The Weird thing about Life insurance

 

The company’s betting you won’t die.

You’re betting you will.

Ms Koh Chieng Mun (aka ‘Dolly’ from ‘Under One Roof’) survived Cancer

I was reading today's papers and realized Ms Koh Chieng Mun survived kidney and breast cancer after completing her chemotherapy treatment in 2005.

Her Insurance payouts allowed her to stop working and is able to spent time to help others in need instead.

“So I did a stock check of my past and started to understand how I became ill”

Recalling her busy past as an actress where she had long work hours, irregular meals and little sleep.

“A young, busy person always thinks he or she is invincible, but stress is the silent killer – it weakens one’s immune system and secret hormones that make you vulnerable to diseases”

She has a website www.myhealthylifestyle.com.sg where she shares what she has learnt about Health and Wellness, the website also contains healthy food recipes.

 

[Partly quoted from “The Straits Times - Silver&Active”, 20th April 2010]

In The News:

 

Paralyzed Cab Diver sues Government, Mr Choy’s family has had a hard time after the accident, paying for the mounting medical bills and having to come to terms with Mrs Choy's breast cancer which was diagnosed last December.

Mr. Choy Yue Leong collided with a Mindef land-rover last year.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1050489/1/.html

 

Cheaper price for current H1N1 vaccine with new 3-in-1 vaccine becoming available.

http://www.todayonline.com

 

GIRLS who are thin at the age of seven are at higher risk of breast cancer after menopause than chubbier counterparts and more vulnerable to a worse type of tumour, according to a Swedish study.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_515230.html

In The News:

 

 

Only 13% of people developed immunity after being infected by the H1N1 virus, as reported by a study conducted by experts in Singapore and Australia.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_514448.html

 

New 3-in-one vaccine more effective for influenza

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1050048/1/.html

 

Protection for Spa customers, Spa Association of Singapore (SAS) and Spa and Wellness Association of Singapore (SWAS) working on insuring either their members' business or individual packages so that consumers will not be left in the lurch.

http://www.todayonline.com

In The News:

NSF dies of heat-stroke 2-days after IPPT trial, Mr. Roslan Saharo was believed to be having a fever but didn’t inform his instructors. Condolences to his family and loved ones.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_513952.html

 

New drug for Cancer patients, the new drug Everolimus (Afinitor) could cost about $8,500 to $10,000 a month.

http://www.todayonline.com/iTODAY

In The News:

Prevent Alzheimer's disease, eat more olive oil, nuts, fish, poultry and certain fruits and vegetables

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/TechandScience/Story/STIStory_513884.html

In The News

 

Income Family Micro-Insurance (IFMIS) Scheme, Free Insurance for families with young children receiving childcare, kindergarten and student care subsidies under Comcare.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_512546.html

 

AVIVA back in Asian general insurance, starts selling Motor Insurance online

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_512508.html

 

Global life expectancy increases from 47-years to 68-years

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_512831.html

Pfizer to raise number of clinical trials conducted in S'pore by 10% this year

SINGAPORE: Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said it plans to raise the number of clinical trials it's conducting by 10 per cent this year out of its Singapore operations. This is in line with its strategy to grow in research and development capabilities in Asia.

Singapore's Raffles Hospital is where Pfizer now runs a facility conducting Phase 1 studies and clinical trials for a range of drugs.

These are aimed at treating diseases like HIV, cancer and high cholesterol.

To protect patients' privacy, television cameras aren't allowed inside.

The Singapore facility, in which Pfizer has invested more than S$60 million has seen the volume of clinical trials rise 35 per cent since 2001.

23 trials were conducted here last year and the centre aims to increase this by 10 per cent this year.

Chong Chew Lan, medical director, Pfizer, said: "We definitely plan to grow the number of the trials that we can conduct here and we would like to expand our capabilities into different areas as well. We would like to increase our capabilities in our pharmacy in terms of the types of preparations that we can do in our pharmacy."

Pfizer told a news conference that its R&D efforts will focus on Asia and emerging markets.

While it is still mainly research and development in the region, Pfizer hopes to start producing drugs specific to the Asian market within the next three to five years.

Martin Mackay, president, PharmaTherapeutics, R&D, Pfizer, said: “We want to grow our revenues in Asia because it's a growth area and there are no questions about it. But we also want to come up with great medicines for Asian patients and then that will fit exactly into our strategic plans.”

China, in particular, is an important market with R&D spend amounting to over US$150 million from 2005 to the first half of 2009.

Annual R&D spend in China grew seven-fold in four and a half years. - CNA/vm

NDEs due to carbon dioxide

PARIS - PEOPLE who have 'near-death experiences,' such as flashing lights, feelings of peace and joy and divine encounters before they pull back from the brink may simply have raised levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the blood, a study suggests.

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are reported by between 11 and 23 per cent of survivors of heart attacks, according to previous research. But what causes NDEs is strongly debated. Some pin the mechanisms on physical or psychological reasons, while others see a transcendental force.

Researchers in Slovenia, reporting on Thursday in a peer-reviewed journal, Critical Care, investigated 52 consecutive cases of heart attacks in three large hospitals. The patients' average age was 53 years. Forty-two of them were men.

Eleven patients had NDEs, but there was no common link between these cases in terms of age, sex, level of education, religious belief, fear of death, time to recovery or the drugs that were administered to resuscitate them. Instead, a common association was high levels of CO2 in the blood and, to a lesser degree, of potassium.

Further work is needed to confirm the findings among a larger sample of patients, say the authors, led by Prof. Zalika Klemenc-Ketis of the University of Maribor.

Having an NDE can be a life-changing experience, so understanding its causes is important for heart-attack survivors, they say. -- AFP

'Five a day' has low impact

PARIS - EATING lots of fruit and vegetables has only a small effect on warding off cancer, a study published on Wednesday says, although its authors insist that tucking into the recommended 'five-a-day' is still good for general health.

Doctors led by Paolo Boffetta at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, pored over eight years of data from a major European investigation into the relationship between cancer risk and food.

The investigation, which is continuing, covers nearly 470,000 volunteers recruited in 10 Western European countries. Between 1992 and 2000, more than 30,000 of the participants were diagnosed with cancer.

Dr. Boffetta's team found that high consumption of fruit and vegetables gave only a modest protective effect against cancer.

An increase of 200 grams a day resulted in a reduction of cancer risk in the order of some three per cent. Vegetable consumption by itself also gave a small benefit, although this was restricted to women, while heavy drinkers who ate many fruit and veggies had a somewhat reduced risk, but only for cancers linked to alcohol and smoking.

