Maple syrup

Maple syrup

A syrup usually made from sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees. Sucrose is the most prevalent sugar in maple syrup. Sucrose is the combination of fructose (fruit sugar) and glucose.

Maple syrup varies in colours. The lighter the colour, the milder the flavour. Light syrup are mainly for table use, and the dark grades of syrup are used primarily for cooking and baking.

Every 100 grams of Maple syrup contains 1,093 kJ (261 kcal) energy, 67.09 g Carbohydrate, 0.20 g fat, vitamin B group, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Potassium and Zinc.

It is always important to reading the packaging when purchasing Maple syrup:
"maple syrup" must be made almost entirely from maple sap. "Maple-flavoured" syrups include maple syrup but may contain additional ingredients.
"Pancake syrup", "waffle syrup", "table syrup", and similarly named syrups are substitutes which are less expensive than maple syrup, which have no genuine maple content, and less nutrition content too.

Protein shakes?

Protein shakes?

Protein shakes are gaining populaorty to athletes and dieters and body builders as an easy way to build muscle or lose weight.

Protein shakes can be made of whey, casein, soy, egg or even pea protein. It can provide a quic

k, convenient meal substitute or a supplement to the diet. There are some benefits of using protein powders to make protein shakes, but there are also drawbacks.

Excess calories:
If you eat meat, dairy or eggs daily, your usually obtain enough protein from your diet. Unless additional protein is needed because of disease, advanced age, weight loss surgery or athletic training, adding protein shakes to a well-balanced diet also increases calorie intake that may lead to weight gain

Excess protein:
If the individual already consumes enough protein through food, adding one or more protein shakes per day for a long period of time may have harmful effects on the body. Firstly, our body needs all the types of protein to sustain growth. Protein shakes usually contains a large amount of very few types of protein, which competes and influences the absorption of other proteins. Secondly, kidneys and liver are responsible for breaking down protein. Overloading these organs could cause or worsen diseases.

Cost:
Eating low-fat, high-protein foods such as lean meat and chicken may cost less than purchasing protein shake products. And they will provide all the proteins needed for our body.

Source: http://www.livestrong.com/article/277966-the-pros-cons-of-protein-shakes/

The Plate Model

A plate model, similar to the more commonly known Food Pyramid.

Plate model shows the type and amount of food we should be eating in a meal and daily.

50% of our meal should be consist of fruits and vegetables, 25% should be consist of staple foods such as rice, bread, pasta, legumes etc. The last 25% should be consist of lean protein and dairy. It may not be possible for all of our meals to be have the exact contents, so it is important to make sure you get the right type and amount of food throughout the day.

The reason why takeaways and fast foods are considered unhealthy, is because they usually consist of more than 50% of meat, 40% of staples, and a tiny bit of fruit/veg which most of us don't even bother to touch!

All about sodium!

                           (photo source: google)
All about sodium!

^we get 90% of our sodium from table salt (sodium chloride).

^The most amount of table salt we should consume is 3800mg/day, which is 3.8 grams!

^beware of "hidden" salt in food. Processed foods such as ham, cheese, bacon and even corn flakes, cookies and muesli, tinned foods and smoked foods use salt as a preservative, thus they contain alot of salt.

^Sodium deficiency could result in low blood pressure, tiredness, diarrhoea, kidney failure and heart diseases.

^consuming too much sodium could result in osteoporosis (sodium increase the excretion of calcium!), high blood pressure, oedema, heart and kiney disease.

Alcohol--What's the limit?

Alcohol--What's the limit?

Most of us have legendary stories behind the word "alcohol".  We all know that alcohol beverages can make us feel on top of the world, and also make us sick as a dog. Do you know how much is too much, and what can happen to our body if we consume too much alcohol?

Common disease cause by excessive alcohol consumption are hangover, liver disease and alcohol poisoning.

Diseases that are less known by people are:
-FAS (foetal alcohol syndrome), a disease caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy which influeces the baby's appearance and intelligence.
-Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, most common in binge drinkers, result in confusion, memory loss and psychosis.
-Chronic vitamin deficiency, alcohol increases the excretion of vitamins.
-Cancer, alcohol consumption increases the risk of mouth cancer, pharynx cancer, esophagus cancer, liver cancer and rectal cancer.
-Chronic gastritis, gastric ulcers and pancreatitis.
-Hypertension/ High blood pressure and heart disease, caused by more than 3 drinks per day. Alittle bit of wine everyday may help lower your blood pressure, but DON'T over do it!

Recommended Guidelines:
Men: 2-3 drinks/day, less if driving

Women: 1-2 drinks/day, none during pregnancy

1 drink = 1 beer [340ml], 1 glass of wine [125ml] or 1 shot of spirits [25ml]

We are seeing  "Low GI" logo more often on food pacakaging now. Have you wondered what "Low GI" means?

GI stands for Glycemic Index. In simple words, GI is a system to classify foods according to how quickly the energy of the food is absorbed by the body after it's eaten.

Examples of low GI foods are: wholewheat bread, brown rice, raw fruits, nuts, low fat milk and yoghurt, etc. A diet consists of low GI foods can treat and prevent Diabetes Mellitus and aid in weight loss due to increased feeling of fullness after meal.

High GI food are usually foods with "empty carbs", such as white bread, white rice, pasta, cakes, chips, potatos etc. These foods are very easily and quickily absorbed, leaving you feeling hungry faster and seeks out to eat more.

Meal Guildelines:
   -2 low GI foods per day
or -1 low GI food per meal
or -replace 50% of staple food  as low GI staples.

For more info on Low GI and high GI foods, you can visit: http://www.the-gi-diet.org/

Iron supplements?

Regulation of iron uptake is impaired in some people, it is a genetic defect resulting in susceptibility to excessive iron intake which can lead to several iron overload disorders.

Many people have this genetic defect and are not aware of their condition, which can lead to health complications when a large amount of iron is consumed. For this reason, iron supplements is NOT advised, unless you are iron deficient and have consulted a doctor or dietetian.

Hemochromatosis is one of the disorders caused by this genetic defect, and it may cause disease in between 0.3 and 0.8% of Caucasians.

What is this?

Welcome to Dietetics on the go!

According to medical dictionary, dietetics is the science of diet and nutrition/applying nutritional principles to the planning and preparation of foods and regulation of the diet in relation to both health and disease.

Dietetics is still quite unfamiliar to the general population, however dietetians have been around for many many years as a part of health care team, just like your doctors, nurses and dentists. Diet contributes to a great part of our health and dietetics is becoming a important factor to maintain our well-being.

The aim of creating this blog is to share information regarding dietetics, nutrition, health eating, healthy lifestyle, fitness, diet-related diseases and more.

The information on this page is not intended and should not replace medical and professional treatment and consultation. Viewer's descretion advised.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to comment:) You can also subscribe to this blog by typing your email address on the top of the page and press ^submit^ hidden behind the dandelion:)