Have a sweet tooth? Love chocolate too much? Below is a short article by Dr Tal Friedman, Head of Naturopathic and Research & Development Specialist at Chiva-Som Health and Wellness Resort. You may find the facts surprising!
Chocolate is arguably one of the most craved foods in the world, and for good reason. It delivers not only a variety of wonderful aromas, flavors, and textures, but it also delivers some astounding health benefits such as improved mood and focus and more.
Cocoa comes from roasted cacao seeds and is high in plant compounds which have been shown in studies a wide variety of health benefits.
Chocolate, through its polyphenol content, may be able to help enhance blood flow by enhancing nitric oxide signaling. The polyphenols act on an enzyme that works by increasing nitric oxide output within blood vessels. This helps to relax blood vessels thus allowing for better blood flow. This enhanced blood flow has even been shown to potentially enhance cognitive function by increasing blood flow and oxygenation within the brain.
In addition to cocoa’s beneficial effects on blood flow, Chocamine’s polyphenol content may also help promote healthy levels of cholesterol. By promoting healthy cholesterol levels, Chocamine may be able to further help promote overall cardiovascular function.
Cocoa also contains some minor compounds which have been found to act on neurological systems in our brains. Cacao stimulates the release of phenylethylamine (PEA) which boosts focus and awareness. It can also stimulate the release of anandamide which helps you feel good. Cacao is a source of tryptophan which is the precursor to serotonin.
If we look back to some of the first uses of cocoa, it was often combined and consumed with chili peppers and vanilla beans. Surely some of this is to make it even more delicious, but it is now also believed that they can boost the mood-enhancing effects of cocoa. Research has shown that the active compound in chili peppers and the active compound in vanilla both act on receptors in the brain increasing the effects of anandamide. Combining this with cocoa makes for an interesting and spicy cocoa beverage that may help you feel great.
But keep in mind that all these benefits are not true for all chocolate out there. Most chocolate is made by adding sugar, milk, and other ingredients to cocoa powder. Those ingredients can counteract a good amount cocoa’s health benefit. The reality is that good quality cocoa can be a supremely healthy delicious treat. But the high sugar, high calorie chocolate bars that contain it are just candy most of the time.
AIA’s “Healthier Together” study reveals eight key ingredients that contribute to Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, with 54% of Malaysian respondents adopting at least four ingredients
Malaysians indicate that having an optimistic outlook is the most essential ingredient that makes up a healthier, longer and better life.
Malaysians look for the positives in everyday situations, and the power of gratitude goes a long way in helping Malaysians achieve this.
AIA Group Limited (“AIA” or the “Company”: stock code: 1299) has released findings from a ground-breaking research initiative, “Healthier Together”, revealing the eight key ingredients that go into living “Healthier, Longer, Better Lives”. The survey across six Asia-Pacific markets revealed Malaysians have an optimistic outlook on life while looking for the positives in everyday situations through gratitude.
The study was conducted by global data insights company Kantar Group and involved in-depth interviews with more than 80 experts from a broad spectrum of professional disciplines in Malaysia and across Asia-Pacific. Study findings were then validated through a survey of 6,000 consumers in the region, including 1,500 respondents in Malaysia, which not only identified tangible actions people can take to improve their health and wellness, but significantly, validated the hypothesis that people already taking these actions are at less risk of being negatively impacted by the uncertainties of COVID-19 and a post-COVID world.
In terms of how well Malaysians perform in living Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, just under a third reported high adoption of the eight ingredients with 29% rating themselves as adopting at least seven of the eight ingredients and over half (54%) saying they were achieving four or more.
Malaysians also indicated the relative importance of “having an optimistic outlook” as the most important ingredient in contributing to Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, which aligned with the other five markets surveyed. However, Malaysians also identified “be active and engaged” and being “self-motivated” as the two ingredients most Malaysians need to adopt – indicating a need to remain social, physically and mentally active while improving their ability to find and define their own sense of progress and motivations in life.
Stuart A. Spencer, AIA Group Chief Marketing Officer, said: “The AIA purpose, which underpins everything we do, is to help people live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives. It’s therefore critical to gain a deep understanding of what people can actually do to achieve this, and how we can help them, beyond the obvious steps of exercising, eating healthily and getting sufficient sleep, particularly in the context of COVID-19.”
Ben Ng, Chief Executive Officer of AIA Bhd.echoed the same sentiments: “In today’s world, it is easy to access information that helps us understand what factors contribute to living a healthy life. However, there is an underlying gap between understanding what leads to a healthy life and knowing what actions help us elevate the way we approach our overall health and wellbeing.”
“Through the study, Malaysians now have a better understanding of what they need to do to live Healthier, Longer and Better and together with the support of our Total Health and Wealth Solutions and our unique behavioural change programme, AIA Vitality – we are fully committed to enabling a better quality of life for all Malaysians.” Ben added.
