Have No Worries

The Weird thing about Life insurance

2010-05-10T18:41:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-20T00:09:00.001-07:00

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:

2010-04-15T22:57:00.001-07:00

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:

2010-04-14T21:26:00.001-07:00

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:

2010-04-13T20:56:00.001-07:00

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:

2010-04-12T22:31:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-10T02:25:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-07T20:38:00.001-07:00

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?

2010-04-07T20:36:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-06T08:22:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-05T07:48:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-05T07:47:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-02T20:14:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-01T20:52:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-01T20:47:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-01T20:45:00.001-07:00

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

2010-04-01T20:30:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T21:26:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T21:24:00.001-07:00

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

Creative WWF Ad

2010-03-31T21:09:00.001-07:00

[Click on image to enlarge]

More unsafe food

2010-03-31T07:33:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T07:30:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T07:12:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T07:08:00.001-07:00

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'

2010-03-31T07:03:00.001-07:00

~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

2010-03-31T06:59:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T06:48:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T06:42:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-31T06:38:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-27T06:04:00.001-07:00

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?

2010-03-27T06:01:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-27T05:58:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-27T05:51:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-25T21:57:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-24T21:31:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-24T21:29:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-24T21:07:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-23T22:22:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-23T22:10:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-23T22:05:00.001-07:00

[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

2010-03-23T09:09:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-23T09:06:00.001-07:00

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]

Singer hurt in freak accident

2010-03-23T08:57:00.001-07:00

LOCAL jazz singer Marina Xavier's right leg was crushed by a taxi in a freak accident which occurred last Saturday as she was alighting from the cab, The New Paper reported on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old veteran singer had taken a Comfort taxi to St James Power Station's Bellini Room where she performs every Saturday at 10 pm.

About 10 minutes before Ms Xavier was due to go on stage, the singer found herself lying on the road, with her right leg crushed by one of the taxi's tyres.

She told TNP that after running over her leg, the taxi reversed and ran over the same part of her leg again.

She was rushed to Singapore General Hospital and checks showed two badly fractured bones in her lower right leg.

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

Eyes: Windows to one's health

2010-03-23T08:54:00.001-07:00

SINGAPORE - The eye says a lot about the body. For example, damaged blood vessels in the retina can warn of damage in the brain, heart or kidneys.

In a few months, four polyclinics will use a retina imaging service - taking a picture of patients' eyes - to screen for conditions like diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma and heart diseases.

The three are in Outram, Bukit Merah and Clementi, while the fourth will be made known later.

Cholesterol and diabetes levels have traditionally been key indicators of cardiovascular diseases. But these methods fail to detect half the patients who are at high-risk.

This is set to change, however, with the pilot project which will focus on glaucoma.

Glaucoma is one of the more important diseases to be picked up, as 90 per cent of the people who have it are not aware of it, said Professor Wong Tien Yin, director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute.

The imaging technology has shown that it is able to pick up glaucoma between 80 and 90 per cent of the time, he said. In future, there will also be more "accurate information" so that doctors can decide whether surgery should be done.

The information will also be useful for patients who can decide what they should do.

An initial 3,000 patients will be selected for the retina imaging service when they go for their normal health screening.

Their eye images will be sent to the new Singapore Advanced Imaging Laboratory for Ocular Research (Sailor) for analysis.

The preliminary screening will catch those who are at high-risk, but have not yet been detected, said Prof Wong, who is also Sailor's co-director.

The retinal image at the polyclinics will cost between $6 and $15 compared to "hundreds" at a specialist. The advantage of the service is that it is low cost, uses readily-available technology and can serve as a "first round" of detection for those who might need further tests or specialist care, said Prof Wong.

There are also plans to tie up with healthcare clusters and to take this model abroad although a cost-effective study has to be done before the programme is expanded.

More than 3 per cent of the population aged 40 and above are diagnosed with glaucoma, a group of disorders which have in common an increase in the pressure inside the eye. Too high a pressure damages the optic nerve, and blindness can occur in severe cases.

While no estimates are available for Singapore, Prof Wong said such early detection and prevention is estimated to save some US$600 million ($839 million) for the United States annually.

Sailor, which cost more than $5 million to set up, was launched yesterday at the second Asia-Pacific Ocular Imaging Symposium yesterday.

It is a collaboration between A*Star's Institute for Infocomm Research and the Singapore Eye Research Institute, and is the third centre for eye research in the Fusionopolis-Biopolis science hub.

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

Workplace fatalities rose 4.5% last year

2010-03-23T08:51:00.001-07:00

SINGAPORE - They saw zero fatalities in 2008, but last year, these few sectors accounted for 10 out of the 70 workplace deaths.

There were two deaths in the hotels and restaurants sector: An electrocution incident, and a slip-and-trip case that reflected the sometimes poor housekeeping in the sector which makes for wet kitchen floors.

The other deaths after a fatality-free year were in landscape care and maintenance, administrative and support services, and architectural and engineering activities - which had the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Council issuing a reminder that attention must also be paid to safety in industries not known to be high-risk.

According to the latest WSH report, the number of workplace fatalities last year rose by 4.5 per cent, the first increase since 2005.

Overall, the construction and marine sectors accounted for the bulk (63 per cent) of deaths last year. In construction, this had accompanied a surge in employment due to the building boom.

In all, 664,000 man-days were lost last year due to serious accidents, up from 643,000 the previous year.

Falls from height was the top incident type. Twenty-four people lost their lives last year as a result, up from 19 the year before.

The second most common type of accident was being struck by falling objects, which cost 21 lives. Crane-related mishaps accounted for 10 deaths last year, double that of the year before.

On the brighter side, the number of work injuries declined by 2.1 per cent, while 2009 saw the lowest number of occupational diseases confirmed since 2004. The latter fell by 45 per cent, which the WSH Council and Manpower Ministry attributed to the drop in noise-induced deafness cases.

To address workplace safety lapses, the ministry will step up enforcement on especial areas of concern, such as falls from heights.

The WSH Council said Singapore was on track to reduce the workplace fatality rate to below 1.8 per 100,000 workers by 2018.

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

Less-known germ a bigger threat

2010-03-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

ATLANTA - A NEW study finds that as one superbug seems to be fading as a threat in hospitals, another is on the rise.

A study of 28 hospitals in the Southeast found that a dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection called MRSA is often seen as the biggest germ threat to patients in hospitals and other health care facilities.

But infections from Clostridium difficile - known as C-diff - are surpassing MRSA infections. The rate of hospital-acquired C-diff infections was 25 per cent higher than MRSA infections.

C-diff is resistant to some antibiotics. It's found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis.

Deaths from C-diff traditionally were rare, but a more dangerous form has emerged in the past ten years. -- REUTERS

Yang Lina dies of cancer

2010-03-21T20:15:00.001-07:00

FORMER MediaCorp actress Yang Lina, who played steely women and bad girls in dramas such as Samsui Women, died of uterine cancer last Saturday night, said Shin Min Daily News. She was 47.

She died in the home of her younger sister, actress Yang Libing, the report said. The cause of death was confirmed by her husband. She was diagnosed with cancer about three years ago, but kept it from her friends in showbusiness, said the newspaper.

