Healthy Living

It is an interesting thing, that among all the issues that has impressed itself on the mind of man, none has been more enduring than the desire for good health. You see it in the papers. Every week, we have a whole newspaper dedicated to health, 'Mind Your Body'. You hear it everywhere, people giving each other advice on the latest diet/exercise plan, or the best sinsei in town. We all have vested interests in our health. Everybody wants to feel healthy. The oft quoted phrase, 'Health is wealth' is an adage for many corporate executives who find some time in their crammed schedules to work out for 1 or 2 hrs in their gym.

In this age of increased demand for better health, I have pondered much about the solution for sickness, esp. in the context of chronic diseases in industrialised nations. I don't have a simple, one-sized-fits-all bandaid for this problem, but I do have a solution to prevent many such illnesses. Eat healthy, live in harmony with your friends and family, yourself and God.

Most major religions emphasize the importance of living in temperance, exercising regularly, and consuming healthy foods. My Church is no excepiton. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that God revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith a health law, what we call the word of wisdom.

In it, the Lord Jesus Christ prescribed the following (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 89):
1) No alcohol, coffee, tea (strong drink)
2) No other harmful substances in your body (tobacco, drugs of abuse, etc.)
3) Eat more wholesome herbs, fruits, and with prudence and thanksgiving
4) Eat meat sparingly, with thanksgiving. It is pleasing unto God that they should NOT be used, only in times of winter, cold or famine.
5) All grain is good for man and beasts, and is to be the staff of life

The blessings attached to it are (also in accordance to 'walking in obedience to the commandments'):
1) Health in their navel and marrow to their bones
2) The discovery of wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures
3) Running and not being weary
4) Walking and not being faint
5) The destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them.

Frankly, I don't exercise much. Though I should, and I will begin haha. But in spite of not exercising, I have kept healthy. I look fresh, feel fresh, and think fresh. Many people have asked me why I'm so chirpy in the morning. Honestly, I believe that it's because I keep the law of health.

In case you're wondering if all this is hokey-pokey, there have been a multitude of studies done which show that healthy living and healthy eating prevent a whole range of illnesses. If we wish to avoid heart attacks (acute myocardial infarctions), stroke, cancer, diabetes, liver failure, etc. then we must live healthily. In a study done by Santisteban, mice injected with breast cancer cells who were fed a low glycemic index foods survived far more than those who were fed high glycemic index foods. (Glycemic index: numerical index given to carbohydrate rich food, based on the level of rise in blood glucose after eating the food. The higher the food, the higher the assigned index).

P.S: Given the 'evidence-based' nature of our Singapore government and pouring so much money into 'Lose weight', 'Climb stairs', 'Walk more', 'Less Salt/Sugar' campaigns, you would have thought they definitely would have done their ample research to see if their $$$ was put into something true.

Not only that, we must be at peace with ourselves and our fellow beings. Stress promotes inflammation, which is the soil for ill health (e.g. cancer, heart attack). In the book, Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, he quotes a study done in 1988 (Krumholz, et al) on the Prognostic importance of Emotional Support for Elderly Patients hospitalised with heart failure. Those whose loved ones were less supportive had 40% more blockage in their coronary arteries (blood vessels supplying the heart) than those who were reported having warmer connections. In 1999, a study done on the effects of Marital Stress (Seeman and Syme) reported that toxic relationships are AS MAJOR a risk factor for disease and death as smoking, high blood pressure/cholesterol, obesity and physical inactivity. There are so many studies which show that ill mental and emotional health are REAL risk factors for sickness. Haven't we ever been stressed with work to do? Or had friends who have caused us grief? Or had seemingly hopeless situations? Remember the sniffles, fevers, and restless sleep?

I had a patient who was abused when she was a little girl by her stepmother. When she cried, her stepmum would dunk her head in a pail of water and hold it there. This traumatic incidences stayed with her, and she never told anyone. She now blamed her heart disease (several failures of her heart valves) on this. She lamented that no one else in her family ever had any serious illnesses, she was the only one. I was intrigued, and though I had no physical evidence, I had an inkling that there was some truth in this. When we keep the hurt inside, bad things happen. I'm very sure that many who are depressed or who have psychiatric disoders have unresolved problems which have been left to fester.

