Hot Bed Yoga

Experiencing bad traffic during the Edsa day would really cause too much stress. 

Thank God there's no traffic in Luneta area, the travel going here was not stressful.

Since yoga is a great form of stress reliever I tried one of the hottest yoga in town - the 'hot bed yoga' in Zenyu Eco Spa located at the 3rd level of Hotel H2O, Manila Ocean Park in Luneta. Zenyu is a japanese word which means 'healing'.

Every part of Hotel H20 is equipped with negative ions and they are good in improving blood circulation, detox and system cleanse.

Since I am very used to Vinyasa and Ashtanga, I became interested trying this hot kind of yoga.

Just like in Bikram, you will be staying a very hot room and will practice yoga exercise. 

While having a good time at Zenyu, Operations Manager Dr. Eric Tan educated us about the two kinds of ions- positive and negative.

There are positive effects of getting negative ions, like doing the hot bed yoga.

And the good benefits are:

Inside the hot bed room we were sweating a lot, it's a good way of flushing toxins from the skin.

In this heated room, you will be able to stretch more.

Working in a warmed room additionally lifts the heart rate, which makes the body work harder.

Working in heat helps the body and mind relax, it also .

Since it improves breathing it's a good exercise for people with Asthma like me.

It develops a better mental focus.

Again since it is equipped with negative ions, you would not be infected with bad bacterias.

During our visit we were also treated a full body massage, Fish Spa, Tai Chi products and a sumptuous dinner at Makan Makan.

Hot Bed Yoga is so Hot! Special thanks to Orange Magazine TV and Dr. Eric Tan for the great experience.

For more information, call 238-6190 or e-mail zenyu.spa@hotelh2o.com

Check out their site http://www.hotelh2o.com/zenyuecospa

Playing my feet at the Fish Spa

Zenyu Eco Spa located at the 3rd level of Hotel H2O, Manila Ocean Park.

Hotel H20 is equipped with negative ions.

A very relaxing place.

There's a gym inside where you can warm -up your body.

Experience complete healing and feel rejuvinated at Zenyu Eco Spa in #HotelH20 - the only negative ion hotel in the world! For inquiries, please call +632 2386190. 

Yellow Cab Challenge Philippines Subic-Bataan

Aiming to top last year’s successful race, Yellow Cab Challenge Philippines Subic-Bataan will welcome triathletes from different parts of the world on February, including some of the country’s celebrity triathletes.

Challenge Philippines Triathlon in Subic Bay and Bataan and Challenge CamSur will be held on Feb. 21 and June 14, respectively.

You may register and join through http:/bit.ly/30YearsOfRoth 

Celebrities brace for a ‘tougher’ YellowCab Challenge Philippines Subic-Bataan

TV host and active triathlete Drew Arellano will be competing in the first leg of the Challenge race this year, which will consist of a 1.9km swim, 90km bike, and 21.1km run.

GMA News Anchor Kara David, on the other hand, will be joining the Powerpops TriKings for run, while TGIS alumnus Onemig Bondoc will also participate in the run relay.

Former PBB housemate Paul Jake Castillo, TV commercial director and entrepreneur Sid Maderazo, and triathlon coach Miguel Antonio Lopez are also competing in the event that holds the largest prize purse in Asia.

The race held in Bataan last year was dubbed by TRIMAG Asia as the most prestigious triathlon event in the Asian region and by many as the “World’s Toughest Race” because of its challenging and hilly courses.

This year, the Yellow Cab Challenge team will make it even more exciting and tougher. After all, the Challenge Family franchise is renowned for its organized and safe races, and its choices of beautiful destinations, while giving participants the opportunity to compete at the highest levels.

The inaugural race in the country last year showcased over 729 athletes from 38 countries, including two crown princes of Bahrain.

On the other hand, the race’s broadcast coverage extends to over 82 countries worldwide, showcasing the Philippines as the most desired lifestyle and sports destination.

On June 14, the team will stage another race, this time in CamSur, where multi-awarded world champs and local celebrities are expected to join. This one is touted to be one of the fastest races in the world.

Aside from the main event, there will be an epic post-race awards party at the Lighthouse Resort in Subic, which will be open to all, and which will be attended by local celebrities and top athletes. This world-class season opener for long-distance racing in the Philippines—and all other festivities—will be held at the Camayan Beach Resort, Subic Bay, and at the rugged and beautiful province of Bataan.

Get social with the Challenge Philippines Family and acquire instant access to live coverage of all Challenge Family races while on the go.

For more details, please visit the Challenge Philippines website at http://challengephilippines.com.ph.

Coordination needed against TB - Diabetes tandem - study

The Philippines is not prepared to detect and prevent the complications, including resistance to treatment, posed by the tandem of tuberculosis (TB) and diabetes mellitus (DM).

Researchers of state think-tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), led by Dr. Emmanuel S. Baja, urge national health agencies to work together to initiate research studies and produce a coordinated response to detect, prevent, and manage the deadly TB-DM tandem in a study released by PIDS. The output of Baja’s study is part of the Health System Research Management Project of the PIDS and the Department of Health (DOH).

The International Diabetes Foundation stated in their 2014 report that people with diabetes are prone to contracting tuberculosis. In countries where there is a rising rate of diabetes, there is an alarming and significantly matching spike in tuberculosis. The compounded infection makes it hard for patients with both TB and DM to respond to treatment.

The World Health Organization in 2011 reported that TB patients who are diagnosed with diabetes have a higher mortality risk.

At present, the Philippines is ranked 15 as an emerging diabetes hotspot. At the same time, the country also has one of the highest notified cases of multidrug resistant TB.

To understand the current state of health programs to address the TB-DM tandem, the PIDS research team surveyed the level of awareness and vigilance among medical practitioners to test TB patients for DM and vice versa.

Majority of surveyed physicians could adequately identify observable symptoms, and correctly answered questions about diagnostic tests for either disease. However, less than half appeared confident about the prevalence and risks of contracting both disease.

More than two thirds do agree that screening for TB in DM patients and DM in TB patients should be performed. About a half of them agree that a TB-DM tandem presents difficulties in treatment.

Focus group discussions with the staff of the National TB Control Program (NTBCP) and the Degenerative Diseases Office (DDO) of the DOH were conducted to determine the current level of coordinated action to control and prevent the TB-DM tandem, as well as evaluate the costs of bidirectional screening.

The study found the lack of consensus among the staff of these agencies on how to address the TB-DM, despite the 2011 WHO recommendation for countries with high rates of either disease to pay attention to the “double burden of disease and the need for joint surveillance, coordinated referral and management systems, a joint research agenda”.

The study also revealed that the DDO staff believed that screening for TB-DM is important and challenging, but they didn’t necessarily view the tandem as a public health issue.

However, the NTBCP disagreed that prevalence of DM in TB patients is an extensive problem, and underlined the concerns that TB diagnosis might stigmatize DM patients. 

The study recommends a pilot study on the tandem disease. The current lack of initiative to detect it could be related to the lack of information to guide the change in detection policies.

The costly implementation of bidirectional screening, especially screening TB in DM patients, also compounds the issue.

The PIDS-DOH study strengthens the argument for a more informed study on the issue. It states, “Given the government’s commitment to the nationwide control of TB, the underexplored frontier of TB among diabetic patients can be among the stretch goals towards increased case detection, management and prevention efforts.”

The national agencies overseeing the care and control of TB and DM need to cooperate to increase awareness among health workers and the general public about the prevalence and risks of the tandem disease.   They have to coordinate their respective policies, programs, and operations, including bidirectional screening, to detect and manage it. 

One Healthy Christmas Basket

Happy Holidays!

How's your simbang gabi?

For most Filipinos, giving gifts to family, friends and loved ones during the most celebrated season in the Philippines is definitely a big deal. They go to great lengths to make sure that their gifts are outside the ordinary, spending much time to make sure that they are truly one of a kind.

One popular gift fare is the so-called “Christmas Basket” of various sizes, filled with assorted goodies such as candies, canned goods, wine, and biscuits. Imagine the excitement of those lucky enough to be on the receiving end of these baskets, a gift-giving tradition that has been part of Filipino culture whenever Christmas time comes.

But instead of giving the “usual” Christmas Basket, you may want to try out something that’s on the healthy side, but equally enjoyable if you want to fill your tummy before Christmas Day: McVitie’s Digestives, UK’s favourite tea time biscuit, is an absolutely perfect item to give out this season.

Apart from seeing the usual ingredients for spaghetti, fruit salad and ham, your loved ones and friends would be surprised to find McVitie’s Digestives in their basket. While a pack of McVitie’s is surely unique, it would also be a healthy gift before people start to indulge on the most sumptuous meals this season. McVitie’s Digestives has fewer calories than most biscuits, less fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients, zero cholesterol and transfat that can potentially harm the body. It also has more fiber that helps propagate proper digestion.

Putting the entire McVitie’s Digestives variants such us McVitie’s Original, Whole wheat, Milk Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate in cardboard boxes with simple design patterns could make your gift look elegant.

Going local is also one good option in packaging your McVitie’s Digestives. The Philippines has an array of local produce that can be used as baskets for your goodies like abaca, sinamay, and even the bayong. 

You can even go crazy in putting other colorful and decorative wrappings in your basket like shredded paper or twine to add color to your present.