'The bottom line here is that, yes, we did find a protective effect of fruit and vegetable intake against cancer, but it is a smaller connection than previously thought,' Dr Boffetta said in a press release issued by Mount Sinai. -- AFP

Stronger Sing$ by Oct?

SINGAPORE'S central bank will favour a stronger currency by October to curb inflation and catch up with regional peers in withdrawing economic stimulus, a Bloomberg news survey of economists showed.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will seek a strengthening as early as its twice-yearly review this month, according to six of 13 economists in the survey, reported on Wednesday.

12 expect an appreciation by October with one undecided. MAS uses the exchange rate, rather than interest rates, to conduct monetary policy. It guides the Singapore dollar against a basket of currencies within an undisclosed band. The currency has risen 0.5 per cent so far this year, lagging behind a 7 per cent gain in Malaysia's ringgit and a 5 per cent advance in India's rupee.

Consumer prices rose 1 per cent in February from a year earlier, the fastest pace since March last year, compared with a 0.2 per cent increase in January, official data show. 'MAS doesn't want to be seen as being behind the curve,' Sebastien Barbe, head of emerging-market research at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong told Bloomberg. 'The central bank wants to manage inflation expectations.'

Singapore's currency traded at S$1.3951 per US dollar as of 8.40 am, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its value has fallen 0.3 per cent since the last central bank meeting on Oct 12, making it the worst performer among Asia's 10 most- active currencies outside Japan. The currency will rise 1.1 per cent to S$1.38 by June 30, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

Policy makers from India to China have begun withdrawing monetary stimulus this year, seeking to check asset-price bubbles as the region leads global growth. China has twice ordered banks to increase the share of their assets held in reserve. India increased interest rates last month for the first time in almost two years, while Australia's central bank has raised borrowing costs in five out of the past six meetings.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Soy won't reduce cholesterol

 

NEW YORK - EATING extra soy for one year doesn't help postmenopausal women cut their cholesterol levels, new research shows. The findings support the Food and Drug Administration's 2007 move to reevaluate its decade-old decision allowing soy product makers to claim heart benefits, Dr. Sara Chelland Campbell of Florida State University in Tallahassee and her colleagues say.

When a woman stops having her period, her estrogen levels plummet, which in turn ups her total cholesterol level and her level of 'bad' LDL cholesterol, while reducing her 'good' HDL cholesterol levels, Campbell and her team explain in the journal Menopause. Because soy contains estrogen-like substances called isoflavones, it has been promoted as having health benefits for women after menopause, including cutting cholesterol levels and strengthening bones.

Recent studies investigating soy and cholesterol levels in postmenopausal women have been short, or have only looked at individual soy components, the researchers note. They conducted the current study to investigate the long-term effects of soy protein in food, specifically 25 grams of soy protein and 60 milligrams of isoflavones every day for a year, in women after menopause.

They enrolled 87 postmenopausal, overweight women who were younger than 65, 62 of whom completed the study. Study participants had moderately high total cholesterol levels (236 milligrams per deciliter in the control group, 231 mg/dL in the soy group; less than 200 mg/dL is considered optimal), and were randomly assigned to eat soy products, or comparable products containing the milk protein casein, for a year. The products included a snack bar, drink mix, and cereal.

Total cholesterol and 'good' HDL levels showed a small increase in the women given soy products, the researchers found, while soy had no effect on 'bad' LDL cholesterol levels or triglyceride levels. Among control group women, average total cholesterol had risen to 254 mg/dL after a year (an 18-point increase), compared to about 243 mg/dL for the soy group (a 12-point increase). HDL levels increased from 58 mg/dL to 63 mg/dL in the control group, and from 57 mg/dL to 60 mg/dL in the soy group.

Having HDL levels below 50 mg/dL is a 'major risk factor for heart disease' in women, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), while 60 mg/dL is believed to help protect the heart. Since 1999, Campbell and her colleagues note, the FDA has allowed soy product labeling to claim that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol, along with 25 grams of soy protein daily, 'may reduce the risk of heart disease'. Other recent studies have called this benefit into question, the researchers add, and the AHA in 2000 changed its position to say that the benefit of soy protein or isoflavones is 'minimal at best'. -- REUTERS

Donor Care Registry set up

A DONOR Care Registry has been set up to monitor the health of living donors, as part of move to strengthen donor welfare and long-term medical follow-up.

It is part of the Ministry of Health's efforts to promote organ donations by living donors to significantly reduce the waiting list for an organ.

This follows the amendments to the Human and Organ Transplant Act (Hota) last November to increase the upper age limit for deceased donation, which has been 'well received by the public,' said the Health Ministry's director of medical services Professor K Satku at the National Kidney Foundation's 41st anniversary celebration on Monday.

Since last November, only 2,500, or 0.5 per cent of those aged 60 years and older have chosen to opt out of Hota. In the last five months, eight patients have already benefitted from donations from older deceased donors.

'In the years ahead, we will continue to promote the deceased donation programme' and encourage more living donations to 'strive towards self-sufficiency in transplantation,' said Prof. Satku.

 

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Health drive in 1,000 cities

 

GENEVA - THE World Health Organisation will launch a major campaign on Wednesday to counter a triple threat to health in fast growing cities, home to more than half the world's population.

The global campaign starting on World Health Day aims to rally 1,000 cities to 'open up public spaces to health,' by closing off portions of streets to traffic, to encourage exercise in parks and clean up campaigns.

One of the WHO officials behind the drive, Lori Sloate, said it was important to forge a global movement for action in cities, 'while there's still time because we've just passed the tipping point.'

The world's urban population passed 3.0 billion in 2007, exceeding the rural population for the first time, according to the United Nations. By 2030, 60 per cent of the world's growing population is expected to live in cities.

Cities are home to a 'triple threat' to health, Ms Sloate told AFP. 'Infectious diseases is one, particularly in places where there's lack of water and sanitation,' she explained, adding that stressful urban lifestyles fuelled by fast food, smoking and alcohol also fostered chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular problems in congested cities. The challenges are also amplified by urban poverty, with an estimated 830 million people who currently live in slums, according to the UN's Habitat agency.

The biggest megacities include Tokyo, with a population of more than 35 million, and Mumbai, New Delhi, Mexico City and Sao Paulo with more than 20 million inhabitants each. The WHO campaign is backed by a website http: 1000cities.who.int with social networking links to encourage community action. -- AFP

'Red Shirt' blood had HIV

THE Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Friday confirmed that some blood samples from the 'Red Shirt' activists were contaminated with the HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses.

'About 2 per cent tested positive for HIV. Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C each were found in five per cent ,' Deputy Bangkok Governor Dr Malinee Sukvejvorakij said.

She was speaking after Dr Weng Tojirakarn, a leader of 'Red Shirt' Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship (DAAD), called on the BMA to comment on the matter.

On Thursday, Dr Kusol Prawichpaiboon publicly expressed concern about the possible outbreak of diseases caused by the DAAD blood-splashing activities. He revealed that the blood thrown in front of Government House, the Democrat Party headquarters, and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's house carried diseases.

'Indeed, some blood samples have tested positive for diseases,' Dr Malinee said on Friday. She said the BMA collected blood samples before starting the cleaning operation out of concern for the health of the red shirt demonstrators. Despite warnings from various health authorities, thousands of 'Red Shirts' provided blood for the blood-splashing activities last month.

Dr Malinee did not say where the blood test was conducted but the BMA has its own medical college and a hospital. As for Dr Kusul, he said his information was based on blood tests carried out at the Ramathibodi Hospital, which now admitted that it might have unknowingly conducted the test on the red shirts' blood. -- THE NATION/ANN

Cheaper shots at the doc's

 

SINGAPORE - If you have not gotten your H1N1 vaccination, you can do so soon at possibly a lower price. Or, you can get it as part of a new all-in-one shot to protect against three strains of flu.

In his blog post yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said the Health Ministry has reduced its H1N1 vaccine transfer price to $8 per dose for new orders.

"This will enable the GPs (general practitioners) to lower their H1N1 vaccination price to below that for the seasonal flu vaccination," said Mr Khaw.

It was reported previously that the ministry had initially acquired the vaccine from manufacturers at $16 per dose, excluding GST, and sold them - without profit - to doctors at $17 nett. The H1N1 vaccine is currently priced at $29 in polyclinics, while the seasonal flu jab costs between $20 and $40.

But this week, vaccine manufacturers announced the sale of a new batch of flu vaccine for the 2010 southern winter, at a price below that for the pandemic H1N1 flu.

Moreover, the new vaccine will be for three strains: Pandemic H1N1 virus, an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus and a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus. It is based on the recommendation of World Health Organization experts.

"Persons in high-risk groups should consider the new batch of seasonal flu vaccine for added protection against seasonal strains," said Mr Khaw.

He added, however, that the pandemic H1N1 vaccine is "still useful" since H1N1 "is still the predominant circulating strain in most areas".

Dr Melvyn Tan, a family physician at AMK Family Clinic, said that while he is unlikely to buy more H1N1 vaccine at the lowered price since he still has stock, he will probably lower his vaccine prices "to be more competitive". The H1N1 jab for now costs $28 at his clinic.

Raffles Medical granted in-principle approval for scrip dividend scheme

SINGAPORE: Raffles Medical Group has been granted in-principle approval for a proposed scrip dividend scheme.

The scheme will be subject to the approval of shareholders in a general meeting yet to be convened.

Raffles Medical said the scheme will provide the opportunity for shareholders to receive dividends in the form of shares instead of cash.

This will enable shareholders to participate in the equity capital of the company without incurring brokerage fees or stamp duty.

Raffles Medical said the company will also benefit as it will be able to retain cash that would otherwise have been spent in dividends.

It will use this cash to fund future growth. - CNA/vm

Financial crisis has set up investment opportunities in Asia: Henderson Funds

 

SINGAPORE: Henderson Global Investors said the global financial crisis may have been the best thing that has happened to Asia.

It believes the crisis has helped the region move away from being too export-dependent and develop its own economic drivers.

Henderson said it has already created investment opportunities in various sectors including property and financials especially in China.

Many Asian economies benefitted from an export boom in the few years before the global economic crisis in 2008.

But the crisis caused a sharp drop in exports as consumption in the West dropped and showed no signs of returning to the strong levels previously.

Henderson said there is a silver lining from the crisis for Asia because policy makers were forced to pump-prime their economies by spending on infrastructure and focus on potential growth areas.

Michael Kerley, director of Pan Asian Equities, Henderson Global Investors, said: “It's made Asian governments focus on other areas other than exports. Growth in Asia over the last 10 years has been export-led.

“Going forward we won't be able to rely on those exports as a region because US consumption and European consumption are unlikely to be as strong as we've seen. So the Asian governments need to focus on other areas.

“So focusing on investment and domestic consumption, I think ultimately gives us the goal of being more evenly balanced in terms of growth profile, more structural and less reliant on the global cycle and I think that should be welcomed."

In terms of Asian equities, Henderson is especially optimistic on sectors like property, financials, industrials, and telecoms.

And it has recently been positioning its funds towards these segments especially in Chinese properties and banks which it believes have been oversold.
Property and financials now make up about 38 per cent of its Asian Dividend Income Fund.

Mr Kerley said: “The real value opportunity at the moment is China. It's underperformed for eight to nine months. The market is roughly trading at 20 to 25 per cent discount and I think to its average and to the region as a whole.

“We've been adding Chinese properties. The banks and property have been quite weak. Considering that the markets have oversold these on worries of interest rates changes and policy initiatives, this is where the opportunities lie.”

Henderson also believes that Asian banking stocks are attractive because of their dividend outlook.

For example, it said that total dividends paid by banks in Asia last year were higher at around US$20 billion than banks in the US, Europe or UK.

And the dividend yield growth for Asia Pacific region ex-Japan for the past 10 years has been around seven per cent compared to the less than three per cent growth seen in the US, EU and UK. - CNA/vm

Aussie liver patient dies

AN AUSTRALIAN liver transplant recipient, who sparked a storm of debate over her organ donation in her country, died at the Mount Elizabeth Hospital at noon on Thursday, after doctors battled for eight hours on Wednesday to remove blood clots that had formed around her heart.

Doctors said they had done all they could to save Ms Claire Murray, 25, from West Australia.

Her supporter and Perth doctor, George O'Neil, earlier told The West Australian news site that Ms Murray had been taken off life support on Thursday morning. 'This morning it looked as though they were taking her off the ventilator and she was in renal failure by 9am,' Dr O'Neill told the news portal. He said he expected doctors to 'declare she will be dead before lunchtime'.

According to a source close to the Murray family, the mother of two had too many blood clots. The operation had been expected to take four hours, but complications extended it to eight, The West Australian reported.

Ms Murray's organ donation sparked a storm of debate in Australia. Dr O'Neill commended her public fight. He said: 'I think a lot of people in the community have been interested but not really understood it could mean the death of a young, 25-year-old woman.' 'I have talked to (Ms Murray's family) and they are definitely in grieving mode.'

Her father, Michael, flew to Singapore to be with her on Wednesday. Her parents, brother, uncle and step-father are with her, although her two children remained in Perth.

Ms Murray, a recovering heroin addict, was refused a donor transplant by doctors in Perth because she relapsed soon after her first transplant in 2009. Ms Murray's aunt had donated part of her liver.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

More write wills younger

IT USED to be that only the sick and the old wrote wills.

But now, the practice of crafting a formal document specifying the individuals who will receive one's property upon his death is catching on among the younger set, even those yet to hit their 30th birthday. This stems from people in their 20s and 30s pursuing active lifestyles and often travelling to places where epidemics and terrorism are real threats.

They are also getting richer younger, often through investments, and thus want to be sure their assets go to those they love or who need looking after.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Chemicals exposure-cancer link

PARIS - WORKPLACE exposure to synthetic fibres and certain oil byproducts before her mid-30s triples a woman's risk of breast cancer after menopause, a study among Canadian patients said on Thursday.

France Labreche of the National Institute of Public Health in Montreal led an investigation into the health records of 1,169 women aged 50 to 75. Just under half had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 and 1997, after having undergone menopause. The other 613 women were diagnosed during the same period with other forms of cancer and acted as a comparison.

A squad of chemists and industrial hygienists probed the extent to which all the women had been exposed to about 300 different substances throughout their working life. After filtering out other known causes of breast cancer, they found a strong link between higher rates of risk and exposure to several common synthetic materials, found in textile factories and other industrial settings.

Compared to the non-breast cancer group, the risk peaked before the age of 36, when still-active cells in breast tissue are thought to be more sensitive to harmful chemicals. Women occupationally exposed to acrylic fibres ran a seven-fold risk of breast cancer, while exposure to nylon fibres nearly doubled the risk.

Among breast cancer patients, those whose tumours responded well to oestrogen treatment, but not progesterone treatment, were more than twice as likely to have breast cancer for every decade they were exposed to so-called monaromatic hydrocarbons - a byproduct of crude oil - and to acrylic or rayon fibres. Oestrogen and progesterone are both naturally-occurring hormones used in breast cancer treatment. Exposure before the age of 36 to another class of hydrocarbons found in petroleum products tripled the risk for women whose tumours responded to both types of hormone treatment.

The authors concede that the results are not conclusive, but point out that they are consistent with the theory that breast tissue is more susceptible to chemical toxins in women under 40. They also note the rising rate of breast cancer in rich countries, which could also be due to earlier and better diagnosis and increased rates of alcohol consumption. -- AFP

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More unsafe food

BLAME it on a growing demand for new, exotic foods and free trade agreements opening up a way for them to come in. More importers here are getting caught for bringing in unsafe food products.

These processed foods range from tea leaves with colouring to flour that has been excessively bleached, to cordials with too much preservatives. The more extreme examples include melamine-tainted milk and salmonella-laced peanut butter.

The number of cases of food-safety breaches shot up by a quarter, from 176 in 2007 to 219 last year.

Importers are allowed to bring in only licensed products which comply with the Singapore Food Regulations Act. When the stocks arrive, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) tests random samples for contaminants.

There are several ways unsafe food items slip through the cracks:

Importers are let down by unreliable overseas suppliers;

Importers are unclear about the regulations imposed on certain foods; and

They are slipshod with their own checks.

Importer Auric Pacific Marketing, which brings in wine and condiments, gets about one product rejected by AVA each year.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Minogue leads battle

 

AUSTRALIAN star Kylie Minogue is fronting a breast cancer charity campaign for the first time following her own successful battle with the disease.

Together with actress Sienna Miller and model Claudia Schiffer, Minogue posed for pictures wrapped in a silk sheet emblazoned with the distinctive target logo of Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC).

The photos were taken by photographer Mario Testino. The images will be used in a media campaign which will run in the United Kingdom until mid-May.

FTBC is a fund-raising campaign from UK charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer. It has raised more than £10.5 million ($22 million) for Breakthrough Breast Cancer since its UK launch in 1996.

This year, they're working with retailers including M&S, Warehouse, Topshop, Coast, Laura Ashley, my-wardrobe.com, Superdry and Melissa Odabash, which have each chosen items to be sold for the cause. No less than 30 per cent of the price of each item will go directly to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Minogue, Schiffer and Miller are urging women everywhere to "wear your support" for FTBC and the women diagnosed with the disease by buying items from this year's range.

Minogue, now 41, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 during her Showgirl world tour. She was later given the all clear following chemotherapy and radiotherapy and was able to resume the tour in November 2006. THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

http://www.fashiontargetsbreastcancer.org.uk

Health care funding's balancing act

SINGAPORE - Asian governments need to find the right balance of public and private sector funding for health care financing to avoid the mistakes of the American and European systems.

So said several experts at the presentation of an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) report yesterday that found Asia's health care systems not keeping pace with the region's rapidly expanding economy.

The challenges are many: Heart disease is a major cause of death in the 11 countries the report covered, and the threat of infectious diseases remain. The report also found that a large percentage of health care is funded by private payments, leading to great disparity in access to treatment in countries such as India and Vietnam.

Health care systems will also need to change quickly to deal with rapidly ageing populations, said Mr Charles Goddard, EIU's Asia-Pacific editorial director.

And while some countries want to follow Singapore's health care funding model, the question is how transferable the model to bigger countries with a varied geographical landscape is, said Associate Professor Phua Kai-Hong.

The health policy and management don from the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said there is no single model for the public-private split of health care funding and provision. Depending solely on insurance will not work. Insurance should cover only catastrophic illnesses, and personal savings should be encouraged.

"Unfortunately many governments look upon insurance to solve all their problems. So, they cover everything under the sun and there's not enough," he said.

Asian countries should also do more in disease prevention in order to "bend the cost curve" and deliver sustainability - an area the United States and Europe have "failed miserably" in, said Mr Arthur Higgins, chairman of pharmaceutical company Bayer Healthcare's executive committee.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan will give the opening keynote address at the EIU's Healthcare in Asia conference today.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Simple slip-ups

SINGAPORE - It can be as simple as switching on windscreen wipers when the drizzle starts. But some drivers forget to do that even when it rains, according to the Automobile Association (AA) of Singapore.

And when it pours, as it does between October and January, traffic accidents can rise by up to 50 per cent, said a lawyer who specialises in accident cases. However, Mr Sarindar Singh, 63, who has more than 30 years' experience, stressed that weather was only one reason for the spike.

February was the driest month in Singapore's history but the rains are back and now crashes hold up traffic on a wet day. Last week, three accidents took place within a one-km stretch of road near Changi Airport.

Mr Singh handles more cases involving traffic accidents during the rainy season. "Here, drivers ... tailgate you. If you put your foot down on the brake, there's bound to be an accident," he said.

Other causes of accidents include speeding, impatience and insufficient attention to road conditions.

An AA spokesperson said headlights should not be high beam when it rains. It may "cause unwanted glare and make it harder for you to see clearly", she said.

With the gradual onset of inter-monsoon conditions in the next fortnight, afternoon showers with thunder are expected on some days, according to a National Environment Agency spokesman.

The Traffic Police advise motorists to move to a safe spot and stop at the side of the road with their hazard lights turned on if they cannot see clearly.

A distributor of sports cars, Mr Stephen Sng, CEO of Automobil Manufactur, said drivers of such cars get into accidents on wet roads because they are inexperienced. He imports cars like the $2 million Pagani Zonda from Italy, which has a maximum speed of 345kmh, and the $348,000 Mitsuoka from Japan, which can hit 280kmh.

When the road is wet, a thin film of water causes a car to lose some contact with the road, which can cause it to aquaplane and skid out of control. "There's no grip. The car is still moving straight but it is floating. So drivers should just slow down even though they're driving sports cars," he added.

Even going over puddles of water can affect a car's brakes when water enters the brake drum behind the rear wheel, said a driving instructor with 25 years' experience. Drivers could brake intermittently to remove water to ensure the brakes continue to work properly, said Mr Jonah Phua, 56.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Man bashed for saying 'cool'

 

~When Cool is NOT Cool…..

A MISUNDERSTANDING over the word 'cool' has left a 36-year-old fighting for his life in the intensive care unit of Changi General Hospital.

His injuries are so bad, that he has been unconscious since he was beaten up on Sunday morning. Doctors have removed his damaged gall bladder and also operated on his pancreas which was ruptured.

Safety officer Mr Nico Ramon arrived at a party, organised by his older uncle at a chalet in Changi, just after midnight on Sunday. As he did not know anyone there aside from his uncle, aunt and two cousins, he was taken on a round of introductions to the group of about 10 youths known to his uncle.

It was during one introduction that he replied: 'That's cool, man. It's nice to meet you.' But someone else at the party misheard the word 'cool' as an expletive and a confrontation took place, said Mr Ramon's younger brother Mr Joshua Kannan, 34, yesterday.

Shortly after the incident, Mr Ramon called Mr Kannan, who was at his brother's Henderson Road flat, telling him that there had been a misunderstanding but the issue had been 'resolved'.

But Mr Kannan, who called to check on him, heard a commotion in the background before his brother let out a shriek and the line went dead.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Dad seeks $2m for son

AFTER a traffic accident here left his son wheelchair-bound, Japanese executive Hiroyasu Kuroki took him home and spent some $479,000 rebuilding their house to accommodate the teen's disability.

The two-storey house in Kanagawa prefecture, about two hours from Tokyo by train, was torn down and rebuilt to give Mr Kuroki's disabled son mobility at home.

Measures included installing a lift to replace the staircase, and bigger toilets and shower facilities because he needed more space to move around.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

The choice is yours

SINGAPORE - Should the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) be stopped so that members will not risk losing their retirement nest egg? Yes, said a resident who claimed that he had lost some $350,000 in his CPF account after investing in shares.

The Lengkong Tiga resident, who identified himself as Mr Goh, said during the ministerial dialogue yesterday that he only got back $35,000 eventually but did not say if these were the gains from the investments or the amount he could withdraw from his Ordinary Account (OA) on top of the Minimum Sum.

He also did not say how he lost the sum and whether the investments spanned a few years. MediaCorp understands that members can only invest up to 35 per cent of the money in their OA in shares.

Mr Goh said he had suggested to the CPF Board to stop allowing members to invest in shares, but staff had replied that it was his personal choice to make the investments.

Second Minister for Finance Lim Hwee Hua said she agreed with the CPF Board's stance, adding that there had been "a lot of demand" for the Government to allow members to invest their CPF money before the CPFIS was introduced.

"I'll convey your feedback to the CPF Board but I'm not quite sure the rest will agree that we should stop the scheme," she said. Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong said that by the same logic of stopping the CPFIS, then "we should not have a casino".

"You are right, when the temptation is there, people think they can make money out of it," he said, adding that he has never sunk his own CPF monies in equities because of the higher-than-bank interest the CPF scheme pays minus the risks.

Still, there had been pressure from those who wanted higher returns on their savings, so "we did open up CPF to investments because it's your money, you decide what to do. Unfortunately, most people lost money because they are not savvy investors."

Banning the scheme, however was not the solution. "You got to exercise your own choice," he said. The latest performance numbers of funds under the CPFIS released earlier this month pointed to a solid year.

According to Lipper, the funds tracking company under the CPF Board's guidelines, the average return of CPFIS-included funds, unit trusts and investment-linked insurance products rose 38.62 per cent last year compared with the same period a year ago.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

 

~ This is quite a strange request, since we’re allowed the choice not to invest the CPF monies, if we decide to invest, of course we have to be prepared to bare the risks!

Parkway Novena taps foreign hospital staff

Hoping to tap a foreign pool of nurses and allied health professionals to staff its upcoming hospital and specialist centre in Novena is Parkway Holdings.

This, the health care provider can do through its new shareholder, Indian hospital chain Fortis Healthcare, said Parkway chief executive-designate Dr Tan See Leng.

"We hope to have access to their resources in terms of allied healthcare as well as nursing to support the opening (of the Novena hospital)," he said on Friday at a press briefing to announce that all 100 medical suites released in Parkway Novena hospital had been booked.

"What we can look at is a better understanding of (Fortis') training colleges, in terms of how they can supplement ours, how they can truncate and shorten the learning curve for us."

When operational in the second quarter of 2012, Parkway Novena expects to have 700 to 800 staff including 150 doctors. When fully operational, staff strength could go up to 1,300. The complex will house a 333-bed hospital and 259 medical suites catering primarily to specialists in neurology, heart and vascular medicine, orthopaedics and general surgery. It will be the first hospital with fully single-bed patient rooms.

