GREAT GIFTS
A gift that says you care Be the best Secret Santa ever!
+5
Handy Sources for a Hassle-Free Party
HOLIDAY HEALTH 2 Travel myths to avoid Building strong immunity
Your healthy holidays start here
WELCOME
How quickly the end of the year rolls around! We’re heading into the holiday season and that means lots of feasting and meet-ups. It’s a time for family, friends and fun. The last thing you want is to be under the weather. What you need is a good, strong immune system to keep your body in top form. Take a look at page 7 in this issue, where we look at 3 ways to build strong immunity.
Nov-Dec 2012
If you’re lucky enough to be getting away for a holiday, you’ll be hoping that it recharges your
5 Handy Sources for a Hassle-Free Party
batteries and re-energises you for the year ahead.
Goody bags, wine, catering, DJ, fresh flowers. Tick them off your list with our guide.
On page 8 we look at two common holiday health
A Gift That Says You Care
don’t affect you.
Once prized by royalty, Bird’s Nest is a gift of health that everyone will enjoy.
You can’t get away from the gift shopping during
The Art of Giving (without the stress!) Be a smart santa at your office party this year with a gift for less than $10.
myths and the simple ways you can make sure they
Christmas, but you can take the stress out of it. On page 4 we look at Bird’s Nest. Once prized by royalty, Bird’s Nest is a premium delicacy and symbol of luxurious indulgence and is an ideal gift
Your Body’s Best Friend
that promotes health nourishment from within.
A BRAND’S product that helps support the optimal functioning of your immune system.
Or, if you’re just looking for a small gift for your
Two Myths That Could Make or Break Your Travel Plans
page 6 that won’t break your budget.
®
Have a great holiday by understanding these common myths and how to tackle them.
CONTACT US Cerebos Pacific Limited 18 Cross Street,#12-01/08 China Square Central, S048423 Careline: 1800 732 4748 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm, excluding Public Holidays) customercare@cerebos.com.sg www.facebook.com/blurornot www.facebook.com/BrandsInnerShineSG www.facebook.com/brandsbirdsnest
Secret Santa party, we’ve got a great suggestion on
Are you the one organising the party this year? It doesn’t have to be hard work if you’ve got the right help. We’ve rounded up some useful sources on page 3. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. I hope you enjoy this issue!
Isabella Tan Vice President & General Manager Singapore/Brunei/Philippines
Win a BRAND’S® InnerShine® Christmas Pack We have 3 prizes to give away. Simply tell us what health topics you would like to read about in a future issue of BRAND’S®World by emailing us at contest@cerebos.com.sg with subject “BW Nov-Dec Suggestions” Thank you for your suggestions last issue. The winners were Linda Chua, Chee Pui Leng and Angelina Chan. Winners have been contacted.
BRAND’S® OUT & ACTIVE
Handy Sources for a Hassle-Free Party
Party planning experts know that the right tunes create the right atmosphere. Why leave your all-important music to chance when you can hire a professional who’ll tailor it perfectly to suit the occassion? DJ Lorri (Gary Loh) plays at some of the best clubs in town, including the iconic 1 Altitude at One Raffles Place. Give him a call on 9173 3177 and ask him to work his magic for your next gathering.
Flowers make all the difference, and you can shop where the florists shop at Far East Flora. Order online and get them to deliver some unique bouquets, or if you’re feeling creative, head down to their cold-rooms at Thompson Road and mix and match your own.
We’re not all wine experts, but the good people at Underground Wines are, and you can order directly from their website. They’ll work out a perfect mix of wines and deliver free to your venue. With no middle-men and no retail rent to pay, their prices are also a lot lower than you’ll find elsewhere. You can even borrow glasses from them for your party. If you’re stuck for a theme, how about a wine-tasting party? They can organise that for you too. There are two party shops on Holland Avenue in Holland Village almost side by side. Everyone calls the one next door to the Body Shop “the Chinese Uncle shop”, and a few doors down at 277A (on the corner and upstairs) is Party City. Between these two you’ll be able to get everything you’ll need for a theme party, from costumes to goody bags.
Forget the bee hoon, the hottest trend at the moment is having chefs in your kitchen! Hip startup Kaixo Kulinary have been wowing tastebuds at everything from dinner parties to larger gatherings this year with their modern, and often artistic, cuisine. Nothing will impress your guests more. Drop them an email and let them do the cooking, so you’ll be free to entertain all night.
