Just What The Doctor Ordered
So here I am in Thailand. Koh Samui, to be exact. Koh Samui is a beautiful little island located down south in the Gulf of Thailand. It is surrounded by warm, clear blue calm water and sandy beaches, dotted with coconut trees and filled to the brim with natural beauty. I have been here many times, and each time I have a very difficult time leaving.
While visiting this little piece of heaven, I have occasionally required medical care. Sun burns, minor infections, the occasional bout with food poisoning or simple diarrhea, all to be expected when staying on an island in a third world country. Never fear -- Samui has several hospitals available. So, when you hear the words hospital, island, third world -- what images come to mind? A grass hut? Old rusty medical instruments? Unsanitary conditions? I always remember an adventure I had on a Greek island years ago. While exploring a remote and empty beach I had stepped on a sea urchin. With a few of its spines painfully lodged deep in the sole of my left foot, I hobbled to the only "clinic" on the island, a tiny dirty looking metal shack. The "doctor" spoke no english and used no anaesthetic. I was happy to get through the ordeal, and even happier to make it home to Los Angeles with my foot intact. I immediately went out to my favorite Japanese restaurant and scarfed down several orders of sea urchin sushi, a big smile on my face.
No matter -- rest assured, the hospitals on Koh Samui are modern, clean, and professionally staffed with smiling uniformed nurses and assistants who speak english competently and are present to ensure that visitors receive excellent and timely care. In fact, I have never waited more than ten minutes after walking in off the street to see a doctor. Most importantly, the doctors, many of whom have studied or done their residencies in the U.S. or Europe, speak very clear english and are every bit as competent as any doctor you will find back home. All this for a price so low I once felt compelled to email my doctor in Los Angeles and rub it in. He didn't believe me at first. Come to think of it, I heard from someone that he moved here recently. Anyway, I have used the same hospital here since my first trip in 1999. They maintain excellent records of all my past visits, and the nurses and doctors always remember me and greet me with a smile.
I have a lot more to say, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now the sun is shining and the water looks too good to ignore. I'm going in for a swim.
While visiting this little piece of heaven, I have occasionally required medical care. Sun burns, minor infections, the occasional bout with food poisoning or simple diarrhea, all to be expected when staying on an island in a third world country. Never fear -- Samui has several hospitals available. So, when you hear the words hospital, island, third world -- what images come to mind? A grass hut? Old rusty medical instruments? Unsanitary conditions? I always remember an adventure I had on a Greek island years ago. While exploring a remote and empty beach I had stepped on a sea urchin. With a few of its spines painfully lodged deep in the sole of my left foot, I hobbled to the only "clinic" on the island, a tiny dirty looking metal shack. The "doctor" spoke no english and used no anaesthetic. I was happy to get through the ordeal, and even happier to make it home to Los Angeles with my foot intact. I immediately went out to my favorite Japanese restaurant and scarfed down several orders of sea urchin sushi, a big smile on my face.
No matter -- rest assured, the hospitals on Koh Samui are modern, clean, and professionally staffed with smiling uniformed nurses and assistants who speak english competently and are present to ensure that visitors receive excellent and timely care. In fact, I have never waited more than ten minutes after walking in off the street to see a doctor. Most importantly, the doctors, many of whom have studied or done their residencies in the U.S. or Europe, speak very clear english and are every bit as competent as any doctor you will find back home. All this for a price so low I once felt compelled to email my doctor in Los Angeles and rub it in. He didn't believe me at first. Come to think of it, I heard from someone that he moved here recently. Anyway, I have used the same hospital here since my first trip in 1999. They maintain excellent records of all my past visits, and the nurses and doctors always remember me and greet me with a smile.
I have a lot more to say, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Right now the sun is shining and the water looks too good to ignore. I'm going in for a swim.
written by Ultimate Health Guide on Tuesday September 4, 2007 03:37 AM
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Health is Wealth
I hadn't ever thought about what the phrase, "health is wealth," meant prior to my twenties. Only until I started to feel dis-ease in areas of my body as an adult then I realized the power of and the truth behind that statement.
The human body is an amazing system that tends to itself, replenish and rejuvenates with a little bit of basic care. But for me personally, it's been easy to neglect it, ignore it, and give into the stresses and the unhealthful temptations of the day.
I'm definitely interested in learning more about taking care of my body. But I'm not ready to give up chocolates and sweets. Though I have given up eating flesh meat and most non-organic dairy.
I am pleased to join Ultimate Health Guide. Looking forward to browsing around more and reading all about health. Bye.
The human body is an amazing system that tends to itself, replenish and rejuvenates with a little bit of basic care. But for me personally, it's been easy to neglect it, ignore it, and give into the stresses and the unhealthful temptations of the day.
I'm definitely interested in learning more about taking care of my body. But I'm not ready to give up chocolates and sweets. Though I have given up eating flesh meat and most non-organic dairy.
