Sunday 13 March 2016

Live The Old You With The Help Of Nature

Live The Old You With The Help Of Nature


We live to die, as the saying goes. So everybody knows that we live, get old and die. Aging is a natural process that affects every cell, organ and body's function. As we age, function of our body decreases. Then, we have to rely on others for living as we started having diseases associated with old age. Sound so natural, but it is no fun.

The question arise is, why some of us age faster than the others? Is there a maximum age that people can live no matter how good you take care of your health or other interventions may be? And for people like us, how insights into longevity can be used to prevent the diseases associated with old age, and improve the quality of life though we are old?

Although chronological aging is inevitable, but with current research and studies, Institute of National Aging (NIA) working on many components of our cells, tissues or organ involved in the process of aging and by which mechanism they cause or react to aging. So, they are moving closer to unlock the secret of biological aging which may help us to understand the cause of disease associated with old age and perhaps the solutions for them.

According to health statistics available at US Center and Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 3/4 of all deaths are among person age of 65 and older. Majority of deaths are due to chronic condition, including heart disease and cancer, which are 2 leading causes of death among that age group for the past 2 decade.

Old but happy


The following conditions and chronic diseases are common in the elderly


  • Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) -- Cancer 
  •  High blood pressure 
  •  Diabetes 
  •  Overweight and obesity 
  •  Alzheimer's disease
  •  Arthritis 
  •  Osteoporosis 
  •  Eye disorders such as cataract and glaucoma 
CDC indirectly explains that aging can only be healthy, enjoyable and productive if we can prevent and control all of all the diseases above and add quality to life.

How do aging happens? 


There are so many theories regarding biological human aging. They are primarily divided into 2 groups.

--Lifespan theory indicated aging follows biological timeline

--Wear and tear theory emphasize environmental assault to our system that gradually cause things to go wrong.

However, aging start from the cells. So, the prominent cellular and molecular hypothesis are described as follow, based on latest research on aging:

1. DNA damage and repair Research show that reducing DNA damage may have significant impact on prolong cellular life span. This can be done by polyphenols - resveratrol, natural phytonutrient found in certain plants. Resveratrol is proven to support health by modifying DNA damage, protect DNA as well as inducing DNA repair as shown by laboratory test.

2. Genetic regulators of aging Plant polyphenols have shown the ability to trigger key genetic regulators of cellular energy metabolism and longevity which positively impact the cellular aging process. A landmark study showed that resveratrol able to prevent negative impact of high fat diet to liver and heart, insulin resistance and blood sugar levels and even prevent damage of cellular mitochondria.

3. Mitochondrial aging and oxidative damage. To maintain cellular activities efficiently, optimal amount of mitochondria is needed. Laboratory studies indicate that certain polyphenols help in increasing the production of mitochondria and healthy mitochondrial function, and promote cellular energy biogenesis.

4. Accumulation of advanced glycation end product (AGE products) AGE protein are 1 type on protein that promote aging. Certain phytonutrients are shown to limit formation of AGE products, thus prevent their accumulation that cause negative impact to cardiovascular system. Research also suggest that consumption of specific grape polyphenols may have some benefit in influencing the progression of diabetic conditions.

The miracle of nature 


Though we are moving to a modern world, but for health and beauty we are seem to go back to our ancient time as many researches and studies discovered that the natural surrounding ingredients are the elements that are needed in human health. I share few natural sources that will benefit and prolong good health and longevity.

Muscadine grape 



The muscadine might be the answer to the people who are seeking natural ways to look and feel healthy. Scientist have found muscadine grapes filled with more healthy compounds than other grapes or food. Muscadine grapes and their seeds are one of the best source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The unique quality of muscadine grapes is their ability to heal themselves from disease, bacteria and fungi. This protective quality will also benefit those who consume this fruits, especially the seeds where phenolic compound are highly concentrated. Compare to other graped, muscadine grapes are 40 times more polyphenols, than found in red wine that is proven to prevent cardiovascular disease, to control blood sugar levels and aging process.

European elderberry 



Elderberries are one of plants that used for many centuries for its health benefits. They are use in folk medicine for variety of disease, including arthritis, asthma, constipation and common colds.

Elderberries contains high concentration of potassium and large amount of vitamin C and has been proven to strenghten immune system. Elderberry is also a great source of anthocyanins that contains 3 times as much as carotenoids. They are powerful antioxidants that protect cells from damage caused by environmental toxins, food toxins and stress. It also reduces the damaging effects of bad cholesterol and discourage platelets from sticking to blood vessel walls, thus reducing the risk of atherosclerosis. Apart form that, it also benefit night vision because it makes rhodopsin or visual purple in the eyes.

Polygonum Cuspidatum



Also known as Japanese Knotweed, is a natural source of revesratrol as well as red grape skin and red grape seed extract. Scientist have conducted many test and conclude that health benefits that brought by resveratrol are helps slow down the aging process, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, enhance athletic performance, and help in reducing weight.

Purple carrots



We are so use to orange purple, and purple carrots seem strange, but they are excellent source of vitamin A and contain phytochemicals including carotenoids, phenolics, polyacetylenes, isocoumarins and sesquiterpens. Phytochemicals are plant chemicals that have antioxidants, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and other disease preventive properties.

Purple carrots also contain anthocyanins which also have high concentration of antioxidants and display a variety effects on blood vessels, platelets and lipoproteins that enable to reduce risk of coronary heart disease.


Secret of longevity


If you wonder how could you get all these plants to maintain your health and beauty. All of them are hardly found in Malaysia or even they are here, the price are so so so expensive that you are not even think to have them. But, Shaklee has blend all of these plants to benefit people health in their botanical anti-aging syrup called Vivix.

If you want to know more about Vivix, just leave me a whatsapp --012 621 1883, but don't worry as we go along, I shall provide you the health benefits of Vivix, one of my favorite products.


Tuesday 8 March 2016

9 Reasons Why You Need Supplements. No 7 Is Hard To Believe

9 Reasons Why You Need Supplements. No 7 Is Hard To Believe

Once, an old man came to clinic for colds. Seeing the old man, thin built, muscle wasting, I think he’s not getting enough nutrition. So, I advised him to set more protein and put him on multivitamin for 2 month. To my surprise, my pharmacist entered the room and told me, we don’t give vitamin for that long. He can get those vitamins and mineral from his food. So I see. He got enough nutrition, vitamin and minerals from his food, so he is so thin. Or maybe I have to agree with him, taking synthetic vitamins will not help your health anyway.

There are so many people in this world, eat healthy diet in their life. Already follow food pyramid by USDA from the beginning and was told supplements were unnecessary as you already ate balanced diet, according to your belief. But to our surprise, eating healthy food also unable to protect from diseases. Many people are shamed by statements like “So you’re too lazy to eat real food? You think every health problem can be fixed by pills?

So as long as you still alive, you must get the right nutrients. How about supplements? Not necessary, right?

Here, I list 9 reasons why you should take supplements:

1. Some nutrient cannot be made by body

There are a lot of chemical process going on in our cell that need particular vitamin and mineral, but there a few nutrition which is essential to our body but body could not make in. For example, a few amino acids, vitamin C and omega-3.

 2. Soil depletion

 If you think you already eat fruits or vegetables and you think you already get enough vitamins and mineral, you might have to think twice. Improper farming practices depletes the soils of nutrients. When plants are repeatedly grown on the same land, the soil loses nutrients faster than they can be replaced. Over time, the plants have fewer nutrients to grow.

Fertilizer can add nutrients to the soil, but fertilizer contains just enough nutrition for the plants to survive until harvesting, but not enough to support human health. In addition, plants are not harvested fresh. They were pluck before they fully ripe, sit on trucks, shelves and shop for weeks or maybe months before they are eaten, so the nutrients decreases with times.

