Laughter is the Best Medicine
But What Exactly Does It Cure?

I live in an impacted environment.
My neighbour’s pushy, my life’s a drill.
I wonder what I can extract from this experience.
There is a void that needs to be filled.

PS: This wisdom is hurting me.

Itching for Relief - Living with Eczema

This morning, I took my mother to see the doctor — the third time this month and the 6th doctor we talked to regarding her condition.

For the past two months, she’s been itching day and night and covered from head to toes in hives. It’s quite debilitating — affecting her sleep and limiting the time she spends outdoors. The docs had ruled out other possibilities and concluded that she’s suffering from severe eczema (common with asthma sufferers like herself). The treatment prescribed: cortisone creams, injections and anti-inflammatory pills that zonk her out of scratching.

Why now after all these years? According to the doctors, her age is a big factor because as people age, their skin gets thinner and more prone to drying and flaking. My aunts (my mum’s sisters) have the same problem and so did my late grandma so this is something I’ve unwillingly inherited - eczema-prone skin (guess I’d better start liberally slathering myself with moisturiser now).

We’ve made a number of adjustments — we’ve changed the soaps that she’s been using to one recommended by the doc, she’s forbidden from touching the cats and she’s stopped eating cheese, milk, meat and seafood. In fact, she’s only been eating wholemeal bread (plain) in the morning and vegetables and tofu at night for a week now to rule out foods that may cause the flare ups.

The creams and pills provide temporary relief but there hasn’t been much improvement otherwise so if you guys have some valuable suggestions or personal experiences to share, please leave a comment! I’d love to hear them. Thank you!

Escalating Hiccup
Stretching and Other Tried and Tested Ways to Stop Hiccups

I’ve never been excited about getting hiccups before but after receiving so many responses for The Best Cure for Hiccups, I actually look forward to getting one so that I can try some of the reader-suggested methods for stopping this common problem! I I’ve got hiccups three times since.

First Time Lucky

The first one struck about a month ago, while I was on an escalator at a shopping mall. As I didn’t have a glass of warm water handy, I decided to try one of the “mind over matter” techniques — hiccuping on command. Interestingly, right the hiccups stopped by the time I reached the next floor. It could be one of those short hiccups so I thought I’d wait for another one before blogging about it.

I Bet You Can’t Hiccup When I Tell You To

The second incident happened last week while I was on an escalator at another shopping centre. I practiced the same thing I did a month ago but this time, it didn’t work.

B, who was with me at that time, tried the “fright tactic”, which did nothing to stop the spasming (but I did get a good scare). He then tried the betting as suggested by David (a variant of hiccup on command technique):

“The best cure for hiccups I’ve ever found was introduced to me by my boss. I was hiccuping and he pulled $20 out of his wallet and said, “If you can hiccup again you can have this money.” As soon as I started to concentrate on being able to hiccup they stopped. I now pull this trick on all of my friends, and I’ve never lost the bet!”

Unfortunately, he lost the bet. :P

I am Human, Therefore I Shouldn’t Hiccup?

7 minutes later, it became obvious that it wasn’t going to be a brief episode. I remembered reading the remnants of evolution theory for hiccups. In this hypothesis, it is suggested that these involuntary spasms of the diaphragm are triggered by electric signals generated in the brain stem we inherited from our amphibian ancestors. The proposed cure is to remind ourselves that we’re human. Right… I’m not too sure about the deep-sea culture 500 million years ago, but escalator-riding seems like a very human activity to me, which was what I was doing when I got my hiccup. Still, I had ran out of options so it was worth a shot.

I started thinking about all the things that made me human — surfing the internet, going to the supermarket, cycling at the beach, dining on a seafood buffet…mmm…fish.

Apparently, reminding myself that “I am NOT an amphibian…” was about as helpful as asking people to not think of pink elephants. I had more thoughts about salamanders in that two minutes than in all my school years combined. Needless to say, it didn’t do much to solve my problem (the hiccups only stopped when I was about to get myself a cup of hot tea a few minutes later).

Temporarily Not Human Again

The third time happened five days ago while I was going down an escalator at the convention centre. Okay, I wasn’t really riding the escalator, I was descending a flight of temporary stairs but what are the odds of getting another one while being on an escalator!

