As couples grow old, they will need a retirement community wherein choosing a good health care system is vital. As Pinay Moms, you and your husbands should now start investing on an effective health care system. You can search them among the Internet advertisements offering this kind of services.

How can you say if it is the right choice for you? One should cover programs catered especially for needs on prevention of diseases and illness as well as the promotion healthy lifestyles for the both of you, endowment of the newest health technologies and guiding materials containing the most novel health and medical products, with particular treatments using special products for the prevention, health discovery and treatment of disease.

Life says that a good health is the heart of an investment. Every hale and hearty person can complete activities that make it meaningful to be alive. As you and you husband get old, so does your happiness level. Thus, exhausting more energy than you can think of. Incorporating a health care system in your routines is 1 way of sustaining and enhancing your health. You can combat daily environmental and behavioral threats in this way. Our goal in life should be to add years, life to these years.

If you are not still a part of it, nowadays, there is an obsession with bearing bodies to die for. Anyone of us would want to reach this state in our lives. Some even say that this effect on people is a good manner of skirmishing diseases and affecting relationships over actually no effort at all.

Health promoters also attest that end results of a good health care system show members on exhibiting added exercises, maintaining lighter weights and eating balanced diets that improves each day at their dining tables. Yet, critics of the said health solution have protested that this way of contouring up a body can only give us empty hearted and selfish personalities at the end. They say that members will only show care from own gratifications. However, stop worrying, because these conjunctions are so false.

Who are the experts to ask? If you really want a very effective health care system, you can consult the nearest health workers, health policy makers, health analysts and health service users reachable in your area. They should be capable of a better and broader grasps on aspects of health, its causes, needed phases and follow-up treatments. Besides, you can also read scholarly materials from books with chapter discussions on topics like academic debates, occupational health, health philosophy, policy statements, distribution and risks of health and disease patterns or health curriculum.

Incorporating studies on well-being under health care system will introduce the re-conceptualization of health, fresh ways of perceiving health, a new way of studying what health is, and a broadened understanding of health that was resulted due to an absence of disease or physical functioning to comprise of social issues, like transport, work, housing, sexuality and the diversity of risks with choice, behavioral and outlook factors.

Moreover, studying well-being in terms of health, a person’s key life experiences and conditions are compared with the health policy and practice, which you and your husband can actually be really facing today.

Hence, know what to include in a daily diet. See you and your husband today transform health into well-being with the benefits of a good health care system! It is the key to a balanced life.

This November 27, 2011, bring your family and friends to the “McHappy Day Fun Run 2011!” With a second time in a row, McDonald’s has again opened the event for the benefit of “Bright Minds Read” project in charity help. The Department of Education (DepEd) co-partners in making it successful. The organizer is the Eventking Corp. Together they make dreams of reading books and magazines for grade 1 students in the Philippines public schools possible.

The race venue and assembly is at the Mc Kinley Hills, Taguig City with levels of tracks in 1Km for kids with age 3-5 and 3Km for kids with age 6-12, 3Km for families in packs of 4 (though this ones already closed in registration,) and the 5Km for ages over 3 years old and 10Km open for ages 15 years old and above. The joining price for the race in 1Km for kids is Php 375, 3Km for kids is Php 425, 3Km for families in packs of 4 is Php 1,000, 5Km is Php 525 and 10Km is Php 725. You can register at any McDonald’s outlets.

Once joining, racers are asked to create their bibs in any style they want, place the best head dress for the occasion and wear their most favorite family costumes worn. These are special prices conditions that are awarded with gift certificates and cash for every winner, while the regular track prices waiting are also gift certificates and cash for every winner.

For more details on the “McHappy Day Fun Run 2011,” visit the www.mchappyday.com.ph today! Join the fun.

150,000+ runners will join this year’s 11.20.2011 Pasig River Run. The date of the race was included in the title showing a mirror of numbers, while the theme song will be “Salamin ng Ating Langit.” Assembly was held at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City and with the globe as the finish line. The Philippines is aiming another world record by exceeding the running number last year, which is actually the current international contender for the most set runs in a race named by the Guinness World Records.

