Health Blog by YinTeing

If you eat when you are hungry, the brain may fail to send the signal that you are already full in time for you to stop. So there you may be, hungrily stuffing your face- especially when the food is hot, fresh and delicious. 

10 minutes later, you feel overwhelmed as the food you have just expanded in your tummy. You may feel just like a beached whale- uncomfortable, stuffed… and lousy. 

Often most people would try to sit down or sleep it off.  But if you are tempted to do that, you must summon up every ounce of willpower that you can not to do it. Because once you start to sit down and rest or lie down after a heavy meal, it easily becomes a lifelong habit that gets virtually impossible to kick. That’s life- often we find it hard to develop and stick to good habits… but bad habits, easy come…. hard to go. 

Get up, do something….anything 

To be honest with you, I was very accustomed of feeling like a beached whale myself each time after a full meal. In fact, I must have even looked like one during the days when I was about 30 pounds heavier than now. I tell from my own experience and those of folks I know that once resting after a full meal becomes a habit- kicking it would be like going against the grain of your life.

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Asian diet is usually heavy in the composition of carbohydrate- predominantly using rice and noddles. Unlike our Western counterparts, we are not used to taking just meat and salad without solid carbohydrates. Some friends have tried to shift towards a more Westernized but healthy diet consisting of salad and meat.

But often, this diet is tough to work out in the long run, because everywhere we go, from restaurants to parties and gathering would consist of the typical diet such as fried rice, chicken rice, curry rice (mamak food), Indian rice, laksa mee, etc- which one finds difficult to resist. The other option is fast food which is very fattening, not to mention expensive.

If you always feel tired, bloated, unable to move or sleepy after lunch, you would need to cut down the carbs that you are taking with your lunch as well as the MSG content on the food. I used to feel tired after lunch but after making a simple adaptation, I find that I need not go for long walks after lunch:

Photo of my lunch box

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Here are some signs that your body’s toxin levels may be a bit too high due to our lifestyle. You could see that many of the factors below are very much related to your digestive system.

1. Constant lethargy

If you feel tired, especially after meals, it could mean that your body’s digestive system is sluggish.  Factors that could contribute to it:

• habit of taking cold/iced drinks especially with meals.
• insufficient intake of fiber such as vegetable or fruits
• high intake of fatty food, heavy meals, processed food- you make the body work too hard
• insufficient exercise- sedentary lifestyle (physically inactive) causes everything in our body to be sluggish- toxins as the result of chemical byproducts and digestive process does not get removed and important nutrients does not get transported to the cells.
• taking laxatives- it makes the peristalsis movement sluggish and in the long run, damages the digestive track

2. Constipation

Clearing our bowels daily is important- as the bowels are waste product that our body is looking to eliminate. If you do not take the time to clear your bowels everyday, take enough fiber and drink lots of water, you would suffer from constipation. Worse still, the body will reabsorb the toxins as it attempt to absorb water from the bowels, causing this toxins to be recirculated in your system.

Read further on how to battle constipation.

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 Dr Joseph J Sweere, in his book, Golden Rules for Vibrant Health in Body, Mind, and Spirit: A Holistic Approach to Health and Wellness, wrote about the significance of recurring dreams/nightmares and the health message that your higher consciousness may be trying to bring you.  

Personally, I’ve had recurring dreams for about 10 years- leaving me with fatigue problems and inability to wake up. When I left a successful job that had clashed with my core values, and face up to things that I’ve been subsciously running away from (and what I felt I was placed on this earth to do), the nightmares subsized, and I’ve been sleeping better. With that, I am able to slowly transition from a night owl to a morning person.

