.....times of refreshing.....

What a weekend! Went for my usual quarterly checkup for cholesterol as well as accompanied wifey for a full checkup which includes cancer markers. And, though the checkup is super cheap, we usually ended up buying stuffs from the pharmacy like supplements, medications and etc.

Persuaded by the aunties who told that I got nice, great complexion and look macho too, (ahem.... Let them continue to bluff...! I felt good) they thought the above would make me look like those Korean actors.( Wah......!) Hahah... Anyway, I got special offer at RM59.90 for the above three items and can use for 3-4 months. and, this seems a good brand, my wife was using it.

Since my memory not as good lately, my dear pharmacist recommended me to take gingko biloba.

It should be helpful in improving blood circulation thus helps memory but then we shouldn't take it before an operation or dental procedures as it is a blood thinner and slow to clot blood. Later I visited my doc and he told me not to take it continuously for long term, stop for 1 month and continued for 3 months as it can be cause internal bleeding...wah...scary!

After the checkup, I enjoyed some local delicacies -

Mee Siam

 My wife loves mee siam it always makes a great breakfast!

Dried curry koaw teow

I saw this on the menu and wonder if its as good as Ipoh's. It's great but also a little too 'watery'. It should be very dry like the Ipoh version.

And, not forgetting a cup of coffee to start the morning!

I have a sensitive throat. Whenever I took deep fried or spicy stuffs, I will usually get sore throat and worse still, throat infections! I will end up taking MCs, taking antibiotics and cough syrup. My throat will be irritating and that triggered coughs. Sometimes, in order to work by avoiding taking the sleepy cough syrup, I will end up with difflam cough lozenges, which I always leave some at home and in office. Well, that's my basic problems!

As usual, I had this sickness on and off till my Indian colleague recommended me to take honey. He told me that honey is a medication and is effective against sore throats. I don't buy that at first, not due to the reason I don't believe in him but I am lazy to sip the teaspoonful of honey every morning. This was until I spotted this pure manuka honey nuglets at cold storage in Singapore. I thought how convenient is it, though it may contains more sugar contents than those in jar but then, it is also made of pure manuka honey.


I don't know if it's really effective but it seems so far so good after taking it for 2 months. It seems to prevent sore throats and  tasty some more. I am kinda got addicted to it and been topping up once it's finished. It cost around S$6.90 with around 12-14 nuglets in each pack and come in different flavors. They have ginger, lemon, propolis and original.I prefer propolis and original.

Anyway, I guess I will still go for the usual bottle manuka honey as I believe it contains less sugar than these nuglets. On the other hand, I think honey is really good... no wonder they called it food for the gods in Greek culture.

Over the weekend of the brand new year, I got myself some health supplements in a pharmacy. Well, I do believe in vitamins or herbs as I find that it really helps to improve my health. I was having bouts of flu on and off during the last few months of 2010 and after taking a high dosage vitamin C, it seems controlled (*touch wood*). LOL
 
I have been taking health supplements since my teen years but lately, I think I really took a lot. These are what I consumed daily :-

- Multivitamins (it's the most basic and it's a must)
- Omega 3 & 6 fish oil
- Essentiale Forte (to improve my liver functioning - due to taking cholesterol medication)
- Q10 ( to improve stamina as well as replenish it due to cholesterol medication)
- Hypocol (for cholesterol)
- Vit C

I guess most importantly, it's to take a multi-vitamin then followed by your needs. For example, you can see that I have high cholesterol, thus, I took supplements to reduce it,  besides taking the main medication. Health supplements are not cheap and I will definitely reduce some once my condition improves. Anyway, for now, I guess I'm taking the most supplements in my life so far...hahaha....
Of course, just don't relied on supplements but do also control your diet and exercise a lot, reduce stress and have sufficient sleep. Adopt a holistic approach towards health and healing.

What about you? Do you believe in supplements?

This is not a paid post and I don't really subscribed to paid posts ( at least for now... :p). Well, just like to share the wonders of this health supplement called Co-enzyme Q10. I have taken it few months ago for almost two months and I noticed my endurance in sports has really improved, where I can last longer in badminton sessions. Initially I thought it was due to consistent training which led me to an improvement in stamina. Thus, without noticing the effects of the supplement, I stopped taking it and I'm back to where I have been before, puffing and feeling so tired throughout the badminton sessions.

Well, I thought this could be due to aging as I'm no longer in my 20s anymore but I also realize I feel lethargic most of the times, especially on weekends. Well, it could be lack of sleep or maybe stress but however, I came to know that the cholesterol lowering drug, statin, actually reduce the level of naturally produced Q10 in our body. Check out this article.

It seems there's a lot of health benefits with this supplement and I decided to continued taking it since I'm on statin too. Let's see if I got the same effect again after taking it this time round. :) Here's an introduction to this supplement. Btw, I got mine from Blackmores, cost me $62 for 60 capsules.

Disclaimer - I'm not medically trained and this post is just an opinion of mine. I disclaims any and all liability for injury or other damages that could result from use of the information obtained from this article.