Omega 7 - The New Good Fat

Many people these days are familiar about the health benefits of Omega 3, 6 and 9. Have you heard of Omega 7 - the new good fat?

Before I proceed to Omega 7, let me make a short summary on Omega 3,6 and 9, so that we can understand omega 7 better.

Where can you find all this omega?

• Omega 3, also known as alpha-linolenic acid is abundant in flaxseed and fish oils.
• Omega 6, also known as linoleic acid can be found in borage and evening primrose oils.
• Omega 9, also known as oleic acid is abundant in olive and avocade oils.

Both Omega 3 and 6 area essential fatty acids that are crucial for the brain, heart, and immune system. They cannot be synthesized by the human body and must be obtained from diet or supplements.

On the other hand, Omega 9 is non-essential fatty acid, which help to lower cholesterol levels and build up the immune system. It can be produced by the body, or obtained from food.

Omega 7 - The New Good Fat

Omega 7 is a non-essential fatty acid found predominantly in sea buckthorn oil and macadamia nuts. Omega 7 is also known as palmitoleic acid. Let me summarizes the main benefits below:

Skin, hair and nails

Omega 7 provides key building blocks for skin, hair and nails. It helps combat wrinkles, dryness, loss of skin elasticity, and other symptoms of malnourished or aging skin. It also helps skin function properly by supporting numerous skin functions, such as boosting collagen production, enhance skin ability to retain moisture, protect against sun damage, toxins, and environmental stress.

Weight management

Taken internally, omega 7 fatty acid signals the body to stop storing fat. This amazing compound also helps the body maintain insulin sensitivity and fight off the imbalances that can result in metabolic syndrome. Insulin sensitivity plays a major role in helping the body convert glucose into energy, rather than storing it as fat. Research shows that omega 7 imitates a hormone in the body that helps regulate systemic metabolic activity.

Cardiovascular health

The increased access to omega 7 will benefit the cardiovascular system. The positive benefits to cardiovascular health includes:

(1) reduce the amount of bad cholesterol traveling through your arteries

(2) help smooth their passage, which in turn helps artery walls stay strong and resistant to tearing.

Gastro-intestinal health

Omega 7 has a soothing and smoothing effect on all the body’s sensitive internal linings. Omega 7 helps to nourish and hydrate internal organs and combat stressors, including excessive stomach acid or chronic inflammation. The body needs this powerful fatty acid to plump up those sensitive linings, just like it uses them to plump thin, stretched skin cells. 

Conclusion

While we await the results of ongoing randomized trials on Omega 7, the data so far is promising. With a potential drug-like effect on our heart, pancreas and liver. Omega 7 have the potential to become a household name, much like Omega 3 were a bit longer than a decade ago.

Clinical References: 

• Effect of dietary supplementation with sea buckthorn seed and pulp oils on the fatty composition of skin glycerophospholipids of patients with Atopic Dermatitis. Yang, B, et al., 2000, Jour Nutr BioChem, Vol. 11, 338-340. 

• Anti-inflammatory activity of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) leaves. Ganju, L et al., 2005, Intr Immunopharm, Vol. 5, 1675-1684. 

• Chronic administration of palmitoleic acid reduces insulin resistance and hepatic lipid accumulation in KK-Ay mice and genetic type 2 diabetes. Yang, et al., Lipids in Health and Disease, 2011, 10:120. 

• Serum Lipid Effects of a High–Monounsaturated Fat Diet Based on Macadamia Nuts. Curb, J. et al., 2000, Arch Intern Med/Vol. 160. 

• Lipoprotein composition and serum cholesterol ester fatty acids in nonwestern Melanesians. Lindeberg, S. et al., 1996, Lipids, Vol. 31, no. 2. 

• Trans-Palmitoleic Acid, Metabolic Risk Factors, and New-Onset Diabetes in U.S. Adults. Mozaffarian, D. et al., Annals Intr Med, 2010, Vol. 153, no. 12. 