A significant body of new insights and data was gathered from interviews with academics, life-coaches, psychologists, mental health experts, influential authors, healthcare representatives and influencers from leading institutions, business and government.
The study produced eight specific ingredients that are most influential in helping people live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives. These were:
Have an optimistic outlook: Look for the positive things in everyday situations, not letting negative events of the past affect the present and finding enjoyment in work.
Be active and engaged: Be an active member of your wider community, remain socially active with friends and family, and remain physically and mentally active.
Self-motivate: Focus on your own personal goals, look for ways to make work/tasks/chores more engaging, and see setbacks as learning opportunities.
Understand yourself and your emotions: Understand what motivates you in life, understand what is important to you in life, and understand your limits/strengths/weaknesses.
Feel a sense of independence: Feel confident identifying what is right for you, focus time and energy on things you can control, and be capable of improving your mental health.
Maintain quality relationships: Focus on giving people your full attention, be open and honest with others, and seek out like-minded people who share similar interests.
Never stop learning or exploring: Explore new ideas and engage with new things, challenge your own thinking, and be open to change.
Make time to recharge: Create clear boundaries between work and personal time and find ways to recharge your energy levels.
The survey asked the 6,000 participants across Asia to rate their performance across these criteria. Key findings included:
Across the six markets surveyed in the Asia-Pacific region, an alarming 85% of respondents rated themselves as not sufficiently adopting all eight ingredients, leaving just 15% who believed they are. This group of “high performers” in living Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, reported that COVID-19 had less of a negative impact on their health and wellness efforts than the remaining 85%.
By far, the most important ingredient across all markets was “an optimistic outlook”, which was 2.3 times more common amongst the group of people that scored highest on the survey.
A pathway to improved health and wellness and one that is the easiest first step for people to take is “make time to recharge”.
46% of Malaysians only achieved three or fewer ingredients, indicating that there is a gap between being aware of what helps them live healthier, longer and better and the actual actions to achieving it.
By far the most powerful action to improve one’s optimism in Malaysia is to take time to reflect on things you are grateful for. Notably, Malaysia stands out against other markets where gratitude is more important in driving optimism compared to joy.
Only 41% of Malaysians state that they are adopting the ingredient “be active and engaged”, while 43% of Malaysians are “self-motivated”, which were the two least adopted among all eight ingredients for Malaysia.
Stuart A. Spencer added: “The findings of this unique piece of research now deliver to us a clear pathway to living Healthier, Longer, Better Lives. Healthier Together identifies real actions people can take to improve their physical and mental well-being, and real clarity about how to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, which has never been more important to us all than it is right now.”
The complete findings of the AIA Healthier Together study and survey can be viewed at: www.aia.com.my
As part of the insurer’s efforts to spur meaningful conversations about health and wellness during these challenging times, AIA recently launched the “Hoping & Coping Through the Pandemic” video series which features AIA’s Global Ambassador David Beckham together with 14 other AIA regional ambassadors including AIA Malaysia’s very own Nicol David – coming together to share their personal experiences and approach to practicing a healthy lifestyle during the pandemic. Check out their candid and heart to heart conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/AIABhdMalaysia/videos
AsiaFitnessToday.com mempersembahkan Podcast Kurang Manis, sebuah rancangan bicarawara mengenai sukan, kecergasan dan kesejahteraan bersama personaliti dari Asia dan Pasifik (Bahasa Malaysia/Inggeris).
Sebuah dokumentari, “berinspirasi dari zaman Redifussion”, kedua hos Nikki Yeo dan Jasmine Low berbual bersama dengan atlet, doktor perubatan, pakar kesihatan dan kecergasan sedunia. Mereka bersembang dengan oleh personaliti dari pelbagai lapisan masyarakat dari Kuala Lumpur, Sydney dan dari seluruh dunia tentang pengalaman hidup dan berkongsi maklumat kesihatan yang disokong oleh penyelidikan saintifik. Jom, teh tarik kurang manis satu! Kurang manis ya, bos!
KINI STREAMING di semua platform mulai 9 Februari 2021, 09:00 AM (+ GMT). Episod baru keluar setiap hari Selasa.
PERGERAKAN • SUKAN • Nicol David adalah juara skuasy No. 1 sedunia, warga Malaysia yang juga wanita Asia pertama yang menduduki tangga No. 1 dunia dalam sukan skuasy wanita. Pada 2 Februari 2021, dengan sejumlah 318,943 undi, dia dinobatkan sebagai Atlet Terunggul Sepanjang Zaman Sukan Dunia.
Datuk Nicol Ann David DB PJN DSPN KMN AMN (lahir pada 26 Ogos 1983) digelar sebagai pemain wanita No. 1 di dunia pada bulan Januari 1996 – status yang tidak pernah dipegang oleh wanita Asia sebelum ini. Dia memegang status itu selama 108 bulan berturut-turut! Nicol bertemu kami dalam talian dari pangkalan keduanya di Colombia dan kami berbicara tentang kesihatan mental dan bagaimana sukan membantu mempersiapkannya untuk menjadi kuat mental semasa wabak COVID-19. Dia teringat akan kampung halamannya di Pulau Pinang, ayahnya yang merupakan bekas atlet, makanan kegemarannya, kari ketam cili ibunya dan adik-beradiknya yang aktif ketika kecil. Nicol juga berkongsi mengenai Yayasannya yang ingin memperkasakan wanita muda. “Juara Skuasy Kesayangan Asia, Nicol David dinobatkan Atlet Terunggul Sepanjang Zaman Sukan Dunia” – baca lebih lanjut
Dengar bicarawara Nicol David secara LIVE bersama Jasmine Low, Nikki Yeo bersama saintis Dr. Desmond Menon dari Perth, Australia yang membawa soal kepada Nicol mengenai latihan atlet elit.
IRAMA • Edisi podcast ini juga memperkenalkan muzik dari penyanyi-penulis lagu dari rantau ini dan kami memperkenalkan Amrita Soon penulis lagu dan penyanyi muda yang mempunyai impian untuk mengunjungi Nashville, Tenneesee ketika dia bertemu Jasmine & Nikki, yang kemudian mengadakan kafe muzik dan acara mikrofon terbuka. Sejak itu dia telah mengeluarkan dua album dan tampil di Malaysia, China, Nashville dan bahkan menyanyi di Bluebird Cafe yang terkenal di A.S.!
Kami mempromosi irama & pergerakan sebagai terapi. Ketahui lebih lanjut mengenai pergerakan kecergasan Move8 di www.move8.org
SAINS | Dr. Desmond Menon berkongsi beberapa penemuannya dari kajian perubatan dan makmal mengenai gen dan bagaimana intervensi pemakanan dan kecergasan berkesan dalam membuat perubahan pada “keplastikan” dan prestasi badan. Dia juga menjadi subjek eksperimennya sendiri; dari pelari jarak jauh 69kg, dia bertukar dan membina badannya sendiri dengan 15% lemak pada 110kg. Saintis Makmal Perubatan yang berpengalaman dalam makmal akademik dan patologi klinikal, Dr. Desmond Menon adalah Pengasas R3Gen, sebuah syarikat penyelidikan makmal penyelidikan di Perth, Western Australia. Dia juga merupakan Ketua Pegawai Ilmiah MyGenica, sebuah syarikat ujian genetik kesihatan dan kesihatan yang berpusat di Singapura. Dalam Episode No. 2 “Podcast Kurang Manis” oleh Asia Fitness Today.com, Dr. Desmond Menon bercakap dengan hos Jasmine Low & Nikki Yeo. Termasuk dalam episod ini, adalah Q&A Dr. Desmond dengan Nicol David, Juara Squash No. 1 Dunia & Atlet Terrunggul Sepanjang Zaman Sukan Dunia. Baca wawancara penuh dengan Dr. Desmond Menon di sini: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/?p=9138.
IRAMA DI SPOTIFY Kami dengan senang hati memaparkan lagu yang ditulis oleh musisi Jazz hebat Singapura Jeremy Monteiro, yang didedikasikan untuk ibu saudaranya Lorna. Berjudul Lorna’s Kitchen, kami tahu bahawa kari Debal-nya memang sedapppp! Episod ini didedikasikan untuk Lorna – orang yang luar biasa yang karinya yang berapi-api penuh semangat.
Kini streaming di semua platform podcast – Anchor.fm • Spotify • Podcast Apple • podcast Google dll Cari “Podcast Kurang Manis”.
Langgan buletin AsiaFitnessToday.com dan akses kandungan premium secara percuma, dapatikan akses awal ke temu ramah LIVE dan banyak lagi!
Misi kami di AsiaFitnessToday.com; MISI 2030 ingin mengurangkan penyakit tidak berjangkit (NCD) seperti diabetes, kanser, darah tinggi dan penyakit paru-paru di rantau Asia Pasifik. Adakah anda boleh berkongsi podcast ini di media sosial atau dengan orang yang anda kenal dan sayangi sehingga kami dapat mengabadikan riak kesedaran ini di masyarakat. Ia bermula dengan kita.
Podcast Kurang Manis dihasilkan dan dihoskan oleh Nikki Yeo di Kuala Lumpur & Jasmine Low di Sydney – dua orang biasa yang ingin menyebarkan kesedaran tentang kesihatan & kecergasan bermula dengan diri mereka sendiri.
Team AsiaFitnessToday.com speaks with medical lab scientist and founder of R3GenDr. Desmond Menon based in Perth, Western Australia. Dr. Menon consults on medical and sports medicine projects, but what’s most interesting was his early days as a researcher, where he was his own experiment. Growing up as a kid with asthma, Dr. Menon looked to science to get himself fit and healthy after a string of allergic reactions to prescribed medications. Today, he supports a number of University-based sports medicine projects, one of which looks at the effects of the menstrual cycle on the performance of elite female cyclists.
AsiaFitnessToday.com’s The Kurang Manis Podcast co-hosts Jasmine Low and Nikki Yeo met Desmond at The Fit Summit in 2019, and have been keeping in touch about DNA testing methods, genetics and our predisposition to diseases our parents had/have.
We asked Desmond to explain what his job entails, and he shared that his work in Medical Laboratory Science is an area specialising in ensuring that the appropriate biomarkers are collected and analysed the correct way to ensure that the results obtained are valid and provide accuracy. Nowadays, most medical/sports science projects, especially multidisciplinary projects have very complex agendas and hope to investigate multiple variables within the study. When there is blood work involved, often there is not enough understanding within the team or enough funding within the project to thoroughly consider the requirements to ensure that appropriate markers are taken and measured at the appropriate timeframe in an appropriate protocol to ensure validity of the results obtained from the analyses.
“I have seen projects where the principal investigator was essentially experimenting with varying centrifuging speeds to find out what would provide him with a ‘good sample’ to analyse for blood markers studied within his study.
There are procedures already established in medical laboratory science, such as the rotational speed and gravitational force required, depending on the analyte to be measured, when centrifuging blood collection tubes.
Additionally, when blood is collected for storage as well, there are variables that will also need to be considered to ensure the integrity of the sample is maintained throughout the storage period and how it is treated to ensure that results obtained from analyses thereafter are still valid.
In some studies, samples require immediate analyses as the results dictate the following steps for the participant within the project.
What I do at R3Gen, is to help to meet these requirements by ensuring that samples are analysed ‘STAT’ to accommodate the project protocols, organising the process from pre-analytical blood collection, all the way to post-analytical result provision and sample storage if required for future analyses, cost effectively.
What this does for projects is to help investigators dedicate their focus and time on the actual project instead, and freeing up their limited resource to ensure the proposed intent of the project is not short-changed.“
As the work of a Medical Lab Scientist can get technical with jargons, we asked him more questions from a ‘layman’ to gain more understanding into his work. This is what we discovered…
Understanding genetics and lifestyle
AFT: Can a couch potato be transformed, coached and guided into the fastest runner on the track and field?
DM: The intervention. As an experiment, one has a protocol requiring them to lay on the couch, eat whatever they want and be as sedentary as possible. The other has a protocol requiring them to have a regimented diet and planned intense activity during their day. Each therefore, as a result of their interventions, encourage very different genetic expressions to meet the demand set out.
It’s not that complicated if we wanted to encourage a positive/healthy change. It’s a issue of mind over matter, and thereafter, it’s really an endurance race to see how long you can keep your new intervention going.
Maximising performance is ultimately about a body’s propensity to enhancing its plasticity.With training, plasticity is attained.Looking at it simply, it’s about effecting an underlying lifestyle change.
Understanding your body’s physical baseline
AFT: So what you mean is we are able to increase and improve our baseline with the correct training and interventions in lifestyle and diet?
DM: Interventions – from a scientific perspective, it’s an intervention. For an everyday person, it’s a lifestyle habit.
There was a study done on 70,000 nurses who were in the 40-65 years age range. They were selected to participate in a Nurses Health Study. They found that there was a huge correlation between chronic diseases and their movement patterns, there was a direct link on those who moved more and those who didn’t.
AFT: Do our genes alone predispose us to a particular health condition?
DM: Looking over a broad time frame, the Centre for Disease Control USA (CDC) reports that genes do not predispose us to the health condition. Therefore, while our genes provide us with a blue-print, a lot of what is expressed from our genes is actually quite plastic and is a reflection of the intervention that we provide.
AFT: In a recent conversation, we discussed habit and culture at home. Our health is not merely a physiological or gene makeup, it’s very much a cultural and habitual makeup too. Imagine a child growing up at home where his father imposes his eating beliefs, lifes and dislikes upon his child. It’s what the father brings home, what he eats, or snacks that the child will learn and adopt.
