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From Manila Bulletin

Ang tanda
The View from Rizal
By GOV. JUN A. YNARES, M.D.
July 24, 2011, 8:00am

MANILA, Philippines — I spotted the ever-present Lolo Sisong at a recent gathering of civic leaders in Antipolo, Rizal.

The event was one of several organized by outstanding nongovernmental organization (NGO) partners of the Rizal provincial government like the United Bayanihan Foundation. This one had to do with government and private sector putting their heads together. The aim: Help senior citizens remain productive and happy.

I know no senior citizen more intellectually productive than the inimitable Lolo Sisong, Rizal province’s self-appointed official sage. So, in that meeting where those who are superior in wisdom and years were the subject matter, the Lolo ng Lalawigan’s presence was a welcome one.

Since the word “matanda” (old) kept ringing throughout the event, I decided to signal Lolo Sisong to join my huddle with NGO leaders and ask him a question I had secretly asked myself for years.

The question: Why are those who are advanced in years called “matanda”?

“Why ask me, I am not old enough to answer the question,” Lolo Sisong said with his serious humor glowing in his face.

“It takes a young person to answer the question,” I answered, smiling, knowing he would bite the bait.

“Okay, then, I will answer the question,” Lolo Sisong said, pretending to capitulate.

“You see, Junjun, ‘matanda’ comes from the word ‘tanda’,” he began.

“So, therefore?” I egged him to make it quick.

“Well, ‘Tanda’ has three meanings,” he seemed naughtily dragging the conversation.

“Go ahead, what are they?” I asked, impatient.

“One, ‘tanda’ means ‘mark’,” he started the long process of sagely enumeration.

“Two, ‘tanda’ means ‘sign’,” Lolo Sisong continued.

“Three, ‘tanda’ means ‘recall’ or ‘remember’, or ‘reminisce’,” he ended.

“Care to explain?” I asked again, impatience growing.

“That’s where I’m going,” he answered, seemingly irked by my nagging.

“You see, a senior person has a lot of ‘tanda’ in his body and in his character – the marks of what he has gone through in life,” Lolo Sisong said. “His body and his personality shows the many marks of the happy and painful experiences that the senior person has gone through,” he added.

“Now, the quality of his body, his mind and his character as shaped by those experiences shows whether or not they made him into a better person… or a bitter one,” Lolo Sisong explained.

“So, when you see a senior person, you look at the ‘marks’ to determine what kind of person he is,” he essayed.

Impressed by the wisdom, I said, “Move on to number two – ‘tanda’ meaning ‘sign’.”

“Be patient, I am old, remember?” he answered, even more irked.

“Okay, ‘tanda’ also means ‘sign’,” he moved on. “Senior people are either ‘warning signs’ or signs similar to the beacon light of a lighthouse,” Lolo Sisong said, choosing his words carefully.

“When you find a bitter old person, he is a warning sign to you – don’t go where he went, such as his vices and his scheming ways,” he explained. “But when you find a ‘better’ senior person, ask him which path he chose and follow it – he is showing you a beacon light,” Lolo Sisong added.

I was silent, reflecting.

“May I go to point number three,” Lolo Sisong said, obviously trying to irk me reciprocally.

“Please go ahead,” I answered serious this time.

“Well, ‘tanda’ also refers to that big vault of memories of the many years we have gone through in life,” he began his final point.

“That is the gold mine of our advanced years – the definite advantage of being senior over being young,” Lolo Sisong moved on.

“We can open that vault anytime to retrieve the things that matter a lot to people – memories of love and joy, of friends and loved ones, of the many valuable experiences which prove to us that we did spend our years wisely,” he said, his aging eyes all of a sudden looking young.

“And if a senior person is generous, he lets young people into that vault and lets them frolic in the gold mine of precious memories,” he said, using his poetic abilities.

I was still silent, awed by the obvious advantage in wisdom that senior people have.

“That’s also what we mean by ‘growing old gracefully’, Junjun”, Lolo Sisong attempted to conclude.

“One ages well by being conscious of his role as ‘mark’, ‘sign’ and ‘treasure trove of memories,” he said.

“So, be careful about how experiences make their mark on you,” he continued.

“Be conscious about your role – are you a danger sign or a beacon light to the younger generation,” he moved closer to his closing.

“And consciously build the kind of memories that you bring into your vault,” he, at last, ended.

“Gotta go,” Lolo Sisong said, acting like a busy young person.

“Thanks much,” I said, trying to memorize his key points.

“By the way, those three things are also a technique on how one stays young despite advancing years,” Lolo Sisong post-scripted.

“Will remember that,” I answered.

“Only if your mind can stay young like mine,” Lolo Sisong said, underscoring that the last word is always his.

I kept my mouth shut, impressed by how he has, indeed, made great use of his years.

Feedback: provinceofrizal@yahoo.com

What are triglycerides?

Fat exists in the body as Triglycerides. It is a chemical that is found in blood plasma and, in association with cholesterol, form the plasma lipids.

Triglycerides come from fats eaten in foods or made in the body from other energy sources like carbohydrates. Calories ingested in a meal and not used immediately are converted to triglycerides and transported to fat cells to be stored.

How is an excess of triglycerides harmful?

Excess triglycerides in plasma is called hypertriglyceridemia. It’s linked to the occurrence of coronary artery disease and stroke in some people. Elevated triglycerides may be caused by untreated diabetes mellitus.

Like cholesterol, increases in triglyceride levels can be detected by a blood test. These measurements should be made after an overnight food and alcohol fast.

The National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines for triglycerides are:
Normal Less than 150 mg/dL
Borderline-high 150 to 199 mg/dL
High 200 to 499 mg/dL
Very high 500 mg/dL or higher

These are based on fasting plasma triglyceride levels.

AHA Recommendation — Dietary treatment goals

Changes in lifestyle habits are the main therapy for hypertriglyceridemia. These are the changes you need to make:

* If you’re overweight, cut down on calories to reach your ideal body weight. This includes all sources of calories, from fats, proteins, carbohydrates and alcohol.
* Reduce the saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol content of your diet.
* Reduce your intake of alcohol considerably. Even small amounts of alcohol can lead to large changes in plasma triglyceride levels.
* Eat fruits, vegetables and nonfat or low-fat dairy products most often.
* Get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on five or more days each week.
* People with high triglycerides may need to substitute monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats —such as those found in canola oil, olive oil or liquid margarine — for saturated fats.

Eliminate dietary trans fatty acids, which increase triglycerides and atherogenic lipoproteins (ie, lipoprotein, LDL-C).

Substituting carbohydrates for fats may raise triglyceride levels and may decrease HDL (”good”) cholesterol in some people. Certain food products, such as bakery shortening and stick margarine, contain high trans fatty acid concentrations.

* Substitute fish high in omega-3 fatty acids instead of meats high in saturated fat like hamburger. Fatty fish like mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna and salmon are high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Overall, exercise is most effective in lowering triglycerides (eg, 20% to 30%) when baseline levels are elevated (ie, TG level of 150 mg/dL), activity is moderate to intensive, and total caloric intake is reduced.

Because other risk factors for coronary artery disease multiply the hazard from hyperlipidemia, control high blood pressure and avoid cigarette smoking. If drugs are used to treat hypertriglyceridemia, dietary management is still important. Patients should follow the specific plans laid out by their physicians and nutritionists.

Read More American Heart Association Healthy Tips

AHA Statement on Triglyceride and Cardiovascular Disease 2011

By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press 11 April 2011

WICHITA, Kan. – In a courtroom in Wichita, the day begins much as it has for the past 49 years: Court is in session, U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown presiding. But what happens next is no longer routine; it’s a testament to one man’s sheer determination.

As lawyers and litigants wait in respectful silence, Brown, who is 103, carefully steers his power wheelchair behind the bench, his stooped frame almost disappearing behind its wooden bulk. He adjusts under his nose the plastic tubes from the oxygen tank lying next to the day’s case documents. Then his voice rings out loud and firm to his law clerk, “Call your case.”

“I do it to be a public service,” Brown said. “You got to have a reason to live. As long as you perform a public service, you have a reason to live.”

[caption id=”attachment_675″ align=”aligncenter” width=”160″ caption=”Judge Brown Kansas “][/caption]
Brown is the oldest working federal judge in the nation, one of four appointees by President Kennedy still on the bench. Federal judgeships are lifetime appointments, and no one has taken that term more seriously than Brown.