• Sea buckthorn oils: Towards healthy mucous membranes. Erkkola, R. & Yang, B., 2003, AGROFood Industry, 53 (3). 

Benefits of carrot

Some facts about carrot:

• Carrot comes from the Greek name 'karoton', which mean carotene?
• Fats help the absorption of carotenoids into the blood by 1000% as carotenoids are fat soluble.
• Carrots are the second most popular vegetables after potatoes.

Here are some of the benefits of carrot:

 

Improved Vision
The main compound is actually beta-carotene, which help for night vision and to protect against macular degeneration.

2.  Cancer Prevention
Studies have shown carrots reduce the risk of lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer. Researchers have just discovered falcarinol and falcarindiol which they feel cause the anticancer properties.

Falcarinol is a natural pesticide produced by the carrot that protects its roots from fungal diseases. Carrots are one of the only common sources of this compound. A study showed 1/3 lower cancer risk by carrot-eating mice.

Anti-Aging
The high level of beta-carotene acts as an antioxidant to cell damage done to the body through regular metabolism.

Healthy Glowing Skin (from the inside)

It also contains vitamin A which act as an antioxidant to protect the skin from sun damage. Vitamin A prevents premature wrinkling, acne, dry skin, pigmentation, blemishes, and uneven skin tone. Some people even use it as a facial mask, by combining it with honey.

Powerful Antiseptic
It can be used to prevent infection.

Prevent Heart Disease
High in carotenoids can  help to lower the risk of heart disease.Regular consumption of carrots also reduces cholesterol levels because the soluble fibers in carrots bind with bile acids.

Healthy Teeth and Gums
Marvellous isn't it? Carrots clean your teeth and mouth by scarping off plaque and food particles just like toothbrush or toothpaste. Carrots stimulate gums and trigger a lot of saliva, which being alkaline, which help to prevent cavity-forming bacteria.

An Overview of Honey

I had read a very interesting articles reviewing honey. I wish to share the summary of part of the review article.

 

Honey is a natural substance produced when the nectar and sweet deposits from plants are gathered, modified, and stored in the honeycombs by honeybees. Honey can be classified as floral and non floral honey. Floral honey is made by the nectar collected from flowers. Non floral honey is made by bees that extracts sugars from living tissues of plants or fruits or scavenge the excretions of insects.  Honey’s colour, aroma, flavour, density, and physical and chemical properties depend on the flowers used by bees.

The nutrition values and profiles vary according to the composition of honey. Carbohydrates constitute about 95-97% of the dry weight of honey. Water is quantitatively the second most important component of honey. Only honey with less than 80% water can be stored with little or no risk fermentation.  The protein content is roughly 0.5% of which are mainly enzymes and free amino acids.

Fructose and glucose are the most predominant sugars present in honey. Approximately 18 essential and non essential amino acids are present in honey.  Proline is the primary amino acid and lysine being the second most prevalent. Vitamins and minerals such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and calcium in honey depend on it’s botanical and geographical origin.

Honey is found to be suitable sweetener in fermented milk product without inhibiting the growth of common bacteria like Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus delbbruekii, and Bifidobacterium bifidum which are important for maintaining a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Honey acts as a prebiotic in probiotic cultures.

Honey’s carbohydrates are easily to be digested and quickly transported into blood and can be utilized for energy requirement by human body. Hence, honey is particularly recommended for children and sportsmen. 

Calculate How Many Fruits and Vegetables You Need Everyday

I found an interesting tool from Center for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) to calculate how many cup of fruits and vegetables you need to consumption everyday to meet the recommendation. The calculation is base on your age, gender and physical activity level. Enter the information as I mention above can calculate the amount that;s right for you. Let's have a try through the URL::

 http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html

Complementary Feeding: How much to Feed?