Many of the specialists who have booked the 100 units in Parkway Novena's Phase One launch - with estimated sales exceeding $200 million - are now leasing spaces out of Lucky Plaza, Camden Medical Centre and Paragon, Dr Tan said.

The bulk of the remaining medical suites will be launched in a few days.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

A hospital where your heart rate will not go up

SINGAPORE - As he guided Yishun residents around the outpatient clinics of the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH), chief executive Liak Teng Lit spelled out his guarantee to them.

"When you come to this hospital, your blood pressure and heart rate won't go up," he said.

The pieces are falling into place for KTPH, which opens its 11 Outpatient Specialist Clinics today. At its Open House yesterday, some of the details that go into providing seamless patient care were revealed.

For instance, the Diabetes and Geriatric Medicine clinics are next to the Ophthalmology clinic, as many elderly and diabetic patients also have eye problems.

Various healthcare professionals like podiatrists, dieticians and endocrinologists are housed in the Diabetes clinic to attend to the multiple conditions that come with the disease.

To create a soothing ambience, fruit trees and plants - including durian - are being grown in different parts of the hospital.

"The facilities are good. I learnt about the services available," said Yishun Street 72 resident Mdm Wee Lye Hua, 58, who had an ear screening done for $2 during her tour.

About 200 patients are expected at the outpatient clinics today - well within the average of 1,000 patients seen at Alexandra Hospital currently, said Mr Liak.

The 550-bed KTPH will open its inpatient wards and the emergency department from July.

The past fortnight, staff have been stress-testing the new system by simulating heart attacks and flushing all toilets at the same time, for instance.

The hospital has also hired 200 staff over and above its headcount of 2,300. This over-recruitment is because some existing staff may find the commute to Yishun "too much of a problem", said Mr Liak.

There has also been interest from doctors and nurses from other hospitals who live near Yishun.

KTPH is also energy efficient and is expected to consume 27 per cent less energy than other hospitals of comparable size - thanks to fewer air-conditioned areas, and solar panels the size of an Olympic-sized pool that will provide 3 per cent of its energy needs.

But patients in the non-airconditioned B2 and C Class wards will still enjoy good airflow, said Mr Liak.

The building's design was put through a wind tunnel to "make sure there's always a constant breeze", and the rooftop garden will reduce heatload.

Speaking to reporters after his tour, Nee Soon Central Member of Parliament Ong Ah Heng said that about 20 households had moved out due to the construction noise. "They were not resentful, but they just could not get used to the noise. Some of them had young children and babies," he said.

Residents' feedback has been good.

"They don't feel like they're coming to a hospital. They feel very comfortable," said Mr Ong.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Resistance develops fast for H1N1

WASHINGTON - THE H1N1 swine flu virus can develop resistance quickly to antivirals used to treat it, US doctors reported on Friday.

Government researchers reported on the cases of two people with compromised immune systems who developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy.

Bacteria quickly develop resistance to antibiotics, which must be used carefully. Viruses can do the same and doctors worried about resistance had recommended against using antivirals for flu except in patients who really needed them.

'While the emergence of drug-resistant influenza virus is not in itself surprising, these cases demonstrate that resistant strains can emerge after only a brief period of drug therapy,' said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

'We have a limited number of drugs available for treating influenza and these findings provide additional urgency to efforts to develop antivirals that attack influenza virus in novel ways,' he said in a statement.

Swine flu emerged a year ago in the United States and Mexico and spread around the world in just six weeks, killing thousands of people. It hit children and young adults especially hard. Older antiviral drugs did not work against it - they do not work against seasonal flu, either - but Roche AG's Tamiflu, known generically as oseltamivir, did. It was not widely used, however. -- REUTERS

Breast cancer overtreated?

BARCELONA - ARE doctors overtreating breast cancer? At a breast cancer conference on Friday in Barcelona, experts discussed how to implement mammogram screening programmes across Europe, balancing fighting cancer with the goal of targeting only those women who need to be screened.

For years, officials have promoted breast cancer screening as the best way to spot the disease and save lives. Yet mammograms are far from perfect and come with an unwelcome side effect: false alarms and unneeded biopsies, without substantially improving women's odds of survival.

The mammogram issue ignited a fierce debate in the United States last year when an influential government panel recommended scaling back screening programs to begin at age 50 instead of 40 - guidelines close to many in Europe.

In most women, tumors are slow-growing, and that likelihood increases with age. So there is little risk by extending the time between mammograms, some researchers say. Even for the minority of women with aggressive, tumors, annual screening seems to make little difference in survival odds.

US researchers last year estimated five lives saved per thousand women screened.

'The over-diagnosis problem has been downplayed because people really want to believe screening works,' said Karsten Jorgensen of the Nordic Cochrane Centre in Copenhagen, who has published several papers on the issue. 'There is a lot of overtreatment happening, and it is time to re-evaluate whether the benefits really outweigh the harms.' Yet others say doctors must work with the tests they have. -- AP

11 clinics to open at Yishun hospital

 

THE 11 specialist outpatient clinics at the new Khoo Teck Puat Hospital (KTPH) in Yishun open on Monday, even as work on the rest of the hospital continues.

The clinics, which range from cardiology and orthopaedic surgery to dentistry, will be manned by 40 doctors, 40 nurses and 20 dental assistants between 8am and 5.30pm.

Supporting services such as laboratories, pharmacy and day surgery suites will also open then.

Already, more than 200 patients have appointments that day, either Yishun residents referred there by their doctors or patients of the first lot of doctors who have moved over from Alexandra Hospital (AH).

With these patients going there, some load will probably be taken off the specialist clinics at other public hospitals, so overall waiting times may well go down.

KTPH, the first public hospital to open here in more than a decade, expects to be fully operational by September.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Dengue alert

SINGAPORE is on alert for a possible spike in cases of dengue fever, especially for people coming down with a less common type of the virus.

The current warm spell, brought on by the El Nino weather phenomenon, is partly to blame, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said yesterday.

Though mosquitoes need stagnant water to breed, it is dry weather that not only accelerates breeding, but also makes the insects infective faster.

While there is no reason for alarm, the authority is on alert because there is evidence that Dengue Type 1, 3 and 4 may be becoming more rampant, said the head of operations at NEA's environmental health department, Mr Tai Ji Choong.

Random blood samples taken from those who caught the disease this year showed that cases of the less common viruses have surfaced in parts of Woodlands, as well as in Serangoon Road and Serangoon North.