A former bank employee, she became an actress in 1984 with the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, after she and her sister went to its acting class, said Lianhe Wanbao.

She became well known in dramas such as Samsui Women and Neighbours in 1986.

She married a make-up artist in 1992 and took two breaks from acting, to give birth to two daughters. In 2004, she set up a hair salon with her sister.

In her last role, she played a rich, neglected woman dying of Aids in Perfect Cut 2. She is survived by her husband and two daughters, aged 18 and 13.

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

Local actress Yang Lina, 47, passed away on Saturday night in her sister's home after battling uterine cancer for the past three to four years. The news came as a surprise for many fellow colleagues and friends who have always known her as a \"healthy and robust\" lady.

Yang is survived by her husband, Chau Kim Wa (also known as 'Wa Ge') who is a makeup artist in MediaCorp, and two young daughters aged 18 and 13 years old.

According to news reports, Yang previously underwent a couple of surgeries for her cancer but her condition did not improve. Despite that, she has always maintained an optimistic outlook on life.

A former bank employee, she first joined showbiz when she was 21 years old in 1984 with her actress-sister, Yang Libing, after the pair attended acting classes together. She got married in 1992 and decided to retire from showbiz. Yang made a comeback in 1995 after giving birth to her first daughter and left again when she was pregnant with her second child.

A familiar face to television viewers, she is most remembered for the 1986 period drama series, Samsui Woman, and was last seen in the Ch U production, Perfect Cut 2, where she took on the role of an AIDS patient.

During the filming of Perfect Cut 2, it was reported that Yang requested for the production team to finish five days worth of filming in three as she was worried that she might have to be admitted into the hospital.

[SOURCE: http://sg.news.yahoo.com]

~Sincere Condolences to her Friends and Family.

Pioneering stem cell surgery

2010-03-19T22:34:00.001-07:00

LONDON - BRITISH and Italian doctors have carried out groundbreaking surgery to rebuild the windpipe of a 10-year-old British boy using stem cells developed within his own body, they said.

In an operation on Monday lasting nearly nine hours, doctors at a London hospital implanted the boy with a donor trachea, or windpipe, that had been stripped of its cells and injected with his own.

Over the next month, doctors expect the boy's bone marrow stem cells to begin transforming themselves within his body into tracheal cells - a process that, if successful, could lead to a revolution in regenerative medicine.

The new organ should not be rejected by the boy's immune system, a risk in traditional transplants, because the cells are derived from his own tissue.

'This procedure is different in a number of ways, and we believe it's a real milestone,' said Professor Martin Birchall, head of translational regenerative medicine at University College London.

'It is the first time a child has received stem cell organ treatment, and it's the longest airway that has ever been replaced.' More clinical trials were needed to demonstrate that the process worked, he said, but if it did, it could lead to other organs such as the larynx or oesophagus being transplanted in hospitals around the world. -- AFP

Independent board to look into clinical trials

2010-03-19T22:32:00.001-07:00

SINGAPORE - Injecting stem cells under the skin to make a person look younger, or using platelet-rich plasma to treat acne scars - could such procedures soon become accepted aesthetic treatments?

These experimental therapies are some of the clinical trials a new independent review board is looking into.

Set up by the Society of Aesthetic Medicine (Singapore) (SAM), the Create Independent Review Board is the first independent review board, not based in an institution, in South-east Asia.

It targets the independent private practitioner, who now either goes to a hospital's review board or direct to a relevant authority, such the Ministry of Health or Health Sciences Authority, for regulatory approval to conduct a clinical trial.

In such cases, the HSA could sometimes end up referring the doctor back to a review board, said Dr Tan Kok Leong, SAM's honorary treasurer.

By SAM's estimates, doctors will have to pay around $5,000 to the independent board to cover its cost, compared to the estimated $15,000 price tag at other review panels.

But like the other review boards, if this new group approves a trial, the application will then be submitted to a regulatory body. The board will also review the trial at every stage, and if there is strong evidence the therapy works, it will be published in peer-reviewed journals.

Honorary secretary of SAM David Loh said the board will help "sieve out the less suitable" trials and "at every stage of the clinical trial, there's an independent oversight, there's reassurance, there are multi-layers of safeguards and scrutiny".

"We want to be at the forefront (of the aesthetics field), but also want to be safe," he added.

Formed about a year ago, the board will have its official launch on Sunday. Currently, it has 12 members. At least five of these members will be selected to discuss a clinical trial. Two of the five also have to be non-doctors with at least a tertiary education, for instance a lawyer or accountant.

So far, two clinical trials have been approved by the board, including the world's first trial using platelet-rich plasma to treat wrinkles and acne scars. This was approved by HSA in January. Another three clinical trials are currently being reviewed by the board.

For now, the board will only review applications from SAM members but it hopes to expand the service to all other practitioners in future.

However, it remains to be seen if this will encourage more clinical trials among doctors.

Dr Yeak Hwee Lee from Singapore Aesthetic Centre felt the $5,000 fee may still be too expensive for some doctors, while Dr Benjamin Yim, a general practitioner with an interest in aesthetics, said it was "not practical" for him as a solo practitioner since he does not have the resources to conduct clinical trials.

However, Dr Yim does see the value of such trials in substantiating aesthetic treatments with "soft evidence".

"With the objective of it (the clinical trial) being done in a professional and safe way, I think it's good," he said.

In 2008, guidelines on aesthetic practices came into effect. Seven treatments, including mesotherapy and carboxytherapy, were deemed to have low levels of evidence and were allowed only as clinical trials or a series of before-and-after studies. Doctors intending to perform other aesthetic treatments that have not been classified as well-established and acceptable by MOH will also have to gain regulatory approval.

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

New medical centre at NUH

2010-03-19T08:21:00.001-07:00

COME 2013, patients visiting specialist outpatient clinics at the National University Hospital (NUH) will enjoy greater convenience.

They can access the NUH Medical Centre by stopping at the Kent Ridge MRT station, part of the Circle Line which will be completed by next year.

Currently, patients have to take a shuttle bus from Dover MRT station to the NUH Main Building or the Kent Ridge Wing.

At the groundbreaking ceremony attended by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Friday, Chief Executive Officer of NUH, Mr Joe Sim, told The Straits Times: 'The medical centre will be connected to other buildings within the NUH complex by covered walkways, and patients will be able to find their way around intuitively and easily.'

'Unlike the existing building which is spread horizontally, the centre has been designed such that the majority of patients will not have to make more than three turns to get to their clinics or patient care areas,' he added.

The new NUH Medical Centre is a 20-storey building with a total floor area of 72,000 square metres. It is slated for completion in two phases and will be fully operational by mid- 2013.

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

Drug-resistant TB a threat

2010-03-18T20:21:00.001-07:00

GENEVA - THE World Health Organisation warned on Thursday that lethal multidrug resistant tuberculosis is becoming a serious threat to global health with just a small proportion of cases diagnosed.

In its latest report on the hard-to-treat multidrug resistant forms of TB, the WHO said it had documented the highest proportion of such cases of tuberculosis ever at about five per cent.

