Healthy Me - At Home and Away: June 2010

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Post-menopause therapy and stroke risk

Post-menopausal hormone therapy increases stroke risk

WASHINGTON - Post-menopausal women taking hormone therapy are at an increased risk of stroke regardless of the age at which they start the treatment, according to the results of a new study.

Women taking the female sex hormone estrogen have a 39 percent higher risk of stroke than those who have never taken it, said the study published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

It also found a "strong relationship" between the levels of estrogen taken and higher risk, with larger doses increasing the risk.

For women taking a combination of estrogen with progestin, a synthetic form of progesterone, the increased risk was 27 percent, the researchers said.

"This increased risk was observed for women initiating hormone therapy at young ages or near menopause and at older ages or more than 10 years after menopause," wrote Francine Grodstein and colleagues at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

However, the researchers noted that younger women are generally at lower risk of stroke than older women, and said the risk might be further minimized by using lower doses and shorter treatment periods.

The researchers found no clear increased risk in women who took hormone therapy for less than five years at younger ages, which could be due to the smaller number of cases involved.

The study involved 121,700 women aged 30 to 55 who took part in the Nurses' Health Study from 1976 to 2004. There were 360 cases of stroke among the women who had never used hormones and 414 among those currently using them.

The study comes amid an ongoing debate about the risks and benefits of hormone therapy for post-menopausal women, but was the first to look at women who began treatment several years before the menopause, the researchers said. - AFP/sh

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Post-menopausal hormone therapy increases stroke risk
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Dark chocolates and pregnancy

I heard that to get this item it actually requires a prescription...
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Study shows dark chocolate is good for pregnant women

WASHINGTON : A daily snack of quality dark chocolate is healthy for pregnant women and protects them from possible high blood pressure problems, a medical study said Monday.

By biting into rich, dark chocolate, there is a 69 percent less chance of contracting preeclampsia, a major pregnancy complication with cardiovascular manifestations such as hypertension that affects up to eight percent of pregnancies, said Dr Elizabeth Triche.

The associate director at the Yale Center for Perinatal, Pediatric & Environmental Epidemiology, at Yale University, co-authored the 1996-2000 study of 2,291 women published in the May issue of Epidemiology.

The study method measured the density of theobromine a chemical in chocolate in the arterial cord blood extracted from the umbilical cord at delivery.

The primary effects of theobromine include diuresis, myocardial stimulation and vasodilatation. Other chemicals in chocolate include magnesium, which lowers hypertension, and flavanoids, which are potent antioxidants, the study said.

"Quantifying self-reported chocolate and cocoa consumption is extremely difficult due to considerable variation in the cocoa content of chocolate products," Triche said.

"The darker (the chocolate) is, the better it is. The more highly processed, the more fat and sweet it is, the less it contains theobromine," she said, adding that theobromine concentrations in chocolate vary from 0.15 percent to 0.46 percent.

"In this prospective cohort of pregnant women, we observed that chocolate consumption, as measured by cord serum levels of the biomarker theobromine, was associated with lower risk of preeclampsia," the study concluded.

"It's like eating a good quality chocolate bar every day," said Triche. - AFP/ar

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Study shows dark chocolate is good for pregnant women
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Common symptoms as good as lab trials to detect AIDS

I wouldn't be surprised by this discovery: our body would be simply reacting in the same way as it would for diseases - generally...
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Clinical symptoms just as good as lab trials for AIDS patients

GENEVA - AIDS sufferers whose treatments are assessed by simple clinical signs are almost on a par with those whose therapies are based on advanced laboratory analysis, the World Health Organisation said Friday.

A new study published in the British medical journal The Lancet reported that monitoring simple physical signs of deteriorating health, such as weight loss or fever, allows doctors to provide therapies almost as effective as those relying on laboratory tests.

"The results of this study should reassure clinicians in Africa and Asia, who are treating literally millions of people without these laboratory tests, that they are not compromising patient safety," said Charles Gilks, a co-author of the study and the coordinator of antiretroviral treatment and HIV care at the WHO.

"In fact, the outcome of their treatment is almost as good as those patients in the USA and Europe where laboratory-guided treatment is the norm," he said.

The five-year survival rate for patients who only had clinical monitoring was 82 percent, against 83 percent for those using laboratory tests.

The WHO recommends that in areas with limited resources, AIDS treatments should be determined by monitoring clinical signs alone. - AFP/fa

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Clinical symptoms just as good as lab trials for AIDS patients
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Mobile phones and our hearts

This is now technology to the rescue...
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Mobiles to the rescue of heart patients

A new mobile device originally developed for Mars-bound cosmonauts has now found a more down-to-earth use.

The Clue medical device which has been released in South East Asia, will allow medical specialists to remotely monitor the heart conditions of their patients.

The 8x8cm portable device originally designed and developed in Germany and Austria to monitor the heart rates of cosmonauts on their proposed 2035 mission to Mars, uses sensors to measure the heart and its function.

Being light, weighing just 56 grams, users simply place the device over their heart for two minutes and then click a button to transmit the data collected via the PC or even mobile phones to a remote server to be retrieved by doctors or emergency services.

Decisive Technology president Ernst-Guenter Jung says that the device "allows the doctor to remain in contact with a patient even after they leave the hospital or clinic."

The online information can be used to perform a diagnosis which can be useful for those who need constant follow-up checks or who live in remote areas.

"This allows a patient to check by themselves on their condition and also enables the doctor to observe the stress levels of a patient in their normal life and just not in the clinical environment" says Jung.

Telovital of Austria which developed the product says the technology shows how "mobile telephony and portable sensor technology can be harnessed to potentially save lives".

Yet another reason to always have your mobile by your side. - CNA/sf

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Mobiles to the rescue of heart patients
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Thursday, June 24, 2010

Secondhand Smoke and Mental Health

I came across two articles in the web that tells about the effect of secondhand smoke to one's mental health. I am reposting one, and keeping the other as an alternate article. To find out what could be in store, read on...
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Secondhand Smoke a Mental Health Hazard?

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, June 7 (HealthDay News) — Long linked to physical ailments such as asthma, heart disease and lung cancer, secondhand smoke may now be tied to an increase in mental woes, new research suggests.

Prolonged exposure to another’s noxious tobacco fumes could up the odds for psychological distress, depression, schizophrenia and delirium, British researchers say.

“In the U.S., an estimated 60 percent of non-smokers have biological evidence of exposure to passive smoke. Thus, in order to improve mental and physical health, people should be made aware of these harmful effects,” said lead researcher, Mark Hamer, from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London.

“Exposure to passive smoke was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and greater risk of future psychiatric illness,” he said.

The report is published in the June 7 online edition of the Archives of General Psychiatry.

For the study, Hamer’s team collected data on over 5,500 non-smokers and nearly 2,600 smokers. None of these people had any history of mental illness at the start of the study, the researchers noted. In addition, the researchers measured levels of cotinine in saliva, which indicates an individual’s level of exposure to tobacco smoke.

Over six years of follow-up, 14.5 percent of the individuals were found to be suffering from psychological distress. People who did not smoke, but who were exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke, were almost 50 percent more likely to suffer from psychological distress than those not exposed, the researchers found.

In addition, during the six-year follow-up period, 41 of the participants were admitted to psychiatric hospitals for problems such as depression, schizophrenia, delirium or other psychiatric problems. Those with high exposure to secondhand smoke were nearly three times as likely to be admitted versus people unexposed to the fumes, the study authors found.

Stanton A. Glantz, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, commented that “this is an important and well-done study that shows that secondhand smoke is even more dangerous than we previous thought.”

Dr. Norman H. Edelman, a scientific consultant for the American Lung Association, agreed that “this is a very well done, potentially important study.”

Edelman said, “It’s not just that people with psychiatric symptoms tend to smoke more or be around those who smoke more, it may be that the exposure to smoke adds to their symptoms.”

However, another expert questions the validity of the findings. While smoke may make one more susceptible to mental problems, people predisposed to mental health woes may find themselves in smoky environments more often.

