Eu Yan Sang TCM Health Report [Advertorial]

I remember my first visit to the TCM was when I was still in kindergarten and ever since then, I've been a true believer in TCM, especially for some of my health issues like migraines, gastric pains and constipation. 

So when I heard that EYS has launched a new health service, a TCM health report, I was really excited to be able to try out the service! 

The trip to EYS TCM Wellness Clinic @ Marina Bay Link Mall was a little of a challenge as I didn't remember stepping into this mall before (actually I did walk through the mall once when I headed to The Sail, but it just didn't register in my memory) and I got lost for just a little bit as I was looking intently for their unit number and found myself coming to a dead end at the shenton medical. So to preempt all who's planning to visit this branch, turn in at Salad Stop instead of following the increasing unit numbers to the dead end. :)

Eu Yan Sang TCM Wellness clinics focus on preventive health, or sub-health issues, which refers to conditions that have no yet developed into an illness yet. 

So basically, its Healthy -- Sub-Health -- Disease

Many people who are in the sub-health stage do not realise the symptoms or choose to overlook, allowing diseases to develop when they had ample chance to stem it from the root. 

To know more about sub-health, do take a look at this video.

This heath report service comprises of the following:

1. Diagnosis by physician

2. Your dominant body constitution determined

3. Wellness tips suitable for your particular body constitution advised by the physician

And you'll get to bring home all the useful information in a form of a report in a folder like this. 

I was attended to by Physician Lim Sock Ling, a pretty and bubbly young lady, who used a combination of diagnostic methods including looking, listening, smelling, inquiry and taking pulses to diagnose my condition as yin-deficient. 

Symptoms of yin-deficiency includes (citing my own examples) frequent headaches, constipation, and insomnia. 

Yes, I would love to believe that's the case, but unfortunately not. Although I do not suffer from disrupted sleep, I really have a hard time falling asleep as there's so much random thoughts going on in my mind once the lights are off. Apparently, this is caused by too much yang-fire in my heart system, making me unable to calm down and take a good rest. 

Unlike those western medical report, this TCM health report gives a general outlook of your current body constitution and typical (possible) health issues (or sub-health problems) that you might face, or may already be facing and overlooked. Wellness tips provided in the report includes not only recommended special dietary intake but also what kind of exercises to do and what acupoints to massage. Basically, it gives you a suggestion on how to change your current lifestyle into a healthier one that suits your body constitution. 

And like western medical report, this health report gives you only a current state of health. As you all know, our body should ideally be in a balanced state and any imbalance will result in sub-health issues, which is what this report will catch on. And if you diligently act on the wellness tips provided in the report and change your lifestyle to better suit your current body constitution, your once imbalanced constitution shall slowly improve to a balanced state, and this report may then become 'outdated' in a sense that it does not reflect your body constitution anymore. This is why health check up should be done periodically, and likewise for this TCM health report.  

Get your own TCM Health Report at Eu Yan Sang.
Simply call the clinic to make an appointment and quote "My TCM Health Report" to enjoy Health Report service at $38 (Usual price: $48), until 31 Dec 2015.
 http://euyansangclinic.com/services/other-services/tcm-health-report

For more information, visit http://euyansangclinic.com/clinic

Till then,
Mia Foo

Continue

Mia's Sponsored Review: MTM Therapy at Indulge Skin & Body Lab & Special Deal!

I've always been suffering from stiff shoulders due to long hours at the computer (plus bad sitting posture), and the stiffness will eventually 'move up' my neck and then eventually manifest itself as either my random migraine attack or my yearly cluster headache attack. 

So I was really glad when I was given at chance at trying out this TCM related Meridians Tissue Manipulation (MTM) therapy at Indulge Skin & Body Lab. 

MTM therapy is a form of remedial massage that uses buffalo horn tools which allow the therapist to go deeper into our muscle tissue to 'untie' the knots within, providing a much more effective relief for chronic pains, muscle stiffness and fibromyalgia. As this massage works directly on our meridians, which are the channels in our body through which our qi flows, this therapy will also help to relieve symptoms that arises from meridian blockage, such as water retention, weight gain and etc.