DM: Here’s some information I have found to be interesting. Grandparents have a big part to play in the grandchild, especially from the maternal side. Here’s the explanation from a physiological side. If a female child, whatever a grandmother goes through in her life, has an impact on her genetic expression (that’s her lifestyle intervention). These expressionsinvariably have an effect on her eggs she is carrying. If one of those eggs contribute to a conception of a female child, during the development of that fetus, the eggs in the fetus also start to develop 8 to 20 weeks after it has started to grow. As such, whatever the grandmother is exposed to in her lifestyle in essence has an impact on her future child, and that of her grandchild.
AFT: Tell us a little about the types of fitness interventions.
DM: Exercise movements can basically be split up into different modalities. Concentric moves for example a flex going up stairs or eccentric moves for example a controlled extension like when you’re going down stairs. These are antagonistic moves and give an idea how your muscles work.
It requires a certain amount of energy or resource from our bodies when applied. How much exactly we don’t know, but if we understood that, we could then prescribe it better. They found that participants going down the stairs had a more significant benefit seen in their health markers – insulin sensitivity increased, bone density increased and cholesterol decreased.
It provides some insight into how exercise could be prescriptive. So by understanding this kind of exercise, one could then prescribe more efficient options to patients.
AFT: Hypothetically, can we transform a couch potato into the fastest man on the planet? Imagine Usain Bolt or Nicol David, an athlete whose body is so efficient, and if we turn them into a couch potato with bad habits, what would then happen? Desmond suspects that scientific evidence suggest that we can definitely provide an intervention to transform the couch potato participant into something closer to an Usain Bolt.
DM: An elite swimmer expands less energy to swim across the pool as his body is fine tuned to it as compared to a less than healthy individual.
GLUTS 4 gene, expressed based on lifestyle
DM: GLUTS 4 gene is considered one example of a lifestyle gene. It’s expression is altered by the level of muscle contraction. Failure to be active enough, could lead to the body being predisposed to diabetes by storing a lot of insulin.
In the video above, I shared a photo from my school days – I was an avid distance runner weighing in at only 69kg in my competition weight. I injured my knee (torn ACL and partial torn meniscus) in the army, and had to change sport. I got addicted to lifting weights in the gym as a result of seeing gains from physiotherapy on my legs post knee surgery. I had to undergo surgery to reconstruct my ACL. In that short amount of time that I was off my feet or on crutches, the loss of quad muscle was very visible. It is almost like an intervention experiment on myself, where the intervention here is the removal of as much muscle activity in my left quad over that period. It was shocking to see how fast your body decides to remove that musculature as a form of conservation of energy and resource.
After a few years of weight lifting, I managed to weigh in at 110KG with 12% body fat. While Dr. Desmond considered it an improvement, his mom’s was of the opinion that he had ruined her good work by looking “buff” like that. What it was for him, was a science experiment. He diligently weighed what he ate and how he trained to better understand the correlation between the intervention and the epigenetic expression.
Coming from an active family, Dr. Desmond’s mother was a runner for the state of Perak, Malaysia. His maternal great grandmother lived up to 100 and his maternal grandmother will be turning 100 soon. It seems health & fitness is a natural state of being for his family.
At one point, he collected data of his own blood work to determine the impact of his training and diet on his health markers and was able to see how his body was responding to what he was doing. It took a good number of years, but progressively trained the body to accept 8 meals a day from 3 to 4 meals before, while still maintaining an average 12% body fat. (At that point he was eating 8 meals a day like a gym fanatic. Also knew what he was doing with exercise.) In pathology, he learnt about the association between high CK and CK-MB (proteins present in heart muscle, also in skeletal muscles) with cardiovascular episodes. He found that the intense gym training produced abnormally high levels of CK and CKMB in his blood that looked like he was having small little cardiac episodes, but were actually attributed to the high amount of skeletal muscle tearing (hypertrophy) from his intense gym sessions.
AFT: How do we then measure a person’s baseline, or maximum exercise intervention before the body shows a high or overly high CK/CKMD level. Is there a sweet spot between exercise and too much exercise?
DM: Essentially, we need to understand that our baseline changes according to our lifestyle (intervention protocols).
In many professional athletes, part of their routine is having blood test done to identify how well their body is coping with their interventions and ensure that their body is showing signs of being in optimum performance. There are a whole barrage of markers that can be capitalised on if need be. For the everday athlete, perhaps these are not necessary or available but there are more basic markers readily available that can be capitalised on by anyone concerned about their health to ensure that their body is performing well to their lifestyle interventions. When monitored over time, these can provide a good indication over time of how we’re coping.
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Special Bonus Edition on Spotify Only features “Lorna’s Kitchen” by Singapore’s Jazz Great, Jeremy Monteiro
We are pleased to feature a song written by Singapore’s great Jazz muso Jeremy Monteiro, dedicated to his aunt Lorna. Titled Lorna’s Kitchen, we know for a fact that her Debal curry is divine. This episode is dedicated to Lorna – an amazing person whose fiery curry speaks volumes for her passion for life. We love you, Lorna!
AFT TV selects this Chinese New Year story, Nian – a legend reimagined as a contemporary coming-of-age story. Shot on an iPhone 12 Pro Max, this short film was directed by Lulu Wang and created by the team behind the Golden Globe nominated film, The Farewell which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2019, with the original score by Alex Weston.
The making of…
https://youtu.be/9pHO5hpgj7k
This heart warming story by award-winning producer/director – Lulu Wang reminds us of the reunion dinner to welcome in the Chinese Lunar New Year. 2021 welcomes the Year of the Ox.
We’ve also selected another heartwarming film surrouding reunion dinners. This one’s from Singapore, it’s short and sweet.
Livestreamed Interview with Datuk Nicol David, World No. 1 Squash Champion, named The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time.
The Malaysian retired professional squash player is currently in her second base Colombia, South America and met with Asia Fitness Today co-hosts Nikki Yeo in Kuala Lumpur and Jasmine Low at the studio in Sydney on 5th February 2021.
With a huge total number of votes, 318,943, Nicol David 🇲🇾 was voted as the greatest of the 24 sports legends that started the race on 8th January 2021. Tug of war legend James Kehoe 🇮🇪 is the first runner-up with 113,120 votes, and Larysa Soloviova 🇺🇦, The World Games Champion in powerlifting 2005-2017, second, with her 80,790 votes. Marcel Hassemeier 🇩🇪, victorious lifesaver, with 79,760 votes got very close to 3rd place. All in all, 1,204,637 votes were cast in the poll. Read full article about The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time here: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/?p=8952.
Visual Highlights
The Kurang Manis Podcast, Season 1, Episode 1 (9/2/21): Datuk Nicol David
Listen to the interview with Datuk Nicol David, World No.1 Squash Champion voted The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time | Listen All Platforms
Sydney, Australia, 4 February 2021(AFTNN) –Amazon Prime Video and Swimming Australia today announced an exclusive, two-year live broadcast streaming deal, to distribute the Australian Swimming championship events globally on Prime Video at no additional cost to Prime members. Live streaming highlights will include the 2021 Australian Swimming Trials in the lead up to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, and the qualifying events for the 2022 FINA World Swimming Championships and the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Australia is renowned for producing world-class competitive swimmers, and swimming is one of the country’s most popular sports with more than five million people participating each year. This partnership will ensure that Australians and a global audience won’t miss any of the action as Australia’s elite swimmers compete in qualifying for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo later this year, and other global sporting events in 2022.
“We know live sport attracts passionate fan bases from around the world, many of whom are already Prime members,” said Marie Donoghue, Vice President of Global Sports Video at Amazon Prime Video.
“We are focused on giving our customers access to the best selection of content possible, including the ability to watch live sport when and how they want to watch it. Streaming the upcoming Swimming Australia championship events on Prime Video is a great step toward achieving that global vision, andoffers tremendous new value for Prime members in Australia and beyond.”
Swimming Australia President, Kieren Perkins said, “To be able to partner our sport with one of the biggest streaming services in the world provides us with fantastic opportunities to deliver premium live swimming content to Australians and a global Prime Video audience.
“Swimming is ingrained in our culture, and we know that millions of fans support the Australian Dolphins Swim Team when they compete. Also, our current generation of swimmers, including those who have an eye on competing in Paris 2024 and beyond, will love being able to live stream the sport wherever they are.”
“We’re excited to partner with Swimming Australia to bring live swimming events to Australian and global fans exclusively on Amazon Prime Video at no extra cost to Prime members,” said Hushidar Kharas, Head of Prime Video Australia.
“Sport is an intrinsic part of Australian’s lives, and Amazon Prime Video has already established itself as the home ofcaptivating Australian sports docu-series including The Test and the upcoming AFL docu-series Making Their Mark. The launch of live sports streaming on Prime Video in Australia is a natural progression for us, and we are proud to be partnering with Swimming Australia to bring the iconic and beloved sport to Prime Video customers.”
The first event available to stream on Amazon Prime Video will be the Australian Swimming Trials in Adelaide between 12-17 June. Key events in the swimming event calendar before thiswill be available to stream on Swimming Australia’s digital platform SwimTV, and will be announced at a later date.
“This is a great result for our community, including swimmers, clubs, state associations and fans,” added Mitch Larkin from the Australian Dolphins.
“Having our events streamed live on Amazon Prime Video will inspire the next generation of athletes who will be able to watch the best swimmers in the country compete.”
Asia Fitness Today x Move8 fitness movement will be conducting Rajio Taiso lessons virtually every Friday starting 19th Feb 2021. Click here to join us for our Facebook Live sessions!