As a medical student, I see how we as a doctors play more of a diagnostic and therapeutic role, rather than treating the whole person. Sometimes I wonder if in our hurriedness to treat the patient's condition, and to move on to the next to complete the patient list, we hurt the patients more than we help them. I think someone should do a study on the effects of ill communication and bad vibes on the prognosis of patient health, esp. in the context of Singapore!

There are so many things going on now in the health community, the definition of health, and how the public is increasingly perceiving their health and also the profession, that it's impossible for me to totally document all of this in a single blog post, much less my blog. Suffice to say, if we determine to eat and live and think and feel healthily, then we will always feel that we have all the blessings in the world- whether in sickness or health. Time to put on my running shoes.

Sundays, Books and Family

Sundays are a time of peace for me. Mostly. We go back home, change out, read scriptures, sleep, answer mail and blog and keep up with the latest developments in our friendships. How rare is that! It's like having a holiday every week. No homework, no TV, no entertainment, just fresh quiet time with family and God and planning for the new week. Awesomeness incarnate (kung-fu panda flashback).

Nowadays life has been more or less very straightforward. Medicine. Med. Meddie. Madness. Somehow they sound the same! *scratch head* They probably are. Hmm. Got to order a CT scan to further investigate.

Therefore, it is time (big grand anthem and fireworks exploding)...to get a life!

That includes:
1) Break the trend of eating at Kopitiam everyday! Then again, I just got this very nice Kopitiam card which gives me 20% discount and I'd hate to waste it. One down.
2) Spending more time listening to friends and family instead of getting swallowed up in Clinical Examination: A systematic guide to Physical Diagnosis. But it's 3 more weeks till the end-of-posting mother of all killer tests! Doh.
3) Getting rid of all the books on my humongous desk. But I don't want to waste precious lower limb ATP (small little molecular bits of energy which drive your cell which drive your tissue which constitutes your organs) walking all the way to my shelf and extending my arms (wasting upper limb ATP) to grasp those books (more ATP).

I think that we all face very difficult trials everyday. -solemn nod-

'Ohm'ing Omeprazole

Coldplay never titles their songs according to their lyrics. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't. I'll borrow their creativity and name this post something totally random. Unless, of course, you think that I'm having a hidden meaning behind it and am tremendously brilliant and subtle. Subtly brilliant. Haha so oxymoronic!

But maybe I DO have a hidden meaning behind this! *mysterious cloaking movement*

Ah hah!

When we were small, our parents used to motion to us to consume our food by stretching out the spoon laden with fried rice to our faces, and cajoling us with 'ohm' (or 'um'). We would stare blankly at them, then, figuring that in order to get this pesky metallic stick with stuff at its end out of our faces, we need to gobble down the food and echo an 'ohm'. The spoon will then be pulled upwards so the food will be scraped off the roof of our mouth, forcing our neck to crane upwards and producing a most difficult sensation and near-gag. Our reward: subtle nutrition and a sigh of relief from our feeder.

Sometimes we view things that way. Sometimes things happen the way they are, uncomfortably, necessarily...well, some might be unnecessary.

Omeprazole. Did the powerpoint today for our group's pharmacology presentation. Next week, we'll be presenting in front of a live audience- our friends! It's going to be fun. By the way, omeprazole is the drug they use to treat gastric ulcers. Speaking of which, Richard, not eating does not give you ulcers!

Reflections on Lessons and Big Thank Yous

I'd hate to start with a dear diary, but what the heck. It's been ages since I've last blogged. And you know, I've always intended this blog to be one where I put stories up. But since I have a blog, and I feel that it's time to just jot down some stuff that has been happening (for my sake and the sake of humanity or what part is actually reading this partly defunct blog), then I'll just forget that this blog is actually called 'Intelligently-Dumb Bed Time Stories' for 15 mins.

Life has been a wonderful rumble of learning. For the very first time in a long time, I am feeling the growing pains of bursting out into the world. Sometimes, just when you think you know most bout everything that needs to be known, someone pops into your life showing you a different perspective and voila you say to yourself, 'Oh man. Where have I been!'

I love Eileen's prose on her blog. I am learning from my Church leaders, how to be patient and look from other people's perspectives. That has always been a pretty big blind spot for me. A series of humbling lessons has whacked me on my noggin and given me a new lease of life (no, I'm not exactly born again *light shines on me with angelic music*). I am learning that I need to stay calm, read one thing slowly at a time, and not jump from one goal to the next like a superman on anabolic steroids minus the side effects. I am learning that one can control his destiny and make his life something meaningful- by working from people's needs. I am learning that humans are difficult beings, but once you understand them, and pay the price and sometimes shed some blood *egad*, the experience and bonds formed are extremely rewarding. All these lessons make me wonder- how in the blue universe does God do it? I mean, He has a few billion children (and more) who misbehave, and who have their own needs and personalities. If God was human, I think he'd be bald pulling his hair out. Thankfully, we read and know that he is infinitely patient and long-suffering. So kudos to that! =D

Yeah, well I guess I can't finish this blog post without blogging something about my recent experience running as President of Medical Society. I love my team. I wish I can get to know them better. *little voice inside me saying; stop being impatient and just take your time dodo!* I have had so much agony, mental, physical blah blah blah, during this election campaign but my parents, friends and God have been a sure strength of support to me. Thank you Mum, thank you Dad, Jie Jie, Trent, Nicole, for always cheering me on with your unwavering support. Even when I asked myself, 'Do I really want to do this? Do I honestly want to put myself through all this pain just to serve?' Even when I doubted my own abiliites. Thank you Jonk, for standing up for me and teaching me how to pray. Darius, for comforting me and being an honest critic. Han Long, for being a bastion of inspiration and encouragement and showing me how to deal with adversity- with calmness, and small steps forward and with passion for the people. Wai Wai, for sharing with me your personal experiences, and forever being true and rational. Angie, for scouting out the ground, and for being fearless in delivering your opinions and helping me see how people think. Shu Hui, for coming down though you had the flu *then again, argh you're a super-spreader haha kidding*. Abhi, for being the bestest next Academic Secretary, and for teaching me about dedication and taking your work seriously. Glen, for being such a smiling buddy and for being there though you have 1001 things to do. Charlene, for taking all my comments and suggestions in a good spirit. Yan Tong, for allowing me to pull the hood over your head everytime hahahhaha. And for being so simply unassuming and pure in intent. Chingx, for the ultra-efficiency and balance you bring to the Presidency (in-running). Perry, for always smiling and giving me the thumbs up, even though I feel that I have performed less than what I should have. Yee-Onn, for caring enough to always send those smses which brighten up my day. Bryon, for being a bundle of whackiness and rationality *oxymoronic but it's true!*. Darn it man, you're super funny!

Mo Yin, Eileen, Eunice, for always believing in me. Mo, thanks for telling me never to give up. And to just try, because you believed that I could do it. Because you see in me the person that I cannot see in myself. But because of you, I took up the challenge and ran. And well...we'll know tonight. But one thing's for sure, it was one true heck of a ride and it was extremely rewarding. My fears, my questions, my old self are sloughing away under the heat of this election. Sure, there have been some scars, but these are proud battle scars *arrr...* =D And Mo, thanks for teaching me how to change my smiley. I always did it this way :) I think =D is nicer and wider haha. Eileen, thanks for being such a bud in the clinics. Honestly, I look forward to hospital everyday because of the laughter and the jokes and whackiness we have. It makes the pain of rejection from patients and mindless wandering much more bearable and orderly. Eunice, thanks for helping me out that night searching for people to join the team haha. And for being so krazy! You're an example to me.

To all my friends who believe in me, and who have reminded me 1002840981 times (taking a leaf from Grace haha) that I am a leader who can do the job and serve well...Li Min, Amir, Jy, Alvin, Lydia, Jietong, Mathew the Yeo, Jiang Lei, Heng Lip, Chun Yat, Sean David, Celeste, Edlina, Christine, Yan Qing, Jun Khee, Olivia, Jeff, Lasitha, Sze Jia, Andy...so so so so many people...*argh I'm bound to miss out your names*

And last of all, thank the source of my blessings: God and my bosses.

God, Heavenly Father, I'm so grateful that you were with me every step of the way. It was not what I expected, but you knew what was essential for the people, and for me. There are many things more I want to say, but I guess I'll not share it on the world wide web haha.

Bosses, Chew Lip, Quan Yao, Lian Kiat...you don't know how much of an impact you've had on me. It's been tremendously inspirational and educational and fun working with all of you. Only God knows how much you've changed my life for the better. All the lessons in leadership are stuff I would never trade for straight As. *hmmm, I take that back. kidding!* I hope that we'll never lose touch, one day I hope to be able to give back to you.

Love you peeps.

The Navigator

A Leader feels threatened when he realizes he doesn’t know what he should know, and that he thinks that he cannot alter that fact. In so doing, he opens a path to destruction- both for himself and his committee, and the people he serves. Leaders must thus recognize that they cannot know all things, and when someone comes along with something they don’t know, it is their duty to learn, be humble, and see what the other party sees. That said, a leader must always strive to widen his horizons, and consider all the groups at stake when building his vision. For the picture and scene must come before him prior to a direction. The world is not a blank canvass to be dotted by his goals, rather, it is a smorgasbord of living entities with hopes, dreams, aspirations and works in progress. The leader must therefore navigate through these channels, enlisting or rejecting crew, plotting which harbours to base, and which land is that of promise. Foolish and dangerous is he who believes that the world exists merely for his grandiose plans, and that others live to serve his ambitions. Wise is the man who notices, knows, and charts the course for enlightenment for all.

What is Life

Written by a friend of mine, Natalya Twohill (yes, she's the sister of Paul Twohill):

"The wind rushing through the grass, the thrush in the treetops, and children tumbling in senseless mirth stir in us a bright faith in life. Life is the childhood of immortality. Therefore; What do we live for, if not to make the world less difficult for each other? It is after all, mostly little, common things that make up our lives, for the highest reward for a person's toil is not what she gets for it, but rather what she becomes by it. The beauty that is seen is partly within those who see it."

Beautiful verse.

Defining and Redefining

A friend I messaged told me she was studying bacteria already. I was still on viruses.

The NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine microbiology exam is a 3 hour long paper. The 3hrs is deceiving- one would think that this is the standard timing for any big paper. If we were to directly correlate it to the volume of information to be studied, it should amount to 5hrs to distribute a nice essay weightage to the various topics. Topics to be covered are aplenty (in order)- Viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites (protozoa and helminths, aka worms), infectious diseases, general microbiology, antibiotics, antifungals, antimalarials. Now, I'm not complaining. This is medicine, after all. I've gotten used to it already. Oh, just for the record- memorizing is a very apt synonym for studying (at least for microbiology). So you can stay on the same page for about 20mins.

Normally, I would have panicked upon hearing that I was 'behind'. But this time, I knew that I was on track, or at least I was on a steady program of trawling through microbiology tables. I had planned my time, and my mind and heart instinctively knew that I would be able to accomplish my goal of completing microbiology by next Saturday.

Instead, I messaged back, 'Woah, you're fast!'

The truth was revealed in the following reply, 'Er, haha that's because I skipped viruses.'

I laughed a little to myself, and wondered how many were slowly plodding along like me. Before I joined medical school, I had this impression that medical students were wunder-people, able to devour 3 textbooks a week. I must admit that it took some time for me to realize that I wasn't the only 'abnormal' one who was only able to manage a few chapters in 7 days.

When people know you're in medicine, their perspective of you changes immediately. Their eyes light up with interest, and suddenly you become a more intelligent person, capable of handling vast amounts of information and acing all tests. So I try not to tell people that I'm studying medicine, because I don't want it to falsely define me. I once told a friend that she shouldn't let her post in student council define her. She should define it. I didn't know how great an impact it would have on her until she confided in me later that that piece of advice helped her a lot. She wasn't trying to live up to the office- she was living up to her own principles and ideals, and by that way of living she was able to shrug off all the glamour, opinions, high-mindedness and perform well. Needless to say, she did an excellent job during her term, and glorified the office she held in the process. So I don't want medicine to define me. I want to define medicine.

When people think that medical student are smart and talented and all, I don't deny it but I think it's highly exaggerated. We struggle the same way every other student struggles. Maybe we're a little more go-getting. Maybe we like to help others a little bit more. Maybe we can grit our teeth and plough through tons of information a little better than others. But we're still very much subject to the same weaknesses that all students face- fatigue, discouragement, crazy-outbursts to vent stress. Being a medical student doesn't make you a cut above the rest. I don't like the immediate label of 'smartness' that others give to me because it in no way represents who I am, and I believe that it doesn't accurately and fully represent my friends either.

But I suppose that it's normal. I thought that way once too.

I messaged her back, 'I feel so cheated. I thought you were ahead!'

She wrote back, 'Nah, I'm only writing notes on those topics which I think will come out for essays. Hopefully I'll hit viruses soon! '.

