Wrigley, the internationally famous chewing gum company in the USA, was granted the patent (#6,531,114) March 2003 (good thru 2011), for a chewing gum that contains Sildenafil Citrate (Viagra), the wonder drug for erectile dysfunction in men. The company said the gum “would be easier on the stomach and faster acting” than the currently available pill. Viagra is dispensed at the rate of nine (9) pills a second worldwide, and has raked in more than billions for its manufacturer, Pfizer. I wonder if women on dates from now on will automatically suspect that men who chew gum on their night out with them are planning to “double their pleasure, double their fun” as Wrigley’s famous commercials go.
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Anything in excess is usually not good. A recent laboratory study only confirms earlier investigation that revealed excess in vitamin A leads to thinning of the bone. Eating properly and taking a multivitamin with minerals daily should do the trick. Beta carotene is a good source and is converted by the body to vitamin A only when needed, thus minimizing vitamin A toxicity. Additional vitamin A as a supplement is really not necessary as a rule.
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Greater than 5 million children living today will die prematurely from illnesses related to tobacco. Almost 90 percent of people who smoke took their first puff before the age of 18. The favorite brands of teen smokers are Marlboro, Camel and Newport, the three most widely marketed poisons. The annual cost of advertising and marketing this deadly product is about $ 9.7 billion, or more than $26.5 million a day. I used to think that the U.S. government, and the governments of other countries, close their eyes being “purveyors of sickness and death” to their own citizens because the tobacco industry was bringing in significant tax dollars to keep their economy afloat. But it now seems that America, for instance, is spending more money in research and development to find the cure for smoke-related diseases like emphysema, lung cancer, stroke, heart attack, etc. Why not ban the darn poison and prevent these killers of men, women and children, instead of legalizing the production and sale of these deadly commodities, and then searching for a cure? Isn’t that stupidity?
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Helpful people live longer. That’s what a recent 5-year study showed. Those people who are in the habit of lending a hand to their fellowmen, doing household chores in a family setting, or providing support to others, have 60% less risk, and live longer, compared to unhelpful people. This emphasizes the importance of emotional and mental health in longevity.
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There is no question that eating a low-fat, low-cholesterol, high-fiber diet (fish, vegetables, fruits) is healthy for us and lowers our risk for stroke, heart disease and cancers. Consuming red meats daily, especially processed meats, like hotdogs, hamburgers and lunchmeats, increases stomach and colon cancer risks. A study has shown that extra virgin olive oil, in combination with the healthy diet we described above, helps control high blood pressure. Following this regimen, the subjects needed much less anti-hypertensive medications, compared to the control group.
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Tai-chi and tai-bo, to the uninitiated, appear weird and useless exercises. But in scientific reality, these calculated and graceful artistic maneuvers are good physical, mental and emotional exercises. They keep the mind clear and refreshed, the body limber, which is one way to prevent arthritis. The flexibility of the body resulting from the “seemingly choreographed movements” also contributes to better bone mineral density. On top of all this, tai-chi and tai-bo are excellent for cardiovascular fitness.
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Combine broccoli and mushrooms, and you have a great cancer-preventing food. Studies have found that some nutrients attain an even more powerful cancer-preventing properties when combined. Sulforaphane and selenium are such nutrients. The former is found in high concentrations in cabbage, broccoli and watercress, and selenium, in mushrooms, sunflower seeds and nuts.
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High-fiber diet, like eating or snacking on fruits and vegetables, also helps protect the individual from cancer of the throat. Clinical investigations have revealed that high-fiber diet is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of laryngeal (upper breathing tube containing the voice box) cancer. Apples, strawberries (berries in general) , pears, peas and broccoli are a few of the high fiber foods that are healthy for us. Diabetics have to consult their physician for recalculation of their diet if they want to add fruits and vegetables to their prescribed diet. Spices, condiments, in general, boost the immune system
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Meditation can add healthier and happier years to life, and help make one look as much as 16 years younger. Those with inner peace have more positive outlook in life and can manage stress much better than those who are anxious and negative. Being mindful boosts our mood, and daily mental exercise by meditation will increase our awareness, make us more serene and allow us to handle stress in a more effective way. Sitting quietly for 10 minutes or longer each day with eyes focused on one particular object at the office or home, clearing our thoughts as much as we could, and thinking of happy events in our life and all the blessings we have, will help take away our anxiety and stress. This will stimulate our endocrine system to circulate soothing hormones into our blood stream, which will ease our tension and give us a sense of joy and peace. This will also slow down the effects of aging on our face and body. This act of “doing nothing” certainly does a lot of good for the body, mind and soul.
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The cost of obesity to society, to the family, and to the government is quite prohibitive. In the United States, obesity costs not only lives but top dollars. Ninety-three billion dollars a year is spent in treating health problems of people who are overweight. Compared to the health expenditure of a person who is of normal weight, the increase in spending for an obese individual is $732 (37.4 percent) more. This economic burden now approximates that caused by smoking. Indeed, it pays to live a healthy lifestyle…starting from kindergarten!
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana and chairman of cardiac surgery from 1997 to 2010 at Cebu Doctors University Hospital, where he holds the title of Physician Emeritus in Surgery, is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the Philippine College of Surgeons, and the Denton A. Cooley Cardiovascular Surgical Society. He is the chairman of the Filipino United Network – USA, a 501(c)(3) humanitarian foundation in the United States. Email: [email protected]. Please visit www.xlibris.com and search for the book, Let’s Stop “Killing” Our Children which contains a compilation of articles from this column.
