THE historic massive landslide victory of Donald J. Trump in all sectors of the American electorate last November gave the 47th president of the United States a clear resounding mandate, which, according to him, is the end of the nation’s decline and the beginning of the Golden Age of America.
Inspiring and electric with jubilant people power, Trump’s inauguration, hopefully, will genuinely usher in more religion, kindness, and compassion, and less bigotry and animosity among people, more security at the border and at home, energy independence, and prosperity and justice for all, and his words not only political rhetoric and empty promises.
As a nation and a people, leaving behind the “bitterness and horrors” of partisanship in the past election, let us all now join hands and pray for our new leaders as we face tomorrow’s challenges, here and abroad, and build our and our children’s secure future together in this beautiful and blessed nation under God, in the Philippines, and in all other nations on earth.
Reminder warning: XEC virus
The latest subvariant of COVID-10 Omicron strain is XEC, a more contagious strain that is responsible for a lot of infections today, expected by experts to lead to massive increase in COVID-19 cases. XEC has spread to at least 40 countries, and reported in various states today.
The percentage of death due to COVID-19 for the week ending December 14, 2024, was 1.1 percent. The pandemic is still with us. We must be vigilant and careful. Employ mitigating measures when in public, especially for seniors and other more vulnerable individuals.
The CDC recommends everyone, including those who had been infected before or had booster shots more than 6 months ago, to get the new booster shot. Let us have the booster and play it safe. COVID-19 is still scary. Vaccines reduce hospitalizations and deaths, and have, so far, saved billions of lives around the world.
Of course, we must not forget the Flu and the RVS (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). The little-known HMPV (human metapneumonia virus) which was discovered by a Danish virologist in 2001 is spreading in China, and there are now cases in the United States. It is not feared to have a pandemic potential. Symptoms are similar to RSV. There is still no vaccine for HMPV.
Reversing aging
Hopefully, the future comes sooner for all of us, who, like Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, have been anxiously searching for the elusive “Fountain of Youth,” especially women.
Scientists have recently discovered that by “injecting old mice with an RNA molecule called miR-302b seems to reverse some signs of aging – helping them to live longer, regrow hair and maintain their physical and mental abilities.” Optimistically looking forward, this finding “could one day lead to development of anti-ageing drugs.”
In the meantime, let us use food as medicine today, since diet is vital to health and longevity, otherwise we shall eat medicine as food as we get older. This strategy, of course, includes daily exercise (even simple walking or tai chi, tai-boh) and abstinence from harmful behaviors and agents like cigarettes, alcohol, and illicit drugs, and basically living a healthy lifestyle.
EMF dangers
Electromagnetic force is omnipresent in our environment, acting between charged particles everywhere in the universe. So, EMF is all around us. But some people are concerned if dangerous “dosage” of EMF is produced by cellphone towers, microwave ovens, cellphones, electric or battery-operated devices common in our homes to affect our health, cause cancers.
Currently, there is no conclusive clinical evidence that EMF causes cancer. Studies have found no link between EMF exposure and cancer in adults, and while a few studies suggest a possible weak association with childhood leukemia, the evidence remains inconclusive and no causal association has been established.
Nonetheless, let us be careful anyway. Staying 5 feet or more away from microwave oven that is running, using the handsfree cellphone feature, etc. are a prudent precaution to lessen exposure.
Keto diet
A ketogenic diet (low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating plan) which forces the body to burn fat for energy instead of glucose (carbohydrates) leads to faster weight loss. This diet is around 70 percent fat, 20 percent protein, and 10 percent carbohydrates. The protein is from fish, meats, avocado, seeds, nuts, full-fat dairy, olive oil, and non-starchy veggies. Foods excluded from keto diet are sugary and starchy foods, most fruits and legumes.
While keto diet appears to be faster in weight reduction, better than the popular Mediterranean diet, when it comes to metabolic health metrics, it has been found that the side-effects called keto flu includes fatigue, headaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation among some, muscle cramps, insomnia and bad breath. The beneficial effects of keto diet in weight and blood sugar control have been found to be short lived (about 6 months) because compliance is difficult and people revert back to high carb diet. Mediterranean Diet appears to be more satisfying and has longer-lasting benefits.
Personally, I eat a modified, moderated, keto diet, with controlled red meat, a lot of fish, some veggies, nuts, some fruits (controlled carbohydrate intake), and within my set total daily caloric intake of about 1800. Taking a teaspoon of cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil twice a day is an extra health boost.
Since each individual and circumstances are different, be sure to consult your dietician/physician before embarking on a new diet regimen.
SGLT-2 inhibitors
People with type 2 diabetes mellitus have a 52 percent higher risk for vascular dementia and 39 percent Alzheimer’s. There are about 6.8 million Americans with Alzheimer’s and about 55 million around the world. New studies found that SGLT-2 drugs may help prevent dementia among them. These are sodium-glucose cotrabnsporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, which greatly lowers dementia risk by 35 percent compared to other diabetic medications. This large-scale study was published in The British Medical Journal.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, health advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, U.S. senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, pugilist Muhammad Ali, David Letterman, Astronaut Gus Grissom, educators, scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com, Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com; on Amazon.com, “Where bis My America?”; Email: [email protected].