Steve Yaplifestyle.steve@thesundaily.com
EXTENSIVE studies on mammals over the past 75 years suggest that by reducing 30% of calories from food and beverages, disproportionately higher health benefits can be reaped.
The bio-markers of ageing in humans seem to be affected in similar ways. So your rate of ageing is rather strongly influenced by your diet and lifestyle habits.
Mammals on calorie-restricted (CR) diets live much longer and are generally free from most common chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer.
► The CR diet
This diet is not about reducing the quantity of food intake but eating less food and beverages high in calories, such as deep-fried and oily food, refined starches, refined sugars, soft drinks, sweet fruits and milk protein.
Good sources of complex carbohydrates include bamboo shoot, yam, asparagus, lentils, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, berries, citric fruits, and most beans.
The CR diet is not for weight loss or fat reduction. It is a way of eating that maximises our chances of living longer on this planet.
► Benefits of CR diet
The SIR2 gene, which promotes longevity, is activated by, among others, the CR diet. High-calorie foods put stress on the body’s digestive system and create lots of free radicals that can speed up ageing.
Lower blood sugar means significantly lower risks of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, candidiasis (fungal infection), tumour growth and cancer.
Almost all major chronic diseases or health disorders are linked to excess sugar or calorie intake over a prolonged period.
Contrary to popular belief, taking sweet fruits (high in fructose) can cause insulin-resistance (pre-diabetes), hypertension (high blood pressure), uric acid elevation, gout, kidney damage, candidiasis, low general immunity and heart disease.
For fruits to be healthy, they should be organic, rich in enzymes and vitamins, and very low in fructose.
Fruits and other ingredients used in preparing the local delicacy, rojak, are acceptable. However, canned fruit juices are a no-no as they contain added ‘toxins’ in the form of sugar, colours, artificial flavours and preservatives.
Even fresh fruit juices served in restaurants contain added table sugar (sucrose) which, surprisingly, is slightly less harmful than pure fructose.
Consuming high-calorie food and beverages on an empty stomach, such as during breakfast, can lead to a major hunger spell, as well as blood sugar disorders and hormonal imbalances, in the hours to follow.
The health issues created have a major impact on a person’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
On the other hand, a low-calorie breakfast with adequate plant protein intake can create an opposite, more positive, effect, which is highly beneficial to those who are suffering from hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia (blood fat disorder) or heart disease.
Refined starches such as noodles, biscuits, buns, bread and breakfast cereals not only lower one’s immunity against infections, they thicken the blood and also cause abnormal blood fats, insulin disorders, fatty liver, slow bile flow, gallstones, diabetes and osteoporosis, and even promote tumour growth.
► Mental health
Even a 20% reduction in the total calories we consume can help preserve our brain volume and functions for years to come.
Normal ageing is accompanied by brain shrinkage as neurons are gradually lost. Refined starch and sugar promote Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and senility even though our brain uses glucose as its main energy source.
► Food selection
Apart from cutting back on high-calorie meat, milk products, refined starches and sugars, those on a CR diet should also carefully select the type of protein they eat.
WHO endorses the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS), which ranks protein foods based on their relative digestibility scales. The more digestible a protein source, the more of it is absorbed by our body.
Protein has higher calories than starch/sugar, but it suppresses appetite by stimulating the hormone leptin. What makes refined starch or sugar much more fattening is its effect on hormones like insulin and leptin, blood fat and triglyceride levels.
Dairy products are ranked the highest in terms of absorbability and, therefore, offer higher calorie impact on the body than, say, peanuts and lentils.
This may explain why milk products have been linked to heart disease. Those on a vegetarian diet consisting of beans and lentils have far lower incidence of plaque accumulation in their heart arteries.
Dietary fats are digested by the enzyme lipase. Fat absorption can be reduced by green, yellow, Oolong, or black tea rich in polyphenols (catechins) which inhibit lipase secretion leading to less fat (calories) being absorbed in the intestines.
Herbal tea from Hujang which is rich in resveratrol mimic the effect of a CR diet, whereas tea from the fruit extracts of Guarana or Garcinia Cambogia can reduce appetite by some 20%.
Deep-fried nuts contain harmful trans fat and are high in calories too. But pine nuts contain pinolenic acid (an edible fatty acid) which stimulates secretion of hunger suppressing hormones resulting in a reduced desire to eat excessively along with early satiety.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/391231
EXTENSIVE studies on mammals over the past 75 years suggest that by reducing 30% of calories from food and beverages, disproportionately higher health benefits can be reaped.
