Women of substance

By K.M. LEW

At a time when there’s never been a greater need for change, nothing is more refreshing than a competition which celebrates diversity in beauty.

     Hotelier Karina Abdullah is, at 107kg, not your average beauty queen. First, the 24-year-old does not conform to the oh-so-boring rule stating that all beauty queens should be tall, willowy and hourglass-perfect. Second, she has more secrets than Miss World or Miss Universe would care to admit.

     “Of course I wanted to be thin when I was younger,” says Karina, when I asked if she ever had issues with her weight.

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Eat right with the new Malaysian food pyramid

By K.M. LEW

   

     We Malaysians love food so much that we even greet each other by asking, “Have you eaten?”

However, let’s also remember that eating is not just about satisfying our taste buds, but also meeting our nutritional needs.

     We need energy (carbohydrates, protein and fats), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as healthy phytochemicals (naturally occurring food substances in plant-based foods). Fortunately, we can meet such diverse requirements by eating a variety of foods every day.

     Our bodies need different nutrients in varying amounts (e.g. more energy-giving carbohydrates, moderate levels of protein and small quantities of vitamins and minerals). The way to achieve the required nutritional balance is by ensuring that our daily diets comprise mostly foods from the base of the Malaysian food pyramid and least of those at the top.

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7 days Juice Detox

By M.K. Lim,

     A juice fast is a type of detox diet. A juice fast involves the short-term intake of raw vegetable and fruit juice and water only.

     Proponents of juice fasting use juice because it's thought to be a good source of vitamins and antioxidants. A juice fast is considered an extreme form of detoxification because no solid food is consumed. More moderate detox methods, such as the detox diet include solid food.

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