How to eat well

The more I look into how to eat well, the less I seem to know. For many years, we have been told to avoid fat, animal fats mostly, such as fatty meat, lard and butter. Then we found out that trans fat is bad for you, so we avoided Margarine. Then it seemed that carbohydrates might have been the culprit that made us fat and caused us to have a whole range of other metabolic related diseases.

We cannot just eat protein for our caloric needs. Fibers are attached to carbs. and essential fatty acids are, well, essential. Another factor complicated protein intake is that studies showed methionine restriction without energy restriction extends lifespan in laboratory animals. Methionine is one of the essential amino acids that we humans cannot make ourselves, but is a must for us.

In the end, I will stick to the diet that I grew up with, which consists of rice, vegetables, fruits, nuts, shellfish and fish.

Two ingredients that I will avoid eating as much as possible, which are:

Refined Sugar (sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose, maltose, Maltodextrin etc.)
Seed oils (often labeled as vegetable oils, olive oil is the exception)

The American know-how has made these two ingredients wonderfully cheap so they are everywhere in the processed foods. The Mediterranean diet is believed to be healthy. They use animal fat for cooking and olive oil for everything else. While growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution, cooking was done with either lard or peanut oil. Peanut oil (and canola oil) is better than most other seed oil, as they contain less linoleic acid.

When you avoided these two ingredients, you avoided almost all of the processed foods, which unfortunately also include chocolate and bread, the two foods I miss most whenever I go healthy eating.

In the end, I will adhere to eating with moderation.

Pecans provide neurological protection

via eurekalert

"Study suggests pecans may delay progression of motor neuron degeneration

Lowell, MA – Eating about a handful of pecans each day may play a role in protecting the nervous system, according to a new animal study published in the current issue of Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research. The study, conducted at the Center for Cellular Neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, suggests adding pecans to your diet may delay the progression of age-related motor neuron degeneration. This may include diseases like amyotropic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Researchers suggest vitamin E – a natural antioxidant found in pecans – may provide a key element to neurological protection shown in the study. Antioxidants are nutrients found in foods that help protect against cell damage, and studies have shown, can help fight diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer and heart disease. Pecans are the most antioxidant-rich tree nut and are among the top 15 foods to contain the highest antioxidant capacity, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

"These findings suggest regular consumption of pecans may provide significant nutritive and antioxidant benefits for your body," said lead researcher Thomas B. Shea, PhD.

Dr. Shea and his research team carried out a number of laboratory studies on three groups of mice specifically bred to demonstrate severe decline in motor neuron function that are commonly used in studies of ALS. Each of the three groups was fed a control diet or one of two diets containing differing amounts of pecans ground into their food. Standard testing methods were used to determine how well the mice scored relative to motor neuron functions, both before and after they were provided with one of the three diets.

Mice provided a diet supplemented with pecans displayed a significant delay in decline in motor function compared to mice receiving no pecans. Mice eating the diet with the most pecans (0.05%) fared best. Both pecan groups fared significantly better than those whose diets contained no pecans. The result was based on how the mice performed in highly specific tests, each of which compared mice on the control diet with mice consuming pecan-enriched diets."

Drinking coffee may reduce the risk of diabetes

via eurekalert

"Scientists are reporting new evidence that drinking coffee may help prevent diabetes and that caffeine may be the ingredient largely responsible for this effect. Their findings, among the first animal studies to demonstrate this apparent link, appear in ACS' bi-weekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Fumihiko Horio and colleagues note that past studies have suggested that regular coffee drinking may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. The disease affects millions in the United States and is on the rise worldwide. However, little of that evidence comes from studies on lab animals used to do research that cannot be done in humans.

The scientists fed either water or coffee to a group of laboratory mice commonly used to study diabetes. Coffee consumption prevented the development of high-blood sugar and also improved insulin sensitivity in the mice, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes. Coffee also caused a cascade of other beneficial changes in the fatty liver and inflammatory adipocytokines related to a reduced diabetes risk. Additional lab studies showed that caffeine may be "one of the most effective anti-diabetic compounds in coffee," the scientists say."

Planning financially for the far future via TFSA

Since last year, Canadian government has introduced Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) to encourage its citizens to save. We (any one holding a social security number and over 18) are allowed to contribute $5000.00 each year to a TFSA. Investment income earned in a TFSA is tax-free. Unfortunately, contributions are not tax-deductible.

I just did some tabulation and found out that if you contribute the maximum amount annually for 40 years and assuming you earn 5% return yearly and the interest is added back to the principal, after 40 years you shall have $634,199.00. Of course we do not know the value of money after 40 years.

What I have decided to do for the TFSA is to buy dividend paying stocks (only Canadian stocks are allowed) with yield at 4.5% or over. Assuming the price of the stock can keep up with the inflation, then after 40 years I shall have $634,199.00 in today’s value. Wow! That shall keep me fed till I die. The down side – stocks can go to zero. Since only Canadian stocks are allowed, diversification (among stocks yielding 4.5% or over) might be difficult.

The thing about the compounded interest is that you have to have a very long time span. With the above number, after 20 years you only accumulate $173,596.00 which does not look very attractive.

There is a saying that you should live as if you were to die tomorrow, dream as if you were to live forever. How about financial planning? I think that I will take the middle road, plan financially as if I am to live till 105.

We are grateful for having an opportunity to help

Today during our daily walk, we came by a cell phone lying on the grass. We were trying to figure out a way to arrange to have it returned to the owner (trying to call someone on its address book etc.). Then we saw a woman hurrying towards us, and knew it was her who lost the phone.

We felt very grateful that we were given the opportunity to see a happy woman leaving with her phone. We are grateful that we are able to help to eliminate someone’s distress of losing a phone.

Meditation or Oxygen Restriction?

There is an interesting article which explores intermittent calorie and oxygen restriction as means for periodic rejuvenation: