Yoga Video Blogs

This is the start of creating my first yoga video blogs. So help me to encourage more people to do Yoga. Hope you like it!

 My Yoga Video Blog #1

Yoga vlog #1

A post shared by Valenzona (@veggiecircle) on Jul 1, 2018 at 6:53am PDT

My Yoga Video Blog #2

Yoga Video Blog #2 #Yoga #Philippines #IntheWorks #Inspiration #Shelter #Family

A post shared by Valenzona (@veggiecircle) on Aug 5, 2018 at 2:44am PDT

Yoga Video Blog #3
https://youtu.be/VWU4yJQ2gfA

PhilHealth

PhilHealth must improve enrollment in the formal economy to achieve full coverage – PIDS study

If you wish to know more about this study, you may download the Policy Note here.

Gauging the efficacy of enrollment in PhilHealth’s Employed Program will help policymakers in the health sector determine a more effective approach in achieving the goal of universal coverage.

Last year, PhilHealth officials iterated their commitment to achieving universal coverage by 2016. President Benigno Aquino III signed an amendment of the National Health Insurance Act highlighting the responsibility of the national government to cover the health insurance premiums of Filipinos in the informal sector.

However, full coverage in the formal sector also needs due attention and improvement. Thirty percent of PhilHealth’s members come from the formal economy where enrollment is mandatory. But based on a study by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), “full coverage” is “yet to be achieved”.

The private sector currently sits at 95-percent coverage, while the government employed sector sits at 75 percent. Denise Valerie Silverberg, author of the study, argues that examining the level of PhilHealth coverage and enrollment in the formal sector will help policymakers bridge that gap.

Silfverberg surmised that the gap in coverage can be explained by looking at how some agencies comply with labor policy. For example, the low coverage rates may be attributed to the significant number of contractual employees in government who do not enjoy the benefits of being enrolled in PhilHealth.

The perpetuation of contractual employees—something the private sector is just as guilty— allows firms and agencies to stall enrollment of employees into the PhilHealth Employed Program and withhold “appropriate benefits”. 

But companies deliberately shortchanging employees are not just the only flaws. Variations of enrollment rate can also be produced by characteristics that set the private and government sector apart, and other factors like establishment size and area.

For the private sector, sectoral employment, nature of employment, union coverage, union-employees ration, and number of employees all influence variations of coverage rate. But in the provinces, it is the size of the firm that matters.

“More employees hired by medium-sized establishments lead to a higher likelihood for the province to have lower coverage,” Silfverberg pointed out, “On the contrary, the greater the number of employees in large-sized enterprises, the more likely it is for the province to have higher coverage levels.”

Silfverberg concluded that before the country can work toward full coverage, policymakers must find a way to address the problems that impede effective implementation of the national health insurance program. Enrollment should be more targeted, depending on the sectors where undercoverage occurs the most.

Monitoring by PhilHealth should also be strengthened. Medium-sized establishments, surmised by Silfverberg, are more likely to short change employees when it comes to health insurance enrollment if they are not closely monitored.

Employers have to be held accountable to follow the labor code provision on employee regularization. The rules are often undermined by resorting to a six-month cycle to prevent employees from being regularized, and to refrain from giving them their due benefits.

Employers—both public and private—should enroll their employees into the program, whether they are regular or casual.  Compliance at the local government level should be also closely monitored. After all, it would be harder to close the gap if government units themselves do not implement the health insurance program in their own offices. 

VRP, A New Year for Health

With the fiery new year comes new changes, VRP Medical Center embarks on a major
renovation plan for its people ­­ stakeholders, doctors, and patients alike. Since its renovations
earlier last year, VRP focuses on a more customer­ oriented approach. A family­ based
corporation never distracted from its vision: “A Hospital That Cares,” VRP opens its hearts to
developing and improving quality service, technological advancement, and a warm, calming
environment.

Doors open to a fresh Central Registration Area, a well­crafted mural to greet the children and
families, and a spacious waiting area for visitors and friends. From a 148 square meter room,
the Emergency Room will be extending to 224 square meters to accommodate patients and
those waiting in line. VRP sets into motion an additional 48 rooms to shelter its current 178 bed
capacity.

Focusing on comfort, modernity, and care, VRP continually strives to improve their wide array of
facilities in order to better serve the people.

