Gone Bananas: Home Made Yogurt

It was a very rainy Sunday yesterday and it didn't affect our plans to have a day in at all. I had a very interesting chat with Wee Siang about his experiences in making yogurt and I was intrigued enough to give it a go!

Making Yogurt
The only thing that I needed to buy was milk and yogurt.

I poured the milk into a pot and heated it till it frothed and then left it to cool.

After it has cooled sufficiently, add in the yogurt and stir. I read that you're supposed to add it when it's around 110 ºF. I used a thermometer and added the yogurt it when it was around 40+ ºC.

Next, I covered it and left it for about 6-7 hours, giving time for it to ferment.

The result? Instead of a cup of yogurt I got a whole pot full of it.

Keep a small batch to re-use in future yogurt making sessions and keep it in the fridge. I used approximately 700+ml of milk and I got the above bounty. Not too bad I think.

With honey and banana

The taste is very plain and the texture surprisingly nice. You can add honey, sugar or anything to it as you like. It's very easy to do and we will definitely be doing more in the future. To top it off, we made banana cookies as well to go with the yogurt.

Next time we'll be using chocolate milk.

Getting Six Packs

I made it my aim to get a six pack for 2010 and by October that year, I claimed partial victory. The problem was that the six pack showed up on a part time basis - that is, I have to stand in a certain position while flexing them and they tend to disappear after a heavy meal.

Throughout 2011, almost everything took a back seat as we prepared for the birth of my son. After CNY 2012, I've decided to overhaul my entire life, taking a look at what my priorities were and how I can change my life to fit that. There were many motivations, and one of the things that we started doing was focus on health and how we can eat better. That added with exercise and I'm pleased to say that I've finally offered my abs a full time position (with off days for long weekends and festivities).

I want to share a few pointers with all who are aspiring to get theirs as well.

Abs are made in the kitchen. 
I've been exercising pretty hard and all for 2 years but still the 6 packs weren't showing up. The biggest change I made was changing the food I consumed. We cut down on processed foods as much as we could and focused on eating wholesome foods. Instead of eating out we brought our lunch box to work. We allowed ourselves to eat out once or twice a week though. Foods that we ate more of included a variety of vegetables, lean meat (fish, chicken), sweet potatoes, etc.

Salmon + Spinach + Cheese + Garlic Bread

Interestingly, before we started out on this, my weight was hovering around 64-65 and now it's 62-63. I didn't lose much weight, which wasn't my goal in the first place, but lost just enough for the six pack to appear. Make time also to eat the sinful foods that you crave, don't totally cut it out but work around it. I've mentioned about ego depletion before and forcing your body to an extreme may cause a backlash.

Another thing to note is don't eat too heavy a supper. The main meal should be dinner and then maybe a light snack an hour before bed, overeating at night is very bad for your abs.

As for workout routine. I do both cardio and strength training with every session with more emphasis on strength (30%-70%), but this depends a lot on the individual.

Honestly I don't think there's one magic thing you can do to get a six pack, but rather it's the combination of habits, diet and exercise. So just keep at it, don't give up and let me know how it goes for you.

Hate Broccoli?

I know I used to. These days I've made peace with it, eating it for its benefits rather than for its taste. But there's way to get around that bitterness and what you do is overcook the damn thing.

There's this article that I enjoyed reading and I must admit I wouldn't have a clue what it was going on about if I'd read it 4 months earlier. After my son's delivery, the confinement lady (CL) prepared all our meals. We purposely went and bought a rice cooker (yes we didn't have one before that) that allowed for steaming. CL would cook the rice and to save time, (and tend to the baby and other chores) she set the rice to cook with the vegetables in the above compartment to steam. Many things have been said about not overcooking vegetables and the decreasing nutrient contents with prolonged cooking, but I guess that was the last thing on CL's mind.

The results were surprising. The vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, snow peas) became soft, sweet and pleasantly disintegrated without much chewing. Broccoli? Sweet? You'd better believe it. So what happened here?

"It's true that when vegetables, especially cruciferous vegetables, are cooked, the damage to the plant's tissue brings about reactions between compounds that are usually kept separate," he said—hence the sulfuric aroma. But, he emphasized, if you continue to cook these foods, "at a certain point the aroma will dissipate, and you'll end up with the flavor compounds left in the plant, including its sugars—especially if it's cooked and served in a way that the sugars aren't poured out with the cooking water."                                                     -from 'The Soft Approach' article

So here's a tip when cooking for picky eaters who hate greens, overcook it! It is a fact that the anti-cancer properties of broccoli is highest when raw (yucks!) or lightly cooked, but I think it's a better compromise this way, eating diminished nutrients vs none at all.

