Skipping breakfast? No way!

Breakfast is an important meal of the day; however, more and more students start to skip their breakfast partially because they do not have enough time and have to rush to their schools in the morning. Skipping breakfast is a bad habit; it also causes many negative effects such as increasing weight and having difficulty in concentration for class.

In the past, many researchers did studies of how breakfast affects students’ performance in school. For example, the Iowa researchers found that boys could not pedal as hard or as long on a bicycle when they missed breakfast. However, other researchers such as Alfred Bender, profess or emeritus of nutrition and biochemistry at Queen Elizabeth College, London, pointed out that the effect had been influenced by the teachers’ expectation and hint to the students.

Nonetheless, other researchers are not so quick to abandon the importance of breakfast, especially for children. Developmental psychologist Ernesto Pollitt of the University of California, Davis, in his own work, Pollitt and coworkers measured the late-morning problem-solving abilities of 71 children who didn't eat breakfast. "It seems clear that although many abilities are not affected at all, children who don't eat breakfast have difficulty on attention tasks and on solving certain kinds of problems,' he says. (Resource: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_v20/ai_4421936Breaking with breakfast - new research on effects of skipping breakfastPsychology Today, August, 1986 by Jeff Meer)

Pollitt was also able to detect changes in the blood glucose and insulin levels of the children who did not eat breakfast, suggesting a link to their problem-solving ability. Breakfast is the first chance the body has to refuel its glucose levels, also known as blood sugar, after eight to 12 hours without a meal or snack. Some people who skip their breakfast may experience hunger pangs because the concentration of glucose in the blood is low, causing the brain to send impulses to the stomach. The strong contraction of stomach results in the painful feeling.

Moreover, low concentration of glucose indicates the insufficiency of energy, therefore breakfast skippers feel tired, restless or irritable in the morning. For the same reason, our muscles will not be fueled and ready for physical activities.

In addition, some people mistakenly think that skip breakfast will cause their body to lose weight. In fact, some studies show that the effect if just the opposite. Skipping breakfast not only means missing out on essential nutrients, but also means making up for nutrients losses later in the day.

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicates that people who skip breakfast tended to eat about 100 calories more over the course of a day than individuals who did eat breakfast.

The negative effects of skipping breakfast may also include an increased risk of heart disease. Researchers found that healthy women who skipped breakfast for two weeks ate more during the rest of the day, developed higher "bad" LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol levels, and were less sensitive to insulin than women who ate breakfast every day. High LDL cholesterol levels and impaired insulin sensitivity will lead to arteriosclerosis -clogged arteries- and coronary heart disease.

In general, we should not miss our breakfast; instead, having a good breakfast may give us a good mood throughout the day.
information taken fromhttp://coldwaterchartwells.tripod.com/id27.html.
http://www.bellybytes.com/articles/breakfast2.shtml

http://www.eparenting.co.uk/food/the_importance_of_breakfast.shtml

http://www.healthcentral.com/diet-exercise/news-28931-22.html

http://www.newstarget.com/004771.html

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_v20/ai_4421936

In this second post of mine, allow me to discuss the effects of the second form of harmful dieting: excessively consuming food that is not really required by the body. Endothelium, the inner wall of the blood vessels which provides an important defence against the build-up of fatty deposits inside the blood vessels may be damaged as a result of too much fat deposits.
So, what is the solution? Exercise, of course. This, I believe, everyone is aware of already.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4946574.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4114311.stm
These (links above) websites give reasons to exercise. That is, exercising raises the level of oxyntomodulin, a hormone that tells us that we are full. People who can't help but eat a lot tend to not have enough of these hormones. Also, as quoted from the article, "(performing) levels of triglycerides (blood fats) and endothelium were reduced by 25% both before and after the fatty meal" if one exercises. "Exercise can both improve the way the body metabolises food and help blood vessels resist the harmful effects of fatty foods." And here's the plus. It is proven that 1 exercise session can do the body good for the entire day. :D
Ong Hui Yu 26/3 Service

Ice VS Cream

We know that Ice-cream delicacies are so very delicious.

But what of the wonderful ice cream terms?

We should know them well to patron in an ice-cream parlor.