The book contained a lot of advice and tips on areas of complementary healing, and the not-so obvious cause of diseases and health conditions like cancer, stroke, arthritis (he mentioned that if an arthritis person is more forgiving, the pain would be reduced), etc. Below is a case study on one of his patient (I type almost word for word), found on pages 51- 53 of the book:

Interpreting Dreams

Louise had been referred to me for arthritis and the degeneration in her spine, hips, knees, and ankles that had become progressively more disabling every year. She moved very slowly and was in obvious pain as she entered my consultation room. Using two sturdy wooden canes to help support her every step, this large-boned, significantly overweight woman could barely fit between armrests of the generously sized chair next to my desk. In reviewing the comprehensive history form Louise had filled out, I noted she wrote that, in addition to having advanced stages of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis for many years, she also had bloating, congestive heart failure, extreme fatigue, fluid retention, high blood pressure, long standing constipation, and shortness of breath. She listed ten separate prescription drugs that she took, along with several over-the-counter pain relievers. Louise said she almost never drank water, but did drink about 10 cups of coffee a day and two or three cans of diet soda. She needed the caffeine, she said, to help her stay awake because she was always tired. She simply was not getting enough sleep due to the same recurring nightmare, a nightmare that she had experienced many times over a forty-year span.

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You are at your desk, hunched in front of your laptop working for hours to meet that looming deadline. You feel maxed out and your brain’s very tired. To top it off, you have not been having enough sleep for the past few days, partly due to insomnia, and partly due to the nightmares about not being able to finish your project in time.

In such instance, most of us will depend on strong doses of caffeine to provide the artificial wake-up boost. Desperate times calls for desperate measure. If one cup is not enough, then five will surely do.

If you have done that, you would have invariably felt the temporarily boost, followed by your mental energy levels sinking into rock bottom- way bottom. You’ll end up feeling more tired that before you have drunk that first drop of coffee. It’s worse when during times of stress, we may be tempted to nibble at some sweets, chocolates or cakes. If you led a sedentary lifestyle- you will find your that these treats work against your favour.

When your brain felt tired or drained out, a cardio boost will help tremedously. If you keep pushing yourself on, your productivity will drop- and you will not be working efficiently as you would want to be.

What would really help is you get your heart rate up by doing some physical activitity- to boost your circulation.

My previous job used to be very stressful- often I would feel that my brain gets very saturated. Like many others, I resort to caffeine boost- in fact, I am a confirmed caffeine addict. However, the fact is, caffeine doesn’t work after a while and you have to find something else to get your brain functioning again. The best way is through exercise… and to watch your food intake- don’t load yourself too much with processed carbs.

What I used to do is I will just leave my cubie and do brisk climbs up and down the stairs- or you can take a brisk walk around the block if your boss don’t mind and if the climate is not hot and humid. Invest 10 minutes of your precious time and you will come back feeling better than before. The operative word here is ‘brisk’, means the pace should not be leisurely- the purpose of the walk is to get your heart rate up and keep it for 10 minutes. OK, if you feel stressed and want to explode, then, you may want to walk at a leisurely pace to just relax your mind.

Last weekend, I was working on a new blogdetailing my travels to Thailand. It was a time consuming process of manually transferring travel photos and notes from Webshots to a new blog but have to be done nevertheless because Webshots is just getting too commercised. I slept at almost 2am on Sunday morning- and woke up next morning in a semi-zombie state. Coffee did not help and after lunch, I felt even more tired.

Then, I decided to hit the gym- and after about 10 minutes of working out in the cardio machine, the semi-zombielike feeling just evaporated.

I used to be able to stay up till 3 or 4am easily but once the age goes up, the staying power goes down. But it is true for most night owls- you will mostly wake up with that hang over or semi-zombie like feeling. If you cannot change your lifestyle to be a morning person, then instead of resorting to frequent unhealthy caffeine boost, try switching to exercise for a change.

A lot of people who had been althletes during their school years grow up to become sedentary corporate employees or coach potatos. With inactivity, our health tend to gradually lead to a downward trend.

Dr Amir, in an article dated 1 February 09 in The Star’s Fit for Life section, entitled The Fitness Factor outlines the importance of cardiovascular health- and gave the hope that even though a person had been fat and/or unhealthy, it is possible to rebuilt back the stamina- even when one had passed 50. On the other hand, a person who had been fit and stopped being active will find their health deteriorating- in which the effects can again be reversed once the person continues to exercise.

