Flu (seasonal influenza) is NOT to be mistaken for the common cold. The flu is a serious respiratory infection, which can lead to severe complications and even death. Although flu may seem like a minor illness, the complications that follow are serious, and may even result in death.

Flu is highly contagious. Influenza viruses is divided into 3 types:
(1) Type A. Subtypes A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) are the main ones circulating among humans.
(2) Type B. Infects humans almost exclusively and is responsible for severe pneumonia, meningitis and other invasive diseases in children below 5 years old.
(3) Type C. Less frequent. Usually causes either a very mild respiratory illness or no symptoms at all.

One of the dangers is that flu viruses are able to mutate as they travel all over the world. This is why immunity towards the virus does not last long, and people can catch the flu many times during their life. As children have a weaker immune system, they are more susceptible.

How Does Flu Spread

Flu spreads easily:

• through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.
• when an infected person touches a contaminated surface, which another person touches and subsequently touches his mouth.

Symptoms of Flu

• sudden fever
• chills and shakes
• headaches
• muscle aches
• extreme fatigue
• dry cough and/or sore throat
• loss of appetite

In younger children or newborns, additional symptoms include:

• high ever that can't be explained with no other signs of illness
• febrile seizures/convulsions
• stomach upset, vomiting, diarrhea
• earaches and red eyes
• severe leg or back pain due to muscle inflammation.

Incubation period (time from infection to when a person falls ill) is about 2 days.
Infection period is 1 day before symptoms start to show, and up to 5 days after falling sick.

Possible Complications from Flu

• middle ear infections
• neurological problems
• heart inflammation
• pulmonary diseases like bronchitis

Flu itself usually does not cause death, but produces consequences that lead to other serious medical conditions such as pneumonia or secondary bacterial infection, which can be fatal.

How to Reduce the Occurrence of Flu

• good hygiene practices like frequent hand washing, covering one's mouth when coughing, proper disposal of tissues after use and avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth
• stay at home for at least 24 hours if feeling sick with a flu-like illness.

High Risk People

• people with chronic respiratory conditions like asthma, heart and lung diseases
• pregnant women
• adults above 65 years old
• children below 5 years old
• obese people.

(Sources: 
StarFit4Life, It's the Flu by Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, 20 November 2011
StarFit4Life, Sensible Protection by Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail, 1 January 2012)

Most Effective Treatment

The best and most effective way to treat flu is by preventing it in the first place. We can do this by strengthening our immune system. Shuang Hor's Yung Kien Ganoderma has received accreditation from the Health Ministry of Taiwan under its Health Food Control Act 1999 that it is able to help enhance the production of immune cells and the production of antibodies. In other words, regular consumption of Yung Kien Ganoderma can boost up our immune defence so that it is strong enough to fight the invasion of these viruses and hence prevent flu.

Related Article: 
Accreditations and Endorsements for Shuang Hor Lingzhi

To purchase, please email me at laifuiping@gmail.com. Click here to refer to Shuang Hor company website for Product Description and Price.

• Helps promote the production of antibodies
• Helps enhance the production of immune cells
• Helps modulate the functions of T-cells
• Helps promote the vitality of natural killer cells
• Helps promote the vitality of phagocytes.

• Helps reduce the indices of GOT and GPT. These are trans-aminase enzymes which are released by the liver if any of the liver cells die or are injured. If your GOT or GPT readings are high, that means that you have some form of injury or infection on your liver. Shuang Hor's lingzhi can repair those damaged cells.
• Helps increase the protein content in the liver. This means Shuang Hor's lingzhi can help improve and increase the regenerating ability of your healthy liver cells.   

• needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements
• aims to enhance customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.

• loss of skin lustre
• appearance of brown spots
• sagging skin
• declining skin elasticity
• surfacing of fine lines
• more pronounced wrinkles
• slackening of the skin tissues
• diminishing contrast of facial contours
• flabby neck etc.

Prime Culprits Behind Premature Aging of the Skin

• premature aging of our skin
• incomplete cleansing
• prolonged exposure to direct sunlight
• undue sebaceous secretion
• irregular hours between work and rest
• fluctuations in climate.

Over time, the build-up of aged cutins will start to clog our pores and our skin forms blackheads. It will disrupt our skin's ability to absorb moisture and nutrients, and we will have dull and uneven skin tone, as well as unable to generate new skin cells.

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Stem cells are biological cells that can divide into diverse specialized cell types and can self-renew to produce more stem cells. A newborn baby has some 250,000 stem cells in his body. As he grows older, the stem cells either dwindle in number or gradually lose their innate vitality. However, the dermal stem cells residing in the bottom layer of the epidermis of our skin are capable of continuously producing new dermal cells, hence are the key to maintaining youthful skin.

Protecting and preserving the vitality of our dermal stem cells is all-important in retarding premature aging of our skin. When in excellent condition, dermal stem cells are capable of enabling skin rejuvenation and repair. More so, they play a crucial role in the renewal of damaged skin barrier at the cellular level. In other words, dermal stem cells are the key to keeping our skin hydrated and restoring its youthful radiance.


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Criste Marine thrives on cliff tops along the coastlines of France. Since this unique type of sea algae sustains itself by absorbing nutrients from sea mist and high waves, it has developed a robust life system. It spends 12 hours submerged in seawater and the other 12 hours on the stones under the hot scorching sun. Criste Marine only grows during the springtime and has to be manually harvested. Its scarcity and special attributes have earned itself the reputation of being "the most precious skin-care ingredient of the 21st Century".

The skin repair benefits of the plant stem cells of Criste Marine are accredited to their strikingly powerful affinity to the human skin cells. In particular, they work wonders in:

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• Reducing melanin (which causes freckles) formation.
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• Retard ageing process.

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During the first few days when a person starts taking Lingzhi, he will experience these Initial Responses:-

1) Improvement of subjective symptoms. For instance, if you have a sinus problem, you will find that you're able to breath better and the frequency of attacks are lesser.

2) Feel more energetic. You will feel more vitality and less tired.

3) Sense of hunger. Your appetite may increase, but your body weight stabilizes.

4) Sleep more deeply and soundly. Your sleeping hours may be reduced but you will wake up refreshed.

5) Improved bowel movement. You will have better and smoother excretion.

6) Vertigo reactions. This is a concept in Chinese medicine whereby the symptoms will become worse before they become better, as the causes of the diseases are being eliminated.

Vertigo Reactions

After taking Lingzhi for several days, slight vertigo reactions may result. It is not a side effect, so you should continue to consume. This is simply the result of Lingzhi's efficacy. The reactions will be different for each individual. Not everyone will experience the reaction, as it depends on the amount of toxins in the body that are being eliminated. Symptoms vary from 1 individual to another; for some they may be light, for others they may be more severe. It depends on one's constitution.

In general, a person who has a hypersensitive constitution, or who takes large amount of medicines or chemical drugs will easily have such a reaction.

For the following conditions, these reactions may occur:

1. Acidic body constitution - very sleepy, thirsty and dry mouth, urination at night, frequent flatulence.

2. Hypertension - heaviness in the head which may last for 1 to 2 weeks.

3. Anemia - nose bleeding, mostly happening to women.

4. Gastric disturbances - heat in the chest, poor appetite.

5. Gastric ulcer - pain in the affected part.

6. Gastroptosis (abnormal downward displacement of the stomach) - heavy feeling in the stomach, hiccough.

7. Enteropathy (disease of the intestine) - diarrhea.

8. Hepatopathy (disease of the liver) - hiccough or vomiting.

9. Cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver - stool with blood stain.

10. Renal (kidney) disease - protein level suddenly drop, slight edema (swelling caused by fluids) in the face.

11. Diabetes - blood sugar may rise, slight edema in the hands and feet.

12. Hemorrhoids (painful swollen veins in the lower portion of the rectum) - bleeding may occur occasionally.

It must be highlighted again that these are not side effects. It is the process of toxic substances within the body being discharged. So do not worry. Continue to consume consistently and the symptoms will lessen or disappear very soon. It is a positive sign when these symptoms occur, because it means the disease will be cured gradually.

(Source: Ganoderman (Lingzhi) A Miraculous Herb, Double Crane Enterprise Co. Ltd)

Related Articles:
What is Vertigo Reaction - Some Facts and Figures
Why Lingzhi Seems to be Ineffective for Some People

Please email me at laifuiping@gmail.com should you want more info.

Hypothyroidism is a condition that occurs when your thyroid gland produces less thyroid hormones (thyroxine) than your body needs.

Thyroid hormones are crucial for the following functions:-

• for our body's metabolism
• affects our breathing, brain development, heartbeat, nervous system, body temperature, muscle strength, skin dryness, menstrual cycles and weight.

As the saying goes, "Illnesses often find their way into our body from our mouth". That is because the source of most of our health problems usually originates from unhygienic food and drinks.

Our modern lifestyle is typified by a hectic schedule, irregular meals, not enough rest, stress and exhaustion from work. These unfavourable factors give rise to a long list of diseases affecting our digestive tract, with symptoms like stomach ache, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea etc which are signals for more serious diseases.

The intestinal tract is that portion of the digestive system connecting our stomach to the anus, covering the small intestine, large intestine and the rectum.

Function of:
1) Small intestine - absorption of chyme (semifluid mass of partly digested food from the stomach).
2) Large intestine - condense the remaining digestive waste of the food.
3) Rectum/anus - eliminate the waste via feces out of our body system.

As more than 90% of the nutrients needed by our body are absorbed in our digestive tract, we must take great effort to preserve its wellbeing. The most effective approach in preventing diseases affecting the digestive tract is to observe a proper dietary habit.

This include:
- ensuring hygienic condition of the foods before they are served
- reducing consumption of raw and cold foods
- ensuring our drinking water is properly boiled or filtered
- have meals at regular hours.

Probiotics

The intake of probiotic formulations is a proven solution to preserving long-term healthy condition of our intestinal tract. By maintaining the population of the friendly bacteria at a sufficiently large number, it will reduce the presence of harmful bacteria.

Probiotics mainly refer to Lactobacillus (lactic acid bacteria) and in part Saccharomyces (yeast).
Functions of Lactobacillus include:
- housekeeping of the flora colonies in the gut
- beef up the immune mechanism in the intestinal tract
- enhance the nutritional value of the food we eat
- support the synthesis of vitamins and production of enzymes
- reduce the content of cholesterols
- reduce the risk of colon cancer
- subdue the growth of tumour.

Conclusion

Probiotics are viable bacteria that benefit us provided the bacteria are taken on a daily basis, in "alive" form and in sufficiently large number.

Source: Keep Intestinal Problems at Bay via Proper Housekeeping of Flora Balance in the Gut, Shuang Hor Magazine, September 2011 Issue

If you want to discover an excellent probiotics product, please check out The Uniqueness of Shuang Hor Lacto-berry Probiotics. Or you may email me at laifuiping@gmail.com.

Dr. Yoshinori Imanishi, Head of the Imanish Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital, prescribed Lingzhi to women patients who had menstrual cramps, dizziness, irregular menstruation, menopausal disturbances and difficulty in getting pregnant.

These are some of the results:

1) A 46 year old woman took Lingzhi for 1 month, after which her dizziness and shoulder pains were relieved.

2) A pregnant woman had distress in her chest and no appetite. After treatment with Lingzhi her condition improved.

3) A woman with a physiological disorder was married for many years but could not conceive. After taking Lingzhi for 3 months, she became pregnant.

4) A patient who consumed Lingzhi with herbal medicines felt relieve from serious dizziness and shoulder pain after 3 months.

5) Another patient who also consumed Lingzhi with herbal medicines experienced a reduction in abdominal pain.


Lingzhi and Pregnancy

Lingzhi is very effective in helping women who have difficulty in getting pregnant, or who have had habitual miscarriage before.

Prof. Kanata of Tohoku University believes that taking Lingzhi can improve sexual drive of both the male and female, as well as intensifying the activity of spermatozoa and regulating ovulation of the female.

During pregnancy, women are quite sensitive to outer stimulation, both mentally and physically. Even though getting pregnant is a natural phenomenon, most women have difficulty adapting to it. During this period, taking Lingzhi may act as a hemocatharsis (cleansing of the blood), a diuretic (elevate rate of urination) and as a detoxicant (eliminate or reduce toxic substances), thereby allowing the fetus to develop normally.

(Source: Ganoderma (Lingzhi) A Miraculous Herb, Double Crane Enterprise Co. Ltd)

Please email me at askfuiping@gmail.com if you want to buy Lingzhi to help friends who have difficulty conceiving or pregnant friends who want to alleviate their discomforts.
To buy Lingzhi, please click here to refer to Shuang Hor company website for Product Description and Price.

Our thyroid is shaped like a butterfly and located in front of our throat, just below our larynx. The thyroid gland produces, stores and releases thyroid hormones into our bloodstream. There are 2 main hormones:

• T3 (tri-iodothyronine)
• T4 (thyroxine)

T3 and T4 are crucial for the following functions:-

• for our body's metabolism
• affects our breathing, brain development, heartbeat, nervous system, body temperature, muscle strength, skin dryness, menstrual cycles and weight.

Our thyroid gland also produces a hormone called calcitonin, which affects our blood calcium level.
Thyroid hormone production is governed by our pituitary gland in our brain through TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone).

What is Hyperthyroidism?

It happens when we have too much T4 or T3 circulating in our blood stream. The T4 or T3 can be overproduced by our thyroid glands either on its own, or because it's overstimulated by too much TSH circulating in our bodies.

Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

• nervousness or irritability or anxiety
• frequent mood swings
• insomnia
• get tired easily
• inability to tolerate heat
• trembling of hand at rest
• palpitations or rapid heartbeat
• frequent bowel movements
• loss of weight despite a good appetite
• menstrual disturbance
• exophthalmos (bulging eyes)
• pretibial myxoedema (swelling over skin)

Causes of Hyperthyroidism
1) Grave's disease. Most common cause. Typical symptoms are bulging eyes and swelling over skin. Happens when our body's own immune system attacks the thyroid tissue and cells. In this disease, our body makes an antigen called TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin) which mimics the TSH and causes our body to make too much thyroxine.

We know that excessive fat intake causes excessive weight gain and obesity. But do you know there are "good" fats and "bad" fats? Most of us get confused. Here are some facts.

A small amount of fat in the diet is essential for health. Its functions include:

1) Contributes to the energy needs of a person.
2) Provides essential fatty acids (EFA) that cannot be made by the body.
3) Promotes absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K).
4) Improves the taste and flavour of food.

Types of Fatty Acids

The fat molecule, known as triglyceride, is made up of 2 components:
- glycerol backbone
- fatty acids attached to it.


Fatty acids are composed of varying numbers of carbon and hydrogen atoms.

1) Saturated fatty acid (SFA) - when all bonds joining the carbon atoms in a fatty acid molecule are single (saturated) bonds. Eg. beef or mutton fat, pork fat, coconut oil.
2) Unsaturated fatty acid - when 1 or more double (unsaturated) bonds occur in the fatty acid chain. Eg. olive oil, soya bean oil, palm oil.
     (i) Monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) - 1 double bond.
     (ii) Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) - more than 1 double bond.

Essential fatty acids (PUFA which cannot be made in the body and must be obtained from our diet) are:
(a) linoleic acid (omega-6 fatty acid)
(b) alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3 fatty acid)
Eg. seed oils, fish, nuts, vegetables, smaller amounts in meat, eggs and dairy products

Hydrogenation - an artificial way to "saturate" an unsaturated oil so as to make it harder, by adding hydrogen to the double bonds in polyunsaturated oils. Eg. margarine. Trans fatty acids (TFA) or trans fats are thereby formed. TFA have been shown to have harmful effects on human health, especially in increasing risk of coronary heart disease.

Proper understanding of cholesterol

Seafood restaurant in Selayang

Cholesterol is required by our body for many purposes, including:
1) to build cell membranes
2) to manufacture bile acids, steroid hormones and vitamin D.

Cholesterol is found only in foods of animal origin, eg. egg yolk, butter, meat, seafood, milk.
2 points to highlight:

(i) Cholesterol from diet plays only a minor role in increasing blood cholesterol. Unless a person has high blood cholesterol, don't be overly concerned about cholesterol from the diet.

(ii) Most of our body's cholesterol is manufactured in our liver. The healthier is our liver, the better our cholesterol level should be. If we have fatty liver or raised liver enzymes, our liver usually make greater amounts of triglycerides and LDL "bad" cholesterol. Our liver is the main fat burning organ in our body. If we have a fatty liver then our liver is storing fat, not burning fat.

(Source: Avoid Excessive Fat Intake by Dr Tee E Siong, nutritionist)

Related Article:-
Fatty Liver - What Are The Risk Factors And Tips To Keep It Healthy

How do you keep your liver healthy? Take Lingzhi / Ganoderma. Email me at laifuiping@gmail.com to buy. Click here to refer to Shuang Hor company website for Product Description and Price.

Our liver is one of the most important organs to maintain our health. Simply by keeping our liver in good shape, we will be able to keep a lot of sickness at bay. Unfortunately, liver functions are quite complicated. Therefore, liver diseases are considered difficult to treat. Dietetic treatment is generally the only method adopted by Western physicians.

Fortunately, Lingzhi is able to return this complicated organ's functions back to normal. When our liver function is declining, we feel extremely tired. Taking Lingzhi can help ease the fatigue. In fact, based on some practical investigations, it is found that Lingzhi contributes a very positive effect.

Dr. Shigeru Yuji from Kinki University reported that 10% of liver disorders could be cured after taking Lingzhi for 2 months. 40% of the patients were relieved of their symptoms and their liver sizes were reduced. 50% of the patients felt their symptoms diminished.

Dr. Mitsui Hashimoto, Head of Hashimoto Hospital, disclosed that he prescribed Lingzhi for hepatitis patients and it proved to be exceptional.

He prescribed 6 capsules per day to some patients who could not benefit from other drugs. 3 months later, all the said patients were recovering. Their GOT and GPT values decreased from 200-300 to 100. When the liver sustains damage it will excrete specific enzymes, such as GPT (ALT) and GOT (AST). Abnormal values of these 2 enzymes indicate a problem in the liver. GPT (ALT) normal range is 5-35 IU/L. GOT (AST) normal range is 10-34 IU/L.

Dr. Hashimoto revealed that a patient who used Lingzhi together with some Chinese herbal medicines also reported decreased GOT and GPT readings.

There was another case of hepatitis complicated with hypertension. After taking Lingzhi, satisfactory results were obtained.

The above conditions were not conclusively satisfactory, but positive results of taking Lingzhi on hepatitis can be expected.

Source: Ganoderma (Lingzhi) - A Miraculous Herb, Double Crane Enterprise Co. Ltd

Related Articles:
Liver - How to Take Care of This Silent Workhorse

Or you can email me at laifuiping@gmail.com should you want to take care of your liver using Lingzhi as your solution. To buy, click here to refer to Shuang Hor company website for Product Description and Price.