In the last few years, Type 2 has been the more common dengue strain in Singapore, said Mr Tai.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Hopper's cancer is terminal

LOS ANGELES - FAMED US actor Dennis Hopper, who starred in such cinematic classics as Easy Rider and Apocalypse Now, is dying of cancer, his lawyer said in court documents out on Thursday.

Attorney Joseph Mannis said that Hopper was too weak to be questioned by his wife's attorney in a bitter ongoing divorce settlement, according to court documents filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday and obtained by KTLA television on Thursday.

However Hopper, 73, will still attend a ceremony in his honour for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The court filing said his physician David Agus found that Hopper weighs less than 100 pounds (45 kg) as he battles prostate cancer.

The star of 1969's iconic 'Easy Rider' had been undergoing treatment at the University of Southern California, and cancelled public appearances late last year when his condition was announced.

Hopper has appeared in several classic films during a career spanning more than half a century. A notable early role came in the James Dean hit Rebel Without a Cause in 1955, later appearing in the 1979's Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now and director David Lynch's cult mystery movie Blue Velvet (1986). -- AFP

Lesser deaths at busy hospitals

BOSTON - WANT to survive a heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia? Go to a busy hospital.

Researchers reported on Wednesday that patients suffering from the three common health problems were less likely to die when treated in hospitals that frequently handle those illnesses.

Pneumonia patients treated at larger-volume hospitals were 5 per cent less likely to die in the first month than patients treated at hospitals that handled few cases. The death rate for heart failure was 9 per cent lower for busy hospitals and 11 per cent lower for heart attacks.

Dr. Joseph Ross of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and colleagues studied Medicare claim data from 2004 through 2006 for their study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. They found that once a hospital annually treated 610 patients for a heart attack, 500 for heart failure or 210 for pneumonia, patients had the lowest risk of dying, at least during the first 30 days.

Teaching hospitals generally needed fewer patients to attain a lower risk of death, they discovered. 'There are small-volume hospitals that are doing well, and large volume hospitals that aren't,' Dr. Ross said in a telephone interview. But in general, hospitals that treat the fewest patients were the riskiest.

'Clearly our small-volume hospitals need to be lifted up a bit,' Dr. Ross said. One solution may be to help them do things the way larger-volume facilities do, so their success rates will improve. Previous studies have shown that patients who receive surgery or other procedures do better if they are treated by doctors with the most experience. -- REUTERS

Teen missing, feared drowned

A TEENAGER is missing and feared drowned after he slipped and fell into a canal at Potong Pasir Avenue 3 yesterday.

Mr Al-Hasif Hamid, 19, is believed to have been attempting to retrieve a soccer ball that had fallen into the canal.

But he lost his footing on the ground, made slippery from a rain storm, and fell into the water.

The police received a call at 5pm yesterday that a person had fallen into a canal.

Friends of the teenager told The Straits Times that he had been playing street soccer at a nearby street soccer court before the accident.

Muhammad Ammeraz, 16, who played street soccer with Mr Al-Hasif regularly, told The Straits Times that his friend did not know how to swim.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Injured cyclist dies

ONE of two cyclists knocked down in Clementi on Sunday night by a suspected drink-driver died in hospital yesterday from head injuries.

Freelance writer Benjamin Mok Chee Kong, 35, never regained consciousness after the accident.

The 62-year-old suspect, a general practitioner, could be facing more trouble as he is under investigation for a hit-and-run offence.

The Straits Times understands that he had left the scene after the accident, and returned later. He was arrested and is currently out on bail.

Mr Mok and his friend, Mr Bertram Leong Poh Meng, 22, a chef, had been out on a routine cycling trip on Sunday night.

The two of them were initially in a group of six, but were with just one other friend when cycling along Clementi Road. They were headed towards Upper Bukit Timah Road for supper when the accident happened.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]

Family first, then insurance

Most Singaporeans will first consider another adult member of the household to help with expenses if the breadwinner should die or become unable to work. Insurance would then be the second preferred option, while getting support from other relatives is a distant third, according to a NUS Business School survey.

In times of need, less than one in 10 Singaporeans will consider sending at least one of their school-going children out to work. These figures are considerably lower than those for other places such as Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Half of the Singaporeans surveyed would also adopt to continue the family line, depending on circumstances.

Eight thousand adults in eight Asian countries were polled.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Battle of bulge just got tougher

CHICAGO - WOMEN need to get at least an hour a day of moderate exercise if they hope to ward off the creep of extra pounds that comes with aging, US researchers said on Tuesday.

The weekly total of 420 minutes is nearly triple the 150 minutes of moderate daily exercise currently recommended by US health officials and illustrates the challenge American women face in maintaining a healthy weight.

Winning that war will require individuals to make changes in their daily routines - like walking or biking to work - but it may also take a shift in policy to make it easier for people in fit exercise into their lives, researchers said.

Two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese, increasing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses, and adding about US$150 billion (S$210 billion) a year to US healthcare costs. 'From a public health perspective, it would be better to prevent the weight gain in the first place,' said I-Min Lee of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Dr. Lee said there is ample research on people who are already overweight, but little on how to prevent weight gain as people grow older.

Current US exercise recommendations differ, with 2008 guidelines recommending 150 minutes of moderate exercise - brisk walking, gardening, ballroom dancing - as a way to improve overall health, and a 2002 report by the Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Sciences, recommending an hour a day. If people exercise vigorously, by running or cycling hard, for instance, less time is needed to get the same benefits. -- REUTERS

Food for thought

AT MEALTIMES, you may make a conscious effort to go for waist-friendly and heart-healthy foods. But did you know that your dietary decisions can also influence how your brain works?

Like the body, a nutritious diet can do wonders for the brain by enhancing brain power and improving memory, said Ms Shweta Sharma, a nutritionist in private practice. Ms Sharma spoke on the topic last week at an event organised by the Women's Initiative for Ageing Successfully (Wings).

In particular, breakfast (see box for nutritious breakfast suggestions) is the most important meal of the day, said Ms Sharma. It helps rev up the brain first thing in the morning.

"After a full night of fasting, our brain needs a fresh supply of glucose - the basic brain fuel - to start functioning properly. A healthy breakfast ensures that the brain gets this kick-start every morning, resulting in better concentration and memory during the day," she explained.

The best bet for proper brain function is a well-balanced diet, said Ms Sharma. But there are certain nutrients which can specifically help keep your mental health in tip-top condition.

Brain fuel

Instead of refined carbohydrates such as white rice and bread, opt for complex carbs from whole grains and unrefined cereals, advised Ms Sharma. They ensure a slow and steady release of energy for the brain.

