- Do not smoke.

- Eat plenty of fruits, vegetable, legumes (beans, peas)  and wholegrain cereals (for example, unpolished rice, wholemeal bread, oats).

- Remove all visible fat from meat and cook with unsaturated(monounsaturated, polyunsaturated) oils, not solid fats.

- Limit your salt intake, including sauces. Do not add salt to food on the table.

- If you choose to drink alcohol, do so moderately (not more than 2 glasses of wine or 2 shots of spirits for men, not more than one glass of wine or one shot of spirits for women, daily).

- Include at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity (for example, brisk-walking 5 times or more per week).

- Take medications exactly as prescribed and discuss changes to your health with your doctor.

Scientists, such as American food psychologist Brian Wansink, have extensively studied how easy it is to overeat. A big problem is mindless eating, and the simplest habits can have a huge impact in terms of weight management.

In another study by Wansink, people ate half of the popcorn they were given, no matter if it was a medium- or a jumbo-sized tub. And they ate significantly more M&M’s from a 2-pound (1 kg) bag than from a 1-pound (500 g) bag.

According to a recent study from Yale University, the feeling of satiety can depend on how “indulgent” you assume your snack to be, regardless of the actual calorie content.

Right after having a 600-calorie “indulgent” milkshake, participants’ ghrelin levels (the hormone that drives hunger) dropped significantly, indicating they felt contented. Their ghrelin levels stayed flat after drinking a “sensible”, low-calorie milkshake.

Actually, both milkshakes were one and the same. Mindset meaningfully affects physiological responses to food, say the study authors.

If you can eat healthy food while retaining the feeling that you’re indulging, you’re golden. So, next time you have a sensible snack, try to dream up a sexy name for it, to build that contented feeling.

Top 10 healthy food snacks recommendations:

• Vegetable sticks (with hummus, or a tuna or yoghurt dip)
• Nuts and trail mixes
• Low-fat string cheese
• Yoghurt
• Whole-wheat crackers
• Mixed fresh fruits
• Steamed vegetable pau
• Mantou (steamed bun)
• Pita bread sandwiches
• Instant oats

Other snack suggestions – do mind the quantities

• Seaweed snacks. Go for the less salty brands.
• Granola and cereal bars. While usually healthier than chocolates or very sweet biscuits, these snacks do tend to be high in sugars and calories, warns CGH’s Chief Dietitian, Magdalin Cheong.
• Pop corn (popped in the microwave)
• Rice cakes
• Cream crackers
• Baked chips
• Soy nuts and soy crisps
• Dark chocolate
• Dried fruits. Favour those which are naturally dehydrated. “Most imported dried fruits are preserved with glucose syrup; anything deep fried is not advisable as the calories add up”, says Ms. Cheong.

The Singapore Heart Foundation is a non-profit organisation whose primary mission is to promote heart health and to prevent and reduce disability and death due to cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

The Singapore Heart Foundation has established a research programme.  This year, a total of $200,000 will be available to researchers to carry out research projects which will help us achieve our mission.   While we are interested in a broad range of ideas, we are particularly interested in projects that will help the Singapore Heart Foundation develop new programmes or evaluate/improve existing programs for the promotion of heart health.

1)      Cardiac Rehabilitation and Heart Wellness

Our Schools Programme is designed to instill healthy habits in children.  As part of this programme, we also believe in engaging young people through service learning/community involvement programmes.  One example is a health screening programme for elderly Singaporeans called “health mapping” which involves the provision of free basic health screening services to lower income residents living in one and two room rental flats.  We are interested in learning more about the benefits of this programme for both the individuals who undergo health screening, but also to the students who participate as volunteers.

The Heart Safe Programme is designed to improve the out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest survival rate in Singapore by creating an environment for more effective use of CPR and Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in the community.  The programme involves the provision of training and certification in the performance of CPR. The effectiveness of such training in terms of retention of the skills by the trainees, confidence in carrying out CPR, is of great interest.  In addition, we are interested in studies that will tell us the most effective way to identify individuals who are most likely to retain the skills and the best time for such training.

APPLICATION FORMS

Application forms and guidelines for SHF research grants may be obtained by:

- E-mailing the Singapore Heart Foundation at research@heart.org.sg

- Faxing your request to the Secretariat at 6258 5240 or

- Contacting the Secretariat at 6354 9348

CORRESPONDENCE

All correspondence should be addressed to:

The Secretariat

Professional & Research Committee

Singapore Heart Foundation

9 Bishan Place, #07-01

Junction 8 (Office Tower)

Singapore 579837

SHF believes that the results of high quality research will advance the aim of saving and improving the lives of people suffering from the ravages of heart disease. We support established as well as beginning investigators, and offer innovative funding mechanisms, including “seed” funds to promote research on heart health.

We would like to extend this invitation to all healthcare professionals who are interested in conducting research in the cardiovascular field. All meritorious proposals will be considered.

Please bring this request to the attention of all relevant personnel in your institution.  We would also greatly appreciate if you could include this information in your publications. Thank you.