Elderly couple dies after eating poisonous pufferfish in Malaysia - CNN

CNN  — 

An elderly couple has died after eating poisonous pufferfish in Malaysia, prompting an appeal from their daughter for stronger laws to prevent others from suffering the same fate.

Ng Chuan Sing and his wife Lim Siew Guan, both in their early 80s, unknowingly purchased at least two pufferfish from an online vendor on March 25, said authorities in the southern state of Johor.

The same day Lim fried the fish for lunch and began to experience “breathing difficulties and shivers,” authorities said. An hour after eating the meal, her husband Ng also started showing similar symptoms, they added.

The couple was rushed to hospital and admitted to the intensive care unit, and Lim was pronounced dead at 7p.m. local time.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SHINGO ITO - FILES - Photo taken on June 5, 2012 shows a pufferfish, known as fugu in Japan, on a chopping board to remove toxic internal organs at a Japanese restaurant "Torafugu-tei" in Tokyo. Every year in Japan people end up in hospital after eating pufferfish, sometimes they die. But despite the apparent danger, strict rules on serving the toxic delicacy in Tokyo are about to be relaxed. AFP PHOTO / YOSHIKAZU TSUNO (Photo credit should read YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/GettyImages)

YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images

Fugu blowfish fail sparks emergency warning in Japan city

Ng fell into a coma for eight days but his condition worsened and he died on Saturday morning, said the couple’s daughter, Ng Ai Lee, who gave a press conference at the couple’s home on Sunday before their funeral.

Ng demanded accountability for her parents’ death and for stronger laws in Malaysia, where at least 30 species of pufferfish are commonly found in surrounding waters.

“Those responsible for their deaths should be held accountable under the law and I hope the authorities will speed up investigations,” Ng said. “I also hope the Malaysian government will beef up enforcement and help to raise public awareness on pufferfish poisoning to prevent such incidents from happening again.”

Malaysian law prohibits the sale of poisonous and harmful food like pufferfish meat and the offense carries a fine of RM10,000 ($2,300) or a prison term of up to two years.

Despite the dangers, poisonous pufferfish are sold at many Malaysian wet markets, experts said. “It’s considered exotic and tends to attract consumers,” said Aileen Tan, a marine biologist and director at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies.

“Once pufferfish have been cleaned and sold as slices, it is nearly impossible for the public to know the type of fish that they purchased,” Tan warned. “As for sellers, it is debatable on their (part) if they are aware (of the risks).”

“There needs to be more awareness about the risks of consuming puffer fish – maybe authorities need to look at special certifications for vendors and suppliers,” she said.

This photo taken on December 22, 2022 shows a pufferfish in waters off Thailand.

Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

Highly prized but deadly delicacy

Commonly referred to as ‘fugu’ – the Japanese term for pufferfish – pufferfish meat is enjoyed as a highly-priced delicacy despite containing deadly poison.

The fish’s organs, as well as skin, blood and bones, contain high concentrations of a deadly poison known as tetrodotoxin. Ingestion can rapidly cause tingling around the mouth and dizziness, which may be followed by convulsions, respiratory paralysis and death, medical experts say.

It is most commonly served in high-end Tokyo restaurants as sashimi and hot pot ingredients but has also caught on in popularity in countries like South Korea and Singapore, where dedicated fugu restaurants operate.

Under Japanese law, fugu chefs must undergo extensive apprenticeships of up to three years before they are licensed and allowed to handle and prepare the fish for food. Incorrectly prepared fugu has been found to be one of the most frequent causes of food poisoning in Japan, according to its health ministry.

There is no known antidote to the poison.

A piece of 'fugu' sushi served at a restaurant in Tokyo.

Sushi University

Despite the danger and risks, fugu has grown in popularity especially among gourmets and thrill seekers and is now also eaten countries outside Japan – at times, unregulated. In 2020, food poisoning killed three people in the Philippines after they ate pufferfish from a local barbecue stand.