 3. Water depletion

 There are many minerals in our tap water which used to be safe for health. But currently the water is depleted of minerals due to modern production methods. Water filters remove important minerals such as magnesium. Without water filters, we are in danger of consuming large amounts of fluoride or deficient of magnesium or both.

 4. Low calorie diets are low nutrient diets

 It may sound crazy, but reduce calorie to be healthy is not a good idea. Consuming low calorie diet means consuming fewer total micronutrients. Humans are designed to consume large amount of calories, and it doesn’t make you fat. There is no such thing if you eat less, than you can escape physical activities, but make easier for you to become malnourished.

 According to a study published in Jurnal of Social Sports Nutritions, in June 2010 stated that most diets require 17,575 calories to supply all the essential micronutrients. If we eating less than that, we will be deficient in nutrients.

 Vegetables grown with pesticides also lower in phenolics than organic one. This is because polyphenols are produced to as a defense against bugs and pathogens. When there is no reason to protect themselves, the plants stop producing polyphenols. Unfortunately, organic is not always possible due to financial and logistic reasons. Even if you find organic foods, they are not necessarily better

 5. Toxin exposure

Toxins are present around us and our body need to get rid of the toxins. When more toxins are present, the more nutrient is needed to get rid of them. Here are some of the toxins your body has to content with:
  • Xenostrogen found in plastics, BPA, some molds and petroleum products which increases risk of develop fibroid.
  • Industrial solvents and cleaners 
Apart form that, we also get toxins naturally form our body, such as stress and lack of sleep. There are hundreds of other sources of stress that increases the body’s need for proper nutrition. Even if you get good diet, it’s almost impossible to get all nutrients from food.

6. Nutrient absorption declines with age

 Several studies show that children need more nutrition to support growth and elderly need more nutrient due to malabsorption. As people age, the body function decline, and they start to take medicine which interfere with nutrient absorption. This means more nutrient need to be taken to make end meets

7. Exercise increase nutrient needs

Athletes often think exercise is the key to a long and healthy life, but it is not. With every physical activities we do, more nutrient is needed to make energy. Let alone the energy needed to give you stamina, exercise also produce free radicals which in turn will damage your cells. If the exercises are are moderate, then body has enough antioxidants to neutralise them. But, strenous exercise cause extra free radicals, that cannot be handled by your immune system. That's explain why athletes also dies of heart attacks.

8. Suppelementation may help you live longer

Aging is a natural process, but it is not fun. If there are supplements that can delay this process, why not give a try? As long as there is undue risk or harm. There is good reason to believe higher intake of nutrients may prolong life. Few studies also prove them.

9. Real food may not provide nutrient needed. 

Whether you like it or not, you have to eat variety of food before you get all the nutrients the body needs, and real foods can be so expensive that most of unable to afford. Sometimes supplements are cheaper than real food.

We live in stressful, toxic world. Though our body designed to get rid of those toxins but we need something to help our body doing its function. If we a lack those nutrient, the toxin won’t go away even if you put your head in the sand.

So, even if you try to eat real, healthy and balanced food in theory, you can get all the nutrient you need but in practice, it is almost impossible. And supplement is including in one of method to preserve heath. If you're with me, just pm/ whatsapp me @ 012 621 1883

