Valen’s Vanity Square

Oh dear, a colleague of mine who has been on medical leave for the past 3 days just messaged another colleague to inform us that she is diagnosed with H1N1!

Does that mean all of us have to be quarantined? I was in a same car with her last Thursday! I am still coughing a little bit, which started 2 weeks ago. But so far there are no other symptoms. There are a few people in the office fell sick in the past few days; one even has been coughing since last month.

Jeez, I think this is going to ring an alarm in the office. I wonder if my boss will ask us to take days off and quarantine ourselves at home?

I don’t know if my colleague is resting at home or admitted to the hospital. If she needs hospitalization, then having some form of medical insurance will be of great help.

Realizing the importance of having adequate protection in case of mishaps, I have recently got myself another insurance coverage. Well, actually persuaded by hubby to do so, as he said I need to raise my insurance coverage amount for the optimal benefit. In addition, it was a coverage that only company staffs and their spouse are entitled to.

Actually, I don’t quite know what type of insurance I’m getting, whether it’s a term life insurance or the normal one. But since it’s recommended by hubby, I think it should be good.

Meanwhile, I think I should sleep early and get 8 hours of sleep from now onwards. Having sufficient rest is important for a strong immune system, which in turn will protect me from H1N1.

Really wonder how my boss will react when she finds out about my colleague tomorrow. She was at the same meeting with her last Saturday.

Thank god it’s Friday! Going for facial tomorrow, plus some shopping to make myself happy.

But I feel so ‘fat’. I haven’t eaten a lot these few days, but somehow I’ve been feeling quite bloated. And passing air out a lot in the office. Shhhhh…. Haha!

I thought after I started working, I would ’slim’ down due to work stress and lack of sleep (and the climbing of stairs!). But when I checked my weight, it is still the same! And my butt and thighs seem to be getting bigger. Grrrr….

May be other gals would have been so tempted to use diet pills to lose weight, it never come across my mind to use weight loss pills. I don’t even take dietary supplements, just don’t have the habit of ‘popping’ tablets or pills or capsules. But for anyone who want to take weight loss pills, remember to do your research, including finding out if there any side effects of diet pills that you need to watch out.

Oh well, it’s Friday night, perhaps I should get onto the elliptical machine and get my butt moving for 20 minutes or so. If I can’t lose weight, at least I make sure I don’t gain weight either.

The ‘cracking’ sound that comes from my left knee when I walk up the stairs or make any movement that bends my knee, such as doing the cycling exercise lying on bed, is getting more louder these days.

I’m afraid that I might have to start seeking joint pain relief treatment few months down the road!

Imagine, I have to walk up three flights of stairs to my office every morning, then another three down and three up during lunch time, and last three when I leave the office in the evening. All together 12 flights of stairs! Good for losing weight, but not good for my knees.

I already have a problematic knee, now this supposedly good exercise is adding more burden to it! While the knee pain is just occasional and mild, I’m worried that my knee tissues will get worn and torn very fast.:(

May be I should start looking around for a chiropractitioner. A Chinese traditional medicine doctor once told me that my hips are ‘out of alignment’ (don’t know how to better describe that). It’s not a life-threatening condition, but it will cause problems like knee pain and back pain as I get older.

I used to get better after the doctor did some alignment type of massage for me (I think that’s what chiropractitioners do) - no cracking sound from the knee, no pain when I climbed the stairs. After a while, somehow, the problem came back again.

I think I have to solve the root to the problem - my hips, otherwise I won’t be able to get rid of my knee problem for good. *Sigh*

Did you know that today (29 May) is World Digestive Health Day? Don’t worry if you don’t know. It’s a relatively ‘young’ world health campaign. This global campaign has just been around for only 6 years. The first one initiated in 2004, by an organization called the World Gastroenterology Organisation.

The health campaign was initiated because there is a need to increase the awareness about the importance of our digestive health (ie the health from your mouth right to your anus).

If you think that it’s okay to feel nausea, bloated or suffer from constipation or diarrhoea all the time, you are so dead wrong. While these symptoms don’t usually cause any harm when they are mild and happen occasionally. But if they happen frequently, that means something in your body is not right. Your stomach, or perhaps your intestines are not working as they should.

To take care of our digestive system is not that difficult. It’s about adopting healthy practices when it comes to eating and the lifestyles we’re living. We all know pretty much everything about healthy eating and the importance of exercise, right? But how many of us really put good habits into practice?

I do understand why it is not so easy to practice in reality. Say we all know the benefits of eating organic foods, but locally such produce are much expensive than the normal produce. Somehow quality food products are always more expensive than the rest.

But then, we are talking about our health here. It’s not about buying the cheapest car insurance that will give us the minimal protection required, it’s about giving our health the maximum protection we can afford.

So, for the sake of our good health, start paying attention to your digestive system, and be prepared to spend for quality food?

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It has been two weeks since I last saw my now going to be 3-month old niece. I wonder if she now smiles more often or chuckles a bit. She has been such a grumpy-looking little baby girl, always frowning. Haha! (Better not let my sister know that I said this about her baby. :P)

I didn’t visit her during the weekend because I was not fully recovered from my flu yet (still am not!). Don’t want to spread the disease to a cute vulnerable creature, as her immune system is still not fully developed yet. But I believe she is quite strong since my sister breastfeeds her. She may have some mild skin rashes, but not the usual baby eczema I’ve seen before in other babies (usually on their face).

Eczema can be a sign that one is prone to develop allergy later in life. It can be a great discomfort to the baby (the itchiness) as well as the mother. Breastfeed is the best way to help a child lessen his or her risk of getting allergic diseases later. Mothers should try to breastfeed their baby exclusively for 6 months, meaning not even feeding her baby with plain water. Complementary food should only be started at 6 months. Introducing solid foods too early has been associated with increased allergy risk.

