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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Why is Sugar So Bad?

  By sugar I mean white refined sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, turbinado sugar, honey (even raw), maple sugar, corn sweetener, dextrose, glucose, fructose, barley malt, rice syrup, liquid cane sugar and others. Don't be fooled by the name organic when it applies to sugar. Sugar is sugar, organic or not.

Refined sugar is of course the worst culprit, It doesn’t contain any fibre, vitamins, minerals, protein, fat or enzymes. Nothing your body needs, just empty calories. When you take refined sugar in your diet, your body ends up borrowing important nutrients - calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium - from your healthy cells, for example from the bones, to metabolize the sugar.

When the body becomes overly acidic, a domino effect starts  - even more minerals are pulled out of the bones to correct the imbalance, leading to brittle bones.

The even more immediate negative effect of taking refined sugar is the fact that it causes a spike in blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels are constantly rising and falling sharply when you ingest too much sugar, which the body counters by releasing more insulin from the pancreas to return the blood sugar levels to equilibrium.

What happens is that you get a fast rush of energy from the sugar as it’s processed and released into the bloodstream. This is rapidly followed by a rapid drop in energy as the insulin does its work. You then eat more sugary food or drink to regain your “high” and the process begins again. This puts great strain on your pancreas in the constant creation and release of insulin. Insulin production then becomes erratic; the body is not able to regulate blood sugar levels effectively, leading to the onset of type II diabetes.

Increased insulin levels also decreases the production of growth hormones which in turn depresses our immune system, which of course, leads to a whole lot of other health problems.

Too much sugar also causes the blood to become thick and sticky which inhibits blood flow. The body starts lacking vital nutrients that are needed to eliminate toxic waste, which then leads to cellular death and premature aging.

Sugar plays a role in asthma, joint pain, arthritis, mood swings, depression, nervous disorders,  heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer, obesity and tooth decay... in fact, almost every degenerative disease.

This is because the root cause of all these diseases has been found to be inflammation. And on e of the biggest contributors to inflammation in the cells is sugar.

When waste material starts to build up which speeds up cellular death = Premature Aging. 

Sugar plays a role in asthma, mood swings, gallstones, heart disease, headaches, joint pain, diabetes, arthritis, nervous disorders, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and tooth decay.

If the sugar we ingest isn’t immediately used by our bodies for energy… it gets stored.   So if we eat a food high in refined sugar, about 50% of the glucose is used for energy, 10% gets stored in the liver and muscles and 40% stored as fat.

So what are the alternatives? Thankfully there are many natural and healthy sugar substitutes - Xylitol, Stevia, Yacon syrup, and my favourite is coconut palm sugar.

Why I prefer coconut sugar or coco sugar - it’s plentiful in Asia, where I live and thus totally sustainable and easy on the environment, it looks and tastes just like brown sugar or muscovado - easy to add to my coffee or for cooking.

The sweet nectar comes not from the coconut itself but is harvested by hand twice a day directly from the flower. The nectar/syrup is heated a bit more until all the moisture is evaporated off and crystals remain.

Coconut sugar has a low glycemic index of 35, which means it is metabolized more slowly and can be easier on the system.

Coconut sugar is especially high in Potassium, Magnesium, Zinc and Iron and is a natural source of the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, C.

For more information on how you can get coconut sugar in Singapore and Malaysia, write to: Health Coach International.


Tuesday, January 8, 2013

What are Adult Stem Cells?

Adult stem cell research is creating waves around the world – nothing in the world of medicine today has ignited more passion and hope as the adult stem cell, described as the “architects of our body and repair masters of our tissues and organs.” (The Stem Cell Dilemma, by Leo Rurcht, M.D. and William Hoffman.)

Extensive adult stem cell research has resulted in the use of adult stem cell therapy in the treatment of a whole host of degenerative and debilitating diseases.

Adult stem cells are un-differentiated cells found throughout the body that divide and multiply to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissue. Because they can develop into many of the different cell types needed by the body, such as heart, muscle, connective tissue or even brain, they are in fact the most powerful anti-aging mechanism known to science today.

In adult stem cell therapy, the adult stem cells are taken from the bone marrow in the patient’s hipbone. After collection the stem cells are isolated from the bone marrow and tested in a certified laboratory for quality, quantity and vitality of stem cells. The stem cells are cleansed, concentrated and then injected back into the patient’s damaged tissue.

The injecting of hundreds of millions of extra adult stem cells directly back into the patients’ damaged tissue enables the stem cells to work their magic where they are needed most.
However, this is an expensive process, and while almost instant results can be seen, over the long term, what may be more sustainable is to use a natural stem cell enhancer. In theory, the body has its own repair system. If body tissue is damaged, adult stem cells head for the damaged area to accelerate the healing process.

According to the Stem Cell Theory of Healing, Regeneration and Repair proposed by Jensen et al [1], there is no need to harvest embryonic stem cells, manipulate them, then reinject them into individuals. Regeneration can take place simply by stimulating the release of stem cells from the bone marrow and stimulating their migration into tissues. The task is therefore simply to find natural compounds able to stimulate stem cell release and migration. Such compounds could be used for the daily enhancement of the body’s natural mechanism of healing and regeneration.

One such natural source is Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, or more popular known as AFA. This is a wild blue-green algae, harvested from the Klamath Lake. Over the years, people consuming AFA have reported benefits related to conditions such as hypoglycemia, poor memory, Attention Deficit Disorder, chronic fatigue, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, poor immunity, skin problems, allergies, asthma, rheumatoid diseases and depression. Cases have also been reported of significant improvements in conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and myasthenia.

One supplement I would recommend containing a potent AFA extract is StemEnhance (or AFA Extract) from Stemyech. A double-blind study published in the highly respected journal, Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine demonstrated that the consumption of just 1 gram (2 capsules) of StemEnhance increased the number of circulating adult stem cells by an average of 3 million more circulating adult stem cells! For more information go to: Stemtech or write to me at coach@health-coach-international.com.

[1] Goodell et al. (2001) Stem cell plasticity in muscle and bone marrow. Ann N Y Acad Sci 938: 208-218.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Coco Sugar - Perfect Sugar Substitute!

I always tell my new clients the first thing they need to cut out from their diet is white sugar. It not only makes you put on weight, but also is the main culprit behind diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke, as well as cancer and even Alzheimer's Disease.

I was looking for a natural sugar substitute or sweetener that is healthy to recommend to them, when a friend of mine, who is also a health practitioner, introduced me to Coconut Palm Sugar. After a lot of research, I decided it was indeed the perfect sugar alternative, for many reasons.

First of course, it has a very low Glycemic Index or GI of 35 and Glycemic Load of 1.4. Glycemic index is a measure of how quickly your blood glucose rises after you consume a standard amount of a specific food. Glycemic load determines the carbohydrate content of that food based on its glycemic index and the portion size. This is an important concept for diabetics, who strive to keep their daily glycemic load to a minimum. Other sugars such as refined white sugar, muscovado sugar, and molasses have a range of 65 to 100 GI per serving! Other natural sweeteners such as date sugar has a 100 GI per serving, Maple Syrup has 69+ GI per serving and Honey has a 70+ GI per serving.

Secondly, raw coco sugar granules is dark brown in color like the muscovado sugar from cane. It tastes like an ordinary cane sugar but with a difference, it smells like roasted coconut meat. The sugar particles look rough, but felt soft in one’s hand, melt easily in the mouth and taste great with your coffee and other hot drinks. The added bonus is, because it looks just like brown sugar, it's great for cooking and baking, and for diehard sugar lovers, you almost cannot tell the difference!
Nutritional Values of Coco Sugar

Coco sugar is now commercially produced in southern Philippines. It is 100% natural, free from additives and artificial flavoring.

Coco sugar is produced by natural process of heat evaporation with no preservatives added. It is derived from evaporating coconut sap through boiling in an open container where it is then allowed to cool and solidify. Coco sap, if distilled, turns into wine (known as toddy in Malaysia and lambanog in the Philippines).
If it is fermented it turns into vinegar. If cooked it turns into sugar. Comparative chemical analysis also revealed that coco sugar contains higher amount of nutrients compared to brown cane sugar: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, chlorine, magnesium, sulfur and micro nutrients.
 For the health conscious consumers and diabetics, I would consider it to be the best sweetener substitute because of the many benefits that it has to offer.

If you want to purchase Coco Sugar in Singapore, write to: coach-health-coach-international.com