It estimated that 440,000 people worldwide had multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in 2008 and that a third of them died, out of 9.4 million new cases of tuberculosis each year.

Almost half the drug resistant cases were estimated to have occurred in China and India. One-quarter of all TB patients in northwestern Russia were found to have the multidrug resistant form, a proportion never seen before, according to the report.

'We confirm in that report that MDR-TB is really a serious threat to global health,' said co-author Matteo Zignol. 'We estimated approximately half a million cases every year. And only a small proportion of them, seven per cent, get a diagnoses and treatment,' he added.

Experience with systematic testing for multidrug resistant strains in two Russia regions, Tomsk and Orel, had however shown that a rapid increase could be reversed, the UN health agency said. But 58 countries have reported the lethal and worst form of the disease - extensively drug resistant XDR-TB. 'XDR-TB is virtually untreatable. In the best hands, the cure rate is above 60 per cent. In the vast majority of cases, there is nothing to offer,' co-author Ernesto Jaramillo told journalists. -- AFP

Hospital with big plans

2010-03-18T20:16:00.001-07:00

EAST Shore Hospital, renamed Parkway East yesterday, is planning to double its capacity by building a new, five-storey annexe that will house more than 100 beds.

The extension will bring the number of beds in the hospital to 220, up from 118 now, and should be ready in a few years' time.

The new beds will be spread equally among maternity, surgical and medical treatment wards.

But even before approval for the extension is given, the hospital is already looking around for space to expand further.

Parkway East's chief executive officer, Dr Michael Tan, has begun a search for space adjoining or near the hospital at Joo Chiat Place for further growth, as he expects the new annexe to hit capacity within four years of its opening.

Parkway East, the oldest of Parkway Holdings' three hospitals here, has long been regarded as the poor cousin to the Gleneagles and Mount Elizabeth hospitals, both of which are located downtown.

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

Tighter rules for boards

2010-03-18T20:04:00.001-07:00

LOCAL banks and insurers may have to appoint more independent and knowledgeable directors to their boards under more stringent regulations.

Directors may also face an annual review of their skills and a time quota to ensure they spend enough time on the job.

A series of proposals put forward by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) yesterday is in line with similar moves by regulators around the globe in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The MAS proposals aim, for instance, to tighten the rules applying to independent directors. These directors are meant to be at arm's length to the company on whose board they serve - and to challenge decisions where appropriate.

Under the proposals, a director will no longer be considered independent if he has served nine years straight on a board.

That means that in order to be deemed 'independent', a director must satisfy four criteria instead of the current three.

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

CPF Changes 2010

2010-03-18T09:12:00.001-07:00

Singapore Budget 2010 - CPF Changes

Quick summary of the CPF changes announced during Budget Debate 2010:

- Members will be automatically included in CPF LIFE if they have $60,000 in their Retirement Account at age 65 from 2023

- The first $40,000 of a member's Special Account savings cannot be invested from 1 July 2010

- From July 2010, members can apply to increase their CPF monthly income under the Minimum Sum Scheme, if their adjusted payouts can last at least 20 years from the Draw Down Age, or at least another 5 years from the time of application, whichever ends later

- Members can transfer their CPF monies upon demise to their nominees' CPF Accounts when the CPF Nomination Scheme is refined in January 2011

- Parents would be able to nominate their disabled children to receive monthly disbursements from the parents’ CPF savings after the parents have passed on, under the new Special Needs Savings Scheme (details will be announced later)

- The Workfare Income Supplement Scheme (WIS) is being enhanced for work done from 1 January 2010. The key enhancements are that the WIS qualifying average monthly income will be increased to $1,700, up from $1,500 previously; and the maximum WIS payment will be increased from $2,400 to $2,800 a year

Insurance relief for motorists

2010-03-17T20:59:00.001-07:00

DRIVERS, expect a reprieve from escalating motor insurance premiums this year.

Motor insurance companies, now in a healthier state following consecutive years of rising premiums, are likely to impose only marginal increases, the General Insurance Association of Singapore (GIA) said yesterday when it released its performance figures for last year.

It said industry losses narrowed sharply to $44.5 million last year from $214 million the year before, partly as a result of steep premium hikes last year.

The hike pushed the amount of premiums collected across the billion-dollar mark for the first time: Insurers collected $1.08 billion from a record 925,518 vehicles on the road.

GIA president Derek Teo said pre-miums had to be raised for the industry to address 'the loss situation' of the last few years. 'We've now reached a stabilised level, but we're not totally out of the woods,' he added.

He said if premiums were to rise, the increase would 'not be as significant as before'.

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

Why Drugs Don't Help Diabetes Patients' Hearts

2010-03-17T20:56:00.001-07:00

Doctors at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta on Sunday got some surprising news on their first day of sessions.

Researchers presented three studies revealing that some of the most widely prescribed medications to reduce the risk of heart disease in Type 2 diabetes patients appeared not to provide much benefit at all.

People with diabetes are twice as likely as nondiabetics to suffer a heart attack — most diabetes patients die of heart disease — and for years, physicians have used aggressive drug treatments to lower that risk. To that end, the goal has commonly been to lower blood sugar or control blood-sugar spikes after eating, lower triglycerides and reduce blood pressure in diabetes patients to levels closer to those of healthy, nondiabetic individuals. By using medication to treat these factors, which are linked to a higher risk of heart attack and stroke in other patients, doctors assumed they would also be reducing the risk in people with diabetes.

Now, in the aftermath of reports concluding that these targets do not cut the risk of heart disease in diabetes patients, and in some cases may even do harm, researchers are struggling to make sense of the seemingly counterintuitive data, and physicians are trying to figure out how to incorporate the findings into their practice.

Already, researchers anticipate that more careful analyses of the trial data over the coming months and years may lead to more nuanced conclusions; it may turn out, for instance, that certain subgroups of patients like younger, newly diagnosed diabetics actually benefit from the medications, even while the larger population of diabetes patients do not.

FULL STORY:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1972325,00.html

More women die from heart disease

2010-03-16T20:27:00.001-07:00

ATLANTA (Georgia) - WOMEN die more often than men from heart disease because they are not systematically given the same treatment and tests, according to a French study unveiled here on Tuesday.

The study, carried out on 3,000 women in the French region of Franche-Comte in 2006 and 2007, found that those hospitalised after suffering a cardiac attack were less frequently given an angiograph to study the heart's vessels.

The technique involves dilating a coronary artery, and often a small stent is then inserted to keep the artery open.

But this is not carried out as frequently on women heart patients, meaning they had twice the risk of dying than their male counterparts in the 30 days after suffering a heart attack.

'This suggests that we could reduce mortality in female patients by using more invasive procedures,' said Dr Francois Schiele, head of cardiology at the University Hospital of Besancon, speaking on the sidelines of an annual conference of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.

'When there are no clear contradictions, women should be treated with all recommended strategies, including invasive strategies. The main question we tried to answer with this study was whether the difference in mortality between women and men after a heart attack is explained by differences in management.' -- AFP

Bad news for skinny smokers

2010-03-16T20:18:00.001-07:00

SKINNY smokers, beware. Thinner smokers have a higher risk of lung cancer than their fatter counterparts, researchers found in a survey here.

And compared with slender non-smokers, slim people who light up are 11 times more likely to contract the disease.

But the study's lead author, National University of Singapore epidemiologist Koh Woon Puay, emphasised that those who smoke are still more likely to contract lung cancer overall than those who do not. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in men here, and the third most common in women.

The research, published in the British Journal of Cancer in January, was part of the Singapore Chinese Health Study, which surveyed 63,257 middle- aged and elderly Chinese Singaporeans from 1993 onwards. It examined the relationship between smokers' body mass index (BMI) - a measure of obesity - and their chances of lung cancer. Normally, a higher BMI is a red flag for many diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and colorectal cancer, Dr Koh explained.

But when it comes to puffing on cigarettes, the reverse is true. Pack-a-day smokers with a BMI of at least 28 were six times as likely to get lung cancer as equally heavy people who had never lit up.

But thinner pack-a-day smokers, who had a BMI of less than 20, were 11 times as likely to get the disease as non-smokers of a similar weight and BMI.

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

Impotence ups death risk

2010-03-15T22:53:00.001-07:00

WASHINGTON - MEN with heart disease who also complain of erectile dysfunction die sooner than other male heart patients, researchers reported on Monday.

They found that men who had both conditions were twice as likely to die from any cause and twice as likely to have a heart attack than men with heart disease alone.

The researchers expressed concern that using drugs such as Pfizer's Viagra or Eli Lilly's Cialis to treat erectile dysfunction could mask the symptoms that point to widespread heart and artery disease and said men complaining of impotence should be checked by a cardiologist.

'Erectile dysfunction is something that regularly should be addressed in the medical history of patients; it might be a symptom of early atherosclerosis,' Dr Michael Bohm of the University of Saarland in Germany, who led the study, said in a statement.

His team studied 1,519 men in 13 countries taking part in some larger studies of various heart disease treatments. As part of the study the men were also asked if they had erectile dysfunction.

More than half of them, 55 per cent, did, Dr Bohm's team said in a report published in the journal Circulation and also presented at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology. During the two years of the study, 11.3 per cent of the patients who reported erectile dysfunction died, compared to 5.6 per cent of those with mild or no impotence problems. -- REUTERS

Arteries improve after smokers quit

2010-03-15T22:50:00.001-07:00

ATLANTA - QUITTING smoking can turn back time. A year after kicking the habit, smokers' arteries showed signs of reversing a problem that can set the stage for heart disease, according to the first big study to test this.

The improvement came even though smokers gained an average of 4kg after they quit, researchers found. Their levels of so-called good cholesterol improved, too.

'A lot of people are afraid to quit smoking because they're afraid to gain weight,' said the study's leader, Dr. James Stein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison cardiologist.

The new research shows these people gain a health benefit even though they pick up pounds that hopefully can be shed once they've gotten used to not smoking, he said.

Smoking is one of the top causes of heart disease, and about one third of smoking-related deaths in the US are due to heart disease. A heart attack often motivates longtime smokers to give it up.

Quitting is known to lower the risk of developing or dying of lung cancer. This is the first major clinical trial to show it quickly improves artery health. Results were published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and presented at the group's annual conference on Monday. -- AP

Drugmakers cut deal for poor

2010-03-11T19:48:00.001-08:00

LONDON - SEVERAL drug firms have agreed a landmark deal to supply up to 200 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations, according to the global immunisation alliance that is overseeing the deal.

Leading manufacturers of such vaccines include GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer. The agreement is the first under a new scheme called an Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which provides a guaranteed market for vaccines supplied to poor nations but sets a maximum price that drugmakers can expect to receive.

It is likely to pave the way for future deals on recently introduced vaccines against rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhoea, and an experimental one against malaria, which combined kill millions in poor countries each year.

The GAVI Alliance (Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation) said details of the pneumococcal deal would be announced in the coming weeks.

'Decisions have been made and we are hoping for an announcement very shortly - in the next couple of weeks,'GAVI's deputy chief executive officer Helen Evans told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. 'It's very exciting news because they are going to make long-term commitments.'

Pneumococcal disease is one of the world's biggest killers of children, claiming up to 1.6 million lives each year. Africa and Asia together account for 95 per cent of all deaths from pneumococcal disease, which causes serious illnesses such as pneumonia and meningitis. -- REUTERS

Singapore buys 1m H5N1 shots

2010-03-11T19:41:00.001-08:00

SINGAPORE has bought a million doses of a vaccine to protect the people here against the H5N1 bird flu.

The vaccine will arrive by the end of the year.

The bug is particularly scary for Singapore, which sits next to Indonesia, the country with the most cases (163) and deaths (135) from the virus. Vietnam, with the next highest number of cases (115) and deaths (58), is also nearby.

Both countries have already had one death each this year.

Unlike the H1N1 pandemic that swept the globe last year, the H5N1 bug could be a bigger killer by far if it mutates.

Of the 486 people reported to have been infected by H5N1 since 2003, 287 have died. This works out to an almost six-in-10 death rate.

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

Bigger CPF payouts

2010-03-11T19:39:00.001-08:00

SINGAPORE - Some have griped about not being able to draw down a bigger income monthly from their nest egg, even after top-ups have been made to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts.

This will change from July, with enhancements to the Minimum Sum Topping-Up Scheme.

CPF members will be able to apply to increase their CPF monthly income - provided their payouts can last at least 20 years from the drawdown age, or at least another five years from the time of application, whichever ends later.

For instance, a 64-year-old man with $95,000 in his Retirement Account, and whose cohort's payouts began at age 62. Were his account to be topped up to $117,000 come July, he could opt to receive $754 a month until the age of 82. Under current rules, he would only be able to draw $537 a month - the maximum payout for his cohort - until the age of 96.

This move is to encourage people to top-up their family members' CPF accounts, said Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong in Parliament yesterday. "Some members have given feedback that our top-up rules do not allow payouts to be raised beyond the maximum cohort payout level, and may result in excessively long payout durations," he said.

The is because the CPF Board's "prudent approach" had been to use top-up monies in excess of the Minimum Sum to extend the payout duration, instead of the amount.

To also ease the process, CPF members can make or receive regular Minimum Sum top-ups via Giro from next month.

In another major move, from 2013, CPF members turning 55 and with at least $40,000 in their Retirement Account will be automatically included in the CPF Life annuity scheme.

Any extra cash flowing into their Retirement Account from age 55 till 65 will be used to top up their CPF Life plans, so that they will receive a higher monthly income from age 65.

As for those who don't have a sufficient balance at age 55, they can still be auto-included in CPF Life if they have $60,000 in their Retirement Account at 65.

Also new: CPF members will be allowed to transfer their nest-egg monies directly to their nominees' CPF accounts when they die, rather than paying their nominees in cash.

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

No investing first $40,000 in Special Account

2010-03-11T19:33:00.001-08:00

CPF members who have more than $30,000 in their Special Account can currently invest the excess monies. But from July, the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) will be tweaked to raise that threshold to $40,000. This change will not affect existing investments until they are liquidated.

