(Photo by Quah Chin Hin)
To increase public understanding of health matters, Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) Singapore members have been organising monthly health talks on the last Sunday of each month since July 2022. These events are held at the Tzu Chi Humanistic Youth Centre (HYC) located in Yishun, and interested participants can attend in person or watch via YouTube live streaming.
On 30 April 2023, the Let’s Talk Health series focused on the topic of “Diabetes Treatment and Prevention”. Interestingly, the invited guest speakers were from both Western and Eastern medicine practices, promoting the “East meets West” approach as advertised on the event poster.
(Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
The guest speakers for the event were Dr Ester Yeoh, Senior Consultant Endocrinologist at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital; Dr Eddie Chan, a Nutritional & Lifestyle Medicine Physician from Malaysia; Dr Clement Ng, TCM practitioner who is also the President of the Singapore Acupuncture Association; Dr Lim Xiang Jun, Senior Consultant TCM Physician, and Staff Nurse Syakinah Edayah.
Recognising that diabetes is a major health concern with disturbing social implications, the Singapore Health Authority together with the Institute of Policy Studies, declared war on Diabetes in 2016 to raise awareness and generate community-based recommendations on how to better prevent and manage diabetes as a nation.
The number of diabetes patients has been increasing, with an estimated of close to 1.2 million people being diagnosed as diabetic or undiagnosed diabetics in Singapore. This has placed Singapore as the No 2 nation in the world with a high diabetes rate.
Today’s talk started with Dr Ester Yeoh giving an overview of the two types of Diabetes, i.e. Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. She also talked about “Diabetes Remission”, which is possible without medication. Although Diabetes is a disease that cannot be cured, observing DESMM, the five pillars of Diabetes Management, which stands for Diet, Exercise, Support/Stress and Monitor/Medicine, can effectively achieve Diabetes Remission.
Dr Eddie Chan is the person who initiated the “Healthier Me 21-Day Challenge” programme that serves to help people regain their health by adopting a plant-based diet. (Photo by Lai Tong Heng)
Regarding diet management, Dr Eddie Chan, a Nutritional and Lifestyle physician, introduced the benefits of adopting a “Whole Food Plant-Based Diet” as the first line of treatment and disease prevention. However, changing our eating habits is always challenging. Dr Eddie put it very bluntly that meat eaters are actually “sauce lovers” because meat has no taste if not for the sauce, which is an unhealthy part of any diet. The question we should ponder is how we want to spend our last ten years of life. Do we want to change now to make health last or wait for another 30 years to change, which may be too late?
As pointed out by TCM physician Dr Clement Ng, Diabetes can be termed an illness of the affluent. Overindulgence in our food intake and our food choices can cause an imbalance in our bodies, leading to health implications. He emphasised that early intervention is important in keeping diabetes at bay. The modern Chinese Medicine perspective focuses on “system theories” targeting the strengthening of our body system and not just treating organ deficiency. Eating moderately and regularly with the intake of nutritional food rather than the “rich” food is one of the pieces of advice given by Dr Clement Ng. Dr Lim Xiang Jin, another TCM physician, also demonstrated some simple exercises on the meridian points that can relieve diabetes patients.
Dr Lim Xiang Jun demonstrating some simple exercises on the meridian points that can relieve diabetes patients. (Photo by Quah Chin Hin)
Interestingly, most of the participants at today’s event were retirees in their sixties or seventies, many of whom are diabetes patients seeking a cure. That made the author ponder whether the younger generations are not concerned about health issues and don’t mind continuing to indulge in unhealthy diets at the risk of illness. From the talk, it was concluded that lifestyle changes are an important factor in managing diabetes or keeping it in remission, and the best prevention is awareness. Although making changes can be difficult, staff nurse Syakinah advised the audience to start with small changes and slowly adjust their habits, especially those who are die-hard meat lovers.
More than 80 members of the public attended the four-hour talk which started at 2 pm in person at HYC, and around 110 audiences watched the live stream online. Despite the lengthy session, participants were keen to learn more and many stayed on after the event to ask further questions.
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