Coffee also rich in antioxidants

While the body naturally produces antioxidants, it needs additional amounts of these molecules for it to remain in a constant state of wellness.

Antioxidants help neutralize the body’s free radicals as they attack cell membranes and cause what is collectively known as oxidative stress, which has been suggested to cause premature aging and degenerative diseases of the cardiovascular, immune and nervous systems as well as cancer and cataracts.

This is why doctors advice that antioxidant-rich beverages be part of the diet. Regular consumption of fruit-made drinks as well as coffee, tea, and red wine, for example, are highly recommended.

Antioxidant-rich beverages include those made from banana, cranberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, apples, peaches, mangos, and melons. But while these fruits are readily available, not many people take them on a regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »

Medical nutrition is part of cancer treatment

While research studies indicate that nutrition emphasis for people with cancer should be different, the nutrition care has developed continues to receive less attention.

Compared with the bulk of clinical studies dedicated to utilizing nutrition as a means to prevent cancer, only a handful of health care companies have developed a comprehensive approach to cancer care treatment by employing the benefits of medical nutrition therapy.

Medical experts agree that effectively managing cancer-induced weight loss is crucial to achieving a higher survival rate to cancer patients, not to mention ensuring them a better quality of life. Read the rest of this entry »

Exercises for health: No pain, big gains

by Tyrone M. Reyes, M.D.

The world is in the grip of an energy crisis.

The rising costs and dwindling supply of fossil fuels get all the press. but from a medical view, the real crisis involves human energy — or to be more specific, the lack of it. In the Philippines and many other countries in the world, it is an important contributor to four of the 10 leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes.

In all, sedentary living accounts for millions of premature deaths around the world annually. It is estimated that in developed countries, 10 percent of all deaths are caused by sloth, as are about 23 percent of chronic illnesses. It is a staggering burden of illness, death, and expense, and it’s all the more tragic because it’s unnecessary.

The Aerobics Revolution

The scientific study of exercise blossomed in the 1960s and ’70s. Its principal research tool was the maximum oxygen uptake test, which measures the amount of oxygen sucked up by the lungs, pumped by the heart, and delivered to the muscles during maximal exertion on a treadmill or stationary bicycle. Improvements in the maximum oxygen uptake, or VO2 max, quickly became the gold standard for judging the efficacy of exercise.

Research in many labs demonstrated that optimal improvement in VO2 max depends on vigorous exercise. The best results come from exercises intense enough to raise the heart rate to 70 percent to 85 percent its maximum, prolonged enough to sustain the intensity for 20 to 60 minutes, and frequent enough to occur three to seven times a week. The aerobics doctrine was born. Remember the mantra then? “No pain, no gain”!

In 1975, the American College of Sports Medicine issued its first exercise guidelines, calling for all healthy adults to exercise at aerobic intensity (60-90 percent of maximum) continuously for 20 to 30 minutes at least three times a week. These standards were soon adopted with only minor modification by the American Heart Association and the US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and they remained in effect for more than two decades. The aerobics doctrine inspired the few but discouraged the many. A relatively small number of lucky people discovered the benefits (and pleasures) of aerobic exercise. But based on the data at hand and with best intentions, doctors discouraged people who found aerobics too hard from getting moderate exercise by proclaiming that aerobic intensity was essential for benefit. For example, the Gospel of Aerobics preached that golf was the perfect way to ruin a four-mile walk, but we now know that’s wrong.

Fitness vs. Health

Epidemiological studies did confirm that fit people are healthy people, with reduced risks of coronary artery disease, hypertension, stroke, and diabetes, and a reduced mortality rate. These data remain valid: Aerobic training is excellent for fitness and health.

Without contradicting the value of aerobics, new studies show that it is possible to get nearly all the health benefits of exercise without reaching high levels of aerobic fitness. The answer is moderate exercise. In this formulation, intensity is less important than the net amount of exercise, and intermittent exercise is as effective as continuous activity. In fact, golf is very beneficial, indeed, as long as players walk the course and play two to three times a week.

The Benefits Of Moderate Exercise Read the rest of this entry »

Slim your way to health

by Jennifer Ong

Stress, anxiety, body pains — they say it’s all part of the 9-5 work jive of the city. But honestly, ask yourself this: How long can you go on making yourself unwell, unhappy, and unhealthy? Luckily for you, your body can now restore its health and harmony with the help of Humony.

Humony is a slimming machine that works all over the body in three ways. First, it slims you down. Then, it soothes your muscles from head to toe. And finally, it strengthens your whole body. Developed by medical instruments leader Vigen Medical Co. Ltd. of Korea, Humony revolutionizes the way slimming or health therapy is done with the help of biodynamic frequency.

