RASTA AND DIABETES...AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL COMMUNICATION

RASTAFARIANS AND DIABETES

CAN A TRUE RASTA GET DIABETES?

The beautiful island of Jamaica in the West Indies is visited by millions of tourists each year, most of them coming on package holidays from USA or Canada and to a lesser degree from Europe.

Too few of them are lucky to meet or become acquainted with the philosophy of Rastafarians…but take home the erroneous belief that it has something to do with smoking Ganja. the name for the good quality Marijuana grown in Jamaica, in local speak.

I was lucky enough to be introduced to the philosophy of Rasta, during my sojourn in Jamaica and had great respect for its practitioners, who were from all walks of life and socioeconomic strata. It is a philosophy of life, much like Yoga Philosophy, of harmony with nature and inner self, practising a non-violent way of life. Most religions have rituals, whether it is vegetarianism or idol worship or chewing peyote or smoking Ganja, which are just small parts of the overall belief systems. Remember, Alcohol is considered a drug and banned in certain places, is part of the social milieu in another, and central in some religious ceremonies.

So all those good memories came rushing back when I read a scientific article published and publicized in the USA just this week.

Especially of interest to an Endocrinologist!

Current Ganja (I prefer this term to the sterile Cannabis) smokers were found to have lower levels of Fasting Insulin levels and were less likely to be Insulin Resistant than non-smokers.

Insulin resistance is a hallmark of Obesity, Pre Diabetes and Diabetes.

HDL cholesterol is a “good” form of cholesterol that protects you from heart disease and pharmaceutical companies have been trying various drugs and combinations of drugs to market. Since a majority of the westerners have lower levels of this cholesterol and thus “susceptible” to heart disease. But so far they have not been able to…or failed in their attempts. Obviously they have been looking at the wrong places.

Ganja users in general were less overweight and also had higher HDL cholesterol levels in this study, published in the American Journal of Medicine on May 16, 2013

Previously it had been noted that regular Ganja users had less obesity and Diabetes but this was the first study to investigate the relationship between Ganja use and Fasting Insulin, Glucose and Insulin Resistance.

There are an estimated 17.4 million current users of Ganja in the USA of whom 4.6 million are regular users.

As an anthropologist I would add yet another dimension to this.

Stress through its hormonal effects increases insulin resistance and chronic stress releases hormones, which can cause Diabetes. Ganja use either in context as in Jamaica or in social usage as in the Western countries, may decrease these hormones and their damaging side effects.

This adds yet another Explanatory Model to our world of doctor patient relationships:

No, Police Officer, I was just trying to reduce my chances of getting Diabetes. You Know, both my father and mother have Diabetes and the doctors tell me I have to do every thing to prevent getting it!

NESPRESSO IN BRUSSELS.. WHAT ELSE?

It is not often that I get excited about shops and boutiques, but I have to admire when someone takes something so quotidian such as Coffee and make it so elegant a product!
My supply was running low, also wanted to take some with me to the USA, so decided to visit Nespresso Boutique at Luizalaan 1 in Brussel.
The usual subdued elegance as you enter but the Belgian friendliness exhibits itself from the very begining. Whereas the Nespresso boutique at Opera in Paris is an elegant affair and the attendants dressed immaculately, but they lack the smile and spontaneity of their Belgian counterparts.
You are given a number and you ascend a spiral stairways to another floor where your Nespresso capsules are dispensed. I waited for about five minutes before my number was flashed upon the screen. I found myself in front of Desk 2, and unlike the French Ones, this gent greeted me in French and English and our conversation was in English, which wouldn't have been the case in Paris, where they are blissfully ignorant of this most popular idiom.
We talked about various flavours of Nespresso, and I ordered a few of each and then he recommended the latest additions which are stronger than normal. He also made a special Nespresso ID for me, in case I find myself in this neighbourhood of Bruxelles I can come in for a cup of Coffee of my choice.. complimentary of course..

After paying he personally escorts me to the cafe dispenser downstairs and asks for my favourite flavour.. Rosabaya from Colombia I say. He personally fixes me a shot and wishes me well before disappearing.
This level of service I have not received in two of the Paris branches, or in Amsterdam where it is sold in the largest supermarket or Nespresso at Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.
I was quite impressed..
Please note that the tasa for Rosabaya is exactly the same shape and colour as the Capsule for Rosabaya!

