Sweetest Downfall

by: Arlyn Amboy


Cake, ice cream, pastries, chocolate and most of all, our favorite... oh yes, that plain steamed white rice. These are the things we reall want to thank the Guy above for! And if money is no consideration, we would enjoy them as much as we can (but of course everything that is too much is bad) But not for people with diabetes, they are doomed to as much as possible avoid these heavenly stuff for let's say a very long time.

I got a good friend of mine and and a blockmate as well whose mom has acquired diabetes, Tita Lita Legaspi, 57, found out of her disease 2 years ago. She's now maintaining some drugs and a diet to keep her from the complications, and best of all beat the old disease.

"Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a set of related diseases in the body that cannot regulate the amount of sugar (specifically, glucose) in the blood. Type 1 diabetes:The body stops producing insulin or produces too little insulin to regulate blood glucose level. Type 2 diabetes: The pancreas secretes insulin, but the body is partially or completely unable to use the resistance by secreting more and more insulin." http://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/article

Right now Tita Lita have to visit her doctor twice a year for Hematology, blood chemistry and urinalysis to check sugar's presence in her blood. Fasting Blood Sugar or Fasting Plasma Glucose test for sugar level. She also has to keep her diet that includes fruits, a cup of rice for lunch and low-fat wheat bread for dinner. Water theraphy is also advised. It demands avoidance of TOO much eating, sugary foods, and those carbo-packed stuff. She's also taking some drugs and milk supplement that for advertising purposes I won't mention.

Good thing her family is pretty rich, I mean supportive. They remind her of the diet whenever she forgets. Now I know why there's always cake for merienda everytime I go there.

The Biggest Loser

by ALBERT SISON JR.

Did you know that there is a television reality show where in the loser is the big winner? The biggest loser is a reality show in The United States of America and it features overweight contestants competing to lose the largest percentage of their body weight and receive the title of “biggest loser,’ along with a $250,000 grand prize. The show was a huge hit not only in the ratings but also in inspiring others to exercise and to be more conscious to their health. The contestants became instant celebrities as well as role models to those who are still having a hard time controlling their gluttony. At the start of the show, contestants are eager to win for the prize, but as the show goes on, the show made them realize the consequences of their actions, and how being healthy will make their live longer. Up to now, the Biggest Loser season one first grand winner, Mr. Ryan Benson, remains to be a role model, not only the contestants of other seasons, but also to all the audience of the said show. During the show, Ryan Benson, which was 36 years old during the start of the show, weighs 330 pounds. At the end of the show, he loses 122 pounds making him 208 pounds heavy and the biggest loser. Now the life of Mr. Ryan Benson continuous to be healthy as he brought all the things he learned, whether the right diet or the proper routine of exercise to his normal life.

Survivor! by Von Allen Belinario

Ms. Ofelia San Juan is a graduate of Philippine Women's University where she took up Bachelor in Music. She had a history of stage 4 Ovarian Cancer in 1991, of which 3 kilos of ovarian mass was removed. She fully recovered in 1998 and came back to work as musician abroad. However, in 2000, while at work, she collapsed and was diagnosed with last stage of Cervical Cancer. The doctor in Florida, USA said her case has 5% chances of survival. Returned home, she spent over Php3 million on treatments until she developed Bone marrow cancer in 2004. All her physicians considered her "dying anytime". In wait for her final breath, a long time friend from Vancouver, Canada, suddenly came by unaware of Ofel's condition. He gave Himalayan Goji Juice to the family, hoping to at least minimize her agony. In just 3 days, all her throat infections dried up, in 1 month, her blood pressure normalizes and in 6 months, she was clinically declared ZERO CANCER! According to her testimony at Victoria Building, Quezon Avenue as heard by the writer, it was really a miracle because God gave her another chance to live for her children. To this day, Ms. Ofel is still cancer-free! She continues to inspire other people as she shares her amazing story with the help of GOJI juice: an instrument that provided by God that change her life. Truly,Ms.Ofel is a SURVIVOR!

An Exercise a Day Keeps the Doctor Away!

by Marianne B. Enriquez

With the advent of technology, different tools, machines and utensils exploded on how people’s life would become easier to live by. Unfortunately, with this, many people today are not physically fit. There are those who would rush into their television sets as soon as they get up in the morning to watch their favorite show rather than taking a bit of stretching. Some would even choose to play their all time favorite computer game than going to the streets or courts and play basketball. And some would even love to use the escalators in malls that make them downright lazy. People nowadays, neglects how important one’s physical health and fitness is.

Kristine Marie Maranan, a friend of mine and at the same time my classmate in college, is an avid gym-goer. At the age of 20, she is engaged in working out for her self improvement. She is working out for over three months at Ladies First Fitness Center in Marikina, City. This gym is a “ladies-only facility” where all women can workout in a comfortable atmosphere. She visits her gym for about thrice a week and at the same time, manages to attend her schooling. Then I got to know and how she handles these and what motivates her to enter the world of fitness.

“At first, I really just wanted to loose weight. It's like forever nalang akong mataba.. and like everyone's saying that you're so taba! And I wanted to change that and prove something.”

But, she came to realize how really important being physically fit is.

“Going to the gym isn’t all about loosing weight; instead, it’s more of feeling better about me.”

True then, exercising has got a lot of benefits – better self-esteem, better emotional health and better physical fitness. On the other hand, not exercising can cause people to develop certain chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure and type two diabetes.

Running away from exercising is no solution, as it is eventually a harmful choice to your own well being in the long run. Instead explore what exercises you can do to keep healthy. And to your sheer surprise, there are so many simple activities you can do that can amount to exercising!