Health is Wealth

Is that exercise bike in your bedroom gathering dust? You can still turn the room into a fitness haven – but forget the bike and head straight to bed: Having vigorous sex can burn off about 130 calories per half hour!! You can burn off two kilograms a year with 135 lovemaking sessions – that works out to 2.6 times a week.

And there are other health benefits to habitual sex: British researchers who examined 914 middle-age men over 20 years found that frequent sex might help the heart. Moreover, results from a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that frequent ejaculation may be related to a lower risk of prostate cancer.

So for the sake of your waist and heart – not to mention a few other body parts – consider the horizontal workout. After all, it’s a lot more fun than heading to the gym.

Article extracted from Reader’s Digest December 2007 issue.

Posted on February 9th, 2010 by shireen
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Though I am a health freak, I tend to have a weakness for certain snacks and carbs like cookies, cakes, bread and the occasional sinful Cheezels, Twisties and fish muruku And do you know that I eat my carbs mostly in the morning and during lunch time? After 3pm, I try to refrain from carbs. I have a rather heavy breakfast, a medium heavy lunch and a light dinner. That’s because I am busiest in the morning and afternoon, minding my 3 kids and running about. So the calories and fat will be burnt more efficiently during that time. By evening, my activities are slowed down, thus logically calories intake and carbs should also be reduced. I hardly ever eat supper, hate the idea of having food in my tummy when I’m sleeping. That will surely be transformed into fat and added to my jelly belly! In between meals, I try hard not to snack on carbs, though I will snack on cherry tomatoes, fruits and nuts.

Some researchers suggest that eating late at night, when our body says we should be sleeping, will disrupt our circadian rhythm, or internal clock, which governs not only our sleep cycles but feeding and activity cycles as well

Here’s an excerpt of an interesting article from healthnews.com:

“Sleep has a very important role in metabolism,” said lead author Deanna Arble, a neuroscientist at Northwestern. “While I do not believe the field is advanced enough to prescribe appropriate eating times for each individual, I believe we can at least say that humans should avoid eating during their normal sleeping phase because this could lead to increased weight gain.”

But Arble says it is also important not to lose sight of the importance of total caloric intake. “If you are taking in excess calories daily, the time you eat probably doesn’t matter—you will still gain weight,” she said. “Similarly, if by eating small meals for dinner you decrease your overall caloric intake, that could be more beneficial than timing.”

For someone not consuming excess calories each day, and they’re doing everything by the book but still gain weight, maybe look into the time of day you’re eating. It could be a factor.”

Posted on February 7th, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: Diet and losing weight, Me | 1 Comment »

Many of us like to store uncut, whole watermelons in the fridge so that we can eat it when it’s chilled. Chilled watermelons taste so much better and so refreshing, especially on a hot sweltering day. But did you know that it may be healthier at room temperature. Why? Cancer-fighting carotenoids still develop after a melon is picked, but cold temps seem to slow the process.

Posted on February 6th, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: Interesting Information | 1 Comment »

Lemonade may prevent kidney stones. In a long-term study, Duke University doctors found that people who drank a daily mix of lemon juice and water had increased levels of urinary citrate (low levels are linked to stones). Avoid sugary, calorie-laden mixes and stick to ’ades made with real lemon juice.

Posted on February 5th, 2010 by shireen
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Having 3 kids with 3 different colorful characters is interesting! My first born is caring, responsible, sweet and thoughtful. My second born is bold, rambunctious, loud, smart and entertaining. With her around, I don’t need to go to entertainment centers to find amusement. She entertains me with her antics everyday, sometimes to the point of making my blood boil. My youngest is still young and I don’t know what type of character she will have. Right now, she’s still manageable – cute and lovable but her negative traits are slowly but surely rearing their ugly heads. I hope she will outgrow them as she grows.

Posted on February 5th, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: BKUT | No Comments »

If only I had the extra wherewithal, not only will I execute my plan of setting up an eatery for the health conscious and weight watchers immediately. I will also invest in another unit of the condo that we are staying in now and perhaps also invest in an Austin real estate. Living in an expensive city and having to feed 3 kids plus a domestic maid on just one household income is no joke, I tell ya!

Posted on February 5th, 2010 by shireen
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Did you know that sitting in an air conditioning room makes us fat? Without air conditioning, we have to expend energy and burn calories to regulate body temperature; with air conditioner, it’s done for us.

Modern technologies such as air conditioning and heating help keep us in “the thermoneutral zone,” a temperature range where we do not have to regulate our body temperature, a report suggests.

When our bodies are above or below this zone, we increase the amount of energy we spend, which “decreases energy stores,” such as fat, the study’s authors say.

The above article was extracted from Reader’s Digest and ABC News Medical Unit.

Posted on February 5th, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: Interesting Information | 1 Comment »

I love pan meen but I hate the carbo that goes with the noodles. Pan Meen is strictly a no-no food for dieters because of the high carbo content of the noodles. So this is how I eat the Pan Meen:

A bowl full of protein and fibre MINUS the noodles — minced pork, deep fried anchovies, fish balls, meat balls, mushrooms, wood ear fungus, anchovies-pork soup and lots of green veggie.   Sometimes I request for an egg in the bowl of ‘liu’ (ingredients).  I tell ya, this bowl of protein and fibre can really fill you up!

Posted on February 4th, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: Diet and losing weight | 3 Comments »

After reading an article from the February 2009 issue of the Reader’s Digest, I have been reminding myself to eat SLOWLY!! Most busy mothers, especially mothers with many kids have to eat hurriedly and gobble down their food without really enjoying and savoring their food. If you are one of them, I am sure you will be reminding yourself to eat SLOWLY… chew properly before swallowing your food, enjoy your food and eat slowly lol!!

Here’s the Reader’s Digest article :

Eating slowly could help you win the battle of the bulge. A study of more than 3000 Japanese adults published in the British Medical Journal found that those who ate their meals quickly were about twice as likely to be obese as their slow-munching counterparts.
People who ate quickly and who ate until they were full were three times more likely to be obese. The research supports previous evidence that people tend to consume more calories when they eat quickly, but also that eating quickly is linked to obesity regardless of how many calories are eaten.

Dr Elizabeth Denney-Wilson, an obesity expert from the University of New South Wales, says research suggests people can learn to eat more slowly and recognise their internal cues for fullness. She adds that while it is not known what drives us to eat quickly, behaviour such as eating while distracted and eating fast food on the go may be to blame.

Setting aside meal times and chatting between bites can help slow the rate of eating and allow your body to send fullness signals before you’ve overeaten.

Posted on February 3rd, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: Interesting Information, Diet and losing weight | 2 Comments »

If my plan of setting up a health eatery materializes, I think the most expensive equipment that I would have to purchase would be the POS systems or Point Of Sale system for restaurants and the kitchen equipment. It would run into tens of thousands of bucks or even more. My other business idea is to set up an organic shop with a retail outlet, complete with online shopping facility. I think setting up an organic shop requires a lower capital as not many equipment are needed. All I need are some shelves, cabinets and a good POS system. If only I had a hundred thousand bucks extra in hand, I would go straight and execute my business plan. Seriously, if anyone is interested to be an active partner or a sleeping partner in my business plan, I’m open for discussion!

Posted on February 3rd, 2010 by shireen
Filed under: BKUT | No Comments »