Here are a couple of handy definitions that should help clear things up:

Sorbet - does not contains dairy; always very light in flavor
Sorbets are technically ices (as in Italian ice) and are also referred to as granitas. They were actually the first iced dessert, probably having been invented by the Asians and then introduced to the Middle East and Italy. They are generally granular in texture where sherbet is creamy as a result of the added fat. Generally thought of as being fruit based, sorbets can be made with any ingredient.

Sherbet - almost always has a fruit component, but also must contain dairy to produce a dessert that is lighter than ice cream, but richer than sorbet
Sherbets contain milk or another fat, making it similar to ice cream.

Frozen yogurt - contains dairy that has been cultured (though most do not contain active cultures), and is churned to resemble soft ice cream, with a smooth, rich texture.

Ice milk - just like an ice cream, but made with milk rather than cream; a little used term for strict constructionists of the word "ice cream," since most home chefs would say ice cream anyway

Ice cream - must have at least 10% milkfat (or 8% if there is a mix-in) by volume (if sold commercially); may or may not contain eggs.

Frozen custard (also called French ice cream) - ice cream that is made with at least 1.4% egg yolks, giving it a richer texture than ordinary ice cream.

Gelato - ice cream with a mixture of milk and sometimes cream in the base, often including eggs. It is churned less than regular ice cream and has less air in the final product, which gives it a dense texture.

For a conclusion, I should address this debate of ice-cream as

"Attention to all Ice/Cream Lovers"

Beware and be Prepared for an ice-cream feast before you charge into one or else, the high content of eggs and cream will drown you and fill you into a fatty Megaballoon!!!

Ohh please have a healthy diet!

Hmmm...Nothing beats having a Gelato once in a while though:) Haaa...

Energy Nutrition:))

"ENERGY"
How much exactly do you need???

Should it be the end-product of a sumptous meal in a 5-class restaurants or the high-savoury indulge in a potato chip party??

Actually, both should be ruled out almost immediately!

The perfect companion for a hiking expert is a large cube of low-fat butter. As for urban bumpkins like us, Granola-Powered-energy bar is most probably our best solution:)

Who says that life is utterly boring in a city?
Routine work and bustle-meetings may be the root cause of it all but STILL, it can definately be energy-packed!!

Tempted to go for a cycling adventure?
Take on the challenge and all you need is to supply yourself with an energy bar - Not only is it healty and nutritious, it is also DELICIOUS:P

1. Developed to be high in carbohydrates, the body's most efficient source of fuel, each PowerBar Performance bar packs 25 grams of complex carbs.
2. That means you can easily satisfy the energy demands of your favorite endurance sports:)
3. Add to that our exclusive vitamin formulation to aid energy metabolism, 9-10 grams of high quality protein help muscles recover and rebuild!
4. These ingredients all add up to superior sports nutrition in a convenient, no-melt, no-crumble bar that fuels your personal best, no matter where your adventures take you.

POWERBAR® PERFORMANCE FLAVORS:

• Raspberry+Cream Cappuccino
• Cookies & Cream
• Apple Cinnamon
• Banana
• Chocolate
• Chocolate
• Peanut Butter
• Malt Nut
• Oatmeal Raisin
• Peanut Butter
• Vanilla Crisp
• Wild Berry

Hope they make good inspirations for a healty and FRUITFUL diet just for you!

Info from http://www.theshoefitter.com/Nutrition.html

Unhealthy eating can lead to chronic diseases

Name: Shanice Ang (30)

Class: 3 Service

Unhealthy eating can lead to chronic diseases which are so worrying as they seem to occur eralier and earlier in life in each generation, tend to persist throughout life and are detrimental to our health.The risks of developing chronic diseases begin in fetal life and continue into old age.

In the womb and in early infancy
-Delayed fetal growth has been associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and high blood pressure.
-Unusually large size at birth, possibly resulting from overnutrition in the womb, has been linked to an increased risk of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Breastfeeding
-may lower the risk of later developing obesity.
-In contrast, breast-milk substitutes (formula) may increase the risk of developing several chronic diseases,such as type 1 diabetes and cancer, in childhood and adolescence.