Once again I tried a few of the suggested tips:

1. Holding my breath for as long as possible
2. Pressing on my eyes while hitting my back
3. Gasping a few times in between hiccups
4. Swallowing a couple of times before hiccuping
5. Twisting my earlobes

Yes, I looked very silly doing all the above, and no, none of them worked.

Stretching It A Little

I was wondering whether there was such a thing as an escalator allergy when the idea of stopping hiccups by stretching came to mind. Some muscle cramps are relieved by stretching so this suggestion seemed like a very valid one.

I didn’t remember exactly how the stretch should be done so I just pulled my left arm at an angle over my head (like this). Only half expecting it to work, I kept that position for about 10 seconds. Nothing happened.

I tried it again with my right arm, this time a little longer and stretching as far as I could. Surprisingly, the hiccups did stop!

So there you have it, some warm waterless tips tried and tested. It would be too early to say that the stretching method is the cure for hiccups (it’s only been successful with me once) but if it were, it won’t only be the best, it will be the simplest one as well! I am looking forward to my next hiccup to verify whether the result is repeatable.

Escalators, here I come!

Reboiling Points
Boiling Water Multiple Times Not As Harmful to Health As Thought

There was an elderly tea lady (let’s call her Mrs D) at the place I used to work. She wasn’t a tea lady in the traditional sense who’d wheel her trolley of goodies at teatime — she prepared refreshments for our weekly meetings — but she loved observing me while I brew a cuppa in the office pantry, which made me slightly nervous at times.

I was about to make myself a cup of instant coffee one day when I found the electric kettle filled with enough water to make a warm cup of coffee. Because of the ridiculous subarctic temperature of the office, I preferred my coffee tongue-scalding hot so I did what I thought was the obvious thing to do — I turned the kettle back on.

Already anxious by her mere presence, I was startled silly when Mrs D boomed, “What on earth are you doing?! Why are you boiling the water again? You’re not supposed to do that!”

I told her about my coffee temperature preference but she continued disapprovingly, “but you’re not supposed to reheat water that’s already been boiled!!!” When I tried asking her the reason why she kept saying that I wasn’t supposed to. I asked another colleague who happened to be there and she said the same thing, “you’re not supposed to boil water multiple times because it’s not good for you!!!”

Outnumbered with no desire to argue, I left the scene with a less-than-hot cup of coffee.

Being the naturally curious person that I am, I decided to ask the rest of my colleagues about this. The consensus was nearly unanimous(a few had never heard of it) — you shouldn’t boil water more than once — the reasons were similar – reboiled water is not good. Why exactly? They didn’t have an answer.

I wasn’t convinced and brushed it all aside as old wives’ tales. However, despite my numerous make-coffee-while-no-one-is-around attempts later, I kept forgetting to research the reasons and origins for this theory.

5 years later

I was at a coffee house while waiting for my camera to be serviced the other day when out of boredom, I decided to read all their coffee and tea leaflets. There was a section devoted to the importance of using fresh water for brewing coffee and tea. I didn’t think much about it until much later when I was making meyself a cup of coffee at home.

Remembering the Water Mystery from half a decade ago, I consulted my friend Google: Reboiled water causes cancer? - not true unless your water is already toxic to begin with. Reboiling causes water to harden? - not true either. Then I found this:

10 Tips for A Better Cup of Tea

The more oxygen that is dissolved in water, the better it tastes. So, to make sure you use water with the maximum amount of oxygen, don’t re-boil any leftover water in your kettle. Water that is boiled too much becomes poorly aerated because oxygen atoms escape in the form of steam. By always filling your kettle up afresh, you are ensured fully aerated and tasty water.”

Ten Tips for a Betta Cuppa-Fresh Water, Best water MSN Encarta

Mystery solved.

Running Can Be Fun
Psyching Myself Into Running Regularly

I started running last week. I couldn’t sleep the night after the first run because my knees were in terrible pain. I need better shoes. I need to do this more than twice a week. I want to achieve a healthy, toned body worthy of a Nike ad.

No I do not enjoy running. I love strolling, yes, but not running. When I run, I don’t have time to take in the scenery, smell a flower, or notice a ladybird, nope, no time for that, I have to run. But running is free and an activity I can jump into without much planning - I don’t have to book a tennis court, check whether its a good time to drop by the public pool or find someone to play with. It’s also something I can do without worrying too much about how my bum would look like to the person behind me in aerobics class or accidentally letting out a loud one in the middle of a halasana.

I will not wait for my muscles to atrophy to realise the importance of regular exercise. I do not need an unpleasant wake-up call to shake me into a healthy routine. I do not want to be in a position where I’d say “I should have exercised regularly then”. Until I find a more enjoyable way to keep fit, I will stick to running. No excuses. Health is not something I’d take for granted. It’s something I have to constantly work on because I am solely responsible for my body. I will not run away from my responsibility. Because of that I will simply RUN.

I just checked out The Fit Shack and coincidentally, my latest post is an exercise of the suggestions in JoLynn’s latest post. ;)

Sleepy Tales
Lucid Dreams and Segmented Polyphasic Sleep

“It’s possible to dream what you want to dream!”

I’ve been sleeping an average of 5 hours a night the past few weeks with an nap at in the afternoon and sometimes if I’m still sleepy, another nap early evening. I see this continuing for at least another month (especially with the Euro 2008 matches to watch in June!).

My dreams are more vivid now, and now more than ever, I’m aware of the fact that I’m dreaming and can control my dreams. I recently found the term for this:

Lucid Dream

“A lucid dream, also known as a conscious dream, is a dream in which the person is aware that he or she is dreaming while the dream is in progress. A lucid dream can begin in one of two ways. A dream-initiated lucid dream (DILD) starts as a normal dream, and the dreamer eventually concludes that he or she is dreaming, while a wake-initiated lucid dream (WILD) occurs when the dreamer goes from a normal waking state directly into a dream state with no apparent lapse in consciousness.” Wikipedia

Apparently, you can learn how to achieve lucid dreams. So it’s possible to dream what you want to dream!

Segmented Sleep

I’ve not experienced any adverse effects from the reduced number of sleeping hours apart from feeling very sleepy after lunch (then again, I’ve always been sleepy after lunch with or without enough sleep), and this is relieved by taking a nap.

I was slightly worried about the effects it would have on my body but the article What is a natural sleep pattern? on Scienceblogs is reassuring to a degree:

“In a natural state, humans do not sleep a long consecutive bout throughout the night. The natural condition is bimodal - two bouts of sleep interrupted by a short episode of waking in the middle of the night.”

Steve Pavlina took segmented sleep a step further by experimenting with Uberman or Polyphasic sleep, dividing his sleep into 6 half-hour segments and sleeping a total of 3 hours a day for nearly half a year. Yikes!

Given a choice, I think I’d still prefer to sleep 7-hour straight at night but at least I can rest in relative comfort now. :)

Healthy Ambitions
Small Steps to A Healthier Me

A friend of mine, Will, told me he has quit smoking cold turkey for a few months now. Though I was happy he did that, I was also shocked with this sudden change. He then revealed that three months ago, he was diagnosed with a thyroid problem, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and gout. He needs to be on regular medication from now on and he’s not even 30!

Weirdly, he told me that when he asked his doctor what measures he should take to reduce his cholesterol levels, he was told to consider smoking! A doctor telling his patient to smoke? Sounds like someone needs a new doctor fast!

I am not taking my health for granted. I am not gonna wait for my teeth to fall out or hip bones to crumble before doing something about it so I’m making small changes to my diet and lifestyle in a bid to improve my health. [Read more….]

This Entry is Full of Cruciferous Vegetables

As expected, after my previous entry, I went on to eat a lot of junk - half a pack of Arnotts chocolate-covered Scotch Fingers, a quarter of a family-sized bar of Haigh’s dark chocolate and 7 pieces of luscious coffee cream filled chocolates from Darrell Lea. So. Much. Chocolates! (It is PMS at work?)

Today, I decided to give my body a break. I won’t think of unhealthy foods for a change and I’m dedicating this entry to vegetables. First a love letter to a cute floret:

Dear Broccoli,

I ♥ you.

I do admit my love for you is sadistic by nature. I love you sautéd, steamed and boiled; I love you roasted, grilled and puréed. In fact, I’d eat you raw any day.

I tend to misspell your name as “Brocolli”. Please accept my apologies, I am only human. But don’t let them tell you you’re just another vegetable. I’m aware of your superpowers and have actively lobby for your cause for many years now.

