MARCH, 2019 | Th e heaLth
03
Opinion
to not be with you anymore because you haven’t been the
best partner. And, god forbid, your health might just be taken
away from you because you haven’t taken care of yourself well
enough.
Don’t wait until a sudden epidemic to hit us to start practice
better hygiene. Don’t wait until a diabetes diagnosis to start
eating healthy, and don’t wait until you have cancer to start
regretting the times you skipped going for screening. All of
these things are astronomically important, for the safety of
ourselves and the people around us.
I write now as a reminder to everyone reading this (but
more so to myself), care more for the things you have. Be more
vigilant, and be more healthy.
norman hussaini
Editor
Walk and jog –
a cannabis high
W
Diff erent
Strokes
BY adi satria
26
27
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30-31
a tribute to our elders
Homage combines elderly care and tech to give the
best services to our seniors
Th e fault in our bars
Energy bars are fi lled with sugar, be warned
• Healthy alternatives to energy bars
Lifting his way forward
Malaysia’s Strongerst Man in his category, Zarl
Alfi yan talks about eliminating his doubts and
succeeding in life
• Eat like a Strong Man
What is a doula?
The supportive individual for new parents
• The issue with doula practice in Malaysia
Meet the teddy Bear Doctor
Dr Madhusudhan brings comfort, smiles, and good
food to everyone around him
HEN two lifelong 6-series classmates meet,
the subject is always the good old days. girls
and missed opportunities, booze and pot,
politics and friends who have left the world
mostly due to health issues.
Of course we both feel we were lucky enough not to
encounter serious illnesses like the 3-in-1 problem suff ered
by most over forties – heart, blood pressure and diabetes.
Well, really, luck has nothing to do with it. It was hard work
staying physically fi t and mentally strong to resist all those
comfort foods.
Th is buddy of mine have always kept himself fi t since
school days despite his indulgences. He left a cushy bank
manager’s job to work with the UNHCR (United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees) since his late twenties
starting with handling Vietnamese refugees in Pulau
Bidong.
It was physical work with most times on boats and set-
ting up relief camps on the island.
His career spanned more than 35 years which took
him to almost all the war torn refugee hot spots like Iraq,
Afghanistan, Timor Leste and Myanmar.
He was in his fi fties in Somalia when he suff ered a heart
attack. Th ey transferred him out by helicopter from the
refugee camp and spent the next 3 years on health leave
back in Malaysia.
Boredom and the excitement of the mission saw him
back in action till his last posting in South Sudan.
Since then he started to take care of his diet and avoided
meat and processed food. He swims at every opportunity
and jogs around the hills of Bangsar, activities that so easily
doable that it has become addictive.
Th e ‘runners high’ is believed to be caused by endorphin
release that eventually leads to a feeling of cheerfulness at
the end of a marathon run or a workout. Now according to
a new study, a runners high could be the result of a diff erent
substance –endocannabinoids. Translation: Your body’s
own version of cannabis.
According to Dr Jeff Brown in his book, Th e Runner’s
Brain. “Scientists believe the endocannabinoid anandamide
has an especially potent ability to fi t mood, dull pain, and
dilate the blood vessels and bronchial tubes in the lungs.
When your brain and body cells release enough of these
happiness molecules, you get the rush of good feelings that
lead to the runners high”
Brown goes on to write,”It’s almost as if your brain has
decided that hard physical labour is the best thing that
has ever happened to it. Th is is incentive for you to keep
running this time around, but also to come back again real
soon for more of those magical feelings.”
A runner’s high could in fact be, well, a marijuana or
cannabis high!
We both are not marathon runners, but the high we
experienced after a fi ve to ten-kilometer brisk walk and jog
is enough to make us feel real good and to work harder to
keep up with our fi tness. Most of our classmates can only
feel envious of our abilities at this point in our lives. Th e
few of us who still climb hills and mountains, ride bicycles
and swim for dear life, have constantly advised them in
our Whatsapp group or Facebok postings that anyone can
do it. All they need is a strong will power to make that
fi rst move – putting on the sports shoes and start the cool
morning walk either to the surau or to the mamak stall for a
well-deserved kopi-o kosong or kurang manis. No teh tarik.
Some of our classmates were active sportsmen who have
totally retired to a sedentary life of no life at all. Comfort
food seems to be their only comfort and many will soon
suff er that 3-in 1 problem due mainly to that 3-in-1 drink
indulgence.
Nowadays we joke about reunions due to a wedding in
the family or death of one of our classmates or friends. –
Th e Health
ADI SATRIA – A veteran in the marketing communications
industry thinks that your body needs to be in tip top condition
through exercise and proper nutrition. Yet a good traditional
massage may release and relief the blockages and misalignment
of the muscles, nerves and arteries of the body keeping it supple
and fi rm.