I am posting here Doc Emil's blog on this topic, timely for people like us who binge during the holidays and would want to lose the weight we've gained during this time. Doc Emil is a faculty of the uerm graduate school (like me) and he used to be my teacher in a couple of subjects in grad school. Here is his article:
If you’re in for losing weight by eating less but is afraid that you will likely go hypoglycemic, try natural fruit juice or fruit and vegetable mix to replace 1 meal, try not to skip the two regular meals. Blend your own juice and strain the fiber and keep in a cold thermos if you’re working. It would be good to take this fruit meal in the evening instead and have it really fresh and ready for a good night rest. Read more
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
You can dissolve that stone
This is doc emil's blog on Medicinal plants.
Doc Emil Aligui is a research epidemiologist who had served as researcher in parasitology & infectious/tropical diseases (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine - Assistant Director); as a research manager (Executive Director, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, Dept. of Science & Technology and Officer-in-Charge of the Food & Nutrition Research Institute - DOST).
There are two important medicinal plants for kidney stones, Blumea balasamifera (sambong) and Orthosiphon aristatus (balbas pusa). These are available almost everywhere. One of the "one stop shop" for medicinal plants is the Bureau of Plant Industry located in San Andres. There you can buy the common medicinal plants. Read More
Doc Emil Aligui is a research epidemiologist who had served as researcher in parasitology & infectious/tropical diseases (Research Institute for Tropical Medicine - Assistant Director); as a research manager (Executive Director, Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, Dept. of Science & Technology and Officer-in-Charge of the Food & Nutrition Research Institute - DOST).
There are two important medicinal plants for kidney stones, Blumea balasamifera (sambong) and Orthosiphon aristatus (balbas pusa). These are available almost everywhere. One of the "one stop shop" for medicinal plants is the Bureau of Plant Industry located in San Andres. There you can buy the common medicinal plants. Read More
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Free scientific articles
Here are sites where I go to when I search for scientific articles:
First, I search for the article in Pubmed. If the article has a FREE full text, it is written on the upper right hand corner of the page and open that link. Otherwise go to the next step written below.
Second: I go to (http://scholar.google.com.ph/schhp?tab=ms) for the articles which Pubmed has abstracts only. Type the article inside the box of Google scholar and when it comes out, click the phrases at the end of the title of the article which say “All 3…. versions” etc. The versions will come out and choose the version which gives a full article (if you are lucky, one or 2 of the versions may be free).
Another site which is helpful to me is: http://www.unilab.com.ph/hcp/registration.asp. Register as a health professional and you will be given a username. You choose a password afterwards. You will be given instructions. They always give the article that you are searching for within 24 hours EXCEPT during weekends. You will be alerted in your email if the article is already in the unilab e-SDB MD central download center: (http://www.unilab.com.ph/hcp/index.asp).
Happy Searching!
First, I search for the article in Pubmed. If the article has a FREE full text, it is written on the upper right hand corner of the page and open that link. Otherwise go to the next step written below.
Second: I go to (http://scholar.google.com.ph/schhp?tab=ms) for the articles which Pubmed has abstracts only. Type the article inside the box of Google scholar and when it comes out, click the phrases at the end of the title of the article which say “All 3…. versions” etc. The versions will come out and choose the version which gives a full article (if you are lucky, one or 2 of the versions may be free).
Another site which is helpful to me is: http://www.unilab.com.ph/hcp/registration.asp. Register as a health professional and you will be given a username. You choose a password afterwards. You will be given instructions. They always give the article that you are searching for within 24 hours EXCEPT during weekends. You will be alerted in your email if the article is already in the unilab e-SDB MD central download center: (http://www.unilab.com.ph/hcp/index.asp).
Happy Searching!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The Best Memory Boosters
A little memory loss is perfectly normal once you hit middle age, says Martha Weinman Lear, author of a book on memory Loss. She said however that you don’t have to put up with it. She suggested 10 memory-boosting tricks that will have you remembering things in no time.
1) Play a mind game. When you plan your day, tie everything together through creative visualization, sort of like telling yourself a story that draws from your appointments and errands. It makes you remember them better and with less effort.
2) Stop and smell scent. In a recent German study, some students who sniffed a rose scent as they matched pairs of cards and then were exposed to the scent again as they slept were better at recalling the cards they had matched compared to other students didn’t get to sniff anything. To sharpen your own wits, try spraying a favorite fragrance on your sheets the night before you give that big presentation.