Complementary foods need to be appropriate to baby's stage of development. Amount of complementary food to babies at different stages of age are slightly different. Here I share the quantity of complementary food recommended by a Cookbook which was published by Nutrition Society Malaysia.

Why 5 A Day?

Why 5 A DAY?

Base on the advice from WHO, consume a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of health problems such as heart disease, stroke, type  two diabetes, and obesity.  Hence, your five portions of fruit and vegetables will contain different combinations of fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients for diseases prevention.

What count towards 5 A DAY?

Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY.

The following count towards your 5 A DAY:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Frozen fruit and vegetables.
• Tinned or canned fruit and vegetables without added sugar or salt.
• Dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs. 
• Fruit and vegetables cooked in dishes such as soups, stews or pasta dishes.
• A glass (150ml) of unsweetened pure fruit or vegetable juice. (Juice counts as a maximum of one portion a day, however much you drink. That's mainly because juice contains less fibre than whole fruits and vegetables)
• Smoothies. A smoothie containing all of the edible pulped fruit and/or vegetable may count as more than one portion but this depends on how it's made. Smoothies count as up to a maximum of two portions per day. 
• Beans and pulses. These only count as one portion a day, no matter how many you eat. That's because they contain fewer nutrients than other fruits and vegetables.
• Fruit and vegetables in convenience foods, such as ready meals and shop-bought pasta sauces, soups and puddings. Some ready-made foods are high in salt, sugar and fat, so only have them occasionally or in small amounts. You can find the salt, sugar and fat content of ready-made foods on the label.  

*Sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count toward your 5 A DAY, because they are usually eaten in addition to the starchy food part of the meal.

 *Potatoes and cassava don’t count because they mainly contribute starch to the diet.

Source: www.nhs.uk

Case Study 1

Today my customer Mr Adrian drop by and we had a long chat. His main concern is to reduce visceral fat.

He sent me this image and need some feedback from us. We will use this as a case study, with the permission from Mr Adrian. The picture below show his plan for lunch. Steam fish with lady's finger, tomatoes, ginger, red chillies.

Additional information:
- Mr Adrian is an active swimmer

Colour nutrition feedback:

Similar with weight control, follow a low-calorie and high fiber diet is crucial in visceral fat control. In my opinion, Mr Adrian’s recipe is a good example of low-calorie cooking method which is steam. Besides, this recipe contains 2 food groups which are protein (fish) and fiber (lady’s finger, tomatoes). However, kindly take note to avoid fried onion and the frying oil which is commonly used as taste enhancer in steam fish to reduce the fat content in this recipe. Mr Adrian’s lunch could be balanced after adding starchy food (for example, rice) and a serving of fruit/ fruit juice. Finally, I would like to remind Mr Adrian that exercise regularly is very crucial for visceral fat control. Exercise for at least 30 minutes most of the day in a week is very important in visceral fat control.

It has tomatoes, which provide the RED colour. Below is the nutrition values for tomato:

Tomato contain nutrients such as niacin, folate and vitamin B6. All this have associated with the reduction of heart disease risk. One study found that women who ate 7 to 10 servings of tomato products per week had a 29 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease than women who consumed less than a serving and a half of tomato products each week.

Tomato has been shown to protect against thrombosis (blood clots in the blood vessel). Drinking tomato juice can reduce blood levels of TNF-alpha by 34%. TNF-alpha causes inflammation. High levels of TNF-alpha have been found in individuals with most chronic, degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s.

It has lady's finger (or known as OKRA), which provides the GREEN colour.  It’s high in vitamin B6, fiber, calcium, and folic acid.

The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize blood sugar as it curbs the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract. Okra’s mucilage (sticky sticky) binds cholesterol and bile acid carrying toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver.

The okra fiber helps prevent and improve constipation, by absorbing water and ensuring bulk in stools. Okra also helps to support the structure of capillaries.Okra is used for healing ulcers and to keep joints limber. It helps to neutralize acids, being very alkaline, and provides a temporary protective coating for the digestive tract.