A Gift That Says You Care It’s getting toward that season again. Bright and shiny objects in shop windows attract our attention as we scan our surroundings hoping for inspiration for the perfect gifts for our loved ones. Socks, ties and gadgets for him? Cookware or a new bag for her? There’s certainly no end to the choices, but nothing really says “I love you” like a gift that shows you are thinking about your loved one’s well-being. Objects will come and go, but good health is priceless. If you have the budget, for the right person in your life, a gym membership or a series of spa sessions may be an excellent choice. An equally luxurious choice that’s both modern and steeped in tradition has been enjoyed by Chinese royalty and the common man for hundreds of years, will cost you far less and is sure to be appreciated.
Bird’s Nest’s Rich Tradition In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), bird’s nest is valued as a cooling or yin food. It is a highly esteemed tonic for conditions which result from deficiencies of the body in yin elements, including respiratory and digestive ailments. It is believed to have properties that reinforce body fluids, nourish blood and moisten the respiratory tract, as well as replenish the body’s energy, improve health, metabolism and digestion, and in the absorption of nutrients. These properties are said to
stimulate appetite and digestion for children and the elderly. The TCM benefits to internal health alone make bird’s nest a valued tonic, but one additional benefit has reinforced its prized place in Chinese women’s kitchens for many generations. It is famed for its ability to moisten the skin and prevent “internal” dryness, helping women to maintain their youthfulness and a smooth, radiant complexion.
Enjoying The Benefits With Peace of Mind There have traditionally been two drawbacks to enjoying the benefits of bird’s nest at home – choosing genuine, good quality swiftlet nests and preparing this delicacy in the traditional way. The quality of processed bird’s nests vary and it is difficult for a layman to know whether they are buying good quality nests with visual inspection. Some are chemically treated and there are even adulterated bird’s nests in the market. Preparing bird’s nest at home requires the time to prepare and cook, and in modern busy lifestyles time is a luxury we often don’t have. Fortunately, advancements in nutritional science and modern food technologies have removed these barriers to enjoying the health benefits of bird’s nest. BRAND’S Bird’s Nest uses FITR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) Technology
BRAND’S® FOCAL POINT
to distinguish between genuine and adulterated bird’s nest, ensuring that only 100% genuine top quality bird’s nest is used. It is then prepared according to traditional recipes using modern technology to encapsulate the goodness of bird’s nest in every bottle. There are over 149 steps in the quality assurance process of BRAND’S® Bird’s Nest, every step deidicated to ensuring that the consumer will enjoy the best product experience. Perfect for fast-paced lifestyles, this allows the modern generation to enjoy the goodness of bird’s nest anytime, anywhere, without the hassle of preparation.
Who Loves Bird’s Nest? The wonderful women in your life might immediately spring to mind when you think of a gift of bird’s nest, but the oldfashioned idea that a man’s skin regime should consist of soap and water is long gone. Men these days are as concerned about maintaining their healthy skin and radiant complexion as women are, and why shouldn’t they be?
Bird’s Nest has been used as a tonic by people of all ages for hundreds of years, and is believed to have many benefits
• Help cleanse the lungs (ideal for smokers or people who have respiratory problems) • Act as a cooling influence on the body (reduce heatiness) • Help act against coughs, colds and influenza • Provide health and skin nourishment from within to keep the skin moisturised and radiant • Restore a sense of balance to the body
Show your loved ones how much you care with a special gift pack of BRAND’S® Bird’s Nest with Rock Sugar. Each beautiful box contains 3 bottles x 42ml and is priced at only $18.50. Available at all leading pharmacy and personal care stores or order from our Customer Care Line 1800 732 4748.
BRAND’S® GOOD LIVING
Have a Trim & Terrific
Christmas
With Christmas on the way, you want to be looking your best. For many of us that might mean watching our diet, but it’s certainly a time when there’s a lot of tempting food around. We all know that to watch our figure we can eat less and/or exercise more, but one other option is to boost our metabolism to help our body burn fat. InnerShine® Capsaicin + Green Tea Extract with Essence of Chicken added with HCA is a powerful combination of the synergistic fat-burning effects of Green Tea, Capsaicin, Hydroxy Citric Acid (HCA) and BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken. What does that do? It reduces excessive body fat. Epigallocatechins gallate (EGCG) from Green Tea Extract and Capsaicin stimulate thermogenesis, the calorie-burning process. As a result, the body metabolises body fat, rapidly. What’s more, EGCG helps suppress fat build up from excessive carbohydrate in your body. The addition of HCA also help to restrict the production of excess fat in our body cells and increases fat burning to supply energy, especially when exercising. It doesn’t mean you can keep going crazy at the buffet tables, but a boosted metabolism could help you look and feel your best through the holiday season.
Reduces body fat
THE ART OF GREAT GIVING (without the stress!)