Allergies

For about a month, my lips have been very dry. Cracked. Flaky. Constant applications of lip balm gave relief for a while but in the morning it will hurt like I've been kissing sandpaper the whole night. To worsen things, the sandpaper gave me an STD - it got swollen and itched. So I tried cutting down on salty foods, drinking lots of water and all but it got no better. Eventually I realized that my lips were a lot itchier right after I brushed my teeth.

I'm allergic to the toothpaste? Heh? I just bought this toothpaste a few days back. Some more this is the second tube I've bought and I've been using it for ...oh.... a month. Ahh...

It made a lot of sense after that - like why the lip balm had no effect even after so long. I immediately bought another toothpaste and almost overnight the symptoms disappeared. Its still a bit dry and it'll probably take some time for it to go back to normal but what am I going to do with the full tube of toothpaste? I could throw it away. Or I could remind myself to never buy that toothpaste again..

I've decided to keep it.

Fructose - Something To Worry About?

There was this middle-aged man who was so frustrated with having many episodes of gout attacks. He told me that he's already cut down everything imaginable - no red meat, no kacang, no seafood and no alcohol at all. Still, he will be needing painkillers and gout medication almost every other week. When I pressed further, I discovered that he has quite an active lifestyle. Eventually we traced the problem down to his consumption of 100-plus. He drinks two 1.5L bottles everyday...for as long as he can remember. I read sometime back that there's a link between sweetened/sugary drinks and gout and suggested he stop the 100-plus. He did. The incidence of gout attacks totally reduced and he's bought  painkillers just once in the past year.

The keen business mind might point out that I just killed off a source of repeating income and that gives me a lot of food for thought. More importantly there's all this buzz going on about sugar and fructose in particular. Check out the video by Prof Lustig from UCSF, it's a full length lecture but a very compelling case against fructose.

Unfortunately fructose is very common in our modern diet and it mostly comes from High Fructose Corn Syrup (55% Fructose - 45% Glucose) and table sugar / sucrose /gula (50% Fructose - 50% Glucose) used as sweeteners in many beverages and foodstuffs. Recently due to the bad rap against HCFS, they've changed the name to corn syrup (sirap pepejal jagung), but its the same thing. So how exactly does fructose increase uric acid?

Eh? Whadaya mean bollocks?

It does far more damage than just increasing the uric acid concentrations in the blood. There are links between high fructose intake and blood pressure, increased triglycerides, diabetes and quite possibly cancer. But before we go overboard with an ascetic lifestyle and totally swear off sugar, I'd like to say a few things in defense of fructose.

i) It is present in a lot of fruits. Dates, raisins, prunes, grapes, pears and apples are a few with high concentrations of fructose.
ii) Our bodies are made to handle fructose.

So what's the fuss about? Looking at a typical Malaysian diet -

Breakfast: Tausa pau, Dim Sum (dipped in ketchup), Coffee (with condensed milk)
Morning Snack : Apple and Kiwi
Lunch: Sweet and Sour Pork Rice, Soya Cincau
Afternoon Snack: Yogurt Drink, Tiger Biscuits
Dinner: Baked Beans and Tuna (with mayo) with lettuce in tortilla wrap, Mixed fruit juice
Dessert: Cheesecake
Supper: Roti Telur and Teh Ais

Do you see the problem here? And this is on a relatively healthy day, not yet including soft drinks, various types of snacks (chocolate/ice cream) or fast food meals. We mostly focus on eating healthy 'main meals' but we tend to forget the hidden sugars present in the small titbits and condiments that accompany it. The obvious ones are the drinks (including the fruit juices with no added sugar printed on it - not so healthy after all). Another thing we can see is that almost all processed foods contain sugar.

I'd like to state that there's nothing wrong with having sugar in our food, the problem happens only when there's chronic overconsumption and this is where Prof Lustig hits the spot. We're eating too much of it because we didn't know that its everywhere. And we're wondering why the metabolic syndrome and cancer rates are going through the roof. 