3) Exercise your eyes. If you want to recall more names in a party, try moving your eyes back and forth horizontally for 30 seconds. According to British researchers, exercise can help you retain words (including names) you’re about to hear. The horizontal movement makes the brain’s hemispheres interact, and that’s important in memory retrieval, the experts say.
4) Breathe deeply. Keep your mind focused during meetings by meditating beforehand for at least 10 minutes daily. Studies show that meditation is a great way to boost your attention span—and “attention is the main door to memory,” says Sonia Lupien, PhD, director of the Center for Studies on Human Stress at the Douglas Institute in Montreal.
5) Learn a new language. It stretches your mind, and can create new pathways in the brain,” according to a psychology professor. The new pathways can help you boost your memory. One way to stretch: Dip into a foreign language or a new hobby like cooking or dancing.
6) Get a good night’s sleep, because according to Research from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls speed and accuracy, is especially active after a restful night.
7) Take a good look. You won’t forget where you parked if you look back at your ride as you walk away, an expert suggests.
8) Vary your routine. Shake up your routines, an expert says. Like brushing your teeth with the other hand, or taking a new route to work. This stimulates nerve cell growth in the brain, something your brain probably needs.
9) Get moving. A new study from Columbia University shows that exercise encourages neuron growth in a region of the brain that’s associated with normal, age-related memory loss. Researchers believe that any aerobic workout or an intensive strength-training regimen will get oxygen flowing to the brain, expert says. For starters, she recommends walking briskly for 30 minutes at least three times a week.
10) Play mah-jong. If you want to remember things more quickly, grab a few friends and start a mah-jong night. It’s a pretty complicated game of skill in which players visually match tiles as quickly as possible. Mastering the game may help you rapidly commit locations to memory. You can play solo, too.
The take home message is a better memory is a product of healthy living: Eat healthy, exercise, rest and take nutritional supplements with nutrients like the B vitamin group, vitamins E and K and the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 which are capable of brain cell regeneration.
1) Play a mind game. When you plan your day, tie everything together through creative visualization, sort of like telling yourself a story that draws from your appointments and errands. It makes you remember them better and with less effort.
2) Stop and smell scent. In a recent German study, some students who sniffed a rose scent as they matched pairs of cards and then were exposed to the scent again as they slept were better at recalling the cards they had matched compared to other students didn’t get to sniff anything. To sharpen your own wits, try spraying a favorite fragrance on your sheets the night before you give that big presentation.
3) Exercise your eyes. If you want to recall more names in a party, try moving your eyes back and forth horizontally for 30 seconds. According to British researchers, exercise can help you retain words (including names) you’re about to hear. The horizontal movement makes the brain’s hemispheres interact, and that’s important in memory retrieval, the experts say.
4) Breathe deeply. Keep your mind focused during meetings by meditating beforehand for at least 10 minutes daily. Studies show that meditation is a great way to boost your attention span—and “attention is the main door to memory,” says Sonia Lupien, PhD, director of the Center for Studies on Human Stress at the Douglas Institute in Montreal.
5) Learn a new language. It stretches your mind, and can create new pathways in the brain,” according to a psychology professor. The new pathways can help you boost your memory. One way to stretch: Dip into a foreign language or a new hobby like cooking or dancing.
6) Get a good night’s sleep, because according to Research from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls speed and accuracy, is especially active after a restful night.
7) Take a good look. You won’t forget where you parked if you look back at your ride as you walk away, an expert suggests.
8) Vary your routine. Shake up your routines, an expert says. Like brushing your teeth with the other hand, or taking a new route to work. This stimulates nerve cell growth in the brain, something your brain probably needs.
9) Get moving. A new study from Columbia University shows that exercise encourages neuron growth in a region of the brain that’s associated with normal, age-related memory loss. Researchers believe that any aerobic workout or an intensive strength-training regimen will get oxygen flowing to the brain, expert says. For starters, she recommends walking briskly for 30 minutes at least three times a week.
10) Play mah-jong. If you want to remember things more quickly, grab a few friends and start a mah-jong night. It’s a pretty complicated game of skill in which players visually match tiles as quickly as possible. Mastering the game may help you rapidly commit locations to memory. You can play solo, too.