Secret Santa will be coming to offices all over Singapore soon. Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, there are some gifts you’ll politely accept and never use and there are others you’ll be ecstatic over. If your office hasn’t had a Secret Santa party yet, it might do this year. It’s a fun festive game that’s becoming increasing popular here, and the rules are simple. A budget is set, usually around $10, and you draw the name of one of your coworkers randomly. Your challenge is to find a small gift within the budget to be given anonymously. Sounds easy in theory, right? But of course like all things deceptively simple, all kinds of things can go wrong. For a start there’s the budget. What kind of gifts are available for $10? Stationery reminds us of work and socks are too personal. Perhaps a key chain or coffee mug? They probably already have one. Then there’s the sudden realisation that you don’t know your colleagues as well as you think you do. Are they a cat person or a dog person? Into humour or sport? Is she girly or handy with powertools? Obviously you should have asked more questions in the coffee room! What starts as a laugh suddenly takes on a looming stress. You spot the perfect notebook set, except it blows the budget at $12. Cupcakes? Perhaps she’s dieting. Time starts to run out before the big day, and with each hour the pressure grows. It’s tempting to keep walking past your recipient’s desk, scanning for hints, except it might give the game away or, worse yet, seem creepy. This year it’s time to bring the fun back to Secret Santa, and BRAND’S® has the perfect stocking stuffer. The InnerShine® Christmas Pack is an attractively boxed set of 2 bottles of InnerShine® Berry Essence and 1 bottle of InnerShine® Prune Essence. InnerShine® Berry Essence provides nourishment for eye health and is an excellent source of antioxidants that neutralise harmful free radicals in the body. InnerShine® Prune Essence promotes good intestinal health to help reduce tummy bloatedness and discomfort to achieve clear and radiant skin.
To be taken with a balanced diet and regular exercise for optimum results
When it’s time for you to play Secret Santa this year, don’t get stressed. It ages the skin and you want to be looking your best for the party. The InnerShine® Christmas Pack is only $8.90 and it’s available from Guardian and Watsons or directly from BRAND’S® Customer Care by calling 1800 732 4748. It’s a gift that’s sure to be perfect and much appreciated, and you can secretly congratulate yourself for being a very smart Santa.
Your Body’s Best Friend You can’t see it, so it’s easy to neglect. But if you’re often sick, it could be a sign that your immune system is weak and in need of a wake-up call!
Our body’s immune system is a complex thing, and because we can’t see it, and many of us don’t understand how it works, we often ignore it until we’ve fallen sick. By that time it’s too late to do anything about it, and we need to take immediate action to fight illness. We can take a preventive strategy though. Traditional medicine in China and Japan has long advocated ways to strengthen the immune system, and modern biomedical and scientific studies are continuously validating these beliefs. BRAND’S® MycoProtec Essence of Mushroom contains a unique blend of five premium medicinal mushrooms that are scientifically supported to keep you in good health. Powered by mushroom ßeta-glucans, this medicinal mushroom essence helps to strengthen and support the optimal functioning of your immune system. Mushroom ßeta-glucans, which are not fully released through normal home cooking methods, are carefully extracted and retained in each bottle of BRAND’S® MycoProtec Essence of Mushroom.
Lingzhi
Essential Nutrients: Vitamin B1 and B2, Vitamin D, ßeta-glucans, Triterpenoids Traditionally in Chinese and Japanese medicine for insomnia, they are also used in TCM to improve ‘Qi’ circulation and blood flow and have been shown in many animal and human studies to improve immune responses against cancer cells.
Cordyceps
Essential Nutrients: Vitamins B1, B2 and B12, ßeta-glucans They are widely used in TCM as a tonic to promote ‘Qi’ circulation and improve energy levels and help to strengthen immunity and relieve cough by fortifying the kidneys and lungs.
Maitake
Essential Nutrients: Niacin, Vitamin B1 and B2, Vitamin D, ßeta-glucans Maitake are highly regarded in Japan as a health tonic to enhance vitality, wellness and strength. They have been demonstrated in animal studies to improve blood pressure control and in animal and human studies to boost immune responses in combatting against cancer cells.
Yamabushitake
Essential Nutrients: Iron, Zinc, ßeta-glucans Used in TCM for stomach ulcers and chronic gastric disorders, studies have shown they can reduce tumour growth and improve immune response in animals and suggest they may improve memory loss in the elderly.