Spotting questions? Medical students? It's time to let the students define the image. And not the reverse.

The Passing Away of a Prophet

I don’t think many people know who Gordon B. Hinckley is. But I do. Not really. Not personally. But I do.

I was only a small boy when I heard that the previous prophet, Howard W Hunter had passed away. ‘Keefe, we have a new prophet. His name is Gordon B. Hinckley.’ my Mum said.

I looked at his picture and thought that Pres. Hunter looked better. And at that time, I didn’t know what was the importance of having a prophet. I just knew that a prophet was an important man. So I ran off, wanting to eat some of the snacks which the other kids were passing around.

I am Keefe Lai, and I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Many don’t consider the Church as a Christian Church. Some have even labeled us a cult. Some have derided us as lost, fallen, blasphemous. Some, in their zeal and love for us, have gone out of their way to try to convince us of the error of our ways. To this, I am grateful. To all my friends who have showed concern for my eternal welfare, I say, a profound thank you. Though in doctrine I do not agree, yet in the spirit of love are we united. I respect and want to learn from your evangelistic zeal.

We believe in the same organization that existed in the primitive Church- namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists and so forth. We believe that this divinely ordained government structure has not been changed, that it is the best way to meet the needs of the followers of the Lord.

We believe in revelation, that it is the guiding force and life-blood of the Church. So we believe in a living day prophet, and that he receives revelation from God on behalf of the Church. Gordon B. Hinckley was a prophet.

I think I’ll never forget the themes that he stood for- anti-pornography, anti-violence, patience, peace and understanding. He was always promoting love and understanding. To me, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Nowadays, it’s not uncommon to see some bible-thumping Christian proclaiming that other Churches are false and deriding them. It’s not uncommon to see people viewing Islam with a terrorist-like slant. It’s not uncommon to see neighbor fighting against neighbor, for the stupidest reasons, like ‘oh, her carwash water splashed onto my clean car.’

He was the first prophet to really use the media to promote awareness of the Church. He courageously went on 60 minutes, Larry King Live, and other shows. He also always put in a full day’s work. To me, the amazing part of this man was his depth of love for ALL the peoples of the earth, and his desire to show his love by works.

Gordon B. Hinckley died of cancer. During the last week of his life, he told the doctor to increase his chemotherapy regime. He said, ‘The Lord expects me to prolong my life as much as possible. I have a work to do. I want to continue to put in a full day’s work.’ And this he did, every day till the day that he died.

I don’t know him personally. But whenever he went up to the pulpit to speak, I knew that the prophet of God was speaking. I don’t know how I know it, but I know it. When he spoke, it was to my heart. I won’t forget his pleadings to be slow to anger, to be a little kinder, a little better, to stand for something. If there was one prophet who repeated a lot of his teachings, it was him. But those were great repetitions, because I learnt the importance of many many truths. One of the greatest things that has helped me is that I must be a little better each day. He never advocated huge bursts of spirituality. He never expected more than what one could give. But he encouraged us to live higher than ourselves a little bit each day. And for that, I am grateful. You see, I’m a perfectionist by nature. There was a time when I would keep on wanting to be perfect overnight. His words helped me to understand that I need to do it slowly.

And his example is a legacy for millions of Church members and people who know him. This is an example of a man who lived great, who lived meekly and never expected and wanted any acclaim. This is the man who deflected praise and focused on the work and the people. This is the man who gave an honest day’s work everyday.

So what am I going to do? I’ll try to be more like him. I don’t know him personally. But I do know what he stood for, and I think it’ll be a good thing to try to be like him. A little each day.

To Trade for Understanding

It's interesting,

that happiness and an exuberant feeling,

Must be traded away

For calm and cool-headedness

To understand books.

A Million Vistas

Today a friend came up to me

His problems he told; I’d heard them before

And on he went his tears were flowing

Yet stoppered was my heart

I said to him, ‘Why dost thou struggle,

and mention them again and again?’

He replied, ‘Can’t you see

This thing mattereth a lot to me?’

And broken I felt for I hadn’t seen,

I had looked from my vantage point, not his

Though it had mattered little to me

A gentle ear of mine, patient, meant the world to him

This is the truth, then, the fact of life

Every man, is given their experience

And the man who is wise,

Who has only one pair of eyes

Closes his vision,

To peek into others

And in so doing,

Gains a million vistas

And a million hearts, a million friends,

And a million experiences