Category Archives: Wellness

AFT Features, AFTNews, AFTNews, Diet & Nutrition, Diet & Nutrition, Diet & Nutrition, Features Japan, Research

Study finds eating protein during breakfast is best for muscle growth

Researchers find the best time to consume proteins for building and strengthening muscles is during breakfast.

Proteins are essential for body growth and muscle building. However, protein metabolism varies depending on the body’s internal biological clock. Therefore, it is important to know how distribution of protein intake over the day affects muscles. Researchers from Japan have now found that consumption of proteins at breakfast increases muscle size and function in mice and humans, shedding light on the concept of ‘Chrononutrition’ that deals with the timing of diets to ensure organ health.

Image courtesy Waseda University

Proteins constitute an essential dietary component that help in the growth and repair of the body. Composed of long chains of amino acids, proteins promote the growth of skeletal muscles, the group of muscles that help us move. Humans have been aware of the benefits of proteins for long. However, recent studies have shown that having the right amount of protein at the right time of the day is essential for proper growth. This is called ‘Chrononutrition,’ in which when you eat is as important as what and how you eat.

The reason behind this is the body’s internal biological clock, called the ‘circadian rhythm.’ This rhythm is followed by all cells and controls life functions like metabolism and growth. Interestingly, protein digestion and absorption have been found to fluctuate across day and night according to this clock. Moreover, earlier studies have reported that intake of protein at breakfast and lunch promotes skeletal muscle growth in adults. However, details on the effect of the time of protein intake on muscle growth and function have remained elusive.

Researchers from Waseda University, led by Professor Shigenobu Shibata, recently endeavoured to understand the effect of the distribution of protein intake through the day on muscles. They fed laboratory mice two meals per day containing either high (11.5% by proportion) or low (8.5% by proportion) protein concentrations. The researchers noted that protein intake at breakfast induced an increase in muscle growth, determined by assessing induced hypertrophy of the plantaris muscle in the leg, when compared with the effects of protein intake at dinner. Specifically, the ratio of muscle hypertrophy determined against the growth of the control muscle was 17% higher in mice fed 8.5% protein at breakfast, than that in mice fed 11.5% protein at dinner, despite the former group consuming a low proportion of protein overall. They also found that intake of a type of protein called the BCCA, short for branched-chain amino acids, early in the day increased the size of skeletal muscles specifically.

Infographic provided by Waseda University

To confirm the association of these effects with the workings of the circadian rhythm, the researchers next engineered whole-body mutant ClockΔ19 or muscle-specific Bmal1 knockout mice lacking the genes that control the biological clock. They repeated diet distribution experiments on these mice but did not observe similar muscle change, which confirmed the involvement of the circadian rhythm in muscle growth in the context of protein intake.

Excited about the findings of their study published in a recent issue of the Cell Reports, Prof. Shibata emphasizes, “Protein-rich diet at an early phase of the daily active period, that is at breakfast, is important to maintain skeletal muscle health and enhance muscle volume and grip strength.”

To check if their findings were applicable to humans, the team recruited women in their study and tested if their muscle function, determined by measuring skeletal muscle index (SMI) and grip strength, varied with the timing of the protein-rich diet consumed. Sixty women aged 65 years and above who took protein at breakfast rather than at dinner showed better muscle functions, suggesting the possibility of the findings to be true across species.  Additionally, the researchers also found a strong association between SMI and the proportion of protein intake at breakfast relative to total protein intake through the day.

Prof. Shibata is hopeful that the findings of their study will lead to a widespread modification in the current diet regime of most people across the Western and Asian countries, who traditionally consume low amounts of protein at breakfast.

“For humans, in general, the protein intake at breakfast averages about 15 grams, which is less than what we consume at dinner, which is roughly 28 grams. Our findings strongly support changing this norm and consuming more protein at breakfast or morning snacking time.”

– Professor Shigenobu Shibata

It seems, a simple change in our dietary regime can be our key to ensuring healthy muscles!

References:

Authors: Shinya Aoyama (1,2,5), Hyeon-Ki Kim (1,2), Rina Hirooka (1), Mizuho Tanaka (1), Takeru Shimoda (1), Hanako Chijiki (1), Shuichi Kojima (1), Keisuke Sasaki (1), Kengo Takahashi (1), Saneyuki Makino (1), Miku Takizawa (1), Masaki Takahashi (1), Yu Tahara (1), Shigeki Shimiba (4), Kazuyuki Shinohara (5), Shigenobu Shibata, Ph.D. (1)

Title of original paper: Distribution of dietary protein intake in daily meals influences skeletal muscle hypertrophy via the muscle clock

Journal: Cell Reports

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109336

Affiliations:        

(1) Laboratory of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Waseda University

(2) Organization for University Research Initiatives, Waseda University

(3) Institute for Liberal Arts, Tokyo Institute of Technology

(4) Department of Health Science, School of Pharmacy, Nihon University

(5) Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University

About Waseda University 

Located in the heart of Tokyo, Waseda University is a leading private research university that has long been dedicated to academic excellence, innovative research, and civic engagement at both the local and global levels since 1882. The University ranks number one in Japan in international activities, including the number of international students, with the broadest range of degree programs fully taught in English. To learn more about Waseda University, visit https://www.waseda.jp/top/en  

This article was written by Waseda University and verified by AFT’s editorial team. Prof. Shibata heads the Department of Electrical Engineering and Bioscience, Faculty of Science and Engineering at Tokyo’s prestigious Waseda University (pictured above). His research focuses on basic and applied studies of biological rhythms for health science and industry. The human biological clock monitors the chronological timing of our body. Disruptive body clock systems have been known to cause various mental diseases such as developmental problems, insomnia, depression and also metabolic diseases such as obesity, hypercholesteremia and alcoholism, and cancer disease. In order to promote good health, Prof. Shibata’s team studies basic and applied sciences of biological clock systems based on chronobiology, chrono-pharmacology, chrono-nutrition and chrono-exercise using animals and humans. They focus on interventions such as functional foods and nutrients, exercises like running and swimming for maintaining healthy circadian rhythm. It is their desire to propose healthy advice for chrono-nutrition and chrono-exercise to enable good health and for industrial products. Learn more: http://www.chrono-nutrition.jp/

AFTNews, AFTNews, Features Malaysia, Features Malaysia, Kid's Health

Kempen ‘Chosen’ memperkasakan kanak-kanak dengan peluang untuk mengubah hidup mereka dari kemiskinan

Kempen Chosen dari World Vision Malaysia memberi peluang kepada kanak-kanak untuk mengambil langkah pertama dalam mengubah masa depan mereka. Buat pertama kalinya, kanak-kanak berpeluang memilih penaja mereka.

Organisasi kemanusiaan antarabangsa, World Vision Malaysia melancarkan kempen Chosen untuk membasmi kemiskinan dari komuniti B40 yang terjejas pada 8 Julai 2021 ini.

Gambar di atas, kanak-kanak menunjukkan gambar penaja yang mereka pilih sendiri. (sumber: World Vision Malaysia)

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif World Vision Malaysia Encik Daniel Boey berkata, “Chosen adalah anjuran terbaharu World Vision yang ingin memberi kanak-kanak peluang memilih penaja mereka sendiri – buat pertama kalinya dalam sejarah 70 tahun World Vision!

Kempen ini akan bermula dengan komuniti di Kemboja di mana sejak kes pertama COVID-19 dikenal pasti, kanak-kanak telah kehilangan masa kecil mereka dan hidup dalam ketakutan untuk kesejahteraan mereka.