He also mentioned many slimming salons are preying on those who want to lose weight but do not know how. I would think that opting for slimming center is not viable in the long run- unless you are very rich with lots of money to burn. Do read my previous article on Gyms Vs Slimming Centers, which one is better?

Oxygen, water and nutrients are paramount for our body’s survival. We will suffer permanent and irresversible brain damage if a particular part of our brain failed to receive oxygen in 3 minutes. At the same time, we also need to remove carbon dioxide and waste products from the cells to be disposed off. The transport system that is making all these possible is our cardiorespitory system- involving the blood vessels, the heart and lungs.

In other for our cardiorespitory system to function at an optimum level, it has to be constantly trained and challenged. Aerobic based activities are tools to maintain and improve cardiovascular health. Bad cardiovascular health makes existing health conditions even worse. The pain in arthritis gets magnified much more if a person is overweight and inactive. The blood sugar level in diabetes becomes more difficult to control without exercise and sweating. Hypertension, together with inactivity and increased stress in the workplace will only led to increase medication doses and a higher risk of stroke attack.

Even seemingly unrelated conditions such as headaches, sinuses, knee and joint pains, seemingly surceptibity to flu/cough and other viral infections and chronic fatigue can be very much reduced as the person gets more active. 

Why is that so? Because as we improve our cardiorespitory health, the internal but vital transporation system becomes efficient and is able to function at the most optimal levels. A person who is physically fit has lower heartbeats per minute compared to an inactive person of the same age. That means the heart is able to perform the same function at lesser effort.

We all know what happens to an overworked, tired heart, rite- it is always the top 3 killer in most developed and developing countries.

First thing in the morning when you wake up, try to be conscious of the sensations in your tummy and digestive system- do you experience discomfort and bloating? Sometimes you get pain which you may have thought is due to gastric (since you have not eaten the whole night)? Then you go and have your breakfast- coffee with bread, cookies or some greasy stuff- and then, the entire day, you feel sort of tired?

If that is the case, I would like you to try out having just warm water and taking fruits first thing when you get up. Oranges are convenient because you only need to cut them up and can immediately eat them. Don’t take bottled or canned juice as most of them are nothing but processed sugar- it could make your stomach worst. Take the whole real fruit.

During the days nearing Chinese New Year (it falls on the 26 January 09), I spent many days during housecleaning. At first, my energy levels were high- then not long later, I feel tired to work. I thought it was attributed to the extreme dry and hot tropical weather that sometimes have a tiring effect on the body.  I even tried to switch to start work in the evenings when it was not too hot- and still the same- I felt tired.

Then it struck me that it could be due to sluggish digestive system. I have been going on for too many days eating whatever I could get- such as cookies or cakes, together with my cup of coffee first thing in the morning. One morning, I decided to have a cup of warm water together with 2 oranges. I took the oranges slowly while reading the newspaper.

Fresh fruits sold in Chow Kit market, Kuala Lumpur

And I was surprised- having the citrus fruits sort of zap me up- and I don’t feel tired. But you need to take fruits and warm water (not too much of warm water as it will dilute your digestive abilities) on an empty stomach. Try it- especially if you are suffering constantly from stomach pain and gastric- it really helps. As I’ve mentioned in previous post, I learned about this from a housemate during my university days- this housemate of mine always had severe gastric attacks. Till she started taking oranges on an empty stomach, followed by unprocessed oats about 20 minutes later. After that, her gastric was cured.

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There are just days when you get up and feel tired. Well, have been busy with work, classes, studies and assignments- all that I need to catch up since I was away. Still, I have known the benefits of exercise- so if I know I cannot go to the gym, I will go up flights of stairs in the mornings when I am barely awake. At night, I take a break from studies doing some Stability ball exercises and push ups to get my blood circulating well.

Earlier this week, I went back to the gym after my one month break. So happened I had got home late from work- and had dinner about 1/2 hour before I started my cardio. Gosh, my cardio was tough- because the food was still in my stomach when I exercised. You see, when you exercised, your heart will pump blood into your muscles because it’s where you need oxygen and nutrient the most. So less blood in your stomach, more effort to digest and with the food bouncing in your stomach while you try to do running- a total distaster.

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