During infancy and childhood
-both delayed growth and excessive weight or height gain have been shown to contribute to chronic disease in later life.
~infants with a low weight or short stature may experience an increased risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.
~Shorter children who gain height particularly quickly have an increased risk of stroke and certain cancers.

During childhood and adolescence
unhealthy diets, low-levels of exercise, as well as alcohol and tobacco use has been shown to increase the risk of developing certain chronic diseases.
-high blood pressure in children
~risk of developing cardiovascular disease
~obesity
~ increased risk of cancer in later life

How do we prevent these diseases?

-physical activity

-food variety

-social interaction

-It is generally recommended to increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and fish, and to adjust the types of fats and oils consumed, as well as the amount of sugars and starch in the diet(:

The main burden of chronic diseases is observed in people older than 60. Cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers are most common at this stage in life. As the risk of developing disease is generally believed to be reversible at any age there is an absolute benefit for ageing individuals to eat healthily, maintain their weight, and continue to exercise. Since we ate still young and hopping, it is not too late to start eating healthy now and prevent these diseases in our future!

From: http://www.greenfacts.org/en/diet-nutrition

Maltrition

Biology Blog Post
Huang Liushu (9) 3SE

If you ask a person what Hunger and Malnutrition are, he may probably answer that hunger is a short term while malnutrition is a long term condition. However, it is not totallly correct.
Everyone feels hungry at times. Hunger is the body's signal that it needs food. Once we've eaten enough food to satisfy our bodies' needs, hunger goes away until our stomachs are empty again. In contrast, malnutrition is a condition when people lack the nutrients needed for proper health and development. Someone can be malnourished for a long or short period of time, and the condition may be mild or severe. People who are malnourished are more likely to get sick and, in severe cases, may even die.

We know that People who don't get enough food over a long time may likely be malnourished. But someone can become malnourished for reasons that have nothing to do with hunger. Even people who have plenty to eat may be malnourished if they don't eat food that provides the right nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Some diseases and conditions, such as celiac disease (intestinal problems), cystic fibrosis and lack of rennin, prevent people from digesting or absorbing their food properly.
Besides those diseases and bad conditions, chronic hunger and malnutrition are problems that seem to be more serious. They can cause significant health problems. People who go hungry all the time are likely to be underweight, weighing significantly less than an average person of their size. Their growth may also be stunted, making them much shorter than average. They may not have enough store of energy, therefore, they may easily become fatigued. Malnutrition is a big problem even along the new generation since a research shows that in the whole World, about 27% of children younger than age 5 are underweight.
Some other Indications of malnutrition include:dizziness, poor immune function (which can hamper the body's ability to fight off infections), dry, scaly skin, swollen and bleeding gums, decaying teeth, slowed reaction times and trouble paying attention, muscle weakness, bloated stomach, osteoporosis(caused by the lack of Vitamin D and Calcium), preventable blindnessor(caused by the lack of Vitamin A), fragile bones that break easily, etc.

In addition, the most common form of malnutrition in the world is iron deficiency, which affects up to 80% of the world's population — as many as 4 to 5 billion people. Iron is found in foods like red meat, egg yolks, and fortified flour, bread, and cereal. Iron deficiency can make kids less active and less able to concentrate. Teens who are malnourished often have trouble keeping up in school.

To prevent malnutrition, we can at least try to have a variety of healthy foods and limit unhealthy snacks. We must remember, not only is over-weighting, but also maltrition a health problem.

Information taken from http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/hunger.html

Gym and Ice cream

Biology Blog Post
Huang Liushu (9) 3SE

Nowadays, most of the obese people believe that exercising is the best to lose weight. However, some of them are not determined enough to stop unbalanced diet. They do exercise, but after that, they consume more. This happens very often. Some of my plump friends describe the reason like this: after exercise, they become more hungry and eat more.
The cartoon above- "They opened an ice cream shop by the gym."- shows the problem facing by obese people. In fact, exercising requires a lot of energy. The concentration of glucose in their blood drops below average. When glucose is in short supply, fats are broken down to provide the energy needed for the exercise. At the same time, people start to feel hungry. Imagine that there is an ice cream shop and you are hungry, what will you do? Ice cream is considered to be a kind of junk food which could raise your weight. As people eat more, the effect of exercise disappear; instead, the fat they consume is more than the one they have used, thus they continue becoming heavier.
It is really important for us to have a balanced diet. Those people who want to lose their weight should try to keep themselves away from junk food.