Tajaan bulanan sebanyak RM65 akan membawa air bersih, pemakanan, pendidikan, penjagaan kesihatan asas, perlindungan dan harapan kepada kanak-kanak dan komuniti mereka. Penaja dapat menjalinkan hubungan dengan anak angkat mereka dengan menulis surat dan menghantar gambar.

Seorang bapa kepada dua anak, Encik Boey menambah: “Ramai kanak-kanak menunggu bertahun-tahun untuk dipilih oleh penaja. Sebagai seorang ayah, saya tidak dapat membayangkan bagaimana perasaan anak itu. Apabila kita memberi kanak-kanak peluang untuk memilih penaja mereka, kita juga memberi mereka harapan untuk menamatkan kemiskinan. Lebih daripada itu, kami memberi kuasa kepada mereka untuk mengambil bahagian dalam keputusan yang akan mempengaruhi kehidupan mereka, dengan menghantar mesej bahawa kami mengambil berat tentang apa yang mereka fikirkan. Kami berharap ini akan mendorong kekuatan untuk memilih masa depan mereka.”

Dia mengatakan bahawa rakan kerjanya di World Vision Malaysia telah memantau dan menyesuaikan program untuk bertindak balas terhadap situasi COVID-19 global. “Kanak-kanak akan memilih penaja mereka di acara pilihan (dengan semua amalan keselamatan COVID-19) pada 5 dan 6 Ogos, dan kami akan memberitahu penaja mengenai anak angkat mereka. Terima kasih kepada semua rakyat Malaysia kerana turut serta melindungi dan memperkasakan anak-anak dan komuniti mereka yang terjejas di dunia.

Pengasasnya Bob Pierce menubuhkan World Vision pada tahun 1950 dan Program Penajaan Kanak-Kanaknya memberi tumpuan kepada peningkatan kesejahteraan fizikal, emosi, rohani, dan sosial anak-anak yang paling terjejas. Di Kemboja, World Vision telah melaksanakan program bantuan dan pembangunan untuk memberi manfaat kepada anak-anak yang rentan sejak awal tahun 1970-an.

Di seluruh dunia, program ini membawa banyak kegembiraan dan harapan kepada keluarga. Kelmer yang berusia enam tahun dari Guatemala, memilih keluarga Justin Hollander untuk menjadi penaja.

Kelmer dari Guatemala, Amerika Selatan (sumber: World Vision Malaysia)

Kelmer yang berusia enam tahun memilih keluarga Justin Hollander sebagai penajanya.

“Anak perempuan mereka sangat cantik. Saya rasa bahawa dia suka berbual dan suka bermain,” katanya.

“Ibu bapa sangat cantik juga. Mereka kelihatan seperti suka memberi pelukan! Dan mereka suka bermain. “

Terdapat lima orang dalam keluarga Kelmer. Ibu, ayah, anak-anak berusia 9 tahun, 6 tahun dan 8 bulan. Kelmer berada di prasekolah. Dia suka belajar. Apabila dia dewasa, dia mahu menjadi guru. Ibunya, Yesica, mengatakan bahawa kadang-kadang anaknya jatuh sakit tetapi dia tidak mampu membawa mereka ke klinik berdekatan. Yesica mengatakan apabila Kelmer memilih penajanya, dia turut mengambil kesempatan untuk membuat pilihan sekeluarga. Dia teruja dan merasa terharu.” Dia memberitahunya bahawa ketika dia melihat semua gambar, “Saya hanya ingin memilih Justin Hollandar.”

Kelmer suka bermain bola sepak dan guli-guli. Dia berkata, “Sekiranya mereka (penaja) datang ke sini, saya ingin bermain bola sepak dengan mereka. Saya ingin menghantar kata-kata cantik. Saya gembira atas lawatan anda. Te quiero.“

Video ini menunjukkan masa kanak-kanak membuat pilihan mereka.

Lawati laman web: https://bit.ly/WorldVision-Chosen.

AFTNews, AFTNews, Diet & Nutrition, Diet & Nutrition, Diet & Nutrition

Learn about Fodmaps at the Free from Allergy Show

The Free from Allergy Show starts virtually today, Monday 12th July until 18th July live from Melbourne, VICTORIA, in Australia.

Follow the links below to sign up and learn about various topics concerning health and wellness and your diet including cooking demonstrations, Q&As, tips and tricks for living FODMAP friendly with recipes you can try cooking at home.

Each day throughout this week two new videos will be released at 10am (MEL/AEST/+11 GMT) on all things FODMAP.

Today, they’ve revealed two speakers:

Dr CK Yao- PhD, B. Nutr. & Diet. Hons.
Latest in FODMAP research and new updates in this field.

Crystal Austin – ISB and FODMAP dietitian
explains label reading, and the important tool of spotting hidden FODMAP ingredients.

REGISTER TO ATTEND
AFT Features, AFTNews, AFTNews, Travel & Wellness

All aboard… VSS Unity marks the begining of space travel tourism

Copy & share: Bit.ly/AFT-VSS-Unity

Latest! Message from aboard VSS Unity
Live streamed take off
The view from VSS Unity

Like a scene from a movie, we introduce you to Virgin Galactic’s crew.

Unity 22 Crew in their Yohji Yamamoto designer suits

From left to right:

Dave Mackay, Chief Pilot, Virgin Galactic

Collin Bennett, Lead Operations Engineer at Virgin Galactic. Bennett will evaluate cabin equipment, procedures, and experience during both the boost phase and in the weightless environment.

Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Instructor at Virgin Galactic. Moses will serve as cabin lead and test director on Unity 22, overseeing the safe and efficient execution of the test flight objectives.

Sir Richard Branson, Astronaut 001, founder of Virgin Galactic. Branson will evaluate the private astronaut experience and will undergo the same training, preparation and flight as Virgin Galactic’s future astronauts. The Company will use his observations from his flight training and spaceflight experience to enhance the journey for all future astronaut customers.

Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations at Virgin Galactic. Bandla will be evaluating the human-tended research experience, using an experiment from the University of Florida that requires several handheld fixation tubes that will be activated at various points in the flight profile.

Pilot, Michael Masucci

Virgin Galactic’s VMS Eve, the carrier ship

And the two co-pilots of carrier ship ‘Mothership’ VMS Eve (named after Branson’s mother):

Pilot, C.J. Sturckow

Pilot, Kelly Latimer, the first woman to join Virgin Galactic pilot corps, she is NASA Armstrong Center’s first female research test pilot, a retired lieutenant colonel of the U.S. Air Force, and has logged more than 6,000 flight hours and 1,000 test flight hours during her work with NASA, the Air Force, and Boeing.

Background

On 1st July 2021, Virgin Galactic announced that the flight window for the next rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShipTwo Unity opens July 11, pending weather and technical checks.

The “Unity 22” mission will be the twenty-second flight test for VSS Unity and the Company’s fourth crewed spaceflight. It will also be the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin, including the Company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson, who will be testing the private astronaut experience.

Building on the success of the Company’s most recent spaceflight in May, Unity 22 will focus on cabin and customer experience objectives, including:

  • Evaluating the commercial customer cabin with a full crew, including the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless experience, and the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers — all to ensure every moment of the astronaut’s journey maximizes the wonder and awe created by space travel
  • Demonstrating the conditions for conducting human-tended research experiments
  • Confirming the training program at Spaceport America supports the spaceflight experience

For the first time, Virgin Galactic will share a global livestream of the spaceflight. Audiences around the world were able to log in virtually to view the take off of the Unity 22 test flight and witness the experience Virgin Galactic is creating for future astronauts.