Shiitake
Essential Nutrients: Iron, Niacin, Vitamin B1 and B2, Vitamin D, ßeta-glucans Known to account for the low cancer rates of residents in two remote mountainous districts in Japan, they boost stamina, support liver function and contain a variety of ßega-glucans that support the immune system in different ways. BRAND’S® MycoProtec Essence of Mushroom contains a unique blend of five premium medicinal mushrooms that is scientifically supported to keep you in good health. Powered by mushroom ßeta-glucans, this medicinal mushroom essence helps to strengthen and support the optimal functioning of your immune system. Mushroom ßeta-glucans, which are not fully released through normal home cooking methods, are carefully extracted and retained in each bottle of BRAND’S® MycoProtec Essence of Mushroom.
The earliest archeological record of the use of medicinal mushrooms comes from a 5,500-yearold Tassili cave image which depicts a dancing, mushroom-wreathed Shaman. In 1991, hikers in the Italian Alps discovered the well-preserved remains of a man who had died more than 5000 years ago. The “Iceman” possessed a knapsack that contained, among other things, a string of dried medicinal mushrooms. It is estimated that there are a total of 140,000 mushrooms on Earth, but only 14,000 are known and classified. Out of these, more than 2,000 species are safe for consumption and about 700 species are known to act on the body.
Fun Facts About Mushrooms
BRAND’S® FUEL FOR LIFE
Make or Break
Your Travel Plans
The period over Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year is a hot favourite for travel, as we all take welldeserved breaks to recharge for the year ahead. If you’re planning a break, then the truth about these two common health myths could make the difference between a disastrous and a delightful holiday. I just need a holiday to get over this tiredness.
My skin will only be damaged if I travel to a hot and sunny destination. The reason we associate sun-soaked beach holidays with skin damage is that we can often actually feel the sun heating and drying our skin. When the sun is beating down and we’re out-of-doors, usually in minimal clothing, we can feel the “burn”. There’s no doubt that the UV rays on those beach holidays can cause skin damage, but that feeling of burning is actually a warning signal that helps you to monitor when you’ve been in the sun too long. Other environments can be just as dangerous, but without the early warning signs. If you’re travelling to a tropical region around the end of the year it is often cloudy, but UV rays travel easily through clouds. You feel shaded, but your skin can be exposed to just as much oxidative stress and UV ray-induced skin damage. If you’re lucky enough to be going on a skiing holiday, you are putting your skin in double-danger. UV radiation increases 4 to 5 percent with every 1,000 feet above sea level, so higher altitude means increased risk of skin damage. Snow will also reflect sunlight, increasing the amount you are exposed to, and wind and moisture can wear away sunscreen and reduce its effectiveness. OUR RECOMMENDATION Sunburn could ruin your holiday and exposure to UV rays can cause long term damage such as premature ageing. Use a broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher whenever you’re outdoors. Pack InnerShine® Grape Seed Extract with Selenium in your luggage. Its tablet form means it doesn’t take up much room, and its combination of five different anti-oxidants work in different ways in the body to provide a holistic anti-oxidant protection and sun defense. Selenium, Vitamins C and E and Beta Carotene work synergistically to give you youthful and healthy skin by protecting and defending it from environmental damage, such as UV rayinduced dark spots, pigmentation and pre-mature ageing.
You may have heard the saying “a change is as good as a rest”, but actually it’s not necessarily always true. If you read last issue’s article “How The Brain Deals With Modern Living”, you may remember that stress causes imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin. That’s what can cause us to feel dull, unmotivated and forgetful. Certainly a holiday will help, but if you’ve had a stressful year then you shouldn’t expect that a few days break will fix everything. OUR RECOMMENDATION Take a bottle of BRAND’S® MycoProtec Essence of Mushroom daily for one week before going on a vacation to keep the body’s immune system at tip top condition so that you will be less likely to fall sick or catch a cold during the vacation. As we discussed last issue, diet can help recover from stress, and research has found that ProBeptigen® bioactive peptide, found naturally in BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken, helps to maintain brain serotonin if it’s taken on a daily basis in a long-term manner. BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken with Vitamin B Complex and Iron is in handy tablet form and supports mental alertness and concentration, along with the added support of a complete range of Vitamin B-complex and Iron. Vitamin B-complex is well known for supporting a healthy nervous system and helping to manage stress and for energy production to support brain function. Iron helps the body regain its energy by supporting formation of hemoglobin in red blood cells which transport oxygen to every organ. BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken with Vitamin B Complex and Iron has been further enriched with Vitamin E, our body’s principal fat-soluble antioxidant, to help protect brain cells against free radical damages which are produced abundantly during heavy mental workloads.
InnerShine® Grape Seed Extract with Selenium and BRAND’S® Essence of Chicken with Vitamin B Compex and Iron both come in tablet form, so they’re light and convenient to pack into your luggage when you’re travelling.