THE PROS AND CONS OF USING STARCH-BLOCKING BEANS (ACARBOSE)

A extract from white kidney beans is now widely sold as an over-the-counter "starch blocker". These heavily advertised products claim to neutralize the starch in high-carbohydrate foods. All you have to do, the ads claim, is take a couple of these pills at the start of meal, and they'll block your absorption of about 75 percent of the calories you eat from carbohydrates. Starch-blocking products do contain a substance found naturally in white kidney beans ( as well as some other beans and also wheat) that inhibits or blocks amylase, the enzyme your body uses to break down carbohydrates in your intestinal tract. In fact, the starch-blocker supplements work in a similar way to the prescription drug acarbose (Precose or Glyset).

Both the supplements and the prescription drugs have serious drawbacks. They're not meant to aid weight loss- they're designed to help control blood sugar, but that doesn't stop unscrupulous manufacturers from pushing the supplements as a way to lose weight while eating all you want of anything you want. No studies of acarbose have shown that some people with impaired glucose tolerance are less likely to become diabetic if they take the drug. The side effects of blocking carbohydrate digestion can be very unpleasant. Severe cramps, diarrhea, and gas are likely. Many people using acarbose experience flatulence. Many doctors do not prescribe acarbose. Why take a costly drug with nasty side effects when you can benefit your health considerably more by controlling the carbohydrate in your diet.

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IMPORTANCE OF DIETARY FIBER

Dietary fiber comes from plant foods and falls into two main categories: digestible and non-digestible.
Non-digestible: Sometimes called insoluble fiber, comes in the form of cellulose, which makes up the cell walls of plant foods. Cellulose absorbs water, but doesn't dissolve in it. Non-digestible fiber is found in wheat bran, nuts, the skin of vegetables and fruits, crunchy vegetables such as collards and lettuce.
Digestible fiber (sometimes called soluble fiber) comes from the various gums, pectin  lignans, and other natural substances found in plant foods. Although it's never actually digested like non-digestible fiber, it cannot be broken down by your digestive system and simply passes through you, digestible fiber dissolves in water to form a soft gel in your intestines. Good sources of digestible fiber include beans, oatmeal, oat bran, apples and pears.
Most plants foods contain at least some of both forms of fiber. The more fiber a food contains, the more likely it is to fill you up quickly and keep you feeling full longer. High carbohydrate, low fiber foods - brownies, for example don't really satisfy your hunger for long. The sugar from these foods enters your bloodstream almost instantly, giving you a temporary feeling of satiety that quickly disappears as your blood sugar drops. You can eat five brownies in a row and still end up ravenously hungry, shaky and mentally foggy - several hours later.
But what if you ate a protein and fat snack along with some fiber - a stick of celery stuffed with cream cheese, for instance? You'd be getting about 2 grams of protein and about 10 grams of dietary fat from the cream cheese, along with about 1 gram of fiber. This crunchy easy to make snack will fill you up without sending your blood sugar up and down, in fact, it will help stabilize your blood sugar so you won't be hungry or cranky later.
High fiber vegetables are; broccoli, cabbage, and zucchini.

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SOURCES AND IMPORTANTS OF OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

The major source of polyunsaturated fats is omega-3 fatty acids.  Sources of omega 3 are fish and dietary supplements made from fish or algae. Researches have shown that fish oil can dramatically help reduce the risk of heart disease. The effect of these oils is so powerful that in 2002, the American Heart association summarized research and recommended that healthy people include omega-3 fatty acids from fish and plant sources to protect their hearts.
For diabetic patients, the value of  fish also comes from the omega-3 fatty acids it contains.

Omega-3 fatty acid

can raise high density lipoprotein cholesterol slightly, which have little or no effect on Low density lipoprotein cholesterol,  and can significantly help to lower triglycerides. In fact, a meta-analysis in 1998 of 26 different studies showed that fish oil supplements, which are nothing but omega-3 fatty acids, lower triglycerides by almost 30 percent. Omega-3 supplements also help in decreasing inflammatory responses which, as you know, is beneficial in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and the metabolic syndrome.
Eating cold-water fatty fish, such as tuna, salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring, or eel, is one way to get the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, as is taking fish oil supplements and we know it works because most studies are based on people consuming fish or fish oil.
A few studies of omega-3 fatty acids have suggested that taking them in supplement form could raise blood sugar; a few other studies have suggested that omega-3 supplements actually improve insulin sensitivity.
To find out for sure, in 1995, researchers conducted a randomized, double-blind,placebo-controlled trial using 4 grams of fish oil a day for some diabetic patients and 4 grams of corn oil for others. After 16 weeks, the fish oil had no effect on the blood sugar of the people who took it. It did, however, slightly lower their blood pressure; it also modestly lowered their triglycerides.
You can get omega-3s from plant sources such as algae and flaxseed oil. Like fish oil, flaxseed oil and other plant sources can help control blood lipids and prevent heart attacks.

