Life is Healthy

Here's a before photo of Max. He is 17 years old and has been overweight for many years. Last year he changed his lifestyle and lost the excess weight gradually. He lost an average of two pounds a week and went from 212 pounds to his current 160 pounds. See his photo at a fit 160 pounds and his story here.

I'm starting the week out slow. I wrote a couple of articles for suite101.com over the weekend. One titled Dying from a Broken Heart and the other How To Quit Smoking. If you see any mistakes in them, let me know. I'm the Queen of Missing Words.

I'm still working on the article about Food Addiction. It's hard for me to write because I'm so close to the topic.  While I'm getting better at knowing when I'm physically full, I still suffer from sugar attacks. Anyway, with the article, I feel like, "How can I tell people about food addiction if I'm a food addict myself?"

Clean House and Hoarders
I watched Clean House—The Messiest Home yesterday. Wow. Hoarding behavior again. I really identify with this kind of behavior, but on the level of weight. Hoarders are afraid to give up their stuff. I'm afraid to give up my fat. It somehow brings me security, even though I try to tell myself and others that's not the case. I think another blogger, Journey Beyond Survival, said the same thing. Anyway, I'm working through it—trying to figure out what's going on in my head. My fat is somehow linked to my identity. If I lose it, I'll lose part of who I am—maybe. I don't know.

weight loss, hoarders

I had taken a cholesterol test and was requested by my doctor to see him as it was a little high at 6.5. This would need to be reduced by correct diet, however I wanted to use other natural ways of reducing my bad cholesterol, and naturally being concerned about my health I researched further into natural therapy.

I found that Niacin (Vitamin B3) taken in larger doses would bring down bad cholesterol and bring up good cholesterol. I found Niacin 100mg was available at my local health food shop, this was 556x the recommended daily dose, but would seem to be safe to take one tablet per day.

My research found that 1-2 grams per day was necessary to reduce bad cholesterol, but I was worried about taking this large amount even though there seemed to be no side effects in taking large doses of Niacin.

I decided to double my dose increasing to 200mg per day. I found, at first that I started to flush about half an hour after taking the second tablet, a burning feeling around my neck and face, however this seemed to be a natural reaction to the Niacin. I continued taking the double dose of Niacin for about three months, and then took another cholesterol test. To my amazement my reading was now down to 5.3, which was much more acceptable. I had not followed any particular diet although perhaps I had tried to avoid fatty food.

So looking at the whole picture it would seem that even lower doses of Niacin, ie 200mg per day may play a part in lowering bad cholesterol.

Timeline: China milk scandal

Melamine-tainted milk products have been found on sale in China, more than a year after thousands of children became ill in a huge safety scandal.

Products made by three different firms were found to contain melamine and have now been removed from supermarkets in Guizhou province, officials say.

Melamine is an industrial chemical that can be added to watered-down milk to increase its protein content.

Six children died and some 300,000 became ill from tainted milk in 2008.

If ingested in sufficient quantities, melamine can cause kidney failure and kidney stones.

The companies involved in the latest recall blamed the contamination on milk powder they had bought as a raw material to add to their products, state media reported.

An official involved in the 2008 investigation told China Daily the powder may been part of that recalled batch which was still circulating on the market.

"There were still some leftovers in the dealers' hands that nobody cared about," said Wang Dingmian, former chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association.

Mr Wang said the government's regulation of milk products was too weak and that companies should be required to test every batch they used.

China says 21 people have been convicted over the 2008 scandal, including milk producers, traders and executives of the Sanlu milk company.

In November 2009, two people were executed for making and selling hundreds of tonnes of melamine-tainted milk products.

Antara News, Monday, January 25, 2010 13:28 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron R. Hume has praised the Indonesian government for sending aid to earthquake-devastated Haiti.

"Yet this week Indonesia is making generous contributions to the people of Haiti in their greatest need. Indonesia`s extended hand is not a mere gesture. It is a significant act of leadership," Ambassador Cameron said in his statement published on the official website of the US embassy in Jakarta, Monday.

The aid for Haiti, in many ways, was similar to Indonesia`s pledge to fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a pledge that triggered positive promises from other governments, he said.

"Indonesia is playing a key role in creating a world community ready to respond to the challenges of the 21st century," he said.

Fate and geography make Indonesia uniquely vulnerable to natural disasters. The Aceh tsunami of five years ago made an indelible impression on the entire world, but other events as recent as last year`s earthquakes in western Java and Padang reminded the people of Indonesia`s vulnerability, Hume said.

"First, why is Haiti important? Despite its favorable location in the Caribbean, Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and one of the poorest countries in the world," Hume said.

Its people suffer from disease, malnutrition, wretched public services, and lack of economic opportunity. But they also have a proud history of being the second country to fight for and win their independence from colonialism, and they have a rich artistic culture. But for the past century development has passed Haiti by. There must be a way to turn around that decline, according to the US ambassador.

"Second, what does Indonesia have to offer? Quite a lot that is in greatest need, especially skill and experience: 30 doctors with a field hospital and medicine, 25 communication workers, 10 electricians, plus supplies and food. Indonesia knows how to respond to a natural disaster, and it knows that human solidarity counts. Anyone who has watched the extensive television reports from Haiti would know that Indonesia will be helping to meet Haiti`s most urgent needs," he stated.

"Third, why can`t others meet these needs? My own country, like others, has been quick to dispatch rescue workers, medical teams, and supplies - but we know that acting alone cannot be adequate. Isn`t it likely that the resourceful Indonesian who brought emergency cell phone service back to Padang might have just the skills most needed?," he said

The US ambassador said that Haiti lacked basic infrastructure even before the earthquake.

The roads, port, electricity grid, water and sanitation service, and communications are broken or destroyed by the earthquake.

"Little wonder that delivering assistance the last meter to a victim is so hard," he said.

The United Nations, including its Brazilian-led peace-keeping force, is at the center of international efforts to help Haiti. The organization has its own reasons to grieve the loss of so many able and dedicated staff.

Hedi Annabi, the Secretary-General`s special representative, died in the rubble of the UN headquarters last week.

"He was a remarkable man -- calm in crises, straightforward in discussions, dedicated to doing the good he could, able to appreciate irony, but never cynical. Others now need to step forward," Hume said.

According to the envoy, Indonesians should be proud of their government`s actions to help Haiti.

"Although Haiti is a small, poor country on the other side of the world, our future depends on leadership that brings together global responses to what might appear as local needs. Indonesia is playing its part to provide that kind of leadership, both on the ground in Haiti and at the conference tables of the climate change talks, the G-20, and elsewhere. Indonesia`s leadership makes it an important partner for the United States," he said.

`Men anpil, chay pa lou` is a Haitian proverb which means, with many hands, the burden is light. "Indonesia is lending an impressive hand to the Haitian relief effort," he added.

Jakarta Globe, January 24, 2010

Doctors said over the weekend that 12-year-old Ummi Darmiati who is suffering from an infestation of maggots under her skin would need six months of intensive treatment to recover from the strange disease.

“Our medical team is familiar with cases like Ummi’s, and the condition is curable. But the situation is very critical as scores of worms have infested many parts of her body, almost reaching her head, so she needs intensive treatment,” said Khalid Saleh, chief of the medical team at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

He said the sixth-grader’s strange disease developed two years ago, when wounds on her armpits, neck, and chest were treated with traditional medicine and subsequently became infected.

The wounds festered, attracting flies which laid eggs, resulting in maggots inside the girl’s body.

“The worms entered her body, causing the disease to become stranger and worse,” Khalid said.

He added Ummi had undergone surgery to remove the maggots and that her condition was improving after seven days of treatment.

“She still requires further examination at our lab, because our hospital ’s medical team has diagnosed her with glandular tuberculosis,” Khalid said.

At Mamuju Hospital, where Ummi was initially admitted, she underwent an intensive medical exam, including blood tests.

Another series of similar tests will be conducted at Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital. If Ummi is confirmed to have glandular tuberculosis the team will return her to Mamuju Hospital.

“If [we] confirm Ummi is suffering from glandular tuberculosis we will administer additional medical treatment to hasten her recovery,” Khalid said.

Meanwhile, help for Ummi continues to flow in from sympathizers. Several state officials and politicians from Mamuju district paid visits to comfort and encourage the girl on Sunday.

On Friday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered the Health Ministry and the local health agency in Mamuju to do their best to help her.

Antara

Related Article:

German Ambassador to Indonesia Norbert Baas visiting a ward for premature babies at Zainoel Abidin Hospital in Banda Aceh. The German-aided hospital cost Rp 418 billion and is meant to provide top-of-the-line care for Acehnese. It was officially inaugurated on Saturday. (JG Photo/Suparta)

Banda Aceh. Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf and German Ambassador to Indonesia Norbert Baas officially inaugurated on Saturday what they said was the “most advanced hospital in the country.”

Zainoel Abidin State Hospital (RSUZA), which is equipped with several state-of-the-art medical instruments, including a CT Scan, MRI machine and radio-diagnostic devices, was rebuilt with aid from the German government. The facility has been receiving patients since last August.

“We say that RSUZA is the most advanced hospital in Indonesia, and its facilities can match prominent hospitals in Penang and Singapore,” Irwandi Yusuf said during the inauguration ceremony

He added that he hoped the new hospital would put an end to the practice of thousands of Acehnese going to Penang, Malaysia, or Singapore each month for medical treatment.

“Including myself, who has to opt for Singapore as a place to have medical treatment because the facilities at the neighboring country’s hospitals are far more advanced than what we have had in Banda Aceh,” the governor said. “But, considering the development, I am certain that the equipment we have now can rival hospitals abroad.”

He also encouraged the staff to prove to the public that the hospital personnel could master the hospital’s advanced machines. “A strong building and advanced equipment are not enough to make RSUZA the best hospital in terms of services for the people of Aceh,” he said.

Baas said that RSUZA was equipped with advanced infrastructure and utilized eco-friendly integrated waste management technology.

“The employees of RSUZA have been intensively trained to ensure the patients and staff can reap maximum benefits from its new facilities and equipment,” he said, adding that the hospital was also designed to weather flooding and earthquakes.

The hospital’s reconstruction was part of German aid for Indonesia, which was augmented after the 2004 tsunami in Aceh that killed 170,000 people, Baas said. During five years of reconstruction in the region, the German government has disbursed a total of 178 million euros ($251.6 million).

The development of the two-story hospital, which sits on 42,946 square meters of land, started in March 2006, funded by a 31 million euro grant from the German government through state-owned bank KfW. The German Agency for Technical Cooperation provided an additional 10.2 million euros worth of technical assistance.

Uwe Ohls, KfW’s first senior vice president of for Asia and Europe, said that the bank would continue to guide the hospital management for the next two years and would facilitate collaborations between the hospital and several universities in Germany for paramedic training courses.

The director of the hospital, Taufik Mahdi, said the facility had 350 beds, and would add 150 more this year. Since the hospital opened, an average of 600 people a day have come to receive medical treatment.