Following this flight, the team will complete inspections of the vehicles and an extensive data review, which will inform the next steps in the test flight program. Two additional test flights are planned before the Company expects to commence commercial service in 2022.

“Our next flight—the 22nd flight test for VSS Unity and our first fully crewed flight test—is a testament to the dedication and technical brilliance of our entire team, and I’d like to extend a special thank you to our pilots and mission specialists, each of whom will be performing important work. Tapping into Sir Richard’s expertise and long history of creating amazing customer experiences will be invaluable as we work to open the wonder of space travel and create awe-inspiring journeys for our customers.”

Michael Colglazier, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Galactic,

“I truly believe that space belongs to all of us. After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good. It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality. As part of a remarkable crew of mission specialists, I’m honoured to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin.”

Sir Richard Branson

Team AFT will be following this closely. Is this truly the beginning of space travel tourism? What will Sir Richard be announcing when he returns from this test flight? Will this moment spark a generation of children with dreams to venture into space made real? Humanity has many things to think about… We wish the VSS Unity crew a safe and out of this world flight!

Announcement update: In partnership with Omaze and Space for Humanity, Virgin Galactic will be offering prospective astronauts a chance to make their dreams come true. AFT understands there’s two spots being given away as a ‘lottery’. Visit VirginGalactic.com to find out more.

Source of images and press release: AFTNN/PRNewsGIG/Virgin Galactic

All images and video content remain the copyright of Virgin Galactic. This post has been edited on 12th July 2021, 11:00am for clarity.

AFT Interviews, AFTNews, AFTNews, Features Australia/NZ, Men's Health

Introspection III by Kenneth WH Lee (Malaysia-Australia)

AFT speaks to Malaysian-Australian artist Kenneth W.H. Lee about his third solo art show, “Introspection III”.

AFT: Tell us about your environment while growing up.

Kenneth WH Lee: I come from a family of six with “por-por” my mother’s mom. I’m the eldest of three and have two other siblings. We grew up in a small sleepy town of Banting in Selangor (I was born in the famous Klang town, known for its culinary delights). My parents were both secondary teachers; Mom taught English and Art and Dad taught PE and Art, so the artistic lineage was unavoidable and pre-determined. Mom tells me she noticed my bold strokes at age two with an Artliner pen. I had a happy, care-free childhood playing in the dirt (catching fish in drains and climbing guava trees) after school till dusk and I remember being yelled at to get home for dinner!

AFT: What do you think influenced your artistic eye?

Kenneth WH Lee: My parents clearly gave me that early exposure in appreciating the finer points in art and understanding the basics of drawing and painting – with that early knowledge I loved experimenting in my own way, breaking the rules along the way as much as I dared, whilst paying homage to the greats. I soaked up (art) like a sponge going through drawing and sketching teaching books and journals, learning as much I could myself. My parents took to me art galleries, and we would walk through museums of art. I first experienced the body of work by professionals like the late (Malaysian artist), Ibrahim Hussein. His art show is stuck in my mind – I was probably 10 then. The great French artists in the Impressionist (and Fauvism) movement really caught my imagination and left an everlasting mark. We migrated to Sydney when I was 18, and I studied art in high school, learning European art literature and was really drawn to the late Brett Whiteley’s work.

AFT: Which piece of work have you recently submitted for a competition or auction and why?

Kenneth WH Lee: I submitted artworks for both for the Archibald (a prestigious Australian portrait art prize administered by the Art Gallery of NSW) and a landscape piece for the Wynne prize (one of Australia’s longest-running art prizes for landscape painting or figure sculpture).

For the Archibald, I submitted a portrait in oils of an amazing gentleman and aboriginal leader, Uncle Charles “Chicka” Madden of Alexandria, NSW and a large abstract piece for the Wynne prize titled “Sydney Spring – Gratitude Series II” measuring 1200 x 1200 x 35 mm in oils/acrylics/charcoal/pastels/ on canvas. They unfortunately didn’t make the finals. It’s the second consecutive year of submissions in both the above Prizes after 25 years of shying away from any art competition.

For one, I gave up painting for those number of years to focus on my finance/asset/funds management career in Australia and South East Asia and I didn’t find the need to receive external validation for my art. Now, staying relevant and visible by putting out content is part of being a professional artist. 

I recently donated a portrait piece of St. Charbel, the patron saint of Lebanon for a fundraising event held in conjunction with Steps of Hope and Madison Marcus law firm. I’m pleased that raised A$26,000 in a blacktie function to help with relief work for the victims of the Lebanon port blast in August 2020.

AFT: Did you paint during COVID19? What did you do to pass time?

Kenneth WH Lee: Yes, I painted during Covid-19 lockdowns. I completed art works for the Archibald and Wynne Prizes submissions in 2020. I continued to work at frenzied pace to build a new body of work as I planned towards my third solo exhibition titled “Introspection III” – an aptly named show in current times of needing to be more reflective taking stock of where we are as a human race and more importantly individually in our own personal journeys and awakening – our passions, dreams and who we stand for, next to our loved ones. During this time I was also actively creating works for charity fundraising for the likes of the CMRI Children’s Medical Research Institute for research into cures for all sorts of serious illnesses children suffer early in their lives. I also supported the Jeans4Genes cause by painting a portrait of singer Guy Sebastian utilising his donated signed jeans as part of the collage-portraiture. That item went on an online auction. A painting of St Charbel, patron Saint of Lebanon, was also donated toward fundraising for the good people recovering from the unfortunate disaster and with the onset of winter then. I’m about to start on portraits of the three Abdallah children and their cousin to be gifted to the family to help ease the pain and to remember their young lives taken away at such young age in that freak Oatlands accident by a drunken driver with his passenger both intoxicated while the kids were walking for ice creams around corner from their home. I don’t get to spend time with my kids during their school holidays but at least I get to do something for someone else.

AFT: What is the one thing you strive to do with your art? Have you been successful?

Kenneth WH Lee: I love combining impressionist style with abstract designs – whether it be a large landscape or a portrait. I love both forms of art on its own but combining them is challenging and satisfying – and I think I have been successful with the outcomes. I love to constantly challenge myself to paint something new, something I hadn’t done before. I’m excited that my art designs are now being sold and licensed as lifestyle products in Australia. Also American and New Zealand online wall art companies are selling and promoting my images/copies reprinted on canvas and shipped around the world.

AFT: Is there any work that you have not finished or can’t complete? What happens then?

Kenneth WH Lee: I have had pieces of work that had taken years (up to five years) to complete as the initial stages did not show potential and I lost interest in it and moved on to other newer pieces. Whilst the earlier pieces sat unloved, I hadn’t forgotten about it – still constantly pondering its future and design input. Or a complete design change and direction to revamp the entire piece. Sometimes midway I find no inspiration to sit or stand in front of a piece and continue painting. I would walk past it without a thought lacking the need to touch it. Then an idea would pop in my head (or sometimes a memory from a relationship whether in a happy mood or post-breakup in complete despair) and I will dive into that piece non-stop for hours to complete it. It’s all about the flow and feel at that point in time – sometimes it comes to me and sometimes its empty. So I have to be patient and tune in to what I am really creating. At times when I paint, its akin to having a conversation with a person or persons. The deeper the feeling and intensity of the conversation in my head the more interesting the piece becomes. I somehow can translate raw emotion at a particular time and pour it onto the canvas – its like a life diary of emotions coloured by paint.

AFT: Is health and fitness important to you as an artist? Tell us about your daily routine…

Kenneth WH Lee: Yes, health and fitness is key to me as an artist. Though I love to work late at nights when it is really quiet and paint for hours till the wee hours of dawn sometimes….I know to catch up on my sleep and rest which is key to wellbeing. I am a diehard foodie too and love to cook my favourite foods – usually traditional Malaysian hawker dishes and spicy dishes. I then balance this with great bowls of greens making wonderful salads, blended fruit juices and hydrate well. I do some iron work in the backyard with some weights and a punching bag and then go for a walk around the neighbourhood. Though I’ve given up badminton for over 20 years, I’ve recently joined a badminton club to get my heart rate going and burn off some calories. Its been fun getting back to the game that I used to love and was great at, having been a state representative for the Federal Territory as a school boy in Malaysia and later as an All-Australian Universities rep.

 

AFT: What’s your ultimate favourite thing to do?

Kenneth WH Lee: It would be hard to go past having an Italian coffee in hand and having the morning free to start on a large empty wooden panel or canvas, in beginning a new piece of abstract or an impressionist landscape work. It could also be the excitement and anticipation of continuing on a large piece, progressing with developing textures, depth and tonal values – it’s always a mindful challenge in solving the piece’s balance in design and colour and its imbalance… the statement that one is trying to convey. Usually I work very fast when an idea is born, my hands move the brushes and palette knives at a frantic pace across the white spaces then I’d spend more hours pondering and analysing the piece midway, tweaking it as I go – I find at different natural lighting the look and feel changes and my mood flows with it and I paint accordingly. I get inspired again when that look and feel hits me, and I will be hitting the canvas hard and fast frantically until I am exhausted.

https://youtu.be/1F9THZScK8g

Video footage/edit by: Campbell Wilson, photographer and founder of yoga4.tv

“Immerse in Art”: Art Talk by Kenneth WH Lee

This event was held online on 10th July 2021 from 1:00-3:00pm (SYD/AEST/+10GMT).

RSVP

Only RSVP if you wish to attend the live event.

“Introspection III” solo art exhibition is on display at Sydney Haymarket’s Bendigo Community Bank’s branch at Darling Square 11 Little Pier St Shop NE12 until 30 August 2021.

Team AFT thanks the artist Kenneth WH Lee, his management at ArtSHINE and exhibition venue sponsor Bendigo Community Bank for this interview.

 

Who is Kenneth WH Lee?

Malaysian-born Kenneth has exhibited twice in his Sydney Solo Shows “Interiority Of My Introspection I & II” in late 2019. On the commercial front, he works on private client commissions, consults on client fine art needs pre- and post-renovation, paints for charity art auctions and family portraits like the St Charbel portrait painted for Lebanon’s Blast victims/families and Guy Sebastian portrait utilising his custom signed jeans in fundraising for the CMRI Children’s Medical Research Institute – Westmead Children’s Hospital / Jeans4Genes. KWHLEE art designs are also available via its e-commerce shop for consumer retail and B2B wholesale.

Kenneth W H Lee is a represented artist managed by ArtSHINE.

Follow his Instagram account to view current artworks: @kennethwhlee.

More: https://linktr.ee/kennethwhlee.

AFT Interviews, AFTNews, Kid's Health, The Kurang Manis Podcast

AFT Interviews: Dentist Dr. YokeLi Ling on crooked teeth, sleep disorders and systemic health

Oral myofunctional therapy and dental sleep medicine for both children and adults.

Team AFT met with Dr. YokeLi Ling, a dentist based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 20 March 2021. What ensued is a chat between The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast co-hosts Jasmine Low & Nikki Yeo with the good doctor about how she’s been able to assist her patients breathe better and live better. Her passion and dedication as a Sleep and Airway Centric Dentist shows in her work in providing a holistic patient management approach. 

In this interview, Team AFT speaks to Dr. Ling about:

  • Minimal, non-invasive interventions in dentistry
  • Prevention and rehabilitation of poor facial and jaw growth development that results in dental misalignment, sleep disordered breathing, and compromised systemic health.
  • Oral myofunctional therapy, incorporating it into the treatment of orofacial myofunctional disorders, and dental sleep medicine for both children and adults. 

In this interview, Dr. Ling speaks at length about her field of specialty. She shares, “I would like to introduce a broader concept of the dentist as an oral physician, a gatekeeper to the wellness of systemic health through the mouth.”

AFT: You practice minimal, non-invasive dentistry to achieve sustainable outcomes for your patients. We’re curious what that means, what is non-invasive and why this kind of specialty? 

Dr. Yoke Li elaborates on Malocclusion, Sleep & Airway and compromised health.

AFT: What causes a child or adult to have crooked teeth? 

Some people have an upper or lower jaw that is too far in or out? What has resulted in that? Is it in our genes that some of us are born with a smaller jaw hence the overcrowding of teeth?

Having a small jaw with crooked teeth are signs that a person’s sleep may be compromised.

“Once sleep is compromised, health is also compromised” – Dr. Ling.

When we sleep the body is restored and our immune system is generated to protect the body. When sleep is interrupted, the lack of oxygen during obstructive sleep apnea would lead to a diminished quality of life, mood swings, irritability, hypertension, even metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

AFT: Why is our jaw too small to accommodate all our teeth? Surely it should be perfectly balanced, unless it’s changed over time?

The standard practice now is for most people to remove their wisdom teeth. Dr. Ling shares her thoughts thoughts on this. 

AFT: Do our food choices contribute to misaligned teeth, jaw and the structure of our face?

We don’t seem to be chewing enough in this era with foods. Archeologists have shown that the hunters and gatherers had a full set of teeth, continuous stimulation of the jaw bone.

AFT: How about people who grind their teeth at night? Can that be cured?

Ever heard about singing as a cure? Dr. Ling elaborates on some situations where spouses have reported positive improvement after their partners undergo treatment in merely exercising upper body, tongue and facial exercises as well as a diet change.

Put your tongue on the top of your mouth palette and breathe. Try it.

Don’t under estimate the power of the tongue and the power of breathing through your nose, chew your food, eat foods that require you to chew and that’s when your body starts to becoming more effective overall.

Q: At Asia Fitness Today, we advocate movement as therapy. What is the one thing that you have been able to use your Fitness for Good?

Married to her childhood sweetheart and blessed with 3 children, Dr. Ling loves hiking, traveling and playing tennis. She shares that fitness activities is how she gets herself out and up and encourages her family and friends to join her. Through sport, it’s not just about being fit physically, but also about being mentally and emotionally fit because good hormones are released.