The areas upon which we can perform MTM therapy on includes:
1. Eye
2. Face
3. Back
4. Buttocks
5. Arms, Chest and Shoulders
6. Tummy
7. Legs

For more information on their individual benefits, visit Meditrina's website HERE

For my case, I was advised to try their back therapy, which helps to alleviate both upper and lower back pains and consequently improve complexion. The therapist, Chira, upon hearing that I suffer from frequent migraines, also went on to perform the treatment on my arms, shoulders, neck and head.

I was ushered into a small and clean treatment room and given disposable shower cap and undies to change into. Chira was also very polite to make sure that I was already lying face down on the bed before she entered the room.
And before I move on with my experience of the therapy, let's see how the buffalo horn tools look like.

A total of 5 different tools were used as shown, with 3 sizes of the horn-shaped tool, 1 small spatula-shaped (rounded plus flat tips, and 1 flat plate with 4 different edge detailing. The flat plate gave a sensation that's closest to 刮痧 (gua sha) while the other 4 tools produced a much deeper, specific pressure. Depending on the area and intensity of the 'knots' encountered, the therapist will switch between the 5 tools to give the best effect. 

My therapy started off with the application of this Soothing Moxa Pain Relief Essence on the major meridian points on my back, namely two sides of my neck, shoulder blades, mid/lower back and base of my spine.

If you understand Japanese Kanji or Chinese characters, you'll know that the product name can be loosely translated into palm's acupuncture. Indeed, as explained by Chira, this quick acting pain relief essence adopts nanotechnology to allow the essence of the ingredient to penetrate into the skin to give a 30 seconds DIY acupuncture session to alleviate the pain at targeted area.
Using her palm, Chira pressed the product on my skin until I felt this warming sensation before patting the area lightly to complete the application.
With difference in level of meridian blockages at different areas of my body, I experienced a significant difference in the time taken for the warming sensation to be felt.

After application of the Soothing Moxa Essence, Chira then started the massage with buffalo horns using the Ageless Herbal Cream with Chasteberry extract ($178), winner of the Cozycot Women's Choice Award 2012. Unlike other oil massages, which leaves your skin oily and in need of a shower, this cream gets fully absorbed into your skin in the course of the massage to give you many benefits, such as:
1. Smoothen skin texture and work on skin renewal
2. Promotes blood circulation and reduce appearance of wrinkles
3. Gives a firmer and more curvaceous bust line
4. Promote stronger immune system
5. Improves vitality, stamina and endurance
6. Strong anti-oxidant effects help to increase defence against free radicals
7. Alleviate PMS, menopausal symptoms
8. Supports bone health
9. Increase muscle strength and physical fitness
10. Restore physical and mental energy to optimal levels
11. Speed up recovery from illnesses

And for the buffalo horn massage, it goes with the usual TCM theory of 不通則痛,痛則不通, which means if you have blockages, it's going to hurt. And of course, it hurt a great deal for me, with the worst pain experienced at my left shoulder blade, which explains the usual migraine and cluster headaches on the left side of my head. The knot was so bad Chira could hardly get the horn to move and she had to switch to the flat plate to ease it out first before she could get the horn to work, calling it a 'big project'.
And just like what my usual TCM doctor has been telling me, Chira could easily deduce that I suffer from weak lungs (hence the usual colds and 100-days-coughs) and weak gastric with bloat from all the knots she located in my back muscle tissue. And by constantly easing out these knots to unblock my meridian blockages, it will help to alleviate all my current pesky health issues.

And as preempted by Chira right after the treatment, parts of my arms and back started to bruise up slightly the next day, together with a stinging pain on the skin. But compared to bruising from 刮痧 and cupping, these bruises are way lighter and could be easily overlooked at a glance and goes away on the 3rd day for my case.
But all these in exchange for better health, better complexion, and most importantly no more migraines and the dreaded cluster headaches, why not?

And that's Chira, their best therapist who is fluent in both Mandarin and English.

Are you suffering from chronic pains, sciatica, constipation, indigestion, bloatedness, or even facial issues like dark eye rings and saggy skin?
Give this MTM therapy a try and experience the benefits for yourself!

