Food Safety Excellence Award again in 2015 !

Congratulations to E Excel for receiving Food Safety Excellence Award again in 2015!!!

Many of us look for food or products that are effective however it's very important as a wise consumer ourselves to look into the safety of the food that you are taking and awarded from a creditable body.

Even organic food today are not also entirely free from pesticides n environmental pollutants.

E Excel are committed to provide safe, unique n effective products by conducting close to 2000 tests and we are proud to have been awarded by AVA Singapore for Food Safety Excellence Award for 12 consecutive years since 2004 !!

This is the best assurance we can give to the consumers 

😊

Best Regards,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

Gout sufferers can eat soy: NUS study

Source extracted: http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/gout-patients-can-eat-soy-products-local-study-finds

SINGAPORE - Soy products do not increase the risk of gout, and people who already have the condition can eat them, a new local study has found.

This goes against the common belief that gout sufferers should avoid eating soy and legume products as they are high in the organic compound purine.

Although purine-rich foods like shellfish and meat are known to cause higher levels of uric acid in one's blood, which may be retained, soy does not appear to have the same effect. Other purine-rich foods may cause sodium urate crystals forming in the joints, causing aches and pains, said researchers from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and the National University Hospital, who did the study.

This myth is so common that even health professionals believe it, they said.

But their study - involving more than 50,000 Chinese in Singapore - found that those who consumed the most soy products were at lower risk of gout than those who ate the least.

The interviewees were 45 to 74 years old when they were recruited from 1993 to 1998. Researchers asked about their dietary habits then, and followed up with with questions on their medical status from 1999 to 2004 and 2006 to 2010. Out of the 51,114 they followed up on, 2,197 had developed the condition.

"Based on our study, soy might in fact have a protective effect against gout but this needs to be further studied," said Dr Teng Gim Gee, senior consultant at the division of rheumatology at the National University Hospital.

The finding, that soy is not associated with higher risk of gout, confirms six other studies done in places like Japan and Taiwan, which show that consuming soy does not increase uric acid in one's blood, said Professor Koh Woon-Puay, who studies population health at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.

The local study is the first to draw a direct link between gout and soy. Also, increased uric acid, though a necessary condition, may not be sufficient for causing gout. Other factors like genes play a part too.

Scientists have yet to confirm why soy, though high in purine, is not associated with higher uric acid retention. But they suspect, based on a study in Japan, that soy may increase uric acid excretion and thus play no role in increasing the risk of gout.

In the local study, the group which ate the most red meat had an 8 per cent higher risk of gout. Surprisingly, the group which consumed the most poultry had a significantly higher 27 per cent increased risk.

Up to 97 per cent of the red meat consumed by those polled was pork as older Chinese seldom eat beef and lamb, unlike in Western countries.

The trend has to be studied further as previous research did not break meat up into different categories to look at their associations with gout, Prof Koh said.

"Though the study surveyed only Chinese, we have no reason to expect different results in other racial groups," she added.

About 4 per cent of Singaporeans over the age of 45 suffer from gout, which is more common in males.

Soy is an excellent alternative choice of protein from plant food besides animal proteins (eggs, meat, cow's milk). It's cholestrol free, high in dietary fibre, rich in vitamins and minerals. Soy also contains plant nutrients called Isoflavones which helps to promote good health of our heart.

Best Regards,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

Bugs bite from school on 24th Apr '15

Missy came home with multiple bug bites all over her face and eye area after school on Friday and we have no idea how did she get it as we have checked with the teacher and apparently she is the only unfortunate one.



It seems harmless as she doesn't complain of any pain or itch but it does causes her self confidence level to shaken as Missy wanted to give her favourite ballet class a miss. Grandma managed to convince Missy to still go ahead with the class despite the bites showing so prominently on her face .

Armed with the knowledge on Nutritional Immunology, I looked at this as a form of allergy that flared up from the bites from some unknown bugs so I gave her a pellet of Orchestra to take in the evening.

The allergy reaction had come down by 3rd day without any medication!

