For the people who struggles to find the determination to lose weight. Check out my blog. I have lost 10kgs in 8 weeks!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Weight Loss Tips #1
Typical scenario in the pharmacy:
Mr Black walked into the pharmacy; he walked past our display of Isowhey at the front window. At the front counter he saw more Isowhey stacked in front of them. He handed in his script for his blood pressure and cholesterol medicine, and started reading the program brochure.
Mr Black is 120kg, and he knew if he doesn't do something about his weight, it will impact on his health more. His father had a heart attack when he was 45, and Mr Black is turning 40 this year. He has a lovely wife and two children, age 12 and 9.
The pharmacist hands out the scripts to Mr Black and he checked how he is doing as the strength of his tablets has increased. Mr Black's blood pressure is still not controlled. The pharmacist noticed that he was holding the Isowhey brochure and asked him if he would be interested in learning more about the product. He made some typical excuses: he said he always watch what he eats, and couldn't stand having shakes every day. The pharmacist suggested that he should take the brochure home and read more about it, and also let him know there are other weight loss program offered in the pharmacy.
Tips
Like Mr Black, many people comes through the pharmacy needing to lose some weight. It could be 5kg, or 10kg, or in this case 50kg.
The first step of weight loss is to realise the reasons why you are doing it. Without fully understanding your actions, you will not have the motivation and determination to do it. You have to decide that you are going to follow through till the end.
So, here is the first step to become healthier, the following exercise is borrowed from Tony Robbins:
- Now, think of all the bad things that will happen if you don't lose the weight. I want you to feel the pain, the pain of your love ones if you are in hospital because of a stroke; the pain you might get when you see your children running outside and you cannot join them; the embarrassment when the girl at Myers tell you they don't make the dress in a size that big; the pain of feeling your chest pain and the hopelessness you feel when you are having a heart attack and no one is near by to help you. I want you to let that feeling sink in.
- Now, think of the good things that will happen if you lose the weight. Running around with your kids without getting puffed up; people commenting on how well you look; being there at your daughter's wedding; fitting into the clothes that you have hidden for so long. Let that feel good, positive sensation fill your whole body, really feel how good it will be.
- Now, make the decision that you are going to something about it. This is your power.
So, everyone, join me to live a healthier life, don't wait for tomorrow, it only takes a few minutes, and that would be the best thing you have done for yourself.
sparoz (BPharm)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Fighting the Common Cold!
As winter starts to set in down under, we start to see everyone coming in for their cold and flu tablets. Here are some of the tips that can help you during this winter:
- Have your flu shot; and your children too! It won't help with the cold and you might feel the aches for a few days from the shot, but it is well worth it. With GFC sets in, taking anytime off work is not a good thing, let alone five days off because of some virus? Of course it has its side effects, but the risks are usually small (some people can get a severe reaction). Getting your children immunised is important too, as they are usually the culprit in spreading those nasty little buggers! Yes, thats right, they pick them up from school.
- Be healthy! Look after yourself, have your compulsory seven to eight hours sleep. Eating healthy, drink enough water, and have a couple of drinks less in that party will make sure you will are well prepared for the invasion.
- Vitamin C. Many studies show that taking vitamin C everyday doesn't do much. However, all the studies that shows that it is of benefit suggest a dose of at least 4000mg per day spread out on the first signs of symptoms. There are studies that shows using up to 8000mg of Vitamin C without too much ill side effects (if you have too much, you usually starts getting the diarrhoea!). One of the studies suggested that Vitamin C works by increasing the cytokines in your body which sends the signals to the immune system to respond - your body can respond up to five to twelve hours quicker than without Vitamin C. The moral of the story - start taking Vitamin C as soon as you feel you are getting sick, and make sure you take enough of them!
- Colostrum derives from cow's milk contains immunoglobins that can boost the ones that your body produce. It is contained in breast milk and it is a way for the mother to pass the immunity to their child. It is well absorbed when taken, and it can potentially be the best thing to fight off the cold! For the people who are under a lot of stress, including physical stress like series athletes, your body's own production usually decrease, and it is a good idea to supplement yourself daily. It is also not too late to start when start feeling your symptoms.
- If you do get the flu - make sure you see your doctor. Anti-viral medications such as Tamiflu and Relenza works very well in fighting off the flu. Instead of taking five days off, you could be up again in two, three days. Don't leave it too late though because otherwise it would be pointless.
- Echinacea and olive leaf extracts have certainly got some studies indicating that they could help with the cold after onset. Again, like Vitamin C, it doesn't seem to show much use to prevent the cold from happening.
