OUR 'NEGARA KU' AND INDONESIA'S 'TERANG BULAN' - THE SAME?

No wonder Indonesia is claiming the tune for our national anthem as theirs! Listen to "Terang Bulan" and you be the judge.

DO ANTI-AGEING PRODUCTS REALLY WORK?

Two nights ago I was at a Toastmasters meeting where the theme was “Fountain of Youth”. It got me reflecting on how obsessed people are about looking young and beautiful. This unhealthy obsession has driven celebrities and ordinary folk alike into spending huge sums of money on anti-ageing products, and surgery.

Today, the anti-ageing industry is a multibillion-dollar business. Step into any pharmacy or departmental store, and you will see a confusing array of age-defying supplements, creams and what-have-yous. But really, do any of these actually work?

Most of the surveys done on this subject have turned up little evidence to prove the effectiveness of anti-ageing products. Indeed, Anita Roddick, the late founder of The Body Shop famously said the cosmetics industry was peddling "a scandalous lie" in claiming that anti-ageing creams can stop wrinkles.

Sometimes all it takes to look great is a bit of grooming, make-up and a warm smile.

At the end of the day, anti ageing products tend to only work on the earliest and mildest signs of ageing. They may prevent and erase fine lines but they can't turn back the clock and make you look 20 if you are 50.

Furthermore, all dermatologists agree that our rate of ageing depends mostly on our lifestyle. So, rather than look for miracle creams, adopt the following regime:
1. Eat a balanced, healthy diet,
2. Stay out of the sun and use sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of at least 15,
3. Drink plenty of water.
4. Don’t smoke and keep away from smoky places and
5. Exercise regularly.

Boring…but effective!

Ageing is a natural process that everyone goes through, even a former Mr Universe. Guys are more concerned about youthful manhood than youthful looks, right?

Don’t be taken in by pictures of youthful looking ‘older’ women or men in glossy magazines. These pictures have been cleverly air-brushed to make the models look fabulous. Either that or the models are actually in their early 30s! The litmus test is to pick a model who is 60+ but looks 30+, and is a regular user of the brand of anti-ageing cream advertised.

Twiggy, 60. What a difference air-brushing makes! (Photo: Daily Mail)

I’d rather put my money and my faith in moisturizers. They are cheap, easily available and guaranteed effective. Want to get rid of wrinkles? Just learn to relax and smile more often. Worries and stress add lines to your face. That’s the simple truth.

“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.”

~ Sophia Loren

WILL SENIORS HERE TAKE TO THE TRIKE?

I kid you not - the view was spectacular! A bird's eye-view of the F1 race.

Was in Singapore over the weekend. Caught the F1 race again this year from the same hotel room as last year - from the 32nd floor of the Swissotel The Stamford. The view was simply breathtaking, and the roar of the cars simply deafening!

Hey, even F1 drivers have to start small. Me on the trike.

Last week I had an opportunity to try out a contraption called a trike. Of course, it's nothing like an F1 racer, but I was told the trike could boast speeds up to a maximum of 50mph. Not sure if I got that right, but Wow!

I found the trike extremely easy to maneuvre, even around tight corners. It is environmentally friendly as it uses pedal power. It is also great for exercising the lower body. And as you are in a recumbent position, you can relax and enjoy the view. No worries about backache from hunching over or, for the guys, no more "numb nuts"! Click here for a vicarious experience of triking.

Triking or recumbent biking has the potential to develop into a popular sport with the 50+. With its low centre of gravity, it's definitely much safer than riding a bicycle. There is no way you can fall and break a bone. But with a hefty price tag of USD2000+, not everyone can afford to pedal around the neighbourhood on a trike.

If you are interested in checking out the range of models for trikes, visit VelocityRacers in Hongkong. I'm going to put the recumbent trike next to the Kindle on my wish list!

SINGAPORE SNIPPETS

ST PHOTO: ASHLEIGH SIM

A group of 250 seniors were treated to a free shopping trip at the NTUC Fairprice supermarket in Jurong on Sunday. Volunteers from the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC) and Moral Neighbourhood Link, a voluntary welfare organisation that focuses on elder care were on hand to help the seniors and share tips on how to check for expiry dates and nutritional content on food items.

On the same day, the CDAC concluded a month-long rice donation drive with about 87,000kg of grain collected. The rice will be distributed to 4,000 needy families and senior citizens.

With nearly half of the pedestrian fatalities coming from the over-60 age group, the Singapore government will be introducing longer time at selected pedestrian crossings, mostly in the homelands or areas with a large concentration of elderly people. These 'Green Man Plus' crossings allow for an extra 17 seconds at a 4-lane crossing, and 21 seconds for a six-lane crossing.