The hospital launched their new Nuclear Medicine Department last October 2015 under the guide and eye of Dr. Jeanelle Margareth Tang, an immigrant from Canada who decides to come home to the Philippines and finish a training course, with hopes to set up a practice in Nuclear Medicine. In partnership with Mandaluyong Medical Services Inc. (MNMSI), VRP already has a solid support right from the start ­­ from its supplier, Intermedical SE, to its doctors, partners and stockholders.

The rise of the Nuclear Medical Department brings forth new services for its patients such as thyroid function tests, general nuclear imaging, bone scans, reflux studies, GFR and radionuclide therapy. It also boasts a new set of high­quality equipment like the Multicam 1000, a camera that provides
hi­res solution and better imaging under medical procedures, and the Berthold Multicrystal
LB2111 Gamma Counter.

Dramatic change is everywhere, both inside and out. With an idea of a holistic healing, the roof deck will be converted into an intimate chapel for those in search of spiritual guidance.

Additional offices, departments, and a Physician Center is also in the works.

The facade will also undergo a major contemporary aesthetic change which could reflect beauty and care of VRP.

With its fresh, newly minted facility and developed professional care, patients could only expect more from the newly improved VRP Medical Center. As a family and as a community, VRP
welcomes the year right.

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. 

Wheatgrass Tabs

Way to go to have a clean bill of health is to have the right diet first, then complement that with regular exercising. Don't compromise your immune system. Take 2 to 4 Wheatgrass Tabs everyday to build your red blood cells naturally and restore alkalinity to your blood.

Sponge Cola Your Healthy Music Beverage

Sponge Cola is a Filipino band originally composed of Yael Yuzon, Chris Cantada, Arno Armovit and Gosh Dilay. After a while Chris went out.

Yael is the lead vocalist and songwriter at the same time. He is presently having romance with Karylle.

Now, Sponge Cola releases it's new album with their new drummer. Sponge Cola is Your Healthy Music Beverage.

Pop-rock band Sponge Cola released its much awaited 4th full-length album titled "Araw Oras Tagpuan" under Universal Records last September 14 at the White House Patio Carlito.

Araw, Oras Tagpuan is in perfet time, date, place for Yael Yuzon and the rest of the band.

"Inspired ako gumawa ng mga songs dahil sa mga kaibigan ko, that includes Karylle, madalas ko siya kasama nung nandito pa siya, pero ngayon nasa Singapore siya, hindi na....yun..."

This album is very special with the rest of the band wherein they showed their honesty when it comes to love for doing music.

The new album in includes 12 tracks with all original compositions "Araw Oras Tagpuan," "Tambay," "Walang Wakas," "Warning", "New Steal" "Regal," and "Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay," which is also the CD's carrier single.

"Araw Oras Tagpuan" is the band's first project with their new drummer Tedmark Cruz.

Spong Cola is composed of Ateneans Yael Yuzon on guitars, Armo Armovit on lead guitars, Gosh Dilay on bass and Tedmark Cruz on drums.

The song "Tambay" written by Yael Yuzon has already peaked on MYX and various radio stations and was the only OPM song on magic 89.9's countdown for several weeks.

"Walang Wakas" was ABS CBN's Wansapanatym Buhawi Jack themesong. The song "New Steel" features Paolo Valenciano and the CD itself features guest vocals from Tanya Markova members Norma Love, Iwa Motors, and MowMow.

This album is their first full length album and majority of the songs were originally written by Yael Yuzon.

To get updates from Sponge Cola like them on facebook.com/spongecola

It's all about the Money

According to surveys, a common call center agent suffer from facing sleep disorders, heart disease, depression and family discord.

Aside from that Heart diseases, high blood pressures, strokes and diabetes are also the many illnesses that call center agents face in their career.

Due to lack of sleep, many illness effects to the human body and sooner or later, "It will catch up to those who inadvertently abuse their bodies" according to some doctors we interviewed for this purpose.

There are number of people affected which are hard to come since there is no serious effort yet to look deeply into this looming problem

However, on the national health insurance system, government officials and experts agree that it is a growing problem. But there are no further concerns yet.

This job is also considered having a poor lifestyle because it forces you to smoke and drink.

You smoke to keep you awake, You drink coffee to avoid sleepiness.

It is true that this job is a monotonous lifestyle. And the main source of stress.

“There are times when the stress is so overwhelming that the agents will fail to cope up with it leading to various problems such us being irritable and restless.” according to Dr. Jose De Vera, pyschiatrist.

What can you say about this?

Taking Care of Your Health When Washing Laundry

Flair is a skill or instinctive ability to appreciate or make good use of something. You may not know it.

Women have instinctive ability on dressing up, accentuating ordinary clothing for their fabulous curves, or making pricey dress dons even more.

Here’s a challenge. Frequently washing the clothes deteriorates the quality and color of fabric. If not washed and dried properly, especially during rainy season, clothes might emanate its pungent smell. Given this state, your touted flair might turn into a nightmare.

Realizing these concerns, LG Electronics, Asia No. 1 washing machine brand according to GfK, offers “Green Health+ Laundry Flair” that lets you care for your clothing flair with up to P12,000 savings and freebies when you get an LG top load or frontload washer. The offering runs until September 30, 2011 nationwide.

To help you decide in choosing the best washer to care for your flair and more, here are some useful tips:

1. Smart saving. Choose washer with Inverter Direct Drive, whose motor is more durable, silent, and efficient than regular ones. The Inverter Direct Drive motor drives the drum without a pulley and a belt, so there are less noise, less vibrations, and less wearing parts. You get better durability and lower maintenance cost. The washer also must have function that automatically detects the needed amount of water after you load your laundry. This reduces power and water use by 25% and 45% respectively.

2. Baby friendly. A push of a button is all you need to provide care not only for your clothes but also for your baby’s skin. Look for washer with Baby Care function. It minimizes detergent residues after a whole cycle by adding one more rinsing and keeps the optimal water temperature at last rinsing cycle, that is, 40 degrees Celsius to have detergent-free clothes. Detergent residues remaining in the clothes can cause skin irritation and allergies.

3. Superior washing ability. Your washer must have enhanced washing performance, so that your cotton shirt and skirt are made clean without having to undergo rough washing stages. And, your colored clothing comes out more vivid after washing. There are washers so efficient that the laundry looks as if it has been hand washed.

4. High on Hygiene. Your washer needs to be clean and germ-free. Look for washer with anti-bacterial filter and tub clean feature. The filter prevents the growth of bacteria. By enabling easier, more frequent clean, the tub-cleaning function allows you to clean the inner and outer tub with the push of a button. It helps prevent the growth of mildew – which can be an irritant to skin – while eliminating stubborn odours within the tub.

5. Convincing convenience. Doing the laundry should not anymore be considered as a heavy chore. Dirty clothes are made clean with a simple push of a button. Moreover, look for washer with the right capacity, big door entrance, and easy to select temperature option for your various washing needs.

For more information, please visit www.lggreenhealthplus.com/ph

Is Facebook bad for the Health? OMG!

According to News,The use of Facebook and other Social Networks is bad for the health.

According to experts, spending too much time online could lead to social isolation.

It also causes loneliness and negative outlook. The serious health concerns caused by these faactors are heart disease, cancer and dementia.

Well, I think it is just a matter of reducing the use. Too much of everything is bad. Therefore too much staying online is of course bad.

So too much of doing Facebook is bad, therefore just limit your use of Facebook and other social Networking sites.

Thank God I worked for a company that prohibits the use of Social Networking Sites. How about you?

the wide variety of vegetables

Veggies stand out in a recipe specially when combined with other ingredients. They have a harmony of flavors you will surely enjoy.

Minestrone is a good example of a well tuned mixture of soup blend of carrots, tomatoes and beans with pasta.

Any old fashioned soup brings together simple ingredients such as carrots, turnips and leeks with a grain, such as barley.

I love these kinds of dishes from which they have been made. I was able to explore dishes from around the world because of the wide variety of vegetables.

And the great thing about cooking vegetables is that once you have the hang of using them recipes become more or less unnecessary.

I love experimenting with vegetables. How about you?

A Natural Herbal Way of Loosing Weight

Natural herbal remedies are drawing the attention of many traditional medical practitioners to rapidly recognize the ability of the hundreds of thousands of known herbs that have the ability to treat and prevent various human and animal illnesses, as well as properties that can enhance mental attitude, appearance, and performance.