SHORT INTENSE EXERCISE WITH REST AND ITS HEALTH BENEFITS: LESSONS FROM THE HUMBLE MAN OF BOGOR

We look at Doctors as guardians of our health, and expect them to follow what they preach: Eat Well and Exercise.

A recent study published in the USA, makes you realize that what the ancient wise men had repeatedly said: There is no meaning to words if they are not followed by action.

NEARLY ONE IN TWO PRACTISING PHYSICIAN DID NO EXERCISE AT ALL. AND MORE OR LESS THE SAME PROPORTION, ONE IN TWO, WERE OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE.

It was interesting to note that the physicians who were happy in their professions did exercise more and were leaner!

If the doctors can’t follow their own advice, how can you expect the patients who are counseled by them to do?

Nearly 2 out of 3 persons living in richer countries are not doing sufficient physical exercise. Even though they have come up with this magical number of 150 minutes of physical activity per week, one has to make this part of your everyday activity such as eating.

I remember the Humble Man of Bogor telling me, if you just do what you can EACH day you would soon realize that it will become like an “addiction” and you will begin to feel the absence. (Sure enough, within a few weeks of beginning daily activity, when the winter set in the northern hemisphere, I lamented each day that I could not do some physical activity)

Not every one should aim to look like body builder or behave like one (Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to mind!) but the ancient sages including the American Indian elders when talking about Harmony in our lives, talked about the slow and smooth flowing of daily life.

Breathing exercises or Greeting of the Sun in the morning or offering of prayers of gratitude were all parts of the cultures, some of which survive amidst us to this day.

It is not only that the modern lifestyle leaves you with less time, but also with less harmony in life. So one has to strive for harmony: within oneself, with ones environment and workplace and of course harmony with friends and family.

Let us concentrate on Physical Activity for a minute!

Lancet, the British Medical Journal, had a report of a symposium of some leading researchers in this field:

The team of 33 researchers drawn from centres across the world also said governments needed to look at ways to make physical activity more convenient, affordable and safer.

It is recommended that adults do 150 minutes of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, cycling or gardening, each week.

The Lancet study found people in higher income countries were the least active with those in the UK among the worst, as nearly two-thirds of adults were judged not to be doing enough.

The World Health Organization also says physical inactivity is the fourth largest contributor to global deaths, and increases risk of some cancers, diabetes and heart disease.

This above statement is no surprise, as we know that Physical Inactivity is the GREATEST contributor of ILL HEALTH not only in richer countries but also in emerging countries such as India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia etc.,

How much should you weigh? On the average, you should weigh

100 lbs. for the first five feet of your height and then

Six pounds for each additional inch if you are man and five pounds for each additional inch if you are a woman

So if you are five foot five woman, the ideal body weight is 125 pounds and for a man of the same height, it would be 130 pounds. These are not hard and fast rules but a general guideline. If you are five foot five and you are very athletic, your muscles would contribute your weight and you may weigh more than 130 pounds, in which case you have to make sure that your adult weight has remained stable over a period of time.

Body Mass Index is calculated by dividing your weight in Kg by square of your height in metres and expressed as Kg/M2.

For Europeans, normal is considered to be 25, but there is an attempt to bring it down to 24, as 25 kg/m2 of BMI does not clearly take into account the body fat, which is far more important a measurement with regards to health.

Asians, normal Body Mass Index is considered to be 22 kg/m2, unless you are very fit in which case the muscle mass will increase it slightly. But for an average person BMI of 24 is overweight and a BMI of 27 can be considered Obesity if you are Asian or part Asian.

What sort of activity should you do?

First of all, it is very important to understand the role of Activity in Health. It is not good to think of exercising to loose weight, even though it might be a beneficial side benefit of it. You should exercise to feel good and contribute to your own health.

Depending upon where you live, your social and cultural situation (Saudi Arabian Women are not known to exercise, for cultural reasons and the Malaysian girls are already sweating under their head to toe coverage under the hot and humid sun) you can choose the level of your participation in physical activity.

One thing is very important. Whatever you decide to do, what is MOST important is not the amount, intensity of your physical activity but the fact that you have to be consistent with it.

You can read in any ancient philosophy and they repeatedly advise you to be consistent, it is not enough to do it once in a while whether it is being good to your fellow human beings or breathing exercises (Pranayama) or walking or High Intensity Exercise.

As the Humble Man of Bogor explains: Hey, Doc, you have to do it every day!

Whether it is New York or Singapore, one refrain I hear is: I don't have time.

I silently ask them: What do you have time for?

