Health Advice

Health Advice 

From 

Centrepoint Healthcare

  

~ Diabetes Mellitus ~

Question: Doc I am 35 years old, quite overweight and Diabetic. A recent medical check up revealed that my fasting sugar was 177 and 2 hours after eating sugars were 350. Could you give me some advice? Thanks

Dr Madan: Diabetes is the world biggest epidemic. Younger people are being affected by this condition mostly because of their lifestyle.

My suggestion for you are as follows;

1. Pharmaceuticals - Make sure you consult your family physician to get the appropriate medicines to bring down your blood sugar.

2. Diet - Ensure you decrease your caloric intake to bring down your weight. Eat food  high in fibre like vegetables and fruits. Meat low in fat like fish or chicken are advisable. The Carbohydrates that you should eat are those that are complex like Brown/red rice, yam, oats and brown bread. When consuming a meal make sure you bulk up on fruits and vegetables first before consuming the meat and carbohydrates

 

3. Exercise - Make sure you concentrate on both aerobic and muscle building exercise to bring down your blood sugar. Muscles are the major consumers of sugar, hence the bigger the muscle mass the larger is the consumption and hence the lower will be your blood sugar. 45 minutes to 1 hour of exercise per day is more than enough. Whilst exercising make sure you use good fitting well padded shoes as Diabetes is famous for causing foot conditions like ulcers and sores.

 

4. Baseline study of your eyes, heart and kidneys - Diabetes per say does not cause a person to suffer. It is the complications that causes the most pain. Diabetes affects your eyes, heart and kidneys. Ensure you request your family physician to do test to ensure your organs are in top shape.

5. Regular follow up of blood sugars - If you have just been diagnosed with Diabetes, a monthly follow up with your family physician to ensure blood sugars are controlled is essential. Once controlled a once in 6 months follow up is sufficient.

Hope these advice helps.

The Truth About Cellulite

By

Dr. Madan M Vasandani

Cellulite is a condition that affects 90% of women and 10% of men, mostly in industrial nations. As women start approaching menopause, estrogen starts decreasing. From the age of 25 – 35 is when you start seeing the appearance of cellulite. Basically what happens is as estrogen decreases, nutrition to collagen decreases which is accompanied by increase in size of the fat cells, hence they protrude through the collagen and the skin becomes bumpy. Women tend to get cellulite around the knees, saddlebags and buttocks, because they have three layers of fat in these areas. Women also have three levels of fat in the stomach and in the triceps area.

  

Why does cellulite appear in individuals living in industrialized areas?  

 

Well the reason is movement. Think about it, nowadays people living in the city do not actually need to move to get things done. Drive to work, sitting at work, people buying your food, people getting you water, TV remote to change the channels and cordless phone to connect you to people on the other side of the world.

The second reason, the diet. In the rural areas, people eat more carbohydrates and they immediately burn this because they are always on the move. In cities, food is fattier and we don’t burn it. 

Why does cellulite appear mostly on the buttocks and thighs? 

 

Well, the reason for this is quite simple. Receptors for production of fat are mostly located in this area. Hence after a fatty meal and a period of hibernation, these cells go into rock and roll in producing fat cells. Together with the poor circulation caused by decreased estrogen and also tight underwear this is a breeding ground for cellulite. What do tight underwear have to do with cellulite? To answer this question, I shall bring you to the 20’s. In the 20’s and 30’s underwear are as loose as pajama pants. And also in the 20’s people move more. In the 21^st centuries underwear with elastic across the buttocks just cuts off circulation which is one of the causes of cellulite. So, one of the ways to prevent cellulite is changing the style of your underwear. If pajama pants are not appealing, maybe thongs would work.

So how is cellulite treated? The good news is cellulite does not cause death.

The principles of treating cellulite are:

1. Break down fat, 

2. Improve circulation and 

3. Increase collagen. 

There are a few ways of doing this but there is only one way to do this without inflicting any side effects. This way is called Radio Frequency or more famously called RF.

RF causes your fat to break down, it increases circulation significantly and also restructures the collagen under your skin. To ensure that RF works maximally on you, you have to ensure that your cellulite is not severe. When cellulite is seen even when you lie down, this is called grade III cellulite and it is quite difficult to treat. RF works best on grade I (cellulite seen on pinching the skin) and grade II (cellulite seen only when you stand up) cellulite. 

At Centrepoint Healthcare, we bring you the best and most sophisticated RF machine in Jakarta – The Time Freeze. Call 5706208 to book your appointment now.

 

*Invitations will be sent to RSVP list.  Don’t miss out on door prizes at our open house!

Be Healthy at Work – It’s your Job.

By

DrMadan M Vasandani

Before you read this article, ask yourself these questions – Am I healthy? Is my job costing me my health? Our motivation to earn a better living can cause its own consequences. The major one being our health. Longer working hours, more job demands and endless hours spent in the unending traffic of Jakarta has affected all of us one way or the other. Well, the good news is that longer hours at work do not always equate to an unhealthier you. Earning a living doesn’t need to cost you your health. Follow these 5 simple tips to keep you healthy at work

Tip # 1 Diet and Exercise – Multiple morning coffees, fast food for lunch, a slice of birthday cake for afternoon tea and no time to exercise: sound like a typical work day? Poor eating habits and reduced physical activity increases the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. What is less known is that obesity has been directly linked to reduced productivity. US research published in the Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine found extremely or moderately obese workers were significantly less productive than mildly obese workers. There’s no question that managing weigh requires a whole lifestyle approach, but here are some tactics to improve your lifestyle at work:

• Increase your physical activity before and after work and during breaks
• Go for a walk at lunch 
• Bring your lunch. This reduces the temptation to buy fast food and allows you to control the portion size and nutritional value of your meal 
• Exercise with your colleagues. Why not have an exercise competition with your colleagues? Not only will it help to improve your health, it can also improve workplace relationships

Tip #2 Don’t ignore stress – There is no denying that work can be stressful, but sometimes it’s the way we think, rather than situations themselves that leave us feeling overwhelmed. Here are some things you can manage job stress.

•  Improve your time managing skills by setting goals. When setting goals remember the following acronym:

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Attainable

R – Relevant

T – Time – bound

• Keep everything in perspective – One of the reasons why job stress occurs is not knowing how to solve a problem. If this is the reason why you have job stress follow these simple rules:

·         Get the point of view of your colleagues

·         Take a break

·         Have an outlet

Tip # 3 Do not sit all day – Sitting all day at work is the leading health hazard at work – A typical office worker is sedentary 75% of the working day. From research conducted over the past decade, it’s become clear this sitting affects our body’s processing of fats and sugars in ways that increase our risk of heart disease and diabetes AND exercising everyday won’t necessarily undo this damage.

In fact, excessive sitting might undo the benefits of our daily exercise.

Try these measures both at home and at work to reduce your sitting time

· Standing when you use your phone

· Moving your rubbish bin/printer further away from your desk so you need to get off your chair to access them

· Taking the stairs instead of the lifts between floors

· Getting up to move around for few minutes or so every hour

Tip # 4 Be Proactive, Take charge of your own healthcare and get an annual physical - Eating healthy and exercising is sometimes not enough to battle diseases. Genetic conditions like Diabetes, Hypertension, High Cholesterol and even Cancer can creep in in spite of you feeling at the prime of your health. Make sure you schedule your annual Medical check which should include a complete blood work. Different age groups requires different types of medical check-up.

Tip # 5 Sharpen your mind – Any game or enterprise that is a variation of your habits or existing knowledge sharpens the mind. Keeping your brain active may help to prevent cognitive decline and memory problems. Remember a nimble mind is every bit as important as a nimble body.