Many centuries of experimentation by many cultures, for example Indian herbal medicine (Ayurvedic), Chinese herbal medicine, and western herbal medicine have created many uses for plants either singularly or in compounds, and sometimes animal by products to prevent and treat various conditions and illnesses.

A natural remedy can be anything from tea, to complex preparations of herbal compounds used in hospitals and clinics. These formulas come in many forms such as capsules, pills, ointments, and gels.

You may be using some of the common herbs as a food in your home such as:

* Garlic--natural antibiotic and helps reduce cholesterol

* Cinnamon--lowers blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglycerides

* Ginger--prevents motion sickness and lowers risk of blood clots

* Chamomile Tea--calms nerves and help relieve digestive problems

* Peppermint--Treats many digestion and gastrointestinal problems

These common herbs may be mixed with other proven natural products to achieve a particular result.

Traditional medicine is very useful for diagnosis, emergencies, trauma and surgery, but often does not cut it for preventing disease from occurring. The time and wait needed to visit a doctor to get a prescription, and the ever growing cost of medicine is allowing an opportunity for many people to try to get help from natural products.

Many traditional medicines are showing many adverse side effects. Natural, is not necessarily safe, and may have unwanted side effects just as with conventional medicines, however a large ever growing number of the population has been using herbals, vitamins, minerals, and amino acids for many years with very favorable results and no adverse effects.

Natural herbal products are now available for use by adults, children, and pets to remedy countless conditions from Angina and Arthritis, to skin care remedies, thyroid treatment, urinary tract infection and an unlimited number of other disorders.

Many new products have been compounded to remedy conditions other then disease, such as smoking cessation, removing unwanted hair, eliminating wrinkles and many other conditions.

One of the many natural herbal remedies could be your answer.

Ways to Boost Your Energy

It's everyones goal - to be more energetic during the day. By nature you go through periods of higher activity which contrasts with times of relaxation. The problem occurs when more energy and concentration is required more than we can give. Or when we try to sleep and can’t.

Ways to Boost Your Energy

1) Stay on a regular sleep schedule. You can’t stay up late during the week-end and suddenly on Monday morning wake up refreshed. If you do enjoy later nights on Friday and Saturday vow to get to bed early on Sunday to wake up rested.

2) Avoid sugar and caffeine. Eat some protein and foods with a bit of fat in the morning. The brain needs protein and the body does not store it. You don’t have to eat very much- a glass of low fat milk, a piece of cheese, or a handful of nuts will get you going instead of pure carbohydrates like a plain bagel.

3) Take a 5-10 minute power nap around lunch. Even if you just close your eyes and let your mind drift you will be refreshed for the afternoon. This is also effective anytime you feel yourself not concentrating, reading the same material over and over. Give in to the urge and completely relax for a few moments.

 

4) Drink more water and liquids. I know, everyone says to drink more fluids. But most Americans are in a constant state of dehydration from filling up on coffee, tea, and sodas with caffeine. This is very stressful to the kidneys and can cause irritation to the bladder. Keep a sports bottle filled with your favorite flavored water or just plain and keep it with you at all times. Set a goal- empty by lunch, refill, empty again by the time work is over. Carry plenty of water in the car too for you and your family.

5) Live Positively, Exercise regularly. This is easier said than done with a busy schedule. A poor conditioning level causes you to be short-of-breath and your heart to race when just doing simple things like climbing a flight of steps or doing household chores. Park farther away when shopping and walk Dust off that exercise machine or get an exercise tape to play when weather is bad. Set an example for the rest of your family and maybe they will join in too!



6) A joke a day keeps the doctor away. Laughter has many beneficial effects on the body. The brain chemicals for experiencing pleasure, happiness, and peace increase with good, hearty laughs. Live alone? Get a funny movie or watch a light-hearted comedy on tv. Nothing sarcastic or put-down, however.

7) Avoid confrontations and situations with negative people.

You know who they are. They are not going to change but they will bring you and your mood down. The complainers, gossipers, and generally unhappy souls we all have to deal with on a day-to-day basis drain our energy if we allow them. Be polite but avoid arguing or getting hooked into listening to their constant problems.

8) Take regular, daily supplements of the highest quality.

Our food and diets simply do not meet the amounts needed for maximum health. There is a difference between avoiding nutritional deficiencies and optimum performance.