Arthralgia refers to pain localized to a joint, regardless of the origin of the pain (which may or may not be due to joint inflammation). It should not be confused with Arthritis {Greek term “disease of the joints”} which is an acute or chronic joint inflammation that often co-exists with pain and structural damage.

In simpler words, joint pain or discomfort is common and usually felt in joints of the hands, feet, hips, knees, or spine. The joint can feel stiff, achy or sore with constant, cyclic or irregular pain episodes. In addition, the joint may feel stiff in the morning and feel better with movement or activity. However, too much activity could make the pain worse. [Read more…]

Sleep is a vital segment of life, and a healthy body is always blessed with good sleep. Improper and disturbed sleep is a potent indicator of mental and/or physical stress. Many ancient medicine system like Ayurveda, have insisted that insomnia, a general sleep disorder can be controlled with functional foods in diet.

Various researches into insomnia have revealed that chemicals/biochemicals such as tryptophan, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), calcium, potassium, magnesium, melatonin, pyridoxine, L-ornithine and hexadecanoic acid promote healthy sleep; whereas neurochemical factors include serotonin, noradrenalin, acetylcholine, histamine, orexin etc keeps the person awake. So, for a good sleep functional foods rich in sleep promoters play an important part. [Read more…]

神奇純有機大麥的益處

Benefits of Pure Organic Barley with Chinese Subtitles

Regular consumption of whole grain barley and its hydroalcoholic extract reduces the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer, obesity, cardiovascular disease, etc. These benefits have been attritubted to beta-glucan and phytochemicals such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, lignans, tocols, phytosterols, and folate.

Generally, the content of nutritious and functional ingredients differ depending on the growth stage of barley grass, various cultivars or on the processing technology.

Barley grass has young green leaves and stem of vegetative growth stage from seedling at 10 days after sprouting to elongation stage. Barley grass is rich in nutritious and functional ingredients, which include dietary fiber, protein, fat, vitamin A, vitamin C, Calcium, Sulphur, Chromium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, chlorophyll , superoxide dismutase (SOD), saponarin, flavonoid, polyphenol, GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid), tryptophan. [Read more…]

Celiac disease has traditionally been clinically considered and then investigated with patients presenting with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. In gluten dependent conditions, the gluten free diet (GFD) is the only valid therapy till-date which decreases disease activity, improves health, alleviates quality of life and treats/prevents the associated complications.

However GFD, the mainstay of treatment for celiac disease, is increasingly being adopted by people without a diagnosis of celiac disease. Just believing that gluten is bad for health, people have started to abstain themselves from wheat, barley, rye, wheat-contaminated oats and products made from these grains.

Anyone who is NOT suffering from celiac disease should consider few facts before moving onto GFD, such as:

1. Wheat, barley, etc though be gluten-bearing still make substantial contribution to diet and health, particularly providing dietary fibers, B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, B9) and mineral micronutrients, notably iron, zinc, and selenium.
2. GFDs are significantly lower in protein, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, folate, calcium and sodium.
3. GFD products are lower in protein than standard products.
4. GFD bread products are significantly higher in fat and fiber.

GFD diet is a specialized diet which is a part of therapy. Such products have to be fortified for missing nutrition such vitamins, minerals etc. The concept of balanced diet still stays, whose definition clearly states “the diet that doesn’t under or over nourishes the person, and/or makes the person sick or unwell”.

Eating a balance diet is the key to good health. Everyone should make the correct choice based on needs and not by following the market trend.

Reference:
1. Lerner, A.; et.al. Navigating the Gluten-Free Boom: The Dark Side of Gluten Free Diet. Front Pediatr. 2019, 7, 414.

“if the patient can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet.”

Gluten comes from the Latin word for ‘glue’ which highlights the elastic property of the dough especially during fermentation. Bubbles of carbon dioxide when released from fermenting yeast become trapped by the sulphur linked visco-elastic protein, ensuring a light honeycombed texture for the dough. Moreover, the elastic nature of gluten holds particles of the dough together, preventing crumbling during rolling and shaping. Hence, gluten plays a vital role in the production of baked goods.

The gluten content varies between grains, although the exact gluten content present in these foods is not easily available, the grains can be divided as containing gluten or not.

• Grains with gluten – wheat (including varieties like durum, spelt, kamut and farron, also products like semolina; 75-85% of protein), barley (5-6%), rye, triticale and oats.
• Gluten-free grains – corn, millet, rice, sorghum.
• Gluten-free pseudo-cereals – amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa.

Chemically, gluten is the composite name given to the protein in wheat, rye, barley and oats, but more specifically it is Gliadin (in wheat), Hordein (in barley), Secalin (in rye) and Avenin (in oats). The first three proteins are similar kinds so their effects are reported, but Avenin is a different kind of protein. People do suffer from oats as Avenin is part of oats biochemistry. Gluten-free oats in market correspond to oats that they are free from wheat (and/or rye, barley) Gliadin i.e. there is no measurable contamination.

“To regulate the food is the main part of the treatment”. -Samuel Gee, 1888