So take your pick, either go crazy or go classy in decorating your Christmas basket is your choice. For as long as you’re giving away McVitie’s Digestives, you can never go wrong in giving your loved ones and friends enjoyable yet healthy treats this Christmas, and show them how you say “Happy Holidays!” You may also want to avail of McVitie’s “Buy One Take One” promo and grab as many boxes of McVitie’s Digestives as you want in selected supermarkets this December.

For more info about McVitie’s Digestives, visit www.mcvities.com or click “Like” on their Facebook page,www.facebook.com/mcvitiesdigestives. Distributed in the Philippines by Delfi Marketing Inc., McVitie’s Digestives is available in leading supermarkets nationwide.

Athlete Janice Lagman for Rev3

Happy Holidays! How was your week?

In times like this, what we need is a reliable, safe, and powerful energy drink to effectively fuel our bodies and reliably help maximize our potential.

With the new Rev3 energy drink, Pinoys can enjoy an all-natural, preservatives-free energy pack that can help everyone do more.

USANA Philippines revs up Pinoys to becoming champions with new Rev3 Energy Drink

Whether in sports, work, or life in general, our greatest asset is our body. This intricate, high-powered mechanism allows us to achieve the things we need and drive us towards success and a more enjoyable life. However, there are times when our body slows down.

To make this happen, USANA Philippines recently launched the Rev3 energy drink — an all-natural, preservatives-free energy pack that can help every Filipino make the most of our time and efforts.

“We have always been dedicated to empowering every Filipino to becoming champions in whichever field, passion, or discipline they want to undertake,” says USANA Philippines general manager Aurora “Duday” Gaston. “The addition of Rev3 complements our existing roster of offerings that help bring out the champions in our countrymen.”

Perfect for athletes and those who are just simply always on the go, Rev3 is rich with crisp and clean taste without using any artificial flavourings, sweetness, and colorants. It also contains Vitamins B1, B2, and B6 to replace the lost vitamins during rigorous physical activities like exercise. It also pumps L-Carnitine as well as antioxidants from the all natural caffeine from green and white tea to our bodies to keep us healthy, alert, and energetic.

Even USANA Pilipinas Elite Athlete Janice Lagman, who recently bagged the world championship for Poomsae Freestyle Mixed along with the rest of the national team recently, attests to powerful benefits of Rev3. “I was amazed as to how I was able to sustain the energy needed during the daily rigorous training I had to go through and yet still be active towards the rest of the day without resulting into the usual energy booster ‘sugar crash’,” explains Lagman.

“During the competition, I was confident that I was in my “top shape” to sustain the team formations and win the Gold Medal, and true enough, together with the national players, we won and became the World Champion for Poomsae Freestyle Mixed”

Initially available in Surge Packs, Rev3 easily and conveniently transforms our regular drinking water to a powerful energy booster that can help us pave the way to becoming champions in our own right.

Taking Care of our Teeth

Our teeth is the first body part that grabs public attention and it says a lot about our genes, health and cleanliness habits.

Taking care of it is easy but we do have the tendency to be neglectful about it.

It has been taught since we were kids the proper way of caring our teeth - that we have to brush 3x a day and visit the Dentist regularly. Having a healthy teeth can produce a beautiful smile.

Dr. Steve Mark Gan, President and CEO of GAOC with resident dentists at the opening of #GAOC in St. Luke's Global City.

At the launch of newly open branch GAOC at St. Lukes Global City, the founder Dr. Steve Mark Gan sit in with the press and media over a simple conference about the importance of having a healthy set of teeth.

GAOC at St. Lukes is one of Asia's most advanced and world class dental centers.

Being a good example to their tagline 'It's not just a smile, it's a statement' Dr. Gan imparted his goal in putting up his clinic and that is to really change the dentistry landscape of the Philippines.

It does not stop by just learning that there is a dental clinic alone but to educate many people that they can go to a place where they can have their teeth taken care of and can help them concerning all problems about it.

So if you are feeling scared of going to a Dentist due to serious teeth problem, GAOC clinic can help you know more.

Aside from making his patients look more beautiful and confident, Dr. Gan wishes to work with patients with more serious dental problem.

GAOC specializes in General Dentistry, Dental Implants and Cosmetic Dentistry.

 To view photos during the opening of GAOC St. Lukes go to my flickr page.

For more information you may visit their website http://gaocdental.com/ and like them on facebook.

Beginning

Late 2005, Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda visited his clinic for a surgery and then they started thanking Dr. Steve Gan in The Buzz and that started him getting a lot of celebrity patients. He is now known as the Dentist of the stars.

 

My food of the week

This is the first week of Christmas. 

Thank you kalabasa, mongo and Jamba Juice.

Thank you Yoga, running and volleyball.

Looking forward for a great week ahead.

Cheers!