Diary: 家人最愛麵條

我們一家都喜歡吃麵條的，爸爸愛吃東莞米粉、女兒和兒子愛吃意大利粉，所以我們總會試試不同種類的。到了台灣，當然要試當地出產的麵條了。吃過台南關廟麵和新竹米粉，真的要讚!  女兒超愛吃關廟麵啊，反而我較喜歡吃新竹米粉﹐煮多久都是爽口的!

值得一提，如果對麥麩有不耐症或敏感便不可以吃關廟麵或意大利粉了，因為含有小麥的關係。反之，米粉就沒有大影嚮，可以安心吃。麥麩不耐症或敏感亦要注意食物中含有大麥或稞麥的成份，如麵包、餅乾及早餐穀物，另外大部份啤酒都含有大麥。

Article: Crayfish Party in Sweden!

Having spent a nice and breezeful morning with a lovely swedish lady, I get to know more about Sweden, a country with a long day and short night, snowy and freezing winter and still chilly summer (seems not a very ideal place to live).  Every August, the Swedes hold a crayfish party with everyone wearing a funny party hat and lanterns hanging outside the house.  Of course, crayfish is the main dish and you will have it with beer and the purpose of the whole event is to get drunk and have fun!  I had crayfish once when I was in Shanghai and Shanghainese love eating it with their bare hands (gloves on), and we can finish up to 30 pieces of crayfish each time per person!

Let's see what are the nutrients of Crayfish.
Per 100g Crayfish (cooked, moist heat)
90kcal
17g protein
1.2g fat
270mg P
300mg K
133mg Cholesterol

It belongs to the meat group so basically it provides protein.  Dietary fat is considerably low but its cholesterol content is higher than either pork or beef with separable lean and fat, given the same weight.  So my advice is, if your cholesterol level is high, I would suggest you to have it occassionally and limited your intake.  Remember your cholesterol intake is 300mg per day if your cholesterol level is at the borderline; however if you have hypercholesterolemia, you should not take more than 200mg cholesterol per day.  Also, starch and veg should be included in your meal to make it a Balanced Meal!

Written by Michelle CHEUNG, R.D.

“One man’s food may be another man’s poison”—Understanding food allergy

Article: “One man’s food may be another man’s poison”—Understanding food allergy

Food is essential to our life as it provides energy and nutrients.  All of us eat to survive, and most of us enjoy eating.  However, some people indeed cannot tolerate some kinds of food and may develop adverse reaction afterwards.

Differences between Food Allergy and Food Intolerance

Are food allergy and food intolerance interchangeable?  Both are food reactions but they are different.  Food allergy can be serious and life-threatening; even a tiny bit of allergic food can cause immediate (symptoms may occur within minutes to 2 hours) and severe reactions such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, nasal congestion, stomach cramps, shortness of breath, angioedema of the lips, face, tongue and throat, and etc.  Its abnormal response to a food protein involves the immune system and there is no cure for food allergy, a complete and strict avoidance of the food allergen is the only prevention from the adverse reactions.

The prevalence of food allergy in children has shown an increase of 18% between 1997 and 2007.  Eight foods causing 90% of allergic reactions in the United States are as follows:

Milk	Eggs
Wheat	Soy
Peanuts	Tree nuts
Fish	Shellfish

On the other hand, food intolerance reactions are of slower onset (symptoms occur hours to days) and do not involve the immune system.  Food intolerances are much common than food allergies.  Lactose intolerance, coeliac disease and wheat intolerance are types of food intolerance.

Diagnosis of food allergy

It is necessary to visit your doctor if you are suspected from food allergy, a skin prick test, specific IgE and basophil histamine release are the methods for allergy testing.  Once the allergenic foods are suspected, a restricted and tailor made diet should result in the disappearance of symptoms or at least a significant reduction.  Such diagnostic diet may be prescribed by the dietitian and should be supervised by the doctor.

To food allergic people: How to avoid?

Basic tips for eat out/take-away meals

1.     Read the menu thoroughly

2.     Ask the waiter/waitress if in doubt

3.     Inform the chef in advance booking

4.     Watch out for hidden ingredients

-Peanut oil used in cooking

-Peanuts in satay sauce, chocolate, ice cream or candy bars

        -Nuts in cake/dessert

5.  Always bring the emergency treatment kit (Injectable epinephrine)

Food labeling

Food label is mandatory in UK or the rest of the European Unit and the following food ingredients must be clearly illustrated on the food package:

Peanuts	Tree nuts	Eggs
Milk	Fish	Crustaceans (lobsters, crabs and prawns)
Sesame seeds	Soya	Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley and oats)

Nutritional management

Nutritional management is important in food allergy.  Prolonged food avoidance may lead to specific nutrient deficiency and consequently, a disorder may arise.  It is necessary to talk to a dietitian regarding to the diet plan and the management should include:

1.     Total avoidance of food allergens

2.     Education on food allergy

3.     Provide alternative nutrient sources

4.     Sample meal plan

Food challenge test may be given over a few weeks and after following the food challenge test, the suspected allergenic food will be reintroduced to the diet.  Recording any allergy symptoms that occur when the food is reintroduced helps to confirm the diagnosis.  However, if a severe reaction to the food has had resulted, food challenge test cannot be used.

Feel and live better

Some food allergies can be outgrown and if they don’t, a balanced diet is important in order to keep ourselves healthy and remember there is always a substitution.

 

Written by: CHEUNG Michelle Chi-Kwun, R.D.

Article: Fruit of the day

Before coming to Taipei, everyone keeps telling me how delicious and fresh the veg and fruits are there, and in fact, after you have tried them, you will agree.  When I walk pass the fruit store, there are variety of fruits that I haven't seen in HK nor in Canada.

You may have tried many nice foods with passion fruit 百香果 as the ingredient.  Well, have you tried it fresh?  It is a little bit sour when you first taste it but then it soon turns into sweet.  Passion fruit contains great amount of dietary fiber, potassium and vitamin C.

100g (~5 pieces) passion fruit without refuse:

75kcal energy
24g carbohydrate
11g sugar

340mg potassium

10g dietary fiber

30mg vitamin C

Beneficial effects:
1. Dietary fiber protects our intestinal health.
2. Potassium helps to stablize our blood pressure and minimizes the risk of hypertension.
3. Vitamin C is an antioxidant which helps to minimize the level of free radical in our body that may cause chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Written by: Michelle Cheung, Dietitian

Article: What are Betel Nuts?

When you are in the heart of the Taipei city, you will get to see many nicely decorated coffee shops and cake shops serving all sorts of desserts, chocolate, tea and coffee, all with the stimulating effects.  When you travel a bit further, instead you will find many stores selling betel nuts, and then warning signs about the consequences after consuming betel nuts will appear at the main entrance of any hospital.

What is betel nuts (bin lang 檳榔)? 
Betel nuts are the seeds of the fruit from the palm.  They affect our central nervous system which have been said that they help to relax, stimulate appetite, relieve symptoms of mental illness etc.  However, there is still no evidence to support such claims.

Health issues:
Many reports have been stating that chewing betel nuts instead cause oral cancer.  Bureau of Health Promotion of Taiwan reported that 9 out of 10 people suffering from oral cancer chew betel nut, a very striking result.  The Department of Health’s statistics of cancer rates in 2008 and the death rate in 2010 showed that oral cancer ranked fourth among the 10 leading causes of cancer mortality among men in Taiwan, and that about 6,000 people were diagnosed with oral cancer each year.

If you are really looking at pressure relief, I would suggest you to increase veggie intake and take 1-2 fruits daily due to their great amount of antioxidants and their slowly releasing glucose properties help to stablize your blood glucose to avoid mood fluctuation.  Milk (preferrably skim milk) and banana contain tryptophan, (an important element to make serotonin in our blood) which helps to sleep better and relax!

Written by: Michelle Cheung, Dietitian