And because much of the brain's cell structure is composed of fats, she added, it is good to include a good dose of it in your diet. But this is not to say you should pack your diet with fried foods that contain bad fats, or trans and saturated fats.

Opt for healthy fat - unsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3 and omega-6, which may be able to reduce incidence of dementia, said Dr Reshma A Merchant, head of General Medicine and geriatrician at National University Hospital. They can be found in fish oils, flaxseed oil, nuts, soy, corn oil and sunflower oil.

And as folate and vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with memory decline, be sure to include these nutrients into your meals, added Dr Reshma. Folate are found in leafy green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, beans, peas and fruits (such as citrus varieties), while vitamin B12 can be found in shellfish, eggs and fish.

Ms Sharma said that foods laden with antioxidants - grape juice, berries, walnuts, strawberries and tea - can help to reduce oxidation and inflammation in brain, thus improving communication between neurons and enhance brain activity.

Use it or lose it

According to Dr Reshma, the brain has the ability to continuously "remodel" itself, even in old age. "The brain is capable of producing new neurons (connections within the brain cells) well into old age, but probably at a slower pace."

However, she added that a brain-healthy diet alone is insufficient.

"There are many other things that will boost the neuronal connection in the brain, such as physical activity, build up of problem-solving skills and education," she said. "Older people who participate in complex mental activities showed diminished cognitive decline and lower risk of Alzheimer's Disease."

Active learning includes reading, writing, attending workshops, taking up classes to learn computing skills or programming, playing mahjong and puzzles.

A wholesome breakfast

An ideal breakfast that can rev up your mental prowess should include light but nutritious foods that are high in protein, fibre, vitamins, minerals and have the right carbohydrates. Nutritionist Shweta Sharma suggests the following:

Wholegrain cereal with low-fat milk or yogurt. Add fresh fruits and nuts to power your brain and body with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Wholegrain toast with low-fat cheese or cheese spread. Add sliced tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce leaves to make your breakfast nutrient dense.

Wholegrain toast with cooked beans. Make the breakfast wholesome with a glass of 100-per-cent fruit juice or fresh fruits.

Wholegrain toast with low fat meats is also a healthy breakfast option. Choose from tuna or salmon with a low-fat spread on the toast.

Choose wholegrain flour when making pancakes for breakfast, and avoid sugar-rich jams or spreads on these pancakes. Add fresh fruit and milk to the meal.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Young and tired

[picture source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shesjack/2700073515/]

Query from Mrs KT Lim

My 12-year-old daughter has a fatigue issue. She feels lethargic all the time and requires more than 10 hours, at times 14 hours, of rest. She is not overweight and does not snore when she sleeps, so I have ruled out poor-quality sleep. When she was less than eight months old, she rolled and fell from the bed. Most girls her age have reached, or are reaching, puberty, but she has yet to experience any changes. I wonder if these factors are causing her to be tired all the time. Or, could she be suffering from some underlying medical problems?

Reply by Dr Chan Poh Chong

Head and Senior Consultant, Division of Ambulatory and Adolescent Paediatrics, University Children's Medical Institute, National University Hospital

The fall she had when she was eight months old is unlikely to have caused her current symptoms. And a proportion of young girls start puberty only when they are 12 to 14 years of age. Obesity and poor-quality sleep caused by an obstructed airway can also contribute to lethargy and tiredness, but in her case, it is less likely.

Other causes of prolonged fatigue and tiredness could be anaemia, either from blood loss or decreased production, or poor dietary intake; infections - some, such as dengue, can cause prolonged lethargy and tiredness; hormonal problems, such as hypothyroidism or diabetes mellitus; chronic illnesses, such as kidney or liver diseases; lack of exercise or excessive physical exertion.

Stresses in balancing school work, CCAs and social/recreational activities could also lead to anxiety, depression, withdrawal from social contact and, consequently, chronic fatigue.

Sometimes, there may be no underlying cause found after extensive investigations, and a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, which could inflict a child for a prolonged period of time, may be offered.

Consult a doctor to ensure that any underlying medical problem is excluded and appropriate lifestyle changes instituted to get the child back to her normal, healthy state. Think a balanced diet with sufficient fruits and vegetables, regular and appropriate exercises, and a conducive school and home environment for mental and social well-being.

The information provided above is for your general knowledge only. You should seek medical advice or treatment for your condition. Email questions to health@newstoday.com.sg.

[SOURCE: http://www.todayonline.com]

Temasek bullish on mining

SINGAPORE sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings wants to increase its exposure to mining in Mongolia and is also looking for opportunities to invest in the mining sector in Africa.

'We made investments in Mongolia and we are fairly bullish about Mongolia,' said Mr Nagi Hamiyeh, managing director of investments at Temasek, on the sidelines of a mining conference in Singapore on Tuesday.

'We believe that Mongolia is starting its journey in the mining space so that would be one of the many countries that we would look at.' Mongolia is treading cautiously as it taps its huge mineral wealth.

Temasek was one of the cornerstone investors for the $439 million Hong Kong IPO of Mongolia-focused miner SouthGobi Energy Resources in January. It also holds a stake worth $150 million in Lung Ming, which owns and operates the Eruu Gol iron ore mine in Mongolia, according to its latest annual report.

But Temasek has not been as aggressive as sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp (CIC), which has invested billions of dollars in resources deals in Indonesia, Singapore and Mongolia.

Temasek CEO Ho Ching said last year that the state investor was interested in resources as an asset class. Energy and resources made up just 5 per cent of Temasek's portfolio, as of March 2009. It managed $122 billion in total as of end-July. -- THOMSON REUTERS

S'pore inflation rises in Feb

SINGAPORE'S inflation rose for a second month in February due to higher food and transport costs.

The consumer price index rose 1 per cent from a year earlier, and was up by 0.6 per cent from January on a seasonally adjusted basis, said the Department of Statistics on Tuesday.

Food prices rose by 0.7 per cent in February due to dearer prepared meals, fresh seafood and chilled pork during the Chinese New Year period, while communication cost rose 2.2 per cent mainly from higher internet subscription fees.

Excluding accommodation costs, the CPI went up by 0.5 per cent last month.

Compared to a year ago, inflation was up by 1 per cent, reflecting higher costs of transport, food and education.

Transport cost surged by 7.6 per cent from a year ago because of higher car and petrol prices, while food prices crept up by 1.2 per cent.

Singapore last month lowered its inflation forecast for this year to 2-3 per cent from the previous 2.5 to 3.5 per cent due to a rebasing of the consumer price index.

[SOURCE: http://www.straitstimes.com]