Mak Fai

Our early ancestors ate plants and fruits that had therapeutic effect on the body as well as providing nutrition. Since the dawn of civilisation, man has relied on the forests, fields and gardens for medicines. Early physicians who used food as the mainstay prescription against disease knew nothing of germs they could not see, or of hormones or cholesterol, and how painkillers and anticoagulants...

Taking supplements does nothing to fight cancer. In some cases, some supplements can be downright unsafe.  In January 2009, an editorial in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) noted that most trials had shown no cancer benefits from vitamins.  Several large credible studies, including research into the effects of Vitamins C and E and beta carotene, found the supplements did not...

Many supplements do not thwart heart disease. This has been demonstrated in several studies. Instead, easily available foods are proven to have a greater potential for preventing heart diseases. Supplements that do not work for heart problems "Vitamin C pills do not appear to lower cholesterol levels or reduce the risk of heart attacks. Effects on cholesterol plaques in heart arteries...

Chillies may prevent: cancer, heart disease, stroke, blood clots, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, bronchitis, emphysema, coughs and colds and stomach ulcer. Used as a food, a spice and an herbal medicine for over 9,000 years, chillies are said to be good for the kidneys, spleen, pancreas, lungs and heart. In Victorian England, chillies were prized for their warming properties in...

There is strong evidence that a Mediterranean diet protects against cardiovascular disease. Other recent research has linked the eating style to a lower risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Diets are often doomed to fail because they focus more on what you can’t eat than what you can. Don’t eat bread. Don’t eat sugar. Don’t eat fat. On some diets, even certain fruits and vegetables are...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is concerned that sugar consumption among Malaysians is increasing at an alarming rate. The high sugar intake is reflected by the serious health problems and debilitating diseases striking Malaysians each day. Early in 2009 Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad the former Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs announced that Malaysia is the 8th highest sugar...