“As a federal judge, I was appointed for life or good behavior, whichever I lose first,” Brown quipped in an interview. How does he plan to leave the post? “Feet first,” he says.

In a profession where advanced age isn’t unusual — and, indeed, is valued as a source of judicial wisdom — Brown has left legal colleagues awestruck by his stamina and devotion to work. His service also epitomizes how the federal court system keeps working even as litigation steadily increases, new judgeships remain rare, and judicial openings go unfilled for months or years.

“Senior judges keep the federal court system afloat given the rising case loads,” said David Sellers, spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Of the 1,294 sitting federal judges, Brown is one of 516 on “senior status,” a form of semi-retirement that allows a judge to collect his salary but work at a reduced case level if he chooses. They handle almost a quarter of federal district trials.

And no one alive has logged more service than Brown, who took senior status in 1979 but still worked full time until recently. In March, he stopped taking new criminal cases and lightened his case load a bit. He still takes his full share of the new civil cases.

“I will quit this job when I think it is time,” Brown said. “And I hope I do so and leave the country in better shape because I have been a part of it.”

Full Story Link

Excerpt from Marjorie Gorospe, loQal.ph

115-year-old I-Apayao native Rufina Daluyon reflects the healthy lifestyle of the I-Apayao tribe and despite her age, the centenarian shows no signs of serious illness.

Apo Rufina can still talk and can still walk but she only speaks Ilocano. She shares her stories to willing listeners through her great granddaughter Susan.

1. Lifelong Physical Activity
The I-Apayao tribe is related to Isneg tribe and both tribes are known as good farmers.

2. Diet - mostly vegetables
Susan says being a member of the I-Apayao tribe, Apo Rufina is very fond of vegetables.

3. Good Genes
Apo Rufina’s husband lived for 126 years. Apo Rufina has three children, but only one among the three is still alive at a still remarkable age of 90.

4. Spirituality and Gratitude

5. Discipline
“Napakahigpit nya (Rufina) lalo pagdating sa pag-uwi ng maaga sa bahay at tamang pagkain. (She is very strict, particularly on curfews and eating the right food),” says Susan in jest.

[caption id=”attachment_453″ align=”aligncenter” width=”300″ caption=”Centenarian Northern Philippines”][/caption]

“Minsan tinatanong na rin nya kung bakit di pa sya namamatay at mukha daw nalimutan na siya ni Lord sunduin. (She often wonders why she’s still alive and that the Lord probably has forgotten about her),” says Susan who often visits her great grandmother and gives her a shower.

For her part, Susan says she is thankful for the life that God has granted Apo Rufina.

But Susan admits that things are getting harder for Apo Rufina. Susan says all they can do is to give her the love that she deserves while she is still alive.

From the American Heart Association January 2010

“These seven factors — if you can keep them ideal or control them — end up being the fountain of youth for your heart,” said Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, a cardiologist who was lead author of the statement.

“You live longer, you live healthier longer, you have much better quality of life in older age, require less medication, less medical care.”

Specifically, those with ideal cardiovascular health can answer yes to the following seven questions:

• Never smoked or quit more than one year ago.

• Body mass index less than 25.

• Get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week.

• Meet at least four of these dietary recommendations: 4 1/2 cups of fruit and vegetables a day; two or more 3.5-ounce servings a week of fish; drink no more than 36 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages a week; three or more 1-ounce servings of fiber-rich whole grains a day; less than 1,500 milligrams a day of salt.

• Total cholesterol of less than 200.

• Blood pressure below 120/80.

• Fasting blood glucose less than 100.

The online quiz calculates a score based on the answers, 10 being the ideal.

Log on to the online quiz at AHA My Life Check

The Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatrics and the Wellness Center of The Medical City Ortigas recently hosted a successful Postgraduate Course The Fountain of Wellness and Longevity.
The course included topics on healthy aging, preventive geriatrics, cancer screening, boosting the immune system, coffee and the heart, and graceful aging. The President of the Hong Kong Geriatrics Society, Dr. Bernard Kong, delivered a talk on Pneumonia in the Elderly.
The next day, TMC residents presented a case of pneumonia in the elderly. The case conference was moderated by Dr. Josephine Ramos (TMC Pulmonologist). Guest geriatricians Dr. Bernard Kong (HK) and Dr. Philip Poi (Malaysia) graciously joined the discussion.