Dr. Ling’s credentials include:

  • Doctor of Dental Surgery from University Science of Malaysia (Honours, 2006)
  • Recipient of the USM Chancellor’s Gold Award, USM’s University Gold Award and Conference of Malay Rulers’ Royal Education Excellence Award
  • Postgraduate training and certifications on Orthotropics from London School of Facial Orthotropics
  • Mini Residency on Guiding Craniofacial Growth and Development in Children
  • Mini Residency on Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
  • Craniofacial Epigenetics
  • Oral Myology from Coulson Institute of Orofacial Myology
  • Myobrace from MRC Australia
  • Implant Training Program University of Southern California

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AsiaFitnessToday.com Interviews: Dentist Dr. YokeLi Ling on crooked teeth, sleep disorders and systemic health is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Source: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/aft-interviews-dentist-dr-yokeli-ling-on-crooked-teeth-sleep-disorders-and-systemic-health/

AFTNews, AFTNews, Features China, Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Healthy China 2030

The 2021 China Obesity Prevention and Control Conference (10-12 April, 2021) held in Xi’an, Shaanxi China launched the China Obesity Prevention and Control Initiative jointly proposed by the newly set up Obesity Prevention and Control Section of the Chinese Nutrition Society and the Xi’an Jiaotong University Global Health Institute. The initiative called for 10 actions to be undertaken by the whole society including government, health care facilities, schools, work places, media, industry, research institutes, families and individuals.

Hosted by the Western China Science and Technology Innovation Harbour (iHarbour), the conference was co-organised by the Chinese Nutrition Society, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention National Institute for Nutrition and Health, the Global Health Institute and the School of Public Health of Xi’an Jiaotong University, and the Health Sub-Alliance of the University Alliance of the Silk Road.

The 10 proposed actions are:

  1. Mobilise the whole society
  2. Promote multi-departmental and cross-sectoral actions
  3. Correct the obesogenic environment
  4. Advocate healthy lifestyles
  5. Focus on prevention of childhood obesity
  6. Standardise the diagnosis and treatment of obesity
  7. Strengthen professional in-field training
  8. Improve policy establishing and evaluation system
  9. Conduct interdisciplinary research, and
  10. Strengthen international exchanges and cooperation.

These proposed actions to manage obesity and related chronic diseases form a part of the Healthy China 2030 Initiative and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Obesity Prevention and Control Section of the Chinese Nutrition Society will play an active role in bridging the government, academia and industry, to serving the well-being of Chinese people, and contributing to global health by sharing Chinese experience and wisdom in obesity prevention and control.

The conference was attended by 400 delegates including experts and scholars in public health, nutrition and clinical medicine, also leaders and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), National Health Commission, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Nutrition Society, universities and hospitals. The WHO Chief Representative Officer in China Dr. Gauden Galea, the officials from National Health Commission Mr. Jianxin Tian, the president of the Chinese Nutrition Society Prof. Yuexin Yang and some 40 scholars and experts from government, academia and industry shared their ideas and views in lectures, debates and panel discussions.

Source: cnsoc.org

Reported by AFTNN

Diet & Nutrition, Features Indonesia, Fitness

Indonesian Calorie Table

A calorie is a unit used to measure the value of energy obtained by the body when consuming food or drink. To ensure that your nutritional needs are well fulfilled, you should look at the calorie levels in the food or drinks you consume. Lately, more food products come with its list of food calories in their labels.

Calorie content in food can be determined by the nutritional content such as fat, carbohydrates and protein contained in the food itself. Fat produces the most calories, which is 9 calories / gram. Meanwhile, carbohydrates and protein contain 4 calories per gram. Foods that contain lots of fat are foods that are high in calories. On the other hand, those that have low calories are fruits and vegetables because they contain lots of fibre and are high in water content.

Calories in Daily Foods

Regular daily food consumption caloric table:

CALORIC TABLE & UNIT

Main Foods Group A

Description of Food Item

Weight (gr)

Cal

Unit

Steamed Corn

250

90.2

1

Steamed Potato

200

166

2

Glutinous Rice

120

217

2,75

Rice Cake steamed in leaf

160

32

0,5

Rice cake in banana leaf

200

38

0,5

White Rice

100

175

2,25

White Rice – Kentucky

225

349

4,25

High Fibre White Bread

60

149

1,75

Steamed Cassava

100

146

1,75

Steamed Taro

100

98

1,25

Steamed Sweet Potatoes

100

125

1,5

Main Foods Group B

Rice Porridge

200

44

0,5

Crackers

50

229

2,75

Macaroni

25

91

1,25

Instant Noodles

50

168

2

Steamed Chicken Rice
(no chicken)

100

88

1

Steamed Coconut Rice

200

506

6,25

White Bread

50

128

1,5

Makanan Pokok Golongan C

Fried Bihun Vermicelli

150

296

3,75

Chicken Rice Porridge

200

165

2

Rice Flour & Coconut
Milk Porridge Dessert

100

178

2,25

Fried Potatoes

150

211

2,75

Mee Goreng Fried Noodles

200

321

4

Nasi Goreng Fried Rice

100

267

3,25

Soun Goreng Fried Glass Noodles

100

263

3,25

Spaghetti

300

642

8

Fermented Cassava

150

260

3,25

Popular Dishes Group A

Description of Food Item

Weight (gr)

Calorie

Unit

Arsik Spicy Indonesian Fish Dish

95

94.05

1

Ayam Bakar Bumbu Kuning
Charcoal Grilled Chicken

100

129.4

1.5

Ayam Panggang
Grilled Chicken

100

164.3

3.25

Daging Panggang
Grilled Beef

70

150

1.75

Ikan Mas Pepes
Patin Fish in Banana Leaf

200

143.5

1.75

Sambal Goreng Tempe
Fried Sambal Tempeh (Fermented soybean)

