Heatiness

Today, I was having a discussion with some colleagues over durians and how they were very unhealthy and heaty or "pu jua". Apparently durians contain about 357kcal per serving (about one full cup), which is a lot of calories. So, they were right with that - but what about the "heatiness"?

What exactly is "heatiness"? Heatiness stems from a Chinese philosophy of balance - in this case, of "hot" vs "cold" air inside the body. Correspondingly, there are certain foods which have the characteristics of being "heaty" and "cooling".

Excessive "heatiness" will bring about symptoms or physical feelings of temper, fever, and irritability. Symptoms of excessive heatiness would include:

1. Pimples
2. Sore throat
3. Nosebleeds
4. Ulcers
5. Indigestion / Constipation
6. Rashes / flushed face and cheeks

How our body is susceptible to these effects is affected by things like our lifestyle - sleep, exercise, nutrition, environment). From a TCM point of view, "heatiness" arises from lifestyle and weather factors, for example, hot weather, over-exertion, lack of sleep and exercise, stress and an imbalanced diet. Food thus does play a part in causing heatiness.

Typically, heaty foods are:
1. Fried
2. Fatty
3. Rich is sodium
4. Sweet
5. Grows under the sun

Cooling foods are:

1. Dry
2. Lean
3. Rich is potassium
4. Salty
5. Grows in little sunshine

Examples of cooling and heaty foods:

Cooling Foods:

Bamboo shoot, banana, bitter gourd, clam, crab, grapefruit, lettuce, persimmon, salt, seaweed, star fruit, sugar cane, water chestnut, watermelon, lotus root, cucumber, barley, bean curd, chicken egg white, marjoram, oyster, pear, peppermint, radish, strawberry, tangerine, and yogurt, broccoli, cauliflower, zuccini, corn, tomatoes, pineapple, turmeric.

Heaty Foods:

Pepper, cinnamon bark, ginger, soybean oil, red and green pepper, chicken, apricot seed, brown sugar, cherry, chestnut, chive, cinnamon twig, clove, coconut, coffee, coriander (Chinese parsley), date, dillseed, eel, garlic, grapefruit peel, green onion, guava, ham, leaf mustard, leek, longan, mutton, nutmeg, peach, raspberry, rosemary, shrimp, spearmint, sweet basil, tobacco, vinegar, walnut, jackfruit, durian, leek, shallots, spring onion, , apricots, blackberries, black currant, mangoes, peaches, cherry, mandarin orange, grape.

Ideally, one has to balance the body condition with one's food intake. For example, herbal tea is said to have cooling properties which helps to negate one's heatiness.

A good knowledge of how your body is feeling and symptoms of heatiness will help you know what to eat to negate its negative effects and vice versa.

Live well!
Tim

Guinness is good for you!

Despite my recent "obsession" with health, fitness, wellness and nutrition, I am very much still a drinker at heart. I do drink rather occasionally (about 2 times a week at least), which does explain why I don't have abs of steel (yet :P), and I have to work out extra hard to get more defined.

Generally, drinking is rather bad for your liver and health on the whole, if drinking is too frequent or excessive. I don't think it's a coincidence that most professional athletes abstain from alcohol as well. I've read that drinking the occasional wine or beer does have it's health benefits such as reduced risk of heart diseases, but I won't really go into that too much. I'm sure everyone knows the ill-effects of alcohol as well, so not much need to elaborate.

Since I've started living more healthily, I've been trying to cut down on drinking. Also, I've been trying to drink less beer and find a better more nutritional alcoholic beverage. I don't like wines much - white ones are mostly too acidic and sour, whereas reds stain your teeth. Beer is also too gassy and I'm sure there's a reason a big paunch is called a beer belly, so I've started drinking stout :)

To most people, myself included - Stout = Guinness. I honestly can't think of any other stout (Kilkenny and ABC comes to mind, but I think they're dark beer). But what's the difference between stout and dark beer then? Haha... So anyway, I didn't know this but, Guinness contains only 198kcal per pint, which is much less than most other beers, and less than skimmed milk or orange juice (so says wikipedia).

Guinness also contains many antioxidants, which I mentioned in my previous post on skin food. These slow down the deposit of harmful cholesterol on the arteries, which is beneficial on the heart.

Also, I particularly like how the pint of Guinness looks when it's fresh from the tap. The froth at the top and the darkness of it as it bubbles is quite a sight. Also, I used to find the taste bitter, but now I find it quite smooth. Also, my friend introduced me to "Black and Ten", which is Guinness mixed 50-50 with Kilkenny. Very nice too! Here's to more Guinness - it's good for you! :)

Live well,
Tim

Skin Food

I've been reading up on how to get more "beautiful" naturally - how to get better skin, whiter teeth, and clearer eye-whites.

I haven't really been taking good care of my skin except the occasional scrub, and exfoliating gel and night cream. No toner, mask, shaving foam, aftershave etc. I've recently seen many skincare products out there in the market, and I've just bought the new Vichy Homme toner. I also use Nugeno exfoliating gel, Face Lifting Cream and Men Radiant Youth Essence.

While my pores have become smaller and skin has cleared up more overall, I still have some scars from the teenage years :( I want to have a healthy radiant glow in my skin, but I think that's going to take a long time to achieve, and one way to do so is to start eating good "skin food". Without further ado, here we go:

1. Fish - All fish is supposedly good, especially salmon which contains omega-3, omega-6 and other essential fatty acids which prevent dry skin.

2. Lots and lots of vegetables - We all know vegetables are yummy and good for you, but how so? Dark green vegetables (brocolli, spinach, chai sim) and dark orange vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes) contain Vitamin A which are strengthens the protective tissue of the skin. Tomatoes also contain anti-oxidants, which counteract negative free radicals in our body.

3. Dairy products - Low fat milk and yoghurt contains lots of Vitamin A which is also important for healthy skin and eyes. Lack of Vitamin A leads to dry skin and pimples.

4. Citrus Fruits - Oranges, Grapefruit, Limes and Lemons. While I know many people are not big on citrus fruits due to their acidity and sourness, citrus fruits are excellent sources of Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps the synthesis of collagen which prevents skin from sagging. Regular intake of Vitamin C (maybe an orange juice a day) will keep skin youthful and firm.

5. Green tea - Green tea is the source of an extremely potent antioxidant called EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate). Apparently this EGCG helps negate skin cancer, sun-related skin ageing and acne too.

6. Water - While necessary hydration is a given, most people do not drink at least 8 glasses of pure water a day. Drink up for better skin!

7. Berries - Strawberries, raspeberries, blueberries, cranberries and dark plums are also help the body manufacture collagen. They also contain much antioxidants, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and fibre.

8. Avocados - Avocados do contain a lot of fat, which is weird since it's a fruit. Which other fruits do you know contain fat? But the fat from avocados is mono-unsatured / "good fat", which once again keeps skin supple.

9. Whole grains - Whole grains are good for skin because they are loaded with the B group vitamins. B group vitamins are essential for normal skin functioning. They are required for the growth of new cells, replacing those that have died, and help strengthen the skin against infections and stress.

There are other other good foods for skin such as nuts, pomegranate juice and sunflower seeds - but these are foods which I seldom consume.

In addition, 8 hours of sleep a day should ensure sufficient time for cell regeneration.

I've been trying to consume more of the above foods, and hopefully I'll slowly but surely see results.

Live well!
Tim