I am pleased to join Ultimate Health Guide. Looking forward to browsing around more and reading all about health. Bye.
written by on Saturday October 14, 2006 02:19 AM
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Another reason to avoid meat !
If you like those ready to eat meat products, look out, a new wave of food additives are on the way. While vegetarian mock-meats here in the USA haven't quite managed to hook everyone, at least the new potenial dangers associated with the real thing aren't there. Have a look at what's on the way if you still like eating the decaying and rotting flesh of dead animals:
Agency Approves First Use of Viruses as a Food Additive
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 19, 2006
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (AP) A mix of bacteria-killing viruses may be sprayed on cold cuts, wieners and sausages to combat common microbes that kill hundreds of people a year, federal health officials ruled Friday.
The ruling, by the Food and Drug Administration, is the first approval of viruses as a food additive, said Andrew Zajac of the Office of Food Additive Safety at the agency.
Treatments that use bacteriophages to attack harmful bacteria have been a part of folk medicine for hundreds of years in India and for decades in the former Soviet Union.
The approved mix of six viruses is intended to be sprayed onto ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, including sliced ham and turkey, said John Vazzana, the president and chief executive of Intralytix, which developed the additive.
The viruses, called bacteriophages, are meant to kill strains of the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, the food agency said.
The bacterium can cause a serious infection called listeriosis, primarily in pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. In the United States, an estimated 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 500 die.
Luncheon meats are particularly vulnerable to Listeria because after they are bought they are typically not cooked or reheated, which can kill harmful bacteria like Listeria, Mr. Zajac said.
The preparation of bacteriophages ? the name is from the Greek for "bacteria eater" attacks only strains of the Listeria bacterium and not human or plant cells, the food agency said.
"As long as it used in accordance with the regulations, we have concluded it's safe" Mr. Zajac said.
People normally come into contact with bacteriophages through food, water and the environment, and they are found in our digestive tracts, the agency said.
Consumers will not be aware which meat and poultry products have been treated with the spray, Mr. Zajac said. The Department of Agriculture will regulate the actual use of the product.
The viruses are grown in a preparation of the very bacteria they kill, and then purified. The food agency had concerns that the virus preparation could contain toxic residues from the bacteria, but testing did not reveal residues, which in small quantities are not likely to cause health problems anyway, the agency said.
"The F.D.A. is applying one of the toughest food-safety standards which they have to find this is safe," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. "They couldn't approve this product if they had questions about its safety."
Intralytix, based in Baltimore, first petitioned the food agency in 2002 to allow the viruses to be used as an additive. It has since licensed the product to a multinational company, which intends to market it worldwide, Mr. Vazzana said.
Agency Approves First Use of Viruses as a Food Additive
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 19, 2006
WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 (AP) A mix of bacteria-killing viruses may be sprayed on cold cuts, wieners and sausages to combat common microbes that kill hundreds of people a year, federal health officials ruled Friday.
The ruling, by the Food and Drug Administration, is the first approval of viruses as a food additive, said Andrew Zajac of the Office of Food Additive Safety at the agency.
Treatments that use bacteriophages to attack harmful bacteria have been a part of folk medicine for hundreds of years in India and for decades in the former Soviet Union.
The approved mix of six viruses is intended to be sprayed onto ready-to-eat meat and poultry products, including sliced ham and turkey, said John Vazzana, the president and chief executive of Intralytix, which developed the additive.
The viruses, called bacteriophages, are meant to kill strains of the Listeria monocytogenes bacterium, the food agency said.
The bacterium can cause a serious infection called listeriosis, primarily in pregnant women, newborns and adults with weakened immune systems. In the United States, an estimated 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis each year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, 500 die.
Luncheon meats are particularly vulnerable to Listeria because after they are bought they are typically not cooked or reheated, which can kill harmful bacteria like Listeria, Mr. Zajac said.
The preparation of bacteriophages ? the name is from the Greek for "bacteria eater" attacks only strains of the Listeria bacterium and not human or plant cells, the food agency said.
"As long as it used in accordance with the regulations, we have concluded it's safe" Mr. Zajac said.
People normally come into contact with bacteriophages through food, water and the environment, and they are found in our digestive tracts, the agency said.
Consumers will not be aware which meat and poultry products have been treated with the spray, Mr. Zajac said. The Department of Agriculture will regulate the actual use of the product.
The viruses are grown in a preparation of the very bacteria they kill, and then purified. The food agency had concerns that the virus preparation could contain toxic residues from the bacteria, but testing did not reveal residues, which in small quantities are not likely to cause health problems anyway, the agency said.
"The F.D.A. is applying one of the toughest food-safety standards which they have to find this is safe," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group. "They couldn't approve this product if they had questions about its safety."
Intralytix, based in Baltimore, first petitioned the food agency in 2002 to allow the viruses to be used as an additive. It has since licensed the product to a multinational company, which intends to market it worldwide, Mr. Vazzana said.
written by on Friday October 13, 2006 11:18 AM
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