It is commonly known that regular exercise is needed to have a healthy and disease-free life but in the current fast-paced life, it is extremely difficult for a lot of us to exercise daily.
From commuting to and from work to the long office hours, most of us want to relax and rest once we reach home. So how do we fit exercise into our busy schedules?
Japan has figured out the answer and it is really simple- exercising at work. In Japan, it is a must to exercise at work.
When the clock hits 1:00pm, workers jump up from their table and undergo a 10-minute vigorous stretching and bending routine. Companies like Toyota have their own in-house workout space. Sony employees join an exercise drill daily at 3:00 PM and it’s for all levels of floor workers up to management executives. Rakuten installed some 12,000 movable desks so that its employees could switch between sitting and standing positions throughout the day.
Radio Taiso done in Vietnam
In Japan, this morning exercise is referred to as “Rajio Taiso” or “Radio Exercise.” The radio comes on, employees gather together, and the exercise routine begins. Exercise programmes at work are so common in Japan that there is a radio station – Radio Taiso – that plays nothing but music to exercise to, along with instructions for simple, low-impact aerobic exercises to be performed in groups.
Radio-taiso is Japan’s national exercise. It has been a key role in promoting the health of the citizens. These are short exercises that can be done by people of all ages and some can even be done while seated.
Radio-taiso gymnastic exercises are carried out in schools, workplaces and other community gathering spaces. For Japanese people, these exercises are deeply familiar. Participants carry out thirteen types of exercises in about three minutes to record light piano music.
According to Japan Post Insurance, the first broadcast took place in 1928, and the aim was to improve the health of the general public in Japan. Ever since then, this tradition of Rajio (radio in Japanese) Taiso has been incorporated into a lot of Japanese people’s morning routines.
However, you will be surprised to know that Radio- taiso was invented in the U.S and was brought to Japan from America. Radio calisthenics was invented in the 1920’s to inspire Americans in major cities to start their day with some light, healthy exercise.
Inspired by a similar exercise in the US, Radio Taiso was designed to keep Japanese soldiers as well as women and children at home fit and healthy. Even after nearly 9 decades, Radio Taiso remains a popular morning activity.
Radio-taiso is a radio program that broadcasts a set of warm-up exercise guidelines along with music. In Japan, the public broadcasting company NHK, broadcasts the program at 6:30 am every morning in their channel NHK Radio 1. The program lasts for approximately 10 minutes.
A gentle but upbeat male voice begins the steady exercises, instructing listeners to jump forwards and backwards, roll their hips and stretch their joints to the beat of a cheerful piano tune. There is even a visual version available through NHK where a seated routine is demonstrated for those who cannot stand.
Radio-taiso exercises are divided into two sections. The first section is for improving the fitness of people at all ages and the second section is designed to improve muscle strength. The second half is mainly aimed at the younger generation.
This effective method of exercising saw an increase in productivity of the employees. One study conducted by Briston University on 200 employees found that employees who exercised had a higher score than those who didn’t.
Consultate General of Japaan in Los Angeles, USA
Participants’ scores were 21% higher for concentration on work, 22% higher for finishing their work on time, 25% higher for working without unscheduled breaks, and an incredible 41% for feeling motivated to work.
Many other companies around the world have taken inspiration from Japan and incorporated a similar model of movement for their employees.
Also featured in Mongolia!
For instance- Swedish company Skanska took a note from Japan and encouraged their construction workers to participate in a 10 minute exercise and stretching workout in the morning. As a result, workers reported fewer injuries, better sense of motivation and a feeling of community.
Honda introduced a similar model in their South Carolina plant. Before every shift, the workers engage in a two minute routine with music. The exercises target hands, shoulders and other muscles that the workers repeatedly use during their shifts. As a result, they were able to reduce health costs and injuries.
Japan’s radio-taiso shows us how simple exercising can be and how even 5 minutes of exercise can make a huge difference in our productivity.
This article has been researched, compiled and written by the team at Asia Fitness Today News Network (AFTNN); Sneha Ramesh – Intern, Monash University (Sunway campus), Syuhada Adam – Editorial consultant, Nikki Yeo & Jasmine Low – Director/Producer.
Watch the livestream interview with Nicol David on Friday, 5 February 2021 6:00am (KUL/PER +8 GMT) / 9:00am (SYD/MEL +11 GMT) / 4 February 2021 2:00pm (LA -8UTC) or 5:00pm (NYC/COLOMBIA -5 UTC). Register now.