50

116

1.5

Poached Salted Egg

75

138

1.75

Poached Hen’s Egg

60

97

1.25

Steamed Prawns

100

91

1.25

Popular Dishes Group B

Ati Ayam Goreng
Fried Chicken Liver

50

98

1.25

Ayam Pop
Fried Chicken

200

265

3.25

Bakso Daging Sapi
Beef Meatballs

100

260

3.25

Empal Daging
Sundanese sweet spicy beef

100

147

1.75

Ikan Bandeng Goreng
Fried Fish

160

180.7

2.25

Ikan Baronang Goreng
Fried Baronang Fish

120

107.5

1.25

Ikan Bawal Goreng
Fried Pomfret Fish

120

113.3

1.5

Ikan Ekor Goreng
Fried Fish

100

107.8

1.25

Ikan Kembung Goreng
Fried Mackerel Fish

80

87.65

1

Ikan Lele Goreng
Fried Catfish

60

57,5

0,75

Ikan Patin Goreng
Fried Patin Fish

200

252,7

3

Ikan Selar Goreng
Fried Trevally Fish

40

63,75

0,75

Ikan Tenggiri Goreng
Fried Mackerel Fish

60

85,3

1

Ikan Teri Goreng
Fried Anchovies

50

66

0,75

Ikan Tuna Goreng
Fried Tuna Fish

60

110

1,25

Boiled Cockles

100

59

0,75

Macaroni Schootel

50

177

2,25

Tahu Bacem
Javanese Marinated Tofu

100

147

1,75

Telur Mata Sapi
Fried Egg Bull’s Eye

60

40

1,75

Tempe Bacem
Braised Tempeh Fermented Soybean

50

157

2

Tempe Goreng
Fried Tempeh Fermented Soybean

50

118

1,5

Tenggiri Bumbu Kuning
Mackerel Fish in Spices

90

94,4

1

Udang Goreng Besar
Fried Prawns

80

68,25

3,25

Popular Dishes Group C

Meat Floss

50

158

2

Fried Chicken in Soy

75

358,8

4,5

Grilled Chicken

80

385,6

4,75

Chiken Wing

50

63,6

0,75

Beef Balado

50

147

1,75

Dendeng Balado

40

338

4,25

Chicken Curry

100

165,3

2

Squid Curry

100

183

2,25

Fish Head Curry

320

218,8

2,75

Fish Spleen Curry

60

294

3,5

Tendon Curry

80

251

3

Balado-styled Mackerel Fish

125

236,7

3

Anchovies

50

213

2,75

Fish in Batter

80

119

1,5

Battered Panir Fish

75

220

2,75

Tempeh Chips

25

68

0,75

Meat Ball

50

168

2

Kentucky Fried Chicken Thigh

150

194,5

2,5

Corn Fritters

50

108

1,25

Potato Fritters

50

123

1,5

Egg Foo Yong

50

114

1,5

Beef Rendang

75

285,5

3,5

Chicken Satay

100

466

6

Kentucky Fried Chicken Wings

150

116

1,5

Chicken Stir Fried Nutmeg Spice

50

177,8

2,25

Fried Liver & Potatoes

100

127

1,5

Sambal Goreng Tempeh Anchovies

150

276

3,5

Sambal Goreng Liver

100

200

2,5

Sambal Goreng Prawns & Potato

100

123

1,5

Beef soup

260

227

2,75

Fried Tofu

100

111

1,5

Tofu

150

124

1,5

Sundanese-styled deep fried tofu

100

113

1,5

Fried omelette

75

188

2,25

Vegetables Group A

Description of Dishes

Weight (gr)

Calories

Unit

Yellow Pickles

75

53

0,5

Spinach Soup

50

18

0,25

Cah Labu Siam
Fried Choko

100

41,6

0,5

Sayur Asam
Salted Vegetables

100

88

1

Sop Ayam Kombinasi
Combination chicken soup

100

95

1,25

Sop Bayam
Spinach soup

50

78

1

Sop Kimlo

100

104

1,25

Sop Mutiara Jagung
Pearl Corn Soup

100

113

1,5

Asop Oyong Misoa

100

106

1,25

Sop Telur Puyuh
Quail’s egg soup

100

116

1,5

Vegetables Group B

Sayur Lodeh
Vegetable soup with coconut milk

100

61

0,75

Cah Jagung Putren
Stir fried baby corn

100

59

0,75

Cah Jkacang Panjang
Stir fried snake beans

100

72

1

Sop Oyong Telur Puyuh
Quail’s egg soup

100

134

1,75

Setup Kentang Buncis
French beans and potato fry

100

95

1

Tumis Buncis

100

52

1,5

Tumis Daun Singkong

120

151

1,75

Tumis Kc. Panjang + Jagung

125

118

1,75

Vegetables Group C

Buntil
Grated coconut mixed with anchovies wrapped in taro or cassava leaves

100

106

1,25

Gudeg
Jackfruit stewed with coconut milk and palm sugar.

150

132

1,75

Drinks Group A

    

Drink Description

Weight (gr)

Calories

Unit

Te’h (Cangkir)
A cup of Tea

1

0,4

2,8

Kopi (Cangkir)
A cup of Coffee

1

18

0,25

Juice Tomat (Gelas)
Tomato Juice (Glass)

100

20

0,25

Juice Melon (Gelas)
Watermelon Juice (Glass)

150

35

0,5

Drinks Group B

Es Kelapa Muda (Gelas)
Young coconut drink with ice (glass)

100

42

0,5

Es Cendol
Iced Cendol

100

168

2

Susu Skim
Skimmed milk

15

54

0,75

Coca Cola Diet (Kaleng)
Diet Coke (Can)

1

1

0

Prepared Meals Group A

Name of Dish

Weight (gr)

Calories

Unit

Asinan
Pickled vegetable

250

208

2,5

Toge Goreng
Fried bean sprouts

250

243

3

Prepared Meals Group B

Gado – Gado
Indonesian salad with peanut sauce dressing

150

295

3,75

Ketoprak
Indonesian rice dish with peanut sauce

250

153

2

Pempek
Palembang’s fish and tapioca dish

200

384

4,75

Rawon
Surabaya’s beef soup with a special keluak ingredient

160

331

4

Soto Ayam
Chicken Soto

100

101

1,25

Soto Padang

100

127

1,5

Tongseng
Mutton and vegetable curry

120

331

4

Prepared Meals Group C

Hamburger

125

257

3,25

Kerupuk Palembang
Crackers

50

168

2

Kerupuk Udang
Prawn crackers

20

72

1

Mie Bakso
Bakso noodles

200

302

3,75

Nasi Tim Ayam
Steamed chicken rice

420

588

7,25

Pizza

125

163

2

Sate Kambing
Goat satay

180

729

9

Sayur Krecek

175

249

3

Siomay

100

361

3,75

Soto Betawi

150

135

1,75

Soto Makasar

150

525

6,5

Soto Sulung

150

86

1

Buah -Buahan Golongan A

    

Nama Masakan

Berat(gr)

Kalori

Unit

    
Apel

160

92

1

Apel Merah

140

82

1

Belimbing

160

80

0,75

Duku

200

81

1

Jambu Air

60

35,4

0,5

Jambu Biji

320

157

2

Jeruk Medan

140

46

0,5

Jeruk Pontianak

150

67

0,75

Jeruk Sunkist

200

40

0,5

Mangga Manalagi

100

72

1

Nanas

200

104

1,25

Pepaya

100

46

0,5

Pir

200

80

1

Pisang Rebus

125

136,5

1,75

Salak

150

63,6

0,75

Semangka

150

48

0,5

    

Buah – Buahan Golongan B

    
Alpukat

100

85

1

Anggur

125

60

0,75

Lengkeng

100

79

1

Melon

120

46

0,5

Mangga Harum Manis

300

90

1

Pir Hijau

200

105

1,25

Pisang Ambon

100

74,2

1

Pisang Barangan

200

236

3

Pisang Mas

125

120

1,5

Pisang Raja

150

126

1,5

Sirsak

125

55

0,25

    

Buah – Buahan Golongan C

    
Durian Montong

100

134

1,5

Rambutan

100

69

0,75

sawo

100

92

1,75

Makanan Ringan Golongan A

    

Nama Masakan

Berat(gr)

Kalori

Unit

    
Arem – Arem

75

225

2,75

Bubur Kacang Ijo

100

102

1,25

Ketupat Ketan

120

216

2,75

Lemper

70

247

3

Lepet

120

210

2,5

Lepet Ketan

170

346

4,25

    

Makanan Ringan Golongan B

    
Bolu Gulung

110

300

3,75

Cakwee

50

143

1,75

Getuk Lindri

60

127

1,75

Hot Dog

100

285

3,5

Kerak Telur

120

599

7,5

Kue Nagasari

70

149

1,75

Kue Pancong

80

231

3

Mini Croissant

80

406

5

Sandwich

100

164

2

Serabi Pandan

60

137

1,75

Semar Mendem

100

247

3

Uli + Tape Ketan

160

559

7

    

Makanan Ringan Golongan C

    
Bakpia

25

68

1

Bakwan

100

270

3,25

Bika Ambon

50

99

1,25

Black Forrest

200

585

7,5

Cara Bikang

70

128

1,5

Cheese Cake

10

281

3,5

Dunkin Donat Keju

170

283

3,5

Emping Melinjo Asin

25

173

2,25

Kastengels (10 bh)

100

426

5,75

Keju Lembaran (1bh)