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HEALTH BENEFITS OF TEA

Most people that drink tea on a regular basis do not know the health benefits of tea. Tea-either black tea, green tea can have a positive effect on your health. Consistent studies of large group of people have shown that those who drink the most tea also have the lowest risk of heart disease. In a study of men and women in the Boston, shows that the participants who drank at least 1 cup of tea a day had 44% lower risk of heart attack than those who drank no tea.
Not neglecting the fact that it can also be helpful in controlling blood sugar, in Taiwan, twenty people with diabetes who were taking an antihyperglycemic drug were randomly assigned also to drink either 1,500ml (about 6 cups) of oolong tea (a type of tea that is halfway between black and green) or an equal amount of plain water every day for 30 days. They switched of and repeated the process. The researchers found that after 30 days of tea drinking, the participants had markedly lower blood sugar levels. There was no change after 30 days of drinking plain water. Probably the catechins and other chemicals called polyphenols in tea, not the caffeine that have the beneficial effect.
A daily cup or two brewed black or green tea could be beneficial to your health in overall and can even help speed up weight loss. Tea can help keep your bones strong as you age. A study of over 1,200 older British women found that those who drank tea had higher bone mineral density levels in their spines and hips than those who drank no tea at all, because higher bone mineral density generally means a lower risk of fracture (from falling, for example), it appears that tea had a definite protective effect for these women.
There is some suggestive evidence that green tea could increase your metabolic rate and slightly help speed up weight loss. A recent study of ten healthy young men showed that when they took capsules containing caffeine or fiber. In other words, the green tea extract made their metabolism run faster so they burned more fat. The study is a small one, done on healthy young men in a highly controlled setting. It is recomended to drink 1 to 2 cups of tea (especially brewed green tea) daily. Brewed green tea has the most catechins and polyphenols and the least caffeine, with only about 30mg to 40mg per 6-ounce cup. There's no reason not to sweeten the tea with your favovrite sugar sustitute if you like.

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DO YOU KNOW THAT TOMATOES CAN HELP PREVENT STROKE?

The health benefits of tomatoes are not in doubt anymore. Tomatoes contains vitamin C, and lycopene. Lycopene is an antioxidant that experts say can protect from stroke. Research has shown that fruits rich in lycopene such as tomatoes, pink grapefruit, pawpaw, watermelon, and guava, may help lower the risk of prostate and other cancers. New study have found that tomato is a rich source of lycopene which may help reduce the risk of suffering a stroke by half a more. Cooked tomatoes tend to have a greater effect on blood levels of lycopene than raw tomatoes or tomato juice. Cooking breaks down tomato's cell walls and makes it easier for your body to absorb the antioxidants. But tomato juice is rich in nutrients such as magnesium, potassium, zinc, fluoride, vitamins A, C, organic acids and more. Researchers found that men with highest levels of lycopene were at half the risk of suffering a stroke than men with this lowest levels of this chemical substance. Stroke is more common than most people realize  Nearly 90% of the strokes that take place in Nigeria is Ischemic strokes, which occur as a result of a blockage (usually a clot) in a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when a weakened blood vessel ruptures. There is a growing incidence of strokes in people between the ages of 18 and 65 due to obesity and uncontrolled high blood pressure. A stroke takes place in the brain. If the blood supply to the neurons (nervous cells in the brain) in the brain is cut off either because of a blood clot or a disease of the blood vessels, those neurons die. That's what a stroke is. Although strokes do run in families, it is both preventable and treatable. Tomatoes also improves immune function, prevents blood from clotting.