Infomation taken from http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/u/unbalanced_diet.asp

Unbalanced diet

Biology Blog Post
Huang Liushu (9) 3SE

Everyone could agree that they eat some foods more frequently than others. This causes the "unbalanced diet trend", experienced by more than half of the population around the world. Here are some bad effects of consume too much carbohydrates and fats, including water retention, arteriosclerosis(clogged arteries) and coronary heart disease.

Carbohydrate
As we know, there are two types of carbohydrates: monosaccharide(simple carbohydrates) and polysaccharide (complex carbohydrates). Simple carbohydrates like glucose, galactose and fructose can only provide temporary energy that plunges down once used by the body.
Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, provide more long-term effects because they are the main energy storage products. Because of this effect, some people load up on carbohydrates in order to gain quick energy stores. This causes the concentration of carbohydrates to become higher. Hence more water is required for osmosis through the concentration gradient. This "carbohydrate loading" behavior leads to a bloated feeling and water retention and/or fat storage.

Fats
Here I need to mention one kind of fat which we need to pay more attention to -like substance found in all animal products, meats and eggs - called cholesterol. Cholesterol is used to build cell membranes and produce hormones, vitamin D, and other important enzymes in our bodies. Do you wonder whether it is good or not? In reality, too much cholesterol in the blood can lead to clogged arteries and heart disease.
There are two major types of cholesterol that circulate throughout the blood in protein packages: Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and High Density Lipoprotein(HDL). High levels of Low Density Lipoproteins can result in arteriosclerosis -clogged arteries- and coronary heart disease. High Density Lipoproteins are often recognized as the "good cholesterol" because they are responsible for the transport of excess cholesterol back to the liver for removal from the body. With the help of exercise, the levels of HDL in the blood will increase, thereby preventing clogged arteries and heart disease.
There are 3 types of fats: saturated, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated.
Saturated fats raise blood cholesterol and are identified by their solid state at room temperature. Some examples are butter, coconut oil, palm oil, and the fat in meats and whole milk dairy products.
Polyunsaturated fats have two main effects involving cholesterol. The good effect is to lower Low Density Lipoprotein blood cholesterol levels. However, the undesirable side effect caused by the excess polyunsaturated fats is also prominant- the protective High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol is lowered at the same time. Polyunsaturated fats are liquid at room temperature and can be found in vegetable oils including corn, safflower, and soybean.
Altough monounsaturated fats also lower LDL levels in the blood and liquid at room temperature, they have not been found to negatively affect the HDL levels. These fats are found in foods such as olives, olive oil, canola oil, peanuts and peanut oil.
In general, excessive intake of fat, simple sugars and alcohol will cause a rise in triglycerides and storage of fat. Triglycerides are fats found in the blood and stored in body fat. Those fat stores are responsible for the formation of adipose tissue, more commonly recognized as those flabby, undesirable areas on the body.

In conclusion, we must control our consumption of carbohydrates and fats.

Information taken from http://health.rutgers.edu/brochures/pyramid.htm

composition of chocolate

Biology Blog Post
Huang Liushu (9)
3 Service

Chocolate, made from cacao seeds and usually sugar, is thought to be an effective food to provide energy, especially for athletes who require more energy than normal people.

Nowaday, cholocate is used as an ingredient to make jams, cakes, drinks, etc. This fact makes us more curious about its composition.

The composition of cocoa and chocolate has been extensively studied. The fat in chocolate, which is primarily derived from cocoa, is comprised of two saturated fatty acids, palmitic and stearic acids, and the monounsaturated oleic acid, in addition to a small amount (less than 5 percent) of other fatty acids.

Although consumption of saturated fats is considered to raise cholesterol, and thus raise the risk of heart disease. Nonetheless, regular consumption of cocoa butter and chocolate has been repeatedly shown to not raise blood cholesterol.

Further research has shown that this is probably due to the relatively high concentrations of stearic acid, which studies have shown to have a cholesterol-neutral effect, and oleic acid, which is known to have mild cholesterol-reducing effects. Therefore, the fats present in chocolate are not real threats as people thought before.