Indulge Skin & Body Lab is located at
1 Vista Exchange Green #B1-27, The Star Vista, S(138617)
Nearest MRT Station: Bouna Vista (5 minutes walk)
Tel: 66942072

For more information on Meditrina's products and treatments, visit their WEBSITE or FACEBOOK

And for all my friends and readers, you'll get a special discount! Just quote MiaMTM10% to enjoy a special 10% discount for the treatment, Ageless Herbal Cream not included.

Till then,
Mia Foo

Continue

Slimming 101: Duo Advance Body Define [Press Conference]

Earlier this week, I was really honoured to be able to attend the press conference for Slimming 101's latest technology, the Duo Advance Body Define treatment. 

If you're thinking that the name sounds a little familiar, yes Slimming 101 is the sister company of Beijing 101, and similarly, they have incorporated TCM principles with high-technology slimming machines and European botanicals to achieve healthy slimming through a safe and natural way. 

And of course, to bring the sexy back. *wink*

I really liked their interior decor, so cute and feminine chic at the same time. 

And of course, we started the event with a tour of the place. 

At Slimming 101, they provide patrons with a locker room that's equipped with not just a huge mirror with vanity counter, hair dryer and other beauty tools.

But also a (pretty) private sauna (for 2) and shower stalls too! And guess what, they're using shampoo and conditioner from Beijing 101. So you not only slim down your body, but also have the chance to get healthier tresses. Hahaha! 

 Their treatment room also comes in different colours, and I found a lime green one! 

Alright, let's move on to the highlight of the day, the Duo Advance Body Define treatment.

And here's the machine, which made this non-invasive treatment that works like an alternative to liposuction possible. 

And if you're wondering why is there a mini-sized head, this is because you can get your pesky double chin to disappear at Slimming 101 too!  

For the demonstration, we had fellow blogger cum sexiest and prettiest clown ever, Vivien Goh, as our model of the day.

The treatment, performed by one of Slimming 101's best therapist, Lynn, started off with the application of their body shaping essence.

After which, Lynn performed Slimming 101's Signature Meridian Therapy, which is a type of acupressure body therapy using TCM principles. By pressing down on our vital acupoints, it helps to clear blockage within our body and balance the flow of qi and blood. Some of the benefits of this Meridian Therapy includes, to increase our body metabolic rate, reduce water retention and aid in bowel movements.
And there's Vivien showing the true spirit of a blogger: You take photos anytime, anywhere.

And after completing the acupressure therapy, Lynn slathered on the treatment cream to prepare the tummy/skin for the treatment.

Here's the before photo.

And upon hearing Vivien's lament that she has a lot of back fats, Lynn immediately stuffed a piece of towel under her back to squeeze out as much of those pesky back fats to the sides for the equipment to target them as well.

And here's how it's done.
Lynn basically press the head of the probe onto Vivien's skin before switching it on and then continuously moves it around in directions that resemble a figure of 8. This portion of the treatment will take 20 minutes and it comes in 2 parts, with the 2nd part, the fat blasting treatment, having the addition of a continous beeping sound from the machine as it started blasting fats from Vivien's tummy.
And according to Vivien, the beeping sound she heard was a lot louder than us, and it varies according to where the probe was touching, probably due to different content of body fats. Eg. the hip bone area was significantly softer as compared to the rest of the tummy area.

And here's the interim after photo, after completion of only one side.
The result was truly visible, as you can see that Vivien's left side still had 'kinks' whereas her right side, after receiving the treatment, has smoothen out and developed a slightly curvier waistline.
And of course, the patchy redness shows that the machine really did set her blood circulation going on.

And here's some testimonials from Slimming 101's satisfied customers.

Duo Advance Body Define offers a way to reduce localised cellulite, fat areas and overall body volume due to retention of water. It gives sustainable results and can reduce cellulite areas till up to 2cm per treatment.
Other than its cellulite reducing and fat melting abilities, the Duo Body Advance Define treatment also helps with skin tightening and rejuvenation, improve the skin's elasticity and tone by inducing the body to create more of its own collagen.
It's ideal for reduction of waist line, love handles, flabby arms, belly fats, hip and thighs.