It is also not just about 'oh, I'll go do more exercise and burn off the calories from sugar'. If you have 120kcal from a piece of white bread and 120kcal from a bottle of coke, the white bread contains mostly glucose and that can be utilized by every cell in the body. Coke on the other hand, has 45% glucose only and the 55% of the fructose have to be broken down by the liver thereby placing an extra burden on it, not to mention the by-products of fructose metabolism (uric acid, triglycerides). It is like telling an alcoholic to do more cardio exercises to burn off the calories from the bottle of whiskey he's just polished off, it doesn't work that way.

A few years back, I would have probably said 'Life is short! Control your food for what oh? Eat what you like!' but I don't subscribe to that view anymore. Earlier this year one of my in-laws passed away due to complications with cancer (quite ignorant of lifestyle modification advice by the doctors I heard). Another family friend has just spent RM300,000 in 3 months for cancer treatments and I am hearing firsthand the suffering and difficulties they are going through. Tragic isn't it? You've retired and are supposed to enjoy life in the golden years, but what little you have left of your entire life of hard work goes to keeping you alive. Instead of traveling the world with your loved ones, you're contributing to your doctor's vacation fund instead. Or traveling around looking for a cure.

I'm probably not going to stop eating sweet stuff like cakes and ice cream but I'm definitely going to do it in moderation. No one can say for sure now how much is too much, but one thing's for sure, we will benefit from eating less sugar.

Be Water, My Friend

I've never really been a fan of Bruce Lee to be honest. There were a few reasons for this. Firstly there weren't much of his movies to go around and local television stations fed us instead with a staple of Jackie Chan and Jet Li flicks. Secondly their styles were vastly different and us being children, we were probably more amused by Jackie's humorous antics and resourcefulness at fighting with everyday objects. You laugh at Jackie hitting his head or getting a few jabs occasionally, but laughing when Bruce takes down the whole room? No no...never. Also, the No-Shadow Kick was a more popular talking point than the One Inch Punch at our primary school.

Last night I was planning to watch the Arsenal - Newcastle game but after some channel surfing, found the screening of  'How Bruce Lee Changed The World' on Discovery and was too totally absorbed in it to change back to the match. 

The 2 hour documentary is a must watch for all Bruce Lee fans. Bruce was a visionary man and his life, albeit a short one, commanded such an influence that it inspired countless numbers future actors, artists, sportsmen and ordinary people alike. I think what I like most about him was his discipline - in both advancing his physical prowess and his art. 

I did some digging and found out that we do share the same views when it comes to nutrition. After our marriage, my wife and I (rather reluctantly for me at first I must admit) did an overhaul of our family meals - forbidding all junk foods and buying only those that offered real nutrition to our bodies. A lot of emphasis was placed on fruits and vegetables with meals occasionally taken with lean meat. Refined carbs were seldom taken but not cut off altogether. We started increasing our protein intake and also avoided huge traditional meals and preferred to instead eat smaller meals throughout the day in the form of healthy snacks. There are times when this is unavoidable, like if there's a function or wedding dinner to attend... but we will revert back to our normal routine of eating small meals. To this day, my wife has never fried anything in our kitchen, opting instead to steam or boil.

What we do is nothing novel, with most modern health magazines advocating such steps. However when you think that Bruce Lee did all these 50 years ago, you can't help but to marvel at the man. This is surely a testimony to his revolutionary ideas and also to the phrase 'there is nothing new under the sun'. I may have been late but nevertheless, finally a fan. Time to break out those Bruce Lee Classics!

It's Been A Year

A year has passed since I've gotten married. Sharing your life with someone means a life of compromise, a need to embrace new responsibilities and shed some old habits.

One of those habits that immediately got axed was my unhealthy snacks. Within minutes of officially moving into our home after our wedding, my wife did a stock check of the supplies in the kitchen. She found some packets of instant noodles, (bought by my family members who stayed over at my place for the duration of the wedding in Kota Kinabalu) said 'Don't eat this stuff - its not good for your health' as she placed it into a black plastic bag that was destined for the dustbin.

I wouldn't say I really love to eat instant noodles. It falls under what you call the 'comfort food' category - easy satisfaction and cheap thrills. I do however like to eat my mi goreng in a very specific way.

-----Ted's Mi Goreng Special(TMGS)-----

1) Mi-Goreng - 3 packets

Indomie/Ibumie/ Mi Sedaap all ok- but not Cintan, somehow the taste doesn't go well with the third ingredient in this list.