In addition to the fat and simple sugars present in chocolate, the cocoa component in chocolate is rich in a number of essential minerals, including magnesium, copper, potassium and manganese. Indeed, chocolate is thought to be one of the largest single contributors of copper to the diet in the United States. For more information on these nutrients, see BellyBytes.com: Essential Nutrients

Here is a table showing components of 100 g of good quality chocolate.



From the table, we can see that lipids and carbohydrates are abundant in chocolate. Chocolate also contains many types of mineral substances and vitamins. The content of each nutrient is varied a little in different types of chocolate.

Those values can of course be changed by the presence of additives e.g. wal-nuts, hazel-nuts, almonds, raisins and other dried or candied fruit. Chocolate in fact is a high-grade and natural food.

Some people suggest that we should not eat chocolate because it is sweet but not nutritive. However, compared to pure water (distilled water), which does not contain anything else except water, adequate consumption of chocolate is still acceptable. No matter how nutritious food is, we cannot consume too much. We still need to

overcome our desire and eat properly.

Information taken from http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/fitness/chocolate.html
http://www.info-galaxy.com/Chocolate/From_Bean_to_Chocolate/Chocolate_Composition/chocolate_composition.html

Most Dietary Supplements Are Bad For Health

Biology Blog Post
Kong Eng Hong (14)
3 Service
14th April 2007

In the craze to look for a quick fix to lose weight, many dieters are often vulnerable to the many dietary supplements which often proclaim something along the lines of "100% Natural Herbs melt the pounds away, without any diet or exercise at all!", "Can burn up more 150% more calories than running 5 miles!" or "Eliminates fat content of 5 pizzas!". What most dieters do not realize is that most dietary supplements are hazardous to health, and most do not actually accomplish what they proclaim to do. Most dietary supplements are actually not safe for the body at all!

What are dietary supplements? Dietary supplements are products that include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs, or botanicals (plants) - or any concentration, extract, or combination of these - as part of their ingredients. One can purchase dietary supplements in pill, gel capsule, liquid, or powder forms. Dietary supplements meant to aid in weight loss and atheletic performance. However, most dietary supplements defeat this purpose and perform the opposite instead.

Fortunately, most dietary supplements are checked and tested by local health authorities before they are allowed to be shipped and sold to Singapore, thus most dietary supplements sold in Singapore are safe to an extent. However, this does not mean that the dietary supplements available locally are totally safe; they must be taken in accordance to guidelines to be safe and beneficial.

The most common example of dietary supplements are diet pills, also known as slimming pills, used by many individuals to mantain and lose their weight. Most diet pills do not actually work, and even if they do, they work only when accompanied with a balanced diet and exercise. Diet pills are not needed for efficient and adequate weight loss; only exercise and a balanced diet is capable of achieving that. Diet pills can be addictive and can also have harmful side effects even when they are taken according to the doctor's directions. Diet pills also have many harmful health effects which include anxiety or nervousness, irritability, insomnia and a feeling of restlessness or hyperactivity, high blood pressure, tightness in the chest, heart palpitations, a heart attack, stroke or congestive heart failure, digestive tract problems like vomiting, diarrhea, constipation or other stomach pains, fevers, a dry mouth, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, profuse sweating, hair loss, menstrual cycle and sex drive disturbances and urinary tract problems. In the case of overdose, users can experience tremors or convulsions, confusion or hallucinations, breathing problems, renal failure or heart attack.

Therefore, it can be seen that diet pills need to be taken with caution due to all of the physical risks; it may be even better not to use diet pills at all! But there are emotional risks involving the usage of diet pills too. Often those trying to lose weight may start to feel emotionally dependent on the pills. They may attribute their initial success to diet pills only, forgetting any diet modifications, exercise or other lifestyle changes that may have been the true reason for the weight loss. People will often 'pill hop', trying one new pill after the other, looking for the magic cure that will let them continue to eat whatever they want but still lose weight. However, only a balanced, sensible diet combined with exercise has been proven to keep weight off over any amount of time. And no pill will cause the lifestyle and emotional changes needed to stop overeating and start losing weight.