MyPlate in Malaysia

In Malaysia, we have healthy eating plate, which is also known as pinggan pemakanan sihat for our toddlers and children. Portions of all food groups were categorized according to age groups, which were 1-3 years old, 3-4 years old and 6 years old and above. The line on the plate may help the mummy to serve balance and adequate amount of food to their children.

The 3 plates shown above might look alike. However, the portion is different for different age group. This is pretty straightforward for parent to just serve according to the portion shown on the plate.

We have this plate at home now and although it may seem not attractive enough, but it does serve its purpose to guide parent to serve their kids with the right portion.

An Introduction to MyPlate

Myplate

MyPlate is the current nutrition guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture, depicting a place setting with a plate and glass divided into five food groups. It replaced the USDA's MyPyramid guide on June 2, 2011, ending 19 years of USDA food pyramid diagrams.¹ MyPlate will be displayed on food packaging and used in nutrition education in the United States.

MyPlate is divided into sections of approximately 30 percent grains, 30 percent vegetables, 20 percent fruits and 20 percent protein, accompanied by a smaller circle representing dairy, such as a glass of low-fat/nonfat milk or a yogurt cup.

MyPlate is supplemented with additional recommendations, such as "Make half your plate fruits and vegetables," "Switch to 1% or skim milk," "Make at least half your grains whole," and "Vary your protein food choices." The guidelines also recommend portion control while still enjoying food, as well as reductions in sodium and sugar intakes.

In unveiling MyPlate, First Lady Michelle Obama said, "Parents don't have the time to measure out exactly three ounces (~85 grams) of chicken or to look up how much rice or broccoli is in a serving. ... But we do have time to take a look at our kids' plates. ... And as long as they're eating proper portions, as long as half of their meal is fruits and vegetables alongside their lean proteins, whole grains and low-fat dairy, then we're good. It's as simple as that.”

1.    http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/myplate.htm

5 A Day - The Colour Way

Nutrition research shows that colourful vegetables and fruits contain essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals that your body needs to promote health and help you feel great.

So what are the 5 colours??

REDS

When you add deep reds or bright pinks to your daily diet, you are also adding powerful antioxidants called lycopene and anthocyanins. Diets rich in these nutrients are being studied for their ability to fight heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s Disease as well as skin, breast and prostate cancers.

GREENS

Not only do green vegetables look great and taste wonderful, they are also rich in the phytochemicals (like lutein, zeaxanthin and indoles) and essential vitamins (folate), minerals and fiber that keep you healthy. These nutrients protect your eyes, and may reduce the risk of cancerous tumors.

YELLOW/ORANGE

The colors of the blazing sun are a must have in your daily diet. Yellow and orange vegetables and fruits contain beta-carotene (which turns into vitamin A), vitamin C, vitamin E, folate (a B vitamin) and bioflavonoids. Research shows that these nutrients reduce the risk for cancer and heart attacks, boost immunity, help maintain good vision and strong bones/teeth/skin.

BLUES/PURPLES

Blues and purples not only add beautiful shades of tranquility and richness to your plate, they add healthenhancing flavonoids, phytochemicals and antioxidants, such as anthocyanins, vitamin C, folic acid and polyphenols. These nutrients help your body defend against cancer, reduce the risk of age-related memory loss, help control high blood pressure and reduce the risk of diabetes complications and heart attacks.

WHITE

White fruits and vegetables vary from sweet to strong. Vegetables from the onion family, which include garlic, chives, scallions, leeks and any variety of onion, contain the phytonutrient allicin. Research is being conducted on allicin to learn how it may help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and increase the body’s ability to fight infections and cancer. Indoles and sulfaforaphanes and phytonutrients in cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower may also inhibit cancer growth.

The above article is adapted from USDA Food and Nutrition Services http://www.fns.usda.gov