panoramic x-ray of my problematic set of teeth

I would not have been convinced if it was not for my excellent orthodontist, Dr. Jun Mariano. He and his lovely wife hold clinic together in SSS, Marikina – Mariano Dental Clinic. I cannot thank my friend, Ana,  enough for the reco! Ana told me that the husband and wife team regularly upgrade themselves with the latest in Orthodontics and Dentistry by traveling abroad. This has upped my confidence a notch or two. All it took was one visit and the rest, as they say, is history. Even the Orthodontist at Lapid’s when I was in college couldn’t convince me to have my impacted wisdom tooth surgically removed. I was too terrified to undergo dental surgery that will snap a piece of my jaw off with my unwanted wisdom tooth. Hence, my gaps resorted to fillings. The upper canine tooth twisting and my cross bite were never addressed and only became worse by the year. Yes, this explains my lopsided jaws. Haha! Braces, it is then.

Had I not delayed this dental surgery, I could have been spared not just from having to wear braces again but also that irreparable molar that was extracted alongside my impacted wisdom tooth. I can only wish my teeth get to their proper alignment real soon. Doc Jun estimated a year and a half though. On the bright side, that would also mean that I’ll keep unwanted poundage at bay.

I am terrible with directions.  I’m so bad at it like I don’t know any other person who can be worse. But because of the frequency of my having to check back with my dentist, I am now able to drive myself without getting lost to and from the clinic. Yay! So that’s another thing I can rejoice about. Turns out, I won’t need roadside assistance for this altogether. My sense of direction, or lack thereof, tops the hubby’s frustrations about me. He can’t seem to figure out why I always get lost. When on the road, I end up tailing PUVs, which totally defeats the purpose of driving a car, right? Even Gary, my Garmin GPS, isn’t much help. Yeah, I’m that bad.  Believe it or not, I still get lost from time to time in one of the malls that I practically grew up in (close to our place).

Obviously, I’m totally vouching for Mariano Dental Clinic. My son also happens to love Dra. Pinky (Doc Jun’s wife). He’d have his prophylaxis done every week if it were up to him. My teeth have gotten their much needed makeover. Look, Ma, no more mercury based amalgam fillings!  All the possible restorations needed were done before my braces were installed.  A girl’s gotta take care of her teeth! Let’s face it, one’s set of teeth can easily give you away. My genes came with an out of sort set of teeth, which I gather to be dominant (my son has exactly the same), so I have to work on getting them corrected. Here’s to looking forward to losing my cross bite and gaps. A year or so can’t be so far behind.

Mariano Dental Clinic

15 Moonlight St., SSS Village, Marikina City

Tel. 941-1586 (By Appointment only)

And when it comes to utmost quality of life, I’m all for it – so I was all ears when a! Life endorsers came to talk about their advocacy. Bianca Valerio (who showed up in golden blonde tresses) was her bubbly, fun self that she usually is, as she hosted the launch.

Bianca Valerio hosted the launch

Lexi Shulze and Lucy Torres

Patty Betita, Lorraine Lapus and Shawn Yao

We all know that women nowadays are no longer expected to merely be domestic goddess of the home. There is no generation in the existence of humanity where women are more empowered than they are now. The world knows that we are capable of stepping above and excelling at whatever it is that we do. And this is what basically a! Life is all about – a call for us women to take care of ourselves by choosing to be healthy!

Block Carbohydrates, Get Slim!
Be in Control with a! life Control!

It contains Phase 2 white kidney bean extract that helps block carbohydrate absorption to help control blood sugar levels and weight.

Stronger Bones, Better Posture!
Be Strong with a!life Posture!

It contains not only Calcium but also Ostivone, the only non-hormonal nutrient that helps increase bone density and helps inhibit the loss of healthy bone cells.

Natural Power, Extra Energy!
Be Empowered with a! life Energy!

It contains the natural power of Malunggay which is loaded with nutrients, vitamins and amino acids to give you the extra energy for optimum physical performance

Protect Health, Be Radiant!
Be Radiant with a! life Protect!

It contains Pycnogenol that helps defend the body from free radicals, ensuring health that radiates through fairer skin.

Restore Moisture, Look Young!
Look Young with a! life Restore!

It contains Injuv – a Hyaluronic Acid that restores moisture from within, so you help erase the signs of skin aging like wrinkles and fine lines.

Just before the launch started, we were asked during registration what activity we are gonna avail of later after the official launch. My friend Iris of PinayAds.com and I chose Glow by Exfoilation. The other activities were: Face Time, Shake it Up, Project Makeover and Yogilates.