Therefore, it can be concluded that many dietary supplements are harmful for health, causing many side effects, and that for genuine weight loss, it is best that dietary supplements not be used at all; one should only rely on adequate exercise and a balance diet to lose weight.

Information taken from:
http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/dieting/diet_supplements.html
http://www.slimming-diet-pills.info/

Irony: Dieting may actually be harmful to health

Biology Blog Post
Kong Eng Hong (14)
3 Service
14th April 2007

Usually, obese individuals go on various diets in the ambition to lose weight, most with the typical reasons of looking better, feeling better and most importantly, being healthier, as obesity has been known to cause many health problems and heighten the chances of getting certain sicknesses and diseases; such as an increased risk of potentially fatal health problems such as heart attacks, high blood pressure and diabetes. However, several studies have shown that many misguided dieting methods are actually harmful to health; which is highly ironic, taking that most go on diets to improve their own health.

An example of a harmful dieting effect is known as the "yo-yo effect", in which an individual constantly loses weight and puts them back on. Doctors say that repeated change in body weight eventually puts additional stress on the heat and leads to other health problems; in which dieters put themselves in the risk of a heart attack. Among the potential ailments stemming from repeated weight loss and regain are cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes and altered immune function. Further more, the dieters who lose the weight initially are found not only to gave gained back the pounds and kilograms, but have ironically been shown to gain more, defeating the purpose of a diet.

Researchers have concluded that for many individuals, it would have been healthier for them not to have tried to lose weight by dieting at all. Exercise, on the other hand, appears to have been more helpful. Researchers identified exercise as a key researcher leading to sustained weight loss. Studies consistently find that dieters who exercised the most also had the most weight loss.

The "yo yo effect" is caused by "yo yo dieting", a diet, or rather, diets in which obese individuals resort to highly extreme ways to lose weight, often with the typical and highly upsetting and discouraging result: initial loss of weight, then regaining of the initial weight loss and even more weight later on. This is as many dieters look for quick fixes to their weight problems, either by starving themselves or by going on fad diets. However, as soon as they revert to their unhealthy eating habits, the weight is regained in full force; bringing along with it many health risks and problems which may be potentially fatal.

Therefore, it can be seen that the typical yet highly successful dieting method of adequate exercise and a healthy diet is the best way to shed the pounds and kilograms; quick fixes and fad diets are not the way to go.

Information taken from:
http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/yoyodieting

What is harmful dieting? There are two forms of this, the first is when people cut down on all kinds of food, besides those that are 'confirmed' unable to contribute to any weight gain. By these I mean, fruits and vegetables. Dieting is harmful when the person is dieting without a doctor's advice or when he or she is not clear what her body truly needs, and is merely dieting according to her 'whims and fancies'. The second form is eating in large servings the food that the body doesn't need. This leads us to an important question: What are the effects of harmful dieting, really? This post of mine shall serve to inform all 'diet-ers' out there to prevent them from making a wrong choice.

I will start by discussing the effects of the first form of harmful dieting: eating too little and probably none of the food contaning nutrients that the body needs.

In general, these diets usuallly lead to low energy levels and increased fatigue. These are the mild effects. First, a low-carboyhydrate diet. People have to be careful about this because, according to the information found in this website (link below), such diets encourage fats to be stored, and thus add to weight gain, too. This can be a potential cause for atherosclerosis (heart and blood vessel disease). For women (please refer to link below), harmful effects include menstrual dysfunction or amenorrhoea (absence of periods), which in turn may cause bone eating, and osteoporosis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/fitness/energy_disordered.shtml

Second, high-protein diets can cause kidney damage due to the lack of fibre in the diet, and the constipation may be unbearable. Low fibre, high fat can cause bowel cancer, as well. So, do have plenty of carrots and apples.

(Click to enlarge)

This diagram illustrates the effect I discussed about earlier, on insulin.

www.medscape.com

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_the_doctor/dietslowcarb.shtml

What are the solutions?

All in all, I would like to say that it is MIND OVER MATTER. Choose the right foods, exercise regularly. Persevere, be determined. No solution is absolute rubbish.

Ong Hui Yu 26/3 Service

Chocolate!