Explaining the refinement, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said given the higher interest rate on the Special Account - which is subject to a guaranteed floor rate of 4 per cent until the year's end - and the volatility of CPFIS returns, "we should take a more conservative approach". In all, 2.7 per cent of CPF members will be affected.

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

More to get public assistance

2010-03-10T23:04:00.001-08:00

FROM July, Public Assistance (PA) criteria will be made more flexible, benefiting a larger pool of people.

Needy Singaporeans whose Central Provident Fund (CPF) payouts under the Minimum Sum Scheme or CPF Life fall below the current PA allowance rate of $360 will be one group to benefit.

Currently, due to the fact that they receive CPF payouts, they do not qualify for PA - even if they meet the other criteria, such as not being able to work, having no assets and little or no family support. But from July, they will receive cash top-ups in addition to their CPF payouts, so they will not be worse off than PA recipients.

The number of people on PA was 2,920 as of the end of last year. Of these, 94 per cent were individual recipients.

There are also families on the PA scheme. A family of two adults and two children can get up to $1,210 a month.

The amount of cash top-ups will differ from case to case, depending, in part, on the amount of their CPF payouts.

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

Kidney donors don't die sooner

2010-03-09T19:58:00.001-08:00

CHICAGO - HEALTHY Americans who donated a kidney were not at higher risk of dying afterward, which may reassure potential donors and help shorten the long waiting list for an organ, US researchers said on Tuesday.

The conclusion was drawn from the 80,347 live American organ donors who have donated one of their two kidneys - often to a relative - since April 1, 1994, and who were tracked for as long as 12 years after the surgery.

Their fates were compared to a matched group of 9,000 non-donors participating in a government health study.

'Surgical mortality did not change during the 15-year period (between 1994 and 2009), despite differences in surgical practice and donor selection,' Dr Dorry Segev of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, and colleagues wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

There was a slightly higher mortality risk for kidney donors in the first 90 days after the surgery, during which 25 died. But in subsequent follow-up periods the death rate among donors matched, or was sometimes lower, than non-donors'.

Male donors had statistically higher mortality rates than women within one year of the surgery, as did African-American and Hispanic donors compared to whites. There are some 80,000 Americans waiting for a kidney. Out of 17,000 kidney transplants performed in the United States each year, more than 6,000 come from living donors. -- REUTERS

Eldercare services to grow

2010-03-09T19:56:00.001-08:00

IN THE next decade, the life expectancy for Singaporeans at age 65 could hit 86.

With better nutrition, lifestyle and medical technology, Singaporeans are living longer. In fact, a recent United Nations study projected Singapore's population could be the fourth oldest in the world by 2050.

The challenge of expanding the long-term and geriatric care sectors to meet an ageing patient profile was an issue highlighted by nine MPs in Parliament yesterday.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, responding during the debate on the Health Ministry's budget, made it clear the Government is cognizant of the challenges and has a slew of initiatives in store.

He said three new nursing homes are being planned, and three old ones being rebuilt with larger facilities and better locations in HDB towns.

Nonetheless, Mr Khaw said the fate of seniors being 'permanent residents in nursing homes' must be avoided.

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

$57m more for IMH follow-up care

2010-03-09T19:54:00.001-08:00

THE lack of follow-up care for discharged mental illness sufferers can lead to troubling anti-social behaviour and even suicide.

Several MPs pointed out the danger of this in Parliament yesterday.

They noted that while mental illness can be controlled with medication, some patients stop taking their medicine after they are discharged from the Institute of Mental Health, and become a danger to themselves and others.

In response, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan promised an additional $57 million to go into areas like a long-term monitoring and risk assessment system for discharged patients.

This is on top of the $123 million committed in 2007 to the National Mental Health Blueprint.

Speaking during the debate on the Health Ministry's budget, Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar GRC) told of a resident who was convinced her neighbour upstairs was causing water to flow down and flood her flat.

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

Bed crunch at hospices

2010-03-09T19:52:00.001-08:00

HOSPICES are so short of beds that terminally ill patients sometimes have to be put on a waiting list for a place, with some dying before they can be admitted.

On some days, two of the four hospices here, Dover Park and Assisi, have 10 to 20 patients waiting to get in, they said. The waiting time at Assisi can be up to two weeks.

Together with Bright Vision Hospital and St Joseph's Home and Hospice, which were not able to give figures, they provide some 130 beds for a population whose demand for such care is growing as it ages.

In 2008, 1,188 patients needed hospice beds and another 3,913 sought palliative care at home. The figures for last year are not yet available.

The Health Ministry said it was aware of the growing demand and was 'gearing up' to expand bed capacity, as well as to recruit and train more palliative specialists such as doctors and nurses.

Hospices admit terminally ill patients who cannot be cared for at home, or who need temporary alleviation of distressing symptoms. They offer special care for the dying that cannot be provided by hospitals or nursing homes.

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

Daily tipple keeps fat at bay

2010-03-09T06:32:00.001-08:00

WASHINGTON - WOMEN who drink a couple of glasses of red wine, beer or spirits a day are better at keeping the pounds off than teetotal women, according to a study published on Monday.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston asked more than 19,000, normal-weight US women aged 39 or older how many alcoholic beverages they typically drank in a day, and then tracked the women for around 13 years.

The largest single group - 7,346 women or just over 38 per cent - said they didn't drink a drop, the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a publication of the American Medical Association, shows. The second biggest group - 6,312 women or nearly a third of those surveyed - reported drinking the equivalent of around a third of a five-ounce glass of wine or a third of a 12-ounce beer. They did not explain how they managed to do so.

Twenty per cent of the women said they drank the equivalent of up to a glass of wine, a 12-ounce beer, or a single-shot drink made with 80-proof spirits, while six per cent said they had up to two drinks a day and three per cent had more than two. Over the 13-year follow-up period, the women who did not drink at all gained the most weight, and the women who had the equivalent of two drinks a day were the least likely to pack on pounds.

The best drink for keeping the pounds off was red wine, but all four types of tipple included in the study - red or white wine, beer and spirits - showed the same 'inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese,' the study found.

The authors cautioned, however, against making recommendations on alcohol use as a tool against obesity, given the potential medical and psycho-social problems associated with drinking. – AFP

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

Group to review Healthcare screening

2010-03-09T06:29:00.001-08:00

THE Health Ministry will set up an expert group to review the range of healthcare screening available here, and recommend a framework to determine what is appropriate health screening to ensure that Singaporeans do not get fleeced.

Professor Lee Hin Peng, a senior public health specialist who has a special interest in cancer screening and prevention, will chair this expert group, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

The group will come under the auspices of the Academy of Medicine, said Mr Khaw, responding to calls from several MPs to allow Medisave to be used for health screening, subject to certain limits and guidelines.

Mr Khaw added that the Health Ministry will also study the financial implications of health screening 'so that should we decide to open up Medisave for it, we will know how to prescribe the necessary withdrawal limits.'

'This was the approach we took when we opened up Medisave for outpatient chronic disease management. It is a prudent approach to exploit the benefits of Medisave liberalisation, while minimising the downside risks of over-servicing and over-consumption,' he explained.

A firm believer in prevention, Mr Khaw said regular screening and early detection followed by medical intervention and lifestyle changes can avoid future complications and costly medical treatment down the road.

Acknowledging that there is a case for allowing some Medisave withdrawals for health screening, he, however, posed several questions.

'The question is what kind of health screening? There is a wide range of health screening tests; not all are fully justified or necessary. More screening is not necessarily better,' he said during the debate on the Health Ministry's budget in Parliament on Tuesday.

' Some accrue benefits more to the provider than the consumer. We must be mindful of such pitfalls, as we may be opening a Pandora's Box. A mindless liberalisation of Medisave for health screening may not improve health outcomes, but instead prematurely deplete Medisave balances.'

Citing genetic testing as an example, Mr Khaw noted that there are many other sophisticated screening tests which are being promoted.

'All are expensive. The benefits or cost-effectiveness of such tests are often dubious. I call this unethical screening,' he said. 'Health screening is therefore a complex issue and the risks associated with unethical screening are real. We must not fall into the trap of such commercial practices.'

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

Medisave withdrawals go up

2010-03-09T06:25:00.001-08:00

THE daily Medisave withdrawal limit for community hospital patients will be raised from $150 to $250 from June 1, and the annual cap on withdrawals will also go up from $3,500 to $5,000, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan announced in Parliament on Tuesday.

The higher withdrawal limits will reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of patients, benefiting both the sub-acute patients as well as those with multiple admissions to community hospitals within a year.

Mr Khaw said some 7,000 patients will potentially benefit from the move, and over 75 per cent of them will be able to pay their full bill using Medisave. Together with the enhanced nine-tier subsidies introduced last July and the MediShield cover, the final bill could be much smaller, he added.

On the revised withdrawal limits, he said they are in line with the expansion of the community hospitals sector to make such care more affordable for sub-acute patients, such as those with fractures, and elderly with kidney and urinary tract infections.

'Traditionally, such patients are kept in acute hospitals where their Medisave withdrawal limits are higher, at $450 per day. But it makes sense for the patients to be transferred to a community hospital where the total operating cost is lower,' explained the minister.

'However, current withdrawal limits may deter such patients from moving to community hospitals because of higher out-of-pocket payments. The adjustments should make it cheaper for sub-acute patients to move from an acute hospital to a community hospital.'

Further, to help patients such as those suffering from stroke or fracture, to pay for day rehabilitation services, Mr Khaw said the daily Medisave withdrawal limit for this payment will be raised from $20 to $25.

'Being able to access good rehabilitative care near their homes after their discharge will make a significant difference to patients' recovery and subsequent quality of life,' said Mr Khaw. 'We are working with the providers to raise the clinical standard of community-based rehabilitation care. We will involve more skilled therapists in the delivery of care and establish individual care plans and improved outcome monitoring to help ensure patients receive the care they need.'

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

Hospital bed crunch

2010-03-06T19:22:00.001-08:00

Call it the mystery of the 'missing' beds.

At first glance, the figures look reassuring.

The six public hospitals here, on average, say they have occupancy rates in the mid-80s.

This means that for every 100 beds, there should be about 15 empty ones, right? But the reality is different.

Patients are accommodated in beds placed in corridors until space is available in the ward, as has been reported in Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

They might have to wait many hours in the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department before a bed can be found. Or they are told that their non-urgent operation - for example, the removal of a cancer tumour or a hernia - may have to be deferred for weeks or even months.

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

IF you can spare the extra $90 a year perhaps you can consider upgrading your Hospital & Surgical Insurance from the Default to a Private one so you don’t have to worry about long waits in a public hospital by going to a Private Hospital.

Do you really want to be placed in a Hospital corridor when you are ill?

Email me @ mark.lim@aia.com.sg for more information.

Women wise up to money

2010-03-06T19:15:00.001-08:00

INTERNATIONAL Women's Day is celebrated tomorrow so it's pleasing to report that women here not only feel more optimistic about the future after the economic woes of last year, but are also more proactive about setting themselves up for retirement.

These findings - from recent surveys - show that women have made some progress in terms of personal finances.

The Tsao Foundation-TNS annual Ageing Preparedness Survey polled about 300 respondents in the second half of last year, on how prepared they are for their retirement. Half of the 300 were female. It found that compared with the 2008 survey, more women believe that retirement planning is important, are saving actively and are realising they may have to work beyond 60.

This is evidence of a trend in the right direction and shows that the importance of preparing for retirement is getting through to people, says the Tsao Foundation.

Not surprisingly, the survey also notes that income security is the topmost concern for a happy retirement.

'It is heartening to know that preparing for one's retirement is increasingly becoming an important part of a woman's life,' says Tsao Foundation chief executive Tan Bee Wan.

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

Cancer superfoods

2010-03-06T06:03:00.001-08:00

BEANS

Beans(also known as legumes) include lentils and peas along with many other varieties. Soybeans fall into this category as well.

The active ingredients in beans that scientists believe may play a role in cancer prevention include: saponins, protease inhibitors and phytic acid. These compounds, called phytochemicals, are found naturally in plants and appear to protect our cells from damage that can lead to cancer.

BERRIES

Berries including strawberries, blueberries and raspberries are good sources of vitamin C and fiber. Foods high in vitamin C probably protect against cancer of the esophagus, while foods containing dietary fiber probably decrease colorectal cancer risk.

All berries, but particularly strawberries and raspberries, are rich in ellagic acid. In laboratory studies, this phytochemical has shown the ability to prevent cancers of the skin, bladder, lung, esophagus and breast. Research suggests that ellagic acid seems to utilise several different cancer-fighting methods at once: it acts as an antioxidant, it helps the body deactivate specific carcinogens and it helps slow the reproduction of cancer cells.

Strawberries also contain a wide range of other phytochemicals, called flavonoids, each of which seems to employ a similar array of anti-cancer strategies.

Blueberries contain a family of phenolic compounds called anthocyanosides, which many scientists believe are among the most potent antioxidants yet discovered.

GARLIC

Garlic belongs to the family of vegetables called Allium, which also includes onions, scallions, leeks and chives. According to AICR's second expert report foods belonging to the allium family of vegetables probably protect against stomach cancer. Moreover, the evidence in the report shows that garlic, in particular, probably decreases one's chances of developing colorectal cancer.

GRAPES AND GRAPE JUICE

Both grapes and grape juice are rich sources of resveratrol, a type of natural phytochemical that belongs to a much larger group of phytochemicals called polyphenols.

The skin of the grape contains the most resveratrol, and red and purple grapes contain significantly more resveratrol than green grapes. Grape jam and raisins contain much smaller amounts of this phytochemical. Red wine also contains resveratrol. However, with AICR's second expert report noting convincing evidence that alcohol is associated with increased risk for cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx, esophagus, breast (pre- and postmenopausal) and colon and rectum (in men), wine is not a recommended source of resveratrol.

Studies suggest that polyphenols in general and resveratrol, in particular, possess potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In laboratory studies, resveratrol prevented the kind of damage known to trigger the cancer process in cell, tissue and animal models.

TOMATOES

The tomato's red hue comes chiefly from a phytochemical called lycopene. Tomatoes have attracted particular attention from prostate cancer researchers because lycopene and its related compounds tend to concentrate in tissues of the prostate.

This cancer-fighting potential is increased if tomatoes are consumed in a processed form that allows these natural compounds to be released and more easily absorbed, such as tomato sauce, tomato paste or tomato juice.

Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, together with a group of related compounds collectively called the 'red family,' has displayed anti-cancer potential in a variety of laboratory studies. In the laboratory, tomato components have stopped the proliferation of several other cancer cells types, including breast, lung, and endometrial.

WHOLE GRAINS

The term 'whole grain' means that all three parts of the grain kernel (germ, bran and endosperm) are included. Refined grains usually have the bran and germ removed, leaving only the starchy endosperm. Brown rice is a whole grain, white rice is not. Other whole-grain foods include wheat breads, rolls, pasta and cereals; whole grain oat cereals such as oatmeal, wild rice, kasha (roasted buckwheat) and tabouleh (bulghur wheat).

Whole grains are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and hundreds of natural plant compounds, called phytochemicals, which protect cells from the types of damage that may lead to cancer.

DARK GREEN LEAFY VEGETABLES

Spinach, romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce are excellent sources of fiber, folate and a wide range of carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin, along with saponins and flavonoids.

Foods containing carotenoids probably protect against cancers of the mouth, pharynx and larynx.

Researchers believe that carotenoids seem to prevent cancer by acting as antioxidants - that is, scouring potentially dangerous 'free radicals' from the body before they can do harm. Some laboratory research has found that the carotenoids in dark green leafy vegetables can inhibit the growth of certain types of breast cancer cells, skin cancer cells, lung cancer and stomach cancer.

[Source: American Institute for Cancer Research]

A Letter from AIA CEO

2010-03-04T07:39:00.001-08:00

AIG Sells Asian Life Unit to Prudential Plc for $35.5 Billion

2010-03-01T18:47:00.001-08:00

American International Group Inc. agreed to sell an Asian life insurance unit with 20 million customers to Prudential Plc for $35.5 billion in the company’s biggest divestiture since it was bailed out by the U.S.

Prudential, Britain’s biggest insurer, will pay $25 billion in cash and $10.5 billion in stock and other securities for AIA Group Ltd., the London-based insurer said in a statement today. The insurer said it plans to raise $20 billion in a rights offering and sell about $5 billion of bonds to finance the cash part of its offer.

FULL STORY:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=adczb4pX60uk&pos=1

Cancer Prevention

2010-02-03T19:37:00.001-08:00

Smokers are more likely to develop Lung Cancer, if you do not smoke don’t pick up the habit, if you do, smoke less or cut the habit entirely!

A high fat and low fibre diet is linked to Colorectal Cancer, try to consume more fruits and vegetables, i am guilty of not eating enough fruits and vegetables too..

Early menarche (the age at which girls begin to menstruate), late marriages and having fewer children increase one's Breast Cancer risk. Ladies please take note.

The preservatives in processed food may contain nitrates and high salt concentrations, which are associated with Stomach Cancer.

[Partly quoted from “Mind Your Body” 2010 Singapore Press Holdings Limited”]

Chartis

2010-01-24T20:51:00.001-08:00

http://www.chartisinsurance.com/

American Home Assurance Company (AHA), Commonly known as AIG, has been re-branded as Chartis insurance. The change took effect on 18th Jan 2010.

imsavvy Cartoon Clips

2010-01-24T04:20:00.001-08:00

Go here to checkout the animated clips!

http://www.cpf.gov.sg/imsavvy/toonsgallery_ani_clips.asp

Chris Firth’s Strategies

2010-01-23T21:08:00.001-08:00

SOURCE: The Straits Times

2 men die after industrial accident on Jurong Island

2010-01-23T20:45:00.001-08:00

“SINGAPORE : Two men have died after an industrial accident at Chemicals Specialities on Jurong Island on Saturday.

The incident happened at about 11am.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) personnel said the roof of a cylindrical tank had blown off as a result of the accident.

The cylindrical tank contained chemicals used in the manufacturing of brake fluids.

The Manpower Ministry said its preliminary findings reveal that the Malaysian workers were installing piping to various tanks when one of the tanks exploded.

The Ministry has instructed Chemical Specialties to stop all installation works on the plant.

Investigations by the Manpower Ministry and SCDF are ongoing.” — CNA

Man charged with causing death by negligent act

2010-01-13T19:29:00.001-08:00

SINGAPORE: A 19—year—old has been charged for causing death by a negligent act in which a military Land Rover rolled backwards and killed full—time National Serviceman Second Lieutenant (2LT) Nicholas Chan Wei Kit.

Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum Bin Muhammed Iskander is alleged to have engaged the reverse gear and stepped on the accelerator, causing the vehicle to surge backwards and roll over 2LT Chan on July 3 last year.

2LT Chan, a Motor Transport Officer, was taking delivery of the SAF land rover in Seletar Camp when the incident happened. A recovery vehicle, activated half an hour later, managed to lift the Land Rover.

A medical team from Seletar Medical Centre tried to resuscitate 2LT Chan. The 21—year—old was sent to Changi General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Muhammad Abdul Qaiyuum was in court with his family and his lawyer, Mr A R Marican, for yesterday’s pre—trial conference. Mr Marican told reporters he would make representations to the Attorney—General Chambers. The next pre—trial conference is scheduled on February 8.

SOURCE: TODAY

Beware of Killer Litter

2010-01-11T19:35:00.001-08:00

SOURCE: The Straits Times, 12th Jan 2010

Dear Readers, to be extra careful, try to walk under shelter as much as possible.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T20:53:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Let this coming year be better than all the others!!!

U—Save rebates tweaked

2009-12-31T20:11:00.001-08:00

“SINGAPORE: From Friday, HDB owners who fully sublet their flats to non—citizens will no longer be eligible for U—Save rebates to offset their utility bills.

The Finance Ministry (MOF) said in a statement that U—Save is aimed at Singaporeans.

However, over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of Singaporean—owned HDB flats which are fully sub—let to non—citizens.

MOF said the scheme was fine—tuned to better target the rebates at Singaporeans, as intended.

Home—owners who sublet their flats to at least one Singaporean will still qualify for U—Save.

Some 800,000 HDB households will receive S$106 million worth of U—Save rebates in 2010.

The first payout, amounting to S$60 million of utility rebates, will be made in January. The second payout will be in July.

Households will get a total of between S$55 and S$200, depending on the size of their flats.

The U—Save rebates will cost the government some S$620 million over five years.

The rebates are part of the GST Offset Package announced in 2007 to help Singaporeans, especially low and middle income households, cope with the GST increase.”

SOURCE:

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20091231/tap-895-u-save-rebates-tweaked-better-ta-231650b.html

New 2010 AIA Gifts!

2009-12-29T08:42:00.001-08:00

Collected my order today, new gifts for my clients…

The new Diaries look great!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T05:21:00.001-08:00

Christmas arrives in a few more hours, if you haven’t completed your Christmas shopping here are some suggestions…

Christmas Gift Ideas:

To your enemy, forgiveness

To an opponent, tolerance

To a friend, your heart

To a customer, service

To all, charity

To every child, a good example

To yourself, respect

Wishing all my Clients and Friends a Bright and Cheerful Christmas!

http://www.gatewebdev.com.sg/clients/aia/christmas/c2.html

Question From Reader: Can i have two Medisave-approved Integrated Insurance Plans?