A person who says they don't have time, it also means that they don't have time for you, and your friendship.

But we cant neglect our friendships with them, even if they don't have time for us, so we have to find ways of counseling them about exercise and physical activity.

This lack of time has given rise to some High Intensity Work outs and they last only seven to ten minutes at a time. Presto. Scientifically shown to decrease Insulin Resistance and BP and in general increase well being.

In 12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall, it fulfills the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort — all of it based on science.

“There’s very good evidence” that high-intensity interval training provides “many of the fitness benefits of prolonged endurance training but in much less time,” says Chris Jordan, the director of exercise physiology at the Human Performance Institute in Orlando, Fla., and co-author of the new article.

Work by scientists at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and other institutions shows, for instance, that even a few minutes of training at an intensity approaching your maximum capacity produces molecular changes within muscles comparable to those of several hours of running or bike riding.

Interval training, though, requires intervals; the extremely intense activity must be intermingled with brief periods of recovery. In the program outlined by Mr. Jordan and his colleagues, this recovery is provided in part by a 10-second rest between exercises. But even more, he says, it’s accomplished by alternating an exercise that emphasizes the large muscles in the upper body with those in the lower body. During the intermezzo, the unexercised muscles have a moment to, metaphorically, catch their breath, which makes the order of the exercises important.

The exercises should be performed in rapid succession, allowing 30 seconds for each, while, throughout, the intensity hovers at about an 8 on a effort and discomfort scale of 1 to 10, Mr. Jordan says. Those seven minutes should be, in a word, difficult but bearable. The upside is, after seven minutes, you’re done.

Believe it or not, our humble man from Bogor has been doing just that.

Once stuck in a hotel gym because the outside weather wouldn't permit him to do his exercises, he struck up a conversation with an American who instructed in the quick intense exercise programme. He brought it home to Indonesia and each and every morning, after the running and Jogging around the Sentul Lake, the managers who have joined him for the Sentul Lake reunion, come back to the office and Pak Joe leads the gang in quick succession of high intensity exercises. It lasts no longer than 20 minutes with intervals for rest and chatting. He is able to do it without discomfort but I see varying degrees of discomfort and when I participated in it, muscles I knew not to exist began hurting. But the effect was immediate. After just two days, I could feel the effects on the abdominal wall.

On my last visit to Bogor and my friends there, the humble Man of Bogor agreed to do a video for the staff of the American Indian Programme on prevention of Diabetes among Adolescents. He was very careful to modify the High Intensity Programme knowing full well that even staff members involved in the prevention of Diabetes may find the intensity too much; he only included exercises, which ANYONE can do.

So even if you are partner in Crunchem and Stealem EYMG Accountants, in New York or Kuala Lumpur, you can spare four minutes per day, The life you save would be your own, and you no longer have to sleep alone with your iPhone or iPad as others may find you more attractive than before!

It was interesting to see Dr Moseley who is a Medical Correspondent for the BBC, undergoing tests to prove or disprove the High Intensity Training; he was pleasantly surprised that his Insulin Resistance did come down, making him less liable for future Diabetes. This is what he had to say:
Based on what I've learnt I've been trying out my own 'Twenty Plus' campaign; 20 seconds of intense activity when I can (running up stairs, cycling like crazy for short bursts on my bike), a minimum of 20 minutes of walking every day, and no more than 20 minutes of sitting at my computer or in front of the television without getting up and moving around.

Dr Michael Moseley BBC

Good Advice!

20 minutes of walking per day, High Intensity Exercises at 20 second interval spurts and not sitting in front of TV or Computer more than twenty minutes at a time.

Say also NO to Facebook, Google Plus, Yahoo Messenger. Make your iPhone your helper and not the Nazi Dictator it has become!

Spend more time with your friends, face to face, even if you have to travel a long distance to do that.

The Humble Man of Bogor had this to add for my American Indian friends: (echoing the studies done in Florida University)

When you are doing this short Body Works Exercise programme, you are not using just leg muscles but also the upper body muscles, including the muscles of your neck, so that 80 per cent of the body’s muscle cells are activated. If you do only running or jogging, only about 20-40% of the muscle cells are activated: walking or moderate intensity jogging or normal bicycling.

Welcome to Bogor, Welcome to Indonesia, Welcome to our Group of Friends of Pak Joe. And regain your health or improve your health.

See you at 6 am at the Sentul Lake, from where you can see the majestic Gunung Salak looking benignly at you!

