, what if you were born into a remote virgin island with little more than fresh air and natural farm food for diet. Like the Polynesian islands before the white man introduced their culture, fever and VD. Imagine a world without pollution Big M.
What are boops on a page treated with toxic chemicals (dioxins can also be created during chlorine-bleaching processes for whitening paper and wood pulp) when everyone is running around with a leaf on a string around the waist? The next time you use saliva to thumb through pages in a magazine or book, think whether it is nature or nuture that is killing your softly.
Your mind can control your very existence. You are what you choose to be, consciously or otherwise. You can say “Yes” to life.
Ya lah Mary..nw the skirt lagi tighter after washing….i believe it shrank!..lagi must work harder to get in!..apa macam?
WKT…tks for all yr encouraging advice, btw u hvnt answer Dolly’s wats live yogurt?..is it those we can get from supermkts…natural yogurt?…
since u said u dont use milk anymore,what u use?..vitagen or yakult?..im not advertising ah!
just trying to get the recipe rite..
alamak…kuay bak oredi, must tido now..
btw…apa itu NLP??..u gimme lagi headache…
Nor # 24
This is the best part. You can use the cheapest milk powder to make pure yoghurt.
The bacteria ingest natural milk sugars and release lactic acid as a waste product. The increased acidity causes milk proteins to tangle into a solid mass (curd in a process called denaturation). The increased acidity (pH=4–5) also prevents the proliferation of potentially pathogenic bacteria. This is only the beginning. Scientists have just reported that a bacterium related to those found in “bio” yoghurts may be able to restrict the growth of the so-called “superbug” MRSA.
These bacteria are fussy eaters. They separate out the real milk. In doing so, the bacteria “purifies” the milk to make sure you enjoy only the natural wholesome goodness.
You don’t have to be royalty now to use food testers or silver spoons on milk. If it kills the bacteria or you don’t get yoghurt out of your milk, you’re better off not taking it.
Mary, don’t listen to Nor. Tightening the skirt in the wash does nothing for you. What you must do is to tighthen when you are in it.
In 1862, French writer Eugene Chapus puts it this way. “A woman in a corset is a lie, a falsehood, a fiction, but for us, this fiction is better than the reality,”
You have to do, what you have to do.
“Good idea to use a new dress or skirt to motivate yourself”. Sounds like another act of M……..Master on bed in motion.
KT, so you believe that however pure the genes may be, one has no escape from adulteration in this good earth which has so much to offer so invitingly?
I hv to differ.
I give credit to my genes for the discernment to see the fault & the couarge & conviction to stand up to it.
The world can teach me to adapt, I can learn from the guerillas.
If he aims a bazooka at me, my brain which is very much genetic, tells me not to block it with my chest. Neither do I hoist the white flag.
I’ll get him to turn the gun at himself but how i manage that, it too is genetic, cant be taught. Having read much of you, I think you hv similar genes too unless you say you dont.
Indeed, M is big but none is as big as MM who may not be seen much but still wields a lot of power. Thankfully, he’s a lot kinder; he wont use dynamites altho he might throw you into a room not with Volitaire but playing solitaire in the company of damned mites.
Hey Tim,
That was a very short exercise for you yesterday at the dance jam. You came, you watched, you commented and you left. You should have stayed. We did the ‘chicken dance’. You would have been very good at it. Hahaha.
KT Wong,
I not so silly lah. Shrinking skirt, haha. Women blame their clothes for their weight gain sometimes. I’m the reverse. I know that I have gained weight when my clothes get tight, like now, (sob, sob) after all that festive eating. So, my new year resolution is to trim off a few kgs and fit into my old clothes again.
But I will start after this evening, hehe. Can’t miss all the goodies. Or perhaps the day after tomorrow?
Hi KT,
Besides talking and laughing, how much exercise do you do in a week?
Nor #24,
Live yoghurt is any yoghurt you get in the supermarket. I use the natural one.
Lina @ #29
On normal days, I go through a standard exercise routine 3 times a day before every meal. I cheat only on supper.
It is easy to maintain this discipline. I NLP the routine and fixate it to my meal. Whenever I want to eat, I also crave to exercise. Neat trick.
In addition to the routines and light weights, I have house machines. I have a stepper, horsey (iGallop) and cycle. All are designed to complement the modern fireplace (ie TV). Perfect for Korean dramas. You’ll never miss a beat with their flashbacks.
Horsey is a not a sissy machine. (Disclaimer: no connection whatsoever with OSIM) Most exercisers works the legs which is bad news for those with, say, joint pains. It is one of the best exerciser for people with leg problems. Try to do some routines with your arms whilst holding some light weights at the same time. This increases the total workout to the rest of the body without working the legs.
There is a perfect equipment for the waist. It ye ole hula hoop. If you can keep it up 5 mins a day, you’ll have a waist that corset dressers die for. If you can’t keep it up there for 5 twirls, you’ll probably be down to choosing Santa Claus at your next costume party.
Lina @ #29 on yoghurt
I have tried the supermarket variety long ago and failed. I thought that they either pasteurise or freeze it to death.
Are you sure it works? What brand and where.
I am still on my first sucessful culture from my Indian neighbour who taught me the lost art. He claims to be downline to some royalty in Kerala, hence I named mine the “Maharaja Strain”. Now I basically leave a spoon for the next batch to contuniue the lineage ad infinitum.
Mary @ #28
Promises, promises, promises…..
Don’t worry. It is the sign of times. In a more romantic age, Barbara Cartland characters always say “I Do” at the end of a long walk down the aisle. Today most people will say “I Did” before even the Walk.
Not all is lost. Here’s a neat trick to try.
Bring a dog the next time you go for walkies. You will be refused entry to most F&B outlets in the first place. And if you manage to get your hands on some, feed the hungry little thing and save yourself.
Good morning to all.
Congratulations. You have survived the Countdown. Now put “coundown to calories” top of your resolution list for the New Year.
Don’t end up the year with a body looking like a “0” or “8”.
Hi KT,
Wishing everyone a good year ahead.
Actually, for the yoghurt culture, I use the one from the Indian shop nearby as well. There is one in Toa Payoh Lor. 1. Sorry, have forgotten that the one in supermarkets turn out very watery and not like yoghurt at all. Thanks for pointing it out.
So, you are very disciplined when it comes to exercising. I guess for some, if one has to do some form of exercises before a meal, one would rather not eat. For the horsey (iGallop), guess one has to wear stretchable shorts, otherwise it pulls on the crotch. Do you have that problem? Remember you saying you do outdoor exercises as well.
Lina @ #34
Yoghurt is not all watery. It is a degraded waste product or worse. You are advised to throw away the batch.
Note: In normal yoghurt formation there is a liquid by-product. This yellowish liquid called whey is separated from the thick curd which is the real yoghurt. Whey is highly nutricious and can itself be used in a number of recipes.
Stick to the home made Indian variety for culture. Commercial versions are normally heat treated to stabilize the product before it is refrigerated for shelf life.
Whilst I was quite an active middle distance runner and sea sports in my youth long ago, I stay away now from any outdoor competitive sports. Both the sport and training is, IMO, high risk to accident and injusry. The risk is all the more higher if you exercise regularly, as one should for physical wellness.
It takes only one fall or one tear and it is game up. You will be laid up for a significant time at least. Whatever you gain over the preceding long years of training can be given back in a month of inaction. For many at our age group, this change of lifestyle is permanent and it is difficult to get back into the grind.
The most important thing about exercising for health is sustainability and continuity. This means the ability to exercise frequently without straining and well within an individual’s comfort zone. The best place to do this is in a gym which is designed specifically for this purpose.
Well, Mary, my exercise was walking up 3 storeys which occurred outside the danz studio.
I can see that the gals generally danced well. And if tyou tell me that the instructor’s best dance is chicken danz, you too hv my full agreement.
Sometimes, I’d rather watch him walk……..