2009-12-18T20:09:00.001-08:00

I was asked this question through email

Qn: Can i have two Medisave-approved Integrated Insurance Plans?

The answer is no, each individual is only allowed 1 Medisave-approved Insurance plan.

Once you apply for a plan from another Insurer your current plan with your current Insurer will have to end.

Feel free to send me more emails if you have other questions: mark.lim@aia.com.sg

Corruption

2009-12-14T18:27:00.001-08:00

“SINGAPORE: A 43—year—old Singaporean has been charged with corruption.

Self—employed Hamzah Karim had acted as a coordinator, referring motor vehicle accident cases to law firms in order to file a claim with insurance companies.

In August 2006, the accused had allegedly arranged for learner bike rider Liyana Mohamed Noor to make a false accident report.

The female rider met the accused at Changi General Hospital while seeking treatment for an injury that she sustained during a practical test for her bike licence.

The accused said she could use her injury to make a false accident claim to make more money.

Sometime later, the accused introduced a male friend and instructed her to lie that she was riding pillon when Liyana and the male friend collided with a taxi.

If found guilty, Hamzah could face a maxmum penalty of S$100,000 fine and imprisonment of five years. “

— 938 LIVE/yb

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20091214/tap-677-43-year-old-man-charged-corrupti-231650b.html

HDB flat value will rise as long as economy grows: MM Lee

2009-12-13T19:09:00.001-08:00

“SINGAPORE: Public flats will continue to appreciate in value as long as the Singapore economy continues to grow. And with limited space, the future of public housing looks set to go up — with more skyscraper flats to be built.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said this as he launched The Pinnacle@Duxton, which at 50 storeys, is the tallest HDB development in Singapore.

The first rental HDB blocks in Tanjong Pagar were built in 1963 on the site where The Pinnacle@Duxton stands. Today, it is the site of the tallest HDB in the country and the scene has changed significantly.

Minister Mentor Lee attributes the change to an early policy decision to build a home—owning society, which is what motivates Singaporeans to upgrade this asset for a better life, something which could not have happened with just rental flats.

Going forward, Mr Lee expects more such flats to be built.

He said: "The Pinnacle@Duxton is therefore a good example that if the nation continues to do well, we can build more flats of this standard. But we should not make a quick profit from a resale of HDB flats. The rules on minimum occupation and requirement for family units nucleus are to discourage speculative purchases."

Mr Lee gave out keys to seven of the first families to move in and visited one family, whose father had rented a flat in the area previously.

Speaking to reporters later, he said the government could have built a condominium in its place but preferred to build public flats in this central area and share the growth of the city with the people who had rented flats in the area before.

Responding to questions later on about young couples who are concerned about flat affordability, Mr Lee said this is linked to the country’s growth — if the country is doing well, property prices go up.

But if the economy goes down, unemployment goes up but incomes and property values decline.

One thing that will be going up is the height of future public housing.

Mr Lee said: "Well, it’s a very special problem we face because we can’t expand the city laterally, we have to expand the city vertically. Yes, we can have more (land) reclamations but that’s only about 10, 15 per cent and we’ve reached the limit. Therefore, I see more and more of the old blocks being demolished and new blocks like The Pinnacle@Duxton being built."

Units at The Pinnacle@Duxton cost an average of $486,000 for a 4—room flat and $590,000 for a 5—room flat, when the last of the units were released in October.

The 50th—storey skybridge will also be open to non—residents for a $5 fee.”

SOURCE: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20091213/tap-558-hdb-flat-value-rise-long-economy-231650b.html

“Me And My Friend” Screening

2009-12-13T19:00:00.001-08:00

“In observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, MARUAH (Singapore Working Committee for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism) is holding a series of events, themed “Me and My Friend”, to highlight the often-overlooked rights of people with disabilities and to build friendships based on mutual respect between the able-bodied and people with disabilities.”

- http://maruah.org/MeAndMyFriend/

Sometimes we forget that people with special needs also deserve the same rights and dignity as all of us, do support the following event!

Screening Details:

http://maruah.org/meandmyfriend/movie/

Mortgage Loan Insurance

2009-12-10T23:01:00.001-08:00

Mortgage loan insurance takes care of unpaid home repayments, should any unforeseen event such as death or total and permanent disability happen to the homeowner.

Homeowners with Mortgage loan Insurance will not be burdened with mortgage repayments or face the possibility of losing their home.

An example using AIA Mortgage Reducing Term Assurance (MRTA):

A 27-year old servicing a mortgage loan of $400,000 at an interest rate of 3%, only needs to make a one-time premium payment of $5,528 to ensure that should anything happen to him, his remaining home repayments will be handled by the Insurance company.

For more information on MRTA Insurance please send me a email: mark.lim@aia.com.sg

One–Year Extension of 4% Floor Rate for all SMA and RA Monies

2009-12-10T21:45:00.001-08:00

“To help members cope with the current economic climate, the Government will maintain the 4% floor rate for interest earned on all Special and Medisave Accounts (SMA) monies and Retirement Account (RA) monies for another year until 31 December 2010. After 31 December 2010, the 2.5% floor rate will apply for all CPF accounts.

An additional 1% interest will continue to be paid on the first $60,000 of a member’s combined balances, with up to $20,000 from the Ordinary Account (OA). The additional interest received on the OA will go into the member’s SA or RA to enhance his retirement savings. If the member is above 55 years old and participates in the LIFE scheme, the additional 1% interest will also apply to his annuity premium, less annuity payouts already made. The additional interest earned on the member’s LIFE annuity monies will be paid into his RA.”

SOURCE:http://mycpf.cpf.gov.sg/CPF/News/News-Release/N_09Dec2009.htm

What is an Insurance Bond?

2009-12-10T06:46:00.001-08:00

An Insurance Bond is a three-party instrument whereby one party (Insurer or Bank) guarantees a second party (the principal) financial protection against a third-party (the contractor or Insurer’s client) failing to perform in accordance to the terms and conditions of a contract.

In the event that the client fails to meet the obligation or complete the contract in time, the Insurer has to pay the principal for losses incurred up to the amount specified in the Bond or undertake to complete the project.

Why are Bonds used?

- With the Bond, the Principal is assured that he will be compensated in the event of any non-performance

- It helps reduce the chances of incomplete, bankruptcy or poor workmanship causing the project to be abandoned

- Bonds are subject to stringent underwriting, thus there is a good chance the contractor/client will complete the project

- From the viewpoint of the contractor/client, it helps them with their cash flow as they only need to pay a small premium for the Bond as compared to the large Security deposit

Credit Insurance

2009-12-10T06:29:00.001-08:00

Credit Insurance provides cover to companies in the event of default in payments by their customers/buyers for the goods or services provided.

This cover will help improve one’s credit management.

Money Insurance

2009-12-10T06:21:00.001-08:00

Money Insurance is an Insurance for cash, cheques, bank drafts..etc

It can help companies prevent cash-flow problems when large sums of money are stolen or go missing.