And with that, if you're thinking that Slimming 101's incorporation of TCM principles its just adding in acupressure therapy along the way, no, that's not all!
Slimming 101 has their own in-house TCM therapists (doctor) to perform slimming acupuncture, give prescription and advise on diet plans as required. As their treatments are bound to work, they will refer customers with exceptionally slow or unsatisfying results after a few sessions to the TCM therapist to get an in-depth understanding of their body condition and find out what's keeping their weight on.
On top of that, they also provide womb and ovary care treatments for ladies who not only faces weight management problems but are also unable to conceive.

And here's Vivien having her body condition checked thoroughly by the TCM therapist. And she was truly shocked, and perhaps even nearly traumatised, to realise that her dietary habits consisted of everything that was wrong and bad for her body.

Ditch the cold drinks and sashimi, Vivien! Weight management is 30% exercise and 70% diet! :)

Slimming 101 Body Consultants is located at Funan DigitaLife Mall #04-07
For more information, visit their website HERE

And if you have that extra 10 seconds to spare, please support MollyMia over at Slimming 101's blogger slimming challenge page.

1. Like 101 Slimming Challenge FB page HERE
2. Like MollyMia's blog post link shared on their timeline (the 2nd last blog link shared)

Many thanks to all who showed your support! :)

Till then,
Mia Foo

Continue

Mia's Update: Chinese Medical Centre (CMC Slimming)

Last year, I've decided to give TCM slimming a try after reading up so many raves and reviews on them via the now defunct Flowerpod forum. My company gives cash benefits for TCM slimming, so why not? :)

So out of convenience sake, instead of the handful highly recommended by podders, I decided to try out CMC at one of their branches around my neighbourhood. 

I first took up 10 sessions of half body tui na massage (with FOC body wrapping) and full body acupuncture at $1000, with each session lasting about 1.5 to 2 hrs. Yup, so it's about $100 per session, which I admit is pretty pricey and I'll probably not sign the package without my company's cash benefits. But with more sessions taken, it can get as cheap as $2900 for 40 sessions (which is what I'm on now, since my package lapse over two years I can claim twice and I only needa fork out less than $1000 from my own pocket eventually) and the consultant was really nice to state it as just $1000 for 10 sessions first, just in case TCM slimming doesn't work for me. Yes, TCM slimming doesn't work for everybody. Some may see really quick results, some slower, some none. I'll say mine is pretty 'slow and steady'? 

I started off weighing almost 65kg (BMI of 22.5) on the scale, with body fat of almost 31% and muscle content at roughly the same (yikes!) After completing my 12th session earlier today, I stepped onto my scale again and this is what I measured, just mere minutes ago.

Weight: 60.7kg

Body fat: 28% (not low enough to hit my target, but stated healthy)

Muscle content: 32.5% 

BMI: 21

Let's get on to their treatment procedure. :)

First up, I usually start off with the tui na massage on my legs (because that's my main problematic area). My therapist will use a combination of her hands to do acupoints massage, then a prickly toothed massage brush to add up the 'power'. Her usual routine also includes cupping (ba guan), and yi guan (which is to keep moving the cup around my main problematic areas (which happens to be the outer sides of my thighs, which according to her is 'blocked'). It started off really painful, especially yi guan and I always leave the centre with horrible dark purplish blue bruises on my legs. And there was once she did gua sha on this particular stubbornly blocked spot and I ended up looking like I was whipped. =.=" 

But now tui na is a breeze, almost an enjoyable body massage, even with cupping and yi guan. I guess that shows that my body toxin has indeed reduced greatly and there's hardly any visible bruises from the cupping as well. 

And after the tui na is done, my therapist will wrap me up with some cling wrap and put me under the 'air-squish' body slimming machine. It's like those old-school blood pressure meter, whereby they wrap a air-pac blanket around you and connect it to an air-pump machine and periodically pump and suck air out of it. This is usually the time when I doze off for that 20 minutes or so. 

And after that comes the part I've grown to dread. Acupuncture. T.T

I was never afraid of needles, and I've tried acupuncture for my frequent headaches and gastric since young. Never felt pain from them either, until I found CMC. 