Thursday 3 March 2016

Preserving Health From Different Points of View

Preserving Health From Different Point Of Views

When I was a medical student, I came across one article about nutritional medicine. Confused. I was never taught, or I have never learned about nutrition in my medical school that can cure disease. So, that made me never realize there is a chapter talking about nutrition in my so-thick-medical-textbook until recently.
When I was in oncology department, I was once asked my specialist what she thinks about the idea of curing cancer patient with nutritional supplements? She told me it was a crap. It was just vitamin manufacturers that made up the stories. After that, I never asked. I never want to read or think about nutrition anymore. I started to train myself to become one the default doctors that are disease-oriented. One who study and look for diseases. The one who is pharmaceutically trained to treat diseases. Who learned so much about drugs; how it is absorb in our body, the side effects profiles of the drugs and work carefully to balance the benefits against any potential dangers.
I have not met a person who does not want to have excellent health. The sad truth is many of us are losing our health every single day. Some of us may have developed diabetes or maybe degenerative arthritis. Another suffered of stroke or heart attack. Still another may have to be told that he has metastatic cancer and only have few months to live. All of us agree that those are the disease when we get old, although everyone desire to live life happily and healthily until the end. But, don’t we realise that most of us suffer too long before we come to an end?

When I involved in ‘preventive medicine’ program, I started to think. Government spent a lot of money for this program. But, we don’t prevent disease, but this program is simply attempt to detect disease earlier. For example, mammogram, pap smear or even annual blood taking. They are all designed to detect those diseases earlier. But when it was detected in you, you already have the disease. So, how on earth it is called prevention?
We doctors, just want to know if patient have developed any disease, so that we can cure. But only little we know about healthy lifestyle, about healthy nutrition that necessary to actually protect people’s life. We are too busy look for and treating all the disease we face each day. So we end up treating the disease but not the patient as a whole.

Why doctors do not talk about vitamins?

When a patient asks doctors about nutritional supplements, it is like something is curling at our toes.  I used to presented answers in the past, “They didn’t work. You can get all the vitamins from the food you eat everyday”. If they still insist, then I will prescribed the multivitamins maybe for 1 or weeks. That’s it.
Maybe you also heard this from your doctors. I don’t know how, but somehow I involved in this Shaklee stuff after I look for some help as I was very weary at works. Having sleepless night as a houseman, I could not really cope-up with life. That brought me to consider 1 of Shaklee’s hot product – the protein powder. It does help. I felt more energetics though without sleeping the whole day, the whole night as during my time we still practice on-call system.
Mixing with those who consume the vitamins, I realised they are more healthy, and some of them even ‘cured’ from chronic diseases which previously we were taught, those disease cannot be cured, but controlled. We just wait for the complications to take toll by regularly monitor the patients.
Then I started do a research about nutritional supplements. What I have found is so astonishing. There are so many researches regarding effectiveness of nutritional supplements that I have never known.
Some doctors also scare to respond to nutrition, to protect their patients against any scheme or product that could be harmful to their health. Believe me, there are plenty of gimmicks and quackery peddled to publics. Most doctors must rely on scientific evidence before suggest any medicine to patients.
Another reason doctors have not accept the idea of nutritional supplements as a good preventive medicine is because most of them don’t fully understand the cause of degenerative disease. Most often, this is the interesting subjects for biochemist and scientific researchers, but it has little way to practise in medicine. Though they have discovered the root causes of these diseases, very few doctors apply this science to their patients, except I can see in orthopaedic clinics (bone clinics). We still wait until patients develop the disease, then to treat them accordingly. Doctors  seem more comfortable to allow the pharmaceutical companies to determined new therapy as they develop new drugs though  they know those drugs cannot cure the diseases.
Nutritional medicine is foreign to most doctors as well as the publics, but it is true. But, not all the vitamins will give good results. As for me, I am convinced with Shaklee products as they not stand with only testimonials, but Shaklee spend millions or maybe billions of money to conduct researches to prove that their products are safe, natural and effective. That’s what most of doctors hold on to, scientific proofs.
But the good news is you don’t have to be a doctor to start preserving your health you have. And mind you, nutritional medicine is no at all an alternative to modern medicine, but a complement to it. So, if you consume medicine from hospital, you are always welcome to try nutritional supplements without stop your medicine until instructed by your doctors to do so.
I did not say nutritional supplements are the solution for all health problem. If you sick, you still have to go to hospital. But if you are still healthy and want to preserve your health, then you can contact me for a chit-chat. Your health is my pleasure.
Fyda Noh : 012 621 1883