This race is made possible by the joined efforts of Ms. Gina Lopez, who is the ABS-CBN Foundation Managing Director for “Kapit Bisig Para sa Ilog Pasig,” and the 11.20.2011 Pasig River Run directors: Thumbie Remigio, PJ Villarta, Rio Dela Cruz and Eric Imperio. It is under the KBPIP, being a program for goals on developing the river through cleaning campaigns and fund-raising events. The organization is known for helping the communities of Calauan, Laguna through its relocating projects, adding improvement on technologies for cleaning the river’s water, training members of the River Warrior programs as well as implementing waste management procedures taught in communities concerned. All work for the Pasig river rehabilitation.

11.20.2011 Pasig River Run Categories:

• 3 kilometers route – begins at the corner of Roxas Boulevard and V. Sotto Street CCP Complex
• 5 kilometers route – begins at the corner of Roxas Boulevard and Pedro Gil Street
• 10 kilometers route – begins at the corner of Ocean Drive and Bayshore Avenue
• 21 kilometers route – a ceremonial run all over Metro Manila that is allowed only for the KBPIP sponsors and its partners who would also want to run the event.

According to Lopez, she wants this to be a yearly event for runners and in order to reach their desired number of participants they have to designate stricter rules on the event. Wherein, runners are asked to finish the race up to the last point. Since last year, there were some who didn’t get the chance to cross the line and remained in clusters. This was really a seen problem at that time.

Moreover, expected proceeds of about Php 40 Million this year are aimed to benefit the Estero de San Miguel in rehabilitation of the river as well as others like Estero de Paco that streams in current among the 5 channels of Malacañang Palace.

11.20.2011 Pasig River Run registration and rules can be found at the site. http://kbpip.abs-cbn.com/

Get to Know the Real Meaning of Play for Kids at Play Pilipinas! This October 21-23, 2011.

Kids love to play nearly all day given in their lives. What is the real meaning of play for them? It is a single word that covers every aspect in physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially throughout their developmental stages. This actual shows the formative meaning in psychology. How and where they choose to play actually give the impressions of their time management while still being small kids, which they can fondly look back into upon growing up.

Play Pilipinas 2011

When you bring your kids to the store and buy toys carefully chosen, you are actually teaching them responsibility for the things they own as well as the way they will handle or even protect these toys in the future. It is necessary for them to know that playing includes almost all the time toys, activities, workshops and with other aspects they need to learn in building qualities like sportsmanship, creativity and leadership that when they are already grown ups in the future can be compared to much more deepened or enriched activities. Wherein, the qualities are almost in the same capacity, just as this time, they are grown ups and not kids anymore.

You see it is very important for them to see the level of responsibility they are asked for and the way it changes as time goes by, as their activities also changes. Older people have more responsibilities than kids, thus, faces more risks in life.

That is why Play Pilipinas was started by the Play Universal Co. If you don’t know, it is actually the first festival to be held just to tackle the different issues faced by kids play in the country. Together varied companies and institutions help with concerned individuals on shaping the future of young Filipinos today through improving ways to do their playing activity.

Since, our culture encompasses a lot of games that were actually passed from generations, Play Pilipinas aims to start a call on preserving, promoting as well as enriching original Pinoy games, or what kids play here in our country, while at the same time touching on psychomotor skills. The event is wholly packed with fun and energy driven activities for the whole family to participate.

Visit the site now at www.playpilipinas.org for more details on how to join!

Here is a view of what’s in store at Play Pilipinas 2011:

• some of the speakers attending to hear would be Ma. Lourdes “Honey” Arellano-Carandang, Ph.D., a practicing clinical psychologist.
• Hitoshi Shimamura, a playworker and supervisor in series of adventure playgrounds in and outside Tokyo for 15 years.
• Kay Gibbons, the Head of Nutrition Services at Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne.
• You can also choose from relevant workshops to join like “Toy Analysis” by Rebecca de Guzman, OTRP, University of the Philippines – Manila and “The Play Mindset” with My Masterpiece;
• and lastly, the fair would also include aside from exhibits from toy designers, a book and nutrition fair just for your kids together with other fair activities.

The registration for participants is extended only up to this October 15, 2011. So what are you waiting for?

For the Filipinos,  September 21 is “Martial Law” day. It was the day when President Ferdinand Marcos put the entire country under martial law. Most people connote it as a negative day. However,  this is not my topic today. I want to share to you the positive aspect of September 21, not only for the Filipinos but for the whole world.

September 21  is the United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Peace. It is celebrated each year to recognize the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace. The International Day of Peace is also a day of ceasefire – personal or political.