2) Eggs - 2 of them

When the noodles are almost done, crack two eggs in and just let the egg whites cook quickly. I like to leave the yolks runny, so later when you drain the noodles, you break the yolks and let it run all over the noodles.

3) Cheese - 3 slices

Then you add the cheese slices into the still hot noodles (with the runny yolk) and let it melt thoroughly. Ohhh~ *salivating*

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That's like what... 1300+ kcals there? I usually like to have the TMGS a few times a week, and mostly as supper after work late at night. This is one of the reasons why I ballooned to 85kg at one point.

Its been a year since I've last had the TMGS, but I can still remember exactly how it tastes like. While shopping for groceries last weekend on our anniversary, I did suggest we get a packet of instant noodles...for old times sake. My wife gave me a look that would have re-frozen all the polar ice caps. *shudders*

Maybe next year la...

Take Your Meds

There are many people who refuse to take medicines. I have a customer that comes very frequently to check her blood pressure. As far as I remember her reading has never dipped below 150/90. Initially, my advise for her was to meet with her doctor as soon as possible. After many times, she just refuses to listen. Nowadays, after she finds out what her reading is, she runs away before I say another word. -.-"

This sort of thing is common. If she refuses to help herself, I won't lose sleep over what she decides to do with her health. Unfortunately, I have a close friend who has the same predicament and is equally as ignorant with her health.

Having been diagnosed with hypertension by at least a few doctors a year ago (yes she has had many second opinions done already), she still believes she can get by without blood pressure meds. Frighteningly, her pressure hovers around the 170/100 range. She complains frequently of headaches and eye pain.

I've had many talks with her regarding this. I've tried reasoning with her, warning her of the risks she is taking. Such a high pressure in her system is damaging her organs on a daily basis. She has even taken care of a bedridden family member who has had a stroke - witnessing firsthand the distress and all. So you can say she is pretty well versed in all this. She knows what she is going up against but still decides to treat herself with 'herbs.' It has reached a point where anything more I say will constitute nagging.

A few days back she had such a terrible headache that she could not walk. She vomited in the car on the way to the clinic. The clinic visit revealed what she knew was wrong with her. The doctor tried to admit her to a nearby hospital but he was valiantly turned down. She went home and watched National Geographic.

The Unfinished Portrait

Former US President Franklin Roosevelt famously complained of a 'terrific headache' during a portrait session before he slumped forward in his chair and died of a stroke shortly after. The painting was never finished. I fear my friend may be willingly walking down this path as well. There's really nothing more I can do short of force feeding her the medications . I've considered putting blood pressure medications in her food...but that will mean I have to follow her around daily with a bottle of crushed Norvascs. Worse still she if she credits her improving stats to the 'herbs' which obviously don't work.

Please, all of you who have been prescribed medications, do take them. It would be very foolish to do so otherwise. You can play around with your money all you want, but don't neglect your health. The next words I say to my friend may be a 'I told you so' besides her hospital bed. Even then she may not recognize me anymore.

So you're obese? SUE YOUR GRANDFATHER!

We all more or less know the basic principles of genetics - we inherit our physical traits from our parents and thats why we look like them.

However, scientists have long suspected that its not only the genes that get passed down that expresses itself in the offspring, but environmental factors do play a part as well. What your parents eat and do may affect you in some way not yet known. Well some are obvious, like fetal alcohol syndrome, others not so.

Then came epigenetics. Epigenetics basically explains how everyday events like stress, the food we eat and the things we choose to indulge in may actually influence how our genes are expressed in our offspring. It does not involve any changes in the genetic code though.

An article in the Times magazine goes on to elaborate about this :

- In rare overabundant winters in Sweden, kids who went from normal eating habits to gluttony in a single season produced sons and grandsons who live shorter lives.

- Those boys who endured a poor harvest had grandchildren who live on average 6 years longer than those who had overabundant harvests.

- Boys who were early smokers ( before age 11-prepuberty, before sperm production) eventually produced children who have significantly higher body mass indexes than other boys their age, most likely raising their risk of obesity and other health problems in the future as well.