20

65

3,25

Kerupuk Mie

25

119

1,5

Klepon

60

68

0,75

Kroket Kentang

75

146

1,25

Kue Ape

60

151

2

Kue Cubit

60

183

2,25

Kue Cucur

90

152

2

Kue Ku

50

237

3

Kue Lumpur

80

232

3

Kue Pukis

40

181

2,25

Lapis Legit

50

307

3,75

Lemet/Timus

120

603

7,5

Lopis Ketan

125

350

4,25

Lumpia

60

76

1

Martabak Keju

100

265

.3.25

Martabak Mesir

100

200

2,5

Martabak Telur

95

196

2,5

Muffin Coklat

80

361

4,5

Muffin Keju

80

400

5

Nastar (7bh)

150

538

6,75

Onde – Onde

65

317

4

Pastel

75

302

3,75

Potato Chip

170

298

3,75

Putu Mayang

120

98

1,25

Rempeyek Kacang

50

250

3

Risol

100

247

3

Roti Coklat

100

240

3

Sosis Solo

50

191

2,25

Sus Vla

85

129

1,5

Talam Hijau

70

292

3,5

Tabel kalori makanan di atas dapat Anda gunakan sebagai patokan sudah cukupkah kandungan kalori yang anda konsumsi selama ini?

Kebutuhan Kalori Makanan

Sekedar informasi tembahan, kebutuhan kalori untuk setiap orang dapat berbeda, tergantung dari usia, jenis kelamin & aktifitas yang dilakukan. Misalnya untuk orang dewasa yang berprofesi sebagai atlit tentu memiliki kebutuhan kalori yang berbeda dengan anak usia 3 tahun.

Ketika membeli makanan kemasan, pastikan untuk melihat kandungan nutrisi dari makanan tersebut (biasanya terdapat pada bagian belakang kemasan), sehingga dapat melihat jumlah kalori per sajian/kemasan.

Berikut adalah tabel kebutuhan kalori untuk berbagai kelompok umur. Tabel ini dapat membantu mengetahui kebutuhan kalori berdasarkan usia, jenis kelamin & aktifitas yang dilakukan.

Tabel Kebutuhan Kalori

*Adanya rentang kalori menunjukkan kebutuhan kalori yang berbeda berdasarkan usia dari tiap kelompok. Remaja & anak-anak membutuhkan kalori yang lebih banyak seiring dengan bertambahnya usia. Akan tetapi pada orang dewasa, akan membutuhkan kalori yang lebih sedikit seiring dengan bertambahnya usia.

Keterangan aktifitas yang dilakukan:

  • Aktifitas menetap: Suatu gaya hidup dimana aktifitas yang dilakukan hanya berhubungan dengan kegiatan sehari-hari.
  • Cukup aktif: Suatu gaya hidup yang termasuk didalamnya melakukan aktifitas fisik yang setara dengan berjalan kaki sebanyak 2,5-5 km sehari.
  • Aktif: Suatu gaya hidup yang termasuk didalamnya melakukan aktifitas fisik yang setara dengan berjalan kaki > 5 km sehari

Berikut adalah contoh pembagian makanan untuk sehari pada orang dewasa, menurut kecukupan energi:

Tabel menu 2000 kalori

Tabel menu 2500 kalori

Keterangan porsi:

  • Nasi: 1 porsi = ¾ gelas = 100 gram = 175 kkal
  • Sayur: 1 porsi = 1 gelas = 100 gram = 25 kkal
  • Buah: 1 porsi = 1-2 buah = 50-190 gram = 50 kkal
  • Tempe: 1 porsi = 2 potong sedang = 50 gram = 75 kkal
  • Daging: 1 porsi = 1 potong sedang = 35 gram = 75 kkal
  • Minyak: 1 porsi = 1 sendok teh = 5 gram = 50 kkal
  • Gula: 1 porsi = 1 sendok makan = 13 gram = 50 kkal

Bila masih ragu mengenai pola makan yang sedang dilakukan, dapat berkonsultasi dengan dokter atau pun ahli gizi untuk mendapatkan pola makan yang sehat & sesuai…

AFT Interviews, AFTNews, AFTNews, Features Australia/NZ, Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs), The Kurang Manis Podcast

AFT Interviews: Dr. James Muecke AM Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission

Video

Listen to the full interview on The Kurang Manis Podcast, Season 1, Episode 7

Type 2 Diabetes could be put into remission, says opthalmologist Dr. James Muecke AM. Almost as soon as he was named Australian of the Year 2020, Dr. Muecke started advocating for the implementation of a tax on sugary drinks in an effort to save more eyes. Dr. Muecke speaks to AsiaFitnessToday.com about his proposed change to Australia’s dietary guidelines, he expresses why there’s a need for government to impose a sugar tax and talks about his work in raising awareness about diabetes – a lifestyle disease that could lead to the loss of sight.

Dr. James Muecke with his team in Vietnam. Photo credit: Sight For All foundation

He began his career in Kenya, then returned to South Australia to become an eye surgeon and blindness prevention pioneer, starting both Vision Myanmar at the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology in 2000, and Sight For All, an organisation which uses Australian and New Zealand eye specialists to train overseas doctors, a social impact organisation “aiming to create a world where everyone can see”.

Has sugar blinded our reasoning?

A few months ago, we featured a story about a patient of Dr. Muecke’s who woke up one morning Blinded by Sugar. Neil Hansel is sadly a victim of the debilitating disease which has not only taken his eyesight, but also his limbs.

In his address at the National Press Club in Canberra last year, Dr. James Muecke gave an immensely moving account about having had to remove a patient’s eye. He wanted to be an eye surgeon to give the gift of sight and not to take it away from someone, especially when someone has been needlessly blinded by an avoidable, man-made Type 2 Diabetes he said.

Sugar toxicity can be solved

Humans were for the first time in history “overfed and undernourished” with sugar and refined carbohydrates, he affirmed. We met with Dr. Muecke in person at a studio in Sydney this March 2021, one square year after the Australian border closures and he summed up our conversation to this, “When the mother is pregnant with the baby and if she’s consuming a diet high in sugar, that sugar crosses the placental barrier to the foetus but insulin doesn’t cross, so you’re already metabolically priming the child for health problems in the future. So gestational diabetes is a big big problem so people should be aware of that, that it be picked up early in pregnancy and wind right back on your consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates,”.

Dr. Muecke spoke to us at length about a strategy he came up with, which he calls the 5As of sugar toxicity.

  • Addiction
  • Alleviation
  • Accessibility
  • Addition
  • Advertising

It’s so hard to kick the habit. If you’ve ever tried to detox from sugar, it’s quite an unpleasant process. And even if you’re able to succesfully do it, everywhere you go, all the foods you eat, you’re just bombarded with sugar, so it makes it very difficult. So having a tax on sugary drinks, we know that it’s been shown to reduce purchase and consumption in 17 countries with Mexico being one of them.

Let’s say in Australia, we put a 20% levy on sugary drinks, that would raise about A$600million which could then be used to fund health awareness initiatives and about 77% of Australians agree with this in principle,” added Muecke, giving light into his call for a sugar tax.

Back home in Adelaide, Dr. Muecke continues his advocacy work in awareness building and has called for a crackdown on sugar in drinks and processed foods, also a change in Australia’s dietary guidelines.