- If everything fails and you do catch something, there are things that can help with your symptoms - apart from the cold and flu tablets, don't forget your lozenges, throat spray, throat gargle. If you prefer something more natural, andrographis has been widely used in Asia and Europe for the treatment of the symptoms of the common cold. It exerts anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic effects. Horseradish is also a natural decongestant that can help. Don't forget Ma Huang - isn't that in cold and flu tablets? If you are taking other medications or have any other medical conditions, make sure you check with your pharmacist before taking any of these.
That's it folks for today. If you have more questions, just send me an email!
sparoz (BPharm)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Bio-identical hormones - facts & thoughts
Everyone seems to be talking about bioidentical hormones (BHRT) these days. If you are female, and at menopausal age, you would certainly either know someone, or heard about someone using them.
Facts
- Bioidentical hormones are NOT natural - they are synthetically made from plant source to be identical to the hormones naturally occurring in your body.
- Bioidentical hormones can be given orally, transdermally, sublingually and will be absorbed into the body. There might not have been any large scale clinical trials, but there are enough clinical evidence that it works.
- Female who uses bioidentical hormones get relief of their symptoms. There might not have been any large scale clinical trials, but there are enough clinical evidence that it works.
- The prescribing and supply of BHRT is legal, and it is governed by the TGA. The most controversial DHEA is a Scheduled 4 item - which means a Doctor may prescribed the item and a pharmacist may supplied it. It not a registered drug on the TGA list because there is no commercial product available. The fact it is not registered doesn't mean it is not approved for use.
- The practice of compounding is governed by the Pharmacy Board of the individual state.
- There is no hard safety data comparison to an off the shelf product. Bio-identical hormones is potentially as dangerous as an off the shelf product.
- The products made by different pharmacies are not standardised. The quality control of each compounding pharmacy varies. There are pharmacies who do the right thing, and there are pharmacies who don't.
- A manufactured pharmaceutical would always be more precise than a compounded product. By law, a compounded product must be within 10% of the stated labelled amount. Many manufactured products would only have 90% of the stated amount just before their expiry date - this is very definition of the expiry date.
_______________________________________________________
Thoughts
Being a compounding pharmacist who is interested in anti-aging, you would be surprised that I don't necessarily promote the use of it without caution. Unlike some advocates, I certainly don't believe everyone at that age should be using it.
It is important to consider what is the intended treatment outcome. If it is for the relief of symptoms associates with menopause, then the lowest possible dose should be used. As for anti-aging, there are still a lack of safety profile and proof of efficacy in the area. A big caution should apply to people who would like to take that path (I would address this at a later blog).
Despite the lack of research in the area, bio-identical hormones should be as safe as other synthetic hormones available on the market. Synthetic hormones are mostly enhanced and behave differently to the hormones found in your body. BHRT, if used appropriately, should not post more risk than synthetic hormones.
However, it doesn't mean bio-identical hormones are safer. It is very important to have the same precautions if an off the shelf hormone is prescribed. I believe that the potential in reduction of risks with BHRT is the patient are often more closely monitored by their physician. Doctors who prescribe BHRT often review their patient more regularly, and using their patient's levels and symptoms as a guide to titrate the dose. Unlike ready made HRT, the dose made by the compounding pharmacist is infinitely adjustable to suit the needs of the patient. BHRT is used incorrectly, it would be as dangerous as off the shelf HRT.
As stated earlier, for the treatment of menopause, it is important to use the lowest dose to relieve symptoms to reduce the potential risks of treatment. I believe it is an important aspect of monitoring of the therapy. Not so much to "treat the levels", but to give clues to the efficacy of the compounded product, treatment failure, and monitor of overdosage. In reviewing many position statements from various societies - I am astounded that they do not promote or recommend hormone level testing. To me, it is just like diagnosing a broken leg without a X-ray.
BHRT is an alternative to conventional HRT. There are risks and benefits. The risks are often overstated by the Againsts, and the Fors often over emphasized the benefits and sometimes even making false claims.
Here are some good links re bio-identical hormones. I have include some balanced presentations as well as the against presentations. It is unfortunately that some well respected society and university don't get their facts right. Should you have any more questions, you can always drop me a line.
sparoz (BPharm)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
sparoz' first post!
It is often an occasion for someone to do something the first time... your first steps, your first email, your first twit, your first blog.
Well, here is my first blog. I hope to bring you health tips in the future.
If you are looking for a pharmacy opens on the Sunshine Coast - we are open 8am to 10pm, 365 days (and 366 days on a leap year).
I am always looking for topics to blog, so drop me a line and I'll cover it in due course.
In the mean time, here is my first health tip on Weight Loss:
Fat stores in fat roes, carbs store in fat roes, protein stores in muscles
Less fat and carbs = less fat roes
More protein = more muscles
Enjoy the day, would love to hear from everyone.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