What this ultimately validates is that every action in this world will bear a consequence, whether immediate or delayed. Can you imagine what it will be like in the future when epigenetics is more widely studied? If you can sue your employer and prove that your lung cancer is caused by exposure to hazardous materials in your line of work that the employer has closed one eye to... then you might as well sue your grandfather for his lack of judgement when he was barely a teenager!

moar funny pictures

That is if he is still around by then...

Not Quite Right

Appeton is phasing out their boy mascot... If you walk into any pharmacies you should be able to see a new picture instead of this one.

About time I say... I can't really put my finger on it but I think there's something not quite right with the position of his nipples. Hmm...

Kimchi!

Those who know me will know that I am not a big fan of kimchi. Its like Cristiano Ronaldo - you either love or hate him. Fortunately during our Korea trip, we were sent for some brain washing sessions.

The KimChi School

Different varieties of kimchi

We were told that kimchi had just been named as one of the Top 5 World's Healthiest Foods. Well we never take anything our guide says at face value so we made a note to check it out when we came back. She was right!

My wife, always the good student

Making the kimchi

The result - after 3 weeks of fermentation in our fridge. Kimchi on right, seaweed left.

The kimchi sat in our fridge in an airtight box for 3 weeks and when we had it for dinner last week, it really tastes like we were back in a restaurant in Seoul. There is no doubt that kimchi is very healthy. However there are reports that the overconsumption of certain types of kimchi was a possible link to cancer, possibly due to the high sodium content and nitrates produced during fermentation in certain types of kimchi. South Korea has the highest rates of gastric cancer in the world after all.

Well that should not stop you from appreciating this dish once in a while. A little of everything in moderation always benefits you. Oh, and I like kimchi now. Heheh.

Your Food May Be Causing You Problems?

Diet Rich in Processed Food Linked to Increased Risk for Depression

November 10, 2009 — Patients who consume a diet rich in high-fat dairy products and fried, refined, and sugary foods are at increased risk of developing depression, whereas those whose diet is rich in fish, fruit, and vegetables are at lower risk of developing depression, a new study shows.

The results suggest that diet should be considered a potential target for the prevention of depressive disorders, said the study's lead author, Tasnime N. Akbaraly, PhD, who completed the study while at the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College, London, United Kingdom.

Potential Mechanisms

There are several possible mechanisms that might explain the association between a processed food diet and depression, said Dr. Akbaraly. There is some evidence of a correlation between sugar consumption and the rate of depression.

In addition, the Western diet has been associated with higher risk of coronary heart disease and inflammation, both of which have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of depression.

"Many processes such as oxidative stress processes, or insulin resistance processes, could be involved," said Dr. Akbaraly, adding that further research is needed to determine exactly how refined foods might affect risk for depression.

As for how a "whole" food diet might protect against depression, such a diet includes fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants — nutrients that have been shown to reduce risk for depression.

In addition, the diet includes many foods including cruciferous vegetables, leafy vegetables, and other vegetables and dried legumes that are a rich source of folate. Previous research has shown that low levels of folate may affect levels of neurotransmitters that may be involved in depression. This diet also includes lots of fish, a source of polyunsaturated fatty acids that might also reduce the incidence of depression.

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It seems every other day some new study pops up and tells us something we more or less already know - watch what you eat! Or eat more vege and fruits and cut down on fast food and all that processed food like chips or keropok and soft drinks.

Being a fan of fast food myself, I can assure you that there is a way to get around this situation amicably. I believe that if you watch what you eat 80% of the time (as in eat plenty of greens, fruits and healthy lean meat and yes, avoid taking too much refined carbs), then you can let loose 20% of the time.

I once had a dinner with a professional rugby player, and he mentions that 6 days a week he maintains a strict nutritional regiment and 1 day a week he eats to his heart's desire. So assuming you eat 3 meals a day, that's 3/21 x 100 = roughly 15%. So for him its more like 85/15. Obviously we are not athletes and we have no need to follow their strict discipline, so I think we can cut some slack and allow ourselves 75/25. So based on this simple mathematical equation, if I eat KFC 5 times per week, that will mean 5/21 x 100 = 24% only and I still can have some extra wedges on top of that!

Colonel : Come dine with me 5 times a week! Heheheh!

This is something like the Pareto Principle, more popularly known as the 80-20 rule, which states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. An example is 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population. Or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients. Or 80% of your illnesses is caused by....errr....hmmm....errrr....never mind. I don't think we need to dwell too much on that.