Unlike my previous experience with other TCM doctors, who smack the needles in with lightning quick hands, this doctor at CMC slowly twist-push them in, and the point IS to let you feel that electric shock-like pain. Because if you feel nothing, it's not going to work.

FML.

It started off with just 7 needles into my tummy and 5 into each of my legs, which is 17 needles in. And as the sessions progressed, I've now lost count of the needles he put in. But there's now 3 on each of my arms, about 9 on my tummy, and 7 on each of my legs. And after enduring the pain of having the needles going in, he'll attach on mild electric current and let the needles 'jump' a few hundred times per minute for that 45 minutes straight. Urgh, pure torture but for the sake of beauty, what else but to tolerate? :(

For more information, visit CMC's website HERE

Till then,

Mia

Continue

Mia's Review: Vita Yin Yang Cordyceps Capsules

Just recently, I was approached to try out this TCM product by Vita Green, called Vita Yin Yang, which basically is just cordyceps capsules, and 1 capsule is equivalent to 15 wild cordyceps in terms of active ingredients!

The ultimate health enhancer for kidney, lung and immune functions, helping to achieve Yin Yang harmony.

Supercharge your immunity! Vita Yin Yang is formulated to tonify the kidneys and lungs, relieving symptoms such as respiratory discomfort, coughing and general malaise, and preventing future problems.

(credits to vitagreen)

Here are some write up taken from the product packaging itself for interested readers to familiarise with the nature of the product. As you can see, there's literally nothing else in the capsules other than cordyceps. This pretty much explains the price tag of HKD$499 (vitagreen website) and SGD $109 at local pharmacies (Guardian Pharmacy).

 The packaging is pretty unique. Instead of a usual flip open box at the top, it pushes up from the top to reveal the content within.

 And here's another short product description printed on the box. This description also comes in a Chinese version on the other side of the box. 

 And this was what I took out from within. I was pretty surprised to find 6 small sealed packs of 10 capsules each, for I was expecting a plastic bottle containing the 60 capsules. No doubt, this packaging is much more convenient and it's so much easier to just pop a pack of 10s into my bag for me to take my daily dosage in office after my breakfast instead of bringing the whole bottle of  60s everywhere I go.

Due to both time limit (got the offer pretty late) and my lack of health issues (apart from feeling lethargic at work), I've decided to try out just 1 pack of the product at 1 capsule per day for 10 days straight, while my dad shall have the rest of the 50s.

I tend to get really lethargic at times and is impossible for me to wake up easily in the morning. And when stressed at work, I tend to get this heavy tightening of my chest that makes my breathing becomes 'choppy' and difficult. After my 10 days on Vita Yin Yang, I didn't feel much difference with my stress-breathlessness. But to be fair to the product, it's highly probable that just a mere 10 days of 1 capsule per day is insufficient to see any form of results. I'm basically still a zombie every morning, dragging my sleepy self on my leaden legs to work. Nevertheless, I do notice that I get less lethargic during mid-day at work, even with more labour intensive schedules for this week.

As for my dad, he took the product at differing dosage of either 1 or 2 capsule per day. Being a heavy smoker, he also suffers from the same breathlessness as me (albeit, mine is due to stress while his stems from prolong smoking), hacking smoker's cough (many times I think he's gonna throw up from his coughing fits), and frequent visits to the loo at night (many times I got woken up from my sleep when he wakes up to visit the loo). After his 10 days of higher dosage on the product, he still gets the same breathless issue as before but his smoker's cough seems to have mellowed out a bit. At least, he doesn't look like he's going to throw up all over the sofa while he coughed these few days, and I also noticed that he doesn't wake up as frequently in the nights to visit the loo.

Coincidence or what, I'm not sure. In order not to give an inaccurate, biased review. I can only add on that just a mere 10 days on a supplement product is hardly sufficient to let us see any significant health improvement. However, I do believe that 10 days is enough for us to gauge whether the product is suitable (for me, at least) or not. And priced at $109 (current introductory price at only $99) for a box of 60s, I definitely do feel it's worth a try, to give it a shot for at least 3 to 6 months (TCM does work slowly) to feel the difference this product is capable of bringing.

Till then,
Mia

Continue