Nurture Your Own

I just read the article, Panel calls for clearer Lasik warning published by The Associated Press.

It reported that 700,000 Americans had undergone Lasik operation seeking for better eyesights. However, about 1% or fewer came out of the operation theaters suffering serious, life-changing side effects. Some got worse vision, others got severe dry eye, yet some suffer from glares or seeing halo effects. All resulted in the inability to drive at night.

It’s the same here in Singapore where I resided. The government also issued warnings to people who are considering and seeking Lasik treatment. Some surgery went terribly wrong.

If 99% of people had successful surgery, surely there’s no need for governments around the world to issue an alert? Not really. A risk is still a risk. Some of us are risk averse and will not want to suffer any consequences. Some like to make an informed decision.

I knew about there’s a risk and I had talked to many ophthalmologists on the subject since Lasik came about. During the first year, my ophthalmologist whom I knew since 6 years advised me to wait another 1-2 years for the technology to settle. I heed his advice. When he gave me a green light to proceed, I still sought to speak several other ophthalmologists. One of the questions asked was: Why are there so many ophthalmologists still wear glasses when there’s so many forms of surgery to correct poor eyesight. One doctor said the more he knows about the risks, the more he is weary to do it on himself. So, he echoed what Dr Jayne Weiss of Detroit’s Kresge Eye said (in the aforementioned article) :

“I can read without my glasses and … operate without my glasses, and I love that,” she said. “The second aspect is I would not tolerate any risk for myself. … Does that mean Lasik is good or not good? It means Lasik is good but not for everyone.”

I, on the other hand, decided to take the plunge. Soldiers who lost their glasses in the battle field resort to Lasik operation for safety and security reasons. Me too. I couldn’t see a person’s face if he is standing 6 feet away from me. I couldn’t even find my glasses on my own should I forgotten where I placed them. After a few panicky incidents due to poor vision, I decided to fork out US$2960 to fix it once and for all.

What’s the result? I have almost perfect vision right now and I’m happy with the results. However, I did experience some temporary discomfort for about 2 weeks after the Lasik surgery:

On the first night, I could hardly open my eyes. When I did, all I could see are glares, double images and halo. My eyes tear easily but the pain was bearable. I had to put on a clear plastic eye mask to sleep for the next 5 days. According to the surgeon, that was to protect my eyes from unconscious scratching while I was sleeping.

The second day was quite all right but I felt a sharp pain growing increasingly on the left eye. I still see double images, glare and halo in the evening but much smaller and not so bright. I can see the surrounding images around the light much better too.

A follow-up visit on the third day had the surgeon proclaimed that the surgery was a success. The pain was due to a slight tear and it would be healed on its own within a week. By the 3rd evening, night vision returned and I could almost see normally.

By the 4th day, I can see everything normally. Though I did not achieve a 6/6, I’ve got what I wanted. I could see a person’s face even he is 10 feet away from me. I have no needs to hunt for glasses because I don’t need them any more. I just need to lubricate my eyes as they were dry

By end of the 2nd week, the dryness of the eyes was gone too.

I was one of the fortunate 99% who went through Lasik operation successfully. However, like my Lasik surgeon said, every operation carries a certain amount of risks. You must weigh the pros and cons before going for an elective surgery. For folks out there who are considering Lasik operation, do check out the surgeon, the clinic and the hospital who is doing the op for you. If in doubts, get second opinions. And yes, read up before you make a consultation appointment because you would want to ask intelligent questions that impact on your eyes.

It is with great pleasure that I introduce our newest writer, Dr. Bob Koh. He is the first medical doctor who has agreed to share his experience regularly at NurtureYourOwn.

Dr Bob Koh has been in health education and wellness consultation for more than 30 years. His original focus was on healthy diet and proper food preparations, as many people do eat their way into hospitals, unintentionally, of course.

In 1989, Bob was diagnosed for severe liver problems and his doctor told his family that he had only 6 months to live!

Refusing to give up, he retired for rehabilitation and started studying alternative healing methodologies and modalities. From 1989 till 1995, he devoted his time to studying all methods of restoring the body’s self-healing functions. He not only succeeded in curing himself but today, 19 years later, he is in the pink of health and his liver is in a better condition than most people.

To find out if his methodologies will be effective for other diseases and conditions, in 1996, he offered to treat patients free of charge. For 2 years, he treated many kinds of diseases and conditions successfully using his own unique methodologies, and proved that his methods are effective over a wide spectrum of diseases and conditions.

Now he treat patients for conditions such as

• colon cancer, breast cancer
• stroke prevention and stroke rehabilitation
• migraine
• insomnia
• poor sleep quality
• neck/shoulder pain
• hypertension and
• prevention of heart diseases, etc

ALL are treated, without surgery and/or chemotherapy, that is, purely non-surgical solutions. He also treats

• all abnormal growths (such as tumors)
• poor functions of liver, kidneys, pancreas etc
• digestive disorders, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) etc

Dr Bob Koh also specializes in non-surgical solutions for slipped discs, nerve compression, sciatica, numbness in limbs, and paralysis. This may sound incredible but many patient who see Bob regain mobility without surgery in 90% of the cases of paralysis with no fractures to the spine. I’m sure he will share more through his blog posts.

Bob believes that his greatest service to mankind is his ability to find out the root cause of the disease and conditions, and in his ability to treat the root causes. His patients say that Bob offers them long-term, permanent solutions by not just treating the symptoms; but the root causes. Bob treats many patients in Asia, and even has patients from North America as well as Europe.

He is currently treating a 3rd Stage Colon cancer patient in Singapore. He will be sharing the progress with us soon. He believes that treating cancer with surgery and chemotherapy is not the best solution. The patient’s cancer specialist was frank enough to mention that after surgery and chemotherapy, 80% of patients will relapse within 2 years, and the remaining 20% will get cancer again within 5 years.

We’d like to welcome Bob to NurtureYourOwn as he shares with us his vast experience in treating patients over a wide spectrum of disease and conditions.

Read related post from/about Dr Bob Koh:
Alternative Treatment Stopped Cancer Cells from Growing Under 2 Weeks!

An Open Letter to Doctors from Dr Bob Koh

“Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied.”

by Charles Caleb Colton (1780-1832), British clergyman, sportsman and author.

This is not directly about healthy living or eating healthy, but this is a very interesting tool that we can all try out. Named “Your Disease Risk“, this is a really cool set of questions that you can answer online, and instantly get an estimate of your risk level for:

- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Osteoprosis
- Stroke

Quote from the Harvard School of Public Health:

Your Disease Risk has been transferred to the Washington University in St. Louis and can be accessed at: www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu.

This important health tool was originally developed at the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health and is also accessible at www.diseaseriskindex.harvard.edu.

So, if you think you are really healthy now, or if you think you might be a tad at risk, go answer some questions and have a feel for what your risks factor are with Your Disease Risk.

Jeffrey Blumberg, a director of the antioxidants research laboratory at Tufts University, told “MindYourBody” in March 2008 that:

You may be doing ok if you have adequate nutrient intake. But recent research has shown that if you take in more nutrients, above the level of your RDA, it could have positive effects on your physical fitness, bone density and cognitive function, which are all affected by nutrition.

As we grow older, our nutrient requirements will increase. Since old folks are susceptible to chronic diseases, they need to heighten the amount of nutrient even more.

The elderly are also the age group that take the most medication frequently, and on a ling term basis. Many of these drugs interfere with the adsorption, utilization or distribution of nutrients.

Almost nobody fulfills all the nutrient requirements and since it is difficult to change a person’s eating habit, one way to boost nutrients intake would be to take dietary supplement.

… taking a supplement every day is simple, and can help people to meet their minimum requirement.

What about vitamin overdose? The good doctor said:

While it is possible to overdose on a vitamin, it is hard to do so. There is something called the tolerable upper level (TUL), or the highest amount that scientific studies show that you can consume without harm. For vitamin B12, no one has found a TUL yet. For others, it is mostly 20,30 times above the RDA”.

Source: MindYourBody by Singapore Press Holding, 16 April 2008

According to some experts, toxins in the blood are the culprits that cause some forms of eczema.

Consuming wheatgrass juice regularly is just one of the many options to help heal your eczema from inside out.

Enzymes
Wheatgrass juice contains many essential enzymes that our body needs for optimum health. Enzymes help to strengthen our immune system and thus aid our body to fight against the many allergens that cause eczema to be worsened.

Detoxification
Wheatgrass contains high levels of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the substance that makes plants green. Chlorophyll detoxifiesthe body, cleanses the blood as well as the intestines and other organs. It contains numerous vitamins and minerals too.

Blood Purification
Wheatgrass has been found effective in purifying blood.

Restore acid/alkaline balance
Wheatgrass is also known to restores the level of alkalinity of our blood. High acidic levels are known to be associated with high toxin levels.

To incorporate wheatgrass juice as your ammunition against eczema, you will need to consume a sufficient amount to derive benefits. Some wheatgrass enthusiasts recommend that we should not exceed 4 ounces per day. We should not drink it in a single pop but space out throughout the day. If you are gungho, you can do so but be warned that you have to run to the toilet more often. This is due to the strong cleansing abilities of wheatgrass juice.

Additional Reading:

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

“Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.”

by Buddha (563 BC-483 BC) , Founder of Buddhism.

Good nutrition is the goal, but food is not just about nutrition. It is about emotions, culture and being social. What and how we eat is so personal that changing eating habits can be difficult. The best advice for stroke survivors is the same as for everyone!

Eat low-fat diet with a variety of grains, vegetables and fruits along with some high-protein foods like meat or dairy products and balance how many calories of intake with exercises.

Deciding to change is the first step and remind yourself that changes don’t have to take place over-night. Start with easy ones then one by one add more kinds of vegetables, reduce portion sizes.