On this day, also known as Peace Day, people around the world take part in various activities and organize events centered on the theme “peace”.

The first Peace Day was celebrated in 1982 and was held on the third Tuesday of September each year. Apparently,  the UN General Assembly decided in 2001 that the International Day of Peace should be annually observed on September 21 starting from 2002.  With the setting of the fixed day, the UN declared that the day should be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.

The symbol of peace is a dove flying with an olive branch in its beak. The dove represent “hope for peace” or a peace offering from one person to another. Some religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam a white dove is a sign for peace.

Let’s use this day not only to find peace in our country but to each and everyone as well including our family members, neighbors and even to our office mates. And most importantly, let’s utilize this day to take a pause from our every day toils and struggles by praying and meditating so we can have the most important peace of all – that is our inner peace.

My husband and I together with our group of mountain bikers had a nice ride last week. We we went to unheard Crocodile Lake  and Dampalit Falls. Both are located in Los Banos Laguna. The total distance we  ride that day was 68.11 kilometers, according to my husband cyclometer. This is the longest bike ride I’ve been so far!

Crocodile Lake Los Banos

The Crocodile Lake is not that much popular among the bikers and tourists. I think because aside from the lake itself, you won’t see much any much sight seeing in the area. There’s not much development. In reality, the lake is surrounded by private houses already and some resorts.  My husband and I were expecting something more of a rural settings. We’d chanced to see few old boats, houses and handheld water pumps.  Apparently, upon asking the locals,  we were told that most houses are already operating their own electric water system because according to them deep well pumps prices are much cheaper  in the long run.

As we pedaled our way to Dampalit Falls, my husband and I were discussing how we fetched water from the available hand pump. My hubby told me, as far as he can remember, there’s only one pump along the stretch of their street, and there’s no other water pumps available. He can also fondly recall how much fun he and his friends  had when they took a bath together.

We were astonished by the beauty of the the falls when reached our destination, so my husband and our friends took a bath right away.The ladies didn’t take the plunge because we didn’t bring any extra shirts.

Some of our friends who didn’t make our bike ride that day were envious  when we posted our pictures in Facebook.

And now, we’re planning to hit more trails of Los Banos to Caluan to visit more falls and hidden valleys…soon!

The enforcing of anti-smoking law around Metro Manila is temporarily halted after a court in Mandaluyong ordered the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) not to implement it.

According to MMDA, the temporary restraining order only covers sidewalks and public thoroughfares, so it means it’s still being enforced in other areas.

As a non-smoker, I really can’t tolerate the smell of  bad breath from someone who smokes specially those smokers blowing smoke in public places as if they don’t care about the people around them. Please do note there were times that I puffed cigarettes in college so I know how to get rid of the bad smell before I gets home.

I just read some information on electronic cigarettes or e-cigs for short, that there’s no second-hand smoke and no odor of tobacco. If smokers can’t really stop their habit, I’m thinking if they can use e-cigs instead of the real cigarettes. There’s actually no tar or tobacco on this product except only the taste of nicotine which is actually what the smokers are craving for.

Based on some information that I’ve researched, the electronic cigarette is even more economical because it can be restored and used over and over.

So if  you really can’t control the habit, I propose that you try e-cigs. I suggest you visit some electronic cigarette comparison sites to know what is the best type that can help you in quitting. I can’t suggest anything about it because I did not go through this period anymore. What I can assure you is that, this is in reality, your first step in trying to quit your habit of smoking.

Quitting smoking is not easy but you have to take the first step if you really want to get rid of it.

I’ve been hearing  in the news for the past days that Dengue is once again on high alert status. Last night, it was reported that 32 died already in Ilocos region. The number of deaths reported was half of the reported deaths last year for the same time period.

The Department of Education alerted the schools in the country against the disease Dengue after a state of calamity was declared in the Ilocos region where 32 people die while 4665 still stricken and continue the escalation of the hospitalized.

Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro cautioned the students as well as the teachers to readily see their school clinic doctor as soon as they feel the symptoms of Dengue. Anybody can be stricken with the disease, either young or old.

Some symptoms of dengue are high fever, rashes, and severe headaches.

In this regard,  an ”express lanes” against Dengue was established in some of the hospitals and rural health units in La Union and Pangasinan.  Fogging (note: DOH is not recommending this), fumigation and cleanup drive were also conducted in such provinces.