Dr. Ted Schettler, the science director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, reasoned that, perhaps “nicotine is associated with an increased likelihood of psychological problems.”

But, he added, “On the other hand, you can easily imagine that people who are in stressful life circumstances are also finding themselves in more smoke-filled environments. I don’t know that you can separate it out.”

More information

For more information on secondhand smoke, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
SOURCES: Mark Hamer, Ph.D., department of epidemiology and public health, University College London; Stanton A. Glantz, Ph.D., professor, medicine, and director, Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, University of California, San Francisco; Norman H. Edelman, M.D., scientific consultant, American Lung Association; Ted Schettler, M.D., science director, Science and Environmental Health Network; June 7, 2010, Archives of General Psychiatry, online

Last Updated: June 07, 2010

From Health.com; source article is below:
Secondhand Smoke a Mental Health Hazard?

The other article is here:
Secondhand Smoke and Mental Health
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Healthy Mothers Deliver Healthy Babies

I have wanted to simply link to this article, but it could get lost in time, or that the page could be removed. It is about the effect of the mother to the unborn child, and this is one great article to make women realize how much they actually affect the unborn child, while yet developing, in their womb.

Read on...
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Healthy Mothers Deliver Healthy Babies

In the fast life of the day, one often delays the issue of marriage; children and health issues are pushed as further away as possible, as issues of finance gain precedence over all the other issues. Often, career is the main concern. It is very difficult to get into a career of one’s choice in the first place and to maintain it is even more difficult. Therefore, when the question of pregnancy arises, one immediately gets visions of unemployment, which brings jitters of fear. There are other issues as well, like family compulsions and physical weaknesses, which need to be cleared, before one can decide to become a mother. Usually one is so engrossed with one’s work that one easily crosses the age of healthy pregnancy. However, it should not be so, and this is where pre pregnancy planning gains importance. Health issues, foods, women’s most fertile period, all these important considerations should remain in the mind of every woman to deliver healthy babies.

Keep Your Mind And Body Fit

When women older than 35 years decide to get pregnant, they can have congenital abnormalities in the newborn baby. As one ages, one also catches some form of illness or the other. High blood pressure, diabetes, blood pressure, anxiety, piles, weakness in the bones and limbs are some of the common ailments of today’s environment. In case the mother has any of the above, which is not treated properly before conceiving, the prospective child can have many abnormalities.

Some Common Ailments

Hypertension is common when twins are born. Older women too have this condition. During the stage of pregnancy planning, a well-controlled regimen of exercise can handle hypertension. One has to be very cautious in this stage. Constant monitoring is required under the guidance of a qualified medical practitioner. You need to remain stress free, and in a diet plan that keep a check on your weight. A little meditation also helps in curing hypertension. You also have to take medicines recommended by the doctor.

Diabetes is a disease that does not allow you to die and it does not allow you to live as well. In a natural condition the level of sugar in the blood rises with every intake of food and liquid. The pancreas of the body creates a chemical called insulin, which neutralizes the raised sugar content in blood. Under the influence of diabetes, pancreas stops creating insulin and the sugar level continues to rise, affecting the organs of the body. If diabetes is not controlled, you might lose your kidneys, eyes, heart and other organs of your body one by one. Diabetes can be controlled by administering insulin by injection. This condition needs to be in full control at the pre pregnancy planning stage lest this disease cripples the infant.

Heart diseases are common concerns of doctors worldwide nowadays. Especially with couples who wish to become parents at a later stage in their life, doctors insist on a complete checkup for defects in the valve, rheumatic heart disease, hole in the heart etc. After all clearances, the consultant decides whether you should become parents or not. Parents with heart disease are advised complete bed rest in the pre-pregnancy planning period. Any miscalculation can lead to a miscarriage or premature fetal death.

There are other diseases like thyroid, cancer, tuberculosis that need to be disclosed, and discussed in complete confidence with your consultant. The advice of the consultant is the final word in this matter, after all tests to consider competency have been conducted. Never ever, hide such illness, as they can be fatal for the mother and or the baby.

Genetic disorders, exposure to radiation and other harmful fluid (as in factories), Urinary infections and venereal diseases are some other reasons for would-be mothers to remain on their toes. Always be very sure of your medical condition before you attempt to become a mother.

From HealthyLifeTips.org; source article is below:
Healthy Mothers Deliver Healthy Babies
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The Antioxidant Quercetin

A breakthrough in the medical field, it could be the answer to the many woes we have.

Think so?

Read on...
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Quercetin: Antioxidant May Help Prevent Health Issues

Quercetin is an antioxidant in apples, some berries, leafy green vegetables, red onions and grapes, and tea. It's the reason for the bright colors found in these foods.

This antioxidant may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease like stroke and coronary heart disease. It may inhibit LDL oxidation, which reduces the risk or progress of atherosclerosis.

Quercetin may help manage metabolic syndrome and overcome obesity, which would lower the risks for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In terms of metabolic syndrome, the antioxidant may improve cholesterol and triglyceride levels, hypertension and insulin resistance. It may also reduce growth of new fat cells, which would help control obesity, and regulate amounts of glucose in the blood which could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Quercetin is an antihistamine, which prevents histamine from being released. Histamine brings on allergies' itchy eyes, runny nose and sneezing. Quercetin may be used in the treatment of cancer to slow or prevent tumor development.

"The medical profession now knows that inflammation plays a part in virtually every chronic disease as well as many acute conditions. Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant that has been shown to promote the reduction of inflammation throughout the body."

From empowHer.com; source article is below:
Quercetin: Antioxidant May Help Prevent Health Issues
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Boy or girl: Mom's diet may help choose

Another one of the many elusive dreams that humans have been chasing after, from time immemorial, is the ability to choose a child's sex. Having many sons is tantamount to having many helping hands - which seemed a big thing in the past when work means having to be physically able to do the job.

And even in our modern days, our preoccupation and the way we do things have drastically changed, thanks to technology, we haven't lost that craving, that desire, to be able to 'dictate' the child's sex.

I say it again, 'good luck', though it is not luck.

I leave that in the hands of God.

Read on...
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Mother's diet can help determine sex of child: study

PARIS - Oysters may excite the libido, but there is nothing like a hearty breakfast laced with sugar to boost a woman's chances of conceiving a son, according to a study released Wednesday.

Likewise, a low-energy diet that skimps on calories, minerals and nutrients is more likely to yield a female of the human species, says the study, published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Britain's de facto academy of sciences.

Fiona Mathews of the University of Exeter in Britain and colleagues wanted to find out if a woman's diet has an impact on the sex of her offspring.

So they asked 740 first-time mothers who did not know if their unborn foetuses were male or female to provide detailed records of eating habits before and after they became pregnant. The women were split into three groups according to the number calories they consumed per day around the time of conception.

Fifty-six percent of the women in the group with the highest energy intake had sons, compared to 45 percent in the least-well fed cohort.

Beside racking up a higher calorie count, the group who produced more males were also more likely to have eaten a wider range of nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamins C, E and B12.

The odds of an XY, or male outcome to a pregnancy also went up sharply "for women who consumed at least one bowl of breakfast cereal daily compared with those who ate less than or equal to one bowl of week," the study reported.

These surprising findings are consistent with a very gradual shift in favour of girls over the last four decades in the sex ratio of newborns, according to the researchers.

Previous research has shown -- despite the rising epidemic in obesity -- a reduction in the average energy uptake in advanced economies. The number of adults who skip breakfast has also increased substantially.

"This research may help to explain why in developed countries, where many young women choose low calorie diets, the proportion of boys is falling," Mathews said.

The study's findings, she added, could point to a "natural mechanism" for gender selection.

The link between a rich diet and male children may have an evolutionary explanation.

For most species, the number of offspring a male can father exceeds the number a female can give birth to. But only if conditions are favourable -- poor quality male specimens may fail to breed at all, whereas females reproduce more consistently.

