columnist
AUGUST, 2018 | The HEALTH
AG E I N G W E L L
19
Part 3
3rd Point to healthy ageing
L
ET thy food be thy medicine and
medicine be thy food. Said thousands
of years ago by Hippocrates, the
father of modern medicine. This
I believe holds more true today
than before. In this era of fast foods and
junk foods, the epidemic of metabolic and
lifestyle diseases have skyrocketed. To put
in perspective, in the Vietnam War seventy
thousand Americans lost their lives but every
year five hundred thousand Americans will
die from heart attacks, strokes, cancers and
other lifestyle diseases. Even in Malaysia the
numbers are increasing sharply.
We are the most obese country
in South East Asia and have one of
the highest prevalence of diabetes
in the world. Every hour a person
dies from a heart attack in Malay-
sia, three will have a stroke and
three to four will be diagnosed
with cancer. Though genes have
a role (about thirty per cent) is
our nutrition that plays a big part
in this lifestyle diseases.
The question is what to eat?
There are so many diets out
there that it gets really confus-
ing. At one time eggs were bad,
now they are okay. There is a new
superfood that will suddenly pop
up. So what do we choose; the
Paleo diet, Atkins diet, Zone diet,
5:2 diet or low carbohydrate diet?
BY DATO DR
RAJBANS SINGH
The list goes on and on.
What I personally believe,
and the two words I would use
will be balance and natural. I
always say ‘do not eat what your
grandmother cannot recognise’.
Foods from nature if grown and
nurtured correctly is always
better than man made food. If you
can afford organic or are able to
grow your own food even better,
though not easy.
Healthy eating
The studies from the Blue Zones
especially the Okinawans and
the Mediterranean gives an idea
of the type of food to eat. The
UK study to reduce cancer says
we need to consume at least four
to five portions of fruits and
vegetables a day. One portion is
the size of your palm. I would
advocate 3:2 vegetables to fruits
if you exercise or 4:1 if you do
not exercise as fruits also have
fructose which can disturb your
insulin level.
The other important concept
to understand is that we must
consume all the essential nutri-
ents. This essential nutrients
include essential amino acids,
essential fatty acids, vitamins,
minerals and water. The body
cannot make this. Interestingly
there are no essential carbohy-
drates. We need carbohydrates for
energy which can be derived from
“Whatever we
do, must also
be something
for the long
term. It consists
of changing
mindsets and
habits. No point
following a
programme that
you can only do
for a few weeks
and give up.”
W
Dato Dr Rajbans Singh is the
Malaysian Wellness Society presi-
dent and Pantai Hospital Kuala
Lumpur consultant physician and
geriatrician. He can be contacted
at drrajbans.com
123RF
Skin care for the ageing
ITH old age, your skin loses
its elasticity and may start
to sag and wrinkle. You may
suffer dry spots on the skin – often on the
lower legs, elbows and lower arms. Skin
may also feel rough and scaly. Some pos-
sible reasons may be due to insufficient
liquids, too much time in the sun or sun
tanning, exposed to very dry air, smoking,
stress, losing sweat and oil glands which
comes with age.
In addition to this, health problems
such as diabetes and kidney problems,
using too much soap, antiperspirant or
perfume as well as hot showers can make
dry skin even worse.
Here are some ways to beat itchy skin:
• Use moisturizers such as lotions,
creams and ointments