Looking forward to many more years together (mostly with you in my tummy).

Love,
M

I was eating a piece of steamed broccoli just now when it hit me — I really, really love the taste of broccoli. So sweet and flavourful, I rate it second only to its pale cousin, the cauliflower. I wonder if there’s anyone else who loves broccolis and cauliflowers as much as I do.

Speaking of cauliflowers, I recently discovered the existence of a purple variety:

Image from Wikipedia

WOW! What a beautiful work of art. And I thought purple cabbages were fancy. I’ll try some if I can find them in the supermarket.

And speaking of works of art, check out this fractal romanesco broccoli.

Photo by Jon Sullivan, pdphoto.org

Out of this world?! I imagine it tasting similar to broccoli but with a fuzzier texture. Has anyone tried this before? Do share your experience!

That’s it for today. I hope I’ve inspired some of you to eat your greens. Or purples. LOL!

The Best Cure for Hiccups
The Secret to Stopping Hiccups Lies in Warm Water

When I was younger my mother told me that the only way to cure hiccups(hiccoughs) is to drink water. I’ve tried this many, many times with inconsistent results. I’ve also tried many other various methods of stopping hiccups like holding my breath, pulling my ears, pinching my nose, drinking honey and getting tickled (made me feel worse). That was until B told me that the best cure for hiccups does indeed lie in drinking water but not just any water, it has to be warm.

I was a bit skeptical at first that just simply drinking warm water alone can actually help to stop hiccups, too simple it may seem to be, but his reasoning made sense — hiccups are caused by the spasming of the diaphragm, a sheet of muscle located across the bottom the ribcage. And what do you do when a you get a muscle cramp? You apply heat. Does this warm water method really stop hiccups? You bet. It works like a charm every time. The hiccups will resolve in less than a minute (usually about 15 seconds). If it doesn’t, what you’re drinking isn’t warm enough, try something warmer.

The first time I tried it, I was very surprised that it worked so fast. B was more amused that I didn’t know about this method before because he had assumed that everyone else knew it! That was about 6 years ago. For the past 6 years, each time someone else has the hicks (hiccups), I tell him/her to drink warm water. And each time, they’d be surprised at how effective my method is (my method because I marketed it aggressively. ;) just kidding okay!). It then occurred to me that every one else in the world may have never heard of this very simple and effective remedy to hiccups. This must change!

So I now present you, The World, the only tried, tested and confirmed way to stop hiccups that you ever need to know – WARM WATER.

You read it here first — Try it yourself, tell your friends, spread the word.

Some other methods on how to stop hiccups are listed below. You may want to try at your own risk (a.k.a. MYTHS!?)

Other Hiccups Remedy, Tips, Tricks And Techniques

• Cure Hiccups at About.com (Video)
• 12 second Cure for Hiccups at Opiniorama
• 13 Techniques to Cure Hiccups at Howstuffworks.

Thank you for your comments and suggestions, dear readers!
You might also be interested in reading Escalating Hiccup - Stretching and Other Tried and Tested Ways to Stop Hiccups where I try some of your suggested methods to stop hiccups!

Got Milk?

Ok, so the high-calcium soya(soy) milk diet I’ve been following religiously for a month didn’t work. I’ve been sitting in my chair for the past, oh, 10 hours, craughing hysterically while trying to maintain enough sanity to get some work done. Enough whining for now, I need to review what went wrong and plan what to do next.

“New research suggests that a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D may help prevent premenstrual syndrome, or PMS.”
CBS News

Could it be that I’m not getting enough vitamin D to absorb all the calcium I’m consuming(the soya milk is not fortified with vitamin D)? But a few minutes of sun a day should’ve been enough, no? In any case, I am thoroughly OVER with soya milk to go through this experiment another month with a vitamin D-fortified version so I’m thinking of trying something else, I dunno, fortified juice, cod liver oil or chocolate milk? Chocolate milk sounds good.

Related links
Calcium & Vitamin D for PMS - CBS
Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D
Got Milk?
Got PMS?
Get the Glass! Game

Related posts
Testing Out Theories
There Must Be A Better Alternative To This
Still Wishing for a Happy Period
Wish: A Happy Period