Martha, The Beauty Junkee

We were led to a cozy room where a beauty blogger by the name of Martha, who was to marshal us into concocting our very own scrub out of coffee, brown sugar, olive oil and honey. And we got to take home our pot too. Sweet!

moi with media practitioners ready to follow instructions

coffee

brown sugar

honey

finished product: coffee and brown sugar scrub

Making our own scrub was so easy! All we had to do was mix all ingredients together and voila! – our all natural, homemade scrub! That’s something we all can make ourselves with the very ingredients that are regularly just sitting on our cupboards. I actually made use of it the other day and I think I have more to last me a month.

;-P

Mrs. Martinez and moi

I wasn’t able to take photos of the other blogger friends I was thrilled to see during the event.  We got too busy catching up.

Here’s an accidental photo capture Rowena of Animetric’s World took using the fierce Android phone she was lugging around with.  Got me to also download the App, which also happens to be available on iPhone. She was actually taking a picture of me and Iris, when the app captured me and that of the image of the tarp behind me – made me instant BFFs with Lorraine.

with Iris of PinayAds.com

The fun did not stop at doing our own scrub! We were actually ushered to the lounge of the spa place for the fimale and got a Samba dance lesson. I forgot to take pictures as I was having so much fun watching my friends do the samba. I have been out of the loop with media events lately and I’m sure glad I attended the a! Life Launch at the Tian-Di Heaven & Earth Urban Destination Spa. I actually also started taking the a! life food supplements since.

When I got an invite from Watsons last week for an event, I came expecting that yet another interesting brand will be launched. Like similar to the Beyond Bath launched in Manila Hotel last year. Let us just say, I got more than I bargained for. I came in with the above image on the slide. While I already am partial towards Watsons, even when it comes to health products, it is great to know that there actually is a worthwhile advocacy they are pursuing.

Dr. Ancheta explained to the media present how superbug comes to existence and how it can be prevented through visuals.

Watsons  Pharmacy’s Antibiotic Compliance Program is designed to make the public aware how important it is to for a patient to take the prescribed antibiotic prescription. It is common for people who are ill to stop taking antibiotics altogether as soon as they see that they are feeling better. Regardless, if they are midway towards the full course of the medication.  The danger of doing this is downright alarming and I believe people should be made aware of  – ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE.

Aside from Antibiotic Resistance, there is also something bigger that we all should watch out for – the super bacteria or “superbug.” The superbug is a powerful bacteria that carries several resistance genes. Thus far, it has already spread to Southeast Asia, Europe and North America. It is, to date, not curable by any known medicines since it is resistant to the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, including carbapenems, the most powerful antibiotics created by medical science.

Superbugs are especially life-threatening when they bear the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (or NDM-1). Beta-lactamase is an enzyme produced by superbugs that neutralizes antibiotics. The NDM-1 mutation can be passed from one type of bacteria to another, so that more and more types of bacteria may become antibiotic-resistant. Health agencies like the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control and even our own Department of Health have expressed concern over superbugs and their frightening potential to cause a pandemic.

The superbug may be developed inside the human body when patients do not properly use antibiotics. While antibiotics are very effective in killing bacteria, proper use is crucial. When antibiotics are used in the wrong way, not all of the bacteria are killed—the surviving bacteria then have the chance to develop mutations that make them resistant to antibiotics.

The statistics will speak for itself. It is downright alarming, to say the least.

Antibiotic misuse usually starts with self medication and includes taking the wrong type of antibiotics, skipping doses recommended by doctors or lessening the number of days of antibiotic ingestion when patients feel relief. Doing any of the above-antibiotic under dosage or over dosage- may only cause bacteria to mutate to become larger and more powerful and become the dreaded Superbug. Widespread misuse of antibiotics in the Philippines, if not stopped, will eventually create new strains of superbugs that will have no cure, endangering us all.

This totally makes the Compliance Packs Watsons has come up with very handy for us consumers.  The compliance packs made by UNILAB. So we can expect to only get high quality medicines at 60% cheaper than their more popularly branded counterparts. There is also a brochure printing in every Compliance Pack that feature information about the Superbug and tips on how we can prevent it.

It was in mid September when I felt an unbearable pain on my back. The same problem area that I took chiropractic sessions for several years ago. The pain was so bad that there was no way I can lie down on supine position without feeling a pain that was way worse than the labor pains I had when I was about to give birth. It was that bad. I would lie down on my tummy but would wake up in the middle of the night crying whenever I accidentally roll on my left or lie down on my back.

It was then that I contacted Sophie of Beautynomics.com. The sweet soul that she is,  responded almost instantly despite the fact that she was then overseas and was busy. I remember her sharing a link via one of the social networking sites we are in when her scoliosis was really bad.  It was then that I ordered Elaine Petrone’s Miracle from Janis, the same person Sophie bought her Miracle Ball from.