All a senior citizen has to do is to tap his ez-link concession card on the special card-reader to activate the Green Man Plus. This will give him more time to cross the road safely.

The Green Man Plus idea would be great for the pedestrian crossing in front of Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) along Jalan Ampang. You have only 22 seconds to cross this busy 8-lane road. And you had better pray that motorists give you right of way as some don't bother to stop.

EAT WELL, BE WELL - 10 foods for longevity

It's been a frustrating week not being able to upload pictures on Seniorsaloud, no thanks to some technical glitch on Blogger. Apparently, it's a common problem. Guess I'll have to be patient and wait it out.

Fortunately, I can still upload from YouTube. Here's a video that I would like to share with you. I hope you will find it informative and useful.

When life is great, who doesn't want to extend it?

I've been meeting more and more 50+ folks who certainly know to enjoy life in their golden years. Just yesterday I met a fiesty 84-year old lady at a birthday bash for senior citizens. She was on the dance floor for almost every dance and game. Believe me, she looked fabulous!

There is no reason why we can't look good, feel great and enjoy life to the fullest, whatever our age. We just have to watch what we put into our body and mind. The right food, the right thoughts, and the right actions take us a long way on the road to longevity.

That's my mantra.

READING MADE EASY FOR SENIORS

Just watched Oprah on telly going gaga over the Kindle. When I first heard about the Kindle late 2007, I dismissed it as yet another pricey gadget for the young and trendy. Now after seeing Oprah waxing lyrical over her Kindle 2, I thought maybe I should check out the latest model - the Kindle DX. I did and came away impressed.

No, Amazon is not paying me to promote their e-reader. But, hey, good stuff should be shared, right? I know a lot of seniors love to read.

Consider these features. At only 19 oz, it's a lightweight. It can store up to 3500 books. Think of all the storage space you can save. You can select from over 275,000 titles. You don't need to carry wires and batteries along with the Kindle. There's a built-in dictionary. You can adjust the font size for easy readability. Also, no trees will be sacrificed for your reading pleasure.

Sure, there are other models like the Sony e-reader and the iLiad, but I have a feeling that, like Google, the Kindle will become a verb.

The only major downer is the price tag - USD490. Well, I'm putting the Kindle on my wish-list and visualizing reading my favourite books on a kindle. Maybe that will work.

If you want more info on how to use the Kindle in Malaysia, visit http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1053076.

WOULD YOU SUE YOUR CHILDREN FOR PARENTAL NEGLECT?

It is appalling to read about adult children abandoning their elderly parents in hospitals. Some of these stories are heart-breaking. The old folks wait for their children to come and take them home after their hospital stay, but no one turns up. Some children even go to the extent of changing their address so they cannot be traced. When the parents are discharged, they have nowhere to go.

Is filial piety dead?

In Singapore, the Maintenance of Parents Act 1996 has not deterred adult children from dumping their aged parents in hospitals. The government is considering amending the Act to allow a third party, such as hospitals, to take court action against children guilty of abandoning their parents in hospitals, in order to recover their losses in unpaid medical bills.

India has a similar act to protect the rights of parents to seek maintenance from their children for food, shelter, clothes, medical facilities and recreation.

In Malaysia, such an Act has yet to see the light of day. So cases of parental neglect continue to rise. From January to May this year, 134 such cases were reported at the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital – an increase of 12% for the same period last year. There is a similar pattern in other hospitals around the country.

Times have changed. Parents cannot take for granted that their children will look after them in their old age. Children today have a thousand and one reasons why they can’t or won't care for their aged parents.

“My father abandoned us when we were little.”

“My mother never cared much for us. Our maid was more of a mother to us.”

“My parents were poor role models. One was a gambler, the other was an alcoholic.”

"I can't afford to pay my father's medical expenses. I have my own family to support."

"My parents are so useless. They just sit in the house the whole day long and do nothing to help out."

"I resent being the one to have to care for my parents. My other siblings have refused to do so."

"Old people are so difficult to live with, and that includes my parents."

This is the reality. It all boils down to the parent-child relationship. Let's be honest with ourselves. Did we play our part as loving, responsible parents when our children were growing up? Did we spend enough quality time with them? Did we listen to them when they came to us for some advice and understanding? Were we too busy putting our career or business first?

If the bond is strong, our adult children will WANT to take care of us in our old age. They will do it out of love, and not grudgingly out of a sense of duty. A strong family bond is the best insurance against being abandoned by our children.

Taking our children to court and suing them for maintenance is a public admission of a complete breakdown in the parent-child relationship. In our Asian culture, this amounts to a total loss of face.

As a safeguard against this, young parents should brush up on their parenting skills. They should create and nurture a loving bond with their children from the very start. At the same time, they should start saving for their retirement and taking care of their health, the earlier the better so that they are able to live independently in their old age.