"If a mother has plentiful resources, then it can make sense to invest in producing a son because he is likely to produce more grandchildren than would a daughter," thus contributing to the survival of the species, explains Mathews.

"However, in leaner times having a daughter is a safer bet."

While the mechanism is not yet understood, it is known from in vitro fertilisation research that higher levels of glucose, or sugar, encourage the growth and development of male embryos while inhibiting female embryos. - AFP/fa

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Mother's diet can help determine sex of child: study
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Advancement of traffic, detriment to our health

There is always a trade-off to the level of technology in each era we live in. Speed and convenience are two of the major benefits we get from the "advanced" technology that we now enjoy, so to speak, compared to 50 years and earlier of living.

But, the price we have to pay for these?

We pay with our health, which is just one of the many fees "imposed to us forcefully".

Should we be getting back to using 'horse-and-carriage'?

Read on...
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Traffic pollution leads to increased pneumonia deaths

PARIS - Exhaust fumes from road traffic and other types of fuel combustion are closely linked to excess deaths due to pneumonia, according to a study released Tuesday.

Cross-referencing three sets of data atmospheric emissions, published causes of death and expected causes of death in England for the period 1996-2004, George Knox of Birmingham University attributed some 4,000 extra pneumonia deaths each year to engine pollution.

That is the same number of people killed during the infamous week-long London smog of December 1952, he said.

Levels of air pollution varied substantially from one local administrative region to another, with correspondingly high mortality rate linked to pneumonia, reported the study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Nearly 390,000 deaths over the eight years studied were officially attributed to pneumonia.

"Many 'pneumonia' deaths were probably caused by direct chemical injury, as in the 1952 London smog, and thus are better regarded as 'acute respiratory distress syndrome' or 'acute lung injury'," Knox concluded.

Even after potentially confounding social factors such as tobacco consumption were taken into account, pneumonia "was strongly and independently linked to emissions," he told AFP in an e-mail.

Excess death from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and rheumatic heart disease, both characterised by lung failure, could also be precipitated by engine exhaust.

While it is possible that there is a similar proportion of excess pneumonia deaths in other countries with similar levels of pollution from fossil fuel combustion, "extrapolation is impossible," Knox said.

"I think every country has to do its own studies of geographic distributions of pollutants and individual deaths," he told AFP. - AFP/ar

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:Traffic pollution leads to increased pneumonia deaths
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Monday, June 21, 2010

B Vitamins - Making Seniors Happier

Rainbow Light Complete B-Complex, Food Based, Tablets , 180 tablets

Vitamin B was found to be a direct link to making aging folks happier. A certain increase in the intake of B vitamins caused the decrease of depression to some noticeable degree.

The news article is short, so get it here:
B Vitamins Lead to Happier Seniors.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Sleep: its health benefits

Natural Cures for Insomnia : Learn the Natural Way to Get the Sleep You Need

I have read in our company newsletter about some sleep articles, and one discussed the relation of sleep and our weight. it is said that if you have good sleep each night, then you have better weight management. If not, your poor sleeping habit will cause you to gain weight.

Aside from that, staying up late at night actually forces the body to do more "waste management" actions, the visible part of which is longer hair and nails. (These are our non-living body parts)

Then I saw one good article, again, on sleep and its benefits. I'm re-posting it here, and of course, credit is given to whom it is due.

Read on...
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Desperately Seeking Snoozin' : The Insomnia Cure from Awake to Zzzzz

Sleep: Your Dedicated Health Care Partner

It's easy to take sleep for granted, until you become sleep deprived. Whether because of a plane trip across time zones (see my "Time Travel 101" blog post) or a big test or a new baby, not getting enough sleep on a regular basis can become a health issue. In fact, sleep can do so many good things, think of it as your health care partner.

It May Affect Your Weight
Sleep can be a factor in weight problems. A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) followed 8,000 adults over several years and found that subjects who slept less than seven hours a night had a greater risk of weight gain and obesity, with risk increasing for every hour of sleep lost. In another study, when caloric intake was measured over two 48-hour periods in which participants slept eight and four hours respectively, after the four-hour sleep, subjects consumed at least 500 calories more. Yet another study showed that subjects ate significantly more calories from snacks and carbohydrates after five and a half hours of sleep versus after eight and a half hours. The theory is that decreased sleep initiates a rise in ghrelin (a hormone that stimulates appetite) and a reduction in leptin (a hormone that tells the body it's full). Any weight loss program should include diet, exercise and a good night's sleep.

8 Easy Ways To Get a Good Night's Sleep... Naturally

It Supports Learning
The all-nighter as a staple of higher learning is a myth. In fact, being sleep deprived actually impairs memory, not to mention judgment, which isn't advisable if you're guessing on multiple-choice questions (or driving a car). During sleep, the brain processes events and experiences from the day, making and strengthening connections between nerve cells (brain plasticity). This process helps reinforce the understanding of tasks and content, and strengthens the ability to comprehend and remember experiences. Fortifying the connections is why sleep is so important for effective study. If you've left all the reading material to the last minute, that's another problem, but instead of staying up all night, it's better to read and/or review your material until drowsiness sets in, and then sleep.

It Helps Emotional and Developmental Health
Because sleep helps the brain organize memories, understand experiences and integrate information it acquired during the day but didn't have time to process, sleep, or the lack of it, has a tremendous impact on a person's ability to cope. This is especially relevant to the sleep requirements of children and their emotional development. A Northwestern University study of 500 preschoolers found that of children who slept less than 10 hours in a 24-hour period, 25 percent were more likely to misbehave, and were at greater risk for acting out behavioral problems. Those who experienced sleep disturbances seemed to be prone to medical issues that included allergies, ear infections and hearing problems, as well as psychiatric and social problems like aggression, anxiety and depression. In fact, sleep abnormalities are usually present in several brain disorders like depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and stroke.

101 Tips to Stop Your Child's Bedwetting Forever

It Moves in Cycles and Stages
Sleep is a very dynamic process that works in cycles, shifting back and forth between deep, restorative sleep and lighter stages of sleep in which you're more alert and dreaming. There are two main stages of sleep: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which is the lightest, most active stage in which dreaming occurs. The second is deep sleep (Non-REM), which is further divided into three lighter "weights" of sleep. Deep sleep, which immediately after falling asleep, is the longest stage and produces the most restorative sleep. As the night progresses, the cycles move from deep sleep to the lighter stages, ending with REM sleep. The strongest negative effects from being sleep deprived are from inadequate deep sleep. If you want to improve your REM sleep, which may improve overall mood, try to sleep an extra half hour in the morning.

It's Very Personal
Sleep requirements are as individual as snowflakes, but a general rule of thumb is: Infants need 16 hours of sleep; babies and toddlers need 10-14 hours; children age 3-6 need 10-12 hours; kids age 6-9 need 10 hours; kids age 9-12 need 9 hours; teenagers need about 9 hours; and adults should aim for 7-8 hours. As a physician who specializes in sleep disorders once told me: "Sleep is a non-negotiable item." You need to sleep as much as your own personal physiologic makeup dictates.

It Wants to Help
If you help your sleep, it can help you. To maximize your deep sleep, try to be consistent about your sleep and wake times. It's also important to make your sleeping environment as comfortable as possible by keeping the room dark and the noise low. And no scary movies before bedtime.

Say Good Night to Insomnia: Sleep Soundly, No More Sleepless Nights Naturally with Sound Therapy

Sweet dreams.

From Huffingtonpost.com; source article is below:
Sleep: Your Dedicated Health Care Partner
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Friday, June 4, 2010

Quitting Smoking: A Girl's Journey

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking: Join the Millions Who Have Become Non-Smokers Using Allen Carr's Easyway Method

While we like to read on facts and articles and breakthroughs, we like all the more to read on the ordeals and triumphs of individuals who are like us: susceptible to diseases and frail in temptations - yet able to go through the trying experiences and emerge as victors.

Here, one individual went through a rigorous journey of self-control, to stop smoking. Stories like this makes us realize and reaffirm that with strong determination, an addictive cravings can be put under control, until totally eliminated.

A glimmer of hope for all of us.

Read on...
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'Girl in the glass house' will continue her smoke-free journey
By Ng Yan Bo, Channelnewsasia.com

SINGAPORE: Arsenal fan, female, 26 years old and a smoker for almost half her life. Three days in a Glass House along Orchard Road in a public effort to quit, and Cheyenne Lu is determined to stay off cigarettes.

While discovering her own strength, Lu found strength from people around her. She has also become a source of inspiration to others drawn to her effort, which was part of a project by the Health Promotion Board (HPB) in an effort to reverse the rising number of women smokers in Singapore.

Lu's 'three-day hump' in the Glass House was based on a philosophy derived from the movie 'Super Size Me', where director Morgan Spurlock coined the phrase in reference to the most difficult period of quitting an addiction.

After the first three days, curbing an addiction is supposed to be much easier.

Channelnewsasia.com tested it out with Lu on her three-day smoke-free journey.

DAY ONE

Before kicking-start her smoke-free life at 1pm on Thursday, Lu took out her very last stick of cigarette. It was the last puff "for old times' sake". She then let herself into the Fresh Air for Women (FAFW) Glass House along Orchard Walkway.

The 26-year-old appeared slightly nervous, admitting that the latest effort was "one of the biggest challenges" in her life, since other attempts to quit had failed.

In case the public attention she drew living the Glass House couldn't get Lu to stick out the urge for a stick, the FAFW provided her with wireless internet access, a collection of her favourite DVDs and an entertainment system to play them on, as well as stylish furnishings, snacks and several activities to keep the writer distracted.

Being a self-proclaimed "artist with her make-up", one of Lu's first activities was a makeover session with make-up brand ZA.
"We believe that cosmetics can only do so much," said Jermaine Lim, Marketing Manager of ZA.

"Beauty starts with your skin. So we believe that not smoking is the first step to making you look good and we are here to let her know how good she can look."

Next on the line-up, fitness workouts and Pilates. "I have awoken muscles I never knew I had," Lu joked. "It wasn't too embarrassing though it was in front of the public’s eye but it was good as it took my mind off cigarettes for a good few hours."

On top of promoting a smoke-free lifestyle, the HPB, which initiated the project to inspire and encourage female smokers to quit smoking, made sure Lu would have a life-style change towards diet.

But while the personal fridge was stuffed full of health food such as yogurt, fruits and water courtesy of the HPB, Lu's friends who visited her in droves to keep up support also kept her up with other scrumptious snacks.

"We bought her doughnuts and Coca Cola," Jin Yan, 48, proudly announced as he barged into the Glass House with friends from the Official Arsenal Singapore Supporters Club, whom Lu frequently watches matches with at a bar at Elizabeth Hotel.

Lu is an avid fan of the English team the club because "they play beautiful football" and hopes that the money saved from cigarettes could see her in London soon to catch her favourite club in action.

Would that be enough inspiration to fuel her determination?

DAY TWO

Studies have shown that a 24-hour smoke-free period is enough for a smoker to feel the difference.

Unfortunately Lu found she didn't feel any fresher or even more alert. But she did have cravings for a cigarette.
A session with the HPB-appointed quit-smoking counselor soon solved the mystery.

"Apparently there are different kinds of addiction to smoking," explained Lu.

"The advisor said that my addiction was a habitual one, and not a nicotine addiction. So I wouldn't feel that much difference... although on the plus side, I wouldn't have withdrawal symptoms such as runny nose."

Into her second day in the Glass House, Lu had gotten used to "being on display" for a weekend, where she went cold turkey in her very public effort to make a clean break from cigarettes.
It was also part of a drive by the Health Promotion Board’s Fresh Air for Women (FAFW) network to encourage female smokers to quit after a survey revealed a sharp increase in the number of women smokers over the past years.

"I don't really mind the passersby looking at me because most of them are actually very nice. It's quite amazing to see the compassion that Singaporeans have, and the shows of encouragement have been amazing."

