"The Reason for my Stroll"

"The Reason for my Stroll"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I work in Rockwell , Makati and right in front of our building is the Power Plant Mall. Every time I go there on my breaks I find myself likening it to an expensive Retirement Place Hall. This is a place where seniors congregate a lot. 

From the early morning I see them exercising around the area , to the one's being dropped off to take their blood samples or quarterly monitoring. To the late hours of the day , I see them in pairs , in groups of fives or threes. Amigas with their hair all done up and a never ending stream of talking around wine among other things.

I see some who have been meeting their buddies , 5 groups of guys , one of them talking off the ears of the other 4. There are locals and there are expats. One guy seemed to frequent Dunkin Donuts along with his wife and they meet different people.

There are meetings with Sons and Daughters and Apo's who have come from school , some I think just made it back to the country and they are spending time with dear old Grandma or Grandad. And this is where it hits me the most , that wave of loneliness as I imagined what it would have been like if my parents were still alive?

When they were both alive this was what they were doing most of the time as well , meeting family and friends from all over the place , both those living in the country and those just passing by. How my mom would have loved being in the open spaces of Rockwell with all the food that was there. Dad might have been more picky , he never seemed one for wine even if he did have all those expensive one's on display in the old house. 

I would have imagined that if they lived anywhere near here this is where I would have found them. That if I worked here and tried to meet them for lunch or merienda then I could have. All wishful thinking of course but in my mind I imagine seeing them here. In my mind I would tell them about my day and in turn would probably tell me about the latest gossip involving a family member or friend. My Mom was a Maritess who had endless stories to tell , family secrets and theories. Dad would chime in with this opinion and laugh out loud when he felt like it.

How I missed both of them. I still go to Powerplant Mall even if that wave of loneliness hits me. I do it because somehow it still triggers me to remember more and more of them each day.

"Three Square Meals and Obesity"

"Three Square Meals and Obesity"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD 

A friend of mine recently posted a video about not eating three square meals a day. How this is the cause of obesity in our country. How she has never eaten three square meals in her life and has had no health issues whatsoever related to it. That we do not need to force ourselves and abuse our bodies to follow  the advise of our parents who meant well but was rather misguided in their quest  to make sure that we are fed properly.

I initially tried to message this friend of mine but thought better of it. I do mean well but in her posting this video she forgot to research about the causes of obesity. Some are really simple but mixed in is the complex as well. Having just given a lecture on obesity on the same day it seemed that this was fate.

I can mention this about this friend of mine , she is an exception to the rule of all this. And so she has been drawing from her own experience. For as long that I have known her she has been thin , even when she got married and had her child she has been thin. In the pictures of her with her family  , they have all been thin. So it is therefore same to assume that they have a genetic trait that eludes a lot of common pinoys. They may have faster metabolisms or simply do not retain fat as much as the normal folks.

With that being said The simple cause of Obesity which is Increased input of Nutrition and decreased consumption of energy does not apply to her. It will not matter how much food she intakes , she will metabolize it just as fast. She has always been active and an extrovert so the energy consumption is high as well.

As pertaining to appetite and satiety this will vary greatly from person to person. What does not vary however is the bodies response to periods of starvation. Most will stock up on nutrition knowing that there is a pattern of starvation or the skipping of a meal which would lead to a bigger appetite and lesser satiety. My friend does not have this particular problem as well. In fact I am betting that if we check her microbiome , the composition of microorganisms in our body that is unique to each of us , we might find that there are health promoting bacteria there. 

I don't mean any hate or malice toward my friend. Just that she has already possessed these advantages long before she even thought of posting that video. And for the rest of us. We still suffer and would need to eat three square meals a day to suffer less. 

"Nakakakamot lang ng ulo talaga."

"Nakakakamot lang ng ulo talaga."

ni:

Hunyo De leon MD

Minsan mapapakamot ka na lang ng ulo dahil sa mga desisyon na ginagawa ng mga nakakataas sa iyo?

May di ba ako naintindihan? May mga di ba ako nakikita? Parang di tama , ako lang ba ang nakakaisip ng mga bagay na ito?

2000-3000 cases per day? Baba pa yan. Pataasin natin! 

Solution: "Gawing Voluntary ang Mask wearing." 

Considered tayong low risk? Di katanggap tanggap. Kailangan ma-elevate ang status.

Solution: "Gawing Voluntary ang Mask wearing." 

Marami pang buhay na mga matatanda at taong may Comorbidities? Tuluyan na natin silang lahat.

Solution: "Gawing Voluntary ang Mask wearing." 

Isabay natin sa Ber months kung saan marami talaga ang nagkakasipon at ubo. Isabay natin dun sa napipintong Face to face classes ng mga bata. At tiyaka bawasan natin yung budget ng DOH para Covid19 response ,  ang saya saya na di na naman maayos ang response natin kung tumaas na naman ang namamatay sa sakit na ito. 

Maghihintay na lang tayo ng bagong mutation na lalabas. Madami na ang nagsabi na kailangan na ng booster pero sadyang wala nang nakikinig. Mga tao man sa taas o mga tao sa baba. Pare pareho na lang na wala nang pakialam. 

"Ang Importansya ng Paggabay ng magulang sa panahon ng kalituhan"

 

"Ang Importansya ng Paggabay ng magulang sa panahon ng kalituhan"

ni:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD 

May nagsulat sa Social Media nung isang araw: "Considered po ba na abuse yun kung nasabihan ang isang estudyante na walang maisagot na "Babalikan kita" na naging dahilan kung bakit ayaw na nitong pumasok sa klase."

Sumakit ang ulo ko sa mga ganito talaga. Abuse? Abuso? Eh napakabait nga nung teacher ng batang ito. Babalikan kita. Pinagbigyan ng chance na mahanap ang sagot , lalo na kung online class pa ito. Madalas na sinasabi ng mga matatanda na madali na lang makahanap ng sagot ngayon dahil sa google. Maano man lang ba kung nag google search itong bata ng mga ilang segundo di ba? Maliban lang kung Math at nagtatanong ng specific na method or solution , dito lang medyo talo si google.

Pero naabuso? Ayaw nang pumasok? Dito ngayon papasok ang guidance ng magulang. Kailangan na maiba ang perspective ng bata tungkol sa nangyari na ito. Kung di mo alam ang sagot ay alamin mo. Matutong humingi ng tulong kung nahihirapan. Sabihin sa teacher kung saan puwedeng hanapin ang sagot o di kaya ay tumingin muna sa sariling libro bago magdesisyon na di na ako papasok dahil inabuso ako ng aking guro?

Di ito pangaabuso ng mga kabataan. Ito ay nagpapakita na dapat na bilang mga magugulang ay magsisilbi pa din tayong gabay sa mga anak natin lalo at nakita nating may problema ito sa eskwela. Di ibig sabihin na sasangayon na lang tayo sa ganito , sige anak , wag ka nang pumasok.

Sa sitwasyong ito maaring nagtatanong din lang ang magulang na ito dahil di din niya alam ang sagot. Pero sana ay naging klaro din sa huli na ang guro ng batang ito ay may maayos na pamamaraan ng pagtuturo.