Bladder problems are another issue. Quite often, fear of having to go to the bathroom frequently or loss of bladder control causes a person to limit fluids. This can cause other problems such as dehydration, dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, loss of appetite and constipation.

Depression can affect people’s appetite in different ways. Many people turn to certain foods for comfort when they are depressed. These may be old favourites from childhood – scoop of ice-cream, mashed potatoes etc. The danger is overdosing it and increase intake of sugars, fats and other unhealthy elements. There are some who lose their appetite when they are depressed. Eating with others can help you and the person in your care stay connected. Remember that staying physically active can help decrease the symptoms of depression.

Bowel management often involves preventing constipation. Fiber counts…add up! Fibers are found in cereals, grains, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits. A diet rich in fiber (about 25 to 30 grams each day) along with adequate fluid intake and physical activity can help promote good bowel function. Fiber also provides a sense of fullness, which helps in managing how much one eats.

This will be the concluding Part of Stroke & Diet and hope that you find these Four Parts useful or helpful, especially if you have a family member or friend who is a stroke survivor. What was written under Stroke & Diet in these four Part mini-Series are collections from various sources and it is difficult to give any references to them. I suppose with the Internet checking for further reading to these is not such a difficult task anymore. Thank-you for your patience!

Stroke & Diet Part 1 ~ Stroke & Diet - Part 2  ~ Stroke & Diet - Part 3

What is a Stroke? ~ Facts of Stroke & The Warning Signs. ~ Stroke Risk Factors. ~ Understanding Spasticity Eating & The Stroke Survivor ~
The Job No One Asks For Caregivers Month ~ Botox & Spasticity ~ The ABC’s of Caregiving Behavioural Changes ~ There is Hope ~ Improving Awareness ~ Fall Prevention for Stroke Survivors ~ Sleep Disorders.

The following is an extract from an interview conducted by MSN’s Ashley Ball with Michael Pollan to find out how we can translate his seemingly esoteric idea of eating well to our busy, budget-driven realities. Michael Pollan is the author, most recently, of “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto”. The full interview entitled “Real Food”, can be read here.

I extracted one particular question and answer to publish here because it is important to all of us - no matter where’s our consciousness level on healthy eating.

Ashley Ball: Real food takes more time to prepare than packaged, and lots of people say they don’t have enough time to cook. What’s your response to that?

Michael Pollan: I think it’s very hard to eat well without cooking, and that that is something we need to face up to as a culture. If you’re concerned about your health, probably the single best thing you can do is start cooking … you’ll be salting your food yourself, you’ll be deciding how sweet it is … you’re not going to put high-fructose corn syrup in it—nobody does that at home—and you’ll be starting with real ingredients. A lot of us don’t think we have time to cook, but before you say that to yourself, I think you really have to say, “Well, OK, I do have two hours a day for the Internet. I do have four hours a day for television”—these are typical American numbers—“and I don’t have time for 20 minutes to actually put a meal on the table for my family?” It’s not that hard. It’s really not that hard. I think we’ve mystified cooking. I think we watch these shows, you know, these heroic, athletic cooking shows on television, and it makes it look really daunting. But you can put a really good meal on the table in 20 minutes. It doesn’t take that much work, and there are few things as satisfying. Even if we would just take some of the time we spend looking at cooking shows and use that time to actually cook, we would be a lot better off.

The full interview might be a bit long for those of us who like quick reading but it’s worth your time, and health.

Technorati Tags: Real Food interview by Ashley Ball with Michael Pollen

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”

~ by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American statesman, scientist and philosopher.

I read about this in “MindYourBody” tabloid on my way to work. The short article is said to be reproduced from The Los Angeles Times.

According to the British researcher a Leatherhead Food International, a food and beverage research and consulting company, rinsing or soaking raw french fries in water before frying may reduce levels of acrylamide, a cancer-causing chemical.

Acrylamide is created in small amount during the production of french fries and potato chips. Acrylamide is linked to cancer in rodents which leads researchers to believe that it many be carcinogenic to human beings too.

The Brit researchers found that soaking for 2 hours helped in the reduction of acrylamide by 48%. Simply washing or soaking them for 30 minutes, will see to a 23% and 38% reduction respectively.

The question that came to my head was: WHY? (more…)

I was talking to a friend on eczema diet and she shared with me one of her secrets:

Dry the peel of a watermelon, the large variety type that has a deep green skin with blackish green stripes with bright red pulp with black seeds inside. She said to burn the dired peel to an ash. Take a spoonful of this ash and add enough warm coconut oil to make a paste. After it is cool, apply this on the eczema-ridden patch.

Coconut oil is long known to have healing properties on eczema so that was not a surprise, but watermelon is not as well documented. There’s go to tell that we must keep ourselves informed of fellow sufferers’ healing tips.

Additional Reading:

• “Cure Your Eczema in 14 Days” by Janet Simpson
• Eczema Diet Secrets by Evelyn Lim

Technorati Tags: watermelon ash, coconut oil, home remedy treatment for eczema