The BigChilli Features - The BigChilli

Thailand’s other little known killer disease

6/5/2020

Just a few short months ago, hardly anybody had heard of coronavirus, let alone COVID-19. That’s no longer the case, of course.

Today, this nasty virus is recognized around the world as a mass killer. Here in Thailand, thankfully, we’ve been spared the worst effects of the disease with a relatively small number of deaths (50+) compared to the US (61,656) and Spain (24,000) – and counting.

For now at least, COVID-19 is less deadly than Thailand’s long list of other killer diseases - cancer, malaria, dengue, hepatitis, measles, tuberculosis, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, leptospirosis, seasonal flu and HIV.

But there’s another disease that few people know about – and yet it’s responsible for up to 2,800 deaths a year. Called melioidosis, it’s the country’s third most-deadly infectious disease after AIDS and tuberculosis. The number of fatalities could be even higher, according to some reports, because of a lack of information about the disease.

Lift Yourself Up!

11/2/2020

By Peter L.

It is the start of the year, and a new beginning with a new decade. Time to go through that new year resolution checklist, and if one of them is to take more care and splurge more on yourself, Kharites has an uplifting offer and technology to match!

They recently launched an Ultimate Ultra Super Lift Package - billed as the most innovative offer in Thailand to date. The package deploys not one but two HIFU machines in its treatment.

What is HIFU, you may wonder. As did we, when we stepped into their clinic located on Sukhumvit Soi 11. Homemade cake was served with hot tea as we read their brochures and that most clinics used but it is the second machine that sets Kharites apart. The second machine has the newest technology installed and can impact the harder to reach areas on our face. The slender head can accessed the narrow alleys around your forehead and eyes. Contouring, lifting and every element in this painless procedure becomes more efficient and wholesome. Special promotion price is available. Call the clinic at 02 168 4125 to schedule an uplifting session as we welcome the new decade! admire the plethora of packages on offer.

Depression: Let’s talk

28/1/2020

Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay

Depression affects people of all ages, from all walks of life. It causes mental anguish and impacts on people’s ability to carry out even the simplest tasks with sometimes devastating consequences for relationships with family and friends, and the ability to earn a living.

Yet, depression as any other chronic disease can be prevented.

What is depression?
Depression is an illness characterised by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that you normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities. In addition, people with depression normally have several of the following symptoms:
- a loss of energy
- a change in appetite
- sleeping not enough or too much
- anxiety
- reduced concentration
- indecisiveness
- restlessness
- feelings of worthlessness
- guilt, or hopelessness

Depression is the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, but that alone doesn’t capture how complex the disease is. Research suggests a faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, a stressful lifestyle both emotionally and physically, medication use or underlying medical problems contribute to developing a chronic depression.

Kharites Medical

2/1/2020

“WHERE AESTHETIC THERAPY AND MEDICAL SCIENCE MEET”

Welcome to KHARITES Medical Aesthetic Clinic, experts in providing a variety of different face and body treatments that make sure that your specific needs are met.

We have therapeutic treatments as well as treatments with medicinal properties. We will ensure that it’s an unforgettable sensory experience for your face and body. “Where aesthetic therapy and medical science meet.”

OUR PROMISE
Kharites Medical Aesthetic Clinic offers non-surgical aesthetic, medical grade products, and treatment therapy by experienced and skilled staff. So you can be confident that you are receiving the best possible care. We are dedicated to ensuring securing your safety and we focus solely on treatments that suit you. “Beautiful skin is our specialty.”

YOU ARE OUR PRIORITY
We believe in listening to our patients and we customize our programs to meet their needs. We offer the service of accredited medical doctors to provide treatments that ensure the safety and satisfaction of our patients. Our clients include women and men of all age and cultures.

We believe in excellence and strive to provide the highest quality services and products delivered by our knowledgeable and friendly team, including highly qualified registered nurses and skincare doctors.

Filthy air and non-stop construction is it time to exit Bangkok?

11/2/2019

Image from: https://news.sky.com/story/bangkok-pollution-at-crisis-level-as-planes-trigger-rain-11611356

A long-time resident of Sukhumvit 61 recently spoke with a mixture of anger and resignation about the imminent construction of four 45-storey condominiums in her already busy soi.

Apart from blocking her view, these buildings will add substantially to the traffic in the area and pressure on services. Like many others, she is wondering how much longer she can tolerate living in the city she once loved.

Her plight is shared by many others living in central Bangkok who are seeing their formerly tranquil neighborhoods being lost to so-called urban development. The pace of change is quickening, with all kinds of projects gobbling up huge plots of land along main thoroughfares like Sukhumvit and Rama 4 and their various side roads.

They include massive undertakings like One Bangkok, the Dusit Thani redevelopment, TCC’s project near the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre and the EmSphere beside the Emporium. Plus endless new condominiums on the rise. And that’s only the beginning.

What’s more, in the absence of properly observed planning regulations and sensible zoning, the situation will only get worse.

It’s easy to imagine the impact all these projects will have on Bangkok’s already severely strained infrastructure in the next decade.

Meanwhile, the city’s beleaguered residents are facing the worst pollution of its air in history,caused in part by all the demolition and construction. No wonder so many people are making exits plans from Bangkok.

Is there a silver lining? Only in that Thailand has a staggering 454,814 residential units worth US$41 billion left unsold last year – many of them in Bangkok. Just think how more crowded this city would be if they were all inhabited.

How to avoid holiday weight gain

31/12/2018

By Judi Coutin

IT'S that time of the year when extra calories lurk everywhere. From frosted cookies and chocolates at the office, to eggnog and jelly doughnuts and maybe even Cinnamon double whip cream coffee, all of these festive extras add up. And if you're like most people, you'll likely put on a pound or two by New Year's Day.

For most active people there is no harm in a little holiday weight gain, especially if it's just a pound. But according to researchers, a lot of people never lose the weight they gain during the winter holidays.

The pounds add up year after year, making holiday weight gain an important factor in adult obesity.

There is no need to fall into this trap. It is possible to enjoy holiday goodies without putting on a single pound. Just simply have an eye on how much you eat from the goodies served to you, and in between family meals and holiday parties try to eat light.

Here are a few tips on how to limit calories without missing out on all the holiday delicacies.

Never arrive hungry
Skipping breakfast or lunch in order to "save your appetite for a dinner or party is never a good weight-maintenance tactic. You will just eat more and anything coming your way as soon you can eat.

Planning ahead can help you maintain discipline in the face of temptation. Don't arrive at a party hungry. Try to have a nutritious snack beforehand, like a handful of nuts with a carrot, apples or a banana. Start with drinking some water to get some volume into your stomach before filling your plate.

Pace yourself

There is no need to eat all you can in the first 30 minutes of arriving at a party or buffet dinner. Try to have smaller plates more often over a longer period of time. Have some water in between and let the food settle before going for the next plate. Fifteen minute breaks between each plate is a good start.

How to get enough protein into your diet

18/9/2018

By Judith Coulson

Proteins are made of amino acids, which are reprocessed in your body to make more proteins. There are essential, nonessential, and conditional amino acids. Your body makes 13 nonessential amino acids on its own. However, you need to consume proteinrich foods to get the nine essential amino acids. Conditional amino acids aren’t usually essential, but you need them inhigher amounts in time of stress and illness or intensive muscle training.

It’s easy to get protein in your diet even if you’re vegetarian or vegan. Following are recommendations for daily protein intake and a list of foods I have in my fridge high in protein that will maybe surprise you.

Protein recommendations

The recommended daily allowance of protein is a formula based on your age and weight. You should eat 0.36 g of protein per pound of body weight. That means if you weigh 140 pounds, you should eat 50 g of protein each day. Athletes and people who exercise vigorously need 0.54 to 0.90 g of protein per pound of body weight. Another formula used to determine how much protein you need is based on your calorie intake. You should get 10 to 35% of your calories from protein. Depending on how many calories you need, your protein requirements may be higher or lower than if you base it on your weight. Children need 1 g of protein for every 2 pounds they weigh. If a child weighs 40 pounds, they need 20 g of protein daily. Pregnant women should eat 71 g of protein daily no matter how many calories they eat.

Eggs
Eggs are protein powerhouses. They’re also loaded with vitamins and minerals such as folate and other B vitamins, and choline. Eggs are adaptable for any meal of the day. Keep a supply of hard-boiled eggs in your refrigerator for a portable, protein-crammed meal or snack.
Nutrition: One whole egg has 6 g protein, 68 kcal, and 4.5 g fat. And egg white has about 17 kcal and 3.6 g of protein

Chicken
Chicken is one of the most popular and versatile protein-rich foods. It is low in fat, (if eaten without the skin) has zero carbs, and is high in choline, B vitamins, phosphorous, and selenium. Roasted or grilled chicken has much fewer calories and fat than chicken that’s fried or prepared in a rich sauce.
Nutrition: 170g roasted chicken breast without skin has 53 g protein, 284 kcal, and 6 g fat.

Cooling off in the capital with cryotherapy

24/8/2018

By Kelly Iverson

BANGKOK is certainly not well-known for its cold climate. In fact, the city is infamous for being one of the hottest in the entire world. That being said, one chilly medical treatment is not only cooling people off but also apparently helping with things like back pain. We are talking about cryotherapy.

What is cryotherapy?

The prefix cryo means icy cold or frost, and cryotherapy is a medical treatment that makes use of cold with the application of things like ice packs or by lowering the body temperature to aid something. Certain types of cryotherapy are sometimes referred to as cryosurgery. This type of surgery involves the selective destruction of tissues by freezing them with very cold temperatures or liquid nitrogen.

In dermatology, cryotherapy is a treatment that freezes skin lesions. Cryotherapy is used to treat things like cervical dysplasia, and in women, the freezing treatment is used on the cervix to kill abnormal cells. Oftentimes referred to as frotox, cryotherapy facials are a type of beauty treatment that have especially grown in popularity. All of these types of treatments are known as localised cryotherapy, because they target specific parts of the body.

Whole body cryotherapy, or WBC, is a bit different. Participants strip down and enter a freezing container, chamber, or room. They are then immersed in sub-zero temperatures and oftentimes liquid nitrogen for a short period (approximately 1-4minutes). Your body goes into what is known as survival mode, and your brain starts pumping endorphins where your body needs them the most. Blood flow is meant to increase in such cold temperatures as well, thus allowing vital organs to get more nutrients and oxygen.

Who is using cryotherapy?
Many public figures have taken to the cool yet sometimes controversial treatment. A-list celebrities who have entered these infamous icy chambers include Lindsay Lohan, Derek Hough, Mandy Moore, LeBron James and more. Some celebs have used cryotherapy in hopes of losing weight while celebrated athletes vouch for it in regards to things like workout recovery.

Cryotherapy around the world
As the world’s coolest new spa treatment, facilities around the globe have been using cryotherapy in one way or another to keep up with the trend, including the U.S., Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia, and, of course, Bangkok. Visitors to the Ice Lab located in the Apex Medical Centre can enter sub-freezing temperatures without ever leaving the scorching capital. According to their website, participants remain at -110°C for one to three minutes. Ice Lab uses this state-of-the-art freezing technology to help aid visitors with things like skin blemishes, inflammation in muscles and joints and many more ailments.

What are the risks?
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, there is no evidence that supports entering these ice-cold chambers will cure or aid things like chronic pain and the like. And while there is no substantiation that WBC will do all that clinics say it does, there are proven risks. One of the main risks is asphyxiation, which is exactly how a beauty salon employee died in Las Vegas in 2015. After her shift was over, 24-year-old Chelsea Ake-Salvacion went into the cryotherapy chamber at her work … her frozen body was found there the next day.

The coroner said that she did not freeze to death, rather she tragicallysuffocated because the chamber was filled with liquid nitrogen. Official cause of death: asphyxia. Salons do warn their clients of things like frostbite and burns
before entering, however.
Whether or not Bangkokians decide to turn themselves into human popsicles is uncertain, but one thing remains clear: this chilly beauty trend is hot.

Experience Bangkok’s Best Award Winning Float Center

21/8/2018

What is Floating?
Each private spa room houses our advanced Dreampod float tank which is filled with only ten inches of water (approx. 700 litres) and 600kg of Epsom salt. The Epsom Salt (magnesium sulphate) provides excellent detoxification for the skin and magnesium is rich with many benefits that supports a healthy body and wellbeing.
The Dreampods are fully controlled by a central computer system that also maintains the water temperature at a constant 34.5 degrees which is the same temperature as skin surface. Without the burden of the pull of gravity, your body will be totally free from muscular stress. Gliding on the surface of the water will make you feel totally weightless, almost the same as the astronauts floating in space. The hatch of the Dreampod is shut through the float session, creating a sensory reduced environment that reduces as much external stimulus as possible such as sound, sight, noise, smell and touch and leads you into a state of neutral buoyancy. An essential state of calm and relaxation contributing to incredible and natural healing results.
The calmness and deep relaxation helps the brain reach Theta brain wave levels normally experienced between drowsiness and sleep similar to those who are experienced in deep meditation.
You will experience deep calm without going through years of meditation. Perfect also for all of us who need to escape from the daily hustle and bustle of life’s demands.

The Benefit of Floating
Theta brain wave helps sharpen intellect as well as sharpens your other senses and synchronizes both sides of the brain. Scientific research research findings have proven that synchronization of the brain enhances creative thinking and reasoning. The brain is taking a break, freeing itself from the millions of sensory inputs as well as freeing it from the task of body temperature calibration.These benefits contribute to a much more enhanced body balance.
This change is known as the Relaxation Response, the deep physical relaxation stage that gets us to be ready in dealing with bodily and emotional stress which we have to deal with everyday.
Scientists also state that the prolonged deep state of deep relaxation can slow down heart rates, decrease blood pressure and lower the consumption of oxygen. Such relaxation helps ease the ailments related to hypertension, joint inflammation, insomnia, anxiety, depression, sexual dysfunction, some types of cancer and even aging.

Who is Floating suitable for?
Floating speeds up injuries and recovery for many athletes around the world. Floating is also good for those who suffer pain and discomfort from office syndrome, those with anxiety, depression and those with trouble sleeping, as well as people with specific types of injuries. It’s recommended as a perfect relaxation tool for pregnant women and for baby. It also offers a great escape from all the sensory stimulants we take in daily, providing deep, physical and mental rest.

At Bangkok Float Center, you can immerse yourself in deep relaxation in one of our advanced float tanks filled with pure mineral, rich salt water (Epsom Salt).

Beside the detoxification and skincare benefits of Epsom Salt, which is 40 times denser than normal sea water and similar to the ‘Dead Sea’ you will experience a state of weightlessness.
Once you lay in the ten inches of water filled with Epsom Salt which also provides the buoyancy, you’re at the beginning of your intense relaxation journey. This deep relaxation state is normally achieved through advanced years of relaxation and meditation practices.

The benefits of floatation are many. While the saline solution is good for your skin, the floatation helps heal injuries and ailments such as hypertension, joint inflammation, insomnia as well as other symptoms caused by ‘stress’. Medical research indicates that ‘stress’ contributes to over 90% of our sickness and diseases. Floating is also helpful to those who suffer from anxiety and depression.

Come and try it yourself at Bangkok Float Center and experience the real health benefits in our spa located on the 4th floor of Show DC Shopping Center in Rama 9 next to RCA.
One 60 minute float session is 2100 baht. For more information: www.bangkokfloatcenter.com, Facebook & IG : Bangkok Float Center , call. 098-628-9599, e-mail : info@bangkokfloatcenter.com

From August 18th to September 18th, 2018, at Bangkok Float Center we are offering a 20% discount for Thai nationals only with our #FirstFloatExperience promotion. Just make a reservation and ask for the special promotion discount!

A Loving Embrace with the Breakfast Queen Tea

10/8/2018

Embracing the beauty of mothers around the world, TWG Tea introduces the Breakfast Queen Tea, a gift fit for the queen of your heart this Mother’s Day.

Just as the radiant light of a morning sun glimmers in hues of sparkling gold, the morning tea of sweet citrus and soft floral overtones gently awakens the senses and welcomes a new dawn.

Delicately balanced with a fresh hint of sweet lemon and notes of noble rose, this vivacious green tea from the Haute Couture Tea Collection® is a stimulating and refreshing blend that calms the soul, while infusing the air with a feeling of tranquility.

Inspired by the queen’s graceful grandeur, its soothing turquoise tin embossed with matte gold accents lends an elegant and royal charm that will set your mom’s hearts aflutter and put a smile on her face.

The Breakfast Queen Tea from the Haute Couture Tea Collection® (100g) retails at $40 and is available at all TWG Tea Salons & Boutiques in Singapore.