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FOODS THAT BUILD STRONG BODY

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Every living things must have food for growth, for energy, food to regulate the body processes, and to replace worn-out tissues.
Except for water and certain minerals the ultimate source of man's  food supply is the plant kingdom. Plants utilize the energy of the sun, the oxygen and carbon dioxide of the air and the water and mineral salts, including nitrogen compounds, from the soil to manufacture the carbohydrate, fats, proteins, and vitamins which serve as foods for man.
Carbohydrates produce heat and energy for the body. They are found in fruits and vegetables but are most abundant in such foods as rice, spaghetti, potatoes, sweets and bread.
Fats also yield heat and energy. Those of animal sources are butter, cream, egg yolk ghee; and of vegetable sources, coconut, olive, groundnut, cotton seed, mustard, soya bean and safflower (Kardi) oils.
Protein yield some energy but their main function is to keep up the continuous body processes of growth and repair of  tissues. Almost all the foods contains some proteins but the greatest sources are lean meats, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, nuts, cereals such as unpolished rice and wheat and the legumes, peas, soya beans, groundnuts and dhal.
Minerals are needed by the body to help maintain the growth and repair of cells. All minerals are essential and are found in abundance in fresh fruits and vegetables. Calcium and phosphorus are found in the body in larger amounts than other minerals. Children and elderly people need twice as much of these two minerals as young adults. If the diet contains eggs, cheese, curd, vegetables, and milk, a sufficient amount of these minerals will be obtained. One must take care that the diet contains sufficient iron. This is found on all green leafy vegetables, in raisins, grapes and in liver, lean meat, egg yolk and in molasses.
Vitamins are essential to the body as food. If one's diet contains plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain cereals, he will gets a sufficient amount of these vitamins.
Water is not a food but it is essential in man's diet in order that his foods may be prepared for assimilation by the body. The amount of water needed by the body depends on one's age, work and climate. One should form the habit of drinking several glasses of water between regular meals.
From these paragraphs one can see that a proper, well-balanced diet may consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, both cooked and raw, and whole grains and nuts.
Such a diet is called a "vegetarian diet." When eggs and milk products are added to the vegetarian diet, it is called "lac to-vegetarian." It is difficult to keep a proper balance between the different food elements if the lac to-vegetarian diet is followed. Milk is a protective food sinse it is well supplied with certain minerals and vitamins as well as being a rich source of protein, fats and carbohydrates.

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CHANGING FROM MEAT TO VEGETARIAN DIET

 Changing from meat to vegetarian Diet
When one accustomed to a heavy meat diet discontinues its use he feels a sense of weakness and loss of vigour. This is due to the stimulating effect of meat. In time this feeling of weakness will not be felt and normal natural strength will be maintained without the use of meat.
one writer once wrote, "if those who eat meat could see the condition of some of the animals when living they would turn from it with loathing".
Most meats contains at least as much fat as it does protein, which is approximately 20% in each case, pork contains up to 55% fat. This is the reason we see many heavy meat-eaters suffering from arteriosclerosis. Many have a tendency to increase weight.
A balanced diet can be maintained without it's use. Dr. M.G Hardinge, M.D, assistant professor of anatomy, Loma Linda University U.S.A, after extended study of the problem of proper nurition concluded as follows: " A diet composed of foods prepared from the whole grain cereals, from nuts, from a variety of root and leafy vegetables,and from both fresh and cooked fruits will not only have adequate quantities of minerals and vitamins, but will also be found to contain a sufficient quantity of protein of high biologic value to meet all the demands of the individual."
One of my recent post Common foods of high protein value; shows foods which are especially valuable  for their protein content. Meat on the average contains 20% protein but nuts and grams contain more than that and soya beans over twice that amount.

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FOODS OF HIGH PROTEIN

                              FOODS OF HIGH PROTEIN VALUE
 Daily Requirements: 1 gramme per kilogramme of body weight.
 MILK AND FRUITS
 Name of foodstuff                                                               Protien  content
Buttermilk (0.1 fat)                                                             3.5
Cheddar cheese (30 fat)                                                     25.0
cottage cheese (0.5 fat)                                                      19.5
Curds                                                                                2.9
 Dry figs                                                                            4.0
 Dry fruits                                                                         2.5
Ice cream plain (12.5 fat)                                                  4.0
Tweet Milk (3.9 fat)                                                                    3.5
 Non-fat dry milk powder                                                 35.6
 CEREALS
 Barley, dry                                                                      11.5
 maize (makka), dry                                                          11.5
Oatmeal cooked                                                                2.3
 Oatmeal dry                                                                     13.6 
 Ragi and other millets                                                      7 to 10 
Rice, dry                                                                            7.5
 Wheat, refined dry (maida)                                              10.2 
wheat whole, dry                                                             11.8 
 NUTS (Average of 45 to 60% fat) 
Almond                                                                          18.6
 Cashew                                                                         18.5 
Coconut                                                                          3.6
 Peanut (groundnut)                                                          26.9
 Walnut                                                                          15.0
 EGGS (one whole egg 7gms of protein) 
White                                                                             10.8
 Yolk 16.3 
 PULSES
 Beans cooked                                                                5.7 
Beans other dry beans (average)                                    21.0 
Beans Red kidney (dry)                                                 23.1
 Grams and dhal                                                             20 to 28
 peas cooked                                                                 4.9
 Peas dry split                                                                24.5 
Soya beans dry (average)                                               40.0