Kuala Lumpur, Updated: 2 February 2021 / 1 February / 29 January 2021/ Originally published on 26 January 2021
Malaysian Nicol David 🇲🇾 has been named The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time! With a huge total number of votes, 318,943 she was voted as the greatest of the 24 sports legends that started the voting race on 8 January. Ireland’s Tug of war legend James Kehoe 🇮🇪 is the first runner-up with 113,120 votes, and Larysa Soloviova, Ukraine’s and The World Games Champion in powerlifting 2005-2017, second, with her 80,790 votes. Marcel Hassemeier of Germany, victorious lifesaver, with 79,760 votes got very close to 3rd place (Source: The World Games).
The retired professional squash player, Datuk Nicol Ann David DBPJNDSPNKMNAMN (born on August 26, 1983) spoke to AFTNNand when asked if she had a message for the young players, lifting inspiration from how she went from zero to hero, this is what she said:
“Firstly I’d like to thank everyone for their support, their help and encouragement. For the youngsters out there, give yourselves a chance, go out and try whatever you want to do and take care of yourself,”.
Nicol David
Standings at our last report on 1 February 2021
Nicol David MAS (squash) 304909votes (29/1: 227208)
James Kehoe IRL (tug-of-war) 109655 votes (29/1) 81076
Marcel Hassemeier GER (life saving) 78032 votes (29/1 65295)
Sofia Olofsson SWE (powerlifting) 67057 (29/1 52355)
David won three gold medals as well as a bronze at The World Games between 2005 and 2017. She also won eight World Championship titles and had an unprecedented nine-year reign as World No.1.
Birmingham, Alabama USA will host The World Games in July 2022 – photo twg2022.com
Career milestones
In 1997, 15-year-old David became the youngest woman to win a World Junior Championship. In 2001 she defended that crown, becoming the first woman to capture the junior championship title twice. David received international attention following her success in 2005, and in January 2006 she was officially ranked the number one female player in the world—a status that was never before held by an Asian woman.
President Zena Wooldridge of the World Squash Federation says: ”Nicol has beaten a number of distinguished athletes to first place and her victory is recognition of a wonderful career that saw her break numerous records and win everything there was to win in the sport.
David was appointed as the UN Development Programme Ambassador for Malaysia in 2002, and she has since set up her own foundation to enable young girls to take up sport, as a tool to help them establish their values.
When AFTNN reached out to find out how she felt on being nominated for the Greatest Athlete of All Time, Nicol said,
“It’s a huge honour to be nominated by the World Games for the Greatest Athlete of All Time and to gain so much support from everyone in Malaysia and the squash community. It came as a surprise to see me amongst these other top athletes and I’m grateful for this,”.
Nicol David
Video by the Professional Squash Association in May 2020
The World Games (TWG) is an international multi-sport global event since 1981 and takes place every four years after the summer Olympics. TWG features sporting events which are not contested in the Olympic Games such as aikido, billiards, dancesport, kickboxing, orienteering, parachuting and paragliding, squash, surfing, muaythai, tug of war and water skiing.
Voting began on January 8th with nominees from all editions of The World Games from 1981 until 2017 representing 24 different sports as nominated by their International Federations. What is common for all of them is that they are extraordinary athletes who have succeeded in an extraordinary way at one or more editions of The World Games.
The public could vote daily, once per 24 hours, for their favourite. “The first candidate they choose gets two votes, and the second candidate one vote. We started with this initiative a year ago, in order to get The World Games family to know each other better; after choosing your favourite, you will choose a candidate from another sport too. This way you will get to see who else is there and with what kind of background story,” TWG communication officer, Anna Jacobson explains.
“Normally we have a vote for the Athlete of the Year in January. This year, to celebrate the 40 years’ anniversary of The World Games, we wanted to do something special. When we decided to look for The World Games Greatest Athlete of All Time, we did not realise we would find 24 such legendary athletes, and it has been a true pleasure for us to follow the vote as well. Nicol David truly deserves her victory! All the 24 candidates will be promoted throughout this year, as they are all legends in their own sport,” said Jacobson, also Head of Communications IWGA.
“If I get a chance to win this it would be amazing for me just to have the recognition through playing squash and hopefully it can elevate the attention for the future of squash and a proud moment to represent my country and Asia,”.
Nicol David
The voting ended on February1st and three best athletes will be awarded a trophy and a branded gift from the official sponsor Protective Life.
This article has been researched, compiled and written by the team at Asia Fitness Today News Network (AFTNN); Sneha Ramesh – Intern, Monash University (Sunway campus), Syuhada Adam – Editorial consultant, Nikki Yeo & Jasmine Low – Director/Producer.
Register and get notified about the live streamed interview with Datuk Nicol David on the Asia Fitness Today KURANG MANIS PODCAST. *AFTNN would like to shout out a word of thanks to Nicol who is currently in Colombia, her second base, TWG & PSA for making this interview possible.
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