August 22, 2019

Your Weekly Dose of Health Inquiries (Week 4)

Food for Life hopes to inspire and provide tools for a holistic lifestyle. Hence, we are collecting and answering different health inquiries every week.

Here is the health inquiries for this week:

QUESTION 1

Q: Why do we need to eat food containing omega 3?

A: Omega 3 & omega 6 are necessary for life. Which means without it we cannot live and deficiencies in it will cause health issues. Our bodies do not produce omega 3 & 6. So we need to get it from food. Our brain consists of 70% fat while every single one of our cells have a fat layer that keeps it flexible, allowing nutrients to go in but also for toxins to go out.

These days, with pollution and toxin scares, we like to refer to both good sources and safe sources of nutrients.

Good and safe sources of omega 3 include

Sacha Inchi oil
Flax oil
Krill oil
And of course our favourite plant based Omega 3.6.9 Udo's Oil Blend

*notice that we recommend the oils and not the seeds as seeds are hard to digest and the amount of seeds you need to eat in order to get sufficient omega fatty acids is too much for the body to take. 2 tbsp or capsules of the oils are what you need for maintaining good health.

QUESTION 2

Q: I bought an Udo's Choice Super 8 in City

A: If one is not allergic to the ingredients of the capsule, we generally recommend taking probiotics supplements with the capsule together.

The reason is that not taking the capsule together with probiotics does affect the efficacy of the probiotics before it reaches to our gut. The function of the capsule allows the probiotic to pass through the stomach acid without being destroyed by the stomach acid or the decomposition of the digestive enzymes. By allowing that, probiotics can help maintain the balance of the intestinal flora and regulate the digestive system in the alkaline environment of the intestine.

QUESTION 3

Q: What is melatonin? Is it safe to take it everyday?

A: Melatonin is secreted by the pineal gland. Under normal circumstances, from 11:00 to 2:00 am, the most secretive period, people will want to sleep, and then the secretion will slowly decrease until about 8:00 in the morning.

When the eyes are opened, the pineal gland stops secreting. The secretion of pineal gland is very regular. As long as one day stays up late, the amount of melatonin secretion will decrease in the next day and it will take about 11 days to return to normal. Therefore, during this time, insomnia, sleepiness and yawning will occur.

Do you have the habit of turning on small lights when you sleep at night?? When you turn on the lights at night, the immune function will drop.. According to a study, turning on the lights at night will inhibit the body's secretion of melatonin, which will reduce the body's immune function.

Studies abroad have also shown that the rate of breast cancer of a night shift lady is twice as high as that of a normal lady.

There is a medical journal, melatonin is safe to eat every night.

QUESTION 4

Q: Want to know how to interpret the daily value of the supplement from its nutrition label. Do you have an article to read?

A: The % of the nutritional supplement or the packaged food in the section of the ingredient table represents a ""percentage of nutrient reference value"". The purpose is to provide the public with a quick reference to the nutritional value of food. The high percentage of ""nutrient reference value"" means that the food contains a large amount of a certain nutrient, and vice versa.

The nutrient in the picture you showed is 2220 times more than the recommended daily intake. To know if the high percentage of nutrients are harmful to us, you can refer to the "Tolerable Upper Intake Levels" of the nutrient. It tells us the maximum daily intake that is relatively safe for 97.5% of the population.

Just a side note that nutritional supplements or packaged foods in different countries may use different reference values, which are based on the residents of the country. Since the reference value of Chinese nutrients is specifically designed for Chinese people, those reference values are more suitable for Hong Kong local residents.

QUESTION 5

Q: How to prevent menopausal osteoporosis

A: Osteoporosis is often called the "silent disease" because bone loss occurs without symptoms. It is important to exercise regularly. Weight bearing exercises done 3 to 4 times a week are best to prevent osteoporosis. Walking, jogging, playing tennis, and dancing are all good weight-bearing exercises. In addition, strength and balance exercises may help you avoid falls, decreasing your chance of breaking a bone.

Eat food high in calcium, getting enough calcium throughout your life helps to build and keep strong bones.

For supplements, Calcium carbonate and calcium citrate are good forms of calcium supplements. Vit D is also important. Our body uses vitamin D to absorb calcium. Being out in the sun for a total of about 20 minutes every day helps most people’s bodies make enough vitamin D. You can also get vitamin D from eggs, fatty fish like salmon, cereal and milk fortified with vitamin D, as well as from supplements. The recommendation for taking D3 is : 1000 iu to 5000 iu.

QUESTION 6

Q: what is magnesium?

A: Magnesium is a common problem in modern people. The soil is poor and the nutrients in the food are lost. Why are we so deficient in magnesium? This is because the food on the table is no longer ""nutritious"".

The WHO conducted a survey that showed that modern people's magnesium intake is only about 60% of the daily recommended amount. Dr. Carolyn Dean said that modern industrialization has made the soil increasingly barren. The same fruits, vegetables and cereals have less than one-third of the vitamins and minerals in the last century.

The efficacy of magnesium includes preventing constipation, lowering blood pressure, fighting body inflammation, improving insomnia, etc. It is also an important nutrient against stress. In everyday life, stress is everywhere. When pressure is encountered, the adrenaline swells, consuming blood sugar and accelerating the heartbeat to resist stress. In the process, magnesium plays a very important role in helping to convert blood sugar into energy.

Magnesium-containing food:

Vegetables such as feather night cabbage, spinach, starchy vegetables such as pumpkin, red potato, burdock; seaweed vegetables such as red algae, kelp.
Whole grains such as buckwheat, millet, rye, and oats.
Nuts such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts.
Oils such as virgin olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil, and linseed oil.

But unfortunately the food we eat today is lack of nutrition! So supplementing magnesium is very important!

QUESTION 7

Q: why do we need to eat udo's oil together with krill oil?

A: Udo 369 plant seed oil is a basic oil. The oil obtained from daily food is the basic oil. Udos oil is one of the basic needs of one or two tablespoons per day, including omega 3 & 6

Dr. Udo explains 369 oil can not be replaced with krill oil. Dr. Udo said that we should eat quality oils (Udo 369 seed oils) every day and then eat one or two krill oils is the perfect and most effective!

95% base oil
5% oil supplement (krill oil) has better absorption by the assistant.

Especially some people who eat udos oil have no effect, it is recommended to add krill oil. If some people are sensitive to fish, it is best not to add krill oil.

Written by: Denise Tam, Holistic Nutritionist