The bio-markers of ageing in humans seem to be affected in similar ways. So your rate of ageing is rather strongly influenced by your diet and lifestyle habits.
Mammals on calorie-restricted (CR) diets live much longer and are generally free from most common chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and cancer.
► The CR diet
This diet is not about reducing the quantity of food intake but eating less food and beverages high in calories, such as deep-fried and oily food, refined starches, refined sugars, soft drinks, sweet fruits and milk protein.
Good sources of complex carbohydrates include bamboo shoot, yam, asparagus, lentils, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, berries, citric fruits, and most beans.
The CR diet is not for weight loss or fat reduction. It is a way of eating that maximises our chances of living longer on this planet.
► Benefits of CR diet
The SIR2 gene, which promotes longevity, is activated by, among others, the CR diet. High-calorie foods put stress on the body’s digestive system and create lots of free radicals that can speed up ageing.
Lower blood sugar means significantly lower risks of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, candidiasis (fungal infection), tumour growth and cancer.
Almost all major chronic diseases or health disorders are linked to excess sugar or calorie intake over a prolonged period.
Contrary to popular belief, taking sweet fruits (high in fructose) can cause insulin-resistance (pre-diabetes), hypertension (high blood pressure), uric acid elevation, gout, kidney damage, candidiasis, low general immunity and heart disease.
For fruits to be healthy, they should be organic, rich in enzymes and vitamins, and very low in fructose.
Fruits and other ingredients used in preparing the local delicacy, rojak, are acceptable. However, canned fruit juices are a no-no as they contain added ‘toxins’ in the form of sugar, colours, artificial flavours and preservatives.
Even fresh fruit juices served in restaurants contain added table sugar (sucrose) which, surprisingly, is slightly less harmful than pure fructose.
Consuming high-calorie food and beverages on an empty stomach, such as during breakfast, can lead to a major hunger spell, as well as blood sugar disorders and hormonal imbalances, in the hours to follow.
The health issues created have a major impact on a person’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
On the other hand, a low-calorie breakfast with adequate plant protein intake can create an opposite, more positive, effect, which is highly beneficial to those who are suffering from hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia (blood fat disorder) or heart disease.
Refined starches such as noodles, biscuits, buns, bread and breakfast cereals not only lower one’s immunity against infections, they thicken the blood and also cause abnormal blood fats, insulin disorders, fatty liver, slow bile flow, gallstones, diabetes and osteoporosis, and even promote tumour growth.
► Mental health
Even a 20% reduction in the total calories we consume can help preserve our brain volume and functions for years to come.
Normal ageing is accompanied by brain shrinkage as neurons are gradually lost. Refined starch and sugar promote Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and senility even though our brain uses glucose as its main energy source.
► Food selection
Apart from cutting back on high-calorie meat, milk products, refined starches and sugars, those on a CR diet should also carefully select the type of protein they eat.
WHO endorses the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS), which ranks protein foods based on their relative digestibility scales. The more digestible a protein source, the more of it is absorbed by our body.
Protein has higher calories than starch/sugar, but it suppresses appetite by stimulating the hormone leptin. What makes refined starch or sugar much more fattening is its effect on hormones like insulin and leptin, blood fat and triglyceride levels.
Dairy products are ranked the highest in terms of absorbability and, therefore, offer higher calorie impact on the body than, say, peanuts and lentils.
This may explain why milk products have been linked to heart disease. Those on a vegetarian diet consisting of beans and lentils have far lower incidence of plaque accumulation in their heart arteries.
Dietary fats are digested by the enzyme lipase. Fat absorption can be reduced by green, yellow, Oolong, or black tea rich in polyphenols (catechins) which inhibit lipase secretion leading to less fat (calories) being absorbed in the intestines.
Herbal tea from Hujang which is rich in resveratrol mimic the effect of a CR diet, whereas tea from the fruit extracts of Guarana or Garcinia Cambogia can reduce appetite by some 20%.
Deep-fried nuts contain harmful trans fat and are high in calories too. But pine nuts contain pinolenic acid (an edible fatty acid) which stimulates secretion of hunger suppressing hormones resulting in a reduced desire to eat excessively along with early satiety.
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/391231