Let us just say the Miracle Ball kinda, sorta forced me to get my butt on to finally heeding to my body’s call for workout. The exercises are more of relaxation. A lot of the exercises reminds me so much of the principles that were imparted to us by Chiqui Brosas-Hahn during one of our Prepared Childbirth class. Although this is nothing like that of the fat burner workouts I was planning to do, I’m nonetheless glad that I got to do this.

Elaine Petrone is the creator of the Miracle Ball Method. She works at the Stamford (Connecticut) Hospital Rehabilitation Center and with private patients.

Thank God, I am currently not in pain anymore! I cannot say for sure that this worked for me to alleviate the pain. Because I used Nikken Magboy too before The Miracle Ball that I ordered arrived to our house. The Magboy was just sitting on my dresser for several years now and I just thought of using it. The pain altogether left the day after I used it. But I’m using the Miracle Ball nonetheless as it takes care of my overall body stress when I need it.

One of the more intense and not so pretty fact is that more women suffer arthritis than men. This subject is close to my heart even as I got my first bout of arthritis when I was nineteen years old. Yes, it runs in the family. One of my aunts first had hers even at a younger age.

One natural remedy that has made the arthritis at bay all these years is lemongrass tea that I make myself. I just take a sheaf cut it one inch long, boil it. Cool. Then flavor it with honey and lemon. Fifteen years of arthritis and I have not taken any arthritis medication or msm cream yet. Lemongrass is also said to be good for the skin too.

It was during my college years when I first tried out the 3 Day Diet. I saw Mary Prieto’s article in The Philippine Star and immediately got my hands on it. I reproduced it and made sure I got myself a copy for future reference.

I lost a total of 7 pounds on Day 4! All I did was follow the menu plan for three days, which wasn’t at all what you would call a crash diet. There was even one dinner meal that I thought was too much for me. The apparent reason that this diet works was said to be because of the chemical break down of the foods in the meal. I remember cheating on a ball of Maltesers during that time. But that was it. Now I’m not sure if hcg diet will give you the same. But I did hear some good feedbacks on that too.

Meanwhile, the only condiments allowed for the 3 Day Diet are: lemon, salt and pepper.

DAY 1
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water
1/2 Grapefruit or Juice
1 slice toast with 1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter

Lunch
1/2 Cup of Tuna
1 slice toast
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

Supper
3 oz. any lean meat
1 cup green beans
1 cup carrots
1 cup vanilla ice cream
1 medium apple
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

DAY2
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water
1 egg (any style)
1 slice toast
1 banana

Lunch
1 cup cottage cheese or tuna
5 saltine crackers
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

Supper
2 beef franks or hot dogs
1/2 cup carrots
1 banana
1 cup broccoli or cabbage
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

DAY3
Breakfast
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water
5 regular saltine crackers
1 oz.(slice) cheddar cheese
1 apple

Lunch
1 hard boiled egg
1 slice toast
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

Supper
1 cup tuna
1 cup carrots
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup melon
1/2 cup regular vanilla ice cream
Black coffee or tea (Sweet & Low or Equal) or water

Substitutions Allowed: (take care not to substitute more than 3 items from all the meals)
Orange instead of Grapefruit
Tuna instead of Cottage cheese
Frozen yogurt instead of Ice Cream
Cauliflower instead of Broccoli
Green beans instead of Broccoli or Cauliflower
Beets instead of Carrots
Toast instead of 5 crackers

The ultimate culprit to people getting sick nowadays is the unforgiving heat. As much as I would rather have our electric bill to stay to a minimum, it’s going to bring us more harm than good if we don’t have the airconditioner on for more hours a day than usual.

And as if that was not enough, it drove us to get a split type airconditioner installed in our living room where my office nook is. Apparently the stand fan and the ceiling fan both on max is not enough to make our place comfortable and conducive enough for work. The sauna feel despite the fans on max has made me sick. With the month of May soon coming to a close, there is not a bit of indication that we will have a cooler weather anytime soon. I’ve read somewhere that La Nina will follow the drought we have these days by July. Which concerns me somehow. The Ondoy flooding that happened to us last September 26, 2009 was one unforgettable disaster that we are all praying we do not have to face ever again.

More and more girls are stepping into the teenage years with a negative self image. The influence can be traced right back to the value our society has subconsciously and otherwise put in their heads. To keep up with a certain social ideal of beauty will be a great disappointment to a girl who is naturally big framed. Should she resort to apidexin right on just to win the approval of others? What do you think is the best way to respond to a society bombarded with a barbie doll like figure ideal?

With the right exercise regimen, like running and a healthy diet, one can be successful in keeping up with a healthy lifestyle. Some may still choose to take supplements from fatburner.net, but most others will do very well with just the right diet and exercise.