Have You Read The Label ?

 3 in 1 coffee is popular due to its convenience.

The handy packet displays the ingredients which include non-dairy creamer.

What is non-dairy creamer ?

Such creamer contains casein. Casein is a milk protein that can trigger reactions in those with milk allergies. It is added to non-dairy creamer to create a milky flavour and texture.

How can you have cream if you have no dairy? Hydrogenated palm oil, also known as trans fat give "creamers" the creamy look, feel, and flavour. Trans fat increases your bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Sodium aluminosilicate is an ingredient added to keep powdered creamer from caking. It contain sodium, aluminium, silicon and oxygen. Sodium aluminosilicate has the labeling standard food additive code number E554.

Imaginary Noises

Noise, real or imaginary can be very frustrating between neighbours.

Neurologists have identified Auditory Hallucinations as a cause of many neigbourly spats.

Hearing one's name being called aloud or hearing a voice but finding no one there is common.

Sound such as knocking , door closing, heavy walking, furniture dragging are also often cited.

Hallucinations have been linked to mental illness for many years.

Psychiatric illness, such as schizophrenia and dementia are known to be causes of auditory hallucination.

A 75 year woman drove her neighbour nuts telling them to turn their music down when they weren't playing any.

Psychotherapy treatment is recommended for people with the condition, particularly the elderly.

Your Eyes

Sunglasses today are commonly used as a fashion accessory.

Sunglasses are an effective and affordable way to protect eyes from UV damage.

UV damage occurs in the morning from 8.00 - 10.00 and in the afternoon from 2.00 - 4.00.

Not all sunglasses provide UV radiation. Such sunglasses are harmful to eyes because the darkened filter causes pupil dilation that allow more light to enter the eyes.

Sunglasses were in fashion in the 1930s. Nowadays people cannot imagine a day without sunglasses.

Do UV coating on your sunglasses have an expiration date?

The good news is - no they don't.

A Healthy 2013

The pH scale, Power of Hydrogen, was first introduced by Danish chemist Soren Sorensen in 1909.

In a pH balanced body, urine is acidic in the morning, becoming more alkaline by evening.

A balanced pH level indicates good health.

Cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment but are unable to survive in an alkaline one.

Studies have shown that the body naturally maintain pH balance. The kidneys expel acid in the form of urine.

The chinese invented Yin and Yang about 3000 years ago.

Like the pH, a balanced Yin Yang indicates good health.

So eat well, play well and sleep well, for a healthy 2013.

Cancer No Entry

Dr. Mehmet Oz  known on TV as Dr Oz have just made everyone's day.

He put the question: which is better to prevent Cancer: beer or milk ?

The answer is beer because it protects against bacteria that has be linked to Stomach Cancer and Ulcers. 

He cautioned to say that 2 or more drinks a day can increase other types of cancer though, so limit yourself to 1 glass of beer a day!

Doctor Oz also bring comfort to those who drink coffee.

Just 2 daily cuppas can reduce your chances of getting Colon Cancer and Uterine Cancer.

Water For Health

While on the subject of water, it is never too bothersome to stress that...

2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs

1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion

1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure

1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

Be Afraid

A chinese saying, Birth, Aged, Sickness and Death every human beings have to go through.

A stroke occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted either by an artery supplying blood to a part of the brain is blocked, or an artery bursts within the brain.

The annual number of stroke patients in Singapore has been increasing, from 5,463 in 2005 to 5,743 in 2010. Deaths among stroke patients increased from 641 in 2005 to 689 in 2010.

Quality of life takes a hit for stroke survivors who describe it as being worse than death.

A research conducted by McMaster University on Ontario, Cananda look into the causes of stroke. It comes up with the ten commandments of strokes.

1. High blood pressure
2. smoking
3. a fat stomach
4. poor diet
5. lack of physical activity
6. high levels of bad cholsterol
7. diabetes
8. alcoholic drinking
9. stress
10. depression

Can you name one of above not related to the present lifestyle ?

Many long-term bad lifestyles eventually result in a stroke, according to chinese traditional doctors.

Emotional stress, working long hours, excessive physical activities, irregular eating habits, poor diet and excessive sexual activity are contributing factors.

Eye Twitching

An old Chinese saying “the twitching of the left eyelid indicates the coming of good fortune; while the right one is considered inauspicious".