Says Judy Oum, Vigen Medical’s country director, “When a baby is born, it has 5.5 volts in its body. As we grow old, this gets lower. And below 2 volts, we die.” Read the rest of this entry »

Preventing Pneumonia

by Maan d’asis pamaran

Keep your kids safe from public enemy number 1 If germs had their own “Wanted” roster, this particular bug strain would top the list as public enemy number 1. According to Dr. Lulu Bravo, head of the Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumoccocal disease prevention (ASAP), invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is the leading cause of death in children under 5 in the Asia Pacific region. Statistics show that in this region, 98 children die from pneumonia every hour – more than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined. Read the rest of this entry »

Vitamin pills can increase rate of mortality

by AVRIL ORMSBY

LONDON — Vitamin supplements taken by millions of people in the hope of extending their lives may actually increase the risk of premature death in some cases, researchers said on Wednesday.

Scientists reviewed 67 studies on 230,000 people to see whether so-called antioxidant vitamins prolonged life expectancy.

They found that vitamin C, often taken in an attempt to ward off colds, seemed to have no positive or negative effects.

Vitamins A and E, traditionally used to help strengthen bones and improve circulation, showed if anything, increased rates of mortality, as did beta-carotenes, which are taken for healthy vision. Read the rest of this entry »

Do or diet: The new weight loss plans

by Tyrone M. Reyes, M.D.

The titles of the newer diet best-sellers vary, but their promises are strikingly similar. Eat “lots and lots of great food in smart ways,” says The Abs Diet. “Lose weight by enjoying satisfying amounts of the best food on the planet,” promises The Sonoma Diet. And The Best Life Diet lets you “live happily on the diet while still meeting your weight-loss goals.”

Living happily on a diet plan seems to fly in the face of most people’s experience. In a 2006 Pew Research Center survey, more than 90 percent of 2,250 adults said losing weight was “hard” or “very hard.” So the latest popular diets focus on how to shed calories and pounds in a way that keeps you from feeling hungry. In contrast with earlier diets, which tended to severely restrict major nutrient categories — carbohydrates in the case of the Atkins Diet, fat in the case of Ornish, Pritikin, and many other diets — this latest generation of diets recognizes that fat and carbs represent more than expendable calories. They fill you up, add flavor and variety, and impart important health benefits, if you choose wisely. Read the rest of this entry »

The secret to natural healing

by Dero Pedero

I have a confession to make. I am scared of medical procedures, operations, and all other unnatural and invasive treatments. I am scared of going to a dentist, even having a medical checkup. I would rather not know that something is wrong or could be wrong with me. When I know that some part of my body is afflicted, I worry and get sicker from the resulting anxiety and apprehension. I don’t recommend this way of thinking, of course; a professional medical checkup can literally save your life. guess many people feel like I do, and all over the world, they are constantly looking for alternative medicine or processes to heal various ailments and diseases. Many schools of thought and therapies have sprouted to ease man of his health problems ranging from herbal, aromatic, nutritional, diet, fasting, exercise, and dancing to music therapy. Other disciplines, exercises, and cures include homeopathy, hypnosis, meditation, biofeedback, yoga, qi gong, aerobics, Pilates, acupuncture, and special massages like reflexology, shiatsu, etc. And then there are the more exotic and oftentimes controversial means of spiritual, religious or faith healing.

Naturopathy Read the rest of this entry »

Biologist probe genes’ link to TB treatment

Filipino molecular biologists at the country’s largest pharmaceutical and healthcare company United Laboratories, Inc (Unilab) studied the genetic variations in a human body called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that could determine the body’s response to TB treatment.

According to government data, TB is the sixth leading cause of death nationwide. This translates to 80 Filipinos dying from the disease daily, with two-thirds of the more than 85 million population harboring TB bacili and about 463,000 are active TB cases. These figures put RP at ninth rank in TB incidence worldwide.

The Unilab research team studied SNPs from blood obtained from healthy Filipino volunteers. Further study into these SNPs revealed that 47.3 percent of Filipinos are rapid acetylators, meaning their body can quickly break down an anti_TB drug like isoniazid, and thus have low risk to the toxic effects of the drugs.

The 11.6 percent are slow acetylators, which means anti-TB drugs like isoniazid stay longer in the patients’ blood, whichmay put them at a greater risk to the toxic effects of the drug.

“We plan to do more clinic studies on the remaining 41.1 percent of subjects who were found to be of the intermediate acetylator type.” Said Unilab medical director Alexander Tuazon. “Doing so will determine and verify the risk to isoniazid-induced liver toxicity.” Read the rest of this entry »

Health advice for a woman’s heart

by Lynda Shrager

The unexpected and tragic death of a 53-year-old friend from massive heart attack recently set off a buzz of talk in our community. How could someone die of heart attack so young and without warning? Many don’t realize that cardiovascular disease is the single largest killer of women in this country and it is especially prevalent after menopause.

It is especially dangerous in women because, although they are as likely as men to have a heart attack, they are more likely to die within a year of their first one. This may be because their symptoms are not recognized soon enough, so treatment is delayed and they suffer more heart damage. Read the rest of this entry »