Biology Blog Post
Kong Eng Hong (14)
3 Service
27th March 2007

Chocolate is, to many, one of the most heavenly treats known to man. The reputation of Chocolate has been negative in the past, with decayed teeth and failed diets blamed on Chocolate. However, upon recent research, the many negative myths and beliefs about Chocolate have been dispelled, with the many health benefits of Chocolate being gradually uncovered, much to the delight of the any Chocolate lovers out there.

The Benefits of Chocolate:
* Cacao, the source of chocolate, contains antibacterial agents that fight tooth decay. Of course, this is counteracted by the high sugar content of milk chocolate. So, it can be seen that Chocolate is not all to blame for decayed teeth!
* The smell of chocolate may increase theta brain waves, resulting in relaxation.
* Drinking a cup of hot chocolate before meals may actually diminish appetite.
* Men who eat chocolate live a year longer than those who don't.
* The flavanoids in chocolate may help keep blood vessels elastic.
* Chocolate increases antioxidant levels in the blood.
* Mexican healers use chocolate to treat bronchitis and insect bites.
* The carbohydrates in chocolate raise serotonin levels in the brain, resulting in a sense of well-being.

What Chocolate Won't Do:
There are many myths and half-truths about the effects of chocolate on the human body. Here are the latest findings on several of them.
* Studies show that chocolate is not a causative factor in acne.
* Chocolate is not addictive.
* Chocolate contains stearic acid, a neutral fat which doesn't raise bad cholesterol.

But On The Negative Side...
1. Chocolate may trigger headaches in migraine sufferers.
2. Milk chocolate is high in calories, saturated fat and sugar.

Therefore, it can be sent that Chocolate is not all that bad, but not entirely wondrous either. Like any other foods, Chocolate is to be eaten in moderation.
Information taken from http://www.momscape.com/articles/chocolate.htm

Post: Dieting and its Effects

Biology Blog Post
Kong Eng Hong (14)
3 Service
27th March 2007

Nowadays, bombarded with the media’s negative messages and bad celebrity influences, people around the world, self conscious teenagers in particular, are pressurized to diet and lose weight rapidly by using extreme methods which often do not work and have severe consequences. Many weight obsessed teenagers often resort to unhealthy dieting methods instead of losing weight safely. They were most likely to skip meals, use diet pills or laxatives, smoke, binge and vomit to lose weight. What these teenagers do not take into consideration are the many harmful effects of dieting on their bodies.

Many teenagers nowadays suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, in which these eating disorders are not only physical but psychological. Anorexia is an eating disorder where people usually starve themselves in a desperate attempt to lose weight; and Anorexia sufferers are often plagued with the illusion that they are very overweight and have an intense fear of becoming fat, despite the fact that most people suffering from anorexia are underweight or unhealthily thin. Bulimia is another psychological eating disorder. Bulimia is characterized by episodes of binge-eating followed by inappropriate methods of weight control (purging). Inappropriate methods of weight control include vomiting, fasting, enemas, excessive use of laxatives and diuretics, or compulsive exercising. These two eating disorders are highly rampant among teenagers today, where becoming thin is a huge priority to gain acceptance among one’s peers.

However, the harmful effects of these extreme ways of dieting are less known than the diets itself. Extreme dieting interferes with one’s metabolism and fools one’s body into thinking that it is going through a starvation cycle. If extreme dieting is continued, the body will learn to compensate for these starvation waves by evening the body metabolism out, and one would gain a lot more weight suddenly during the non-diet phase and lose less during the diet phase, in which this is a natural body reaction. The only sensible way to lose weight is to have a balanced, healthy diet; in which this is something most teenagers do not, unfortunately, realize.

Studies suggest a specially formulated type of cocoa may boost brain function and delay decline as people age. As Chocolate is also a calorie-rich food with a high fat content, daily intake of chocolate also requires reducing caloric intake of other foods. So, do you think a controlled "Chocolate diet" will be beneficial?

Rachel Scowcroft was three when tests revealed she had autistic spectrum disorder. Things may improve when she's 16. In the meantime, all she can eat is chocolate. Rachel's health is very good and she is monitored by an expert paediatrician, but it clearly is a very big worry. So, will this eventually lead to a "Death by Chocolate"?

Finally, this blog is Upp!! Thanks everyone and of course our dear Shanice:) So, let start posting<3