The take home message is a better memory is a product of healthy living: Eat healthy, exercise, rest and take nutritional supplements with nutrients like the B vitamin group, vitamins E and K and the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 which are capable of brain cell regeneration.
Is There an Anticancer Diet?
Eating certain fruits and vegetables may decrease cancer risk and even stop its growth according to research.
While there is really no "anticancer diet," eating plenty of certain fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of getting cancer, based on a Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research in Philadelphia report to the American Association for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference.
On the list are black raspberries for reducing risk of esophageal cancer and raw cruciferous vegetables like broccoli for preventing bladder cancer.
The raspberry fruit probably reduces oxidative stress – facilitates cell regeneration by reducing the destruction done to cells by free radicals -- and by decreasing DNA damage and the growth rates of cells as well as increasing levels of an enzyme which helps in cell regeneration by detoxifying carcinogens.
Raw cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower seem to reduce bladder cancer risk according to a study due to the presence of compounds thought to be protective against bladder cancer. The risk is also further decreased if the fruit eater does not also smoke.
The big take-home message is, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially those in season. The real goal is to try to increase your overall consumption of fruits and vegetables and the proportion of your diet that is made up of a plant-based diet. To ensure a steady supply of these cell regeneration anti-oxidants, you make take nutritional supplements with a good mix of anti oxidants.
While there is really no "anticancer diet," eating plenty of certain fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of getting cancer, based on a Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research in Philadelphia report to the American Association for Cancer Research's Sixth Annual International Conference.
On the list are black raspberries for reducing risk of esophageal cancer and raw cruciferous vegetables like broccoli for preventing bladder cancer.
The raspberry fruit probably reduces oxidative stress – facilitates cell regeneration by reducing the destruction done to cells by free radicals -- and by decreasing DNA damage and the growth rates of cells as well as increasing levels of an enzyme which helps in cell regeneration by detoxifying carcinogens.
Raw cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower seem to reduce bladder cancer risk according to a study due to the presence of compounds thought to be protective against bladder cancer. The risk is also further decreased if the fruit eater does not also smoke.
The big take-home message is, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially those in season. The real goal is to try to increase your overall consumption of fruits and vegetables and the proportion of your diet that is made up of a plant-based diet. To ensure a steady supply of these cell regeneration anti-oxidants, you make take nutritional supplements with a good mix of anti oxidants.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
The Business side of Medicine
Not a lot of doctors went into medical school with accounting skills as one of their strongest points. Many of us just pursued a childhood dream without any thought of the financial side of this career. When students and graduates are asked of the track they would like to pursue, they would mention a field primarily invariably because of their interests in the specialty, with very little information as to how a practitioner of that field would earn soon after. I have not realized it then, more than now that when students or graduates are informed at this stage about the financial aspect of a career, they might be influenced to take up that field because their decision is now strengthened by other facts (like return of investment) other than just mere interest.
So I interviewed a handful of doctors and learned these things:
1. Pathologists (clinical pathologists) may earn from retainers fees from laboratories which they supervise. A pathologist may oversee as many laboratories that their schedule can handle.
2. Ophthalmologists nowadays can just affiliate with an eye center and need not buy the expensive pieces of equipment that an ophthalmologist uses.
3. Nephrologists can actually start a dialysis center without having to buy a dialysis machine because the machine is sort of "given free" as long as the center gets the reagent from the dialysis machine company. This holds true also for those who want to put up a laboratory facility.
So before you embark on with your lifetime career, it is wise to count the cost and returns as well...
So I interviewed a handful of doctors and learned these things:
1. Pathologists (clinical pathologists) may earn from retainers fees from laboratories which they supervise. A pathologist may oversee as many laboratories that their schedule can handle.
2. Ophthalmologists nowadays can just affiliate with an eye center and need not buy the expensive pieces of equipment that an ophthalmologist uses.
3. Nephrologists can actually start a dialysis center without having to buy a dialysis machine because the machine is sort of "given free" as long as the center gets the reagent from the dialysis machine company. This holds true also for those who want to put up a laboratory facility.
So before you embark on with your lifetime career, it is wise to count the cost and returns as well...
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Medical Careerist
careerist
n : a professional who follows a career
Medical Careerist blog was born because of my passion for writing. And since I am in the medical business, I have seen that I myself do not know much about my career. I intend to write for people who have medicine as their career, hence, the blog Medical Careerist. And in the course of my writing, I, too, will learn.
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