Wow, I’m not a mother yet, but I knew so much about breastfeeding already.

Hubby was away in the east coast yesterday, but came back by flight this morning. At least, we have the whole Saturday together. Married couples need to date on weekends, too!

We did what typical couples do - lunch, movie, tea, and now hubby is napping on the sofa. Haha! Me? Have to think what’s for dinner later.

Oh dear, my weekend seems to evolve around foods and drinks only. And I haven’t done the most ‘important’ thing of the day - my bowels….hehe. Well, I bet this is how most urban dwellers spend their weekends too. Poor eating habits and inactive lifestyle (nope, shopping on Saturdays is not considered regular physical exercise) have affected our bowel movements and are taking a toll on our intestinal health. it’s no wonder more and more people these days are going for detox programs or the best colon cleanse supplements.

I’m part of the affected lot myself. On weekdays, I tend to have upset stomach and sudden urges to pass. On weekends, I tend not to go because either I oversleep or there’s something else distracts me from paying attention to those bowel cues.

Weekdays - we get busy with work. Weekends - we get busy to make ourselves forget about work and indulge in entertainment and food. When will we get busy to make sure our health is at its best condition?

Two weeks ago I thought I had lost a little weight. I have been eating only three meals a day since I stared to working, no afternoon snack or whatsoever even if I was hungry. I ate moderately every meal, and I was suffering from some mild form of diarrhea. I felt that my tummy was slightly flatter. So I thought finally “I’m losing weight the natural way!”, haha!

But now, my bowel movement is back to normal and regular, I have some muesli bars in my drawers to munch on in case I get hungry in the office, and I eat heartily during dinner time. When I checked my weight on my sister’s digital scale. Darn, I’m back to where I was before.

Oh well, I think the only way for me to cut a couple of kilograms is really to hop back onto the elliptical machine. (Haven’t been exercising lately!) Although I read that one of the ways that celebrities use to lose weight is to drink black coffee, without milk and sugar. I like coffee, but don’t think I can take it without milk and sugar.

Some people said that it’s the caffeine in the coffee that is causing the weight loss. It’s still a debatable issue. What caffeine does is it helps the body to lose additional water, suppress our appetite, and may has some calorie burning effect. But whether those effects can last or cause significant weight loss remain to be answered.

One of the weight loss products that I know of that contains caffeine-type ingredient is Nuphedragen. It is advisable to check out various nuphedragen reviews before one first try it for weight loss plan. Certain people who are sensitive to caffeine should not take this type of weight loss supplement.

I’m not sure if I’m considered sensitive to caffeine, but I do find my stomach feel uncomfortable after drinking those 3-in-1 coffee. Not so if it’s coffee from Starbucks of Coffeebean. Jeez, even my stomach prefers ‘branded’ stuffs. Haha!

Last week was ‘intestine’ week for me. This week is ‘bacteria’ week. What am I talking about here? Well, I’m referring to my projects at work. Because last week all I wrote about was about the health of our intestines. This week is all about the bacteria living in our intestines! Haha!

Oh, I also wrote about probiotics, you know, those friendly bacteria that you drink along with Vitagen or Yakult? Jeez, this reminds me of my Vitagen in the fridge, which is going to expire end of this week! Eeks, better drink them tomorrow when I go home (today I’m still at my mom’s).

Did you notice that if you are taking antibiotics because you’re sick, you would later get diarrhoea after you finished your medicine and recovered? This is because antibiotics not only kill the germs that cause you to be sick, the medicine also destroys the naturally present friendly and beneficial bacteria in your intestines. This give a chance to other bad bacteria to grow in population and cause diarrhoea.

If you’re generally healthy, then there’s nothing much to worry about. The diarrhoea effects will eventually subside. But if you take yogurt or drink cultured milk while you’re on antibiotic, you may reduce the severity and duration of, if not prevent, diarrhoea.

Some people would take probiotic pills because they frequently experience digestive problems. If you’re also considering taking probiotic pills, then it would be wise to first do a research on or check out reviews for the probiotics you intend to consume. (Just like women who want to lose weight would check out weight loss product reviews, and men who need some sexual enhancement help would check out review on extenz.)

Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the best way and most natural way to take probiotics are through foods you eat everyday. Fermented milk products (yogurt and cultured milk) or fermented soy products,  or even kimchi, carry a good load of probiotics.

To all girls out there, if you have a boyfriend or husband who smokes and you want him to quit smoking but he keeps postponing it or failed to quit many times, this cool e-cigarettes (electronic cigarettes) thing might offer some help.

Not that I’m promoting smoking or what, I don’t smoke, I don’t like people who smoke, and I absolutely HATE people smoking and puffing and standing next to me! The smell is awful, the smoke is choking, and the ash is dirty. Not to mention that people who smoke have yellow teeth. I can’t imagine how it’s like to live with a person who smokes.

So these e-cigarettes are made to serve different purposes. First of all, if the smoker is considerate enough not to harm the people around him and pollute the environment, an e-cigarette doesn’t produce ashes or real smoke. So whoever standing next to him won’t become a second-hand smoker. The floor and the air will be so much more cleaner. There’s no tar in e-cigarettes, so your teeth won’t turn yellow any further than they are right now. There won’t be lingering smell too.

For people who are trying to quit smoking, e-cigarettes come in different strength. So it makes smoking abstention relatively ‘painless’ because the smoker can gradually reduce the nicotine content of the e-cigarettes he ’smokes’.

Let me emphasize again - I don’t encourage smoking. But if you want to smoke, at least make a choice that will not cause a hazard to the health of the people around you as well as the environment.