Scientists referred eye twitching as eye muscle spasm which attributed to a eye problem known as blepharospasm.

The condition is actually caused by uncontrollable contractions of the muscles around the eyelids under certain conditions such as stress, air pollution, strained eyes or fatigue.

Sometimes people experience twitching under the eye; others experience it in the upper eyelid.

Doctors have assured that minor eye twitches usually do not worsen. A mild eye twitch will usually go away on its own. Just cut down on stress and get plenty of rest.

Watch these causes -

• Stress
• Irritation of the Cornea or Conjunctiva
• Fatigue
• Lack of sleep
• Prolonged staring at a computer screen or television
• Nervous system disorders
• Excessive caffeine intake

Going Bananas

The Morning Banana Diet is a diet for people to lose weight.

It was so popular in Japan in 2008 and caused a shortage of bananas in stores.



Australian banana farmer and now a banana consultant, Frank Grant is a third generation banana grower with over 30 years’ experience cultivating bananas on his family’s banana farm in Australia.

"I am thrilled to see this great fruit being recognized. The fruit inside has not been touched by human hands. How fantastic is that?".

But associate professor of nutrition and food studies at New York University, Lisa Sasson think otherwise.

“The sugars in bananas adhere to your teeth more than other fruits, so eating them in the morning puts you at high risk of cavities,”


Eating plenty of bananas can pile on the calories, making you even more obese than you were to begin with, said Sasson.

Author and consultant Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.asked, "did you know eating too many bananas may lead to an early demise?".

Too much potassium can lead to heart damage and cardiac arrest.

How many bananas do you think it takes to poison you with potassium?

Its nearly impossible to say the amount of banana eaten which can lead to ingest a dangerous amount of potassium. Bananas are not poisonous but like the saying goes, too much of everything is bad, so take everything in moderation.

IT Band

No it is not the name of a rock band, far from it.

Iliotibial Band syndrome is a common cause of outer knee pain.



If left untreated, knee pain may become so severe that walking becomes difficult.



The IT band is a tissue on the outside of the thigh, extending from the outside of the pelvis, over the hip and knee, and inserting just below the knee.

Outer knee pain is the classic symptom of IT band syndrome.

Taking a break from running helps your IT band heal.

Weather Forecast

Many old folks swear it will rain when their joints begin to hurt.

And many old folks swear it will rain when dizziness hit them.

Now many folks young and old will swear it will rain by smelling the air.



The smell is called petrichor, the scent of rain falling on dry earth.

It’s caused by a couple of compounds in the soil, one of them known as geosmin.

The human nose, not normally considered a particularly acute instrument, is extraordinarily sensitive to geosmin which is produced by several types of bacteria and algae.

When a storm threatens and a few molecules of geosmin waft your way, that signifies rain is imminent shortly.

Wind In Your Ears

Have you occassionally ever hear your own breathing inside the ears ?

Or hear yourself talking like you are inside a barrel ?

It is one of those occassions where the Eustachian Tube is open when it is naturally suppose to be closed.

The medical dudes called it PET - Patulous Eustachian Tube.

Before you rush yourself into the nearest clinic, you can temporarily alleviate the symptom by sitting in a chair with your head between the knees.

You can also perform a routine of lying down four times a day with legs elevated to around 20 inches for at least two weeks. Best upon waking, and before retiring for the day.

Watch what is happening in the ear when PET occurs.

Healthy Advice

How much do we know about ducks ?

Not the gigolo kind.

The ones that go quack, quack.



Now we know.

To Your Good Health

1. High Blood Pressure is pysiological, not a disease. A forebearing heart will cure the symptom.

2. To protect your liver, get enough sleep, avoid anger and stay positive.

3. Leg cramp is caused by lack of calcium and electrolyte. Take milk, beans,and bananas.

4. If you maintain the six moods - Calm, Relax, Happy, Kind, Amicable, Joyful, you will be healthy and well.

5. Smokers should eat more red grapes to prevent lung cancer.

6. To prevent heart disease and stroke, eat more egg plant which is rich in anthocyanin.

7. Watermelon prevents prostate cancer. The lycopene lures cancer cells to self destruct.

8. Shiitake mushrooms help back pain.

9. The vitamins in chestnuts are good for lowering dementia risks.

Get Enlightenment

And stay healthy at the same time.