One woman in particular, made a big impact on Lu, arriving in the wee hours of the morning, when Lu was awake and craving for a cigarette.

"This lady read about this event on the Channel NewsAsia website and she came down early today just to see me and give me a few words of encouragement and support."

However, for every good soul, there were the nasty.

"I have passersby who'd taunt me by lighting up purposely in front of me and smoke right in front of me," Lu said.

The freelance writer who kept an online blog during the three-day effort, recalled a stranger who tried to break her willpower by offering a hefty S$500 for her to smoke a stick with him.

The result of such discouragement was ironically, total encouragement... to stay smoke-free.

"Initially I thought if I saw (these discouraging acts) it'd be really difficult to continue, but surprisingly it made me want to stop smoking even more," said Lu.

"It made me even more determined to quit because people were taunting me. I just smile at them and I walk away. It gives me more encouragement."

While people fed on their curiosity, Lu also found herself being fed and reckons she might have gained a few extra kilos from her stay in the Glass House.

To her surprise, the Coffee Club at nearby Ngee Ann City decided to send food over to the Glass House daily to cheer her on.

Said Muhammad Riduan Bin Selamat, Assistant Manager of the branch: "We could see her from our outlet. All of us are smokers and it's quite amazing to see someone challenge herself to quit. We know it's not an easy thing to do. So we were there to support her."

The manager, who has been smoking 40 sticks a day for the past 16 years, rallied all 15 of his colleagues down to the Glass House with food as a sign of goodwill on the second night for a mini-party.

He said the effort by FAFW is inspiring for smokers like himself and he too, felt encouraged to take the first step in smoking less.

DAY THREE
It’s time to start packing up and Lu was proud.

On channelnewsasia.com's third visit to the Glass House, Lu confided she had learnt how to deal with her cravings.
"It's not that difficult, really, once you set your mind to it. I eat fruits, or drink lots of water – it's really important to occupy yourself. Alternatively, I play with my iPhone, or I blog."

Lu who is a keen blogger frequently updates her blog with the latest news, comments and gossips on her favourite football team. This time though, she turned her blog focus on her quit-smoking journey.

It all tied in neatly with the HPB’s strategy of using the online medium to reach out to more female smokers.

"With the increasing popularity of internet, and the online medium becoming a hot favourite among youths, we have made use of this medium to reach out to more people, apart from using traditional media," said Ms Choo Lin, Deputy Director of the Health Promotion Board's Smoking Control Programme.

"We have seen a growth lately in all sorts of online medium, the latest being Facebook, hence we are also utilising Facebook for the FAFW programme. We also have our own website and blogs."

While strangers overseas have been giving Lu support via her blog’s comment tags, locally the too-tough-to-puff lass received more than 1,000 hand-written notes of encouragement left outside the Glass House along Orchard Road from strangers.

Finally emerging from her 'home' for three days on Sunday, Lu had friends and family to cheer her.
"I think she has a lot of determination to quit. I am very happy because she hasn't been smoking for three days," said Lu’s mother, Mdm Josephine Teo, in Mandarin.

"It’s the first step, and I think it’s great. I have faith in her that from this point on she wouldn’t pick up a cigarette again."

Alyssa Pillai, who has been friends with Lu since school at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, said: "We’re very proud of her. We’re going to reward her with... probably her favourite food, Bah Kut Teh at dinner."

The meal may not have scored top marks with health officials, but compared to the many other healthy days for Lu, the ex-smoker, she scores well for healthy living.

"We need to take control of our lives, to take the first step towards a pro-active effort to achieving good skin and a whole healthier lifestyle altogether," said Lu.

Although her three-day stint is over, Lu said her smoke-free journey has just begun.

"The three-day hump had been difficult sometimes but I had my loved ones around to support me, to say nothing of strangers who have been just incredible with their support," she said.

"It's going to be a long road ahead and I believe only a strong will and perseverance will carry me through," she wrote in her blog. "With the loving support from my friends and loved ones, it'll be a breezy stroll."
- CNA/yb

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; source article is below:
'Girl in the glass house' will continue her smoke-free journey
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