F2F Class Notes (Sonia)[R]

Vocabulary

sociable (adj): likes to talk and be around people opp: antisocial

e.g I like to have a more sociable job

comedy: funny genre

documentary: non-fiction, real life

romance: langman, love story

chimpanzee: xing xing, monkey without tail

gorilla: very large, black primate

heart warming(adj): touches your heart, makes you feel emotional

contemplate(v): to think deeply about something

sometimes when I argue with my good friends I will contemplate whether it was my fault

e.g I hate reading heart warming novels because I will feel sad

cholestrol(n): a substance containing a lot of fat that is found in the body tissue and blood of all animals, thought to be part of the cause of heart disease if there is too much of it

seasoning: a substance, especially salt or pepper, that is added to food to improve its flavour

http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-beauty/article/2123109/why-eating-too-little-salt-bad-your-health-and-how-salt-took

But now, every time we contemplate lifting the shaker to sprinkle on our eggs, each time we glance at a food label or eat a pickle, we feel guilt pangs, hearing echoes of “too much sodium causes (insert negative medical condition here).”

The Centre for Food Safety urges Hong Kong people to minimise salt or sodium-containing seasonings, even removing salt shakers and soy sauce bottles from our dining tables, and to limit our average daily intake of sodium to 2,000 milligrams, about one level teaspoon of salt, or 5g, as the World Health Organisation recommends. The average Hongkonger has about double that amount. (To put this into perspective, a McDonald’s grilled chicken burger in Hong Kong contains about 1,205mg and a medium order of fries contains about 253mg.)

The New England Journal of Medicine reported that reducing sodium by 400 milligrams a day in the United States could not only save 28,000 lives, it could also save US$7 billion in annual health care costs.

Then we have Dr James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist who wrote a book called The Salt Fix: Why the Experts Got It All Wrong – and How Eating More Could Save Your Life. Too little salt, he says, can lead to weight gain, chronic kidney disease, elevated bad cholesterol and increased blood pressure and heart rate.

Here’s what Hongkongers need to know about the white stuff that has been around since practically the beginning of time.

Not only is this mineral important, it’s “super important for our survival,” says Nancy DiMarco, director of the Institute for Women’s Health at Texas Woman’s University and a professor in the school’s department of nutrition and food sciences.