 My good friend in KL, MC, who was my Yoga Teacher would recognize certain of these poses as Asanas prescribed by Patanjali. As it is said in Yoga Sutra, without understanding the philosophy behind ones action, stretching exercises such as Modern Yoga practised by the Fake Yogis of the West would be just stretching exercises only bereft of the great benefits Yoga can render to a person, their personality, their personal life and not to mention the health benefits.

For a person who is unaware of Yogic Philosophy, he seems to be a Practitioner of it, fully integrating Practice with Action.

 This is the BP and Pulse rate of the Humble Man of 

Bogor

98/68 mmHg

62/min

Needless to say these readings are Excellent for a Man of any age!

LEE KUAN YEW AND HIS QUESTION FOR BERNARD LEWIS : HAS MUCH CHANGED SINCE 1970

LEE KUAN YEW AND HIS QUESTION FOR BERNARD LEWIS

I quote verbatim, from Notes on Century: Reflections of a Middle East Historians by Bernard Lewis published in 2012 by Viking.

During the early 1970s, Bernard Lewis, the best-known Historian of Islam (he is British and Jewish, has been a professor at Princeton for ages), found himself in Singapore on his way to Australia for a meeting. Someone had asked Lew Kuan Yew the PM of the new nation of Singapore (1965 Singapore separated from Malaysia and Singapore to become an independent country) whether he would be interested in meeting Bernard Lewis.

Bernard Lewis turned up at 10 AM at Lee Kuan Yew’s Office, LKY got down to business without any formalities or politeness.

He said, “ I understand you’re a specialist on Islam. We have a problem. In Singapore we have a Muslim minority, partly Malay, partly from South Asia. We do everything we can to help them. We give them preferential treatment in school and in the university, in government employment, and for businesspeople in the awarding of government contracts. We do everything we can to help them. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m no bleeding-heart liberal, but the last thing we need here, between two large Muslim countries, Indonesia and Malaysia, is a discontented Muslim minority. Now,” he said, “despite everything we do to help them, they keep sinking to the bottom of the pile.  I have two questions for you, Why are they like that, and what can we do about it?”

Of course, Bernard Lewis could only muster an inadequate answer to the first question and none at all to the second.

Singapore, which has reached the developed nation standards by every reckoning, sits in between two corrupt governments: Indonesia and Malaysia. The recent elections in Malaysia pitted for the first time Malay against Malay and one could see that the governing party had unfair advantages and huge amount of money was given away. Chinese voted for the opposition and Indian vote is almost inconsequential. The governing party has been in power for 56 years and now four more guaranteed, but the average Malay is still poor and at the bottom. Of course, those who know how to manipulate the system have become immensely wealthy.

So the question of LKY forty years ago is still relevant, perhaps the way to bring an underprivileged group of people is not to throw development at them but educate them and perhaps even free them from the oppression of religion. Countries in Asia, which are very religious, are all at the bottom of the international standings: Indonesia, Philippines, and Timor Leste, Myanmar. Malaysia without the Chinese would sink further down on the list, all observers agree.

On a recent visit to Kuala Trengganu in Malaysia I was shown a mosque, called Crystal Mosque, built at a cost of 500 million Ringgits, more than 150 million American dollars, and the artisans had to be brought in from Uzbekistan (locally not available). I was not impressed, not yet another mosque! When the Moslem children of Malaysia have the highest rate of Obesity and prospect of chronic diseases in South East Asia and I don't hear any one talking or doing anything about it!

Also, close to one million qualified Malaysian Chinese work and live in Singapore contributing to the wellness of that country’s prosperity. More Chinese and Indian Malaysians can be found in UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand… which hinders the competence of Malaysia at international levels of education, technology, science and research. A country published just 7000 papers in all fields of research endeavours in 2011 with a population of 29 million people (Malaysia). It does not hold a candle to Israel a country of 5 million people where the productivity of one university centre in Haifa alone would eclipse the total Malaysian research output!!!

LKY is a man of great talent. He was predicted to be in ruins, taking out a barren island out on his own in 1965. Any one who has visited Singapore recently can attest whether or not his move has been a successful one.

IMF rank of Singapore for personal income per capita is No 10 in the world; Malaysia comes in at No 64

http://medicoanthropologist.blogspot.be/search?q=bernard+lewis

Is an earlier blog of mine about Bernard Lewis about Arab Freedom and how it may come about?

It is a great paradox that the most liberal Arab press is not to be found in any Arab country but in Israel!