He spoke about how diabetes, one of leading causes of blindness among Australian adults could be sent into remission. Diabetes is a metabolic disease, caused by the over-consumption of sugar, refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed foods which are cheap and accessible. He mentioned the dangers of seed oils, and that we should be aware of the types of oils we’re consuming daily.

Australia’s dietary guidelines was last updated in 2013 and in a Facebook post, Muecke suggests a certain biasness that 80% of the recommended foods were plant-based. He came up with this proposed diamond (see diagram below), shifting sugar and heavily processed & grain fed meats to the opposite tips of the healthy eating diamond.

A 7News report quoted Dr. Muecke saying, there were three successful ways to place type-two diabetes in remission – low calorie diets, low carbohydrate diets or bariatric surgery. Of these, he said the low-carbohydrate diet was the easiest solution.

AsiaFitnessToday.com also attended a webinar in November 2020, organised by the Australian Society of Opthalmologists. In that webinar, Dr. Muecke shared an imagery about glucose metabolism likening it to a packed train at peak hour. When too much glucose is ingested, insulin level rises and tries to push glucose into the blood stream, but it’s rejected. It’s then stored as glycogen instead in the liver, giving rise to fatty liver. Fructose – when taken up by the liver, almost a third of it is converted to fat so fructose is far more toxic than glucose! 

Dynamic duo

Dr. James Muecke was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in 2012, then in 2015 he was EY’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year for Australia, and in 2019 received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Adelaide. It was the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, that Dr. Muecke was named Australian of the Year for 2020 and appropriately so, considering he is not going to be silent anymore and will be carrying the torch to highlight the fact that non-communicable lifestyle diseases like diabetes can be put into remission, and one of the ways to achieve that is to intervene with awareness first, followed by a change in lifestyle and importantly, diet. Partnering Dr. Muecke in advocacy and stewardship of the non-profit work is spouse Mena Muecke OAM, who also plays a vital role in the marketing and publicity of Sight For All and is a co-founder of the Vision 1000 social investment initiative. She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018. The Mueckes run private consultancy, www.Medthink.com.au.

Follow Dr. Muecke on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube or LinkedIn. 

The podcast also features:

Dr. YokeLi Ling

In this 7th episode of Season 1 of The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast, we also speak with Dr YokeLi Ling, based in Kuala Lumpur who is passionately advocating Sleep and Airway Centric Dentistry and Oral Myofunctional Therapy. Dr. Ling shares more details in the 8th episode of the podcast (click here) with co-hosts Nikki Yeo and Jasmine Low. 

Mia Palencia

Our tradition continues where we introduce music from this region and we’ve chosen a song titled SUPERMAN by Tassie-based Mia Palencia who launched her career in Malaysia at the age of 14 as the other half of Sabahan jazz duo Double Take. The song reflects the advocacy work that’s being undertaken by Dr. James Muecke AM – Australia’s SUPERMAN. Mia composed, produced and performed the opening night theme song for the Southeast Asian Games 2017, and continues her PhD research in Songwriting at the Conservatorium of Music, University of Tasmania and released her 7th album with her Australian jazz quartet, In Good Company. Visit www.miapalencia.com.

Available wherever you get your podcasts:

Public advocacy

We welcome messages from our listeners, and invite you to send us a voice message if you have comments or feedback for our guests.

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Now streaming – Dr. James Muecke AM, Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission. Listen to the podcast on AsiaFitnessToday.com or wherever you get your podcast: “The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast”
Now streaming – Dr. James Muecke AM, Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission. Listen to the podcast on AsiaFitnessToday.com or wherever you get your podcast: “The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast”
Now streaming – Dr. James Muecke AM, Australian of the Year 2020 wants to put diabetes in remission. Listen to the podcast on AsiaFitnessToday.com or wherever you get your podcast: “The Kurang Manis (Sugar, Less) Podcast”

More opinion pieces by Dr. James Muecke AM:

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AFTNews, AFTNews, Features Pacific Islands, Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs)

Wake-up call! Diabetes affects 12% adults in Guam

Video

AFTNN — Reporter Sabrina Salas Matanane of Health Check, a program by KUAM News Extra in Guam presents the Guam Diabetes Control Coalition (GDCC) webinar with opening remarks from Dr. Keith Horinouchi, Chairperson of the GDCC.

The Diabetes Alert Day virtual conference on March 23rd also featured a presentation by keynote speaker Dr. Ann Pobutsky, PhD Territorial Epidemiologist / Department of Public Health and Social Services. Her research background includes chronic disease epimediology, social epimediology and community health needs assessment.

Dr. Pobutsky shared that data shows that Type 2 Diabetes or Insulin Resistance was in direct correlation with COVID-19 mortality, where the vast majority of COVID-19 cases on Guam (65.3%) were among those under age 45. The opposite is true of COVID-19 related deaths where 88% of the cases were among those older than 45 years. She highlights the following findings:

  • Three fourths of the COVID-19 related deaths were among those aged 55 years and above.
  • Diabetes was more common at older ages.
  • People with diabetes are also likely to have cardiovascular disease co-morbidities since diabetes interferes with the circulatory system.
  • There is a consistent pattern among Guam COVID-19 deaths from March 2020 to February 2021, whereby those with diagnosis of diabetes constitute about one-half of cases (49.6% – 56.3%).

What’s needed to move forward?

  • Establishment of a Diabetes Registry although this may not be feasible.
  • Continued health education on diabetes prevention, and management of diabetes mainly dietary changes to stem obesity.
  • Change the physical environment to make exercise more accessible.

More details of Dr. Pobutsky’s presentation can be seen in the video below.

The good thing that’s come out of working from home is that people are cooking more at home, planting their own bananas, green beans and sharing with others, bicycles are out of stock, people are walking outdoors with their kids and it’s an amazing change, commented Honorable Lourdes Leon Guerrero, Maga ‘hagan Guahan.

“Diabetes as we all know cause major problems like being blind, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, lower limb amputations and other ailments. The tragedy of all this is that diabetes can be prevented. A healthy diet, physical activity, avoiding tobacco, these actions can delay or even prevent Type 2 Diabetes. As a nurse, I know full well what diabetes can do to a person, and the toll it can take on a family if treatment is prolonged,”.

Honorable Lourdes Leon Guerrero, Maga ‘hagan Guahan.

The GDCC coalition has a mission to educate the community on healthy lifestyles, expansion of aquaculture and agriculture industries with a focus on children’s nutrition with local foods. They will be working closely with Guam Department of Education and establishing a school healthcare initiative with school health councillors. Outreach programs will identify families who are at high risk and under utilising health care and inviting them to the community health centres to benefit from the programs, said Honorable Joshua Tenorio, Segundo na Maga’lahen Guahan – Lt. Governor of Guam.

A message was read from the Office of the Speaker of the 36th Legislature and Chairperson for the Committee on Health, Land, Justice and Culture, Senator Therese M. Terlaje who shared these key points, “…we have been hearing that Guam’s diabetes rates have been at epidemic proportions for many years now and as far back as 2010, the Pacific Islands health officers association has declared a regional state of health emergency due to the epidemic of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands USAPI which included American Samoa, Guam, The Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, The Republic of Palau and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Island…”

Her address was followed by a message from Arthur San Agustin, Director / Department of Public Health and Social Services, who shared a message from a personal angle as both his parents had diabetes and passed away from complications of diabetes – “It really is a lifestyle change”.

The full ADA Diabetes Alert Day Presentation sponsored by the Guam Diabetes Control Coalition is featured in full below: