idilfitri marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, and the beginning of a whole month of A celebrations. Although the pandemic has dampened this year’s festivities, with restrictions on travelling and social activities like ‘open houses,’ but nevertheless families are now finding creative ways to embrace the festivities in the ‘new normal’ including celebrating exclusively amongst close family members only or via video calls.

Despite the fact that this year’s festivity will not be the same as before, but the traditional home-cooked meals are never to be missed in every household. With all the amazing Raya dishes abound, many of which can only be found this time of the year, the temptation to overeat is hard to escape.

Is there a way to have fun without compromising our waistlines? Or can we find the strength to say no to a plateful of , or the aromatic coconut rice? But first and foremost, do we have to? There is a way to find a balance so we can make better decisions when treated with a buffet full of delights.

A balanced diet does not have to be restrictive. In reality, many of our Hari Raya favourites can be adjusted to fit nicely into the Malaysian food pyramid. Your celebratory meal can be based on rice or , with rendang, , serunding, ayam percik or accounting for the protein and meat in the food pyramid. Prioritising your meal with a larger serving of raw fruits and vegetables like , fresh cut fruits or a vegetable dish without too much coconut milk, minus the sauces and dressings, it is possible to keep your meal to the stipulated 500 calories3.

1 YAKULT LIVE! Keep an eye out for lighter food choices, whenever products and tubers). This means that vegetables possible, opt for the non-fried options. This includes and fruits should be consumed in the greatest choosing more vegetables and less fried items like amount compared to other food groups, which is going for instead of ayam penyet. If you replace at least 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of with roti , you may also be saving on calories. fruits per day. Fruits and vegetables are important sources of vitamins and minerals in improving the The New Malaysian Food Pyramid body’s ability to fight disease. Let’s follow to the revised Malaysian Food Pyramid that • The Malaysian Food Pyramid 2020 recommends a was introduced in 2020 during this festive feasting. lower percentage range of carbohydrate intake of 50-65% compared to the Malaysian Food Pyramid The Malaysian Food Pyramid is a simple guide for 2010 of 55-75%. The Malaysian Food Pyramid individuals to vary their food intake according to the 2020 also emphasizes the recommended intake of total daily food serving recommended. A balanced diet complex carbohydrate and high fibre sources such contains the combination of foods that will provide all as brown rice, whole grain breads, oats and corn. the nutrients needed by our body and there is no single • The recommended intake of 6-8 glasses of plain food that will provide us with the all nutrients needed. water a day is also added to the illustration of the Malaysian Food Pyramid 2020. Adequate water Our body needs many types of food in varying amounts intake can ensure that our body is always hydrated to maintain health. A food pyramid consists of four (4) to maintain health, especially in this Covid-19 levels that represent five (5) food groups. Indicated pandemic season2. beside each food group is the recommended number of servings per day from each group. From the bottom to The Ministry of Health recommends the 55555 or Five 5s the top of the food pyramid, the size of each food group guideline as a way to stay healthy during Hari Raya. This becomes smaller indicating that an individual should eat includes eating items from all five food groups every more of the foods at the base of the pyramid and less of day, which include five servings of fruit and vegetables. the foods at the top of the pyramid. Allocating 500 calories to each major meal time, limiting ourselves to five grams (or one teaspoon) The recommended intake of each food category as of sugar in our drinks. Finally, recommends for some below: form of exercise five times in Fish, poultry, meat, legumes a week4. LEVEL 4 • 1 - 2 servings poultry, meat, egg per day If you fancy some of these sweet • 1 serving of fish per day treats especially muih and Fat, oil, • 1 serving of legumes per cookies, like kuih keria, , sugar & salt day and pineapple tarts, sugar is • Eat less LEVEL 3 Dairy • 1 - 2 servings per day present in quite high amounts in these delicacies. It may be a Source of good idea to swap sweet drinks LEVEL 2 carbohydrates like syrups or cordials for plain • 3 - 5 servings water. After your meal, it may per day be a good idea to offer to help Fruits and your host to clean up instead LEVEL 1 vegetables of sitting down. This helps you • At least 3 stay active, and may burn a few servings of calories more than sitting down vegetables chatting. & 2 servings OTHERS of fruits Finally, knowing that you’ve 6 – 8 glasses of plain water eaten more than you are usually (250ml per glass) accustomed to, be creative to sneak in short exercise spurts, Among the major changes in the Malaysian Food like walking or jogging in a park nearby, running up and Pyramid 2020 are: down the staircase at home for 5 minutes, 6 times a day • The vegetable and fruit food groups are placed or even going to the gym. The benefits are two-fold: you at the base of the pyramid, compared to the 2010 will be burning the calories from the festival feasting, Malaysian Food Pyramid which places carbohydrate and you will probably enjoy how empty the gym is source foods (rice, noodles, bread, cereals, cereal during the Hari Raya period. Enjoy the feasting….!

YAKULT LIVE! 2 2. Limit sugary drinks Long gone are the days Delicious food and drinks, and precious time spent with when people expect you to loved ones are the quintessential features of this month- serve sweet or carbonated long Raya celebration. So, throughout the festive season, beverages. Infused ice you may likely get to play host to a few guests, even if water with mint leaves and they are just close family members and relatives. They cucumber or lemon is so may get excited over the variety of cookies, lemang, much classier! Furthermore, it rendang and many other Hari Raya goodies. is also good for hydration.

But what about guests who are on a calorie budget? If you intend to serve coffee or tea, make it plain or What would be the best way to serve them? We have black. Serve milk, creamer or sugar on the side so your the misconception that healthy food is bland but this is guests can choose their sweetness level or opt not not the case. We can always balance it by cooking or to have sugar at all. For health reasons, many people preparing the right way. There is no need to substitute nowadays are choosing sugar-free beverages. taste over health. Here are some helpful tips for you to satisfy your guests while keeping their weight in check5. 3. Fruits and vegetables are friends 1. Cutting down 3Ms While serving Hari That would be the minyak, Raya goodies manis and masin! Cutting at your Open down on salt, sugar House, do add and oil will not make fresh cut fruits your dishes less and vegetables tasty. Your health- for your guests. conscious guests You can even and other guests make fruit cocktails and be creative in how you serve will appreciate your them such as cutting them into pretty shapes. These efforts and will want can be an appetizer as well as a dessert for your guests. to try more! Both are easy to prepare and equally healthy.

3 YAKULT LIVE! 4. Use smaller plates watching their weight. Cooking When there is a variety of methods can make a world of food and goodies available, difference so, go for boiling, everyone knows you tend to baking, roasting, steaming, overeat. By providing bigger plates, or braising whenever possible. you are encouraging your guests to For example, you can serve roast overeat which is unhealthy. Provide them chicken instead of fried. You can also with smaller plates to help them control complement these dishes with ulam their portion as this creates the illusion and lots of other greens too. Make that the portions taken are sufficiently them colourful and healthy at the large enough to fulfil our appetite. same time.

References: 1. Statistics Cause of Death , 2019 Department of Statistics Malaysia 5. Preparing healthy dishes 2. MOH publishes Malaysian dietary guidelines, food pyramid 2020. (2021). Some guests will appreciate Retrieved from www.thesundaily.my/local/moh-publishes-malaysian-dietary- guidelines-food-pyramid-2020-XJ6803808 you serving them healthy 3. World Health Organization – Cardiovascular Disease. Retrieved from www.who. food as they may be int/zh/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)

Quiz session Which of the following is the revised Malaysian Food Pyramid that was introduced in 2020?

A (Fat, oil, sugar and salt) B (Fat, oil, sugar and salt) (Fish, poultry, (Fish, poultry, meat and legumes) meat and legumes)

(Fruits and (Rice, noodle, bread, vegetables) cereal, cereal products and tubers) (Rice, noodle, bread, (Fruits and cereal, cereal products vegetables) and tubers)

(Plain water)

C (Fat, oil, sugar and salt) D (Fat, oil, sugar and salt) (Fish, poultry, (Rice, noodle, bread, cereal, meat and legumes) cereal products and tubers) (Rice, noodle, bread, cereal, cereal products (Fish, poultry, and tubers) meat and legumes) (Fruits and (Fruits and vegetables) vegetables)

(Plain water) (Plain water)

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YAKULT LIVE! 4 Dr Aishah Siddiqah Alimuddin, Department of Psychiatry, Universiti Putra Malaysia

and thus causes mental health problems, including but not restricted to increasing cases of stress, anxiety, and depression, either as a direct or indirect cause of the pandemic itself.

8 steps for a better mental health Regardless, there are ways to overcome such mental health ailments to ensure both mental and physical health can be maintained, and thus we can all keep up our immunity at a reasonable level. We can attempt the o health without mental health has been the following steps to do so: adage of organizations working on mental N health in various countries even before we had to experience the worldwide pandemic, but it is more significant now than ever for everyone to grasp the concept. Having good mental health and well-being has been closely linked with good physical health and well-being, and during these challenging times, it is 1 Ensuring a healthy lifestyle. of utmost importance for us to find ways to balance The importance of consuming healthy food and drinks, healthy physical and mental health. exercising, and getting enough sleep cannot be stressed enough. Protein, fibre, and probiotics consumption and The gut has been considered a second brain by drinking enough water daily have been found to help various neuroscientists and nutritionists alike due to maintain a healthy state. Meanwhile, avoiding smoking its capacity of producing numerous neurotransmitters and consuming alcohol or other illicit substances vital in regulating mood and cognition. On top of has been found to help maintain a healthy individual. that, more recent researches have also shown that the Exercising, on the other hand, has been proven to presence of certain types of microbiomes in the gut not only help maintain good physical health but also is closely related to a person’s mental well-being and helps with improvement in mood and concentration. stress response. Thus, the connection of a healthy gut Adequate sleep helps the body recharge and recover in with a healthy mind cannot be denied. More so now, preparation for work the next day. when good immunity is highly advocated, and there is resounding knowledge that a good immunity can come 2 Focus on what you can change and let go of from both a healthy gut and good mental health. the need to control every aspect of life. Having consistency in life is comfortable for many, yet Despite it being more than a year since the start of the pandemic has removed this comfort zone. In this the pandemic, we still see the effects and after-effects situation, we can shift our focus to things that we can on our mental health. The pandemic has been an work on rather than remain fixated on things that unprecedented time and has taught us in many are not within our control. This can be done by ways that the only certain thing in life is change. focusing on what you can do right now for However, change can be rather uncomfortable yourself and your loved ones.

5 YAKULT LIVE! 7 Create and maintain a daily routine you will enjoy. Working from home may be mundane and often filled with stress, but having a structure helps us feel a sense of control over our lives. It also helps with connecting with family and friends through shared activities, be it 3 Practice self-compassion while dealing with online or offline. difficult situations. Through these trying times, it is essential to acknowledge any uncomfortable emotions we are experiencing and allow ourselves time to process them. Remember to be kind to yourself during this process, just like treating others in a similar situation.

4 Self-care is not being selfish. Spending time doing things you enjoy and love helps in destressing. A pot well-filled will help fill other empty cups better, so never feel that self- care is unnecessary 8 Set new realistic expectations of or a waste of time. how things will be moving forward. The pandemic has indeed changed numerous goals set by us. However, that doesn’t mean that they are no longer achievable. Instead, breaking things up into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time- bound (SMART) goals can help achieve them.

COVID-19 has indeed been a historic moment in this century, bringing with it a unique set of challenges and losses. But with it emerged extraordinary resilience and 5 Connect with kindness shared by all of humanity. Perhaps the most others around you. significant silver lining of the aftermath of the pandemic Be it physically (with social distancing, sanitizer, and is the increased awareness of the importance of mental masks on) or virtually, opening up and talking with health in the community, and moving forward, it is people you trust can help you with difficult emotions hoped that there will be more widespread resources for and help you reach resources that you may not have if all mental health matters. you were to do things alone.

References: 6 Support others. 1. Retrieved from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and- mood/probiotics-may-help-boost-mood-and-cognitive- Studies have shown that an altruistic act function can help a person feel better emotionally as 2. Strandwitz P. Neurotransmitter modulation by the gut microbiota. Brain Res. 2018. people find that their lives are meaningful 3. Eva M. Selhub. Fermented foods, microbiota, and mental health: ancient practice meets nutritional psychiatry. Journal and serve a purpose. A of Physiological Anthropology. 2014. single act of goodwill 4. Retrieved from: https://asm.org/Articles/2020/February/Of- Microbes-and-Mental-Health-Eating-for-Mental-We may be the ripple needed 5. Retrieved from: https://services.unimelb.edu.au/counsel/ resources/wellbeing/coronavirus-covid-19-managing-stress- to get others engaged and-anxiety in similar actions all 6. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/docs/default- source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations. over and foster hope for pdf?sfvrsn=6d3578af_8 7. Retrieved from: https://contextualscience.org/facecovid_ others. resource_from_russ_harris

YAKULT LIVE! 6 Is cocoa chocolate? Cocoa or chocolate is not something foreign to us, it is also a common ingredient that can be found easily in our daily lives. Many people love and will buy chocolate. As we ought to know, cocoa/chocolate makes us feel good and has antioxidant properties, but do you know what are the differences between cocoa and chocolate that you are holding in your hands?