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CHART SHOWING SALT CONTENTS OF SOME COMMON FOODS

Chart showing salt content of common foods

Food (100gms)                             Salt (mg.)       Food (100gms)                           Salt  (mg)
Apples                                               0.2                 Olives                                             98.0
Apple sauce                                       0.3                 Onions                                             1.0
Apricots                                             0.6                 Oatmeal                                           0.3
Asparagus                                          2.0                 Parsnips                                           0.7
Avacodo                                             3.0                 Peaches                                          5.0
Banana                                               0.5                 Peanuts, butter                                 120.0
Barley                                                 3.0                 Peanuts, salted                                700.0
Beans, cooked                                    1.0                 Pears (raw)                                      2.0
Cabbage (raw)                                    5.0                 Peas (canned)                                  270.0
Cauliflower                                         24.0                Pineapple juice                                 0.5
Cherries                                               1.0                  Plums, raw                                       0.6
Coconut                                              16.0                Potatoes, chips                                340.0
Corn                                                     0.3                 Potatoes, sweet                                0
Dhal                                                      3.0                 Prune juice                                       0.8
Egg                                                       81.0               Pumpkin (canned)                            2.0
Figs                                                       37.0               Pumpkin (fresh)                               6.0
Grapefruit                                              0.5                 Radishes                                          9.0
Grape juice                                            1.0                 Rhubarb                                           6.0
Guavas                                                   0                    Rice, white                                      2.0
Honey                                                     7.0                Soya beans (dry)                             4.0
Lemons                                                   0.7                Spinach                                             0
Lima beans                                             22.5               Squash                                             2.0
lime juice                                                 1.0                 Sugar                                               0.3
Margarine                                                58.0              Soojee                                             11.0
Milk, goat                                                 34.0             Tangerines                                        2.0
Milk, whole                                               50.0             Tapioca                                            5.0
Tomato juice                                             230            
Tomato ketchup                                        1300.0        
Tomatoes (raw)                                         3.0
Turnips (cooked)                                        0
Turnips (green)                                          10.0
Vegetable oils                                             0.2
Walnuts                                                      2.0
Water-melon                                              0.3
Wheat flour                                                11.0
Wheat, puffed                                             4.0
Wheat, whole                                              4.0

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WHAT EVERY COOK SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FOOD HYGIENE

Certain diseases can be passed to the whole family by the one who cooks the meals. This person should therefore be required to follow basic hygienic procedures.
Washing the hands carefully before starting to prepare the food is first and foremost. This should include scrubbing under the finger-nails with soap and water and a brush; thus disease germs that lurk under the nails will be removed before the handling of food begins.
The premises where the cooking is done should be kept as clean as possible. All peelings and garbage should be kept in covered containers whether inside or outside the house until finally disposed of.
The cook should be instructed to use only clean towels for wiping the glasses and other items of tableware.
From a health point of view it is shocking to see a cook or "bearer" use the same cloth for this purpose which he uses to wipe the dust off the tables or the sweat from his brow. Such practices spread disease. The cook should have a handkerchief For covering his mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and this should be used for nothing else.
All vegetables and fruits should be washed thoroughly before being cooked or served. This is important for foods served raw such as salads, and fruits that cannot be peeled such as grapes. Those that can be peeled should be washed first and peeled. Washing in potassium permanganate solution. The best procedure for disinfecting food that is to be eaten raw is to let it rock for 30 mins in heavily chlorinated water, rinsing well with clean sterilized water afterwards.
Handling drinking glasses by the part that comes in contact with the mouth is to be strictly avoided. The glass should be grasped near its base, the fingers being kept away from the drinking edge.
After the meal, the dirty dishes and cutlery should be washed immediately, it should be put away in a closed cupboard.
Before employing a new cook it would be well to require a routine medical check-up.

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EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL [BLOOD ALCOHOL CONCENTRATION]

0.02% Blood Alcohol concentration
Mild alteration of feelings, slight intensification of moods.
0.05% Blood Alcohol concentration
Feelings of relaxation, giddiness, lowered inhibitions. Judgment and motor skills are both slightly impaired.
0.08% Blood Alcohol concentration
Muscle coordination and reaction time impaired. Face, hands, arms, and legs may tingle and then feel numb. Legally intoxicated in Canada and some U.S states. 0.10% Blood Alcohol concentration

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