The school officials are encouraged to work together barangay officials to ensure the surrounding of schools stays clean because this is one effective way to avoid dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Half the battle against dengue is won with a clean surrounding.

Students are also instructed to wear long pants or jogging pants. The dengue-carrying mosquitoes normally target exposed skins particularly the legs, which is why the school’s principal now encourages students to wear pants.

I encourage all PinayMom readers on How to Recognize The Symptoms of Dengue Fever and How To Dengue-Proof Your Home.

Year 2009 when my husband and I noticed that there’s something wrong with our eldest son’s eyes.  So we decided to bring him to a pediatric ophthalmologist. The doctor told us that our son has astigmatism.Then she asked who amongst our family has astigmatism since it is hereditary or genetic in nature.  We cannot give an answer to the doctor because we don’t know whose family side has astigmatism.

We were informed that it’s curable since our son is still young and can still be corrected. The doctor gave our son prescription to wear an eyeglasses, and alternate eye patch everyday to correct his astigmatism. My son looks like a pirate whenever he wears his eye patch.

I’m a bit sad when I learned that my son need to wear eyeglasses. My husband and I have perfect vision,  and I hate wearing glasses except to protect our eyes from the sun.

Our youngest son wearing his eyeglasses

Then last year, we brought our youngest son to have his eyes checked also. To our dismayed, our youngest son has the same result. Worst, the level of his astigmatism is much higher than his older brother.

I was able to find some designer eyewear for my youngest son unfortunately, he is more physically active than his older brother so I bought him an sports eyewear too. While surfing the internet this afternoon, I came across a web site which make specialized affordable eyeglasses. The prizes are also almost comparable to the local store where I’m buying my son’s eye glasses.  I also read that they have an outreach program wherein for every  pair of eyeglasses  you buy they would donate another pair to someone.

I felt relieved knowing that we are helping someone out there, buy purchasing an eye wear for our sons. Isn’t it awesome? I hope there will be more business establishments that will donate or help other people for every cents spent in their store.

What do you do to create healthy lunch boxes? It must contain grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and calcium that is nutritious for a child should eat and part of healthy diet children allergies.

It’s like clockwork, diet and health goes together. One can never do without each other. If you keep your child in shape, his or her childhood will be enjoyed to the fullest. As parents, you should guide and provide what really your child needs to eat. Healthy diet children allergies prevention should be maintained. Acting like secondary dietitians, teach them to be smart eaters. I mean, they are the future of our today’s world and growing up with a food-borne illness that can lead to I.Q. deficiency.  We wouldn’t want that to happen.

In relation, a food nutrition study had scientists compare children from a rural African village and Florence Italy. The first group were said to follow diets rich in fiber. While the second group had all the food they can eat at their country. Conclusions showed significant diversities in both reactions from the 2 parties.

Though the Italian children seem to have eaten more meat, fat and sugar, the African children were still found with a higher rate of fatty acids, but lesser obesity-linked bacteria, which only shows that they have greater protection from inflammation. This result can lead to serious illnesses like asthma, eczema and other allergic reactions.  Hence, these African children follow healthy diet children allergies.

If you want your child be healthy as possible, even without under your watchful eye, you can start a food diary. This is a short record of the daily food intake that your child eats.

So, what can be found in one?

1. The number of food and beverage intake
2. Using standards sizes and weights such as tsps., cups, ounces, etc. to measure it. Avoid using informal terms like “bites” or “sips”.
3. Brand names of the food and beverages.
4. Preparation like cooking methods such as baked, broiled, fried, stewed, or micro waved.
5. Put this in the kitchen, dining area or any place that your child loves to eat
6. Consult experts of dietician, family doctor or any nutrition services

When we say smart eater, we also think of food safety. Aside from following a healthy diet children allergies guide. In order to achieve this, some precautions are necessary, like preheating for warm ups, chilling foods with cold water for temperature preserving, use ice packs to freeze foods like breads and lastly, your children’s lunch boxes should be avoided of direct sunlight or cooling resources.

More importantly, avoid junk foods since it is not healthy and will certainly result to failures of a healthy diet children allergies program. You can create lunches with grains, fruits, vegetables, protein and calcium like yogurt or fortified juices. Modern technology have made it possible to come up with enhanced food products, which are more nutritious and packed with all the nutrients a child needs for growing strong and healthy.