Conversation with Dr B.T. Chia, Microbiome Specialist at Freshwerkz
During festive periods, people often over-eat. More often than not, these include indulging in high-fat, high sugar, and low-fibre options. These unhealthy food choices are usually the cause of gastrointestinal and cardiovascular diseases.
Twenty years ago, a local company, Freshwerkz Pte Ltd, discovered that a diverse microflora promotes human health, and went on to develop ProVie G and Living Logic+, two health supplements for metabolism, and brain development.
The Chinese idiom of “ailments enter from the mouth” is not inaccurate. One of the founders of Freshwerkz, Dr. Chia Boon Tat, said that 90% of ailments stem from intestinal problems. Among them, common diseases such as high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are largely caused by an unbalanced diet.
Q: How can I stay healthy during the festive periods?
Dr. Chia: It is not only during the festive period that we tend to eat unhealthily. We normally are busy at work, and can only choose fast food or eat out, hence limiting our healthy choices. But if everyone can take a step back before choosing, we can consciously decide on what is good for our gut. The Health Promotion Board’s “Healthy Plate recommends this: 1/4 brown rice, 1/4 meat, 1/2 vegetables or fruit. In real life, rice usually accounts for half our plates, vegetables account for only a quarter, and meat accounts for the last quarter. Some people do not even choose vegetables. Besides being rich in vitamins, iron, calcium, magnesium etc, vegetables and fruits contain fibre.
Eating more fibre can slow down the body’s ability to absorb sugar. Some studies have found that fibre deficiency in the diet is one of the main causes of diabetes and obesity.
Fibre can be classified into insoluble fibre and soluble fibre. Insoluble fibre is good for the digestive system and prevents constipation. Soluble fibre is good for the heart and blood circulation. It can help lower cholesterol in the blood and help control blood sugar levels.
Our local breakfast contains mainly carbohydrates, e.g. bread, rice noodles, etc, and the meal tends to lack vegetables. It is thus recommended to include some fruits, such as apples or bananas during breakfast.
Q: What if I can’t have vegetables or fruits?
Dr. Chia: If that is the case, be active in supplementing them. If you take ProVie G before or after meals, it will help digestion in the stomach. It is not only helpful in maintaining good glucose and cholesterol levels, but also in preventing and healing the leaky gut.
ProVie G is a plant-based probiotic supplement. In addition to prebiotics and probiotics, it also contains fermented bitter gourd and moringa. Bitter gourd is known to help with the glucose level for diabetic patients, because it contains an insulin-like substance and has a good hypoglycemic effect. But eating too much bitter gourd on a daily basis can hurt the body. The fermentation process uses sufficient bittergourd to release the nutrients so that it is absorbed more efficiently by the body. Moringa can lower serum cholesterol, liver cholesterol and kidney cholesterol, and increase serum protein. Important nutrients for high blood pressure include potassium, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Moringa has all of these nutrients and is high in content. In addition, moringa contains vitamin C, which helps support the body’s nitric oxide production. This is crucial for the normal function of the blood vessels. The better the vascular work, the lower the risk of developing high blood pressure.
The fermentation of bitter gourd and moringa produce prebiotics, which will help the stomach and immunity. Therefore, ProVie G can effectively regulate hyperglycemia, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, while also promoting the health of liver function. In addition, probiotics and prebiotics in ProVie G can increase the activity of millions of bacteria in the gut. The chemical signals generated by these bacteria react in the brain and affect our mood and response to stress. Studies have shown that probiotics and prebiotics work with antidepressants on the same neural pathways, thereby reducing depression and anxiety and making people feel happier.
This article first appeared in “The Epoch Times”.