Cocoa and chocolate the difference starts here 1. Where did they come from Cocoa and chocolate originated from the same raw material. Therefore, causing many to know least about their differences. Both originated from 2. Ingredients cacao pods harvested from cacao trees. Cut open From the production process above, we the pod and you will find round and whitish cacao are able to differentiate how cocoa and beans in between the pulps. Raw cacao beans are chocolate differs from the end processes. fermented, dried, roasted and crushed to separate the beans from their outer hulls, ground and mixed Cocoa powder is made from ground cocoa beans to form cocoa liquor. Separate cocoa butter from after cocoa butter has been extracted from the the liquor, roast and grind the product, and that’s beans; while chocolate is made from cocoa liquor how we get cocoa powder. On the other hand, that contains cocoa butter added with other chocolates are made from the mixture of cocoa ingredients. liquors with different ratios of cocoa butter, sugar, milk, flavourings and other ingredients. Hence, compared to chocolate, not only it tastes bitter, cocoa powder is also lacking of the sweet aroma, and because of this we are able to taste COCOA and enjoy the original richness of cocoa. On the contrary, chocolate has become a popular dessert COCOA Roasting Beans loved by many after all the end processes and the extra added sugars.

Crushing Benefits and effects of cocoa Thanks to the microorganisms living in our gut, they Liquor are the one that make cocoa beneficial to our health. formation Studies have shown that, microorganisms in our gut Removal utilize antioxidants and fibres found in cocoa powder of Cocoa Butter to undergo fermentation, which then produce anti- inflammatory compounds, that bring various health benefits to us, while preventing cardiovascular diseases is one of them.

7 YAKULT LIVE! If you are ready to grab Anti-inflammatory Prevent dementia some cocoa after learning agent Flavanols in cocoa improve of its benefits, bear in mind, Quercetin in the removal of harmful protein pure cocoa is different from cocoa possess in the brain, which is the main chocolate. Chocolate is made anti-inflammatory culprit of dementia, thus, from processed cocoas, the properties. preventing dementia and stroke. amount of flavanols and phenols in chocolate have been Protect our Consumption of cocoa powder promotes the growth of reduced during the processes, digestive system ‘good’ bacteria in the gut. These microorganisms breakdown and added with milk and sugar. fibres found in cocoa powder, that are not possible to be This reduced the nutritional digested by the body, to produce short chain fatty acids, such benefits and increased a good as butyric acid that can be absorbed and benefits the body. number of calories in chocolate. This short chain fatty acid is a ‘superhero’ as it helps to hinder the growth of ‘bad’ bacteria, promotes growth of ‘good’ When choosing chocolate, it bacteria, and improves the microflora ecosystem in our gut. is recommended to choose dark chocolate with at least 75% of cocoa, as it contains fewer sugar and fat content than milk chocolate. Yet, even though it is pure cocoa powder, consume in moderation to Improve mood Improve anemia Protect our cardiovascular system prevent from putting on the and promote Cocoa and dark One of the causes of extra kilos. Remember not to relaxation chocolate contain arteriosclerosis is the formation overconsume! Cocoa contains rich amount of of hardened cholesterol on References: anamamide, which minerals, especially the inner wall of blood vessels 1. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2013 Mar; 75(3): 716-727. The neuroprotective effects of cocoa flavanol helps to improve iron, which is very caused by active oxidants. Cocoa and its influence on cognitive performance. our mood, useful to anemic polyphenols have antioxidative 2. Magrone, T., Russo, M. A., & Jirillo, E. (2017). Cocoa and Dark Chocolate Polyphenols: relieve anxiety ladies. Both are properties, preventing cholesterol From Biology to Clinical Applications. Frontiers in immunology, 8, 677. and promote good sources of from attaching to the blood 3. Katherine Harmon Courage. Why is Dark relaxation too. iron. vessels after oxidation. Chocolate Good for You? Thank Your Microbes. Retrieved from: https://www. scientificamerican.com/article/why-is- dark-chocolate-good-for-you-thank-your- microbes/

Recipe TIPS

Serving of 2 1 Place your knife in the Preparation time: 5 minutes middle of the fruit and cut it lengthwise Ingredients: 2 Hold the fruit with 1 avocado both hands and gently 2 bottles of Yakult Ace/Yakult Ace Light twist the two halves 2 cups of fresh milk to separate them 2 teaspoons of pure cocoa powder 3 ¼ cup of ice cubes Remove the pit from A pinch of powder one of the halves 2 teaspoons of honey (optional) 4 Steps: Use a spoon to scoop Put all the ingredients into a blender the flesh gently and blend until smooth

YAKULT LIVE! 8