Our immune systems is truly our body's best doctor. By nourishing our immune systems with the right nutrients, our body will be able to do the cleansing process more effectively on its own.

Best Regards,
Karen Lim
9843-4599



How did a working mum embark on the science of nutritional immunology?

As  a working mum, it's always a challenge to balance between family and work. Especially when my daughter is sick, there are tons of projects and deadlines to meet, posed to be both mentally and physically staining.

Throughout my daughter's first 4years of childhood, Sher had been hospitalised once and 3 cases of high fever.

If you were with me back in 2010, you would have felt the sense of helplessness i had. Sher was only 8months old, had a sudden fever, diarrhea and was crying non-stop in the middle of the night. She was not taking any feed for almost 2 days and show no signs of recovering after a visit to the GP. So we decided to bring her to see the PD and blood test shown she was diagnosed with salmonella infection. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps. Immediate arrangement was made to be hospitalised as there were signs of dehydration and had to be put on drips. Thankfully, Sher was recovering well & was discharged on the 3rd day. During these 3days, i had to get my colleague to cover my work while i also brought work to the hospital & taking care of Sher at the same time.

So far Sher was in good hands until Feb 2013, she was having a high fever and i have to leave her under the care of my mother as i need to be away for a day trip for business.

As a mother, all i could do when my daughter was sick is to call home and asked my mom if my daughter is okay. I could not monitor her temperature every hourly and be there to take care of her personally. That evening when i reached Singapore and called home, i was told her fever had shot up very high and they are on the way to the A&E at KKH. I had to take a cab down to meet them at the hospital. We were at the A&E till almost 4am to ensure her fever had subsided before we could go home. I had to apply for urgent leave the next day as i was too exhausted to go to work.

Fast forward to Feb 2014, Sher was recovering from a bout of high fever, cough and runny nose when I had to travel for business trip again. On the day i was about to fly back, i had called home and was informed her condition had taken for the worst. I had to make several phone calls to arrange for my parents to bring my daughter to meet me at the clinic. Again, i have to take a cab and rush down the moment i touched down Singapore.

During these periods, I had made many trips shuttling between GPs, PD, A&E and even tried traditional Chinese medicines (TCM). I had to prepare the medications in syringes in the morning before going to work and keep them in the fridge as my mom couldn't read the fine print on the syringe and we were worried about overdose of medications. I even had to do up a chart to keep track of the medications Sher had to take in the morning, afternoon and evening. Sher was even tasked to help my mom to monitor and put a tick in the box. Imagine at 4year old, she is able to read the names of the medicines she is taking and its purposes.

To add on, from May to July 2014, Sher had a series of ulcers outbreak in her mouth and had to be sent home for observations almost every week as the school were worried about HFMD.

However, every time when I visited the doctor to get the clearance letter to state that she is fit to go back to school, I never had a clear answer to my queries, Does she has HFMD?

I spoke to a friend whom is a scientist, GPs, PD and even the pharmacist, I get mixed replies like Oh, its not HFMD as she do not complaint of any pain, discomforts, no blisters etc. Some replied its very mild HFMD as its not full blown with the blisters.

As a mother, I refused to believe that she has HFMD as its only ulcers (and nothing else!). While I understand there is no medications for this, I just wanted something that could prevent her from having this ulcers outbreak. Recommendations include taking Vitamins B, C with Zinc etc that could boost her immune system do not help at all.

What make it worst is that while caring for her, I also fall sick consecutively and I lost my voice twice in 6 months! I was so sick of falling sick. By May 2014, I have already used up all the medical claims for the entitlement in the whole year.

Any parents reading this can relate what i was going through during these period?

After her first high fever in 2013, her respiratory systems becomes very sensitive and we have to be careful with what she eats. A visit to the ENT specialist and a skin prick test shows negative and recommendations include taking anti allergy medications like Zytec and nasal sprays - Nasonex every day.

I read the labels that nasal spray contains corticosteroid and prolong period of usage will cause side effects such as slowed growth in children. 

I have expressed my concern to my PD and ENT specialist, but the answers were tantamount; "don't worry, its not harmful as the dosage were relatively low, the child will outgrow hopefully."

Feeling despair, I decided to stop the recommendations, follow ups with ENT specialists and follow my own instinct that medications is not helpful as it only a suppressant. Sensitive respiratory system is not life threatening and I choose to be more careful of her diet and lifestyle.

Fortunately through my friend, Anlinna from wholesome superfood introduced the science of nutritional immunology to me.

I truly agree that there is a wisdom in the science of Nutritional Immunology, that the only way to stay healthy is through nutritional immunology lifestyle, nourishing our immune system with the correct nutrients from wholesome plant food.

What saved my daughter's medical fees?

This is only part of the medications that I kept at my house, not forgetting I have another set to prepare at my mom's place.

My family and I have benefitted greatly from this wonderful science. My daughter is healthier now and ulcer outbreak has come down tremendously and stopped. Recovery period is also shorter and faster. We haven't seen a doctor since Jul'14. I'm very happy to say that her days of missing from school are a past. I have also learnt to be a wiser consumer, giving my family what is really good for them.

I hope through my sharing, more parents here would be able to learn about the science of nutritional immunology lifestyle and enable their child to grow up healthy and unlease their potential & capabilities.

To know more on the science of nutritional immunology & lifestyle, do contact me at 9843-4599 for a non-obligatory discussion / consultation.

Thanks,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

What is Nutritional Immunology?

Nutritional Immunology or immunonutrition, is the science that studies the link between the food we eat and our immune system.

Everyone of us are born with the best doctor in the world - our immune system. By nourishing our body with the essential nutrients, we can have a healthy immune system, thereby can prevent or combat diseases like cancer, diabetes, influenza and live longer.

Such foods can help us recover faster without the use of medications when we fall ill.

Our body will also be able to perform the functions of defence, cleanse & repair more effectively.

Nutritional Immunology advocates on prevention is better than cure and focus on strengthening the immune system by consuming wholesome plant based food which is rich in Antioxidants, Phytochemicals & Polysaccharides to protect our body from the harmful effects of the free radicals, unhealthy lifestyle and diets in everyday life.

What are all these nutrients and why are they so important to us?

Antioxidants are compounds that can prevent body cell damages through oxidation and slow down aging and also anti-inflammatory agents to reduce the severity of arthritis and bronchitis.

Phytochemicals gives fruits and vegetables their colour, flavour and aroma. Phytochemicals protect these plants from sunlight and to ensure their survival, processes enormous healing properties to nourish and boost the immune system.

Polysaccharides are long chains of sugars found commonly in mushrooms, increases natural killer  (NK) cells activities by 38 to 49 times, which prevents healthy cells or benign tumours from becoming malignant.

Nutritional Immunology not only supports taking the plant food in their wholesome form, but also how the processes of plant foods like the plant species and parts, harvesting time and processing procedures, plant parts to retain its optimum quality and quantity of antioxidants, phytochemicals and polysaccharides.
Examples: ginseng berry has 4 times more immunity supporting ginsenosides as compared to the roots which we are more familiar with? Banana has more nutritious value when they are ripen on the trees rather than we picked them while they are green and get transported to our table? Grape seeds which we always discard has OPC (oligomeric procyanidins) is effective against heart and retinal diseases.

Thanks to Nutritional Immunology, we now have a better understanding of proper nourishing through plant foods, prolonging the length and quality of lives is not impossible but achievable!

Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/nutritional_immunology
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/122/3_Suppl/591.full.pdf
http://hnrca.tufts.edu/research-laboratories/nutritional-immunology/
Enjoying Health & Longevity with Nutritional Immunology by Jau-Fei Chen, PhD

Thanks,
Karen Lim
9843-4599

Welcome To Super Whole Food

Welcome to Super Whole Food where i will journal about the Science of Nutritional Immunology, how our family has benefit from this wonderful science, Wholesome plant food (Super food) and many more....