The Malaysian health ministry said 58 poisoning incidents involving pufferfish consumption, including 18 deaths, were reported in the country between 1985 and 2023.

Photos shared by Ng on Facebook showed two pufferfish cooked by the couple – fried, headless and served on plates.

Their deaths sparked a public outcry and outpouring of sympathy, authorities are investigating who sold them the fish.

“The state district health office has opened investigations under the Food Act 1983… and carried out an investigation on the ground to identify the supplier, wholesaler and seller of the pufferfish,” Ling Tian Soon, chief of the Johor Health and Unity Committee, said in a statement issued Sunday.

He added that his health department would be holding discussions with the Fisheries Development Authority of Malaysia, a government agency overseeing seafood supplies in the country as well as local universities with fishery expertise.

“Information on pufferfish has also been posted on the Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Facebook page,” Ling said.

“We urge the public to be careful when choosing their food, especially if it has known risks.”

Adblock test (Why?)

Elderly couple dies after eating poisonous pufferfish in Malaysia - CNN
Read More

Study finds 45 negative health effects of added sugar - CNN

Sign up for CNN’s Eat, But Better: Mediterranean Style. Our eight-part guide shows you a delicious expert-backed eating lifestyle that will boost your health for life.

CNN  — 

There are at least 45 good reasons to cut back on added sugar, according to a new study.

Copious research has shown the negative effects of excessive sugar intake on health, which has informed recommendations to limit consumption of “free” or added sugar to less than 10% of a person’s daily caloric intake.

Still, researchers in China and the United States felt that before developing detailed policies for sugar restriction, the “quality of existing evidence needs to be comprehensively evaluated,” according to the study published Wednesday in the journal The BMJ.

Popular zero-calorie sweetener linked to heart attack and stroke, study finds

01:33 - Source: CNN

In a large review of 73 meta-analyses — which included 8,601 studies — high consumption of added sugar was associated with significantly higher risks of 45 negative health outcomes, including diabetes, gout, obesity, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, cancer, asthma, tooth decay, depression and early death.

Free sugars — the type of sugar the authors focused on — are those added during the processing of foods; packaged as table sugar and other sweeteners; and naturally occurring in syrups, honey, fruit juice, vegetable juice, purees, pastes and similar products in which the cellular structure of the food has been broken down, according to the US Food and Drug Administration. This category does not include sugars naturally occurring in dairy or structurally whole fruits and vegetables.

Table sugar is an additive in many processed food products.

Bit24/Adobe Stock

The study “provides a useful overview of the current state of the science on sugar consumption and our health … and confirms that eating too much sugar is likely to cause problems,” said Dr. Maya Adam, director of Health Media Innovation and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. Adam wasn’t involved in the study.

“Studies like this are helpful in advising patients that seemingly small changes, such as cutting out excess sugar like sugar-sweetened beverages, can have a marked and positive improvement to health,” said CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University, who wasn’t involved in the study.

Westend61/Getty Images

Coffee drinkers get more steps but also less sleep, study finds

Moderate-quality evidence suggested that participants with the highest consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages had higher body weight than those with the lowest intake.

“As a nutrition researcher who served on both the 2010 and 2020 US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees, I can confirm that intake of dietary sugar in the US is more than twice the recommended amount (less than 10% of total daily caloric intake) and while the direct impact of sugar itself offers minimal, if any, nutritional benefits, it further replaces foods that do,” said Linda Van Horn, professor emeritus of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, via email. Van Horn wasn’t involved in the study.

The connection between sugar and disease

Evidence of a link between free sugar and cancer has been limited and controversial, and needs more research, the study’s authors said. But the finding, according to the study, could be explained by the known effects of sugar on weight: High sugar consumption has been associated with obesity, which is a strong risk factor for various cancers. The same goes for cardiovascular disease.

“Added sugar intake can promote inflammation in the body, and this can cause stress on the heart and blood vessels, which can lead to increased blood pressure,” behavioral scientist Brooke Aggarwal told CNN in February. Aggarwal, an assistant professor of medical sciences in the cardiology division at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, wasn’t involved in the study.

Highly processed foods, which can have lots of free sugar, have been found to increase inflammation, a risk factor for depression.

“Whole food carbohydrates take longer to break down into simple sugars, and a part of them — the fiber — can’t be broken down at all,” Adam told CNN in February. “This means that whole, intact grains don’t cause the same spikes in blood sugar that we experience when we eat simple sugars. Blood sugar spikes trigger insulin spikes, which can destabilize our blood glucose and … be the underlying cause of health problems in the long run.”

Reducing your intake

The findings — in combination with existing guidance from the World Health Organization, World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research — suggest people should limit free sugar intake to less than 25 grams, or about 6 teaspoons, per day. There’s that much sugar in 2 ½ chocolate chip cookies, 16 ounces of fruit punch and about 1 ½ tablespoons of honey. A doughnut has around 15 to 30 grams of sugar, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The authors also recommend reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages to less than one serving (about 200 to 355 milliliters) per week. That’s the equivalent of an up to 12-ounce soda, Aggarwal said via email.

Random House

Mediterranean diet may lower heart disease risk in women by nearly 25%, study finds

To change sugar consumption patterns, the authors think “a combination of widespread public health education and policies worldwide is urgently needed.”

But there are some changes you can begin making on your own.

Be aware of what you’re putting in your body by reading nutrition labels when shopping — even the ones on foods you might not think of as sweet, such as bread, breakfast cereals, yogurts or condiments. These foods usually have lots of added sugar, and it adds up, Adam said.

Opt for water sweetened with fruit slices instead of sugary drinks and have fresh or frozen fruit for dessert instead of cakes, cookies or ice cream. Cooking and baking at home more often is one of the best ways to reduce sugar intake, Aggarwal said.

Getting enough good-quality sleep on a regular basis would also help “as we tend to choose foods higher in sugar when we’re tired,” Aggarwal said. Cutting back gradually can help you train your taste buds to crave less sugar.

“Our lives will probably end up being sweeter with less sugar in our diets,” Adam said.

CNN health and nutrition contributor Lisa Drayer contributed to this report.

Adblock test (Why?)

Study finds 45 negative health effects of added sugar - CNN
Read More

Are you overeating? Here's how to eat your meal in the right proportions - Hindustan Times

ByAkanksha Agnihotri, Delhi

Apr 07, 2023 08:23 AM IST

Portion control is key to maintaining a healthy weight, yet often overlooked. Check out some expert tips on how to eat your meal in the right proportions.

Eating a well-balanced meal in the right proportions is crucial for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, with busy schedules and various distractions, it can be challenging to monitor the amount of food we consume. Portion control is important because it allows you to have a tight handle on how many calories you are presumably consuming. This way, you eat what your body needs, instead of mindlessly overindulging. Overeating can lead to weight gain and other health issues, while under-eating can lead to nutrient deficiencies and low energy levels. Therefore, it is essential to know the appropriate serving sizes and how to control portions effectively. (Also read: Eating habits you should adapt to maintain your nutrition level and healthy lifestyle )

Portion control is a fundamental aspect of healthy eating, yet it is often overlooked. With larger portion sizes becoming the norm, it's easy to see why people are consuming more calories than they need. (Unsplash)

Ruchi Sharma, certified nutritionist and founder of ‘EAT FIT REPEAT', shared with HT Lifestyle, some simple tips and tricks to help you eat your meal in the right proportions.

1. Make your plate colourful: A colourful plate is likely to have foods from different groups, for example a plate with strawberries, ½ a cup of rice, chicken fillet, and sautéed vegetables is much more diverse and healthier than a plate of chicken curry alone.

2. Use smaller plates: A smaller sized plate will make a small portion of food look big and you are likely to get satisfied.

3. Don’t pick at leftovers: Wasting food is not encouraged at all but it doesn’t mean you need to polish off your children’s or grandchildren’s leftovers. Cook less or make a solid plan to use your leftovers e.g. you can feed birds or stray animals.

4. Drink before you eat: Drinking a glass of water or buttermilk before you eat will take up some room in your stomach. This might help you minimize your portions.

5. Add vegetables and fibre: Bulking your meal up with vegetables and fibre is an effective way of cutting on calories as they are high-volume foods with minimal calories while making you feel full. For example, you can use a whole multigrain roti instead of plain bread.

6. Don’t double up carbs: If you already have a starchy vegetable on your plate, don’t go for roti, or naan with it and vice versa because you will be doubling up your carbs this way.

"This is how you can manage your portions accordingly. Other than this, eating slower, having soup before meals and limiting mealtime distractions (such as watching TV while eating) can help manage your meals in the right proportions. Looking at food, smelling it and Chewing your food is important for optimal digestive health, hunger and satiety management, Also for GLP-1 which regulates proper insulin secretion. As the name implies, portion control emphasizes minimizing the amount of food you eat instead of eliminating certain foods from your diet. This will help you design a healthy and balanced meal to achieve your health and weight goals," concludes Ruchi.

Topics

health nutrition eating fitness weight management + 3 more

health nutrition eating fitness weight management + 2 more

Adblock test (Why?)

Are you overeating? Here's how to eat your meal in the right proportions - Hindustan Times
Read More

This man vowed to eat McDonald’s every day for 100 days and has already lost 34 pounds - Yahoo Finance

A 57-year-old Tennessean went viral on TikTok in late February after announcing his commitment to an unconventional approach to weight loss: eating only McDonald’s for 100 days.

“I know some of you are thinking that might be crazy, but I’m gonna eat nothing but McDonald's for the next 100 days,” Kevin Maginnis shares in his first-ever TikTok.

As day 44 rolls in, Maginnis, who introduces himself to his over 76,000 TikTok followers as bigmaccoaching, has stayed true to his plan. In fact, it has worked, he shares with his newfound following. He has lost 34 pounds thus far and reports having improved cholesterol levels.

His approach seems counterintuitive, but Maginnis explains the secret sauce to his success with his easy-to-follow daily guidelines. He eats three McDonald's meals daily from anywhere on the menu and does not snack in between. He cuts each meal in half and saves the remaining portion for his next meal. He also chooses a bottle of water instead of soda with each meal. For breakfast, he will sometimes choose the Egg McMuffin and hash brown, cut both in half, and save the rest for either lunch or breakfast the next day.

https://ift.tt/lrQB0KF

The famed McDonald’s devotee is not bored—at least yet. He celebrated his birthday this week with half of a 10-piece chicken nuggets, apple slices, a couple of dipping sauces, and a “birthday shake”—because McDonald's, unfortunately, doesn't offer drive-through birthday cakes.

https://ift.tt/Zq7FekW

But Maginnis has faced criticism, with some comments pointing to the renowned film Super Size Me, which documents the negative health outcomes of eating only McDonald's for 30 days and sheds light on the harmful effects of America's fast food industry.

Maginnis claps back on the platform, saying for him, it’s “half-size me.” In his mind, portion control overrides food's nutritional value. He responded to one inquirer who asked why he can’t portion-control home-cooked meals—which are minimally processed, have a lower sodium content, and provide more nutrient variety.

“Overeating at home is what got me in trouble; by creating a 'leave the food at the house alone' scenario, it has helped me.”

Experts weigh in on the McDonald's-only approach

Medical experts are quick to critique Maginnis’s approach.

“I have cardiologists that love it and I have cardiologists that hate it,” he said on day 10 of his challenge on the Today show.

And while Maginnis doesn’t consider his plan a typical diet, calorie-based weight-loss approaches often fail, experts point out.

“Is a calorie a calorie when it comes to weight loss? Technically, yes. That's what is going to work in this situation,”  says Tara Schmidt, lead registered dietitian for the New Mayo Clinic Diet. “The topics that have not yet been addressed, though, are nutrient density (diet quality), balance, and sustainability. Research tells us that any calorie-controlled diet program will work, but most people will experience weight regain when they are no longer able to maintain it.”

While portion control can lead to weight loss, weight should not be framed as the sole measurement of health. Solely focusing on weight glosses over the importance of other health metrics integral to maintaining optimal health and a sense of well-being.

“In the realm of food choices, it's also notable to consider the quality of food being consumed and its impact on the body,” says Tara Schmidt, lead registered dietitian for the New Mayo Clinic Diet.

In fact, the type of foods we eat can help reduce the risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and diabetes. Highly processed foods, like fried foods, can cause inflammation, putting people at risk for long-term health conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Fast food is also high in sodium and low in fiber, which means it is digested quickly and can induce what feels like a sugar crash, which can negatively affect mood and trigger fatigue.

Eating diverse foods is also associated with a stronger gut microbiome, which helps protect us from illness.

“By consuming a large number of different plant fibers, that gives the building blocks for the emergence of diverse bacterial populations,” Dr. Richard Day, vice president of medical affairs and clinical development at ADM, a food processing company, previously told Fortune.

And the Mediterranean diet—a way of eating based on abundance and the prioritization of a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and plant-based protein—has been associated with longevity. Aiming for 30 different plants a week can improve the gut microbiome, reducing inflammation and improving heart and brain health. While Maginnis can choose from the entire McDonald's menu, the options are still limited, as his videos show.

So the McDonald's-or-bust way may not be for everyone.

And while Maginnis says he understands other factors can improve his overall health, until day 100, he’s sticking with half of the best of what McDonald's has to offer.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

More from Fortune:

Adblock test (Why?)

This man vowed to eat McDonald’s every day for 100 days and has already lost 34 pounds - Yahoo Finance
Read More

5 Reasons You Shouldn't Eat Microwave Popcorn - Delish

Movie nights call for popcorn, and in my house that means anything from a bag of Pirate’s Booty to a giant bowl of homemade stove-top popcorn bathed in butter. But there’s one type of popcorn that will never, EVER make it past my front door: the stuff that goes in the microwave.

That’s right, those plastic-sealed bags that promise to deliver buttery bliss in just a few minutes. Microwaveable popcorn might give us all the salty goodness we desire, but it comes with a hefty side of unsaturated fat, sodium, and chemicals we may not have bargained for. As registered dietician Dr. Amy Lee puts it, when you eat microwave popcorn, “you’re exposing yourself to a lot...It’s scary.”

Here’s why you should think twice before popping a bag in the microwave:

1. That bag is lined with chemicals. Ever wonder how all that crazy butteriness stays inside the bag without leaking through? Meet PFAs, a class of synthetic chemicals commonly used in food packaging. Popcorn manufacturers coat the insides of their popcorn bags with PFAs to prevent the artificial butter flavoring from leaking through and making a mess. But those same chemicals also leach into the popcorn—and into your body when you eat it. Since these chemicals take a while to break down, they can easily build up in your blood overtime. Talk about scary.
2. You can get something called “popcorn lung.” Speaking of chemicals, that glorious butter flavor and color that we love so much is (you guessed it!) completely fake. It’s a complex chemical concoction that often contains diacetyl, which, according to Dr. Lee, has “basically been listed as a poison” and can lead to bronchiolitis obliterans. Bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung,” is a condition where the smallest pathways in the lungs become inflamed, resulting in frequent coughing and shortness of breath. So all that “buttery goodness” wafting through the air is actually pretty harmful.
3. It also contains tons of saturated fat. Even if you ignore all the harmful chemicals in the packaging and the artificial flavors in the popcorn, you can’t get around the fact that most microwave popcorn is loaded with saturated fats like palm oil. Some popular brands contain up to 4 grams of saturated fat in a single serving. That’s 20 percent of your daily recommended intake. And in case you’re wondering, one serving size is only about a third of a bag. Who stops eating popcorn after finishing a third of a bag?
4. The sodium levels are through the roof. Fatty foods typically demand a hefty dose of salt to balance them out, and microwave popcorn is no exception. Manufacturers seek to “reach the bliss point for consumers,” says Dr. Lee. “You gotta have the salt and the fat.” Levels of sodium vary by brand, but many brands contain 250-300 mg of sodium per serving, up to 15 percent of your daily value. Is it any wonder we’re usually guzzling a can of soda while we’re munching on popcorn?
5. It’s just as easy to pop it yourself! That’s right: you can avoid all the excess chemicals and control the amount of saturated fat and sodium you consume with your popcorn by just popping your own on the stovetop. It’s not hard to do. All you need is a pan with a lid, a little vegetable oil, and some unpopped popcorn kernels. It takes roughly the same amount of time that it would to open a microwave popcorn pouch and throw it in the microwave. And—bonus!—if you pop it yourself, you’re suddenly open to a whole world of different flavors, seasoning combos, and mix-ins. Everything bagel seasoning? Taco spice? Caramel? The possibilities are endless when you pop your own popcorn.

Assistant Food Editor

Taylor Ann Spencer is the assistant food editor at Delish, where she develops recipes, creates recipe videos, and styles food. With a background in writing and theater as well as professional cooking, she enjoys sharing her love for global flavors and all things baking through informational posts, hosted videos, and just plain everyday conversations. When she's not cooking, she's brainstorming her next culinary mash-up. Mac 'n' cheese chili rellenos, anyone?

Adblock test (Why?)

5 Reasons You Shouldn't Eat Microwave Popcorn - Delish
Read More

Sleep expert shares delicious fruit you should eat before bedtime to fall asleep faster - The Mirror

I'm a sleep expert — eat this fruit to snooze better and longer - New York Post

Desperate for some shut-eye?

The answer might be in your kitchen.

Toss the sleepy time tea and cut open a kiwi as a midnight snack — that’s right, experts claim the tiny green fruit could reset your sleep schedule.

The UK furniture retailer Bed Kingdom recommends eating kiwi before bed as an au natural sleep aid, citing past studies that found the fruit to be beneficial to sleep quality and efficiency.

The Bed Kingdom claims the antioxidant properties and vitamins in kiwi are an added bonus that could relieve symptoms of sleep disorders.

“Kiwi fruit has been a feature in many people’s bedtime routines for many years, and the science backs up the kiwi’s value as a sleep aid,” the experts told the West Wales Chronicle this week.

Kiwi, experts said, could benefit your sleep schedule.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Other foods that could aid sleep are almonds, salmon, oats, avocados, eggs and bananas.

The sleep specialists also advise sticking to a strict snoozing schedule, avoiding caffeine too late in the day and exercising in the morning.

“To keep to a healthy sleep schedule, it is a good choice to limit caffeine intake in the later parts of the day and remove it completely as bedtime approaches,” the experts said, noting that caffeine, which is found in many teas, coffees and sodas, can take hours to leave the body.

Researchers have long debated the best time to exercise to yield the most favorable results.

Drinking coffee or working out too late in the day could impair sleep.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Some studies show that a mid-afternoon workout could boost life longevity, while another claimed a nighttime gym sesh is more beneficial.

Sleeping too much or too little could wreak havoc on the immune system.

A study earlier this month found that people who got more than nine hours of shut-eye and those who received less than six were at higher risk of infections.

Adblock test (Why?)

I'm a sleep expert — eat this fruit to snooze better and longer - New York Post
Read More