Exercise stations now comes with words of wisdom.

High Rise Living

High rise living is the norm for land tight economies.

The frequency of hospital visits among residents of high-rise buildings of more than 16-stories were more than twice compared to two times those in low-rise apartments of less than 5-stories, according to some Korean studies.

Singapore

Women who live high up in tower blocks are more than twice as likely to miscarry as their neighbours living on lower floors, according to a survey in Japan.

The survey of 461 young married women living in flats in high-rise blocks shows that 10 per cent suffered miscarriages. When researchers broke down the figures according to the storeys the women lived on, they found that 20 per cent of women living on the fifth floor or above had suffered miscarriages, compared to just 8.8 per cent on the second, third and fourth floors, and 6 per cent on the ground and first floors.

Women who live higher up just don't go out often because it is too much trouble.

That leads to a lack of excercise and a build up of stress says Fumio Osaka of Tokyo University.

Hong Kong

Mr Osaka has extended the study to include 1,000 women living in tower blocks.

Preliminary findings followed the same trend.

South Korea

Static Electricity

Static Electricity is electricity that doesn't move.

Every person will have SE on their body simply by doing common actions in everyday life.

Helicopters can create a stunning show while initiating an static electrical discharge.



At times, your hair is out of control with flyaways and frizz. You have Static Electricity hair.

Static Electricity hair is usually caused by using a plastic comb or brush and your hair can’t find a ground to discharge and therefore causes the hair to flyaway and stand up.



There are simple ways to discharge the SE from the body.

Touch the earth wire of the building, if you can find one.

Touch the ground with the feet, no shoes nor socks.

Or do it the Tibetan way.

Short Sightedness

The need to wear reading glasses when people reach age 35 - 40 years.



A pair of prescribed reading glasses could set you back a couple of hundred dollars.



Or you could get a $2 pair of reading glasses from a pasar malam stall.

It is a cheap and effective way for people who need reading glasses.



Would these glasses worsen your eyesight?



“You may encounter giddiness or discomfort but there won’t be permanent damage,” so say Dr Leonard Ang, the medical director of The Eye and Cornea Transplant Centre.

Are You Misdiagnosed ?

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a very rare disease that can mimic a myocardial infraction or angina pectoris.

It was first described in Japan fifteen years ago.

The word "takotsubo" is the Japanese word for an octopus fishing trap with a round bottom and narrow neck.

Coronary angiography revealed non obstructive coronary arteries.

Angina, or angina pectoris occurs when the heart is not getting enough blood. Physical exertion, strong emotions, extreme temperatures, or eating increase the demand on the heart because arteries become blocked and narrowed.

Similiarly myocardial infarction is the death of heart muscle from the sudden blockage of a coronary artery by a blood clot.

Studies show that stress-induced cardiomyopathy is more common in women than men. Most cases have a history of preceding physical or emotional stress such as mopping the floor.

This condition has also been referred to as the "broken heart syndrome" because of its appearance following emotional stress.

A Good Heart

For years, doctors' obsession with lowering cholesterol to prevent heart disease is causing more harm than good.


The fact is, your high cholesterol may be protecting you from cancer.


A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology revealed that driving down cholesterol levels actually increases the risk of cancer.


Researchers at the Tufts University School of Medicine found that among people taking "statin" drugs - like Lipitor and Zocor - there was a higher rate of cancer. Although the link between the drugs and cancer wasn't clear, there was no doubt that drastically low cholesterol levels correlated to cancer risk.


The big drug makers continue to sell the notion that the best way to fight heart disease is to lower LDL levels, the so-called "bad" cholesterol.


Yet 75 percent of people who suffer heart attacks have normal cholesterol levels.


It makes sense that low cholesterol levels are linked to cancer because cholesterol is one of your body's basic building blocks. You need it to produce testosterone, to build and repair cell membranes, and to preserve your nerve cells through the formation of the protective "sheaths" that cover them.


As long as you have a high HDL count - 75 to 80, for example - it doesn't matter whether your total cholesterol is 150 or 350. A high HDL will always keep your risk of heart disease extremely low.


Consume natural fats. Avoid processed or fast foods containing "trans" fats - these man-made substances were never meant for consumption, and your body doesn't know what to do with them. They wind up clogging your arteries and putting you on the fast track to heart disease.