Tidbits in this corner
Lifestyle Medicine
The year 2021 is a bad year. It brought death, illnesses and gloom throughout the world. No doubt each one had been praying for the corona virus to disappear and never to come back. And Omicron is coming. It will cross all borders. It is inevitable. But let’s not panic. We tamed Delta, we can tame Omicron.
Here are some snippets I wanted to share which some you won’t read in any newspapers. Is it Bongbong, Leni, Yorme or Ping? Who among the four you believe is caring, selfless and whose only intention is to uplfit the living condition of the more than seventy percent of our kababayans living below poverty line.
Here are the tidbits: *My friend, successfull businessman friend from San Luis Romeo Catacutan Is the ‘King Midas’of Pampanga. He is more known o u t si d e Pampanga because of the million views he gets on social media. He is in fuel business.
*Another blogger, Jimmy Santos of Eat Bulaga is also drawing views on his YouTube ‘JIMMY SAINTS’by featuring most places in Pampanga. Santos is from Pateros, Rizal but is residing in Noveau Residences in Angeles City for several years now.
* DPWH Director Nomer Canlas was suppose to relieve Regional Director Dong Tolentino as region 3 head and the latter getting transferred to the National Capital Regional office. Instead Canlas was assigned to the NCR.
*Guy Lopez is the new Angeles City Water District (ACWD) general manager. Rey Liwanag retired after his long service. To recall, Rey was assistant to then Engineer Romeo Calara(rip) and assumed office when the latter retired.
* Friends like Raul Aquino, retired Police General Romeo Hilomen and other friends meet each morning on the well developed and very clean Essel Subdivision park and share stories while enjoying breakfasts. Handsome Raul is Steven Siegal look alike.
*Two of my lawyer friends died recently. Atty. Ner Biag Jr. of Angeles City and Adelaido Rivera of Mabalacat.
* The mayoral races in Magalang, Mabalacat, Sto. Tomas and Porac will go down the wire. The incumbents may have the edge but are facing opposition. While in Angeles City it will be a walk in the park for incumbent Mayor Pogi Lazatin.
* Tarlac Congressman Vic Yap will not be in the coming congressional race for his last and final term, instead his nephew Christian, 37 year old son of Tarlac Governor Susan Yap will clinch it.
*Like in Pampanga, the gubernatorial race in Tarlac is uninteresting. Governor Dennis Pineda and Governor Susan are sure winners. The not so good news is in the 3rd district of Tarlac. Incumbent Congressman Charlie Cojuangco is in a sickbed seriously ill.
* In the last elections there were no opposition in all the four districts in Pampanga. All run unopposed. Not this time. For example, in the third district the bets for board member is tight. Leading of course is incumbent Jun Canlas, Lucky Labung,Tino Dizon. Followed by Kay Pineda and Michelle Gonzales. (More of such items next time).
Last week, our Medical Unit conducted a series of Health and Wellness webinars and one of the topic discussed was Lifestyle Medicine in the Digital Age. To sum up the entire lecture given by Dr. Ethel Vital-Cornes, lifestyle medicine focuses on six areas to improve health and these are healthy eating of plantbased food, avoiding risky substances, increasing physical activity, managing stress, improving sleep, and forming and maintaining relationships.
Dr. Cornes shared that 75% of chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer among others are a direct consequence of the lifestyle of the individual. She added that the top five causes of death worldwide such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke are all lifestyle related. Hence, the answer to preventing such kinds of diseases from developing is lifestyle modification especially for those people who practice unhealthy habits such as smoking, eating too much sugar and processed foods, living a sedentary lifestyle, and having poor mental health.
Here's how developing a lifestyle:
1. Reduce calorie intake.
Dr. Cornes stressed on the importance of being conscious on the amount of calories being taken in based on the food one eats. A cup of white rice has 200 caloriers while 2 slices of toasted bread only have 133 calories. A fried egg has 92 calories while a hard boiled egg has only 77 calories. 1 cup of ice cream has 267 calories while a cup of apple slices only has 72 calories. to start healthy
2. Consume plant-based food.
It is recommended that at least 40 grams of dietary fiber must be consumed each day. Dietary fiber is found only in food of plant origin, such as grains, legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds.
3. Avoid C.R.A.P.
Healthy eating means avoiding carbonated drinks, refined sugars, artificial sweeteners, and processed foods.
4. Increase physical activity.
According to Dr. Ethel Cornes, physical activity is "any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscle that results in energy expenditure" while exercise is "planned, structured and repetitive body movement done to improve or maintain fitness." For moderate physical activity, the recommendation is 150 mins/ week and can be done through walking briskly (5 km/ h), doing household chores, bicycling on light effort, and other leisurely activities like ballroom dancing, fishing, golf, and yoga.
For vigorous physical activity, the recommendation is 75 mins/ week and can be done through race walking, jogging, running, shoveling sand, aerobic dancing, basketball, bicycling fast, boxing, swimming hard, tennis singles, jumping rope, hiking, and volleyball.
5. Get enough sleep.
For adults, it is ideal that they get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each day. Experts believe that lack or self-deprivation of sleep may have ill effects on the mental and emotional state and may affect work and productivity. With the lures of the internet affecting our sleep patterns, it is best that we control our use of internet during bedtime and meditate before sleeping. Drinking water and praying before sleeping are also helpful ways in getting a sound sleep at night.
We should remember that it is our own responsibility to shape our own life. "If you don't make time for wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness."